The best of 2011 from The Techno Demon

Here's what was doing it for the techno demon in 2011, maybe when 'it' can mix the identity shall be revealed.

Labels...in no specific order

Perc Trax - Been a strong year for perc trax. Definitely the new home of industrial techno. A solid album from Perc, and lots to look forward to next year with the FSG full length

Stroboscopic Artefacts - Dark, abstract, idm style, head fuck techno. Lucy's album 'wordplay for working bees' and xhins 'sword' have been two of the years best. Its not all about the 4/4 and SA has been putting out interesting, atmpospheric electronica that wouldnt sound out of place on a warp records release

Auxiliary - ASC'S new label. Been really enjoying the experimental/ambient stuff coming from ASC. His mix for mnml ssgs http://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/2011/03/asc-tracklist.html is an excellent example of the dnb he's familiar with, plus the more ambient electronics we're hearing from him

Broken 20 - TVO is a new name to me these past few months. His excellent mnml ssgs mix brought him to my attention, and everything i've been hearing such as his remixes of isodyne, perc, have done enough to strengthen the labels reputation. His set at the wax works nights was top drawer stuff and his mix for the wax works site i have listened to loads!





ALBUMS

Falty Dl - You stand uncertain - Planet Mu... More song based than any of my other picks. Some great melodies and vocals on this album. This album gets the girls dancing too. Very accessible and very funky!

Perc - Wicker and Steel - Perc Trax....Raw, abrasive, steely techno. Industrial techno never comes across that well on the album format, but this is a fine example of it!

Tycho - Dive - Ghostly International... Nice, relaxing home listening sounds that remind me of boards of canada.

Kangding Ray - OR - Raster Noton.... There's a big hype about raster noton. Im not gonna lie, im not keen on the vast majority of the stuff thats released on the label. Enjoyed Senkings, Pong from last year, but their a bit 'too ' experimental for my tastes. However, OR is much more accessible. Another home listening album, the sounds, melodies, moods created on this album are dark and brilliant

Lucy - Wordplay for working bees - SA... Shades of aphex and autechre and other early IDM artists with this album. Album standout 'Gas' is proper good head fuck material. This album is best played at 5 in the morning after the club

2011's best, courtesy of Truman Data

Here's what was doing it for Wax Works' Truman Data in 2011 - watch out for his Live set which should feature on the blog in 2012.

Albums

1. Morphosis - What We Have Learned
2. Andy Stott - We stay together
3. Villalobos / Laderbaur - re:ECM
4. Legowelt - The Teac Life
5. Sandwell District - Feed Forward
6. BNJMN - Plastic Worlds
7. Steffi - Yours & Mine
8. Cosmin TRG - Simulate
9. Stereociti - Kawasaki
10. Deadbeat - Drawn and Quarterd

EPS

Acid Test 01 - Tin Man
Pinch & Shacleton - Boracay Drift w/ Morphosis remix
Omar-S - Here's Your Trance Now Dance!
workshop 12 kassem mosse
Miles - Facets

Labels

Delsin
Modern Love
Honust jon's
Absurd Recordings
Ethereal sounds

Next up we'll have Wax Works part 2, the picks from our own techno demon, the very best mixes 2011 offered and we will close out the year with Wax Works mix 04 (I think/hope).

Best of 2011 from Quail

Here's a few things i've enjoyed this year…

Artists

Shifted - probably my artist of the year, coming from the relative unknown to become one of the most talked about and in demand techno producers is no mean feat, considering he's only released a handful of EPs.

Truncate - great moniker of LA's Audio Injection. The more stripped back style of his productions in no way hinders every track's ability to destroy dance floors.

Skudge - raw, analogue techno at it's best. Some amazing live set recordings have been floating around all year.

Markus Suckut - excellent, upcoming German producer. Ticks all the boxes in terms of production. Great first release on his own imprint due soon, the future is bright!

Shed/EQD/WAX/Head High - Mentioned by Iain already but definitely worth another shout. This man can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. With a multitude of different aliases each with their own unique take on the techno/house aesthetic.,

others….Milton Bradley (Do Not Resist The Beat), Mike Parker. Forward Strategy Group, Marcel Fengler, Youandewan, Italojonson, Marcellus, Deepchord, Frozen Border/Horizontal Ground, Jonas Kopp….2011 has seen some amazing releases from this lot, too many to mention :(


A special shout to Mr Copy who provided me with three edits of some well known tunes that I haven't stopped playing this year!

Labels

Stoboscopic Artefacts
Mote Evolver
Deeply Rooted House
Sandwell District
Our Circula Sound
Analogue Solutions

Lastly…My favourite compilation/collection of music this year has got to be Regis' Adolescence : The Complete Recordings 1994 - 2001. 3 CDs chronicling the rise of the Birmingham sound, loving hardbound in a linen cloth book. Essential.

All the best for 2012!!

Quail


* Animal Farm have Roland at the Sub Club on December 28th & Sandwell District on January 6th - not to be missed.

Best of 2011 from TVO

Here's TVO's selections on what's been doing it for him this year.

top5 LP (techno-ish)

Surgeon - Breaking The Frame
P.A.S. - The Messenger
Alva Noto - Univrs
Perc - Wicker and Steel
Spatial - Spatial

top5 LP (not techno)

Oren Ambarchi/Jim O'Rourke - Indeed
Hive Mind - Elemental Disgrace
Roly Porter - Aftertime
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972
Demdike Stare - Tryptych

top5 EP

Leyland Kirby - Intrigue and Stuff vol 2
Mark Fell and Peter Rehberg - Kubu/Zikir
Shifted - Control
Sigha - The Politics of Dying
Emptyset - Altogether Lost

Best of 2011 Part 1

So this is the 1st part of our end of year lists, up first is yours truly followed by the choice cuts from a few of the Wax Works crew, TVO, Quail (Animal Farm) and an unidentified techno demon. We'll also close out the year with a post featuring the very best mixes from 2011.

As always, if you're into the music on here please buy it.


Albums

Soft Kill - An Open Door

I doubt this will feature on many lists and many of you probably wont be into it, but I stumbled upon them while checking out some Tropic Of Cancer tunes on YouTube and I was hooked straight away - since then I've played their album almost every day, way more than any other piece of music I own, so for that reason it has to be my number 1 for the year.

If you're into the Tropic Of Cancer stuff then I think you'll like it and I think they share a similar kind of aesthetic to Joy Division.

Soft Kill - Feral Moans

John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves

An album that provokes academic discussion and deep thought.. Well, that's what I've read - tbh I bought into the hype, checked it out and just really loved the tunes. Do the same.

John Maus - Cop Killer

Planetary Assault Systems - The Messenger

The only 'techno' album on the list, but it is an absolute monster of an LP. Plenty of tracks that will just destroy dancefloors, I have to think that after this album PAS must be the most exciting techno live act around. Has there ever been an artist name that fits so perfectly to the music? These are tunes that are made to soundtrack intergalactic wars and the destruction of worlds - proper techno.

Planetary Assault Systems - Rip The Cut

AraabMUZIK - Electronic Dream

So I took a bit of hassle from some of the crew for this one, but fuck them. It is Trance/Hip-Hop and probably the last thing you would expect to find here, but it is just a collection of fun, unpretentious tunes made by a guy and his MPC.

AraabMUZIK - Golden Touch


EPs

Time To Express - Labyrinth EP

There's not a single release that comes close to this one in 2011, 4 excellent tracks (although I wasn't feeling the Parker one as much as some) that will be a mainstay in my record bag for years. The pick of the bunch for me is Giusy, absolutely killer tune.

Peter Van Hoesen - Rites De Passage-Naeba Variant

Kassem Mosse - Workshop 12

Another absolutely essential record from Kassem Mosse on Workshop. A monster 14 minute long A side is the standout track for me here, check it out and buy it if you can.

Expecting big things from this man in 2012, let's hope someone brings him to Glasgow.

A Side

Burial - Street Halo EP

It was massive news when the new Burial EP was announced and rightly so, there's lots of people who imitate his sound but absolutely no one who can create the same feeling and emotion from their music. You can still grab a copy of the vinyl at Boomkat and I would recommend doing so if you don't have it already - superb music from one of the UK's most amazing producers

Burial - Stolen Dog

Sigha - Politics of Dying

Absolutely solid techno EP here from Sigha which features a brilliant original mix from the man himself, a very cool dubby-ish remix of 'over the edge' from Shifted and a remix of the title track from James Ruskin. This is a must own record for any techno DJ as all 3 tracks are of the highest quality.

Sigha - Politics Of Dying (Ruskin Remix)

* we have rescheduled the party with Sigha, he'll be at Wax Works in early 2012.

EQD #5

What can you say about Shed's music that's not already been said?
Listen to it and buy it.

B Side

Finally here's my favourite labels from 2011

Delsin/Ann Aimee
Idle Hands
Prologue
Sandwell District
Semantica

Feel free to leave your thoughts on my choices and/or what records/artists were doing it for you this year.

See you in 2012

IK

Goodbye.. For Now

So this Saturday we'll be playing our last gig of 2011, it's a pretty low key affair in a REAL hairdressers that'll hopefully finish our year of ups and downs on a high. Now you may have noticed that the blog has been neglected somewhat recently, but that is all set for change as of 01/2012 - we're upping our game in our attempt for world domination. So expect more exclusive mixes, more interviews and plenty of moans, plus we're also going to feature more regular mixes from the Wax Works crew and close affiliates.

Now forgetting about next year for now, I just want to thank everyone who has been involved in or supported Wax Works over the last 12 months, all the DJs who have played for us or recorded mixes, everyone who helped out with the parties, all the people who have taken time out their lives to read this pish, listened to the mixes and/or attended our parties - thank you. Also massive shouts to our friends at Animal Farm, No Sleep, Bigfoot's, Loop, Broken20, Point4, Code, Jak & Scenic Tones (sorry if I've missed anyone) - we appreciate all the support and have you all to thank for improving the scene in Glasgow..

2011 may be drawing to a close and you might be short on cash due to Christmas, but there's still plenty of great records being released that you need to buy (Mike Parker on prlg & DNRTB07 especially), excellent parties to attend (Robert Hood, Rolando, Patrice Scott) and there's the always contentious end of year lists to disagree with, of which we'll be doing our own with the inclusion of the selections from a few of Glasgow's finest techno minds/selectahs.

But, for now, consider this goodbye from us for 2011 and hopefully we'll see you at The Halt on New Years Day where we'll be kicking 2012 off in forgettable fashion.

Cheers