{"title":"Second Storey","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSecond Storey is an electronic music artist known for his unique blend of genres, including techno, IDM, and experimental. With a career spanning over two decades, *Second Storey* has established himself as a respected figure in the underground music scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInfluenced by artists such as Appleblim, Komon, and Ramadanman, Second Storey's sound is characterized by intricate rhythms, deep basslines, and atmospheric textures. His tracks are often filled with unexpected twists and turns that keep listeners on their toes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCollaborating with fellow musicians like Serge Geyzel and Syz has allowed Second Storey to push the boundaries of electronic music even further. His collaborations have resulted in innovative releases that showcase his versatility as an artist.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bismuth-ep","title":"Bismuth EP","description":"\u003cp\u003eLimited to 300 neon yellow press. Returning to Houndstooth a year since the release of his One Sound \/ Layer Lock EP is Second Storey. After spending most of 2015 focussing on his collaboration with Laurence Osbourne - Second Storey \u0026amp; Appleblim present ALSO - over at R\u0026amp;S Records, Alec Storey came back into the fold as part of the Houndstooth 3rd anniversary compilation earlier this year. Now he returns to the label in full with a gleaming new EP, Bismuth. Initialising the release, title track Bismuth takes inspiration from a documentary on the visually impressive metal. Affected by its angular, complex 3D elements and fluid like structures the music itself mirrors the element's appearance deploying the intricate precision of IDM creating its own multiplex of textures. Created directly after moving into his new studio, second track Vapor Valve is the product of Storey feeling invigorated by his fresh set up. Melodic poly rhythms and chord structures define the track from the outset which work neatly with Storey's trademark tight percussion, which sits in that golden spot between bass and electro. Bringing the tempo up a couple of notches, Grand Rapid lives up to its title. Urgent in nature, it reflects the environment it was created in - crafted on a laptop while speeding through the countryside on a train. Propelled by its ever-present bassline groove, percussive elements speed and whir by in this pacey venture. Finally, Helicat completes the EP, built around the interplay between the main riff and synth percussion elements; from the outset bit-crushed bass drops and pommels out an electro-esque off beat rhythm while the synth line gives its circling answer. Those looking for deeper meaning to the title Helicat can tune into the bubbling sound that rises up midway, which Storey imaginatively describes as \"a cat with helicopter wings on its head, taking off.\" Second Storey - Bismuth EP is out on 29th July on Houndstooth and will be available in both coloured vinyl, vinyl limited to 300 for the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Houndstooth","offers":[{"title":"12\" | x2","offer_id":50451500826955,"sku":"404712","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1833fcd0-27ce-4719-ae42-939a910b090f_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727127489"},{"product_id":"double-divide","title":"Double Divide","description":"\u003cp\u003eFormerly known as Al Tourettes, London-based producer Alec Storey unveiled his new project as Second Storey with 2013's 'Margosa Heights' EP. 'Double Divide', his debut LP, is a massive statement of an album and inhabits a space full of contradictions, paradoxes and idiosyncrasies. Storey produces music that runs the gamut from multi-part suites of hefty sound design to club-shaking yet brainy dance epics for labels like Apple Pips, Aus and many more. This new project is at the crossroads; vastly complex, intricately arranged and inspired by love and emotion. Written over the course of a self reflective year, 'Double Divide' is a mix of adventurous club tunes that show off Storey's bass roots as well as his psychedelically-inspired musical abilities. Like many others, Storey has fallen under the spell of Aphex Twin and Autechre and has been shaped by the complex rhythmic structures and emotive melodic phrases associated with their music. These influences are evident on the stripped-down opener 'North Facing', the Mary Anne Hobbs-supported 'Devotion Notion', as well as 'Chordelia' and 'The Overview Effect', the final two tracks on the album. Storey is also heavily inspired by funk in its myriad forms, from Prince to Parliament, to the crazed robotics of Drexciya and the raw techno sludge of Cristian Vogel and Neil Landstrumm through to dark drum and bass from artists like Ed Rush \u0026amp; Optical. Although influences are forever overlapping, if you listen close enough, you can hear the funk flowing in 'Reserved' and in the melodic lead single 'Shaman Champagne'. Echoes can also be heard in the rhythmic 'Combustion Hallmark' and the raw 'One Sound'. 'Double Divide' is music for the mind and feet, inspired by feelings that are indescribable, which to Storey, is the essence of good music.LP - Double vinyl is cut and mastered by Matt Colton, and limited to 300 copies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Houndstooth","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50492511027531,"sku":"380744","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50999238197579,"sku":"380743","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/0509732a-3709-4359-99b1-888ff6e8f545_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1734813810"},{"product_id":"shaman-champagne","title":"Shaman Champagne","description":"\u003cp\u003eFormerly known as Al Tourettes, Alec Storey unveiled his Second Storey project with 2013's 'Margosa Heights' EP. Now comes 'Shaman Champagne', the lead single from his forthcoming 'Double Divide' LP.   Storey produces music running from multi-part suites of hefty sound design to club-shaking dance epics for labels like Apple Pips, Aus and more. 'Shaman Champagne' is an adventurous club tune crafted by an inspired mind, displaying his bass roots and his psychedelically-inspired musical abilities. Following his 'The Power And The Glory' LP, Perc Trax boss Perc offers up a heavy, pummelling remix, complimented by a bouncy dancefloor roller from Aden (rumoured to be the Ultramajic label's A\u0026amp;R, Machinedrum).  The 12\" is cut and mastered to 180 gram vinyl by Matt Colton, and limited to 500 copies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Houndstooth","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50492709437771,"sku":"378746","price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/bcb28666-8014-4b8c-a079-a9cab74e4085_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727693061"},{"product_id":"lucid-locations","title":"Lucid Locations","description":"\u003cp\u003eSecond Storey returns to Houndstooth with a sublime presentation of bass driven, meticulously crafted tracks that again deftly display a balancing act between the delicate and the riotous. Alec Storey’s new LP is informed not only by his own movements between the Suffolk countryside and London, but by the recurring patterns of displacement taking place in the larger world, the dizzying effects of disorientation and recalibration. These songs are sonically and emotionally complex experiences laden with reflections on exodus and homecoming. While Storey was negotiating his sense of home on a personal level, the U.K. was critically reconsidering its own identity and its rules of hospitality at the same time. And notably, London was in the midst of a purge of the institutions that helped cement its important status as a forerunner of nightlife culture. Inevitably, such disruption was put to use by the artist. In his words “Towards the end of my time in Suffolk there was the terrible news of Britain leaving the EU and also fabric was heinously closed down. \u003cbr\u003e This on top of me feeling somewhat isolated affected the music i was writing…I wrote 3 very angry tracks in the 3 days after the closing.” It can be heard in the electro backbone and industrial tooth grind of \u003ci\u003eAjunlei,\u003c\/i\u003e in the Drexciyan stomp of \u003ci\u003eNo Such Location\u003c\/i\u003e, and on tracks like \u003ci\u003eOff Beat World\u003c\/i\u003e a monster of a jam that has jazzy angular percussion jerking in every which way. It is not all fisticuffs though. Significantly, Storey also has a true penchant for creating music deeply rooted in bass and rhythm that immediately asks the body to respond, all the while subtly working away on the listener with an ulterior motive to coax them into contemplation. \u003ci\u003eCovehithe \u003c\/i\u003e- named for a cliff adorned beach Storey escaped to as a teen in Suffolk is a perfect example of this, with all of its misty falling synths and murkiness. Similarly, using field recordings of spoken word and street drumming sourced from the respective locales named in its title, \u003ci\u003eManhattan to Moscow\u003c\/i\u003e has a low slung feeling even though it percolates at a handsome 155 bpm. Disruptive yet somehow settling- it is a sublime achievement to evoke such disparate sensations from a listener. \u003ci\u003eLucid Locations\u003c\/i\u003e is an array of concise forward thinking dance music not limited by genre and driven by Alec Storey the producer and drummer- someone you can easily come to know through his engaging live shows. Bass, electro, techno, ambient, industrial- the word that best represents this album is spirited. And it is a spirit that adapts survives and soars on these 10 tracks of real substance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2LP - Double 180 Gram Vinyl Set. One LP Yellow and the other Black.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Houndstooth","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50496097517899,"sku":"1014798","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50496097845579,"sku":"1014797","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2ce0b525-f1af-488b-b8ef-b127a6f6499d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727716996"},{"product_id":"one-sound-layer-lock","title":"One Sound \/ Layer Lock","description":"\u003cp\u003eLuke Vibert and Cristian Vogel remixes! The 12\" launches in with 'One Sound', the second track to be taken from Storey's stunning sold out debut LP 'Double Divide', which over six restless and bouncy minutes plays off the artist's electro and bass focussed influences. The release also boasts a brand new cut entitled 'Layer Lock' which is equally frenetic in its pace and finds the golden era of IDM echoed its micro-melodies and unconventional structure. Taking up remixing duties of these tracks are two of Storey's musical idols. First up is Luke Vibert who turns in a sampladelic version of 'One Sound' employing splashes of ragga toasting, soulful guitar licks and funk in his distinct cut 'n' paste style. Meanwhile, imperative experimental club music producer Cristian Vogel has transformed 'Layer Lock' into a shape-shifting head-nodder whose unexpected rhythmical shifts delight and confound in equal measure.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Houndstooth","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":50521387827531,"sku":"384605","price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1b26c56d-4278-4ade-8755-aaec7284fb0d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727991270"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_a8557f2e_thumbnail_4096_843a7229-7f7a-4a6c-8651-567af72a7e56.jpg?v=1727127468","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/second-storey.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}