[Stockhold LTD] In Argentina’s far-flung techno scene, Juan Pablo Pfirter stands out from the pack. While producers like Dilo, Franco Cinelli and Gurtz prefer minimal’s deep and lean variety, Pfirter likes to pull out the big guns. His track “Mi Auto” was a favorite last summer among jocks like Ritchie Hawtin and Adam Beyer, most […]
review
Zomby, The Lie
January 6, 2009 – 10:35 PM
[Ramp Recordings] Zomby sees himself as part of the undead but with a taste for skunk weed instead of flesh. He is a resolutely anonymous producer whose publicity photo has few clues into his identity: he wears white gloves and a mask of the all-seeing eye of providence. Zomby’s been banned from dubstep forums, infamous […]
Minilogue, Mr Mustafa
January 5, 2009 – 9:50 PM
[Minilogue] It’s been a busy (and largely successful) year for Minilogue. The Swedish duo have issued a stunning double-length album, Animals, a fistful of singles and remixes (including the mighty “Jamaica,” complete with love-it-or-leave-it Dubfire remix), and now, the third limited-edition 10″ release on their own Minilogue imprint, the third release on the label overall. […]
Matthew Styles, Speculate This…
January 4, 2009 – 11:40 PM
Matthew Styles took the long road to acclaim before puncturing charts and year end lists with the propulsive grind of “We Said Nothing.” As a manager of Crosstown Rebels and well rated DJ, he was already plugged into the scene before dropping his first collaborative and solo releases (the ill-advised “Baby Judy” homage with Jamie Jones and for Dinky’s label Horizontal, respectively). Firsthand knowledge of floor-filling fillips honed his own productions such that his first real hit cratered clubs wherever it was played, even if the flipsides were all too easily overlooked. Style’s second Horizontal single, “Speculate This…” plays out with similar gusto, except the tables are turned: the deep B cut is the one worth skipping to.
DJ Sprinkles, Midtown 120 Blues
December 10, 2008 – 8:24 PM
[Mule Musiq] Like disco before it, house music was born in queer club culture, one of the few places its artists and patrons — mostly gay minority men — could be themselves without fear of reprisal. And also like disco, house was co-opted by ever larger audiences, shedding its ethnicity and sexuality along the way. […]
Jackmate, Malawi Dub
December 9, 2008 – 11:39 PM
[Phil e] Michel Baumann has had a good 2008, with his Soulphiction album Do You Overstand as one of 2008’s quiet achievers, and a few great Jackmate singles. On “Malawi Dub” he’s got the architecture of the track just right. This one builds effortlessly from its humble beginnings, where hands slap against bongos, before the […]
Sons Of The Dragon, Sons Of The Dragon
December 8, 2008 – 11:15 PM
Chat-room scuttlebutt has swirled around the true identities (and merits) of the Sons Of The Dragon, the artists behind this limited-edition white double-12″ of deep Detroit-flavored techno.
Ada, Forty Winks/Kink-A-Jou
December 7, 2008 – 8:27 PM
[International Records Recordings] Michaela Dippel (aka Ada) likes to say she was raised by pink ponies, fashioned herself as pseudo-vampire, and had a blond pup named Fizzmann. If you pay close attention, these are all selling points for her music. Ada is part of Areal, a label which dabbles in large amounts of distorted fuzz, […]
Guy Noir, Delusion EP
December 3, 2008 – 10:57 PM
[District of Corruption] With a name that hints at subversive acts of espionage, Guy Noir (George Tsioutsias and Gower Ramsey) drop their second EP on the District of Corruption label, and suitably it is a cloak and dagger-themed affair. While the first Noir EP, “Flex” resonated well with DJs, it seemed more of a cerebral […]
Reggie Dokes, Rain Redemptive Love EP
December 2, 2008 – 8:21 PM
[Philpot] Once again Philpot has delivered a distinctive record with its latest release which comes from Reggie Dokes, a relative unknown whose bio touts his connection to Detroit techno and Derrick May. Although hearing about Motor City pedigrees has become a bit boring, it is interesting and a little sad to hear just how distinctive […]
Ellen Allien, Out Remixes
December 1, 2008 – 9:07 PM
[BPitch Control] Ellen Allien’s Sool album was cold and precise, and “Out” stands as a fine example of its poker-faced mood: In its original form, “Out” is resolutely unyielding, the vocals sent shuddering and twisting through reverb, edited into stammering machines. It shares with the music of its producer AGF a distanced delivery, at least […]
The Mountain People, Mountain 006
November 30, 2008 – 6:03 PM
[Mountain People] Since launching the Mountain People label to house his homage to The Mole People’s incredible “Break Night,” André (Rozzo and Peter Dildo) Schmid’s tracks under the moniker have gradually dried out, as he’s become a near teetotaler for melody. Considering how lush the imprint started (and was continued by Serafin and Roman Bruderer), […]
Stefan Goldmann, The Transitory State
November 26, 2008 – 1:34 AM
[Macro] With a resume including releases on Perlon, Classic, Ovum, Innervisons, and his own Macro imprint, as well as a reputation for being a clutch DJ, Stefan Goldmann is one of the more pedigreed producers on the scene. Goldmann may be well-respected and popular with listening audiences and other DJs alike, but he hasn’t reached […]
Motorcitysoul, Solar/Hatohay EP
November 24, 2008 – 7:19 PM
[Simple Records] You’d be forgiven for thinking that Motorcitysoul’s name is a nod in the direction of Detroit, but in actual fact the German duo of Matthias Vogt and C-Rock cite the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Frankfurt as the inspiration for their moniker. Nevertheless, their productions owe a debt to the cultural house heritage of […]
Pépé Bradock, Pistes Insolites Vol. 3
November 23, 2008 – 9:43 PM
[Atavisme] Underlying Pépé Bradock’s production genius is a vein of weirdness which has grown wider and more prominent at surface level with each passing year. Its influence in the direction and aesthetic of Bradock’s work was apparent even in his relatively straightforward French deep-house tracks from the 90’s, with a willingness to disengage from four-to-the-floor […]
Bvdub, Wish I Was Here
November 19, 2008 – 10:24 PM
[Millions of Moments] Like any self-respecting trainspotter worth their salt, when I come across a producer whose music moves me, I need to find out more about them. Learning that San Francisco native Bvdub has been producing music for less than two years came as a huge shock, but deeper digging revealed a musical pundit […]
Ezekiel Honig, Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band
November 18, 2008 – 11:12 PM
[Anticipate Recordings] New Yorker Ezekiel Honig’s ambient music does what the genre promises but often fails to deliver: through careful arrangement of and attention to sonorous material, it creates an environment that’s quietly seductive and almost supine. Its attention to texture is finely detailed, but it’s not showy about its exacting nature. Rather, on Surfaces […]
Omar-S, The Further You Look – The Less You Will See
November 17, 2008 – 9:57 PM
[FXHE Records] There’s a tendency to describe Alex O. Smith, the owner of FXHE Records who is better known as Omar-S, as “enigmatic” or “mysterious,” but the latter is not something that Smith has spent much time cultivating. Smith is a prankster, with a strong tendency to, in his own words, “fuck with people.” So […]
Margaret Dygas, See You Around
November 16, 2008 – 7:40 PM
[Non Standard Productions] For a producer who seems enthralled with a quintessential set of musicians and entertainers (as evinced by her top Myspace friends), Margaret Dygas’ latest release could hardly be further from the norms and standards of dance music. The Polish producer’s thorny and compellingly off-kilter debut for Contexterrior hinted at experimental instincts, and […]
Kassem Mosse, Aqueous Haze (The World Dissappeared Into An)
November 11, 2008 – 10:29 PM
[Mikrodisko Recordings] Since he began making music in 2003, Kassem Mosse has kept a pretty low profile. He has only a handful of releases, most of which were released on the tiny (but badass) label Mikrodisko Recordings. Nonetheless, he’s garnered some significant attention: the A-side from his Workshop release appeared on Ellen Allien’s Boogy Bytes […]