First up is a heads up on a new monthly party a bunch of us are kick starting this Saturday here in Dublin. U Bar is a new and promising space on Hight Street in Christchurch and on the last Saturday of every month the gang are gonna be taking over the 2 floors to bring a mixture of all things house/techno/electro/disco. Instead of opting for the usual few residents + guest (though we will be throwing in a few surprises along the way) buzz there is gonna be a pool of 14 of us taking over the reigns, though obviously not all on the one night! Djs from Lunar Disko, Mn To That, Electric City, Test, Slowburn, Loudmouth and Moons will share the controls over the coming months. It’s all free and both the basement and bar areas are pretty neat so hopefully we’ll see some of you over the summer months and hopefully further on into the year. This Saturday’s line up can, of course, be seen on the flyer above…

Moving on, last Friday I took my first jaunt over to London for some gig action since 2010. It’d be an understatement and a half to say I was pretty damn excited about Jeff Mills’ debut performance in the intimate confines of the main room in Corsica Studios. In a deft move the venue decided that they would not be opening the whole club, something that would have resulted in everyone trying to get into the room Mills was playing, causing extreme discomfort. Instead, the capacity was limited to what seemed on the night to be little more than 200 people. There would be no warm up, just Mills all night, with a planned set of some 6hrs, as part of his 20th Anniversary Axis tour…

I arrived at 11pm to find the venue slowly filling up with Mills already behind the decks, with strains of ambient and slow-paced deep techno emerging from the speakers. For the first hour or so he wasn’t really up to much, more so filling up the space with sounds while the crowd gathered. As bodies started to move on the floor he got on the mic giving a quick introduction to what he was gonna do for the night, whilst also declaring his committed dedication to techno, and asking us to go with him. It added a really nice personal touch to the night, already giving off the impression that we were in for something a bit special.

The first segment of the gig was very much a straight retrospective of classic Mills material and the odd other non-Mills cut such as Rob Hood’s “Minus”. It was a hell of a lot of fun and it was instantly noticeable just how up for it the crowd was, the atmosphere was electric from the word go. There wasn’t folk there to be seen/hanging out in the smoking area or bar, they were on the floor giving it their all.

It was when Mills stepped up to the 909 for the first time though when things got really interesting. For anyone who has been following Mills over the last five years or so they will have seen a marked difference in his performances compared with the frenetic chaos of yesteryear. As with his productions his dj sets have taken a much more abstract and deeper route, all the time channeling his unique vision of what techno is. It is kind of hard to describe what happened for the next few hours. It was hypnotic, insanely intense, pummeling, yet at times with the most wonderfully subtle, even light, touches – especially how he incorporated the 909  - that it generated a somewhat psychedelic and wholly entrancing experience. It felt like my feet were literally glued to the floor and any sense of time or space just seemed to disappear; it was anything but your average techno performance. I saw Mills go down this route somewhat in Detroit in 2009 – when it was also quite brilliant – but then it alienated some of the audience while here everyone was with him every step of the way. The odd time I was able to drag myself off the floor to have a cigarette I was so disorientated that I barely engaged with anyone and got straight back inside. I just don’t know of anyone else who can take techno to such a deep space for such lengthy periods yet make it quite so intoxicating and addictive.

As is the case with any Mills performance it wasn’t note perfect. The odd cd skipped, some of the layering and mixing was out of place – and really it was hard to tell where each element of some of the segments – saying he was just straight up mixing track after track into each other does not do things justice – was coming from but there’s always been a very human element to his performances. This raw element has nearly always stood side by side his unique way of approaching djing, and nowadays he incorporates the multiple decks/909 to work small samples, washes of strings and ambience, drum tracks and percussion into one individual whole. I rarely buy any of his music anymore because it sorta seems pointless to try and play it after you’ve seen him deconstruct it and rebuild it in such a distinctive manner. You never see him taking a break for more than a few seconds.

He slowly but surely came out of the ultra deep bizness – which is where he utilises what I talked about above the most – with a surprising curveball of Shari Vari before returning to his trademark techno assault, yet you just never knew what was coming next.  The smallest, most perfectly timed addition of a hi-hat off the 909 would send the crowd into eruptions out of nowhere. Even when he played Donna Summer’s I Feel Love he couldn’t do it straight, instead bringing the track slowly in over a solo 909 section, giving the song an extra layer that didn’t seem superfluous. Come 6am it was time for him to once again get on the mic and he was visibly moved by what had just taken place, acknowledging that it was one of most special nights of his career. And instead of stopping he treated us to some more old school Mills, taking things back to the seminal Waveform Transmissions period, and in doing so he showed just how well he had held the audience captive over the night as there was still the same energy on the floor at 6.40am as there had been at midnight.

There was a time in the last decade when I thought Mills was all but washed up. His performances were lacklustre, his track selections boring and he had seemingly lost his way. But since re-focusing his performances nearly solely on his own music (he has recently stated that he has little interest in what music other people are making), changing his approach on how he presents it  and, when given the chance, having complete creative control over the venue and the night he has once again become one of the most singular and interesting artists in dance music. In the last year or so I’ve lost a lot of interest in seeing “name” djs, too many just don’t deliver what I want in a night out, and I’m not even sure if I thought I’d ever have a night again where I’d be so invigorated by a single dj’s performance, especially not one who’s been at it 30 years. Night’s like this come around very rarely and it’s going to live long in the memories of everyone who attended.

Realsounds is a new Dublin collective who have recently set up one of these live ustream webcasts from a studio in the city, broadcasting once every couple of weeks for 4hrs. Things are kicking off this evening at 7pm (bst) with Sam Kay and Paudi Ahern  before myself and Lerosa stumble about behind the decks from 9 to 11. I can’t guarantee migrane inducing video mixing or a load of mincing hangers-on trying to get in shot behind us, but we’ll do our best to entertain. You can log on and give us words of encouragement or abuse, if you fancy that sort of craic.

Watch/listen here from 7pm

My latest mix is for the Derry based Underlying Form podcast, a newish series put together by Darren Allen. Guests so far have included Jane Fitz and Nick Craddock so keeping pretty good company all told. This one is a pace-y enough run through of electro, Chicago trax and some other bits and bobs.

Juju & Jordash – Jewsex
CYB – Five
Alden Tyrell – Disco Lunar Module (U4ria’s Superdunkel Rmx 1.25)
Monsieur Black – No Love
Polygamy Boys – Wake Up
Jackmaster Hater – Tracky Two
Marcus Mixx – Go Man Go
Donell Rush – Knockin’ At My Door (Dub)
Matt Whitehead – To The Beat
Acid Kings & Crystal Bois – Can You Handle The Acid? (Acid Kings Rmx)
Doctor’s Cat – Watch Out!
The Unknown Dj – Breakdown (Scratch Version)
Free Style – The Party Has Begun
Shangaan Electro – Anthony Shake Shakir Meets BBC
Lando Kal – Rhythm Sektion
Jordan Fields – Boxbeater
Farley Jackmaster Funk – The Acid Life
Transilvanian Galaxia – Transilvanian Galaxia
John Heckle – The Voyager (voyeur)
Raiders of the Lost ARP – Lunar Lander
Gene Hunt – May The Funk Be With You
Robert Hood – The Feel
Andres – New For U
Cerrone – Supernature
Lakker – Spider Silk
E.R.P. – El Camino
Lerosa – Titanium
Pittsburgh Track Authority – Untitled
Automatic Tasty – Over The Hill

Grab it here

Andres – New For U

Detroit’s Dj Dez is one of those perennial underachievers. Fans of his superb dj and productions skills may think I’m talking through my arse but even with a healthy enough bunch of much loved releases, mainly on Mahogani/KDJ, he has remained a somewhat cultish figure in the Detroit house scene, a real “heads” kinda guy.  Since the slight increase in focus on Detroit house guys by the wider public in the last 5 years or so  his main releases have been 2 – excellent – albums that while highly revered have not been the most dj friendly material, thus seeing his music being lesser well known than some of his peers. Recently Floating Points has had him play at Eglo showcases which has helped his profile a bit but, for example, chances are you brought him to Dublin it could easily bomb even though he kills it on the decks.

Ok, so I’m preaching to the converted a bit here as he’s regularly been given props on this here blog but with his new 12″ I think there is a pretty good chance he may have a bone fide hit on his hands. The title track on this debut 12 of new D label La Vida is one of those brilliantly simplistic house cuts; it does very little, but every part of it is vital, from it’s rolling disco beat that kicks straight in, to the tiny vocal sample and awesome strings sample that’s begging for summertime to hit. It instantly sounds really familiar even if you or not familiar with the sample – I can’t tell if I am, it’s not my forte, so you see the effect I’m getting at. It’s at once a fun  dj tool while been pretty anthemic and there’s a brilliant rolling bass-line that you nearly miss first time round. Drama Around The Corner and Jazz Dance are subtler joints but are soaked in as much funk as you’ll have come to expect from Dez at this stage. Drama.. is a sleek low slung groover while the tempo picks up again on the B cut, which sees him back  in disco/house territory. Buy it and play the shit out of it.

ERP, Plant43, Orphan, Jo Johnson – Bleep43 EP001

Regular visitors to Clone’s online store may or may not have noticed this 12″ in the upcoming section for what seems live forever; this release has been languishing there since sometime in late 2010. The London based Bleep43 crew have been laying low on all fronts for a time now, with their parties becoming sporadic and the ending of their great podcast series earlier this year. At long last though they are back in action with this debut various artist 12 of electro-tinged goodness.

On a personal level I probably would have been more excited 18 months ago to get some new ERP on my turntable and while there is certainly nothing wrong with El Camino I’m really itching for Hansen to get back to his Convextion monikor. You know exactly what to expect from a dancefloor ERP track at this stage and even though his releases are always sporadic they feel a little less essential for me now. Chances are I’m still in a minority with this opinion and it’ll still work damn well as a replacement for some older cuts I’ve played too much.

The rest of the Ep is handed over to 3 producers who make up part of the Bleep43 collective. ERP may be the big selling point but it would be silly to ignore the rest. Plant43 follows Hansen on the A side, which is fitting, having served up a brilliant remix of ERP on Semantica in 2010. The two occupy the same area of electro though Plant43 takes things in a different direction on Teflon Jacket with a near booty electro drum pattern contrasting the gloomy strings and grinding synths, serving up a track I wasn’t quite expecting after the initial ambience.

The B-side sees a pair of debut appearances on vinyl for Orphan and Jo Johnson respectively. Orphan’s View from Delfgauw is my pick of the 4 tracks. Things are taken down a notch compared with the A side, moving in a more introspective direction. Things in View from Delfgauw don’t seem to quite fit, it’s all just slightly out of place which is where it’s charm lies. It’s arpeggio’d riff doesn’t start quite as you’d expect while the beat and gentle but stirring keys also do the same as they arrive. It’s a surprisingly unique and exciting composition, given it’s her first song to be put out. Johnson’s Coarse Material closes off proceedings on a down tempo electro tip,  a dark and thus fitting end to an EP that for the most part eschews instant gratification opting instead to give the listener a more varied and contrasting release, with each cut serving it’s own purpose, while all being tied together by a sombre tone. A lil extra kudos for the Ep to feature 2 female producers, especially in a musical area not well known for it (sausage electro anyone? Not here.)

Plant43 – Driven by Magnetics

AC Records is a German electro label that has showcased amongst others Morphology, dB-24 and Ireland’s DeFeKt over the last 3 years or so. Emile Facey, aka Plant43, has a rare EP of his own lined up as their next release. Facey’s electro is as finely tuned as one could imagine, the very definition of crisp and shimmering electronics. As noted in the above review himself and ERP share similarities but Plant43′s music tends to be more tightly wound. This leads to the tracks striking a nice balance as head music or, especially on closer Organic Synthesis, music for a patient  dance floor as things slowly take form with a smooth ghetto-tech style beat accompanying it. Resynth is the most hook laden of the 4 tracks, it’s  synth line not dissimilar to what he included on the ERP remix, delivering the record it’s biggest and most appealing number.

Ghost Light on the b-side nearly tips it for me over these. Starting typically spaced out it’s contrasting, growling bass gives it an extra, unexpected boost, my only niggling doubt with it is that it could go have gone further before the coda. Finishing at the beginning, Driven By Magnetics serves up a 4th take on his electro stylings, where I think increasing it’s original pace would give more urgency to a song that combines 90s deep techno influences with man machine aesthetics he re-imagines into his own design. Semantica will also be delivering another Ep for Facey this year, and combined with the exposure garnered from the Bleep43 ep and this confident and excellent release, it should see bigger and brighter things for the unassuming Londoner.

Drexciya – Unknown Journey 2

For the second installment in Clone’s Drexciya retrospective I’m not gonna give a blow by blow account, but just give a few words over to the 2nd previously unreleased track they’ve unearthed for the series.  After the initial Wow new Drexciya!!! surprise I got from seeing they were putting new material on the releases I still found myself going back to Unknown Journey 1 off Vol.1 but this time I’m not so sure. Drexciya’s critics have found some of their material a bit too scattershot and random at times and if you aren’t a fan of that you may not be bowled over by this composition. You sure won’t mistake it for anyone else but it does have a cast-off feel to it, and it’s easy enough to see why it never made it to wax before. I like how things clash and bang (not bounce) off each other in some of Stinson’s rawer moments and it’s weird, atonal hook is awkwardly layered over messy drum roles and signature Drexciya bass, like we’ve seen plenty of times before. But outside of the confines of a full release it was specifically made for it doesn’t feel essential. It’s cause isn’t helped that the amazing Positron Island comes rushing in afterwards either, a quick reminder how brilliant the brutal side of Drexciya was.

It’s good to see the Clone gang getting some previously CD only material from The Quest (Neon Falls and the brief Dead Man’s Reef) on here. The nerd in me did pull a bit of a face when I saw the amazing Davey Jones Locker make it on to the volume, having only been available before on the True People Compilation from the mid 90s. At this stage having any gripe against this stunning music being available to folk who missed it the first time around – and don’t have tonnes of surplus cash to be buying everything off discogs – is totally missing the point. Though I can’t wait to see the collectors go into a tizzy if S.I.D. material appears later…

That title may sound a lil off putting but please don’t be. The Isreali duo have been doing a bunch of live shows of late taking in a few European cities and the US.  I’m still to have the pleasure of catching them do their ting but they’ve started recording shows and have placed 2 of the shows online, and in the vein of their Magic Mountain High project with Move D, they be going down the improvised route.

First up is their recording from Fuse in Brussels followed by a fairly ludircrous set recorded in Bucharest.

Also last week a promo of their upcoming release on Golf Channel Recordings arrived on my doorstep.  The bizarrely yet amusingly titled Jewsex sees the Jujus at their most full on yet. With a name like that it really couldn’t have been anything else.  Euphoric italo-esque synths collide with a rolling 80′s beat and pulsating bass, building and building throughout.  Never ones to play it straight they add an extra, deeper layer as it rises and while the first half of the song doesn’t let up until it finally implodes from the drama the second half  gives centre stage to that 2nd, more wistful layer of keys, taking it through to a  more composed finale.  Even when making music aimed squarely at the dancefloor they manage to surprise; giving you  the best opener and closer of a set in one track.  While they are often lauded for their unique and, lets face it, sometimes challenging productions they are just as good when they go straight for the jugular and I’m digging this as much as anything they’ve done.  The b-side offers a more stripped down Clubsex version that features the most slap-in-the-face hi-hat this side of  a Big Strick cut while we find ourselves in more typical Jujus territory with a dubbed out B2 version. Recommended. Highly.

Back on the interweb airwaves today for a couple of hours starting at 4pm (bst). Haven’t looked at my records yet so dunno what I’ll be playing but it’ll be the usual concoction of electronic musaks and what not…

Tune in here

Time to change things up for the next Apartment release. After 2 house 12″‘s it’s the turn of Irish/Italian, em, house producer Lerosa to deliver the goods, this time on an electro tip. Bar the tape release on Further and his first 12″ on D1 many years ago, not much of Lerosa’s electro has seen the light of day (and there is quite a bit of it) so we figured it was time to get more of this shit on wax. Test pressings are in the bag and sounding great so we should be hitting a release sometime in April. I’ll have more info as it happens on where you’ll be able to grab it when it drops – incl. myself selling some cheaper pre-release 12″s  and all that promo jazz. For now check out the samples below. Finally, thanks again to all who dug the Tr One and NCW releases, what lil expectations we’ve had have been matched and easily surpassed…

Apartment [two] Lerosa – No Mad Rush

12 inch vinyl only

More info to follow soon…

Pauly Martin aka Platinum Ray delivers his 2nd mix for us and it’s definitely one of my favourite mixes we’ve received in a while. Even in his home town of Dublin Pauly is somewhat under-rated and really deserves more kudos for his deejaying. The tracklisting on this one speaks for itself, get stuck in…

PSTN / CU

intro – Palace Video Malfunction
Bobby Konders – Nervous Acid
Megablast – Jubita (Stereotyp Remix)
Phortune – String Free (Club LeRay Mix)
LFO – Love Is The Message
20:20 Vision – Future Remembrance (20:20 Livestyle Mix)
Theo Parrish – Synthetic Flemm
Mr. Fingers – Amnesia
John Heckle – Life On Titan
Levon Vincent – Love Technique
Sylvester – Don’t Stop
Shock – Angel Face (uncredited JTC edit)
Hell & Richard Bartz – Rock My Body To The Beat (Digital Version)
Saturn V – Come Into My Life
Soylent Green – Low Pt. 1
Frankie Knuckles – Baby Wants to Ride
The Sound Vandals – On Your Way (Deep Mix)
Stevie Wonder – Race Babbling
Risqué III – Essence Of A Dream
Boo Williams – Flash Back
The Dirty Criminals – Acidbox
outro – Educution (unreleased locked groove)

Grab it here

This weekend sees the rest of the world pretend to be Irish while we just act the same as we do every other weekend with the added bonus of having the Monday off. That means, of course, that it’s St Patrick’s Day, which falls on the Saturday. It usually means it’s a fairly hectic weekend for gig action around the country but things are a lil quiet this year. With the exception of Moodymann on  Sunday the 18th in Dublin there isn’t a whole lot going on, unless you count producer has-been and dj never-was Joey Beltram on Paddy’s eve. For those out west in Galway City myself and Ger Z will be providing the disco and house bizness in the Beirhaus on the Sunday which is free in. Neither of us  can lay claim to having the charisma or back catalogue of Kenny Dixon Jr but we can mix records better, so pop in if yer knocking about…

Unknown Artist – Planetary

For future referencing there probably isn’t a worse time to talk about the details of music than after a few drinks and spliff in a club. Somewhere buried in my brain is more information on the latest release from Future Times given to me by Beautiful Swimmer’s Max, during his recent trip to Dublin. ‘Cause yer gonna get nothing from the vinyl which is a one-sided white label with no plans for a full follow up release. They’ve chosen to keep the artist secret and there is no real clues in the production to who it would be either. I believe it’s an extended edit of an Italian house track with maybe something else added to it, my memory is vague (and could be completely fooling me).

Stylistically it’s a bit of a side step for Future Times but is still imbued with their sense of fun and party and if you’ve seen the Swimmers dj it isn’t really that surprising of a release as the guys tend to drop a bunch of pop-house cuts. Also they offer some other edits on their website. It’s got a strong 90s feel to it and is also a lil bit reminiscent of those uplifting Happy Records cuts from way back when, carried along by , er, pumping kicks and claps with winding keys leading off the cut before a crisp bass eventually drops and bright strings hang around in the background. It may not appeal to those who prefer their house a bit deeper and moodier and the vocoder’d message that “this is from another planet, have no fear, we are your friends” could be a divider but it’s insousciant mood is a cool contrast to so much plodding deep house that is flooding the airwaves in 2012. If you’re already a fan of Future Times and their artists you should be able to find room for it in your bag, but I wouldn’t sleep, it’s a pretty limited release…

Automatic Tasty – Strange Terrain / Fieldwork

Just over 18 months ago one of my favourite tracks from the last few years, “I Can See Your House From Here” by Wicklow bumpkin Automatic Tasty appeared on his debut Ep for Dublin’s Lunar Disko. His follow up  for the label also works as the landmark 10th release  as he returns here on 2 seperate releases; the 12″ Strange Terrain and 10″ Fieldwork.

Listening to Tasty’s work it’s not much of a surprise to learn that this is not a man who busys himself with city life as there is often an etheral near folksy bent to some of his music. It also comes as no surprise that this will also lead to comparisons to that most famous of techno bog-hoppers, Aphex Twin.  When Richard D James was at his most wistful and tuneful he would also evoke images of long summer evenings and care-free, if psychadelic, country living, not an image one often associates with such supposedly modern and urban music. This can be a double-edged sword for Tasty, as on the Strange Terrain opener Beannach Mor (following the hilarious and self depreciating skit, Keep Your Reciept) he veers that too close to coming off as Afx-lite.  Over The Hill on the other hand sees him melding those colourful melodic twists and turns with his own hi-octane drums and 101 bass, with a thrilling main hook bringing the 12″ fully to life.

Tropic Exchange on the B-side is the high-light of the double release, another energetic, psychedelic clump of acid house. What underlines a lot of Tasty’s work is his songwriting craftsmanship. His best work often manages to work well as both stand along songs and rush-inducing dancefloor killers that a smart dj can utilise pretty easily. A lot of my favourite music often lands itself in that contradictory position of being both uplifting yet melancholic, and Tropic Exchange gets this spot on.

The Field Work 10″ is a small concept peice which is firmly stamped with the authors love of slow paced country living while once again seeing Afx as it’s most inspiring light. He wins the battle of stamping his own trademark over the notable James influences on this quietly unique Ep which invites the listener to sit back and put their feet up. After so many years of James’ complex and sometimes punishing rhythmic forms being the inspiritation for so many producers it’s also a nice turn to see that authors unique approach to euphony being the catapult for someone’s work. The four tracks work as morning/day/evening/night compositions, though don’t expect that cometh night time, cometh the dance, with In the Day being the most upbeat of the 4. They are for the most part, gentle, quirky electronica.

This is a mix of Walt J tracks and some other stuff from DOW Records.

A lot of this stuff is now being reissued, so no excuse not to buy them!