Wednesday, September 1, 2010

ssg special - kettenkarussell


This one has been a long time coming. Last year some time, Chris passed me a link to a live set by a duo called kettenkarussell, who the Sherburnator had been talking about on his blog, as I recall. The set in question, which, hopefully, many of you have heard (please remedy this if not!) was pure magic.

I love microhouse. But sometimes, it doesn't quite deliver the goods: My My at their best were brilliant but, for me, at times, festooned their tracks with too many bells and whistles. Entre Lee Jones' solo album, which still stands up. Seriously, get it, or get it out (if you've got it) and give it a rub/spin. But but but: the problem was always one of time. On the one hand, microhouse is all about the interacting intrications, the way a melody sets of FX ripples, becomes a texture through modulation, fades into a sympathetic rhythm, etc, until the whole musical assembly turns into a mobile liquid. As a musical practice, it's a kind of cloudshaping. On the other hand, for this effect to fully take hold, you need a time/space canvas that's really, really big. Sky big. This is part of the reason why, for me, RV's best tracks on Vasco or The au Harem... or Bruno Pronsato's Make Up, Break Up work so well. Such origami (aura[l]-gami?) needs time to (un)fold in all its intricacies. The trouble is that all that time taxes the listener, and unless your rhythms, textures and melodic motifs build, shift and morph in sufficiently engaging ways - it's boring. In most cases, I would rather watch the clouds fucking.

kettenkarussell are, for me, one of the few duos really doing justice to the creative possibilities of the microhouse microverse. They not only pull off the requisite formulas and push all the right buttons, they add a whole dark thicket full of animated organic sounds, wind up dolls (perhaps demonically possessed, be careful!) and forest clearings filled with soft, shining, melodic lights... fairies? I'm not sure... more than anything, the duo create an intense, dense, total mood that fills their enormous canvas, but one that never ever feels 'stuck', hurried, or sluggish. They add something that is inimitably their own. We are really, really happy to get this mix so we can share it with you. I hope you love it - I do.

If you're in the area, kettenkarussell are playing at oe, which Konstantin describes as 'a small festival more like a privat party on a little danish island'. Check here for details.

For those of the Isles, on September the 17th KK are also playing at the alphaville festival, which will be held at Whitechapel Gallery in London'. Details.

And now, nuff gabbing, here it is. Enjoy!

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25 comments:

  1. hey, it's asking for a password! what is it?!

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  2. Agree re microhouse at large, though for me Marc Leclair / Akufen, Scott Monteith and Stephen Beaupré (hmmm, a strong Canadian thread here), absolutely nailed it - though more so in the early to mid noughties.
    Some of the most infectiously dancey music I have, is from these guys.
    Looking forward to getting this Kettenkarussell home !

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  3. ok, sorry for the technical confusions on this one. link should now be working and available without a password. let me know if you can't get it.

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  4. cool. thanks. PC and i are not good at the interwebs, so sometimes there are technical probs... enjoy!

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  5. @ last one: correction, *I* am not good at the interwebs...

    & @ Srdic: actually, I think Montieth and Beaupre are responsible for some of the most dull microhouse imaginable. But I digress.

    Akufen: I'm still waiting for delivery on that promise after Musique pour trois femmes encientes...

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  6. lol - each to their own I guess PC.
    Loving the KK.

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  7. Really looking forward to this. The mix you posted by them a while back was sublime.

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  8. We are very much looking forward to hosting their first London show!

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  9. No one here does mention Thomas Brinkmann.If there's a micro house master it's TB.I strongly suggest that you listen to TB if you haven't yet.

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  10. brinkmann is fantastic. the master. but lets focus on these guys for now. kettenkarassell are worth paying attention to.

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  11. love love love!

    Their first release on Giegling is phenomenal too!

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  12. also, they have a few mixes on their 'interweb' that blew me away... well one in particular but it's so long ago now that I can't remember which one it is... it might not even be one of the one's still up there or it could be the one mnmlssg mention but here's the link to their site anyway

    http://kettenkarussell.tk/

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  13. Akufen's show @ dodgy house club FFour in 2008 was absolutely superb. loved it.

    biggest regret of '07: Not going and staying at Brinkmann's house outside Cologne, essentially turning down his invite.

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  15. Lovely what these guys deliver here! Much much respect!

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  16. This is a very chill mix. Definitely feeling it, and I appreciate the variety that the ssgs is bringing us. I love the Giegling 01 EP that Sahinmeyer mentioned, everyone should check it out (A side) if they haven't heard it. Any thoughts on the two tracks at ~17:30 and ~21:00? That's what I call perfect.

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  18. heard kettenkarussel at Alpha-ville in London this weekend. Really impressive. Better live than through the headphones which might sound obvious but personally I often find this music doesn't translate well to the floor. They really did though.

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  19. This is death by sound!!! Im in love with Microhouse all over again. Im almost at a point of shedding tears! A Liquid Trip! Efrain Denver, CO!

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  20. any chance to have the tracklist ??? great mix btw !

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  21. love it. the tracks at 17 & 21 are indeed perfect

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  22. Dear PC, Chris, or better yet, Kettenkarusell:

    Could you please divine a track list for us mere mortals?!

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  23. Yeah this is really cool. Had me totally absorbed. :D

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  24. big smile each time i'm listenning to your set ; that's a really introspective and bring some peace effects ! fond of ; TIP for this set

    by the way ; not sure to find all informations requirred with the others links ... sounds like strange

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Say something constructive, bitte. Or if you're gonna take a swipe, at least sharpen your nails.

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