Saturday, May 30, 2009
Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts
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
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Clear And Present Danger
I just got hold of some excellent new tracks that I had to share with you. First up is a remix of probably one of the most influential electronic tracks ever. "Clear" by Cybotron (Juan Atkins and Richard Davis) is considered to be a proto Electro/Techno classic from 1983. Cobblestone Jazz have stuck closely to the original version with their remix, just adding some trademark Mathew Jonson dark bass action. It's a good update on the original.
Cybotron - Clear (Cobblestone Jazz Remix) // Juno Buy
Next is a great Techno EP sent from Moodgadget Records. The Mission To Mars EP by Isomer Transition contains four quality deep Techno tracks. "Space Maddness" is the standout with a sound really reminiscent of "Baby Kate" by Heartthrob. Check it.
Isomer Transition - Space Maddness // Moodgadget Released August 18th.
Last but by no means least is a brand new track from ill-ec-tro-nic favourites Modeselektor. These guys can do no wrong at the moment. The have a new album "Happy Birthday" out on BPitch Control in September and from the tracks I have heard so far looks set to be one of the electronic albums of the year. One track from the album "Let Your Love Grow" featuring Paul St Hilaire was posted on this very blog last year by RAW. It is a collaboration with Apparat (Under the name Moderat) and was only ever released on an exclusive free CD given away with De:Bug Magazine.
The track I have for you however is very special. It features the vocal stylings of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and is quite exquisite in its depth and beauty. I'm going to have this on constant rotation.
Modeselektor - The White Flash (Feat Thom Yorke) // BPitch Control. Released Sept.
EDIT: Removed by Request.
Cybotron - Clear (Cobblestone Jazz Remix) // Juno Buy
Next is a great Techno EP sent from Moodgadget Records. The Mission To Mars EP by Isomer Transition contains four quality deep Techno tracks. "Space Maddness" is the standout with a sound really reminiscent of "Baby Kate" by Heartthrob. Check it.
Isomer Transition - Space Maddness // Moodgadget Released August 18th.
Last but by no means least is a brand new track from ill-ec-tro-nic favourites Modeselektor. These guys can do no wrong at the moment. The have a new album "Happy Birthday" out on BPitch Control in September and from the tracks I have heard so far looks set to be one of the electronic albums of the year. One track from the album "Let Your Love Grow" featuring Paul St Hilaire was posted on this very blog last year by RAW. It is a collaboration with Apparat (Under the name Moderat) and was only ever released on an exclusive free CD given away with De:Bug Magazine.
The track I have for you however is very special. It features the vocal stylings of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and is quite exquisite in its depth and beauty. I'm going to have this on constant rotation.
Modeselektor - The White Flash (Feat Thom Yorke) // BPitch Control. Released Sept.
EDIT: Removed by Request.
Labels: BPitch Control, Cobblestone Jazz, Cybotron, Electro, Electronic, Isomer Transition, Moderat, Modeselektor, Moodgadget, Techno
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Monkey Mashup
Modeselektor's first 'official' mix cd was launched this week and damn fine it is too!At just over an hour long it's a little short but they still manage to fit over 30 tracks into it and it's party beats from start to finish. We strongly recommend you buy it!
It's a similar in style to the mix they did for the 'Boomkat Selected Mixtape' series a few years back, mixing up techno, dubstep, hip hop and whatever else takes their fancy although this one's a little more bleep oriented...which is nice.
Anyhow, here's the aforementioned Boomkat mix as well as a remix from last year of Modeselektor's Silikon by Siriusmo, one of the artists to feature on Boogybytes 3. Enjoy!
Modeselektor - Boomkat Selected Mixtapes Vol. 4 //Boomkat
Modeselektor - Silikon (Siriusmo Remix) //Bpitch Control
Labels: Boomkat, BPitch Control, Mashups, Modeselektor, Siriusmo
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Birthday Bombs #3
Part 3 of our birthday re-posts is given over to two tracks I posted that were only ever released on a CD given away with De:Bug magazine in Germany.
The original posts can be found here and here (as you can see from the Claro Intelecto post, I was having some teething troubles using blogger!)
Claro Intelecto - State of Grace
Moderat - Let Your Love Glow
Seeing as the Moderat track also features on The Langer's latest mix posted earlier this week I thought I'd give you all an extra Birthday treat and share another one of the fine cuts from the CD in question:
This time it's from the insanely prolific John Tejada.
John Tejada - Panorama
The original posts can be found here and here (as you can see from the Claro Intelecto post, I was having some teething troubles using blogger!)
Claro Intelecto - State of Grace
Moderat - Let Your Love Glow
Seeing as the Moderat track also features on The Langer's latest mix posted earlier this week I thought I'd give you all an extra Birthday treat and share another one of the fine cuts from the CD in question:
This time it's from the insanely prolific John Tejada.
John Tejada - Panorama
Labels: Apparat, Claro Intelecto, Electro, Electronic, Electronica, Moderat, Modeselektor
