ok, lots to catch up on:
rothko
on friday i was in london and unfortunately my plans of dancing to kassem mosse doing his thing live were cancelled with kassem being sick (get well soon!). very disappointing... on the plus side, it resulted in me getting to the rothko exhibition showing at the tate modern. i spent a few hours there hypnotised by his amazing paintings as i listened to donato dozzy's labyrinth set. dozzy's deep sounds matched the visuals perfectly... definitely get to the rothko show if you are anywhere near london in the coming months.
ssg mixes
again, huge thanks to all the support and feedback about donato dozzy's labyrinth set. donato and all the ssgs have been thrilled by the response. the 13th mix in the series is from another italian dj, rossella, and will be up later in the week...
dc knows
there don't seem to be as many quality mix cds coming out as there used to be, but there have been a string of goodies recently. pete will likely be posting about some of them soon, so i just want to highlight one, and that is dave clarke's 'back in the box'. it is an incredibly well put together and thought through mix of old chicago house records. i've had this on repeat since getting it. strongly recommended.
progress/cycle
plenty has already been said over at RA about philip sherburne's thought-provoking (as always) set of reflections on the state of techno at the end of 2008, but i'd just like to add a few observations. first, i am in very close agreement with richard brophy's much more positive assessment of things. to be honest, i am not sure how anyone could listen to dozzy's ssg mix, move d and brunn's 'songs from the beehive', convextion's livepa, dettmann's dj sets, pretty much any ostgut release - the list could go on, and think there is a problem. ok, so there might be plenty of junk floating about. but lets not start building up a false nostelgia for a past that never was - there always has been plenty of crap records, beatport and myspace just make them a bit more obvious. but if you dig, you explore and you listen there is plenty of creative, amazing, inspiring music being made. quite simply, i think some people need to take a step back and reassess.
the other thought i have on this matter - and this is one i still havent quite worked through - is in regards to the way people tend to define techno and how that shapes the way it is assessed. techno is often defined - and this is the way i have traditionally understood it - as 'future music'. juan atkins recently said that, 'techno is synonymous with technology and evolution'. evolution. this is key. built into the way we think about techno is an inherent bias towards progress. for techno to be healthy, there is a general notion that it must be moving forward: onwards and upwards, developing in a way different to what has come before. but is that a realistic expectation? and should that be how techno is judged? could it be that a cyclical conception of time and development is more appropriate? rather than techno always progressing, maybe it repeats in infinitely different patterns but within a certain structure or scope? i am not suggesting this is the case, my point is that most people generally seem to be working with a very linear conception of how techno does and should operate. rather than blaming techno, perhaps we should be reflecting on how we understand it, how we define it and what it means to us. anyway, enough musings for now...
the harder they come...
speaking of techno, i've been in the mood lately for some harder, tougher sounds. these are some sets i've been enjoying:
speedy j live at rome 2008: this is speedy dj'ing with efx. i've been a longtime fan of his and one thing i have liked is the way he has managed to reinvent himself over time and stay relevant. i have a feeling he is in the process of moving into a new stage, with the launch of electric deluxe and his open collabs project. i'm very interested to see what speedy will be doing in 2009 and what he does with open collabs. i have high hopes.
surgeon - 'for dog faces only': i must admit, i've become soft. i used to love surgeon, but these days most of the time he is just too brutal for me. this set, though, isn't quite as rough. and damn, it is seriously good. the man has taste.
Ed Chamberlain — Trapese
Go Hiyama — Unreleased
Scion — Emerge (BMB remix2)
Anstam — Aeto_b
DJ Hell — Totmacher
Add Noise — Handwerk
Basic Channel — Enforcement (Mills mix)
Inigo Kennedy — Aching To Get Beneath
Kraddy — New World Empire (DiskChordians remix)
Radial — Premium
Oscar Mulero — Baskerbill's Dog (Regis remix)
Blackham — The Crusade
Warlock — TV controls your mind
Ed Chamberlain — Resistant
ScanOne — Trotter
Surgeon — Floorshow 1.1
Makaton — 41_43
Inigo Kennedy — Kaleidoscope
Jeff Mills —Humana
Monolake — Alaska (Substance remix2)
The DiskChordians — M-329 Class A
Ed Chamberlain — Charley
Go Hiyama — LisB
Anstam — Aeto_a
Ed Chamberlain — Does Ape
Joey Beltram — Drome
kevin gorman mikrowave mix, november 08: gorman is definitely another guy to keep a close eye on. part of a group of artists that are really refining techno in a way that harks back to the older stripped back sound, without being limited by it. and it ain't just ostgut. others are doing it too! (we forget this sometimes...)
Kevin Gorman - untitled (unreleased)
Damian Schwartz - Get Into
Rebotini - Horns of Innocence
Model 500 - Starlight (Soultek mix)
Shinedoe - Ibo Grooves
Brendan Moeller - Ignition
Mike Parker - Voice One
Jonas Kopp - Andregeno
Vogel - Xpute
JPLS - Combination 2
Zuni - DaHood (Kevin Gorman remix) (unreleased)
Kevin Gorman - SevenEightNine (Marcel Dettmann remix)
Kevin Gorman - Art01 (unreleased)
Alex Under - untitled (unreleased)
Alex Under - untitled (unreleased)
Kevin Gorman - untitled (unreleased)
Gideon - Need No Permission
Gideon - The Flash
Planetary Assault System - Kat
Roman Flugel - Make your move (Sterac remix)
Peter Horrevorts - Romance is Overrated
Gideon - Last Apocalypse
Rebotini - Decade of Agression
Kevin Gorman - Cyclik (unreleased)
Perc - October 2008 Radio Mix: you can put this in the same category as the mix above. shit, just look at the tracklisting. quality all the way.
1) Vapourspace - Humana Vista (Vista Stickmana Mix) - Plus8
2) Scuba - From Within (Marcel Dettmann Remix) - Hot FLush
3) Gary Beck - Drifting (Perc's Dub Mix) - Perc Trax
4) Donato Dozzy - Tropical One - Railyard
5) Planetary Assault Systems - I Am The Funkster - Peacefrog
6) Jean Ramesse - Jobby Noir (Perc Remix) - Sleaze
7) Speedy J - Red Shift - Electric Deluxe
8) Sawf - On Surface - Perc Trax
9) Haioka - Garasha - Blank Records
10) Chris Liebing - Turbular Bell - CLR
11) Simone Tavazzi - Poltergeist (Perc Remix) - Analytictrail
12) Perc - Swords (Misc Remix) - Lost Souls
13) Scuba - Ruptured (Surgeon Remix) - Hot Flush
14) Gak - Gak 1 - Warp
Mixmag.info presents Samuli Kemppi/podcast MixTape #16 2008: i've talked enough about samuli here before. this mix kind of went under the radar a bit, which is a shame because it seriously rocks.
1. Kenny Larkin - Life Goes On | R&S Records
2. Ellen Allien - Elphine | Bpitch
3. Lee Holman - Bravo | Ferox
4. Shed - Another Wedged Chicken | Ostgut Ton
5. Roman Lindau - Raumgestaltung | Fachwerk
6. Marcel Dettmann - Plain | Beatstreet
7. Steve Stoll - Was Here part 6 | True People
8. Samuli Kemppi - Välitila | Pakkas Levyt
9. MLZ - One State | Modern Love
10. Smear - Transect | Forward Strategy Group
11. Pacou - Levitate | Cache
12. Dj Rush - Unsoaked Girl | Cosmic Records
13. Schatrax - Wasichu | Schatrax
14. Plastikman - Elektrostatik | NovaMute
15. Human Resource - The Complete Dominator (Frank De Wulf #1 mix) | R&S Records
ok, that'll do for now. i've got some other sets i want to share, including an amazing cio d'or set i've had on repeat for the last month, but that can wait to next time...
nice post
ReplyDeletelove this part:
"the other thought i have on this matter - and this is one i still havent quite worked through - is in regards to the way people tend to define techno and how that shapes the way it is assessed. techno is often defined - and this is the way i have traditionally understood it - as 'future music'. juan atkins recently said that, 'techno is synonymous with technology and evolution'. evolution. this is key. built into the way we think about techno is an inherent bias towards progress. for techno to be healthy, there is a general notion that it must be moving forward: onwards and upwards, developing in a way different to what has come before. but is that a realistic expectation? and should that be how techno is judged? could it be that a cyclical conception of time and development is more appropriate? rather than techno always progressing, maybe it repeats in infinitely different patterns but within a certain structure or scope? i am not suggesting this is the case, my point is that most people generally seem to be working with a very linear conception of how techno does and should operate. rather than blaming techno, perhaps we should be reflecting on how we understand it, how we define it and what it means to us. anyway, enough musings for now..."
i say techno is totally "future music" always has been and always will be
every genre carries a sound and a philosophy. like punk... punk's sound is fast, 3 chords and aggressive with deceptively poppy structures. then it's philosophy is experimentation and a urge to go against the flow. ok so i could describe it better than that but i'm having a "zero sleep day" and can't think of the words but you get my point.
techno has a sound and a philosophy too. sound is electronic, 4/4 and so on... philosophy is future music.
punk doesn't have to contain its philosophy to be classified as punk (particularly by the mainstream) as can be seen by Greenday and Blink 182 and the likes being called punk due to sound alone even if they have none of the philosophy. likewise with techno.
techno shouldn't be judged by everyone by how it moves forward. and it shouldn't be written off if it doesn't constantly progress... but there should be people calling it out and debate being generated. it's healthy! if that didn't happen then techno would be fucked. just as it would be fucked if everyone demanded constant change.
i'd say the debates and reflections and differing opinions by people recently is a very good thing. good stuff should come from it :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgj7lHnU10
ReplyDeleteDidn't know if you had seen this about Rothko yet.
Really dig the blog bro.
Jeff
> rather than techno always progressing, maybe it repeats in infinitely different patterns but within a certain structure or scope?
ReplyDeleteSo if you step back and look at the evolution of techno as a whole, it would look something like an individual track. Nice.
well: following on your rothko experience (only now i am thinking rauschenberg (but they both start with "r", right? :))) i found myself at the sf moma yesterday observing this chain in an exhibition on "the art of participation" (http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/306):
ReplyDelete1) one of raushchenberg's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rauschenberg) white paintings which inspired...
2) john cage's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage) 4'33" (the blank sheet music hanging on the wall) which prompted...
3) nam june paik (http://www.paikstudios.com/) to make a video (http://openvault.wgbh.org/ntw/MLA000318/index.html) of the performance which was playing on a screen...
it was all so very (___).
a snake eating it's tail? all are things circular and linear at the same time? perhaps. it was really wonderful to see the different expressions of the same thing.
nice to read you had a similar moment with rothko and dozzy.
saw a Rothko exhibition in Hamburg in July, I wonder if it had the same works as the one at the Tate? Either way I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I reckon that the current Ostgut 'sound' (with the possible exception of the Prosumer material) will date about as well as 96-98 era Drumcode-style loop techno has done.....most of the stuff I've heard (and I'll happily accept any suggestions/links to prove me wrong) seems to emphasize function over substance. Even the positive reviews seem to emphasize the 'this would sound great at Berghain at 6am' aspect of these releases. Maybe I just need to go to Berghain to 'get' it?
Otherwise, I agree - 2008 has been a good year.
thanks for the samuli kemppi set!
ReplyDeleteI AM STUPEFY FOR QUALITY FROM THIS BLOG(ALL THE MIXES ARE BEAUTIFUL).YOU OPEN A WORLD OF TECHNO WICH THAT NOT KNOW.
ReplyDeleteSORRY FOR MY BAD ENGLISH I AM FROM SWITZERLAND.
THANKS.......
FUNKY5
im in london for a few weeks, tate modern is my favourite public space, the turbine hall is something else.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the Surgeon's mix. It is lovely. We can go harder. Bring it on!
ReplyDeleteMy my, the Surgeon mix *is* really really good!
ReplyDeletewhat, you don't trust me yuri? i only share the best baby.
ReplyDeleteOf course I trust you Chris!! I guess I didn't trust Surgeon as much? Now I trust both of you :-D
ReplyDeletesurgeon has amazing taste. real depth. but as i said in the original post, most of the time he is just a bit too brutal for me. i havent listened to this yet, but people might find this interesting:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bleep43.com/podcast/2008/11/24/podcast-117-surgeon.html
he goes through and explains and plays some of the most influential tracks on him.
Oh my god the Samuli Kemppi mix rocks too! It totally puts me in a trance
ReplyDeleteI just now finally listened to this Kevin Gorman mix. I DIG.
ReplyDelete