[Brontosaurus] As much as I love Beatport, I rarely find myself trusting the playlists they hype or the people who binge on them. But sometimes you’re really bored at work and Beatport slips you an email of staff recommendations; you just have to look. Among other things, label manager Dave suggested “Ombala Mbembo” by Arto […]
Author Archive: Steve Mizek
Pan-Pot, Charly
September 11, 2007 – 6:18 AM
[Mobilee] As the year wanes on, I’ve briskly approached my limit for tracks with pitched-down, sinister sounding vocals. “Where We At”: Epic, poignant and hugely enjoyable all at once. “R U OK?” Musically not my bag, but I guess the scene needed something to put a little pause in the debauchery. “The Grass is Always […]
Paul Ritch, Back To the Time
September 10, 2007 – 4:34 AM
[Fumakilla] I was first introduced to the music of Paul Ritch during Luciano’s consciousness-expanding set at DEMF. But because his track was woven so tightly into Lucien’s performance, I had only a rough picture of what Ritch was all aurally all about. Luckily he’s provided many chances to clear things up with seven releases so […]
LWE Interviews Mark August
September 7, 2007 – 4:55 AM
Download: Mark August’s exclusive LWE mix What was your first techno/house record? Mark August: That was Leftism by Leftfield. I was a typical grunge-kid at the time: Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Helmet, NIN, Pearl Jam; I had also long hair in a ponytail and was wearing yellow Doc Martens. Somehow Underworld made it in our friends’ […]
Among friends
August 27, 2007 – 2:07 AM
My Ripperton feature is now up on RA. This piece was — for one reason or another — months in the making, so I’m glad it’s finally available for all to read. It’s Ripperton’s first English interview/feature and I’m proud to say I was on the other end of the phone. Danton Eeprom, “Ableton & […]
SuperMayer capers
August 22, 2007 – 4:51 PM
I’ll skip the brief history of Superpitcher and Michael Mayer (Teleosteopathy beat me to the punch) and get right down to it: If these singles are any indication, SuperMayer’s album, Save the World, is not going to be for everyone despite the wide swath of sound it attempts to cover. Enthusiasts of loopy, trance-informed techno […]
Tuck it in
August 21, 2007 – 2:41 AM
M. Rahn, “Stryx 08” [SIXONESIX] Sometimes it’s best to play it simply and to the point, as M. Rahn does here on his Stryx Sessions release for net label, SIXONESIX. Gaseous synthy plumes are chipped away at by the binary counter-melody below, like a toothier Maurizio track with handclaps; or perhaps B12 stuck in Earth’s […]
Chain of command
August 14, 2007 – 3:40 PM
Ed Davenport, “Eye Speak” [liebe*detail] (buy) The sheer rattle of this track is what instantly draws you in. Its handclaps clatter so hard they might have been done by a line of deep house robots and provide added texture to the single-minded synth ripple. And while I love the porous melody which occasionally floats into […]
Michael Fakesch, Dos
August 10, 2007 – 3:38 AM
Michael Fakesch was one half of the German IDM duo, Funkstörung, until their demise in 2006. While my exposure to them was admittedly limited, I had enough of an impression in my mind that Dos, Fakesch’s first output since the split, took me completely by surprise. Like the intertwined cover graphics, Fakesch’s second album is […]
Dimitri From Paris, Presents Cocktail Disco
June 12, 2007 – 8:48 PM
The first in a series of album and single reviews I’ve been meaning to do since April. For one example of what’s kept me busy in-between, check out my feature on Digitalism, now up on RA. Now that demand for lounging jazz/exotica house is hovering above “straight-to-the-discount bin,†Dimitri From Paris has got a bit […]
Agent Orange, Suspect Red
June 7, 2007 – 5:52 AM
Peace to Rayna Modifyer for her contributions to this post. Henrichs & Hirtenfellner, “Violet Rain” [KarateKlub] Jamie Woon, “Wayfaring Stranger” (Burial mix) [Live Recordings]
Dixon, Body Language Vol. 4
May 4, 2007 – 6:34 AM
Berlin DJ/producer and Innervisions co-owner Dixon (aka Steffen Berkhahn) is the fourth producer to helm Get Physical’s Body Language mix series and the first not to have a release with the label. It makes sense, then, that Dixon’s contribution is also the most likely to catch the ear of the crossover crowd occasionally meandering into […]
Matthew Dear live @ the Empty Bottle
April 23, 2007 – 12:54 AM
It’s probably rash of me to make a judgment like this; but even without hearing Asa Breed, Matthew Dear’s forthcoming album on Ghostly International, as a finished product, I’m ready to give it the crown of crossover album of the year. Last night Matthew Dear’s Big Hands (aka Dear with a drummer and bassist) made […]
Antibalas, Security
February 5, 2007 – 3:50 PM
With all the rhythm coursing through the members of Antibalas and their music, it makes sense for the group’s sound to likewise stay in motion. From its inception Antibalas has been an American take on Nigerian Afrobeat, one that’s been further and further refined with each subsequent release. Security, the band’s fourth full-length album, dances […]
Kaskade, Love Mysterious
November 27, 2006 – 5:59 AM
Though Ryan Raddon (a.k.a. Kaskade) is best known for colorful, poppy house music, his well-traveled career and A&R work play as much a role in his new album as his characteristic sound. Born and raised in Chicago, cutting his teeth DJing in Salt Lake City and establishing a home base in San Francisco, Raddon has […]