Home On A Sunday

Again, sorry for the long absence but hopefully we’ll be more than making up for it in the coming weeks. There’s a new Beyond The Wizards Sleeve that we should be posting up soon that sounds like it’s going to be absolutely killer. I haven’t heard it myself, but when it’s an edit of Love’s ‘A House Is Not A Motel’ from their ‘perennial pan-narcotic classic album’ (© Mr Soft) Forever Changes, you can’t go far wrong. Originally it was going to feature on their new EP, but Erol thought that would be wrong to do since his passing. This is their tribute to the late legend that is Arthur Lee and what was arguably the best guitar album in the last 40 years. If you haven’t bought ‘Forever Changes’ yet, then I’d strongly advise you to pick it up the before you even think about buying another record! Also, Puffin Jack’s just recorded a new techno mix and it’s sounding top notch, so make sure that you download it when I manage to get it up on here.

{EDIT: Here's the BTWS edit of Love. I'll leave the words to Erol...]

"(Giving the edit out over the internet)...seems the simplest way to get the edit out there as a tribute not just to him, but to one of the greatest albums ever made. The biggest joy to doing the BTWS edits is seeing kids absorb this incredible music, some of which was made 40-50 years ago."

Download:
Love - A House Is Not A Motel (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Edit) // Third Mynd

The Riton show at Buoyancy last weekend was really good fun, apart from some headphone breakage and the place being hotter than hell itself! My memory’s a bit patchy, but I do remember quite a few Tape classics coming out, and I think that we warmed up the crowd enough to make it easy for Mr Smithson. Even the section that we mixed without headphones went down really well. On my instruction, Puffin mixed the SebastiAn mix of Benjamin Theves (‘Honestly, you can just bang it in!’), and then I followed with the new Carl Craig remix of X-Press 2. Its huge throbbing bass synth and cymbal/clap percussion is quite ravetastic, I must say. As usual, Carl tweaks the fuck out of the simplest of elements and makes them sound like absolute genius. I’ve been flitting about in deciding if I actually like the oikish, baggy mantra that is Rob Harvey's vocal or not, but by the time that synth hits three minutes from the end it doesn’t matter. I’m already won over.

Download:
X-Press 2 – Kill 100 feat. Rob Harvey (Carl Craig Remix)

Riton went on after us and set the dial to ‘bosh’, killing it track after track. Highlights were Doppelwhipper (of course), a track from the new Fuckpony LP, and the aforementioned SebastiAn remix. Unfortunately his new track with Heidi didn’t get an outing due to it not having the required bosh factor, but even without it he played a really enjoyable set. While me and Puffin were partying away at Riton’s show, Mr Soft was present at Luciano’s Fabric set. Back came reports of a new minimal monster that echoed the emotions that me and him went through the first time that we heard the now infamous ‘Seeing Through Shadows’ during his T-Bar set a few months ago. This is a totally different kind of beast; the chicaning riffs replaced by repetitive yet mutating synth squelches and a simple three-note bassline. The key to its appeal, however, is the subdued locomotive drop that pulls the dancefloor from under your feet and commanded Soft to join the mob of attractive Europeans that lay before his widened eyes.

Download:
Microfunk – Pecan // Remote Area

I first heard these two gems a few weeks ago when I got Damian Lazarus’ Essential Mix posted through my letterbox. I was browsing through his site a month or so earlier to see if he’d updated his occasionally hilarious diary section, and stumbled upon a little competition where you had to say in twenty words ‘why music is an essential part of your life’. Now some (ie. everyone else who won) might go about constructing a passionate, inspirational comment about how music warms their soul, but what do I go and do? Fire off a sarcastic and indirectly derogatory funny-not-funny answer? Of course! So why is music such an essential part of my life?

“I'm an impotent, blind paraplegic. What else am I going to do with my spare time?"

Such is the bane of my existence. Indeed. That rash gesture of attempted humour gave me the chance to check out Laz’s top quality 2 hour mix, and there were a few choice cuts that I hadn’t yet got my ears around. Tobias Freund’s ‘Street Knowledge’ is simplistic boompty acid techno that’ll have your knees wobbling like Homer Simpson’s belly, topped off beautifully with sporadic synth stabs and drum fills. Released this April, it came from the man who’s responsible for the ‘Sieg Uber Die Sonne’ project with the almost sickly consistent legend of Perlon that is Dandy Jack, and NSI on Cadenza with Max Loderbauer. That said, some of you might be expecting beard stroking minimal shenanigans, but this is definitely four to the floor all the way with more of a vintage house and techno feel.

Download:
Tobias – Street Knowledge // Logistic

Berlin’s newest Chilean import Alejandra Iglesias is the woman behind Dinky, and ‘Home On A Sunday’ is her second solo release on her Horizontal label following on from her releases on Cocoon and Traum. As a paen to Sundays at home after a hard weekend’s clubbing, you might expect it to be lush padded techno; but its trebly Ricardo style percussion and eerie minor key melody makes sure that it has paranoia and claustrophobia written all over it. Halfway through, all this darkness gets enveloped in an equally gloomy hard-hitting arpeggio wonkfest, carried along by the monotone monologue of having ‘my music, my food, my house…’ Doesn’t sound like the most enjoyable of listening experiences, but you’re going to have to trust me on this one!

Download:
Dinky – Home On A Sunday // Horizontal

Make sure that you have a good bank holiday, everyone! Buy some records, and enjoy yourselves. Randomly enough, me and Puffin will be getting our disco out (ahem) and mixing it up at Jules October’s dad’s birthday party. Ah.. disco…(Ah... Bisto? Oh, never mind).

Disco delights:
Gary's Gang - Do It At The Disco // Columbia
Richard Carnage - 'Mutant Disco' mix

And remember to make a note on your calendar for next Friday...

Us Mutantes

Yet again I’ve been very lazy in updating this bloody thing, but I’ve been slightly preoccupied with nursing my poor brain after Friday night’s Mutant Pop shindig down at the Arc. Thanks to everyone who came down to have a little jig, including all our regulars (you know who you are!). Everything seemed to go strangely right with this one, which was a pleasant surprise. First off, it was already fairly busy at around 11, everyone played an absolute blinder, and there was a really smooth flow to the night as far as the musical policy was concerned.

First up was the every reliable Puffin Jack, gracefully gliding through disco, cerebral house and minimal techno for the first couple of hours. I remember very little from the music early on, but I can recall shaking my booty to the Tim Sweeney edit of ‘Night Flight To Venus’ while shimmying around putting posters up, and also a bit of pint supping and foot tapping to Electronic’s ‘Getting Away With It’. Proper feelgood homo-house!

Download:
Electronic - Getting Away With It // Factory

Other highlights were Jesse Rose & Rob Mello's 'Do You Wanna' (which features on Puffin's mix from back in May), and Greg Wilson's 'Electric Eel'. I've banged on about this Streets/Prodigy edit in one of my previous charts - you should definitely pick this up if you see it lying around.

I was next up, and soon realised that there wasn’t really going to be any time to drop it down since the dancefloor was assembled and they needed a good kick up the arse to get themselves moving. Commencing proceedings with the irresistible bouncing staccato bassline of Rob Mello’s mix of Subjekt (which features on Damian Lazarus’ essential ‘Rebel Futurism’ mix CD), things went up from there as the dancefloor swelled and boogied the night away.

Download:
Subjekt - Step Back (Rob Mello's No Ears Dub) // Crosstown Rebels

Gavin Herlihy’s debut on Moodmusic (see my current chart) went down really well, as did Dirk Technic’s techy stomper from 2004 on 10 Kilo. It possesses a ridiculously heavy drop halfway through that’s bound to get both the gurners and the girlies’ feet a moving.

Download:
Dirk Technic – I Love You // 10 Kilo

The Tape anthem that is ‘Warehouse Shit’ (played last month during Matt Waites' incendiary set) just had to come out, and it was at that point that I had an unlabelled CD-R thrust into my hands by Puffin. It happened to be a new track by our good friend October, although the poor lad was a little too spun out to stick around and hear its debut outing. He’s been listening to house and techno more and more over the past year, and this is his first production that really showcases his newfound sound. Endearingly, he’s named it after us guys (aww, how sweet!), so if it was rubbish we’d probably love it anyway. The reality is that it’s anything but; it's a 10 minute jacking yet broody arpeggiated monster (imagine a bastard child of Innervisions and Poker Flat and you're halfway there) that even in the form of it’s first rough mix kept the dancefloor grooving for its full duration while dropping things down a level. Actually, pretty much anything is going to drop things down after 'Warehouse Shit', but you know what I mean. Unfortunately I’m not allowed to post up the full thing here yet, but Jules has given me the green light to post a couple of 128kb clips for your delectation.

Download:
October – Tape (Clip 1) // CD-R
October – Tape (Clip 2) // CD-R

Things were rounded off with the triple whammy of Ame’s Akabu mix, Ananda’s ‘Doppelwhipper’ and Underworld’s ‘Rez’, before passing the techno baton over to the very capable hands of Mr Gareth Watkins. Here’s my full setlist for anyone who was there and wants to pick up some of the tunes:

Subjekt - Step Back (Rob Mello's No Ears Dub) // Crosstown Rebels
Tekel - Smet // Initial Cuts
Ada - I Love Asphalt // Areal
Gavin Herlihy - Machine Ate My Homework // Moodmusic
Extrawelt - Soopertrack // Border Community
Dirk Technic - I Love You // 10 Kilo
Induceve - Warehouse Shit // Dubsided
October - Tape // CD-R
Akabu - Phuture Bound (Ame Remix) // ZR
Gabriel Ananda - Doppelwhipper (Live) // Platzhirsch
Underworld - Rez // TVT

Gaz pulled out all the stops to seal the deal on one of the best Mutant Pops so far, and his usual anthems were given their rightful airings. Chardronnet’s ‘Eve By Day’ swept the crowd into ecstasy, and by the time that Michael Mayer and Reinhard Voigt’s ‘Transparenza’ hit, the rave siren actually made a bit of sense rather than falling a bit flat as it did when it was played back in June.

Download:
Michael Mayer & Reinhard Voigt - Transparenza // Kompakt Extra

So no animals this time (that's if you don't count the gurned up Bristolians), but a great party all the same. Come and check us out next month when we'll be hosting....

...yes, if you hadn't already guessed from the massive poster above, we'll be hosting London's favourite Italian minimalists, Italoboyz. Don't expect any italo, just cardigans and scarves aplenty as 333/Fesh residents Marco Donato & Federico Marton bring their inimitable brand of techno chic over to Bristol's Arc Bar. If you're not aware of them already then you should check out the three 12"s that have been put out on three separate quality labels (that'll be Einmaleins, Treibstoff, and French label Safari Electronique). On ther other hand, you could just dive into these two live mixes that they've made available for us to see the true damage that they'll do to the dancefloor.

Download:
Italoboyz - Live at Modern Actions in Zigfrid (23/07/06)

Download:
Italoboyz - Live at Aquarium in London (21/05/06)

If you can't wait til then for your Tape fix, then you can see myself and the Puffin playing at Buoyancy this Saturday supporting Riton and Gucci Soundsystem. It's at Timbuk2 on Small Street, and we'll be playing from about 10 til 12:30 in the main room. We'll be ditching the disco so expect quirky minimal, deliciously deep house, some dark techy business and a few new school acid bangers. One thing that I'll almost definitely be playing will be Mock & Toof's latest offering, 'Suck', which can currently be streamed over at their Myspace. Mock described it as 'really simple weird leftfield 4/4 at a bpm crack addicts would appreciate', and it's a juicy slice of malevolantly monged throbbing acid that'll send the most teetotal of people into their own little K-hole. A highly enjoyable K-hole, however!

Bonus MP3s:
I wasn't even aware of this little gem from Luciano until I downloaded it last week. Originally released on Mental Groove back at the tail end of 2002, just like Ronseal, it's exactly what it says on the tin. A rejig of the music from Yann Tiersen's heartwarming film, it's breaksy minimal that errs just on the right side of good taste. A perfect way to inaugurate your girlfriend into the world of techno!

Download:
Luciano - Amelie (Remix 2) // Mental Groove

I'm sure that a lot of you have been waiting eagerly for this, and will be glad to know that Trentemoller's debut full length is finally upon us. 'The Last Resort' drops in early October, and looks like it's going to be a really nice package. In an LCD Soundsystem vein, the first copies will be limited edition and feature all of his Poker Flat and Audiomatique tracks on the second disc, alongside vocal mixes of two of the album cuts. He's chosen to make the first disc instrumental only, and from first listens it sounds like much more of a home listening experience than the disappointing halfway house that was Booka Shade's 'Movements'. I still need to give it a better hearing, but I'm fairly pleased with how it's been going down chez Carnage. The first track in particular grabs my ears and gives them a good workout. The usual Trentemoller trademarks are there; the crisp rhythmic beats, cutting out all the accompanying sounds to leave the percussion flying solo, the sharp atmospheric synths - but the unexpected elements are equally as appealing. Just check the part with the live drums, pedal steel and strings about 4 minutes in - simply gorgeous stuff. Expect this to be soundtracking your 5am comedowns later this year.

Download:
Trentemoller - Take Me Into Your Skin // Poker Flat

MUTANT POP - TONIGHT!

Sorry for not giving you guys a heads up about this earlier on this week, but as most of you don't live in Bristol anyway I doubt it'll make much difference. Unfortunately we've only got 60% attendance for Mutant Pop tonight as Mr Soft will be out gallavanting around London village, and lucky little Mike Bull will be out in Slovakia playing the DoubleX festival. Good luck to Mike - we know he'll tear it up like he usually does. Next month we'll be changing the design of the posters, and preliminary designs are looking smart. I'll get the Italoboyz one up this weekend so you guys can check them out.

I've been threatening to tell you this for a while but just not got round to it, but the mystery person who we'll be supporting will be......RITON (pictured above)! Him and Ben Fat Trucker will be in Bristol for both a Riton and a Gucci Soundsystem set down at top house night Buoyancy, and the lads running it have asked me and Puffin to support in the main room. The date's Saturday 19th of August at Timbuk2, so if you're in town you should pop down to check out the killer line up at one of the best venues in Bristol. In the meantime, you should grab this Gucci Soundsystem mix over at the new Buoyancy site. [EDIT: Some of you were having trouble getting it from over at the Buoyancy page, so I've hosted the mix using Megaupload.}

Download:
Gucci Soundsystem - Promo Mix

There's loads of absolute belters on there like the Carl Craig mix of Theo Parrish, Booka Shade's 'Night Falls', the Ame mix of Roy Ayers, Radio Slave mix of DJ Hell... I could go on but just take my word for it! The last three tracks alone make it a worthwhile listen (Padded Cell's 'Signal Failure', Shit Robot's 'Wrong Galaxy', and ending on their own 'aCarpenter'), so get over there quick sharp!

Guest TAPEr's Chart: Matthew Styles (Crosstown Rebels, London)

OK, so I’ve been super lazy with blog posts of late. There are some noble reasons for that (working, looking for work, finding a place to live and on and on), and less noble ones, like the fact that I’ve spent the last couple of weeks compulsively fucking about on myspace. Visit www.myspace.com/allsexistape for my current top 10, which I tend to update ever three or four days now (simply to justify the hours spent looking at pictures of terrible young women I’ll never meet and listening to sound-samples of passable dubplates I’ll never buy). I will return to my time-honoured (and time-consuming) habit of meaty, mp3-sodden posting in as soon as I can (God knows I have a huge array of tracks I need to tell you about/make you listen to), but for now I'm sure you'll be more than contented with a special Guest Taper’s Chart from none other than Matthew Styles.

West Country boy Matthew (pictured above), if you didn’t already know (shame on you), runs Crosstown Rebels, London’s finest electro/techno/house imprint, with loveable wideboy Damian Lazarus, and has thus been responsible for putting out all manner of classic tracks and versions from the likes of Kiki & Silversurfer, Hiem, Mish Mash, Konrad Black, Mathew Jonson, Frankie Flowerz, Alex Smoke, Black Strobe, Holden, etc; and, of course, the mighty Pier Bucci’s Familia LP and trio of essential twelves. Check out the latest issue of DVD mag Slices, for a label profile on Crosstown and an amusing interview with Matt ‘n Laz (being careful to avoid, as Carnage has warned, the stupendously boring ‘DJ Hell visits Bayern Munich’s stadium - period’ item). A lot of Rebels releases are still available on 12”, so seek ‘em out if your foolish enough to have passed ‘em up previously, and look out for the forthcoming ‘Far Away’ by Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia that’s already storming the clubs – a sleek, sensuous vocal throbber that’ll be sporting killer remixes from Jennifer Cardini and Mathew Jonson upon full release. Also there’s Styles and Lazarus’s Get Lost mix still knocking around – I didn’t really get on with it, but I dare say a lot of you would, so check it out. Finally, catch the pair spinning at Fabric in two weekends’ time, with Luciano and Alex Smoke taking care of Room 1. Not forgetting that Styles is a regular at Dig Your Own Rave and DjsCanDance - always worth a wiggle. Yeah.

Here then, in no particular order, is the man’s swift rundown of how he’s getting his ‘contemporary fix’…

Matthew Styles' Top 10 for August

1. Marcus Mixx - Without Makeup // Let's Pet Puppies
One of a slew of Ron Hardy edits or inspired tracks. This is the best for me.

2. Jahcoozi - Go Go Dancer (Cassy Remix) // Kitty Yo
I love Cassy's take on that US house sound, stripped back and sensual at the same time; her Panorama bar mix CD is great too.

3. Kevin Gorman - Format // Mikrowave
Very minimal, but slightly jazzy in an odd way…

4. Code E - Algorithm Method EP // Mule Electronic
If I was on a boat, I'd play this record - floaty italo.

5. 8 Miles High - Mutter // Playhouse
Roman Flügel: genius

6. Jens Bond - EP // Highgrade
This first solo EP shows why Guido Schneider chose to work with Jens on some of his Poker Flat releases - very strong and dynamic percussive tracks for the club.

7. Zander VT - Memo 4 // Memo
The second EP for Zander VT on BPitch's little sister. Slips nicely into that area around Amé and Loco Dice...

8. Minilogue - Hitchhikers Choice // Crosstown Rebels)
Minilogue are certainly on a roll, and we had to be part of the action.

9. John Mustang - Into Ya Pants // Phictiv Switzerland
The swiss are a quiet bunch but every month more and more great records
are appearing, German efficiency combined with Italian flair...

10. EAT - Silverbird Casino // DNP
Part of a forthcoming compilation, featuring Henrik Schwartz, Villalobos and Luciano. These guys make uneasy listening…

Machine Ate My Blog Post

I hope you all had a good weekend and aren't hating the fact that you've got to go back to work as much as I am! If anyone's got any decent jobs going, I'm your man! Writing, A&Ring... Anything that involves smoking a lot of cigarettes and listening to a lot of music will suit me down to the ground! As you'll have probably already read, our Puffin (pictured above) played Giant Robot's 3rd birthday party last Friday night, and boy did he rock it. Giant Robot's one of those nights where the crowd just want boshing anthem after anthem, and our boy managed to do it both tastefully and successfully. Personal highlights for me included the killer Tekel mix of Metope's 'Second Skin', Beltram's 'Energy Flash', and Hug's 'Birds'; and I couldn't help but flip out with the rest of the crowd to the closing trio of Alkan's Franz mix, Wink's 'Higher States of Consciousness', and Graffiti's 'What's The Problem'. Our next outing will be at our own Mutant Pop night this Friday at the Arc Bar in Bristol, and for once we've got a residents' special on our hands. Entry's free before 11pm, so come on down for a bit of a boogie as we wildstyle into the night.

Soft's continuing his hiatus while he sorts his life out, so I've readied a little chart for you all. 11 releases, 10 tracks, all get the Carnage seal of approval. Remember though - buy the records or at least get a good quality version from the usual mp3 retailers.

Carnage's Current Listening Chart:

1) MY MY - BUTTERFLIES & ZEBRAS // AUS Quite a departure from his usual skeletal sound, the new My My release is a cosmic stomper that’s the sort of thing you might expect to come from a Morgan Geist and Superpitcher collaboration (ie. my wettest dreams come true). Ambient synths swirl around the hushed handclaps and slo-mo bouncing bassline, only for proceedings to end all too quickly with a gorgeous beatless finish. It’s the best thing he’s done so far and that’s no mean feat as ‘Klatta’ and ‘Serpentine’ were both mindblowing releases on the Playhouse label.

2) GAVIN HERLIHY - MACHINE ATE MY HOMEWORK // MOODMUSIC Mixmag writer Gavin proves that critics can actually produce great tracks (well… that’s one so far) with this pulsing, minimal-not-minimal bleep fest of a track that’s going to see a full release on Sasse’s Moodmusic label very soon. Upfront copies have been available at Phonica for a week or so now, so get in there fast if you don’t want to wait for the full release.

3) ESCORT - STARLIGHT (ALL VERSIONS) // ESCORT US Did you ever find yourself wondering what would happen if Kelley Polar went and did a really gay disco track with none of the intricate subtlety of his album? Wonder no longer, as New York’s Escort step onto the scene with ‘Starlight’ – a song that’s just perfect in every way. I’ve got no doubt in my mind that this is the nu-disco anthem of 2006, although it sounds like it was made in 1980. Classic disco guitar and bass collide with a simplistic yet spot on synth line, and you’ve got some lovely little string flourishes to top it all off. There’s very little difference between the three versions (including a great dub mix from Metro Area’s Darshan Jesrani), but if it ain't broke...

Download:
Escort - Starlight (Vocal Mix) // Escort US [EDIT: link taken down by artist's request]. Visit http://myspace.com/weareescort to stream audio]

4) GABRIEL ANANDA - DOPPELWHIPPER (LIVE) // PLATZHIRSCH The b-side to Ananda’s recent ‘Miracel Whop’ release is an epic 9 minute minimal monster with more peaks and troughs than you can shake a stick at. This is a prime example of the art of building tension and releasing it with perfect precision in order to induce mass dancefloor hysteria. Listen and learn.

Download:
Gabriel Ananda – Doppelwhipper (Live) // Platzhirsch

5A) SOLENOID - NIGHT BEACH 12" // COMMUNITY LIBRARY
5B) SOLENOID - SUPERNATURE LP // ORAC Two superb releases from Portland’s Solenoid (also known as mashup mentalist DJ Brokenwindow) - the first a single on his and Strategy’s fantastically diverse Community Library imprint, and the second his sophomore full length under that name on Orac. As Solenoid he’s taking a wide range of influences from italo, Detroit techno, electro-house, and IDM, whacking them into his analogue blender, and whipping up some musical soup that’ll heal all but the illest of ears. He’s got quite a brash, colourful production ethic that’s quite refreshing in today’s environment of Ableton/Reason producers. His 'Supernature' LP deserves to kick up quite a fuss, although due to its non-conformity to current scenes I fear that it may not have the impact that it should. The 12” on ComLib is just as essential, and showcases the bouncy acidic italo-techno side of his sound. I hear that it’s out of press at the moment, so if you see it lying around anywhere then I’d snap it up right away. Also, head over to the Community Library site for a bunch of superb mixes from Strategy and Brokenwindow including a 'Skacid' mix. Yes, you heard right - ska and acid house collide in a wonderfully ear opening fashion. [EDIT: Everything's now been taken down, but Solenoid's Community Library tracks will remain up for another 7 days. They're both top notch and the record's out of press so get them while you can!]

Download:
Solenoid – Night Beach // Community Library

Download:
Solenoid – Sam Clam’s Disco // Community Library

Download:
Solenoid – Bezoar Tides // Orac

6) FIELDS - SONG FOR THE FIELDS (EWAN PEARSON KOSMISCHE DUB) // WHITE Ewan’s made it no secret that he absolutely adored this track when it first came out, and while you may find it strange that he hasn’t retained much from the original, it’s obvious that a lot of love has gone into crafting his latest remixing effort. The cut up xylophone on its own is pure genius, but add to that the buzzing synths, the restrained and functional use of the vocal, and the killer drop six minutes in, and you’ve got one of Mr Pearson’s finest mixes to date. Pop over to his Myspace for a listen, and wait eagerly for the full release later this year.

7) DANIELE BALDELLI - COSMIC SOUND LP // MEDIANE With the resurgence of the low tempo cosmic/Balearic sound well underway, it seems that cosmic pioneer Daniele Baldelli’s back to mop up the acclaim that he deserves. Constructed using vintage analogue equipment and old samples, it’s a snapshot of the type of sets that he used to play in Italy that gave him such a huge reputation back in the day. Strangely enough, people would turn up at his club only to hang out taking drugs in the car park while listening to his mixtapes. He’s also had a 12” out recently on Gomma which is also worth picking up if you’re not into buying releases on CD.

Download:
Daniele Baldelli – Cosmic Tune // Mediane

Download:
Daniele Baldelli – Explorer // Mediane

8) ADA - CALL THE TUNE // AREAL Will she ever put a foot wrong? Judging by the sign of this, her latest 12” on Cologne’s Areal label, that’ll be a no. Ada (real name Michaela Dippel) either just doesn’t produce shit records, or her level of quality control is something for her to be incredibly proud of. The percussion’s less brash than previous material, but the grinding synths remain on an atmospheric builder of a track that manages to be incredibly dark yet hints at a glimmer of light at the end of the techno tunnel.

Download:
Ada – Call The Tune // Areal

9) STEPHEN MALKMUS - KINDLING FOR THE MASTER (MAJOR SWELLINGS REMIX) // DOMINO Prins Thomas returns under his Major Swellings guise for the first time since last year’s essential self titled LP. A killer bassline holds the groove in place while Prins pulls off his usual porno-disco trickery, while Malkmus’ vocal straddles the same white boy funk territory as a young David Byrne. What may start as a major swelling will almost certainly finish up as a wet, sticky patch on your trousers by the end of the track. Filthily gorgeous stuff as usual from Hans Peter Lindstrom’s best buddy.

Download:
Stephen Malkmus – Kindling For The Master (Major Swellings Remix) // Domino

10) MINILOGUE – THE GIRL FROM BOTANY BAY // WIR IM RHYTHMUS I’ve been a bit late with cottoning on to this due to the average nature of a lot of their past releases, but I’ve been listening to this non-stop over the past couple of months. Originally released back in March as Wir Im Rhythmus’ debut, it’s a big ‘fuck you’ to anyone who believes that techno is music just for the club and shouldn’t go anywhere near a home stereo. That’s not to say that it doesn’t work really well on a floor, but its beautiful swelling melody and delicate breakdowns are equally suited to doing the washing up to, or even just lying back on your bed with a big reefer and an even bigger smile on your face. If you’ve been appreciating the records coming out on James Holden’s Border Community label, then you’ll absolutely love this. Celestial techno just the way I like it.

Download:
Minilogue – The Girl From Botany Bay // Wir Im Rhythmus

If you're a label/artist/fellow enthusiast and want to send me some tracks to write about or DJ with, then get them over to richardcarnes@hotmail.co.uk. I'm also in the embryonic stages of planning a little trip over to the US for some dates for around April time next year, so if you'd like to put us on then get in touch through my e-mail or my personal Myspace. Cheers!

Something For The Weekend

So Friday is upon us yet again... Just where is my life disappearing to? To celebrate the advent of good times that is the start of the weekend, I thought I'd post up some anthems to get you going before you venture out into the bright lights of the city for your respective rave ups. If you're in Bristol tonight, you could do a lot worse than going to Giant Robot's 3rd birthday party at the Cooler on Park Street. They're hosting Citizen records' newest signing John Lord Fonda, who's recently released his debut LP 'DeBaSer' on Vitalic's imprint. Their sounds have a lot of common ground, with Frenchie Fonda loving the big room rave sound that Vitalic won so many hearts with. He ain't the best person on the bill though - that'll be Tape's very own Puffin Jack who'll be setting up the main man tonight, so get down early and ready yourself to dance til you drop. To mark Puffin's appearance at Giant Robot, I thought I'd share one of his Tape anthems that was a staple in his sets back in the early days of Tape when we used to play The Elbow Room. 'Discotronic' is a bumpin' slice of uplifting techy italo-house, that was featured on Adam Kroll & Break 3000's 'Paris EP' that came out on Traum offshoot MBF back in 2004.

Download:
Adam Kroll & Break 3000 - Discotronic // My Best Friend

Next up we've got Paul Epworth under his new 'Epic Man' moniker. It's good to see him finally producing his own tracks, and I was pleasantly surprised the first time I slapped this on my stereo. Indie rave, or is it grindie rave? Would that make it 'grave'? I don't know, and I don't care - just let those big rave stabs and handclaps galore take control of your feet. Personally, I think that this deserves to be absolutely massive across both sides of the pond. It's something that both the ravers, hip hop and indie kids can all enjoy, though maybe it's crossover appeal will turn off the purists. But as we all know, purists are boring, aren't they? Plan B seals the deal with his slick as fuck MCing, and even fits in a few bars of Lady Sovereign's 'Random' somewhere in the middle. If Paul can keep his game as high as this, then his forthcoming LP's going to be something very special.

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Epic Man ft. Plan B - More Is Enough // Good & Evil

Now I know I'm a bit late in mentioning this, but electro punk-funkers Out Hud have split up. Booooo! Leaving behind 2 LPs and what was one of the best 12"s of 2005 (One Life To Leave) in my opinion, it's a real shame that they've packed up and moved on. Apparently some of the group are working on solo records, but I'd guess that the !!! boys are too busy with finishing off their third album to bother with all that malarky. Anyway, here's 'One Life To Leave' that was on the aforementioned single and also their final album, and if this doesn't get your heart racing and your fist pumping then there's something seriously wrong with you. Just check out how fat that bassline is that enters at 1:55! And then that wonky arpeggiated synth... Rough and ready dirty disco at its best.

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Out Hud - One Life To Leave (A Requiem) // !K7

Last but not least (actually probably least..) here's another one of my edits. It's nothing particularly complex - it's just another fun edit for the club to get those ladies on the floor. The vocal's from Victor's 'Go On Do It', which originally came out on the Blow Up Disco label, and was more recently re-released on Morgan Geist's Environ imprint. Instead of Maurizio Dami's (a.k.a. Alexander Robotnick) backing track, you've got the boompty DFA disco dub of The Rapture's 'Sister Saviour'. Simple, cheeky, and effective.

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The Rapture & DFA vs Victor - Do It Sister (Carnage Edit) // CD-R

This edit is dedicated to Love's Arthur Lee, who sadly passed away last night in Memphis. My thoughts go out to his wife Diane, and all his fans who didn't get to see the charismatic figure play live. The first time that I saw him was with my dad at Crewe Limelight, and it was a magical experience. His live band were on fire, spurred on by the man who famously wouldn't tolerate any errors (see the tracking sessions on the expanded 'Forever Changes' for hilarious evidence of this), and I have to say, it was one of the best gigs I've ever been to.
RIP Arthur. You will live on in our hearts, and our record collections.

Wanking pun ahoy!

I’m guessing that all you clued up nu-disco heads have already played Padded Cell’s ‘Signal Failure’ to death by now, but less of you will have realised that the main bulk of the song has actually been ripped straight from Rinder & Lewis’ ‘Willie And The Hand Jive’. I’ve been going through a bit of a Rinder & Lewis phase at the moment after being awakened by the divine Seven Deadly Sins LP that was repressed a month or so ago. Apart from having one of the best record sleeves I’ve ever seen (see above) that will cause beard envy to any self respecting male at a hundred paces, it's a seminal (I really hate to use the word, but it really does apply in this case) italo record that won favours in both the Detroit and Chicago scenes due to its proto-techno nature in places. Puffin Jack’s currently hoarding my LP, so I can’t post any tracks at the moment, but here’s a new Todd Terje mix of ‘Willie..’, the original of which you can find on R & L's ‘Warriors’ LP that harks from back in 1980.

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Rinder & Lewis - Willie and the Hand Jive (Todd Terje Re-Kutt) // White

Speaking of fantastic rip-offs, Anja Schneider collaborator Sebo K pretty much took their ‘Rancho Relaxo’ and gave it a bit of bounce for February offering, ‘Horizons’. Then again, is it really a rip off when you did the original? I'll settle for lazy, but I'm not complaining when the results are this satisfying. We'll definitely be seeing a lot more from Schneider's alarmingly consistent Mobilee label in the next few years, and I for one can't wait to see how their sound is going to develop.

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Sebo K – Horizons // Mobilee

If you haven’t picked up the latest Slices DVD yet, then I’d advise you do so as it’s probably the best one they’ve done so far. A long stretch from the ‘Making Of A DVD’ feature that we subjected poor Mr Waites earlier this month, it’s got great features on Joakim, Uffie, Luke Solomon, Ed Banger and Crosstown Rebels alongside great videos from Noze, Pier Bucci, and Motor. One piece to avoid, however, is the DJ Hell feature where he talks from start to finish about his love for Bayern Munich in the most boring way imaginable. After 5 minutes I seriously considered putting the ‘Making Of A DVD’ video on again for a bit of respite! Seriously though, the Crosstown documentary is worth watching for its soundtrack alone, with Pier Bucci’s ‘Towers’ and Mathew Jonson’s mix of Hiem featuring heavily. Another track that’s on there is the forthcoming Caro & Garcia track that’ll have you're ears floating away to heaven with its delicate plink plonk/chordal synth combo. I haven’t heard the remixes yet, but with Jennifer Cardini and Mathew Jonson tidying up the package, I’d hedge my bets and say that at least one of them will better the already sublime original. Essential stuff.

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Mlle Caro & Frank Garcia – Far Away // Crosstown Rebels

And don't you worry, Mr Styles! It's got that annoying 'for promotional use only' voice over the top so I'm sure all our lovely readers will put their hands in their pockets to nourish Rebels' bank balanceto make up for the tragically poor sales of Pier Bucci's fantastic 'Familia' LP. I feel sorry for Crosstown that 'Familia' didn't sell too well, but perhaps one of the reasons why it didn't was the lack of a full vinyl release, and also due to the fact that the only format available was pretty unappetising...You've got the CD in promo-style card case which I'm sure turned a few people off, and then you've got the supplementary one sided 12" of 'L'Nuit' that was bound to totally mess with the profit margins and sorta piss in the DJs' faces when they were expecting a nice double LP. When you're already wasting one slab of wax, couldn't you just hike the price by a few quid and whack another vinyl in a gatefold sleeve to host the lovely artwork [Soft: It doesn't quite work like that, Carnage...]? Anyway, rant over. I still love the Rebels, but they need to get their arses in gear and press that LP quick sharp!

Phew! I derailed myself a bit there, but before I started to lambaste one of my favourite labels, I was banging on about just how on the money Mathew Jonson is with pretty much everything he touches at the moment. The new Cobblestone Jazz release is their best so far, and I urge you to seek it out, even if you weren't really a fan of the previous ones. I'm not going to post 'Dump Truck' as Wagon Repair have got a bit pissy with us before, but seek it out on p2p to check it out... before buying the vinyl of course! Anyway, here's Jonson's lost remix of Moby's 'Slipping Away' from a few months back. Young Mathew lost out to Tiga and Axwell in getting on the 12”, which was a bit of a silly choice if you ask me. Sure, their mixes may sell more records (and both be steaming piles of aural crap), but is that what remixing is all about - just some conceited way of making as many people as possible buy the 12”? In the greedy world of EMI, that’ll be a yes, but it’s us as listeners that lose out. So here we are, yet again, posting up some fantastic mix that didn’t make the 12. Can you majors please listen up and put the best mixes on the wax? After all, the vinyl is for the bloody DJs! Anyway, if you've heard Matty J before then you'll know the score: bassy, atmospheric techno-funk that’ll do some serious damage on more discerning dancefloors. You'll wish for a dub, but it ain't gonna happen so just make do!

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Moby – Slipping Away (Focus People That Slip Remix by Mathew Jonson) // Mute

I've finally got the internet back on my home computer, so expect a higher frequency of postings from me over the next few weeks along with lots of juicy nuggets to get your teeth into - that's if I'm not wasting my life strugging to set up my new Myspace account. In other news, Mr Soft's brain has finally recovered from the pummelling that it received at Sonar and he'll be back from his extended hiatus tomorrow with a round up of a few select new releases.