Ambient / NeoClassical Short Mix

Ambient / NeoClassical Short Mix by Bazedjunkiii on Mixcloud

Questions To: Jack Acid

As Mr. James Hawley, founder of the Pirate Audio Soundsystem, Spiral Tribe-member and co-founder of 69db is about to release his new longplay assault "Dead Tube Dead Kore" via DJungle Fever Berlin pretty soon we've been bothering him with some questions on his latest musical outing and his general view on his favorite style - Acid.

Warning: If you're suffering from epilepsy or any other kind of mental illness please do not watch this video. Also keep away from children.

As not only a few new generations of ravers, partygoers and acidheads grew up since you've been doing your first steps on the circuit please give our readers a brief introduction on who you are and you got involved wih the electronic music scene and – of course - especially Acid?
 
My introduction to electronic music was during the acid house movement in the late 80's, I was lucky enough to be in a moment in time when several sub cultures sort of co-existed together at once, Industrial, techno, electro/bass, and punk.... all of which was exploding when I was in my most impressionable years. This also why my sound has always been more raw and aggressive and not easy to fit into a specific genre. Being a punk promoter and band member, I just naturally gravitated towards the diy asthetic of the early dance scene. As my band started to lose members, we eventually embraced cheap drum machines and synths to replace them and that steered us into a more electronic sound. As avid music collectors, we were also fans of different genres of underground music, so this allowed us to be open minded and explore various cross pollination of genres, and lead several of us to become djs by default (having huge record collections).
My first memory of really "feeling" acid tech was at a small illegal afterhours club in a dodgy warehouse area of town, i was 16 and walked into this event and it was pure acid, no vocal pop style acid, just stripped drums and bassline squelches and the whole vibe just sort of clicked in me... it was like the missing link in my head and suddenly I connected all these dots and realized this was what I wanted to be a part of. From there I just sort of focused on doing psychedelic music and events using my punk diy experiences wich helped me and my friends develope our own version of soundsystem culture.

Although your first record was released back in 1994 which is nearly 20 years ago now it seems like there are pretty big time gaps between your releases which are popping up only occasionally. Is this due to your recording process or are there other reasons for this. If yes, which?

A variety of reasons, one being that from 93-95 I had 3 eps and a full length cd locked in the vault of a record label scheduled to be released, but the label folded and went out of business before they could do anything. During that time I didnt bother looking for anyone to release my music because I felt secure with the people handling my music. After that , I had 2 other projects slated to be released on both Pulsar Records from Detroit and Electronic Music Foundation, both of those labels folded right befor they were to release my 12"s as well, so from 94-96 I just had a bad luck, and the sound of America was changing as well. It became harder to find labels interested in experimental dance music and the focus was on much more cookie cutter dance tracks, labels like Moonshine were getting bigger and the cool labels like emf and pulsar were going under. As far as vinyl was concerned, my releases seem like once every 2 years until lately. I felt very discouraged with the process of making demo tapes and sending them to labels after all that and became more interested in doing cassette releases of livesets instead of records. Up until last 4 years, I averaged one 12" release every 2 years and felt comfortable with it. After the Network 23 release, I felt that my releases should be on the cream of labels or no labels at all, so I just wait for them to come to me, I figure if someone really likes what I make, they will find me and ask for it, and so far its working. The last few years the output has increased. As for digital releases, I have had many on my collectives net label, I just never bothered to push them as hard as 12"s. It wasnt until recently that I fully embraced the digital realm of dj music. Also have to consider that I am a filmmaker and that absorbs alot of my time. So, I think quality is much better than quantity :)
Process plays a role too, I will spend several months working on perfecting rhythms and sounds in my livesets, sometimes I have stuff that sits for a year or two, sequences just waiting for the proper parts to be created, before I feel like they are ready to be put in a final single composition. Other times I may spend half a year modifying some piece of gear befor I use it as well.

Talking your most recent release „Dead Tube Dead Kore“ which caters are pretty ferine, ruff and untamed view on Acid that's hardly to be found in todays club scene focusing on the deeper, housier side of electronic music in general – what is the most addictive thing about this specific variation of electronic dance music that could be filed under the flag of Hard- or MonoAcid? Or, to cut it short – what keeps you Acid?

For me, this is what keeps the other sounds alive, the deep housier club sounds exist only because it originates from the purer, untamed raw sounds like what I produce, then becomes filtered and tamed by other producers til it becomes the club sound. I prefer the dark end of the world sound, its what I want to hear and dance to in the deserted warehouses, the junkyards, empty abandoned lots, the outlaw renegade environments.... but I have been known to release a club/house vibe every now and then.... I feel like the perfect evening at an event is built up with many styles/genres/tempos, my sound being one of them. I stay with acid and psychedelic because its unpredictable, its edgy and feels more like music instead of fast food...
Acid is the sound of a morphing, evolving sound, it may be a repetive rhythm, but the tone changes, and that is something traditional instruments do not do, the closest is a wah pedal on a bass guitar. This what drew me to the sound of acid, the filtering and wiggleing of the sound, the constant change of the tone thoughout the tune... this is addictive to me.

One for the techies and trainspotters out there – what gear was involved in producing „Dead Tube Dead Kore“ both on the analogue and digital side of things?

This project was created with modified hardware in my studio, the Pirate Room. Majority of the synth lines were from a Paia Fatman mono synth that was modified by Tandy Jones and a huge list of circuit bent equipment and fx processors I mangled, I do not own much stock gear, nearly everything is bent and modified in some fashion. After recording from the hardware, the tracks were put together in the computer using audacity and several other programs. I am not a purist with any one type of creating, whatever seems to work, I use...but everything starts in the studio with my hardware. This e.p. was created specifically for DJungle, so I went about the creating process with the label in mind from the very beginning, trying create something that I felt represented the label. Some of the gear used was specifically built just for the e.p.... like for Weather Crash, I circuit bent a toy that originally played prerecorded voices of a weather man giving a weather report but after i modified it, it made nasty synth sounds and also was an fx unit.

„Dead Tube Dead Kore“ is released via DJungle Fever which is – alongside Dr. Walkers other now partly defunct label offsprings – one of the longest running providers of Acid related music in Germany. Do you remember when your paths crossed for the first time back in the days and how the idea for a Jack Acid release on one of his imprints evolved?

I have been a big fan of Air Liquide for a long time, specifically, the first night I was introduced to their music was while I was recording my first album, I was in S.F. C.a. at the time recording in the Visible Records studio and we took a break to go eat, while driving into the city at 2 am , my friend and co-owner of the label , Jeff, asked if I heard of Air Liquide and put a cd in the stereo, I remember him turning it up full volume as we drove through the fog into the MacArther tunnel at high speed, very memorial moment, was so intense and alien. Have been a huge fan of Air Liquide ever since.
As for when did I meet Dr. Walker, we have yet to meet face to face, it was only last year on line that we were introduced through a mutual friend. Oddly, I didnt know all his aliases and when I discovered who all he had been recording as, found alot of them were some of my favorite 12"s in my record bag ....After many online chats, the idea for the release and future audio assaults took place.
One interesting thing though, I actually visited the Liquid Sky store in New York in 1996 while travelling the U.S. throwing free parties and was impressed with the Temple records store down in the basement, but never met Walker or Khan. I speculate the we are blood brothers from another dimension or planet....perhaps we both were part of Captain Cook's crew or sailed on Blackbeard's ship ...

What is the name „Dead Tube Dead Kore“ all about?

A lot of the tracks were processed using a modified tube pedal that had died and been brought back to life multiple times, so it was a combination of my friend Affie Yusuf suggesting the title "Dead Kore" and "Dead Tube" was from a piece of gear I kept bringing back to life repeatedly... it was a DOD Even Harmonic Overdrive fx100 Integrated Tube pedal that I added several new circuit bends to.

A final one – what is your personal view on todays Acid scene, where are the hot spots for this sound and how does Acid feel today, especially compared to the early days of your career? 

I think acid has shown that, unlike alot of the sub genres of dance music, it will never go away or die, it just lurks in the underground waiting to eat you alive. It came on strong in the 80's then took a back seat to the hoover sound of the 90's, but always stayed relevant and constant. My favorite time period was in the mid 90's, seems like the best of most creative uses of the sound were from 94-96, and I think it is come full circle to that moment again. Since that moment, there have become many more genres of club music, most of which are solely based on drum variations, and now that those genres seem to be stagnating, it gives the acid sound an opportunity to use those new drum rhythms along with the acid bassline sound... Acid was never a drum genre, but a bass/synth sound and feeling. So us acid creators now can harness the new beats and run with it. I think the vibe for acid has always been for the more discriminating music lover after its first wave in the 80's, It seems to appeal to the people looking for something different than the flavor of the month, so every time there is a new wave or bubble of dance music, the sound is always found by the ones who feel empty with whatever the new trend is. Right now, I feel like it is being embraced again by the consumers of dance culture, which is exciting and frightening at the same time. Though there are thousands of soft synth tb clones available, I believe this has always been a hands on style of music and there are hundreds of cheap hardware tb clones available today, which is creating a new breed of acid producers. Its a good time to be into acid.
The hot spots for acid are wherever there is a dirty warehouse or basement, fog, strobelights and a soundsystem.

Boris Dlugosch - Knalldrang [Poker Flat Recordings 134]

Admittedly it was quite a surprise getting the news that Hamburgs House-pioneering Boris Dlugosch is about to release a 12" via Poker Flat Recordings these days as - although there is a connection established through the vibe of early ChicagoHouse that's obvious in a lot of Steve Bug productions which is the labels mastermind, a sound that Boris Dlugosch used to spin at the legendary Front club in Hamburg - both of them seemed to work and exist in two parallel worlds for long times, worlds that didn't intersect much due to rules unspoken but somehow being common knowledge. But now the time for a crossover has come and the result is a good one. Despite trying to cater crowds with a typical Poker Flat-styled record Mr. Dlugosch reminisces of the ecstatic AcidHouse days with a stomping plastic beat, cowbell attacks and ever modulating sawtooth basslines on "Knalldrang" that pay homage to classic tracks like Stephan Novak's "Ibiza" under his Amnesia-moniker whilst "Sweet Talks" hypes High-NRG House lovers with its short cut snippets, flickering breakdowns and an overall attitude of uplifting Disco vibes - a true primetime piece that even manages to introduce a quantum of Acid bleeps to posh diva'esque vocals. On the flip Show-B is at the controls for a rework of "Knalldrang" which is a full-on deconstruction of the original version, building what could be referred to as a new and independent track from the microacoustic fragments relying only on the manipulated vocal sample featured on "Knalldrang" and its trademark claps, transferring the whole thing into a deep, partly dubby affair with swinging offbeat chords and a laid back vibe. That's what I call a proper rework - me likey.      

Langenberg - The Finisher [Dessous Recordings 112 Testpress]

Recently released via Dessous Recordings is Max Heesens latest outing under his Langenberg-moniker, a three track 12" that's available as limited vinyl issue these days. Although we're not able to unveal any track names here as our promo copy is a rare whitelabel test press we're keen to stress that, focusing on audible information only, Langenbergs release is way more than a solid closing on Dessous' 2012 12" circuit as it still features his immanent dubby influences but sees him emphasizing on the DeepHouse aspects of electronic dance music more than on his previous releases. Whilst the long A-side even carves out a repetitive but still driving piano line, B1 comes along as a thud, saturated, stripped down roller with a dubbed out feel, intimate chords and a well-memorable male vocal sample ("You know anything can happen") that's about to work late night floors to the ecstatic max. Closing things with B2 Langenberg finally embraces the warm depth of a classic lovers tune, caters secutive piano chords as well as slightly uplifting stabs, loosely connecting musically those late 90s days when Dessous Recordings was established - but don't get this wrong, there's nothing dated or frumpy about this tune, more a kind of timeless vibe that simply feels good and well familiar.   

Young Fathers - Tape One [Anticon. 132 Promo]

Scheduled for February 15th is the first Anticon.-released album of the Edinburgh-based HipHop-triplet named Young Fathers which are squeezing a whole lot of eight tracks into their only 20 minutes long "Tape One" which stretches the extended borders of HipHop even further and provides a seductive fusion that's to be filed under the flag of ElectroRap but includes traditional African chants and drum rhythms as well as anthemic hooks borrowed from IndieRock. Saying that one cannot unhear a tense Grime-related feel in a tune like "Rumbling", the heavily sampling / collage based aesthetics embossed by the Beastie Boys or influences from Reggaes soundsystem culture and way more but still Young Fathers manage to serve a quite coherent album with "Tape One", proving that proper HipHop is still around somewhere. If you've loved Two Fingers' Big Dada debut single "What You Know" featuring Sway on vocal duties back in 2009 and still refer to it as the best Two Fingers release ever you'll be gladly adding "Tape One"  to your collection as well. Recommended.

baze.djunkiii Charts 12/2012

01. Fraktus - Millenium Edition [Staatsakt]
Without any doubt Fraktus are one of the most fascinating pop phenomenons of today. Made up heroes that never existed for real but still are idolized by the likes of Westbam, Marusha, Scooter and even Yello in a cinematic mockumentary and it won't be long until they'll be hailed as urban legends and oldschool heroes by generations too young to know what really happened throughout the late 70s / early 80s musically, a period that's perfectly emulated on "Millenium Edition". For fans of German New - , Synth- and Minimal Wave, the grey concrete walls of the 80s Berlin as well as proper Dadaism when it comes to lines like "Lady Godiva, dein Pferd ist müde." or "Fang den Fuchs. Da ist der Fuchs." Essential.

02. The Bug - Ganja Baby / Diss Mi Army [Acid Ragga 002]
Kevin Martin recently launched his own Acid Ragga-imprint in cooperation with Ninja Tune and this is the second shot, a thrilling yellow vinyl 7" piece on the borderline of Dance- and Speedhall with vocals served by Miss Red and Daddy Freddy. Heavy, compressed electronic riddims for the hardcore-loving yardies and everyone else on the floor.

03. Tiger Fingers - Little Drummer Girl [Hafendisko 004 Promo]
See review for details...

04. Martin Landsky - 1000 Miles *The Remixes [Poker Flat Classics 002 Promo]
See review for details...

05. Black Gold 12" [Tru Thoughts 247P]
Tru Thoughts are hitting dancefloors hard with this three track various artists 12" that's to be regarded as one of the essential releases on the circuit these days. Sleepin' Giantz and The Colonel & MC DRS are exploring musical realms in between Broken House, UK Funky and Future Garage with well pumping vocal tunes that will be loved by everyone plus all of them Grime and Sublow headz out there as well whilst Cottam fuses latines'que House with ever building layers of sound and deep, modulating basslines influenced by the UK Bass scene.

06. Pixelord - Supaplex EP [Civil Music]
The Russia-based Alexey Devyanin a.k.a. Pixelord caters a sweet four tracker with this one, focusing on a ravey view on the recent Footwork / Electro sound that's reworked with a special twist here. Especially "Been Lookin" is a remarkable anthem built of hyperspeed beats, warm but still techy tones, 8bit bleeps, sweet vocals and an overwhelmingly warm bassline whilst "Freeze The Star" on A2 is more of a sci-fi gangster tune. "Paperball" on B1 fuses haunting athmospheres with a dancefloor smashing Dubstep / Juke hybrid built around layered, vary-speed vocal snippets and the closing tune "Vibrate" finally deals with a 4/4 sub skeleton accompanied by clattering beats and tense overall feel. Get.

07. Alex Cortex - Live At Monox [MNX]
Whenever it comes to Alex Cortex it seems like his live recordings are most appealing to me and this is what goes for this limited to 300 piece as well serving stripped down, distinct and puristic live Techno visions similar to the cristalline feel of early Sleeparchive releases - especially talking the A side here whilst the two flip outtakes turn out as raw mindbending Techno and reduced but functional Acid. All three tunes to be found on this one are taken from a show played at Soundhaus / Glasgow, released as 12" that comes as stamped white label with a printed plastic foil inlay.

08. Grossstadtlichter *Kinky Lovers Edit [Creme Jak 014]
This one's nothing but a banger bootlegging / editing Juliane Werdings song "Grossstadtlichter" in a uber-ecstatitc, ambitious DiscoHouse manner. Kinda reminds me of the amped energy provided by FrenchHouse ambassadors like Thomas Bangalter, Alan Braxe or labels like Roule or Crydamoure combined with Julianes seductive but despairing voice.

09. Morphy & The Untouchables / Flatliners [45Seven 001]
Morphy & The Untouchables "Tread This Land" is a dark'ish and tense Dubstep workout with an ancient, tribal MythStep-related feel that will be appreciated by fans of Shackletons Skull Disco imprint for sure whilst Flatliners are flirting with classic Dub vibes on "Raw Fi Dub". Recommended.

10. Steve Bug & Mr. V - The Long Run [Dessous Recordings 111 Promo]
See review for details...

Wilhelm Schmid On Optimism

brandeins: "Stößt der lebensbejahende Optimismus Ihrer Bücher angesichts der Erfahrung mit Schwerkranken nicht an seine Grenzen?"

Schmid: "Die Frage ist, auf welcher Grundlage ich lebensbejahend und optimistisch bn - zwanghaft nichts zulassend oder im Wissen, dass das nur eine Option ist. Und eine andere, absolut legitime Option ist lebensverneinender Pessimismus. Ich konnte immer gut mit Menschen in einer verzweifelten Lage sprechen, wenn ich ihre Lage grundsätzlich anerkannt habe. Auch Verzweiflung bis zum Wunsch, nicht mehr zu leben, ist eine Möglichkeit. Es gibt keinen moralischen Zwang, das Leben zu bejahen. Es gibt gute Gründe, es zu verneinen."

This excerpt ist taken from an interview with Arnold Retzer and Wilhlm Schmid discussing happyness in the recent December issue of German Brand Eins magazine and this answer is quite remarkable as quite a lot of people will not agree with the right of denying ones own life under special circumstances. 

Jana Rush - iMPC Beat (Free Download)

Sweet and sexy - a true lovers tune.

Sin Fang - Flowers [Morr Music 120 Promo]

Scheduled for February 2013 via Morr Music is "Flowers", the third and forthcoming album of Sin Fang which is the side project of Seabear-founding Sindri Már Sigfússon hailing straight from the cold shores of Iceland. But despite his origin Mr. Sigfússons musical solovisions are not gelid at all but spreading warm, embracing vibes of brumous Psychedelia touched by Pop and an IndieFolk-feel built on a firm foundation of blurry guitars, multilayered strings, electronic sounds and formidable rhythm structures for advanced dancefloors - "See Ribs"! - as well as extended home consumption on repeat not only for great lines like "I want to pray for the little animal..." to be found in "Feel See". Defo one of the first albums in 2013 one has to put on one's personal watch- and wantlist right now.
 
For all those being curious - Sin Fangs most anthemic and nothing but catchy song "Young Boys" is available as teaser download now.

How Not To: German Sex Rap

As you might know I've got a heart for the weird and lyrically obscure but this might be the worst and numbest piece of German Sex Rap I ever came across. Although I'm laughing my head off everytime it's on.

Brume - 7 Trumpets [Voluntary Whores 002 Promo]

Coming up next via the fresh Voluntary Whores imprint is Brumes new and limited to a small run of 60 copies tape album "7 Trumpets", a piece surely to be loved by all those digging deeply into the realms of Dark and Cold Ambient as well as Tense Apocalyptic Listening as this hour long tape release is dealing with the concept of a forthcoming apocalypse including a lot of cataclysms like asteroids falling down the sky and - which is the most funny aspect mentioned in the artwork - satan on show pretending to be Jesus. All of this is fit into a musical scaffolding built of pure sound experiments as well as Musique Concrete-related parts, field recorded voices. deep but threatening drones and abandoned, metallic screeching here and there. Is this what the world sounds like after darkness succeeded?

Notstandskomitee - Datenverarbeitung (Free Download)

Another great electronic piece by Mr. Malte Steiner a.k.a. Notstandskomitee which has been remixed by baze.djunkiii & Homebass under their Intrauterin Alliance moniker back in 2002.

Horses On Monday - Hair And Bone

That's a sweet one.

Dorit Chrysler - Avalanche [In My Room 009 Promo]

Out since November 19^th is the recent four track EP of the Danish musician, composer and theremin goddess Dorit Chrysler which has been put on the circuit via Anders Trentemøllers very own In My Room imprint. Four tracks are to be found on this one, fusing dark'ish PostWave with a lost and lonely desert feel, Cosmic-induced synth and theremin work as well as various shades of electronic modernisms ranging from tense, gloomy Poststep to longing 4/4 workouts and – this goes for „Winter Ballads“ only - smoky ballads that, for some surely puzzling and illogical reasons, kinda bring a 2012 version of the legendary Marlene Dietrich to mind which might have not been the focus of Dorit Chrysler and Mr. Trentemøller which not only signed these tracks to his imprint but also took care of the whole production process studiowise. A fact one cannot unhear on this one although „Avalanche“ differs from his efforts as solo producer.

The Awkward Moment When...

...you open your soundcloud and seeing a hate-induced comment on a track that you've been producing like about a decade - sic !!! - ago and weird messages blocking your inbox just because you've been writing a negative review on a 12" in a magazine. This turns even more awkward as this artist is not a fresh face on the scene but has been around for a while and - according to his soundcloud - has been doing remixes for the likes of George Morel, Andreas Krämer, Arkus P and others and has been playing regularly in clubs like U60311 or Tresor.

I don't get this at all  - if you're working music as a professional and someone does not like your music at all there are way more professional ways to deal with it than posting daft things on the internet.

Recommended Show: 12.12.2012 Reptile Youth @ Uebel & Gefährlich / Hamburg

No more words necessary. Even if you've never heard of Reptile Youth before go and see them at Hamburgs Uebel & Gefährlich. No excuses to miss other than your own death.