Hertsi - Oodi Sähkölle

Sähkö is one of the labels that really influenced me from the beginning, some of my very first records were on it.  Unfortunately, I’ve not added to my collection as much as I would’ve liked, but it’s more about the cost of the earlier ones than anything else.

This track was released in 1993 and still sounds better than most stuff being released today.  A huge influence on Sandwell District, Sleeparchive and Richie Hawtin.

Stasis is death?

2012 has only just begun, but this weekend sees 2 of techno's biggest names playing the subclub. Function and Regis bring their Sandwell District live act to Glasgow again (fingers crossed Function makes it into the country this time) for the very first Animal Farm party of this year and what a party it will be.

There is absolutely no doubting the quality of the 2 artists, when Regis played here in July the recording of his set got mix of the day at Resident Advisor and it is still one of our most popular blog posts, their debut album sold out almost instantly a year ago and goes for silly money on Discogs, Regis' 3 x CD collection of his works sold out before any of us even saw it for sale and with news of an album in 2012 from Function - the hype surrounding them is huge, yet they manage to deliver every time and still maintain their credibility while doing so.

However, the big news surrounding them is that the label is no more - 'stasis is death' apparently. Personally, I think it was a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' they would end SD as a label, but the timing of it has surprised me - it was only in July last year when I put forward the idea of it finishing to Regis and he was quick to dismiss it, but perhaps phase3 didn't carry the same weight as phase 1 or 2. Certainly, towards the end of the year they were releasing music a lot more frequently and with a couple of their EPs being nothing other than standard techno, perhaps they were just another label going through the motions.

You can add to that the more abstract projects from Bob Ostertag & Yves De Mey, which will have certainly appealed to the purist of Sandwell fans, but would have definitely split opinion amongst the more casual techno fan. But, as always with Sandwell, details on their plans will be scarce and everyone will be left to form their own ideas and opinions on what will happen next - but instead of pondering what will happen to techno's most influential label & collective, why not celebrate? Considering it's only a fiver before 12 it would be pretty rude not to. A fiver to celebrate the brief yet distinguished reign of Sandwell District, the first Animal Farm party of 2012 and one of those rare occasions where you can hear techno in the Sub Club. Bargain.

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).

Regis Live @ Sub Club

This is a recording of Regis at the Sub Club in July 2011, massive thanks to Animal Farm for this one.

Enjoy

Part 1
Part 2

Black Country

Moving on from Cloutier, July is all about 1 man, Regis. Tomorrow night he will be back in the subclub, after last years performance, but this time he will be playing as Regis. With Regis you can expect uncompromising, purest techno - which, since Monox has stopped, has been way overdue in the subclub.

It's such a shame that nights like tomorrow are not the norm for the subclub, and that the majority of the time we are offered watered down house, or irrelevant has beens. It's out of touch, and it gets by based on the appeal of the club, it's repuation and the lack of any worthwhile competition.. It doesn't lead the way with forward thinking bookings like it could or should.

It's the best club in Scotland, but it could do so much more. It is so far behind the behind the leading clubs like Fabric, Trouw, Berghain and even now to an extent with places like Corsica Studios, with their adventurous line ups and up to date booking policy. I only hope that artists like Regis, Lucy & Shifted become a bit more regular, and that the DJs and artists who are leading the way in Techno and House start to frequent Glasgow a bit more often. Techno & House have a wealth of talent that just isn't respresented in Glasgow, and there's no better place for them than the subclub.

If you don't have plans for tomorrow and if you are even slightly interested in techno, then you must go to the subclub. If someone like Regis can't get a good turnout, then I'm afraid we are doomed.


And if you're up for it, Regis is back in the UK on Sat 30th July @ Fabric. We are getting a 20hour round bus trip, with the mega bus.. Which will be pretty tough going, but you can't argue when it only costs £16.

Room 2 features Terry Francis, Sandwell District & Sigha. I honestly cannot wait for it.

"Club or Country? Black Country"

RSD, New Mixes & Some Worthwhile Reading

So, Record Shop Day...

I went down to Rub A Dub at about 4pm and the shop was packed, there was plenty of beers going round and Stephen Brown was playing a great live set, this was followed by more beer, sets from The Blessings & Instra:Mental amongst others and a fantastic selection of house and techno records to check out, plus some exclusive RSD records.

The one criticism I do have is that it was only at 8pm, when Dan Monox went on the decks, that I saw a record being played, but apart from that it was excellent and in RAD's case, certainly proved that it is worthwhile and long may it continue.

I was surprised by a lot of the negativity towards RSD over the last few days, culminating in this feature from 'Digital DJ Tips'. What I really fail to understand is why anyone who loves music or Djing (in any form) would want to discredit RSD. Who cares if it won't save vinyl? Surely the longer that vinyl is around, the better it is for all of us? Can you imagine Glasgow without Rubadub? Berlin without Hardwax? Rotterdam without Clone?

Is there anything positive about that?

MP3s are cheaper, they are more convenient and you have almost every tune you can think of available instantly, so just be happy with what you have got. Live and let live - as a DJ, regardless of what you play, it's in your best interest to support vinyl and to support the scene, it's small, it's not in great shape and we won't always have it, so make the most of it while you can.

It wouldn't take much effort to shop at your local record shop more often, even if it's only for the latest software.

Kinda related to this is an article over at LWE from Stefan Goldmann, it's pretty long but I highly recommend reading it the whole way through as it is spot on, although slightly depressing. The future looks bleak (for most of us).

On a slightly more positive note, I think that everyone with an interest in techno should read this feature over at RA. It's a very interesting piece on the London techno club 'Lost', it's extremely well written and it makes you wish that you could have been part of it.

The description of the Mills/Basic Channel set really puts a modern 'live' set into perspective, true masters of their craft.

On the mix front, there's a couple of new ones that I think are worth sharing.

The 1st mix is from Juho Khusti, who has featured here before, with a mix for the Zombeats blog. Hypnotic techno is the order of the day, and if you're into this then please check out the Deep Space Helsinki radio show and look out for a very special mix later in the year.

Get it here.

The 2nd mix is from Yuka who is signed to Dasha Rush's label Full Panda, this is a vinyl only mix of otherworldy techno that was recorded for Nutation Records.

Get it here.

Also, for those who missed out on the vinyl release the Sandwell District album has now been released on CD and is available at all good record stores.

January Picks

I plan on putting together a small post every now and then, updating you on some of the records I have been buying, it gives you an idea what to expect if you come to one of our parties, or download one of the mixes from the blog.

It's not a chart,I won't be putting up anything that is unreleased and I am not using this to hype up certain records, it's just an insight into my record bag.

If you like the music, then please support the artists and buy it.

Iain


Demdike Stare - Liberation Through Hearing [Modern Love]

This is the latest album from british duo Sean Canty & Miles Whittaker and it is excellent, if you are not aware of these guys then you should be, ambient/droning techno cuts of the highest quality.

Function - Variance 1 - 3 [Sandwell District]

I was a bit skeptical when I saw this was getting released, there is only so many times you can sell people the same track right? But, after Adam told me to check out the EP I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.

A lot of hype(too much?) surrounding Sandwell, and I think that their popularity and success puts them in a difficult situation regarding the ideals and ethos behind the label.

Still, killer EP and I recommend getting this if you can... It's not in stock at Rubadub yet so I imagine they will have plenty of copies within the next few weeks.

V/A - Superlongevity 5 [Perlon]

Sure, it's £60+ and yes the samples for the tracks were not great, but this is a killer compilation and IMO is better than Funf. Perlon had a good year in 2010, Cassy had a strong EP and the Portable EP was a nailer, they also released Ark's album and the Harmonie Park EP that I really wasn't feeling, but RA had some nice things to say about it. So I'm really looking forward to hearing what Perlon do this year.

Giorgio Gigli - Skulking In The Shadow [Zooloft]

Great atmospheric techno from Gigli here on a pretty cool gold vinyl, limited to 250 so your best bet is probably Discogs. Perfect for fans of Prologue, Dozzy etc...

There is also a new Zooloft coming out shortly with a remix from Mike Parker! Really looking forward to that!

A few more tips regarding Mike Parker - he has a new record coming out on Prologue with a Donato Dozzy remix, which is probably going to be massive, also he has a record coming out on Semantica later on in the year.

Semantica is a label that is really worth checking out, all the records are limited so move quickly - if you can I would recommend picking up the Silent Servant EP - El Mar