Electronic music old and new
I've dug out another piece I wrote for Clash back in 2007 - an interview with Detroit techno's eternal underdog, Eddie 'Flashin' Fowlkes, who at that time was promoting his album, Welcome To My World, on his own CityBoy imprint, via Submerge. “One night I was dancing, my body shook and I heard a voice… Continue reading From the archive: Eddie ‘Flashin’ Fowlkes interview, 2007
Here's an extended Q&A I conducted with Detroit techno royalty Octave One, a shorter version of which was published in print in Clash Magazine in early 2007. The interview was to promote Off the Grid, an audiovisual album for Tresor showcasing footage of the duo's live shows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S0INtQiv60 You can’t talk about techno without talking… Continue reading From the archive: Octave One interview, 2007
I'm notoriously slow when it comes to recording DJ mixes, but over the past few months I've been unusually productive by my usual standards. Aside from the Drum & Space Redux mix that I posted at the weekend, here's what else is available now: Origin Podcast These guys from Slovenia reached out after hearing my… Continue reading Some recent mixes
Going Good has become a ‘buy on sight’ label for me, and this wonderful LP from Detroit duo Cosmic Handshakes, released at the start of the year, is one of the reasons why. It works perfectly as a home-listening experience, segueing from beatless interludes to hazy Balearic jams and jazz-inflected beatdown house, with a loose,… Continue reading 18 for 2018, #10: Cosmic Handshakes – In the Mist
It’s always great to discover a new artist that’s on your wavelength, and the first two EPs from Taylor Hawkins’ Flora FM project are right up my alley. Taking the current trend for breakbeats and 90s ambient house influences, and adding a slightly tougher Detroit sensibility, these hardware-driven tracks manage to sound simultaneously old-school and… Continue reading 18 for 2018, #8/9: Flora FM
Back to '92 for an absolute peach by Kenny Larkin, from the Vanguard EP on Belgium's Buzz label, who also released the seminal Virtualsex compilation. It's a strong record all-round - the title track is a beauty too - but Northern Lights really steals the show for me, and it's a reminder that Larkin really deserves… Continue reading Pod – Northern Lights
It's hard to believe this Juan Atkins masterpiece is 22 years old when it still sounds more futuristic than 99% of techno released today. Recorded solo and released on Metroplex in 1993, it neatly foreshadows the immense Sonic Sunset and Deep Space material he recorded for R&S with Moritz Von Oswald, with a super-clean, otherworldly… Continue reading Model 500 – Pick Up The Flow
Nothing obscure or hard-to-find about this, just a stone-cold classic from Carl Craig’s golden period. No disrespect to one of the all-time greats - and for a long time I’d have put Craig among my top three producers - but it’s kinda hard to square today’s peddler of pedestrian tech-house with the creative genius behind… Continue reading 69 – Microlovr
There are few techno 12”s as well-balanced and all-round essential as Jeff Mills’s 1995 Humana EP , which features an ambient intro, a locked groove, a beatless soundscape, a pummelling minimal workout and a beautiful downbeat piece, plus this timeless piece of Detroit machine soul. Coming hot on the heels of the game-changing dancefloor killers… Continue reading Millsart – Gamma Player
Part of the fun of being a house and techno trainspotter enthusiast is tracking down multiple versions of the same track which appear on a number of different releases. Once you bring represses and bootlegs into the equation you’ll often discover previously unheard versions of a favourite track, sometimes uncredited, with a new title or… Continue reading Kenny Dixon Jr – Midnights / Moodymann – I Like To Know
Nothin' But Magic 