Author Archive: Chris Burkhalter

Peter Van Hoesen, Face of Smoke/Continued Care

Midway through 2009, we’re no longer debating whether or not Peter Van Hoesen rates a divider card; we’ve moved on to narrowing down favorites for the year-end lists. With the year’s first three records sounding even more assured than the stuff that had everyone blubbering last year, Brussels’ techno mainstay isn’t just a promising up-and-comer anymore; he’s very much arrived. Dude’s even got a nickname in circulation courtesy of mnml ssgs, “The Hose,” although I think his last name actually rhymes with “boozin’.” The Komisch label managed to secure one of the latest of the the Hose’s stunners for its inaugural release, a record that doesn’t reprise the brooding, no-fuss techno of “Attribute One,” but is just as breathtaking.

Isolée, Albacares

Based on some of the stuff you read these days, you might think it was settled and agreed that we chalk up “October Nightingale” as a misstep in Rajko Müller’s respected career. Myself, I think it’s among the year’s highlights. Surely, plunging into the depths of “A Nightingale” was one of my spring’s richest pleasures. All this is rather beside the point, though, as 2009’s second Isolée record is something else entirely.

Various Artists, Dérive Vol. 1

One of my very favorite records of last year was the fifth transmission from Workshop, anchored by an incredible standalone Benjamin Brunn track and earning its keep with complementary stunners from Da Halz and Rising Sun (names then unknown to me). So I felt a little quickening of the heart as I scanned the tracklist of this, the first release from the new Diamonds & Pearls-distributed Dérive Schallplatten. This record, too, is headed by an outstanding Brunn track, and offers the mystique of a pair of new names in Achim Maerz and Christopher Rau. The comparisons more or less end there, but this Hamburg-centric platter is nevertheless an exciting, sonically eclectic collection.

Urban Tribe, Social Engineering

Under the Urban Tribe moniker, Detroit’s Sherard Ingram quickly built a following for his quality down-tempo fare with help from labels like Mo Wax and collaborators such as Kenny Dixon Jr., Carl Craig, and Anthony Shakir. Since then, and under a variety of guises, he’s increasingly trended toward sped-up, acid-inflected electro and, in the process, conspicuously added James Stinson to the above list. Social Engineering is one of the more feverish entries to Ingram’s catalog, and surely one of the best.

Kevin Gorman, Elements Part 1

Manchester’s Kevin Gorman isn’t one of those artists who tries to conceal the mechanics and methods of his trade. Nor is he one to dictate how and under what conditions his music should be experienced. His four-part Elements series for his own Mikrowave label will be available both on tangible vinyl and portable mp3 formats. The main talking points on the series, though, concern Gorman’s decision to offer each track’s individual components. In other words, you can get an mp3 of just the pads for “Hoodwinked,” or the bare percussion from “Insomnia.” You can even get “Cyclic”‘s toms as an isolated track. Not to mention alternate mixes. The first two installments are already out, and some of the material is even offered at no cost.

Little White Earbuds Interviews Joris Voorn

Rotterdam’s Joris Voorn has been spinning and producing house and techno for over ten years now, with no shortage of accolades along the way. His debut EP, “Muted Trax pt. 1,” was tipped by Carl Craig and Laurent Garnier, and By 2004’s “Lost Memories pt. 2,” the fervor around Voorn had become virtually unavoidable. After founding the Green label the following year, Voorn landed a gig mixing the fourth CD in the Fuse series. Taking the Ableton Live brochure to task, he blended, layered, and combined forty-odd tracks for the mix. We were impressed, but Voorn figured he could do one better, which brings us to 2009’s hundred-track Balance mix. Easily one of the most discussed dance-music releases of the past year, Little White Earbuds had plenty of questions and Mr. Voorn was gracious enough to explain how one undertakes a project as ominous and daunting as Balance 14.

Alex Cortex, Non-Rigid Designator

With a discography dating back to 1996, Alex Cortex already has several tremendous records to his name on Out To Lunch, Ann Aimee, and Platzhirsch Schallplatten. Though probably a favorite of several of your own favorite artists, this discretely prolific Heidelberg resident’s name isn’t one that gets bandied about much. His latest, lane-shifting EP for Pomelo probably won’t change that, but that’s no reason for you not to get familiar.

Jason Fine, Our Music is a Secret Order Remixed

Delivering on the promise of a heavily tipped 12″ for Omar-S’s FXHE label, Jason Fine’s 2008 double-pack for Kontra-Musik, Our Music Music Is A Secret Order, was a remarkably confident collection of understated, soulful techno with vintage Detroit flavor. Owing perhaps to the secrecy of its order, Our Music wasn’t much discussed, but perhaps these reinterpretations from a pair of rising stars will help that.

October, My Left Tool EP

Caravan’s dependable Julian Smith follows last year’s dark, bumpy “Say Again” with a second package for Perspectiv. Don’t let the title’s “Tool” cool your interest, though. While this may well be a brilliant record for brokering transitions in your next set, “My Left Tool” is also an autonomous pleasure and evocative journey of a record in itself.

Kode9, Black Sun/2 Far Gone

Probably the second-most-discussed thing about Hyperdub is Kode9’s versatility. If you evaluated this solely on the basis of his releases for the aforementioned label, it wouldn’t seem abundantly clear. That is, until December’s LD-team-up, “Bad/2 Bad,” a housed-up, UK garage workout that didn’t sound one thing like the slow-burning future dub of his Space Ape collaborations. But then, almost nothing from Hyperdub’s 2008 reprised the label’s lauded past.