Plastikman, Richie Hawtin's production alter ego, is a dark, sinister project. The brainchild of an acid-influenced mind perhaps, but however you look at Plastikman, and hear the sounds coming from him, you cannot escape his enigma.

Soundscapes that are at times inexplicably bleak, yet rich with trippy, downtempo fervour is what Plastikman is all about. Plastikman is a concept, as much as it is a real person, contained inside a body, designed to take electronic music into a new dimension, to places it has never been before and infect people's minds with it. Whatever was going on in Richie Hawtin's head when he developed Plastikman is anyone's guess, but beyond the disturbing, corrupted nature of the music he gave birth to under this moniker is something very, very sophisticated.

In the same way our world needs scientists, music, particularly electronic music, needs someone like Richie Hawtin. I'm reluctant to use the term 'pioneer' as it's such an overused word in music, but it certainly can be attributed to Hawtin. There was a day when a mixing desk, a few samplers and a laptop was enough to make a great live performance, but Plastikman has changed all that with his live show. We've seen the videos and we've heard the stories of Hawtin, cocooned inside an LED screen, sending packed-out arenas into hypnosis with his sensually stimulating techno odysseys. Now we can finally see the iconic live show ourselves, but more stunning than ever as Plastikman 1.5 will soon be touring Europe and the US, with three dates booked in the UK.

I've already secured my ticket for the London leg of the tour, to be held at Brixton Academy, and I would strongly being prompt about doing the same. Early bird and tickets for the balcony sold out within the first 24 hours of their release, and as with any high-profile event in London, the rest do not hang around for long. If Plastikman alone isn't enough to tempt you, then support from M-nus royalty in Magda and Ambivalent may do so. He will also hit up Manchester and Glasgow before he moves concludes his tour in Italy on December 7th. The links below are the places to get your tickets for any one of the three parts of his three UK stops:

Plastikman 1.5 - Manchester Academy, Manchester: Thursday December 1st 9pm-2am (£25)
Plastikman 1.5 - Brixton Academy, London: Friday December 2nd 9pm-2am (£27.50)
Plastikman 1.5 - Barrowland, Glasgow: Saturday December 3rd 8pm - 1am (£25)

To celebrate the news of this tour, for I can hardly contain my excitement, here's my top 5 of Plastikman. It took me a to compile this list, for all of Plastikman's output is original in a very unified style, but what I've come up with reflects his most indulgent and compelling work. Whether it's his eccentric infatuation with the letter 'K' in his track-naming (I'm sure it has nothing to do with ketamine, seriously), or his acid obsession (which might have something to do with the corresponding narcotic...), all Plastikman's work exhibits a musical mind adverse to playing it safe.

5. Plastikman - Marbles


4. Plastikman - Plasticine


3. Plastikman - Spastik


2. Plastikman - Konception


1. Plastikman - Are Friends Electrik?

We're back, EXIT 2011 is over and after 10 days of scorching heat, criminally cheap beer and an intimidating amount of music, we return to Britain bronzed and bored. Last year I attempted to review the festival in meticulous detail and admittedly failed, so this year I will do something a little more succinct but hopefully vivid enough to give you some idea as to the festival's enormity. Meanwhile here's my charted tracks for June, which are typically diverse. MANIK (NYC) has won my heart for the second month running, this time with his squelchy house cut, Good 4 Me, while the UK's great house hope, Maya Jane Coles makes an inevitable return with her recent vocal-led jam, Senseless. Mat Jonson's Learning To Fly, released on M-nus is difficult to ignore and even more difficult not to admire, while Claude VonStroke's remix of Girl Unit's Wut and Butch's Big Futt represent the real dancefloor muscle. Top spot is taken by one of the most hyped, but welcome collaborations in dance music, made up of two of the most celebrated figures. Burial and Four Tet couldn't be more suited together in terms of style philosophy, yet there output on Text Records with Moth beats from both producer's hearts, forming something that could never have been created individually but remains unavoidably identifiable with them.

1. Burial & Four Tet - Moth


2. Mathew Jonson - Learning To Fly


3. Girl Unit - Wut (Claude VonStroke Remix) [Undressed Mix)


4. Butch - Big Futt


5. Heiko Laux - Moved (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)


6. MANIK (NYC) - Good 4 Me


7. John Tejada - Subdivided


8. Russ Gabriel - Prey Tell


9. Murphy Jax - Time To Bump


10. Maya Jane Coles - Senseless

Today is not only my 20th birthday, but more importantly the return of Sorry I'm Minimal. After some confusion, this is in fact the 8th Sorry I'm Minimal post, despite me saying the last one was the 6th. This delivery is a bit of a mish-mash of old and new, as some of the tracks I've only recently acquired despite being around for some time. But as you should well know, minimal techno is wonderfully timeless and notoriously difficult to track down. They all represent what I love about minimal techno, and the hedonistic purity of compressed basslines.

Today is also the day I've managed to stitch together my most solid plan for the summer so far. Originally we were taking a break from dance music, opting instead for sunny Spain and indie music at Benicassim. However, the lure of electronic has defeated us as a dramatic U-turn is most likely sending us back to Serbia, and back to the Petrovaradin Fortress for EXIT festival. The line-up doesn't quite match last year's just yet, but with Carl Craig, Marco Carola, Tiga, Paul Kalkbrenner, James Zabiela and deadmau5 among many others lined up so far, it still boasts arguably Europe's most impressive festival dance arena.

Also possible is a weekend in Berlin, something I personally have been considering for quite a while. After my great Timewarp plan tragically crumbled into failure for various reasons I couldn't control, I've made it my duty to experience Germany's hub of techno* before the year is out. This visit will inevitably involve Watergate, lots of beer and if we can beat the bouncers, Berghain. London has arguably overtaken Berlin as Europe's premier nightlife destination, but our capital still requires a little longer before it can match Berlin's inherent fanaticism for techno and particularly its minimal offshoots. This is precisely what draws me there and providing I have enough money after Serbia and Paris (where I fully intend to sample Ed Banger's virtual HQ, the Social Club and the famous rEx club), I will hopefully tick off this nagging desire of mine.

*My friends from Frankfurt (and Sven Väth) will argue their home is the official birthplace of techno, and they're probably right, but come on, Berlin's the place to be.

Gaiser - Oolooloo


Gaiser - Unstable Witness


Efdemin - There Will Be Singing (DJ Koze Remix)


Akufen - Skidoos


2000 & One - Wan Paku Moro (Onur Özer Remix)


Onur Özer - Eclipse (Loco Dice Remix)


Onur Özer - Orion


Mathias Kaden - Synkope (Daniel Stefanik Remix)


Onur Özer - Red Cabaret (2000 & One Remix)


L.I.E.S - Comeback Dust


...and finally, that elusive, and for some controversial remix of Ultra Nate's Free

Ultra Nate - Free (Ramon Tapia & Kabale Und Liebe Remix)


In other minimal news, Ricardo Villalobos has added himself to the long list of remixers for Energy 52's classic Ibiza anthem, Café Del Mar. His two remixes will be released next month, but until then here are the samples for his original remix and his dub.

Energy 52 - Café Del Mar (The Ricardo Villalobos Remixes) by Flying Circus Music

I didn't really know how else to title this post other than just call it 'Ricardo Villalobos'. Hardly the most elaborate of titles I'm aware, but then then I realised that for someone as illustrious, artistic and modest as Ricardo, there is something so appropriately pure about just using his name, nothing added, to title a post dedicated just to him. Just like his music, less is more.

Ever since his return to fabric was announced a few weeks ago, I have been mulling over the idea of putting together some kind of tribute to him, something we are yet to do for any DJ or producer so far on SOTW. But if there's one person who deserves special acknowledgment more than any it's Ricardo Villalobos. A DJ who delivers legendary sets of epic length and memorable content, a producer who seems able to manipulate the machines he uses in ways nobody else can, and a personality who makes us all smile with his warmth, generosity and charisma. This is why we love him, and with only a week to go before he lights up the lives of the many who will pack out fabric in the early hours and beyond, here is our pick of what we believe is the best of Ricardo Villalobos's own productions.

10. Ricardo Villalobos - What You Say (Is More Than I Can Say)


The first of three to come from Villalobos's seminal album, Alcachofa, and easily one of the LP's signature anthems. Just like all that appeared on Alcachofa, What You Say is ungulfed in all that warm, organic sound that became unique only to that album. Never again would the droning, tripped out vocals appear on any other Villalobos production, and that is perhaps why particularly this track, among all the rest on Alcachofa, have become so cherished and celebrated.

9. Ricardo Villalobos & Jorge Gonzalez - 4 Wheel Drive


Admittedly, this track is taken off Villalobos's fabric 36 mix, but its inclusion for me still feels like the heartbeat of the mix. At only five and half minutes in length it's remarkably short for such a outstanding Villalobos track, but in that short time is an array of glorious percussive elements glued together with typically nonsensical but welcomely trippy vocals from Los Updates' Jorge Gonzalez, creating something peculiar, but irresistibly rhythmic.

8. Ricardo Villalobos - Queen of Bass Mix


The final part of his deeply beautiful three-track 808 The Bassqueen EP, and one that left a lasting impression on me from the very first time my ears were treated to it. It's not the kind of Villalobos you would hear midway through a set, designed to keep people moving, but far more downtempo. You can imagine him using it to end one of his marathon sets at fabric when those left really are running on empty. Apparently he did.

7. Ricardo Villalobos - Lugom-ix


Villalobos's fourth full length album, Salvador, certainly presents the Chilean's most classically 'techno' work to date. The fragile, minimal structures he had become synonymous with were cast aside for muscular, aggressive basslines that we would never see again. The pick of these on Salvador can only by Lugom-ix, which rumbles in a way that these days you find hard to believe came from a musical mind as minimalist-conscious as Villalobos's.

6. Ricardo Villalobos - Minimoonstar


Shackleton's remix may have received more universal acclaim, but the original Minimoonstar for me is still unreachable in terms of creative genius with such restricted musical boundaries. The microscopic intricacy of every flake of percussion and every beat of a drum could rarely construe something so powerfully metric, but such is Villalobos's command of and attention to every single frequency, what is created is something as deliberately moving as it is delicate.

5. Ricardo Villalobos - Electonic Water


The second track to be taken from Villalobos's most recent full-length, Vasco and like Minimoonstar, Electonic Water it's more of the same microscopically meticulous soundscape, with sounds so organic, so abnormal you couldn't possibly mistake it coming from the mind of anyone else. What begins as a skeletal sequence of bass and delicate flecks of percussion gradually builds towards a frighteningly surprising climax of just one single synth, which opens the door to floods of utterly fascinating sonic gesturing.

4. Ricardo Villalobos - Enfants (Chants)


Just because Enfants is potentially no more than just a DJ 'tool' doesn't necessarily rule it out as one of Villalobos's greatest works. There's no bass and the entire 17 minutes is nothing but pianos, the gentle clatter of a kick drum and the endless, repeated infantile chant of "Baba Yaga La Sorcière", sampled from an old Christian Vander track, but its magic is undeniable. There is something so pure, so inspirational about the simplicity of Enfants, which is probably why it has become as iconic as the man who made it.

Ricardo Villalobos - Easy Lee


Arguably Villalobos's most famous track, Easy Lee opened Alcahofa in a style nobody had quite heard before. As RA's Todd Burns so perfectly described the 'dessicated' voice that reverberates throughout, it is just tantalizingly out of reach. After listening to it over and over we feel like we know what is being said, despite in reality being no closer than the first time we ever heard it. It is this dimension of mystery that Villalobos can inject into his music that makes it so addictive, and there's possibly no better example of this than in Easy Lee.

2. Ricardo Villalobos - MDMA


If I was going to be pedantic and a little superior, I would have confused many and correctly titled this track as Bosch by Richard Wolfsdorf, an alias of Villalobos when he produced the track we know today as MDMA (Chris posted about this a little while ago). Whatever you want to call it though, it's one of the most recognizable tracks in the world of techno, and whenever it's played the reception it gets as it thumps and chugs soundsystems all over demonstrates exactly how good it is.

1. Ricardo Villalobos - Dexter


I remember the very first time I heard Dexter. Coming towards the end of Alcachofa, I was already fairly absorbed, but then I was hit with what I would regard as the greatest track I've ever heard, as far as electronic music is concerned. After probably listening to it about 100 times since, I still am not yet bored of hearing it. There are dark, seductive secrets about that bassline that I still seek to discover and it's rare to find a track sealed with so much intrigue and enigma, yet still able to make you move in such a free, limitless manner.

So I promised more music, and less of me waffling on about all my mischief, so I feel now is the time to just unload all the tunes I've been rinsing lately and put them all up for your enjoyment. I would like to think of it as a little gift package, and a thank you to those who have been reading, and hopefully will continue to read SOTW. We are approaching our year 1st birthday soon and so far our humble little blog has gone from strength to strength. Our mission has stayed the same since day 1: to provide our small, focused and intelligent audience with regular updates on the developments in the electronic music scene, from two people who are a little obsessed with it.

I'm sure you'll find something in this selection to fall in love with, some of these tracks go back a month or two but are still all doing the rounds in sets all over the place. Unfortunately, none of them are the track in the video above, which was taken at fabric's birthday weekend last year during Damian Lazarus's Sunday evening set. It took a while to have any idea what the first track was (the second track is Russ Yallop's I Can't Wait), and still nobody can be totally sure, but I'm 90% certain it's called Much Too Much, by Art Department and it will be included in their forthcoming album, due to be released in late April. Why do I think this? Well a couple of good reasons I believe: Firstly, as a DJ, Damian Lazarus certainly doesn't hold back using his label's finest output, which although could come across a little self-indulgent, you can hardly blame him considering the ridiculous success of Crosstown Rebels. It's worth noting he also dropped this when he appeared at Eastern Electrics NYE party. Secondly, listen to the lyrics: "Love you, love you, love you, love you much too much", and on Art Dept's album there is track called Much Too Much. Those clues are enough to convince me, but either way I can't wait much longer for this, another early contender for one of the year's best tracks, whatever it is.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the best of the last while.

Afrilounge - Lux Dementia (Not at all new I'm aware, but it's inclusion in Steve Bug's fabric mix, who I'm seeing tomorrow night, has rekindled my love for this classic)


Cut Copy - Take Me Over (Mylo Remix)


BeatauCue - Behold


Random Factor - Convergence


Benoit & Sergio - Walk & Talk


Geddes & Alex Jones - Tubular (Lauhaus Remix)


Ernesto Ferreyra - Letting Go (Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts Remix)


Jay Haze & Ricardo Villalobos - The Darkest Disco


Agoria feat. Carl Craig - Speechless


Freaks & 012 - Conscious of my Conscience (Dubstramental)


Maya Jane Coles - Play The Game


Frivolous - Back Into The Deep


Steffi feat. Virginia - Yours


Tame Impala - Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind? (Erol Alkan Rework)


dOP & Seuil - Prostitute (Visionquest Remix)

First of all, I must correct a mistake I made in the previous Sorry I'm Minimal post, which was some time ago. That post was titled Sorry I'm Minimal 6, but that was a typo, the post actually being only the 5th. That fairly trivial point aside, I can now dig into the real news in the world of minimal techno that has been raising eyebrows of late, and there's no shortage of interesting developments. I've decided to let the next installment of FABRIC WATCH compliment Sorry I'm Minimal 6, what's happening over in Farringdon recently being inextricably linked to the minimal scene.

Starting with the more specifically Minimal news, Italian Marco Carola has released his first album in 9 years, titled Play It Loud. After a handful of EP's released on labels such as Desolat and M-nus, and following his Groove Catcher EP that preceded the album's release and featured 2 remixes from Martin Buttrich, Carola finally provided us with the most extensive repertoire of his work to date. 15 tracks long and including a complete mixed version of the album, there was certainly plenty to scrutinize, but after how much I enjoyed Groove Catcher, I was definitely optimistic. After giving it a good listen, including the mix, I certainly enjoyed Play It Loud, but I couldn't help feeling very similarly to how I felt after listening to Magda's debut album last year. Play It Loud did everything I expected it to do- provide track after track of loopy, lean beats with bags of funk and muscular basslines. All of this I like, and Carola has built his reputation as a top DJ delivering sets with these characteristics in abundance, but as we so often say, what we want from an album is significantly different from what we want on the dancefloor. Any track from Play It Loud will get bodies moving vigorously in a club, no doubt. The incessant drums, hypnotic percussion and well-placed breakdowns, particularly in Light House are the kind of elements in techno that make people dance a lot, but in Play It Loud, that's all I got from start to finish and I wasn't in a club. Making a dance-orientated album in electronic music has always been a difficult task to pull off. If you're the kind of person who wants just a collection of tracks with great rhythm and tasty material to use in your own sets then Carola's album ticks all the boxes. But I want a bit more from a full length, some kind of narrative or depth that goes beyond the simple realms of a bassline and Play It Loud doesn't really have it. But Carola didn't go about trying to create a melodic masterpiece, the clue is in the title, and as a collection of music designed for the club, I would happily groove to anything on Play It Loud.

Marco Carola - Light House


Play It Loud by Marco Carola is available now on Minus on Beatport

If you can remember, the last Sorry I'm Minimal post centered on Ricardo Villalobos's new two track Peculiar/Zuge 3 EP, which had been released on the Chilean's own Sei Es Drum label. At the time we didn't have it, and it was difficult enough just to be able to hear it somewhere, but we did promise to share it when we got our hands on it and as of yesterday, we have it. Both tracks have cropped up in various DJ charts over the last month or two and it's no surprise why. As you would expect from any Villalobos production, the entire work is stripped down to it's barest bones and layered with flushes of crisp, quivering sonics that only he could craft and weave into something so rhythmic. Peculiar is a 20 minute minimal melody, with contributions from Brito, Weidenthaler and Messelis and is beautiful almost beyond description. Remarkably, the lyrics in Peculiar are as important as the punchy, skeletal beat beneath it is. I'm not sure if this is an accapella of someone far more famous than I'm giving them credit for, but lines like "I know that flowers grow from rain, but how can love grow from pain" are not often found in minimal techno, even in music as colourful and cultured as Villalobos's. Quite possibly a very early contender for the best track of 2011, expect to hear Peculiar played a lot, and Zuge 3 with 3 Phase on the B-side will not be ignored, a less emotive groove but more classically Villalobos with all those pared down, demented dynamics that hit all the right places.

Ricardo Villalobos, Brito, Weidenthaler, Messelis - Peculiar


Ricardo Villalobos & 3 Phase - 3 Zuge


FABRIC WATCH...

It's what we've all been waiting for, fabric have finally announced Ricardo Villalobos's first appearance of 2011. In what promises to be a typically epic, seemingly endless and always memorable occasion, the master of minimal will deliver his exclusive-to-fabric set on Saturday March 12th and not finishing any earlier than 11am on Sunday, but if his appearances last year are anything to go by then all bets are off when the last record will be played...

fabric with Ricardo Villalobos, Craig Richards, Shackleton (live), Applebim, Simon Baker, Ralph Lawson, Glimpse, Chaptal, Nina Kraviz, Terry Francis - Saturday 12 March, 11pm-11am, £19/£18, fabric, London

I've always found it remarkable how the appearance of just a single DJ can create such unequaled excitement and sense of genuine celebration, but wherever Ricardo Villalobos plays, this is the standard reception just his name on a flyer causes. This is especially true in London, where his legendary sets only ever take place at fabric, the first club in the UK to book him, and considering the almost necessary nature of his sets to be without any time restrictions, fabric's unique 24 hour license makes it the only club he would consider playing at in the capital. Of course, there are many other reasons why Villalobos probably wouldn't choose to play anywhere else, such as the unrivaled soundsystem he uses in a way no one else seems able to, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, Ricardo Villalobos and fabric are a marriage made in heaven. The guy loves playing there, and let's be honest he is kind of special so to have the official party hours increased for what is technically just another Saturday night on Charterhouse Street isn't all that surprising.

What will be interesting though is to see how plays after his tragic absence at fabric's birthday weekend last year, when Luciano heroically stepped in. I witnessed his two appearances last year and he took very different approaches in each. In March we had the pleasure of mostly old techno and house classics, such as Ron Hardy's Sensation and Laurent Garnier's Acid Eiffel, with some colourful divergences into tech house. In August, when he notoriously started his set at 9:30, the mood was darker, far more trippy and much more like the signature minimal sound we associate with Villalobos's own work. What will be the narrative of his set this time? I won't dare guess, because literally anything is possible with Ricardo Villalobos is at the helm in Room One. Whatever happens, March 12th is one to put in the diary and will undoubtedly be the highlight of the year for me so far. I feel I should warn those who haven't witnessed fabric with Ricardo headlining before that if you're coming just to catch him, do not come early. Although he was was an hour late, his set time last August was 8:30, which came as a shock even for me after we cruised in at 1am. Back in March, I recall the time being around half five when he came on, so in short, expect a late, late night at his mercy. To make things even more mouth watering, I'm fairly sure not only will Craig Richards precede Ricardo's set in Room One with one of his own perfectly engineered episodes of abstract beats, but also close the night back-to-back with the Chilean, which I can assure you is nothing short of spectacular, especially as the shutters open to allow beams of the Sunday morning light flood into the smokey gloom of the still packed and amazingly frenetic Room One. If you're in a reasonable proximity to London on this date and have a vague interest in dance music, it would be a very wise decision to make the effort and experience arguably electronic music's most important and celebrated personalities entertain for an unlimited length of time at the world's best nightclub. He is a twice yearly resident, but that is never frequent enough after you've witnessed his hypnotic grooves for the first time.

It would be easy to forget there will be so much as another soul in the house while Villalobos is billed, but there is certainly plenty on offer for those in for more than just Ricardo. Prior to his command of Room One, current fabric favourite Shackleton will perform one of his acclaimed live sets, while another techno space-stepper, Appleblim will be the first to take to the booth in what promises to be a bassy first part to the night. Over in Room Two, fabric 33's Ralph Lawson will take care of house duties on that aggressive system along with Simon Baker, while Room Three will surely offer some welcome relief to those wanting to escape the densely packed downstairs, with Nina Kraviz and Terry Francis offering plenty to enjoy.

With that rather supreme matter aside, there's plenty more fabric news to bring, especially regarding their line-ups, as the club continues to book the world's finest talent as we delve deeper in 2011. This weekend, Berlin's Tobi Neumann, who played an integral part in making fabric's 11th birthday weekend so special, will line-up in Room One alongside another one of the birthday's alumni, Levon Vincent, and Patrice Baumel live. Room Two will be taken over by Clone Records, with the most notable guests including Alden Tyrell and Gerd, both performing live. Although I may not make it until quite late thanks to a certain Alex Ridha's touchdown at XOYO, the weekend after welcomes Marco Carola for his album launch (see above) in what promises to be a very busy evening, especially as Robert Hood will DJ under his Floorplan guise in Room Two. Kill Em All returns nice and quick on Friday March 4th with a new Jackbeats fabriclive residency in Room One, where the fidget duo will join one of our old favourites Brodinski, and Trouble & Bass head Drop The Lime. Room Two is the Filthy Dukes', with Aeroplane, Shit Robot live and Punks Jump Up. Hot Chip's Joe Goddard will DJ in Room Three. The next day see's Visionquest land at fabric, a night announced some time ago and will surely have London's underground community frothing at the mouth, especially as Seth Troxler and Ben Klock will join Lee Curtiss, Shaun Reeves and Ryan Crosson. Unfortunately I won't be making it, with Steve Bug 34 floors up at Centre Point's Paramount club having a little more persuasive muscle. But rest assured, fabric on that sort of night will be nothing short of spectacular. On March 19th, Ivan Smagghe conveniently returns after I missed him in early January. All the more exciting is that he's accompanied by Michael Mayer, the individual responsible for one of the greatest mixes of all time, Kompakt's Immer 3. With Steffi in Room One also, there's little chance keeping me away that night. Omar-S and Anja Schneider headline the following week, but interestingly I could well be cruising down to EC1 on a Wednesday on March 3oth, where 19 year old enigma Nicholas Jaar will perform live...

All full line-ups with details can be found on fabric's website

Finally, I can happily inform you that the individual responsible for mixing fabric 57 will be French producer and DJ Agoria, who recently released his excellent album Impermanence, featuring that unforgettable Speechless collaboration with Carl Craig. I was also fortunate enough to catch him early in January when he played at fabric and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I expect high standards then, with plenty of delicate house soul to come from the latest installment.

Part 4 of our 2010 review brings you arguably the most anticipated of all our features so far: our top 25 tracks. Similarly to our remixes feature, many of those in this list picked themselves, but others caused considerable debate and disagreement between me and Chris. After plenty of acquiescence and negotiation, we settled on something we both are very happy with, each track thoroughly deserving to be in there for reasons we will again do our best to describe. It's worth mentioning as a more general reflection that 2010 was once again a magnificent year on the production side of electronic music. In all honesty we were spoiled for choice picking just 25 as it could easily of been 50, but those we selected represent the very best of 2010 in house, techno and electro. I'm sure there are massive tracks we've missed out, but we thought long and hard about the tracks we simply loved personally- not what everyone else loved, or what DJ's, critics and other personalities loved, just us. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, Sweat On The Walls' top 25 tracks of 2010...

25. Kebacid - Jack The Potato


A surging, squelching, sizzling electro classic from Kebacid, who kicked off our year with vintage rave material. We loved Jack The Potato for its undeniably aggressive confidence. Ruthless bassline, layer upon layer of filthy synths, and that lovably random vocal that cues the most chaotic moments throughout the track.

24. Boy 8-Bit - The Keep


You would have struggled to avoid Boy 8-Bit's blistering hit The Keep at any electro night in 2010. Why? Because it was a simply irresistible track for DJ's to use in their set. Bubbling and bouncing with unrelenting intensity from start to finish, it was the perfect peak-time choice and it never failed to get me and Chris feverishly soaking up that instantly recognizable build-up and devastating bassline.

23. Kaiserdisco - Aguja


Kaiserdisco was one of 2010's most consistent producers without doubt. I can't think of one record the German laid down last year that didn't get my attention, but by far the most gripping of all was Aguja, and many others agreed. A simply dazzling tech house adventure, with all the frolic, tribal, percussive morsels you could ever wish for, it sent dancefloors into wild frenzies wherever it was dropped.

22. Round Table Knights - Calypso


Calypso just appeared out of nowhere around late Spring, and its huge reception was entirely understandable. The Round Table Knights didn't re-invent the wheel with the concept of having their tech-house bassline laced with steel drums, it had been done before, but it felt incredibly new and organic. What perhaps was different about it was that those Caribbean touches were the main body of the track, delivering the bulk of its rhythmic qualities, instead of just being a quirky decoration. It worked perfectly, and was one of those genuine stand-out tracks of the year that everyone loved.

21. Santos - Matinée


Fabric, 10.30am, Ricardo Villalobos has been spinning for just an hour in a crowded Room One and is gradually mixing in a psychedelic house piece, drenched in delicate house notes that climb and climb with just as much character and mystery as the guy who is playing it. All of a sudden there is a breakdown after around six minutes of patient building and nothing but slightly distorted white noise screeches from above. Then it all comes crashing down and those pianos blissfully change in tone and pile on top of deeply seductive drums. The track I eventually discovered was Matinée, by Latin-American producer Santos, and I have been a fan ever since. Maybe it's just the associations I make with it being played by Ricardo Villalobos, but it's a delightfully trippy cut, with bags of dance potential but earthy enough to be strictly for only the most prepared dancefloors.

20. Congorock - Babylon


Right on the fence between underground electro filth and mainstream dancefloor bomb, Congorock revolutionized so many dancefloors during the summer of 2010 with Babylon. Another one of EXIT's favoured tunes, played by Busy P, DJ Mehdi and Crookers, it became an instant favourite among all club revelers who couldn't get enough of all those volatile squeeks, tears and slams.

19. Tim Green - Old Sunshine


Tim Green was arguably one of 2010's major players thanks to two tracks; his classic remix of Cassius's 1999, which came in at 15th in our top 25 remixes, and his very own Old Sunshine which lit up dancefloors all around the world over the summer. From London to Ibiza, from Buenos Aires to Berlin it was a natural selection for all DJ's with any interest in tech house. A superbly groovy, summery bassline and fluid doses of teasing vocals made us all go mad for it and as we begin 2011 it now carries nostalgic qualities of the 2010 vintage clubbing season.

18. Carte Blanche - Gare Du Nord


Production-wise, 2010 was a relatively quiet year for Ed Banger. There was only one album released, that being the grossly belated Sex Dreams & Denim Jeans from Uffie, and just a handful of EP's as the key figures of the label focused on various side projects. But without doubt the greatest success for the Parisian clan was Carte Blanche's Black Billionaires EP that landed around late spring. The project that consisted of Ed Banger's own DJ Mehdi and the very British Riton seeked to promote a cleaner approach to House music than the distorted signature style of Ed Banger, but ironically the star piece on their debut EP, Gare Du Nord is soaked in enough ear-ringing distortion to make Justice slightly envious, but that was all for the good. Sure it was noisy and abrasive, but it still felt fresh, not just another Ed Banger outing of unrefined electronic mishchief and it soon found itself as something of an icon among sets of that kind.

17. Pleasurekraft - Tarantula


UK tech house newcomers Pleasurekraft demonstrated the perfect way to plant your flag in the tough EDM soil in 2010 with their instantly recognizable hit, Tarantula. To call it an important track last year would be a gross understatement, it was adored by DJ's and fans alike for it's deeply sexy beat, but what made us all really fall in love with Tarantula was that notoriously mesmerizing vocal hook that doesn't emerge until around half way. We don't know quite what it is, that vocal always frustratingly out of touch, but we know it made 2010 a much more interesting year, especially when you knew what to expect.

16. SebastiAn - Threnody


Controversy is never usually an issue in our ever-loving bubble of electronic music. There are no irritating, narcissistic lyrics from gaudy, untalented wannabes, no abysmal music videos and the artists themselves are all relatively low key by nature (Seth Troxler an exception, Jay Haze maybe another). But if there's one artist and a record label so many just love to hate, it's SebastiAn and Ed Banger, and fortunately for us, that's just how SebastiAn likes it. It's this constant criticism and general misunderstanding towards the entire Ed Banger style that inspires him to produce even more controversial music, seeing how far he can push his critics before they top themselves with disgust it seems. We like to think we understand SebastiAn, and as a loyal follower of both him and Ed Banger for years now, I can safely say 2010's Threnody is arguably the most outrageous of all to come from Paris, but that is exactly why it lit up our lives last year. The concept wasn't exactly ingenious; have a 12 minute build up of nothing but rising white noise, followed by a drop less than two minutes long that bared close resemblance to the effects of Hiroshima, but it was stylistically brilliant. That drop, although so short, is both impudent and immensely satisfying, encapsulating in little over 90 seconds what SebastiAn is all about. Serious technical analysis of Threnody will yield little more than a few lines describing the two crude components of the track, and without looking at any reviews out there I can see 1/5 scrawled in every corner, but for us it was everything we expected and wanted from an artist who to be honest, has never disappointed us.

15. Lee Jones - Yoyo


There's no questioning Lee Jones's influential role in shaping house and techno last year. Not only did he join the established list of artists selected by Berlin's Watergate to mix one of the club's CD's, he also invented Yoyo, which twisted us, tripped us and kept us grooving with monumental ease whenever one of many DJ's weaved it into their sets last year. An absorbing 10 minute house cut, with delicate flakes of percussion and that signature looped horn sample, it left a lasting impression on us from the very first time we heard it, and for us was a stentorian mark of what was coming out of Berlin last year.

14. Kavinsky - Nightcall


Going all the way back to the chilly depths of last year's late winter, Kavinsky had just released his third EP Nightcall. This was cause for considerable excitement for us as we were, and still are, genuine fans of Kavinsky. Although not signed to Ed Banger, the affiliations are inextricable, with the Paris record label one of the main hype-machines prior to the EP's launch, and there's it's no surprise to us why Busy P et al were so firmly behind it. Nightcall, the head track of four on the EP (including superb remixes from Breakbot and Dustin N'Guyen), was a striking divergence from the style we anticipated from Kavinsky. That notoriously visceral arcade-game/cheesy '80's action movie aesthetic was abandoned for something far less satirical, this time using bewitching vocals and a patiently surging house beat. But the old Kavinsky was remained entirely visible, regardless of the slightly more mature brush-up, and his eccentric taste for those retro synths and 'zombie driver' sub-plot to all his music only made us love Nightcall even more.

13. Booka Shade - Regenerate


Booka Shade took 2010 by storm with their sensational live performances, but having a track like Regenerate behind them made failure very unlikely, regardless of how striking their live set-up was. An exquisite composition of ghostly, hair-raising vocal samples, layered perfectly over a bassline scattered with flakes of intelligent, delicate sounds and a devastating mid-way crescendo not only created something marvelously ravey, but undeniably moving.

12. Storm Queen - Look Right Through (Vox)


It may have come late on, but Storm Queen's Look Right Through was an anthem that soundtracked plenty of parties for the last couple of months of 2010, and will surely be doing the same for a while to come. Sexy and svelte with such a groovy, disco-house bassline, it was the perfect peak-time record for dancefloor revelers needing that little lift we all know of...

11. Tensnake - Coma Cat


Whether you hear music submerged in an East London warehouse or on radio in your car, you would have struggled not to hear Coma Cat last year. Tensnake's breakthrough track, it was the perfect amalgamation of tech house wizardry and disco delight, lighting up dancefloors everywhere but also tweaking the eardrums of those not actively involved in the underground scene. This isn't always a desirable transition, but in Coma Cat's case, it made it all the more charming.

10. Simian Mobile Disco - Aspic


Simian Mobile Disco's failed attempt at vocal electro-pop with their second album Temporary Pleasures was well documented by us and many others, and the pair's Delicatessen venture last year almost appeared like a direct response to the criticism, which worrying for them came predominantly from their genuine fans. The concept: make a record label called 'Delicacies', hold a club night called 'Delicatessen' and a bunch of tracks that musically represent exactly what the gastronomic equivalent does- unique, often unpleasant flavours only for the most acquired palates. What a way to restore your fans faith and desires, and in Aspic, their first of a series of 'Delicacies' released throughout the year, we were introduced for real what SMD had up their sleeve- uncompromising, unforgiving and for many, simply unpleasant techno. Of course, we lapped up every dirty morsel...

9. Lee Burridge & Mathew Dekay - Wongel


Simplicity so often proves to be the most wonderfully vivid, expressive and effective formula for electronic music production, and nobody demonstrated that better last year than Lee Burridge and Mathew Dekay with Wongel, which they pretty much swept the floor with when it emerged. At over 10 minutes long, it was never going to be a quick, breathless cut, but there is seldom more than just a drum beat to the entire record, and this was its beauty. That drum beat with its constant, buoyant order of bass, snare, kick is just so moreish. But to say that literally is what the entire track is built upon wouldn't be strictly true. Gradually, and patiently, it morphs itself towards a brilliant and slightly wacky bassless break of cow-bells, which after teasing for a minute or two are suddenly immersed back into a pool of thumping drums once again, and that simplicity is laid out in its full glory.

8. Jozif - Beats In Space


Jozif, now an established London-based producer, will forever look at 2010 as his breakthrough year, as a lot of others will do. Much in the same way as Maya Jane Coles with her huge deep-house hit What They Say, Jozif's vinyl-only Beats In Space, released on his newly found label Fist of Finger with Craig Richards, was the track that turned heads and planted his flag on the underground map. Brimming with various twisted little samples, it treads heavily and slowly before breaking down into a deep, hollow fissure. It is here where the deranged magic of Beats In Space is conjured, gently shifting towards a devastating bassline that continues with all that wonderful, organic originality that the first half of the record kept us on our toes with.

7. Boys Noize - Yeah


Another year and another wonderful 12 months for Alexander Ridha. Following the release of his second full album Power the year previously, 2010 was a year of just having fun it seemed, with no album but a handful of hugely successful EP's, plenty of highly sought after remixes and dozens of explosive DJ sets all over the world. He was arguably the main catalyst for the rebirth of acid we witnessed, one of the most notable electronic music trends, but ironically his best production was far more classically electro house. Yeah began blowing the roofs off nightclubs and the eardrums of ravers around May when Ridha first began slipping it in his sets. Despite being typically brutal in style, it was uplifting and refreshing, pieced together perfectly with a careful balance of hammering basslines and that epic vocal hook, which made it impossible to ignore. Ridha's production skills remain second to none, and in Yeah he delivered something every dancefloor wants.

6. Maya Jane Coles - What They Say


We have 2010 to thank for the emergence of Maya Jane Coles, who has firmly established herself as one of the UK's most exciting underground producers. Already with a string of excellent EP's under her belt, she's well on her way to passing the protigé stage and will almost certainly be one of clubland's most desirable names in the near future. Where did it all start? With What They Say. MJC carved something so gorgeous, so elegant and so deep that we instantly fell in love with her, and before we knew it, What They Say had become one of the years signature hits.

5. Boys Noize & Erol Alkan - Lemonade


Another flawless maximal collaboration from two of electro's most influential and important players. After their acclaimed Waves/Death Suite EP in 2009, it seemed only a matter of when, not if, Alex Ridha and Erol Alkan would join forces once again, and they returned in blistering style with Lemonade/Avalanche around Easter time. In all honesty, either track on the EP could have seamlessly slipped in at the lofty heights of number 5, both genuine masterpieces, but there was something irresistible about Lemonade. It was at the memorable Decked Out 10th Anniversary Party all the way back in February where I first tasted Lemonade. At the time, its identity was unknown, and as so often is the case, those who heard it engaged in chaotic speculation in trying to pin down what the hell it was. How could we track down that fizzing, thumping, incredible banger? I had heard whispers, but nothing concrete, but then Erol Alkan told me, sort of. At a Friday night gig at the Thekla, Bristol, soon after Decked Out!, he dropped it again. Being right at the front, as usual, I explicitly gestured 'what the hell is this tune?', and he kindly took the CD it came from, broke it in two and threw it on the stage. I grabbed a piece, and managed to make out the word 'Lemonade' scrawled on it, and then I knew. From then on, Erol and many others are still playing it, evoking the same frenzied reception as when we first heard it.

4. MMM - Nous Sommes MMM


'We Are MMM'. What a brilliant name for a record that could be described in no other way than the techno A-bomb of 2010. My first experience of it came in fabric, monitored by no other than Ricardo Villalobos who stitched it into his epic 6 hour set of all things house and techno. The effect it had on us in that smokey, bassy, Room One was incredible, but the way MMM constructed the record made such a reaction inevitable for any dancefloor in any club. Ravey, noisy and drenched in adrenaline, the entire track is almost like one big build-up, endlessly rising and teasing with thunderous bass seeping in and out at unpredictable moments. It's difficult to pin down when there is a climax. There seems to be so many, but there quite possibly could be none at all. It was this totally new approach to a synth-heavy techno that made us addicted to Nous Sommes, and is probably why it will continue to be dropped to the same devastating effects for many years to come.

3. Butch - No Worries (Re-Cut)


Butch's 're-cut' version of No Worries couldn't have delighted DJ's and dancefloors much more last year. This was hardly a surprise though, considering Butch's history making of making uncomplicated, floor-friendly tech house. His full length album Eyes Wide Open continued to illustrate what he's all about, a portfolio of yet more rich, throbbing beats and percussion, the exact formula that made No Worries such a memorable hit everywhere. That thumping pulse, those crafty little breakdowns and that incomprehensible vocal sample, flirting from the off is what made No Worries so enjoyable. Again, far from a elaborate concept, but Butch knows just how to get bodies moving, so much that I would suggest it's impossible not to dance to something like No Worries, and a record number of DJ's agreed when they allowed it to spill from their monitors last year.

2. Art Department - Without You


As far as labels go, 2010 belonged to Crosstown Rebels. Damian Lazarus's unique brand of tech-house was an unstoppable force all year, with everything coming from the London-based label irresistibly good. Top of the pile though was Art Department, another one of the year's major breakthrough acts, who provided us with one of the finest examples of a house anthem for a long time. Without You didn't just sound good, it made us feel good. A bassline so deep, so groovy, it went beyond the simple realms of aural stimulation, it got under your skin, gripping you with every sluggish thump and trippy bleep. On top of all that, there was the effortlessly hazy chorus that got us all chanting through bleary eyes and slowly waving arms, "I just caaaaan't...."

1. Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours


Despite the general lack of activity, all the side-projects, the speculation (and often disappointment), Ed Banger still managed to leave their mark on 2010, a mark we believe was the most significant. If Busy P only has his signing of Breakbot to show for last year, then he can rest assured that it was a major victory. Thibaut Berland if anything rescued Ed Banger from widespread disillusion with Baby I'm Yours. Forgetting the loyal stalwarts (i.e, like myself), for many, Ed Banger was still just an uber-cool, party-mad bunch of posturing Parisians, with a reputation propped-up only really by Justice and Mr. Oizo. Their signature, buzzsaw electro sound began to grate for many, but then along came Breakbot who injected elegance, freshness and a whole new aura of modesty to the whole Ed Banger phenomenon. Languid, quiet and bearing an uncanny resemblance to a certain Sebastien Tellier, we liked Breakbot straight away, and his music was just as distinctive and charming as his physical demeanor. Forget any coarse synths, stomping bass or of those wacky idiosyncrasies that have shaped Ed Banger's identity, Baby I'm Yours was an exquisite blend of retro disco and feel-good house, with lyrics. Actual lyrics, courtesy of Irfane who sings as impudently as you would expect on a reality show final, but makes the record oh so memorable. The future of Ed Banger? We're not sure, but we couldn't think of a track that had more of an impact on us last year.

I've been quite slack with this 'Classics" feature, which is why this one is truly a techno antique.




I am assuming that Ricardo Villalobos is a name that is fairly familiar. If it isn't, I suggest taking a look at this. How about the name Richard Wolsdorf? Maybe not? Well we'll come to that. If you are fairly well informed about Villalobos' many works, then I am also quite sure you will be aware of the single MDMA, a track from the mid 90's that is still garnering appreciation all these years on.

In reality it turns out that, contrary to popular belief, the release 'MDMA - Ricardo Villalobos' is complete fiction, and instead was released under an alias of his: Richard Wolfsdorf. Not only that, but the track that everyone believes to be MDMA is actually the B-Side of the release, with the track that the techno population knowing and loving actually christened as Bosch. And now you know.

Richard Wolfsdorf - Bosch


Richard Wolfsdorf - MDMA

Finally, I've managed to find enough time to finalise the fifth installment of Sorry I'm Minimal, something which has been on my mind for a while now. Firstly, I'll begin with some news regarding the familiar face pictured above. Villalobos is back with a new 2 track EP, Peculiar/Zuge. It's classic Villalobos is sound and style, and in musical philosophy as it's vinyl only for now. We'll be following its every movement of course, so as soon as we have an mp3, so can you.

In other minimal news, German producer, Isolée is back with his next pared-down LP Well Spent Youth, after is eponymous debut. It doesn't retain quite the same rhythmic dynamism this time, but it's still another delicately and elegantly composed piece of minimalism, bordering on ambient, the kind we've come to expect from Isolée. We've also snapped up a new Plastikman compilation- A Retrospektive Mix of Classic Plastikman. Although in content it's not entirely different from his mind-blowing Kompilation CD released earlier this year, it's yet another demonstration of Richie Hawtin's merciless stranglehold on the minimal techno world. An captivating journey of Plastikman's assent to becoming 2010's most original and inspiring producer and performer, through the eyes of the genius behind the project. Just for tracks like the brilliantly named Are Friends Electrik? and of course Plasticine, it's an automatic must have for any lover of minimal.

Anyway, as it has been some time since the last Sorry I'm Minimal, there's obviously quite a lot I want to share. Please enjoy responsibly- some of these I warn are deliriously trippy...

Anja Schneider - Strong Way


Jules & Moss - Bonbons


Liviu Groza - Coconut Level One


Someone Else & Mark Henning - Little Helper 11.2


Alex Kork - Blankoff


Digitaline feat. Tigerlilly - Say So


Lopezhouse - Cadillacs & Dinosaurs


Continue to keep checking SOTW over the next few weeks where we will be posting some special features compulsory for every music orientated website, so expect top 10's and 20's for everything, including tracks, DJs, parties and record labels. There will be download links for the very best of 2010 so nobody can miss out on reviewing what has been yet again another explosive year for electronic music.