1. MMM – Donna / MMM
2. Shed – The Lower Upside Down – Surgeon Remix / Ostgut Ton
3. Jus’ Gus – Emotion Reset
4. DBX – City On The Edge of Forever / Peacefrog
5. 2562 – Kontrol / Tectonic
6. Fever Ray & The Subliminal Kid – Memories From When I Grew Up
7. Snuff Crew – The Name / Playhouse
8. D-Saw – Track 10:30 – Scan X Remix / Superstition
9. Milton Bradley – Feel Forgotten / Do Not Resist The Beat!
10. Noah Gibson – Battery – 20 8 5 22 9 19 9 15 14
+ looking forward to the Dettmann + Shed collaboration!
1. Stereociti – Untitled / Mojuba
2. Norman Nodge – Maniac / MDR
3. Liberty City – If You Really Want Someone – The MURK Groove / Tribal
4. The Off-Key Hat – Emergency Calling / Dissident
5. Shed – The Lower Upside Down – Surgeon Remix / Ostgut Ton
6. Unknown – Submariner / HATE
7. Radio Slave – Neverending….. / Ostgut Ton
8. “Unknown” – “Bosch Mix”
9. “Unknown” – Emotion Reset
10. Tony Lionni – Found A Place / Ostgut Ton
1. Gustaf – Live at The Office, 14 February 2009 – 05:25-07:10?
2. “Unknown” – Untitled Promo
3. Staffan Linzatti – See / Stockholm LTD
4. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up – We Grow Apart Inspiration by Pär Grindvik / Rabid
5. Loco Dice – Tight Laces – Marcel Dettmann Response 2 / Desolat
6. Loco Dice – Black Truffles In The Snow – Mike Huckaby’s S Y N T H Remix / Desolat
7. Johannes – Live at The Office, 14 February 2009 – 00:00-01:00
8. Loco Dice – Tight Laces – Marcel Dettmann Response 1 / Desolat
9. Ben Klock – Subzero / Ostgut Tonträger
10. Radio Slave – Koma Koma / Rekids
1. Shed – Live at The Office, 14 Feb 2009 – Part 2
2. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up – We Grow Apart Inspiration by Pär Grindvik / Rabid
3. Ben Klock – Subzero / Ostgut Tonträger
4. Peter Van Hoesen – Above 90 / Time To Express
5. Shed – Live at The Office, 14 Feb 2009 – Part 1
6. Radio Slave – Koma Koma / Rekids
7. Ben Klock – Grip / Ostgut Tonträger
8. Martyn – Elden St. / 3024
9. Unknown – Hubble / Thriller
10. Peter Van Hoesen – Attribute One – MLZ Remix / Time To Express
1. STP – The Fall – T++ Remix / SubSolo
2. Unknown – Minus 126 In Berlin / Do Not Resist The Beat!
3. Marcel Dettmann – Shena – T++ Remix / MDR
4. “Unknown” – Unknown Material
5. Luke Hess – Believe & Recieve – Shedsdeepanddubbydub Remix / Kontra-Musik
6. STP – The Fall – Peverelist Remix / SubSolo
7. 76-79 – Six Ten / Comfortable
8. Loco Dice – Black Truffles In The Snow – Mike Huckaby’s The Jazzed Out S Y N T H Remix / Desolat
9. Add Noise – Untitled / Handwerk
10. “Unknown” – Battery – 20 8 5 22 9 19 9 15 14
As well as the previous two parts, some records that have been reviewed are also the best from 2008. Since these are previously reviewed I won’t write something about them, but rather link the reviews:
Tracklist: 1. Androgenous 2. Glob 3. Keys, Strings, Tambourines 4. Wake Me 5. You Are…Light 6. Drone 7. Computer Rain 8. Vibin’ 9. Bass Mode – Original Mix 10. Siren 11. Gimme 12. Cirque De Soul 13. Deja Vu 14. Wake Outro
Not being wholly made for the dance floor, Kenny Larkin creates a whole new dimension with his new album on Planet E.
Ambient drones and structures combined with sonic explorations creates a stunning wall of sound in every single track. Sometimes filled with beats and percussion, a emotional expression and a playful attitude shows that Kenny Larkin is really a part of the present with a musical history very few can be compared to.
The energy that blasts off every sound, note and key, seems to be infinite and combined with the warehouse anthems of ‘Wake Me’, ‘Androgenous’ and all versions of ‘You Are…’ it is transformed into excellent club numbers. Maintaining a experimental side with what “works and don’t work” style makes this album unique and very interesting.
I recommend you to look up Kenny Larkin’s previous work as well and you’ll be set with some really good music.
My favorite tracks are:
Androgenous Glob Wake Me You Are… Light Gimmie You Are… Original You Are… Dark
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Various Artists – Berghain 02 – Marcel Dettmann
Label: Ostgut Tonträger Catalog#: OSTGUTCD05
1. Tobias – Balance 2. Norman Nodge – Native Rhythm Electric 3. Pied Plat – Double Trouble 4. Planetary Assault System – Kat 5. Tadeo – Reflection Nebula 056n – Substance Remix 6. Risqué Rhythum Team – The Jacking Zone 7. Samuli Kemppi – Vangel 8. Kevin Saunderson – Just Want Another Chance 9. Clatterbox – Press On 10. Redshape – Plonk – Original Mix 11. Shed – Warped Mind 12. Tadeo – 4 13. Kate Simko – She Said – Ryan Elliott Edit 14. Deetron – Let’s Get Over It – Marcel Dettmann Remix 15. T++ – Mo’ #1 16. Radio Slave – Tantakatan 17. Luke Hess – Believe & Receive – Shedsdeepanddubbydub 18. Strand – Zephyr
Letting Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann do the second Berghain mix CD on Ostgut Ton was quite expected. Even though, it’s a really good mix!
The Ostgut Ton people asked Dettmann to do the mix in 2007, so he had a lot of time to prepare and arrange it, and the result is very eclectic. Ranging from subtle and jagging Berlin techno, to classic US house and to calmer electro-ish beats.
It also features a exclusive track from T++, as well as at the time unreleased tracks from Norman Nodge, Tobias, Shed, Samuli Kemppi and the man himself.
I’m not such a big fan of mixes on CDs in general (unless it has some unreleased tracks or made by DJs I know about), but this one’s been played a lot actually and always seem interesting every time I play it. As I’m a fan of darker grooves I would rather see Dettmann do a mix that would suit me better, but his choice of tracks and the way he play them in this mix really is something special.
Absolutely one of the best mix CDs of 2008 and I think it will suit almost everybody who gives it a listen.
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Sebbo / Moritz von Oswald – Watamu Beach
Label: Desolat Catalog#: Desolat 003
Tracklist: A: Sebbo – Watamu Beach AA: Moritz Von Oswald – Watamu Beach Rework
Sebbo is a producer that keeps distance between every release, but this time he took things to a whole new level in a sound that was getting to be more and more of a “beating on a dead horse”.
During 2008, “everybody” was supposed to do tripping minimal house grooves with ethnic percussion and keeping the track duration over 10 minutes. Nothing wrong with that at all, it’s a really good sound, but it’s a bit boring when it gets to be too much.
Sebbo on the other hand, took this sound that he had already tried out on his ‘Beirut Boogie’ track on liebe*detail, sampled Basic Channel’s Quadrant track ‘Q 1.2′ and created a fast paced, rough and heavy ethnic houseXtechno groove – and also threw in some chants to top it off.
Moritz von Oswald reworked the entire thing and created one of the best tracks of 2008. Removing most elements from Sebbo’s original, he redrew the entire soundscape with really deep bass and percussion, applying a new melody that just fits so well on top of everything else.
Two of my friends in our DJ collective showed me this release in the beginning of last summer, and I was instantly hooked.
From Hong Kong and Brazil comes one of last years most funky techno releases, featuring a well produced groove with sweeps that are exactly as good as sweeps can be, quirky and chopped up piano loops and weird vocal samples.
Usually when things get this weird, it doesn’t fit the floors so well. Dropping this at a warehouse party and you’ll be surprised how well this one works.
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Kassem Mosse – Aqueous Haze (The World Dissappeared Into An)
Kassem Mosse delivers a swirling and highly emotional piece to Mikrodisko. Starting off with the A side (or the X side, to be more precise), he delivers a bit of a broken hearted slow paced highly technological techno track with concentration on the structure and atmosphere as the track progresses. A bit of dub also sees it’s way through on this one.
On the flip, ’578′ is a deeper piece with a great melody and with well executed twists and alternations in the ambient sounds. Both tracks are very dusty and has a highly analogue feel to them, bringing in a different depth to the tracks and making them a bit more timeless.
One of last years most dubstepXtechno defining releases comes from France and producer F. Heavy and rolling machine gun basslines and extremely well crafted synth sweeps makes this release essential.
‘Phase One’ is built around a heavy dubstep beat with percussion filled into the broken parts of the structure in the track, making it suitable in combination of techno tracks. A steady, building and massive synth crawls on top of everything else, filling up with reverbs and echoes and shifts in it’s presence over the progression of the track.
As for the B-side, ‘Icon’ is even more direct and with more attitude, following almost the same pattern as ‘Phase One’ but the sweeping synth is combined with a stabbing synth melody which is extremely raw and powerful. Together with the heavy hitting dubstep beat with well selected percussion and funky structure, it’s the best track on the release.
Extremely heavyweight production this one …
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Dusk + Blackdown – Kuri Pataka / Con/Fusion
Label: Keysound Catalog#: LDN007
Tracklist: A: Dusk + Blackdown – Kuri Pataka – The Firecracker Girl B: Blackdown – Con/Fusion
UK producers Dusk and Blackdown takes things into a global scale with their ‘Margins Music’ album out on Keysound. This is the third(?) single from the album and is a summarized piece of what to expect from the full length one.
Far east percussion and melodies mixed with rough British beats and tempo. It’s exactly as interesting as it sounds! The production on this one is really top notch, letting all elements from both styles merge in a really good way, it’s very balanced and has a deep feeling to it.
Farah from the disco label Italians Do It Better does the female singing on both tracks, mixing her calm voice with the rest of the production is really the big payoff on both sides, but I prefer the B-side because of the more sensitive take on the music as such.
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Len Faki – My Black Sheep – Interpretations 2/2
Label: Figure Catalog#: fig. 8
Tracklist: A1: Samuel L. Session’s Choice Mix A2: Samuel L. Session’s Bang The Drum Mix B1: Marcel Dettmann Mix B2: My Synthappella
Len Faki’s remix series of ‘My Black Sheep’ are really something. Radio Slave’s take on it was a milestone for at least my musical direction in 2007 with it’s no compromise, no bullshit sound. The Luke Slater (L.B. Dub Corp) remix was also good, but it’s the A side on the first one’s where the money is at.
This time, Samuel L. Session of Sweden and the one and only Marcel Dettmann transforms the rough original into a Detroit influenced hi-tech piece with killer pads and percussion, moving on into a transformed evil monster towards the end of the release.
Samuel is responsible for the A-sides and Dettmann for the B-sides (and the ‘Digital Mix’). Both sides have their special feeling, but I prefer Dettmann’s take in the long run, simply because it has so much energy and that special reduced sound that I love. In my opinion, the ‘Bang The Drum’ mix could’ve been replaced by the ‘Digital Mix’, it just doesn’t do it if you compare it to the rest of the tracks.
Overall, this is a eclectic and powerful release which is one of my most played one’s from last year.
Golden, pitched down R&B and dubstepping and rolling beats from Luke Blair (Lukid).
Taking a bit of everything and transforming it to something between techno or disco, Blair makes a really experimental piece. ‘BBQ’ is a bleeping monstrous downtempo-broken beat track with massive sampling and atmosphere giving a hint of old school hiphop and R&B.
‘Genie’ is my favorite on this one. Resembling a bit to 1980′s electro grooves, this track reminds me of Man Parrish and Cybotron. Rough and focused groove with high pitched keys makes ‘Genie’ something special.
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Levon Vincent / DJ Jus Ed – These Games EP
Label: Novel Sound Catalog#: NS-01
Tracklist: A1: Levon Vincent – These Games A2: DJ Jus Ed – Don’t Answer The Phone B1: Levon Vincent – Deeper B2: Levon Vincent – Sync Jam
The excellent skill of Levon Vincent is truly getting a righteous space with this release. Reduced and experimental house with a large spectrum of sound structure that seems to be infinite. Setting off his new label with relationship drama, I hope Levon Vincent will continue to pave the way in 2009.
‘These Games’ is a vocal concentrated track with a heavy but slow paced beat and with a ambient progression. Excellent choice of subtle eruption of noise and effects, Vincent creates a unique sound that brings this lead track to a whole different level.
DJ Jus Ed speeds things up with ‘Don’t Answer The Phone’. A reduced New York house attitude with sparse use of elements creates a rough but minimalistic piece that makes you nod your head from the first beat.
On the flip, ‘Deeper’ brings things down to a dub infected atmosphere. Reverbed echoes and percussion, small melodies combined with a metal drenched synthline brings in the heavy stuff but keeps it on a house oriented level. ‘Sync Jam’ takes things back to the faster route, adding to the introduced sound of DJ Jus Ed, Vincent makes use of the Roland machines to create a very stylistic piece.
One to pick up on sight …
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Various Artists – Edition 1
Label: Metrolux Music Catalog#: mlm 004
Tracklist: A1: Atheus – Side Effex A2: Arne Weinberg – Midas Touch B1: XDB – Jet B2: XDB – Rising Sun
Finest dub techno of ’08 comes from the first various artists release on Metrolux Music. Raw and extremely present dubbed tunes from four of the scene’s finest producers.
Elements of a faster paced groove are present in every track, making it hard to define the emotions on both sides of this release. Swirling and subtle changes in atmosphere and melody keeps you sharp while the track progress, always making unexpected turns and elevations.
These releases are the best ones from 2008, presented in no specific order and are equally good in different ways. Featuring both CD’s and vinyl’s, I hope this gives you a comprehensive overview from this past year.
Marcel Dettmann – MDR 04
Label: Marcel Dettmann Records / MDR Catalog#: MDR 04
The MDR 04 is Marcel Dettmann’s most experimental release to date. Starting off with ‘Clime’, a Burial-like thunderstorm of ambience and drones, giving a hint of melancholic ambivalence between darkness and brightness – a “monument” over what’s coming over the next track on the release.
‘Lattice’ is one of the most powerful tracks of 2008, focusing around atmospheric changes in the background and a gigantic sweep in the foreground. Small changes in the wall-of-sound erupt from different angles. The kick is so fierce it needs to be played on a sound system with a good spectrum in the lower frequencies.
On the B-sides, ‘Shatter Proof’ shows a new and experimental sound from Marcel, which is best described as a purist techno track transformed into a stepping structure and ‘Corebox’, which brings things back into a straighter techno beat but still holding strong onto the broken beat style.
Not being only a really important release of 2008, it’s a warehouse destroyer – this is what you can expect from Marcel Dettmann.
At the edge of 2008, one of the best UK Garage/dubstep/techno/half-step tracks are released. On this 10″, UK producer Spatial shows great skill and production. Hopefully this is just the beginning.
Combining a modern styled techno attitude with the broken rhythms of old garage vibes, the A-side’s ’80207′ maintains a calmness which crawls under your skin, together with a vocal that penetrates the bass and percussion in a deadly way.
’70810′ on the other side is pure rawness and beauty, weird structures and scapes twirls around the bass and dubstep percussion. This is a fast paced electronic track which will definitely set standards in 2009 as it completely destroyed 2008…
Watch out for this one!
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Silent Servant – Violencia
Label: Sandwell District Catalog#: SD 11
Tracklist:
A: Silent Servant / Kalon – Violencia B1: Silent Servant – Violencia B2: Silent Servant / Function – Violencia
Jagging, distorted, raw and powerful warehouse techno – Silent Servant. One of the members from Sandwell District has teamed up with Kalon and Function to create one of 2008′s best releases, a wide arrangement of different styles of approach and expression.
Kalon’s version of ‘Violencia’ is the most raw one, re-arranging the track structure and energy, giving more space for the main melody, whereas the original version bring things down to a more subtle level with a more dub-wise structure and less noise.
The version by Function is more straight forward, bringing in a straight techno groove and subtle changes into the atmosphere rather than making the track atmospheric itself – involving certain trademark sounds and a burning hole into the blanket of warm sounds.
Let’s walk away for a while with our drinks and sit down at the jetty, watching the sun slowly rise in the background, shedding light through the sails of the boats at sea. In the background, ‘Release’ is slowly mixed in at a perfect volume and there is no tomorrow, just right now.
The anthem of warm summer days was released in July, together with the house track ‘The Many’ on the flip. The warm and atmospheric wall of sound is so pleasant and flows through your ears, making you relax and slow down for a while.
Warehouse anthem in a raw and distorted style, charted by everyone between Redshape and Dettmann. Extremely well produced house track with a real analogue feel, tripping melody and jacking beats. Killer track on a single sided issue, shows just how raw things can be before it gets too much.
Strong pounding house tracks with all the best parts from disco, keeping an authentic feel but adding that Berghain-flavor which keeps things right in place.
‘”Live” Goes On’ is the track here, with a raw piano fused together with a deep structure and rhythm, making you move your legs and “jack yourself”. As ‘Rainmaker’ kicks in, things get a bit more uptempo and starlit and even MORE tripping – electronic LSD for your mind, body and soul.
The last track is ‘Dance With Me’, the height of pure soul transformed into a modern piece of house, the track pulls you into a feel-good vibe. The breakdown with only the samples and melody makes you want more, just then the kick pulls back in again and it’s on!
Hard hitting and rhythmic, on the edge of stepping, techno grooves from A’dam’! Fierce and retro-sounding, these tracks from Technose Distrikt are one of the most interesting releases of 2008.
Keeping distance from similar tracks in the same style, Technose get things going through variation in small portions, keeping things looping but never being repetative. The high production class is what makes this release stand out – it’s so groovy you’ll dance until your shoes wear down.
The A-side has a dusty feel to it, keeping things brewing and subtle, while still being upfront. As for the other side, things get more direct – the intense and great melody swings around in a weird but funky way, keeping the stepping and straight parts of the track together and merging the percussion into the beat.
