"Then...

...she gets hit in the head with a piano and CLANG the worlds ended."

This really obscure vision of a sudden death appeared in an interview with the author Joseph Riippi that is to be found in issue 082 of Lodown Magazine which has been out on the streets for a few weeks now. To me this sentence appeared only today when I was riding the tube and it made me giggle.
Stepping out the door, getting hit "in the head" by a falling piano, be dead. The chance of this to happen must be 1 to a gazillion. Do things like this really happen?  

Sascha Müller - Musikalische Sciene Fiction Impressionen [Pharmacom Records]

After slowing down the tempo of his massive release schedule at least a bit compared to the last years Sascha Müller now offers a new glimpse on Ambient / CutUp culture with his newest outing on Pharmacom Records which is a 14+ minutes excursion into realms of deepest listening music floating and pulsating in an ever circulating loop accompanied by several samples taken off one or several unknown but still fascinating science fiction radio play pieces dealing with a future visit of human beings on Mars which might happen in a future not too far away. Defo recommended for late night consumption and limited to 14 copies worldwide.  Be quick and get hold of your copy... this one's gonna be a classic.

Only 4 U: The Sound Of Cajmere & Cajual Records 1992 - 2012 [Strut Records Promo]

Celebrating their 100th release with this one - congrats, btw! - the Strut Records staff once again prove their status as keepers of the past which preserve important parts of not only electronic music history from oblivion. As the name of this 22-tracks strong compilation suggests they're taking care of Curtis A. Jones' legacy, a man better known as Cajmere and, at least to Techno followers, as Green Velvet who has been on the forefront of Chicago-based House music for nearly 15 years before taking a longer time out from 2007 onwards. And still, most of todays older punters will remember getting off their head to the sparse and dry trademark Cajmere sound with its sharp, precise percussion work for more than one time only and especially CD1 is a showcase of how trademark this special vision of House really was, albeit some might bemoan a lack of variation here as some of the tunes are admittedly quite similar, circling around one blueprint and only differ obviously when it comes to Dajae's vocals which provided most of the lyrical work on Cajual. And this is an objection that truly can be granted in the long run as listening to an accumulation of unmixed Cajmere tracks totally differs from hearing one or two or three of his tunes hammered through a massive club P.A. in a jam-packed venue but this issue is linked to any retrospective anyway, especially when it comes to an artist-lead and -focused label. When it comes to CD2 there's a wider musical range to be found including G.U.'s thrilling Munich Disco vs. DeepHouse anthem "Beyond", Adam's complex rhythm layering "Moments In Time", Deep Sensation's ultra sexy GarageHouse workout "Get Together" vibing on a deep tip and other tunes that surely will be loved and appreciated by a bigger audience than the first CD weighing in which is for die-hard fans only. If you're a sucker for deepness and sex driven House music get this compilation for CD2, if you've missed out on many of Cajmere's tool'ish pieces CD1 will be your choice at all. You decide.        

baze.djunkiii For Hire

I've posted this headline via twitter a while ago and some of my followers thought I was joking but I'm defo not. As there are things to be sorted including plans for a full label relaunch of Intrauterin Recordings which I want to put out stuff more regularly in future times and regarding the fact that I've got some still unused time capacities I'm looking for freelance jobs of any kind but preferably in the field of writing and translations - German / English or vice versa.

Currently I'm working for several clients, providing release / artist / press infos for labels, short biographies for artists and working on transcripts and translations of film and audio material for DVD subtitles, making ofs etc..

So if you're an artist or label from non-German speaking territories feeling the need for an on point translation of your info to target the German market and cater your promo agency with top notch material feel free to get in touch.

Providing music related content, reviews or possibly short interviews for online and print publications might be another option as well as supporting labels / clubs offices part time in their daily business.

Any other opportunities are well welcome so if there's anything you can think of - hit me up or spread this post. Email is given on this website, I'm looking foward to see what's coming in.

Chromatics - Into The Black (Official Video)

Discovered this gem only today when I skipped through the vinyl version of the recent Chromatics album for reasons of curiosity. And it may well be that I'm gonna purchase that double album for this Neil Young-cover only. So much beauty in here.

FAC.DANCE 02 : Factory Records 12" Mixes & Rarities 1980 - 1987 [Strut Records Promo]

Factory Records. Manchester. A story that has been told a thousand times or more. So there's nothing new to unveal about this labels legendary status, its rare records, its influence on decades of dance music that followed and its iconic graphics. All said, all done before, all part of dance cultures oral history. But still: this label has a lot to offer these days as Strut Records' second take on the Factory Records history proves once again, collecting an unmixed bunch of 24 long gone and sought after tracks from the vast back catalogue on double CD format including works by A Certain Ration, X-O-Dus, Shark Vegas, Section 25, Minny Pops, Swamp Children, ESG, Ad Infinitum and many many others. Picking a single tune out would mean to diminish others but if I was forced to choose one from the pack as personal favorite it'd be Sir Horatio's "Sommadub" for its lo-fi Dub approach stretched out over more than 7 minutes at all. Or the uptempo melancholia of The Wake's "Host" for being complex and deep as fuck. But no matter what's your essential pick - the variety and attitude served by all Factory Records artists is still to be found echoing through clubs and venues of today and that's why one should not even dare to miss out on this one. For those who still don't understand: "FAC.DANCE 02" features blueprints of PostPunk, (No)Wave, Dub, SynthPop, Breakdance, Proto-HipHouse and of what was the original meaning of Rave music before Techno / House took over that term for good. Even the roots of West London Phuzion / Broken Beats are to be found here - just listen to Kalima's "Land Of Dreams" to find proof on this thesis. This is the music that influenced the parents of your favorite Indie band and still does not sound dated although the youngest tunes on this compilation have been released a good 25 years ago.  A lesson in history.

Rivera Rotation - Horsley Park [Lounge Records Promo]

Scheduled for release on October 26th via Lounge Records is "Horsley Park", the second full-length artist album of Pete Rivera a.k.a. Rivera Rotation - a long-term stallion well known and appreciated within Hamburgs club circuit and far beyond. With a DJ-career of  nearly two decades and a string of productions floating from 2000 onward under his belt some might wonder why this is only the second longplay effort of Rivera Rotation but some questions simply remain unsolved. What's clear and obvious instead is the fact that "Horsley Park" is, unlike a lot of other albums in these digital days, totally aware of the format, aware of the fact that a bunch of thirteen tracks can sum up to something that's bigger than it's single pieces, aware of the bigger picture to be provided. This knowledge comes from years over years spent in the biz and this is where connections and musical fellowship come from as well. That's why we see the UK-based JetTricks on production and recording duties here and musicians like Simon Grey and Tim Spohn taking part as well, both of them well known and respected amongst insiders for their work in Pop, club and underground circuits for musicians that don't need to be mentioned in detail, we all know them too well. But what to expect here musically? Naming DeepHouse, naming Electronic Funk, naming BrokenBeat, naming Funky Breaks, naming classic House and a few Balearic influences stylewise - all expertly mixed and melted, put in a well thought order to make your ass wiggle and your legs shake, no matter if at home or on the dancefloor, slowly building and ever growing like Pete Riveras DJ-sets, taking every heart not by storm but through the back door which is, especially when aiming at a preferably grown-up audience of experienced clubbers and music afficionados, a more sustained method that cannot be proved wrong. Although not released yet this one is made to easily stand the test of time for sure.     

A.J. Samuels On Future Streaming Platform Failures

"Imagine missing your daughter's goal because of a poorly placed VW commercial. Fahrvergnügen kaput. All parties lose."

A.J. Samuels and Steven Levy are discussing the future of live internet streaming / mobile streaming in issue 02/2012 of the Electronic Beats magazine. In this conversation entitled "The Grammar Of Live" A.J. Samuels states that randomly placed ads interrupting live streams might be massive spoilers as his quoted example proves. Reading this I was highly amused by the phrase "Fahrvergnügen kaput"  which is somehow referring to the post WWII expression "Hitler kaput" which was afaik used by russian soldiers to state that Hitler's Third Reich was finally defeated.

Peter Glaser On Internet History

"Ich kenne das Netz noch aus einer Zeit, als E-Mail-Adressen und Befehlseingaben aussahen, als habe man ein eingerolltes Gürteltier über die Tastatur gewälzt."

This sentence is an excerpt from Peter Glasers article "Onlinesein!" which is to be found in the recent "The Fall Fashion Issue" of Faces Magazine (09/2012).  Despite the fact I know exactly what this man talks about I think this simple but excellent phrase is so 100% on point plus so incredibly funny that I'm not able and not even willing to give a translation a try. It really made my yesterday when I was travelling to the Lower Saxonia countryside, more exactly to Ritsch, to visit a dear friend of mine. Biggin' up Peter Glaser for this one.

Flashing Back To 1993

Still busy putting up all my collection to discogs I discovered this youtube-piece showcasing a very early production of the longtime Drum'n'Bass / JumpUp godfather Aphrodite which was still experimenting with various styles in these early days. Put out as stamped white label only this one is sitting in my collection for ages and I've wondered for a long time if this beautiful HappyAmbient tune - or whatever you may call it - could be made by someone who's Drum'n'Bass productions have bored me to death in 98% of the times. Defo my favorite track on this 1993-released 12".

Dr. Walker On PINK MINIMALISM

Is it a review or an announcement? All my German readers check in here...

Monosolar - Buddy Music: Remixed By Friends [5000 Records]

One for the friends of deep Downtempo, TripHop and Balearic Listening is the latest album by the Hamburg-based Monosolar project, a massive conceptual remix approach released via 5000 Records , seeing at least eleven of their  back catalogue tracks re-worked by artists from the ever active hanseatic underground. Although there ain't no really well-known acts involved here - Redlounge Orchestra, Simon Slow, The Next, Mellowtron just to name a few - all of them serve on a on certain quality level, musically ranging from DubHouse attempts to decent TripHop, Dubstep / Jungle crossover, Terrace Ambient, Brazil, Easy - and sometimes a bit over-kitsched - Listening meets Bossa versions plus other, stylewise fitting variations. These will defo be appreciated by recent lovers and fans of the genre plus, obviously, by oldskoolers who've once, talking 1996 here, been stunned by the broad musical variety of legendary compilations like "Enter The Cyber Lounge" released via Jumpin' & Pumpin' in this long passed era. If you're one of these folks, you're well recommended to check out "Buddy Music" at your local record shop.

The XX - You Got the Love (feat. Florence Welch) (Live at Glastonbury 26-6-2010)

1+ million views for a reason. I've always loved the Jamie XX rework and played that single-sided 12" more than only once but seeing that piece live is giving me the goosebumps.

Bratze - Highlight [Audiolith Promo]

They're back. Norman Kolodziej and Kevin Hamann, also known as Der Tante Renate and Clickclickdecker as artists in their own right, recently unvealed "Highlight" which is the third full-length album of their collaborational project named Bratze. And although the bands name hasn't got a translateable meaning the sound of it in itself used to paint a proper picture of their former moshpit building ElectroPunk sound provided by their previous longplay works. But their approach has changed a bit these days - still powerful but leaning in Pop and Indie directions with hooks, vocals and sing-a-long parts, a more complex way of songwriting with a few surprising but always rocking twists and turns within single songs, even a proper ballad - "Die, Die Es Schon Wissen" - is to be found here, excursions in SynthPop and of course the MinimalWave uber-anthem "Strafplanet" is part of "Highlight" as well. The next step in the musical evolution of Bratze which will broaden their fanbase for sure as they're carving out their own, recognizable sound with this one - not only due to the fact that there are, apart from a rap part provided by Strizi Streuner of Frittenbude on "Insel", no further artist features on this longplay piece which makes it easier to embrace the new Bratze sound as a whole. Get. Fast.

And check out their tripped out videos accompanying "Highlight"...

Ira Atari - Dance In The Rain *Piano Version (Free Download)

Lovely. Ira Atari totally touches my  heart. Close to shedding a tear or two. 

Rodrigo Constanzo - Drums & Electronics Live

Great performance, nice sounds. I do miss concerts & shows like this in Hamburg. But rumours have it that he's about to play @ Liquid Sky / Berlin somewhen in early 2013, maybe there's a Hamburg-based promoter willing to hop on the train?

baze.djunkiii Charts 09/2012

01. baze.djunkiii presents PINK MINIMALISM [Intrauterin Recordings Anti-Art Series #1]
See here for details...

02. Dub Phizix & Skeptical featuring T-Man & Sparkz - Run It Like The President / Half Man [Samurai Music 018] 
A new genre? Check. Drum'n'Bass tempo but on a half time vibe? Check. Stuttering rhythm structures? Check. Abstraction? Check. Grime MC's? Check. Innovation? Check again. Name it: Drum'n'Grime. One of these records waving the flag of something that's to be massive in the future, but are kinda underrated in the days of now due to their pioneering vibe. No matter what, this one already is a classic and if the dancefloor crowd doesn't get it straight away just rewind the plate 'coze people gotta learn. 23rd century gangsta shit - huge!

03. Wymond Miles - Under The Pale Moon [Sacred Bones Records 080]
Like quite a few records I discovered Wymond Miles' debut LP "Under The Pale Moon" while hanging out at Die Gesellschaft in Hamburg, one of my favorite spots these days, and was immediately captivated by the dark'ish, longing undertone of his nebulized PostWave / PostIndie sound that's soaked with lost love and a kind of campfire romanticism totally fitting to my state of the heart these days, having lost all that meant a thing to me emotionally and fighting hard to build that up again although it seems impossible. A perfect album for a dark fall to come and one that'll never grow old. Plus: a good compagnon for a vienna style breakfast on sunday mornings.

04. DRS - Holding On / Count To Ten [Soul:R 055]
MC DRS is totally right with the title of his recent album 'coze "I Don't Usually Like MC's But..." this 12" taken off that longplay piece is massive - this goes especially for "Count To Ten" featuring Enei on production duties serving a tense, stripped down two stepping monster with a thrilling, prime time flow that proves reasons why Drum'n'Bass once was described as long dark tunnel music whilst "Hold On" is vocally big but a bit too sweet and streamlined for me, pretty close to the feel and vibe of The Street's "Weak Become Heroes" but transferred into Drum'n'Bass including loads of melancholia and lonely piano licks.

05. Arthur Boto Conley's Music Workshop presents Clifford Trunk [Travel By Goods 004 Promo]
See review for details...

06. Reptile Youth - Reptile Youth [HFN Music Promo]
It's the long awaited debut album of the Danish stage wizzards named Reptile Youth which have taken the world by storm twice even before they've released their very first single. A more detailed review I've written on this one can be found on the German Back Again website but if you're heart is beating for Indie anthems, ElectroPunk bangers and Wave / (No)Wave / PostPunk-influences with a fix of Pop you're defo likely to be in love with this one within shortest of time.

07. Steve Bug - Noir [Poker Flat Recordings Promo] 
See review for details...

08. Flavio Diners - Lo-Fi Soul Food [Palham Music Promo]
Collectors item that I already reviewed in detail in this months issue of German FAZE Magazine - limited to 198 copies, 10" format and a sweet silk screen cover artwork. Musically somewhere in between the very early days of Steve Bug's Dessous Recordings and the recent SlowHouse movement, also to be loved by those following labels like Fire Cracker or the West London Broken Beat / Phusion scene. Lovers beats. Deep House at its best.

09. Sascha Müller - Untitled [Psychocandies Promo]
See review for details...

10. Kid Machine - Replicants EP [Viewlexx 023]
Like ItaloDisco? Then this is your release of the month. Kid Machine copycats the original ItaloDisco sound one on one but leaves the hyper cheesy vocal stuff alone, adds a bit of the epic melodic overdose that's more than well known from huge hits once crafted by the legendary Hypnosis plus a raw unprocessed overall feel that makes true ItaloDisoc connaisseurs happy. I'd love to hear that one in a club environment some day. 

Clara Bow - Time Traveller (Free Download)

Hamburgs finest Clara Bow are giving away their song "Time Traveller" for free which is taken of their recent deubt album named "Not Now". Me likey.