Radiohead's Reckoner remix competition

I'm pretty impressed by this choir-tastic remix of Radiohead's Reckoner by Julianna Hardwick. Enter your own for 99 cents.

Swoon 234 - May 19, 2008

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 232 - May 5, 2008

Mathew Jonson and Adam Beyer - Big Dipper (Wagon Repair)
Plastikman - Spastik (Dubfire rework) (M-nus)
Foat and Boddy - Droidnosh (Mule)
Radioslave - Tantakatan (Rekids)
Hrdvision - Playing For Keeps (Mole remix) (Wagon Repair)
One + One - No Pressure (Renaissance)
Paperclip People - Clear & Present (K7)
Beaumont Hannant - Mind Colours (GPR)
Luc Ferrari - Music Promenade (Ohm)
Cristian Vogel - Sxsx (Station 55)
Deadmau5 - Equal
James Bernard - Odyssey (Rising High)
Squarepusher - Vacuum Garden (Warp)
Junior Boys - FM (Marsen Jules mix) (Domino)
Kammerflimmer Kollektiv - That's How The Light Gets In (Innervisions)
Deadmau5 - I Hate Campers
Fennesz - Instrument 2 (Touch)
Pantha du Prince - Butterfly G (Kompakt)
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts 1 6 (NIN)
Andrew Thomas - M and K
Federleicht - On The Streets (Connaisseur)

part 1
part 2

Muting the Noise

Ambient music has been largely underground since its heyday in the early and mid 90s. Yes, there's been occasional releases that were good or excellent, but most producers have been innovating elsewhere. So, it's a pleasant surprise to hear so many good tracks on a new ambient compilation, Muting the Noise, on Innervisions.

The tracks all sound very modern, only a few are imitating the 90s. Like the ambient music of the 90s, they keep it very chilled.

The three best tracks are in the middle of the disc and are all quite different from each other. Ame begins the trio with "Doldrums", which combines a french horn, xylophones and other instruments for soothing, relaxing experience. Henrik Schwarz follows with "Arthur", a wonderful track with only piano, bells and a bit of bass. The melody repeats and subtly shifts throughout the track. I wonder if it was played live or programmed. Either way, it's a standout. i:cube follows with "Nuees Ardentes", a bubbly synth driven piece that sounds somewhat like Global Communications or Tangerine Dream.

Among the remaining seven tracks, Stefan Goldmann provides one of the better ones. "Life After Death" is a gently processed cello slowly examining a melody. A couple of bells complete the track. Kammerflimmer Kollektiv has the only track with vocals, "That's How The Lights Gets In". Koss presents "Negai", which sounds like a tribute to Tetsu Inoue. It's slow, delicate and spacy.

Finally, Klaus Schulz appears with the 18-minute "Invisible Musik". It was probably a coup to get him on this compilation, but it's not one of the best tracks here.

People still want like this kind of music, especially in clubs. See this mnml ssgs post, or this interview with Pole. Or read the press release for this cd:

At the beginning of the 90s it was normal to have an ambient floor on every bigger techno or house party. This culture got lost in the new millenium though - it became a niche and went more into cultural activities.

It will be released May 19.

Swoon 205 - September 24, 2007

Acid Eiffel - Choice
Minilogue - Space (Traum)
Canvas - The Cat (RebelOne)
Cristian Vogel - DD Engine (Station 55)
Bola - Diamortem (Skam)
Pheek - De Begg Degg
Citywide Vacuum - Interlude (Eleven37)
Trentemoller - Klodsmajor
Trentemoller - Snowflake
Trentemoller - Dangerous Global Warming
HRSTA - Tomorrow Winter Comes (Constellation)
Cobblestone Jazz - Change Your Apesuit (Wagon Repair)
Goldfrapp - Ride A White Horse (Ewan Pearson's Disco Odyssey)

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Now playing: Luciano - 7.Petre Inspirescu - Galantar
via FoxyTunes

Swoon 200 - August 20, 2007 Anniversary show!

For my 200th radio show on cfbu, I decided to celebrate the past 99 episodes by playing the tracks I've hummed the most in my head since then. It turned into quite a gigamix (I am way beyond mega.). Not every mix totally worked, but it was fun for me.

Artists who appear more than once:

Extrawelt 2
Minilogue 2
Claude von Stroke 2
Ricardo Villalobos 2
Robag Wruhme 2

Labels that appear more than once:

Kompakt 3
Traum 2
Get Physical 3
Soma 2
Musik Krause 2
Rekids 2

The tracklist

Margot – Torch (Extrawelt remix) (Great Stuff)
Djuma Soundsystem – Les Djinns (Trentemoller mix) (Get Physical)
Switch – A Bit Patchy (Eric Prydz mix)
Dom, Kole – Flight 815
Kupon – Zoom In (Curfew)
Mr. G – E.C.G.'ed (Rekids remix) (Rekids)
Claude von Stroke – Who's Afraid of Detroit? (Dirtybird)
Martin Landsky – 1000 Miles (Poker Flat)
Thomas Schumacher – RedPurple
Robag Wruhme – Papp-Tonikk (Musik Krause)
Antena – Camino del Sol (Joakim remix)
Efdemin – Acid Bells (Italic)
Ricardo Villalobos – Ichso (Cadenza)
Alex Smoke – Prima Materia (Abort mix) (Soma)
Minilogue, KAB – That's A Nice Way To Give Me Feedback (WIR)
Solieb – Isotropy (Lazy Fat People's Spaced Invaders mix) (Maschine)
Booka Shade – Darko (Radioslave mix) (Get Physical)
Booka Shade – In White Rooms (Get Physical)
Lazy Fat People – Big City (Border Community)
Trentemoller – Chameleon (Poker Flat)
Pantha du Prince – Saturn Strobe (Italic)
Quenum and Lee van Dowski – The Torque Machine (Defrag)
Ellen Allien & Apparat – Jet (bpitchcontrol)
Cobblestone Jazz – India In Me (Wagon Repair)
One + One – No Pressure (Renaissance)
Exercise One – 12 Years (LAN)
Rabbit in the Moon – Decade (Contagious)
Robag Wruhme – Hamburg 03.07.06 (Musik Krause)
Popnoname – No Doubt (Italic)
Troy Pierce, Heartthrob – Horse Nation Amended (M_nus)
Shiloh – Café del Mariachi (Hope)
Gabriel Ananda – Doppelwhipper (Platzhirsch)
Sasha and Charlie May – Seal Clubbing (James Zabiela's Seal Squeal mix) (Renaissance)
Audiojack – Robot (20:20 Vision)
Artificial Latvamaki – It Is Not Now Either (Mezzo-tinto)
Silicone Soul – 3 a.m. (Soma)
Orb – Godless/America (Kompakt Extra)
SCSI-9 – Morskaya (Kompakt)
Minilogue – The Leopard (Traum)
Depeche Mode – Sinner In Me (Ricardo Villalobos Conclave mix) (Mute)
Riton – Hammer of Thor (Connaisseur)
Ame – Rej (Sonar Kollektiv)
James Holden – Come To Me (Last Version) (Loaded)
Madonna – Ray of Light (Derek Howell mix)
Darkmountaingroup – Lose Control (Reprise mix) (Buzzin' Fly)
Inkfish – Airtight (Nick Muir mix)
Extrawelt – 8000 (Traum)
From Karaoke To Stardom – Maguliadura (Rrygular)
Radioslave – My Bleep (Roman Fluegel mix) (Rekids)
Claude von Stroke – The Whistler (Audiofly mix) (Go Deeva)
Stephan Bodzin – Tron (Herzblud)
Motiivi Tuntematon – Mankind Failed (Kompakt Extra)

download

Swoon 199 - August 13, 2007

Bola – Diamortem (Skam)
Apparat – Limelight (Shitkatapult)
NAW – Sustained Viaduct Passage (Noise Factory)
Mathew Jonson – Real Dreams (Wagon Repair)
Legion of Green Men – Baqup (Post Contemporary)
Apostle of Hustle – My Sword Hands Anger (Do Right)
Basteroid – Jacktales (Areal)
Ace of Clubs – Whorgan (First Cask)
Will Saul Tam Cooper – Sequential Circuits (Konrad Black remix) (Simple)
Will Saul – Out There (Simple)
Digitalism – Jupiter Room (Kitsune)
Luke Solomon - Ghouls (Claude von Stroke remix) (Rekids)
Blake - Rock Over You (Paolo Martini mix)
Cobblestone Jazz – Saturday Night (Wagon Repair)
Ortega and Stavostrand – Sparkling (Rrygular)
Ace of Clubs – Rubber Chunks (First Cask)
- Follow the DJ (Kompakt)
Audion – Noiser (Spectral)
Riley Reinhold – Lights In Your Eyes (My Best Friend)
Tim Hecker – The Star Compass (Alien8)

Cristian Vogel - Double Deux

Techno has always seemed like a natural companion to modern dance, but collaborations between the fields have been few and far between, until this year. First, there was Shut Up and Dance! Revisited, between various German producers and the Berghain Ballet. Now, we have Cristian Vogel's Double Deux, a solo artist album.

"Double Deux/Delicado – Music For The Creations Of Gilles Jobin" is the result of Vogel scoring four dance performances for Swiss choreographer Gilles Jobin in recent years.

The album begins with "DD Engine", a long, pulsating track that is neither techno nor ambient. Over 15 minutes it moves around wildly over a continuously evolving broken-up beat. It's one of the highlights of the album.

Then a short linker track brings us to "FloPo", a beatless, darker ambient track. It's harder to imagine dancers performing to this, but it would undoutedly be filled with aggressive, impulsive movements.

Another linking track leads to "SxSx", an electric ambient that one could easily mistake for Fennesz. Processing is the key to this track. It's followed by "The Walk", an even more low-key piece with throbbing bass and random percussion elements.

Finally, "The Scream" ends the album. It's not as horrifying as its title implies, and is a long, somewhat soothing glide of an ending. It's almost a drone, but it evolves too quickly. In any case it's a great, relaxing ending.

Overall, it's a fine album, which can properly be called "intelligent dance music".

Swoon 198 - August 6, 2007

Legion of Green Men - Slowbaq (Postcontemporary)
NAW - 5 p.m. West Bound (Noise Factory)
NSI - Bridge and Tunnel People (Ostgut)
Cristian Vogel - DD Engine (Station 55)
Bola - Rainslaight (Skam)
Trentemoller - Moan (Radioslave remix) (Poker Flat)
Andrea Parker and David Morley - Early Days (Touchin Bass)
NAW - Harbourline Rendered (Noise Factory)
Mathew Jonson - Stop (Wagon Repair)
Chromeo - Waitin 4 U (Last Gang)
Ace of Clubs - Pheel the Phorce (First cask)
Junior Boys - FM (Marsen Jules remix) (Domino)
Philip Sherburne - Lumberjacking (LAN)
Basteroid - 16 Steps Away From The Stars (Areal)
Intus - Absolut (k2)
Giresse and Erb - How
Ame - Balandine

download

Swoon 190 - June 11, 2007

Future Loop Foundation - 1976
Depeche Mode - Sinner in Me (Ricardo Villalobos Conclave mix) (Mute)
Riley Reinhold - Lights In Your Eyes (MBF)
Junior Boys - In the Morning (Hot Chip remix) (Domino)
Misstress Barbara - Jamais Moi Sans Toi (Border Community)
Andrea Parker and David Morley - Uninvited (Touchin Bass)
Depeche Mode - Martyr (Alex Smoke Gravel mix) (Mute)
Zander VT - Offroad Camping (Bpitchcontrol)
Claude von Stroke - The Whistler (Audiofly remix) (Go deeva)
Motorcitysoul - Kazan (My My mix) (Aus)
Phenonyma - Got the Urge (Stasis mix) (New Electronica)
My My - Southern Comfort (Playhouse)
Stephan Bodzin - Mondfahrt (Herzblut)
Matthew Dear - Deserter (Ghostly International)
Apparat - Fractales (Ibiza mix) (Shitkatapult)
Underworld - Rez (Exp)

Shut Up and Dance

Five long tracks here, on a compilation that is not designed to be danced to by the average punter, but rather by professional dancers and ballet troupes.

First up is NSI, with "Bridge and Tunnel People". It's a 14-minute ambient piece, with no beats until three minutes in. At the point the beats kick and pop with irregular beats, and stabby, chopped melodies. It's very bass heavy. In the middle it breaks up into random, abstract sounds before returning to a jazz-influenced section, with plenty of work on the ride cymbal and cowbell. It's pretty intense.

Next is Sleeparchive, with a buzzy, slower minimal techno track. There's a lot of acidic noises. Not bad if you like that style.

Ame centres the compilation with "Fiori", which has been creating a huge buzz. The 17-minute track begins with a long, beatless opening, before the beats kick in around 8 minutes. From there, it's a long, epic progressive house track. Is it like Rej, which destroyed dancefloors everywhere last year? Yes, it's big and it's quality, but it's not quite as catchy.

Luciano follows Ame with the most club-friendly track, the techno "Drunken Ballet". It's fairly straightforward, and not as complex as some of his recent productions and collaborations. But the vocal and melody samples are chopped up in an interesting, cute way that will bring a smile to your face.

Luke Slater, working under his The 7th Plain pseudonym, ends the album with a long ambient piece, "Symphony for the Surrealists". It's pretty much a symphony, with different movements. At the beginning, the strings are quite lush, and are underpinned by breathy choir sounds and gentle synths. Then it breaks up and goes a little crazy, with bleeps, reversed blips, clicks and other sounds. Then comes a piano interlude, before it goes into icy ambience, and finishes with some experimental beats. It's a very good piece.

Overall, it's great a selection of modern dance music. I like it a lot and think the best tracks are from Ame, NSI and Luke Slater.

The plan is for the Staatsballet Berlin to perform live to these tracks on June 29, in Berlin at th Berghain club. Sounds like a very interesting show.

It will be out as an album on May 29, 2007, on the Ostgut record label.

Swoon 167 - December 11, 2006

Andrew Johnson - M and K (Kompakt)
Susumu Yokota - Long Long Silk Road (Lo)
Maxime de la Rochefoucauld - Chapati
Namusouke - Survive (Mute)
Kinnie Starr - Sex in the Prairies (Violet Inch)
Enigma - Dancing With Mephisto (EMI)
From Within - Snake Charmer (M-nus)
u-ziq vs. the Auteurs - 1 (Astralwerks)
Repeat - G-thing (A13)
The Future Sound of London - Vertical Pig (Astralwerks)
Markus Guentner - Altocumulus Opacus (Kompakt)
Canonic - The Memory of In or Out (Hometapes)
Caribou - Anna & Nina (Domino)
Arovane - Windy Wish Tree (City Centre Offices)
Aphex Twin - Pancake Lizard (Warp)
SCSI-9 - Morskaya (Kompakt)
Kinder Atom - Eagle Sprouts (Nice+smooth)
Shout Out Out Out Out - Do I Stutter?
Maxime de la Rochefoucauld - Je t'en pris
Autechre - Vletrmx (Warp)