99Chants Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 7 Items

chant#11 is the first VA compilation by David August's imprint featuring Kmru, Yu Su, Kareem Lotfy, Hadj Sameer, Sara Berts and more. Including also two new projects by August himself, Aşa (with jazz-noise vocalist Cansu Tanrikulu) and Madrā (with Carnatic vocalist Sushma Soma).
Observing how the world is continuously transforming, an idea of motion comes to mind. Inspired by Plato's concept of movement ("Nothing ever is, everything is becoming"), 99chants has invited artists to create an "imaginary landscape." What does tomorrow sound like?
With creativity an increasing part of our daily lives, we must consider how we navigate the changes this contemporary environment brings. This means thinking through our responsibilities as a label, but also the role of music at this particular moment in time. We believe creativity and looking within our interior worlds can set hope and action in motion. We are curious to further explore music's ability to create gateways to such inspiration. With humility and gratitude, we hope this compilation can be a small contribution to a larger picture.
Since we started 99C in 2018, the safeguarding of the environment has been paramount to our existence. Considering the possibilities of tangible impact, we thoughtfully considered the act of compensation and decided that all proceeds will go directly to the non-profit organisation Onetreeplanted. Founded in 2014, OTP works with partners around the globe to plant trees in areas affected by deforestation. With 10 million trees planted as of 2020, biodiversity has been stimulated, jobs have been created, and while multinational conglomerates and energy companies produce the vast majority of global CO2 emissions, areas destroyed in the name of profit can once again flourish with life.

In 2021 experimental label & artistic platform 99chants released chant#8: 'The Helicon Sessions', the debut album by Equations Collective, a multi-disciplinary artist group comprising Artefakt, Aroma Pitch, Aphelion, and Sphera De Noumenon. An expansive suite of improvised electronics combining drone, dub, techno and acid, 'The Helicon Sessions' were recorded at an outdoor, solar powered studio on Mount Helicon in Boeotia, Greece.
Following on from this in 2022, 99chants presents chant#9: 'Equations Collective x Lena Platonos x Rabih Beaini', a brace of remixes that rework the album's original sessions. Inviting artists to reinterpret the release around ideas of reconstruction/deconstruction, this new record features pioneering Greek electronic musician, pianist, and lyricist Lena Platonos, in collaboration with Equations Collective member Yiorgos Konstantoulakis (aka Aphelion), alongside Lebanese-born producer, DJ and Morphine label head Rabih Beaini.
Lena Platonos x Yiorgos Konstantoulakis' Side A 'reconstruction' of 'The Helicon Sessions' explores tense sonic atmospheres and incorporates subtle, kinetic drum machine susurration from Konstantoulakis, providing a setting for Platonos' Greek language spoken word poetry. On Side B, Beaini's 'deconstruction' of the sessions dives into percussive electronics inspired by specific rituals in West Java. Performed on an 808 and outboard gear, the track gradually builds to a full-bodied crescendo before introducing understated washes of melodic colour.

The Equations Collective is an experimental sound project formed by a multi-disciplinary group of artists, active in the fields of music, photography, sound design & software development.
In 2018, the collective set up a temporary outdoor recording studio, 1130 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Helicon in Greece, with the ambition of recording their work in a natural environment. A 'mobile and modular' construction, fully powered by solar panels, the design of the studio showcases the possibilities of a progressive, environmentally sustainable future through renewable energy.
Embodying ecological incentives, and representing an immersive engagement with the landscape, the 'Helicon Sessions' document this extraordinary residency, capturing a profound dialogue with the eponymous mountain region.
Situated in Boeotia, Central Greece, Mount Helicon has a prominent archaic significance. A historic location where stories of sacred springs and the epic origins of the Muses and Narcissus converge. Steeped in the heritage of ancient narratives, Helicon is seen as a principal symbol of poetic inspiration.
On the 'Helicon Sessions' the collective draw upon the inspiring topography and fabled mythological resonances of the area, unfurling an expansive, hypnotic suite of abstract electronics. Liberated by an open-ended, improvisational dynamic, the collective move through a mysterious, elemental cycle that mirrors the imposing scale and dramatic atmospheres of the setting.
Across an entrancing, fluid sequence of five designated 'cuts', the collective traverse the borderlands of drone, techno, dub, and acid, amplifying the acoustic traces of Helicon by integrating field recordings collected at the site into this arresting body of work. With these recordings, the collective delineate an odyssey of subverted 303s, sputtering drum machines and formidable, oscillating low end that drifts and coalesces like an amorphous mirage; a spellbinding sound world of clarity and shadow.
The 'Helicon Sessions' signify a symbiosis (between the terrestrial and the engineered, between wildlife and futurism, between the intrinsic and the synthetic, between the innate and the manmade) And with their conception of a portable, eco-friendly studio The Equations Collective focalize valuable ideas centred on ingenuity and evolution. The outcome of this project illustrates a unique collaborative exchange which acknowledges the deep nuances of environment and the enduring echoes of history.
The Equations Collective is a collaboration between Artefakt, Aroma Pitch, Aphelion and Sphera De Noumenon across Berlin, Amsterdam, Cologne and Hamburg. Together they have established an all night long live event in Berlin, starting at Sameheads and Acud Macht Neu, which eventually lead to their residency at OHM (Tresor).
For this format they have collaborated with the following artists: Alex The Fairy, Anna Z, D-ix, Eliad Wagner, Jón Friđgeir Sigurđsson, Orson Wells, Phillip Jondo, Philipp Matalla, Prsmc, Rabih Beaini, Sabrina Gricourt, Sébastien Robert, and Vida Vojić.
The respective members of The Equations Collective have released a range of output on the likes of Field Records, Delsin, Semantica Records, De Stijl, & Soul People Music.

Since 2018 their visual identity has been shaped by Elias Hanzer.
The 'Helicon Sessions' is their debut release.

Bunita Marcus - an unsung heroine of post minimalist music and close associate o fMorton Feldman and John Cage - releases her" Lecture For Jo Kondo" EP, on 99Chants.Her important part in the cannon of contemporary music has been almost entirely overlooked in music/arts media, and omitted from the dominant narrative on key figures, which is something the 99Chants label hopes start redressing with this release.

Lena Platonos x Yiorgos Konstantoulakis" Side A "reconstruction" of "The Helicon Sessions"explores tense sonic atmospheres and incorporates subtle, kinetic drum machine susurration from Konstantoulakis, providing a setting for Platonos" Greek language spoken word poetry. On Side B, Beaini"s"deconstruction" of the sessions dives into percussive electronics inspired by specific rituals in West Java. Performed on an 808 and outboard gear, the track gradually builds to a full-bodied crescendo before introducing understated washes of melodic colour.

Dream Rooms is the shadowy Italian project Ambienti Coassiali, an organic development rising out of the ashes of the surreal synthesised tone poems they released in thelate 1980s, developing into cult favorites, spoken of with quiet reverence.

No Eye Has An Equal sees the Siena composer delving into his extensive archive of electro acoustic compositions, and presenting four radical reconceptualisations of his own material.