CRITICAL PRAISE FOR APPARAT’S DUPLEX (STRIKE 41)
“Tentative and ever so slightly otherworldly, duplex is a record of shadowy detail and considerable refinement. [It] oscillates between both ends of the spectrum and in process slowly marks out unusual and rewarding territory.” – THE WIRE

“Saxophone and clarinet, Eastern melodies, road-movie-meets-Western guitar, Aphex-like bouncing balls, and the childlike ticks and tocks of Plone also adorn the record, each emerging naturally rather than seeming like window dressing. The result is clicks and cuts without the bells and whistles-- an IDM record you can love in a time when too many artists working within the genre seem as if they'd rather merely impress you.” – PITCHFORK MEDIA
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Hot on the heels of the critically-acclaimed sophomore full-length from Berlin’s APPARAT (aka Sascha Ring), 2003’s Duplex on the genre-defying Shitkatapult label, comes this accompanying vinyl-only EP of remixes by some of today’s most adventurous and respected electronic producers.  Whereas the original work reveled in the enviable austerity of moodiness required for an optimal home-listening headphone experience, these remixes are perfect for solitary dancers who prefer dark rooms and corrosive beats to the strobe-controlled world of club culture.

The a-side features manipulators from both sides of the Atlantic.  Kompakt artist and The Orb collaborator THOMAS FEHLMANN takes “Schallstrom” and all but strips it of the delicate piano refrain that centred the original, in the process transforming it into a lean and dirty track befitting Berlin’s long and twisted dub wise techno backing.  Seattle-based L’USINE ICL, who has recorded previously for such labels as Ghostly International and Hymen, distorts and buries the vocal-heavy “Contradiction”, trading in its stridently syncopated beats for a crunchy blip-hop anthem of melancholic proportions.

The b-side veers into more constructive and thoughtful territory.  MONOLAKE (aka Robert Henke) captures the cinematic tendencies of “Steinholz”, but opts to make a completely different movie along the way.  As illustrious and otherworldly as its inspiration, this version holds true to the intricate and organic textures that make APPARAT’s music so enigmatic.  To finish things off, the operatic and soaring “Wooden” is deconstructed by Shitkatapult’s own ANDERS ILAR, who underscores the track’s core emotional thrust with a broken rhythmic bed that sounds as wooden as its namesake.

Sascha Ring, along with Marco Haas (aka T. Raumschmiere) is co-owner of Berlin’s Shitkatapult label.  He has EP’s also coming up on Bpitch Control and Neo Ouija .