Alan Abrahams maintains that traditional African music and house music are much the same thing. In his music as Portable and Bodycode, Abrahams acts a living link between the indigenous sounds of his youth in South Africa and the first Chicago house records whose futuristic aesthetic broadened his horizons. Since leaving South Africa for London, Lisbon and now Berlin, Abrahams launched the Süd Electronic label with Lerato and released on ~scape, Spectral Sound, Karat and Perlon (among others). Tomorrow sees the release of his second album as Bodycode, the spectacular Immune on Spectral Sound. Full of fuzzy organ chords, needling percussion and Abrahams’ emotion-filled vocals, the album finds his sui generis sound in its most realized state. Our 22nd podcast pits Abrahams’ Portable and Bodycode monikers against each other, providing an exclusive look into the sounds bouncing around this talented producer’s head and computer.
Author Archive: Steve Mizek
Deuce, Deuce EP
So far in 2009, Ostgut Tonträger has charted a course favoring harder, more aggressive sounds than in previous years. As the label arm of Berlin’s preeminent Berghain club, whose name has become synonymous with dark and uncompromising techno, this isn’t entirely surprising. Prominent resident DJs/producers Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock have also seen their stock skyrocket since the label launched in late 2005, furthering the case for harder stuff. And while a discography notched with several releases from Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, 12″s from MyMy and Âme, and the Shut Up and Dance! Updated compilation evinces diverse tastes, one wonders if Ostgut Ton’s recent focus portends a broader shift. If commissioning an EP and album from Luke Slater’s ferocious Planetary Assault Systems project was the tipping point, the “Deuce EP,” a collaborative effort from Dettmann and Shed, lays bare how astringent and foreboding the path ahead may be.
LWE’s Movement 09 Round Up
For many electronic music fans in America’s Midwest, the most anticipated event of each year is Movement: Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival, and for good reason. In spite of the reverence DJs and producer express for the region as the birthplace of house and techno, the Midwest is often passed over by DJs and producers whose U.S. tours reach no farther than New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco. While the reasons for this are too complex to tackle here, suffice it to say many Midwesterners — and those who travel from far and wide — relish the one time DJs and musicians annually descend upon Detroit en masse. It’s also a chance for Detroit’s homegrown talent to strut their stuff for larger audiences who seldom make it to the Motor City.
Talking Shop with Mule Musiq
Mule Musiq, one of Japan’s leading techno/house labels, is the focus of our attention this time around. Owned and operated by Toshiya Kawasaki, Mule Musiq (and its sub-labels, Mule Electronic and Endless Flight) offers a uniquely Japanese point of view that’s helped popularize Force of Nature and Kuniyuki, while also hosting standout releases from Terre Thaemlitz, Minilogue, Henrik Schwarz, Lawrence and even Lydia Lunch (among many others). Mr. Kawasaki was kind enough to answer our questions about the differences between Japanese and Western music industries, the label’s origins and Mule Musiq’s philosophy for running a successful label.
LWE Podcast 20: Stefan Goldmann
It’s somewhat of an anomaly that Stefan Goldmann’s profile isn’t writ as large as his thrilling productions. The German producer and owner of the Macro label inhabits a special place in electronic music, constantly wowing with each subsequent release, be it twelve inch, full length album, remix, or concept re-edit of Stravinsky. Even from his earliest beginnings on Derrick Carter and Luke Solomon’s Classic label it was evident Goldmann stood out from the pack, not afraid to move in his own direction and moreover always pushing himself further. It was 2005’s “Sleepy Hollow EP” that finally awakened many to his unique musical charms, and since then he hasn’t put a foot wrong, releasing a string of twelves culminated in an album that housed them all (The Transitory State) and notching up a slew of remixes that eclipsed the originals (Force of Nature’s “Sequencer” and Sideshow’s “African Cheri” immediately spring to mind). It’s less surprising, then, that the scope and sheer quality of Goldmann’s work earned him a nomination for the German equivalent of a Grammy award. But then rather than keep reading about how great we think he is, it would be much easier to check out his exclusive podcast mix and hear for yourselves.
Osborne, Hovercrafting EP
Osborne’s “Hovercrafting EP” picks up where his Spectral Sound-released debut album left off last year, offering a breadth of styles rendered in characteristically bespoke timbres. The EP revisits “Wait A Minute Now,” first included on the free Ghostly Swim compilation, with two new versions and a potent Arto Mwambe remix. Osborne also slakes his thirst for crossing genre borders on two new tracks that deliver on the promise of his 2008 releases without simply reshuffling the deck.
Peter Van Hoesen, Attribute One EP
Whether by coincidence or design, Peter Van Hoesen seemed blessed with good timing in 2008. After spending the better part of the decade producing as Object and Vanno to little fanfare, the Belgian producer suddenly found an enthusiastic audience for the brawny techno cuts released under his own name on his own label, Time to Express, and Lan Music. Berghain residents Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann and Norman Nodge were all noted fans, the audiences they decimated with his tracks were just as keen, and he easily topped LWE’s breakout artists list. Van Hoesen seems poised to leave his mark on 2009 as well, starting with the “Attribute One EP.”
Âme, Setsa/Ensor
Unlike many contemporary producers, Karlsruhe-based duo Ame do not seem particularly attached to the methods and aesthetics that have brought them critical and popular acclaim. There have been no variations on their international breakthrough, “Rej,” or retreads of “Where You At” territory, even though doing either could have meant them broader notoriety. Rather, Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann are committed to not repeating themselves, which means each new platter is a stylistic surprise. Their principled approach has not come without a few puzzled looks — “Fiori” in particular caught some listeners off guard with triplet clusters and lush, proto-techno orchestration — but it’s certainly solidified the group’s fan base and positioned them at the cutting edge of electronic dance music. Yet even those who welcome their curve balls may be surprised by the organic rawness of “Setsa/Ensor,” Ame’s challenging new single.
STL, Silent State
As the owner and sole driving force behind the label Something, the enigmatic Stephan Laubner manages to freely indulge his prolific nature without sacrificing quality. In 2008 alone he notched up six well rated releases, three of which could be considered albums, only one arriving on another label (“Lost In Brown Eyes” for his friends at Perlon), and he’s already released a new 2×12″ in 2009. Laubner’s efforts also seem immune to easy characterizations. They stretch from massaged field-recordings to wistful deep house, caustic techno to more chipper tech-house treats, and that’s ignoring the many loops etched into most STL releases. What’s surprising, then, about STL’s debut for Smallville Records is not that it turns the page in the self reliant producer’s catalog, but rather its potential to loom large over what came before it.
LWE Podcast 18: Patrice Bäumel
Patrice Bäumel often cuts close to the bone when crafting his floor-ready productions, leaving only the leanest wiry bits to rile dancers. Yet the Dutch producer’s singles for Get Physical and Trapez and remixes for MBF and Systematic, make a big impact with bare essentials. If his exclusive podcast mix is any indication, his DJing style offers a considerably fuller sound while utilizing some tracks as tools. After a successful residency at Club 11, Amsterdam’s (if not one of the world’s) finest and dearly departed, Bäumel has moved on to helm its successor, Trouw. Get a taste of the club’s go-to guy in this stirring new podcast.
Motor City Drum Ensemble, Lonely One
Listening to “Lonely One,” the latest single from Motor City Drum Ensemble, I found myself focusing on the artist’s name more than his music. In all likelihood the Stuttgart-based producer (nee Danilo Plessow) picked the moniker as homage to Detroit’s many pioneering artists or as an unacknowledged nod to his hometown’s manufacturing claim to fame, but I can’t help feeling suspicious of his choice. A bit more than a year after minimal’s popularity bubble went bust, many producers and fans have found comfort in the “realness” seemingly innate in Chicago house and Detroit techno. Plessow’s music is likewise influenced by Detroit sounds; but as the press material for “Lonely One” admits, his is an outsider’s take that aims for more than emulation. Why then opt for an alias so tied to that ethos?
Talking Shopcast with Diamonds & Pearls Music
Number four brings us to the eclectic and far-reaching Diamonds & Pearls Music, a distributor, record label and production studio in one. DnP has taken its time releasing records, selecting a coterie of top notch producers to fill its diverse slabs, such as Henrik Schwarz, Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano, Matthew Styles, tobias., Efdemin and more. DnP is also responsible for getting records from Mikrodisko, Beatstreet, Contentismissing, Enliven Music, Pastamusik and many more in shops around the world. All three of DnP’s founders were gracious enough to answer our questions; and although they insisted on relative anonymity, it didn’t stop them from giving us one of our best Talking Shopcasts yet. To top things off, Efdemin crafted an exceptional exclusive mix (available below) that might make it difficult to sit still long enough to read the interview.
Various Artists, Secret Weapons EP (Part Three)
Innervisions made its name on records from its close-knit family of Âme, Dixon, Henrik Schwarz, Tokyo Black Star et al., so the label’s “Secret Weapons EP” series has acted as its window to the rest of the house and techno world. Combining Dixon’s voracious A&R appetite, the label’s esteemed reputation and a host of overlooked gems, “Secret Weapons” allowed Innervisions to release tracks it believed in without enlarging its roster. Although recent 12″s from Lil’ Tony, Boola and Culoe De Song suggest a softening of this attitude, Innervisions’ taste-making ears prove as sharp as ever for “Secret Weapons EP (Part Three).”
LWE Podcast 17: Louis Guilliaume
Louis Guilliaume’s debut 2×12″, Soulpoint, tore a hole through everything being played around it, and no one even knew who he was. It is an album that doesn’t really fit in any one period of time, its fidelity waxing and waning across slates of naked, raw techno, thought it always lunged ahead with conspicuous style. Guilliaume’s influences are broad and his experiences perhaps broader; check out tour photos of the Dutch producer on tour with Christian Death as their sound engineer. LWE’s Podcast 17 affords an exclusive glimpse into Guilliaume’s DJing head space which seems as loaded with surprisingly soulful jams as it cuts across great swaths of styles.
Jitterbug, Raw Winter EP
It’s taken London-based label Uzuri only six releases to define its coherent signature sound. 12″s from Cassy, Lerosa, Move D, Vakula and DJ Aakmael have cast Süd Electronic’s sister imprint as purveyor of raw house cuts conspicuously influenced by the genre’s American forefathers. Uzuri’s latest is also Jitterbug’s artistic debut, and its three original cuts and attendant DJ Qu remix fit easily into the mold set out by its predecessors.
Talking Shopcast with Echocord
This time we’re examining one label that’s been prominent in dub techno’s popular renewal, Denmark’s Echocord. Founded in 2002 by Kenneth Christiansen, a staple of Copenhagen’s record shops and renowned DJ, Echocord proved a launching pad for Mikkel Metal and hub for Quantec, Rod Modell, Trentemøller, Brendon Moeller, Fairmont and more. In 2008 it gave birth to Echocord Colour, a vibrant new series of releases on, you guessed it, cherished colored vinyl. We talked with Mr. Christiansen about Echocord’s origins, why its records stand out, and his predictions for the future of dub techno. He’s also provided us with an excellent exclusive mix of recent and long time favorites.
Shed, Remixes
With an album as critically lauded and widely admired as Shed’s debut, Shedding the Past, it’s expected that DJs and fans alike would clamor for an EP of remixes. The only question remaining is, what took so long? Of course, simply enjoying Ostgut Ton’s consistently top notch releases has always been more rewarding than second guessing; this well considered “Remixes” platter is certainly worth the wait.
Little White Earbuds Interviews Lindstrøm
When Hans-Peter Lindstrøm abdicated the cosmic disco throne a couple years ago, his admirers (including myself) wondered where the Norwegian producer’s sound would end up. Lindstrøm documented his sonic travels and brought listeners along for his second album, Where You Go I Go To. Knowing that he wouldn’t stay in one aural place for long, I asked where he was going next when he stopped in Chicago for a show. Lindstrøm filled me in about what it was like to win a Norwegian Grammy, his collaboration with Solale, and the future of his sound.
The Mountain People, Mountain007
Standing on the brink of vapid minimalism seems to have been enough to bring Mountain People back into the arms of tone and depth. Rozzo starved “Mountain006” of nearly all nourishing elements, leaving little for even some ardent supporters (myself included) to admire. Although the characteristic abundance of the first few Mountain People releases is returning only gradually, “Mountain007” is a fine return to form.