Mike Parker’s next unique analog techno abstraction release will finally debut on Darko Esser’s Balans Records with his Transgression and Punishment EP.

Tracklisting: 

A1 / 1. Transgression and Punishment
A2 / 2. Smoke From Burning Fields
B1 / 3. The Freezing Process
B2 / 4. The Midnight Zone

In advance of the EP’s October 9 release, XLR8R spoke with Darko Esser to learn more, with “The Midnight Zone” available to stream in full below.

How did your relationship with Mike Parker begin, and how did this release come to fruition?
I booked Mike for a couple of show in Amsterdam and Nijmegen a few years back. I’ve always been a big admirer of his music. We hung out all weekend and it clicked. I gave him a whole bunch of records and he really liked the sound of the label. We stayed in touch, talked about collaborating, and this release grew organically from there.

Can you describe your vision for the label? Would you say there is a particular kind of sound developing through it?
Balans is aimed at pure, dancefloor orientated techno. It’s a puristic and fairly minimalistic platform, but pure techno appears in many forms in my mind. There’s a place for all of these different flavors on the label, whether it’s more melodic, Detroit-orientated techno, or straight up DJ tools.

You also own the labels Wolfskuil, Wolfskuil LTD, and Tripeo. What differentiates Balans from the others?
Wolfskuil Records is much broader orientated then BALANS. I don’t think in genres for this label. My own taste is the red tape there; it doesn’t even necessarily have to be for the dancefloor. Wolfskuil Ltd is aimed at the deeper, more experimental sides of aforementioned genres. And finally: Tripeo is just for me; I don’t release music from other artists on this imprint. It’s my own little playground.

What do you feel when you listen to a new Mike Parker’s track?
Like being sucked into a black hole. His music sounds so alienating, yet so comforting.