Inspired by the sounds of the world, French producer Teho opens the doors of his musical stimuli with debut LP project, ‘Polytone’, set for release on his own label, Labo T. With over a decade of experience, from his first EP releases in 2010 to featuring on Stephan Bodzin’s ‘Herzblut Recordings’ label as well as fellow countryman Agoria’s ‘Sapiens’ label, Teho has gone on to perform for esteemed live stream channel Cercle, with his stream amassing near to one million views. He’s also featured at some of the world’s leading clubs such as De Marktkantine – Amsterdam, Zig Zag – Paris, Fuse – Brussels, Module - Tokyo and festivals such as I Love Techno Europe and La Rêve Festival. Establishing his Labo T label in 2016, Teho has worked hard to provide other artists and friends a platform to grow also. 2020 offers a natural progression for Teho as he announces his debut album.
Reaching out through the medium of the full-length album, Teho looks to transmit feelings of understanding and acceptance throughout the human race with twelve pieces of music. Bringing together multicultural influences, Teho has created his own sound which fuses dreamy melancholy and energetic, rousing harmonies.
“For a long time, I have had this feeling that if we understand each other and accept one another, we can all find peace and harmony. In my opinion, when people don't know or don't understand something or someone, they are scared of that. This album is designed to discover cultures and other influences. This is a first step to understanding and accepting the differences we have with each other.” - Teho
At the core of the album is a key message and one that resonates throughout each track, as Teho looks to explore the notions within our differences on the planet as human beings. Posing questions like ‘we are all different on this earth, why can’t we live in peace and harmony?’. Opening track ‘Lipa’ explores that, employing a contrasting melancholic vocal over a loud and heavy bassline; observing that differences are strengths and not weakness. ‘Signal’ aims to further explore these feelings of interconnectivity with each other, acting through invisible waves of energy that we send each other. Emotions of togetherness culminate on ‘Hysteria’, citing a proverb ‘Alone we go faster/Together we go further’ as Teho collaborates with two close friends, Ceas and Aalson.
‘Polytone’ LP offers a plurality of musical themes, touching on stories that have had a resounding impact on Teho’s music in various ways. ‘Anything’ delves into feelings of child-like freedom, weaving an image of a young girl dancing whilst onlooking adults contemplate their lost innocence. Whereas isolation is a key theme to track ‘Yamataï’, combining the Japanese legend of the Priest-Queen from Yamataï who lived alone, with his own experiences in the studio when producing this piece. As Teho progresses through the album, he opens up on ‘GV’ as a tribute to his father, who sadly passed away whilst he was young. Taking inspiration from the many photos he came across over the years, he noticed a pattern to his father’s travels across the globe; happiness & positive energy. ‘Dementia’ examines the modern world we live in, believing that people are too focused on themselves, Teho employs ethereal synths and a droning bassline to convey the monotony of everyday life. With each focus, Teho centres back on humanity, looking for everyone to abandon their disparity in search of peace and harmony.
‘Arena’, ‘Eagles’ and ‘Irani’, are all designed to transport the listener to unfamiliar territories. ‘Arena’ looks to harness the power of congregation, with screaming synthesisers replicating the feelings of a crowd living the same moment and exerting the same energy. ‘Eagles’ tells a different story, the tale of a man struggling to survive, alone in the desert. Arpeggios find their way amongst elevating build ups, as we see the mysterious man being saved by desert nomads in his final hours. ‘Irani’ uses a Middle Eastern inspired vocal, to emphasise the beauty of this region which inspires so many of Teho’s tracks. Exposing a duality with euphoria and underlying melancholy both permeating from deep within, Teho seeks to spotlight the years of war and suffering the region has been subjected too.
‘Because’ explores his concern for the environment, in an increasingly difficult time for the planet. Feeding back into the main theme of the album, Teho looks to encourage one another to join forces and find solutions together wherever we can. Ending on ‘Maasaï’, the album hits euphoric highs as Teho transports you to the middle of the African Savana.
‘Polytone’ LP explores multi-faceted components via his ability to sonically describe moments in time, expressing his concern for certain causes and encouraging the human race to be better; all the while supporting the positive message at the centre of the album.
Teho – ‘Polytone’ LP – Track List:
- Lipa
- Arena
- Anything
- Signal
- Yamataï
- Eagles
- GV
- Dementia
- Irani
- Hysteria (with Ceas & Aalson)
- Because
- Maasaï
Teho’s ‘Polytone’ LP is out now on Labo T.