The Molehill Report #3

By metatron | Published: March 29, 2022
The 3rd episode of the Molehill Report is online

Welcome to the third edition of THE MOLEHILL REPORT

A new monthly video newsletter covering activities and perspectives from Praxis Records, Datacide Magazine, Molehill Publishing and other associated projects, presented by Christoph Fringeli.

March 2022: The Praxis YouTube channel is merging with Datacide to become Noise & Politics. The reprint of Datacide 11 is back from the printers, making an important issue available again, and as we’re waiting for the limited repress of Praxis 26 to arrive from the pressing plant, we talk to the artist, Peter Votava a.k.a. Pure, about some techno history from Vienna to Berlin.

Music:

Amboss : Vision Two [from: Vision, Praxis 53, 2014]

Pure: King Kong [from: King Kong/Katharsis, Praxis 26, 1999]

Full version of the interview with Pure will be available on our channel in early April. The link will be posted here as soon as it’s uploaded!

Praxis web site

Praxis Bandcamp (digital sales):

Praxis Soundcloud (tracks, albums, playlists, releases – 200+ tracks at the time of publishing this video)

Datacide – The Magazine for Noise & Politics

Production at Psychic Defence Studios by CF and Lynxy.

Thanks to Peter Votava and all the datacide contributors.

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YouTube: Praxis channel merges with Datacide and is now called Noise & Politics

By metatron | Published: March 16, 2022
The former Praxis YouTube channel is now called Noise & Politics

Welcome to our now/old YouTube channel. The Praxis channel is now called Noise & Politics and also will also incorporate Datacide besides Praxis and gives us the possibility to expand into other areas.

Check out the latest uploads:

Controlled Weirdness – You’re too Young to Remember the Eighties full length interview online now
SILVER – 25th Anniversary of Hekate Sound System (Pt.1) Trailer
RUST – 25th Anniversary of Hekate Sound System (Pt.2) Trailer
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The Molehill Report #2

By metatron | Published: March 2, 2022

Welcome to the second edition of THE MOLEHILL REPORT

A new monthly video newsletter covering activities and perspectives from Praxis Records, Datacide Magazine, Molehill Publishing and other associated projects, presented by Christoph Fringeli.

February 2022: We’re presenting the new digital release on Praxis by Cortex, show a short excerpt from an interview with Neil Keating aka DJ Controlled Weirdness covering the topics of his article “You’re too Young to Remember the Eighties – Dancing in a Different Time” from Datacide 10, and show the trailer for the upcoming 25th anniversary party of Hekate Soundsystem in Lyon.

Music:

Noface: Love or Kill [from “Burnout EP”, Praxis 6, 1993]

Cortex: The Machinic Phylum (live) [from “Beware of the Arm of Flesh, praxis_digital_01000, 2022]

Controlled Weirdness: Ghosts Of The Heygate [from Presence Unknown 003, 2020]

Full version of Cortex live, edited version by Big Rogers: https://youtu.be/4Dl6lnxUh2U

Download of the album is available here: https://praxisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/beware-of-the-arm-of-flesh-praxis-digital-0100

Full version of Controlled Weirdness “You’re too Young to Remember the Eighties” will be released March 7th on the Datacide YouTube channel. We’ll post the link here as soon as it’s available!

The written version on the Datacide web site is HERE.

Praxis web site: https://praxis-records.net

Praxis Bandcamp (digital sales): https://praxisrecords.bandcamp.com

Praxis Soundcloud (tracks, albums, playlists, releases – 200+ tracks at the time of publishing this video) https://soundcloud.com/praxisrecords

Datacide – The Magazine for Noise & Politics: https://datacide-magazine.com

Production at Psychic Defence Studios by CF and Lynxy.

Thanks to Controlled Weirdness, Alex Buess & Big Rogers, Dan Hekate.

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Cortex: Beware of the Arm of Flesh

By metatron | Published: February 10, 2022

Cortex was founded in 1999 by Alex and Daniel Buess. Various projects form part of the Cortex biography: radio productions for Radio DRS, various appearances at festivals (including Taktlos, Tonart, Lucerne Festival) and collaborations, among others. with the Romanian composer Iancu Dumitrescu and his ensemble Hyperion. Dumitrescu wrote the work “Bolids & Contemplations” for Cortex and Ensemble in 2002, which Cortex premiered in Bucharest.

Cortex’s music is symphonic, multi-layered, both mechanical and organic. It belongs to the large, still relatively unexplored area of contemporary electronics. Important components are live electronic strategies, studio productions for film music and also sound design. Cortexs music also includes sound visions from break-core, drum & bass, dub and other so-called “new electronics”.

For the live show at the Jolt Festival in Basel on 11-11-2011 Cortex teamed up with Damian Bennett on bass and with Australian body and performance artist Stelarc, creating a unique constellation documented on this album and also on the live video

Here are all seven tracks which contain versions of The Machinic Phylum and Usu (from Praxis 48) and Mechanophobia and Pyrexia (from Praxis 31 by 16-17), as well as the three ‘Beware’ tracks.

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The Molehill Report #1

By metatron | Published: January 30, 2022
The first edition of The Molehill Report is online now!

Welcome to THE MOLEHILL REPORT

A new monthly video newsletter covering activities, ideas and perspectives from Praxis Records, Datacide Magazine, Molehill Publishing and other associated projects.

Presented by Praxis founder and Datacide editor Christoph Fringeli with new topics and guests every month.

January 2022: An introduction to The Molehill Report by Christoph Fringeli; A presentation of Riccardo Balli’s book ‘Sbrang Gabba Gang’.

Music:
DJ Scud & Christoph Fringeli: Something Stronger [from: Praxis USA, Deadly Systems 007, 1999]
Bourbonese Qualk: Digital Domain [from: Knee-Jerk Reaction, Praxis 2, 1992]
Slaughter Politics: Stammheim [from: Slaughter Politics, Praxis 21, 1999]
Neuroviolence: Il Futurismo [unreleased, recorded 1995]

Riccardo Balli’s book ‘Sbrang Gabba Gang’ is available here:
https://praxis-records.net/shop/books…

Praxis web site:
https://praxis-records.net

Praxis Bandcamp (digital sales):
https://praxisrecords.bandcamp.com

Praxis Soundcloud (tracks, albums, playlists, releases – 200+ tracks at the time of publishing this video)
https://soundcloud.com/praxisrecords

Datacide – The Magazine for Noise & Politics
https://datacide-magazine.com

Thanks to Lynxy, Jason, and Riccardo

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2022: 30 Years of Praxis!

By metatron | Published: January 5, 2022

Yes it’s true, Praxis will turn 30 this year!

This will be an opportunity for reflection as well as for looking forward, of looking back at what’s been done, the successes and failures, as well as working out strategies for counter-cultural processes in the future.

Praxis was founded in 1992 in London. The first two 12″ records came out at the end of that year, the Scaremonger EP and ‘Knee-Jerk Reaction’ by Bourbonese Qualk. These records contributed to and commented on the rising techno and rave scene, coming from a background of experimental post punk and industrial music. Soon the label expanded and explored experimental hardcore, electronic weirdness, breakcore and noise. Since then there has been a steady stream of releases and activities, which we continue today and into the future from our base in Berlin. We have many many plans for this year, for releases as well as live events, as well as for publishing activities that go well beyond those of a ‘record label’. 

Praxis 1 was the Scaremonger EP, written and produced by label founder Christoph Fringeli

So on the one hand we will – in fact we’re already in the middle of it! – post significant resources online in the form of music and video, both on SoundCloud and YouTube. At the time of writing there are already almost 200 tracks on our SoundCloud account, and over 150 videos on YouTube. Note that many of these “videos” are in fact audio uploads with a thumbnail picture, so there is a certain overlap between the two platforms, but both offer certain advantages, so we’ll continue uploading certain materials on both of them, while other stuff only appears on either of them, the most obvious being visual videos on YouTube.

Video clip by sansculotte for The Wirebug’s ‘Signal Cutoff Inflammation’ from the 2019 album ‘Factory Food’ (Praxis 57)

Parallel to this our Bandcamp page remains the main (and in most cases only) place to download/buy Praxis releases in digital format.

Hand in hand with these uploads we’ll overhaul the discography pages on the Praxis web site, and eventually overhaul the web site itself. This will be accompanied with the upload of historical material as well as new interviews and articles.

Most important is however that the plan for this year and beyond is not just to look back and reflect, but confront harsh experimental music with the challenges of the present and the future.

An important element in the coming months will be a traditional starting point: vinyl releases. We have half a dozen 12″s currently in various stages of production.

But in the wider perspective this can only happen by expanding music to the visual, the written, the social event, the theoretical and the political.

NOTE: This post remains at the top of the site for the time being and will be periodically updated with links and news in the next couple of months

Posted in Discography, Praxis Download Store, Praxis History, Praxis News, Releases, SoundCloud, Upcoming Releases, YouTube | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Richard H. Kirk / Cabaret Voltaire tribute mix by Christoph Fringeli

By metatron | Published: October 26, 2021

Produced for Herr Kartina’s show 20|30 Resampling the Future on Radio Forte (all shows can also be found on archive.org) transmitted first on October 23rd, this is a tribute to Richard H. Kirk who died last month. Kirk was was part of the Sheffield industrial pioneers Cabaret Voltaire since their inception in 1973 until they disbanded in 1994. He had a plethora of solo projects and recently adopted the name of Cabaret Voltaire again for his last albums.

Needless to say my selection of tracks is highly subjective and focuses largely on the seminal material from ca. 1978-82 that was also deeply influential on my own understanding of noisy rhythmic music. To give justice to his whole oeuvre would have demanded much more of an hour long mix. Besides Cabaret Voltaire material I added some of his earlier solo material as well as a Sweet Exorcist track from 1990 that again saw him at the pulse of what was going on at the time. I left out most of the later material, but framed the mix with elements of his last release BN9Drone (2021). Besides this latter track all tracks were played from vinyl.

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Rosalie: Wrong Skies

By metatron | Published: August 6, 2021

Rosalie is a Dutch music producer, musician and visual artist. She has had releases on Dark Winter and Buddhist on Fire as well as a few contributions to compilations on other labels. Wrong Skies was released on praxis_digital August 6, and is be accompanied by a video for one of the tracks . Industrial breakcore with noise takes, drones and unexpected fresh twists, using VST plug-in Soft-synths, drum programming, acoustic and electric instruments and her own voice.

Video clip by Rosalie to the track Lost Afar from the her new album Wrong Skies.
  • Buy digital album HERE (Praxis Bandcamp page)
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Christoph Fringeli & DJ Pure: Dark Star/Anti-Christ

By metatron | Published: June 11, 2021

Sub/Version 012
Christoph Fringeli & DJ Pure
Dark Star/Anti-Christ

Originally released as Sub/Version 001 as a one-sided 12″, Dark Star became a seminal track of the touching point of dark and heavy drum’n’bass/techstep with the emerging breakcore sound, produced “in a cold cellar in Vienna” as the label proclaimed, in 1997. Anti-Christ was the follow-up released the year after. Now those two classic tracks are made available again on vinyl as Sub/Version 012. The cold techstepping B-side of Sub/Version 002 is available as a bonus on the digital release.

Released June 21, 2021 – Order HERE.

Full versions of all the tracks on our SoundCloud
Full versions on our YouTube channel

Download Infosheet/Press release:

SubVersion-012-press-releaseDownload

LINKS

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Limited re-press of Praxis 33 – Nomex: Trocante Gramofony E.P. out now!

By metatron | Published: May 21, 2021
Limited 2021 re-press of Praxis 33 on black vinyl

Originally released in 1999, Trocante Gramofony E.P. by Nomex is re-pressed in a limited edition of 100 copies on black vinyl from the original plates.

Trocante Gramofony opens with the monumental ‘Fire Is The Centre’, followed by two other Nomex masterpieces, ‘Life Destroy’ and ‘No-Step 2000’, as well as three speaker-destroying fragments and locked grooves.

Trocante Gramofony E.P. was originally released in an edition of 500 copies on transparent white vinyl as Praxis 33.

It was a departure from Nomex’s releases on his own Adverse label and was naturally quite different from the DJ Scud collaborations on Maschinenbau. In relation to his other solo work, Trocante Gramofony is perhaps less conceptual and more composed.

‘Fire Is The Centre’ features vocal snippets recorded at a Dead By Dawn party sometime between 1994-1996. Some of these snippets had been used on the Dead By Dawn record by Shitness & The Jackal, but here they were embedded in a surging wall of noise spread over the first side of the record, complete with crackles, shrieks and ever mounting intensity.

The second side opens with ‘Life Destroy’ an intense collage of voice, noise and music and ends with ‘No-Step 2000’.

Tracks don’t end in orderly fashion, instead the needle jumps out of the groove or is locked in a loop. The flow gets interrupted in the middle of the side of the record. These elements are again vinyl specific and can’t easily be transported to the digital realm, and this is one reason we decided to make this brilliant record available again in its ideal format, the vinyl 12”.

  • Check out the Praxis 33 discography page HERE.
  • Buy the vinyl incl. download code in our online shop
  • Buy download with or without vinyl on our bandcamp page
  • Read John Eden’s interview with Nomex in datacide thirteen
  • Read Jo Burzynska’s appraisal of his life and work here.

Also check out this live performance by Nomex from 2011, newly uploaded to our YouTube Channel:

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