Welcome to the fifth edition of our series of short interviews affectionately titled Talking Shop. The majority of media and fan attention gets showered on the artists who create the music we love to listen to/DJ with/dance to, and for good reasons. But without the hard work, keen ears and business savvy of label staff, […]
Author Archive: Steve Mizek
Little White Earbuds Interviews MyMy
May 22, 2008 – 10:01 PM
Three cool cats: (L-R) Lee Jones, Carsten Klemann and Nick Höppner. Photo by Katja Jaruge My My approach house and techno with artisians’ flair, crafting aural mosaics from hundreds of little sounds glued atop engaging melodies. You can listen closely and admire all the details slipped into every crevice or step back into the crowd […]
Osborne, Osborne
May 18, 2008 – 10:09 PM
[Spectral Sound] Todd Osborn is a born tinkerer, a guy who wants nothing more than to crack open the nearest electronic device to see how it works and, if possible, how to improve it. The trait is essential in his stint as an airline mechanic and at home, where he dissects computers, software, synthesizers (which […]
Art Bleek, Euphorized
May 13, 2008 – 9:19 PM
[Connaisseur Recordings] Name recognition is a big deal. The deluge of releases landing on stores’ shelves and into my inbox, often from unknown labels and artists, grows ever larger each month. So while I take plenty of chances when deciding what to audition, occasionally the comforts of a familiar name help narrow the playlist quicker […]
Lee Jones, As You Like It
May 12, 2008 – 9:40 PM
[Aus Music] Since the beginning of my techno/house tenure I’ve been a huge Lee Jones fan. As the driving force behind My My’s Songs for the Gentle album he fused tiny fragments of sound into a cohesive aural statement which displayed how unexpectedly vibrant micro house could be. His arranging style carried over well to […]
Norman Nodge/Samuli Kemppi, Berghain 02|Part II
May 8, 2008 – 9:43 PM
Photo by Eric Phillips [Ostgut Ton] Each new release from Ostgut Ton builds on an already impressive list of accomplishments, of which becoming an underground multimedia empire is only one. Graduating from 12″ singles, double packs and compilations to albums (Prosumer & Murat Tepeli’s irresistible Serenity) proved the still fresh-faced label’s keen A&R eye (not […]
Sensitiva, Mimosa
May 8, 2008 – 12:28 AM
[100% Pure] While I can’t say I know the man personally, Tobi Neumann strikes me as a social animal, one for whom collaboration trumps solitude any day. He earned his stripes producing for electroclash pioneers Chicks on Speed, Peaches, Miss Kitten and 2Raumwohnung before moving on to more techno/house-oriented pastures. There he teamed with Ricardo […]
Daso & Pawas, Det
May 6, 2008 – 10:01 PM
[Spectral Sound] So far the partnership of Daso Franke and Pawas Gupta has proven fruitful. Beginning with their “Night Express EP” for Flash Recordings and continuing on “KKB,” the bubbling builder which stood tallest on the Spectral Sound “Dintf EP,” the pair has definitely shown artistic chemistry. But whereas previous collaborations were primed and ready […]
Ed Davenport, Tillmans Uninfluence/Apples
May 4, 2008 – 9:13 PM
[Gumption Recordings] Listening to “Tillmans Uninfluence/Apples,” the latest release from London-based producer Ed Davenport, I can’t help but think he’s the UK’s fresh-faced answer to Boris Steffen, better known as Jichael Mackson. They share an affinity for producing tracks which jauntily tread the fine line between functionality and bedroom listening, and both utilize odd samples […]
LWE Podcast 02: dOP
May 1, 2008 – 10:12 PM
Theirs for the taking: dOP hangs out. Photo by Myqua. Parisian trio dOP doesn’t DJ, rarely spends time in clubs, prefers physical instruments to VSTs, and writes “songs,” not “tracks.” Perhaps their outsiders’ instincts are exactly why Damien Vandesande, Jonathan “Jo” Illel and Clement Zemstov are poised on the cutting edge of house/techno, though their […]
Klockworks, Klockworks 03
April 30, 2008 – 9:13 PM
[Klockworks] Ben Klock’s Klockworks moniker/label rarely comes out to play, emerging only once a year since 2006 to showcase the Berghain resident’s experimentally-minded techno tracks. The first paired the dribbling pitches and gulping vocals of “Glimmerman (Part One)” with the slightly more raving “Glandula Piti.” The starkness of the second’s “Onyx” and glancing tones of […]
Sect, Sect 1
April 27, 2008 – 9:50 PM
[Sect Records] A few weeks ago an inconspicuous package appeared on my desk at work with a return address from über-retailers Juno and “Sect” emblazoned below my name. I shook out a plain white CD sleeve containing a disc marked “Sect 1” and nothing else. Usually whoever sent the promo is overeager to wax poetic […]
Henrik Schwarz & Kuniyuki, The Session
April 24, 2008 – 9:31 PM
[Mule Musiq] Usually the phrase “jam session” conjures mental images of hippies, bongos and rooms thick with marijuana smoke. But despite the aimless connotations, long and improvised sessions are how a number of great techno/house musicians find their signature grooves which are then whittled into tracks. Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer, Ricardo Villalobos and a […]
Kevin Saunderson, History Elevate 3
April 23, 2008 – 10:21 PM
[KMS] While parsing through a slightly heated discussion over whether Kevin Saunderson’s recent RA podcast — packed with poppy cuts and mixed with CDs/Ableton — had stained his legendary status, one post stood out to me. The author reminded the participants that Saunderson’s long career took place both above ground and underground, so it shouldn’t […]
Intrusion, Intrusion/Reflection
April 22, 2008 – 10:16 PM
[echospace [detroit]] Given the wobbly state of music distribution after the shuttering of Syntax, Amato and Watts Music and a dollar value which shrivels daily next to the euro, Detroit/Chicago-based label echospace can be forgiven for being stingy on new releases. Echospace released the majority of its catalog last year as well, which makes this […]
Oracy, Rewound
April 20, 2008 – 8:57 PM
[Mojuba] Whoever hides behind the Oracy moniker has done a fantastic job of evading the press; so in lieu of any relevant biographical information, here’s the definition of “oracy”: the ability to express oneself in and understand spoken language. Use it to poke fun at your friends’ and enemies’ intelligence! As with their first two […]
Talking Shop with Moodmusic
April 17, 2008 – 10:16 PM
Welcome to the fourth edition of our series of short interviews affectionately titled Talking Shop. The majority of media and fan attention gets showered on the artists who create the music we love to listen to/DJ with/dance to, and for good reasons. But without the hard work, keen ears and business savvy of label staff, […]
Martin Buttrich, Stoned Autopilot
April 14, 2008 – 9:24 PM
[Planet E] Though it was considered one of 2007’s decent sized hits, the lack of nuance and by-the-numbers minimal arrangement of Martin Buttrich’s “Hunter” 12″ caught me off guard. After the aptly-titled “Well Done,” “Cloudy Bay” and the ubiquitous “Full Clip,” all of which were deftly chiseled and fitting of Buttrich’s production pedigree, I felt […]
Claro Intelecto, Metanarrative
April 10, 2008 – 10:11 PM
[Modern Love] One characteristic of Claro Intelecto’s music I admire most is its immediacy and visceral structure. You’ll never need a music composition degree to untangle vast webs of overly complicated arrangements to find something to connect with. Starting with his 2004 Neurofibre album for Ai Records, Intelecto (aka Mark Stewart) put forth tunes whose […]