Tag Archive: kirk degiorgio

LWE Podcast 36: Kirk Degiorgio retires this week

LWE’s 36th podcast was curated by UK techno veteran Kirk Degiorgio. Make sure to grab his jam packed mix before it retires this Friday, February 18th.

Kirk Degiorgio, Flote EP

On the Flote EP for Flying Donkey Music, Kirk Degiorgio has once again managed to rein in his explosive tendencies enough to deliver something sweet, not saccharine.

Arne Weinberg, Integrity Constraint Part 1

The first in a series of singles for aDepth Audio, Arne Weinberg’s Integrity Constraint Part 1 continues his explorations of a rich vein of deep techno.

Kirk Degiorgio, Membrane

Back in 1992, Kirk Degiorgio’s first ART EP (originally released by R&S Records) found itself getting licensed to Planet E, albeit in a slightly paired down and remixed form, but nonetheless giving two of productions front and center billing. He returned the favor soon after, providing a home for some of Carl Craig’s finest work under his Psyche and BFC monikers on the ART 3 EP. Fast forward 18 years and Degiorgio has returned to Planet E with his latest 12″, Membrane. With Degiorgio reviving his ART imprint and catching his second wind on the techno front, this would seem a perfect fit if not somewhat of a homecoming.

LWE Podcast 36: Kirk Degiorgio

Kirk Degiorgio’s name is not synonymous with minimal techno. Over the course of his 18-year career you could count on your hands the number of releases that would even qualify as club-approved tackle. Degiorgio made his name with multi-hued Detroit-inspired techno and went on to produce soulful music in a variety of genres, but rarely touched on straightforward dance floor-ready tracks. Today we see Degiorgio taking a new path that embraces this side of techno, both in terms of production and DJing. Degiorgio rebooted his Applied Rhythm Technology (ART) label this year and is focused on creating full sounding techno that works in club environs. That approach is paying dividends with the recent “Isomer Shift” release on B12, his new “Swarm” EP, the first release for ART’s new Dance Division series and one forthcoming on Planet E. He has applied this same concept to DJing, choosing to play the same type of material he is championing through his own productions. For LWE’s 36th podcast, Degiorgio shares an exclusive mix of what he’s currently spinning and sits down to explain the finer points of running a label, his relationship to DJ technology, and to set the record straight on techno’s debt to jazz.

Kirk Degiorgio, Mass

With a techno revival in full swing, most of the attention has been lavished on the re-emergence of Luke Slater. However Kirk Degiorgio’s role in the early UK techno scene and beyond shouldn’t go unnoticed. Alongside Black Dog Productions, B12, Steve Pickton and others, he helped to develop a uniquely British take on what Detroit had introduced them to. What set Degiorgio apart from his counterparts was an upbringing and deep found appreciation for black music forms extending beyond the solely electronic dance format and into the jazz and soul landscape. His encyclopedic knowledge and deep love of older jazz, funk and boogie informed much of what came after his initial techno releases and allowed him to explore those influences in more honest ways. Degiorgio’s multiple albums under the As One alias have provided thrilling moments exploring modal jazz arrangements fused with electronic elements (Planetary Folklore, Elegant Systems and The Message In Herbie’s Shirts), while he hasn’t shied away from song based soul excursions either. His recent influx of releases, starting with “Jitter World” on Abstract Forms and now Mass (the first new material on his newly re-launched ART imprint in 15 years), sees Degiorgio returning to his production roots in prime techno terms, plain and simple.