"This DVD is a joint effort between the european Thinner and the Canadian Epsilonlab Netlabels and is a resumee for the special partnership between both Labels. It all started back in 2002 when Thinner was a young project publishing mp3s in the internet for free and Epsilonlab was tied to CD releases.
What started as a loose chat about track exchanges developed into the first Thinner visit in Montréal and Québéc City early 2003 and continued with an extended schedule and more compact line up in early 2004 when Thinner also hit the clubs in Toronto, Ottawa and last but not least Detroit. Nowadays Epsilonlab counts 21 MP3 releases while Thinner (including the releases of the Autoplate sublabel) offers about 125 releases of free MP3s.
This partnership now leads into a conceptual audiovisual effort.
The DVD features music that can be described as dub-inspired, ambient, rhythmic, tech-house, electro and occasionally hypnotic or spellbinding. As for visuals, an original unifying concept guided VJs as they produced each of the video clips: the presence of the same dancer/actor throughout, the use of a specific color, and a series of keywords. Based on these keywords, Montreal poet and linguist DesSavage created subtitles. A rarity, the subtitle options are in fact a complementary artwork set in relation to the DVD's audiovisual content. DesSavage explored two distinct concepts for the French and English versions.
Martin Bélanger, a Montréal-based choreographer, dancer and performer, generously offered his time to play the DVD's main protagonist. This project was produced under the artistic direction of Les Passagers, recipients of the grand prize for best digital animation at the recent Grafika awards for their video-clip, "Miss", which is included on the DVD.
DVD Features ò 11 Thinner/Epsilonlab Tracks seamlessly mixed by DJ Eloi Brunelle, visualized by various Epsilonlab VJs ò Bilingual (FR/ENG) subtitles for metaphysical karaoke ò 15 minutes portrait of the heads behind this DVD ò Artist Biographys ò Concept excerpt" (From the Thinner's release page)

"Quite a while after his debut 12'' on Vincenzo's Dessous Recordings under his Tristan E. guise, Timm Kawohl selected Thinner to be the outlet of his choice for his new release. The artist hailing from Munich drops six functional detroit tech/deephouse tracks and also allocates an armada of functional remixes from Thinner related artists.
The major feel of this release is deep skillful house in it's many harmonic varieties. Timm easily manages to suspend between clean and classic harmonic grooves as in 'Cascades' to more twisted basslines as in 'Afternoon Sky'. But also, Kawohl regards laid back perspectives by providing easy shimmering, yet variable Nightgrooves such as in 'Providence' or futhermore with aspecial close note as in 'Life in Half'.
'Ride' finally takes it off, incorporating hypnotic floating ecstatic grooves with characterizing delayed main chords that grow big time if slammed at the right moment during peak time. The last track "Notorious Hunter" unites all the essences of the previous five tracks down to five special minutes.
Along with the six original tracks we're proud to present a couple of remixers that haven't been on Thinner for quite a while, but have been known before in and outside Thinner with many quality releases on different carriers.
Taho from France, labelowner of Lumina, tries out different paths by combining hybrid downbeats along the bassdrum and wide open strings putting 'Afternoon Sky' in a completly remodelled body - a perfect intro for the following straight 4/4 remixes. Epsilonlab's mastermind Eloi Brunelle takes up the pace by serving an uncompromised minimal house stomper. After his past releases went more directed into the veins of electro house, the feel of this mix is like cracking the cocktail bar.
Paul Keeley has received major positive feedback for his 2004 Thinner/Epsilonlab/Panospria releases and therefore gathered particular interest of several vinyl labels. Keeley has been more or less living 'in half' the past year working in Vancouver but keeping his creative homebase back in Montreal. So, after his final return home to Montreal recently he finally transmits new signals of his super discreet minimal deephouse styles again.
Dr. Dennis DeSantis clears off as always, transforming the original, rather mellow 'Cascades' into a hybrid techhouse jewel with rich detailed textures of funked and morphed samplecuts giving his mix an extra deep taste.
Mateo Murphy lays back and makes the listener desecending at least two stories beyond ground level. His remix of 'Ride' develops within a long distance tunnel and evolves endless off cutting pad sequences.
The last one of this remix pack is reserved for nobody else but Brian Kage, a master of the real detroit feeling. And indeed it's so much worth to keep listening to this entire release to the very end, as Kage develops Notorious Hunter into a euphoric playground of classic house melodies of the mid 90's, throwing around with suns just as everybody needs a warm treatment today. This should compensate us for summer's missing so far." (From the Thinner's release page)

"Initially the motivation behind our new compilation was to build a sequel to the 2003 'Silent Season Dub' compilation - to blend warm ambient with minimal dub concepts. But during the phasis of collecting tracks we figured that this compilation will turn out more experimental, more rough than than the reference. So we decided to put things into a new context, that would either underline the variety of concepts but also stand for each artists own formular of sound: 'Crossways'.
Herein, electronic music with rather minimal rhythmpatterns are crossed with spheric ambience, in different moods, different slopes and different colours. The listener is able to find warm ambient pieces like 'Warm Night Lullaby' by Transient or more dubbed out ambience with Zen Savauges 'Sunken Streetlights'. You can lose yourself in the organic cycles of Boris Heizmann's 'Azure' or drift along with 'Scrap of Truth' by Selffish. But If you feel like enjoying some darker felt material then you'd like to explore the realms of Sgnl_Fltr's chamber dub in 'All Form' by or listening to the crickets resting in Kenneth Kirschner's 'June 8, 2003 (excerpt)'. Generally said, if you're interested in the contemporary minimal electronics of 2005 you'll definately find the one or other piece within this compilation that will suit you fine.
As the music crosses the flash artwork of this releases does so, too - if you reload the page you'll figure changing background pictures of the cover artwork. The pictures were taken in several countries where Joerg (Digitalverein) has performed in a Thinner context. Note that this compilation is split into 3 parts, each part about 60 minutes of length. If you want to enjoy the compilation mixed then you can download the Crossways Mix by Selffish." (From the Thinner's release page)

"Jeff Bennett from Malmö, Sweden really needs no further introduction after 30+ releases on labels like Treibstoff, Pokerflat, Morris Audio, Episode, his own Imprints Kung Fu Dub, Maskros and many more. Reknown for his unique blending between tribal dub with pumping techhouse elements, Jeff Bennett's sound is full of influences by the Plastic City/Pokerflat definition and Reggae/Dub artists like King Tubby, Lee Perry or Mad Professor - indeed Jeff Bennett is an artist with more than a remarkable biography and one of the sureplayers in the Dubhouse genre. To emphasize his open minded future thinking, Jeff did his MP3 Debut with the Canadians from Epsilonlab, bringing on their first release. Just 3 months later, Jeff pumps out 3 new bringers on Thinner accompanied by a remarkable remix of Berlin's finest Dennis DeSantis.
The EP rolls off with the Slow-Mo Dubhouse of "Messages", a slowly evolving track with a rooty bassline and widely halled claps, that reminds of earlier C*Rock aesthetics. The title track "Lowdown" takes off the pace with an offset voice put within a chilly dubbed-out lounge environment, whose laidback beats are perfectly relaxing and bar-filling. "Contortion" is a classy Bennett track with familiar dub-chords and punctuated percussion drops, to remind the aesthetics of earlier days. The Dennis DeSantis remix of "Messages" is undoubtley another damn nice DeSantis Remix, with it's Detroit Strings, fat claps and synthesized melodic chords building up an advanced beautiful scenery.
Talking about Jeff Bennetts future thinking, he is one of the first Labelowners turning his former Vinyllabel "Kung Fu Dub" into a Digital one for now and the next time. He thinks Digital labels will continue to establish themselves in the near future, thanks to the growing support both sides from the technology as the growing community of Digital DJs. Jeff hopes that the Digital Label will ultimately become a valuable business model one day, however he plans to continue a Vinyl pressing from time to time.
Jeff continues: "MP3 Shops like Nufonix, Beatport and Bleep are only in the early stages ? just like MP3 Shops will be sort of a reinvention of Vinyl. However the detailed development will take a natural process of maturing until they get a wider acceptance." Bennett compares the current situation of arising MP3 Shops with the birth of the online recordstores 5-6 years ago. Therefore he actively works on new ways of distributing his own labels releases, same as he wants to start using digital devices such as Traktor and Final Scratch for the future. Jeff recently became daddy, so he is placed within an environment that gives him the inner peace and strength to model his own future from his place in Malmö. Due to his tireless work and efforts, we can be sure that Jeff Bennett will continue to be at the front of the dubhouse movement from both his creative output same as his ideologic positions." (From the Thinner's release page)

"After Thinner's summer holidays we welcome the next batch of Thinner releases with a remix compilation for Benfays versatile warm summer breezed ambient/lounge/ dubhouse album "One Touch Button Music". Since Benfay is a long time Thinner artist and had presented a playful and decent album in April, we felt it would become an exciting experience to ask our artists for their point of view on his tracks.
This result "One Touch Button Remixes" is a compilation that features reinterpretations of the most wanted Thinner artists, moving in between the multiple genres of modern relaxed electronic music the original album had provided.
Mikkel Metal, recently showing up with a new 12" on Kompakt, opens up with a sticky chemical interlude of "Elfenblond", that loses the downbeats and creates glueing lava textures out of the sensitive original sounds. Thinner's Joerg Schuster, aka Digitalverein, prepared an exotic melange of the mellow ingredients "Segelflieger" provided, utilizing tricky dub beats instead of the linear programming of the original, while Joerg, being Lufth, did a deeply filtered mix with stargazing dub chords and lush snaredrums.
The easy-listening "Allein Unter Den Arkaden" received a concentrated transition by krill.minima, keeping the mellow emotionality of the original by directing the attention to the fragile riding cymbals and carefully placed fading melody dots.
Paul Keeley felt inspired enough to do two totally different remixes for "The Carribean Bar" - proving the diversity of the original material. His "Wet Coast Mix" is a shallow and soothing downbeat jam, while the "Starlight" mix features the clicky midnight deephouse spheres we use to get seduced by Paul.
The fairytale "Jack And Jill" seemed to be perfect source material for Thinner's latvian lounge specialist Selffish, whose reinterpretation turned out more dashing and windy in relation to Benfays work.
The steamy "Oak" received a Pheek treatment, whose beats are more earthy, with clever shifting beats and rattling percussions, while "Blüten-Konfetti" got reworked by TPolar, whose splatter houze bonus beats are foreground shaking, with the original pads fading over in the background .
Jason Corder, with his recent Thinner album in the backpack, did a stunning microhouse cut of "Flussbett", with californic filter sweeps and easy dubs. And our old friend from Switzerland, Niels Jensen, gave the subtle "Bluestone" his unique uplifting, yet carefully arranged pattern twist that shine through his hardware production skills.
The remixes by Dennis DeSantis and Mateo Murphy turned out floorfilling, concrete and late night essential tools with pounding hit potential. Enjoy!" (From the Thinner's release page)