Sticker Love & World Domination: Cambrils / Spain

The most recent sticker announcing baze.djunkiii's twitter, taken all the way down to Cambrils / Spain by Marla. More to come soon...

Gubot - Liter 2

We all know that the interwebs are full of really, really strange things but this is for some reasons one of the weirdest and scariest videos I've ever seen. NSFW and not safe for minors. Put on your headphones for maximum freak out effect.

Trentemøller - Lost [In My Room Promo]

Lined up for release in late September is Anders Trentemøller's new and third album named "Lost" which sees him stepping even further away from the electronic club music culture than every other of his records before, totally dissociating himself from these realms and steadily evolving into... what?  To file Trentemøller's recent sound under a well fitting flag isn't that simple - there's the lonesome producer spending days and weeks and months in his studio, writing moody, sometimes desparate, always atmospheric and defo not non-electronic pieces with a well-recognizable twist which are graced by vocalists like Low, Jana Hunter of Lower Dens, long time compagnon Marie Fisker and others providing a wide range from intimate PostPunk / PostWave to proper Indie, or - on the other hand - working out impressive instrumental Wave / Goth Rock cuts reminiscing of acts like Altered States or Sisters Of Mercy with their mandatory use of dark'ish bass and eerie sounds like the uber-heavy "Still On Fire" or alienated, Desert Rock-related scenarios of 7+ minutes runtime like the oil and sweat dripping "Trails" - a tune that totally mutates and takes off in a direction unthought of after two thirds of raw uncut guitar abuse. Not to mention the close to ritual, gamelan'esque, damp and feverish tranquility of "Morphine". Then there's the full on Trentemøller live band touring Europe and the globe recently, amazing fans and followers with a stage-fitting transformation of the album tracks once again underpinned by well thought of visual effects and stage decor, wowing the masses with a spectacular combination of sound and lights. Keeping all this in mind Mr. Anders Trentemøller can be identified as maybe the only living chimera able to flawlessly fuse the club producers attitude with its countless studio hours, a cineastic understanding of sound and athmospheres and a proper Indie Rock approach within one single mind - an attitude maybe best shown in the electronically backed, hyper-fragile ballad  "Come Undone" featuring the tender vocals of Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino which is a blueprint of touching deepness and maybe the most emotionally thrilling track to be found on "Lost" - an album that's surely second to none in its overall vision and attitude.

06.09.2013 DDT Berlin & Liquid Sky Berlin present: ERNSTE SPÄTFOLGEN! JETZT NOCH FRÜHER! @ Mauersegler / Berlin

line up:
Datis 5L [Liquid Sky Berlin]
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings,  Hamburg / Psychedelic Kitchen]
Omsk Information vs Dr Walker [Liquid Sky Berlin]
Stefan Turnschuh [Moorgeister]
ADSX aka Audiosex [Liquid Sky Berlin / Telepathic.Berlin]
Elec Ice [Blim Records, Paris / Liquid Sky Berlin]
Marc Itchy

Mauersegler
Bernauer Straße 63
13355 Berlin
Germany 

Check in via Resident Advisor....

Petar Dundov - Sailing Off The Grid [Music Man Promo]

Forthcoming via the legendary Belgian Music Man Records is Petar Dundov's third full length album named "Sailing Off The Grid" - an eight track piece that is to be referred to as - although more dancefloor and beat driven than it's predecessors Mr. Dundov's most synth- and balearia-flavored longplay piece in his career. Especially tunes like "Moving" refer to terrace sunsets with its sweet synth hook and balearic but never cheesy use of guitar pickings whilst "Spheres" fuses slow Rock drums with an epic (Neo)Cosmic feel and same does - if you take away the Rock elements and replace them with AmbientTrance - the 10 minute piece named "White Spring". Seen in total which is the only way that "Sailing Off The Grid" works best this album is a straight and reasonable step forward in the musical path that Petar Dundov chose to explore a few years ago - Techno still, but focusing on its warm and floating, nearly embracing offsprings for ChillOut floors and armchair consumption. Nice.

Out now >> Trennlinie Zwischen Gesten #2

Trennline Zwischen Gesten #2

Issue #2 of the Munich-based DIY- / dada- / art- & fanzine Trennlinie Zwischen Gesten has been put on the circuit just a few days ago as a limited print run of 50 copies worldwide including a very special tape recording of Elias Goldmann. It's the first issue baze.djunkiii has been contributing to as well - you'll find some really bad ass, hardcore hating record reviews and a bit of lyrical work, too, which means a formerly unreleased Untitled Fragment written back in 2007 - now available to the worlds readers for the first time. Or well, at least to 50 of them.

Issue #2 is again distributed via irregular channels and will be available via Shhhhop soon...

Sascha Müller [Super 6 Extra 011]

Sascha Müller needs no further introduction to the readers of these pages. One of the most productive german sound wizzards, undeniable master of Acid and defender of analogue, oldskool production standards starts this untitled album with a bunch of four tracks dedicated to the trippy, modulating sound of the DR-55 vintage synth before branching out into bass heavy, acidic Slowtronica, classic killer Techno with a hectic, Jeff Mill-related twist - "Indigo" -, straight minimalistic TechnoPhonk that has been badly missed since Cisco Ferreira a.k.a. The Advent left that path years ago - "Calypso Boogie" -, dry BrokenTechno excursions for very advanced primetime floors, twisted and swampy Acid-/ Electro-hybrids  or funky, stripped down House tunes with warm organic bass lines. Good stuff in here, get.

baze.djunkiii & Sascha Müller teaming up @ Landungsbrücken / Hamburg

Sticker Love & World Domination: Sitges / Spain

Sitges / Spain

Representin' straight at the beach. Sent in via Marla - big up!

Classic Jams [Poker Flat Recordings Promo]

Set for release in September via Steve Bug's Poker Flat Recordings is the labels "Classic Jams" compilation which is about to gather a bunch of twelve oldskool House and Techno classics from the late 80s and early 90s which were not only essential for shaping the musical evolution of label head Steve Bug but also the club scene as a whole with their trademark sound and surely recognizable energy still working dancefloors today despite their sound aesthetics and productions are a lot different from todays standards, breathing raw, unfiltered and -processed energy instead of being polished to the max. Two of these tracks featured are even re-edited by Mr. Bug himself who caters previously unheard versions but it's still the original cuts of Transcendence' "Magique Noir" and low frequency driven ProtoBreakbeat of Springboard's "Make Some Noise (Noisy Mix)" that do rock most alongside great underground club classics as there are Swing City's "Make You Mine", Nick Holder's alltime favorite "Erotic Illusion", VDT's "It's Just A Dream (Alptraum Mix)", Fingers Inc. "Never No More Lonely" and many others. Essential thang - also available as nine track 2x12" vinyl.

Spieltrieb [BSR 012]

Ohne weitergehende Informationen oder Cover dreht die neue Spieltrieb-12“ ihre Runden auf dem Plattenteller des Rezensenten und pumpt sich vermittels insgesamt vier Tracks angenehm unaufgeregt durch die Zwischenwelt von Deep- und TechHouse. Dabei gewinnt sie dem genannten Genrespektrum zwar keine neuen Erkenntnisse ab, sorgt aber nichtsdestotrotz für ein langsames Eingrooven und zart zuckende Hüften beim früh feiernden Clubvolk. Solide

6 Points (of 10)

The next previously unpublished review originally written by baze.djunkiii for FAZE Magazine , published here to prevent it from being lost forever.

Fede Zerdan - U 41 A EP [Ourvision Recordings]

Mit Fede Zerdan's eher kryptisch betitelter EP beschert das in Schweden beheimatete Label Ourvision Recordings allen Liebhabern melodischerer – wenn nicht gar terrassentauglich balearischer – Houseklänge drei Tracks für den Sommer, die zwar mit angezogener Handbremse vor sich hin plätschern, dafür aber nicht mit sanften Synthlines, plinkernden Pianos und warm groovenden Basslinien geizen, die zum verliebten Händchenhalten in der Strandbar der Wahl animieren. Solide
7 Points (of 10)

Another lost and previously unpublished review originally written for FAZE Magazine.

Trennlinie Zwischen Gesten Nr. 2

Mysterious transmissions from the interwebs. To be transcoded by those who know.

Germany's Top 20 Record Stores In Forthcoming GROOVE Magazine

Taken from GROOVE Magazine
issue September / October 2013

Although I'm not working at Otaku Records / Hamburg that regularly anymore as I used to throughout the last 15 years it's nice to know that the shop is still referred to as one of Germany's Top 20 stores after all these years by GROOVE Magazine.

But somehow it annoys me that ppl still don't manage to spell my alias right after way more than a decade of being around - it's baze.djunkiii , Mr. Lorenz.

Saroos - Return [Alien Transistor Promo]

Scheduled for early September via Alien Transistor is "Return" which is Saroos' third longplay album assault since the release of their self-titled debut back in 2006 - an organic ten track piece beyond any style flag and categorization more detailed than "film noir-related". There's a feel of old 60s and 70s spy flics, a touch of Jazz for a reason, Downtempotronica and heavily tripping Dub variations - "Seadance" / "Rhoda" / "Morning Way" - as well as sweet chilled ambient'ish passages, all woven into the less than 38 minutes runtime piece that "Return" is, making it a deep listening experience for late summer and early fall days, recommended for consumption in the last hour before the sun sets whilst reflecting on the past days' happenings. And before anyone comes up with the term of PostRock here - Saroos' music is even beyond that. And it's tripping good.

There Is Beauty In German Language... Sometimes.

"Was hier stattfindet, ist vielleicht so etwas wie die Ablösung der Landschaftsromantik durch eine Geländewahrnehmung"

This shining example of a beauty that - at least sometimes - lies deeply hidden within the German language came to me in the recent issue of DIE ZEIT (33/2013) in an article written by Ina Hartwig dealing with the latest lyrical works of Nico Bleutge to be found in his new book "verdecktes gelände".

baze.djunkiii Charts 08.2013

01. Alex Niggemann - Tangram EP [Poker Flat Recordings 141 Promo]
See review for details...

02. Times Are Ruff - So, Where Is Your Bottle EP [Times Are Ruff 003 Promo]
Times Are Ruff and so is this 12" which brings us pure dancefloor pleasure with a triple pack of pounding and a hell of streetwise DiscoHouse tunes for those reminiscing about the mid-90s heyday of this style with a shitload of good stuff coming from cities like NYC and great labels like Nervous Records. And this is what we get here - raw, proper, timeless music for street cats and full-on House headz. Niceness.

03. Telepathic Bubblevinyl Vol.1 [XXC3 1327 Promo]
See review for details... 

04. Facial Mess / Sealteam 666 [Hirntrust Grind Media Promo]
See review for details... 

05. Christine Nogociella - Seams / Virgin / Dierows [A86.H Promo]
See review for details...

06. [Pressure Traxx 003] 
First and foremost this one went into the box for the massive House-tempo Breakbeat-driven "I Give U Everything" which is nothing short of a weapon for live turntable action, cuts and other mix wizzardry. Plus: the 90s feel in it, a time when BreakbeatHouse was a way more common thing than it is today, is absolutely great. But the other tracks like the storming "WHTNY Beats", a variation of the labels cat.no. 001, and the raw, acidic "Get Off" with it's undeniable basement feel are absolutely stunning, so I guess it'll take some time 'til this one leaves the box again.

07. Tobias Stöckmann [Stavro 002 Promo]
The second release on the relatively fresh Stavro imprint serves two tracks which are to be filed under the flag of BrokenTechno fused with the echoes of DubTechno that might also appeal to all real Dubstep and Future Garage headz due to it's minimalistic, stripped down approach, static basslines and anthemic synth lines unfolding on top the A-side track named "Aa" whilst "Ab" runs on a more dark'ish and intense level. Watch out for this one, especially if you happen to be into producers like Monolake or Deadbeat these days.

08. Trentemøller - Candy Tongue [In My Room 013 Promo]
See review for details... 

09. Evn - Oh Cruel Science [Enklav 013 Promo]
After a digital only start the Italian Enklav.-imprint serves its second vinyl release with this one which is actually a five tracks journey into deep sea, 90s flavored Electronica and - talking the A2 tune "Handplant" here - experimental HighSpeed Techno that can be compared to the works of US-underground producers like Hieroglyphic Being or The Sun God due to it's untamed attitude. But predominantely we'll find the Electronica aspects ruling this 12" which are - if not necessarily ground-breaking - at least expertly crafted and recommended for chilled consumption.

10. Edward - Remixes On Conny Plank [White 020 / Grönland Promo] 
Three remixes for tracks co-produced by the German studio legend Conny Plank who's son is actually working on a documentary about his father as I learnt by chance last weekend. Responsible for all of the remixes featured on this one is Gilles Aiken a.k.a. Edward who caters expertly crafted cuts here, keeping an eye on the original Krautrock-flavored feel but still manages to transfer it into a more modernist context. Especially his remix of "Farmer Gabriel" is an excellent and well lively example of this work with it's tribalistic athmosphere and probably jungle-recorded sample bits developing and layering all the way through the tracks runtime whilst the two tracks on the flip turn out to be hyper-dry, minimalistic Electro excursions for those in the know without obviously unveiling their original Krautrock heritage.  Recommended.

Amor Fati [Black Is Black Recordings 004 Promo]

Mit der vierten Katalognummer auf seinem eigenen Black Is Black Recordings stellt Rene Reinert a.k.a. Amor Fati drei weitere Tracks zur Diskussion, die auf solide Weise minimalen House mit deep-verträumten Detroit-Referenzen kombinieren, die Nähe zu Produzenten wie Jus Ed mit seinem Underground Quality-Label suchen, final jedoch trotz handwerklicher Qualität an genau jener Suche scheitern. Eigenständigkeit und auch der nötige Sex gehen dieser in hübsch rotem Vinyl gepressten 12“ leider weitgehend ab, daher reicht es hier nur für die Mittelklasse.

5 (of 10) Points

This review was originally written for FAZE Magazine but never made it to print.

Trentemøller - Candy Tongue [In My Room 013 Promo]

"Candy Tongue" is the second teaser single taken of Trentemøller's late September-scheduled album "Lost" and on a totally different tip than it's predecessor "Never Stop Running". Starting with a long, Lynch'esque intro and what can be also imagined as ecclesiastic, solemn church organ hook and the fragile, PostWave-flavored vocals of Trentemøller's long-time vocal backup Marie Fisker which unveals nearly Siouxsie Sioux-like qualities here on top dense musical structure of growing intensity "Candy Tongue" is not only a simple song - it's a whole lifetimes story condensed into less than 5 minutes and told in a gravel, ceremonial matter that is way beyond any kind of Pop attitude and filled with sorrow. Or despair. Excellent work from the center of Copenhagen.

Sticker Love And World Domination: Hanoi / Vietnam

Biggin' up the head and mastermind of Leipzig's finest Minor Label for spreading the word - and stickers! - in Vietnam.

Sticker Love And World Domination: Stockholm

One sticker, three pix. Send from Stockholm via Harriet D. - nice one!

Telepathic Bubblevinyl Vol.1 [XXC3 Promo]

These are news as huge as mountains - XXC3, one of my personal alltime favorite labels ever, has put new vinyl on the circuit, actually it is the labels first vinyl release since 1999. A limited pressing of not more than 50 copies worldwide which includes a bunch of four tracks provided by different artists connected to the Liquid Sky Berlin collective as there are Dr. Walker, ADSX and others who are walking down a deep, hypnotic and very trippy road with their tracks which are - at least at some point - influenced by Acid, dark nights out in clubs and run down basements, by 100% underground and the eternal, unwritten rules of nightlife that are stoved in the braincells of those who've been living this life for decades. This is exactly what electronic dance music is about - the raw, the pure and if you manage to grab one of these ultra rare, hand-numbered pieces it will be your shrine, your guide and defo brand your soul forever. Essential.

Picture: Caught Spinning At Liquid Sky Berlin

baze.djunkiii, Jan & Suse S Herz Tanzt

Another pic taken on July 28th @ Liquid Sky Berlin

Wardrobe Memories - The Mean [Voluntary Whores 009 Promo]

Recently released and limited to only 48 copies worldwide is the latest output of the beloved tape only label Voluntary Whores which now puts the latest album release of the Deep Ambient project Wardrobe Memories on the circuit with this one. Named "The Mean" the fourteen track piece is - or should be as the trailer below suggests - to be understood as a soundtrack from the future transferred into the past which is now from that point of view, serving short and floating Deep Ambient tunes as well as uber-cold, tense and futuristic SciFi-snippets with captured recordings of dialogues, seemingly taken from a war zone or other highly dangerous territorities literally transferring the stressed out athmosphere of these places to whereever one might listen to "The Mean". And so do the melancholia-infused but fiercely manipulated piano sequences that are to be found on this longplay piece, suggesting calm and peace at first but turning this feel into something weirdly different by changing it's tone, contrasting the natural beauty with electronic intensity, distortion and abstract, sometimes even alienating synth phrases that evolve - at some point in the beginning of the B-side - into something slightly rhythmical and defo beautiful without aiming towards the dancefloor at all.  Deep thang. Good.

Alex Niggemann - Tangram [Poker Flat Recordings 141 Promo]

Mr. Alex Niggemann kills dances once again with his new and forthcoming Poker Flat Recordings 12" named "Tangram" which is to be on the vinyl circuit within the next weeks. With the title track served in two different versions - "Tangram (The Bright End)" / "Tangram (The Dark End)" - he takes us on a journey into the realms of uplifting, melodic TechHouse that even touches the borders of (Neo)Trance with it's epic, layered strings and happy feel. Quite an usual vibe for Poker Flat these days but defo a good one. The additional "Maze" on B2 finally cuts back to the original label sound with a decent bass groove and sparse arrangements referring to the so-called Minimal Funk with sweet reverbs, a reduced but killer hook and some weird, quirky and partially spooky lo-fi sounds like the ones you'll find im old sci-fi flics scattered all over the place. Top notch 12" and the best color choice for a label print I've seen in ages. Cold.

Rampue - Let's Be Kids Again

Highly recommended and jam-packed with tender beauty. Out on August 2nd via Audiolith. Get.