"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)

"Did you ever wonder how the name Sensual Physics came into being? Well, for this next release on Epsilonlab, we get a glimpse into the lovely, linear soundscapes and deep, minimal grooves that comprise Joerg Schuster's musical brainchild. This beautiful four-track EP spans the realm of intelligent dance music in absolute modern day elegance. Each of the tracks are built upon super-tight, synthetic drum structures; which provide a clean, clicky, club-teasing pulse. The drums are then surrounded by and drenched in, a variety of bleeps, melodic riffs, geometric warbles and warm, glowing pads that stir about and give the listener something new in each passing moment. All of the sounds are mixed to perfection and arrive and disappear like a series of wonderful dreams that you want to hold on to, but cant' seem to grasp. At times, vocal phrases and dubby elements join the musical atmosphere to add yet another layer of sophistication and aural stimulation. One could imagine these tracks being played in a posh lounge in conjunction with tall mojitos, or during the warm-up phase at a super club- when people gather in the darkness under a slowly churning disco ball, or even on a skyscraper rooftop after party in NYC at dawn. Yes friends, Sensual Physics has indeed delivered a new collection of liquid, micro-tech droplets with a symbiotic heritage of Detroit class and German chic...grab your sunglasses, your lovers, your desire for ultra-cool house music and let the expanding begin..." (From the Epsilonlab's release page)

"Besides more ambient oriented releases like 'Holzwege' I always have worked on different, more rhythm determined styles. In summer 2004 I have started a project, that reflects the lazy, laid-back behaviour of end summer afternoon hours, feeling a little bit introspective and melancholic. But I consider melancholy not as a malady, more than a preliminary starting point.
The popular copperplate engraving of Albrecht Dürer "Melencholia I" e.g. shows a motionless, sitting angel amidst of several tools. I always have been fascinated from her view: through half closed eyes she seems to look somewhere beyond the horizon, trying to merge all the thoughts going around the head in one vision. Aristotle described melancholy as the temper of genius men always close to madness. Other people perceive those men as lazy, but they work inwardly, attempting to understand the blueprint of the labyrinth of life. And at a glance an ephemeral vision can appear, things get their right interrelation and the "Melencholia" is back in the know, ready to start action.
In my project I wanted to personalize different melancholic mindsets, similar but never the same. Thus Mr. HanuSen, Mr McFly, and Mr DonFamato were born to help me as my imaginary advisors. One is more dynamic, the other retentive, or only observant, but always with that temporising, adagio temper, which is the prerequisite for a lusty kick. Just like Dürer's angel who looks like being on the jump at any time.
'Kind of pale' is an atmospheric tribute to my favourite jazz release 'Kind of Blue' by Miles Davis. Pale is no colour, just as little as blue in this sense. As colour of endless space and unreachable deepness blue has been the symbol of otherworldliness from the time of the romantics till the modal elusiveness of the 'blue notes'. For an actual electronic musician maybe the colour has changed into the shades of a the pale sun when thick air makes light tangible as manifestation of the unimaginable. And maybe a deeper insight appears that there is only one world.
Throughout all the electronic music genres it's mostly dub, which is able to catch this picture. With endless reverberations and delayed echoes it scratches the horizon of our melancholic attitude. Knowing that we cannot expand that sweet moment when we are driving a car, motionless but moved, we learn to realize that our being is determined by only minimal variations ('Kynon').
And actual, the definition of dub music is close connected with the label that shows in its logo a backward oriented, mounting stag." (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)

"Joerg Schuster from Dortmund, Germany, is a vital graphician and music architect. One of his three projects, Digitalverein, is reknown to be one of the labels main artists, since Digitalverein keeps releasing on Thinner for over 3 years now while still not forgetting his design work that has established the Thinner modulating trademark flash graphics. So it's good and somehow symbolic to see that it is Digitalverein closing the year 2004 for Thinner, which has seen many important steps for a better tomorrow.
While his first album 'Zu Hause²' was a classic deep and intimate steamy electronic dub journey, the second album 'Internal Course' from June 2003 reflected a more minimal period of his work, sometimes fluffy, always organic and even a bit poppy.
Since then Joerg has developed his style further and now showcases his current grade of sound experience and emotion. 'Changes' is his most conceptual album so far. Songs that stand for itself, based on own private stories that transpose their distinct grade of emotionality from Joergs understanding of the very moments life has to offer; Songs that reflect, if shifted together, one whole year of the authors soul. Schuster once again manages to create his own language full of a profound meaning, detached from form and function that might appear restrictive.
The difference between 'Changes' and earlier works are the sketch impressions these songs carry - therefore they stand much more for the direct impulse of experience, free from all concepts and thoughts that were accumulated before. The songs are immediate conversions between emotion and feeling. Without aiming traditional structures, only following the soul in the moment of origin, Digitalverein defines spontaneous improvisations within this coherent album, that are shaped out of the psyche.
The songs represent geographical impressions, e.g. 'San Marco by night' reflects the beauty and calmness of this magic Piazza in Venice with its bypassing boats and ships at night, glooming in the moonligt; or there is the song 'Walking and finding', which is inspired by walking around in London trying to find the things Digitalverein didn't want to find. Sitting in trains to Brockley and moving through different scenes; spotting crazy people within peaceful moments and walking by the river Thames at night. It's about the experience of deep moments, would it be either about love and trust, or about sustaining friendship, while still new people would arrive - Digitalverein manages to keep the scenes that move him to conserve them in his mind, to later on reflect them musically by painting it in 'dub'.
'Changes' is about quitting and new beginnings, maybe a try to breakout of a self-defined cosmos to find out what future will tell. As we're all living in a hectic world, 'Changes' might be the perfect accompaning Soundtrack in these hi-speed times.
Buy album as ltd. 150 CD (no CD-R!) incl. 2 Bonus Tracks" (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)