Although Samuli Kemppi has yet to become a household name, techno fans took when Samuli’s exceptional “Vangel” appeared on last year’s Berghain 02 mix. Since then he’s released only a remix for Peter Van Hoesen’s “Casual Care,” but the coming month sees two new records from the Finnish producer. In addition to the second installment in the Komisch records catalog (the follow up to Van Hoesen’s remarkable inaugural 12″), Samuli strikes with “No One Can Hear Your Echo In Space,” the sixth transmission from Munich-based Prologue. Prologue have made a name for themselves this year by specializing in “headfuck techno,” which is about as apt a description as one could imagine. “No One Can Hear You Echo In Space” continues the label’s high standards, delivering three tracks of twisted, subtly-mind-warping techno.
chris miller
Tolfrey & Ramirez, Bounce to Me
Record shops housing their own record labels is becoming increasingly. Clone, Kompakt and Smallville immediately spring to mind, as do the many stamped records that come out of Hardwax. London vinyl haven Phonica has long been the destination of choice for Soho crate-diggers in search of quality house and techno, so it was perhaps only a matter of time before the store stocked its shelves with its own records. However, London lacks a distinct house or techno sound like Hamburg or Cologne do, instead priding itself on giving rise to a new sub-genre of syncopated dance music every six months or so. Phonica stock is hardly relegated to a single aesthetic either. As such, it’s difficult to anticipate what each transmission from the newly minted label will sound like. The first release from Hector & Bryant featured a genre-bending remix from Appleblim and Al Tourettes, while PHONICA002 from JC Freaks dabbled in pale minimal house. It seems fair to wonder, what’s next?
Vladislav Delay, Tummaa
When we last left Sasu Ripatti he was serving as the all-important drummer in Moritz von Oswald’s trio of electronic-jazz explorers. Before that he was serving up another slice of experimental-techno-poetry-pop with partner AGF in the form of their debut album, Symptoms. And in late 2008 we received Luomo’s Convivial, his fifth album which was noteworthy for its numerous collaborators and vocalists. See a trend? The man I’ve always pictured a loner, producing during cold, lonely winter nights, has proven to be quite the collaborator. Luckily for us, this has proven to be a welcome development. Not only is his name popping up more often than ever, but Mr. Ripatti’s projects have evolved and new ones have been born, and old standby Vladislav Delay, his main and perhaps most critically acclaimed identity, has not been spared. In a first, the new Vladislav Delay album is partially the work of a trio: Ripatti, Lucio Caprece on clarinet and saxophone, and Craig Anderson on the Rhodes. The final product, however, is all the doing of Ripatti, who manipulated and rearranged recordings of Caprece and Armstrong as the basis for Tummaa.
Ancient Methods, Fourth Method
Rough, in your face techno has made a resurgence this year with big labels like Ostgut Ton and Sandwell District leading the onslaught. Further in the back but no less vital is Ancient Methods, a duo based in (where else?) Berlin who specialize in techno so rugged it sends the Deuce record running for cover. Much about Ancient Methods defies expectations for imprints with similar aesthetics: Rather than hand-stamped white labels we receive beautiful marbled vinyl emblazoned with the horns of Jericho on their labels. Instead of obligatory 4/4 rhythms, most of the beats feel broken (though not crushed), and the industrial noises Ancient Methods coerce from their machines give the delightfully dark impression something went terribly wrong (yet oh so right).
LWE Reflects on Electric Zoo
This Labor Day weekend at Randall’s Island, NYC, Made Events held its first Electric Zoo festival. LWE sent Chris Miller and Shuja Haider to scope it out. Electric Zoo instantly distinguishes itself as one of very few large dance music festivals in the Northeast. In spite of its disco and house pedigree, New York has not been home to an event comparable to Detroit’s Movement Festival; one attempt in 2008, Minitek, was notoriously plagued by technical difficulties. Electric Zoo, on the other hand, neatly caged in over 50 acts. The lineup featured a number of artists on the cutting edge of New York’s disco, house, and indie scenes, while some overseas acts rarely seen on these shores rounded out the weekend. The weather was perfect, and attendance was good. For the most part, sound was loud and clear, performers were easy to see, and everything was easily accessible. And while pizza and beer were available, so were falafel and coconut water. Was there a catch? Sort of.
Joy Orbison, Hyph Mngo
Hype can be a funny thing. Why are some tracks hyped while others slide under the radar? For one of 2009’s most talked about tracks, look no further than “Hyph Mngo” (hype is even in the name, sort of). Forthcoming on one of the hottest labels around, canned by numerous DJs, and even the subject of an entire column on Pitchfork, the hype surround “Hyph Mngo” has been immense, to be sure. But does it measure up?
Audion, It’s Full Of Blinding Light
I find it hard to believe anyone reading this site is not at least somewhat familiar with the work of Matthew Dear. His records have been both critical and commercial successes, resulting in bona-fide classics under multiple monikers (Jabberjaw’s “Girlfriend” and “EP2” under his birth name spring to mind immediately). 2008, however, was a disappointing year for Matthew Dear fans, and March’s “Love Letters” as False offered little reprieve. It was as if all Dear’s once-varied identities had simmered down to a similar, stagnant “minimal” sound. With the resurrection of Audion and a series of EPs building up to a full-length album, this has changed.
Donnacha Costello, While in Exile
A new Minimise release? After retiring the label earlier this year in response to the minimal boom, Donnacha Costello started the Look Long imprint with the philosophy that music should be produced for the long term, not to satisfy any trends. Yet the only “trendy” thing about Minimise, however, was its name; the label’s 35 releases were full of Donnacha’s colorful and melodic take on techno without once sounding like the now oft-maligned “genre.” Nevertheless, a new label seems to have refreshed the Irish producer, who has revived Minimise after only a couple months away with the digital only release “While In Exile,” available for free on the label’s website or as higher quality files for purchase.
Frozen Border, Frozen Border 03
Amid the current explosion of stamped white labels, Frozen Border stand apart for being among the truly mysterious. What do we know about them? Frozen Border is a record label and each 12″ is done by a different producer; aside from that, nothing. Their preference for anonymity and austere packaging hark back to the days of 90s techno, and it should come as little surprise the music does as well. Rather than rehashing the past, however, Frozen Border records leap from their 90’s reference points into the contemporary techno scene, resulting in fresh and forward-thinking productions.
Moderat, Unofficial Mixes Pt 1
Moderat’s album came and went, sounding exactly as everyone had expected while still being a successful and fully satisfying listen. Less successful, however, was the first round of remixes for obvious lead single “Rusty Nails.” TRG fashioned a peaktime remix that was perhaps too much so, while Booka Shade’s version was a thoughtless tech-house workout. Lucky for us, the Fifty Weapons imprint comes up with the “Unofficial” remixes on a limited, stamped white label that give two Moderat’s originals truly exceptional overhauls.
Brackles, Get a Job
Apple Pips have spent their first five records mining the area between techno and dubstep, releasing 12″s from established techno vets and some of dubstep’s biggest, freshest names. Appleblim, however, is not content to stick with a single sound, and the latest records from his Bristol-based label bring even more genres into the melting pot. Their sixth comes from Brackles, a man earning lots of attention for both his fantastic DJing and his productions as well. Brackles has previously collaborated with Shortstuff, but his first completely solo 12,” “Get a Job,” brings in a totally different sound to the Apple Pips camp.
Ramadanman/Pearson Sound, Revenue/PLSN
That David Kennedy is only 21 years old may come as a surprise to those who’ve seen all the man has achieved. He’s the co-founder of Hessle Audio, a label experimenting all across the dubstep axis while keeping the sound firmly planted on the dance floor. He’s at the top of his game as a DJ with a packed tour schedule and equally packed sets, containing everything from techno to Ludacris. More importantly, he’s a producer whose diverse work defies even his fans predictions for what he might release next. It could be the punishing simplicity of “Blimey,” the sunny, entrancing vibes of “Humber” or his explorations in house with Appleblim. His latest 12″s, “Revenue” for 2nd Drop and “PLSN” for Hessle Audio as Pearson Sound, Kennedy again draws influence from disparate sources while sounding like little else out there.
Kenton Slash Demon, Khattabi
The name Kenton Slash Demon is probably not too familiar to most house and techno fans, but they are in fact members of indie band When Saints Go Machine (recently featured as remixed by dOP in Koze’s RA podcast). You’re not going to find any dance-rock or blog house or whatever it’s called these days here, though. “Khattabi,” the sixth installment for Copenhagen’s Tartelet Records offers multi-faceted tech house with a couple of surprises thrown in.
N/A, Variance Edits
Where is the original version of “Variance”? What about “Variance II”? Who is N/A (or is the artist’s name just “not available”)? Thing is, the original artist’s name doesn’t really matter; the only name that does is Sandwell District. They’ve always had a penchant for facelessness, and with the recent release of the “Variance Edits” over two pieces of vinyl they’ve gone a step further into anonymity. But you always know where you stand with Sandwell District, and here they give you exactly what you ordered: “True. Techno. Music.”
Rndm, Third Hand Smoke
I first heard of Dial’s plan to start a deep house sub-label called Laid about two years ago. It sounded like a great idea; a way to bring in a fresh sound in what was then still a minimal-soaked dance music world. Finally in 2009 Dial’s younger brother was born with the first two records from Laid. Of course, a lot happens in two years of dance music history. Laid’s opening salvo comes after deep house has been “revived,” this time with the minimal bandwagon in tow, their vacuousness made only more obvious by all the a cappellas professing “soul.” After a wonderful inauguration by Detriot’s own Rick Wade, Oliver Kargl, best known as Rndm, continues to steer Laid into the deep end.
Sendai, System Policy
Peter Van Hoesen is a very busy man, releasing a whirlwind of records in the past year. At a time when uncompromising techno has been all the rage, Van Hoesen has been exploring the area where the dark sounds of Berghain meet the atmospherics of dub techno. He’s been shaping Time to Express into one of the premier techno labels around with killer records such as this year’s “Attribute One,” and continues the label’s ongoing run of quality releases with Yves De Mey as Sendai.