[Philpot] Accompanying the recent flood of nostalgia for the salad days of house music has been a return to the original tools which furnished the first wave. Cassy, Ben Klock and Prosumer/Murat Tepeli are a few producers who have harnessed the sound and abilities of 808s and 909s while doing more than treading water stylistically; […]
review
Sammy Dee, Purplehummer
May 25, 2008 – 10:09 PM
[Perlon] “Purplehummer” (or “Purplehummerultrastretch” for the superlonfragilistic) might be Sammy Dee’s solo debut for Perlon, but that factoid is a bit of a misnomer. Sammy Dee has released a decent chunk of vinyl on Perlon, as one half of Pantytec and more recently as Half Hawaii with ex-pat Bruno Pronsato. “Purplehummer” comes as no big […]
Osborne, Osborne
May 18, 2008 – 10:09 PM
[Spectral Sound] Todd Osborn is a born tinkerer, a guy who wants nothing more than to crack open the nearest electronic device to see how it works and, if possible, how to improve it. The trait is essential in his stint as an airline mechanic and at home, where he dissects computers, software, synthesizers (which […]
Art Bleek, Euphorized
May 13, 2008 – 9:19 PM
[Connaisseur Recordings] Name recognition is a big deal. The deluge of releases landing on stores’ shelves and into my inbox, often from unknown labels and artists, grows ever larger each month. So while I take plenty of chances when deciding what to audition, occasionally the comforts of a familiar name help narrow the playlist quicker […]
Lee Jones, As You Like It
May 12, 2008 – 9:40 PM
[Aus Music] Since the beginning of my techno/house tenure I’ve been a huge Lee Jones fan. As the driving force behind My My’s Songs for the Gentle album he fused tiny fragments of sound into a cohesive aural statement which displayed how unexpectedly vibrant micro house could be. His arranging style carried over well to […]
Norman Nodge/Samuli Kemppi, Berghain 02|Part II
May 8, 2008 – 9:43 PM
Photo by Eric Phillips [Ostgut Ton] Each new release from Ostgut Ton builds on an already impressive list of accomplishments, of which becoming an underground multimedia empire is only one. Graduating from 12″ singles, double packs and compilations to albums (Prosumer & Murat Tepeli’s irresistible Serenity) proved the still fresh-faced label’s keen A&R eye (not […]
Sensitiva, Mimosa
May 8, 2008 – 12:28 AM
[100% Pure] While I can’t say I know the man personally, Tobi Neumann strikes me as a social animal, one for whom collaboration trumps solitude any day. He earned his stripes producing for electroclash pioneers Chicks on Speed, Peaches, Miss Kitten and 2Raumwohnung before moving on to more techno/house-oriented pastures. There he teamed with Ricardo […]
Daso & Pawas, Det
May 6, 2008 – 10:01 PM
[Spectral Sound] So far the partnership of Daso Franke and Pawas Gupta has proven fruitful. Beginning with their “Night Express EP” for Flash Recordings and continuing on “KKB,” the bubbling builder which stood tallest on the Spectral Sound “Dintf EP,” the pair has definitely shown artistic chemistry. But whereas previous collaborations were primed and ready […]
Ed Davenport, Tillmans Uninfluence/Apples
May 4, 2008 – 9:13 PM
[Gumption Recordings] Listening to “Tillmans Uninfluence/Apples,” the latest release from London-based producer Ed Davenport, I can’t help but think he’s the UK’s fresh-faced answer to Boris Steffen, better known as Jichael Mackson. They share an affinity for producing tracks which jauntily tread the fine line between functionality and bedroom listening, and both utilize odd samples […]
Klockworks, Klockworks 03
April 30, 2008 – 9:13 PM
[Klockworks] Ben Klock’s Klockworks moniker/label rarely comes out to play, emerging only once a year since 2006 to showcase the Berghain resident’s experimentally-minded techno tracks. The first paired the dribbling pitches and gulping vocals of “Glimmerman (Part One)” with the slightly more raving “Glandula Piti.” The starkness of the second’s “Onyx” and glancing tones of […]
Sect, Sect 1
April 27, 2008 – 9:50 PM
[Sect Records] A few weeks ago an inconspicuous package appeared on my desk at work with a return address from über-retailers Juno and “Sect” emblazoned below my name. I shook out a plain white CD sleeve containing a disc marked “Sect 1” and nothing else. Usually whoever sent the promo is overeager to wax poetic […]
Henrik Schwarz & Kuniyuki, The Session
April 24, 2008 – 9:31 PM
[Mule Musiq] Usually the phrase “jam session” conjures mental images of hippies, bongos and rooms thick with marijuana smoke. But despite the aimless connotations, long and improvised sessions are how a number of great techno/house musicians find their signature grooves which are then whittled into tracks. Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer, Ricardo Villalobos and a […]
Kevin Saunderson, History Elevate 3
April 23, 2008 – 10:21 PM
[KMS] 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 and underground, so it shouldn’t […]
Intrusion, Intrusion/Reflection
April 22, 2008 – 10:16 PM
[echospace [detroit]] Given the wobbly state of music distribution after the shuttering of Syntax, Amato and Watts Music and a dollar value which shrivels daily next to the euro, Detroit/Chicago-based label echospace can be forgiven for being stingy on new releases. Echospace released the majority of its catalog last year as well, which makes this […]
Oracy, Rewound
April 20, 2008 – 8:57 PM
[Mojuba] Whoever hides behind the Oracy moniker has done a fantastic job of evading the press; so in lieu of any relevant biographical information, here’s the definition of “oracy”: the ability to express oneself in and understand spoken language. Use it to poke fun at your friends’ and enemies’ intelligence! As with their first two […]
Force Of Nature, Remixed
April 15, 2008 – 8:46 PM
[Mule Musiq] Ramping up to re-release their album III this summer, Force of Nature enlisted a couple of high-profile remixers to re-introduce the album. Force of Nature, a Japanese producer duo, keeps their arpeggiators slow and wide-eyed enough to be pretty malleable fodder (a trait shared with M83). So it’s no surprise that “Remixed” is […]
Martin Buttrich, Stoned Autopilot
April 14, 2008 – 9:24 PM
[Planet E] Though it was considered one of 2007’s decent sized hits, the lack of nuance and by-the-numbers minimal arrangement of Martin Buttrich’s “Hunter” 12″ caught me off guard. After the aptly-titled “Well Done,” “Cloudy Bay” and the ubiquitous “Full Clip,” all of which were deftly chiseled and fitting of Buttrich’s production pedigree, I felt […]
Claro Intelecto, Metanarrative
April 10, 2008 – 10:11 PM
[Modern Love] One characteristic of Claro Intelecto’s music I admire most is its immediacy and visceral structure. You’ll never need a music composition degree to untangle vast webs of overly complicated arrangements to find something to connect with. Starting with his 2004 Neurofibre album for Ai Records, Intelecto (aka Mark Stewart) put forth tunes whose […]
Kawabata, Persuasion
April 8, 2008 – 9:36 PM
[Drumpoet Community] Although Switzerland has been turning out quality producers and DJs for some time now, more recently it seems DJs and fans alike have been clamoring for Swiss exports like they were free chocolate bars — Serafin/Rozzo/Mountain People, Quarion, Deetron, Agnès, Ripperton and Michal Ho are a few who come to mind. Like his […]
Tadeo, Cosmos Remixes
April 7, 2008 – 9:42 PM
[Apnea] Miguel Sar, better known as Tadeo, is one of the few producers making minimal techno whose work continually interests me post-mnml glut. His productions are often spiny and spiked with nuanced loops, making for tracks utilitarian enough for industrious DJs and bountifully ear-catching for those who go long and linear. His work for Cray1 […]