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For the ones who don’t know what does Slydex productions look like, the first track of this podcast is one from him.

Roy Gilles record at Apparel Music Secret show in Florence in February.

The last podcast of the Micro_MUTEK.ES series showcases Argentina’s DILO (aka Franco di Lorenzo), a producer who has released music on European labels such as Hope Central, Lessizmore, Soma, and [a]pendics.shuffle (under his alias Cascabel Gentz). Dilo is also responsible for the label Igloo Records, which has released material from the likes of Pinkler Ismael, From Karaoke To Stardom and himself, this time as another one of his projects, Elephant Pixel.

DILO is one of those artists currently residing in Berlin, but with very little time to play master of the house because of his constant travels to Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia or Russia. His sets are based on a direct, clean and skeletal techno sound, with the shapes and colors that are characteristic of his Latin American roots gaining ground in cold and grey Berlin. This sound has begun to take on new vigour with his debut album, Ethereal.

This podcast showcases some of his exclusive tracks taken from his upcoming album, and offers a taste of what we can expect from his show at Nocturne 2 on February 9^th with Luomo and Venezuela’s DJ Moreon.

For his podcast Jeremy sent us this very club-friendly mix composed of a dozen killer tracks that summarize well what Dumb-Unit does the best: it has bass, it’s dark and it has a lot of Avatism stuff in it, just enough and nothing more.

Biography

Jacek Sienkiewicz is a shadowy figure. Despite 10+ years of running its own label and releasing much-praised records through numerous prolific European labels, he somehow manages to walk his own path towards a very peculiar vision of contemporary electronic music. With one foot deep in classic Detroit and Chicago dance scene, and the other in modern jazz and classical music, Jacek’s tracks for the past ten years always try to find a right balance between the avant-garde and dancefloor, between primal emotions and highly sophisticated sonic wizardry.
Jacek was born in 1976 in Warsaw where he still resides. DJing soon led to playing live, and his memorable debut took place in Autumn of 1996, while scoring an art performance at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw. This place will also mark the comeback towards more experimental sounds, as Jacek debuts his new pieces at the vary same place, in February, 2012.
After years of recording for prolific dance labels, a decade of playing various dance events, Jacek Sienkiewicz decided to separate his dancefloor-friendly persona from the quiet, inward-bound incarnation as a modern composer. Thus, from 2012, his club-oriented gigs will be billed as Recognition, while his given name will be used solely for unique performances, trying to explain his current path of artistic expression. This time, casting all the inspirations aside, Jacek decided to built something entirely on his own, digging deep into the subconscious to bring to life all what was left unspoken for years.

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We’ve been itching to release this podcast since it was sent over; a real peach of a mix by Genius Of Time. Hailing from Göteborg Sweden, the duo have been putting tip top quality house music out since 2010, on their own imprint Aniara and the excellent Royal Oak Records. Their productions are raw and expressive, sounding like music made in the heart of Chicago rather than Scandanavia, and you can hear these U.S. influences poking through in their podcast. We’re happy to announce that you can catch the boys playing with Louche and Brawther in Room 3 at Fabric this March, and after hearing this mix we can’t wait!

As such, AUTOBRENNT are very happy to present to you the group’s first ever podcast.  Say the band of the mix…

We are very excited to officially release our first PillowTalk podcast. The continuous mix contains all PillowTalk productions and re-mixes.  Sit back and enjoy an intimate hour with us and a loved one.  The mix takes inspiration from our love of life and those around us. We dedicate this to all lovers trying to find a way in this cold harsh world!!

As they say, it’s a heartfelt mix designed to be listened to when snuggled up next to someone at home. It references 80s pop, jazz, modern house, deconstructed disco and plenty more styles in between, all of which get brushed with the all important PillowTalk touch…

Cheers guys!

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Gritty house and techno from the Russian underground.

It would be easy to apply the word “controversial” to Nina Kraviz but we think that “honest” is far more accurate. We first spoke to the Russian DJ/producer at the tail end of 2009 as part of our Breaking Through feature, in which her views on DJing (“I hate tight mixes”) sparked heated forum debate. Her thoughts on the subject (“everyone’s so perfect it’s disgusting”) came up again in the middle of last year, again eliciting much discussion. What we’re essentially saying here is that Kraviz has an MO and she’s more than happy to defend it. The upshot of this is vinyl mixing, digging deep for her music and laconic productions. In terms of the latter, Jus-Ed’s Underground Quality imprint was an early home for her simple, smoky house tracks. Rekids have also been a key imprint and will release her eponymous debut album at the end of February.

We could try and explain the message behind Kraviz’s mix for us but it would be completely inadequate given her response to the question below. We will say this, though: Dance Mania.

What have you been up to recently?

I’ve been traveling around the world and experiencing some really good times. I’ve been meeting very interesting people. And they have been introducing incredible things to me that I have never thought of before. So I think recently I’ve been learning a lot…

How and where was the mix recorded?

This mix was recorded at home with two turntables, two CD players, a mixer and computer.

Can you tell us about the idea behind the mix?

The main idea is to present myself as a DJ. I was a DJ long before I started producing my own music. I hosted my Friday nights at Propaganda Club and played there every week. Since I’ve got the most recognition for songs like “I’m Gonna Get You” people often expect me to play this song or something similar. And I truly appreciate that people like my music. And I would love to make them happy but as a DJ I’ve always been more into playing acid house, for example, occasionally leaving some space in the end of my set to play my well-known songs. I always wanted people to appreciate my wish to separate me as DJ from my productions.

So I decided to record a mix which will be more or less about what I’ve been playing in clubs recently…simple as that. Of course I can play much harder (totally love playing techno sets) or indeed much softer—it all depends on the vibe in the club. But ideally I like spinning for three to five hours, to play anything that inspires me at that particular moment. To follow my dancing instinct rather than a genre. My instinct would probably guide me to the right place where I can finally get to drop a Dance Mania record. Sometimes I think that my only purpose of DJing is to play Dance Mania records! I love it so much. This mix contains some of my all-time favorites like “Blackholes” or Baby Pop’s “You Know What I’m Saying,” “Egotrip” or Pink Floyd’s “On the Run.” I shared some truly beautiful moments on the dance floor with these songs. By the way: I wanna use this chance to say “thank you” to people for sharing these moments with me.

You have a pretty distinctive style of vocal delivery, but are there other performers you draw inspiration from?

Inspiration can be very inspiring! I like Billie Holiday and her way of projecting pain; Grace Jones for her true narcissism; Letta M’Bulu for wild expression; Robert Plant for white voice of the century; David Bowie, Jim Morrison and Gina X for being David Bowie, Jim Morrison and Gina X in their very murky meaning. These are big names, yeah, but there is the name that stands out particularly in my world—Kate Bush. It’s not really about the voice, it’s a bit of everything that comes out of her inexhaustible creativity.

Your sound has always felt classics-rooted: do you tend to dig for old records as much as you do new ones?

I don’t know if this is a bad sign or good one…but I am a “hard to find” track freak. I always loved it to go to the second hand record store to spend an hour, two, three there. My hidden diamonds are the only logical explanation for why it is so exciting for me to lose myself in dusty records. Even if the salesman is far from being a friendly dude, even if he’s quite annoyed that you keep on asking all these ridiculous questions, that you ended up visiting his lovely store at all…even if you spend a day looking for a cool record, found it and a day later found it available on Discogs for less than a dollar (that happens pretty often to me). My heart beats faster when I enter a record store.

What are you up to next?

Continue experiencing every day of my life. It appears to be a true miracle. And it is not that I am a perfectionist, but I would love to be a little bit better than I am now.
Coming back to the music thing, when my album is released I would like to sing some of my songs live. I am working on it at the moment to be ready for my first show at Rex Club in Paris, 24th of February. It sounds unbelievable to me but finally I will be playing my own music for at least 50 minutes. This is very exciting and a little bit scary to be very honest with you. Apart from that I would like to continue working on my techno stuff that I never put out so far. I hope we can continue collaborating with DJ Stingray. And of course my DJ thing. I am looking so much forward to spin some records in good company! Wholeheartedly.

RAGUL does not spare the imagination when defining his memories. According to his biography, this young producer, with experience in projects like the Miga record label, Discontinu Records and events such as the Plug Festival, was submitted to a huge surgical operation that turned him into the first bionic man this side of the river Ebro. So now he lives quietly some place in Barcelona, comfortably uninstalled in between the machinery necessary to build his playful music and, much like himself, converges his sensibility in humankind with the mathematical infallibility of old machines. Proof of this is in the third podcast of our Micro_MUTEK.ES series, which is a preview of his live show.

The robot child RAGUL will be let out of its “quarantine” to perform on Saturday, February 11, at the Convent de Sant Agustí, as part of the newly added EXPERIENCE series, accompanied by the visuals of Stefania Sole and Paula Guastella (aka Blowshe).

From the early days of his hugely successful, uncompromising techno ‘Black Series’ on Glimpse Recordings, through to the groove-laden tech house of ‘Drifting’ on Planet E and, later, fully pursuing the deep and organic take on house via his Crosstown Rebels singles and album – this musical range has gained him the respect of his peers and culminated in two successive nominations in DJ Magazine’s prestigious ‘Best British Producer’ category.

Not that his recognition is purely domestic. As a touring act, the Glimpse live show has really found its mark after the tipping point of the ‘Runner’ LP on Crosstown Rebels in 2010. Already a regular in South America as well as Japan (in part due to a loyal following at Tokyo’s club-of-the-future Womb) the subsequent live tour powered him into new territories such as Australia and North America, as well as European clubbing meccas such as Panorama Bar, Tenax, Fabric, Cocoon and Tresor. A specific highlight in his career came in summer 2010 when an epic run of gigs at Space Ibiza’s Kehakuma party culminated in him being invited to close the evening on the Flight Area stage (outdoor Car Park) at the Space Closing fiesta. As he wrapped up the show, in front of a 5,000 strong crowd, he joined an elite crew containing literally the biggest names in the history of dance music.

With 2011 coming to an end, Glimpse steps into 2012 favourably returning to two of his former label collaborators. November saw him teaming up on Leftroom with regular collaborator Martin Dawson for ‘Wildlife’, which the label is calling one of their biggest releases yet. A highly sought after eruption of impelling house and a straight up dance floor killer, ‘Wildlife’ is yet another milestone release.

‘Fat Controller’ sees Glimpse make a welcome return to an on-point Hypercolour in early 2012 and, for his premier outing on Catz ‘n Dogz’ Pet Recordings, ‘Our Friends Electric’, Glimpse uses his own vocals with remarkable results on another extremely catchy single.

Capable of taking his sound in all the directions under the spectrum, owing to an unyielding drive to reinvent himself, only Glimpse knows what the future holds in store.

After the debut, he recived a discographical offer by ”Apparel Music” and with ”Under The Sea EP” (supported by Magazine and important djs like Seth Troxler, Ellen Allien, Richie Hawtin, Brothers Vibes, Steve Lawler) he reaches the 1st position of the best new albums (January- 2012). Being in the Dj Sneak’s top 10, of course is an important goal that makes him proud of himelf.

Also finished is a 2 Track ep for the fresh Berlin label Nsyde run by Richard Zepezauer. The label has earned a lot praise so far with releases by Daso and Kevin Reynolds.
For the ever growing Greta Cottage Workshop comes another vinyl only release as follow up to his highly acclaimed limited 10″ under the Mudkid moniker.

The latest producer he’s brought to our attention is Londoner, Technicolour. As his name suggests his music is bright and a little mixed up; an end product thats created by a mixture of influences and sound colours. But weak analogies aside, Peter Rogers’ music has caught our ear and after his releases on labels like Critical, Fokuz, Shogun Ltd and Technique we’ve managed to catch up with him. We grabbed a mix straight from his hard drive and shot him a few questions so he could better introduce himself…

Interview

For those who may not be acquainted with your sound, can you introduce yourself in 10 words?

Bearded, crate-digging junglist, with cat, from South-West London.

What have you been working on recently? 

As always I’ve been trying to make as much music as possible, in between working full time and spending far too many hours on eBay buying obscure, privately pressed new age LPs.

How did you get involved with d&b? 

I’m originally from Luton, and growing up there in the 90s there was a strong rave and jungle scene. I started off listening to pirate radio, then cycling to our local record shop after school with my pocket money to buy the newest DeeJay Recordings release. It just grew and flourished from there. I’ve been buying the music since that point, but in 2002, after moving to London, I bought myself a computer and finally started trying to make this music I’d been listening to for 10 years. My debut single came on Ennex Records in 2005 and since that I’ve had singles on Technique Recordings, Critical, Spearhead, Viper, Fokuz, Rubik and Shogun Ltd.

How would you describe the music you make? 

I’ve always been a lover of lush, musically rich drum & bass, and my sound reflects that. Jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, ambient: it’s all in there in one way or another. Hopefully it’s music that evokes a feeling or emotion in the listener. As well as making them want to dance, obviously…

Can you tell us more about upcoming music from you? 

These days I am working almost exclusively with Bedford’s finest, Komatic. We first collaborated in 2008, and since then we’ve been making lots of music and drinking far too much red wine together. The tunes have increasingly become better than our solo output, and we’re getting great responses to all of our new material, so expect lots more Technicolour & Komatic music in the future. Forthcoming in the first half of this year are singles on Fokuz, Shogun Ltd, Integral and Spearhead.

Ahead of your set here at the end of the month, when you’ll be joining Bukem in Room 2, what can we expect from the night? 

Well it’s Logical Progression, so as always it’ll be deep drum ’n’ bass of the very highest calibre. I’ve always been a bit of an LTJ Bukem fanboy, so to finally get the chance to play alongside him, and in fabric no less, is going to be very special. Expect vibes.

Catch Technicolour in Room Two on the 27th January.

Florian Meindl is a DJ, producer and sound designer. In addition to numerous collaborations with international artists he is busy with producing remixes (for Röyksopp, Hot Chip…), running his label FLASH Recordings and composing new music. He has successfully completed his BA studies at the London College of Music, which helps him producing his upcoming artist album.
He also writes articles about music production in magazines like “FutureMusic” and does loops & sample bundles for his own brand “Riemann Kollektion” and “Samplemagic”. Till now his productions have been released on labels such as Trapez, Stil vor Talent, Resopal, Herzblut and Kling Klong.
The 38th and current release on his own label FLASH Recordings is in production; this serves as a platform for continuous development and promises many unheard sound creations from Meindl’s universe.

If you ask the 26 years old musician about the origin of his exceptional career, he will describe it as an “early identification with electronic music” which occurred in a small village in beautiful Upper Austria. He sees himself as an artist who is passing this message on to a new generation.
The collaboration with Oliver Koletzki, founder and owner of Stil vor Talent, was certainly an important milestone. Both generated trend-setting productions from which some of the current club tunes and hits emerged. Meindl’s Solo E.P. “Sputnik” is his standard release, one of the essentials of a new minimal style, as is “Blast” which has just been remixed by Format:B for the100th release on Trapez. All in all, Meindl has released more than 100 tracks in very different genres during the course of his young musical development.

After prolonged stays in London Meindl, having adopted Berlin as his home, finally made to move to Berlin in 2009. Here he found the stage for further developing his music. From his new home-base he tours the world’s top clubs, because apart from the exceptional variety of his very own musical style both in music production and composition, he is known more than anything else for his precision in creating driving and diversified DJ sets. Closely following the present development, this demanding representative of the next generation of electronic music is presently focussing on the expansion of his international work. However, Meindl still finds the time to present his original and unique sound branding to a curious party crowd, which is rapidly developing into a loyal community of fans.

When one experiences the modest authority of this sound artist in the sometimes slightly morbid and fast moving scenario of today’s club music, one can look forward to the continued development of electronic music. Florian Meindl is certainly one of the most interesting representatives of the next generation of electronic music producers – his first artist album is in progress featuring a variety of singers and musicians.

Special Download

Special thanks to David Blot (Radio Nova) and Fany at Kill the Dj

Boris Werner Known as an enfant terrible, a radiant light in every after hour and for his mercy less productions; Boris Werner is a thrillseeker of his generation. The Amsterdam based bad boy that speaks his mind and let’s this reflect in his music making. Living weekend to weekend end-on-end and doing all kinds of musical escapades in between, this rockstar’s music got widely recognized in this international scene we call house music. And over the last years he has created quite a stir for himself. 2010 already marks his first decade of electronic music, turning his love for music into a hefty fulltime lifestyle.

It was over ten years ago that Boris got bitten by the house bug when friends first took him to now legendry Mazzo (RIP) in his hometown. And as the story goes for many alike: he got hooked. Being asked to co-host the MONO events with longtime friends Lauhaus and Aron Friedman in 2002. Boris quickly became a regular in Amsterdam nightlife. Never to shy away from any opportunity to have his say behind the decks, he has played more illegal raves then there are any. Cultivating him to the undisputed afterhour dj in his hometown. Having played alongside countless of innovators and inspirators in clubs, parks and/or tunnels, Boris rose to the occasion time and time again. With surgical like precision pain stakingly selecting his records and setting the right party vibe. Flash forward to 2005; after alot of playing, partying and soulsearching this ruffian made his first steps into producing with partner in crime Lauhaus.

They landed their first release in 2007 (Matchmaker / Legeres [Remote Area]) and things really started taking off. Their tracks got licensed for multiple mixcompilations and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time. Boris’ first solo EP would be a doublepack (No Day Like Monday EP) which sold out in a heartbeat. Remixes and cooperations followed on many acclaimed labels such as Moon Harbour, Supplement Facts, Rush Hour, Welcome to Masomenos , Soweso and many others. It skyrocketed Boris into playing most venues throughout Holland and abroad. Places and events like Club 11 (r.i.p.), Studio 80, Rex, Voltt, 5 days Off, Tenax, Panoramabar, T/bar, Awakenings, Welcome To The Future, Sonne Mond und Sterne, WMC, Trouw, Sonar, ADE and closing the Lowlands Festival are only just to name a few. This mile stone year saw Boris also being picked up by the crew of Circo Loco boosting him into Ibiza’s DC-10 several times. And through getting the faith of magnificent club Trouw (Amsterdam) Mr. Werner is now proud host of his own club night; Late Night Society.

Together with William Kouam Djoko he invites acts and DJ’s that got their attention making for defty nights of quality clubbing. Boris Werner, forever young at heart. A charismatic pillar of house, he will keep, pushing dance floors and promotors to fall under his spell with his enthusiasm and dedication to party. Not as a surprise cause people know when quality hits them in the face when he plays his sound filled with lush grooves, thick bass lines and subtle melodies.. From his first decade up to many more to follow there is no end in sight, so keep a close eye and your ear to the streets. Keep a line open for your pusher man.

LOCO DICE UNDER 300 TOUR – Chapter 2

12 cities. 12 shows. 300 limited tickets.

Loco Dice, international artist and Desolat label owner, has had a massive year in 2011, playing some of the most renowned clubs and festivals in the world.
At the beginning of 2012 Loco Dice is again set to return not only to his artistic roots, but also to a fundament of dance culture that we love – small, intimate clubs with a capacity of 300 or less.

It’s been a while since the first Under 300 Tour in 2009, which led Loco Dice to 14 cities playing exclusive extended sets for ecstatic crowds.

The forthcoming UNDER 300 TOUR in January and February 2012 pays tribute not only to vinyl, small lively dance floors, musical freedom and curiosity, but first and foremost to the resident DJ as someone who runs the engine room of creativity, educates and shapes the taste of many.

The TOUR is hosted by a resident DJ in each city. Loco Dice along with his bag full of vinyl is a guest – a curious one, who will not only play in a traditional way, (two turntables and a mic), showing musical facets that are out of place on big stages, but who’ll also use his microphone to interview and introduce each local host, giving the world far beyond the intimacy of a club an insight into UNDER 300.

More information at: http://under300.net

Dates

20.01 – Zurich @ Giesserei with Manon
21.01 – Rotterdam @Toffler with Michel de Hey and Jeff Moore
22.01 – Amsterdam @ Trouw with Boris Werner
26.01 – Turin @ Secret location with Lorenzo LSP
27.01 – Rome @ Animal Social Club with Giancarlino
02.02 – Madrid @ Mondo, ­with Eduardo De La Calle
04.02 – Barcelona @ Suite 191 pres. by RAUM with Pablo Bolivar
10.02 – Copenhagen @ Culture Box with Martinez
11.02 – Paris pres. by We Love Art @ Petit Bain with Alex & Laetitia
12.02 – Düsseldorf @ Salon des Amateurs ­ with Patrick Specke, Pulshar “live” and Vladimir Ivkovic
16.02 – Brussels­ @ Woodstrasse with Ramon Tapia
18.02 – London @ Secret Location with Enzo Sigarusa

A pioneer of the Chilean DJ scene that started building on the diverse music emerging from Latin American sound systems in the early 90s, DJ Raff has been a member of some of the most important hip-hop projects to come out of Chile. Along the way, he has helped to sow the seeds of what is now considered one of the biggest and most important hip-hop scenes in Latin America.

Raff´s vast experience and upfront production skills have made him one of the most sought after producers in Chile. His blend of creative sampling, phat beats, keyboard arrangements and scratching have already earned him a place amongst Latin America´s most highly regarded and groundbreaking DJs and music producers.

Dj Raff will perform February 10th for the Pre Nocturne event alongside Catalan mainstay Guillamino at theMusic Hall on Ramba Catalunya, 4.

Soul Clap is Elyte and Cynce who bring to us their sonic adventures around the universe. Before their debut gig this Friday 20 Jan at Zouk‘s Velvet Underground in Singapore, the Berlin duo blesses us with a mini interview and this mix live from Miami’s The Electric Pickle. Listen during odd hours, after hours, sometime out of time and cling onto the vibe for a spaceship ride with a grin.

Click here more for more info about Soul Clap @ Velvet underground | 20 Jan 2012

Interview

WHEN, WHERE AND HOW WAS THIS MIX RECORDED?

This set was recorded in July 2011 at our residency at the Electric Pickle in Miami. We always use 2 turntables and 2 cdjs when we perform. Lots of vinyl, no computers!

WAS THERE ANY PARTICULAR IDEA IN MIND WHEN RECORDING IT?

We’ve basically been resident DJs at the Pickle for over a year so it really feels like home when we play there. This set was in the middle of the summer so we played a bunch of sweaty, sticky jams and of course tried to go on a journey…

WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF SINGAPORE?

Islands, rain forests and durians. Oh and we heard its really clean!

WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO FOR YOUR SET IN SINGAPORE?

WILL IT BE 6 HOURS?

We play as long they let us play

HAS THIS YEAR BEEN OFF TO A GOOD START? WHAT’S HAPPENING?

2012 has been great so far. From beach parties at BPM festival in Mexico to friends’ weddings we’ve had some fun, but mostly been chilling at home in Miami. Singapore is where we really kick off our musical year!

Dani Casarano was born in Morges, by Lake Geneva, near Lausanne, to Italian parents. At 12 years old, he was absorbing hip-hop and acid jazz. He also soaked in the sounds that resounded at home, which featured, among others, Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Taking his destiny into his own hands, at just 14, Dani was inspired by house music and invested in Technics turntables. He also took guitar lessons and learnt musical notation. After leaving school, which he attended with Luciano, he decided to take the trip of a lifetime. The year was 1997 and the country he chose, after receiving an invitation from long-time compadre Luciano, was Chile. Magical, metaphysical, and volcanic, it was not unlike the rolling grooves that he loved and played. And it was here that he first met Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack and Argenis Brito.

Dani soon began making his own productions, a servant to a universal groove. Always approaching electronic music with organic and acoustic elements. Always adapting to new places, faces, ideas and seasonal flavours. Yet always preserving the story and soul of the dance, the foundations of the scene. His debut was a CD album entitled In Transit 8 Track, which he wrote and produced under the alias Tony Mass, released on South American label Sum Records. He also contributed a single called ‘Break Sense’ to the Love Parade Santiago – Chile 2005 compilation on BMG. His first track to land on his beloved vinyl was ‘Oiseaux Sans Ailes’, produced with Ernesto Albacete (Ernie), which came out on Spanish label Deep Explorer in 2006. He then produced the techy, synth-heavy ‘El Zapo Hablo’; ‘the toad speaks’ being a Chilean expression for when everyone knows a secret about you. This was released in 2006 on Germany’s Connaisseur Supérieur, thereby the ‘undisclosed’ became self-evident: the man may be modest but his music was now speaking for itself.

Besides solo work, Dani regularly forms a DJ/production partnership with Chile’s Felipe Valenzuela. They are akin to brothers, born just one day apart, and have signed music to such labels as, among others, Bond, Recycle Records, and Metroline, where they were remixed by Oslo Records’ boss Nekes, producing lush funky sounds with earthy Latin American and African undertones – global dance music – that has impacted on heads, from John Digweed to Ben Watt to Nick Curly. Plus, as we speed towards 2010, there’s a boatload of fresh material on the horizon. For example, their ‘Santi EP’ will break on Fumakilla, and a remix will drop for M.in on Berlin-based Waldliebe Musik as well as for Iranzo Lasia on Italy’s Frequenza Limited. Meanwhile, Dani looks forward to kick-starting a second artist album, and even has an ambition to create film soundtracks. He will also continue to build upon his DJing, having already played everywhere from Ibizan superclubs (Pacha, Privilege and Space) to Berlin’s underground (Club der Visionaere) to Latin American hotspots (including D-Edge and Mint) and festivals (such as Creamfields and South American Music Conference (SAMC)).

Yes. In his hands, he’s got history, the future, yesterday and tomorrow. Dani Casarano: someone you’re sure to hear of much more from now on – and rightly so!

Top tier techno from one of Japan’s underground favourites.

DJ Nobu is quite simply one of Japan’s best DJs. In his home country he is known most widely as the man behind the fabled Future Terror parties, an event that has been running out of various venues in his hometown of Chiba for just over ten years. The likes of Marcel Dettmann, Mike “Agent X” Clark and Steffi have all been past guests; and in the case of the former, Dettmann brought Nobu over to Berlin in 2011 for one of his few performances outside of Japan. Detroit has been his other main international stomping ground, while back on home soil Nobu has been known to put in as many as 90 gigs across the country a year. Despite his limited international recognition and discography, Nobu is now thought of among DJs like Takkyu Ishino, Fumiya Tanaka and Ken Ishii as those most prominently flying the flag for Japanese electronic music.

So if you book techno events and haven’t yet invited DJ Nobu to man the decks, here’s what you’ve been missing: dark, angular, driving 4/4 put together by the hand of an expert curator.

What have you been up to recently?
On the weekend I’m DJing in different places in Japan, and with my extra time I’m producing music in the studio.

How and where was the mix recorded?

I recorded it in my studio. I used Pioneer CDJ 2000s, Technics turntables and a Pioneer DJM 900 mixer.

Can you tell us about the idea behind the mix?

After the earthquake and nuclear accident at Fukushima in March last year, we entered a new era here in Japan. And this mix reflects that. When I made this mix I was thinking about how the world can change drastically every day. So the mix is somewhere in between music for listening at home, and for experiencing on the dancefloor.

Last November was the 10th anniversary of your Future Terror party.
Could you tell us your view on the scene in Japan over this time period?

Ten years ago the scene was more commercial, the clubs and parties were just following trends and what was ‘hot.’ Future Terror was started to do something different to this. After a decade of doing Future Terror, we have connected with many people who share the same vision, and while there are more parties now, the original principles are the same. So hopefully in some small way I have contributed to the scene in Japan. But there is still more work to be done, so I will keep trying to push the sounds I believe in through my parties and DJing.

How have your gigs abroad, such as those in Berlin and Detroit, compared to those in Japan?

I played at Berghain last spring and that was a special experience, something I will never forget. The resident DJs Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock played brilliant sets and I was really impressed by the quality of the whole club. I have been to Detroit three times and had really great experiences at the parties I played at. It was a different kind of energy from Berlin, but also very stimulating. Of course there are unique elements of each club or town, but you just need to find the right sound to connect with them, and then you should be able to get a positive reaction.

What are you up to next?

This year I will start my own label. It’s going to be tough but I believe it will be worthwhile. In February I’m going to play in Taiwan at Smoke Machine’s party. And every month I will continue to play at some special parties in Japan too.