FAZE Magazine On PINK MINIMALISM

To be found in the September issue of FAZE Magazine - big up!

Downliners Sekt - Trim/Tab [InFine Promo]

Scheduled for September 17th is the release of "Trim / Tab" , the newest outing of long-time bass music heads Downliners Sekt which are the newest addition to the broad InFine artist roster, the labels first step into the depths of subsonic bass and at the same time a prequel to the forthcoming Downliners Sekt artist album. Musically located somewhat in between Future Garage, the latest works of artists like Stefan Betke a.k.a. Pole, Monolake and the haunting PostRave-feel of the Burial's debut, featuring melancholia-driven vocal snippets, abandoned piano tones and crackling, murmuring background noises "Trim / Tab (Part One)" seems to be a perfect closing tune after a long bass-infused night out whilst "Trim / Tab (Part Two)" comes up with a similar feel but is based on a skelatal halftime beat that surely is about to puzzle punters due to its anti-groove attitude meant and made to suck the dancefloor in to a deep, post urban Future R'n'B-nirvana. Nice one.

Steve Bug - Noir [Poker Flat Recordings Promo]

Coming up with an early bird review as Steve Bug's new album "Noir" is only to be released in early October via Poker Flat Recordings but as the whitelabel copy has been sitting on my desk for a bit now I think it's time to unveal what's to expect from his fifth official longplayer - not including his 1996-released compilation "Released Tracks" on his former Raw Elements-imprint that was more of a compilation kind of thing. As we know from Mr. Brügesch's previous album releases the longplay format means more to him than a hardly inspired compilation of dancefloor bangers and this is defo to be felt here although "Noir" is not a conceptual album piece dealing with a single mood or musical vision. This although the concept of film noir is near hand at hand not only due to the albums main title but also to the certain moodiness that is an important part of the overall athmosphere, a tense vibe that could well accompany some past midnight gangster b-movie shot in black and white instead of high definition colour. A movie that's set somewhen in the 50s with a part of the score happening in run-down bars and tiny backrooms, obviously the scene of the crime and perfect places for dirty deals of any kind. This is is the overall setting and no matter if it's the raw and deep vocal approach of "Moments Of Ease" with Emilie Chick on microphone duties, the racing AcidHouse blast named "No Adjustment" featuring the Foremost Poets, the oldskool'ish "Somewhere In The Night", the deep BrokenBeat-tune "Poison Of Choice" or the sweet and decent latenight Downtempo piece named "The Spiral Staircase" - all of those tunes would perfectly work as score for this kind of movie at a certain point of the action as well as they do on the floor, just take the spiralling, dark'ish "Serve Your Mistress" with its epic build up as example and imagine an old car furiously hitting an endless abandoned country road at night with only dim headlights intersecting the heavy rain... this is a soundtrack and a journey although the flic has to be shot yet. And maybe this is Steve Bug's best album ever, at least the one that seems to be the most complete and most coherent longplay listening experience in his career. Nice. 

DJ Dick Live @ Mayday 1994

Another classic rave gem here. I still got a tape of that party including the full set somewhere in my archive and I've listened to that tape for at least a thousand times as it spreads an incredible energy which is totally different to what you experience in electronic dance music events these days. Thinking of that more closely and feeling at this very moment that these tape recordings might have been quite influential - not necessarily when it comes to skills or music but surely when it comes to energy levels and euphoria - to my own DJ'ing I think that's one of the reasons I stopped to play out. A lack of energy music- as well as crowdwise and saturated punters not longing for something fresh and new anymore. Although I'm glad that I was able to experience a few of these incredible "everyone's going bonkers"-moments throughout my career I don't think it's worthwile to continue as these have been rare, especially throughout the last years, and saturation has been taking over as everyone and their mother seem to refer to DJ's as their personal jukebox which I'm not.
Plus: due to the digital DJ becoming a standard these days and everyone being a DJ (or pretends to be)  fees have been declining continually which means that - in most of the cases - payments are not on a level anymore that is making up for staying up all night, hanging out in places packed with mostly drunk or drugged people when one's preferring to stay sober or, if drinking, sticking with the good stuff which again is not catered in underground places.

Carl Cox Live @ Mayday 1995

Just stumbled across this low quality video that needs to be shared here especially for the great mix including AWeX' massive hit "It's Our Future" which for me is closely connected to the 1995 Love Parade in Berlin where it was blasting off nearly every float at some point of the party.

Arthur Boto Conley's Music Workshop presents Clifford Trunk [Travel By Goods 004 Promo]

Three tracks of a rather vague origin are featured on this limited to 333 pieces white vinyl 12" edition which is cat.no. 004 of the great Travel By Goods-imprint and it remains unclear if the story about the Germany-born US-citizen and synthesizer / production pioneer Clifford Trunk told in the additional booklet is true or just made up . But what's way more important is the fact that the music served here is great no matter if you're talking about the epic Ambient / Armchair Techno-tune "940" that well reminds of classic Warp or R&S material or compilations as legendary as the "Artificial Intelligence"-series, pleasing listeners with deep vibes, broken rhythm patterns, calm strings and a lively, positive acidic attitude with flickering bleeps and an ever-varying but still recognizable and fascinating motif  or the free-floating and very uplifting variation of SpeedGarage meets TechHouse named "551 (Dub)" with its warm, embracing and deep as fuck sub that is even felt physically at low volume levels. Also to be found here is the closing tune "418" which is more of an open air track with an uplifting (Neo)Trance vs. TechHouse attitude, serving layers and layers of strings and arpeggios combined with raw hi-hat work that never turns cheesy at all despite filling dancefloors with smiling happy faces. Play this at the dawn of a new day and the crowd is about to love you forever.

A Couple Of Drinks.

After spending a nice evening and night in my favourite places Die Gesellschaft and Meine Kleinraumdisko I think it's a good idea to let all you connaisseurs know about the order of drinks served to my pleasure tonight as whisky and bourbon (or "Schnaps" as the germans say) turned into a hobby of mine throughout the last months. So here we go...

- Silverlake Sour
- Nikka "Miyagikyo" Single Malt 10yrs, Japan
- DYC Blend 8 yrs, Spain
- Woodford Reserve, Bourbon
- Rowans Creek, Bourbon
- Elijah Craig, Bourbon


So much good, tasty stuff out there and so much yet unexplored terrain. The journey continues.

Nico Lahs - My Side EP [Poker Flat Recordings 132 Promo]

The next 12" announced via Poker Flat Recordings is Nico Lahs' new EP named "My Side" which is not only his single debut on Steve Bugs label but also the next logical step after coming on strong with a string of releases put out via imprints like 8bit Records, Ovum or Rue De Plaisance lately. And despite the fact that discovering electronic music just happened unplanned and by chance his tracks - especially the title piece - seem to be thickly filled with all the wisdom and knowledge of two decades of club culture, being deep, funky and uber-sexy at the same time, made for those very special moments when the clubs air is soaking wet and steamingly hot, when damp bodies are rubbing closely against each other on a jam-packed dancefloor and it needs just a little to set the fire ablaze as the dancehall people say. Same goes for Daniel Dexters remix work on the flip, crossing over between clubby TechHouse and warm, floating arrangements that can be described as trancey in a sense that refers to Trance as the deep, melodic and hypnotic club music it used to be before everything turned into cheesy melodies and annoying drum rolls. Finally there's "Symptoms" on B2, turning the Tech off the House and serving a sweet, positive late night vibe while everyone's preparing for the last dance of the night. The "Symptoms" of this track? Smiling faces everywhere.

Sascha Müller - Untitled [Psychocandies SMSM 1.01]

All full on analogue Acid fuckers are clearly recommended to force their local record shop to trace and hunt down Sascha Müller's latest blacklabel 7" release which has been released as a limited edition of 100 hand-numbered copies recently, all of them stuffed into an antique 8" computer disc packaging instead of a real vinyl cover which makes this one even more special. Musicwise both tracks are lively, fast and surely spiralling away into the ever modulating realms of Acid nirvana, sending your braincells straight into Acid hell, ready to burn down your nervous system and leave nothing but a psychotic, tripped out wreck. If you've been following labels like Drop Bass Network, Propulsion 285 or Labworks Germany in their heydays you'll be very likely to add this one to your collection if you can find yourself a copy. Checking out our Q[e]M account on discogs might be helpful as we've managed to get hodl of more than copy of this rare gem.

PINK MINIMALISM - News & Such...

The zero-sided 7" baze.djunkiii presents PINK MINIMALISM has hit the circuit only a few days ago and yet there are some news and links to spread.

First of all it can be purchased instore and via mailorder at Otaku Records / Hamburg and via the Shhhhop now while regular distribution talks are still going on.

Plus the nice pink anti-record has already made it to the legendary Kompaktkiste database and has seen some support form those guys via Facebook and Google+ - thx a lot!

Guestwriting For BackAgain.de

Just spreading the news that baze.djunkiii will be guestwriting for the small german underground music website Back Again in the future which is focusing on - surprise? - record reviews of not only  fresh and recent stuff but also on albums released in the past, aiming to build up a broad and musically wide ranged database. New review links will be spread via baze.djunkiii's twitter .

baze.djunkiii presents PINK MINIMALISM [Intrauterin Recordings Anti-Art Series #1]

Just coming back from the Ameise pressing plant where I picked up part one of the new Intrauterin Recordings subsidiary it's now all about putting stamps to these beautiful pink and virgin blank 7" discs today and tomorrow. But despite the fact that there's no official release date to be announced yet as distribution details have to be sorted still a few early bird copies can be picked up yet via Hamburg's Otaku Records from later today.

Very few upfront promo copies will be floating around amongst selected press associates and our closest friends - don't ask for free copies if you're not on the list.

If you still haven't got an idea what the meaning of the PINK MINIMALISM concept might be just read the press & release info here.

BAZE.DJUNKIII presents PINK MINIMALISM

INTRAUTERIN RECORDINGS
ANTI-ART SERIES #1
LTD. EDITION OF 120
ENGRAVE YOURSELF.


After 7 long years of silence the Hamburg-based underground imprint INTRAUTERIN RECORDINGS unleashes its next record or better: an anti-record as the most might say, a plain statement for the  love of vinyl, a record that can't even be ripped or downloaded and still is made for collectors and lovers - limited to 120 hand-stamped copies worldwide.

So what's this fuzz about an anti-record about? A piece of vinyl that cannot be ripped? The answer is simple and obvious. There is no music. There's not even a groove to be found on this one. Just a plain and simply beautiful piece of virgin vinyl, prompting everyone - as the stamped B-side says - to "ENGRAVE YOURSELF." , an invitation to make a limited but still machine made piece a very unique and personal one, a request to make up ones mind and get ready for some experimentation.

This record does not intend to send out a big FUCK YOU to everyone working in the digital circuits of the music industry. This record is a gift to all free spirits out there.

No represses. Once run out this anti-record will be gone forever.
 

Notstandskomitee - FlatMade (Free Download)

One for the Deep Listening Electronics crew... get!

Auto.Matic.Mix [Schaf Records]

Forthcoming on the Augsburg-based label Schaf Records, associated with the club Schwarzes Schaf being a long term stronghold in the cities nightlife, is the full length DJ-mix CD named "Auto.Matic.Mix" celebrating the flow and biggest hits and beloved gems of the event series "auto.matic.music" taking place in that venue regularly for several years now. And unlike many party related mixes this one really aims to tell a story, starting out with an AmbientPop feel before the first danceable beats appear and the first highlight  demands attention which is  Robag Wruhme's extraordinary re-edit of Audisions "Yellow Sunset". From that point onwards the mix gains immediate momentum with epic TechHouse- and (Neo)Trance-related tunes by the likes of Antena, The MFA, Sascha Funke and the likes of serving trusted and proved material for peak time moments before peacefully closing down with Trentemöllers "Moan" reworked by Mikael Simpson, sending punters home safely after a fantastic ride through the night that is, as far as our information goes, turntable crafted and not digitally re-fixed which is a huge plus these days for DJ mixes. A sweet musical compagnon for blissful summer nights and defo a mix that's about to last for more than one season. Recommended.

This Is A Forecast.

baze.djunkiii presents Pink Minimalism.
Intrauterin Recordings Anti-Art Series #1.
Ltd. edition of 120 hand stamped 7" whitelabels.
Coloured vinyl. Green stamps.
Engrave yourself.

Out soon.

I'm Not A Band - Bandband [AdP Records]

Fresh on the circuit via AdP Records is "Bandband", the eleven track strong second album of the charmingly named band-outfit I'm Not A Band  pleasing their followers with a sweet mixture of SynthPop and Electro-driven IndiePop after the instrumental and synth-loaden opener "The Contest". Rocking the dancefloor with creaky basslines and positive 8-bit melodies with a bit of a lo-fi attitude bands like Bondage Fairies are coming to mind quickly as comrades in arms, working on a similar musical field although there's not much of anarchism to be found in I'm Not A Band compared to the mask-wearing double pack unless you'll refer to the unusual amalgamation of Disco glitz, heavy e-violins and Acid lines as breaking the rules unspoken of. But although there's sweet innocence and bitter love to be found here, play one of these tracks in your local Indie club or even youth centre and the kids will go bonkers as if ElectroClash never happened before. Plus: play "Woody" or the melancholia-driven "Shadow Gaps" on any day time radio station a few times and you'll quickle double or even triple the bands fan base immediately. Yes, this is Pop but we're not afraid of that. Climb the ladder, hit the charts. Full support.

NO MORE - Hypnotized (Official Video)

baze.djunkiii Charts 08/2012

01. Peaking Lights - 936 [Weird World Records]
Despite the fact that the Peaking Lights recently released their new album "Lucifer" which has been seen over all press coverage throughout the last months I just discovered them due to the fact that the folks at one of my favorite hangout spots named Die Gesellschaft played their 2011-released "936" several times while I was spending time there, having coffee and cake or my regular sundays breakfast. And "936" immediately caught my attention for serving a fine blend of sweet and innocent lo-fi, blurred Campfire Folk and classic Dub - a mixture that is not found in your record stores shelves on a regular basis and defo sth. special. Originally released via Not Not Fun the Weird World Records pressing is on heavy light yellow vinyl and, although a bit quiet in mastering, defo a piece to hunt down for sure not only for the massive hit that "Amazing And Wonderful" is. Must have.

02. AlunaGeorge [Triangle 014]
Quite a surprise on the usually WitchHouse associated Triangle-imprint that comes up with three sparse but still hyper-sweet pieces of Neo-/DigiSoul and Urban music on this 12" which are really touching my hurt heart with their innocent vocal attitude. Imagine Dillon on a R'n'B tip and you'll get quite close to this one. Truly adorable.

03. Skrillex vs Damian Marley - Make It Bun Dem [SKRILLEXBUNDEM 003]
What a banger. Usually I'm not the biggest fan of Skrillex and his Brostep sound if at all but this one, especially due to the massive stick-in-your-ear vocals served by Mr. Damian Marley, totally got me the balls as it's gonna set every floor on fire, no matter if dropped in a soundclash or at a very highfire moment in a Dubstep dance. Plus: the live mashup version of "Welcome To Jamrock" in its awful, recorded in front of the stage and mobile phone recorded sound quality makes me laugh everytime I put this record on - this can't be serious for no reason but has a novelty record bonus for sure... "Ladies!"

04. Da Grynch - Release The Hounds [Necessary Mayhem]
More quality Dub affairs have been found on the Necessary Mayhem-imprint these days which has been specialising in a mixture of classic Reggae and Dubstep and mashing up dances with their bass heavy output. With Da Grynch's first full length LP they're serving a bunch of seven high quality Roots Dub riddims that easily prove that a classical Dub approach is still of relevance although this genre has been around for 40+ years now. Check "Possessed Dub", "Ravers" or "Access Denied" and you will well agree with that. Timeless.

05. Hrdvsion - Prettier Than That / Midnight Operator - Dangerous Behaviour [Wagon Repair Limited 010]
It's quite a surprise to see that the Canadian Wagon Repair crew is embracing Future / Speed Garage with this beautiful white vinyl 12" pressing and serving a huge instant classic as they're starting from scratch in this musical field. This goes for Hrdvsions "Prettier Than That" that is built on a foundation of uptempo House, eerie strings, a deep as fuck sub, tense athmosphere and lively, cut-up R'n'B vocals that one's never about to forget after hearing this tune for the first time. People might call it House but it's more related to UK Bass Music than to classic House - not only due to its slightly gangster'ish vibe. Midnight Operator on the flip serves a fusion of Electro, BigBeat and NuSkoolBreaks likely to be loved by those who've been appreciating DJ Tocadisco's "Nobody Likes..." a few years ago - similar in style but no vocals involved here and going way deeper with a funky, ever moving bass line. A sweet tune for intimate and very late night sessions.

06. L.U.P.O. / Adriano Patane - Thirteen EP [Gigolo Records 291]
Actually I've been - although not actively - looking for a copy of L.U.P.O.'s 1990-released uber-hit "Hell Or Heaven" since I first heard it as a teen somewhen in the mid-90s and following my personal policy of "I don't find records but records find me" which goes for mostly all of them tunes and records sitting in my secret in mind wantlist I'm quite happy that Gigolo Records decided to re-release this all time ProtoHouse classic which is the main and only reason for me to purchase this 12" as I can't do much with the average TechHouse provided by Adriano Patane although his tune "En Memoria A Santiago" spreads a nice oldskool'ish latin flavour that accompanies L.U.P.O.'s massive tune well. And btw - did I ever unveal that I stopped having a real wantlist around the age of 16 coze it was already 3000+ strong back then?

07. Hackman & Bluto - What Matters [Deadplate 003]
Another uplifting gem that is crossing borders between House, SpeedGarage, Future Garage and UK Funky, embracing a wider audience than any of this single genres alone could and working crowds right no matter where and when hammered through a massive P.A. system. Both tunes are decent bangers in their own right although neither being too obvious nor using musical platitudes and it seems like the amalgamation of the best ingredients of every genre mentioned served in records like this is the dawn of a new era on todays dancefloors, reconciliating Breakbeat and bass heads and House / DeepHouse aficionados again which haven't shared dancefloors for a long time now.

08. Ender - Ohmu EP [Seahorse & Castle 003 Promo]
See review for details...

09. Jason Grove - Lost Cuts 3 [Wax Classic 005]
Little is known about the heritage of these four tracks although at least some information is found about the Detroit-born Jason Grove who's said to have started out DJ'ing in the 80s when the whole Techno / House thing started. But no matter if these tunes have remained unreleased and undiscovered for ages until today or if they're just emulating the ultra-loveable mid-90s style in House music on a perfect level - these four pieces are not to be missed by any House head around as they're spreading a 100% feel good, uplifting vibe that is missed badly in many of todays productions. Gem!

10. Stiff Little Spinners Volume 2 [Audiolith Promo]
The Hamburg-based Audiolith-camp unveals their second exploration in a new musical field with their next volume of the well-appreciated "Stiff Little Spinners"-series, once again built on a club-fitting 4/4 founndation but going deeper as ever with these six tracks provided by Krink, Kalipo, Gimmix & Julei, Rampue, Marseille & Mendoza as well as Torsun Teichgraber all together serving a fine blend of DeepHouse, SlowHouse and (Neo)Cosmic plus - this goes for Mr. Teichgrabers track only - a bit of the new Berlin humpa-craze induced by places like Bar 25 and the likes of. A quality menu of six sweet and well innocent tracks that's limited to 300 copies only - that's defo not enough 12"es floating around to please every potential lover of these tunes so just be quick and grab a copy off the shelves of your local dealer before they're gone forever. Favorite pick: Marseille & Mendoza's "Aviary" for its (Neo)Trance-attitude and epic vocal sample - goosebumps!

Blvck Lite - BVTT3RFLX STR0K3

Another sweet banger for all you free download collectors - somewhat in between UK Funky and Trance-induced AstralHouse. Get it.

Sascha Müller - III [Pharmacom Productions]

Another fresh and free downloadable album release from the jam-packed studio archives of Sascha Müller is "III" which again is released on his reactivated Pharmacom Productions imprint. As expected he explores more variations in Ambient and related music, e.g. Electronica and Deep Listening, this time again but is focusing on more accessible sounds with this 10 track piece. For example there are beautifully arranged free floating string-only tunes to be found here, serving a very calm athmosphere and so do hyperslow Ambient dubs as "Dreamlands" or "Broome" which seem to be recorded in under water spheres - one can even imagine tiny little fishes hovering through a subsurface studio, curiously inspecting knobs and machines before scurrying away within the fraction of a second. Vibewise very close to The Irristible Force's legendary works on Ninja Tune around 1998/1999 but minus the beats in the first five tracks of the album before surprisingly changing its mood in total and serving another four tracks of harsh, dry, circuit-bending electronic rhythms that are very Industrial sounding and well appealing to followers of Loser or Lassigue Bendthaus in his ultra heavy moments before closing the door with a twisted Ambient piece again. Interesting concept to split a digital album two ways like one could do on vinyl and I really hope that the listeners and fans are riding this bandwagon all the way through.

Sascha Müller & eVADE - Fd12se [SM Traxxx 2222]

Recently released via SM Traxxx is Sascha Müllers latest collaborational effort which once again sees him teaming up with eVADE, this time for an eleven tracks strong full length album mostly consisting of a minimalistic, but very tripped Acid approach with a hypnotic and surely spiralling touch of psychedelia. And it's this ever spiralling modulation that induces a kind of trancey feel within a many of them tracks but there's neither a snareroll nor any kind of ever building string construction to be found in them. Simply a bassdrum, some hi-hats and one - or more - 303 lines in full effect, sometimes a tiny sample in use but that's it all at all. Call it Minimal Acid or whatever name you're coming up with, just make sure to check this album out in time and think about how great THIS would sound in an illegal open air rave with all that neon glow decoration and fresh air around, replacing all that dumb-ass Goa / Psytrance music that's usually hammered through P.A. systems in these occasions. Music for all time tripsters. 

Acidfloor - Mondlandung [Psychocandies 004]

The next one to come on the relatively fresh Psychocandies-imprint is Acidfloors eight track album "Mondlandung" with all the track named "Mond" in numeric order from "Mond001" to "Mond008", keeping things plain and simple without coming up with a big concept. But those tracks weren't produced by Acidfloor if there wasn't one overall sound dominating the 40 minutes of playtime - the ever fresh sounding 303 and it's various clones, mostly raw and likely to be rarely processed on top of uptempo drumworks with a slightly distorted feel and partly accompanied with clattering percussions used to their very excess. Or high on speed as in the chased MonoAcid piece named "Mond004" that easily could've been taken from undiscovered archives of a label like Propulsion 285 or the thrilling AcidPhonk piece "Mond005" driving breakers mad with its twisted ElectroBreaks-attitude. This one hails from the very underground and will be loved by jocks regularly spinning at indepently organized and mostly illegal squatter parties far off the commercial nightlife industries. Nice.