done with 07.

Well the first mnml ssg bbq took place the other day and went down in fine style. There might be some photos of it later… Anyway, as the year is coming to an end, a couple of thankyous are in order. Reflections are also needed but I am too tired for that right now, so this short post will do. Things are a bit quiet here (music-wise as well as life-wise), more regular posts once everything (re)starts in 2008. Anyway…

Thanks to Deep Chord for helping me return to techno dub in a big big way.
Thanks to Vladislav Delay for making such wonderful, individual music.
Thanks to Betalounge for maintaining/restoring my sanity at key moments of the year.
Thanks to Troy Pierce for going deep and dark. Love it.
Thanks to Dial for having so much heart and sincerity.
Thanks to my fellow mnml ssg crew.

All the best for the start to 2008. Lets make it a good one.

the year ain't over...

everyone has pretty much completed their lists for 2007 (including us), but these are two releases i've just come across which are really rocking/destroying my world:

Pawel - Gabriel (orphanear)

pawel's first release on his new label orphanear was special, but this may be even stronger. the title track is perfectly weighted, but it is the b side 'early bird' which really does it for me. it reminds me of the lawrence aesthetic but much lighter and freer. really fantastic stuff.

http://www.discogs.com/release/1095113

Terre Thaemlitz - Terre's Neu Wuss Fusion / She's Hard Remixes (mule)

i know very little about terre, and haven't listened to much (which i am starting to realise is a serious mistake). these remixes are the bomb. the '2007 archive of silence' remix of 'terre's neu wuss fusion' is an amazing 10 minute + ambient workout while the max mohr remix of 'she's hard' just builds and builds. i could imagine this being a fantastic track to drop during the afterhours...

http://www.discogs.com/release/1083754

both are strongly recommended...

long/ glide/ into/ the deep... [Beatz EoY thoughts]

"When I reflect on 2007, one of the key distinguishing features of the music that really moved me was this concept of slowly coasting into a place where the light leaves and everything dissipates. A place that might be the sea below (but without the pressure), the sky above (but without the stars), or the dark corner of the dancefloor (without the sticky spilled drink or couple kissing)."

More?

ones to watch in 2008...

About this time last year, 3 of the 4 members of this blog had just ranked ‘Bergwein’ as our track of 2006 and were tipping big things for Efdemin and the whole Dial crew. While recognizing that the boys from Hamburg were on the verge of a special year may have been a somewhat easy spot, it has given me/us enough encouragement to think about what 2008 has in store. Here are a couple of people I think are about to have a breakout or standout year. I’d be very keen to hear who you think are worth watching closely in the new year…

The Mountain People

The Mountain People are made up of Serafin and Rozzo, two guys from Suisse who are seriously house. If anyone has heard one of the Mountain People releases or their dj set recorded on Rundfunk FM (which has been getting serious play on my stereo) you’d know exactly what I mean. Both in their djing and production, Serafin and Rozzo really, really know what they are doing. They remind me a bit of Thomas Melchoir not so much in the sound (even though there is a bit of a similarity there) but more in the design – the beauty, the depth of this music comes from its feel and its simplicity. The three Mountain People records that appeared in 2007 have rightly been getting a lot of play and charting, and my feeling is that we can expect much more in 2008. To give you an idea, check out these sets from the Mountain People:

Mountain People DJs on Rundfunk FM available here care of filter27
http://www.filter27.com/archives/2007/09/mountain_people_djs.php

And here are some from them individually:

Rozzo – House is Alive mix
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2IZVM8T4

Rozzo – Live at Slutfunk After Hour 11/07
http://www.p45.ch/sounds/mixes/RozzoLive@SlutfunkAfterHour11-07.zip

Rozzo – Live at the Bedroom (maybe 11/06)
http://www.trackdownrecords.com/sounds/mixes/AndreRozzo_LiveAtTheBedroom.mp3

Both these Rozzo sets are id’d as ‘live at the bedroom’, but they are different…

Serafin – Live at Loftclub 12/05
http://www.p45.ch/sounds/mixes/serafin@loftclub_dec2005.mp3

Serafin – Starship discotheque pt 1
http://www.p45.ch/sounds/mixes/starshipdiscotheque1.mp3

There is a part 2 to this mix, I shall try to find the link for it later…

Pawel/Turner

Pawel/Turner is another person who has been around for a while, but you get the feeling he is really hitting his straps at the moment. Having released on Ladomat 2000 and Dial, in 2007, two fresh records came out in 2007 on his new label, Orphanear. Both still sound very much within the Dial aesthetic, but at the same stage, it looks like Pawel is really taking the next step in defining his own musical identity and carving out something separate. ‘Salta’ was a clear highlight for me in 2007. An absolute gem. I can wait to see what is in store for the new year… Check out his myspace to hear what I’m talking about:

http://www.myspace.com/turnerpawel

Pawel and Orphanear are definitely worth keeping a close eye on...

Girls with skills

One of the more positive trends for this year was the growth and success of a lot of female djs and producers. Increasingly the ‘djane’ crap is being dispensed with as the number and profile of females in techno is on the up. We may post more about this trend later, but for now it is enough to say that you’d have to expect it to continue. One dj keeping an eye on is Margaret Dygas. Her sound as a dj has really been maturing of late so I am very interested to see what 2008 holds. Plenty of other names could be added, for now I’ll just put two more. First is Kate Simko. She did some really nice things in 2007 and has a great livepa. Second is Cio D’or. While she doesn’t have that big a profile yet, I really, really like the sound she pushes. Anyway, keep an eye out. Finally the sausage party might be coming to an end...

These are two 20 minute mixes from Cio D’or which give a good account of her style:

Cio D’or Origami 11 mix
http://www.cio-dor.de/data/Origami11Oceanmix.mp3

Cio D’or Kristall 11 mix
http://www.cio-dor.de/data/Kristall11OceanMix.mp3

And a great liveset from Kate Simko recorded at DEMF 2007
http://www.katesimko.com/Kate_Simko_Live_at_DEMF2007.mp3

Hopefully some of the other blog members shall add to this post later with others to watch and please tell us who you think in the comments...

Pete's two cents:

I think Chris is totally on point with his selections there (as usual). To these I’d add a few:

DJ Swap

I say this based on the strength of one EP, ‘The Walk’, released on Smallville records. All three tracks on this EP are fantastic, and they’re super-useful to DJ with – no doubt that’s why Steve Bug included ‘Consequence’ on his recent (fairly decent) Fabric mix.

Mark August

Mark’s already well on his way, having written one of 2007’s most beautiful tech-house tracks with ‘Old Joy’. His live sets are the bomb, too – I think we described his style as being ‘like the baby that Alex Smoke and Donnacha Costello had…. in Ibiza.’ More emotional release than Costello and not as relentlessly glum as Smoke’s big arpeggiated ‘storms-a-brewing’ attacks… yeah, I just have a feeling that August is gonna be rrreally big.

[chris here - really, really agree with pete on mark august. amazing how textured and complex his sounds are given that he appears to be a relative newcomer, though i could be wrong on that. anyway, here are some of his livesets:]

Mark August livepa @ Flexbar 30/11/07

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B7NKWTEW

Mark August livepa @ Teleskope 13/10/07

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1G7FOJDN

Mark August livepa @ Studio 80 26/10/07

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8YZOBNVL

Kassem Mosse

Holy shit, that EP on Workshop is fantastic. I urge all and sundry to get their mits on a copy and give it a good rinse. His music is exciting in the same way that James Din A4’s is/was – it’s microhouse, but super monged: slow-mo quasi-beardo narcohouse, IDM’d trip-outs, acidic wonkfests, you name it, his EP has it. Also, he’s due for a release on Smallville, which, given that Swap is also releasing on that label, makes it one to watch in 08.

Jacek Sienkiewicz

Well, he’s hardly a newcomer, but I’ve just got an inkling that the Pole with the unpronounceable (to me, to me) last name is gonna take it to the next level in 08. Hey, he even released on Smallville recently…. hmm, is there a pattern emerging here?

Bruno Pronsato

2008 will be a huge year for this man... Just wait 'til the album drops...

Dubfire's surefire (vs. the dudfire proggyback attack)

Chris’ two cents:

One of the more contentious issues of 2007 has been the conversion of Dubfire, the man who has spent most of his musical life dj’ing and producing as part of the (stinky/proggy) house group Deep Dish. Then finally in 2007 he saw the light and converted to the mnml cause, with a couple of big releases, of which ‘Ribcage’ being the most played and talked about.

For my mind it certainly isn’t a case of Dubfire ‘selling out’, he did that years ago when Deep Dish stopped making half decent music and they started mixing proggy house mix cds for Global Underground. So, if anything, it may be that he is now ‘buying in’, becoming part of the ever-expanding and bloated scene/genre that is mnml. And I really can’t see how this can be a matter of just piggy-backing on the popularity of mnml for purely self-interested reasons. I don’t think Deep Dish have exactly been struggling for bookings of late. They are still one of the most marketable and recognizable names about. So perhaps he really did wake up one day and say, ‘I’m sick of playing this dishwater house. Time for me to fight the good fight and go play mnml. Those m-nus guys look like they are having fun.’

But the question of why Dubfire has converted isn’t really so interesting because at the end of the day, this is the sound he is pushing now and plenty have signed up to it. What I find more interesting is people’s reactions to Dubfire’s crossover. Ultimately, Dubfire is a threat. And why is that? Because he represents the complete breakdown of mnml as a genre. It is one thing for Digweed to play a couple of Kompakt records now and again, but when Dubfire starts producing dodgy mnml prog like ‘Ribcage’ the game is up. Whatever mnml was it is no more. Minimal is mnml, prog house is mnml, trance is mnml, maximal is mnml. It is all one distinctly unminimal mess. And yes, this breakdown of genre boundaries is hardly a new phenomenon – people have been complaining about the meaningless of the ‘mnml’ tag for years. So what makes Dubfire different? I think it is the fact he was immediately accepted by the erstwhile arbiters of mnml, Richie and the M-nus crew. Not only was Dubfire featured on the latest m-nus comp, he was allowed to touch the untouchable and remix ‘spastik’. Yet none of these blessings have actually prevented his music from being dressed up boring proggy minimal…

What does all this mean? I am not sure, perhaps not too much. As I said, people will keep going and seeing Dubfire and up’ing his records. But the trend he represents might actually end up result in a push the opposite way, with a much greater attempt by artists to redefine and re-establish boundaries – this is techno, this is minimal, this is house and so on. Is that a good thing? Again I am not too sure. The most interesting music is made on the boundaries, this is why tech-house in theory, and sometimes in reality, can be such a good thing, to take an obvious example. But if the mnml monster swallows everything, where are the borders? I guess we are going to find out if we are/aren’t careful. In the meantime, I still don’t see the point of listening to Dubfire. Even if Richie reckons he’s alright.
Chris

Pete’s two Cents:

The crux of the ‘issue’ with Dubfire for me is this: it is a calculated move. It’s cold. Why should this matter? Perhaps it doesn’t. If you’re one of those people for whom all that matters is what comes out of the speakers, then the only perspective from which to judge the success of Dubfire is precisely ‘the music’. The whole thing smacks of proggy-backing, true, but that’s not the thing. To me, it’s that the music sounds like it’s calculated to be exactly as it is. It’s music that’s ‘designed’ to be a certain way, to elicit a certain reaction, and to me that’s a cold move.

Who am I to say how people ‘should make music’? Well, my two cents: people make the music they choose ‘cos they don’t have any choice, because it’s what they feel. It’s something that comes from deep, deep within them.

I’m reminded of DJ Bone's moving lyrics for Deetron’s ‘Life Soundtrack:

“This sound comes from dirt, pain, boredom, cold streets… nothing from nothing to everything, from frustration to innovation. This sound makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you hate, makes you stomp, makes you clap. This music, deep down, special place, special time, special sound, lives forever - life soundtrack.”

Is there anything like this in a Dubfire record? I’m not saying that Ali should move to Johannesberg, New Orleans or Sao Paolo and do it tough just to give his music some shit and grit, but hell, can anyone say that there is anything like this kinda feeling in Ribcage? Can U feel it? Really? Please comment and describe your emotional response. To me, ‘Ribcage’ is utterly heartless, and its success encapsulates everything that’s shit about mnml in ’07.

Dave's View: [NEW]

Alright i agree with Pete and Chris and a majority of the comments thus far but i think there's another way to look at this. While i dislike Ribcage i think the emergence of Dubfire is on the whole good for mnml...

When i listen to Dubfire's music i'm disturbed by how accurate its impression of mnml music is. As you listen you can feel Dubfire follow the "synth preset + sidechain + automated delay = mnml" formula and what's more he does it REALLY effectively.

Should mnml have such a formula? And should it be so easily followed and exploited? Dubfire raises these questions and this alone makes Dubfire good for mnml. Hopefully it will push producers to avoid following this formula in future to avoid being tagged as Post Prog. Sometimes in hindsight the most controversial songs are the most important ones regardless of their quality and i think we could have a classic example of this right here.

If there's not enough incentive to progress and explore new sounds then mnml will get stale. This would be fatal as techno thrives on its continuous progression in order to remain relevant. And what better way to inspire progression than having progsters gatecrashing the mnml scene?

savoretti & zenker @ harry klein

a great new set recorded at harry klein:

jorge savoretti & dario zenker @ Harry Klein 06-12-2007

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GFZES40N

definitely worth giving a rub...

*edit* this is really, really good. great tempo to the whole set. driving, heady, quality. i am pretty sure they are tagging the whole set. damn it is quality. savoretti is one of the stallions from argentina and i am pretty sure zenker is a local boy from germany. anyway, it is the business. get on it.

We Were Never Mnml (Inpress column, December 07)

Here's a stone cold paste of my monthly column for Inpress:

Wow, we made it to December without destroying the planet… oh hang on… Well, our ‘leaders’ made it to the end of the Bali conference and signed an agreement to start talking about an agreement to start talking about a decision to start making a roadmap that would mean (at some unspecified point) doing something (non-binding, of course) to stop raping the planet, so… hooray? ‘But seriously’, am I the only one who’s been feeling irrationally upbeat over the past few weeks? Maybe it’s the weather and the apparent end of the fly plague, who knows, but everything seems pretty peachy at the moment. I’m sure it’s only a temporary lull, or maybe it’s ‘Christmas cheer’. No doubt most of you have been spending the past week or two compiling lists (mental or actual) as a way of trying to get a handle on 2007’s hysterical torrent of releases while trying to work out what kind of year it was musically, and for the groove in particular. I’ll tell you: 2007 was the year in which Samim’s ‘Heater’ was the big ‘mnml’ track… hmmmnml…

But one other thing that’s struck me (or made me scratch my head) about this year is how well Shlomi Aber, Radio Slave, Dubfire have charted this year, and over a sustained period of time (which puts to sleep any ‘flash in the pan’ type alibi). I don't know about you people out there, but I find two out of three of the artists just mentioned deeply, deeply boring – especially Dubfire. I don’t hate it, but I certainly can’t like it – okay, so it ‘works’, but can you actually say you ‘love’ this music? What’s to love? The divisive ‘Ribcage’ reaction may be over, but now Ali is charting with two or three other tracks ‘Road Kill’, ‘I feel Speed’, and about a dozen remixes.

Anyway, now that I’ve got the grumbling over with, I thought I’d spend some time lingering over a few under-exposed gems from the past twelve months. These were all EPs/tracks that might have missed a few peoples EoY lists but that I think have enduring value. First cab on the rank is Jackmate’s ‘Interspherical Tensions’ EP released on Philpot a month or two ago. The B2 ‘Boots’ is easily one of the most exciting minimal techno tracks of the year for me. It’s only four minutes long (a third of your average Dubfire track!) but it’s a wee hand grenade, with more explosive drama, more kinetic energy and more hardsprung tension than most contemporary tracks in a similar vein. The break is fantastic – there’s this rolling filter with a kind of Doppler effect that just keeps churning over and over itself until it trips into the dropping kick. Great stuff, especially when played by a DJ in danger of eating his face while cueing it… but that’s another story.

Next contender is Maximilian Skiba’s ‘Beginning’ EP, which is some harder electroid techno with a whiff of amyl nitrate, if you dig. Earlier in the year in my review for Beatz, I described it as “tooth-loosening machine electro that kicks harder than a methed up drag queen in a burst of jealous rage” and I’ll stand by that. The B2, ‘Goodbye C64’ is also a really nice, weepy, sentimental anthem for all you wusses out there.

Speaking of wusses (and drag queens, for that matter), I only just recently picked up the remix EP of Terre Thaemlitz’ ‘She’s Hard’, which has got an amazing ‘float house’ (as opposed to ‘floater house’) Thaemlitz re-rub on the A, and a killer upbuilding Max Mohr mix on the flip. Like a lot of stuff on Mule this year, this EP is pure class all the way – in fact, for all those who are nostalgic for the good old days of Kompakt, Mule have been quietly bearing the torch for us jaded ex-fans (from a pokey office in Nakameguro), releasing convincing minimal, Balearic, disco, dubby tech and ambient house records with a consistency that shames most of the higher profile European labels. Label-owner Toshiya Kawasaki also appears to have a knack for getting ‘the right people’ on deck for the remixes at the right time. Not least of all was his roping in DJ Koze, who turned out an outstanding remix of Lawrence’s disturbingly titled ‘Rabbit Tube’ EP, Lawrence’s second best EP of the year after January’s stunning ‘Friday’s Child’, also on Mule. Nobody but nobody writes a sad, beautiful synth melody like Lawrence, and ‘Friday’s Child’ is one of the best. I wish I’d had more time to consider my ‘Top 20’ list before voting in the polls for the sites I write for – this should have been right up the top of the list. Still on Mule’s dick for another few mentions, ‘Shrimps of Portofino’, the B2 on Marcelo Giordani’s ‘I’m not Bladerunner’ EP is a very, very cool Italo influenced tech-house track with the drums mixed all round the ceiling. Lastly, Minilogue’s ‘Ghost’ EP was another great long, tripping tech-houser. The duo’s proggy predilections always kept me away in the past, but this was the EP of theirs that won me over this year.

I can’t really say it was ‘under-exposed’ (considering that Burridge stuck it on his ‘actually not stinky’ 3CD Balance mix earlier in the year), but Jacek Sienkiewicz’s ‘Good Night/Good Luck’ EP on Cocoon was undoubtedly one of the more interesting EPs released throughout the year. Sienkiewicz is just totally off in his own world with the design of his productions – they’re weird, they’re mesmerising, and they work, mostly. Another deadset weirdo who did some interesting stuff this year is Pepe Bradock. ‘Rhapsody in Pain’ ended up being the unlikely success (if you haven’t heard it, it’s on Sven’s ‘Sound of the Umpteenth Season’ mix and it’s actually a sound-collage of people screaming in pain), but ‘Sakura Incident’ was the subtle warmer of the cockles of this heart.

Also, a quick heads-up for the weekend coming up. Patrick ‘Hard as Fuck’ HAF is coming to town this Saturday to give Melbourne a lesson in electrobass, Detroit classics, deep techno and whatever the hell else. HAF’s productions and DJ sets get props from all the UR movers and shakers. Check ‘Southern Outpost’ for links to HAF’s DJ sets and so forth and you’ll hear why. If you’re up to see an Australian DJ with some serious, serious chops (with no disrespect implied to any of the several dozen very fine DJs in this city who are usually far better than the internationals) who makes records that respectable international DJs actually play, you could probably do a lot worse than checking out this party. I hesitate to say it’s gonna be a night of ‘real’ techno (and play into the whole stupid Detroit mythmaking crap that's so irritatingly prevalent in Melb.), so maybe I should say that it’s gonna be a night of ‘good’ techno, leave it at that, and look forward.

mumbling umm?

ok. one track i am currrently trying to work out is kabale und liebe and daniel sanchez - 'mumbling yeah'. this track is getting a lot of hype, play from all the right djs and has quickly become an anthem. RA felt it was good enough to deserve full marks: http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=4919
but i dont quite see/hear it. the record is good, no doubt about it. but is it that good? i'm not so sure. i must admit i havent heard it out at a party - i am sure a big sound system would add to the very nice breakdown. but i am not sure that'd be enough to make me a convert... can someone please explain this one for me?

if you haven't heard it, you can listen to it here:

http://www.myspace.com/danielsanchezzz
or
http://www.getthecurse.com/2007/10/03/playlist-9-key-values/


and here is karotte letting 10,000 people enjoy it:

the 'best' of 07 (and the justified ancients of boost boost)

Well,

after scanning the various sites today, I've come up with this rough, aggregated top ten 'most lauded albums of 07' list.

LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver

MIA – Kala

Radiohead – In Rainbows

Panda Bear – Person Pitch

The Field – From Here We Go Sublime

Robert Wyatt – Comicopera

Battles – Mirrored

Feist – The Reminder

Lairs – Liars

Burial – Untrue

In my humble opinion, the Battles, Field, and LCD entries are undeserving - of course these albums have their qualities, but what I'm alleging is that they're chronically over-rated.

Discuss.....

Dave W? What say you? I know you're 'across these' (to use the corporate jargon)...

What would you say is the 'most over-rated album of '07? Fellas?

Overlooked and Underrated 07 albums

Seeing as we're all going in for EoY lists and the like, I humbly submit the following three albums as my three 'underneath the radar' works that a lot of people snoozed on.

Gudrun Gut: I Put a Record On
Admittedly, the Dntel remix was the best of all, but I really, really like the weirdness and creativity of this album. It's very personal, very elegant and multifaceted. There are a lot of blues and country inflections, but they're all very much under the sharp heel of Gudrun's influence. There are also silent connectors between this and the next under-rated gem, mostly in the smeared textures and choo-choo train rhythmicity.
Thomas Fehlmann: Honigpumpe

This is just a wonderful album to listen to. I know this might strike you as a particularly redundant thing to say about music, but what I mean is that, when reaching for an immersive album to really wind through, especially on a damp afternoon when I have to do what 'I have to do', this is one of the ones that first offers itself up. The compositions are beautifully layered, opening with a very Frippertronics pop-ambient feel and slowly building through several hissing, whistling, chugging and soft whirring technoscapes. Fehlmann's approach to production has really, really matured here. I just cannot for the life of me understand why so few people charted the Field's 'From Here We Go Mediocre' instead of this. Oh well.Move-D: Tonspuren 1-10

I can't say that this is really 'under-rated', but the impression I get is that very few people have had a chance to listen to this work. Like the 'Raumland' series Moufang has been doing with Namlook and his Studio Pankow work, none of these releases appear to be particularly well distributed. It's a shame, 'cos they're amazing, almost without exception. Tonspuren is notable for its balance and poise - there's foundsound, house grooves, big, spacious ambient tripouts, it's all here. Moufang has a lot more depth than a lot of artists, and this is one of his deeper works.

Top Tracks...

Every year there seems to be developments/progressions/movements in the techno sound. And it's really one of the best things about the genre. This year i think it was mostly about the return of the old techno energy/sound. However, there was only 2 people that i know of who have been doing this sound consistantly and they are Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann. Then there was also the Norman Nodge on Dettmann's label. That's the future right there and what to look out for in 08... Then there was this deeply funky and dopey house sound which was being pushed by Daze Maxim and Stavostrand. Not sure if this sound is a pleasent diversion or a sign of greater things to come but i get the feeling it's the latter. Then there was Digitaline and Bruno Pronsato (solo and Half Hawaii) who dominated too. and that's 2007 right there. nothing more nothing less...

1. Ben Klock - Czeslawa
2. Half Hawaii - Di Nichts
3. Plan Tec - Espias Psiquicos (Jonas Kopp Psiquic rmx)
4. Ben Klock - Sean
5. Daze Maxim - Pull Absurde
6. Half Hawaii - Into You
7. Dub Kult - Cluster Fuck
8. Luciano - Fourges Et Sabres
9. Jacek Sienkiewicz - Good Night
10. Ellen Allien - Go (Marcel Dettmann rmx)

11. From Karaoke To Stardom - Big Bad Swoosh
12. Daze Maxim - Spunaround
13. Norman Nodge - nn 7.4
14. Mikeal Stavostrand - Housedays
15. Mari & Zacco - Carbonela
16. The Mountain People - Mountain004
17. Mathew Jonson - Stop
18. Mikeal Stavostrand - Please My Pain
19. Dettmann & Klock - Scenario
20. Boris Werner and Lauhaus - Legeres

21. Martin Buttrich - Well Done (Serafin remix)
22. Tractile - Dynam
23. DJ Koze Vs. Sid Le Rok - Es Scheppert Wie Def Leppard
24. Marco Carola - Dancing Days
25. Norman Nodge - nn 8.0
26. JPLS - Twilight 8
27. Seuil - Oblivion
28. Dettmann And Klock - Dawning (revisited)
29. Melchior Productions - Don Juan
30. Thrill Cosby - Oogity Boogity

31. Jorge Savoretti & Dario Zenker - Joint Kings
32. Serafin - Berlin Has No Cows
33. Soul Capsule - Waiting 4 a Way
34. Vita - Mare Mare
35. Digitaline - Hum Hum
36. Soz Adams - Eyes Forlon (JPLS remix)
37. Phonique - Casualties (Geist remix)
38. Gabriel Ananda - Stream Of Consciousness
39. Daze Maxim - Untitled
40. Grinser Swallow

41. Jurgen Paape + Boy Schaufler / Gesang - We Love
42. Kerri Chandler - The Invaders (The Panic)
43. Margaret Dygas - No Now
44. Mikeal Stavostrand - Can You See Through My Eyes
45. Murat Tepeli Feat. Prosumer - What Makes You Go For It
46. Beck - Cellphone's Dead (Villalobos rmx)
47. Cassy - Soul Saviour
48. Butane - Mute Solo
49. The Skull - All You Booty Shakers
50. DJ Koze - Mariposa



top producers:

1. Bruno Pronsato
2. Ben Klock
3. Mikeal Stavostrand
4. Digitaline
5. Daze Maxim
6. Matthew Dear
7. Maurice Fulton
8. Marcel Dettmann
9. Serafin
10. Matthew Jonson


Top Labels:

there's really 3 standouts in my mind then a bracket of 5-10 other quite good ones... i'll keep it to a top 3

1. Perlon
2. Hello Repeat
3. Cadenza

Dave's top albums

2007 was a good year for music but not really so good for albums. Plenty of great tracks and great potential for albums but many fell ever so slightly short of their potential. It adds weight to that "downloading is killing the album" theory but i'm not convinced... I think 2005 and to an extent 2006 was a bit of an abnormality when it comes to techno albums. As we know, techno has always struggled with the album to an extent but 2005/6 saw a bunch of great albums... And 2005/6 was also the time when mnml was at it's exploratory peak... I dunno but it seemed like there was so many unexplored possibilities back then which made composing an album much easier. That's not to say techno is on the decline... but it's rate of improvement or evolution has decreased... pre 2007 there were massive areas to explore but now there only seems to be little niches which are better explored in an EP than LP format. The one exception, and the one album which has potential to move up my list over time, is Bruno Pronsato's album. It's got the potential to over time deliver all it promises and emerge as the best album of 2007. So far it's great but not quite brilliant.

So for these reasons there's a higher percentage of non techno albums on my list than there was in 05 and 06. Also, indie and folk have made a minor comeback after some very lean years.


1. Junior Senior - Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
2. Kathy Diamond - Miss Diamond To You
3. Digitaline - Anticlockwise
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
5. False - 2007
6. Rio En Medio - The Bride Of Dynamite
7. Bruno Pronsato - Why Can't We Be More Like Us?
8. Pansonic - Katodivaihe
9. Kalabrese - Rumpelzirkus
10. Whitehouse - Racket
11. David Toop - Sound Body
12. International Pony - Mit Dir sind wir Vier
13. Cobblestone Jazz - 23 Seconds
14. Charlemagne Palestine - A Sweet Quasimodo Between Black Vampire Butterflies
15. Nina Nastasia and Jim White - You Follow Me
16. Prins Thomas - Cosmo Galactic Prism
17. Onur Ozer - Kasmir
18. Roisin Murphy - Overpowered
19. MIA - Kala
20. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
21. Pantha Du Prince - This Bliss
22. Agnes - Dumbles Debuts
23. Liars - Liars
24. Optimo - Walkabout
25. Mitsuhiro Yoshimura - And So On
26. Frank Bretschneider - Rhythm
27. Otomo Yoshihide - Prisoner Soundtrack
28. Black Dice - Load Blown
29. Robert Babicz - A Cheerful Temper
30. Mika Vainio - Revitty
31. Aidan Baker - Green & Cold
32. Burial - Untrue
33. Dapayk & Padberg - Black Beauty
34. Efdemin - Efdemin
35. Growing - Vision Swim
36. Organ Eye - Organ Eye
37. Rhys Chatham - A Crimson Grail (For 400 Electric Guitars)
38. Ricardo Villalobos - Sei Es Drum
39. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad
40. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

a dog from ada

just listened to the new ada on areal and it is really stinky. what happened? 'blondie' was a real highlight of 2004 for me, but pretty much everything she has done since then has been subpar, to say the least. what a shame. saying that, the artwork for ada's release is awesome and remarkably appropriate:

chris' best for 2007

Tracks

1. Cassy - Somelightuntothenight

2. Pawel – Salta

3. Shackleton – Blood on my hands (Ricardo Villalobos remix)

4. False - Fed on Youth

5. Claude VonStroke – Who’s Afraid of Detroit? (Deepchord remix)

6. Blackstrobe – I’m a man (Audion remix)

7. JPLS – Green01 (Skoozbot remix)

8. Beck – Cellphone’s Dead (Ricardo Villalobos remix)

9. Carsten Jost – Love

10. Ben Klock - Czeslawa

11. Gaiser – Withdrawal

12. Plan Tec – Espias Psiquicos (Jonas Kopp remix)

13. Marc Houle - Porch

14. Samuel L Session – The Stick Up (SLS Mix 2)

15. Pigon – Promises

Albums

1. Vladislav Delay - Whistleblower

2. Kathy Diamond – Miss Diamond to you

3. Deepchord presents Echospace: The Coldest Season

4. Pantha du Prince – This Bliss

5. Ricardo Villalobos – Fabric 37

Producers

1. Sasu Ripatti

2. Deepchord

3. Matthew Dear

4. Phillip Sollmann

5. Ricardo Villalobos

Labels

1. Dial

2. Perlon

3. Ostgut

4. Modern Love

5. Huume

best livesets of 2007

as part of the end of year exercise, one thing i want to do is put together some of the best livesets i've downloaded over the year. this list is incomplete, but it is a pretty good start. for my mind, the best thing i've heard all year is this set posted here from troy pierce. it has a really amazing depth to it. a very good example of what troy is capable of and why he is my favourite dj these days.

troy pierce @ comfort sessions, proton radio
http://rapidshare.com/files/24410459/Troy_Pierce_Comfort_Sessions_Proton_20Radio-sbd-01-26-2007-www.ump3.de.mp3

01 Ambivalent - Star Chamber
02 Emd - Boys In The Backstreet
03 Gary Newman - Dans Le Parc (DJ Hell Remix)
04 T.g. - Cane The Speakers (Konrad Black Remix)
05 Richie Hawtin - Concept Vr 10 20 (Unreleased)
06 Jpls - Twilight 09
07 Mesak Haivenet - Haiven
08 Betrieb - Akt Mit
09 Heartthrob - Unknown Number (Troy's South Of Heaven Remix)
10 Heartthrob - Judy's Sweet And Juicey
11 Sleep Archive - Hospital 9
12 Run Stop Restore - Bassomatic
13 Son.sine - Upekah
14 House Of Black Dress - She Had No Aims, No Great Desires, Showed No Jealousy, Held No Grievances
15 Troy Pierce - Finnished
16 P.w.o.g. - Plastikman Remix
17 Hieb - Angriff Der Killerviren
18 Baby Ford - The Healing

gaiser @ antipop festival
http://www.megaupload.com/pt/?d=EIFB06QK

barem vs seph @ flama events 29-06-2007
part 1: http://www.sendspace.com/file/w8dp50
part 2: http://www.sendspace.com/file/j0lfmk

mountain people (serafin and rosso) @ rundfunk http://www.filter27.com/download/MOUNTAIN_PEOPLE_DJS_-_Live_on_Rundfunk_FM_2007-08-04--www.Filter27.com.mp3

matthew dear @ mary-anne hobbes, bbc
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BZ0I9VKN

mark august @ ADHD Sessions, Amsterdam 26-10-2007
http://www.audiobeats.net/app/links/click/1972

marcel dettmann @ planet delsin, amsterdam 05.10.2007
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4P3WNGBW

magda @ sunday adventure club, bar25
part 1: http://www.filefactory.com/file/129fd5
part 2: http://www.filefactory.com/file/15ca52

enjoy.

move d, move me

a collection of recent move d dj sets can be found here:

http://www.divshare.com/download/2450718-135

these are as good as you'd expect. get on 'em...

Pete's End of Year mnml sssssg lssssssst (Best of 07)

Top 20 Singles (you wanted tracks right?)

1 Beck - Cellphone's Dead (Villalobos remix) [White/Bpitch
2 DJ Koze - Cicely [Philpot]
3 Efdemin - Stately, Yes [Dial]
4 Len Faki - Pearl Delta [Ostgut]
5 Mark August - Old Joy [Connoisseur]
6 Andy Stott - See in Me [Modern Love]
7 Lopazz - Share my Rhythm (Isolee remix) [Get Physical]
8 Luciano - Fourges et Sabres [Perlon]
9 Shackleton - Blood on my Hands (Villalobos remix) [Skull Disco]
10 Maximilian Skiba - Bye Bye C64 [Eva]
11 Break SL - Trombone [Philpot]
12 DJ Koze vs. Sid le Rock - Naked (DJ Koze remix) [Cereal Killers]
13 Carsten Jost - Love [Dial]
14 Naughty - World of a Woman [Moodmusic]
15 Vulva String Quartett - Cloudseeding [Combination]
16 False - Fed on Youth [M _nus]
17 Pigon - Cottonwood [Dial]
18 Pawel - Salta [Orphanear]
19 Move D - Got Thing [Philpot]
20 Syncom Data - Beyond the Stars (Speedy J remix) [SD]

Top 10 Producers
1 DJ Koze
2 Phillip Sollmann (Efdemin/Pigon etc)
3 Sasu Ripatti
4 Andy Stott
5 Ricardo Villalobos
6 Matthew Dear
7 Tobias Freund
8 Michael Baumann
9 Move D
10 Rod Moddell

Top 20 Artist Albums
1 Efdemin - Efdemin [Dial]
2 False - 2007 [M_nus]
3 Kalabrese - Rumpelzirkus [Muve]
4 Kathy Diamond - Miss Diamond to You [Permanent Vacation]
5 Bruno Pronsato - Why Can't We Be Us [Hello?Repeat]
6 International Pony – Mit Mir Sind Wir Vier
7 Vladislav Delay – Whistleblower
8 Klimek – Dedications
9 Uusitalo – Karhunainen
10 Pantha du Prince - This Bliss
11 Senking – List
12 Thomas Fehlmann – Honigpumpe
13 David Toop – Sound Body
14 Al Haca – Family Business
15 Radiohead - In Rainbows
16 Frank Bretschneider – Rhythm
17 Burial – Untrue
18 Deepchord presents Echospace: The Coldest Season
19 Pinch – Underwater Dancehall
20 Cobblestone Jazz - 23 Seconds

Top 5 Compilations/Mixes
1 Prins Thomas - Cosmo Galactic Prism [Eskimo]
2 Optimo - Walkabout [Endless Flight]
3 Melchior Productions - No Disco Future (promo mix) [Perlon]
4 Luciano - Cadenza Contemporary 01 [Cadenza]
5 Ellen Allien - Fabric 34 [Fabric]


Top 5 Remixes
1 Beck - Cellphone's Dead (Villalobos remix) [White/Bpitch Control]
2 Lopazz - Share my Rhythm (Isolee remix) [Get Physical]
3 Hatchback - White Diamond (Prins Thomas remix)
4 DJ Koze vs. Sid le Rock - Naked (DJ Koze remix) [Cereal Killers]
5 Shackleton - Blood on my Hands (Villalobos remix) [Skull Disco]

Top 10 Labels

1 Dial
2 Perlon
3 Philpot
4 Ostgut
5 Modern Love
6 Huume
7 Hello?Repeat
8 Raster-Noton
9 Non-Standard Productions
10 Planet Mu