If one were to single out an overarching narrative for the trajectory of electronic music in 2009, it would surely be the emphasis on the past — on the founding myths and legends that electronic music emerged out of — as a source of inspiration. With disco breaking out from small-scale revival to established Room Two, even Room One fare, with deep house announcing itself as the heir apparent to the ubiquity of mid-decade minimal, and with the cavernously retrospective, Detroit-flecked techno of the Berghain/Hard Wax crew dominating tracklists, it seems that in 2009, the only way to look forward, was to look back. Accordingly, Mathew Jonson chimed in with his take on the theme for Ghosts In the AI, his last Wagon Repair release of the year and the decade.
mathew jonson
Talking Shop with Wagon Repair
This time we examine the Canadian-born Wagon Repair, which started as the home of pals Mathew Jonson, Konrad Black, Graham Boothby and Loose Change and has blossomed into one the most versatile and sought after labels in techno and house. Favoring quality sounds over particular aesthetics, WR boasts releases from The Mole, Tobias Freund, Seth Troxler, Deadbeat, Minilogue, Hrdvision and more. Mr. Jonson kindly answered our questions between gigs, shedding light on his favorite Wagon Repair release, the odd origins of the label name and the reason people love vinyl.
Mike Shannon, Memory Tree
Art by Liu Bolin
[Plus 8 Records] (buy CD) (buy mp3s)
While it’s higher profile offshoot label M_nus continues to tread water and slowly transform into some sort of sci-fi cartoon series, Richie Hawtin’s original Plus 8 imprint keeps on putting out quality techno releases with a lot less frequency but a much higher level of quality [...]
Kevin Saunderson, History Elevate 3
Illustration by lampechka
[KMS] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)
While parsing through a slightly heated discussion over whether Kevin Saunderson’s recent RA podcast – packed with poppy cuts and mixed with CDs/Ableton — had stained his legendary status, one post stood out to me. The author reminded the participants that Saunderson’s long career took place both above ground [...]