Though their records are some of the most cutting edge stuff coming out these days, Kassem Mosse and Mix Mup are techno atavists. This is easy to guess just from hearing their music: Kassem Mosse’s tracks have the dusty, rough edged feel of an all-analog set-up, while Mix Mup’s material is consistently raw and clangy, with his own New Wave vocals giving it all a charming whiff of throw-back. Of the all the musical sentiments the two producers share, one of the most potent is their longing for a time (namely, the 90’s) when nightclubs provided an outlet for more challenging, un-danceable electronic music. This is the raison d’être behind Chilling the Do, a musical project that combines records, field recordings and mixed media snippets to gleefully antagonistic effect. LWE Podcast 33 offers an exclusive and abridged version of what the duo might unfurl in a nightclub over the course of several hours. It’s dark, campy yet deeply compelling, and as they’ll be the first to admit, not for everyone.
Author Archive: Will Lynch
LWE Podcast 32: Shaun Reeves
The first time I saw Shaun Reeves DJ, it was on iTunes. I was at the Marcy Hotel in Brooklyn, interviewing his roommate and DJ partner Seth Troxler, when Shaun introduced me to what immediately became one of my favorite house tracks: Nick Holder’s “Feelin’ Sad.” Seth asked if I had ever heard Shaun DJ, and I said I hadn’t. He gave me a knowing look and said “He’s the best.” Across the room, Lee Curtiss nodded in firm agreement. Knowing Shaun only by his terrific edit of Wolf + Lamb’s “If U Had,” I was intrigued. I didn’t get to see him behind the decks until a few months later, at his birthday party in some smoky New York basement. Right away I knew Seth and Lee weren’t kidding; Shaun’s mixing style was amazing, full of deft sleights of hand and perfectly executed blow-up moments. Though a bit subtler than his set that night, LWE’s 32nd podcast has the same impressive qualities, showcasing the sense of groove and flawless track selection that make Shaun a favorite in Berlin lofts and underground clubs around the world.
Bruno Pronsato, The Make Up The Break Up
About this time back in 2007, Bruno Pronsato was finishing up his debut album, Why Can’t We Be Like Us, and struggling to fit in one final song: an epic, electronic ballad called “The Make Up The Break Up.” It was an especially compelling track, and Pronsato did everything he could to fit it onto the album, but in the end it was just too long and had to be left out. Why Can’t We Be Like Us dropped at the end of the year — promptly receiving a deluge of praise — and “The Make Up The Break Up” remained a work-in-progress, appearing only in scattered cameos throughout his live sets.
Little White Earbuds Interviews Seth Troxler
In the mostly faceless world of techno, a little bit of character can go a long way. This explains, at least in part, Seth Troxler’s speedy and seemingly effortless rise in the international house and techno scene. Musically and personally, he has a lot more charisma than the average DJ/producer (and for those of you who haven’t already heard it a dozen times, he’s a 23 year old Michigan native currently DJing full time in Berlin, which in this culture earns him quite a few cool points). I found Seth in the shadowy back room of The Marcy Hotel, fully reclined on a dirty sofa with his head cradled in a girl’’s lap, smoking a joint. He looked pretty relaxed, but sprung duly to his feet when I said I was here for the interview in anticipation for his appearance at Electric Zoo Labor Day Weekend. We moved to a room with more sufficient lighting, and Seth gave me an earful about his background, his goals as an artist, and the downside to DJing in Berlin.
LWE 2Q Reports: Top 5 Downloads
2009: Another year, another plethora of podcasts. Lots of amazing freebies have come out since the beginning of the year, and though many of them are nothing to write home about, quite a few are really exceptional. In addition to LWE’s nifty collection, you’ve got mnml ssgs churning out heady techno gems on a weekly basis and RA raising the bar higher than ever before (DJ Koze’s podcast still hasn’t lost its magic). But really, who’s got time for all this? With each one at least an hour long and weighing something near 100mb, the sheer volume of content means a lot of great stuff just falls by the wayside. So to help you sort through all this noise, here are five mixes you won’t regret right-clicking and saving-as.
V/A, Enjoy the Silence Vol. 1
Back in the summer of 2007, Chris Mann began his review of the Soul Jazz Box of Dub with the following statement: “Most compilations are like group photos: someone always has their eyes closed.” I find this usually tends to be true, and never more so than on Mule Electronic’s Enjoy The Silence Vol. 1. This collection of ambient music by house and techno producers ranges from excellent to completely boring, with typically impressive names falling into both camps. All in all, it is a pretty dull release, despite a few strong moments.
LWE Podcast 21: Le K
Hailing from the city of Perpignan, Sylvain Garcia, aka Le K, exemplifies the curveball of French underground producers. In terms of style, he fits in the same milieu as compatriots dOP and Noze, favoring floppy, organic sounds, and a playfully anti-purist attitude. In the past few years, he’s released records on Circus Company, Thema, and Feinwerk, and has remixed artists like Scott and Paul Frick. As this exclusive mix reflects, his unique personality and focus on eclecticism set him apart as a truly original, and truly French house artist.
LWE’s Mutek 10 Round Up
Each year at the end of May, thousands of somber looking people wearing muted tones descend on Montreal for Mutek, a festival celebrating electronic music performance. It’s one of the most important electronic music festivals in the world, and along with Movement, one of the two biggest in North America. In some respects, it offers a counterpoint to Movement. Kicking off only a week after the Detroit festival ends, Mutek focuses on electronic performance of all kinds, including the avant-garde, while Movement is primarily a festival for dance music. Furthermore, Movement is characterized by swarms of DJs at official and unofficial parties, while Mutek encourages artists to perform live rather than DJ. This makes for a rather unique experience for electronic music fans who rarely get to see and hear their favorite artists playing their own songs. Which isn’t to say the festival looks down on DJing as an art form. Rather, Mutek strives to offer a panoramic view of everything going on in electronic music today, from ambient drones to schaffel beats and everything in between. For their 10th anniversary, Mutek pulled out all the stops and put on a truly exceptional festival, affirming their position as one of the best music festivals worldwide.
Wolf + Lamb, Brooklynn EP
For the past couple years or so, Gadi Mizrahi and Zev have been two of Brooklyn’s key house entrepreneurs. Under the moniker Wolf + Lamb they DJ parties, produce tracks, and release records by themselves and some close friends, all from a dingy art space in Williamsburg known as The Marcy Hotel. Their most recent release, the aptly titled “Brooklynn EP,” finds Wolf + Lamb poised for a breakthrough as a production team and label.