[Sonar Kollektiv] Matthew Chicoine, aka Recloose, would be hard enough to pin down even if he hadn’t recently upped sticks and moved to a beautiful coastal hamlet in New Zealand. His famed “demo-on-rye” entry into the world of dance music certainly would have put him on the map even if he made average, interchangeable music. […]
review
Santiago Salazar/Silent Servant, Santuario/Lo Profundo
November 9, 2008 – 8:04 PM
[Historia y Violencia] Imagining hitherto un-thought of couplings can be an amusing pastime; animals being able to cross species breed; chessgammon, the new board game for the weary pawn; vodka ibuprofen mixers, the preventative refresher. Of course they can prove to go horribly wrong too; “Alien Vs Predator” and a McCain/Palin ticket, just for example. […]
Quantec, A Ray of Hope EP
November 5, 2008 – 7:32 PM
[Echocord Colour] Echocord’s offshoot imprint Echocord Colour is meant to allow for a bit more stretching to the standard label’s Berlin-influenced dub-techno sound, and the first two releases have indeed pushed the boundaries further than what is usually heard on the parental label. Echocord Colour’s third limited-edition, colored-vinyl (this time a gorgeous marbled canary yellow) […]
Sascha Dive, Deepest America
November 4, 2008 – 11:36 PM
[Ornaments] The third release on the mysterious, limited edition Ornaments label looks to be the highest profile yet. The original August 2007 release of Sascha Dive’s “Deepest America” on Deep Vibes Recordings included two mixes by his alter ego, Samuel Davis, and this release features a third, the Dark Soul Mix. While it’s a funky […]
Swayzak, Bunny Girl EP
November 3, 2008 – 9:58 PM
[Swayzak Recordings] It’s been over ten years since the duo of James Taylor and David Brown started releasing their particular brand of deep techno under their piss-take bastardization of Patrick Swayze’s name. They’ve toyed with dub, electroclash and hip-hop along the way, but generally their records have been brooding, emotive techno that is minimal in […]
Move D & Benjamin Brunn, New Horizon
November 2, 2008 – 7:59 PM
[Smallville Records] Six months since the release of Move D and Benjamin Brunn’s acclaimed full length, a few more dollops have dripped from the beehive. On “New Horizon,” our duo get a bit more mileage out of the syrupy palette that characterized Songs From the Beehive, but replace the drowsy rhythms with peppier booms and […]
Donnacha Costello, It Simply Is
October 29, 2008 – 7:16 PM
[Minimise] Donnacha Costello is always a hard man to pin down. He seems impervious to trends, instead often focusing on productions that pose subtle conceptual questions. His 6 X 6 = 36 series, for example, felt like it exploried the relation of dance music’s comparatively formal beat structure to abstract systems. His “Color” series, on […]
Los Updates, First If You Please The Remix Part 2
October 28, 2008 – 8:46 PM
[Cadenza] Los Updates’ First If You Please full-length has the distinction of being not only the first artist album released on Luciano’s Cadenza imprint, but also hands-down the most disappointing thing the label has released to date — an uninspired set of tech-house tunes dragged down like an anchor by Jose Gonzalez’ cringe-worthy lyrics and […]
Sex Trothler, Sexplosion
October 27, 2008 – 8:46 PM
[Wagon Repair] “Through a leaking bodily cavity resembling the pork found in Chinese restaurants, Satan shat out a crystal beaming with glowing red embers. This crystal matured into the fetus of Seth Troxler.” Thus begins Beyond Booking’s bio for the artist behind “Sexplosion,” the newest EP on Wagon Repair. Both the absurdity and the extravagance […]
DJ Bone, Circus World EP
October 26, 2008 – 7:32 PM
[Subject Detroit] What sets apart DJ Bone and, indeed, his label Subject Detroit, from the pack is the rawness and energy coursing through their numerous releases. In “No Sleep (True To Da Roots),” Bone’s jaw-dropping EP for Sect Records, this was embodied in the hands-on method with which the tracks were arranged, each gridless rhythm […]
Lindstrøm, Where You Go I Go Too
October 23, 2008 – 7:12 PM
[Smalltown Supersound] Hans-Peter Lindstrøm can do wrong when he puts his mind to it. That was my second thought when I heard about his new album, Where You Go I Go Too and its epic 29-minute title track. My first reaction, like most people, was either “perfect” or “how perfect,” depending on how glib I […]
Quince, Genetrix EP
October 22, 2008 – 8:27 PM
[Music Man Records] Quince, aka Bram Sluiter (he’s also released a pair of singles as Quinn), follows up his “Expanding Contracting EP” on Delsin with a three-tracker on Music Man that further mines the pure electronic techno sound that’s been brought back into vogue of late. With a clear, cold eye on the floor and […]
Headhunter, Nomad
October 21, 2008 – 8:30 PM
[Tempa] I have to admit that it took me a while to warm to dubstep. The spare hypnotics of Shackleton and the inimitable, tinder dry soundscapes sculpted by Burial immediately appealed but then their interpretations on the medium are truly unique. It wasn’t until hearing the likes of TRG and Martyn that I opened up […]
Sebo K, Diva
October 20, 2008 – 7:14 PM
[Mobilee] The past couple years have seen Watergate become a sensation in Berlin for steadfast techno lovers as well as semi-oblivious party people. While its billing reflects an intimate knowledge of underground dance culture, its eye-popping light show and posh décor attract plenty of average punters. As one of Watergate’s resident DJs, Sebo K’s style […]
Hercules & Love Affair @ The Metro
October 19, 2008 – 7:22 PM
Photos by Ivan Gaytan Unlike our rock fan peers, dance music enthusiasts are often unaccustomed to experiencing our favorite artists as live acts. And while laptops, midi controllers and Ableton now allow producers to stitch together “live PAs” with double clicks and knob twists, the experience is still closer to a DJ selecting and mixing […]
Dave Aju, Open Wide
October 15, 2008 – 8:59 PM
[Circus Company] San Francisco sound merchant Dave Aju has had the world waiting for Open Wide since his summertime smash “Crazy Place” was issued as a taster a few months back. Aju has always blended his house/techno with a smattering of outside influences, from funk to jazz and all points in between, and those styles […]
Wouldbenice, Backlash EP
October 14, 2008 – 9:33 PM
[Vidab Records] Wouldbenice, or if you prefer, Andre Goc, from Berlin, appears for the second time on the year-old Vidab imprint with the three-track “Backlash” 12″. Though it’s still young, Vidab has been making a splash. With a spiritual home at the Golden Gate Club and label nights at Panoramabar, Vidab would seem to earn […]
Pigon/Marcel Dettmann, Kamm/Plain
October 13, 2008 – 8:13 PM
[Beatstreet] In Marcel Dettmann’s rather enigmatic Discogs bio, we read that he sees techno as “a determination of both his life and music” which continually leads him on a “quest for the optimal track.” It’s a touch ridiculous in its overstatement, but it’s the kind of hyperbole that sheds a very bright light on Dettmann’s […]
Sound Stream, “Live” Goes On
October 12, 2008 – 5:56 PM
[Sound Stream] Whether as Soundhack, Sound Stream or half of Smith N Hack with Errorsmith, Frank Timm’s steady hand with an editor’s razor has been in great demand since the late 1990’s. But like a surgeon, Timm knows it’s not the number of cuts you make, but how well placed they are. His house/disco moniker, […]
John Roberts, Hesitate
October 8, 2008 – 8:26 PM
[Dial] “Hesitate” is in the running for the most ironic title of the year. As John Roberts’ debut on the frequently great label Dial, the single begins with a hiccup of a listless groove that quickly fades as a facile tribute to the title — there are few actual hesitations on “Hesitate.” Roberts can afford […]