Kontour
Encyclopedia
Kontour is an English electronic music
artist, currently signed to Some Bizzare Records
.
s.
In 2007 the Protect & Survive EP was released on the White Label Music
record label. This early work was created using little or no percussion instead using a Doepfer
analogue sequencer to create simple, minimal rhythms. Soon after the release of the EP Kontour was approached by Some Bizzare Records
. The label owner, Stevo Pearce
(ex-manager of Soft Cell
), wanted to include The Kennedy Syndrome on a new compilation album he was compiling titled Some Bizzare Double Album
. This led to the recording of a new studio album for the record label. In 2008 Kontour released the album Scanners
on Some Bizzare Records
, Stevo Pearce
is credited as executive producer of the album. The album was released after the "Protect & Survive" EP and moved on from the minimal sounds of tracks like Shark Cage. The album was recorded using no MIDI instruments or personal computer
s, instead primitive music sequencer
s, Roland RE-501 tape effects and a Roland CR-78
Drum Machine
were used. The vocals on the album where treated like a sound source and manipulated with audio
effects.
Kontour worked with the American
group Lucid Sketchmaster collaborating on the album The Seed. Kontour featured on the track "God Come Tell Me" contributing lyrics and "music construction".
. The album was completed at the end half of 2007 being mixed and mastered for it’s 2008 release date. Mastering took place at The Exchange in London
and was performed by Simon Davey who has mastered bands like Laibach
, Aphex Twin
and Depeche Mode
.
Scanners was released on 4 February 2008. It was largely composed of experimental, electronic songs. Songs structures were improvised incorporating a less than disciplined approach. The release had mixed responses, some listeners found the album too experimental. While others labeled it "original".
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
artist, currently signed to Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
.
Background
Early work included recordings of distorted telephone calls and late night television. He uses a range of vintage recording equipment and analog synthesisers, electronic percussion and drum machineDrum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s.
In 2007 the Protect & Survive EP was released on the White Label Music
White Label Music
White Label Music is an independent record label based in the UK. The label is run by Marc Hunter and Ann Shenton, who was formerly a member of the band Add N to . -Background:...
record label. This early work was created using little or no percussion instead using a Doepfer
Doepfer
Doepfer Musikelektronik GmbH is a manufacturer of audio hardware based in Gräfelfing, Germany, founded by Dieter Döpfer.The product range covers analog modular systems, MIDI controller, MIDI hardware sequencers, MIDI-to-CV/Gate/Sync Interfaces, MIDI master keyboards and special MIDI...
analogue sequencer to create simple, minimal rhythms. Soon after the release of the EP Kontour was approached by Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
. The label owner, Stevo Pearce
Stevo Pearce
Stephen John Pearce, commonly known as Stevo, is the owner of British record label, Some Bizzare Records.-Biography:Pearce was born in 1962 and came from Haverhill. He left school at sixteen without any qualifications and entered a work training placement with ‘Phonogram Records’...
(ex-manager of Soft Cell
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...
), wanted to include The Kennedy Syndrome on a new compilation album he was compiling titled Some Bizzare Double Album
Some Bizzare Double Album
Some Bizzare Double Album is the sixth compilation album released by Some Bizzare and featured tracks by The Grid, The Dark Poets, Pedro INF and Kontour. The tracks include a Cabaret Voltaire cover of Nag Nag Nag, recorded by Sudden Infant. The double album was compiled by Stevo Pearce...
. This led to the recording of a new studio album for the record label. In 2008 Kontour released the album Scanners
Scanners (album)
-Background:Recorded in West Sussex, 2007. The Executive Producer was Stevo Pearce head of Some Bizzare Records. The album was recorded using no MIDI instruments or personal computers, instead primitive music sequencers, tape effects and Drum Machines were used...
on Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
, Stevo Pearce
Stevo Pearce
Stephen John Pearce, commonly known as Stevo, is the owner of British record label, Some Bizzare Records.-Biography:Pearce was born in 1962 and came from Haverhill. He left school at sixteen without any qualifications and entered a work training placement with ‘Phonogram Records’...
is credited as executive producer of the album. The album was released after the "Protect & Survive" EP and moved on from the minimal sounds of tracks like Shark Cage. The album was recorded using no MIDI instruments or personal computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, instead primitive music sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
s, Roland RE-501 tape effects and a Roland CR-78
Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
Drum Machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
were used. The vocals on the album where treated like a sound source and manipulated with audio
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
effects.
Kontour worked with the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
group Lucid Sketchmaster collaborating on the album The Seed. Kontour featured on the track "God Come Tell Me" contributing lyrics and "music construction".
Scanners recording for Some Bizzare Records (2008)
In 2007 Kontour began recording sessions for Some Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
. The album was completed at the end half of 2007 being mixed and mastered for it’s 2008 release date. Mastering took place at The Exchange in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and was performed by Simon Davey who has mastered bands like Laibach
Laibach
Laibach can refer to one of the following:* German name for Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia* Laibach , Slovenian industrial musical group** Laibach , the title of the debut album by the band with this name...
, Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
.
Scanners was released on 4 February 2008. It was largely composed of experimental, electronic songs. Songs structures were improvised incorporating a less than disciplined approach. The release had mixed responses, some listeners found the album too experimental. While others labeled it "original".
Albums
- 2007 - Protect & Survive (White Label MusicWhite Label MusicWhite Label Music is an independent record label based in the UK. The label is run by Marc Hunter and Ann Shenton, who was formerly a member of the band Add N to . -Background:...
) - 2008 - ScannersScanners (album)-Background:Recorded in West Sussex, 2007. The Executive Producer was Stevo Pearce head of Some Bizzare Records. The album was recorded using no MIDI instruments or personal computers, instead primitive music sequencers, tape effects and Drum Machines were used...
(Some Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
) - 2008 - Some Bizzare Double AlbumSome Bizzare Double AlbumSome Bizzare Double Album is the sixth compilation album released by Some Bizzare and featured tracks by The Grid, The Dark Poets, Pedro INF and Kontour. The tracks include a Cabaret Voltaire cover of Nag Nag Nag, recorded by Sudden Infant. The double album was compiled by Stevo Pearce...
(Some Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
) - The Kennedy Syndrome
Collaborations
- 2008 - Lucid Sketchmaster - The Seed (Some Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare RecordsSome Bizzare Records is a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.-1981-1989:One of the first bands that...
) - God Come Tell Me - 2008 - Rev Spook - Big Spirit - Unbreakable