LAWA
(Acronym for LEONARD ALAIN WANK ALEX)
MANIPULATION (Cine 27)
LP 180g blue/black mixed colored Vinyl lim. 300 copies
LP 180g Black Vinyl lim. 200 copies
Release Date 9th October 2022
MANIPULATION (Cine 27) and it’s Sister Record INSTRUMENTALISATION (Cine 28) will be released separately as Vinyls. Manipulation in October 2022, Instrumentalisation beginning of 2023. There will be a CD Version with both Albums on one CD, this will be released as an CD Edition with a different, combined artwork and the Vinyl Version of INSTRUMENTALISATION will be equipped with that CD. (That is the reason for no CD with MANIPULATION). The CD Version will have an different track order and there will be always an Interlude connecting the tracks which means the music will never stop.
If you preorder the MANIPULATION / INSTRUMENTALISATION Vinyl Set you will get in October the MANIPULATION LP and beginning 2023 the INSTRUMENTALISATION Vinyl plus CD for a special Set price and one time shipping costs!
PAN/SCAN
Kosmonauter
CINEPLOIT
9/10
REMIX AND REWIND: The term “pan and scan” means different things to different people. For some, it’s a somewhat nostalgic look back on the days of VHS, and how the widescreen images of our favorite films were chopped and cropped to fit a home video aspect ratio. For Pan/Scan, it’s more of a metaphor for the musical ideas of one Christian Rzechak, who’s other project, Sospetto, has released four albums on Cineploit Records dedicated to the diverse cinematic styling of 1970s and 80s Italy.
Kosmonauter is something a bit different from Rzechak, but no less cinematic. Instead, the nostalgia here is for icy layers of synth that sound like glaciers forming out in space. It’s where artists like Tangerine Dream still rule the world with their grandiose and otherworldly symphonies. A place that’s plugged in and tethered to its instrument, yet also capable of floating off into the ether and letting the rhythmic, sequenced throb fill their brain with electronic, seratonic joy.
Fancy words aside, Kosmonauter is a must if you’re even remotely into the sounds of Steve Moore, Zombi, or Klaus Schulze. This six track effort isn’t exactly in the minimalist Krautrock vein of Tangerine Dream’s earliest work, but neither is it taking from that band’s latter period of shorter, more punctual songs. Instead, Rzechak seems to be taking that oft-imitated Tangerine Dream framework and trying to make it fit that “soundtrack for an imaginary film” template that’s also quite popular. The only thing is, Pan/Scan definitely does it better than most.
That’s because the songs on here, especially “Orientation” and “Levitation,” almost sound like excerpts from 2001 or Blade Runner. There’s an immediacy to the composition that’s both memorable and experimental, an approach that’s simple but effective. Kosmonauter starts slow and builds from the ground up with soft pulses and otherworldly melodies that are relaxing but also possess the potential for this somber feeling of dread.
Elsewhere, “Confrontation” ups the ante a bit, becoming more aggressive with its synthesized percussion, while “Acceleration” and “Finalisation” (sic) almost approach synthwave but stop short of stepping with both feet into that world. No, Kosmonauter isn’t so much an idealized version of the 1970s or 80s that didn’t exist, but rather something that potentially could’ve lived in that world. It’s also yet another outstanding release from the Cineploit label, where artists who are inspired by the past seem to be doing a great job at defining the future of electronic and cinematic music. ~ George Pacheco
https://outburn.com/music-reviews/pan-scan-kosmonauter/
LAWA
The Parallax View
CINEPLOIT
9/10
SOMETHING NEW WITH SYNTH: There is a ridiculous amount of retro inspired synth based and synthwave artists out there, perhaps too many to count, but the cream does rise to the top.
Case in point? LAWA, and their latest effort for the always reliable Cineploit Records, The Parallax View. The album takes its name from the classic paranoid political thriller from the 1970s and dives head first into some classic movie themes from the world of international genre cinema. LAWA itself is an acronym for its two members, Leonard Alain and Wank Alex, who have recorded musical tributes to specific composers in the past, such as Riz Ortolani, but this album stretches things a bit and runs the gamut with regards to style.
Sci-fi, giallo, horror, action, and good ol’ exploitation films all get the LAWA treatment here, which means that they get sliced, diced, and put into a pot of gooey synth excellence. They then emerge with fresh arrangements by Alain and Wank, giving them a taste that still evokes memories of their original cinematic flavor but with a bright spice that’s flavored by the duo’s seemingly boundless creativity.
The opening cut from Sergio Martino’s film 2019: After the Fall of New York retains that catchy, brassy refrain from composers Guido and Maurizio de Angelis, but LAWA makes it sound thicker and creepier. Yours truly actually wasn’t familiar with Jacques Revaux’s score to the 80s action flick Asphalt Warriors, but LAWA’s take on the hard driving theme makes me want to investigate further, while their chopping up of Ennio Morricone’s Revolver and Alessandro Alessandroni’s Killer Nun sound suitably twisted and unsettling.
Speaking of twisted, their post-punk PiL take on the 1976 giallo Plot of Fear is all fuzz, blown out speakers, and fucking glory, while their version of Nico Catanese’s Satan’s Baby Doll retains all of the original’s softcore Euro sleaze. There’s one original cut on here, the title track, and although the cover material is certainly appreciated, LAWA’s creative skill certainly demands a full-length of new material. “The Parallax View” is tense and anxiety inducing with driving percussion that one imagines is trying to replicate the film’s obscene paranoia. It kills.
Cineploit has made a its mark for a while now as a label with one of the most trustworthy roster of artists out there. You’re likely to strike gold even if you’ve never heard of the artist in question. That’s definitely the case here for anyone out there who hasn’t yet checked out anything from LAWA. Consider this one with a very high recommendation. ~ George Pacheco
Alain Leonard and Alex Wank aka LAWA are Viennas resident specialists in re-activating, recycling and reconstructing cult European Soundtrack Themes and this, their third album, follows Omaggio a Frizzi & Fulci (2012) and Omaggio a Riz Ortolani (2015) with an exploration of sounds from the outer limits of Italian and French Cinema of the 70´ s and 80 ´ s.
Employing a dark, brooding and deeply atmospheric electronic palette with occasional detectable echoes of Goblin and John Carpenter. LAWA bring their chosen Themes to life in a new and challenging way while remaining true to the spirit to the originals, wether they be the work of G & M de Angelis (After the Fall of New York), Alessandro Alessandroni (Killer Nun), Michel Legrand (The Outside Man) or Ennio Morricone (Revolver). Challenging and endlessly inventive, this is as rewarding a Programme of futuristic re-visitations, re-inventions an re-imaginings of a select Playlist of cult Euro soundtracks as you could hope to encounter.
Grahame Bent for SHINDIG! Magazin Februar 2021 * 4 Stars of 4
PAN/SCAN - KOSMONAUTER (Cine24)
Four years on from the debut album “Cinematic Lies”, the second release from SOSPETTO founder Christian Rzechak under the PAN/SCAN alias is heading your way. Inspired by old-school synthesizer soundscapes of the Berlin or Düsseldorf school, but with an atmospheric modern feel added, KOSMONAUTER is a pure electronic science fiction soundtrack to guide your dreams. Reminders of composers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson, Cliff Martinez or Steve Moore are quite intentional. The fusion of retro-futurism and contemporary electro-ambient innovations takes you on an exhilarating aural trip into the darkest, furthest reaches of infinite space!
Coming this December as coloured or black Vinyl LP/CD Set or as CD Edition.
LAWA is taking a Ride through the 70´ s and 80´ s of French and Italian cinema. From Michel Colombier, Michel Legrand and Jacques Revaux to Alessandro Alessandroni, Daniele Patucchi, Nico Catanese and G & M de Angelis. Not to forget the Master of them all, Morricone.
In their dark electronic Style these tracks appear in a new brilliance and proof the excellent handcraft these songs were done - and they were created by extraordinaire Composers. In some cases the versions of LAWA are close to the original others were idea giver for their own creation.
„THE PARALLAX VIEW“ (Cine 23) is coming as black or coloured Vinyl/CD Set or as CD Edition.
RASHOMON are back with a wonderful release worth your cinematic ears! This fine album will be out on 180g Vinyl (300 copies on bone/orange mixed colour and 200 on solid black Vinyl) and as a CD edition in Gatefold Cardboard sleeve.
Out in October, exact release date tba.
Originally issued in 2011, Ashcan Copy is the third instalment in Rashomon’s Film Music series of LPs. Cineploit Records is proud to present this re-release, and to introduce the
record to a wider audience than the 150 lucky souls who snagged a copy of the ultra-limited initial release on Hlava Records.
Active since 2009, Rashomon is the solo project of Matt Thompson, also of Cineploit mainstays ZOLTAN. This is his second release on the label under the Rashomon name,
following 2014’s LP/DVD extravaganza The Cameraman’s Revenge: Film Music Vol. 4 (Cine 09) – the final release in the Film Music series to date.
The previous edition to this, 2009’s The Finishing Line: Film Music Vol. 2, had focused on re-creating the psychological mind-state of the wilder end of 1970s British public information films. By way of change Ashcan Copy is presented as an album of soundtrack cues fromfilms that were, for one reason or another, never released. The films, hailing from Italy, Japan and the USA (among others) supposedly date from the 1950s to the 1970s, and were (according to the extensive sleeve notes) exactingly sourced from film archives across Europe. In reality, all the music is self-composed. The eight tracks include elements of noise, folk, psychedelia, prog and noir-jazz within their elaborate constructions, created with a panoply of instrumentation including Mellotron, zither, home-made percussion, Fender Rhodes, harmonium, MiniMoog and more. Delicate and sensuous, heavy and oppressive – the record negotiates these musical contradictions while retaining a single-minded pursuit of strangeness and surprise.
Having finally found its spiritual home on cinematic specialist label Cineploit, Ashcan Copy can at last be heard by all.
