tracklist

01 sieg der liebe. horch (1997) – previously unreleased

02 boom chuck boys feat. gianna cheli. blackcap (2005) – previously unreleased

03 me & mrs bee. leonard scrunch (2003) – taken from the album ‚questionnaire‘

04 langer & raabenstein. 66 angel field (2008) – taken from the album ‚sourpuss‘

05 bartholomäus & raabenstein. a night out with nel foltz (1999) – taken from the 12“ ‚guten abend, gute nacht‘

06 david minor. ajaja rmx (2010) – previously unreleased

07 patron and patron. tunnel rmx (2003) – previously unreleased

08 subsequent feat festa. daglicht rmx(2006) – previously unreleased

09 me raabenstein. spirits (2011) – previously unreleased

10 boom chuck boys. holy (2004) – previously unreleased

11 the!she. feat. mark gisbourne. weekend squeeze (2007) – previously unreleased

12 slowcream feat. laura carleton. deep freeze, vocal version (2011) – previously unreleased 

all tracks re-mastered by me raabenstein.

mastered by shapemod, berlin

artwork by simonraabenstein.com

distributed by nonine recordings

fifteen years of music production in twelve tracks.
me raabenstein looks back in time, with rare, unreleased tunes and remixes…
not much more to say, let the music speak for itself…

me wants to thank in order of appearance,
andreas koslik, gianna cheli, laura braun, sebastian schreiber, uwe langer,
maxi jahn, paul kleber, thomas wydler, jörg miegel, ju bartholomäus,
david minor, frederik van de moortel, geer mussert, festa, mark gisbourne,
laura carleton , sebastian müller and most of all my beloved wife isabell simon,
who had to listen to this for so many years now, without complaining…

enjoy the melody !!!

feedback

me raabenstein delivers a free download album retrospective of compositions from the past 15 years. arranged, focused (and defocused) experiments through time, the nonine label operator nostalgically flushes varied musical extrapolations — most of them previously unreleased, including remixes — forgoing barriers and creating new sub-genres along the way. interwoven soundtrack grooves, disjointed experiments and rhythmic clips flutter across darkened vocal samples, lost voices (multilingual in parts) and classical constructs. twelve tracks representing a cross-section of what could only be described as pure exploratory realms, me raabenstein’s audio-biography is detailed with clarity as it wisps by from 1997 — 2011. while difficult to really examine via words, ‚r‘ balances itself as a vehicle with which a plethora of leftfield genres (funk, hip-hop, jazz, classical, exp-electronic, ambient/drone) are placed firmly in the reaches of a wide (and open-minded) audience.
pietro da sacco, igloomagazine, usa 01/12

the eternal return of me raabenstein is simply that this berlin-based artist just can’t seem to sit still. between his own records, collaborations, and other releases, he has managed to give nonine (his label) an impressive level of continuity and credibility. this collection sees him involved in different styles and under various monikers, from tracks under the name slowcream (one of my personal favorites among his projects) to collaborations with others. instead of turning into a typical compilation where tracks follow each other without much stylistic cohesion, the album, despite its variety, blends together remarkably well. in fact, during my first listens—without reading the press sheet, the artist’s name, or any other details—i assumed it was a solo work.

but if this isn’t a heterogeneous record, then tell me what would be. it moves from the neo-jazz of blackcap under boom chuck boys feat. gianna cheli, to the club-oriented sounds of leonard scrunch as me & mrs bee, from the electro-hip-hop remix daglicht rmx by subsequent feat. festa, to tracks layered with spoken word elements or imposing samples like holy (again by boom chuck boys) and spirits under his own name. raabenstein’s signature blend of avant-jazz, club, neo-classical, cocktail, and high-end electronic music is undeniable. some might even find echoes of past releases from labels like compost, sub rosa, and !k7. remember those brilliant the future sound of jazz compilations from compost? well, in some ways, raabenstein continues the conversation from that very point. and given the artists who appeared on those compilations, i’d say that’s already a strong point in his favor. sometimes, certain styles, genres, and ideas are too quickly declared dead or outdated. but nothing is created, nothing is destroyed—everything transforms.
andrea ferraris, sodapop, italy 04/12

good compilation ! nice work. viva nonine !!!
cian ó cibháin, an taobh tuathail, ireland 02/12

nice to see and hear all these unreleased gems !!!
kerem gokmen, dubmission radio show, usa 01/12

thanks again, always surprising good music !!!
raphael sebbag, united future organization, japan 01/12

what’s not there to like?! quite a bit of music here i never heard before from you. very diverse and many styles. you are a man of many talents, my friend…but then I think you knew that. 🙂
velanche stewart, the urban landscape radioshow, usa 01/12

thanks a lot for this great release. ‚r‘ is a wide spread collection of genre-blending music, coming from a forward-thinking musician in all its metamorphosis. brilliant!
pedro figueiredo portela, o dominio des deuses, portugal 01/12

die wahrscheinlich beste kompilation des jahres, die auf den genügsamen namen “r” hört, kommt von einem herren, den treue bln.fm-hörer gut kennen werden: er ist der moderator der sendungen ”raabenstein” und “sensor”. die rede ist natürlich von martin eugen raabenstein – gründer von und wohl einer der emsigsten künstler auf nonine recordings. einstweilen im bereich der bildenden künste zuhause, treibt er mit verschiedenen projekten – u.a. me raabenstein, me & mrs bee, langer & raabenstein – sein feines, elektronisches wesen.

“r” hat die absicht zweierlei zu sein: einerseits ein weihnachtsgeschenk für alle audiophilen, die in dieser richtung nicht genug beschenkt wurden und andererseits ein musikalischer rückblick – nicht etwa auf das sich dem ende zuneigende 2011, sondern auf die letzten 15 jahre musikalischen schaffens von me! insbesonders unveröffentlichte tracks – früchte der vielen kooperationen mit verschiedensten künstlern des labels – sollen so das licht der welt erblicken.

was diese kompilation ganz besonders macht, ist ihre mannigfaltige heterogenität. die 15 jahre rückblick klingen fast schon etwas bescheiden – ein gefühltes jahrhundert musik wird hier komprimiert. da ist zunächst der mysteriöse opener “horch” (sieg der liebe), der sich mal als orchestergigantum, mal als spätklassisches, schubert’sches kammermusikstück präsentiert. es geht weiter mit jazz: sei es beseelter soul-jazz auf “leonard scrunch” (me & mrs bee), freejazz mit techno-anleihen auf “66 angel field” (langer & raabenstein) oder wurlitzer-jazz auf “tunnel” (patron and patron) – die liste scheint unendlich. und so spaziert der hörer ohne ziel, aber in großen schritten durch die genrelandschaft von nonine recordings. er findet minimalistischen techno à la moritz von oswald (“ajaja rmx”), mit elektronik untermalte poetik allen ginsbergs (“holy”) oder etheral wave auf dem überragendsten track des albums: “deep freeze” von slowcream feat. laura carleton – der weiblichen reinkarnation tom krell’s (how to dress well).

nach etwas weniger als einer stunde ist dann schluss. die einen werden noch einmal reinhören wollen, um überhaupt etwas zu verstehen. die anderen – und das sollte die mehrheit sein – werden nonine recordings zu einem der besten elektronischen musiklabels unserer zeit emporheben.
poyraz hannutoglu, bln.fm, germany 12/11

sehr geil !
tim thaler, bln.fm, germany 12/11

great !!!
guido halfmann, jazzthing, germany 12/11

… and then they said…

e bravo il signor raabenstein!
vito camaretta, the vibes, italy

more bearable, more interesting and fascinating than 95 % of what is available elsewhere.
georg gartlgruber, monochrom.at, austria

it is far too intelligent example to be popular or inspire a movement but maintains a cogent atmosphere throughout and is a gem that will travel far with the listener. by far the best listening i have had this year.
innerversitysound, cyclic defrost, australia

gracieuse, vibrante, enveloppante.
monsieurdelire.com, canada

it is much easier to suggest that the music speaks for itself…
jaklumen, weheartmusic, usa

raabenstein eschews blatant dance music-related rhythms altogether.
ron schepper, textura, canada

ich mag diese art der pathosfreien unangestrengtheit.
harry lachner, swr2 jazzmagazin, germany

überzeugt durch die suggestive kraft dieser ungeheuerlichen sound-kraterlandschaften.
stefan niederwieser, the gap, austria

look at these hands!
darryl norsen, foxy digitalis, usa

cinematic and smilingly strong articulated example of work.
dan crossley, fluid radio, uk

a delightful composition that takes on the modern classical realm and shows what can be done with clear and careful collaboration.
greg norte, the silent ballet, usa

various interesting ideas in another captivating outing by an inquisitive musician.
massimo ricci, touching extremes, italy

so it really just depends on whether or not you’re up for this type of bizarre, dreamlike trip.
paul simpson, foxy digitalis, usa

just make sure you get to it before the marketing men plunder and gut it to provide soundtracks for car ads.
oli simpson, beardedmagazine.co.uk

promeneur virtuose dans les entrelacs impitoyables et mortifères de nos insomnies oniriques.
fabrice vanoverberg, les passions de fab, belgium

undeniably contemporary.
the milk man, the milkfactory, uk

a suo modo si tratta di un disco sexy, anche semplicemente per i testi ultraminimali e che vengono snocciolati in una perfetta ambientazione da black dahlia nel corso delle varie tracce.
andrea ferraris, sodapop.it, italy

das ist richtig gut gemacht und äußerst geschmackvoll.
asb, de:bug, germany

generell find ich die nonine releases immer sehr interessant…
matthias desch, bogaloo radioshow, germany

i couldn’t stop listening !!!
ruben koster, netherlands