the first of the monthly mixes from thomas:

march-mix from the capital: berlin

therapy flightmix0309

or visit

sound[architecture]

back-catalogue of mixes also online.

To come: number one of a series of monthly mixes influenced by the Hauptstadt. 

First: Berlin March 09. 

One. Ben Klock

'Ain't no happiness' Elif Bicer

Certainly ain't. Berlin: cold, grey, wet. March. Spring a month off. Future growths and emergences suggested by one-or-two small buds on a tree; a green shoot edging its way through the damp ground. But the cold cuts through a thin jumper, as sharp snares and snapping kick-drums support knife-edged, razor-blunt (cuts you with a dull force, no sharp cleanness here) vocals and freeze-dried synth-stabs of OK on Ben Klock's debut album One. It seems appropriate to the season: the dragged out cold of a deep winter, deepening financial crisis, with only a vague hint at future sun-drenched joys.

But, thats not to suggest that happiness can't be a by-product of these conditions. No. It's just you need to look in the right place; have the right indication as to where to find it. And it lurks, somewhere between the sparse metallic stabs of Gold Rush (coins falling, gold-rushing away) and the icy-lush depths of Init-Two. And the suggestion, the merest hint of a golden-light evening of dreams is proffered by In A While. But don't let this disabuse you of the reality: Thirteen Rounds knocks the cold of winter back into your head with its shimmering icicles of super-cooled gas evaporating into helicopter swirls of ominous threat.

Its one degree outside tonight. Snow will fall, to some extent, tomorrow, and the skies will remain battleship grey.

One seems fitting, somehow. And thats to say it work's. In its setting, its context and its time. It works. Depression era Berlin. Second-time round.

Listen and decide for yourself if its any good.

Hostmix #1 : Atmospheric Phenomena

Just a quick post of a mix i recorded last weekend. It's a collection of the deeper techno stuff i've been listening to recently, mostly from the last six months or so. Here it is:

Atmospheric Phenomena

Kid606_ Bat manners
Mille & Andrea_Gunshot
Wireman_Armour
Unknown_Last Flight to Cologne
Delta Funktionen_Nebula
Steve Parker_Crawling
MLZ_New analogue century
Truss & Donor_Watson
Peter Van Hoesen_Attribute One
MLZ_One state
Simon Flower_Phosphenes
Mr G_U Askin? (Marcel Dettmann Remix)
Radioslave_RJ
Kevin Gorman_Insomnia
Kevin Gorman_Cyclic

Enjoy it, let me know what you think!

Elements

The latest release on Mikrowave is the first of a series to be released entitled Elements. Described as 'part musical experiment, part creative resource,' this release offers both full length tracks and a series of stripped back versions containing the individual sounds that make up the whole. While the tracks themselves are good quality peak time techno, (i included a couple are on a recent mix I recorded) it was the selling of the individual parts that caught me eye.

I have to say this is an interesting idea. Hawtin's DE9 Transitions and the accompanying videos showcased the huge potential of live remixing, combining elements from different records in a live DJ set. If you are Richie Hawtin, elements that make up a track are relatively easy to come by- people send you clips, basslines, syth lines etc ready to use. But for anyone else it involves complicated and time consuming clipping of the original record- until now, that is. For the digital or laptop DJ this will open up a whole dimension of possibilites, as Kevin Gorman says, a truly 'creative resource'.

But I remain intrigued by what this means for the DJ. As a traditional hardware based DJ (ie: CD's and vinyl) , I play tracks I like, i've spent a considerable amount of money buying, and want to hear in their entirety. When I make a mix there are few occasions when I have more than two tracks playing. A lot of well known DJ's on the scene are vinyl junkies, and the 12" remains their medium of choice. On the other hand, some of my favourite DJ's are much more creative, using multiple decks, efx and samplers- making loops, cutting between parts of tracks, laying sounds, and pushing the music in new directions.

This is where the crux of the my question lies- at what point does the DJ become a live artist? Should the two be differentiated? With the amount of technology available, will the DJ soon be replaced by what we would now consider live artists, using layered elements of other people's music to create unique remixes on the fly? Will this be a bad thing or a good thing? Can both continue to exist? Does it really matter?

Vinyl only #1

There had been much debate about the future of vinyl following the proliferation of both legal and illegal mp3's. RA ran a feature written by Ronan Fitzgerald on the subject here, for example, just one of many such articles on the web. While most 12"'s are now available digitally, there are some that choose to eschew that trend and remain vinyl only releases- immediate labels that spring to mind include the excellent Perlon, Ar:pi:ar, and some Hardwax distributed labels. For this series I intend to post some of my favourite vinyl only releases as soundclips, mostly to make my fellow Oblique writer Thomas W, a digital only DJ, jealous of some excellent tracks available only on the black stuff.

The first release is a hand stamped white label on the new 'Do Not Resist The Beat" imprint. Three tracks of dark, slow hypnotic techno, perfectly suited to the early hours. Enjoy!

Vinyl only #1

Ben Klock - One

I have been waiting for this to arrive on my doorstep since it was first unveiled in November. After being thwarted at the first attempt by Juno running out of stock, I have on the edge of my seat waiting for this to be delivered, and it appears it was worth the wait.

As Marcel Dettmann showcased the sound of Berghain techno on his 'Berghain 02' CD, it seems only fair that Klock is responsible for the first album by any of the club's residents. The album has a simple, minimal quality that is clearly influenced by his residency- tracks like 'Check for Pulse' would cause havoc in Berghain's cavernous dancefloor. However this is not an album of club hits, but is a carefully sequenced composition that moves from the dancefloor to the home, and shows Klock experimenting with his sound over the album's length.

The album is characterised by Klock's combination of both house and techno sensibilities. The sound is haunting and resonant; dark synth lines and pads appear and disappear throughout. Album opener 'Coney Island' has stabs straight from a horror movie. This darkness is tempered by a fluctuating sense of warmth which emerges at key points in the album. The soundscape builds over the first few tracks, with texture and depth increasing throughout. Ambient numbers 'Init', 'Init 2' and allow breathing space, before pulsating and menacing sounds return. My favourite sections of the album see Klock experimenting with dubstep and vocal material. The influence of dubstep/techno crossover artists like T++ is clearly audible in 'Gold Rush's' skipping beats and hi hats, echoing vocal snippets and pads.

Perhaps the most suprising aspect of the album is the inclusion of guest vocals from Elif Bicer. I was initially unsure how this combination would work, but Klock uses the vocals as just another layer of texture within his compositions. In 'OK', Bicer's voice is robotic and mechanical, cold and measured, while in 'Godly Sin' it is all enveloping, surrounding the listener, floating over a sinister backing track.

While 'One' in not a straight up techno recond, the album draws on the sound that has made Berghain successful and pushes it in new directions. The key for me is the flow of sounds and the atmosphere Klock creates, moving from darkness to ambience, from dubstep to techno, both haunting and warming. Hopefully Klock will develop these new sides to his sound in his future releases and push the boundaries of the Berghain sound, while keeping one eye firmly on the dancefloor.

Perc-spiration

A quick post before returning to an evening filling out timesheets. Recently I have been listening to two sets from Perc, both recent radio broadcasts. He's an artist I first heard of through releases about 4/5 years ago, tracks like Ice Cream For Kenton which was on James Zabiela's Alive mix CD. He disappeared off my radar until last year's Manual Movement Mix in October, which I really enjoyed. These two sets have great tracklistings, with the likes of Efdemin, Norman Nodge, and Ben Klock all making an appearance. I really like the way Perc builds his sets up and combines the Berhain techno sound with more minimal and tech-house elements- I particularly enjoyed the start of the Proton Radio mix, especially the Kid606 track. Enjoy!

Perc 40 min Radio Mix
1. Donor Truss -Decay (Norman Nodge Remix) - Synewave
2. Efdemin - The Pulse - Curle
3. Hardfloor - Acperience (Herbert's Houseperience Mix) - Harthouse
4. Kerri Chander - Pong (Ben Klock's Bones & String Rework) - Deeply Rooted House
5. James Blonde & Remute - Like A Prayer - Konsequenz
6. Hans Bouffmyhre - Stone Dead (Gary Beck Remix) - Sleaze
7. Tassilo - Smack - Lan Muzic
8. Material Object - Boneless - Perc Trax
9. Speedy J & Chris Liebing - Magnit Express - Electric Deluxe
10. The Delta - Minusman (Remix) - Nachtstrom Schallplatten

Perc Proton Radio Mix
01 Kid606 - Bat Manners [Tigerbeat6]
02 Francesco Tristano - Auricle Bio On (Moritz Von Oswald Edit) [Infine]
03 Ben Klock Feat. Elif Bicer - Ok [Ostgut Ton]
04 Dj Sodeyama - Cosmospace (Glimpse Remix) [Kumo]
05 Boris Horel - Is That A Yes? (Bearweasel Dub) [Supernature]
06 My Favourite Robot - All My Circuit (Jonny White's Blown Fuse Dub) [My Favourite Robot]
07 Darko Esser - Cold Feet (Tommy Four Seven Remix) [Wolfskuil Ltd.]
08 Josh Wink - Ape Tit [Ovum]
09 Hans Bouffmyhre - Motion [Perc Trax]
10 Misc - Confirmed [Perc Trax]
11 Misc - Wave After Wave [Perc Trax]
12 Danton Eeprom - Legacy [Foundation]
13 Hardcell - Neo Acid [Drumcode]
14 Kid606 - Death Is Pain Leaving The Body [Tigerbeat6]
15 Mount Kimbie - Maybes [Hotflush]

A first post

Hello hello, testing testing... is there anybody out there?

So, this is my first post on the Oblique angle. A blog we have made to keep in touch, and to share thoughts and ideas about electronic music.

I realised this weekend that it is just over ten years since I first heard electronic or 'dance' music in a club, and was bowled over by the sounds I heard. I don't know what was played, I had never heard anything like it before. Sure, I'd heard of Underworld, the Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, etc, but I'd never really got it. Then, suddenly, on a dancefloor in darkest Birmingham, it hit me.

And I was hooked.

Since then, I've listened to a huge range of music, all of it good at the time, some of it I wouldn't listen to again, some that I keep coming back to. I've tried my hand as a DJ, and occasionally still play out. However, over the last 18 months, thanks to sites like Resident Advisor and blogs like Mnml Ssgs, House is a Feeling, The Futurist, Modyfier and Teleosteopathy (and the list goes on...) I have found myself listening to more and more and becoming immersed in electronic music more than ever before. And I found myself wanting to talk about it and share it.

So my reason for posting here is twofold. Firstly, to talk about the music I like, (or don't), and why (or why not). And secondly, to link with people who like the same. So, hello, welcome, and I hope you enjoy your visit.