Artist: Altstadt Echo

Release: Exhumed Tapes I

Label: Modern Cathedrals

Release Date: 24 April 2018

Monument is pleased to premiere a track by Altstadt Echo from the inaugural release of the new Exhumed Tapes series released by Modern Cathedrals. With label art featuring small details of “important graves”, the series will dig into eerie, broken beat techno with gritty textures.

In Exhumed I.IV we can hear the balance between dancefloor orientation and subtle experimentation that clearly pulls influence from both Detroit and UK styles of techno. A heavy, textured broken beat is accompanied by a lamenting atmosphere, in the style that the artist has become known for. This same combination is used across the four-track EP but to varying ends, displaying an impressive diversity of moods and ideas that belies its aesthetic cohesion. While some tracks strike a somber tone, others are more concerned with reverberating space and detailed percussion.

The beginning of the series coincides with Modern Cathedrals’ annual Eden event in Detroit, which has become a fixture of Movement Festival weekend culture, vehemently pursuing the deeper and darker shades of techno with artists ranging from Umfang to Vatican Shadow. This year, their lineup includes Headless Horseman, Anastasia Kristensen, Evigt Morker, and more.

The label and event series were founded in 2015, with the stated mission of “utilizing experimental techno to interpret the imperfect human experience.” True to this theme, the first cassette begins in a natural place: with Altstadt Echo crafting four works presented with an image depicting the grave-side rubble of his often-referenced inspiration Albert Camus.

Exhumed Tapes I is out on April 24th. The release will be limited to 50 hand-numbered physical copies, distributed by Readymade from Berlin. It was mastered by Tim Xavier at Man Made Mastering.