Georgian techno artists Irakli and Michailo have produced an EP made, in part, in a Tbilisi prison.
The producers intend the Release EP to serve as an open letter to the Georgian government about its strict drug laws, which punish users with long jail sentences for relatively small amounts. Irakli visited Michailo, who's currently serving a nine-year sentence for drug possession, in prison before a gig at Bassiani. (The meeting was documented in a piece by Electronic Beats.)
Release was produced over the following year, with Irakli sending files to Michailo's wife, who would then bring them to the prison. The EP collects four deep techno tracks in line with the purist sound of Intergalactic Research Institute For Sound, the label releasing it.
Release also comes with stories of people subjected to Georgia's drug laws. Read part of Michailo's:
My name is Michail Todua. I am turning thirty-four this year and I was raised in Tbilisi. Music was always my passion since childhood, which is why I decided to work in this industry. Thirteen years ago I met a girl named Salome in a club, we fell in love and I married her before she gave birth to our daughter who is now nine years old.
Sadly for the past six years, I have only talked to my little girl on the phone. She thinks I live very far away in the USA because we did not want to hurt her at such a young age with the truth.
On September 12, 2013, while I was driving back to Tbilisi from holiday, I was randomly stopped and taken into the local police station. After which I was sentenced to nine years for possession of the drug MDMA (for personal use). After two years in jail, I was granted the right to work on music.
Stream samples from the new EP.
Tracklist
A1 Michailo & Irakli - Merme
A2 Michailo & Irakli - Shrag Sibylline
B1 Michailo & Irakli - Kult
B2 Michailo & Irakli - Merion
Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound will release Release on June 15th, 2019.