The seminal Hard Wax record store, opened in 1989 by Mark Ernestus right before the Wall fell, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a gigantic event at the legendary WMF club in Berlin. With performances from Soundstream & Prosumer, Shed, Mark Ernestus featuring Tikiman, and a host of other techno demi-gods, it is sure to be one of the don’t-miss events in Europe this autumn. But why such a grand affair for a record store? For the uninitiated (or those unfortunate enough to have never visited Berlin), a history lesson is in order.

Ernestus opened Hard Wax in 1989 because he found that the record shops in Berlin were increasingly unable to fulfill the demand for the house and techno music coming out at the time. The shop quickly became one of the focal points of Berlin’s burgeoning electronic dance music scene, and with Ernestus co-producing some of the most influential records of the ’90s with Moritz von Oswald under the Basic Channel moniker (among many others), the specialty store became a legend and a mecca for traveling techno fiends. Stocking a significant amount of vinyl that other stores can’t get access to, Hard Wax is now home to one of the most astounding mail-order operations in the world, and by next year, the online store will be selling digital tracks for the first time.

Hard Wax XX is happening on December 5 at WMF.

French loop-stylist Etienne Jaumet‘s Night Music is one of our favorite albums of the year, but it isn’t a typical electronic music album by any means. With such a different sound, what could Jaumet’s influences be? Well, Domino has posted a new mix by the man himself, as well as some YouTube videos explaining his choices, offering a glimpse of what drives the exotic, dark aura of Jaumet’s full-length. With selections from Suicide, Harmonia, and Goblin along with many others, the mix is an hour-long trip through Jaumet’s musical mind.

Check out the tracklist and two videos after the jump!

Tracklisting:
HARMONIA “Watussi”
YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS “Eating Noddemix”
SUICIDE “Radiation”
FRANCOIS DE ROUBAIX “Les Caïds”
MAX MATHEWS “Bicycle Built For Two”
DAF “Der Sheriff”
GOBLIN “Flashing”
JACQUES TOLLOT “Enlevez Les Boulons, Le Croiseur Se Désagrège”
PELLOQUIN / SAUVAGEAU “Sterilization”
SUN RA “Love In Outer Space”
ALAIN GORAGUER “Le Bracelet”
FRANCO BATTIATO “Propiedad Prohibida”
ASH RA TEMPEL VI – MANUEL GOTTSCHING “Echo Waves”
HARUOMI HOSONO & TADANORI YOKOO “Malabar Hotel… Upper Floor… Moving Triangle”
HELDON “Back To Heldon”
USTAD BISMILLAH KAHN “Raag Todi”

Listen to the mix here.

Check out Jaumet on Suicide and how to listen to his own music below.

Gothamist reports that Juan MacLean live drummer and full-time member of Maserati, Jerry Fuchs, died early Sunday morning after a fall from an elevator shaft in a Brooklyn apartment building. ABC news reports that Fuchs, 34, was attempting to jump from the broken elevator when his clothing caught on something, causing him to fall five stories.

Although we’re obviously proud of our weekly XLR8R Podcast series, we also spend time scouring the internet for high-quality offerings that appear on other websites. OPP is a monthly round-up of our favorites.

Mike Shannon for FACT

Mike Shannon, one of the most consistently awesome techno/house DJs in North America, put together a great mix for our buddies over at FACT, showcasing the releases from his Cynosure label. Featuring gems from Deadbeat, Akufen’s Horror Inc. alias, and Shannon himself. Essential!

Maurice Fulton’s Bubbletease podcast # 53

Every month, Maurice Fulton gives a gift to the world—BubbleTease-roughly half an hour of unreleased (maybe “never-to-be-released” is more appropriate) material. Each installment is a new mutation, with different dubs, mixed-and-matched rhythms and basslines, and transposed vocal tracks. The podcast always offers an insight into the disco/house/boogie mastermind’s process, and this month’s installment is particularly great, as he intersplices many BubbleTease favorites with some new gems featuring East African vocal stylings from Mim Suleiman.

Jackmaster RIP Dress2Sweat mix for Numbers

RIP Dress2Sweat! The original UK-bass-ified-ghettohouse-B-more-booty label is consolidating into Numbers (along with Wireblock and Stuffrecords). To celebrate, label head Jackmaster has dropped an epic mix showcasing Dress2Sweat’s mighty 12″ back catalog. Great after that afternoon coffee.

Laurent Jeanneau Ghulja for Touch

In September of this year, sound artist and ethnomusicologist (and Sublime Frequencies contributor) Laurent Jeanneau traveled to the volatile region of Xinjiang (“new frontier” in Chinese) or Eastern Turkestan, a massive province marked by ethnic tension and militaristic paranoia that stretches from Mongolia to Afghanistan. Jeanneau put together this mmesmerizing mix of processed field recordings, acoustic recordings, and sound collages from his journey.

Theo Parrish live at the The Do-Over

LA’s favorite summertime BBQ and party spot, The Do-Over, just made Theo Parrish‘s live set available for download. The Detroit house legend lays down a signature deep set perfect for drinking sangria on a warm Los Angeles evening. Check out their blog where you can find lots of other great stuff, like archived live sets from Jneiro Jarel and Bullion.

Jus Wan Hotflush Podcast 005

London’s Hotflush label has been straight-up killing it with releases from artists like Untold and Joy Orbison, but they’ve also been doing a series of high-quality podcasts. The latest offering comes from San Francisco producer Jus Wan, who assembled a smoldering mix of leftfield dubstep, 2-step, garage, and a nice dab of vintage ~scape.

The occasionally unclassifiable and constantly interesting Liars have just confirmed suspicions that they’ll be following up their latest, self-titled album with the release of Sisterworld sometime in early 2010. While very little specific info has been shared (i.e. lead single, tracklist, or release date), we’ve been told that the forthcoming album finds Liars exploring their interests in “…the alternate spaces people create in order to maintain identity in a city like LA. Environments where outcasts and loners celebrate a skewered relationship to society.” Well, of course it does. Sisterworld is also the band’s only album to be made entirely in the US since 2004’s They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, and was recorded with the help of Tom Biller who has also worked with the likes of Kanye West and Beck. Entrance to the “Sisterworld” may be accessed here.