Audion

Audion is a side project of Texan <a href="spotify:artist:2GLf7iaOOujAem5R87xwto">Matthew Dear</a>, whose releases under such monikers as <a href="spotify:artist:6ZJvFFyLWnj4xqjN52gJwL">Jabberjaw</a> and False (as well as his birth name) established him as one of North America's foremost producers of minimal techno. Audion is a stylistic departure for <a href="spotify:artist:2GLf7iaOOujAem5R87xwto">Dear</a>, as the tracks veer off into harder techno terrain than previous endeavors, particularly the vocal-driven electro-pop he records under his given name. Audion's first release was the Kisses EP in 2004; it immediately caught the ears and eyes of the techno elite with its punishing compositions, suggestive song titles, and hypnotic record sleeve. Months later, two EPs -- The Pong and Just Fucking -- followed on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Spectral+Sound%22">Spectral Sound</a> (the club-focused sublabel of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ghostly+International%22">Ghostly International</a>). A collection of songs from these EPs, as well as several new tunes, were compiled on the full-length CD Suckfish in October of 2005. In 2006, Audion curated a mix CD for the esteemed Fabric series and later that summer collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:5lsC3H1vh9YSRQckyGv0Up">Ellen Allien</a> on a split single. <a href="spotify:artist:2GLf7iaOOujAem5R87xwto">Dear</a> continued to issue Audion singles (mostly on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Spectral+Sound%22">Spectral Sound</a>) on a regular basis, collecting many of them on the 2013 digital compilation Audion X. He collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:5l9wiTZVfqQTfMDOt0HtwC">Tiga</a> for two singles ("Let's Go Dancing" and "Fever") on the Montreal-based producer's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Turbo%22">Turbo</a> label, and issued the solo single "Dem Howl" on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kompakt%22">Kompakt</a>. In 2016, he released Mouth to Mouth 10, a tenth anniversary remix album of his "Mouth to Mouth" single. This was followed by Alpha, the first Audion full-length in 11 years, issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22%21K7%22">!K7</a>. The Nightclub EP, another collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:5l9wiTZVfqQTfMDOt0HtwC">Tiga</a>, arrived in April 2017. ~ Rob Theakston, Rovi