Ssg Special: Donato Dozzy Kosmische Labyrinth mix

'Since this was to to be the tenth Labyrinth, I wanted to open the event with a set that had historic significance. The idea of showcasing Kosmische music (more commonly known as Krautrock) seemed an obvious choice.

I'm not very informed of this critical period, but the story of this music that so desperately tried to escape the oppressive gravity of German post-war legacies and Western rock's influence is fascinating to me. Even with casual listening, it's pretty easy to trace so much of modern electronic music back to those early pioneers, such as Tangerine Dream, Amon Düül II, Faust, Popol Vuh, Can, Cluster, and others. There are few periods where you can point to such an explosion of original, revolutionary, and mind-bending music.

So I started thinking about who would be a good DJ to book to present a Kosmische set that would reference the history of that music while pointing towards the sounds of today, towards that weekend's showcase of techno. Then I realized I already had one.

When I was in Italy earlier in the year for Donato Dozzy's wedding, I saw in his apartment a huge collection of vinyl covering these legends. After I asked him if he would be interested in playing a Kosmische set, he enthusiastically started pulling records off the shelves, saying "This one has to come, and this one, and this one!" On the couch quickly grew a stack of spirits who were to join us.

What I thought was a casual request to spin a few old dusty records turned into a bit of an obsession for Dozzy. To create something that really matched his vision of the Labyrinth sound, he went in the studio and created edits of all the tracks he wanted to play. Meanwhile I was building a timetable that would have him start the festival at exactly the same time that he would bring the cycle to an end two days later.

For that opening set, we were lucky that night to have a beautiful moon in the sky and a poetic atmosphere on the floor. And what we're lucky to have here is a studio mix that re-creates the opening set Dozzy played, which he has prepared to share with all of us. I think it's beautiful and profound, the kind of recording you want to save and listen to years down the road...

Enjoy.'

--Russ, "The Labyrinth"

Ssg Special: Donato Dozzy Kosmische Labyrinth mix

There is a tracklist for this, which we will put up next week. For now, Dozzy just wants to say that the final track in the mix is a tribute to a band that were not strictly part of the Kosmische period, but for him perfectly embody its spirit.

If you want to find out more about Kosmische, I'd strongly recommend starting with two recent documentaries: 'Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany' and 'Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution'. For more info on Dozzy, check his RA DJ page, and for bookings, he is now with Prologue Booking. Thanks to Donato and Russ for this. We are very happy and proud to be able to share this with you all. Consider it an early Christmas present...