VLEK DATA

VLEK13 is on its way.

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:01:00 +0200

More info soon.

Artwork by DimRun, printed at the workshop.

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:54:00 +0100

Press Quotes

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:14:00 +0100

CreateDigitalMedia (Since Jun’12)
BLN.FM / Finest EGO (Dec’12)
Tsugi (Nov’12)
Resident Advisor (Since May’12)
The Word Magazine (Since Feb’12)
XLR8R (Since Jan’12)
Dublab (Since Nov’11)
Sonic Router (Since Jan’11)

2010-2012 VLEK CATALOGUE is Free. Forever.

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 18:48:00 +0100

DONWLOAD

We’ve decided that digital versions of all our 2 first years of releases would be free for you to download. Here’s why.

VLEK IS 2.

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:05:00 +0100

Learn more on Checkthis.

VLEK12: SQUEAKY LOBSTER - Killing Eleven

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:25:00 +0100

OUT NOW
→ORDER 12”
→ORDER DIGITAL

Relevant Press Clippings and more info HERE.
Learn more about Squeaky Lobster HERE.

Preview by Laurent Fintoni.

Following the adage that good things come to those who wait, Brussels’ Squeaky Lobster returns to Vlek after nearly two years of silence with a new EP: Killing Eleven.

Having wooed crowds across Europe with his twisted hip hop grooves over the past couple of years, he kicks off 2013 with a half hour of rich and intricate music, a heady blend of saturated samples, rhythms and melodies designed to draw you in for an immersive listen. This immersion takes full sense on the vinyl release which, like 2011’s Will-O-The-Wisp EP, is designed to be listened as if it were a mixtape of old, the EP’s eight tracks spread across two sides of uninterrupted music that once started must be felt through all the way. You strap yourself in and you ride, or else…

Side A sets the tone with a 17-minute ride into the musical mind of Squeaky Lobster from epic strings on the opener to slow, chugging grooves that should come with a neck brace warning, intricate break chops, flying edits, screaming horns, ethereal voices and perfectly chosen samples that guide you on this journey and add the perfect touch to the music’s cinematic feel.

Over on side B things take a turn for the psychedelic as the grooves stay firmly off the beaten track yet continue to have an irresistible pulling effect on your head and body. Screeching guitars, ethereal melodies and an invitation to rock n’ roll co-exist happily in the mind of Squeaky Lobster and translate here into yet more forward thinking grooves, rhythms and melodies that join the dots between hip hop’s past, present and future.

The tracklist is merely there as an indicator, a signpost that can be safely ignored in favour of a wild sonic experience. Unlike other artists in the same realm, Squeaky Lobster may not talk much but he sure knows how to let the music speak for itself. After a few listens you may find yourself thinking that Killing Eleven is a direct descendant of the work that people like Prefuse 73 and Shadow started close to 20 years ago. And you wouldn’t be half wrong.

As for those of you wondering what Killing Eleven is – a mysterious killer, a rite of passage or perhaps a reference to Spinal Tap’s ‘turn it to eleven’ – you’ll have find the answer in your own listening experience. Inhale deep and loose yourself.

Killing Eleven is released by Vlek Data in January 2013 on 12” vinyl featuring screen-printed sleeves with artwork by Vlek’s Dim Run alongside digital.

Squeaky Lobster / Romain Tardy (AntiVJ) collaboration

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:38:00 +0100

(from the VIMEO description)

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning “country dweller”, “rustic”) is a blanket term, typically used to refer to religious traditions which are polytheistic or indigenous. It is primarily used in a historical context, referring to Greco-Roman polytheism as well as the polytheistic traditions of Europe and North Africa before Christianization. [Wikipedia]

This installation, shown on the main facade of the Museum of archaeology of Toulouse, south of France, was inspired by a scultpure of a bacchanalian head from the 3rd century (see picture below). This sculpture had been found at the end of the 17th century and exhibited as an example of an antique pagan idol since then.

Using the idea of polymorphism that is a feature of the ancient gods, the head becomes almost invisible when integrated to the structure made of an abstract network of straight lines. The light will reveal several patterns, from abstract constellations to enigmatic symbols that will affect the rest of the building.

This work is a new collaboration with the musician Squeaky lobster.
Thanks to Les Jardins Synthétiques festival too.
_______________________

romaintardy.com
→ Squeaky Lobster

VLEK09 - SSALIVA - SYNC THRILLS

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0200

Out Sept. 3,2012.

10” EP - Pink Vinyl - Full Analog Letterpress sleeve - 300 copies.
#2/3 of the Ssaliva Trilogy.

→ LISTEN
→ ORDER VINYL
→ ORDER DIGITAL

Ssaliva – Sync Thrills
by Laurent Fintoni.

The year is 3030. Somewhere in the dark alleys of a megalopolis located in what used to be the European mainland continent stands an unmarked door. Upon entering you’re confronted with rows upon rows of people lying down, eyes closed on metallic bunk beds, their heads covered by something resembling headphones, but bigger. Their bodies are still, the random twitching triggered by REM the only thing betraying them as alive.

Your eyes catch the counter near the entrance. An old Asian man is smoking and looking emptily ahead of him. As you approach he offers you a pair of headphones and points to an empty bed. The only words he utters are ‘plug in and feel the thrill of the sync.’ As you sit down on the bunk bed you notice a box protruding from its top edge: the smooth surfaces bare of anything aside from what looks like a hole on one side. Handling the headphones you notice that they end in a shape that fits the hole. You lie down, turn around and plug in before putting on the headphone apparatus and closing your eyes.

All of a sudden you find yourself transported to a strange world, one you know is not real yet feels realer than anything you experience in daily life. This world’s features and attributes gradually start to shift over time, becoming something new yet the experience remains constantly pleasant.

You’ve taken a sleeping pill in audio format and your metaphysical self has been transmuted to an imaginary dream world crafted by the music. Welcome to Sync Thrills.

The alias of Belgian producer Francois Boulanger, Ssaliva was created for ambient explorations of a new kind. Consisting of a trilogy of 10” EP releases on Vlek Data this exploratory work began on the RZA EP and continues with the Sync Thrills EP, where it reaches a new apex. If the music on RZA were sonic dream vignettes, etchings found at the back of one’s retina upon waking up, Sync Thrills is the soundtrack to an imaginary science fiction movie, a soundtrack with narcoleptic properties.

Spread across eight short tracks, the music on Sync Thrills feels at times like a sonic exploration of club music through a thick layer of sleeplessness and drug abuse. Taro sounds like Clams Casino asleep at his laptop, the pitched down vocal chants triggered by a nervous twitch. Yet Another

Vase is slurred hip hop, hidden under a fog of fuzz and guitar melodies. Ave is slowed-down techno echoing back to you via the corridors of a gigantic club. Uranus 7766 is music for cryogenic space travel. AA Floor is the epic ending to a night on the dancefloor of your subconscious.

Released in September 2012 by Vlek Data, Sync Thrills will be available as a pink 10” vinyl with full analogue letterpress sleeve limited to 300 copies. As always with Vlek’s releases it is as engrossing physically as it is sonically.

VLEKD11 - TIGA BAKSO - RASUNA

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 12:29:00 +0200

→ FREE DOWNLOAD ON BANDCAMP

Artwork by Javier Rodriguez
www.rodriguezjavier.blogspot.com / www.standart-thinking.tumblr.com

RASUNA is #2 in our series of free digital downloads (‘VLEKD’), and was produced by German-Indonesian producer TIGA BAKSO.

→ Resident Advisor Review (4/5)

Previous VLEKD release (VLEKD10) is still available for free: WANDA GROUP - CLEANERS.
Check the rest of the Catalogue Here.

“Tiga Bakso grew up in former East Germany, in a concrete cube.
He got exposed to eastern european and russian culture, DT64
(my favorite music radio channel which got him into electronic music) and of course, communism.
After a failed career as a bookbinder, it had to be media design, so he ended up in advertising.
Heavily influenced by 90’ techno and early electronics, field recordings,
percussions, jazz, he’s trying to be a hybrid between all genres.

Totally heading towards disaster, that’s “Tiga Bakso”. “

VLEKD10 - WANDA GROUP - CLEANERS

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:53:00 +0200

→ AVAILABLE ON BANDCAMP (Free Download).

We’ve decided to start a new series of digital releases to better represent the insanely creative people we’re surrounded with: It’s called “VLEKD”. Yeah, like Digital.

All the releases featured in the series will be free or at a ‘fan-set price’ with no minimum. The first one is a FREE WANDA GROUP FULL LENGTH (22:44): CLEANERS.

WANDA GROUP was formerly known as DEM HUNGER, who also featured on our very first and acclaimed “AMAI” 7” (alongside CUPP CAVE).

This 8-track album announces a WANDA GROUP vinyl release on VLEK this autumn.

→ DOWNLOAD

VlekAPP08 - Herrmutt Lobby - BEATSURFING

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:00:00 +0200

The Organic MIDI Instruments Builder

→ BEATSURFING WEBSITE

Teaser by Emile Sacré / VECT.

→ FOLLOW BEATSURFING ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER

FEATURES.

→ Draw your own controller
Work with the Controller you need, not the one you were given. Simply draw it on the screen with lines, polygons, circles and faders. Size, color, orientation and 3-Dimensional location are all yours to choose.

→ Surf!
Use the full potential of the iPad touchscreen: You can tap on the screen, but you better add the Surfing to your production and performance skills to integrate more of that human feel in your music.

→ Link any MIDI device
Dj, VJ, Production softwares, Hardware devices, and even selected iPad apps: you can route BEATSURFING to anything that allows for MIDI.

→ Objects Behaviours
Each object of your controller can be set to control the others. It creates a system of objects that allow you to add much more to a controller than what meets the eye.

→ Intuitive In-App editing
Forget about separated editing software, lenghty changes and whatnot. You can swap between the EDIT and PLAY modes at the tap of a finger. All your objects even remain playable when they’re be re-arranged!

Read the complete FastCoDesign, The Creators Project & Motherboard interviews we did in preparation for the articles to learn more.

VLEK07 - SAGAT - FEW MYSTERIES SOLVED IN A YEAR OF CONTACT

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:59:00 +0200

→ Out NOW - ORDER

300x12” Debut EP.

Fabric66 presentation by Ben Klock

”(…) Other noteworthy appearances include brand new Mathew Jonson, Sigg Gonzalez, and Vlek Records’ Sagat, who provides incredibly teasing minimalist touches to the modulating oscillations of the overall product.”

Read it all & buy here

Resident Advisor VLEK07 review (3,5/5)

“Sagat’s debut Vlek 12-inch is the label’s first foray into techno, and it’s a fairly competent effort. “Few Mysteries…” and “Speaking of Which” owe a debt to the slow-burn pulse of Mark Ernestus; the industrial static of the latter, in particular, is a serviceable Basic Channel impression.

“Spelt Backwards” is altogether less coy about its dance floor credentials, but it too rides a rather reserved groove, pacified by a synth that squirms and squelches over an otherwise insistent bassline. It’s left to “ESC” to assume the responsibility of peak time banger by way of its cavernous, Grand Canyon-sized kicks, though—funnily enough—the skeletal xylophone riff tempers that aspiration as well. Yes, it may be one of the most straightforward releases Vlek have put out, but it’s also one of their most enjoyable to date.” (Ray Philips, RA)

Read the whole review here

Sleeve designed & screenprinted at home.

Ssaliva - Night Landing Video

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:01:00 +0100

Taken from the Ssaliva - “RZA” EP.

All video edits by Ssaliva aka Cupp Cave.

VLEK06 - Ssaliva - "RZA"

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:20:00 +0100

10” EP by Ssaliva (aka Cupp Cave).
Read a review on XLR8R (Editor’s Pick).

“After accolades including a first physical release on Matthew David’s “Leaving Records” and having some of his upcoming work aired on the latest Dublab 24 hour non-stop fundraiser broadcast, the Belgian master of nostalgic loops and thick, foggy pads returns with a solid offering of 8 wistful atmocore excursions right on time for the winter season.

Melodies wow and flutter, spinning through the stereo field unexpectedly, giving the EP a very warm and likeable lofi quality. ” (Words by Senz)

300 copies - 10” Gold Vinyl & Download
↓
Screenprinted & Embossed Sleeve
↓
ORDER VINYL - BUY DIGITAL

DimRun, our Graphic design master made the sleeves for this release on a sunny autumn afternoon, and we shot that. Hand-Screenprinting and embossing for possibly the cover we’re the most proud of to date!

Tracks off the EP will be available on this Soundcloud set as they’re unveiled by our partners.

“Also known as Cupp Cave, Franz Baker offers his 2nd EP of hazily evocative electronica as Ssaliva. Located somewhere between BoC and Hype Williams, on ‘RZA’ he’s mastered the magic of wow and flutter with eight tracks severely under the influence of a wistful, woozy substance which could prove trickily potent when heard before midnight. From the Bellows-like stereo-warp edits of ‘Black Soul’ through the Dean Blunted ‘Trimensional’ and ‘B Adventures’ or ‘Night Landing’, and the whirligig motion-sickness of ‘Hobo 4030’, this is a very, very good look for those who like their vibes soaked in codeine and smoked to the gills.” (Boomkat)

To celebrate this first year of service, here’s a free SAGAT remix of “Night...

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:50:00 +0100

To celebrate this first year of service, here’s a free SAGAT remix of “Night Landing”, by Ssaliva, out on VLEK06 - “RZA”.

VLEK IS ONE YEAH! OLD

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:53:00 +0100

This 21st of november is our first anniversary. We would really have LOVED to make a big big party out of it, but our minds and energy are focused on realeasing music at the moment :) We have 6 releases lined up until june 2012, so well, that’s gonna be a lot of work. If you’re in Brussels, you can catch us at the Showcase we’re having at the Maison des Musiques this friday.

We have a treat for you though! All our soldout releases are now free on Bandcamp, for this week only. And if you ever bought anything from us, you can choose any of our releases to get as a free download. Just forward the email you got when you paid (paypal, bigcartel emails are cool) and tell us which release you want.

Party’s over, sorry :)

At this occasion, we’d love to take the opportunity to thank all the people who took a bit of their time and energy to show us love and help us along the way!

Peace,
David, Thomas & Julien

VLEK05/A: AMAI #3/4 FEAT. DZA (RU), HERRMUTT LOBBY & RICHARD COLVAEN

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:47:00 +0100

VLEK05/A - AMAI3/4 ft. DZA, Herrmutt Lobby & Richard Colvaen by vlek

BUY NOW (Digital)
BUY NOW (Limited 7”)

Also available on most digital and physical outlets thanks to KOMPAKT.

300 hand-numbered copies, 7”
Hand made cover with glow in the dark or golden ink.

OUT NOV 14, 2011.

Artwork by Lilie-O-Mallet.

A1: DZA - K for Katamari
A2: Herrmutt Lobby - Live Cosmonautes Funk for 2 Joysticks (watch)
B1: Richard Colvaen - Polimetria

VLEK Catalogue Bundle

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:17:00 +0200

Listen to an Unreleased WANDA GROUP (fka DEM HUNGER) minitape

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:32:00 +0200

The girls at WANDA GROUP prepared a few bits for a listening session at our Showcase in Brussels next friday. Mostly unreleased stuff, from DEM HUNGER, WANDA GROUP and whoever else decided to live in Louis’ skull.

Listen to the first session out of three.

In the words of the Man: THIS ONE IS LOTS OF DEM HUNGER STUFF THAT NEVER REALLY CAME OUT AND ALSO MIXED WITH VARIOUS NEW STUFF OR OLD OR WHATEVER.

It’s called EARTH HOUSEHOLD. Enjoy, and come listen to the rest at Bozar Brussels on friday.

Richard Colvaen's Polimetria - Video

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:50:54 +0200

XLR8R premiered the video for Richard Colvaen’s Polimetria on their site today. Read up!