Starkey
Just A / Million

Following up after the mental drop by Detroit’s Master of Repetition, Population One, we have a new signing hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun, helping us to set the standards for this new imprint—uncompromised techno funk! Japanese producer Imugem Orihasam has spent the past 3 years slowly evolving. His early work on Ilian Tape and Esperanza sounds like that of an already seasoned craftsman digesting Detroit bit by bit, with a focus on lush textures and swooning eerie melodies. This past year has seen a spike in activity for Imugem, with releases on Patrice Scott’s Sistrum Recordings, Berlin’s Nsyde, and Adam Marshall’s New Kanada—all showcasing a more focused and exuberant approach that has sharpened his reflective compositions. With GEM, Imugem steps away from the supple melodies and tranquil atmospheres for a trip deep into the power plant. Working far from his comfort zone, he has fired off five tracks of puristic, hypnotic techno. We don’t mean template-driven chunky white label Discogs bait either, but something fashioned out of raw sound that places the channeling of energy above composition and cleverness.

In a secret laboratory in an unknown location, two lifeforms not of this world were at work.Based on previous experiments, it was understood that when the two life forms were left alone together, they could create various elements from nothing, somehow communicating with each other what was needed through a sophisticated type of Internal Transmission.As scientists watched and took notes, the lifeforms sat on the floor across from each other. They did not talk. They did not move. They simply sat, doing the impossible. The atmosphere began to transform and one lifeform produced Gold, Arsenic, Carbon, and Radium. Almost simultaneously, the other conjured up Oxygen, Mercury, Nitrogen, and Neon.The elements swirled in the air until they finally combined. The result was astonishing. It was the exact same compound the lifeforms had been discovered with when they crash landed on Earth some 22 months before. A compound never seen before.

Thousand knives of is Ryuichi Sakamoto's landmark first solo album from 1978 issued on the better days label, featuring the synth classics "Plastic bamboo," "End of asia" & "Thousand knives".. Now reissued outside of Japan for the first time in decades !