We Were Never Mnml, May 2008

Where we at, people? Already this month I’ve heard three people say ‘fuck, is it May already?’ I don’t know about you, but I think 2008 has been a panning out fairly well so far in terms of releases, sounds, directions, labels and so forth – a far cry from the dearth and glut that has afflicted food and finance worldwide. One thing that I personally can’t get enough of at the moment is the Berghain sound, and I don’t think I’m alone there. Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann even made the cover of Germany’s Groove magazine this month, with Klock doing his best impersonation of a GAP model and Dettmann looking monumental and angular, complete with the malamute eyes and chiselled cheekbones of a socialist-realist sculpture. But it’s their productions, more than their pin-up prospects, which are really of interest. Both producers have been totally on it for a while now, but it’s the release of Dettmann’s new Berghain 02 mix that should irrefutably consolidate the reputation of the club, its residents and their label (O-Ton) as Europe’s new ‘holy trinity’ of techno.

Much like O-Ton’s other associated artists Cassy and Prosumer, Dettmann puts the emphasis on the record itself. He lets the darned tune play, and pursues a style that is very comfortable in its own skin and not trying to be edgy, pretentious, (and ending up overblown or downright ridiculous). There’s a nice (and perhaps important) contrast between this kind of approach and a lot of others that lean heavily on the new capabilities of FX, looping, sampling and all the other bells and whistles of both the new mixers and digital mixing interfaces. A lot of prominent people in electronic music appear to have become slaves to an imagined ‘freedom’ and their fantasies of total control. If you ask me, it’s simply no good using key correction, looping and every possible effect under the sun if the underlying material you’re playing is rubbish. On the contrary, if the records are the business, all the DJ really needs to do is look after the fundamentals. As DJ Yoda (admittedly a very different kind of DJ) said to me the other month, “the most important thing is to rock the party with two turntables. That’s the fundamental. If you can do that, well then, anything you can add to make the set more creative, that’s a bonus.” In both their DJ work and their productions, O-Ton’s style is so utterly ‘fundamental’ that it’s almost stodgy; but (on the other) this is also a highly developed aesthetic that knows precisely what it is and how it wants to express itself. It’s the beauty of the bulletproof. I’m instantly reminded of some of the parallel ‘unbreakable classics’ of industrial design: the AK-47, the Nikon F2 and F3, the Technics 1200.

O-Ton is also without a doubt one of the labels of the year so far in terms of the traction that it’s had with fans. To this (whatever you or I think of their releases), you’d have to add Oslo, Wagon Repair, Uzuri and Styrax. Guillaume (of the Coutu Dumonts) is just about to drop another EP for the Oslo as The Per Eckbo Orchestra that’s getting good reviews, although I haven’t heard it and can’t vouch for it. Guillaume’s also about to release a solo EP for Musique Risquée with a Horror Inc. (Akufen) mix on the flip – could Marc ‘Akufen’ Leclair be about to make an overdue return? Meanwhile, over at Beatport, the sales tell another story, and it’s artists like Deadmau5 and Danton Eeprom that are getting all the love. It’s hard to know exactly, but there feels like a growing disconnect between the different digital outlets, not only in terms of the sounds they’re pushing and what’s getting the critical response, but also in terms of what people are actually buying. As Phil Collins once said, ‘we’re two hearts strivin’/into separate worlds.’ All this before he divorced his wife… by fax.

Back in Melbourne, the various announcements for the impending We Love $$$ounds behemoth may say more than they intend. I noted that Ali ‘Dubfire’ Shirazinia has been booked to come out, but on the bill posters the designers have been careful to bracket his personas, so it’s ‘Dubfire (Deep Dish)’ – a decision which demonstrates bad faith and/or careful research. Apparently Melbourne fans either only know (or actually prefer) Deep Dish. Hey, when it comes to pizza, I’m one of them. If I never have to eat another gutless, cheeseless, overpriced ‘gourmet’ pizza ever again, I’ll be a happy lad. And as for Ali… well, I’ve said my bit about Dubfire. Interestingly (and happily), Gaiser is making an appearance at We Love Sounds. Anyone who’s caught mp3 recordings of his live PAs would know how much (and how hard) they kick – in fact, he’s probably the best (and maybe the only) decent M_nus live act. And yes, I mention this as he’s coming with Marc Houle who… well, at least he’s better than Heartthrob. We Love Sounds is also collecting numerous other names, like Ellen Allien, who has been a rubbish DJ for a few years now – sorry, but it’s true. Then there’s Derrick ‘Same Old Shit’ Carter, Stephan ‘techno by the bald man’ Bodzin, Modeselektor, and (look mum no) Hans-Peter Lindstrøm.

Personally speaking, I’m deeply ambivalent about the predominance of big festivals like We Love Sounds. On the one hand, it allows promoters to put together incredible line-ups and tour artists who might otherwise not be a viable proposition; on the other, there’s a good chance you’ll shell out almost $100 dollars to hear your favourite artist play for thirty minutes on a substandard system in a dusty field. And then (if you’re really lucky), you get to share the experience with tens of thousands of gurning, fluoro-ed up munters off their mash on crystal meth, Jagerbombs, glowsticks and alcopops – the very same people (along with the ‘fuck and a fight’ philosophy that’s always guided a good night out on King St) who have inspired ‘the lockout’… (sigh)… I don’t doubt that this is a well-organised, exciting event featuring a number of highly anticipated artists. But, well, call me Grandpa Curmudgeon, but here’s hoping there are a few good sideshows.

Nativespeaker: dysappearance

Well, here’s the next installment of the Nativespeaker mixes. Where 36 degrees was mixed on a sweltering afternoon with the imagination of heat haze blurring the corrugated iron roofs of the neighbourhood houses, dysappearence was made in the dead of winter. I was alone in the house, re-discovering Ricardo Villalobos’ fantastic Auch remix – easily one of his best. The mix is difficult to play to dancers if you let it unfurl, as it dissipates into a maelstrom of rainstorm and a forlorn, climbing melody. RV has an ear for a beautiful sample as good as Pete Rock or DJ Premier – who else could make a track as nominally simplistic as ‘Enfants’ work so well – but his ability to really hone in and mine the melancholy out of melodies is another of his ample talents, and it’s in full effect here. I build the whole mix around this track, my love for it.
There were also dynamic considerations at work – I get really sick of the typical narrative arc of a lot of published mixes. I had in mind something of the novel story told by DJ Koze’s ‘All People Is My Friends’ mix, which, if you diagrammed it, looks like the picture of the python who’s swallowed the elephant in Le Petit Prince. Koze makes a dysppearance here, along with Troy boy, Wolfgang Voigt, Efdemin, Richie Hawtin (most definitely pre ‘cube’), Claro, Moodymann, Pansonic, Nike.Bordom and a Ø remix of Björk, which comes in a wonderful sleeve by talented misogynist photographer Araki. I can’t help but wondering if he tied Björk up, and if so (guiltily), where are the photos? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Listen to it somewhere dark.

Louderbach – For Lack of a Better Solution
DJ Koze – Madame Zifandl
sleeparchive – Image Photometer
Studio 1 – Gold
Auch – Tomorrow Goodbye (Villalobos mix)
NSI – Clara Ghavami (extended)
Efdemin – Postscript Blues
Moodymann – Dem Young Sconies
Plastikman – Hypokondriak
Pansonic – Pyokki Halko
Claro Intelecto – New Dawn
Nike.Bordom – Unfinished Symphony
Björk – Headphones (Ø mix)

And you can download the mix here

N.B. - this mp3 is gutless, you have to turn it up.

the jacking zone

ok, this will be my last post for a few weeks. i suddenly have to run off to the UK, which means no ssg fun time for chris. don't worry, the great thing about this blog is we have a whole team of ssgs!

anyway, the title of this post seemed to suggest itself. it is one of the tracks on the new marcel dettmann mix. another record on berghain 02 is from samuli kemppi, entitled 'vangel' . right now, i think it could be the highlight of a really excellent mix. dettmann got me inspired to check out more of samuli's sounds and i found a recent livepa he did. i've been liking it a lot - definitely with the same berghain signature of dettmann/klock/nodge/shed/etc. he has also up'd two live dj sets, both definitely jacking and worth listening to if you are in the mood. you can find them here and here. the livepa especially suggests samuli is a guy worth keeping an eye on...

the dettmann mix also inspired me to go check out tadeo. for some reason, i hadn't before - i think because i mentally associate him with alex under, an artist who i struggle with (i am not sure why). so i grabbed a recent set of tadeo's and it is really, really rocking. sometimes the mixing is a bit rough and ready, but nothing wrong with that. jacking stuff and definitely worth a rub. i'm going to start listening to some more of tadeo.

tadeo @ club ego closing 11.04.08 (new link)

*edit*

i had to add this new set i found today and just listened to. it is much less techy than the other sets posted, but man, it is certainly jacking. i can't remember the last time i heard such an excellent fun, party set. these guys are seriously rocking. check it!

melon, sebo k, 2000 and One tag team @ club 11, amsterdam 29-04-2008

*end edit*

someone whose mixing is never rough or ready is man machine ryan elliot. it is kind of scary how tight his sets always are. given the recent discussions about how technology may be limiting creativity and dumbing down the art of djing, elliot is a great example of where it all works and his djing is opened up to new possibilities, rather than being limited. have a listen to this set and you'll hear what i mean ).

ryan elliot presents the r-factor, may 2008 [alternate link here]

Manmadescience - Connect the Motorcities
The Model - Terminus Interlude
XDB - Espac
Jenifa Mayanja - Boundless (Jus Ed rmix)
Convextion - Ondes
Rhadoo - Aundi (Unanim rmix)
Jackmate - Male Kicks
STL - Moonwalk
Daso & Pawas - Det (Shatrax Beats)
Buks - Still Working
Mara Trax - Funk Me
Mountian People - Mountain 5.2
Prosumer & Murat Tepeli - Turn Around (Cassy Smooth rmix)
Efdemin - Lohn & Brot (Tobias rmix)
DS - Orangefood (Jens Zimmerman rmix)
Langenberg - Estate
Kabale und Lauhaus - Makake
Move D - Quit Quittin
DJ Qu - Buzz
Trusme - War
Mixworks - Berlin Dub
Studio 1 - Silver
Monobox - Realm
Prompt - Elephant
Edit Select - Reduktion
Baby Ford - Serpentine Tail
Empty Set - Seclusion
Jackmate - Buccaneer
Kassem Mosse - Workshop 3 (A1)
Shed - Well Done (033472 Edit)
Shed - Well Done (030 Edit)
Equalized - Equalized 1 (A)
Matthew Styles - We Said Nothing
Dj Dozia - Pop Culture
Planetary Assault Systems - Kat
Dettmann and Klock - Places Like This
Audion - Against All Odds
Equalized - Equalized 1 (B)
Madteo - Alan Greenspin
Shitcluster - Doop 4

enjoy the sounds...

A+ for D

supposedly move d is someone who has been seriously under-rated for a long time. i don't know, as i only discovered him a year or two ago, care of fellow ssg pete. regardless, move d is definitely getting some love at the moment. and rightly so. his release on the up and coming uzuri label, quit quittin', is a fantastic ep, with the title track being the standout. this has been followed up by a collaboration with benjamin brunn on smallville (are these guys ever going to put out something that is less than brilliant?). since picking up honey a few days ago, i've had it on very high rotation. definitely one of the best things i've heard of late. strongly suggest giving it a listen. the good news is that move d has a new website up and running, where he is being very, very generous and has a large collection of recorded dj set and livepas. you can find it here. i am slowly making my way through and grabbing the ones i haven't already. for starters, i can strongly suggest the livepa at robert johnson, an excellent introduction to his sounds, and the tonspuren live recording, which is more on the ambient/chilled tip and really, really beautiful.

another set more on the house-y tip that some may be interested in, is this new set from tama sumo. for those of you who don't know tama, she's closely associated with the panorama/ostgut gang and her first release is coming out soon on ostgut. i need to listen to this a bit more, but the mix sounds pretty good. it covers a nice cross-section of sounds: centred around deep house, but she ventures into techno, italo and similiar realms. nothing too mindblowing, but an enjoyable set with some great selections throughout.

tama sumo @ pacotek 21.2.08 part 1 and part 2

i've got some other sets i really want to share, but they are more on the tech side of things. i'll try and post up some more goodies in the next day or so. enjoy these deep house sounds for now.

Enthusiasm: our tracks of the year (so far)

The Algonquin Round Table vibe continues here at mnml ssgs, as the four of us recently gathered for a (virtual) fireside chat where we mulled over our favourite tracks of the year so far. It’s fair to say that we all love electronic music (and I know you do too, dear reader), but sometimes it’s a little too easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm and hype of the new/now. But what happens when ‘now’ starts to become ‘then’? Does the enthusiasm remain? What tracks have stayed with you, and what have fallen by the wayside?

We thought it was about time to post some ‘enthusiasm’ for tracks that we’ve been loving in the past months, those ones that stick in your head, beg to be replayed, or that you simply admire because they are funkier, deeper, or anyways just better than your average boom-boom. So put on your favourite smoking jacket, light up a pipe and come join us by the fire as we share our enthusiasm with you, member by member.



Cam:

In no particular order, here are my Five Faves since the start of the year.

Vladislav Delay: ‘Recovery IDea’ (Andy Stott Remix) (Semantica)
Whoever thought of this pairing is a genius. Delay's narcotic ambience effortlessly glides into Stott's dub/tech structures, the two intertwining perfectly. Brilliant.

Shackleton: ‘Death is not Final’ (Skull Disco)
The layers of rhythm at work in this track are absolutely insane. There's just so much going on here, it's incredible. Deep, dark, densely layered ... this is a real treat for your ears. Listen to it on the best headphones you have. Then listen to the killer T++ remix on the flipside.

Bvdub: ‘Remembering To Forget’ (3rd Wave Music)
13 minutes of warm gentle waves washing over you, underscored by an insistent four/four beat ... and then a squiggly acid line comes in, and the next thing you know you're nodding your head in time to the beats. Hazy ambient bliss to get your groove on to.

Kelley Polar: ‘Entropy Reigns (in the Celestial City)’ (Environ)
Pure pop brilliance. A boy/girl duet with overlapping/run-on vocals. 80s keyboards. Overly dramatic strings. A sudden and wonderfully dizzying twist that turns the end of the song into something entirely different. And not a trace of irony involved. You may think it's cheesy, but I love it. Has anyone heard the Ewan Pearson remix?

Hercules & Love Affair: ‘Blind’ (DFA)
Joyously propulsive new disco in which everything works (although you would never expect it to). A bold, triumphant brass section? It works! Vocals by Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons? It works! (And I don't even really like Antony and the Johnsons.) People were worried about the DFA label falling into a slump; worry not, it looks like Hercules is here to save the day.

Dave:

2008 thus far has been a bumper year for techno & house. And this is coming from someone who was overall slightly disappointed with the 2007 spoils. It's seen the continuing remarriage of techno and house as many previous mnml techno strongholds continue to embrace house with a few notable exceptions. Luckily for those of us who still find the lighter house sounds lacking like myself, the punchier tribal Deep House sound pushed by the likes of Mountain People seems to be the biggest force behind the recent shift towards house and so far the MP replicants have been putting out some fantastic tracks.

Here's 10 tracks that have been doing it for me so far...

Mathias Kaden: ‘Swahili’ (Freude Am Tanzen)
Mathias showed on last year's ‘Myal’ EP that he was able to infuse tribal sounds to his techno sound to good effect but on his ‘Lucidas’ EP he's bringing a deep house sound. All 3 tracks on this EP are fantastic and it's clearly the best EP of the year thus far in my mind, but Swahili is the best track for the floor.

Daze Maxim: ‘Woodbird’ (Limitiert)
Good to see that one of my favourite producers from last year is still in good form. This is some more tribal deep house that's really heavy on the percussion that makes some good use of a killer bassline.

Dario Zenker: ‘Womde!’ (Vakant)
Around this time last year I was all about the dark and deep Argentinean tech sound but it seemed to get a little stale as 200 drew to a close. But some of the producers have been able to progress and continue to do some really interesting stuff... Dario being one of these people. On his Vakant debut he's also fused his sound with tribal sounds and while hints of the trademark techno thrump remains, it's been toned down somewhat and there's some subtle leanings towards Berghain too.

Seuil: ‘Detroit Candles’ (Eklo)
Another fave producer from 07... This track starts off closer to the traditional Argentinean sound until the acid hooks and detroit synths come in. This is a huge bomb of a track with a nasty kick. Seuil's ‘Blood On The Congas’ EP from late last year is also worth a look at.

Agaric: ‘No One Knows (Post Doom Uberfunk Edit)’ (Sunset)
One thing I've always loved about Agaric is his unique use of effects. While some producers can sound like they're running random Ableton FX patches, Agaric is able to avoid this problem. This rather sparse banging track is no exception.

Luke Hess: ‘Believe And Receive (Shedsdeepanddubbydub remix)’ (Kontra-musik)
Despite all I've been saying about tribal deep house, I still think the most exciting music is coming from the Berghain sound. Shed is one of the major producers of this sound and has shown a knack for infusing some interesting Basic Channel-esque metallic ambience to his tracks which can be heard in on this stripped back dub of Luke Hess.

Ben Klock: ‘Steady Plus’ (Klockworks) / ‘Similarity’ (Bpitch)
In my opinion, Klock is the best producer in techno right now hands down. So it's no surprise that two of the best tracks of the year so far are from him. ‘Steady Plus’ has the trademark Klock shuffling bass but with a stronger acid influence. ‘Similarity’ is Klock on top of his game. It's rather straightforward dubby acid techno but I doubt there will be a more beautifully produced track all year.

Vera & Federico Molinari: ‘It Ain't Music’ (Oslo)
I know I'm not the first person to say this but Oslo is an absolutely brilliant label. It's got a distinctive sound, exceptional quality control and it's pushing a new sound which is relevant and fresh. This is from their sublabel but no less awesome as their other releases. On the surface Oslo seems to be a just a more minimal deep house but I think it owes much more to techno than is first apparent. It's a clichéd thing to say but it really does sound like house music…. for techno people – Much like Perlon. And Perlon is the only label which I'd place ahead of Oslo purely because it's been running for so much longer. As for this track, it's some bouncy tech house with tribal influences... pretty simple and repetitive but brilliantly executed and oddly addictive. Much like Melchior.

Mara Trax: Me Funk (Oslo)
I could have chosen anything from Mara Trax's excellent ‘It Got Me Funk’ EP but the bassline on this track combined with the fact it reminds me of Rosa era Thomas Brinkmann means i can't go past it.

STL: Paku Paku (Perlon)
The a-side of the latest Perlon is quite good but this track really isfantastic with its squelches and rubbery bassline. It took me a while to ‘get’ STL to be honest as many of his tracks are quite raw... especially those on his Something label. But he's a truly gifted producer.

Chris:

I’ve listed some of the tracks I’ve been digging throughout the year so far. There is a partial overlap, but I wanted to join the others in the united SSG front. So this is certainly not my definitive top five for 2008 to date, but it is pretty close to it:

Mathew Jonson: 'Symphony for the Apocalypse' (Wagon Repair)

There was a time I thought Mathew Jonson could do no wrong. Then he started doing wrong. Well, actually he might have only done one wrong, but it was very, very wrong (that bikers track). And while the Cobblestone Jazz stuff was good, I soured on him – perhaps unfairly. I eventually got over my mental block to accept that ‘Stop’ was a great record. And this EP is definitely Jonson at his best. While many have been tipping the A, my preference is for the B. Screaming, emotive and wild – I love it. Very reminiscent of Aphex Twin for sure, but it most definitely has that slightly raw Jonson feel to it.
*sample*

Tampopo: Helicopters Got Cameras (Tobias remix) (Metisse)

I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t repeat myself. Much. With the excellent Zander VT remix on the flip, this is one of the best value for money EPs you will find this year. Tobias really comes through with the goods. What I love about this track is its tempo – it has great energy. And it really does sound like a helicopter! The musical structure replicates the spinning blades as a helicopter lifts off, with the piano riff spiraling round and round. Definitely fun for the floor.
*sample*

Prosumer and Murat Tepeli featuring Elef Bicer: Turn Around (Cassy’s Smooth mix) (Ostgut)

I’ve heard a couple of concerns that Cassy’s productions are starting to get a bit formulaic. There may be a bit of truth to that, but I haven’t gotten sick of the formula, especially when it works so well, which is the case on this record. Here, her vocals perfectly complement those from the original and the result is a hot house number that just smoulders. I think what I like about this is the vocals are so emotive and these, in turn, are really supported by the beats underneath. I’ve been digging Cassy’s productions to date, so I am going to be interested to see how she develops her sound further and if she can keep coming out with stuff as good as this.
*sample*

Alex Cortex: Nox (Platzhirsch)

Ok, I’ll be honest. I don’t know who Alex Cordex is. No point sneaking over to discogs and trying to hide it. I found this record on the weekly Hardwax email with that magic word: ‘TIP!’ As soon as I see that next to the description I check it immediately. And as expected, Hardwax were right on with this one. Both sides are bang on, but ‘Nox’ is the real peak time cut. Anyway, rather than trying to explain it, I’ll just give you the Hardwax description: ‘Perfect & eternal oldschool-not-oldschool - TIP!’
*sample*

Vladislay Delay: Recovery IDea (Andy Stott remix) (Semantica)

I’ve mentioned this one before, and now Cam has too. Simply put, this is remixing at its best. What Stott does is take the original in a direction that Vlad could, or would, never go and comes up with something fantastic. The result is a track that is stamped with the trademark gravity of Stott. Actually, I think partly what makes this work is you’ve got the combination of two really special and unique sound signatures, which produces something neither would quite by capable of by themselves. Respect.
*sample*

Pete:

Two things have really stood out to me so far: the first is the growing popularity of conservative, ‘traditional’ tracks that are little more than (admittedly enjoyable) recapitulations of old ideas, and the second is a predilection for dissipation, which is something I personally really like. I was listening to ‘Third Uncle’ by Eno last night, and it struck me afresh what a cop-out the fadeout always was in the pop context. But dissipation, on the other hand – now that’s something I can dig. Another thing I’ve found is that, because I’m doing research almost everyday, I listen to heaps of live sets and thus the big tracks get played out really quickly. You tend to churn through a lot, and burn out a lot. Much that was recently fresh is quickly stale. Large appetites require fresh meats for fine SSG making. But enough gabbing, here they are, selected very quickly (before I could begin to over-analyse my choices) and with regard to the fact that they are ‘tracks’. This does not mean that function is master, but it does mean that any of these would have a well-deserved place in my box.

Lee Jones: ‘As You Like It (Recloose remix)’ (Aus)

The recent My My record on O-Ton was a well made but slightly bland, functionalist piece of bandwagoneering, if you ask me. The wagon in question heading, of course, for the Swiss sound of the Mountain People, stopping off for a bite of Drumpoet’s Frankfurt on the way. But Lee Jones’ recent EPs for Aus have been amazing, mostly by retaining the incredible attention to detail and musicality of Jones’ drum programming that was in full effect on Songs for the Gentle. This music appears extremely lean and streamlined, but the details are all ‘under the bonnet’, which you can really hear if you take Jones for a random walk with the headphones on. In a way, it’s a shame to waste music this subtle on most sound systems, where all you’d hear is the main theme. That must be why Tiger Stripes added so many otherwise superfluous bells and whistles to his mix of ‘Aria’, already mentioned on this blog earlier this year. I was tempted to include ‘Aria’, but Recloose’s space-funk rework of ‘As You Like It’ is so loaded a pocket rocket that it managed to pip ‘Aria’ at the post. Be careful or you’ll cop a black eye – this one swings like Ron Jeremy.

Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts: ‘Les Gans (Audio Werner remix)’ Musique Risquee

G & the CDs have also been featured on SSGs a fair bit in recent months, but this EP really shines. Kalabrese fans should take heed – the bumbling sax lead is very much in the lazy (but tight) minimalistic funk mode that K does so well. I also really like the way this record is recorded – it’s fruity and easy on your ears. Audio Werner’s tactic is just to multiply and smear loops of the sax line over each other, dragging them along to achieve the audible equivalent of a car’s headlight across the open shutter of a night-held camera. Then things get all abstract… well, even more so. Not much good for filling the floor, but a really enjoyable listening experience. And the A is great, too. P Sherburne is just about to drop his mix of this one, too, if I’m not mistaken – here’s looking forward.

Appleblim & Peverelist: Circling (Skull Disco)

I’ve already reviewed this EP here, so just quickly – what a fucking amazing record. Most dubstep records are just d&b records pitched down and played at 33, but these guys are really, really mining some gold here, and ‘Circling’ is… well, I’ve already said my bit. I should add that there’s a spiritual affinity (at the very least) with Moritz’ equally sublime remix of ‘Watamu Beach’, which I’ve also been loving, and which deserves a sneaky in/exclusion on this list.

Matthew Styles: ‘Home Loan’ (Diamonds and Pearls)

I’d discounted Styles for the quasi-irrational reason that he’s had dealings with Damian Lazarus, who appears to be a no-talent cool hunter, which gives me the heebie-geebies. Anyway, bitch bitch bitch, who cares – the point is that Styles has a career and a life of his own (ie he’s not a Lazarite growth from Uranus), one who can also add to his thoroughly autonomous CV a growing list of really excellent tracks. His first EP on Dinky’s Horizontal was pretty good, but this one on D&P is off the chain. All thee tracks are exceptional, and each one is useful in its own moment. ‘Home Loan’ reminds me a bit of Matt John grinding against John Tejada – lucky for good manners the humping is most definitely dry. Just a rising synth bassline and some nice edits, very spare, very effective minimal tech house with whispers of boompty. The EPs title track is a real scorcher, and manages to update and deepen a very 2000 sounding loop-techno design for today’s ‘hectic dancefloors’ – must be why Dettmann’s been caning it. Then the EP closes with a nice, introspective electro-house composition. A valuable addition to any box, as well as to Diamonds and Pearls small (but shining) catalogue.

Rozzo: ‘I wish I was a Cat’ (Trackdown)

Of all the neo/tribal/deep-house tracks out there, this one really shines for me. A lot of this music will sound flat and stale in twelve months, but I can guarantee that this one will still be getting circulated in five years. It might as well just be a locked groove for all the progression, but it never feels like it’s flatlining. It’s just got that irresistible groove, and the percussion has been written with oodles of push, thwap and clunk, which makes dropping it a treat for you and the floor. Damn if this isn’t the funkiest groove I’ve heard all year. If you can’t dance to this, you’re odd (or perhaps dead).

So many others (Andy Stott, Shed, Omar-S, Jackmate), but as I’m not Dave (and we’d agreed to do five) I’ll leave it there and offer the remainders for discussion in the comments section. Onward!

oslo: yes or no?

last year the ssgs were in very regular and ongoing email conversations about music, and these proved to be one of the main sources of inspiration for getting the blog going. anyway, today we all got into a conversation about oslo, one of the hottest labels of 2008. simply put, dave is a big fan, pete is somewhere in between, chris is not convinced and cam hasn't heard enough to come to a judgment yet. we thought some of the discussion we had might be of interest (and/or amusement), so i've put the transcript of our conversation below. i can't be bothered editing it, so it is definitely much more rough and ready than our usual posts.

let's see how this experiment goes. it may work, it may not. either way, feedback is much appreciated so we know whether to post something like this again in the future. (by the way, this is a picture from my visit to oslo. seemed a good visual description on my take).

Dave:
seriously. how friggin awesome is this Oslo? i've been listening to nothing but their EPs for the past 3 days... the last time i've been so heavily hooked on something was probably liars or Mu... i can never recall being so heavily into one particular techno label or artist.

chris i know you don't like them but how about cam and pete?

i love all their stuff but i'd have to say my fave tracks are "It Ain't Music" by Vera & Federico Molinari and "Enerverende" by Federico Molinari... the Mara Trax release is the best EP.

come on lets hear some oslo love!

Pete:
The Johnny D EP, surely. By far the best. I like the Mara, but it's 'junk food' - but good DJ tools, for sure.

Dave, your passion for 'dry funk' never ceases to amaze.

Brinkmann must have affected a blood transfusion via the headphones, or something.

Chris:
oslo is very appropriately named. it is boring, just like the city.

dont like the johnny d stuff at all, actually. there is a livepa of his here.

havent listened to it yet, though.

Dave:
dry funk is awesome... always has been and always will be. i've always loved how good electronic producers can extract stuff like funk, soul or rock via something which should be so cold and emotionless. just wish more people outside of Maurice Fulton could extract some punk.

the Guillaume EP is pretty good but probably my least fave on the label. it's the only release that doesn't 100% fit the oslo sound either. but yeah it's good and i'd imagine you'd really like it.

the first Johnny D EP is brilliant! the 2nd one is good too.

btw i don't really get why it's referred to as "dry" funk. it's really no different to the post punk/funk that came out of New York in the early 80s... stuff like The Contortions, ESG, Talking Heads... it's an extention of "white boy funk" more than anything else... and also pushing the rigid electro funkiness Kraftwerk started... which was then embraced by the rnb/hip-hip scene and is now being reclaimed by germans. actually i'd say the futuristic rnb by The Neptunes and to a lesser extent Timbaland has a lot in common with this so-called "dry funk" sound.

Pete:
Definitely, but I feel it's even dryer, IMHO. Brut de brut. Neptunes/Timbaland is moistened by the syrupy vocal harmonies and strident trance synth chords, but w/ Oslo it's

like the title of that Guido Schneider track

'As Dry as I Can'

Chris:
guido. now there is a guy who is waaaaaaaaaay too dry for my tastes. he is kind of like the musical equivalent of that freeze dried food they give astronauts...

Pete:
Yep, and one can acquire a taste for that, too....

Dave:
i really don't get how oslo is dryer than neptunes... particularly when they get really electronic on tracks like Drop It Like It's Hot or on The Clipse album. i dunno maybe i'm immune to dryness.

chris if you've only heard the A on the new johnny d then you can't really judge him because it's quite different to all his other work.

who's guido btw?

if i find the first Soul Centre album brinkmann did to be the funkiest electronica ever then i must have a taste for the dryness... what's an example of funky electronica that is the opposite of dry? like electronic wet funk? and not the kind that cheats by heavily sampling funk tracks or using live instrumentation

Chris:
guido schneider. you love the recent ep he did on cadenza (with galluzi and someone else). not my thing, though.

Dave:
so is it possible to make funky electronic music without the use of disco/funk samples, vocals or live instrumentation?

Pete:
Is <-> this a stupid question (?/.)

"Funk is what you don't play." - George Clinton

Chris:
this is funking boring. haha. i am almost as funny as dave.

Dave:
i'm serious! i just don't understand why you guys are referring to this olso stuff as "dry" funk... how is it different to other funk and why does it need to be differentiated by referring to it as dry? i honestly see this stuff to be just as funky as traditional funk. it sure makes me want to dance more

Chris:
i think what they mean is that it is supposed to be funky, but it is actually shit and boring.

Pete:
Ha! That's some Chris clarity for you.

Dave:
i haven't been all that interested in discussing techno lately but oslo has sorta got me in the mood because it's exciting and fresh to my ears. and i was curious as to why you other guys haven't been sharing that excitement considering you are into mountain people / rozzo which would have suggested you'd be into it.

Pete:
Like I said, I like Johnny D's first one, and one or two of the tracks on Mara.

But Rozzo's 'I wish I was a cat' is the best of all these by far.

I think the thing is also that Chris and I do research and listen to sets all day, which means we hear tracks a lot and therefore sounds get played out in a matter of weeks, rather than months.

Voracious appetites need fresh meets for good sausages.

Cam:
To be honest, I haven't heard much of the Oslo stuff at all ... so I really haven't formed an opinion yet.

Dave:
i only heard oslo about a month ago for the first time so yeah i'm late to get into them... and that was only one EP. i got 4 of their EPs over the weekend so that's why i'm excited now.

Pete:
Oslo engages some people, sometimes. But Chris.... none of the time?

Chris:
i am over exaggerating (as i often do). oslo is ok. but i dont like the johnny d. and the federico and vera mix i heard i didnt like. same with mara trax. it just sounds very derivative to me. and watered down house music.

deep house lite: that's oslo for you.

Dave:
ok so i'll try this all again... just to clarify, i'm asking because i'm curious not because i want ot convince you all that oslo is the absolute shit.

the most confusing thing is why Rozzo/Serafin get the thumbs up while oslo is seen as the lesser. in my opinion both are sensational. and i can't really hear why someone would prefer one of them much more over the other. but obviously people can and do! so why is it?

and why is Hello? Repeat! and oslo seen as dry? to my ears it's the most dynamic and exciting techno out there... yeah it's very clicky and technical but it just sounds so fun... at the moment i switch between berghain and this HR/oslo sound. and i turn to the oslo when i'm thinking "hmmmm i want ot hear something FUN now!" and it makes me grin and get all giddy. so it just seems to odd to me that others tag it as dry. it's totally cool that you do but it's really mind
boggling to me. it's like calling Dettmann "chilled" or Tiesto "intellectual" and i'm not exaggerating. it really doesn't compute.

so please explain!

Chris:
i dont think dry is meant in a negative sense (or so, only weakly). for me, with hello?repeat, i just can't connect. it is good for 5-10 minutes but not long after that i am wanting to switch it off. as for oslo, i wouldnt describe as dry, just not that good. i mean it is fun, but but but...

Pete:
I meant 'dry' more as a technique/technical thing.

They use very short sounds with not much reverb.

On an FX tone pot (such as reverb) that would be dry/wet.

So, 'cos they use very 'dry' sounds as well (metallic, mineral, wooden... all percussive elements that would be dry and inorganic if they were physical objects)

I call it 'dry funk'

[and that is where we are up to...]

set up

sorry for the radio silence peeps, it has been a pretty busy week or so for the mnml ssg crew. there should be a few new posts in the coming days, including the second installment of the mix series being provided by berghain resident norman nodge (yes, we are excited). so stay tuned...

in the meantime, here are a couple of sets i've been enjoying the last few days:

eli verveine - dustbunnies mix.

a new set from this special suisse dj that the ssgs have really fallen for. she manages to play deep house sounds that fit with the current vibe, without slipping into same-ness or bland beats. like all the music ssgs love it has personality. eli really has the groove. worth a listen. we are trying to get eli for a ssg mix. lets hope it happens. this girl is a real hidden gem.

martin schulte @ sinergy networks showcase

i am going to have to plead complete ignorance on this one. sinergy networks appears to be a pretty well established mp3 label, with some really good artists and sounds. this dj mix is from part of a label showcase which includes livepas from LOD, pep gaya and marko fuerstenberg. i haven't listened to these other ones properly so don't want to post them, but can give links if people are interested. anyway, this set of schulte's is excellent. i am not sure quite how to describe it - it has dubby elements, but certainly isn't straight up dub techno. if anything, it could perhaps sound like something you'd be hearing on force inc if they were still around. so have a listen. it is a very well crafted set.

jan krüger berlin + osaka mixes.

here are two recent recordings from the head honcho of the hello?repeat label. i must admit i sometimes find their records a bit too dry and clicky for my tastes, but our silent ssg dave can never get enough of hello?repeat's sounds, and there is little doubting their quality. anyway, no one could accuse jan krüger's djing of being dry. both of these live mixes have a great groove and he does an excellent job of switching between sounds, as well as the old and new. the osaka mix is a bit more jacking, while he goes deeper in berlin. best thing you can do is just download both.

jan krüger @ watergate, berlin 02.04.2008

jan krüger @ sunsui, osaka 29.02.2008

tracklisting for osaka set (care of the peeps at mnml.nl):

000:00 Alter Ego - Lycra (Wishmountain's Tight Fitting Lycra Mix)
002:30 Lil' Mark - Feel The Rhythm
008:00 .Xtrak - Flada
011:50 DBX - Flying Saucer
014:00 Daze Maxim - Unreleased
019:40 Vera & Federico Molinari - It Ain't Music
024:20 Alexi Delano - Debajo
029:30 DS - Orangefood (Jens Zimmermann's Vitamin C)
034:10 Ricardo Villalobos - Panpot Spliff
039:20 Daze Maxim - The Trickster
043:30 Brother's Vibe - Spherical Bones (Long Version)
047:30 Ido Oshkopun - Naypyidaw
053:00 Johnny D - Orbitalife
058:30 Derrick L. Carter - Where Ya At?
062:30 Chez Damier & Ron Trent, M.D. - Hip To Be Disillusioned
066:30 .Xtrak - Don't Stop
069:00 Wolf N' Flow - I'm Feelin' Moody
073:40 Steve Poindexter - Work That Mutha Fucka
076:20 Schatrax - A Question Of Timing
081:00 Phil Weeks & Chris Carrier - Method To The Madness
086:00 Freak Seven - Pitch Black (Orlando Voorn Remix)
091:00 Terence FM - Feelin Kinda High (High As Hell Mix)
097:00 G-Man - Quo Vadis
102:00 Plastikman - Snark (Ricardo Villalobos Edit)
105:00 Ido Oshkopun - Out Of Burma
110:00 Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Mederico
114:30 Dj Sneak - Recycled Loops
118:30 Daniel Bell - Warped
120:00 Stax - Str8 Nasty

We Were Never Mnml (Inpress Column, April ’08)

Well, it never rains, it pours (and pitches, smokes, and tangoes). This coming weekend’s a doozy as far as international acts are concerned, with Alex Smoke, Michael Mayer & Superpitcher as well as Pilooski and Todd Terje all adding their spin to the rotating assembly that is Melbourne’s nightlife. One of the more interesting unintended consequences of the arse falling out of CD & record sales may well be that you have more internationals travelling to play more gigs, more often. If you want to see your favourite artist play in Melbourne, keep torrenting their music…

On the torrent tip, the consistent responses from recent interviews in Inpress over the past few weeks are painting a picture of the new musicscape, and it's a pretty bleak one. Depending on who you ask, sales of vinyl are down between 30-70% in the past twelve months, and this decline has not been offset by an increase in digital sales. More people are buying digital, but a helluva lot of people are sharing music through Soulseek, BitTorrent and the like, and (again, depending on who you ask), this means a lot of small labels and independent record stores are going to the wall. A small but perhaps very telling anecdote from a writer friend of mine who works for a music magazine: he reckons that no-one can be bothered coming in to pick up promo CDs any more. Free CDs, and no-one’s interested in them (even people working in the office). What does this say?

Who knows what the future holds for electronic music? This little vignette from the WMC paints one kind of picture. A journalist friend of mine in attendance asked Richie Hawtin (and his ‘I wanna be Sven’ beard) what had been his favourite track of the Conference, to which he replied: ‘I don’t remember any of the tracks I’ve played.’ To which he quickly added, ‘Heartthrob, Heartthrob.’ High five, Richie! Rack ‘em up!

This also lends credence (and more than a little unwitting irony) to Michael Mayer’s opinion – published in my interview with him in this edition – that the use of digital is actually affecting people’s musical selection, that it’s ‘impairing their judgement’. He said: “There might be some DJs who really know what they’re doing there, like Richie, but I know so many DJs who switched to Serato and totally lost it. They play generic music. The dramatic side of the set got lost, ‘cos they’re scrolling through menus. It’s not the same thing. It’s code. So I’m totally pro-vinyl, and I’m not going to give that up.”

To some vinyl of the moment, beginning with one thing I’m fairly non-plussed by. It’s the new Dial EP. And it’s BLAND. Terrifyingly bland. Prog for architecture grad students. The only interesting track on the whole thing is the appallingly kitsch (in a good and bad way) Phantom/Ghost cover of… the Right Said Fred song ‘You Are My Mate’. While it’s too early to declare that the Dial shark has been jumped (especially with the Sten LP due), this is a pretty dire release. The bit that sums this up for me is the use of the vocal sample 'Detroit' on the Jost and Klemman track. Like, 'Detroit?' WTF? It's a totally empty referent – all it means is 'we are referencing Detroit'. Ooh, the echoes in the carapace, ahhh, the insults from the parapet.

The Dial EP also got me thinking abou three strands at work in the music at the moment. The first is a repudiation of ‘mnml’, which is music that emphasises spaceform, waveform, plugin, mixbuild. Frank Zappa might have said that ‘writing about music is like dancing about architecture’, but in a very real way, mnml is all about dancing about architecture, or dance music about architecture – the titles of Monolake’s recent works ‘Momentum’, 'Polygon Cities’ and so forth, are a dead give away in this regard.

So mnml (and its architectonics) is being repudiated, in favour of an avowal and appropriation of the blackness, deepness, ‘funk’, ‘soul’ or whatever. This is music that emphasises history, influence, innovator, and ‘respect to deepness’ and so on. The danger in some appropriations of this is ‘standardised magic’, a bland, closed world of boring, functional, interchangeable, indifferent interpretations of ‘funky’ and ‘soulful’ music that are neither funky nor soulful. ‘Tiefschwarz’ as both word and concept sums it up. Tiefschwarz means ‘deep black’, even though ‘Tiefschwarz’ is actually pair of slightly creepy brothers who are neither ‘deep’ nor ‘black’. And while the best of the vibrant tropes of the moment (‘dub techno’, ‘deep house’ and ‘minimal techno’) continue to produce, mix, and interpret in an interesting (if not innovative) ways, there’s a deathforce in the ‘Detroit’ sample. Just say ‘deep’ enough, and depth will appear. Say ‘Detroit’ (or have a sample of a black man do it for you) and the 313 will manifest – and you will have soul. Paul van Dyk’s appropration of Audi’s motto (Vorsprung Dyk Technik) was much more honest.

The third strand is the ambivalent embrace of kitsch, sentimentality and nostalgia, an indirect nod to the ACDC lyric: ‘The white man had the schmaltz/ the black man had the blues.’ This is a social emphasis (unlike mnmls architectonic and house/techno's historical), and you can see this at work with the Phantom/Ghost track, but it’s also highly apparent at Kompakt’s HQ, right down to Burger and Voigt calling their last EP ‘Bring Back Trance’. Again, maybe PvD had his finger on the pulse. This one might take off... be afraid.

my dear friend vladislav

it is now late at night after a rough day, which has come on the back of an overly busy and stressful period of constant over-work (any people out there thinking about doing a PhD, i would suggest thinking carefully), and my instinctive response was to turn the lights down, put some vladislav delay on the stereo and then turn the volume up loud. for those of you who know his work, chances are you will join in this little love letter to my favourite producer, and for those who have not yet discovered the sounds of vladislav delay, please read closely and pay attention.

i first discovered the music of vladislav (his real name may be sasu ripatti, but he will always be vlad to me) back in 2000 with his release on chain reaction, 'multila'. while i appreciated its deep rumbling techno dub, it was his next album shortly after on mille plateaux, 'entain', that fully converted me to vlad. since then, he has never left my side, with his sounds providing me with warmth, comfort, solace, escape when needed.

early in 2001 i was feeling rather disenchanted with electronic music. at the same time i purchased two cds, which removed this feeling and reminded me how special this music can be. the first was herbert's wonderful 'letsallmakemistakes' globius mix, the other was vlad (or sasu) under the guise of uusitalo and his 'vapaa muurari live'. both of these cds still sound amazing today, and the warmth and feeling conveyed in 'vapaa muurari' - especially in the final section of the piece 'lunni' - is something i can personally find and connect with in few artists.


it was vlad's next piece of work, 'anima', which has been since i first heard it - and remains - my favourite piece of music. the cd consists of one 62 minute track that flows and ebbs, constantly exploring a similar territory of sound, without ever quite returning to where it had been previously. it kind of feels like being afloat at sea - constantly in the water, but never in quite the same place and each wave being different. i am probably getting a bit lyrical now, but the point is this is a very special album for me that has been with me constantly since i bought it as soon as it was released.

to be honest, following this highpoint, i went through an inevitable period of disappointment. vlad became luomo, and while he did do some really good stuff, he wasn't doing what i wanted him to do. when he did come back to being vlad, the magic wasn't quite there - at least not to the same extent. demo(n) tracks in 2004 and the four quarters the following year were both good and definitely had their moments, but neither were quite able to evoke the same feelings his earlier releases had.

this changed with his release last year, whistleblower. i am listening to this album as i write up this post and i really feel this is vlad's (and probably sasu's) strongest outing in many years. for me - with my biases - this was the best album i heard in 2007. like his best material, it replicates the very unique and distinct sound signature one associates with vladislav delay, without it ever getting boring or repetitive. vlad's sound operates in its own separate world, and while the basic features of this world stay the same, the details shift, alter and reshape (fellow ssg pete wrote an excellent review on 'whistleblower' at RA which inspired some of these thoughts). one of the real highlights of last year was to discover that vlad was still alive and travelling along with me.

i could keep going, but i shall wind up this post. vladislav delay's music has been very close to my heart for around 8 years now. i have never grown tired of his sounds, nor looked for another friend to help me along during those times when i am tired, unhappy, quiet, meloncholic, ambivalent, or contemplative and reflective. vlad has provided company and a soundtrack for me in these moments of my life and i feel lucky to have such a good musical friend.

if you haven't listened to any or much of his work, i strongly suggest changing this asap. here is a live recording of vladislav delay at DEMF, 28.05.2007. also if you go to the media page on his website, there are a number of tracks you can download. these should give you a good introduction to his distinctive sound palette. finally, it happens (and this is coincidental - i just discovered when writing this post) that vladislav is releasing 'anima' with a brand new track. my original version is starting to get a bit worse for wear, so i am looking forward to getting the re-release. anyway, more info about the re-release here. in my opinion, pretty much his whole back catalogue is worth getting your hands on...

ok, i shall leave it there. thanks vlad. you've been a great source of comfort and strength over the years. you're a good friend.

mnml ssgs mix01: bvdub

mnml ssgs are very happy to announce the start of our ssg mix series, which will soon be a ssgcast (as soon as i find the time to figure out how exactly podcasts work). before introducing the first mix, i just want to explain a bit about the concept behind this series.

what we are trying to do is to showcase artists that are really exciting and interesting us. the point is not just to slap a mix up, but for this series (like the blog as a whole) to be a medium for promoting djs and producers that we feel people should be listening to. the mandate we've given to those that have agreed to do mix is simply to express themselves and their music: to use the mix to tell us who they are and what they are about.

in many ways, the template for this has been the wonderful betalounge. there are two dimensions that really separate many of the mixes there from all the disposable mixes and podcasts floating about. first, along with plenty of recognised names, the betalounge does a tremendous job of introducing us to new sounds (to take one example, go back through their archives and check how long they've been championing efdemin for). second, many of the betalounge mixes have a real timeless quality to them. even after hundreds of listens, the old michael mayer betalounge set (from 2002?) sounds as fresh as ever.

anyway, that is basically what we are trying to do with the mixes. this is something the ssgs are very enthusiastic about, and we are hoping the series will continue on an irregular basis. in the coming weeks, we should have mixes from ana (harry klein) and pawel (orphanear/dial),
and a few other people we really like have also agreed to contribute. unfortunately, we dont have our own server (yet), but we've given quite a few different download options, including a streaming version. as i said, we'll try and get the podcast up and running in the next week. this should give everyone a good enough option to get the mixes.

enough talking, onto the first installment. since cam posted about bvdub's lovely sounds, we've been in touch with him and the result is this one hour slice of beauty. bvdub's dedication to his craft, his sincerity and good will have really been a great source of inspiration for us ssgs. as well as our love for his music, over the last couple of months we've developed a real respect for brock (bvdub) the individual. this artist and the mix he has made represents exactly what we are hoping this series will be about. respect.

bvdub presents 'waiting for the world to go by'

Tell us about the mix: what was the intent/purpose behind it?

Bvdub: First of all, I just want to say thanks for the opportunity to do the mix in the first place. If you wouldn't have asked, it surely never would have happened. It is one I've wished I could have seen materialize for quite some time… and now that it has, I'm not sure it will ever happen again. So I'm grateful for the motivation to see it happen for what will likely be the last time.

"Waiting For The World To Go By" will hopefully paint the picture in my head that I had while making it… I have always had this obsession with music that exemplifies sitting at the window, staring off into an overcast, rainy day, when the world seems to exist on a totally separate plane, far away… and when your life almost seems to be on hold, but in a good, peaceful way, even though it's tinged with a sort of beautiful sadness. I don't know if that makes any sense. The mix is basically a soundtrack to that moment.

Times such as that are always the times of deepest reflection for me, about what has been, what should have been, and what I wish would be, but which I know deep down will never happen. To me, that's the pinnacle of what music is to me, and, quite frankly what my life is about.

These are all tracks that have long held this meaning for me, and have provided a loyal companion for me countless times on those reflective days, and those moments that sometimes I wished would never end. They are tracks I will never forget… and hopefully they will tell the story I can't put into words.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Bvdub: I'm working on a ton of stuff… though much of it I couldn't really tell you what's going to happen with it in days to come, because I don't know yet. I am happy to announce that I will have upcoming vinyl releases this year on Styrax, Millions of Moments, and Pronounce, later this year will see the release of my first full-length ambient CD on Shoreless, and a special audio cassette / vinyl project will be out very soon on Southern Outpost, which I'm very excited about.

I also have some other special projects in the works, but for now, mum's the word… mostly because I don't even know if they are going to see the light of day, not because I'm trying to be obnoxiously mysterious.

Thanks again for the great opportunity to make the mix… thanks to the artists who made the beautiful music… and thanks to anyone who takes the time to listen. I hope the music contained within can mean as much to you as it has to me…

More info:
bvdub homepage
bvdub myspace
bvdub @ discogs

Download:
sendspace
megaupload
rapidshare
depositfiles
netload

Stream:

playing favourites

ssg series

first up, we are very happy to announce that our ssgcast should be appearing within the next week or so. we've been working hard on putting together a unique series of mixes from artists that we think are really special and should be listened to very carefully. we'll give more info about the concept when the first installment appears, but for now we'll just say that we are very excited about it, as we've got some amazing people involved with this. the first couple of mixes are going to be from ana (harry klein, munich), pawel (orphanear/dial) and bvdub (styrax/quietus). in the meantime, here are some really great sets to listen to and enjoy from some of mnml ssg's favourites.

prosumer: consumer

to avoid complaints about being contradictory, i should make it clear that while i am growing increasingly sceptical about the current deep house fad/revival, this doesn't mean there isn't great music of this genre floating about at the moment. case in point is prosumer, who has been spinning and producing some really amazing stuff. this new mix of his is quite sublime. definitely worth checking for those who like it deep.

prosumer beats in space guest mix 1.4.2008

01. Prosumer And Murat Tepeli - Cathedral /Ostgut Tonträger/
02. Romanthony - The Wanderer (Intro) /Prescription/
03. Nick Holder - Love Is Blind /DNH Recordings/
04. Moodymann - Backagainforthefirsttime? /Peacefrog Records/
05. Nick Holder - Love Is Blind /DNH Recordings/
06. Ron Trent And Chez Damier - Morning Factory /Prescription/
07. Larry Heard - Free /Track Mode/
08. Larry Heard - Tell Me What It Is /Track Mode/
09. Fingers Inc. - Never No More Lonely /Jack Trax/
10. Raze - Break 4 Love /Champion/
11. Andthoney And M. Kinchen - The Feeling /Prescription/
12. Colonel Abrams - Trapped /MCA Records/
13. Noni - Be My (Friend) /Prescription/
14. Walt J - 'Untiteled' /Dow Records/
15. Ralphi Rosario feat. Xavier Gold - You Used To Hold Me /Hot Mix 5/
16. Paul Johnson - Something Strange /Dance Mania/
17. The Sanctuary Project - Running It /House Jam Records/
18. Paul Johnson - Don't Stop Movin That Ass /Dance Mania/
19. Instinct - Just A Feeling /Decisive Records/

house music all night long

one more on the deep tip, this is a mammoth recording (almost 8 hours in length, sound quality is still pretty good, though) taken from a night somewhere in southern suisse featuring mountain person serafin, mr dependable dan bell and resident dj seranthony. i still haven't finished digesting all of it, but so far so good, and i figured there would be plenty out there who'd be keen.

seranthony, dan bell and serafin @ hidden, suisse 15.3.2008

simKO

i discovered kate simko's smooth sounds last year and have been enjoying them ever since. i am yet to hear her new 'she said' ep on spectral, but am keen to after reading philip sherburne's recent praise of it. for those of you haven't heard any of simko's work yet, i strongly suggest giving this livepa a listen as it gives a great representation of her music. kate is also really developing a sound signature of her own, which is all the more impressive at a time when people are sounding very 'same-y'. and what really impresses me about this set is how well it is put together and coheres. it has an excellent tempo and flow throughout. definitely worth checking (as are all of the sets posted here for that matter -only the best for our readers!).

kate simko livepa @ spectral wmc party 29.03.2008

yummich

couldn't resist when i saw this mix appeared: a lost acid house mix from peter grummich recorded in 1992, found and mastered in 2008. i downloaded this and put it straight on cd. since then, i've been rocking around in my car to old school acid house. aciiiiiiid! this mix is exactly what you'd expect: plenty of acid, one or two cringe-worthy moments and lots of fun. a really guilty pleasure. enjoy.

peter grummich - the lost acid house mix tape

more gold

we recently posted an excellent mix from cio d'or. and now, another new set from her. and again, this mix is gold. there are two things which really attract me to cio d'or sounds. first, her mixes have a very clear intent and concept behind them. these are well thought and constructed. second, she has a very distinct sound. like simko, this is something i really look for and appreciate.

cio d'or presents polar 22 alpha mix 04.2008

Kassem Mosse and Boys "r us" - Message from Haifa (Mikrodisko)
Jens Zimmermann - Reduction Seduction (Harthouse)
Planetary Assault System - The Electric Funk Machine (Peacefrog)
Alka Rex - Shapes to Phases (Supraliner)
Cio D'Or - Kimono (Motoguzzi)
Rasmus Hedland - Hidden Structure (Resopal)
Non Standard Institute - Reference (NSI)
Function Isolation - Isotope (Sandwell District)
M.Parker/D.Dozzy - Excavations (Dozzy Records)
Tim Xavier - Astral Plane (Podium - Repress)
Sightdraft (Paul Brtschitsch) - X Rated (Crash Records)
Johannes Heil - The Coming EP (Metatron)
Planetary Assault System - Deep Heet Vol.1 (Mute Evolver)
Mathew Jonson - Gemini EP (Itiswhatitis)
Mike Parker - Light&Dark Part 4 (ID004)
Byetone (Sleeparchive Rmx) - Plastic Star (Raster)
Mike Parker - Light&Dark Part 4 (ID004)
Kassem Mosse and Boys "r us" - Message from Haifa (Mikrodisko)

new sounds

last, but not least, a livepa from an artist that is new to me, marko fürstenberg. this is the first thing i've heard from him and i dig it. it is dub techno all the way. like everyone in this genre, the basic channel shadow is always looming over his sounds, but that doesn't mean that there is no point listening to marko and the rest of this new generation of techno dub artists (as some people seem to think). it is also nice to hear techno dub in the format of a livepa, as the vast majority of stuff available on the net is dj mixes. anyway, give it a listen if you like this brand of music.

marko fürstenberg @ paysages electroniques 4.4.2008

ok, there you go. plenty of new music filtered and given the 'mnml ssg stamp of approval'. if there are problems with any of the links, leave a message and i'll try to sort something out. and get ready for the ssg mixes!

My Heart goes Boompty-Boomp: How to Play House (Sneaky Carter style)

And now for something completely different... as we know, it takes a few years for a good vintage to mature. I’ve been listening to this mix since the end of 2004 or thereabouts. I dug it out the other day at the insistence of my lady, and I was freshly amazed by how well it flows, despite having the aleatory looseness of a live set where the DJs have been on the sauce. And the mixing is so exciting: cuts, loops, layers, some FX, even the occasional flam – I love hearing mixing like this, and it’s getting to be a rarity. By comparison, the mixing of a lot of popular DJs seems stiff and timid. This is house at its most hedonistic and brazen, letting it all hang out (see pic). There’s also good reason to listen this given the resurgence of funk basslines and swinging percussion loops we’ve been witnessing recently at the moment – I think that everyone who was bored by Mara Trax’ RA podcast should listen to this: it’s the antidote to their dote. And the sax track around 24:00 is just fucking ridiculous. There’s a dodgy Brazilian track around the 42-45:00 mark, but the way they disrespectfully mix it out seems to be some kind of ‘speaking through the hands’ admission of this – but they follow it with this killer batteria track which is great… anyway, listen to this mix and judge for yourself. I think it’s a classic, especially the first half. I should also add as a postscript that this is also the 'unshaven' form of the hype sound at the moment, with all the things that some people find objectionable (screaming divas, wailing saxes, gospel-influenced melodies, camp, cheesy vibe) about house left there... I wonder who of you will hate it, and why. Constructive invective is, of course, welcome...

(thanks to Malingering on flickr for the pic)

musing and abusing

warm up the backlash bus.

isn't one of the reasons the current deep house fad emerged is because mnml had gotten so stale, repetitive and formulaic? well, it might be time to move on again pretty soon. listening to the new sascha dive RA podcast today was the final straw. the set is bland, flat and lifeless. and worst of all, it completely lacked personality. much of the sounds that emerged to combat the locked groove mnml got stuck into are now suffering a very similar fate. it seems almost every set i listen to these days has the requisite inclusions from oslo (johnny d or mara trax anyone?), sascha dive's 'annihilating rhythm', plus throw in some old school moodymann and dan bell to show off your old school chops. it all sounds good and the records they are playing are fine, but it is quickly getting very, very tiresome. my fellow ssg pete put this really well, "it really is the track selection. and, ironically, it's 'cos they don't have a deep understanding of house.' time to go warm up the engine. come get on board the 'house backlash bandwagon'. departing soon.

some of who and what i've been listening to lately:

• troy boy @ bar25 31.7.07: this set may be messy as hell, but troy pierce is a man who knows good music. so many great records in the hours and hours that he plays for (it is somewhat worrying how long the set is...).
• lots of marcel dettmann: i won't start repeating myself (again), but him and troy are definitely most the interesting djs for me right now.
• vladislav delay 'recovery idea (andy stott remix)': whoever thought of combining vlad and stott deserves a medal. what a match made in heaven. the ethereal bleeps and glitches of delay mould perfectly with the metallic chords of stott. this is a really amazing track. definitely one of the best things i've heard this year.
• métisse 03: one of the strongest records about at the moment. on the A you've got zander vt remixing mark august. i haven't heard much from zander vt yet, but i think i should start investigating as this is a great mix. warm, lush and builds nicely. in many cases, it'd be the standout tune, but here unfortunately the newcomers have to compete with the old hand tobias. his remix of tampopo 'helicopters got cameras' is absolutely brilliant. it just builds builds and builds. it kind of feels like the musical representation of a helicopter's blades swirling round and round as it lifts off.
• aaron carl 'crucified (rod modell like a river remix)': you may have heard this on anders ilar's recent RA podcast. given how much modell produces and that the majority of it exists within a reasonably defined sound palette, it is all the more impressive he can come up with a gem like this.
• radio slave 'no sleep part 5': it has taken me a long time to come round to mr slave, but i've finally overcome my unexplained prejudices. the preceding release, part 4, didn't work for me, but i do like this one. while the B works well and has that typical elongated feel to it, i haven't listened to it much because it the A side that i find myself playing. there is nothing particularly special about it, 'k-maze' just has a really nice warm, groove and build. it has nice light release and the female vocal sample reminds me of an old jeff mills record i can't remember the name of right now ('pacific state of mind' maybe?).

the bros are back? or is it me that left?

the new mix cd by the wighnomy brothers has been a bit of an enigma for me. it has taken me a while to reach a judgment, but i think i am there now. having been a former wighnomer and now jaded with their repetition, i was intrigued to hear what this would be like. after my first listen, i thought, 'wow. the bros are back!' what immediately excited me about it was that it sounded really unique. the mixing was different, as were the sounds and the composition. then i listened to it some more. and some more. and as i quickly tired of the mix it dawned on me, the bros aren't back, they've always been there. what changed was that i left. this mix isn't actually removed from what the wighnomy brothers have been doing, it is just different to what i've been listening to lately. indeed, it is pretty much the same thing the bros were doing when i got bored of them. the cd has its moments - especially in the opening 15-20 minutes, but for the most part it loses its shine and interest quickly. i guess they only have one trick. and again, i am tired of it.

too much intellecto?

another new release i've given a lot of listening and thought to is the new claro intellecto album. what struck me - and at least some other listeners - is precisely how underwhelming it is, in terms of both length and content. considering the extremely high quality of claro's past output and modern love's releases, i think most of us were working on the presumption that this would be excellent. in this regard, while i find myself normally agreeing with the excellent test industries blog, i think he is giving claro too much benefit of the doubt. i doubt listening to this on repeat will allow for the 'intelligent design' of this album to make itself apparent, as my gut says it just isn't there. rather than over intellectualising and trying to discover the hidden brilliance or supposed 'meta narrative', it'd be more worthwhile just accepting that unfortunately someone who is capable of producing amazing music happened to come up a bit short this time.

that's it. thoughts and retorts welcome...

Can somebody please direct me to the chill out room?

I’ve recently found myself listening to a lot of ambient music. It’s something I’ve long had a soft spot for; now that I think about it, it actually predates my interest in dance music.

When I’m in the mood for ambient music, I’m usually not in the mood to play DJ. I don’t want to dig through CDs, vinyl, and MP3 files; I’d much rather someone else do that for me (preferably while I lounge about in a beanbag). As a consequence I’ve been searching about online for mixes of ambient material, but I’ve come up almost empty-handed.

As well as making me a little annoyed, this has gotten me thinking about the relationship between ambient and dance music. Once upon a time they held hands quite comfortably. Remember the days of the chill out room? It used to be de rigueur for parties to have a side room dedicated to relaxing soundscapes. Now they’re gone.

In a recent interview over at the Mutek site, Stefan Betke (better known to you and I as Pole) said something very similar as he lamented the lack of diversity in electronic music.

“For me, the electronic music scene and how it was ten years ago there was a lot of diverse places and different things. Even in the same club you had a main room and an ambient floor where you heard something totally weird, and I have no idea why this isn’t existing anymore.”

The man has a point. Remember when dance labels and producers released ambient records? Remember Mille Plateaux releasing ambient albums by Wolfgang Voigt (the sublime Gas releases, which set the blueprint for the Kompakt Pop Ambient sound), Robert Babicz, Donnacha Costello? (“Together Is The New Alone” still ranks as one of my favourite albums … I could listen to “Dry Retch” on repeat endlessly.) Remember Richie Hawtin teaming up with Pete Namlook for the From Within albums?

Looking back, it appears that the relationship between ambient and dance music was largely a 90s thing, with a slight carry-over into the early 2000s. Today, Kompakt is one of the few dance labels that still flies an ambient flag. For the most part, ambient has become somewhat distanced from dance music, with such music mostly appearing on ambient-only labels, or on "home listening electronica" labels such as Type, Leaf, and City Centre Offices.

Why did ambient and dance music fall out of love with each other? Why are there so few ambient mixes to be found online? What happened to the chill out rooms?

In honour of the chill out rooms of yesteryear, and the first step in creating a virtual chill out room of our own, I’d like to present two ambient mixes that have caught my attention.

A little while ago I mentioned how much I was enjoying Bvdub’s productions. When I wrote that I had only just stumbled across the mixes on his site. I still haven’t listened to them all, but one that I’ve been listening to repeatedly is the final mix, “A Willing End.” A little over an hour long, it’s a gorgeous mix that starts with warm static (bringing to mind Tim Hecker), moves into some lovely sombre strings, and finishes off with some delicate piano. Overall a very warm, comforting mix.

The second is a 2006 mix by microsound artist Richard Chartier, which you can stream from the WPS1 website. Where the Bvdub mix is warm, this mix is a little colder, mostly using artists from the 12K and Raster-Noton labels, such as Fourcolor, Motion, Sogar, Taylor Deupree, and William Basinski (although he also uses artist such as Laurie Anderson, Chris Carter, Nurse With Wound, and Zoviet France). Some may find this mix a touch too eerie at times, but it’s sublime listening for those who want a hint of darkness to their ambience.

Consider this post an open call. If you know of any ambient mixes floating around that you think are particularly good, please let us know. Let’s carve out a virtual chill out room together.

mann of the moment.