the spaces left between the beats
Releases
VA033 Tolga Fidan – Gaijin ∞
- Gaijin
- Drunk Rotations
- Alright (whatpeopleplay excklusive)
Tolga Fidan, in his last tasty impartment on Vakant before his solo debut album due out in October of this year, brings 2 full sides of the most expansive mind and body moving you will find outside of a gypsy circle on Jupiter.
If techno has a jazz fusion subgenre, A-side ‘Gaijin’ is it, making Tolga our own personal Chick Corea with a strobe light. With the prerequisite thickness and authority we have come to take for granted from the Vakant camp, ‘Gaijin’ goes to space while sporting an afro and 15 piece avant-garde jazz band. 15 minutes later you remember the trip but have no idea where you’ve landed.
B-side ‘Drunk Rotations’ loses a few members of the band due to cosmic radiation. Remaining members cut their parts into smaller morsels while Chick aka Tolga applies the icing by way of piano. Then the stowaway horn section appears. Where did the modular synth fit, and who brought the Theremin? These are questions for the Mystics. Yet in all the detail of ‘Drunk Rotations’ you never lose the jack or your place on the cosmic dance floor.
VALT3 Dario Zenker – Belfort ∞
Vakant continues its VALT series with the third installment of uncompromising club tracks. Started in 2008 with Onur Özer and followed up by Tolga Fidan in 2009, Dario Zenker brings up VALT3 in 2010.
Vakant’s representation in the decent south of Germany locates ‘Belfort’ as close to Detroit as it’s indefinite in time. Was it written by littleDario in the 90’s? Or maybe on a US tour in Detroit itself with some helping hands? We don’t know, but surely have a timeless piece of music here.
VA032 Nico Purman – Rhapsodies ∞
Nico Purman, our Argentinean (soon to be Berlin based) drumline captain and all around groove slinger is back for his third instalment on the marching band in the sky that we call our Vakant home.
Purman’s sound continues to evolve, covering truly large distances with every release. Since his robo-strobe inspired earlier Vakant works Tuesday EP (VA017) and Euphrasia EP (VA025), Nico drops 3 large-and-very-much-in-charge space jazz masterpieces that he fermented in what sounds like a mid-nineties New York house basement.
First up is ‘Why What’ where Nico sets the free-flowing rhapsodic mood that covers so much ground with one track. Starting in what sounds like Tenaglia’s beloved Chelsea, the track slowly moves uptown landing at the Blue Note where Rollins, Monk, and Roach sit in on the session.
‘Funk Forest’ follows with more pep and less mood. Upbeat and popping percussion blend with Rhodes while a diva whispers in your ear until late seventies Hancock shows up with his synth and brings the hands way up.
‘Chamomile’ finishes the EP off in style. Moody while maintaining the jazz feel, “Chamomile” peaks with futuro baritone sax and piano in unison. Smooth and steady all the way.
VA031 DeWalta – Nightshade EP ∞
Our jazzy multi instrumentalist, Dewalta a.k.a. David Koch, returns to Vakant with another popping fresh release, as earnestly house as house can get. Since his first Vakant release in 2008 (VA021 Salgaro/Farina) David’s music has taken him around the world in black largely covering our Earth’s northern and southern hemispheres.
Side A is graced by “Move Yo” sitting as close to late 1990’s Baby Ford as one can get without a time machine and personal guide to London’s underground. David somehow owns this genre while still making it distinctly his.
B1 “Night Shade” keeps the housey goose bumps going with a drier and more direct approach. Cheeky bleeps and chunky bass balance dark spacey vocals to land the track somewhere between night and day.
“Angels Trumpet” at the B2 position closes this stellar EP out with a track that again borrows from the genre, but continues way beyond its standards with melodic elements that push and pull you in multiple directions resulting in no less than dance floor catharsis.
VA030/VACD04 Mathias Kaden – Studio 10 ∞
- Intro Ducing
- State Of Stasis
- Lowrey
- Panic Stricken
- Chazz
- Defender
- Mascleta
- Kawaba
- Roots
- Ikenga
- Re Menor
- 1981
The Thunder from Thuringia, Genosse from Gera, Mr. Minimal Samba, the man that goes by many names is here to present to us his very first LP on none other than his solo action Vakant home. About 2 years in the making, Studio 10 takes Mathias Kaden’s life-long work as DJ and producer, world wide tours, twenty something years of listening and thinking, machines and people, wraps a bow around it all, and delivers it with roses dipped in chocolate. Always taking his time with production, Mathias’ focus on quality over quantity continues to pay dividends no matter the state of the economy.
Unique in many ways, Studio 10 was also unique for the producer himself. Never before has Mathias incorporated into his music so much hardware, field recordings, messages, and invited friends and orchestral musicians to collaborate. Each track has a message waiting to be interpreted, from the first track “Intro Ducing” borrowing from Bob Marley to the last named “1981” featuring Gjaezon, significant in that it was the year of birth for the most important and timeless instrument in Mathias’ studio, the TR808.
Similar to his Vakant brethren, Mathias is rather the instrumentalist and performer than the programmer and sampler. A Fender Rhodes from jazz pal Lars Mäurer on “Defender”, Mathias’s 1970’s Lowrey organ played by Florian Schirmacher on “Lowrey”, violin by Claudia Ander-Donath and on “Re Menor”, and flugelhorn by Martin Rudloff on “Panic Stricken” all pull and push the music in ever expanding directions, but at the center the 808 melds it all together. In addition vocalists (and lyricists)
Ian Simmonds, Gjaezon, and Tomomi Ukumori impart their talents to help articulate the messages that pervade Studio 10.
To call the album house is akin to referring to a 1982 Château Lafite-Rothschild as wine. Closer to Chicago than to anywhere else in sound and in Mathias’ heart, Studio 10 finds its home in more intimate settings where its nuance, ideas, and depth can all come shining through.
VALT2: Vakant Limited 2 – Tolga Fidan ∞
Urban nomad Tolga Fidan continues Vakant’s limited series VALT with a much sought-after track which has been around for a while. Fidan, just moved to Berlin a few weeks ago, says ‘So Long Paris’ in such unique style that that we hope he’ll never leave Berlin again.
Vakant’s VALT series has been kicked off last year with Onur Özer and keeps on delivering music straight for the dancefloor.
VR05: Onur Özer – Kaşmir Remixes #2 ∞
The mind melt keeps melting. Pretty soon we will just be puddles of freaky essential oils, reduced down to our effervescent essence, like jasmine, or dry Kool-Aid. Of course we are talking about Onur Özer’s album Kaşmir, the gift that keeps on giving.
Once again renowned artists have come out in full force reworking selected tracks off Onur’s album for Vakant’s remix-only VR. First up is Mr. Rajko Müller, better known as Isolée, who having spent some time growing up in Algeria, continues with the African remixer theme (Tunisian born Loco Dice remixed “Eclipse” on part 1. You know us, as if we even need an excuse to work in Africa somehow.) Isolée takes Onur’s otherwise chilling “Innervoice” and reinterprets it into a thick warm blanket of reassuring bounce.
Flipping the record inverts dimensions of time and space. Abyssfully deep legend Baby Ford takes the already ethereal “Aida” and turns it into the soundtrack for finding the God particle. It’s scary, yes, but ultimately it could explain everything.
VA029: Patuá – Macaista/Chapado ∞
Hailing from the southeast Asian jungle, globalization, diaspora, and the unchecked native baboon explosion have all seriously endangered Patuá, so we are afraid that poor Patuá has very few brothers and sisters left in this world.
Lucky for you, as the Vakant freak out bus has transversed the planet so many times now, we have indeed found (gasp) Patuá and present Patuá here for your delight and revelry. All it took to lure Patuá onto the bus was some animal crackers and a 1989 Game Boy. Truly momentous, yes we feel like Noah.
Once onboard we immediately put Patuá to work and this double A-side is the result. Apparently house is big everywhere. Smooth and warm, A-side ‘Macaista’ reaches out to the remaining Patuá of this world and says, I am here, do not fret.
If Patuá reaches out with ‘Macaista’, AA-side ‘Chapado’ is the reach around. Much like his newfound masters, Patuá is quite cheeky. Thick and spacey ‘Chapado’ is the Patuá mating call to all the remaining tribe members earthbound and beyond.
VA028: Robag Wruhme – Abusus Adde ∞
Hello! Oing oing! Nuff nuff! In information like these always in it that is the record of the insanity and since longer becomes then always most announced dj´s down specified those part loves, as good judges or the record stands before the gebimmsle to have held itself because sooooo geil.
Now I would like to point out with these info. That this is a completely normal accumulation of music pieces here. I have the conventional added like bass, one drum, few hihats and in such a way taken and have then still in black white gepatscht around also somewhat scape to get purely. Reverbs I as always tidy aufgeruppt, decays in the infinite getunt and becomes green level-indicate gives it for me nich! … three pieces thus with which I very much exerted! Superior material is from it as I finds become! This is valid to flock it now with you. eMail writes me!!!! There I stand totally drauf!
Achso… like Steve Nose already meant: … B2 is always the best piece on ner record (correct!), Ricardo meant: all somewhat too hectically although A1 of lengthens “genuinly schön” would be, Richie has itself not yet announced… (think he stands not drauf) and it meant it more Svenner gespührt. And DJ Koze: I do not understand that, but you have my benediction…
Yours Robag… as: ” s Röllchen”
VA027: Dario Zenker – Would Be Nice EP ∞
Munich man Dario Zenker is back again for his second Vakant EP following 2008’s ‘Sam Und Er/Womde!’ (VA019). Still fresh faced and just as hungry, Dario continues to bring the Bavarian goods to our freaky masses.
A side ‘Would Be Nice’ makes more twists and turns than a sausage factory while consistently pumping out the mystery meat thick and juicy. If you want freak, thump, space, expanse, its all here.
B1 ‘Blue Champa’ is perhaps more on the vegetarian tip: light, nutritious, guilt free and always leaving you a little hungry. Fun and bouncy, ‘Blue Champa’ easily proves that you don’t need to eat meat to get phat.
At B2 position you will find ‘While Rain Gets Air’. We have no idea what Dario means here but if you were asking yourself “where’s that track on this Vakant record that wont let close my eyes at night cause I heard this track at 7am and I’m still a little freaked out,” this is it. Listeners beware.
VA026: Tolga Fidan & Anthony Collins – Violente/La Cadence ∞
Vakant youngblood experimentalist Tolga Fidan has teamed up with fellow Parisian melting pot resident Anthony Collins to bring us a double A-side EP of corpulent proportions. Despite different backgrounds, ethnicities, and migratory patterns, the two seem perfectly synched up. Coming out of the sessions the two had while Tolga co-produced Anthony’s upcoming album on Freak n’ Chic, this EP snuggles with both live musician’s and studio nerd’s girlfriends; all parts were played and\or synthesized live.
‘Violente’ is up first, starting off as a thick bopping drum do. It evokes Max Roach hanging out with Larry Levan in modern day Berlin clubland, obi-wan hologram style, presiding over us. Pianos and strings finish things off buttery smooth.
‘La Cadence’ thumps it out in all the ways that feel good. Good like doughnuts, jazz, bikinis, Latin percussion, and stars. Fidan and Collins bring it all together complete with live and personal interludes. Its music you can play at the club or at home for grandma. She’ll dance too, courtesy of your freaky friends at Vakant.
VA025: Nico Purman – Euphrasia EP ∞
Who said techno isn’t seasonal? Summer’s ebullience must invariably lead to winter’s depravity. Short days, collapsing economies, and assorted mavericks have set the mood for the return of Argentinean Nico Purman, our winter cycle heavy hitter, with his second EP on Vakant since last January’s Tuesday EP (VA 017).
A-side ‘Euphrasia’ is your very own space tourism trip minus the Soyuz-FG rocket and associated $25 million price tag. Are we going to make it to the International Space Station? Will we break up in the upper atmosphere? Will there be a FSB agent waiting for us in the ISS? All good questions. Nico’s got the ascension covered here, complete with drama, apprehension, and aerospace wizardry.
B1 ‘My Own Band’ provides reassured relief after finally docking with the Pirs module only to find a bunch of inebriated astronauts complete with hydroponics and atomizers. Space is indeed fun and full of love and melody.
With B2 ‘Da Roots’, Nico proves once and for all that there are indeed Africans in space, and they probably spent a considerable amount of time in Chicago. ‘Da Roots’ jacks as robustly as a solid Kazakh Steppe landing. Plump and stout, Nico’s B2 celebrates earth and space at once with feet firmly on the ground staring back up yearning for the next ride.
VA023: Mathias Kaden – Moron/Shetani ∞
It seems like just yesterday. We were all fresh faced, eager, and earnest. It was 2004 and Vakant was on the offensive. First it was Smoke, then Robag, next came Mathias. A roster was developed, a platform born. Since then, so much has happened, so many a strobe light twinkled, and so many people we’ve freaked out globally.
Mathias Kaden is still our eager and earnest Vakant resident from Gera. Stardom has done nothing to spoil this man; he continues to be the nice guy anchor that keeps the rest of us from floating adrift. Mathias carries on his fine tradition of carefully developing each release, a far cry from assembly line production work. Since last year’s massive Myal EP (VA015), he returns to Vakant with this ‘Moron/Shetani’ double A-side EP ahead of his full length album due out next year.
‘Moron’ presents us with Mathias’ continuously evolving huff and puff, heave and ho, badonkadonk sound we have come to know and love. Like the rest of his work, ‘Moron’ is a fusion of influences ranging far and wide. Mathias takes the best bits from African, Latin, and modern German rhythms to move the wall flower directly to the middle of the dance floor. Once there and all settled in, just when you had thought you were in control, the chords come in and Mathias shows you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Too big to be relegated to B-side, AA ‘Shetani’ makes more moves than a collegiate O.J. Simpson. It ducks and weaves from dark to light, paranormal to heartening, unable to be pinned down. It encompasses so much in 9 minutes that all we can do is revel with our hands aloft. Complete with choir, jazz sax, and hovering pads, we are just happy that the mastering engineers were able cut it to acetate.
VA024/VACD03: Dinky – May Be Later ∞
- Mi Amor
- Mars Cello
- Burdelia
- Fademein feat. Jorge González
- Seven 2 Seven
- She Is Moving feat. Big Bully
- Sunday Set
- No Pressure
- Mind
Since infiltrating the formerly all boys Vakant team this summer with her ‘Move In’ EP (VA020), Dinky has brought with her a welcome infusion of freshness and bloom to the otherwise dank locker room. Now, all nice settled, comes her third album via her new Vakant home. ‘May Be Later’, like the artist, is the prototypical combination of beauty and brawn.
It’s been a long ride to get to this point, one that started in Dinky’s native Chile growing up playing piano. Thanks to her musical family, she was exposed to lots of different styles of music whose influence can still be heard today in her production and DJ jet-sets. Dinky experimented with several art forms which brought her first to modern dance and choreography. As a teen, everyone from Brian Eno to Prince shared air time before finding electronic music in the mid-nineties via her sister who was conveniently living in Berlin at the time. Records from Plastikman, Aphex Twin, and Carl Craig were among her first.
Around the same time, lifelong connections were made in the Santiago scene to people like Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack, and Luciano. Not long after and while still a teen, Dinky was sharing stages with those same people. Via the Berlin connection Dinky experienced places like E Werk and Tresor and heard the pioneering sound coming from people like Jeff Mills, Hell, and Stacey Pullen.
In the late nineties Dinky moved from Santiago to New York City to join the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Naturally, she also got into the NYC scene discovering American House, the evolution of techno, and parties like Body and Soul, NASA raves, and Twilo. Soon, at 23 and armed only with an MPC 2000, her original productions began. Dancing during the day, she was making a name for herself as a DJ by night eventually hosting regular underground parties with Magda until the forced exit.
In 2003 due to post 9-11 visa restrictions, Dinky left NYC for Berlin. It was definitely a good move, thank you Department of Homeland Security. With her new home came chart topping productions, mega club residencies, live performances, and international recognition.
Fast forward 2008. ‘May Be Later’ bridges sound and mood from the summery and sublime to the dark and throbbing. While ‘Mars Cello’ floats and warms, ‘Burdelia’ chugs somewhere between Chicago and early NYC house. ‘Fade Me In’ zips along with furious kink and dubious vox by Dinky´s longtime friend Jorge González. ‘Seven 2 Seven’, when aimed at 8am Berlin ravers, massive freak outs ensue. ‘She is Moving’ features minimal vocalist extraordinaire Big Bully, together they attain that vital equilibrium of naughty and nice. The album closes with ‘Mind’, an electronic fusion moving, looming, eerie, and reassuring.
‘May Be Later‘ is an open door to Ms. Alejandra Iglesias’ development exposing the path, connections, and influences that brought her here. The beach, NYC underground in all its flavors, Berlin, the stage, Detroit, electronic waves from all directions, Chicago, mega-clubs, it’s all here and it’s all her own.
VR04: Onur Özer – Kaşmir remixes ∞
Hot off the heels of Onur Özer’s most excellent mind melt album Kaşmir, released October of 2007, comes the reinterpretations on Vakant’s VR division. Wonderfully thought out, VR handles remixes exclusively leaving Vakant itself pure to its artists. This constellation leaves everyone free to the corruption of their fancy, allowing the artists to choose their own remixers.
With Onur, finding willing interpreters is not a difficult task and the heavy of the heavies representing the light and dark sides of the force are here on VR04. On the A side Loco Dice, aka Tunisian born Yassine Ben Achour, takes Onur’s instrument laden ‘Eclipse’ and puts it through the treatment. What comes out the other end is popping state-of-the-art tech house with Onur’s depth and Loco Dice’s spontaneous flow.
On the flip things get serious. Jens Zimmermann, the deep, deep, freak out master hailing from Frankfurt, contributes his own spin on ‘Sahara’. What already started out as a tweaked out twilight adventure gets even more spacey. Sitting somewhere between Cologne’s Studio 1, post intergalactic colonization, and seventh century Silk Road somewhere around Uzbekistan, his 15 minute “Wüstenmond” (Desert Moon) remix lives in its own antimatter reality.
VA022: Alex Smoke – F in F EP ∞
Glaswegian Alex Smoke aka Mr. Menzies, the man who helped kick start Vakant in those blissfully uncorrupted early days, returns with a fresh no-frills attack since his last Hanged Man EP, VA013, 1 ½ years ago.
No sabbatical here. Alex with his background in classical music has been busy entertaining his many musical interests such as hip hop projects on his own Hum+Haw imprint with Jim Hutchison, engineering for some of the brightest artists in the Glasgow music scene, and of course touring the world proselytizing stupefied audiences to his peerless flavor of techno.
A side’s ‘Whirrfless’ funky abrasiveness stomps heads in a way Alter Ego would if they were happier people and saw more sun. B1 ‘Fud’ paces along with sprightly spring in its step half cheeky, half robo-adventure reminiscent of the early days of Perlon. B2’s onomatopoetic ‘Flingclunk’ zealously jacks for itself.
It’s all glory minus the glam and trans-fats. Smoke, adding to the current relentless Vakant onslaught, makes every reveler feel as limber as 14 year old Russian gymnast.
VA021: DeWalta – Salgaro/Farina ∞
Like a proper immigrant family enjoying the life of culturally greener pastures, the Vakant family continues to grow in Berlin. Closely following the exponential trend of mergers and acquisitions in the Multi National Corpo Borg, Vakant Heavy Industries signs the third in a series of new talent to the team. Berlin’s DeWalta a.k.a. David Koch, long time friend of Vakant, has completed assimilation into the freaky fold.
David comes from that lofty echelon of actual musicians, having finished his degree in jazz and classically trained in piano and saxophone. He also runs his own label Meander with 2 friends. We don’t know exactly where this 23 year old youngin came from but who cares, the tracks on his debut Vakant EP hit you on the bootay like a studded fraternity hazing paddle on hell week. There aren’t even words we can find to describe the bass presence on this record.
A side ‘Salgaro’ is about as obese as a track can get. It’s happy, it’s huge, it’s pan ethnic, it’s sensitive, it’s irreverent. It’s so good it was immediately used for Onur Ozer’s up coming club DJ mix CD.
On the AA side ‘Farina’ lives. It’s freakier, it’s smoother, it’s quirkier, its cup runs massively over. We are talking insulin shock plump. We can’t even identify which genres it spans. It sounds like the amalgamation of everything currently succulent and lots more that will be.
Much to our chagrin and to the dismay of sound system technicians the world over, soon to be replacing broken woofers, we are quite impressed DeWalta’s Vakant debut indeed.
VA020: Dinky – Move In EP ∞
The delectable Chilean mistress Dinky has infiltrated the Vakant Berlin Boys Tec Team (VBBTT). A welcome infusion of sweet freshness has filled the otherwise dank locker room and the boyz will never be the same. Don’t be misled, it’s not all rosewater and kittens. This girl is packin guns.
Not only does Dinky bring us the next Vakant EP, but an album coming this fall as well, her third. The long road that brought Ms. Iglesias from Chile to NYC to Berlin to a-mega-dance-floor-near-you is happily bumpin along, parked here currently at the Vakant robo trucker park of wonder and her own spot Horizontal.
A side ‘She is Moving’ features L.A. minimal funk vocalist turned Brooklynite Dawson Bacca a.k.a. Big Bully. Together they attain that vital equilibrium of naughty and nice: synthy klinky funky and soulful -y.
Flip side reveals a funk of a different sort. ‘Da 20s’ is a dryer pursuit of the bounce, just as motivationally effective but got Sunday summer afternoon written all over it. Can you feel the sun? Mmmmm warm and Dinky.
VALT1: Vakant Limited 1 – Onur Özer ∞
Vakant presents VALT. VALT stands for Vakant Limited and means a new 12″ series for straight dancefloor tracks. Number 1 is being produced by Onur Özer and showcases his all new direction after his heavily acclaimed masterpiece album ‘Kaşmir’ from 2007.
VA019: Dario zenker – Sam Und Er/Womde! ∞
Freshness blossoms from the Vakant spring garden. Yes the around the world big deep freak out bus comes back with a new artist driving us back to the Fatherland. Munich’s Dario Zenker joins Vakant after sprinkling his magic chuga chuga dust on some of the world’s gourmet minimal labels. Dario’s thick kink finds a natural home here in aforementioned bus bumping and bouncing all the kids wherever they need to go. A public service really. Can we get tax subsidies for this?
A side ‘Sam und Er’ goes on that first forest camp trip, giddy and exciting. It’s all about the ride to the spot: happy expectations and the psych-up. Scattered claps and fun synths combine to make something uplifting with friendly mystery. Definitely forest rave.
B side ‘Womde!’ is 3 days later. You are still there and realize it’s not all hippies and sunshine anymore. Its getting dark and the trees are coming in on you. You don’t remember where u parked. Or if u drove. In other words, Dario drops the deep freak on dis here.
VA018: Tolga Fidan – All Pleasure Is Relief EP ∞
All Pleasure Is Relief- For Our Fathers
Indubitably talented Tolga Fidan returns for his 3rd EP on Berlin’s fulcrum of funkified tomfoolery, Vakant Heavy Industries. Zee young Frenchman by way of first Istanbul and then London has again taken his varied past to transgress genre and fused flavors to birth a creation that would make even the Iron Chef shiver with inferiority.
A side and EP namesake ‘All Pleasure is Relief’ takes the now signature Vakant deep-tek chuga-chuga, complete with ultra clean pressing sub bass, and adds percussion and patterns hinting south and east. Live guitar played and recorded by Tolga unravels the grasp the ear had, then just as the dance floor has settled deeply into the track’s moods and grooves, a ghostly Persian vocal enters and the scope of musical expanse is revealed.
B side ‘For Our Fathers’ continues the deep multi ethnic feel of the EP, but a touch faster and with straighter rhythmic underpinnings. Guitar, synths, wails, and even what sounds like a harmonica all add expansive melodic textures, grounded in dance music but freely floating unbound by tradition or convention.
Redefining ‘world music’ somewhere behind the shielding refuge of techno, Tolga Fidan and Vakant have once more extended scenic and artistic frontiers.
VA017: Nico Purman – Tuesday EP ∞
Fresh talent has joined the Vakant Berlin Boys Tec Team (VBBTT). Argentinean Nico Purman, drummer and no stranger to the world’s dark throbbing dance floor scene, brings us a release nothing short of spontaneous combustion.
A-side ´Tuesday´ takes perhaps the most direct approach to dark loud strobo room stimulation seen in some time from the perspective of deep expanding techno. Taking classic clues from no frills techno history, Nico takes things way further with a sound all his own, vast and bottomless. At once thick and enveloping, ´Tuesday´ ferries you on an outing to a submarine rave whether you remember getting on the boat or not.
B-side ´Muela Pain´, also not for those faint of heart or easily unhinged, could be easily placed in some of Kubrik’s darker cinematic moments. ´Muela Pain´ foreshadows impending doom in a way that a wall of speakers could ever hope to. It is at once dubby, clinical, heavy, and just plain freaky.
Just in time for the cold, dark indoor season, VA017 is here to happily assist in your winter downward spiral.
VR03: 2000 And One & Daniel Stefanik remixes ∞
Vakant, based in the shadowy hedonic capital of Berlin, once again calls out to its sunlight fearing brood to unite and rejoice in their salvation. The freaky dual podium of Vakant and remix-only Vakant R continues to deliver its message of solemn tomfoolery and whimsical gravity with its latest VR03.
While some purveyors of truth dilute their central message with foreign remix filler, the head of Vakant, Il A. Papino, proclaimed “Let there be VR” and as such Vakant R was born from the rib of Vakant original productions.
Third in Vakant R’s installment of virtuous interpretations, these remixes stand on their own with sincere reverence to their original creations. On our man from Istanbul Onur Özer’s ‘Red Cabaret’ is paid homage by Amsterdam’s Dylan Hermelijn aka 2000 And One, by some means pushing the corpulent funk ever skyward. Flipping the black disk finds Jena’s Mathias Kaden’s ‘Synkope’ taken to deeper depths of murky understanding by Leipzig’s Daniel Stefanik.
Trust in Vakant. The message is clear.
VA016/VACD02: Onur Özer – Kaşmir ∞
The currents of influence that have shaped Istanbul for thousands of years continue to flow today in the only city in the world situated on two continents. At this crossroad the ´Queen of Cities´ has sat while Arabic, Persian, and European waves of influence surged and receded. In these tides Onur Özer was born and raised and in his coming LP ´Kaşmir´, they all come radiating through.
The debut album for both, Onur and Vakant, ´Kaşmir´ presents the musical world Onur was surrounded by, from the mystical Arabesque and Turkish art music, to the deep synthetic pulses that come through the drivers of some of the world’s biggest sound systems on which he plays. Together they melt drifting ideas left and right, east and west, moody to motivated, Onur expresses the music which unexplainably comes out of him sans musical training with textures widely varied. Orchestral instruments in an array of treatments express the tracks’ melodic voice while modern rhythms and underpinnings drive the ideas home to the dance floor in a style expressly his.
Onur’s developmental years were spent listening, not playing an instrument. The melodies and harmonies he composes today are a result of those he heard, interpreted, and ´somehow´ able to spontaneously play. Club development came way of the Istanbul club scene starting from 1999, close to the time Onur began producing music. From 1999 to 2004 tech and minimal house thrived in Istanbul as did Onur’s position in it. He exported his sound via DJ performances first then by way of Vakant with 3 acclaimed 12” EP’s ´Envy´, ´Twilight´, and ´Red Cabaret´. Recently Onur Özer live also evolved as a more direct tool to express the fusion of sounds in his ears to the audience.
On this full length listening experience, Onur and Vakant come together again each uniquely expressing the style they have become known for as staples of expanding and far reaching club sounds. ´Kaşmir´ is a vivid mind melt of intersecting thoughts and movements in synergy, venting from a sweltering ancient yet modern melting pot. With this album, Onur has funneled the currents that have shaped his hometown together into one truly exceptional torrent.
VA015: Mathias Kaden – Myal EP ∞
Our man from Gera, with a smile that melts the hearts of Justin Timberlake fans the world over, returns with his 4th installment on Vakant. Team Vakant’s now infamous wild expeditions to the Sub-Saharan Dark Continent as well as to the International Space Station (ISS) have surely paid off yielding crazy mutated fruits of both dark guttural rhythms and mind bending expansive space resonances.
Each track on the Myal EP sits squarely between these two worlds, one earthly, one cosmic beyond the grasp of human comprehension. Whether your mood is to storm your neighbors village, make contact with the gods, or get your aerobic freak on the dance floor, Mathias “The Chieftain” Kaden digs deep to deliver solid motivation for all tasks worthwhile.
A side ´Rhythma´ at once war cry and rain dance, combines the best of thick Nubian bottom and percussion from the world over to prompt wild tribal behavior from the most reserved of techno nerds. B1 ´Myal´ is particularly suited to inducing thoughts of connection to the divinity of your choosing. Finally B2 ´Obeah´ distinctly supports the current scientific theory that Africa, the birthplace of modern humans, will eventually float off into space and spawn a new breed of humanoids with a particularly striking adaptation of possessing both rhythmic melodic genius and technological fluency. This unique blend of left + right brain mastery is of course a rarity among current earthbound humans with the exception of a select few, such as Mr. Kaden himself.
VA014: Tolga Fidan – Venice/Tanbulistan ∞
Explainable only by a profuse amount of talent, Tolga Fidan blazed into the collective techno consciousness with his first EP “Now I’m Weak” delivering sophistication and unbelievable production quality from bedroom studio means. Now exactly one year after his debut, our young Parisian presents the double A side ´Venice/Tanbulistan´, his second release for Vakant and the rest of the universe.
Tolga’s sophomore affair brings us the same level of quality and dance floor stimulus while alluding to sounds from the East, perhaps taking a page from label mate Onur Özer’s book. Both ´Venice´ and ´Tanbulistan´ move forward with a thick heave of funky drive, while resisting association with any one genre. Pulling influences from boundless borders the sound collage that is left expands and contracts while always chugging forward. The mood of the tracks morph and evolve many times throughout the release, from dark, to direct, to spacey, to playful, and back again.
If Chalum and Wuher had better taste and a future equivalent to a Funktion One sound system, ´Venice/Tanbulistan´ would be playing at Mos Eisley Cantina instead of Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes.
VA013: Alex Smoke – Hanged Man EP ∞
Freak Funk? Cracker Krunk? Mini Dank House? While we don’t know what to call it, we know it´s damn good. Innit? Ok ok, while filed under “minimal techno” for facilitation of mass consumption, don’t assume you know what to expect from this newest installment from young Scotsman Alex Smoke, the first on Vakant since December 2005 under his O.G. moniker. Since slapping the minimal scene on the proverbial arse a few years ago with releases on Vakant and Soma, Alex has wowed both techno nerds and high heel handbag femmes the world over with his formidable mix of throw-me-your-expensive-bra-but-only-if-its-sweaty techno.
The “Hanged Man EP“ spans the current avant-garde of electronic dance freakishness. The A side attempts to contain “It’s a Carni Life“, a deep 10 minute motivator placed somewhere between “Space Odyssey” and “I need Lithium”. “Hanged Man“ on the flip presents a more straight forward digital funk ordeal hinting at, but dares not say, acid. Finally “Rotwang“, named after the mad scientist out of Fritz Lang´s “Metropolis”, makes you wonder if someone had transported you to your favorite summer festival at exactly the right moment without you noticing.
While one might not understand our favorite Glaswegian verbally, Smoke continues to leverage his classical roots and technical fluency to convey his bottomless ideas effortlessly.
VA012: Onur Özer – Red Cabaret EP ∞
There’s a saying in poker “If you can’t tell who the sucker at the table is then it’s probably you”. What does this have to do with this release, very little actually, but all eyes should be on Onur Özer as he’s doubling up.. and if you think he¹s playing the same hand as last time then your about to lose your pants..
Music stripped to the bottom line but going for the all in. Onur goes for the pot, pushing and pulling every string and trick he’s got. This is a tight chugging back bone of a number. dispensing of anything unnecessary he grabs the essence of forward moving minimal to etch it into vinyl.
Red Cabaret (Overture) on the A side comes along with a warm, slanky tribal rhythm, and grows into a 5 alarm burnout, slightly uncharacteristic for Onur but still stamped with his trademark tactics. Tight shifting sounds, off kilter howls swirl through the mix and put you right in line with this pro’s mind.
Orion and Allegro Energico on the flip show the brute force of Onur’s production as he goes deep into late night territory. This time a truly different approach for Onur; straight, chugging with an old school flavor but still firmly rooted in today’s minimal canon. It’s dark, melancholic, Chicago affair with foggy and treacherous corners to lose yourself in.
Twilight (Re-Edit) is perfectly rounding up this mutant funk package and will be available on Beatport.com only. This edit is known to these who were lucky to attend Onur´s appearance at 2006´s Loveparade when he played it to introduce his set at the Siegessäule. An early version has also been featured on Onur and Mathias´ Momentum compilation.
Onur is currently working on his debut album which is due to release in May 2007.
VR02: Alex Smoke/Tolga Fidan ∞
On the second release from its remix imprint VR, Berlin’s Vakant label comes with the goods, turning out what might be its most far-out release to date – and at the same time, its most punishingly effective. Going head to head, Glasgow’s Alex Smoke and Paris’ Tolga Fidan tackle each other’s tracks, twisting up knotty rhythms and gauzy electro-acoustic sounds into a battered syntax that expresses one thing: move. This is the real freaky-deeky, and the season’s dancefloors will never again be the same.
A-side: Alex Smoke, “Neds (Tolga Fidan Remix)”
Relative newcomer Tolga Fidan outdoes himself in his rework of Alex Smoke’s “Neds,” expanding on the psychedlic sound design of his Now I´m Weak EP and demonstrating a rapidly developing structural and rhythmic sophistication. We’d be lying if we said we didn’t hear a little bit of Luciano in the way Fidan stretches out his slow builds and sudden drops, but this is no imitation. Creeping 8-bit drums and understated Latin percussion lay out unhinged rhythms that stretch towards the horizon, paving the way for oily, snake-charming synth pads, thunderclaps of bass and a mournful clarinet that pipes up only to disappear in a haze. Cycling staccato blasts reference the cell-based minimalism of Philip Glass, repetitive and hypnotic. The whole thing is a perpetual field of tension that grips you tight and refuses to let you go, propelling you towards the edge of the unknown.
B-side: Tolga Fidan, “Ilsa (Alex Smoke Remix)”
Fidan’s is a hard act to follow, but Alex Smoke – known for his releases on Soma and Vakant, where he also appears as Quixote – steps up with a remix of Fidan’s “Ilsa” that’s every bit as adventurous, and no less compromising a crowd-mover. Kicking off with dry, sandpapery percussion – woodblocks, shakers, hissing exhaust pipes – it’s quickly marched forward by a lone flute and high-tuned, whipcracking toms. High-plains drifting, the track takes you along on a cinematic journey that opens up onto exotic vistas and alien melodies – windstorms and whippoorwills, dust devils and dry riverbeds. But lest Smoke’s poetic inclinations get the best of him, he drops a squiggly acid bassline to keep the music grounded. By the time it’s all over, Smoke scales back everything but those brittle drums from the introduction; it feels like waking from a fever dream.
VA011: Mathias Kaden – Synkope EP ∞
Mathias Kaden is definitely someone who no longer needs any introduction. The Young gun from Jena, one half of Hemmann & Kaden and a big part of the Wighnomy / Freude Am Tanzen family returns to Vakant for his third solo outing.
A Precision tactician, Mathias differs much from the current crop of artists who feel the need to drop an EP every week. Instead Kaden perfects his craft slowly, working his songs until they feel just right. The results are immediately noticeable on this EP as he strips back the frivolous detail and goes back to his roots for a full out modern Chicago via Germany dancefloor jam.
The Synkope EP ushers in a new sound for Mathias, one that is more full and less percussive than before yet also one that will not leave previous fans in the dark. Taking his cue from his keen knowledge of the world’s dance floors, Kaden translates this awareness straight on to vinyl without losing sight of today’s complex sequences and sound structures. With the flood of faceless releases that threaten to sink even the most discerning record buyer theses days. There is a growing sense of urgency to make records that will remain classic and listenable even 10 years into the future. If you don’t mind us saying we think this might just be one..
VACD01: Mathias Kaden & Onur Özer – Momentum ∞
It’s been a busy couple of years for Berlin’s Vakant label. Kicking off in October 2004 with Alex Smoke’s Simple Things EP, Vakant has gone to strength to strength, releasing a tightly curated set of records from new talents (Onur Özer, Tolga Fidan) and old hands (Robag Wruhme, Mathias Kaden) alike, as well as launching the remix sublabel Vakant R and the audiovisual division VX.
Now, with 11 pieces of vinyl safely under its belt, Vakant invites the turntable-impaired to join in the fun with the release of Momentum, the label’s first CD. Not simply a compilation of hits, Momentum recreates the feel of Vakant’s infamous parties at Berlin’s Watergate club with a seamless mix of 14 of the label’s most propulsive tracks, expertly blended by Mathias Kaden and Onur Özer.
In contrast to the prevailing trends in mix CDs – either resolute analog purism or fussy, edit-heavy digital sessions – Momentum strikes a middle path. After plotting the CD’s track selection, the tag-teaming duo banged out the mix in true old-school fashion using two Technics 1210s, a CD player and a sampler. Afterwards, they went back and judiciously added samples from elsewhere in the Vakant catalog, from diamond-hard staccato accents to lush ambient washes. The result is an ever-spinning, constantly mutating vortex that draws the listener in via propulsive rhythms and jagged hooks, and then pulls out the rug with subtle upsets and topsy-turvy layers.
In good dubplate style, the mix features several unreleased tracks: Kaden’s “Nuance,” Özer’s closing “Untitled” and VX artist Spenza’s “kunstfehler,” which kicks off the mix in a haze of oily static before “Nuance” cracks things wide open with chugging polyrhythms and faraway drones that set the tone for the remainder of the mix’s dry whirlwind of dirty beats, disorienting effects and subliminal voices.
The CD also features bonus material in the form of two videos by Spenza, featuring the artist’s original music and visuals, and rounding out the release as the rare project designed to stimulate the ears and eyes.
Just as black holes aren’t empty at all, Momentum proves that despite the label’s name, Vakant thrums with commanding grooves, unique sounds and compelling visions for dance music’s alternate future. Power up to warp speed and hang on.
VR01: Mathias Kaden/Onur Özer ∞
P. Diddy may have, ahem, “invented the remix,” but now Berlin’s Vakant label is turning the concept on its head – using the remix to (re)-invent the label itself. Vakant R is the newest addition to the imprint’s crowded house; alongside the parent label and audio-visual offshoot Vakant X, Vakant R rounds out the minimalist trinity with a stunning debut release featuring Mathias Kaden and Onur Özer going head-to-head in a no-holds-barred battle of the remixes.
On the A-side, Kaden, well known for an accelerating string of productions and remixes on labels like Vakant, Freude Am Tanzen, Sender and Traum – both solo and as one half of Hemmann & Kaden – tackles Onur Özer’s ´Twilight´, from Vakant 008. Where the original was a long, psychedelic burner filled to bursting with meaty snares and eerie chords that dissipated like noxious fumes, Kaden subtly reshapes it into a streamlined groove that corkscrews ahead with intricate drum programming and sly atmospheric bursts. Bumping, burbling and bounding across the spectrum like a supercharged ping-pong ball, the details – and in particular, that rubbery, insistent bassline – show Kaden at the height of his people-moving capabilities, even as spooky washes of color work like an undercurrent of doubt, tugging everything into a murky netherzone perfect for programming in pre-dawn sets.
On the flip, Özer – another Vakant and Freude Am Tanzen alumnus with a fast expanding rep, thanks in part to his main-stage appearance at this summer’s Loveparade – tries his hand at Kaden’s ´Pentaton´, the lead cut from Vakant 007. Where the original was a crisp exercise in hardscrabble drums, channelling African percussion through minimal techno at its most hyperkinetic, Özer piles on the dread with a hazy scrim of Pan Sonic-like oscillator swoops, industrial-grade white noise and oily, penumbral chords. This is true horror-core – gothic techno at its most seductively gloomy, kitted out with ominous plucked strings and drums as rattly as a box full of bones. Özer proves that the dead can dance as he works all these elements into a jacking house pattern that commands your body to move even as it’s tying knots in your gut. If John Carpenter ever makes a horror film set in Berlin’s vampire-like club scene, he’ll know where to find the soundtrack.
VA010: Quixote – Pap And Fickle EP ∞
Vakant returns with a new chapter of scuzzy techno from Alex Smoke under his new Quixote guise. Alex Smoke has had a phenomenal year so far with the release of his ´Paradolia´ album on Soma. For his vakant productions he has opted to record under the Quixote pseudynom as his output for the two labels has naturally developed in different directions. For vakant he has always explored the darker aspects of his sound and the Quixote productions will represent this.
His debut Quixote release sees Alex delve even deeper into thick minimal territory. The EP begins with ´Adoquin´, this is a stripped and evolving groove that harnesses the power of his production to devastating effect. This is a penetrating throb that pulses directly to the heart of the dancefloor.
Next is live set favourite ´Pelters´, this is a highly infectious, off-kilter cut of mutant melodies and wonky rhythms. ´Fank Funk´ concludes the EP with its drilling percussion and spannered bassline freak-out.
VA009: Tolga Fidan – Now I´m Weak EP ∞
Pop a Dramamine, slap a patch behind your ear, and grab ahold of the railing, because Tolga Fidan’s debut EP “Now I´m Weak” lurches like a dinghy on the high seas. (Might as well throw on a slicker, too, because you’re gonna get wet.) You haven’t heard a synth swell as seasick as the one on “Abstract Prologues” since Motiivi:Tuntematon’s sinking tanker of a track, “1939.” But as woozily as this 12″ rolls, it never loses its grip on the floor: all three tracks are solidly grounded in the blunt, toe-stubbing funk that’s become a trademark of Berlin’s Vakant label, home to mega-talents of minimal like Alex Smoke, Mathias Kaden, Onur Özer, and Robag Wruhme.
Pretty impressive company for the newcomer Fidan, a French multi-instrumentalist who grew up on a steady diet of post-punk-indie, turned on to techno around three years ago, and composed these three tracks on a pair of headphones that cost about the same as two 12″ singles. You’d never know it from the tunes: Fidan’s grasp of dancefloor tactics is as sure as his knack for unhinged effects.
“Abstract Dialogues” kicks off with a vat of churning butter, and a host of creaky, creepy effects that are probably the sound of your arteries hardening: that bass is caloric stuff, indeed. The next seven minutes go exploring a beat that flexes like a bellows, huffing hot air and ashes over the glowing coals. “Ilsa”, with a good ol’ 808 clave and a handclap so crisp you could sell it in the produce section, veers closer to the peak hour, but the fireworks in the upper range are sure to illuminate the path to any afterparty. “Désolé”, meanwhile, sounds a little bit like Isolée in more than name: giving his sawtooths a good detuning, Fidan approximates the woozy qualities of the minimal genius’ classic tracks, roughing them up a bit with rude outbursts of static and reverb. Happily bipolar, the cut leads you two ways at once, via broken subwoofer grumblings, on the one hand, and on the other, gorgeous, almost naïve melodies worn like a faded iron-on on Fidan’s sleeve. Where you’ll find yourself at the end of it all, of course, is up to you.
VA008: Onur Özer – Twilight EP ∞
Onur Özer was rated one of Groove Magazine´s up and comers for 2005, now he returns with another stellar EP for Vakant. At only 25 years old the minimal assailant is back to claim another dance floor victim. Already broken in on the dance floors of his residency at Indigo Music Hall in Istanbul the Twilight EP is sure to put you in your place. So sit down and pay attention!
With the Twilight EP, Onur once again demonstrates why he is the master of the new funk. Every corner opens up into a new space, with efx washes covering you like a blanket made of sharp glass. Forget 3D, we´re into the age of 4th dimensional minimal, the past and the future seen perfectly at the same time. But like the time before the sun falls you never know what´s going to happen when it really gets dark.
Side A is where you need to check out if you need crunchy but smooth madness, drop it like it´s hot at anytime of night and you will see it works better than donkey drowned in vodka on a high mountain road. Onur manages to capture a sound that can change it´s shape or form depending what it´s played next to and this EP is no exception. Like a good wine though it fits with almost everything, so drink up and have a sonic feast. Edgy, raw and tactic every track on the Twilight EP is exploding at the edges with explosive power.
It will drop you in deep space with no ticket back. Terrific brainwashing, with a patina of grit makes this one for you and the family..
VA007: Mathias Kaden – Pentaton EP ∞
The young gun is back and is # 1 with a bullet. After his fabulous Circle Pit EP ; the much talked about newcomer Mathias Kaden is putting his money where his mouth is with this monster EP. The Pentaton EP is another twisted rumble through dark and bleepy terrain. This time Mathias steps up the swing and shuffles you furiously around the room like a drunk sailor on a sinking ship. Deep bleep to move the most hardened partyier. Check!
Pentaton is a drunken tribal broken beep affair. Someone fire this drummer because he¹s off the hook. Moving bass lines keep him in time and slowly you
realize where it’s all going. Swing low Sweet Cadillac..
Train is a more sparse affair, straight and narrow like an arrow to the forehead with enough sub-bass to make your pants full. A perfect tool for when it’s time to go a bit later and a bit darker.. Turn out the lights andclose your eyes.
Next up.. Spank, this it what happens when you get dropped on your head as a child. Super weirdo funk for only the most mature and twisted of us all. But don’t turn away too fast there bird brain, listen for the micro funk elements and get busy by yourself in front of the mirror. Tonight we have a date with the dance.
Overall a blistering ep from a very hot talent!
VA006.2: Alex Smoke – Shminimal EP ∞
The following release is the ‘Shminimal EP’. With this twelve alex really explores the parameters of his unique sound and delivers three club killers.
The EP begins with the anthemic ‘Titti’, here he builds a relentless, driving groove with a penetrating bassline and scuzzy melody. Next is ‘TV Is Pish’ a demented discoid cut-up that freaks irresistably. The pulsing ‘Slippers & Slappers’ growls this superb EP to its conclusion.
Alex Smoke continues to go from strenth to strength. Look out for his new album Spring 2006 on Soma.
VA006.1: Alex Smoke – Shwingnut EP ∞
The unstoppable Glaswegian Alex Smoke returns to Vakant with a double blow of mutant weird-groove minimalism. Alex has been wowing the clubs and festivals of europe this summer with his mindblowing live set and here showcases some of the prime cuts over two separate twelves.
First up is the ‘Shwingnut EP’, here Alex opts for advanced tricky rhythms to deliver three superior slices of reduced funk. ‘Serious Like Plague’ comes on like a schizoid Sleep Archive release, dense, moody and guaranteed to infect the dancefloor. Following on the flip is the sub-aquatic ‘What Can I Say’. This erratic mind-melt bubbles with a tripped out groove. Concluding the EP is the raw and discordant ‘Wingnut’ – a spangled classic from his live set.
VA005: Onur Özer – Envy EP ∞
Been a long time gone, Constantinople… Straight out of Turkey, Onur Özer is the 25 year old minimal invader with agility and skill to match. Take a look under the surface of this gentle resident of the Indigo Music Hall in Istanbul and what you get is one lean minimal tech machine. Already causing a storm on the vista with his Freakdisco EP on Freude Am Tanzen, Onur is now ready to conquer even more hearts and minds as part of infamous vakant brigade.
Onur is on automatic, with the Envy EP, every sample and edit leads the way to new worlds. Pause and reflect before you get shot back into some of the most irresistible, driving and intricate beats out there. Needing your minimal far-out and hyper? Side A is the ticket. Witness Onur raw and uncompromising on ´Envy´, bursting at the seams with energy it will deliver you to never-never land with no coming back.
When you need to rest, then take in Side B with ´Maze´ & ´Superfunk´, where Onur lays on layers and layers of wignomyesque reverbs to deliver a rich and satisfying slab of glitched out funk. Terrific encoding, super communicable bass lines and a varnish of raw edits makes the Onur Özer – Envy EP one for the box .
VA004: Mathias Kaden – Circle Pit EP ∞
Quickly developing a name for tough groovy minimal with a glitch edge the Berlin based label vakant once again delivers some hot wax in our laps for the coming summer months. This time it’s Mathias Kaden, the 24 year old DJ, producer and resident of the excellent Muna club in eastern Germany in the pilot’s seat. Launching 3 refined micro bombs for our listening enjoyment the ´Circle Pit EP´ is well tuned and energetic with its own distinctive appeal.
Delving deep into warm sound planes of bubbly basslines, low-fi drum cuts and warm hypnotic grooves the A1 cut ´Circle Pit´ will penetrate the darkest club floors
´Maybe´ is the B1 track. Smooth, complex but with lot’s of groove and edge its precision sounds saws through the night and cuts straight to the vein. A serious hypnotic torpedo .
B2 ´Syroc´ closes up, a menacing track that moves slowly through deep bass and heavy filtered sequences, brooding and effective, it creates an atmosphere that is powerful and addictive .. Keep out of reach from Children.
All in all another winning EP from vakant that will be comfortable in the bags of diverse DJ’s. Rude !
VA003: Alex Smoke – Ring.Click.Tink. EP ∞
Glasgow’s minimal madman Alex Smoke returns to vakant with five brand new blasts of schizoid techno. He is building a reputation as one of the most innovative electronic producers around and his recent ‘Incommunicado’ album on Soma has been regarded as an outstanding debut across the board. His productions on vakant are more deranged and demented than his Soma output, and his ‘Simple Things’ EP kicked off the label in fine style last year.
For the ‘Ring.Click.Tink EP’ he has produced his darkest work so far. Kicking off with the venomous ‘You’re A Bit Rough’, a gnarling beast which will guzzle the dancefloor. Next, ‘Horizon’ is a crispy minimal killer with crunchy percussion and scuzzy melodies. ‘Gypo’ on the flip is another sleazy, mutant hunk of subterrainian filth and the EP is completed with the epic ‘Neds’ a compelling mind-fuck that twists and throbs throughout.
This is Alex Smoke at his most sinister and deadly.
Beatport.com only download ‘Degrade’ is a corrupt funk cauldron of whirrs and clicks with hypno-grooves squirting everywhere.
VA002: Robag Wruhme – Stekkrüben EP ∞
Gabor Schablitzki aka Robag Wruhme. What more can be said of this man responsible for lighting dance-floors and minds on fire for the better part of 2004. The Twisted, funky legend from Jena is back, and this time he´s delivering 3 tracks of cut up, hypnotic funk like never before. Purveyor of the goods is Berlin upstart label vakant who only a few months ago exploded onto the scene with a killer Alex Smoke EP : Simple Things..
Coming at you faster than Vodka fireball, is the Stekkrueben EP. This is Robag Wruhme´s dark winter magic. Smooth hypnotic sequences and trademark Robag edits, jerk and jostle you through micro cuts and dark dubs until you slip deep into the hidden groove.
A1 “Waffelekspander” is the prime cut: raw, meaty with a strong after taste. A nice slow building groove that shrinks and stretches the folds of time, dipping into warm sub basses and thrilling with moody reverbs and small sample cuts. Smooth and stable it¹s a track that everyone will hear in a
different way .. But wait there¹s something funny in the meat. It might just be track B1 “Stekkruebe” which comes on similar but veers into a much darker territory where silence is as precious as sound. The perfect track to transition into those early morning dancing hours B2 “Gnomon Lukks” ping
pongs its way through your brain, slowly spinning you round while it´s chunky bass line sneaks under your feet. Again the groove is hidden, but pulls it self together to deliver a strong sucker punch to the gut .. All in all, a commanding EP that demands attention, smart, confident and most of all fun.
VA001: Alex Smoke – Simple Things EP ∞
Glasgow based producer Alex Smoke is about to erupt on the global electronic music scene. At only twenty four he has developed his own unique sound and is twisting it in all directions. For vakant he has conjured four incredible slices of minimal techno for the dancefloor.
He has recently signed to Soma and is working on his debut album which will be released next year. He initially came to prominence with his remixes of Funk D’Void’s ‘Way Up High’ – his minimal reconstructions won him an array of fans including Steve Bug, Rolando and Twitch. His forthcoming Soma single ‘Chica Wappa’ has been receiving amazing reactions from the limited number of test pressings sent out this summer and he has also transformed label mate Envoy’s ‘Move On’ into a sleazy electrocuted groove. Again reactions have been superb from those lucky enough to have been sent CDR.
Domenic from Glasgow’s famous Sub Club also released the killer ‘Always & Forever’ track on his 7th Sign label. Again this was in the boxes of all the right DJ’s.
‘Simple Things’ is deep and sinister with a bassline groove guaranteed to rock the floor. ‘Pingu’ is a clicky minimal workout that sounds like Akufen hiccuping funk from Aphex Twin. ‘Sortie’ is a killer, jacking techno track that would fit handsomely in your Kompakt collection. The EP is rounded of with the ultra minimal and infectious ‘Strange Attractor’.
Fantastic stuff from a talented young producer and label to look out for.
