Weekend Picks: Berlin - Dystopian and Grounded Theory pres. Other Heights x Field Records Showcase

It's just another weekend in the world's techno capital, Berlin, but there's two parties that deserve a mention.

First up, on Firday, our friends at Grounded Theory are hosting an Other Heights / Field Records showcase headlined with a live set from Dutch artist Conforce. Having recent releases on Clone, Coincidence and Echocord Colour and with his album coming real soon on Delsin Records, times are good for Conforce.

Joining him will be Bristol based Kowton, Oracy (aka Don Williams) and Jakob Altmann. The event will be held at Arena Club. All the details can be found on the Resident Advisor Event Page

Now if you're not done in by Friday night and fancy heading back out on Saturday then Horst Krzbrg should be your destination, and more importantly, the next party from Dystopian.

The quality line ups continue with one of London's most exciting young exports, Sigha, a Berlin debut live performance from Abdulla Rashim and support from Dystopian Resident Alex.Do and Guests.

Again check out all the event info on the Resident Advisor Event Page.

For those of you social networkers out there you can 'like' the various Facebook pages to keep yourself in the know.

Grounded Theory

Other Heights

Field Records

Dystopian

Sigha

Milton Bradley - Do Not Resist The Beat! 07

I always get very excited when I hear news of a new Do Not Resist The Beat! because it means Milton Bradley has been up to his old tricks again. Fresh for the start of his new project with Henning Baer, K209, and his remixes on Cio D'Or's 'Magnetfluss' for Prologue, Milton thought it was about time to return to the series that first caught our attention and where we love his work the most.

DNRTB! 07 follows the same pattern as the previous 6 releases. 3 tracks of droning, experimental techno, heavily laden with delays, reverbs and distortion, make this release an essential item for any discerning techno bag. Check out the samples below.

Beat 07 Preview by Do Not Resist The Beat!

The release will be in the shops at some point in the near future. More info can be found on Milton Bradley through his Facebook Fan Page.

If you want to catch Milton performing live and you happen to be in Berlin on the 23rd December, then get yourself down to Tresor as he'll be performing for Tuna Park alongside another big SDD favourite, Dasha Rush, and his fellow Grounded Theory stable mate, Sawlin. More info can be found on the Resident Advisor Event Page

Worldwide Weekend Clubbing Roundup

Normally we recommend individual nights or if there's a couple in the same city on the same weekend that are worth mentioning then we'll chuck them into a post together, but for some reason this weekend globally is packing some serious punches. So to make it easier for you we're throwing them all together into one handy post for you. If I was to give each one a write up, we'd be here all day so I'll let the flyers do the talking

London - Unterton @ Corsica Studios (25th Nov 11)

Tickets

Copenhagen - Echocord Label Night @ Culture Box (26th Nov 11)

Resident Advisor Event Page

Berlin - Klubnacht Electric Deluxe Nacht @ Berghain / Panoramabar (26th Nov 11)

Berghain - Electric Deluxe

Perc & Giorgio Gigli

Speedy J

Terence Fixmer (Live)

Gary Beck

Boris

Panoramabar

Prosumer

Mike Huckaby

Dinky

Genius Of Time

Sonntags - Nachtdigital Loves Dial

Efdemin

RNDM

Carsten Jost

Manamana aka Map.ache & Sevensol

Resident Advisor Event Page

New York - Adam X @ National Underground (25th Nov 11)

Resident Advisor Event Page

Amsterdam - Awakenings @ GasHouder (25th Nov 11)

22:00 - 00:30: Marcel Fengler

00:30 - 01:30: Mathew Jonson

01:30 - 03:30: Jeff Mills

03:30 - 05:30: Speedy J

05:30 - 07:30: Sandwell District

Resident Advisor Event Page

DVS1 - Breakaway EP [Klockworks 008]

There's not been many more recognisable techno tracks in the last couple of years than 'Running' by DVS1. It's been played by everyone and anyone and still gets incredible dancefloor reactions. With this in mind, you can understand why there's plenty of excitement around the new DVS1 release on Ben Klock's Klockworks label.

As ever there's 3 original tracks, fans of Ben Klock's Berghain 04 CD will know all about 'Confused' as it's one of the stand out tracks from the mix, and the other two tracks, 'Break Away' and 'Behind Lines' are just deadly. Check out the samples below

A1) Break Away

A2) Behind Lines

AA) Confused

The EP is in stock at Hardwax now and will be hitting all the others within the next few days no doubt. If you want to learn more about DVS1 then check out his Facebook Fan Page. Info on all the previous Klockworks releases can be found on their Facebook Fan Page

Mikkel Metal - All Over / Ball Under EP [Echocord Colour]

Mikkel Metal returns to Echocord's sister label, Echocord Colour, for his second release on the sublabel. He's been with the label since day one and all it's 10 years since. Many of his releases, on both labels, would feature in many a list of scene defining dub techno music. The Marcel Dettmann remix of his 'Kenton EP' is still one of our favourite Echocord tracks to date.

Metal is in his usual fine form with this two tracker. 'All Over' oozes dubby grooves where as 'Ball Under' sees Mikkel harp back to raw warehouse sounds to light up any peak time dance floor. Check out the samples below

All Over

Ball Under

It's available to buy now at the usual spots including Phonica, Decks.de and Juno.co.uk and plenty more besides. All the latest info on Mikkel Metal can be found on his Facebook Fan Page and the same applies for Echocord with their Facebook Page. Or failing that there's always the Echocord Website

Mix Of The Day: Xhin - Resident Advisor Podcast 286 (21st Nov 11)

They say good things come in threes, and that's definitely the case for Xhin. First came his outstanding new album 'Swords' on Stroboscopic Artefacts, second was his superb performance at the launch party the other weekend at Corsica Studios and to round things off nicely, today we get his Resident Advisor Podcast.

It might be his Asian origins but techno by Xhin always stands apart from the majority of techno we hear coming out of Europe these days. A varied pool of music and influences makes for a very unique sound. There's parts of this mix where you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stumbled upon Giles Peterson's radio show and others when you close your eyes and let your mind transport you to deepest darkest Berghain, such is the range of music on display. We knew when Stroboscopic Artefacts dropped a few hints on Twitter, yesterday, that this mix was going to be special. The listen in the car on the way home from work only confirmed it for us.

You can download the mix directly from Resident Advisor or through iTunes using the following links

Xhin - Resident Advisor Podcast 286 (Direct Download)

Xhin - Resident Advisor Podcast 286 (iTunes)

Tracklisting

1) Mount Kimbie - Carbonated (Airhead Remix) [Hotflush]

2) Donor / Truss - Endo 3 [Perc Trax]

3) Oscar Mulero - The Darker Days [Warm Up]

4) Percy X - X-Trak 1 [Soma]

5) Samaan - Detroit Memories [Fullbarr]

6) Planetary Assault Systems - Cold Bolster [Ostgut Ton]

7) Marcel Fengler - Thwack (Mike Parker Remix) [Mote Evolver]

8) Perc - London, We Have You Suurounded [Perc Trax]

9) Talvin Singh feat. Ryuichi Sakamoto - OK [Island]

10) Xhin - Teeth [Stroboscopic Artefacts]

11) Lamb - Ear Parcel [Mercury]

12) Autechre - Vietrmx (Plaid Remix)

13) Rel Harakami - Double Fiat (Max 404 Mix)

14) G-Man - Lollipop

15) Fran Hartnett - Game Code [Audio Assault]

16) Planetary Assault Systems - Bell Blocker [Ostgut Ton]

17) The Black Dog - Dissident Bleep [Dust Science]

18) Xhin - Vent [Stroboscopic Artefacts]

19) Joe Stawarz - Cry [Soma]

There's a quick interview to go along with the podcast which you can find on the Resident Advisor: Xhin Podcast Page. More info on Xhin can be found on his Facebook Fan Page or you can follow him on Twitter.

Mike Parker - Pulse Trader EP [Prologue 024]

It's only been a couple of weeks since Prologue 023 arrived on my doorstep but as has been the way with Prologue Records in 2011, the quality keeps coming. After the last two releases have been taken care of by Cio D'Or, for 024 the German label pass the controls back to Mike Parker.

4 tracks consisting of Mike Parker's dark, energetic, driving style of techno which we've become so accustomed to hearing. Check out the release using the soundcloud player below

PRG024 - Mike Parker - Pulse Trader EP by Prologue

The EP is scheduled to hit the shops on 8th December and will be in all the usual spots. More info on Prologue can be found on their Facebook Fan Page or you can follow them on Twitter

Dystopian @ Arena Club, Berlin (18th Nov 11)

Our pick for this weekends events in Berlin leads us squarely to Arena Club and to the next installment of Dystopian. Regular followers of the SDD blog will be well aware of the Dystopian parties. Recent guests have included Pfirter, James Ruskin, Lucy, Regis, Redshape and plenty more besides.

For this weekends event the huge names keep rolling in. Planet E legend Kenny Larkin comes in town and is supported by Ame of Innervisions fame. Making up the line up is Soundhack (Live) and Dystopian's own Alex.Do.

Doors open at midnight but as in the way with Berlin, don't ask us when they close. There's no tickets on sale for the event, just get there and pay your 10 euros on the door. For all the rest of the event info, check out the Resident Advisor Event Page.

For those fans of social networking you can keep tabs on all the latest Dystopian info by Liking their Facebook Fan Page. It's not on there yet but I can let you into a little secret regarding their next party. It'll be on the 3rd December at Horst Krzbrg and headlined by our good friend, Sigha. All the info can be found on Resident Advisor

Mix Of The Day: Luke Slater fabric mix

You have to of been living under a rock for the last year to not know that Luke Slater has a new Planetary Assault Systems album out entitled 'The Messenger'. We have our copy and it's superb. To celebrate the launch of the album, Luke Slater's label, Mote Evolver, is taking over fabric's Room 2, with support from Marcel Fengler and Shifted.

To wet your appetite for Saturday, Luke Slater has recorded a special promo mix for fabric's blog. You can download the mix from the following link

Luke Slater fabric Promo Mix

Tickets are still available on Resident Advisor for Saturdays event. You can get them through the RA Event Page.

EarToGround pres Xhin Album Launch, Stroboscopic Artefacts and Fachwerk Records @ Corsica Studios (12th Nov 11)

Seven months ago Stroboscopic Artefacts descended on London's Corsica Studios to showcase their label to the capital for the very first time. If you was there, then like us, you'll hold very fond memories of that night. That was April but now we're in November and our friends over at EarToGround felt it was time London got exposed to the collective again.

The party coincides with the launch of Xhin's superb 'Sword' album so of course the man from Singapore is the deserved headliner and we know he's going to mark the occasion with something extra special. He'll be expertly backed up by SA artists Lucy, Pfirter (making his London debut), Inigo Kennedy with visuals from Oblivious Artefacts.

Room 2 isn't looking too bad either. After already playing host to Mike Dehnert, ETG are now bringing over the other two members of Fachwerk Records, Roman Lindau and Sascha Rydell for an extended b2b set. Additional support comes from ETG boss Gareth Wild and one half of the team behind the first release on ETG's label, Dax J.

Tickets are still available on Resident Advisor. Get them on the Event Page, you can also find the rest of the info there too. And of course once it hits 6am the party will be far from over because they'll all be heading to Cable for the after party and help Jaded celebrate turning 7. Expect some big names and huge surprises. All the details and tickets are on the Jaded Resident Advisor page

Techno Therapy @ Hub Studios (11th Nov 11)

This Friday sees the next Techno Therapy party hit London. You'll remember the last one they done at the Pattern Cutters warehouse where, in conjunction with Perc Trax, they launched Perc's debut album, 'Wicker & Steel'. Aptly supported by Truss and Forward Strategy Group, it was a hell of a night. Well Perc's back with a few new friends to play with.

For their last party of 2011, Techno Therapy have lined up something even bigger. Taking over the Hub Studios (the sister venue of the Hub Club) with help from label contributors Ryan Davis, Darko Esser, Pig & Dan and of course Perc. The venue looks pretty special from the picture but we've been informed that it'll be completely transformed for Friday's party.

We can also confirm that Slash Dot Dash boss, XI, has been added to the line up, which has made his 30th Birthday celebratory weekend even better. And because of that we can offer you a nice 25% discount on your ticket. There's no guestlist for the event so we'll urge you to get tickets to avoid disappointment. You can get your special concessions ticket by clicking on This Link (check it says DJXI - 25% Discount in the promo code section)

The event kicks off at 10pm and goes on till late. All the info you'll need can be found on the Resident Advisor event page. Otherwise you can check out Techno Therapy's Facebook Fan Page.

Slash Dot Dash Podcast 008: Stefano

For our eighth podcast we head to Southern Europe for a stop over in Italy, and more importantly the historic city of Lecce, where we find Stefano.

The Toffler Music boss has been busy over the past year launching the label and expanding to roster. We highly recommend you check them out. You'll find works from Stefano, Oliver Deutschmann, DFRNT, one of our biggest influences Quantec, and at some point next year you'll see the debut release of our boss, XI, under his production alias of Kontort.

So it seemed only right that we'd invite Stefano to provide a mix to add to our series. Blending blissful dub melodies with darker techno beats, it's clear to see why Stefano is someone we're expecting big things from in the not too distant future.

You can either download or stream the mix from the Soundcloud player below, or you can download the mix through iTunes (we're just waiting for the iTunes database to refresh and then it'll be there for you to download)

Slash Dot Dash Podcast 008: Stefano by Slash Dot Dash

Tracklisting

1) Marcel Dettmann - Barrier [Ostgut Ton]

2) Mikkel Metal - Cassini [Tartelet]

3) Deadbeat - First Quarter (Scuba Remix) [BLKRTZ]

4) Deadbeat - Cala's House (Efdemin Remix) [BLKRTZ]

5) Claudio Mate - El Malo Oscuro [For Pleasure Records]

6) Quantec - Cosmogonic [Toffler Music]

7) SCB - Mace [SCB]

8) Quantec - Mia's Tea [Toffler Music]

9) Quantec - K Hole [Toffler Music]

10) Mikkel Metal - Mazurski [Tartelet]

11) The Echelon Plan - Reunions (Delta Funktionen Remix) [Inchoate]

12) Stefano - Square And Compasses (Quantec Remix) [Toffler Music]

13) Lee Holman - Freedom (Orlando Voorn Remix) [Toffler Music]

14) Pattern Repeat - 001 [Pattern Repeat]

15) Weight and Treble - Things To Come (Original Mix) [Toffler Music]

16) Weight and Treble - Things To Come (Oliver Deutschmann Kingstone Jam Remix) [Toffler Music]

More info on Stefano can be found on his Facebook Page or you can follow him on Twitter. Info on Stefano's label, Toffler Music, can be found on their Facebook Fan Page. For the rest of the SDD Podcasts check out the Podcasts page on the Slash Dot Dash Website.

Slash Dot Dash Interview: Roberto

Roberto has been causing ripples around the techno world for a while now. His music has found it's way into the hands of techno big wigs like Chris Liebing, Ben Klock, DVS1 and many more. Releases on Artform, Outland and Affin Records have helped catapult him to the realm of one of London's brightest new stars.

After the big success of last months Void, we got together with Roberto for a chat about all things production, DJ'ing, how he got into it and what's coming next.

It’s been a busy couple of months for you, what have you been up too and what have been the highlights?

The last few months have been pretty crazy for me. I have been out on the road DJing a lot which I really enjoy. I have played in Bristol at the Artform label party, London for VOID, Amsterdam (ADE) for Outland recs and WetYourSelf at fabric. The highlight for me was getting a chance to play at WYS alongside Chris Liebing and Terrence Fixmer in Room 2 at fabric. It was a dream come true for me! I am now looking forward to getting back in the studio over the next few months though.


Your biggest release to date has been the ‘Logical Progression’ EP on Artform Records. How did that come about?

I was DJing in Liverpool with Jamie Anderson. We got chatting and he said to send him some of my music. I made the track shortly after I came back from Liverpool and I can remember laying on the bed listening to it in the spare bedroom of my house. I remember thinking I had something something special. Shortly after I sent it to Jamie he rang me up and said he wanted to sign it to his Artform label. From that point on I have been working closely with Jamie. He has really helped me by giving me the confidence to believe in what I am doing and develop my own signature sound.


What were your early influences to get you into DJ’ing and production?

When I was at school, a friend introduced me to drum n bass. I was instantly hooked! I was really drawn to the breakbeat rhythms and huge baselines which were non existent in the pop music you would hear on the radio and tv at the time. From that point forward I started buying vinyl records and practiced mixing. Once I had got up to speed with DJing, I wanted to create my own music so I started playing around with Cubase. I still use the program today.


How do you go about making a track?

I tend to start with the drums and build a hook around the rhythm of the drums. Sometimes I might find a sample and build the track around that. It really depends on the vibe of the track I'm making.


Your music has found it’s way into the hands of some of techno’s best names, how does it feel to have such support for your work?

It's an amazing feeling when somebody you really respect supports your own music. It's the ultimate complement. I've been very fortunate to have artists who really influence me pick up on my stuff. Hearing people like Steve Rachmad, Ben Klock and Terry Francis play my tracks in clubs like Fabric and Berghain was pretty special!


What does the rest of the year and 2012 hold in store for you?

I've got another ep coming on Artform which I am very excited about. More material coming on Affin including a track on the Affin 100 compilation. I have done some remixes for Artform, including Jamie Anderson's legendary track 'Inova' which I am really pleased with. There will also be more material on Outland. I want to carry on DJing, but I am also developing a live show which I want to take on the road in 2012

For more info on Roberto, his upcoming gigs and releases and where you can buy all his music head over to his Facebook Fan Page or for updates you can follow him on Twitter