Last month we were elevated by the news that after seven years of waiting anxiously for a follow up album from our favourite Swiss studio whiz, Deetron the long wait is over because some forthcoming album material on Music Man is coming to us soon and promises "a more song oriented structure in the club context." Since his debut long player, 'Twisted' in 2006, Deetron has been busy releasing mind expanding singles and remixes but until now hasn't felt there's been quite enough on the ground to complete a new and storied album. The last few months however have swept him with inspiration and his latest output 'Crave' and ‘Out Of My Head’ with remixes from George Fitzgerald & KiNK are two sterling reasons as to why the wait has been well worth it.
We pinned down Deetron for a quick chat to talk about the new album, wising up to production and why he isn't nostalgic about the 90's music scene.
How have you been recently? Very well thank you. I just came back from a family holiday in Asia and been working on finishing the upcoming album since. In general I'm happy I got to spend so much time in the studio this year.
How have you seen the scene change since you started out as a DJ in the 90’s? What are some of your favourite memories of this time? For example, your residency at Zrichs legendary Trax club. Do you ever get nostalgic and long for those times again? There were times when the music seemed to become just a background soundtrack to a night out and an excuse for getting trashed. All that really mattered were kick drums, hats and white noise. Thankfully that has changed for the better again and I believe now is a great time for our music, quite possibly even better than back in the day so it's safe to say I'm not nostalgic at all. However seeing Surgeon and Jeff Mills on a regular basis back then was a very special treat.
How have your musical tastes evolved since then? Are there still sounds you are wanting to explore? Absolutely, there are huge amounts of music I'm buying but not really getting around to listening to properly. I'd love to dig deeper into contemporary Jazz, Soul and instrumental Hip-Hop and I do so whenever I get the time.
How often have you been to Detroit? How has the Motor City had such a strong influence on you? Only twice if I'm not mistaken. The city itself is not that exciting, which probably is the reason people tend to spend their time on making amazing music. Obviously our kind of music started from there and it was also the music from Detroit, which caught my attention and got me hooked to electronic music in the early days.
Who are some of your favourite Detroit producers? Theo Parrish, Carl Craig, Patrice Scott.
Why is Music Man the label home for a lot of your consistent studio output? Can you pick a couple of your favourite releases for the label and tell us why? My relationship with Music Man started with a demo tape over 10 years ago and we have consistently been working together ever since. I really like the way they work as they're not just interested in a short time success or a hit single but intend to build an artist's career over time. My favourites are "I Cling", "Orange" and "Crave" simply because they're possibly my favourite tracks from my back catalogue.
What’s the vision behind your forthcoming album on Music Man? There is no strict concept behind it other than making good music but the intention is to work towards a more song oriented structure in the club context.
How is this project different from your debut album, ‘Twisted ‘and why have you chosen to wait till now to follow it up? The reason is quite simple: I kept releasing singles of my tracks and working on a lot of remixes so I never had enough music for an album. Recently I've had the inspiration to work on so much music though and I've also concentrated almost solely on the album for the past few months.
Can you describe for us the single ‘Out Of My Head’, featuring Ovasoul7 on vocals. How did George Fitzgerald & KiNK get involved on remix duties?
It's a very soulful vocal house tune with the beautiful voice of Ovasoul7, who sang on "I Cling" as well. I remixed George's "Every Inch" last year and he returned the favour in the form of his excellent remix. As for KiNK, I met Strahil a few times on tour and he's such a lovely guy plus I'm a fan of his music so he was the obvious choice for the second remix. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing his live act - he's one of the best out there!
How would you describe the style in which you DJ? What other DJ's do you look to for inspiration in their ability to traverse their personality, energy and feeling to the crowd? I find it hard to describe it myself but it definitely has a strong technical aspect to it. Furthermore I don't like to limit myself to a certain genre only and try to create a musical experience, which is energetic and versatile at the same time. As mentioned earlier I was always really into the DJing of the Detroit guys, in particular Theo, Derrick and Jeff. More recently Todd Terje has impressed me very much with both of the sets I've heard from him.
Your biography mentions your extreme self-criticism when you are selecting tracks to play out, and also with our studio output. Can you tell us about this a little bit, and how you turn it into a positive as a creative artist? I find a lot of music, which I like but whether to play it or not is a totally different story. I'm not the kind of DJ who needs the newest tunes every week, I actually hardly ever play any tracks just once or twice but rather choose tracks which can work over time. As for the production side of things, it can be tough at times but I've become a bit wiser in the sense that I keep any drafts or unfinished tracks, which I'm not totally happy with on my HD and restart work on them after weeks, months or sometimes even years.
What are you looking forward to most about this year both in your artist output but also on a personal note? From a musical point of view, the main thing to look forward to is the album obviously. On a personal note I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with my family! Article Sourced: http://www.fabriclondon.com/blog/view/a-quick-chat-with-deetron
Line Up Rap Saunders (Soulmates) At One (Atjazz Record Company , Yoruba Records) T.Maronie (The Laydz) Kyri (R2 Records) Time: 20:00 - 02:00 Venue: Life Bar, 2-4 Old Street, EC1V 9AA London Cost: Free b4 10 / £5 after Peoples presents Nubian Mindz @ Rhythm Factory, Friday 31st May.
Line Up Room 1 Nubian Mindz At One Clinton Brown Mikey Palmer Joel Kane Room 2 Loudat Geshe Ewing Micheal Mara Franck Bombard Time: 23:00 - 06:00 Venue: Rhythm Factory:16-18 Whitechapel Road; Whitechapel; London E1 1EW Cost: £6+BF early bird, £8 Advance, £12 on the door Ava Word™ with Osunlade @ Ministry Of Sound, Sunday 2nd June.
Line Up Osunlade Alex Niggemann Andre Lodemann Gavin Peters Hoxton Patriarchs Martin Ikin Ancient Youth Time: 15:00 - 03:00 Venue: Ministry Of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street; Elephant & Castle; London SE1 6DP Cost: £12 - £20
Line Up Rap Saunders (Soulmates) At One (Atjazz Record Company , Yoruba Records) T.Maronie (The Laydz) Kyri (R2 Records) Time: 8pm til 2am Venue: Life Bar, 2-4 Old Street, EC1V 9AA, London. Cost: Free B4 10pm / £5 there after
The two came together and Wolf Music took on Futureboogie to deliver the finest musical sounds they had to offer to a Manchester crowd ready for the action and also caugth up with of XYST in this interview.
Best Works Label Night with Andre Lodemann & Atjazz at Rhythm Factory, Thursday 28th.
Line Up Andre Lodemann Atjazz Zaki Time: 23.00 - 07.00 Venue: Rhythm Factory/ 16-18 Whitechapel Road; Whitechapel; London E1 1EW Cost: £7, £8, £10 Inner Rhythm at East Village, Thursday 28th.
Line Up
Craig Smith
Stuart Patterson
Phil Asher
Patrick Forge
DJ Soul Provyder
Time: 9:00pm - 3:30am
Venue: East Village/ 89 Great Eastern St; Hoxton; London EC2A 3HX
Cost: £5 advance, £7 before 10.30pm, £9
Makes Us Dance (M.U.D) at Life Bar
Line Up
Rap Saunders (Soulmates)
At One (Yoruba Records, Atjazz Record Company)
T. Maronie (The Ladyz)
Kyri (R2 Records)
Time: 8:00pm - 2:00am
Venue: Life Bar / 2-4 Old Street, London, EC1V 9AA
Marc Kinchen has mixed the latest instalment in Defected's In The House series.
Known more for his original productions and remixes than his DJing—in fact, he rarely DJ'd at all in his early years—the release will be Kinchen's first commercial mix.Defected presents MK In The House is heavily focused on the producer's own remixes and dubs under the name MK. It contains a number of classic tracks, such as 1993's "Love Changes" featuring Alana and the MK dub of Jodeci's "Freek'n You," first released in '95. There's some brand new material, too, most notably Kinchen's own remixes of The Pet Shop Boys' "Can You Forgive Her" and FCL's "It's You."
A press release states that the two-disc mix was recorded in one long session. "A lot of my DJ friends, I thought they did their mixes and podcasts live, but a lot of them use Ableton," Kinchen says. "This was the first time I did it that way and it was pretty cool for me." Defected also revealed that Kinchen is working on a live band project with Hot Natured member Lee Foss and vocalist Anabel (the three of them have already teamed up on "Electricty," disc two's closing track.) The digital version of the mix comes with a bonus 10-track release featuring MK remixes and original productions.
Tracklist CD 1 01. MK feat. Alana - Love Changes (MK mix) 02. Prince Club & Poupon feat. Nahrin David - Only One 03. Pet Shop Boys - Can You Forgive Her? (MK remix) 04. Dusky - Nobody Else 05. Jodeci - Freek'n You (MK dub) 06. FCL - It’s You (MK mix) 07. Alex Agore - Mizz Honey 08. Prince Club & Poupon feat. MARS - Before 09. CREEP feat. Nina Sky - You (MK Hot Tub Rub Dub) 10. Bizarre Inc - Took My Love (MK remix – Lee Foss edit) 11. Amirali - Just An Illusion (MK remix) 12. Sousk and Moonface Present Animalz - Da Riddum (Reset Robot remix) 13. Huxley - No Matter What (MK dub) 14. MK feat. Alana - Always (MK club mix)
CD 2 01. Catz 'N Dogz feat. Monty Luke - They Frontin' 02. Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans (MK Dark Blue Dub) 03. Eats Everything - The Withywood Walk 04. Rachel Row - Follow The Step (KiNK mix) 05. Harrison Crump feat. Tierra Nevaeh - No More Lies (Sonny Fodera's Beatdown mix) 06. Kings Of Tomorrow feat. April - It's Only You (Sandy Rivera's Original mix) 07. Dirty Channels feat. Rosina - On The Way 08. Jamie Jones - Road To The Studio (Fly Mix) 09. Shadow Child - So High (Hot Since 82 remix) 10. Dillon - Thirteen Thirtyfive (Lee Foss & MK remix) 11. Storm Queen - Look Right Through (MK Dub III) 12. Toto Chiavetta - Mother Acid Land 13. Lee Foss & MK feat. Anabel - Electricity
Defected will release Defected presents MK In The House on April 22nd, 2013.
It ain’t easy being from Kalamazoo. Caught equidistant from Chicago and Detroit, you can’t rightfully claim either major Midwestern city as home. Just ask Seth Troxler. After he moved to the suburbs of Detroit he spent plenty of time in the trenches at record stores, parties and the music scene, but it took a long time before he was finally accepted as one of the Motor City’s own. In his recent Fireside Chat for Red Bull Music Academy Radio, Troxler recounts how Carl Craig finally presented him with his official Detroit credentials.
Tastebudz.Inc Deep Into Soul 2nd Anniversary Party @ Brixton Clubhouse, Saturday 9th.
Line Up Sean McCabe (King Street Records) Neil Pierce (Beat Players/Rhemi Music) Andy Compton (Peng Records) Phil Asher (restless soul) Ziggy Funk (Tastebudz.Inc/Rhemi Music) Patrick "Crookid" Willis (Open Bar Music/Broadcite) Ted Lawrence (Tastebudz.Inc/House FM) Time: 23:00 - 06:00 Venue: Brixton Clubhouse/ 467 Brixton Road; Coldharbour Lane; London SW9 8HH Cost: £12 Louche x RBMA with Ame, Andres, Roman Flugel, San Soda & Amir Alexander @ Plan B, Saturday 9th.
Line Up
Âme Andrés Roman Flügel San Soda Amir Alexander Josh T Brinsley Kazak Time: 10:00pm - 6:00am Venue: Plan B/ 418 Brixton Road; Brixton; London SW9 7AY Cost: £10 / £12 / £15 / £17
Recent months have seen a flurry of activity for the usually elusive DJ Koze, soon to be topped-off with his first new LP for close to a decade. Here, Defected’s Ben Lovett speaks to the German producer about his label and latest project.
DJ Koze’s new album, his first in eight years, is about as far removed from the topical glitz of EDM as it is sonically possible to be. And then some. Released through his own label Pampa, Amygdala is, as the press blurb attests, Koze’s wildly oscillating, brilliantly techniclour Sgt. Pepper moment; no mean feat considering the maverick diversity of his CV to date.
“EDM is funny, a symbol of how lame the system...the music industry...has become” he opens. “The Americans present it like it’s this big new revolution but everyone else around the world is laughing because they can’t quite believe it. EDM is not what we [the dance scene] have been working on these past 20 or so years. It’s under-challenging; it has less to do with our music than, say, reggae, has with Basic Channel [the famous electronic outfit has worked with reggae artists and on classic dancehall reissues]. It is more like rock with the machismo and big balls mentality. There is no soul or depth; there are some other ingredients but not ones we use. EDM’s only link to our world is the fact that it is produced electronically. But, look, I’m not worried about it, or confronted by it; it’s just funny.”
What, then, of Amygdala? How does Koze – real name Stefan Kozalla - even begin to summarise its unpredictable shifting between different electronic moods, modes and mien? “It’s both what my world is and isn’t” he indicates. “The last bit is very important, because I don’t want this viewed as mere techno tools. Yes, my music has moved closer to techno over time but it has a wider appeal. That’s just what is happening. It [the album] is a small, unique cosmos in the sonic universe. I’m a harsh self-critic but this album feels perfect. I’ve achieved what I wanted to; I’ve totally let go.”
Amygdala moves with exhilarating off-kilter purpose, blurring techno and micro-house boundaries through a rich, often unreal variety of vocal, instrumental and sample filters. Smart collaborations from those including Apparat, Matthew Dear and Dan Snaith’s Caribou only add to the intrigue; the latter contributing quirky, feather-light vocals to engaging lead single Track ID Anyone?
“I didn’t plan any of the collaborations” Koze professes. “They were a nice coincidence each time they happened. All of my collaborators are like-minded friends; like with Caribou, we didn’t talk much. We didn’t need to. It was like old buddies, we knew what we wanted to do. That said, everyone told me to do what I needed to with their input, to get things as I wanted. The working atmosphere was therefore calm...really good. I couldn’t have asked for more as an artist.”
Ironically Hamburg-based Koze’s first musical meanderings were mainstream ones. During the Nineties he ran, successfully, with German hip-hop crew Fischmob (and was a runner-up at the World DMC Mixing Championships) before gravitating to screwball soul and R&B in trio International Pony (with Cosmic DJ and Erobique) during the early Noughties, as well as deeper, electronic territory as Adolf Noise (with friend Marcnesium). Koze’s separate solo outings on Kompakt strengthened his association with underground dance - covering everything from leftfield house and crisp techno to sleazy disco and crunching electro - as did remixes for Matias Aguayo, Tiefschwarz and Efdemin, the launch, in 2009, of Pampa, and his snowballing DJ commitments.
Koze has always nurtured diversity in his work, and yet his transition from hip-hop to 4-4 over the past decade is strikingly rather than subtly evident. Was there any particular reason for the change? “I still love hip-hop very much today but, from a recording perspective, I started to object to its social system” he says. “Electronic music is more social. Fans from the shoegazer indie scene, or hip-hop or techno scenes, they all like to dance at night, drink, and enjoy the freedom of the club...the space. People have the ability to support their own core scene but also enjoy electronic music too. Working in hip-hop, there came a day when I suddenly felt like a stranger. It’s a highly masculine scene; very competitive and aggressive, and I don’t possess enough of those qualities as an artist today. I grew out of all that stuff; it was restrictive. I’m happy with where I am today.”
But not always happy to do interviews and promotion as he frankly, and rather refreshingly, admits: “I’m sorry but it’s a horrible job to do. It’s so demanding. I’ve already been doing interviews for a week. I’ve been drinking in the evenings between them to cool down and as the days have gone by I’ve been getting more and more tired, and my answers less and less clever. On the other hand, I’m aware I haven’t released an album for eight years and need to do everything possible to present it in the right way to my audience.”
Koze released his debut solo album Music Is Okay in 2000, following up with Kosi Comes Around on Kompakt in 2005 (as well as, in the same year, an Adolf Noise long-player Wo Die Rammelwolle Fliegt). The considerable length of time untilAmygdala will raise questions and gaping misconceptions, a situation intensified by the relentless 24-7 whirr of contemporary clubland; whirr fuelled by online news sites, blog posts, social media hubs and fan forums. Is Koze confident he can position this latest phase of his career in the way he wishes to?
“As an independent, as someone having to marry the personal and professional, all of the opinions and criticisms can be difficult to deal with” he explains. “It hits you all directly; it’s exhausting. I’m not really so concerned about public image but I know if I don’t appear then no-one will know who I am or what I am doing. It’s pointless speaking if there’s nothing to say but here with the new record I do have things I need to say. It [promotion] is a difficult challenge but I think I’m making it clear that this is a unique album in its own unique space.”
There is plenty planned for the rest of the year. Pampa, for starters, is shifting gears after a relatively quiet 2012. “The label is about providing soulful, forward-thinking options to dance” Koze stresses. “Last year we didn’t really have a concept; we were releasing as and when people finished products in the studio. This year, however, it’s like a traffic jam; we have lots of exciting projects in the bag already.” Namely EPs by Isolee (Allowance, released earlier this month – “it’s the nicest thing he’s done since Beau Mot Plage”) and Matthew Herbert (including Koze’s own flawless remix of ‘It’s Only’), a mini album by German vocalist-producer Ada (also featured on Amygdala), and full long-player via Deutsch duo Die Vogel, due later this year.
Koze is also about to tour his new album with “straightforward DJ sets” and start planning a full-on live show for 2014 – “ideally, I’ll copy the best ideas from Deadmau5 and Daft Punk and recycle them into my own trashy electronic show for as a little money as possible” he seemingly quips. “There needs to be something more than just standing behind a laptop. I need to challenge myself.”
Does the performing sap as much as doing interviews? “I love travelling, experiencing new things and people” he replies. “But if I could have the same money for releasing records as for DJing? Well, then, I’d probably split my time between the clubs and studio more evenly. The fact of the matter is that whilst I enjoy playing for people, it’s also the main source of my money so there’s a need to focus on performing. That then makes it even more important to pick the right work in the studio.
“It’s a tightrope walk; if I want a satisfying result then I need to be able to focus on one thing and one thing only. I can’t juggle tasks, I have to think in blocks. When I DJ I’m in that mode completely and then need three weekends off before I’m in the right frame of mind for producing. If I’m producing, then I need to think carefully about the tracks I’m taking on; time is precious so I want to be working on the right things and leaving everything else out. It’s tricky, I have friends who are big, successful DJs but there are no albums to their name. They’ve made a decision to pursue the DJing fully over album production. Me? Ultimately, I want to produce music...good music. ”
DJ Koze is serenely confident about his unique career path and future progression; this despite the further obstacles and outside pressures he is likely to encounter in the months and years ahead. He is sagely aware that they’re out there waiting for him. “I know what I am doing and that’s the key to everything” he asserts. “I’m like an outsider, an outlaw to EDM and its militaristic global fashion for releasing peak-time weapons of mass destruction. My Pampa family and I, we’re like a band of hippies following our own rules, changing those rules up and letting everything go in the interest of good music. That’s all I want and need. Things get crazy sometimes but I’ve given myself enough space to catch the right ideas and inspiration. I have my own cosmos.”
Maceo Plex has mixed the latest edition of !K7's DJ Kicks, due out on April 30th.
American producer Eric Estornel (who also produces under the name Maetrik) has enjoyed a rapid rise to fame in the past few years, as documented in a recent feature on RA. Part of that is likely due to his prolific release schedule, dropping hooky deep house tracks like "Vibe Your Love" and "Under The Sheets" on labels such as Crosstown Rebels, No. 19 Music and his own Ellum Audio.
In a press release, Estornel promises his mix will be a "little more deep and futuristic" than what he calls the "throwback" trend of early '90s house currently gripping the house scene. The disc will feature a tracks both new and old (some dating back 20 years), with almost all of them edited by Estornel himself because "a lot of them were missing percussion, or some other element I thought they could use." In addition to Maceo Plex selections, the mix also includes the likes of Move D, TV Baby and Detroit's DJ Stingray. As with all DJ-Kicks, Estornel's will feature an exclusive track: his own "Galactic Cinema."
Tracklist 01. Monsters From ID - Spatial Lobe 02. Voice Stealer - Evaluation 03. Stingray313 - Defect 04. Mathias Schaffhäuser - Nice To Meet You (Maceo Plex edit) 05. TV Baby - New York Is Alright (Blak Spun mix) 06. Maceo Plex & Mark O'Sullivan - When It All Comes To This 07. Lab Insect AKA Nomenklatür - Oh Happy Day (Maceo Plex edit) 08. Kimbu Kimra - Raise The Dead (Love From San Francisco dub) 09. Mattski - Escapism (Maceo Plex Conversation remix) 10. Eric Volta - Rez-Shifter (Maceo Plex remix) 11. Visnadi - Racing Tracks (Indianapolis Drive Mix / Maceo Plex edit) 12. Maceo Plex - Galactic Cinema (DJ-Kicks) 13. Move D - Sandmann (Maetrik edit) 14. Zeta Reticula & Freaks - Creeps (Maetrik Fusion edit) 15. Jaydee - Payback (Maceo Plex remix) 16. S.A.M. - Nangijala (Maceo Plex Reggae Edit) 17. Turner - Multiorgel (Schneider TM mix) 18. Maceo Plex - Mind On Fire
!K7 Records will release DJ-Kicks by Maceo Plex on April 30th, 2013.
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