thoughts and retorts

i dont think i have enough coherent thoughts to put together a whole post on one issue, but a couple of musings, abusings and the like:

well i think we have found the first super hot album of 2008. and the winner is, unsurprisingly, prosumer and murat tepeli's wonderful effort, 'serenity', on ostgut. to be honest, i think a better name for it would have been 'sincerity'. that is one of the real charms of this release - it is very heartfelt, warm and sincere. it feels like these guys love their music and just want to share it with us. there is not too much else i can say about the album, it is exactly what it appears to be - jacking old school chicago infused house all the way. actually, i wouldn't be surprised if this actually helps introduce a lot of tech heads to true chicago sounds. i guess we shall see. anyway, a fantastic album that warms the insides and brings a smile to the face. make sure to read this interesting interview with prosumer and tepeli over at RA (fellow ssg pete has done an excellent review of their album at RA). the way they come across is exactly what i expected having heard 'serenity'. there is bit of the interview which really stood out to me:

RA: House has been around for twenty-odd years now, does it still need “defending”?
Prosumer: House doesn’t need defending. "House is a feeling", so why should I try to defend the music I love to somebody who is not capable of feeling it? House music is the most real music there is for me. It makes me dance, cry, laugh, party, love.

i read this in the context of two rather unedifying discussions i came across recently here and here. on a certain level both seemed to reflect a basic insecurity in their musical tastes; a palpable need to justify their love in techno/house/whatever. i don't see the point of trying to explain or justify techno music. you either feel it, or you don't. as prosumer rightly puts it. the music doesn't need defending, so don't.

and speaking of RA, hats off for their latest podcast by the modern love boys. wow. that set by andy stott and claro intelecto is fantastic. perhaps the best RA podcast since its opened up with troy pierce. i thoroughly suggest you all go and give it a listen, if you haven't already (also check a new interview with the hard to find claro intelecto). another set that has been getting quite a lot of play in my car has been the appropriately named 'engineered for sunday' mix by butane. i've liked butane's sounds for a while, and have been especially high on him since i saw him knock out a super tight set a couple of months ago. finally, one more to check is this rare set by meat (for the steak lovers), whom i believe is a resident of robert johnson. this is the first i've heard from him and i'm liking it a lot. nothing too fancy, no bells or whistles here. it just sounds like a dj who really knows what he is doing. so give it a rub.

i am sure i had some other thoughts, but they have escaped me for now.