[Sandwell District] The label Sandwell District has always been a mixed bag. In an RA profile, label keystone Function, (or Dave Sumner of NYC if anonymity’s not your thing), explained that Sandwell release are selected by any of the artists involved. So the aesthetic values put forward can therefore have as much to do with […]
review
John Daly, Atlantis EP
July 15, 2008 – 7:24 PM
[Wave Music] John Daly has quickly proven to be one of the most promising new producers to emerge over the 18 months. The young Irishman’s productions are as deep and elemental as they are anachronistic, recalling a simpler era of electronic music dominated by artists such as Klaus Schulze (Tangerine Dream), Manuel Göttsching (Ash Ra […]
Kreon, Gagnant EP
July 14, 2008 – 7:25 PM
[Resopal Red] For the past two years, producer Markos Spanoudakis, aka Kreon, has forged a distinctive style for himself by melding the beats of house and the sounds of jazz — an experiment in musical alchemy yielding progressively stronger results with each release. His single “Shake n’ Make” was an easy favorite among DJs with […]
Cassy, Cassy 02
July 13, 2008 – 7:37 PM
[Cassy] Panorama Bar’s go-to artist Cassy Britton has spent the last few years carving out a totally distinctive sound. 2006’s first installment on her self-titled label had seeds of it and 2007’s “Somelightuntothenight,” probably her breakthrough track, defined it. Cassy’s last release, “A Poem For You,” brought things to a whole new level. For an […]
Niggemann & Poppcke, L’aurora
July 9, 2008 – 7:06 PM
[Moonpool] Since starting Meerestief Records in 2002, managers Walter Ercolino and Daniela Stickroth have kept busy by expanding into online radio, a booking agency and three sub-labels (Meerestief Rot, Limited and Digital). With Alex Niggemann and Marc Poppcke’s “L’aurora,” the Stuttgart-based label welcomes its fourth sublabel offspring, Moonpool, to the family. Focused on the “house […]
Kevin Saunderson, History Elevate 4
July 8, 2008 – 7:29 PM
[KMS] Fans of this website are no doubt aware of the remix series which has seen a host of modern techno and house luminaries breathe fresh life into classic Kevin Saunderson productions on KMS. “History Elevate” has given our ears a few sensational pieces of music, some of which may indeed emerge as classics in […]
Andri, Flash Royal EP
July 7, 2008 – 10:18 PM
[Slutfunk Records] Here’s a bold move: launching your spanking new label with a young turk’s vinyl debut. That’s just what Zurich-based Slutfunk Records has done with the first entry in its catalog, the “Flash Royal EP” by hitherto unknown, Andri. But given founder Disco Dave’s long partnership with Ibiza superclub Privilege and his ownership of […]
Ricardo Villalobos, Vasco EP Part 1
July 6, 2008 – 7:41 PM
[Perlon] Far be it from me to challenge the stated aspirations of Ricardo Villalobos, but I find myself increasingly skeptical of his search “for the perfect club track” with each of his new releases. Which isn’t to say his tracks don’t stir dancers to hollering peaks; one needs only to witness the sweaty carnage his […]
Emptyset, Doxa EP
July 2, 2008 – 5:44 PM
Bristol-based American James Ginzberg has masqueraded as 30Hz for the past few years, producing crowd pleasing breakbeat numbers and putting them out on his Vertical Sound label. Given his involvement in the founding of seminal dubstep label Tectonic, however, his interest in fare less likely to hit number one on Beatport has been there to see for anyone who cared to look. His new project, Emptyset, probes a sound most easily described as Monolake gone to Bristol. The first two EPs, released on the Future Days imprint, have so far failed quite to hit the mark, but nevertheless forged a distinctive tone consisting of sparse and monochromatic minimal informed by the ever ebullient voice of Bristol bass.
Various Artists, You Are My Mate
June 29, 2008 – 9:50 PM
[Dial] Dial had been releasing its lean and emotive variety of techno/house for nearly seven years before breaking to a larger audience, but the recognition could hardly have come at a better time. Last year the Hamburg-based label, owned and operated by Peter M. Kersten (Lawrence/Sten), Turner and Carsten Jost, cranked out two of their […]
Sun over Sonar: LWE reflects
June 26, 2008 – 9:07 PM
Anja Schneider slays the crowd. Photos by Nate DeYoung. After a few days’ rest, LWE’s Nate DeYoung files his report: In the Sonar coverage I’ve seen over the years, I never read too much between the lines -– the fact is that this is a festival built upon the principle of overwhelming you. Take a […]
Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts, They Only Came Out at Night
June 22, 2008 – 9:35 PM
[Musique Risquée] Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts is a slightly misleading name. The “group” might only have one member, Guillaume Coutu Dumont, but his output of the last year could be described as a one-man Hitsville Berlin (via Montreal). Recording and remixing for no less than nine labels in the past year, Guillaume has spread […]
Los Updates, First If You Please The Remix Part 1
June 18, 2008 – 10:08 PM
[Cadenza] Most of us didn’t know who Jorge Gonzales was when his jaunty voice bounded from the pogoing depths of Ricardo Villalobos’ Fabric album, but we were glad for his spirited and slightly lewd narrative. But Gonzales, a long-standing figure in Chile’s music scene, was no one off vocalist. His 1980s rock group, Los Prisioneros, […]
Leonid, Mora EP
June 17, 2008 – 8:31 PM
[Statik Entertainment] Perhaps more interesting than deep-house’s resurgence is how the resurrected sub-genre has melded with others, like tribal, minimal and dub. The elongating and relaxing side effects of reverb and delay have proven complimentary to the already subdued atmosphere common among deep house cuts. A good recent example of this amalgamated sub-genre can be […]
Peter Van Hoesen, Trusted EP
June 17, 2008 – 5:36 AM
[Time To Express] Witness the power of the techno blogosphere: After seven years of releasing music as Object, Vanno and now his own name, Belgian producer and DJ Peter Van Hoesen has recently seen a sharp uptick in his stock. His contribution to Modyfier’s Process series (of which I am an alumnus) grabbed quite few […]
Move D, Drone
June 15, 2008 – 8:14 PM
[Modern Love] It’s hard not to hear Move D’s tracks as essentially calm. Consider this: “Quit Quittin’” is one of his most jacking recent songs, plush with arpeggiated trickles and acid stabs (not to mention the shrill of “oh YEAH”), but Move D stabilized the whole thing with a gentle analog suspire. The calmness, a […]
Quiet Village, Silent Movie
June 12, 2008 – 8:47 PM
[!K7] Matt Edwards, better known as Radio Slave, is one half of hypnotic disco duo Quiet Village with DJ Joel Martin. Edwards has been incredibly prolific as a producer, remixer and label owner, and Quiet Village is where he’s gone to hang his more relaxed hat. After three singles and a slew of remixes, the […]
Lemos, Faust EP
June 11, 2008 – 9:34 PM
[Resopal Red] In the span of just over six months, Grecian producer George Lemos has quickly leaped from obscurity to rising star status. Along the way he helped put the Frankfurt-based label Be Chosen on the map with a keen 12″ collaboration with Chevy and garnered choice remixes of the “Lookooshere” EP from Anthony Collins, […]
Peter Grummich, Ultramatic EP
June 9, 2008 – 9:20 PM
[ProgCity Deep Trax] A criticism I often hear leveled at younger DJs is that big tracks are too enticing to us (the logic goes), thereby limiting our ability to build sets with valleys ands peaks — instead of just the latter. Whether or not it’s a fair charge, it raises an issue worth addressing: tracks […]
tobias., I Can’t Fight the Feeling
June 5, 2008 – 6:39 PM
[Wagon Repair] After nearly 25 years in the music business, some artists find their skills and instincts dulled, often leading to inadvisable collaborations, obtuse vanity projects and waning popularity. Lucky for us, electronic veteran Tobias Freund’s near 25 years of experience as Pink Elln and as half of NSI, Odd Machine and Sieg Ãœber Die […]