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.
Finally the weekend has arrived. I'm resorting to using a horrible cliche but over the last couple of months I have literally been 'living for the weekend'. Cringeworthiness aside, I have had nothing short of a string of incredible Saturdays, with the odd Friday mash-up tossed in occasionally. The depressing routine of a weeks worth of lectures and seminars and multiple other hours spent reading Noam Chomsky among other crusty academics really has restored my faith in the splendour of le weekend. This weekend is no different in terms of general itinerary but it will provide my kicks on excitingly unfamiliar territory. No fabric this time for me (at time of writing), despite an awe-inspiring line-up that includes Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, M.A.N.D.Y (live) and Art Department- is I've previously mentioned, Chris and I will be heading further East of the capital for another Exstatic Sounds warehouse party featuring Sven Tasnadi and Tigerskin (live) among others for what promises to be a fantastic event. Tonight I head to Old Street's reputable new club XOYO for the first time for an irresistible B2B set from Joy Orbison and Ramadanman, who's recent Void 23 EP has been causing shockwaves of late. The night will lean slightly away from my usual musical periphery but I'm really looking forward to seeing if XOYO is worth all the fuss.
So before I crack open first Kronenbourg I have in my fridge and engage in usual pre-night activity, I thought I would put together a little weekend pack with links, parties, tunes and even a little mix thrown in to get you jigging. Don't let the icy conditions out there keep you inside, there are some serious parties being thrown both tonight and tomorrow, especially here in London. It's not to late to get down here....
As always, your first port of call for any unplanned weekend should be RA's event pages, which list hundreds of events in all regions of the country. If you're looking for a little more refined guidance however, here's SOTW's weekend picks in London:
And finally my own little Weekend Mix, featuring some of the best new tracks and maybe one old dinosaur melded in for good measure. Track listings are available on my personal Soundcloud account.
German producer and DJ, Butch is fast becoming not only one of the hottest names on the circuit right now, but also one of my personal favourites. Every one of his productions so far have been nothing short of excellent, all beautifully mastered and always brilliantly funky, and this is precisely what we get in every single track on his new album, Eyes Wide Open.
No Worries, the record that was charted by a staggering amount of top DJs and played in clubs by many more, although not included in Eyes Wide Open, was undeniably one of the hottest tunes of the summer and underpins perfectly what Butch is all about. If there's one thing Butch knows how to invest in his music it's rhythm. The guy has playful, ebbing, tribal rhythm flowing through the veins of all his productions. Tech house so often becomes the grey area of failed minimal and lets face it, is often pretty uninspiring. Only the major players consistently get it spot on. Blending house with techno to make music as groovy and alive as Butch does is no easy skill. What he's managed to create in Eyes... is a style of tech house which is house at heart, keeping the same four-to-the-floor structure, but with enough rave-worthy intensity so that it's not too deep and therefore assumes that classic techno ethic... it's pounding.
Butch's basslines are some of the most compelling, most groovy I've ever heard. Following the delicate string templates of For Her Smile (Epilogue), In God's Arms, is a lean, shuffling demonstration of house and techno in perfect harmony. Piano notes and percussive flavours decorate the floor-filling house beat. All of Butch's productions are all mildly progressive without becoming too aggressive. Joy (II) builds and builds at such an engaging, stimulating rate, but the gauzy vocal samples looped throughout the entire track keep it anchored to a field of house far more subtle and melodic, rather than frantic.
It's Butch's creative and often experimental influences that really lift Eyes Wide Open to level of supremacy. While he remains true to his own basic style throughout the entire album, keeping the same surging, pounding tech-house basslines and similar beat patterns, at not one point does the album ever become at all monotonous. Every track is dusted with something special, unusual and often slightly daring, a feature of Butch's producing abilities that truly defines him as one of Berlin's new breed of geniuses. His airy, psychedelic Kids is almost classic house, but the drums and percussion are this time stirred with infant-like vocal samples creating a delicious if not slightly aberrant groove, but that is not in any way a criticism. Soul Motion is the albums star though. This time Butch discards any sonic mischief and delivers something made for only the most powerful soundsystems. Again there are the twangs of guitar stings and various other shadowy samples, but this is by for the most aggressive of all, throbbing with heat, funk and swagger.
If Butch continues to keep producing such well thought and well conceived music then there is no limits to his potential. Granted, he's not a 'new comer' in any sense of the term, in fact he's been around for some time, but it now seems as if he's honed his creative skills into something more compact and just generally more pleasing than ever before. For this reason I will not be taking my eyes of his every movement from now on.
The video above of Ricardo Villalobos at fabric sometime in March this year may be short, unclear and prohibitively shuddery, but I feel it captures what Saturday nights are all about. Saturday is the night for House and Techno and that is when we come out to play. We want deep, dark and underground sonics and basslines so groovy, that we can, and will, dance to for many, many hours. I think that is a quality no other style of music can boast.
So to get your Saturday night started I've made up a little package just some glorious house and techno beats. Not a regular post or anything, I just feel excited for tonight myself! I also have included a little off-hand mix I fused together yesterday night before I hit an unfamiliar Friday night rave. Head over to Soundcloud via the link above the mix for the full track listing.
There are plenty of things in life that you can have too much of, but House music just isn't one of them. So it is for this reason I am blogging a bountiful collection of songs for your ears to pleasure themselves upon.
Firstly, I couldn't resist putting up the quite brilliant Audiojack remix of H.O.S.H.'s Cash The Chord. Craig Richards absolutely loved this tune when he dropped it at Fabric, and tremendously funky bassline is an inclination as to why he was dancing so frantically. It is actually impossible not to dance to this song.
H.O.S.H - Cash The Chord (Audiojack Remix)
Next is the latest from Veitengruber. Same lyrics as those in 'Seven Nation Army', however the soulful female vocals are fairly spooky at times and fit in perfectly with the staccato chord stabs and bassline that continue throughout.
Veitengruber - Behind a Cigarette
Featured in Tensnake's Chart of last month, this Lee Foss song has one of my favourite basslines of the last few months. It's just incredible. Polish it with a female vocal sample, arpeggiating synths and top quality production and it's a winner.
Lee Foss - Happen For a Reason
This Redo by Je Davu and St Propre is brilliant, with support from the main Latino Techno man Ricardo Villalobos.
Not the best quality mp3, but it's due for a full release soon.
Je Davu feat. St Propre - Disco2Disco (Latin Space Dub)
Loco Dice really has a knack for making some top productions. Loving this tune at the moment. Perfect House.
Mousse T - Toscana (Loco Dice)
This on has bee nsupported by Hawtin, Carola, Jacuzzi Boys and too many more to name. Need I say more?
Comme Lapin - Vaai
Hot Chip aren't huge on the house scene, and there aren't that many stand out remixes of them, however I believe this song to be an exception. The break fits perfectly with Hot Chip's original vocals.
Hot Chip - Touch Too Much (Kollektiv Turmstrasse Remix)
Finally a collab between Dusty Kid and Grooviera. And groove is does. A top 50 of beatport last month and a funky beat make this a highly recommended listen. Also I enjoy the name, so that's worth something.
Dusty Kid & Grooviera - Where the DJ Hell is Todd Terry?
University. 8 Hours of lectures a week and very fast internet connection in my room. What better way is there to delay doing any reading and generally procrastinate than just go looking for music? I have more listening time than ever before and now the convenience of beautiful lightning fast downloading speeds. The result is that since I've been here, which now approaches approximately two months, I have acquired, well, a helluva lot of music and more than I could ever attempt to share (unless you're in my halls that is where you can access my entire library). But I am going to share some of the stand-out records I've encountered. They are quite eclectic, but most vaguely fit into the tech house category I suppose. Unfortunately none are the track featured in the video above- a tortuously elusive little groove from Luciano's set at fabric's birthday weekend. I'm still looking for it, so help a brother out if you have any idea what it is.
A delicious tribal-flavoured remix of Ron Costa'sSaltimb, taken from his recently released EP. Deliriously groovy bassline and some bizarre little flute breaks make this a real treat.
Ron Costa - Saltimb (Luca Albano Remix)
Now we've known about Cocoon's Egbert for some time, but productions like Vreugdevuur have led us to perceive him as merely a tech house wizard. Open has made me totally revise this assumption. It's a MASSIVE techno bomb for MASSIVE rooms. The first drop almost blew me off my chair. I dream of hearing this on a big soundsystem and maybe when Sven Väth cruises down to fabric in a few weeks he will make that dream come true?
Egbert - Open (Original Mix)
Spaniard producer Maetrik (who's performing live at fabric tonight) has teamed up with Kule Runner to make this snappy, shadowy minimal tripper. I really like the progression in this, it's patient, sexy and really quite heavy.
Maetrik & Kule Runner - Snorkel
Gavin Herilhy is no stranger, and again he demonstrates why he's so respected right now with this more brilliant techno vibes. Expect to hear this out a lot.
Gavin Herilhy - Stand For Something
Techno master Loco Dice doesn't disappoint with his freshly unleashed Got Leaks In The Roof. As always with Dice, there's the usual thumping minimal bassline and gentle synth patterns delicately layered, making this naturally a simply massive tune.
Loco Dice - Got Leaks In The Roof
My general teeming subconscious ear for tunes Craig Richards may have dropped in his sets does occasionally give me some real delight. I remember Jacek Seinkiewicz's Who Told You That? It was just so ridiculously head-y I couldn't exactly forget it. I fully confess that I get off on this breed of minimal.
Jacek Sienkiewicz - Who Told You That?
Slightly more downtempo, Pulshar'sCalifornia State of Mind is an elegant composition of gentler house beats and emotive vocals, but the real pleasure comes from the surprising Balearic-style synth stabs that pierce the melodic structure of the tune.
Pulshar - California State of Mind
Matthias Meyer'sMiss Apre Gate EP is a glorious little three-track collection of simply groovy tech house. The Rear Window is the pick of the bunch though, a divine amalgamation of sounds and sonics that compliment the bassline delightfully.
Matthias Meyer - The Rear Window
Steve Lawler'sGimme Some More will undoubtedly be rumbling some dancefloors underground- a relentless, pounding house banger with some catchy vocals thrown in. Guess what they say?
Steve Lawler - Gimme Some More
Raw As Fuck. Any electronic track titled this has got to deliver and fortunately Marcello Napoletano has delivered. It sounds minimal, but the 'raw' synth pattern gives it some added bite which is very satisfying.
Marcello Napoletano - Raw As Fuck
Dani Sbert will certainly keep the groove flowing seamlessly with this rapid techno hit.
Dani Sbert - Baphomet
The return of Jacuzzi Boys! And don't we just love their groovy latin tech house. Matthias Mesteno's remix of Bocadillos is just amazing. The shadowy vocal hook is gloriously hazy and, the bassline is heavy, progressive and typically compelling- little trumpet samples keep that fun side we expect of the boys.
Jacuzzi Boys - Bocadillos (Matthias Mesteno Remix)
Lastly, one of the heaviest, most addictive and simply brilliant dancefloor bombs I've ever heard. I had heard it knocking round in Craig Richards' sets for a while and heard it twice at fabric's birthday. It's the Kink remix of Marc Romboy and Blake Baxter'sMuzik, which I have mentioned recently. This rather large installment of tracks is, as I said a collection of the best tunes I've acquired over the last couple of months, and this I would have to say is my favourite of them all. If you're DJing, I suggest you use this at some point, depending on the crowd of course, it's guaranteed a hefty reception.
Even if you haven't heard Art Department'sWithout You, you will have surely seen it mentioned somewhere over the last few weeks. Released on Damian Lazarus' Crosstown Rebels label, it's pretty much the biggest thing around at the moment, charted by more DJ's than I've ever seen before. Deep, dark and sexy, it's by far one of the most unusual basslines I've heard for a while.
"Sometimes I wish I liked commercial music... Nights out would be much less of a letdown with music policies, for I would get excited for every other song, and I wouldn't need so much space on my computer devoted to music, and I wouldn't have to spend so much time downloading it. Then I listen to some RnB, puke my guts up and put on some techno, and remember why I bother...." (Chris)
The other day I decided to do a bit of digging on the producers who brought us the summer anthem Tarantula, which was played multiple times throughout our stint at Exit festival and many times since. The vocal hook was simply mesmerizing and complimented perfectly by a groovy bassline.
Turns out they're actually pretty damn hot, reworking several other big names in their own unique fashion. Have a listen to the next two and see what you think:
My love for a completely nonexistent genre known as 'Cheeky House' is no secret between me and Dom. I am glad that I can now class the above song in said genre with other greats such as Baltic Pine by Boy 8-Bit and London to Paris by Mowgli.
I could post links for download, or you could just buy them using the links above...
Kieran Hebden, aka. Four Tet makes beautiful music, hardly a contemporary observation I'm aware. His elegantly composed 'Sing' on his recent There Is Love In You album underpins his reputation as one of the most successively experimental producers in underground electronica- a superb amalgamation of quirky electronic sounds and ghostly mastered vocals. But then along came Floating Points who decided to make the whole thing epic and breathtaking. Their remix is undoubtedly the pick of the bunch on the new remixes EP for Sing, Any track almost 14 minutes long needs to have something to captivate even the most patient listeners, and this is utterly captivating. A weightless ambient opening builds for about 6 minutes before the whole thing comes together and becomes the stuff of electronic music fantasy. It's well and truly cemented in my brain right now, but it makes me feel remarkably good. I heard Craig Richards slip it in one of his Saturday night sets at fabric and it did something magical to Room One. I'll let the tune do the rest of the talking....
Take bright techno newcomer Jozif and veteran fabric resident Craig Richards and the result isn't exactly obvious. However, if it's on Richards' new co-owned label Fist or Finger then it's devastatingly brilliant. Jozif's Beats In Space EP is unfortunately limited edition and only on vinyl, all the more unfortunate as the original is actually so good it's frightening, and it's remixed by Craig Richards (a rare production outing) on the B-side. Just have to hope I hear Richards drop it next time I hit EC1...
Music moves so quickly it seemsis impossible to keep up with all of it, especially when you have hundreds of different artists on hundreds of different record labels spanning several genres, each putting out new releases every week.
Anyway, here a some of my more recent favourites from the Tech House genre, which hasn't had a post in a while it seems.
This tune is on repeat at the moment, just love the cheeky little flute break.
Loko - Kixa
Brilliantly ambient redo:
Booka Shade - Teenage Spaceman (Booka in Space Mix)
And some more:
Tom Flynn - La Plassa
Westboy - Seduction (Audiojack Run Away Drums Mix)
While Minimal Monday has been in hiding for a while (perhaps it's too small to see), I feel like I should compensate somehow. Yet more technical problems has been largely responsible for the lack of minimal posts recently, made especially frustrating by the significant developments in the minimal world of late. So alternatively here is a tasty assortment of tech-house, the kind of sleek, groovy stuff fabric resident Terry Francis (above) would spin on a Saturday night at EC1.
Tracey Thorn - Why Does The Wind (Morgan Geist Remix)
Guy Gerber feat. Dawn - Hate/Love
Dinky - Paquita (Matthew Styles Remix)
Hoochie Mama - Martin Buttrich
Alex Niggemann - Take Control (Matthias Tanzmann Remix)
The third installment of Now We Rave brings you some more underground club bangers hot on the circuit, as always touring tempos from groovy house to much darker, more unpleasant techno sounds.
I'm not quite sure how I came across Jan Driver'sTellyfoam, but I instantly recognised it. Then I realised it was actually another brilliant tune I had heard for the first time at EXIT, where DJ Mehdi cleverly featured it in his brilliant housey-electro set on the Sunday. It's weird and wonderfully danceable, with such a fascinating bassline. Expect this to be in many a house or techno set for time to come.
Jan Driver - Tellyfoam
I'm well aware this isn't a new track at all, in fact I'm pretty sure it's been around for ages but after first hearing it when Cassius dropped it in their amazing set at Together in London back in April, I had been almost obsessed with trying to hunt down whatever it was. The next time I heard it was during Mehdi's set (again) at EXIT. It was only after that I finally discovered what it was, thanks to Chris's undisclosed sources. Ironically, it turned out to beL-Vis 1990, who we had seen at EXIT also, and had only really just been properly exposed to. It's shuddering, trashy, funky bassline is ultimate rave satisfaction.
L-Vis 1990 - Compass
I don't think I've heard this out yet, but after reading it's one of Brodinski's current fav's, I had to get my hands on it. I have seen Brodinski a few times and it's stylistically perfect for one of his techy sets. It's also worth crediting Acid Girls for yet another excellent remix.
Human Life - In It Together (Acid Girls Remix)
Another Brodinski favourite, Mumbai Science'sAncova is as Chris superbly put it, 'an absolutely huge techno tune'. This is a dancefloor weapon, with enough euphoria-soaked bass-heavy drops to make your average 8am raver weak at the knees.
Mumbai Science - Ancova (Dry Edit)
Chris says Boys Noize has used this in his sets before? I believe him. It's wonderfully groovy disco house, but with enough electro distortion to keep the sweat dripping off those walls... There's also a turbo-charged Xinobi remix out there for those wanting a bit more...
I do intend to do a large post before I go off travelling tomorrow, however in the meantime I felt this song deserved it's own post.
Whilst it's currently 7th on Beatport's top downloads, we heard it several times during Exit Festival last weekend, being played by Brodinski amongst others. Didn't know what it was at first, until it suddenly appeared on my iPhone's shuffle.
The main vocal hook at around 3 minutes in is just mesmerizing, it's just brilliantly smooth tech-house all around. Perfect summer song.
What is it with frenchmen named Sebastien making exceedingly good music? Tellier has the french pop house genre dominated, while Ed Banger's mysterious SebastiAn continues to produce some of the most controversially trashy Electro known to man.
This Sebastien however, favours the more delicate sounds of Tech House, and is one of my top artists within the genre, simply because he has been producing consistently amazing songs and remixes for years.
His latest EP, Silicone Carne / Superdrums, is set to be a summer hit, and so in good summer spirit I felt I would share the superior of the two tracks (opinion) with you.
Sebastien Leger - Silicone Carne (Original Mix)
Also got a favourite remix of the classic On/Off by Cirez D (Eric Prydz's techno alias).
Cirez D - On/Off (Sebastien Leger Remix)
And finally a track from another great album released way back in 2007, along with the debut's of Boys Noize, Simian Mobile Disco and Justice. Good year that was.
Sebastien Leger - Sun
Brilliant album, definitely worth the purchase.
Pick up Planets on DJ Download now.
Another remix in the form of Soulwax X LCD Soundsystem. Another one I don't even need to think about evaluating. The only excuse you can have for not having heard of either group is that you are a newborn baby.
LCD Soundsystem - You Wanted a Hit (Soulwax Remix)
A while ago we featured Paul Chambers' latest track 'Yeah Techno!'. This is what happened when he met Shinichi.
Shinichi Osawa feat. Paul Chambers - Singapore Swing
Now I'm mildly embarrassed to be posting this, but then I love Mstrkrft, so it's quite hard not to...
Katy Perry - California Gurls (Mstrkrft Remix)
And another little bonus: a preview of Bart B More's latest tune 'Brap!' out soon on Boys Noize records. Bart B More - Brap! by Bart B More
And the final song...
This one is completely different to all previously. Fitting into the Tech House genre, with melodious piano loops, soft synths and ambient strings, it's hard not to like this on a quiet summers day.
Here's a quick little mix I did this morning. Did it all off the cuff so a few errors here and there, nothing major though really, just volume/levels and the like.
Starts off quite light with some funky Mowgli, then gets more into techno/tech and finally ends up a bit darker with the like of SMD and Plastikman.
Yesterday saw the release of Para One's latest EP, Kiwi / Toadstool on Sound Pellegrino. Also featuring remixes from Jesse Rose, Tony Senghore and the ever brilliant Noob, of whom I have been listening to a fair bit recently, the two original tracks see Para One moving into a more tech inspired area, as opposed to the Electro House of his previous years.
Top tracks are the Noob remix, Kiwi (Original) and then the Jesse Rose Made to Play Dub of Toadstools, in that order.
I was first exposed to this delightful little number from Tensnake during one of Filthy Dukes' sets at their recent Kill Em All night at fabric. When I heard it I had no idea what it was, all I knew was that it was such a refreshing, uplifting dance tune and one I had to get my hands on somehow.
It's hard to explain where this tune belongs- Disco maybe? Tech House? Electro? Synthpop? Decide for yourself...
Getting a cliche in nice and quick, this is a blog posted by music lovers, for music lovers. Whether you're a DJ, producer, fanatic or just someone looking to fill their iPod, we hope to be satisfying your aural needs over our coming posts.
Filtering through our speakers at the moment is a blend of electro bangers, all sorts of techno, groovy tech house and some summery disco. You wont find anything UK funky, dubby, or anything your mother would class as "bump 'n' grind" here. Enjoy.
Disclaimer
The songs we post are for sampling purposes only, and all are shared at 128kbps unless stated other wise. All can be purchased at full 320kbps on iTunes, Beatport, Juno, DJ Download and a numerous amount of other sites, so we strongly advise doing so. If an artist/record label would like us to remove a song for download, please drop us an email at sweatonthewalls@hotmail.com, and we will duly oblige.
Any producers/DJs who would like us to post their track please use the email above to do so, or drop it here.
August Chart: Dom
Chris 1. Cassius - The Sound of Violence (Franco Cinelli Remix) 2. Sascha Dive - Jus' Groove
3. Roman Flugel - Brian Le Bon
4. Shonky - Oasis (jozif Remix)
5. C-Rock - Funky Dope Trakk!
6. Gaiser - Some Slip
7. Fillipo Mancinelli & Allen May - The Hills (John Selway Dub)
8. Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap - Romantic Comedy
9. Chris Mozio & Nikko Z - Monotony (Dousk Remix) 10. Junior Boys - Banana Ripple
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.
