Berlin Next - bringing Berghain in Paris

Radio Granouille is having a pop up studio this week at La Gaite Lyrique in Paris. They have teamed up with another 2 radio stations and are putting on Berlin Next, a 5 day event that offers the best of the Berlin scene at the moment. The event includes talks, projections and club nights. I went to have a look yesterday and was really impressed with the building the event is held on... It's like a cultural centre near Reaumur Sebastopol with artists studios, exhibitions space, bars and space for the club nights! Its style combines traditional with futuristic elements really nicely, without them clashing with each other! I'm going back on Saturday night so watch this space!

Here you can have a listen to the new mix Sebastien Bromberger, founder of Paris based label Modelisme Records, just put together for Radio Grannouille 888 in Marseille.

 SEBASTIEN BROMBERGER - MODELISME ON AIR AVRIL 11 - RADIO GRENOUILLE by SEBASTIEN BROMBERGER

Endless hours of joy listening to Seb playing!

Peter Van Hoesen!

Lately I've been listening a lot to Peter Van Hoesen. There is nothing I've heard from him that I haven't liked. Would be so great to see him play live! Shame it doesn't seem like he's coming to London any time soon. Although I could always go see him play somewhere else... For now (and the next 4 hours) I guess this will have to do!

Peter Van Hoesen at Berghain - 022011 by petervanhoesen

Track of the week

My Street Halo just arrived!

The postman just woke me up to bring me my new Burial 12". Listening to it as I type! Liking the a-side more; and also nice sleeve! Burial never disappoints.

Thanks Bleep!!!

California

Los Angeles

Amoeba Music on the Sunset Boulevard is without a doubt the biggest record shop I've ever seen. I spent around 3 hours in there and only just about managed to have a look at the hip hop section. Have to go back.

On the Sunrise Strip... The famous Whisky-a-Go-Go bar and the Viper Room, also famous as the nightclub outside which River Phoenix died of an overdose...

Could Hollywood be any less glamorous?

Venice!!!

Venice Beach with the Graffiti Park and of course the Muscle Beach! Definitely a place worth visiting!

 

The surfers' beach...

...and the surfers, who are actually in Malibu.

...and these ladies, outside a hotel in Palms Springs going to a private pool party, where we weren't allowed in...

Scientist's Dubstep Into Outer Space

On November 18th at Fabric, dub producer Scientist launched Dubstep Into Outer Space on Tectonic. I got there late and missed Scientist's live performace and Pinch; for once getting there late wasn't my fault and was really gutted... Anyway, got to see Mala, who was amazing as always and Loefah, who was pretty disappointing. At the beginning I wondered: Is this really Loefah playing? I looked again, and yes it was really him. It sounded nothing like the good old Loefah... No idea what he was doing... I haven't seen him play since, but I sure hope that was a one off...

So back to the album! It consists of 12 dubstep tracks that Scientist has remixed and has given them his dub touch! The original tracks were previously unreleased tracks from other dubstep DJs and producers such as Kode9, Mala, Guido and Shackleton.




Two of the tracks are available to download for free; King Midas Sound's U Dub Part 1 and Guido's Korg Back Dub.

Burial new release

Just announced!!! Street Halo is the new Burial 12" released on Hyperdub; 3 tracks: A-side Street Halo, B-side NYC and Stolen; 20mins 41secs.

Available for pre-order from Bookmat, Rough Trade, Phonica, Bleep. Release date: Monday 28th March.
 

How exciting?! Already pre-ordered my copy! Great start of the day!

Prefuse73 new release & free download

Prefuse73 is releasing his new LP The Only She Chapters on Warp on April 25th/26th. The 18 track LP features a number of different female vocalists, who all add to his unique sound. Apparently, the whole LP has a female element from the vocalists he's using to the artwork of the cover...  

Prefuse 73 'The Only She Chapters' Album Sampler by Warp Records

Also on offer as a free download is the 5th track of the LP, featuring Shara Worden!

From what I've heard, it all sounds like his usual atmospheric stuff, so nothing new really, but I'm sure it will be really good and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Hauschka

Great video of Hauschka performing on his 'prepared piano'.


Hauschka at NPR: Improvisation from NPR on Vimeo.

You can catch him playing live in London at the Barbican on May 8th as part of Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich.

Track of the week

Bloc Weekend 2011 - Day 3

Day 3 would have started with A Guy Called Gerald in the Ableton RFID Dome, if there wasn't such a massive queue outside, again!... Such a shame, I loved being the dome last year. I think for next year they should get a bigger dome... Is that possible?

A Guy Called Gerald - 2010-09-24 - DJ Set at Long Late Night Drive by Electro-Mix-Memory

Anyway, off to the Reb:Bloc to see Gentleman's Dub Club, which really is the best start of the day I could have asked for! The only improvement would be to be outdoor, under the sun, on a sandy beach, next to the sea... Have to stop thinking of sunny summer, it's too painful... brain, go back to beautiful Butlins!... So, Gentleman's Dub Club, love it! Love the energy, love the dub, love the trumpets and the crowd seems to love it too! It's wild, everyone is dancing crazy!

Next stop Jak:Blok to see Lone and Kyle Hall. And then for the close of the festival... Laurent Garnier, who was there with another two guys, one on the machine and the other on the keyboard. At the beginning it was a little bit too housey for me but the last hour was wicked! They went much harder, the sound of the keyboard was absolutely amazing and the lighting with the lasers just made the whole experience so much better. Nothing more for me to say, just watch the video...

Can't wait for next year!!!

Kode9 new release & free download

On April 18th Kode9 teams up with The Spaceape to release a new album on Hyperdub. Looking forward to listening to that, apparently Flying Lotus appears on one track...

Until then... you can download the new Kode9 essential mix and this new dub version of Time Patrol, the original version of which first appeared on 5 Years of Hyperdub.

Bloc Weekend 2011 - Day 2

I was hoping to start my second day of the festival at the Ableton RFID Dome. I arrive there and the queue is massive. Really wanted to see Luke Vibert, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen, there's no way I'm queueing... I quickly go to the Hotshots Sports Bar to see LuSINda, I really like seeing girls playing good techno! Then at the Tec:Bloc I see Geddes, who's also really good! Even though the room is pretty empty, as the time passes there is slowly more of a crowd and everyone seems to be having a good time.

Next stop is Red:Bloc to see King Midas Sound. Simply amazing! I love King Midas Sound, but this is so much better than I expected! Really powerful! You feel the bass vibrating everywhere inside you. I then move on to the Centre:Bloc to see Dopplereffekt.

Their sound is so dark and hypnotic. I then head off to see the first half of Jimmy Edgar and then the second half of dOP... What a performance?! The guy is hilarious! It's impossible not to get into it. It'a all about getting everyone into the party mood! He even gets a girl from the audience to dance with him on stage at the end... I have to admit I was a little bit worried at that moment, but thankfully the girl could actually dance! That was definitely a relief! Once dOP finish I naturally move to Soul Clap, to experience the funk!

Before ending my evening at the Jak:Bloc, I have to go see Venetian Snares. Aaron Funk is his usual self... grumpy looking, no eye contact with the audience, drinking beer after beer, getting off the stage and leaving the music playing in a loop. Can't say I understand exactly what he does or how he does it, but whatever it is I like it!

At 4am back in the Jak:Bloc! I have to stay till 9am to see Matilda, who plays a great set, finishes a few mins early and as soon as the crowd complains she's back on the decks! Class!

It would have been great to see Four Tet and Aphex Twin, but I've never seen a queue so long and I'm seriously not into queueing. I was glad to have seen them both before, so I wasn't too disappointed!

Bloc Weekend 2011 - Day 1

This festival has become a must attend event to anyone into electronic music. I've been at Butlins in Minehead on the 2nd weekend of March for the last 3 years. We get to Bloc around midnight. By the time we get our keys, we find our chalet and we are ready to go it's 2am.

Stop 1 Centre:Bloc to see LFO who hasn't played in the UK since 2008. It's good, but I stay only for 10mins as I simply have to rush to Tek:Bloc to see Shackleton, whose set is as always deep and atmospheric with his distinctive eastern/oriental sound.

Shackleton, Deadman by honest jons

After Shakleton I rush to the Red:Bloc to see Ben Klock who once again proves to be one of the greatest techno DJs with his raw and hard set. Then back to the Tek:Bloc to see DJ Pete; I think if it is techno you are after, just seeing Ben Klock and DJ Pete is more than enough to feel complete, even though they both played just for an hour, which wasn't quite enough. I think especially in techno, sets should be at least a couple of hours long, giving DJs enough time to build up their sets and get the crowd taken over.

I then end up at the Jak:Block, the only room open after 3.30am. Taken over by Plex, I get to see Ancient Methods, Silent Servant, James Tec and Jamez. I really enjoy all Plex DJs, but head back around 8am.

I think even though I enjoyed a lot the first day of Bloc, it was far from flawless. There were long gaps between DJs and there seemed to be issues with the sound. While DJs were playing there were sound engineers on stage changing cables etc. This was definitely not the case in previous years.

Kirk Degiorgio techno podcast

Just came across this Kirk Degiorgio podcast 'an hour long segment from his set at the first Machine in London' as Technopodcast.com put it!

TECHNOPODCASTdotCOM 029 - Kirk Degiorgio at Machine London by technopodcast

Track of the week

This has given a bit of trouble... Hate having to take decisions... So what should it be? Skeng (Autechre remix) or Tune In (feat. Roots Manuva)? Hmm... Ok! I'll have to go for Skeng because of the video, stimulating both ears and eyes! If Tune In had a nice video to go with it, it would have been without a doubt the winner!

Autechre - Second Bad Vilbel

Just came across this video and had to share it! The track is the first on the Avril Capre EP, released by Autechre on Warp in 1995 and the video was of course directed by the master of all... Chris Cunningham, who was scheduled to appear at the Roundhouse last February, but his performance was rescheduled for June 1st. You will be glad to know that tickets are still available!




Talking of Autechre I cannot not mention their new release Autechre EPs 1992-2002 WARPCD211 - 5 CDs, 47 tracks, 5hrs 39mins 59secs and what beautiful artwork! Release date is April 11th. Already got my WAV, but seriously cannot wait for the 'Deluxe CD'. One month to go...

Lucy’s Wordplay For Working Bees

A few days ago Lucy released his new album Wordplay for Working Bees on his own berlin based label Stroboscopic Artefacts and I can with no doubt say, it's one of the best techno albums I've listened to so far. Haven't bought it yet, but have listened to the entire album more than a few times already as it can be streamed in full from FACT. It's deep, quite dub at times and very atmospheric with some male vocals here and there, which don't normally do it for me but here they somehow work pretty well. He definately doesn't come accross as harsh as in his live sets.

Talking of his live sets, listen to this...

http://soundcloud.com/lucy/lucy-berghain-20-10-2010 by lucy

How is this even possible? Killer set! It's almost too much even to just imagine being in Berghain listening to this...

Philippe Petit...no42

DJ Philgood loves his mixes and we love him! oh yes... and his mixes! ...the special number 42!!!

Mix 42 DJ Philgood 2 March 2011 - Creator of Deepness - Part 3 by Phil Good

Thank you for all the hours of happiness you've given us Phil!

South Africa

Slums outside Cape Town

Wilderness... The longest beach I've ever seen! And the coldest sea I've ever touched... Well, probably after the Cape Town sea...

Chasing the wildlife makes me wonder... What am I doing in a big city?

'new and unreleased techno only'

Dollop at The Citypost Building and Machine at Islington Metal Works, Friday 25 February

Stop 1: The Citypost Building to see Luke Abbott and James Holden
I get to Dollop when Luke Abbott is playing; he's ok. I'm more interested in seeing James Holden; unfortunately I find his set pretty boring, it's like a flatline. I don't feel there is a peak anywhere in the set and I'm really not impressed by any of his tunes. I decide to leave around 3.30am before he finishes his set. 

Stop 2: Islington Metal Works to see Luke Slater and Ben Sims
I rush to Machine! I manage to get there at 3.45am, waste 5-10mins at the door and get to see the last 10mins of Luke Slater's set. As soon as I enter the room I question myself: Why did I go to Dollop if I knew Machine was on? Anyway I'm here now, suddenly with a big smile on my face! Luke Slater plays really loud and hard, I love it! And then... Ben Sims! What I've been waiting for all night!!! He's probably one of the best DJs I've seen! He starts straight away (and continues) with some really heavy industrial tunes. If you want to listen to some new excellent techno with some great machine like background visuals, then this is the party!

Next Machine is at East Village on 15 April with Rolando as headline guest.

PJ Harvey in London

PJ Harvey is currently on tour launching her 9th studio album Let England Shake. I was at Troxy last night at her 2nd London show as part of this tour with another 18 gigs still to come in Europe and the States.

The venue was full and the gig started only 10mins late of schedule, which gave the audience just enough time to get in, get their drinks and take their sits. It lasted about 1hr and 20mins. Most of the tracks played were from the new album and were truly remarkable! All the reviews I had previously read were really positive so I was really looking forward to seeing for myself. The new album has a completely different feel from her previous ones. Having read some of her interviews, I knew that PJ Harvey had focused her lyrics around themes of war, struggles of life, England... That made me think that the tracks would probably be quite aggressive. Instead, I found the music quite uplifting and the lyrics more nostalgic and soft than I expected. The album is very different than her previous ones, her voice is just so strong and the autoharp she plays adds so much to the character of the album. 

To get a feel of what Let England Shake sounds like you can listen to the 11th track of the new album...

Written On The Forehead by pjharvey

Not surprisingly most of the remaining dates have been sold out for some months now. There are still some tickets up for grabs for her shows at the Main Square Festival in Allas, France on 3 July, Piazza Castello in Ferrara, Italy on 6 July and the All Tomorrow's Parties event at Alexandra Palace in London on 24 July.