Eslewhere: the ReSolute 1+1 Anniversary

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.

Axel Bartsch Mix

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

Dave Siska's "Distant Lights" Mix

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

Rustie On The Hyphy Grind

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

Carl Craig : Recomposed & Versus

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

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

Booka Shade: Hearthrob Set

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)

Basstown Exclusive Mix - Initiales AA

In preparation for the upcoming night Solid at Zuzu in Cambridge where the Providence based Initiales AA is a guest this week, we asked him some questions. He was kind enough to answer them and provide us with an exclusive mix for the occasion.

Q. What was the first record you ever bought as a DJing record? How old were you and where did you get it? Do you still have it?

A. As a DJ, my first two 12"s were Sieg Uber die Sonne - "I'm Not a Sound" and Star You Star Me - "Disco Dancer" from Deep Fix records in Kansas City in early Autumn 2004. I was 18. I still play them occasionally at less intense parties or openings. The Akufen remix of I'm Not a Sound will never cease to be amazing to me.

Q. Besides DJing or making music, what have you been up to lately?

A. I'm finishing up my BFA in Furniture Design at RISD this year. At the moment I'm working on a piece for the Milan Furniture Fair. I get to go over for that show in April. I'm hyped because I've never been to Italy. Otherwise, I've been updating my website: http://alvinaronson.com (a shameless plug).

Q. What album or artist is currently in your cd player/cued in your
itunes playlist and how do you feel about this artist? Do you think
they will be around in 5 years?

A. I've been listening to a mix by Dixon for the Body Language series. I like the mix because Dixon DJs with patience. None of the tracks rush in or out too quickly. Each song has breathing room and a good flow. It's the type of selection that ages well too. I think Dixon will be around in five years.

Q. Do you have a good story about the worst gig you ever had? If not,
whats the best one you've ever had?

A. There's a special venue that we Providence DJs like to play at. It's a big, dark, hot, sweaty loft with one dollar PBRs and when we party there it gets so packed that I feel a little claustrophobic. Sometimes playing there is a nightmare (cops, drunk guys trying to fight me, laptop thieves, blown speakers etc.), but most of the time it's a dream come true. We had a halloween party there in 2006. Morgan Louis, Redfoxx, and I played. It was one of the best nights of my life. I still remember the set I played that night almost track for track. I also remember these fake ficus trees that people were dancing with and Greg (Sensitive Hand) standing on top of a ladder spraying champagne on everyone.

Q. What's your favorite type of music to DJ, and why?

A. Music that facilitates various levels of engagement. I like minimal electronic dance music because a person can listen to it while they dance or socialize or work or read or eat with equal levels of success.

Here is the mix Alvin provided us. We think its great.
Initiales AA - Basstown Mix
Rufus Wainwright - Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix)
Apparat ft. Raz Ohara - Holdon (Modeslektor Remix)
Martini Bros - From Buleaux (Konrad Black Remix)
Dapayk & Padburg - Sister
Monty Luke & Tasho / Marc Houle - Paranoid / Techno Vocals (acapella)
Prztz - Nutdisco (Duckbeats So-Yo Dub)
Layo & Bushwacka - Life2Live (Jesse Rose Stripper Dub)
Tying Tiffany - You Know Me
Hidenobo Ito - Voicedelique (Krikor Remix)
Calvin Harris - Girls (Micky Slim's Bomb Squad Remix)
Deadmau5 - The Reward is Cheese
Kris Menace - Steamroller
Gregor Tresher - A Thousand Nights
Daso - Daybreak (Jona Mix)
Van Den Love - Tom Cruise (Christopher Wade's As Little As Possible Mix)