Function - Awakening From The Illusory Self [Tresor]

https://tresorberlin.bandcamp.com/album/awakening-from-the-illusory-self
 

This is sick. 

yeah super good

function is the best

Agreed! Just bought it - every track is stellar.

Oh my days. Belter!!!

Very nice!

Also reminded me I hadn't listened to his excellent Existenz album from couple of years ago for awhile. Might give that a spin today! 

Didn't even know Tresor had its own bandcamp. My digital wallet just got a bit lighter again..

^Aye, spotted a few things I 'NEED' to get on there, this release being one of them, especially digging An Optical Illusion Of Consciousness.

I loved Existenz, need to give it a spin again.

existenz is amazing 

Sumner's been interesting throughout his career, but I think Recompiled I/II represents his apex material (they're the cheapest option to get that particular set of tracks) out of which most was released on Sandwell District - the Sandwell District album (Feed Forward) is actually a mostly Function album, too . Incubation and the remixes thereof + Gradient are exemplary, Subject F on Rrose's Eaux is brilliant but to me, Existenz and Awakening From The Illusory Self leave me wanting. That's not to say they're bad, they're nice aural wallpaper.

You should check out his VEX/DMO stuff, but I don't much care for the Stoor stuff with Speedy J. There's some brilliant floor burners in the early Infrastructure catalogue, too. Which reminds me I should finally get the Facticity compilation...

Feed Forward is the pinnacle of 21st century techno IMHO

  On 6/20/2021 at 11:54 PM, NewSchoolScience said:

Feed Forward is the pinnacle of 21st century techno IMHO

It's a really good (Function) album, although Silent Servant also had a hand in it; the vinyl version is the better one, the CD/digital versions are not as good - although they're great, too. Sandwell District as a whole (label, collective, sound) was one of the high points of electronic dance music, I've got everything that was ever released on the label and there's no chaff whatsoever.

  On 6/21/2021 at 8:53 AM, dcom said:

It's a really good (Function) album, although Silent Servant also had a hand in it; the vinyl version is the better one, the CD/digital versions are not as good - although they're great, too. Sandwell District as a whole (label, collective, sound) was one of the high points of electronic dance music, I've got everything that was ever released on the label and there's no chaff whatsoever.

Thanks! I missed out the first time. What's the difference between the Feed Forward vinyl version and the digitals?

Can't find them on Bandcamp. But Hardwax and Bleep carry some digitals.

https://hardwax.com/?search=sandwell+district

https://bleep.com/search/query?q=sandwell+district

  On 6/21/2021 at 10:21 AM, Satans Little Helper said:

What's the difference between the Feed Forward vinyl version and the digitals?

They're not completely different (like Beaumont Hannant's Texturology - GPRLP4 and GPRLLP4 have completely different tracks), but the CD/digital has different track order and the tracks are edits and live versions of the tracks on the vinyl version - just compare the track listings. There's also Feed Forward Versions (and Test Sessions) with even more versions of tracks (and overlap). The problem is that the vinyl version is very expensive (with two exclusive tracks on the 7"), so unless you're flush you'll have to opt for piracy - but that's the best version, all in all - it's compiled to have the most coherent continuity. Sandwell District was primarily a vinyl-only label, I think the digitals were released after the fact.

  On 6/21/2021 at 8:53 AM, dcom said:

It's a really good (Function) album, although Silent Servant also had a hand in it; the vinyl version is the better one, the CD/digital versions are not as good - although they're great, too. Sandwell District as a whole (label, collective, sound) was one of the high points of electronic dance music, I've got everything that was ever released on the label and there's no chaff whatsoever.

Female and Regis were also in the now defunct Sandwell District techno super-group.  I'd love for them all to work together again, under that SD guise.  I totally agree that everything on the label was brilliant.  RIP.

  On 6/21/2021 at 6:34 PM, NewSchoolScience said:

Female and Regis were also in the now defunct Sandwell District techno super-group.  I'd love for them to work together again, under that guise.  I totally agree that everything on the label was brilliant.  RIP.

But the thing is that when you look at the SD discography, the releases/tracks that really stand out and became underground hits are by Function - Isolation, Anticipation, Variance, and Ember; there are almost none Regis and Female releases - although one of the best is Female (+ Karl Meier) and that's Kalon's Born-Against (there's an amazing remix release that's digital only). Silent Servant has the most releases under his own name, and even Rrose has four. The most interesting one-off is Yves de Mey's Counting Triggers - de Mey is better known as the other half of Sendai, the other being Peter Van Hoesen - and de Mey's solo alias, Grey Branches, is really, really good (as I've mentioned before).

The best (legal) digital source for Sandwell District is, alas, Beatport.

I was a proper Sandwell District fanboy when they were fresh, it's I like I was with RePHLeX back in the day - I bought everything I could get my hands on without question.

P.S. If you haven't, check out this - the graphic design is well nigh Sandwell District and the tracks are brilliant.