First time I heard Luciano, it was on the 'Future Senses' 12'' [Klang 72]. I bought it just for the B1 re-edit, full of ethereal voices, top programming and of course KILLER synths. A sense of live mixing, also. The other tracks were dimmed by this, but I didn't care.
I 'd heard the 'Ruta 5: Austral' compilation and liked '808 the Bassqueen', but for me Chile was a closed book apart from the fully promoted 'El Baile Alemán' by Atom™ . Some years later South American artists are flooding Europe's production with dubby minimal yet melodic tracks with a different touch. Villalobos, Luciano, Dandyjack, Pier Bucci and many others are top in demand by the music industry. Luciano focuses on producing minimal tracks for Cadenza, Perlon, etc. and keeps it funky, even though his tool tracks recently seem to last forever. I prefer his 'For Disco Only' experiment, just for the eerie voice, or 'Amelie On Ice'.
Still, the record I keep hearing the most is this gem of electronic music, under his Lucien-n-Luciano alias, released in Peacefrog. An album that mostly aims for the heart and the mind more than for the dancefloor, but still manages to work there in times. It sounds autobiographical, if I may say something like this without actually knowing the guy. Full of emotion, weird electronics and clicking percussions, vocals and melodies, it's guaranteed to keep you company for a long time.
'Mother, Madre, Mere' is one of the sweetest tracks I've heard. And 'La Ondita' is one of the most touching.
Lucien-n-Luciano - 2004, Blind Behaviour CD
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here
Mother, Madre, Mere
Jitters
Last night I realized that the last time I made a mix CD was on December 2005. For referential and shameless self-promotion purposes I'll post it here now. I was deep into my mini-neu-rave phase and I needed a way to put down on tape a 'commercial' version of it and listen to it. I hope it came out nice, although certain names and labels keep popping up as you can see. The tracklist is:
01. in
02. PAUL KALKBRENNER - gebruenn gebruenn
03. ALTER EGO - daktari (ROBAG WRUHME rmx)
+ SOLVENT - think like us (acappella)
04. DELON & DALKAN - dunufus
05. JOHN TEJADA - voyager
06. REKORDER - 1.1
07. DJ T vs FREESTYLE MAN - beat the street
08. M.A.N.D.Y. - achaat
09. DIRT CREW - 808 lazerbeam
10. HOEL JAMES -maurris light (DIRT CREW rmx)
11. DJ T - rave d'amour
12. BOOKA SHADE - s.t.a.r.r.z. (catwalk rmx)
13. TRAFFIC SIGNS - effective
14. THE DRILL - the drill
15. EINMUSIK - jittery heritage (long version)
16. out
Recorded at Sparky T's place
Two turntables & a mixer
79 min, 192 Kbps
Nightlight - 2005, Jittery mix
Part 1 - Part 2
(You can find these beautiful tape pics and other interesting stuff here.)
Ego-ism
This 2CD compilation was a limited release in an one-off sub of Monolake/Imbalance label through EFA. From the archives of Ego Club in Frankfurt, rare live recordings and an excellent info booklet make this a must have for the collectors of the experimental side of techno.
The first CD contains mostly deep techno tracks from with some electro sounds on top, while the second focuses on abstract, mini, clicky or just plain sweet electronica. The participants' list is top, nobody will be disappointed. Geek-sound heroes like Kit Clayton and Alva Noto collide with monsters like Jammin' Unit and Monolake, or more 'pop' oriented outlets like Antonelli Electr. and Swayzak. And you have the chance to listen to Khan's 'Ride Me' live.
Excellent stuff, totally recommended, just find it somewhere and buy it.
VA - Live Sets At Ego Club 1998-2000, 2CD
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Info here
Lush Life Electronica
Something from 1995.
Mr. Burger is a true Master Musician.
Some sweet memories.
The Bionaut - 1995,
Lush Life Electronica
Part 1 , Part 2
Info here.
The Key
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia has always been one of my favorite electronic acts. Exit 23 was a blast. People always associated them with the Temple Ov Psychick Youth whose symbols, spelling and beliefs they shared. The connection is indisputable. although at some point they seemingly felt trapped by this and after some internal turmoil and member departures they buried the double cross and re-invented themselves as PWOG.
I think it's best to see them as a crossover act, a trance band gone weird. As some musicians with a different mindset concerning ways of communicating through art. Their low profile, no-ego, sometimes introvert sometimes fun approach to life and the holy and the ritualistic was an immense relief for me compared to the dark blood dripping death electronics of the '80s or the space cake mysticism of Goa trance of the time.
Most of their tracks are dronish loop-based landscapes, sounding like improvisations (although very well structured to be such, in my opinion) borrowing from the industrial school. Their dance tracks range from deep and jazzy house songs to trancey epics to mono-minimal clicky dub, 1995 style. They lived and moved in relative obscurity, you won't find many interviews or photos. They covered a huge range of emotions, they influenced a lot of people nowdays well-known and they disappeared in silence.
This 2CD collection is a compilation of rarities (all but two are unreleased mixes) but it's also a good introduction to the clubbier side of PWOG. It was released at 2002 on Terminal Antwerp, a sublabel of the mighty KK Records which hosted most of the PWOG releases and was accompanied by a 12'' with a Michael Mayer remix to 'A Kind Of Prayer' (you can hear it on 'Friends' mixed by Triple R [Kompakt CD 21] ). That temporarily draw some fresh attention to the name of PWOG, as the 'Maenad' remix by Alter Ego would do later and the Plastikman and Drum Club remixes had done in the '90s.
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - 2002, The Key, 2CD
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Here's also a PWOG remix of the 'Lush' track by Orbital.
Orbital - Lush 3-4 (Warriors Drift remix)
I admit it, I hate to see labels and bands like these only in reference articles or in oldschool DJs' playlists, when all the new European 'minimal' techno sound was more or less envisioned and developed by them. Although I can't rip vinyl yet, I'll upload some more stuff like this soon.
Craftworld
One of the most beautiful tracks of the last decade. Not so famous as the dance tracks or remixes of M. Mayer, it's on Maral Salmassi's 'Art Of Perception' recently resurrected label. Complex soothing melodies sounding warm yet outworldly at the same time. A true diamond. Turn down the lights.
Michael Mayer - Craftworld
(info here)
It's good to see someone who could publish three songs a day and make them hits just like that, to take it slow on producing and releasing. Every Mayer record feels different from the last one, some new idea or technique popping out. A lot of people could learn from that, especially the younger and the talented.
Resistance (313)
Read this, if you haven't already. Mike Banks in all his glory.
It made me wonder. I knew that a lot of DJs from Detroit made some money in Europe during the '90s. I hope they still do. If it wasn't for Jeff Mills or Kevin Saunderson, I wouldn't DJ. Probably I wouldn't even listen to techno. But I understand that when they left Detroit, they left an empty space behind them. And from reading about Detroit, from watching films, from photos, the prevalent feeling I get is that of alienation. Social, physical, mental.
It kinda seemed weird to read that this guy, whose records I'd buy without a thought and who everybody I know respects, complains about the (non-existent) influence of European labels on US radio and how the US artists were left down and behind. Actually, I'm not sure I agree with his points and I'm trying to understand why. I'll pass for now, but I'll get back to this some time later.
Also check this video link from the comments.
