Having focused on the publishing of fearless, polyamorous, left-of-centre electronics since its inception in 2014, Knekelhuis has been delving with equal flair into the realms of punk, industrial, new wave, EBM and synth-pop to construct its singular identity, refusing to align on the policies of no-nonsense floor calibration to explore the edges of dance music with plenty of rope.
After a stream of choice numbers including releases from Violent Quand On Aime, Meo, Job Sifre, Patricia Kokett and a freshly released compilation of Dutch cassette rarities from the ’80s, Amsterdam’s Knekelhuis maintains its momentum with ‘Testimony‘, a four-track VA featuring “old friends and new faces“, which label owner Mark van de Maat refers to as a “document of modern contemporary music […] possessing the ability to be serene and mental at the same time.”
Lifted from this lush assortment of drifting burners, Maoupa Mazzocchetti ‘644 Beauty Marks‘ is a particularly striking example of this twofold, borderline schizophrenic state of mind. Drawing us in its all-engulfing spirals of Middle-Eastern sounding riffs and faded neo-folk melodies, the French producer activates teleportation to a jam-packed opium den where only the silhouettes of sardine-faced belly dancers and eight-eyed poker players emerge from the dense haze of patchouli and opiate smokes that fills the room. One to get high to.
Testimony is out now via Knekelhuis, order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
A1. Sabla – Chant 35
A2. Patricia Kokett – Luxor
B1. Maoupa Mazzocchetti – 644 Beauty Marks
B2. Job Sifre – We Are Monsters
Discover more about Maoupa Mazzocchetti and Knekelhuis on Inverted Audio.