Sam Coates AKA Setaoc Mass has been brought up on techno and minimal since an early age of 16, first starting DJing around then. After a few years of perfecting his skills and finding the sound that most represents his dystopian take on futuristic and dark techno music, he then started producing his own records under the Setaoc Mass moniker. With only a couple of EPs out he’s holding back for bigger things, waiting for the right opportunity to come along rather than letting his tracks slip through his grasp.

With his DJing he is resident at successful night IDIOSYNC in Manchester, and playing regularly in London. After producing for around 2 years, he is settled on his deep and raw organic techno, most suited to a big warehouse or underground rave. The future looks to be bright for Sam.

Born in south Japan, Go Hiyama discovered techno music in 1994, when he got exposed to the sounds of such artists as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Jeff Mills, Fumiya Tanaka and labels like Warp and Subvoice, among others. In 1995, Go Hiyama decided that it was time to start making his own tracks. His thinking for minimalism isn’t reduced to just music, his tracks are built with evolving soundscapes and jacking techno grooves. He has released over 30 original productions on many different labels like Perc Trax, Token, Coda and Warm Up. Recently, Go Hiyama has found a home at the experimental techno imprint Stroboscopic Artefacts, where he has released tracks that push his ominous breed of warehouse style techno music. Go Hiyama will contribute to Strobo’s infamous Monad series, releasing Monad VII this July 21st.

nAX_Acid aka Andrea Ruffino, born in 1982, started playing electronic music when he was 17 after being influenced by the IDM and electronica movement of the early 90s. In 2005 he moved to London from his native Italy and started to work for the Disappear Here record label started by Chris Spero and Antony Sergeant. His first release in December 2006, “Friends & Crocodiles,” was well received on the underground London techno circuit. In 2007 Andrea started his own label project called Aconito Records, describing it as “a sonic experiment with techno, minimal and with ambient and electronica, to create a new atmospheric techno voyage which also works on the dance floor”. 2009 signs a change in his life, after 3 years of studies and research, he’s finally graduated with a degree in Sonic Arts from Middlesex University. Andrea keeps researching and evolving his sound both as a producer and artist, introducing new sonic aspects in his music and performances.

It was just over 2 years ago when Sawf’s first demo arrived at Perc Trax. The email contained little information and Sawf claimed it was the first time he had ever sent his music to a label. Sawf debuted his Flaws LP earlier this year on Perc Trax, 11 tracks of heavy rhythms, dense atmospherics and one man’s crystal clear vision of how techno should sound in 2011. The influences of Detroit electro and electronic body music are easily recognized in Sawf’s signature techno style that harks back to early UK industrialists such as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle.

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Since the early 1990s, Orphx (Rich Oddie and Christina Sealey) have been creating and exploring a grey area between techno, industrial, and electro-acoustic music. Using analog synthesizers, software, feedback systems, and homemade instruments, Oddie and Sealey draw upon the darker tendencies of techno, electro, and dub, and combine these elements with the experimental aesthetics of early industrial music.

The Dadub project is an electronic music duo formed by Daniele Antezza and Giovanni Conti, focused on the production of electronic music that mixes ambient, dub, experimental and techno. Their music goes beyond commercial stereotypes associated with techno end electronic music, giving music aimed at the dance floor a sensitivity and an aesthetic approach usually associated with experimental music practices. The project was originally set up in 2008, in Murgia, Italy by Daniele Antezza, debuting on the Aquietbump netlabel with the “Impressions” EP. In 2009 Daniele moved to Berlin, and after meeting Giovanni Conti they transformed Dadub into a duo, shifting the musical direction from pure dub into more dark, experimental territories – the result is immersive, atmospheric, broken-beat techno music reminiscent of the sounds being pushed by Warp Records in the ’90s.

Moe Espinosa aka Drumcell is the Founder of Droid Recordings and Co-Founder of Droid Behavior along with the Vargas brothers of techno duo Raíz. Since the mid ’90s Drumcell has been a firm believer in the power of techno and over the past decade become one of Southern California’s greatest champions of underground EDM.

As a graduate of the Musician’s Institute and longtime recording engineer Drumcell harnesses a strong musical background with a gifted sense of technological intuition. Recently, Drumcell has also had a string of additional successes including remixes of techno legend Chris Leibing on Leibing’s own CLR label as well as the eighth anniversary of the now legendary Interface parties. These gatherings have brought the best of the old school warehouse vibe together with intense new school multimedia presentations.

Mossmoss has a number of releases and remixes on RacecarProductions.com. Mattie’s passion for art is delivered in visual form under the ‘Nazomoss’ moniker and he continues to develop his unique illustration and painting style. He has recently joined forces with Alland Byallo, Dead Seal and Clint Stewart to bring you a monthly Nightlight Music showcase at the infamous 222 Hyde, every 2nd Friday in San Francisco. As a resident of AYLI parties in San Francisco, Mossmoss will be supporting global and local names in underground house and techno.

Having been raised on early electronic acts such as Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, brothers Vidal and Vangelis Vargas aka Raíz were part of Los Angeles’ massive mid-90s rave scene. Disheartened by the lack of representation and knowledge of Detroit style techno at these parties, Vidal and Vangelis, alongside Moe Espinosa aka Drumcell, decided it was up to them to bring the music they love to the rave dominated Los Angeles underground. Together they founded the LA-based production crew Droid Behavior and are almost solely responsible for LA’s now thriving techno scene.

Audio Injection aka David Flores has been DJing since he was 15, infatuated with electronic music since he was exposed to it in the early 90s. As Flores began making a name for himself with his energetic sets, Los Angeles locals Droid Behavior took notice of his sound in 2003 and he was soon one of Droid’s core artists. Through his rigorous tour schedule playing legendary clubs such as Berlin’s Berghain and Droid Behavior’s underground Interface parties, and with well received releases on labels such as Chris Liebing’s CLR, Speedy J’s EDLX and Droid Records, Audio Injection has seriously helped Los Angeles raise its international profile as a techno town while simultaneously identifying himself as a name to watch in 2011.

Mexican born Luis Flores has been producing electronic music for over fifteen years, as well as helping to launch the highly influential Mexican labels Nopal Beat Records and Antena Discos. Flores has also been at the forefront of raising Mexico’s profile as a destination for clubbers and techno fans worldwide, helping to organize massive concerts, festivals and parties for the public as well as working with international organizations such as MUTEK to bring their events to his homeland. After the release of his 2009 Damage EP on Droid Recordings to critical acclaim (being charted by Speedy J, Chris Liebing and more), Luis Flores has become a core artist for Los Angeles based techno crew Droid Behavior where he continues to push his brand of dark, paranoid minimal rollers alongside LA heroes Drumcell, Audio Injection and Raíz

Claudio PRC may have been raised in the small Italian town Sardinia, but that hasn’t stopped him from developing some of the most recognizable and Detroit influenced techno being pushed as of late. Claudio’s experimental productions are characterized by his unique and surgical approach to sound design, sculpting some of the most dark, hypnotic and other-worldly noises and pairing them with jacking techno grooves a la Jeff Mills and Juan Atkins. PRC has released music on Elettronica Romana and FWD.dj favorite Stroboscopic Artefacts but has found his home in outer space at label Prologue among techno contemporaries Samuli Kemppi, Giorgio Gigli and Cio D’or.

Exclusive Interview With Prologue Music’s Claudio PRC

A professional musician, trained singer, passionate producer and smart innovator, Argenis Brito is reliably rolling up the lush fields of music for quite a while now. Listeners will be surprised at the wide range of activities he has been involved in to date. Having travelled the path of success in an unconventional way, many music genres and the world anyway, his influences are multifaceted, continuously charging and refreshing his source of inspiration with the scintillating splendour of creative energy.

Jens Zimmermann’s creed is clear: He feels most comfortable when the light is off, the fog-machine is rolling and he is able to generate his personal microcosm in order to stimulate the crowd euphorically.

Jens Zimmermann’s music can be categorized in the “Minimal-Section,” but with his very own interpretation. His organic productions with reduced and heavy-bass nature are up to date without neglecting his roots which are shaped by the intensity and the roughness of the early 90′s.

Length: 60:04 minutes (82.49 MB)
Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 192Kbps (CBR)

Interview (Anish Patel)

Why did you guys choose to initially conceal your identities? And I confirm what I’ve discovered that you three are Tomas Bradford from WhoMadeWho, and Aarhus Mads Kolding and Jacob Littauer from Electro Juice?

We wanted to keep it secret who we were because the guys are super young and I’m known for other projects, and for Jatoma we wanted to focus on the music, not on us. However very early we figured out that it was a bit pretentious and impossible to keep a secret because when we are playing live, people will figure out who we are anyway. We are Mads Kolding, Jacob Littaur and Tomas Barfod.

How did you guys first meet each other, and what compelled you to form the group?

We met when the guys asked me to mix their EP, we all enjoyed working together and agreed to meet up later and do an EP together. We met one weekend and and did some tracks, we were all super happy with the result – and so was Michael Mayer. So we formed a band.

How did the impromptu recording session for the album come about? Was it something you had planned for a while or just happened to put together by chance?

After our first demo we got asked to do a full album but due to our super busy calendars it was hard to plan. We rented a huge apartment at Copenhagen harbor and worked super hard for 2 weeks in July, after that we had a finished album!

Why the decision to release your music through Kompakt? It seems like the perfect fit as your sound does fit nicely into the label’s aesthetic.

We have all been big fans of Kompakt for many years, so it was a big honor when they approached us about the music. We didn’t really try out other options because we felt we found our home – they have a history for releasing amazing techno and experimental/leftfield stuff.

The album’s sound has an air of wintry romance. Was this a byproduct of the timing of the album’s recording?

3 of the songs where made in January when it’s super cold here in Denmark, but the rest were made in the hottest days of the summer of 2010 – the melancholy you might detect is the whole Scandinavian flavor that a lot of bands from up here have.

The album contains a combination of synthetic and organic sounds. Is it important to you as artists for electronic music to still retain a live human element?

We think it’s very important to add some sort unpredictable element – It can come from human factors (voices, playing on stuff) or from electronics pushed until it starts making other sounds than expected. Also sound-wise it has been very important for us to have more than the sound coming out of the computer – we use a lot of natural noise, natural indoor-reverb and samples to get our sound.

Although the album lacks any direct vocal pieces, the music sounds like it could lend itself to a more pop setting. Is this something you have considered at any point?

With this act we have always done exactly what we felt like doing. We didn’t feel like pop when we made it, but I’m sure that we could do a killer pop album – and we might do that next time.

What artists have been direct influences on the project, electronic or otherwise?

It’s hard to say…we pretty much just made it without thinking about genres and other music, but we’ve listened a lot to names like: Terry Reily, Serge Gainsburg, No Age, Voigt & Voigt, Christian Naujoks, Dustin Wong, Tim Hecker, Atlas sound, Chris Liebling, Lucky dragons, etc…

I know that you have been performing live shows leading up the album’s release. What exactly does your live show entail in terms of software, gear, instruments, and any other musical devices that are at your disposable?

When we play live we switch a lot around between our 3 ‘stations’. Which means that during the concert everybody has been playing a lot of different instruments and computer. In terms of gear we have: keyboards, drums (cymbals, hi-hat, toms) Percussion (woodblock, tambourine, chimes) live-autotune for vocals and a lot of sound processing outboard gear.

What does the future hold for Jatoma? Is the album going to be a one-off project or can we expect more productions in the future?

It’s hard to tell – we are all super busy and always moving between a lot of different directions – but one thing is for sure – we all were very inspired by doing the album and we feel we have super potential together, both live and in the studio.

Tom Ford is at the forefront of the post-dubstep breed of UK bass music. Combining influences from DnB, Jungle, Dubstep, House and Techno, Peverelist’s productions are characterized by their innovative, challenging percussive layers and funky bass grooves. Peverelist’s seminal Punch Drunk label has helped define the current underground dubstep scene, fiercely distancing themselves from the Rusko-focused mainstream.

Interview

How are you? How is Bristol and Rooted Records?

I’m very good. Been spending some time in the studio for the first time in a while.

What is your production process? How do you like to make your music?
Computer music is an art for the individual, oftentimes it is tricky to incorporate a laptop into group projects. When you make music with friends what do you like to do?

I usually doodle around with ideas. A track can take on many different forms before I am at something I am happy with – it could sound completely different from where I started at. Sometimes I’ll get a track finished quickly, sometimes I’ll make a start and leave it for a few months before I come back with renewed enthusiasm or a fresh perspective.

Collaborating with other artists can be challenging, you have to find a way or method that works for each collaborator, sometimes working together, sometimes working apart is best.

Punch Drunk is your gateway between Bristol and the world. How is that project going? What is in the future for Punch Drunk?

We have a busy schedule this Autumn that I am really excited by. A dancefloor bomb by a producer called Superisk that has been tearing up the London underground scene, a collaborative 12” between myself and Hyetal which has been going down well and also a very special limited edition release by Ekoplekz coming up in November to mark the 20th 12” on the label. I have also curated a definitive collection of Bristol dubstep tracks from the past five years for a 2CD and digital compliation album on Punch Drunk called Worth the Weight which will be in shops in November too.

As for the future, Punch Drunk just kind of happens by itself. It finds it’s own direction, I just facilitate the music hitting the stores. I am starting an online store punchdrunkmusic.com before the end of the year stocking the back catalogue and choice vinyl cuts from other labels, plus a couple more projects in the pipeline.

Have you discovered any exciting new talent recently?

I wouldn’t say I have discovered them, or that they are new, but Ekoplekz, Hyetal, Kowton & Andy Mac are all newish names to watch from Bristol.

How about outside of dubstep and Bristol, what are some record labels that you are following right now?

I usually listen to old music generally. Dub, dancehall, house, garage, grime and techno. I’ve really been enjoying the Dug Out reissue series this year. New stuff, FXHE, Skudge, Conforce, Kyle Hall, T++, A Made Up Sound, too much to mention, I lose track.

In your interview with Resident Advisor you mention a connection between your music and the human experience and interpretation of time. Can you elaborate on that idea?

That sounds a bit pompous when it’s written down. Really, I like to get lost in music, for it to be immersive, psychedelic and life affirming.

Yeah! I totally understand this. Music making and listening is a transformative experience. What is it about this experience that is so magical for you? Is it exploration? Is it escapism? When you are djing and forming the immersive environment, what are trying to create?

It is escapism and it’s also tapping into something innate within the human psyche. The most challenging element of djing for me is persuading people to dance to music that isn’t the hard rave music that they are maybe used to or expect.

How does sound system culture and electronic music, in particular, affect people’s perception?

Sounds sheer volume and physical sonic presence, means that you are confronted by the music. I think it’s a common problem with dubsterp artists to play at a club where there isn’t good sound provision because there music wont translate. It’s like asking a soccer team to play with no boots.

With electronic sounds, you have a much wider palette to explore than with a guitar, which has been done to death. Electronic sounds can be much more alien and otherworldy too.

How did you first come in contact with electronic music and sound system culture. For some people there is a clear memory of the “holy shit” moment: mind-blown. Was it like that for you? What were into before that realization?

I cant really remember any specific ‘moment’. The underground Uk scene was always very visible from when I was young & I have followed it through the years. Moving to Bristol I went to Lakota in the late nineties and St Paul’s Carnival – I guess it all sinks in.

How did you come to explore this concept? What made you think about temporality and it’s relationship to music?

It’s not anything new, the dance all night vibe is as older than dance music itself. It’s about locking into some that’s innate, tribal, in the conciousness.

Bass music is growing in popularity. Top 40 hits in the US have started incorporating some dubstep tropes and there is a growing, and perhaps misunderstood, enthusiasm for a bastardized sub-genre I like to call “Womp-Womp”. From my perspective this music is all about big drops and peaks. How do you feel about the appropriation of the ideas of sound system and dubstep by “mainstream” media? What does it mean for dubstep?

Mainstream media has always reappropriated the underground in all forms of music. No one owns culture, I don’t have a problem with it. I just do what I want to do. It means that some people who come and see me play get very confused with what I play and what I do. I am always getting requests like when are you going to play some dubstep? When are you going to play something with some bass in? Why are you playing this stoner music we came here to party? Etc etc but that’ll die down, those people will go elsewhere and I’ll still be there.

The “we came here to party” mentality is something that I have always battled with in electronic dance music. While I definitely think that a dance floor and a sound system is one of the best ways to share the experience, it creates misunderstandings like you mentioned above. What is your ideal? When the hype dies down, what do you want to happen? What do you envision for the future?

I usually like the smaller parties, the more unusual venues and circumstances. They make for the best dances. I don’t know what the future holds but I’m just busy doing my thing.

A lot of new DJs and performers choose a laptop and mp3s to perform. And while you have presented yourself as an in the box, all computer producer, you have also said that you don’t listen to mp3′s and instead you are a vinyl listener. How do you feel about the increasing use of laptops in live electronic music?

I can’t use a laptop, I would definitely spill my drink on it.

I have to be careful what I say on this issue because people are very passionate about it on both sides. Its really just down to personal preference. I find watching someone djing on ableton is boring and sounds flat. I often find that people who dj with serato aren’t as stringent with their file quality as they should be and they will play what ever they get sent rather than take time to seek out the best music. Of course there are exceptions.

I always think that a dj playing records is 100% more ‘live’ and much more exciting than most electronic music live sets.

Interview: Neil Cline

Italian born Luca Mortellaro moved from Paris to Berlin in 2009 where he started the seminal Stroboscopic Artefacts record label. The first demo Lucy ever sent gained attention from James Holden and he releases regularly on forward thinking labels like Prologue and Mote Evolver. Lucy’s sound is largely influenced by the recording techniques of Jamaican dub artists like Lee Scratch Perry which led to the coining of the term “compressed dub.” You can find Lucy behind the decks of the world’s best clubs like New York’s The Bunker and Berlin’s Berghain/Panorama Bar.

Singaporean techno stalwart Xhin has been making a splash in the underground dance scene since he independently released his “Xycle” EP in 2003. After being noticed by Walter Ercolino’s Meerestief label, Xhin continued to release well-received remixes and develop his dark, futurist, sound-design based identity, eventually playing important electronic music festivals such as Cologne’s C/O Pop. In 2009, Xhin joined with the then new and now highly-acclaimed Berlin based techno label Stroboscopic Artefacts, solidifying his position as one of the most influential and talented new producers in the industry.

Markus Suckut has been making music for over 10 years, exploring his interest in electronic music since 1999. Based out of Germany, Suckut explores a darker brand of dub techno focused on jacking rhythmic progression and spaced-out melancholic melodies. While only recently releasing tracks under his own name, Markus has already been released on Lineal Records and Stroboscopic Artefacts and boasts one of the strongest releases on SA’s Monad Series.

Juan Pablo aka Pfirter has been an icon in the South American underground club scene for over a decade, pushing his dark and sexy brand of techno through outlets such as CLR, his own label MindTrip Music and more recently Stroboscopic Artefacts. Pfirter unleashes his driving techno sound in the world’s best known venues, frequenting clubs like Berlin’s Berghain and London’s The End. He is regularly charted by some of the most respected DJs in the scene such as Richie Hawtin, Chris Liebing, Speedy J, Xpansul and Joey Beltram.

NIEDERFLUR (Hannes Wenner and Christopher Bleckmann) are among the first acts on M-NUS since the early days. Focused, intense, somewhat radiating dark light and stacking intricate sounds high into the night skies, NIEDERFLUR finds a way to push things forward without driving the listener away.

Interview

Upcoming shows and releases?
We will be playing Tresor in September, remixes for Bipolar {Niederflur’s latest album released on Niederflur Tracks}, from Troy Pierce, Jonas Kopp, Pheek, Ed Davenport and Stefny Winter from Archipel. Usually when we perform it’s a live set, Chris is the DJ in our team and he’s about to finish the podcast.

How does your live set work and how do you negotiate the roles?
It’s based around two synced laptops, we essentially use them as “record players” but with Ableton, so we can pull a track to pieces, rebuild it and combine it with everything else, it gives us extreme flexibility. When we play we are both in control but we switch between taking the lead, one person will only add things.

We have been making music together for about 15 years, we released our first record in 1997. There is an intuitive connection. Sometimes when we play gigs we just watch each other, we don’t have to talk. You cannot train that, it’s just there.

I know that you strive to make music for the club and home, how do you strike a balance?
We always listen to things on different systems before it’s done. We listen on studio monitors which are loud and bassy to emulate the club, in our living room on our hi-fi, on headphones, car stereos, different club PAs. But basically it’s about the feeling, its not a technical question, it’s how you like your music. There is music that is just a track that’s useful in a set and there is music that can be used in a set but is interesting to listen to as its own piece, that’s the difference – trying to make sure there are stories in the tracks.There is too much music that sounds alike and it’s getting boring for listeners and dancers, we try to make tracks that ‘work’ for DJs but are different.

How does performing live shape the music you make?
Playing the tracks out live is like a reality check, sometimes it doesnt sound the way we think it sounds in the studio, or the crowd reacts to it in a different way, you figure out the right amount of repetition for a piece.

Are you excited about the way techno and dubstep have been interacting and about greater acceptance of diversity of tempo and feel?
We feel that it’s distinctions between genre are not necessary. Some DJ’s play 5 hours straight of the same sub-genre of minimal techno, its way more interesting to have diversity. We like different feels, the first records we ever did were drum and bass (as monophace), and two of the tracks on Bipolar have that feel to them.

What is your production workflow like?
We have our own workflow pretty independently, we start tracks seperately, meet and play what we have to the other and then we add what we think will work. We use all the same software so projects are easily compatible. It’s all done ‘in the box’, there is no outboard gear involved until mastering. We consciously strive for an ‘analogness’, building imperfection into the sounds.

We rarely come up with the melody first, we usually have a beat and the bass. The bass feeling of techno is created through the bass and the kick, you need to make space.

How was preparing Bipolar different than ND4?
It’s been almost ten years since we did the first album on Minus. ND4 was so experimental and radical, we wanted to see how far we could go and still tell a story. After the album, weneeded a few years to get a new approach because we felt like we had done what we set out to do. There is a different emotion in the new stuff, we tried to contribute to developments in the minimal techno scene in our way.

How has Cologne influenced Niederflur?
We met in a smaller town in Germany and decided to move here together for music reasons. We were amazed by the subway, the digital voices with a Cologne accent. We thought: why do they do that? Why does it have this melody? It should be neutral. We did extensive field recordings of the U-Bahn and used them on our first EPs and album. Music was our main motivation for moving here but it’s not as interesting as it was. The scene is not as strong, most of the interesting producers have moved to Berlin. I think it’s sad, when we moved here it was really inspiring, that’s not happening that much anymore, it’s much smaller. It’s ok on a personal level because we’ve been living here so long that we have families but on the techno side its not that interesting anymore.

What are your favorite places to play?
At Berghain and Panoramabar the sound is fantastic, it’s probably the best sound system in the world and the atmosphere is still incredible. Sometimes the best parties are in some weird, off location with a shitty sound system but the best people. I remember once we played at a party in Sweden the party was good, the afterparty was way better and more intense than the first one, it can be so unpredictable.

In the past someone would have written a ballad about a village or a lake, your compositions have been inspired by the U-Bahn, does techno function as a German folk music?
I think it’s an interesting idea, take for example Wolfgang Voigt’s Gas, that’s pretty much an attempt to do that, an ‘own’ german folk music by the means of techno. Pantha du Prince is working in the same direction, there is something like that going on. Maybe from your perspective it feels bigger than it is because it is still just a small scene of specialists. It’s going on but it’s not happening ‘above ground.’

What are your music plans for the future?
Niederflur and Datasoul (the newest project, a stripped down approach). Niederflur is going to open up and get weirder and I dont think that we’ll ever do ambient and drum and bass (Monophace) again.

Interviewer: Alex Talan

Lusine is the futurist moniker of one Jeff McIlwain, a Texan native turned Seattle sytho-phile with an unorthodox and refreshing sound design and EDM palette. Hailing from a scholastic back ground in electronic music and film scoring,Lusine has steadily built up a following on the reputed Ghostly International, Mute, !K7, Kompakt, Asthmatic Kitty, and Shitkatapult. Fresh off the huge ground swell from his amazing “A Certain Distance”, FWD is happy to have this unique and growing talent on the team!

Completly live laptop set with hybrid tracks and loop jams.

Interview

1.Your productions have always skated the fine line between techno, ambient and breaks. Why have you chosen to take this dynamic approach to your music and would you like to see more artists out there like you?

I think it’s just easier for me to be inspired if I don’t stick to one genre or style for too long. It enables me to take ideas from one area and apply them to another. It would be nice to see artists step out of their comfort zones more often. I think that’s how music evolves. Of course there are a lot of versatile artists out there already.

2. You just finished up with some play dates out in Japan! How did those shows go and what commentary do you have on the culture of that nation? How do they interact with your music and how do they interact with the EDM scene in general?

The shows went really well, and I think the crowds were pretty sophisticated and enthusiastic. Japan is a fascinating country. I think it’s kind of hard to get a read on the culture unless you’re there for a long time. But, I know that maybe some of the cultural differences aren’t as extreme as a lot of people think, at least in the crowds that I interact with. It seems like the show at Unit was quite diverse stylistically and the crowd rolled with it pretty well. I’m not sure how popular the experimental dance scene is over there, but in my experience, the more tight knit a scene is, the better.

3.You have done two film projects in the last 3 years. Do you have any future scores lined up? How is the film music business and process different for you than the straight forward music production?

My music partner, David Wingo, and I are hoping to demo for a couple of upcoming film projects. Really looking forward to getting back to that. It’s nice to go back and forth between the two. With music production, it’s very dependent on your own personal creative ideas. With the film scores, it’s a much more collaborative effort, with the director ultimately calling the shots. So, it’s nice to have a bit of both. I’ve found that recent experience in one area can have a positive influence on the other quite often.

4. Do you feel that the grey skies in Seattle assist with your creativity, detract, or have no real impact? How much do your surroundings influence your creative flow?

They have an impact in the sense that, when it’s rainy, it’s usually a good time to stay in and work on music. It makes life a bit more introspective. Sunny days want to pull you outside, and you feel bad for staying in the studio, but the dark season can give you the drive to work on music.

5.What software/hardware/sample packs do you use and recommend?

I don’t really use sample packs for my own music. I prefer to collect samples from random places. The radio can be an interesting place to pick up samples because of all the interference and imperfections that can make sounds interesting. I do use the Halyon Symphonic Orchestra for all of my string samples. It’s a pretty dynamic and versatile library, and not too expensive. I have a couple analogs. My Arp Odyssey is my main analog, and I have a Korg Radias digital rack that I like a lot. FL Studio, Ableton, and Cubase are my main software apps for creating music.

6. Who are your top 10 favorite artists out there at the moment and what do you look for when you are considering the music you support and listen to?

Top ten, hmm.. Not sure that I really have a top ten. But, some artists that I’m currently listening to are Loscil, Mountains, The National, Dave Pezzner, Dj Koze, Apparat, Band of Horses, Fourtet, Dosh, Lukid.

I mostly just want to hear good music. I like artists that have an original sound and know how to write good hooks. I’m not really all that interested in trendy sounding music or tricky, “impressive” production, unless it’s done in a way that enhances the overall musicality.

7. Are you mostly focused on pure sound design or do you have additional spiritual/social/political efforts behind your music production?

No, I don’t like music with any sort of political or social commentary. But, there are sometimes personal events that inspire my music, especially when lyrics are involved. And I guess there can be a spiritual influence, but that’s a little bit harder to pin down.

8. Tell us about your live performance set up! Do you try to keep the crowd dancing or do you focus more on the mood? What equipment do you use and what do you think you will do to improve your performance experience?

If it’s at a dance club in between dance sets, I’ll definitely try to keep the crowd moving. If it’s for a more eclectic night, I might try to mix it up a little bit because I feel like the crowd will have more patience in that type of situation. I use Ableton Live and a midi controller. I’ve been considering getting a pad controller as well, so I can map out effects and hit those effect changes on the pads. Sometimes I’ll bring a synth along, but usually only for local shows. My setup needs to be pretty compact when I’m on the road.

9. What do you have in store for the rest of 2010? What do you want to promote?

Hoping to work on another film score in the coming months. I will be working on a new album on and off, I think that project will take a while. I have a remix of Stewart Walker coming out on a local label called Peloton Musique. Also a remix for Pezzner on Freerange along with one by Stimming for his single called “Blacklist.” The Decibel Festival takes place in September in Seattle, and I’ll be playing there, along with a pretty impressive lineup of artists, so that should be pretty fun.

10. Do you have any commentary on this exclusive FWD set? What do you want to tell the listeners?

This was a live set I did in Victoria, BC. Some upbeat reinterpretations of stuff off of my album, and some stuff that I only perform live.

• Artist: Jeremy P Caulfield
• Title: FWD0105
• Length: 58:45 minutes (80.85 MB)
• Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 192Kbps (CBR)

Minimono was born in Florence in 1997 as a multimedia project that eveloved into by experimenting with different types of art; namely music installation, graphic design, and theatre performances. The collaboration between dj Fabio della Torre and the electronic producer Ennio Colaci started in 2004 with the intent of melting the musical experiences of both into fresh minimal techno productions with an oldschool house feeling.

• Artist: Dapayk Solo
• Title: Dapayk Solo
• Length: 64:09 minutes (88.09 MB)
• Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 192Kbps (CBR)

If you want to experience the future of electronic dance music today there is one artist that fuses together tech, glitch, funk and melody in a fashion so astounding that it will require jaw surgery before you can close your mouth again. Jamie Watts is the perpetrator of some of the coolest techno, idm and glitch hop you have ever heard, and spreads this music to the masses via his prolific Kilowatts moniker along side the techno duo Voodeux (with Tanner Ross), Skeetaz (with Bill Bless) and Super Galactic Expansive (with MC Amagine). Mr. Watts has also been responsible for the founding of Soulseek Records and has released music on some of today’s finest experimental (and established) labels including Native State Records, Artificial Music Machine, Harmonious discord, Thoughtless Music and, of course, Kilowatts music.

Moodymanc has been causing quite a stir amongst the house community of late. Having previously released under the guise of Dubble D, Danny Ward now delivers house bombs as Moodymanc that are being championed by the premier league of DJ’s and music lovers.

Boris Brejcha combines his sound with a maximum of variety which has no peer. Each song is some kind of its own adventure. Once in a relation with elements of electro, break beats, IDM, or sometimes with small Ambient parts. Because of the constant demand for more details, quality and originality he is always a small step ahead.

Interview

You’re about to release your third full-length. Can you tell us about the album before we get a chance to hear it? What sound are you trying to push with it? Are there any themes running throughout the album?

Yes. My third album will be released soon. For me it was a long process. There are so many impressions to flow in my album. All my travels in all the different countries. All the parties.
It has cost me some time to process this experience and to order it. My album will be a reminder of the last time. It tells a little bit of my life and what I have experienced. I want to share these experiences with the listeners.

Can you tell us about how the album was produced/your process in the studio? Do you like using hardware to produce your tracks or do you work mostly digitally?

Basically I produce what I like in this moment. I therefore think of no story. I have no specific approach constant motion when I produce a new track.
I work 100% with software instruments. I once had an Electribe from Korg. But I have sold it very quickly. With all the software Plugins it is much faster to work and much more carefully. And the sound quality of the software has become really good. For example the Plugin „Omnisphere“ from Spectrasonics. This is a monster Plugin. I think a normal listener will not hear the differnce.

As a big plugin user, how does working “in the box” aid in your creative process?

I think there is nothing special about it for me. If there is something special i can not say anything about it. Because i started with a PC and Software. That´s the only thing i know.

ANNA is your project for showcasing your darker, more stripped down techno productions. What’s been going on with this project lately and can we expect to hear anything new from ANNA in the future?

Anna is my dark girl. :-)
Releases like „Phantom“ or „Autistische Geschichten“ on the record label Autist-Records, based in Berlin. But Anna is also a name I use for a variety of musical styles. We had a great last Vinyl Release on Autist-Records. „From Anna with love“. On this Vinyl we had the three greatest Tracks from the past and also one new Track. A more funny Techhouse Track. I am really happy to have the chance to experience a lot with this name.
For the near future i have planned to release a more melodic EP on the Label Ton-Records, based in Ukraine. After this we will see what happens. But Anna is still going on.

What do you think 2010 has said about where techno is going this year? What are your thoughts on the current fascination with old-school, soulful-sounding deep house music?

I don´t think about things like that. Today we have more House stuff and in the future maybe more Techno stuff. But one day it will come back to the beginning. It is like a Circle. But i hope that the Techno scence will not become more commerical like a few top listed tracks in the beatport charts. That´s a really bad thing. We have to keep the Underground.

What labels and artists are you excited about this year? Who are you playing out the most right now and what are you listening to in your free time?

In my freetime i do not listen so much to electronic music. I hear a lot of Pop music and other stuff. And i also do not listen so much to other labels or artists.
When i play as a dj, i play only my own productions. Because i think when the people see that Boris Brejcha is playing, they like to hear my stuff. That´s the reason why they are coming to this event. And i have every time a lot of new productions for the listeners. It will be a surprise every time with new, unreleased songs. I think this is much more interesting. So. That is also the reason why i do not play music from other artists in my dj sets.

Where is your favorite place to party and where do you think the scene is going to be really special this year?

For me, Brazil and Russia is a very good place for parties. The people there are so crazy and really into going to clubs and festivals. For the future i think Brazil will be a special country this year. The music scene morphed more and more into techno and minimal recently. And the Festivals are every time huge, with amazing designs and perfect light shows. My absolute favourite club is „Base Club“ in Jekaterinburg, Russia. Just amazing.

What does 2010 hold for you? Tell us what you’re up to this year!

2010 will be a fine year for me. My full attention actually is on my third album. We’re going to release it in the end of May and you can get it in every popular format. Like Vinyl, CD and MP3. So I am really looking forward to publish another piece of my electronic life history.
For this Album Release i will make another funny promotion video as well. We are currently gathering ideas for this. I also will make a seperate video about my Studio works for this Album. I will show the people the basis of one track, how it was arranged and what synths and effects were used for this.

What will follow after this album is still in the stars of my privacy. :-) But it will happen a lot. That is certain. I am very spontaneous.

Fabio Giannelli was born in 1986 in Italy and started djing when he was 13.
Early influenced by the new electronic sounds he decided to buy the first sequencer at the age of 18 years old and started to increase his attitude in music.

In 2006 he officially entered in the music scene with his first official release and in these years his releases received big support from djs like: Richie Hawtin, Mathias Kaden, Luciano, Luca Bacchetti, Audiofly, Martin Landsky, James Holden, Dave Ellesmere, Laurent Garnier, Danny Tenaglia, Marco Resmann, Tiefschwartz, Dan Ghenancia, Marco Carola, Ripperton, Someone Else, Karotte and so on…

Continuously renewing himself and with an eclectic spirit that takes him to always search for something original, nowaday he’s working for labels like Thirtyonetwenty , Supplement Facts, OFF, International Freakshow, and last but not least for his own label District Raw.

Martinez has great deck skills and this, along with impeccable taste, has given him a strong DJ reputation worldwide. He’s often seen in the booths of various quality clubs and parties around the globe. He’s played together with major DJ’s such as Michael Mayer, Miss Kittin, Guido Schneider, Onur Özer, Loco Dice & Sven Väth, in clubs such as Weetamix in Geneva, Amnesia & Space in Ibiza, Nitsa in Barcelona, Cocoon in Frankfurt and Panorama Bar in Berlin to name a few.

Grant Aaron, aka Insideout, is an artist and co-founder of Clink Recordings. Grant began DJing in 1997, mainly influenced by the striped down sounds of Daniel Bell, Plastikman and Mike Ink. It didn’t take long for those influences to persuade him to move from behind the decks to the studio. His first original sounds came in the form of Ambient and Experimental with a full length album titled, Embrace. This was released on his experimental net-label, Lifeform Project, which he started with several producers from his hometown of Atlanta. That was just the beginning.

From being a shy, talented DJ plying his trade as resident at his local club, to becoming a global superstar, the rise and rise of Nic Fanciulli has been well documented. He has graced countless covers of the most respected dance publications whilst his name repeatedly pops up when clubbers discuss the finest DJ talent in recent years.

• Artist: P. Toile
• Title: No Ice FWD Exclusive
• Length: 57:20 minutes (78.75 MB)
• Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 192Kbps (CBR)

Cats N’ Dogs are Grzegorz Demianczuk and Wojciech Taranczuk.

The name is new, but chances are you’ve already heard Catz ‘n Dogz. Previously, as “3 Channels,” the best friend duo have already released red hot club records on some of the most respected underground dance labels in the world including Trapez, Crosstown Rebels, Pokerflat, Boxer, dirtybird, Leena, Trenton, and their own imprint, Channels Recordings. After making underground techno for many years, the duo have now ventured into new territory. This time, as Catz n’ Dogz, the boys have headed towards deep house without losing sight of their harder techno roots – exploring lush organic soundscapes with live drums and instrumentation.

Touane is an italian expatriate who found his new home in Berlin some five years ago. Like most contemporary electronic music producers, Marco found in the german Hauptstadt the ideal habitat to develop his art. From here, he has been able to make himself a name through a series of releases which instantly displayed an original approach to techno, that still avoided blindly following the consolidated trends and revivals which seem to come up one after the other in the underground dance music scene.

The Airbus Modular sound system is controlled and managed by John Alexandropoulos and Sotiris Kouliakiotis, both of who hail from Thessaloniki, Greece. This duo teamed up in 2006 under the common theme of cutting edge electronic music and emotionally driven techno/house. Heavy classic musical themes are included in an AM track, including melodic arpeggiations, minor keys, sound scapes and dreamy transitional elements. AM makes the vast majority of their music on analog gear.

Somewhere on the cutting edge of IDM, breaks and dubstep there lives a very talented US duo called Aligning Minds. This amazing live set by Daniel Merrill and Michael Folk is a perfect hybrid of all of the future’s music in one luscious sonic journey. Seamless transitions from concept to concept highlight this deep and moody expedition through deep swampy underground territory.

• Length: 56:42 minutes (103.82 MB)
• Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 256Kbps (CBR)

Phil Kieran is well known and respected as one of the most innovative, futuristic and dedicated techno producers in modern history. With over 100 intensely unique and effective releases on a whole host of quality labels including Cocoon, Novamute, Kingsize, Skint, Yoshitoshi, Num, Soma, Flying Cabbage (his own label) and more, Kieran is an established artist in the EDM world with clout and impact. Prepping for the debut release of his first full length album entitled “Shh” on superlabel Cocoon and rocking some of the finest venues in the world are just some of the current details on Phil Kieran’s latest agenda.

Berlin-based Stewart Walker is a restless innovator. After making a splash in the late nineties on definitive labels like Force Inc. and Tresor, he’s had an inestimable impact on the development of current club sounds, yet consistently chooses the less traveled road: working as live producer in a world of DJs; injecting emotion into functional electronic dance music; quietly building a label family of unclassifiable artists on his own imprint, Persona.

Dave Brennan is one of the foremost stalwart veterans of the electronic dance music scene with a career old enough to legally drink in the United States. Since 1988 Brennan has launched an audio assault on our ears in some of the most premier clubs in the world. His classic “drink deep” EP on End recordings helped to launch his name to new heights before opening up his own new record label: Bombis recordings. An all around incredible deep-tech house DJ, producer and co label manager (with Paul Donton), Brennan is warming the techno engines back up for yet another amazing galactic adventure.

Plasmik is the brain child of two German brothers named Roman and Marcel Fritz. Raised on a diet of mid 90’s techno this classically trained duo joined up in 2006 to start their mission of world wide dance floor damage. With refreshing releases on Connaisseur, Crosstown Rebels, Tsuba and more, one could accurately assess that the operation is going accord to plan. Plasmik represents an engaging cross breed between stripped down raw techno and tasteful artistic tech house bundled up in a nice package of atmosphere and funky low ends.

Max Cooper is one of the strongest stars to appear in the techno cosmos in recent years. Not only has Cooper enjoyed one of the fastest ascents into international heavyweight DJ status ever seen, but he also splits his electronic music life with a full time gig as a PHD genetics researcher. With over 50 music releases including his recent floor destroying “Harmonisch EP” on Traum Schallplatten, several epic residencies, and an international touring schedule, Max Cooper is quickly become an unstoppable DJ monstrosity to watch and whisper about in the middle of the night.