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Jake The Rapper

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:45:32 GMT

Jake Basker is best known as Jake The Rapper. He was born in the US which he left in the early 90s to follow what was going on in Iraq, judging the politics of different states involved from an outside perspective, rather unaffected by manipulated media reports.
Having arrived in Hamburg, his charme helped him stretch his 500 dollars seed money over six months. Jake disovered the Hochschule für bildende Künste (Hamburg Art College) and stayed there until he emerged with an official looking slip of paper from the state officially extolling him as a bona fide artist.
In terms of music Jake has a diversified CV. He was only 14 when he played his first college punk shows. Later he was an active member of different bands in Northern Germany. In the last few years he has appeared on tracks by Axel Bartsch, Thomas Schumacher, Format B, Kiki and many others as a vocalist and/or rapper. In 2005 Jake moved to Berlin, released an album which he had recorded with different producers melting HipHop with TechHouse. It was the right time to focussing his career as a DJ.
Despite the descriptor “The Rapper” in his name, Jake primarily loves to play house music – and he’s doing that successfully. His versatile visual appearance may have contributed to a wider audience, but without his skills in dynamically mixing house music, he wouldn’t have been voted one of the best DJs by Groove Magazine’s reader poll. His 3-hours-mix recorded during one of his live sets at Bar 25 gives proof that Jake The Rapper is one of our favourite DJs.

Dompteur Mooner

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:45:29 GMT

Dompteur Mooner was one half of Zombie Nation, whose 1999 release Kernkraft 400 was one of the most successful dance music crossovers of the last 20 years.

As a DJ, Mooner is known for blending obscure tunes that younger generations of clubbers have never heard before and which go far beyond what is known as dance music today. It is said that the psychedelic record collection of his mother formed his special musical taste.

Besides running his label and giving insights in his own collection which is absolutely unique, Mooner runs a project called Zombocombo with his wife Pollyester, DJ Kaput and Kitt Bang. Located in Munich’s club Die Registratur which has momentarily closed its doors, Zombocombo’s self-conception is “the new concrete mix of DIY-art, trash, show and antislip curiosities…”, providing happenings that grant space for the unexpected. Theme nights named Medicine Congress, Aerobic or Good vs. Evil disperse the common sense of club nights by adding artistic frameworks.

For the Futura 1976 Mix Dompteur Mooner dug deep into his crates. Besides very few contemporary productions you will find forgotten gems from the 70s and 80s showing where today’s dance producers still draw their inspiration from.

Check out his Elaste Vol.3 mix compilation for Compost records, subtitled Super Motion Disco. With its omnipresent references to 80s, Elaste Vol. 3 points towards the past that still leaves its marks in the future.

Robot Koch

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:45:25 GMT

Everyone knows robots are built for a specific purpose; C-3PO was a protocol droid and the Terminator terminated, but few know that Robot Koch’s has been solely built to be a music producing android. This Berlin artist has almost done everything working as a beatmaker, producer, and remixer Koch just never seems to stop working.
Having already work with Envy, Amanda Blank and Infinite Livez to name a few he is also the mastermind behind the critically acclaimed band Jahcoozi and post rock hiphop outfit The Tape vs RQM.

It comes as a surprise that this music producing robot has just released his debut album Death Star Droid. Having already endeared himself with ATM magazine and Modeselektor with the latter having done a remix for Kochs project jahcoozi and tweeting “…robot koch is dopeeeeeee! Berlin power!”

The sleepless robot is a real workaholic for example he lately launched his label Robots Don´t Sleep and by now he is doing a tour in Mexico and even will perform at this years Sonar Festival.

DJ Madskillz

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:45:29 GMT

The name Madskillz might make you think of a rapper if you are not aware of the Amsterdam dance scene.

Madskillz’ entry into music production was a fairly typical one: after a visiting Roxy Club Amsterdam in 1989, he got mad about Acid House and got himself a TB-303 and a TR-909.

Together with Dylan Hermelijn he released the Edge of Motion 12” “Set up 707” on Djax-Up-Beats which became a classic of early 90’s raves.

Two decades of production experience later, Madskillz has a broad discography having released Trip Hop and Drum ‘n’ Bass under different monikers. Though he’s currently best known for advanced Tech House, DJ Madskillz has carved out his own style over the past few years, not following trends or hypes, and always advancing the Amsterdam scene - redeveloping familiar elements and assembling them with technical perfection.

Wareika

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:45:33 GMT

It was in 2008 when Henrik Raabe, Florian Schirmacher and Jakob Seidensticker appeared from nowhere, manifesting themselves as producers to watch with their Wareika project. Hardly 2 years later Wareika are amongst the most in-demand protagonists of innovative house music.

With their first releases on Eskimo and Connaisseur, Wareika slingshot themselves in the international hall of interest. Soon after their track King’s Child was the 6th release on Motivbank, remixed by Ricardo Villalobos: an unmistakable hint that this may be more than just a flash in the pan.

Be it the hands-on use of multi-layered percussion, the concerted balance of pop and dance music over quarter-hour-tracks, or the intuitively mastered integration of acoustic instruments this band obviously enjoying to play and interact live.

Kasper Bjorke

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:45:27 GMT

Having released on labels like Plant Music, Fine, Thugfucker und V2 Records, Bjorke was awarded ‘Best producer’ for the project Filur that he is with Tomas Barfod

His second album Standing On Top Of Utopia is being released on hfn music and shows Bjorke’s musical eclecticism: the album’s influences reach from Disco to Pop to glamorous club sounds. Although the strings arrangements of Davide Rossi and the vocal performances of Louise Foo and Jacob Bellens impart a melancholic aura, Bjorke always manages to maintain an emotional balance, not overemphasizing the melancholic, close to tragic Scandinavian introspective.

From the first track on his mix for Electronic Beats Radio, Bjorke’s love for organic sounds, real voices and instruments shines through, regularly pops up, but never gets in the way of the mix.

Oxia

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:45:21 GMT

Olivier Raymond, best known as Oxia, has been making an impact with what is regarded as the “French Sound”. Despite Laurent Garnier and his F.Com imprint, Filter House for years has been the main association when thinking of French dance music. But the French musical landscape has evolved within the last years and nowadays it’s much more diversified.

Oxia has been playing live since 1994. After several years of music production, Oxia’s releases were still mostly found in most DJ’s record cases.

In his Podcast for Planet Gong Productions Oxia blends mainly Dutch herbs from the blooming gardens of Thirtyonetwenty, Arearemote, Intacto, Remote Area, 100% Pure and Music Man. An ambrosial, energetic potpourri that invites you to dance.

Monkey Maffia

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:45:45 GMT

It was a sad day when the Wighnomy Brothers announced they would be following different paths from the end of 2009. After 13 years together, countless gigs and more than a decade of label work for Freude-Am-Tanzen with its sub-label Musik Krause, there has been much speculation about the reasons for their breakup. However little is actually known about it. The sun still circles the earth (uh, was it vice versa?), dogs still bark and the tides have not changed at all. So let the past be past: Sören Bodner, better known as Monkey Maffia, has not yet resigned himself to living as a financial advisor, so he still brings home the bacon by playing records.

For the Freude-am-Tanzen Podcast Monkey Maffia mixes a moody 2 hours set and proves that despite the solo strategy we can still expect quality house grooves with surprise effects.

www.freude-am-tanzen.com
www.fatplastics.com
www.monkey-maffia.com

Stephan Bodzin

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:45:42 GMT

With his father being an experimental musician, Stephan Bodzin’s ambition to pursue a career music was set from an early age. Composing music for prestigious European theatres was the first platform for his music before he discovered club sounds.

When Oliver Huntemann, Thomas Schumacher and Marc Romboy recognized Bodzin’s talent they queued up for some time in the studio with him. These collaborations helped Bodzin to develop his own trademark style. His album “Liebe ist”, released on his own imprint Herzblut is probably Bodzin’s most successful creation and gained overwhelming reviews worldwide.

Describing himself as a “melody man”, Bodzin likes to get straight to the point. Stylistically located near progressive TechTrance with a strong focus on the dancefloor, Bodzin creates a perfect balance between both dulcet and mysterious melodies and a diverse spectrum of stylistic elements that set his sound apart from stereotypical progressive trance.

Bodzin obviously has an intuition for elaborating on the interplay of sounds, their different frequency spectrums and arranging perfect freakout scenarios. Even Grand Gigolo Hell paid tribute by calling Bodzins tunes “ground breaking Bremen Sound”.

In his mix for Electronic Beats Radio Bodzin starts with well some fantastic Techhouse before he slowly boosts the thrill to finally end up with his remix of Depeche Mode “Fragile Tensions”.

Fuckpony

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:45:26 GMT

Versatile and boundless, house music has always been the driving force in the production career of Jay Haze aka Fuckpony. With a diverse musical and cultural imprint as demonstrated by his various monikers, Haze works a huge playing field to explore different sounds, sometimes preserving, but often extending common approaches.

Having released a polarizing 3-disc-album Love and Beyond as Jay Haze last year, the Tuning Spork and Contexterrior mastermind continues to process the main human issue: love. While Love and Beyond overstrained some listeners with its three genre jumping discs, the use of his Fuckpony alias on his latest album suggests that Haze wanted to just “Let The Love Flow”.

Fuckpony’s mix for Electronic Beats Radio is surprisingly straight-forward, more house than funk. However, don’t let that put you off. Tune in, drop out and “Let The Love Flow”.

The Glass

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:45:36 GMT

Arriving from Dublin via New York and Berlin, the Glass are the
pairing of DJ Wool and Dominique Keegan. The duo made the first ever release on their own Plant label in 2004 with the stunning ‘Won’t Bother Me.’ Since then they have released many singles including their recent summer smash “Wanna Be Dancin.’’ The Glass are currently finishing their album and tour as a duo, combining live vocals, beats and synths. Here they bring us a fine DJ mix, jam packed with drama and emotion, hidden gems and tons of energy.

Jesse Rose

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:45:23 GMT

Being turned to music from the very beginning Jesse started playing records at the age of fourteen, finding special interest in Motown Soul, Jazz and Eighties Funk. Raised in London’s Ladbroke Grove area, Jesse moved to Bristol and started djaying with his close friend Jamie Anderson, playing their favourite Chicago house and Detroit techno tunes at local clubs. After being somewhat established in the Bristol DJ scene, Jesse turned to his second big passion: producing. By ninety-seven Jesse was ready to make the move back to his hometown, recording his first mix compilation for the Subversive label and releasing his first single on Artform.

But what would a dj / producer be with a his own record label? Alongside Chris Belsey Jesse created the Front Room Recordings label, which has boasted artists like Solid Groove, Henrik Schwarz, Chris Duckenfiled, Trevor Loveys, his friend Jamie Anderson, Rob Mello, John Tejada and Stefan Goldmann, while one of his most successful projects to date is his collaboration with Dave Taylor: “Induceve”’s first single “Jazz Chops” became an instant house anthem.

Learning his trade as a dj with regular slots at the legendary London club Fabric and visits over the pond in Europe, Jesse now holds residency at his monthly Made to Play night at the Panoramabar in Berlin and tours the world for fifty-two weeks of the year.

If you need a dance-floor remix Jesse is the guy you turn to, lending his skills to artists such as Hotchip, Armand Van Helden, Underworld, Simian Mobile Disco, Layo & Bushwacka!, Claude VonStroke and many more. While all of this has been going on Jesse still managed to put away a collaborations album ‘More Than One’ and the highly respected ‘Body Language 3’ compilation on Get Physical.

Jesse has been nominated alongside four others for ‘Best British DJ’ at the DJ Mag best of British Awards, number four in IDJ players of the year & fourteen in Mixmag’s best DJ’s in the world 2007. However, also in 2009 Jesse has once again proven to be a musical force to be recon with.

Ben Klock

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:45:28 GMT

Ben Klock is a German DJ and producer renowned for his deep and minimal interpretations of techno. The hype about him goes hand in hand with the success of his residency club Berghain, which is currently heralded as the best techno club in the world. Indeed, his musical career started when the Berlin resident began playing in bands of different styles – from rock and trip hop to pop and electronic music.

In the late nineties, Klock focused on his obsession with techno and started producing his own tracks. In 1998 he dropped his first vinyl, followed by releases on BPitch Control and WMF Records. Despite spinning (real vinyl) records in all the big clubs in the world and producing tunes all day, at that moment his existence as a musician was just a hobby: he earned his money from graphic design.

The turning point in his life came when he was asked to play a residency at Berghain in 2006.
Nowadays, he releases records on Ostgut Ton, the Berghain club’s label, and is running his own label Klockworks. His set for Electronic Beats Radio will lead through the last decade and beyond.

Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:45:19 GMT

Soulful psychedelic duo The Asteroids Galaxy Tour formed in 2007 in Copenhagen around Lars Iversen and Mette Lindberg. After composing and fine-tuning their sound, they sent a demo tape to music business veterans David Enthoven and Tim Clark, who managed the careers of T-Rex, Roxy Music and Robbie Williams. After a half an hour of listening, the two were certain there was huge potential for the band.

The first show The Asteroids Galaxy Tour played was as support band for Amy Winehouse in Copenhagen’s biggest concert hall. Their single “The Sun Ain’t Shining No More” drew attention by rotating on several radio stations and “Around The Bend” was picked for Apple’s iPod touch TV commercial – a more fortuitous pre-album series of events hardly exists.

Fruit more than fulfilled expectations: the songs combine brass driven soul, psychedelic rock and singalong party tunes. Mette Lindberg’s unschooled and unique voice, Lars Iversen’s vintage recording equipment and an uncommon love for the sounds of past decades gives the band their fresh and un-jaded sound.

Mark Reeder

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:45:18 GMT

Described as the “Godfather of the Berlin music scene”, few have had as big an impact as Mark Reeder. Present during the divide, Mark helped propel Berlin into the music capital it is today. This Manchester native began his impressive Berlin story in 1978 as the German rep of Factory Records. His label “Masterminded For Success” (MFS) became the first dance music label in reunited Berlin, and he worked with protégé Paul Van Dyk on remixing at his next venture, Flesh Records, before going on to remix for The Pet Shop Boys.

While based in West Berlin, Reeder founded the new wave band Die Unbekannten, toured with New Order and organised an illegal show in East Berlin for the then-unknown punk band Die Toten Hosen. After a phase of musical reorientation, Mark decided to centre his musical approach towards electronic-disco-rock. This small step towards techno snowballed and quickly became his greatest passion. He just released his first album, Reordered, along with German trance outfit Blank & Jones.

With his profound understanding of Berlin’s history and many musical phases, it’s no wonder Reeder’s mix for Electronic Beats is as eclectic as his taste in music, “My musical tastes are so very, very varied today, due to the incredible amount of fantastic indie and club artists making some really great music… I can’t list everything I listen to here, as I listen to all kinds, from classical to rock, to soul, disco and techno, avant garde or electronic and beyond.”

Alex Dallas aka The Lost Men

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:45:12 GMT

Alex Dallas has been an integral part of Zurich’s nightlife scene since the ‘90s, with a hand in producing music, co-founding the record label Drumpoet Community and jazzy electronic label Straight Ahead Records, releasing on Compost Records with Headman and Alex Gustafson as Natural High Productions, and co-running the much-adored Zukunft and Dachkantine clubs.

Dallas has been instrumental in Zurich’s electronic evolution: In the mid ‘90s he helped drum & bass break through by establishing the Nu’Stepz club night with guests like LTJ Bukem, Kruder & Dorfmeister and Matthew Herbert manning the decks. Today, he does the musical programming for the Zurich Radiofestival and runs Drumpoet Community as a sub-label of Compost Records. Since its inception in 2006, the successful imprint has established itself as a quality outlet for understated house music and is home to artists like Lexx aka Kawabata, Soultourist, Quarion, and Crowdpleaser.

Although Dachkantine regrettably had to close in 2006, Dallas has been running the small Zukunft (German for future) club with some friends since 2005; it’s a place for music lovers to enjoy the sounds of excellent guest DJs like Dixon, Âme, Pepe Bradock, and Morgan Geist.

Despite his heavy administrative load, Alex Dallas still produces and releases deep house tunes with a Swiss quality seal, both solo and as The Lost Men (with Bernd Kunz and Alex Gustafson). For November, the Drumpoets have announced their second label compilation, Drumpoems Verse 2.

Headman

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:45:13 GMT

Producer, DJ and Relish Records label founder Headman aka Robi Insinna is one of the foremost pioneers of the “Nu Disco” movement, with his unique fusion of house, pop, disco and rock. In addition to playing alongside 2ManyDJs and Tiga, this man of many talents has done remixes for Franz Ferdinand, The Gossip, Roxy Music and Zombie Nation.

In 2003, Headman released his highly anticipated debut album “It Rough” on Munich-based label Gomma and followed this up in 2006 with “On”, which featured collaborations with members of Soulwax and The Rapture. In 2008, he dropped his third full-length Gomma album, “Catch Me”, which garnered much critical praise. In between releases, Headman remixed Munk, Zongamin, The Invisibles, The Doves and Tiga.

2009 was a big year for Headman and Relish Records: it began with the 12” release of Headman´s newest remixes and a collaboration with Dieter Meier from Yello. By July, he’d released the double A single “Dreampieces/Dirt”, on Relish Records, pushing the revitalised disco sound he helped ferment firmly back on the map. Now, Relish Compilation II and a new Headman album will be released at the end of the year. Thankfully, the musical powerhouse was not too busy to compile an excellent new radio show for Electronic Beats.

DJ Phono

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:45:25 GMT

Few could have guessed that DJ Phono is a member of the electro group Deichkind. First, he doesn’t produce or play any Deichkind songs. Second he says that he’s one of group’s biggest detractors. So you ask yourself, why is DJ Phono a Deichkind member? Well, besides being the mastermind behind the group’s infamous shows, he like participating in a group that has the ability to bring people together from all walks of life.

DJ Phono’s crossover style is always fun and never dull. He may start with lightly layered minimal tracks followed by funky tunes and in-your-face electro. Phono’s mixes keep you on your toes with their unpredictability. The catalogue of labels that strike his fancy include Kompakt, Get Physical, Dial, Playhouse, Areal, Systematic, DFA, Environ, Ibadan, B-Pitch Control, Liebe Detail and M-nus.

Always eager to add a new facet to his style, DJ Phono began to create live DJ shows. Taking cues from Daft Punk and Etienne de Crecy, he strives for memorability. 2010 will see him in clubs and galleries across Germany, but here’s a sneak peek of what to expect.

Marlow

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:45:22 GMT

After achieving major media recognition for his role in London’s early dubstep scene, Marlow turned to honing his production skills. His 2006 debut album “The Rope”, released on Storming Productions, quickly gained support from some of the scene’s major players, as well as many fans. This helped Marlow secure releases on influential labels like Boka, Hotflush and Scuba.

After Howie B featured one of Marlow’s tracks on a Fabric podcast, Marlow felt the time was right to present selected works to Norman Cook’s Southern Fried Records. He started remixing for Stereo MCs, The Black Ghosts and Fatboy Slim’s new side project ‘BPA.’ Producers and DJs alike realized that Marlow was redefining himself for a wider audience, and leaving the dubstep stamp behind. Influential DJs such as Adam Freeland, Kissy Sellout, Annie Mac and Rob Da Bank have played Marlow’s tracks.

Not content with the widespread sparse and half-hearted approach to dubstep, Marlow carved his own niche alongside the dubstep mainstream. At present Marlow is preparing the launch of his own imprint No Comply Recordings (NCOMP), which will put out a limited debut release at the end of November.

Stimming

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:45:22 GMT

Martin Stimming, better known under his detached surname, isn’t a rookie to the dance scene. In Stimming’s earlier years he tuned his ears to downbeat and drum & bass. As the former drummer of drum & bass crew Breakaholics and one half of Gebrüder Ton, Stimming developed eclectic tastes in electronic and acoustic music.

His album “Reflections” is a culmination of Stimming’s discography and its reception among fellow DJs. Due to his background in playing the drums, there are distinct and groovy percussive elements on the album tracks, giving them a strong organic soul. As a multifaceted artist Stimming is not content with only blooming melodic effects and rasping sounds; he also produces, with painstaking perfection, and creates uncompromising and well-balanced mixes. Enhanced with acoustic elements below 80 Hz, he creates deeply touching and confident tunes for your night-time pleasure.

Enjoy Stimming’s mix, a journey through selected works from his album “Reflections”.