“The vocals and whole vibe are reminiscent of 31 Knots, Fugazi, and Dag Nasty collaborating on a union hall stage for a $5 show circa ’03.” – Everything Is Noise
L’inertie Polaire, the sixth LP from Potsdam, Germany-based trio THE ANTIKAROSHI, is out today through their long-running label partner, Exile On Mainstream Records, who has released every one of the band’s diverse albums.
The roots of THE ANTIKAROSHI are heavily influenced mainly by D.C. punk and hardcore, while shooting forth rays into many genres by acting completely independent, both musically and politically. The result is music both surprising and overwhelming. The band was established in this self-motivated manner free of external influence, uniting Christoph Hennig (vocals, guitar, electronics), Dirk Hoffman (vocals, bass, electronics), and Andre Pautz (drums). The trio is the antithesis to convention. What happens in their music is an organic amalgamation – they furrow, trench, delve, and breathe through whatever calls to express their music. Classifications such as jazz, electronica, noise rock, post rock, post-hardcore, post-punk are all too constraining.
Three years after their Extract.Transform.Debase LP, THE ANTIKAROSHI is releasing album number six, which can be considered as a successor in terms of content. The trio continues exactly where they left off on L’inertie Polaire; songs that take their time to breathe, only to start up again frantically the next moment and indulge in the noise. Their volume is always a means to an end, but overall, it’s about dragging you into the moment. While the drums and bass prove to be the foundation and yet try to break through the all too familiar, the guitar is often hypnotic and imaginatively searching, while vocals consciously wander between spoken word-esque snapshots and contained phrases.
L’inertie Polaire was recorded and mixed between November 2023 and February 2024 by Nikolaus Schwab at Chaosaudio Potsdam, mastered and cut by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering Berlin, and completed with artwork by Matt Irwin (A Whisper In The Noise), and the song “Major Light” features guest appearances by Marco Henschke (guitar) and Judith Kuehne (spoken words).
With L’inertie Polaire now available to the world, Christoph Hennig states, “This record has been created over the past three years. The songs have been reworked numerous times where it was necessary and kept loose where it had to be. It was always a collective approach of three middle-aged buddies who decided to make noise three decades ago and are aware of the fact that their view of the world is biased by the socioeconomic and cultural situation they were born into by chance.”
Explore THE ANTIKAROSHI’s intriguing L’inertie Polaire, now streaming everywhere including Bandcamp RIGHT HERE.
L’inertie Polaire is out now on Black Vinyl LP with a bundled CD included via Exile On Mainstream HERE, and digitally via THE ANTIKAROSHI HERE. A Dolby Atmos version of the album is also available.
Following their participation in Exile On Mainstream 25 Festival – the 25th anniversary of the diverse label, alongside Ostinato, A Whisper In The Noise, End Of Level Boss, Bulbul, Conny Ochs, Darsombra, and more – THE ANTIKAROSHI is booking additional live performances in support of L’inertie Polaire.
https://theantikaroshi.de
https://antikaroshi.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/the_antikaroshi
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de
https://www.youtube.com/@exileonmainstream3639