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!

Timeline – Greystone Ballroom / Mark Flash – King of Light

While one can’t say that they ever really went away, there is a sense in certain quarters (those that sat up and took notice) that these latest 12″‘s have been somewhat of  a return for the aging kingpins of Detroit techno.  This is the first UR wax I’ve purchased since 2007′s Hi-tech Dreams, which considering they are still my most treasured label ever, shows that even a devoted fan as myself can’t deny the fact that much of their output has been lacking lately. They can be commended for avoiding re-treading old ground, but that isn’t enough if the quality simply isn’t there. Even those single disc re-issues of old double-packs last year were misjudged, imo, and Clone got in ahead of them with Drexciya re-issues at a time when Stinson’s stock has been as high as ever…

My pick of the two is the new Timeline which is firmly rooted in that notion of Hi-tech Jazz that UR have pushed since the 90s. Actually this has stripped back the “hi-tech” element more so than other times with heavy doses of live instrumentation sitting side by side with the electronics. The A side cuts are pretty great with the opening Save The Bluebird kicking things off in a deep techno style, possibly the most electronic sounding of the 4 cuts, it gently builds up with quirky stabs of synths and piano and a rising string line before breaking off into a slightest bit of brass. It’s unassuming in it’s deepness but the best UR track I’ve heard in at least 5 years.

The A2, Lottie The Body ramps up the funk and is a killer cut for mixing with, carried for the most part by a funky drum work out and some cool brass/vocal snapshots to grab the floors attention. The nearly-too-noodly jazzy breaks in it didn’t bother me at all even though it’s not something I’d usually go for, but it’s groove is undeniable. The B-side of the 12 brings down the energy again into similar territory of Save The Bluebird, but the cuts either suffer from being a tad too simplistic at times to venturing into that too cheesy side of jazz for my liking. It’s not a CLASSIC 12, but I’m still quite the fan. And the city of Detroit is rarely far away from the soul of the output of UR and the whole package is a pretty neat tribute to the older Jazz community of the city.

Mark Flash’s King of Light again sees UR marking their territory, delivering 3 brash techno numbers, the type of expansive string laden techno that was one of their calling cards at the end of the 90s. I think it is the fact that they have returned to 2 styles for which they became so well known that makes these releases seem like a “Look, we’re still here” statement of intent even though the label never actually stopped releasing music. I’m not as big a fan of this 12. Within the 3 tracks there is one amazing cut, but while each has it’s merits none of them quite hit the spot. Dark Symphony comes close with its intense, stirring violin-esque pads  but sadly it doesn’t do anything else. I’m a fan of the minimal approach to techno as anyone but this is screaming out for some of the dynamics Flash works on the title track, itself let down by the somewhat predictable melodic progressions. I know one or two people who are bigger fans of this than myself and in general these 2 releases have seen folk talking about UR again so I’m hoping this will see a new phase coming after what seemed to be at least 5 years of waywardness.

GB – Seven in Twenty Four / Dogon

My first introduction to the music of Gabriel Whittaker was when I was asked to warm up for him back in 2010 when he made his debut gig(s) in Ireland.  Since then – and slightly previous to that  - he has, with little or no fanfare, put out a stream of consistently excellent releases, be it as GB, The Abstract Eye or the other couple of aliases he uses from time to time. His sound has got a real musky analogue warmth to it, his machines also imbeding the music with a jagged rawness, creating a captivating and quite unique feel. His latest comes on Dublin imprint All City and is on an electro tip, opening with Seven in Twenty Four; a simplistic yet captivating slice of post Drexciya funk that unlike a lot of other Stinson/Donald inspired electro it’s more a nod to the duo’s work in an aesthetic way, less so musically. It’s hook is barely noticeable on first listen but becomes more engrossing on repeat listens. The Drexciya referencing is a bit more obvious on Dogon, a speedy electro jam that once again contains a minimal musical hook that rushes along above some tense snares. Also, if you missed out on his The Provider 12″ that came out at the end of last year I’d also recommend you look it up.Electro-boogie influences are more of a reference point but once again it never gets in the way of him stamping his own identity on the music. This guy has got a damn bright future ahead of him.

Versalife – Night Time Activities Pt.3

A lot of fuss was made over Borris Bunnik’s Conforce monikor last year but you may or may not have noticed that none of it was on here and that’s because we don’t think it’s worthy of the hype. At all. On the other hand, I’ve been quite into his Versalife work and while, in a similar manner to Conforce, it is hardly groundbreaking it’s just much more well-rounded and captivating. Part 3 continues in the same vein as the previous releases; stark and moody electro, kicking off in cinematic style with After The Future before the waves of sci-fi synths and sinewy bass are driven by a 4/4 kick on Electrostatic Discharge.

Ultimatum returns to more restrained territory in terms of pace but goes in a slightly heavier direction, keeping the release in maybe more head-music territory. Electro like this tends to be over looked from time to time due to it’s lack of direct floor moving ability but the kick that drops at 3 minutes on Ultimatum should get the more discerning dancers moving. Gladly the sheer quality of this series has meant that it ain’t gone ignored – does no harm having a behemoth like Clone pushing you  or you being a bit of a techno darling for much of the electronic music press. Anyways, the whole thing closes on it’s strongest number, Unsolved Mysteries. Fittingly titled, he adds a brilliant bass hook that warps in and out over  his usual expansive synth lines and crisp programming with enticing and eerie keys rounding it off as it comes to a close.  On a side note, the latest Hardfloor remix 12″ comes with 2 Versalife work outs, adding in their trademark acid to his pallete. The Pip Williams remix on the flip is the standout version though. Over the last few years Hardfloor have done a sterling job in recruiting various artists to re-work thier shit into stand up electro jams, which has been a pretty pleasant and unexpected surprise. I felt that with the likes of Instra:mental looking towards electro as inspiration over the last 18 months that there would be somewhat of a resurgence in it’s popularity, especially with younger folk. I’m not sure if that has really happened, but I’m back digging the electro these days, and we’ll see a bit more of it on here with some other upcoming releases worthy of note.

There’s a short blurb and direct download over on the blog.

Or you can check it on Soundcloud

We generally tend to busy ourselves with music that appears on vinyl but that doesn’t make us totally averse to downloading music, if only when it’s given away for free by the artist who made it. I came across this cracking little release today made by John Lillis, aka mynameisJOhn, a Limerick, Ireland based dj and producer who’s been knocking round doing various bits and bobs on our shores for many a year and I thought it was worth giving our readers a heads up on it. John comes mainly from a hip hop background and the music and stylistic appoach contained within shows, even though overall it’s a bit more far reaching than that. It’s an 8 track EP, hardly anything stretches over 3 minutes but it’s got a wealth of ideas going on while never feeling overly cluttered. I won’t say anything more about it, but it won’t take up much of your time, so go on, give it a punt. All details, download etc can be found on John’s bandcamp page.

Its great to be able to give a shout out to a new South London label from some people I have a lot of respect for. A little like busses, two are coming along at the same time. Emotional Rescue and Emotional Response. I’m starting to get very excited about some of the releases coming up.

Firstly Emotional Rescue which has got the aim of unearthing and reissuing forgotten remastered gems of dance music’s past (with full artist consent it should be added). The first release is a reissue of a funky disco rock slammer which started life on a 7″ test pressing in 1973 by Bob Chance, with a synth freakout added to its relentless fuzzed out grove. the b side feratures a second later version of equal merit. This one has got some serious potential for dancefloor drama. Apparently only 10 copies exist so this full release for the first time has already caused a lot of talk from people who had assumed they’d never find a copy. It’s out now in Juno and other discerning outlets.

There’s a great Suns of Arqa 12″ coming up after that with a very welcome loud pressing of Ananta Snake Dance. Managed to pick this up a month or two back on test pressing and has been getting a lot of play since.

Also excited about this Cosmic Hoffman spaced out krautrock track.

Secondly there’s Emotional Reponse which focuses on the sounds of the present day and the future, already has some excellent releases scheduled from Grackle, Alan Hurst, Timothy J Fairplay and Ulysses.

A couple of highlights, this slow jam by Alan Hurst (aka Steve Summers) from the soundtrack to Nzambi lp:

and further cold war zombi film disco scene hits in the form of Timothy J Fairplay’s upcoming Ep

Edit: there’s a related interview regarding the labels here http://thepool-london.com/loop/soft-rocks-new-labels.html

For those of you in the Bay Area, I’ll be playing alongside Joe Rice and Matt Holland tonight in SF, at UndergroundSF in the lower Haight. Come celebrate the new year with us, and expect to hear a ton of deep cuts spanning many genres!

This Friday night in Pittsburgh, we are celebrating the forthcoming release of our new Pittsburgh Track Authority 12″ on our own new label Pittsburgh Tracks with a big party! In addition to our own performance in conjunction with synth pop group TM EYE, we have a special opening performance from Shawn Rudiman that promises to be heavy on the electro-funk tip and a DJ set from Underground Resistance’s DJ Skurge! It’s sure to be yet another hot night in Pittsburgh…

You can check out the new tunes “Untitled” and “Monongahela Rainforest” here:

There will be white labels for sale at the show, and we will sell a couple online after the show as well. Release date is sometime in January through Crosstalk Distribution. There are definitely our most dancefloor jams so far, I’m really excited to get them out into the world!

We’ve also been working on a couple new things, the first of which to be completed is a remix of Jennifer Hudson’s “Spotlight”. We sent this out to some deejays (Chicago and Detroit, what’s up?! Also ATL and others…) so you can definitely hear this one out in the wild. For right now, you have to either get your dance on in the club, or rock the YouTube video:

Our recent release on Further Records, the Archipelago EP, is also still available for purchase on vinyl only. There’s only a few left on Further’s bandcamp page, so jump all over that here. On this one, we took things in a bit of a dub/digital reggae direction. The slick cover art, green vinyl, and Dubplates and Mastering mastering job all add up quite nicely into a really nice package that works very well with the music. It is awesome to be part of the Further family!

We also had our Pittsburgh homeboy Paul Fleetwood do a mix of all Pittsburgh Track Authority tracks, ones that are already released as well as some that are not out yet. This is the only place you’ll be able to hear them for a while until they have a release! Check that out here:

Finally, we are happy to be joining a new electronic music agency that just formed out of Pittsburgh, Eighty Agency. Their other clients include Claude Young, Different World, and Shawn Rudiman as well as handling booking for Kirk Degiorgio in North and South America. We’re looking forward to bigger and better things in 2012!

Despite only being around since 2010 (and the with vast majority of their releases having been this year), L.I.E.S or Long Island Electrical Systems has established itself as one of the most interesting dance music labels out there. Putting out fast paced sci-fi techno jams next to slow sample-based deep house grooves is what LIES thrives on, and with the impending release of Professor Genius’ Hassan LP, further excursions into even more left-field territory seem to be in store.

It is clear that a love of 1980s US house music is at the root of much of what LIES do. From the second release by 2 Dogs in a Room (aka Jason Letkiewicz and label head Ron Morelli), which consists of sleazy Chicago-esque grooves, to Willie Burns’ (aka Speculator) debut release under that pseudonym, an EP full of quirky house tunes, the sound of drum boxes and vintage synths is not out of place. It might be Marcos Cabral’s EP that most perfectly describes the LIES aesthetic: hints of vintage drum machines poke through the haze of very modern sounding tracks that tread the line between house and deep techno, a perfect combination of old and new.

Legowelt’s Sark Island Acid EP is another highlight of the label. Dense, melodic synth lines do all the heavy lifting emotionally, while the banging drum tracks remind of Chicago and Detroit, but without sounding too derivative. Terekke’s Damn EP seems to be the one most desired by the Discogs crew, fetching high dollar amounts despite only just seeing release over the summer. The bass heavy, lo-fi joints work very well with the hand-stamped white-label aesthetic of the LIES “X.5″ release series they appear on.

Throw in the most recent release, a typically highed-up EP by Beautiful Swimmer Maxmillion Dunbar as well as two solo outings by Mr. Letkiewicz (one as jack-tracker Steve Summers, one as sample heavy Malvoeaux) and you have quite a varied lineup of house music on one label released in just over a year!

LIES also has the distinction of putting out my favorite techno record so far in 2011, Steve Moore’s excellent “Zero-Point Field”. The connections between LIES and Washington DC’s Future Times crew is obvious from the sharing of artists such as Mr. Moore between the labels, helping to create an interesting East Coast dance music crew. Their vibe seems to be spreading out through other labels like 100% Silk, which also has multiple releases by Jason Letkiewicz in the past year!

With so much quality and variety coming out, as well as connections to some other outstandingly interesting labels, it’s clear why LIES would be a favorite of mine. I hit Ron Morelli up with a few questions via email to get a better idea about what motivates him…

ISM: The releases on LIES have a tendency towards American dance music (even the Legowelt record is in a Chicago house vein), though not of any particular style. Are there any specific labels that are influential to your approach?

Ron Morelli: I wouldn’t say that there are any specific labels that are influential in my approach regarding how I run the label and the aesthetics of the music therein. I have cited on numerous occasions how Bunker Records and the 90s Hague squatter scene and their anti-establishment approach sonically as well as their business model or lack of had undoubtedly resonated strongly with me. All I’m doing here is putting out jams by people I know. If people are open and catch on, then cool, if they don’t that’s cool too.

ISM: How does working at A1 affect what you do? Do you tend to buy more new music, or more older music?

RM: It’s 70/30 down the line. Kinda always has been. There’s so much old music out there to be discovered still, but it would be ignorant to not keep up with new projects coming out. I’m a fan, I wanna know what’s out there and check it out regardless. There’s a lot of new stuff out there good and bad, gotta check it always.

ISM: Many of the artists on LIES are known more for live performances as opposed to simply deejaying, how does that tie into the music you choose to release?

RM: I think that has really been strictly by chance. Although, somehow through the years it seems to me like producers who dj are generally not great djs and djs who produce tracks are never as good as the aforementioned. Obviously there are exceptions and this is just some baseless observation on my part which may or may not hold any truth.

ISM: On a record nerd tip, what is up with the “XXX.5″ catalog numbers for the recent white label releases? are they meant to be thought of differently from the full-blown LIES releases?

RM: This was just circumstance as I was told that records released in the summer months records don’t sell as well and blah blah blah.. Europe,vacation, partytime, industry this, that, the third. So basically I heard some tracks that were sick and thought that there was no way I’m waiting until September to put this out when it was June, so I was like fuck it I’m just gonna press this shit. So it’s kind of a monster that created itself. I’m not trying to wait around for anyone really, just keep it moving, so yeah it’s inadvertently become a label within the label.

ISM: Which artists from outside the LIES camp would you like to work with if money/era/etc were not a problem?

RM: I would commission Black Sabbath, Flower Travelin Band, Achim Reichel, and Conrad Schnitzler to compose an epic 4xlp collaboration album with Phil Spector behind the glass, gun at hand.

ISM: Name your top 5 NYC records regardless of genre:

RM:
Whodini-5 Minutes of Funk
Liquid Liquid-Cavern
Implog-Holland Tunnel Dive
EPMD-Business Never Personal
Petula Clark-Downtown

There you have it. You’ll be sure to hear more about LIES and their artists on ISM in the future!

You can check LIES out on Soundcloud here. Ron Morelli is currently on tour in the UK and Europe for the next week or so, check for dates and locations on his Facebook page here.

Hey folks, just a quick heads up for anyone around Dublin on Saturday. Detroit techno legend and ISM favourite Anthony “Shake” Shakir is in town. Support comes from ISM’s Kenny Hanlon and Pogo resident Barry Redsetta. Proper!

There’s a short interview with the man over on mntothat
http://mntothat.com/shake-interview/

And here’s a mix I made of all Shake tracks a while back to get y’all in the mood.

For the last year or so I’ve been pretty busy with working, making music and playing some live gigs around the place. Recently, my brother and I played three dates over in Ireland including Lunar Disko, of which the lads there recorded the night. There’s an hours live set of my own shit and two and half hours of solid mixing from my bro, who manages to sift through all sorts of house, disco, italo, electro and what not.

As Infinitestatemachine’s ‘low-tempo agent in the field’ I feel it’s my duty to step back up and throw some low tempo shit into the mix. I’ll be doing some reviews soon on  new material from Brian Eno, Plague Recordings and Fax and for the first time in a long while, a new ambient mix.

But for now, here’s the recordings of the Lunar Disko party from last weekend.

Meschi [Lunar Disko Records] – Live at Lunar Disko 23.09.11

The Textbook Lover’s Two and a Half Hours Mix at Lunar Disko 23/09/11