trust in the techno gods

the other week i bitched to you all about missing what is shaping up to be one of the best techno parties invented because the brits had decided to take their sweet time with my work visa. well, as fate would have it, the techno gods intervened and my passport magically appeared, with the correct visa, about a month earlier than expected. luckily the labyrinth ticket i'd asked for had still been saved, which means it's on and two of the ssg crew will be attending. rock! the only slight problem is that the short notice meant i've had to pack up my life in less than 2 weeks, while still working full-time. i'll spare you the details, but it hasn't been fun. besides peter van hoesen's really excellent ssg mix, here is some of the music that has been keeping me sane through this rather challenging period:

nd_baumecker @ berghain 9.2.08

i came across this gem completely by chance. it is a 5 hour recording from one of the berghain/panorama residents. supposedly he dj's more at panorama, but this night he was on the berghain floor and explored deeper and darker sounds. this is a really great representation of what berghain sounds like - dynamic, a well balanced set of old and new, quality throughout. the mixing is sometimes a bit rough and ready, but that comes with the territory. he opens with alex cortex and it is nonstop fun from there on in. excellent stuff.

andré galluzzi @ mystery land afterparty studio 80 amsterdam 23.8.08

for some reason, i've always had a bit of a mental block with galluzzi. just never really been able to get into him. and to be honest, i'd largely given up. after hearing his excellent 'cocoon morphs tokyo' release with guido, i thought it might be worth trying again. and the fact that this was an afterparty sealed the deal. i love the afterparty vibe and it often works really well in letting a dj explore a bit more and come up with something special. this is the case here.

those two sets will have to do for the time being, as i am bit pressed for time. will be posting the next mnml ssgs mix either tomorrow or the following day. it's a lovely mix put together by harry klein resident ana (i know she didn't have a track included in PVH's mix, that person will most likely be the next in the series. we shall see!). also a couple of records i have really been digging:

• the new melchoir on cadenza: how good is 'who can find me (i can't)'?! the whole thing just magically floats... i have seriously gone off cadenza in a big way, but this is an exception. melchoir really has such an amazing touch. so perfectly composed and put together. you hear this and so much else sounds like complete and utter rubbish in comparison.
• the forthcoming donnacha costello on minimise: i love this guy, always have. i just wish he'd realise more because everything he does is gold. well, perhaps that is why. like melchoir, there is a real beauty in the simplicity of his tracks, even though this simplicity is actually rather complex (if that makes any sense). two melodic gems. essential.
• the new shed album on ostgut: this has been getting rave reviews for a reason. amazing album.
  
• the new sten album on dial: in one sense this is a bit disappointing, sten/lawrence doesn't move out of/escape his signature sound pattern, and he does include that god awful 'take me to the fridge' track. but then again, the sten/lawrence sound is a lovely one and his tracks are well put together. this is not the most exciting album, but it is enjoyable. kind of like the musical equivalent of comfort food.
• the remixes of sascha funke's overly ripe 'mango': the supermayer mix is actually pretty good. but it suffers in comparison to dj koze's special effort. this guy has always been an amazing producer, nonetheless, he is seriously on an impressive run right now. just quietly one of the top producers of '08...
• the two latest perlons: fellow ssg dave really doesn't like these at all, but i strongly disagree. it is interesting to see perlon branching out to different artists and i reckon the results are worthwhile. 'release' by portable is especially nice (as is his RA'cast).

that'll do...