For more than a decade, The Bunker New York has been a nexus point for the transnational techno community. A chance meeting at The Bunker in 2011 brought together Gunnar Haslam and Johannes Auvinen (also known as Tin Man), who became fast friends and collaborators soon after, conceiving a joint project called Romans. The Bunker New York is proud to present Romans' Ambulare Aude, a collection of atmospheric acid techno tracks following the project's debut on Auvinen's own Global A in 2014.

"The Roman theme opens a world to explore beyond both of our past endeavours," says Auvinen, explaining the conceptual genesis of the collaboration. "In the same way Ennio Morricone may have conceived the 'Spaghetti Western' genre by fusing together various contemporary motifs and moods to conjure the spirit of a past era, we're imagining stories and scenes from the Roman era, trying to manifest narratives while celebrating the distortions we see looking through the murky lens of time." And while Morricone may be a conceptual reference point for Romans, their sound is anything but—instead offering up a pair of murky, psychedelic acid-etched cuts (Emona, Delmenium) buffered by a gradually unfolding up-tempo floor-burner (Coptos).

The record is the result of several extended improvisational jam sessions in Vienna and Brooklyn in which both artists would play off of each other in the studio. Accordingly, each of the three tracks have a slight aleatory air about them, as though both artists are being led down an unforeseen musical path, not entirely certain of where it leads. This culminates in Delmenium, the record's B-side, a true techno journey, featuring an emotional, metallic synthesizer coruscating against a melancholy background.

"I like to think what we make sounds simultaneously like both of us and neither of us. We both push each other in different ways," Haslam says, recounting their production process. Auvinen adds that "[Collaboration] offers a chance to hear from someone else's perspective. Working with others, I'm often reminded of how radically different the way people hear things, and relate to them in a musical context, can be."

Patrick Russell is a true veteran of the US underground, perhaps one of the last unsung heroes of a now lost era in the Midwest. A genuine sonic storyteller, he magically transforms the diaspora of acid, IDM, and pure jack energy into a deep, fluent sonic dialog that never fails to devastate both minds and dance floor.

A Detroit-bred DJ, artist and producer active since the early 90's, Patrick has now made New York City his home. Perhaps best known as a key figure in the legendary No Way Back parties, his ability to weave intensely unique, long-format narratives has earned him critical acclaim for his recent appearance at Berghain, not to mention featured spots at festivals such as Japan’s famed Labyrinth, Unsound, and his numerous appearances at DEMF/Movement. Patrick has also been steadily building a strong catalog of high-profile productions to compliment his increasingly varied, hypnotic, and in-demand DJ sets; his upcoming 3-track remix EP on The Bunker New York also marks his induction as an official resident DJ at the long-running Brooklyn party.

His consummate taste and disciplined execution have created a respect that cannot be purchased. Patrick Russell is not just a name to watch, he is someone to be experienced.

The Bunker New York is excited to be releasing LDY OSC’s powerful debut EP “Magic² of 8” which takes inspiration from Liaisons Dangereuses as much as it does from Sähkö Recordings and Mayan Cosmology.

Alyssa Barrera Auvinen, who would become LDY OSC, grew up in Laredo, Texas on the conflicted border between the United States and Mexico. “I learned at a young age that you don’t have to follow the system” she tells us. Her musical trajectory began in her teen years with an older brother who played in an Industrial band and feeling a connection to the rage of heavier sounds. By late adolescence she was immersed in electronic music and would travel to Monterrey, Mexico to see DJs play. She began to DJ with encouragement from her father, a rooster breeder and cockfighter who drove her to play gigs in Mexico, landing her at clubs such as Aura, Topaz and Bar Americas. Teaching herself electronic music production techniques, Alyssa eventually moved to New York City to attend school, earning a BFA in Liberal Arts and Science with a Major in Music and Sound Engineering. While in school her classmates called her Lady Oscillator because she was always geeking out, building kit synthesizers and DIY modulars and thus LDY OSC was born.

Alyssa’s artistic trajectory really began to coalesce when she connected with future bandmates Todd Sines and Charles Noel in 2015. Their project evolved to become a band called Artefactos de Dolor (which has a double LP coming out in November 2018 on Helic.al records). While she has long been a collaborator on synth pop and punk projects, LDY OSC tells us that working on her own to record, the “Magic² of 8” EP, was a very different process: “I record all the tracks first, and then once I am ready to record the vocals I listen to the overtones and harmonics that the synth lines have created. I then can catch with what is already there, the tone and rhythm for the vocal. I also do other strange things like playback the vocal, open the window, and let the vocal combine with natural air. “ The result is a record that breathes and hits hard on a dancefloor, retaining the humanity of LDY OSC’s vocal explorations alongside the machine soul of her synthesizer manipulations.

Brooklyn-based producer, DJ and member of The Bunker New York family Clay Wilson has been increasingly blurring the lines between the rave and the rest of his life as of late, working as a club sound tech, and hosting a weekly show on The Lot Radio alongside Certain Creatures, with whom he also does a weekly event every Sunday in Bushwick. Clay’s loss of non-rave time is our gain as his newest release, The “Law of Seven EP” comprises a meditative and ecstatic homage to deep listening techno with mystical overtones. We asked Clay where he is currently at with his creative interests and he told us: “I find myself attracted to the techno which gives some feeling of otherworldly escapism. I feel like especially with the current tensions in the air, particularly in the United States, that I'm even less drawn to the hard pummeling functional styles of techno. I don't really want to be beat over the head with music that feels very much from the earth, but instead look for music that can elevate beyond the club and creates a sonic environment referencing space, psychedelic forests, aquatic spaces, etc. I feel that the impact of subtlety and escapism can be a more uplifting or healing force right now while still being completely strange and weird.”

The “Law of Seven” refers to the spiritualist philosopher Gurdjieff’s idea that the evolution of phenomena proceeds according to a universal seven-step process. Clay tells us that while this idea did not strictly factor into the composition of these tracks, “you could abstract some elements into the musical creation process. Gurdjieff was quite a thinker, but also composed music so I thought the lines I was drawing carried some weight... in particular his notion that ‘Creation proceeds through increasing restrictions’ which I find to be incredibly relevant to my process at least. Time limitations and performance settings particularly seem to allow me to be far more productive than just working freely with no solid end point in mind.”

Clay went on to tell us that the tracks on this EP were inspired by a performance at FUSE Brussels; “I was really trying to create ideas for that set which would have referenced the sounds people would have been aware of from my releases while simultaneously attempting to elevate quality of my production skills and sound system impact in comparison to those earlier records. The crowd reception that night as well as the feedback from (friend and The Bunker resident DJ) Patrick Russell really pushed me to take the live set back into the studio and finish arranging these pieces into a completed record.” The result is a release that feels dynamic and live, enhanced by extremely precise sound staging that allows the music to inhabit the dance floor sonically and spatially.

Newest member of The Bunker New York family with a track on the 15 Years of The Bunker compilation and a remix for Clay Wilson out earlier this year.