Utopia. The Big Chill

This is a mixed compilation by Miss Elke K. and Henny V., an obscure DJ duo also going by the name of Dutch Ambient Federation; out through Guardian Angel, a trancey sub of Basic Beat.
With a cover pointing to just another mediocre compilation of easy listening 'balearic' music and an equally unexplainable title, the CD contains two mixes, one from each of the DJs.

The first mix by Elke K. partly borrows from the british tradition of chill-out DJing, yet without resorting to sloppy fem-vox stuff or anything like that, keeping the tones down and (like most successful female DJs) aiming for the heart with sentimental tunes and rich melodies. With tracks from the likes of Dr.Atmo & P. Namlock, Dub Tractor (*), Neotropic and A Reminiscent Drive, it's great for coming down, which probably was the purpose after all.
The second part on the other hand is a rather darkish, more abstract and experimental excursion, including some obscure tracks and highlights from Chain Reaction's one-off Ridis, Experimental Audio Research vs. Thomas Köner, Wolfram Spyra, etc. I could have actually named this post "What were they thinking?" judging from that 2nd part; if this is Utopia, what would Dystopia sound like I wouldn't know. Besides the more unconventional tracklist, this one doesn't flow that well as a mix but most of you will probably like it anyway.

VA - 1997 Utopia. The Big Chill
mixed by Elke K. & Henny V.
Info here.

Für Dich

You know my love for the Cologne scene. Well, here's the CD that established Kompakt in my mind as a fixation to love and cherish and Tobias Thomas (*) as a DJ to watch (eventually I had the chance to open for him during a beautiful night in Athens, but that's another story).

I had bought it without knowing anything about it or himself. I recognized only a few of the artists involved, I remember it was really expensive and I had no way of listening to it beforehand, but I took my chance - turned out to be a turning point for me, an epiphany and an example to look up to. From post-pop to hard club techno, from abstract synthetic tool tracks to jazzy vocal house, Tobias builds a rollercoaster of emotions, trippy ideas and bold proposals that stands the test of time, beyond hypes and cliches. For you.

Contains rare Gamat3000 original gem 'Feeling Love', Various Artists' Autechre remix (*), some early Kompakt classics ('Puma', 'Nachschub', etc.), subtle paean 'Check Your Buddah' from Ford/Melchior (*), Lali Puna's heavenly 'Superlotado', an uncredited intro, etc. etc. etc. And of course Vladislav Delay's monumental 'Huone', mixed so subtly that it took me a couple of years to understand how he did it.

It won't stay up for long, for the reasons stated here. Makes a good couple with this Mayer mix, yet this one is far more effective. And I hate cliches, but occasionally I have to use them: I cannot recommend it strong enough.

VA - 1999 Tobias Thomas _ Für Dich
Info here.

P.S. Link removed; you had your time. Go to any shop and buy it, it's worth 100%.

Tec House Living

A groovy mixed compilation, the first of Jesse Rose back from 1998, through Subversive Records (also see the Liquid California compilation).

Showcasing what was commonly thought as the UK tech house sound, contains tracks by local heavyweights like Jamie Anderson, Dave Angel, Charles Webster, Cevin Fisher and a newbie called Vince Watson, plus a couple of highly influential guests like John Tejada, Maurice Fulton, Steve Rachmad and Orlando Voorn (with early classic 'Flash').

In all, a great track list and a lively mix, full of emotional and energetic house anthems with that extra techfunk touch. I remember playing in sets that Plastic Avengers/C.Fisher mix a lot, possibly the only time I did something similar (I had neither the tracks themselves nor a way to edit them yet). Freaks came out.

VA - 1998 The Deeper Sound Of Bristol presents
Tec House Living
Info here.

Soundclash

If you liked the 'Echoman' album posted here, here's a mix of some of their tracks and remixes that Chicken Lips did for Kingsize and the DJ mag. Typical early CL stuff, includes timeless epic 'He Not In'; sadly in shitty one-track-per-mix format.

As for the Switchcraft part... I never managed to listen to in full. Someone might like it though.

VA - 2001 DJ & Kingsize Records present
Chicken Lips / Switchkraft Soundclash
Info here.

Nutronix

Freestyle breaks and electro mixed compilation from Cologne and Area Code 221 label. Not exactly in the style that most people associate the Cologne sound with, I'd say, although the acid influences are apparent, especially in the 2nd CD. Includes tracks from the Pharma boys, Nick Holder, Tanith, Alex Krüger, Hans Nieswandt, along a host of other local (or not...) artists from labels like Mehrwert, Stereo Deluxe, or the french Catalogue. Plus a Norman Cook remix of Christopher Just's classic "I'm A Disco Dancer" that you've probably never heard before...

According to the CD's info, Nutronix were a DJ crew associated with Liquid Sky Cologne: Eric Eltron, now chief of Boxer Recordings, Peta (most likely this one) & Wicked, that also participated with a track in the 'Sound Of Cologne Zwei' compilation. There's a De:Bug article in German here.

There was never a Vol.2 for this one.

VA - 1999 Nutronix. The Sound Of Electric Cologne
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

P.S. While I was searching for a Liquid Sky Cologne link, I came upon the Friendsound recent post. Good timing...
P.S.2 Oops, first CD is also posted here.

Live At The Liquid Room,Tokyo

The second part in a series of five mixed sets (see Mix-Up Vol.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), this is a poor sounding yet undeniably strong testimony of Jeff Mills' skills and mid '90s manic disposition when in the booth.

The mix itself is presented in three segments; for track spotting you'll have to use the discogs page (good luck...). Since this one's ripped from the React repress, I used that cover instead of the original.

Jeff Mills - 1996 Live At The Liquid Room, Tokyo
Info here.

More of him here.

The Great Gigolo Swindle

For Gigolo's 50th release anniversary, they issued a small book designed by Abuse Industries, accompanied by a mix by Carlos Souffront and narrated by Brendan M. Gillen of Ectomorph, radio-style ('...on WCBN FM'). 'Crush Collision' show includes full interview with the CEO of Gigolo (...) praising his label and its 50 year history (.?.?.), answering to listeners' phone calls, etc.

Besides (or despite) the voice-overs, expect nothing more than one of the best Gigolo-related mixes, totally in the spirit of the time and with respect to all aspects of the label's sound. As for the book, grab it where you find it, it's excellent work; but take very good care of it. Unfortunately it was very poorly constructed; it fell apart very soon after I bought it (and without much handling...) and the same thing happened to all other copies I've seen.

VA - The Great Gigolo Swindle mix (2000)
Info here.

The mix is split in four parts. For the track-list check the re-release here.

The K&D Sessions

The downtempo 2CD mixed compilation of Vienna's K&D productions and remixes on various well known artists, epitomizing their sound at the time and (re)defining the late '90s post-breaks chillout scene. Might be too soft for some of you. But even just for the 'Bug Powder Dust' remix... Anyway, it's one of the few 'loungey' albums I return to from time to time.

A !K7 record.

Kruder & Dorfmeister - 1998 The K&D Sessions
CD1 - CD2
Info here.

Assume Nothing

A mixed CD out through Musik, one of the few UK 'dance' mags I did read back then.

Assembled in ProTools, it was one of the mixes in the style made famous by Richie Hawtin and one year later by Scion (with Ableton Live); tracks are made of loops and edits of other tracks, in this case by Mute Records material. Lots of seminal tracks in there and more beat oriented than you'd expect from the tracklist - the mix jumps from UK house to progressive trance, from techno to acid, from synth pop to cut-up electro.
I consider it to be a solid showcase, even if I don't like all of the tracks myself. It's a pity it's under-rated, when other cut-ups (like the 2ManyDJs/Soulwax ones, for example) are worth gold.

VA - 2001 Mute: Assume Nothing
Info here.

Detroit Audio (and more)

Although I've stopped downloading DJ mixes and live sets from everybody I knew (it became an addiction at a time), some names are still hard to resist to.
A lot of sites/ blogs are devoted to posting live sets; I'm not actually going that way. I just want to propose a couple of 'official' sites of Detroit and like labels with interesting sets or videos that may easily get overlooked while searching the 'illegal' sharenet.

So:
Detroit Techno Militia. Huge mix data bank here.
Kenny Larkin's Art Of Dance. Few mixes here.
Technoir Audio. Listen here, down here.
11th Hour. Here.
Bvdub mixes. Here. Press on third icon.
Bootleg DJ Cafe. DJ sets here.
Open Mind Recordings. Here.
EevoNext. Yes, the old Eevolute. Here.
Soma Records. Some videos.
Dave Angel. Mixes & videos here.
D1 Recordings & DEAFestival. Archive.
Modern Music. Tons of oldschool mixes from the States here.
The Black Dog. You know who they are. Mixes here.

NEW:
Vuistdikkeramlat. Blog of great mixes. Here.

This list will be updated sporadically (when I find new stuff, you know) and reposted.

(first post: 10th of April 2008)

Highway & Landscape

Here's something to help you through the aftermath of NYE's partying, clubbing or whatever it is you did last night.

Three compilations, selected and mixed by Jean-Yves LeLoup of RadioMentale, out through Distance (check *,*,*). Chill out music that doesn't make you flinch, as rare as that can be, deep beats and soft breaks mostly. No groundbreaking experiments here, just good, good music and a lot of chill classics.

The first one has been one of my favorite after-the-comedown albums for many years now, always accessible and calming. Also works good during daytime, on a train ride or for driving, for example. I recommend it without second thought. It focuses a lot on US and UK electronics; all-star ambient techno, dubby trip hop and deep house (with 'Sueño Plutino' on top), a bit glossy at times, yet soothing for tired ears. It's mixed, thought transitions last for a minimum amount of time, just to keep the flow.
Vol.2 is more upbeat, signifying a turn towards that (by then established) french 'chill grooves' thing, deep house and the occasional breaks, sometimes with ethnic elements. OK, it's not music for expensive restaurants - yet not that far away from that. I consider it to be the weakest link in the series, despite its good moments.
On the same track but more interesting is Vol.3, that compiles on the first CD some good deep beats and on CD2 what they called 'cinematic' breaks (many Ninja Tune influences there). I bought it only yesterday and gave it a shot just now, so I have not formed an opinion yet. Up to now it sounds interesting and classy, especially CD1.



VA - Highway & Landscape Vol.1 (1997)
CD1. Highway
CD2. Landscape
Info here.


VA - Highway & Landscape Vol.2 (1998)
CD. Deep Beats and Chill Breaks
Info here.


VA - Highway & Landscape Vol.3 (2000)
CD1. Deep Beats
CD2. Cinematic Breaks
Info here.

Intergalactic FM

I decided to embed the Intergalactic FM player in the blog, four net radio stations of dirty, brown and miserable music for stoned aliens and robots. Hope you enjoy.

The Maenad and the Mix

The other day I came across a mix of PWOG (*) tracks in the Black Dog site, as the third part in a series where the Black Dog guys pay tribute to artists like Robert Hood and UR (so far). They mix the original stuff with some of their own re-edits, a treasure for the fans. Check the page out:

The Black Dog:
One Hour With The Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia

You know I'm a PWOG sicko. And I consider myself to be a fan of the Black Dog - not a collector per se, but 'Spanners' might be the 'IDM' album I've listened to the most (I still do, after all these years). As Robert Hood is also the Detroit guy I respect the most and UR are undoubtedly leaders in their field, seeing all these together there it felt like a serotonin-party. Then I came upon a post by Moggieboy (the Ripped In Glascow guy), where the 'Maenad' 12" was posted. It was too good to be just a coincidence, so here it is:

PWOG - Maenad 12" by Moggieboy

I'll borrow the eXquisite CORpsE 1994 Kupuri 12" later on.

P.S. Actually, he's posted a lot of PWOG stuff so go there and get them.

Sounds From The Electronic Lounge

This one was a curiosity for me back then. It still is, in a way. The title is more than disorientating, yet the sumo wrestlers give a hint.

I knew Scanner. Didn't have a clue who Michael Wells was but this (loosely) mixed CD caught my attention at once due to its mentality, constantly shifting through styles yet retaining a definite aesthetic proposal. Starting somewhere between KK Records' dark electronics and early Warp's rave, inserting a dose of experimental techno and some sentimental interludes, Wells makes a bold proposal, not uncharacteristic of the spirit of the times, merging oldschool sounds and forward thinking. Breaks, acid, Irdial-like beats, isolationist ambient, mini techno, take your pick, it's there and it's really interesting. Special guests are none other than To Rococo Rot, Techno Animal, Panasonic & Ø, Riou (*), Abe Duque as Kirlian, Starfish Pool and Roman Fluegel as Eight Miles High. The Vienna scene is represented by G. Potuznik aka G.D.Luxxe and Alois Huber from Craft Records (which I recently discovered and appreciate more and more).

By the way, Michael Wells aka Signs Of Chaos is better known from his other legendary collaborations with deceased Lee Newman in the early '90s as GTO, Tricky Disco (in Warp), Church Of Extacy and Technohead. He doesn't have the infinite number of releases as, say, Baby Ford does, still the early records were incredibly influential (and successful) and the next ones were just too weird to be ignored.

VA - 1998 Sounds From The Electronic Lounge
a Scanner vs. Signs Of Chaos presentation,
mixed by Michael Wells
Info here.

Somewhere I had a album he 'd spread for free on the net, I'll get back on it later on.

sound+

Yesterday I came by this one which has a lot of direct downloads - interesting live and DJ sets from a lot of people I like. And a couple of great mixes. So go there and get them.

sound.modelfruit.com

By the way, every once in a while I update the 'Detroit Audio' post with links of new sites.

Retro lights

Though I did a number of mixtapes in my time, this was the first mix I recorded in digital. Two turntables and a CD through a mixer directly to a borrowed audio CD burner deck (they were big at the time...). As you'll hopefully find out, at the time I was head-deep into Germanic sounds, part Clicks'n'Cuts part Koelnish techno; that still characterizes more than anything my DJ tastes, now that I think of it. Equally obvious here is my obsession with Vladislav Delay.
It was meant to be a personal thing, one take, to see if some beatless tracks worked together, etc., but it got derailed by the fourth track or so. Still it came out nice, there were even some key blends I didn't notice until later. Since at that time almost no one played that stuff here, it got some excellent response from friends and people around me and was totally ignored (=rejected) from everyone else, especially pro DJs (Athens was just discovering techno of the Bailey/Carola variety and speed that passed for cocaine). It was about the same time I was disillusioned on the matter of making a living out of music in Greece, due to certain circumstances I won't tire you with; I could move to Germany of course, but the idea of a gastarbeiter/ artist always struck me as a bit odd and also there were family issues.
I lost the 'master' CD immediately after I spread it around and hadn't heard it since then, until yesterday when I found it rolled in a hastily written tracklist, so here it is, unfortunately one track and no markers. Contains some good mixes, some awkward blends and a few of my favorite tracks. And 'Tessio', which I played almost every night back then (I think I was the one to break it here). Academic, retro or nice, you'll be the judge.

Nightlight - 2001-10-19 Deep mix
170MB, 320kbps, 1h 14' 28''

Tracklist:
01. Kid 606 - Sometimes
02. Vladislav Delay - Anima Part 1
03. Uusitalo - Notke
04. Fluxion - Oblique
05. Swayzak vs Theorem - 020100 (Swayzak mix)
06. Swayzak - Slave To The Hard Drive
07. Unai - Brave Star
08. Guns Of Venice - LA Requiem
09. SCSI-9 - Silkcome
10. D.Diggler - Lubricated
11. D.Diggler - Bongwater
12. Gabriel Ananda - Wild Cherry
13. Luomo - Tessio

(beats start on 'Oblique')

Blaou, thegreatesthits

Blaou was a weirdo label, a kind of Berlin-based small clubby Ladomat. This CD is of the label showcase type mixed by Mitja Prinz, famous long-time resident of Globus Club (the house side of Tresor) and Dixon, best known for his connections with Sonar Kollektiv and his Innervisions label.
Including many big (or gonna be big) names in their roster (Schaffhaeuser before Ware, Erobique, Arc-En-Ciel, Pierre Deutschmann, Kissogram, Larsson, Kid Q & more) and with the support of a lot of Berlin's underground, they released mostly house music with indie mentality, paving their way since the mid '90s and managing to score a few hits and release some wonderful 12''s in the meantime. They stopped releasing at 2005 in the middle of a rather ambitious project, the release of ten 12''s of KLF covers/remixes by 'contemporary' artists (Villalobos, Deichkind, etc) of which only the first three circulated. Actually, they were rather disappointing.
Which had nothing to do with the other Blaou releases, half of them showcased here. From the hypnotic '6 Uhr Morgens' to the manic 'Jus', from deep and minimal house to distorted guitar electro, from Woody's remix on Kissogram's debut to Erobique's vandalism on I-F's 'Space Invaders', it's a sound still fresh and relevant even today. A decade later, many of those artists (then mostly newcomers) are considered artistically successful, they make a living of their music and hopefully they'll continue to do so.

By the way, the success of key Berlin free-of-style house labels (like !K7, SK, etc) also proves that the Berlin attitude on purism I've mentioned before is not adopted by everyone there. Probably it's a result of the last 5-6 years' wave of 'cultural immigration' on the techno/club scene, or something. Purism in art is the equivalent of death and stagnation, cross-breeding implies growth and evolution. And not just in art, actually.

VA - 2001, Blaou - thegreatesthits
Mixed by Dixon & Mitja Prinz
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.

[Komfort.Labor]

This could be a big post, I'll try to keep it short.
A listening project going on for several years on Saturday nights at (now defunkt?) Berlin's WMF Club, of which sadly I had neither personal experience of nor many info anyway, Komfort.Labor passed in history when they documented their efforts in three mixed CD compilations through the remarkably potent WMF Records.(*)
The first part is mixed by Stefan Betke aka Pole, and it's more or less a presentation of the just established ~scape 'style', a mix of dub, clicks, some jazz and few beats. Betke is trying a few new things here, showing his tendencies to explore dub hop and jazz territory in the future (as he did, actually), mostly though it's hisses and cracks and bass, just as you'd expect anyway. Usual suspects include Atom, Friedman, Vladislav Delay, Kit Clayton, Jan Jelinek as Farben, etc.
Second CD is mixed by master Thomas Fehlmann (respect!) and always enchanting Gudrun Gut of Monika Enterprise and Malaria! fame, as (leading) members of the Ocean Club. Musically it's the most interesting of the three, as it constantly shifts between genres and styles without letting the listener's interest down. '80s blend with Cologne techno, Berlin dub with Arto Lindsay, diversity is the word here, possibly emulating their radio show adapted to the club era. The Berlin-Cologne axis stands strong and all tracks are strategically selected to please everyone while teaching some history.
The third and final compilation is in collaboration with Native-Instruments (see Reaktor, Kontakt, Absynth, etc.), that showcases half of the Mille Plateaux posse and some more artists manipulating their own material with Reaktor and achieving the kind of sound that later on would dominate clubs as well as headphones. Once again, concept overcomes art and to my ears it sounds like the weak link in the WMF discography, still you'll find interesting times and some clicking tech mixes in here. For glitch fans it may be awesome. Included was a ~3MB data track, an interface to manipulate a Lazyfish track. I'll post it anyway just in case it works for someone (never did for me).



VA - 2001, [Komfort.Labor] presents ~scape
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.


VA - 2001, [Komfort.Labor] presents Ocean Club
Here.
Info here.


VA - 2002, [Komfort.Labor] presents Native Lab
Part 1 - Part 2 - Data.
Info here.

(*) WMF comes from 'Wuertembergische MetallwarenFabrik'. The label published all kinds of quality goodies, all highly recommended, with Kotai's 'Sucker DJ' being their biggest club hit.
Highfish (who did the stunning remix) has also participated in the Engel remix of Colder's 'To The Music', which in my opinion is the best thing that ever came out of the Output vaults along with DK7's 'The Difference'. He's also a bass player and a totally cool DJ, that effortlessly cleared all other stages and filled his own full in 15 minutes while in Sonar just by playing good music for the people. We need a few more guys like him, I'd say.

[feis]

[feis] was an short-lived label activated at the millennium turn. It was based in Stuttgart as I gather, run by two until recently unknown persons, that nevertheless influenced subtly yet greatly the evolution of modern dance music.
We are talking about the chiefs (and main artists) of the older incarnation of Monoid (older techno fans will surely remember this label) and partners in Plastic City's Soda Inc. and Lexicon. One of them is Len Faki aka Lamonde, better known now for his recent releases in Club Berghain's quality techno label Ostgut Tontraeger. Later he also established Figure and Podium. The other is Jost Gerisher aka Jon Silva, owner of Cologne's Pesto house label.

Borrowing from German techno and the French neo-electro scene, its releases were so difficult to pinpoint by an conventional ear that (with few exceptions) they remained in relative obscurity. Shortly after this mixed CD compilation (sadly there never was a Vol.2) the ship was abandoned, as their distributor went broke. As for their music, all I can say is that it's no joke at all. A multinational, futuristic mix of weird techno and weirder electro with many hard Chicago touches, sometimes spiked with acid and even jazz, always aiming for the throat.

Other artists released here were the mighty Bolz Bolz, New Yorker John Selway, crazy Englishman Si Begg, The Hacker, Jason Leech of Subhead, old Plastic City friend Kriss Dior or else Bassface Sascha, dark minimalist Rotorik (later TET) and Denard Henry. Every release has something interesting to say and a certain edge in them, pointing the way towards the future to come. This all-merging, experimenting mentality showcases better itself in the few wonderful albums, Selway's 'Edge Of Now', Bolz Bolz electro classic 'Human Race' and the weirdest of them all, Lamonde's 'Music For Some Place Other Than This' (no other title could be more adequate).

Few tracks made it as hits (supported largely by the Turbo posse), like Si Begg's 'Welcome To The Discotheque' (first on Mosquito), Bolz's 'Take A Walk' (with a Dima aka Vitalic remix), or Selway's 'Moving Effortless'.

A good insight on a mostly unknown label, presenting some not at all unknown artists.

VA - 2002, Feis Labelcompilation Vol.1
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.


P.S.: As I found out here, the label is revived with a new release.

Mixmasters Live

A blast from the past. Issued in 1993 on tape, re-printed 1996 on CD.
Paterson's mix is a typical Orb-ish construction, where everything that might be considered interesting to hear is thrown in a reverb and some more samples are put on top. Still it's just four tracks plus FX, interesting if you don't have it but nothing special really (btw, The Orb is one of my favorite groups since the beginning).
I posted this one is because of the Mixmaster Morris mix. Few people have claimed the title of mixmaster and deserved it, but Morris Gould does it rightly since the late '80s. In this mix, he's playing mostly stuff from the Fax label, blending multiple sources and probably using effect units. When you listen to it, remember it's still the early '90s, no mixers with FX built in or fancy cut buttons, no zooms and no laptops. It's only half an hour long, but I remember I used to put it on repeat and let it play for long. All ambient fans should check it. Regardless if you like MMMorris as a person or as an artist or not (though I haven't met him personally, I don't), he was one of the best Mixers. I hope he still has it, I haven't heard any mixes of his for some time now...
He released few albums in Rising High and Ninja Tune as The Irresistible Force, and he's involved in the Big Chill festival and label.

Alex Paterson & Mixmaster Morris - 1993, Mixmag Live Vol.9
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.