Head of Diynamic Music, Solomun, was charged with mixing up LWE’s eighth podcast and he did so with gusto and melodies to spare. Don’t miss your last chance to hear his mix as it retires this Friday, March 12th at 10 am CST.
podcast
LWE Podcast 44: Ed Davenport
February 22, 2010 – 1:01 AM
Ed Davenport is not a producer whose tracks neatly melt into the background. His claps crunch too hard, his vocals are often bewildering, and many of his tunes take sudden left turns which are hard to ignore. The UK born, Berlin based producer has made a career of standing apart from his peers, crafting uncommon house music for liebe*detail, Gumption Recordings, District Of Corruption and Vidab while remixing everyone from Len Faki and Mark Henning to Guy J. And having released his first record at age 21, Davenport still has many years in front of him to further confound audiences and let his ear-catching timbres and rhythms unfurl themselves across dance floors around the world. We grabbed the young producer for a chat about his unusual sounds, working with a broad assortment of labels, and his favorite time of day to spin. Davenport also contributed LWE’s 44th exclusive podcast, a diverse slate which offers an aural roadmap to the tunes that have inspired his conspicuous sound.
LWE Podcast 43: Gravious
February 14, 2010 – 3:01 PM
Hailing from Edinburgh, though a Glasgow resident for the better part of the last decade, Ali Jackson has steadily been making a name for himself with far reaching dubstep, spanning reggae tinged, spatial rollers to deep, meditative funk. His debut “Wormsign/Monolith” came out on the Hotflush subsidiary Scuba, and was the first artist other than Scuba himself to release on the label. Citing influences from old school jungle, drum ‘n bass and electronica, Jackson imbues his productions with these elements while forging his own distinct sound. Showing a steady evolution in his work, last year’s Futurist EP seemed to be infused with a touch of Mike Banks, though Jackson has stated that this was purely coincidence, as was the aptly titled track “Jupiter Jazz.” With a series of further releases due out in the near future we tracked down Jackson for a quick word and talked him in to providing us with an exclusive podcast too.
LWE Podcast 42: Anthony “Shake” Shakir
February 8, 2010 – 1:01 AM
By now, any techno head should know that Anthony “Shake” Shakir was one of the music’s creators. It’s hard to resist mentioning that he had a track on that first Detroit techno compilation, that he put out a record on Metroplex, and so on. But the recent Frictionalism compilation on Rush Hour demonstrates that his significance doesn’t stop there. While Shake’s profile may not have blown up like some of his neighbors, his recorded output has arguably been more consistent than any other techno producer. Remarkably, his approach to production remains as singularly brilliant as ever — edges have not dulled, colors have not faded. Shake is one Detroit techno legend whose entry in the history books cannot yet be written; too much lies ahead. For instance, catch him DJing at the Bunker on February 12, as part of New York’s Unsound Festival, along with DJ Qu, Petre Inspirescu, Eric Cloutier, and schoolmate Mike Huckaby. Those unable to attend need not worry — LWE’s 42d Podcast is an exclusive mix straight from Shake’s decks. The urbane Mr. Shakir also took the time for an expansive discussion with LWE, on subjects ranging from Motown, to MIDI, to Mel Brooks.
LWE Podcast 05: Tama Sumo retiring this week
February 7, 2010 – 11:01 PM
I think it’s safe to say LWE Podcast 05 by Tama Sumo is among the most beloved of our entire series. This classic slate of deep house, both new and old, mixed together with grace and exceptional timing, is retiring this Friday, Feburary 5th at 10am CST. Don’t miss out on a piece of LWE history — grab this gem while you can.
LWE Podcast 41: Juju & Jordash
January 25, 2010 – 1:01 AM
In an increasingly consensus driven dance music culture, Juju & Jordash let their freak flag fly. More akin to a particularly funky jazz combo or psychedelic rockers than your average production duo, Gal Aner and Jordan Czamanski take a vivid and largely organic approach to making house music that leaves few boundaries left to color outside of. Early on their sui generis sound caught the ears Detroit artists Reggie Dokes and Keith Worthy and garnered releases on their labels (Psychostasia and Aesthetic Audio, respectively) among many others, but the Amsterdam-based pair gained their widest renown with the release of their self-titled sophomore LP on Dekmantel. The present pinnacle of their vibrant, jazz-infused sound found favor with critics and elbowed its way onto several discerning year end lists. It also gave us hope there is much more to come. Gal and Jordan were kind enough to answer a few of our questions between gigs, and put together a whirlwind mix of lush house sounds, industrial textures and ethnic explorations that goes a long way towards explaining their perspective and getting you dancing.
Curator’s Cuts 04: Per Bojsen-Moller
January 18, 2010 – 1:01 AM
LWE’s Curator’s Cuts podcast series features our reviewing staff mixing together recent favorites and providing explanations for their selections. Staff writer Per Bojsen-Moller was charged with mixing together Curator’s Cuts 04. We will post the tracklist later in the week, as each curator discloses and describes the tracklist as part of the podcast.
LWE Podcast 40: Andy Vaz
January 11, 2010 – 1:01 AM
Years before he’d released a single record of his own, Andy Vaz had already left a conspicuous mark on electronic music as the man behind Background Records. When he finally started releasing music, he garnered a good deal of attention for the “clicks, cuts, and a 4/4” sound exemplified by the cult Soundvariation series. In the last three or four years, though, both his music and his A&R focus have increasingly mined classic house influences. More a shift of priorities than an outright swap of musical templates, house has always been a part of Vaz’s program, and his morphing live sets retain much of the abstract and experimental qualities that characterized his first records. Yore Records, the label he runs with Alessandro Vaccaro, is the focus of another Little White Earbuds interview feature. Today, though, our exclusive podcast focuses on the sometimes silky, sometimes jazzy, and very often jacking music Vaz produces himself. Live sets, as discussed in the Q&A below, are where Vaz feels most comfortable, and this percolating mix certainly finds him in very fine form.
LWE Podcast 39: Basic Soul Unit
January 4, 2010 – 1:01 AM
As Basic Soul Unit, Toronto’s Stuart Li has earned a reputation as something of a producer’s producer. Combining the rough-hewn trackiness of underground techno with hazy atmospherics of deep house (not to mention a healthy pinch of low-end and DFA-style synth wackiness), his releases for labels like New Kanada and Mathematics have shown they can play chameleon in practically any discerning record bag. But 2009, which saw his “Dank” single released by Philpot and his track “Things Pass” included in Ostgut Ton’s Panorama Bar 02 EP, scraped away at Li’s underground status, raising the bar on his studio prowess while placing Basic Soul Unit on a whole host of new radars. Whether you call it a 2009 victory lap or harbinger of a stellar 2010 to come, LWE’s 39th podcast, an exclusive mix of heavy, organic, and thoroughly trippy house grooves, gives us a rare and tasty showcase of Li’s DJ chops.
LWE Begins Retiring Its Early Podcasts
January 3, 2010 – 12:01 AM
As LWE’s podcast series approaches the second anniversary of its inauguration, we thought now was the time to let the mixes which launched the series in March 2008 to briefly shine again, and then retire them. Although they cost only your time and bandwidth, these podcasts can be treasured, sought after bits, especially if they’re no longer available. So with each new podcast published we’ll be putting one from the front of the line in deep storage. We’re starting this week with #01, the banging, quickly paced mix from Detroit’s incomparable Terrence Dixon. On Friday, January 8th at 10 a.m. CST, we’ll remove the podcast from the server, so make sure to snap it up while you still can.
LWE Podcast 38: Thomas Andersen
December 28, 2009 – 10:47 AM
After many hours spent scoring your mixes, our panel of eight judges has chosen a winning set: Congratulations to Thomas Andersen of Denmark, the winner of LWE’s second annual podcast competition. His mix grabbed our attention the most and earns him three Fabric CDs from 2009. In second place we have Mr. Kaizen of Toronto, who wins two Fabric CDs from 2009, and Eddie Bacal, also of Toronto, takes third and one Fabric CD from 2009. Congratulations to all the winners! Let’s move on to the podcast.
LWE Podcast 37: Hauntologists
November 30, 2009 – 12:01 AM
Word spread quickly about Hauntologists’ first EP, a record that reveled in heady live experimentation, but with unrelenting tripping rhythms that guaranteed as much energy on the dance floor as in the studio. Their sophomore record refined the palette, and its winding, often eerie grooves garnered plenty of DJ support. Considering that they left their names off of those two Hard Wax-distributed records, though, we count ourselves pretty lucky that Hauntologists’ Jay Ahern and Stefan Schneider agreed to an LWE interview. Hardly hiding behind mystique, the duo treat us to an engaged, in-depth conversation, pulling back the curtain to reveal what’s behind their stripped-down, twisting funk. Along the way, we talk about gear and human interaction, Neu! and Berghain, the ghosts of Berlin, and “the Africa of the mind.” And to accompany your reading, Hauntologists have compiled a special mixtape for our 37th podcast. An eclectic yet cohesive snapshot of influences and interests, the selections range from classic house to avant-jazz to… well, you should just hear it.
LWE’s 2nd Annual Podcast Competition Begins
November 27, 2009 – 12:08 PM
LWE’s podcast series is a favorite feature of the site for readers, artists and staff alike, one of the few throwbacks to the halcyon days of our mp3 blogging youth. But it also means we rarely post mixes unless they’re part of the series, generally leaving it to blogs like mnml ssgs, Random Circuits and Infinitestatemachine to showcase the rest. As part of our year end round up, we would like to bridge the gap between the two schools of blogging and ask you, our readers, to contribute a mix for our podcast series. Whether you’re touring Europe every weekend or bedroom mixing for yourself, we want to hear your mixes — and the best one will be our last podcast of the year. The winner will also receive a prize package from Fabric. Interested? Good, we thought you might be. Full rules and deadline after the jump.
Curator’s Cuts 03: Chris Miller
November 23, 2009 – 1:01 AM
LWE’s Curator’s Cuts podcast series features our reviewing staff mixing together recent favorites and providing explanations for their selections. Assistant editor and writer Chris Miller steps up to the decks for Curator’s Cuts 03. We will post the tracklist later in the week, as each curator discloses and describes the tracklist as part of the podcast.
LWE Podcast 36: Kirk Degiorgio
November 16, 2009 – 12:01 AM
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.
LWE Podcast 35: Margaret Dygas
November 9, 2009 – 12:01 AM
Margaret Dygas’ position as an avant garde techno producer has been achieved with only three proper releases to her name but backed up by years of formidable DJ sets around the world. Born in Poland, she spent her formative teenage years growing up in America and now, like so many other dance music producers, lives in Berlin. Her exquisitely executed tracks have been released on Contexterrior, Non Standard Productions and Perlon, each showing a progression in her abilities and slowly revealing a distinctive type of sound. LWE hoped to learn much more about the budding artist in our interview but it turns out that Miss Dygas prefers to let her music do the majority of her talking. Read on for the words we managed to glean out of her and check the stunning podcast after the interview for a more revealing glimpse into the world of Margaret Dygas.
LWE Podcast 34: St. Plomb
November 2, 2009 – 12:01 AM
Although it’s hard to confirm he’s performed full-fledged miracles, St. Plomb certainly has traits we consider saintly in producers: His releases for Mental Groove Records, Viking Music and Brut! are sure remedies for the easily bored, cutting across funk, house, techno and jazz aesthetics, sometimes in the span of a single record. Together with Crowdpleaser he wrote the album 2006, one of that year’s defining points which was oblivious to the surrounding trends. And rather than burn himself out after exhaustive tours, St. Plomb wisely took time off to care for his family and refocus his musical approach. Now, three years later, he’s recharged and ready to show the world the sort of grooves he’s always wanted to produce. For LWE’s 34th podcast, St. Plomb strings together an intoxicating and exclusive blend of house sounds that would soundtrack his ideal night out. He also kindly spoke to LWE in a rare interview, discussing his musical origins, the backstory of his conspicuous absence, and the self-critical approach which hangs halos on his tunes.
LWE Podcast 33: Chilling the Do (Kassem Mosse & Mix Mup)
October 26, 2009 – 12:01 AM
LWE Podcast 33 offers an exclusive and abridged version of what the duo might unfurl in a nightclub over the course of several hours. It’s dark, campy yet deeply compelling, and as they’ll be the first to admit, not for everyone.
Curator’s Cuts 02: Jordan Rothlein
October 19, 2009 – 12:01 AM
LWE’s Curator’s Cuts podcast series features our reviewing staff mixing together recent favorites and providing explanations for their selections. Contributing writer Jordan Rothlein steps up to the decks for Curator’s Cuts 02. We will post the tracklist later in the week, as each curator discloses and describes the tracklist as part of the podcast.