Territroy, the Greek duo of Panagiotis Melidis (Larry Gus / DFA Records) and Stathis Kalatzis, release their first album Skulls & Plants on Dekmantel’s UFO label. A collection of experimental and spacious deep techno, psychedelic ambiance and compelling drums that draw you into a unique world of rhythmic sound and expect in DJ sets from Lena Willikens, Helena Hauff, and Vatican Shadow.
The duo has a very specific starting point for their music, and that is the AGET Heracles Cement Factory Plant in Volos, Magnisia, Greece: You’re climbing the Goritsa Hill and the moment you get to the top, you look over to the sea view, but the cement factory dominates the landscape. It lays there almost like a window into the future, where nature, corporate ethos, plant and stone based materials and biochemical extensions all exist as one. The factory is a metaphor that processes the land itself, ignites it in a cancerous way then dumps it into the sea and the atmosphere. It’s a combination of all possible scenarios of optimism and negativity, the essence of trying to do the best for everyone, but accidentally killing everyone in the process.
That contrasting duality is mirrored in Territroy. Each half comes from two separate worlds: graphic novels vs illustration, literature vs empty pages, the functionality and the sheer craft of sculpting sound into feeling vs taking that feeling and analysing it until it no longer exists. More simply put, it is a sports field that is a basketball court at one side and a football pitch at the other, but somehow everyone finds a way to play the same sport, even though one uses his hands and the other his feet.
When one half of Territroy starts a phrase, the other one finishes it, but they speak different languages, and will never be sure if the finished sentence is technically correct, even though they can be certain that it’s definitely finished. What ties them is a constant rhythmic element that is persistent and comes from growing up in Greece and absorbing the rhythmic specificities of Southern Europe and unique Mediterranean attitudes. Importantly, there is also a lot that separates the pair. The result is music that brings together two very different personalities and perspectives but allows them both to coexist, intertwine and unfold in untold new ways.
Dekmantel UFO
Territroy – Skulls & Plants
Release date: 10th May 2019
Format: 2x 12” LP
Track List:
A1. Delirium Vivens
A2. Wax Smiles
B1. Non Sayers
B2. Sleeping Fury
B3. Instar
C1. Upside Down Sinner
C2. I Meant You, Not You
C3. Their Menads
D1. Bold Like A New Sun (ft. Olympia)
D2. Prosopagnosia
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