In anticipation of his appearances at Output for The Bunker on Friday, September 13th and Smart Bar for Oktave on Saturday the 14th, LWE sat down with Slater recently for a quick chat about his new album, techno’s multicultural roots, and getting billed under his birth name.
planetary assault systems
Little White Earbuds Reviews Movement 2013
After a week spent resting their weary bodies and sore heads, LWE correspondents Elly Schook and Michael C. Walsh offer up their thoughts on America’s most anticipated electronic music festival.
Planetary Assault Systems, The Messenger
The Messenger finds Planetary Assault Systems pulling back on the throttle after the all out blitzkrieg that was 2009’s Temporary Suspension.
Planetary Assault Systems, Remixes
If Luke Slater’s Temporary Suspension reminded us anything, it’s that the rough techno waves being made by your Dettmanns and Levons are not without precedent, and that techno veterans are keen to be still be part of the sound they, in many ways, defined. For every Delta Funktionen or Frozen Border looking to offer their new take on techno there’s a Regis, Robert Hood or James Ruskin picking up the 909 again and getting back to work. Ostgut Ton chose Hood and Kenny Larkin to remix Ben Klock; and so, in a sort of antisymmetry, they choose some of the most influential producers of the past couple years to remix one of the 90’s more influential figures.
Little White Earbuds Interviews Luke Slater
Luke Slater is, as they say, a man who needs no introduction. A stalwart of the international electronic scene for almost 20 years, much of contemporary techno owes Slater a debt of gratitude. Without his mid-90’s releases as Planetary Assault System, it’s hard to imagine the output of labels such as Sandwell District, Ostgut Ton or Do Not Resist The Beat! sounding quite the same. His shadow looms large over Toby Frith’s recent list of 20 classic UK techno records for FACT magazine, and his new album under the PAS moniker Temporary Suspension is a blistering tour de force; so it’s an apt time to ask Slater a few questions about his new album, his renewed love for DJing, and his future ventures into the world of ballet.
Planetary Assault Systems, Temporary Suspension
A few years back, you couldn’t go to a club without seeing a “Rave Strikes Back” sticker on a DJ’s record box. An initiative set up by Freude-am-Tanzen, the idea was to revolt against the ahistorical “mnml” of the time and bring back “rough, unpolished techno,” in the words of its creators. On the website, they invited a number of Germany’s pre-eminent DJs (Robert Johnson’s Ata, Michael Mayer, DJ Koze) to chart their favorite rave anthems. Superficially, the planned revival appeared to have little tangible effect, save the unconnected splutterings of a D.O.A. scene in the less salubrious parts of south-east London (thanks, Klaxons).
Little White Earbuds May Charts
01. Black Jazz Consortium, “Whats Up With the Love”
[Soul People Music]
02. Planetary Assault Systems, “Temporary Suspension” [Ostgut Tonträger]
03. 100 Hz, “Tension” [Bosconi Records]
04. Peter Kruder, “Visions Ltd.”
[International Deejay Gigolo Records]
05. Dapayk & Padberg, “Sugar” [Fenou]
06. Âme, “Ensor” [Innervisions]
07. DJ Koze, “Mrs. Bojangels” [Circus Company]
08. Baby Ford, “No Day” [Perlon]
09. Jason Fine, “Half” (Anton Zap remix) [Kontra-Musik]
10. Peter Van Hoesen, “Attribute One”
[Time to Express]