Plex are back at Corsica Studios with another stormer of a line up. The last party in February was immense with great sets from Ancient Methods, Surgeon and Sigha. We caught a bit of video from Sigha's set which doesn't even come close to doing the night justice, but is still good none the less.
Out on Beatport last Friday and on vinyl very soon, is the new Perc Trax release by our favourite Finlander, Samuli Kemppi. 2 Tracks from the man himself and a remixes by Donor & Truss and Dead Sound & Videohead make for an all round extremely solid release. Which is definitely what we've come to expect from both Samuli Kemppi and Perc Trax.
The Ibiza season is up and underway and it didn't take long for the first big techno event to turn up on the listings. Amnesia is the venue as arguably the biggest name in techno right now, Chris Liebing, brings his CLR showcase to the White Isle. There's not just Mr Liebing to look forward to though, he's brought along some friends to make the line up wall to wall quality.
By friends, we of course mean Len Faki, Ben Klock and a live set from Mathew Jonson. Tickets are available on Resident Advisor and we'd advise you to get some. We get the feeling this might just be a busy one tonight!
After the release of 'Feed Forward' and all the various sampler discs that have accompanied it, it's about time we had something new from the Sandwell District camp. The 16th release sees a new artist joining the collaborative project, Rrose. I'd love to tell you loads of info about the artists but very little is known about them. If I find more info, I'll let you know.
You'll just have to take a listen to the tracks for yourself and let the music do all the talking
For those of you who aren't aware of Dommune, it's a website run in Tokyo, Japan and streams audio and visual across the web.
It may come as a big surprise to some of you, but I'm not a big fan of Dommune. Yes I know they feature some of the very best techno artists in the world. The likes of Shed, Sandwell District, Surgeon (and probably some other artists that don't begin with the letter S) etc and of course Perc. What's not to love I hear you ask? The problem I have is, that they book all these incredible artists and put them on during the London daytime when I'm at work and can't tune in!
Thankfully Perc has done the decent thing and recorded his set to share to the world through the wonders of soundcloud. You might not get to see him in action, but you'll get to hear what he did, and that's the most exciting part
For those of you in Tokyo tonight Perc will be doing a special 3 hour set for the Drone 'Perc Trax Vs. Blank Records' Party @ Module. Full event info can be found on Resident Advisor
Tonight sees the tenth edition of one of Berlin's best underground parties, Grounded Theory. As ever the line up is packed with the cream of todays techno artists. Headlining is Berghain resident Marcel Fengler. With support from our last headliner, Redshape, CLR's brightest new star, Tommy Four Seven and the man behind the GT project, Henning Baer. Set in the perfect surroundings of Arena Club, this party is guaranteed to be something special.
Kicking off at Midnight, entrance is a highly reasonable 10 euros. All the other info can be found on the Resident Advisor Event Page. If you're in Berlin tonight make sure this is where you're at.
We're gutted we missed Sonar this year, especially the Stroboscopic Artefacts, and as is always the case with the SA boys, they didn't waste time in getting some video evidence of the amazing party up on the old t'interweb.
The showcase saw performances from Lucy and Dadub as they display their considerable talents. Check out the quick video
Just over 2 weeks to go now until we welcome Kenneth Christiansen into our favourite toilet, Public Life and we're getting very excited! And because we're such a nice bunch, we've decided to let two lucky people in for free.
To get your hands on the pair of tickets all you have to do is answer this simple question....
What was the name of the record shop opened by Kenneth Christiansen?
To enter the competition all you need to do is e-mail your answers to info@slashdotdash.biz with the title 'Kenneth Christiansen Competition'
The competition will close at 5pm on Thursday 7th July 2011 and the winner will be notified by e-mail.
fabric have been providing me with plenty of blogger fodder of late, but I'm not complaining. A special promo vid for Craig Richards' fabric 58 CD, a mix from Jerome Sydenham and now a mix from Ryan Elliott.
In his own words “ this mix is a little different for me - its bpm's are a little slower, the tracks play a little longer, the mixes ride longer, its moody and sexy in that late night / early morning way. There is even some non 4/4 stuff at the beginning. As with all my sets, it contains some new tracks, some old tracks, and some special edits.”
There's an interesting interview with the man himself on the fabric blog which is well worth a read. If you want to go see him live, he'll be in fabric's Room 2 on Saturday 2nd July. Tickets on Resident Advisor. Or if you're in Berlin next month you can catch him at the BPitch Nacht @ Berghain on Saturday 23rd July.
The Nothing Special is easily one of our favourite club nights. It was there we had our first live experiences from Kenneth Christiansen, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Sandwell District, Brendon Moeller and many more.
The Nothing Special is a concept dreamed up by fabric's musical director, Craig Richards. A place where he can have total musical freedom and allow the huge variety of the his record collection to shine through, perfectly complimenting the live acts in which the night is built around.
To celebrate the release of the CD, fabric have put together a promotional video with some interesting footage from around the iconic London nightspot.
The CD launch party will take place at fabric this Saturday 25th June in fabric's Room 2 with live performances from 2562 and Conforce and of course Craig Richards. Tickets are available on Resident Advisor.
Ok so there's more than 1 mix of the day today but we can't help the fact that loads of good music has come to our attention all at the same time.
Last weekend saw Synewave Records take over the legendary Berlin club, Berghain. Label boss, Damon Wild recorded his mix and put it up on Mixcloud for us all
Jerome Sydenham comes from a school of the harder edge of techno and house that can jack and go deeper when the moment calls, his label Ibadan Recordswith signings like Anthony Rother, Alexander Robotnick and Adam Beyer it helps to illustrate the varied tones of his DJ sets. As a producer Sydenham releases the bulk of his output on his own imprint but has also earned the stars of CLR and Drumcode releases on his chest. For such a well versed pillar of the community it’s hard to see how Jerome hasn’t graced our decks before but thanks to Stop Making Sense Festival we’re welcoming him to Room Three for their pre-launch party as they look forward to three days of partying at land and sea this August in guaranteed to be sunny Croatia.
You can catch Jerome at fabric this weekend. Tickets are available on Resident Advisor. More info on him can be found on his Facebook Fan Page
Todays mix of the day features a live set from one of our favourite past guests (actually they're all favourites, couldn't possibly pick just one), Samuli Kemppi. Playing alongside Peter Van Hoesen at the Suicide Circus Club in Berlin last month for the latest edition of the Archives Series.
Those of you that saw him perform for us last November at the Rhythm Factory will know just how good a live performance Samuli gives. So you won't want to wait before checking out the live set below....
More information on Samuli Kemppi can be found on his Facebook Fan Page or alternatively you can follow him on Twitter. If you happen to be in Helsinki this Friday night (17th) then make sure you head to U6 @ Kuudes Linja where Samuli will be playing alongside the man from Berlin Party, Dystopian, Rødhåd.
This weekend is a busy one for techno in London. Here's a little round up of what we think is worth doing. First up, it's been a long time coming but Perc's debut album 'Wicker & Steel' is finally out. The launch party is Saturday night and features Perc Trax artists Forward Strategy Group and Truss.
After the success of the first Ostgut Ton showcase at Corsica Studios the two brands have joined up and announced a string of collaborative parties under the name 'Unterton'. Ben Klock leads the charge with the usual following of Berghain / Panoramabar residents behind him.
Tickets and full details of tonight's event can be found on Resident Advisor
Lastly it's a special night for Resident Advisor. 10 years old and Saturday sees the first of 10 parties around the world with this special 'X' concept. Each event has a secret headliner who has hand picked the rest of the line up. This is possibly the worlds best secret. No one knows who the 'X's are (or they've all been sworn to secrecy with the threat of death). The first party in London is looking extremely promising. Our March guest and Podcast contributer, 19.454.18.5.25.5.18, will be back in London for the first time since he played for us, and we can't wait.
There's a few things we're fans of at Slash Dot Dash and two of them have come together for todays Mix Of The Day, Surgeon and Wax Treatment. The legendary UK techno DJ/Producer teamed up with one of Berlin's best nights 2 weekends ago. Check out the mix on the soundcloud player below
You may of noticed a bit of a Perc Trax theme throughout the blog in the last few weeks, and with good reason too. It's been a long time coming but Perc's debut album, 'Wicker & Steel', drops on Friday.
Perc gave us a great interview on the making of the album and a few other things besides (check out the interview here) and he's also given us a copy of the album to give away for free. To get your hands on the CD all you need to do is answer this simple question...
What was the title of the first ever release on Perc Trax?
To enter the competition all you need to do is send your answer to info@slashdotdash.biz with the subject 'Perc Competition'. The comp will close at 6pm on Friday 10th June so get your answers in quick. The winner will be announced and notified by e-mail.
For those of you in London on Saturday you can be part of the Official Perc 'Wicker & Steel' Album Launch Party hosted by Techno Therapy. Tickets are still available on Resident Advisor
Sticking with the UK tip we have the next release from Luke Slater's Mote Evolver label and the second release from the talented anonymous Shifted. We was lucky enough to catch his set at the EarToGround party last month and we left highly impressed. The Control EP is a 4 tracker of solid techno as we've come to expect from both the artist and the label.
The release will be in the shops next Monday (13th June) but we're pretty sure it won't be about for long. Check out the Shifted and Mote Evolver Facebook Fan Pages for more info
We got a hot pick for you today. A new sub label, Inchoate Records, has been setup by Nick Dunton's UK label, Surface Records. Focusing on the deep sides of house and techno, their first release from The Echelon Plan does just that. All 3 tracks ooze deep atmospheric soundscapes whilst Delta Funktionen toughens things up with the remix. Check out the samples below
We're gutted that we missed out on Movement Festival this year. We've still not been and we've already put plans of Movement 2012, but we've hard a couple of sets and watched a few vids to console ourselves. It looked amazing.
However there was one video which annoyed us more than any of them. Our previous SDD guest, Traversable Wormhole, performed live on the Torino Stage and someone managed to catch a 23 minute video from the performance so we absolutely had to share it.
It's not even close to as good as being there but it's still an amazing video from an amazing artist. We're praying for some new Traversable Wormhole material, but as was the case with the project before the CLR remixes, you won't know about it until you see a copy in your local record shop. So keep your eyes peeled.
As the days get longer and the air gets warmer time seems to be flying along. We've had Kenneth Christiansen booked up for so long it's hard to believe we're just over a month away!
Kenneth Christiansen will be performing a special 3 hour set for us where he'll be showcasing the signature dub techno sound which has made his labels Echocord and Echocord Colour so successful over the last 9 years.
A true music pioneer, DJ, Producer (with Resoe as Pattern Repeat), record shop owner, label boss, Kenneth has done it all, even running his own club, Culture Box, in the heart of his home town Copenhagen. If you don't know about it, check the line ups they pull out the bag every single week!
Speaking to Kenneth a few weeks ago he told us how playing at huge venues like Berghain are incredible experiences but he prefers smaller intimate venues, to really give that up close and personal feel to a night. So going by that, Public Life should be absolutely perfect!
Joining Kenneth on the night will be Slash Dot Dash front man, XI, and Andy Bone from Lost Souls fame. These boys will bubbling up nicely in time for Kenneth to hit the turntables.
However due to the smallness of our beloved toilet, we advise you to purchase a ticket to guarantee yourself entry. £5 tickets are moving on Resident Advisor now and are strictly limited. We are running a guestlist for the same price but once we're full, we're full. Only ticket holders have priority.
Head over to Resident Advisor to get your tickets and reserve your spot on the dancefloor. Otherwise you can e-mail your names to guestlist@slashdotdash.biz
Todays Mix Of The Day is a live recording from the launch party of the Echocord Jubilee Compilation at Culture Box in Copenhagen. Deadbeat has contributed to both Echocord and Echocord Colour labels over the past couple of years and is one of the best dub techno producers around today, rightfully earning his place on the Jubilee Comp and an integral part of the launch party.
We recently covered the first remix release by Perc, 'My Head Is Slowly Exploding' from his forthcoming debut album 'Wicker & Steel' on his own label Perc Trax. Here at Slash Dot Dash we loved it so much that we tracked down Ali Wells, aka Perc, for a chat about making the album and what the future holds for himself and the label.
You’ve been all over the world of late. What have you been doing and have there been any particular highlights?
It's just been a mixture of dj sets and live sets in all sorts of places, all across Europe, the USA and Canada and now I have Japan coming up in June. Sometimes it is a Perc Trax event, other times I am playing for CLR or Stroboscopic Artefacts or just booked with a selection of previously unconnected artists. Recent highlights have been the Grounded Theory party in Berlin with Milton Bradley and Adam X, I really felt at home and at ease there. The CLR party at Butan (near Dusseldorf) was great as the system was tweaked to perfection for that big CLR sound. Closer to home my first gig at fabric and my recent gigs at Corsica Studios have both shown me that London still loves it's techno.
You’ve been working on your debut album at the same time. Have you found it difficult to remain focused with all the travelling you’ve been doing?
I think my travelling provided a break from the production of the album and gave me a chance to step back from the production process and take a look at how the album was shaping up. Plus I could road-test a few tracks in clubs, playing 'My Head Is Slowly Exploding' in my live set atBerghain proved to me that I was going in the right direction with the album. I like the balance between the isolation of studio work and the social side of travelling, playing gigs and meeting new people. It did not cross my mind once to take a month off at any point to lock myself away and lose myself in the album. That much time working solidly in the studio would drive me mental.
How has your work process differed in making the album to making an EP?
I had the title and a rough idea for the vibe of the album early on and then I just tried to make tracks that locked into my vision of the album. I worked in pretty much the same way as I would work on an EP, with the difference being that I was trying to make tracks that fitted to a common theme. When I am making tracks normally I work on a few different sounds at once as the tracks may well end up as part of different releases on different labels. I guess the album format gave me more space to experiment and it was good to work on whatever I wanted to without thinking which label may take it or how it would fit on a regular 3 or 4 track EP.
You’ve been releasing music for 9 years now in the forms of EP and remixes. What made you decide that this was the time to make an album?
I don't know really. I've had the album idea in my head for about 2 years now but I was waiting for the right track or moment in time to kick things off. 'My Head Is Slowly Exploding' was the first track that I knew had to go on the album and that really marked the start of the creation of the album. There were a few other releases last year that made me more confident of being able to produce a cohesive album. Firstly the Vertigo I and II EPs on Perc Trax saw me branching out to make tracks which worked on the dancefloor but were not straight up dj/club tools. Secondly my Monad V release on Stroboscopic Artefacts managed to mix together 4 different sounds whilst maintaining a cohesive theme (I hope!) and the reaction to that and Lucy's faith in me gave me more confidence for 'Wicker & Steel'.
With the Sawf album earlier this year, yours about to drop and a forthcoming album from Forward Strategy Group, is this a deliberate change of direction for the label or did it just happen organically?
Not really. It was about time for Perc Trax to do albums and it just felt right to start this now. The label compilation CD and the mix CD are both dying formats and I've always like the artist album as milestone in a producer's career. Ben Gibson's album was actually the first on Perc Trax and each album project has been a continual learning process. With each album I have learnt more about the promotional campaign that goes with an album and I am sure I still have a lot to learn. Ben's was Perc Trax's first album, Sawf's was the label's first CD release, mine has had the greatest promotional push and the label's first commissioned videos. I'm not sure what new ground I'll break for the Forward Strategy Group album but we are already working on a few ideas to make the album special.
What’s been the most important thing to you that’s helped you get through this process?
I think it has just been the way the support for Perc Trax has grown in the last few years. I'd much rather hear someone say how much they love Perc Trax than how much they like my latest track or remix. The way that the label has seemed to become more focussed whilst actually expanding its sound to take in techno, industrial, dubstep and broken beat influences has really pushed me forward and given me more confidence. People seem to 'get' Perc Trax more than ever before and knowing people have a faith and an interest in the label helped immensely with my album and has also made me bolder in terms of the projects that I am planning for the rest of 2011.
And finally what does the next 6 months hold for Perc and Perc Trax?
Lots, maybe too much. After my album there is a Samuli Kemppi EP with a remix from Donor/Truss, then there is the first full EP from the label's new UK signing Dead Sound & Videohead After that expect the 2nd remix EP's from Sawf's album and 'Wicker & Steel'. All the remixers on these album remix EPs are new to Perc Trax which helps keep the label fresh without detracting from the label's core group of artists. Also coming at some point are new EP's from Donor/Truss, the Forward Strategy Group album and one new artist to Perc Trax, who is already quite established and might surprise a few people.In terms of label events there is the London launch party for my album on 11th June and a Tokyo launch party on 24th June, plus some American dates to be announced soon.
The London Launch party will be held in a secret East London location. Tickets and info are available on the Resident Advisor Event Page. More info on Perc and Perc Trax can be found on the Facebook Fan Page
Plex are back at Corsica Studios with another stormer of a line up. The last party in February was immense with great sets from Ancient Methods, Surgeon and Sigha. We caught a bit of video from Sigha's set which doesn't even come close to doing the night justice, but is still good none the less.
