Following his interview discussing the production processes and motivations behind his latest album, Powers Of Ten,XLR8R invited Stephan Bodzin to show off his mixing skills by contributing to our podcast series. For many years, the Bremen-born musician and label head—widely recognized to be a hugely influential figure in the global techno scene—has been acknowledged for his production work, an endeavor of his that can be traced back to his earliest years where he dabbled in the studio with his father before releasing his critically acclaimed debut album, 2007’s Liebe Ist. As for his DJing, it has always been perceived as the secondary part of Bodzin’s artistic repertoire, something that is perhaps understandable given the quality of his production—and the fact he didn’t even get behind the decks until after his 36th birthday, over nine years ago.That said, with a musical ear as good as Bodzin’s, spotting the emotional connection between records comes naturally—and for this week’s podcast, he compiles a techno-orientated selection, many laced with the Moog bass and hissing hats that he has made his own.
For the podcast, did you have a particular idea behind what you wanted to achieve, or did you just head into the studio and let it go? Were you going for a particular mood? My idea was to mix up tunes from my album with the stuff I’m playing out at the moment, and then topping it up with some unreleased stuff. In this particular case I should mention that this podcast is premiering three unreleased gems.
1. The opener, my remix for Pan-Pot‘s “Sleepless” from their brand new (and stunning) longplayer, The Other. Thomas and Tassilo were just closing their smashing Boiler Room set with this one last weekend, to be released soon on Second State.
2. The synthapella of my recent Life and Death release, “Singularity”. It’s a non-beats version, just the synths, no percussions etc. This one, like all 10 synthapellas of my Powers of Ten album, will be released with the upcoming remix-album of Powers of Ten, which includes remixes by Maceo Plex, Pan-Pot, Max Cooper, Extrawelt, Fur Coat, Agents of Time and and and…out January 2016.
3. Luna Semara‘s superwarm and intense tune, “Mustafa.” It’s fresh from the studio here in the mix.
How and where was the mix recorded? It was mixed inside Ableton, last weekend while touring Argentina.
How long did you think about the mix before you actually started recording? Not too long. I never actually do.
For you, how do you ideas and visions for a preparation for a podcast differ to that for a DJ set? The folder that I use for a DJ set is far more complex and holds up to about 60-80 tracks, just to be able to react to how the night is going. For the podcast, I had those three key tunes that I mentioned before and built the rest of the set around them.
What else have you got coming up this year? Ha! I’ve said it already: 1. Remix of Pan-Pot. 2. Remix album of Powers of Ten (+ including all synthapellas). 3. Working on a remix for Rodriguez Jr at the moment. 4. Preparing a BIG surprise for 2016.
01 Pan-Pot “Sleepless (Stephan Bodzin remix)” (Second State) 02 Marc Romboy “Hypernova (Stephan Bodzin remix” (Systematic) 03 Stephan Bodzin “Lila” (Herzblut) 04 Rework “Acid Control (Fur Coat Remix)” (Yakazi) 05 Hunter/Game “Adaption” (Kompakt) 06 Tale of Us & Mind Against “Astral” (Life and Death) 07 Rafael Cerato “Sekater” (Systematic) 08 Stephan Bodzin “Singualrity (Synthapella)(Herzblut) 09 Luna Semara “Mustafa” (Unsigned) 10 Stephan Bodzin “Wir” (Herzblut)
Never a band to disappoint its fans, Sigur Rós announced today that they will be releasing the long awaited vinyl reissue of their critically acclaimed albums, ( ) and Takk, directly from the band’s web store. ( ) is the third full-length album from Icelandic band, first released in October 2002. The album features lyrics sang entirely in “Hopelandic”, a language created by Jónsi that consists of onomatopoeia and amphibious words. Takk is the fourth studio album by Sigur Rós, and was released on September 12, 2005. This will be the first time that either album will be available on vinyl since their initial releases.
( ) will come in it’s full Grammy-nominated artwork, including die-cut sleeve and spot UV varnish inner bags. The 72-minute 2 x 12″ LP will be pressed on limited-edition, 140 gram clear vinyl and includes a CD of the album.
Takk comes pressed on 2 x 12″ 180 gram vinyl, along with a one-sided etched 10″ vinyl record. The album artwork packaging comes with the original debossed and die-cut sleeve, with printed inner bags, all done to the band’s exact specifications.
You can pre-order both of the albums here, with shipping coming directly from the US.
After a rigorous five-week beta testing period, Native Instruments announced today that the release of the official, full version of Stem Creator is now available for free download via the Stems Music website. The new tool provides a simple way to create high-quality Stem files using a drag-and-drop interface and integrated mastering controls to fine-tune the final mixed Stem file’s sound. For example, a Stem file can contain a track split into four musical elements such as a drums stem, a bassline stem, a melody stem, and a vocal stem. Each stem can be controlled independently to create instant new mixes, mashups, instrumentals, acapellas, and more.
Native Instruments also recently introduced Stem file support in Traktor Pro 2, providing instant plug-and-play connectivity with Traktor Kontrol S8, S5, D2, and F1—the world’s first Stems-ready DJ controllers. The innovative software manufacturer also recommends using their advanced audio mastering techniques within Stem Creator, which can be used to during the final stages of the master dynamics process. To conclude this massive release, Native Instruments published a video interview with Through My Speakers label artist, NGHT DRPS, on how the Stem Creator software adds flexibility to his sets and how the program is used in the final mastering process.
You can find out more about Stem Creator by visiting the Stems Music website, and you can watch the Native Instruments video interview with NGHT DRPS by clicking on the player below.
Anonymity can often be a useful tool for musicians today, crafting a veil of intrigue and mystery—a card that Ever Moving, head of Warsaw-based label Get The Balance Right!, has played well. His first release in 2014 gave an unequivocal nod to electro forefathers Drexciya (another act to have spent its existence concealed behind an alias), with a deep-sea diver emblazoned on the EP’s artwork, and a host of tracks that sounded like a modern take on their aquatic sound. It was a recipe for success, and drove Discogs communities to pay top dollar to get their hands on the first press. Returning now, over a year later, the Polish producer has invited a selection of artists to accompany him for the label’s second release.
Ever Moving himself is first up with “Find A Way,” a cut that comfortably carries on in the same niche as his previous outing. Gentle keys are juxtaposed with a growling bassline, building an irresistible groove suitable for home and club sound systems. Next is fellow Pole Mutual Attraction, who provides a pleasant, but less memorable, cymbal-heavy piano jam.
The B-side is left to ITPDWIP (Instant Teleportation Process Detected While In Progress), a Greek producer also new to the fore this year. The jacking “Mne Ne Bolno (It Doesn’t Hurt Me)” is a frosty affair, followed by downtempo number “Idata Stygos (Waters of Styx)”—layered with yearning synths, it is a contemplative interlude. Finally, Jeremiah R. rounds things off on a high with his remix of “Waters of Styx,” a brilliant slice of powerful, yet somehow poignant electro that conjures imagery of travel to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. Having put out only a handful of releases to date, it is remarkable how swiftly he has been able to carve out such a mature and unique sound.
Peter Gregson is a tremendously talented cellist and composer who has worked on many successful and innovative projects despite being so young. He has premiered works by composers including Tod Machover, Daníel Bjarnason and Steve Reich. He also collaborates with many of the world’s leading technologists, including Microsoft Labs, United Visual Artists, Reactify and the MIT Media Lab.
Peter’s debut album, Terminal, was released in 2010, followed by his Cello Multitracks consisting of compositions by Gabriel Prokofiev, released in 2012 on Prokofiev’s Nonclassical label. Lights in the Sky, his second studio album, composed for cello, piano, and analog synthesisers, was released at Imogen Heap’s Reverb Festival in August 2014. Peter is featured soloist on Michael Price‘s debut album for Erased Tapes, Entanglement, which was released in Spring 2015.
Touch was recorded on blu-ray technology and contains analog synthesiser, cello, piano, and string orchestra. To learn more about the processes behind the release, XLR8R spoke briefly with with Gregson.
Why is the cello your instrument of choice?
To my ear the cello sounds like a human voice. It can do so many things, sound like so many other instruments… and it gets a meal when I fly.
Tell us more about the blu-ray aspect of your release?
The album is in surround (9.1 and 5.1) as well as stereo, so in order to fully convey that, the record is released in blu-ray. Writing music and recording it natively in surround is such a joy, I really hope people get a chance to hear it! I have a surround setup in my studio, but don’t take it for granted! There’s a whole other space that opens up when the sounds are pushed into two speakers, it’s as if the sky is suddenly much bigger and more expansive. Of course, the stereo mixes were treated as separate animals and sound so lush, they’re not merely small versions of the surrounds. It taught me so much about the necessary hierarchy in music; you can’t just squash things on top and assume it’ll all come out in the wash. You need to be so careful and precise to make sure you guide the listener’s ear so they hear what you want them to. It doesn’t just happen by magic (sadly!)
Marijus Adomaitis (a.k.a Ten Walls) has come out with a new public apology delivered exclusively to DJ Mag via email. The “Walking With Elephants” producer was greatly criticized after he went on a homophobic tirade on his private Facebook page back in June. The offensive comments on his Facebook page were deleted soon after they were published but not before Gay Star News had already picked up on them, resulting in a major backlash from the music community and high-profile event cancellations all around the world.
You can read the apology in full below:
“I’m Marijus Adomaitis aka Ten Walls. Earlier this year I posted comments on my Facebook page, that I deeply regret. My post was linked to homophobia and was very offensive. I am ashamed to have hurt so many people: my family, my country, my colleagues, my friends, the Global LGBT community and many others. Since then I have taken time out to reflect on what I did and work out a way of apologizing that expresses how sorry I am.
I am saddened by my own behavior and the impact of my actions on others. I offended a lot of people, was the cause of horrible debates, wrecked both my own and the confidence of others and ruined the plans for many people I was working with. Understandably, I was labeled homophobic and I am not and never have considered myself to be this way. I have to tell you that my action was completely out of character and done at a particularly angry and stressful time in my life. This is not an excuse, but I would like you to know that the content of my post is not a true reflection of my feelings. For many years I have been happily working and collaborating with people from different cultures, religious and sexual attitudes. I have always respected everyone.
My post made no sense, even to me. I’m a musician. My music is for everyone in this world. I always try to unite people to promote respect, equality and tolerance, love and peace. It is my priority as a music maker, in music there is no space for discrimination. It is my intention to do something in my home country of Lithuania, to support LGBT groups and educate others on acceptance and tolerance. I am now part of a group of people who have created an electronic opera ‘Carmen’ with a strong message of this. I hope my involvement in this project will be the first step to educating others in my home country that homophobia is simply not acceptable and that everyone should be free to live the life they choose.
I am sorry for what I have done. I am sorry I let myself down. I hope you can forgive me and that one day through my actions and future behaviour, I will once again be accepted for my music.
Pact Infernal‘s debut EP release The Descent [Chapter I] arrived in early 2015 on Samurai Horo. A slow flock of unexpected, but very welcomed, fans from outside of the label’s normal market began to build. One of the more exciting admirers of the EP was Berlin-based Lucy who offered to rework Chapter I into his own stylistic interpretations.
The resultant two remixes incorporate elements from all four tracks on the first EP into two long pulsing, hypnotic grooves. If subtlety was the main instrument of the originals, Lucy’s versions refine that instrument into a new form and sprinkle carefully plucked references delicately around his sinuous rhythms.
Ahead of the remix EP’s November 6 release, XLR8R spoke with Samurai Music Group’s Geoff Presha, to learn more.
Samurai Music Group started originally as a drum & bass label in 2007. What prompted you to expand into other genres with Samurai Red Seal and Samurai Horo, which will be releasing remixes of Pact Infernal by Stroboscopic Artefact’s Lucy?
The label’s releases have all followed my personal taste and DJ sets, and my early experiences as a DJ were multi-genre so it felt natural to start releasing the other music types that I have always enjoyed and played. Although the Lucy remixes will be the first techno record we have released, we have been releasing music on the edges of genres for five years or so. Several artists involved with me and Samurai have been experimenting with our own take on techno for a while now, so this record comes at a perfect time.
How did you meet Lucy and how did the remixes come into fruition?
I met Lucy briefly once when he came to our label night in Berlin. The remixes came into fruition by Lucy sending me an email of support for the label’s releases earlier this year, which was a very nice email to receive as I had been a fan of his work for some time. Lucy said he was interested in being involved with a project and we spoke about remixes. We sent him a load of our releases, and he picked our Pact Infernal record and said he would like to work on remixes of those tunes. What we got back was really amazing. He took elements from each of the four tunes and made two mammoth remixes.
Tracklisting:
A / 01 The Descent [Chapter 1] (Lucy Cosmic Remix)
B / 02 The Descent [Chapter 1] (Lucy Subterranean Remix)
Ben Klock has announced a short U.S tour featuring one night in New York hosted by Output club for a Klockworks showcase with DVS1. The dates, including Chicago and San Diego, are as follows:
He’s been one of the U.K. dance-music world’s sharpest dressers for years, and he’s one of that scene’s very few philosophy majors, too—but that’s not what makes Justin Robertson stand out from the pack. No, what makes the veteran player really special is his prowess behind the decks and within the studio—he’s simply a gifted spinner and producer. Not to mention remixer—he’s worked his magic on everyone from Paul Weller, the Stone Roses and the the Charlatans to Björk, New Order and Erasure. His biography reads a bit like the lyrics to the “I was there” routine from LCD Soundsystem‘s “Losing My Edge“: As a student in Manchester in the ’80s, he was an habitué of the Haçienda just as acid-house was exploding; he worked at the fabled Eastern Bloc vinyl shop; he’s put in time as such seminal parties and clubs as Spice, Most Excellent, Rebellious Jukebox and Cream; and toured with the likes of the Chemical Brothers and the Cocteau Twins. (And that’s just the half of it.)
Through it all, he’s been one of the most versatile producers around—working both under his own name, and (alone and with others) as Lionrock, the Prankster, Revtone and various other noms de musique—with a sound that’s rooted in house but that spans rock, funk, reggae, big beat, disco-not-disco and plenty more. For the past half-decade, he’s been keeping busy as the Deadstock 33s—and it’s under that name that Robertson’s released his latest long-playing opus, Everything Is Turbulence. As is Robertson’s predilection, it’s a genre-hopping beast of a record—he’s described it as “atomic machine boogie,” and that’s as good a description as any. The album was just released on the Skint label, so we figured that this might be a good opportunity to pose a full score of queries to the esteemed artist.
Where are you right now? I’m in the Solitary Cyclist studio, which is a fancy way of saying my spare room, currently doing drawings for a new collection, and thinking about some new music.
What was the last thing you ate? A very hard nectarine.
You’re known for your sartorial choices. What are you wearing right now? As we are enjoying something of an Indian summer, I’m keeping it simple: white t shirt, 1947 Levi’s vintage jeans, some tan Clarks moccasins, a rather cosmic paisley neck scarf and an old brown fedora. Yes, hats indoors—protects me from the concentrated light beams pouring through the window.
What kind of music did you listen to as a teenager? A heady cocktail of space rock, early European electronic pioneers like Tangerine Dream…later on, I got all existentialist and furrow-browed, and listened to a lot of Fall records. Always spent a lot of time gathering reggae bits. From about 1987 onward, it went totally acid house—and then all got mashed together.
“I really hated the selfishness of that time—the destruction of community and the raising of market economics to a quasi-religious level—and I think we are still paying for that now.”
You’ve described the area where you grew up as “the most un-rock & roll, conservative place on earth.” How much has your life since then has been a rebellion against that? I’m conscious of not trying to sound too ‘’angry young man,’’ but I’ve certainly always disliked Conservative politics. I’m not a fan of capitalism as a means of running a civilization, and as a child of the awful Thatcher years I’ve always been on the left-wing politically, though with some anarchist leanings! I really hated the selfishness of that time—the destruction of community and the raising of market economics to a quasi-religious level—and I think we are still paying for that now. In terms of being rock & roll—i might wear the odd jaunty hat, but I’m pretty clean living, to be honest.
Did you fall in love with house music the first time you heard it? Absolutely, yes—proper Road to Damascus moment. I’d never heard anything so beautifully functional. It was built to make you move, but managed to transport you out of the ordinary. I was instantly hypnotized .
To what extent do you credit/blame your days in Manchester for setting you on your life’s path? Totally—a great coincidence of place and time, some happy synchronicity. I always fancied doing something musical, but Manchester was the perfect place to cultivate those dreams…still is.
You’ve been to so many iconic U.K. clubs and parties in your lifetime, both as a DJ and a patron—which ones stand out for you? As a patron, the late ’87-’90 period at the Haçienda was untouchable as an experience. As a DJ, it’s too hard to pick one out, but I’d say running Most Excellent in ’91, Bugged Out (then, now, always), playing with the Chemical Brothers in the midst of an electrical storm in Buenos Aires—and I must say Festival No. 6 last week was magical.
What is your favorite current club to play at? It’s kinda hard to pick just one—here are so many top spots. I’m going to say. instead, that I’m looking forward to playing Renate in Berlin next month for the first time, and hopefully add to the list!
What does the name Deadstock 33s refer to? It’s a pair of Levis jeans I was wearing a lot a couple of years ago. I also thought it sounded like a ’60s garage band…sort of
And the name (and artwork) of the new album? Everything is Turbulence is basically a celebration of uncertainty, of mystery over determinism. The cover is a photo by my friend Nick Ball—its a tomb in my local cemetery, and looks like its connecting to the sky.
Andrew Weatherall has described the sound of Everything is Turbulence as “low slung and oozing filth”. How would you describe it? Lysergic space boogie.
You’ve been associated with many sounds over the years, and even within Everything is Turbulence, there’s a lot of aural adventurism at play. How do you keep that spirit of adventure from flagging after so many years in the game? Just by the huge amount of inspiring music that’s out there. I’m always finding new and exciting stuff I was previously unaware of,that gets me going—plus I feel as though I’ve finally found a focus that I can develop on.
Does making and playing music still give you the kick that it undoubtedly did in the early days? Yes, yes, times over. As I said above, as long as people keep making and turning up great music, I’ll always remain enthusiastic.
You’ve been in the studio quite a bit with Daniel Avery. What is it about his work or methods that draw you to working with him? We have become good friends, we enjoy a very similar taste in music, and its always a pleasure to be in the studio with him. I really appreciate Dan’s focus. He’s really good and sifting the sound and honing it down to a lean creature—taking away the fluff, but retaining the psychedelic swirl. We have a very exciting new project under way too, with a quite different sound.
You’ve remixed a ton of artists over the years. Which remix are you most proud of? I don’t really have favorites as such, though I guess the Björk one is one i keep coming back to. I was very pleased with both my remixes for Cheval Sombre and the Asphodells; I think they turned out pretty well. I just finished one for Denney that’s quite jacking!
What do listen to when you’re not in work mode? Really depends on my mood or what sounds I’m currently obsessed with! I recently DJed at an event at Rough Trade, where I picked up a marvelous seven-inch by Raw Meat called ‘’Stand By Girl’’, and a couple of top records from Africa, Harry Mwale Experience and one by Musi O Tunya—so I’m getting into them just now.
Do you think you will ever retire from producing and DJing? I sincerely hope not.
What will you be doing when you are done answering these questions? Try and bend a painting to my will.
We’ll cut to the chase here: Ilian Tape have been on a roll in the last year. With a great LP from Zenker Brothers, a solid effort from Italian upstart Stenny and a bombastic set of tunes from the mysterious Skee Mask, the Munich label has set the bar at to all-time high, meandering between the lines of early-’90s Detroit, late-’90s breaks and dimension-altering techno. Essentially, Ilian Tape is laying out a foundation for whoever releases next on the label—to go farther, weirder, and harder in every which way. Needless to say, their latest release by Andrea achieves this by hitting consistently emotive highs, while keeping the lows to where proper frequencies should lie.
The release soars into space on its first two tracks, “Outlines” and “Rainbow,” taking elements of benevolent breaks and Reese-oriented basslines and placing them alongside turbulent synth leads that exist somewhere between the lines of pain and pleasure. The third track, “Machine,” is as straightforward as an Ilian Tape track could sound—furiously paced, clap-snared to its peak and unrelenting, with barely any room to exhale. The closer, “Choral,” is a come-down of a cut, bringing the listener back down to earth with its grounded breaks, rumbling around with just enough intensity and intrigue to keep it wildly satisfying until the very end of it.
As a 22-minute four-track EP, Andrea’s Outlines achieves greatness by knowing what makes it work and capping it to its peak without tiring the listener—it’s a rollicking, rambunctious set of tunes that exceeds dancefloor expectations, shining a spotlight on the the Turin, Italy–based producer As long as whatever he’s feeling can shine through as it did in this release, we’ll be waiting with bated breath—still hoping to exhale.
