Sunday, May 30, 2010

zwischenwelt tranmission 0


zwischenwelt is a new project involving heinrich mueller, beta evers, susana correia and penelope martin. after working together for a number of years, they will be releasing an album on rephlex in the next month or so. zwischenwelt is a german word that translates approximately as 'in-between world' and this has been the realm they have been exploring in this highly conceptual project. following on the previous work of mueller especially there is a strong focus on exploring the relationship between science and music. in zwischenwelt the focus is on parapsychology, which investigates paranormal psychic abilities using scientific methods. a document provided by zwischenwelt explains more about what parapsychology involves:

"The two main fields of parapsychological research are Psychokinesis, the ability of the mind to influence objects without involvement of currently known physical energies and without physical contact between the acting subject and the reacting object (for example telekinesis and psychic healing) and Extrasensory Perception (ESP), the ability to acquire information by (psychic) sources currently unexplained by science (best known examples are clairvoyance, precognition and telepathy)."

to coincide with the new album on rephlex, we will be having a series of zwischenwelt transmissions, each of which explores the project from a different angle/perspective. we are expecting there to be a visual component, followed by a mix, and an interview. both musically and conceptually zwischenwelt is a project that really interests and appeals to mnml ssgs, and we are very excited about how this collaboration will develop. this will also be unique because it is the first time we are going to present the blog in 2 languages: english and japanese.

to get a better understanding of their sound and aesthetic, here are two videos of zwischenwelt tracks:





for more on zwischenwelt, there are a couple of sources: check the latest issue of 'the wire' for an interview in print, and you can also listen to an audio interview with susana from zwischenwelt, which explains more about the project. zwischenwelt also have facebook and myspace, which are the main sources of information. also, here is a really excellent mix from zwischenwelt member, penelope.

stay tuned...

Thursday, May 27, 2010

ssg special - kevin gorman


back with another special, this time from kevin gorman, someone i feel is one of the most under-rated people in techno right now. after producing one of the highlights of the mnml ssgs series last year, this time he has made a more conventional DJ set to mark two important events: a release on ostgut and a tour to japan this weekend. these might be signs that kevin's distinctive, powerful take on contemporary techno is getting more (and much deserved) attention. the ostgut release is one of the exclusive 12"s coming out of the ben klock berghain mix CD, with kevin's '7am stepper' being paired up with a track from another leading UK techno producer, james ruskin. meanwhile, for our friends in japan, kevin is playing an outdoor party about 2 hours outside of tokyo. it is really great to see him over here, part of a steady string of ssg artists that have been making their debuts here in 2010. techno is going from strength to strength in tokyo! as for kevin's mix, you can expect a carefully structured and crafted mix, perfectly suited for SSG tastes.

ssg special - kevin gorman mx
*tracklist will be added in a few days

for more info on kevin, check his myspace and the homepage of his label, mikrowave. the details for his japan party this weekend are:

rural open air festival
date : 12:00 May 29 - 16:00 May 30, 2010
venue : yamanashi pref, japan (2h from tokyo). tamagawa camping area
tickets on the day : \6,000, advance ticket : \5,000
advance ticket is available at: ruralopenair@gmail.com

you can find more info through the mnml ssgs mixi page. and for those of you in europe, keep an eye out for upcoming gigs, including a live performance at berghain on 26 june, along with (i believe) some other ssg artists: marcel fengler and norman nodge. nice...

ok, that's it. enjoy the mix. it's a beauty. big thanks to kevin for this. more heat next week.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pomo Promo Giveway Bonanza! Get one get more free! [house music is controllable desire you can have for free]


I just received an email from Bleep detailing a special promo giveway tie in with Sonar this year.

You can get info on it – not to mention some mpfreez - by simply moving the tip of your forefinger, until you hear the little click.

Pragmatically, this promo makes sense. In fact, it's very savvy. It's also not the first such example of something similar: you get the impression that this is being trialled by labels as a quasi experiment. I have a zip file on my desktop full of similiar files from ghostly,

BUT...

......once you start giving away tracks, is there not the concession here that music is just data, that data is just promo, and that promo is just a marketing gadget, a way of getting bums on seats and feets on floors at overpriced gigs, where you can then be sold merchandise?

To me this email concedes that music as data is of no intrinsic worth.

It then seems churlish, even hypocritical, to turn around and charge for something 'as if' if were a finite object in space, not an infinitely copy-able simulacra.

Sites then have the temerity to charge MORE for flac or wav.

No doubt sites exist in space; every google search is coal fired. No doubt.

No doubt these kinds of promos happen because concerned and savvy record companies want to promote their artists *given* that it's almost impossible to turn a dime from recording these days.

No doubt it also makes complete sense, given the media landscape we're now in (not Kansas anymore, in case you hadn't noticed, Toto).

But: with the best intentions in the world, isn't the cumulative effect of this just the dissemination of bad copies, the further devaluation of music as music, the further transformation of inalienable human creativity into transferable data freebies (fit for desktop consumption and do-while private delectation while iUsers are on their way to work, or at their desks working), and the eventual emptying out of the time-consuming, life-sacrificing processes involved in composing, recording, mixing and mastering a recording?

I read this and I feel that everything turning po mo promo!

When everything is data, will we be the happy, profitable masters of our own futures, or the bored, jaded, accelerated husks of the music LOVERS we once were, people to lazy to even listen to the zip files full of free promos that clutter our desktops? I'm not sure.

But I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with this, that it's indicative of our committed pursuit of some pretty dodgy political decisions; and I'm pretty sure it needn't be the future.



.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

ssg special - finn johannsen


back with another ssg special, this time from a good friend of ours: finn johannsen. for my mind, finn is one of the most important voices in electronic music right now. finn is truly a renaissance man, expertly juggling a number of different roles. he is a music journalist, regularly contributing excellent, thoughtful pieces for a range of sources, including RA. he is also one of the people behind macro recordings, a consistently challenging and worthwhile label. and he is just quietly a really fantastic DJ, consistently demonstrating a remarkable breadth and depth in his sets. i must admit, i tend to prefer DJs that pick a constant groove / sound and really pursue it in a set. normally a DJ like finn i would struggle with, as he covers a lot of ground and his sets can be quite diverse, even unsettling at a times (this is not necessarily a bad thing). finn manages, however, to consistently weave a coherent story and narrative in his DJ'ing. and as an added bonus, you normally learn a bit along the way, discovering gems old and new.

i genuinely believe finn is one of the most interesting and worthwhile DJs about right now, so i am very glad he was able to put together these two mixes for us. and because he is an able scribe, finn was able to tell us a bit about the mixes:

"I have DJ'd for a long time now, since the mid 80's, and all the music that went through my head since then is still part of what I do now. I often play sets with obscure Disco, Synthop and Post Punk records, I often get asked to dig into my archive for some house and techno rarities. When I do nights representing Macro I tend to combine older records I think have stood the test of time with new records that I think might will. Thus the mixes reflect some personal favourites I still carry around, and some current music that impressed me. I have the reputation of being somewhat unpredictable as a DJ, which is not really something I actively support, it more comes out of the fact that I do not want to focus myself on a particular style when there is so much other interesting music that would be left out in the process (and I also think that individuality is important). I'm just interested in a wide variety of sounds, and I see music as chronological process, where it is challenging to connect different eras and sounds to illustrate where what came from, and where it led or might lead to. It is some kind of referential system both informed by being close to the subject for a long time, and my very own perspective. I'm often drawn to producers that follow their own path (to the verge of being eccentric), and I included some here, plus some records that add up to a certain mood I had in mind (it was a rainy night I recorded both mixes, and it probably shows). Of course these are home recordings, but they were done in one take with no subsequent editing and so they are pretty close to what I do in a club context. At least if I would play the same set twice, which I rarely ever do. As the mixes where recorded one after another, you may as well listen to them that way. That I concluded the sets with a disco edit is a bit odd, as I much prefer to play original versions, but this one is special to me. I played it at our first Macro night at Panoramabar, I had the last shift of our lineup until noon, and I was slowly running out of steam. When the lyrics set in I was quite surprised that the floor went absolutely nuts, and at first I didn't really understand why the reaction was so immense. Then I realised that the bar stuff had opened the seminal shutters, it was broad daylight, and here was Loleatta Holloway singing "We're getting stronger, the longer, we stay together", to a crowd that was obviously very determined to do just that. A really impressive and lasting moment that showed me once again how powerful music can be. And it is well worth taking some risks to achieve that, even if does not always work. Well, I hope these sets work."

finn johannsen - ssg special mx1


Rydims – Rydim#2 (Version) (Nu Groove)
Mike Shannon Feat. Fadila – Under The Radar (Ricardo Villalobos Mix) (Cynosure)
Soylent Green – Low Pt. 1 (Playhouse)
The Prince Of Dance Music – E-3, E-6, Roll On (City Limits)
Badawi – DstryPrfts (Shackleton Remix) (Cargo Records)
Hertsi – Oodi Sähkölle (Sähkö)
Da Sampla – The Rider (Moods & Grooves)
Wax – 30003 B (Wax)
DJ Duke – Escape From New York B2 (Power Music)
Never On Sunday – Urban Rains (430 West)
Laurent X – Drowning In A Sea Of House (House Nation)
Keith Tucker – It’s A Mood (Seventh Sign)
Dettmann – Vertigo (Vincent Kunth Remix) (Ostgut Ton)
Nature Boy – The Major Enemy (Black Label)
4th Measure Men – The Need (Henry Street Dreams Mix) (Multiply)
Foremost Poets – Reasons To Be Dismal? (Instrumental Version) (Not On Label)
Buzzin Cuzzins Feat. Romanthony – Let Me Show You Love (Approach To Temple) (Azuli)
Raudive – Sienna (Macro)
Instra:mental – Let’s Talk (Naked Lunch)




finn johannsen - ssg special mx2

FCL – Let’s Go Seven (We Play House)
Ramadanman – Glut (Hemlock)
Scuba – You Got Me (Hotflush)
To Rococco Rot – Fridays (Shackleton’s West Green Rd Remix) (Domino)
Monolake – Alaska (Substance Remix II) (Monolake / Imbalance Computer Music)
Low Res – Amuck (Sublime)
Oni Ayhun – OAR004A (Oni Ayhun)
Julia Decay – Untoward (Scandinavia)
Rhythim Is Rhythim – Kaos (Juice Bar Mix) (Transmat)
DJ Bone – No Sleep (True To Da Roots) (Sect)
Mr. G – Life (One Dark Late Saturday) (Moods & Grooves)
The Oliverwho Factory – Rain 5th Wave (Madd Chaise Inc.)
Moodymann – Analog:Live (KDJ)
Grand High Priest – Mary Mary (We-Ze Records)
Shake – Psychotic Tango (Frictional)
Spencer Kincy – Don’t Stop (Cajual)
The Closer – Strong Meets The Weak (KMS)
Bim Marx – Stronger (Stilove4music)

if you want to catch finn spin, he is regularly playing around berlin and other parts of europe. check his RA page for upcoming gigs. you can find out more info through his homepage, myspace, and macro recordings.

that's it. big thanks to finn for making these. in the coming weeks we've got new ssg specials from kevin gorman and october. plenty to look forward to. for now, enjoy these two treats.

Monday, May 17, 2010

down the rabbithole...


just found this treat. sorry, streaming only, but still totally essential...

oni ayhun live @ white rabbit berlin 16.10.2009

Sunday, May 16, 2010

release me


ok, been meaning to do this for a while. here are some releases i've been enjoying lately:

matthias reiling - das gespenst von altona (giegling): the latest from giegling, one of our favourite labels of late. it is supposed to be an album, but not quite sure whether it is long enough to justify the LP tag. still a very nice release. this is a label worth following closely.

nuel - aquaplano ltd 01: this one has been a long time coming, thanks to some problems with the pressings. still, it is now out and sounds great. proof that the previous aquaplanos has definitely been a two man show. seriously impressive EP from nuel. and i should add, much respect - saw nuel deliver an absolutely killer set of power electro last week. one of the best sets i have heard in a long time.

mike parker - gph14 (geophone): no surprises here, it sounds like exactly what you'd expect from a mike parker record. and nothing wrong with that. powerful stuff. i think he has the next aquaplano ltd release, which is also very special. ah, and mike parker killed it last week too. deeper and slower than what i've heard from him previously. one of the most under-rated producers and DJs out there. i have no idea why the hell this guy hasn't played berghain. he'd destroy the place.

donato dozzy - k (further): dozzy's debut album is out in june on... tape. well, i am not the biggest fan of this format, but i ain't releasing it... the good news is that it'll be out on vinyl in september, and hopefully they will also do a digital release too. they'd be crazy not to, because this is one of the best things dozz has done in a while. ambient, tripping techno. nothing groundbreaking here, but a particular sound executed perfectly. recommended.

the black dog - music for real airports (soma): if you follow mnml ssgs on twitter (and you should), you would know i am a big, big fan of this album. perhaps my favourite release of the year. what i love about it is its ambiguity - the feelings it generates (like airports themselves) are very mixed. we are in the process of doing an interview with these guys, very excited about it. for now, go check the album.

tevo howard - without me (beautiful granville records): this one is an absolute stunner. all 4 tracks are deftly balanced. lovely old school sound. nothing too complicated, just done very very well.

roswell return - probe #5 (SD records): been wanting to hear this since it came out end of last year, finally got myself a copy. mixture of techno, ambient and electro, quality all the way. now i need to go get the other record this guy has done. if anyone knows how to get in contact with this guy, let me know. i'd love to have him do a mix for us!

sandwell district sampler one and two (sandwell district): this pair of releases really gives me faith in techno music. well, that is a big statement, let me explain. sandwell is at the top of their game now, their releases are selling well, they are getting plenty of play and recognition and so on. it'd be easy for them to get conservative and continue with the sound that has got them to this point. but with these releases they have clearly developed the sandwell sound further. it is most evident with the function track, which is a considerable break from 'burn', 'variance' etc. i won't say much more about these EPs, just get them when they come out. the sandwell boys have shown again they are miles ahead of most. respect.

ok, that is all from me for now. here are some recommendations the silent ssg dave has sent through. he has a very good music radar, so i'd take these suggestions seriously (i know i am):

denseland - chunk (mosz): it sounds like Mortiz Von Oswald Trio only with more of a industrial/tech/dub sound.  oh and it's way better too!  more complex structures and more variety yet it also sounds much tighter. [dave has this as one of his albums of 2010]

Robert Turman - Chapter Eleven (tape 4): This is brilliant lo-fi ambient stuff.  really really fantastic stuff.  this guy was really big in the 70s & 80s and did a bunch of stuff including this 8x cassette release which got reissued recently.  the whole thing is great but other tapes also have some noisy and guitar stuff there too.  it's still great though!  tape 4 seems the most accessible and electronic though.

Lussuria - Silk & Honey (hospital productions): Dunno much about this but it seems to be the best lo-fi ambient drone cassette of the year so far.

Demdike Stare – Forest of Evil (modern love): This is pretty spectacular.  this and 'denseland' are the best techno releases i've heard in ages!

Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (editions mego): First synthy album to be on a semi-major label (mego) and it's really really brilliant.  Definitely one of the best of the year and essential listening in my opinion.

ok, that's it. more soon...

Saturday, May 15, 2010

olafur eliasson


just a quick post, one that is not about music, but something i think will be of interest to many ssgs... my trip to berlin the other week luckily coincided with the opening of a new exhibition from one of my favourite artists, olafur eliasson. for those who don't know his work, it is based around light, colour and perception. many of his installations have an interactive component - you are not just looking at a painting, you are relating to his art in a much more direct manner. the picture above is one i took from one of the installations in berlin. basically it is a room with fog in it, and different parts of the space have different coloured lights. walking through the room is a very trippy experience, as you move from colour to colour and back again. i won't say anything else about the other installations he has there, i'll just say that if you are in berlin in the next couple of months, i strongly suggest you go check this exhibition. even if you are someone who doesn't normally bother with visual art, give this one a go. the beauty of much of olafur's work is in its simplicity, grandeur and the way you interact with it. details are:

Innen Stadt Außen
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
28 April - 9 August 2010


you can find more info about olafur eliasson and his projects here.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

suzi got skills

just a very quick post... when i was in berlin back in feb, i went to adam x's party at maria. one of the unexpected highlights of the night was discovering the talents of suzi wong. i'd already heard an excellent ambient mix she put up on her soundcloud, and that night i saw a different side, with an impressive and diverse set of techno. after that i made sure to tell her that next time she records a set, she better send it my way. and luckily she remembered... her description of it is: '2:20h warmup DJ set for Killekill Clubnacht at Berghain Kantine on April 21st 2010. Mixed with two Technics MK 1210, an Allen & Heath mixer and a few bottles of beer'. the results are great: a warm groove and a really nice, diverse selection of quality records. this mix has confirmed my feeling that suzi definitely has skills. give it a listen...

suzi wong @ killekill 21.4.2010

for more info on suzi, check her myspace. that's it for now. more soon.

Monday, May 10, 2010

craftsmanship


"Sure, any doorknob can get behind a computer and crank out some bleeps, blips and squelches. But it takes a craftsman to get behind a keyboard or a drum machine, and make something that people enjoy, and that's pleasing to the intellect as well as the ear, or pleasing to the soul, or whatever that inner thing is that makes people appreciate music. It takes craftsmanship and hardwork, and I think if you look at some of the more elite guys and people who left a legacy, and have made an imprint, you can hear the quality in their music. It's simply different from a run of the mill person, who goes out to the mall, or goes to their local music store and decides they want to make music. You know, it's about suffering the pains of having some months where you don't have a lot of money, and you're suffering. You may play a club and not a lot of people turn up. But you love what you do, and that's what separates the run of the mill guy from the guy who is a craftsman. It's taking that machine and putting feeling, putting part of you into the that machine, using electronics to not just make a song, you're trying to move people with the melody, the structure, you're trying to peak interest. And make people sit up and pay attention to what you've doing. That takes craftsmanship."

words of wisdom from dj stingray. read the full interview here at the wire. quality, thoughtful exchange. definitely worth taking the time to read. we need more stuff like this.

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Future, sadly...? (Requiem for Detroit)



The remaining parts can be watched here.

I was introduced to the documentary through an LSE podcast, in which I listened to an mp3 of the screening, followed by a frustrating discussion that seemed like a wasted opportunity, sassy school teacher aside. I recommend downloading the 'cast and taking it for a random walk through your cityscape... I found it very evocative and moving, literally an invisible sountrack for one person's evocation of Detroit...

I guess this also leads us back in to a discussion from two years ago which looked at Detroit techno in terms of its myths, legends, heroes, tragedies, ironies and so on... here, here, here, and here.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

MNML SSGS X DISK UNION SPECIAL MIX CD


so much for having a break, but this is something we are really excited about... mnml ssgs has teamed up with disk union, the leading record store in tokyo, to produce a special promo CD of one of our mixes. the one we selected was marcel fengler's timeless ssg mx14. disk union have pressed some CDs of it, and you get one free if you spend at least 3000 yen (that equals about 2 records or a CD). you can find it at the following disk union stores: shibuya, shinjyuku, ochyanomizu, shimokitazawa, kashiwa, ikebukuro, yokohama, chiba, tsudanuma, kitaurawa, kichijyoji, kunitachi and online.

we think it is a pretty good deal. why? there are 2 main differences from the one you can download here. first, it is something physical - it is the first non-digital ssg. second, and more importantly, this mix is in lossless. you get to hear marcel's mix in all its original glory. yes!

we are really excited and proud of this. disk union is a store we've been going to for a long time, so it is great to now be working with them. hopefully it will be the first of more collabs in the future...

big thanks to shin @ disk union and marcel fengler. for more info, check disk union here.

----

5/2(土) 16時以降のご注文から、税込3,000円以上お買い上 げでMARCEL FENGLERのMIX-CD1枚を差し上げます!
※MIX CDの内容は「mnml ssgs mx 14」と同一のものです。
+ 特典は無くなり次第、キャンペーン終了とさせていただきます。予めご了承くださいませ。
+ 対象商品 : 新品または中古品のTECHNO, HOUSEのCD・レコード等音楽ソフト。(イベントチケットは対象外)
+ 交換方法 : 期間中に対象商品を一回のお買い上げ3千円(税込)で1枚プレゼント。

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Saturday, May 1, 2010

April's Untimely May Discussion Thread: Triangulation, ~step, the future?

Hello SSGs,

apologies for this untimely post, I'd meant to get it in yesterday, but have been snowed in with marking responsibilities. Thus it is May Day, time to think about the future...

In fact, this month I wanna have a whole theme: in a sense, everything posted here in May will be about the future.

The future of music, the future of the SSGs (that includes you), the future of a planet, whether it's a planet of sine waves, laptops, headphone-wearing sheep soaking up the surplus, or a light rail to unknown trashscapes...

...a coupla weeks ago, Dave Slutskin had me back on To and Fro on Triple R (or Triple 'Ah' as it might sound if you don't share our stunted, mu(n)ted Australian r). We covered a lot of ground, played a bunch of records... well, I think the show gets at a lot of things I've been thinking about, talking to Chris about, and listening to...

Check out the To and Fro site, here, and see the downlad link, just below... hopefully that'll give you all plenty to feed off...

To those who cannae be bothered listening to the show (but I would really like you to if you can), let's just call the theme triangulation and start from there...

Penny for your thoughts, fellow SSGs...

EDIT: well, it's either proof that Jung lives and is among us like a fungus, or that somehow all the cool kids have their best thoughts at almost the same time. Boom/tick/bleep's most articulate spokesperson, Mssr Philip Sherburne, reaches beyond 'dancing about architecture' to represent triangulation. Represent, y'all. Fuel for your pennies, farthing for your fuelled coins...


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