Hold The Line (20 Years of Blankrecords)

by BLANK MUSIC

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1.	SICKER MAN Flippin' Me Off 04:50	buy track
2.	JOAO ORECCHIA & SICKER MAN Take Off My Shirt 03:29	buy track
3.	MINI POPS JUNIOR Stuck Here 06:07	buy track
4.	FOTOMATON Inside This Bottle 04:41	buy track
5.	AIDAN BAKER & SICKER MAN Dialog (take 2) 04:06	buy track
6.	SICKER MAN Splendor / Hold The Line 09:22	buy track
7.	KIKI BOHEMIA Chances Are 05:12	buy track
8.	MINI POPS JUNIOR Style Can't Reach You 03:30	buy track
9.	JOAO ORECCHIA & SICKER MAN The Machine Screamed At Me 04:30	buy track
10.	SICKER MAN Goin' East 04:23	buy track
11.	TOMOKI IKEDA & SICKER MAN Trunk Of Bears 02:52	buy track
12.	KIKI BOHEMIA Simple Design 02:47	buy track
13.	MANUEL KLOTZ & SICKER MAN Cloud Busting 03:01	buy track
14.	KIKI BOHEMIA & SICKER MAN Unfold (Single Version) 03:33	buy track
15.	SICKER MAN The Hollow Men 06:22	buy track
16.	FOTOMATON Live At Roter Salon 02:52	buy track
17.	MANUEL KLOTZ & KIKI BOHEMIA & SICKER MAN Pilgrim Screwball 03:27	buy track
18.	SICKER MAN Epiphany of the Carcass 08:54	buy track
19.	AKH IKHU Medusa 05:07	buy track
20.	SICKER MAN Passage 03:44	buy track

about

“You know that I have tried, within my time.
I’ve tried to hold the line, to let you shine.”
(“Hold The Line / Splendor” / SICKER MAN / 2013)

BLANKRECORDS is a platform that mostly reflects the wide-spread musical output of Tobias Vethake aka. Sicker Man. There is a circle of musical cooperators, that can be found on various releases, a multitude of projects and collaborations.

Though the stylistic range did change throughout the years, the attitude and approach towards composition and production did stay the same.

The key aspect was and is to refine a distinctive and personal musical voice. This means to acknowledge the individuum, the aspect of originality.
Not for it owns sake, but to point out the necessity to develop and reflect the world and your place in it. The quest for an individual sound and style is also a political issue.
A way to achieve this goal is not to stay in comfort zones, but to be open to experiments and play with other musicians from other backgrounds.
Sicker Man started doing this when he moved to Berlin in 2000.
He met with many different musicians and developed his voices through improvisations and collaborations. Among the collaborators were Sasha Pushkin, Joao Orecchia, Tomoki Ikeda, Kiki Bohemia, Serengeti, Hifi Brown and many more.

This compilation concentrates on overlooked favorites and previously unreleased material.

Though the range of musical styles is wide there are reoccurring themes visible throughout the last 20 years.
The live recording of FOTOMATON at Roter Salon in 2004 somehow leads to one of the latest projects, Manuel Klotz / Kiki Bohemia / Sicker Man. Back then it was about whirling sounds from prepared guitars and turntables, now it sounds like a noise musician’s take on Free Jazz.
Just like the delicate and open improvisations, that are featured in tracks like the “Dialog with Aidan Baker” from 2019 as well as in “Style can’t reach you” by Mini Pops junior from 2004.

Apart from the experimental side of blankrecords, there is a constant urge to redefine pop music. This becomes obvious in tracks like “trunk of bears”, the collaboration of SICKER MAN and TOMOKI IKEDA and of course in the two contributions by Kiki Bohemia. Leading up to “Hollow Men”, that feels like an epic and atmospheric take on Grime music.

“The possible has been tried and failed. Now it’s time to try the impossible.”
Sun Ra

credits

released September 22, 2023

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BLANK MUSIC Berlin, Germany

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