two tracks from asc on limited grey marbled 10 inch vinyl.

1954 is the fifth vinyl release on the modern cathedrals label by recent detroit export altstadt echo. staying true to the themes of the the “year series” that began with the 1913 ep and was followed by the 1905 ep, the artist continues to explore somber, broken beat techno with an eroded, highly-textured percussive focus. in the previous two eps from this series, altstadt echo was joined by varg, abdulla rashim, stave, and evigt morker on remix duty. for the 1954 ep, he’s commissioned uk artist szare, who delivers a highly danceable revision that combines the ghostly vocals of the original with highly frenetic percussive injections. the artwork of the ep is aligned with the label’s greyscale documentation of detroit, this time featuring the stunning architecture of the new center district of the city. the photos were taken by the artist prior to his move to berlin in fall 2017.

exhumed tapes i is the first in a multi-artist series of cassette releases on the modern cathedrals label. with label art featuring small details of “important graves,” the series will dig into eery, broken beat techno with gritty textures. the first cassette begins in a natural place: with altstadt echo crafting four works presented with an image depicting the grave-side rubble of his often-referenced inspiration albert camus. it will be limited to 50 hand-numbered physical copies. copyright: modern cathedrals 2018 mastered by tim xavier @ manmade mastering, berlin

in the fourth modern cathedrals release, altstadt echo crafts three original works with a focus on experimentation with broken beat structures and grainy percussive texture, against a backdrop of austere atmospheres. varg contributes a remix that emphasizes the despairing tones of the descent, contrasted with glistening treble percussion and and stumbling bass. to end the release, evigt mörker offers an extended hypnotic version of the track that slowly develops from a functional framework into an atmospheric drift. the thematic aspects of the release follow the development of modern cathedrals as a label, expressing existentialist themes centered around the search for meaning in a life that forbids it. the label art features photographs of the beautiful remains of one of detroits many unused churches

the second release on modern cathedrals includes an original mix by altstadt echo supplemented with remixes crafted by donor, luigi tozzi, and asop. the inclusion of donor’s remix represents a continued effort to link together the detroit and brooklyn scenes, while the luigi tozzi remix connects modern cathedrals to the ghastly, dark styles of techno that italian artists have become so respected for. as a core member of the modern cathedrals team and a primary force behind the label’s event series, asop’s remix is the very first public release of work by this incredible new detroit-based artist. but while the artist names change from record to record, the philosophy does not. we continue in a desperate attempt to generate meaning during the short spasm of a lifetime we are given in a world that seems to conspire to prevent this effort’s realization. this situation might be inescapable, but through the rejection of complacency and dogma, we can approach our end with the bitter comfort that we were at least willing to be honest about our situation.