Tag Archive: richard

Robert Hood, Superman/Range

While Detroit producer Robert Hood has enjoyed a renaissance in the past few years on the back of his exhilarating Fabric mix, the inspired Hoodmusic series and quite possibly a realisation in some quarters that what he has been doing for the best part of 20 years makes the mnml explosion look like a minor ripple in his vast creative depths, it was almost inevitable that at some stage he’d fall foul of a backlash.

Demdike Stare, Symbiosis

Brrr, did anyone else just feel the temperature drop a few degrees? Autumn is on the way and the days are getting shorter, but there’s no doubt Symbiosis adds to the gloomier atmosphere. A collaboration between Miles Whittaker (aka MLZ and one half of Pendle Coven) and Sean Canty, Demdike Stare draws on a range of influences to create a subdued yet menacing collection of mood music. There’s an underlying sense of dread audible here, with Whittaker’s love of sampling obscure music — something Canty probably enjoys too — giving Symbiosis a familiar yet eerie feeling. The fact that the project’s name, like Pendle Coven, references witchcraft and the supernatural, and is accompanied by album artwork featuring skulls, white roses and a lone eye suspended under a woman’s wig while an arm holds what looks like either a small wand or a big needle, only adds to the occultish theme.

Artist Unknown, Hate 5

Finally, some light relief amid the furrowed-brow seriousness that’s all too prevalent in electronic music. The fifth release on the Modern Love-affiliated, rave/hardcore-inspired Hate label sees yet another unknown artist inject some humour into their work. Sampling Simon & Garfunkel singing the line “Hello farkness my old friend” from “The Sound of Silence,” she/he then loops the word “darkness” and splices it up with a standard amen break, a cartoonish hoover bass and some bleak chords. Like the scene and the music it so clearly apes, it’s daft and utterly disposable, yet infinitely more entertaining than much of what passes for cerebral techno or house in 2009.

San Proper, Keep It Raw

San Proper is the latest in a long, long line of dance producers to come from Holland. While his hometown of Amsterdam is often seen as a techno hub thanks to the work of first-wavers like Steve Rachmad and Orlando Voorn, as well as newer talents like Shinedoe, it also has a rich house heritage that stretches back to the early 90’s days of Outland Records. It’s this period that Proper looks to for inspiration on his debut on Zip’s Perlon.

BBH: Steve Bicknell, Lost Recordings Number 1: Why? & For Whom?

It was 1996. The UK’s techno scene was reaching the tail end of its “golden” period. By 1998, the landscape would have changed irrevocably, with the one-note loop dullards dominating, flooding the scene with cheap knock-offs of Purposemaker’s dynamism. However, just as the lights started to fade, Steve Bicknell, the resident DJ and promoter at London techno mecca Lost stepped up with the Lost Recordings series (confusingly, on the Cosmic label).

Delta Funktionen, Electromagnetic Radiation Part 2

One of the great things about electronic music is that it constantly allows new producers the opportunity to shine. Despite the increasingly high volumes of music released, it is still possible — arguably the high proportion of substandard work makes it even easier to get noticed nowadays, but that warrants another piece, hell, even a thesis — for talent to get noticed. Before last year, Niels Luinenberg couldn’t get arrested, but after two after two releases in 2008, the deep dubbed out “Electromagnetic Radiation Part 1” and the sinister and more satisfying “Silhouette” for Ann Aimee, the latest release under the Delta Funktionen pseudonym is eagerly awaited.

Aroy Dee, The Planets

Originally released six years ago by Jochem Peteri (aka Newworldaquarium) on the NWAQ label — which also featured a co-production by Peteri under his other, less-known 154 guise — this limited edition re-release now boasts a remix from Vince Watson which dates back to 2004. Maybe the post-minimal landscape has made listeners and DJs more receptive again to warm, rich sounds, but speculation aside, there is no doubt that in the past few years the small group of producers that release on the Dutch techno/house stronghold of Delsin, NWAQ, M<O<S and Ann Aimee has enjoyed a golden run of form, consistently releasing great deep dance floor music. Clearly, ignoring trends and sticking to what they know best has paid off in recent times, but the magic was always there — and six years since it first appeared, “Planets” has lost none of its charms.