[q007 Records] Those Soul Clap boys, Eli and Charles, know how to blog, DJ and look smooth on magazine covers. But can they remix? The newest release on the confusingly named q007 Records answers this question with a resounding “hell yeah!” The guys reworked “Pool Night” by Euphoria Chicago empresario, Adam Collins, and did so […]
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Clara Moto, Glove Affair
[InFiné] For me, it’s hard not to like the titular track from Clara Moto’s recording debut. The Barcelona-based producer deftly melds two somewhat different motifs: a twitchy and fibrous arrangement rattling inside the confines of a bittersweet and ear-pleasing melody, and a see-sawing progression with similar melodic tastes (though not as anxious). Construction aside, it’s […]
Matt John, Trampolin
[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. […]
Cassy, Soul Saviour
[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)
[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
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
[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
[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 […]
Goo-gaws for a new century
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!
[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
[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
[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
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
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
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
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 […]
Bills, bills, bills
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 […]











