The ill-ec-tro-nic

It's been a while since I last posted so I thought I'd do another random roundup of what's been floating my boat recently.

First up, the best Electronica track I've heard all year. 'Maybes' by Mount Kimbie is their first official release on Scuba's label Hotflush Recordings. It's all Blade Runner atmospherics, Burial style vocal samples and plink plonk percussion. Judging by this I can't wait to hear more of their next EP.

Mount Kimbie - Maybes // Hotflush Recordings Buy

Speaking of Burial his collaboration with Four Tet was one of the most hyped records of the year. It looks like an album maybe in the pipeline but until then you'll just have to do with with this haunting slice of deep house. 'Moth' Seeing as it is impossible to buy as an MP3 I thought I'd give you a high quality version. You can still by the Limited 12" on Discogs Marketplace

Andy Stott and Miles Whittaker, aka MLZ have been putting out a series of limited 12"s under the Alias of Mille & Andrea on Daphne Records which is an offshoot of Modern Love. As you'd expect it's all Dub Techno spacial atmospherics laced with Dubstep percussive beats. The third in the series is exceptionally good with elements of 90's Junglist hardcore on 'Temper Tantrum' and Berlin style T++ dubtec sounds on 'Vigilance'

Millie & Andrea - Temper Tantrum // Daphne Buy

More on the Dubtec crossover tip now courtesy of Phonica Records. This is their first release on their own imprint and it comes from Hector and Bryant. The original mix of 'Tension' is a minimal Techno builder with Dub shards and Detroit synths towards the end. Appleblim and Al Tourettes team up to come up with a tougher take on the sound which clocks in at 130 bpm and takes its cues from the UK Funky sound and Wonky styles whilst retaining the Dub atmospherics

Hector & Bryant - Tension (Appleblim and Al Tourettes Remix) // Phonica 001 Buy Vinyl Buy Mp3

Finally you should check out the new release from Scuba. 'Klinik'. Very similar to his previous release 'Tense' it is all Berlin Metallic shards over stepper beats. Highly recommended. Buy

In fact you can hear it in all its glory on this great Dubtec mix courtesy of Brendan Moeller aka Beat Pharmacy.

Beat Pharmacy - Dubstep Mix July 09

Tracklist:

1. aardvarck - Water
2. pendle covern-MVO_Chambers
3. Martyn - all I have is memories
4. porter ricks-Redundance
5. Loefah - Rufage
6. scuba - Klinik
7. retroblast - Get Down
8. search_and_destroy-candyfloss_(loefah_remix)
9. relocate - Dot dot dash
10. Headhunter - In Motion
11. moderat - Nr. 22
12. kontext - Plumes (Ramadanman Refix)
13. Burial - Versus
14. pangaea-Bear Witness
15. Skream- Backwards
16. rod modell-Heaven Above
17. synkro - On My Mind
18. 2000F & J kamata - You don't know what love is
19. Kode9 - Stung
20. slack-elephant_step
21. monolake-Titan
22. Pink Floyd-One Of These Days

Labels: Appleblim, Beat Pharmacy, Hotflush, Millie and Andrea, Modern Love, Mount Kimbie, Phonica, Scuba

30 Years of 2 Tone. Picture special.

In 1979, The Specials' leader, keyboardist and songwriter, Jerry Dammers created 2 Tone Records. Releasing seminal recordings by The Specials, Madness, The Selector, The Beat and many more, the label quickly grew out of its modest Coventry roots and became one of the most successful and revered record labels of its time. 2 Tone's legacy is legendary...

Check out the images at PYMCA

Labels: 2 Tone, PYMCA

Apologies that our posting frequency's been even slacker than normal of late but one of the things that's been keeping Langer and I busy is sorting out a party for next month.

It's at Concrete Bar which is part of the Hayward Gallery on London's Southbank and is crackin' little venue both inside and out. We've got a Stuffrecords special going on with The Village Orchestra playing live as well as Stuff/Numbers resident DJ Goodhand. I'm donning my Nanorhythm guise for the evening and playing my debut live set and Langer and our mate Mark Solo are on DJ duties as well. It's on Saturday July 18th 8pm-1am and it's FREE to get in too so hopefully see you there!

Saturday July 18th, Concrete Bar, Hayward Gallery, South Bank, London SE1.
8pm - 1am Free Entry.

Map

Facebook page

We'll be reminding you about it nearer the time too but to whet your appetite's here's a tasty little mix that Mark did for my Soliton Research site - enjoy!

Mark Solo - The Waters Have Broken

Tracklist:

01 | Tokyo Black Star - Game Over (Loco Dice 5am Remix)
02 | Deepchord - Vantage Isle (DC Mix)
03 | Deepchord - Vantage Isle (Original)
04 | Ovatow - Phalaenopsis
05 | Onur Ozer - Kasmir (Loco Dice Remix)
06 | Reese and Santonio - How To Play Our Music
07 | Affkt & Danny Fiddo - Points
08 | Fuckaponydelic - Switch The Lights (Motorcitysoul Mix)
09 | Kenny Larkin - Bass Mode
10 | Inspirational - Releasing The Pressure (Rhadoo Mix)
11 | Lauhaus - Cassmance
12 | Jona - Sunset
13 | Minilogue - Ghost
14 | Repeat Repeat - Why Must
15 | Body Code - Equidistant
16 | Queen - Flash's Theme
17 | Chromatics - Running Up That Hill

Labels: Concrete Bar, Goodhand, ill-ec-tro-nic, Mark Solo, Nanorhythm, Soliton Research, Stuffrecords

Until recently, the delights of the Highpoint Lowlife label were unknown to me but but over the past few weeks I've been giving some air time to some of their releases and have been generally delighted by the results. As with many a 'discovery' these days I first took note when something leapt through my headphones but due to my poor file keeping I wasn't quite sure where I'd got the tracks by 'Kwaidan' from. A search of discogs failed to provide any results and it was only when I noticed an e-mail bearing a similar catalogue number from the amongst the mountain of junk we get sent that I started to dig and realised that I'd been sat on a whole heap of promotional gems for way too long.

The Kwaidan tracks are kind of hard to describe as they don't sit easily with usual categorisations - there's definitely dubstep overtones remisicent of the likes of Skull Disco but at nearly 12 minutes long apiece, the two tracks on HPLL030 encompass so much more as they mutate along their trajectory taking in all manner of haunting wails and machine drones amidst the pervading dark atmosphere.

Kwaidan - Hoichi //HPLL030

Highpoint's roster is a pretty varied affair but from the handful of releases I've checked out, there's a strong electronica presence; a genre which seems to have been relegated to the lower leagues these days. Ranging from atmospheric textures through more dancefloor oriented experimentation all the way to distorted mentalism, Highpoint Lowlife is bound to have something for anyone with even a passing interest in this genre but for me the real gem in my current explorations comes from two Hungarian guys. I've not heard the original of Tigrics' Boko but the Friskfisk remix is simply stunning and up there with some of Aphex's finest moments - in fact had this come out on his Analord series from a few years back it would surely have been considered one of the standout tracks. The release notes that come with this one state that Friskfisk is somewhat reclusive, makes music for himself and his friends and has no intentions of getting anything else released - surely a tragedy if he has other moments of genius like this up his sleeve!

Tigrics - Boko (Friskfisk Remix) //HPLL035

As well as its openly experimental side, HPLL also releases more 'straight up' material such as Hot City's house rhythms or the dubtec stylings to be heard on Gravious' Futurist EP, the label's latest release.

Gravious - Jupiter Jazz //HPLL036

The final point of mention goes out to whoever's doing the mastering for these releases as, bar none, the sound quality on everything I've checked out is impeccable - not only loud but super crisp and really allowing all of the individual elements to breathe.

So, all in all, a damn good discovery and a label I'll definitely be keeping an eye on. Recent releases have all been digital only and can be purchased from the usual players such as Juno Download or Boomkat but the label also has it's own shop which you can access direct from their site.

Labels: Dubstep, Electronica, Friskfisk, Gravious, Highpoint Lowlife, Kwaidan, Tigrics

We're not one for blowing our own trumpets too much here at ill-ec-tro-nic but we were the first blog ever to post Moderat. That's right, back in October 2006, RAW posted a then unreleased track named 'Let Your Love Grow' which appeared on a compilation given away with the 100th issue of De:Bug magazine.

Said track went on to become an undergound anthem when it appeared on Modeselektor's second album 'Happy Birthday!'

Moderat’s formation began back in 2002 when Sascha Ring (aka Apparat) and Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (aka Modeselektor) recorded an EP for the record label BPitch Control. The making of this release was incredibly exhausting for the three of them, and at the last minute they renamed the EP “Auf Kosten der Gesundheit” (which translates to “At The Cost Of Health”). When it came time to begin working on an album, Moderat suddenly broke up.

Skip to spring 2008 and after lots of individual successes the men re-unite and decide to continue working on their album. The three guys began by renting studio space at the legendary Berlin Hansa Studios in order to record the album in analog with the help of the studio’s vintage tube technology and an old EMI console from 1972, restored especially for them. American software designer, Joshua Kit Clayton, was hired to program a superb reverb algorithm specifically for the recording process of this album.

And it shows. So many people, myself included listen in wonderment at how Modeselektor get such a 'Phat' sound to their music. The album itself is a classic combination of the Modeselektor + Apparat sound. The former's tutonic beats are once again to the fore, but this time layered with the fuzzy synth lines of Apparat which were so evident on his collaboration with Ellen Allien.

Other influences also spring out. First track 'A New Error' sounds exactly like Boards of Canada's floaty ambience before the megolithic beats drop. Elsewhere on 'Out of Sight' the beats are pure Burial with their wood block percussion. It is no surprise that Modeselektor have been influenced by the 'Dubtec' sound and Berlin's current love for all things Dubstep.

Moderat - Out Of Sight // BPitch Control Buy

The self-titled album is also be available as a limited edition DVD produced by the Berlin based artist collective Pfadfinderei, feature music videos and more exclusive content. Buy

Labels: BPitch Control, Moderat, Modeselektor

Since all trace of my last post was unceremoniously removed from the interweb by the powers that be, I thought I'd just repost the excellent mix from Leo Zero.

I can only assume that David Bowie's record company didn't like Leo's superb remix of 'Moonage Daydream' as justification for taking it down. Personally I thought that it did Bowie a great service in promoting a classic track to those who may not have been aware of it. Just to let you know that Leo was also behind the remix of Lou Reed's 'Satellite of Love' and look what happened to that. Massive Hit. Lou Reed probably made a shit ton of money and it put him back in the charts. Everyone's happy.

Maybe the same thing is gonna happen here.

Leo Zero - Wigwam Mix

Upon seeing the flyer for Thursday's Honest Jon's party at Plastic People with it's triple header of Mark Ernestus, DJ Pete & Sleeparchive (live) I became rather excited at the prospect of seeing three techno legends in such intimate surroundings, although I did feel a little bewildered as to why this wasn't going to be on a rather more practical Friday or Saturday night.

As half of Basic Channel / Rhythm & Sound as well as a whole host of other sub-projects, Mark Ernestus' music credentials are well and truly cemented in place as it's nigh on impossible to overstate the importance of these ventures in terms of both the original productions the pair delivered as well as the ongoing influence their sounds have across a whole manner of genres today. Given that I don't recall ever seeing Ernestus listed as a DJ on flyers and the like, I had a sneaky suspicion that he wasn't going to be a four deck wizard but I felt pretty confident that he would have some damn fine records in his box. And sure enough he did, although their shine was a little dimmed by his 'no-mixing' DJ approach and somewhat haphazard sequencing and cross-fading resulting in an almost 'school disco' type awkwardness at times as the crowd waited for the outros and intros to pass so they could resume their appreciative dancing. I'm trying to tread a little carefully here as I am such an admirer of his work and he is truly in the scene's premier league but it just felt a little strange that the razor-sharp perception of space and flow that Ernestus' productions exhibit seemed to be sadly lacking from his DJing; something I'm citing as more of a surprise than a criticism. At times though, it did feel a little as if you were watching him play records for himself on a Sunday afternoon.

DJ Pete delivered a much more structured performance and for the first of his two sets, dropped a wealth of techno treats and maintained the momentum on the floor nicely. His set later in the night took things down a different path where he displayed his new-found passion for all things dubstep. The hefty bass sounded superb on Plastic People's system and sure enough he dropped some corkers but I couldn't help but sense that it wasn't really what the crowd were expecting or indeed what they were particularly wanting as the flyer had screamed 'techno, techno, techno' at them.

Techno, however, is what they most certainly got when Roger Semsroth aka Sleeparchive stepped behind his controls as his stripped down brand of clinical audiophile sonics was just what the doctor ordered. His set was the undoubted highlight of the night and I found it much more dynamic than his performance at 2008's Bloc Weekend which was the last time I saw him. My only complaint is that I wish it had gone on for longer as I was enjoying it so much.

So, all in all, it was definitely a worthwhile night to have attended but not quite the 5 hours of audio heaven I'd been hoping for.

Sleeparchive - Hospital 03
Sleeparchive - Papercup (buy)

Labels: Basic Channel, DJ Pete, Mark Ernestus, Rhythm and Sound, Sleeparchive, Substance

In case today's image is looking a little familiar to some of you it's because it's been on the front pages of Little White Earbuds for a couple of weeks as they used it for one of their podcasts. The image is of Louis Guilliaume and it was upon seeing that he'd done a podcast for LWE that reminded me I'd been meaning to post about him for some time.

I came to hear of Guilliaume a few months back whilst slowly working my way through a pile of mp3s a friend gave me. The tracks had been sat on my player and after having listened to a bunch of new but not particularly spectacular stuff, my ears suddenly pricked up as they were subjected to some of the most powerful, innovative and generally in your face techno I'd heard in a good while. Sure enough, the tracks in question turned out to be by Louis Guillaume, a name I'd not heard of previously and in trawling the web on an information gathering exercise for this post, it seems that Louis has only a few releases under his belt and that other than the contents of his own myspace, there's not really too much info (or indeed photos) about the man out there.

I'll avoid regurgitating the info on his myspace save to say that Louis is from Holland and cites a wide list of musical influences. Many of these tastes can be heard on his aforementioned podcast which takes in sounds from disco's yesteryear alongside more contemporary techno and house cuts. I was actually quite surprised when I heard the mix as it's quite far removed from his own productions which don't so much introduce themselves to the uninitiated as scream their presence at you.

The cuts below are taken one apiece from two EPs he had out last year and if the labelling on the tracks I was given by a friend are anything to go by it looks like he has a bunch of new stuff in the pipeline.

Louis Guillaume - Fucked Up // SD Records

Louis Guillaume - For Ever // SD Records

Buy Louis Guilliaume releases at Juno or Zero "

The wait is nearly over! The debut album by Dutch producer Martijn Deykers is finally here. Martyn was both myself and RAW's favourite producer of 2008, releasing a string of stunning 12"s and remixes which blurred the lines of Dubstep, Techno, 2-step and Drum 'n' Bass and which has seen him elevated to the top echalons of the Dubstep/Techno scene.

To say that this release is eagerly anticipated is somewhat of an understatement but from what I have heard so far it looks like the hype has been justified and Martyn has produced an album which fits perfectly into the new 'Dubtec' sound but has a much broader appeal and encompasses more genres than one would expect. Martyn describes his sound thus: "I think what makes music interesting is when an artist incorporates his/her influences and translates it into a unique sounding style," he explains. "Although it might sound a tad arrogant, I'd like to think of my music as 'Martyn music.' I try not to think of it as dubstep or techno, or house or drum & bass—it's not about genres, it's about music. This way I feel more freedom to make the music I want to make."

Great Lengths is out on 3024 on April 20th. Buy

1. The Only Choice
2. krdl-t-grv
3. right?star!
4. Seventy Four
5. Little Things
6. Vancouver
7. These Words (Ft. dBridge)
8. Bridge
9. Elden St.
10. Far Away
11. Hear Me
12. Is This Insanity? (Ft. Spaceape)
13. Brilliant Orange
14. Natural Selection

Labels: 3024, Dubstep, Dubtec, Martyn

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of witnessing A Critical Mass, the brand new live show put together by Innervisions crew, Ame, Henrik Schwarz and Dixon. Secret Sundaze promotors Giles Smith and James Priestley had brought them over as part of their showcase promoting "The Grandfather Paradox", a new mix that covers the story of minimalist music from past present and future. "The Grandfather Paradox", after all, is the idea that a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his own grandfather couldn't logically do so, because without the grandfather there is no time traveler.

The show itself as you would expect was superb with the group mixing up all their individual hits into one complete whole and providing the sort of uplifting atmosphere which is lacking in todays po-faced minimal House and Techno scenes.

Another reason for me to check out this trio was upon hearing a brilliant remix by Henrik Schwarz of the seventies Funk and Soul singer Bill Withers. 'Who Is He' has been transformed by Schwarz into an amazingly funky minimal house number with Bill Withers' smooth vocal stylings telling tales of a jealous lover suspecting infidelity. This a great example of when a remix is done properly then the original is elevated to something stunning. Aparently though Bill does not approve of this new interpretation of his work and this amazing track may not ever see a proper release.

Bill Withers - Who Is He (Henrik Schwarz Remix) // Unreleased

The Grandfather Paradox is out now. Buy

Labels: Ame, Bill Withers, Dixon, Henrik Schwarz, Secretsundaze