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Transitions 527
Hour 1: John Digweed
01. Simian Mobile Disco - Calyx (Whorl LP) [Anti Records | 273771]
02. 16 Bit Lolitas - Deep In My Soul [Anjunadeep | ANJDEE202D]
03. Horatio & Gruia - Fabule [Circus Recordings | Promo]
04. Jemmy - Breathe In ft. Leza Boyland (Zombies in Miami Remix) [Bedrock Records | Beddigi54]
05. Saschienne - Horacio Delirium (Kompakt: Total 14 Compilation) [Kompakt | KOMPAKTCD118D]
06. Fur - Pulp (Linkwood Remix) [Firecracker | UNTHANK007]
07. Alex Niggemann - Materium (Audion's Roach Mix) [Poker Flat Recordings | PFR152]
08. Pan-Pot & Vincenzo - Fiction Inc (Conductor EP) [Watergate Records | WGVINYL020]
09. Tania Vulcano, Jose De Divina, Audiohel - Acid Weeks [8bit | 8Bit083]
Downloads:
Hour 1 >> John Digweed Transitions 527 Studio Mix
Hour 2 >> Jemmy Transitions Guest Mix
Release Notes:
01. Simian Mobile Disco - Calyx (Whorl LP) [Anti Records | 273771]
SMD decamped to the Southern Californian desert to record their new album using a limited setup, resulting in another highly enjoyable entry into their back catalogue.
Simian Mobile Disco have always demonstrated a fascination with electronic music at its earliest and rawest.
When it comes to club music their biggest inspirations seem to come from the original innovators of Chicago house and Detroit techno. Their vision as a band reflects this fascination, and over they years they’ve tried to sideline computers – if not remove them entirely – from their production process and live performance in order to achieve a sort of analogue purity.
Back in April this year, James Ford and Jas Shaw journeyed to the Southern Californian desert to record the album over a three day period, using only two modular synthesizers, two sequencers, and a mixer, and the tapes from these brief, unconventional album sessions were spliced together and re-edited to make up the final album. The result is as close to achieving a free-flowing spontaneity as they’ve come so far.
Befitting of something recorded under the desert stars, every track on ‘Whorl’ seems to have a wide-eyed, exploratory feel. Its first seven minutes are taken up by widescreen, wandering ambient passages, and its track titles (Redshift, Tangents, Z Space, Dandelion Spheres) reference lofty concepts like the mathematical properties of the universe and geometric structures.
‘Whorl’ is divided between ambient pieces and straight-up house and techno, giving it a clarity and focus that their genre-hopping earlier pop records lacked. When the album lets rip, it’s Simian Mobile Disco at their best, with tracks like space disco chugger Tangents and Calyx sounding close to their Delicacies releases, but with a more unified outlook.
It’s also important to note that some of the original recordings that make up ‘Whorl’ are from a live performance and as such, the clubbier tracks seem to have a looser, dynamic feel to them that comes out of reacting to an audience rather than endlessly tweaking and fine-tuning.
The ambient tracks, meanwhile, do take a bit of getting used to, but are no less rewarding. A piece like Z Space sounds as good as something from Holden’s ‘The Inheritors’ last year, while the Jean-Luc Ponty-esque Nazard demonstrates that the ‘stripping back’ didn’t extend to their considerable melodic and songwriting talents.
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Every musician needs to take action to keep themselves fresh from time to time, but James Ford and Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco have really gone to extremes this time: they’ve completely abandoned every tool they previously used to make music. For the recording of their new record, Whorl, they’ve started from the ground up and created an entirely new electronic system, and recorded everything entirely live, from scratch. Over the years – as members of the criminally underrated “prog-psychedelic band” Simian, as one of the UK’s finest electronic duos, and individually as esteemed producers for other acts – James and Jas have accumulated mountains of incredible vintage synthesizers and other general sound-making boxes. Limiting themselves to two suitcase-sized boxes each – no laptops, no racks of hardware, just one synth and one sequencer each – they headed into the high desert of Joshua Tree National Park in California and recorded Whorl in front of an audience.
The result is something that takes you right into the heart of their creative processes, veering from completely abstract ambient explorations through buoyant repetitions that float into the territory of the most cosmic German and Italian synth explorers of the 1970s and 80s, then take flight into otherworldly techno grooves. It’s not a sound that punches you in the face with its newness or weirdness – the album draws you in gently with the truly beautiful airborne, beat-free opening passage of “Redshift” and “Dandelion Spheres,” and each track thereafter is subtle, rarefied and elegant. Says James, “Whorl can be taken as one long piece, because in the performance of it, we’ve gone where the processes we’ve set up have taken us.” And he’s completely right – it’s as a whole that Whorl comes to life and really opens up its secrets and surprises. It’s a truism that you should expect the unexpected from SMD, but this time round you can be damn sure of it, as they’ve created a system to ensure that it’s precisely the only thing you can expect.
Release Date: 09 September 2014
02. 16 Bit Lolitas - Deep In My Soul [Anjunadeep | ANJDEE202D]
After ending their four year hiatus from the label with the fantastic "Beat Organ EP" earlier this summer, 16 Bit Lolitas aka Ariaan Olieroock and Peter Kriek are back with another huge three track EP.
Title track "Deep In My Soul", was an instant office favourite, and picked up it's first play live on BBC Radio 1 from none other than Pete Tong during his Essential Mix with Sasha at Privilege in Ibiza. Fusing their trademark melodic grooves with an infectious vocal loop, Ariaan and Peter deliver a real anthem - one as equally potent poolside as it is in the main room, as Tong and Sasha can testify.
Equally memorable second track "Premium Emo" takes a more leftfield approach, built around gliding guitars and soaring vocals over a breakbeat groove. First heard in their ABGT guest mix earlier this year, "Premium Emo" is yet another 16BL classic.
"Higher State" rounds off the EP in style, showcasing the deeper end of Ariaan and Peter's musical spectrum. Soulful, jazzy melodies make way for rolling low end grooves and energetic synths in an another complex gem.
Release Date: 01 September 2014
03. Horatio & Gruia - Fabule [Circus Recordings | Promo]
Romania's Horatio has releases on VIVa Music, Desolat and now Circus Recordings.
Here he teams up with Bucharest's Gruia [Natural Rhythm, Degree Records, Waldliebe Familien, Ametist Records]
04. Jemmy - Breathe In ft. Leza Boyland (Zombies in Miami Remix) [Bedrock Records | Beddigi54]
After releasing 'Waterloo Blues' and 'Quarry Bank' in the past 2 years, Jemmy returns to Bedrock in 2014 with 'Breathe In' featuring the vocals of Leza Boyland.
Alongside the excellent original with it's luscious chords and trippy layered vocals comes a remix from Zombies in Miami who toughen it up a bit and focus mainly on a tight percussive groove using the vox very sparsely.
We don't really need to say anything else, we'll let the music do the rest of the talking.
Release Date: 29 September 2014
Label: Bedrock Records
Catalog Number: BEDDIGI54
05. Saschienne - Horacio Delirium (Kompakt: Total 14 Compilation) [Kompakt | KOMPAKTCD118D]
With TOTAL 14, our extremely popular compilation series returns to the fore after its sabbatical in 2013; a well-needed break from the routine that was put to good use, resulting in one of the most riveting instalments in the series yet. Both veteran and freshman artists were chosen for an exhaustive overview of past label exploits, including powerful cuts from the likes of DAUWD, KÖLSCH, BLOND:ISH, MICHAEL MAYER or THE FIELD - but this wouldn't be TOTAL without the exclusive stuff, so we're more than happy to add a generous serving of brand new tracks from SUPERPITCHER, SASCHIENNE, WEVAL, THOMAS/MAYER, VOIGT & VOIGT, THE MODERNIST and JÜRGEN PAAPE.
As with every compilation, our selection for TOTAL 14 has to meet the high demands of a perfect mixtape - you'll need some bangers on there, don't forget the atmospheric lot, keep the story arc in mind... the formula isn't too complicated, but we think we nailed it big time, thanks to a particularly strong line-up showcasing both the best sellers and the personal favorites of the last two label years. What's most striking, however, is how a pool of artists as distinct as COMA, THOMAS FEHLMANN, SEBASTIEN BOUCHET, DJ TENNIS or GUSGUS can find harmony in diversity, with a cut such as MACEO PLEX's glamourous prime time stomper CONJURE SUPERSTAR leading to the delicate nostalgia of WEVAL's SOMETHING in the most natural manner.
From Mississippi to Neo-Tokyo, you'll need only one soundtrack for the trip, and it's this one.
Format // 2xLP+10'' // 2xCD // 2xLP
Catalog Nr // Kompakt 310 Lim
EAN // 880319096037
Physical Release Date // August 18, 2014
06. Fur - Pulp (Linkwood Remix) [Firecracker | UNTHANK007]
Oh it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk round my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers.
Release Date: 04 August 2014
07. Alex Niggemann - Materium (Audion's Roach Mix) [Poker Flat Recordings | PFR152]
Poker Flat Recordings welcomed the ever-prolific Alex Niggemann back to the fold for another speaker-troubling dispatch back in the spring with Materium; a heavy-duty EP with a title track that more than lived up to his usual high standards. A sprawling, tough journey into analog techno - with a dash of house thrown in, "Materium" is epic in every sense of the word.
For its second iteration of the track, the ever dependable imprint has drafted in two of the very best for their quality remix game, offering two very different sides of the same coin. Matthew Dear unleashes his sleaze techno alias Audion for the cause, with the requisite serrated sounds and heavy contrasts that the project is known for. His Roach Mix offers deep and twisted acid techno with a tribal twist, executed by one of the steadiest hands in big sounds, before casting off its layers of saturating for glimpses of melodic meanderings.
Ripperton's remix has deepness at its heart, and a glowing synth arpeggio as its leading melodic line. The Swiss maestro's interpretation gains character with every phrase, through a melodic rollercoaster ride that enhances the original track's ability to tug at heartstrings in the middle of a dance-floor.
Release Date: 25 August 2014
08. Pan-Pot & Vincenzo - Fiction Inc (Conductor EP) [Watergate Records | WGVINYL020]
The first of a two-part package of exclusive material from the 17th edition in the Watergate CD series is from none other than the duo who commanded the mix, Pan-Pot. Making it even more special is the fact that both tracks are collaborations with two heavy hitting names in the industry from completely different sides of the musical spectrum: Slam and Vincenzo.
On the A side we see Pan-Pot and Slam do a techno burner with 'Conductor'. This shouldn't come as any surprise as both are well known for their heavy peak time club anthems. With driving hi hats, crisp snares and a thumping kick drum, the solid foundation is laid for the craftsmen to build the rest of their masterpiece and it begins with dark, reverb heavy stabs. Slowly a monotonous yet psychedelic tone takes grip and the stabs come again. This time more frequent and building in energy before getting to the break where the white noise grows and the tension builds. With just a few perfect elements it only takes removing a few pieces and then giving them back at the perfect time to instil a massive 'hands in the air' moment.
The flip side offers another vibe which rounds out the EP perfectly. It was in 2007 on the Pan-ORama album that we last saw Vincenzo and Pan-Pot together for 'Faces'. With 'Fiction Inc' we see both artists’ styles shine through. A warm deep sub bass grabs your attention while washes of glittery synths pan the background setting the stage for the lush key work that Vincenzo is synonymous for and the sinister bleeps that scream Pan-Pot. Finally the feature element reveals itself; a mix between dark and uplifting chords that resolve each cycle of the other elements finalising in a cohesive, driving, emotional ride.
Release Date: 27 October 2014
09. Tania Vulcano, Jose De Divina, Audiohel - Acid Weeks [8bit | 8Bit083]
Nick Curly and Gorge are welcoming Tania Vulcano, Jose De Divinia & AudioHell to their debut on 8bit with a massive 4 track EP! The indisputable First Lady of Circo Loco, Tania Vulcano was there when it all began on those Monday mornings back in 1999 and continues to be a beacon for quality underground dance music until today. For her upcoming release she joined forces with Jose de Divina and Audiohell to create yet another timeless piece.
Release Date: 18 September 2014
Hour 2: Jemmy
Tracklist tba
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