Minimal According To Magda / Bunker Brings Ben Klock

I got an interesting e-mail from Beatport today. Not exactly a chart, Bp proclaims Magda the "undisputed queen" of minimal techno (hey, I'm not arguing this), and attached a list of nine tracks which she feels provide a strong definite to the question: What is minimal techno?

1. DBX/Daniel Bell - Beat Phreak
2. Plastikman - Plasticity

3. Bruno Pronsato - Open Your Eyes

4. Eight Miles High / Roman Fluegel - In This Place

5. Basic Channel - Phylyps Track II/II*

6. JPLS - Combination 03

7. Studio 1 - Gold

8. Farben - Live At the Sahara Tahoe

9. Jens Zimmermann - C30*

*such a goddamn good song

I don't disagree with Magda's list. These are all classics and at least half of those mentioned are of legendary status now that minimal techno grows and grows in popularity. One artist worth mentioning here is Ben Klock. Lately, Boston's Make It New and NYC's Bunker have had some incredible guests over the last few months, but Ben Klock - whose recent album, One, has been released on Ostgut Ton - has me most excited. This Friday he'll be joined by an incredible lineup in Brooklyn for the April installment of Bunker. Below is the first track from his new album, which you can purchase here. If you've got good headphones, this will be a moment of pride for spending that large chunk of money.

Audible: Ben Klock - "Coney Island"

MySpace: Ben Klock

Website: Bunker

erc cltr fr mnml ssgs

The most recent of the mnml ssgs podcast is brought to you by Eric Cloutier, a New York DJ who graces Bunker's lineup on a frequent basis and throws his own deep techno night at Oulu Lounge in Williamsburg. He's played Midweek Techno and has an impeccable taste for electronic music that is as pure and sincere as it comes. This most recent mix can be summed up in two words: patience and diligence. He'll be playing the front rooom at Bunker this April when Ben Klock (yes!) comes to the Northeast, but in order to understand the music he really loves, check out the podcast (linked below).

In about a week, the tracklist will be released on the site along with an interview with Eric, so keep your eyes on Basstown's Twitter and we'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy!

Link: mnml ssgs mx22: eric cloutier

Tales From the Dark Side

Within the last 24 hours, this is the best photo to surface from Saturday night, where half of Basstown got together at a warehouse in one of Brooklyn's most industrial parts to bring DJ Hell in for a very special night of pre-WMC celebration. The party featured two rooms, appropriately titled Heaven and Hell. In the lighter room, Anja Schneider headlined along with Connie, Elon and Jeremy P. Caulfield. The International Gigolo showcase in Hell featured John Selway, Peter Kruder and, of course, DJ Hell. Incredibly well run, the party actually started around 11pm and was still going rather strong in the Hell room while Elon was on for Round 2 by the time Volvox and I packed it in around 9:30am. A total success.

As for video, we're waiting to see what pops up on YouTube as well, but the best to emerge is embedded below. Whether you were there or not, Hell's upcoming album Tufelswerk encompasses the energy of that night, and you can expect to be wowed by the Dominator himself, who has not put out an album since NY Muscle in 2003.



MySpace: DJ Hell

Dubstep and Some Bmore Laughs

I have been gravitating towards dubstep lately and I think it's a reaction to the waves upon waves of same-y sounding electro tracks that have been coming out over the last year. It seems that a lot of producers are using the same sound construction kits, the same bass patterns, and the same triplet style and frankly, I feel that the genre has gotten stale. Now I'm sure someone will point me to people pushing it in the genre and that's great.

However, the reason I got into electronic music in the first place is because it sounded so alien to me as young kid growing up in a little cowtown so far removed from the city and so insulated from anything that wasn't a mainstream radio hit.

I have a feeling a lot of people share the same experience, but when you hear something new and you can't imagine how it was made, it can be very thrilling.

I imagine it was the same way for kids who heard Herbie Hancock's Rockit or Grandmaster Flash and were thinking to themselves, "What IS this sound and how was it made and can I make this sound myself?"

The point I am getting at is that Dubstep pushes a lot of boundaries in terms of sound, style, tempo and rhythm. I feel that the people playing it rely less on scouring a few blogs for new tracks (I'm certainly guilty of this) and dig a lot deeper to find something new and interesting. And I deeply respect this dedication.

So that said, I'd like to post a mix by the local Dubstep hero Pandai'a. She and her crew at Bassic have really been carrying the torch for this genre and they are doing a great job at it.

Here is Pandai'a's first studio mix.

Tracklisting:
1. Breakage - Rain - forthcoming Digital Soundboy Recordings
2. Pangaea - Mosaix - Hotflush 2
3. HxdB - Invisible Touch - forthcoming Formant Recordings
4. Hellfire Machina - Three Prayers to Buddha - unreleased
5. Untold - Discipline - Hemlock
6. Vaccine - Thou Shalt Always Mute the Vocal Channel - unreleased
7. COTK - We Are the Glitch (DJG rmx)- forthcoming Blipswitch Digital
8. Scuba - the Upside (Martyn's down mix)- Hotflush Remixes
9. HxdB - Moneyshot - forthcoming Surface Tension
10. DJG - Twenty Four - forthcoming Pushing Red
11. Headhunter - untitled - unreleased
12. Scuba - Tense - Hotshore
13. Untold - Dante - forthcoming Hotflush 2
14. Headhunter/ Luke Envoy - untitled - unreleased
15. Jakes - Nyabingi - unreleased
16. DJG - Obsessed - forthcoming Lo Dubs
17. Mount Kimbie - Vertical - Hotflush Recordings

Link: Pandai'a Studio Mix

As a bonus, I'm including my Bmore remix of Yes's Owner of a Lonely Heart which is widely considered their worst song! This was partly done as a laugh and partly done to see if I could pull off remixing in a genre that I really enjoy hearing out at any time.

I hope you enjoy: DJ Die Young - Owner

Calvin Harris Is Not Alone

We brought you the best we could, at the time, here, but NOW we bring you...a full, mixable track.

Gorgeous.
Song of the summer.
Anyone who didn't like Calvin Harris will now.

That is all!

Love,
Us

Audible: Calvin Harris - "I Am Not Alone (Extended Mix)"

Hearthrob DVD: Unlimited Pleasure/Pain

Spring 2007 was a turning point for the Boston nightlife scene, and a breeding ground for many of the friendships that came to form what became Basstown. At the core was Hearthrob, a dance party that was more like a religious gathering every other Tuesday at the Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge. In addition to the memorable photos and guests that came out of those nights, a DVD made by Bloodsugar, mixed by Baltimoroder and curated by the whole team encapsulated the visual and sonic marriage that made everyone lose their fucking minds. Now out of print, you can watch it here.

MySpace: Hearthrob