[Wagon Repair] After nearly 25 years in the music business, some artists find their skills and instincts dulled, often leading to inadvisable collaborations, obtuse vanity projects and waning popularity. Lucky for us, electronic veteran Tobias Freund’s near 25 years of experience as Pink Elln and as half of NSI, Odd Machine and Sieg Ãœber Die […]
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Little White Earbuds May Charts
June 3, 2008 – 10:02 PM
Chart courtesy of The Economist. 01. Namlook, “Subharmonic Atoms” (Pépé Bradock Bug Remix) [Macro] (buy) In case you need reminding how otherworldly talented Pépé Bradock is, check his remix of Peter Namlook’s “Subharmonic Atoms.” Announcing his composition with a dramatic swoosh, Bradock unleashes a dizzying array of prismatic tones bent, pulled and punctuated by bouncy […]
Break SL, Laguna Seca
June 2, 2008 – 12:08 AM
[Philpot] Accompanying the recent flood of nostalgia for the salad days of house music has been a return to the original tools which furnished the first wave. Cassy, Ben Klock and Prosumer/Murat Tepeli are a few producers who have harnessed the sound and abilities of 808s and 909s while doing more than treading water stylistically; […]
Talking Shop with Ghostly/Spectral Sound
May 30, 2008 – 7:12 AM
Welcome to the fifth edition of our series of short interviews affectionately titled Talking Shop. The majority of media and fan attention gets showered on the artists who create the music we love to listen to/DJ with/dance to, and for good reasons. But without the hard work, keen ears and business savvy of label staff, […]
Sammy Dee, Purplehummer
May 25, 2008 – 10:09 PM
[Perlon] “Purplehummer” (or “Purplehummerultrastretch” for the superlonfragilistic) might be Sammy Dee’s solo debut for Perlon, but that factoid is a bit of a misnomer. Sammy Dee has released a decent chunk of vinyl on Perlon, as one half of Pantytec and more recently as Half Hawaii with ex-pat Bruno Pronsato. “Purplehummer” comes as no big […]
Osborne, Osborne
May 18, 2008 – 10:09 PM
[Spectral Sound] Todd Osborn is a born tinkerer, a guy who wants nothing more than to crack open the nearest electronic device to see how it works and, if possible, how to improve it. The trait is essential in his stint as an airline mechanic and at home, where he dissects computers, software, synthesizers (which […]
Osborne invades Chicago
May 15, 2008 – 8:32 AM
Just a quick reminder that LWE fave Osborne is playing tonight at Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago Ave. He’s supported by Kill Memory Crash and Michna. Starts at 9pm and is completely free! Hope to see you there.
Art Bleek, Euphorized
May 13, 2008 – 9:19 PM
[Connaisseur Recordings] Name recognition is a big deal. The deluge of releases landing on stores’ shelves and into my inbox, often from unknown labels and artists, grows ever larger each month. So while I take plenty of chances when deciding what to audition, occasionally the comforts of a familiar name help narrow the playlist quicker […]
Lee Jones, As You Like It
May 12, 2008 – 9:40 PM
[Aus Music] Since the beginning of my techno/house tenure I’ve been a huge Lee Jones fan. As the driving force behind My My’s Songs for the Gentle album he fused tiny fragments of sound into a cohesive aural statement which displayed how unexpectedly vibrant micro house could be. His arranging style carried over well to […]
City Council Considers Ordinance Extorting Promoters
May 12, 2008 – 8:19 AM
Chicago’s City Council votes this Wednesday, May 14th on a proposed ordinance which would require promoters of live events to hold a promoter’s license. The city asserts the ordinance is a five years too late response to the stampede which killed 21 people at the nightclub, E2, holding promoters accountable for their events and making […]
Norman Nodge/Samuli Kemppi, Berghain 02|Part II
May 8, 2008 – 9:43 PM
Photo by Eric Phillips [Ostgut Ton] Each new release from Ostgut Ton builds on an already impressive list of accomplishments, of which becoming an underground multimedia empire is only one. Graduating from 12″ singles, double packs and compilations to albums (Prosumer & Murat Tepeli’s irresistible Serenity) proved the still fresh-faced label’s keen A&R eye (not […]
Sensitiva, Mimosa
May 8, 2008 – 12:28 AM
[100% Pure] While I can’t say I know the man personally, Tobi Neumann strikes me as a social animal, one for whom collaboration trumps solitude any day. He earned his stripes producing for electroclash pioneers Chicks on Speed, Peaches, Miss Kitten and 2Raumwohnung before moving on to more techno/house-oriented pastures. There he teamed with Ricardo […]
Daso & Pawas, Det
May 6, 2008 – 10:01 PM
[Spectral Sound] So far the partnership of Daso Franke and Pawas Gupta has proven fruitful. Beginning with their “Night Express EP” for Flash Recordings and continuing on “KKB,” the bubbling builder which stood tallest on the Spectral Sound “Dintf EP,” the pair has definitely shown artistic chemistry. But whereas previous collaborations were primed and ready […]
James Kartsaklis in the mix
May 5, 2008 – 10:04 PM
The Body Politic‘s most musically prolific member, James Kartsaklis has blessed us with another DJ mix — perhaps his best yet. He’s keeping the tracklisting close to his chest in order to let listeners’ ears make the decisions instead of a quick scan of his selections. Suffice it to say, though, your ears will thanking […]
Ed Davenport, Tillmans Uninfluence/Apples
May 4, 2008 – 9:13 PM
[Gumption Recordings] Listening to “Tillmans Uninfluence/Apples,” the latest release from London-based producer Ed Davenport, I can’t help but think he’s the UK’s fresh-faced answer to Boris Steffen, better known as Jichael Mackson. They share an affinity for producing tracks which jauntily tread the fine line between functionality and bedroom listening, and both utilize odd samples […]
LWE Podcast 02: dOP
May 1, 2008 – 10:12 PM
Theirs for the taking: dOP hangs out. Photo by Myqua. Parisian trio dOP doesn’t DJ, rarely spends time in clubs, prefers physical instruments to VSTs, and writes “songs,” not “tracks.” Perhaps their outsiders’ instincts are exactly why Damien Vandesande, Jonathan “Jo” Illel and Clement Zemstov are poised on the cutting edge of house/techno, though their […]
Klockworks, Klockworks 03
April 30, 2008 – 9:13 PM
[Klockworks] Ben Klock’s Klockworks moniker/label rarely comes out to play, emerging only once a year since 2006 to showcase the Berghain resident’s experimentally-minded techno tracks. The first paired the dribbling pitches and gulping vocals of “Glimmerman (Part One)” with the slightly more raving “Glandula Piti.” The starkness of the second’s “Onyx” and glancing tones of […]
Little White Earbuds April Charts
April 29, 2008 – 9:59 PM
Chart courtesy of The Economist 01. DJ Bone, “Sect 1” [Sect Records] (buy) This enigmatic three tracker defies placement in space and time, with a sound well versed in classic methods but as fresh as anything else out there. Here’s hoping whoever sent “Sect 1” to me is prepared to share its wealth with a […]
Sect, Sect 1
April 27, 2008 – 9:50 PM
[Sect Records] A few weeks ago an inconspicuous package appeared on my desk at work with a return address from über-retailers Juno and “Sect” emblazoned below my name. I shook out a plain white CD sleeve containing a disc marked “Sect 1” and nothing else. Usually whoever sent the promo is overeager to wax poetic […]
Henrik Schwarz & Kuniyuki, The Session
April 24, 2008 – 9:31 PM
[Mule Musiq] Usually the phrase “jam session” conjures mental images of hippies, bongos and rooms thick with marijuana smoke. But despite the aimless connotations, long and improvised sessions are how a number of great techno/house musicians find their signature grooves which are then whittled into tracks. Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer, Ricardo Villalobos and a […]