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Transition 298
This weeks Transitions really galvanises the best new electronic music out there at the moment - trust me, this is one episode you'll want to turn up loud and play again & again !
With so much music around it's a great opportunity to catch up and focus on the big productions rocking Diggers' world from the likes of Quivver, Chaim, Spooky & Carl Craig plus remixes from Christian Smith & Paul Ritch .... there's also a stunning guest mix from Robert Babicz.
We start with Nic Fanciulli and some inspired deep tech house on new Amsterdam-based label 'Bitten' established by Sandy Huner & 2000 and One. This track is very much in the vein of Nic's recent double-A-side for Joris's Rejected, with a deep soulful groove carrying all the way through making this very dancefloor friendly.
There's another chance to hear Quivver's Bedrock debut which seems to get bigger and bigger and better with each play. This one definately tests those club sound systems to the max - Sankeys was just about able to cope early Saturday morning, drawing a great reaction. John Graham pulls out all the stops, deep pounding beats, wailing sirens and great hook taking us back to those heady prog days of 2001 - absolutely massive & available on Bedrock May 31st.
If you're a vinyl enthusiast or collector head over to http://bedrockmusic.bigcartel.com/ where they are also selling some very limited test pressings/white labels of 'Yeah Yeah' plus other Bedrock releases.
Next it's the flipside of Tigerskin's new EP featured a couple of weeks back for Steve Bug’s Audiomatique imprint designed to support the techier side of EDM - this one's brimming with off-kilter FX and synths.
Simply one of the coolest tracks out there at the moment comes from Tel Aviv based sound architect Chaim - the sublime atmospheric dub of 'Love Rehab' has all the key elements to make it a mainstay of Diggers' current sets. A real heads-down dark slow burner with added dub-delayed vocal fragments and eerie background instrumentation with the dark aeolian ♭6 emphasising the tension - this one is perfect for a dark club & was a true highlight from John's Tribal Sessions set over the weekend.
Spooky bring their Northern Exposure classic bang upto date with a huge new remix translating 'Little Bullet' to the dancefloors for 2010. Charlie May and Duncan Forbes really go to town here with a lesson in producing and arranging a peak time track. Charlie's intricate synth work is truly inspiring and the mark of a true electronic alchemist in the way he builds the layers and accentuates the background vocals & theme by adding little emblishments. John is also playing the 'Ballistic Mix' & probably struggling to decide which of the two to play at times !
Jay Haze is up next remixed by Parisian Paul Ritch for some pretty chilled tech house, cleverly using the 'Burnin' hook to create a warm theme making this one rather suited to those balmy summer nights.
Christian Smith's remix of Carl Craig's classic 'At Les' is one of the musical highlights of the year so far. There are two remixes - both simply massive, here we get the progressive trance 'Tronic Treatment' monster that John has been closing some of his shows with. This is a joy to behold, full of huge beats and deep floating synths alongside that iconic hook that make this potentially THE track of 2010. The great news is that these two stellar updates of the Detroit legend's seminal work are pencilled in for a May 24th release.
We end via another new label, Melbourne based Chameleon Recordings described as 'a movement dedicated to the deep exploration of techno and providing a creative outlet for all forms of media. A collective of musical and visual artists displacing conventions and working toward a totally unique objective'. Based on Chameleon Label Boss Steve Ward's EP I'm certainly not going to argue !
http://www.myspace.com/whoissteveward
Here Jamie Stevens (one third of Infusion) handles remixing duty. Jamie provided remixes for volumes 3 and 4 of the Renaissance Transitions series as well as remixing John's 'Warung Beach' for the Bedrock 10 celebrations. Here Jamie takes the deep house vibe of the original and turns it into a real monster - check out more over at Steve's myspace.
This weeks guest is one of the most supremely talented producer/DJ's out there - Robert Babicz. Showcasing Roberts work this is essential listening and a real treat.
John Digweed - Transitions 298 (Kiss100) 16th May 2010
01. Nic Fanciulli - On The Phone [Bitten BITT005]
02. Quivver - Yeah Yeah [Bedrock Bed88]
03. Tigerskin - Carlswood [Audiomatique Recordings AM040]
04. Chaim - Love Rehab (Dub) [BPitch Control BPC212]
05. Spooky - Little Bullet (Ballistic Mix) [Renaissance Promo]
06. Fuck Pony - I'm Burning Inside (Paul Ritch Remix) [Bpitch Control BPC209]
07. Carl Craig - At Les (Christian Smith's Tronic Treatment Remix) [Tronic Promo]
08. Steve Ward - Invisible Papercut (Jamie Stevens Remix) [Chameleon Recordings Chameleon001]
Robert Babicz Guest Mix (Kiss100) 16th May 2010
01. Robert Babicz - Remote Kiss [Babiczstyle Promo]
02. Robert Babicz - The Sun [Babiczstyle Promo]
03. Robert Babicz - Dark Flower (Fever Album Mix) [Systematic SYST0065-6]
04. Gui Boratto - I Feel Love (Robert Babicz Earth Remix) [Defrag Sound DFRG028]
05. Robert Babicz - Percofonik [Babiczstyle Promo]
06. Robert Babicz - Storm Lunch [Babiczstyle Promo]
07. Robert Babicz - Astor (Gui Boratto Rmx) [Systematic SYST0061-6]
08. Robert Babicz - Come Closer (Lost Babicz Mix) [Systematic unreleased]
09. Robert Babicz - Simple Feeling [Babiczstyle Promo]
Robert Babicz Bio
a.k.a. Rob Acid / Dicabor / Sontec / Atlon Inc. / Department of Dance / Acid Warrior / Pumpgun Pro / Colone / Origin / Tannenhof / Twirl / Church Window
With a music career already spanning nearly two decades, comprising four albums and multiple singles, some could think that Robert Babicz would be ready to settle down for a quiet life, however, nothing could be further from the truth. With his fourth full length due to drop in March 2010 on Systematic Recordings, Robert Babicz continues to reveal his talent and skill as one of Europe’s most essential techno producers.
Straight out of Cologne in 1993, under the pseudonym Rob Acid, Babicz released his first single Happy Answer on London Records, which unexpectedly became a huge club hit. With the rise of acid house influenced records dominating the charts, Babicz was able to ride high on this new wave of club culture. In addition to becoming an in demand live performer using one of his other names, Acid Warrior, Babicz started to release singles on high profile imprints like Kompakt, Treibstoff and Steve Bug’s Audiomatique, as well as his own label, Junkfood.
In what Rob appropriately dubs “the rave years” in the mid-nineties, he was already playing all over the world. During this time Babicz teamed up with Mate Galić and psychedelic sonic experiences of every kind followed, which as Rob himself sums up perfectly came as a result of “excessive sound-research and absurd parties… transistor radio and porn films on big screen”. His affiliation with Force Inc a few years later brought a series of more experimental, less dancefloor-orientated works which suggested his theoretical musique concrete roots.
By the turn of the new millennium, Babicz was striving for a different sound and thus began a new label, Shortcut. At the same time, he received multiple requests for sound design from hard and software producers, most notably resulting in the presets he produced for Native Instruments. In 2007 Robert released his landmark record, A Cheerful Temper on Systematic Recordings, which expertly moves between electronica, techno, minimal and classic house.
Playing ‘live’ has always been a key feature of Babicz’s authentic musicianship; improvising instead of reeling off pre-determined sets has made his celebrated shows unquestionably unique events. He consistently delivers astonishing performances of his own productions built around warm melodies, blissed atmospherics & analogue bass - sometimes jacking, but mostly tripping and always around the foundations of his first love: techno. Consequently, Babicz has more than proven his worth in the world of dance music and his right to the title of pioneer and innovator, whether producing tech house, minimal or acid techno. With the release of Immortal Changes in early 2010, described by DJ Mag as a “marriage of organic groove and glistening electronic melodies” it is clear that Robert Babicz still has much more to give…
May 16th 2010 w/ Robert Babicz
I so much wanna hear this one in a Massive Sound System!
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