Name: Ostwest
Brand: Automat

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

bb246

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Colour details

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Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2016-11-09

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Shellshock

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Automat

Genre GB

Krautrock

Label GB

Bureau B

Automat is an Italian one-album duo comprised of veteran songwriters-producers from the progressive rock era. Their unique sound combines electronic disco elements with a futuristic concept, creating an otherworldly experience for listeners.

Inspired by their progressive rock roots, Automat's album takes on a *alien* and *futuristic* theme, immersing listeners in a sonic journey unlike any other. With their expert production skills and innovative approach to music-making, Automat has carved out a distinct niche in the industry.

If you enjoy artists such as Kreidler, Die Wilde Jagd, or Monolake, then Automat's music will undoubtedly captivate your senses. Drawing inspiration from legends like Conrad Schnitzler and Cluster while incorporating modern influences from artists like Primal Code and Deadbeat, Automat offers a truly unique musical experience that transcends genres.

Bureau B is an independent record label, music publisher, and booking agency based in Hamburg, Germany. Founded in 2005 by Gunther Buskies as a sister label to Tapete Records, Bureau B specializes in releasing a diverse range of electronic and avant-garde music. With a focus on reissues and new productions, the label has built an extensive catalogue that includes iconic albums from the Krautrock genre of the 1970s and early 1980s. They also release recordings by influential artists such as Die Wilde Jagd, Kreidler, Toulouse Low Trax, and more.

Known for their commitment to preserving classic electronic music, Bureau B has been rereleasing albums from renowned artists like Cluster, Faust, Moebius, Roedelius, Plank, Schickert Schnitzler Tietchens Tyndall. In addition to these reissues, they also release works by similar artists including Blenner Heldon Pinhas Rev or NDW Plan Pyrolator.

With their impressive catalogue and dedication to promoting innovative music across various genres within the electronic spectrum - from pop to avant-garde - Bureau B continues to be a prominent force in the global music industry. Their contributions have solidified them as an authoritative figure in the world of independent labels.

From Detroit techno and hip-hop's early sampling experiments to Terre Thaemlitz, electronic music has long proven its political potential, even in instrumental form. With OstWest, Berlin-based electronic-kraut-dub trio Automat complete their LP trilogy with a deep and entrancing take on the failures of neoliberalism. Recorded in 2015 at Candy Bomber Studios in Berlin's former Tempelhof Airport at the height of the European refugee crisis, the band found itself neighbours of thousands of refugees from across the Middle East and Africa who were being provided temporary housing in the airport's former hangars directly below the studio. With the first two parts of the Automat trilogy centering on Berlin's airports (2014's self-titled 1st LP) and dub's hardware of sonic space travel (2015's PlusMinus), OstWest stands as a musical interpretation of the impact of these thousands of new arrivals within Germany and the EU, as well as the rise of xenophobic political movements spurned on by the Brexit. The result is a series of atmospheric and rhythmic meditations that provide the foundation for swirling electronics and the bass-heavy sounds of a changing Europe - from the musical perspective of longtime Berlin residents who have already experienced the destruction of post-Cold War optimism shortly after the fall of the Wall. More driving than previous recordings, OstWest is made up of a series of first takes. While the opener "Ost" features a melange of samples, meandering organ and synth stabs that recall both Count Ossie and Basic Channel, it's with the second track "Fabrik der Welt" that the band's kraut-y push - also featured later on "Europa" - charges forward. Where historically Europe has been used by the likes of Kraftwerk and Cluster as a metaphor for space and freedom of travel, Automat recast it as a dark rain ride to refuge, shaped by the sounds of claps and samples that race past the listener on the way to an uncertain future. The feeling of stylistic exploration remains throughout OstWest in the loping riddims and acid-jazz-like "Tranenpalast" and "Tempelhof", with the former ("Palace of Tears") named after a border crossing between East and West Germany, and the latter a shelter for new immigrants to Germany. The band's continued collaboration with Max Loderbauer ("Ost", "Tranenpalast", "Yuko", "West") is reflected in touches of modular synthesis, which augment the melding of acoustic drums and electronics. It's a sound Automat have honed since their first LP, and one that grooves with authority 

Ostwest

Music GB