The Oblique Angle

Reviewing Kontext

2010-05-02T13:10:00.005+01:00

Russian producer Kontext's new album 'Dissociate' for Immerse builds on the promise of his early releases for the same label and delivers some inspiring and dark techno/dubstep material. Consisting of six new and four previously released tracks, the album is underpinned by a uniquely atmospheric sound seemingly inspired by Kontext's St Petersburg hometown.

Album opener 'Impossible Being' sounds like Nathan Fake or James Holden jamming with Martyn; blippy, squelching, with swirling clouds of synths underpinned by stuttering broken beats. 'Bilingualism' and 'Aerial Monarch Attacks' explore the edges of dubstep and techno; in the first, spoken word combines with dripping sounds, layers of atmosphere are added before a simple melodic line reaches out. The scurrying 'Clinch' and the previously released 'Hometown Swamp' up the pace, before the blissful 'Searching for the Transcendental' wraps the listener in waves of cotton wool synths. Further on into the album is 'Plumes', a track underpinned by a lethargic and bass laden 4/4 beat, drawing from the classic experimental techno of Basic Channel. Final track 'On the Bottom of the Glass' is a beatless piece of electronica that uses discovered sounds and liquid textures to create a spacious and ethereal final piece.

Kontext's 'Dissociate' cements his place as one of the most exciting exponents of dark, experimental dubstep that fans of T++, Monolake or Shackleton should keep an eye on. This album sees Kontext exploring techno, dubstep, drum and bass and electronica within the boundaries of his densely atmospheric sound, combining rolling techno influences with syncopated rhythmic experimentation. For anyone who enjoyed this album, Kontext has recently released two mixes that are well worth a listen; firstly is a mix for Mixmag.info that includes Fluxion, Plastikman, BVDub and Pole, and a second pure dubstep mix for Electronic Explorations.

Detroit.

2010-04-07T12:54:00.002+01:00

Jeff Mills at fabric - RA review

Sneaking around with Cool House

2010-04-02T12:28:00.004+01:00

Cool House's recent Birthday bash review with DJ Sneak is online on RA, check it out here.

Spring Oblique Mix 2010

2010-03-24T11:36:00.010Z

From new to old to new. Peter Van Hosen to Robert Hood.
Techno.

Enjoy.
Track-list to follow.

march mix 2010

Hood

2010-03-23T00:59:00.004Z

Robert Hood - Alpha / Omega (End Times), M-Plant

As the mist gathers density outside my window, the resolution of the world is reduced to a few essences of form. It seems somehow fitting that at this present moment, when I think I ought to have written something new for the Angle, that this visual reduction coincides with a remembrance of what minimal means to dance music. It's not bleeps, clicks and hisses repeated and looped in an endless layering of tired repetition. It's something more machinic. More reduced, yet so much more expanded.

Robert Hood's latest release on M-Plant Alpha launches into a unremittingly tough four-four beat. It holds this just slightly too long before snapping the synaptic response into gear with a tough clap and a gradually emerging, tightly looped, stuttering and analogue sounding clipped snare. Then it comes. The simplest, most basic high-hat cascades down on the beat and envelopes everything in a euphoric moment that is the sound of Ford's demise. The sound of the Motor City gone wrong. And this - this is the reduction.

The mist grows thicker. It's fog now and all I can see are the spherical glows of the street lamps. The form of light and technology. The minimalism of the city at night - reduced to it's essential format: Electricity, material and space. This is techno. This is minimal. 8 minutes 42 seconds. This is Robert Hood.

Omega (End Times) is destructive. A futurist-dystopian vision of decaying production lines and the repo-man. Toxic-debt amassing and Devil's Night hallucinations - Omega sounds like the hymn for a post-post-industrial, neo-apocalyptic city scape of empty chances and departed dreams. Equally, if not more, relentless in its pursuit of the absolute zero of Detroit-minimalism than Alpha, the cataclysm that is predicted in this track is epically dark. Spartan, stunningly-repetive and with a palette limited to four distinct sounds that are gradually modified and machined to a self-destructive peak, this piece of entropic programming goes nowhere. There's no redemption, only an onward march of unstoppable technology replicating itself ad-infinitum, resisted only through the homeopathic application of the same to cure the ill.

5/5

Pre-album teasers

2010-03-13T16:55:00.014Z

2010 is going to see albums released by two of the most exciting techno talents to have emerged in the past few years. Between them, Peter Van Hoesen and Marcel Dettmann have shaped their own unique sounds: One Berlin, one Belgium. One cavernous dynamics, one reverberant, burbling basslines. Both looking backwards for inspiration while driving forward, forging their own take on classic sounds.

Dettmann's album taster, 'Dettmann Remixed', consists of four tracks from the depths of the Dettmann archives, dusted down and remixed by Bergain resident Norman Nodge and new talent Wincent Kunth. Nodge's stark remixes of 'Shift' and 'Unrest' combine his instantly recognisable raw industrial sound with Dettmann's drive. Meanwhile, the debut of the Swiss Wincent Kunth adds a lush depth and hint of melody that I find lacking in Dettmann's releases; on Vertigo, a wandering baseline dissolves into Detroit styles synths, while 'Wound Up', the more potent of the two tracks, wouldn't sound out of place as an EQD release. This brave move by Ostgut to introduce a new talent of such a high profile release pays dividends, introducing a new and highly successful take on Dettmann's trademark sound.

Van Hoesen has had a busy year to date, providing mnml ssgs with a sublime session for their 50th mix, releasing a free EP of remixes and album taster 'Entropic Minus Six'. The latter has recently been reviewed positively by Richard Brophy on RA, while the free 'Variable Parts' EP is for me the more intriguing of the two releases. Reworking two album tracks, the devastating 'Face of Smoke' and new ambient track 'Second Law', this release shows a more experimental side to Van Hoesen's sound. The Casual Reconstruction of 'Face of Smoke' drops the tempo of the original and produces a deeply atmospheric version with a similar sound to Prologue Records or some of Donato Dozzy's releases. The original's synthline struggles to emerge from foggy, heaving soundscapes, before being overcome and sinking without trace.

Album tracks 'Strip It Boost It' and 'Terminal' get reworked in a similar style. The Markov Layout of 'Terminal' converts the dettmann-esque orignal into a less insistent but more layered composition, again building a strong sense of atmosphere throughout. 'Strip It Boost It' Entropic Dub stays true to the original but removes the riff to create a driving percussive rework. Final track 'Second Skin' creates a melancholy and haunting soundscape that could be a lost Mika Vainio number, layering scratching, hissing white noise with hints of life surfacing from the gloom.

So all in all two excellent EP's that are a mouthwatering taster for the albums dropping soon. For a taster of PVH's 'Entropic City', previews are online at the Entropic City mini-site, with the album due to drop on the 22nd, while the self-titled 'Dettmann' will be launched at Berghain on 24th April with Shed and Ben Klock providing support.

Reviewing in the Big Smoke

2010-02-19T21:00:00.005Z

Sorry for the lack of blog action recently, we're both a little busy with work/study at the moment. As I've got a few minutes, i thought I'd post a couple of links to RA reviews Ed wrote following a recent outing to Londontown. First up, a review of Ben Klock, Steffi, Lee Curtiss, Jamie Jones @ Fabric, read it here. Following that almighty knees up, our intrepid reviewer dashed to Cable to catch Konrad Black, Geddes, Ali Kuru and Rossko play at Found afterhours- read about that here.

Oblique Mid-Winter

2010-02-18T22:57:00.007Z

Oblique mid winter feb 10 by mj_oblique

A new deep and dark mix from Oblique- a mix of dubstep and techno I've been enjoying over the winter. I have to say, this is perhaps the darkest mix I've recorded- the bleakness of this one scared me a little when I listened to it!

As ever, feed back more than welcome, I'll post a tracklist in a few days.

From music to mosaic

2010-02-11T20:12:00.003Z

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

Now for something a little different... a superb piece of traditional animation- found on the blog of clothing label Droneboy Laundry. I can't imagine how long this must have taken to plan!

A Friday Mix Up

2010-02-05T13:21:00.010Z

I've not posted much in the way of mixes for a while, but there's some good stuff around at the moment that I feel it's my duty to share. I'm really enjoying much deeper sounds recently, and these mixes have been particularly suited to my recent trip to the snowy Alps. As usual, a mixed bag of genres and artists- several new mixes from OA favourites, and a few new faces as well:

Ryan Elliott Presents "Marking Measures" by user495866

This first mix by Ryan Elliot is a deep house and techno mix that gradually moves from the lovely Detroit house of Delano Smith's 'This Heart' through a trio of Rick Wade tracks into deep melodic techno with Technasia, Dettmann, DVS1 and Robert Hood. A superb mix that builds nicely.

Sigha Breezeblock mix by Sigha

Sigha apparently played a really dark early doors techno set at Colony's Christmas bash, and if it was anything like this mix it would have been fantastic. Properly moody, almost industrial techno that wouldn't sound out of place on the Berghain floor, combined with a dubstepper's swing.

COLONY_007: MB by COLONY

Running with the Colony theme, this is the seventh mix in their resident's series, mixed by MB who was recently featured in Random Circuits' Random Residency. The mix has a great sense of atmosphere and manages to combine dubstep, techno, drone and d&b into a flowing two hours. For me the first half hour is the standout with some of my recent favourites from Sigha, Scuba and Shackleton's superb Moderat remix. If anyone was looking for nights pushing the dubstep/techno boundaries right now, I'd highly recommend checking Colony out.

Thirdly, a new mix from OA favourite SMA. As usual, 'All the Time' is a finely tuned mix of deep house and techno. While some of SMA's mixes focus more on smooth deep house, this one starts really slowly, deep, deep in the groove, mixing some new cuts and some old from Larry Heard, Prosumer, Vladislav Delay and Tobias Freund. Flippin' gorgeous throughout- SMA proves he is a superb selector.

Finally I can't finish without mentioning Neel's Sunday Sounds mix for Mnml Ssgs- although I'm sure most people will be aware of this blog and this mix, It's such a fantastic set that I feel the need to point it out. A really warm, mellow mix, great selection and well mixed.

WAX Launches this week!

2010-02-02T22:20:00.006Z

This Saturday sees the launch of Wax, a deep house night at the Cardiff Arts Institute. We'll be there alongside Kit Grill of the excellent Vessel Music (the Nick Hoppner mix on the site is fantastic) and the cream of the South Wales deep house community. I'm really looking forward to this, it's a chance to play a really deep set that's a bit different to the usual techno at Oblique.

To get people in the mood here's a couple of super deep offerings from those involved. First up a mix by Owain K that includes some nice deep vibes from Cheap and Deep, Soul Minority, Carl Craig, Levon Vincent and Owain himself:

Owain K - Club Wax Mix by owaink

Finally, Swansea's Hot Property has posted this promo mix on the Wax Facebook page, which sounds great, a real mix of deeper flavours from MCDE to Tensnake to Andy Vaz:

1. Mark E – Slave 1 (running back)
2. 6th borough project – Miss world (oof...t remix)
3. Ooft – Th...is sound (instruments of rapture)
4. Tensnake – Holding back (running back)
5. Motor city drum ensemble – Raw cuts 3 (mcde)
6. Sebo K & Metro – Saxtrack
7. Dicowboys – To the mountain top/ Two armadillos remix (dessous)
8. Andy Vaz – Hurry, hurry remix/ Rick Wade remix (yore)
9. Flora Cruz – Let the sunshine out (Ibadan)
10. Sound stream – Dance with me
11. Eddy meets Yannah – Solid ground/ Crazy P remix (compost)
12. April March – Attention Cherie/ Ashley Beedle’s heavy disco mix (out hear audio)
13. Marcello Giordani – Respect yourself/ dj naughty remix (mule musiq)
14. Hercules and love affair – Blind/ Frankie Knuckles dub (dfa)

That's all for now, hope to see you there!

Monolake Interviewed

2010-01-21T22:38:00.007Z

The Wire has posted a full version of Derek Walmsley's interview with Monolake which is an excellent read, covering a huge range of topics: Monolake's involvement with Ableton, his live performances, Monolake Surround Sound, his approach to the hardware v software debate, working with visual artists, and a hell of a lot more. It's an interesting peek into the mind of a master, I'd highly recommend it. A lot of food for thought....

Reagenz : Lunar Landing Live

2010-01-14T13:46:00.008Z

reagenz - lunar landing live by Move D

The past couple of weeks have seen Cardiff blanketed under varying amounts of snow. An unusual occurrence for the city, snowfall and freezing temperatures have made travel treacherous. Living close the the city, I've unfortunately not got out of work, but every cloud has a silver lining- I've meandered the quieter than usual route to the office every morning and enjoyed this uncommon weather. A landscape blanketed in snow an amazing sight- all detail is obscured and only the most elemental features of the landscape remain- the rise and fall of the land, the line of a wall, the height of the trees. I think this unique sight (I can't remember this much snow in Cardiff, and I've lived here for ten years) requires a unique soundtrack, and I think I've found just the thing.

Reagenz aka Move D and Jonah Sharp recorded a live set in Heidelberg in July to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the lunar landing. Punctuated by warped excerpts from the landing sequence, the live set features a mix of new and old Reagenz material. Now the parallel between the moon landing and a snowy landscape may seem obvious-snow is white, so are the images you see of the moon's surface. Footsteps have more potency on the moon and in fresh snow. But, what appealed to me about the mix is the careful way in which sounds build and the delicately constructed sense of drama that runs throughout. Snow is about drama. Snow dances and plays as it falls. And this is the feeling I get from this mix- sounds emerge from a fog of ambient atmospherics before being dragged back into swirling clouds, creating a strong sense of tension and release throughout the mix. It's almost like being in the midst of a blizzard (and several times me and this mix have been). After about an hour, a meandering baseline changes the mood, stepping the mix up a gear. The last twenty minutes see the mix peak in luscious deep house, finishing with a menacing track taken from their recent Workshop release. Finally, the mix dissolves into Neil Armstrong saying those famous words to finish the mix.

All in all, inspiring stuff from Johan and David, a beautiful and sensitive concept mix and one that has fitted my experience of the world perfectly over the past week. If I was taking my first steps on the moon, or equally my first steps into a snowy Cardiff, I'd want this to be my soundtrack. Enjoy.

2010-01-07T22:52:00.003Z

Colonising the Capital

Colony Christmas Party

The Rhythm Factory, London, December 19 2009

Kevin Gorman

Sigha

Millie and Andrea

Ben UFO

CB+MB

If the past year has proved anything, it’s the truth behind the old axiom: big is not necessarily beautiful. Systems and structures of a super-scale have visibly crumbled, supported only by injections of non-existent cash. The capital of the consumer society has been pummelled hard, and currently sits under a blanket of snow. London is a dirty old whore of a city (certainly big, and with a decidedly ambiguous relationship to beauty). But, beneath the skin of this heaving metropolis, behind the thick matt of commercial mediocrity, lie some small, but perfectly formed set-ups. And this is where things are currently thriving, proving resilient to the ‘bottom-line’ mentality of the late-capitalist machine. You see, here, profit is defined in terms that are not singularly monetary. Profit is pleasure. Profit is release, abandon, and that indefinable thing that is a ‘fucking good party’. And, as we at Oblique well know, margins (in singular ‘cost’ terms) are tiny. But success isn’t defined by the total of the balance books. It’s defined by something else, something intangible but equally, if not more important: Fun. Happiness. People dancing, smiling and sometimes finding something new. So, in this time of mean-spirited cost-counting, thank God for guys like Lost Souls, and Colony - whose events over the past year have seen some of the leading lights of underground electronic music brought to the Capital. And what better a way for Colony to end the year and fill the bank account with an over-abundance of cultural-capital, than with Kevin Gorman, Sigha, Millie and Andrea and Ben UFO – a line-up that reads like a room at Free Rotation?

The Rhythm Factory, a great venue on Whitechapel Road in East London, felt like a return to Berlin for me: simple, unadorned and with a relaxed atmosphere helped by the café/bar style room fronting the street and with a fittingly uncompromising and decidedly chilly bouncer (it’s part of going to a nightclub… why should they be friendly?). Arriving around twelve, just in time to hear the end of MB’s set, the place took a while to warm-up, not helped by the altogether appalling weather and mini-snow storm that blew across the city. However, by the end of Sigha’s set (a tough, deep and unrelenting mix of straight-up techno) the club was getting into its groove and settling in for Gorman’s live-set. Marred only by a slight technical hitch halfway in (seems even a Mac can’t be trusted 100% of the time), Gorman played a string of reworked tracks into a stunningly executed hour and a half of contiguous music. Fast, clinical and simultaneously groovy, The Rhythm Factory was, by this time, getting on with the task in hand and the clearly appreciative crowd had swelled to fill the dance floor towards the end of his set. This, however, was the time I had to make my departure. The bleak weather, combined with the fact that the night bus journey would take around two hours, forced my hand and it was with heavy heart that I left a party that felt like it had really started to get going.

What Colony are doing (and, I sincerely hope, continue to do so), is provide a community feel within a city that has so much in the way of talent and potential but that suffers through the city’s high-prices. Outfits like Colony have defined the parameters of their ‘profit motives’ in a way, however, that outsmarts the restrictions of London: they obviously care about the music, the atmosphere and the nature of the ‘party’ and weight these factors far above the bottom line.

Sorry if this review has seemed like a small exercise in economic reappraisal. But it’s just that if there is one thing that is called for, and that I believe to be of critical importance to the future of this genre of music in a landscape of commercial behemoths, then it’s the judging of success based not on cash-outputs. And that’s where Colony are doing something important, something with integrity. Here’s to more colonisation.

2009: Five Mixes

2009-12-31T11:33:00.017Z

The second part of our review of 09 focuses on the mixes. Compared to a decade ago, the volume of available downloadable mixes and podcasts has increased exponentially. With this increase in volume has perhaps come an increased disposability of music and I find I have a much shorter attentions span when listening to mixes than I used to. Looking through my podcasts on itunes, there's no less than twenty different subscriptions I have that I regularly check, not to mention feeds that feature mixes that don't crop up in itunes. So with such a huge volume of music, how is it possible to listen to and really appreciate what different people are doing? I find that I regularly ignore sets by artists I'm less familiar with, or give them the skip through rather than listen to the entire mix. I've missed some really good mixes this year doing this- Sigha's Hotflush podcast for example, which I've only just discovered.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. Out of all the mixes I've listened to this year, and the list is by no means exhaustive, I've chosen five that I have listened to and enjoyed most often. I've tried to keep away from the best known artists and biggest mix series, as these are well known and documented. The mixes I've chosen have been selected as these mixes offered something that stood out from the crowd. In four cases, these were artists/DJ's I didn't know much about but found them a fantastic listen; in one case the mix just seemed to fit my mood at the time. All explored sounds that were on the edge of my radar and so were somehow educational as well as being an enjoyable listen. So here we go, in no particular order, MJ's top 5 mixes of 09:

Pendle Coven - Fact mix

Pendle Coven's FACT mix from March showcased dubby techno old and new founded on the unique gritty sound of Manchester's Modern Love Records. Some great tracks from the likes of Wax, Larry Heard, G-Man and Tres Demented, as well as a good dose from Modern Love and its sub-label Daphne. If this is your bag, Modern Love's showcase for XLR8R is also worth a listen.

SMA - Process 132 (The Lost Library)

This was the first mix i'd heard by SMA, but is only one of a whole string i've downloaded this year. The mix for Modyfier focused on slow house, but includes deep house, dubby, moody techno, and slowed down dubstep. Since this mix I've become a fan of Sebastian and his blog- check it out for more deep house mixes. A close second favourite from SMA is his slow techno mix Mars Rising, check that out here.

CB - Colony 006

Colony host some great parties down in London town that cross genres from techno to dubstep to IDM and d&b. The guys also have a series of mixes online for download that showcase their sound- this is my favourite of the series by CB, a deep dubstep mix. Colony have recently been featured in Random Circuits Random Residency as well, with a technofied dubstep mix by MB.

Pan Pot - Mobilee Podcast 008 : Day/Night

This mix came out at just as summer emerged in Cardiff, and fitted my mood perfectly. Apparently recorded poolside at Sonar, this two part mix for the Mobilee podcast starts with an hour of summery techhouse before moving into the early hours with a darker techy set from later in the evening. Some great tech tracks on there, but no tracklist I'm afraid.

Goldwill - HIAF Guest Mix 13

Ronan Fitzgerald's House is a Feeling blog has been quiet this year, but for a couple of mix releases, the best of which was this from Goldwill. Traversing dubby techno, deep and techy house and a bit of techno and starting off with the sublime Birds by John Daly and including Ribn's Ctrl on Styrax and the Daschund mix of Chaton, two of my favourite records of the year.

2009 : Five EP's & LP's

2009-12-29T10:52:00.013Z

We've been a bit slow to compile our best of 09 lists, but better late than never... to kick off, MJ rounds up his best of 09 extended and long players:

Redshape - The Dance Paradox LP
Redshape has peeked out from behind his iconic red mask to release what could well be the album of the year in the shape of The Dance Paradox. Slower house and techno rhythms combine with classic detroit sounds in an album that looks to the future of techno while leaning heavily on its past.

Shackleton - 3 EP's
Again this year Shackleton has been at the cutting edge of the dubstep/techno crossover- his excellent 3 EP's on the mighty Perlon combined his experimental dubstep sensibilities with Berlin house and techno. A great release from a unique artist.

Ben Klock - One
Ben Klock's One is the first album from and of the the Berghain residents, and as you'd expect it's a techno album through and through. Any of these tracks could fit the Berghain floor, from ambient early evening experiments through flirtations with dubstepping rhythms to peak time action. Both the album itself, the precursor EP 'Before One' and the remix releases are well worth a listen.

2562 - Unbalance
Dave Huismans continued to explore the boundaries of house, techno, dubstep and garage this year, with great releases from his 2562 and A Made Up Sound aliasses. While AMUS explores the fusion of house and techno, 2562 produces more of a straight up dubstep sound- Unbalance, his second album, is perhaps lighter sounding than last year's Aerial and showcases a unique sound that combines layers of warm bass with gleaming synths and bursts of colour.

Moritz von Oswald Trio: Vertical Ascent
MvO Trio are Moritz Von Oswald, Vladislav Delay and Max Loderbauer who have performed together on numerous occasions as a live act. This EP is a showcase of the best of these live performances; each Pattern of between seven and fourteen minutes is an organic exploration of african rhythms, unruly synths and heaving percussion. There's so much depth in each track that this gives something new on each listen and as with most Moritz keeps you coming back for more.

WAX..... On

2009-12-23T01:03:00.005Z

Saturday 6th February @ Cardiff Arts Institute : WAX Launch Night

Line up

KIT GRILL(VESSEL MUSIC)

GARETH POTTER (CRUNCH)

HOTPROPERTY

OBLIQUE DJ'S

DOUGIE FRESH

Wax is a new night supported by a community of music lovers that enjoy deep, dubbed out electronic music. Each month Wax will rotate and program a selection of artists and DJ's to provide a fresh alternative on underground dance music. Launching on Saturday 6th February with the founder of Vessel Music, Kit Grill. Gareth Potter of South Wales's much loved underground parties, Crunch alongside HotProperty, Oblique DJs and Dougie Fresh will also be at hand to get you into the groove. Forget fashion and fads, Wax is about expression, enjoying yourself, meeting people, sharing a good night and good old fashioned dancing.

Cardiff Arts Institute - Powered by Funktion1 Audio
29 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3BA
£2/3 from 8pm

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wax/339715420386?v=info&ref=mf

http://www.myspace.com/waxcardiff

http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?133035

Wednesday Mix Up

2009-12-09T13:41:00.001Z

A selection of mixes that have been tantalising my ear'oles this month, there's some good stuff out there right now. As usual, a while range of mixes from the deep to the pounding:

Perc October Promo
I've been listening to this for a while now, and its another great techno mix from Perc that has a few dubsteppers thrown in for a good measure. Great tracks from Xhin, Denhert, Ruskin, Scuba, Dettmann and so on. Also worth checking is Perc's podcast for Clubbed Up, available through I Tunes.

Emptyset
Emptyset, who recently released a new album through Caravan Recordings, have had a superb mix hosted on Sonic Router and an in depth interview with the guys. Growing from the ambient Fennesz, through Mortiz and Villalobos into broken techno and gritty dubstep, This mix is one of my favourite mixes I've heard this year, really inspirational stuff. Contacting Emptyset after hearing it, they pointed us in the direction of a more recent DJ mix they've put together, which has a similar feel and equally wide range- AFX, Substance, Shed, Mills, A Made Up Sound, Seldom Felt, Radioslave..... the list goes on. Highly recommended.

SMA
SMA is another artist who has been a revelation this year. His Modyfier and Mars Rising mixes were expertly pitched mixes of slow house and techno. His latest is a deep house that includes John Daly's awesome Birds (anyone know where I can get this?), Delano Smith, Steffi, Soulphiction, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Baaz. Perfect for the walk to work I reckon.

Slam
As usual the Soma Podcast broadcasts warm up sets form the Sub Club, this time Slam's warm up for Anja Schneider in October. A nice, deep and dubby mix, mmmm yeah.... includes Jim Rivers remixed by Cardiff based DJ/producer Paul Lorraine.

Bodytonic
Finally, for anyone who's missed these, Bodytonic has had some fantastic mixes of late. Samuel L Sessions delivers number 58 in the series- I was a ling time fan of SLS about 6 years ago, I think I've got a stash of his loopy funky techno records somewhere. Here he crafts a mix that moves at a fair pace from deep techno through to harder gear from the Berghain crew, great stuff and great mixing.

Also worth checking are Elemental's live set (a slightly hapier version of Shackleton?), Van Rivers techno workout (XDB, Dettmann, Gorman, Stott, Ruskin) and finally Carl Craig's Detroit inspiration mix.

Post-Decade:Dance comedown

2009-12-07T13:42:00.014Z

Thanks to all who braved the Cardiff weather to come along to the Decade:Dance, we had a great time! Thanks to Chris Dorn and Potter for a DC10 flavoured hour, and to Matt Joy and Owain K for a superb back to back set of classic house and techno. Check out the photos below, and see you next time!

Decade:Dance 3. Eastgood Sound

2009-12-03T13:07:00.007Z

Third in the series of Decade:Dance mixes - and the first from Thomas. Warming up to late-night Friday, listen to a sample of Ostgut material and some others recorded in Autumn 2008 in Berlin. From Ben Klock To Marcel Dettmann et al. Enjoy.

Eastgood Sound

2009-11-29T13:16:00.004Z

Ok, less than a week to go until the Decade:Dance, so it's time for a second mix. This time from about 2005- a minimal/tech mix with tracks from Nathan Fake, Domenic Eulberg, Miss Kittin, Tommie Nevada, Dinky and Tobi Neumann. Listen and enjoy.

Lerosa on Hybridise

2009-11-23T22:04:00.006Z

I've downloaded a few tracks from Dublin's Lerosa recently that I've really enjoyed- his 'Plesso' for Ostgut is great, and his Donato Dozzy collab 'Snakes at Number 2' Ep is superb, really deep, slow techno- Acid Snake clocks in at 100bpm... that's positively lazy! Check out the RA review of that here.

Anyway, trawling the web I came across Franco Cangelli's Hybridise blog, which is a new one to me but well worth a look. I don't know much about Franco and the blog doesn't give much away. I only know him from his charts on Juno, which are always full of good stuff, and his release on Mawar earlier this year. Alongside some interesting looking mixes from Franco, Hybridise are currently hosting a Lerosa mixes Lerosa mix , a set of his own releases and remixes that is a great introduction to his sound and well worth a listen. Check the tracklist below:

Russell – Real Soon

Franco Cangelli – Innocence In A Jar (Lerosa Remix) – Mowar

Regret – D1

Clique – Real Soon

Seeker – Enclave

Circadia – Millions of Moments

Lovers bleed – Millions of Moments

Plesso – Ostgut

Dark Knight – A Touch of Class

One Year Friends – Enclave

Much Later – Uzuri

Triage – Quintessentials

Abby – Uzuri

Buddy system – Quintessentials

Andy Vaz – Hurry, Hurry Remix (Lerosa Mix) – Yore

Pussy – Enclave

2009-11-18T20:30:00.005Z

Building up to our Decade:Dance on 4th December here in Cardiff, we are reliving some old memories through our mixes from the last decade. First up is a mix I recorded in about 2003 (ish), a fast paced techno mix. Expect Envoy, Slam, Vince Watson, Drama Society, Funk D Void, some Nathan Fake, before heading into harder techno territory. Hope you like it!

time for a look back...

2009-11-17T11:04:00.001Z

A note from home.....

2009-11-14T20:53:00.007Z

Birmingham boy Regis has produced this mix for FACT entitled Built on Sand: A Birmingham Sampler 1978-86. It's not what you'd expect from the man behind British Murder Boys and Sandwell District. Both Regis and Silent Servant have expressed their love of 'other' forms of music than their trademark techno, and that's what's showcased here as FACT say:

"The mix concerns itself with Birmingham's vibrant but infamously fragmented and undervalued punk and post-punk scene of the late 70s and early 80s, and features amazing music by familiar artists like the Au Pairs and Swell Maps as well as more obscure nuggets from the likes of Spizzenergi. Mixed and edited with all the punch and precision we've come to expect from Regis, this is a blisteringly enjoyable listen and an invaluable history lesson to boot. Download it, and enjoy. "

As a Birmingham boy, I'd recommend everyone downloads a piece of the "Bermuda Triangle of success" that falls between the M6, M5 and M42. It makes for 'different' listening at least....

Modern Lovelies

2009-11-13T09:40:00.003Z

A short post this time- Mary Anne Hobbs featured a guest mix from the Manchester-based Modern Love on her BBC Radio 1 show this week. Half an hour of deepness featuring all unreleased material, now that that can't be bad....

It's slightly more on the steppy end of the spectrum, but starts with some nice deep techno. New stuff from all the usual Modern Love suspects- Andy Stott, Claro, MLZ, Pendle Coven, Millie and Hate- winter looks to be hotting up nicely!

“Ouch! Passion must prevail!”

2009-11-04T13:18:00.008Z

I've come across an interesting article about new Cardiff venue The Cardiff Arts Institute. The commentary voices feelings I share about the scene in the city- Cardiff has been going through somewhat bleak period of late. It has seen some much loved venues closing due largely due to political reasons, and reports from several of big name promoters are that the city isn't what it was before longer licensing hours for bars and pubs. For smaller promoters like ourselves, there's few decent venues about, and even fewer that offer a good sound system and staff. The city is begging for decent places to dance, so much so that promoters have started thinking "outside the box" as they say in management speak; Perhaps the best example is Backroom eschewing clubs altogether and using disused bank vaults to throw parties. As Kai puts it in the review, "Sometimes you’re faced with the grim reality that what Cardiff needs, Cardiff never gets." Having lived here for nearly ten years, that ain't far from the truth.

The CAI might be about to change all that. Set up by 580 ltd (also responsible for Field Day, the Lock Tavern, the Start the Bus and the Adventures in the Beetroot Field club nights and apparently run by Jon Carter), the venue has the potential to freshen up the Cardiff scene, offering something different to the standard bar setup, and boasting a Funktion 1 sound system to boot. Here's what they say they plan to do:

CAI Manifesto:

We aim to:

Offer a platform to encourage collaboration, participation and activity.
Stimulate and innovate in our city.
Forever evolve.
Help make it happen.
Discover new ways of thinking through interaction, communication and union.
Nurture and celebrate new talent.
Use no artificial colours or preservatives.
Stay up late and break the rules.
Listen to you: mail@cardiffartsinstitute.org

Well, it'll be interesting to see if they can do all or any of that, or indeed what impact the arrival of CAI will have on the city. The first month's line up looks promising, including local bands and DJ's and respected performers such as The Apples and Jon Carter. At the moment it feels like this will be something new- let's wait and see what develops- until then, I look forward to checking it out!

New arrivals to banish boredom

2009-11-02T13:31:00.015Z

Recently I've found that I've been a bit bored. I've not bought much music for the past few months, and what I have bought has been from beyond my normal boundaries or it's been older tracks that I've been after for a while. I don't know why I've suddenly lost interest. Maybe its an autumn thing? I always find that my tastes tend towards a darker more atmospheric sound as winter draws in; perhaps its the start of this transition? Or maybe everything has gone a bit stale?

Well, having been at a musical loose end, in the last week or so i've found a few things that have started to draw me from my sleep. Most of these have been genre-defying treats that step beyond their boundaries to deliver something fresh, something new that pricks up the ears, but also draw on classic sounds and re-interpret tried and tested formula.

Redshape's Dance Paradox LP on Delsin looks from first impressions like it will be one of my albums of the year. Drawing on his unique retro sci-fi sound (if such a think can exist), the album delivers 8 mid-tempo tracks that draw inspiration from 90's techno, reworked in his inimitable style. Stand out tracks for me are album closer 'Dark & Sticky', a Workshop/Dettmann-esque crunchy slow shuffler and the broken beat, dub chord-ridden 'Man out of time'.

The return of the excellent Random Circuits blog (with added redesign) has brought some welcome treats. RC have had a series of deeper than deep guest mixes in the past that included podcasts by Taron Trekka, Vince Watson, Baaz, Langenberg, Anonm and my favourite from Rising Sun. Their rebirth has seen the launch of a new series called the Random Residency, designed to showcase residents from interesting clubnights. The first from Noah Gibson, author of The Futurist blog and resident at The Office in Stockholm is a Berghain influenced techno mix and interview.

The second features MB, resident at Colony, one of the most interesting nights currently running in London. The line ups at Colony are always eclectic, covering techno, dubstep, d&b and IDM- recent nights have hosted Noah Gibson, MLZ, Braiden, Chris Box, Untold.... and their next two parties see Perc, Kevin Gorman, Millie & Andrea and Ben UFO playing! Hmm, I think I might have to pop along to one of those- there's a couple of potential Oblique targets on that list... Colony have in the past hosted a superb series of resident mixes on their myspace, and MB's mix continues that trend- starting with dubby techno from Demidike Stare and Brendon Moeller and tech-stepping from Scuba towards Surgeon, this is an inspirational mix. Also worth a look is a mix by RC new boy Nihal Ramchandani, a grooving dubstep/deep house/techno mix.

Finally, a FACT article caught my attention this week- following on from their industrial-sounding Mnml Ssgs mix and the release of AM04, FACT have a lengthy interview with Ancient Methods. Although often too heavy for my ears, this interview suggests that maybe its not such a bad idea to look to the past for inspiration, that to be constantly searching for the new is not the only approach to music. Techno seems to be rediscovering its history- you only need to check out recent releases such as James Ruskin's Outsider to hear the early techno influence.

And I think that is what i'm feeling at the moment, and what all the items i've mentioned here suggest: Maybe it's ok that there's no 'next big thing' emerging to bring me from boredom. At the end of a decade, perhaps it is time to look back and to reflect on the legacy of electronic music, and let that influence the future.

A plug...

2009-11-02T01:26:00.000Z

A shameless plug for a blog from Thomas, only on image and graphical things.

Peruse at will.

http://subtractivescent.blogspot.com/

Merci.

2009-11-01T21:13:00.001Z

Opinions sought on a new identity for Oblique. These have been produced this afternoon, whilst listening to the timeless simplicity of Daniel Bell Live.

'Meanwhile, back in Africa...'

Let us know if you have an opinion.

Will post a link to the DBX set from Melkweg. Truly classic minimalism.

Logo A:

Logo B:

Logo C:

Logo D:

Logo E:

Logo F:

Thurday Mix Up

2009-10-29T13:42:00.004Z

A few sets that have been on my ipod recently. A real mix of moods, from laid back electronica to full on techno:

Oliver Deutschmann mix for keep-it-deep
Just found this one, a really deep mix by the Vidab man and there's an interview in German for anyone fluent enough on the keep-it-deep blog. I couldn't understand a word, but the mix speaks for itself- deep house and techno all the way.

Kowton's Blackdown mix:
Is this dubstep for house heads, or house for dubsteppers? Either way Bristolian Kowton seems to have developed a unique sound, a slow, dark and groovy take on dubstep.

Phillip Sherburne's Unsound 2009 mix:
Now this is a beauty, a mix of as many artists from the Unsound festival as could be squeezed into 97 minutes. This mix combines live/traditional mixing and Ableton sequencing in a really innovative way- you can read all about the process over at Modyfier here. Not knowing much electronica, this eclectic mix was a real eye opener as much as anything else- really worth a listen.

Surgeon Bunker podcast:
Over three hours long, and featuring an eclectic range of records, this is one of my favourite Surgeon mixes. Recorded live from the Bunker, Surgeon really programmes the builds and drops nicely through a mix of rock hard techno that features a few unexpected tracks and a few classics.

Max Cooper Modyfier mix:
A second Modyfier mix, this time from Max Cooper. Max is definitely an emerging talent to keep an eye on. His take on techno combines Border community leftfield-ness with some progressive minimalism to great effect.

And a few others I'm sure everyone's seen but just in case they've been missed the following are well worth a look: The fantastic Sandwell District RA podcast, Shed's dubby, bass heavy Wax treatment podcast and Delta Funktionen's October promo mix.

Enjoy!

2009-10-21T13:04:00.003+01:00

An interesting article on two decades of clubbing in Berlin was featured in the Guardian this week, it's well worth a read if anyone's interested in the history and diversity of the city's nightlife- featuring Berghain, Haus Schwarzenberg, Volksbühne and so on. Find it here.

Vinyl Only #5 : Shackleton - 3 EP's

2009-10-11T13:01:00.014+01:00

Shackleton has been responsible for some of the most startling links between techno, electronica and dubstep. Skull Disco's compilation 'Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated by Vandals' was my soundrack to winter 2008; the sparse ethnic-influenced rhythms, massive sub-bass and arctic synthlines combined into a perfectly miserable accompaniment to the darkening of days. So much did I enjoy this unique, otherworldly sound that Shackleton was one of my 'must see's' at Freerotation, but playing after 2562's peak time, floor destroying set, his performance left me intrigued and sonically challenged, but mostly uncomprehending of what I had heard. This extended release sheds light on his set that night and the evolution of his uniquely bleak sound.

After the death of Skull Disco and relocation to Berlin, Shackleton has released little new material, but instead has released several killer remixes including a sublime take on Moderat's 'Rusty Nails'. The Three Ep's release (Shackleton's first album or three independent EP's?) on the much respected Perlon shows a marked move away from the dancefloor and a focus on electronic experimentation, resulting in a beautifully dark melancholic sound described on RA as forays into "the fathomless nether-regions of dark, leftfield computer music."

Listening to opening track "[No More] Negative Thoughts" all the trademarks of previous Shackleton material are present: a sparsely minimal and atmospheric arrangement, ethnic toms, reverberant spoken vocals, all underpinned by deep bass and soul-less synth stabs. These dark themes continue through "Asha in the Tabernacle", "It's time for Lone" and "Moon over Joseph's Burial", two tracks that drone and whisper unceasingly and slightly scarily.

'Let's Go' steps up a gear, as the title would suggest. A wondering 'get-up-and-dance' bassline underpins explorations of the ethnic material that made early Shackleton material so interesting- vocal chanting, clipped horns, reverb, reverb, and more reverb, topped with plenty of whistling, pinging and clattering. The fittingly titled 'Mountains of Ashes' has a rumbling, earthquake inducing sub-bass that would reduce all before it to rubble, with an ever growing and changing smattering of eastern influenced percussion. 'Trembling Leaf' takes a Burial-esque approach with cut up and seemingly petrified vocal snippets over intricately programme rhythms.

The final tracks see Shackleton leave any dancefloor tendencies (if there are any in this release) well and truly in the distance for some of the darkest industrialised leftfield experiments I've heard. 'There's a slow train coming' really rumbles out of your speakers with skittery off kilter bass and rhythm accompanied by the darkest oscillating synthline in existence. Prize for the scariest track on the release goes to 'Something has got to Give', an all enveloping and morose track that is restrained from the suicidal by occasional bursts of metallic rhythm. This really is something that would kill your Granny.

For me, this release by one of the most interesting producers out there at the moment sees him letting go of the shackles (see what I did there) of the dancefloor and exploring the agitated and restless contrast between his trademark sounds: the most pure black, suicide inducing and otherworldly atmospheric soundscapes fight throughout with skittering, wandering ethnic influenced percussion that pull the sound back from the edge, all underpinned by rumbling bass. This album will certainly be my soundtrack to the long winter nights this year, and all I can say is bring on the cold.

Laurent Garnier, Layo and Bushwacka, at Shake It! Southwark, London

2009-10-07T11:10:00.000+01:00

Resident Advisor review of the Garnier night now online... a five star night.

Shake It! Featuring Laruent Garnier

Thanks, Laurent Garnier. Seen at Shake It! London, October 3 2009.

2009-10-06T04:02:00.002+01:00

I had my faith in the London techno scene restored over the weekend. I saw Laurent Garnier at Shake It! in Southwark, reviewing for Resident Advisor. And suffice it to say until the review is published, the night was good. Very good.

Thanks, Laurent Garnier.

I think these pictures say something, as well. Keep an eye on the blog for when the review is out.

2009-10-05T17:45:00.007+01:00

It's October now, and we are very excited to have Chris Box travelling from London to come play at Oblique. We met Chris at the Freerotation Festival in August, invited him, and he's just said yes - so, expect cutting edge techno and house from the Runsounds man, who's just off to Berlin for the Netaudio Festival and when back, he's heading to Cardiff to come join us.

Potter, MJ+Thomas provide the support...

24 October at Undertone, 10FeetTall, Cardiff Church Street
9pm-4am
£4, £3nus

We hope to see you there...

About Chris Box:
As dj and promoter of run, Chris Box has played alongside internationally renowned artists such as Zip, Jay Haze, Philip Quenum, Pheek, Andy Vaz, Geoff White and a host of others as well as introduced other acts from across the world (Barem, Ben Parris, Fusiphorm, Cabanne, Jeff Samuel, Johan Skugge and Someone Else) to London.

Although he started off chopping & cutting up techno & electro at warehouse & outdoor parties across London & Europe in the 90s with Sonic Sound System playing at teknivals and festivals alongside the likes of Desert Storm, Mutoid Waste etc., recent years have seen the bpms drop & the music get deeper and more stripped down.

Having always been into the more experimental and sparse elements of electronic music (from the early jackin Chicago trax to the tweaked acid of Plastikman and DBX via early Warp bleeps) it has been a natural progression of style and aesthetic from the early years to today.

Aside from run, he’s pushed his mutant strains of techno & house at various nights & events across London and the UK. In addition to playing locally, his record bag has also taken him further afield with regular trips to Berlin and to Brazil.

A Weekend Set Up

2009-09-17T22:24:00.013+01:00

Sorry about the lack of blog action recently, it's going to continue for a while i'm afraid. Another quick post, this time a few more techno sets that have been rocking my one functional headphone recently:

Perc at This is Techno, Reading

The best mix I've heard from Perc for a few months, some great tracks including the classic Throw by Paperclip people- not as industrial sounding as some of his recent mixes (which is why i prefer it), rather it's a mix of good solid techno:

1) Dustin Zahn - Wet Skin - Mindshake
2) Misstress Barbara - Four On The Floor (Perc's Dub Mix) - Iturnem
3) Nitin - Silent Scales (Osunlade Remix) - No19 Music
4) Ben Klock - Goodly Sin (Robert Hood Remix) - Ostgut Ton
5) Lucretio - Good Words - Restoration
6) Paperclip People - Throw - Planet E
7) The Scientist - The Bee - Kickin
8) Pacou - Drift - Cache
9) Dustin Zahn - Dutch Rudder 420 - Mindshake
10) Babyl-tr0n - Responsibilty (Gary Beck Remix) - Perc Trax
11) Mike Dehnert - Black Smoke - Fachwerk
12) Perc - Trapjaw (Xpansul's Dub Mix) - Perc Trax
13) Joey Beltram - Game Form (Perc Beats Edit) - Tresor
14) Sleazy Mcqueen - Naked (Kink Mix) - Hairy Claw
15) BCR Boys - Rorschach - Sleaze
16) Gary Beck - Drifting (Perc Remix) - Perc Trax
17) Mould Impression - Morgan's Bass - Primate
18) Dustin Zahn - Pad Of Eternal Life - Enemy
19) Robert Hood - Obey - M-Plant

Kevin Gorman August Cookery

One i've pinched from mnml ssgs, a new Gorman mix including a slew of top tracks from Zimmermann, Klock, Silent Servant, Wax, Dehnert... need I say more?

Monolake - Gobi
Los Updates vs Ricardo Villalobos - Bank Brotherhood (Andrew Grant remix)
Jens Zimmermann - X11
Byron Bogue - BUT Fool (Jens Zimmermann remix)
Ben Klock - Subzero (Function & Regis remix)
Kevin Gorman - Cyclic (Peter Van Hoesen remix)
Mariano DC - Bourbon of Wizards (Jonas Kopp remix)
Silent Servant - Discipline
Thomas Brinkmann - Studio 1 Variations (Adsum remix 1)(unreleased)
Staffan Linzatti - See
Debo - South Side
Wax 20002
Artist name tbc - Cotton (featuring Benga)(unreleased)
Mike Dehnert - Umlaut (Levon Vincent NY basement remix)
DJ Hell - Totmacher (Baby Ford remix)

XLR8R Labels We Love: Modern Love

Manchester's Modern Love has a unique gritty sound that combines dubby techno, chicago house, and dubstep influences. If you don't know the label, this is a great intro including classics such as Dependent, One State, and Exigen, as well as new releases on sub-label Daphne.

01 Demdike Stare "Haxan Dub" (Modern Love)
02 Andy Stott "Peace Of Mind" (Modern Love)
03 Claro Intelecto "Dependent" (Modern Love)
04 Move D "Drøne" (Modern Love)
05 Andy Stott "Brief Encounter" (Modern Love)
06 MLZ "One State" (Modern Love)
07 Deepchord Presents Echospace "Untitled" (Modern Love)
08 Pendle Coven "Exigen" (Modern Love)
09 Claro Intelecto "Rise" (Modern Love)
10 Millie "Gunshot" (Daphne)
11 Andrea "Temper Tantrum" (Daphne)
12 Andrea "Black Hammer" (Daphne)
13 Unknown "Pretty Boys Don't Survive Up North" (Hate)

Dino Sabatini Prologue Portefeuille Podcast

The first of Prologue's new podcast series featuring the label's regular artists. A good mix of atmospheric Italian style techno, inclding lots of forthcoming releases on Prologue.

Olophonic Dream - Modern Heads
Komentomoduuli - Samuli Kemppi
Ozone - Modern Heads (soon on Prologue)
Krees - Dino Sabatini
Temporary Suspension - Planetary Assault System
Monotoys - Modern Heads (soon on Prologue)
Pharaoah rmx - Touane
Tempo - Giorgio Gigli (Prologue)
Concentricy - Modern Heads
Kuolonkellot - Juho (Prologue)
Nuel - unknown
Dubarmoniks - Modern Heads (soon on Prologue)
Aguaplano 1111 - Dozzy & Nuel

netlabels mix tape 01

2009-09-14T13:14:00.010+01:00

As part of this netlabels series, I'll do a mix after each posting, only comprising the things that I downloaded from netlabel sites that I've just written about. So, this first one comes following the Grünfeld Tonträger and Schall labels piece. And, in the spirit of the mnml ssgs guys, the exact track listing will follow a few days after. So, for now just listen, explore these two great netlabel sites and I hope you enjoy it.

netlabels mix august 2009 [direct download]

Netlabels September

2009-09-13T15:41:00.010+01:00

So, we are still watching (or listening to, I guess) the netlabels. And, on this particularly grey day in Berlin, it seems fitting to follow some of the more brooding pieces.

Polymorphic Music

Trawling some slightly average, and some slightly less than average, netlables is, at times, a frustrating experience. Passing by sites with variable levels of graphic design capability presents a somewhat challenging experience on the eye, and an even more troubling experience on the ear. But then you come across a gem. A shinning beacon of expansive, guitar based ambient soundscapes from Gareth Dickson, on the polymorphic music netlable.

Dickson's sound is a spacious blend of guitar, soft male vocals and airy, somnambulate sound scapes. Beautiful, subtle, not really electronic in the sense of this blog's main focus, but perfect for a slightly grey day that leaves you blue. The Dance is repetitively lulling, brooding and deep and a highlight of the Gareth Dickson Sampler.

Hal with The Raw Deal EP is currently making my ears buzz with a low-frequency bass-sample overlaid with micro-clicks and hisses. It's fantastically dark, slightly oppressive but if you enjoy a bass induced state of relaxation, then I think 750 Hurts could hit the nail on the head. Ate Bit Bite - is reduced, a radically clipped vocal over a slowed-down four-four beat with a really quite beautiful underlying melody (of sorts). Every good story on the other hand eschews the beauty for some more bass induced oppression, incorporating a haunting synth-loop that seems to gradually shift and change as the track progresses.

This is a netlabel to watch for things more left-field, which seems to release with a consistent quality, but varied set of, mostly electronic, styles. Spatial's Dynamite Skank is another slice of minimalism, but with a bleak dub-beat and hissy, breathy, clipped samples.

Releases

Polymorphic Music

Cism

Cism, a label from Smolensk, Russia, which 'is a non-commercial netlabel focusing on deep music with dub mentality.' And the dub-mentality certainly shines through. Vacation by Christopher Schindling on the Cism_7 release is as floating, yet dance-inducing piece of deep-techno as you are likely to get. Reminiscent of STL, or Deepchord, this a track that will certainly be getting play-time in future sets. Its production values are superb, and it is eminently, throughly body-moving music, yet intricately deep at the same time. Inside on the same release does a similar job, with the added joy of a tiny, yet radically precise high-hat that pierces the bubbling ocean of dub-synth. The Havantepe remix of Vacation plays with the original, cutting it up slightly and adding a slightly more bouncy bassline and a more liberal sprinkling of snares over the synths. It doesn't exactly vary much along its way, but nevertheless, it supplies the atmospheric space of the original with a more up-beat tone. Releases from Mr Cloudy, such as Long Wandering, follow a similar aesthetic (not surprising considering the stated ambition of the label), but in a slowed down fashion. The Marko Fuerstenberg remix of Long Wandering picks the pace up somewhat, turning a home-listening track into a bit of a dancefloor rotation. The dub-atmosphere remains, but with a couple of build-ups and drops thrown in, this has more appeal in a club-space. The other remix, from grad_u throws everything up in the air, lets it absorb a cubic-mile of oxygen, then brings it slowly, but thunderingly, back to earth. Much, much slower and quite intimidating in its spaciousness, this is one for those 7am mornings of anxiety and dislocation.

Have a look at their website (as both of the above are flash, I can't link to the specific tracks and pages.)

Cism

If it's something more of the 6am minimal weirdness you're after (which is something, I've realised, we don't address on this site so much), then a release from the Monofónicos netlabel is where you'll find it. According to their blurb, 'Monofónicos is a creative space of digital action. A colective initiative from Medellin, Colombia seeking an exchange of musical ideals with a modern spirit of organic electronic music.'

Monofónicos

The V.A. Colores: Ocultos release contains those Konrad Black like tracks that would be at home on a Wagon Repair release, or in Matt John's record box. Odd, menacing and completely inducing early morning paranoia in those still in the club, these releases stand their own against anything I've heard from more professional labels recently. The delightfully named Hairy Guys' release of Blattod (Original Mix) chugs away with the determination of those who just won't sleep, interspersing a sparse minimal-beat with freaky hushed out vocals and a disquieting underlying synth. Snail by the equally pleasantly named Rat puts a Troy Pierce type spin on things, also moving at that somnambulate pace and playing with a mournful sound-effect that is a mix between water, an early echo-chamber and some kind of distorted electronic device, before dropping back into the well programmed drums. Weird Number by Abstrakt, conversely, is less weird than the other two, and steps the pace up a degree, but still using the classic pitched down vocals (why are they so low? who knows... but it works). Sounding something like a Gaiser release, the production values on this, as on the other releases here, are excellent.

Monofónicos Colores release

Ok, so some things to have a look at if you're interested in this extensive scene. And, with all these releases, I'd pay good money for every single one on Beatport, and here they are, sharing them with the world, gratis: thanks.

A mix of last months net-labels to follow shortly.

2009-09-09T18:24:00.005+01:00

September sees the fourth installment of Oblique. And we are pleased to welcome North Wales' Tom Demac, playing live, to the dark confines of Undertone.

Summer is almost over - but there is still time to revel in the final warm evenings of the season, and join us for a night of quality techno, house, minimal, electro and dubstep. It's only the weather thats getting colder as we move into Autumn...

MJ and Thomas provide the support, and welcome you to another night of Oblique.

About Tom Demac:

After spending the last few years in Manchester and Barcelona, Tom Demac has returned to the picturesque setting of his native North Wales. Having developed a convincing alter ego, he manages a web development team most days and returns to a familiar guise in his spare time, creating a live collage of his thoughts.

Gathering inspiration from the surrounding landscape, a big dose of Detroit Techno, as well as influxes of Electronica, Dub and Jazz, Tom Demac writes and records live electronic music from the soul. From early sessions in a friends garage (containing a few rusty boxes and a four-track), Tom went on to study music technology in Salford University. Since then he has developed his own characteristic sound based on a philosophy of creating music aimed at the dance-floor, but melodic enough to appreciate at home in the living room.

After releasing records through Free Rotation collective imprints Mindyourhead records and Mindtours, Tom Demac formed the label' Electronique Audio. The first 3 records echoed his fresh and diverse take on electronic music (Decisions, New Beginnings and Liquid Staircase) and went on to gather international exposure and support. 2006 saw the collaboration with good friend and fellow resident of North Wales, Duckett, and together they recorded the 3 ep’s, Critical Distance (Electronique Audio), Unnecessary Cosmetics (STHLM Audio) and Climate Flu (Disappear Here).

Vinyl Only #4

2009-09-05T14:08:00.016+01:00

The fourth in the vinyl only series is two recent releases by Traversable Wormhole. TW have been producing dark and forward thinking techno on white labels for the past year. With no description, info or detail as to who is behind them, they are one of an increasing number of artists (particularly Hardwax affiliated) who seem to favour this anonymous method of distribution for 'serious' techno these days. Their four releases to date have all been stripped back techno that fits that cavernous sound well, combining industrial soundscapes with a mix of off kilter and 4/4 beats and deep, rumbling basslines, reminiscent of Mills or Luke Slater's Planetary Assault Systems.

Both releases fit this mould and neither strays too far from TW's tried and tested path; the A side of TW03 features a clanking two note hook over a deep, menacing bassline, before a melodic synth shines through the darkness after four minutes. The TW03 B side has an off kilter drumbeat, burbling bass bursts, vocal snippets and a lot of reverb in a little changing but effective composition.

Following a similar pattern, TW04 dedicates one side to a deeper dancefloor track, while the other side follows a more industrial route. TW 04 uses a simple piano and synth combination to build up to a moody and deep techno track with industrial percussion and off beat hi hats, and this is the side I will play most. The B side is the slower and more industrial side of the two, a deeply layered, hissing, squealing and clanking factory of a track that would feel at home with recent Ostgut tracks.

Anyone who hasn't heard it should check out their mnml ssgs mix from earlier this year, a superb mix that moves from deep to driving melodic to hard edged industrial pot banging techno, as well as taking in a couple of their own releases along the way.

A Thurday Set Up

2009-08-27T13:13:00.005+01:00

A quick update on a few sets I've been listening to lately- we've been busy organising a few events and writing a full review of Freerotation that we hope to post soon. For now this will have to do- a selection of summer themed mixes I've had on repeat- enjoy!

Goldwill HIAF mix
Great mix, the best from Ronan's HIAF since Chaton's mix last May. The first 20 mins and last 30 mins standout, but its a really nice flowing mix with a great track selection.

Chaton Roof FM podcast
While not quite of the same level as the HIAF mix he did, Chaton's Roof FM podcast has a good groove and some nice tracks, particularly the sublime deepness of Silent State by STL. The Daschund mix of Chaton's +91 Session is worth looking out for too. Roof FM has had some really good quality mixes across the spectrum, definitely one to follow.

Tom Demac live @ Freerotation 2009
One of a cluster of top notch Welsh producers becoming increasingly popular across Europe- the live set is a taster of what Freerotation was all about for those who missed it.

Hector Electronicmusic.pl podcast
Hector is defiantly one for the summer (he says while watching the rain pitter patter on the rooflight....) Both this and his Mobilee Podcast are really nice, deep and groovy house numbers worthy of a listen. I can't tell you much more about this mix as my Polish isn't all that good!

Orde Meikle Monopod One
This is the first of Slam's monopod podcasts, and it's fantastic- starting with deep dub, moving to slow house, before building towards some chunky techy numbers, this is a perfect warm up mix. It includes some really good tracks from the likes of Agnes, Fritz Zander and Mountain People- Agnes' Que Pena is one of my tracks of the summer so far.

Oblique Summer Party : Friday

2009-08-20T09:31:00.002+01:00

Freerotation is this weekend!

2009-08-14T10:00:00.003+01:00

It's finally here! And just to let you all know how good its going to be, here's what RA thinks of Freerotation, making it their number one festival this month. Expect a full report when we return....

01. Freerotation
August 14 - August 16
Baskerville Hall
West + Wales, United Kingdom

While perusing the electronic music boards on the subject of Freerotation, you'd think the organisers had embarked on an aggressive viral marketing campaign; such is the love floating about for the event. A word of mouth success in the truest sense of the term, the event now enters its third year at Baskerville Hall—a stately 19th century hotel near the village of Hay-on-Wye, Wales. The personal touch is palpable throughout, but it's also reflected in the line-up, with artists such as Move D, Shackleton, Bodycode, Jackmate and Lakuti all receiving the nod for the third year running. Efdemin, Marcel Dettmann, Rndm, Sven Weisemann and Freund der Familie represent a sizeable German contingent, while the home-grown talent is decidedly dubstep, with Narcossist, 2562, Ramadanman, Pangaea, Ben UFO and Peverelist all getting stuck in at varying points of the three days. It seems as though the only concern on behalf of attendees is the event becoming too popular.

RA pick: If hype equates to results, Ben UFO's DJ set should be mind-blowing.

netlabels

2009-08-08T21:42:00.018+01:00

schall_023 release cover art

They are the less-talked about side of electronic music production, but having spent an evening with the 'netlabels' this is something that needs to be rectified. And, to start: a weekly mention of a couple of labels that I've been listening to recently.

Essentially, netlabels are creative-commons licensed, web-based production labels that host and, to an extent, promote artists with free-at-source, downloadable tracks. And, admittedly, there are a lot of netlabels of questionable quality.

Grünfeld Tonträger, however, is of the highest standard. It's home to a variety of electronic producers, mostly ranging from dub-techno to atmospheric, ambient sounds. These producers are not limited to the free-netlabel format. DML, who co-founded Grünfeld, has releases on, amongst others, the German label Harthouse. And, some of the productions from DML are superb. Fin (Suedmilch Remix) for example is a piece of Ostgut-esque deep techno, comfortably at home on a six am dancefloor alongside anything from Klock, Dettman et al. Subconscious, by DML and Holger Leger is a slightly more mellow track, with dubby synths, a soft, padding bass-line and airy snares. Both well produced, mastered and eminently danceable affairs: layered, complex and with fathoms of depth. Visit their site and check out the other releases.

http://www.gruenfeld.net/blog/

Schall Netlabel is a veritable treasure-trove of deep, dub-techno and ambient soundscapes. Founded in 2007, they describe themselves as focusing on 'deep, intense electronic music', and it's no word of a lie. With a roster of approximately 25 artists, their sound ranges from the gaseous, basic-channel inspired, classic techno to more left-field ambient releases. Dominique Jacquinet's Timeless Peak delivers hissing, bleak clouds of sound over a radically stripped down four-four beat, slowly rolling bass-line and melancholy synths. Somehow timeless, yet as contemporary a sound as you'll hear coming out of Berlin. Floating by aku aku is a warm, melodic summer piece. A lighter bass-line and snappier beats support synths that do, indeed, float. Certainly one for watching the sun set on a late-August evening, it's light, yet deep at the same time. The schall label's releases seem of the highest quality, and with judicious listening, real quality pieces of electronic music can be found, and enjoyed, for free.

http://www.schall-netlabel.com/

There's a wealth of music out there, from unknown producers. You've just got to dig. And keep on digging. You can find these labels, and more, on the netlabels.org website http://netlabels.org/

I'll cover more releases from other labels over the coming weeks.

2009-08-08T14:13:00.007+01:00

Marcel Knopf, dusty dance

It's rare, that rush of blood to the follicles, making the hairs on your arm stand up. Moments that resonate with something inside create this. And sometimes, you come across an unexpected piece of music that forces this neuro/physical response. Listening, albeit in low-quality pre-release preview audio, to the final track, Leave it alone, on Marcel Knopf's superb new album, dusty dance, induces this effect. A haunting, mid-tempo, deep-dub reverb heavy beat structures a bleak, spoken vocal from Padberg of Thomas de Quincy - 'for solitude is essential to man. all men come into this world alone. and leave it, alone.'

Punctuated only by synth-stabs, the spiraling atmospherics underneath create a track that is more space that substance. It's airy, gaseous, ethereal. It leaves room to contemplate the vocals, understand the content and get lost in a piece of timeless electronic music.

Solitude is essential.

Keep a watch out for this album.

Out on Mo’s Ferry Prod. (Distributed by Word & Sound, DE.), Mid October 09.

Full review closer to the release date.

From the press-release:

Thanks to [Marcel Knopf's] interest in diverse electronic sounds, this work presents a perfect production design as well as unexpected caprices and obtains a genre-overlapping consciousness, that definitely stands for the self-confident idiosyncratic statement: "You can't quarrel about musical taste - you just have it or not!" Except track 1 and 10, this album unfits ruminant activities and is quite the opposite of bone sedation. Strobe instead of candlelight, but at the same time suitable for finding a like-minded person for the rest of the night.

01 Intro

02 That Shit

03 All Right

04 Crazy About feat. Camara

05 Holpergeist

06 Dusty Dance

07 Skinny Bitches

08 Rec-Chord

09 Take A No

10 Leave It Alone feat. Padberg

2009-08-07T16:58:00.005+01:00

As some of you may remember, Oblique's May guests were Tom Ellis and Leif who performed live for us as Trimsound. After a superb set for us, the boys are certainly having busy summers with the release of Tom's album 'Sex, Drugs and Sausage Rolls' and Leif's recent release 'Designed with that in mind' on Fear of Flying, backed with a Two Armadillos remix.

Well, the main point of this post is to share this interview for the 'Bring Down the Walls' blog, which offers a good insight into Leif's background, route into music and the scene in North Wales.

I'm looking forward to seeing Tom and Leif playing at the Freerotation festival next weekend in Hay on Wye- If you're going be sure to check them out for some minimal housey goodness!

travelling back

2009-08-01T01:17:00.003+01:00

so. times change. places become different. movement occurs. it's time to travel back somewhere, and spend some time there.

summer. in the UK. music and rain.

some things recorded on the way back. the way away.

for now.

<travelling back> recorded on the 22:45 service london - cardiff, july 2009.

Prologue : RA's Label of the Month

2009-07-31T14:42:00.005+01:00

Newsflash... so called 'headfuck' techno label Prologue Records has been profiled for RA by Todd Burns. The article offers a glimpse into the mind of one of the most unique sounding techno labels emerging at the moment, and the label behind recent strong releases (not to mention some superb artwork) by Juho Kahilainen and Giorgio Gigli. Judging by the forthcoming tracks on the accompanying mix they're going to continue upwards into the Autumn with new releases from Cio D'Or, Kemppi and Rosella. They're definitely one of the labels I'm watching this year- check out the RA profile or Prologue's blog and listen to the mix for an introduction to their sound:

Prologue mix for RA
01. Tadeo - Monotono [CMYKmusik]
02. Jason Emsley - And now meet massif [Siteholder Cup]
03. Milton Bradley - Derealization [Do Not Resist The Beat!]
04. Nax Acid - Synthetic Nature [Aconito Records]
05. T++ - Audio1995#8 [Apple Pips]
06. Giorgio Gigli - Spazio [Prologue]
07. Dino Sabatini & Rossella - Tribes [Prologue Demo]
08. Cio D'Or - Brokat [Prologue (October 2009)]
09. Dino Sabatini & Rossella - Caveman [Prologue Demo]
10. Barem - So serial [M_nus]
11. James Ruskin - Massk [Blueprint]
12. Edit Select - Aurian [Lick My Deck]
13. Samuli Kemppi - Droning [Prologue (September 2009)]
14. Donato Dozzy & Cio D'Or - Limone [Time2Express]
15. Giorgio Gigli - Self-Reflection [Prologue]
16. Juho Kahilainen - Kuolonkellot [Prologue]

Slow jams

2009-07-29T13:13:00.010+01:00

Slow jams anyone?

No, fear not, i've not changed my allegiance to the world of RnB... I'm talking slow techno jams. The prospect of listening to really slowed down Dettmann or Scuba may not fill everyone with joy. But there's a bit of it around at the moment- have a listen to B1 on Workshop's new release from Kassem Mosse. If I had it on vinyl, I'd wonder if it was at the wrong speed- 33 or 45, who knows? Is it lethargic, arthritic techno, sloping along at its own pace minding its own business at 33, or a peak time dance floor destroyer at 45? i suspect only Kassem knows.

Workshop isn't the only one playing this game. SMA's mixes morph recognisable techno tracks into something else altogether. I've posted his modyfier mix before, but he has a new mix for download called Mars Rising 179 that i came across courtesy of Teleost. Pitching down techno tracks in this way seems to give the compositions and individual sounds room to breathe. It's a really good selection of tracks too- the new Scuba, some Dettmann, Dozzy and Hoesen- it grows into a deep and dark atmosphere and by the end I was bowled over by the quality of this mix and the unique attitude SMA has. I really regret not going to see him at Colony, judging by this that would have been a fun night out. I'd be interested to know what others think about this mix or the idea of slow techno, or if anyone's seen the man in action.

Check out the tracklist below:

01 Plastikman, Cor Ten (m_nus)
02 Studio 1, Green (Studio 1)
03 Milton Bradley, Derealization (Do Not Resist The Beat!)
04 Scuba, Volt (Abucs)
05 STL, October Sunrise (Something)
06 Frozen Border, 2.2 (Frozen Border)
07 Actress, Ghosts Have A Heaven (Prime Numbers)
08 Loco Dice, Tight Laces (Marcel Dettmann Response 1) (Desolat)
09 Donato Dozzy & Nuel, Untitled (Aquaplano)
10 Kevin Gorman, Cyclic (The Beats) (Mikrowave)
11 Markus Enochson & The Subliminal Kid, 6 12am 6 24am (Ann Aimee)
12 Redshape, Nightshade (Ruin)
13 Peter van Hoesen, , Strikethrough (Time 2 Express)
14 Kenny Larkin, Butterflies (Art of Dance)

leaving...

2009-07-27T20:00:00.003+01:00

[leaving] recorded on flight recorded on flight FR8547 berlin-london, july 2009

A sunday set-up

2009-07-26T11:29:00.001+01:00

A few sets I've been listening to lately, mostly summery tech house and techno related this time- longing for summer after the awful weather we've been having in Cardiff! Some new artists for me, and one old favourite:

Gary Beck Mixing in May: Gary Beck is someone I've been following since his track 'Consumed' on Minus and would like to get to play for us at Oblique soon. This mix blends tech-house and techno with track by Ahmet Sisman, Edit Select, Sydenham and Beck himself.

Ahmet Sisman Dj set May '09: A summery mix by Vath favourite Sisman. Fairly chunky tech house with lots of vocals, live instruments and the like on the Onur Ozer vibe.

Juho Kahilainen: Big Shot Guest mix I came across Juho after listening to his recent Kuolonkellot EP on Prologue. If you're a fan of the Sandwell District / Kemppi sound I'd recommend having a listen to that- this mix keeps to the minimal and techno end of the spectrum- i really like the first half of this mix, but I'm not as keen on the end.

Peter Van Hoesen: Little White Earbuds Podcast An insightful interview and a live set from PVH, I'm sure most people will have seen this by now. Techno all the way from the Belgian maestro- can't wait for some of those unreleased tracks to see the light of day!

Oblique: August

2009-07-21T23:22:00.004+01:00

join the oblique residents for a summer celebration at 10feetTall.

Hope to see you there...

Charting July

2009-07-19T00:12:00.002+01:00

A few records I've been listening to / bought lately:

Forward Strategy Group: Applied Generics
I missed the first release on this label, but this second release fits nicely into the Sandwell/Kempii techno sound. Track 2 is the dance floor standout here- a punishing beat, hisses, clanks and a modulating acid sounding hook line smouldering in the background.

Ahmet Sisman: Esraj EP
Sounding like a pumped up version of Onur Ozur, the new Ahmet Sisman EP is an ethnic tinged summer anthem in Sisman's trademark style. For me the best track is the A side 'Esraj,' a dense atmospheric track, building through looped live instruments before breaking down into a vocal chant.

Do not resist the beat: 03
Perhaps the most evil release on DJ Zeal and Milton Bradley's Do Not Resist The Beat label to date, DNRTB 03 continues the trend set in 01 and 02 for combining unique, haunting layers and textures with sparse skittering percussion. I'm told that these tracks sound like the approach to the Berghain dancefloor- stripped back rumblings and clankings in the distance, muffled rumblings of bass...

Edit Select: Stay Below EP
I've been after this for a while after hearing it on a few mixes recently. I found Edit Select's recent release on Ostgut worked best as a tool, but these two tracks have much more dance floor direction. Both sides have booming basslines and trance-esque Dozzy synths, and while I prefer the more peak time A side 'Aurian', both sides fit nicely with the Italian techno sound.

Moderat: Moderat 1 unofficial mixes
I haven't listened much to the recent Moderat album, but these remixes by Shackleton, T++ and Headhunter are essential. Shackleton's mix of rusty nails is among his best work, subtly using the original's vocals and twisting the original into a narrative journey of a track, eclipsing what are strong mixes from T++ and Headhunter on the B side.

And a few close contenders:
Frozen Border- Frozen Border 03
Rosella- 28
Fernandez Manetta- Ape EP
Alessandro Izzo- Restyle (Gary Beck remix)
Max Cooper- The End of Reason (Perc's End of Season mix)

2009-07-15T17:19:00.002+01:00

Oblique summer coming soon

Holiday listening

2009-06-27T10:36:00.017+01:00

While I've been sunning myself over the last two weeks (hopefully to the envy of everyone) I've had the chance to catch up and listen to some of the sets and podcasts I've downloaded recently. I don't know about anyone else, but this doesn't happen very often; I find that with the huge amount of music available at your fingertips, music has become a much more disposable commodity than ever before. When I bought more vinyl and CD's, I would listen to mixes and tracks endlessly until I knew them inside out- I couldn't afford that much music, so made do with what I had. The proliferation of free (but legal) downloading has both expanded the range of what I listen to and meant i can hear more, but it's very rare that I listen to a set more than a few times before moving on. Being stranded with only a limited collection on the old Ipod, some sets I previously passed by have grown on me and become some of my favourites of the year. Here's a selection of those I've been enjoying most:

CLR Podcast

CLR is a label that I've found produces a rather too hard techno sound for me to listen to much of. I used to buy the odd release on vinyl in the early 00's, but CLR has largely passed me by since. However, the launch of the CLR podcast has released some really good techno mixes from the likes of Adam Beyer, Collabs, D Nox, Tommy Four Seven and Perc. The Collabs and Perc sets are particular favourites. I've just noticed there's a new one from Ben Klock there too... keep 'em coming!

Italian Techno

I've really come to like the techno sound coming from Italy at the moment, and they feel particularly suited to the summer, with a warm ambiance dominating. I've been enjoying the few sets I've got so much that I was going to post a feature on it when I returned, but I see mnml ssgs have beaten me to it! So without being too repetitive, I'll just post a couple of sets I've been listening to:

Electronique.it have a regular podcast which has had some decent mixes, but standout 'casts have come from Giorgio Gigli (possibly mixing the next mnml ssgs cast?) who provides a slowly building mix from Heneke ambiance to Craig/Funktionen style techno, and Natural Electronic System who recently mixed for ssgs. There's also a good Dozzy mix on there too and one from Manuel Tur.

I recently found a mix by Dino Sabotini that I enjoyed- Dino is one half of Modern Heads with Gianluca Meloni, who I found out about through their System Overload release on Radiance records and the No More EP on Prologue. Let me know what you think.

There's some great Dozzy and Nuel sets on the mnml ssgs, but also Phrench Fries have a live set by the duo over at their blog that is well worth a listen. Again, it's deep and atmospheric, the sound the Italians do best- also worth checking is the Dozzy Glade podcast you can find a link to here.

Colony

Finally, I've been listening a lot to the promo mixes from Colony, a London based night playing techno, dubstep, D&B and IDM. 006 by CB is a really smooth mix of dubstep/techno crossover material and is my particular favourite, but all the mixes are really well put together and worthy of a listen. I'm looking forward to getting to one of these parties soon, they sound like fun if these mixes are anything to go by.

Dubstep discovery

2009-06-08T20:52:00.024+01:00

Ah, the much talked about techno/dubstep divide. For a long time My interest in dubstep was limited, and extended only as far as a vague recollection of Villalobos playing Skream's 'Midnight Request Line' and Ramadanman's 'Blimey,' and hearing his remix of Shackleton's 'Blood on my hands' on Radio Slaves Misch Masch CD. It was primarily through Scuba's mixes and a series of bleak, wintery releases on Shackleton and Appleblim's now defunkt Skull Disco label that I became a follower. However, Interviews with those responsible for some of the biggest crossovers on RA, Fact and the like reveal that despite their successes in extending the scene, this success is often accompanied by a sense of wariness. The much talked about techno/dubstep hybrid has the potential to become a pigeon hole and spawn potentially poor imitations of the sound. For those involved, variation is the key to their success- even those banded together under the umbrella of techno/dubstep have a wide range of sounds and influences that span from sparse industrial beats to early Basic Channel to drum and bass and jungle. The release of 'Tectonic Plates Vol 2' and Mordant Music's 'Picking O'er The Bones', and stumbling across sites like Sonic Router and Sitting Ovation has brought a wider variety of sounds to my ears. So who are the people doing interesting things, and where could the sound head in the future? As spring has sprung, where is the dubstep sound headed for the summer months? Here's a few thoughts as a starter.

Hot flush

Paul Rose aka Scuba is one of the key players in bringing dubstep to techno ears. Scuba's relocation to Berlin and his role in the Sub:stance nights at Berghain seems to have drawn his sound closer and closer to the techno mainstream. His own releases are increasingly blurring the boundaries with dubstep, and his DJ sets draw together dubstep, techno, funky and tech house. Download his Mixmag.info podcast for a taster. Word has it that Scuba is working on the follow up to 'A mutual antipathy' to be released later this year. If his recent single 'Klinik/Hundreds and thousands' is anything to go by, it could be an album firmly straddling both camps; while Klinik combines dubstep swinging beats with sub aquatic synths, H&T is techno minimalism a la Berghain- is this the effect playing in the iconic venue has on producers of all genres? Scuba also has a habit of getting interesting remixers on board, as seen in the album remixes by Surgeon, Subtance, Dettmann and Martyn, while Scuba's 'Hard boiled' re-edit is a masterpiece of a rework.

Mount Kimbie
What do you call the music produced by Mount Kimbie? Is it dubstep? Electronica? Whatever it is it perfectly encapsulates the sound of summer, bringing warmth, colour and texture to the dubstep fray. RA called the release "a blueprint for a new way of doing 'step' music", pulling in a range of influences across the musical spectrum, while FACT labelled the producers ones to watch in 2009. On 'Maybes' released on Scuba's Hot Flush, the tracks combine 2 step Burial-esque beats and atmospherics with melancholic melodies and skittering percussion that leans heavily on Shackleton. I think this is one of the best releases of 2009, not bad for a first EP!

Daphne records
Millie and Andrea's first release on Daphne was aptly described on Boomkat as "the freshest, sickest twelve we've heard this year, a sort of mutant 2-Step/Techno/Wonky mashup", but who is behind the release? Rumoured artists are Martyn himself, Appleblim, someone from Skull Disco, 2652 or Headhunter. Daphne seems to be a sister label to Modern Love, and clues on Boomkat and dubstepforum.com point to MLZ and Andy Stott. Whoever it is, releases so far have taken Martyn's trademark grooves and combined them with dub techno and Maurizio and fit equally well in techno or dubstep sets. Look out for Millie and Andrea's new release out soon, or read about it on FACT.

Hessle Audio
Hessle Audio is perhaps one of the most interesting emerging labels, recently featured on RA, and responsible for the first releases by Pangaea, Untold and TRG. Well worth a listen are Pangaea's 'Router' and the Villalobos championed 'Blimey.' Releases have been charted by a diverse range of DJ's including Quarion, Agnes, James Ruskin and Brendon Moeller. Check out a Hessle Audio promo mix released to celebrate their Fabric room 3 takeover by Ben UFO over at Sonic Router to see what they're about.

Apple Pips

Appleblim's Apple Pips is another label with a slew of outstanding releases including cuts from T++, Ramadanman and Martyn. Releases are not focussed solely on dubstep, but explore the boundaries of the sound and potential directions of exploration and crossover. A particularly fertile ground has been experimentation with dub techno. Applepips 004 by T++ aka Torsten Profock moves from deep and rolling techno on the A side to a 140bpm take on the same sounds on the B side in a similar vein to his recent 'Space Break'. The most interesting aspect of the label is their choice of remixers, with Brendon Moeller and Sven Weisemann appearing on the label. Weisemann's remix of Ramadanman's Humber is one of my current favourites; a melodious and beautifully haunting track that could signal a new direction of exploration for dubstep.

Headhunter
Headhunter is a producer equally at home in a techno or dubstep environment. His releases have included remixes for Martin Buttrich and Brendon Moeller's Beat Pharmacy, as well as singles and an album for Tempa. I recently posted a link to a Headhunter set from Clash Magazine, and live sets are posted on his myspace page. His influences span Basic Channel, electronica, drum and bass, jungle and grime, and the outcome is a unique and varied take on dubstep that seems overtly electronic.

DFRNT
DFRNT is an Edinburgh producer and DJ who has developed an interesting sound that combines dubstep, electronica and detroit techno. He is the driving force behind the Sitting Ovation blog, which has great features and mixes as well as free tracks and is well worth a look. He has recently posted a preview mix of his album Metafiction, which sounds a perfect release for the summer. An archive of his mixes can also be found on his website, the latest one includes tracks by Markus Intalex, Scuba and Jason Fine.

Vinyl only #3

2009-06-01T21:32:00.012+01:00

The third vinyl only is from Stefan Goldmann, the man behind last year's choral smash 'Lunatic Fringe.' The A side will be the most playable for many and i'm sure will find its way into many tech house DJ's sets. It's all about the break: the track builds through snippets of live instruments- a piano, pan pipes, a shuffling backing track.... it all drops out and then thunders back in in a mass of noise.... mayhem ensues!

The B side sees Goldmann taking on the techno/dubstep crossover in a track that would sound at home on the Berghain dancefloor. Deep, dubby and atmospheric techno is the order of the day, with a skipping dubstep beat that sounds similar to recent releases by T++. Have a listen!

Vinyl only #3

Hostmix #2 & 3

2009-05-24T10:34:00.017+01:00

Two recent mixes for your delectation- the first recorded after Oblique in May and comprising of some tracks I played that night and heading into techno territory by the end. The second takes in deeper and darker techno sounds and a fair amount of Ostgut material i've bought recently.

MJ Levels Crossing

00.00- 5.28 Nick Hoppner- makeover
05.28-10.10 Anonym- hart plaza (minimal man remix)
10.10-15.24 Agnes- que pena
15.24-19.04 Exercise one- no news today (deadbeat mix)
19.04-26.10 Dario Zenker- would be nice
26.10-31.42 Lee van Dowski- variable man
31.42-38.50 Slam-positive education (Paul Ritch)
38.50-44.52 Spencer Parker- untitled head
44.52-49.20 Adriano Filipucci- drummatik
49.52-54.56 Fever Ray- when i grow up (Par grindvik vocal mix)
54.56-59.43 Mark Broom- meltin’ pot
59.43-74.27 Jerome Sydenham- judgement (Blacktro dub)
74.27- Mathew Jonson- marionette (Adam Beyer mix)

MJ May mix

Nick Hoeppner – Foundling
Mark Broom – Runners
Literon – Permutation one
Steve Bug – A Night like this (Richie Hawtin remix)
Levon Vincent – Invisible bitch slap
Agnes – Que pena
STL – Six in a row
Dario Zenker – Would be nice
Mark Broom – Deal or no deal
Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson – The clock (Ben Klock’s timepiece)
Levon Vincent – Solemn days
Edit select – Bauer
N/A – Variance (Function edit)
Jens Zimmermann – Audio 61_08
N/A – Variance (Marcel Dettmann redit)
O/V/R – Interior
Len Faki – BX3
Bloody Mary – Black pearl

2 months 27 days and counting...

2009-05-18T23:21:00.012+01:00

I've finally booked tickets for the Freerotation Festival at Baskerville Hall, Hay on Wye in August! There's a really mouthwatering line up with loads of DJ's i'm really interested to see- how does Weisemann, Dettmann, 2562, Efdemin, Henning and Shackleton sound? There's a range of sounds from techno to dubstep to deep house, played over three stages over three days. I've only heard good things about the event- has anyone been before? Check out the line up below:

Confirmed line-up so far : DJ Bone : Marcel Dettmann : 2562 // A Made Up Sound : Shackleton : Efdemin : Rndm : Russ Gabriel : Mixmaster Morris : Move D : SoulPhiction : Peverelist : Kris Wadsworth : Mark Henning : Ramadanman : Pangaea : Portable AKA Bodycode : Wbeeza : Trimsound live : Sven Weisemann : Pigon (Live) : Jackmate : Sonja Moonear : Dandy Jack AKA Junction SM : Roberto Q Ingram : Narcossist : Lakuti : Ben Ufo : Tom Ellis : Leif : Tom Demac : Grimes Adhesif : Jakooky : Joe Ellis : Jitterbug : Steevio and Suzybee (Mindtours) : Sam Watson : Duckett : The Soulstatejazz Band : Paizan : Chill : Suade : Freund der Familie : DJ Mitch (Deepindub) : Earthdoctor : Reflektor : DJ Den : Paddy Freeform (Universal Vibes) : Net Audio (London/Berlin) Showcase feat. J-lab : Cotumo : Chris Box : Alex Fisher : Dr. Nojoke : Sammy String

Perc April Promomix

2009-05-13T13:04:00.004+01:00

Anyone who reads this blog will know I'm a big fan of Perc and have already posted links to his sets here. When I've posted previously I've written about his combination of tech-house and Berghain-styled techno, as showcased on the two radio mixes.

Well, on this latest mix he's completely blown that away with a blinding techno mix covering 22 tracks in just under an hour, much in the same vein as the Sandwell mix I posted recently. It seems to be put together in a similar way to Kevin Gorman's mnml ssgs mix, in that it uses a number of tools and short tracks, such as the Billy Dalessandro tracks and Perc's tools from his CLR release. I've had this on pretty much permanent repeat since I found it, its a great mix. Have a listen and see what you think, track list below.

Perc April promomix

1) Billy Dalessandro - Institution - Soniculture

2) Perc - Trojan Bumble (Original Mix) - CLR

3) Billy Dalessandro - Barnacles - Soniculture

4) Unknown - Variance (Marcel Dettmann Edit) - Sandwell District

5) Sylvie Marks - The Probe - Gemini Recordings

6) Radio Slave - Never Ending - Ostgut Ton

7) Unknown - Variance (Regis Edit) - Sandwell District

8) Perc - So Long 46 (Snare Tool) - CLR

9) Quince - Stomper - Delsin

10) Sawf - Work 2 Ma Chest - Perc Trax

11) Planetary Assault Systems - Mark Me - Ostgut Ton

12) Scuba - Hundreds & Thousands - Hot Flush

13) Perc - Submit (Bumper Tool) - CLR

14) Ben Gibson - Vanished Between - Perc Trax

15) House Master Boyz - House Nation (DJ ESP Remix) - Cutz

16) Rac - Hub - Warp

17) Peter Van Hoesen - Attribute One (MLZ Remix) - Time To Express

18) Zomby - Need Ur Lovin - Werk Discs

19) Miss Kittin & The Hacker - PPPO (Function's Sandwell Mix) - Nobody's Bizzness

20) Jenn - Black - KarateKlub

21) Sawf - Vavasofa - Perc Trax

22) O/V/R - Fallen Night Renew - Blueprint

Oblique 2nd may

2009-05-11T13:43:00.025+01:00

Thanks to everyone who made it down to Oblique at Undertone on the 2nd, it was a great night and we hope you had as much fun as us! Just a quick run down on the evening's entertainment- I know it's unusual to post about your own events, but never mind....

Oblique welcomed two guests for our May event. First up was Holodeck and One Mission DJ Potter, who warmed the crowd nicely with grooving set of tech house that built the vibe and got bodies moving on the dance floor. Following Potter were Trimsound, performing live for the first time on Cardiff on the back of an extensive European tour.

Trimsound is a netlabel and live project run by Tom Ellis (Moon Harbour, Morris Audio, Mindtours) and Leif (Frankie, Telegraph, Archipel). For Oblique, the guys not only played live as Trimsound, but Tom played his own live set and Leif played a DJ set to finish the night. Working off two laptops, controllers, bass guitar, and CDJ's, a fantastic set of funked up tech-house and minimal followed that had the crowd cemented to the dance floor for over two hours. For me, the set showed the creative potential of digital DJing- I've posted on this subject before about Kevin Gorman's 'Elements' release- I've been sceptical but watching these guys demonstrate how interactive music can become when performed live was inspiring. For anyone who doesn't know their sound, check out the mixes below.

Thanks again to everyone who made it down, hope to see you next time!

Tom Ellis Live promomix
Leif promomix

2009-05-08T11:55:00.005+01:00

Recehenzentrum (inside/outside/summer club at its Berlin best) review now online at Resident Advisor

Line-up: Exercise One (live) Anja Schneider, Pan-Pot, Deadbeat

Exercise One Album Release in Berlin

deep-spring 09

2009-05-06T18:26:00.008+01:00

days are drawing out and the light is steadily increasing. spring is here.

deep-techno for the bright days and warm nights.

echospace to carl-craig/moritz von oswald via old-school maurizo.

deepspring09 - direct-download [right-click save as]

or direct from

www.publisharchitecture.com/music.html

The Mix Up

2009-05-04T14:40:00.003+01:00

Time for a quick update on what's been on my iPod for the last couple of months. It's a mixed bag covering a whole range of sounds that i'm enjoying at the moment- have a listen and see what you think.

Mobilee Podcast 004: Anja Schneider
The fourth installment of the Mobilee Podcast is a nice set by label head Anja Schneider that includes a few of my favourite tracks of the moment, particularly Lee Van Dowski's excellent 'The Variable Man'.

Headhunter Mix for Clash
For me, this set by Bristol's Headhunter is a good example of the dubstep/techno crossover sound coming out of the city, led by producers like Pinch, Headhunter and Appleblim. Alongside producers like Scuba, Shackleton and Martyn, this sound has really exciting crossover potential, as demonstrated by Berghain's recent forrays into dubstep.

Mark Henning Easter Mix
Beatportal celebrated easter with this mix from Mark Henning of some of his latest tracks and remixes. Dark house music is the name of the game:

1. Mark-Henning - It's a Harsh Life (Soma)
2. Matt Star - Keep On Groovin (Mark-Henning Remix) (Hypercolour)
3. Mark-Henning - I Lost My Brain at Wrinchout (Soma)
4. Mark-Henning - Moody Bastard (Soma)
5. Chris Fortier - Quote Unquote (Mark-Henning Remix) (EQ Grey)
6. Mark-Henning - Sick Note (Cynosure)
7. Mark-Henning - Where Are You Going? (Tic Tac Toe)
8. Mark-Henning - Fabrique Belgique (Soma)
9. Mark-Henning - Chav Land (Soma)
10. Mark-Henning - Biggity Giggity (Frankie)
11. Mr G - What Kinda (Mark-Henning Remix) (Luxaflex)
12. Shu Okuyama - Punkt (Mark-Henning Remix) (Minimood)
13. Mark-Henning - Freaky Deaky (Soma)

Sandwell District at Planet Rose: Part 1 / Part 2
Proper techno (as it used to be?) courtesy of Regis and Function. Thanks to mnml ssgs for posting this one, i'm sure most people will have already heard it. However, its so good I couldn't not include it on the list, it's been on heavy rotation on the old iPod recently. I'd also recommend the latest O/V/R release for anyone who likes this.

SMA Process 132
Finally, I really like SMA's addition to Modyfier's Process series. SMA describes his mix as "slow music", saying "Slow, to me, is something that does not come from the speed of a record or track only; in addition to that, it's got to do with the whole atmosphere it breathes." The mix includes a whole range of stuff, from pitched down dubstep to STL to Rhythm & Sound. This is only one of a long running series of great mixes on Modyfier, that are all well worth a listen.

Oblique May 2nd

2009-04-27T09:38:00.003+01:00

Steve Bug @ Cool House

2009-04-20T13:39:00.008+01:00

Steve Bug- Poker Flat label boss, Fabric 37 contributor, and general all round minimal & tech house master- played in Cardiff for the first time last weekend. The opportunity to see Steve Bug playing for Cardiff club stalwarts Cool House was one not to be missed, and even co-author Thomas managed to make it down, despite being based in Berlin! Such commitment to the cause....

We arrived early expecting it to be busy, but at half past ten Glo seemed to only just be filling up. The residents were playing a good mix of cool house to a gradually filling camo-net lined dancefloor to get the mood building for the main event.

Steve Bug took to the decks at midnight and launched into a three hour exploration of his signature brand of deep and tech-house sounds. He had the crowd constantly moving, and the vibe building with some big drops. For the entire set the floor was filled, but much to my amazement not rammed, with some seemingly content to stay in the bar and not venture to the dancefloor. About two hours in, the set momentarily seemed to be on the brink of heading into techno territory... Ben Klock's Subzero seemed to signal a move to a darker destination. However, much to my disappointment, Bug pulled back and the darkness receded, to be replaced by his renowned poker Flat sound. The final half hour saw some big records, the highlight being Wink's Superfreak, which created mayhem on the dance floor. As the lights came on, the crowd yelled for more, but to no avail- after a dissapointing final tune, we left to contemplate the night's entertainment.

All in all, Cool House lived up to expectations as one of the best promoters in Cardiff- they sure know how to throw a mean party even in a city with a comparatively small scene. Steve Bug played a good set with flawless technique, but I must say I expected more from such a big name international DJ- but perhaps that's just me being penickerty!

Top tracks of the night:

Josh Wink- Superfreak

Brothers' Vibe- Feelin' House

Ben Klock- Subzero (i think it was, anyway)

Steve Bug- Trees can't dance

Fourty minutes for a friend

2009-04-09T13:31:00.004+01:00

Recorded in mid-march, this is the final mix from winter. Things are warming up now in the Stadt, and following shortly on this mix, springstarts:

maybe we've come out the other side.

March 2009, recorded in Berlin

fourtyminutesforafriend

its not just berghain...

2009-04-08T15:54:00.012+01:00

Rechenzentrum & RAW-Temple

It’s a Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, in fact, and it’s one am in Berlin’s Fredrichshain district. Seems spring has come rapidly in the cold shadow of winter: sun for a week here has led people to be outside, and barbecues have started with a vengeance. But to the point: Wednesday, one am, RAW-Temple. Outside, the air is warm but with the crisp bite of early April and perhaps two hundred people are milling around the courtyard space of this disused railway goods yard. And the dull thud of a four-four beat pushes its way grudgingly through the walls of the nineteenth century storehouse.

The stalwarts of Berlin’s electronic music scene are well known. Berghain, Watergate, Weekend, to give them their dues, are second to none. But, step a little outside, just a little, and things show a different side. The quota of ‘cool’ is unavoidable in the places with a name. People fly here at the weekend for nights and days of unrivalled club music and they bring a self-conscious ambition and attitude: not negative, just slightly ‘try-hard’. Nobody flies to Berlin for a two-euro entrance night of techno/electro from a no-big-name dj and live-act on a Tuesday night in Freidrichshain.

I’ve had a few nights of dancing in the Hauptstadt over the last couple of years, and its been those places you don’t plan on going to days in advance, that have cropped up on the night, that have delivered. Those places where entrance is cheap, door-selection minimal, and the atmosphere unsophisticated. Disregarding the current ‘deep’ trend in house and techno, RAW-Temple produced a refreshingly fast-paced, percussive dose of hard-edged minimal on a sound-system that, for a venue of limited means (a community based project for affordable cultural space) packed a punch far above its weight. And, also refreshingly, the partygoers seemed there for a party: not to be seen in, or see, the scene. The performers had names, of course, but there last night, I couldn’t give a damn: it didn’t matter.

And then you get surprised, again. Ballhaus Ost, with Ben Klock at the Delikat records birthday party, with a crowd more ready to really dance to Klock’s rhythm than some at his residency in Berghain. Or a small-scale loft-party in Kreuzberg with a less-than-perfect sound-system, but a more than perfect atmosphere: simple minimal music that was, you know, minimal. And its OK to call it that.

A scene’s a scene, obviously. And in that context, the one here is superb, and open... But, just once in a while, it pays to not pay so much, to expect a little less and get a little more.

Summers coming now. And that means outdoors. And right now, I’m looking forward to travelling out to those places that are harder to get to, but so worth the effort. Rechenzentrum’s open now, and for me, its hard to beat.

But more on that when its here…

Vinyl only #2

2009-04-01T13:30:00.006+01:00

For the second installment of the vinyl only series i've chosen to post another record I know very little about, a release on a new label from Berlin's Hardwax by The Hauntologists. Who knows if this is a release by Hardwax regulars, or a new find; it has a trippy, reduced house sound that is difficult for me to pin to a particular producer. The four tracks draw from a limited palette of material, but the results move from deep house to a more techy vibe by the end of the EP. The sound is somewhere between the slowhouse Workshop series and the techno sound Hardwax is known for, and perhaps shows an interesting experimental direction to be continued in the future.

Vinyl only #2

2009-03-26T23:41:00.005Z

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.

2009-03-24T02:16:00.001Z

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

First: Berlin March 09.

2009-03-24T01:05:00.019Z

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

2009-03-22T16:48:00.014Z

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

2009-03-17T22:13:00.011Z

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

2009-03-14T12:34:00.015Z

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

2009-03-12T13:32:00.007Z

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

2009-03-03T21:09:00.008Z

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

2009-03-02T17:46:00.001Z

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.

2009-02-23T14:04:00.001Z

from late 2008, written after the party, berlin.

The medium takes over: Ben Klock and Dan Bell at Cassys Birthday, Berghain/Panorama Bar

As Marshall McLuhan, the pre-eminent media theorist of the 1960s, suggested, the 'medium is the message': the technology of communication tells you more about something than the content. And, standing in the middle of Berghain's dancefloor on Sunday morning, something about the content of the sound made me think.

For Cassey's birthday, a marathon, open-ended event largely celebrated in Panoramabar with Steve Bug, Josh Wink, Zip and others, the culminating performance of the night/day in the Berghain came from Klock. Resident, and agenda setting artist on Ostgut ton, his sound has effectively been constructed around the parameters of a sound system and its acoustic environment.

'We understand sound to be the most important of our senses and in fact, the root of the structure of the entire Universe. As such, we try to pay the amazing acuity of human hearing the respect it deserves by providing products that deliver as much resolution and detail as is possible.'
funktion-one.com

Sound being the 'route structure of the entire universe', as the F-One guys suggest, is questionable. What isn't is the attention to detail paid by the engineers. The six Funktion-one units surrounding the dance floor of Berghain, four floor-mounted sets, two hanging, are as inextricably linked to the Berghain/Ostgut ton/Ben Klock nexus as the music. The scale of the space – a former powerstation – and its material condition are central to the production of the sound. The systems clarity, and its shear power combine with the acoustics of the space to deliver that 'resolution and detail'. Bass is controlled, balanced with mid-range but never loosing its power.

Hearing Dettman's Shatterproof, or Klocks remix of Go, prove this. They come alive in this space: detail is never lost to power, which is never compromised to detail. By tailoring frequencies, and understanding what this space does to a sound wave, these producers achieve something specific.

That resolution, combined with the production skills of Klock, Dettman, Nodge and others, enable the 'total-system' that is Bergain to be activated. There are frequencies, sounds and rhythms specific to Berghain, most notably a shared precision of beat and basslines built to make the most of those F-One units. Like Villalobos with Fabric's Martin Audio sound, it's knowing the parameters of that Funktion-one system that allows this to be achieved. And this is where McLuhan comes in: for Berghain to work, the medium takes priority, and the knowledge of how to make this machine move air, takes centre-stage. Klock was preceded by Dan Bell, Perlon/7th City producer, dj and performer of the most minimal of actual techno. His set – charged, contemporary and musically referential (Hood, Saunderson, and the like), showed what is meant by minimal techno: pared down, percussive, multi-layered sparseness infused with an edge of funk, raw mixing (with occasional stuttering beat-misses), and powerful. However, his technical knowledge of the Berghain condition is, obviously, nowhere near as detailed as Klocks, failing to pull machine into operation: never quite pushing its possibilities, nor reaching an event of any description.

Klock's set, starting at eight am, took the functional possibility of this sound/space system to its edge. Music that had been created for this place risked hitting the resonant frequency of Berghain. His mixing is flawless, smooth and technically astute. And the sound he produces is quite literally physical. Using the dynamics of the 5.1 surround that was installed recently, he creates an envelope of air in the centre of the dancefloor: the snap of a kick-drum comes through so hard and sharp as to almost hurt, and when a bass-drum drops, rib cages across the space resonate. Clarity, depth and force of air movement are effectively the tools of Klock and he uses them to produce techno of monolithic scale: and it is producing it here, as to listen to an Ostgut ton release on anything other than this system, in this place, is to listen to another music, another thing. It only really comes into being in this space. Surprising? Not really – that's Berlin, where the Hans Scharoun designed Philharmonie, home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, takes the relationship between sound and space as central to its success, fame and sets a model for orchestral hall architecture.

But, and here a crucial question needs to be asked of electronic music of this literal force: is it music, emotive, human driven performance, or is it technology, the medium making the message, the content? The perfection of the whole Klock/Funktion-One/Berghain combination pushes this cultural form in a new direction. The technical possibilities of a system drive the stuff produced by it, perhaps leaving a music devoid of soul, of error and imperfection? A total machine music?

2009-02-23T13:22:00.001Z

So, I guess this could be considered a first post. But perhaps its more of a first-tester post. And its from the Hauptstadt, the Capital. Post-Berlinale, tail-end of winter, with slush on the streets and steel-grey clouds threatening further wet snow. Spring doesn't quite yet brighten the horizon of the city, but its likely future arrival seems, at least today, to be acknowledged.

last week, thomas listened to:

damian schwartz, maurizio, stefan goldmann, jens zimmermann