Genre-wise, this compilation is the sum total of all its parts. I have no idea what’s going on for the most part. However, I feel confident in asserting that whatever is represented isn’t standing still. Everything is in a constant state of flux. Beats are no sooner delivered, than mutated. Starting off at flatworm tempo, REQ’s ‘Robots’ feels like an elegy to Pre-Cambrian cybernetics. Ekoplekz and SDEM weigh in with similar somnolent, but heavier cuts. The livelier tunes take up the first half of the collection, the first six all indulging themselves in the percussive dark arts, with a bias towards break beat, that may or may not manifest itself in the realms of drum and bass. Etch is perhaps the most overt exponent of this. A great glimpse of the hardcore continuum in a modern context with a side order of abstraction.
I’m now a resident in suburban West Suffolk, but have lived in Cambridge, Paris, London (twice), Evia (Greece), New Brunswick, NJ, USA, and on Merseyside until I was 24. Time and place are important, but the music and art a person is drawn to isn’t decided by borders. I first became drawn to black musical expression in the late nineteen seventies, and from then on have invested more time in it than any other art form. House, techno, and other forms of electronic dance music are black in origin, no matter who the artist in question is. To pretend otherwise is prejudiced. The roots of modern, popular music are in black expression. Everything stems from it. It’s not necessary that we all need to have an encyclopedic insight into it in order to enjoy it, but we need to be able to give credit where credit is due.
So here is a small list of important records in my life made by black artists. I’m well aware that I’ve been overdosing on lists recently, but in light of recent events, it’s the least I can do to make sure I recognize this most significant of artistic contributions.
A Love Supreme: Part 1 Acknowledgment – John Coltrane (Impulse)
The Illuminator – Underground Resistance (UR)
Calling Miss Khadija - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (Blue Note)
Boogie Chillen – John Lee Hooker
Synchro System – King Sunny Ade & The African Beats (Island)
M12 Milky Way - Model 500 (R&S)
Jack Johnson (Original Soundtrack Recording) - Miles Davis (Columbia Masterworks)
There are few better making a certain strain of melodic electro right now than Plant43, AKA Emile Facey. He seems to be able to throw down a top notch strain of machine funk at will. His sense of timing is impeccable, as is his ability to generate mood through moderation. This is apparent on ‘Dream Archive’, and ’21 Winters’, whose restraint adds gravitas and decorum. ‘Density Wave’ is the kind of up and at ‘em space funk that I never tire of, with layer upon layer of synthetic robot boogie mycelium coalescing to produce an effortless funk fest. For the first release on his new label, this is a wonderful statement of intent.
Pure Space Recordings is an Australian label dedicated to pushing Australian music. So, for its third release we’ve got Rings Around Saturn, making tracks that sound like they come from a country with more poisonous and weird animals than anywhere else on Earth. Both ‘Grip’ and ‘Subterranean Electro’ do as much as they can within the confines of electro to subvert the genre, while still being recognizably robotic. ‘Grip’ is a bass-heavy plunge into an interplanetary synapse junction, whereas ‘Subterranean Electro’ is a much more animated, skittish sonic rendering, which reminds me a little of some of 96 Back’s recent material.
The direction followed by Apron Records is an interesting one. Like the previously reviewed ‘Joy Of Missing Out’ by Zopelar, this collection by Quaid documents a similar funk-fuelled diorama, but operates at a different pitch. It’s not as laid back, but that is a question of degree. The vignettes herein pass through the ears of the listener evoking transitory, kinetic feelings. There are recognizable fragments in the mix, such as the Public Enemy evoking siren in ‘Binary Starr’ and the Ron Trent influenced swirl of ‘Latent Heat’. A pervasive eighties gloss holds sway on ‘Uncanny Valley’, ‘Mirage’, ‘Private Myths’ and ‘City Of Dreams’, accelerating on ‘Dinner With Angela’, while ‘Desire’ feels like something Onehotrix Point Never would have come up with under his Games guise a few years ago. Never less than engaging, this is a sophisticated collection of dissolute sonic facets to soundtrack these uncertain times.
An aptly titled release, as the Bottom Feeders go deeper than was previously thought possible on the title track, which is an eloquent piece of aquatic electro that pulses like a blue whale’s heart. ‘Squid Ink Posse’ rolls like only a serious cephalopod can, while the outro lifts one of the more atmospheric elements of ‘The Oceanic Depths . . .’ and emphasizes it. AUX 88 opt for after-hours low rider cruising vibes on their frictional funky remix, while Ectomorph’s is all compartmentalized urgency. It’s a nice package, in which the remixes don’t stand out.
I thought I’d leave this album to play in my bedroom, pop down to watch ‘Primates’ and snuggle back up to it after. However, it had finished by the time I got back, which surprised me. Then I looked at the track lengths, and surmised that in spite of the number of tunes on this release, brevity is everything in the hardcore continuum. There’s no benefit to stretching a point. Enshrining the Amen break, these brief glimpses of a cartoon parallel world take some basic elements and amplify them to devastating effect. I can’t out it any better than the press release (which is rare) “14 slabs of raucous breakbeat bangers, riddled with cool as fuck samples and bass bin shattering sub”. I like everything on this album, with the samples often deciding which I like more. Current favourites are ‘God’, ‘Ready’, ‘Sirius’ and ‘Bad Boy Acid’, all of which make me piss myself. Actually, the whole album does, but some tunes reduce me to greater levels of incontinence than others. It’s a glorious, cohesive mess.
I’m delighted to discover that Uj Pa Gaz is from Albania. (Or he says he is. Who knows really?) At first I thought Phoenicia or Byker Grove . . . and then my thoughts turned to Enver Hoxha and not being able to get through customs with a beard, except a Lenin goatee. All of this builds great context, but this is a remix package, not the original article. So what am I on about? Jason Peters and Boy Division, that’s what. Both remixes are jaunty, uptempo versions. Boy Division just had to come up with a Hi NRG version, what’s the point of their existence if not? And the result is an italo-inflected, piano-led piece of heaven with a vocodered “Nepotik” being the cherry on top. Jason Peters’ remix is equally good. It’s a little heavier and druggier and you might have a few unexpected “turns” while listening to it, but I imagine that’s the point.
There’s a lot of interesting music coming out of France at the moment. No sooner had I finished reviewing ‘Ramp Age EP - Security DJ (Raw Culture)’ then my thoughts turned to this, the latest on Chloe’s Lumiere Noir. And while this doesn’t follow the same route, there are similarities in design. The pace is measured, the atmosphere is edgy and the production dense and layered. These are all excellent qualities and serve to illustrate how important it is not to play safe. The various tracks fluctuate in intensity all while keeping the bar high. At times it’s the stuff of nightmares: ‘Utopia’ sounds like anything but, while offering glimpses of salvation. ‘I Thought’ is a determined drive though a science fiction interzone, ‘Diaoul’ a soundtrack to sacrificial shape throwing, (the remix adds funk and retains menace), and ‘La Sentence Est Irrevocable’ a grim march across a bleak, haunted hinterland.
You can feel the sweat dripping off the walls as you listen to this very intense sextet. The beats grind themselves into your consciousness and fester like residual shockwaves, emitting power long after they’ve been extinguished. We’re talking the dark side of chug here, a soundtrack to accompany you across a minefield. The tracks are rigid, acidic, tracky stompers overlaid with effects, all of which are designed to disorientate. ‘Ghettonite’ and ‘Domestic XS’ eloquently summarise prime Relief era beat science, the latters’ remix raising the bar a little bit higher still. ‘Ramp Age’ is threatening and confrontational, but not as weird as ‘Club de Hashishins (+Rawmance)’, which draws on the psychedelic souk to go deep into the listeners neural nether regions. Brilliant, warped stuff which should carry a mandatory public health warning.
The original from 2017 is a gospel-tinged soul stomper which highlights the vocals of Maurice Jackson. The remixes herein, with the exception of the DJ Deep/Roman Poncet collaboration, also emphasise his velvet larynx, but even though there is an effort to strengthen the instrumentation, it all feels compromised. There’s only so much you can do to toughen up production under these circumstances without sounding derivative or just wrong. There are traits of hi-tek soul throughout this package, but both Orlando Voorn’s interpretations, and Mark Flash’s fall short, and It’s the ‘Groove la Chord’ functionality of Deep and Poncet’s effort which bears most fruit.
This is a compilation of early EPs by Foul Play and, as such, serves as a valuable document of hardcore/rave during the early nineties. Within these grooves it’s possible to observe the transition from breaks to drum and bass which to an onlooker like myself is so subtle but so critical. Not to worry. There’s no doubt that the music collected here represents an important moment in electronic music history. The music is dark and loaded right form the start, not a second is wasted, each track being a compressed distillation of old skool hardcore vibes and all incorporated influences. The music must have sounded so far ahead of its time back then because it still does, even though the samples used induce a feeling of otherworldly familiarity partly because a lot of the auditory blueprint has become pervasive in pop over the last decade or so. There’s nothing here that doesn't scream innovation while, at the same time being very much of a time and place. Rewind to a warehouse or railway arch within easy access to a local council estate, while going fast forward into the future.
When I think of DJs whose sound I would like to emulate, or I feel that they are playing music in the way I would like to be heard if I had a similar profile, Eli Verveine is a name that immediately springs to mind. From Switzerland and with a global reputation, she is someone whose sound is broadly characterized by depth and groove. When I listen to her sets I am immediately reminded of the classic south London/Croydon approach to shaping techno and house. If it’s deep, warm, danceable and embellished with machine funk and the production isn’t overcrowded, it’s in. These very flexible, accommodating parameters allow a wide variety of music to be incorporated into a typical set, albeit with relatively specific standards to be met, and she has become adept at satisfying these criteria due to her impeccable taste and intuition. I sent her some questions a while back, which I almost forgot about until we entered this period of lockdown, so I pounced while she probably wasn’t as busy as normal, and she was kind enough to get back to me.
How would you describe your DJing philosophy?
I love the fact that music is a universal language, that you can travel almost everywhere in the world and that you can find this magic that connects people on the dance floor.
I see everyone on the dance floor including myself as unified: we are traveling together and it is a pleasure to steer us through the night with my musical vision.
How many great DJs are also great producers? Who are the first names that spring to mind?
Hmmm. That`s a tough one. To be honest - no names come to mind, since there are a lot. That`s why I will leave it unanswered.
Which time do you most prefer to play a set and why?
Every time has its charm and I basically love all of them. Although the time that gives you space for experiments and a kind of musical freedom are the morning hours. That`s why they are especially dear to me.
How aware are you of having any technical skills regarding your DJing? Is this important, or is it all about the music?
When I started DJing I thought technical skills were the most important. It was a time when everybody played vinyl and you had to learn to how beat match. Nowadays I can only laugh at my naive view.
Neither the technical skills alone nor the music make you a good DJ. It`s a combination of many things and skills together. Like how you can read a dance floor, how you combine the records, how much you feel what you are playing. This, combined with technical skills, and you are on your way to becoming a good DJ. Experience might be an important factor too.
Why do you think your ‘Carebear’ mix blew up in the way it did, and how helpful are online mixes to getting your name out there?
I think it was a combination of different factors that came together. After I recorded "Carebear " I burned it on cd and handed it out to friends. It was my first recorded promotional mix ever and I put a lot of thought into it after refusing to record anything for several years.
I had a homepage back then, where the mix and the playlist were posted. Somehow Chris from the mnml ssgs blog stumbled upon it, posted it and also asked me to record a podcast for his blog. Which happened to be my very first recorded podcast, so to say.
In my case, online mixes helped a lot in getting exposure and recognition on a larger scale.
Mixes are definitely important, especially if you don`t have any releases. Nowadays the Internet is flooded with mixes, so it`s also more difficult to get attention through it.
Your sets have been described as “timeless”, (mnml ssgs 2008), and draw “on music from the past 15 or so years”, (RA 2012). How innovative do you think house and techno are right now and do you have a favourite period?
I think nowadays it is more difficult to be innovative in house and techno since - at this point - they are very established genres, nonetheless, what you can do is add your personal touch or flair. My favourite period would probably be the one between the years 1996 - 1999, even though I can always find great & timeless music in every period of dance music.
How many records do you have and how many do you need? How important is it to keep up-to-date with what’s coming out and where do you do your shopping?
After my last move, I got rid of more than half of my collection. I still have a big shelf full of records, around 2000. I have to say that it was not the easiest task, but at the same time it was also very liberating. Now I have space for new music and the records that I own are all favorites.
In the RA interview which accompanies your podcast, you mention how important it is to have “(great/special) moments” on the dance floor. Could you elaborate on this and how you, as a DJ, can create them?
I think you're misquoting me in that RA interview :)
The special moment mentioned was more of the result of a good crowd, good music and a good sound system. Nonetheless, one of the best things if not the best thing at a gig is when your vision portrayed in a set as a DJ coincides with what the crowd wants: this midpoint between where you want to reach with your journey and what the crowd wants - THAT is the special moment that I strive for.
In the same interview you describe yourself as a nerd. How important is it to be one in your position?
I don`t think this matters at all. Just be yourself.
Which DJs would you go out of your way to hear play?
DVS1, Dan Bell, Marc Schneider...just to name a few
Could you do an all time top five?
Kinda Kickin' - DJ Boom (Phonography)
Starlight - Model 500 (Metroplex)
Dr Bootygrabber - Detroit Grand Poobahs (Detelefunk)
A trancetastic release that is both subtle and powerful. Both ‘Spiral’ and ‘Cascade’ go for the jugular: the former a voluminous, undulating rocket to the outer limits, the latter an airy, break beat propelled elastic flange monster. ‘Something Delicious’ in both guises is more subdued; the remix a darting, haunting, melodic, low key percussive workout, the original a soundtrack to a more organic, Devonian environment where the world is starting to wake up. Each track intones beyond its limits and, in doing so, evokes distant worlds of both inner and outer space.
This is a release built on a combination of acid highlights, tribal percussion and sweeping strings. ‘Be Here Now’ is perhaps the most grandiose sounding tune here, lifting itself to crescendos which sustain themselves on a foundation of bass and dissonant keys. ‘Face Your Mirror’ is a manic 303 driven journey into the heart of darkness, while both ‘The Rains Will Pass’ and ‘Lifted’ lighten the mood by allowing space within the grooves and positivity to take hold. All in all, this Detroit-indebted release will have its uses in the mix.
There’s plenty to do at the moment, but it’s always difficult to know exactly where to start. A little bit of routine is a good and necessary thing. Mine revolves around a few simple components: reading, writing, listening to music, running/exercise and cooking. Also, looking for a job. I’m also going to record a new mix, probably by the end of next week, as well as chase up a couple of features for this here blog.
On the subject of mixes and, more specifically, hardware, I’ve recently become very interested in photographs of DJs’ set ups. Resident Advisor are a little bit responsible for this as they post such stuff on their Instagram page to accompany their podcast series. These photos are very revealing, offering a portal into the DJs life and, by extension, their personality. There are plenty of Facebook groups which, no doubt, do something similar. Saying this, I’ve just looked up ‘DJ Rooms’, a group I used to like until it slipped by the wayside a few years ago. And of course there’s also the page devoted to Rotary and Classic DJ Mixers. The photos on these pages are very different to those in the RA Instagram and, I bet, much different to what passes for your normal everyday record and mixing enthusiast. Unless I know someone on these pages personally, I’ve never heard of anyone. This isn’t a prerequisite for liking the page anyway, but it’s astounding that practically everyone who posts pictures of their set ups seems to have the most expensive and cleanest gear imaginable. Of course you don’t want to look shit for your big moment, so it’s my feeling that the majority of those on these pages are not pros, but rich, or very well-paid, enthusiasts. And there’s something awfully sterile about their environments compared to the more lived in surroundings of the RA podcasters. However, a number of professional DJs don't even own their own hardware.
There was an interesting thread on Twitter last month started by Bobby Analog which I’ve randomly reproduced here.
Why are "DJ's" shocked that DJ's have DJ equipment to DJ with??
is that a thing now? oh dear
I've genuinely seen people posting about this. I get that cdj 2000's are expensive but the 750's do a great job for a reasonable price and I'm just a bit shocked that people who are doing shows aren't reinvesting into their supposed craft.
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When I’m dropping a lot of money on gear for my studio, I try to always spend that money on gear that will appreciate or at least keep it’s worth. As someone who isn’t rich, If I’m spending $700-$2000 on a cdj, it’s difficult because in 1-2 years it won’t be worth much at all.
my xdjs are like 5 years old and they’re still fine
I think you know what I’m saying though. Turntables never lost value and are workhorses that last a lifetime.
Initially 909's and 808's where worth absolutely fuck all after they came out. The have appreciated over 35 years so could a basic digital deck who knows.
To me, Cdj’s are more akin to iPhones in terms of value over time. I think capitalism played a big role in that though b/c both are always looking to improve technologically, making old versions obsolete.
I’m not dragging pioneer though and I’m of course not dragging anyone with a full setup! I would have one but every time I have spare cash it tends to go towards gear. I am desperate to have a setup again though, especially now.
if this is part of some deeper techno twitter drama that im unaware of, ill be deleting all of these lol
Don't do that ur points are valid.
if i didn't have dj gear at home i'd die... those of us living in the US outside of new york average like 1.5 gigs a month, often less
I had the 350s for years with their tiny displays so the 700s are brilliant in comparison.I sold the 350s and saved up for the 700s. I’ve always put any money earned back into buying equipment/records. Don’t have nice clothes or shoes tho, it’s just different priorities I guess.
DDJ 400 is good enough if you don't need the third deck
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Yeah, seen this around too. Loads of people playing out don’t have a single piece of gear at home it seems.
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I was thinking this as well! Thanks for bringing it up. I’ve always invested in my craft and had at least a basic dj set up at home for my entire career. I’d rather fly economy but buy a synth or New dj equipment instead. I’m by no means rich I just have different priorities
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I dunno man buying cdjs always felt like a wast no matter what I stopped at the 100s but also stopped dealing same time maybe that’s why
that’ll do it! I’d feel nervous going into a club these days when the level is so high, not always being well practiced at home on the latest standard gear and updates all the time but I also overthink it a lot. Also I’m a nerd and buy dj shit before food haha
I mean tbh last times I’ve been seeing you made me be like shit I gotta step up my djing also with the sampler step one.. just they change so fast these days it’s kinda more expensive not anymore like getting 1200s that last for a couple decades lol
Said that I spent more on my studio monitors than on my car
Haha we’ve all got our priorities! But yeah you need to hit up pioneer im sure they will lend you a djs1000 you’d be wicked on that it’s baby steps for a producer of your talent
’m an idiot haha I didn’t think about it, they were so nice to send me a squid sequencer recently.. gonna hit them up, thanks
Squid and djs1000 are a dream
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DJing on CDJs, the way that 95% of DJs use them to perform, is absurdly easy.
I’d find it strange if DJs didn’t have DJ equipment at home?
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They’re probably posting from their €3500 MacBooks despite not being Pixar animators or whatever
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It isn't but it probably should be.
this, it's just another round of gatekeeping
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ah, I muted enough of the technos not to really know what this was about
real djs use bandcamp & ableton, take it from anonymous experimental twitter
I'm just a bedroom DJ but still saved up to get some decks because I enjoy it, definitely doesn't mean I'm rich. all these trust fund accusations seem weird.
Same here.. My bedroom set up is 100% better than the one around the clubs in my city... at the same time isn’t about the gear is about the music selection that separate ones from others
Types into google: How to get good at guitar without having a guitar
Because so many major DJs just roll up to venues that have their own CDJs or rented CDJs and they just plug in their thumb drive and go. But every DJ should have at least some modest setup at home!
My heart goes out to the DJ’s who are stuck at home and do not have it though.
Exactly
I would drop kick a baby across the street for one of these right now.
My heart goes out to the DJ’s who are stuck at home and do not have it though
Names!
It’s not that expensive if you’re willing to save for a while, prioritise what you spend on and buy second hand, I got my 900’s including a mixer for $800 and they work fine...
Because it's fucking expensive
I’ve had my 2000s since like 2013 idk seemed like a good idea at the time
Spinning since 93, I just use Traktor these days, my 1200s aren’t even plugged in at home
Because most DJs don't even practice
Imagine people have the nerve to invest in their craft or hobby. The bleedin nerve
lol
Mostly house djs I know have no dj equipment. Sad
I'm more shocked if someone who calls themselves a DJ DOESN'T have DJ equipment...although it would explain why so many people out there can't really mix tbh.
