Towards the end of 2010 an EP called Musique D’Hiver Pour L’Été, dripping with intricate, rhythmic fragility was released on the Thesongsays label. It was by Public Lover and was immediately recognizable as containing the signature sounds of Bruno Pronsato together with further flourishes and vocals by Ninca Leece, who had turned up on the label earlier that year with Feed Me Rainbows. That release by Leece, containing a remix by Public Lover was the first public outing for the musicians, who happened to also be a real life couple. With both Pronsato (née Steven Ford) and Leece coming from more traditional band backgrounds, there was an immediate shared love of music worlds apart from the electronic realm that both now inhabit. Their productions so far have been rich with sweetly abstract melodies and a sense of transparency by including outtakes in some of their tracks. It’s an intimate look at the working relationship of the duo, which also plays a big part of their live sets. LWE spoke to the pair ahead of their album release about how to work in harmony with your lover and acquired a stunning, exclusive Public Lover set that showcases new material alongside sneak previews of the album.

LWE Podcast 84: Public Lover (54:20)

Tracklist:

01. Public Lover, “Blanche’s Theme” [*]
02. Public Lover, “Hands On Your Shadows” [*]
03. Public Lover, “French Graffiti” [*]
04. Public Lover, “A Broken Shape Of You” [*]
05. Public Lover, “An Elderly Gentleman” [*]
06. Public Lover, “Someone Somewhere” [*]
07. Public Lover, “Prelude To A Million Years” [*]
08. Public Lover, “Throwing Birds In Idling Cars” [*]
09. Public Lover, “Moustache Mélancolique du Dimanche” [*]
10. Public Lover, “Your Eyes Taste Like My Eyes” [*]
11. Public Lover, “Naked Figures” [Telegraph]
* denotes tracks which, as of the time of publishing, are unreleased

First up how did the two of you meet?

We were both playing at the same club in Bari, Italy.

I understand you are a couple. What came first? The music or the romance?

Bruno: Actually the friendship came first. After we met in Bari we sort of hung out for a while. I was off on a tour for a while and when I came back we started to hang out more. The romance developed and then we slowly started to think about doing the music thing. I think we decided to just do a remix together and when that went well we decided to do a single… and now, well, we have an album.

Ninca: Romance came first. No, actually music. [smiles] We met playing at a party in Bari (south Italy) and I ended up jamming/singing on Bruno’s set. I have to say I hadn’t seen such a live set in ages and got tremendously excited. I remember his hook “Nobody Calls” haunting me for months after.

How do you typically work together? Are the lyrics added to the music or is the music made to fit the lyrics? Do you collaborate on both or do you have defined roles on who does what?

Bruno: I think it goes either way as far as the lyric/music thing goes. We both have some little note books around with lyrics. But sometimes the music sort of brings the lyrics. So far it’s really been both of us bringing something to the table. I’d say it’s very equal; however, Ninca does a bring a bit more of the hooks and I bring a bit more of the bass lines.

Ninca: We sometimes come up with ideas (chords, small progression, loops etc.) separately and then get together to work on it. Or we start from scratch, usually with the keyboard/Rhodes part. I think we do a 50/50 thing. Probably I write most of the melodies and I think Bruno comes up with the percussion side of things and the bass lines. But he can also come up with melodies here and there and when I’m allowed [smiles], I write a bass line! There is no special structure in the way we work. I think we are both quite free-minded persons so it wouldn’t work to have too many rules. Lyrics are most of the time added to the music, as I am also doing in my own work. We both write lines here and there on our small notebooks, and we do as well collaborate on the lyrics. I mean, Bruno’s English is quite better than mine. [laughs]

Your two releases so far have featured the behind the scenes out-takes as it were of the recordings. What has been the decision to include this in the tracks and is this a theme that will run through future Public Lover material?

Bruno: Well, we sort of wanted to add a since of transparency to the music. Our whole thing has been about intimacy, so bringing the listener in on our music makes it a sort of documentary almost. A lot of people have had problems with it, and I get it, but to me there is nothing more incredible than having a little dirtiness in the mix to make it that much more human. We both discussed the sort of over-produced music these days and how we have been a part of that. Maybe it’s our personal revolt to our own productions. As far as the future Public Lover material goes, I think there are a couple of tracks on the new album that have a little bit of room noise. We tried to keep it a bit balanced for those who like it and those who don’t.

Ninca, can you please tell us a bit about your background with singing (influences, any bands you have been in etc) and also some info on how and when you started producing.

Ninca: I’ve always been singing as far as I can remember; I studied piano and music theory at the conservatory of a regional capital in North-Western France since I was seven and we had choir lessons every week. I would make it to the next year thanks to the singing exam. After listening to New Order’s Substance and Loveless by My Bloody Valentine (two albums that were emblematic of my emotional life at the time), I did what I had to do: I ended my affair with classical music and joined a band. I played the bass and started singing “ethereal melodies” [laughs] in an indie-noise Slowdive/MBV style band. We were so impressed back then in the early 90′s with the abundance of amazing indie bands coming out. There was such an overwhelming passion for this music in our teenage time. That’s something I strongly share with Bruno, and it was hard to find someone to share it with when I moved from my hometown, either in Amsterdam or in Berlin. One can say, the fact that he told me he knew Pale Saints on our first official date made me fall in love immediately with him!

With my coming of age came my first keyboard, a second-hand Korg M1 I bought myself at 18 (following the advices of my boyfriend back then), and a move to Amsterdam, then I started voice & music production studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory. It was with the boys of a house band from Amsterdam that I had my first gigs at the Melkweg and the Paradiso in Holland. At the same time, I would always work on my own stuff at Laboratoires Leece. I started to take classical singing lessons when I was 17 and never stopped with that. Jazz and Brazilian singing came later, in my early 20′s. I studied both more deeply at the Rotterdam Conservatory. I’ve been obsessed with bands like The Smiths (Morrissey’s voice and lyrics were strongly triggering in my teenage time), New Order (Technique is one of my favorite albums) etc. Some of my strong influences as singers would obviously be Björk (though I insist we have totally different ways of singing, but I appreciate that people bring the comparison often and take it as a compliment), Kate Bush, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Maria Creuza (one of my all time favorite Brazilian singers), Chico Buarque. I still work on classical singing; it’s a very different instrument than the pop one.

Another for Ninca: You released your first 12″ on your combined label last year but also a promo album on Bureau B. Tell us about the album. How long had you been working on it and what are the differences in the sound between the Bureau B release and the single for Thesongsays?

Ninca: My first album is a collection of my experiments in sound and emotions in the past 10 years — lots of funny little things, brokenhearted sounds and melodies. It’s about quirkiness, sexiness. I tried to explore with it the facets of electronic pop music in all their variations. I tried to mix a resolute pop approach to an experimental sound process, with different textures and noises, dreamlike melodies and fairy elements, using voices, synthesizing, sound design, layering, and acoustic instruments along with electronic sounds/devices and field recordings. I have been working on it on and off for five years. It was kind of a long time more or less ready when I started to look for a label. It took me a long time to finish it because besides my studies at the Conservatory and part-time jobs, I produced it all by myself with some occasional help from friends (on that song, a friend helped with mixing the bass, or on the voice mixing etc). I am a perfectionist so it was a hard job! I won’t spend hopefully so much time on my next one. I hope I can make faster decisions on sounds/arrangements etc. Bruno’s influence on that is great. He has such fast way of working, he makes very fast decisions. I can spent hours on the tiniest change of sound… nightmare!

The difference in sound between my album and the “Feed Me Rainbows” release on Thesongsays would be that “Feed Me Rainbows” is a more experimental process, has a more open structure (which you can already find on my album with tracks such as “The Beast” or “Up To You”) and don’t have so much of a pop influence in it. As much as I love working in a songwriting form, I need to keep the freedom to explore music without a clear structure. I have no problem with having a pop element/influence in my work, but I don’t want to be restricted to it, and working on stuff like “Feed Me Rainbows” is very important to me. But in my opinion both sound dreamy, warmly emotive with surreal fantasy; elements which belong strongly to my music. Also I’m already using those droning guitars on few tracks on my debut album. Right now I’m working on my new EP and new material for my second album, with both more open structure and more songs-like stuff.

What is your set-up like for your live shows? And did you always see the Public Lover project as a live act or was it originally just going to be a studio thing?

Bruno: Our live set up is pretty simple. Ninca plays a couple of synths that we built in Logic and a couple of Rhodes pianos. We run those in Logic and rewiring into Live where we have a pretty hefty amount of loops that we trigger. Ninca also runs her vocals through Ableton Live with a handful of effects she is controls on a 16 channel mixer. In addition we use a Jomox888 for some analog percussion and a Jomox Mbase01 for our kick drums.

There is a wonderful chemistry that is shared between real life and musical partners that can be amazing (White Stripes in the early days, Sonny & Cher) or not so amazing (John & Oko, Sonny & Cher again). Please discuss.

So far our chemistry has been better than expected. Usually after a bit of collaborating somebody gets bored or upset or both. I think we have been pretty good about knowing our limits. If we have a bad day in the studio, we tend to politely decide to end the session and wait for another day rather then continue to try to trudge through and create bigger problems. Live is great as well. I think we really shine in that environment because we both pretty much have the same ideas of how we want to treat a crowd and what kind of music to make to get us there.

As you are both solo artists as well, do you need to implement strict control over your collaborations and time in the studio together so that your own productions don’t bleed into your Public Lover material?

No, not at all. We discuss when we want to work. It has never really been a problem when one wants to work and the other has solo work to tend to. When both of us need solo work to finish then the other pretty much works on solo work.

Can you tell us about the set that you have made for us.

Bruno: This mix was done over a fragmented two week period. We really wanted to add a sense of improvisation to this one. we woke up everyday and dedicated our time to making 10 minutes of new, usable material. For the most part this is all material we came up with just for this podcast. We do use a couple of pieces from old live sets and a track that are already released, but in general these are sketches of tracks to come. Thanks for putting that fire under our ass!

What can we expect from Public Lover in the next year?

We have an album done now, give or take a track or two. So now we are pretty much tightening up mixes and deciding on which tracks and in what order. We also are planning a tour of Europe this summer and the U.S. in the fall.

LWE Podcast 84: Public Lover (54:20)

[DFA]

Though DFA is deeply rooted in promoting mutant strains of disco there has always been room in their roster for quality house and techno too. But checking out their latest release, Since We Last Met, I had to keep making sure this was the same DFA Records that had recently seen releases from Ray Mang, Yacht and Black Van. For not only is NDF the work of Bruno Pronsato teaming up with Sergio Giorgini, but their first release together for the aforementioned label features one Mr. Ricardo Villalobos on remix, hardly a name you’d expect to find on DFA. Pronsato’s tracks are never short of feeling, but perhaps it is this collaboration with Giorgini (half of Benoit & Sergio and Birds & Souls) that has brought a more organic feeling to his latest project. As the hopeful, opening melodies build upon each other, a wooden flute appears amongst the more brittle claps and shakers that are unquestionably Pronsato’s. Deep, resonant drums add to the accumulating sense of wonder and beauty, eventually giving way to a regular 4/4 kick around the four minute mark. Throughout the track a world-weary voice lazily recounts the hopelessness of seeing an ex-lover on the street, realizing that whatever pure feeling there once was is now supplanted by a forced ambivalence.

Ricardo’s first mix clocks in at over 17 minutes and as such is a digital only affair. It is classic Villalobos, riding a seemingly endless tribal loop and packed full of delicate minutiae atop, be it needle scrapes, blown out, flapping woofers, or tiny sparks and glitches. It’s as if these were all offcuts of a mammoth studio project left lying around on the studio floor and were swept up and stitched together with the frayed edges of the original. These tiny scraps of sound bubble and pop out of the speakers, creating their own organic groove. Ricardo keeps the melodies of the original buried under these many layers, occasionally letting them bleed through a little more in places but largely keeping them subdued. His 12″ mix, still taking up most of the space on the record, plays around with subtly different vocal effects but largely is just a truncated version of the 17 minute mix. Like his best remix work, these remixes are bewitching and intricate and push the original on to greater heights. In the words of Pronsato and Giorgini themselves, “Since We Last Met” is “dance music twilit by melancholy.” They just forgot to add the necessary superlatives to help describe how good it is.

[Smallville Records]

For their latest single, Hamburg’s Smallville Records reached well beyond its usual cohort of producers to host an unexpected collaboration by Thomas Melchior and Bruno Pronsato. Both are natural collaborators — Melchior with Baby Ford, Tim Hutton, and Bruno Maman; Pronsato alongside Daze Maxim, Sammy Dee, and Ninca Leece — and yet seeing their names linked by an ampersand was enough to elicit a double take. The confluence of Melchior’s understated, hypnotic house aesthetic and Pronsato’s loose, almost improvised arrangements certainly seemed like an alluring prospect. Perhaps Melchior would lend a bit of discipline to Pronsato’s more meandering compositions while Pronsato would help coax Melchior out of his supremely focused grooves. Sadly, Puerto Rican Girls, the fruits of their time together, doesn’t live up to the high standards set by their work apart.

Throughout the EP it’s evident that Pronsato and Melchior have musical and personal chemistry, yet at times their sonic revelry comes across as hubris and a lack of editing. “Puerto Rican Girls” opens on a moonlit house groove of hand claps, playful bass lines and truly luscious Rhodes chords that makes you sit up and take notice. Vocals by Ninca Leece wonder, “When did I see you, when did I see you around the street?” The tune’s soft surface is scored with eruptions and arcs elicited from a tangled web of modular synth work. So when Pronsato interjects at the fourth minute, “You know this shit is dope,” I was inclined to agree but perplexed that it needed to be stated. All bets are off as Pronsato and his detuned shadow address “all y’all motherfuckers out there” between laughs, cues (“I’m going to wait for the Rhodes to come in”), and shouts, obscuring what was once a promising tune just because they could.

Where “Puerto Rican Girls” seemed most under the direction of Pronsato, its flipside, “We Make It Right,” feels tighter and in the grips of Melchior. Its precisely clipped vocal snippets and Rhodes stabs are immediately recognizable as his, although its detached drum kit percussion and sunken vocals are Pronsato’s calling card. Pleasant if not particularly urgent, the track kicks into gear halfway through when hi-hats are followed by frantic progressions of what sounds like a hoarse flute and tingling synth tendrils. It seemed a weak finish for an otherwise satisfying track, as once again the inveterate producers put undo faith in elements that should have been left in the session’s dustbin.

[Thesongsays]

Only two releases old, Thesongsays has already accrued an interesting profile. It was initially a platform for Bruno Pronsato’s own productions, chiefly LWE’s number four tune of 2009 “The Make Up The Break Up,” a druggy 38-minute trip through his soundbank. Yet release number two was penned by the hitherto unknown team of Benoit & Sergio, featuring the lovely, saccharine “Full Grown Man.” The third single from Thesongsays is equally unexpected, arriving under the auspices of Franco-German producer Ninca Leece who released an album titled There Is No One Else When I Lay Down And Dream earlier this year. Feed Me Rainbows certainly piques my interest like its predecessors and has me wanting to know more.

Kicking off with buzzing feedback and droney guitar soundscapes, you would be forgiven for thinking the first couple minutes of “Feed Me Rainbows” sounds like an old Cluster tune. Far from aping anyone or sounding unoriginal, however, Ninca’s slight narration and broken kick drum patterns firmly contextualize things within the 21st century. Once the kick stabilizes, the terrain grows spongy and a killer bass line rears its head, allowing all the pieces fall into place. It’s enough to have long-time techno heads pulling out those Neu! records and reevaluating just how danceable they could have been. Kraut rock and techno are hardly strange bedfellows, but when the two are combined this well I just can’t help but enjoy the hell out of it. It feels almost too short at ten minutes, but throughout its length I feel like chomping on (if I had to guess) Froot-Loop-flavored rainbows myself. Even more surprising than side A is the reshape provided by Public Lover (aka Ninca and Bruno Pronsato) on the flip. Their slow, post-mnml brew of organ chords and snappy percussion just doesn’t capture me the same way the original does. While hardly stagnant throughout its 16 minute run time — indeed, Bruno can be found discussing recording in stereo while Ninca sneezes — its spacey drift lacks the drive that made “Feed Me Rainbows” so magnetic.

04. Bruno Pronsato, “The Make Up the Break Up” [Thesongsays] (buy)
His only release for 2009, Bruno Pronsato’s “The Make Up The Break Up” is bewilderingly an off-cut from his Why Can’t We Be Like Us album. Clocking in at an Olympian 38 minutes, the ambitious epic contains enough material for an album, both time and ideas-wise, and as such the vinyl release saw the track spread over both sides. Continuing with the themes set in Why Can’t We Be Like Us, Pronsato engages sparse snatches of sounds, collaging them into a bigger picture that slowly reveals itself over the course of the track. Shifting organically through several moods, Pronsato displays his experimental genius at the height of the track by incorporating a psychedelic theme reminiscent of Velvet Underground and sometime singer Nico. Like his most far out tracks even this lengthy exegesis resolves itself, coming back to a central groove that ties everything together. From anyone else I suspect such a project would have been little more than self indulgent twaddle, but “The Make Up The Break Up” highlights a vanguard producer at the height of his powers and one of the most compelling moments of the year. (Per Bojsen-Moller)

03. House of House, “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin These Streets)” [Whatever We Want Records] (buy)
If ever a track earned its title, this is it. “Paradise” isn’t an abstraction to those versed in dance music’s history — it instantly evokes New York’s Paradise Garage, where resident DJ Larry Levan is said to have regularly conjured an atmosphere of fabulousness unmatched since. It takes balls to attempt to recreate the euphoric rush that those late disco records so effortlessly incite, but Olivier Spencer and Saheer Umar must be hung like elephants. This remarkable record is neither nostalgic nor ironic. The charging piano and soaring, lovelorn vocal hearken back to Levan’s seminal era, but House of House is not stuck in the past — nearly ambient sections frame the track in a thoroughly contemporary context. Spencer and Umar take their time with tracky foreplay, slowly building to the exhilarating climax. Try to resist the temptation to attempt to cuddle with the vinyl afterward. (Shuja Haider)

02. Pépé Bradock, “Path of Most Resistance” [Atavisme] (buy)
Before the release of “Swimsuit Issue 1789″ in June this year, I’d felt that Pépé Bradock’s last few releases had been somewhat lukewarm. “Rhapsody In Pain,” “Sakura Incident” and “Intriguing Feathered Creature” had been interesting but far from enthralling experiments, failing to recreate the strange alchemy of the eccentric and anthemic that made classics of “4,” “Life” and of course “Deep Burnt.” It was a pleasure to realise that water is still boiling in Pépé’s pot with the A-side of this year’s solitary Bradock release (excluding the superb remix retrospective Confiote De Bits). “Path Of Most Resistance” is every bit as brilliant as the previously mentioned masterpieces, synthesizing the weird elements with the floor-filling. Let’s start with the latter; a shuffling beat, 808 claps and solid bass line ensure that it gets bodies moving, but the melancholy, sustain-drenched chords, chopped vocals and bizarre buzzing noises make it a record only Julien Auger could produce. Like a more poignant Todd Edwards, every time I heard “Path Of Most Resistance” out this summer it was accompanied by closed eyes, wistful smiles and renewed energy for the long night ahead. The label of “Path Of Most Resistance” instructs the user to “PLAY SUPER LOUD!”; advice well worth taking. (Peder Clark)

01. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records] (buy)
This year has brought us peak time tracks, deep interlude tracks, decrepit warehouse tracks, sweat-dripping basement tracks, ticklish warm-up tracks, amygdala-twisting afterhours tracks, Sunday barbecue tracks, Tuesday night bedroom dance party tracks — and then there was STL’s “Silent State,” a track with the capacity to be any of these, all of these, or none of these. While I only need a cursory glance at blogs and charts to confirm my suspicion that this masterpiece constitutes a high watermark for Stephan Laubner, the Smallville imprint, and very likely contemporary house and techno as a whole, I’ve yet to hear two DJs play that elliptical bass line, whipcrack hi-hat and gossamer melody to exactly the same effect. So much dance music these days suffers from interchangeability, but “Silent State” thrives on it, albeit interchangeability of a different sort: I’ve heard it make as much sense as a massive, euphoric vamp (as Lawrence used it in a brilliant set at what turned out to be the final House n’ Home party in Brooklyn) as it does as a trippy ambient sinew between tough techno jams (as exhibited by Marcel Dettmann at his second Bunker appearance this summer). Lacking an obvious hook or carbon-dateable production technique to grow tired of, I suspect we’ll be pondering its delicious elusiveness — not to mention watching it pop up in crafty DJ sets like some dub techno “Where’s Waldo,” or at least a latter-day “Trespassers” — for years to come.
(Jordan Rothlein)

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Staff Lists:

Per Bojsen-Moller:

01. Bruno Pronsato, “The Makeup The Breakup” [Thesongsays]
02. Intrusion w/Paul St. Hilaire, “Little Angel” [Intrusion]
03. Ben Klock ft. Elif Biçer, “OK” (Kenny Larkin Remix) [Ostgut Tonträger]
04. Floating Points, “Love Me Like This” (Nonsense Dub) [R2 Records]
05. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
06. Martyn, “Seventy Four” [3024]
07. Mount Kimbie, “Sketch On Glass” [Hotflush Recordings]
08. Floating Points, “Vacuum Boogie” [Eglo Records]
09. Motor City Drum Ensemble, “Raw Cuts 5″ [MCDE]
10. Various Production, “Lost” (Actress Remix) [Various Production]
11. Donnacha Costello, “Always A Why” [Look Long]
12. Moderat, “Rusty Nails” [BPitch Control]
13. Anton Zap, “Spain” [Uzuri]
14. Mount Kimbie, “Maybes” [Hotflush Recordings]
15. Cooly G, “Love Dub Refix” [Hyperdub]
16. Trickski, “Lost Jams A” [Stilove4music]
17. Lawrence, “Jill” [Mule Electronic]
18. Kode9, “Black Sun” [Hyperdub]
19. Scuba, “Golden” [Hotflush Recordings]
20. Margaret Dygas, “Invisible Circles” [Perlon]
21. Thomas Brinkmann, “Isch” (Soulphiction Remisch) [Petite]
22. John Roberts, “Relate” [Laid]
23. Baby Ford, “Gravy Train” [Perlon]
24. Burial + Four Tet, “Moth” [Text Records]
25. Linkwood, “Barely Eagle” [Firecracker Recordings]
26. Omar-S, “Flying Gorgas” [FXHE Records]
27. Santiago Salazar, “La Minora” [Historia Y Violencia]
28. Pearson Sound, “WAD” [Hessle Audio]
29. Andy Stott, “Night Jewel” [Modern Love]
30. Holger Zilske, “Druckraum” [Playhouse]

Richard Brophy:

01. Newworldaquarium, “Trespassers” (Redshape Remix) [NWAQ]
02. Steve Poindexter, “My So Called Robot Life” [Mathematics Recordings]
03. Legowelt, “Slompy Jitt” [M>O>S Recordings]
04. Optic Nerve, Reassimiltion EP [diametric.]
05. Gesloten Cirkel, “Gesloten Cirkel” [Murder Capital]
06. Omar-S, “Blown Valvetrane” [Sound Signature]
07. Kassem Mosse, “Workshop 08″ [Workshop]
08. XDB, “Cagomi” [Metrolux Music]
09. Levon Vincent, “Six Figures” [Novel Sound]
10. Pépé Bradock, “Path of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
11. O/V/R, “Interior” [Blueprint]
12. Silent Servant, “Negative Fascinations” [Sandwell District]
13. Mike Dehnert, “Umluft” [Fachwerk]
14. Norman Nodge, MDR5 [Marcel Dettmann Records]
15. Paul Du Lac, “Kira” [Clone]
16. Levon Vincent, “Solemn Days” [Deconstruct]
17. Marcello Napoletano, Prescription of Love EP [Mathematics Recordings]
18. Robert Hood, “Superman/Range” [M Plant]
19. Frozen Border, “Frozen Border 01″ [Frozen Border]
20. Marcel Dettmann/Tama Sumo & Prosumer, Phantasma 3
[Diamonds & Pearls Music]
21. Newworldaquarium, “The Force” (Ame Remix) [NWAQ]
22. Delta Funktionen, “Electromagnetic Radiaton 2 [Ann Aimee]
23. Function, Remixed [Sandwell District]
24. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
25. EQD, “Equalized #002″ [Equalized"
26. Peter Van Hoesen, "Face of Smoke" [Komisch]
27. Hauntologists, EP 1 [Hauntologists]
28. Wax, “No.20002-B” [Wax]
29. Horizontal Ground, “Horizontal Ground 01″ [Horizontal Ground]
30. Fanon Flowers, “Acid Kush” [Studio Sound]

Chris Burkhalter:

01. Scott Grooves, “Detroit 808 (Dub Delay)” [Natural Midi]
02. Joker, “Digidesign” [Hyperdub]
03. Santiago Salazar, “Arcade” [Macro]
04. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
05. Isolée, “A Nightingale” [Diynamic Music]
06. Peter Van Hoesen, “Attribute One” [Time To Express]
07. Black Jazz Consortium, “New Horizon” [Soul People Music]
08. A Made Up Sound, “Bounce” [Clone Basement Series]
09. Pépé Bradock, “Path Of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
10. Kode 9, “Black Sun” [Hyperdub]
11. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled A1″ [Workshop]
12. Urban Tribe, “Gencon” [Trust]
13. Donato Dozzy & Cio D’Or, “Menta” [Time To Express]
14. Scott Grooves, “Detroit 808″ [Natural Midi]
15. Even Tuell, “Untitled A1″ [Workshop]
16. John Roberts, “Maroon” [Dial]
17. Joy Orbison, “Hyph Mngo” [Hotflush Recordings]
18. Omar-S, “Blown Valvetrane” [Sound Signature]
19. Kai Alcé, “KZR Gruv” [Deep Explorer]
20. Peter Van Hoesen, “Continued Care” [Komisch]
21. Odd Machine, “Phase In” [Non Standard Productions]
22. Burial + Four Tet, “Moth” [Text Records]
23. Benjamin Brunn, “Approaching India” [Mule Electronic]
24. STL, “Check Mate” [echospace [detroit]]
25. Anton Zap, “Spain” [Uzuri]
26. Bruno Pronsato, “The Make Up The Break Up” [Thesongsays]
27. 2562, “Love in Outer Space” [Tectonic]
28. Floating Points, “Argonaute II” [Eglo Records]
29. Cio D’Or, “Goldbrokat” [Prologue]
30. STL, “Moonlight Reflections” [Something]

Andrew Clapper:

01. House of House, “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin’ These Streets)”
[Whatever We Want Records]
02. The Revenge, “Heavy Love” [Instruments Of Rapture]
03. Mark E, “Formed” [Under the Shade]
04. Rainer Trueby, “Ayer’s Rock” [N/A]
05. Walter Jones, “Living Without Your Love” [DFA]
06. Ronda, “Folana” [Bear Funk]
07. Pépé Bradock, “Path of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
08. Bruno Pronsato, “The Make Up The Break Up” [Thesongsays]
09. Still Going, “Spaghetti Circus” [DFA]
10. Motor City Drum Ensemble, “Raw Cuts #6″ [MCDE]
11. Lindstrom & Christabelle, “Baby Can’t Stop” [Feedelity]
12. Linkwood Family, “Miles Away” (Intrusion Sunrise Dub)
[Firecracker Recordings]
13. Bottin, “No Static” [Bear Funk]
14. Prins Thomas, “Mammut” [Full Pupp]
15. Rick Wade, “The D” [Laid]
16. Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, “U & I” [Ostgut Tonträger]
17. The Revenge, “Hotz 4 You” [Instruments Of Rapture]
18. Junkie XL, “Dream On” [N/A]
19. Rainer Trueby, “To Know You” [N/A]
20. Delano Smith, “Cosmos Revisited” [Third Ear Recordings]
21. Ben Klock ft. Elif Biçer, “OK” (Kenny Larkin Remix) [Ostgut Tonträger]
22. Basic Soul Unit, “Basic Necessity” [New Kanada]
23. Beatfanatic, “Prince of Darkness” [Soundscape]
24. Soul Clap, “Love Light” [Wolf + Lamb Music]
25. Social Disco Club & Maia, “The Way You Move” (Greg Wilson Version)
[Bear Funk]
26. Massimiliano Pagliara, “Sometimes at Night” [Live At Robert Johnson]
27. Move D & Benjamin Brunn, “In the Beginning” [Smallville Records]
28. Santiago Salazar, “Arcade” [Macro]
29. The Hasbeens, “I Fall to Pieces” [Frustrated Funk]
30. DJ Koze, “Mrs. Bojangels” [Circus Company]

Peder Clark:

01. Pépé Bradock, “Path Of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
02. LCD Soundystem, “45:33″ (Theo Parrish’s Space Cadet Remix) [DFA]
03. Leron Carson, “Red Lightbulb” [Sound Signature]
04. Legowelt, “Lovestory SH21″ [M>O>S Recordings]
05. Bruce Ivery, “Rush” [Stilove4music]
06. Ben Klock, “Subzero” [Ostgut Tonträger]
07. Tevo Howard, “Everyday House Music” [Beautiful Granville Records]
08. Christopher Rau, “Ne Travaillez Jamais” [Dérive Schallplatten]
09. Big Strick, “Buckle-Up!” [FXHE Records]
10. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
11. Levon Vincent, “Six Figures” [Novel Sound]
12. Julius Steinhoff, “Something Like Wonderful” [Smallville]
13. Dplay, “Tschaka” [Running Back]
14. Shake, “Indagoo” [Morphine Records]
15. Margaret Dygas, “Frankly” [Perlon]
16. Wbeeza, “He So Crazy” [Third Ear Recordings]
17. John Daly, “This Is A Lonely Beat” [Drumpoet Community]
18. Delano Smith, “This Heart” [Mixmode Recordings]
19. Steinhoff & Hammouda, “Touch” [Smallville Records]
20. Precious System, “The Voice From Planet Love” [Running Back]
21. DJ Jus-Ed, “Some New Shit 2 Dub” [Kinda Soul]
22. Mike Dehnert, “Umlaut 2″ (First Version) [Clone Basement Series]
23. John Roberts, “Blame” [Laid]
24. Linkwood, “Barely Eagle” [Firecracker Recordings]
25. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled B1″ [Workshop]
26. Robert Dietz, “Witness” [Running Back]
27. Norman Nodge, “ManMade” [Marcel Dettmann Records]
28. XDB, “Cagomi” [Metrolux Music]
29. Actress, “Crushed” [Prime Numbers]
30. Tony Lionni, “Found A Place” [Ostgut Tonträger]

Shuja Haider:

01. House of House, “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin These Streets)”
[Whatever We Want Records]
02. Rainer Trueby, “To Know You” [N/A]
03. Floating Points, “Love Me Like This” [R2 Records]
04. Osborne, “Wait a Minute” [Spectral Sound]
05. LCD Soundsystem, “45:33″ (Theo Parrish’s Space Cadet Remix) [DFA]
06. Shake, “Indagoo” [Morphine Records]
07. Mutant Beat Dance, “In a Daze” [Discos Capablanca]
08. Juju & Jordash, “Same Ol’ Day” [Juju Music]
09. Leron Carson, “Red Lightbulb” [Sound Signature]
10. Pépé Bradock, “Path Of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
11. Still Going, “Spaghetti Circus” [DFA]
12. Walter Jones, “I’ll Keep On Loving You” [DFA]
14. Black Jazz Consortium, “Build It” [Soul People Music]
15. Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, “U & I” [Ostgut Tonträger]
15. Tensnake, “In the End (I Want You To Cry)” [Running Back]
16. Capracara, King of the Witches (Rub ‘N’ Tug Remix) [DFA]
17. Neville Watson, “Up Yours” [Clone Jack For Daze Series]
18. Theo Parrish, “Space Station” [Sound Signature]
19. Prins Thomas, “Mammut” [Full Pupp]
20. Norman Nodge, “Attitudes” [Marcel Dettmann Records]
21. Mount Kimbie, “Maybes” [Hotflush Recordings]
22. Cobblestone Jazz, “Traffic Jam” [Wagon Repair]
23. Moody, “Desire” [KDJ]
24. Rick Wade, “The D” [Laid]
25. The Future, “They Call Me” [Sect Recordings]
26. Hunee, “Rare Silk” [W.T. Records]
27. Kinoeye, “Mean Old World” [W.T. Records]
28. Bsmnt City Anymle Kontrol, “The Perfekt Sin” [Wild Oats]
29. Brawther, “Endless” [Balance Alliance]
30. Solomun & Jackmate, “Carnivale” [Phil e]

Todd Hutlock:

01. DJ Koze, “Dr. Fuck” [Circus Company]
02. Stefan Goldmann, “Art Of Sorrow” [Victoriaville]
03. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
04. Âme, “Ensor” [Innervisions]
05. House Of House, “Rushing To Paradise (Walkin These Streets)”
[Whatever We Want Records]
06. Bruno Pronsato, “The Make Up The Break Up” [Thesongsays]
07. Isolée, “A Nightingale” [Diynamic Music]
08. The Mole, “For The Lost” [Internasjonal]
09. Ben Klock, “Before One” [Ostgut Tonträger]
10. DJ Koze, “Mrs. Bojangels” [Circus Company]
11. Margaret Dygas, “Invisible Circles” [Perlon]
12. Intrusion w/Paul St. Hilaire, “Little Angel” [echospace [detroit]]
13. Theo Parrish, “Space Station” [Sound Signature]
14. Minilogue, “My Teenager Gang” [Mule Electronic]
15. Loco Dice, “Black Truffles In The Snow” (Mike Huckaby’s S Y N T H Remix) [Desolat]
16. Minilogue, “Animals” (Luciano Remix) [Cocoon Recordings]
17. Linkwood Family, “Miles Away” (Intrusion Sunset Dub)
[Firecracker Recordings]
18. Omar-S, “Blown Valvetrane” [Sound Signature]
19. Luciano & Guy Gerber, “Arcenciel” [Cadenza]
20. Deuce, “Twerp Wiz” [Ostgut Tonträger]
21. Burial + Four Tet, “Moth” [Text Records]
22. Wareika, “King’s Child” (Ricardo Villalobos Remix) [Motivbank]
23. Matias Aguayo, “Bo Jack” [Cómeme]
24. The Field, “The More That I Do” [Kompakt]
25. John Roberts, “Mirror” [Dial]
26. Baby Ford, “Gravy Train” [Perlon]
27. Thomas Brinkmann, “Isch” (Souphiction Remisch) [Petite]
28. San Proper, “Keep It Raw” [Perlon]
29. Omar-S, “Still Serious Nic” [FXHE Records]
30. Bvdub, “To Live” [Smallfish]

Anton Kipfel:

01. Wax, “Dub Shed” (STP remix)
02. Bodycode, “Imitation Lover” [Spectral Sound]
03. Kode9, “Black Sun” [Hyperdub]
04. House of House, “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin These Streets)”
[Whatever We Want Records]
05. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled B1″ [Workshop]
06. Moritz Von Oswald Trio, “Pattern 1″ [Honest Jon's Records]
07. Marcel Dettmann, “Helix” [Diamonds & Pearls Music]
08. Shake, “Levitate” [Morphine Records]
09. Efdemin, “Acid Bells” (Martyn’s Dark Mix) [Métisse]
10. Moderat, “Rusty Nails” (Shackleton Remix) [50 Weapons]
11. Roman Fluegel, “Discofiasco” [Turbo]
12. Anton Zap, “Mon 16_46″ [Uzuri]
13. Peter Van Hoesen, “Attribute One” [Time To Express]
14. Shackleton, “Slow Train Coming” [Perlon]
15. Odd Machine, “Phase In” [Non Standard Productions]
16. John Roberts, “Blame” [Laid]
17. Baby Ford, “No Day” [Perlon]
18. Marcel Fengler, “Twisted Bleach” [Ostgut Tonträger]
19. Margaret Dygas, “Invisible Circles” [Perlon]
20. D. Quin, “At The End of the World” [Slow to Speak]
21. Moody, “Freeki Mutha F cker” [KDJ]
22. Planetary Assault Systems, “Whoodoo” [Ostgut Tonträger]
23. Anstam, Cree [Anstam]
24. Joy Orbison, “Hyph Mngo” [Hotflush Recordings]
25. Ghostleigh, “Tumble” [Ghostleighdubz]
26. Matt O’Brien, “Blackwood Freestyle” [Off-Key Industries]
27. Enliven dOP Acoustics, “The Dust” (Enliven Deep Acoustics Mix)
[Enliven Deep Acoustics]
28. Freestyle Man, “Vibin” [Hairy Claw]
29. Toby Tobias, In My Eyes (Tensnake Remix) [REKIDS]
30. Lee Curtiss, “Smoking Mirrors” [Spectral Sound]

Kuri Kondrak:

01. Walter Jones, “Living Without Your Love” [DFA]
02. Floating Points, “Truly” [Eglo Records]
03. Hunee, “Rare Silk” [W.T. Records]
04. Patrice Scott, “Excursions” [Sistrum Recordings]
05. Keith Worthy, “Lost in Sound” [Aesthetic Audio]
06. DJ Sprinkles, “Grand Central, Pt 1 (Deep Into The Bowel Of House)” (MCDE Bassline Dub) [Mule Musiq]
07. Santiago Salazar, “Arcade” [Macro]
08. Juju & Jordash, “Deep Blue Meanies” [Dekmantel]
09. Scott Grooves, “Detroit 808″ [Natural Midi]
10. Efdemin, “The Pulse (John Beltran’s Summer Light Remix) [Metisse]
11. Subotika, “Moving On” [Motech]
12. Kuba, “Message From Earth” [Matrix Records]
13. Black Jazz Consortium, “New Horizons” [Soul People Music]
14. Wax, “No.20002-B” [Wax]
15. Shake, “Indagoo” [Morphine Records]
16. Dynamodyse, “Gare Du Nord” [We Play House]
17. Mr. Done, “Diamond” [Altered Moods]
18. Orlando Voorn, “Power of Beauty” [Divine Records]
19. Agore, “Café Au Lait” [4 Lux]
20. Numbercult, “See feel” [Numbercult]
21. The Florian Muller Project, “Sur Le Fil” [Logos Recordings]
22. Ican, “Make It Hot” [Ican Productions]
23. Tony Lionni, “Found A Place” [Ostgut Tonträger]
24. Dam Funk, “Galactic Fun” [Stones Throw Recordings]
25. Redshape, “Bound (Part 1 & 2) [Delsin]
26. Brawther, “Asteroids and Stardust” [Balance Alliance]
27. Morphosis, “Cetrik” [M>O>S Recordings]
28. Kinoeye, “Mean Old World” [W.T. Records]
29. Mark Grusane & Mike Cole ft. Deanna, “Time & Space”
[Hour House Is Your Rush Records]
30. Sidearms, “Humantics” [Logos Recordings]

Will Lynch:

01. Benoit & Sergio, “Full Grown Man” [Thesongsays]
02. Black Jazz Consortium, “New Horizon” [Soul People Music]
03. Bruno Pronsato, “The Make Up The Break Up” [Thesongsays]
04. Motor City Drum Ensemble, “Raw Cut #6″ [MCDE]
05. Reagenz, “Keep Buildin’ (feat. Fred P)” [Workshop]
06. Motor City Drum Ensemble, “Raw Cut #3″ [MCDE]
07. Wolf + Lamb, “If U Had” (Shaun Reeves Edit) [Wolf + Lamb Music]
08. Nina Kraviz, “Gonna Be Mine” [Underground Quality]
09. XDB, “Desert Storm” [Metrolux Music]
10. Black Jazz Consortium, “Steps Beyond” [Soul People Music]
11. Margaret Dygas, “Frankly” [Perlon]
12. Levon Vincent, “A Melody For Everyone” [Novel Sound]
13. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
14. Losoul, “Deuce” [Playhouse]
15. No Regular Play, “Derecha” [Wolf + Lamb Music]
16. Omar-S, “Flying Gorgars” [FXHE Records]
17. Mountains, “Etching” [Thrill Jockey]
18. Big Strick, “A Walk Down Linwood” [FXHE Records]
19. 3 Chairs, “War on Woodward Ave” [Three Chairs]
20. Marcel Fengler, “Twisted Bleach” [Ostgut Tonträger]
21. Nina Kraviz, “Voices” (Jenifa Mayanja Remix) [Underground Quality]
22. Black Jazz Consortium, “Black Light” [Soul People Music]
23. Levon Vincent, “Late Night Jam” [Ostgut Tonträger]
24. STL, “A Beautiful Mind” [echospace [detroit]]
25. Lerosa, “Fags” [Uzuri]
26. Anton Zap, “It’s Your Wave Too” [Quintessentials]
27. Oni Ayhun, “OAR003B” [Oni Ayhun Records]
28. Jitterbug, “Speakers Corner” [Uzuri]
29. Steffi, “24 Hours” [Ostgut Tonträger]
30. Delano Smith, “Truth” [Third Ear Recordings]

Chris Miller:

01. Peter Van Hoesen, “Attribute One” [Time to Express]
02. Mount Kimbie, “Fifty Mile View” [Hotflush Recordings]
03. Pearson Sound, “Wad” [Hessle Audio]
04. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
05. Deuce, “Twerp Wiz” [Ostgut Tonträger]
06. Geiom + Appleblim, “Shreds” [Berkane Sol]
07. Pépé Bradock, “Path of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
08. Oni Ayhun, “OAR003 B” [Oni Ayhun Records]
09. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled B1″ [Workshop]
10. Scuba, “Aesaunic” [Hotflush Recordings]
11. N/A, “Variance III” (Marcel Dettmann Edit) [Sandwell District]
12. Rndm, “Third Hand Smoke” [Laid]
13. Peter Van Hoesen, “Face of Smoke” [Komisch]
14. John Roberts, “Blame” [Laid]
15. Margaret Dygas, “Invisible Circles” [Perlon]
16. Silent Servant, “Discipline” [Sandwell District]
17. Giorgio Gigli, “Spazio” [Prologue]
18. Donato Dozzy & Cio D’or, “Menta” (Peter van Hoesen Remix)
[Time to Express]
19. Untold, “I Can’t Stop This Feeling” [Hessle Audio]
20. Ramadanman, “Humber” [Apple Pips]
21. Ben Klock, “Before One” [Ostgut Tonträger]
22. Donnacha Costello, “Fathoms Deep” [Look Long]
23. Dimi Angélis & Jeroen Search, “Our Life With The Wave” [Smallville Records]
24. Planetary Assault Systems, “X Speaks to X” (Appleblim and Al Tourettes Remix) [Ostgut Tonträger]
25. Levon Vincent, “Games Dub” [Underground Quality]
26. Marcel Dettmann, “Kernel” [Marcel Dettmann Records]
27. Appleblim & Ramadanman, “Sous le Sable” [Aus Music]
28. Scuba, “Symbiosis” [Hotflush Recordings]
29. DJ Koze, “Mrs Bojangels” [Circus Company]
30. Reagenz ft. Fred P, “Keep Buildin’” [Workshop]

Steve Mizek:

01. Wax, “No.20002-B” [Wax]
02. Black Jazz Consortium, “What’s Up With the Love” [Soul People Music]
03. Rainer Trueby, “To Know You” [N/A]
04. Ben Klock, “Subzero” [Ostgut Tonträger]
05. Paul Frick, “Steal My Heart” (dub) [Kalk Pets]
06. Tensnake, “In the End (I Want You to Cry)” [Running Back]
07. Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, “U & I” [Ostgut Tonträger]
08. Animal Collective, “My Girls” [Domino]
09. Joker, “Digidesign” [Hyperdub]
10. John Roberts, “Mirror” [Dial]
11. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled A1″ [Workshop]
12. House of House, “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin These Streets)”
[Whatever We Want Records]
13. Wax, “Dub Shed” (STP Remix) [Subsolo]
14. Martyn, “Elden St.” [3024]
15. Portable, “The Shallow” [Musik Krause]
16. Pépé Bradock, “Path of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
17. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
18. Ben Klock ft. Elif Biçer, “OK” (Kenny Larkin Remix) [Ostgut Tonträger]
19. Linkwood, “Falling” [Prime Numbers]
20. Newworldaquarium, “The Force” (Ame Remix) [NWAQ]
21. Kode9, “Black Sun” [Hyperdub]
22. Rndm, “Third Hand Smoke” [Laid]
23. Peter Van Hoesen, “Attribute One” [Time to Express]
24. Âme, “Ensor” [Innervisions]
25. Oni Ahyun, “OAR003-B” [Oni Ahyun Records]
26. Bruno Pronsato, “Make Up the Breakdown” [Thesongsays]
27. Bodycode, “Imitation Lover” [Spectral Sound]
28. The Chain, “Geo” [R & S Records]
29. Santiago Salazar, “Arcade” [Macro]
30. Ralph Falcon, “Whateva” (House Mixx) [Nervous Records]

Jordan Rothlein:

01. Levon Vincent, “Solemn Days” [Deconstruct]
02. Moritz Von Oswald Trio, “Pattern One” [Honest Jon's Records]
03. Untold, “Anaconda” [Hessle Audio]
04. STL, “Silent State” [Smallville Records]
05. Shackleton, “It’s Time For Love” [Perlon]
06. Darkstar, “Aidy’s Girl’s A Computer” [Hyperdub]
07. Levon Vincent, “Late Night Jam” [Ostgut Tonträger]
08. Shed, “Another Wedged Chicken” (Martyn’s 131 Remix) [Ostgut Tonträger]
09. Reggie Dokes, “Dancefloor Spectacle” [We Play House]
10. Tin Man, “Constant Confusion” [Cheap]
11. Joker, “Digidesign” [Hyperdub]
12. LCD Soundsystem, “45:33″ (Theo Parrish’s Space Cadet Remix) [DFA]
13. Sideshow ft. Paul St. Hilaire, “If Alone” (Appleblim & Komonazmuk Remix) [Aus Music]
14. Santiago Salazar, “Arcade” (Stefan Goldmann Mix) [Macro]
15. Matias Aguayo ft. Ladybumbox, “Bo Jack” (Vocal) [Comeme]
16. Joy Orbison, “Hyph Mngo” [Hotflush Recordings]
17. Thriller, “Freak For You” [Thriller]
18. Deuce, “Twerp Wiz” [Ostgut Tonträger]
19. Bruno Pronsato, “The Make Up The Break Up” [Thesongsays]
20. Wax, “No. 20002-B” [Wax]
21. Nina Kraviz ft. Raphael M., “FREE” [Underground Quality]
22. Hieroglyphic Being, “The Future Shock” [Slow To Speak]
23. Cooly G, “Love Dub” [Hyperdub]
24. Jenifa Mayanja, “Bearings” [Bu-Mako]
25. Patrice Scott, “Excursions” [Sistrum Recordings]
26. Ben Klock feat. Elif Biçer, “Goodly Sin” (Robert Hood Remix)
[Ostgut Tonträger]
27. Levon Vincent, “Six Figures” [Novel Sound]
28. Appleblim & Ramadanman, “Sous Le Sable” [Aus Music]
29. DJ Jus-Ed, “Sweetness” [Underground Quality]
30. Hector & Bryant, “Tension” (Appleblim & Al Tourettes Remix)
[Phonica Records]

[Thesongsays]

About this time back in 2007, Bruno Pronsato was finishing up his sophomore 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. Pronsato wanted to release it on its own, but ran into many logistical problems: at 38 minutes in length, with no reasonable flip-over point for vinyl, The Make Up The Break Up was even more of a square peg than his previous productions. After several false starts and many months of haggling, he finally decided to release it himself, as the first title on his own imprint, thesongsays. In the end, all this aggravation only attests to the song’s exceptional nature: “The Make Up The Break Up” could be Pronsato’s finest work to date, and is surely one of the best records of 2009.

“The Make Up The Break Up” begins with some of Pronsato’s favorite tropes: sharp buzzes, wet hand-claps, and a medley of abstract but distinctly organic sounds. The first ten minutes are obviously cut from the same cloth as Why Can’t We Be Like Us, focusing heavily on vivid percussion: shakers, brush sticks, and sonorous toms, all of which reflect an audiophile’s attention to detail. Faint shimmers of melody appear after a while, and soon the drums subside, making way for a very deep and very familiar female voice, crooning weird incantations over a blur of violins. This moment forms “The Make Up The Break Up”‘s glowing center; from here on the piece is illuminated, strewn with dim embers of melody. It all dwindles down slowly from there, and soon the bass drum checks out completely, leaving just a handful of loops to sputter out in the cool green haze of the track’s final stretch.

Part of what I love about this record is how it defies categorization: much like “Take 1 / Take 2,” his collaboration with Daze Maxim, it doesn’t fit into any of the typical techno formats (single, album, EP, etc.), and is best seen as a “piece.” In a way, “The Make Up The Break Up” harks back to Manuel Göttsching’s E2-E4, but while that long-playing classic is content to bob in place for 45 minutes, “MUBU” stays on the move, leading the listener across vivid and abstract terrain in what feels like far less than 38 minutes. As with most of Pronsato’s work, it withstands countless listens, and continues to reveal subtle detail after dozens of plays. “The Make Up The Break Up” shows that, like so few of his contemporaries, Bruno Pronsato can follow his strangest impulses and come up with something truly remarkable.

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.

01. Jan Krüger @ Dayshift
Jan Krüger seems like a generally humble guy, but after DJing in Portland last month he couldn’t resist putting a recording of his own set up on mnml.nl. It was, according to Jan, a “truly magical and sunny afternoon party,” which is pretty easy to picture once you hear the mix. As the man behind Hello? Repeat, Jan’s taste and sense of flow are impeccable, and in these three hours he courses through a spectacular blend of trippy, funky and sad records, many of which I’ve been desperately pursuing as of late (tracks four and five, anyone?) For me, this is not only one of the best mixes of 2009, but one of my favorite DJ mixes ever.

02. Speedy J & Issakidis, Get The Curse Podcast
Cliché though it may sound, I have an undying desire for music that sounds like something DJs would play at a disco in Blade Runner, and this mix by Speedy J and George Issakidis fits that criteria to a tee. This is a really unique example of what Speedy J calls “DJing in parts,” or what I think of as post-DJing: using dozens of short loops rather than tracks to create something entirely new. But unlike the loop-crazy sets Hawtin slaps together on Traktor, this one takes its time, gradually rolling through a series of undetectable transitions. Its slow, psychedelic, and very unlike most everything else you hear today.

03. Julietta, Ibiza Voice Podcast
While some podcasts provide a nice soundtrack for late night reading or the morning commute, others prompt daydreams of all out, sweaty peak-time clubbing. The Ibiza Voice podcast tends toward the latter, and Julietta’s contribution from January is one of the series’ finest installments. I’m not sure when and where this mix was recorded, but judging by its sunny vibes and ceaseless energy, I’d have guess this is a recording of some bash on the white isle. With so many great tracks so perfectly mixed, this one makes for an easy escape from the doldrums of the workday, even if only in your head.

04. Anton Zap, Roof.fm mix
In the past year or so, Anton Zap’s releases on Uzuri and Quintessentials have made him one of house music’s most intriguing new names. His style is hazy and euphoric, with spaced out touches of classical music thrown in for good measure. This mix for Roof.fm is one of the first by Zap that’s really made the rounds, and should give you a good idea of what this talented young Muscovite’s all about. My favorite track from the bunch is Danieto’s “Tres,” which can be had entirely for free, along with about thirty other similar tracks here on the Impar website.

05. Bruno Pronsato, The Bunker Podcast
In the disproportionately DJ-focused world of electronic music, artists who refuse to get behind the decks are an admirable bunch. Bruno Pronsato is one such artist, and his recent performance at The Bunker shows how live sets can achieve a level of character that would be hard to pull off with someone else’s records. Bruno really gets down and dirty with his tracks, atomizing them into single snaps and buzzes and smartly re-contextualizing it all. You can really hear him at work — abrupt drop-offs and moments of unevenness only make the set better by making it sound truly “live.” As someone with a former career in punk and metal, Bruno clearly appreciates the importance of hearing an artist make music on the fly.

[Musique Risquée]

As yawn-inducing as the notion of “horn house” may sound at this point, one recent release on Musique Risquée puts brass to use in a way that’s rather novel. Under the moniker Others, Bruno Pronsato and Daze Maxim blur the line between organic and electronic sounds even more than usual, layering horns over trippy post-house vibes in a 23-minute jam session. Simply called “Take 1/Take 2,” this long and exotic ordeal sounds more like a “piece” than a track, and shows these two talented producers at the top of their game.

“Take / Take 2″ derives its character from a careful balance of innovation and convention. As a trained jazz musician, Daze conjures atonal drones on sax and trumpet that give the piece a lofty, avant-garde flavor, while Bruno lays down some upbeat and funky drums. The standard house rhythm makes for easy mixing, and heavy bass kicks give this one more dance floor potential than many of Bruno’s solo tracks. About ten minutes in, the piece is halved by lengthy and dissonant breakdown, making it both stranger and more clubbable (unfortunately, due to the song’s length, this breakdown serves as the flip-over point on the vinyl release). The production value is just as exceptional as one should expect from these two, with incredibly vivid textures and an eccentric vibe complimenting the thumping groove. Upon its release in November, “Take 1/Take 2″ slipped under the radar relatively unnoticed, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of 2008′s better releases.

01. Ben Klock, “October” [BPitch Control] (buy)
No rest for the wicked, it seems, as Ben Klock drops another heavy one on fans with “October.” Like a ghost in an aggressive, pounding machine, the title track’s melody billows upwards and is zapped into place by laser precise synth strokes. “Similarity” relishes its unadorned percussive charges, awaiting another record to double its size. Snap this up.

Listen to “October”:

02. Bruno Pronsato, Why Can’t We Be Like Us
[Hello?Repeat] (buy )
It’s going to be difficult for me to concisely articulate how much I love this experimental house album and why, but suffice it to say it surpasses, nay, decimates all my expectations of what Steven Ford’s songwriting capabilities. Unlike This Bliss or Honigpumpe, let’s keep this one floating down a stream of praise until year end list time comes around again.

03. Hercules & Love Affair, “Blind” (Hercules Club Mix)
[DFA] (buy)
“Blind” is such a ridiculously well crafted, memorable tune that I can already imagine this being crowd surfed into a crossover crowd and yet not being shunned by first adopters. Andrew Butler gets Antony to perform at his troubled soulful best as the diva icing on his gorgeous arrangements. Frankie Knuckles remix womps as well. Future ubiquity.

Listen:

04. Andreas Heiszenberger, “Perfect Moment” (Efdemin’s Creme de Cramant Mix) [Brut!] (buy)
I find myself drawn even more to Efdemin as his love for repetitive dub techno grows more evident in his tracks and remixes, and this one is especially easy to be enamored with. Crisp drum work, ear-hooking dub peals and Efdemin’s enviable sense of order and structure make this one a must buy for his growing league of admirers.

Listen:

05. Daso & Pawas, “KKB” [Spectral Sound] (buy)
Only available on Spectral’s Dintf iEP, Daso and Pawas’ “KKB” stands out from the rest by being decidedly maximal to his peers’ minimal and a touch grand without taking itself too seriously. Built on the back of an old acid house groove and crammed full of struck melodic strains and regal pads, the track manages to be compelling while refurbishing some already popular sound sources — not an easy task.

Listen:

06. Efdemin, “Lohn & Brot” (tobias. remix) [liebe*detail spezial] (buy)

07. Jichael Mackson, “Piepe” [Hartchef Discos] (buy)

08. Andomat 3000, “Cognitive Dissonance” [Cécille Records] (buy)

09. Roland Appel, “Unforgiven” [Sonar Kollektiv] (buy)

10. Chevy & Lemos, “Woman’s Key“ [Be Chosen] (buy)