Dear all,
I'm super excited to share with you the release of the EP How to Make it Fit by the duo MNPL.
In line with the label’s artistic direction, this EP was performed and recorded live on January 13th and 14th, 2025, at MNPL's studio in Mons (Belgium).
This duo from Mons puts great care into performing fully improvised sets.
As a big fan of modular synths, techno, and live acts, I was immediately struck by the sound and energy of their live performances. The track names on the EP—Clench, Melt, Choke, Dilate—perfectly illustrate the sound design and textures at the heart of their music: deformation, transformation, stretching, shrinking. Their approach breaks away from conventional patterns, quickly moving beyond the usual random 16-step lead phrases often heard in improvised techno—only to return to them with impact when it counts. You lose your bearings; time stretches, to our greatest delight.
Subtle melodies emerge from waves of noise with carefully crafted harmonies, bordering on post-industrial. The kicks and subs have a hypnotic groove. The whole thing is at once powerfully aggressive and surprisingly gentle, held in balance by their masterful control of tension throughout the improvisation. A music of contrast, with its own originality.
Since the artistic direction of the label—focusing on music that is played and performed live—aligned perfectly with their workflow, we decided to collaborate on this EP. We did a two-day studio session and recorded a bunch of jams. Watching them work, it becomes clear why their live improvisations feel so complete: they communicate almost without words—through gestures, brief glances. The dialogue is carried by the sound, by the tension, and each knows where they are, and where the other is going.
We selected four tracks with very distinct directions, captured on the fly. The mixing was done by Mesomorph at Studio Morph Brussels, who delivered an absolutely remarkable sound job, and the mastering was handled by Pattrn at Incidence Studio, giving the tracks their final depth and dimension.
Wishing you a great listen and a safe trip through MNPL’s sonic madness!
Valentin Rocher