Output quits

Well, I've never been a hardcore fan of Output Recordings' output yet I liked their music policy and the indie attitude, so it's sad that this label is closing down. No matter what style -- its music ranged from electro-disco to indietronics to dance-punk to some obscure stuff -- but in general the releases delivered in these 10 years were interesting and original, and some of them were really significant for me (Mu and Black Strobe come to my mind). Naturally, life goes on, we can just hope that at least the represented artists will continue producing nice music.

Trevor's statement can be read at the Pitchforkmedia, if you haven't done it yet.

He says, by the way, that starting from October there will be some releases on their site given away for free.

Big respect and thanks for the Output!

Mu - Tiger Bastard

sugar & cane

The last Sug[r]cane's performance at the d:qliq was pretty cool. He's getting better and better, and some his tracks were just amazing. His musical performance from another laptop was accompanied by impressive and immersive videos synced to the clicks... Bitter sweet.

For those who don't know him -- Victor aka Sug[r]cane is probably the best electronica producer from Luxembourg. His music is a melodic, dreamy and spacey electronica with a reference to indierock, e.g., shoegazing, as of Ulrich Schnauss, Boards of Canada, Telefon Tel Aviv, Nathan Fake and the likes.


Sug[r]cane - Listen or Take Care Because

http://www.zshare.net/audio/10-sugrcane-listen-or-take-care-because-mp3.html

NeOn B. - The Dawn mix

As a good-bye for summer I've made a mix that contains melodic, trancey tunes, which, I imagine, would perfectly fit into summertime open-air rave party shortly before the sun comes out. Most of them are known hits, some older, some newer, but there are some gems that you've likely never heard before, particularly the tracks by M.Gonzales and Sirke -- both they are made by Latvian artists and unreleased yet, in fact, this is the first public disclosure. Of course, your feedback is appreciated.


NeOn B. presents THE DAWN MIX:


1. Metope – Second Skin ([T]ékël remix) [Sender]
2. Kiki – Luv Sikk [Bpitch Control]
3. Gabriel Ananda & Cio D'or – Lauschgoldengel [Treibstoff]
4. On/Off – We Are On [All you can beat]
5. Booka Shade – In White Rooms (Shinedoe reimx) [Get Physical]
6. Larsson – Automat [Bpitch Control]
7. The Knife – Like a Pen [Brille]
8. Trentemøller – Polar Shift [Poker Flat]
9. Nathan Fake – The Sky Was Pink (Martinez remix) [Electro-Choc]
10. Martinez Gonzales – Karlina's Song [Unreleased]
11. Björk – Pagan Poetry (Ripperton's remix) [www.ripperton.com]
12. Dirty Hospital – Space Me [Rottenrow]
13. Sirke – Win A Chance To Win A Chance (Andrew Flanger's remix) [Unreleased]
14. Dextro – Do You Need Help (The MFA remix) [Border Community]

Total: 79 min


Furthermore, you are welcome to check my another mix this Sunday, September 24, at the Signals radioshow on RadioNaba (10 p.m. - 12 p.m. Latvian time, www.radionaba.lv). This mix will be deeper and more minimal, containing tracks from labels like Mobilee, Karat, District of Corruption etc.

Disco in the St.Pauli way

Hello, people! It may sound as a paradox, but I'm busy and lazy at the same time, that's why posting so rarely. (Shall I add that song "This is excuse" herewith? No, not this one again -- I hear people shouting:))

Meanwhile I've been to Hamburg -- it's a great city (and St.Pauli neighbourhood in particular). Like Berlin it has an alternative and punkish vibe, but Hamburg is smaller and more compact (Kompakt, but that's Cologne's thing), hence probably cosier than the capital.

One night I was spinning some rather easy e-disco tunes in a lobby lounge at Haus 73 -- a brand new cultural centre, which is located next to the legendary Flora building, a former squat or smth. like that, -- while there was some local street festival going on outdoors. A flea market, some punk/rock bands performing, drinking and stuff like that, which was fun. So far, so good. But then suddenly the peaceful street event turned into a riot: somebody set on fire something there, then fire-fighters arrived, and soon riot police came in, with water guns and barriers pushing people aside from the street. The cops pushed some poeple inside our bar and blocked the entrance thus no-one could leave the lobby. (It looks like forcing somebody to attend a party against his own will -- funny.)

I had never seen something like that before, except on TV. I guess it was the wierdest event I've been DJing at. Music was rather easy and therefore contrasting to what was happening around. If I knew I'd propably had taken some more riotous tunes with me (N.W.A. - Fuck tha police comes to my mind), but the only kind of fitting song that I had was The Clash - This is radio clash. I dropped it in, when the police actually entered our venue seeking for some "rebels". Later, when I finished DJing, I had to use back-doors to leave the place. Oh, that was a night to remember! (The same thing said Felix Kubin after visiting Riga, and he comes from Hamburg, ha ha.)

Morning hours we spent having a great time at the Golden Pudel Club, near the harbour (check also their compilations). Amazing place! Tiny, trashy, run-down, cheap, packed, empty-bottles-everywhere, but great electronic music. The resident DJ Rüftata110 was behind the decks -- he didn't have the best mixing technique, but his selection was just brilliant. Plus he had a funny slogan on his t-shirt: YOU ARE NOW IN HAMBURG, SO WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT APHEX TWIN (well, maybe it is not exact, but you've got the idea, don't you?). And, indeed, Hamburg has a lot of cool stuff to offer.

The Clash - This is Radio Clash

p.s. This great song might be regarded as an early example of what is currently known as dance-punk / punk-funk, and, as far I know, it is one of James Murphy's most favourite tunes.

NB! Chart - August

August have been a busy month (read: holidays) for me, and I haven't followed music news so much. Anyway, here come some remarkable tracks:

> Trentemoller - Take me into your skin

I remember how I bought his Rykketid ep in year 2004 actually not knowing the guy. Since that time his production skills have become even better, catapulting him to a superproducer's status. The track from his upcoming LP does not resemble his typical dancefloor hits, hence a nice surprise. It's a beautiful, mellow and melodic piece, although having that special compressed rhythm. I'm impatient to hear the whole album.

> Djuma Soundsystem - Les Djinns (Trentemoller rmx) [Get Physical]

Trentemoller again! Well, all three remixes are good (also by My My and Heads).

> Mike Monday - I dream of ducks

A track from his upcoming album. Very epic and melodic -- sometimes there is a need for tracks like this. Thanks Ohmygosh (the best techno blog IMO) for sharing this.

> Lindstrom - Contemporary fix (Serious Syntoms Remix) [Feedelity]

A fantastic track by the space disco hottest producer at the moment. Although it's a one-sided 12", certainly it's worth spendind some $ to get a copy.

> Paul Kalkbrenner - Queer Fellow (Ellen Allien & Apparat rmx) [Bpitch Control]

In brief: if you liked the Ellen's and Apparat's Orchestra of Bubbles album, you should appreciate this remix too. Sophisticated electro rhythmic patterns plus trancey melodies.

> Rekorder - Rekorder 6.1 [Rekorder]

Rekorder serie keeps its high standards. Sounds a bit like Ellen Allien or Anja Schneider, but who knows who's done this.

> Gabriel Ananda - Doppelwhipper [Platzhirsch]

This is not that fresh, but I still haven't given due respect to this amazing techno killer track.

> Contemporary Household - She said [Bomzh]

Another funny record from Tok Tok's label.

> Jona - Blizzard [Resopal Schallware]

His recent Tizia EP on Get Physical is OK, but I prefer his deeper and tougher Moontalka/Blizzard ep, which was released on May.

> Fedde Le Grande - Put your hands up for Detroit (Claude Vonstroke rmx) [C2]

A groovy, funky and a bit freaky remix from Vonstroke -- a guy behind the Dirtybird label from San Francisco -- that should work very well on a dancefloor.


Some other highlights: Kompakt Total 7, Holger Zilske Meets Dave DK - Rainshower EP [Playhouse], Heidi vs. Riton - Vejer EP [Get Physical].

The special one: Max Brannslokker - Loadbang EP [Nomor] - Max is a young and talanted producer from Latvia; it's the first release on Toys for Boys sublabel. Nice!


The new Trentemoller track can be found in some other blogs, but if you haven't heard it yet, you can do it here.

And the track by Jona:

Jona - Blizzard


p.s. Also LP's by My My and The Rapture are coming soon.

Sonic Forest

This w-end in Riga there will be the much awaited festival Skaņu Mežs (The Forest of Sounds) which is the best electronic and avant-garde music festival in the Baltics. It happens for the fourth time, I guess, and every year it gets bigger and more diverse. Many Baltic artists of this kind are going to perform as well as prominent international artists (incl. Jamie Lidell, The Liars, Keiji Haino, but see the programe yourself).

For sure, this is unmissable event, but, sadly enough, I cannot attend it due to the fact that I am booked for DJ-ing at Riga nights in Hamburg. Well, Hamburg rocks too, and of course I am glad to go there, just a pitty that the good things always happen on the same time.

Slovenian post

Have you ever heard any electronic music from Slovenia? I could give you an example. It's a track that comes from Hurt Detal EP on Slovenian label !"@.*!% (what a name! Had to use copy-paste to reproduce it. How is it supposed to be promounced?). Surprisingly they are distributed by no more, no less but Kompakt, which is an indicator of good music itself.

Milos - Broken Crane

The first Latvian astronaut

The Latvian electronic music producer NGC-5128 (pictured on the photo while working) has a new release on Romanian net-label Exposed Audio (again that mysterious Romanian-Latvian connection, recently I've been enjoying some Romanian artists like M.Popaviciu and The Model, and now this comes on my way).

NGC-5128 is a one man project, and he is well known in Latvian underground e-music scene. His cosmic fantasies transformed into nice music, that's why I call him the first Latvian atronaut. Nevertheless the fact of being one of the best Latvian techno producers, this is his first public relese, if I'm not mistaken. So cheers!

Regarding the given release, the drums sound to me slightly too straight, as of typical old-school techno, but the deep basslines and synth melodies are what I dig for. But better have a listen and judge yourself.

Exposedaudio.org

Rekorder's order

Probably you know the story: a secret alias by a well known deejay for the "Rekorder" serie, which is going to have 10 12" records. In the end of the serie, the producer would be revealed (as it said at discogs.com). It seems (and sounds) that S.Bodzin and O.Huntemann are involved in this project. Well, nice concept, cool tracks.

No 4 and 5 were excellent records, and the new - number 6 - keeps the high standards. It's got that special Rekorder sound, but it's still surprising and deliviring new qualities. (I think it's time for looking where to buy it, sounds worth spending some $.)

Rekorder 6.1

p.s. Check Luciano's remix of the Amelie theme, it's published on Tape. So sweet.

ethnoclash

Hello out there, I'm back from holidays in Latvia! It's time for a small report.

Apart from the usual ways of spending time there, I was playing at the open-air ethnic/folk and Jamaican music festival Laba Daba, a rather interesting and conceptual event in a beautiful place surrounded by a forest and sea-side nearby.

My initial idea was to present some (danceable) music that reflect meeting different cultures, styles and epochs, which is an interesting phenomenon particularly nowadays, when the world, indeed, turns into a global village physically and virtually. One can observe exciting musical mutations when local musical traditions (traditional music) get exposed to musical concepts from other regions or to the dominant global popculture.

Well, I guess, I could at least partly implement this idea and the party hapenned despite some problems with a tent for DJs etc. Ethnoclash (I call it this way, because "world beat/music" is a bit outdated, one can speak about "urban culture music", but it's not exact as well...) worked well. From brazilian funk carioca, which is influenced by Miami bass and hip-hop, to afrofunk/afrobeat -- a hybrid of African and Afroamerican music, to London's 2-step merged with Pakistani popular bhangra, to Finnish dancehall, to Konono (Congotronics), to gypsies music etc.

For downloading I offer a piece produced by Jacques Lu Cont (a.k.a. Stuart Price, a.k.a. Les Rytmes Digitales, he also produced the latest Madonna's album) with vocals from General Degree. It comes from the concept album Two Cultures Clash on Wall of Sound, which involves dancehall/reggea singers produced by well-known electronic music producers. Breeding Jamaican music with the electronic one, of course, is not a new idea (see Rhythm & Sound from Berlin, for instance), however, this album contains some interesting tracks. By the way, I was really surprised hearing this track after few days in the Fontain Palace, Liepaja.

Jacques Lu Cont feat. General Degree - And Dance

Chart - July

> M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade - Body Language (Jona remix) [Get Physical]

Get Physical keeps its high standards -- some claimed it was the best record label in 2005, however, it has a handful of superb releases this year too, and is arguably the best label in 2006 so far, at least for me. This time Jona gets his hands (and tools) on the classic label's track, keeping its melody but twisting it into Get Physical's typical "new" sound (which is particularly shaped by Booka Shade, Electrochemie, Jona himself and the likes). Two other remixes are by superproducers Trentemoller and Matt Edwards/Radioslave.

> The Model - Are you always on my mind [Gigolo]

This one comes from Gigolo's Showcase vol.9, and it's produced by some Romanian guy (again! M.Popoviciu is from Romania too). His release Robotiko on Traum Schallplaten didn't impress me at all, but the new track is really nice electro cut.

> Cassius - Toop Toop (O.Koletzki remix) [Virgin]

This disco-electro-house tune is quite poppy, but it's sweet, craftly produced and have that summer feel. And for this reason I prefer Koletzki's rmx, not Mr.Oizo's.

> Robbie Williams - Rudebox (Soul Mekanik remix) [White label/Chrysalis]

Surprise! An incognito release from R.Williams that - thanks god! - contains only remixes. Actually Soul Mekanik guys deliver a tasty, funky and groovy rework.

> Aaron Hedges - Deutsch Lerner (My My remix) [District of Corruption]

Lee Jones and Nicolas Hoppner a.k.a. My My are one of my favourite projects for some while, and this remix is no exception.

> Petter - Some Polyphony [Border Community]

The 2nd Petter's release on BC is out. Nice, very nice!

> Junior Boys - The Equalizer (Morgan Geist remix) [?]

Well, I'm not a big fan of their original stuff, however, Morgan Geist has done a great job, and the result is simply fantastic - it's got that special high quality electro(nica)/IDM feel plus something reminiscent of 80's synth-pop.

> Pan-Pot - Black Lodge ep [Mobilee]

Regarding some more minimal action than trancey summer tunes, Pan-Pot's new ep on Mobilee is darkish, but very interesting. Both tracks are yummi. In fact, few days ago another Mobilee's release (by GummiHz) has come out, but I haven't still got my hands on it.

> Extrawelt - Titelheld [Cocoon]

Not outstanding, but OK.

> Chromatics - Glass Slipper [Troubleman Unlimited]

A dark nu-disco piece with a hooky melody.


Few other pieces: Larsson - Automat [Bpitch Control], Damon Jee & Olivier Giaccomoto - Jamon y queso (Martinez rmx) [Echocord], Epic Man & Plan B - Move is enough (well, this is more hip hop, but neatly produced. I don't know anything about them, actually thanks the Tape guys for publishing this on their blog, and I can just agree that this shall be a big hit soon.)


M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade - Body Language (Jona rmx)

Bits and bytes

Hey, I'm back! Just in brief.

The Orgy party wasn't so good as expected due to the sound quality problems the first night. Apart from that everything was organized really well, but sound is crucial, ya know. If it sounds like crap it just sounds like crap, and no DJ can do anything about it. Actually that was the reason why Namosh finished his performance shortly after starting it. Too bad, he seemed promising and extremely funny. However, the 2nd night was much better. Cosy Mozzy had a great set, balancing between some more pop disco house/italo/electrohouse and more sophisticated stuff. I was surprised hearing him dropping in the old classic Spastik by Plastikman. Ivars had a nice groovy set as well. After all, the event was quite OK, but, however, the first night's sound problems had a negative impact. All the dear promoters and organisers should take into account that sound system quality and sound engineer do matter to make a party happen!

----------

What's new regarding music.

The new Extrawelt's single on Svath's Cocoon imprint is not as good as their brilliant release on Kompass if you ask me. It's somewhat more traditional, less twisted, but nevertheless it's a solid record, nice production and should work well on a dancefloor. Just check it out:

Extrawelt - Titelheld


Every release on the seminal Border Community label is a much awaited event. Some polyphony by Swedish producer Petter is a smart, interesting, but still melodic track. You can check the track on Random Circuits blog.


Recently I've been paying more attention to dubstep. Most of the earlier productions seemed to me too boring and doomy, but I must admit that the latest releases by Skream, Pinch, Burial and the likes are great. It's become more nuanced, more electronic, more leaning towards IDM and digital dub.

Skream - Glamma

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At the moment I'm working on several mixes. To be shared somewhere as soon as they are ready.

--------

All the best, enjoy the summer!

Guess the melody

Summer in the town. Instead of sweating in office, I would prefer spending my time on a beach and drinking Martini or Caipirinha. Let's hope it will come true soon, but at the moment I've got a piece of funk carioca. Can you guess the original song, from which this melody is taken? It seems that favela kids use and rip-off whatever they get their hands on. Amazing!

Here comes the song

It's taken from Funk Brasil compilation by DJ Marlboro.

Latvian DJs at the Orgy

I'm really looking forward to the Orgy party this w-end (two nights: July 14 and 15). I feel honoured to spin right after Namosh's live performance the first night. Furthermore, another Latvian DJ - Ivars Mednis, a good friend of mine, - gonna play on Saturday's night. Latvian invasion, hehe. Maybe I and Ivars will do some back-2-back as we sometimes do in Latvia, but maybe not, we'll see...

Apart from LV connection, above mentioned Namosh, Cosy Mozzy (representing Dirty Dancing club/label from Brussels), Moulinex Bros (two talented Luxembourgish guys) and Elektrash team (e-pop posse from Lux-Belgium) will participate in this event.

I missed Namosh's show in Hamburg, but those who had seen it said it was really cool, a bit wierd, entertaining... it sounds I should like it. At least his records are great.

Namosh - Picked up floozy

NB! chart - june

Time goes by so quickly - another month's gone. Some tunes I've been enjoying recently.

> My My - Swiss on rye [Playhouse]

My My project has anoter beautiful release - it's a dreamy, melodic and nicely produced tune.

> Compuphonic - 80s cops [Dirty Dancing]

Compuphonic is a young but gifted producer from Belgium. It's light and melodic italo-disco/80s/electrohouse stuff.

> Matt Flores - Wookie disco [Combination]

A killer track with a killer bassline. That's the way we like it.

> Anja Schneider - Addicted [Mobilee]

This comes from her last 12" Lily of the Valley. Although the title track is good, I prefer the B side - a hypnotic, dubby tech-house (or shall I call it minimal?).

> Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (ruined by Justice) [Domino]

The remix delivered by Justice is extremely funky. Phrenetic breakbeat, crazy sampling, and damn hooky.

> Tres Demented - Shez satan [Planet E]

An analogue monstrous piece with a spooky vocal reminescent of Green Velvet or some oldschool acid house trax.

> James Lidell - A little bit more (Luke Vibert remix) [Warp]

James Lidell - the outstanding electronic soul music singer and producer - has got a new album Multiply Additions. As the title suggests it contains remixes and live versions. I particularly enjoy Luke Vibert's rmx, which is a groovy mid-tempo tune with an acid flavour.

> Guido Schneider - Super sander [Poker Flat]

It's taken from his recent Focus on LP, which is a masterpiece of percussive, dry minimalism. Note that the CD and vinyl versions are signifacntly different - the latter contains just 6 trax, whereas on CD few astonishing remixes and his other productions are added.

> Brendon Moeller - Birth [Echocord]

Deep and smooth, and elegant.

> Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler [Kitsune]

A smashing party record - electro(clash) with an analogue acid feel. SMD has always been good, and this is by far no exception.

Future soul

Ol' good soul music as it sounds today. The looker Jamie Lidell is one of them who bridges soulful singing and innovative production. There are some great remixes and versions in his recently released Multiplu Additions. In my opinion, one of the best is Luke Vibert's rmx: some nice sampling in the best Ninja Tune traditions and a ravish acid synth line.

Jamie Lidell - A Little Bit More (Luke Vibert mix)

In this album-compilation there are two nice reworks by Herbert too. He's got his own new album as well. Micro-electro-accoustic-orchestral-disco songs made out of samples that arranged in rhythmic structures and accompanied by sweet vocals. Can you dig it?

Herbert - Movie Star

My oh my

Playhouse's project My My simply kicks ass. All their three releases are great and different: Klatta ep is a groovy microhouse (microfunk?), Serpentine ep contains more straight, trancey and trippy tracks, whereas the last Swiss on Rye is simply brilliant melodic electronic music.

My My - Swiss on Rye

Latino robots

Last week I had a possibility to enjoy a performance by Senor Coconut and his orchestra during Fete de la musique in Luxemburg. Surely, it's a music for fiesta! Latin meets jazz meets electronica. Well known pop classics with a totally different flavour. Somehow contradictory teutonic coldness (e.g., Kraftwerk) coupled with south american vividness.

It is an actual band with brass instruments, marimba, vibrophone, drums and percussions, and a vocal. Maestro Uwe Schmidt himself with a stone cold face is standing with his laptop a bit in background thus contrasting to lively jazz musicians. You may like or dislike his latin affair, but no doubt that he is a great producer (standing behind such monikers as Atom Heart, LB, Flanger among many others). I found their show greatly entertaining.

Senor Coconut and His Orchestra - Riders on the storm

Klakson attacks

Checked the things in Amsterdam... For going out I opted for the Electronation's Rex night at Sugar Factory, which presented Klakson's artists: Dexter, Mr.Cisco, Steffi. E-Nation are always having good electro parties, and this time was no exception.

The seminal Dutch electro producer Remy Verheijen aka Dexter was announced to play live. A guy standing behind a laptop and conducting raw electro funkiness. More towards classic electro, which was nice, but, on the other hand, it would better fit in some more underground venue than the Sugar Factory Club.

It was a good performance, although I better enjoyed Francesco de Bellis' DJ set in that particular moment. He is also known as Mr.Cisco, participating in such projects as Jollymusic and Pigna People, hence his tunes were more melodic, leaning towards italo sound but avoiding being too sweet. He dropped some nice acid house stuff as well. I enjoyed his music (and his mixing skills, which were awesome) without dancing. Beforehands we bought and took some legal herbal stimulator, but instead of getting in a dancin-groovin-moovin mood we felt dizzy, a bit trippy and sort of stoned. So be careful with these things which are sold in smart shops and are unknown to you - sometimes you just do not get what is promised.

Mr Cisco - Electrotec

Where all the foxes are?

The new Trapez Ltd. release is not as dumb as Paxi - Fixi song but it's still funny :)

Foxes are usually eating sheep, but tonight - they are in a box

Und - Fox in the box