FUNCTION - Existenz [4LP]

Format: 4 x LP
Catalogue No.: TRESOR315 
Barcode: 666017339719 
Release Date: 03 Jul 2026
Genre: Techno

2026 VINYL REPRESS

Mixmag Techno Album Of The Month with 10/10 review: 'A masterful, vulnerable piece of work that deserves full attention'

“Stellar new album from Dave Sumner’s Function - arguably a sequel or sibling work to Sandwell District’s seminal ‘Feed Forward’ classic - marking his first solo LP since 2013, and best in his catalogue.” BOOMKAT.

“It's an absolutely gorgeous, luxurious album, even without the smoke, sweat and sleep deprivation of its natural habitat.” THE ARTS DESK

“ Dave Sumner revisits his New York roots on this surprisingly expansive album...   One of techno's true underground heroes, Function (Dave Sumner) has been DJing and making music for over 25 years. He is a founding member of the Sandwell District collective, Ostgut recording artist and owner of Infrastructure''   - RA

The American cable-television industry exploded in the 1980s, pushing broadcasts of diverse programming and emissions of low-laying cultures into homes. Community stations piggybacked on the digital developments of the time, extending their existence through telephony and broadcast a iliates. For those growing up in this time, in locations such as New York City, the localized communications beamed into their homes exposed them to an impressionable array of disparate sounds and visions. 

Move into the 1990s and New York was filled to the brim of emergent cultures drawing from this ebullition of communication. From Rammellzee’s shapeshifting to the late Judy Russell and Frank and Karen Mendez’s Nu Groove imprint fusing reggae, poetry and house, nascent ideas emanated from the city walls, from within stores such as Sonic Groove store and on VHS releases such as Stakker’s The Evil Acid Baron Show, a legendary technicolor psychedelic trip along the wildest frontiers of acid house. As scenes expanded and identities developed, such individuals weather the events of the visceral now, expressing themselves right into an unpredictable future. 
Function’s long career has seen him uncover a vast range of sonic identities, a mainstay through house, techno and industrial with collaborations with the likes of Regis, Damon Wild alongside his highly influential Infrastructure imprint. With influences deeply tied to pop art, rave and gay scenes, and early memories of block-parties emitting Kraftwerk and Strafe, he found himself seeking out the undercover illegal nights of the 90s on a quest of sexual unearthing, mixing the ever-yearning escapology mission of disco with the influential DJ sets of Jeff Mills.

For his new album Existenz, he marks a clear step away from the corporeal techno of his recent releases. Pivoting around themes of religion, sexuality, trauma and healing, it is a work expansive and celebratory, a clear liberation from a deeply internalized past. Formed from a collection of recordings made in a period from late 2016 to mid 2019, Existenz takes the form of a creative outburst in reaction to a number of traumas - recent, childhood and throughout Function’s life. Life partner Stefanie Parnow assisted the production process in its entirety, providing inspiration, spiritual healing and featuring vocal contributions. 

4LP A1 Sagittarius A (Right Ascension)  05:15 A2 Pleasure Discipline 05:57 A3 Ertrinken  05:38 B1 Growth Cycle (featuring Robert Owens) 05:52 B2 Zahlensender 08:04 B3 The Approach 03:27 C1 Nylon Mood 06:26 C2 Alphabet City 05:43 C3 Don't Ask, Don't Tell 06:10 D1 No Entiendes 06:56 D2 Kurzstrecke 06:43 D3 Golden Dawn (featuring Stefanie Parnow) 07:14 E1 Interdimensional Interference 05:58 E2 Distant Paradise  08:05 F1 Be (featuring robert owens) 04:50 F2 Vampir 06:29 G  Downtown 161 11:38