"The Twist (DJ Die Young Dub Edit)"

It's exciting as hell to see talent grow in Basstown. One-time Basstown resident DJ Etan has now become Shuttle and is proceeding to take over the world, while other residents are starting to come into their own as well.

Each one has a unique style. Volvox plays dark bombast, Mistaker plays bumping and wild while DJ Die Young plays with a euphoric bounce. Each Make It New resident also has their own style, but that's a whole nother post.

When I encountered the music of Frightened Rabbit during a news story for the Weekly Dig, it really blew me away. Heartfelt and true, with a lyrical knack that goes right to the brain. In July, they return to the US for a series of gigs that includes the Pitchfork Music Festival.

One song, though, "The Twist," really caught my attention. It sounded like a dance track, and just needed a heavier kick and an extended edit.

Enter Die Young.

An all-around great guy, Jamie's remix style always has a generous upbeat and can really get a crowd riled up. From "In a Big Country" to his work with Dopamine recording artists Hooray For Earth, there's something distinctive about his work.

Here he stamps a beat on Frightened Rabbit's "The Twist," gives it an excellent intro and a rabid arc that would get any informed room completely wild.

"I need human heat!"

Enjoy.

Audible: Frightened Rabbit - "The Twist (DJ Die Young Dub Edit)"
Purchase: iTunes - DJ Die Young & Baltimoroder
MySpace: DJ Die Young
MySpace: Frightened Rabbit

Ohhhhh BABY

Make The Girl Dance "Baby Baby Baby" ( official video )
Uploaded by placeblancherec. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

I am fairly certain I would not love this song as much as I do if there weren't beautiful, naked French women involved in it. As a hetero female, I can only wonder what the guys think.

Anyone care to chime in?

MySpace: Make The Girl Dance

Oliver Huntemann : H-3

I truly love this record, but am having the most difficult time writing about it. "Lousy Night" is the best on the album, but I was just listening to the minimal build of "Dauerplus" and daydreaming about the upcoming DEMF: Movement festival. The track put my brain right at the many drops I'll be raising my arms to, and while it only runs at an average 8 minutes the song itself seems much longer.

Huntemann has been producing tracks on his own, though he is more often associated with Marc Romboy and Stefan Bodzin as, I believe, Rekorder. This collaboration features many other producers, but Huntemann has been standing apart as having a very whole sound. I've listened to "Lousy Night" so many times, and I can close my eyes and imagine it in a tiny lounge, a mega club, an outdoor festival...maybe even on a jog. Either way, it's such a versatile track, and the entirety of H-3 has a good grip on teetering into the commercial realm (that is to say, not being too heady/keeping the audience enthralled) but keeping a dark, concrete walled edge to his music.

You've heard his track "2Beloved" so many times at Make It New, and it's worth looking into his releases past and present for a great scope of what Ideal - a very underrated label - represents by what it has to offer.

Audible: Oliver Huntemann - "Lousy Night"

Purchase: Oliver Huntemann - H-3

MySpace: Oliver Huntemann

Fabric46 : Claude VonStroke

I never imagined to be listening to Bootsy Collins in a techno mix, but that's the beauty of the genre. Claude VonStroke, one of the most successful DJ/producers in America, is featured for Fabric46, and delivers a set that highlights the best of his labels (Dirtybird, Mothership) along with personal favorites. It was the first time I ever heard Voodeux's "Just A Spoonful" - a new track from hometown hero Tanner Ross' upcoming Mothership LP, The Paranormal. Also, while I'd like to think I'm not a total newb, I am impressed that his tracklist often includes doubles - something I simply don't see often enough. Cleveland-born, Detroit-raised and San Francisco-based Barclay Crenshaw (Claude, ppl) is the kind of man that has held many jobs, acquired many skills, and is steadily sliding himself into legendary status as he gets older and continues to make and release and represent top-notch electronic music. His DJ mixes are more like a syllabus, giving listeners at least a handful of new artists to listen to or ideas to consider for mixing. "I picked the best music I could find," says VonStroke in a press release, "and put it together in a creative way that fully represents my sound and personality."

Tracklist: (Artist - Track - Label)

01 Ekkohaus Ft. R. Wurz –  Cry Baby – Morris Audio

Ekkohaus Ft. Mensa – The Healer – Morris Audio

02 Claude VonStroke & Bootsy Collins -  Yabadabadooza- dirtybird

03 Rob Van Valen – Trampen – Frankie

04 Holger Zilske – Mes Yeux - Playhouse*

05 Detroit Grand Puhbas Big Onion (Joakim Remix) - Pokerflat

Roman Salanger - Galaxius – Lucent

06 DJ Deeon – Shake It – Databass

Isomer Transitions - Downtime in the Hangar - Moongadget

07 Stimming - After Eight – Dynamic

08 Peter Lauer - Free Entry for Girls (Robag Whrume’s Drikkibass Remix) - Punkt

09 Voodeux - Just A Spoonful – mothership

10 Italoboyz – Bla Bla Bla – mothership

11 Varislove feat DOP. - Inside Ways (Boris Werner. Remix) - Supplemental Facts

12 Kiki – Immortal (Instrumental Dub) – BPitch Control

13 Xpansul & Daweed  - Pilsnerd – True Type

Marc Houle – Dirty Dirty – M_nus

14 Dinamoe – Maceo – Alpaca

Clara Moto – Silently Ft. Mimu - Infine

15 James Braun - Symphonia – Tartelet

16 Donk Boys – One Tooth Missing - Frankie

17 Robag Whrume - Guppipepitsche –  Freude Am Tanzen

18 ICS – Espagnol – dirtybird

19 Markus Schatz - Running – Highgrade

Catz ‘n Dogz – SF - mothership

20 Marc Miroir - Kraft – Paso Music

21 Stimming  - One Weekend - Dynamic

22 Claude VonStroke - Aundy – dirtybird

*Audible: Holger Zilske - "Mas Yeux"

Label: Fabric

MySpace: Claude VonStroke

Louderbach : Autumn

Opinions are not fact, but it's safe to declare that dark techno + vocals - merging the full-band sound of Joy Division with modern technology - can sometimes be a huge, cheesy disaster.* Fans of Bauhaus, Coil and Richie Hawtin are in good hands in regards to the new Louderbach release. The follow-up to their 2006 LP, Enemy Love, Troy Pierce and vocalist Gibby Miller have collaborated to bring Autumn just in time for summer. Intensely dark but delivered with a brightening crescendo, the album works best as one long mix. Ultimately, that's what it is, but given the song structures the tracks work on their own as well. The opening title track is a bit hard to digest the first time around, with its saturated minor keys and adjusting to the onset of vocals on a minimal techno album. By the time you reach "Notes," however, the album has a steady grip and smooth amalgam of vocals and synths. "So This Is Control" has a gorgeous laid-back attitude. At times, Autumn is the angelic companion to Pan Pot's Pan-O-Rama. While both records are certainly dark, there is a comparable and uplifting tone to many of the minimal/housey tracks on Louderbach's latest.

Audible: Louderbach - "So This Is Control"

Purchase: Louderbach - Autumn

MySpace: Louderbach

Label: Minus

*see also: Black Strobe's Burn Your Own Church