YAMANOTE by JANKA

Piotr Kalinski and Daniel Szlajnda are artists who hold a special place in the Polish independent music scene. Their solo achievements date back to the first decade of the 2000s, providing an important foundation in the development of the local music scene.

Daniel Szlajnda is associated by many Polish listeners with aliases such as DJ Taśmy and Daniel Drumz, as well as his series of eclectic funk-hip-hop mixes “Electric Relaxation.” The culmination of these achievements is the album “Untold Stories,” released in 2015, on which, as Daniel Drumz, he showcases multiple takes on club music. However, it was the later two albums “Komorebi” and “Order in Chaos” that opened a new chapter in the producer's work by shifting his sonic explorations towards modular ambient - released already under his own name, i.e. Daniel Szlajnda.

The solo beginnings of Piotr Kaliński, known mainly as Hatti Vatti, fall on the period of dynamic development of the dubstep scene in Poland, and his productions maintained in this style, were among the first Polish releases published abroad. He has 4 solo albums and also contributes to such projects as the ambient instrumental Hinode Tapes, Nanook Of The North (with Stefan Wesolowski) and JANKA, which is the result of a collaboration with Daniel Szlajnda.

The JANKA project combines both producers' love of dub, modern electronica, Japan and a good dose of humor, which can be found in the twisted titles of each track. Their music has been released on labels such as U Know Me Records, The Moth Club, Yuku and Newdubhall.

Released in guides EP “YAMANOTE” is a complete set, on which there are clear (in the musical, title and visual layers) inspirations of Japan, being for both artists and guides label owner Pawel Dunajko an extremely important point of reference. Both producers, in their work, often take this Far Eastern direction, and they regularly visit Japan, both solo and with JANKA concerts. In 2024, the Yuku label released JANKA's twelve-inch, recorded with Japanese minimalist footwork icon CRZKNY. Similar to the cassette “YAMANOTE,” the vinyl for Yuku combines a fascination with experimental footwork and dub-techno aesthetics.

“YAMANOTE” EP features six tracks, each offering a completely different variation for footwork aesthetics and 160 BPM tempo. The rich multi-layered ambient space is driven by a pulsating dub bass. Sometimes JANKA's music is reminiscent of the crystalline productions of Move D and Benjamin Brunn, with a difference that it is put through various kinds of noisy effects.

The entire album opens with the minimalistic track “Goodweather Dub,” a sort of tribute to Nagoya's Goodweather club and its owner Eri Ishii, who is an extremely important figure animating the independent music scene in Japan. The title track “Yamanote,” set to subtle and unobvious breaks, playfully winks at the popular Tokyo subway line. “Mono Dub,” is a classic sped-up dub footwork. “Ale To Ty Dzwonisz Dub” is built around the repetitive non-obvious sound of a ringing telephone. “Lolska Dub” is a languidly deep half-tempo, and the final “Mute Dub” is a perfect ambient close to the whole.

outlines is a searching label. It starts with Chicago Footwork and aims at new forms, outlines and intuitions.

guides, is the more frivolous branch of outlines, where releases are characterised by greater freedom of form.

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