Podcast 322: Deetron

Deetron (a.k.a. Sam Geiser) is a techno producer. It sounds simple, but it’s really the most important thing there is to know about the veteran Swiss artist. Though he’s explored various facets of the genre, gradually moving from pumping, hard-edged sounds toward the more melodic variant he often champions today, techno has always been at the heart of his artistic vision. Over the past 15 years, he’s been steadily turning out records for a variety of imprints, including Phont, Intec, Circus Company, and Aus, but his most frequent home has been the Music Man label, which actually just released his long-awaited sophomore album, Music Over Matter. The LP frequently found Deetron embarking on a number of collaborative efforts, so we thought the XLR8R podcast would give him a chance to properly have the spotlight all to himself. Over the course of more than 80 minutes, he winds his way through a surprisingly diverse tracklist; clearly, Deetron is not shy about dipping his toes into more adventurous fare from the US and UK, but he’s also keen enough to return to the Detroit (or Detroit-inspired) rhythms that serve as his musical base. Swerving between new and old cuts, and even mixing in the occasional house track, Deetron has put together a mix that not only offers plenty of quality tunes, but also reinforces the idea that perhaps techno’s boundaries aren’t so rigid after all.

01 Moritz von Oswald Trio “Blue” (Honest Jon’s)
02 Therre Thaemlitz “Spirits, Lose Your Hold” (Comatonse)
03 Delroy Edwards “For Club Use Only” (L.I.E.S.)
04 Jeremy Greenspan “God Told Me To” (Jiaolong)
05 Omar-S “Nelson County” (FXHE)
06 Asusu “Rendering” (Livity Sound)
07 Andrew Ashong “Toxic Flowers (Trus’me ReRubWorkOut)”
08 Vedomir “Music Suprematism (Marcel Dettmann Remix)” (Dekmantel)
09 Staffan Lindberg “The Orbit (Trevino Remix)” (Dolly)
10 FCL “Hold Your Nick (Locked Groove Remix)” (2020 Vision)
11 North Lake “Moonwalker” (Phonica)
12 Pittsburgh Track Authority “Haywire” (Work Them)
13 Cosmin TRG “Panoramic” (Running Back)
14 Seelow “Fatal Chord” (TFE XX1)
15 Santiago Salazar “Santuario” (Historia Y Violencia)
16 Redshape “Wires” (Present)
17 Head Jam “Can’t Get Any Higher” (Head Jam)
18 Boddika “Steam” (Swamp81)
19 Tessela “Gateway” (R&S)
20 Suburban Knight “Nocturbulous” (UR)
21 Floorplan “Phobia” (M-Plant)
22 Rhythm on the Loose “Break of Dawn (Re-make)” (Network)
23 FunkinEven & Delroy Edwards “X” (Apron)
24 Love Over Entropy “Off the Grid” (SoHaSo)
25 Pev & Kowton “End Point” (Livity Sound)
26 Ron Trent “Altered States (South Side Terrace)” (DJAX)
27 Four Tet “Parallel Jalebi” (Text)
28 Oneohtrix Point Never “Zebra” (Warp)
29 Sheila E “A Love Bizzare (Edit)”

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Koett “Down”

We took a cursory glimpse into the world of Russian producer Koett when we heard a remix of his “Lost Time” track by Barcelona producer Sau Poler. Now, the man born Alexander Tochilkin has shared “Down,” a track from his upcoming Golden Peak LP for Applescal‘s Atomnation label. Kicking off with layers of skittering percussion over the top of an insistent sample loop, “Down” neatly segues into a dense, hazy groove that sits squarely between Caribou’s sunny psychedelia and Flying Lotus’ polymorphic creations. The production builds elegantly as dusty strings and crate-sourced samples collide in glorious fashion before fading off into the horizon—making for an impressively crafted effort which bodes well for the rest of Golden Peak. As a matter of fact, Koett’s new album can be streamed ahead of its November 25 release, after the jump.

Down

John Heckle Desolate Figures

Liverpool’s John Heckle rarely strays from his pounding, overdriven production formula, but he manages to incorporate a lot of different styles on his records anyway, particularly in terms of his melodies, which can verge on the otherworldly. Desolate Figures is his second LP after a string of well-received singles, and it contains a welcome set for followers of his approach. While diverse, Heckle does not venture into drastically new territory on its eight tracks. He also largely eschews the fetching interludes that have dotted his past efforts—there is nothing as hooky as “A Basement (Interlude)” (a standout piece from his debut LP, 2011’s The Second Son) here. Desolate Figures succeeds at presenting the producer in no-nonsense mode, “all guns blazing,” as he says.

There are typically tough tracks here, like the disfigured “Crazy Metal,” with its clattering jack patterns, and the dense, acidic undergrowth of “Blindman’s Bluff.” But Heckle tempers this ferocity with great deal of depth. “Never with You” is also jittery and acidic, but it balances these aspects with pizzicato strings and solemn pads. “Frankenstein’s Sweet Nectar” offers the sort of new wave that popped up in Ron Hardy sets, with its boisterous Italo-esque bassline and rusted melodic inflections, while “Something for Your Distorted Mind” balances its caustic production values and rigid, driving rhythm with loose, jangling piano solos referring to gospel and jazz. From the spindly “Love-Lies” to the bumping, bell-laden epic closer “Power of Two,” the producer finds ways to keep his familiar sound interesting. It’s clear from these moments that in just a few short years, Heckle has already developed into a reliably compelling and adaptable entity. The main criticism one could level against Desolate Figures is that it is simply a collection of tracks, rather than a fully formed album, but for those who like it rough and tracky, this should not matter much.

Locked Groove & Talbot Wood “Dualism”

After delivering a remix on Talbot Wood‘s recent Dream Sequence EP for the Curle label, Locked Groove (pictured above) has teamed up with the Belgium-based producer for a lush collaborative track entitled “Dualism.” Stretching beyond eight minutes long, the effort is a sprawling piece of immersive techno, one in which dense strings, looping bell melodies, and an active synth bass meet with a relaxed shuffle. The result is a track imbued with a slow groove—though it actually moves at a deceivingly fast pace—and is hopefully indicative of more collaborations to come from Locked Groove and Talbot Wood.

Dualism

JTC Valley Road (We Are 1)

Longtime Michigan producer Tadd Mullinix can be counted upon to bring a certain degree of knowledge to his tracks—historical, practical, or otherwise. Whether he is recording as Dabrye or James T. Cotton (or any of several other aliases, spanning an array of genres), it’s usually pretty evident that Mullinix has spent some time considering the nuances of his tracks, as they seldom feel dashed-off. Too much thought often hampers a dance track’s clout, but the producer manages to avoid that pitfall on Valley Road (We Are 1), his latest 12″.

The title track is sort of garage-y in its bumpy bassline and shuffling, frenetic drums, though it isn’t dramatically swung. It has an infectious push from the beginning, but it really takes off when a vocal chanting “together we are one” begins alternating with liquid chords and a crystalline, four-note melody. It’s a well-designed piece, but it’s also unpredictable enough to keep the floor engaged. DJ Qu‘s reworking takes Mullinix’s ideas in a hazy, more industrial direction, one that’s nonetheless marked by his patented hypnotic style. The vocal is again an anchor, but Qu’s echoing, entwining patterns of stray blows would probably succeed on their own. Mullinix’s “Alpha Helix” closes out the package with a workout that leans toward the Muzique catalog. Its spasmodic arrangement is less purposeful than its predecessors, but much busier. It’s not exactly aimless, but more of a closed circuit of warbling, flanged synthesizer, vocal chants (a repeated “nobody”), and sputtering hi-hats. It’s a solid counterpoint to the comparatively anthemic title track, and another reminder of the producer’s versatility.

Video: Axel Boman “Fantastic Piano”

Stockholm-based house producer and Studio Barnhus founder Axel Boman just released his Family Vacation LP last week, and has now shared a wistful video for album cut “Fantastic Piano.” Created by The Treasure Factory, the visuals fetishize the dream-like, sensual effect of colored light shimmering and reflecting on water, with a series of aquatic close-ups going in and out of focus. Evoking the bittersweet end to a successful casino heist, Boman’s vintage piano chords, field-recorded texture, and organic percussion gets swept up in trails of neon.

Quadron “LFT (Urulu’s Reinterpretation)”

London-via-Los Angeles DJ/producer Urulu (pictured above) is well versed in the finding a track’s sweet spot in and building a dynamic arrangement around it. And that’s certainly true of his latest edit, a subtle-but-confident reinterpretation of Danish duo Quadron‘s soulful “LFT” single. Urulu transitions from a sweetly filtered introduction into a warm, entrancing groove that highlights the the carefree vocal and hypnotic bassline. “LFT (Urulu’s Reinterpretation)” will surely sit comfortably alongside the ever-increasing number of “pop-house” hits that have been flooding dancefloors.

LFT (Urulu’s Reinterpretation)

George FitzGerald Plots North American Tour

Next month, George FitzGerald will embark on his first headlining North American tour, with 9 dates touching on both coasts and making time for a stop in Canada. Beginning on December 6 in San Francisco, the ever-rising DJ/producer will make his way around the US, with sets in Chicago, LA, NYC, Miami, and a few other stateside hubs in support of his recent “Magnetic” single. The full list of George FitzGerald’s upcoming North American tour dates are included on the flier below.

Arkist “Summer Shimmer” b/w “Whipper Snapper”

Bristol producer Adam Gazla (a.k.a. Arkist) knows his way around dubstep, drone, garage, and minimal bass, but for his latest single on Apple Pips, he’s elected to embrace discoteque bliss with two upbeat, physical crowdpleasers. Diverging wildly from the throwback garage on this year’s earlier Never Forgotten EP, “Summer Shimmer” is an unabashed slab of funkified house, complete with a wah-wah guitar line, arpeggiated keys, and a grimey bass that churns through the mix with the timbre of a chain smoker. Despite the cut’s sensually arresting, elaborate production, it never feels indebted to any intellectual exercise; each radiant synth layer, acidic melody, and disco-friendly percussive element is fully in service of body movement. In a surprisingly brief five-and-a-half minutes, the piece’s sharply defined peaks and valleys announce themselves to great effect, as barely audible wisps of collaborator Lee Risdale’s vocals peek through and then later return with overdubbed strength.

Bright piano chords form the heart of “Whipper Snapper,” a more drawn-out cut with jazzy synth scats and a straightforward disco tempo. Light vocoder melodies drop in around the halfway mark; a line can be drawn to Discovery-era Daft Punk, but only a tenuous one, as it sounds like Gazla only got to the album after it had been scrapped for parts, leaving him with just a few of the robotic duo’s synth utterances to work with. Lacking some of the percussive power and sonic diversity of “Summer Shimmer,” the track stretches some rhythmic patterns a little too long and doesn’t possess the overt dynamics of Arkist’s remarkable a-side, but remains a fully serviceable, quality counterpoint. As “Whipper Snapper” winds down its bare piano refrain, a moving sample of children playing together rings out in a rich echo, adding another shade of depth to Gazla’s dance-focused work. Like the alliterative, whimsically rhyming words Gazla uses for his song titles on this single, the focus here is unadulterated fun, with no despair or cynicism to be found.

Video: Demdike Stare “Transmission”

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Manchester experimental duo Demdike Stare (a.k.a. Sean Canty and Miles Whittaker) has released three entries in its eclectic Testpressing series; in advance of the upcoming fourth volume, Fail, the outfit has shared a sensually dark video for record cut “Transmission.” Created by Andy Rushton, the found visuals explore a similar aesthetic as Demdike Stare’s music, mining dingy corners of the past to create a pagan-like, ritualistic pulse that depends on noise just as much as rhythm. As the video’s enraptured subjects dance across and on top of each other in a layered chaos of editing, the track’s high-pitched squall becomes more pronounced, culminating in pure static and a blur of bodies that fade to black. Fail will see an official release via Modern Love by the end of this year. (via The Wire)

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