Sound Variation Label Profile - 11th Hour Technology

"---" (or "Sound_Variation" as it is sometimes referred to) is a portal to the soul and vision of its founder - Andy Vaz - who upon deciding to draw from a wealth of both musical and personal influences has managed to produce a series of unique and inimitable 4/4 based 'art-Techno' releases that closely mimic the ideology of their creator - never to rely solely on the expression of just one clear and linear sound aesthetic. It is precisely for these reasons that the label exists with no name, and instead has developed unbranded, defying the associations, classifications and expectations of name. Definitions come only from imagination, and constraints only from electronic technology, the result being a musical freedom and unbounded vision.

Each release is based on the use on an initial pool of sounds and instruments that are re-used, recycled and rearranged throughout an entire EP via pitching, tone-shifting and effects that turn kick-drums to hi-hats, and hi-hats to bass. Manipulation and re-manipulation of aesthetic and function, the phasing from one context to another to form the various tracks on each EP, all with one common but eventually traceless thread. Maximalism derived from minimalism.

Aside from artistic production process, more importantly, the source of influence and inspiration can be clearly traced back to a personal relationship and interpretation of an era, and a city named Detroit and all that it stands for. Twisted sounds meeting beautiful sounds with depth and musicality, but at the same time with no fear of being unforgiving, reductionist, and undeniably escapist - taking risks in the name of exploring and seeking vision, but in the context of a digital age.

Andy Vaz hails from Düsseldorf and is perhaps better known for founding and running Background records (a profile of which exists in our archives), a major driving force in the global minimal scene that it represents. However, Background can only ever represent Andy's taste in music and never his own, and so there was a need was for something more personal which brought about the inception of Sound_Variation, created as an outlet to be closer to his soul, a clone of him and his vision. Sound_Variation is perfect from this point of view as everything can be explored - from conceptual to non-conceptual, from minimal to maximal, from warm to cold, from experimental listening to pure dancemusic with no distractions or deviations from just the content alone. It would have been easy just to release on Background, but the idea, as mentioned above, was to disassociate from name and brand, and as such no benefits were sought from the recognition associated with the Background name, and the names of the artists that are featured there.

The first 12" came about in 2001 and introduced that distinctive, quirky minimal sound that has since made the Sound_Variation series of releases a rare collectors item for those with open minds and ears. This in turn has brought about demand for Andy in the context of live shows that have so far taken him all over the globe from the "Audio Lap 2002" event at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, throughout Europe and further afield for a tour of Japan.

The debut release "1-1" opened up with what is perhaps the most direct demonstration of Andy's ideas, all the tracks being very different from one another regardless of the fact that they shared the same sound sources - deep, dubby and spacious. "2-2" may best be described as a-tonal Detroitism smattered in glitch with killer hooks and solid grooves that crystallise from the surrounding disorder. "3-3" continues in a similar vein but in a more experimental direction, the grooves and melodies hidden beneath subtle textures that morph with time. "4-4" proceeds to place one foot firmly on the dancefloor utilising highly melodic tones, sweet little chord stabs, and cunningly programmed low-slung grooves. "5-5" takes a retrospective stance with the commissioning of re-works from Background artists Portable, Dave Miller, Rhythm Maker and Jan Jelinek. Andy has also commissioned from himself a track to appear on Background's "Futuristic Experiments:#6" forthcoming in late 2002.

Andy has also taken time out from releasing solely on Sound_Variation to produce tracks for Cologne's Bruckstück and Funkfahrt imprints alongside the likes of Thomas Brinkmann, Erkmoah, Submania and Karl Knerr.