one of the trends i've noticed over the last year or two is that many of the producers making waves are people who've been at it for a long time. these aren't new kids on the block armed with a macbook and a cracked version of ableton. two names that immediately spring to mind are peter van hoesen and move d, but there are plenty more. another one is jay ahern. this is a name you might not instantly recognise. but if you've been keeping up with the best of techno over the last year, chances are you might have heard records from two projects he does: the hauntologists, composed of jay and stefan schneider, and a new solo project, cheap and deep, which has been getting serious play from a lot of techno heavyweights (and rightly so).
we first got in touch with jay about mix a year or so ago, in relation to yet another one of his guises - add noise (check the 'handwerk' releases - they flew under the radar a bit, but are some seriously quality techno cuts). it didn't quite work at that time, but luckily for everyone we reconnected this year. so this has been a while in the making. but like so many other mixes in this series, definitely worth the wait. in true ssg fashion, jay has dug deep and put put together a special live recording for all of us, made up of hauntologists and cheap and deep material.
one thing we look for with contributions to this series are mixes that give a real representation of the artist's sound and that is certainly the case here. jay's live reflects his productions perfectly: raw, dirty, analog machine techno. this is what jay said about it in an email:
"this stuff is done exactly that way [machine techno], i don't even use midi, i use the 808 as the master, slave the sampler to it using a special box and then the 101 gets a clock pulse from the 808 , and i punch in notes live on the 101 while tweaking the 303 and 808, plus a bit of dubbing on the mixer... there's a couple of moments in the mix where i am really sweating, trying to juggle all that stuff, but i think that 'human touch' thing works out ok."
fuck yes it works out ok. much more than that.
mnml ssgs mx41: hauntologists vs cheap and deep
soundcloud mirror
sendspace mirror
* update: got a DL link for soundcloud. if it stops working, just try the other ones.
massive thanks to jay for putting this together for us. we are very proud and happy to have this, it really fits exactly with what we are about. big respect. for more info on jay, check his homepage and his twitter. now, it's time for some machine techno...
just finished a mix of my own, now downloading this. techno time!
ReplyDeleteabout the limit, read this: http://soundcloud.com/premium
ReplyDeletedownloads are disabled after 100, and you "should" be limited to only upload 2 hours of music (which doesn't seem to be in effect actually)
Need a few quid for a full account?
ReplyDeleteMachine techno, you say? I'm game.
After reading about his setup, the sound from his records (esp Hauntologists) now makes perfect sense. The odd structures and loose nature are the obvious result.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to listen to this mix, big thanks to everyone involved.
@ oliver: it probably hasnt come up so clearly, but one of the reasons i used this photo is because of the ridiculous amount of gear on the table. just look at it all!
ReplyDelete@Chris, I know, it's quite terrifying. How he navigates around that is a mystery. A great photo.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the way he casually talks about his machines, clearly very comfortable with them. The man knows his stuff, it's a really thoughtful setup.
Chris,
ReplyDeletea bit off topic, but has Traversable Wormhole put out any of his stuff on digital? Having a real problem getting hold of it! Thanks, downloading this mix as I speak.
The entire mix is ridiculous but the last 13 mins or so is SO BOMB. Words, Breaths, and Pauses (which doesn't sound much like the original at all) at the end totally drives me nuts!! One of my favorite tracks from this summer. And Three put it on this past weekend at Unit too :-)
ReplyDeleteIncredibly danceable, great mix.
ReplyDeleteSo many great mixes I've discovered these past few weeks. Is there going to be a year round-up of the ssgs favorite releases?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat set. Also wanted to say a general thankyou for the site as a whole, great writing, great music. Cheers!
ReplyDeletecool! those add noise 12s have been a personal favorite of mine the last while...
ReplyDeletecheers ssgs!
so glad my buddy told me about this. EXCELLENT, wonderfully crafted nastiness!!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is superb - the first half hour burbles along pleasantly enough, but in fact it's busy laying the groundwork for the last 30 minutes, which really pull you down into the depths. The mixes you've been posting this year have been a gift and an inspiration, Chris. Much appreciated.
ReplyDelete(OK, last 20 minutes; techno this good totally derails my inner abacus.)
ReplyDeletePredictably excellent stuff from Jay. Words, Breaths and Pauses is one of my favourite tunes' of this year, and I love the way Jay's had the balls to strip back the hooky percussion to the bassy underbelly - it services his mix as a whole a lot better. Subtle vocals too - nice one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, gotta love these short, tasty mixes... So ssgy
"The mixes you've been posting this year have been a gift and an inspiration"
ReplyDeleteWhat a bloody nice thing to say. Seconded too.
Dang! That´s some great music. Juicy.
ReplyDeleteI've been out of the loop but I'm really looking forward to this: I'm a fan of his Add Noise and Hauntologists releases. Actually, I was exposed to Add Noise when listening to Norman Nodge's mnmlssgs mix when it was release a long, long tim ago. Wow, I can't believe mnmlssgs has been going strong for so long! Keep up the good work, Chris. Hope all is well...
ReplyDeleteNil to do with this stream but hey, what a great article to greet my Saturday - along with Die Faser 2 !
ReplyDeletemnml ssgs gets a nod too and rightly so. It's how I discovered Cio after all (and Dozzy, Gigli, Nuel, Prologue + + +)
http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1131
i've yet to listen to this (too many mixes, too little time) but i did want to respond to this:
ReplyDelete"these aren't new kids on the block armed with a macbook and a cracked version of ableton."
i'm only a few parts removed from that description (i'm 22 and one of the youngest at the events i attend here in the states), but i think a remark like that downplays the power of youth in music (and i bet many a producer got his/her start with pirated music-making software, especially today when the hardware costs can be prohibitive). if any movement - musical, cultural, whatever - ignores the youth, it will die. if electronic music culture is to stay alive and relevant, it must count on the enthusiasm of its younger fanbase.
anyhoo i just thought that was a curious thing to say, maybe i'm reading into it too much but i'd like to see what others think...
@brian
ReplyDeleteReading into it too much... I think what was meant to be emphasized here is Jay's tremendous skill with his machines, not the unskillfulness of anybody else. You'll know this is what was meant once you hear the awesomeness of this mix. I'd recommend listening to C&D and Hauntologist releases if you haven't yet and then listen because you'll hear bits from his releases in the mix but totally differently. It. Is. Ridiculous.
Plus there are a ton of not-so-young producers who do relatively uninteresting stuff on MacBooks and Ableton...