Quasar from Alta Ripa by Ben Lukas Boysen

"Alta Ripa is a love letter to my hometown, a place and time I consider absolutely influential to who I am today. It was an era of discovery and learning, of coming of age and music made from synths and samplers. This album pays homage to those early days and goes back to my roots both musically and emotionally. ‘Quasar’ opens up this journey with lots of analogue warmth, digital friction, and hidden breaks.

After nearly 20 years in Berlin, I’ve had plenty encounters with wonderful artists about the core values and inspirations for being a composer, that made me reflect on my work. But this little town Altrip with its distant memories, that I in some ways have never really left, kept moving to the front of my mind and encouraged me to take everything that I’ve learned "back home” so to speak. I wanted to artistically return to the place that formed and inspired me before life got too complicated and tap back into that world with today's experiences. Somehow going back and starting from scratch at the same time, to write an album that is simultaneously my oldest and newest record.”

Though ‘Spells’ and ‘Gravity’ are his first albums recorded under his own name, as acclaimed electronic producer HECQ he’s released nine albums since 2003, exploring everything from ambient to breakcore. He has simultaneously established himself as a trusted composer and sound designer, working for a wide array of clients including Amnesty International and Marvel Comics.