lawrence: a day in the life

This is the brand-new ambient and beyond album by Hamburg DJ/producer Lawrence, dedicated to his long-lasting relation with Toshiya Kawasaki, man of action behind labels like Mule Musiq, Endless Flight and Mule Electronic, and the artist Stefan Marx. Besides co-running the label Dial and the Mathew Gallery in Berlin, Lawrence is constantly releasing music on his own labels and befriended platforms like Smallville Records. Furthermore, he regularly contributes to Kawasaki's imprints Mule Musiq and Electronic. The music he shares on his latest album isn't linked to a special place or event. He mostly produced it on his DJ trips around the globe, including Toshiya's homeland, Japan. Back in his cozy backyard studio in Hamburg, he finished all the pieces and mixed them down with a lot of joy. In terms of style, this album is ambient and opens the genre wide open with its very own musical and emotive language. A track like "Nowhere Is a Place" spreads smoothly-twisted spectral vibes with blurring sounds that could easily originate from alienated instruments like a damaru or a conch horn. Sometimes soft, sizzling noise slides under gentle, balanced ambient air, as in the track "The Visit." In other arrangements, he lets the chords dance with cute, smacking electronic glimpses or odd, slow-motion melodies, reminiscent of the work of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and his love for the gentle swing. For Lawrence, this album is "a triple buddy record," as not only is his emotional content included in the finished product, but also his friends, Stefan Marx -- who is in charge of the artwork -- and Mule Musiq-head Toshiya Kawasaki, who was also profoundly involved in the outcome. The genesis of A Day in the Life resides in its emotional content -- it is a weightless one where all feelings are stored supremely in what you can hear, see, and hold in your hand.