Cassegrain

The authors of the mix are Welsh/Greek producer Alex Tsiridis and Turkish/Xinjiang composer Hüseyin Evirgen, together known as Cassegrain. Theirs is a cosmopolitan electronic music project exploring the realms of techno. Currently both musicians live and work in Berlin. Tsiridis and Evirgen first met at the famous Red Bull Music Academy (Barcelona) in 2008 and immediately started to share ideas with each other. Hüseyin studied piano and composition in Istanbul and Mozarteum University of Salzburg, while Tsiridis was more focused on digital production and the exploration of various new music trends in the 2000’s. Evirgen also works as a freelance composer and is part of Toihaus Theater, an experimental art organisation in Salzburg. These two talents have collaborated on numerous records, released by such authoritative labels as Prologue, Modal Analysis, Killekill, Mikrowave, M_Rec Ltd and Semantica. The duo performs regularly across the globe, both with their live-set and DJ’ing. Dommune (Tokyo, Japan), Sonar (Spain), Berghain (Germany) are only a few notable places that have been filled with their mobile and fluid sound. Inspired by science fiction, conspiracy theories and diverse cultural experiences, the duo produces polished and modulated high fidelity music that shows the potential of techno music in this century.

STM 093 is a profound and coherent collection of eclectic music that indirectly shaped Cassegrain’s musical identity. The duo thoughtfully compiled and skillfully merged 17 expressive records that smoothly and continuously maintain the whole cinematic mood and substance of the mix. All the high quality and conceptual records were released between 1934 and 2013. It is, however, difficult to tell, that the music was selected from different periods, because Cassegrain have processed most of the tracks through various hardware devices to achieve an overall aesthetic to their own production. This subtle extra layer weaves the slightly interfering textures, structure and tonality of these occasionally-capricious compositions into a whole, and enchants the compilation with dynamism and magnetism. The remarkably balanced condition of obscure atmospheres, occasionally appearing gloomy rhythms, complex and contemporary experimentations with sound and effects are the fundamental of this constantly growing and expanding chef d’oeuvre. The sublime collision between works from such prominent composers as Morton Feldman, Gérard Grisey, John Carpenter, and such authoritative electronic music producers as Aphex Twin, Fennesz, Der Zyklus, Mokira doesn’t fail to impress and fully involve the listener into its darkish narrative. There is also music from Cassegrain’s “Coptic E.P.” on Prologue, and an excerpt piece from the Heliaden soundtrack by Hüseyin Evirgen, composed for Toihaus Theatre. Another interesting aspect of the mix is that a significant part of it contains Greek musicians, such as Giorgos Batis, Giannis Aggelakas & Nikos Veliotis, Mohammad.

Records and connections

STM 093 is like the mysterious and strangely penetrating painting from Paul Klee,“Walpurgis Night”, where puzzling night colour lines, shapes and tones form an abyssal and supernatural landscape filled with hints of extraordinary creatures. This painting marks the transition from winter to spring, when witches would gather on the Brocken, the highest of the Harz Mountains, to perform rituals to ward off evil. It also carries with it the unsearchable, haunting shivering sensation that is quite similar to Cassegrain’s picturesque selection. The mix fully unfolds and reveals its enchanting beauty at night, listen it at midnight, waiting for the symbolic All Hallows’ Eve or reading esoteric literature.