Tracklist
Van_Ish | 3:13 | ||
Ana | 8:51 | ||
Vrest | 8:16 | ||
Amin | 6:59 | ||
Porsl | 7:04 | ||
Milllk | 7:11 | ||
Wera | 7:27 | ||
Van_Ish_2 | 2:43 | ||
Van_T | 8:39 | ||
Bulk | 6:12 | ||
House 26 | 7:25 |
Credits (2)
- Peter WeinheimerDesign [Coverdesign]
- Mikael StavöstrandRecorded By
Versions
Filter by
3 versions
Image | , | – | In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory | Version Details | Data Quality | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Ena CD, Album | Force Inc. Music Works – FIM-1-055 | Germany | 2001 | Germany — 2001 | ||||
![]() | Ena 2×LP, Album | Force Inc. Music Works – FIM 217 | Germany | 2001 | Germany — 2001 | Recently Edited | |||
![]() | Ena 2×LP, Album, Promo, White Label | Force Inc. Music Works – FIM 217 | Germany | 2001 | Germany — 2001 | New Submission |
Recommendations
Reviews
- Edited 9 months ago
referencing Ena (CD, Album) FIM-1-055
A really stunning, unique and amazing work by Mikael Stavöstrand.
Stavöstrand around this time was part of the Swedish original authentic 1st-wave microhouse crowd (see the ‘Mitek’ record label and musicians Andreas Berthling, Folie, Johan Skugge, Minimalistic Sweden, Håkan Lidbo, Andreas Tilliander, and so on). It was truly an amazing era of making music, experimentation and technology.
This album was released in 2001, and from 1999–2003 we saw a really exciting and special time in so many strains of underground electronic music. I would say the 2000-era microhouse era went on until about 2006, then seemed to disappear.
There is no doubt this album was 1 of the finest original authentic microhouse releases of that golden era. The dynamics are stunning, great artwork, really unique, very creative, great concept, very well delivered, challenging and rewarding to listen to (it is not an easy listen, it demands your concentration). A special highly original, unique album and is ‘ruthlessly’ microhouse, in fact, at times almost difficult, because it is so overwhelmingly microhouse. It was an incredible era, easily overlooked decades later, nevertheless, it certainly stands the test of time and is great more than 25 years later. The tune ‘Ana’, is a very important release in the history of microhouse, and can be enjoyed even more using good speakers!
It is hard to measure just how creative, beautiful and important this release is, and more widely in terms of music, it goes way beyond the genre of microhouse. Very musically impressive. This album is a fantastic exploration into squelchy grooves, clicks, dubs, moody basses, micro-compositions, formal music design and thawed light tranquillity.
If you are interested in finding out more about 2000-era microhouse, start with this release. See also the ‘Mille Plateaux’ and ‘Mitek’ labels, and especially the musician ‘Snd’, their back calalog of microhouse works is relentless.
The ‘Force Inc. Music Works’ and other connected sublabels (empire), that the ‘visionary pioneering genius figure’ Achim Szepanski setup, and what he specifically did for many years and decades… what he started, commissioned, produced and manufactured, was very special indeed. He enabled the creation and life of new genres of electronic music, especially in the areas of minimal, minimal techno, dub house, microhouse, experimental music, glitch, clicks and cuts, German focused house and German focused techno. It really was an amazing time. But he was not alone (as I found out in 2024 from the ‘EX.146 Jon Berry, RA Exchange, 3 May 2013’ podcast). Achim Szepanski had the aid of Jon Berry who was label manager and publicist for Force Inc. Music Works, and Mille Plateaux between 2000–2004 (Jon Berry was mainly based in New York, North America between 1996–1997 at Earache Records, who also worked at Kompakt between 2007–2022 as distribution manager, label manager, and as an artist and repertoire (A&R) manager).
Frankfurt in Germany between 1999–2003, was a super hot place for underground music and production. When the ‘Force Inc. Music Works’ empire distribution service (EFA Medien GmbH, who monopolised distribution for many other dance music labels worldwide at the time) collapsed in 2004, it seemed to have a devastating impact, and we sadly lost many strains of underground electronic music because of it, and what a shame that was… I really do feel, although cannot be totally sure, that this event (the collapse of the ‘Force Inc. Music Works’ empire), had a disastrous impact on the greatness that was going on then, and did no favours for the genres or musicians going on then. It really could be as simple as that, when a large record label stops operating, it creates a huge loss, and often things do not recover or return to where it was. Nevertheless, Achim Szepanski has restarted again, using the well-known and respected ‘Mille Plateaux’ name, and has been publishing music once again from 2018 onwards. It has to be noted that Achim Szepanski’s vision, the way he commissioned and then manufactured music from then, was a very special landmark event in underground music, maybe not seen or done again…
See also a very rare mix from Mikael Stavöstrand from this time, available online:
• Mikael Stavöstrand (Vita, Force Inc. Music Works) at Mutek Festival, Edition 2001, 30 May 2001, Ex-Centris Center, Montreal, Canada, mutek.ca. - Edited 3 years ago
referencing Ena (2×LP, Album) FIM 217
Cold and abstract up tempo instrumental minimal techno tracks (I like, except D1). Good pressing. referencing Ena (CD, Album) FIM-1-055
Very wintery and clinical sounding album, with percussion that is papery kick drums, blink-and-you'll-miss-it clicks, micro-snares coupled with shuttering, delay drenched chords. Tracks 01 and 08 are the only non-beat driven tracks, while track 04 has possibly the loudest off-beat digital shaker sound I've heard yet - it cuts through the mix like an icepick through a glacier, (not a bad environment to listen to this stark, atmospheric album).
Master Release
Edit Master Release
Data Correct
Data Correct
For sale on Discogs
Sell a copy36 copies from $1.57