Berghain resident and Leisure System label co-founder Barker will release his debut solo album on Ostgut Ton this September.
Titled Utility, the album sees Sam Barker looking extensively to modular synthesis. It comes in the wake of a recent vinyl-only white label on Ostgut Ton, titled BARKER001, and the release of his excellent 2018 EP, Debiasing, which sought to strip away one of techno’s key components, the kick drum.
"After Debiasing, it occurred to me that my musical decisions were often unintentionally utilitarian, following an instinct to maximise pleasure in one way or another," the producer says. "It’s sort of unfashionable to admit, but by removing elements that have strong genre associations, this became a natural consequence."
A press release from Ostgut Ton describes the album as "an honest take on music as both pleasure-maximiser and consciousness-expander," adding that it touches on "utilitarian and transhumanist ideas."
Ostgut Ton will release Utility on September 6, 2019.
