{"title":"Barker","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"unfixed","title":"Unfixed","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Barker returns with his first solo EP since 2020’s \u003ci\u003eBARKER002\u003c\/i\u003e, this time on Oslo’s Smalltown Supersound. While Barker’s previous releases (2018’s Debiasing EP, 2019’s Utility LP) explored the possibilities of kickless dancefloor tracks, \u003ci\u003eUnfixed\u003c\/i\u003e sees him inverting the musical equation and exploring both the variability and sonic possibilities of a kick-drum – though the final result is not a concept EP.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe four tracks emerged from a session that started out as both a technical study in bass drum design and cognition, specifically problem of “functional fixedness”, which describes a mental block that restricts the use of an object to its traditional application. Exploring the so-called “generic parts technique”, whereby an object is broken down into its component parts to help reveal novel solutions, the typical bass drum elements of waveform, transient, and noise were re-combined through modular synthesis to become fluid, expressive and dynamic.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, what began as a rule-based experiment was overtaken by a more organic music making process without specific conceptual constraints, which allowed the music to live and breathe. Tracks were started and then left unfinished, only to be approached again and again over lengthy intervals. Stylistically the result a mix of raw, stuttering, psychedelic growl, kosmische techno, and infinite iterations and of a single groove. In this regard, Unfixed sees Barker not only deeply invested in musical experimentation but also exploring his own biases in both composition and sound design. The result is, once again, a sound and musical framework all of his own. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smalltown Supersound","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50393504383307,"sku":"2047321","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12\"","offer_id":50393504579915,"sku":"2047322","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Unfixed_-_EP_faa44cf2_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726419233"},{"product_id":"debiasing-ep","title":"Debiasing EP","description":"\u003cp\u003eBarker makes solo debut on Ostgut Ton with new experimental dancefloor EP\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSam Barker has had a long ongoing relationship with Berghain and Ostgut Ton, having released two LPs and various EPs as one half of Barker \u0026amp; Baumecker and hosting regular nights at the club since September 2008 as co-founder of the label Leisure System. 2017 marked the beginning of his solo residency, 2018 sees his first solo release with Ostgut Ton.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth as a musician and label owner, Barker operates on the fringes of techno, balancing experimentation with functionality. On Debiasing, he takes a hard look at the musical elements often considered necessary to maintain dancefloor momentum, with four distinct tracks of morphing synth stabs and paired down metronomic rhythms in varying time signatures. While there is no kick, snare, or clap to be heard, the result is not experimental techno deconstructions but driving, hypnotic and unlikely dancefloor tools. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ostgut Ton","offers":[{"title":"12\" - Black","offer_id":50436353196363,"sku":"1081052","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b3a4bf8b-6d94-4004-a041-64593a8ee42d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726916019"},{"product_id":"utility-4","title":"Utility","description":"\u003cp\u003ePleasure-seeking and pain-avoidance as a rave metaphor fits the music of Sam Barker. The Berghain resident and Leisure System co-founder has spent the last few years exploring the euphoric potential of altering key variables in dance music formulas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was especially true on his 2018 Ostgut Ton debut EP \u003ci\u003eDebiasing\u003c\/i\u003e, which was flush with unconventional rhythmic chord stabs, melody and percussion but devoid of kickdrums. What seemed like an experimental exercise on paper was in reality equally geared towards the club: tracks that worked for the floor but resisted the genre categorizations that kick drums often provide. This has come to define Barker’s sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccordingly, \u003ci\u003eUtility\u003c\/i\u003e is a playful but non-ironic musical approach to a whole spectrum of utilitarian and transhumanist ideas: from models for quantifying pleasure and “gradients of bliss” to abolishing suffering for sentient beings (not just people) through the ethical use of drugs and nanotechnology. Over nine tracks, Barker’s vision ebbs and flows through waves of deeply psychedelic musical vignettes; free-floating and futuristic melodies and rhythms as targeted brain stimulation. The sound draws heavily on modular synthesis, as well as self-built mechanical instruments and plate reverbs to create atmospheres that are at once alien and emotionally recognizable, functional and utopian.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ostgut Ton","offers":[{"title":"2LP - Black","offer_id":58214986154315,"sku":"R7423-6370","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2LP - Black Bio Vinyl","offer_id":50448961634635,"sku":"2057450","price":33.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Utility_b2bb5daa_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727097752"},{"product_id":"stochastic-drift","title":"Stochastic Drift","description":"\u003cp\u003eBarker’s debut album \u003cem\u003eUtility\u003c\/em\u003e (on Berghain’s Ostgut Ton label) was something of a sensation in the world of electronic music when it was released. \u003cem\u003eUtility\u003c\/em\u003e made numerous Best of 2019 year’s end lists, including Pitchfork (8.2 review), The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor (Recommends) and others. It also earned the title of Mixmag’s Album of The Year 2019.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow it's finally time for the follow-up \u003cem\u003eStochastic Drift\u003c\/em\u003e on Smalltown Supersound. And where Barker on \u003cem\u003eUtility\u003c\/em\u003e was \"using ambient materials to remake techno” as Pitchfork’s Philip Sherburne wrote, he takes this approach even further here creating - as the title suggests - a dreamy stochastic drift and beautiful freeform oat.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Smalltown Supersound","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":51245579862347,"sku":"2243272","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP - Clear","offer_id":51245580353867,"sku":"2243273","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP - White","offer_id":53261323698507,"sku":"R7687-1432","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Stochastic_Drift_53bb753e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1739225362"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/barker.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}