mike mcsuede (wagon repair) was gracious enough to have elaine and i stop by the other night to take some shots of the place, listen to records and talk a bit more about his party at open studios on the 19th. i met mike about a month ago, he opened and closed for cobblestone jazz when they came through vancouver and i've been after him for a mix ever since.
he had just received a shipment from vinyl distributor word and sound and was spending the night sorting through his new records. it's a rare scene, but one can't help appreciate the warmth of analog minimal techno once you're listening to it again.
mike is close with the folks over at liebe detail and is flying label rep (and friend) eurokai out from hamburg to hopefully enjoy a bit of sun and play for us next saturday. mike was happy to send a mix my way in the meantime. if you can't make it out on on the weekend, you'll be able to catch him the following thursday, opening for get physical founders booka shade!
mutekmag has a nice interview up with minimal sub-master andrew rasse (aka butane) regarding his debut album, musical influences and being an electronic artist living in the united states.
"look, when I moved to berlin and i went to the immigration office here, the lady I was dealing with for my visa application was actually impressed that i was some kind of "famous" dj. those were her words, not mine. imagine if I were in a government office in the us, and i had to tell someone that i make and play "techno music" to people for a living. they’d look at me like I was some kind of drug dealer! my point being - there’s a whole perception problem in the us about electronic music. it comes all the way down from the government through the media and into the house of joe construction worker and jane teacher. somehow the majority of people there don’t respect what we do as a real form of art. it’s exactly the opposite here."
rasse's debut album, "becoming" is available through his own label alphahouse records and is now exclusively available on beatport. for those not familiar with andrew's music, i'm posting his breakout single "no half steppin" released on dumb unit back in 2006. not his most current work, but a great introduction to the intricate world of butane.
it's been awhile since we've had a freeby, so i want to turn your attention to camomille's 100th net-release entitled, "cycles".
this marked another milestone for a label that's been delivering great music under a creative commons license since 2002. contributions from 13 artists, a stunning collection of cover art and over 40 tracks, including a couple of wonderful poptronica pieces by swedish singer/songwriter/producer henrik jose.
henrik had been releasing his music online for years under the alias, "bliss" and has a respected history on both camomille and monotonik. his uplifting sound has started to gain a lot of recent global appeal. while continuing to develop his live act, he is also set to release another ep very soon, keep a look out!
blueprint events brought matthew edwards (redkids) by to celebrate the long weekend with a radio slave set last week at club celebrities.
always make a point to try and catch berlin djs when they swing by vancouver. naturally i was pretty excited when i heard he was coming, but where was everyone? though a lot of other parties were taking place that night, i was expecting at least another 150 bodies on the dancefloor.
none the less, it was still a treat. a modest set by edwards delighted the few in attendance and his latest productions were well received. he performs again at mutek festival, so i'll get a chance to see what he can deliver when there is little more energy to work with!
"a kind of techno that sways between the polarity of emotional overload and concrete rationale - hence immediacy, which is what sascha funke is all about." - bpitch control
"mango" is the latest from german dub-tech architect, sascha funke. this is a nine track follow up album to the hypnotic floor tickling single, "double checked". it's been a busy year, but sascha's productions are showing an audible maturity, even utilizing organic instrumentation and bringing a depth to his sound that's going to satisfy fans new and old.
sascha will make his way through north america come the end of april, with collaborative shows lined up with berlin's techno diva ellen allien.
