Past Lessons, Future Theories

Swoon 247 - August 18, 2008

2008-08-19T13:41:00.003-04:00

Motorcitysoul - xyz (Simple)
Sasha - Who Killed Sparky? (Radio Slave Brooklyn Dub) (emfire)
Trentemoller - Sunstroke (Poker flat)
Quiet Village - Gold Rush (K7)
Tim Hecker - The Star Compass (Alien8)
Amute - Sea House
Junior Boys - FM (Marsen Jules remix) (Domino)
Mike Shannon - Devotional (Cynosure)
Stefan Goldmann - Ptolemaic Drift (Macro)
Benjamin Fehr - My Favourite Shop Is Me (Catennacio)
Paul Frick - Steal My Heart (Kalk Pets)
Mathew Leutwyler - Peyotes On Risa (Apparillo)
Tobias - I Can't Fight The Feeling (Wagon Repair)
Robert Babicz - Enjoy (defrag)
Cobblestone Jazz - PDB (Wagon Repair)
Energy 52 - Cafe del Mar (Nalin and Kane mix) (Hooj Choons)
Energy 52 - Cafe del Mar (Three n One mix) (Hooj Choons)
You Say Party! We Say Die! - Opportunity (Montag's I Love Her remix) (Paper Bag)
DJ Brace - Nh 12 (Balanced)
Mantrakid - Palmflowerblack (Neferiu)
Ghislain Poirier - Blazin (Modeselektor remix) (Ninja Tune)

part 1
part 2

Swoon 247 - August 11, 2008

2008-08-19T13:34:00.002-04:00

2562 - Kameleon (Tectonic)
Deadmau5 - Automau5er (Mau5trap)
Deadbeat - Incinerate (Wagon Repair)
Burial - Near Dark (Hyperdub)
Pole - Achterbahn (Shackleton remix) (~scape)
Pinch - Angels in the Rain (Tectonic)
HOSH and Stimming - Radar
Deadbeat - Evaporate (Wagon Repair)
Fairmont - Mobula (Border Community)
Loco Dice - Consequently Eccentric and Delicate (Desolat)
Lexy - Last Days of the Glowworm (Areal)
Lucy - Downstairs (Hosh remix) (Meerestief)
Danny Tenaglia - The Space Dance (Main Room Dubstrumental)
Quivver - 2 Notes n a Beat (Boz Boz)
1-Speed Bike - If you were a mcdonald's (Broklyn Beats)
Deadmau5 - Frederic vs the Bederic (Mau5trap)
Tiga - I Don't Stop (Turbo)
Los Updates - Inviting You Here (Cadenza)
Betty Botox - Et (Carlos Peron)
NAW - City Saturate *8
Plastikman - Passage (In) (M-Nus)
Solomun & Stimming - Eiszauber � Lawrence remix
Appleblim & Peverelist - Overhere (Beat Pharmacy rmx) (Applepips)
Philip Sherburne - Milk & Honey (LAN)
Robin Judge - 8 (Noise Factory)
Robert Babicz - Dark Flower (Joris Voorn mix) (Audiomatique)
Dirt Crew - Raw (Baumel & Dos Santos Threesixty mix) (Dirt Crew)

part 1
part 2

Flock of Common Terns at Long Beach

2008-08-18T15:51:00.005-04:00

A flock of Common Terns spent last Saturday at Long Beach Conservation Area. Every two or three minutes they all decided to take off at once. I figure there was about 250 birds.

Swoon 245 - August 4, 2008

2008-08-05T10:10:00.003-04:00

Phonem - Bliphop (Jetlag)

Luke Vibert - Cash n Carry Acid (Planet mu)

Air Liquide - Uludag Part 3 (Blue Planet)

Autechre - Second Bad Vilbel (Warp)

Two Fingers - Have It Like That (Ninja Tune)

Akufen - Quebec shuffle rmx (Perlon)

Tiger Stripes, Jerome Sydenham - Elevation (Radio Slave's One More Kiss Remix)

Plastikman - Spastik (Dubfire rework) (M_nus)

Analogik - Hov (Ink and Needle remix) (Tartelet)

Lexy - The Return of the Skakavac (Areal)

Hrdvision - Melting Fire (Inkwell remix) (Wagon Repair)

Chromeo - Outta Sight (Last Gang)

Goldfrapp - Ride On A White Horse (Ewan Pearson Disco Odyssey mix) (!K7)

Pub - Film (Springing Daisy's mix) (Ampoule)

Dj Brace - NH Six (Balanced)

Influx - Untitled (Isophlux)

part 1

part 2

Swoon 244 - July 28, 2008

2008-07-29T11:20:00.002-04:00

Motorcitysoul - Change You
Chez Damier - (Carl Craig remix) (K7)
Junior Boys - In The Morning (Hot Chip remix) (domino)
Booka Shade - Planetary (Get Physical)
Tiga - Pleasure from the Bass (Turbo)
Los Updates - 4 Wheel Drive (Cadenza)
The Viewers - Streethorn (Audiomatique)
Lee Jones - Safari (Aus)
Stimming - Kleinenachtmuzik (Buzzin Fly)
Sackrai - Hundred Feet (Archipel) (free download)
Radio Slave - K-maze (Rekids)
Stefan Goldmann - Aurora (Macro)
Simon Baker - U
Jacopo Carreras - Anarko-F (LAN)
Shed - Flat Axe (Ostgut Ton)
coldcut - Atomic Moog 2000 (Qemistry remix) (Ninja tune)
MSTRKRFT -Easy Love (Last Gang)
Justice - (Ed Banger)
Mr. Quibble - Windseeker
Ronin E-ville - Heavy Hand Dub
Mantrakid - Letting People Down (But Never Her) (Neferiu)
The Femme Generation - Sharon Stone's Wolf
Tagaq - Sinialuk (Jericho Beach)
Slap - Unmodified (Architecture of Sound)

part 1
part 2

Prins Thomas - Full Pupp The Greatest Tits Volume One

2008-07-24T11:01:00.001-04:00

This is out. It�s great. Everybody else loved Prins Thomas� mix from last year, Cosmo Galactic Prism, but I wasn�t thrilled by it, and like this better. It�s funky electronic space disco. (They call it retro futurism.) Very melodic, and somewhat slower than most mixes out today. Disc one is mixed, disc two isn�t. The best tracks are by Mental Overdrive, Diskjokke, Todd Terje, and the many re-edits and remixes by Prins Thomas himself.

Radiohead - House of Cards

2008-07-22T11:27:00.000-04:00

Cool video using lidar.

Quivver - Dirty Nails And Vapour Trails

2008-07-22T09:56:00.004-04:00

Breaking new ground? No. Inventing new genres? No. Quality stuff from an established producer? Definitely. It's the new Quivver album from John Graham.

Graham has been producing music for over ten years, notably as a member of Tilt, and also on his own as Space Manoeuvres and Stoneproof.

The album gets off to a progressive house start with "Surin", a melodic, synth driven track. It's followed by "Chasin' a Feelin", which was notably caned by Sasha this spring at the WMC and his and John Digweed's subsequent USA Tour. It's a fast breakbeat track that recalls the simple, early jungle and drum and bass tracks of the 90s. It's enjoyable and uplifting, and not hard at all to see why it's been popular with Sasha. Graham's also the singer on this and the other album tracks.

He slows down the breaks for the next track, "What's Not Goin On". Again, it features his vocals. "Tick Tick" follows it, again with break beats, but without vocals, and with a much deeper vibe.

Then comes another of the big hits from Sasha and Digweed's tour, "2 Notes 'n' A Beat", which is probably the deepest track on the album. It's pure progressive house and a simple but effective weapon for the dancefloor.

A similar track comes next, "Dancing in Darkrooms", which was one of his singles from 2007. It's a great track and certainly worth including.

It's followed by "Fallin'", a short interlude that one can take or leave. "Ghosts" is next, with Graham singing over brisk breakbeats, deep bass and strings. It's a good track. Maybe not strictly for the dancefloor, but it's something that works well in the context of a complete album.

The album ends with an ambient version of "These Are The Days", a single from 2004. Throughout, I keep having the feeling that beats are going to come crashing in, but they never do. It's a tease that leaves me wanting more.

It will be out next week (July 29) on Graham's own Boz Boz record label.

Swoon 243 - July 21, 2008

2008-07-22T09:48:00.002-04:00

Noze - L'inconnu du Placard (Get Physical)
Chelonis R. Jones and Marc Romboy - Helen Cornell (2000 & One dub) (Systematic)
junior Boys - No Kinda Man (Chloe remix) (Get Physical)
Quivver - Ghosts (Boz Boz)
The Thrillers - Speedball (Persona)
Jackmaster Dahle - Vesuvio
Red Dragon Band - Let Me Be Your Radio (Strut)
Tensnake - Congolai (Endless Flight)
Sally Shapiro - Time To Let Go (Lindstrom mix) (Paper bag)
Matthew Dear - Sound & Vision (Rapster)
Beefdonut - Afraid To Let Go
Tagaq - Force (Jerico Beach)
Oldfolks Home - Power of the Sun
Cut Copy - Unforgettable Season (Modular)
Lowfish - Torsion (Satamile)
Crystal Castles - Through the Hosiery (Last Gang)
Nick Muir - G Platz (Pig & Dan remix) (Audiotherapy)
Chris Lake & Rowan Blades - Filth (Alternative Route)
Hrdvision - Love's Duel (Wagon Repair)
Pryda - Aftermath (Pryda)
Skatebard - Pagans (Supersoul)
Two Fingers - Have It Like That (Ninja Tune)
Legion of green Men - Baqup (Post Contemporary)
Clark - New Year Storm (Warp)

part 1
part 2

How I use Ableton Live LE

2008-07-21T15:48:00.003-04:00

Here's a picture I submitted to flickr for create digital music's "how do you use ableton" post.

It's a picture of my may 2008 promo mix, which you can download.

Swoon 242 - July 14, 2008

2008-07-19T08:37:00.003-04:00

Rodamaal - Insomnia (Kemistry remix) (Buzzin Fly)
Mogg and Naudascher - Moon Unit Part 2 (Supersoul)
Misstress Barbara - Jamais Moi Sans Toi (Border Community)
Fairmont - Down The Rabbit Hole (Traum)
Francesco Tristano - The Melody (Balil remix) (Infine)
lee Curtiss - Nook (District of Corruption)
Deadbeat - Evaporate (Wagon Repair)
Legion of Green Men - Owls In The Apple Tree (Post Contemporary)
The Orb - Mother Nature (Six Degrees)
2652 - Kameleon (Tectonic)
Pinch - Trauma (Tectonic)
Junior Boys - Double Shadow (Kode 9 remix) (Domino)
Plastikman - Consume (M-nus)
Radioslave - Tantakatan (Rekids)
Shed - Another Wedged Chicken (Ostgut Ton)
Extrawelt - YeahButNoButYeah (Kompass Musik)
Fergie - Anon (Excentric)
The Mole - Baby You're The One (wagon repair)
Booka Shade - Charlotte (Dubfire remix) (Get Physical)
Ripperton - Leonor's Lanugo (Perspectiv)
Dixie's Death Pool - Dark Motel
Off the International Radar - E Bowl Of Iris

part 1
part 2

Onur Ozer - Watergate 01

2008-07-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

Onur Ozer made a name for himself last year with his jazzy take on the minimal scene, which resulted in a well-regarded album for Vakant records. Now, he has a mix album coming out on July 21, called Watergate 01. Unsurprisingly, this mix is minimal, with tracks drawing influences from other genres, such as jazz and deep house.

On the ultraminimal side, we have Cabanne and Sammy Dee, best known for their Perlon work, and on the stranger side are Cassy, Jens Zimmermann and taking the cake with a really weird throbbing breakdown, Patrice Baumel.

The funkiest tracks are Dewalta's "Salgaro", which opens the album, Cassy's "April" (if you can handle the repetition), and Mimosa's "Sensitiva" (a collaboration between Ozer and Tobi Neumann).

Overall, it's a funky, minimal ride. There aren't any clicky tracks, these all have bass lines,
and there is some kind of melody to most of them, but they certainly aren't the kind of tunes you're going to be humming along with.

The mix has its ups and downs, in the sense that there seem to be different sections with varying energy levels, which is good. It's not a mindless plod through a bunch of new tracks. I like it, but it may not have too much appeal outside the techno and minimal scenes.

Swoon 241 - July 7, 2008

2008-07-08T09:19:00.003-04:00

Fairmont - Pavilion (Bpitchcontrol)
Beefdonut - Migraine
Akufen - Deck the house (Force tracks)
Deadbeat vs stephen beaupre - Who says (Onitor)
Kid koala - Slew test 2 (Ninja Tune)
Gnarls barkley - Open book (Atlantic)
Ratatat - Mirando (XL)
Tullio de piscopo - E fatto e sorde (Money Money) (Strut)
Booka shade - Control me (Get Physical)
Italoboyz - Zinga (Get Physical)
Lee Burridge vs. Ex One - Treat em Mean Keep 'em Keen (Lan)
The Mole - Alice You Need Him (Wagon Repair)
Extrawelt - Yeahbutnobutyeah (Kompass musik)
Ane Brun - Headphone silence (Hendrik schwarz dixon edit) (Objektivity)
Deadmau5 - Duo Cad Sordid (Mau5trap)
Spencer Parker - (Buzzin fly)
Paranoid Jack - Last Daze (Stickmen)
Cobblestone jazz - Lime in da coconut (Wagon Repair)
Robert Babicz - Dark Flower (Joris Voorn mix) (Audiomatique)
Slam - Azure (Soma)
Ellen Allien and Apparat - Jet (Bpitchcontrol)

part 1
part 2

Swoon 240 - June 30, 2008

2008-07-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

Off the International Radar - Deploy The Plot Ending Device (OTIR)
Minilogue - Space (Traum)
Holger Zilske - Wrecker 06 (Undo remix) (Factory City)
Tiger Stripes, Jerome Sydenham - Elevation (Radio Slave's One More Kiss Remix)
Cobblestone Jazz - Slap the Back (Wagon Repair)
Andrea Sartori - Phonosutura (Persona)
Sixtoo - Jackals And Vipers In Envy of Man part 9 (Ninja Tune)
The Orb - Codes (Six degrees)
Global Communications - 8:07 (Dedicated)
Crystal Castles - Tell Me What To Swallow (Last gang)
Lowfish - Wahawa (Satamile)
Jim Rivers - Mirage (Simple)
Barbq - Music From the Great Plains (Buzzin Fly)
Fairmont - Down the Rabbit Hole (Traum)
Force of Nature - I-ight (Mule)
Danny Tenaglia - The Space Dance (Terrace Vocalism mix) (Tommy Boy)
Masaya - Like a Fish In Water (Meerestief)
Deadbeat - Boil (Wagon Repair)
Martin Buttrich - Cruise Control (Planet E)
Quivver - 2 Notes and a beat (Baroque)
Long Distance Runner - Los Nihongoristas (Existential sounds)
Booka shade - Charlotte (Get Physical)
Clark - Mercy Sines (Warp)

download it
part 1
part 2

Marcel Dettmann - Berghain 02

2008-06-24T13:09:00.003-04:00

Marcel Dettmann's Berghain 02 has been out a few weeks now, and it's getting very good reviews. Not surprising, I think it's pretty good too. It's strong, muscular techno and a good example of what European producers are up to these days. I happen to like the European style tracks (Tobias, Norman Nodge, Radio Slave) more than the Detroit ones (Pied Plat, Zephyr) but that's just me.

RA, mnml ssgs, Berlinista, Boomkat

Swoon 239 - June 23, 2008

2008-06-24T08:51:00.003-04:00

Burial - U Hurt Me (Hyperdub)
Deadmau5 - Uvivial
Ital Tek - Cyclical (Planet mu)
Deadmau5 - 80 something
Appleblim and Peverelist - Circling (Skull disco)
Deadmau5 - Automau5er
Jahcoozi - Flatline (Aaron Hedges mix) (Districut of Corruption)
The Mole - Gracias a los Ninos (wagon repair)
Marc Ashken - Root Rot (Shonky remix)
deadmau5 - duo cad sordid (mau5trap)
King Unique -Hinode (Fergie remix) (Curfew)
Radio Slave - My Bleep (Roman Fluegel mix) (Rekids)
Sebastian Roya - Contracorriente (Connaisseur)
Hrdvision - Playing for Keeps (Mole rmx) (wagon repair)
Lee Burridge vs. Exercise One - Treat em Mean, Keep em Keen (LAN)
Lucy - Downstairs (Meerestief limited)
Tensnake - Congolai (Endless Flight)
Guillaume and the Coutu dumonts - God Damn the Whole Shebang
Diskjokke - Cearadactylus (Full Pupp)
Loco Dice - Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!! (Desolat)
Deadbeat - Boil (wagon repair)
Noze - You Have to Dance (Get Physical)
Wiley - No Qualms (Ninja Tune)
Pinch - Gangstaz (Tectonic)
Deadmau5 - Maybe sometimes
Ghostface killah - Charlie brown (Dj mehdi mix)
Azeda Booth - Numberguts (Absolutely Kosher)

part 1
part 2 (only 14 minutes)
part 3

May 2008 promo mix - dubstep, electro, techno and house

2008-06-19T13:39:00.000-04:00

My May 2008 mix is now available for download. It begins with dubstep, then there's a little electro, followed by some techno, and it all wraps up with some housier grooves. Defying convention, it starts at a fast tempo and slows down throughout.

Tracklist:

Pole - Achterbahn (Shackleton remix) (~scape)
Pinch - Qawwali (Planet mu)
Burial - Archangel (Hyperdub)
Lowfish - Burn The Lights Out (Satamile)
The Thrillers - Mamba (Persona)
Ricardo Villalobos - Andruic and Japan (Fabric)
Akiko Kiyama - Hakobi (District of Corruption)
Marek Bois - Whopair (Rrygular)
Ripperton - Leonor's Lanugo (Leonid mix) (Perspectiv)
Add Noise - Handwerk3A (Handwerk)
Radio Slave - Tantakatan (Rekids)
Estroe - Driven (Connaissuer)
Gabriel Ananda - Lila Pause (Traum)
Internullo - Sentimente (Nea Marin remix) (Desolat)
Francesco Tristano - The Melody (C2 remix) (Infine)
Byetone - Plastic Star (Sleeparchive mix) (Raster Noton)
Toby Tobias - Breakdown (Rekids)
Force of Nature - Sequencer (Stefan Goldmann mix) (Mule Electronic)
Federleicht - In The Streets (Connaisseur)

Swoon 238 - June 16, 2008

2008-06-17T09:34:00.004-04:00

Ellen Allien - Bim (Bpitchcontrol)
Ricardo Villalobos - Enfants (Tambours) (Perlon)
Plastikman - Snark (M_nus)
Guillaume and the Coutu Dumonts - God Damn the whole shebang
Process - City-zen (Traum)
Opopo - Dktrdktr (Urbnet)
Tigerrr beat - Hold my hand
Artist of the year - Haha (Universal)
Ghislain Poirier - Blazin (Modeselektor mix) (Ninja tune)
Sinequanon - Lenine rock (Sulpont)
Lazersnake - Omnibox
The orb - Lost and found (Six degrees)
Fidgital - H1b
Extrawelt - Dist Theme (Kompass Musik)
Mathew Jonson and Adam Beyer - Big Dipper (Wagon Repair)
69 - Rushed (K7)
Handwerk - 3Aa (Handwerk)
Super Flu - Sunset handjob (traum)
Tom Wax and Boris Alexander - Daybreak
Hrdvision - Playing Daddy's Girl (Wagon Repair)
Samuli Kemppl - Vangel (Ostgut ton)
Lucy - Aleinda (Meerestief lImited)
Philip Sherburne - The Claim (Lan)
Booka Shade - Solo City (Get Physical)

download part 1 part 2

Swoon 237 - June 9, 2008

2008-06-11T10:05:00.002-04:00

Autechre - Piezo (Warp)
Pinch - Lazarus (Tectonic)
2652 - Kameleon (Tectonic)
Martyn - Twenty Four (3024)
Burial - Distant Lights (Hyperdub)
The Thrillers - (Persona)
Lowfish - 8_0p (Satamile)
Mathew Jonson - Symphony For the Apocalypse (Wagon Repair)
Masaya - Like a Fish In Water (Meerestief)
Deadmau5 - Duo Cad Sordid (Mau5trap)
Fergie - Anon (Excentric)
Robert Babicz - Dark Flower (Joris Voorn Magnolia mix)
Tobias. - I can't Fight The Feeling (Wagon Repair)
King Unique - Hinode (Curfew)
John Daly - Solitaire (Irregular)
Fairmont - Flight of the Albatross (Reef Caribbean mix) (Border Community)
Radio Slave - K-Maze (Rekids)
The Mole - Ain't The Way It Supposed To Be (Wagon Repair)
Lucy - Downstairs (HOSH remix) (Meerestief)
Rabbit Season - Unnatural
Ronin E-ville - Adrianna's groove
The National Parcs - Whispers from the grave
Mannequin depressives - Last day (Klankboom)
Azeda booth - Ben

download it
part 1
part 2

Swoon 236 - June 2, 2008

2008-06-03T09:00:00.003-04:00

FSOL - Just a Fuckin Idiot (Virgin)
Autechre - Garbagemx36 (Warp)
LFO - Unafriad to linger (Warp)
Crystal Castles - Reckless (Last gang)
Deadmau5 - American Slushie
John Tejada - Feel It (Palette)
Dapayk Solo - Shiver (Unfoundsound) (free download)
Booka Shade - Duke (Get physical)
Dietsch vs abdominal snowman - Eternity (Pop echo)
Deadmau5 - Catcalls
Clark - Hot May Slides (Warp)
Riley Reinhold - Lights In Your Eyes (My Best Friend)
Jim Rivers - Mirage (Tobias. Remix) (Simple)
Ananda Project - Moments Before Dreaming (Djut Boys remix)
Mlle Caro and Franck Garcia - Dead Souls (Radio Slave Long Distance Kiss mix) (Buzzin Fly)
Deadbeat - Evaporate (Wagon Repair)
Junior Boys - No Kinda Man (Chloe remix) (Get Physical)
Sebbo - Watamu Beach (Moritz von Oswald rework) (Desolat)
Tensnake - Tavira (Endless Flight)
Caribou - Melody Day (Four Tet remix) (Merge)
The Orb - Codes (Six degrees)

download
part 1
part 2

Swoon 235 - May 26, 2008

2008-05-27T10:18:00.004-04:00

The Beta-Resercyclic Acid - Was a night full of drugs (Electronic eel)
Mattress - Don't Forget (Reluctant Recordings)
Deadmau5 - X Y and A
Matmos - Exciter lamp and the variable band (Matador)
Crystal Castles - Air War (Last gang)
Ronin e-ville - The Bell Grinder
Mannequin Depressives - Sweet Disease (Klankboom)
Ian Dury and the Seven Seas Players - Spasticus Autisticus (Strut)
Deadmau5 - The almond questions
Sally Shapiro - Sleep in my arms (between interval mix) (Paper Bag)
Quivver - Surin
Ripperton - Leonor's Lanugo (Anders Ilar mix) (Perspectiv)
Pelle Buys - Come Into My World (Chaim remix)
Fairmont - Down The Rabbit Hole (traum)
Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Leuchttoorn (Connaisseur)
Booka Shade - Unhealthy Pleasures (Get Physical)
Le Noir - Eleny (Radio Slave's Panorama Garage mix)
Casamassa - Espinoza (Forensic)
Reynold - Bumper
Add Noise - Handwerk 3 A (Handwerk)
Minilogue - Carnival (Traum)
Mathew Jonson and Adam Beyer - Big Dipper (Wagon Repair)
Marc Houle - Black jack 13 (M_nus)
Radioactive Man - Double Dealing
Lowfish - The Freezing (Satamile)

Swoon 234 - May 19, 2008

2008-05-20T11:05:00.002-04:00

Tycho - Cascade (Ghostly International)
Apparat - Like Porcelain (Shitkatapult)
Fairmont - Calm Before the Storm (Border Community)
Koss - Silent Stars (Mule)
Deadmau5 - One
IMPS - Lost in Rostanga (Mule)
The Black Dog - DOG Style (Hydrogen Jukebox)
Lee Jones - As You Like It (Simple)
Deadbeat - Mecca (Wagon Repair)
Ananda Project - Let Love Fly (Joe Claussell's Sacred Rhythm Version)
Italoboyz - Zinga (Get Physical)
James Zabiela - Perseverance (Renaissance)
The Mole - Smiling and Running (Wagon Repair)
Junior Boys - No Kinda Man (Chloe remix) (Get Physical)
Broker/Dealer - Midnight (Traum)
Tensnake - Keep Believin (Endless Flight)
The Mole - Still In My Corner (Wagon Repair)
Francesco Tristano - The Melody (Balil remix) (Infine)
Kalabrese - Makelovedisco
John Tejada - Raindrops (Palette)
Ane Brun - Headphone Silence (Henrik Schwarz remix) (Objektivity)
Deadmau5 - Sellular
Cobblestone Jazz - The Creator (Do Right)
Legion of Green Men - Tuggathanug (Post Contemporary)
Goldfrapp - Caravan Girl (Mute)

Swoon 233 - May 12, 2008

2008-05-16T17:07:00.003-04:00

Murcof - Utopia Track 5 (Leaf)
Richard Devine - Helix Stair Helve (Sublight Records)
Lowfish - Krak (Satamile)
AFX - Analogue Bubblebath 4 Track 1 (Rephlex)
Deadmau5 - Conscious Operator
Slap - First Choice, Second Guess (Architecture of Sound)
Scala - Torn (Touch)
Ronin E-ville - Barbie Beats
Boys Noize - Let's Buy Happiness (Proxy remix) (Last Gang)
Quiet Village - Too High To Move (K7)
Hot chip - We're looking for a lot of love (EMI)
Mannequin Depressives - Too Long til Morning (Klankboom)
Shackleton - Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos mix) (Skull Disco)
October - Say Again (Perspectiv)
Richie Hawtin - The Tunnel (M-nus)
Mathew Jonson and Adam Beyer - Marionette (Adam Beyer mix) (Wagon Repair)
Underworld - Beautiful Burnout (Tiefschwarz remix) (Different)
The Mole - Like The way You Move (Wagon Repair)
Minilogue and KAB - That's A Nice way To Give Me Feedback (Wighnomy Bros remix) (Great Stuff)
Exercise One vs. Lee Burridge - Treat Em Mean, Keep Em Keen (Exone)
Jesse Somfay - The Days of My Youth Ended With Broken Bottles (Dominik Eulberg and Riley Reinhold remix) (Traum)

part 1
part 2

The Mole - As High As The Sky

2008-05-15T09:35:00.005-04:00

As High As The Sky is The Mole's debut album. The Mole is Colin Le Plant, a Montreal-based producer. Most of his singles are long, heavily-looped house music. This made me a little leery of a full length album. I was wrong, since the tracks have plenty of variety and aren't long enough to wear out their welcome.

Things get started with "Still In My Corner", a lazy house track with a blippy melody. The soul gets injected right after that, as a male voice introduces "Ain't The Way It's Supposed To Be", with a sampled bassline, and looped strings. It takes a while to get going, but once it does, it's pretty funky.

"Alice You Need Him" takes things into a breakbeat-oriented, electronic groove. Its complicated melody makes it one of the better tracks on the album.

"Hey Girl (You're The One)" begins what I would call the big room tracks, which are more upbeat and designed to stoke the dancefloor. The distorted bass and the funky percussion signal it's one for the floor. It's followed by "Baby You're The One", which has been shortened from its single length for the album. Don't worry, you're not missing much. This seven-minute version is all you need for mixing or enjoyment, and is still one of the most energetic on this album.

"Gracias a los Ninos" takes things down a notch, with a more techno, slower sound. "Like The Way" comes next, which more percussion, than anything else. "Smiling and Running" follows it, and takes things down a notch with a looped synth melody calming things down. "Knock Twice" is even more laidback, and brings back the breakbeats and some housier soul music.

Finally, "When It Tastes So Good" finishes this enjoyable album with a gentle, jazzy house track.

It will be released May 26, on Wagon Repair.

Grand Cru 2008

2008-05-14T15:52:00.004-04:00

Connaisseur is a German record label, with a solid, if brief history of releasing melodic techno. Grand Cru 2008 is their second label compilation. The first disc is 11 individual tracks, while the second is a 10-track mix by label owner Alex Flitsch.

The first cd features, um, melodic techno. It's easier to point out the non-melodic tracks, which are Patrick Chardronnet's "Percussiontrack" and Sebastian Roya's "Contracorrient", which are more percussive than melodic. The rest are all melodic, modern and groovy. The tracks by Estroe, Federleicht and Kollektiv Turmstrasse are my favourites.

The second cd is a mix of Connaisseur tracks. Stylistically, it sounds much like the unmixed tracks of cd one. My favourites are Estroe's "Driven", Rekleiner's "Dos Caminos", and the long, drawn-out finale, Daniel Stefanik's remix of Ripperton's "Zugunruhe". It's smooth and surprisingly laidback. I doubt it even approaches 130 bpm.

These are high quality tracks, which makes both discs very easy to like.

It will be released on May 28.