Kassem Mosse: Q, A, & Trklst

Tell me a little bit about your musical development: what did you listen to as a kid? What did your parents, siblings and friends listen to? How did you get into electronic music?

My parents sing in a choir and they are very much into classical music. As a kid I used to listen to the radio a lot. My sister introduced me to late 80s independent music. The DIY idea had a lasting influence on me and also directed me to particular stuff when I started to get into hip hop and later electronic music.

What was the first electronic music you fell in love with?

80s pop music. I am not sure if I ever fell out of it.

What are some key classic records for you (artists, EPs, labels, sounds etc)? Which of these has had the greatest influence on the music you make now?

There is a lot of stuff that isn’t straight up techno that still has a great influence on what I am doing now. I am interested in a rough sound aesthetic and an uncompromising attitude in music. Early Pavement was as much an influence as Wu-Tang Clan. Outstandingly rough sounding tracks, great aesthetic influence. The transition to electronics came with Autechre. Chiastic Slide, I lost my peers with this one. In more techno terms the greatest influences have been UR, again concerning attitude & aesthetics (DIY, no faces), and Sabotage Rec. from Vienna, arguably the first European crew?/label?/group of artists? that had a coherent vision of music, art, and visual aesthetic that totally did it for me. It was important also that they were from Austria of all places (my family went to Austria on holidays a lot), so it was much closer to me than Detroit, which is a place I, honestly, still cannot relate to. I do love the music, but I cannot share the experience. I could however relate to the experience of underground people from Vienna. That made a lot of sense and gave me a vision of what I wanted to do.

What other things (not restricted to music) have the greatest influence on you as a music maker?

I do have other interests than music, but they don’t have much influence on how or why I make music. I am not sure if reading about music counts...

Who/what do you think your music sounds like? How do you describe what you do to people who have no background/understanding in electronic music (like your grandmother)?

I don’t think about that. Most people I know actually have no idea that I am making music, as I don’t really talk about it unless I cannot avoid the topic. Perhaps I would say it is repetitive music with a warm and mechanical sound? I appreciate when you can hear that there is both technology and human agency involved in the process of making this music (say a bit of static, background noise or the sound of a scratchy fader).

How did you become a music maker?

Doing field recordings, mock radio features and audio plays with a tape recorder as a kid.

How did you choose the name Kassem Mosse? Is anonymity important to you?

Anonymity is important, but made impossible by the internet. I think for the type of music I am doing it really doesn’t matter who the person is that produces the music, it won’t help you to understand it better or help you get into the groove.
The name as such developed over various stages to its present form, but actually, i am not interested in this form either. I prefer it when there are some typos and misspellings, people hearing a name or reading it, being uncertain how to write or pronounce it correctly, etc. Its about playing with the notion of a fixed identity. The problem with the internet is that it works very much against such playfulness, as it tends to fix things with “correct” spellings, tags and folders.

Tell me a little about your process: (perhaps using the example of Workshop 03) how does a track begin, how does it develop, when do you know it’s finished?

I never know. They are never finished, I just stop to work on them. Sometimes I record studio jams in one go and add stuff later, sometimes I end up recording session loops and re-use them later for new tracks and so forth. Usually I have an idea in my head that I try to work out (and more often than not I fail to realise it). It could be a beat, or a synth line. Sometimes it is also a concept. The A1 track would be a good example: I felt disillusioned and slightly depressed about the music that was coming out at the time, about everybody doing huge sounding tracks with minimal effort on their laptops. So I thought, whatever, it’s not what you use, it’s how you do it. And one of the results was that track, besides the reversed synth line and the drums, all sounds are taken from a toy Casio. And the irony of course was that track went down well and even got licensed. Personally, I liked the editing process of that track: I would add things without proper synchronisation or time-stretching, just pasting on top of the previous material. The Workshop guys asked me to do it, and that was a good experience.

Tell me a little about the podcast: Was there a concept, a guiding thread, a central idea? Tell me about some of the track selections: (in each case) why do you like them, how did you choose them, and what do they move in you?

It is just some stuff I like, stuff I would listen to in 2008, nothing too obscure. Tracks from different places and points in time that go well together although the transitions might not be totally obvious at all times. I try to go with the flow. It basically represents the scope of things that influence me.

I feel like we’re at a really exciting conjunction in music right now: the genres have been blown wide open and there are a whole new generation of young producers coming up through the ranks who don’t give a damn about the old barriers and categories…. what do you think? Where are we at? Where are you at?

I don’t really see what would be so new right now. Then again I am not keeping up with things. I stopped reading magazines some years ago. I might read up on a blog once in a while. So perhaps I don’t know much about the new things. The last “new” thing I registered was dubstep, but it doesn’t do anything for me and I missed out on the “new” about it. I still follow old favourites and still discover something once in a while, but I neither have the feeling that anything stagnates nor that things are progressing really fast. I am interested in a certain sense of validity, anyway. Timeless qualities. Robert Hood doesn’t age. When I buy records now I must have the feeling that I will still enjoy listening to them in ten years. There hasn’t been much change in that. There is lots of old music that is new for me. In the moment I am trying to understand the past of music.

What’s something that people often ask you about you and your music (that you find unexpected or strange)?

People ask me technical stuff. Questions about gear. I find it neither surprising nor strange.

Kassem Mosse: SSG mix 18, tracklist:

heaven 17 - best kept secret (virgin)
acidboychair - doctor please (acido)
pollyester - you are amen (dompteur mooner mix) (love in c minor)
omar s - for us all (fxhe)
even.tuell - workshop 4 b1 (workshop)
m. collins / kdj - (keeping you) satisfied (mahogani music)
m. pittmann - there's somebody out there (unirhythm)
allen wright - sexual primates (muzique est. 1989)
prosumer & murat tepeli - alpha (ostgut ton)
armando feat. sharvette - don't take it (thomos edit) (let's pet puppies)
moodymann - dem young sconies (planet e)
redshape - neon (music man)
sabres of paradise - rumble summons (warp)
brian eno - becalmed (island)

Nativespeaker presents: Night Light Lines of Flight

Well, I finally recorded a mix that I thought was worth publishing, after a few months of others that I went cold on.

Been going in a funny direction with DJing. I can't afford to buy much vinyl. The Australian peso is being punished against the euro, which makes buying off Hardwax, well, punitive.

Not only that, but I find it hard to justify buying (very expensive) records I actually play much less than the (much cheaper and less fiddly and cumbersome) digital files I have. Not only that but, as the thesis winds on, I have less and less time for DJing, and certainly now that I've given up any pretention of being a 'Saturday night in the club' kind of DJ (not least of all because of my deep, deep ambivalance about nightclubs), so there's been a long period of drift in which I've had to question why I'm continuing to do this at all.

...which I barely am. If I have to play out, I practice. But if not, I don't mix much... mostly because I don't have a large number of new EPs to integrate into the collection like I used to. I've really racked my brains about this. I don't want to DJ digitally – quite profoundly. Even Final Scratch etc kind of turns me of. I feel that DJing should be – for me – about curation and presentation, and I firmly believe that the months and months (and oodles of talent) in a good record far eclipse all but the most inspired mixing. I make no claim to mad skillz (and if I did, that claim would be undermined by the evidence of hearing my sloppy, slapdash mixing): what I wanted to develop was an ear and an eye, all around the ideas that:

(of mixing) If you can, make it good; if you can't, make it fast

(of DJing) Mixing is overrated, track selection is not

...so with all that in mind, I made a mix where I spent 90% of the time really sweating 'what comes next'. Most of the tracks are from EPs that have found a faithful, implacable place in either my box or the pile of EPs that's mixed through with newer stuff I've bought and older stuff I can't do without. But, of course, once I hit record, there were several totally unanticipated selections that impulse or intuition demanded that I find, which meant (at two stages) frantically going through my racks of records looking for 'it' (then trying to frantically weave it in just in time)... you'll notice that some of the mixes are out of phase for this reason... but actually it shifts the groove in interesting ways (I think).

In the new SSG spirit, the tracklisting will be witheld for a week or two.

Here's the link, hope you enjoy.

PC

we call it techno

i just finished watching this documentary and wanted to call it to people's attention. i was really, really impressed by it. it's a documentary focusing on the emergence of techno music and culture in germany, primarily centred on the late 80s - early 90s. it is a very informative, thought provoking and even handed piece. what i liked most about it is that it is not about mythmaking. the account it gives is careful and considered, and definitely shows some of the darker side of things. really fascinating and worthwhile. it is great to see stuff like this coming out. much, much respect to those behind. i strongly suggest tracking it down. here's the trailer for it (this is in german but it comes with english subs):



lets hope we see more things like this in the future. you can find more info about it here

favourite sets from 2008

this cartoon is from a site called toothpaste for dinner, which i've been enjoying recently... anyway, i've had this post half-finished for a couple of weeks and it is now starting to get seriously out of date as we have almost made it through the first month of 2009 (how did that happen?!). well since i'd already written the post, i figured i might as finish it... i'll get some new sets up soon, as they've been some beauties floating about. so, without any more delays, here are some of my favourite mixes, podcasts and recordings from 2008. five preliminary points to note, though:

(1) i have very purposely not included any of the mnml ssgs mixes here. for starters it would make the list much, much longer. also, i have great respect and appreciation to all the artists who have contributed mixes so i am not going to play favourites.

(2) for a lot of the people on this list (eg dozzy, steffi) there are multiple sets of theirs that belong here, but i've decided to limit it to one per artist. actually, in many ways this is a semi-complete list of my favourite DJs and live acts from 2008.

(3) a few of these sets aren't actually from 2008, but i only discovered them last year so they are being included.

(4) the list is not ranked. the order is random.

(5) i've provided working links as many as possible. if anyone wants to fill in the blanks, feel free to post them. and of course, please add to this list in your comments. i'm very interested to hear what your favourites have been.

ok, here we go.

steffi - panorama bar mix II. half a year ago i'd barely heard of her. now i'm in love. what defines her style - and indeed this is something that makes all the panorama/berghain djs stand out - is the perfect feel and intuition she has. she's just got the groove. you can feel that she really knows every single record in her case. like everyone on this list, she knows.

seth troxler - bunker podcast 33. while i did say the order is random, i put seth after steffi because for me they have similar strengths and charms - the intuition, the feel that defines their sets. i've said this before, but what really strikes me about his DJ'ing is how mature it is for someone who is still relatively young. there is real depth and inspiration in the way he plays. this is someone who definitely has a very bright future after 2008 very deservedly being a breakout year.

shed - bodytoniclive. in true sesame street fashion, lets keep with the letter 's'. if we are talking about people that had a breakout year, i dont think anyone had a bigger one than shed. 12 months ago he was not on many people's radars, by december he was on top of a couple of RA's 'best of' lists. not bad, huh? and thoroughly deserved to. i chose this over his excellent bunker podcast dj set because it better represents what made him one of the big stories of 2008.

silent servant - el baile mix. yes. no rest from 's'. this mix really shows the breadth of the man's tastes, going well beyond the sounds he and sandwell district are known for. beyond there being some real classics in this mix, it is also an a great introduction and education into minimal synth and nu wave. nice.

stott, andy and claro intellecto - RA podcast. a bit of a stretch to include this as my last 's'. i am not sure if this fully showcases how good either can be, but i do like this recording and come back to regularly. a good year for these guys undoubtedly, even though i find it frustrating that people have been rating claro's album in their end of year charts. he is a great artist, but i found the album incredibly mediocre. he has, and can, do much better as this 'cast shows. also, i should take this opportunity to say much respect to RA for their podcasts in 2008. i thought that on the whole they did an excellent job of presenting a range of bigger and lesser known names, as well as covering a fair range of styles and sounds.

donato dozzy - mix for radioactivity show. to be honest, i think i marginally prefer the set he recorded for electronique.it, but because they are only make their podcast available to members (booo!) i can't post a link for it here. if anyone has a download link for it, please post it because the set is magical. the mix he did for the radioactivity show is another goodie and both are a bit better than his RA'cast i feel. anyway, not too much more to say about dozz - you've heard me rave about him enough here. an amazing dj and person. much respect.

convextion - livepa @ faktion. might as well post the artists from labyrinth together. i prefer the set he played in japan, but that is most likely just because i experienced it in the flesh. convextion's being doing quality stuff for a very, very long time (rod modell told me since '92) so it's great he is finally getting some much-deserved love. very rich, textured sounds all perfectly put together.

peter van hoesen (aka 'the hose') - process part 78 mix. LWE very justly annointed him one of their 'breakout artists' of 2008, and i think the hose and his label, time to express, will continue onwards and upwards in 2009. peter's done some tremendous mixes this year, but i've chosen this modyfier one because like the mix from silent servant above, it displays a real breadth and depth of musical knowledge, which i greatly respect and admire. plus he plays 'dead eyes open' pitched down. fuck, that is sooooo cool.

cio d'or - vanille 11 mix. this is from 2007 (i think), which made me tempted to post her modyfier set instead, but ultimately i had to include this one because it has been one of my most listened to mixes in the last couple of months since i chanced upon it. cio is another DJ you can tell really knows and loves her records. each one of her mixes is so carefully put together and composed. everything fits so well, the set as a whole is perfectly weighted and balanced. cio has promised a ssg mix for us in 2009 and i am really, really excited about how it's going to sound. i can't wait!

benjamin brunn - livepa @ westwerk. most of what i could say about brunn i said recently in introducing his contribution to the mnml ssgs mix series. but to summarise: warmth. warmth is the word i would use to describe brunn. his music feels like the musical equivalent of a big friendly hug. and we all need a hug now and again.

marcel dettmann - houztek radio 1.2.08. the debate over his recent RA podcast was very interesting - it really seemed to divide people. i've only listened to it a couple of times (well i guess that says something) an think it is a good mix, but he's done much better. like this one. i think mix gives one of the best representations of his sound as a DJ, at least from what i've heard. i've definitely listened to it more than his berghain 2 mix. it coheres perfectly and the last 10-15 minutes are just amazing. much respect to the dettmann. really hoping to see him spin somewhere in 2009.

eli verveine - carebear mix. this is actually about 4 years old, but i only discovered it in 2008, so i'm putting it on the list. sometimes i wonder whether i like this just because it has one of my alltime favourite tracks, and an old plastikman classic. but there's definitely more to the mix than that. eli is able to give her sets a very close, personal feel which i love. i know it's not the case, but it feels like she's made the mix for you. how can you not like that?

rising sun - random circuits mix 09. a real strength of the random circuits mix series, and indeed their site as a whole, is that they often highlight quality people you might not be aware of. this mix is the perfect example of that. i must admit, before listening to it i didn't know who rising sun were. now i do. and i like. this is a mix that always brings a bit of sunshine to my office. inviting house sounds that bring a smile to your face.

leonid - LWE podcast 04. this one beats out the even tuell mix as my favourite from LWE. my description of this one is basically the same as the one i just gave for rising sun. a new name for me, opening my ears with a well crafted mix of lovely house sounds. i don't think it quite got the love it deserved. it's a great mix.

prosumer - beats in space mix. since we are on the house tip, might as well slot the 'sumer in here. anything i might say will look half-hearted compared to teleost's praise, so i suggest reading any of the100 posts or so he has written on prosumer instead.

moritz von oswald with tikiman @ shanti, moscow 11.04.08. sorry, i am starting to run out of motivation to give proper write ups of these mixes. but really, this one speaks for itself. moritz: the master. and much, much respect to for sound+ making this and many other amazing sets available.

nd baumecker @ berghain 9.2.08. while baumecker may normally hang out at panorama, here he makes it very clear that he can mix it up with the big boys on the berghain floor. this is a long mix - about 4.5 hours from memory - and his ability as a DJ really can be heard in the way he manages the set as a whole (even if i think he plays a record twice. tut tut). perhaps better than any mix i've heard this captures the intensity of berghain.

shackleton @ breezeblock. i know people have been raving about him for a while. but i was slow catching on. it was only with his 'soundboy's ashes get hacked up and spat out in disgust' ep released early in the year that i began to understand. often, though, i find i best connect with sounds through DJ sets and livepas. it's normally the way i introduce myself to a new sound or artist. and so it was with shackleton. with this recording it really hit me how talented this guy is, and how unique and different what he is doing is. i remember having a moment listening to this on my headphones after doing some shopping. i just stopped walking and stood there for a minute in shock. i could feel my mind expanding. i guess that is enough for it to qualify for my top sets for the year...

well i guess that is good a place as any to finish. there are other sets i could add to this list, but i think this is more than enough. please add your own thoughts, lists and links in the comments.

new stuff from 2009 soon!

chris

We Were NEVER Mnml, January 2009

A rider before we begin... this column developed out of thoughts from a dialogue I was having with Philip Sherburne about listening at the end of our massive (and slightly untimely) End of Year discussions at RA, which you can find here. If you take the time to read them and PS' own post here (scroll down or cntrl+F for 'editing is essential...'), it will hopefully add something...


All throughout 2008, one of the common threads coming through in the responses to questions I’d asked music makers from all over the sphere was a despairing sense that people simply aren’t giving listening its due, so I’d like to do justice to their pleas by starting ’09 with a few hundreds of words thinking about listening. Do us a favour: pause your pod, pipe down, and tune in.

The other day my friend’s girlfriend – an avid indie fan with a particular prediliction for the Fleet Foxes – explained her system for vetting new music. Each of the dozens of albums she downloads a week (shared with a group of fellow fan/friends on Pando) get played through her laptop speakers while she’s on the net. If she likes what she’s heard so far, she then loads it onto her mp3 player. Hardly uncommon. In fact, if my group of friends are any yardstick, it’s becoming the norm. And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with filtering new music in this way, either: you graze the surface of things, you get an inkling, and that leads you on to a fuller and deeper listen.

But what if the fuller and deeper listen never comes? What if, like increasing numbers of people, your listening process is something like the following:

a) you get the feeling you 'need some new music', so you

b) acquire several hundred megabites worth of zips, either from friends’ USB drives, Pando, BitTorrent, or rapidshare, which you then place in/on

c) a folder on another hard-drive attached to your laptop, where they remain until

d) you’re sick of the 80 gigs already on your music player, which you then connect to your computer, prune, re-arrange, then add the new files into playlists which you then

e) listen to while you’re on public transport or the gym on a pair of headphones or

f) you listen at home while you’re on the ‘net, using the speaker set which is connected with a pair of speakers nearby, typically those used as your computer’s AV speakers

I confess: this is one part of my regular listening routine, and it makes me wonder… when was the last time you or I or anyone else we know actually sat down and ‘just listened’ to a song without being distracted or otherwise occupied with whatever else was around us? Good equipment and higher fidelity undoubtedly enhances the experience, but it’s no substitute for really, truly, deeply tuning in to the music that’s playing, and to me what's vital here is our listening environment and the attention we give to the recording while we're in it.

Ask yourself: when was the last time you gave whatever new music that came into your life your full attention, closing your eyes and giving yourself over to the sound? And not just to block out work or the world around you, but because the music makers who created those sounds gave their heart and soul and sweat to make that recording as good as it could possibly be in their hands?

Of course, it’s not like we can be expected to give the years of time and care that an artist does to their work (especially when we don’t have either the time or the care to), but nonetheless, before we pass judgement (or even form a vague opinion) on any piece of music that crosses our paths this year, let’s stop and question whether we’ve given it a fair hearing. If you claim to give a fuck about music, then, among your many resolutions, make the effort to be a better listener.

So then... what would it mean to be a better listener? Let's discuss....

(and Pipecock, before you chime in, this is not a post about the manifest superiority vinyl.... )

_

mnml ssgs mx19: santiago salazar

things are moving fast here in ssgs-ville. i know it hasn't been long since we hit you up with kassem's excellent contribution to the mnml ssgs mx series (we'll be posting the tracklisting to it soon), but now we are back for the 19th installment care of santiago salazar. santiago has been dj'ing since the early '90s and all those years of developing his craft can be heard in the quality mix he has kindly put together for us. most recently he has been producing under his own name, as ican with esteban adame, and has set up a new label with fellow ssg mixer, silent servant. i want to say something briefly about this new label, as i think it is really worthwhile what they are trying to do with it, and it was one of the major reasons we approached santiago to contribute to the series. the label is called 'historia y violencia'. in a recent interview, silent servant explained the logic behind this title:

'to sum it up latin cultures historicly have had a very violent past so is basically a project exploring the hispanic roots of santiago salazar and my latin upbringing and using it as a cinematic theme to create snapshots of the day-to-day blood and sweat that has shaped us as individuals. the sound takes cue from detroit, berlin and chicago to create classic tracks.'

the first release on historia y violencia does an excellent job of realising this vision, which LWE described as 'absolutely essential'. i am very interested to see how this project develops.

on to the mix. this is how santiago explained it to me: 'this is my 1st mix of 2009. this mix is something i've been craving for a long time now: a deep housey-techno feel.' indeed it is. as you'll hear he does a great job of controlling the tempo and building the vibe. i've had this one on repeat since getting it. again, we'll delay releasing the tracklisting so you can listen to it with open, fresh ears. enjoy.

mnml ssgs mx19: santiago salazar (direct dl)

we'll organise a mirror soon. much respect to santiago for taking the time to put this mix together for us all. for anyone near berlin, he'll be playing at panorama bar on march 28th, and for the rest of us there is also a new ep coming out on macro recordings may 3rd, 2009. for more info on santiago salazar, check his myspace.

mnml ssgs mx18: Kassem Mosse

Okay folks, here it is. Apologies all for the big wind up and delay with this one, I've been on holiday and have only had sporadic access to a terrible old Windows-based clunkbox. Anyway, nuff excuses, on to Kassem.

It's a commonplace of the kind of PR drivel sent out to promote average trance jocks that 'Armin Van Hoogen Boogen's music DEFIES pigeonholing.' And you think to yourself: 'Really? I thought he's just spent twenty years making the same god awful trance track over and over and over and over' (like a monkey with a miniature cymbal). But in Kassem's case the shopworn cliche becomes the most apposite description: Mosse's music shifts between the narcotic womp of low bpm (and extremely mong) deep house, 'Warp influenced' ('cos IDM is a three letter word) micro techno, pop ambient, you name it... The common denominator is GOODNESS: in whatever style or mode Kassem's tracks are just really fucking excellent. Have you heard his EP on Workshop Records? Or the recent Acqueous Haze Mikrodisko (the label Kassem runs with several friends of his)? If not, please remedy this as soon as possible.

So Kassem is definitely one of the producers who gives every inkling of going all the way (here's waiting for his next one on Workshop, due April-ish)... but what about DJing?

Well, we SSGs have got together and decided something. Call it a New Years' Resolution if you wish. On the strength of our experience with Herr Fengler's excellent podcast, we've made a decision to publish the mixes without commentary or tracklisting... for a few weeks. We really enjoyed having a more direct experience of the mix's unfolding without being able to check, identify and therefore 'recognise' what was being presented. So without further ado, here's Kassem's mix: his first podcast, and a real privelege for us to present. Please stay tuned for a Q&A and tracklist in the next few weeks. Enjoy!

mnml ssgs mx18: Kassem Mosse (click to dl)



More info about Kassem Mosse at his myspace and at the mikrodisko site. Next up, Santiago Salazar.

chatting with marcel fengler

Ok, I really should have posted this a while ago, but I've been way too busy. As a follow up to Marcel Fengler's amazing mnml ssgs mix, he kindly provided us with a full tracklist, which he didn't give at the outset so we could listen to it with open ears (an excellent policy).

mnml ssgs mx14 tracklisting:

01: Jens Zimmermann - Sequenz 31 [Treibstoff]
02: Arno E. Mathieu - Lamb of Sun [Earthrumental Music]
03: Louis Guilliaume - Time Relaps [Syncom Data]
04: D´Julz Carl Finlow - Brain Hoover [Klang]
05: Speedy J - Aesop [NovaMute]
06: GoWentGone - Love and Respect (Respected Tool) [Vidab]
07: G-Man - Political Prisoner [GMRRec]
08: Modeselektor - The Black Block (dettmann mix) [BPC]
09: Paul Kalkbrenner - Torted [BPC]
10: Paul Britschitsch & Cio D'or - Safran [Broque]
11: Interstellar Fugitives2 - Burning Spear [UR]
12: Percy X - Maintain [Soma]
13: Danton Eeprom - The Infinity Symbol [Tsuba]

We also had a bit of a chat to him about this and that.

Ssgs: What influence has your background (family, geography, history) had on your musical development? How do you think it shapes the perspective on the music you make?

Marcel: I grew up in a small town near Berlin. Probably its proximity to Berlin naturally drew me here. The emerging techno culture of Berlin in the early 90s was fascinating and new. It was the perfect alternative for a group of good friends. That time connected us together very closely and many of those friendships are still important today. The desire to play music was generated sometime in my schooldays. Inspired by the experiences of the early 90s and some sounds here at school parties, soon led to my first experiments with electronic music. Since then I discovered a bigger variety of electronic sounds, and what started as a kind of an ambitious hobby now defines a big part of my life today.

Ssgs: It seems like there is something very special going on around Berghain/Ostgut. What is it? How do the place and the people influence you?

Marcel: I think there are many things which just fit together. The main point is that the people just want to have fun if they visit the Berghain club. If you put the right things together there it can create this special feeling where time is irrelevant for both sides – the DJ/Act and the party crowd. The possibility to enjoy the sets across several hours delivers the perfect scope for that. I, for one, love such nights where the atmosphere catches hold and doesn´t release you. This was an experience that I felt first in the Berghain club.

Ssgs: What do you think makes a great record? What are some of your all-time favourites? And what are some of your favourites this year?

Marcel: The ingredients for a good record are so different. There just isn´t a mathematical formula to produce good tracks. Tracks could work with the most basically grooves, as well as with interlaced atmosphere and a well prepared element of surprise could be just as successful as a continous grinding. The right mix of soundshaping and setting is the secret which you have to discover.

Ssgs: What was wonderful about (electronic) music in 2008?

Marcel: Altogether 2008 was a good year for me. My experiences atBerghain as well as with O-Ton were the right platform for that. Especially the Label is growing increasingly and I hope 2009 will be successful like this year.

Ssgs: What sucked about (electronic) music in 2008?

Marcel: I am getting clobbered over the head with the unbelievable flood of mp3s across the electronic music market. I hope that availability does not become arbitrariness.

Ssgs: What would you say is ‘essential’ to your music?

Marcel: Personally I like tracks where the groove inspires me. On the turntables I prefer impulsive sounds, but of course the nature of the session defines my record choice. As I still play mostly the opening session at Berghain I can test all stuff between dub-tunes and peak-time techno. That's a great school and helps to push me to the next level in combining different styles.


Sssgs: Tell me a little about your approach to DJing? Are you a DJ who also produces, or are you a producer who DJs?

Marcel: I'm the first combination [a DJ who produces]. Creating productions with your own imagination is great, of course, and you handle electronic music in a special way, but to play music just delivers a different kind of emotions. You are in contact with the crowd directly and a part of them in the best case. That feeling can´t substitute from any studio work that I know.

Ssgs: What’s something that music has taught you about life? And what is something that life has taught you about music?

Marcel: Remain true to oneself and believe in the things you do!!!

Ssgs: What’s something that the world needs to know about Marcel Fengler (that it doesn’t know already)?

Marcel: I would die for chocolate flavored icecream .. ;)

There you go... Big thanks to Marcel for the excellent mix he put together and for taking the time to answer our questions. The next mnml ssgs mix from Kassem Mosse should be up in the next day or so, with Santiago Salazar after that.

lst, lst, lst [SSGs' EoY lsts]

And here, finally, in all their listing glory, are our lists.

Readers, please feel free to paste yours in the comments section. Maybe we could include something about 'under the radar' records and sounds, or things that most of us might have missed.

And thank you all, once again, for your incredibly kind words in the last post. We feel privileged to be holding a conversation with so much mutual respect. Thank you all.

Chris' lists:

Albums:

1 Move D/Benjamin Brunn – Songs from the Beehive (Smallville)
2 Ø – Oleva (Sähkö Recordings)
3 Bvdub – Return to Tonglu (Quietus)
4 Shed – Shedding the Past (Ostgut)
5 Kangding Ray – Automne Fold (Raster Noton)

Tracks:

1 Donnacha Costello – Trust (Minimise)
2 Melchior Productions Ltd – Who Can Find Me (Cadenza)
3 tobias. – I Can't Fight The Feeling (Wagon Repair)
4 Mathew Jonson – Symphony For The Apocalypse (Wagon Repair)
5 Newworldaquarium – The Force (NWAQ)
6 Portable – Release (Perlon)
7 Dettmann / Klock – Scenario* (Ostgut)
8 Shed – That Beats Everything! (Ostgut)
9 Move D & Benjamin Brunn – Mothercorn (Smallville)
10 Steinhoff & Hammouda – Tonight Will Be Fine (Smallville)
11 Function – Burn (Sandwell District)
12 Marcel Dettmann – Plain (Beatstreet)
13 Radio Slave – K-Maze (Rekids)
14 Alex Cortex – Nox (Platzhirsch Schallplatten)
15 Robert Hood – And Then We Planned Our Escape* (Music Man)

DJs:

1 Donato Dozzy
2 Marcel Dettmann
3 Cio D'or
4 Peter Van Hoesen
5 Silent Servant

Remixes:

1 Vladislav Delay – Recovery Idea [Andy Stott Remix] (Semantica)
2 Ricardo Villalobos – Minimoonstar [Shackleton Remix] (Perlon)
3 Grimes Adhesif – Fearless Fun [Efdemin's Confused Live Jam] (Petite)
4 Tampopo – Helicopters Got Cameras [Tobias. Remix] (Metisse)
5 Sascha Funke – Mango [Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher's Como Mango Version] (Bpitch)
6 Prosumer & Murat Tepeli Feat. Elif Biçer – Turn Around [Cassysmoothmix] (Ostgut Ton)
7 Aaron Carl – Crucified [Rod Modell Like A River Remix] (Millions of Moments)
8 Luke Hess – Believe & Receive [Shedsdeepanddubbydub Remix] (Kontra-Musik)
9 Tadeo – Reflection Nebula 056n [Substance Remix] (Apnea)
10 Radio Slave – Tantakatan [The Drunken Shed Mix] (Rekids)

Pete's lists:

Albums:

1 Move D/Benjamin Brunn – Songs from the Beehive (Smallville)
2 DJ Sprinkles – Midtown 120 Blues (Mule)
3 Lee Jones – Electronic Frank (Aus)
4 Shed – Shedding the Past (Ostgut)
5 Ricardo Villalobos – Vasco [CD] (Perlon)
6 Scuba – A Mutual Antipathy (Hotflush)
7 Ezekiel Honig – Pieces of a Broken Marching Band (Anticipate)
8 Matmos – Supreme Balloon (Matador)
9 Kangding Ray – Automne Fold (Raster Noton)
10 Jacaszek – Treny (Miasmah)
11 Kelley Polar – I Need You to Hold On While the Sky is Falling (Environ)
12 Paavoharju – Laulu Laakson Kukista (Fonal)
13 Ø – Oleva (Sähkö Recordings)
14 CoH + Cosey Fanni Tutti – Coh Plays Cosey (Raster Noton)
15 The Mole – As High as the Sky (Wagon Repair)
16 Peter Broderick – Float (Type)
17 Leila – Blood Looms and Blooms (Warp)
18 Luke Solomon – The Difference Engine (Rekids)
19 Newworldaquarium – The Dead Bears (Delsin)
20 Tim Hecker & Aidan Baker – Fantasma Parastasie (Alien8)

Tracks (EPs):

1 Appleblim/Peverelist – Soundboy's Ashes Get Hacked Up And Spat Out In Disgust (Skull Disco)
2 Ricardo Villalobos – Vasco EP Pt I (Perlon)
3 Shackleton – Soundboy's Suicide Note (Skull Disco)
4 Four Tet – Ringer (Domino)
5 Omar S – Psychotic Photosynthesis (FXHE)
6 John Roberts – Hesitate (Dial)
7 Sascha Funke – Mango Remixes (Bpitch Control)
8 Lee Jones – Soon EP (Aus)
9 Scuba – Mutual Antipathy Remixes [Surgeon/Substance remixes] (Hotflush)
10 Shackleton – Death is Not Final (Skull Disco)
11 Donnacha Costello – It Simply Is (Minimise)
12 Portable – Knowone Can Take Away (Perlon)
13 Luke Hess – Believe and Receive (Kontra-Musik)
14 Various (Move D, Even Tuell, Sasha Dive) – Workshop 04 (Workshop)
15 Ben Klock – October (Bpitch Control)
16 STL – Invisibility (Something)
17 Sven Wiesemann – Cabana Fever (Mojuba)
18 PaulBrtschitsch & cio d'or – Aroma (Broque)
19 Lerosa – Killester (A Touch of Class)
20 Onmutu Mechanicks – Blossom/Hypophysica (Echocord Colour)

... special track which on reflection might even be number one?

DJ Koze - Zou Zou (Kompakt)

DJs:

1. Donato Dozzy
2. Cio D'Or
3. Prosumer
4. Jan Krueger
5. Marcel Dettmann

Remixes:

1 Ricardo Villalobos – Minimoonstar [Shackleton] (Perlon)
2 Sascha Funke – Mango [DJ Koze] (BPitch Control)
3 Luke Hess – Believe and Receive [Shed] (Konra Musik)
4 Ramadanman – Humber [Sven Wiesemann] (Applepips)
5 Sebbo – Watamu Beach [Moritz Von Oswald] (Desolat)
6 Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts – They Only Come Out at Night [Horror Inc.] Musiquee Risquee
7 Sascha Funke – Mango [Supermayer] (BPitch Control)
8 Scuba – Hard Boiled [SCB] (Hotflush)
9 Scuba – Ruptured [Surgeon] (Hotflush)
10 Pete Namlook – Subatomic Atoms [Pepe Bradock] (Macro)

Cam's lists:

Albums:

1 Move D/Benjamin Brunn – Songs From The Beehive (Smallville)
2 DJ Sprinkles – Midtown 120 Blues (Mule)
3 Shed – Shedding The Past (Ostgut)
4 Ezekiel Honig – Pieces of a Broken Marching Band (Anticipate)
5 Machinefabriek – Dauw (Dekorder)
6 Kangding Ray – Automne Fold (Raster-Noton)
7 Jacaszek – Treny (Miasmah)
8 Max Richter – 24 Postcards In Full Colour (130701)
9 Aidan Baker/Tim Hecker – Fantasma Parastasie (Alien8 Recordings)
10 Ø – Oleva (Sähkö Recordings)
11 Byetone - Death Of A Typographer (Raster-Noton)
12 Scuba – A Mutual Antipathy (Hotflush)
13 Lee Jones – Electronic Frank (Aus)
14 The Mole – As High As The Sky (Wagon Repair)
15 Peter Broderick – Float (Type)
16 Johann Johannsson – Fordlandia (4AD)
17 Philip Jeck – Sand (Touch)
18 Alva Noto – Unitxt (Raster-Noton)
19 Richard Skelton – Marking Time (Preservation)
20 Arve Henriksen – Cartography (ECM)

Tracks:

1 Ricardo Villalobos – Minimoonstar (Perlon)
2 Shackleton – The Rope Tightens (Skull Disco)
3 Appleblim/Peverelist – Over Here (Skull Disco)
4 Move D – Drøne (Modern Love)
5 Move D/Benjamin Brunn – New Horizon (Smallville)
6 Byetone – Plastic Star (Raster-Noton)
7 Donnacha Costello – Trust (Minimise)
8 Donnacha Costello – It Simply Is (Minimise)
9 Shackleton – Death Is Not Final (Skull Disco)
10 Move D/Benjamin Brunn – Honey (Smallville)
11 Machinefabriek – Onkruid (A Room Forever)
12 DJ Koze – Zou Zou (Kompakt)
13 Marcel Dettmann – Plain (Beatstreet)
14 Claro Intelecto – Rise (Modern Love)
15 Move D – Lush Summer Rain (Shanti Records)
16 Four Tet – Swimmer (Domino)
17 Arne Weinberg – Hypophysica (Echocord Colour)
18 Lee Jones – Aria (Aus)

Oh my god that took so long to re-format those! I have carpal tunnel.... okay, enjoy, let's discuss!