Back for Slon’s Birthday!

More info to follow…

We’re back this week with a mix from Berlin based Beni. Originally from Wolfsburg, Beni is one of Berlin’s most unsung talents. Quiet and unassuming, he lets the music speak for itself, a rarity in these days of status updates, promotion and spam. Here’s a mix recorded live at the legendary SO36 in Kreuzburg, where Beni now spins on a regular basis, if you ever get the chance, check him out, he’s one of my personal favourites.

http://mh.fun-in-the-murky.com/audio/SFS/SFS_27_Beni_SO36.mp3

Tracklist:

01.The Other People Place-Let Me Be Me
02.Metro Area-Atmosphrique
03.CB Funk-Subway To Cologne
04.SanDiego-Black Keys
05.Ican-Caminos Del Nino (Martyn RmX)
06.Redshape-2084
07.Moodyman-Dem Young Scounies
08.Robert Hood-Alpha
09.Ignacio-Virton
10.Dj Bone-The Vibe
11.Suburban Knight-Nocturbulous
12.Eddie Fowlkes-Get The Funk
13.Tiefschwarz feat. Seth Troxler-Trust
14.Mike Monday-Stargirl (Mike Monday RmX)
15.Jeff Mills-Condor To Mallorca (Ken Ishii RmX)
16.Robert Hood-Omega_End Times
17.Anthony Rother-When The Sun Goes Down (Underground Resistance RmX)
18.Underground Resistance – Sweat Electric (Instrumental)
19.Metro Area-Nerves
20.Noa Siano-Track For Lyn
21.Mr.G-Makes No Sense
22.Shlomi Aber-Groove Mechanism
23.Black Noise-Nature Of The Beast
24.Patrice Scott-Beyond Depp
25.Delano Smith-Road To Nowhere
26.Slam-Virtuoso (Rolando RmX)
27.Scan 7-Rethinkable Frequencies
28.Redshape-Ultra
29.Suburban Knight-The Warning
30.Stacy Pullen-Alive
31.Martyn-Get Down (Underground Resistance RmX)
32.Robert Hood-The Body Human
33.Gary Martin-Pimping People
34.Mark Taylor-Animatter Premium Unleaded
35.People Mover-Dark Planet
36.Red Planet-Prayer Stick
37.Mad Mike-The Final Frontier
38.Kraftwerk-Numbers

http://mh.fun-in-the-murky.com/audio/SFS/SFS_27_Beni_SO36.mp3

As more and more electronic music labels struggle to stay in business, it seems that the integrity of the sound and honesty of intentions is going more and more out of the window for the sake of enough sales to keep rolling. And so it ends up that more and more of the music that is in the shops these days fits a blueprint, some kind of “guaranteed sales” identikit – anything outside of that is passed up as being too much of a risk.

Now why is that? Is it because the majority of dance music on vinyl sells because it’s easy for a DJ to mix in with other records? Is it because the people pushing their stuff to labels the most happen to be the kind of people who whilst aren’t the most musically talented, have more than enough confidence to really push their stuff to the few labels that still exist? Is it just the fact that the market for dance music on vinyl has shrunk so much that whilst 10 years ago it was still possible for more experimental labels and artists to exist on the periphery, now it’s just simply not possible? And whatever happened to the spirit of experimentalism that was thriving from the start of electronic music in the 60s and 70s, which seemed to explode in the 90s?

Now, I don’t believe for a second that the spirit of experimentation has just gone away. And, as I started going through various musicians’ accounts on Soundcloud this week, I suddenly discovered, that the true spirit of experimentation with electronic was far from dead, but was very much alive and well, albeit often ignored by the mainstream music “industry”.

Now, I’m sure that there are still some labels around that are willing to push the envelope. But more often than not their roster consists of a small collection of artists, and they are closed to submissions from anyone on the outside, mainly down to the fact that they are swamped with demos as it’s become easier and easier to put together a half decent sounding demo on just a home computer.

So, after feeling like I am repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall sending off demos, and then feeling like there is no point in sending any of my works to labels as there aren’t really any labels that my sound would fit with, I’m thinking a lot more about what my real aims are in making music. And all I really want now, is to have a bit of time to make the music I want, and, if I think it’s good enough, to share it with others in the hope that they might get some of the enjoyment I get out of it.

Accepting that you aren’t going to earn a living out of recorded music is a liberating experience, and gives you the freedom to experiment without being obsessed with what the majority of the public might want to hear. Pandering to trends is always a killer for original creativity.

And it always happens, you get some originator who was just experimenting, and hits upon something awesome. It’s released, the music journos herald it as the birth of a new genre, and then you get a whole bunch of people wanting a piece of the action who knock up second rate copies of the musical breakthrough in the hope of fame, fortune, or both.

It’s been a great experience checking out what other people have been up to via Soundcloud in the past week, there is stuff I have heard that I would release without a doubt if I had a label running and it was viable. And for myself, it’s given me an opportunity to gain feedback to stuff I’ve had sat around for a while on my HD.

Sadly in the present day and age, it seems that it’s not really viable to run a label, releasing recordings on physical media, otherwise someone would be doing it. Or am I mistaken, and the next vinyl backlash is just around the corner? In the meantime, anything that doesn’t get signed I may well give away for free in Wav/Flac/Aiff lossless format.. Watch this space!

With time we shall see

Bit late with this one, gonna be spinning deep, deep techno to the Madrid crowd on Saturday, come on down if you are in the area..

info:
En este verano de descanso, la gente de Audium nos brinda la oportunidad de volver a programar una fiesta de techno.

Para la ocasión contaremos con el británico Mark Hawkins (Djax Up Beats, Relax 2000) con su impredecible dj set que puede abarcar desde minimal techno o acid a wonky techno o hard techno.

Le acompañarán dos de los mejores djs de techno de la capital en calidad de residentes de Audium y de ISBP.
Miguel Mendoza (Audium) y Pervert (Analogical Force).

Entrada: libre hasta las 2 o 2 copas x 12€.
Sábado 10 de julio de 2010.
Audium: Pirandello, C/ Martin de los Heros 14
Plaza de España

Links:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134294373256340
http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?175917
http://www.bigbadlondon.com/musica/mark-hawkins-en-madrid

more info: http://sub-ldn.com/

You can find the venue here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=uk&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Camberwell,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&msa=0&msid=113346401665629588172.000487a81cf83662df548&ll=51.535658,-0.076218&spn=0.126211,0.305901&t=h&z=12

Me & Bill are gonna play a DJ vs Live set Battle with me on the Decks and Bill on his live gear and the mic…..

08.05.2010

ehem. Militärflugplatz Allstedt

Abflug Nr. 1

-TokTok new Album Release Tour
-Freak de Philipe´s B-Day Session

line up:

Hangar 1:
TokTok -live- (toktok rec./berlin)
Tobias Winkler (mfs-amt)
Toubi Mc Weird -live- (9volt-musik/klangkino)
Blaues Licht (strezzkidz/spielstaub)
Rene R. & Hilde (loose-connection)
Christian Kullmann (dirty dexx)
Mac Kee (dirty drive sounds)

Hangar 2:
Bill Youngman & Mark Hawkins -live & dj- (electrostep/crimeproduction/leveltrauma/de/uk)
KKO – KlangKulturOst -live- (elitekoepfe rodersdorf/human-electronics/pd-rec.)
Freak de Philipé & Duncan on 4 decks (hard&smart & loose connection)
Zahni vs. Chris PET -live vs. dj- (strezzkidz vs. loose connection)
Vinyl D. (hard&smart)
Abteilung Vorschub -live- (Kontrastmusik Dessau/MaschinenMafia)
Reisegruppe Kaoz (strezzkidz)

Hangar 3:
Duo Deluxe aka Tom B. vs. Marcapasos (dusted decks)
Janosh (dusted decks/hard&smart)
W.O.O.D. (hard&smart)
Kunter:Bunt (strezzkidz)
The Trashbrothers (le-crew/puppentanzen)
Sane (klangekstase.de/k-m)

start: 22pm
entry: 10,-

more info:
http://www.hardandsmart.de/
http://www.ostcode.de/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45934

tsr – rehearsal for kko party in delitsch-20100415 by otto_tsr

Those crazy swedes wrote this live set for a gig in Germany which they never made it to due to Volcanic activity in Iceland (We’re all blaming Cynthia Stern for that right now, as he’s the only Icelander we know).. Sexier than an Ikea sofa, I give you, TSR!!

First noticed this in an article in “The Guide” magazine from The Guardian’s Saturday edition last weekend. So Phuture were pipped to the post by 4 years by a wedding musician from Bombay. In 1982 during a visit to the UK Singh bought some new Roland synthesisers and drum machines, including a Jupiter 8, TR 808 and the classic acid box, the Roland TB 303. On his return to India he set to work on his only set of original pieces, “Ten Ragas” being the result. I did suspect this to be some kind of new Aphex Twin or Ceephax Acid Crew Scam, but it appears to be legitimate. Now reissued, it’s available from all good outlets:
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=288726

Isn’t the music scene getting depressing? I heard an R&S compilation with some classic trax on it today, like Capricorn’s “50hz” and Human Resource “Dominator”, which were remixed for the 21st century, but instead if taking a really modern interesting and new take on these absolutely classic trax, it was like the brush of blandness had been swept over them.. I mean, seriously, it’s sacrilege..

However, here are Seven different records I found whilst trawling through juno which are actually doing the biz right now:

Funk Gadget “Blah Blah” (Slidebar)

Andrez Bergen gets his awesome networking hat on to dish up 4 remakes of his own work, with offerings from SI Begg, Patrick Pulsinger, Dave Tarrida and Paul Birken, along with the original track. Yet again, Tarrida and Birken come up trumps..

http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/385717-01.htm

Hertsi “Kohina (Reissue)” (Sahko)

One of those records that I probably heard some total minimal head play at a Virus party back in ‘93 that sent me on the mission I have been ever since. going to be doing my very best to snap up a copy, and I suggest that you do too as they don’t make em like this anymore.. For some reason I hear the first Crystal Distortion record in there, but this was waaaay before – 17 years old, no way!

http://www.juno.co.uk/ppps/products/386384-01.htm

Villa Nah “Remains Of Love” (Keys Of Life/Sahko)

Which then brought me to this – indulging myself in a guilty pleasure of eighties-esque electro pop. Ignore title track “Remains of love” and go straight to “Benny’s Burning” showing of some amazing melodic harmonies which I just love out and out. Proper robo-soul, and totally amazing to think that this is on a sub label of Sahko. Although this is 17 years on, and I’m guessing that you can only go on for so long releasing distorted undulating subbass tones. “Remains Of Love” is as bad as “Benni’s Burning” is good, and somehow it’s making me think of those IKEA styled (Ok, I know IKEA is Swedish) triangular shaped houses in the woods during a Finnish summer, which is probably quite a nice place to be.

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/Remains-Of-Love/384018-01/

Knarz “Uns Verbrennt Die Nacht” (Wavescape)

More guilty pleasures in the form of Thomas P Heckmann’s “Knarz” Project, where he gets on the microphone and gets on a proper EBM crossed with Techno tip. Yes, it’s a bit cheesy, but it’s got bags of character, and does remind me somewhat of the Horrorist and would probably smash dancefloors to bits. And it has Casio RZ-1 drums on it which is always a winner for me..

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/Uns-Verbrennt-Die-Nacht/388949-01/

Hieroglyphic Being “Ancient Echoes EP” (Mathematics)

Jamal Moss returns with more of his old school sounding stuff, “Letters For The Edge” being the one for me..

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/Ancient-Echoes-EP/386711-01/

Stephen Brown “Red Room” (Music Man)

Glasgow based electrician Stephen Brown has been doing his thing a good few years. I really respect where this guy is coming from, having been informed from mutual friends that Stephen refers to himself as “Just an electrician”, having no big musical career ambitions other than to make the lushes sounding synth pads known to man. There aren’t so many beats on either of these tracks, but the synth lines are just simply gorgeous…

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/Red-Room/384787-01

Jacek Sienkiewicz “X Years Later” (Recognition)

Poland’s best known electronic music export Jacek Sienkiewicz (Non Polish speakers take note- it’s pronounced YAT-SEK SHI-ENK-EA-VICH – I hope I got that right Jacek!) is back with his dreamy minimal techno styles. Yes, you can accuse it of being “minimal” but it beats the hell out of a lot of minimal out there, and the bottom line is, I like stuff like this, either in room two of a club, a beach bar maybe or even just on sunday morning with a nice cup of coffee..

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/X-Years-Later/386751-01/