Tin Techno

FaltyDL - To London

2009-08-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is future music. To London is an EP that perfectly captures the pleasures, the possibilities and the paradoxes inherent in being an electronic music producer today. Its warm, analog tones, its nervous 2-step shuffle, its heavy bass and deep shades of house and R&B all melt into one another, flowing, fusing, snapping, clicking and cutting in a perfect and succinct example of "forward-thinking" production.

FaltyDL on Myspace.
Buy on Boomkat.

The Field - Yesterday & Today

2009-02-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

New album by the Field due on May 25th via Kompakt. Expect "organic sounds" and Battles drummer John Stanier. No tracklist or cover art yet, but I can't even tell you how excited I am.

New Field album announced on Kompakt.fm.

Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart

2009-02-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

There's a whole lot of buzz building around Karin Dreijer Andersson's upcoming side project, Fever Ray. The self-titled album, released digitally in January and physically in March, is an altogether slower, moodier and more personal affair than her work with brother Olaf Dreijer as the Knife, but it won't disappoint. Staying true to both halves of the Fever Ray pseudonym, Andersson takes us through her fragmented inner world-- both haunting and illuminating-- that stands as a powerful personal testament and an evocative companion to Silent Shout.

As always, the videos for her work are top notch, playing with illusion, masks and dreams-- all adding a sense of mystery and spectacle to the music. There's a great Pitchfork interview with KDA from back in July 2006, where she speaks about the "theatrical" nature of the Knife's performances:

"It's a natural way of presenting what you do when you make music. It's fiction. A more unnatural way would be to stand there with your own face and with your private life-- that's not healthy or good for the music. It takes focus away from what's important."

Fever Ray - "If I Had a Heart" (directed by Andreas Nilsson)

Fever Ray - "When I Grow Up" (directed by Martin de Thurah)

Fuck Buttons' remix of "If I Had a Heart," out now on the "If I Had a Heart" 7" single:

Fever Ray on Myspace.
Digital download of Fever Ray's self-titled LP on Amazon.

Peter Bjorn & John - Nothing to Worry About (Video)

2009-02-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

By Andreas Nilsson.

Equality [EQD - Equalized #002]

2009-02-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

Shed's Shedding the Past was released late last year to well-deserved critical acclaim-- it was a gorgeous hybrid of restless dubstep beats and warm, enveloping synths, of brutal four-four minimal techno and echoing, dubbed out atmosphere. In a word, it was the best record of last year. So what does Shed have to do with EQD? He's been pinned as the man behind the second in this series of "anonymous" singles, and it's hard to see anyone else but him in the music, both in sound and in quality. The A-side is solid but little more than a warm up for the magnificent B-side: a cold, celestial synth backs the buoyant blips and beeps that drive this track forward, which seem to move in and out of focus while building up to the tremendous, organic beat that makes this track so exceptional. A must-own!

Buy this on Beatport.

La Roux is Skreaming [La Roux - In For the Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix)]

2009-02-21T18:44:00.001-08:00

Sometimes sifting through the heaps of bloghouse remixes that get unceremoniously vomited into the internet on a daily basis can reap some sweet rewards. In this track, La Roux's original-- a good song with an arrangement I don't really dig-- gets an epic reworking by the indefatigable Skream. He waits a cool two minutes before dropping the beat, highlighting La Roux's rich vocal track with a low, moody bassline and letting atmosphere and tension build in an electrifying way; when the breakbeats of the coda hit, it's like a sign from God.

La Roux on Myspace.
Skream on Myspace.

Post-Punk Classics

2008-10-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Whenever I start to feel like my nerdy infatuation with post-punk is dying down, I come across some tracks that remind me just how much influence the period of roughly '77-'83 has had on pop music, and it gets me all worked up again. The first track tonight is by Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) pioneers Liaisons Dangereuses. Their only album was scrapped together from a couple of cassettes recorded by bandmembers Beate Bartel (of Einstürzende Neubauten), Chrislo Haas (of D.A.F.) and singer Krishna Goineau in 1981. The whole album is fascinating, like a kind of This Heat meets Talking Heads meets Chicago house and Detroit techno hybrid. It's danceable(many DJs have indeed cited "Los Ninos del parque" as a huge influence), experimental and ominous but also highly idiosyncratic-- its goofy lyrics in French and Spanish are bizarre, to say the least. Here's one of the albums many slappers, "Los Ninos del parque."

---

Next up is "I'm In Love With a German Film Star" by British one hit wonders The Passions. I'm sure this song will be getting all kinds of hype again when British artists Sam Taylor-Wood releases her cover of it on Kompakt later this month, but for now enjoy the ethereal original. Listening to it makes me feel like I'm in some kind of heroined-out dream encounter with a singer in a David Lynch movie. Wooh.

Buy Liasions Dangereuses' self-titled album at Amazon.
Buy The Passions' 30000 Feet Over China at Amazon.

Unknown - Subway to Cologne

2008-10-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've had a busy weekend. To make up for it, I'm going to post my favorite track of the year. Story Records is a spankin' new record label coming out of (where else but) Germany and their first record, Subway to Cologne was released earlier this month. These guys are serious purists; the record's songs aren't credited to anyone (although it turns out the artist is someone who goes by the name of C.B. Funk), and they're only releasing on vinyl for the moment. It's all about the music, man. A-side "Subway to Cologne" is mesmerizing, with a slow burning, funky groove and a weird, weird, weird, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful vocal sample. The song has the kind of atmosphere that really feels good on the mind, soul and body around four in the morning-- soft and shimmering. The two B-sides are also spot on, though neither of them have the surreal quality of "Subway to Cologne"'s sample. This record came out of left field for me, and it's pretty much jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Check it out.

C.B. Funk on Myspace
C.B. Funk on Discogs
Buy this release

M2 presents Half Hawaii

2008-10-10T01:03:00.001-07:00

For anyone in San Francisco, be sure to check out this show on Saturday. It's going to be off the hook.

Justice vs. 2 Many DJs @ Social Club

2008-10-07T02:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some youtubes from a crazy show I went to at Paris' excellent Social Club last month. The night started off with Busy P and then went into a monster versus set of house, electro and disco, with the boys from Soulwax and Justice exchanging tracks behind the decks all night long.

Gudrun Gut - I Put a Record On

2008-10-07T01:19:00.000-07:00

I can't help but be surprised that the legendary Gudrun Gut-- musician, artist, record label head, radio DJ, and member of German avant-garde act Einstürzende Neubauten's original line-up-- released her debut album some thirty years into her career. Was it worth the wait? Without a doubt. I Put A Record On is about as rich and eclectic as Gut's own life, showcasing the influence of anything from fellow Oceanclub DJ Thomas Fehlmann's own work to the noisy DIY instrumentation of her Einstürzende years. It's light, fun, far from self-conscious, and unrelentingly charming; opener "Move Me" is a beautiful, sample-heavy cross between cabaret and The Field, "Girlboogie 6" is the most German blues jam I've ever heard and "The Wheel" is glitchy, dubbed out pop at its finest. All of the songs on I Put A Record On are presented with a lightness of touch and of spirit, infusing the album with an artfulness and vigor that only someone as eccentric as Gudrun Gut could bring us.

Gudrun Gut on Myspace
Gudrun Gut on Discogs
Buy this release

Various Artists - Kompakt 100

2008-10-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Although everything about the original-- from its position on Kompakt Total 3 to its hushed mantra and subdued synths-- is perfect, it's interesting to revisit Superpitcher's "Tomorrow" from a different perspective. I've been digging through the Kompakt archives these past few days, and one its most surprisingly fruitful sections has been the Kompakt 100 compilaiton, released way back in 2004.

It's rare that retrospective remixes are any good and even rarer for a compilation to be full of... good retrospective remixes, which is partly why listening to 100 the first time through has been such a pleasant experience. It's two discs chock full of the label's usual aesthetic-- brooding, melancholy techno-- that is not only tastefully timed (most of the tracks clock in between five and six minutes) but also tastefully sequenced, something that the more recent Total compilations have been lacking. Highlights range from floor-ready slappers to ambient bliss-outs: The Orb's remix of Ulf Lohmann's "Because" is gorgeous; the Jurgen Paape remix of Schaeben & Voss' "The World is Crazy" is a surefire butt-shaker, and Kaito's mix of "Tomorrow" is an excellent reworking of the original.

Kompakt on Myspace
Kompakt 100 on Discogs
Buy this release

Paul Kalkbrenner - Berlin Calling Soundtrack

2008-10-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ask anyone in the know and they'll tell you: Paul Kalkbrenner is a class act. Over the past decade, he's released a smattering of choice singles, remixes and even a couple of albums on Ellen Allien's Bpitch Control label to much critical and popular acclaim. He's one of the few producers who can tie together a really great, soaring, searing melody and a heavy (we're talking headbangin' heavy) club beat into a beautiful whole, all with a wonderfully wistful sensibility that's rarely seen outside of the world of Kompakt records.

(above: Kalkbrenner rocking the Locarno Film Festival)

Like his labelmates Ellen Allien and Sascha Funke, Kalkbrenner is now a prime candidate for being the next "crossover" act into indie rock territory: his huge fanbase in the world of techno is all abuzz about the release of the upcoming Berlin Calling, a film about a Berlin DJ which features his debut both as an actor and as a soundtrack composer.

So it's with poorly concealed excitement, enthusiasm and a little bit of bias that I'm going to recommend seeing his new movie and checking out its soundtrack. Those of us stuck in America are probably fucked for the movie (I doubt it will get a theatrical release), but at least we can check out the Berlin Calling Soundtrack. To those already familiar with Kalkbrenner's work, it's a choice selection of new, beautiful but relatively chill tracks (in the vein of "Since 77") and some of his best previous work ("Castanets" and "Gebrunn Gebrunn," among others). To the novice, I think it's a perfect introduction to his work, as it plays something like a greatest hits: a good mix of both Kalkbrenner's dreamy melancholies and impassioned club anthems.

Paul Kalkbrenner on Myspace
Paul Kalkbrenner on Discogs
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Richard Bartz - Speicher 61

2008-10-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

"No more words necessary about Richard Bartz. He is Kurbel Label boss, DJ and producer from the very beginning of techno music. Here comes his fantastic debut on Kompakt, and mainly based on samples. A must-have." (from the Kompakt newsletter)

(above: Richard Bartz performing live at Electricity)

This little gem was released just earlier this month and marks techno legend Richard Bartz's debut on Kompakt. The A-Side, "Diamond Girl," is pure retro peak hour glamour: its warbly lead synth, string samples and percussion all (re)create the feel of classic disco and early house, while Bartz's glitchy sampling make it a perfect tension builder for DJ sets. The track works itself into a frenzy before leading into a surprising but not unwelcome housey, organic percussion breakdown and busting back into its thumping, pumping groove. This is choice stuff. The B-side, "All Night Thing," is an altogether more current affair, with plenty of blips and bloops laid over a house beat and pulsing bassline; it's a standard but well-executed minimal track.

Richard Bartz on Myspace
Richard Bartz on Discogs
Buy this release