s/d: Knekelhuis === the painfully cool Amsterdam label that can do no wrong

S: everything
D: nothing

i'm tired of trying to decide where to post about every new release they put out and then giving up b/c they're hard to categorize

case in point: https://stacksofvoices.bandcamp.com/album/love-and-language

romantic, minimal, atmospheric pop by belgian brothers. it throbs with melancholic longing like the best 80s synth-pop without being tryhard about it. riyl in the air tonight

or this reissue comp https://jimmysmack.bandcamp.com/album/death-is-certain

a serpentine no wave death cult ritual

atm my fav releases from their catalog include:

job sifre - het bestaan
de ambassade - wat voel je nou
patricia kokett - diabel ep & bizarr lp
zaliva-d - forsaken
ssiege - meteora
electric party - play

as well as the "and felt like..." comp

The De Ambassade album is awesome, modern day Low Countries 80-style minimal wave done properly

Haven't actually heard anything else on the label if I'm being honest. Will keep an eye out

as well as those mentioned am a big fan of the Spill Gold album.

there's a new De Ambassade album on the way too i hear, though on a new label apparently.

Forty years ago they created this unique blend of no wave, mutant disco, funk, and experimental music. It was around the time of the rise of the members-only club Mazzo, with all its prominent figures, the anarchy of the squatting movement, and the art academy connection. Everything took place in this inebriated twilight zone of blissful joy.

https://electricparty.bandcamp.com/album/play

oh yeah, 'tension' off that is a jam

i love that record. i think i proselytized for it a bit on ilm for the year end poll and then got a chance to praise it again for the poll for records only one person voted for poll lol. understandable as reissues don't really fit the EOY spirit, but it is a fantastic album

The Electric Party album is fantastic, reminds me a little of Aussie outfit Use No Hooks - will have a trawl though your other recommendations, karl.

new stacks album! haven't had a chance to listen yet but i'm excited

https://stacksofvoices.bandcamp.com/album/want

there's a new De Ambassade album on the way too i hear, though on a new label apparently.

― stirmonster, Friday, June 3, 2022 3:21 PM (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

only now realized stirmonster was being cheeky hehe

absolutely loved that album btw, a million thanks to optimo music <3<3<3

Very heartened to hear!

need to hear that, Geen Genade is v. classic

Okay that De Ambassade album is great, love that cold, mysterious, psychedelic edge to it, somehow reminds me of the 13th Floor Elevators(!) or like a band running with Cabaret Voltaire's Seeds cover. Very cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCiw8EtvJjo

really lovely video for 'on the heels'

captures something delicate and personal i hear in their music. the aching sense of loss in nostalgia

Okay that De Ambassade album is great, love that cold, mysterious, psychedelic edge to it, somehow reminds me of the 13th Floor Elevators(!)

i'm not familiar enough with the 13th floor elevators to understand this comparison but it makes me want to listen to them. i have a hard time with most 60s psychedelia

I'm not well-versed in Knekelhuis, but I'm a fan of Troth and their Oak Corridor lp. They sorta remind me of Blues Control or early Peaking Lights. They've got ties to the Discreet Records Swedish underground scene.
https://troth.bandcamp.com/album/oak-corridor

Yeah I love that Troth album.

Michel Banabila's Unspeakable Visions, just released this week, is a fantastic listen that lands somewhere alongside Byrne/Eno's Bush of Ghosts and Marcus Schmickler's early work with Carsten Schulz. A psychedelic fourth world trip that remarkably still manages to sound fresh, this is an AOTY contender for me.

nice! i gotta check that out, intriguing references. i liked his lp from a few years ago a lot

i just came to post about it. it really is all that!

Banabila has been pretty prolific this year too, it's his third album released! Also really enjoyed Unspeakable Visions, but don't sleep on The Unreal Realm, on Tapu Records

He has a very daunting back catalogue. I only know this new one and the Seance Centre release so thanks for the heads up.

ok so this stacks album is one of the absolute best of the year

voodoo chili gets it!

https://reymour.bandcamp.com/album/noland

another k-huis future classic? reymour hadn't made a big impression on me previously, but the new album is really nice. woozy, odd, and dreamy, but not formless as those terms sometimes imply. it has lots of dubby production details and odd hooks, as on 'he's changing,' and some emotionally affecting songwriting. 'sleepy time' is quite heartbreaking

posting this here cos not sure where else... really been enjoying this year's album by australian band Th Blisks which came out on the great Efficient Space label who are mostly known for their reissues and comps of obscure indie stuff. Two of the band are also in Troth who have had releases on Knekelhuis in the past. Anyway their sound is a smudgy sort of indie with 90's style beats and the melodic sensibilities of 80's jangle pop like the Shop Assistants or Look Blue Go Purple or someone like that...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQi6TxY_zP4
Th Blisks - Knuckledust

interested, ty for the tip

whoa loving th blisks, thanks nickb!

i enjoyed the Skeet album from last year on Efficient Space too, very young marble giants-y

yeah Skeet was fascinating, what a find!

Th' Blisks lp sounds surprisingly trip-hoppy to me. The non-Troth member of the group is Yuta Matsumura, who put out a really good sorta hypnagogic pop record called "Red Ribbon" a year or 2 back on Low Company. A few tracks are reminiscent of Flaming Tunes.

The Troth & Jon Collin album that just came out is well worth a listen. It's more on the narcotized drone tip.

Anyone else been enjoying the new Trystero album? Danceable weirdo indie stuff in roughly the same vein as Happy Mondays/Studio/Pleasure Pool but with quite eccentric euro overtones like Can or Dunkelziffer. It's their second album, their first one came out last year and that's great too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl28nqWh3lM
Trystero - Green Flowers

been meaning to get to it, may pull it up for my evening commute

oh i got to see Reymour at Making Time in September and they were very charming and fun live. at one point the singer passed a bottle of white wine around to the audience and i took a swig lol

<3

i was behind you for that donna! such a dreamy performance and a great moment. totally unlike anything else i heard at making time

and yeah i am digging the trystero album a lot

Not on the label but I heartily recommend the new album from Volition Immanent…

https://volitionimmanent.bandcamp.com/album/too-late

It’s label owner Mark Knekelhuis plus one other dude and it’s somewhere between anarcho punk, industrial and dance music…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ywBSkqi8M

Another one of those records where you think, my god, Keith would’ve loved this so much

thanks for sharing. fwiw, on spotify, kneklhuis is listed as the label

*knekelhuis

For distribution purposes I guess. Makes sense being the same guy and all

Meanwhile, there’s a new Ambassade album out next week!

https://deambassade.bandcamp.com/album/manrira

11. Young Birds (JD Twitch Tribute Version)

Yeah I saw that and my heart skipped a beat <3

The other dude is Parrish Smith. Both he and Mark are some of Amsterdam's finest. Caught VI's last live set a few years ago and it was immense. They're also both great people.

<3