Klangklötzchenschieber

My favorite Klangklötzchenschieberband Bodenständig 2000, responsible for what I'd consider one of the top5 albums of 1999 - "Maxi German Rave Blast Hits 3" on Rephlex -, is playing live in Braunschweig soon. On July 9th you can find them at HBK joining forces with Warp's Team Shadetek.

Complete details:

09.07.2005
"Abteilung Sonische Forschung" @ HBK, Braunschweig

Bodenständig 2000 "live" [Rephlex]
Team Shadetek ft. Zhi MC "live & dj set" [Warp/Sound.Inc /NYC]

+ dj's
Sci [ASF/Scop] & Alec.tron

door fee: 4 EU
2 dancefloors + open air area
more info here

01.07.2005 Plastic Phonk @ Bernsteinbar / Hamburg

Decks: baze.djunkiii [intrauterin recordings]

Music: Downbeat / Headz / Advanced HipHop / Freestyle

Bernsteinbar Bernstorffstrasse 103
22757 Hamburg / Germany


Yes, it's a wholenighter and there's no door fee. I'm really looking forward to this as I do love to play long sets for reasons y'all know and 'coze Bernsteinbar is a nice place to hang out at. Guess I'll include a lot of my personal classics from artists like Chicks With Dicks, Spacer, Visit Venus, Howie B and loads more in that set which influenced me a lot years ago when the term TripHop meant more than just non-disturbing lounge music.

Parts in the post, pt. 4

Remember Luniz? That mid-90's rapper that has been big with the track "I Got 5 On It" which has been put on a Drum'n'Bass tip by Aphrodite which could be considered the best track that has ever left Aphrodite's studio? Anyway, Luniz has got a guest part on the new single on Maxximus Records called "Spike ft. Luniz - Crazy For Your Love" - basically a revival of early 90's Eurodance/Dancepop which is big time accessible to a normal audience and even radio transmission as it features soft dance beats, some rapped parts similar to old Snap! records and such plus - that's why I mention this 12" here - a really nice female vocal hookline which captured my brain since I got this record in my postbox 'coze I wonder where the chorus originally comes from. I'm pretty sure that it's ripped but... anyone able to help me out?

Another funny record appeared as a whitelabel in my postbox today. Jansen & Kowalski put the lyrics of their track "Wie Geil Ist Das Denn (Dicke Anbiete Teil 2)" on top of the infamous instrumental of german/austrian 80's singer Falco's "Der Kommissar". Bootlegging to the max and I'm not sure if this'll ever be released officially. On the flipside there are two instrumental cuts - the first one is phat HipHop-/Electrobass while the second is more on a percussive but not exactly latin tip.

All the Jungle headz watch out for the new 7" on Watch & Pray Records. Well, this label does not exist although the name is scratched into the records matrix and it does not come from "NYC / Jamaica" as the matrix tries to make believe - all made up, but it's a nice RaggaJungle clash anyway. One side uses the same sample source as Oscar Da Grouch's "Soundbwoy Remix" on Ridem. And it's limited to 100 copies worldwide and due to this it's gonna be a sought after item within shortest of time. Trouble to get this? Contact me at Otaku Records in Hamburg as the store stocks a few copies now and we can get more on demand.

Another new Drum'n'Bass imprint comes up with it's first release. Digital Terrorists Rec. is based in Munich / Germany and features two anthemic tracks. "Propac - These Eyes" and "Hell G. -
Summertime" are highly digital, razorsharp workouts and do perfectly match up with the new Current Value 12" I was mentioning a few days before. I haven't been floor-testing both tracks yet but I'm sure that they'll do serious dancefloor damage with their mixture of technoid attitude and trancey sounds.

Talking Drum'n'Bass I got to mention that I think Goldie's new single on Metalheadz is a great piece of art, at least one part of it as I only got the METH60 in my collection which is "Say You Love Me / Say You Love Me (Vocal)". METH60p is Goldie & Skitty which is similar but not as powerful as the original. I had lost focus on Metalheadz in 1996 after the release of Platinum Breaks 1 and Source Direct's "Stonekiller / Web Of Sin" but since METH44 - Loxy & Ink's "Twisted 3rd Mind E.P." - I'm hooked up again and at least I try to check out every single release. Of course I do not like everything they put out but I do appreciate their work 'coze they do keep up the classic values of Jungle/Drum'n'Bass without compromise. No Clownstep or Neurofunk hustle seen here, just quality sound. Soundwise they are rolling with the oldskool without sounding dated. BigUp!

"Die Nachtschwestern" - The Final Cut

Well, it's finally done. After 6 or 7 years of terrestrial broadcasting on Hamburg's Radio FSK - on a weekly basis throughout the last 2 years - it's time for a break now and so I did my very last show on monday, finally trying to come up with a selection of tracks that very much influenced me throughout the first years of transmitting live from the studio, tracks that have been played out regularly and still mean as much to me as when I heard them first - maybe even more. So here's the very last playlist to be checked out...

20062005 die nachtschwestern farewell edition @ radio fsk / hamburg

baze.djunkiii
[intrauterin recordings]

1. mouse on mars - saturday night worldwide fever *dj crack mix [too pure]
2. harald "sack" ziegler & frank schültge "blumm - die fünfte dengelophonie [dhyana records]
3. rob acid - schokodreck [junkfood]
4. adolf noise - büsum [plattenmeister]
5. the irresistible force - nepalese bliss *dj food remix [ninja tune]
6. village of savoonga - score [hausmusik]
7. jean bach - hit mix *zeit für zärtlichkeit [dhyana records]


But no time for melancholy now as there are several things to be handled and - honestly - I do not feel that sad about quitting from broadcasting due to several reasons.

Been down to the cutting house today as there were a few tracks to be cut down on dubplate. So expect DJ G-I-S' tune "Juggernaut" in my Drum'n'Bass selection as well as Phokus' "Dem All Shot" and Capperuci's "It's Capperucci" when I'm on a Grime tip on the decks. The last are pretty exclusive trackz as Phokus & Caperruci - which is btw the same person using different aliases - is not hailing from the UK and afaik not part of any active Grime scene, crew or whatever. I've been cutting some of his tracks before and I heard - although this is pretty much unconfirmed - rumours about a forthcoming release.

As my cutting house is also home of Ameise, which is my local pressing plant I picked up the first testpressings of the forthcoming Intrauterin Recordings 005. This 7" is scheduled for early July and will be featuring two tracks named "19" and "Travelbox" produced by Sascha Müller which already has been releasing on labels like Cologne-based Shot Division, Detroit's Teknotika, Skull Tunes and several others. Watch out for this if you're into a Electro or Acid or both...

It's in the mix...

A while ago I rediscovered an old - like 2002 or 2001 - Breakcore / Anarchcore mix of mine which is now available for download. Enjoy...

Straight from the Ghetto - News on HipHop, pt. 2

Former Fugee Pras Michael adapts U2's early 90's track "I still haven't found (What I'm looking for)" on his new single called "Haven't Found" which is now out on Guerilla Entertainment / Universal Records. Hardcore fans of U2 might hate it, but considering that we've had shitloads of really bad covers on 80's or 90's hits in the last few years things could've gone worse than this anyway.

Kanye West as well picks up a well known sample on his new 12" released on Roc-A-Fella Records. Guess everyone will recognize the infamous "Diamonds Are Forever" sung by the incredible Shirley Bassey - one of the last great divas on stage. The first work of Kanye West I'm really into - guess it has sth. to do with that sample which love since I ever experienced Shirley Bassey's live at her 50th or 60th stage jubilee show in Hamburg a few years ago. Apart from that the beats are good though and the instrumental perfectly fits into any kind of Downbeat/TripHop-set due to it's slightly melancholic touch.

Parts in the post, pt. 3

Two new stompers from the 4/4 side of life were the latest promo addition to my steadily growing collection of vinyl discs which is floating around in my flat, eating space and hopefully is not melting away from high temperatures these days as summer arrived in Hamburg and living right under the rooftop as I do feels like living in a 100°C sauna - it's hot in here...

Hot is also the latest outtake 12" from Corvin Dalek's last album "I Am A Dalek" which was released on the Berlin-based imprint Flesh. "Young People", as the Wet&Hard-pioneer names the track, is inspired by his trips to Colombia where his numerous dj-appearances are well appreciated by raving masses as he quite regularly plays in front of audiences up to 7000 people. Musicwise he rides his vocals on a pumping Techhouse beat which is slightly Tribal influenced, adds a deep and groovy latin bassline like the ones we know from the good old Strictly Rhythm days and flexes some synth sounds on top. Stretched out over 8+ minutes this is hypnotic as fuck and as well one of the sexiest tunes I've heard within the last months. Any questions left about why he calls this style Wet&Hard?

Not as sexy as Mr. Dalek's workout but still a proper club tool is Timo Maas' new single "First Day" which is on promo circuit now. Featuring two remixes by Dan Taylor - Dan Taylor Remix & Dan Taylor Dub - this tune is a mixture of progressive, techy House, slightly bubbling basslines, stadium rock kinda vocals as we know from the likes of The Crystal Method or several other breaks artists and of coze featuring a big anthemic breakdown plus a few guitar sounds, similar to those featured on Timo's track "To Get Down". Same does the Dub version leaving out the vocal lines. This will surely work on the dancefloor no matter if it's the TechHouse- or NuBreaks-area but I doubt if this is gonna be a massive seller or even a tune that'll last in most DJ's crates for longer then a few weeks as there's something missing like a cool hook or some interesting sounds to cause major attention. Functional? Yes.

Berlin: Mashit!

It's been a busy week and so there's been only little time for blogging...
Playing Berlin's Hotel Lux on Thursday 9th was fine, place was crowded - not packed, but busy at all - and once again I enjoyed to play a wholenighter which in this case means about 7+ hours on the decks, just me and my music. Having played 60 minute rave sets as well as wholenighters I do prefer the longer sets, coze they enable a DJ to take people on a trip musicwise and to represent a wide range of music, maybe some stuff they didn't knew about before. Guess I'm more the educating kind of guy - well, sometimes I am for sure.
Apart from playing out it was fun to see my peepz DJ C. of Mashit and Aaron Spectre & his girlfriend again, spending the whole afternoon hangin' out, chatting music and cruising through Berlin's recordstores. Thx 2 DJ C. again for recommending that South Rakkas Crew's "Bionic Ras Riddim" at Dubstore - really love its Dancehall swing combined with old rave signal sounds. Also we stopped by at Dense , which holds an impressive stock of Electracoustics, Experimental Music, Noise and Industrial on CD and at Tricky Tunes, which seems to be specialising in RaggaJungle and Grime these days.

Musicwise there's also news from the Mashit-stable. DJ C. & Quality Diamond's "Let It Billie" , basicly a re-voiced version of the massive "Billy Jungle" tune, is out now on Scandal Bag 002. I've been spinning that tune on dubplate for about a year now and everytime it causes a serious brockout. Another mix is featured on the flipside of this 7" - called "Dancehall Mix" it ain't Dancehall at all but is based on a more HipHop kind of riddim.

On DJ C.'s Mashit label there's two new records. CatNo. 006 is DJ Flack's "Meet Mr. Doobie / Story Of Oh [DJ C. Mix]" which delivers a fusion of swinging BostonBounce athmosphere and humourous Jungle trickery. Never heard of BostonBounce, eh? Well, it's hard to describe what BB exactly is as it is still a very fresh and developing genre but once you came across this special kind of swingsteppin' beats and offbeat feel you will know and never forget. I'm curious when and if this will break through in Europe...
CatNo. 007 is "Fi You / Twilight Zone" by Murderbot which really deals serious RaggaJungle / DarkJungle / RaggaCore business and will be appreciated by all the Junglists out there, especially for "Fi You"'s anthemic vocal hook.

Drum'n'Bass-wise there's Berlin's No!Breaks Records coming up with it's first release these day. Two tracks by no one less than Berlin-based producer genius Current Value - once part of the Position Chrome stable and with releases on Phantomnoise and Klangkrieg Produktionen, too. "Freeway" as well as "Simple Things" are massive Drum'n'Bass-stormers - in fact the best tracks I came across in months - and although Current Value steps away from his abstract version of D'n'B he's known for from his former releases one can still recognize his ultra-clean sounddesign and engineering he is loved for by his followers. A good start for a new label and word says that they're planning to put out like a record in every three months.

playlist: 13062005 die nachtschwestern experimental edition @ radio fsk / hamburg

baze.djunkiii
[intrauterin recordings]

1. jansky noise - die quicker *by the will of cue, brick or hammer [vvmt g/b]
2. atomu shinzo - cool memories
3. psi performer - 1948 [kanzleramt]
4. single cell orchestra - comsat [reflective records]
5. single cell orchestra - dimea battlestion [reflective records]
6. foehn - shrouded [fat cat 009]
7. pan sonic - valli [blast first 119]
8. alec empire - low on ice [mille plateaux]
9. pole - fliegen [kiff sm]
10. pole - fahren [kiff sm]

incite/
[hamburg]

1. shivers
2. explicit
3. procedure
4. iconicity
5. too (short)
6. neop
7. turnpike
8. the other half
9. escape mechanism

playlist: 06062005 die nachtschwestern darkjungle edition @ radio fsk / hamburg

baze.djunkiii
[intrauterin recordings]

1. professor g - vampire [ab 001]
2. jungle rock [chopstick dubplate 002]
3. junglist outlaw [chopstick dubplate 001]
4. vini - scary night [drum'n'grass 003]
5. k pleton [npk records 002]
6. lxc - etatron [dub]
7. dj c & diamond - let it billy [dub]
8. hi-lar - prod 692 [alphacut 004 testpress]
9. buzz - powerplant [alphacut 001]
10. jns - untitled [dub]
11. skeeme - terminal jungle [hydrophonic records]
12. umkra & pulax [myze records 003]
13. subsonic - braized [bloody fist 026]
14. sree - viewing inside [x86.012]
15. jahba - part time revolutionary [kriss records 001]
16. enduser - wreckin shit [bruchstellen records 001]

Eclectic world of music

Leipzig's Alphacut , imprint for "noskoolbreaks for bored intellectuals" (quoting their sticker), have their fourth release out now featuring tracks by Jakin Boaz, MZE, Hi Lar and Nalpas. Force your local dealer to order that 12" for you if you are into pure eclecticism, Breakcore, IDM-Gabba, Aphex Twin'esque Electronica or simply good music as it is once again limited and hand-numbered.
For all Hamburg citizens I'll take care of that Otaku Records will stock a few copies soon.


Did I ever mention that I love Marco Passarani's new album "Sullen Look" on Peacefrog ? It's been a long time since I came across an album with nothing but great tracks - 11 out of 11 is what I'd call top score - on it and at the same time representing a long time missed fusion of Electronica, Detroit and Electro stuff, taking the risk of non-conformity and succeeding with that. I want more music like that to play out and even more I want people to dance to it. There was times when people weren't that narrow minded but open for any kind of good electronic music and nowadays it seems like a lot of people are into like only MinimalTechno or only Drum'n'Bass - even worse: only LiquidFunk or only Clownstep - or only Electronica or whatever and I often criticize this. It's all music and it's all coming from the same grassroot if one looks back in time and I simply cannot see the reason why people are limiting theirselves. It's not about liking all kinds of music or being an expert in every small micro-subgenre created in the big world of electronics but looking to the left and right is always a good experience and opens ones mind - and ears - for sure.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine which started DJ'ing not too long ago asked me what to do 'coze she was feeling a bit uncomfortable with her music (MinimalTechno, ElectroHouse and stuff) - well..., not exactly uncomfortable but not fully satisfied. She was surprised as I recommended to listen to some Downbeat, TripHop or Electronica records and tried to figure out what I meant by this. "Nothing", I said, "but this will open your mind again and I guess that's what you need by now."
I wasn't suprised that I was right.

Talking good old times I must mention that I rediscovered a great label from Cologne which as been closed down years ago. XXC 3 is the name and for those who are curious now just try to get hold of one of these two records

- Modesty - Times Fly [XXC 3 / 301]
- Khan & Walker - Empire State Building [XXC 3 / 801]

if you get a chance to. Intelligent Techno and Electronica at it's best - trust me...

Straight from the Ghetto - News on HipHop, pt.1

Eminem's got a new single out on Shady Records which is now on promo circuit. It's called "Ass Like That" and pressed on clear vinyl - bigup to record companies that make efforts to make their promos look and feel a bit special. Of course that's kind of elite, VIP-treatment whatever but as a true vinyl addict I'm always up for special editions, colored vinyl, picture discs and shit. But back to music again: The beats are pretty slow, I even managed to put it in a mix as halftime break for a house-set at a friends' place some hours ago, so I guess it can't be faster than a max of 65 bpm but I'm too lazy to start beat counting now to prove that. The whole lyrics are a bit crazy - sounds like any stoned geezer making fun of various hysterical accents and wins while dropping the following lines.

"Mary-Kate & Ashley
used to be so handsome
now they getting older
they starting to go bum-bums"

I was laughing my head off at this and those few words are reason enough to let this records never leave my HipHop crates - at least not in the next 12 months. The whole tune's great though - a bit of oriental flava innit, too - , but shooting out at those two girls which I come across everytime I'm shopping at my local WalMart, and I'm talking WalMart Germany here, is rocking big time. Shoutz to Mr. Slim Shady! Btw - all TripHop/Downbeat geezers, just try the instrumental...


Flipsyde are having a new promo on Cherrytree Records / Interscope , too. Never came across 'em guys before, but "Someday" will do proper good work on a discotheque's dancefloor, mixing up rapped lyrics, HipHop beats and a more Rock-music like chorus - music- and vocalwise. Also they are adding some mediterranean guitar playing as well and the whole thing reminds me a bit of times in the early 90's when I was listening to bands like the old Such A Such and Blackeyed Blonde, Suicidal Tendencies, Sisters Of Mercy and others from the speakers of an old ghetto blaster while playing basketball, hanging out with a bunch of friends and drinking loads of beer... These days are gone by far and I've never been deep into rock music as I've been always listening to electronic dance music since I was eight, but when a track brings back those times for a few minutes I always have melancholy knocking at my door. Shortened down: I've no fucking clue where to play this tune but I simply love it for the reason that it's just touching my heart.

Parts in the post, pt. 2

Intransigent Recordings are putting out their fifth release these days. A-Side is "Mad As Hell" , originally released on INTREC 002 and remixed by no one less than The Panacea which is coming up with a massive nervous stormer mixed up with an ultra-cheesy Hardtrance-melody. Guess this works on the floor and also with those Happy Hardcore ravers that usually don't brock out on a Drum'n'Bass floor. Arkon's "The Wired" on the flip is one for the very dark hours of the night, baaad mashup stuff but a bit tricky for people that do need a kind of melody or hook to ride upon a track as there is none. Compared to the last releases on Intransigent this 12" ain't that strong as "Steck der Zeiten" or "Schwarze Puppen" but still a high quality release anyway.

Hamburg based label Audiolith , known for crossing over between Electroclash, Synthpop kinda stuff and real bands, is doing a bit of incest with it's new 12" as there only remixes on it that have been done by Audiolith-associated artists for their comrades. Saalschutz takes care of The Dance Inc.'s "Looking like that" and sticks close to the great original version. The other way round it's The Dance Inc. vs. Saalschutz's "Tonight We All Gonna Die" plus two other tracks featuring reworks by Stina Galaxina and Hamburg's Wonderkind Christian Harder. Big fun and recommended for all freaked out Electroclash-headz with a sense of humour. NOT recommended for intellectual eggheads.

Also big up to DJ Maximus for releasing "The Underground Soldiers E.P." on New Confirmity Records 001. I'm not sure if it's the same person releasing as DJ Maxximus - double X'd - on Mental Groove although it might be as "The Underground Soldiers E.P." features a lot of Berlin-based or Berlin-associated artists and that is where the double X'd DJ Maxximus comes from, too. Anyway, there are the likes of Circuit Breaker, DJ Maximus, Frankie Bones and Johnny Fame collaborating on four tracks, revealing bassheavy Techno anthems, Chicago Basement bangers and some unheard fusion of techy beats and Grime athmosphere. This has the potential to be a future classic and has yet qualified to be one of my this months favorites.