This is not Mr. Lynch, mercifully.

Hiya. My name is Will. I’ve always been somewhat of a music nerd. Between the ages of 12 and 16, my favorite bands were KMFDM and Rammstein, which I consider to be some kind of strange foreshadow to my current obsession with German techno. When I was 18, I worked as music director at my college’s radio station, which introduced me to a cannon of extremely impressive and important music and at the same time made it painfully clear just how dead rock really is. After waffling through a couple years of musical disillusionment, I finally stumbled upon dance music in all its hedonistic glory — first at Coachella festival, then at Daft Punk in NYC, and then finally in Berlin, where it only took one weekend to seal the deal.

Now I’m 22, I’ve just graduated college, and I spend all my free time DJing and learning everything I can about new music. I do a bi-weekly radio show with my girlfriend, and I’m trying to do as much writing as possible. As a rookie techno writer, I’m very appreciative (and very much in need) of feedback, so feel free to let it rip when it comes to commenting on my pieces. I’m very excited to be doing this, and hope I make a solid contribution to such a formidable blog.

And I might as well throw in: My favorite authors are Tolstoy, Philip Roth, William Burroughs and Gunter Grass (although I relate to Bret Easton Ellis characters much more than I’d like to); my favorite director is David Cronenburg; I used to be Hulk Hogan’s neighbor; my uncle blew the whistle on the Enron scandal; and a guy once got my full name tattooed on his arm in act of pointless spontaneity.

Cheers,

Will Lynch

[Cassy] (buy vinyl) (buy vinyl)

Panoramabar’s go-to artist Cassy Britton has spent the last few years carving out a totally distinctive sound. 2006’s first installment on her self-titled label had seeds of it and 2007’s “Somelightuntothenight,” probably her breakthrough track, defined it. Cassy’s last release, “A Poem For You,” brought things to a whole new level. For an EP that seemed to contain such a shallow sound palette, it was gobsmacking just how deep it went. Somehow the absence of bass and the fact that you could put the needle anywhere on the record hasn’t stopped “Giving It Up” and “Poem” (on Uzuri) from being two of the most engrossing tracks to appear anywhere so far this year. This must surely have been down to the unbelievably delicate construction of the stripped down house groove and the equally perfect pairing of Cassy’s sensitive vocal.

“Idle Blues,” the second output on Cassy, has both these elements in abundance but puts a little more juice into the low end. Its friendly groove sounds a little influenced by the deep and bumpy vibe that Workshop, the label affiliated with Hardwax record store (where Cassy also works), has been pushing. If “Poem” with a little more kick to it sounds like just the thing to you, well, it sure does to me too. “April,” the b-side, is a bit more micro. It’s closer to her Perlon EPs than her Uzuri single, and stretches out longer than “Idle Blues,” coming in at eight minutes and change. Harmonies aren’t the name of the game here, but instead the illusion that a few slightly incompatible grooves have been sandwiched together is skillfully created. This is a track rich in emotional content rather than than hip-swaying ease, but repeated listening reveals this not to be folly. If “Idle Blues” is the popular kid in class who you make friends with easily, “April” is definitely the slightly awkward dweeb who proves endlessly rewarding to talk to when after you’ve put a little effort in. Have I used the word gobsmacking yet? (post by Colin Shields)

MyMy member and quality producer/DJ in his own right, Nick Höppner, kindly assembled this mix exclusively for LWE.

Download: LWE Podcast 03: Nick Höppner (75:00)

Tracklisting:

01. DJ P. Funk, “Can’t Boogie” [Strength Music]
02. Manmadescience, “Smoke” [Philpot]
03. Eric Kupper presents K-Scope, “Deepest Desire” [Nite Grooves]
04. Brothers’ Vibe, “Cuero Parami Gente” (Altered Vibe Mix) [Jersey Underground]
05. Yann Solo, “Bordeline” [Arearemote]
06. The Persuader, “What’s The Time, Mr. Templar?” [Svek]
07. The Mole, “Alice, You Need Him” [Wagon Repair]
08. Minilogue, “Doiicie A” [Minilogue]
09. Tony Lionni, “Papaia” [Versatile]
10. MyMy, “Day For Night” [Playhouse]
11. Itamar Sagi, “Black Gold” (Chymera Remix) [Be As One]
12. Jeroen, “Partial Simulation” [Cache]
13. Grimes Adhesif, “Fearless Fun” (Efdemin’s Confused Live Jam) [Petite]
14. Tsu, “Take Control” [Cool Play]
15. Forces Of Nature, “Afroshock” (Broken Rule Remix) [Headinghome Recordings]
16. Idjut Boys & Quakerman, “Copulating Drum” [Glasgow Underground]

Check out an interview with Mr. Höppner after the jump. Read more »

[Moonpool] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)

Since starting Meerestief Records in 2002, managers Walter Ercolino and Daniela Stickroth have kept busy by expanding into online radio, a booking agency and three sub-labels (Meerestief Rot, Limited and Digital). With Alex Niggemann and Marc Poppcke’s “L’aurora,” the Stuttgart-based label welcomes its fourth sublabel offspring, Moonpool, to the family. Focused on the “house sound of the second half of this decade,” Moonpool makes a sizable splash for its first time out of the gates, even fielding remixes from Swiss sensation Agnès and English techno luminary, Russ Gabriel.

Brief and obscure discographies mean “L’aurora,” a finely constructed and whimsical tune, can potentially be Niggemann and Poppcke’s early claim to fame, at least more than that eye-catching name. From beneath a popping clave/tom beat swells a vivacious raft of strings to pluck tension into the long decaying dub stabs and usher in a dramatic and airy breakdown. Russ Gabriel’s more varied remix adds low end and bends original motifs into a descending progression bouncing from synth to synth, like a body builder showing off each set of painstakingly shaped muscles. But the standout track comes from Agnès. His “Chicago Take” pegs the reverberating stabs to the swinging beat,  peppers the underlying swells with fragmented female vocals, and pushes the pulse-quickening string crescendos to accent the tune’s many crests and peaks. Fans of the Diynamic sound, dub-influenced tech-house and Chicago pioneers Ron Trent and Chez Damier all have something to cheer about with Moonpool’s fantastic first single.

[KMS] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s tk)

Fans of this website are no doubt aware of the remix series which has seen a host of modern techno and house luminaries breathe fresh life into classic Kevin Saunderson productions on KMS. “History Elevate” has given our ears a few sensational pieces of music, some of which may indeed emerge as classics in their own right. These mixes couldn’t have arrived at a better time to pose interesting questions about the role of Detroit in forging the template of modern techno. A lot of neo-Detroit records have hit the bins in the past few years, many of which have been fashionable pastiche paying homage to the idea of Detroit techno while failing to innovate in the way the originals did. For reference, see Don Williams, “Detroit Red” — more or less a bare bones tool with a basic beat and vocal repeating “the city of Detroit” — which nevertheless seemed to generate buzz on the ‘net. In fact, it’s noteworthy that many of the best reworks have jettisoned most of the original elements for almost entirely new tracks: Mathew Jonson’s take on Inner City’s “Good Life,” already discussed in these pages, is a clear example.

Read more »

[Slutfunk Records] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s tk)

Here’s a bold move: launching your spanking new label with a young turk’s vinyl debut. That’s just what Zurich-based Slutfunk Records has done with the first entry in its catalog, the “Flash Royal EP” by hitherto unknown, Andri. But given founder Disco Dave’s long partnership with Ibiza superclub Privilege and his ownership of DJ gear shop Jackpoint, identifying worthy tracks and artists should be the easy part. It seems his confidence has paid off, as Andri’s four track debut offers a surprisingly well defined micro/minimal sound recalling Melchior Productions soaked in youth.

One unfortunately common pitfall of the micro/minimal intersection is the tendency to stuff tracks full of incongruous samples in order to distinguish it from other similarly bland tracks (”mine is the one with the car back-firing, the baby coos and stapler crunching, holla!”). Andri largely avoids overdulgence which is distinguishing enough, instead finding natural unused corners to shelve purposeful shards to help pull the song through grooves. The rampant percussion of “Strutter” gains great presence from a flaring bass line and bugged out keyb stabs. “Bounzer” rides a lean and scraping rhythm into storm cloud synths, barely making its way through uneventful conversation snippet breakdown. Andri looks to Cajmere for the bubbly thrust of “Jack Is Back,” replete with knobby three note melody. Perhaps the most reminiscent of Thomas Melchior is the humming, offhand vocal-sampling “Ala Bass,” even if its number of elements is swollen with inexperience. Still, Andri shows a good of deal of promise on his first time out, as does Slutfunk’s ear for talent. Yet another reason to keep your eyes and ears on Switzerland.

[Perlon] (buy vinyl) (buy vinyl)

Far be it from me to challenge the stated aspirations of Ricardo Villalobos, but I find myself increasingly skeptical of his search “for the perfect club track” with each of his new releases. Which isn’t to say his tracks don’t stir dancers to hollering peaks; one needs only to witness the sweaty carnage his recent “Enfants (Chant)” or famed “Blood On My Hands” remix can unleash when deftly applied to disprove that notion.

Rather, it seems the club has become more of a consequence of his heavily rhythmic music rather than the principle, with pure aural artisanship increasingly moving to the forefront of his explorations. Fabric 36, his mix-as-album-as-performance concept, was completely comfortable letting the beat fall to the wayside of a dinner scene and Japanese kodo drumming between long, richly textured rhythm slates (more fully surveyed on Sei Es Drum). His expansive “Fizheuer Zieheuer” likewise got jaws flapping in 2006 by pushing the limits of counter-rhythms and a singular horn riff, though it could be a smart tool in the right hands. In keeping with the trend, the Perlon-released “Vasco EP Part 1″ (which will also see release on CD after “Part 2″ arrives) is filigreed with microscopic texture and kernels of tone color; its chances of reaching the dance floor, however, are relatively slim.

Read more »

Welcome to the sixth 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, we’d be stuck only streaming tracks on Myspace. This time we’re shining the spotlight on UK-based creatures of the night, Buzzin’ Fly. After many years with the group Everything But the Girl, producer/DJ Ben Watt moved away from major label circles to have his own outlet for music. And thus, Buzzin’ Fly was born. Now in its fifth year, the label’s slick and steady flow of deeply-influenced tech-house has congealed into a UK powerhouse, providing vinyl homes for Justin Martin, Manoo, Jimpster, Rodamaal and Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia. Mr. Watt was kind enough to offer some very detailed answers about the future of music promotion, BF’s scratchy logo and his role as a “patron of the arts.” Read more »

[Caravan Recordings] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)

Bristol-based American James Ginzberg has masqueraded as 30Hz for the past few years, producing crowd pleasing breakbeat numbers and putting them out on his Vertical Sound label. Given his involvement in the founding of seminal dubstep label Tectonic, however, his interest in fare less likely to hit number one on Beatport has been there to see for anyone who cared to look. His new project, Emptyset, probes a sound most easily described as Monolake gone to Bristol. The first two EPs, released on the Future Days imprint, have so far failed quite to hit the mark, but nevertheless forged a distinctive tone consisting of sparse and monochromatic minimal informed by the ever ebullient voice of Bristol bass.

Read more »

Hi there. My name is Colin Shields, and I hope we can be friends through online publishing.

With that out of the way, let me tell you a little about myself. I am American, but for the past five years have lived in England, and am more or less settled here now. Like Nate DeYoung before me, I have come to Little White Earbuds from Resident Advisor, where I am still a contributor. Professionally, there’s not too much more for me to say. I’m not an old hand at this. All those things that LCD Soundsystem was there for, I wasn’t.

What I can say, though, is that after I discovered dance music the honeymoon phase really never ended. My view is that house, techno, and a few other things beside are carving out new and important territory musically, as well as soundtracking a fair few fearsome parties.

It’s not my goal to delve too deeply into scenesterism on these pages. I tend to be pretty oblivious as to what’s in and what’s out, and whether standing is the new dancing this week in any given city. Rather, I hope just to share a few of the things I’m loving, and a few I’m not, and why.

On this front, please let me know if you’re enjoying my posts, or how they could be better, or whether you hate them so much you’re going to burn your Technics and put on a Mike Oldfield CD. For my part I promise that my ever-carnivorous appetite for dance music is unlikely to be sated any time soon, and I will do my best to point out the really tasty bits to you.