Listening to and judging over 35 mix submissions was something of a life-consuming task, but one which exposed us to a number of incredibly enticing sets that left us quite proud of our readers. A hearty thanks to each of you who put your time, effort and taste into these mixes. This is our last […]
Yearly Archives: 2008
LWE’s Top 10 Albums of 2008
December 25, 2008 – 9:25 PM
Every time the album format is declared dead for dance music a slew of great full lengths arrive to attest to the contrary. In this regard 2008 was no different, offering bountiful evidence that the extended format is a great canvas for electronic music of all stripes, from treated avant-garde to finely textured techno experimentalism, […]
LWE’s Top 20 Singles of 2008 (Part 4)
December 24, 2008 – 9:14 PM
05. Matias Aguayo, “Minimal” [Kompakt] (buy) In the year that minimal either went cynical or cyclical, or simply gave its critical audience more to harp about than usual, Matias Aguayo played devil’s advocate with “Minimal.” Aguayo’s late-night lover-man persona can be hard to read, so who really knows if this is smackdown or pisstake (I […]
LWE’s Top 20 Singles of 2008 (Part 3)
December 23, 2008 – 8:45 PM
10. Sascha Dive, “Deepest America” (Moodymann remix) [Ornaments] (buy) Building up from a classic Motor City stomp into a looped-out masterpiece with energy to spare, Moodymann’s frenetic take on Sascha Dive’s “Deepest America” was a timely reminder of Kenny Dixon, Jr.’s mastery over the sampledelic end of the spectrum. Tastefully limiting the now-cliched Afrocentric speech […]
LWE’s Top 20 Singles of 2008 (Part 2)
December 22, 2008 – 8:29 PM
15. Melchior Productions Ltd, “Who Can Find Me (I Can’t)” [Cadenza] (buy) “Who Can Find Me (I Can’t)” has to be one of the best emotional minimal tracks of 2008. It’s brittle structure and softly plodding drums are classic Melchior, but something about the shimmering arpeggios and mournful vocals make this one especially heavy-hearted. “Choir” […]
LWE’s Top 20 Singles of 2008 (Part 1)
December 21, 2008 – 9:45 PM
In the face of critical malaise, 2008 was a great year for techno and house singles. As the landscape shifted further from minimal, deep-house (already as broad a term as “minimal”), dub and tribal sounds came back strong, joined by brand name Berghain techno, dubstep and its techy (as of yet unnamed) brother. There was […]
Attn: iTunes podcast feed users
December 21, 2008 – 1:32 PM
We’ve updated our podcast feed, which means the old feed you’re subscribed to will no longer update. Keep up to date with our podcast series by subscribing to this feed. Sorry for the inconvenience and stay tuned!
LWE’s Top 5 Worst Ideas of 2008
December 19, 2008 – 2:58 PM
For our final year-end column, LWE staff writer Todd Hutlock takes to task the top five worst ideas of 2008. Pundits can argue back and forth all they like about whether 2008 was a good year for music — that’s a matter of taste. What can’t be argued, however, is that for any and all […]
LWE’s Top 5 Non-Commercial Mixes of 2008
December 17, 2008 – 8:47 PM
For our fourth year end column, staff writer Will Lynch rounds up his top five non-commercial mixes of 2008. In the past few years the advent of “podcasts” has affected all sorts of music, but none so significantly as dance music. For us beat-mongers lurking in the blogosphere, commercial mix CDs and albums tend to […]
LWE’s Top 5 Breakout Artists of 2008
December 16, 2008 – 8:35 PM
For our third year end column, LWE staff writer Colin Shields highlights his top five breakout artists of 2008. 2008 has been an exciting year for electronic music in many ways, not least because the means of production and distribution have become so thoroughly democratized. Some focus on the cookie-cutter, “Abletonized” records in which this […]
LWE’s Top 10 Overlooked Tracks of 2008
December 15, 2008 – 7:23 PM
For our second year end column, LWE’s editor-in-chief, Steve Mizek, digs up his top 10 overlooked tracks of 2008. Thousands upon thousands of tracks are released each year, followed by remix packages, online exclusives, reissues and more. So it’s inevitable that a number of great tunes and remixes get passed over, escaping even the most […]
LWE’s Top 5 Reissues of 2008
December 14, 2008 – 9:40 PM
For our first year-end column, staff writer Nate DeYoung gathers his top five reissues — and uses that word loosely — released in 2008.
LWE Podcast 11: Simon Flower
December 11, 2008 – 11:03 PM
Simon Flower placed himself into DJing exile a number of years ago to hone his production techniques; and now with releases popping up on Poker Flat, Moon Harbour and Curl Curl that hard work is paying off. His tracks often have more parts packed into them than you could feasibly number and possess a style that provides a simultaneous contrast of light and dark elements. Having lived with Simon for a number of years and DJed alongside him at various clubs in New Zealand, I have long been aware of his faultless DJ style, so he seemed like an obvious choice for an exclusive LWE podcast. It didn’t take much coaxing to get him to put together this mix entitled “Act Natural,” which stitches together a selection of recent house and techno picks with a few older classics all assembled in his kinetic, fluid manner.
DJ Sprinkles, Midtown 120 Blues
December 10, 2008 – 8:24 PM
[Mule Musiq] Like disco before it, house music was born in queer club culture, one of the few places its artists and patrons — mostly gay minority men — could be themselves without fear of reprisal. And also like disco, house was co-opted by ever larger audiences, shedding its ethnicity and sexuality along the way. […]
LWE, James Kartsaklis, Thunderous Olympian @ Cafe Lura
December 10, 2008 – 8:53 AM
Chicago, we’ll bring the music if you bring the dance. James Kartsaklis, Thunderous Olympian and LWE editor-in-chief, Steve Mizek, will be rocking our own Polish paradise, Cafe Lura (3184 N Milwaukee), this Thursday from 9pm until 2am. It’s only $5 to get in; $5 Redbull/vodkas, $4 Okocim bottles and $3 domestic biers. Hope to see […]
Jackmate, Malawi Dub
December 9, 2008 – 11:39 PM
[Phil e] Michel Baumann has had a good 2008, with his Soulphiction album Do You Overstand as one of 2008’s quiet achievers, and a few great Jackmate singles. On “Malawi Dub” he’s got the architecture of the track just right. This one builds effortlessly from its humble beginnings, where hands slap against bongos, before the […]
Sons Of The Dragon, Sons Of The Dragon
December 8, 2008 – 11:15 PM
Chat-room scuttlebutt has swirled around the true identities (and merits) of the Sons Of The Dragon, the artists behind this limited-edition white double-12″ of deep Detroit-flavored techno.
Ada, Forty Winks/Kink-A-Jou
December 7, 2008 – 8:27 PM
[International Records Recordings] Michaela Dippel (aka Ada) likes to say she was raised by pink ponies, fashioned herself as pseudo-vampire, and had a blond pup named Fizzmann. If you pay close attention, these are all selling points for her music. Ada is part of Areal, a label which dabbles in large amounts of distorted fuzz, […]
Little White Earbuds November Charts
December 4, 2008 – 9:30 PM
Chart courtesy of The Economist. 01. Radio Slave, “Incognito” [R&S Records] (buy) Another big year for Matt Edwards and a return to prominence for Belgium’s R&S, 2008 saw the former help reboot the latter with the storming “Eyes Wide Open” single. But hiding on the B-side is something better, the gut-punching floor filler “Incognito.” Although […]
Guy Noir, Delusion EP
December 3, 2008 – 10:57 PM
[District of Corruption] With a name that hints at subversive acts of espionage, Guy Noir (George Tsioutsias and Gower Ramsey) drop their second EP on the District of Corruption label, and suitably it is a cloak and dagger-themed affair. While the first Noir EP, “Flex” resonated well with DJs, it seemed more of a cerebral […]
