[DFA] Last year Maurice Fulton posted a blog entry on his Myspace profile that gently warned journalists their interview requests would be turned down outright. “…Some UK mag wrote thangs about my friends that I didn’t say. Ever since that happend [sic], I stay clear away from interviewers. I love my friends.” His affection also […]
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Tiger Stripes, My Deep Space (Part One)
January 13, 2008 – 11:01 PM
[ProgCity Deep Trax] Mikael Nordgren (aka Tiger Stripes) was a hugely busy cat last year, firing out slab after slab of house that swam in the deep end (some of which ended up on my year end lists). So it’s entirely forgivable to have skidded past his limited edition single for ProgCity Deep Trax, a […]
Jörg Burger, Polyform 2
January 10, 2008 – 12:09 AM
[K2] After eight years of relative silence, Jörg Burger returned to releasing music under his own name in 2007. His work as The Modernist, Stardiver, Triola Echo Club and many remixes flowed from the techno/ambient/trance legend’s Cologne residence over the last years, so that time was hardly idly spent. In addition to the tepidly-received “Bring […]
Jichael Mackson, Baff
January 7, 2008 – 7:42 AM
[Hartchef Discos] Much of the attention Boris Steffen (aka Jichael Mackson) earned in 2007 was focused on his “…Wasn’t Me” EP on Musique Risquée, and for good reason. Its “The Grass Is Always Greener…” precariously balanced eccentric samples and dubbed out arrangements such that they elicited smiles of comprehension and shaking hips rather than guffaws […]
Imagination, Just An Illusion (Lindstrøm remixes)
December 13, 2007 – 11:00 PM
[Juno Records] The fourth volume of Juno Records’ 10th anniversary series shines a light on the British synth-soul trio, Imagination, and includes new remixes by Lindstrøm and Dimitri From Paris. The flamboyant threesome (seriously, check out some of their album art) joined forces in 1981 after stints as back-up singers for The Delfonics and Chairmen […]
Afrilounge, Lux Dementia
December 12, 2007 – 10:51 PM
[Connaisseur Recordings] The first time I took note of Bavarian trio Afrilounge was “Tribute,” their restrained homage to Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do).” Anyone with the good sense to take on my favorite H&O tune deserved another look, and I’ve been following them ever since. “Lux Dementia,” their second […]
LWE Interviews Simian Mobile Disco
December 11, 2007 – 8:16 PM
Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara Simian Mobile Disco truly lived up to their middle name in 2007 by relentlessly touring the world, bringing the better portion of their studio and face-burning light rigs on the road to fully indoctrinate audiences. The duo also released their debut album, Attack Decay Sustain Release, which managed to be […]
Marco Resmann, Traffic Circle
December 10, 2007 – 9:11 PM
[Upon.You] Although Marco Resmann has plenty of monikers and projects (Phage, Pan-Pot, Luna City Express, Phage & Daniel Drier), I think I most enjoy his work under his own. Earlier in the year he released his first single under his own name for Mobilee, which include the surprisingly dubbed out “Gouache.” Its follow up appears […]
Clara Moto, Glove Affair
December 5, 2007 – 7:14 PM
[InFiné] For me, it’s hard not to like the titular track from Clara Moto’s recording debut. The Barcelona-based producer deftly melds two somewhat different motifs: a twitchy and fibrous arrangement rattling inside the confines of a bittersweet and ear-pleasing melody, and a see-sawing progression with similar melodic tastes (though not as anxious). Construction aside, it’s […]
Matt John, Trampolin
December 3, 2007 – 9:47 PM
[BAR25] German producer and BAR25’s most frequent contributor, Matt John, has quite a knack for evoking uneasy yet familiar feelings with his sound design. In “Hawaii You,” his hit collaboration with Ricardo Villalobos, it was that brief clunk of melodic color between foreign vocal samples — a computer alerting its user of a finished download. […]
LWE Interviews Matthew Dear
December 2, 2007 – 6:23 PM
A couple months ago I was watching television and suddenly, the loping beat of “Don & Sherri,” a single by Matthew Dear, bounded from my set. Before I knew it, I was on my feet and wiggling to one of my favorite tunes… as H3 Hummers zoomed around urban landscapes and tackled rugged terrain. But why was I elated to find Dear’s music in a Hummer commercial? In a consumer culture where record sales are constantly eaten away by illicit downloading, an artist as talented as Matthew Dear doesn’t wait for the masses to catch on in order to make a living. As it is, he’s been releasing records for nearly a decade, having contributed to the first Ghostly International and Spectral Sound releases around the turn of the century. Within that time, Dear spawned three fruitful and separate careers as False (his minimal house and techno guise recording for Plus 8 and M_nus), Audion (a harder, more aggressive techno persona recording for Spectral Sound) and as himself.
Cassy, Soul Saviour
November 16, 2007 – 9:22 PM
[Perlon] In a recent interview with the Ibiza Voice, Cassy explained her love for the Roland 808 and 909s: “Most of techno and house has been made with these two machines, so it’s a sound we’re familiar with. Even if you don’t know the machine, you recognise it immediately and it feels like home.” It […]
Simian Mobile Disco, Hustler (Shackleton remix)
November 14, 2007 – 6:47 AM
[Wichita] Those Simian boys sure know how to call in a favor, eh? So far, their singles have been remixed by Prins Thomas, Switch, Armand Van Helden, Luke Vibert, Riton, Graham Massey of 808 State, and the “Hustler” single extends that to include Kevin Saunderson, Jesse Rose and Shackleton. I didn’t expect to see that […]
Nick Solé, World Dubbing
October 16, 2007 – 12:19 AM
[Mojuba] Mojuba, the label which brings this gargantuan record to your hands and ears, has stratified its vinyl fetish into different degrees of obsession, with a regular version, a limited edition regular version, and a “hurry the fuck up” limited color vinyl which is never to be touched — never. “World Dubbing” expands on the […]
Gaiser, Withdrawal
October 8, 2007 – 3:55 AM
[M_nus] As the soulful shades of deep house again find their way into many releases this year, the still thriving industry of minimal techno has responded, in some ways, in kind. Whether it’s the melodically blushing simplicity of Efdemin and his work as Pigon; or perhaps the echo-eco-system of Deepchord and his Echospace project; or […]
5 Years of Get Physical
September 25, 2007 – 1:06 PM
Five years is an awful long time in dance music culture. Trends come and go within a few months; labels and artists do, too. But thanks to Booka Shade’s generous work ethic (i.e. writing songs for the labels’ figureheads) and pop tech-house aesthetic, as well as M.A.N.D.Y.’s relentless A&R scouting (the artists played a role, […]
Arto Mwambe, Mudhutma!
September 17, 2007 – 4:08 AM
[Brontosaurus] As much as I love Beatport, I rarely find myself trusting the playlists they hype or the people who binge on them. But sometimes you’re really bored at work and Beatport slips you an email of staff recommendations; you just have to look. Among other things, label manager Dave suggested “Ombala Mbembo” by Arto […]
Pan-Pot, Charly
September 11, 2007 – 6:18 AM
[Mobilee] As the year wanes on, I’ve briskly approached my limit for tracks with pitched-down, sinister sounding vocals. “Where We At”: Epic, poignant and hugely enjoyable all at once. “R U OK?” Musically not my bag, but I guess the scene needed something to put a little pause in the debauchery. “The Grass is Always […]
Paul Ritch, Back To the Time
September 10, 2007 – 4:34 AM
[Fumakilla] I was first introduced to the music of Paul Ritch during Luciano’s consciousness-expanding set at DEMF. But because his track was woven so tightly into Lucien’s performance, I had only a rough picture of what Ritch was all aurally all about. Luckily he’s provided many chances to clear things up with seven releases so […]