01. Audision, “Aurora” (John Roberts Remix) [&nd]
02. Oriol, “Coconut Coast” [Planet Mu]
03. Tama Sumo & Prosumer, “Rarified” (The Oliverwho Factory Remix) [Ostgut Ton]
04. Art Bleek, “The Real Thing” (Agnes Remix) [Sharivari Records]
05. And.ID, “Erotica” [Mobilee]
06. Roska, “I Need Love” [Rinse Recordings]
07. Wax, “No. 30003 A” [Wax]
08. Ross 154, “Until My Heart Stops”
[M>O>S Recordings]
09. Space Dimension Controller, “J2TCOTUS” (Kyle Hall’s I’m Only Breathing Remix) [Royal Oak]
10. Dissident, “Society of Silver Skeletons” (Headhunter Remix) [Hotshore]
john roberts
Little White Earbuds May Charts 2010
May 31, 2010 – 10:01 AM
Various Artists, 2010
May 13, 2010 – 10:01 AM
Dial’s core aesthetic of chic but understated deep house remains present on 2010, with contributions from label founders Lawrence, Pantha du Prince and Efdemin that stay true, occasionally too much so, to the label’s sound when it was first birthed in Hamburg 10 years ago.
Various Artists, Laid006
March 3, 2010 – 11:01 AM
In only a handful of months the still fresh Laid imprint has made quite a name for itself. Despite being born in the shadow of its older brother label, Dial, Laid has quickly established its own area of expertise, pummeling record buyers with five solid singles of dance floor-primed house music while Dial vascilates between floor friendly and leftfield sounds. The sixth record to don a lux Laid sleeve is the first showcasing multiple artists’ originals, for which they’ve collected some of the freshest names around for a survey of the current state of deep house on both sides of the Atlantic. Hamburger Christopher Rau and New Yorker-cum-Berliner John Roberts are both members of the extended Dial family while New Yorker Fred P. has earned well deserved heaps of praise for his work as Black Jazz Consortium. It’s perhaps no surprise that Laid006 is about as solid a record as you can get, throwing three distinctive and in vogue sounds on one wax slab.
Little White Earbuds February Charts 2010
March 1, 2010 – 1:01 AM
01. John Roberts, “White” [Laid] (buy)
02. Martyn, “Seventy Four” (Redshape Mix) [3024] (buy)
03. Chris Harvey, “Funky Freak”
[Imperanza Recordings] (buy)
04. Vincenzo & Elmar Schubert, “Wanna Love You” [Freerange Records] (buy)
05. Rob Belleville, “Pulchritude” [aDepth Audio] (buy)
06. Steffi ft. Elif Biçer, “Kill Me” [Ostgut Ton] (buy)
07. Joy Orbison, “So Derobe” [Aus Music]
08. Manaboo, “Unhuh” [Steadfast Records] (buy)
09. Nico Purman, “Chamomile” [Vakant] (buy)
10. Pawel, “Panamerican” [Dial] (buy)
LWE’s Top 5 EPs of 2009
December 9, 2009 – 12:01 AM
When we make our year end lists we divide our favorite music into two categories: albums and singles. But the definition of an album is constantly shifting as evinced when Shackleton declared Three EPs was not an album but rather, well, three EPs. While many will still slot the release into their albums list, it got me thinking. Between singles and albums lists we miss a crucial group, especially for electronic music: the 12″ EP. More than a single but not quite an LP, the 12″ allows producers to execute their vision over the course of around 20 minutes. For me, these records contained some 2009’s best music.
John Roberts, Blame
September 8, 2009 – 10:01 AM
John Roberts claims to spend a lot of time tweaking tracks from his bed or couch. I find this both plausible and kind of baffling. While the American Berliner prodigiously crafts fresh-out-the-steam-room house tunes mirroring the laid-back circumstances of their creation, he populates his sides with some of the most hyper-tangible and painstakingly textured samples in deep house. Dance music nerds often fetishize records made on analog gear in elaborate custom recording studios, but shy of hiring an on-call chair massage crew, I just can’t see panel after panel of humming gear birthing ear candy as good-vibin’ and deceptively crafty as Roberts’s couch-and-MacBook music. Spooning a modular synth is also pretty difficult.
John Roberts, Mirror
July 31, 2009 – 10:01 AM
Though he sports one of the less memorable names in house music (as compared to, say, “Black Jazz Consortium,” “Mr. Fingers,” or “Sascha Dive”), John Roberts possesses one of the most distinctive and individualistic sounds of the moment. His tracks are wonders of acoustic sound and digital grid structure, of quirky detail and suffusive mood, of widescreen scope and hand-lettered modesty. All of which has made him the torch-bearer of the day for Hamburg’s Dial Records. “Mirror” finds that torch in good hands indeed.
Rndm, Third Hand Smoke
July 14, 2009 – 10:09 AM
I first heard of Dial’s plan to start a deep house sub-label called Laid about two years ago. It sounded like a great idea; a way to bring in a fresh sound in what was then still a minimal-soaked dance music world. Finally in 2009 Dial’s younger brother was born with the first two records from Laid. Of course, a lot happens in two years of dance music history. Laid’s opening salvo comes after deep house has been “revived,” this time with the minimal bandwagon in tow, their vacuousness made only more obvious by all the a cappellas professing “soul.” After a wonderful inauguration by Detriot’s own Rick Wade, Oliver Kargl, best known as Rndm, continues to steer Laid into the deep end.
John Roberts, Bodywork
January 18, 2009 – 9:38 PM
Eyebrows raised and ears perked up when the close-knit Dial label added hitherto unknown, John Roberts, as the first American on its roster. “Hesitate,” his debut single that cobbled together deep-house movers from deftly manipulated samples and live instrumentation, did not disappoint. You could argue it was the most striking platter the imprint delivered in 2008 (in part because of a brief release schedule). All that in mind, anticipation and expectations for Roberts’ next release are high, and they’re likely to be met (and possibly exceeded) by “Bodywork,” his single-sided 12″ for John Daly’s Feel Music.
John Roberts, Hesitate
October 8, 2008 – 8:26 PM
[Dial] “Hesitate” is in the running for the most ironic title of the year. As John Roberts’ debut on the frequently great label Dial, the single begins with a hiccup of a listless groove that quickly fades as a facile tribute to the title — there are few actual hesitations on “Hesitate.” Roberts can afford […]