Last year in between four straight days of partying and boarding a Tuesday morning flight to Thailand, I somehow wrote a review of the epic, amazing time I had at Seattle’s Decibel Festival.

A party like no other, Decibel is a city festival held in the clubs, bars, parks and museums of Seattle, an event for the people, by the people. I will be reposting my review from last year along with photos and links, in five parts: Intro, Day 1, Day 2….you get it.

Decibel Festival 2009 takes place September 24-27 and you can check the lineup and buy ticketshere.

DAY 4:

After a respectable amount of sleep I was up on Sunday and made it to Havana’s just in time to catch Suntzu Sound, though not so for the barbeque from Austin which was long gone. This Texas girl was very sad, although the bartender had stashed some chicken back so I did get a little fix of homefood. I wasn’t expecting to dance, just to relax, but the warm, tribal sounds echoing out of the parking lot had a different idea, and soon I was getting down with a few others in the shady pink parking lot- so perfect for a city barbeque. Jeremy Ellis was out chillin’ in his sweet yellow suit and red ponytail and jumped in for a minute to play along with Suntzu. People kept strolling by the gates, watching us dance and listening to the beats and wondering where they took a wrong turn in life. I think it was at the intersection of Mainstream Avenue and Live-For-Art Street.

Still hungry from my teaser barbeque experience, I drove over to the Triple Door to the Ambient Showcase for a little Deaf Center and a cheese plate. At the second door I ran into Akira Rabelais and we had quite the lovely wine experience all backed up with some creepy-ass music that would chill my bones right off if I played it late at night at my house, and would no doubt inspire me to turn on every single light that I had. I think they call this kind of music “haunting”.

I went to this Ambient Showcase on the recommendation of everyone who has ever told me in my life to slow down- which is like 80,000 people. I did, and it was as lovely as the wine I shared with Akira. I hung on for a little of Eluvium and then took my leave to go get down for one last night of Decibel. It was time to dance!

Over at Sole Repair my favorite people in the world, Innerflight, were getting things started with J-Sun and then Kadeejah Streets up on the decks and swinging hard and low with their music- I don’t know who loved it more, the DJs or the crowd below. Upstairs once again in the gallery the dance freaks were rocking it; the crowd wasn’t as thick as it had been for the weekend nights but for those of us there it just meant more dance floor, because the music was definitely right up there with the best of the weekend.

Again, tough choices had to be made. I left Sole Repair to catch Flying Lotus who was incredibly entertaining and a gentleman to boot. He has to be one of the most talented and critically-acclaimed artists of the weekend, and for good reason. The Bug and the Warrior Queen didn’t entirely do it for me, I loved the heavy vibrating bass but couldn’t seem to get into it and found myself outside socializing more than dancing- which shouldn’t happen in Shilo World.

Supermayer brought it back for me though with their adorably clever musical attitude and I would have rocked out until the sugar-sweet ending, but m.0 was on fire next door and I wanted to blaze with him. I walked into Sole Repair to see him in the middle of the dance floor with his trademark giant smile and seriously talented beat-mastery. Fantastic, beautiful, and epic. m.0 is the shit in this town, plain and simple, and he is only going up, up, up! Seattle will be right behind him with a big “Hell Yeah.”

After two I headed out for my fourth afterhours of the weekend where once again the music was top notch, the crowd was off their heads with excitement, Flying Lotus was chilling on the windowsill and I danced until I was wringing out my shirt AND JEANS. Wringing out my jeans, people. I was in bed by 6:30AM which didn’t quite give me the sleep I needed to be all perky and Shilo-like by my office meeting at 10AM, but I sure as hell was still dancing on the inside, as I will be for a while, thanks to Decibel Festival.

And thanks to you, everyone involved which is about a billion people, from the director down to the kids who shucked out money to see a show and over to the bouncer sweeping up cigarette butts. The electronic music community in Seattle is alive and well, full of passion and smiling faces, exploding with talent and gaining more momentum every day. We must harness the excitement and enthusiasm for our music that you are all feeling right now and use it promote the talented artists among us, to work for more and bigger music venues in Seattle, to support newcomers to our scene, and to share with others what electronic music has meant to us, which is more than can be put into words.

I too am inspired not only by all the new music and art in my head but by the fact that one person with a little help from friends can make a huge impact on the international electronic arts community which we are part of: mad mad props to Sean Horton. And thank you to everyone who handed out a flyer, reposted a Myspace bulletin, told a friend about the festival or simply showed up and danced. Rest assured that people returned home with respect for the Seattle electronic music community in their hearts, and I am honored to have been able to contribute to this epic electronic arts mania riot love dance fever weekend we like to call the Decibel Festival. Thank you.

And I seriously have a flight to Thailand in a few hours and should probably go home and start packing.

That’s it! Catch you on the flip-flop. And one last time until next year, Happy Decibel.

****************

OH SHIT! NEXT YEAR IS HERE!!!!

The 2009 Decibel Festival takes place September 24-27 in Seattle; for tickets and more information please click here.

Vorige week op 5 days off heb ik mijn allergrootse dj-held Henrik Schwarz voor het eerst live horen draaien en het was eindeloos! Dat de beste housegrooves en technobeats van onze oosterburen komen wist ik al jaren. Daarom is deze mix voor al mijn Duitse dj-helden.

Luister/download op SOUNDCLOUD

Tracklist:
1. Happy birthday! – Modeselektor
2. Hey Hotties! – Supermayer
3. What you can say is more than i can say (Isolée mix) – Ricardo Villalobos
4. The Angst (Henrik Schwarz remix) – dj Hell
5. I want to sleep – dj Koze
6. D.P.O.M.B. – Ame & Henrik Schwarz & Dixon
7. Engoli – Ame
8. Changes – Roland Appel
9. Dragon loop – Marcus Worgull
10. Post protection – Ben Mono
11. Electronic Germany – dj Hell
12. Mango cookie (dj Koze remix) – Sasha Funke
13. The red dress (Tiefschwarz) – Phonique
14. Sweet lies (Patrice Baümel remix) – Booka Shade
15. Pele boss – Wighnomy Brothers
16. Beng beng – Paul Kalkbrenner
17. Jet – Apparat & Ellen Allien
18. Ich liebe euch (dj Koze remix) – Hildegard Knef

I guess it’s a bit lazy to just dump a whole load of tracks and run but it has to be done every now and then (with increasing regularity). These days ‘blog world’ is going off with all kinds of French Synth / Dream Wave / Indie Dance / Synth Pop goodness and we wouldn’t want you to be left behind!

TOMMY SPARKS – MIRACLE (GRUM MIX)

YUKSEK – SO FAR AWAY FROM THE SEA (THE TWELVES REMIX)

CINNAMON CHASERS – I LIKE WATCHING YOU (DIAMOND CUT REMIX)

SOMETHING A LA MODE – RONDO PARISIANO (JUSTIN FAUST REMIX)

FRANKMUSIK – CONFUSION GIRL (CRIMES AGAINST DISCO MIX)

GIANNI ROSSI – GUTTERBALLS: 7-10 SPLIT

FOALS – OLYMPIC AIRWAYS (SUPERMAYER REMIX)

GYPSY AND THE CAT – JONA VARK

VISITOR – LOS FEELING (ROUGH MIX)

RYSKEE – LEAVE ME AMOR (ORIGINAL MIX)

Follow not cool yet on facebook | myspace | twitter | last.fm

Ash Le Rouge and Will Hawthorn – Portals Mix

Tracklisting:

Voice of Q – Q (Philly World Records)
The Art of Letting Go – Supermayer (KOMPAKT)
I Choose Anger (H-Man Remix) – James Mowbray/D Ramirez (Four:Twenty Recordings)
Babylon by Car – Bot’ox (I’m A Cliché)
Cities In Dust (Glimmers Remix) – Junkie XL (Nettwerk America)
Hold On (Disco Edit) – Hot Chip (DFA)
Blind (Frankie Knuckles Mix) – Hercules and Love Affair (DFA)
Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) – Whitest Boy Alive (Service)
Don And Sherri (Hot Chip Instrumental) – Matthew Dear (Ghostly International)
Lights & Music (Superdiscount Remix) – Cut Copy (Modular)
Don’t Panic – Chaim (Turbo)
Yeah (Crass Version) – LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
Antibodies (Chateau Flight Remix) – Poni Hoax (Tigersushi)
Spacer Woman (Vocal Version) – Charlie (Elettrica)
Rio (Knife Machine Vs Gus Da Hoodrat Mix) – Bumblebeez (Modular)
Falling Stars – Smith N Hack (Smith N Hack)
Born to Synthesize – Todd Rundgren (Bearsville)
Endlessly – Cut Copy (Modular)
Golden Skans (Cover) – Oskar Cash (White Label)

We Love Fantasy – Simian Mobile Disco Samedi 11 Juillet 2009

La Chesnaie Du Roy, Bois de Vincennes 75012 Paris

Avec en Live :

Simian Mobile Disco – Who Made Who – Supermayer – Gui Boratto

www.weloveart.net

Ja, du bestemmer naturligvis selv — men folkene ovre på musikblogs.dk har i samarbejde med marks.dk begået en fin personlig guide til Københavns måske mest spændende musikfestival i år — nemlig Distortion Festival.

Alternativ musikfestival, der rykker musikken ud i byen!
Idéen bag distortion-festivalen er at rykke musik, kunstnere og scener ud i byens rum — de forskellige bydele repræsenteres således på forskellige tidspunkter… Programmet har et grundlæggende fokus på elektronisk musik, men hip hop og rock — bl.a. When Saints Go Machine — er også på programmet. Programmet kan findes via ovenstående link, men det er muligt at møde fx danske Trentemøller, DJ ER DU DUM EL HVAD, Ezi Cut, Ibizi-ikonet Carl Craig — Hvem husker ikke hittet — Hey, you what’s that sound, another hard man laying in the ground… Tyskland er også velrepræsenteret, bl.a. med Ellen Alien og Supermayer.

Hvor kan du læse mere om Distortion Festival 2009?
Distortion a Personal Guide
Carl Craig — techno-pioneren fra Detroit til Distortion
Emodreng og indiepiges – Den Store Distortion-guide

Planet 69 (Original)_ 1gnition

Mr P*

Продолжение, начало смотрите в первой части.

Решение изменить свою жизнь, навсегда связав ее с музыкой, пришло к Эвану Пирсону 8 лет назад, когда он делал кандидатскую работу в университете. Правда к этому времени он уже издал альбом на Soma, сделал 5-6 синглов и вовсю занимался ремикшированием: «Это был момент, когда я решил, что лучше попытаться и провалиться, чем потом пожалеть, что не попробовал. Я знаю много людей, которые начинали заниматься музыкой, а потом все-таки решили найти нормальную работу. Но я приходил к этому решению постепенно, не было такого, что « а на следующее утро он проснулся знаменитым». Я счастлив, что могу творить и работать на себя, самостоятельно решая, что буду делать в тот или иной день».

«Но диджеинг – это, все же, работа и да, иногда от этой работы устаешь. Но это классная работа и люди, которые окружаю тебя классные. Это здорово, пока ты играешь музыку, которая нравится тебе, проблема возникает, если ты оказываешься в ситуации, когда ты должен играть тот или иной трек или стиль. Иногда, когда люди просят играть быстрее или жестче, я просто ставлю техно. Конечно, иногда мне бывает стыдно, что мне нравится самое успешное коммерческое техно на тот момент. Например, ремикс Dubfire на Grindhouse от Radio Slave – грандиозный трек! Конечно, присутствуют и банальные элементы, например этот «шшшш..» звук, но технически это все так здоров сделано, и когда ты играешь подобные треки, люди сходят с ума, как же это классно. Но, конечно, нельзя все время играть боевики, столько замечательных диско и более медленных треков вокруг, проблема лишь в том, как свести их в миксе так, чтоб это звучало гармонично. Но не редко я отрываюсь на несколько часов и играю по-настоящему жестко. Люди просто забывают, что я писал для Soma, когда я ставлю чикагское или детроитское техно, типа Jeff Mills, или подобное минимал-техно, я вырос на этом, почему бы не эээ… поколбаситься =)».

Свои сеты Ewan заранее не готовит, а прислушивается к своему инстинкту. Когда-то он пробовал играть свои треки живьем, но теперь не торопиться повторить этот опыт, предпочитая играть свою музыку и музыку других людей в своих сетах.

«Я был большим фанатом Kompakt долгие годы и очень был рад, когда мой трек появился на первом миксе Михаеля Майера (Michael Mayer) Immer в 2002 году. Там, по-моему, это был единственный не немецкий трек. А вскоре я выпустил Trauermusik в моем c Al Usher проекте Partial Arts и стал частью этого лейбла».

В настоящее время Ewan Pearson все еще вечный студент – так и не закончил аспирантуру, ведет колонку для Groove Magazine и призывает музыкантов иметь совесть и не выпускать по 2-3 EP в месяц, а выпускать действительно стоящие треки, пускай это займет хоть пару лет: «Когда я готовил альбом для Soma, у меня было около 30 треков, но я оставил только 11-12».

Кроме игры в клубах Ewan любит просто приходить в клубы и танцевать: «Я один из тех диджеев, которые танцую под сеты других диджеев. В Берлине я знаю много таких, как я. Да тут вообще в Берлине диджеев как крыс в Нью-Йорке. Знаете, есть такая поговорка – В Нью-Йорке, что ни метр, то крыса. В Берлине также с диджеями».

Moon Unit – Connections (Ewan Pearson Slo NRG dub) (alt)
Moon Unit – Connections (Ewan Pearson Slo NRG mix) (alt)
Playgroup – Make It Happen (Ewan Pearson Remix) (alt)
Supermayer – The Art of Letting Go (Ewan s Daft Funk Vocal Edit) (alt)

English version:

At what point did you realise that you would just make music for living?

I made the decision and tried to switch about 8 years ago when I’d already released an album for Soma, made like 5-6 singles and started to do quite a few remixes, but I was still in university, still doing a PhD.

Wasn’t it a hard choice?

Yeah, it was, but at the same time I’d have rather tried and failed than be disappointed that I’d never tried. I know some people who started doing it and then decided to get a proper job. But I’ve worked hard and for a long time, it’s been a gradual building, it wasn’t an overnight success. It just makes me happy to do something creative and work for myself, deciding what I gonna do on a day-to-day basis.

Anyway, regarding DJ-ing, doesn’t it get boring sometimes – just another night in another club. How do you avoid feeling that this is just a job?

First of all, it is a job and it is tiring sometimes, not all the gigs are good, but it’s a great job, and people are usually nice. It’s OK as long as you play in clubs where you can play the music you like. The problem is when you get into a situation when you feel that you have to play a certain track or sound.

Do people address you sometimes with some musical requests?

Sometimes they ask you to play faster or harder or do this… But at the moment I’m actually playing quite techno.

Really?

I’m quite enjoying, I’m slightly embarassed to admit that I’m enjoying some of the most successful commercial techno at the moment.

Like what?

I don’t know, like Dubfire’s remix of Radio Slave which is that “Grindhouse” record. I think it’s a tremendous record. Some of the sounds getting quite obvious, all kind of “ssshhhh…” sounds and certain elements, but technically it’s so well put together, and when you playing something like that and everybody gets crazy, it’s exciting. But the thing is to mix things up, you can’t just play big obvious records in a row. There’s so much stuff I like at the moment, from disco to slower records, but the difficulty is putting it all together so it makes sense. But sometimes I like just banging for couple of hours and playing hard. People forget that I used to record for Soma and I used to go out with them and used to hear them playing tough Chicago and Detroit stuff, the stuff like Jeff Mills, that sort of minimal techno, I grew up listening to that, so sometimes I quite like… ergh banging It’s like trying different hats, tonight I gonna wear this one…

So you prefer improvising in your sets, you don’t have prepeared playlists?

No, it’s more about having an instinct.

Don’t you think about making your own live stuff?

I did it once, when I recorded for Soma. Now, I like DJ-ing, playing other people’s music. Sometimes I play my own records. No, I don’t think I will go back to play live.

How have you met the Kompakt guys?

I’d been a big fan of the label for years and years. Actually there’s a track of mine on the Michael Mayer’s first “Immer” CD, like a shuffle track. I think it was the only non German thing there.

I think it’s quite common in the dance music in general – there are many albums with just few good tracks and the rest feels like just filling gaps.

I’d rather make one single in 18 months but it’d be something quite different or special than trying release an EP every 2 or 3 months and it would be just a bit dull. When I did the record for Soma, I through so many tracks away. I started with maybe 30 tracks but just 11 or 12 came out at the end.

Are you sometimes going to clubs when you don’t have to DJ?

I love dancing, I’m one of those DJs you’d see dancing to other DJs.

Quite exceptional, huh?

Well, maybe it sounds surprising but I know quite many DJs who like dancing.

Maybe that’s Berlin? So many DJs out there…

DJs in Berlin are like rats in New York, you know they say you’re never more than a meter away from a rat in New York, so I guess you’re always never more than a meter away from a DJ in Berlin [laughs].

Sources: neongrad, rave magazine

We zijn weer begonnen!

2 JANUARI

Flying Lotus, Kode 9 en Supermayer in nieuwe 11

8 JANUARI

Mark de Clive-Lowe with Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra (Melkweg)

16 JANUARI

release van de nieuwe cd van Antony & the Johnsons “the crying light”

Nog meer nieuws over Antony & the Johnsons

The fifth edition of Seattle’s Decibel Festival begins on Thursday, September 25 and ends on Sunday, September 28. And when they say ‘begins’ and ‘ends,’ they really mean it. With a full line-up of afternoon activities (like dB in the Park) and after-hours parties, it’ll be going pretty much non-stop. Multiple evening shows reward springing for a pass to facilitate dashing from venue to venue in Capitol Hill – for example, my Thursday night schedule has Stewart Walker at Sole Repair, followed by Barbara Morgenstern at Neumos, and wrapping up with Attentat at the Baltic Room. Other highlights include Audion and Carl Craig on Saturday night, and The Bug and Supermayer on Sunday night – you might want to clear your schedule for Monday morning.

MP3: Claude VonStroke – Who’s Afraid of Detroit (Audion remix)

Previously: xkcd on techno, The zen garden theory of minimal techno, Techno and impressionable young minds

Image: Robert Babicz @ Neumos, Decibel Festival, 9/22/2007 by Flickr user donte, reposted here under its Creative Commons license.

Kompakt “Total” – total kompakt! Zwei CDs, die untermauern, dass das Kölner Label noch lange nicht am Ende angekommen ist. Da mögen böse Zunge noch so sehr eine kreative Krise der Kölner heraufbeschwören, wo “Kompakt” draufsteht ist Qualität drin. Weiter auf Tonspion

Link: antipop.dubdivision.net

Forte de Santiago da Barra
Viana do Castelo 4900
Portugal

QUINTA 31 DE JULHO

20h00 – Henriq
21h00 – Heartbreakerz
22h30 – Full Metal Funk
00h00 – Miguel Rendeiro
01h30 – Expander
03h00 – GABRIEL ANANDA live
04h30 – JOSH WINK
07h00 – MARCO CAROLA

SEXTA 1 DE AGOSTO

20h00 – Nuno F
21h00 – Magazino
22h30 – Grobas & Ino

00h30 – MICRO AUDIO WAVES live
01h30 – Invaders
01h45 – MODESELEKTOR & PFADFINDEREI live
03h00 – Freshkitos
04h30 – SLEEPARCHIVE live
05h45 – MARC HOULE live
07h00 – ANDRE GALLUZZI

SÁBADO 2 DE AGOSTO

20h00 – Ana Feel
21h30 – Nuno Di Rosso
23h00 – Yen Sung
00h30 – BILLY DALESSANDRO live
01h30 – TIEFSCHWARZ
04h00 – MATHEW JONSON live
05h00 – Rui Vargas
07h00 – SUPERMAYER

AFTER HOURS

09h00 – Pedro Ricciardi
11h00 – SASSE aka FreeStyleMan

Tah, o Gui Boratto é lindo e também é o produtor brazuca mais disputado pela gringolândia. O paulista fez um dos albuns mais elogiados do ano passado, o climático Chromophobia, lançado pelo selo technno Kompakt e vez em quando solta algum remix sofisticadíssimo pra povinho de alto nível estilo o Goldfrapp. Aqui indico um remix que o duo Supermayer(parceria entre os bombados Michael Mayer e Superpitcher) fez pro pseudohit Like You, enquanto Gui prepara nouvelles…

Gui Boratto – Like you (Supermayer remix)

Site Oficial de Gui Boratto

Supermayer MySpace

Nooooot really a big Hot Chip guy, but this remix by Supermayer is pretty good. It’s a nice low key beat to just kind of roll with for a while, plus it’s long so you can roll with it for almost 8 minutes. I mean, I don’t really know what else to say, you know about Hot Chip and you should know about Supermayer, if you don’t know either of them then consider this an introduction.

Alright, I gotta get some laundry done. For those of you going to Justice @ The Riviera tonight… See your there!

Hot Chip – One Pure Thought (Supermayer Remix)

Beats™

What do you do when you completley forget about the mix your supposed to be making for your little-seen music blog? Why, resort to posting one you made earlier of course! That, sadly, is the case with Weekend Mix #10 – Melancholic Electronic.

The mix itself was a Christmas prezzie for me dear old Dad; I make not-necessarily-Christmas-related mixes for my parents and sister every year (I buy them proper presents as well), and this ended up being his (I’ll post the other two’s mixes at some point. Probably when I forget to make a mix again).

Once again compiled with help from the indiemixtapes community.

1.Intro
2.Cut Copy – “Future”
3.Hot Chip – “And I Was A Boy From School”
4.Montag – “Perfect Vision”
5.Supermayer – “Please Sunshine”
6.Iron & Wine – Boy With A Coin
7.Moby – “Porcelain”
8.Nightmares On Wax – “Nights Interlude”
9.Thom Yorke – “Harrowdown Hill”
10.Beck – “Cellphone’s Dead”
11.Death In Vegas – “Girls”
12.Massive Attack – “Teardrop”
13.Aphex Twin – “X’tal”
14.LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends”
15.The Chemical Brothers – “The Pills Won’t Help You Now”

Download it!

Discovered, re-discovered, and dug up some great music over the last few weeks. I got a great little turntable off of craigslist, so I’ve been spending a bunch of money I don’t have at Amoeba on vinyl. Here’s what my ears are digging currently:

• itsnotyouitsme – Down tempo/chill band out of NYC. I picked up there 4 song EP on itunes for $1.99, it’s a great deal for some mellow euphoric tunes.
• The Bombay Jazz Palace 12″ Vinyl – Picked this up for $8 not knowing what to expect. Very relaxing jazz with some Indian flare.
• Groove Armada – Experimental funky electronica DJ duo from the UK. These guys make some mad beats, whether it be hip-hop or soulful easy grooves.
• Supermayer “Save the World” – Another DJ duo, this time in the Techno variety. The entire album is great, but their hit “Two of Us” is a classic, evident by the vast number of remixes out there.
• Cheap Reggae 45’s – I picked up 4 random pieces of vinyl the other day for less then a buck each. Discovered some great songs, from old roots reggae to current dance hall.

On les a vus fondre sur la planète Terre pour sauver nos oreilles délicates des sons acerbes et corrosifs des postes de radio. Supermayer, héros des temps modernes du label Kompakt, finissent de nous faire oublier la soupe avec des titres qui nous viennent d’une autre galaxie. En effet, Superpitcher et Micheal Mayer, les deux stars du label, ont décidé de s’unir pour vaincre les viles et perfides forces de la musique sans âme. Et ce n’est pas pour nous déplaire. Avec les titres Two of Us, The Art of Letting Go (écouter le remix d’Ewan Pearson), ils ont déchainés les dancefloors de la planète entière, aidés par leurs fameux glamfrogs, générateurs d’ambiance. Ils sont revenus récemment avec un remix de Rufus Wainwright, Tiergarten, long de plus de 13 minutes, où l’ambiance de bain de lait des premières minutes grimpe et s’envole vers des contrées spatiales encore inexplorée à bord d’un spaceship en forme de clochette. Tout simplement incontournable.

Rufus Wainwright – Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix)