Space Dimension Controller - Welcome To Mikrosector-50 album preview

We wrote last year that Space Dimension Controller's first work for R&S was excellent music, packaged up with a ludicrously OTT backstory. Following this up, Space Dimension Controller's latest offering Welcome To Mikrosector-50 takes the cosmic prog nonsense to an even higher level, expanding on the further exploits of Mr. 8040 and his adventures in time travel and treating entirely straight-faced. Regardless, it all sounds pretty good, and we'll post a full review shortly, but whether the concept album improves on or detracts from the sound is another matter entirely...

You know what? Here's some sci-fi for you all to read.

2013
After four years stranded on Earth he has finally repaired the time travel capabilities of his Electropod. His goal was to return to the exact moment in the future of his fateful accident, but due to only having primitive Earth tools and technology at his disposal, the journeys destination was not as accurate as he had hoped and he ended up arriving 5 years later than anticipated.
Now, Mikrosector-50 has changed. It is no longer the strictly governed dystopian planet as Mr. 8040 remembers, where music was controlled by the Tiraquon Security Council and love was deemed unnecessary. Instead people were having fun and love and music filled the streets. At first, Mr. 8040 enjoyed this change and received a huge planet-wide welcome party, but once the party was over Mr. 8040 knew that he had to find his secret lover from before the accident and try to continue what they once had in this new free planet.
Upon returning to his home pod on the Armament Moon and still unaware that it is 5 years later than he expected, he finds the pod to be completely empty, with no sign of his secret lover. He activates the pod's computer and asks where she is, only to find out he is in year 2357 and that there has been no activity in his pod since shortly after he left. Upon learning this, he knows there is only one person he can find answers from, his boss, lead Space Dimension Controller of the Tiraquon Security Council, Max Tiraquon. He meets Max, but something doesn't seem right, there is a sense of hostility.When asked about the whereabouts of Mr. 8040's lover, Max is reluctant to say and tells him that she knows what he had been up to in the past.The women, the nightclubs, the parties. He tells her she's moved on, and maybe Mr. 8040 should too.After this encounter,Mr.8040 tells Max that he is done and leaves,quitting theTiraquon Security Council.
Disorientated and alone in a future no longer his own, Mr. 8040 realises his mistakes, he has done wrong by his lover, but how he will ever see her again to apologise? He leaves Mikrosector-50 and the boundaries of the Tiraquon6 Security Barrier for the distant pirate asteroid colony of EroDru-10. Famous for it's nightclubs, drugs and red light district. He needs to let off some steam, and maybe find a girl, but his game isn't the same as it used to be. Refused by countless girls, a drunk Mr. 8040 gets thrown out of a club and stumbles around the streets of EroDru-10. He encounters a local alien who recognises him and takes him to his nightclub, his guards are down and he takes a cosmic upper to help the night along. Intoxicated on drink and drugs he dances through the night in this sweaty club, before finishing the night with a robotic prostitute at her love pod.
All night he has been trying to mask the pain of losing his girl but reality hits him hard and he decides to go somewhere he hasn't been for years.The place that he built for his secret lover shortly before the accident that sent him back through time. He's not sure what he'll find there, he's hoping for answers, but how could he know. He tells the ships computer to set course for The Love Quadrant.
The Love Quadrant is no longer the same. It's power source had diminished due to the lack of activity while he was away. Instead of the vibrant and colourful cosmic oasis it once was, it was now a dark, grey and cold place. Mr. 8040 now knows that the future is no longer the place for him, that the past had become more of a home. It's time to return to the Quadrasector of the Tiraquon6 Security Barrier to find his main ship. He enters the vessel, and finds that someone had been there, but nothing had been taken and quickly shrugs it off as another attempted looting by an Astro Bandit. Now, in the same location as the accident, Mr. 8040 asks his computer if it would be possible to recreate the accident and send him back through time again. The computer refuses, it's protocol disallowing any action that may put it's user in danger, but Mr. 8040 opts to do it manually. He orders his computer to return to Mikrosector-50 and inform Max of his decision to return to the past. He enters the walkway to his Electropod and begins his journey back through time with a mission of groove.

Surviving the Apocalypse

Lukas Zpira & Spectre performing @ the Borderline Biennale. Warning - NSFW. I hadn't actually realised how much of the Bordeline Biennale had been recorded; there's over six hours of video on the main site. Art without definition, under the banner of No Program, no press, no money. More can be found here, the majority of which will feature some adult content. Unfortunately, most of the interviews are in French, but the performances included are fascinating.

In two minds...

One the one hand;


 
Biosphere - The Shield from Geir Jenssen / Biosphere on Vimeo.


But then...


 

GERMAN ARMY - North Small Map

From http://clandestinerecords.blogspot.co.uk/ (post)

Also worth checking out:

 

Hector Bizerk

Google Will Own Your Brain

And you will let them.





(video found via Frank Ocean's Tumblr)

Hold Me Close Now, Tiny Trancer

Jack Death has been a hero of mine ever since my too-young mind was exposed to 'Trancers' by the scifi and fantasy obsessed uncle who used to supply me with kick ass video tapes, from the A-Team to Star Trek, cartoons to cult movies most people haven't even heard of now, and sometimes even the odd book. Thank you Alan. You probably shouldn't have, but thank fuck you did.

He also got me into 'The Sword and The Sorcerer', another gleaming gem of my childhood. The crucifixion banquet scene has stayed with me my whole life, informing my sense of heroism and the masochistic pursuit of revenge. Plus the bit when he pulls the nails out is fuckin' awesome.




But I'm getting distracted... What did Jack Deth, the peerless, hardboiled trancer-hunter teach me? Well, he taught me that Whistler had a mother, for one thing.

You know, actually, that might have been it.

Still, it had Helen Hunt in it. So there's that.

Okay, so my shameless love of an 80s anti-classic is likely be based on an 8 year old's warm reception for all things kick ass, but it's a very real emotion, and I'm happy with it.

Given my uncritical acceptance of same, you can imagine my joy when Seth over at Bang the Bore sent me a link to this:



I'm not sure if any of this rambling nostalgia trip has a point to it, but Black Stepdad's video pushes a lot of my buttons, and not sharing it is not really an option.

An hour and a half of synthesisers, trancers,  grainy VHS and some really terrible physical acting. What's not to love?

Divorce - Horseheads

I'm not sure either, no.

Church When The Church Hits The Fan - Under The Last Dust

Under The Last Dust from harlequinade on Vimeo.Played it as part of the new Shallow Rave radio, just found this rather awesome video in my email backlog. Shallowrave likes Harlequinade

More of the Lyken Love - Bit Riot

Featured artist Mark Lyken has shared a video of his recent show at XOYO London with us. The music is also his.

Make Friends With Them Until They Beg For Mercy

AZO has been cool for a while now

...And yet, I have only just noticed.

His youtube channel is here, and below is his latest showreel.

Fuckin' OOFT.

Zack Does Anita

The original, if you were wondering.

(via Joe Spencer)

"Dubstep is awful right now, truly terrible"

Red Bull Music Academy - great work, great ideas, world's shittest sponsor.

Lecture: Scuba (Madrid 2011) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

Seriously, Red Bull is mind-bogglingly awful and a massive pet hate of mine, yet the RMBA actually has a pretty cool thing going on. I like this video with Scuba, which, despite the weird German breakfast tv setup, has a nice bit of narrative and some very interesting chat. Nice seeing Scuba opening up so much.

Interviewer: "and what did it become?"
Scuba: "A really terrible music scene"

Brilliant.

Black Kisses by Kick to Kill

Kick to Kill are launching this single in PivoPivo. Shit kicks off at 8, and you'll get a chance to grab an advance copy, maybe even get it signed.   All the shit you need to know is on the Kick to Kill facebook, and I imagine so are you. Check it!

Remember when Vakant used to be all minimal?

Remember that? When Vakant were doing a nice line in reductionist, crisp techno for the likes of Mathias Kaden, Marco Carolo and Jennifer Cardini to cut up with? This latest number from Anonym's so damn smooth you could take a line off it. And look at the video! It looks like Michael fucking Jackson trying to cop off with Debbie Harry. What the hell guys? I thought all that disco nonsense you were letting Nico Perman away with was a one off, and yet you see fit to give us more of this crisply produced, melody-heavy electro funk.

As curveballs go, it's a bit of a beauty. Anonym fits perfectly well with Vakant's attitude to space, rigidity of form, and focussed production, but throws the techno right out the window in favour of camp groove and lush synth styles. Quite into this actually.

Atari Teenage Riot - Black Flags / Anonymous

Atari Teenage Riot's latest video taps into the contemporary zeitgeist, referencing Anonymous, occupy and the 99%. It feels slightly off-message that a track dedicated to Anonymous begins with a massive namechecking shout out to themselves, but sponsoring activist fans by re-releasing a video cut together from fan footage is, well, pretty decent. I'd like to be cynical about it, but ATR do genuinely seem to give a fuck, and that's hard to fault.

Atari Teenage Riot - Blood in My Eyes (Video)

More digital hardcore from Atari Teenage Riot, with Nic Endo delivering powerful and uncomfortable messages about the sex trade the world over. Regardless of whether you think ATR have returned to form, or failed to live up to their standards, their motivations are unquestionably important.

Max Hattler

Reminiscent of the angry baroque of a peyote-addled Disney, Max Hattler has reinterpreted some of the work of the renowned-by-a-handful automatic painter Augustin Lesange.

1923 is based on Lesage's painting 'A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World' from 1923:

1923 aka Heaven (by Max Hattler) from Max Hattler on Vimeo.

1925 aka Hell, is based on Lesage's painting 'A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World' from 1925:

1925 aka Hell (by Max Hattler) from Max Hattler on Vimeo.


One can only wonder what happened to Austin in 1924, but I imagine it scared the shit out of him.

Jeremy Kyle gets Autotuned

And it's pretty good actually. Well bad in that he is still a terrible cunt exploiting weak people, but this tune is pretty well done:



Seriously though, fuck Jeremy Kyle - he may indeed be the most lovliest person in the world with sunbeams and candy-coloured rainbows shining form his rosy arse, but his brand of TV is repulsive. At least Ricki Lake has SOME SYMPATHY for her guests. Not Kyle, he just rips the piss out of them mercilessly.

Also, I have it on good authority that he has an OCD where he has to lick everything he touches.