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Contract extension: Abwärts

The influence of the legendary Hamburg punk band Abwärts, founded in 1979, has a formative effect on the development of an entire scene. Singer and bandleader Frank Z (Frank Ziegert) acts as the mastermind, composing and writing all the songs and even as a long time partner of Freibank. Our very own Mark Chung used to play bass for Abwärts back then. Stylistically, Abwärts do not fit into the typical German punk pigeonhole. Their repertoire covers a much wider spectrum. They like to use electronic elements, heavy metal, pop and purely acoustic arrangements.

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OUT: Album 'Silence I' by Silence

Originally released in 1992, this album is arguably another stone-cold classic of FAX +49-69/450464 records and one of the rarest and wanted ambient recordings out there.

The first two volumes of the Silence project are credited to Peter Kuhlmann aka Pete Namlook and Dr. Atmo while the following three are by Pete Namlook alone. The long overdue reissue is now finally available again in a limited one-time pressing of 500 copies for the world with original artwork and liner notes from Dr. Atmo.

This minimalist and intimate marvel was remastered by Stephan Mathieu and features a new design by Juliane Hohlbaum.

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OUT: Album 'Über das Grau' by Flo Mega

Flo Mega has the soul back. Freshly reunited with his band The Ruffcats, the man from Bremen on his new album "Über das Grau" all varieties of soul. The warm and and funky sound caresses the poems and stories from the heart of life. The singer with the special, variable voice sings wisely about love, friendship, dreams and gratitude and floats casually above the everyday gray, always with a few millimeters of air under his shoe. a few millimeters of air under his shoe.

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OUT: Single 'Glimpse' by Apollo Brown

Apollo Brown's track ‘Glimpse’ exhibits his signature laid back instrumental production style with smooth keys, old school drums and lush vocal melodies.

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OUT: Single 'The End' by Gregor McEwan

"I wrote 'The End.' during the pandemic and especially with the climate crisis and policy makers in mind, and I didn't think or want the latter to become so topical with Putin and his invasion war on Ukraine," says Gregor McEwan. "Lyrically, it's about a lot of things: all the clowns, despots, swindlers, the church, lobbying, algorithms, climate change... Quite a lot for a mere 2:30 minutes."

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OUT: EP 'Goldener Strom Remixes 1' by Rosa Anschütz

With Rosa Anschütz’ LP Goldener Strom picking up widespread praise, BPitch presents the first instalment of remixes from Ellen Allien and Métaraph. The album will undergo a transformative process, with several remix packages reimagining Rosa’s stunning works due for release in the coming months.

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OUT: Album 'The Original Band 1984-1986' by Mona Mur

Mona Mur, born in Hamburg, met FM Einheit, Alexander Hacke and Mark Chung from "Einstürzende Neubauten" and Gode B. from "Front" during the punk explosion. As "Mona Mur & Die Mieter" they released their first 12" single “Jeszcze Polska” in '82, which immediately claimed the "Single of the Week" slot by London's New Musical Express. Mona Mur then lived a wild life in Paris and Berlin. In fall 1984, she formed a new Mona Mur band with FM Einheit and Alexander Hacke, joined by "Flucht nach Vorn" keyboardist Nikko Weidemann (today "Moka Efti Orchestra"), Siewert Johannsen (guitar, "Stricher") and Thomas Stern (bass, "Crime and the City Solution"). This "Mona Mur Band" was recorded and mixed live by Raymond "Nainz" Watts ("Einstürzende Neubauten", "Psychic TV", "KMFDM") at his Building Site studio in Hamburg.

The band played acclaimed concerts in Germany and Europe, as well as festivals, such as the renowned PANDORA's BOX in Rotterdam. Their manically intense live performance in guitar thunderstorms and morbid slowbeat chic and especially their seminal Brecht/Weill interpretations ("Surabaya Johnny", "Der Song von Mandelay", "Die Ballade vom Ertrunkenen Mädchen") are still cult today.

The band broke up in spring of '86, and Mona Mur embarked on a solo career.


The recordings, made in 1984 - 1986, had never been released... until now.

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New Signing: Flo Mega

Flo Mega (* 1979) is a German soul singer from Bremen. His stage name, which is composed of the beginning of his first name "Flo"(-rian) and the last letter of the Greek alphabet Ω = "Omega", comes from his time as a hip-hop artist. 

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