[Emphasis Recordings]

Steven Tang has covered a lot of ground since debuting on his own Emphasis Recordings in 1998. Whether as Obsolete Music Technology, Misguided, or under his own name, the Chicago producer has tackled several sides of Chicago house and incorporated wider influences. He dove deep into dreamy techno and whipped up a frenzy with more jacking house, often finding the complimentary points between the styles. Yet in all that time he’s never made significant use of vocals, which is honestly somewhat rare for a Chi-town producer. With the Mmmmmusic single as Obsolete Music Technology, Tang finds a clever way to work the element which long eluded him into his established sound.

The title track stretches soothing synth chords over the pleasant jangle of hi-hats in a manner not unlike the best of Fred P., but it’s soon distinguished by an unexpected salvo of tightly grouped vocal syllables. The novel use of this deep, rambling sound — inconspicuously traced by a congruent 303-style pattern — injects a curious energy that propels the tune past more languid deep tracks. A brief, beatless “Reprise” follows, letting the spacious synths breathe. Chicago Skyway plays up the vocal elements as well as the physical energy in his “Pay Toll Mix.” Triggering different octave versions of the vocals forms an undulating mosaic stitched together by vigorous, steady percussion. When the vocals tangle almost as if by mistake, the drum patterns switch and become more bracing, pushing dancers further into the groove as more singular vocals ring out between the many hits. A second OMT original, “Distance,” is perhaps more expected but no less beautiful, daubing quavering leads on balmy chords and resilient drum programming. Tang’s continued development some 15 years into his career is impressive, and the strides made on Mmmmmusic seem likely to intensify the respect he’s earned during that time.

[Pittsburgh Tracks]

It was like Pittsburgh Track Authority sprung from the creative womb fully formed. The group — consisting of Preslav Lefterov, Tom Cox and Adam Ratana — debuted last year on Lerato’s esteemed Uzuri imprint, unveiling a full-bodied, multifaceted sound that had no trouble articulating its aims. Utilizing their intimate knowledge of techno and house archetypes as starting blocks rather than building blocks, PTA took off in their own direction and proved to be compelling composers with a considerable knack for arrangements. While also exhibited on their 2011 Archipelago 12″ for Further Records, it’s even more apparent on Pittsburgh Tracks 001, the inaugural release of the trio’s dedicated label, Pittsburgh Tracks.

It’s true PTA owe a considerable debt to classic American house and techno, but no more than any other producers in their current milieu. Where A-side “Untitled” is inspired by Underground Resistance and its cohort, the captivating track wears these influences lightly. Part of it is the narrative structure, which introduces and snatches away each element thoughtfully to keep listeners hooked. The smart pairing of a bleepy but pliable progression and a resolutely plucked bass line bobbing on gritty machine rhythms is what first catches your ear, yet it’s the swooping synth strings lifting “Untitled” to the next level. “Monongahela Rainforest” gives the appearance of being a fairly candid deep-house track, its legato electric piano chords wafting through the weave of hand drums. Their meditative flow is broken by syncopated claps and toms shoving you into the next bar, eventually cresting on tender strings and starstruck cowbells before plunging back into the rhythms. Immensely well written with the dance floor firmly in its sights, Pittsburgh Tracks 001 is a high watermark for a group who continues to generate them.

[Marcel Dettmann Records]

Like his Ostgut Ton colleague Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann is rather selective about the artists who release on his eponymous label. His ear for outstanding techno has yet to disappoint the imprint’s dedicated fans, inviting Norman Nodge to make his debut and T++ to remix two of MD’s tracks. Dettmann entrusted the eighth volume with Wincent Kunth, an unknown, purportedly Swiss producer whose only appearances to date were two remixes of Dettmann’s tracks. It also marks a shift away from the standard of stamped white labels and towards full-color sleeves and labels. The stark beauty of Act’s industrial photography on the cover is mirrored in the four tracks beneath it.

Unlike so many Berghain-inspired tracks, Kunth’s music manages to be commanding without attempting to intimidate. The elements he calls upon are often simple and common, but programmed with such skill and finessed throughout so as to wring every drop from them. With nagging claps and hi-hats that fall like welding sparks, opener “Promise” begins as a jack track whose droning synth work evolves into an enrapturing legato progression. Hypnotic tones steer clear highlight “Relove (Edit)” towards house territory as an organ progression glinting with overtones makes its case over insistent percussion. “Sinking” entangles listeners in quaking tones as Kunth tweaks and adds to his adroitly patterned vintage drum machines. “Trickle” begins nearly fully formed, a mesmerizing array of unearthly tones, piano stabs and a vocal-like loop that’s fastened together by tight and perfectly timed drumwork. In style and substance, MDR 8 is a record you might expect from such revered producers Dan Bell or Ben Klock — an uncanny feat for Wincent Kunth’s solo debut. Whether under Dettmann’s wing or on his own, Kunth’s is a name to watch for in 2012.

[Kompakt]

Listening to Thora Vukk, Robag Wruhme’s second album, is not unlike wrapping up in an heirloom blanket. Hardly extravagant, it’s the kind of LP whose hopeful tones and organic textures are best absorbed during a quiet night in, a dutiful pet (or significant other) curled up at your feet. But those who expected Wruhme’s last single of 2011, Donnerkuppel, to trundle down a similarly easy going path were in for a big (albeit pleasant) surprise. A perfect fit for its home on Kompakt, the record’s title track (which translates as “thunder dome”) is as poppy and anthemic as they come.

Those of us who were first introduced to electronic dance music through progressive house might feel a little pang of nostalgia as the main hook of “Donnerkuppel” rounds the bend. Its cheerful chords gleam as they traipse down a staircase of click-clacking percussion, bursting forth with untrammeled joy when a harmonic bass line joins the parade. It recalls the pre-minimal period when techno wasn’t so self-conscious or serious — a period largely dominated by Kompakt, it’s worth noting. A track this big and euphoric is definitely open to a one-word dismissal — cheesy — but it’s arguably more of a refined cheese platter than a big bowl of nacho cheese. “Wemmel” is the title track’s quirky, sample-scarred younger brother, bearing muted traces of that signature riff encased in overcast pads and electro-compatible drum programming. The record concludes with the downtempo musings of “Polch Dutto,” but it’s like an after-dinner mint listeners will likely skip to flip the record back to side A. Wruhme is no stranger to unabashedly melodic fare, and “Donnerkuppel” is easily among his catchiest tracks.

Glued to our smartphones and reliant on all manner of high-tech gadgetry, the line between human and machine has never been harder to discern. For Brandt Brauer Frick, this porous boundary is a source of great inspiration to their music and ethos. Since 2008, Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer and Paul Frick have pushed themselves to this edge in pursuit of classically rooted, organically sourced techno that demands precision in recordings and during live performances. The last two years have seen them form the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, whose horns, strings and percussion add depth to an already intensely detailed sound, especially live. Their recently released second album, Mr Machine dazzles as it offers new interpretations of previous highlights and their expansive revamps of songs by Emika, Agnes Obel, and Scott (Brandt and Brauer’s first project). Having last spoken to Paul Frick in early 2008, LWE caught up with Daniel Brandt about the creativity hatched by the Ensemble, working with Rashad Becker, and how UK bass music is inspiring their new material. They also created LWE’s 109th exclusive podcast, a genre-promiscuous mix placing many of their favorite 2011 releases between classic techno sides and seminal classical music.

LWE Podcast 109: Brandt Brauer Frick (61:18)

Tracklist:

01. Gustav Mahler (played by Claudio Abbado with Berlin Philharmonic), “Andante Commodo” [Deutsche Grammophon]
02. Luc Ferrari, “The Dress Rehearsal Performed Before Brunhild On 24.10.08″ [Sub Rosa]
03. John Cage (played by Klára Kormendi), “Sonatas And Interludes V” [Hungaroton]
04. Helmut Lachenmann (played by Herbert Schuch), “Guero” [Oehms Classics]
05. Steve Reich (played by Amadinda Percussion Group), “Piano Phase” [Hungaroton]
06. Roman, “Goodbye Bunny” (Brandt Brauer Frick Reinterpretation) [Kalk Pets]
07. Jeff Mills, “Revolt” [Tresor]
08. LCD Soundsystem, “45:33″ (Theo Parrish’s Space Cadet Remix) [DFA]
09. G.H., “Ground” [Modern Love]
10. James Blake, “Give A Man A Rod” (Second Version) [Hessle Audio]
11. Robert Hood, “Resurrection” [M-Plant]
12. Bodo Elsel, “Fantasie Mädchen” [Playhouse]
13. Pearson Sound, “Untitled” [Night Slugs]
14. SBTRKT, “Ready Set Loop” [SBTRKT]
15. Wax, “No. 20002″ [Wax]
16. Emika, “Pretend” (Brandt Brauer Frick Rework) [Ninja Tune]
17. Crazy P, “Make Me Wanna” [20:20 Vision]
18. Mr. K Alexi, “Don’t You Know” (Ron Hardy Muzic Box Classic)
[Partehardy Records]
19. Amon Tobin, “Lost & Found” (Brandt Brauer Frick Skiffle It Up Dub)
[Ninja Tune]

I know your live set provides opportunities for you to change it from set to set, but as a three piece you’ve been playing mostly the same set for a long time. What keeps it interesting for you?

Daniel Brandt: Our three-piece live set is based mostly on improvisation between the three of us, so while we sometimes add new tracks — it’s always improv-based. Even though we often play the same songs, it’s a different set each time, which keeps it interesting.

Along the same lines, it seems songs like “Bop” are going to stay with you forever. Do you want to keep playing and updating them or are you ready to retire them for new material?

With a song like “Bop,” it’s true that we have been updating and refining it since we’ve first started playing it, and we probably won’t be getting rid of it any time soon. But we’re now at a point where we’d like to do completely new things, and get rid of the older material to a degree. Of course we’ll keep some of the older material in our live sets, but we aren’t going to do any new versions of updates of “Bop.”

Working with the Ensemble means there are obviously a lot more moving parts — human ones at that — which you have to coordinate and rehearse, etc. Is the Ensemble something of a handbreak on your compositional creativity? It’s definitely an added challenge on top of your musical goals. How do you plan to challenge yourselves next?

The Ensemble isn’t a handbrake on our creativity, because the opportunity to work with new people brings a new set of perspectives; and the members of the Ensemble bring their own ideas to the project, which is a good thing. Now our new challenge will be do something different with the Ensemble, maybe something that is more rocking, more for the dance floor. We don’t really want to stick with the same concept with the Ensemble that we used on Mr. Machine; we’d like to be always trying new things with them. Right now we’re in a period just before starting to record new material, which will lead to us deciding how we’d like to present it live. Even with the three-piece, we’re looking at adding a live drummer and changing the way we perform. It’s all very open. The members of the Ensemble will definitely have input on the composition of the new material. Different members will be coming to the studio as we’re composing, and we would like for the composition process to be spontaneous.

In the classical world, groups are always playing other composers’ work. Do you see any connection to that in the reinterpretations BBF does of songs by Emika and Agnes Obel, which ended up on Mr. Machine?

There is some connection to that tradition, but at the same time, with the material that we covered on Mr. Machine, in a lot of cases we weren’t adhering so strictly to arrangement or even composition of the original. For example on the Emika track, we first made a remix (as a trio) using just the vocal from her original track. We made completely new music for the remix to place under her vocal. Then the version that appears on Mr. Machine is a new interpretation of that remix with the Ensemble. So it’s not quite the same as taking another composers work and playing it faithfully. Even on something like “606 ‘n’ Rock ‘n’ Roll,” where there aren’t vocals, we kept the rhythm and lead lines intact, but added more dynamics, the way the track slowly builds from the beginning to the end, whereas the original version was basically rocking from the first second.

Do you feel the versions of You Make Me Real songs on Mr. Machine are fuller interpretations of what you would have wanted to do on the first album, or just the adaptations for the full ensemble for playing live?

The new album isn’t what we wanted to do with You Make Me Real, we actually did everything for that album the way we wanted to do it in the first place. The Ensemble arrangements were made specifically for performing live, and we decided we would like to record them because they sounded quite different from the originals. We were quite happy with the results.

I’ve read you recorded the album with Rashad Becker. What was that experience like? Obviously his name is more often associated with mastering; was he mostly engineering?

Yes, we recorded with Rashad, and Axel [Reinemer] from Jazzanova. Rashad was mostly engineering, and also placing the microphones together with Axel. We also did a really long mixing session with Rashad, and he really knows what we wanted, but also has his own ideas about the music we play. So we generally came up with something between what we wanted and what he wanted, which made for the best results. We were sort of approaching things from a techno perspective, whereas he was looking at it from more of a modern classical perspective, and it was to the benefit of the album to have these different ideas and even some arguments. We get along very well, and it helped to have different perspectives. And of course his mastering and engineering expertise played a part as well.

Who did the artwork for this album? Was there anything you were trying to convey with it?

Mr. Machine is maybe the first half human/half robot on the planet, and we have all these body parts and are just putting them together, and they still work if you attach a battery. It’s about the line between real and technical, and Mr. Machine is all that at once. The idea came from a sign for an electrical supply shop or hardware store, which featured a hand with a light bulb as one finger, which served as the basis for the idea. A friend of ours, who also worked with us on the “Pretend” video, helped us construct the objects.

Whose idea was it to put 16 minutes of silence at the end of “606 ‘n’ Rock ‘n’ Roll”? Have you always been fans of Easter eggs/surprises on albums?

Yes, we have always been a fan of that sort of thing. Of course, it works better if you’re listening to the CD as a whole. We actually got an email from someone who had bought the album on iTunes, and thought something was wrong. But the idea that you could put the record on, and then you forget about it, and the music comes back again when you’re not expecting it is something that we liked. I don’t remember whose idea it was to begin with, though.

You personally have made several mentions of UK bass music and drum n’ bass as inspirational music. Those influences have seeped into a couple works, like your remix of Roman’s track. Is this something you look to incorporate more in the future?

Definitely. At the moment we are really inspired by these sorts of beats, and are working at recording drums and percussion that go in this direction. We even took certain tracks that we really liked and tried re-playing them, to get a feel for potential arrangements, and how to get the same power of some of the UK bass music we like. The next music that comes out from Brandt Brauer Frick will likely be influenced by that kind of music.

Where are you looking to take the BBF sound in the coming months? How much will you be utilizing the Ensemble in 2012?

We’ll keep on going with the Ensemble, and will continue to incorporate new music with them as well. The most recent show we had with them in Berlin was very encouraging, and we’re definitely excited to continue to work with them. But the first priority right now is changing the three-piece live act and maybe incorporating a visual element. I’ve been speaking with some artists who are interested in contributing on a visual level, so we have some exciting options there.

Tell us about the podcast you made.

The podcast is basically comprised of the music we’ve been listening to and inspired by over the last year. Half of it we recorded with vinyl, and half of it we put together in Ableton. We started it in Berlin, and actually worked on it on tour, especially one day in Austin. We had a day off, and worked on it on our computers in the hotel. Many of these tracks are our favorites from the last year.

[Secretsundaze]

The easy and popular thing for producers to do at the present is write a house track that references Chicago’s golden age by adopting its palette. Emulating the 707 drum kit, 808 claps and Juno-6 bass affords some of Chi-town’s gritty immediacy, although these sorts of tracks so often enter one ear and out the other, replaced by the next crop of epigones or someone’s vintage house collection. It behooves producers, then, to look past the building blocks and study the more intricate rhythm patterns in which they were originally used. Doing so might not yield something staggeringly original, but the results have a better chance of being memorable, especially among bland peers. UK duo Ethyl & Flori take this tact on their Shelter single for Secretsundaze.

Where previous E&F collaborations for Freerange Records, Quintessentials, and Fear of Flying landed on the functional side of deep-house, “Shelter” is altogether more lyrical and vintage sounding. It glides on the backs of swooping synth-strings and their mellifluous piano counterparts, but bears a toughness imparted by early Dance Mania-influenced percussion — an array of stop-start shakers, nagging hi-hats and shrugging tom patterns. This pairing seems to beckon to the weary with its melodies and protect them with drums, all while hearkening back to the time when Chicago’s well-loved club Shelter first existed. While veteran producer Rolando likely remembers that period, his remix is more contemporary and streamlined in nature. He breaks the original’s melodies into pieces that arise from a stream of insistent hand percussion and ostinato tones, occasionally congealing into the familiar motif. Shelter finds Ethyl & Flori exhibiting considerable growth as producers and provides for a broader range of jocks, continuing Secretsundaze’s run of quality singles since turning its focus to artist-led releases.

Tells us a bit about who you are and what you do for Smallville Records on a day-to-day basis.

Smallville is run by Julius Steinhoff and Just von Ahlefeld, also known as Smallpeople, and Pete Kersten, also known as Lawrence. Basically the Smallpeople run the everyday life at the Smallville record store: we sit in the shop to sell records, do the orders at the distributors, plan our parties and label projects from the store and pack orders from our online store. The shop is a place to hang out and meet people, to listen to and talk about music or start a track. But around Smallville is also a great gang of people who are part of it, working and helping out. It’s really a good bunch of people, like Stefan Marx, who is responsible for the complete visual side of Smallville; Jacques from Smallville Paris, who lives in Hamburg for some years now; Richard aka RVDS, who is running It’s and releasing good music, recently on Laid; Wiebke (aka Elin), who runs the party series Dear in Hamburg, Christian (aka Blessing) works in the store with us plus does the artwork for Laid; Helena Hauff is also working sometimes and is a great DJ. It also includes people like Christopher Rau and Tilman tausendfreund, who are friends and also help out if needed; and last but not least Stella, who lives in Berlin now but opened the store with us in 2005 and is a initiator and member since the very first thought about the store.

How did the Smallville record shop come about? When did you branch out with the Paris shop? And what spurred you to start releasing records?

Actually we just wanted a good spot in Hamburg, a shop and hangout. We didn’t really think about whether it would work or not, more just did it. And it worked, we’re doing good — actually better then ever before now. After six years of doing the shop, we know a bit more how everything works. We cannot offer every record that is out there and we don’t want to. We would rather take a large number of one record that we believe in to offer it in the store for a long time. We just made two people really happy a minute ago, because we still had Workshop 9.2 on stock. I guess it’s very good for the store to have a certain sound that we stand for and offer. It’s always the music we love the most, that we sell the most, even if it’s a wide range between deepest house and techno. But that is a good thing and a very important point for our good feeling in the store. The plan to release records and do a label, too, was there from the beginning — it just took a while to set up everything.

The Smallville shop in paris is run by Jacques who lives in Hamburg, but he’s doing the orders from here and visits Paris regularly. The Smallville shop there was originally initiated by Pantha Du Prince, who just stocked a lot of Dial stuff and some good records in a shop for clothes; and he found Jacques to help him out with the daily work in the shop. But meanwhile Smallville paris is integrated in another record store called ground Zero, which is cool. If you are in Paris, you should check it out at 23 Rue Sainte-Marthe, 75010 Paris — it’s nice and cosy.

For a while the label was very closely affiliated with Dial, to the point De:Bug felt it necessary to say “Smallville nicht Dial ist.” Was it difficult to establish the label as its own entity?

Well, actually not. Dial and Smallville are close together due to Pete, who co-owns both imprints, but Dial is 11 years old and smallville only six. The Smallville record store is kind of a Dial shop now, too, as we have the Dial/Laid warehouse in here. Maybe Dial and Smallville are like brother and sister in a way, but in the end still two different labels run by different people. We were not looking to divide it music-wise — this comes naturally — and it’s also natural that it’s still close together, working well with each other. But yeah, there are things in common — artists, sounds and everything — but mostly also the way we look at running a label: without any need to be functional or to fullfil any commercial purposes.

Smallville’s records are synonymous with the artwork of Stefan Marx. How was he first involved with the label and why was he chosen to visually represent the label?

Stefan is a fixed part of the Smallville family and a long-term friend of ours. He was working for Smallville since the very beginning — his first work was our small village logo and text. He’s responsible for every part of our visual body — record covers, party posters and the windows of our record store. Stella actually introduced us to Stefan before we opened the store and we were amazed by his stuff. Stefan also likes the freedom he has to do things. He also released on Smallville; Smallville 25 is from him, it’s called The Dead Sea, a three poster collection in a gatefold record sleeve. All in all, we believe it’s the best thing that could have happened to Smallville. we are very thankful to have him.

What is your A&R policy like these days? Are you mainly seeking out music from people close to you or are you open to demos? How did the Melchior & Pronsato record about?

The Melchior & Pronsato record actually just happened. We knew Bruno and Thomas before and Bruno once just told me they had two unreleased tracks and if I’d be interested to listen, as they like Smallville. Of course I was interested. We all liked the tracks, so we released them — it’s not a long story. But besides, that we must admit, we are not really listening to a lot of demos. There are just too many and unfortunately a lot of bad music that doesn’t fit at all. We got to listen to so much music every day and during the week, so we find it hard sometimes. Most of the Smallville releases came naturally through friendship and people around we knew and like or find interesting. For us it’s important to have a good feeling with the artist, too, and to be on the same wave length, doing it from the heart.

The label’s releases can generally be described as deep house music, but there have been some outliers — perhaps most notably STL’s “Silent State.” Are you looking for specific aesthetic choices to align with the Smallville sound or is it more a certain vibe you’re aiming for? Is there anything specific you won’t put out?

There is no certain aestethic we are looking for, or at least nothing that is verbalised. It’s really more the vibe, the feeling. If something fits Smallville, we will realize it quite fast.

Smallville has been around since 2006, and obviously the musical climate in house has changed a lot since then. How much do you feel the need — or even pressure — to respond to what’s popular at the moment or that year?

We don’t feel the need to respond to anything. I guess that’s important. Of course we are influenced in a way by what is around because we go to parties, clubs, places and cities, and play a lot, so that’s an influence. But not in a way to react on something “popular.”

How much input does the artists themselves have in the final product?

You mean the artwork? It is always an important step to visit Stefan Marx in his studio and to have a look at his works. After that the process comes naturally as there is a lot of inspiring stuff at Stefan’s studio. So artists can definitely take part in the process as long as they don’t want a surprise.

What is one of your favorite releases on Smallville? Why?

It’s a good feeling that we are still feeling all the releases, from the beginning until now. Standouts in terms of the label might have been the album by Move D & Benjamin Brunn, as it was out first album on Smallville. It’s really a timeless piece of music and we got a lot of so nice feedback from around the world. That was amazing to realize and it still makes us happy to see it on Smallville. We won’t forget when we first listened to it in the store. And the same with the “Silent State” track. This also got so much love from so many different camps. I still carrying it in my case wherever I play.

What are some labels, past and present, that have influenced how Smallville is run, and why?

Dial, Emphasis Recordings and FXHE! The first Omar-S records on FXHE were just coming out when we opened the record shop. We loved them a lot and also invited Omar-S to play in Hamburg a short while after. There are a lot of timeless tracks on these labels. Emphasis is the label from Steven Tang. Every record is great and these are always a good hint for people digging for records in the store. We bought a lot of these, so we can offer them as long as possible. Steven was also guest at our Smallville party series and it was great to finally meet him.

Is there anyone Smallville wants to release who it has not yet released? What are your plans for 2012?

The release of a Steven Tang record would be something truly great for Smallville. We are big fans. As for 2012, we are working on a Smallpeople album, hopefully for the first half of 2012. There is some really good stuff in the pipeline for the Smallville label.

Talking Shopcast 14: Smallpeople (67:17)

Tracklist:

01. STL, “Birdart” [Something]
02. Herbert & Dani Siciliano, “I Hadn’t Known (I Only Heard)” [Phonography]
03. Sun Glitters, “Beside Me” (Essáy’s Calm Interpretation) [Kann Records]
04. Ben Westbeech, “Hang Around” (Karizma’s Kaytronic Dub Mix)
[Brownswood Recordings]
05. Juniper, “Jovian Planet” [Ominira]
06. Smallpeople, “untitled” [white*]
07. Smallpeople, “Black Ice” [Smallville Records]
08. Capracara, “Flashback 86″ [Soul Jazz Records]
09. Tang, “Horizons” [Emphasis Recordings]
10. Glenn Underground, “Vision” (GU’s Original Instrumental)
[Strictly Jaz Unit Muzic]
11. Inner Sense, “Vibin” [9Ts Records]
12. Second Life, “Inner Love (Give It Up)” (Black Keys Rework) [Running Back]
13. Omar-S, “Phazed” [FXHE]
* denotes tracks which, as of the time of publishing, are unreleased

[Live At Robert Johnson]

Frankfurt producer Christian Beißwenger is a consummate team player. Since 2002 he’s been half of several production duos, most fruitfully as Arto Mwambe with Phillip Lauer, but also as High Tide with Lukas Bacsoka, The Exile Missile with Philipp Lange, and most recently B.H.F.V. with Oliver Hafenbauer, manager of Live At Robert Johnson. Beißwenger’s solo works appear more sporadically: his last CB Funk release, the sought-after Subway To Cologne 12″ for Story, arrived in 2008. While this year has seen him keeping busy with Arto Mwambe and working behind the scenes on records by Lauer and Ata, Beißwenger found time for a new CB solo project. The Citizen’s Band makes its debut on the white hot LARJ imprint with 77 Reasons.

Although Beißwenger’s catalog could hardly be described as staid, there’s a cheekiness to “West 42nd” that immediately distinguishes The Citizen’s Band’s material from the rest. Opening with an irreverent deployment of kick drums that could challenge even seasoned DJs, the tune becomes a head rush of effervescent tones that begin to streak as they hit warp speed and twinkle when slowing down. Fortified by playful, garage-influenced drum programming and sublime pads, “West 42nd” bustles with kinetic energy while whirling around listeners’ heads. The title track is slightly more conventional but just as accomplished, imbued with a similarly brazen spirit. Ear-catching tones flicker against a spectral slate of rippling organ tones before the track drops into a dogged, bass-aided groove. An early break lets the organ roam and triggers the bass line’s long-legged walk, setting off a dazzling blend of elements you’ll want to soak up with your eyes closed. 77 Reasons is not only Christian Beißwenger’s stunning return to solo releases, it’s perhaps the finest capstone LARJ could desire for a year of stellar releases.

It takes guts to name your house music project after one of the genre’s most revered records of all time. Jozef Lemmens and Pierre van der Leeuw, the Dutch duo who produce as Morning Factory, have more than intestinal fortitude — they have serious talent. After cultivating their musical tastes as record shop clerks and DJs across the span of two decades, the pair tried their hand at making the stuff in the mid-aughts. In 2010 their investments finally paid off when Yore Records and 20:20 Vision signed their first records, revealing a tech-edged house sound that has continued to evolve and take on new dimensions in their 2011 releases for Royal Oak, Fina Records and Pets Recordings. As one of house music’s most compelling new prospects, LWE tracked down Morning Factory to discuss their division of labor, their take on the Dutch dance scene, and the advice they would give young producers. They also provided us with our 105th exclusive podcast, a blistering 80 minutes of high quality house laced with vintage favorites and potential classics.

LWE Podcast 105: Morning Factory (79:48)

Tracklist:

01. Roc & Kato, “Jungle Kisses” (Club Kisses Mix) [E Legal]
02. Matthew Styles, “We Said Nothing”[Diamonds & Pearls Music]
03. Cassius vs Prince, “Untitled” [white]
04. The Mole, “Nervous Disid” [New Kanada]
05. Brotherhood, “Memorial Smith” (Daniel Stefanik’s Buki Good Remix)
[Kann Records]
06. Dimitri & Jaimy, “Waitress Of An Open Mind” [Outland Records]
07. Rob Mello, “No Ears Dub Debut” [Sublevel]
08. Russ Gabriel, “Back In Charge” [Soul On Wax]
09. Tan Ru, “Assembly” [Trelik]
10. James Duncan, “Yes I Can” [Real Soon]
11. Prassay, “One I Saw J.C” [Basenotic Records]
12. Kenny Dixon Jr., Winter Breeze” [Soul City]
13. J.T. Donaldson, “Make You Higher” [Pacific House Brand]
14. Jovonn, “Back To House” (Ian’s New Dub) [Underground Solution]
15. WK 7, “The Avalanche” [Power House]
16. Kramer, “Untitled” [white]
17. DJ Marcello Presents Barrington, “Generate Love” (Original IQ Mix)
[Secret Love Records]
18. Justin Vandervolgen, “Sheebooyah” [Golf Channel Recordings]
19. Egoexpress, “Weiter” (Antonelli Electr. Remix) [Ladomat 2000]

How did you two meet and begin producing together?

This must have been in the early 90s when we met as young kids in a record shop. Soon we became colleagues in that same record shop and worked there for many years. During this period, 1994 to late 2006 (when the shop went bankrupt ), we were part of a collective of like-minded souls and co-hosted numerous parties. Carl Craig, I-F, Erol Alkan, The Glimmers, Freddy Fresh, Charles Webster and the DMX Krew were just a few names on the long list of great artists we as part of this collective had the pleasure to invite and DJ with.

Anecdote: It seems that Francesco Tristano met Carl Craig for the first time at one of our parties. Francesco and a friend of his were there (we never met them though), which is quite funny in retrospect because this must have been one of the last parties we organized, in autumn 2005. Carl played an excellent set (still with vinyl in those years) and showed not only to be a pro but also a very warm and friendly person.

Actually, we never really had the urge to produce and we were quite happy working in the record shop, being part of this party collective and DJing ourselves all those years. But after the shop went bankrupt the crew slowly but surely fell apart with people choosing different paths in life. We got together and soon came to the conclusion that we could never live without electronic music and decided we were ready and up for a next challenge, and so a new chapter began.

Do either of you make solo productions as well?

Yes, although not for official output. Maybe someday we might, who knows? And if so, we will always hook up and ask each other for an opinion or advise. However all this is not a serious topic for us as our main focus is Morning Factory.

Is there a division of labor between you two in the studio? What does each of you bring to Morning Factory?

Joep is more the technical guy and makes the first sketches and we take it from there. JP gives the input to compliment the production process. From there we work on the tracks until we have a piece of music that we feel comfortable with, as we agreed not to release music which is not up to our own satisfaction.

Morning Factory is by all accounts a reference to the Ron Trent/Chez Damier track of the same name. How did that end up as the name for your project?

In our opinion Ron and Chez are among those few who truly can call themselves legends. Simply because they created honest and original music, not a style, not a genre, no hypes, no trends. You still feel that today. Their track “Morning Factory” was and still is a firm favorite of ours; that is why we choose the name. Mind, we don’t compare ourselves with Ron and Chez, neither do we want to copy their sound, which would be impossible anyway. What we do is follow our heart, try to aim for the best we can possibly be, listen, learn, love and enjoy all this great music which is still around, old and new.

Earlier this year you posted a photo of your studio which was quite crowded with gear. With all that gear and only two years of releases, how long have you been producing?

Oh yes, that one! Haha, we have to be honest here, it’s not ours! Both the picture and the gear belong to Jean-Michel Jarre (another legend). Our studio is not like that. We use software technology which can be at your fingertips nowadays as a substitute to all that great vintage equipment, which we still love.

How much sampling do you guys do?

Every now and than we sample some things out of old records, not too much though.

How did you first get connected with Yore and 20:20 Vision? What about Clone?

Yore began by sending a friendly e-mail through Myspace to Gerd Janson from Running Back, which is a favorite label of ours. He almost immediately responded and said there wasn’t any room for us at RB (as we expected) but that we should try Yore. So we did, rest is history.

20:20 Vision is a label we started to follow from day one. We did send them some tracks after we noticed Ralph Lawson charted our first EP (Forgotten Moments on Yore). Ralph Lawson and Andy Whittaker personally replied within 24 hours. Together we compiled the Dazin’ EP, a double pack. Ralph and the whole 20:20/FINA crew are great people, they don’t push us or tell us what to do. Music-wise we are free to do what we feel. Hope we can give them some fresh music soon.

Serge from Clone, a man we didn’t knew in person but respected deeply for his Clone achievements, sent us an e-mail to congratulate us on the aforementioned Dazin’ EP. We were quite surprised as we never dared to send our music to Clone, thinking it wasn’t good enough for the label quality-wise. So when we had some new tracks we were bold and just sent them to Serge and that’s how the edit for Reggie Dokes’ “Once Again” and Fantasy Check on Clone/Royal Oak came about. It speaks for itself that we are very proud to be a little part of that big Clone history. We would love to stick around Clone.

The Dutch house/techno scene of which you are a part has been particularly strong over the last few years. Why do you think it’s been fertile ground for so much good dance music? What are your favorite parts of the scene?

True, the Dutch house/techno scene seems to be blossoming. In a way it always has, from the late 80s up to now, but not always in a true and cutting edge way. It was either very clubby or gabber, nothing in-between. Now people take notice of producers who have been ignored for many years. However, as strange as it may sound, we don’t consider us a part of this so this called Dutch scene. We both live in a small town all the way down the south of Holland, tucked in between Belgium and German borders, which are both literally a 10-minute car drive from our homes. Of course we did and still follow what is happening “up there.” Clone, Rush Hour and Delsin are true innovators, but when it comes to influences we have say that they came and for the bigger part still come from Germany, Belgium, France and the UK rather than Holland. Besides that, foreign countries were picking us up from almost scratch and up. Until now, Serge was the only one in Holland who was giving us faith and props.

Who are some some of your production contemporaries you admire and why?

Always tricky to namedrop because you always forget the ones who deserve a big shout out, respect and love too. In Holland we really dig I-F, Duplex, Newworldaquarium, Alden Tyrell, Conforce, Delta Funktionen, Gerd, Tom Trago and Dexter. Outside our country the list is almost endless: Cosmin TRG, Lone, Kassem Mosse, Jacob Korn, Omar-S, Benjamin Brunn, Vakula, Ripperton, Gavin Russom, Space Diminsion Controller, Wbeeza, Actress, Linkwood, Untold…

What is the best advice you’ve received with regards to making music? What advice of your would you give to up-and-coming producers?

Simply that there are no rules in making music, just do as you feel like, make mistakes and don’t be scared making them. Music was never meant to be perfect or sound like this or that. Go with whatever happens in making a track — it’s a small journey, enjoy it! When you are too focused on a certain sound or goal on what the track should sound like you can miss all the nice and spontaneous things that happen in a production process. We noticed all the times that we want to create a smooth track it can turn out raw and nasty. So, we just go with the flow and things can just fall into place. We try to keep an open mind about the whole process.

What’s coming up from you two over the next 12 months?

We just finished a remix for Gerd’s 4 Lux label and really looking forward to continue our work with Clone/Royal Oak. The rest is open and we’ll see what the future has in store, no master plan here.

When you’re away from the gear and turntables, what do you do for fun?

We love to cook and eat, catch some movies with a preference for the lesser known and more obscure, read a good book, wine tasting (not connoisseurs though), going on a bike ride or a run in the hilly countryside, architecture, and browsing Discogs

[Lick My Deck]

Thomas Melchior’s once restrained release schedule, which only occasionally exceeded one record per year, befit a master of patient, subtle grooves. But in the wake of his landmark 2007 sophomore album, No Disco Future, the gaps between Melchior releases have shortened considerably. Not only has the period given birth to the Cinderfella alias, it’s seen Melchior venturing further afield from his home base at Perlon (while still contributing two EPs to the storied label) and rejoining his Soul Capsule collaborator, Baby Ford, for two new singles on the renewed Trelik imprint. One wonders, though, if the lengthy gestations of his releases were actually to their benefit. Because as exciting as it’s been to receive a flood of new Melchior material, the unrivaled quality associated with his name has dipped significantly. Where even his most reduced tracks once hypnotized while sounding effortless, many of his current works have lacked that earworming quality and feel somewhat half-baked. For all its lengthy repetition, the same fate befell his Latin-themed 2010 single Apariciones for Lick My Deck. Apariciones Reworked aims to inject some magic back into the original tracks with remixes by Melchior’s long time friends Baby Ford and Ricardo Villalobos.

Some may be surprised that both veteran producers opted to refine Melchior’s originals rather than transform them more radically. This speaks to either the level of respect they have for the source material or a lack of better ideas. In the case of Baby Ford’s “Cinza De Fenix,” the former rings truest as he focuses on making the track more immediate. The original’s snorting, unkempt organ riff is pushed to the front to wriggle like a marionette in the thicket of bloops and clinking percussion, making it much harder to ignore but not much more interesting. The newly plucked bass line, however, is a winning addition, as its distended notes open up a great deal of space in the busy track. Villalobos’ remix pulls “Todo Mundo” out of the haunted house and into the mirrored fun house, shedding many of the cacophonous percussive elements along the way. Instead he reaches for a crisp, bass-gulping beat upon which the original’s Spanish vocals have their pitches bent and their speeds tweaked. While his version is less cluttered or demanding, it feels as if the venerable producer ran out of steam before he had the chance to make a memorable contribution. It becomes the kind of track you’d find Villalobos using in his DJ sets as a base layer for more arresting material, which would an enviable position for any less established producer but seems like a punt for his own remix. Although fans of the original Apariciones will likely enjoy this vibe-extending remix package, it offers relatively little of the awe-inspiring creativity which once established these three producers as leaders in their genre.