Here in Berlin, the importance of electronically produced “slow” music to those who immerse themselves in our party scene has been growing. And even though the weekend-long dance parties, with their high octane vibes, are still proud of the long queues in front of their infamous doors, attendees are wising up on how to independently DJ the twilight hours, after the hard and fast rush is over; Descending into cuddly, sleepy time with rhythms that soothe rather than excite…

Traditionally, the city’s “after hour” time was the main setting for down-tempo sounds – weary but glowing dancers gathering in the cosy familiarity of high-ceilinged, Wilhelmine living rooms, after their adventurous journey through rammed, smoky clubs had concluded. The night’s de-briefing sessions making good use of home stereo systems, balancing out their rocket-propelled experience with a gentle audio landing. A landing that always inevitably results in horizontal body positions – those tired feet resting up on second-hand sofas.  

Getting horizontal and enjoying music is nothing new, but in the electronic music branch, commercial demand for pumped up tracks has kept the slow movement underground almost exclusively confined to those come-down sessions at home. But alas, that is now changing…

…Cue Cord Labuhn, 32 year old professional music producer residing in Berlin, who some of you may recognise as one half of the Robosonic DJ-producer duo, which began receiving substantial international attention for their fresh, hip-hop influenced, multi-faceted style of dance music, not long after they first formed in 2006.

Breathing New Life into the Sleep Out

Although Robosonic is still periodically touring the world, Cord’s other half Sacha is now based in the US. Now on his own, Cord has had time to explore the mellowed out side of his creative musical expression and investigate the valuable “horizontal business” of how we wind down to music.

After the whirling years of international performances, Cord’s upcoming releases signify the launch of his solo career as an augmentative sound maker, reflecting the natural pace of real life, with all its unpredictable human emotion, synchronistic sensuality and memories.

Yangon State of Mind, one of the works from a substantial collection of songs, beats, recordings, fragments called OUTTAKES, which are all about encapsulating a time and vibe as a free-breathing audio life form, compliments video footage from Myanmar that Cord made himself during a collaborative community project in March 2016, hosted by Goethe Institute and the Berlin Club Commission.

Similarly, the release SLEEP OUT, a carefully composed 3-hour set, bookended by two of Cord’s own tracks, indulges in the tones and frequencies of sleep in and out of the ordinary representation of this human state in musical form. In drawing the map between the evanescence of sounds and the physical reality of our lives, Cord crosses a boundary between tangible and spiritual sensuality, touching the listener on the deepest levels.

And when it comes to blurring reality lines and thinking outside of all those boxes, Cord has invented a towel scarf for dancers called Punchi. There have been some mysterious stories coming out from behind closed doors regarding the versatile “augmentative” function of this cute but practical adornment. 

So readers, if you are also in the business of experimenting with horizontal music in unusual settings, visit CordHenningLabuhn.com and be sure to follow Cord on Facebook and Soundcloud for news on the OUTTAKES, SLEEPOUT releases, and Punchi towel-scarf playtime.