Basstown

Elsewhere: ReSolute + Blkmarket Present: Oslo Vs. Freude-Am-Tanzen

2010-04-25T16:16:00.005-04:00

Both Blkmarket Membership and ReSolute are dominating promotional forces in the New York techno underground. They draw from the same crowds and equally throw some of the most epic parties with some of the most sought-after acts from overseas. Over the following months, Blkmarket will bring Melon, Dixon, Masomenos and Half Hawaii (to name a few) as they celebrate their 4th year and ReSolute were responsible for the DJ Hell gig in March 2009 that many consider to have been a major turning point in New York's underground scene. Their second anniversary party in November, featuring Alexi Delano, was also something to write home - or here, rather - about.

But back in early April there were incidents of both parties getting shut down and rivalries being formed. The straight story never came out, but the more important fact is that no one cares - ReSolute and Blkmarket quickly came out to all of their followers and announced that they are brothers and nothing can change that. In fact, that was the slogan of the Freude-Am-Tanzen vs. Oslo Records showcase that happened this weekend; a joint effort between Taimur + Fahad (Blkmarket) and Nektarios + Nikola (ReSolute).

Utilizing a new space on the Gowanus Canal, not far from the Yard, the massive tent housed a giant, pristine disco ball with LEDs. On top of that, the promoters had supplied everything from an ATM to a barbecue with everything in between. Aside from a 10 minute walk to a bodega on Court St + Nelson, there was nothing else in sight and the atmosphere felt more like a festival than a lengthy party.

On the lineup was Monkey Maffia (Soren) of the Wighnomy Brothers, making his first appearance in New York since the WBs decided to call it quits as a touring duo. On the Oslo (from Berlin, not Norway, funny enough) side was owner Frederico Molinari and Vera. VERA! I cannot stress enough, in a number of ways, how incredible this woman is.

(a) She is the type of producer that you may not know off-hand, but if you check out her work you will instantly recognize multiple tracks from some of your favorite DJ mixes. Vera is definitely a DJ's DJ.

(b) Her set was perfectly mapped out, taking us on a proper journey to where many of us couldn't believe it was still her behind the decks - her styles were so diverse.

(c) Vera is lovely. I spoke with her briefly afterwards and I have no doubt that she belongs right up top with Ellen Allien, Anja Schneider and Cassy as one of the most deserving female DJs in electronic music. Personality goes a long way, and Vera radiates it like the fucking sun.

Monkey Maffia was pretty incredible as well. He's a truly talented DJ and there's a heaping amount of insight into both Brothers in Speaking in Code - a documentary that comes from Basstown founder David Day and Amy Grill. I've always said the best DJ sets are majoritively defined by the inability to tell when one song truly ends and another begins, and Soren is right up there with world-famous DJs that are known to rock any party. I didn't recognize a single track he played until Dennis Ferrer's "Hey Hey" - a version he stretched out for at least 15 glorious minutes. Someone next to me took a video, and I will harass him into getting that on YouTube soon...

All in all, it was an incredible party. Perhaps not as epic as some of the other Blkmarket/ReSolute parties in the past, but ultimately a great place to be for many hours on end. My friend and I clocked in around 9 and both slept like rock babies, highly satisfied.

Jamie Jones @ Plastic People

2010-04-22T15:25:00.003-04:00

Jamie Jones is un-fucking-real. Die Young first brought him up when he got his hands on "Summertime" long before it was released and played it out at Zuzu and other hot spots around Cambridge. Jones has since paired up with Crosstown Rebels, Culprit and beyond and is definitely a sought-after artist. He played the famous Plastic People venue in London about a week ago, and goddamn...just listen.

Jamie Jones Live @ Plastic People, London -16-04-2010 by R_co

K.atou Offers a New Podcast for Autobrennt, Continues to Reign

2010-04-21T00:32:00.002-04:00

Starting out in Athens before moving to Corfu, K.atou is the Greek goddess of the turntables. She's been coming up fast for the last few years, and when we had the pleasure of seeing her for her first time in Boston at Midweek Techno two years ago she played an excellent set. Since then, she's only gotten better and made stronger associations with fierce artists in the underground techno and house scenes that are constantly cross-pollinating and reaching larger and larger audiences.

Utilizing her strong bookings in Greece, she founded collectives that pushed minimal into Athenian nightlife. She's also been doing her own music production for the last few years and had great reception towards her first release in 2007 on Einmaleins Musik. She now lives in Berlin and continues to kick ass, showing up at making everyone smile, whether she's behind the decks or on the dancefloor.

This latest podcast comes from Autobrennt, a NYC-based management/promotion agency that works with the likes of Midweek Techno (you may have heard of them, ya?), Plot (think Midweek Techno...in Miami), MNMLKTCHN, Buddies (Matt Dear + Philip Jung's new monthly) and many others. She's in good hands.

Download: Autobrennt Podcast 008 // K.atou

CORALCOLA .::. EGGGIRL (video + download)

2010-04-18T10:54:00.006-04:00

A new video from Coralcola - an artist that Basstown can arguably take credit for discovering (thanks, Die Young) and unleashing on the public when he opened for The Field in June 2008.

Speaking of Die Young, he is one of the many local favorites that contributed to this long, impressive trackist.

1. Egggirl (Original Mix)
2. Tecmo
3. Arny Palm
4. Egggirl (Die Young Remix)
5. Egggirl (Christopher Wade Remix)
6. Egggirl (Space USA Remix)
7. Egggirl (Brothers Sunny Side Up Remix)
8. Egggirl (Nooka Jones Remix)
9. Egggirl (Kat Fyte Re-Rub)

CLICK HERE for your free download, and to keep your eye on Coralcola news.

CosminTRG @ Matter (London), January 2010

2010-04-15T14:52:00.007-04:00

photo by Seze Devres, Bass Mutations 02.13.10

Back in February, Cosmin TRG performed at Bass Mutations as part of the Unsound Festival. He also spoke on the related panel along with Dave Q of Dub War and FaltyDL (Planet Mu), who happens to be playing Dub War in New York tomorrow night with Geoim. More of a 2-stepper with a penchant for house, TRG fit right in alongside Dave Q, Untold and 2562 that Saturday night in Brooklyn dropping techno at times (think Dennis Ferrer's "Hey Hey") within bass-heavy beats.

FWD/Rinse has another party coming up at Matter in London - with over 20 guests on the bill, believe it - and in return they've put up Cosmin's set from January. His discography is small (for now) and his DJ sets are a bit hard to find. On top of that, he lives in Bucharest so he's not hitting the states often enough!

A true original.

CosminTRG - FWD>> + Rinse, January 2010 by matterlondon

Trentemoller: New Album, Video and Remixes by Boratto + Schumacher

2010-04-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

It feels like years since Trentemøller's timelessly breathtaking release, 'The Last Resort,' came out. In fact, it has and the electronic music scene has changed so much for Boston, Basstown and the whole goddamn globe. Still the master of beautiful music, Trentemøller's single for "Sycamore Feeling" will precede the release of his next full-length, 'Into the Great Wilde Yonder.' It includes remixes from Gui Boratto and Thomas Schumacher, and altogether these advanced producers build the anticipation for the Danish artist's latest efforts. Also loved by us was his remix collection, 'The Chronicles Of,' which came out on Audiomatique in 2007. Above is the new video for the original version of "Sycamore Feeling," and below you can click through to Ibiza Voice to hear the Boratto/Schumacher remixes.

Ibiza Voice: "Sycamore Feeling" Remixes

Making The Noise: Live in New York, January 2010

2010-02-08T18:39:00.005-05:00

Making The Noise is no stranger to Basstown, and since we first wrote about him in 2007 the Boston native has made a name for himself as a great live performer and one of the top applications programmers for the Monome - the secret weapon for his MTN sound. Late last month, he came down to New York to headline the first installment of The Vectory, a new party in Greenpoint's Coco66. The East coast event draws its inspiration from Low End Theory in Los Angeles, which has garnered associations with the likes of Daedelus and Flying Lotus. Over the last few years, MTN utilizes his website to post live sets and new tracks, but the total pleasure of experiencing his music comes from his stage shows, which are paired with mesmerizing visuals and his unwavering enthusiasm. In many ways, the Warp-esque set in Brooklyn evoked similar reactions to seeing Aphex Twin almost 10 years ago. Any IDM fan that has grown to appreciate a wide variety of music can find a kinship in MTN's taste. Below, you can watch the closing track to his set, and be sure to keep an eye out for his rare but special appearances.

mtn - untitled track - live @ coco66 nyc 1-27-2010 from makingthenoise on Vimeo.

Fabric Goes Higher With 'Elevator Music'

2010-01-10T16:50:00.004-05:00

fabric presents Elevator Music: Vol. 1 from Fabric London on Vimeo.

Fabric is a powerhouse among clubs and labels, and 'Elevator Music Vol. 1' is an authentic display that the institution is aiming to utilize the dawn of a new year and decade. Its press release states that the project "stands as an album in its own right, becoming more than just a collection of tracks. It's a collation of the variant strains of dubstep; a completely original and exclusive collection of future bumps that reflects the embracive nature of fabric's dance floor music policy." The mission is to - and I love this quote - "further the cocktail of sound that dubstep is currently thriving off of."

Featuring names well-known and obscure, this is a great compilation for newcomers to dubstep that have just sunk their teeth into Hyperdub's five-year anniversary release, which was lauded by tastemakers big and small in the last year. Bolded are the tracks that stand out, but Starkey's "Black Monolith" is by far the greatest track...quite possibly to 2010 what "Moth" was to 2009.

1: Hot City – If That’s How I Feel
2: xxxy – Sing With Us
3: Doc Daneeka – Drums In The Deep
4: Hackman – Pistol. In Your Pocket
5: Julio Bashmore – The Moth
6: Untold – Bad Girls
7: Octa Push – Doctor Bayard
8: Shortstuff – Behave
9: Skinnz – Ukraine
10: Mosca – Gold Bricks, I See You
11: Martyn – Friedrichstrasse
12: Vista – Elixir
13: Caspa & Rusko – One Of The Same
14: Om Unit – Encoded
15: Starkey – Black Monolith

16: Shortstuff & Brackles – Melvin Blue (Digital Bonus Track)
17: Hackman – Pistol In Your Pocket (Hypno Remix) (Limited Digital Bonus track)

DJ Die Young Remix Featured on Vice Blog

2009-12-14T12:29:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that DJ Die Young's remix of Zambri has been posted up on Vice's blog! Much congrats to Jamie, who has always been a solid remixer in the Basstown crew. His Teletextile remix was featured on XLR8R a bit ago, and his Frightened Rabbit remix went far within and beyond the Boston perimeter. Get a better feel for him over at his MySpace page.

Zambri - "Bang For Changes (DJ Die Young Mix)"

Eslewhere: the ReSolute 1+1 Anniversary

2009-11-23T17:29:00.005-05:00

never go home.

This weekend marked the two year anniversary of NYC's ReSolute collective, who blew us away in March when they featured DJ Hell and Anja Schneider (among others) at a converted warehouse in Bushwick. Since then, there have been a handful of parties in that same location, and it was not only the home of their 2nd anniversary celebration but a special screening of Speaking In Code. Director Amy Grill was present, and it being my third time seeing the film, I have to say that it never gets old. Now living in Brooklyn, there are many scenes (sQuare loft, Thunderdome and various city shots) that make my heart leap with nostalgia for the community that still thrives at Make It New and related parties. It unabashedly exposes the very raw, human sides of Philip Sherburne and Gabor of the Wighnomy Brothers, which makes many feel incredibly honored to be able to view and understand the personal sides of these influential people.

But the music...the music!! San Francisco's Alland Byallo played a live set that completely rocked the house, and he was completely locked in to his controls. The hero of the night - or morning, rather - would be Alexi Delano, who played from 6am to 10:30 in the morning. There's little to say other than the set being absolute perfection, going hard and fairly fast for the entire morning. In many of these cases, people begin to filter out after 8 or 9 in the morning, but it's safe to say that there were just as many people there at 10am as there were at 7am. The crowd was really happy, and as far as I could see there were no fights or disturbances. Imagine being in one big, concrete room for 12 straight hours and being annoyed by absolutely no one...the bar never running out...the bathrooms never getting scary or gross.

Alexi Delano

ReSolute continue to conjure themed parties that really explore unturned stones in promoting events. Many of its regulars put their trust in Nektarios, Nikola and their partners to create not just an incredible line-up but an entire atmosphere that is safe, fun and mind-blowing.

Incyde Kicks Off Hot Flush Podcast Series

2009-09-28T20:36:00.003-04:00

I'm not quite sure how old this is (though it is from 2009), but our friend Incyde kicked off the hot flush podcasts with his own mix. He not only runs the label with Scuba, but you can also catch him as a resident of DubWar (NYC) and often putting together and/or playing at Bassic in Boston. He also has a pirate radio show on Sub.FM and writes for Big Up magazine.

I guess you could say he's a busy guy...

Audible: Incyde - HotFlush Podcast 01

MySpace: Incyde

Dan Alcala Remixes Röyksopp

2009-09-27T23:43:00.000-04:00

Dan Alcala has been a busy man. The Boston native is still stationed in New York, and has been working on mixes and remixes for the past several months. He received a lot of feedback for his track "Why So Serious?" which infused parts of The Dark Knight and techno. It was a smash at Make It New when he headlined last summer. Dan recently made a mix with his DJ crew, Rich Unkle Skeleton, which you can grab here. He's also made some strange YouTube videos. You can find just about everything on his MySpace page, but be sure to check out his latest - a remix of Röyksopp's "Tricky Tricky," which once again features Karin Dreijer Andersson (Fever Ray, The Knife) on vocals.

Audible: Röyksopp - "Tricky Tricky (Dan Alcala Remix)"
MySpace: Dan Alcala

Website: Dan Alcala

How Was Your Summer?

2009-09-25T10:12:00.007-04:00

Make It New had an excellent summer and Basstown returns in October. This time, the party that brought you The Field, Gui Boratto, Lauren Flax, Diplo and others will take place at the Good Life in downtown Boston, providing two floors of complete chaos. Facebook event details can be found here.

In the meantime, Nate (formerly Etan but now Shuttle) has been touring the world with Passion Pit, including a late night television performance on Jimmy Fallon's gig, where they played "The Reeling." (This is the closest I can get to linking, since it seems to have been taken down everywhere around the Internet...). They've been attracting a good amount of press, and Basstown has been brought up here, here and especially here, where the Examiner took time to talk to Nate, specifically.

Make It New recently featured Mark Ingram for the second time, a good friend of the Basstown crew and local Boston DJ who has been making a name for himself. Premiering at the party during August of 2008, he returned as Sleekit last month, and we recorded the night. You can also grab both Baltimoroder and Die Young's opening sets.

Audible: Sleekit @ Make It New, 08.20.09

Speaking of opening sets, Resident Advisor has a very interesting feature up on the matter. Definitely a worthwhile read for all. Editor Todd Burns also conducted a great interview with Richie Hawtin, but I want to send you that way mostly because of the lulzy photo they accompanied it with. Hang ten!

One other miscellaneous announcement of significance - our lovely Lauren DeVain has moved from Gigolo Records in Berlin over to Sportclub Music, which features a roster boasting the likes of Axel Bartsch, Oddvar, Sian, Alex Niggemann and Gabriel Ananda.

Dev/Null's Summer Mix

2009-08-12T16:43:00.005-04:00

Die Young: NEED TRACKLISTING
Dev/Null: oh
Dev/Null: for my mix?
Dev/Null: OK
Dev/Null: 1. NYOFB
Dev/Null: 2. NYOFB
Dev/Null: 3. NYOFB
Dev/Null: 4. NYOFB
Die Young: hahah
Die Young: ill post with a tracklisting at request and your myspace
Die Young: *tracklisting upon request
Dev/Null: you can put my email address if you want
Dev/Null: eh, I can type up a track listing I Guess
Dev/Null: gimme a minute
Die Young: doo iiitttt
Dev/Null: fuck yeah my laptop doesn't have wireless now for some reason
Dev/Null: even if I type it up downstairs
Dev/Null: no way to transfer it
Dev/Null: can you just say "email pete.devnull @ gmail dot com for tracklist/more info" or something/
Die Young: i gotta have a tl dude
Die Young: its kinda lazy if i dont
Dev/Null: no it's not
Dev/Null: you put up plenty of mixes w/o them
Die Young: live ones
Die Young: never premixed
Dev/Null: what's the difference?
Dev/Null: this was live
Dev/Null: in my apartment

HE HAS A POINT FOLKS.
Dev/Null rules. Mix rules.
Original remixes, old school, new school, hardcore, its all in there.

Audible: Dev/Null - Summer Mix 09

Virb: http://virb.com/bostonoldschool

Axel Bartsch Mix

2009-08-07T11:25:00.003-04:00

Last month at Make It New, Bar 25 resident and founder of the Sportclub label Axel Bartsch played an energizing set of new and unreleased Berlin techno for the party people of Cambridge.

Earlier this month we released the recording of Volvox's opening set as the After After Mix, and now we are pleased to present you with the headlining set of the night.

Perfect for the sunny summer weekend! (We even made some nice art for your iTunes)

Axel Bartsch Live at Make It New July 9

If you take a one a day multivitamin after a night of drinking, you will not get a headache the next day

2009-07-22T12:56:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of great mixes from a Volvox and DSub, techno and glitch hop (although why does this term rub me the wrong way? There's gotta be a better name for the kind of stuff DSub is playing) DJs respectively. I was able to record these sets using the magic iKey device. I hope you enjoy.

Audible: Volvox - Make it New July 9th Set
Audible: DSub - July 10th Birthday Set

Setlists on request.

Collaboration Celebration

2009-07-16T08:37:00.008-04:00

Mathew Jonson & Dandy Jack / photo: Reuben Sweeney

The latest podcast from Resident Advisor features Pisco Sour, a collaboration between Butane and Dandy Jack. In all honesty, I have yet to listen to it, but I was most interested in the interview, and particularly loved what Martin Schopf (Dandy) had to say about collaborations.

Q: You've continued your string of collaborations, play with Mathew Jonson at Mutek and here with Butane. Do you prefer collaborating to solo work? And are there any future collaborations we can look forward to?

A: Between two people there is always a challenge, mixed up between friendship, love and musical affinity. You go into something that could never happen in your dreams; it's an improvisation. This can be magic, but also a disaster. So you go to your gig, simply expecting full control or total chaos. In this case you are exposed to your partner and the public in a silent way, even if the sound is loud and unacceptable and you want to close your ears. There are not many people you are able to do this with.

You can read the entirety of it here, and download the podcast as well.

Mathew Jonson & Dandy Jack / photo: Reuben Sweeney

I'm happy to see his live Mutek set mentioned again. While I was unable to make it to Montreal after a perfect and long weekend in Detroit, I heard so much about their collaboration at Metropolis. Fortunately, it's all recorded, and now available here. Thanks to TNL for passing it over, and enjoy - Jonson starts things off with a slightly sped up version of his latest B-side, "When Love Feels Like Crying," which is a gorgeous and essential track for the mild and sunny summer we've been having in the Northeast.

Audible: Mathew Jonson vs. Dandy Jack, live @ Mutek 2009

Introducing: Secrets

2009-07-14T00:03:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago, the event Basstown is Dead put to rest the monthly residency at Great Scott. We're happy to say that reports of the death of Basstown have been greatly exaggerated.

Tonight marks the beginning of a new residency, Secrets, landing every other Tuesday in Jamaica Plain. The Milky Way Lounge has recently moved into glorious new digs at the Brwery Building, once home to Boston Beer Company (aka Samuel Adams) and now where they give brewery tours, the old Haffenreffer brewery has been reborn.

We're proud to be a part of such a tradition, and proud to bring three young and well-informed new resident DJs into the Basstown fold.

Will Lynch, aka Lynch is a contributor for esteemed blog Little White Earbuds. He's long been a supported of our weekly residency Make It New, but his regular show, Persuasion, broadcasts from 10pm-2am on Thursdays, exactly when Make It New takes place.

SarahJoy is his partner on Persuasion and a practicing DJ in her own right. During the Great Scott era, SarahJoy blew us away with a set at the now-legendary night The Revolution Will Be Feminized when she supported Lauren Flax--a night when out residency blew the power out of a city block in Allston.

Carrigan DB also had a radio show on WZBC 90.3fm, the most adventurous radio frequency in Boston. Her AM radio show, "The Following Aesthetic Reasons," was the first to bring techno to the morning commute. After a series of amazing house parties, she's a great host with a taste like none other.

These three will serve as the anchor of the new Basstown night, called Secrets. The opening party takes place tonight, with a candlelit photobooth, disposable cameras for the crowd and a cutting-edge DJ trio at the decks. Looks for special guests in the coming weeks, from Basstown and beyond.

Lynch and SarahJoy combined forced to make the first promotional mix. Here is the set-list:

Sound Stream - “Live” Goes On [Sound Stream]
Nekes - Cristal (Sascha Dive Remix) [Oslo]
Masomenos - Travel Master [Welcome to Masomenos]
Christian Burkhardt - Doubledub [Raum… musik]
Jus Ed - Yo, This Shit is Hot! [Underground Quality]
Kreon - Jauce [Cécille Numbers]
Matthew Styles - Palladium [Horizontal]
David Pher - Harare [Glueckskind Digital]
Delano Smith feat. Diamond Dancer - A Message For the DJ [Still Music]
Black Jazz Consortium - New Horizon [Soul People Music]
Melchior Productions Ltd. - Water Soul [Perlon]

Enjoy:

Lynch and SarahJoy - Secrets Promo Mix

Dave Siska's "Distant Lights" Mix

2009-07-02T10:27:00.005-04:00

On a more personal note, I wanted to extend my apologies for not blogging much music lately. It's been an incredibly busy summer working and living on the beach (Fire Island), and you can imagine that there isn't much techno going on out here. I've missed Richie Hawtin, Claude VonStroke, Daniel Bell and have/will be missing a few House 'n' Home & Bunker parties. Believe me, it's no easy task, but thanks to mailing lists, FTP servers and having great friends, it's been easy to keep up with the Internet on hand. (When the beach is your front yard, though, it's easy to forget that it's there altogether!)

As of late, I've been revisiting Marc Houle's Bay Of Figs and enjoying new tracks by Deuce and especially the new Planetary Assault Systems release, Temporary Suspension. Oh, and the new Holger Zilske album is slowly but steadily growing on me. Of all of these things, Luke Slater's "The Watcher" - from Planetary Assault's 2LP promo for Temporary Suspension is hands down the winner of my concrete heart. I'll be featuring it in the near future, but be sure to check out the excellent feature on Resident Advisor with Mr. Slater himself.

But before I go, I wanted to leave you with a beautiful mix by Dave Siska, with thanks to JD Harrington for passing this along my way. It's titled Distant Lights, and I will let the mix speak for itself. I personally love where it goes past the 30 minute mark as well as the beat's ressurrection around the 42 minute mark. Gorgeous. Tracklist is below - enjoy!

My Bloody Valentine – To Here Knows When [vermilion endloop] 1991
Tim Hecker – Blood Rainbow – Harmony in Ultraviolet (Kranky) 2006
Vainqueur – Elevation [Original] – Elevations (Chain Reaction) 1997
Substance – Plate Element 3 – Sessions (Chain Reaction) 1998
Motor – 7 (Audio.nl) 2000
James Ruskin – Below – Further Design (Blueprint) 1998
Marcel Dettmann – A Req [T++ remix] (MDR) 2006
Marc Ashken – Roots Dyed Dark [Skream remix] (Leftroom) 2007
Burial – Distant Lights (Hyperdub) 2006
Porter Ricks – Nautical Dub [extract] – Biokinetics (Chain Reaction) 1996
Benjamin Brunn – Up the Escalator (Binemusic) 2005
Stephan Laubner – Portside Waves (Perlon) 2000
Convextion – Solum Ferrum (downLow) 2006
Exos – Orangeblue – U Can’t Stop Time (Statik Entertainment) 2003
7th Plain – Pearl – TEEX 3 (Volume) 1994
Pub – Summer [Arovane AMX 4] (Vertical Form) 2000

Audible: Dave Siska - Distant Lights mix
More Info: Sonic Sunsets

Raster-Noton @ Make It New

2009-06-09T20:18:00.001-04:00

Once again, members of Raster-Noton graced our Middlesex Lounge for a very well-attended night of experimental electronic music. This year, we caught a lot of it on video, as well as photographs. You can view Ricardo DeLima's shots here, and Byetone bits below. Alva Noto video to come in a bit...

"The Twist (DJ Die Young Dub Edit)"

2009-05-23T15:10:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-17T16:58:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-14T00:57:00.001-04:00

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

2009-05-03T15:38:00.001-04:00

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

2009-05-01T10:36:00.004-04:00

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

Hawtin & Co. Unleash Twitter DJ App

2009-04-30T20:09:00.004-04:00

Say what you will about Traktor, but the software's existence has come a long way in the last decade to push forward the hybrid performance of a DJ and live set. Upgraded and developed over time, the Traktor Pro has been running on its own legs for a while now, and the introduction of a plug-in (of sorts) that is set to revolutionize the relationship of DJ and audience is due.

Enter the Twitter DJ app. Essentially, Traktor communicates what the DJ is playing during his set and transmits it to the public via social media tools that are widely used, updating it every 30 seconds. The best choice for such a platform is Twitter, where even on the dancefloor you can check your incoming "tweets" to tell you exactly what Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Digweed or the many other DJs who use the program are spinning. While this is a great way to further insight on how a DJ builds a set, track by track, from start to finish, the greatest benefit is to give instant credit to the lesser known artists that are being played. "The Twitter DJ application would not only drag the likes of GEMA*, PRS** and SOCAN*** kicking and screaming into the 21st century," says Hawtin, in a press release, "but make sure the real artists get paid instead of performance payments simply being carved up between the Madonnas and U2s of the world."

Richie tested this out last night at a gig in Rotterdam, and I was fortunately already following him on Twitter but didn't realize why I was getting updated tracks until the press release was sent out today. Once this becomes more popular, it could be an excellent tool, but it would be good to stay careful of how many different feeds one subscribes to so that way your Twitter homepage doesn't end up look like nothing more than a Last.fm feed.

Twitter: Richie Hawtin

* a German music publisher's association
** these guys

*** a Canadian music publisher's association

Lazersword. I am excite.

2009-04-21T17:38:00.002-04:00

Saturday, April 25th

Basstown Presents

LAZER SWORD

Great Scott

with guests

Pandai'a
Skunk
D-Sub
and Residents Die Young & Volvox

9pm - 2am / 21+ / $7

Lazer Sword have been garnering great attention from the likes of XLR8R and other major contenders about their unique blend of electro, dubstep, hip-hop and even new age music. With gigs coming up in New York, Los Angeles, San Francsico and San Diego, their Boston date is a relevant part of their recent popularity.

Pandai'a (Bassic) and Skunk (23 Sound) have been an important part of the Boston underground for some time now, and while Basstown has had the Bassic crew come in and work their magic before, having these two particular talents highlight their own goods is a special treat. Also included is D-Sub from Subliminal Sessions and our residents Die Young and Volvox on the decks.

Free Music:
LAZER SWORD BBC RADIO 1 MIX
LAZER SWORD XLR8R PODCAST
Tea Leaf Dancers (Low Limit Remix)

Speaking In Code premieres at Somerville Theater this Thursday!

2009-04-20T15:21:00.004-04:00

Finally...the wait is over.

For years, Amy Grill and David Day have worked with their savvy cameraman to create what will be the most important film in electronic music. Much like The Ambient Century was to techno via the book industry, Speaking In Code - a full-length documentary - will be a historical part of the musical timeline. Filmed around the world, with strong foci in Boston and Berlin, the movie is a rush of laughter and tears and leaves many with a feeling of catharsis. "That's my story too!" said one at a recent film festival in Boulder. But this Thursday, the Boston premiere will be an epic event considering the close-to-home in both address and heart locations for many of the folks that will be filling up seats at the Somerville Theater. Recognize anyone from the movie poster?

You can view the trailer below, and order your tickets (with no additional charges) online here.

Site: Speaking In Code
Tickets: IFF Boston / Speaking In Code
Facebook: Event Page

2 Deep

2009-04-06T23:57:00.002-04:00

GummiHz - Los Los (D'Julz Mix) [Mobilee]
A standout deep down track from Anja Schneiders' Mobilee Records.
This track took a hold of me two weeks ago and still hasn't let go.

www.myspace.com/anjaschneider
www.myspace.com/d_julz

New Matters & Dunaway Music Video

2009-04-02T20:13:00.004-04:00

Social networking is the bane of our culture, but we are all addicted to it. With that major statement aside, a positive aspect is that it allows us to find things as soon as they are posted. Our friends Andre and Tom of the much-loved Boston duo Matters & Dunaway - whom Basstown has booked with The Field's premiere Boston performance (July 2007) and partnered with for other events - finished a music video for "Dystopian Dream," and before they could say "Hey Vicki we made a new vi..." I've already got my pointer hovering over the "Publish Post" button. Gotta love technology.

Be sure to check out their MySpace to hear more and pick up their latest release.

MySpace: Matters & Dunaway

Minimal According To Magda / Bunker Brings Ben Klock

2009-03-31T21:27:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-24T19:14:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-23T19:56:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-05T11:25:00.006-05:00

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

2009-03-03T18:58:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-03T13:16:00.007-05:00

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

the tape is like custom made for blunt rides in suburban hellholes

2009-02-26T13:08:00.015-05:00

Coralcola has released his first EP called 747. Good thing we have mp3 copies, because the only other way to get this release is on tape, which makes it a great burn run album, since the only way anyone listens to tapes anymore is in their mom's old Plymouth Breeze.

Here is a link to the whole EP. It sounds like the 80s filtered through Coralcola's weeded brain (it's a zip file): Zshare Link

I recently played in the courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for 'Carnevale' on Feb. 19th. Let me tell you how stunning and special it was to play for people in that courtyard. No one ever really gets to step foot in the there besides the groundskeepers, the sound was incredible because it reverberates crisply up and down the walls of the building, and the scenery is just amazing. Check it out:

It looked like a straight up movie set, and yet it is a real place.

I recorded the set and opened with a Coralcola track, so I wanted to make sure to share this with everyone:
Tracklisting:
1. William Basinski - Dlp1.3
2. Coralcola - Sleep is for Dreamers
3. Loco Dice - M Train to Brooklyn
4. The Tape and RQM - Luvely (Kalabrese Remix)
5. Dflex - Waltz (Dave Aju Remix)
6. Some track KC gave me that I play all the time
7. Clara Moto - Silently feat. Mimu
8. Daniel Steinberg - I Like to Be
9. John Tejada - Turning Point
10. Popnoname - Touch (The Field Remix)
11. Code 718 - Equinox (Henrik Schwarz Dub)
12. Paul Kalkbrenner - Square 1
13. Minilogue,KAB - That's a Nice Way to Give Feedback (Wighnomy Brothers Remix)
14. Marco Carola - Drumming
15. Luomo - Tessio (Stimming Remix)
16. Dop - Blanche Neige
17. Four Tet - My Angel Rocks Back and Forth
18. Max Cooper - I
19. Dana Ruh - History of the Sun

Download link: DJ Die Young - Live at the ISGM 2

Joee Irwin Will Pump You Up To Party

2009-02-24T14:04:00.003-05:00

Our friend Joee Irwin just completed a very special mix for Nicky Digital. "This is my interpretation of going out, and staying out all night," he says. "From the first train ride, to one party leading into the next, passing people and faces along the journey, as things get cloudy and regretful, before closing on a pillow with thoughts and memories that fade into dreams."

The tracklist is well done and executes the concept a bit better than Moby's Last Night, which is a concept album about an all-night bender. Moby had said it's basically "a love letter to dance music in New York City...In making Last Night, I essentially tried to take a long 8 hour night out in New York City and condense it into a 65 minute long album."

While Irwin's mix is not chock full of original material, the atmosphere and mood that he aims for is reached, and appeals to the more heady techno lovers. Music lovers who digested Last Night and appreciated it for what it was might find these boots a little hard to fit into, but there's faith that those who found the album to be lacking will dance to this mix all night long.

Link: Joee Irwin Pre-Party Mix @ Nicky Digital

The Orb's Gorgeous, Godless America

2009-01-31T14:16:00.003-05:00

The Orb is legendary. They have been around for at least 20 years, and have had releases on a wide variety of labels. To name a few, there's Island, Polygram, Deviant, Ultra, V2 (Japan), Cooking Vinyl. My personal favorite hails from the Kompakt Extra series, which is better known as the Speicher series. Their 1991 release of The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld is as classic to electronic music as we can get without reanimating Beethoven and having him edit their music. Not that it's laden with strings, but it's as essential to own as it was to get your hands on the GAS box set when it came out last year.

Lately, I've been in a "Speicher mood," and while all of the music is dark and expansive, it's still a very positive experience. It's just a mental state where almost anything else is unlistenable. Before it passes, I find myself going back and back again to Speicher 33 (we're up to 63, for what it's worth), which features The Orb with "Godless America / Gorgeous" - enjoy.

Audible: The Orb - "Godless America / Gorgeous"
MySpace: The Orb

Tonight: Hostage in NYC & Make It New in Boston

2009-01-29T17:25:00.005-05:00

The name Hostage started buzzing around when Volvox and Die Young spun "Blockhead" during a Basstown residency in the spring of last year. Since then, we've been waiting for him to come out to America, and finally that wait is over. While he isn't hitting the Boston circuit, he has visited a handful of spots around the country, landing him squarely in New York City tonight! With the latest release of Shake It - an EP that features remixes by AC Slater and Acid Jacks, along with three other originals - his name has become more widespread, and he is destined for bigger things in 2009. Somewhere between Drop The Lime and Berlin techno in style, "Shake It" is pretty anthemic all across the board despite its title making h8rs predict 5+ minutes of pure electro. "Leathered" is also one of the better tracks, and reminiscent of Proxy at certain points. Overall, it's obvious his taste is vast, and we can only expect more from him.

Audible: Hostage - "Shake It"
MySpace: Hostage

+++

Much like every Thursday in Boston, the Middlesex Lounge is going to feature some of the best techno in the world. Our own little version of Berghain, tonight's edition is a farewell to Doria Grace, who is leaving our transient city of Boston after being a hardcore attendee of all things Basstown and beyond. Come for hugs and drink. Joee Irwin recently called us "Boston's premiere techno party" - excellence. You can read about it here (as well as download some sets) at Palms Out Sounds, who are putting on the Hostage show in NYC tonight (small world, yo).

New Calvin Harris Single On Radio 1

2009-01-27T17:15:00.005-05:00

Last Friday, Pete Tong gave the new Calvin Harris single, "I'm Not Alone," a proper spin. Apparently the track has been appearing and disappearing faster than you can shout "I CREATED DISCO, YO!" really, really fast. Here we have a radio rip of the track, so expect to hear some Pete Tong commentary.

All in all, the track is short and sweet and like any good ear candy has an explosive center. The climax is similar to some of the finer moments on Deadmau5's Random Album Title from last year, but the vocals are rich and the dance floor accessibility is at a maximum. Plus, this makes for some really sweet remixes to come.

Have we also mentioned how much we love Coralcola? We do <3

Audible: Calvin Harris - "I'm Not Alone (Radio Rip)"
MySpace: Calvin Harris

Stimming To Release Full-Length Album In March

2009-01-14T13:38:00.003-05:00

Stimming - one of our favorite producers - will be releasing his first LP this year on Diynamic records. We'd recently posted about the Obama victory (Tuesday!) and included a great Stimming track (here), but an 11-track powerhouse from one of the most diverse producers to come out of Germany (Hamburg, actually) is a very very very early '09 Christmas. March 16th, to be exact.

Here is the update from Resident Advisor:
The Hamburg producer had a big 2008 with tracks on Buzzin' Fly, liebe*detail and Freerange, but he's set to return to his original home of Diynamic for the album, entitled Reflections. All of the eleven tracks featured are unreleased, so long-time fans will be able to enjoy the album as a discrete object without any prior connection to the tunes.

Like much of his previous work, the album is full of field recordings that complement the colourful boompty grooves, but there are still quite a few shocks in store: On "The Loneliness" for example, Stimming indulges his passion for live instrumentation yet again as a harmonica makes an appearance to accompany a Tom Waits-esque vocal. Each and every track has a respective story behind it, which Stimming used to inspire the final music. With titles like "The Kiss" and "Song for Isabelle," you can guess that there's going to be a fair amount of techno-emoting on Reflections.

Tracklist
01. Sunday Morning
02. After Eight
03. Song for Isabelle
04. Fruits of Life
05. Silver Surfer
06. One Weekend
07. The Loneliness
08. Tel Aviv Calling
09. The Beauty
10. Sleep On
11. The Kiss

So...Tom Waits meets techno, hmm? I'm interested...

MySpace: Stimming

Fever Ray's Just Begun

2009-01-13T11:43:00.004-05:00

It's no surprise that Fever Ray is an incredible album. The new solo project from Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as one half of The Knife, is coming out in mid-March on Rabid Records, where The Knife was putting out their material before being signed to Mute. There will most likely be a unanimous affinity towards this record for all Knife fans, but it has a slant all its own that makes it stand apart from previous works.

The album is closest to 2006's Silent Shout in terms of imagery. The pop-heavy sounds that saturated their The Knife's first two records were mostly put to rest with the masterpiece that put Karin and her brother at the tip of everyone's tongue over two years ago. Here we see what Karin has been up to since, and her siren vocals and haunting synths are in full effect.

If I Had A Heart from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

The video for "If I Had A Heart" - the first single from the album - needs several viewings, and only the bold will dare to interpret. In addition to that, there's a pretty good remix of the track by Fuck Buttons streaming on Stereogum, which you can find here

To give you a wider sampling, here is a track called "I'm Not Done," which is another stand-out from the forthcoming debut.

Audible: Fever Ray - "I'm Not Done"
MySpace: Fever Ray

Sonolmoss Makes Really Good Hip Hop

2009-01-07T14:48:00.010-05:00

Sonolmoss makes pretty wintery music. Although, since it is actually winter and its doing that rain/snow combo that always soaks your feet through by the time you get home, I am associating this music with the the feeling of finally getting back to your (hopefully) warm and toasty room, and basking by the light of your desktop PC of choice. However, if it was spring out, maybe I'd call this 'Spring-ish' music. Either way, this is touching stuff. The music is halting, stutter stepping hip hop with great texture and no bombast to be found. Plus it's better than Flying Lotus. You heard me.

Tracks:
Sonolmoss - Dream Bear (zsharesux)
Sonolmoss - Sit Still Assile (zsharesux)

You can get all sorts more here: Download
Myspace: Sonolmoss
He's got a blog too: Sonolmoss at Blogspot

NOW BOARDING: Air France

2009-01-06T23:29:00.005-05:00

words by David Day

We first heard about Air France from the crazy folks at Revival Boston, the every-so-often Tuesday/Monday night party at the Middlesex Lounge. They founded a Facebook group called, funny enough, Bring Air France to Cambridge. Naturally, a parade to the blogs followed. We thought we'd join the cacophony inside the Hype Machine chamber and post a link to Collapsing at Your Doorstep, the insanely pretty song from this Swedish duo.

It's equal parts Boards of Canada, the Avalanches and dreamstuff harvested from the mind. Like The Field or Lykke Li or, shit, every other thing that has ever come from Gothenburg, expect Air France to win a sweeping amount of critical acclaim in 2009. (We're not sure how Guardian music maven Alan McGee missed them, but at least he picked up on Pantha du Prince)

Audbile: Air France - "Collapsing at your Doorstep"
MySpace: Air France

For When You Just Need To Know

2008-12-26T18:57:00.001-05:00

Good goddamn I love this [particular remix], so I'm making sure it accompanies the long drive from New York to Boston this weekend.

Audible: Moby - "Disco Lies (Dusty Kid's Fears Remix)"

Christmas in the Tropics

2008-12-25T09:23:00.005-05:00

Man, I really held out as long as I could on all this 'world sounds/live instrumentation' techno and house that's been so popular recently. "No!" I said to myself, "techno should be DARK and COLD and sound like MACHINES!"

But slowly and quietly these tracks have creeped their way into my iTunes playlist in the last few months. Sis' Trompeta really blew the whole thing open for me, and now Steve Lawler is making me go "FUCK YEAH MARACAS"

I blame the Brazilian air I've been breathing for the past week. For my friends in the northeast US, put this track on blast, close your eyes and forget about winter for 11 sweaty minutes.

Steve Lawler - Kalimba (R&S Records 2008)

MDSLKTR remixes: Rustie, Dettmann, Byetone

2008-12-21T14:20:00.006-05:00

If we were able to, I'd have put Modeselektor's Happy Birthday! on the Top Ten for 2008 AGAIN (alongside 2007's Chromophobia by Gui Boratto) because the record is so goddamn good. Over the course of this year, some great remixes have surfaced, but nothing compares to the latest release (BPC184) of "Black Block."

The EP includes reworks by Rustie (whom we've just blogged about, and is featured twice in Shuttle's new mix), Marcel Dettmann (who is coming to Make It New on January 8th!), and Byetone, whose 2008 Raster-Noton release Death Of A Typographer was definitely on my top ten for this year.

The "Hiddennsee 2008" mix is MDSLKTR thickening the basslines that were laid out in the LP version, making it more of a peak mix point for the likes of Thunderdome or Trouble & Bass. The Rustie rework is definitely one to get you more acquainted with the young talent's spastic style, and Dettman's calls for some patience in the build-up and pays up tenfold when the track explodes about halfway through. An incredible difference wedged between Rustie and Byetone's reinterpretations...

These are all so well executed that I'd want to post them all up here, but I've got to stick to one. Byetone's remix is so otherwordly, and only contains traces of the untouched version of "Black Block." For those of you on the fence about "Plastic Star" or the entirety of Death Of A Typographer, this track is an incredible mindfuck for your synapses.

Audible: Modeselektor - "The Black Block"
Audible: Modeselektor - "The Black Block (Byetone Remix)"
Purchase: Boomkat
MySpace: Modeselektor

Rustie On The Hyphy Grind

2008-12-19T00:56:00.006-05:00

We're still in heaven with the new mix by Shuttle - the reincarnate of Basstown's very own Etan. Inside the mix include two Rustie bits, and it's worth bringing tot he forefront.

An addition to your heavy rotation should come from Glaswegian Rustie, a young producer who recently put out "Zig Zag" - a track that sounds as good as the vinyl release looks...

You can have the track down below, but that sort of design and sound is a guaranteed kiss on the cheek from any hot dubstep and techno lovers. Check out Wireblock to purchase.

Audible: ~~Rustie - "Zig Zag"~~
Purchase: Wireblock
MySpace: Rustie
Review: Resident Advisor

Etan is no more. He hath Risen.

2008-12-15T14:40:00.004-05:00

Our golden boy. Wizard of Ableton. Maker of an angry Diplo. Etan and now Shuttle.

Due to legal reasons or some shit, Etan has had to change his name to Shuttle. To commemorate this turn of events, he's put together a pretty eclectic mix with gems from Brian Wilson, dubstep guy Zomby (who I think Sinden discovered, but I could be wrong about that. It's a blog, who fact checks?) and a few of his own tracks and remixes. Here's the rundown:

1. Brian Wilson - Our Prayer
2. Shuttle - w1
3. Thom Yorke - Cymbal Rush
4. Martyn - Broken
5. Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody?
6. Kode 9 - Bad
7. Joker & Rustie - Play Doe
8. Crissy Criss - Don't Mess About
9. TC - Where's My Money? (Caspa Remix)
10. Nero - Something Else
11. Rustie - Tempered
12. Zomby - 1 Up
13. Output Message - Glint
14. Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit - Funa Funa
15. Flying Lotus - Roberta Flack (Martyn's Heartbeat Mix)
16. Cardopusher - Homeless (Quarta 330 Remix) w/ Aphex Twin - Flim
17. Rob Sparx - Thug Step
18. Darkstar - Need You
19. Shuttle - Tunnel
20. Radioclit - Secousse (etan remix)
21. Daedelus - Hrs Mins Secs (etan greenwich mean report)
22. Reso - If You Can't Beat 'Em
23. Shuttle - Tunnel (High Rankin Remix)
24. High Rankin - Bubble & Squeek
25. Spankrock - Bump (etan's french film remix)
26. Alborosie - Kingston Town (Uproot Andy Remix)
27. Black Rabbit - 1992
28. Shuttle - Eighty
29. The Deathset - Impossible (etan's positive outlook)
30. Micachu - Golden Phone (shuttle's golden pager ringtone)
31. Our Prayer Rev-prise
32. Shostakovich - Op.86 No. 1

Link: http://www.zshare.net/download/52640187f2efece4/
Obligatory Myspace link: http://myspace.com/shuttle

Shuttle's first release is coming out on Ninja Tune in March 09 with a track featuring Cadence Weapon.

"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains"

2008-11-24T01:09:00.002-05:00

Gui Boratto is a favorite of all in Basstown, but lately "Chains" - the B-side to the Gate 7 EP - has been infectious. Part of me wants to declare it the best track he's ever done, but that would cause a series of serious investigation considering the gorgeous cohesion and visual (as well as cerebral)impact of 2007's Chromophobia, Supermayer's remix of his "Like You" or even "Tales From The Lab"...with or without Sian's touch.

The fact remains this B-side is excellent and not enough people have heard it.

So there.

Or, here, rather...

Audible: Gui Boratto - "Chains"
MySpace: Gui Boratto

Red Snapper Packer

2008-11-15T17:08:00.002-05:00

While packing is a COMPLETE. BITCH. and no one actually enjoys doing it (except maybe Todd), it helps me to revisit my CD collection, which I often ignore due to the growing digital library on the iTunes.

This particular track from Red Snapper is the best of its catalogue, and also an essentially great tune from the year 2000. Warp and Matador came together to put out Our Aim Is To Satisfy...an album that is definitely an acquired taste until you reach the final track.

So just to appreciate music now by remembering how beautiful it always has been, here's "They're Hanging Me Tonight," just for you <3

Audible: Red Snapper - "They're Hanging Me Tonight"
MySpace: Red Snapper

Make It New / Vincenzo

2008-11-13T10:54:00.004-05:00

Tonight's installment of Make It New is as high-end as always. With no cover, good martinis and some of the best DJs in the city playing at the Middlesex Lounge, it will be an incredible 5 hours. If you're looking for some dinner before, head next door to Royal Bengal and find a friendly face. Otherwise, just play the featured mp3 below while getting ready and you'll find it hard to stay indoors past 9pm. It's a favorite, and captures much of the wild energy you'll find on any given Thursday night at Make It New.

Audible: Vincenzo - "Fruit Fly (Fruity Bug Mix)"
MySpace: Make It New

Mr. Dry Gets a Steam Bath

2008-11-12T12:24:00.002-05:00

TG (Tim Green) - Mr. Dry (Jakob Hilden's Mr. Right Remix) (2008)

Grab the original Mr. Dry here!

One favorite producer remixes another!
Tim's punk in drublic bassline gets the Berlin treatment courtesy of Jakob Hilden.

Jakob Hilden is one half of techno duo Format:B. I highly recommend their recently released album Steam Circuit for more great hissy, chug-a-lug techno choonz.
Pick it up at Beatport here!

Wicked Grumpypants & The Journey South

2008-11-11T12:07:00.007-05:00

I am what we call, in Boston, "wicked grumpypants" today. It's possibly due to having woken up before noon, and when you're a nightlife promoter that is simply unorthodox. Much of it has to do with the upcoming move to New York, which frankly frightens the shit out of me because change, in and of itself, can be frightening. (See also: exhilarating, motivating, inspiring) Working on a local level with Basstown has been a gem, but the blogs will continue to roll in because good music lives on. The kind of crowd you find in Cambridge and beyond are incomparable, and sweaty nights at the Middlesex (Hearthrob, Make It New) and underground goodness at the Good Life and Enormous Room will be sorely missed.

More awaits, though, and that's the future. Hopefully Basstown will carry its name worldwide, but for now, we're just going to stretch it a little south of the New England border.

Tonight is a special edition of Hearthrob, featuring XXXChange of Spank Rock. Always a good time, this will be my last edition before returning to the motherland that is New York.

In the desire to keep the excellence going with new music, this track is from the recent release of various remixes on Spectral (SPC-51). The comp features Broker/Dealer and Osborne, but this Onur Ozer remix of Audion is perfect for your ears. Not to be biased, but Matthew Dear is one to deliver consistently under this alias, and it'd be worthwhile to check out his entire collection.

VA - Spectral Remixed [SPC-51]
1. Audion - Fred's Bells [Onur Ozer Remix]
2. Kate Simko - She Said [Barem Remix]
3. Daso - Meine [Lucio Aquilina Remix]
4. Broker & Dealer - Soft Sell [Sami Koivikko Remix]
5. James T Cotton - Distant Trip [Box Version]
6. Osborne - Bout Ready to Jak [Ryan Elliott Remix]

Audible: Audion - "Fred's Bells (Onur Ozer Remix)"
MySpace: Spectral

Our Joy & The Anger

2008-11-08T19:02:00.003-05:00

While I often prefer the photo to be somewhat relevant to the post, I simply loved this. As you can see, our new President-elect Barack Obama is fighting off sharks, cars exploding into helicopters and the approaching possibility of death dude to falling from great heights. Seen with nunchucks and a skateboard, it looks like he'll be juuuust fine.

With that aside, last night Make It New took over Rise. Joined by Mark Ingram - a recurring guest and good friend - the residents filled the top and bottom floors of Rise with gorgeous sounds and endless techno. Truly a good fit for the club's soundsystem. A climax was when Ingram dropped Stimming's "The Anger," which was released in early August of this year. Subtly dark and brimming with intensity, this is will be a great track to properly usher you into the cold, hard weather that's just around the corner.

Turn off the lights. Turn up the bass.

Audible: Stimming - The Anger
MySpace: Stimming

Carl Craig : Recomposed & Versus

2008-11-07T14:26:00.004-05:00

While it takes a little over 10 minutes to "kick in," this hour-long collaboration between Detroit techno legend Carl Craig and Les Siècles orchestra is an incredible way to shake off the gloomy Boston weather as of late. Appropriately named Versus, the event took place in mid-October at the Cité de la Musique in Paris.

"The program features six of Craig’s tracks arranged by pianist Francesco Tristano. Legendary Berlin producer Moritz von Oswald also has a hand in the project, contributing a rhythmic arrangement and new co-written piece with Craig." - Resident Advisor

Sections
1. Darkness
2. Transition #1
3. At les
4. Dominas
5. Desire
6. Recomposed
7. Technology
8. Bis 1: The Melody
9. Credits

This comes hand-in-hand with the recent release of Recomposed Vol. 3 : Music by Maurice Ravel & Modest Mussorgsky, which is an excellent project put out on the legendary label Deutsche Grammophon (a part of Universal). Be sure to watch the video above and check out some reviews of Recomposed below.

Headphones highly recommended for both.

Read: Resident Advisor review of Recomposed Vol. 3
Read: Boomkat review of Recomposed Vol. 3

Steve Bug : Bugnology 3

2008-11-06T18:59:00.003-05:00

While having a deep obsession with both Kompakt Records and Bpitch Control, Poker Flat is putting out its 100th release. Steve Bug is one of the label's founders, and it's been home to some of the best releases of the last few years. Trentemoller's The Last Resort - which brought us tracks like "Take Me Into Your Skin" "Evil Dub" and "Miss You" - is one that may have had the most crossover, as it was big around the time his remixes of The Knife and Royksopp's "What Else Is There?" were circulating the parties and afterparties throughout the city.

Now Steve Bug returns with Bugnology 3, which carries through much like the best of the latest Fabric mixes. As a matter of Fact, Bug did contribute to No. 37, which didn't come out too long ago.

The selections on this record are excellent. It took a long time to figure out which to highlight. Sven UK & Andomat3000's "O Moresi"? What about Anton Zap's "Captain Storm"? Top to bottom, the tracklist is excellent, and a great way to propel yourself into the more obscure corners of techno that the true 'heads are digging.

Ben Klock is on several labels, but has worked closely with Bpitch Control in the last few years. His original version of "Steady Plus" takes this record to a whole new level. Enjoy!

Audible: Ben Klock - "Steady Plus"
MySpace: Steve Bug

Dopamine Records @ CMJ - Tonight!

2008-10-23T17:09:00.005-04:00

Tonight, our beloved Dopamine Records - now home to DJ Die Young of Basstown and Baltimoroder of Hearthrob - has its CMJ showcase. For all of you beloved Bostonians that want a taste of home, you can get your Make It New fix here annnnnd here...

DOPAMINE RECORDS / DROP OUT MUSIC FESTIVAL:
2 spots.
1 night.

9pm-12am @ alphabeta (70 greenpoint ave, greenpoint, brooklyn)
Hooray For Earth 9-9:35
Paul Holmes and The Patients 9:50-10:25
Pacific Theater 10:40-11:15
Zambri 11:30-12:05

12am-??am @ lost and found (113 franklin street, greenpoint, brooklyn)
Jubilee (Modular, Trash Menagerie, Nightshifters)
DJ Die Young
Baltimoroder

From 6pm-9pm @ Alphabeta there will be a book signing with fun free drinks with Martha Cooper
Hooray For Earth 9-9:35
Paul Holmes and The Patients 9:50-10:25
Pacific Theater 10:40-11:15
Zambri 11:30-12:05

Audible: Hooray For Earth - Cellphone (dj die young remix)
Audible: The Replacements - Talent Show (dj die young screwed remix)
Website: Dopamine Records

Etan/Passion Pit @ CMJ

2008-10-21T00:14:00.003-04:00

Basstown loves Etan. His talent and personality are inspiring to us all, and we're happy that he's jumped on the Passion Pit bus as their drummer. This year, he's clocked in about nine bookings (and growing!) at CMJ. Here are some highlights:

Tuesday, 10/21
(Passion Pit) 10pm @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
(DJ Etan) 2:30am @ Santos
Wednesday, 10/22
(DJ Etan) @ Bar 13
Thursday, 10/23
(Passion Pit) 4pm @ Fader Lounge
(Passion Pit) 9pm @ Club NME
Friday, 10/24
(Passion Pit) 4pm @ Piano's (Planetary Group's CMJ party - Boston reprazent!)
(DJ Etan) 11pm @ Fontana's
Saturday, 10/25
(Passion Pit)6pm @ Brooklyn Yard

MySpace: DJ Etan

dawn

2008-10-18T01:42:00.005-04:00

This mix is fucking great

Berlin is fucking great

Shit

Farley Jackmaster Funk - You Ain't Really Acieed (Acieed Mix) (1989)

Raven Disturbs and Delights the Middlesex

2008-10-17T21:14:00.007-04:00

After the Red Sox caused a cacophony of screams and hugs within the Middlesex Lounge, the environment at Make It New shifted into a pure celebration mode. Baltimoroder and DJ Die Young manned the decks all night, and it was during a peak that DY threw out "Raven," a track that hasn't been played out nearly enough. Dark, heavy and pulsing, Baltimoroder calls The Proxy "that Russian guy that everyone loves." It's hard to explain how such a wide variety of techno heads can take to a version of electronic that is so blatantly rooted in horror, goth and industrial subculture, but the general cross-over appeal is as obvious as the mass-army marching chant that leads the track through most of its choruses.

File under...music to go apeshit to...

MySpace: The Proxy

SOLID! Is Solid

2008-10-11T12:34:00.004-04:00

When something is considered a bit of a hidden gem - especially a recurring event in a room with a 59 person capacity - it might be best to keep it mums. The beauty of SOLID! is that it will probably never lose its balance. Not for tourists, this little restaurant packed tightly between the Middle East Upstairs and Downstairs becomes a showcase for some of the best electronic music on Friday nights. Run by Sean Quinn, who also heads Soul Touch @ Zuzu and is a generally well-known and liked guy around Boston, DJ Die Young (Basstown) and Baltimoroder (Hearthrob) joined forces to take over most SOLID! nights since last summer.

The beauty about this night is that 90% (might be a stretch) of the people there don't listen to electronic music. They don't seek out Hearthrob, Rise, Make It New, Circus and other nights. They are most likely devoted Cantabrigians. They do, however, get to experience electro and techno at some of its finest when Baltimoroder and Die Young are together. Their chemistry is top notch, and for an intimate night for only $3, you can't really go wrong.

Jan Krueger (Berlin) @ Make It New, this Thursday

2008-10-07T02:16:00.006-04:00

This Thursday, Berlin-based Jan Krueger debuts in Boston at Make It New, and following the excellent guests the Thursday night has had this summer, it will be quite a closing. Re-entering the residents season, Krueger pulls us into a dark, pure corner of Berlin techno with his recorded sets featured below, and you can be sure to find more of it at the Middlesex Lounge on the 9th. The Bunker mp3 is top notch!

[Editor's Note: Jan Krueger has got to be THE nicest DJ any of us has ever booked ever in the history of everyone. Thanks Jan!]

Audible: Jan Krueger @ Bunker
Audible: Jan Krueger - Ibiza Voice Podcast
Facebook: Event Page
Legible: Background on Jan

Minitek Update: Resident Advisor Interviews The Promoters

2008-09-17T14:18:00.002-04:00

Ok, this may very well be the last Minitek update. We don't want this to go on too long, but we want to make sure that Resident Advisor - a website we value and whose podcasts we go gaga for - are represented here. Shortly after the statement issued by the Minitek/Minimoo promoters on the Mblog, which was posted here yesterday, RA had an exclusive interview with Jenny Tan to follow up.

Will there be another Minitek?

Yes, absolutely.

Read more: Resident Advisor: Minitek Organizers Speak Out

Minitek Update: Minitek Promoters Speak

2008-09-16T23:45:00.006-04:00

Yep, we're still having Minitek updates. Looking back on previous posts, the coverage is really one big clusterfuck. A lot of the reporting doesn't say much because it was hard to make much of it, but I feel Jenny Tan - 1/2 of the creative foundation of Minimoo, which spawned Minitek - worded herself with a fierce confidence that a female promoter needs to have in today's climate.

By "it," I mean the 1,000+ word statement on the Minitek blog today, which outlines the many problems the festival faced this past weekend in New York City.

The core is here: "[the penn plaza pavillion hotel] had misrepresented their certificate of occupancy (the official document that restricts the amount of people the venue can legally hold). there was no reason to believe that the 38.000sf venue couldn’t hold the people that had paid for weekend passes at the very least. once the police showed up, the manager of the venue was forced to show the “real” certificate of occupancy and as it turned out, the venue didn’t even have one! the one that was eventually shown to the police was from 1963 and claimed an occupancy of only 208 people, but it was long void as the venue had changed their use a few times since the permit was issued more than 40 years ago."

We want to see Minitek happen next year (this includes YOU) and I think giving the promoters a fair chance is worthwhile. If Minitek 2009 aims, fires, and blows its target to pieces, the 2008 series of events will probably go down in history in a much more positive light...it's really not the mistakes you make, but the things you do to rectify them, and if there's anything worth saying about minimal techno promoters in America, well, it is a labor of love.

Full Statement: Apologies Owed...

Trouble & Bass <3's Coralcola

2008-09-15T18:29:00.003-04:00

Our friends over at Trouble & Bass have been holding a remix contest for the release of Little Jinder's "Polyhedron" EP on their label. Recently, the match came to a close and our friend Coralcola made it as a runner up! While his remix will not be featured on the release, it's currently available for download on the Trouble & Bass blog. This was an excellent idea, and we're wondering if we should try and do the same. Congratulations to all that won, and will appear on the EP, as well!

Contest: Little Jinder remix winners
Site: Trouble & Bass
MySpace: Coralcola

Minitek Mini-Update: What are others saying now?

2008-09-15T12:44:00.003-04:00

Two Minitek Crowds: Saturday Night vs. Friday Night

photos by luciditywaves and Burak Arikan

I H8 Minimoo
"Learn to crawl before you try to walk!...this is a massive FAIL."

Rhythmism
"While we do love Studio B and their much improved sound system, the approximate 600 capacity space is going to be completely overrun and unable to accommodate all ticketholders."

Resident Advisor forums
"Minimoo has not apologized or posted any new information on their website, and that screams of 'we shit the bed on this and don't know what to do, but at least we have your asshole's money!' It's not very fucking hard to figure out the firecode-reason given for police presence-of a venue you're considering for an event."

Minitek Update: Saturday Night Success

2008-09-14T13:55:00.006-04:00

photo by Eddie Birk

For some of us, last night made up for being left out of the Penn Plaza Pavillion on Friday, and the late start to Saturday's events. Minitek by Night was rescheduled at Studio B, and arriving around midnight, there wasn't much chaos on the outside. At one point, the pre-bought ticket holders and guestlist folk were pushed aside, allowing only cash up-front paying customers to enter quickly. No one knew where the order had come from, but it almost seemed like it was an independent decision by the venue and its bouncers. This is highly unlikely, but considering how it was put together at the time, you could simply say "Yes, I'll pay $40," move up front and through the entrance, and then head right instead of left (cash window) to the will call table. For the next hour, things were difficult to decipher as everyone seemed to be settling in.

Magda at Studio B

2am, the music stopped for about two minutes. Some of us quickly debated leaving, and that's exactly when Magda came on deck. The immediate feedback was an explosive frenzy. Around 4am, Format:B quickly moved into their set, taking the night all the way to its 6am end as the sun started rising. It was during these four hours that the magic of Minitek happened, and sharing the dance floor with Mark Ingram and Patrick Barry, it's safe to say that we never left the dance floor. To what it seems, Pan-Pot never made it on, but they were standing in the booth behind Format:B. Unless the party restarted after the music shut down, the applaud ceased, and the house lights went on, we definitely missed it.

End of the night applause!

The night, in our eyes, turned into a success. Up in the lounge area, people were friendly and interactive, and many felt that everyone was there with a desire to see Minitek take over the night. Now 8pm on Sunday, Audion should be taking the stage at this very moment, and being the one act left that was high on the list, it's sad to say that I've already clocked out for this weekend. Presumably, those who attended and those who organized Minitek have much to think about and take home. All we can hope is that they decide to set this up again next year, and take it above and beyond its launch. Many kudos to those that invested so much time and money into making this happen!

Back to the office...

*9.25.08 11pm Note: Turns out the post-Magda set was Pan-Pot, and Format:B were moved to Club Europa. Apparently the night was split in two between Studio B and Club Europa. Excellent. If that is true, considering Studio B was the only advertised venue...well, that is just shite.

Festival Site: Minitek

Minitek Mini-Update: Magda!

2008-09-13T20:36:00.002-04:00

Magda @ DC10 July 2007

This just in, for anyone watching the Btown blog for their information - Magda canceled her 10pm slot at the Minitek by Day event and is rescheduled for Studio B tonight!

MySpace: Magda

What time, I am unsure, but this is great news.

Keep in mind that over 3,000+ tickets were sold, and the capacity of Studio B is 500...I certainly will.

Cheers,
Vicki

Minitek Update: Mid-Fest Odds & Ends

2008-09-13T17:26:00.004-04:00

Minitek Day @ Coney Island . Saturday, 2:30pm

Stopping by Minitek Day on Coney Island, the entry into the area was slow, but the bouncers were much friendlier than last night. Understandable, as no one seemed to have any authority breathing down their necks. I have to admit, being under the impression that much of the staff is being outsourced, everyone I've approached with a question - whether or not they could provide and answer - has been very courteous.

The music was great, and for those that wanted to catch Derek Plaslaiko's set, he was on and off - rotating with the other DJs. While there, I caught up with a local Bostonian about Rebel's post-Pavillion shutdown. Apparently Marco Carola and Paco Osuna - who were slated for the last two slots on last night's bill - showed up at Rebel and went head for head from, roughly, 4am and 8am. "Those two...together...it's the best booking out there," he said.

photo by Chris Carella

Tonight's festivities have been rumored to be moved to Rebel, and then Webster Hall, but as of now there's a confirmed establishment for Minitek Night to Studio B. An excellent choice! Minitek's intentions will most likely be a solid reality tonight. After a food coma following by a nap and strong cup of Greek coffee, it's time to head off the island (Long Island, that is), and head back to the madness. See you there!

MySpace: Marco Carola
MySpace: Paco Osuna
Festival Site: Minitek

Minitek Update: Friday Night's Shutdown & Saturday Morning's Optimism

2008-09-13T10:54:00.002-04:00

Photo by Phillip Scholz

Our experiences at Minitek last night were much like others. Since the event was happening from 10pm to 8am, we arrived at 2am to the Penn Plaza Pavillion hotel to find 300+ people in line, wrapping around the corner down 33rd street. At the entrance, the VIP line was anything but single file; a cluster of up to 100 people calling, texting, and looking around for friends that had more information on what was going on. Bouncers were angry, no one was moving, and the rumor most overheard was that for a 3,000 capacity venue, they had a certificate for only 300. No way. The minds behind Minitek are much smarter than that, and the other scuttlebutt on the street was that the hotel simply decided to shut it down.

So far, there's an incredible amount of concern for the coordinators of the festival and those who spent money beyond their ticket to attend. According to Red Beatle most of the crowd regrouped at Rebel night club (on 30th between 7th & 8th), and it lived on with as much success as could be gathered.

We ran into Will Lynch & Sarah Joy Murray on the street - friends of Basstown who've played opening slots in the last year (Lynch will also be opening for Shed @ Make It New on September 25th) - but Bostonians instinctively fled to Bunker by 3am, catching the last hour of Derek Plaslaiko's set. Mark Ingram, Sergio Santos, Jason Bosserman...the list goes on. Even Teh Choyce (!), who headlined the East Coast Boast residency at Basstown in January, was present and wasted. The music was great, but all we could talk about is hoping that the Minitek folk get things sorted out. Personally, I'm sure they will, and no matter what happens this weekend will go down, positively, in the history of attempt to unite lovers of electronic music in America. We're looking forward to the next three installments, ready to dance!

Blog: The Red Beatle - The Night That Was “Minitek”
Blog: Jaskim.com - MINITEK 1ST NIGHT, OVERCAPACITY CROWD AT PENN PLAZA TURNED AWAY AT THE DOOR, WILL SHUT DOWN AT 3:30AM
Festival Site: Minitek

Minitek : The Magic Begins Tonight

2008-09-12T18:22:00.003-04:00

Ready to shut down the office computer for the last time this week, the next destination is MINITEK. Join Vicki on her sail around the techno universe all the way from midtown Manhattan to Coney Island. In two words, this is going to be fucking. epic.

Here are some of the art installations that are happening, to entice those in the East Coast area to spend their last minute cash on this event. It's the first of what we all expect to be many more - a legend in the making, and a dream come true.

Festival: Minitek

Alright. This is sounding exaggerated. It's not, but goddamn, read on...

DAITO MANABE - Tokyo, JAPAN

wiimote DJ and RFID light sequencer
Redefining existing media and technologies from unique angles, Daito has been active in various fields, such as art, design, and even research and development. He produces the output of sounds, images, and light through analyzing and transforming the numerical values gained from various sensors and input devices. He will perform at the festival as an innovative musician with a Wiimote DJ performance and also as a groundbreaking RFID artist. The aisle to lead people to the hall are veiled with the lights and sounds and will look like an aurora— this is a fantastic view that technologies create. The color card placed on the table decides the color of the aisle. You can also combine more than one color card. For example, if you place a red card and a blue card on the table, the resulting color would be purple. When the cards are placed on the table the aisle color changes immediately. Also, the sounds change with the light changes. The use of RFID in the installation is groundbreaking and a sight to see. It will also illuminate the path to the night venue’s dancefloor.

OWEN WALLIS + JORDAN HOCHENBAUM - Los Angeles, US

Roots
“Roots” is an interactive and multi-touch interface, where multiple people can collaborate in making music in a dynamic & visually responsive environment. When a user presses their finger on the tables surface, a vine-like structure will branch out and generatively maneuver around the surface, actively triggering sounds and loops. Harnessing “multi-touch” technology, a single user, or multiple people can very quickly create dense and lush generatively evolving sound collages and compositions, simply by pressing their fingers anywhere on the tables surface.

DILO - Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

Percussa Audiocubes – Live performances
Imagine beautifully designed cubes made of white plastic, with built-in full colour lighting and powerful wireless computer technology, capable of sensing your hands and cube placement and orientation. These are the Percussa AudioCubes, which let you create sound and music with your computer in hands-on and powerful ways. The cubes let you explore, discover and enjoy, without the usual complexity that comes with music technology. Through their MIDI capabilities, AudioCubes work with music software such as Ableton Live and Propellerheads Reason.

SENSEable - Boston, US

City Lab (MIT)
New York Talk Exchange (NYTE) illustrates the global exchange of information in real time by visualizing volumes of long distance telephone and IP (Internet Protocol) data flowing between New York and cities around the world. To reveal the relationships that New Yorkers have with the rest of the world, New York Talk Exchange asks: How does the city of New York connect to other cities? With which cities does New York have the strongest ties and how do these relationships shift with time? How does the rest of the world reach into the neighborhoods of New York?

JAMES PATTEN - New York, US

Audio Pad
Audiopad is a composition and performance instrument for electronic music, which tracks the positions of objects on a tabletop surface and converts their motion into music. One can pull sounds from a giant set of samples, juxtapose archived recordings against warm synthetic melodies, cut between drum loops to create new beats, and apply digital processing all at the same time on the same table. Audiopad not only allows for spontaneous reinterpretation of musical compositions, but also creates a visual and tactile dialogue between itself, the performer, and the audience.

MARIUS WATZ - Oslo, NORWAY

Visual processing
Marius Watz is an artist concerned with generative systems for creating visual form, still, animated or realtime. His signature is a brand of visual hedonism, marked by colourful organic shapes and a maximalist attitude. Most of his works deal with drawing machines implemented in software, live visuals for music or large-scale projections of plastic visual systems. Watz just moved from Berlin to New York. His tools of choice are Java, Processing, VVVV and Flash.

BURAK ARIKAN - Istanbul, Turkey

Visual processing
Burak Arikan is an artist and researcher who is based in New York and Istanbul. At the festival, Burak will perform pieces from the Meta-Control project. It will include the new versions of existing pieces and three new softwares. Meta- Control is a collection of visual/ kinetic performative artifacts. It contains visual software pieces that are often designed to expose their own control mechanisms. Meta-Control is a project started by Burak Arikan and Ali Demirel, and first performed with Richie Hawtin’s music.

PAUL PRUDENCE - London, UK

Visual procesing
Paul is an artist and real-time visual performer working with generative/computational systems, audio responsive visual feedback and processed video. His projects « SonLattice /Talysis » is a real-time audio responsive work and is part of a larger group of works exploring software simulated video feedback .It is made using the video synthesis toolkit VVVV. In mythology the process could be identified in the form of Ouroborous, the snake who eats his own tale, a symbol of self-perpetuating loops and a symbol as ‘output as input’.

DEVAN SIMUNOVICH + NIKA OFFENBAC - New York, US

Video Installation
Devan Simunovich and Nika Offenbac founded CTRL in 2004 as a vehicle to create films, experimental multimedia projects and installations. They will present you two installations from their "Extended Room" series. ”Speak My Language” invites attendees to experience an ultrasensory environment to re-imagine how we interact with urban modes of sign communication. “Volume” is an illusionary extension of a physical architectural space.

NORMAN FAIRBANKS - Berlin, GERMANY

Tenori-on performance
Audio conceptualist Norman Fairbanks has always remained at the cutting edge of music production, so when he first heard about Tenori-on back in 2005 he felt compelled to investigate the myriad possibilities of this hybrid instrument. His audio concept “7 Days Microsleep” is deemed to be the first album solely made with a Tenori-On. Fairbanks’ 90 minutes live set at Minitek will be an eclectic sonic trip combining a Tenori-On performance with electronic sounds created by custom-made machines, including a rather unconventional black robot...

ALBERT HWANG - New York, US

wiremap
Albert Hwang will show the Wiremap, an innovative projection technique that builds a real and interactive 3d image by manipulating light from a projector. The projector throws its beam on an array of vertical wires. From the projectors single-point perspective, all the wires are evenly spaced from one another. However, due to the randomized dimension of depth, from any other perspective, the wires create a 3d map of cyberspace. The result is a floating, glowing 3D object made entirely of light. This object will move around, change in color or size ac- cording to keyboard and mouse input.

Klik Records : Athens, Greece

2008-09-12T12:55:00.004-04:00

Good call by David Day (surprise, surprise) on noting Athens, Greece based label Klik Records. Launched in 2003, it's home to many Greek artists, but also includes others from around Europe. It's very gorgeous, much in a way that Basstown particularly loves the more gentle tracks from Kompakt artists. More information is on their site, and if you're looking for an unexploited label to love that continues to grow, be sure to subscribe your ears to this collective.

Basstown <3's Greeks

MySpace: Klik Records

SIS Answers The SOS

2008-09-12T04:04:00.003-04:00

According to Make It New resident Baldur, Ricardo Villalobos has been playing this track by SIS all summer, but finally released it on vinyl. This past Thursday, "Trumpeta" made its premiere at Make It New, and it completely blew us away. At first listen, I thought it might be an Italoboyz track because of their deliverance of variety with opera (Viktor Casanova) and jazz (Bahia), but it is, in fact, the German producer SIS. The tune is highly sought after, but Baldur was able to acquire a 12" and let us indulge in all of its glory. Now, it's your turn.

Audible: SIS - Trumpeta
MySpace: SIS

September 17th : Glitch Mob Heads To Bassic

2008-09-11T12:13:00.004-04:00

Wednesday, September 17th
Bassic Presents
GLITCH MOB
w/ C-Dubz &
Professor Pious
The Good Life
10pm / 21+ / $5

The four man crew known as the Glitch Mob have been shattering sound systems and breaking down musical boundaries for well over 2 years now, and it is with great pleasure that Boston gets to have a taste. Edward Ma aka “edIT” of The Glitch Mob touches down in Boston for a very special night of beats, breaks, and bass.

A quick history lesson on edIT: This “Con Artist” is a Massachusetts native and former Konkrete Jungle L.A. (now defunct) resident DJ. As a Konkrete L.A. resident he shared the stage with Hive, Daddy Kev, James Tai & Mic Rockers Busdriver, P.E.A.C.E. and Mikah 9. In 2004 he dropped his debut solo album Crying Over Pros For No Reason, which was released on Planet Mu records. From there he went on to remix and mash tunes geared more towards the dance floor. His popularity began to soar and before he knew it URB magazine was telling people to keep their eyes peeled for this up and coming artist in 2006. His next major release, Certified Air Raid Material, was focused more on his personal production and showcasing his creative skill behind the buttons. The highly anticipated four-year album in the making will be dropping some time this year on Alpha Pup Records.

edIT always brings his ‘A’ game to the decks, laptop, or whatever he uses to create, manipulate, and destroy beats. “The way you bring [the music] live is what matters," Ma stated in his interview with XLR8R magazine. "The whole purpose of why we’re doing this is that we’re basically out there writing music to wow ourselves and wow other people. So the connection with the audience is huge for us.”

Audible: Exclusive Glitch Mob podcast on XLR8R
MySpace: Glitch Mob
MySpace: Soundbox Presents: Bassic

K.atou : First ever Boston appearance, tonight @ Midweek Techno

2008-09-10T13:42:00.004-04:00

Tonight, the Athens-born goddess K.atou will be a special guest at Midweek Techno. Calm and collected, her beats are pristine and with the strong feminine touch that is often revered in skilled European females. Soul Clap first saw K.atou outside on the terrace at the Resolut party at Detroit Techno Fest back in May. "She was playing some of the dopest classic house and future techno beats we heard the whole weekend," says Eli. "So we're super psyched to have her coming all the way from Athens via Berlin for her first Boston appearance ever at MIDWEEK TECHNO at Pheonix Landing!"

K.atou started collecting electronic music oriented records at the age of 17, djing at the age of 18, when she played as a guest dj at one of the biggest and most upfront clubs in athens(her home town) Bossa Nostra. Then back to Corfu she continued with frequent parties and a radio show every weekend at Life radio, as well as a series of parties named "Elektro Soundz..". The sessions lasted a year, till she moved to UK due to a university scholarship. London filled her flycase with new sounds and a further view on the dance scene and gave her great feedback on the way back. As soon as she got back she got frequent gigs at cafeina(athens) and later at astron bar (athens-psiri), and monthly night as an after hours party at almodobar,gazi .In UK it seems she found one of the most inspiring friends and formed a team Les Rythmes Minimales along with DJ Fanny G promoting the minimal sound around Greece. Winter 2005 found K.atou (aka katie_m) with another collaboration along with Zero:One (I<3Aki, Minimal London) & Bonzo creating a team called .:MinimalAthens:. Spreading the vibes of minimalism around Athens in several venues..(minimalathens.gr).

In the meantime she performed in different venues in Athen such as: Danza, Factory, Wunderbar, Cafeina, Vanilla, Lithos (Rhodes), Patra, as well as famous Synch festival of contemporary electronic arts on the Red Bull Home Groove stage. In 2006 the NY label Goosehound assigned her as "foreign diplomat". After a trip in US and CAN for music meditating, as she likes to claim, started working on production. First collaboration with Nutown Project found its roof at the respected Berlin based Einmaleins Musik label. She has performed at Animo3 festival Madrid, Macarena club Barcelona, Opera club Cluj, Heat club Oreada, and become as well a member of the London Multivitamins nights family and 2007 will find her between Germany, Belgium, UK, USA, Japan, and many other destinations. K.atou changed her base during 2006 from Athens to London.

P.S. Vicki is particularly thrilled about this because she is Greek and knows absolutely no Greek and female DJs. *faints*

MySpace: K.atou
Facebook: event page

DJ SEGA Returns To Basstown!

2008-09-09T13:04:00.003-04:00

This September, Basstown's residency returns with a punch! DJ Sega will be headlining - returning after a triumphant opening set for Diplo back in February. Check the Facebook page for all details. Fliers, Going.com links, and much much more to come!

Down below, we have his set from that gig to get you ready and pumped.

Audible: DJ Sega - Live Set @ Great Scott, 02.24.08
Facebook Event: here
MySpace: DJ Sega

By for now, America

2008-09-03T10:30:00.003-04:00

Music sends the message when words fail

2 Unlimited - Do What's Good For Me 1996 (zShare)

Livin' Joy - Don't Stop Moving 1996 (zShare)

My Mind's My Kingdom

2008-08-29T11:54:00.004-04:00

I have to tell a quick story about Kingdom. Baltimoroder and I were asked to play the ICA and I was there setting up some gear and playing some music to warm myself up, so I decide to play a Kingdom remix [Keyshia Cole - Let it Go (Kingdom's 909 remix) specifically] and who walks not 2 minutes later but Kingdom! Kingdom is from Brooklyn so needless to say it was a surprise to see him at the museum. But I love moments like that, and I think it brought a smile to both of our faces.

Kingdom is doing a twofer with some of the Basstown crew this Friday and Saturday. As a bit of a warm up he will be playing his unique brand of Baltimore club, heartfelt 90s jams and Bassline straight off the CDJs at Solid! with me (sorry ladies Baltimoroder can't make it to this one). Solid! is at Zuzu and starts at 11pm.

Saturday of course he will be at Basstown with the whole line up seen above.

Here are some remixes and edits you can check out:

Rashad - Tell Em What They Wanna Hear (Kingdom Remix)
CLUB VORTEX MIX MAY 2008 (mixed by KINGDOM)
Krezy Ryan - Get Up (Kingdom extended Remix)
Ben Hill Squad / James Nasty (Kingdom extended remix)
Lil Wayne - Lollipop (Kingdom Remix)
Kingdom - A Milli(freestyle) <--- This is Fire
Kingdom - Mind Reader ft. Shyvonne (Bang Riddim) vocal dub (snippet - 160kbps)

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kkingdomm
Website: http://kkingdomm.com/

Basstown + Cornerstone collab on a wine tasting series

2008-08-06T09:44:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Volvox, Die Young, and Baltimoroder will kick off the four-day Black Swan Presents: It's Pop It's Art series at the Samson Project (450 Harrison Avenue in the South End).

There will be complimentary adult beverages, as well as excellent art on display. Starting at 7 and ending at 10, be sure to RSVP and we'll see you there!

*click image to RSVP*

Pitchfork has its moments...this is one of them

2008-08-05T17:23:00.002-04:00

Pitchfork has just released a special news piece revealing the identity of Burial, whose 2007 LP Untrue was a shared favorite amongst Basstown and our close friends. We're thrilled to hear he's coming out with a 12" soon, and in the words of David Day, "BIG UP YOURSELF WILL!"

Maybe now he will play some more gigs, but it's safe to say that won't be happening soon since he simply wants to lay low and continue making gorgeous music. Below is an example of a recent remix of a band we all know well. It has a definite Burial touch.

Audible: Bloc Party - "Where Is Home (Burial Mix)"
Pitchfork: Burial Revealed!
MySpace: Burial

Booka Shade: Hearthrob Set

2008-08-03T19:58:00.010-04:00

A big thank you to everyone that came to Booka Shade at the Middle East. Your continued support means we get to have more of these amazing shows hopefully very soon.

I was lucky enough to grab the audio for Hearthrob's set as well. It raves hard:

audible: Hearthrob at Booka Shade (zshare)

How Do You Level Up?

2008-08-03T16:31:00.003-04:00

DJ Volvox has been a resident DJ of Basstown since March of this year, but a friend for much longer. A big supporter of our events, she's made a name for herself in this city and will be heading off to Berlin in early September to return to the motherland of Make It New. This Monday, she's curated a night by herself at the Middlesex Lounge called Level Up. Featuring Brad Rhodes of Providence, who was a main influence on her ever-growing DJ skills and Dev/Null of the Boston scene, Volvox will be joined by friends and "family" to celebrate her unique take on art and techno. Lasers included.

techno/////////////////////////////////bass//////
///////electro/////////////ravetraxx/////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Brad Rhodes///////////////////////////////
Dev/////////Null/////////////////////////////
Volvox//////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////
AUGUST 4TH///////////////////////
9PM__-_1AM//////////////////////
21++++++++/////////////////////
$00.00/////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////

Facebook invite

MySpace: DJ Volvox

Twolip Magazine relaunches online

2008-08-02T14:57:00.004-04:00

A group of four from another corner of the Boston scene have re-emerged with an online publication called Twolip. I came across it months ago when DJ Die Young pointed out an article regarding Paper, and its photographer, Lara Callahan, has been making quite a name for herself all over the city as a talented party photographer. I have never been a huge fan of online magazines, but this is really impressive. In a 55 page spread, a comprehensive guide to fashion (which includes young, local faces) that includes a modern fairytale photoshoot and several photos from LAB in Allston, as well as a cheesy comic, two band interviews, a local party profile, a local DJ interview (Melee), and then a column on politics with a breakdown of what is on the table.

I'm most impressed because it's a product that a younger generation will go to for the visual stimulation, and then be lead into entertaining and educational content in the end. Many heads up to Lara and her crew.

Link'd: Twolip Mag
MySpace: Lara Callahan

Susan

2008-07-18T11:30:00.001-04:00

I discovered this little gem from 2006 browsing through myriad subfolders of my mp3 backup drive last week. Think epic summer nighttime fantasy soundtrack, in the same emotional vein of Chab & JD Davis' Girls.

Imagine bumping these while feeling crisp wind beat your hair around your eyes and watching city lights emerge on the horizon as you're returning from a Friday evening X run to the suburbs.

Mark Knight - Susan (zshare)

Chab & JD Davis - Girlz (Sweetgirlz Mix) (zshare)

to whet your appetite for bugs

2008-07-14T12:45:00.002-04:00

new video for the Bug's "poison dart" feat. Warrior Queen.
both will be lighting basstown on fire at the end of the month.
Dont sleep July 26th.

Basstown on Brooklyn Vegan

2008-06-29T23:17:00.002-04:00

Much love to Brooklyn Vegan, a staple New York city that continually answers the question "So, where are we going tonight?" The site posted about Trouble & Bass bringing in Dub Child at the beginning of this weekend for their monthly rager, and urged everyone to check out Drop The Lime's set from Basstown in late May. We still have that post up here but you can grab it from BV here

Trouble & Bass and Basstown have teamed up for the month of July, and both parties will be presenting The Bug (Ninjatune Records), who will be in the states with Warrior Queen and Ricky Ranking. More details to come very, very soon.

Thanks for your continued support!

Misstress Barbara this Friday / win 2 tickets through Basstown!

2008-06-26T14:51:00.005-04:00

Last Friday, I went to see Green Velvet at Estate, and for the first time in the handful of occasions I've been there it was a total blast. Nearly a week later, I wish I could revisit that night over and over and over again. Even the AirDrop party at Rise - featuring Soul Clap, Tanner Ross, and Pat Fontes - following was incredible. Given the fact that the Green Velvet show popped up out of nowhere, I vowed to keep my eye on Estate's Resurrection Fridays.

It should be of no surprise that the following Friday is immediately followed up with Misstress Barbara*. Italian born and Canadian bred, she's the kind of international DJ that Basstown doesn't (yet) have the money to book, but would love to see. Since hearing about her booking at Estate, the days have passed in great anticipation.

While MySpace is always a great place to start, a decent amount of Google scouring surfaced an exclusive AOL mix that she did last year. It's lovely - there are old favorites as well as bits I haven't heard before. I event got past that CAPTCHA bullshit and re-uploaded it on to zShare and YSI because no one deserves to feel that sort of pain....

Bleh!

The event this Friday features DJ Melee, of Boston, to open. He has, in fact, opened for her about three times before in the past and says that "she eats techno." That definitely sounds like a compliment. Together, he and I are giving away two tickets to the event.

*To enter to win 2 tickets to Resurrection Fridays tomorrow night to see Misstress Barbara + DJ MeLee, please send an email with your full name, and a number at which we can reach you, by 6pm Friday night.

Audible: Incredible mix by Misstress Barbara ( YSI / zShare )
MySpace: Misstress Barbara
MySpace: DJ Melee

This Saturday, Plus Move spotlights

2008-06-26T14:09:00.001-04:00

Plus Move - the stars of our show this Saturday - have become a global name because of their remixes, which have exploded across music blogs everywhere. Now with a strong armful of compliments to boast, the duo from Allston will be headed to Austin within the next few weeks. Below is the first of several Plus Move tracks that you should hear before getting ready for the big event this Saturday.

Audible: Kavinsky - Wayfarer (Plus Move Remix)"
MySpace: Plus Move

"Women" Needs A Make-Over

2008-06-25T18:23:00.002-04:00

Front Page 1992 on Windows 95. Looking at this page makes me cringe so hard that it becomes a self-inflicted case of heartburn. HOWEVER...it's brilliant. The URL is excellent despite the equally cringe-worthy names for female DJs (then again, there are so many male DJs with really bad names as well). Hoping that someone scoops this back up and brings it into the present, it could be a very revolutionary and popular site in the future.

Site: Women of Techno

Lazy Fat People = Minimal Techno?

2008-06-23T21:23:00.002-04:00

Mirko Loko + Raphael Ripperton

I feel the chances of me randomly typing lazyfatpeople.com on an insomnia bend is more likely than finding it to be the moniker of a project of two electronic music producers. Mirko Loko and Raphael Ripperton met each other in 2005 to form the group Lazy Fat People - a studio project that played and were supported by Carl Craig and James Holden. The first EP was released early 2006 on Border Community, James Holden's label.

Nowadays, aside from the Lazy Fat People project and his regular sets accross Europe, Mirko is still in charge of the artistic program of the Loft Electroclub (Switzerland) and is well supported by his mentors, Carl Craig, Derrick May and Laurent Garnier. He remains one of the sure values of the swiss scene.

MySpace: Mirko Loko
MySpace: Raphael Ripperton

Drop The Lime: Live @ Basstown

2008-06-16T01:10:00.004-04:00

l 2 r: Math Head, The Captain, Star Eyes, Drop The Lime / Photo by Adam Schneider - madaes.com

Finally! After much wait, we bring you the Drop The Lime set from our May residency. We don't always record our guests, but we knew this was going to be incredible, and shit we were right. One of the most genuine guys we've come to know, Drop The Lime has all of Basstown's respect, as Trouble & Bass has our full support. Volvox and I had a chance to check out Rowdy! with Faggatronix this weekend at The Lucky Cat in Brooklyn, which was also an awesome fix to our bassline needs.

Keep your eyes open for Like Thunder, the next full-length from Drop The Lime coming out on Trouble & Bass on July 1st.

Of Note: This live set includes a live performance of "Need2Feel" - one of the new tracks. Goddamn this boy can sing!

Audible: Drop The Lime - "Live @ Basstown, 05.24.08"
MySpace: Drop The Lime

Drop The Lime : What's Your Percent?!

2008-05-27T12:06:00.001-04:00

photo taken with Vicki's crappy iPhone

Thanks to everyone who made this Saturday a success. Considering it was Memorial Day weekend (i.e. the holiday where everyone splits their respective cities for some beachfront action) and we had no opening acts for the event, we had a packed room. With resident DJ Etan currently out of the hemisphere, Volvox and Die Young paired up to give us three hours of incredible mixing, which grew and pulsated into dance-heavy tracks that brought everyone away from the bar and onto the floor. We always knew they were excellent DJs, but seeing them as a tag team for so long was a great experience as well.

As for Drop The Lime, his set was fantastic - so much, in fact, that we recorded the entire thing, and will be posting the MP3 sometime within the next week or so as we did with Lauren Flax's set from The Revolution Will Be Feminized. He played out the bass-heavy mix of Moby's "Alice," as well as a song from his forthcoming LP. "Need2Feel" is a track that you can preview on his MySpace, and the photo above is of Luca in pure bliss, singing his heart out to a crowded room. A peak was when tracks from his second LP, We Never Sleep, made an appearance, and after yelling "Please! Play 'Bella'!" our prayers were answered and the whole room went insane. Below is the song from that album, which is always a climax in his sets. No longer just a DJ, he's a performer on all levels, and we highly encourage you to get your ass to NY for an upcoming Trouble & Bass event.

Audible: Drop The Lime - "Bella"
MySpace: Drop The Lime

Wax & Wade

2008-05-24T16:30:00.003-04:00

Back in our sister city, Providence, there are three particular DJs who represent the scene in the country's smallest state. Morgan Louis is one of the leading men of the Hearthrob trio, which is widely popular within the city limits of Boston, but lately the Peppermint Twinz have been gaining exposure. Comprised of Initales A.A. (Alvin Aronson) and Christopher Wade (Chris Sherron), they've teamed up with Morgan to invigorate their new party, Lovelife.

In the past, we've written about Initiales when he came through Boston several times and took us by storm with his exclusive Basstown mix, but we have yet to tell you more about Christopher Wade. Originally from Cleveland, he's just finishing up his junior year at RISD ("riz-dee" for the locals, Rhode Island School of Design for everyone else) as a graphic design major. He often samples his guitars when making tracks, which is something he's been doing since the age of 14. While he's a big fan of shoegaze, his tastes and DJ habits are heavily influenced by 90s UK electronica, which includes Underworld and a variety of releases from Warp Records.

"I have a whole load of songs nobody has heard - less DJ-friendly material," says Wade. "It's more of what I've been doing the past few years besides the remixes and edits. It's more influenced by Cleveland, as a place, which I miss a lot. Things are a bit slower to catch on there than on the East coast. I'm kind of attracted to the out-of-touchness that goes on over there, and it's nice to just go and
not be tainted by trends or fads all the time."

One of these that has just seen the light of day is "Predictions," which is all original sampling and re-sampling of Christopher on guitar. The shoegaze fandom definitely comes out, but the knack for assembling a subtle ambient track with a steady build that gently delivers makes his style stand apart from others. He's also made a video to accompany the song. "You definitely have to be in a certain mood to watch it because it is extremely subtle and meditative," he says, "which is very much how I feel when I made the song and was listening to it over and over again."

Video: "Predictions" by Christopher Wade

Lovelife happens bi-monthly on Fridays at the Local 121, and is a 21+ event. The drink prices will make you smile, and the cover is often less than $5.

Audible: Christopher Wade - "Predictions"
MySpace: Christopher Wade
MySpace: Lovelife Providence

Hawks, Hacks!, and H...

2008-05-22T18:29:00.003-04:00

The special guest of our January Basstown residency was none other than Choyce Hacks! who relocated from Atlanta to Guam, Connecticut. His explosion at Great Scott back when was a breath of fresh air, and while he almost came back to support Drop The Lime in our upcoming stint, he was unable to make it since he has to go to Brooklyn.

Fortunately, he threw together an exclusive minimix for us, which - in his uncertainty - was aptly titled the
Fuck I dunno, its a mini mix! mix

Tracklisting:
01) The Presets - This Boy's in Love (Damage Instrumental Retake)
02) Janedge - Suprise(!) (Plimsouls remix)
03) The Outrunners - Cool Feelings (Anoraak remix)
04) Robert M - I Love House (Original dub)
05) Futurecop! - Transformers
06) The Frail - Count On This (DoBERMAN Remix)
07) Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Russ Chimes Remix)

"Its a synthed out mini mix meant to be all summer luvin' had me a GTFO of the house and run around fun-in-the-sun blast." - CH!

Oh, and also, looks like Mr. Hacks! will be moving to Brooklyn after all...Clinton Hill. Address, for stalking purposes, to come in the near future. Hang tight, ladies.

Audible: Choyce Hacks! - "Fuck I dunno, its a mini mix!"
Alternate Photo: pricelessss
MySpace: Choyce Hacks!

This Saturday .::. Trouble & Basstown

2008-05-21T13:56:00.003-04:00

Saturday, May 24th
Basstown Presents
Drop The Lime (Trouble & Bass)

with resident Basstown DJs
Volvox (Black Magic, Make It New)
Die Young (Dopamine Records)

Great Scott
1222 Commonwealth Avenue
Allston, MA
9pm – 2am / 21+
$5 before 10pm
$7 after 10pm
www.basstown.net
www.myspace.com/dropthelime

Party photos provided by Nicky Digital
Flyer by RJ Foley (rjcandesign@gmail.com)

Brooklyn, NY - In early 2006, Drop The Lime – a.k.a. Luca Venizia – put out an LP on Kid 606’s Tigerbeat6 label called “We Never Sleep,” and since has continued to live up to the declaration. September of 2006 was the launch of Trouble & Bass, a monthly party in Brooklyn that has since grown to be one of the biggest and most respected events in the national DJ community. Bringing in some of the bigger, rarer names, the collective is comprised of several personalities that are a roster of full talent. Drop The Lime, who also performs his darker vintage-tinged material under the alter-alter ego Curses!, is one of the Trouble & Bass power players, as well as a combustible personality.

That said, there’s also his DJ sets, which are the stuff of constant rotation. If MP3s could wear like cassette tapes, then our recordings of the first several Trouble & Bass mixes would have been dead and gone for months already. One of the most viral of all was the Trouble Mix #4, which solidified his presence around the time that Discobelle and other tastemakers around the world caught on.

This May, Basstown presents to you a lengthy live set from Drop The Lime. Both Die Young and Volvox are fans and familiar of his work, and this’ll be one of those memorable occassions where the music is at its fullest harmony. Don’t miss out on the 5 hours of dancefloor disorder this Saturday at Great Scott.

Audible: Moby - “Alice (Drop The Lime Heavy Bass Remix)”
MySpace: Drop The Lime

Dusted Magazine: This Means Forever album review
Prefix Magazine: We Never Sleep album review
Pop Matters: We Never Sleep album review
Exclusive Mix: XLR8R
Chain D.L.K.: interview

Facebook: event page
Going: event page

Artist To Watch: Bloody Mary

2008-05-20T10:10:00.002-04:00

Bloody Mary
Tanz Mit Mir
(Toys For Boys Records)
June 2008
distribution by: Neuton

After nearly four years of releases and other activities, Toys For Boys Records is proud to present its second compilation.
After Marcus Vector on the first one, they decided to give the decks to Berlin-based Bloody Mary, one of the leading artists
of the genre. Mary has been touring the world with her impressive DJ skills, setting the crowds on fire from New York to
Mexico to Paris. Mary chose her favorite tracks from the label by Jona, Grinser, Quenum, Sierra_Sam, Marcus Vector, Gerome Sportelli, Jeik, and mixed them with selections from friends' labels. These include Einmaleins, Sender, Contexterrior, Tunningspork, Mobilee, Leena, Upon You, Lessizmore, and others. The result is an escalation of techy, groovy flux of music: the perfect companion for your summer pre- or afterparties. Stay tuned for the release of Tanz Mit Mir. Down below is a recent live mix from Club Treibhaus in Glöwen (between Hamburg + Berlin).

Tracklist for Tanz Mit Mir
01 Miss Fitz, drifting on, Contexterrior
02 Tolga Fidan, our fathers, Vakant
03 Quenum, the four seasons, Toys For Boys
04 Grinser, the knowledge, Toys For Boys
05 Lee Jones & Daniel Dreier, A man, Marco Resmann remix, Upon you
06 Marcus Vector & Lust Addict, drum rollin red, Toys For Boys
07 Phage & Daniel Dreier, static bubbles, highgrade
08 Sierra_Sam & Bloody Mary, Blackjack, Einmaleins
09 Sarah Goldfarb, To be frit, Toys For Boys
10 Agnes & Lee Van Dowski, Radio Graceland, Leena
11 Jona, Dehydrate, Toys For Boys
12 Tom Dazing, Motion Sickness, Toys For Boys
13 Hugo, The Sloop, Tuning Spork
14 Jeik, Liquid, Toys For Boys
15 Pompoelmoessap, 1946 in memory , Lessizmore
16 Mark Broom, You and Me Sierra_Sam remix, Toys For Boys
17 Benno Blom, Red Tuna, Sender
18 Gerome Sportelli, Outfit, Toys For Boys
19 Marcus Vector & Lust addict, We love to be yonce Michal Ho remix, Toys For Boys
20 Sierra_Sam & Bloody Mary, night time, Toys For Boys

Audible: Club Treibhaus live mix, 2008
Label: Toys For Boys
MySpace: Bloody Mary

Sine Waves & Saturated Synapses

2008-05-14T20:18:00.004-04:00

Signal

This Thursday, Make It New will be taken over by Non-Event who are, once again, presenting a very special showcase by Raster-Noton; a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton. The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic music alternating between playful pop and introspection, partnered with unconventional and equally minimal packaging design.

Non-Event, Basstown, and the Goethe-Institüt Boston present
RASTER-NOTON SHOWCASE
with SIGNAL
+
solo sets by
Alva Noto
Frank Bretschneider
Byetone

Thursday, May 15th
Middlesex Lounge
315 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, Mass
doors: 9pm
show: 10pm
21+ / $10

Below is more information on the acts, but be sure to listen to the podcast, compiled by Susanna Bolle of the Boston Phoenix and Non-Event.

SIGNAL is Raster-Noton’s supergroup, featuring Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), Olaf Bender (aka Byetone), and Frank Bretschneider. The trio performs intense, hypnotic music to a spectacular backdrop of graphical information that reveals the complex geometry of the sounds in play. Most of their sound sources are taken from a huge memory bank of music from long jamming sessions dating from the early days of Raster-Noton. These are processed and folded into a taut and energetic web of electrostatic rhythmic clicks, bristling static, and deep bass pulses that are unexpectedly sensuous and undeniably funky. Their most recent release Robotron came out in 2007. This will be SIGNAL’s Boston debut.

Musician and visual artist CARSTEN NICOLAI (aka ALVA NOTO) works in the transitional area between art and science. In his intensely dynamic work, Nicolai plays with the rules of physicality. Clicks and glitches are not used as ornamental additions, but make up the essential elements of the work, which is often structured around the rhythmic grooves of hip-hop and R&B. Nicolai has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious spaces including The Guggenheim, MOMA SF, MOMA Oxford, NTT Tokyo, Tate Modern, and Venice Biennial. This will be Nicolai’s Boston debut.

FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER is a founding member of Raster-Noton and one of the pioneering figures in ultra minimal post techno. Using the most basic sound sources (sine waves and white noise), Bretschneider creates minimal, flowing pieces with delicate textures and complex rhythmic patterns. Described as “abstract analogue pointilism,” “ambience for spaceports,” and “hypnotic echochamber pulsebeat,” Bretschneider’s subtle and detailed music is echoed by his visuals: perfect translations of the qualities found in music into visual phenomena.

OLAF BENDER (aka BYETONE) is a founding member of the Raster-Noton label, as well as its lead designer. Bender creates his music digitally, assembling sine tones into complex sound fabrics of deep sub-bass and rhythmic clicks and crackles. He creates abstract animations to support his abstract music —transforming the rhythm of the music into a graphic equivalent, which he controls in real time. His new album, D.O.A.T. (Death of a Typographer), is due out on Raster-Noton shortly.

Website: Raster-Noton
Podcast: Raster-Noton Showcase Preview

Basstown Turns 1!

2008-04-28T23:55:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Basstown turns one!

It's been quite a year. So many friendships made. So many songs come and gone. When this started a year ago, it was really just one man, and now Basstown exists as a collective of five, with two hard-hitting drivers and 3 extremely talented and dedicated DJs.

Thank you for everything, and we're looking forward to next April.

Love,
Basstown