[BAR25] German producer and BAR25’s most frequent contributor, Matt John, has quite a knack for evoking uneasy yet familiar feelings with his sound design. In “Hawaii You,” his hit collaboration with Ricardo Villalobos, it was that brief clunk of melodic color between foreign vocal samples — a computer alerting its user of a finished download. […]
review
Cassy, Soul Saviour
November 16, 2007 – 9:22 PM
[Perlon] In a recent interview with the Ibiza Voice, Cassy explained her love for the Roland 808 and 909s: “Most of techno and house has been made with these two machines, so it’s a sound we’re familiar with. Even if you don’t know the machine, you recognise it immediately and it feels like home.” It […]
Simian Mobile Disco, Hustler (Shackleton remix)
November 14, 2007 – 6:47 AM
[Wichita] Those Simian boys sure know how to call in a favor, eh? So far, their singles have been remixed by Prins Thomas, Switch, Armand Van Helden, Luke Vibert, Riton, Graham Massey of 808 State, and the “Hustler” single extends that to include Kevin Saunderson, Jesse Rose and Shackleton. I didn’t expect to see that […]
Howl at the moon
October 24, 2007 – 9:27 PM
The blog Gapers Block recently honored lil’ ol’ LWE by including us in a round up of favored Chicago music blogs. Thanks to Graham Sanford for the nod. LCD Soundsystem, “Sound of Silver” (C2 Remix Rev. 3) [DFA/EMI] (buy) Whereas Carl Craig has been techno royalty for many years, it’s only within the last year […]
Nick Solé, World Dubbing
October 16, 2007 – 12:19 AM
[Mojuba] Mojuba, the label which brings this gargantuan record to your hands and ears, has stratified its vinyl fetish into different degrees of obsession, with a regular version, a limited edition regular version, and a “hurry the fuck up” limited color vinyl which is never to be touched — never. “World Dubbing” expands on the […]
Gaiser, Withdrawal
October 8, 2007 – 3:55 AM
[M_nus] As the soulful shades of deep house again find their way into many releases this year, the still thriving industry of minimal techno has responded, in some ways, in kind. Whether it’s the melodically blushing simplicity of Efdemin and his work as Pigon; or perhaps the echo-eco-system of Deepchord and his Echospace project; or […]
5 Years of Get Physical
September 25, 2007 – 1:06 PM
Five years is an awful long time in dance music culture. Trends come and go within a few months; labels and artists do, too. But thanks to Booka Shade’s generous work ethic (i.e. writing songs for the labels’ figureheads) and pop tech-house aesthetic, as well as M.A.N.D.Y.’s relentless A&R scouting (the artists played a role, […]
Goo-gaws for a new century
September 21, 2007 – 5:35 PM
My apologies for the lack of posts as of late. Team LWE has been hard at work on a new site design and lining up some engrossing new content for the near future, which hasn’t left much time for day to day stuff. So here are a couple of thoughts about some recent releases in […]
Arto Mwambe, Mudhutma!
September 17, 2007 – 4:08 AM
[Brontosaurus] As much as I love Beatport, I rarely find myself trusting the playlists they hype or the people who binge on them. But sometimes you’re really bored at work and Beatport slips you an email of staff recommendations; you just have to look. Among other things, label manager Dave suggested “Ombala Mbembo” by Arto […]
Pan-Pot, Charly
September 11, 2007 – 6:18 AM
[Mobilee] As the year wanes on, I’ve briskly approached my limit for tracks with pitched-down, sinister sounding vocals. “Where We At”: Epic, poignant and hugely enjoyable all at once. “R U OK?” Musically not my bag, but I guess the scene needed something to put a little pause in the debauchery. “The Grass is Always […]
Paul Ritch, Back To the Time
September 10, 2007 – 4:34 AM
[Fumakilla] I was first introduced to the music of Paul Ritch during Luciano’s consciousness-expanding set at DEMF. But because his track was woven so tightly into Lucien’s performance, I had only a rough picture of what Ritch was all aurally all about. Luckily he’s provided many chances to clear things up with seven releases so […]
Among friends
August 27, 2007 – 2:07 AM
My Ripperton feature is now up on RA. This piece was — for one reason or another — months in the making, so I’m glad it’s finally available for all to read. It’s Ripperton’s first English interview/feature and I’m proud to say I was on the other end of the phone. Danton Eeprom, “Ableton & […]
SuperMayer capers
August 22, 2007 – 4:51 PM
I’ll skip the brief history of Superpitcher and Michael Mayer (Teleosteopathy beat me to the punch) and get right down to it: If these singles are any indication, SuperMayer’s album, Save the World, is not going to be for everyone despite the wide swath of sound it attempts to cover. Enthusiasts of loopy, trance-informed techno […]
Tuck it in
August 21, 2007 – 2:41 AM
M. Rahn, “Stryx 08” [SIXONESIX] Sometimes it’s best to play it simply and to the point, as M. Rahn does here on his Stryx Sessions release for net label, SIXONESIX. Gaseous synthy plumes are chipped away at by the binary counter-melody below, like a toothier Maurizio track with handclaps; or perhaps B12 stuck in Earth’s […]
Chain of command
August 14, 2007 – 3:40 PM
Ed Davenport, “Eye Speak” [liebe*detail] (buy) The sheer rattle of this track is what instantly draws you in. Its handclaps clatter so hard they might have been done by a line of deep house robots and provide added texture to the single-minded synth ripple. And while I love the porous melody which occasionally floats into […]
Michael Fakesch, Dos
August 10, 2007 – 3:38 AM
Michael Fakesch was one half of the German IDM duo, Funkstörung, until their demise in 2006. While my exposure to them was admittedly limited, I had enough of an impression in my mind that Dos, Fakesch’s first output since the split, took me completely by surprise. Like the intertwined cover graphics, Fakesch’s second album is […]
Bills, bills, bills
July 5, 2007 – 4:11 PM
Len Faki, “Rainbow Delta” (Jerome Sydenham remix) [Ostgut Tonträger] Sydenham’s remix for half Len Faki’s reigning single energizes the pleasantly undulating original while retaining its understated passion for off-beat rhythms. For a song called “Rainbow Delta” Faki didn’t indulge in too much melodic color, favoring a coursing, almost motorik repetition of its motif, spruced up […]
Dimitri From Paris, Presents Cocktail Disco
June 12, 2007 – 8:48 PM
The first in a series of album and single reviews I’ve been meaning to do since April. For one example of what’s kept me busy in-between, check out my feature on Digitalism, now up on RA. Now that demand for lounging jazz/exotica house is hovering above “straight-to-the-discount bin,†Dimitri From Paris has got a bit […]
Dixon, Body Language Vol. 4
May 4, 2007 – 6:34 AM
Berlin DJ/producer and Innervisions co-owner Dixon (aka Steffen Berkhahn) is the fourth producer to helm Get Physical’s Body Language mix series and the first not to have a release with the label. It makes sense, then, that Dixon’s contribution is also the most likely to catch the ear of the crossover crowd occasionally meandering into […]
Antibalas, Security
February 5, 2007 – 3:50 PM
With all the rhythm coursing through the members of Antibalas and their music, it makes sense for the group’s sound to likewise stay in motion. From its inception Antibalas has been an American take on Nigerian Afrobeat, one that’s been further and further refined with each subsequent release. Security, the band’s fourth full-length album, dances […]