Mule Musiq‘s Endless Flight label will release Sascha Funke’s Lotos Land LP—the Berlin-based DJ-producer’s first solo album since 2008.
The album takes its title and artwork from Alfred Tennyson’s 1833 poem, ‘The Lotos-Eaters,” a work that has taken on a particular relevance and fascination for Funke in light of the turbulent world events of 2016. The artwork, by Mule Musiq/Endless Flight and Smallville’s regular illustrator Stefan Marx, is itself an interpretation of a 1901 Lotos-Eaters-inspired illustration by British painter William Edward Frank Britten.
Despite spending significant moments of his early career in Cologne, Sascha Funke is resolutely a product of the city of his birth, Berlin. It is with one of the city’s most famous techno labels, Ellen Allien’s BPitch Control, that Funke released his previous two solo LPs, with the last Mango arriving nine years ago. Since then, Funke has been largely focused on the Saschienne project alongside Julienne Dessagne, which issued its debut LP Unknown through Kompakt in 2012 and has been a regularly touring live act in the years since. The past year has, however, seen a renewed focus on Funke’s solo productions, with two new EPs for Canadian imprints Multi Culti and Tiga’s Turbo Recordings.
Funke credits his work with Dessagne as a key influence on the sound of his new record, which finds him “moving into vibrantly diverse sounds more commonly associated with Endless Flight, Optimo Music, and Kompakt’s Hippie Dance imprint,” says the label. The latter pair have both released EPs from Dessagne’s Fantastic Twins solo project. Having previously worked almost exclusively with samples and at a computer, these new associations led to a renewed focus on live and analog instrumentation, utilizing different synths that “allowed Funke to engage more emotionally with the music he created.”
Tracklisting
01 Pogo Logo 02 Comala ft. David Junto Club & Emily Evans 03 Purple Hill 04 Lotos Land 05 Twirl 06 Saint Seven 07 Amber Light 08 Im Feiern Und Feuer ft. Autarkic 09 Shepherd’s Crook 10 O, Rest Ye, We Will Not Wander More
Lotos Land is scheduled for June 9 release, with clips streamable below.
Job Jobse has come a very long way over the past five or so years. In 2012, the Amsterdam-based DJ was just beginning his career as a full-time artist, inspired by an internship at Innervisions and regular visits to Club 11, Trouw’s predecessor, during the course of his teenage years. “Every week I started coming to this club, getting to know the artists, the people behind Club 11,” he said in a previous interview. “It started to become my second home in a way.” It wasn’t long, of course, before he started practicing, too, on the turntables he received on his 12th birthday—and, following several years of one-off irregular gigs alongside his work as Trouw’s programmer, DJing became his full-time endeavor—a longtime goal achieved. At this point, however, he was considered little more than one to watch, described as another “promising talent” or such things in all early his early press; few could have hoped for the success and recognition he has today.
Today, Jobse is a DJ much in demand with a quite overwhelming touring schedule that will take him to the U.S. and various European destinations over the ensuing months. The platform for this success, without question, was Trouw, the legendary, though now closed, Amsterdam-based institution at which Jobse played resident for many years—a responsibility that finished with him playing club’s final ever set in 2015. “It was the biggest honor,” he has previously said. Trouw, incidentally, was actually one of his first ever gigs, and his time there went a long way to shaping both his style and sound, one that encompasses a more diverse and wide reaching take on the deeply melodic house and techno that has grown to such prominence over recent times.
His XLR8R podcast encapsulates exactly why Job has risen to such acclaim. Feel-good yet diverse, with classy, intelligent selections, it is a 90-minute journey that gets better and better each time you listen to it—and a perfect soundtrack for these early Spring months. Grab it now via the WeTransfer below.
When and where did you record the mix?
I did most of the work on the first day of Spring, when I was in a super good mood because the sun finally started shining. I listened to a lot of music and made a selection of what I wanted to use. I also recorded some records that I didn’t have digitally.
What equipment did you use?
I did it on my computer.
Did you have a particular idea or mood that you wanted to pursue?
I wanted to make a mix dedicated to spring. That feeling when you’ve been longing for nice weather for so long and all of a sudden it becomes really warm and you get all excited about the great things that will happen in summer.
How did you select the records that you included?
I tried to go for a dreamy feel-good feeling, stuff that’s nice to listen to when you’re out in the sun: dancing, taking a walk or sitting in the park. There are a lot of soothing sounds and funny noises in the mix, that will sound great when you’re on “XTC” I think (although I haven’t tried this yet). Almost all of the songs are either from the early ’90s or brand new. Funny enough, they all feel really similar, or to my ears at least.
I started things off with two surprisingly beautiful songs from I-F and Tiga, which both sound like sweet lullaby’s and are definitely not the thing you would immediately expect from these artists. Then there’s some Italo house (the ones that didn’t make it on Young Marco’s excellent recent compilation), that stupidly good new Objekt tune, crazy rhythms by Bufiman and Oceanic, a new Dekmantel record that sounds like nothing they ever done before, the super combo of besties Call Super and Shanti Celeste and last but not least the, in my opinion, greatest trance/dance/whatever track of all time as the grand finale.
You’ve come a long way over the past five years. Do you enjoy the DJ lifestyle?
Yes! How can I not? I wouldn’t want to do anything else. Also, I wouldn’t know how… Of course, there are a few not-so-nice aspects of it, like the constant being away from home or the lack of sleep. But I promised myself I would never ever complain!
How did your time at Trouw shape your musical style?
That place thought me everything I know! And not just me… Together with crews like Dekmantel and Rush Hour it brought up an entire generation of ravers, DJs and promoters. I strongly believe that is the reason why Amsterdam has one of the strongest scenes in the world right now.
As a DJ, it’s the first place where I got a feeling that I could really play anything I wanted to and I still try to take that thought with me everywhere I go.
How does the mix compare to a Job Jobse club mix?
It’s just me playing a few of my favorite records, so in that sense, it’s the same as I always do!
What else have you got planned this year?
Trying to not fuck it all up! 🙂
Tracklisting:
Modaji ”Belle Epoque” EP [Utopia] I-F “The Wanderer” [Viewlexx] Tiga “Alpine Dub” [Rhythm Assault] Erell Ranson “Hand In Hand” (Long Mix) [Kalahari Oyster Cult] Now Now Now “Problem” (Abyss Version) [DFC] The Experience “Tubes” [Mystic Records] Chinaski “Disaster” [Uncanny Valley] Hammer “Manaka” [Loft] Objekt “Theme From Q” [Objekt] Oceanic “Drums” [Nous’klaer Audio] DJ Normal 4 & Bufiman “Wind Spell” (Bufi Version) [Aiwo Rec.] Beesmunt “Aqua Coma” [Kitjen] Supreems “Us Together” [Lobster Theremin] Frank De Wulf “Wishflower” [Mikki House] Central “Pillow” (Dub Mix) [Dekmantel] Telephones “DTMF” (Call Super Remix) [Running Back] Shanti Celeste “Loop One” [Peach Discs] Eighth Ray “Axis of Love” [Dancefloor]
Later this month, Sydney label and collective Motorik will celebrate five years with 5 Years of Motorik: An Australian Electronic Music Experiment.
Born out of warehouse parties throughout its home city, Motorik now operates as a label, weekly radio show, monthly club night, and quarterly music festival—all with a heavy focus on Australian artists.
5 Years of Motorik: An Australian Electronic Music Experiment will be the label’s 27th release and includes rising Australian artists alongside the country’s dance music veterans. Although its mission statement is techno-focused, the five-year release presents a varied sound, from the gritty techno of Jensen Interceptor to CSMNT61‘s synth-heavy explorations.
Ahead of the April 21 release date, you can stream Brothers’—the collaborative project of Kirin J Callinan and Motorik co-founders CSMNT61—”Cities Machine,” a track recorded with “pedal-laden guitars, antique and barely functioning synthesizers, two 303s in overdrive, and a hotwired speak and spell,” in full via the player below.
Last month, music distribution and PR company Pitch Rider turned four and to celebrate, kicked off its label arm with Inside The Ride, a 10-track compilation featuring a mix of UK bass, techno, grime, footwork, and dubstep.
According to Pitch Rider, Inside the Ride is its musical mission statement—a release representing a label that resists being pigeonholed to one genre easily. When it comes to club-ready tunes, Inside the Ride has most bases covered, from Lorenzo BITW and Foxmind’s slo-mo drum workout “Don’t Mind” to Slick Shoota’s mind-bending juke cut “Infinity Tap” and Corticyte’s deconstructed grime outing “Oscillate.”
In support of the release, Pitch Rider has offered up Pixelord‘s deep and atmospheric “Night Ship” as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below.
for organ and brass is comprised of two haunting pieces by the Stockholm-based composer, both of which focus on tuning, intonation, and harmonic modulation. Following Arkbro’s most recent project, a 26-day long piece at the Stockholm Concert Hall, for organ and brass finds Arkbro returning to her studies in Just Intonation—any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers—with La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela, and Jung Hee Choi in New York, as well as Marc Sabat in Berlin.
“for organ & brass” was written for the Sherer-Orgel organ in St. Stephen’s Church in Germany—an instrument dating back to 1624—with a specific kind of historical tuning known as meantone temperament, as Arkbro explains: “Hidden within the harmonic framework of the Renaissance organ are intervals and chords that bare a close resemblance to those found in the modalities of traditional blues music. The work can be thought of as a very slow and reduced blues music.”
Alongside the title composition, the release also features “three,” which deploys the same principles of harmonic relativity but removes the organ to sit as an intimate counterpoint to the title piece.
Ahead of the April 14 release, Arkbro and Subtext have offered up a full stream of the stunning “Mountain of Air,” a rework based on the sounding material of “Three.” You can hear the track in full below, with for organ & brass available for pre-order here.
Mobilee boss Anja Schneider has a new EP on the way, titled Changes.
According to the label, the release explores “Detroit flavored house and techno” and “hints at new beginnings.” It is the result of the past year in the studio, the fruits of which will soon be revealed with a new full-length in October—and Changes is the first sign of things to come.
Tracklisting
01. Changes 02. Coast Ride
Changes EP is scheduled for April 7 release via Mobilee, with clips streamable below.
Actress, real name Darren Jordan Cunningham, known to friends as DAZ, has shared a new single from his upcoming album titled AZD (pronounced “Azid”)—his first LP is over two years.
“Dancing In The Smoke,” Actress says, is concerned with “that moment in the club, in the side room which is less habituated where the music is more diffused from the main club, smoked out and disorientating.” Already you get some sense of the piece, all angular rhythms, woozy synth pads and disembodied vocal refrains. “The DJ has locked on a groove,’ he continues, “and you’re there in your own space pulsing with the music. As the different spaces start to merge and turn with the effects of your prescription for the night, that alien cacophony of lasers and tone trip the buzz for a flight into that kind of euphoria that only spacing to the rhythm of the metropolis can bring.”
New album AZD was announced with the release of the “X22RME,” which is streamable here, with “Dancing In The Smoke” streamable via the player above.
Tracklisting
1. NIMBUS 2. UNTITLED 7 3. FANTASYNTH 4. BLUE WINDOW 5. CYN 6. X22RME 7. RUNNER 8. FALLING RIZLAS 9. DANCING IN THE SMOKE 10. FAURE IN CHROME 11. THERE’S AN ANGEL IN THE SHOWER 12. VISA
“Dancing in the Smoke” is available now, while AZD is scheduled for April 14 release via Ninja Tune.
The fourth Hotflush Recordings release of 2017 will come from Minneapolis-based DJ- producer, TML.
TML made his debut in 2014 with One Inch of Water, an album in cassette form via Always Human Tapes. His style takes cues from the bass and jungle.
The label explains that the release looks forward “to a place where pigeonholes don’t exist; where past, present, and future boil an amalgamated stew; where “experimental” and “clubby” aren’t effective antonyms.
donaufestival, an avant-garde music, performance, and visual art event in Krems an der Donau, Austria, has announced its plans and lineup for 2017.
This year, donaufestival will run across six festival days—split over two weekends, April 28-May 1 and May 5-6—with about 20 events per day. With a focus on pioneering bands and musicians, donaufestival’s announced lineup includes German industrial act Einstürzende Neubauten, GAS (a.k.a. Wolfgang Voigt), Actress, Radian, Silver Apples, Ulver, Moor Mother, Equiknoxx, The Body, Girl Band, Klara Lewis, Julius Eastman, and more.
Outside of its musical offerings, donaufestival will play host to range of visual and performance art, including, among others, Doris Uhlich’s ‘more than naked’ ensemble, a viral violence installation by Stephane Roy, Colin Self’s theatrical ‘Siblings,’ and Kris Verdonck’s spooky machine revue ‘In Void.’
You can find more information on donaufestival, including full lineup, scheduling, and ticketing, over at the event website.
As previously announced, Alex Menzies (best known as Alex Smoke) has a new album of “more esoteric music” on the way, he says.
Menzies—who contributed to our podcast series back in 2016—shares music via a number of aliases, including Alex Smoke. As Alex Smoke, he has released music on R&S Records, Vakant, and Soma Quality Recordings; however, his two previous albums under his own name have arrived on Kathexis, in 2015 and 2016.
His latest LP arrives on OWM and promises to be the first of two of three volumes.
