2007 Retrospective Pt. 2

Here's numbers 25-11 of my top tracks of 2007.

25. Gaiser - Withdrawal [M_nus]

24. Justus Köhncke - Feuerland [Kompakt]

23. Tiger Stripes - Survivor [Get Physical]

22. Stimming - Funkworm [Diynamic]

21. Len Faki - Odyssee II [Podium]

20. Stephan Bodzin - Sonnenwind [Herzblut]

19. Solomun & Stimming - Feuervogel [Diynamic]

18. Âme - Fiori [Ostgut Tonträger]

17. Pigon - Promises [Dial]

16. Soul Capsule - Waiting 4 A Way [Perlon]

15. Super Flu - She [Traum]

14. Petre Inspirescu - Sakadat [Vinyl Club]

13. Artificial Latvamäki - It Is Not Now Either [Mezzotinto]

12. Simon Baker - Plastik [Playhouse]

11. False - Fed on Youth [M_nus]

The top 10 I'll write about and [hopefully] post clips of, but with finals I've not got much time. So many tracks I'm probably forgetting to list here, but all 15 of these are some of the most played and loved tracks of the year. I would suggest seeking any of them out if you've never heard them.

Kö

The Dark Knight

Three posts in one day? How rare!

Now, if you went to see "I Am Legend" this weekend (which I, unfortunately, didn't) you may have seen the trailer for "The Dark Knight"; I'm not sure. However, its out and can be found RIGHT HERE.

It looks super awesome. Everything about it seems to say it can easily eclipse Batman Begins.

Oh, spot Richard Alpert from Lost and I'll give you a cookie.

The Eraser Remixes

Got an email a couple days from Thom Yorke saying that the now legendary Eraser remixes are finally coming out this week! Coming out on three 12", the whole set is almost better than imagined. They will all be released on boomkat.com over the next two days. Today came the first set:

And It Rained All Night (Burial Remix)
Skip Divided (Modeselektor Remix)
Analyse (Various Remix)

Tomorrow:

Atoms For Peace (Four Tet Remix)
Black Swan (Cristian Vogel Remix 1)
Black Swan (Cristian Vogel Remix 2)

Wednesday:

The Clock (Surgeon Remix)
Harrowdown Hill (The Bug Remix)
Cymbal Rush (The Field Remix)

Very very diverse set of remixers, and in fact the only two remixes by people that I had never heard of were posted on Thom's website last year, and were great. As of right now I can only recommend the first three (and the Surgeon remix), as all are absolute bangers, but the rest should be just as good. [There was a rumoured Ellen Allien remix, but I dunno whatever happened to that].

Justice @ Fader 50 Party in New York

Justice @ Fader 50 Party

35 minute mix from Justice at the celebration of Fader's 50th issue. Good mix, but it's the first couple of minutes that make my mind explode. Dunno if it's them doing it or it's some track/tool, but it's absolutely redic.

Both picture and mix from TheFader.com (url: http://www.thefader.com/articles/2007/12/17/exclusive-live-justice-mix-for-fader-50)

2007 Retrospective Pt. 1

BIG YEAR END LIST TIME

Alright, first I'm gonna start with labels.

10. Diynamic
09. Ed Banger
08. Hospital
07. Dial
06. liebe*detail
05. BPitch Control
04. Perlon
03. hello?repeat
02. Kompakt
01. Cadenza

Cadenza is on top for releasing consistently amazing releases and really ushering in the great Romanian producers like Petre Inspirescu and Rhadoo. Kompakt had a great year, as did hello?repeat, and Perlon released some standout singles (Waiting 4 A Way?). BPitch Control had Modeselektor albums and mix CDs, with a new Camping comp as well. liebe*detail mastered the art of split singles, and fellow Hamburg label Dial released albums from both Pantha and Efdemin. Hospital released loads of good singles this year as well as maintaining the best podcast out there, and Ed Banger was certainly all the rage, and has the back catalog to justify their popularity. Diynamic released great house records this year and should be one to watch out for in later years. M_nus was not as strong this year as it has been, with some boring releases that sound similar and some downright awful ones. The False stuff kind of makes up for it though. Labels that were also good are Get Physical, Hyperdub, Rekids, Traum and !K7. It'd be hard to choose only 20 labels, let alone 10, but there they are.

Now Mix CDs/Compilations

10. Kompakt - Total 8
09. Modeselektor - Boogy Bytes Vol. 3
08. Steve Bug - Fabric 37
07. Steve Bug - Fuse Presents...
06. Ellen Allien - Fabric 35
05. Shackleton and Appleblim - Soundboy Punishments
04. Booka Shade - DJ Kicks!
03. Ewan Pearson - Fabric 35
02. Marcus Intalex - Fabriclive 35
01. Dixon - Body Language Vol. 4

Finally, albums.

10. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed [Ghostly International]
Dear produces pop music under his real name with some great results. Certainly a record all can enjoy, it contains more conventional songs from Dear, but still with a dark, techno leaning.

09. Pantha du Prince - This Bliss [Dial]
True to the title, this is one blissed out album. Ambient but still techno, it's the warmest record released all year.

08. Melchior Productions Ltd. - No Disco Future [Perlon]
Thomas Melchior's album takes house music and strips it down to the bare bones. Minimal, yet funky as hell, every track on here is golden.

07. Gui Boratto - Chromophobia [Kompakt]
Gui Boratto's rise to fame was quick after "Arquipélago" was released on K2, and his LP released early this year showed that this quick rise to fame didn't shake him. Some of the best cologne-flavored house/techno on here, perfect for the dance floor and headphones.

06. Modeselektor - Happy Birthday! [BPitch Control]
The ape-loving Berliners returned with an LP drawing influences from all over the board: dubstep, euro-crunk, garage, techno, early rave music, hip-hop, IDM and neo-trance (Holden, Apparat, etc.). Every track is madness, with bass annihilating your ear drums. No one is like them, and they bring a craziness and sense of fun to Berlin that is sometimes so desperately needed.

05. Justice - † [Ed Banger/Vice]
The current backlash against them is may be due to the exposure they've gotten and a lot of people liking them, but since when did that make something bad? Definitely the best up-tempo party album of the year, and one the most dedicated hipsters really can't deny. 2007 was definitely Justice's year, and they deserve it.

04. Burial - Untrue [Hyperdub]
Listen to this in the rain in south London and you'll begin to see where this is coming from. Not party dubstep by a long shot, but represents the side of dubstep seen on labels such as Skull Disco (so many comparisons can be made to the "Blood on My Hands" original and Villalobos remix that I won't even start). Meticulously put together, it's an album that automatically puts you into a certain mindset.

03. Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 [Fabric]
A huge departure from what Ricardo has been producing for the past two or three years, Fabric 36 shows what he is like as a DJ. While he is known for long, meandering, experimental releases, he rarely plays such pieces out, opting for house sets with a bent towards the more experimental. This shows him as a DJ perfectly, playing the productions that he saves for his sets rather than releasing, and creating an album that you can easily dance to.

02. Radiohead - In Rainbows
It took them awhile, and anyone who listened to the bootlegs from the last tour knew most of these songs. That didn't make the album any less of a pleasant surprise, as only after this came out do the songs make sense together. Radiohead here show a human side to themselves that they've kept hidden since Kid A, and, while Kid A and Amnesiac are masterpieces, it's good to have some humanity back in their music. In fact, In Rainbows is strong enough to, in time, unseat OK Computer or Kid A as their best work.

01. False - 2007 [M_nus]
The idea of one person appearing twice on a chart like this is pretty ridiculous, but this was certainly Matthew Dear's year for all of his aliases [except the criminally underused Jabberjaw]. But while Asa Breed focused on writing more conventional electro-pop songs, here Dear did what he does best: making some of the best minimalist techno out there.

Albums that deserve mention:
Digitalism - Idealism
Efdemin - Efdemin
Apparat - Walls
Supermayer - Save the World
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime

Later I hope to do a big chart of the top 20 or so singles of the year, with audio files and everything. I might just never do it though.

Podcast

Yo! Subscribe to my podcast!

http://minihattan.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Go to podcasts in iTunes, click 'Advanced' and 'Subscribe to Podcast' and post the above link.
It should be available soon in the iTunes music store as well if you search 'Minihattan' and just add it that way.

Soon I'll get to work on making it pretty, but for now I'm just glad it's working.

Supreme x Neighborhood

We all saw it months ago, but it was just officially announced on Supreme's website.

Any thoughts? I gotta say that it's a bit of a case where the collaboration is too good to be true, but the items are not really doing it for me.

The hoody is alright, but nothing too special.
The vans are pretty ugly.
Jackets aren't very special either.

However, there are some nice items.
















The SxN logo shirt is really clean and nice, though it's not exactly groundbreaking.

The hats are, of course, going to fly off the shelves, but I like them a lot.

The denim is the nicest thing in the collection, and I'd love to have some.

However.

Supreme denim is not terribly priced. Neighborhood denim is a different story. They sometimes put O Fake to shame in the pricing department. So this denim is probably going to be too expensive to really be worth it.


Like I said, some nice pieces, but most of it I'm not that impressed with.

Wondering what everyone else thinks about it and if the hype is just too big or I'm not seeing something.

Make it Rain

This is not news, but I'd like to remind everyone how amazing R.Kelly's part in this is.

Weatherman 'bout to make it rain.

At Home I'm A Tourist

Bruno Pronsato
At Home I'm A Tourist
hello? Repeat


Year end charts will be up soon, and hello? Repeat will most certainly be on there, partially due to this track alone [also due to Bruno's full-length from which this track comes; also amazing].

To put it mildly, 'At Home I'm a Tourist' is one of the best singles of the year. Right now the big fuss is over 'Mumbling Yeah', which is a great track, but this stands miles ahead of most techno releases this year.

Techno is usually atonal and focuses heavily on rhythms rather than melodies. Melodies may be there, but they usually serve a more rhythmic function than anything and are rarely in the limelight. This, like Gaiser's 'Withdrawl' earlier this year, however, let's the melody take center stage. However, the first five minutes feature little to no melody. The rhythms are extremely captivating; a combination of dry drum-machin patterns with acoustic recordings of drums, handclaps, etc. [Bruno was a drummer for a long time before he got into techno] all build on each other, yet hint of something coming.

Then the melody hits. Extremely simple yet devastatingly effective, it shows what you almost knew was coming. Then the rhythms come back in, culminating in the greatest climax of any release this year. It's short, with the rest of the track focusing on rhythm again with the melody making an appearance once of twice. However, this is the track that any DJ set works its way through hours to get to; that one minute of pure techno bliss.

Preview here.

Geräusch 6

New Mix: Geräusch 6

Last 'Geräusch' mix I did was back in June, so here is a new one I did earlier today [on the turntables].

Ricardo Villalobos - Baila Sin Petit [SED]
Donnacha Costello - Orange A [Minimise]
Guido Schneider & André Galluzzi - Albertino [Cadenza]
Len Faki - My Black Sheep (Radio Slave Mix) [Len Series]
Matt John - Olga Dancekowski (Audion's Paradise Café Remix) [BAR 25]
GummiHz - Hypnotize [Mobilee]
Mikael Stavöstrand & Franco Cinelli - Money Talks [Sunset Diskos]
Kabale Und Liebe & Daniel Sanchez - Mumbling Yeah [Arearemote]
Rufus Wainwright - Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix) [Polydor (UK)]
Daso - Meine [Spectral Sound]
Steve Bug - A World Without [Poker Flat]
Ricardo Villalobos - Samasai [SED]
Burial - Near Dark [Hyperdub]
Radiohead - 15 Step [N/A]

I'm pretty proud of this one, especially 'Mumbling Yeah' into 'Tiergarten'. However, Burial into Radiohead was not a very good idea, and it shows.

Missed out on Diplo at Studio B, but Harry should be filling you in on the hilarious stories soon.

ALSO: Make sure to check out Steve Mizek's updated blog at www.littlewhiteearbuds.com. It's been updated with a brand new look and promises have been made for really great content. Already up is a review of Donnacha Costello's recent CD compilation of his Colourseries, complete with a free mp3 courtesy of Donnacha himself [also in the above mix!]. Expect upcoming interviews with Matthew Dear, more free [and legal] mp3s and free [and legal] mixes. Enjoy!

Technoviking/Pendulum

I assume most have seen Technoviking, but I don't know if many have seen this pretty funny mashup.

And on a completely unrelated note:

Pendulum. I didn't really like Granite; it wasn't drum and bass and sounded, well, pretty lame as a rock song. However, recently on DOA due to people not liking it and accusing Pendulum of selling out, they wrote (I'll summarize) that they didn't want to be part of the drum and bass scene anyway because they felt they were on to big and better things as a rock band. They also dissed drum and bass, saying nothing interesting has come out of the scene and it will die anyways.

QUOTE: “Oh, and by the way - I’m not sure if drum and bass is dead or dying (I’ve been in the studio / on tour too long to tell).

“However, if your genre was flimsy enough to be knocked over by ONE SINGLE RECORDING ARTIST who happened to - god forbid - sell some fucking records for the first time in about 5/6 years, then I’m glad it was us that got to drive the final stake through its stale pig shit heart - and good riddance.

“Wake me up when your genre is making something that people outside the scene think is worth listening to again.’

Gotta say, I really can't support pendulum anymore. They were responsible for some really great drum and bass, but now that they're trying to do rock, they've lost anything interesting they had (plus, Granite is pretty much just recycling all past samples that they've used and making a poor man's "Slam"). The fact that they think they're too good for drum and bass now is ridiculous, especially since now as a "rock" band they aren't very good. "Hold Your Colour" and their early singles are still classics, but whatever direction they see themselves going in is not the right one .

Plus, are they really kidding anyone? Granite still has the drum and bass beat, and they got Dilinja on remix duties for Christ's sake. Just cause the drum and bass community doesn't like your new tune doesn't mean you can try to cut all ties with it.

November 2007 Charts

01. Justus Köhncke - Feuerland [Kompakt]
Any new release by Herr Köhncke deserves attention, as he is one of Kompakt's most reliable producers. This single, however, is probably the best I've ever head from him. It is a cover of a song by kraut rock and ex Kraftwerk member Michael Rother, and it shows Justus using actual instruments to great effect. It's not a dancefloor bomb in the slightest, but what it is is one of those perfect fall tracks which, if listened to closely for its whole time, rewards with a real sense of excitement. The B-side is good, much more of a disco tune, and much more uptempo. It's the A side though that makes this #1 for this month.

02. Melchior Productions Ltd. - No Disco Future [Perlon]
03. Melchior Productions Ltd. - Don Juan/In the Spirit [Perlon]
I'm posting this right now without having listened to the full album. I've heard the samples and the promo mixed version, but not the real thing yet. However, it is here because of the huge sense of confidence I've always had in Thomas Melchior to produce some of the most exciting microhouse out there, and this is no disappointment. His last LP on Playhouse was glitchy and great, but 'No Disco Future' is very different. It's very much house music, stripped down as usual, but each track standing out with some of the best production out there today. Very excited to hear the full versions, as they will no doubt be stunning. If the teaser single Don Juan/In the Spirit is any indication, this will be album of the year material.

04. Burial - Untrue [Hyperdub]

05. Pär Grindvik - World of Mine [Truesoul]

06. Petre Inspirescu - Tips [Cadenza]

07. Ricardo Villalobos - Sei Es Drum [SED]

08. Donnacha Costello - Colourseries CD [minimise]

09. Mistabishi - No Matter What [Hospital]

10. Bodycode aka Portable - A Document of an African Past [Yore]

11. Dubfire - Emissions [M_nus]

12. Benga and Coki - Night [Tempa]

13. Minilogue - Ghost EP [Mule]

14. Massi DL - Wonderland EP [Trapez]

15. Matt John - Olga Dancekowski [BAR 25]

16. Radio Slave - Bell Clap Dance [Rekids]

17. Etienne Jaumet - Repeat Again After Me [Versatile]

18. Super Flu - Momratzn [Traum]

19. Supermayer - The Art Of Letting Go (Ewan Pearson Remixes) [Kompakt]

20. Bruno Pronsato - Why Can't We Be Like Us? [Hello? Repeat]

*This chart is in no real order, minus the two on top that I wrote about.

Heading off to London soon for a few days of drum and bass courtesy of hospitality and some fabric loveliness. Hopefully I update while there with Harry et. all, and surely when I get back.

S.H.I.T.T.Y.

November charts to be posted soon, and I'll be listing 15 of my favorites and 5 misses; it's clear what number one on the misses will be.

Justice feat. Mos Def and Spank Rock - D.A.N.C.E.

I can't say I was looking forward to this. The first thing I thought of was how useless this probably is, and the second was that it's pretty much already been done. We all know Wale's inclusion of D.A.N.C.E. on his mixtape earlier this year and how well he did it. Was the inclusion of Spank Rock and Mos Def going to be much different?

Nope. The over-saturation of D.A.N.C.E. lately is, as it should be, annoying to most people. We had a remix EP out in May with some great remixes on it, and many more remixes have followed; none as good as any on that EP and all, frankly, useless. This is just another useless version with pretty poor rapping on their part. Mos Def and Spank Rock saying how they're 'ready to uff' and name checking Ed Banger and friends is pretty gag-worthy, but there's no remix here at all except for some added hi-hats. The name of the game nowadays is to mash as many good things together as possible, but here is one example of three great artists combining to produce something pretty horrible. Whereas Spank Rock and Mos Def want us to get up, clap our hands and dance like the party people we are, I can't help but just shake my head in disappointment. It is honestly more cringe-worthy than the Neptune's "Harder Better..." four years ago.

In summation, it's awful and is candidate for the worst song of the year, not just for what it represents but also for simply how shitty it is. "So fresh," says Mos Def. "It's like this: we got Spank Rock and the mighty Mos Def to get up on the hottest song of the year. Enjoy!" says the website. It might be the hottest song of the year, but the children singing D.A.N.C.E. in this version seem to want to cry.

What's In the Box?

Like any good fanboy, I tuned in to Radiohead's webcast, and among great live performances of new songs, one old song and a couple covers, they threw this little thing together.

Fabric

Alright, so here's the mix. It's one hour and fourteen minutes, which is pretty much CD length. I had it in mind that this was going to be more of a mix CD than a live mix, as I did do a bit of planning and came in to it with an idea of what I wanted it to sound like. There is a definite structure to the mix, and hopefully that comes across. At times it's dancey, at times it's not, but it is more of a home listening mix than a party time mix. I named it fabric because it's an homage not only to the club but to their astounding series of mix CDs which has probably influenced me more than anything else.

Hopefully you enjoy it, and leave comments bitte.

Chris Miller [minimill] - fabric


1. a. Ambivalent – R U OK? (Acapella) [M_nus]

b. Ricardo Tobar – El Sunset [Border Community]

2. Pigon – Promises [Dial]

3. Petre Inspirescu – Mostra [Cadenza]

4. Schaeben & Voss feat. Schad Privat – Put Up Job [Kompakt]

5. Martin Buttrich – Hunter [Cocoon]

6. René Breitbarth – Interior Design [Sub Static]

7. Dubfire – Emissions [M_nus]

8. Tiger Stripes – Survivor [Get Physical]

9. Louderbach – Reflected (Magda’s Liquid Acid Remix) [Underl_ne]

10. Louderbach – Silver Ringsnguns [Underl_ne]

11. Plastikman – Ask Yourself [Mute]

12. Matthew Dear – Bees Please [Unreleased]

13. Super Flu – Hallo Zeit [KarateKlub]

14. Ellen Allien – Go [BPitch Control]

15. Gui Boratto – Matroyshka [Kompakt Extra]

16. Simon Baker – Gutterlevel [20:20 Vision]

17. Booka Shade – Numbers [!K7]

18. Swayzak – Smile and Receive (Apparat Remix) [!K7]

*Picture is Steve Bug's upcoming fabric 37, which will undoubtedly be amazing and I suggest you get it as soon as possible. I'll be reviewing it when it comes in the mail.

TURKEY TIME

Not yet, but it's November, so close enough. I'm working on getting this mix up soon, it's my first "mix CD" if you could call it that, and I've put a lot of work into it so I hope you all listen to it and enjoy it. Until then, though, here's a peep at what November is looking like:

Commix
Fabio
Andy C
High Contrast
Marcus Intalex
Matrix + Futurebound
Cyantific
Logistics
Nu:Tone
Steve Bug
Cabanne

Of course, all of that is during the week of Thanksgiving when Harry and I will be in London, but November as a whole should be as large as October. I think we are also seeing Spank Rock for free, I just don't know when.

Anyway, it's been awhile since I've really written anything on here, and I'll be getting back to that. Like I said, soon my mix should be up so check back in a bit.

You should all know about this one, but here it is.

Golden Axe

New track "Golden Axe" is up on the JYEAHA myspace. Tell us what you think.

Updated with new cover art by the one and only Disco.

Terminal

New Mix: Terminal

Updates on MSTRKRFT and Justice will come soon, considering I'll be seeing Justice a second time tomorrow, but for the time being, enjoy the mix.

One word to describe the two?

AGAGAGAHAGAHGAHGAHGAHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGAHGAHGAHGAHGAHAGAH

ALIFESTYLE LIKE NO OTHER

Just had a run and picked up this tee. I don't think you guys have seen it unless you've been to Alife in the past couple weeks. It's to match the blue frog print Everybody Hi's, which I still want.

Everything's en route to Alife right now; got the lowdown on some of the new hats and hoodies [different from the ones on Hypebeast], and they sound pretty awesome.

JYEAHA

Harry and I have started a group.

It is called JYEAHA.

Our first single is called SIB.

Enjoy.

Weird Fishes

New Mix: Weird Fishes

First drum and bass mix in a long time, under my dnb alias Ampere. I hate doing drum and bass on the computer, it's one of those genres that I really prefer to use tables for. But, as long as I am table-less, I've got to make due. I'll include a track list for this one.

Radiohead - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (Ampere Remix)
London Elektricity - Rewind (Makoto Remix)
Apex feat. Ayah - Space Between
High Contrast - Sleepless (the mix into this is really awful)
Breakage - Clarendon
High Contrast - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Commix - Faceless (Marcus Intalex Remix)
Calibre feat. DRS - Hustlin

October 2007 Charts

Got some meron pan, chocolate mushrooms, C.C. Lemon and Hi-Chew here, ready to do this.

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows [inrainbows.com?]
I think I've said enough about this, but it's a great LP; some really beautiful tracks here.

2. Gaiser - Withdrawal [M_nus]
Anyone who's been near me this month has heard this one, now finally out on Jon Gaiser's double pack 'Eye Contact' this month. A classic all throughout the summer.

3. Calibre - Thoughtless [Digital Soundboy]
Probably my favorite drum and bass producer right now, Calibre returns with a great single on Digital Soundboy, who earlier released the massive 'Clarendon'. 'Thoughtless' is even better, spouting a really great bassline and some laid back keys and pads.

4. Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi [Boys Noize]
Noisy as hell, and I wouldn't want it any other way. '&Down' of course, but others such as 'Shine Shine' and 'Arcade Robot' are just as good.

5. High Contrast - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang [Hospital]
'Tough Guys Don't Dance' is an amazing LP, and this is probably the best track on it. That snare hit kills me every time.

6. Chloe - The Waiting Room [Kill the DJ]
A dark and cold LP from Chloe here, and her first, I believe.

7. Ellen Allien - Go [BPitch Control]
Great new single from Frau Allien, both the original and Marcel Dettmann versions are great. It uses a sample from her very first release.

8. Gui Boratto - Matryoshka [Kompakt Extra]
Fantastic. This track is absolutely mad, another hit for Gui.

9. Stimming - Funkworm [Diynamic]
Now on his own, Stimming comes through with this funky as hell track.

10. Marcus Worgull feat. Mr White - Spellbound [Innervisions]
I feel like it's May namechecking Mr White, but here he is again, now on Innervisions. A great cut of deep house.

Digitalism...we missed them. We got there after they had ended their set, which was a huge disappointment. A fire alarm went off though and, waiting outside, we saw them just hanging outside. We gave them a hey and shook their hand, which was cool. I liked that they hung out outside with everyone rather than sitting in their bus or whatever.

EDIT: Adding a couple more.

11. Nu:Tone - System (Matrix + Futurebound Remix) [Hospital]
This just came out on promo, so I'll add it. Takes the amazing original and transforms it into a 3 AM slammer.

12. Tiger Stripes - Mad at Me[Get Physical]
His track for liebe*detail17 'Hooked' was a favorite back in June, and here is his release on Get Physical. Oh, and "Survivor" was the 2:22 track. Amazing.

13. Dave Gahan - Kingdom [Mute]
The original is moody, Depeche-y and glorious (very unlike Gahan's last solo outing). Booka Shade and Digitalism remixes make the whole thing even more fun.

14. Alter Ego - Why Not?! [Klang]
New LP from Alter Ego, and it's exactly what I wanted. Fluegel and Co. don't give us 'Rocker Pt. II' nor 'Geht's Noch? Pt. II', but it's still dirty, bleepy, great dance music.

15. Gregor Tresher - A Thousand Nights [Great Stuff]
A lot of LPs this time around, huh. Well, here he is with his first LP and, while some of the tracks here have been around for what seems like ages, they're still great. The new ones are all brimming with energy and Tresher's signature sound.

Techno in the 50s

Not really. However, this drum machine is one of the first of its kind, released in 1959. As you can see, it's pretty big, and was designed to sit next to your piano. It had a little remote controlling device so you could control it without getting up from your keys. Obviously, the sounds are completely analog, most everything being tube based. The sounds is remarkable for the time though.

And you thought your TR909 was old school.

Do the D.A.N.C.E.J.L.C.M.W.G.!

Remix of D.A.N.C.E. by an old favorite of mine who I havent really seen around lately, Monsieur Jacques lu Cont (here as Man with Guitar).

It's pretty good, but also pretty much what I expected.

If you haven't seen the Jimmy Kimmel video, well, here it is.

Oh, and In Rainbows is excellent. Really, just go to inrainbows.com and download it for free if you like. The only disappointment is maybe Videotape. It was the one song I was looking forward to the most, but I'm not sure if what they did to it made it better or worse. I do, however, know that it is album of the year material.

Spit Fire

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. Been working on something pretty huge which will be brought to your attention in the near future. Keep your eyes open.

And now for what you want to see.


I mean come on. I have no idea if this is the best thing ever or just close to it. I love Alife far too much (especially due to the recent courtyard sale, pics and details to come soon), and here they're just killin it. Some new tees are instore, but they're not the Fall/Winter 07 line, which should be here any time soon. Judging from these, the newest Alife shoes and hats, its going to completely destroy my wallet.

Oh and here is little how to on what we need to do. I have a feeling if a couple of us opened our own store (not just for sneakers) it would be the most rad store ever.

WHAT

They seriously just Criss Angel'd me.

It comes out in 10 days.

The tracklist looks amazing.

They're pretty much doing it independently and never signed to another label.

And uh, the price of the new album is up to you.

Yeah.

Okay, Tell Me When To...

I really can't say enough good things about Sebastian and Gernot of Modeselektor. Basically, if you haven't gotten Happy Birthday! yet, do so. And if you never got Hello Mom!, then you're way too far behind. Here's almost without a doubt my favorite track on Happy Birtday!.

Modeselektor - Godspeed

So tomorrow is October, and I was hoping to open my October by seeing the one and only Matthew Dear tomorrow, but it's 21+. Luckily for me (and Harry, though he may not be so pumped) is that I'm seeing Matthew now on the last day of October (Studio B Halloween bash).

What else is up for October? Take a gander:

-Digitalism
-Sasha
-Toxic Avenger
-MSTRKRFT
-Justice
-Erol Alkan
-Matthew Dear
-DFA people (Tim Sweeny, Tim Goldsworthy, The Juan Maclean, others).

And those are the only ones that we're definately going to. Possibilities include Paul van Dyk, M.I.A., Marco Carola, Loco Dice and others.

So uh, it's gonna be a hefty month.

Also, head over to Mary Anne Hobbs' Radio 1 show to hear an exclusive mix by Matthew Dear. Skip ahead an hour, and she'll talk about him for a bit and then the mix will start.

No More Advice

I'm sure you know of Swayzak, they've been around for quite awhile. If not, you should know that they're probably the best techno-pop group out there, as the single "Smile and Receive" from their new album "Some Other Country" should prove. The original is fantastic, and here I've provided the Richard Davis (where has he been??) remix, which is extremely good. Apparat provides a blissed-out-as-usual remix as PanoramaBar resident Cassy brings it into minimal territory.

Swayzak - Smile and Receive (Richard Davis Rework)

And I really believe in Digitaline being one of the best duos coming out of Switzerland right now. Some may find their stuff trying, but I personally love it.

Digitaline - Honolulu (Digitaline's Kamehameha I.)

I'm in a bit of a schaffel mood, and haven't had some good schaffel in a while, so here's a classic.

Superpitcher - Irre

Friedrichshain

New Mix: Friedrichshain

This mix is pretty minimal, and has nothing to do with Spank Rock. They were so good and that picture is too epic though. Head over to Dang! and catch the other vids and 'Bump' video.

Weekend's Over

Spank Rock blew my mind. It was so good I really don't know what to say.

New York - Tokyo music festival was....
Teriyaki Boyz were fun I guess, and Pharoahe Monch was awesome, but MF Doom wasn't there cause he was in the hospital. Nothing you can do, I guess, but it was really disappointing.

Supermayer - Two of Us

Modeselektor - The Dark Side of the Sun (featuring Puppetmastaz)

Mari Boine - Filer Ti Voui (Henrik Schwarz Remix)

^Taken from Dixon's 'Body Language Vol. 4' mix on Get Physical. Buy it, I've been listening to it since it came out and it's never boring.

Video for Hustler - Simian Mobile Disco

^This was not my weekend.

Supreme Pt. II

Yay for Supreme Raw Selvedge Denim.

In a sort-of related note, Alife hoodies should start showing up this week with tees following next week. Stopped in to check out the kicks and they're all hotties. I'm pretty sure a bunch of new shit has dropped at Union, so I'm gonna go check it out today (new Pegleg tees? yes please!).

Spank Rock tonight. Gonna be tubby.

Doom tomorrow. Gonna be chubby.

Minimalicious Intent

^Title taken from Phillip Sherburne's article in the Wire.

I guess there's some controversy over this release. Some see Ricardo Villalobos as extremely pompous to put out a fabric of all his own tracks. If you read the press release though, it makes perfect sense. As much as I would love a standard Villalobos mix, full of tracks that I've never heard and promos, I think a mix of all Villalobos productions only ever heard in his live sets is even better.

It's different from this year's other artist album/mix Matthew Dear's 2007 in that with 2007 it was clear that Dear had made a bunch of tracks and then mixed them together like any other DJ mix (this is not a bad thing, mind you, it's definitely in the top 5 for this year). Here though it seems Villalobos is not mixing tracks but rather parts of tracks. It's so fluid that listening to it on bad speakers or in the background, it wont seem like very much is changing at all. However, with a good pair of headphones and some concentration, fabric 36 reveals it self and keeps evolving and shifting throughout its 74 minutes. But while it is definitely a headphone album, it is also one which is rather danceable (a 74 minute Fizheuer Zieheuer this is not). I think he says it better himself:

"I’m more known for head-y, trippy music, so of course it is still very trippy and monotone, in the monotone way of delivering always the same tone and doing something to your brain. But it is more dancey and housey and summery. I always think of the dancefloor when I create music, so it’s a projection, a vision. And it’s not one track after another after another, it develops very subtly.” - Ricardo Villalobos

That's not to say this is the big crossover record that will unite his fans and enemies under one banner; already some praise it as the most ambitious project of all time (which it's not) while others say it's a dud that goes nowhere and proves his pretentiousness (which it doesn't). However, as a new Villalobos album (which has been long overdue, regardless of all the recent album-length singles) it may be his best.

READ: The Month In: Techno on Pitchfork by Phillip Sherburne

And what would be a record review if you couldn't sample a bit for yourself? [Sample is 4 Wheel Drive].

Electrolysis

New Mix: Electrolysis

This is my big electro mix. I haven't really done a straightforward one, so here it is.

Out and Out and Out

Hot Chip - Shake a Fist

YAY new Hot Chip single. It's really good. As was...

Hot Chip - My Piano

...which I hope you didn't miss. It was on their DJ-Kicks, which was awesome, and My Piano was definitely a stand out.

Matthew Dear - Don and Sherri (Hot Chip Instrumental)

Also check out their remix of Don and Sherri, which is really good.

NOTE: The one above is the instrumental. It's good, but the vocals are pretty key. Here is that one...

Matthew Dear - Don and Sherri (Hot Chip Remix)

We Used Poisonous Gasses

Harry and I have been working for days now, each doing a remix of Flight of the Conchords' "The Humans Are Dead". ENJOY.

Flight of the Conchords - The Humans Are Dead (AbFrag Edit)

Flight of the Conchords - The Humans Are Dead (Minimill Rework)

NOTICE: Alright, the proper version is up now.

Pitchfork Gives Music 6.8

Pitchfork Gives Music 6.8

September Chart

Or should this be a late August chart? I'll probably be doing these more than monthly anyways.
(No order here...)

1. Fabric 36 - Ricardo Villalobos
Not much to say about this that hasn't already been said. It really is that good, though.

2. Happy Birthday - Modeselektor
This album is all over the place, which makes it so great (especially the collabs).

3. Two of Us - Supermayer
Still haven't figured out what I think about "Save the World", but as of right now it's not bad. Two of Us is a stormer, though.

4. Honolulu - Digitaline
Digitaline's remix here is 20 minutes of bliss.

5. Gone Astray EP - Troy Pierce
Old, I know, but I keep coming back to it. The textures and sounds here are not to be missed.

6. D.A.N.C.E. (Jackson Remix 'Do the J.A.H.C.B.') - Justice
I really dislike the Alan Braxe remix, despite how much everyone else seems to love it. This, however, takes the original in a completely new direction.

7. Quibble (Efdemin Remix) - Staffan Linzatti
The original was fantastic, but here Phillip Sollmann takes it to deep house territory.

8. Chloe - Marc Houle
I really have no idea if this is going to be on Houle's upcoming "Techno Vocals" EP, but I can only hope it is. A classic that has remained unreleased for too long.

9. Waves Breaking - Muffler
Killer single from this up and coming finnish D&B producer. A-Side 'Mermaids' is good, but the B takes it.

10. Don and Sherri (Hot Chip Remix) - Matthew Dear
Really lovely rework (more of a cover) of one of Asa Breed's best tracks. Works really well with Joe Goddard's voice.

Blaue Sonntag

New Mix: Blaue Sonntag

I should say that, writing this, it is in fact Monday. The mix, however, was done on Sunday, hence the title.

Right now I should be working on these two papers I have due tomorrow. I decided instead to make a post and change the layout. This mix was done on the fly by me, so it's mostly me just rocking out. There is no coherent theme here as I try to do with most of my mixes, but hopefully it's a satisfying listen.

M.A.N.D.Y. was awesome. Harry and I got there around 1230 or 1 and he stopped playing at 4 I think (we shook his hand and high fived while checking out the equipment, which was awesome). He played an amazing track at 2:22 in the morning (which kind of made it even more rad). I hadn't been to a real club since going to Fabric last year, so it was good to go there and see one of the most popular DJs in the world right now. Definitely a great night, and I'm looking forward to more events like this in the future.

SUPREME PLZ

Aight, so we showed up a bit late, had to stand in line for awhile, but there were lines all day apparently. We were the last ones to get in there before closing, so they were rushing us a bit, but all good. No plaid hats, but they had these ones.


DIDN'T SEE THESE ON YOUR ON-LINE PREVIEW, DID YA??? Yeah, they're tub. (Plaids aren't out, by the way). They had some cool tees, I guess some others are coming out soon though. All in all, some phat new stuff; we'll probably go back tomorrow or something to check it out more in depth.

This is not Real Gold

Here they are, the pictures from the Fool's Gold. In case you needed some background on the sandwich, this should serve as a good reference. Harry and I have wanted to make this sandwich for awhile (years), and finally it happened.







































[1] We realize that thick cut bacon was probably not the best choice for this sandwich.
[2] We go ahead and use it anyway.
[3] The loaf after being smothered in butter and baked for that nice golden exterior.
[4] The absolutely disgusting Peanut Butter/Jelly combo jar that we used (we used two of them).
















[1] Assembly; pre bacon.
[2] The money shot. Probably the most appetizing thing you will ever see.






James, very clearly satisfied. But what about that little bit on his chin?......











...taken care of.

Golden Skans

New Mix: Golden Skans

Did this one in part because of the Klaxons' recent Mercury Prize win. Not really happy with the end, I forgot one track was about to end so it drags on for far too long.

M.A.N.D.Y.

This is why we came to New York. Among other things, the amount of shows to see. So, this saturday, Harry and I are off to see one half of M.A.N.D.Y. (Patrick Bodmer), one of the biggest DJ duos and personal favorites of the past few years. If you don't know them, you should; they, along with Booka Shade and DJ T. head the massively influential label Get Physical out of Berlin. I'll see if I can take pics or videos, but it's certainly going to be one hell of a night and I will give a full report.

In the meantime, I suppose I'll follow in Kuypz' footsteps and post some pictures of the room, which I've been meaning to do for awhile now.




My desk. You can maybe see on the screen that I was in the midst of writing this very post when I took the picture. Now that's a MINDFREAK.

My bed. Kind of comfortable. Walls are very white. Gotta get some more color in here.


View of Third Ave from our grimy as hell window in the kitchen. The windows can't really be opened because they don't want people to jump.


View from my less grimy bedroom window. 12th street and 3rd ave.

Kitchen. It's shared between the six of us. Ramen is made here and that's about it.
The shoes so far. As you can see, another pair is very clearly necessary to complete the grid.My closet/cubby. Hoodies, shoes, umbrella, towel, PS2, Harry's shoes; everything I need.

So yeah. Soon I will post the infamous Fool's Gold pictures, which I'm sure all have been waiting with bated breath for.

DQM Super Sale!

So yeah, DQM had a super sale this morning, which was pretty sick. Only shoes were on sale, so it was a buy 1 get 1 free deal. I got two pairs of AF1s for $80 total; one for me and one for Harry.

Not a whole lot else to say; this just means they'll be getting a lot of kickin' new stuff in.

I ID'd a pair of Air Max 90s for entry into the Vapors contest; for some reason I can't get a picture up here. If you wanna see them IM me or something.

EDIT:















<- Mine

H-Rod's
V