pierre bastien is a french legend that has collaborated with artists such as robert wyatt, jac berrocal and jaki liebezeit, to name just a few. he is also very well known for his compositions based on home-made mechanical instruments, designed and constructed by bastien himself. pure diy. using these instruments he would create a heady experimental mix incorporating poetry and some far-out music, all in all very intriguing and original indeed. needless to say when the notion of pierre bastien and versatile records potentially making a project together arose, it was a total honour! throw into the mix esteemed electro-acoustic composer eddie ladoire and now we ve really got something interesting. eddie and pierre met when they appeared on the same concert bill together and they decided to collaborate further with versatile being the platform for the fruits of this particular project. the original version of phantom dance is a beautiful piece where bastien plays a trumpet into some water blended with electronic drums and mellow organs lines, creating an otherworldly, subterranean jazz vibe for the freaks. suzanne kraft, the la native / amsterdam based producer turns the original into some mechanical broken funk vibes while rotterdam s oceanic delivers 2 fresh, reimagined versions. one for for the club with a strong afro beat feel while the other one is a slower affair for the after hours. both mixes bringing something new to the table. a truly original and interesting release from some very talented people, for those with open ears and open minds!

nice price deal !!! texture series vol7!! as the title of franco cangelli s (head of mowar) new ep suggests, it s all about blending the raw aspect of dance-floor grooves with the deeper emotional side of the spectrum. denizen combines elegant and funky sh-101 riffs with dreamy pads and old skool 909 beats. the title track raw emotion can easily be summed up as jacking beats, larry heard bassline, deep detroit strings and dbx-like bleeps. in other words, all the essentials of machine funk! a floor filler without a doubt, both summing up the essentials of techno with a hint of oldskool. on the flipside, just before dawn is a stripped down house groove with smooth rolling beats, suggestive chords and funky goodies. who stole the soul throws raw beats and a deep bassline at you, but is mellowed down by rhodes chords and sweet melodic deep house in a glenn underground style. special rerelease of this killer release !!!

mister mellow moves further away from the synthesizer-heavy sounds of the recent washed out releases and more band-driven sound of his work on iconic labels sub pop in america, and domino in europe. on mister mellow, greene draws from the experimental collage techniques of musique concrète and plunderphonics artists such as the residents. combining styles as diverse as free jazz, house, hip-hop and psych together with interlude-esque voiceover samples, often pulled from anonymous youtube vlogs, he creates a busy, chaotic, and caricaturish mix that mirrors the claustrophobic, hyper-stimulated psyche so familiar to young adults. as he continues to carve out his innovative sonic identity, influenced by the world around him but unafraid to buck trends, it’s fitting that greene has partnered with legendary hip hop label stones throw records, long a home for beat-loving musical rebels. his approach to releasing music is every bit as individual, too: in an environment where compiling singles into an album format or working with a single video director are the norm, greene has chosen to commission eleven different artists to bring the visual aspect of his fully-realised album project to life. on mister mellow, washed out steers clear of emotion to empathise with the minutiae of the world around him. ive been much less interested in sentimentality and emotion for the past couple of years, says greene, in some ways, i think its a reaction against getting older and having more responsibilities. maybe i’m just nostalgic for a time in my life where i could just relax and block out the world for a moment. though mister mellow is an intensely personal album, its ideas and observations speak to the lived experience of so many young adults, an experience that we come to see as both funny and sad.

italian artist paul santangelo has been having fun messing with the sometimes po-faced traditions of the house music scene through a raft of home made productions on soundcloud, but now with his venetian causeway label hes able to prove the clout to be found in his music. on this 10inch the arch title generic house traxx actually does a disservice to the quality of the music contained within santangelo does a fine job of whipping up monosynth bass and ethereal pads astride an uptempo beat that, while familiar, has an atmosphere with considerable depth to it. please him on the b side goes further out on a mellow electro tip, plaintive leads and aqueous chords flirting with 808-style beats.

initial listens to inre rymden (swedish for inner space) reveal it to be a curious combination of slow-motion house music and salubrious new age funk. in this case, first impressions are accurate, and they should intrigue you enough to dive deeper into the paradisiacal vistas tommy awards paint here. the opening track prometheus introduces that feeling of sundown deliquescence that very few musicians can summon, as it locks into a laid-back groove that induces utmost serenity, buoyed by sublimely mellow guitar vibes that should make fans of manuel gšttsching s ashra and phil manzanera s solo output spring to attention. draget conjures the sort of exquisite elegance and preternatural chill last heard on roxy musics 1982 lp avalon but somehow its even more blissed out than that boudoir classic. and so it goes for most of inre rymden: among the six tracks, only rexy hints at tension, courtesy of a bass line that sounds like it should score a prisoners walk to the electric chair. but thats tempered by guitar sighs of radiant melancholy, not unlike those lofted by popol vuh s daniel fichelscher. even when inre rymden gets relatively uptempo, as on hans logan, it still glides like gilded, glazed, balearic house jams, urged on by subliminal bongos and dappled with pastel guitar shimmers far off on the horizon. music is love and love is our music, runs tommy awards slogan (a sentiment beautifully echoed by david crosby on his revered 1971 album if i could only remember my name), but one could also argue that it is medicine a balmy ear massage that spreads healing frissons to all areas of your body and mind. tommy awards continue their miraculous act as scandinavians channeling the tropics with stunning audio verisimilitude.

this classic deep house jam was huge in its original form when it landed on som underground back in 2000, and then it went on to receive the remix treatment from artists as widely respected as 2000 & one and christopher groove. aside from the official remixes, the likes of luciano took the accapella for a ride and created infamous bootlegs that took the scene by storm, whether soundtracking an intimate club throwdown or a blissed-out ibiza terrace moment. now, more than fifteen years on from the original release, it s time to revisit a stone cold classic and call in a fresh interpretation. berlin-based tony lionni has already scored countless essential deep house releases for freerange, madhouse, modelisme, mule musiq and versatile amongst many others. his warm, slow-grooving approach suits the mood of pachanga s laconic vocal delivery perfectly, but behind the mellow veneer there s a powerful, soundsystem-ready punch to the track that demonstrates why lionni has risen to be such an in demand producer over the years

nights get ever colder. the label owned by paris stalwart d’julz welcomes back an old friend in anonym, the man responsible for bcr006 and bcr021 returns for a four-track outing which includes a remix from orlando voorn. sultry atmospherics and masterful production are evident throughout this crisp new addition to the bass culture catalogue, another instant classic from the detroit badboy anonym.the first of the four tracks on this ep goes by the name of ‘castaway’, and its effortless groove will have you drifting away to a desert island the second you hear it. as a slightly obscured vocal repeats ‘castaway’ over and over, you’re lulled into a dreamlike state. simple and highly effective, its progression is subtle and invigorating. right after that we have dutch supremo orlando voorn taking charge of the remix and pushing the track deeper into celestial territory with flashes of synth that transport you out into the cosmos. the atmosphere of the original is expertly retained, with a steady pace and cool, mellow vibes throughout. flip the record over and there are two more killer cuts. first we have ‘doin it to ya body’, which keeps things minimal and straight to the point. bright disco strings lie at the heart of this track, slowly weaving their way in and out of the background while the drums and rugged b-line keep your feet moving and head bopping. lastly, ‘wara coco’ offers more hypnotic vibes drawing you with its dainty melody, dancing around the top end, while a mean bassline throbs away, deep down in the low end. it’s an strong combination and finishes off the ep in style.

giammarco orsini kicked off heko records last year with the first volume of experiential learning, and now hes back for round two following a brief spot on elephant moon earlier in the year. solar system is vital to the planet dominates the a side in a swinging, punchy style of techno that calls to mind the likes of stephen brown. life goes on on the flip however comes on with a housier demeanour, keeping the detroit synth tones plush and the mood mellow. trees dance breaks away into a stripped back electro style that sits as a neat foil to the grooving 4/4 elsewhere on the ep.

what sam kdc has achieved here is nothing short of genius. this is a very filmic visual lp and will take you away to another world. this also shows that sam’s production skills are very thoughtful and mindful of the potential listeners that should flock on mass to this chilled out and wonderfully crafted lp. if you like the deeper side of music and all things ambient, then this is a no brainer, it’s from the top drawer of the quality cupboard. if you just want something mellow as an alternative then this is the one for you.
pressing on translucent 12 inch vinyl.

dualshock present their first 12- ep, jungle on resopal. -jungle- features three fresh berlin house sounds and one digital bonus. -wild jungle- kicks off the vinyl and initially drops the energy before exploding with mediterranean life and dubby melodies included for good measure. -marshmellow- then pushes us back into the club as a techy rhythm and repeated vocal hook draw us to the floor while -trust- twist offers itself in the form of a synth loop that lends an exotic edge. spicy and addictive.

as you know the world is full of freaks and we love the music freaks! already part 3 of this compilation project, quintessentials again offer 4 quality cuts of house music. deep, raw, old school, new school, pumping, jacking, mellow - its all there! thank you mat, thank you jamie, thank you jack fell down, thank you anaxander!

the secret of luck lays not in property, but in giving. therefore klangkuenstler and shemian are releasing their first ep on kallias which is at the same time the first in 2013. the >gluecks ep< spreads this feeling through a successful conception of ist four tracks. the jointly produced >spiel mir das lied vom glueck< initiates this in a wonderful way. through playful chimes and mellow organ sounds paired with melancholic strings it let sunny feelings come up even in cold winter days. the remix of geschwister schuhmann is an outstanding and yet completely different interpretation, with its dreamy vocals, nestled in a warm and spherical soundshell created by the interplay of gentle organ sounds with synths, strings and mallet percussions. with >einhornallee< the b-side starts with a driving pumping groove and a hard syntheziser line dissolved by gentle chimes. >welttraum< fascinates because of an dramatic arrangement supported by extremely tense strings and fullfills it with a catchy xylophon melody.

eddie flashin fowlkes has always fancied himself as the forgotten producer of the detroit militia, a point which he explicitly points to on the title of this new release for the detroit wax imprint. >unsung hero< is, interestingly enough, quite noticeably un-detroit sounding, rolling on a killer funky 2-step groove and breezy keys which would slot in nicely against the mellower end of uk garage. on the flip >we need more< takes a stripped approach to house with some strange and submerged vocals from don q and restrained organ stabs, leaving it to the steadfast, bongo-laden groove to do most of the work. unsung hero indeed!

man-of-the-moment tiagos new project i-boat captain arrives on is it balearic..? recordings! >slower< is a beautifully smooth & laid back synth journey with added guitar melodies weaving a web of eastern influence while dipping its toes into subtly psychedelic waters. this is sunshine grooving at its best. the backwoods (dj kent) turn in a truly mesmerising remix. hypnotic and dreamy but with added 4/4 kick, this is mellow acid house done exceptionally well.

big with: chloé, oliver koletzki, someone else, sweet n candy, niko schwind, click | click, till von sein, p.toile, nicolas duvoisin, sebastian wilck, sven jozwiak, randoman, marsmellows, ... the next release from berlins kassette records is ready to rock! after three years and great releases on stil vor talent and upon you, channel x are back on kassette. while touring europe andre and miko produced two solid and really groovy techno/ tech house smashers for their second release on kassette. as a bonus m_ferri and the microbodies add two remixes to this mindblowing release. m_ferri delivers a funky tech house mix while the microbodies (mixed at >audiomoto<) focus on 80s disco sounds.

mr dehnert delivering! after is succesfull releases on fachwerk and the first basement series release its time for another essential techno release by mike dehnert. after the little hype on the many blogs its another release that will create a stir. lautschrift is probably the sexiest masculine techno track we ve heard in a while! a wolf in sheep clothes. undercooled phat techno drive with a nice mellow vocoder voice, soft bleepy sounds and a deep sub-bass... and then slowly the sexy bassline becomes more and more dominant and energetic and the tracks turns into a killer. amazing track! regelschrift and nano are two heavy techno tracks from the neue berliner techno schule. just as we like it!

london s idjut boys (dan tyler & conrad mcconnell) and rune lindbaek of oslo are meanderthals. as longtime friends and fans of each other’s music they have discussed the idea of working together in a musical context for years and in 2008, they finally began to make those ideas a reality. throughout the year they traveled back and forth between oslo and london to create their debut album, desire lines. the album is due the 11th of may. but before that, this 12&#8243,,, taster of the andromeda (album track) as well as a idjut boys remix) a meanderthal is a theory by matthew tiessen about a human that is always in the way of others. whether it be the person on the wrong side of the escalator, the person walking slowly, the person bicycling on the pavement, it is essentially the person that stops the flow of urban daily life. on the contrary, lindbaek, tyler and mcconnell s definition does not see this person as a threat, but as a person that is completely in his own world – a slacker, musically on his own. this could also be a good description of lindbaek and the two idjut boys. meanderthals serves mellow balearic disco. a warm and dreamy blend of dub, folk, prog, kraut, psychedelia and 70s west-coast combined to invent an organic, slanted, and proggy feel. recorded live, the album features contributions from good friends, including pete z (dj harvey) on keyboards, des morgan (yamwho?) on drums and percussion, malcolm jospeh (grace jones) on bass, per martinsen (aka mental overdrive) on percussion and raj gupta (laj & quakerman) as sound engineer

mobilee back to back vol. 3, compiled by miss jools, is inching its way to the release date but before then, active listeners can turn ears to the second exclusive vinyl teaser release with remixes from d julz and christian burkhardt. djulz of ovum, pokerflat and intacto records remixed gummihzs 2007 one-of-kind release and turned it into nothing short of a dance floor phenomenon. of course, nothing less could be expected from a man who has been around the world and back since 1992 playing in the most legendary clubs before the most legendary scensters. d julz certainly has the qualification and experience of what it takes to make a party a paaarty! christian burkhardt of oslo, raum…musik and remote area records took one of anjaschneiders more mellow and somber tunes from her spooky beyond the valley album, which ranked third in the charts of groove magazine, and give it a powerful face lift. the hard baseline and repetitive foot-stomping beat is exactly the kind of techno flair that burkhardt embodies in his music. mobilee back to back vol. 3, to be released march 2, 2009, combines a compilation of tracks and remixes produced by mobilees, remixed by other various artists and then mixed again by miss jools in a two-disc spectacular: cd1 is an unmixed selection of 2008 mobilee tracks, all handpicked by miss jools, while cd2 welcomes a list of her favorite producers to remix their picks of the mobilee pack with an additional miss jools spin. miss jools invited talents from the likes of cassy, tobias., nick curly, dinky, djulz, efdemin, christian burkhardt, vincenzo, sven tasnadi and solomun, extending the musical preference.

classix from eye q, harthouse, superstition, planet love !

man/machine: viennas elektro guzzi challenge the meaning of >live< in electronic music. bored of laptop sets? with a >classic< setup of guitar, bass and drums elektro guzzi quantize themselves to an unheard level of discipline, tightness and danceability. no computers, no pre-recorded loops, no solos. probably the first time techno is really played live. as sequential as they may sound, they couldnt be more analogue. but however traditional they may look as a band, they certainly do not sound like one. the quest for the ultimate live presentation of techno has come to an end. produced by patrick pulsinger (hercules & love affair, m-plant, cheap), the album is a masterstroke resulting in great dancefloor movers, state of the art analogue recordings and a prime showcase of elektro guzzis incredible creative capabilities. played live with no overdubs, this record breaks down the demarcation line separating man and machine. everything in techno has been done? you aint heard nothing yet. !!! elektro guzzi live at s—nar (barcelona), berghain (berlin), fabric (london), trouw (amsterdam), spring festival (graz), flex (vienna), rote sonne (munich), mellow festival (sofia) and maaaany more