One of the nicer surprises that have come along lately in the Free Digital Download domain is the Thinner netlabel out of Frankfurt Germany. Thinner releases electronic music in digital file formats under the Creative Commons License. The netlabel has existed since 1998 and enjoys worldwide critical acclaim for its music. It was founded by Thomas Jaldemark and is today operated by Sebastian Redenz and Ole Schulte as leading parts of an international team. The headquaters is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Thinner productions has accumulated over two million mp3 downloads.
Randomly select an available release from the extensive Thinner discography and there’s a very high probability that the sounds on that album can be broadly described as “dub-inspired” i.e. some permutation of a fusion of dub with house, techno, or even ambient music. It’s also quite possible that the album could be further redefined as belonging to the sound departments of either “dubby techhouse“ or “intelligent dub”, and, if not one of these, the more evasive aesthetic referred to as “minimalism” is an increasingly more likely descriptor. An alternate categorization can also classify the music as either soft and mellifluous or hard and edgy.
Static images from three of the Thinner Netlabel releases:
Although dub-influences are clearly the predominant inspiration behind the general flavor of the Thinner sound, even a cursory sampling of its catalog quickly reveals that thinner is not a static label. During the time period 2001 – 2006, Thinner grew and evolved to encompass a wider variety of sounds and to make available a more diverse palette of releases from which interested listeners can make their selections. The early steady stream of signature dub-inspired techno/house music for which thinner initially became recognized still make their appearances but, as time has progressed and tastes have changed, new sounds have found their way into the thinner discography. While many of early thinner virtual releases were clearly efforts to emulate styles/genres similar to those offered by popular physical labels (eg. basic channel), later albums demonstrate innovative efforts to offer new sounds and/or interesting hybrids of existing ones.
Currently, there are 113 releases available for download here and the overwhelming majority of them are free. A visit to the site is essential as each of the releases has a beautiful abstract flash animation, a static portion of which is downloaded along with the mp3’s to be used for a release graphic.
I have downloaded almost all of these releases and they are pretty choice. I would act quickly; it appears the site is about to undergo a major overhaul. Considering that their past subsidiary label releases have all been taken down, there is no telling how long these will remain available on line.
As Thinner’s catalogue has grown substantially with the years, they also offer 2 compact djmixes to introduce you into their microcosm. While the first mix by dj krill.minima concentrates on the ambient dub side of Thinner, the second mix by dj deluge keeps the 4/4 style. Both mixes span about 70 minutes and are encoded in 192kbps:
thinner ambient dub mix
[audio:http://www.jukeboxheart.com/downloadnow/thinner/thinner_amb.mp3]
PLAYLIST:
01. Danny Kreutzfeldt – Core 2
02. Digitalverein – Abend am Gasometer (rktics_endlos_variation)
03. Blamstrain – Misfire
04. krill.minima – Palmengasse
05. deluge – l’étoile a pleuré rose
06. Pheek – There You Are
07. tlon – Close Distance
08. Benfay – Blüten Konfetti
09. Mikkel Metal – Abank
10. Lufth – Rotes Dortmund
11. Rasmus Møbius – Vintage
12. Off The Sky – Niello Tryst
13. Deluge – After the Flood
14. Danny Kreutzfeldt – Core 1
thinner minimal house mix: IN THIN WE TRUST
[audio:http://www.jukeboxheart.com/downloadnow/thinner/thinner_min.mp3]
PLAYLIST:
01.[thn044] 01-mateo murphy – womb
02.[thn059] 02-theodor zox – b.script
03.[thn043] 02-pheek – a new soulfullofwind
04.[thn045] 04-dick richards – (fingerscent-pheek rmx)
05.[thn057] 06-jason corder – berlin wall
06.[thn054] 04-benfay – warm home
07.[thn052] 02-dennis desantis – on the gripping hand
08.[thn040] 03-surphase and rktic – elbwaerts
09.[thn055] 09-selffish – lo-fi funk 67
10.[thn058] 10-mikkel metal – abank-(theodor zox remix)
11.[thn041] 02-chronolux – returning
12.[thn043] 09-pheek – a new soulfullofwind (mateo murphy remix)
13.[thn050] 03-m.jarl & j.fotmeijer – cant stand to be alone