Album Review
Fabric 53: Surgeon | Album Review
Saturday, August 28th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
Things have been a bit quiet on the fabric front these last couple of months with the club and record label briefly going into administration. But funding was secured and everything is now right with the world again. So what better way to bounce back by dropping fabric 53 mixed by UK techno veteran Surgeon. I don’t use the term veteran lightly. Surgeon has been there from the beginnings of UK techno, bringing Birmingham out of the doldrums in the early 90s with the city’s first techno night as well as creating some of the most forward thinking music out there. His sound has always been left of centre, but always intense, with no thoughts about keeping a finger on the pulse. He simply does what he does regardless of the tide of popularism. So with such integrity how does his Fabric mix flow? › Continue reading
Ben Klock – Berghain 04 | Album Review
Sunday, July 11th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
People say Berlin and for many walls and sausages spring to mind. However for a growing number of people Berlin means techno and Berghain. The hedonistic club has become synonymous with European clubbing, which has seen people travelling from far and wide to be turned away at the door by its mysterious and sporadic door policy. This adds to the mystic and allure of the place where cameras are forbidden and various urban myths have perpetuated their way through clubbing knitting circles. One thing that isn’t a mystery is the Berghain sound, devised by its two residents Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock. The dark and subtly punishing sounds of Berghain have become legendary through the magical club but also further afield via the record label Ostgut Ton. It’s on this label where the Berghain mix series has been running for the last five years. The critically acclaimed Berghain 02 was mixed by the club’s first son Dettmann, which really brought the sound to the masses. Two years on and the fourth instalment falls to the club’s second son – Klock. But in a world where the Berghain sound is admired, adored and imitated, how much of an impact can Klock’s mix make? › Continue reading
Wolf + Lamb – Love Someone | Album Review
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
These days Wolf and Lamb is synonymous with good quality, forward thinking music as well as a bloody good night out. The boys from Brooklyn can do no wrong at the moment as the reputation of their label, music, parties and names have spread far around the globe. The label in particular has served as a launching pad for spectacular up and coming talent such as Seth Troxler, Shaun Reeves, Soul Clap and Nicholas Jaar, whilst their countless DJ appearances across Europe and in their hometown New York have firmly cemented their places in clubber’s memories. So for Gadi Mizrahi and Zev Einsenberg, it seems like the perfect time to release their debut artist album which is an accumulation of material produced whilst on the road from the last year of touring. › Continue reading
dOP – Watergate 06 | Album Review
Monday, June 7th, 2010 | Album Review | 2 Comments
It’s a natural progression for successful clubs to sell mix CDs based around their brand. Ministry started it, fabric made it cutting edge and now them there Berlin folk are having a stab too. Both Berghain and Panorama have their own CD series, whilst this month Watergate releases their sixth mix. Lying at the heart of mix number six are three Parisians in the form of dOP. Far from being DJs they’ve tried to capture the river side LED sparkle of the infamous Berlin club with their own unique live element which has been exciting the plaudits over the last year. Rather than mix other people’s music they’ve compiled a psuedo jam session come live set of their own creations and collaborations with their friends like Noze, Seuil and Catz and Dogz. It’s supposed to give an insight into how they make music, when they’re on their own or hanging out with friends as well as giving the CD some uniqueness and spontaneity that you get from jam sessions. › Continue reading
Future Disco Vol. 3: City Heat – Album Review
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
In 2009 Itunes named Future Disco Vol 2 as their dance album of the year. So in 2010 Sean Brosnan and NeedWant come back for another bite of the bullet with the pragmatically named Future Disco Vol 3. The mission is the same as with past FD compilations – to show off the latest and greatest in the burgeoning nu disco scene to the masses. Brosnan is at the helm once again mixing and reediting sixteen tracks of nu disco that he expects will be the soundtrack to a summer of disco taking over the clubs and parties in cities across the world. › Continue reading
Optimo – Fabric 52 | Album Review
Friday, May 7th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
It’s pretty dark times for our northern breadrin in Glasgow. Their football club can barely scrape together the costs for an open top bus trophy tour; then there’s that ridiculous stat you always hear that a good proportion of the city lives in poverty at a level which rivals Zimbabwe and to add insult to injury their easterly sister Edinburgh gets voted the best place to live in the country. But these things are the least of the city’s worries. It’s more so the dark cloud that hangs over the legendary Sub Club since Optimo announced they were ending their Sunday night tenure. Their weekly blend of eclectic samplings will be sorely missed, I for one am gutted that I never made it that far up north to witness these legendary nights first hand. › Continue reading
DJ T: Fabric 51 | Album Review
Monday, March 22nd, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
Dusseldorf’s DJ T is quite the accomplished man. You may remember him from such endeavors as co-founding Get Physical and being part of that group of Germans that actually took over the world around during 2005. However for ol’ T dawg (that’s what I imagine MANDY and Bookashade might call him) that is just a notch on his extensive music bedpost which spans about 20 odd years. In those 20 years, › Continue reading
Seth Troxler – Boogybytes Vol 5. | Album Review
Friday, February 19th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
Detroit is under going a bit of a renaissance at the moment. As the once global dominant motor industry continues to crumble electronic dance music is once again becoming a prime export. Current number one export for Detroit on its third generation of techno models is Seth Troxler. He’s been making some great music over the last few years, injecting his weird and playful character into the house music genre which had become cold and processed in the years prior. Probably the most talked about thing with Troxler are his DJ sets. His hunger for the party and fun transfers directly to his sets taking crowds through musically unexpected but ultimately fun ”journeys”. His ability to read a crowd, react and then send them on an off guard curveball has seen him tear dancefloors up and win the hearts of many across the globe. So the announcement of him doing the next Boogybytes CD, a series that is known to give DJs free reign, has set big expectations from the chattering masses. Could Troxler capture and condense his peculiarities and unpredictability on to a small plastic disc? › Continue reading
Martyn – Fabric 50 | Album Review
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 | Album Review | No Comments
This month’s latest fabric release is another milestone in their now long and successful career. The other month they were turning ten and this month they’re releasing their fiftieth compilation of the fabric series. And who have they bestowed this great honour of house and techno to? Martyn – a bloody drum n bass turned dub step DJ/producer that’s who. He has come to prominence over the last few years alighting dubstep circles with his well constructed deep productions, most notably his debut album Great Lengths being a lynchpin for 2009. So why have fabric handed over this landmark release to someone who sounds like they should clearly be on FabricLive? Well if you’ve heard Martyn DJ before then you will understand that no genre bounds him. His sets may have an urban feel with a focus on percussion and bass, yet they have this house and techno veneer of deepness and subtlety. It’s this cross pollination of sounds that has caught the eye of the fabric series. › Continue reading
Magda – Fabric 49 | Album Review
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 | Album Review | 1 Comment
Oh Magda, my how far you’ve come. Since your days as Richie Hawtin’s personal tea lady to now a heavy weight DJ with your own Fabric CD. A proper rags to riches story. On her path to stardom, Magda had put out She’s a Dancing Machine her first CD compilation way back in 2006 when clicky minimal techno was still fashionable. She earned some deserved applaud with her multi layered and intricately architected mix. It was mechanical, it was robotic, it was computerised, yet it clicked and jacked along dripping in synthetic funk. Magda had set her own bar high, the question is could she surpass it on Fabric 49?
The answer – no, at best on par. The mix follows the same recipe of synthetic funk, robotic rhythms and mechanical beats. The only difference is for Fabric 49 she stays caught on the same jittery electronic theme rather than providing contrast and texture exploring the techno genre. On Dancing Machine she moved from abstract sounds, to funky rhythms, to dark pummelling techno with ease. But on Fabric 49 she stays firmly locked on the same groove throughout. › Continue reading
Dixon – Temporary Secretary | Album Review
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
I’m a big fan of Dixon, his ability as a DJ and producer is often unsurpassed and his taste in house music and beyond is often faultless. Dixon’s last outing on a compilation mix was with his Innervisions buddies Henrik Schwarz and Ame. The resulting CD was a masterpiece which knitted together an intricate composition of varied sounds that had a common minimal style to them. The complexity of sounds and the fluidity of the mix made it such an interesting and pleasurable listening experience, which dare I say made it a timeless CD. It’s that winning combination which Dixon has tried to emulate on his solo effort for Temporary Secretary.
The track selection on Temporary Secretary definitely reflects a similar approach that features on The Grandfather Paradox. He’s used tracks which revolve around a house come 4/4 base yet they all have their own diversely individual sounds. Dixon craftily blends each track with such flow and smoothness that the whole mix simply glides.
There’s no rushing this CD with things starting in carefully measured amounts. Fever Ray’s If I Had A Heart sets a deep warm tone with its multi layers of vocals and melodies. From there he melds into the spooky whistles of Roland Bocquet’s Exotique before slowly layering in the vibrating motif from Ame’s Tube Beats. It creates a fine build of tension before brilliantly releasing into a medley of Jazzanova’s Let Me Show Ya and Daniel Paul’s Something About You. Quite a mouthful to describe and that was just for three of the four opening tracks. › Continue reading
Cassy – Simply Devotion | Album Review
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
When someone says ‘Cassy’ you can’t help but think of productions which combine deep, restrained grooves with slow burning minimal movement. And whilst her outing on the first Panoramabar mix showcased a minimal palette with some panache, I have, infact, seen her bang out a pretty full on techno set in the UK, so wondered which way she would take this, her next mix…
Well, this effort for Cocoon completely reflects her production tendencies utilising deep grooves, controlled progression and all done with the urgency of a tortoise, with only one slight difference – a healthy presence of the more soulful side of house which is currently in vogue.
That is no bad thing, however. Quite often, the stripped back sound can get so reduced that the overall progression and atmosphere of a mix can quite easily drain out the bottom like a leaky bucket. › Continue reading
Radioslave Fabric 48 | Album Review
Sunday, September 20th, 2009 | Album Review | 1 Comment
House and techno lovers on a fabric subscription can breathe a sigh of relief after the Toddla T FabricLive release because the urban sounds of bashment and dancehalll make way for the hypnotic rolling beats of Radioslave. No stranger to the scene Radioslave has been consistently producing quality house and techno for a very good proportion of this decade. Initially starting life as a partnership between Brightonians Matt Edwards and Serge Santiago pumping out cheeky re-edits and bootlegs of pop songs. The Radioslave name has evolved some what over the years. A major milestone was when Serge Santiago went his separate way to leave Matt Edwards flying the moniker solo. And it’s precisely there where the Radioslave name veered off path into the dark and murky undergrowth. Out went the happiness; in came the dark and deep sounds. One thing that Matt Edwards was not afraid to do on his tracks is take his time getting to the point. His productions could wind and meander for minutes upon minutes leisurely strolling through the audio scenery making sure you had time to pick up on the slightest of details.
This nonchalance has transferred on to his offering for Fabric 48. The intro to the mix is literally spread over the first three to four tracks. Now that might sound tedious to listen to, and it would be was it not for the fact that this is a Radioslave production. The eerie whirring of Michel Cleis’ mix of Baeka’s Right At It murmurs the start of the mix. It gently bubbles to its crescendo of shakers and wood block rattles. For your standard mix this would be a logical place to drop in to some big ass beats and bass to get the mix fully going. Not Radioslave. He launches into his own track DDB, a heavy marching kick/clap combo which arrogantly makes itself known. › Continue reading
Jay Haze – Fabric 47 | Album Review
Sunday, July 12th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
For Fabric’s 47th installation of the CD series, they’ve brought in the colourful character that is Jay Haze. Known for telling it like it is and literally coming from the streets of Philly (according to the press release he was homeless a couple of times), Jay Haze has mixed up an honest borderless mix that is full to the brim of soul and deepness. The mix predominately skirts around the house and tech house domains but there are wide and far reaching influences on the sound from Jazz, Funk and Disco to Hip Hop, Reggae and Dub. All of this is effortlessly blended together by Jay Haze.
For example the opening six or so tracks, Jay Haze has touched on Hip Hop with his track Awakening, which quickly runs over to deep house with an exclusive track on TuningSpork from Lil Dirty Ghetto Bastard, › Continue reading
All This Summer Dancing Meant I Forgot to Tell You About These Albums
Sunday, July 12th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
June to July has been a particularly lost couple of months. Mainly due to being found on various dancefloors in the UK and abroad. But as I stumble between the parties with that crazed ‘I Need Crack’ look I have been listening to a few good albums that came my way. The moment may have passed for most, but I’m still going to tell you anyway.
Robert Hood – Minimal Nation
When I said the moment might have passed I wasn’t talking about the one back in 1994 when this seminal classic was released. Instead I’m talking about Robert Hood and Planet M’s decision to re-release Minimal Nation to another generation of techno lovers and re-school the kids on where manipulating a minimal set of elements comes from. › Continue reading
Radioslave – 3 Snapshots: Tokyo Free CD | Album Review
Saturday, June 27th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
Ever been to Tokyo? Me neither. 3, those mobile phone people, hope to give you the inside scoop on Tokyo and other locations with their 3 Snapshots series. But why are they doing it? Well, it promotes their new INQ1 phone which allows you to hook up to all kinds of new fangled social media things like Facebook, Flickr and Skype. So what’s Radioslave got to do with all of this? I’m not quite sure myself. From what I can gather he likes Tokyo, he says it’s great for shopping and has the “sickest” clubs in the World. Tenuous link to do a mix – yes maybe, but it’s a free CD from Radioslave which come few and far between when you pay for them. So stop your moaning.
It’s been two years since the last mix from Radioslave and it seems as though he has turned another page in terms of style; previous years saw Radioslave put out the darkest, heaviest and most hypnotic records on the market, whilst before that he was making cheeky pop bootlegs with old production partner Serge Santiago. › Continue reading
LTJ Bukem – FabricLive 46
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
We don’t really cover too much Drum n Bass on here. But that’s not to say we don’t like it. The problem has been, in our own honest opinion, a lack of decent drum n bass. Well probably not lack of, just its been pushed to the side whilst all the kids have been going made for the noisy jump up sound ala Pendulum et al. Which is fair enough. Its noisy, its mental its what kids love. For grumpy folk like us at EarPipe we’re more accustomed to the oozsing liquid sounds of drum n bass. Hence why we’re giving LTJ Bukem’s FabricLive mix the big lighter cru thumbs up.
It’s been a long time coming for LTJ Bukem to do this CD. But by god it was worth it. So what has the godfather of liquid drum n bass dished out on this mix? Basically 70 minutes of smooth luscious grooves and layers over itching, rolling percussion. You’ve got rolling pianos, soaring synths, luscious melodies and my personal favourite, double bass basslines ala Breakbeat Orchestra style. I can’t really give you any details of its credibility in drum n bass terms, but it is definitely the best D&B mix from FabricLive since High Contrast and Marcus Intalex. Nuff said, innit.
Buy LTJ Bukem – FabricLive 43 on CD
Tracklist:
01 Greg Packer – People’s Music
02 Tidal – Impressions
03 Furney – Eerie Indiana
04 Villem – Inflated Tear (Madcap’s Remix)
05 Paul SG Ft Eros – Forever
06 Paul SG Ft Caine – Lay Down
07 Paul SG Ft Andy Sim – Sweet and Fresh
08 Locksmith – 2 Minds
09 Specific – Time
10 Furney – Jambaleno
11 Phatplayaz – Fact Of The Unknown
12 Furney – Rhodeo Drive
13 Eveson – Kodama
14 Furney – Fearz
15 Tayla – Turn it Around
16 Locksmith – I’m Not Where You Are
17 Furney – Rhodes For D
18 Syncopix – So In Need
Claude Von Stroke – Fabric 46 | Album Review
Saturday, May 9th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
For many Claude Von Stroke divides opinion, there are those that think his wonky sound is the best thing since sliced bread whilst there are those that won’t give him the time of the day due to tracks like Whistler. For me, I sit on the fence like Switzerland. Von Stroke’s music can be a bit dubious at times, but you got to give the man some respect for genre busting sound of Whos Afraid of Detroit. What I do like about Von Stroke though is his whole approach to the scene. It all just seems like a good bit of fun for him which he doesn’t take too seriously at all. And in the process he’s helped create this wonky sound that straddles house and techno, he’s made some fantastic tunes and obviously some which are corny. But in his defence all the corny ones have had their comedic charm. I mean who in their right mind makes a breakbeat remix of Peanut Butter Jelly Time if they’re not dicking around, even his Fabric CD starts with him and his mates just laughing for no real reason.
Thankfully however Von Stroke doesn’t go absurd on the comic front for Fabric 46. Instead it locks into a wonky groove travelling through all sorts of styles with just the right sheen of Von Stroke humour and quirkiness. He gently › Continue reading
Louderbach – Autumn | Album Review
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 | Album Review | 1 Comment
Troy Pierce’s alter ego Louderbach drops his second album with a little vocal help from post-punk singer Gibby Miller. The duo have been recording tracks together on and off for the last few years ever since their first meeting in New York during 2001.
Their latest offering, Autumn alludes to Troy Pierce’s dark more minimal side. The tracks are deep, abstract and have an off colour feel. Strange and eerie dominates the album which is coupled by Miller’s often chilling vocal inserts. On Seems Like Static Miller’s calm vocals provide a sinister vibe over Troy’s mechanised beats. And on So This Is Control, Miller’s vocals again provide an unnerving eeriness to the track, perfect for those haunting synths.
For the tracks where Miller’s vocals › Continue reading
DJ Hell – Teufelswerk | Album Review
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
DJ Hell needs no introduction but if you must know the man pioneered the electroclash sound which came out of Berlin during the mid nineties. He runs the infamous DJ Gigolos record label and is a general all round German oddball.
Personally I’ve never been that into DJ Hell’s sound. It was often too industrial and raw. However his latest album Teufelswerk has managed turn my opinion. Teufelswerk in German means “devil’s work” and there is definitely some sinister evil sounds. The album is sixteen tracks split across two CDs. The first CD clearly labelled Night for Hell’s nocturnal stylings is eight tracks of raw, industrial techno beats crossbred with crunchy acid laden synth lines. Electronic Germany has a certain Kraftwerk feel to it with the low bit electronic synth lines and robot vocals. Whilst The Disaster uses an array of slowly unwinding synth layers to produce a purely sinister sound. Friday, Saturday, Sunday closes the CD with a complete mind fuck track with whirring sirens, off beat keys and a punchy rhythm. It sounds mental, but it’s actually restrained with a great flow and is probably the best track on the Night CD. There is also a celebrity cameo from P Diddy who spits his opinion in your face over classic 909 beats and eerie melodies.
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