Some two years after the original release of “Acid Bells,” Efdemin’s subtle and refined piece of minimalism, Martyn gets his hands on it and takes it to a whole new level. This had apparently been in the works for some time but was held off until Martyn’s full length was released. While you can hear the unmistakably bold drums employed by the Dutchman in his “Dark Mix,” there’s not a lick of the sweet pads and soothing textures that proliferated Great Lengths. Instead, Martyn heightens the percussion, adding densely packed tribal elements on top of the metallic bells from the original and fires up a barely contained bass line, like a monster come down from the hills to frighten the poor village folk. Uneasy strings are drawn out and just seem to hang in the air, adding tension to the track, playing off the brash sound of the bells.
efdemin
Tobias. & Efdemin, Phantasma Vol. 1
To anyone who’s been following house and techno recently, a split EP by Efdemin and Tobias. sounds like a sure shot. The former has delivered several years of ceaseless quality, while the latter had an especially impressive run in 2008. Both are at a point where it seems they can do no wrong. Unfortunately, “Phantasma Vol. 1″ disproves this notion. As the first installment in a series on Diamond & Pearls Music, it’s decent at best — more than can be said for plenty of releases in general, but much less than we’ve come to expect from these two.
Talking Shopcast with Diamonds & Pearls Music
Number four brings us to the eclectic and far-reaching Diamonds & Pearls Music, a distributor, record label and production studio in one. DnP has taken its time releasing records, selecting a coterie of top notch producers to fill its diverse slabs, such as Henrik Schwarz, Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano, Matthew Styles, tobias., Efdemin and more. DnP is also responsible for getting records from Mikrodisko, Beatstreet, Contentismissing, Enliven Music, Pastamusik and many more in shops around the world. All three of DnP’s founders were gracious enough to answer our questions; and although they insisted on relative anonymity, it didn’t stop them from giving us one of our best Talking Shopcasts yet. To top things off, Efdemin crafted an exceptional exclusive mix (available below) that might make it difficult to sit still long enough to read the interview.
Pigon/Marcel Dettmann, Kamm/Plain
Art by Liu Bolin
[Beatstreet] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s tk)
In Marcel Dettmann’s rather enigmatic Discogs bio, we read that he sees techno as “a determination of both his life and music” which continually leads him on a “quest for the optimal track.” It’s a touch ridiculous in its overstatement, but it’s the kind of hyperbole that [...]
V/A, You Are My Mate
[Dial] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)
Dial had been releasing its lean and emotive variety of techno/house for nearly seven years before breaking to a larger audience, but the recognition could hardly have come at a better time. Last year the Hamburg-based label, owned and operated by Peter M. Kersten (Lawrence/Sten), Turner and Carsten Jost, cranked out [...]
Till Von Sein, Sein Days
Art by Azul de Corso
[Morris / Audio] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)
Till Von Sein’s innate, sophisticated ability to channel the American deep house sound through the prism of Berlin techno is something to behold. This ability has put him among the ranks of Berlin’s impressive list of house loving producers including Efdemin, Sebo K, or Prosumer [...]
Little White Earbuds January Charts
Graphic via The Economist
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 [...]
Efdemin, Lohn & Brot Remixes
[liebe*detail spezial] (buy vinyl) (buy .mp3s)
For their latest spezial release, liebe*detail reaches back to Efdemin’s 2006 breakthrough track, “Lohn & Brot” (“Wages & Bread”) and enlists two disparate yet similarly revered producers — Tobias Freund and Sebo K — to have another look. First up is Freund (as tobias.), a electronic veteran whose career as [...]
LWE’s Top 20 Albums of 2007
01. Matthew Dear, Asa Breed [Ghostly International] (buy)
Each release from Matthew Dear reveals something new about this multi-faceted producer, and Asa Breed, his second full-length album as MD, was hugely revelatory. The depth, heft and pop sensibilities of Dear’s songwriting are on full display, and for it, Asa Breed stands tall over all its competition. [...]
Gaiser, Withdrawal
[M_nus] (buy)
As the soulful shades of deep house again find their way into many releases this year, the still thriving industry of minimal techno has responded, in some ways, in kind. Whether it’s the melodically blushing simplicity of Efdemin and his work as Pigon; or perhaps the echo-eco-system of Deepchord and his Echospace project; [...]