Wednesday, October 28, 2009

mnml ssgs mx40: dasha rush


mx40 has been a long time coming. when we first began working on this series early last year, one of the first people we decided to try was dasha rush. i'd first heard about dasha in a RA interview with dozzy, and since then had been keen to discover more. so i emailed her about doing a mix, but never got a reply. earlier this year, it was really bugging me. i felt like dasha had to be in the mnml ssgs series. her sounds really belong here. so i decided to email her again. this time she replied. she had never got my first email (the spam filter was obviously working well). lucky i tried again, as she agreed, and has come up with something special that perfectly encapsulate what we are trying to do.

the other reason i am really excited about these mixes is that i strongly feel dasha rush is one of the most criminally under-rated people in techno. over the last couple of years she been releasing some serious techno through fullpanda records, and i'd strongly suggest checking her productions if you don't know her work. dasha has the key qualities we look for when chasing people for ssg mixes: a powerful, distinctive and unique voice, someone looking forward. and all these characteristics are strongly reflected in the 2 mixes she has kindly done for us.


intense vertical mix (direct dl)
soundcloud mirror

this pretty much speaks for itself. the 'intense vertical' mix shows off dasha's talents as a techno dj, delivering an excellent mix of what we like to call headfuck techno. no messing around here. and she plays one of my alltime favourite techno records, so she gets bonus points for that.


sleepless horizontal mix (direct dl)
soundcloud mirror

as much as i love the vertical mix, it is the horizontal one that really excites me. why? because it is exactly what we like to see - something different, pushing things forward. it is an ambient mix with spoken word throughout it. dasha explains the thinking behind it:

"The idea of it was: to bring another element of expression with music together , it could be a video clip or something else. I chose a text. So it could become, like a little oral theater, if i might say that, and give another aspect of the way music or text can be perceived .

In the interaction between sound and text, personally , i could perceive, how the sound could force a mood of a story to a slightly different angle, as well as accentuate or attenuate the meaning and strength of a word, rather than the initial intonation of a text line, if it would be known from single source, just as reading a book ,to be more exact. Or vice versa."

there you go... a special 2 part mix from dasha rush. i'd strongly suggest listening to both mixes together. despite being different in style and presentation, i view the two very much as a whole. for the horizontal mix, the text is by victor pelevin and voice by tim o’loghlin. massive thanks for dash for really digging deep and producing something very special and personal. i am proud i can share it with you all. for more info on dasha rush, make sure to check her myspace, and keep a close eye on fullpanda records.

thanks to dasha and enjoy the mixes...

46 comments:

  1. can't wait to be home from work and download this!

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  2. excited about this! Soundcloud mirrors dont seem to work for me though.

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  3. WOW! What a joy it is to hear a mix from Dasha! I have been keen on her productions, so I have been looking forward to hearing a mix that matches the power of the productions.

    Thanks you so, SO much to Dasha for completely blowing my mind and making my week splendid!

    I also have to thank you Chris for continuing to provide the ultimate haven for delivering music from some of the most unheralded but significant people in the business. This mix proves something I have known for a while: mnml ssgs is THE most important outlet for music on the internet. Period.

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  4. I love where the verticle mix heads towards the end.

    A track listing would be awesome.

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  5. @ dixon: there will be a tracklisting for the vertical mix posted next week.

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  6. Just finished listening to the vertical part. This is really, really awesome! Knew her productions for quite a while, but never listened to her "in the mix" before.
    Dasha rocks!

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  7. vertical mix definitely headfucked me.

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  8. Thanks be to ssgs - and especially Dasha.
    What a a great way to start my day ! 320kbps too - even better. No doubt also much sofa time this weekend blissing out to these. happy happy

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  9. BIG fan of Dasha's too (criminally underrated indeed!), so good work with getting these online, Chris. Downloading 'em now.

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  10. Another new name here for me. Very excited about listening to both parts.

    Thanks again ssgs, keep up the splendid work.

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  11. Sleepless Horizontal is one of the best things I've heard all year. Wow!!

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  12. ... have to update and say wow ! This (intense vertical) blows my socks off ! Tight.
    It'll be on repeat for a long time to come.

    Sleepless horizontal is a very different concept, but one that surprisingly, works really well and I find very soothing. Story telling in music and words - evokes childhood ... feelings, more than memories.

    Another stellar introduction by ssgs. I thought I was reasonably well versed in techno (though maybe not deep tech), but my best discoveries have come via these pages. Enrichments of the very best kind. Thanks guys.

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  13. Wow you guys keep amazing me with FINE-ASS mixes!

    Anyone know the name of the track in the "intense vertical" mix on 25:25?
    Sounds like SandwellDistrict or Function or something...Holden used to play it too...

    I mean the rasping synth-stuff.

    Thanks in advance!!!

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  14. Yeah, the vertical mix is a dark beauty with just enough peaks to stop it being too smooth 'n' streamlined. The thrill of hearing 'The Wipe' for the first time in a decade tops it off for me quite nicely too. Don't let anyone claim otherwise - '09's the best year for techno since '95.

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  15. This is a very special mix from Dasha. I'm about half way through the vertical one and I'm in techno heaven!! There are some really mind blowing sounds on there. I decided I needed the Vertical one now cos I was well sleepy so I'll save the Horizontal til later on. Big thanks to Dasha and, as always the ssgs!

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  16. *So* psyched for this. Just wanted to say thanks for including a large (well, relatively speaking) number of female dj/producers in the series. The techno world can feel like a boy's club sometimes, and it's really appreciated that women are respected here.
    First got into Dasha after hearing Yuka's mindblowing ssg mix.

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  17. @ chris

    may i ask what your favourite techno record is that she plays?

    Thankyou Dasha and MNMLSSGS !

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  18. @ rob: the wipe - teste. a classic that i've never gotten sick of.

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  19. @TundraVisions

    Ben Klock - Czeslawa

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  20. cheers Chris, will check it

    Czeslawa just came on now ! brilliant mix !

    a genius feat of Klock's on both a and b side

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  21. the vertical mix took a while to get going, but when it was on, it was ON. really enjoyed it, and wished it had another hour attached. quite a solid mix, and i was pretty damn impressed in the end.

    the horizontal mix, however, left a sour taste in my mouth. beautiful tracks, but the vocal drove me up a wall. i felt as if i was watching a classic movie and someone was expelling their terrible day in the row behind me the entire time. a solid chance to take, but it didn't work for me, though i know its working for others.

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  22. Lets all appreciate Eric's honesty here. Haven't listened to it yet myself but I am fearing I will have the same impression

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  23. I think this is the sort of place honesty is never not appreciated.

    I'm listening to Sleepless Horizontal again. It's totally otherworldly and weird, but I think it's absolutely amazing. I'm sure a lot of people won't dig it as much, if at all, and that's totally cool. But Intense Vertical should have provided more than enough high quality headfuck techno fix. That mix is gold as it is and I don't think we need more. I think everybody should at least go into Sleepless Horizontal with an open mind, rather than approach it anticipating that you won't like it.

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  24. If I may say more...

    The way syllables and the music merge together at some points of this mix is absolutely magical!! I really think this is one of the most headfucking shit in this entire series.

    Again, wow.

    W O W .

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  25. Also... Is it just me? Or does the image of Arnold Schwarzenegger with a big goofy grin giving two thumbs up to Dasha pop into anybody else's head whenever the guy says "Aahnold" ??

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  26. Much respect to Dasha for trying something bold and different with her horizontal mix, but I couldn't really get into it. I wanted to be able to just focus on how the music and the syllables mesh and compliment each other, but I was too distracted by words and the content of what was being said. Listening to this I was thinking about other projects that do something similar. I think the only ones that have worked for me were Nurse With Wound's echo poem sequence (perhaps because it was all in french, which i don't speak a word of) and Thomas Köner's Unerforschtes Gebiet, which works because of the lengthy pauses between the spoken bits (and because it's Thomas Köner!)
    I'm about 40 minutes into the vertical mix now, and loving it! It's brilliantly dark! I'll be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks.

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  27. What are all of you guys listening to these sets on? Good headphones? Speakers? iPods?

    It's something Im always curious to know, but in this particular case, I needed to CRANK the volume to get the proper sound. Maybe something on my end.

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  28. oh wow. didnt expect this from dasha, i only knew her for that electro-pop thingey (comme la neige?) she did. love to hear this!

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  29. as theyurinator said, just listen to the horizontal mix with an open mind. she is definitely doing something different. and i think it works. and i think it is much more difficult to do a mix like that the vertical mix - which is very cool - but not as original or brave with what is trying to do. these two mixes are a perfect example of what ssgs are trying to do. much love to dash for these.

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  30. Great to see this !! Not listened yet but is one of my next jouneys... Thanks to Dasha and Chris...

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  31. thanks dasha and chris (againagainandagain, inspiring me everytime like no other musicmag..)

    and of course thanks teste for "the wipe". more than a classic. a masterpiece. remember in 1995 as i heard this track the first time in a (spectacular!) mix by robert hood (on rave satelite on fritz radio/berlin:)
    i will digitalize this tape on the weekend and share the link.

    you must listen to this.

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  32. jeez that vertical mix is a goodie, proper dense techno, is it me or does she play convextion-convextion? wow that shits wild!!
    whens the function mix coming??

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  33. i think a function mnmlssg mix would end me.

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  34. ha what a surprise. this moment i add my vinyl collection to discogs: and surprise 6 month ago i bought a record http://www.discogs.com/Dasha-Rush-Forms-Aint-Formats/release/1025546

    until now i didnt know its from dasha rush. check this record. headfuckingdeep

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  35. hi Chris, good to speak to you on Friday at Corsica. Apologies if repeated myself/chatted sh!t, I was a little drunk! Hope you enjoyed. Excellent venue, good sounds.

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  36. @ benga: nice to meet you too!

    @ others: a function mix is scheduled. when it will appear, i am not sure.

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  37. Hey I've been checking out some of her other stuff. Her record from this year is great (that 'Little Death' song is incredible!) Surprised I never heard of her until now.

    I'm also totally feeling the 'Australien Dream' track from the Approach release. What a fucking killer!

    The Function mix is going to change everything. I can't help but predict that it will even more superior to the ingenius RA mix, for some reasion. Go MNMLSSGS !

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  38. The RA SD mix is going to sound silly compared to this upcoming Function mix which will likely be one of the best things your ears have ever heard

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  39. a few hours ago i checked mnml ssgs blogpage again afte a couple of weeks, and i just heard the horizontal mix. (I do like the names vertical & horizontal, v. clever ;-)

    The ambient mix didn;t work for me either, the voice irritated me or was too loud for me, while i wanted to dive into the sound i couldn't.
    p.s don't repeat pls the "try to be open-minded" argument. I guess openmindness is presupposed on our musical platform here. Taste is v. subjective for some it works for someothers not.

    I want to listen to the vertical as well.

    cheers to everyone here. :-)

    ps2 can't wait 4 function's set!!!

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  40. @ wonderli: i think the very point with the horizontal mix is that it is structured in such a way that you can't dive into the music. based on what dasha wronte, i think she is more interested in exploring how the music interacts with the words. it is not a matter of being open minded or not, but i think that does require listening to it in a slightly different way, because the focus is not/cannot be purely on the music.

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  41. Yeah exact same feeling as Eric for me, really enjoyed the verticle and had great hopes for the horizontal but found the actual piece itself to be kinda grating. Always wondered why any form of spoken word in techno or especially house (let alone more commercial electronic music) always had to be so utterly inane, and at least this attempt didnt fail for me in quite the same way.

    I appreciate the experimentation and hopefully someone will pick up the torch and take the spoken word with techno backing in a direction more to my taste in the future.

    Thanks for the great mix anyway to all concerned :)

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  42. i was expecting sth better, more interesting sound to fascinate me from this sheer beauty woman. nothing to compare with the interest in her productions, the intense mix was rather boring to me..

    p.s some tracks are amazing seperately but as a whole the mix didn't get me anywhere..
    :-(

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  43. How come we never got a tracklist for the intense vertical mix? Any chance?

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