unmixed cd. tip!

loke rahbek returns with his fifth album under the croatian amor alias with love means taking action, recently premiered at the 2016 edition of berlin atonal where it was considered by many as one of the festival highlights. although not as harsh and abrasive as previous albums, such as genitalia garden or last years the wild palms, rahbeck still manages to execute a polarising opus, comprised of short ambient journeys which incorporate various sonic influences and clever use of sampling outside of his usual employment of textural noise treatments. field recordings, immaculate synthesis and emotional vocal snippets are interspersed throughout this exploration of love and human connection. the title track, in particular, could well be one of our favourite songs this year. quite simply: breathtaking.

as we launch into the 20th instalment of our watergate mix series, it seems only fitting that we turn to one of our own artists to commemorate the milestone. a man already well known for his poignant and impassioned productions and dj sets, we are thrilled to present matthias meyer as the next master of controls on watergate 20! over the course of 80 minutes, meyer skillfully navigates through boundless sonic spaces of lush melodics, organic grooves and sentimental sensations with an effortless approach. from the very beginning, emotions run deep as the sound of rain and strings on kettenkarussellÕs Ôten friendsÕ sets the stage as yokoo & retzas exclusive track satori and leafar legovs tribal girls establish the percussive tone of the mix. the journey really begins to unfold when back to back exclusive tracks gorje hewek & izhevskis turgoyakk and matthias own uluwatu take over. as the mix picks up steam tracks from palms trax, langenberg, hyenah and another exclusive from meyer himself provide the perfect momentum that drives us into the deeper side as the mix takes a turn towards the final stretch.

being a product of the age it was written, slow clubs 2009 debut, yeah so, dealt with the all too familiar space between adolescence and the oncoming storm of adulthood. a boy-girl duo who played a flower-adorned chair live, they were the polar opposite of what was coming out of post-arctic monkeys sheffield. slow club were fun, cute, whimsical and all manner of other words just shy of twee - and they hate being called twee. paradise, however, is where the duo grows up. two years on, it stumbles out of a trivial, self-indulgent teenage malaise (where sexual adventure was priority for most) and carries itself with a sense of perspective that only adulthood can give - a darker, more thoughtful view of the world. for instance, on the poignant you, earth or ash, a song about rebecca taylor s granddad, her melancholic vocals (beautiful, as always) evoke an awareness of mortality for those around her: singing -and i know, soon you ll go,- her voice seemingly breaks under the weight of premature grief. whereas even love-wise (an inspiration every band draws from) slow club s lyrical output is glossed with a more mature and detached sense of sauce, with taylor crooning on where i m waking: -i can see you looking at me / you got the brains i ve got the body-.