Private press labels — those insular imprints built primarily to house an artist’s own work — offer something akin to a Fortress of Solitude for their owners. When Shed, Swayzak, Villalobos or Levon Vincent wants to release a record unbound by the expectations of label owners and their bean counters, they retreat to their respective private press labels and turn their unadulterated visions into a vinyl realities. So when such a label invites an outsider into their hand stamped fiefdom it can be interpreted as a sign of great respect towards the invitee. If most label additions are unsurprising (Reboot and Los Updates on Sei Es Drum, Norman Nodge on MDR), the name emblazoned on “Klockworks 05” is sure to raise eyebrows. The first outside artist released on Ben Klock’s self-styled Klockworks label is the virtually unknown DVS1, a Russian born, Minneapolis-based producer most often affiliated with his Hush promotion company. Any concerns about letting an American (and a Midwesterner not from Detroit, to boot) take the reins will surely be allayed by caliber of “Klockworks 05.”
klockworks
Klockworks, Klockworks 04
[Klockworks] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s) Since its launch in 2006, Ben Klock’s Klockworks label/series has been a reliable venue for the Berghain resident’s most Spartan, DJ-geared tracks. Each subsequent release contained fewer elements, a shrinking tonal palette and a singular focus on bone-crunching grooves. “Klockworks 04,” in kind, is perhaps the most utilitarian yet, almost […]
Klockworks, Klockworks 03
[Klockworks] Ben Klock’s Klockworks moniker/label rarely comes out to play, emerging only once a year since 2006 to showcase the Berghain resident’s experimentally-minded techno tracks. The first paired the dribbling pitches and gulping vocals of “Glimmerman (Part One)” with the slightly more raving “Glandula Piti.” The starkness of the second’s “Onyx” and glancing tones of […]