Having rediscovered my love for banging Techno beats recently, I would like to introduce Mozambeat’s most recent release today.

We featured Tobi, one of the members of Mozambeat a while ago here on Sweet Headache, and  they just released their new “Automatic EP”. Here’s what it sounds like:
Mozambeat – Automatic EP – Simplex05 by Mozambeat

There are four tracks on this EP: “Fluctuation” is my personal favorite – a bouncy Tech-House track with a nice distorted piano melody and a strong beat. Just the sound I am looking for right now!

“Centrifuge” is a track that sounds like it was made for a peaktime Techno set: Pumping sounds, a long break that slowly builds up and then BOOM…. Not exactly my cup of tea, but surely something that works in a club.

“Autoignition” is actually my least favorite track on this release, even though it comes with an additional remix by Roland M.Dill. It’s a little too minimal for my taste and the melody sounds a little arbitrary.

However, the other two tracks are worth checking out!

They also released a DJ set that features all of the tracks and more so you can get an impression of their sound:
Automatic Mix by Mozambeat

I haven’t played a lot of Techno or Tech-House recently, and I am not even sure why. However, I got to play a set with a few DJ friends in a small bar in Cologne, and while listening to their sounds and talking about it, I noticed something that I really liked about this sound: It can be deep, almost hypnotic and still very powerful at the same time.

While I had been listening to more dynamic styles recently, I am rediscovering straight Techno beats at the moment. This mix shows what I am listening to right now: It’s dark Techno from deep under the surface combined with bouncy Tech-House that will let your thoughts fly and your legs dance.

I simply had to use my own remix of “Unterwegs” in this mix. It just fit in so nicely, and I still am very proud of this production. It combines a lot of the things that I like: Banging beats, slow buildups and multi-layered soundscapes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Some of the tracks in this mix are actually a bit older: For example, Headleand’s “Nitefall” was already release in 2006, and Micah’s “Alpha & Omega” (on Jetlag Digital) was released in 2009. Still, they are both killer tracks and I didn’t even notice they were already a few years old until I looked it up.

Among the newer productions in this mix are “R&S” by QuestionmarQ, a nice deep Tech-House track is exactly the kind of hypnotic, but banging sound that I was looking for.

I would also like to highlight “Blue From My Window” by Airbus Modular. This one takes a while to develop, but I just love the melody in the second half. Very nice work!

Tracklist: 

• Headland – Nitefall (Kriece remix)
• Kioskvandalen – Unterwegs (Marvis Remix)
• Jeff Bennett – Sediment
• Mandy vs. Booka Shade – Home (Tim Green remix)
• QuestionmarQ – R & S
• Micah – Alpha & Omega (Oliver Morgenroth Remix)
• Antix – Hit The Wrong Button
• Airbus Modular – Blue From My Window
• Radionasty – Radio 1
• Noir & Richard Davis – Found Out
• Umek – Sunday At El Row
• DJ Madskillz – Carnival Chaos (Format B Remix)
• Drauf & Dran – La Bikke
• FLG & F-Man – The Joker

Image: Gagilas // CC-by-sa

Fascinated by the differences and analogies between UK’s vararity of genres, I found out for myself that the most amazing thing about all of them is the beat. Based on dub and syncope rhythms, there are always these breaks and preeminent percussions. I think the whole UK Bass music is the closest one to the origins of music at all: Africa!

In this mix I wanted to mix up the variety of a bunch of different styles of Uk’s Bass music (ok, there are two artists from the USA) and tried to show that they have a lot of references. Enjoy the travel through beats, drums and percussions!

Tracklist:

• Kuhn – Slime Beach
•  Sepalcure – Pencil Pimp
•  Kode 9 + The Space Ape – Otherman
•  Ramadanman – Don’t Change For Me
• Joy Orbison – so derobe
• Crazy Bold Heads – First Born
• Machinedrum – Fantastix
• Kuhn – Back n Forth
• DRC Music – Customs (Mux Mool Rmx)
• Shigeto – There is always hope
• Lusine – Gravity
• Sepalcure – See me feel me
• Joy O – Sicko Cell
• Boddika – 2727

I did a little promo mix for the next Swing United party. I am really looking forward to this one: We are celebrating in one of the most beautiful clubs in Cologne, and we got some some nice Electro Swing, Neo Swing and Balkan sounds.

To give you an impression on what kind of music we are playing, here is the mix:

By the way, I recently found out that we have a very cool Electro Swing artist here in Cologne: Alice Francis is playing Electro Swing live, and she is really, really good! I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about her before. I am currently trying to get an interview with her, so keep your fingers crossed!

Tracklist: 

• Goldfish – Get Busy Living (feat. Emily Bruce)
• JFTH – Round And Round (Original Mix)
• Shemian – Old Car (Original Mix)
• Stereo Express – Shadoorack
• Bara Bröst – Madame Mila
• Enzo Siffredi & Jfth – Jungle Dancing (Vocal Mix)
• DJ Quicksilver & Phatt Noize – Peter Gunn Theme (Frank Eikam Remix)
• Crystal Waters, Yolanda Be Cool – Le Bump feat. Crystal Waters (Original)
• Alice Francis – What Are You Made Of? (Remix)
• Inconnu – Piste 02
• Jewdyssee – Fiselekh Tsum Tantsen
• Roman Pushkin – Balkan Beat – Original Mix
• Analog People In A Digital World feat. Vlada Tomova – Izlela Neda
• Alle Farben – Drunken Sailor

I am happy to announce that one of my remixes made it as an official release now: “Kioskvandalen”, a new project from Cologne, just released their debut EP “Unterwegs” (German for “on my way”). My remix is part of the EP, and I am actually quite proud of it.

While the original is a Maximal Electro track, I went in a different direction with my remix: Having spent quite a bit of time in trains last year, I felt that being on your way brings you in a special emotional state. I often felt enthusiastic about where I was going and a little sad about having left my origin at the same time. Travelling forces you to wait for a couple of hours, you are somewhat limited in how you can spend your time, and still it’s always a bit of an adventure. I tried to capture those feelings in my remix.

Here is a snippet of it so you can get an impression:

The full version is available on iTunes, Amazon, Beatport and Juno Download.

The original version sounds like this:

[EE010] Kioskvandalen – Unterwegs from Lukas Hoeh on Vimeo.

From a music nerd’s perspective, Christmas is a mixed bag. Most people enjoy getting presents and spending time with their family, but there are also a couple of things about the holidays that are only tolerable with a lot of goodwill and alcohol (preferably hot wine).

Christmas music

Let’s face it: 99% of all Christmas music sucks. Most of it is cheesy, one-dimensional and you have heard it so often that you can sing along without even liking the song. “Last Christmas”, anyone?

There’s a simple test that proves this: Would you or anyone you know listen to Christmas music at any other time of the year? Probably not.

Would you listen to a song about summer holidays at another time of the year? Sure. Why not?

In my opinion, Christmas music is trying to be very emotional, very harmonic and get you in a certain, well-defined mood. This only works if you stick to a few tried-and-tested patterns, repeat them again and again and leave out anything that could be a distractor. That’s what makes Christmas music so effective – and so annoying.

I have to admit that there are a few songs and tracks that are not that bad. I compiled a few in my Christmas Beats mix, and I can also recommend the 70s disco themed mix by my DJ buddy Discotizer. There are also some nice Jazz recordings that I like listening to – but I wouldn’t listen to any of those at other times of the year.

Going out over Christmas

One might find it surprising, but there are actually quite a few electronic music parties over Christmas – at least here in Cologne. From Techno to Drum&Bass, there is quite a bit going on, and I can imagine that those parties will probably be good parties.

After all, Christmas isn’t a bad time for going out. Most people have time, maybe even some extra cash in their pockets and if you like going out during the rest of the year, why shouldn’t you like going out over Christmas?

I haven’t been clubbing too much over Christmas, but I have been going out to a bar a couple of times, and usually I met a couple of old friends that I don’t see a lot. That was really enjoyable and often better than sitting in front of the TV with my family.

The perfect present

Christmas is about presents, and for a music nerd, this is a great opportunity.

On my wish list, I had a bit of gear this year: A midi keyboard and a small drum pad that I can use for my own productions. Of course, I also like getting new music for Christmas – but most people in my family know me well enough that I am a bit special in this aspect.

However, I do like surprises, and I am actually happy if someone gives me music that he thinks I might like, even though I have never heard of it before.

This is also something that I like to do: Use Christmas as an opportunity to introduce people to new music by giving them a CD or DVD.

A few quiet days

Personally, I will use the next few days to chill and spend some time with my family. The last few weeks were a bit stressful, and I can really use a few quiet days.

 I would like to thank all readers, supporters and DJs who have contributed to Sweet Headache in any way! I wish you all happy holidays!

It’s remarkable that they worked only four weekends together in a studio. The rest of the time, the geographical distance between New York and the island forced them to work over the internet to finish the album. But not for bad! I think these circumstances gave the album a special touch because both artists kept their own styles by working a longer time alone then together and the combination is nevertheless pure harmony. Sometimes one can hear some Machinedrum airs and graces and sometimes Braille elements remind me of Chicago House. For me, this one is a late highlight in 2011!

Read full review of Sepalcure – SEPALCURE on Boomkat.com ©

I always need a bit longer than everybody else to realize that Christmas is coming closer. When I finally realized today that Christmas is next weekend, I thought I’d do a little DJ set that consists only of remixed Christmas songs. This probably isn’t the right soundtrack for your family dinner, but if you plan to go out later, then this is is for you!

Most tracks in this mix are remixes of well-known Christmas classics.

However, the last track (“Haus vom Nikolaus”) is probably more for my German audience. It’s not exactly a Christmas classic, but rather a House/HipHop track where a guy raps about his unusual wish list. Hilarious, if you can understand the lyrics!

Oh, and check out the video – it was done entirely in MS Paint.

Tracklist:

• 4Peace – Cool Yule
• DJ Anastasio Le Prada – Jingle Bells 2011
• Laera – All I Want for Christmas Is You (Nicola Viti De Angelis & Semion Berkovitch Remix)
• Scotty – Christmas in the Caribbean (Splash Bootleg Mix) – http://zajec.blogas.lt/
• Tiniundtus & D.Kingz – Haus Vom Nikolaus (D.Kingz Club Mix)

Image: Chris_J // CC-by-nc-nd

It was about time to break some barriers. I am talking about the barriers in my head: I had been playing too many single-style, single-tempo recently, and this screated a barrier that didn’t let me think about other ways to compile music.

In a way, this mix is about tearing down musical barriers. It’s also about combining rough, diverse sounds into a set that still feels as if those tracks were meant to be played together. From Dubstep to Maximal Electro to Drumstep – this mix is probably one of the most dynamic sets I’ve ever recorded.

This mix kicks off with a Dubstep remix of the (in)famous Nyan Cat. It’s truly amazing how many remixes, mashups and variations there are based on this simple video!

I also used a couple of tracks by Skrillex here. I have to admit I had really underestimated the guy. I though he was just some guy who makes noisy music – but he actually got the rare talent to stay in control of the noise and alternate between sweet melodies and distorted synthesizers.

Tracklist:

• Alex S. – Nyan Cat (Dubstep Remix)
• Skrillex – Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites
• Example – Kickstarts (Bar 9 remix)
• Midnight Conspiracy – Discord (Tolgar Remix)
• Skrillex – First of the Year (Equinox)
• Crookers – No Security (feat. Kelis)
• Nneka – Heartbeat (Chase&Status Remix)
• Fatboy Slim – Ya Mama (Push The Tempo) (Moguai Remix)
• Marteria – Endboss (Deichkind St Pauli RMX)
• Skullee – Fothamucka (Original Mix)
• Atari Teenage Riot – Activ8 (Remix)
• Skrillex – Kill Everybody
• The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl (Far Too Loud Re-fix)
• Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Boom Shake The Room (Kanji Kinetic Remix)
• Phrenik – Bass Rocker
• Rusko feat. Amber Coffman – Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)

Image: Interaura // CC-by-nc-sa

I wanted to know more about his use of Soul samples and his musical background in general, so I asked him about this.

iO:“ I grew up listening to all kinds of music, but there was a focus on R&B and Soul. I use a lot of acapellas. There is something about female vocals that I really like in my tracks. When I listen to a track, I want to be able to remember it, and a vocal helps a lot.”

In another interview, I had read about him owning a Fender Rhodes - a classic electronic music instrument that was invented in 1942 -and I was curious about how he got this.

iO:“Its the most precious thing i own! I got it when I was 18. I fell in love with that sound. I saved a bit of money, and spent months trying to find the right one. It was used in a recording studio before I bought it, so it was in good condition. Unfortunately, I lost the pedal and the lid in a fire at my house a few years ago, which was a bit of a shame. But yeh, I love using it in tracks.”

iO’s sound can be described as a mix of down-to-earth grooves and spacey sounds. This also reflects in the meaning of his pseudonym iO, which is one of the moons of Jupiter.

iO: “Yeh, its the name of one of Jupiter’s moons. Im a bit into space. (laughs) People have asked me if its a refrence to binary code, or ‘ins and outs’ in production. But the truth is that i just liked the name!“

Talking about computers, iO tells me that the internet plays a big role in his development as an artist. Even his involvement with Diamond&Raw wouldn’t have happened without it:

iO: “Adam from Diamon&Raw got in touch with me via Soundcloud. It sounds crazy, but we have never met in person. The internet is so amazing for connecting people like that.“

iO is quite busy producing sounds right now. Apart from working on his own EP, he has done remixes for Warrior One, Space, Ladies and Labyrinth Ear and collaborations with Kastle and LO:TEK.

iO: “If you want to have a career in music, working hard is what you have to do. I have three jobs right now, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”