how did you come to electronic music? i was a late comer to all this, so although i missed it the first time round in 1994, sasha & john digweed’s masterful mix collection for renaissance was largely what opened my eyes to the good stuff at a time when i had otherwise been listening half-assed to the odd manky ministry annual or shitty subliminal compilation. for those that knew the brand from the start, though, (circa ’92 and the early parties at venue 44 in mansfield) renaissance means even more: it was the party that did things differently; that had the best decor; djs; artwork; mix cds and so on, and it was the brand that introduced generations of clubbers to a whole new way of partying.
teshno
'in germany, they can't say 'techno,' they say 'teshno'' ~ seth troxler [march 2008]
teshcast d ~ slow hands
somewhat perfectly given the unseasonably warm weather we’re enjoying in the uk, the next teshcast is a scorching, sun-soaked mix of charming house, nu-disco and seductive basslines from wolf + lamb man, slow hands.
deniz kurtel ~ interview ii
the last interview i did with deniz 18 or so months ago rarely leaves the ‘most popular posts’ list on the right hand side of this blog. as such, very happy to present you with a new one i did for the march issue of mixmag… it was slightly subbed in print, but this is the original and best version if you ask me…
label profile ~ feelharmonic
it was never really planned, but teshno seems to becoming a one-stop shop for the lowdown on auspicious new house and techno labels. as such, after an insight into fina and jackoff comes this, a refreshingly candid interview with tim gibney about his new imprint, feelharmonic.
jef k ~ interview
jek f is of the old school: he is one of few contemporary artists who’s primarily made a name for himself through djing, rather than producing. i like that. and you should like that, because it often means such a person is a better dj as a result.
shonky ~ interview
shonky makes great, feel good house and tech for the dancefloor and for imprints like crosstown, spectral sound and real tone. he has a simple operative and carries it out consistently ably. sometimes the results are du jour hits, sometimes they look waaaay back, and sometimes they are more timeless oeuvres but, whatever, there’s no faulting the man’s credentials if you ask me. a regular at the most respected clubs around the world, he is to appear at junk department alongside dj sneak in southampton on april 24th for a special warehouse party.
simon baker ~ interview
here comes the feature i did with simon baker for the march issue of djmag … [i also reviewed his album for ra as it goes]
make a tune, sign it to a label, gig off the back of that and nail a debut album within your first year of production, ensuring you strike whilst the iron is hot. that’s the way it works, right? right. but only in the modern era. go back just a decade and the rites of passage for any aspiring dj or producer were very different. firstly, the kit required cost a lot more money, getting a release was a much harder prospect owing to the fact that the (expensive) medium of choice was vinyl and, anyway, you had to pay your dues as a dj before even beginning to dream of glamorous, high-falutin’ ideas like production. it is for that reason that, every so often, a producer who’s been around a while pops up with a debut album, not having released one in the early days of their career. these are producers who haven’t rushed things (despite often receiving advice to the contrary) and who have grown organically over time whilst honing their skills and an understanding of their craft all the while. it’s not an easy thing to do, but is something 35 year old 2020vision artist simon baker has done with relish.
axel boman ~ interview
really feeling axel‘s stuff (and that of his label) so here comes a brief something i did for march’s issue of mixmag…
it’s hard to believe one of the underground hits of 2010 was the first record axel boman ever shared with anyone, but believe you must. “’purple drank’ was a two year old track i gave [pampa boss] dj koze after warming up for him” says axel. “i thought i made shit music so him releasing that made me get some balls!”
in his youth a hip-hop fan, it was an older brother who turned axel onto acid house and swedish techno. they are sounds he tries to emulate to this day but which, given his self-proclaimed predilection for fun, never quite work out that way. “i’m always the clown, partying” admits axel, explaining the in-suppressible charm, spontaneity and rawness of his productions to date. “because of that, i always end up adding a strange groove, a weird bassline, an odd synth” he says of his seth troxler and magda approved deep, colourful house records for ourvision and glass table.
two things give the stockholmer most pleasure at this point in his life. the first is “knowing i don’t have to step foot in another fucking art college ever again [having just completed an art masters]” whilst the second is “making music. i get so carried away!” as such, expect experimental new sounds from his own label studio barnhaus, (co-run with a friend and “the village idiot”), an album under pop moniker man tear as well as plenty of new remixes from the ever rotating talent that is axel bowan.
axel’s top 3 swedish tracks of all time
abba – lay all your love on me
dear björn & benny, please forgive me for my own “abba” project, consisting of only abba-samples, please see it as a tribute to the more obscure parts of your amazing discography. out soon on a 12″ near you!!!
the similou – all this love
is it possible to listen to this track and not get goosebumps?? i have no idea what they do today, but i hope they live in big villas on the spanish coast.
the embassy – it pays to belong
this is not the only gorgeous and timeless piece of pop music this group has released! are they known outside of sweden?
cosmin trg ~ interview
if you’ve clicked a link somewhere on the internet with the intention of reading this, you don’t need a wordy intro. you’ll already know romanian cosmin trg (formerly just trg) is making some of the best and most ghostly house/techno/whatever shit out there at the moment, for labels like rush hour, hessle and hotflush.
much love to him for such considered answers…
label profile ~ fina records
leeds, for my money, is the best city outside of london for electronic music fans of any persuasion. the number of (good) regular parties runs head-on into the tens each month, so it always seems a bit odd that there aren’t many labels bar the globally recognised 2020 vision stable run by city hero ralph lawson.
a night in berlin, in leeds ~ modern amusement preview with scuba chat
last month i was a fan of modern amusement before i even went. now, having been, and having experienced the vox venue first hand at their second event, i like it even more. room one is a large, dark warehouse space, room two is a much cosier – and sonically excellent – box, and both are complimented with very nice bogs and decent bars. so, i’m already excited about the next event on feb 25th… ‘a night in berlin’ with steffi, ramadanman, prosumer, surgeon, dettmann, addison groove, instra: mental, paul spymania and scuba (yeah, have that!). so excited, in fact, that i have bothered the last man on that list with 5 questions loosely based around his dj sets…
interview ~ furesshu
if you aren’t familiar with furesshu‘s excellent work to date, read this review of his upcoming ep for one-to-watch label, project squared, for a bit of background. if you are familiar with his (roughly) berghain aligned techno sound, read on for an insight from the man himself…
interview ~ slow hands
it’s been a while since i spoke to a wolf + lamb associate (having done so a lot when this blog was spawned) but nyc man slow hands is certainly tickling my fancy.
his productions (including one on the up-coming wolf + lamb vs soul clap dj kicks and a heart wrenching remix alongside zev + gadi for the 50th release on will saul’s simple records) deal in heart warming soul, are alive with well placed and well played instruments and breathe plenty of sultry life into the current slo-mo house revolution. check him …
what music did you grow up around and when did you first hear electronic music?
interview ~ lone
modern amusement preview, jozif chat
leeds is mentally over run with nights. when a new one pops up it’s generally not worth investigating ’til a few months in (by which time most have joined a long and sorry list of also-rans). modern amusement, though, stuck out from the off, despite much pointy-elbowed competition.
unravelling the drumcode
adam beyer’s fuse mix is a fine one, so too his entry to the fabric series, so i was pleased to be asked to write this feature for the december issue of i-dj mag…
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deniz kurtel ~ interview
it’s september 2009, late one saturday night (or early sunday morning) and i’m laying on the hard wooden floor of a friend’s house, a long way from reality. we’re listening to a mulletover podcast by simon baker and, suddenly, there’s a collective ‘ooof!’ as we hear what i later find out to be this - a deniz kurtel remix which is so good it stands out a mile from its pallid peers, and still does today.
smooth operator – seth troxler
ok, it’s been a while since the last post on teshno (life kinda gets in the way, you know) but i’m back. in the coming weeks i have a deniz kurtel interview for you but, in the meantime, enjoy (hopefully) this feature i wrote on seth.
it was originally published in last month’s dj mag but i reproduce it here, in full, so more people get to see it. (incidentally, it was published with the same images, too, which i assume gave the piece its title in the mag. they are now part of my private collection.)
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interview ~ soul clap
last year saw the rise of the w&l stable, a proliferation of sultry after-hours house, and a much needed injection of humour into the oh-so-serious world of underground electronica.
then, boston duo elyte and cnyce aka soul clap took things a step further: side jobs as corporate djs meant the pair had to play more accessible, well known music for the masses which, in turn, fed back into their ‘proper’ dj sets.
alex niggemann ~ interview
let me introduce you to someone who’s been pricking my ears… at 25 years old, düsseldorf born alex niggemann is a pretty young man in the generally mature world of electronic music. unlike pop or indie, where you have teenage upstarts like arctic monkeys [literally] topping the cool list, dance culture seems to prefer its artists to really earn their stripes. there’s none more canonized than old masters like the belleville three, whereas the same certainly isn’t true in other genres: would anyone really protest if i said that no one gives a fuck about paul mccartney or u2 nowadays? i doubt it.