kœnig - 1 Above Minus Underground
‘1 ABOVE MINUS UNDERGROUND’ is the latest solo album by Lukas König - drummer, composer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist - aka KOENIG. “Solo” is, in fact, a misnomer, as each track features carefully chosen musicians from around the globe (US, UK, Iran, and Austria), and was sparked from a longstanding creative collaboration between König and Nik Hummer. Based on heavy, hip-hop beats, experimental noise and droney synths, König and Hummer set a foundation on which the invited artists could take the work to new heights…and to that, they exceeded all expectations. While the drum recordings are ground up and re-dubbed through modular synthesizers, these 20-minute experiments are also accentuated by Victoria Shen’s nail-needle scratch samples, Julien Desprez’ guitar noises, and trumpet & saxophone sounds of Aquiles Navarro, Martin Eberle, and Chris Pitsiokos. The beats drawn from these improvisations serve as the sturdy grounds for vocal pressure by Will Brooks (Dälek), Guilty Simpson, Moor Mother, Sensational, Nappy Nina, Elvin Brandhi, and Rojin Sharafi. The featured artists further drive the focus of the work toward the current - and shared - sociopolitical state of their respective worlds. A soundtrack for those invested in unrest.
voice & lyrics - Nappy Nina (1), Moormother (2), Sensational (3), Dälek (5), Guilty Simpson (6), Elvin Brandhi (9)
voice - Rojin Sharafi (7), Otis Lyn Alfreds Koenig (2)
text - Parham Shahrjerdi (7)
translation - Aida Ebrahimi (7)
needle nails/electronics - Victoria Shen (1),(4)
trumpet - Aquiles Navarro (2), Martin Eberle (5)
saxophone - Chris Pitsiokos (5)
electric guitar - Julien Desprez (6)
modular synthesizer - Nik Hummer (1-9)
drums, synthesizers, amplified cymbal, lapsteel, percussions - Lukas Koenig (1-9)
recorded and mixed at MINUSGROUNDZERO Studio by Nik Hummer
mastered by Matija Schellander
produced and arranged by Lukas Koenig
cover art/design by GENG PTP
cover photo by Lukas Koenig
digitally released by PTP (PTP2066)
vinyl published by Ventil Records (V_031)
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