Midgar Records

I launched a new record label in april 2014 : Midgar

Beside taking care of its branding, and of the whole production process (vinyl pressing) I also write the description of each release and create videoclips related to (almost) each track for youtube promotional use.

LABEL CONCEPT

Midgar is a Berlin based label that aims to bring innovative features into modern Techno, and to deliver a new and meaningful sound loaded with positive energy. Leaving the trends behind, Midgar has a wide range of interests spanning from Deep Techno to Ambient, Acid and Downtempo.

A sound that tells stories as people dance.

NAMING & GENESIS OF THE LOGO

Midgard is the name for the world inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology, and specifically one of the Nine Worlds in Norse mythology.

Midgar is also where an old and famous RPG videogame was taking place. A videogame which me and my brother were used to play often as kids.

The image above is a drawing made by the russian artist Ivan Bilibin (1876 - 1942), and is part of a series that illustrates russian fairy tails. Bilibin works deeply inspired me for their imaginative power and for the sweet atmosphere which costantly surrounds them.

UPGRADE LOGO

In December 2015 I decided to make some adjustement to the logo and the lettering.

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VINYL ARTWORK

I preferred to keep the layout simple and minimalistic. The B Side of MDG001 features the mirrored logo on black background but the next releases will present an artwork or picture instead.

MDG001

Wata Igarashi - Junctions EP

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

Diverse and elaborated ep, composed by four tracks which well explore the rears of deep techno. Junctions is a restless concatenations of halfway beats, which lays on background made of pulsating noises, while Flare is a slow and acidic march. Vibes drastically changes on the B-side. Killer basslines and powerful drums are building up the structure of the clearly dancefloor oriented The Summon, whilst in the last and most alienating track Hitodama, the Artist was able to draw a resonant shape of the nocturnal Blue Fires, floating inhabitants of cemeteries and forests in the ancient Folklore, which seems like gathering in order to dance untill the morning lights. A first release that fully represents Identity of the newborn Midgar Records.

MDG002

Ruhig - Lost In The Instability EP

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

Ruhig (newborn project of Audiolouis from Natch Records) debuts on Midgar with a deeply atmospheric mini-album composed by five tracks plus one Intro on the flipside. The record opens with Lost In The Instability, a sophisticated ensemble of crumbled beats, gloomy synths and basslines that well anticipate the edgy tendencies of the release; while Nibelheim completing the first side, gives a modern and well balanced interpretation of the most groovy and dancefloor dedicated dub/deep techno rhythmics. The B-side features a short and alienating intro Alba right before the deeply esotheric Stillness a sonorous monument builded up by epic jams and bright entrancing sirens. Following, the highly saturated Pulse Width, an elegant but yet severe sequence of intangible smithereens and glitches blown away by sidereal winds. Sister Ray (only digital, not included in the record) concludes with a twisting synthesis of all the release's dominant moods: still dreamy atmospheres, mellow bass and thin hi-hats overall. Midgar keeps exploring the (un)usual fields introduced in its first release, but evolving the approach to a complementary, warmer sound.

MDG003

Cloned - Sapphire 1990 EP

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

Midgar is proud to introduce a newcomer for the third release. A great debut for the maltese Cloned, delivering not less than 6 cuts with Sapphire 1990 E.P. The record, way more straightforward and groove centered than the previous Midgar outputs, opens with Sapphire 1990, track that sounds like very nostalgic memories from a timeless rave. Thanks to a genuine simplicity and the great arrangement of its elements, this first cut has the perfect characteristics to become a dancefloor anthem. On the same side, a live out-take from Cloned’s repertory, The Pendulum swinging synth-lines which dominate pretty direct rhythmics filled with hi-hats and claps over a costant background noise. Belgassem as the first cut on the B side, is an absolutely heavy one for the label’s standards, made of deep kickin’ drums and haunting voices empowered by a really strong and obsessive acid-line. Closing the vinyl, the slow (and again really acidic) Submerging is like a lysergic vessel headed to more comfortable dimensions, where groovy drums are embraced by very bright heavenly pads. Sudden Death is instead a chilled-out broken beat interrupted by confused speeches and detroitish pads, resulting as a modern ritual of ascension towards higher spheres. Corel drives the release to the end, recalling most of its main features: a restless run through misty soundscapes along a path studded of bells and overwhelming, sharp hi-hats. The last two only digital tracks will be out as free download before the release date of the vinyl.

Full Streaming on Thump Magazine + Interview

Credits Cover Picture : Federico Romano

www.federicoromano.com

MDG002X
Ruhig - Lost In The Instability EP Remixed

Edit-Select, Synthek, Luigi Tozzi and Wata Igarashi

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

A remix package which well represent the multifaceted approach of Midgar to techno. Edit-Select opens with a long and groovy rework of Lost In The Instability. He kept the peculiar synth & basslines of the original, and made them sink to deeper dimensions. Synthek delivers a stabbing remix of Nibelheim, a killer techno cut where powerful broken beats continuously crash into the heaviest sonic waves. Alba was originally an interlude solely composed of ambient sounds and ephemeral voices, which evolved with Luigi Tozzi's interpretation into a sweet and melancholic trip. Wata Igarashi to close the record, re-imagines Pulse Width as a mind-stressing experience held in a frame of hollow drones.

MDG004
Ruff Cherry - Ritual Ep

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

Ruff Cherry debuts on Midgar with the retro-futuristic Ritual Ep delivering five (4 vinyl + 1 digital) spaced out cuts costantly spanning between dub, sci-fi ambient and deep techno. The first track Ritual is a dubbed out concoction of african drums, solemn atmospheres and bleeping circuits of a meditative machine. The A side closes with the broken beat Planet Outlaw, a super chilled-out groove meets entrancing heavenly pads.

Mysterians on the flipside opens with a short intro before an eerie high pitched drum breaks in, embracing uplifting soundscapes and suddenly crossed by flying transistors. The last track on the vinyl is the deep and tribal Endless World (Future Mix) bringin sounds from celebratory steps around the fire. The release concludes with the original version of Endless World (only digital - free download from XLR8R) a long atmospheric cut made of broken beats slowly evolving into ravishing funky rhythms.

MDG005.1
Ruhig - Particles Ep

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

Ruhig comes back after one year with Particles Ep as first installment of a double ep on Midgar. The record opens with Particles, an atmospheric detroit influenced cut made out of synthlines dropping like voodoo spells, epic pads and fragmented beats. Eddying follows up with a more direct approach to the dancefloor, 4/4 stomping beat and thin hi-hats backed by lasers and passionate ambiances. Etere on the B-side gives the records an halfway breath, sounds like a late afternoon walk in the fields of a southern countryside village (with constructions going on somewhere nearby), before to start again with the sweet and eerie Perle, where droney pinching drums are flooded by a swarm of dreamy fireflies. Idiom to close the ep with a fast syncopated cut, showing the approach of Ruhig to any form of musical expression and genre, far from traditional ambient or deep techno and going further, to reach out daring and more demanding levels.

MDG006
Wata Igarashi - Ciphers Ep

DESCRIPTION OF THE EP

Midgar is very happy to deliver a new release by Wata Igarashi. Anticipated since few weeks already, with the two bonus digital tracks Mantle and Displacement (both available for free download), Ciphers EP is a rich assemblage of deep sonic excursions showing throughout a strong coexistence of organic and virtual elements. The record opens with Ciphers, where a fast paced sandy groove is driving high on drones via sparking ambiances. Second track, Hailstones is basically a beat knocking its way outside, under a heavy hi-hat hail, slashed by snares and haunted by holographic spirits. On the B-side Lucifero carries a mellow but power- ful mood, sounds like a morning star that gradually transforms into a supernova, is definitely the more dancefloor oriented cut of the release. Closing the vinyl, the slow-footed Cocytus is the complete opposite of its previous track, because of a cold, grave rhythm, treated like a windswept tree. Finally, the only digital tracks, Mantle and Displacement are perfectly resuming Wata Igarashi sound signature, as trippy gatherings of crafted beats joining drones and deformed soundscapes, the first is mind stressing and epic at certain stages, while the second vibrates so dreamy as it ́s made of percussions and supernatural blows.

VIDEOCLIPS

I made the following clips by editing footage from old documentaries and animated movies, or with material I shot with my iPhone. Videos are really helpful, if they go viral, for the promotion of the label and the artists.