Stream the album’s gloriously crunchy opener ‘Gray’s Legend’.

Since launching in 2013, Lobster Theremin has made a name for itself as one of the most reliable underground dance labels around, releasing a steady stream of must-hear releases from the likes of Palms Trax, Snow Bone and Panthera Krause.

The London-based, outward-looking label’s first album release comes from the spectacularly named Imre Kiss, a Slovakian-born Hungarian artist whose appearance on Lobster Theremin is something of a happy accident. Midnight Wave, an album of hazy, tape-crunched club tracks and delicate Aphexian ambient numbers, was recorded straight to tape in Kiss’s box room in Bethnal Green back in 2012 near the end of a four-year stint in London.

Influenced by ambient classics, British industrial music, Brian Eno and the ever-present shadow of Kraftwerk, the album was originally released in 2013 as a limited cassette on Hungarian label Farbwechsel, and would have remained an obscurity had Lobster Theremin’s Jimmy Asquith not stumbled across it and acknowledged its magic. After tracking down Kiss, who had by then moved back to Slovakia, the label offered to master it and give it a proper release.

FACT quizzed the low-profile producer on the making of Midnight Wave and his next move. Stream the album’s opening track ‘Gray’s Legend’ below and find out more about this most unusual record in our Q&A.

Midnight Wave was made when you were living in the UK. What’s the story behind it?

I was living in an East London council estate at the time. The view from my window was quite grim but it also reminded me home as I grew up in a tower block in Slovakia. It was back in 2012 when I bought my first gear. I was making music before with software but, without sounding too cliché, I really fell for the warm sound of old analog synths. My first synth was a Roland SH-101 and I later I bought a Korg EX-800, a Yamaha CS-01 and a few others. Most of the synth parts were recorded live to tape and edited later in Ableton..

What kind of record were you trying to make, and what was inspiring you at the time?

Most of the tracks were finished quite quickly. My aim was to capture the feeling that I had at that particular time. I tried to lay down the main parts as quickly as possible otherwise that ‘moment’ was gone by the next day. I had been watching some obscure movies from the 80s and 90s and I often thought that even the cheesiest of scenes would have a very different impression if you just changed the soundtrack underneath. I was trying to reimagine those scenes with the music I had in my mind. Like a soundtrack for an imaginary film. I guess this is what Brian Eno was trying to make with his ‘Music for Films’ series.

I was also trying to absorb what London had to offer. I often hear that the club scene isn’t what it used to be but I can’t think of many other places where you can see your favourite DJ play in a small dark club for 50 people or accidentally end up at an illegal reggae party in a basement somewhere.

What does the title Midnight Wave refer to?

Something dreamy and imaginative. The feeling of day turning into night. I enjoy walking at night, especially when the streets are empty and the street lamps give this nice orange-y reflection on buildings. I came up with the name for one of the tracks but I thought that it suited the whole album too.

How does this record compare to other music you’ve made? 

It’s definitely more personal. Hazy is the word I hear often when people are describing it. I wanted my synths and drums to have a sort of ‘washed out’ effect like on some old krautrock records. I just experimented with different recording techniques but didn’t really know what I was doing. I guess it was also a learning process. I did some club friendly tracks too while working on the album but I wasn’t really interested in doing a dance record. Some of those tracks ended up on my EP on Lobster Theremin.

What projects are you working on now?

I just finished a remix for a Croatian label and I have an EP ready to come out on Lobster Theremin early next year. I’m also planning to launch a monthly club night with S.Olbricht and Aiwa from the Farbwechsel crew in Budapest which should be fun. I’d also like to start to work on my new album next year.