So here's something I've been meaning to do for a long time - a mix of tracks on Headspace and Emoticon, the labels I ran with Raeph Powell from 1996-2006. Since the whole operation kind of predates the internet as we now know it - none of this stuff is available digitally, and probably never… Continue reading Headspace & Emoticon Retrospective
Tag: techno
Model 500 – Pick Up The Flow
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
Elegy – Flights Of Fantasy
Here’s a slice of classic British techno soul from the golden era that’s the perfect warmer for an icy winter evening. On the fourth and final Likemind EP, Kirk Degiorgio is at the controls of this spaced-out groover which would easily pass for a lost Carl Craig masterpiece. The drums are killer - a classic… Continue reading Elegy – Flights Of Fantasy
Convextion – Premiata
Gerard Hanson's Convextion project is arguably most famous for the pair of mid-90s 12"s on Matrix that still fetch silly money on the Discogs market, but for my money his finest work has appeared elsewhere. A case in point is this cut from his self-titled 2006 album on Down Low, a timeless slice of techno… Continue reading Convextion – Premiata
69 – Microlovr
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
Mode-M (Future Beat Alliance) – Digital 07
Here’s one of many highlights from the back catalogue of Matthew Puffett, an all-round dude and a strong contender for the title of Techno’s Nicest Man. This 1997 cut is a slice of downtempo techno that blasts the 808 from Sexual Healing into a vortex of effects and pairs it with sweeping chords worthy of… Continue reading Mode-M (Future Beat Alliance) – Digital 07
Millsart – Gamma Player
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
Shiver – Oiled Love
This saucily-titled number comes from Erik Van Den Broek, an underrated Dutch producer who released under a bewildering number of pseudonyms in the mid-90s. I possibly lose some purist credentials for having it on the ace Beyond The Sun compilation rather than owning the original 1994 12” on Shiver Records, but regardless, it’s a cracking example… Continue reading Shiver – Oiled Love
Ten for 2013
I haven’t written about any recent music here yet, but I guess a round-up of the tracks and EPs that floated my boat this year is a good place to start. These days I’m buying a more varied range of stuff than ever before, including a fair bit of older music, but at the same… Continue reading Ten for 2013
Move D – 77 Sunset Strip
It may have arrived on the wave of ‘home listening’ techno that Warp launched with their Artificial Intelligence series, but David Moufang’s seminal 1995 album, Kunststoff, has a sound all of its own - one which owes as much to the house rhythms and jazz-infused chords of Larry Heard (there’s even a track called Tribute… Continue reading Move D – 77 Sunset Strip
Nothin' But Magic 