Press Release "Under The Roof" is METROLAND's sole single from their prominent tribute album "Things Will Never Sound The Same Again", a tailor made production for their passed Passenger L. "Under The Roof" as the title was aptly chosen as it is a wink to the name of Louis' mastering studio. It was a place where all METROLAND members spent a huge amount of time, recording a variety of music. For the alternative “remixes” version of this single, METROLAND turned to artists who were closely working with Louis. Johan Breton, showing that his minimal tech house touch can work wonders again on "Under The Roof". Franky Deblomme, for whom Louis mastered several DARKMEN-releases, gives "Good Moaning" an extra technological dimension. By far the most remarkable remix is the one from Music/Machine by MUSICOCOON, and we are not only talking quality, but because what you hear there is truly the last production that Louis and his MUSICOCOON partner, Philippe Malemprée, had been working on. “METROLAND is proud to showcase all of this to honor our close and warm friend”.
Metroland - Things Will Never Sound the Same Again (Alfa Matrix)
Tracklist 01. Tune In 02. Vie (Mental Impressions Reproduced by Electronic Means) 03. Synthetic Sound 04. Good Moaning 05. This Little Thingy 06. Brother 07. Things Will Never Sound the Same Again 08. Music/Machine 09. Under the Roof 10. Quo Vadis 11. Never Again
Press Release In August 2015 METROLAND suffered a tragic blow when their sound engineer and very close friend Louis Zachert, the group's Passenger L, passed away. As a personal tribute, Passengers A and S created a complete new album from scratch, where every song, every note and the featured cd art is their way of saying thank you and goodbye to their close friend and fellow passenger. The 11 titles on the album each describe or embody what Louis means to the band in general and to both Passengers on a personal level: his witty e-mail headers, the name of his recording studio, his genuine love for synthetic music, his other musical projects and, especially, life itself. When comparing the music on this album to former releases, the listener will surely notice a darker, slightly mellow edge, while rediscovering the typical METROLAND sound that clearly toys with sounds from analogue synthesizers, pulsating rhythms and effective samples. This 3rd release is not just an album, it's a profound production filled with sentiment and a heartfelt message to every one out there, but to Louis Zachert in particular: "Things will never sound the same again"… This album is not a commercial product. It's an homage, in every possible respect.
Press Release After paying homage to Walter Gropius' dream, written down in his 1919 Bauhaus Manifesto, METROLAND is about to close their triadic series. Their current praised album "Triadic Ballet" fully embraced modern technology and the utopian vision from the Bauhaus. Colours and shapes melted with main principles like 'unity', 'hierarchy' and 'variety', marking another milestone for METROLAND that finally showed their true identity. Their industrial approach to 21st century music had always targeted creating things of beauty and they complete their musical trinity with this next single release. ‘Re-design’ as a third and final single release is again available in two different download EP’s, each holding three songs… A regular edition with an exclusive 7inch remake of the epic 'Design' threesome on Triadic Ballet, a total make-over by Belgian musician Polynomiq and a second EP – the Spacious Edition – with remixes by, among others, Jean-Marc Lederman, better known for his work with The Weathermen and several other projects. Both EP’s contain a (different) version of ‘Vers La Côte D'azur’, a brand new exclusive song that puts METROLAND back on the road to new adventures.
Tracklist 01. The Manifesto (edito) 02. A Man Walked on the Moon 03. The Manifesto (12inch mix)
Spacious Edition: 01. The Manifesto (ieuropean mix) 02. A Man Walked on the Moon (Plastic Noise Experience remix) 03. Les Trois Couleurs (Machinespirit's ir2683 mix)
Press Release When Walter Gropius wrote the Bauhaus Manifesto in 1919, he had a dream: a dream of creating a total, socially relevant movement where all art forms would be present, and a utopian world where every home would benefit from products which, though industrially produced, oozed beauty and quality. Small wonder then, that METROLAND, whose industrial approach to 21st century music had always targeted creating things of beauty, enthusiastically embraced Gropius’ ideas and defining motto “Art and technology - a new unity”. As such, their new release, the deluxe 3 cd limited edition album “Triadic Ballet” (released 16/4/2015), pays homage to Bauhaus’ main principles of unity, hierarchy and variety, making them true heirs to Gropius’ legacy, and worthy advocates of The Manifesto. Second single taken from this new conceptual album, ‘The Manifesto’ is available in two different download EP’s – one with an exclusive 7inch edit and a 12inch mix of ‘The Manifesto’, another – the Spacious Edition – with remixes by, among others, iEuropean, a kindred soul who recently collaborated with Wolfgang Flür (Kraftwerk). Both EP’s contain a (different) version of ‘A Man Walked On The Moon’: a brand new track, exclusively available as part of these EP’s.
Tracklist CD 1 "Unity": 01. Design (unity) 02. Design (hierarchy) 03. Design (variety) 04. 3 Directors 05. Ikone der Moderne 06. Zeppelin 07. Machines Gone Mad 08. Triadic Ballet 09. Art + Technology 10. Struktur 11. Les Trois Couleurs 12. The Manifesto 13. Utopia
CD 2 "Hierarchy" 01. Design (fotonovela's r2d2 loves c3po remix) 02. 3 Directors (threshold mix) 03. Ikone der Moderne (deutsche bank remix) 04. Zeppelin (nattefrost remix) 05. Machines Gone Mad (lifelong corporation remix) 06. Triadic Ballet (commuter remix) 07. Art + Technology (musicocoon remix) 08. Struktur (my.cosmo remix) 09. Les Trois Couleurs (playboy's bend remix) 10. The Manifesto (the rorschach garden analog mix) 11. Utopia (johan breton's journey through utopia)
CD 3 "Variety": 01. Design (absolute body control remix) 02. 3 Directors (oberkampf's 80's mix) 03. Ikone der Moderne (systematic remix) 04. Zeppelin (diskodiktator remix) 05. Machines Gone Mad (trinity ward remix) 06. Triadic Ballet (passengers in turmoil version) 07. Art + Technology (sound of science remix) 08. Struktur (paul alty remix) 09. Les Trois Couleurs (machinespirit remix) 10. The Manifesto (franck kartell remix) 11. Utopia (thomas more's vile remix)
Press Release Art begets art, the saying goes. A cliché as big as a house, but one that holds a fundamental truth. More than likely, Passengers A. and S., the sonic engineers of Metroland, will need no persuading: on "Mind The Gap", their impressive debut released in 2012, they already put the theory of the Gesammtkunstwerk into practice and instantly established their vintage electronic trademark sound which also brought them unmistakable comparisons with keyboard pioneers like KRAFTWERK or yet TELEX. More than two years have passed since, but even though 2014 saw the release of "Thalys", a tribute to the high-speed train, the work on the new album sta...
Press Release METROLAND instantly established their trademark sound with the debut album "Mind The Gap" and confirmed their vintage electronic supremacy with the recent conceptual "Thalys" 12" vinyl release. Today, the Belgian duo presents “Zeppelin”, the first EP from their forthcoming 2nd album "Triadic Ballet" inspired to the Bauhaus movement. While the main track, "Zeppelin" shows the floating, melodic and warm synthetic side of their work, "(We need) Machines Without Romance" reveals a more nervous, pulsating and harsher attitude. "Zeppelin" definitely marks a new launch for our favourite Belgian passengers and announces another astounding conceptual release... METROLAND's "Zeppelin" will be released in two different 3-track editions (standard and spacious edition). The "spacious" edition even reveals a third psychedelic track "The Hindenburg Landing" through which METROLAND remind us once again how deep they always investigate and develop the content of their conceptual work. Next to the reference of Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, German inventor of the Zeppelin, "The Hindenburg landing" contains the authentic audio report by journalist Herbert Morrison, directly recorded at the time of the disaster...
Tracklist 12" Vinyl: 01. Thalys - le départ 02. Thalys - deuxième étape 03. Thalys - Paul Kendall remix 04. From station to station - [f]
CD: 01. Thalys - le départ 02. Thalys - deuxième étape 03. From station to station - [f] 04. Thalys - Version:Jonteknik 05. From station to station - elemental 06. Thalys - Northern Kind remix 07. Thalys - Düsseldorf edit
Press Release It's with great pride and honour that Alfa Matrix inaugurates its new label "vinyl" division with a very very special conceptual release: "Thalys" by METROLAND... Something that started as a crazy idea in a text message, got followed by a 6 second melody written while the band was on the road supporting 80's legend OMD, and eventually morphed into a unique multi-cultural adventure and fruitful collaboration with the renown international railway company itself: "Thalys", symbolised worldwide by its famous high-speed burgundy red trains... You are fond of vintage keyboards, you got seduced last year by Belgium's METROLAND's successful "Mind The Gap" album and you have LP's by KRAFTWERK, TELEX and KOMPUTER in your music collection? Then, dear ladies and gentlemen, get seated for a new exciting sonic journey across Europe with METROLAND who bring us to the next level with their trademark sound made of carrying layers of melodic synths, robotic vocals and analogue drum machines. This stand-alone "Thalys" 12" release marks the switch for METROLAND, from one dimension to another that will be opened and revealed in 2015 only... The "Thalys" tune perfectl...
Tracklist 01. Enjoying the View (7" version) 02. Theme for Metroland (Close the Door remix) 03. The Passenger (12" backside version) 04. Moscow Main (Sophie Watkins mix) 05. 1863 06. Harry Beck (Laurent Boudic under Növö remix) 07. Enjoying the View (12" tourist version) 08. Inner City Transport (7" version) 09. It's Fun to Commute (Stamba mix) 10. The Passenger (7" version)
Press Release You are fond of vintage keyboards and love bands like KRAFTWERK, KOMPUTER or yet TELEX? You fell in love with the Belgian duo METROLAND with the release of their much successful album "Mind The Gap" and its unique mélange of melodic synths, robotic vocals and analogue drum machines? The time has come for another exciting trip through the underground... While being aware that in this so-called digital age not everyone is fond of digital-only releases, METROLAND decided to bundle all their former download 12inches onto a so-called limited 'Extended Play' EP. "Mixing The Gap" does not only hold all tracks from both single releases, the praised “The Passenger” and the dreamy “Enjoying The View”, but also another set of exclusive mixes from “DJ Stamba”, “Darkmen”, “Növö” and “Sophie Watkins”, making it a unique and very limited 10-track carton sleeve EP. Another true must-have for those who fancy a muscled up Kraftwerkian style of music.