Melbourne electronic music virtuoso Michael Mildren continues his Process series of mini-albums with the second instalment, Post-Kraft. The Process series is Michael Mildren’s new collection of four mini-albums, each exploring a different facet of electronic music technique and artistic philosophy. Clan Analogue is releasing each instalment in the Process series monthly until early 2018, with Process 1: Studies In Kraft having been released recently.
Process 2: Post-Kraft follows on from Process 1: Studies in Kraft, in which Michael explored the music of Kraftwerk by replicating a selection of their greatest tracks with the equipment, techniques and musical mindset of these German electronic music pioneers. With Process 2: Post-Kraft, Michael Mildren has taken the lessons he learned through exploring Kraftwerk and applied them to eight new original compositions, all infused with the aura and consciousness of the German electronic pioneers. The result is a collection of songs which sound both classic and current, of interest to fans of Kraftwerk or to anyone who appreciates the sounds they inspired, whether new wave synth pop, Detroit techno, modern electro or the myriad of other electronic styles they spawned.
Read What Michael Mildren Learned From Kraftwerk as he worked on the first two installments of the Process series.
Michael Mildren has made his mark with several acclaimed performances in the Melbourne Fringe Festival. These include his 2015 Men/Machine performance, where he reworked classic Kraftwerk tracks with vintage gear and period performance techniques, and more recently with Music Non-Stop, a stunning 12-hour improv set in 2016, where an array of guest performers augmented his layered atmospheres and propulsive rhythms throughout the sonic marathon.
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Post-Kraft opens with the epic ‘Levels’, where Michael explores the development of electronic music from unfiltered noise through to manipulated drones before emerging into arpeggiated melodic polyphony and the propulsive rhythmic drive of the motorik German sound. ‘Like Me’ follows on with a song epitomising the machine-inspired pop of Kraftwerk’s late 70s style, with vocodered vocals and the theme of the effect of technology on human relationships.
‘GeoEngineering’ explores the early 80s Kraftwerk sound that inspired Detroit techno, with a minimalist take on a modern environmental issue. ‘This Is an Emergency’ pays homage to some of the slower, more contemplative tracks on Kraftwerk albums such as Autobahn and Radio-Activity. ‘Treading the Fine Line’ continues in the introspective vein, with a melodic reflection on existence before album closer ‘Meditation in G’.
Process 2: Post-Kraft from Michael Mildren is available now from Clan Analogue. Process 3 will be released this Summer.
Track list:
1. Levels
2. Like You
3. GeoEngineering
4. Satellite in the Sky
5. This Is An Emergency
6. Find Your Here
7. Treading the Fine Line
8. Meditation in G