STOOR - Stay Home Soundsystem Compilation

[NewSchoolScience]

PREVIEWS OF ALL TRACKS: on.soundcloud.com/tTp4D

Going back to 2020: As the clubs shut down and techno culture became restricted to virtual spaces, the Stay Home Soundsystem project was conceived as a live stream in which invited artists would improvise with Speedy J at STOOR. Initially, invited artists who were able to make it to the studio would arrive on a Sunday afternoon, set up their own equipment or work with the expansive in-house kit list, do a brief technical check and then the stream would go live to the global STOOR community. No rules, no preparation, just purely responsive sonic exploration. Over time, these weekly sessions had to reach beyond people who could make it to STOOR in person, and so a solution was found for artists to jam with Speedy J remotely, in real time.

The simple fact of achieving this technical challenge was notable in itself, as the STOOR team found a way to sync and merge streams of jammed hardware audio from separate studios through one DAW. It created a unique experience where participants had to respond to nothing but their collaborator’s audio, often resulting in a particular kind of focus without the aid of body language, visual cues or verbal communication.

Stay Home Soundsystem was born from the spirit of community, and finding a way to maintain that spirit without being in the same physical space. The compilation sums up that community by drawing on original material conceived in these improvisational sessions. The digital release features tracks from almost each session, spanning world-famous electronic musicians, exciting underground names and breakthrough talent. The chosen pieces were selected through a process that involved the musicians as well as the STOOR community on Discord. Shared peaks of musical enlightenment are usually remembered in physical spaces, but here they were stand-out moments people experienced together in the chat room, or by revisiting the streams on YouTube after the fact.

As well as the digital release, there will also be a double vinyl compilation of selected highlights. STOOR has been known for running its own in-house vinyl lathe, and so this limited physical edition will also be cut in-house on transparent 12”. This time however, the usual low-key green envelope sleeves and white-label aesthetics of most STOOR releases will be replaced by a full gatefold package featuring artwork from the visual artists who also collaborated and contributed to the Stay Home Soundsystem streams.

Far from a straight-up techno collection, the selections which make up this compilation reach across a broad spectrum of subtler experimental passages as much as kinetic, rhythmically-focused workouts. It’s a telling reflection of the effect lockdown had on our listening habits, as we collectively honed in on the music without distraction. The world may still be in the process of responding to the pandemic, but Stay Home Soundsystem documents the curious sense of togetherness people felt at the beginning of this complex period, when we were all unified in being apart, looking for ways to express ourselves and enjoy the expressions of others.

Edited September 20, 2023 by NewSchoolScience

[thumbass]

Holy shit there are so many tracks here. Love Speedy J. The first couple of tracks are bangers but I need to be in a certain mood to listen to harsher techno like some of these tunes. 

[dcom]

89 minutes of previews. Some really good material in there, haven't really paid attention to STOOR in a long while so this is nice.

[exitonly]

a bit on an aside but those knob twiddlers hangout videos really helped my sanity in the pandemic. i was bummed when they stopped issuing new ones. There is an archive here- 

https://www.youtube.com/@stoorlab/videos

I agree it would take a special mood for this kind of material at home.  Props to Speedy J for keeping it going though!

[NewSchoolScience]

You need to be in a special mood for textural techno from Jochem George Papp et al?  Pffffft, you amateurs.

[Ivan Ooze]

That stanislav tolkachev track

Only 30 euro for the digital vinyls 

[Mattthegoone]

Why is the 2lp vinyl 89 and the digital 29? 60 for double vinyl, tracks sound great? I'm not paying that but it sounds great. I love speedy j I'm not paying that fuck that, Pannik use to be a favourite back in the day on Mute, also loved De-Orbit on Warp and Extra-Sensory on R&S, the bloke is a techno legend no doubt

[NewSchoolScience]

9 hours ago, Mattthegoone said:

Why is the 2lp vinyl 89 and the digital 29? 60 for double vinyl, tracks sound great? I'm not paying that but it sounds great. I love speedy j I'm not paying that fuck that, Pannik use to be a favourite back in the day on Mute, also loved De-Orbit on Warp and Extra-Sensory on R&S, the bloke is a techno legend no doubt

Public Energy No. 1.  Hoo mama!

[species8472]

these are custom lathe cut vinyls. probably sounds like poo. but hence the expense.