Ah, Studio 1, but not the Jamaican Studio 1. Continuing our series on Early Minimal House/Techno, I had to post the definitive minimalist dance album, Mike Ink aka Kompakt boss Wolfgang Voigt’s Studio 1. Released from 1995 to 1996 and then pressed onto CD in 1997, this is by far the most repetitive (it’s almost unchangin) but true to the roots minimal techno/house you’ll ever get to hear. Compare and contrast to modern so-called “minimal music” please, you may begin.

The entire Studio 1 aesthetic was reductionist to the core, with ten classic twelves released between 1995 and 1997 without the need for anything as frivolous as track titles or artwork getting in the way of all that space. Almost 15 years on and the first thing that hits you about these tracks is just how well they have aged, doing much to add credence to the theory that simplicity just doesn’t date….

… So much of the Techno scene today is built on the elementary, daring steps that Voigt took in the 1990’s, but just as we slip into a new era of despondency and frustration with Minimal’s inability to evolve and step away from the familiarity of its often tepid surroundings, this collection serves as a timely reminder that in the hands of the right producer even the most basic ingredients can make for a sound that changes the musical climate and, some might even say, ever so subtly changes the world. Wolfgang, once again, respect is long overdue. Boomkat

Part 1

+ Dusted Magazine vs Oneida : “We wanted to give Kid a chance to respond to our criticisms in the hopes a dialogue would enrich everyone’s experience with the album and give Dusted readers a chance to approach the industry-standard record review from the artist in question’s perspective.”

+ Most overlooked albums of ‘09 (Drowned in Sound)

+ Review of Jozef van Wissem’s It is all that is Made (KEXP) and Brethren of the Free Spirit’s (Jozef & James Blackshaw) new one (Heathen Harvest)

+ Tortoise talks their new album Beacons track-by-track (Time Out Chicago)

+ The Hyper-Patriotic Hit Single (WFMU)

+ The Purple Brain (by Bumrocks) Video Premiere / Interview (The Fader)
+ 20 best : UK Techno (Fact Magazine)

+ A mix of the Black Rio 2 compilation, we mentioned a few days ago by DJ Cliffy himself. Out now.

+ Spaced out 80s Italo disco from Robot Scientists (mediafire) (tracklist)

+ Amazing retro Italo mix from Flemming Dalum.

+ Cosmic journey through Space/Time by Steven Vena / Darklord. (via Dollar Bin Jams)

+ Intelligent Breakcore mix by Headphone Commute

+ Live mix from Disco Exota in the Sugar Factory in Amsterdam. dj’s Beppe Loda, Loud-E, Tako, Gstring

image nicked from our good friends at +++Fashion Boost.

I cannot see the grass grow… but since I cannot…I do not care to look at it at all.

Here’s a piece that I’ve been planning to post from the golden days of minimal house before it got infested with electro crap and everyone became a shitty producer. This piece from 2001 was on Dietrich Schoenemann’s obscure Remains label, I had ripped this one off the vinyl by nagging our bro (((Emre))) who was caning it all the time then. If you remember this song I’m sure it WILL send shivers down your spine.

We’ll continue with more oldschool minimal house/techno stuff from its golden age.

All girl twee pop trio Liechtenstein has released their debut full length “Survival Strategies in a Modern World” on – who else – Oakland’s Slumberland Records, also home to one Cause Co-Motion! (our favourites), Crystal Stilts and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (not our favorites).

You know the drill, there’s really nothing authentic with this sound, it’s all rehashed 60’s power/bubblegum, lo-fi girl vocal choir pop, but Roses in the Park is a great song (love the modulation (?) at 1:00) and the album is a pretty solid listen if you’re into this kind of thing (Ashamedly I am. I can’t get over listening to teen-pop music ). I hope the girls are not as annoying as the Vivian Girls in real life.

New five star selection starts off with blissful ambient/drone by Chihei Hatakayema and advances to The Seasons‘ Tsu City off their 2009 album Undone. We shift gears with Italian composer Alessandro Alessandrini’s Palance off his OST for 1976’s Sangue di Sbirro, then an amazing song by Renato Lu from the Black Rio 2 compilation I talked about here, last one by Downtown persona Arto Lindsay off his 96 album Mundo Civilizado. Enjoy

Had time to check out some newly found music blogs and add to our blogroll. Do check them out! Specifically grab;

+ Change (Intergalactic disco) / Sunshowers (original of M.I.A’s sunshowers) on Dollar Bin Jams.

+ The pleasure of the ghana beat on American Athlete.

+ Jethro Skull (if you like no-fi garage punk) § Rose Quartz / PRMNT VIBES Summer Megamixxx (if you like “dreamwavey electro, lo-fi pop, hazy tropical feelin’s”. Shahs if you like (no-fi indie pop), also best aesthetics on a blog?

+ The United States of America on The Decibel Tolls.

+ Carol Bridi and/or Gianni Riso on La Magie de la Funk.

+ Telecult Powers (noise/drone) on smooth assailing amazing blog which mostly does CDR/cassette reviews, by avantgardening.

+ Everything on 20jazzfunkgreats and Likembe the authority on African music.

+ read a review of Jackie-O Motherfucker’s new album on Museumface

Thor’s Rubber Hammer believes that sounds speak to each other. (We know, that sounds like hippie bullshit, but work with us here.) This sampler reflects how a sinister free-jazz/grind band can sit comfortably next to heart-achingly beautiful drone or how a somber cello-led ballad shares a cup of coffee with a cut-up collage/folk artist.

feat. Talibam!, Susan Alcorn, Bright Duplex, I Heart Lung, Chartreuse.

LA’s Not Not Fun is definitely positioned as the most interesting hub of creative activity in recent times right now. They’ve 150+ releases under their belt in various formats and just a few years. I’ve always sensed that Pocahaunted were the main dish (not musically, but spiritually?) and after a short search session it’s not shocking to find that the label is run by Amanda Brown (of Pocahaunted) and hubby Britt Brown.

Not Not Fun releases “noise, experimental, psych-folk, spazzy/weird/art-damaged no-wavey inspired rock, math rock, noise rock, lo-fi, acoustic, drone to everything in between” in limited packages and their artwork is supercool. I’m repeating my thesis that artistically they’re making a bigger impact than they’re supposed to, given that their music is super leftfield and hard to get into. Yet they’ve become one of the main movers in the psych-folk-drone scene and what started as a small label is now pushing into vaster territory. Kudos!

Here’s 2 select tracks from the NNF compilation at Impose Magazine. You can get the full zip here.

Plastic palm trees. Beach scene snowglobes. Airbrushed neon sunset hotel paintings. All shining examples of potent Fake Escapism at work, in real life. And if you’ve ever wondered what the audio equivalent of this kind of cheap coastal utopian simulacrum is, take a good listen to the recorded works of Mr. Matt Mondanile aka Ducktails.

We do our best, there’s just a SHIT TON of entertainment-oriented hustlers out here, so there’s a looooooong line of bands and actors and t-shirt designers and record labels and writers and bullshit all busting their ass for their 15 minutes of fame, which is very overwhelming for the average media-consumer. Impose

It’s official! New Jersey native Ducktails has made this summer’s soundtrack. Matthew Mondanile has the brightest psychedelic sound with just the right amount of tolerable noise on a hot summer day and the tropical warmth of the Föhn winds. Not Not Fun finally delivers it fully, after good ideas and bad executions or vice versa. This might be the culmination of a point in time in music history, of the so-called “lo-fi tropical psych-drone” sound.

image by capitodeneuve

Here’s some seriously warm, wobbly, surfy, tropical sounding lo-fi gems that have totally captured our attention! Dripping with such melty, melodic yet slightly tripped out perfection. Ducktails had a lot going for it before we even heard the music, the name obviously (!), the great cover art by Jan Anderzen (Kemialliset Ystavat) and the fact that it was mastered by Graham Lambkin of The Shadow Ring already lead us to believe there might be some kind of magic being brewed under the colorful, inviting cover, so we threw this on the stereo right away and it’s been beyond the perfect soundtrack for the bright and sizzling sunshine days we’ve been baking in for the last couple weeks. Aquarius