File under different

Now that’s something I like. An EP with a really smart and insightful concept. One idea of a track, four different approaches, each focusing on a specific aspect of the general idea. Does that sell tons of vinyl? Probably not. But it will most certainly appeal to a more discerning clientele within the world of electronic music. The ones that see Techno as more than just rhythms with varying amounts of decoration and effects.

Until now, the name Sebastian Mullaert had only entered my collection in partnership with Marcus Henriksson, as Minilogue. Stuff from the times when everyone was doing Minimal and Tech House, around 2007. Traum Schallplatten was big back then, and their “Leopard” EP is one of the releases on that label that aged rather well.

But this is an entirely different concept. Way more mature, very much resting in itself and not seeking to connect to anything but its core idea. Sure, there might be moments when one of the four versions tickles something in my musical memory, like the first track that made me revisit an obscure remix of Pre Fade Listening’s “Mr. Medicine Man”, crafted by a production duo called Phunk Diggaz. Horrible name, but good work nonetheless. An early Martin Buttrich project.

But back to the “Files”. I keep wondering how I should look at them. The most “complete” version on this EP is B1, simply because it is the only one that includes drums and percussion. Does that mean that this is the “original” and the other three tracks are stripped down versions?

I don’t think so. The other three tracks are not just isolated parts of B1. It’s more like Mullaert thinking – how do I express the core idea with just one or two elements? The result is something that has a reference rather than a source. I like that. It may sound a little cerebral in theory, but definitely on your decks. Like B2 which is all about the atmospheres, an ambient piece if anything, and yet it does carry some of the rhythm that runs through all four pieces.

Or A2, which lavishly explores the idea by opening the flood gates for the almost sacral sounding organ, an exploration of repetition and variation with just the smallest amount of rhythmic support. Take the same organ, compress it a little, dress it up in a much more rhythmic corset and dial up the percussive underflow, and you land at A1.

According to what Mullaert says on Bandcamp, K-Files was created to follow this principle on every release – a core idea “refracted through three or four different versions”. This time it’s deep and dubby, serene and relaxed, and he got me on both the mood and the concept. Big like.

Release for review:
SEBASTIAN MULLAERT – FILES 01 – KONTRA-MUSIK – K-FILES 001

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If sold out, try Discogs: Click