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.
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”
Young Harlem transplant Mike Slott crafts glitchy, futuristic beats that fall somewhere between dubstep, hip-hop, and old-school breaks. What’s most interesting about “40 Winx,” then, is that it is so soothing, featuring bass sounds that recall Ellen Allien, and shimmering high frequency loops that can best be described as dreamy. Fresh off of a collaborative effort with Hudson Mohawke, the rest of Slott’s latest mini-album, titled Lucky 9teen, is an exercise in creating ambient music from a jazzy, hip-hop perspective; in other words, the Irish native proves himself to be one of the more versatile and interesting producers working right now.
Bar none, XLR8R‘s favorite compilation of 2009 was DJ Koze‘s Reincarnations remix collection on Get Physical—hell, it ranks up there amongst the year’s best records period. The Hamburg DJ/producer gave his signature treatment to tracks from artists as disparate as Chilean house god Matías Aguayo and ’60s German torch singer Hildegard Knef. Everything Koze touched—Matthew Dear, Wechsel Garland, Nôze—turned to gold, and he left our tongues wagging in anticipation of his upcoming 2010 full-length. So we shot Koze a quick email with the hopes of exploring his idiosyncrasies, his colorful past, and discovering what lies ahead.
What are you listening to right now? Dudley Perkins, Holy Smoke, High Places, Bibio.
What’s the weirdest story you have ever heard about yourself? That I will be the leader of a new generation and I can change the world with my wonderful music and stuff like that.
What band did you want to be in when you were 15? Public Enemy. I was thinking maybe I could replace Terminator X ’cause I can scratch better than him, and fight shoulder-to-shoulder racism.
Worst live show experience? I don’t know, but my last strange experience was in Bogotá three days ago, where two minutes after I started my set, the technician tangled himself in a cable and completely wiped out the DJ set-up, breaking the table. We were able to fix it a few minutes later, and the sound came back, and the atmosphere was even better than before. Let’s all make mistakes!
Favorite city in which to play? Bogotá.
Favorite studio toy? My balafon.
What is one thing you couldn’t live without? I have a small favorite soft pillow. I can’t sleep without it.
What is your favorite item of clothing? I have a clothing problem.
If you could reduce your music to a single word, what would it be? Warm.
If you had to listen to one song on repeat for the rest of your life, which one would you choose? Maybe a part of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. It’s so long and there is so much to discover.
What did you always get in trouble for when you were little? Being honest.
Which other artist would you most like to work with next? Iwillnotsay. If he/they read it now, it would be a bit embarrassing for me.
Complete this sentence: In the future… I want to paint more and become a better person.
Stupidest thing you’ve done in the last 12 months? After [many] years I bought myself a new laptop. It was not easy to get all the stuff copied from the old one, but finally I got it. Three days later I put my laptop on the security belt at London City Airport and forgot to take it after scanning… but—Swahimi-style—they found it and I got it back.
What’s next? Starting our the PAMPA label, which I just founded with my friend Marcus Fink to release good music from nice human beings.
Given the success of The Juan Maclean‘s “Happy House,” it’s no surprise that the DFA decided to release a load of new remixes of the disco-house banger. Dance-pop auteurs VHS or BETA actually disco up the track a bit more, making the handclaps chunkier, adding some laser-synth stabs, and inserting a violin run that screams 1979 at Studio 54. While the remix doesn’t really alter the original enough to make it a great departure, it adds an element of campy disco fun to an already excellent piece of dance music, and with other remixes from Will Saul & Mike Monday, Chateau Flight, and Lazaro Casanova, there are plenty of reasons to check out this new remix package.
On 2562’s debut, Aerial, songs like “Greyscale” and “Techno Dread,” both dub-centric meditations defined by roving basslines and gratifying percussive taps and crashes, suggested that the Dutch producer dabbled in a single color palette—gray. On Unbalance, Dave Huisimans plays a bit more Pantone, weaving in classic dance sounds for a more slinky, refined voice. Smeared keys, hovering synthetic strings, and dull acid tones creep into the mix, providing more textures for him to slip in and out of his unfolding tracks. “Flashback” buzzes and occasionally slides into a locked groove, but never loses momentum. The flinty shuffle of “Yes/No” is filled with scrapes and restraint, small little strikes with varying degrees of decay and sustain. Huisimans still has bass on lock, unfurling plenty of rumbling, catchy low end. Now it just anchors a slightly more ambitious and satisfying set of clockwork dubstep compositions.
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, 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I don’t remember how I first met Dust La Rock, but I do remember last summer. I shared a backyard with a member of his Brooklyn BMX gang and at the end of long sweltering days, I often ended up sharing a beer or three with the quick-witted graphic powerhouse while he attempted to sell me pieces of his techstep drum & bass collection. (I didn’t buy any.)
Dusty (real name: Josh Prince) has an interesting history indeed. Raised in New Jersey, he is a veteran of Christian private school, drug dealing, and ’90s hip-hop—his first job upon moving to NYC was a modeling gig for streetwear giant Ecko Unlimited. Ecko realized the budding talent of this wise-cracking ne’er-do-well, and offered him a job as a graphic designer despite his lack of experience. He passed the trial by fire, and soon Dust’s work could be seen all around town, from designing identities for U.K. drum & bass DJ A-Sides’ Eastside imprint and British street music mag ATM to a series of eye-catching and radically different club flyers for local promoter Roxy Cottontail. Roxy eventually introduced Dust to Nick Catchdubs, and he was soon invited to do all of the art for the now club-storming Fool’s Gold label.
With a myriad of record covers under his belt (from The Orb to Kid Sister), plus crazy items like an absinthe spoon (with high-end NYC jeweler Bijules) and a vinyl polar bear toy (with A-Trak and Kid Robot), this 32-year-old workaholic has certainly come a long way from selling acid and cleaning oil tanks in the suburbs. Over fish and chips at Brooklyn’s Dumont restaurant, Mr. La Rock and I talked about Rosicrucians, Throbbing Gristle, and his extensive collection of vintage Adidas.
? Where does the name Dust La Rock come from? My fondness for PCP and a nod to the golden age of hip-hop.
What made you decide to become a graphic designer? After narrowly escaping a 20-year prison sentence for the solicitation of narcotics, I somehow found myself working in the fashion industry. After a couple years spent learning the ropes, it was a natural progression for me to make the transition from product design to graphic design/illustration. Basically, drawing shit was the only thing I was good at.
What is the worst job you’ve ever had? I used to work for a contractor at an oil refinery in Jersey. My job was to clean the interior of those giant white circular oil tanks. Some of them had floating roofs, so when they were empty you had to build 12 pillars of 85-pound wooden blocks, stacked six high, so you wouldn’t get crushed if the roof dropped whilst cleaning up crude oil with a three-foot firehose. Nasty job, especially on mushrooms.
Who are your style icons? Serge Gainsbourg, Jason Schwartzman’s character in The Darjeeling Limited, and Dave 1 from Chromeo.
Do you collect anything besides records? I collect vintage Adidas, specifically Olympic sweatshirts, jackets, and tracksuits. I used to wear it. Now that I’m becoming a bit more mature, I tend to wear black a lot, but maybe for Halloween I’ll bust some out. My family has always had a lot of weapons and they’ve come down to me. I definitely have a gun or two that was my father’s. It’s documented that my mom’s uncle was the last man standing in a battle on Iwo Jima during WWII. The American soldiers were going through bayoneting the dead and he jumped up and had to prove to them that he was an American soldier. So he had a Japanese officer’s sword, and I have that. I also have random weird fucking knives that my grandfather and father collected, so I always have a knife on me at all times. And books. It’s my job, sort of, so I have a pretty large library.
Where did the title of your recent art show, Best of the Beast (at NYC’s Christopher Henry Gallery), come from? San Francisco DJ Vin Sol came up with it, actually. He did two parties in S.F. with that name; I did the flyers for them, and one of the flyers was this Gila monster hand [that ended up in my show]. I thought it was just the best name in the world, and some of the content of the show has a devilish aspect. Let’s face it, the devil is more interesting than God… or all the kind of things that go along with the name, the idea, or the connotations.
Tell us a bit about the symbolism of some of the art in the show. A lot of the symbolism is related to Rosicrucianism [a society of German mystics]. There’s some straight-up Satanic shit—there, I said it; the mini-crest I did that you can see on the bottom of the prints was based off a Nazi mystic society logo. They had this whole division that was devoted to Raiders of the Lost Ark-type shit. They didn’t really go in search of the Ark, but they were out there searching that kind of stuff out.
I think it’s interesting how much dark music, art, and philosophy you’re into as a person and the fact that you work at Fool’s Gold, which I always think of as a really fun, party-time label. Yes, that is definitely an ongoing struggle in my mind. It tends to make me a Negative Nancy sometimes, but then I think about the kids and how they want to dance. Personally, I’m trying to shy away from the shinier stuff. For my recent art show, I don’t think people were expecting what the content was. If I would have given them Fool’s Gold-type stuff, it would have been cool and maybe a bit more widely accepted, but it wouldn’t have been that fun.
Following your Twitter feed, it’s obvious you are massively into music. Name five things you’ve listened to this week. Throbbing Gristle “Hot on the Heels of Love (Ratcliffe Remix).” The Rolling Stones “Paint It Black.” Koop “Summer Sun.” Revolting Cocks “Crackin’ Up.” Grand Wizard Theodore “Subway Theme.”
How did making the Grateful Bear with A-Trak and Kid Robot come about? The bear is originally from Alain’s [A-Trak’s] old website. The bear is just a character that I came up with and he proposed that we turn it into a toy. It took us two years to get it right—you know, tweaking the arm or the leg to certain infinitesimal degrees and being busy with other shit. I remember Dave [from Chromeo, one of the Fool’s Gold owners] called me up and was like, “Duster, is that a hit of acid on the bear’s tongue?” And I was like, “Yeah, is that a problem?” And he said, “No, just wondering.” You know, I always got to add my own twist to it. Grateful Bear’s got a little strut to him, Shakedown Street-style.
?Who are some of your less obvious design references? There are a couple Japanese artists from the ’60s or ’70s that were the Japanese counterparts to Peter Max or Milton Glaser; putting their own Japanese twist on it and just really turning things out. It was that whole post-WWII era and this explosion of creativity after things being so black and white somehow. Artists like Keiichi Tanaami and Tadanori Yokoo.
What are some of your biggest inspirations of 2009? Sir Peter Blake, Faith No More reuniting, golden apples, severed fingers, Bruegel the Elder, chenille, twill, chainstitch, Jameson whiskey, and Rosicrucianism.
What is your favorite fashion look? Vintage U.K. mod.
Who is your favorite hip-hop artist of all time? Smif-n-Wessun.
What is your favorite item of clothing that you own? My vintage Pop Will Eat Itself tour shirt.
Your work sometimes gets compared to that of So-Me or Parra. What do you make of that? To appropriate a quote of Dali’s: “Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure—that of being Dust La Rock.”
Where in the world would you most like to go? That really big fucking room where all the esoteric secrets of the universe are kept.
