Ricardo Villalobos playing “Sis – Trompeta” at Awakenings Festival

This is surely one of the most talked releases of November. Sis aka Burak Sar release Trompeta on Ricardo Villalobos’s Sei Es Drum imprint. The people that didn’t miss the greatest summer parties will surely recognise this one. I listened it last Saturday at Fabric for the first time in a club and I can say that I found it pretty good. This one is being played by Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano, Loco Dice, Dubfire and DJ Koze among others, it’s definitely the main anthem of this summer and it couldn’t be forgotten here in minimaland.
The a side presents the so talked track, “Trompeta”, filled with a huge pumpy 4×4 beat and a melody perfectly suitable to all the summer feelings. The fantastic sample taken from “Balkan Beat box” by Bulgarian Chicks will be remembered for a long time and will make a big blast to the forthcoming months! The flipside “Clarinete” is more adequate to minimaland’s taste with a refined dry beat and a pleasant Clarinet melody. This one floats to minimalistic patterns, it’s not as housy as the a side, therefore is the one that we really support in this release!

a1 – Trompeta
b1 – Clarinete

Sed#002
Rls Date: 15.09.2008

Sis had already released another work – Neisrib Ep – this time on Cecille Records, this one was too a big summer hit. If you like this trendy dancefloor tracks you should take a look at that one too.

MAGDA (MINUS, BERLIN/GERMANY)

Marc Houle – Selection 12 – Minus
Clickbox – Sugar Pain – Items & Things
Stimming – The Anger – Liebe Detail
Dopplereffekt – Sterilization – Clone Classic Cuts
Cristian Vogel – Xpute the Woop Woop – Tresor
Paperclip People – The Climax – Planet E
From Karaoke To Stardom – 3 (Original Mix) – Net28
Tom Ellis – Bad Son – Floppy Funk
Christian Burkhardt – Phey Boom – Oslo
Jersey Devil Social Club – Child 13 – Lo Recordings

BAREM (MINUS, BUENOS AIRES/ARGENTINA)

Stimming – The Anger – Liebe Detail
Nick Curly – Dubnoise – Cecille
Soho, Arnaud Le Texier – Bamboo Spirit – Kailash
2020 Soundsystem – Psycho (Burnski Rmx) – 2020 Vision
Miss Fitz – Colici – Raum…Musik
Joeski – Orgasmic – NRK
Dave Aju – Crazy Place (Luciano Rmx) – Circus Company
The Midnight Perverts – La Catrina (Balcazar Rmx) – Akbal Music
My My – Everybody’s Talkin’ – Playhouse
Marco Zenker – Indus (Funzion Medusa Rmx) – Igloo Rec

In recent years Lost Souls have established themselves as one of the dominant forces on the London club scene, holding regular parties at Public Life as well as outstanding one off events across the capital. Now head honcho Antony di Francesco takes the brand to the next stage with the launch of the Lost Souls label. Techno and dubstep provide the foundations of this new imprint that looks to fuse these two scenes with the help of some the the most exciting producers and remixes out there.
The debut release comes from German duo Misc. an act who have released consistently outstanding music on labels such as Kompakt, Resopal & Klang Elektonik. When not in the studio they are key players on Europe’s live techno scene with an act that has been building an every increasing level of support for the sound of Misc.
The ‘Chemosphere EP’ is built around two original recordings, ‘Chemosphere’ and ‘Hooked’ with remixes from Bristol dubstep don Headhunter and techno wunderkind Perc.
Opening cut ‘Chemosphere’ is an intense percussive techno workout with a relentless bassline, swirling fx and spastik-esque snare rolls. A heads down piece of warehouse wizardry that ticks all the right boxes and pushes every button correctly!
Next up is Headhunter’s reworking of the opening track. An intro of dubby delayed electronic stabs leads smoothly into broken beats and a pulsing bassline. Spaced out dubstep with a techno twist, this is bound to please both camps in equal measure.
Next is Misc.’s ‘Hooked’, their own take on the sound of dubstep. This is a high tempo, dark tinged affair that draws you in from the opening bars. Simple vocals chops and metallic stabs sit over the skittering percussion and rumbling bottom end to create a atmosphere ladened cut.
The penultimate track sees Perc set about rebuilding ‘Hooked’ into a tough techno monster. This is a no holds barred version that goes straight for the jugular and is reminiscent of classic R&S. A standout remix from one of the UK’s top techno talents.
To round things off there is a digital exclusive in the form of ‘.TXT’ a spaced out dubstep track that takes on a distinctly ambient sound.
A great package from a great act and a debut from a label that you can be sure will be making waves over the coming months and years.
We interviewed Misc. about their perspectives for this upcoming release…. a minimaland.com exclusive. Enjoy!

Minimaland.com – Hi guys, how are you!? Tell us a bit about this new work released on the newcomer Lost Soul.

Misc. – Hi there! This release shows the whole of what we mean by the name of MISC.! With this record we go from techno to dubstep-like music and back. It is great that Lost Souls is open to this concept of putting our MISC.- music into another genre-frame. The great remixes of the techno-/ dubstep- artists vice versa the original-tracks is also part of the concept of crossing the genre-borders.

Minimaland.com – “Hooked” and “.Txt” are completely different from what you normally produce. How was it to create this dubstep tracks?

Misc. – Lots of fun! It was great to work on something different than techno again. We used to produce and release Drum& Bass in earlier years with our outsfit monophace (which probably didn´t quite make it to the UK). So we do have experience in producing break-beat-music. For us it was a bit like going back in time, but with the latest production-technique on board!

Minimaland.com – Where do you usually find inspiration to create music?

Misc. – Everywhere! No, that’s actually really hard to say. We do, whatever we feel like and do not question it THAT much. What we do not do is copying off other people claiming it´ s ours, that´ s for sure. We go the hard way of finding out for ourselves. Even if we feel after some time it´ s total shit. It´ s everything in the process of making music, releasing it and the perception of our music by other people that comes back to us and inspires us to go on and maybe do something original.

Minimaland.com – Who are/were your main musical influences?

Misc. – We first started working on Drum&Bass like the early “No U-Turn” and such. But at the same time we listened to the Techno by people like Wolfgang Voigt or Richie Hawtin, because in the small student town we lived at that time, nobody would even care about different genres. To anybody else, all was weird electronic music, he!
The mixture of these two antipodes (with a little oldschool Hip-hop added) could be called our foundation, if you like.

Minimaland.com – The fact that you are a duo makes it easier to produce?

Misc. – Easier and harder. Harder, because there´ s often fights about nearly every detail in a track. This goes as far as microseconds of decay for a snare… oh my. On the other hand it´ s a lot easier because you get to decide faster and you´ re not on your own. Sometimes one us would be insecure about a detail. Then, most of the times, the other one would be able to take a decision. So there´ s less of these nerd-gets-lost-in-opportunities- and-never-finishes-the-track situations…

Minimaland.com – Your music is very eclectic. You have one of the most considered acts in the world. How do you manage to hold on to your roots, staying out of the so called “new trends” of techno/minimal and at the same time being so successful?

Misc. – We don´ t have any master-plan to achieve this. That are just our personalities. We are basically not able to act any different from where we started years ago. We like to do our music, that´ s it.

Minimaland.com – It was already in August 2005 that you released your last album! When can we expect a new one from you guys?

Misc. – We don´ t have any plans to produce a new misc. album soon. The time is not right right now…

Minimaland.com – Can you give us some tips for this year: Artist, Label or anything to music related

Misc. – Artist: Benga; Label: PERC TRAX  and we suggest www.dubstepforum.com not really a label, but great music is on there for FREE!

Minimaland.com – Favourite music at the moment?

Misc. – Anything that´ s not your typical Berlin-minimal- afterhour- ketamin sound, apart from Volksmusik, of course.

Minimaland.com – What Is harder? To produce a music or to remix a great original one?

Misc. – There´s no real difference. Could be hard in both cases. Maybe the more we like the original the easier a remix becomes. But even that is not always true. Sometimes a bad or weird original- track turns out really great (for us).

Minimaland.com – Vinyl or Cd?

Misc. – Both is fine. We´ re not categorical at all. Although we still do like the idea of proper releases. These may be 12”es or albums that are really thought through by the artist and not just collections of tools. Today this is obviously getting less and less important because everyone just downloads single tracks as files. It´ s all like a big remix nowadays!

Minimaland.com – Where do you like to play the most?

Misc. – Wherever! Really. When there is good response from an audience (and a good PA, maybe… thank you! ) we´ re all good! We had good parties almost everywhere. Sometimes places we have never been, are more exciting beforehand, but then we return to Berlin or London and it´ s great again, too… One will never now before…

Minimaland.com – What Will the Future Bring From You?

Misc. – We want to be able to produce more crazy music for the world, if the world wants us to. And we can only hope to be able to continue this life we´ re living and loving for a long long time!!

Minimaland.com – Thank you for this nice interview guys, wish you the best for the future, keep up doing some unique techno music, here in minimaland you are one of our favourites… cheers!

Usefull links: http://www.myspace.com/lostsoulsmusiclondon

Rls date: 10.09.2008

LS#001
a1 – Chemosphere
a2 – Chemosphere (Headhunter remix)
b1 - Hooked
b2 - Hooked (Perc remix)

Already supported by djs like Adam Beyer, Barem, Paco Osuna, Joachim, Xpansul, Someone Else, Jorge Savoretti, John Selway, Chloe and Polder, among others.

When you listen Minilogue you’re ensured with quality above the average. All their releases have elements outside of the ordinary roots. After their tremendous album – Animals – it’s time to present another work from them. Snake Charmer – their new release on Wagon Repair -  is a pretty good Ep with two very different tracks. In the A side you have a groovy techno production, our favourite here in the minimaland, and in the b side you have a track turned to dub german influences, showing all the ways that this duo can explore. Snake Charmer is a very good track, one of the best that i listened from this guys so far this year… hypnotic melody, awesome percussions and the power of creating unique musical atmospheres that we so much appreciate. 10 minutes of pure enjoyment. Quality is ensured, this is another must have release, keep a copy in your files so you don’t forget this any more. Listen Minilogue’s music is cheaper than a therapist!

Press Release:
This latest offering is one hell of a coup, with Swedish techno forerunners Minilogue’s sophomore Wagon Repair release.

Following in the footsteps of 2007’s ‘Elephant’s Parade’, the Malmo duo have also released on such luminary labels as Cocoon, Crosstown Rebels and Traum Schallplatten. They have recently received critical acclaim for their artist album ‘Animals’ and jazz fusion album as IMPS on Japan’s Mule imprint.

As ever, this release is laden with the kind of warped sounds and dense textures that have become their signature. Always pushing the envelope, Minilogue transcend expectations with every release.

Opener ‘Snake Charmer’ incorporates ghostly eastern flute sounds into a tribal percussive drive. Wisps of warped synth and trace pulsed tones encircle the central beat, recoiling into dreamy ambience before biting with thudding bass kick and disorienting melodic keys. Cunning and slick, the subtle but purposeful attack of this track befits it’s title.

On the flip, ‘Urban Slough’ is a deep techno gem. Driven by droning synth and reverborated percussion, decaying melodies develop slowly while meandering in and out of tune. Staying true to their consistently apocalyptic vision, this mix of slightly industrial beats and howling tune is a melancholy masterpiece.

Tracklisting:
a1 – Snake Charmer
b1 – Urban Slough

Wag#043
Rls Date: 15.09.2008

Daso & Pawas – Bummelzug (HOSH remix) [Flash]
Paul Harris – Baditude (Mark Mendes Dub Mix) [Toolroom]
Tiga & Zyntherius – Sunglasses At Night (Konrad Black remix) [Turbo Recordings]
Leon & Greenbeam – Vakha Jaja (Delete remix) [Minibus]
Falko Brocksieper – Slap [Sub Static]
Paulo Olarte – You Got Me [Dynamic]
Click Box – Fun K Mouth [Minus: Items & Things]
Philip Bader & Hirtenfellner – I Try [Stil Vor Talent]
Kellerkind – Natural Juice [Flash Digital]
Florian Meindl – Blast [Trapez]

Oslo is nowadays a very respected label. After there glorious release Johnny D – Orbitalife they became well known by all techno followers and now we decided to cover there new launch “Contemporary Box”. Christian Burkhardt, German producer, is the man behind this production and in the first glimpse we already understood that this was going to be an Ep charged with refined music. a1 track starts the album in a perfect way… the elements start entering, one by one, creating a groovy environment floated by great percussions and a pumpy bassline! This is the most techy element off the all release. Next we have “Maison Noire” showing a deeper side, turned up to minimal house flavours, very stylish! This would be a perfect track to raise up the moods in an after-party session! Last we have “Phet Boom” and, like the previous, was done with another producer named Ebert. Again, it shows a deep groovy feeling, perfect to raise up the moods when the morning is rising and the sun approaching. If you buy this album on beatport you will have the chance to have a digital exclusive track – “Ehh Stop”, one of Burkhardt’s best tracks, a promising dancefloor weapon. It’s in fact a very good Ep, with three tracks directed to full-fill the dancefloor expectations.

a1 – Christian Burkhardt – “Contemporary Box”
b1 – Burkhardt & Ebert – “Maison Noir”
b2 – Burkhardt & Ebert – “Phet Boom”

Rls Date: 02.09.2008
Oslo#009
Buy it here: http://www.beatport.com/

Saturday, September 27th, Odonien, Cologne, Sender vs. Areal

Tom Dazing is a producer that always makes me get groovy feelings when I listen his music. Despite it’s his debut here in minimaland I can tell you that I’ve been following the man’s work for a long time. His music always contains great rhythm wired to a magic neurotic mind that he surely possesses.
In his second release on Toys For Boys Records he doesn’t escape that rule and presents us two great tracks along with a remix of “Motion Sickness” performed by the American Tim Xavier. In the a side you can listen “Cappadoras”, a powerful track, full of twisted feelings and a perfect bass line – my favourite. I would call this some kind of acid new techno waves, always pushing the reverbed sounds to the limit and then recycling it, making the track going back to the beginning, allowing another extra-run that drives everyone crazy. Mad! In the b side we have another disturbed production. “Motion Sickness” is completely neurotic, even more rougher and rawer than the first .. the amount of little different sounds that we have in this music it’s maybe too much for a standard producer, but this guy make them all gather perfectly, combining all the elements to construct a tasty dark hallucinated track. Finally we have the remix of Tim Xavier. This old school producer that no one can be indifferent to show us all, once again all his knowledge. He turns the techno hardcore original track into a magnificent peace of minimal 4×4 techno, constructed step by step. It’s in fact a great improvement, I became delighted when i listened this cause i realised that he didn’t forgget the raw feeling of the original… he just adapted it to the minimal standards that we all appreciate. Great work!

a1 – Cappadoras
b1 – Motion Sickness (Tim Xavier remix)
b2 – Motion Sickness

Rls Date: 25.08.2008
TFBR#016