To mark the imprint's 10th anniversary n5MD has assembled a very special compilation with a slightly different viewpoint. “The Reconstruction of Fives” features songs from the n5MD catalog covered by a hand picked group of like minded and personally admired artists. Pale Sketcher (Justin Broadrick/Jesu/Final), Nadja, Architect (Daniel Myer/Haujobb), worriedaboutsatan, Bersarin Quartett, Ben Lukas Boysen (Hecq), Jasper TX, Rafael Anton Irisarri (The Sight Below), Boy Is Fiction, and Miwon all re-envision their favorite n5MD tracks in their own signature styles. Two of n5MD latest signings Dalot and Winterlight also weigh in on covers from two of the label's alumni. A different perspective on n5MD's output which is a must have for fans of the label or any of the participating artist's bodies of work.

When ordering "The Of The Reconstruction Of Fives" directly from n5MD (or n5Mailorder) the album comes with a special bonus digital release of all the original versions covered on the compilation.

The Reconstruction of Fives tracklisting

	pale sketcher - secret knots
	nadja - i used to be sad
	architect - blood tracer
	worriedaboutsatan - 63 (she was trying to sleep....)
	bersarin quartett - the deep and lovely quiet
	ben lukas boysen - and by sweet i mean
	jasper tx - colder
	rafael anton irisarri - a storm tore this house
	dalot - xx
	winterlight - national geographic
	boy is fiction - oh! toronto
	miwon - amidst

pop matters

Ethereal electronic music label n5MD celebrates its tenth anniversary with The Reconstruction of Fives, a 12-song compilation on which the label’s admirers (including Pale Sketcher, Architect, and Nadja, plus new label signings Dalot and Winterlight) cover songs by its artist stable. If you’re already well-acquainted with the n5MD aesthetic—subtle, disembodied, and delicately beautiful, drawing as much from post-rock as it does from experimental electronic music sound canvases—you’ll be pleased to find that the label’s signature sound hasn’t been lost in the translation. Call it glorified background music if you like, but there’s something quite touching about all those intangible textures and sensations that articulate feelings that can’t be solidified, and there’s no denying Bersarin Quartet’s aching and stirring take on SubtractiveLAD’s “The Deep and Lovely Quiet”. textura

What elevates a compilation above the norm? How about a fabulous line-up of contributors making over favourite tracks from the n5MD catalog in their own signature styles. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the label has done exactly that in commissioning front-line artists such as Pale Sketcher, Nadja, Jasper TX, and Rafael Anton Irisarri to re-interpret compositions by n5MD stalwarts Proem, Bitcrush, Last Days, Lights Out Asia, and subtractiveLAD, among others.

Pale Sketcher (Justin Broadrick) gives Proem's “Secret Knots” a marvelous makeover, turning the track into a towering five minutes of pounding beats, bass thrust, and sweeping, starlit melodies. Ben Lukas Boysen (Hecq) later covers Proem's “And By Sweet I Mean,” and the results are just as good, with Boysen's piano-and-strings-laden treatment getting maximum dramatic mileage out of the original. Nadja's cover of port-royal's “I Used To Be Sad” begins restrainedly with hushed vocals and ambient washes but the glorious crush comes just as one expects it will about halfway through in a resplendent, slow-motion blaze of guitars and drums. Over an eight-minute span, Jasper TX treats Bitcrush's “Colder” to a massive buildup that eventually decompresses to little more than a peaceful electric piano playing, while Architect (Daniel Myer) digs into Tobias Lilja's “Blood Tracer” with a hard electronic frenzy. On a slightly more becalmed tip, Hologram's “XX” receives a particularly celestial makeover courtesy of Dalot (Maria Papadomanolaki), and the Bersarin Quartett turns in a lovely autumnal rendering of subtractiveLAD's “The Deep and Lovely Quiet.” Worriedaboutsatan's reading of Plastik Joy's “63 (She Was Trying To Sleep....)” is a definite highlight, layering as it does a supple weave of ecstatic string melodies and voices over a simple repeating pattern until the piece blossoms even more halfway through when a churning beat patterns enters. In addition, Winterlight and Boy Is Fiction offer up stirring, anthemic readings of Run_Return's “National Geographic” and Lights Out Asia's “Oh! Toronto,” respectively.

With The Reconstruction of Fives, n5MD pays tribute to its own ten-year run and give its listeners a collection that's as inspired in conception as it musically solid. Would that all compilations might be as good. seek sick sound

Doctriné par la recherche de l’“emotional experiments in music”, Mike Cadoo (Dryft, Bitcrush et 1/2 de Gridlock), a fondé en 2000 n5MD, aspirant à sortir ses releases uniquement sur MiniDisc. 10 Ans après, si le “No Fives, Minidiscs !” ne semble plus être de mise, la recherche de l’émotion dans les musiques expérimentales reste quant à elle toujours le lit de chaque sortie, qu’elle soit orienté IDM, base du label, ou post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, à l’image des signatures un peu plus récentes.

Après une année plutôt riche (citons entres autres les excellents albums de Proem et Dryft), n5MD a donc décidé de marquer le coup pour son anniversaire avec une compilation en signe de présent. Pas vraiment original on pourrait dire (on pourrait tout aussi répondre et alors ?), sauf que sous la forme de 12 nouveaux morceaux se cachent en fait 12 covers, chacun des artistes ayant été invités à choisir un titre dans la discographie du label et de se le réapproprier. C’est ainsi que l’on voit Architect (Haujobb) pondre un “Blood Tracer” d’une obscurité insondable, perdant toute sa naïveté dépressive originelle, Ben Luka Boys avec une version plus éthérée que le Proem premier mais tout aussi magnifique, Boys Is Fiction sur “Oh! Toronto” (de Light Out Asia), electronica rythmée par l’espoir, Winterlight reprenant “Run_Return”, etc…, chaque artiste construisant à sa manière sa cover, en offrant de nouvelles perspectives et de nouvelles sensations.

Il ne s’agit absolument pas ici de refaire de la confiture dans des vieux pots, de tenter de donner un nouveau souffle à quoi que ce soit (le palliatif n’étant pas vraiment adapté à une bonne partie de ces morceaux qui n’ont pas perdu de leur éclat), mais d’offrir une une double vision des années parcourues, et ainsi d’amorcer cette nouvelle décennie en allant de l’avant sans en oublier le passé.

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