Manual - True Bypass

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Release date: 4/17/2026Limited edition of 500 transparent teal LP.CD in Digipak.Get instant download with LP or CD order.A1. M2 04:41A2. Goldmohn 03:45A3. Reset 03:45A4. Lumitone 0 3:19A5. Blue Plateau 04:56A6. Padparadscha 01:03B1. Iso 03:54B2. Mezzo 01:41B3. True Bypass 04:29B4. Viraha 06:11B5. Rain on Gravel 02:2316 years after the last Manual full-length, Jonas Munk finally returns with a new album!Jonas Munk released his Manual debut 25 years ago on influential Berlin label Morr Music. Back in the early noughties Munk was a teenager obsessed with the Warp Records catalog, and artists such as Tortoise, Brian Eno and Seefeel. He produced music in his basement studio that was equipped with a few analog synths, some guitar pedals, a sampler and an 8-track Fostex recorder. Early albums Until Tomorrow and Ascend became highly regarded representatives of the European electronica sound at the time – a scene also defined by the likes of ISAN, Múm, Ulrich Schnauss and Four Tet. From the start the Manual sound was characterized by blending glitchy electronics, analog synths and hand-played instruments, such as guitar and piano. Compared to his peers, Munk's productions were always more rooted in the song structures of rock music, rather than branching out of repetitive techno music.His best tracks channeled Slowdive and Durutti Column as much as Aphex Twin, and the Manual sound became one of the more recognizable sounds from the scene. In 2004 Munk made the switch to Darla Records, after being invited to do an entry in the label's Bliss Out ambient series. The Manual albums released on Darla in the following eight years split into two directions: the minimal, beat-less ambient albums (best exemplified by The North Shore and the darker Confluence), while the beat-driven, electronic side of his work took on a more shoegazy quality, with a stronger emphasis on shimmery guitars, analog synths and melancholy melodies. In hindsight one could argue albums such as Lost Days, Open Skies and Streaming Tides and Awash were almost proto-chill wave in nature. True Bypass is a return to Munk's sonic roots. It's a meticulously constructed, multi-layered album, based around minutely programmed IDM beats and hazy synthesizers. And of course Munk's signature guitar lines also play an important role here, as well as the characteristic dreamy melodies that often explore the tension between light and melancholy. The album reflects Munk's love for working with a wide range of sound sources. Even though it's electronic in nature there's an organic feel to these tracks, they're full of the warm tones that can only come from 40 year old wood-paneled synthesizers and hardware processors. It's a true sonic delight, perfect for headphone listening. The decade and a half Munk spent away from Manual offered him a fresh perspective on the project. While he's is obviously back in familiar territory, the result simply sounds inspired – and - considering the current musical climate - strangely rare.Past press praise for Manual:“The musings of so many of his peers feel conceptually thin and prefabricated in comparison to Manual's wandering, curious anthems.” -Pitchfork“...Sonically, it’s Seefeel meets Sons And Fascination era Simple Minds meets Kevin Shields meets David Sylvian; in other words, it inhabits a world where boundaries blur and where sounds collide and move within and around each other to make something instantly, comfortingly recognizable yet with an abstract sense of the new.” -Tangents Magazine”Like the music of his electronic peers and fellow Morr Music artists, Munk's music is as finely arranged as it is innovative. Munk develops his tracks into tone poems that suggest a sped-up Boards of Canada operating at the peak of their abilities. Munk infuses each crackle and keyboard note with a passion that's missing in the work of many of his contemporaries.” -Allmusic Show more