Much has been written about the emergence of Berlin’s Berghain/Panorama Bar mecca and the parallels with our own home from home in EC1, not to mention the artists that have spawned from the success of the now legendary club.
The Berlin hotspot has acted as a perfectly formed catalyst and showcase for its elite residential squad. Two in particular, Ben Klock and Steffi, bring their unique Berlinesque flavour to Room Two tomorrow; we caught with the pair to dig deeper than the hype and discover more about two of the most influential stars from one of the most influential venues in the house and techno scene.
Berghain and Panorama Bar seems to have acted as the perfect catalyst to boost your reputations within the techno scene, yet Ben, you have been playing in Berlin since the mid-90s right? And Steffi, you conquered the Amsterdam music scene before re-locating to Berlin? Tell us a bit about what you were up to pre-Berghain/PB…
Steffi: I was living in Amsterdam before I moved to Berlin. I used to have my own club night there in Mazzo (rip), had several residencies and organized loats of parties. Always wanted to bring the people quality and stay underground. One of the highlights was Boem Tsjak festival I did with Marsel from Delsin Records. We organized this during Amsterdam Dance Event because they were not focusing enough on the Dutch labels and their talents in our opinion.
Ben Klock: I used to play in clubs like Cookies, Tresor and WMF in Berlin. Although it was a great time and I had a few residencies here and there, I never really felt home anywhere before Berghain. That's where it all really changed and where I felt that the right people and the right place came together at the right moment to give me the inspiration that I needed.
You each run your own labels, Klockworks and Klakson respectively - what made you decide to set up your own imprint and do they represent you as musicians/DJs?
Steffi: Klakson started really naive, more like a fun thing to do. Dexter's first release hit the market quite well, it turned out to be. We always kept Klakson as a low profile label and only released stuff we really liked. It was never created to become a huge label with many releases, but more to work with people we liked and music we really wanted to be out there. This is how it will continue in the future. I just started a new label called Dolly! This will be an exclusive label that features people I am working with at the moment. I am very excited and the first release by Jacob Korn just came out a few weeks ago!
Ben Klock: When I started the label in 2006/07, most of the music around was very clean, a bit overproduced and well arranged. I wanted to have my platform for a bit more raw approach. I always liked first sketches, in graphic design or art as well. That is also shown by the artwork of the label. Tracks for Klockworks will always have that kind of raw feeling which is one side of me as an artist and DJ.
Steffi, you are known for throwing parties in Amsterdam. Do you cast a critical eye over each place you play, or is it nice to relinquish the responsibility of filling a club?
Steffi: No that’s not in the back of my mind. I do know the feeling of doing a club night and have to deal with the nerves on the night itself :) So it makes me understand promotors better and makes me support smaller parties who try to give people a chance to listen to quality music because we need this!
Ben, I read that you were a graphic designer before switching to music; do you find one helps the other in terms of generating inspiration or being creative?
Ben Klock: For quite a while I was doing this parallel. So I didn't really switch. I stopped working as a graphic designer when I was working on my album. I realized that I couldn't do both anymore timing-wise. There are similarities in the process of finding ideas and then developing, finalizing them. But I really have to say that I'm glad that I am able to concentrate on one thing now. Music is really on first place for me!
The finest purveyors of deep house have decided to expand their repertoire and cut their cloth from an alternative material to wax. Berlin’s Innervisions empire, led by fabric 42’s Âme and Room One regular Dixon, have turned to paper to unleash one of the most hyped pieces of Techno literature ever to be released. Tobias Rapp’s book ‘Lost and Sound: Berlin, Techno and the Easyjetset’ investigates the city’s love affair with electronic music and seeks to answer why the world is flocking to the German capital to get a piece of the action. Innervisions have taken the innovative step of releasing a limited number of copies exclusively via their website in English, as originally it was only available in German. You can check it out here.
Catching up with Âme ahead of their Innervisions Room One invasion next Saturday, we found out why they though we should be swotting up on techno.
It’s not often that a record label diverts from releasing music to releasing literature. Tell us why you felt it essential to translate this book into English and publish it?
Tobias Rapp, the author, is a good friend of us so the connection was already there before. When we all read the book, we felt that it would be definitely a very interesting project for the international market. We asked Tobias straight away and he said that we would a great partner for this project so this is why it happened.
For people that might not know about the book, what is it all about?
The book describes the situation and energy in the Berlin techno scene at the beginning of this century. Tobias was very inspired by his club experiences around these years so he wrote a book about it. He writes about the big and famous clubs and afterhour locations, some key players from the Berlin scene and the Easyjet ravetourism in a very eloquent way.
The original version of the book had a huge impact across Germany, thrusting techno back into the German media. What do you think sparked the swell of homeland interest in the book?
At the end of the nineties, the whole techno thing went back to the undergound so in Berlin around and after these years, something new grew up without media support or any other hype stuff. At the end, of course, a wider audience took notice of that and the success of the book is pretty much a result of this attention.
How does the book particularly resonate with you? Obviously that played at part in your decision to publish it through Innervisions?
As I said, Tobias is a good friend of us and Innervisions had a small part in his book. We are publishing music, why shouldn’t we publish a book about the music scene from our town?
No doubt the hype surrounding this book will further fuel techno tourism to the German capital...as Berliners yourselves, are you conscious of the influx of people seeking the magic of Berlin? Do you think it’s had a positive or negative influence on the city’s music scene?
I think Berlin clubs already showed that they can handle the ravetourism as they are pretty good in selecting voyeurism from passionated hedonism.
How do you feel Berlin and its music have developed over the last decade?
Berlin is probably the only bigger city in the world where the government recognised that there is also an economical power in their own music scene. So they even support the clubs with all the help they can give them. So there is less a danger of sellout and commercialisation then anywhere else.
Since 2007, six French virtuosos have been providing lovers of the 'seriously twisted, mind-warping 4x4 house and techno’ variety with a solid axel of musical richness and diversity in the form of their blog, Getthecurse. On February the 6th we are lucky enough to welcome Clement Meyer (Co-Founder and passionate blogger) to the decks of Room 2.
The rapid success of the blog has since allowed Meyer to promptly shoot up the ranks and into exposure, receiving a string of residencies at The Social Club in his home-town, Paris, along with T Bar’s infamous Thursday night session ‘Baise Main’. 2009 saw his first release, aptly entitled ‘Slow, Deep and Hard’ (on Seinan Music), receive praise from the discerning ears of Solomun, Laurent Garnier and Jamie Jones among many others . With the launch of his own label, Get The Curse Records, right around the corner, 2010 promises to be nothing but a successful era for the young Parisian and what better a way to continue theyear than with a visit to EC1? Expect plenty of fast paced chunky bass and sleazy synth rattling the very walls!
Until then, Clement has very kindly recorded us this exclusive promo mix as a taster as a warm up to his set, which includes a track off his forthcoming ‘Midnight Madness EP’. Enjoy!
1. Mikael Stavostrand - Breaka Breaka
2. Remote - Fahkt
3. Konrad Black - Busting Down the Door With a Shotgun
4. Rebolledo - Venganza y Seducion
5. Clement Meyer - Midnight Madness (Olibusta Remix)
6. Segeke - Deeper Side (Elon Remix)
7. Andrea Esu - Bati Bati Gol
8. Click Click – Re-edit
9. The Barking Dogs -It's What (Philipp Lauer Remix)
Here's a line lifted straight out of NYC royalty - and Fool's Gold famalam - Kingdom's biography: "Kingdom may play everything from kuduro to juke, but R&B is his first love, and it shows in his bass-heavy remixes and original tracks, often featuring R&B vocal samples on top of his trademark production style - what some have called 'a Brooklyn take on the UK garage sound.'"
So it comes as no surprise that, when we prompted Kingdom to send us 5 random youtube finds, this was the result. 5 dope little gems, and no less varied and unexpected than his righteous DJ sets. Go on and indulge.
But before you do that, crank your speakers and blast this ridic mix he's put together for us for the Fool's Gold takeover in Room Two next Friday. Put this in your diaries, people - 5 February will be epic.
01. Choice - Acid Eiffel
02. Cooly G - Weekend Fly
03. Roska - The Sheppard
04. Mosca - Square One (Kingdom Edit ft. Willie Carter)
05. Kingdom - Bust Broke
06. Shaun-D - Spanish Fly (Kingdom Remix)
07. Mike Q - I Am Legend
08. Kanji Kinetic - Thrill Seeker (Kingdom Remix)
09. Dj Toño - Nanue
10. Bok Bok - Citizens Dub ft. Bubbz
11. Untold - Don't Know. Don't Care.
12. Bionics vs. Slimzee - The Capsule
13. Kingdom - You
14. Kingdom - Mind Reader ft. Shyvonne (Todd Edwards Remix)
15. Kingdom - Mind Reader ft. Shyvonne (Todd Edwards Dub)
KINGDOM'S RANDOM YOUTUBE FINDS
1) Monica performing the MJB classic "Not Gon Cry" involves Monica jumping up and down in insane boots while Mary looks on in tears.
2) There are countless home videos of Juke footwork on YouTube but this one stands out with it's dark folk sample and white socks on carpet.
3) Same goes for this one, but this one is a Baltimore video: there are a million great Bmore dance YouTubes but nothing tops some dancing in the dark.
Nicolas Jaar is a talented, young producer whose idea of dance music is a little different than most. He has arrived onto a stubborn scene with his own take on how to please a dancefloor, not succumbing to your average run of the mill club music – an attitude that has got heads turning already. His unique approach to dance music has made him the perfect match for burgeoning New York label, Wolf + Lamb, famous for its eclectic, relaxed take on music. A close-knit community, Nico is an integral part of this creative family that yielded so much influence in 2009...so much so that his “Time For Us” EP has been chosen as the first Wolf + Lamb release of the decade, picking up from where the label left off with an intelligently composed, intimate release for music lovers of all tastes. Ahead of the release we caught up with Nico to discuss ethnicity, music and to get the inside information of what goes on inside the infamous Wolf + Lamb fake hotel, The Marcy.
What kind of reactions has ‘Time For Us’ been getting from dancefloors around the world?
I think Seth (Troxler) has ended every single one of his sets with it since he got it.
Can you tell us about the process behind the making of the record?
I lived at the Marcy during the summer and slept every night on an inflatable bed in the middle of the dance floor. But like all inflatable beds, this one progressively deflated throughout the night. During the day I would make dance music. Time for us happens to be the musical interpretation of this existence.
What do you make of world music’s recent infiltration of techno?
I actually don’t think world music has infiltrated techno at all - this new trend is just another example of cultural hegemony. “World music” has just become techno’s favourite shiny new toy. Most of the music seems to be a cheap appropriation of what the Western World thinks world music is.
Do you think your music will always keep some sort of Latin feel because of your up-bringing?
I’m French, Chilean, American and Palestinian. I’ve never thought of making music that has a certain national identity. The more blurred the lines are between all my influences, the more effective the music is, in my opinion.
How has the influence of Santiago affected you in comparison to New York’s influence?
Santiago made me hairier. And tanned.
It must be great working with a label like Wolf + Lamb, where you can express yourself without some of the constraints that often come with dance music. Do you feel that they are only place this EP could go right now?
Yes. Sadly, people still think of dance music as a grid of genres. “Time for us” is being marketed as “Minimal/Tech House”, for example. At W+L, we don’t really think of genres. This freedom is an integral part of the music making process. It’s what makes W+L unique.
Tell us a little bit about your experiences at The Marcy.
A dozen or so decapitated rodents, ham and cheese croissants and the best dance parties of my life.
In order to celebrate the release of the 100th chapter of our CD mix series next month, Kultureflash’s music editor, James Lawrence goes back over the last eight and a bit years of monthly releases to pick his top three mixes and the seven runners up.
Third Place: FABRICLIVE 40: Noisia (2008)
When tasked with picking my top three fabric mixes I knew immediately which releases were going to be taking the two top spots and in which order. The third place was not so straightforward. This is not to say, I faced a challenge of painstakingly deciding between a shortlist of fifteen possibilities. As much as I enjoy what is effectively Omar S’ greatest hits, the last podium spot was only ever going to either John Tejada’s excursion into knotted techno or Noisia’s battery ram of future tech D&B.
Having spent the best part of the last week trying to decide whether the overall sonic assault of Noisia’s FABRICLIVE was superior to the trance rinse-down at the end of Fabric 44 or not. Fairly or unfairly, I came to the conclusion that JT’s effort was too similar to the mixes occupying the top spots and picking a third techno mix wasn’t doing justice to fabric’s extensive catalogue. Meaning the Dutch trio take the bronze with what is easily the most aggressive and menacing chapter of the series to date.
Second Place: fabric 08: Radioactive Man (2003)
After his truly seminal, self-titled debut album (where was this in all the recent decade countdowns?), Keith Tenniswood returned to the fold for Fabric’s fifteenth instalment. Cutting faster than a Columbian barber and showing less restrain than an Angolan arms dealer, fabric 08 is a shining example of how to ride nosebleed breaks.
Whereas Noisia’s relentless chapter arguably substitutes the dancefloor in favour of audio brutality, Weatherall’s right-hand man keeps the machine funk integral throughout. After a number of highlights including the wrecking ball tear of Depth Charge’s ‘Honour’ and the tribal chug of Jammin’s 'As We Do’, fabric 08 aptly crashes to a grizzly end with Disco D’s nu-glam classic ‘Fuck Me On The Dancefloor’. All in all, a great reminder of Tenniswood’s legendary Haywire sessions at the club.
First Place: fabric 13: Michael Mayer (2003)
With what I would happily argue is one of the best techno spins of all time, Kompakt’s head honcho wraps this countdown up with relative ease.
Firmly in contention with Playgroup’s DJ Kick’s and Hawtin’s DE9 edit for the best mix of the last decade, fabric 13 isn’t just my pick simply because it boasts a selection of some of the most emotive tracks in the electronic remit. It’s because of the way Mayer manages to expertly craft a doe-eyed warmness around a number of tracks (many from Kompakt’s extended crew) that alone sound stark and disjointed.
Laced with enough melancholic seduction to send Eno weak at the knees, Mayer seamlessly joins the dots from Italo-piano to early-noughties tech-house before climaxing with Jackson’s Midnight Fuck remix of M83’ Run Into Flowers’. Mayer is often praised for his Immer mix from 2002, but for me, fabric 13 is still his finest moment.
So there we are. Two parts comprised of beats tough enough to make your neighbours think twice about complaining and one part euphoric beauty. Surely a winning formula for any CD mix series...?
If you totally agree or feel I’ve grossly overlooked your favourite fabric instalment then please feel free to make your feelings known in the comment box below.
London duo Jac the Disco are set to run a riot in Room Three tomorrow. Not unfamiliar with throwing a shindig once in a while, their club night ‘Last One In’s A Rotten Egg!’ has welcomed the likes of fabric’s finest - the Filthy Dukes, Frenchman Brodinski and Duke Dumont. As they take some time out from the party purveyor scene, the boys, Pac and Jay, have concentrated their efforts on producing their own music that is set to come to fruition this year.
Mixing anything from Chicago House to Cosmic Disco via House and Techno, the local lads look set to slam fabric’s foundations. But what else do we know about the boys? Time to find out, as we hook up with them to find out what makes them tick, what makes a good party and what gets them going (or keeps them going if 01 is anything to go by).
What’s more, the duo has laid down an exclusive mix just for you – fresh.
01 Caffeine Supplements
Pac: Regular sets all over the country take their toll, especially when driving back late. Don’t do a Jay by allowing Pac to take over the driving then wake up in a panic because you thought you were still driving. Always make sure you have a healthy supply.
02 Line Up
Jay: A great line up is just part of what makes a great party. I'd say the Glimmers have always been a personal favourite of ours and a strong influence. Especially with their cross genre style and the way they mix up the old with the new. We're very excited about playing Kill Em All at Fabric on the 22nd January, those guys always have solid line ups.
03 Snares
Pac: There is literally nothing better in dance music than a good old Chicago House style snare roll. FACT!
04 Friends
Jay: I think the best parties are the one's that your friends are at. We used to promote our own club night called 'Last One In's A Rotten Egg.' All our mates and their mates used to come down to support the night, we had some insane parties, it was great fun. We've put the night on hold at the moment as we're concentrating on spending time in the studio.
05 Photo
Pac: Don’t come to a JTD party or set and drink too much. Otherwise you’ll end up in our gallery of photos on our phones in all your paralytic glory.
06 Record
Jay: I used to collect mix tapes back in the 90's, I've even got some of the old recording's from the New York block parties back in the late 70's early 80's. Mix tapes have been an inspiration to many. By recording the parties we can also show other's what they've missed and re-live the experience again and again, long live the mix tape.
07 Jac the Disco
Pac: Because disco is where it started and is conceivably the root of most modern dance styles.
08 Techno Viking
Jay: When you come to one of our parties it's all about dancing and having fun. I'd definitely like to invite Techno Viking to one of our parties because he dances like he means it. He'll also whoop you like Thor's hammer. You can find him on Youtube.
09 Vinyl
Pac: Because there’s nothing like the fresh smell of vinyl in the morning. We may play out on digital formats, but we still buy the vinyl and record it off. Especially old stuff – you get all the nice dubs, remixes and acapellas that really make your sets stand out from crowd. Beatport is for lazy people. Get out there, do some digging and get those fingers dusty and covered in paper cuts.
10 You
Jay: Because without you there's no Party. See you on the 22nd!
Kyle Hall is currently sending mad vibrations through the scope of quality new house music. Having already released a record on Omar-S’ FXHE label at the staggering age of 16, he has more recently remixed Darkstar’s somewhat seminal ‘Aidys Girl Is A Computer’ track on Hyperdub. He is currently working hard on his own imprint ‘Wild Oats,’ on which you can hear him lay down deep, twisted Detroit grooves injected with funktastic, Dilla’esque beats and shuffles. With mentors and teachers such as Theo Parrish and Mike Huckaby, the future is looking very bright for the young prodigy as he prepares to take the reins for Detroit’s new school house legacy.
We caught up with him ahead of his debut set in Room Three - where he'll be appearing alongside Jus Ed and DJ Qu - and he took the liberty of dropping us an exclusive promo mix, which you, oh faithful readership, can download from our juicily stacked soundcloud account here:
What did you do today? Take us briefly through a typical ‘Kyle Hall’ day… Well today honestly I was bit under the weather. Normally my day consist of me waking up at 11am and checking emails. Then I make some music, maybe hop on Facebook, then call up some friends and go hang with them downtown. Get some junk food. Crash out. Then I’ll go to a party later that night or play a show. Go home. That gives you an idea but sometimes I have mellowed days or days where I just do work.
What music are you working on at the moment? At the moment I'm working on remixes for a few artists. I just finished a remix for Planet E and Warp. Also working on some hip hop joints.
When did you start being drawn towards electronic music? You grew up in Detroit, so was it always in your life? I started getting into electronic music pretty early. Amongst my generation it's not really popular so I just inquired on my own. Plus some help from some local cats who I bothered.
You’re only 18 and are already becoming an established part of the new Detroit sound. Did you ever have to choose between music and school, or did you balance both? After high school I chose between college and music. Obviously I chose music. But in high school, music production was part of my curriculum so it wasn't hard to balance
What was the first record you ever bought? And what was the last one you bought? That's pretty tough I bought so many records when I got started. Probably was some Chicago house record I got from the used bins at my local record shop. The last one I bought was the ‘Ghostbusters’ soundtrack, I think it had Bobby Brown on it. Pretty dope record.
Who/what are your biggest inspirations musically? What about outside of music? My biggest inspirations musically change depending on where my head is. Last month it was Gucci Mane and OJ the Juice Man. Then it might be a Drexciya record. I don't know I like just listening to different crap. Outside of music, maybe my Dad. Or my wonderful booking agent.
What album/LP would you play to a chick if you were trying to seal the deal? Hmmm....Simon Grey ‘The Galactic Suite’. That shit is so smooth. Probably some smooth groovy deep house joints if I'm trying to get layed. Some Sade or some shit might work. The Domu remix of ‘The Galactic Suite’ is sweet, just work the EQ on that shit, hoes be wet for days. That's for pulling girls off the floor into your bed son.
Posted in NewsGigs on Thursday 21st January, 2010 by Gineric
This Friday night is rather large. Kill Em All and Eat Your Own Ears go head to head here at fabric with guests across the three rooms including the mighty Erol Alkan, a DJ set from the Mysetery Jets, Four Tet aka Kieran Hebden, James Holden, Floating Points and Riton. Humungous.
Unsurprisingly tickets have now sold out. However, there are still a couple of methods of getting hold of them. Firstly, join fabricfirst - throughout January it's free for you, a discount price for a mate, plus you jump the queue (though you need to arrive before midnight on Friday). Secondly, the good people at the Pure Groove record store - just the other side of Smithfields Market from us - still have some tickets available if you pop down and buy a beer at their lovely shop any time after 9pm. It's well worth a visit anyway, s0 head down there and say hi to some of the Kill Em All residents who will be playing!
Click here for fabricfirst membership information, and click here for more details on Pure Groove.
As Mike Shannon’s standard-setting label steps up to celebrate one decade down, they look forward to the one ahead. Come join them as they mark their 10th year at fabric this Saturday. We had the massive privilege of chatting with the label chief, Mike Shannon, plus Adam Marshall, Deadbeat, Ernesto, Monoblock and Matt Thibideau…read on.
MIKE SHANNON What have been some of your favourite releases?
It's a tough question but if I had to pick my favourite releases on the label would have to be Bucci and Pink Elln's ‘Badminton EP’, Mavis 350 was the track named after a type of badminton birdie and featured Raz Ohara on the vocals. What a killer track, with some slick remixes from The Mole and myself (cough). Monoblock's ‘Esas Cosas EP’ was one of the greats too and was one of the best selling 12 inches that we ever released. There are so many great records that have come out over the years it's really hard to mention a couple.
How did the label get started?
J.Hunsberger and I were members of an arts collective based in Kitchener, Ontario. It was a program set up to help train and assist working artists and musicians to function better in the working artistic world. One of the projects that we set to start was a recording label for the collective that would encompass the works of the artists and musicians involved. So we were rolling along with the project and when it came down to funding time the director of the project pulled the plug on us. Not so much love for techno over at Human Resources Canada. So at that point we couldn't turn back. We were completely broke, but with the help of some friends we scraped the money together and did our first compilation EP called ‘The Focal Point’. It featured a purely Canadian roster of Matt Thibideau, Bishop, DJ.Roo and myself. We just re-mastered and re-released Matt Thibideau's track ‘Archenar’ from that first compilation that came out last May on CYN034. Most definitely the label’s true classic. We did a Cynosure anniversary radio show on Fritz FM here in Berlin and the host of the show, Anja Schneider was amazed when we played that track. She almost couldn't believe it was ten years old.
What's up next for you and the label?
Personally I'm working on a few different musical projects here in Berlin. I am finishing up a new album that shies away from the dancefloor a little bit too. It's a project rich in musicality, much more than anything I've done before. Working with Takeshi Nishimoto (I'm not a Gun) on guitar and Fadila on vocals, plus a few other musical guests all based in Berlin. Should be ready for the summer, I hope. Plus I’m working on a few dancefloor EPs and remixes for a couple of labels. 2010 should be an interesting year for Cynosure. We're coming out of the gate strong with ‘Under the Radar’, the anthem of the label and 10 year anniversary special edition double ten inch. It includes remixes from Ricardo Villalobos, Deadbeat, Rozzo, Massimo Di Lena and Wasted Chicago Youth. Then we have a bomb EP from Andrea Fiorito and following that another killer EP from Brett Johnson lined up. So we’re cruising along at the same pace as always.
ADAM MARSHALL How did you hook up with Cynosure?
I knew Mike in the beginning because we both worked at different branches of the same record store, Speed. I was in charge of ordering records in Toronto, and Mike was in charge of the Kitchener, ON store - so we got to know each other pretty well through that. We share a lot of the same friends, and it always nicer to work with people who are kind of family. Because Cynosure put out a wide variety of styles in the beginning, it never got pigeon-holed into a particular ‘sound’ which I have always appreciated in labels, so it seemed like a good fit for the tracks on my ‘Remote Culture EP’ (CYN016).
What are some of your favorite releases in the catalogue?
Hard to pick favourites, but I have always been drawn to Colin's remix of ‘Bucci / Pink Elln’ (CYN013). It sounds like a Prince song on acid. It seemed to bridge a number of styles together seamlessly and effortlessly. The ‘Exodo EP’ by Ernesto has not left my box for over a year, so that's a highlight for the clubs. I also always liked the Ido Oshkopun release (CYN028) because of the aesthetic and concept.
How did you first get the Techno bug?
A combination of Primal Scream's ‘Screamadelica’ and The Orb's ‘Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld’. Techno just seemed so free form compared to the regimented aesthetics of rock and hip hop. It kinda felt like the new jazz, and I still feel that way.
What do you see in the future for the label?
Ask Mike!
What changed for you since working with Cynosure?
Because most of my previous releases were on very underground labels it opened a whole new world of connections and friendships when I released on Cynosure. Not that Cynosure is a ‘big’ label, but it's been around for a while and people know it and respect it. I don't think my ‘North at Night EP’ would have done as well as it did, if it came out on any other label. When Mike likes a track, he really promotes it well and with an honesty that people really appreciate.
Posted in ArtNews on Monday 18th January, 2010 by Gineric
Any regular visitors of our blog can tell ya, we love good artwork. We love to shout about anyone who has the integrity to combine great music with a visually stunning package. But, nepotism being what it is, we rarely get the opportunity to sing the praises of our own incredible design agency. Village Green have been working with fabric since the beginning – on our label and club artwork – and blow our minds month in, month out - their design work has been absolutely integral to what our disco is all about.
As we don’t get the chance to give them the praise they richly deserve as often as we’d like, it's rather handy that super-fly magazine Bonafide – a big favourite in our press department – have done it for us. They’re an awesome outfit Bonafide, twice yearly in print format, but constantly updated online, they cover the best contemporary music, but through the eyeglass of a seasoned hip hop head. It makes for great reading, and their recently published issue includes features with our very own Toddla T, Dam Funk, Anti-Pop Consortium, Raekwon and De La Soul, as well as an in-depth look at the work of our brothers-from-other-mothers over at Village Green.
Some more action from our friends over at Kill Em All including brand new mixes from residents Filthy Dukes and Stopmakingme alongside some brand new music from their world. Kill Em All takes place at fabric again this Friday with one of their biggest lineups to date.
Filthy Dukes Winter Sun Mix
Something to warm you up this winter, here's Tim from the Dukes:
"Here's a little mix i've just put together. I was traveling around on trains in the snow and compiled all these tracks into a playlist. It's a mix for sitting on trains rushing through snow covered fields with the sun pouring in through the window. OR...just sitting in your bedroom with five layers on trying to keep warm. Hope this warms you up a bit.
Enjoy.
t.x."
(Tracklisting in the player)
Stopmakingme - Off Modern Mix
Here's some of the stuff I've really loved playing out recently as well as two of my latest remixes for Boy 8-Bit and We Have Band. It really shows the kind the thing you can expect to hear from me in club right now. Have fun.
Tracklist:
Green Velvet & Kid Sister - Everybody Wants
Boy 8-Bit - A City Under Siege (Stopmakingme Remix)
Tiga - Sex O'Clock (Matias Aguayo Remix)
Populette - Mommy (TBD Remix)
Booka Shade & Marc Romboy - Everyday Of My Life (Martin Landsky Remix)
Sven Brede - Sweat
Sloppy Seconds - Feel It
Hot City - No More
Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance (Dixon Edit)
Touch Sensitive - Body Stop
Sounds Superb - Pseudo Wind
Boogie Corporation - Dirty Rips
Kraftwerk - Aero Dynamik
We Have Band - Divisive (Stopmakingme Remix)
In Flagranti - ExExEx (Golden Bug Remix)
Pink Skull - Peter Cushing
Starkey was the star of Mary Anne Hobbs' BBC Radio 1 show this week, when he built a track, with help from percussionist/producer Reso and vocalist Anneka, over the course of the 2 hour radio show. He was given samples and tools by BBC DJs, other producers and members of the public and challenged to come up with something Chris Moyles could play on his Breakfast Show the following day.
Belgian feel-good disco trio Villa have had the blogosphere going mad recently with their ‘Diva Edits’ on Mindless Boogie and a series of remixes including Music Go Music’s ‘Warm in the Shadows’ and Dan le Sac and Scroobius Pip’s ‘Get Better.’ With these guys getting support from the likes of Erol Alkan and Rob Da Bank and with some original material about to surface, you better make sure you keep a close eye on these guys in 2010!
Ahead of their Room 3 appearance at Fabric on 22nd January they have been kind enough to give us their brilliant remix of The Golden Filter’s ‘Thunderbird’ for your aural consumption.
You can catch Villa at Fabric on Friday 22nd January alongside Erol Alkan, Filthy Dukes, Riton, Fool’s Gold (Live), Stop Making Me, Keiran Hebden (DJ set), James Holden, Floating Points, Gold Panda (Live), Casper C, Eat Your Own Ears DJs, Mystery Jets (DJ set), Wild Geese and Jac The Disco.
Much has been written about the emergence of Berlin’s Berghain/Panorama Bar mecca and the parallels with our own home from home in EC1, not to mention the artists that have spawned from the success of the now legendary club.
The finest purveyors of deep house have decided to expand their repertoire and cut their cloth from an alternative material to wax. Berlin’s Innervisions empire, led by fabric 42’s Âme and Room One regular Dixon, have turned to paper to unleash one of the most hyped pieces of Techno literature ever to be released. Tobias Rapp’s book ‘Lost and Sound: Berlin, Techno and the Easyjetset’ investigates the city’s love affair with electronic music and seeks to answer why the world is flocking to the German capital to get a piece of the action. Innervisions have taken the innovative step of releasing a limited number of copies exclusively via their website in English, as originally it was only available in German. You can check it out here.
It’s not often that a record label diverts from releasing music to releasing literature. Tell us why you felt it essential to translate this book into English and publish it?
Here's a line lifted straight out of NYC royalty - and 
Nicolas Jaar
London duo 
