Deepchord Records co-founder Mike Schommer is back from a 15-year hiatus with an entrancing 12’’ on Steve O’Sullivan’s Mosaic Records.
After withdrawing from production for an extended period, the enigmatic producer “revives his legacy” with an unrestrained session using analog synths, drum machines, and cavernous sound manipulations.
“Invitation to Love” uses minimalist 4/4 percussion and unfurling delays, while”Remember When” explores echoed synth stabs in a broken beat framework. Lastly, tranquil stepper “Into The Night” carries floating chords and cyclical melodies through airy acoustics.
Tracklisting:
01. Invitation To Love 02. Remember When 03. Into The Night
Anamnesis EP is scheduled for September 15 release, with clips streamable below.
Earlier this month, Butane launched his new Extrastretch imprint with Witness Protection.
The new EP followed the final release and subsequent closure of his long-running Alphahouse imprint and kicks off his new creative outlet with three deep and groovy cuts. Extrastretch will feature only Butane productions and will focus on limited-edition vinyl runs and hand-drawn artwork by Cape Town designer and DJ Bruno Morphet, providing the platform for Butane’s singular vision, as he explains:
“After nearly 15 years as a professional in this business, I recognize that everything was leading to this point. I’ve released my music on plenty of big labels, and I’m thankful for those opportunities, but I’ve come to peace with the idea that, as a label owner myself, I’m the single best custodian of my artistic vision. From this point onwards, I will succeed solely on my own crazy ideas about what House and Techno music should look, feel, and sound like.
Living in California, I’m removed from the influence and trends of New York, London, and Berlin. I’m in my own creative world here. Making music has always been about exploration for me, so let’s see where this goes.”
You can pick up Witness Protection on vinyl here, with the digital dropping in a couple of weeks. Butane has also offered up a full stream of EP cut “Witness,” available via the player below.
Last month, South London label Coyote Records released Marks’ debut EP, Drain.
Coyote discovered the Miami-based producer after stumbling across his Soundcloud page and what would become the EP’s lead track, “Drain.” After almost a year’s worth of back-and-forth discussion and deliberating between Marks and Coyote, they now present Drain as a limited-edition tape and digital release, following on from standout releases by Forever and Silk Road Assassins.
On the EP, Marks presents his take on US beat styles with four originals that were partly inspired by his life growing up in Jamaica and the mixtapes he used to sell to his older sister’s friends. The tracks are minimalistic but imbued with tense emotions and blissful, hypnotic loops. Drain also features a remix by Spokes, an artist Marks remixed in 2016, who turns in an atmospheric take on the EP’s title track.
Drain is available now on limited-edition cassette and via all digital and streaming platforms—you can purchase the tape here, with digital here.
In support of the EP, Marks has also offered up bonus cut “Import,” available via WeTransfer below.
abartik is a vinyl only imprint based in Basel, Switzerland that focuses on releasing “carefully selected intelligent electronic music.” Since 2016, the label has been releasing quality minimal house and techno, with artists like Jerome.c, Roon, Christopher Ledger, and rising Bucharest producer Vid already counted as core members.
Recently abartik announced the release of the label’s first VA, titled Kaleidoscopic Minds. The EP features four cuts of crunchy, blissful minimal that work equally as well in a dark club as they would outside on a breezy summer afternoon.
In anticipation of the release, which also hosts tracks from Nick Beringer, Gettraum boss Traumer, and abartik mainstay Jerome.c, the label has offered up a full stream of EP cut “Virtual Life,” by Alexander Romanov (a.k.a. Lost.Act). The Russian DJ and producer, who also runs the label Drumatiq Music Recordings, cements himself as an artist to watch with “Virtual Life:” an expertly layered 6-and-a-half minutes of groovy bass lines, clicky percussion, and euphoric chords.
Kaleidoscopic Minds is out today on limited edition, hand-stamped vinyl; order your copy here. You can stream Lost.Act’s contribution in full below.
The Kicks is an improvisational project with changing members run by Maayan Nidam and Alex Picone. By inviting various artists and experimenting with a variety of gear, the duo aims to “push the limits of the club atmosphere as we know it today.” Having released a debut EP in October 2013 and thrown a number of events—inviting the likes of likes of San Proper, Tobi Neumann, and numerous excellent DJs—the Kicks recently also launched their experimental edition.
As this week’s XLR8R podcast, the duo has actually provided two mixes—each of which reveals a different side of the project.
The first recording was taken in January this year when Picone and Nidam gathered some friends and gear to perform a live jam session at Berlin’s Salon Zur Wilden Renate. Invited on this occasion were Tobi Neumann and Julien Chaptal—plus drum machines, modular synths, analog delays, and reverbs—while DJing duties were left to Spacetravel, Vlada, Zendid, Bella Sarris, and more.
The second, a more ambient, downtempo recording, is taken from the “Experimental Boat Edition.” In the special performance alongside Dasha Redkina, the duo created textures and soundscapes live with as much gear as they could bring on board a boat riding Berlin’s Spree. Baby Vulture opened while Federico Molinari closed out the evening with a DJ set.
The Kicks will be playing this Sunday at Else Berlin, alongside Dinky, Julietta, Bill Patrick, and Subb-an. Get tickets here.
What’s the concept behind the Kicks—and when did you start the project?
I’ve been drawn to the world of live music all my life but in my early years, I found it difficult to play music with others. Luckily I found Alex that shared the ideas of live music and made it technically possible and even easy to play music together and create as we along.
You say that the project “aims to push the limits of the club atmosphere as we know it today.” Can you tell explain what you mean by this?
It felt too easy and too safe. You go to the club, hear the same beats, go to the after hour—same music again. I wanted to challenge both the artists and the crowd to a livelier experience. When we play live, we’re not one hundred per cent sure what the outcome will be; we have to trust the other performers, listen more, and play less. The crowd as well becomes part of the show; they look at us, dance, cheer and clap. You can even hear them on the recordings.
When and where were these sets recorded?
Our last Kicks events. One was at Renate at the beginning of the year. We were four together with Julien Chaptal and Tobi Neumann who brought three modular systems up on stage. It was a real challenge and quite the risky business but with it came a lot of fun and a great deal of satisfaction. The other was our experimental edition on a boat on the Spree.
Yes, you recently completed an experimental version of Kicks. What’s the story behind this—and how does it compare to a usual Kicks event? Do you see yourself doing this again soon?
The boat edition was a long time coming. It was inspired by Fatima Camara’s debut live show and was in the planning with Club Der Visionäre crew for a while. I saw it as a great opportunity to bring this huge group of friends together for a nice afternoon. Going on the river, enjoying foods and drinks and then having an out of the ordinary show.
When Dasha came to my studio we started playing around with different instruments and percussion using contact mics and a variety of guitar pedals. Then the three of us together with Alex wrote six pieces that would be the soundtrack for the boat trip. It starts with hypnotic waves and goes deep sea with all its weirdness. I will definitely try to do another event in this way; it felt amazing to be so free and to experiment with music—it’s rare to get that in the club and dance music scene.
How do you choose the artists to join you and Alex at Kicks’ events?
We usually invite people we know, friends we already have good chemistry with. Beyond that, every guest we had so far was unique in terms of gear they use and musical personality. I guess we look for diversity.
You released KIK 001 over three years ago. Can we expect more studio material soon?
Before we started with Kicks parties we jammed in the studios and have lots of great recordings from that time. We will release some of them but the next record that is due to come out by the end of the summer will be of three pieces written for the Kicks boat experiment with Dasha Redkina.
As announced, Dekmantel is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a 10-part EP series being released throughout 2017. Having kicked off in March, the label is putting out an EP every month, each featuring friends and family, while dropping in some scene-defining legends. EPs 5, 6 and 7 in the series see Burnt Friedman, Young Marco, Suzanne Kraft, Fatima Yamaha, Tolouse Low Trax, and Randomer amongst others joining the ride.
The fifth EP sees Burnt Friedman making his debut with “Monsuna.” Alongside him sits Detroit act Ectomorph, (BMG & Erika) also making their inauguration with a record that surmises the group’s analog style of Motor City beats. Besides that, longtime family members Juju & Jordash are back again, this time with “Neon Swing,” a fast-paced cut. Last but not least, there’s Fatima Yamaha with his “Platform,” completing the fifth output in the series.
Next comes EP 6, featuring the collective talents of Young Marco, Suzanne Kraft, Tom Trago, and Awanto3. The A-side gets family member Young Marco on board with a beautiful, melodic, waterfall of a track, whilst Suzanne Kraft crafts a delightful, ambient-meets-house gem. On the other side, it’s Dutch house Institute Tom Trago with his “Digital Love,” and Rednose Distrikt main-man Awanto3 with analog, feel-good, electro-beat rhythm, edited courtesy of Klakson’s Dexter.
On EP 7, Randomer’s Dekmantel contribution is staggered and dark. Versatile Records’ Gilb’R brings forth his organic, percussive grooves that have helped define his music, and label to date. Salon Des Amateurs’ Tolouse Low Trax provides a seasoned session of amniotic, grizzled, hypnotic post-everything music, whilst Parasian techno wizard, Voiski adds layered organic, futuristic loops that work to stall the progress of time, and space.
To date, the 10-year anniversary series has seen new releases by the likes of The Egyptian Lover, Levon Vincent, Gigi Masin, Call Super, Palms Trax and many more. Still to come is music by, amongst others, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Matrixxman, Ricardo Villalobos, and Tony Allen.
A1. Young Marco “Palace Green Beans” A2. Suzanne Kraft “Moving” B1. Tom Trago “Digital Love” B2. Awanto 3 “Pepe Mujica”
10YEARS07
A1. Voiski “Time As A River” A2. Randomer “Foghorn” B1. Tolouse Low Trax “Crash” B2. Gilb’R “The Triangle”
Dekmantel will release 10YEARS05, 10YEARS06 and 10YEARS07 on September 4, September 25, and October 16, 2017, respectively, with clips streamable below.
Classically trained as a composer at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, Andrew has since spent his time producing electronic music, scoring film/theater pieces, and working as an in-house producer/engineer/tutor at the Secretsundaze Studios. Andrew’s multifaceted productions have gained him wide-ranging recognition, from his recent “Offie” nomination at the prestigious Off West End Awards for his sound design, to nominations at various film festivals, a win at the Berlin Music Video Awards, as well as an exciting feature running throughout the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival 2016.
Click the button below for an exclusive download of Andrew’s latest house track, “Gettin’ Lifted” via WeTransfer, and watch out for his much anticipated forthcoming debut EP.
The French producer has long harbored an interest in the more considered side of house and techno music. This is very much evident by the labels he has released on, with Seuil’s Eklo and So Inagawa/DJ Masda’s Cabaret Records among those who’ve already played host to his work.
Flow, his second long player, was released earlier this month through his Bandcamp, and is heavily inspired by a love of ’90s Japanese video game soundtracks. With 10 tracks in total, the album veers between various different soundscapes, with tech, downtempo, and experimental textures all represented. The vibe varies throughout too, with some tracks leaning toward more emotional, nostalgic pastures and others more tailor made for the club. Club-focused tracks such as “Arcade”, “Expansion,” and “Final Stage” are a reminder of the producer’s penchant for dancefloor-orientated numbers, but it’s the likes of “Gaia”, “Child,” and “Last Talk” that showcase a broader, more experimental musical palette.
Lost In Space is not the first time the Detroit artist has used space as the basis for his work: he recently released Planets, a nine-track “electronic/classical” LP “about the nine planets of our Solar System.”
Mills created Lost In Space “with the future of mankind’s advances in space travel and colonizing other planets in mind,” according to his record label, Axis Records. It’ll premiere with two live shows in Toulouse in April next year, where Mills will perform alongside the orchestra, which is being conducted by Christophe Mangou.
A Lost In Space album and EP will arrive sometime after the live performances.
TJD006 follows jitwam’s debut EP, TJD001, which kicked off The Jazz Diaries back in 2013 and recently featured on Moodyman’s stunning DJ-Kicks installment. Standing in contrast to the first EP, a deep collection of left-field pop, TJD006 finds jitwam looking more towards the dancefloor, presenting four raw funk-filled cuts that will undoubtedly move bodies. The EP also foreshadows jitwam’s debut album, which is set to drop next month.
TJD006 is available now and can be picked up on 12″ or digitally here, with EP cut “yyy.” streaming in full via the player below.
