Looking back at Teste’s limited output, it would easy to write the Canadian duo off as a minor footnote in the history of techno’s early years. Their discography never extended past two official releases, but with their debut 12″ known as “The Wipe” they left an indelible mark on the techno landscape.
kuri
Tony Lionni, The Games People Play EP
July 30, 2009 – 9:02 PM
Tony Lionni’s involvement in the Manchester dance crews scene of the late ’80s/early ’90s is a known entity now, but at the time he revealed the fact it was nothing short of revelatory. Here was an artist coming out with serious house and techno records without any solid threads to his origins, to the experiences that brought him to the here and now with what seemed like such unfettered ease. Once you understand how Lionni’s connection to music formed through the club culture of the Hacienda, jazz house dance battles and his own self-confessed study of “black music in all its forms” you realize that this is no passing fancy for him. And the fact that Lionni is a former dancer doesn’t hurt his chances of getting asses moving either.
Adam Marshall, Vespers EP
July 7, 2009 – 11:48 PM
If Adam Marshall’s latest EP, “Vespers,” is to be interpreted as an evensong, it should be played in a house of worship most fitting its utilitarian nature: a night club, warehouse or anywhere a thick bass bin beckons. The Christian iconography depicted on the record’s inner label art speak to the EP’s titular concept but the two tracks featured here will most assuredly not be getting air time in any Sunday school classes. After DJing and producing from a Toronto base for nearly 2 decades it seems that a re-location to (surprise, surprise) Berlin has brought new attention his way. Last year’s “Chord Tracking” turned heads with its punchy, inspired tech-house and as evidenced by his LWE Podcast (precise mixing and a taste for house and techno that runs wide and far), the man knows a thing or two about what will work for the dance floor.
$tinkworx & Kinoeye, MKB / Mean Old World
July 5, 2009 – 9:45 PM
William Burnett is an unlikely Williamsburg renaissance man, but with the litany of pies in which he has fingers it’s hard to argue. When he isn’t releasing albums under the nom de plume Grackle, collaborating with Eliot Lipp as Galaxy Toobin’ Gang or recording ghetto house as Smackulator, he’s also known to be DJing sick dance music eclecticism on the Short Bus Radio program. And now Burnett has managed to cram one more achievement onto his resume by starting W.T. Records. For the first release he hasn’t held back, roping in North Carolina based $tinkworx and Kinoeye (a new alias for Datahata) for an auspicious split 12″ debut. But according to Burnett these tracks were the whole inspiration for W.T. Records’s inception in the first place. After hearing them posted online he hung onto the MP3s and later noticed they were never released, prompting him to take matters into his own hands.
Cobblestone Jazz, Traffic Jam EP
June 10, 2009 – 11:42 PM
After what seems like a lengthy hiatus (at the current release rate, two years in the house/techno 12″ market feels more like 10) and lukewarm reviews of their debut album, 23 Seconds, Cobblestone Jazz’s return makes no apologies for directness. The band’s penchant for improvisation is a driving force in their creative process and always features heavily in their live performances, but with the “Traffic Jam EP” there is less jazz spontaneity on display and more techno fundamentals at work. The trio makes use of programming assistance from occasional band partner, The Mole, from The Modern Deep Left Quartet. Where their previous collaboration resulted in raw house experimentalism, this EP doesn’t pussyfoot around.
Anton Zap, Outside EP
June 3, 2009 – 11:10 PM
There was a time you had to keep your ear close to the ground to get an accurate read on the whereabouts of true deep house. That is no longer the case as more labels have recently emerged to help push the sound to the foreground. And with that are pushing artists who are dedicated to keeping the deep house revival moving in the right direction. Anton Zap is one such artist. The Moscow-based producer earned instant street cred with just a handful of releases on Underground Quality and Quintessentials over the past two years. With his latest release, the “Outside EP” for Uzuri, Zap reveals a growing confidence and development of his own sound.