2011 will not be remembered as a particularly good year for the world. Between a myriad of horrifying natural disasters, the uncertain outcome of the Arab Spring, political gridlock in the U.S., the EU’s seemingly unraveling state, austerity protests, and a generally ugly economic period, the events of this year have not offered much to smile about. But for dance music fans, 2011 was a year rich with exciting music coming out of house, techno, bass music, and everywhere between and around. While it might not be remembered as the most progressive of years — retro and recently unearthed seemed to be the most popular aesthetic themes — enthusiasts will be able to look back at their 2011 finds and say with certainty that many will still be worth their weight in the years to come. As in past years, LWE’s reviewing staff has devoted a great deal effort combing through the year’s releases to bring out our top 30 favorite tracks of 2011. Your mileage may vary and many great tracks were left out, but for us these selections defined our 2011 listening experiences. Our individual staff lists will be published this Friday.

30. EQD, “Equalized#005-B”
[Equalized] (buy)

2011 was a lean year for René Pawlowitz releases, especially after his fattened 2010 release schedule. In fact, if you put aside his remixes of 2562 and Radiohead, it all came down to one record released in 2011′s waning months — the fifth installment in the Equalized series. Luckily for us, it was a complete reversal from the disappointingly one-note #004 that more than made up for a year’s worth of near silence. Firing up what sound like the same synthesizers that made the first three Equalized singles must-owns, Pawlowitz turned each up to 162 to build one of the year’s most massive tunes. The skanking progression that opens “Equalized#005-B” merely hints at the approaching fury, as a phalanx of similar progressions begin to gallop alongside their leader. The track only grows beefier and more aggressive (in spite of the lighthearted tambourine percussion) until it’s difficult to imagine any more space left in the room for more synths — and that’s when the euphoric melodies wash over everything. Thanks to its late-November release it might take critics and record buyers a few more months to fully absorb this record’s genius, but its impact was already so strongly felt that we at LWE just had to make room for it among 2011′s best. (Anton Kipfel)

29. RNDM, “Hideaway (Dub)”
[Laid] (buy)

Last year, Oskar Offermann and Moomin’s “Hardmood” just sneaked into LWE’s top 25 list. “Hideaway,” actually released the same year, similarly showed the power of bold, carefully crafted percussion, favoring solid basics over audaciousness. This was a sentiment reinforced by its mostly regressive palette. The 12″ itself — the tenth on Dial’s prestigious sub-label – actually offered three nuanced versions. It was this, however –the wisely-chosen A-side – which appeared the most confident with its essentials and consequently, caused the biggest splash. I first encountered it through Oliver Hafenbauer, Live At Robert Johnson’s A&R guy. When I searched frantically for it the next morning, there was no uncertainty as to whether I’d stumbled onto the same tune. Its friendly, warbling synth program and shrugging hats were instantly recognizable. And isn’t that about the best one can hope for with a track of such modest ambition?
(Nick Connellan)

28. Tin Man, “Nonneo” (Donato Dozzy Remix)
[Absurd Recordings] (buy)

Imagine you heard Tin Man’s “Nonneo” on Earth in 2011. (If you followed dance music this year, then this probably isn’t a difficult scenario for you to conjure.) Now imagine that, immediately upon finishing the track, you’re hustled into a spacecraft and launched toward some distant black hole. Your ship circumscribes the event horizon for awhile, where gravity is strong enough to warp time, and then you blast off back toward your home planet, thousands of years having effortlessly passed. After being extracted from your ship by fusion-powered robots, you’re transferred to a holding pen curiously outfitted with some reconstituted artifacts of 20th-century electronic music production (they got the Roland plates right and everything), and a perfectly polite but obviously synthesized voice asks if you might recreate that tune you heard moments before your adventure began. My guess is you’d produce something like Donato Dozzy’s masterful remix, wherein the power of Tin Man’s original is amplified despite so many of its sounds getting lost in the ether. Of course, having the year’s best bass line at your disposal makes losing the rest of your stems somewhere between Neptune and Uranus a rather tasty prospect.
(Jordan Rothlein)

27. Protect-U, “World Music”
[Future Times] (buy)

When the Protect-U duo of Aaron Leitko and Mike Petillo began, they didn’t set out to make easily quantifiable music. And with “World Music” from their second release for Future Times, Protect-U continued to color outside the lines. “World Music” sends us sprawling through a sonic tableau of synth eddies, tapping into how expansive techno can be in the right hands. Starting off with staccato drum programming and white noise salvos from delayed snare reverb, Protect-U take a sound that would be a rushing, climactic tool in most current techno and instead use it to introduce tension and apply texture. It’s followed by a rolling funk bass line, twinkling synth chirps and jutting bleeps that intersect with melodic chord phrasings evoking a meditative calm, before changing gears and ending as a stripped-down cosmic burner. They may have called it “World Music” but where it ends up is closer to the sun. (Kuri Kondrak)

26. Roman Flügel, “Iron Curtain”
[Live At Robert Johnson] (buy)

It’s a tough task to choose the vital tracks from Roman Flügel’s 2011 catalog; everything the producer touches – or perhaps just looks at or thinks about — turns to gold. Even narrowing it down to Desperate Housemen, the EP from which “Iron Curtain” comes, provides only a little help. No doubt a consequence of Flügel’s penchant for FM synthesis, all four tracks showed distinct, separate personalities. And yet, they were all so utterly, unmistakably Roman. Then why select this one? Well, the German wunderkind has made a name for himself by making quirky, playful tracks. And “Iron Curtain” fulfills these criteria better than anything else he produced this year (competing with “Brasil” and “Bahia Blues Bootcamp,” admittedly). The most identifiably “Roman Flügel,” if you will. The main melody was a kind of schizophrenic Melody Pop-esque blooping; a versatile and totally unique timbre with the ability to move from a standing start to melodramatic highs in just a few bars. The track’s bleary pads and shuffling percussion felt similarly distinctive. Vital indeed. (Nick Connellan)

25. Crystal Maze, “Crystal Maze” (Chicago Skyway Remix)
[aDepth Audio] (buy)

When Crystal Maze released their debut, eponymous EP on aDepth Audio some months ago, it was immediately apparent that the four-tracker was not the work of mere amateurs. Indeed its members, Gstring and MarcoAntonio Spaventi — along with Aroy Dee — make up the trio R-A-G, who have released two highly accomplished EPs of their own already. The original title track from the EP is a deep, atmospheric house track, full of plaintive pads, and a bass line that aligns itself with the heartbeat. In the hands of Chicago Skyway the track takes on a whole new life, the bass line transformed, writhing, arpeggiated, insidious. Spanning several octaves, it manages to not just anchor the track but also provides the main melody. All that is required from here is to provide window dressing in the form of some purposeful claps, dilapidated snare fills and overdriven hi-hats. Addressing the balance of the sentiment presented in the original, Chicago Skyway rounds out his remix by incorporating the moody, ethereal pads for sections of the track. Not only does his mix serve to provide some dance floor heat to Crystal Maze’s excellent first outing, but it also ranks as one of the most compelling takes on a retro-futuristic Chicago house sound that was such a big part of 2011. (Per Bojsen-Moller)

24. Martyn, “Masks”
[Brainfeeder] (buy)

Martyn on Brainfeeder: the pairing of the L.A. beat freak (out) kings with the mature, measured, steady Dutchman certainly turned heads this year. And while the wildly experimental label was certainly not the first that many listeners would associate with a Martyn release, the results of this 12″ (and the resulting LP) were both strong and some of the most unabashed and simple 4/4 dance floor tracks Martyn has put his name to. Never mind “bass music” — this is house music: shuffling, bleepy, mildly experimental and imbued with the warmth, humanity and storytelling that Martyn has refined over the past few years.
(Harry Sword)

23. Burial, “Stolen Dog”
[Hyperdub] (buy)

Tucked away at the end of Burial’s Street Halo EP, “Stolen Dog” is one of the more moody and beautiful tracks from this elusive producer. When I reviewed the EP earlier this year, I compared it to Four Tet in terms of it’s melody, but also to the cinema and ballads. There is a very warm and loving quality to “Stolen Dog,” something that Burial’s music often eschews. The vocal snippets seem to coo at the listener, seducing them to just be in the moment with the music. It’s sad, wistful, but also hopeful, like falling in love. Clearly one of the most emotional Burial songs to date, it has a very minimal beat much like his first album, relying on melody and atmosphere to make the connection, showing compositional growth and maturity from the already vaunted artist. (Keith Pishnery)

22. The Citizen’s Band, “West 42nd”
[Live At Robert Johnson] (buy)

Where last year was Arto Mwambe’s biggest to date, 2011 has been a banner year for its two members. It began with an excellent single by Phillip Lauer, continued with the debut of Christian Beißwenger’s electro project with Oliver Hafenbauer, B.H.F.V, and concluded with a long overdue Beißwenger single (all of which took place on Live At Robert Johnson). The lead track “West 42nd” makes it clear why Beißwenger adopted The Citizen’s Band for this new material rather than carry on as CB Funk: this is freewheeling stuff. Its percussion cuts sassy, unexpected patterns in the fluffy, rainbow colored tones that zoom by, transporting listeners to a Mario Brothers’ cloud level where the floor evaporates at will. It certainly keeps dancers on their toes as well, first with a tricky kick deployment and later with a skittering return to beats post-breakdown. There has always been an undercurrent of the unexpected in Arto Mwambe’s classic-indebted tracks, and as The Citizen’s Band, that twisted sensibility steps into the spotlight and demands attention. What’s more, “West 42nd” has no peers to speak of, in house or elsewhere; it’s a sui generis masterpiece that’s likely to remain unique for a long time to come. (Anton Kipfel)

21. Machinedrum, “Come1″
[Planet Mu] (buy)

Being a genius is great and all, but if you can’t communicate your brilliant and paradigm-shifting ideas to us merely above-average individuals, then why even bother? Travis Stewart wasn’t the only producer on his own tip this year, but what’s notable about his, as exemplified by Room(s), was both how utterly alien his thesis was and how tangible its explication. “Come1,” arguably the album’s centerpiece, features everything both non-intuitive and deeply eloquent about Machinedrum in 2011. What begins with barrage of pianos and tambourines quickly reveals itself as something of a rainy-day lament, with Machinedrum’s half-lyrics coaxing honest-to-goodness indie rock guitars up from the bed of funk samples. When was the last time a track that would leave most dubstep DJs huffing and puffing made you tear up a little bit? “Come1″ is unquestionably one of the least expected and most thoroughly original journeys a dance music producer has taken us on this year, but its daring would be all for naught if Stewart couldn’t sell it, and doesn’t he ever. Like one six-minute-plus crossfade by a particularly adventurous DJ, “Come1″ begins one place and ever so effortlessly takes us to one we would never have imagined. (Jordan Rothlein)

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[Brainfeeder]

Martyn’s debut album Great Lengths was lauded for its combining of dubstep and techno, but the reason it resonated so powerfully with listeners was more for its intensely personal atmosphere than any genre-related concerns. That wistful sensibility has largely dissipated from Martyn’s recent compositions as he has become an even more reliable dealer of the 4/4 stuff, focusing increasingly on (increasingly German) dance floors. His second album does little to buck this trend, as Martyn is on record proclaiming Ghost People as a straight up dance floor album. It could be all of the movement, then, that makes it flow better that its predecessor, or it could be its relatively taut forty-six minutes: either way, Ghost People is, in many ways, just a more pleasurable listen than Martyn’s debut. It’s home listening in the living-room-dancing sort of way (indeed, the past month I’ve spent with this album has contained many such events), and once the Spaceape’s trademark narration kicks the record off it’s pretty much impossible to turn off.

That first track’s bubbling neon synth landscapes (coupled with Mr. Spaceape’s voice) and “Viper’”s crunched, almost metal-alike chords and engulfing arpeggios (an awful combination on paper, but trust me, it works) ratchet tension perfectly, but it’s not until “Masks” that Martyn finally lets the kick drop. Sweat drenched and stomping, it’s Martyn at his dancefloor finest, and the next couple tracks keep things moving at a blistering pace. “I Saw You at Tule Lake” allows for a (very) short breather, while “Ghost People” and “Twice As” are unmistakably Martyn in their slightly fractured rhythms and simple, effective leads. Up until this point the album is very much Martyn at his best, but also Martyn at his most recognizable.

“Bauplan” is where things change up, and the album enters its final third: the part that turns Ghost People from a very good album to something rather special. “Bauplan” is all crystalline synth arpeggios which, instead of slowing things down, just keeps driving along despite its lack of percussion. “Horror Vacui” is a sloppy rhythm track in all the best ways, with snares ratting away, ubiquitous raygun samples, and grimy bass lines. And then there’s “We Are You In The Future,” the last, longest, and easily best track of the album. At first it sounds like Martyn could be going the trancy route, but UK hardcore percussion takes over and firmly places things in early 90s Warp terrain. The track veers all over the place, taking a detour through very ravey sounds for a couple of minutes, but returns for a coda that takes what was so great about early 90s Sheffield techno (a sound that surprisingly has yet to really make a comeback) and makes it thoroughly modern. And that’s pretty much Martyn’s thing: the touchstones are always clear, but even so, something about Martyn’s music ends up sounding new and fresh. One could delve into a discussion of retro-fetishism, but then again it’s probably best you just put Ghost People on really loud, move your body, and watch that you don’t hit your furniture.

01. Massimiliano Pagliara, “A Wrong Chance” (Tuff City Kids Remix) [Live At Robert Johnson] (buy)
Stylistically diverse and capably executed, Massimiliano Pagliara’s debut full-length, Focus For Infinity, could rank among the year’s best dance music albums. Yet for reasons I can’t quite understand, it somehow managed to be overlooked by most critics and listeners. If there’s any justice, the Live At Robert Johnson-released remix EPs will rekindle interest in the excellent originals. Perhaps the strongest argument for this is the Tuff City Kids remix of “A Wrong Chance.” The duo of Running Back impresario Gerd Janson and Arto Mwambe’s Phillip Lauer re-sculpt the tune into something tougher but equally sophisticated. Fans of Lauer’s recent work will recognize some of his signature synth sounds which provide an airy sweetness to compliment the meaty bass line which leads things off. Like the original, the remix straddles the past as it looks into the present, offering nostalgic drum programming and acid flourishes which sound fresh despite themselves. Tuff City Kids is primarily a remix outlet for Janson and Lauer, but with remixes this good one hopes they find time for some originals, too.

02. Recast, “Consensual”
[Third Ear Recordings] (buy)
Unlike actors who get typecast for playing one role for too long, electronic music producers have the luxury of putting on new masks when ready to leave behind their best known material. Such has been the case for Konstantinos Soublis, the producer best know for his records on Chain Reaction and Echocord as Fluxion. In 2011 he’s resurfaced as Recast with a new single for the always adventurous Third Ear Recordings. Whereas his dub techno material utilized a rather narrow tonal palette, “Consensual” is rife with wafting melodies primed for intense daydreaming. Its teasing intro barely prepares listeners for the full-on bear hug of melody and thick, wandering bass that greets them and further intensifies. While clearly not the focus of the piece, the percussion in “Consensual” is obviously labored over as well, from rolling kicks, tense string plucks, a light dusting of shakers and cascading hi-hats that change up as if driving through different weather patterns. Immense and ambitious, it will be interesting to see how far Soublis takes Recast after “Consensual” before finding a new mask to wear.

03. Archie Pelago, “Rude Panecea”
[Slime Recordings] (buy)
Drawing upon jazz for samples and inspiration is still a relatively new thing for bass music types, so the prospect of a nominal jazz trio making bass music is honestly difficult to wrap one’s head around. In fact, it sounds like the kind of thing that really shouldn’t work. The Brooklyn-based trio Archie Pelago, however, is proving such preconceptions to be misjudged. Case in point, “Rude Panacea” from their Chocolate Waveplates EP for Slime Recordings: a rambunctious, synth-rooted romp through organic instrumentation that could score a Road Runner cartoon as easily as bring down the house during one of their live performances. Sax, trumpet and cello spar with the razor-backed synth lines that skitter and roar across nimble arrangements that feel delicately composed but powerful enough to inspire sincere head rocking. It’s immensely satisfying for something that could go so horribly wrong to end up so right. I can hardly wait to find out what other preconceived notions of mine they end up shattering.

04. Benjamin Brunn, “I Took Her Out For a 707″ [Ashes] (buy)
“I Took Her Out For A 707,” the lead track from Benjamin Brunn’s Dust EP for the newly launched Ashes imprint, can be described simply as minimalist. Note that it’s not minimal (whether or not you take that word pejoratively), but it relies on a only a few elements to make its immaculate point. Brunn wrings out a great of substance from its iridescent synth line by toying with the attack and sustain, leaving the melody largely unchanged even as it strikes different poses. The trotting 707 and a diffused clap generally hold their shape as well, only occasionally shifting their patterns to match the changes in synth intensity. But it’s the bass line, shimmying down the scale, that completes the track, taking it beyond the “session experiment” sound a piece this compact might suffer from otherwise. “I Took Her Out For A 707″ is no opus, but it’s an example of just how much Brunn can accomplish with a limited toolkit.

05. El Kid, “112″ [Immerse Records] (buy)
Not only has the slow down in bass music tempos been useful for DJs looking to integrate it into their house/techno sets, it’s a boon to the overall genre itself. Rather than turn into the kind of musical arms race that helped make jungle/drum n’ bass practically irrelevant, this has allowed DJs to find new, interesting patterns with all the space afforded by tempos that jog rather than sprint. Immerse Records has done a good job of finding talent who dabble in the slower end of things, and their latest signing, El Kid, is among the most promising. With “112,” the Brighton-based producer has created something that feels compatible with but unrecognizable as house. The tune mines much of the same tonal territory as his compatriot BNJMN, although the broken beat patterns below the glossy melodies provide a distinctly different flavor. The same can be said the off-hand percussion elements littered throughout, affording texture to otherwise clean sounds. With a debut this distinctive and versatile, El Kid seems like a producer worth monitoring closely.

06. Nebraska, “The Cruives”
[Rush Hour Recordings] (buy)
07. Martyn, “Masks” [Brainfeeder] (buy)
08. Cavalier, “Uzunyayla (Hallucinatory Narcosis)”
[Drumpoet Community] (buy)
09. Lukid, “My Teeth In Your Neck” [GLUM] (buy)
10. Perseus Traxx, “Misspent Emotions”
[Boe Recordings] (buy)

Staff Charts:

Per Bojsen-Moller
01. Andres, “Be Free Baby” [Mahogani Music]
02. Erdbeerschnitzel, “Always Remain” [3rd Strike]
03. Aybee, “Nigg#s And Space Machines” [Deepblak]
04. Gunnar Jonsson, “Tempelhof Zoo” [Just Another Beat]
05. Hieroglyphic Being, “Night Thoughts (2AM Remix)” [Sequencias]
06. Lone, “All Those Weird Things” [Wigflex]
07. Cosmin TRG, “Want You To Be” [50 Weapons]
08. Axel Boman, “Europa” [Studio Barnhaus]
09. Deep88 & The Huge, “Italo82 (Disco Remix)” [12 Records]
10. Fudge Fingas, “What Works” [Firecracker Recordings]

Luke Hawkins
01. Oni Ayhun, “Meets Shangaan Electro” [Honest Jon's]
02. Omar-S, “Who Wrote The Rules Of Love” (Shadow Ray Remix) [FXHE]
03. Nuel, “Aquaplano 3″ [Aquaplano Ltd]
04. Mike Parker, “A2″ [Aquaplano Ltd]
05. XDB, “Wentap” [Harbour City]
06. Ital, “Culture Clubs” (Hieroglyphic Being Remix) [Lover's Rock]
07. Donato Dozzy, “Giusy” [Time To Express]
08. Tin Man, “Love Sick” [Salon]
09. Terre Thaemlitz, “Hobo Train” [Comatonse]
10. QX-1, “Love Injection (Inject Me Love Mixx)” [Rhythm Beat]

Anton Kipfel
01. Oskar Offermann & Moomin, “Nasty Nate” [Aim]
02. Cavalier, “Napoletano” [Drumpoet Community]
03. Nebraska, “The Mountains” [Rush Hour Recordings]
04. Dexter, “Bo-Dyned” [Clone Basement Series]
05. Peach Melba, “Can’t Let Go” [DFA]
06. Martyn, “Masks” [Brainfeeder]
07. Alex Israel, “GAZ 13″ [W.T. Records]
08. Simon Baker, “Grey Area” (Album Edit) [20:20 Vision]
09. Audiofly ft. Fiora, “6 Degrees” [Get Physical Music]
10. Ron Basejam, “One Point” [Redux]

Kuri Kondrak
01. John Heckle, “Nothing Can Last Forever” [Mathematics]
02. o1o, “Beat Datazz” [Further]
03. Pépé Bradock, “Path Of Most Resistance” [Atavisme]
04. Juju & Jordash, “Chelm Is Dubbing” [Golf Channel Recordings]
05. Aroy Dee, “Shuffle” [Sequencias]
06. Marcos Cabral, “Freckles” [L.I.E.S.]
07. Kuba Sojka, “Voyager 1″ [Mathematics]
08. RVDS, “A Walk On The Moon” [It's]
09. Fudge Fingas, “What Works (Vakula Remix)” [Firecracker]
10. Anthony “Shake” Shakir, “Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir Meets BBC”
[Honest Jon's]

Chris Miller
01. Ital, “Only For Tonight” (Dubout Saviour’s Love Megamix) [100% Silk]
02. Juju & Jordash, “Chelm Is Burning” [Golf Channel Recordings]
03. Scuba, “Adrenalin” [Hotflush Recordings]
04. Sun Ra, “U.F.O.” (Mike Huckaby Reel to Reel Edit) [Kindred Spirits]
05. Omar-S, “Ganymede” [FXHE]
06. BNJMN, “Nightvision” (Andy Stott Remix) [Stolen Kisses]
07. Conforce, “Luminous” [Delsin]
08. Legowelt, “Sark Island Acid” [Long Island Electrical Systems]
09. Cosmin TRG, “Amor y Otros” [50 Weapons]
10. Regis, “Blood Witness” [Blackest Ever Black]

Jordan Rothlein
01. John Osborn, “Epoch4″ [TANSTAAFL]
02. Archie Pelago, “ArcJoe” [Slime]
03. Legowelt, “Metro Airport” [Legowelt]
04. Scuba, “Everywhere” [Hotflush Recordings]
05. Marcus Mixx, “Use Your Mouth To Love Me (Teeth Mix)”
[Unknown To The Unknown]
06. Erdbeerschnitzel, “Same Same” [3rd Strike]
07. FaltyDL, “Make It Difficult” [All City]
08. Distal, “French Science” [Label]
09. Terekke, “Damn” [L.I.E.S.]
10. Maria Minerva, “Laulan Paikse Kaes” [Not Not Fun]

Andrew Ryce
01. Balam Acab, “Apart” [Tri Angle]
02. Boddika, “Acid Jackson” [Swamp81]
03. Mosca, “Bax” [Numbers]
04. Clams Casino, “Motivation” [Type]
05. Option Command, “Break Even” [King Deluxe]
06. Kuedo, “Flight Path” [Planet Mu]
07. Bwana, “Baby Let Me Finish” [white]
08. Max Tkacz, “909 Kidz” [Motech]
09. Hackman, “Close” [Greco-Roman]
10. Kevin McPhee, “Sleep” [Idle Hands]

[Brainfeeder]

Plenty of dance music producers make a splash, but it’s rare that an artist truly cannonballs, practically drenching the scene in their influence. Martijn Deykers — Martyn to most — is one of these producers. Beginning with his “Velvet/Twenty Four” 12″ in 2007 and building to his 2009 full-length debut, Great Lengths, Martyn forged a kind of parallel dubstep universe, one as full of color as it was heavy with bass. If records from that heady era soundtracked a kind of fantasy club that didn’t quite exist yet, then the records that followed — and it’s worth noting that Martyn’s output since 2010 has teasingly slowed to a trickle — have been something like bass music vérité: On records like his Berghain 04 exclusive “Miniluv” or his All City-released collab with Mike Slott, or even his Fabric compilation, Martyn has lobbed bombs squarely at today’s floors, not so much advancing the dance as injecting it with the kind of serious grooves it so desperately needs. So on the eve of his next full-length, Ghost People, Martyn isn’t currently innovative so much as he’s articulate. But as “Masks/Viper,” the album’s teaser 12″, reveals, sharper teeth change surprisingly little about this guy’s bite.

Kicking off with “Masks,” Martyn immediately locks us into a 4/4 stomp with crispy percussion and a forceful bass line. It’s a businesslike beginning, but as bleepy synths start bubbling up and the layers start stacking up and reshuffling, you realize that there’s still plenty of music happening here, even in a track so perfectly pitched at DJs. The effect is even apparent on the two edits of “Viper” found on the B-side: both slam hard on the back of very intelligent arranging. The kick-free, swirling Ghost People Edit plays like an extended, standalone breakdown. The London’s Arches Edit, though, presents us with the full package: for a dense, sweaty six-plus minutes, Martyn sends a chameleon bass line barreling down an obstacle course of prickly synths, hiccuping vocal snippets, and curve-ball claves. The tones are low and that bass line certainly points downward, but somehow Martyn keeps the tune buoyant and lighthearted. Though he’s given us a couple of club bombs in advance of his full-length, make no mistake: these tracks are deeply insidious, raising the collective heart rate of the floor without drawing an inordinate amount of attention to themselves. You won’t get completely scrambled, but you’ll certainly get pumped up.

01. Drivetrain, “Lift Me High”
[Soiree Records International] (buy)
Every time I think I have a grasp on the many talents Detroit has to offer, a new record comes to reminds me how much more there is to learn. This time it’s Mo 2 Meaux 2 on Soiree Recordings International, an EP that forms a bridge between the Motor City and Meaux, France. For all the talent on offer, the opening cut by Drivetrain — also known as Derrick Thompson, the proprietor behind Soiree — feels like a wake up call. “Lift Me High” bears all the hallmarks of a producer who has been producing since 1990 — a potent marriage of interwoven melodies and soulful vocals laid out with the greatest of care. Its synths sizzle with carefully controlled energy — more a late night joy ride than a rocket to space — and the wriggling pitches of its bass line are a sensual massage for the ears. Not only does this record offer a killer cut, it’s a chance to dig deeper into an oft overlooked figure in Detroit house music.

02. The Oliverwho Factory, “Galactic Transit” (Recall Instrumental Mix) [Rush Hour Recordings] (buy)
There are records that give you new reasons to love an artist and others which reinforce the ones you’ve already developed. Galactic Transit, the first 2011 release from The Oliverwho Factory, fits into this latter category, building on the punchy and sublime aesthetic they’ve firmly established. While the vocal mix is quite a trip, the “Recall Instrumental Mix” feels like a sequel to the duo’s beloved remix of Prosumer & Tama Sumo’s “Rareified” with its pounding toms and slyly unfolding motifs. Shonie C’s wordless vocals have all the dramatic intrigue of a ’60s sci-fi soundtrack, lighting the fuse on room-filling melodic washes and rapid fire synth riffs. And despite its many layers, the arrangements provide plenty of room for mixing, making it the side on which DJs are the most likely to drop the needle. So while “Galactic Transit” isn’t exactly revelatory, it stirs the embers of my appreciation for the OWF and is a must-own for new and old fans.

03. Jamie Lloyd, “Cloud Hopping”
[Love International] (buy)
It’s been so long (five years, to be precise) since Jamie Lloyd put out a record of new material that audiences’ expectations for the Australian producer have likely reset. This actually works in the favor of I Left My Heart In Your Pants EP, Lloyd’s first in five years, as his boogie-influenced style proves quite agreeable to the current musical climate. This is best represented by A-side “Cloud Hopping,” a lighthearted romp of buzzing funk riffs pinned together by the dual desire to make dancers smile as they sweat. The floppy swagger of the low end is nibbled at by frantic upper register leads, eventually joining forces when downy pads lift the tune into the stratosphere. The biggest surprise is that this record arrives on the Malaysian, digital only imprint Love International rather than Lloyd’s usual outlet, Future Classic. Fans of Space Dimension Controller, Oriol, and Dam-Funk should take note: your latest jam isn’t by the usual suspects.

04. Omar-S, “Here’s Your Trance, Now Dance!”
[FXHE Records] (buy)
Single-sided vinyls are an unusual beast in the record world, and Omar-S’ FXHE presses more of them than most labels would even consider. Perhaps it’s his utmost confidence that the selected tune can stand on its own; his certainty has been bolstered by the popularity of tunes like Kyle Hall’s “Plastic Ambash” and his own “Psychotic Photosynthesis.” The latest single-sider to emerge from FXHE, Omar’s “Here’s Your Trance, Now Dance!”, certainly has the potential to reach similarly anthemic heights. Borrowing some of trance’s melodic cheese, the track assembles a rainbow of colorful tones and progressions — some cheerfully swaying, others jutting into the air, still more percolating below — to burst from the speakers. Although significantly more straightforward and ecstatic than “Psychotic,” “Here’s Your Trance” is similarly capable of bringing down the house and lodging itself in listeners’ memories — not least because it sounds unlike anything else out there. Flip right past if you’re looking for sleek sophistication; this is big, bold, beautiful unicorn of house music that dissolves audiences’ inhibitions.

05. D’Marc Cantu, “Set Free”
[M>O>S Recordings] (buy)
Like their compatriots at Rush Hour, M>O>S Recordings have repeatedly proven astute at A&Ring American talent and assembling complete packages that further their aesthetic. Following his M>O>S release as one-half of 2 AM/FM, D’Marc Cantu is the latest to deliver the goods with Set Free/Tonight. In line with but decidedly less acidic than his rugged tracks for Crème Organization and Nation, record highlight “Set Free” is home to both flinty analog percussion and foggy, lingering chords. The latter are sent searching through spectrum-scouring sonar washes, mapping out the room and tinging the atmosphere with a decidedly grungy, basement feel. This balancing act of vaporous melodies and unyielding drum programming seems most natural to Cantu — carefree and considered all at once. It’s what’s kept me coming back to this record over and over again throughout February.

06. James Blake, “I Never Learnt to Share”
[Atlas Recordings] (buy)
07. Steffi, “Mine” [Ostgut Ton] (buy)
08. Martyn & Mike Slott, “All Nights”
[All City Records] (buy)
09. Norman Nodge, “Convergence” [MDR] (buy)
10. Half Hawaii, “Bring Back the Love” [Perlon] (buy)

Staff Charts:

Chris Burkhalter
01. Move D, “Your Personal Healer” [Uzuri]
02. Theo Parrish, “Stop Bajon (T.P. Translation)” [Archive Recordings]
03. D’Marc Cantu, “Set Free” [M>O>S Recordings]
04. Omar-S, “Here’s Your Trance Now Dance!” [FXHE]
05. 214, “Porous Surfs” [Harbour City Sorrow]
06. Dresvn, “Untitled A2″ [Acido Records]
07. Nina Kraviz, “I’m Week” [Rekids]
08. dBridge, “Detuned Heart” [Autonomic]
09. Sven Weisemann, “Caprice” [Mojuba]
10. Marcelus, “Friction” [Deeply Rooted House]

Luke Hawkins
01. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled A1″ [Workshop]
02. Tin Man, “Life Is Acid” [Keys of Life]
03. Tin Man, “Wasteland” [Global A]
04. Morphosis, “Wild in Captivity” [Delsin/M>O>S/Morphine]
05. Atheus, “Dequadrant Redux” [Styrax]
06. Conforce, “State of Mind (XDB Reshape 2)” [Clone Basement Series]
07. Mike Parker, “Ringing Bass” [Prologue]
08. Rod Modell, “Body Sonic” [Plop]
09. Move D and Benjamin Brunn, “Radar” [Smallville Records]
10. DJ Qu, “Everybody’s Dark” [Soul People Music]

Steve Kerr
01. The Deep, “Muddy Tracks” [100% Silk]
02. Julia Holter, “Hello, Stranger” [NNA Tapes]
03. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled B1″ [Workshop]
04. Shackleton, “Deadman” (King Midas Sound Death Dub) [Honest Jon's]
05. Zwischenwelt, “Clairvoyant” [Rephlex]
06. BNJMN, “Depressure” [Rush Hour]
07. DJ Spinn, “I Really Feel” [Planet Mu]
08. Sylvia Mason, “We’ve Gotta Dance” [Carrere]
09. Genius of Time, “Houston We Have A Problem” [Royal Oak]
10. Factory Floor, “A Wooden Box” [Blast First Petite]

Anton Kipfel
01. BNJMN, “See Thru Stars” [Rush Hour Recordings]
02. Levon Vincent, “Tyner” [Soul People Music]
03. Steffi ft. Virginia, “Yours” [Ostgut Ton]
04. CloudMasterWeed, “Wicked System” [Soiree International Records]
05. Krause Duo ft. Ian Simmonds, “Hell On Earth” [Musik Krause]
06. Contakt, “Not Forgotten” [Local Action Records]
07. Manuel Tur ft. Holly Backler, “Most Of This Moment” [Freerange Records]
08. Martyn & Mike Slott, “Left Hander” [All City Recordings]
09. Hercules & Love Affair, “Step Up” [Moshi Moshi]
10. Lawrence, “Just Like Heaven” [Smallville Records]

Chris Miller
01. Omar-S, “Here’s Your Trance, Now Dance!” [FXHE]
02. D’Marc Cantu, “Set Free” [M>O>S Deep]
03. Tin Man, “Rockers Ravers” [Salon]
04. Black Jazz Consortium, “Stay” [Soul People Music]
05. Moritz von Oswald Trio, “Structure 1″ [Honest Jon's]
06. Pangaea, “Inna Daze” [Hessle Audio]
07. Kassem Mosse, “Untitled B2″ [Workshop]
08. Radiohead, “Feral” [Radiohead]
09. Joy O, “Wade In” [Hotflush Recordings]
10. SCB, “Loss” [Aus Music]

Andrew Ryce
01. Instra:mental, “User” [Nonplus+]
02. They Live, “Pure Palms” [Autonomic]
03. Actress, “Harrier ATTK” [Nonplus+]
04. Photek, “Avalanche” [Photek Productions]
05. Hercules & Love Affair, “Falling” [Moshi Moshi]
06. Kahn, “Like We Used To” [Punch Drunk]
07. Boddika, “Soul What” [Swamp81]
08. Until Silence, “Palindromes” [Pushing Red]
09. Icicle, “Redemption” [Shogun Audio]
10. Boxcutter, “Allele” [Planet Mu]

[All City Records]

Ireland’s All City label has a way of dropping hidden gems from somewhat big name producers seemingly without warning. Usually focusing on abstract and playful hip-hop, particularly the kind dominant on the American West Coast, All City strikes some interesting territory with its new “Collabs” series, taking in Dutch bass producer Martyn and Irish weirdo Mike Slott for a surprisingly fluid team effort.

You can hear each producer’s own tendencies and tics float to the surface through the details in each tune, and their collaboration has a way of melting down their own styles into something rather polished and congruous. Stylistically, there’s still a clear divide between these two sides of vinyl, like each producer putting their own take on another’s tune rather than building from the ground up. “All Nights” would seem to be Martyn’s baby, chords bounding over a straightforwardly jacking beat just like 2010′s “Left Hander,” but the whole thing is lent a plasticine sheen that’s no doubt the signature of Slott. Bizarre sound effects and extra-musical noises pop up at unexpected moments, meshing Martyn’s more measured personality with a hip-hop sense of syncopation. The slow, rolling “Pointing Fingers” would then seem to be Slott’s creation, a rollicking hip-hop track that rides low for most of its duration until it breaks out into an ecstatic march.

The track’s warm, careful bass line and soothing chords are ostensibly the Dutchman’s hand, and they ground a style that’s often predisposed to disposability with Martyn’s characteristic sense of restraint and class. With a new catalog number series 12×12, it looks like there are more “Collabs” to come. There’s probably not a better way to start off this series than with these tracks, which rise above their namedrop value and stand out as unique tracks in their creators’ discographies.

[Turbo]

Think of the finest modern techno and house music and Montreal’s Tiga isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind. However, it seem as if the producer known for his trashy Ed Banger-style electro productions (though admittedly a step above many of his dime-a-dozen contemporaries) has excellent taste in remixers, or at least someone at his label, Turbo, does. The latest single from 2009′s well-milked Ciao! LP, “Gentle Giant,” is a silky downtempo number with a fantastic vocal hook; and while the original merely haunts the spirit of these remixes (they sound more like new original tracks from each producer), each offers a unique and personal interpretation of the song’s complacent lounge vibes.

Martyn leads off the EP with his stunning “Heaven” remix, an apt subtitle all cringes aside. The Dutchman crafts a lush house track laden with choral vocals, soft strings, and a jacking beat caked with a little more grit he usually supplies. The swelling riffs of the original are battered and beaten down into a familiar wired-track progression as Tiga’s wordless oohs breezily float along for the ride. It’s quintessential Martyn, taking shelter between genres and sounding irresistibly smooth and appealing no matter what side of the divide you find yourself. Efdemin’s remix sounds like it could have been picked up off the cutting room floor of his Chicago LP, dusty nocturnal beats with a surprisingly muscular low-end; but just when it seems like he is content to merely ride the groove, the beat drops out and Tiga momentarily wafts in. The track jettisons into more percussive, upbeat territory, as drums feeding off of their own infectious bounce — one of the more uplifting things Efdemin has done in a long while. Mathew Jonson rounds out the EP with a lush, floaty remix (and a full-length vocal as a digital bonus) infected with blurred acid textures and harboring a queasy bass riff, all rounded textures like most of his recent work. So, if Tiga may not typically find room in your regular rotation, maybe it’s time to make an exception, even just this once.

After resting his ears and brain cells, LWE’s editor-in-chief, Steve Mizek, files his report on Movement 2010

As May rolls around each year, many dance music fans in America and around the world instinctively reach for their wallets and begin making preparations for Detroit’s annual electronic music festival, Movement. Although the festival has gone through many iterations in its eleven years of existence, this habit proved equally entrenched in 2010 as fans of all ages and from every corner of dance music culture returned to the Motor City to visit with old friends, make new ones, and dance until their feet threw in the towel.

Inner City. Photo by Bryan Mitchell for Paxahau

Slung across Memorial Day weekend, set outside in Hart Plaza, and featuring a broad range of musical acts, Movement is closer to a Lollapalooza style of festival than the substantially more niche events that make up the Mutek and Unsound NY festivals. This approach has its advantages and drawbacks. On the positive side, an abundance of acts assures that attendees will have their tastes will be catered to — however briefly — and provided alternates in case of disappointments. The all-at-once style also puts a larger strain on the promoter’s resources, and spending in one area (eg. adding extra talent) can mean less for another (eg. no free water in the VIP section). If attendance numbers are any indication, this format has grown increasingly popular since Movement first became a paid event, attracting a record number of more than 95,000 ticket holders in 2010, according to The Detroit News. Overall I enjoyed my time at Movement, but I suspect some of the fest’s shortcomings were the result of the give and take required to cast its net so widely, so quickly.

Martyn. Photo by Joe Gall for Paxahau

At first glance, Movement’s line up was spectacular, bringing together dozens of artists I’d long wanted to see, such as Ricardo Villalobos, Kyle Hall, Theo Parrish, Martyn, and many more. The reality was slightly less rosy, not least because visa issues caused Villalobos canceled his long awaited appearance. Many of the artists I wanted to see were also clustered around the same times, leaving me dashing from stage to stage in hopes of at least sampling both Cassy and Anthony “Shake” Shakir, or dOP and DJ Koze. I was disappointed with the line-up for the Red Bull stage, which was occupied by drum and bass acts for the majority of Saturday with only a token artist to represent the burgeoning U.K. bass music scene — and few would argue Martyn even remotely fits that classification. There were a few other lame bookings as well (is Booka Shade still relevant in 2010?), but the biggest disappointment on this front was the Movement Torino stage.

dOP. Photo by Paul Kelley for Paxahau

Inaugurated this year after Movement launched the Torino-based version of the fest in 2009, the Torino stage brought the total number to five and was comfortably positioned in a grassy area along Hart Plaza’s streetside perimeter. A long, nearly wall-less tent stacked full of speaker cabinets, the stage was looked upon with jealousy by those of us who spent much of the weekend in the tomb-like underground area hosting the Made In Detroit stage. Not only did the stage have a weak line-up, it was sparsely attended for long stretches of time when more desirable artists like Kirk Degiorgio were playing. Considering how full the Made In Detroit stage stayed throughout the fest, it seemed foolish to find it it once again relegated to an underground, concrete clad stage with poor acoustics. It’s a shame Paxahau, the promoters behind the festival, still hadn’t learned their lesson three years on.

The Moritz Von Oswald Trio with Carl Craig. Photo by Joe Gall for Paxahau

Keeping five stages running simultaneously and smoothly throughout the festival requires a large, skilled crew to handle all sorts of problems. Sadly tech problems were not uncommon throughout the weekend; and while it’s presumptuous to attribute these to Movement’s expansive size it certainly didn’t help that five stages needed attention. Where strings of sound dampeners hung from the ceiling yielded modest gains in the sound quality of the Made In Detroit stage, various gear problems left artists playing at inconsistent volumes, through turntables emitting obnoxious feedback (as marred Kyle Hall’s set), and without sound at all (during Robert Hood’s live set). If not for the quick thinking and hard work of an unsung hero like producer/engineer Kevin Reynolds, the Made In Detroit stage would’ve been in shambles. Gear problems also took a large bite out of The Moritz Von Oswald Trio’s highly anticipated set and decimated their audience.

DJ Koze. Photo by Joe Gall for Paxahau

For many electronic artists, events aiming to please the broadest range of fest-goers means tapping into the most populist part of their sound. Unfortunately few DJs do this well; it’s as if there is a formula dictating that for every hundred dancers beyond the first the music needs to be more visceral and less challenging or detailed. For example, Chicago acid pioneer DJ Pierre peppered his set with unflattering minimal house cuts that forfeited the momentum of his better, more acidic selections (and hearing him play Dubfire’s remix of Radio Slave’s “Grindhouse” was enough to make me walk away). Although this phenomenon was most prevalent at the usually minimal-focused Beatport stage, it also affected artists like DJ Koze, Kirk Degiorgio and Onur Özer who I expected to throw off the shackles of lowest common denominator techno/house but ended up embracing it in order to attract and keep bigger audiences. DJs like The Martinez Brothers reveled in the inanity of their music, endlessly milking the entertainment value of dropping the bass on their exasperating facile Latin house tracks.

The Martinez Brothers. Photo by Paul Kelley for Paxahau

Cassy. Photo by Paul Kelley for Paxahau

Thankfully, there were also DJs who played to bigger crowds without sacrificing any quality from their selections. Cassy, who opted for the hardest tracks I’ve ever heard her play, was especially successful in this regard. She satisfied her audience with a mix of techno bangers (seemingly culled from minimal’s first, Detroit-based heyday) and effortless, summery house grooves without veering into dry patches. Larry Heard ran with the acid house vibe his predecessor, DJ Pierre, couldn’t reliably deliver and kept the concrete bowl of the main stage relatively full. Martyn, an artist whose appeal is defined by his ineffable nature, kept his set varied and thick with hooks and vocals. Whether he was playing 2-step, minimal techno, wobbly dubstep or classic house audience his audience never missed a beat, even launching into crowd surfing during Adonis’ “No Way Back.” Derrick Carter and Derrick May also deserve praise for their canny populism, tossing classics like Paperclip People’s “Throw” into their minimally-inclined but decidedly funkier house sets.

Derrick Carter. Photo by Douglas Wojciechowski for Paxahau

Theo Parrish. Photo by Aaron M. Jones for Paxahau

Yet my favorite sets came from artists who tried to lead their audiences or seemed completely uninterested in crowd expectations. Theo Parrish was the king of the latter domain, weeding out those who were there for anything but the music with loose, free jazz cuts before launching into an eclectic mix of contemporary R&B, proto-house, new wave, remixes of Marvin Gaye, and a few of his own tracks — including his LCD Soundsystem remix. His ability to be recondite but irrepressibly fun made his set worth waiting the extra hour while he readied himself off-stage. Rick Wilhite was also good at confounding and entertaining audiences with a set that had as much to do with rock as funk, dropping remixes of Bjork between unusual old house tracks with a regal air to his posture while at the decks.

Rick Wilhite. Photo by Aaron M. Jones for Paxahau

Visibly frustrated but equally determined, Kyle Hall worked through a buzzing turntable to keep his dancers happy, finding common ground between jack tracks, old school classics like Cajmere’s “Brighter Days” (Underground Goodie Mix), and new, soon-to-be classics like Wax’s “No. 30003-A.” One of my most beloved moments of the entire festival arrived during a similarly diverse set from Anthony “Shake” Shakir, whose brusque transitions were made unimportant by his unexpected track selections. Those who doubted the dance floor potential of Kyle Hall’s “Kaychunk” were proven misinformed when Shake unleashed the cut to the delight of a packed Made In Detroit stage, dancers following along even through its beatless portions and throwing hands in the air when the kicks returned. I also enjoyed a deep and techy set by Patrice Scott of Sistrum Recordings and parts of the blistering techno churned out by DJ Rolando, an admired UR-affiliate.

Anthony “Shake” Shakir. Photo by Aaron M. Jones for Paxahau

The live PA is an arena that usually allows artists to avoid giving in wholly to populism because they’re playing their own material. Yet the biggest pitfall of live PAs is how they magnify an artist’s aesthetic weaknesses and require consistently engaging music to keep the ball rolling. This was especially noticeable for Martin Buttrich, who drew largely upon his debut album with all its indistinct arrangements writ large over an hour’s time. Much to my surprise, dOP similarly struggled to keep fest-goers engaged. Oozing charisma, vocalist Jonathan Illel did his best to keep the crowd pepped up with goofy stage antics, but the set seemed canned and unusually insipid for a group as stylistically diverse as dOP. René Löwe and Peter Kuschnereit, the men charged with keeping Basic Channel’s music alive as Scion, had a hard time building momentum behind their feathered dub chords and drones. Fans of Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman material were understandably thrilled with his rare performance, but I found his shimmering LED display more interesting than his straightforward minimal techno.

Plastikman. Photo by Bryan Mitchell for Paxahau

Of course it wasn’t all bad on the live PA front. Ryan Crosson and Niko Marks were more engaging, the former because his psychedelic style kept shifting and the latter because he sang along and played keys with his prerecorded tracks. Despite the rain and lengthy gear troubles, The Moritz Von Oswald Trio, who were joined by Carl Craig, gave no quarter to accessibility and soldiered on through free jazzy arrangements and dub-flecked rhythms. Kevin Saunderson and Paris Gray’s Inner City project proved to be an entertaining if predictable headliner for Sunday night, performing the radio-ready tunes that brought them acclaim without renovating much for the 21st century. But the granddaddy of all live PA’s came from Robert Hood. Dressed in his signature jump suit and tweaking a bank of analog equipment, Hood built impossibly complex rhythmic structures higher and higher before demolishing them under the weight of truly gargantuan kickdrum hits. Even when his equipment suddenly gave out he was quick to find a solution and launched right back into destroying what remained of audience’s hearing.

Robert Hood. Photo by Paul Kelley for Paxahau

The cure for the blandness of so many DJs’ festival sets was attending afterparties, which seemed to be held almost anywhere people could fit a PA. As we noted in our afterparty guide, there were so many going on it was impossible to attend everything you wanted without a car, superhuman stamina, and a fat stack of bills. But the parties I did attend offered such concentrated good times that I didn’t mind missing the Shit Show or the infamous boat party. The best party I attended was NDATL’s Deep Detroit at 1515 Broadway. Essentially the back room of a late night cafe, the space was perfect for hearing Kai Alce lay down some unconventional deep-house, one of the most perfect house sets I’ve ever enjoyed care of Larry Heard, and a James Brown-heavy set from Theo Parrish — not to mention the exclusive 7″ single on sale. That same night I tried to catch Ben Klock at the Centre Street Social but left disappointed as the long line I waited in was informed the party had been shut down by the police. This became a common theme throughout the weekend as the police shut down party after party, possibly in response to a number of shootings that reportedly occurred early Sunday morning. Early Monday morning I made it to the MetroPlex 25 party located in a gigantic building stocked with three floors of DJs. There I enjoyed an uniformly excellent house set from Eddie “Flashin” Fowlkes and a surprisingly decent and techy set by Kevin Saunderson, offering more evidence that the big stage mentality is only temporary.

Larry Heard. Photo by Douglas Wojciechowski for Paxahau

As much as I’m glad that Movement is becoming a truly popular destination for electronic music fans of all stripes, I’m also disheartened by what that’s meant for the quality of the festival. Granted any large scale event is going to feature DJs playing to the sensibilities of unwashed masses, but Movement’s continual enlargement has escalated the rate at which I’ve been disappointed by jocks giving in to these instincts. The addition of a fifth stage yielded very little of interest and was another slap in the face to Detroit’s homegrown talent who were without a doubt the festival’s highlight — even in an unfavorable venue. Focusing on creating a catch-all electronic music festival to sell ever more tickets has come at the expense of the bedrock on which it was founded. What’s more, the quality of the afterparties schedule that weekend made it easier for fans to skip the festival entirely and catch sought after artists in settings conducive to the highest caliber of music instead of what might work for candy ravers, guys in green body suits, and average fest-goers alike. I sincerely hope Paxahau and all involved at Movement continue to refine what works and show more respect for Detroit’s artists instead of relentlessly expanding. It’s a wonderful festival that I’ve enjoyed a great deal each year — including this one — but the reasons for returning for the festival itself are dwindling.

[Fabric]

We all know about the current state of mix CDs. Fabric, however, stands strong in the face of adversity with milestone release number 50. Fabric has cemented its position as one of the mix CD series of all time, not only for its longevity but for containing classics like editions 13 (Michael Mayer), 36 (Ricardo Villalobos) and 39 (Robert Hood), just to name a few. How the London club would celebrate release number 50 was a source of much speculation, and their choice of Martyn was both an inspired and daring one. Shaking up the rigid 4/4 that has defined pretty much every Fabric CD, Martyn’s dubstep sensibilities and love for techno breathe fresh air into a series that has struggled to maintain its cutting edge cachet.

Kicking off with Hudson Mohawke’s wonderfully weird “Joy Fantastic,” Martyn spends the first third of the CD in stepping territory. The beats come quick, with tunes like the saccharine “Lost on Tenori Street” from Maddslinky and Altered Natives’ awesome “Rass Out” providing plenty of forward propulsion until Zomby treats us to a nice bass rinse care of “Little Miss Naughty.” Ben Klock’s remix of “The Clock” provides the first hint of more straightforward techno and continues with DJ Bone’s pseudo-stepping “We Control The Beat.” Martyn’s only real misstep comes with his mix out of obvious climax “Brkln Clln” by Joy Orbison into the downtempo “Feeling You” by Cooly G. Both are good tunes in their own rights, but it just seems to kill the momentum building since the beginning.

Picking up the pieces, we soon get to Martyn’s own “Friedrichstrasse,” a killer techno-fied record that further widens the producer’s definition of his own “Martyn sound.” After an old-but-new-to-me Levon Vincent jam (“Air Raid”) we’re treated to a couple more remixes from Great Lengths in the form of Klock’s warehouse re-rub of “Is This Insanity?” and Redshape’s absolutely monster-sized revision of “Seventy Four.” Martyn lets the raid sirens blare in the mix’s victory lap with Jan Driver’s “Rat Alert” and the madness of Dorian Concept’s “Trilingual Dance Sexperience.”

After having not really felt the need to revisit a Fabric CD for some time, it pleases me to find Fabric 50 has yet to get the least bit stale after ten or so listens. Martyn’s sound is one that incorporates loads of styles, and while his Fabric mix is certainly all over the place it still maintains a unified vision. Where the Fabric series heads from here is anyone’s guess, but if more inspired choices like Martyn are to follow (as the choice of dBridge and Instra:mental to mix Fabriclive 50 suggests) fans have even more reason to eagerly await their next releases.

You’ve been DJing for over a decade. What was the music that really got you into electronic music and DJing?

Well I started raving at quite an early age and really got into house and techno — like old Chicago stuff and old Detroit stuff, and at that time I loved going to parties and hearing DJ’s play and I loved to buy the music and that sort of stuff. But for some reason I never really felt like I belonged to that generation because I was quite young at that stage and I felt like I was more of a consumer of the music rather than being of any importance to it. But during the mid nineties I encountered drum & bass through some DJ’s who had come over to Holland and at that time I felt that that was my generation and that music was more for younger people. There was just some feeling that I could do something in this music. Around that time I went to London a couple of times and went to the Blue Note nights and really felt that vibe even more, especially seeing people like Photek and Jonny L and people like that. Because I was already buying music I decided to start throwing my own parties and to play at them myself too. So for me drum & bass was the music that I thought I could really do something constructive in rather than just going out and partying, you know? So that’s how it started for me. I kept buying records across many genres and continued doing my own events for a long time as well, and eventually Detroit techno and Chicago house came back to haunt me when I started making music. Because I thought all of those old influences were gone but they came flooding back when I went in to the studio.

It is interesting that after so many years of DJing you look at your collection and see that there really is almost everything in there.

It is. I remember I did this residency at a student club on a Thursday night and the owner told me he didn’t care what I played as long as it wasn’t drum & bass. This was about 2000-2001 and I was already quite well known as a drum & bass DJ so I thought, oh well I just have to play all my other stuff. So I decided to use the money I got paid from that to only buy records from other styles and that was around the time when broken beat and early two step and garage became big so I’m thanking myself that I did that now because I have a treasure of all of these hard to find records.

So when you started making drum & bass were there certain producers you started listening to around the time when you started changing up the tempos and making stuff that was perceived more as dubstep?

Yeah, as for the drum & bass part, I started making music because I felt I was missing something in what was out there. On one hand you had the really dark stuff that was coming out and then on the other hand was the very melodic, dreamy stuff. I was looking for something that was more in the middle and there were really not many producers doing that at the time. So that’s why I started making music in the first place. Then when I heard the first Burial stuff alongside Kode9 and Digital Mystikz it was a turning point for me. Drum & bass at that time was a bit too loud and forced. It was all so fast that you couldn’t really do too much to it; at 175 bpm it’s hard to get much melody into something. When I heard Digital Mystikz especially, I just thought their music was so spacious and that really inspired me. Obviously Burial had his own take on the music as well, and they were both very inspirational for me. So I decided to do something around the 140 bpm mark and did a tune called “Broken” without really knowing about what was dubstep. Marcus Intalex owned a label that I was recording on and he put it out and that’s where this whole other side of my career started.

I think a lot of people see you as having defected from drum & bass as though it’s some kind of country or a code of ethics which to live by, but I guess in reality it’s just that you’ve found more excitement in exploring these other avenues.

Yeah, I mean honestly I don’t really care about how people see it. I never really felt a part of drum & bass anyway and you just go where the music takes you. This is where the music has taken me and hopefully in a couple of years it will take me somewhere else again. As a producer you just keep working on your music and try and stay inspired without thinking about any scenes of genres. That’s not really what it’s about for me. But you know I haven’t really had anyone be negative toward me for changing the music I make. I’ve had a couple of people come up to me at gigs and ask when I’m going to make more drum & bass because they love those records of mine. All the other people who have talked about this leaving drum & bass thing have been producers who would love to do the same but for some reason they think that they can’t do it.

Let’s move on to Great Lengths. It is such a totally cohesive album from start to finish that really presents a particular view on how you were seeing that music at that time. Since then, listening to singles of yours, they present completely disparate styles from that album. How planned out was Great Lengths as an entire album?

Completely planned because what I did was take about four and half months off from playing gigs. I was writing a lot of music but it was fragmented by playing gigs and it became very hard to go into the studio and try and stay in that zone to make something. So I was able to do singles and able to remixes and stuff like that but I wanted to do the album so I took that time off to concentrate on it. I started from scratch really. I think there are only two tracks on the album that I had done before this break (“Vancouver” and “Natural Selection”) so they were the starting point for the album. I had another track called “Hear Me” about half way finished too.

You’re living in the United States at the moment. How has living there and living in other cities impacted your music?

Well I’m always quite inspired by places that I’ve lived in or places that I have visited, just like most musicians I think. I always use location names in song titles and love to record atmospherics so I always take a little sound recorder wherever I go. I’m living in the suburbs at the moment which is pretty strange for me because I’m very much a city boy and this place is very, very quiet. There are the mountains here and it is just outside of Washington DC so for me it is ideal at the moment because I play so many gigs at the weekends so it is nice to have somewhere peaceful to come back to. I have my studio here too so I can focus on my music too. But I do think that if I listen to my album I can hear that peace in there, whereas when I lived in Eindhoven and Rotterdam, those places are both quite hectic you know? So I’m very interested to see how the second album will sound because now that I am used to this environment it might give me a different perspective as well.

Your singles that you’ve released since Great Lengths have really showcased a harder side to you. Was this just you exploring other sides of music or was it intentional to let people know that you make different styles to what people had heard on the album?

Well the Efdemin remix I was commissioned to do before the album but I had to put my album out first so they were waiting for a year. But yeah, I guess all of the new stuff is a bit more stripped down and a bit more minimal in a way. Maybe that has a lot to do with playing a lot of gigs because that does always change your perspective on music. Up until recently I had been touring solidly since the album came out so that would definitely play a part in this. Also I think things are changing in electronic music very rapidly just over the last year. Like dubstep now is not what it used to be; it is branching out in so many different directions and that’s without even referencing the whole house music side of it from the UK right now. But you have so much going on right now with Flying Lotus taking on 125 bpm stuff and Dorian Concept making more dance stuff. You know, where is all this leading to I ask myself. So there is so much exciting stuff going on and I suppose I am just finding my own sound in this changed scenery as opposed to how things were about a year ago.

Your Fabric mix seems to have a bit more of a 4/4 influence that you would hear in one of your DJ sets normally. Can we expect more 4/4 based productions from you in the future?

I must say that the mix CD is sort of what I’ve been playing very recently as I have been playing a lot of different parties and more house and techno clubs like Berghain and Panorama Bar and places like that. So I’ve been digging in to my old New York house and Detroit and Chicago stuff, and my own productions as well. But I would say that is the way I have been going lately, at least that tempo anyway, something hovering around 130 bpm.

I find the sound you guys who have been making dubstep come up with when you turn it towards more of a house/techno vibe very interesting.

Yeah, well it’s still bass music you know. A lot of the stuff still revolves around bass lines or bass rhythms rather than a four to the floor kick. But it’s funny because it opens up a lot of possibilities for me as a DJ because I can then play this new London sound, which is quite percussive and then I can look back at my old Kenny Dope remixes or stuff from the Deeply Rooted House label, older Kerri Chandler things. Then there is the whole Berlin thing with people like Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann and Shed who do the percussive techno thing and keep that soulful even though it’s quite brutal sometimes. So there are lots of things going on and it’s nice as a DJ to look in all these boxes and see what’s there and try to make this coherent sort of set from it all, and also a coherent mix CD.

Ben Klock has just remixed one of your tracks. Will we see you returning the favor?

Hmmm, he just needs to ask me. The thing is he asked me before, but Shed had just asked me to do a remix, and then Ben released his album and he wanted me to remix something from that but because I had just done the Shed one it didn’t really work out. But I’m in touch with him all the time and I hope I can do something for him at one point or another. His music is a big inspiration for me. He actually took one of the leftovers from the Great Lengths. It was another one of those stripped down techno things but even more so than you hear on the album, and he’s going to use that for his Berghain mix CD which is coming out this year. And the exclusive twelve inches that they put out with the mix, my tune is going to be on that with someone else, so I’m very happy with that.

What can we expect from you in the next year?

Well the two remix twelve inches are coming out a week after the CD. They will have remixes by Ben Klock, Redshape, Zomby and a new guy from Manchester called Illum Sphere. Then there should be another artist twelve inch as well and there should be a remix for a Latin band and I’m working on my second album already. I want to get that out for the summer of 2010 so I’m going to have to speed it up a lot if I’m going to get it done by then.