Written by Philip_Sherburne@brown.edu (Philip Hugh Sherburne)
Subject: (idm) question about Mego
quoted 3 lines Can anyone fill me in on the Mego label? i keep seeing references to it,
>Can anyone fill me in on the Mego label? i keep seeing references to it,
>and they always seem to indicate that Mego stuff would be up my alley, but
>otherwise i know squat, and never see it in stores. any brief rundowns?
M E G O
BASICS
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Mego began life during the end of 1994. Founded by Ramon Bauer, Peter
Meininger and Andi Pieper. Ramon and Peter had previously been involved
with the label Mainframe (one of Austria's first techno labels with
releases by Ilsa Gold, Kirlian and Elin amongst others). Andi is a
Berlin based producer who maintains the Mego Berlin studio from his
Kruezberg home. By 1995 Pita (Peter Rehberg) joined the crew. Pita has been
active on various levels within Vienna's underground scene (DJ, journalist
etc...). The Mego Wien studio is based in a disused factory on the
outskirts of Vienna. It also doubles as the working space for the graphic
artist Tina Frank, who alongside Heike Neihl in Berlin are responsible for
the Mego artwork.
WHAT IS MEGO?
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Although Mego is considered by most as a "dance label", there is much more
to the picture as one might think. Its true, that most of what Mego makes
publically available and the way that Mego artists present themselves has
very much in common with nineties "dance culture". However, Mego likes to
see itself as a platform for all kinds of infomation and communication
carried via modern electronic media, whether it be a compact disc, internet
web page, video, live PA or a vinyl record release.
This is why extreme effort is put into packaging and artwork, as well as a
glorious disregard for being pigeonholed into any one genre. It is our aim
that Mego releases and ideas should be collected and expirienced for many
years to come and not be seen as some fodder for hopeless fashion
victimized disc jockeys.
The Mego homepage, known as Mego Box, not only contains the usual list of
records but a whole interactive enviroment.
The Megomat, for example, is a sequencer built into the Internet, where the
user can create sequences from the sample bank of Mego "sounds". In other
words, the user is able to make his/her own Mego track/riff etc..
As well as this Megoland is also the home of each artists own homepage, all
mentions of Mego in the print media and Das Archiv which features not only
every Mego release, but all material by Mego artists for other labels and
various live recordings. These can be heard by user via Real Audio.
The use of Real Audio in the internet is the idea behind the Mego sub-label
Falsch. In that all releases exist only in the internet (except for those
not carried via electronic media like t-shirts etc...)
Mego has just opened its own internet mail order shop called M.DOS. This
features not only Mego releases but other labels worthy of investigation. A
link can found via the Mego homepage.
For real interested parties there is the Mego Newsletter which is sent out
via e-mail to its ever expanding list of global subscribers, and features
all the latest infomation about release dates, event previews and reviews
and other relevant news. This is sent out approxmiatly every two months.
Unlike most electronic based labels Mego does make the effort to leave the
cosy confines of the studio and play out live. With numerous performances
(either as individual acts or as a full on Mego "all nighter") in Munich,
Augsburg, Berlin (Interference), Barcelona (Sonar), New York as well many
outings in Vienna (Phonotaktik, Hyperstrings, Word up etc..) and throughout
austria.
RELEASES
--------
MEGO 001 General Magic & Pita "Fridge Trax" 12"
4 tracks: Deep Fridge; Dope Fridge; Funk Fridge; Theme Fridge.
As the title suggests, General Magic (Ramon & Andi) & Pita threw a
microphone in various refridgerators, sampled the results and produced some
trax with what they found. No one really knows why they did it, but lets
just be glad that they did.
MEGO 002 General Magic/Elin "Die Mondlandung" 12"
2 tracks: Die Mondlandung (General Magic); Mondlandung (Elin).
Split maxi based on the first moon landing. General Magic take the original
German TV broadcast and put it through some deep ambient treatments. Elin
on the other hand delivers a dubby walkabout on the moons surface.
MEGO 003 Stützpunkt Wien 12 "UFO Beobachtungen 93-95" Do 12"
6 tracks produced by Elin
Double pack in gorgeous gatefold cover. Collection of some of Elins more
minimal and experimental works. One track is split over the two vinyls with
added metronome for the discerning DJ.
MEGO 004 Fennesz "Instrument" 12"
4 tracks: 1;2;3;4.
Christian Fennesz used to be the singer guitarist in the band Maische (one
of the more interesting bands to occupy the Austrian underground during the
late 80s/early 90s). Taking a few years off after their demise he returns
with this marvellous EP full of electronically composed pieces of guitar
based sound.
MEGO 005 DJ DSL "I L.O.V.E. You" 12"
2 tracks: I L.O.V.E. You; Coming With The Sound plus bonus beats.
DSL is the Vienna-based hip hop DJ whose reputation in the German speaking
area is growing (voted No 1 DJ 1995 in the Spex readers poll). This release
steers well clear of the fashion induced trip hop style and sticks to its
old school guns. Beat, bass, sample and scratch is all need with this
music. Contains bonus breaks for all those REAL DJs out there.
MEGO 006 Sluta Leta "Fan Club" 12"
3 tracks: Cool Whispers; Groover; Live i Leipzig.
Sluta Leta (Swedish for "slow down") are Bengt Liljestad and Jonas
Bergkvist who hail from the northern Swedish town of Umeå. In the summer
they run a scooter rental shop on the Greek island of Corfu. The winter is
spent in the frozen north producing weird electronic music. This is their
first release. Att du inte kann höra det betyder inte att det inte finns.
MEGO 007 Die MEGO Jacke.
100% cotton grey workers jacket
MEGO 008 Farmers Manual "No Backup" CD (+CD-Rom)
8 tracks audio: Macro Woeb; Biomagic i; Biomagic ii; Perimeter 87; Nomad
137; Farmers Manual; Flight iii; Take - plus CD-ROM
Farmers Manual are a young experimental three piece residing in cheap
apartments in Vienna's fifth district, Margareten. "No Backup" is their
first statement to the world. The audio side is a selection of edited
highlights from some of their legendary all night studio sessions. The
CD-ROM takes these edits even further and gives them a abstract twist.
MEGO 009 Pita "Seven Tons For Free" CD
7 tracks: i;/; ii; Boiler; iii; Fehler; Seven Tons Revised
Pitas first solo work after his work with General Magic on the fridge
project. The end result of fooling around in the Mego studio searching some
kind of new extremes was minimal, confusing and sometimes annoying. "Seven
Tons Revised" features additional guitar treatments from Fennesz.
MEGO 010 General Magic "Frantz!" CD
14 tracks: Monday Afternoon; Take The Bus; Rollen Rink; Close,But Not
Quien; The Offical GM Ski-WM Theme; Temko; Boom; Madshoes; Obvious; No
Ketting; Blob Return; Bonden; Mimi; 11:25.
Finally Ramon & Andi finish the first GM full length release. A mad journey
through the circuits residing in both the Vienna and Berlin Mego studios,
as well as the czech train in between.
MEGO 011 Potuznik "Amore Motore (...Autobahn)" CD
10 tracks: Autostaubsauger; Highway Star; Formula One; Reliant; Clunk
Click; White Lines; Vertical Radiation; Null Komma Nowhere; Cars; Sonntag
Nachmittag.
Gerhard Potuznik is probably best known for his minimal techno grooves he
produces for respected labels such Cheap and Pomelo, as well as being a
member of Mäuse and the supergroup Private Lightning Six. For his mego
debut he delivers ten excursions of funky electronics dedicated to the cult
of driving. "Yet another electronic road tribute" you may cry???. Yes, yet
another. Take the wheel of the world and drive.
MEGO 017 Farmers Manual "fm" 12"
2 tracks: Vertikale Stadt; Le Wöb plus loops.
The vinyl alternative to MEGO 008.
MEGO 022 AKITA/AZUMA/SAKAIBARA/HASWELL "Ich Schnitt Mich In Den Finger" 12" EP
6 tracks: Ich; Schnitt; Mich; In; Den; Finger.
During their recent trip to austria those masters of japanese noise Merzbow
teamed up with Russel Haswell from Londons Disobey club to produce six
improvised noise pieces with additional theremin and jews harp for added
weirdness. Charming.
FALSCH RELEASES
----------------
FA 001 Mäuse "Live At Home"
Rarer live horror.
FA 002 Fennesz "Sounds"
12 Gusto-Stückerl von Ch.Fennesz
FA 003 Faslsch T-shirt.
FA 004 Hecker "Jahr"
Lo-Fi from Schwabenland.
FA 005 Nachtstrom
RELEASES FOR OTHER LABELS
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Farmers Manual "does not compute" 12" (Tray, England)
General Magic & Pita "Live & Final Fridge" LP/CD (Source, Germany)
Fennesz "5-6" 7" (Syntactic, Austria)
VA "Mesmer Variations" DoCD (Ash Int., England)
(features one track by Pita ("Mesmer")
VA "A Fault In Nothing" DoCD (Ash Int., England)
(features one track by Rehberg & Bauer ("Nix Zwei")
Le Zappalot "Erika Goes To Leopoldau" 7" (Syntactic, Austria)
(produced by Rehberg, Bauer and Samy Birnbach)
Sluta Leta "Space Is The Place" 12" (Uptight, Austria)
VA "Was ist n.e.u. - 24 remixe für Andreas Dorau" DoCD (ElekroMotor,Germany)
(features one track by General Magic ("Hallo")
VA "Mind The Gap Compliation" DoLP/CD (Mind The Gap, Germany)
(features one track by DJ DSL ("I L.O.V.E. You")
VA "Berlin Unwrapped" DoCD (Volume, England)
(features one track by General Magic & Pita ("Thaw Fridge")
4thworld crew
*cutting edge mail order*
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/4thworld/