Ssg special - Ulf Eriksson (Kontra-Musik)

Ulf Eriksson might not be a name many people instantly recognise, but he is the man responsible for what is one of the most consistently high quality techno labels about: Kontra-Musik. In 2010 Kontra did not have too many releases, but every one was spot on: a remix package of Jason Fine with powerful reworks by Oni Ayhun and Ben Klock, Gunnar Jonsson's gorgeous 'Muskelminne' EP (including 'Morgonanga', one of my favourite tracks of the year), an impressive debut from Kondens (made up of Andreas Tilliander and Stefan Thor), and Jason Fine's 'Colors' EP, which represents perhaps his strongest work to date. And how did they start 2011? With Dettemann producing some of his most interesting output of late, and now a series of Mokira EPs with originals being complemented by some killer remixes, which will conclude with the release of the Mokira album. All in all, a pretty good effort, if you ask us...

This is a long way of saying that if you look at what Kontra has been doing, it is pretty clear that whoever is behind it really knows their shit. So we were very keen to hear what Ulf, the label boss of Kontra, would do in a mix. The result do not disappoint. Bringing together a tight selection of quality techno tracks, Ulf creates a strong sense of atmosphere and space in his mix. This is mountain techno, one for dancing in the fog somewhere in the hills.

Ulf had this to say about it:

"The mix is featuring a lot of old and new Kontra-Musik tracks. Several are not released yet, but will be soon. It also includes a Mokira - Echospace remix, exclusive to this mnml ssgs mix. Mixed with the Kontra-Musik trax is music that I have played a lot through the years and that all have been important to me. Nothing necessarily new, hot and trendy but instead music with a long lasting quality. The mix is recorded in my living room on 3 technics 1210 decks, one pioneer 800 cdj and a Vestax PMC 50 mixer. No more no less..."

Ssg special - Ulf Eriksson (Kontra-Musik)

Full tracklist for the mix will be up next week. As mentioned, Kontra-Musik are very busy this year. At the moment they've got 3 x Mokira 10" coming out with originals and remixes from Silent Servant, Echospace and Redshape. I can strongly recommend all of these, the Redshape dub in particular. The Mokira album 'Time Axis Manipulation' will be out soon on digital and CD, and after that some more EPs from Jonsson/Alter and Kondens. And for anyone in/near Malmö, on 21 May there will be a Mokira release party at Inkonst with Mokira live, Marcel Dettmann and Ulf Eriksson DJ'ing. For more info, check the Kontra-Musik homepage and soundcloud.

Big thanks to Ulf for this mix. Enjoy!