mnml ssgs

mnml ssgs mx46: levon vincent

2010-01-04T09:49:00.002+11:00

we said we planned to start 2010 with some special mixes, and we were not kidding... over the next 3 weeks we have mixes from three artists that really defined 2009 for us, and make us feel very confident about the future of techno and house in 2010 and beyond. first up: mr levon vincent.

in february last year, i connected with anthony parasole during a trip to NY, and the plan was hatched for a collaboration between mnml ssgs and deconstruct - the label anthony and levon do together. the first result of this collab was an excellent mix from anthony, and now it is levon's turn... what to say about levon vincent? there is a pretty broad consensus that he was one of the guys who owned 2009. not only did he release some of the best and most distinctive records of the year on labels like deconstruct, novel sound, underground quality and ostgut, he probably had the best titles for his tracks too. fittingly, his final release for 2009 was entitled 'double jointed sex freak', which i think is his strongest EP to date. for those who have yet to hear any of his music, my suggestion would be to track down a copy of the underground quality tape club CD, which includes a contribution from levon that is a great introduction to his sound. in addition to his productions, levon's stature as a DJ has increased with equal speed following a string of impressive gigs throughout europe (we've been getting reports) and his RA podcast being one of the strongest mixes they've had. anyway, enough talking from me, here are some words levon wrote to go with the mix:

"My thought was to make a polite gesture as an opening for the new decade - to start the new year off right by giving a gift to everyone... I hope you enjoy it and my warmest wishes for 2010 and beyond." - Levon Vincent

mnml ssgs mx46: levon vincent
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i've also uploaded it onto our soundcloud. as always, tracklist to follow. for more info on levon vincent, check his myspace. our deepest thanks to levon for this special mix. a quality mix from a quality individual. exactly what mnml ssgs are about. we really can't think of a better way to start a new year and a new decade. so, to echo his sentiments, lets make 2010 a good one!

mx45: yves de mey - tracklisting

2010-01-01T21:34:00.002+11:00

here's the tracklisting for yves' lovely mix. get ready, we've got a couple of absolute killers lined up in january for all the ssgs. first one should be up monday.

mnml ssgs mx45: yves de mey

Burlington, Vermont (05/12/09): Greg Davis
Melancholia XIV: William Basinski
Ice--IR: Yves De Mey (unreleased)
Bantu: Dirac
C A F 0.2n 1: Aleph-1
Entropy Track 02: Yui Onodera
Carl Michael Von Hausswolff: from Because Tomorrow Comes #4
Monochrome 02: Tu M'
Semi-impressionism: Track 1: Tetuzi Akiyama + Toshimaru Nakamura
Fifteen: Pillowdiver
Sunstroke: Peter Wright
Camp 1: Himalayan Nightflight: Geir Jenssen
Matter: Tamaru
Bury A Horses Head: Mika Vainio
Peace Of Mind: Andy Stott
Guma: Ekkehard Ehlers & Paul Wirkus
Subcolors: Radian

january

2010-01-01T12:32:00.003+11:00

we feel like there is quite a strong little techno community out there, and we wanted to come up with a way to get everyone more involved. we dont have the IT skills or motivation to get a proper forum up and running, but what we thought we'd try is having one post each month where people can use the comments section in a similar way to a forum - talking about records, posting mixes they like, general observations about techno, whatever. we'll keep it pretty open but please no blatant promo and definitely do not post links to any copyright material. besides that, have fun with it.

a new experiment for the new year. we've got no idea if this will work or bomb, but lets give it a shot.

2009

2009-12-31T13:12:00.003+11:00

given the amount of time i've spent travelling this year, this picture i took on one of my many flights felt appropriate for my final post for 2009. for me, this year has been incredibly intense. it feels like i have had about 2-3 years worth of experiences within the last 12 months. i am just starting to recover from much of it and beginning to process a lot of what has happened. intense is definitely the right word to describe 2009. there have been some amazing highs and these have been matched by some equally strong low points. for someone who always tries to be in control, it has been very difficult trying to deal with constantly feeling like i was not in control, as was the case for much of 2009. exhausted, beaten (but not totally broken) and chastened, i have made it through the year in one piece (just), and now very much looking forward to 2010.

throughout all the highs, lows, and instability, one constant throughout 2009 has been mnml ssgs and the network of friends and contributors around it. both pete and myself are very proud of how the blog has developed and 2009 has been a great year for us. the amount of readers we are getting is now almost double this time last year, and we are getting hits from about 100 different countries. this all gives us confidence in what we are doing. i know sometimes we do stuff that doesn't quite work or pisses people off, but we will keep experimenting and trying different things. even if the execution isn't always there, our hearts are in the right place. and we are proud of the fact that there is no advertising on this site. in a world where capitalism dominates, it is nice to have some spaces like this where it is not about money. and for people who have wondered, this is why we've never had a proper podcast for our mixes. we dont make any money out of the blog to pay for the kind of bandwith we'd need. but that's fine. i know it might not be as convenient, but it means you need to consciously choose to download the mix, which we hope increases the chances of it actually being listened to. so big ups to fairtilizer, who have been very supportive in hosting all our mixes.

so as the year comes to an end, thanks to everyone who has contributed to mnml ssgs in 2009. whether through their productions, mixes, writing, emails, comments, or just taking the time to have a read - your contribution has been greatly appreciated. in particular, i'd like to thank all the artists who have done mixes for us in 2009. we are very proud of the mix series and deeply appreciate that each contributor has really signed up to what we are trying to do. on a personal note, many of the people who i've met through mnml ssgs i have forged strong friendships with, and i'd like to thank them for their support during a very challenging year. in particular, i want to express my deep and heartfelt appreciation to a couple of people very close to me that have been a constant source of guidance and help during the most difficult year of my life: ben, dave, pete and yuri.

thanks to everyone for all your support. mnml ssgs will continue stronger in 2010 - we've got some absolute killers lined up to finish the mix series, pete is preparing what looks to be a really interesting series of pieces reflecting on 2009, and we've got some other collaborations and ideas on the boil. plenty to look forward to. thanks again and mnml ssgs wishes you all the best for 2010. lets make it a good one!

shining bright in '09

2009-12-29T14:56:00.007+11:00

as 2009 comes to an end, i thought it'd be good to highlight some of the people that i thought really owned this year, took things up a level and pushed the sounds forward. this list is definitely not complete, but it's a start.

rené pawlowitz (shed): this guy is scary good. i dont think there are (m)any producers about the moment better at the moment. following up his breakout year, in 2009 everything he touched was bang on. i havent properly compiled my tracks of this year, but i can tell you 'wax20002' is right near the top. he is someone who makes me excited about the future of techno. cant wait to see what 2010 has in store for him.

levon vincent: an obvious choice, but hard to dispute. he came on strong in 2009 with a series of great releases, and fittingly his final EP for the year - 'double jointed sex freak' - is his best to date. he nailed his RA 'cast, making it clear that he can spin as well as he can produce. at a time when so much there is so much average shit about, levon really stands out.

paul rose (scuba): if there was a techno apocolypse and i was in charge of noah's techno ark, paul rose is one of the guys i'd be letting on board. this guy is a couple of steps ahead of everyone else. his SCB mix was the most popular ssg mix of 2010, hotflush was clearly one of the best labels about, and his own productions are of the highest order. respect.

robert henke (monolake): i know most people talk about him in revered tones, but truthfully, i have not been that impressed with much of his output for a while. his monolake stuff has never been bad, but for quite a while it definitely was not progressing. it was all getting a bit too cold and clinical. i am happy to admit that 2009 has been a change. it is definitely worth reflecting on how good and diverse a year henke has had, releasing 3 impressive albums: 'atom/document', 'indigo_transform', and 'silence'. of these, it is the last one that i've been most taken by. under his monolake guise he is really pushing things again. unfortunately it came out too late in the year for most lists, but 'silence' is definitely in my top albums of 2009.

sandwell district: ok, everyone else on this list are individual artists, but it feels a bit inappropriate to list the sandwell gang separately, because they are such a collective endeavour, as was made clear by the way 'variance' was released. silent servant continued his impressive run with 'negative fascinations', and a couple of killer mixes. meanwhile, with 'variance' function delivered perhaps the biggest techno bomb of 2009. not to mention his DJ sets - his 'cast for RA and the sandwell mix on beatport were of the highest order, and well, what more needs to be said about his set at labyrinth... he simply owned the festival. and we should not forget regis, who - from what i can gather - plays a huge role driving the whole sandwell thing and is probably producing more than we realise.

peter van hoesen: i'm definitely biased on this one. i consider peter a good friend after experiencing two labyrinths together. regardless, it is hard to dispute what a killer year he has had. a string of impressive releases have been matched by some super tight dj mixes floating around the net. but for me, it was his livepa at labyrinth in september that was his defining moment in 2009. like with function, a few months on and i'm still in shock. despite holding his productions in high regard, his livepa completely took me by surprise. it was ridiculously good. here's to another great year for the hose.

shackleton: again, an obvious choice, but impossible to leave off. like with scuba, this is definitely someone that gets a spot on the techno ark. i dont have much to say abot shackleton, i think we all know how good he is. in a world of similar sounds, he manages to sound unique. that ain't easy.

ancient methods: one thing which took us slightly by surprise was how big a reaction there was to the mix ancient methods did for us. of course we knew it was excellent, but it really exploded. it was the 2nd most popular ssg mix after SCB, and there was a huge amount of buzz about it. i dont know what exactly it is about their sound, but what ancient methods are doing is definitely a barometer of where the techno winds are blowing. they suffered a setback after having their laptops stolen off stage at a gig, but lets hope they are back big and better in 2010.

raster noton: again, like sandwell, it seems inappropriate to single out one person. these guys are light years ahead. techno for the future made in the now. i must admit, i've been very slow fully getting into the raster sound, but i'm glad i finally have. a seriously impressive year for raster noton, and you just know they will be pushing things further forward in the years to come.

stefan marx: ok, he doesn't make music (at least that i know of). but he makes art. and some art for music. specifically the smallville and mule labels. i've found his pictures and drawings a great source of inspiration and enjoyment over 2009 and while i dont know much about art, i love what he does (the picture above is one of my favourites of his).

anyway, i know there are plenty of other people, and this list is just a start. please add who you think have been the real standouts of 2009 in the comments.

sunday sounds

2009-12-27T13:57:00.002+11:00

welcome to the last sunday of 2009.

butane - slow pitch vol. 1

nothing fancy, just great records put together. have a good one people.

mnml ssgs mx45 - yves de mey

2009-12-23T14:26:00.006+11:00

last year, benjamin brunn gave us a special christmas ssg mix. we really liked the idea, and thought it'd be nice to do it again this year. perhaps this will become an annual ssg tradition, who knows... like with brunn, we wanted someone who kind of fits with christmas, someone that combines a warm personality with beautiful music. in this regard, we thought yves de mey (eavesdropper) would be perfect. yves is known for his work under his own name, as eavesdropper, and along with peter van hoesen as sendai. earlier this year, he released 'lichtung', a beautiful 35 minute piece that is one of my favourite albums of 2009. i'm not sure how best to categorise it - abstract/ambient/experimental/whatever - it is lovely and worth tracking down on the line label. anyway, i was lucky to meet yves at labyrinth in september and have struck up a friendship with him since then. i've discovered the warmth of his music strongly reflects his character. he really is perfect for doing the christmas mix for us. this is what he said about the mix:

"I became interested in ambient music in the early days of Techno, when every party night had an ambient after-party as a counterweight for the mayhem, the sweaty club rooms and the chemically fueled body workout. For a lot of people, ambient was nothing more than audible wallpaper, but I was immediately fascinated by the ever-changing textures, the stripped down rhythms and tempo and the time and space those ambient tracks imposed on the listening experience. During the last 2 decades I've spent an incredible amount of time listening to minimal music, avant-garde, drones... finding out there's a huge scene of artists who are not afraid of making essential music, essential as in reducing compositions to fundamental elements that evoke emotions and state of being.

The request for an ambient mix came at a good time: wintertime. Probably my favorite season with its crisp air, cosy warmth inside, more dark than light, and the occasional snowy landscapes. I wanted to combine certain tracks that have a strong emotional connection,
music that often sounds like frozen moments in time, compositions that take you from the outside to the inside, from cold to warm. I allowed the majority of the tracks to take their time to develop, to go slowly, at the pace of a glacier... This music makes me think of how a snow blanket makes everything look more uniform, flattened in a way, but more brilliant. And at times it reminds me of how an environment's sound becomes muffled when covered in ice and snow."

not much more to add... apologies to everyone down in the southern hemisphere, who are currently in the middle of summer (i am still not used to december being so cold). but for them, this mix could work nicely late at night to cool off slightly...

mnml ssgs mx45: yves de mey
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big thanks to yves for taking the time to produce this beautiful mix. for the moment he is working with peter van hoesen on their sendai project, and he recently started working on a new full album. with sendai he just released a various artists EP on time to express, and there is more to come next year. for more info, you can check his homepage.

that's it. a merry ssg christmas to you all!

mx44: eric cloutier - tracklisting

2009-12-21T19:12:00.003+11:00

mnml ssgs mx44: eric cloutier

01. donato dozzy + lerosa - gas snake [apnea]

02. konrad black - a broken down mustang [240 volts]

03. iori - magnetic [prologue digital]

04. acid jesus - uraniumsmuggle [neuton]

05. kevin gorman - shakey (stripped) [mikrowave]

06. giorgio gigli - spazio [prologue]

07. david alvarado - blue [strive]

08. mike mind - resonate [turbo]

09. roberto bosco - login dub [mowar]

10. don williams - orderly kaos [a.r.t.less]

11. delano smith - this heart [mixmode recordings]

12. jesper dahlback - a day at work [svek]

13. baby ford - one for sorrow [background]

14. cheap + deep productions - tight [cheap + deep]

15. st. plomb - escape run [brut!]

16. obtane - thrilling love [prologue digital]

17. nuel - b1 [aquaplano ltd]

18. helical scan - index 1 [chain reaction]

go live

2009-12-21T13:44:00.007+11:00

i have managed to catch some fantastic live techno this year, and the trend continued last weekend when i got to see atom tm vs tobias. for just over 90 minutes the two masters jammed on their machines, delivering a seriously awesome set of organic techno. what made it all the more impressive was how it was composed (or not as was the case): it was basically all improvised. atom told me they were using hired machines and all they'd prepared was the opening, the rest was on the fly. and they said about 2 words to each other across the whole set. there were some messy moments, but i found these enjoyable. and when they hit, wow. and like when i saw tobias. live earlier this year, no laptops at all. totally analog. nice. and to top it all off, it was an evening party. they had finished shortly after 10pm and i was home by 11pm. that made it so much more enjoyable. if there is one thing i wish there'd be more of, it is daytime and evening parties. i dont know why we are only supposed to enjoy techno and dance at ridiculous hours...

this impressive performance from atom tm and tobias followed on nicely from my recent trip to belgium, where i saw sendai's first livepa, a true audio-visual feast. my crappy pic above does not do justice to the show peter and yves put on. in brussels i was also finally was able to see vladislav delay live, which made me very very happy. when i get the chance i'll give a full report on cimatics festival.

i dont really have much more to say, i just wanted to make two points:
(1) live techno is totally awesome.
(2) atom tm and tobias are techno masters. give them respect! (and track down their live recordings on logistic records, if you have heard them).

mnml ssgs mx44 - eric cloutier

2009-12-16T09:22:00.004+11:00

mx44 comes from a very good friend of the ssgs, eric cloutier. after an excellent first ssg mix, and then winning over the japanese crowd at his debut performance at labyrinth, we wanted another mix out of him and he agreed, so good news for everybody. and, as expected, he has really stepped up to the plate. i think this is probably my favourite mix i've heard from him. demonstrating his breadth, the sound is quite different from his earlier contribution, but there is one element that can be found in both, and that is the pitched down BPMs. if there is one thing i think defines eric's sets is that they are serious slow burners. he does a great job of getting maximum impact without jacking it up too much. this mix has a fantastic pace and flow throughout, building up nicely before really taking off around the 20 minute mark. and he gets bonus points for finishing with a record i love. i have a feeling a lot of ssgs are going to really enjoy this one...

mnml ssgs mx44 - eric cloutier
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if you want more info, check eric's myspace or homepage. you can catch him playing regularly around new york, and he is heading over to europe for some gigs in the 2nd half of february and early march 2010. a good opportunity to catch someone who is definitely on the rise.

big thanks to eric for the mix. don't worry, there is a tracklisting for this... next week we've got our christmas special, then a couple more mixes lined up to finish off '09 and start '10 in style...

quality, not quantity

2009-12-14T12:04:00.011+11:00

well, it is getting to that time when charts and 'best of' lists appear for the year. i know pete has done some. to be honest, i'm not sure whether i have the energy or desire to. i certainly know i wont be compiling or publishing any lists yet, because 2009 hasnt ended. last time i checked a year had 12 months. it'll be interesting to see how dj sprinkles does in the charts, or whether he'll be forgotten due to the january release date.

anyway, what i might do if i have the motivation is offer some thoughts on interesting trends/developments etc in 2009. i can start writing this first one now because i doubt what i am going to say will be altered much in the next 2 or 3 weeks (unless any of these artists suddenly release a shitload of records, but i think it is a safe bet to presume they wont).

when i did have a brief think about some of my favourite EPs and tracks from 2009, i quickly noticed something. quite a lot were from artists who only had one or two releases this year. BUT. but the few tracks that did appear were such massive bombs the impact was far greater than a handful of EPs from many other artists.

probably the clearest example of this was function. as far as i know, he had only 2 tracks this year, his remix of miss kitten and the hacker, and the variance edit. can you tell me a techno track that has been more played, and has had a bigger impact than variance? there have not been many. i have seen this record in so many tracklists and heard it in so many mixes, but i am yet to get sick of it. i still get a shiver down my spine every time it drops.

pretty much the same could be said for function's label mate, silent servant. he has had one or two tracks on his split label with santiago salazar, plus his 'negative fascinations' EP on sandwell. and 'discipline' is my favourite techno track of the year hands down. my jaw dropped the first time i heard this record and like with 'variance', it still has a massive impact on me. also, mendez co-produced with camella lobo the tropic of cancer 10" on downwards, which is just quietly one of the best releases of 2009.

and then there is one of the biggest revelations of this year for me - oni ayhun. in 2009 oni only released one EP and a remix. just in these 3 tracks, though, are some of the most exciting and worthwhile sounds i've heard in 2009. in a year where i found plenty of music to get excited by, the B side of OAR003 hit me the hardest. there is nothing overly complex about the track, but much like donnacha costello's records, the impact comes from the reduced number of elements and the expert production. an impossibly beautiful record. much respect to oni. this is someone who has me excited about the future.

and when thinking about techno's future, in 2009 a lot of people realised kassem mosse is someone we should be putting our faith in. after a string of seriously good eps - which got us interested in him last year for a podcast - it was with workshop08 that people started to realise how special his sounds are. this was his only release in 2009 (i think), and that's just fine, when it is this good.

i could keep going, i am sure there are plenty of more examples - john roberts and tin man are 2 others that quickly come to mind. the lesson i take from this is the pretty obvious one: it is quality, not quantity that counts. this observation is all the more important at a time when digital technologies mean it much easier to make and release music. when combined with the considerable creativity and work ethic of many artists, there must be the temptation for some to put out more and more. even if m-nus completely fail to follow - or even understand - the concept, often there is definitely something to their formulation:
less = more.

mnml ssgs mx43: lawrence english

2009-12-09T21:53:00.005+11:00

this week we've got something a bit different from many of the previous mixes, and definitely contrasts with the intense techno we had last week with mike parker. mx43 comes from lawrence english, an australian artist who has been making some amazing and beautiful ambient, experimental and more abstract music for a while now. this is not a great way of describing his sounds, but he covers a fair bit of ground, and i am not sure how exactly to pin him in down in a sentence or two. but from what i can tell, quality and creativity are his defining trademarks.

i must confess, i was rather late to the lawrence english party, discovering him only last year with his stunning 'kiri no oto'. after boomkat gave the album a 'massive recommendation' i decided to check it out, and was not disappointed. 'kiri no oto' translates roughly to 'the sound of fog' and across the album he expertly explores those ideas. he followed it up this year with, 'a colour for autumn', which - as the title suggests - is conveying the feeling and sounds of autumn. if you haven't heard this, i strongly suggest tracking it down. 'a colour for autumn' is definitely in my top long players for 2009. intensely beautiful music. i cannot recommend it strongly enough.

as soon as i heard 'a colour for autumn', i immediately contacted lawrence about doing a mix. luckily he agreed. for me, at least, his mix reflects much of what i love about his music: it has an amazing depth and, in a strange way, a beautiful feeling of calm and tranquility. these are sounds to get lost in.

mnml ssgs mx43: lawrence english
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if you want more info about lawrence english, you can check out his website or have a look at the homepage his excellent label, room40, which continues to release some amazing stuff, including a lot of cool special projects like limited releases on tape. and if you happen to be in/around london, there is a 2 night room40 showcase taking place tonight and tomorrow (wednesday 9th and thursday 10th december). it is a fantastic lineup (including english) and i am seriously unhappy i'll be missing it by a day or two. definitely head down if you can.

huge thanks to lawrence for taking the time to make this mix, especially as he finished it while touring all around europe. we are very happy that we can present music like this here at mnml ssgs. our original desire was to include more mixes of this kind in the series, but this hasn't quite happened. so we are very glad we have beautiful contribution from lawrence english. enjoy.

mx42: mike parker - tracklisting

2009-12-09T21:41:00.005+11:00

mnml ssgs mx42: mike parker

01] :zoviet-france: / Signal
02] N/A / Variance III (Marcel Dettmann Edit)
03] Stanislav Tolkachev / Blue Mood
04] Samuli Kemppi / No One Can Hear Your Echo In Space
05] Sub Space / The Bi-Machine
06] Smear / Transect (Broadwave Execution Mix)
07] Kevin Gorman / Nearly (Original)
08] Sleeparchive / Hospital 04
09] VX / Particules
10] Miss Kittin & The Hacker / PPPO (Function's Sandwell Mix)
11] KS / Ice Sol
12] DJ Slip / Minneapolis Sessions C1
13] Traversable Wormhole / Superluminal
14] Zahgurim / New Flesh
15] Mike Parker / Caesura 2
16] Samuli Kemppi / Metal Space (Mike Dehnert Remix)
17] David Hykes & The Harmonic Choir / Harmonic Relation

glad everyone has been enjoying mike's super tight mix. the good news is that 2 more mixes arrived today, so you can expect more soon...

Sleepers, Wake!

2009-12-08T09:07:00.005+11:00

chris says:

ok, so the RA top DJs for '09 list fucking blows. it is frankly embarrassing. and please dont start with the 'taste is subjective blah blah argument'. ok, i dont expect everyone to like what i like, but that doesn’t mean that if you call a piece of shit a bar of gold, it is suddenly gold. it is still shit. you are just an idiot for thinking it is gold. anyway, should we be surprised the list sucks so fucking hard? no. of course not. the warning signs have been there. every month the aggregated top 50 tracks for RA have been simply horrible, and getting worse. in november, the king of stink - johnny D - is at number 1. yep. if that ain’t a big fucking red light, i don’t know what is. and the thing is, i actually think charts like these are a good thing. there is a real danger that from reading places like mnml ssgs, some of the other blogs and a selection of the features and reviews on RA and FACT that you get a really distorted view on the current state of the techno/electronic music scene. at the end of the day, most of the stuff we pump here ain’t that popular, these arent the artists being booked every weekend and playing at massive festivals. there definitely are signs of hope, but the mainstream still sucks balls.

2009 has been a great year for electronic music, but not because of most of the people listed in the RA charts. most of them are part of the problem, not the solution. so we need to keep fighting against the constant acceptance of mediocrity, and instead keep pushing and supporting quality music and quality artists.... like these:

chris' top 5:

1. function

2. donato dozzy

3. silent servant

4. peter van hoesen

5. scuba/scb

PC says:

Well, it’s rare that any kind of EoY poll elicits a visceral reaction from me, carrying around, as I do, Dirty Harry’s famous maxim: ‘opinions are like assholes… everyone’s got one.’

What’s fascinating (and a bit frightening) about this poll is that it is not the amplified projection of a small number of geeks and tastemakers; it is, rather, an accurate representation of what the people who voted think is hot now when it comes to DJing.

And what’s striking about this list in particular is how many of the people in this top 20 are DJs whose best sets are at least 5+ years behind them. That’s the thing that jumps out at me: the people I voted for are people who I think are really hitting their straps right now.

So is this a reflection of the contemporary? At this point, I have to wonder about people’s methodology when choosing their faves… were these cautiously chosen? Whittled down? Remembered from a millennium nightclub? What else could explain Luciano arriving at number three… in 2009? Seriously, this is an artist who released an interesting but very flawed album and has been playing, well, boring dishwater. This is a talented guy who – in my deeply personal/subjective/prejudiced opinion – has had one of the least productive and interesting years of his recent career. His productions are the worst they’ve been in ages; Cadenza is a shadow of its former self; his DJing has lost almost all of its funk, daring, passion and historicity – in short, this is a dude who spent 2009 playing bongo dishwater for dollars.

Leaving aside this one egregious howler, a look up the list reveals a startlingly high percentage of legacy votes: has beens, sentimental favourites, unexamined choices (or are they?). Sasha… and Digweed? Steve Bug? The Wighnomy Brothers?? Derrick May??? It’s not that these people aren’t good DJs, the question is whether they merit inclusion in a ‘best of 2009’ list… I’m left with a number of possible provisional conclusions: 1) people’s choices are – statistically – sentimental favourites based on past experiences; 2) large numbers of people’s listening tastes are way behind the curve (ie people are still listening to, and digging, the same shit they were digging three, five, hell, even ten+ years back & so this IS a fair representation of who’s hitting their straps right now) ; 3) it is I who lives in a parallel universe; 4) opinions are like assholes…

All year in interviews, producers, musicians, DJs and the like have been grousing about the rot (just check recent interviews by Jeff Mills and DJ Bone that we linked here a week or two back). The thing about the rot is that it is very hard to put your finger on... yeah, of course, you can have a vague feeling that things suck when you go out, that there are a lot of lame, bland records around, but is that the rot? After looking at this, I wanna say that the rot is a lot; the rot is.... very popular indeed.

Oh, and these were my favourite DJs in 2009:

1. Scuba

2. Steffi

3. Donato Dozzy

4. Kevin Gorman

5. Sandwell District

...then check this out: http://www.djmag.com/top100

...yet another parallel universe, one which is bigger than ours by a factor of 10....

...

All of the Massive.... well, maybe some of you...

2009-12-07T10:56:00.002+11:00

Hey folks,

just a quick FYI for any of you in the +61 3 this Friday. Void have put together a killer wee lineup at the Mercat this Friday: Appbleblim, Harmonic 313 and Spherix.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you what a rarity it is to have a forward-thinking lineup like this in a city where the presentation of the stale by the risk-averse to the unappreciative has become, shall we say, an unfortunately repetitive occurrence. Does norm rhyme with bore? But I can't say I blame promoters for this. Seems like large numbers of Melbourne punters enjoy doing the musical equivalent of drinking milk right on or just past its best by date... I guess it smells funky to them? I say it stinks 'cos it's off - to the bin!

...nah, but there *have* also been a few really good things happening in Melbourne this year partywise, and this could be one for the tally. In any case, I'll be there with my rave on wearing an old t-shirt (which should also probably find its way into the bin one of these years) based on this exhibition from many years back - come say hi and/or let me know if you're going along. Could be an unoffical SSG reterriorialisation...

the purposemaker

2009-12-07T05:38:00.002+11:00

"Dance Music producers have a strange habit of mimicking other producers. When this happens, large bodies of available tracks lean to a particular style - leaving certain areas of creativity un-explored and ignored. To be able to discovers these voids, I think one has to have a wide perspective on what other artists are doing and more importantly, why they're doing it."

"As a whole, I think that most Dance Music producers and DJs no longer produce at their highest level. Many simply do whatever it takes to get noticed and stay in minds of their audiences. It's a free and unstructured industry, so I guess there is room for everything(?)."

"I wish that people would demand more from producers/DJs, event organizers, club managers, media, etc. I believe a lot of negative things persist because we do not question others and ask for more."

"People are much more aware of what's available in the market now and I think the audiences listen more closely than ever before. It's a different time and it takes different applications. It would my great wish if this approach was applied not only by DJs/producers, but promoters, the production crew of clubs/venues and all others that work on events in this industry."

"I think that part of being a DJ is knowing the history and the possible future of what you’re dealing with."

"I think if DJs and producers begin to put more of themselves (not their machines/software) into their productions, try not to mimic and copy other people, adapt a mindset that any and everything is possible, we might have a chance of raising the level of the genre [techno] where new discoveries come more frequently then they have in the past decade."

"With the technology that most DJs and producers have and are using, we should be hearing many more interesting things. Perhaps it too early in the genre to measure what really hasn't been touched upon."

"Producers could consider making music without the objective of releasing vinyls, CDs, sounds files -- maybe they could make music for the sole reason of learning on how to make it differently. If this truly catches on, I do believe we would begin to hear extraordinary work."

"My perspective is that it [techno] isn't taken seriously enough. Just about any thriving art form takes a certain amount of attention in ensuring that the people are understanding and hearing as much as they want. I don't feel that this understanding is shared by most people in this industry. There are many people that make Dance Music for their life career, but when it comes to doing/saying things that may not be directly connected to themselves, they tend to not be involved or speak up/about. It's not like this in other genres of music, in art or in dance. It seems that Electronic Music distances itself by not being thoughtfully considered by those that are in the industry."

taken from soonnight.com

sunday sounds

2009-12-07T00:55:00.004+11:00

something more upbeat this sunday. i don't have so many words right now, i just love this mix. for full disclosure, finn has invited me to contribute to one of his columns in the future. but this has nothing to do with why i'm posting this. there is just something in his dj'ing style that really appeals to me. it has a great pace and energy to it. and at a time when i'm getting sent so many dj mixes that sound the same, the distinctiveness of this mix really stands out.

finn johannsen - la maison des ingénieurs de l’aggro

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Odd Machine – Phase Out
Instra:mental – Leave It All Behind
Zomby – Tarantula
Stress – Down In The Dungeon
Shake – Indagoo
Dread & Fred – Warriors Advance
Posthuman – Callisto
Paul Du Lac- Blow Back
Ricardo Jefferson – The Egg (Part One)
Patrick Cowley & Jorge Socarras – Memory Fails Me (Oni Ayhun Remix)
Mark Grusane & Mike Cole Feat. Deanna – Time & Space (Vocal)
Marcello Napoletano – Space Voodoo
B.D.I. – City & Industry
Anthony “Shake” Shakir – Arise
The Oliverwho Factory – Disco Nights
Rennie Foster – Good Time Charlie
Octave One – A World Divided (Jupiter II Mix)
Gesloten Cirkel – When It’s Late
Iamthatiam – Inri
Moderat – Seamonkey (Surgeon Remix)
Patrick Cowley & Jorge Socarras – Soon (KiNK Remix)
Ben Klock – Ok (Kenny Larkin Remix)
Optic Nerve – Origins
Oni Ayhun - OAR003-B
San Proper – December 10th
Dan Curtin – Other
Tama Sumo & Prosumer – Alien Mutts
Kirk Degiorgio – Isidora
Roska – Sheppard
Lowtec – Angstrom
Peter Kruder – After The Dawn
As One – Freefall
Newworldaquarium – The Force (Âme Remix)
dBridge – Wonder Where
Kinf Midas Sound – One Ting (Dabrye Rmx)

have a good sunday people.

tu m' - monochromes vol. 1

2009-12-06T05:45:00.005+11:00

just a quick post. been meaning to write about this release for a while. tu m' are a new name to me, but they are now definitely on my radar after 'monochromes vol. 1', which has become one of my favourite albums of the year. despite the strong techno focus of my contribution to mnml ssgs, this year, and especially in recent months, i've come back to ambient in a big big way. and 'monochromes' is exactly the kind of ambient i like: atmospheric, tranquil, contemplative...

not knowing too much about this italian duo, from looking at their website, it appears there is a strong visual component to their work, and this certainly adds something to the monochromes project. here is one excerpt:

[i cant get the video working, you can view it here.]

the video gives a pretty good representation of the album. not much more to say really. if interested, they've got some other videos and various mp3s on their website. anyway, this has been one of my finds for 2009, so i just wanted to share it.

mnml ssgs mx42: mike parker

2009-12-01T11:16:00.004+11:00

following on from last week's killer from jay ahern, now some more heat from a good friend of mnml ssgs, mike parker. this is his 2nd contribution to the series, the first being way back with mx6. things have developed a lot since then and the strength of the early mixes - from people like mike - were key in shaping the overall series. so we definitely owe him a debt of gratitude and we are very glad that he agreed to do another mix. the result is exactly what you'd expect: deep, dark, driving and hypnotic. this is a sound mnml ssgs has become well known for, and mike's mix was the 1st example of it here, so it is fitting it will probably also be the last mix of this kind in the series. beyond that i dont really have too much to say, the music speaks for itself, as does mike's distinctive take on techno.

mnml ssgs mx42: mike parker
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mike delivered a killer set of power techno at last year's labyrinth, and he is about to make his return visit to japan this week, playing in tokyo with another ssg favourite, cio d'or on saturday 5 december. for those lucky enough to be going, this is a great taste of what to expect, and for the rest of us, we still get to enjoy a prime techno cut from a quiet achiever.

mike is a man of many talents, as can be seen from the picture. for info on his various arts - visual and musical - check his website and his homepage. big thanks to mike for the mix.

mnml ssgs mx41: hauntologists vs cheap and deep

2009-11-25T04:05:00.003+11:00

one of the trends i've noticed over the last year or two is that many of the producers making waves are people who've been at it for a long time. these aren't new kids on the block armed with a macbook and a cracked version of ableton. two names that immediately spring to mind are peter van hoesen and move d, but there are plenty more. another one is jay ahern. this is a name you might not instantly recognise. but if you've been keeping up with the best of techno over the last year, chances are you might have heard records from two projects he does: the hauntologists, composed of jay and stefan schneider, and a new solo project, cheap and deep, which has been getting serious play from a lot of techno heavyweights (and rightly so).

we first got in touch with jay about mix a year or so ago, in relation to yet another one of his guises - add noise (check the 'handwerk' releases - they flew under the radar a bit, but are some seriously quality techno cuts). it didn't quite work at that time, but luckily for everyone we reconnected this year. so this has been a while in the making. but like so many other mixes in this series, definitely worth the wait. in true ssg fashion, jay has dug deep and put put together a special live recording for all of us, made up of hauntologists and cheap and deep material.

one thing we look for with contributions to this series are mixes that give a real representation of the artist's sound and that is certainly the case here. jay's live reflects his productions perfectly: raw, dirty, analog machine techno. this is what jay said about it in an email:

"this stuff is done exactly that way [machine techno], i don't even use midi, i use the 808 as the master, slave the sampler to it using a special box and then the 101 gets a clock pulse from the 808 , and i punch in notes live on the 101 while tweaking the 303 and 808, plus a bit of dubbing on the mixer... there's a couple of moments in the mix where i am really sweating, trying to juggle all that stuff, but i think that 'human touch' thing works out ok."

fuck yes it works out ok. much more than that.

mnml ssgs mx41: hauntologists vs cheap and deep
soundcloud mirror
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* update: got a DL link for soundcloud. if it stops working, just try the other ones.

massive thanks to jay for putting this together for us. we are very proud and happy to have this, it really fits exactly with what we are about. big respect. for more info on jay, check his homepage and his twitter. now, it's time for some machine techno...

kassem and his funky machines in tokyo

2009-11-25T00:30:00.006+11:00

i dont have much to say, except this shit is essential. unfortunately there is some crowd noise in it, but the recording is still good enough to check, especially as i'm pretty sure this is the first live set from kassem to appear online. unsurprisingly, it is shit hot: kassem mosse @ mariana, tokyo

thanks to dave for recording this. i'd also suggest checking his set from the night, definitely the best mix i've heard from him. good late hours techno.

and if you are in tokyo, the next mariana party is on 5 december, with two ssg favourites: cio 'dor and mike parker. dont let labyrinth fool you, the scene in tokyo is pretty disappointing these days. it is rare to get nights like these, so if you are in the kanto area, definitely go check cio and mike.

sunday sounds: murmur (meanwhile)

2009-11-22T11:20:00.006+11:00

following on from last week's treat from silent servant, something special again this sunday. this time it from the murmur boys. after falling in love with a mix they'd recently done i got in touch, and they had another one they'd also finished around the same time, and we thought it'd be good to present them together. 2 for the price of 1 this week... both mixes are bang on, excellent excursions into all things deep. they've got a great groove and feel to them, and well suited for a sunday...

murmur session mix
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murmur single session mix
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these guys keep an intentionally low profile, but if you are around manchester they've recently started a monthly night, with big things planned for 2010. the next one is on december 29th with sean canty from demdike stare/finders keepers. i'm hoping to get up there and check it in the new year. label-wise, meanwhile has 12 inches on the way from pendle coven (do these guys ever sleep?), murmur and conforce, which also have a longplayer. plus they've got a new handstamped label going, 1XA, so keep an eye out for that.

big thanks to murmur for hooking up with these mixes. have a good sunday people...

to the bone

2009-11-21T00:08:00.003+11:00

just a quick post: i'd strongly suggest heading over to RA and reading the new interview with dj bone. admittedly it does start in a horribly banal fashion: 'Detroit has always held a certain currency in the techno community. After all, the genre did first emerge as an underground black movement in the city, with originators Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson acting as musical prophets to an entire generation of DJs and producers.' jeez... if you skip that terrible intro and cut to dj bone talking you'll get an insightful and thoughtprovoking set of observations. to be honest, these days his music and dj'ing doesn't really do much for me, but years ago his 'subject: detroit volume 2' had a very strong influence on me, and he was one of the few artists from detroit besides jeff mills i really connected with. and while i am not so interested in his music anymore, i greatly value his reflections on techno in this and other interviews. i really respect his attitude and approach.

one thing i'd disagree with him about is the lack of filters now with the digital market. this is true to some extent, there certainly aren't the same barriers with starting labels and publishing music. in that regard, the entry point is much much lower and there is definitely a flood. but i'd disagree in his suggestion that there is no equivalent to the people in the record store 'who are knowledgeable about the music—that's their job and they know this stuff—and when the customers come in they say, "hey, i got a hot one for you".' in this regard, i'd say the filters have changed. i strongly feel that blogs like this one, test, LWE etc. fulfill a similar function. indeed, i'd say they do so in a more democratic and open way. often you'd have to be in with the person behind the record counter for them to give you one of the few copies of the hot record had come in. with blogs and other sources on the net this is much more equalised. and i should say that a very explicit aim in setting up mnml ssgs was precisely to act as a filter. so in this regard, i think dj bone is a bit behind the times. besides that, most of what he says is pretty much bang on.

respect to bone and i'll finish with these wise words of his:

'What I really wanted to say was that it's a crucial time for underground electronic music and the underground community to take a stand, and basically take stock in what they they've grown to love; so they need to be really, really, careful and they need to be smart about how they spend their money, who they support, and that they can't fall for any old bullshit that's out there. Make a choice based on what you feel is good and not just what's popular.'

full of love

2009-11-19T07:35:00.004+11:00

just a quick post, my girl has been going on a big maurice fulton bender recently, and this has encouraged me to revisit this mix of his, which is very dear to my heart. this mix kept me company on many long, boring drives between melbourne and canberra... despite maurice being around since the year dot and generally being recognised as a house legend, i still feel he is massively under-rated. as far as i'm concerned, he is one of the best house djs about and his productions are light years ahead of most house music. simply put, maurice is the bomb. i'd strongly suggest following his bubbletease podcast mixes (i think this is the link). and here is this classic mix from him. warm house music that puts a smile on your face. enjoy.

maurice fulton @ betalounge 15.2.04

0:00-07:06 I:cube - vacuum jackers (maurice fulton remix)
07:06-12:35 Touche - Wrap it Up (maurice fulton remix)
12:35-17:35 Extra - Haven't Been Funked Enough (maurice fulton remix)
17:35-19:55 ?
19:55-25:55 Second Image - Can't Keep Holdin On
25:55-29:05 Quando Quango - Love Tempo
29:05-33:20 Tata Vega - Get It Up For Love (maurice fulton remix)
33:20- 40:05 MSFB - Love is the Message
40:05-45:20 Willie Colon - Set Fire to Me
45:20-51:05 A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray
51:05-59:00 Herbie Hancock - Thought It Was You (maurice fulton remix)
59:00-1:05:45 Skyy - Here's to You
1:05:45-1:12:50 Gwen Guthrie - It Should Have Been You
1:12:50-1:17:30 Jimmy Bo Horne - Is It In?
1:17:30-1:21:30 Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (maurice fulton remix)
1:21:30-1:25:20 George Benson - Love x Love
1:25:20-1:30:00 Stevie Wonder - All I Do
1:30:00-1:35:00 Billy Ocean - One of Them Nights
1:35:00-1:39:10 Chi-Lites - Are You My Woman?
1:39:10-1:43:10 Can never remember who this is
1:43:10- Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved
1:48:55-1:54:55 Gewn Guthrie - Ain't Nothin Goin' On but the Rent
1:54:55- Ost & Kjex (Cheese & Biscuit) : Eaten Back To Life EP (Maurice Fulton mix)

sunday sounds: silent servant

2009-11-15T05:51:00.003+11:00

we've got something special for you this sunday: a new mix by our very good friend, silent servant. inspired by a super deep opening set from regis at the recent sandwell district gig in berlin, this is a more downbeat and introspective mix, well suited for a sunday. in his own words, "it is an all vinyl mix from a stack of my favorite dub techno and dub inspired non techno tracks. it was mixed in one shot." this shows yet another side of juan mendez, further illustrating the depth and breadth of his musical knowledge. i am consistently impressed by this man's creativity, and strongly feel he is one of the most interesting and worthwhile voices in contemporary techno. respect.

silent servant - isolation mix
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there is a tracklisting, which i'll add in the comments section in a day or two. big thanks to juan for this mix. i'm very happy we've had another opportunity to collaborate with him. for more info, make sure to check sandwell district's 'where next?' blog.

have a good sunday people...