T A P E

Interview: Ramadanman

2009-09-06T23:14:00.013Z

Hello there, neglected Tapers. You thought we we're gone, didn't you? Well, I can't promise regular updates like the old days, but I've been fishing through some of my transcriptions from earlier in the year, and seeing as they haven't been printed in full before, I thought you lot might like to have a gander. This one comes from Hessle Audio co-founder Ramadanman and was recorded just before Christmas 2008 (some of our conversation found its way into my Hessle "Label Of The Month" feature for RA.)

What sort of stuff were you listening to when you were growing up?

Well, I listened to quite a lot of pop before I was ten, and then I got into hip-hop. I was really into euphoric trance actually – I still am! I remember when I was eleven, I got this double pack CD called Euphoria. They did loads of compilations, and I bought one of the first ones and thought that it was wicked! (laughs) So, some hip-hop like KRS-One and Beastie Boys... Both of my parents worked, so there was a girl that looked after me and she'd listen to a lot of hip-hop like Gangstarr, Beasties, KRS-One... I can't think of many more names at the moment...

When did you first get into UK bass music?

I guess it was probably jungle. I never really got into it that much, but I bought an LTJ Bukem CD when I about 12. I guess that was about 2000, a kind of retrospective CD. I'd never heard anything like it before, and that was how I got into jungle. I didn't really get heavily into it – I just knew about LTJ Bukem and that was it. I was still into a lot of UK hip-hop like Lewis Parker and Skitz, Jehst and stuff. It wasn't until I was about 15 or 16 that I got into... Well, I was never really into garage. Of course, I knew about the pop stuff in the charts, but I didn't really know about the darker stuff. I knew all of the Craig David, Architects, Artful Dodger, Oxide & Neutrino and So Solid Crew, but I didn't know about El-B and Artwork. I think that it was probably because a lot of the guys in South London, it seemed to be a bit more entrenched in their culture.

Where exactly did you grow up?

I grew up in Highgate, which is a really nice area in the North London, so there wasn’t a lot of garage around me when i was growing up, unlike the scene founders in south London where it was more popular perhaps

When did you start producing your own material?

I had piano lessons when I was younger, music theory stuff, and I guess I stopped that when I was about 11 or 12. I kind of did it for five years when I was young. You know those really small kid's keyboards? Well that was my favourite toy when I was 7 or something. I used to record those into tape machines and that was something that really interested me. I'd create tapes, and record stuff, and do pretend radio shows – stuff kids do, anyway – and that kind of progressed eventually.

When did that start getting serious for you? Making music to put out?

To be honest, I was always making music for myself. I don't think it started getting serious until I put my first tune out. I used to just make music for the sake of making music; to play to my friends at school or to just listen to myself. I don't actually know really – I've never really thought about that.

What sort of stuff did your first tracks sound like?

The kind of stuff that I was making when I was 12 or 13 – I started using computers around then, so that was a progression, I guess. I had a demo version of this software which you couldn't save on, so I had two hours after school or an afternoon to make a tune. I had quite a strict time limit to make these tunes, so I never really got anything substantial finished. I couldn't even export .wavs on this program, so I had to hook it up to my minidisc recorder and do a live take, often leaving the mic plugged in so you can hear me chatting over the top by accident. It's really cool though – it's nice to have imperfect memories of these tunes that would otherwise be lost. Anyway, I'm digressing: stylewise it was a lot of trancey stuff, quite housey.... I guess it's sort of that grey area of electronica; a bit noodly, synthy, and also quite breaky as well. I was into DJ Shadow a lot as well, so I was almost having a go at what he was doing. As I got older, I was making a lot of hip-hop. I was actually kind of making some minimal house, without really being aware of it. I was listening back to some of the stuff that I was making back in 2004, and I didn't listen to any of those records at the time, but it was actually in that sort of style. Besides making drum'n'bass – it's a bit silly really, quite stupid – listening to it now it's quite Clipz-y sort of wobblers. I think I just found it quite funny. When you're young, sometimes you try and make the most extreme music possible, so I was trying to out-wobble everyone else – kind of what's happening in dubstep now! (laughs)

When did you first start getting into the dubstep sound?

I was into some grime, like Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and stuff, and I was kinda making a budget Fruity Loops-style grimy stuff. I was using the Rewind magazine forum, and posting some of the stuff that I'd made up there. It's really annoying, because they deleted their database when they did an upgrade, and I'd really like to go back and view my posts. There were people like Plasticman (now known as Plastician after legal threats from Richie Hawtin) posting on there at the time, and it was quite a good community on there before it got kind of strange. Anyway, I was posting all of my stuff on there, and one day someone posted some feedback to one of my tunes saying that it sounded like dubstep. I was like "I've never heard of this music," so I looked around for it. I use the internet quite a lot, so I found a thread on Dogs On Acid, which was actually started by Forsaken. In late 2005, it was so niche that there was actually a thread on Dogs On Acid saying "dubstep producers, post your efforts here", and there were only maybe three or four people who posted clips, but every single one made me go "wow!" One of them, in fact, was by Luke Envoy which ended up coming out on Hot Flush, but there was this thread that was really interesting and made me really excited about this music, so I listened to some of those tracks and got really into it. I'm not sure if it's something about my personality – when I find out something new I just have to find out everything about it and get really excited about it. I started making beer once, and once I'd decided to do it, I read loads of books and found out as much information as possible. I'd been into dubstep for a few months, and then I decided to go down to FWD>>, because that seemed to be the place to go. Back then I was still 17, and FWD was on Thursdays, so I could only really go at half-term or on the holidays. I finally managed to get down there in April 2006.

Who was playing the first time you went to FWD?

The first time I went it was Mala, N-Type and Geeneus. N-Type played first, which as my first dubstep clubnight was really interesting. I was with my friend Ben – well, he wasn't really my friend at the time – I actually met him there in the queue.

That was the first time you met Ben, then?

Yeah, he was more immersed into the scene than I was at that point, so when N-Type was playing he was telling me about these new tunes that he was playing which were by Caspa, and I don't think anyone at the time knew who Caspa was. It was all quite exciting, and I was just in a club and not knowing any of the tunes, which were apparently big tunes. Mala was incredible, playing stuff like what I now know was his Alicia Keys refix, Fat Freddy's Drop refix, 10 Dread Commandments VIP... It was a perfect introduction really, with the best soundsystem – just a really good night.

So how did you meet Kev then?

Well, Kev was living with Ben at the time at university, and they lived together for two years so I met Kev through Ben. I think he might have even been there the first time at FWD>>, but I didn't really stay in touch. When I came to Leeds that summer, that's when we kept in touch better.

So you all went to Leeds at the same year?

No, Ben and Kev were in the same year, and I was two years below.

How did the idea to start a label come about?

I'd wanted to start a label – I don't know why, really. We're fast forwarding a bit to the end of '06. I wanted to start a label and I raised the idea to the other guys and they were into it as well.

You had the radio show beforehand though?

The radio show actually started after the label – I think the first show was early January 2007, so that was after we'd decided to do the label. We actually got the first release mastered in January sometime, and it came out in April '07. We just felt like doing it really – I guess it was quite natural. We sat down one evening and decided on the details and the logo, and it was quite an exciting time.

Who was responsible for the design then?

Kev had the computer with Photoshop, but we all decided on the logo – we spent quite a bit of time on that. It's Kev that's responsible for doing the artwork though. It's quite uniform and not especially flashy. Speaking for myself of course, I think it does the job without being boring. For example with number 5, we used a photo of mine to vary it up a bit. We've got some different ideas, but I don’t think we're too interested in a huge art project for the time being... If you start spending more time on the artwork than the music, then it's not quite what we're into. I think it was Jason from Transition who said "no-one's not going to buy a record because of the artwork," and that stuck in our heads, I think. We don't worry about it too much.

Is there a certain ethos behind the label?

When we were starting it, I seem to remember it was more of a thing of stuff that wasn't getting heard, but now it's a different situation. Now you can easily hear... I don't want to call it... well, the sort of 'other' style of dubstep. Now there's a lot bigger variety of stuff than when we first started. What was being played out was good, but you'd never really hear for example a Geiom tune, or many other tunes that weren't by big name producers. That's my memory of it – it's a bit hazy – but that's what we wanted to do. It's the same with the radio show, we wanted to push different stuff that was interesting to us.

With regards to the ethos of the label – I guess if you're asking what makes a tune come out on Hessle, it would be.... well, we're not really interested in disposable music. What we'd like to put out is just stuff that you're still going to be listening to in ten years time - stuff that doesn't really sound like anything else. Looking back on our catalogue, I don't think that any of it really sounds like anything else that's been released. For example, number 1 (TRG's "Broken Heart"/"Put You Down") was updated garage. I don't really think anyone even now, apart from another TRG tune, no-one's really done that kind of updated garage thing like him. Also, with the Untold tunes, they just sound completely different to anything else out there. I guess that's what we're going for... We're always open to new stuff though, if someone sends us a tune we liked then we'd obviously consider putting it out, but it just so happens that now we're at the stage where we're getting a roster of our own. We just want to put out stuff that you're not going to stop playing a after few months because it's been rinsed – I think that's my interpretation of what the label's about. I think there's a lot of good music out there, but not a lot of really good music, and I think that sometimes not every tune has to come out just for the sake of it.

Do you see the label as 'experimental'? Doing something that hasn't been done before?

It not as if there's nothing new under the sun, and we're not actively thinking "let's just put this out because it's so strange." You could put out 4 minutes of oblique noise and sub-bass, and it'd be different but I think it still has to conform in some way. I'm not really interested in trying to categorise ourselves off into some little sub-corner, saying "oh we're Hessle Audio and we do experimental, deep dubstep." When I got into dubstep a few years ago, I think that most people would agree that dubstep as a genre was really open, and I'd like to think that we're carrying that way of thinking on. I think that even with our label, everybody does sound different. There's the garagey stuff, you've even got a half-step wobbler from Untold, and then there's the Martyn remix which is not really what people would usually think of when they think of dubstep. We do have a wide variety of stuff, and...

Do you see your own music, or Hessle's music as 'dubstep'? Or maybe something else?

Well I think obviously it originated from what was the dubstep scene, but I think that now there's definitely a big movement of cross-genre, cross-tempo producers; from Rustie to Brendon Moeller to Instra:mental. I think there's always a big link – even with the funky people – it seems like there's a big movement of people who are willing to mix things up. For example, now you could go to FWD>> and listen to funky house followed by techno, followed by more traditional dubstep and stuff. I think that's what's happened, where people now take influences from a wider range of sources.

Who's responsible for the A&R – how do you decide what to put out?

It's not so much an active process – maybe before it was – but with A&R, we get sent a lot of stuff either through the label, or the radio show or because we're DJs in our own right. We do get sent quite a bit of stuff, but we haven't really signed anything that's been randomly sent to us. Then again, Untold and TRG had been sending us stuff for a few months, otherwise we wouldn't have heard of him. I think you've got to be careful though – if you get sent so many tunes, you've still got to listen to them, because you just never know who's going to be sending you a really interesting tune. Even if you listen to ten tunes in a row and nine of them aren't great, the last one could be right up your street.

Some labels – like Modern Love for example - like to have more of a hands on approach with the tracks they put out. Did you give any feedback to the producers, or did you just like the tracks as they are?

I think we gradually just got convinced. We could hear that there was something interesting about his stuff, and I think we asked him to try something out... Then again with the TRG tunes, he did just send them to me one followed by the other... and the Pangaea stuff, obviously Kev is a friend of myself and Ben's so it was just a case of listening to what he had and throwing an EP together. It's still really early days yet, so we haven't really got into any specific way of doing things.

But do you want to concentrate on developing the artist rather than just putting out one track from someone?

I think so, yeah. I do get a sense that some producers aren't quite being pushed to their full potential. Maybe waiting a bit longer and developing their ideas and refining their sound, and then having a great debut 12" at the end of it. Having said that, I didn't really do that as I had a few digital releases which weren't particularly amazing and then ended up finding my place a bit more, so I can't really talk! [laughs] I think that it should maybe be more of a two-way process with the labels, and we like to be a bit more personal with our artists.

Speaking of two way processes, you've been doing a lot of remixes of late. Do you find it easier to do these than produce your own tracks? Do you have a different approach to producing them?

With remixes, it kind of depends what place you're in. If you're in a particularly uncreative phase, then often getting a remix pack can sometimes bring some fresh ideas and make you quite inspired just by having some new sounds to work with. I think remixing can be quite fun in that respect. The majority of the remixes that I've done, I don't listen to the tune beforehand. I'll listen to the parts that are given in the remix pack and then listen to the original once I've finished my remix. It's interesting to see how differently you've approached the sounds compared to the original producer. There was a time where I was probably doing a bit too much remixing and needed to focus a bit on my own stuff, but now I'm a bit more in balance, I think.

Is sampling something that's important to your production style?

I don't really do a lot of sampling, to be honest, but when I do it, I do find that I get quite creative. Sometimes I buy records specifically to sample, but I'm quite an advocate of just sampling from anywhere. For example, I've chopped up stuff from Youtube clips, and the sound quality is crap but it adds a certain feeling to the track. There's just so many interesting sounds on Youtube, and I also recently bought a portable recorder which is really fun. I use it for things like field recordings, atmospherics, or maybe some speech or a poor quality vocal. That's quite a useful things to have for just picking up sounds, but I quite like that idea of just adding a certain texture to tunes, which adds a certain something. I read somewhere that a field recording really can conjure up an image of a place, and such a small thing can really alter the mood of a tune.

You've been embraced within both the techno and dubstep communities. Was this something you had in mind when the label began?

I'm not sure, really. We all are into our techno, but personally I come more from the house side kind of background, but we all like it so it's flattering that techno fans are embracing our stuff. I think that at the moment there's a lot of middle-of-the-road dubby techno that doesn't really do a lot, and whilst you might describe it as dubsteppy-techno, it's not what I'm really into. I prefer stuff that maybe takes a few different influences, like Pangaea's "Router" which borrows from quite a few different genres and creates something new rather than a Basic Channel rehash at 140bpm. The techno-dubstep crossover is something that has been much talked about, and I think there was a time where it was something new and interesting, but I think that has time has been and gone. That’s not to say there aren’t good techno influenced dubstep tunes though!

What sort of music is really inspiring you at the moment?

I'm quite into some of the funky stuff. I've heard quite a bit of it, and as I'm quite into my house, some of it isn't doing anything that's different to stuff that was done better ten years ago. There are a few bits here and there that are quite interesting to me, and it's generally the stuff which is just beats and bass really. In all kinds of genres, especially house itself, I find that the version of a tune I like the most is the dub, or just the groove. I think it's very easy whack a Rhodes and a female singer on top, and that sort of spoils it for me. I've always been listening to drum'n'bass, but that's about it really. I don't really listen to music as much as I should in terms of sitting down and listening to music. It's kind of the case of being a bit picky and always changing between stuff. At first I thought "is this bandwagon jumping?", but then I thought that good music is good music.

Are you playing much of it out?

I haven't played any funky out, actually. I've played some of it on the radio show, but it took a while for me to be convinced by it all, mostly because of the fact that some of it is kinda just average house music. Eventually I saw Marcus Nasty at FWD>> and heard his radio shows, and I found the stuff that I find really interesting, and got myself converted. I haven't started playing it out, but I've been making some myself and I'm playing at FWD>> this Sunday so might drop some of it there. The difficult thing is most of the time you're just playing for an hour and if I want to play some of my drum'n'bass stuff as well, going between three tempos in an hour can sometimes feel a bit disjointed. It's kind of the case that I'll take it, and worst comes to worst I won't play it. I think that the 'dubstep crowd' as such are quite receptive to it, especially at FWD>>. If I was playing in Holland for example, I probably wouldn't play it because it wouldn't quite fit the vibe, as at the moment it's quite a UK thing. I don't know... I might even try, because at the end of the day you're just playing for yourself. It's early days yet...

You said you were making your own funky and drum'n'bass tracks. Are they for your own pleasure, or will they see the light of day?

Yeah, some drum'n'bass ones will be coming out. Well, I say drum'n'bass, but it's just stuff at 170bpm. I don't think that the label quite wants that announced yet, but that should be some kind of double pack thing. The funky stuff is very much in its infancy, but Marcus Nasty played one of my tunes last week. What I like about the funky stuff is when I'm making it, I'm quite relaxed and just having a laugh - it's almost like I'm making it for myself again. If I sat down now and made something at 140, I'd be a bit more conscious. Does it sound like anyone else? Does it sound like something I've done before? Is it interesting? If I sat down and made a funky thing I'd be a bit more free and get my idea out without worrying too much, so it's quite an exciting time for me and I think that I've got to make the most of it, and make some interesting stuff. The tracks that I have made, it sounds a bit like me and it's not just like a generic UK funky record, if there is such a thing.

Will you be putting those tracks out as Ramadanman, or under a different name?

I do work under a couple of different names, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with it yet so I'm just going to see what's going to happen. I am interested to see what people think of the music without maybe being familiar with the name. In terms of the name Ramadanman, I'm not hugely happy with it anyway, so I may be gradually moving away from it. I'm a bit confused! (laughs) I'm just weighing the options up at the moment.

Do you find yourself playing out at mostly dubstep nights?

The majority would be dubstep nights, I guess. I've done a few things where you play for two or three hours and you get to play all sorts of things which is fun. People respond well to the stuff you're playing because people like it, and it's cool. I think even a lot of the time at these dubstep specific nights you might get 20 or 30 scene-heads, but the majority of nights, the rest of the audience are just people who go to the clubs, up for having a good night. Perhaps one of their mates has said "do you want to go to so-and-so tonight? There's some dubstep on," and the other person goes along and loves it. I think that's a really good feeling though, with people enjoying music that they haven't heard before. If you played them a CD in the middle of the day, and asked them if they liked the music, they might say "not really," but most nights, apart from DMZ and FWD>> are full of these people.

Do you have a favourite release on the label?

I really like number two. I still think that nothing sounds like "Coiled", and maybe nothing else will ever sound like it. It's a really amazing tune, and the b-side is equally atmospheric. We had quite a lot of problems with the release, and it was a huge relief to get it out and released. I don't think that we'll repress it, so it feels like quite a special release. I don't want to say that it's a favourite, as each one has a bit of history. It's like they're all our children, each one with a particular character and memories associated with it. For example, I had loads of hi-hat problems with my side on HES 004, or on number 6 (Pangaea's "You & I"/"Router") where we mastered it after having no sleep and flying to Berlin and being really tired and grumpy.

How did the D&M hook up come about?

I'd cut some dubs there with Ben (UFO) beforehand, and we were just really impressed by them. I think you've got to change a bit – Transition are fantastic and did our first five releases, that sounded very good. If you take a tune to a bad mastering studio, it could sound a bit flabby and Transition just understand the music and it originated from that. Why did we switch? It's not even a switch, but you've just got to see what else is out there and if you only use one place, then you don't know what the others are like. We thought like maybe having a little change and we were amazed at the results. It (HES006) is just one of the best sounding records that I've heard as far as quality is concerned. It got pressed in Holland, but I'm not sure how much of an effect the pressing has on the sound. Obviously the pressing plant affects it a bit, but I think that it's more down to the mastering. The guy who did it was Helmut, in fact. I'm not sure how many people actually use him, but we used him for our dubs. It's almost like when you go to D&M, it's like a doctor's appointment. You sit down in your chair and they ask you "what are we doing today, then?" You have a little consultation and then talk about what you want it to sound like. It's very much a two-way process, he did his thing. We said "change this", "do it a bit more like this," and we'd probably go round in circles a couple of times and eventually get a result before doing the cutting. It was a fantastic experience though – really, really good.

Will you be using them in the future, or maybe seeing which mastering house suits what style of release?

Kind of, yeah. I don't really know. For our next one we're trying out Precise and seeing how that goes. We're definitely going to use Transition again, and I think it's just a case of having a wonder around and see what's happening. We were really happy with D&M for #6, so I think we'll use them again as well. It's a very important thing though, mastering. You could spend £500 on 500 white labels and just chuck them out, but mastering, as you can hear, affects the record so much. I've bought a lot of records in my time where the mastering isn't great and it just sounds flat because of that, or there's distorted hi-hats. I think mastering, especially on vinyl is crucial, as it can affect the vibe, or the feeling of the tune so much. I definitely think that different tunes suit certain mastering houses.

Is vinyl really important to you?

Yeah, I think that something hasn't really come out until it's come out on vinyl. Just the amount of time and money that you have to invest to put something out on vinyl, I think that's the ultimate thing about it. Even though there are quite a few bad things about vinyl, it's just a good medium and I love it and buy loads of it. I think it's actually doing quite well at the moment, especially in our scene. Pressing plants are closing down and things like that, but from where I'm standing, everyone's doing quite well for themselves.

What's coming up on the horizon for Hessle?

We will have a new twelve early this year, and there are a couple of other ideas but nothing 100% yet. It would be nice to be sitting on a load of finished copies of something, but unfortunately we're just working it out at the moment. We should have quite a few new bits and bobs out next year though. I think that the last few releases have been quite anthemic, but I think that maybe with the next ones... I mean that with our label, it was the first release for TRG, the first release for Pangaea, the first release for Untold, and I think that we're going to do quite a bit more of that and bring some new names in with some fresh stuff. Nothing 100% though.

How did you find working with Soul Jazz?

Yeah, they were wicked. I got to know them through their Sounds Of The Universe shop, and I'd been selling them a few records, maybe even some Hessle stuff. They heard some of my stuff on Rinse, asked me for a CD and it all went from there. I spent a long time getting a few tunes together and was really happy with them, and they ended up signing a few of them. One of them ("Every Next Day") came out on the Box Of Dub CD, and then they asked me to do a full single. They're just really professional, they've got a really amazing discography and great taste in music, and it was a real honour. There are a lot of people who got into me through hearing it recommended in Sounds Of The Universe, as they've got such a good reputation. I've done two twelve inches for them which both seem to have been quite well received, and they're a great platform for me.

You moved to France recently, right? How are you finding it there?

It's just part of my degree. It was a bit strange at first, moving out here, but I'm not staying out here the rest of my life! I'm here to work, and learn a language. All of the people here in Lille are extremely friendly and there are a lot of music people who are interested in dubstep...

Do you not feel a little detached to the UK scene, living out there?

It's probably healthy to be honest, because I'm not really very far away in France. I'm only an hour and twenty minutes away so I have been back a few times to play FWD>> and go up to Leeds. It's nice actually to be somewhere a bit different, and I think it's good to have a bit of distance. Then again with the internet, I can have the DJs on AIM, e-mail people, and use Skype for the distributor and there's also Myspace, so the technology has really opened it up. If anything it makes it better, as I can just go back on Sundays to FWD>> and meet up with friends in a really nice atmosphere. So far so good, anyway.

Interview: Headhunter

2009-05-08T15:08:00.002Z

Haven't updated this dusty old thing in a while, so here's an interview that I did last year with Headhunter before his 'Nomad' record dropped on Tempa.

You started getting into dubstep from more of a drum’n’bass angle, right?

I did a music technology course, took a year out, and when I came back I was in the same class as Laurie (Appleblim), Gatekeeper and Wedge. I didn’t really know them, and in the second week of uni we had to play our own music. They played one of Appleblim’s tracks and I was kind like ‘that sounds like dubstep!’. I didn’t really know that much about dubstep, so I went and asked him about it, and that’s how we met. The more uni went on, the more I started making tunes, but I got into making music in the first place because of a pirate radio station in Bristol.

You did a radio show with Whiteboi, right? I hear you started off playing grime instrumentals...

I hadn’t DJed for years – I just stopped DJing from the age of 19. Before that I was playing drum’n’bass – sorta techstep stuff. At 19, I got really into my bike – all I wanted to do was ride my bike, and Whiteboi came along and gave me an opportunity to do this radio show. I was just like ‘what the fuck am I going to play? I haven’t DJed in years and I want to play something new. The first thing that I thought of was grime, as it was quite a new sound.

So you hadn’t been following grime for that long before that point?

Not really. I just wanted to play something because it’s Bristol. You don’t want to play drum’n’bass because it’s been done, but you want to do something related to it because it’s home. I thought that the grime that I was playing was quite underproduced, so I started making my own. I played it to Blazey, and he told me ‘this isn’t grime – it’s dubstep!’. He told me to speak to Pinch, so I gave my stuff to Pinch.

So just how aware were you of dubstep by that point?

I started my music tech course in October, and that’s when I got the radio show – I didn’t really know Appleblim then, so I was kinda making dubstep without even knowing it.

How did your relationship start with Tempa?

Well, I was making this stuff, and after giving it to Pinch, he said ‘You’re doing something good - we’re going to get you down to Dubloaded.’ I played before N-Type. It was my first DJ gig in a while... well, ever! And you’ve literally got Benga, Skream, N-Type, and Cyrus – all in the crowd. I was kind of aware that they were all there, and I was nervous as hell – shaking! I’ll tell you a little secret though... I put all my tunes at the same speed! Now though, I’m mixing techno, dubstep, whatever – I’ve got it. I was a good drum’n’bass DJ when I was a kid though – well... I thought I was!

You’ve been playing a lot of different types of nights – both techno and dubstep orientated. Do you treat them differently, as far as your set is concerned?

Before I DJ, I usually like to find out what the night is about, or who’s played there before. For example, last night was an electronica night, so I started thinking about playing Various Productions. Also things like Midi Miliz, which is trancey techno. They also produce under another name, Extrawelt, but the Midi Miliz stuff is a lot faster, at 138 or 140. When I was really into Psy-Trance, their album was just my favourite album. Whatever name they’re using, or tempo they’re doing, you can always tell that it’s them, and they’re a big inspiration to me.

So, do you play the faster gear at the dubstep nights, and keep it slower for the techno ones?

Usually, if I’m playing at a dubstep night, it’s not always faster bpms, but it’s heavier tunes. The tune selection is different. Normally, you’re doing a night and you can tell what they want. If it’s a mixed up place then you can usually get away with the more experimental stuff, which is my favourite kind of gig, but I like playing to the kids too – you get a lot of fun from it. I played at Exit the other week, and the whole crowd must’ve been 18 and under, and they were just loving the bangers! That’s what they come for though, and I’m not going to be selfish. As a DJ, you’ve got to play to the people, and that’s the good thing about not being stuck to one sound. If you listen to a lot of my releases, it doesn’t stick to that half-steppy wobble kinda thing. There are other directions, and the DJing does that too.

You did a collaboration with Ekelon for Mary Anne Hobbs’ ‘Evangeline’ compilation. Have you got any more planned for the future?

I’ll probably get booked for a gig out there and something will happen, but that was a bit of a weird one. I went to Greece, and the guy who booked me said to me, “I’ve got a mate who makes tunes”, so I went to this gig and met him. We started chatting, and he told me, “I’ve made my first ever dubstep tune, but I normally make world music.” I really liked some of it, but didn’t really think that it was finished, so I took the parts and added that crazy bassline.

Can you tell us a little about the album title, ‘Nomad’?

I don’t live anywhere. I’m a bit like a skanky fucker, you know? I’m not really - I’ve got Prada on and everything! Seriously though - in April this year I was living in Ashton in Bristol. I was DJing so much that it just got to the point where I thought, ‘Why should I pay rent, when I can go from place to place, and when I’m in Bristol I’ve got a few friends that I could stay with...’ So that’s exactly what I did! The album was made going from place to place, so one track was made in America... On the CD, I think there’ll be a map showing where each track was made, and that’s quite personal touch. I remember where each of the tracks are made. The last tune on the album was done in my ex-girlfriend’s halls of residence which was called Birks Grange, but the tune is called Birks Range. That’s probably my favourite track on the album.

There’s going to be a set of coloured vinyl coming out alongside the record, right?

It sounds really complicated, but not if you think about it. They’re releasing three vinyl, 750 of each, just in colour. Of course there’s the LP on a triple pack as well, but when we went to the meetings about the album, the one thing really wanted to do was have some coloured vinyl. It’s more of a techno thing, but I like the idea of having some art behind the music. I used to love buying the coloured vinyl, man.

How do you find the gigs in Europe at the moment, compared to a typical UK gig?

In the UK, it’s kind of hard to say, because last night I played a really good gig that wasn’t a typical dubstep night. When I play a typical dubstep night in England, you’re expected to play quite heavy, and lately I’ve been put onto the 1am-2am slot, where I’m expected to... In Europe; I can play techno, minimal, and deep dub-techno with dubstep and they appreciate it. More than London, anyway, and I like that. I’m playing out in America as well. Over there, they like it hard. You have to be ready and you have to have a bag of hard stuff with you. They like the hard, and the poppy stuff. In Europe, you can be play the more experimental side of dubstep, so in a way, I’m feel more accepted over there.

Where do you keep your records, then?

My records are stored in my grandparents’ house, in her attic – pretty much the whole of her attic, actually. Some in my mum’s house as well. There are tunes that I know I want, I know I’ve already got them, and I end up just buying them again because I can’t find them. I’ve got vinyl at Jakes’ house... It’s kind of scattered, so I don’t know where anything is. The plan is to find a house at the end of the year, and then I’ve got somewhere to put them!

You’ve pretty much made this album with just a laptop, right?

Yeah, a laptop and loads of plug-ins. I need to buy some new headphones, because the Sennheisers just lack frequency, but it just fits what I do. Most of the tunes were made in other people’s living rooms, because I’d go to places and play for people, and I’d just be making tunes quietly in their living room.

You said before that each track reminded you of where you made it. Do you think your surroundings influenced the music that you were making?

I listen to the tunes, and it reminds me of where I made it in a small way. I don’t know if the place influenced the tunes, it’s just if it sounded good, that’s what it was. If anything influenced my tunes, I’d say that it would be what I’m listening to that week. If I’m listening to techno that week, it might be quite techno. If I’m listening to drum’n’bass, it might be a bit more like that. I just listen to so much stuff, and it affects the music. One of the tracks, ‘Royal Flush’, has got a saxophone in, and that’s from when I was listening to loads of dub, not that I know anything about it!

So you’re quite into sampling stuff?

Yeah, definitely. Another one, called ‘Grounded’ has got this 1920’s music in there. I like to sample films, mostly though. Not speech, but the actual noise. Sometimes, I just use a noise, amplify it a hundred times, run it through a compressor and made it really loud over some of the tunes. It works really well, I think. On tunes like ‘Technopolis’ and ‘Birks Range’, I’ve used these techniques where I’ve sampled films and the noise the noise is added to the rhythm of the track.

You leave here for a long tour of America tomorrow. Are you looking forward to it?

When I went there in September, my expectations were that it was going to be kind of like England, in the way that it went from drum’n’bass into dubstep. I thought that I was going to be playing to thirty to forty people, but every place I went, it was rammed.

This Sunday @ LAB

2009-04-15T17:36:00.002Z

MONO TONIC present...
TAPE vs BRUK
Sunday 19th April
LAB (ex-Arc Bar)
5pm-late
FREE ENTRY

Two of Bristol’s clubbing institutions come together for our latest Sunday flexout, providing a soundtrack of the best in house, garage, funky, dubstep and techno on LAB’s impeccable Funktion One soundsystem.

El Gato & Billy Blanks (bruk)
The Bruk boys have long been a staple on the Bristol scene for lovers of garage, dubstep, and everything in between. Recent nights with the likes of Mak10 and United Vibes have been off the scale, but the men behind bruk are worthy DJs in their own right. With their Bruk Radio show on Sub FM, El Gato and Billy Blanks broadcast to a worldwide audience of bass lovers, mixing up a deft selection of house, garage, dubstep, funky and instrumental hip-hop tracks that will get your body moving - guaranteed. We're more than glad to welcome the duo to the Mono Tonic fold for what promises to be a special evening of drinking, dancing and yet more drinking.

mixTAPE: Duncan George (under_score)

2009-03-18T23:11:00.005Z

It's been a while since a mix was posted up on here, so I'm glad to be able to post one of such high quality today. Duncan George is one of the main brains behind Bristolian clubbing institution under_score, who have put on a quality selection of electronic music in our fair city over the past few years. Move D, DJ Pete, Pinch, Secondo, Errorsmith, ISAN, Bodycode, Claro Intelectro, Marcel Dettmann... The sheer quality of their headliners never fails to amaze. Dunc's whipped up a mix of more ambient fare for us, so I'll let him chat for a bit about it:

"It's been a wonderfully cathartic process and i'm really pleased with the result - I downloaded a copy of Cool Edit Pro and blended the tracks together. All the tracks have been mixed in the traditional way - none of the tracks have been DSP edited or spliced - only crossfaded.

I'm sure you can tell by the track listing and when you hear it that it's not really a party mix - more for headphones, reflective late nights, early morning bus journeys and wide open beach vistas. A lot of the tracks are quite old, ranging from 1993 - 2005 but most fall into the early 00's."

Tracklisting:
Pole - Berlin // Kiff SM
Conjoint - The Joint // Source Records
Electric Birds - Strata // U-Cover
Portable - Kismet // Background
Kid 606 - Now I Wanna Be A Cowboy // Mille Plateaux
Sutekh - Untitled // Force Inc
Basic Channel - Lyot Remix // Basic Channel
Farben - The Video Age (Re-Edit) // Klang Elektronik
AM/PM - The End 11 // Dreck
Dynamo - Voraus 2 // Din
Jetone - Fkstrtowr // Force Inc
Baby Ford - 3am Gargoyle Requiem // Perlon

Download:
Duncan George - "Ebb & Flow" mix

Check:
http://www.underscoremusic.co.uk/

under_score vs. TAPE

2009-02-17T11:10:00.002Z

Sven Weisemann
(Mojuba / Styrax Leaves / liebe*detail / Meanwhile / Apple Pips)

+ DJs:
Jack The Red
Richard Carnage
Jim Petherwick
Placid

Saturday 7th March 2008 @ Tube / 10pm - 4am / £4

TAPE & under_score are very proud to present young Berlin upstart Sven Weisemann. Despite being only 23 years old, he has been tearing techno & house dancefloors apart since 1997 with his intense, quick-fire DJ style; as well as releasing his own captivating, ultra-deep productions for Styrax, Meanwhile and his own label Mojuba.

Those more familiar with Weisemanns's own productions may be surprised by his DJing style, as he weaves effortlessly between his trademark deeper sound and classic house and techno dancefloor bangers. Influenced by the fast cuts and energetic approach of legendary US DJs such as Derrick May, Sven uses three turntables for maximum effect, taking us on a trip through house, techno, disco and everything inbetween.

As a producer, Sven's music draws deeply on the legacy of Chicago and Detroit, yet he has carved out a sound that is invariably his own. Records such as "Vibe" and "Slices" are perfect examples of delirious and atmospheric house music, that aren't afraid to take their sweet time to hypnotise the floor with their charms.

A self-taught musician who plays piano, acoustic guitar and percussion, Weisemann also composes jazz and soundtracks. These traditions inform his house records, which can be found on labels such as Meanwhile, House Café Music, liebe*detail, Styrax Leaves and especially Mojuba, where Weisemann's music slots together with friends Nick Solé and Oracy to form a distinctive and highly collectible body of work. Most recently, Sven has remixed Ramadanman's "Humber" for Appleblim's Apple Pips label, taking the listener on a deep and delicious dub house journey that manages to be both melancholic and uplifting.

Those who were present at his incendiary performance at last year's Freerotation festival will no doubt be excited to hear of Sven's return, those who weren't will need to get down to the Tube to see what all the fuss is about!

In support we have four of Bristol's finest house & techno DJs. TAPE's Richard Carnage and Jack The Red will join under_score's Jim Petherwick and Placid to spin some of the hottest electronic sounds around.

Sven Weisemann Info:
http://www.myspace.com/svenweisemann
http://www.mojubarecords.com
http://www.discogs.com/artist/sven+weisemann
http://tape-club.co.uk
http://www.underscoremusic.co.uk

A day of rest?

2009-02-17T00:52:00.003Z

Mono Tonic - Launch Party
Sunday 1st March @ LAB (ex-Arc Bar)
Broad Street, Bristol
3pm-1am
£2 before 6pm, £3 after

APPLEBLIM (Skull Disco / Apple Pips / Rinse FM)
What better way to launch our weekly Sunday session than to host someone who is hands down one of our favourite selectors worldwide, never mind in Bristol. Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne is the man, and we've got him down to LAB for not one, but TWO sets to keep you on your toes for the first Mono Tonic party. Alongside his good buddy Sam Shackleton, the pair curated the now defunct Skull Disco label, forging a sound that defied the usual 'dubstep' categorisation. With Appleblim’s heavy, metallic sound providing the perfect counterpoint for Shackleton’s more ethnic and polyrhythmic style, they won legions of fans, and devastated dancefloors worldwide. More recently, 'blim has started up his own Apple Pips imprint, which continues to push the boundaries of modern music with its jawdropping releases, whether they're of a dubstep or techno persuasion. As anyone who's listen to Appleblim's now legendary shows on London pirate station Rinse FM will attest, Laurie's selection prowess doesn't just extend to techno and dubstep - nor does it end with grime, 2-step and funky. Natch, the man Osborne has been working in record shops (most notably Notting Hill's Soul & Dance Exchange) for years, picking up all sorts of aural gems that you might not necessarily associate with him from listening to his sets or productions. House, disco, hardcore, IDM, dub, jazz, jungle, electro... I could go on, but I'm sure that you've already gathered how much of a walking encyclopedia of staggeringly brilliant tunes this man actually is.

Mono Tonic is therefore proud to present two separate sets from the 'blim. Kicking off in the afternoon, Laurie will be indulging us with some of the many gems from his eclectic collection. Digging deep into his racks, he'll be pulling out some obscurities and oddities to play alongside some older classics that don't necessarily fit into his normal club sets. Later on in the evening, he'll be donning his dubsteppin' cap to play us a set of dubstep, techno, funky, and whatever else he's playing at his many gigs around the world of late. What else can we say? Blimmin' marvellous!

ANDY CLARKSON (Payback Hi-Fi)
Andy Clarkson has become somewhat of an institution on Bristol's reggae scene over the past ten years, and we're glad to welcome him to the Mono Tonic fold for our first party. It isn't just reggae that's Mr Clarkson's forte, however. His massive collection of reggae, dub, disco, house, post punk and everything inbetween is pretty damn enviable to any self-respecting DJ worth their salt, and he'll be endowing us with a perfectly blended selection of nuggets from his array of Ikea Expedits. Expect the unexpected...

JACK THE RED (TAPE / Rooted Records)
He might have gone through a name change recently, but Jack The Red is still the same ol' flame-haired turntable wizard that we've always known. You can find him behind the counter at the beloved hub of Bristol's music scene, Rooted Records, where he'll be more than happy to wax lyrical about recent developments in the UK funky scene, or even the finer points of free jazz. Jack The Red will be bringing this genre-hopping free spirit to all of his sets at Mono Tonic, and with his new name and a renewed vigour for DJing, you can be sure to hear some special music during his time on the ones and twos.

RICHARD CARNAGE (TAPE / Resident Advisor)
Bristol's resident dance music journo will be taking time out from slaving away at his laptop to bring you an insight into the hottest electronic sounds of the moment, along with all sorts of wax that he's uncovered from the last thirty years of dance music culture. Whether it's with smacked out balearica or the deepest dub techno around, his mission is to enlighten and enthrall in equal measures.

Top 20 Remixes Of 2008 (1-10)

2009-02-12T01:07:00.004Z

10) TRG - Put You Down (Ramadanman Remix) // Hessle Audio
David "Ramadanman" Kennedy was on fire last year, with three cracking singles and this little beauty, which was his first ever officially released remix. Minimising TRG's skittering garage beats was a genius move, giving the dubwise stabs and uber-deep bassline plenty of room to breathe and exude their irresistable charms.

9) Luke Hess - Believe & Receive (Shed's Deepanddubbydub Remix) // Kontra Music
Luke Hess' original isn't without its own merits - hell, it was one of the more engaging dubby techno records of last year - but Shed's overhaul on the flipside was the real star of the show. Its funky cyclical bassline draws you in, the snares on the two and four get you bopping along... then WHAM! In come the skittering closed hats, providing the sucker punch that seals the deal, and you're only three minutes in. It's a record that lends itself incredibly well to mixing, but stands up high and proud on its own two feet - the way good techno music should be.

8) Shackleton - You Bring Me Down (Peverelist Remix) // ~scape/Skull Disco
It's no secret that we're massive fans of Tom "Peverelist" Ford's work here at TAPE, and his only remix of 2008 finds its place at #8. Local lad he may be, but it's by no means a token inclusion, even though it's possibly the 'straightest' track he's put his hand to so far. I say 'straight', as it's his only production to date that features a 4x4 kickdrum (which, admittedly, does take two minutes to appear, and is slightly weighted), giving Shackleton's tenebrous ethnic samples some much-needed pump for the dancefloor.

7) Tadeo - Reflection Nebula 056n (Substance Remix) // Apnea
I heard a second hand story that when Substance (AKA Hardwax's DJ Pete) heard this track before remixing it, he said "yeah, this is good, but it could do with some hats." He was right, and his simple but effective remix gives "Reflection Nebula 056n" the punctuary percussion that it was crying out for.

6) Matias Aguayo - Minimal (DJ Koze Remix) // Kompakt
One of the modern masters of the art of remixing, Stefan Kozalla almost always pulls it out of the bag when handed the parts for one of his majestic recontextualisations. Here, he takes the galloping dark funk of Aguayo's original and guts it, drenching the vocal in smooth synths and a groovy disco beat. Add some cowbell (always a winner) and some tropical percussive flourishes, and you've got a perfect summer anthem that's just waiting for that perfect sunny day.

5) Flying Lotus - Roberta Flack (Martyn Heart Beat Mix) // Warp
I could've picked any one of Martyn's remixes from 2008 to fill this spot, but seeing as this was the for the RA ballot, I decided to plump for this one. It didn't make the final 15, however, but its stuttering synth and huge bassline over that sultry female vocal make it approximately ten billion times better than Dubfire's frankly godawful remix of Radio Slave's "Grindhouse" (which somehow managed to worm its way into #11 in an otherwise respectable list).

4) Geiom ft. Marita - Reminissin' (Kode9 Refix) // Berkane Sol
Kode9's remix of Badawi's "Den Of Drumz" would've been here, if it hadn't originally come out in 2007 on the CD version of his collaborative album. This effort is cut from similar cloth, however, taking a relentlessly energetic percussive skip and marrying it to a repeated burst of melody, à la Mala's "Left Leg Out". Big boy dancefloor business, this one.

3) Sascha Dive - Deepest America (Moodymann Remix) // Ornaments
So your label's got a shitload of money to play around with, so you sign a pretty pedestrian sample-heavy house track from an in vogue European producer, and then get Moodymann to remix it. He takes the original and stamps a great big "fuck you" on there, adding a vocal that berates the state of modern house music ("Music... there ain't no soul more") whilst pissing over most of 2008's house records from a great height. Infectious swinging percussion, lush organic samples, and a brief bassy arpeggio that comes out of nowhere - this remix has it all, and more. And all that whilst only using a snippet of the spoken word section from Dive's original. You can call it a statement if you want, but I'm calling it one of the best house tracks of last year.

2) TRG - Broken Heart (Martyn's DCM Remix) // Hessle Audio
As soon as I first heard the Detroit-esque pads and dubwise broken percussion of Martyn's "Broken Hearts" version, I was in love. Devastatingly deep dubstep that gives those heart strings a tug in the right direction - towards the speaker stack.

1) Namlook - Subharmonic Atoms (Pépé Bradock Bug Remix) // Macro
Pépé Bradock is a very odd man. We like odd here at TAPE, however - especially when it comes to our favourite French producer - and he's pulled it out of the bag yet again with this remix of Pete Namlook's beatless techno masterpiece from 1996. It's a fairly simple remix job, with Pépé simply adding a shuffling boompty beat and messing around with the original's structure. The devil's in the details though - the subdued rhythmic stabs, the subtle but hugely effective percussive changes, and of course the removal of the beat halfway through which just begs for a great record to lay over the top. Add to that the expert mastering from D&M's Rashad Becker (who masters every single one of Macro's releases), and you've got yourself a remix that's worthy of TAPE's #1 spot. Pépé Bradock - long may you continue with your odd idiosyncratic adventures into the deepest depths of house music.

Top Remixes Of 2008 (11-20)

2009-02-10T10:00:00.003Z

Yes, I know it's February, and I'm sure you're already hastily trying to find the best new release of 2009, but the TAPE blog hasn't finished with 2008 that easily. I know I've been slack/busy/neglectful concerning the updates here due to my current employment for RA (and you should all read my interview with Bristolian dubstep don Peverelist if you haven't already), but the 2008 TAPE round-up is finally here...

Top 20 Remixes Of 2008 (11-20)

20) Zomby - Spliff Dub (Rustie Remix) // Hyperdub
The Glaswegian "aqua-crunk" merchant takes to knife to "Spliff Dub", wrapping a stunted arpeggio and insistent bassline over Zomby's sampled vocal paean to the ol' Mary Jane.

19) Martyn - Natural Selection (Flying Lotus Cleanse Mix) // 3024
2008 was very much Fly Lo's year in the spotlight, and if you enjoyed his Los Angeles record, then you'll more than likely lap up this warm but wonky interpretation of "Natural Selection".

18) Prosumer - Turn Around (Cassy's Smooth Mix) // Ostgut Ton
If you're aware of Cassy's work, then you'll know that she's all about stripped back grooves - and what a groove this is. Hypno-house at its finest.

17) Morgan Geist - Detroit (C2RMX1 by Carl Craig) // Environ
The original version was the highlight of Geist's Double Night Time record, and C2 gives it a damn fine nip and tuck to make it suitable for sweaty late night dancefloors.

16) Silent Servant - Violencia (Function Remix) // Sandwell District
Both of the mixes on this package are fantastic, but for me it's Function's use of space and swing that just edges it.

15) International Pony - Bubble In A Bottle (Pepe Bradock Remix) // Columbia
Pepe Bradock had a relatively productive year in 2008, and I certainly wasn't complaining. Eccentric and engaging house music in a year where yawnsome trackiness was all too prevalent.

14) DLX - Matter Of Fact (Breakage's Relatively Speaking mix) // Smog
Dark and cavernous speaker-bothering business from Breakage, with some of the best sounding snares I heard all year long.

13) Scuba - Ruptured (Surgeon Remix) // Hotflush
Crisp, charging percussion and celestially choral samples combine to make an urgent and uplifting heads-down techno anthem.

12) Rennie Foster - Good Time Charlie (DJ Bone Remix) // Subject Detroit
Bone gets deep on this multi-layered jam, pulling out the cosmic chords and chugging loops for some perfect nocturnal headphone business.

11) Petar Dundov - Oasis (Substance & Vainqueur Remix) // Music Man
Shimmering dubwise chugger from the ever-reliable Substance and Vainqueur team. Lie back, light up, and bask in its immersive liquidity...

Normal Service Will Be Resumed Shortly

2009-01-14T00:20:00.003Z

Hell, I've neglected this place over the past few months. Starting work for Resident Advisor has meant that I haven't had the time that I'd like to keep this ticking over, but rest assured that there'll be plenty of content coming soon. There's an Headhunter transcript from just before his US tour, and the Ramadanman one from this month's Hessle feature is dying for a place to host it. That man can certainly talk the hind legs off a donkey. Also, there'll be some sort of end of year summary, but those expecting a big 100 with comments and samples won't be in luck. Keep checking back, and there should be something interesting here before you know it.

This Saturday

2008-10-17T18:16:00.000Z

MixTAPE: The Mole

2008-08-28T23:14:00.004Z

The lads over at Fabric have sorted us out with this quality live set from The Mole, who's put out one of my favourite albums of the year with his cracking effort, As High As The Sky (review here). See how many sneaky samples you can spot peppering the selection of his own tunes. From what I hear, he performs live on four or more turntables, which is what I guess is going on here.

Download:
MixTAPE - The Mole (Live)

He's also playing at Fabric on September 8th, with Damien Lazarus (who's back after resurrecting his Crosstown Rebels imprint following a severe loss due to Amato's administration), the Wiggle crew, and disco beards Todd Terje and Rub'n'Tug. Certainly a promising line-up, that's for sure!

TAPE in September

2008-08-20T21:06:00.001Z

TAPE
Friday, 19 September 2008
10pm - 4am
Native, 15 Small Street
£6 on the door

Philip Sherburne (Lan Muzic) - debut UK performance
Ramadanman (Hessle Audio / Soul Jazz)
Richard Carnage (TAPE)
Puffin Jack (TAPE)

Philip Sherburne (Lan Muzic)
Philip is best known as one of elecronic-music's most tireless scribes. With over a decade of bylines to his name, he is the editor of the biweekly electronic-music newsletter Earplug and writes regularly for Pitchfork, The Wire, XLR8R, eMusic and URGE; he's also contributed to many more publications, among them the New York Times and Slate.

Too restless to remain on the receiving end of the speakers, Philip has become increasingly visible as a DJ. While living in San Francisco, he threw one of the city's few minimal-techno parties of its time, hosting the likes of Ellen Allien, Superpitcher and Ada; in addition to a running hip-hop/downtempo/experimental weekly, he was also a part of the experimental-techno collective Trouble (along with local mainstays like Sutekh, Kit Clayton, Safety Scissors and Kid606) responsible for some of SF's most notoriously unhinged parties. Since relocating to Barcelona in 2005, Sherburne's reputation as a selector has grown. Both headlining and supporting marquee talents like Michael Mayer, Ricardo Villalobos, Luomo, Swayzak, M.A.N.D.Y., Apparat, Anja Schneider, Ewan Pearson, Efdemin and Sebo K, he appears regularly at multiple venues in Barcelona (The Moog, Raum, Lo*Li*Ta, Fellini and Kubik) and has also played in Berlin, Montreal, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, Portland, New York; Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile; and Juarez, Guadalajara, and Mexico City, Mexico.

In the last few years, Philip has increasingly turned his attentions towards production. His first release, the single "Lumberjacking," appeared on Berlin's Lan Muzic label in September 2007, backed with an Exercise One remix. His second twelve, 'Salt & Vinegar', dropped a couple of months back, again on Lan.

Phil's 'Light In August' mix:
http://fairtilizer.com/track/lightinaugustmix

DJ Koze, "Cecily" (Philpot)
Shinedoe, "The Peacemaker (Deetron Remix)" (100% Pure)
Channel X, "Burning Train" (Upon You)
JC Freaks, "The Rock" (Wandering)
Knowing Looks, "1100=moon" (Musique Risquée)
Vera, "People's House" (Cargo Edition)
Goldwill, "Motion Team" (Musik Gewinnt Freunde)
Recloose, "Can't Take It (Carl Craig Remix)" (Planet E)
Ra.H, "The Fall of Justice" (Morphine)
Motorcitysoul, "Change You (Shur-I-Kan Remix)" (Simple)
Crustation, "Flame (Mood II Swing Borderline Insanity Dub)" (Jive)
Blaze, "Lovely Dae (Friends Experiment Remix)" (Playhouse)

More mixes:
'An Unseasonably Warm Mix'

'Beta Lounge, March 2008'

'Music For The Evening After'

'Schaffel Is Stronger Than Pride'

Ramadanman (Hessle Audio / Soul Jazz)
David ‘Ramadanman’ hails from north London, but now lives near Bournemouth and goes to university in Leeds. He has been DJing from the age of 14, beginning with deep house and hip hop, becoming attracted to hip-hop and jungle as he grew older.

Ramadanman has been interested in music all his life, and began producing by recording keyboard songs onto cassettes. After learning how to make music on computer, Ramadanman started to use his brother’s copy of Fruity Loops at around the age of 15. He has stuck with this program ever since.

He heard about dubstep through making grime instrumentals, after several people commented that his beats sounded like it. Inspired by a Mala set after reaching FWD for the first time in April 2006, Ramadanman became involved in the dubstep scene. He made many tunes that summer after moving house, two of which he had professionally mastered at Transition Studios. These tunes were digitally released as WAVs, and were sold directly to DJs through Dubstepforum.com.

Since then Ramadanman has put out two more digital releases, and has seen his music appear on vinyl. His tune ‘Response’ was the first release on Bare Dubs, and the anthemic ‘Good Feelin’ came out on 2nd Drop Records with a Jamie Woon remix on the flipside. In late 2007 his track ‘Every Next Day’ opened proceedings on the compilation Box Of Dub 2, released by the legendary Soul Jazz Records. He has enjoyed DJ support from Skream, Kode9, Distance, Mary Anne Hobbs, Rob da Bank and many more.

Ramadanman decided to start a record label called Hessle Audio with fellow students Ben UFO and Pangaea at the start of 2007 and the first release by TRG sold out within weeks. He is involved in organizing the Leeds’ first 100% dubstep night ‘Ruffage’, as well as hosting a weekly show on internet radio station Sub FM. 2007 has seen Ramadanman DJ in UK cities such as London, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham, York, Brighton, Cambridge, Stoke and Durham as well as international bookings in Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels.

He has performed alongside dubstep artists such as Digital Mystikz, Skream, Benga, Kode9, D1, Rusko, Kromestar, Plastician, Mary Anne Hobbs, Heny G, Scuba and Headhunter. With more releases forthcoming on Soul Jazz as well as Hessle Audio, things are looking promising for Ramadanman in 2008.

Mix for Electronic Explorations.org (starts at 36 mins in)

01. Pangaea - Antistatic (Ramadanman Remix) [Unreleased]
02. Pinch - Dr Carlson [Punch Drunk]
03. Ramadanman - Offal [Soul Jazz]
04. Pearson Sound - Dimes (Ramadanman Re-Edit) [Unreleased]
05. TRG - Generation (Breakage Remix) [Forthcoming Naked Lunch]
06. Quest - Arawak [Unreleased]
07. Untold - Walking Through Walls [Unreleased]
08. Ramadanman - Bidding War [Unreleased]
09. Ramadanman - Blimey [Hessle Audio]
10. Komonazmuk - Bad Apple [HENCH]
11. Headhunter - Royal Flush [Unreleased]
12. TRG - Put You Down (Ramadanman Refix) [Hessle Audio]
13. Martyn - All I Have Is Memories [Applepips]

Quite an agreeable line-up, don't you think? Get your ears round that Ramadanman mix if you haven't already - it's quite something. Hopefully see you down there on the 19th!

Appleblim down the pub!

2008-07-24T07:46:00.002Z

Though of you based in London (or, at the least, unafraid of travel) are cordially invited to join us for the last ever Washing Line party at The Constitution in Camden, on Saturday 2nd August. Our special guest for the evening is none other than Laurie Osborne, aka Appleblim.

I can't believe we've got Laurie playing in a 60-capacity boozer in Camden. But sure enough, we have.

Along with Shackleton, Appleblim is co-founder of Skull Disco - without doubt one of the most important and innovative labels to emerge in recent years. It came to prominence on the back of dubstep, but Shack and 'Blim (ahem)'s distinctive sound has always defied such easy categorization, its aims far higher and energies far greater than the wobbly bass bollocks which the 'd' word has come to denote.

Since then, Appleblim has released a string of envelope-pushing singles ('Vansan', in particular), and founded a new label, Apple Pips, with the express intention of exploring the fertile grey areas between house, dubstep, techno and garage.

Still, Laurie's roots in dubstep are pretty fucking significant: he's a former resident at the era-defining FWD>>, and regular a contributor to Rinse FM - his most recent podcast for the station is the best 2 hours of music I've heard this year - repping bleeding edge techno and dubstep alongside vintage beauts from Alice Coltrane, Mr Fingers and even (gulp) Davy Graham. You can download the mix here:

Appleblim - April podcast [Rinse FM]Dubstep Allstars Volume 6, following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Youngsta and Kode 9. He's also just produced a sterling mix for Resident Advisor's renowned podcast series. Download it at http://www.residentadvisor.net, where you can also read Carnage's interview with him.

In short, Appleblim is, for me at least, the most interesting and engaging DJ at work on God's earth right now. Seriously. I get out of bed in the morning just to listen to the fucker's Rinse mix. So I'm VERY happy for him to dignify The Washing Line with his presence, especially given as his last UK show was at frickin' Fabric...

Joining Appleblim will be a very special live guest TBA, plus a name some of you will be familiar with: Mr RICHARD CARNAGE. Carnage is the driving force behind the TAPE clubnight and blog, and thanks to his good work and good taste they've both earned a wodge of international acclaim over the years. An infallibly shit-hot DJ of discerning club music of all stripes and shades - from house and techno to dubstep and garage via disco, italo and electro - Carnage is, quite frankly, your man.

Myself and Lazerboy will provide the cherry on the funeral cake with our usual slipshod mix of disco, post-punk and dubby business. Yes!

As usual, it all goes down in the cellar bar of The Constitution - an impossibly intimate lockside boozer in Camden. The basement opens out onto the most tranquil, beautiful part of the lock, and the venue boasts not one but TWO of the best smoking areas in all of Christendom. Seriously. The drinks are good, the locals are weird, the sound is raw. What more do you people want?

All of you who've attended The Washing Line should need no encouragement to join us for our swansong. Those of you who've never been - well, it's your last chance, intit?

right. see you there.

The Washing Line presents
APPLEBLIM

Saturday 2nd August

@ The Constitution (cellar bar), LONDON NW1 0QT

8pm-1.30am, £5
Nearest tube: Camden Town

myspace.com/thewashingline

TAPE this Friday!

2008-07-17T13:25:00.004Z

This Friday, people!

Headhunter (Tempa)
www.myspace.com/headhunterdubstep

As part of the Hench crew, Headhunter has been carving out his own style of dubstep for a good few years now. The ‘Initiate EP’ saw him merge UK garage, techno, and drum’n’bass influences into a mechanical and muscular whole, and showed him on top of his production game. On the 18th he joins us to draw the dots between his influences and his own material. Expect maximum bassweight!

Headhunter live on Rinse FM (28th May 2008)
Untitled - White Label
Teebee - White Label - Black Science Labs- Subtitled
LTJ Bukem - Suspended Space - Suspended Space EP - Good Looking
Future Engineers - Source Code- Technetium Ep
Tony Allen - Ole (Moritz von Oswald Mix) - Honest Jons
Leftover - eichenholz ep - Baum Records
Reverberation - Substance & Vainquier - Scion
Appleblim & Peverelist - Circling
Headhunter - Untitled Dub
Headhunter - Paradigm Shift
ramadanman - Blimey - Hessle Audio
Headhunter - Grounded
Pinch - Wonky Bleepy
Martyn - Natural Selection
2562 - Moog Dub - Tectonic
Headhunter - Your Say
Headhunter - Untitled Dub
Headhunter - Royal Flush
Wax Doctor - New Direction (93 Remix) - Basement Records

Download:
Headhunter live on Rinse FM (28th May 2008)

October (Caravan / Perspectiv)
www.myspace.com/djoctober

Undoubtedly the finest purveyor of forward thinking techno music in the city, Julian Smith has turned heads worldwide with his recent productions on his own Caravan label, and also for Ripperton's Perspectiv. Mastered by Robert Babicz (aka. Rob Acid), his current release, 'Say Again' is a futurist broken techno track that's been rocking floors worldwide. Not to mention that his 'Three Drops' track is a favourite of Surgeon, and has been invited to perform a set on his radio show in the coming month. In addition, his track 'Invitation' has just been licenced as the final track on the new instalment of Steve Bug's 'Bugnology' mix series - great praise indeed!

October - New & Forthcoming Releases
1) Listen, Move, Dance
2) Three Drops
3) Invitation
4) There's A Glitch In My Soup
5) Tape
6) Homosapiens

Download:
October - New & Forthcoming Releases

Luke Malcher (under_score)
http://www.underscoremusic.co.uk/

Luke Malcher is a resident at top Bristol techno night under_score. He likes to combine party funk with rave fear, and assimilates numerous styles - including bumping uk garage, dub, house and experimental noise - to create a unique sound. He has played for nights like Tape, Summer Summons, Byte and Best Before and is known for unauthorised collusions with Westcountry Shakedown and Normalise.

Luke Malcher - No EQs Promo Mix
SOG - SOG 2.2
Dettmann & Klock - Places Like This
Samim & Michal - Exercise
Detroit Grand Pubahs - Sandwiches
Petre Inspirescu - Sakadat
Rhythm & Sound - Ruff Way (Osunlade Version)
Vainqueur - Elevations 2 (Extracted)
Ramadanman - Offal
Juice-O-Matic - Lask006
Dru Hill - How Deep Is Your Love (Groove Chronicles Remix)
Dexter - I Don't Care

Download:
Luke Malcher - No EQs Promo Mix

Placid kicks out the jams

2008-07-02T11:00:00.002Z

Local legend and under_score resident Placid has just started off a new blog showcasing records from his deep and extensive record collection. There's only a few entries so far, but mark my words when I say that this site will be one to watch as far as classic dance rarities go. Already up are cuts from Marcus Mixx, Acidwolf, Ecstasy, Kebekelektrik, Humanoid, and Frequency X.

Link:
Acid-House.net - The Blog

Also, if you're in Bristol this Saturday then you should head over to St Paul's Carnival, which is always really good fun. There are a few rigs present, the most notable one being the Sureskank rig who've got a dubstep line-up to die for! They'll be present on Ashley Road, so head over once you've had your fill of jerked chicken. Here's the full line-up:

TRG b2b FORSAKEN
APPLEBLIM
RAMADANMAN
NEEK
SUPERISK
KYMATIC
BEAVIS
GEMMY
JOKER
DUBBOY
KIDKUT
TEKTON NAGGAR
WASCAL
MIDDLEMAN
DJIM
GON-Z
TIME
+ MORE!!!

Under_score are also collaborating with Bruk to put on an event in the evening at The Tube (at the bottom of Park Street), so if you're at a loss for something to do, head there afterwards.

MixTAPE: Live at Viva Radio

2008-07-01T00:15:00.007Z

It's taken me a while, but I've finally got round to uploading the mix that I did for the Viva Radio guys whilst I was over in NYC. It's a bit sloppy at times, but I blame that on being a bit flustered after getting totally lost on the way back from Dope Jams, which was honestly one of the best, if not the best record shop that I've ever had the pleasure to visit. Friendly staff, big fat vintage speakers mounted up, a reel-to-reel, dividers for each record rather than genre for quick browsing, some hilariously on point comments on the records (Deepchord's 'Grandbend', for example: "more watered down sub-Basic Channel, but that won't put you off, will it? Hell, just buy it and sell it on eBay in a couple of months for triple the price!"), and stock to make a grown house and techno fan do a small wee in their pants... I could go on, but I won't. But if you're ever in New York, do try and make it over to Brooklyn and check out the shop - you won't regret it. Anyway, it took me over two hours walk and a short bus ride to get back (it should've taken me 45 minutes...), and this is what I mixed up on my return to the studio. One take, two 1210's, warts'n'all. Big ups to Matt Werth, Cassady, and Ted at Viva Radio, and also to Colin Nagy for pestering anyone he knew to try and wangle me a gig. Next time, Colin!

TRG - Broken Heart (Martyn's DCM Remix) // Hessle Audio
Patrice Scott - Raw Fusion // Sistrum
Omar S - Psychotic Photosynthesis // FXHE
Pied Plat - Double Trouble // Rush Hour
The MD X-Spress - God Made Me Phunky // Open
Romanthony - Wreck // Glasgow Underground
TJ Dumas - What Am I Gonna Do // Stillove4music
Erotic Drum Band - Action 78 // Prism
Samson & Delilah - I Can Feel Your Love Slipping Away (Long Vocal) // Saturn
Luomo - Really Don't Mind (12" Version) // Huume

Download:
Richard Carnage - Live At Viva Radio

Also, here are some more RA reviews:
Audion – Billy Says Go // Spectral Sound

Oleg Poliakov - House Moujik // Circus Company

Extra Produktionen – Feuerwehrhaus // Brontosaurus

Psychonauts - World Keeps Turning // Souvenir

RSD - Jah Way // Punch Drunk

TAPE - 18/07

2008-06-24T23:10:00.000Z

Last month's TAPE

2008-06-03T13:05:00.004Z

Been ridiculously busy with various bits and bobs over the past few weeks, so the blog has had to take a bit of a back seat of late. First of all, I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who came down to TAPE last month, and also to all of the DJs who spanked it without exception. Nick Gutterbreakz (who also did a nice summary of the night here) took over from myself early on under his Patchwerk Man alias, and scared away a few of the dubstep kids with a set of meaty techno that I had trouble recognising. He did play this cut from the Sandwell District label, however, which had my toes tapping whilst sitting on the door. Apologies to Nick for not managing to sort out some CD-Js for him, as Pendle Coven's equipment was taking up all the space - sorry! Speaking of which, Miles and Gary played a blistering live set, easing things up slowly before their equipment started packing in! There were no distinguishable starts or ends of tracks - just a seamless techno odyssey carrying the crowd away on the groove. Miles stepped up to the decks as MLZ after the gear malfunction, which for my money, was the best set of the night. Easing between early dubstep and techno bangers with aplomb, it was only marred by some bloke getting up to plug his mic in and drop some 'dope rhymes' over the top. To be fair, he wasn't actually being that annoying at first (if he had been, he would've been out of there a lot earlier than he was!), but after a while his hype man antics started to wear a bit thin, and we gave him the boot. By the time that Appleblim came on I was veritably pished, but have a hazy memory of whooping like a madman when he dropped his penultimate tune, Martyn's mindblowing remix of TRG on Hessle Audio. I've only just got round to checking his mix for Tempa's 'Dubstep Allstars' series, and suffice to say it's a proper belter which is well worth your hard earned. The forthcoming Apple Pips is also well worth a sniff, featuring two remixes of 'blim and Pev's 'Over Here' from Brendon Moeller. I'm not especially keen on the first mix, but the Beat Pharmacy remix on the flipside is lushly funky dub house that gets me wiggling every time.

Next time around we've got a stellar local bill for you with sets from our good friend October (who's release on Ripperton's Perspektiv label is just about to drop) and Headhunter (who should be showcasing more of a techno style for this performance). Friday 18th July is the date, Native is the place - you know it makes sense.

On the writing front, I've got a few new bits up at Resident Advisor that you might want to check if you've been missing the updates on here, and there's a nice little piece on 2562 in the new iDJ magazine that I've done. Unfortunately I deleted the full transcript that I was going to put up, but I'll have a trawl around my e-mails and see if I can find it.

RA Reviews:
Klockworks - Klockworks 03 // Klockworks

The Mole - As High As The Sky LP // Wagon Repair

Sety - Sweet & Sour // Circus Company

Alton Miller - Full Circle // Yore

This weekend in Bristol - the almighty Venn!

2008-06-01T16:22:00.005Z

Yes, it's that time of year again! Bristol's Venn Festival is the highlight of the summer's musical calendar, and next weekend (June 4th-8th) it returns once again with another stellar lineup of acts across the city.

Things kick off on Thursday with two special shows by Murcof in collaboration with visual artist Joanie Le Mercier at the Planetarium, which promises to be a special performance by all accounts.

Friday's highlights are both situated in the Arnolfini art space, as Stefan Betke graces us with a live Pole set, whilst the night is rounded off by Matmos hot on the heels of their synth-tastic Supreme Balloon LP.

As with the previous years, Saturday is the day where it's all happening. There are tons of live acts playing throughout the day, but at night the action converges at Motion Skatepark, where the line-up is absolutely ridiculous. Take the main 'Tunnel' room, for example, where things will be kicked off by our good friend and knowledgeable selector, Andy Clarkson. I'm not sure what to expect from him, but I'd imagine that roots reggae and disco-not-disco will both be present in some form or other. From there, Punch Drunk head honcho Peverelist will be straddling the boundary between dubstep and techno, warming our cockles nicely for the much anticipated appearance of Moritz Von Oswald! At this point I should give big thanks to under_score's Duncan George for working his Hardwax connection and making this happen. Big up yourself, DG! October rounds off the evening with some liquid techno beats, whilst other rooms see Errorsmith (of Smith'n'Hack) making a long awaiting return to the city, and a Bristol debut for Black Devil Disco Club. Phew!

As if that wasn't enough, the good ship Thekla hosts your Sunday comedown with a live show and three hour workshop from Sunburned Hand Of The Man, The Heliocentrics (DJ Shadow's backing band, don't you know), and electro infused Dilla-isms from Warp's Flying Lotus.

I can't stress enough how much of a great festival Venn is. Run by music lovers for music lovers, you could do a lot worse than pop over to our fair city and attend, if only for a day. Where else are you going to be able to check out Moritz Von Oswald, Peverelist, October, Black Devil Disco Club and Errorsmith for just £9?! Full information (including set times) can be found over at the Venn website - www.vennfestival.com - or download the full programme here.

Hope to see some of you there!

MixTAPE: Placid (under_score / acid-house.net)

2008-05-09T15:36:00.002Z

Just a quick one as I'm busy in NYC, but I needed to get this mix up from under_score resident, Placid. He's a bit of a scene stalwart, and has been putting up well recieved regular mixes on his acid-house.net site for quite a while now, and has been blessing our ears with some incredible DJ sets. He rocked it out at Sunday's best before: shindig, where he filled the boots of Andy Butler (who cancelled at the last minute so that he could... err... film the video for his next single. To say that we were pissed off would've been a bit of an understatement, but what can you do, eh?) with ease, rocking out disco, electro, and acid house classics that shook the main room to the core. I've been pestering him for ages to do a mix for us, and he's finally come up trumps for us with a top selection of tunes for electronic enthusiasts to salivate over. A tracklisting will be provided in a few weeks time, but for the meantime just sit back, relax, and enjoy the music!

Download:
Placid - MixTAPE

Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to Stewart at A1 Records in East Village for being incredibly courteous and having such a fantastic shop! If you're ever in New York and want to spend a whole day digging for records, this is the place to go. I've hit up a few other places so far, but I'll recap on those when I return next week. If you need to contact me whilst I'm here, my e-mail address is on the sidebar.

Ride The Hardway

2008-04-25T02:08:00.004Z

Been a bit quiet on the blog front recently, but things have been fairly busy chez Carnage. Pick up this month's iDJ magazine and you'll find a piece that I've written on mad French jazzy techno popsters Noze and their forthcoming 'Songs On The Rocks' LP, and there's also a really insightful main feature on Andy Butler from Hercules & Love Affair done by my best before: compadre Sell By Dave. Check the poster below for details of our party featuring a DJ set from the man himself if you're around Bristol over the bank holiday weekend.

Also I've started doing a bit of writing for Resident Advisor - you can find links to the reviews I've done below:

EQD - Equalized #001 // Equalized

Badawi ft. Kode9 & Juakali - Den Of Drumz/Crows // ROIR

Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Le Crew Normand EP // Karat

I'm generally reviewing stuff that they've got on vinyl as it lightens my basket, as it were, so if you think that I might be interested in reviewing your release then send your black crack over to RA or you could even send it to me directly - the address is on the sidebar.

I've just done a short e-mail interview with 2562 concerning his forthcoming LP 'Aerial' (which is absolutely cracking, by the way) for next month's iDJ, so I'll post the transcript up here sometime soon.

On the audio front, here's a mix done by longtime friend of TAPE, Sean Johnston (aka Hardway Bros). He was charged with warming up for Weatherall at his 'Watch The Ride' mix launch down at new London venue East Village, and this is what he came up with. Quite excellent, I think you'll agree. He'll also be playing the warm up party for the new Pointless Edits 12" down at The Bank next Friday, so pop on down for muchos pint and pickled egg action. Plus some quality tuneage, of course!

The Fitzcarraldo Variations - Gamma Model // History Clock
Tiger Stripes - Black Beach (Original Mix) // Dialect Recordings
Rodion - Electric Soca (Cosmo Vitelli Remix) // Gomma
Sly Mongoose - Bad Pulse (Padded Cell Remix) // Mule Musiq
Quiet Village - Desperate Hours // Lo Recordings
Jay Shepheard - The Last Days (Of Cou Cou D) // Compost Black Label
Jaz - See Me On The Doll // 65
Ben Mono - Beatbox feat. Capitol A (Jacob London Remix) // Compost
Force Of Nature - Sequencer // Mule Musiq
John Daly - Do It // Wave Music
Hatchback - Jetlag (Faze Action Remix) // Thisisnotanexit Records
In Flagranti - Effective Placebo Affect // Speak Recordings
Hedford Vachal - Alan vs Gary // Tirk
Lullabies In The Dark - Code 7429 // Permanent Vacation
Williams - Love On A Real Train (Williams Odyssey Mix) // Love Triangle
Headman - Hostage // Gomma
Altz - Unknown (Mungolian Jetset Mix) // CD-R
Human League - The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (Ilya Santana Dub Mix) // Hooj Choons
Kano - It's A War - SS Uk Re-Edit // Full Time
Marcello Giordani - I'm Not Blade Runner // Mule Musiq
Solomun - Black Rose (Vinyl Version) // Sonar Kollektiv
Sascha Funke - Chemin Des Figons // Bpitch Control
Radio Slave - Tantakatan // Rekids
Riley Reinhold - Sunset Sound // MBF
Par Grindvik - Do Us Part (Len Faki Remix) // Drumcode

Download:
Sean Johnston - Live at East Village

Also, I'll be in NYC next month from the 7th to the 14th visiting friends and recording a DJ set for the guys at Viva Radio, so if you're putting on a party at a club or even back at your gaff and need someone to spin some tunes then give me a shout and I'll pack my bag accordingly. Enquiries about getting a gig have so far been fruitless, but it'd be nice to meet some new people and get some people dancing whilst I'm over. Record shop, party and general New York recommendations are also very welcome, though I'm already pretty certain that I'll be heading to Cielo for Francois K's Deep Space night on Monday, and 215 on Tuesday for Jacques Renault's night where Low Motion Disco will be spinning some tunes. Anyway, take care and I hope you all have a good weekend!

Two dates for your diary...

2008-04-17T00:04:00.000Z

Record Shop Solidarity

2008-04-16T19:04:00.005Z

This Saturday is National Record Store Day in the US, and here in Bristol Rooted Records is joining in the celebration. There will be FREE beer and chicken served instore from 2pm for purchases over £20. We believe it is right to celebrate the role that record stores play in the cultural life of local communities, especially here in Bristol, now that we have so few. As you know this blog is very fond of vinyl, so get out there and support the stores!

In the shop all afternoon will be King Tubby's Box (pictured above) from Downbeat Melody Soundsystem booming out some essential selections with sets from Peverelist, Puffin Jack & Steve Rice.

www.recordstoreday.com

www.rootedrecords.co.uk

In The Box - March

2008-04-04T03:21:00.011Z

Bit late on this, but better late than never as they say...

1) Mixworks – Persistence EP // Mixworks
Ridiculously good 12” from the previous unknown Mixworks outfit with three tracks of solid grooves and mindblowing melodies. ‘Berlin Dub’ is a boompty dub houser that's guaranteed to rock any floor to its foundations, whilst ‘Believer’ is a trippy minor chord skipper (those hats!) to get the heads wiggling in the early morning. It closes with ’50 Degrees’, a warehouse banger which reveals its heart melding melody two thirds of the way though without losing any of the jack. I know I’m a bit late on this one but I only just managed to find myself a copy – pick one up if you still can.

Listen:
Mixworks – Persistence EP // Mixworks

2) Peverelist – Infinity Is Now / Junktion // Tectonic
Once again, local boy Tom pisses all over the competition with two massive tracks for Pinch’s Tectonic label. The futurist stepping techno of ‘Infinity Is Now’ is one thing, but the bassline on ‘Junktion’ is some seriously heavy shit that has to be heard to be believed. Make sure to check out the trippy lock groove at the end.

Listen:
Peverelist – Infinity Is Now // Tectonic
Peverelist – Junktion // Tectonic

3) The Mole – As High As The Sky // Wagon Repair
I was expecting this to be good before I’d even heard it, but once I started listening I was absolutely blown away. From spooky techno groovers that make you bump in the night, through to jazzy house groovers in a Theo vein, it’s a great ride from start to finish and it’ll be getting a lot of play round my gaff this year.

4) Kode 9 vs Badawi – Den Of Drumz // Roir
Banger alert! The Kode 9 remix on this one is a pulsating ethnic pumpfest that will be staying in my box for a fair while, I reckon.

Listen:
Kode 9 vs Badawi – Den Of Drumz // Roir

5) Equalized – 001 // Equalized
It’s all about the B on this mysterious Hardwax affiliated 12”, marrying all that’s great about Detroit techno and Detroit house into one clinically produced whole. Flip over for an austere minimal house swinger that’s most definitely both minimal, and house.

Listen:
Equalized – 001 A // Equalized
Equalized – 001 B // Equalized

6) V/A – 4th Bouquet // Styrax Leaves
As ever with Styrax, the quality is high on this one with cuts from both Quantec and Leftover from the Statik camp taking up one side, and Dial boss Lawrence sharing the A with newcomer Haventepe. The latter has only had his stuff released on mp3 labels previous to this point, but if he’s going to keep churning out smooth synth swellers as good as ‘Air’, we’re in for a treat. I heard it played by Cle near the end of Sunday evening’s proceedings in Panorama and it was like having an aural bath. As is the usual with the decent Styrax stuff, this’ll probably turn up on Discogs in a few months at double the price, so I’d pick it up sooner rather than later if I was you.

Listen:
V/A – 4th Bouquet // Styrax Leaves

7) Noze – Songs On The Rocks LP // Get Physical
Noze go pop, in their own inimitable way. The result is a wildly adventurous and entertaining romp that encompasses skippily jaunty techno-pop, eerie cinematic epics, yearning Waitsian (Tom, that is) bar room rants, and much more over its nine song duration.

8) V/A – Computer Incarnations For World Peace II sampler // Sonar Kollektiv
Four great tracks on here, but my favourite is Project Sandro’s ‘Blazer’ - a laid back groover with beautifully intertwined synths and a hypnotically deep bassline.

Listen:
V/A – Computer Incarnations For World Peace II sampler // Sonar Kollektiv

9) Claro Intelecto – Rise // Modern Love
Also well worth checking is his latest full length ‘Metanarrative’, but this one sider is simple but devastatingly effective late night techno for when everything’s gone a bit too wrong...

Listen:
Claro Intelecto – Rise // Modern Love

10) Marlinspike – Bongo Rocka / Climate Control // Marlinspike
Skull Disco meets Blade Runner on ‘Bongo Rocka’, and Detroit synths float over the low key stepping vibes of ‘Climate Control’ (which you can hear on the Trackwerk mix below). I’ve already heard the next two twelves, and trust me – they’re as good as this one.

The weekend ahead...

2008-03-26T16:16:00.002Z

I'm off to Berlin this weekend for the first time, so this little roundup is going to encompass things that are going on in the holy trinity of cities that is Bristol, London, and Berlin. First things first, I've got to rep one of our Best Before parties with the UFO lads that's going on this Saturday at Timbuk2 in Bristol.

best before: & UFO
Back in the basement.
Saturday 29th March @ Timbuk2 (Small St, Bristol BS1)

After three years away, Bristol's original "anything goes" party returns to the city's favourite rave cellar for a very special event...

Room 1: Original Cellar Sound
Quality house, techno, nu-disco, Italo and Balearica

CHATEAU FLIGHT(Versatile/Innervisions)
LUKAS (Buoyancy/Players Paradise)
LEGENDARY TONE & SELL BY DAVE (best before:)

Room 2: Uncle P-Funk's Block Party
80s electro, electrofunk, P-funk, block party hip-hop

JOE HART (Bloc Weekender/Nuclear Winter)
POWERCUT & MR LINGO (Funk From The Trunk/Bloom Festival)
ANDY CLARKSON (Payback Hifi/Stereo Freeze)
THE KELLY TWINS(UFO/best before:)

It'll be Gilb'r doing a solo DJ set which I'm pretty gutted about missing, but I'm spoilt for choice this weekend in Berlin. I'm still undecided as to what I'm going to! There's three decent things on Friday - Brothers Vibe and Sascha Dive repping the Deep Vibes label over at Tape; a Dial label extravaganza at Panorama Bar with Lawrence, Pantha Du Prince and My My's Carsten Klemann (his collaboration with Carsten Jost still hasn't dropped yet - keep a look out over the coming weeks); but I'll more than likely be heading over to Weekend to watch the sun come up as Prins Thomas struts his stuff on the decks.

On Saturday it's all about the bigger clubs, with Watergate hosting live sets from Donnacha Costello and Cadenza's Pikaya, along with DJ sets from the latter and Carsten Klemann. If I can muster the strength, I'll be heading along to Panorama Bar on Sunday afternoon to check out sets from Larry Heard and Cassy. Does anyone have any idea when the afternoon sets start/go on til at all?

Not much of an idea what's happening in London this weekend, but the place that you should all be on Saturday night is Fabric. Not only are they hosting Villalobos in the main room, but the lineup for room 3 is pretty damn stellar. Patrice Scott makes a rare UK appearance (which, for my money makes the night worth going to on its own) alongside I-F and Clone's Serge, sealing what's sure to be an excellent evening of music.

Anyway, whatever you're up to this weekend, have a good one and take care!

Trackwerk Your Body

2008-03-24T18:58:00.004Z

First things first, big thanks to everyone who came out to TAPE last Friday. Bass Clef pulled a set of garage bangers and grime instrumentals out of the bag which decimated the floor, and then Peverelist wowed us with a brilliant set that went from deep pulsating narco-dubstep through to some jungle classics. He played a new Pinch track (may be a remix or an original... no idea sorry!) that's forthcoming on Immerse which sounded amazing, so keep on the look out for that. Also, props to Big Ting's Jay Le Surgeon for getting the dancefloor nice and toasty earlier on with some mixed up party vibes. Apologies to anyone that spoke to me near the end - I was so pissed by then that I can't even remember leaving the club!

Summer Summons was really good fun as well (thanks to Abbie and the crew for having me down), but I was rueing my decision to bring a fairly deep box about half an hour into my set. I managed to cobble together a decent selection of more pumping bits (though I never would've thought that I'd be able to get away with playing Robert Hood before midnight struck!), and got my strangest request ever - "Err... Do you have any Lil John?". At least he wasn't asking for Pendulum!

Our next TAPE party on May 16th is a pretty special one as far as we're concerned, and we're both incredibly excited about it. We've been wanting to get Philip Sherburne over for a set for a long time now, and we've finally got him confirmed for what I gather (correct me if I'm wrong, Phil!) is his first ever gig on English soil. Not only do we have the Sherburnator, but we've got a Modern Love double header courtesy of the Pendle Coven lads (pictured above). For their first ever Bristol appearance they're doing a live set for us, and we'll also be treated to a DJ set from Miles (otherwise known as MLZ). The bill is rounded off with a set from Nick Gutterbreakz under his Patchwerk Man moniker (check out his track 'Rooted' in the mix below), who'll be rocking out a pure techno set for your delectation. As usual things will be happening at the 200 capacity Native club on Small Street, so I'll make sure to let you know when we put the tickets on sale.

Finally, here's a mix that I did for the lovely chaps over at Trackwerk. Make sure you check out their site because they're regularly putting up quality mixes for download, including a few from our good pal Sean Johnston. Full tracklistings as well, for all you spotters out there!

Richard Carnage - Trackwerk mix
Pepe Bradock - Rhapsody In Pain (Bonus Beat) // Atavisme
Shackleton - Death Is Not Final // Skull Disco
Edit Select - Need For More // Edit Select
Young Seth - Moment // FXHE
Virgo - Ride // Trax
Patchwerk Man - Rooted // CD-R
Tim Wright ft. Toastie Taylor - Thirst (Luciano Dancehall Remix) // NovaMute
Johnny D - Gualia // Oslo
Cajmere ft. Dajaé - Brighter Days (Underground Goodies Mix) // Cajual
Soundstream - Motion // Soundstream
808 State - Flow Coma (AFX Remix) // Men
Steve “Silk” Hurley - Jack Your Body (Shep Pettibone Mix) // BCM
Neal Howard - The Gathering (Joey Negro Edit) // Back In The Box
E.R.P. - Vox Automaton // Frustrated Funk
D1 - I’m Loving // Tempa
Martyn - Broken // Revolve:r
Marlinspike - Climate Control // Marlinspike
Smith & Mighty - B-line Fi Blow // Studio !K7
Moderat ft. Paul St Hillaire - Let Your Love Grow // Bpitch Control
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (Ashley Beedle Edit) // White

Download:
Richard Carnage - Trackwerk mix

This week...

2008-03-17T13:47:00.004Z

Like many in Bristol, we have not been immune to dubstep's charms over the last few years, and we thought it was about time we turned our attention to all things bass. We are proud to bring you 'dubstep-not-dubstep', a night dedicated to the further reaches of the genre and its crossover points with other leftfield music forms.

We are extremely happy to announce that the mighty Bass Clef will be in attendance. Known throughout the land for his fantastic live sets we thought it was about time Ralph got a chance to show of his DJ skills. Anyone who remembers Ralph's Big Ting residency from a few years ago will know how joyous his sets can be, switching from doo-wop to dubstep to disco and with lots of digi dub thrown in for good measure. With a keen eye for the dancefloor and one of the best record collections I have ever seen, we are in for a treat!

Also joining us and one of our favourite producers, the rising star that is Peverelist (or Tom as most of us know him). We have asked him to play a freestyle set of whatever he likes and to not feel constrained by playing purely dubstep. Should be interesting...

Rounding off the line up is Jay Le Surgeon; UK hip hop pioneer, Imperial Music stalwart and Big Ting operative. After 7 years at Cosies, Big Ting is taking a bit of a breather, and to see her off to cold storage Jay will be joining us with a special Big Ting style set.

Bringing up the rear will be yours truly, and my partner in crime Puffin Jack. Hope to see you there!

The following day I'll be throwing down more of a housey vibe at Summer Summons, which takes place at the hub of Bristol's late night activity, Dojo. I'm on from 11-12:30, so pop down if you can drag yourself out of the house after Friday's shenanigans at Native.

best before: @ The Bank - TONIGHT!

2008-03-07T13:40:00.002Z

MixTAPE: Late Night Jams

2008-03-06T13:09:00.003Z

Bit late posting this up, but I did a mix for the lovely chaps over at ISM a week or so back which you may find of interest. It starts off incredibly deep and dubby and works its way up to some raunchy house bits near the end.

Here's the link for the tracklisting and download:
Richard Carnage - Late Night Jams

MixTAPE #2: Tony Lionni (Mule / Versatile / Wavetec)

2008-03-06T13:00:00.002Z

After all that debacle with Tony's last mix, I'm glad to present the second one that he's kindly done for us. The link's below, so download away and vibe out to his superb bumpin' selection. His releases on Versatile and Mule Electronic are both out now, and are available from the usual outlets. 'Raices' from the Mule EP features on the latest Viva show that you can check out below.

Download:
Tony Lionni - 'Strictly Strictly Rhythm' mix

Radio Resurgence

2008-03-04T01:00:00.000Z

I've been on a bit of a hiatus with the shows on Viva over the past couple of months, but I'm back with a selection of smooth late night grooves to get your ears around. Listen out for new cuts from Kalabrese, Move D, Still Going, and Tony Lionni amongst others. This'll be playing live at www.viva-radio.com until 3am GMT when it should be archived at the link below.

TAPE Radio - Show #34: 'Smooth Grooves'
Move D - Crashed Jazz // Uzuri
A Made Up Sound - Sunday // Philpot
Dubbyman - Messages From The Dub (Mike Huckaby Remix) // Deep Explorer
Rick Wilhite - Ruby Nights (Gilb'r Solo Flight Remix) // Third Ear
The Tape vs. RQM - Luvely (Kalabrese Remix) // Mouthwatering
2 AM/FM - Motherfuckers Don't Know // Spectral Sound
Force Of Nature - Transmute (Still Going Remix) // Mule Musiq
Edit Select - Need For More // Edit Select
Tony Lionni - Raices // Mule Electronic
$tinkworx - Mudpump // VEXT
Don Disco & Jeremiah - The Whistle Song // Running Back
DJ Bone - Change // Subject Detroit
D1 - I'm Loving // Tempa
Pepe Bradock - 4 // Atavisme
Holger Czukay - Persian Love // EMI
!!! - Dear Can (Maurice Fulton Vocal Mix) // Warp
Suzy Q - Get On Up And Do It Again // Atlantic
Shock - R.E.R.B // Sidewalk
Debbie Jacobs - High On Your Love // MCA

Listen:
TAPE Radio - Show #34: 'Smooth Grooves'

Slave To The Rhythm

2008-02-27T21:22:00.004Z

I've just had to remove the mix that Tony Lionni kindly did for us due to a request from the Strictly Rhythm label concerning the appearance of one of their tracks on his mix. While I have honoured their decision, I have to say that in my eyes their pseudo-ideological approach to the clamping down of any online mixes that contain any of their releases is a little heavy handed. Here's the correspondence:

From: xxx@strictly.com
To: TAPE
Subject: Strictly Rhythm Content
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:06:42 -0600

Hello from Strictly Rhythm,

We've come across your listing of Osunlade "My Reflection" at http://allsexistape.blogspot.com/2008/02/mixtape-tony-lionni-mule-versatile.html

We appreciate your enthusiasm for our music. But we have to ask that you remove this link as well as any of our content that you have uploaded to server sites and request that you not do this again. We do not permit our music to be used in this way, and besides, it's actually illegal
for someone to post or share our music without our permission.

If you would like to help us promote our music by directing your friends to our web site (www.strictly.com) or to the many legal download sites (like Beatport, Traxsource, iTunes, DJ Download, etc) where they are able to listen to clips and purchase our music, we would welcome your help.

We appreciate that people like the music we put out but if we can't sell it we can't pay our artists and producers. And if we can't pay them eventually there won't be any more new music.
Regards,
Jimmy R. Smith
Strictly Rhythm-USA

On Feb 26, 2008, at 7:58 PM, TAPE wrote:

Hey there Jimmy,
The mix is done by an artist that's happy to promote this record for you, it's mixed, and the mp3 is at 160 kpbs. I do hope that this is an automated message as if you'll look at our site, you'll see that we don't host unauthorised single tracks and try and promote people to actually buy music, and preferably keep the dance vinyl market alive.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Rich

From: xxx@strictly.com
To: TAPE
Subject: Re: Strictly Rhythm Content
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:57:59 -0600

Rich,

We don't allow our music to be used IN ANY FORM without our permission, PARTICULARLY if someone takes it upon themselves to give it away. 160kpbs is higher quality than iTunes sells. I don't understand how you can possibly think that this helps us.

Please remove all Strictly content immediately.

Jimmy

So there you go... I honestly don't think that someone will go to the effort to rip a partial track at 160kpbs when if they really wanted to steal it they could probably hop on to one of the many illegal firesharing networks and procure a full high quality version. Tracks on mixes are the perfect way for a label to get their records heard, endorsed, and promoted, and it makes absolutely no sense for labels to censor these if they're actually increasing their vinyl and download sales. The only way that it may have a negative impact on sales in the long run is if a large proportion of their market were 'casual buyers' who, if they had the track on a mix like this one, would not bother to buy it and would've done if they hadn't heard the mix. I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty sure that the size of this 'casual buyer' market is pretty fucking tiny as far as independent dance music goes, and any damage will be more than offset by positive effects on sales through increased exposure.

Well... I won't be putting any Strictly Rhythm tracks on my mixes any time soon! Also, we'll have a new mix from Tony Lionni up for you next week.

In The Box - February

2008-02-27T00:36:00.007Z

1) DJ Jus-Ed vs Anton Zapp - Real House Music... // Underground Quality
Easily one of my favourite 12"s this year so far, and it comes from Jus Ed's Underground Quality label. Four deep, dubby, and funky house cuts that never lose the groove or your attention. Honestly, I can't pick a favourite out of any of these. As Hardwax would say... TIP!

Listen:
DJ Jus-Ed vs Anton Zapp - Real House Music... // Underground Quality

2) Shackleton - Death Is Not Final // Skull Disco
Interesting one, this. Not only has Shackleton put his tribal wonk at a house tempo, but Torsten Profrock's remix on the flipside is the most resolutely 'dubstep' track that he's ever done. Both sides are choice cuts, and the artwork for this one is something pretty special as well.

Listen:
Shackleton - Death Is Not Final // Skull Disco
Shackleton - Death Is Not Final (T++ Remix) // Skull Disco

3) Arto Mwambe - Hum Along EP // Brontosaurus
Arto Mwambe's 'Mudhutma!' 12" was a favourite of mine and Puffin's last year, and his follow up effort doesn't disappoint. 'Hum Along' chirps along to a heavy boompty beat whilst Move D lays some sultry chords and generally makes things a lot more slinky on his remix. Things go back to boomptiness with 'Greatest Love', but this time married to a plinky melodic synth line.

Listen:
Arto Mwambe - Hum Along EP // Brontosaurus

4) Luke Hess - Believe & Receive // Kontra-Musik
Simple but devastating late night techno from Mr Hess (who's also recently collaborated with FXHE's Omar S). Clinically crisp production, killer bassline... all you can ask for, really! Shed strips the percussion right back on his 'deepanddubbydub' and just rides the acidic bassline whilst modulating everything to absolute buggery. Add a wooshing snare, some grinding subbass action and dubbed out stabs and voila! One incredibly solid remix, but the original just pips things for me.

Listen:
Luke Hess - Believe & Receive // Kontra-Musik

Luke Hess - Believe & Receive (Shedsdeepanddubbydub Remix) // Kontra-Musik

5) Kerri Chandler - Atmosphere E.P. // Shelter
This rare KC gem from '93 has finally been repressed, so I'd snag yourself a copy before they all disappear. Vintage bumpin' old school instrumental house jams that'll get the ladies wiggling the early hours away.

Listen:
Kerri Chandler - Atmosphere E.P. // Shelter

6) MLZ - Crossed Swords (Alice Loop) // Modern Love
My favourite of the three MLZ tracks that've come so far, 'Crossed Swords' possesses a subdued yet surging synth loop that remains constant while the perfectly placed percussion rises and rises before the strings emerge and it all goes a bit '2008: A Techno Odyssey'. MLZ is actually Miles Whittaker of Modern Love stalwarts Pendle Coven, and he'll be DJing at our May TAPE which may be worth taking a trip down here to come to. The full line-up's over to the right and I'm currently working on some sort of afterhours shenanigans so check back for further developments.

Listen:
MLZ - Crossed Swords (Alice Loop) // Modern Love

7) Mock & Toof - Woof // M&T Inc.
Ultra wonky stripped back minimal disco cut that'll find favour with plenty of techno jocks out there. It's great to see the M&T lads experimenting with a more straight up house style (similar in ways to 'Tomcat' from the Black Jub 12"), though disco beards will be satiated with 'Big Hands For A Lady' on the A-side. It seems apparent that a lot more attention to detail has been given to these two cuts (just listen to the constantly chopping and changing percussion on the A), and for me it's the best thing they've laid their name to so far. Essential stuff.

Listen:
Mock & Toof - Woof // M&T Inc.
Mock & Toof - Big Hands For A Lady // M&T Inc.

8) The Hasbeens - Keep Fooling Yourself // Clone
Hastily purchased for the inclusion of the ultra-limited 'Make The World Go Away', Alden Tyrell and DJ Overdose's collaboration bears yet more golden retro-italo exclursions to get your teeth into. If you can get away with playing the aforementioned ode to suicide that is 'Make The World...' out, I salute you!

Listen:
The Hasbeens - Keep Fooling Yourself EP // Clone

9) October - Tape // Caravan
He may be our good friend, and also have named this track after our night, but trust me when I tell you that this one's a dancefloor stormer of epic proportions. Jules' analogue synth obsession is in full display here as he lets loose a maximalist assault on the senses, but it's the little flourishes that really make it so great. From the the shuffling beat and bassline emerging together with a breathtaking swing to what I imagine is the sample of a run out groove, everything just sounds perfect as it unwinds on its own micro journey. I've heard this out quite a bit since being first handed it at one of our Mutant Pop parties, and I don't think that it's ever gone down badly. Drop this, and just stand back and watch as it lights up the room.

Listen:
October - Tape // Caravan

10) Martyn - Velvet/Twenty Four // 3024
Warm, melodic 4/4 influenced dubstep business from Dutchman Martyn Deykers, who's really on top of his game at the moment.

Listen:
Martyn - Velvet // 3024
Martyn - Twenty Four // 3024

MixTAPE: Tony Lionni (Mule / Versatile / Wavetec)

2008-02-26T12:17:00.001Z

You might remember me mentioning Tony's 'Better Change' EP a couple of weeks back (due out on Mule Electronic in March), and he's got a couple of other bits coming soon on Gilb'r's Versatile Records, and Francois K's Wavetec offshoot. Not bad for his first three solo releases, eh? Anyway, here's that mix that he promised us - the second instalment should be posted up later this week.

1) Tony Lionni - Feel Me (Unreleased Demo) // CD-R
2) Osunlade ft. Divine Essence - My Reflection (Deetron Mix) // Strictly Rhythm
3) Kings Of Groove - Cubalibre // Kings Of Groove
4) Prosumer and Murat Tepeli - Turn Around // Ostgut Ton
5) Jimpster - Dangly Panther // Freerange
6) Nick Holder - Flying Around // CD-R
7) I:Cube - Prophetization // Versatile
8) Sid Le Rock - Naked (DJ Koze Remix) // Cereal/Killers

Download:
MixTAPE - Tony Lionni (Part 1) - DELETED DUE TO REQUEST FROM STRICTLY RHYTHM

TAPE in March

2008-02-26T10:54:00.000Z

Oi Oi London, This Is Bristol!

2008-02-22T13:33:00.002Z

A couple of weeks back there was a comment expressing an interest in the seemingly London only dubstep scene. I was quick to retort that I'd consider our fair city of Bristol to be the UK's second city of dubstep - I'd even go as far as saying that our boys are putting out material of a much higher quality than what's coming out of the capital at the moment. There's an incredibly strong scene here in Bristol with new producers popping up all over the place and a string of quality nights that will have your ears ringing into next week.

Our very own Mr Soft has rounded up some of the city's recent offerings over at his monthly 'The Contemporary Fix' column, so head over there now and get reading, innit.

Link:
http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/71591

To force my point home, here's a mix from Punch Drunk's Forsaken that showcases the raw talent that's coming out of our fair city at the moment. Really been enjoying this selection of late, and I'm sure a lot of you guys will as well.

1) Intro
2) Gemmy - Back 2 the Future // Unreleased
3) Koast - Koast is Clear // Unreleased
4) Joker - Retro Racer // Unreleased
5) Komonazmuk & Whiteboi - Shankstep // Mode
6) Headhunter - Sushi Brain // Tempa
7) Joker - Snake Eater // Unreleased
8) Diem - Sitar Dub // Immerse
9) Gatekeeper & Appleblim - Tomb // Skull Disco
10) Headhunter - New Dawn // Unreleased
11) Forsaken - Sensei // Unreleased
12) Pinch - Qawaali // Planet Mu
13) Gatekeeper - Tense Past // Punch Drunk
14) Wascal - Protocol V2 // Unreleased
15) RSD - Pretty Bright Lights // Punch Drunk
16) Monkeysteak - Lighthouse Dub // Punch Drunk
17) Forsaken feat. Ben Blackmore - Sagrada // Unreleased
18) Peverelist - Roll With The Punches // Punch Drunk
19) Peverelist - Infinity is Now // Tectonic
20) Forsaken feat. Ben Blackmore - Calles Traseras // Unreleased
21) Appleblim & Peverelist - Circling // Skull Disco
22) Forsaken - Boat Noodles // Punch Drunk

Download:
Forsaken - Make No Mistake Vol. 1

If you're in the city this weekend then you could do a lot worse than heading down to our good friend Andy Basic's Byte night tonight (Friday) at Native on Small Street. Zed Bias will be rocking the place with his new found eclectic vibes, Sunship will be getting those ovaries fizzing with an old school UKG set, and the aforementioned Forsaken (who counts himself as one of the Byte residents) will be doing both the first and last sets of the night. It all goes to prove, if you want bass in your face, Bristol's the place!

In The Box - January

2008-01-31T21:20:00.000Z

Been very busy over the last couple of weeks so apologies for the lack of updates. TAPE went off with a bang a couple of weekends back - the club was packed out by 12:30 and we had great sets from all involved. The Kelly Twins busted out a proper old school electro selection that worked the dancefloor up early on, while Mark E traversed from loopy disco to pumping acidic house and back with ease. There were loads of fresh edits and tracks that were unknown to my ears, but their obscurity didn't make his set any less enjoyable. Nightmoves' Matt Waites (pictured above - cheers to Tulane Blyth for the photo) took Mark's disco baton and ran with it, peppering his slick selection with a few bangers and spaced out jams. In particular Part 1 of 45:33 sounded excellent at around 3am, and he finished with a classic anthem yet again (Prince's 'Controversy' this time around!).

Cheers Matt, Mark, and everyone who came down and made it such a wicked night, and we'll be back in on Friday 21st March with Bass Clef (Blank Tapes) and Peverelist (Punch Drunk). They'll both be rocking more varied sets than their usual dubsteppin' fare, so we hope to see some of you down for that one!

Anyway, it's reaching the end of the month so it's time to pull out another list of stuff that have been keeping me from jumping off the suspension bridge this January.

In the Box - January '08

1) Bjorn Torske - Feil Knapp LP // Smalltown Supersound
Words can't describe just how brilliant this album from Norse elder statesman Bjorn Torske is. Jumping from chuggy electronic disco, 8-bit dub reggae, smooth house grooves and sparse tribal techno with aplomb, Bjorn's whipped up a journey that'll warm the cockles of many a music lover once they expose themselves to its multi-faceted charms. Sublime stuff.

Listen:
Bjorn Torske - Feil Knapp LP // Smalltown Supersound

2) Omar S - Psychotic Photosynthesis // FXHE
I first heard this on the mix that ISM's Pipecock did for us (which is absolutely cracking by the way - scroll down to get your fill) and was entranced by its delicate see-sawing melody and hypnotic groove. I'm sure that I'm one of many that are looking forward to see what Mr Smith has up his sleeve for later in the year after this quality slab of wax.

Listen:
Omar S - Psychotic Photosynthesis // FXHE

3) Prosumer & Murat Tepeli - Serenity LP // Ostgut Ton
I'm sure that you've been told how good this album is quite a bit already, but it really is a great body of work. Sure, the production is clinical and there's some fantastic grooves all the way through, but what really shines out is the quality of the songs and the flow of the album. Both Elif Bicer and Prosumer's vocals are slick and emotive in all the right places, and it's clear that they've taken a lot of time over the track arrangements even though they seem so simplistic on first listens. Buy the double LP for playing out, but don't turn your nose up at the CD version as that's definitely the most satisfying way to enjoy this cracking collection of tracks. It's a shame that they didn't stick with the original cover (pictured above), to be honest.

Listen:
Prosumer & Murat Tepeli - Serenity LP // Ostgut Ton

4) D1 - I'm Loving // Tempa
I was round Puffin's gaff when he pulled out the new Tempa 12, and was pleasantly surprised to hear this upbeat soulful cut from D1 oozing sexually from the speakers. Based around a sample of Ron Hall & The MuthaFunkaz cut 'The Way You Love Me' (never heard of it - not surprising seeing as it originally came out on Defected), 'I'm Loving' is packed with swelling melodies, perfect percussion, and great hooks. Balearic dubstep, anyone? Anyway, this is sure to be a big summer anthem with more open minded DJs, and to be honest I could see it becoming a big radio hit if it's picked up on by a major and re-released in a few months time. 'Instep' on the flip is a little bit wobbly-skank by numbers for my liking, but 'Speed' fares much better with its distorting clinks and hauntingly bouncy bass. The synth stabs sound a little unrefined, but that's a minor quibble. Tip.

Listen:
D1 - I'm Loving EP // Tempa

5) Mark E & Dragon - Good Times // Internajonal
Mark kindly sorted us a copy of his forthcoming release on Prins Thomas' Internajonal imprint, and it's an absolute beauty - think Ibizan sunsets on a heroin drip, and you're nearly there. Sparse heavy kicks and bubbling synths make way for a killer bassline, before the gorgeously woozy melody takes over and blisses things right out. Bonus points for Dragon's vocal lifted straight from Chic's anthem of the same name. Prins gives the track a more percussive arrangement that should work well in warm up sets, and I think you know exactly what Quiet Village are going to bring to the table. Upping the horse factor by ten, this is slo-mo hypno-house at its finest. Verdict? Well balearic.

6) Freund Der Familie - Konig Der Welt // Freund Der Familie
According the Discogs, the original on this record is from back in '98, which seems surprising since it sounds incredibly relevant to the recent melding of dubstep and techno ideals. 'Konig Der Welt' is a heavily tonal steppin' dub techno track with light percussion and the occasional bass purge, and is sure to find a happy home in the collections of Basic Channel and Modern Love fans. On the flipside, Sven Weisemann contributes a remix that's similar both in style and quality to his recent works on Mojuba and Meanwhile. Get it before you've got to pay about £40 to get hold of one.

Listen:
Freund Der Familie - Konig Der Welt // Freund Der Familie
Freund Der Familie - Konig Der Welt (Sven's dWorld Mix) // Freund Der Familie

7) Tony Lionni - Better Change // Mule Electronic
Solid three tracker from Madrid based Liverpudlian Lionni who looks set for big things in '08. He's got forthcoming bits on Versatile and Wavetec (which I've unfortunately not heard yet) as well as this EP that's coming out on Mule in March. A-side 'Better Change' is a gorgeous dubby piano houser that unfolds slowly across its ten minute duration, while the b-sides explore Tony's techier side. Eerie synths swell and surge away on 'The Presence', while 'Raices' takes Basic Channel-esque stabs and marries them to a crisp bouncing bassline. Tony should be sorting us out with a mix sometime soon, so keep checking back for that.

Listen here:
Mule Electronic myspace

8) Don Williams - Detroit Red EP // a.r.t.less
Simple but effective is the vibe on this, Williams' second outing on his own Mojuba sublabel. 'Beyond The Means' is a pumping techno cut with a rousing/annoying (delete as applicable) vocal paen to ol' Motor City, while 'Exhibition' takes a more emotive, chordal direction with irresistably sharp bouncing percussion.

Listen:
Don Williams - Beyond The Means // a.r.t.less
Don Williams - Exhibition // a.r.t.less

9) Lee Jones - Aria (Original & Tiger Stripes Remix) // Aus
My My's Lee Jones returns to Will Saul's Aus imprint with a stonking melodic minimal houser. The groove is stripped back but packed with all the percussive intricacies that we've come to expect from Jones, while the chiming melody resonates its way into your brain for days on end. Tiger Stripes keeps the melody intact but gives things a more pumping tech-house spin for more peak time sets, and while it is good in its own stabbily chugging way, it's Lee's more subtle original that comes out on top.

10) Columbia #1 - Columbia #1 // Dissident
The highly annoying Dissident records (limited quantities of substandard singles does not a good record label make) depart from their disco excursions with this slice of throbbing dark techno that apparently comes from a mysterious British producer who wishes to remain anonymous. A female voiced space-age computer intones emotionally devoid commands over a relentlessly charging bass synth and a seriously heavy kick as queasy sharp melodies swoop over the metallic groove. 200 copies as usual, so don't sleep on this one if you like your techno to be as dark as your pint of Guinness.

Listen:
Colombia #1 - Colombia #1 // Dissident

So there you go! I'm going to do a roundup of ten 12"s every month (should make doing the 100 a lot more manageable this time around!), so if you want to send me any promos for inclusion then hook me up here. Until next time...

TONIGHT!

2008-01-18T02:50:00.000Z

TAPE
Friday 18th January
Native, Small Street, Bristol
10 til 4 // £6

with special guests:
NIGHTMOVES (Matt Waites DJ Set)
MARK E (Full Pupp / Jiscomusic)

and support from:
The Kelly Twins (UFO)
Puffin Jack & Richard Carnage (TAPE)

Been looking forward to this bad boy for ages, and the time is finally nigh. Expect deep dubby discoid stylings from Birmingham's favourite beard, Mark E, and a typically wildstyling, party jackin' set from Nightmoves' Matt Waites. Hope to see some of you down there! Here are some mix links to get you warmed up...

Download:
Mark E - Cool In The Pool mix
Mark E - Beats In Space mix
Mark E - Warm mix

Nightmoves - Beats In Space mix
Nightmoves - July '06 TAPE mix

Check out Beats In Space and Cool In The Pool, and Mark's City Rhythm page for loads of other decent mixage.

Rewind!

2008-01-11T17:50:00.000Z

I've had a couple of requests to reupload Sell By Dave's 'Christmas At Merkin Manor' mix, so here's the new link.

Download:
Sell By Dave - Christmas At Merkin Manor

The full tracklisting can be found here. Have a good weekend!

Competition: Fabric this Saturday

2008-01-10T14:19:00.000Z

The lovely people at Fabric have offered up two tickets for this Saturday's party featuring a rare live appearance from Random Factor (pictured above) and a main room set from Wagon Repair's prince of darkness, Konrad Black. Here's the full line-up:

Room One:
Craig Richards
Konrad Black
Matt Tolfrey

Room Two (Wiggle):
Terry Francis
Nathan Coles
Eddie Richards
Pure Science (Live)

Room Three (20:20 Recordings):
Ralph Lawson
Burnski
Random Factor (Live)
Bonar Bradberry

I'll need all entries in by 11am tomorrow morning (Friday), so I'll make this fairly easy:

Carl Finlow produces under the Random Factor moniker, but can you name me the two other pseudonyms that he releases under?

Send all entries to richardcarnes@hotmail.co.uk, and the winner will be picked at random and notified by e-mail by noon tomorrow.

The latest Fabric mix in the series is #38 from the MANDY boys, and I have to say that I found it a bit of a disappointment after the splurge of quality mixes that they put out at the tail end of last year. It starts off really nicely with a cut from Yello's Solid Pleasure LP before leading into subtle minimal house cuts from Guillaume & The Couto Dumonts and Crowdpleaser's mix of Quarion, but once it gets to Booka Shade's 'City Tales', things take a dip into filler territory. It picks back up again with a trio of tracks from Robag Wruhme, Claude Vonstroke and Djinxx & Xpansul, but then retreats back into tedium that only Sebo K and Sideshow manage to break up. I'm sure that the acolytes of the current wave of minimal house will lap this up, but unfortunately I just wasn't engaged enough by their selections and programming. Things will almost certainly take a better turn for the series in March with an upcoming mix from minimal legend Robert Hood, so make sure you look out for that one in a couple of months time.

Guest MixTAPE: Tom Cox (a.k.a. Pipecock)

2008-01-08T15:22:00.000Z

Hopefully all you guys had a good Christmas and NYE, and maybe spent some of your moolah on some of the things you may have missed from our top 100 12"s. We're finally back from our holidays to present you with a specially commissioned mix from Pittsburgh resident Tom Cox. Known as the outspoken but always entertaining 'Pipecock' to people who trawl the forums, he caught my eye as someone who has a lot in common musically with us lot over here at TAPE. Sometimes we can be slightly Euro-centric in these pages (hell, we do live here!), so I asked Tom to do us a guest mix consisting of US only jams, and thankfully he obliged! Here's Tom with the blurb:

"This mix was a little more difficult than usual for me. Usually I mix by mood first and foremost, regardless of genre, year, or BPM. For this mix, showcasing house and techno artists from the US was the goal, so I had to make some decisions. After trying a couple different concepts, I ended up going with a mixup of some of the best of the past year as well as a couple other favorites from previous years that I had been wanting to throw in a mix but never quite fit in.

Things start off on the Chicago tip, defining house music with Larry Heard and then moving on to Malik Pittman's 808 rhythm trax. Then I went a bit spacey with the crazy remix of Kelly Polar (who hails from somewhere in New England), an obscure cut featuring the insanely overlooked Walt J. (of Detroit's Dow Records fame), and Omar-S' newest banger. Then the soul really kicked in with cuts by Atlanta's Kai Alce, North Carolina's $tinkworx, and Detroit house legends Andrés, Delano Smith, and Lawrence Hall. A nasty edit of a Ronnie Laws cut by Detroit expatriate Recloose signalled the move into the deepest territory. Cleveland resident Warren Harris (aka Hanna) beats the hell out of his drum machine's swing function, while Kevin Reynolds and Still Going combine electronics and live sounds in a smooth mix. Mr. Kenny Dixon, Jr. ends it with his ridiculously loopy edit of a Mario Winans cut, one of my personal favorite joints to drop at the end of the night.

This is how my man Jwan Allen and I do things at our biweekly Night Moods, deep and emotional house and techno (mixed with lots of other stuff, of course!), so i named it "412 Deep". Hope all you TAPE-aholics enjoy it! Thanks to Richard and all TAPE crew, peace my brothers."

1) Loosefingers - What Is House? // Alleviated
2) Malik Pittman - Chicago Nights // Unirhythm
3) Kelley Polar - Rosenband (Magic Tim's Instrumental Version) // Environ
4) Walt & Dave - Nuponty // Vigilante
5) Mike Huckaby - Wavetable No. 9 // SYNTH
6) Omar-S - Psychotic Photosynthesis // FXHE
7) Kai Alcé - Broken Headlights // Real Soon
8) Smith-Hall - Power In Unity // Mixmode
9) $tinkworx - No Luv // Delsin
10) Andrés - C2 // KDJ
11) Chow Daddy - Never Fade // Moxie
12) Warren Harris - Metropolitan // Sound Signature
13) Patrice Scott - Raw Fusion // Sistrum
14) Kevin Reynolds - Anonymous Room At The Corridor Of Last Night // Todhchai
15) Still Going - Still Going Theme // DFA
16) Kenny Dixon Jr. - Should've Known // Private Collection

Download:
Tom Cox - '412 Deep' Mixxx

Nice. A few of my favourites (Loosefingers, Mike Huckaby, Patrice Scott...), and quite a few that I haven't picked up on before. Discogs here I come! If you fancy a bit more of Tom's mixage and ramblings, then you should check out him and his pals' infinitestatemachine blog. There's loads of good stuff over there, so what are you waiting for?

Top 100 12"s of 2007

2007-12-31T06:00:00.000Z

So there it went. 2007's nearly gone, and I've finally finished this bloody list. Samples can be found below the descriptions, and please support the artists and buy the records! Here are some links to help you out:

Boomkat // Piccadilly Records // Phonica // Rooted // Discogs

If anyone wants to send us some promo material (preferably vinyl!) for review/chart inclusion on TAPE then drop me a line here, as from mid January we're hoping to put out a fortnightly two hour radio show to showcase records that we love, both new and old.

Anyway without further ado, here is 2007's TAPE 100...

100) Shonky - Olympia EP // Freak'n'Chic
Three tracks of heads down bleepy techno from the wonky Frenchman. 'Horizontal Moon' is the pick of the bunch - check those crazy synths!

Samples:
Shonky - Olympia EP // Freak'n'Chic

99) Buraka Som Sistema - Yah! // Modular
Bumping bass, wonky synths, and an urgent female rap are the simple ingredients to this lo-fi afro-techno call to the dancefloor. If this doesn't get the ladies going at peak time, just give up! The B1 isn't much cop, but B2 'Coozi O Mambo' is another cracker with its deep chords providing the foil for a frenetic machine gun bassline that'll get those booties wiggling.

Samples:
Buraka Som Sistema - Yah! // Modular
Buraka Som Sistema - Coozi O Mambo // Modular

98) Thumbs Aloft - Bedmo Disco Volume 1 // Pointless Edits
Yes, this does come from some of our Best Before: cohorts, but all three tracks have been mini-anthems down at The Bank where we do our more disco-centric parties. 'Stick Around' is an extended edit of Macca's 'Coming Up' which does justice to the song unlike Linus Loves' abhorrent version, while b-sides 'TK Max' (funked up dub disco) and 'Pedalo Disco' (err.. remember the England vs. West Indies cricket music?) round things off extremely nicely. The forthcoming EP is even better, so look out for that early in '08.

Samples:
Thumbs Aloft - Bedmo Disco Volume 1 // Pointless Edits

97) Szenario - Exszenaration EP // Leftroom
Raudive saves his best production of the year for Matt Tolfrey's Leftroom label, a pulsing bass throbber that pops and clicks over a mad stretched out chant that makes it sound more like a moan, in fitting with Ho's moniker.

Sample:
Szenario - Pleaseasy (Raudive Remix) // Leftroom

96) Lovebirds - Modern Stalking EP // Winding Road
4 tracks of lazily deep disco-house, my favourites being the Metro Area-ish 'Can't Get Along' and the looped up deep disco of 'Behind You'. Fans of Theo Parrish and Moodymann should check the latter, especially.

Samples:
Lovebirds - Modern Stalking EP // Winding Road

95) Onur Ozer - Red Cabaret EP // Vakant
Solid EP here - three tracks of paranoia inducing minimal techno, my favourite being 'Allegro Energetico' with its looped sax and whip-cracking snares.

Samples:
Onur Ozer - Red Cabaret EP // Vakant

94) Samuel L Session - Remixes Pt 01 // Klap Klap
Two remixes each of two of his tracks from last year's 'Easy Walker' 12", and all of them are excellent. Choice picks are the second remixes of both tracks, the chugging reductionist house of 'Smokestack', and the loopily boompty 'The Stick Up'.

Samples:
Samuel L Session - Remixes Pt 01 // Klap Klap

93) Battles - Atlas (Original & DJ Koze Mixes) // Warp
Puffin didn't really like this remix from DJ Koze at all, but I really dug its soulful techno lullaby vibe. The original's undeniably one of the highlights of their 'Mirrored' LP and takes math-rock to the dancefloor in style.

Samples:
Battles - Atlas // Warp
Battles - Atlas (DJ Koze Remix) // Warp

92) Beard Science - Razor Sharp Edits #1 // Beard Science
Solid edits 12" from the mysterious men with the best facial hair in town. Personal favourites of mine are T. Tauri's dreamy kraut-disco on 'Ark Raiders' and the of Oswego's string-led vocal pumper 'Martian Mirrorball'.

Samples:
Beard Science - Razor Sharp Edits #1 // Beard Science

91) Vincent Markowski - The Madness Of Moths / False Flag // DC
Something a little bit different for DC here, two hard hitting electro-disco cuts for both the heads and the nu-ravers. Both sides are bona fide belters, 'The Madness Of Moths' on a Syclops tip, and 'False Flags' with its low slung slow-house vibe.

Samples:
Vincent Markowski - The Madness Of Moths // DC
Vincent Markowski - False Flag // DC

90) Jichael Mackson - ...Wasn't Me // Musique Risquee
Mackson flips dub techno on its head with the Chris Isaak sampling 'The Grass Is Always Greener', and the inclusion of his remix of Pastamusik from 2003 will please DJs of a wonkier persuasion.

Samples:
Jichael Mackson - ...Wasn't Me EP // Musique Risquee

89) Unknown Artist - Ugandan Speed Trials // Downwards
Fuck knows who's behind this, but this is incredible. Two tracks of swinging hard techno with impeccably clinical production. If you're a fan of T++ and that sort of reduced Hardwax gear you should definitely pick this up.

Unknown Artist - Ugandan Speed Trials #1 // Downwards
Unknown Artist - Ugandan Speed Trials #2 // Downwards

88) Claude VonStroke - Who's Afraid Of Detriot (Deepchord & Soultek Mixes) // Echospace
If there was one track that didn't need any more remixes, it'd be 'Who's Afraid Of Detroit'. Thankfully, Deepchord strip things back to their usual breathy throb, and Soultek jacks it up for the floor with spacey chords, bleeps aplenty, and a punishing bassline.

Samples:
Claude VonStroke - Who's Afraid Of Detriot (Deepchord Remix) // Echospace
Claude VonStroke - Who's Afraid Of Detriot (Soultek's Suckaz Running Scared Mix) // Echospace

87) Pepe Bradock - Rhapsody in Pain // Atavisme
The craziness of the original may have scared a few people off (actually, it might just have been the screaming), and whilst it is great, it's bettered by the 'Bonus Beat' on the flipside which is hypnotically lush organic techno.

Samples:
Pepe Bradock - Rhapsody in Pain EP // Atavisme

86) The Mole - Ombudsman EP // Musique Risquee
Three great tracks on this versatile EP from The Mole. Looped up dub disco, ambient, and killer deep house all feature, and there's not a bad one from the bunch.

Samples:
The Mole - Ombudsman EP // Musique Risquee

85) Matthew Dear - Don & Sherri EP // Ghostly
One of the gems from Matt D's 'Asa Breed' LP (which you should have picked up if you haven't already!) gets some pretty mediocre reworkings by MANDY and Hot Chip, but the real magic comes with DJ Koze's remix of 'Elementary Lover'. Gorgeous strings get chopped and looped, while Koze's use of space and subtle punctuation give Dear's vocal space to breathe. Add to that the pitched up "thank you... we've all enjoyed being here tonight... you've been a great audience... we've going to close with a song for all you dreamers..." at the end, and you've got the perfect penultimate track of the night if you're going to finish on a blissed out tip. The boompty electro-pop of the original's well worth a look too, but you knew that already, didn't you?

Samples:
Matthew Dear - Don & Sherri // Ghostly
Matthew Dear - Elementary Lover (DJ Koze Remix) // Ghostly

84) Pan Pot - Charly // Mobilee
This one's a fucked up cokehead baiting mongathon. That's a good thing, by the way.

Sample:
Pan Pot - Charly // Mobilee

83) Marc Ashken - Two Left Feet EP // Leftroom
Marc Houle's moody bass guitar-driven remix of 'Nimrod' is pretty nice, but full marks to Ashken on 'Roots Dyed Dark' for making the most twisted series of breakdowns in techno this year. Everything slows down to almost a complete halt, whips back up to breakneck speed, and then drops into a series of crazy sections whilst never losing sight of the floor. A peak time only record, maybe, but a great one at that.

Samples:
Marc Ashken - Two Left Feet EP // Leftroom

82) V/A - Tronic Jams Vol. 1 // Deeply Rooted House
The Argy and Wipe The Needle cuts on this are fairly functional, but it's Prof Delacroix that really shines through, bringing together subtle Dial-esque tones with a beat reeks of Chicago house at it's finest. Marcus Enochson's 'Awa' is the other brilliant contribution, which sounds like what'd happen if you put Kerri Chandler, Luciano, and Morgan Geist in a room together and told them to make something special. Now if that isn't recommendation enough...

Samples:
V/A - Tronic Jams Vol. 1 // Deeply Rooted House

81) Alex Under - Gris // CMYK
What I said then... "Alex Under's no stranger to using weird samples from movies and TV (one of his best works, his remix of Random Play's 'Just Like That' features samples from Requiem For A Dream), and for his latest release on his own CMYK label, he's sampled the stoned gay hippy from Family Guy. On paper it shouldn't work at all, but the lines that he's taken ('I'm gonna eat that hairy leg', 'I did have a chubby kid on the raft earlier today, etc.) give the relentless bass riff and plinky melody that extra surreal edge."

Samples:
Alex Under - Gris // CMYK
Alex Under - Anthemo // CMYK

80) John Daly - Freak Out Or Get Out EP // Wave
Killer release on Wave for Irishman Daly. 'Do It' is a deep disco-house shuffler with attitude, whilst the other two tracks are sundrenched anthems that got a lot of play round my gaff during our short English summer this year.

Samples:
John Daly - Freak Out Or Get Out EP // Wave

79) Sascha Dive - The Basic Collective EP (Part 1 of 3) // Deep Vibes
Two slower cuts for both the stoners ('Bdown Variation 7') and the smackheads ('Samuel Davis Export I') are to be found on the A-side, but things get even better when you flip it over. Go for 'Long Way' if you want something deep and wonky, but my favourite from the four is hypno-boompty anthem 'Deep In Rhythm'. That's a seriously nice groove right there...

Samples:
Sascha Dive - The Basic Collective EP (Part 1 of 3) // Deep Vibes

78) Serafin & Roman Bruderer - Dream Sequence // Mountain People
I'm not much for the B-side of this one, but the A-side is bumpin' tracky house goodness that's impossible to stay still to.

Sample:
Serafin & Roman Bruderer - Dream Sequence // Mountain People

77) Ali Kuru - Cyanide (Tolga Fidan Remix) // Luxa Flex
Without the remix it's a pretty bog standard dark tech-house affair, but Tolga Fidan works 'Cyanide' into a totally different beast. Menacing tribal wonk that'll scare the dribbling K-heads into the nearest taxi.

Sample:
Ali Kuru - Cyanide (Tolga Fidan Remix) // Luxa Flex

76) Bodycode - A Document Of An American Past // Yore
This is probably going to sound a little bit homoerotic, but one of my favourite dancefloor moments was watching Bodycode making his laptop set a little more pumping by working a towel behind his shoulders like he's some sort of male stripper. 'Body To Body' is, I'm sure, what's going on in his head when he's getting down in the dark rooms of Berghain (ie. ultra sexy boompty techno), and 'The Centre Of Time', well, just sounds like you'd imagine Berghain to. Proper techno from the coolest Alan in the scene.

Samples:
Bodycode - Body To Body // Yore
Bodycode - The Centre Of Time // Yore

75) Len Faki - Rainbow Delta / Mekong Delta // Ostgut Ton
Two rolling techno killers from the Ostgut camp. In particular, it's Mekong Delta that'll put a rocket up the dancefloor's arse, but Rainbow Delta is also good if you want to keep things deeper and more hypnotic.

Samples:
Len Faki - Rainbow Delta // Ostgut Ton
Len Faki - Mekong Delta // Ostgut Ton

74) V/A - Detriot Beatdown Vol. 2 EP 1 // Third Ear
The two wonky downbeat tracks on the A side, are pretty decent, but the tracks on the B are just astounding. Smith & Hall opt for a silky deep houser soaked in strings but with a heavy skipping beat, and the Black Art Music track is just fucking sexy! This is what plays in Kenny Dixon's head when he's getting it on...

Samples:
V/A - Detriot Beatdown Vol. 2 EP 1 // Third Ear

73) Mark E - R&B Drunkie // Golf Channel
'I feel like pumping to some old school...' Indeed. Mark E creates yet another dub disco classic, this time from Janet Jackson's 'R&B Junkie'. Bouncing groove, incredible bassline, great vocal - total dancefloor winner.

Sample:
Mark E - R&B Drunkie // Golf Channel

72) Burial - Ghost Hardware EP // Hyperdub
The hectic percussion of 'Shutta' is a little too much for me, but the spectral garage of 'Ghost Hardware' and dubbed out 'Exit Wounds' are right up my alley.

Samples:
Burial - Ghost Hardware EP // Hyperdub

71) Hatchback - White Diamond (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) // Thisisnotanexit
Dreamy 17 minute kraut-disco epic from the Nordic royal. Essential post club listening, this.

Sample:
Hatchback - White Diamond (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) // Thisisnotanexit

70) October - Three Drops/Homosapiens // Caravan
Yes, he's our mate, but if you've actually heard this record already, I don't think you'll be complaining about its inclusion in the 100. 'Three Drops' is the Ronseal of this year's techno releases - it does exactly what it says on the tin. What always struck me about Jules' first forays into techno production is his attention to detail on the beats. Unwilling to keep the same patterns looping over and over, his broken beat pedigree shines through as beats reappear and disappear, all whilst the melody provides a counter rhythm that locks in perfectly. Add some analogue synth washes that sound simply incredible on a big system, but those drops... Cracking. 'Homosapiens' aims much deeper, pulsing along on a dubbed out vibe before rolling over into some synth and bass embellishments a couple of times. Annoyingly, the pop'n'click classic that is 'There's A Glitch In My Soup' only featured on the digital release, but I'm sure I'll coax Jules into whacking it onto wax in '08. Caravan then - more fun than a wet weekend in Wales, and with upcoming releases from October, Emptyset and TG, next year looks to be theirs already.

Samples:
October - Three Drops // Caravan
October - Homosapiens // Caravan

69) Ron Hardy - Baby, Baby Baby, Aw Shucks // Partehardy
As far as I'm aware, these releases are edits that have been put together in a Ron Hardy style and not actually done by the big man himself, but this one of First Choice's 'Let No Man Put Assunder' its absolutely stonking. The edit loops and loops itself around your brain until you can't help but get into the irresistable groove, bringing things up slowly but surely with subtle progressions before ending with (an incredibly functional) "it's not over" stop-start section. The b-side's a bit naff, but it's worth picking up for the corker of an A.

Sample:
Ron Hardy - Baby, Baby Baby, Aw Shucks // Partehardy

68) Smith & Mudd - Shulme // Claremont 56
This one isn't for the dancefloor, but is the perfect soundtrack to the the early morning when the teas have been made and the spliffs are going round. As the gorgeous rhythm section rolls on, guitars duel and chime, celestial synths provide aural valium, and for a few brief minutes you'll know it's been a bloody good night. Look out for their album that's coming on Mudd's Claremont 56 label in 2008.

Sample:
Smith & Mudd - Shulme // Claremont 56

67) cv313 - Dimensional Space // Echospace
Two cuts of sublimely deep skanking dub techno from the mysterious cv313. There are still a few of these at normal price over at Discogs, so get them before the prices start getting silly.

Samples:
cv313 - Dimensional // Echospace
cv313 - Space // Echospace

66) Aeroplane - Caramellas // Eskimo
Was 2007 the year the piano came back with a vengeance? With Noze, Still Going, and Peverelist all putting out classic piano based tracks, I'm definitely not complaining. Aeroplane's case in point, 'Caramellas' is a bumping slow jam with one of the most euphoric sunrise synth riffs I've heard in a while, and one that the clever DJs will be saving for those Sonar beach parties next year.

Sample:
Aeroplane - Caramellas // Eskimo

65) Tony Allen - Kilode (Carl Craig Remixes) // Honest Jon's
It's always nice to hear Carl Craig doing something a little bit different, and these two remixes are a perfect example of that. The 'Straight' mix is top notch warm up fare which really emphasises the brilliant bassline and percussion, but the other mix is a shuffling strung out builder with some incredible synth stabs that'll work the housier floors.

Samples:
Tony Allen - Kilode EP // Honest Jon's

64) Karma - Beach Towel (I:Cube & Pascal Schafer Mixes) // Compost
Some great remixes on this one; essential sundrenched cosmic house from I:Cube, and cheekily pensive techno from Pascal Schafer.

Samples:
Karma - Beach Towel EP // Compost

63) Ada - Hensel & Damsel // Cereal/Killers
Her release on Areal this year was okay, but ultimately disappointing as it was nowhere near as good some of her previous material. This track on one of the Cereal/Killers split 12"s helped to redress the balance with its menaching acid line that makes way for drifting synths and classic Cologne percussion.

Sample:
Ada - Hensel & Damsel // Cereal/Killers

62) Baby Oliver - Primetime (Uptown Express) // Environ
I've got quite a bit of play out of this supposed Morgan Geist production this year. Ideal for when you're bringing things up from slower tempos, 'Primetime' boasts a bassline to die for along with a strange stabbing synth/vocoder line, and putting the cherry on the cake are the cheeky lyrics about 'getting on the train and never feeling pain again' (if this isn't about getting as high as a kite, don't spoil it for me!). B-side 'Hypochondriac' is beautifully produced, but didn't really do much for me personally. Never mind that - it's worth the entry price for the A-side alone.

Sample:
Baby Oliver - Primetime (Uptown Express) // Environ

61) Mark Farina - Back To The House EP // Om
What I said then... "The 'GLA mix' is my preferred version - an incredibly simple track made up of a spoken word vocal eulogising about bringing house music back, backed with a boompty bassline and a jacking drum track. There's also a mix with just the drums and vocals for the more adventurous DJ, and a more melodic version for people who want to keep things a little more groovy. A classic jack track for '07 - get yourselves on it."

Samples:
Mark Farina - Back To The House EP // Om

60) DJ Koze - All The Time / Cicely // Philpot
Two absolute belters from Mr Kozalla that show the dichotomy of his DJ Koze persona perfectly. 'All The Time' wonks it up so much that it seems to be permanently imploding, and 'Cicely' is blissed out micro-house at its finest.

Samples:
DJ Koze - All The Time // Philpot
DJ Koze - Cicely // Philpot

59) V/A - Death Is Nothing To Fear #1 // Spectral
I wasn't too big on most of Matthew Dear's Audion productions this year, but the stridently psychedelic 'I Gave You Away' presses all the right buttons for me. Bodycode's contribution is also well worth a listen with its eerie keys and jacking beat.

Samples:
V/A - Death Is Nothing To Fear #1 // Spectral

58) Omar S feat. Theo Parrish - The Grand Son Of Detriot Techno! // FXHE
Hypnotic acid-laced Detroit house that'll worm its way right into your brain. It's ever so simple but keeps getting better and better as it goes along, drawing you further into the murky groove. Get your heads down for Detroit!

Sample:
Omar S feat. Theo Parrish - The Grand Son Of Detriot Techno! // FXHE

57) Pole - Steingarten (Shackleton & Peverelist Remixes) // ~scape
What I said then... "If you only buy one of the four Pole remix twelves, let it be this one. Shack's tripped out mix was the one that held my attention in the shop, but once getting it home it was Peverelist's use of space and whomping bass pulses that really got me going."

Samples:
Pole - Achterbahn (Shackleton Remix) // ~scape
Pole - Winkelstreben (Peverelist Remix) // ~scape

56) Kassem Mosse - Workshop003 // Workshop
Workshop continued their faultless record of releases with this little beauty. The A takes some skittering old-school electro beats and marries them to a backing which is foreboding yet funked up, and then ends with a 3 minute ambient wash which provides the perfect mixing tool for some additional atmospherics or even an abrupt tempo change. Speaking of tempo changes, the pace drops down for the B-side cuts, and B1 in particular is suited to a particularly messy after hours with its cavernous echo effects and bumping nocturnal groove.

Samples:
Kassem Mosse - Workshop003 // Workshop

55) Mountain People DJs - Mountain People 005 // Mountain People
What I said then... "No surprises here - Mountain People come out with yet another cracking twelve inch. No idea who the producers are on this one (I'm guessing that label founders Serafin & André Schmid provide a side each), but you've got a tracky roller on the A broken up intermittently by a sustained spaced out chord, and a chunkier track on the B which is on more of a skippy deep house tip."

Samples:
Mountain People DJs - Mountain005.1 // Mountain People
Mountain People DJs - Mountain005.2 // Mountain People

54) Kadebostan - Caracas Soul EP // Freude Am Tanzen
Kadebostan's downbeat ethnic techno really grabbed my ear this year, and even though they only released these three tracks, all of them were stupendous. Eerie affected strings drone over minimalist percussion on the title track, whilst a detached yearning female vocal appears only to submerge into the mix seconds later. 'Back To My First Heroes' is similar but on a more slower, reduced tip, but it's the B2, 'Spirit Soldiers', that really seals the deal. Both ominous and reflective in equal measures, it's hardly peak time fare, but will definitely get a discerning afterhours crowd grooving along.

Samples:
Kadebostan - Caracas Soul EP // Freude Am Tanzen

53) Lovefingers - RVNG Of The Nrds #4 // RVNG
Four top notch varied disco edits from NYC's Lovefingers. Probably the best in the series, but after brilliant twelves from Mock'n'Toof and Tim Sweeney, that's saying something.

Samples:
Lovefingers - RVNG Of The Nrds #4 // RVNG

52) V/A - Music Is My Space // Statik
What I said then... "Quality dub techno EP from the Statik camp. Quantec (who's previously had records out on Styrax Leaves and Echocord) serves up a hypnotically shimmering shower of synths, whilst newcomer Chet knocks out a seriously deep skanker that marks him out as a producer to watch."

Samples:
V/A - Music Is My Space // Statik

51) Partial Arts - Trauermusik // Kompakt
Come end of year list time, many forgot about this little beauty released right at the start of January by Ewan Pearson and Al Usher's Partial Arts project. A perfect end of the night record, marrying delicate strung out chords with a boompty bassline and intertwining celestial synths that'll leave people smiling as they leave the club.

Sample:
Partial Arts - Trauermusik // Kompakt

50) Babytalk - Keep On Move // Stickydisc
This is essentially a DFA record, what with it being done by in-house engineer Eric Broucek, but was mysteriously released on the unknown Stickydisc label in November. The original (and my preferred) mix is bass driven space disco from the future, and the Six-Leg Friend mix puts the vocal into a dubbier disco context.

Sample:
Babytalk - Keep On Move // Stickydisc

49) Optimo - Walkabout Sampler // Endless Flight
I'm sure that a lot of techno fans have overlooked this 12" from Optimo's 'Walkabout' mix, but you should definitely pick one up if you see it kicking around. Wolfgang Voigt's 'Grungerman' from 1995 gets a timely re-release (50 euros for the original? I think not), and there are two edits from the Optimo lads. Wilkes takes on the bubbling bass'n'bleeps of Pan Sonic's 'Hapatus', and Wilkes twists obscure Italian techno act Databrain into a pumping dancefloor weapon.

Samples:
Optimo - Walkabout Sampler // Endless Flight

48) Patrice Scott - Beyond Deep / Raw Fusion // Sistrum
Top notch deep Detriot house from Patrice Scott. 'Beyond Deep' has a bit more jack to it, but 'Raw Fusion' is a great dubby reductionist house track that'll mix well with a lot of the recent dub techno releases.

Samples:
Patrice Scott - Beyond Deep EP // Sistrum

47) 2562 - Kameleon / Channel One // Tectonic
This is my favourite of the two releases that Dutchman Dave Huismans has put out as 2562 this year. 'Kameleon' is a deep tribal stepper, while 'Channel One' has a seriously heavy skanking bass pulse that'll rock both dubstep and techno dancefloors.

Samples:
2562 - Kameleon // Tectonic
2562 - Channel One // Tectonic

46) Pendle Coven - Habitual Stress // Modern Love
'Brick Tutor' is a great ominous dub techno track, but pure evil never sounded as good as it does on 'Habitual Stress'. Acid house in hell, and we all know that the devil throws the best parties.

Samples:
Pendle Coven - Habitual Stress // Modern Love
Pendle Coven - Brick Tutor // Modern Love

45) Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Petits Djinns EP // Circus Company
What I said then... "The A-side 'Sous D'Arbre' holds a lovely tribal groove before an idiosyncratic synth line and submerged vocal peep through the mix, picking things up nicely. The end of the track sees him indulge his wonky jazz tendencies with a looped sax sample and some wooshing noises to pick up the straggling dancers. The b-side cuts are a little more downbeat, with 'Yone' going for a tropical cyclical vibe and again utilising the sax here and there, whilst 'Chilly Willy' has more of a Moodymann with brass band in carnival mode thing going on."

Samples:
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Petits Djinns EP // Circus Company

44) Kelley Polar - Chrysanthemum EP // Environ
I was desperately waiting for the release of Kelley's 'I Need You to Hold On While The Sky is Falling' LP all this year, as I fell head over heels in love with his previous album on Environ. I've got a lot of respect for this man's quality control (his early EPs are all fantastic as well), and he shows no sign of dipping in form with yet more sumptious efforts on this 12". Wistfully bleak visions of the future collide with romantic sentiment on 'Chrysanthemum', while 'Rosenband' keeps things a little more upbeat with its boompty disco groove and dramatic arrangement. The mysterious Magic Tim (Sweeney or Goldsworthy, possibly?) also supplies an building instrumental remix that's a little more geared to late night club shenanigans which tops off an incredible 12" from the label that, in my eyes, was definitely the most consistent quality wise this year.

Samples:
Kelley Polar - Chrysanthemum EP // Environ

43) Donnacha Costello - Black Bag Job // Minimise
If you were to accuse Donnacha of being a bit lazy this year, you'd probably be right. So he does six tracks in six days last year and then this year we get one remix (which would be great if only it didn't remind me of that fucking Crazy Frog tune), and one original composition. What the hell does he do with the rest of his time? I hope you're working on something a new LP, Mr Costello, because teasing us with tracks this good just won't do. 'Black Bag Job' is an irresistable slice of perfect percussion and classic melody, as only DC can do.

Sample:
Donnacha Costello - Black Bag Job // Minimise

42) The Glimmers - Kobe's In Columbia // Diskimo
Easily the best of The Glimmers' Diskimo productions, 'Kobe's In Columbia' is a castanet-clapping, bass-squelching, low slung electro-disco monster that'll raise hell on all sorts of floors.

Sample:
The Glimmers - Kobe's In Columbia // Diskimo

41) Kerri Chandler - Computer Games EP // Deeply Rooted House
This EP from much earlier in the year saw Kerri go for a more resolutely electronic sound, whilst still keeping his trademark jacking deepness. All four tracks reek of quality, from the bubbling acidity of 'The Invaders (The Panic)', through to the rolling stab-a-thon of 'Moon Bounce'. Honestly, I'd be hard pressed to pick a favourite. Essential gear for the house heads out there - but you knew that already, didn't you?

Samples:
Kerri Chandler - Computer Games EP // Deeply Rooted House

40) 2000 & One/Len Faki - Work/Odyssee I // Podium
I've always got time for a bit of 2000 & One, but this offering for Faki's Podium imprint really knocked my socks off the first time I heard it. Taking a snippet of the vocal from Steve Poindexter's 'Work That Motherfucker', he places it over a boompty melodic house cut which is sure to do serious damage if you tweak the bass at the right places. The Faki cut also took me by surprise as it's (dare I say it) a little more electro-housey than I've heard from his other stuff. Starting as a grooving deep techno cut, steadily picks up layer by layer before unleashing an uber-trancy breakdown that powers into some buzzsaw acid action. 'Work' is the one you'll be picking this up for, however - top quality bounce for the floor.

Samples:
2000 & One - Work (Late Nite NYC Edit) // Podium
Len Faki - Odyssee I // Podium

39) Tiger Stripes / Solomun - Hooked / Jungle River Cruise // Liebe*Detail
Two housier cuts than usual on this L*D split, and both would've been worthy 12"s on their own. Solomun contributes an skippy ethnically infused deep house track with a subtle tracey melody, but Tiger Stripes takes the biscuit with the relentlessly charging 'Hooked'. Deep stabs propel proceedings throughout, while the delicate plinky melody dances a little jig in your cerebrum.

Samples:
Tiger Stripes - Hooked // Liebe*Detail
Solomun - Jungle River Cruise // Liebe*Detail

38) Escort - A Bright New Life // Escort
'We're the last standing disco band', sang Captain Comatose a few years back, but you can't help think that their lyrical whimsy applies to Escort much more. 'A Bright New Life' was the better of their two offerings this year, a chugging euphoric stormer that really works on the floor. Morgan Geist supplies a more relaxed instrumental remix, but it's all about the vocal for me (albeit pitched up slightly in ze club).

Samples:
Escort - A Bright New Life EP // Escort

37) Substance & Vainqueur - Libration/Resonance // Scion Versions
Substance and Vainqueur raise their game with yet another incredible dub techno 12" on their Scion Versions imprint. If you've heard the previous ones then you'll know exactly how this sounds. Yes, that's right - fucking incredible.

Samples:
Substance & Vainqueur - Libration // Scion Versions
Substance & Vainqueur - Resonance // Scion Versions

36) Moodymann - I'd Rather Be Lonely // KDJ
Irresistable multi-sectioned jazz house from Kenny on a ridiculously priced single sided 12". An oddball vocal track, yes, but the cyclical double bass, flanged guitar, and metamorphic percussion will have you hooked from the first listen.

Sample:
Moodymann - I'd Rather Be Lonely // KDJ

35) Beck - Cell Phone's Dead (Ricardo Villalobos Entlebuch Remix) // Bpitch Control
This year saw Ricky V turn Beck's original into a 15 minute hip-horse-house anthem as only he can, and the results were magical. The oddball spoken vocal fits perfectly with the clip-clop beats and eerie harmonies, and when that bassline drops halfway through, you can be sure that things will kick up a gear on the floor.

Sample:
Beck - Cell Phone's Dead (Ricardo Villalobos Entlebuch Remix) // Bpitch Control

34) Baby Oliver - Feelings 2 / Shot Caller // Environ
No duff tracks on this one, Baby Oliver's second twelve of the year. 'Feelings 2' is a surging electronic disco workout featuring an unknown vocalist that resembles the Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan quite a bit, which would make a lot of sense seeing as I've heard on the grapevine that Morgan Geist has a full vocal LP planned with Mr Greenspan... 'Shot Caller' is probably the jewel in the crown of the four Baby Oliver tracks, a slamming slo-mo reductionist disco banger for the late night freaks.

Samples:
Baby Oliver - Feelings 2 // Environ
Baby Oliver - Shot Caller // Environ

33) Gatto Fritto - Invisible College // Dissident
Easily the best record from Dissident this year (some of those samples sounded rubbish, didn't they?), 'Invisible College' unfolds beautifully over its twelve minute duration, and doesn't outsay its welcome for a second. Head noddingly epic cosmic disco that's begging for a re-release.

Sample:
Gatto Fritto - Invisible College // Dissident

32) Junior Boys - Like A Child/Double Shadow (Carl Craig & Kode 9 Mixes) // Domino
Everyone always bangs on about the Carl Craig remix which is bloody fantastic (and probably the best thing he's done this year), but Kode 9's mix on the flipside definitely shouldn't be ignored. A killer steppin' rhythm surrounded in aquatic delayed guitar and cheap keyboard sounds that is essential listening, dubstep fan or not.

Junior Boys - Like A Child (Carl Craig Remix) // Domino
Junior Boys - Double Shadow (Kode 9 Remix) // Domino

31) Wild Rumpus - Musical Blaze Up // Bitches Brew
Rub'n'Tug's re-chug and Cosmo's psychedelic dub are both amazing, but I've always had a fondness for the original mix stuck on the B2. The reggae skank is pitched perfectly, the guitar line is just crazy, and it's topped off by equally madcap vocals from, err... MC Brother Culture.

Samples:
Wild Rumpus - Musical Blaze Up // Bitches Brew

30) Trusme - Brown's // Stilove4music
'Nard's' - what a track! Strangely retitled 'Narda' on his 'Working Nights' LP, this is a low slung disco bomb that works its way up to a heavy climax. Any idea what the vocal sample is on this one? The b-side cuts are also decent - two smooth as fuck edits that you wished your local rubbish bar DJs would play.

Samples:
Trusme - Brown's EP // Stilove4music

29) Still Going - Still Going Theme / On And On // DFA
If you haven't heard this yet, I don't know what cave you've been living in. Gorgeous piano bliss, in dubbed out disco and deep house flavours respectively.

Samples:
Still Going - Still Going Theme // DFA
Still Going - On And On // DFA

28) The Emperor Machine - Vertical Tones & Horizontal Noise Part 5 // DC
My favourite in ex-Bizarre Inc member Andy Meecham's six part series, this twelve has served me well this year. 'Labocatocs' struts and skanks along its spaced out groove, but B-side 'Rimramramrim' (which is always amusing when people come up and ask what it is) is a pure dancefloor killer. Opening beatlessly with a multitude of throbbing synths (which is quite handy as a mixing tool and also to mix out of really slow records - hello Frank Hebly!), it quickly picks up into a nagging disco groove and lets those synths battle it out for our aural pleasure.

Samples:
The Emperor Machine - Labocatocs // DC
The Emperor Machine - Rimramramrim (Ava's Uninterrupted Version) // DC

27) Citizen Kane - Kane's Spanish Home // Moton
What I said then... "There's nothing more annoying than buying a record, only for it to go missing somewhere along the way. This is especially true when you lose it less than a week after first buying it, which is exactly what happened with my copy of the latest Moton 12". Of course, I had to buy it again, meaning that I've spent £14 on a track, but with this one it's definitely worth it. I first heard this when Dennis Kane dropped it on Metro Area's Beats In Space show, and it just stood out as something with a totally different vibe to the glut of edits coming out over the last couple of years. Based on a track from the Kill Bill soundtrack, it's a stomping disco beat backed by a rousing spanish guitar/brass combo, but the arrangement is something incredibly special. Check the way it drops down to the plucked acoustic guitar and strings, only to snap-clap its way back into action and kick into the rolling strum."

Sample:
Citizen Kane - Kane's Spanish Home // Moton

26) Kabale Und Liebe - Mumbling Yeah // AreaRemote
So this is this year's 'mnml marmite' track. Only it isn't, because Marmite disgusts me, and I really dig this bubbling understated groover.

Sample:
Kabale Und Liebe - Mumbling Yeah // AreaRemote

25) Jay Shepheard - Pipes'n'Sneakers EP // Compost Black Label
Solid four tracker from the nice chaps at Compost, ranging from slinky Booka Shade style electro-disco ['Pipes & Slippers'], through to some seriously groovy cosmic house ['Last Days (Of Cou Cou D)', 'Song From Mikeldore']. Sure to be a hit with deep house and disco aficianados across the land.

Samples:
Jay Shepheard - Pipes'n'Sneakers EP // Compost Black Label

24) Lee Douglas - New York Story/Ravm // Rong
Two electronic disco corkers from Mr Doug Lee that seem unrealistically polished for only his second self-produced release. He's gotta be cheating, right? Here we've got a bubbling cowbell'n'bass monster (the ridiculously titled 'Ravm') and the euphorically funereal (yes, you read that right) 'New York Story' that'll get the hearts and feet of disco lovers going in the wee hours.

Lee Douglas - New York Story // Rong
Lee Douglas - Ravm // Rong

23) Robag Wruhme als Rolf Oksen - Bart Eins EP // Freude Am Tanzen
What I said then... "The always on point FAT camp (see what I did there?) have provided my biggest floor shaker of the year with yet another masterstroke from the guy with the weirdest name in techno. Maybe it's just because I'm based in Bristol, but when this bassline hits everyone goes fucking apeshit (and yes, that includes me!). Feel the wobble..."

Sample:
Robag Wruhme als Rolf Oksen - Dopamin // Freude Am Tanzen

22) Westpark Unit - Jeepah // Farside
Three solid tracks of electronic deepness from Westpark Unit. A-side 'Jeepah' has the most dancefloor pump, with heavy disco drums and understated bumpin' bass before dreamy synths enter and take things to the next level. The b-side cuts are just as good, if not better, but take a more dubwise direction. In particular, B2 cut 'Blaxrotation Suite Mix' provides a natural sounding progression if you're trying to pick things up from an ambient dub techno vibe to a more tribal percussive sound.

Samples:
Westpark Unit - Jeepah EP // Farside

21) Hercules & Love Affair - Classique #2/Roar // DFA
Two brilliantly atmospheric modern house cuts from Andy Butler's new project on DFA. 'Classique #2' holds you in suspense with its perfectly produced minimal percussion and sharp acid line, and 'Roar' is a low slung, seductively bumping groover that'll go down just as well later on in the night as it will when things are just warming up. I have it on good authority that their forthcoming album (or the sampler of it , at least) is absolutely mindblowing, so keep a look out for that one.

Hercules & Love Affair - Classique #2 // DFA
Hercules & Love Affair - Roar // DFA

20) Efdemin/Carsten Jost - Just A Track/Love // Dial
The first time I heard Efdemin's 'Just A Track', I just had to keep playing it over and over. Beautifully structured techno that manages to be deep and jacking at the same time. What it also jacks is the acapella to Roland Clark's 'Presidents House', but that's another matter entirely. Carsten Jost takes things deeper still with 'Love', a sumptious hypno-houser soaked in trademark Dial melodies and rattling hats. Two classics by two class acts.

Samples:
Efdemin - Just A Track // Dial
Carsten Jost - Love // Dial

19) Skatebard - Marimba // Supersoul
Supersoul really impressed me this year with their electronic disco meanderings, and Skatebard's 'Marimba' is probably the prime example of what makes this label so special. Pitched right down at 113 bpm, it's crawling speed really accentuates the spaciousness and misty Basic Channel-esque chords, while the trebly percussion rattles on like the drum machine's been switched to the 'Lunar Tropicalia' setting. Flip over to 'Pagans' and it's like Carl Craig trying to cover an old italo dub, with its beefy wobbling bass arpeggio and delayed synths projecting to the stars. 'Marimba' though, fuck... What a record!

Samples:
Skatebard - Marimba // Supersoul
Skatebard - Pagans // Supersoul

18) Move D - Workshop002 // Workshop
Puffin Jack commented on this record earlier this year by saying 'it's like Moodymann after a couple of gurners', and he's right on the money. Lovely stuff. Beards who like disco will also enjoy the B2, a much slower brooding electronic disco number. They might have only had two releases, but it's been a good year for Workshop and I hope that we hear much more from them in '08.

Samples:
Move D - Workshop002 // Workshop

17) Syncom Data - Beyond The Stars // SD
I think this is probably the first and only time I'll ever say this, but on this release, the best track is the 'Beats' version! Thundering beats accompany fantastically snaking mindfuck synths, and when the bassline and snapclaps enter, the dancefloor will be going wild. The 'Dub' (which confusingly has a full vocal) sounds like a cheap Rhythm & Sound record (though it sounds much better than I'm making out!), and the 'Beatless' (which has beats!) version provides a wonky synth for more adventurous DJs to freak everyone out with.

Samples:
Syncom Data - Beyond The Stars // SD

16) Frivolous - Midnight Black Indulgence EP // ~scape
What I said then... "This has been at the front of my box all year; 'Sooo Savvy...' is a great boompty call to arms against the wall hugging hipsters, but 'Goodbye Regrets' is my favourite. It's got a fantastic tropical-trance melody line, before this amazing bassline kicks in - I definitely see this EP riding up high in the 100..."

Samples:
Frivolous - Midnight Black Indulgence EP // ~scape

15) Appleblim & Shackleton - Soundboy's Ashes Get Chopped Out & Snorted // Skull Disco
For once Appleblim manages to better Shackleton with 'Vansan', a strung out stepper with cavernous stabs and an incredible beatless breakdown. There's a definite Basic Channel influence there, but when has that ever been a bad thing? As usual it's tribal ethnic wonk from Shackleton on 'She Brings Me Down', which is quite light percussively but has a definite swing to it and a heavy bassline to top things off.

Samples:
Appleblim - Vansan // Skull Disco
Shackleton - She Brings Me Down // Skull Disco

14) Mogg & Naudascher - Moon Unit (Parts 1 & 2) // Supersoul
Fledgling label Supersoul have only been round since August '06, and already they've knocked out a selection of essential releases. The first to come from their roster this year is Paul Mogg and (ex-Terranova member) Xaver Naudascher's 'Moon Unit' collaboration. Split into two parts, the first is a more upbeat, surging italo take on the label's electronic disco sound which'll send the right dancefloors into the stratosphere its synth attack, but the second goes for a more spacious approach that really floats my boat. Low slung bass stabs accompany an arpeggio face off with ever increasing intensity, and those snap claps just have to be heard. I've had a brief listen to parts three and four, and unfortunately they sound pretty naff, which is a shame. Never mind - get this instead.

Samples:
Mogg & Naudascher - Moon Unit (Part 1) // Supersoul
Mogg & Naudascher - Moon Unit (Part 2) // Supersoul

13) Mike Huckaby - My Life With The Wave // SYNTH
Incredible stuff from Mike Huckaby on his own SYNTH label. The A-side's one of the best dub techno tracks I've heard all year (and there were a lot this year...), and the lush Detroit house on the B is pretty damn smooth. God knows why there are still copies of this (apparently limited to 500) kicking around.

Samples:
Mike Huckaby - My Life With The Wave EP // SYNTH

12) Metro Area - #7 // Environ
What I said then... "There were always going to be high expectations for this, and Darshan and Morgan definitely don't disappoint. A-side 'Read My Mind' is the first ever MA track to feature a vocal, and is a dreamy disco-pop voyage, wrapped in sultry strings and staccato synths. Some may find it a little, well... gay for their tastes, but it's my favourite of the bunch. A short dub version is also provided (thankfully at the same speed so you're able to mix the dub version over the top of the previous track before fading down and whipping the needle back to the start of the vocal), along with 'Erodyne', where the lads set the arpeggiators to stun before dreamy chords send proceedings into orbit. The whole package isn't as immediate as some of the previous 12"s, but give it time and it'll become one of your favourites of this year."

Samples:
Metro Area - #7 // Environ

11) Arto Mwambe - Mudhutma! // Brontosaurus
Stunning two tracker from Mwambe that I got a lot of play from this year. 'Ombala Mbembo' is a pumping loopy house jam featuring vocal samples from Don Ray and Loleatta Holloway (the 'Love Sensation' breakdown bit gets me every time), and 'Noh Ngembo' a building piano-house groover on with boompty bass and cheeky cowbells. Just who is Arto Mwambe though? Because I definitely don't believe that this was recorded at 'International City Beef Studios, Ouagadougou'!

Samples:
Arto Mwambe - Ombala Mbembo // Brontosaurus
Arto Mwambe - Noh Ngembo // Brontosaurus

10) Deepchord present Echospace - The Coldest Season (Part 2) // Modern Love
Many complained that Modell & Hitchell's project for Modern Love was far too derivative of Basic Channel and didn't deserve the many plaudits that it recieved this year, but my money's on the fact that they've still got this record at home. B-side 'Empyrean' was the standout of the whole series, wearing its reggae influence on its sleeve and skanking sedately into the hearts of dub techno aficianados across the world. In a word... lush.

Samples:
Deepchord present Echospace - Empyrean // Modern Love

9) Wade Nichols - So Happy // Mindless Boogie
What I said then... "Play this in the early hours to an MDMA drenched dancefloor, and there is only one possible result. Watch as grown men hug each other and jump up and down, whilst the couples sneak off for a cheeky grope in the corner. Been caning this for a good few months now, and it never fails to raise a smile on my face when the chorus comes in."

Samples:
Wade Nichols - So Happy EP // Mindless Boogie

8) Peverelist - Erstwhile Rhythm/The Grind // Punch Drunk
Peverelist (or 'Tom from Rooted', as he's affectionately known round at TAPE Towers) had an astounding first year with his Punch Drunk label, and this is the cream of their 2007 output. 'Erstwhile Rhythm' is my favourite of the two, with its idiosyncratically looped piano and ascending chest rattler of a bassline, but 'The Grind' isn't far behind. The latter's propulsive rhythm and subtle two-note echoed synth produce a simple but effective dub techno banger. Both tracks look outward of the dubstep scene for influence, and shine out like a diamond in the rough - the rough being the slur of inwardly derivative dubstep productions that have plagued the year. Look out for more from Tom next year, with an Appleblim collaboration in the pipeline for Tectonic, and more releases on Punch Drunk on the way.

Samples:
Peverelist - Erstwhile Rhythm // Punch Drunk
Peverelist - The Grind // Punch Drunk

7) Andomat 3000 & Jan - L Delay // Cadenza
A surefire dancefloor groover for both myself and the Puffin this year, 'L Delay' hooks you in with its short bursts of melody and charging percussion. 'Frost' is of the more typical sprawling Cadenza fashion, but its bouncing bass and clipped beats mean that it'll still do some damage on the floor. It's all about 'L Delay' though...

Samples:
Andomat 3000 & Jan - L Delay // Cadenza
Andomat 3000 & Jan - Frost // Cadenza

6) Smith N Hack - Falling Stars / Space Warrior // Smith N Hack
What amazes me is that this record has been missing from nearly all of the end of year charts that I've seen so far. Whether the italo geek in you requires some silky smooth arpeggiated space-wonk ('Falling Stars'), or you a require a silly but ultimately brilliant freaky electro house banger ('Space Warrior') - both for me, please - then this record's for you. Extravagant perfection as usual from the unfortunately unproductive S'n'H team this year.

Samples:
Smith N Hack - Space Warrior // Smith N Hack
Smith N Hack - Falling Stars // Smith N Hack

5) Emptyset - Acuphase // Future Days
This was definitely one of the tracks that I played the most this year, and it never fails to work on the floor. This is Bristol's answer to clinical dancefloor reductionism, and both sides are square-wave rinsing maximalist minimalism that'll serve you well if proper minimal techno is your thing.

Samples:
Emptyset - Acuphase // Future Days
Emptyset - Displacement Activity // Future Days

4) Mr G - U Askin? // Rekids
Garage + Techno + Wonk = this little beauty that came from Matt Edwards' Rekids imprint this year. You know it's a barnstormer when a solid Marcel Dettmann remix on the flip pales into comparison with the original. Arguably the best record that's been released by Rekids, and that's saying a lot, even in their short history.

Samples:
Mr G - U Askin? // Rekids
Mr G - U Askin? (Marcel Dettmann Remix) // Rekids

3) Solomun & Stimming - Feuer & Eis EP // Diynamic
Absolutely fantastic record, this, and the best thing on Diynamic this year by a country mile. 'Feuervogal' just has this dirty garage swing that you can't resist, and when the beat kicks back in after the breakdown it's a real moment. Guido Schneider's takes it somewhere else completely, a dark clicky hypno-houser that'll get you bumpin' in the night. The real highlight though is 'Eiszauber', which takes a more subdued take on the swing of the A and injects an overdose of saccharin sweet melody that'll up your seratonin levels just by listening to it. Again, the breakdown near the end is fantastic with gorgeous strings euphorically serenading the return of the beat to wonderous effect.

Samples:
Solomun & Stimming - Feuer & Eis EP // Diynamic

2) Frank Hebly - De Tuinslangboogie // Magnetron Music
I've seen so many other end of year lists and I've yet to see this little beauty on any of them, much to my surprise. When I first told Alex from Family that I'd packed a 96bpm dancefloor banger for his Dublin crowd, I think that he thought that I'd been smoking crystal meth, but this track is a proven dancefloor smasher. Hebly's seriously wonky bass histronics can't help but get you bouncing, and those drops are something else. A totally unique house record, and in 2007 ones like these were few and far between.

Sample:
Frank Hebly - De Tuinslangboogie // Magnetron Music

1) Noze - Remember Love // MBF
The #1 slot has to go to the song that's had the most enduring appeal to me throughout 2007. Noze's 'Remember Love' has got countless plays from myself all year long - you just can't fault that rousingly off kilter piano vamping married to those slick micro-boompty grooves, and well, the vocal speaks for itself. Play this bad boy near the end of the night and don't be surprised if the bouncers start hugging each other.

Sample:
Noze - Remember Love // MBF

Phew! So, a fine year as far as I'm concerned, and that list was only just scraping the surface. Great records from Radio Slave, Roland Appel, Private Lives, Lawrence, Petre Inspirescu, T++, Lerosa, Terrence Dixon, Mark Broom and many others didn't make the cut but are all well worth investigating, so get sniffing around for those.

So then, what else did I miss out on this year? Enlightenment through the magical device that is the comments box is always appreciated. We'll be taking a week off at the start of the year, but we'll be back soon with some mixes from ourselves, and also one from Pipecock from the top notch infinitestatemachine webzine. He's also just done his end of year roundup, which is well worth a peek. Anyway, see you in a week or so, and have a happy new year!

MixTAPE: 'Christmas At Merkin Manor'

2007-12-27T16:35:00.000Z

Been a bit quiet recently as I've been crafting the 100, so I thought I'd treat you to a mix that Sell By Dave did for the Christmas period. Bit late, yes, but better late than ever! Take it away, Sell By....

"As a pre-Christmas treat for the best before: and TAPE faithful, we've decided to give away a brand new, festive-flavoured goodtime disco mix. It was recorded in one take in the record room at best before: HQ, nicknamed 'Merkin Manor' by Richard Carnage. It features a selection of discoid faves thrown together by yours truly, including a slew of forthcoming gems to look out for in 2008. These include Prins Thomas's fantastic remix of Wild Rumpus's 'Purple Somersault' (due in late January on Bitches Brew), Hercules & Love Affair's anthemic 'Blind' (out March) and a great new Holy Ghost! rework of Only Fools & Horses' 'Spectacle Wins', which is due in the New Year via Munich's Permanent Vacation. The Beat Broker dub of 'I Feel Electric' by Rubies is an exclusive of sorts - there are currently no plans to release it as far as we know.

Being a best before: mix, I've also included a selection of tracks that have rocked our parties this year, including Blackjoy's ace mix of 'Bonnaire' bu Dutch Rhythm Combo and Todd Terje's vintage 'Dance & Chant' re-edit. Of course, no 2007 round-up mix would be complete without our very own end-of-night anthem, 'Stick Around'.

Thanks to all those who've made 2007 a year to remember for all of us involved in best before:. All our parties have been memorable, we celebrated our fourth birthday in style, we've smashed it at other people's parties and we even have our own re-edit series! I know 2008 is going to be a brilliant year for us - hopefully you'll join us down at The Bank on January 5th for our Chris Duckenfield party."

Also, we're taking over The Bank for NYE, and tickets can be bought from that very pub. There are only 90 tickets, so get in there quick sharp if you fancy a bit of boozer boogie action with myself, Puffin Jack, Sell By Dave, Luke Malcher, Harry Glazebrook, and The Kelly Twins amongst others.

Sell By Dave - 'Christmas At Merkin Manor'
1) Trus'me - Nards // Fat City
2) Only Fools & Horses - Spectacle Wins (Holy Ghost! Remix) // Permanent Vacation
3) Dutch Rhythm Combo - Bonnaire (Blackjoy Rough Demo Mix) // High Score
4) Hercules & Love Affair - Blind // DFA CD-R
5) Escort - A Brand New Life // Escort
6) Rubies - I Feel Electric (Beat Broker NRG Dub) // Telle CD-R
7) Tangoterje - Dance & Chant // Supreme
8) SJNRL01 - Unknown // SJNRL
9) Wild Rumpus - Purple Somersault (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) // Bitches Brew CD-R
10) Corsican Brothers - Whole Lotta Disco // CD-R
11) Thumbs Aloft - Stick Around // Pointless Edits
12) Hardway Brothers - Voodoo Celebration // Pointless Edits CD-R

Download:
Sell By Dave - Christmas At Merkin Manor

Carnage's Top Ten (10/12)

2007-12-10T23:35:00.000Z

Apologies for the drought of posts that has plagued this site yet again, but there's a new mix and radio show below for you audiophiles. The radio show may be of special interest to people who've been getting their head around the huge amount of dub techno that's been released lately. The first hour plays through older cuts from the Echospace crew, plus newer bits from Quince and Quantec, before picking up with an exclusive track from from October (you heard this one here first!), along with new stuff from Donnacha Costello, Baby Oliver, and Alexander Robotnick.

There should also be a few guest mixes coming up, and I'm trying to hassle Puffin to do another Doodledub mix for all you dubstep fanatics out there. There's also the end of year roundup to contend with, and I still need to get the Sebo K and Steve Bug interviews written up, so look forward to those.

As far as club nights are concerned, we had a great time playing the Bugged Out! party with Hot Chip and Jesse Rose, and the Andrew Weatherall TAPE night went off with a real bang. Thanks to Andrew and also Mr Clarkson for coming down and playing with us, and we'll be back on January 19th with sets from Matt Waites (Nightmoves) and Mark E (Jisco Music/Full Pupp). Put the date in your diary, folks! We've also got some Best Before shenanigans coming up before the end of the year - this Friday sees Daniel Donnachie (Disco Paradiso / Cosmic Dancing) descend on The Bank for our 'Cosmic Christmas Cracker', and we're also taking over The Bank for NYE - watch this space for further details.

Anyway, without further ado, here's my current top 10:

1) Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Petits Djinns EP // Circus Company
The samples of his recent LP on the Musique Risquee label sounded great, but I haven't yet got my ears around the full thing. What I have picked up recently, however, is their latest effort on Circus Company which is quality through and through. The A-side 'Sous D'Arbre' holds a lovely tribal groove before an idiosyncratic synth line and submerged vocal peep through the mix, picking things up nicely. The end of the track sees him indulge his wonky jazz tendencies with a looped sax sample and some wooshing noises to pick up the straggling dancers. The b-side cuts are a little more downbeat, with 'Yone' going for a tropical cyclical vibe and again utilising the sax here and there, whilst 'Chilly Willy' has more of a Moodymann with brass band in carnival mode thing going on. Three solid tracks - tip! There's a recent interview with the man over at Resident Advisor here.

Samples:
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Petits Djinns EP // Circus Company

2) Son Of Raw - Black Man In Space // Objektivity
Dennis Ferrer ramps up the techiness level for his first 12 under his Son Of Raw pseudonym, and it's a bumpin' deep late night anthem that I can see really working the dancefloor. The killer groove is topped off by a vocal that errs just on the right side of cheese ("Somebody once said that there was no soul in space... Somebody slap them!"), and there's a 'Sax Mix' on the flipside for DJs who feel they need something a little more organic and jazzy.

3) October - Invitation EP // Caravan
After providing Boomkat with their fastest selling in-house release, our good friend Jules (pictured above right with Puffin) is back with his second twelve for his own Caravan imprint. The title track is the one that Peter Kruder had originally earmarked for a new sub-label of his, but after much dilly-dallying is coming out on this release. Smooth synths drip with echo and reverb whilst a detached vocal drifts over the top of Jules' trademark broken techno percussion, whilst b-side 'Tape' (dedicated to us lot at TAPE, no less) bubbles along with synth stabs, Carl Craig-esque surges, and a command to 'jack'. In early '08, I'm sure the bodies on the floor will be doing the talking. Also, we've got exclusive news that in addition to signing a 12" to Ripperton's Perspectiv label, Jules has also been offered a side of one of the new Liebe*Detail releases - a sure sign that this boy is going somewhere fast.

Here's a mix that the boy Jules has done, featuring current and forthcoming tracks from his catalogue:

October - New & Forthcoming Releases
1) Listen, Move, Dance
2) Three Drops
3) Invitation
4) There's A Glitch In My Soup
5) Tape
6) Homosapiens

Download:
October - New & Forthcoming Releases

4) Citizen Kane - Kane's Spanish Home // Moton
There's nothing more annoying than buying a record, only for it to go missing somewhere along the way. This is especially true when you lose it less than a week after first buying it, which is exactly what happened with my copy of the latest Moton 12". Of course, I had to buy it again, meaning that I've spent £14 on a track, but with this one it's definitely worth it. I first heard this when Dennis Kane dropped it on Metro Area's Beats In Space show, and it just stood out as something with a totally different vibe to the glut of edits coming out over the last couple of years. Based on a track from the Kill Bill soundtrack, it's a stomping disco beat backed by a rousing spanish guitar/brass combo, but the arrangement is something incredibly special. Check the way it drops down to the plucked acoustic guitar and strings, only to snap-clap its way back into action and kick into the rolling strum. Disco edit of the year, methinks?

Sample:
Citizen Kane - Kane's Spanish Home // Moton

5) Alex Under - Gris // CMYK
Alex Under's no stranger to using weird samples from movies and TV (one of his best works, his remix of Random Play's 'Just Like That' features samples from Requiem For A Dream), and for his latest release on his own CMYK label, he's sampled the stoned gay hippy from Family Guy. On paper it shouldn't work at all, but the lines that he's taken ('I'm gonna eat that hairy leg', 'I did have a chubby kid on the raft earlier today, etc.) give the relentless bass riff and plinky melody that extra surreal edge.

Sample:
Alex Under - Gris // CMYK

6) Metro Area - #7 // Environ
There were always going to be high expectations for this, and Darshan and Morgan definitely don't disappoint. A-side 'Read My Mind' is the first ever MA track to feature a vocal, and is a dreamy disco-pop voyage, wrapped in sultry strings and staccato synths. Some may find it a little, well... gay for their tastes, but it's my favourite of the bunch. A short dub version is also provided (thankfully at the same speed so you're able to mix the dub version over the top of the previous track before fading down and whipping the needle back to the start of the vocal), along with 'Erodyne', where the lads set the arpeggiators to stun before dreamy chords send proceedings into orbit. The whole package isn't as immediate as some of the previous 12"s, but give it time and it'll become one of your favourites of this year.

Samples:
Metro Area - #7 // Environ

7) Mark Farina - Back To The House EP // Om
This is a few months old now, but seeing as I haven't spoken about it before and it's still in the front of my box, I may as well do it now. The 'GLA mix' is my preferred version - an incredibly simple track made up of a spoken word vocal eulogising about bringing house music back, backed with a boompty bassline and a jacking drum track. There's also a mix with just the drums and vocals for the more adventurous DJ, and a more melodic version for people who want to keep things a little more groovy. A classic jack track for '07 - get yourselves on it.

Samples:
Mark Farina - Back To The House EP // Om

8) Claro Intelecto - Dependent // Modern Love
Serving as a taster for Claro's forthcoming 'Metanarrative' LP, this 300 copy release (now unfortunately out of stock) has definitely got me very excited about this album. Starting beatlessly for the first two minutes, the kick gets added before slowly metamorphesizing into a fuller sound, with choppy hats panning around the speakers and syncopated static bursts emerging sporadically. He's had a great year in 2007, but I'm sure that 2008 will see even more Claro converts worship this man for the talent that he is.

Sample link (click through to Boomkat):
Claro Intelecto - Dependent // Modern Love

9) Mountain People DJs - Mountain People 005 // Mountain People
No surprises here - Mountain People come out with yet another cracking twelve inch. No idea who the producers are on this one (I'm guessing that label founders Serafin & André Schmid provide a side each), but you've got a tracky roller on the A broken up intermittently by a sustained spaced out chord, and a chunkier track on the B which is on more of a skippy deep house tip.

Samples:
Mountain People DJs - Mountain005.1 // Mountain People
Mountain People DJs - Mountain005.2 // Mountain People

10) Pole - Steingarten (Shackleton & Peverelist Remixes) // ~scape
If you only buy one of the four Pole remix twelves, let it be this one. Shack's tripped out mix was the one that held my attention in the shop, but once getting it home it was Peverelist's use of space and whomping bass pulses that really got me going. Good on local boy Tom - he's really going from strength to strength at the moment.

Samples:
Pole - Achterbahn (Shackleton Remix) // ~scape
Pole - Winkelstreben (Peverelist Remix) // ~scape

And remember that we've got Best Before with Daniel Donnachie (Disco Paradiso/Cosmic Dancing) this Friday if you're in Bristol...

To get you in the mood, here's the latest edition of Daniel's 'Cosmic Dancing' mix series with exclusive cuts from Nick Chacona on Prins Thomas' new offshoot and the disco aficionado's edit label of choice, Beard Science. More of Daniel's mixes can be found here.

Daniel Donnachie - Cosmic Dancing #41
Lovefingers - Astroturf // RVNG
Studio - East Side (Version) // Chinatown
Lovefingers - Bermuda // RVNG
Beard Science - Ark Raiders (T.Tauri Edit) // Beard Science
Simone Ferdi - Belzebu Tales // CD-R
They Came From The Stars: I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Dub) // This Is Not An Exit
Nick Chacona - Eagle City // Internasjonal
Beard Science - Hold Me Longer (Jininchi Rework) // Beard Science
Brennan Green - Escape From Chinatown // Chinatown
Nick Chacona - Mariachi // Internasjonal
Les Edits Du Golem - Klout // Golem
They Came From The Stars: I Saw Them - Signals (Album Version) // This Is Not An Exit

Download:
Daniel Donnachie - Cosmic Dancing #41

Space Is The Place

2007-12-06T01:03:00.000Z

TAPE Radio - Show #33: 'Space Is The Place'
CV313 - Subtraktive // Smallfish
Quantec - T1,0 // Styrax Leaves
Deepchord - Electromagnetic Dowsing (Step 1) // SYNTH
Soultek - Space Groove // Iron Box Music
Octal Industries - Arrival // Octal
Quince - So Far // Music Man
October - Rhumba 403 // CD-R
Basic Soul Unit - Tunnels (Sebo K & Metro Remix) // Mule Electronic
Donnacha Costello - Black Bag Job (737) // Minimise
Frivolous - Born Out Of Beta // Karloff
Baby Oliver - Shot Caller // Environ
Alexander Robotnick - A Coffee Shop In Rotterdam // Endless Flight
Soulphiction - Everytime // Perlon
The Mole - Thanks For Coming Out Pt.1 // Musique Risquée
Cornelius - Drop // Matador
Brian Eno - Golden Hours // Island

Listen:
TAPE Radio - 'Space Is The Place'

MixTAPE: HMS Cokehead

2007-12-04T06:30:00.000Z

I've been promising this mix for absolutely ages, had a bit of trouble uploading it, and then forgot about it. Seeing as I've been inactive as far as blogging is concerned over the last couple of weeks, I thought I'd take time out to share it. Completed one wrong morning by myself, Dan Kelly (of the now infamous Kelly Twins), and Joe Hart (Bloc Weekender /West Country Shakedown) after September's under_score party whilst leafing through Mr Hart's collection, 'HMS Cokehead' is a tearing acid/electro/disco rinseout for people who like their house music with a bit of fun.

Regarding the mix's title - no, we weren't all blowing coke up each other's arses actually! It's actually a reference to one of Dan's old acquaintances who joined the navy, partied hard on the drugs and booze, and when he came to sell his story with some of his colleagues, they did the dirty on him and all gave quotes and evidence against him. The headline of the piece was - much to our amusement of course - 'HMS Cokehead'. I'm sure there's a moral there, but I have no idea what! For more amusing antics by this person, check here to see a video clip of him invading a football pitch shouting 'we've fucking done it!', just after his team has been relegated... Say what?!

Hart, Kelly & Carnage - 'HMS Cokehead'
1) Unknown Track // Unknown
2) Fast Eddie - Acid Thunder // DJ International
3) KC Flightt - Planet E (Acid Drop Mix) // RCA
4) Adonis - Rockin' Down The House // Trax
5) Mr. Lee - I Can't Forget // Trax
6) Christopher Just presents Acid Joseph - I Just Love Acid Too (Original Mix) // Holon
7) The World Class Wreckin Cru - House Calls // Macola
8) LFO - We Are Back // Warp
9) Escort - A Bright New Life // Escort
10) Kraftwerk - The Robots // EMI
11) Heaven 17 - Penthouse & Pavement // Virgin
12) John Rocca - Move (Landlord House Mix) // Criminal
13) Tyree - Acid Over (Tyree's Mix) // Underground
14) Message From Future - Robot Is... // Blood Record
15) Giorgio Moroder - Lost Angeles (Outro) & Utopia // Durium
17) Egyptian Lover - Girls // Egyptian Empire
18) Purple Flash - We Can Make It (Vocal Mix) // JDC
19) David Michael Cross - Cold War (Vocal) // White Leather
20) Morgan Geist - Lullaby // Environ
21) Break Machine - Break Dance Party (Dub Mix) // RCA Victor

Download:
Hart, Kelly & Carnage - HMS Cokehead

There should also be some new content coming this week. We've got a new radio show for you featuring an hour of quality dub techno alongside some other bits (including an exclusive forthcoming track from our man October - check the 4.5/5 review of his 'Three Drops' single over at RA here), some new mixes (including a couple from some special guests), interviews with Steve Bug & Sebo K, and other assorted stuff. There'll also be a round up of 2007's 12" releases, as with last year, so keep checking back in the next couple of weeks for that. The radio show should be broadcast tonight at about 1am tonight, and I'll get the tracklisting and archive up later today.

THE WASHING LINE

2007-11-30T17:57:00.000Z

Mix Me Up

2007-11-06T22:53:00.000Z

Before I start, I'd just like to thank everyone that came out to any/all of our best before: birthday weekender last weekend. Phil Banks warmed things up nicely for Rune (and also pulled out the first Gatto Fritto record that I've been trying to lay my hands on for an age now - bloody 200 copy records when I'm skint!), who absolutely spanked it and managed to get a three minute round of applause at the end of the night. Saturday's shenanigans were even more debauched - Thumbs Aloft had our room in rapture before I'd even hit the club, and me and Puffin followed them with (what I'm told was) one of the best sets we've played together in an age, rinsing out the hi-nrg disco, italo and house. Sell By Dave and The Kelly Twins brought things to a messy climax by spanking the hip-house and acid until the plug was sadly pulled. One of the best night's I've had out in ages though! The hardcore contingent were still around for mine and the Kelly's sets down at The Park on Sunday, and things ended suitably with remaining faithful doing the can-can to 'Happy Together'.... Yes, it definitely had to be seen to be believed... The previous week was also a highlight, with us following up JD Twitch's incredible three hour set at Native. Any man that can rock a shirt that looks like it's got a waistcoat stitched onto it is obviously a total legend.

Anyway... I've been promising this for a while (and to be fair, some critical writing on these pages is long overdue), but now I'm finally going to get round to it. There seems to have been a splurge of great compilations over the last month or so, so I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of the ones that are worth your hard earned cashola, which is something that I'm quite short on at the moment seeing as some cunt - and I don't use that word lightly - has just fucked off to Germany without paying me the 400 smackers that he owes me. Ouch. And it wasn't for the techno, either - that I would've understood! Anyway, enough of my troubles - here's five of the best:

V/A - From Antenna To Antenna // Sender
I have to admit that with the exception Andre Crom's 'Ambulanz EP', I've been pretty lax in checking out Sender's output this year. If, like me, you've been too occupied drowning in a sea of mediocre minimal techno records, this mix from label boss Benny Blome will definitely set you back on the right track. Opening with the boompty reductionism of Bloody Mary's 'Emma Pt. 1', Blome weaves the label's last 12 months of output into a satisfyingly trippy whole, whilst peppering the selection with surefire jackers from Error Error and Frank Martiniq. Minimal fans looking for a suitably wonky afterhours selection to put on when they're too battered to man the decks should look no further...

V/A - Cadenza Contemporary 01 & Cadenza Classics // Cadenza
...that is, unless they prefer their sprawling organic grooves to Sender's metallic techiness. Luciano and Serafin's Cadenza imprint provides the perfect counterpoint to Blome's label, whilst being equally suited to mangling your cerebrum in the early hours. As with the 'From Antenna To Antenna' mix, the focus of the 'Contemporary 01' disc (mixed live by Luciano, of course) is on the label's '07 output, and whilst it would've been nice for him to feature some of their earlier 'hits', it only goes to show that the material being released by them at the moment is incredibly strong. One thing that's been niggling me about M_nus at the moment is their tendency to release highly unnecessary and expensive double packs that are lapped up by the faithful in their thousands. I mean, come on - even the most ardent M_nus fan has no need for seven substandard remixes of 'R U OK', do they? Even Troy Pierce's highly anticipated 'Gone Astray' was a huge letdown for me. Cadenza, on the other hand, have no issues with quality control on this type of release (actually, on any of their releases!). Petre Inspirescu's 'Tips' and Digitaline's 'Honolulu' both have two tracks featured on here, and all are twisted masterpieces with irresistable grooves and wonderously idiosyncratic hooks. If by the time that Andomat 3000 & Jan's TAPE anthem 'L Delay' hits home, you're still not locked into the action, you'd better start checking your pulse. The 'Classics' disc contains a unmixed selection from the label's first six releases in chronological order, so if you've been snapping up the vinyl like me it might not appeal to you as much as Luciano's mix. However, if you haven't heard future classics like 'Orange Mistake', 'Max Binski', and 'Bomberos' yet, it's an ideal way to ease yourself into the joys of techno psychedelia.

Will Saul - Simple Sounds Vol. 1 // Simple
Will Saul's Simple imprint really has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years, with his savvy A&Ring providing much joy for DJs and dancers alike across the globe. Here he showcases Simple and sublabel Aus over the duration of a two disc set, and as with the Cadenza package, you get both a mix from the label boss in addition to an unmixed disc. This time, however, you get a bunch of new productions from Saul himself alongside some freshly commissioned remixes from Gui Boratto, Partial Arts, and Aus signing Sideshow amongst others. Will's new tracks are amongst his strongest and most diverse yet - '3000AD' twinkles atop a sparse yet bouncing bass progression to die for and should find favour with fans of Lawrence et al, 'Out There' is a gorgeously deep rolling tech-houser, and the remaining two showcase his obvious love for the nu-disco sound of the moment. Out of the remixes, it's Sideshow's dubbed out interpretation of Will & Tam Cooper's 'Sequential Circus' that really stood out for me but that probably won't surprise you seeing as I've been banging on about his material for a good while now. If I had my way I'd make Fin Greenall ditch his Fink project for Ninja Tune to concentrate on this stuff full time! Sideshow also features heavily on the mixed disc - an uncredited beatless version of 'Scary Biscuits' leads into a sublime double whammy of My My and Lee Jones at the start of the disc, and it's very hard to imagine a better way to kick off the first quarter of an hour. All this cosmic house makes way for Sideshow's respective disco and dub tributes ('Philly Soundworks' and 'African Cheri') and the quality remains until the disc is closed off with Motorcitysoul and Alexkid's galacial wonk. If you like your electronic music deliciously deep whilst looking to both the past and the future for inspiration, then the answer is Simple - Will Saul's your man.

Donnacha Costello - Colorseries // Minimise
We're massive fans of Donnacha here at TAPE, and whilst this CD isn't going to be of much use to Puffin Jack (he's proudly got the full Colorseries set neatly stacked in the gentlemen's lounge), it might be to you if you missed out on it first time. Majestically melodic analogue techno from a man who doesn't nearly get enough praise that he deserves. It's worth buying alone for the b-side of the 'Mustard' release - proper bleep euphoria.

James Murphy & Pat Mahoney - Fabriclive 36 // Fabric
Now I'm not normally a massive fan of the Fabriclive series, but this is definitely one of my favourite mixes of the year. Much respect goes out to James 'Bear Chops' Murphy and LCD cohort Mahoney for using their pedestal of popularity to thrust disco into the consciousness of Fabric's subscribers and LCD fans, and also for having the balls to whack a whole load of unofficial (and therefore uncredited) edits onto a mainstream mix CD. Sure, the mixing isn't spot on sometimes, and the Still Going/City Of Women section seems like an unnecessary curveball, but I love the fact that it possesses the energy and vibe of a live club set. Great selections too - there's not a single track on there that isn't absolutely astounding (choice cuts include Theo Parrish's edit of GQ's 'Lies' and DJ Dimitri's edit of Love Committee), and there's a good mix of classics and obscurities. Disco fans - get dipping in your pockets.

I should hopefully be back soon with a selection of some of the 12" singles that I've been enjoying over the past couple of months, and if I've got time on Thursday night I'll update this post with audio samples from some of these mixes.

If you're in Bristol over the weekend, this Friday sees me headline Bleeep down at Sublime on King Street, so pop down if you fancy a bit of TAPE stylings to kickstart your weekend. Things go down from 8 til 1, and best of all it's free, so if you're skint like me you've got no excuse! Detriot legends Octave One bring out their racks and racks of analogue equipment to play live at Kingpin afterwards (Kingpin's Dave Gecko joins me on the decks at Bleeep beforehand as well - he played a quality deep house selection last time I saw him) which is going on at Warehouse. If you've got the cash it should be well worth checking out as they were great last time around when they played at Timbuk2. Also, make sure to pick up your tickets for our party with Andrew Weatherall on the 16th at Native as we're getting a lot of local press coverage in a week or so which may make getting in difficult if you try on the door. We've held back around 80 tickets for the door, so if you're down on the night make sure you get down early if you're without a ticket. Until next time...

MixTAPE: Sell By Dave & Sean Kelly

2007-11-02T09:36:00.000Z

I've been promising to upload this mix for a good month now and haven't got round to it, so with it being the best before: birthday this weekend I've got the perfect excuse. Our fellow resident Sell By Dave and the Kelly Twins' Sean Kelly (nicknamed 'The Robot' for his super tight mixing ability) sorted this mix out for us in early October, and showcases the more upbeat, jacking side of our best before: parties. Here's Sell By with the blurb:

"After a bevvy or two last night, myself and Sean Kelly laid down this spontaneous mix of old and new faves. Kicking off with some socio-political comment from David Byrne and Mudd's overlooked (but brilliant) 'Flytoget', we worked through percussive dub disco and house, bleep techno, lush deepness, jackin' acid, hip-house, electro and electrofunk before finishing with a stunning nu-disco climax (that's the only way to describe Lindstrom and Mungolian Jetset's '16th Rebels Of Mung' version of 'Clairevoyage' by Domninic Leone). There's the odd slight error here and there, but we did do it on the fly and on the whole we think it flows well and has loads of energy… whilst squeezing in a fair few things. We hope you enjoy listening to it!"

1) David Byrne – Rich People Have Lazy Minds // White
2) Mudd - Flytoget // Outergaze
3) Right Direction - Midnight Rhythm (Part Sixx’s Underdog Dub // Past Due
4) Renegade Soundwave - Ozone Breakdown // Mute Records
5) Coco, Steel & Lovebomb - Dub It // Warp
6) Tricky Disco - Tricky Disco (Inner Space Mix) // Warp
7) Shuffle Inc - Remember Chicago (Swag’s Basement Dub) // Vibrant
8) Jazzanova v Atjazz - Deeper Dub // White
9) Clyde feat Capitol A - Serve It Up (Brooks Hiphouse Mix) // Mantis Recordings
10) Tyree Cooper - Hardcore Hip-house (T’s Revenge Mix) // DJ International
11) Housemaster Boyz - House Nation // Trax
12) DMX Krew - The Storm King // Breakin’ Records
13) Kid Frost - Rough Cut (Dance Mix) // Electrobeat Records
14) Mental Overdrive - Discodans // LoveOD Communications
15) Comtron - FTM Anthem 2007 // Rush Hour
16) Putsch 79 - Galactic Pancake // Klakson
17) Dominic Leone - Clairevoyage (A Medley By The 16th Rebels Of Mung) // Feedelity CDR

Download:
Sell By Dave & Sean Kelly - Music From Merkin Manor

As if you've forgotten, best before: celebrate their 4th birthday this weekend in venues all over Bristol. Friday sees us return to our spiritual sanctuary (ie. The Bank) for debauched antics with Rune Lindbaek (check the interview with him below), whilst on Saturday we'll be taking over Switch's back room in Timbuk2 (AJ Scent and Jamie Anderson join us on the bill in the main room). Sunday sees me and the Kelly Twins wind things down with a wildstyling sabbath selection down at The Park (free entry, drinks deals, etc.). If you need any more info about these, don't hesitate to post in the comments box. Take care of yourselves this weekend, and I'll see you on the other side!

TAPEd Conversation: Rune Lindbaek (Noid / Paper)

2007-10-31T11:25:00.001Z

He might not be as widely-acclaimed as Prins Thomas, Hans-Peter Lindstrom or Terje Olsen, but Oslo’s Rune Lindbaek has been every bit as influential on the city’s cosmic/dub disco scene… if not more so. Before he set off for a short trip to the UK – which culminates in an appearance at the TAPE-affiliated best before: party this coming Friday – Rune took time out of his hectic schedule to chat with our old pal Sell By Dave...

So Rune, we’ve heard a lot about you and enjoyed a number of your productions, but we don’t know much about you. How and when did you first start your production career?

“I started with Bjorn Torske in 1991/1992. Bjorn was producing before me – I was just playing records, but I got dragged in by him and suddenly we had a record out.”

The first productions we heard of yours were deep house tracks on Paper under the ‘Those Norwegians’ moniker...

“It’s 10 years since Blair won the election. It was the night after we mastered the ‘Those Norwegians’ album – everyone was very hung over!”

It seems strange thinking back that for many years you were considered a house producer. Is that fair?

"We tried in a way to make not house as such. We loved Paper, but we’re inspired in a lot of ways by DJ Harvey. Things with rhythm but with something else. We contacted Paper because we were neighbours in Manchester. They called straight back and said ‘we want to use this’. We thought ‘fucking hell, Paper’!”

So, what are you up to musically now?

“I’m doing a lot of differernt things – three albums this year. The first came out in the spring, ‘Klub Kebbab’ edits on Noid. Klubb Kebbab is a night I did for three years in a basement – it was packed! It was our disco not disco night, at a place called Head On, which is a legendary Oslo club. I’m a bit of an ambient fan, and I’ve got an ambient album coming out. Then something called Preshenga. I was born on the Russian border. I did it with a friend of mine up there. That’s finished and mastered, so will be out later in the year. We have a label called Pushenga to put it out on. I’ve also been working with the Idjut Boys on an album for Noid which should come out in 2008.”

We’ve heard quite a few remixes of yours lately. Is that something you like doing?

“I don’t have much of a business plan, so friends here ask me to do remixes. So I have a lot of remixes to do for Norwegian artists. Norwegians are shit at business – horrible. Shit at getting things done, shit at pressing things up, shit at promotion. There used to be two pressing plants here, but they didn’t survive. A lot of mixes I’ve done for Norwegian artists I’ve put together on a mix CD for a label called Beatservice. They’re based in my home town, about two rows from my mum. They have some old neighbours of mine on the label. Fenomenon are on there too. That CD is out now.”

For those of outside Norway there seems to be a lot happening in Oslo right now, what with the likes of Prins Thomas, Lindstrom and Todd Terje ripping it up. Do you think it’s fair to say the Norwegian scene is hot right now?

“I think it’s fair to say there is a lot happening. I’m glad, because I think one of the biggest mistakes I did was to adpot a Swedish name as a pisstake. It was because of the Eurovision ‘nul points’ and the bad way people think of Norwegian music. The whole Norway thing for me and Bjorn started 10 years ago, but now there are all these new guys who are doing brilliant stuff, and they work really hard. Hans-Peter is in the same building as me and he works really hard – he’s very professional and dedicated.”

One of the things we noticed from our trip to Oslo earlier in the year was the real ‘community’ feel and camaradarie between the DJs and producers. Is that real?

“Oh yes. None of us make any money, so there’s no competition. There are so many nice people – everyone’s nice – so it’s more just about fun. And really looking out for good records that are inspiring. Just good people.”

We’ve always wondered why Norwegian disco productions – and yours especially – are so dubby and spacious. Care to shed any light on it for us?

“I think if you have a bit of delay, a nice melody, a good bassline and a good rhythm, then you have a good foundation. You can tell why the Idjut Boys, Dan and Conrad, are a very very big influence. Their production technicques... we don’t all use the same, but they were on to something a long time ago.”

Is there something about Oslo as a place that makes people go for dubby, spaced-out disco? All the clubs we’ve been in out there seem to play the stuff by the barrowload... For those of us used to rarely hearing those records in UK clubs it’s pretty inspiring...

“The people who influence us in Norway, the big names are dub disco DJs. You have people who are popular around the world, the big names, but they are not popular here. Me and Bjorn [Torske] and Pal [Nyhus, AKA DJ Strangefruit] and [Prins] Thomas, we are the ones who like the dub disco thing. This is going to sound… well, it is a fact that people come to our nights, and have done for many years. That’s the thing we play. You can have big name DJs, but that’s not what they play, they are not influential.”

Why are they not that influential in Oslo? In the UK club nights struggle unless they book ‘big name’ guests...

“I don’t know. The good places to go clubbing here have always been smaller venues. In Oslo they tried to have bigger places – they tried and tried and tried, again and again and again, but they were not popular. Backroom music is the main room music here. There is a place you should check out where I do my monthly, called Nomaden... you’d love it. Friends of mine are running it. All those good records, they work. So many times I’ve thought ‘I’ll see how this goes’, and the crowd are like ‘yeah!’. It’s inspirational to me.”

Here at TAPE towers we’re big fans of parties in small venues. Intimacy is good when it comes to raving, we reckon – that’s why our best before: night is in a pub!

“Sounds good – I’m very much looking forward to coming and playing in Bristol. Size is important – you can’t have 600 or 800 people dancing to disco. You need smaller venues so you can get in the heads.”

Do you think the lack of drugs in Oslo has a bearing on the party scene and people’s love of slower music?

“Maybe. In Oslo it’s all about weed and beer.”

We hear you’re pretty familar with England, having lived here in the past. How do you feel about our fair isle?

“I love England to bits, and since I was 14 I’ve been going back and forth, record shopping in London, living in Darlington for a year.”

You lived in Darlington? We bet that was pretty strange for a Norwegian!

“It was!”

So, going back to the whole Norwegian scene for a moment, do you think the success you, Bjorn, Thomas and Hans-Peter Lindstrom have had opens things up for a new wave of producers to kick on?

“Yeah, definitely, and I think it’s good. As long as it’s good people doing good releases, then that’s brilliant. I don’t know whether you’re getting an impression of it, but people round here are shit at selling. We don’t have that culture here. In Norway, compared to the Swedes. If someone from Norway goes to Sweden on a business meeting, the people from Sweden will be in suits, and the people from Norway won’t be. The first thing the Norwegians will say is ‘where are we going after?’, the Swedes will want to know how they can sell something!”

Having met a fair few Norwegians from our time in Oslo, you do seem to be a laidback race who love to party. Is that a fair assement?

“Yeah, we love the fun. I feel so lucky living here. I’ve travelled a lot, and we don’t have any social problems. The social system takes care of everything. Norwegians like to have fun. Without the oil we would be a wasteland. Hooray for the oil!”

Right, we’ll see you at best before: on November 2nd...

“I’m looking forward to it. I like the sound of a Bristol booze-up! Just make sure you get me to Heathrow the next day!”

As if you needed reminding, Rune Lindbaek plays best beFour:, the best before: 4th birthday bash at The Bank Tavern in Bristol on Friday 2nd November. Entry is free all night, beards are optional. Us best before: lot are also playing at Timbuk2 on Saturday in Switch's back room, and also taking over The Park on Sunday to round the weekend off. I'm assured that there will be drinks deals on the Sunday, so pop on down for a boogie with music from my good self, and eternally entertaining Kelly Twins.

We should also have an interview with Steve Bug concerning his forthcoming Fabric mix for you very soon, so hold tight for that one.

TAPE is back!

2007-10-18T14:36:00.001Z

I haven't got long to tell you this as I'm busy at work, but I can finally reveal who'll be kicking off TAPE's return to a more regular position on Bristol's clubbing calendar. We're back to a bi-monthly slot at the 200 capacity Native venue, and our first guest will be none other than Andrew Weatherall. Yes, that's right. Weatherall in a 200 capacity sweatbox. Don't we spoil you? Friday 16th November - get the date in your diary. Here are the full details:

TAPE
Friday November 16th
Native, Small St, Bristol

With Special Guests:
ANDREW WEATHERALL
Andy Clarkson (Payback Hi-Fi)

& Residents:
Puffin Jack & Richard Carnage

£8 adv, £9 NUS, £10 OTD
Tickets available from Bristol Ticket Shop (http://www.bristolticketshop.co.uk/)

You lucky TAPE readers have an advance heads up on tickets until Monday, so make sure that you make the most of this time as we're fairly confident of our ticket allocation selling out. Click the link above if you live outside of Bristol and you can book them online from the Bristol Ticket Shop website. I'll be back later this week with more info, so hold tight for that.

Take Three Drops

2007-10-18T10:13:00.000Z

Whilst doing my usual scoot round the internet this morning I got a pleasant surprise in the form of our mate October's first techno 12" peering out at me from the Boomkat new releases. Those who follow the blog will know that we have been waiting for this moment for some time. After a couple of false starts October, pictured above with Carnage and myself at the last Mutant Pop, now has his only label Caravan which we have mentioned here before. The label springs forth from the the same stable that bought you Tectonic and those fantastic Emptyset 12"s.
The first release on the label is the rather mighty 'Three Drops' which you might not be surprised to hear is so called because it is built around three dance floor drops, that have had discerning ravers going crazy here in Bristol. The track is one of my personal favourites and has had some serious rotation in my CD player. Sounding not dis-similar to the vibe that the Innervisions releases have, but with a gritty techno sharpness that sets it apart from the pack. It has a certain low slung wonky grooviness, with a throbbing glitchy pulse that propels the track forwards. On the flip comes the excellent 'Homosapiens' which has been doing the business round these parts for some time. The track is built around a wiry, intricate beat with indistinguishable vocal snippets that brings to mind the best of Someone Else's work. It has that bubbling techno funkiness that only the best producers on the minimal scene can attain.
The future certainly looks bright for October and Caravan, with a healthy release schedule stretching out to next year, expect big things. Look out for future releases from Emptyset (now exclusive to Caravan) and TG, as well as October's ode to this 'ere blog the 10 minute and counting epic that is 'TAPE'. I'm sure we'll be on hand to keep you informed so watch this space! I should just say that the tracks mentioned are currently available at Boomkat and also over at Beatport, where October has also done a chart. I should expect you'll find them a few more places in the next couple of days. To finish things off here is a current chart form me:

1) Substance & Vanqueur - Libration/Resonance // Scion Versions
2) The Bug - Skeng (Kode 9 rmx) // Hyperdub
3) October - Three Drops // Caravan
4) 2562 - Channel Two/Circulate // Tectonic
5) 2562 - Kameleon/Channel One // Tectonic
6) Emptyset - Isokon/Seclusion // Future Days
7) Coki - Songebob // DMZ
8) Microworld - This is my Friend // Styrax Leaves
9) Bass Clef - Zamyatin Tapes Vol. 1 // Blank Tapes
10) Art Bleek - Antichambre // Rush Hour

Hype Gripe

2007-10-11T15:00:00.000Z

Unfortunately my computer's still done in at the moment, so apologies for the lack of updates. I just thought that I'd pop on here to make light of one of the recent Resident Advisor reviews of Dubfire's 'Ribcage'. The first release on Martin Buttrich and Loco Dice's Desolat label has been hugely hyped and charted loads of people of late, so I was quite excited to get my ears around it. Once I did, I found myself replaying it again and again - not because it excited me - the polar opposite is unfortunately the case. Just WHY have people been getting excited about this track? It's just boring proggy nonsense that has no appeal to me at all. Steer clear of this at all costs. It's yet another lesson that whatever the hype is surrounding a record, you could always give it the once over before blindly buying it just because of others charting it. Whatever happened to interesting, engaging 'minimal' tracks that stand up on their own accord rather than having the excuse of being a mixing tool? Come on bandwagon jumpers - surely you can do better than this lazy load of drivel!

Check Todd Burns' totally on point review of it over at RA here.

For people wanting to listen to something different to all the usual gubbins that's about at the moment, why not look to the past instead? I've been getting some serious play from Shit Robot's mix over at Beats In Space (scroll down to the June shows) that, thankfully, steers away from everyone else's 'oh I'll just do a conceited disco mix' attitude on the show. Packed full of chunky old school house joints and UK rave anthems, it's been a breath of fresh of air for me on my walks to and from work. Yes, that's right, I've finally got round to getting myself an mp3 player that works. Living on the edge of technological advancement, as usual! I've been getting my ears round a few mixes at the moment whilst on my wanders - other recent recommendations would be the Prosumer and Crowdpleaser mixes over at Resident Advisor, and also the ones over at the Warm agency's blog. Ones of note would be the Trickski and Gerd mixes. Hours of audio enjoyment for you there - should be enough to tide you over until I get my computer fixed next week (should be Thursday, but don't count on it!).

I'll also be back with news of the guest for our TAPE relaunch at Native on November 16th (along with ticket details, which you blog readers will get an advance heads up on). It's a secret at the moment, but let's just say that come rain or shine, we're sure he'll smash it out...

The Miller's Tale

2007-10-05T10:33:00.000Z

Wotcha, Puffin Jack here, with the details of this weekends clubbing activity in Bristol. I have been tasked with this role as comrade Carnage's computer is on the blink, so here goes...

Right first off most importantly this Friday, today in fact, sees the return of our beloved 'Best Before:' party. Regular readers of the blog may remember us banging on about it, it was the one we used to do in a pub, the Bank, until it closed down. Well low and behold the pub has re-opened under the management of one the ex-bar staff! Great news for us as he was keen to welcome us back, having experienced the sheer hedonistic joy of a whole pub dancing on tables to 12" mixes of Fleetwood Mac! We were overjoyed to hear the bank was reopening as I can honestly say, and speak for Richard as well when I say it is the best boozer in town. I have lost many a Friday night and Saturday afternoon in there and don't regret a second. So what do we have in store tonight then? Having previously put on the likes of Chris Duckenfield and Mudd, the nights overlord, Sell by Dave decided to keep it local for the first one. That basically means us and our mates playing, keep it in the family eh?! Step up then The Kelly Twins, Andy Clarkson, Legendary Tone and Matt Oldham. Expect the usual heady mix of disco in its many forms, a dose of hip house, some random rock and lots of other gubbins. To recap then:

Best Before: @ The Bank

Friday 5th October

7pm - late

FREE!

Next up it is my duty to tell you about our friends under_score party this Saturday. A few weeks back they put on an excellent party at the 'world famous' Blue Mountain club here in Bristol. Although unfortunately rather under attended it was one of the best nights musically this year. Babyford and Oliver Ho absolutely rocked it. Ho in particular played a fantastic set of stripped back, and at times almost industrial techno which had me dancing and whooping like a mad thing! This Saturday sees the under_score crew return to the basement vibes they are famed for as they take over the tube with special guest Dave Miller. The last time Dave played for the guys was down at Cosies, about two years ago. It has to rank as one of my favourite parties the crew have put on. For those unaware of Miller's work, he has been repeatedly compared to Jan Jelinek, although it has to be said most producers who make glitch based music end up being compared to the mighty Jelinek at one time or another! For me though Miller's work has the added advantage of a real love for low slung, rumbling bass, something which we here in Bristol love. When he played Cosies, which is an intimate cellar bar that more normally plays host to reggae or dubwise flavours, his slow skanking, glitchy bass sounds sat perfectly with the ambiance of the place as toothless Rastas and nerdy Caucasians head nodded along in a stoned approval. This was two years ago now, and apparently Miller has moved his sound on a little to encompass a more clubby vibe, i'll pass over to Duncan 'undeniable magic' George, under_score's lynchpin to tell you more:

"Since he last played for us Dave has moved from Perth, Australia, to Bethnal Green and has been soaking up inspiration from his new surroundings. He is also fresh from some fruitful collaborations with key players in the Australian music scene; Triosk and Pivot. As Roam The Hello Clouds they explore the intersection of live jazz and electronics on their album 'Near Misses' for the influential German label ~scape. With fellow countryman Fiam he released an album of glowing downtempo electronics 'A Modern Romance' on UK imprint Expanding Records.
His solo work takes in the fractured low end shuffle of dubstep, the shifted jazz keys and soulful rhythms of house legend Theo Parrish, and the detailed interference of Jan Jelinek, effortlessly leaping the divide between the dancefloor and the outer limits. Never afraid to take it slo-mo, he defies the 'faster/harder' brigade with deft and determined broken beats and a melodic approach which is at once humanistic and totally alien. It is beautiful, mutated funk music that you feel with your head, heart and feet, and it has won him fans the world over."

Well that pretty much says it all. Here are details of the show:

under_score @ the tube

w/ Dave Miller

Saturday 6th October

10pm - 4am

£4

Dave has sent us a cheeky edit he has done of a certain US indie band, which would have been nice to put up here today, but due to my technical ineptitude I will have to pass it on to Carnage to post sometime next week!

All that is left for me to say is have a good weekend, and oh yeah if your in blighty SUPPORT THE STRIKING POSTIES!

Living For The Weekend

2007-09-28T01:46:00.000Z

Thank god Mr Soft’s back! Seeing as he’s nicely rounded up a fair few musical treats to get your ears around, I thought that I’d round up the weekend’s clubbing activities in London and Bristol. It’s yet another hectic weekend in the South West for us – too many parties, not enough time! Our friends who run the Byte nights are celebrating their first birthday with an extremely ambitious (yet going by their previous parties, it’s going to be fucking rammed) three day bender at Native that’s very much on a traditional Bristol tip. Suburban Base and Planet Mu’s Bizzy B headlines the Friday with a rinsing D&B set, whilst Pirate Soundsystem and Malice & Enzyme battle it out for the battle for the title of ‘the real nu-ravers’ with an hardcore breaks vs. electro-house face off that will, well, literally take your face off. Things take a groovier turn on the Saturday with a funk and soul set from Hundred Strong, and the Sunday’s all about the dubstep. Much has been said about headliner Chef’s previous appearances in the city, so I’m pretty sure that Transition’s master engineer is going to do the business again with a selection of dubplates so upfront, they probably won’t come out til at least 2010. There’s loads of other people filling up the bills, so go to the Byte site (http://www.byte.moonfruit.com/) or their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/byteclub) for more info.

If you fancy your dubstep with a twist of techno, however (and on a Friday night rather than a Sunday), then you should head down to Four:Twenty’s new monthly night down at Timbuk2 for a killer line-up. Daniel Stefanik (Moon Harbour/Mobilee/Statik) heads up the main room with his dubwise clickiness alongside Four:Twenty’s own James Mowbray, whilst the dubsteppers take over the the second room with sets from hometown hero Peverelist (check his incendiary The Grind/Erstwhile Rhythm release on his own Punch Drunk imprint if you haven’t already) and Skull Disco’s Appleblim. Quite a large bill, I think you’ll agree. I’ve heard on the grapevine that they’ve already booked Matthias Tanzmann and Solomun for future dates, so keep a look out for those.

As Byte are busy with their birthday shenanigans, myself and Puffin Jack’ll be taking over their weekly Sunday Sessions down at The Park (just off The Triangle) alongside our best before: compadre and iDJ editor Sell By Dave (best before: is back by the way, but more of that another time). Things kick off at 8 and finish at 2 in the morning, so pop down for a few drinks and a wiggle to our melange of house, disco, techno, italo, and whatever else takes our fancy. We’ve been ordered by Byte head honcho Basic DJ to ‘keep things lively’, so expect us to be kicking out the jams, proper TAPE style.

So…. London, London, London… No idea what’s going on this Friday at all, but there’s a mammoth marathon of techno over the Saturday and Sunday that’ll test the endurance of all but the hardiest ravers. Things start off at Fabric on Saturday night, where Ricardo Villalobos will be launching his ‘Fabric 36’ mix with a star studded line-up. Joining him in the main room will be English starlet Jamie Jones and resident DJ Craig Richards, whilst Bruno Pronsato (Orac/Telegraph/Philpot) completes room one’s billing with his masterful jacked up glitchfest of a live set (as witnessed at under_score last year). As if that wasn’t enough, you’ve got the uber-minimal Detriot legend that is Robert Hood in the second room, and Chateau Flight’s Gilb’r in room three if all that techno gets a bit much for your poor ears. If Ricardo’s previous Fabric appearances are anything to go by, the main room will definitely still be going into the early afternoon, so you’ll get plenty of pops and clicks for your buck.

If, by 2pm, you’re still in a fit enough state to remember your name, you might want to think about traversing across town to Kings Cross for the last Secretsundaze party of the season. This time it’s held on the terrace of Canvas, and they’ve got a pretty stellar bill to send the summer off with a bang. It’s been getting pretty cold out of late, so make sure you wrap up warm and take your Thermos whilst you enjoy sets from Poker Flat and Dial’s respective svengalis, Steve Bug and Lawrence (this time performing under his Sten guise). You Londoners are bloody spoilt, aren’t you? Things wrap up at 10pm so there’s plenty of time to nip home and enjoy a cuppa and the Studio LP before preparing for work on Monday. Failing that, I guess the T-Bar will be open til god knows when…

Anyway, take care of yourselves and your raving buddies, and we’ll see you next week when we’ve got roundups of the latest compilations to hit the shelves from Cadenza, Sender, and Fabric, a showcase of the Beard Science label, and the fabled ‘HMS Cokehead’ mix that myself, Joe Hart, and Dan Kelly put together during one wrong morning earlier this year. Au revoir!

Actually... before I go, here’s a sneak preview of the bill for Fabric’s 8th birthday celebrations. The Thursday and Friday aren’t really to my tastes, but the Saturday honestly is absolutely ridiculous. There’s not many nights where I could say that I’d happily stay in all three rooms for the duration, but if you look at the line-up for this bad boy, I think you’ll heartily agree.

Saturday 20 October @ Fabric
10pm-10am
£15/£12 (NUS/Fabric First Members)

ROOM ONE:
Craig Richards, Terry Francis, Ellen Allien, Cobblestone Jazz (Live), Tobi Neumann, Dyed Soundorom
ROOM TWO:
Ivan Smagghe, Optimo (JG Wilkes), I-f, Black Devil Disco Club (Live)
ROOM THREE:
Rub N Tug, Omar-S, Pete Herbert, Matthias Heilbronn

See what I mean about you Londoners being spoilt? See you down at the front… of one of the rooms anyway!

FACTs of life...

2007-09-27T17:37:00.000Z

Picture: David Tompkinson

Check out the website of my dear employers FACT for a couple of stories that might interest you...

First up, Kompakt head honcho and all-round legend Michael Mayer talks to us about quitting smoking and making the (in my opinion well dodgy) Supermayer Save The World album with his old mucker Superpitcher. Also check out the Q&A with Michael we did on this very blog late last year.
Check: http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/61298

Secondly, Ralph Cumbers, aka Bass Clef (pictured), who's been winning many a fan with his uniquely rambunctious, leftfield take on dubstep, is the subject of a wee spotlight feature. Nazi fairgrounds, Guinness and theremins all feature...
Check: http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/61469

And while I'm here, a few recommendations...

PURE P - THE LOVE SONG / 5 ON IT // G.A.M.M.
The latest G.A.M.M. re-edit 12" comes courtesy of Pure P, who supplies fresh, speaker-shaking beats to hip-hop to Luniz's '5 on It' and Bush Babees' 'The Love Song'. It's the instrumentals that really make this record worth picking up. Super-essential.

STILL GOING - STILL GOING THEME / ON & ON // DFA
After months, MONTHS of inexplicable delay, this piano-led future-classic is finally available on 12". Don't even consider not buying it.

THEY CAME FROM THE STARS I SAW THEM - SIGNALS (EMPEROR MACHINE MIXES) // THISISNOTANEXIT
Our good friends ThisIsNotAnExit drop the latest 12" from passionately shambolic psyche-pop outfit They Came From The Stars. Andy Meecham supplies a vocal and dub version under his Emperor Machine moniker, and wham, bam, they're narco-disco dancefloor killer. As if it could be any other way.

DJ BLAQSTARR - SHAKE IT TO THE GROUND (CLAUDE VON STROKE REMIX) // MAD DECENT
Ignore the Switch, Diplo and original versions and head straight for Von Strokes ultra-reduced mix, which is basically nothing but a rough-house beat and dirty vocal, a la Percolator. Fucking HUGE.

MINDLESS BOOGIE - MORNING DEW (PRINS THOMAS MIX) // MINDLESS BOOGIE
Nazareth's desert cock-rock classic gets re-rubbed by Prins; anyone who heard the original on Todd Terje's 'Ironkuru' remix will know what an unusual but surefire winner this is. Fans of Map of Aprica should seek it out post haste.

Stereo Image

2007-09-25T21:15:00.000Z

Woah, two posts in as many days. I must be unwell.

A short post - because if there's something I've realized in my four-month sabbatical from blogging, it's that short posts do just the same job as long ones - on the subject of Stereo Image. Now, this band strike me as the kind who've already been written about extensively by the internet seekers who can tell me the name of every good group etc., but their debut single is good enough for me to presume otherwise and contribute some more hype to their incredibly worthy cause. Stereo Image's pedigree is, anyhow, near-impeccable: the vocals are provided by San Serac, whose 'Tyrant' single on Output was much-loved by many; the production by Johnny Dark, founder member of Junior Boys (and the brains behind Last Exit - see below). You can't really go wrong with a combo like that, and sure enough, Stereo Image shoot and score with 'Red Nights' and even more so with B-side 'Pack Moves' - crunching tech-step rhythms down below, 80s synth colourings on the mid-range and Nat doing a nice line in Bowie-esque croon-falsetto-croon up top. Pop perfection. I'm not sure if 'Red Nights'/'Pack Moves' will see its way onto 7" or exist only as download; either way, buy it when it lands.

Visit www.myspace.com/stereoimageband for sound-clips.

This post was brought to you by...

1. Manitoba - Start Breaking My Heart LP [Domino]
2. Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck LP [Young Turks]
3. Goldie - Inner City Life [Frrr]
4. Talk Talk - Talk Talk [EMI]
5. Nazareth - Morning Dew (Prins Thomas Edit) [Mindless Boogie]

Soft's summer sure shots...

2007-09-24T10:50:00.000Z

Given that the re-birth of TAPE's clubnight is just around the corner, I thought it's about time I start throwing my bantam weight around these pages again. Simple as that, so let's get on with it...Below, a chart consisting of twenty tunes that have stood the test of a long summer's listening and palpably improved my life along the way. Some are as yet unreleased, some are old, some are re-issues, some are dancefloor-oriented, some are not. All are fucking good. So, in no particular order...

JUNIOR BOYS - LAST EXIT // DOMINO Re-issue
So, having had our fill of Junior Boys Mk. 2 – So This is Goodbye being, at times, a little too emo for my tastes, but still home to some incredible songs – especially ‘In The Morning’ which, having already being remixed expertly by Alex Smoke at the beginning of the year (or was it last year?), was given a fresh lease of life by Hot Chip on The Dead Horse E.P. (the result being, like Carl Craig’s mix of ‘Like A Child’, one of the tracks of 2007) – a Domino re-issue gives people like myself who were unfamiliar with Junior Boys Mk. 1 a chance to catch up (did that gargantuan sentence make any sense? I doubt it). Last Exit is, for the most part, the work of Jeremy Greenspan and the now departed Johnny Dark. I don’t know how much credit I should assign to the latter, but Last Exit really is a fantastic album – the production, so much more so than that on So This Is Goodybe, tends towards a brilliantly gritty, techno-inflected 2-step blueprint, the hard electronics and skippy-but-bassy rhythms offsetting Greenspan’s syrupy navel-gazing perfectly. The CD re-issue includes remixes from Fennesz and Caribou, and deserves your dollar.

TANGERINE DREAM - LOVE ON A REAL TRAIN // VIRGIN
I’ve never known how to approach the ‘Dream’s massive oeuvre – an oeuvre riddled, I know, with inconsistencies, works of genius and total turkeys made and released within months of each other. I was pleased, then, when a colleague alerted me to Tangerine Dream’s involvement in the soundtrack to seminal 80s Tom Cruise vehicle Risky Business. Love on A Real Train, the last of (I think) five TD contributions to the score, is an incredibly romantic, evocative synthscape which sounds at once like a future that will probably never come and, er, the 1980s. That, my friends, is the sound of success.

CHAZ JANKEL - MY OCCUPATION // TIRK compilation
Chaz Jankel is another artist I was totally unaware of until recently. Or so I thought. I realize now, having lapped up this sparkling retrospective from Tirk, that I was familiar with at least two of the ex-Blockhead's songs – the prodigiously annoying ‘Number One’ and ‘Ai No Corrida’; but judging from this compilation, those two chart hits are some distance from his best work. Essentially Yazoo-esque high-fidelity disco with amazing synth work, pin-sharp production and afrobeat/punk-funk percussion, it’s party music and it’s gay as hell and all the better for it.

V/A - A KIND OF AWE AND REVERENCE AND WONDER // TWISTED NERVE compilation
I’m not sure why, but I’ve recently experienced a surge of interest in Andy Votel’s Manc-based imprint Twisted Nerve. Actually, I have a good idea why: this summer I recently returned to buying vinyl after a year’s, er, sabbatical (in truth, because I was a blog-raping student and needed more money for cigs, pints and assorted piffle – it shames me to recall it), and thus the aesthetic passion and attention to detail Twisted Nerve shows in its physical products stands out immediately from the racks. But the music titillates too: Toolshed (led by 808:State’s Graham Massey) provides the highlight to this compilation, not to mention Voice of the Seven Woods, who, on both his self-titled LP and the track he contributes to this compilation, does a nice line in acid-fried, instrumental folk that suits autumn’s fringe nicely. If you could avoid the faux-naïve indie-pop outings and self-reflexive krautscapes that continue to pepper Twisted Nerve’s catalogue (and therefore this compilation), you’d probably consider it one of the world’s finest musical stables.

STILL GOING - STILL GOING THEME // DFA/EMI
I’ve ranted about this tune so much over at FACT that I can’t really summon the energy to do it again here. Suffice to say, ‘Still Going Theme’ is the work of Eric Duncan (of Rub-N-Tug) and Olivier Spencer (R-N-T’s engineer and former member of dodgy electro-house trio Mr Negative); it also happens to be one of the best tracks DFA has put out not just this year, but ever. It’s dubby piano-house, with a clarity to its production and sound design that’s awe-inspiring, and it’s quietly momentous melody will stay with you a forever. There’s a snipped to be heard on James Murphy and Pat Mahoney’s brilliant, disco-only Fabriclive mix CD, but by the time that comes out I presume ‘Still Going Theme’ will be doing the rounds anyway. You’re strongly recommended to buy it.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - PEACEBONE (PANTHA DU PRINCE REMIX) // DOMINO USA
It didn’t cause a massive stir at the time of release, but as 2007 has worn on, Pantha Du Prince’s This Bliss LP, and the track ‘Saturn Strobe’ in particular, have grown hugely in my, and probably your, estimation. Here, Henrik Weber (as he’s known to his ma) takes the last single by Baltimore’s Animal Collective and basically turns it into a Pantha Du Prince record. Seriously, listen to the original and then the remix in quick succession and their utter remoteness from each other will surely make you chuckle. Still, it doesn’t hurt to have another Pantha Du Prince record in your life; and what’s more, the original is actually in and of itself a great song by a hugely overrated band.

MODESELEKTOR - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! // BPITCH CONTROL
If there’s one thing that’s dogged the world of house and techno over the past year or so, no, over the past twenty years or so, it’s a terrible propensity for taking itself too seriously. The return of Modeselektor, then, is to be welcomed – the ape-fixated Berliners have once again turned out an LP that’s incredibly stupid and incredibly likeable. The Siriusmo-featuring track is my personal fave, but this is an album your ears can ride from start to finish without fear of boredom. I was also recently introduced to Modeselektor’s Boogybytes mix CD selection – which in turn introduced me to a wealth of bangers I’d not heard before, including Mu-ziq’s sci-fi breakcore wonder ‘Mu-ziq Theme’. Have a sniff.

BOOF - FIRST DATE // VALVE
This track is currently the one and only track in Maurice Fulton’s myspace player. And what a track. A piece of very 90s-sounding, jazzy downbeat, ‘First Date’ paints a bittersweet picture which suits its title perfectly, poignant strings and shuffling drums giving this track the depth and momentum of real love itself (excuse me, I'm a sentimental toad). Anyhow, this track is available on the album, A Soft Kiss By A Rose, which Maurice made as Boof; alas, it never received a vinyl release.

STUDIO - WEST COAST // INFORMATION
If you haven’t yet heard every Tom, Dick and Heinrich raving about this badboy then, well, for your own sake open some new lines of communication. Originally released in ’06 in a limited run, a timely re-press has seen this LP rightfully receive foaming-at-the-mouth levels of excitement and acclaim. I’ve listened to this record hundreds upon hundreds of times, and I’ve yet to get bored of it. Studio create widescreen, Balearic-referencing soundscapes of unbelievable beauty, melody and (please forgive me) funk. Any fan of Lindstrom, Fleetwood Mac, The Happy Mondays, Primal Scream or The Durutti Column, jesus, any fan of music, who hasn’t heard West Coast – stop reading this and buy your copy NOW. See also their remix of A Mountain of One's 'Brown Piano' - it's nice.

THE BUG - SKENG // HYPERDUB
Every time my interest in dubstep (or, excuse me, bass music) wanes a little, a record like this seems to come along and forcefully re-connect me with the joys of wanton woofer-bating. ‘Skeng’ is a vocal track, but the vocals come courtesy of two of grime’s finest MC’s: Killa P and Roll Deep’s Flow Dan. P and Dan do such a good job with their bleak, properly gangster baritone drawls, but as the ever-reliable Boomkat noted, this kind of MCing is often overbearing in the extreme - 'Skeng' works because their voices are submerged and overpowered by the sheer immensity of The Bug’s production. This is, as Solid Groove once said, sick.

CHLOE - THE WAITING ROOM // KILL THE DJ
Again, a record which I’ve spoken and written about so fondly and passionately over the past month or so that I struggle to do it again. All I can say is, this is a fantastically stylish and substantial record, one which effortlessly flits between techno function, traditional song and textural innovation and ends up being the best avant-minded pop album of ’07 so far (sorry Matthew, you almost had it). If even half the music-loving public was genuinely as open-minded as they claim to be, this would be a bestselling crossover hit. That’s unlikely to happen, but don’t let that stop you picking it up – trust me, you’ll still be playing it ten years from now.

MOODYMANN - I'D RATHER BE LONELY [KDJ]
Moodymann’s catalogue scares me, I won’t lie to you. A bit like Theo Parrish. I mean, where do you dip in? Well, I heard someone spinning ‘I’d Rather Be Lonely’, Kenny Dixon Jr’s latest one-sided 12”, and suddenly realized that a doorway had opened for me. What a track this is. I mean…Amp Fiddler’s vocals, the jazzy keys, the drums...Urban psychedelia of the highest order. Phenomenal. Phenomenal.

LAWRENCE - THE NIGHT WILL LAST FOREVER // MUTE/DIAL/LADOMAT
Another oldie, but I only really heard this record for the first time two months ago. I’ve acquired a copy since, and while it fails to trump the heaven-sent arrangements, melodies and production of its follow-up (The Absence of Blight), it’s intricate and expressive enough to shit on 90% of records ever made. Peter Kersten is a genius, of that there can be no doubt. His latest on Dial (‘Pond’) and Mule Electronic (‘Rabbit Tube’) are more abstract but finely textured works – check them out.

MARK E - R&B DRUNKIE // GOLF CHANNEL
It’s a party record, simple as that – one so simple and so potent that anyone who DJs in a public place should automatically own one, maybe two copies. ‘R&B Drunkie’’s basis is a Janet Jackson song (don’t ask me which), given a New York disco bump, spit and polish by Manchester’s Mark E. That’s all there is to it, really – no severe edits, no massive builds or breaks – just a heavy, 4x4 R&B track for dancing and life-affirmation.

L.PIERRE - DIP // MELODIC
Some records induce you such an exquisite, borderline-unbearable sense of place, are so evocative and visual, that you struggle to believe others can be as stimulated by the same record. This album, released earlier in 2007 to very little fanfare, is for me one such record – it puts me in mind of dreams, childhood memories and shards of half-remembered TV shows that are dizzying in their, er, vividity. Much of this is, I’m certain, down to Lucky Pierre himself – former Arab Strapper Aidan Moffat, with a small accompanying ensemble – who’s named the tracks on ‘Dip’ and designed its sleeve in such a way as to summon memories (or imagined memories) of a quintessentially British seaside bleakness/hopefulness. There’s even shameless tide sounds, actually. So not so personal at all. But still a brilliant album – the second track on Side A has the power put a rosy tint on near any distress or disappointment you could possibly suffer. The very fact that this LP has made me speak in as wanky fashion as I just have should make you seek out a copy even faster.

THE SOFT PINK TRUTH - DO YOU PARTY? // SOUNDSLIKE
This is one messy sounding record, for sure, and it’s been around for a couple of years, but…what an album. The Soft Pink Truth, like its parent project Matmos, manages to affect a tricky synthesis of humour, high-falutin’ concept and spot-on production that most electronic musicians would struggle to comprehend, let alone execute; unfortunately, the music, or at least the structuring and sequencing of that music, sometimes suffers. There are considerable shortcomings to Do You Party?, shortcomings it’s difficult to confidently track or verbalize, but shortcomings all the same. The simple fact of SPT’s existence, however, fills me with such scintillating fucking indie-kid joy that I’m happy to let him (Drew Daniel) get on with it. If you’re based in or near London, make sure you catch him live at The Rocket on Holloway Road next month as part of The Wire’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

SMITH & MUDD - VEGETABLE SQUARE // CLAREMONT 56
Carnage (among others) has been singing the praises of Mudd to me for over a year now (hell, we even feature an interview with the fella on this site); and though I didn’t doubt his testimony for a second (an mp3 of ‘54B’ was an indication of Mudd’s talents), it’s taken me this long to register fully quite the extent of those talents. I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of his Claremont 56 LP in the post, but the latest 12” on his label of the same name has been satisfying me plenty in the meantime. The impossibly lush Idjut Boys remix is a particularly enchanting listen, and boy is it a long listen. Last Saturday I popped it on the turntable, then realized I was out of fags or teabags or some such and nipped out to the newsagent down the road. I came back fifteen minutes later, and the ‘Version Idjuts’ was still happily unfolding, so beautiful and beatific in its Balearic vision that for a minute London’s raw chicken-coloured sky took on an Ibizan glow. Serious. Oh, and after years of modest disco service, it’s been great to see the Idjuts step into the limelight a little this year – their remixes of this, that Kenneth Bager tune and Altz (on Death From Abroad) are all sterling and worthy of your attention.

FLYING LOTUS - RESET EP // WARP
When I think of Warp these days, it’s difficult not to think of Maximo Park and their twat-in-a-hat of a frontman. Of course, it goes without saying that Warp was once the home of incredible innovation in the electronic arts. It still is, to some extent, but each new Gravenhurst record seems to take it further away. Thank fuck, then, for the new EP from Flying Lotus, some Californian chap who’s name I can’t remember but is apparently Alice Coltrane’s nephew or something. His ‘Reset’ EP, out very soon on Warp, is a wonderful distillation of everything that was good about, er, trip-hop. Nice breaks, cleverly teased soul samples and other 90s staples make up these tracks’ mass, but the squelchy, distorted basslines and general sense of focus are more in keeping with today. Check the ‘Lotus’s myspace for his excellent remix of a Mr Oizo track; apparently the two of ‘em are working on tracks together at the moment n’all…

ARIL BRIKHA - EX MACHINA [PEACEFROG]
OK, so a lot of it sounds like Sasha. but if, like me, you have an enduring weakness for the genre which will, no matter what creative peaks it reaches, forever be known as "trendy trance", then you're in for a treat. A lack of vinyl release has prevented this album from becoming the word-of-mouth hit it almost certainly would have; consider this all the word-of-mouth you need, and consider buying the CD immediately.