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.

A DJ mix that’s both a pulsing paean to up-to-the-minute club rhythms and a total headphone-dependent feast of electronic sound at its most miniaturized and luscious.

Pitchfork

Assigned with capping a year of highly memorable DJ-Kicks… Gold Panda has not only risen to the challenge but he’s arguably, pushed the bar further.”

Mixmag (Album of the Month)

Buy album

Internationally, Beyer is likely known best due to his long-standing contributions on KOMPAKT’s POP AMBIENT series, but his forays into dance music have placed him as potentially one of the most overlooked talents of the last decade. Take his releases on ITALIC, FIRM and KOMPAKT speak volumes – RESIDENT ADVISOR went as far as to proclaim his last full length “Surrounded by Weather” as being that it “isn’t the
final defining statement in emotive vocal house, but it comes damn close.”

Take a listen for yourself as we are offering this exclusive live mix featuring some stellar gems from his catalogue and also a brand new, unreleased remix for the PRO-TEZ imprint.

Our annual gala is upon us – KOMPAKT’s TOTAL series returns. There’s 12 stars on Europe’s banner, 12 apostles, 12 titans, 12 knights of the Round Table, Schoenberg’s twelve-tone music and yes, our beloved compilation series is entering its 12th round.

After a jolly and colourful first semester of 2011, filled with albums by heavyweight acts like Rainbow Arabia, WhoMadeWho, GusGus and John Tejada we’ve decided to focus mainly on the core members of the family with exclusive new music from The Modernist, Wolfgang Voigt, Reinhard Voigt, Mohn (aka Burger/Voigt), and Superpitcher.

Michael Mayer increases the energy level and freak factor with his slightly psychotic “That’s What I Told Sanchez”. We’re offering it up as a free download.

Buy/Hear: v/a “TOTAL 12″ (CD – 2LP) at Kompakt.FM

Jennifer Cardini is the kind of person that remembers, and that’s a good thing when you consider that her career spans from the mid-’90s to today. With productions that stretch from the glory days of acid house to the popular explosion of minimal techno, she’s in a unique position to reference the totality of dance music in her work. “Thewayitusedtobe” is a perfect example, an exclusive track she sent our way in support of an upcoming tour with dates in Europe and North America (the first show is tonight, check below for the specifics). With a slinky, contemporary tech-house bassline, breathy spoken-word vocals, and an overall ambiance indebted to the poppy experimental minimalism of people like Ellen Allien, she creates a track that remembers the past while staying immediately present.

05-08 – Blk Market Underground, New York City
06-08 – Martha’s Vineyard
07-08 – White Room, Miami
13-08 – La Favorita, Gaudalajara
19-08 – Paris
13-09 – Paris
15-09 – Milk, Geneva
16-09 – Paris
01-10 – Exil, Zurich
08-10 – I.Boat, Bordeaux

Black Asteroid is the brainchild of Bryan Black. Bryan started his career as a sound designer for Prince. While working with Prince at Paisley Park Studios, Bryan learned and honed sound and production skills, which inspired him to start his own band. He moved to London England and launched a band called MOTOR. The first MOTOR demo was quickly signed to Novamute. After 2 singles, MOTOR were catapulted to the top of the techno world, sharing stages with Daft Punk and Kraftwerk at major festivals, and later embarking on a World tour supporting Depeche Mode in 2009. ??In April 2011, Bryan decided to start Black Asteroid to showcase an exciting new sound. It was time re-capture the techno world. The debut EP was written in 1 week, it was mixed the next week and signed to CLR a week later. The ENGINE EP is the debut release, out now on CLR.

SPECIAL DOWNLOAD

Interview

I understand you first started out as a singer before you became interested in electronic music. Were you in a band?

Michaela Dippel: From the age of 18 I was playing/singing in several bands. The first one was a rock band — I remember our guitarist could play the full solo of Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing.” The second one was a bossa nova/jazz band I started after I got vocal lessons from a jazz singer. Everybody but me was sight-reading mostly songs from The Real Book. The first musical project that involved samplers and sequencers I had in the late 90?s. Me and some friends rented a studio, an old bunker located in Frankfurt. We recorded some sessions there — more just for us than for releasing. As it was a huge space, each one of us could have our own studios to record our ideas and later we would get together to finish the songs.

So what were the things that lead you to become interested in making electronic music?

It was my friends from Areal Records who brought me into electronic music. They started their label in the year 2000 subtitled “Advanced Tech-Electronic Minimalism.” I had no clue of what this might be before I moved to Cologne. They also introduced me to Kompakt’s music. Songs like Jürgen Paape’s “So Weit Wie Noch Nie” or Michael Mayer’s “Hush Hush Baby” remind me of the time when I moved to Cologne in 2001.

What were some of the things you had to consider in going from writing songs with a traditional verse/chorus/verse structure to writing instrumental tracks?

Assuming my musical history it was a new experience for me to write instrumental tracks. My first tracks for Areal Records were about three minutes long and my colleagues asked me to stretch them a bit, because no DJ would play them. The bending and stretching of my tracks seemed very unnatural to me, so unwillingly I extended them towards five minutes but it was a hard-bitten process and it bored me. It took me a while to discover the beauty of building a track up slowly, introduce new sounds in between and give them space to unfold. Now my longest track is about 10:44 — quite something.

Your first release was the Blindhouse/Luckycharm 12? on Areal. How did you come to know Metope and Basteroid?

We’ve known each other a long time before I started making music on my own. Michael (Metope) and me grew up in the same district nearby Frankfurt. We hung out quite a lot at a studio in Frankfurt with some other friends making music all day and playing computer games at night.

You’ve recently released your second album, Meine Zarten Pfoten. Tell us about the album and how you feel you’ve grown or changed since your first album, Blondie.

By the time I made Blondie I was totally overwhelmed by the new possibilities of using sequencers/samplers and creating music and especially beats on my own. Some songs might sound well structured and harmless but most of them are very playful with lots of uncontrolled noises and bleeps, and the recklessness that comes to light when I hear those sometimes makes me laugh nowadays. I wouldn’t say Meine Zarten Pfoten sounds more grown up. I could have bought dozens more machines and play around with them, but in the end this is just a sport and has nothing to do with creating music. Actually using guitars, flutes and my own voice brought me closer to making music that pleases me than arpeggiating weird noises.

I read an interview with you where you said Blondiewas largely made on headphones out of consideration for your neighbors. What can you tell us about the recording of Meine Zarten Pfoten, was the process a bit more free and without constraint?

I remember my neighbors knocking on my door from time to time when I recorded,Blondie but in the end we made our peace. For recording “Meine Meine Zarten Pfoten I mainly used headphones because I wanted to create intimacy. There are some songs on the album I can only listen to with headphones because in my opinion they need to be this close to the ear to unfold completely.

Blondie also included a cover of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps.”

There’s also two cover versions on my new album. I like the idea of putting a song into a new robe without losing its spirit.

And you’ve released the album on Pampa, did you feel it was a better fit with the label than with Areal?

If not Pampa I would have released it on my own label IRR (sub-label of Areal Records). But I also was linked to Pampa since they started the label and had constant interchange about the album with Koze. In the end I found that Pampa is the perfect home for “Meine Zarten Pfoten.” But surely I will go on working with Areal and IRR. We just released my new 12? called “Me and the Three.”

Do you feel you get to explore different sides of yourself when releasing an album more so than with releasing singles?

I think lots of people who like my first album don’t know about the singles and remixes I have done later on. It’s people who probably don’t go to a record shop every week, they want something they can listen to at home. The same for me — at least once a week I enjoy listening to music on headphones and concentrating just on this.

How do you typically go about writing a track? Do you find you think of vocal melodies a lot whether you use them in a track or not?

It’s usually a longer process. Before I write a single note or work on a sample there’s a lot happening. I take some time for thinking about the idea of the track — it’s shape, mood, instrumentation, color. When these things are clear to me (weeks might pass in between and meanwhile I might start writing another song) I start searching for the beginning of the track. The first tunes, harmonies, timbres. Then I would work on it for weeks sometimes months until one certain moment I think about another song. Back and forth…

You put out the Kompakt Adaptations mix a couple of years ago. Do you DJ much or do you mainly play live sets?

I mainly play live sets. The DJing is more like a gratification for myself.

What does your live set consist of?

My live set consists of stripped down versions of old and new songs as well as unreleased stuff.

What can you tell us about the mix you’ve put together for us?

The mix is entitled “Nightime,” like one of the tracks by Greg Paulus. Opened by Bibio’s wonderful “Saint Christopher.” It’s how I imagine an early night’s set in June.

And what can we expect from you over the next year?

Besides performing myself I’m hoping to have lots of performances with my new band project, Cologne Tape.

So for this 44th podcast, the Danish cooked us a quite eclectic mix. Far away form the blowing up Meyer’s mix from last week, this one goes among different styles, it starts with some almost IDM tracks and evolves into a more cocky electro, sometimes into something more melodic. A nice all-round view  of Silas and Jonas’ tastes, enjoy.

Cologne’s Kompakt imprint has been a leader in all things techno since its inception in 1998, so it is only right that a record compiling the work of one of its founding members,Jürgen Paape, be regarded as something special. “Take That,” which originally appeared on this year’s Total 11 compilation and now again as part of Paape’s upcoming retrospective album, Kompilation, is an anthem with one foot placed firmly in the future and the other in the past. The track is dark and heavy, recalling some classic techno aesthetics in its sound and structure, but something seems to also be reaching out to the unknown. Maybe its the lazery rhythmic lines that carry the track along, or the stripped down, minimal bounce that Paape employs; either way, as you listen it becomes clear why taking a look at the work of one of techno’s most influential label heads/artists is a worthwhile endeavor. Paape was also known as one of techno’s most secretive artists, as he never did any interviews, played any shows, or published any pictures, until now. The image above is Paape’s first published photo which, not surprisingly, looks like a German guy who has been making techno for over a decade. Kompilation will be released exclusively from Kompakt on December 17 physically and January 10 digitally.

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.

Biography

Sebastien was born in France.

During a visit with his aunt in London, UK, ten-year old Sebastien heard a sound that made him dance/weak/tremble. The medium was disco and the message was instant like the big bang. The loudest sound from nothing brought with it the first feeling of electronic music. A few years later in Paris, a tape from his older sister with a French touch and garage music was the fuel that drove him deeper into the universe of electronic music and accompanied him into his teenage years in Paris. It was all about nightlife activities, experiencing parties, and organizing them himself with a friend. Sebastien met a fashion photographer who brought him to a famous party in Batofar, and he soon began buying records in Katapult. He started to build up a collection of vinyl and discovered the special sound from Cologne.

He soon laid his hands on a synthesizer and a drum machine and began to make music of his own. Obsessed by the minute details, he found inspiration in some artists and saw how most of them were from the German electronic scene.

Sebastien found himself singing and playing synthesizer in the psychedelic band Aqua Nebula Oscillator. Singing like a choir with effects, rehearsing with long haired metal men – the influences were enchanting, but not quite his taste, and after half a year something else was calling. A longing started to grow in him: the horizons of another city. It was time to hit the autobahn. He put a tiger in the tank and drove to Germany. The years in Berlin were a seducing hotbed of art, music, going out, playing music and producing music.

Available now – “Bipolar Remixes Pt. 1” has Jonas Kopp, Stefny & Pheek plus their alter-ego Datasoul contributing their own versions. We’re giving up the Raudive remix right here for free!

Biography

For more than 15 years, Jennifer Cardini has been working the European electronic dance music circuit. Her early influences came from Detroit, Chicago, and Cologne, which led her to play primarily house music in the late ‘90s at clubs in France; but time and experience allowed her style to develop into the more experimental techno sets she’s known for today.   After her move to Paris in 1998, Cardini ultimately became one of the first of a generation of French DJ’s to play the stripped-down Berlin sound that would eventually settle into a distinctive movement in electronic music – ‘minimal’ even before that genre term became popular.   In Paris, she quickly became a resident at two of the most influential venues at the time – Le Pulp, which turned into the underground hot spot for avante-garde music, and Rex Club, which continues to be the site of her groundbreaking “Correspondant” parties. It has been at these shows that her skill and passion for music became fully realized, and where she earned her reputation as an icon in electronic music culture.  Over the course of her career, Cardini has continued to work hard and constantly improve, landing her regular appearances at elite venues like Fabric in London, Womb in Tokyo, and Tresor and Panorama Bar in Berlin. Cardini also reached a major milestone in 2008, becoming the first female French artist to sign with Kompakt, with the release of her compilation, Feeling Strange. In addition to her DJ work, Cardini’s productions have also been successfully on target, right from her first acid house 12-inch on Pumpking Records in 1996, all the way through her latest EP on Crosstown Rebels. These carefully crafted tracks have been slowly released over the years, but they have landed solidly on techno powerhouse labels like Mobilee and Kill the DJ. Most recently, Cardini has been spending more time continuing her production efforts, focusing on her current solo projects. She is also starting her own label, Correspondant, as an outlet for her musical vision.

We continue our wonderful Monthly series with Mathias Schaffhäuser’s terrific “Here There & Every Ware” this month the man himself takes to the decks to break some terrific new music with you. enjoy….

BlackIsBeautiful: Pergamon / 1979 by 200 Records

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.

The Cologne dandy presents a bewitching mix of voodoo house and techno.

There are few producers who embody the spirit of the Kompakt label more than Aksel Schaufler. Over the past decade, his Superpitcher output has cemented his place as one of the label’s most enduring artists, covering schaffel, micro house, stomping Cologne techno and, of course, his own brand of dreamily emotive electronic pop.

Although he’s proved himself to be adept at creating driving, club-ready anthems for the Kompakt Extra sub-label, his forays into the album format have seen Schaufler demonstrate his keen ear for a killer pop hook. Here Comes Love‘s brooding vocal techno was well received by rock and electronic audiences alike, while his Supermayer project with Kompakt co-founder Michael Mayer saw him continue to blur genre boundaries in a wonderfully oddball manner. His sophomore solo full-length, Kilimanjaro, is due for release this week, and showcases a slighty more jaunty vibe than the lush melancholia of its predecessor. Those of you who are looking for a preview can check out a couple of its inclusions on his self-described “voodoo” mix for this week’s RA podcast.

What have you been up to recently?

I was touring a lot recently and just found the time to allow myself the luxury of a little vacation. I’ve begun to work on the dub versions of my new album, Kilimanjaro, during that time. It feels great to destroy everything and strip it down. I’ve always been impressed by this technique which was brought to perfection by the geniuses of King Tubby, Lee Perry, etc. who took amazing, beautiful songs and changed them radically into music that sounds like it comes from outer space, just by leaving everything out and adding crazy effects. I’ve also been doing a lot of press which is the hardest thing for me to do.

Can you tell us a bit more about Kilimanjaro? You mentioned there were more live instruments and singing in it. Have you been able to put together a band to take it on the road?

Kilimanjaro is a place in my mind, a place where you can go, find peace or get really lost. It’s a place with tons of energy and vibrations, a place in Africa, a place wherever you are. The mountain of fear, a place where you eventually find yourself…

I’m spending a lot of time putting together a band, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for many years. It’s just so difficult because the context of a club is kind of limited, so it must be super compact and, of course, super fresh. Also it must look super flashy. I hope we will be ready for next year.

Where and how was the mix recorded?

The mix was recorded at home, last minute, because I was on the road for weeks. I used two turntables, one CD player, a looper and a little effects tool. It was a dark night.

Can you tell us a little about the idea behind the mix?

Voodoo!

What are you up to next?

Producing a Pachanga Boys record and doodling with my poodles.

As his productions often do, Prins Thomas‘ remix of “En Vill Hest” by Norwegian indie-pop quintet Casiokids takes its sweet, sweet time to really get cooking. After spending nearly half of the song’s run time layering percussion upon bass licks upon low-register chants upon guitar strums upon synth flourishes upon more drum sounds, a smooth falsetto vocal is introduced to the mix, and moves the track from slow-burning Balearic disco to upbeat beachfront pop. In the hands of someone other than Prins Thomas, a nine-minute exploration of hypnotic live instrument grooves could be a drab listen, but somehow Thomas manages to make his remix coast by without us having to glance at our watch.

As „very charming minimal house with black forest funk“ a reviewer from the united states once
assessed the first publication of Joachim Spieth. Abi 99” appeared at “Kompakt”,
which combined the outrider labels of german minimal techno, “Profan” and “Studio 1”.

When the exceptional british dj and cult presenter John Peel played the maxi shortly after its release
in his legendary radio show, it became clear that the five years of research with synths and drum
machines had been worth while. In 2003 the Orb-mastermind Dr. Alex Patterson takes the track
“You don’t fool me” onto his “Back to mine” compilation, as Joachim deals with the eighth part
of the “Speicher” series on the side of “Kompakt” ceo Michael Mayer, and moves forward with
the track “Under Pressure”.
Even Sven Väth notes the benevolent on his playlist. Miscellaneous remixes follow (for Michael Mayer,
Def Jaguar, Einmusik, Maxime Dangles, Guy J etc.), as well as 12″ “Up and Down” on “Tongut”,
“Connect” on “Paso Music” and several compilation licensing for example on Gui Boratto’s
“Addicted Vol 2″ (2007) or Ivan Smagghe’s “Cocorico 03″ (2008) and a number of engagements
as a dj – a side of Joachim that not very many knew about until then. In the past two or three years
that has drastically changed. He’s travelled in germany and europe, where he usually chose the
narrow path between harsher house and rather minimalistic techno, with which he succeeded well.

Since 2007 Spieth hosts “Affin, a monthly show on Protonradio/USA and also becomes part of Paso Music. In January 2008 Spieth launches his new label Affin.

If you haven’t picked up his new album Immortal Changes, you’re in for a treat – and this podcast is the perfect introduction. Nothing but his own stunning work, it features tracks from the albums alongside other singles and new bits. Absolutely sublime.

Babiczstyle, Robert’s new label, will be the platform for his Warm / Beautifully Produced / Highly Original / Driving House music launching in July the first release REMOTE KISS can be heard exclusively at www.robertbabicz.com

this week we’re chuffed to have a mix from one of our very good friends from the dj world – kompakts’ shumi.

those who saw his slot at cargo alongside matias aguayo back in december will know what a talent shumi is. a longtime and key figure on the cologne dance scene his top class dj skills have graced high profile venue all around europe. last year he made the leap to producer with the release of his first single ‘jump for joy’. naturally this release came out on cologne’s kompakt records – the natural home for shumi – and is well worth picking up.

this mix gives the newcomer a good idea of the smooth and deep selection to expect during a shumi set. seek one out (check here for upcoming gigs) – trust us, you won’t be dissappointed.

To celebrate the release we’re offering up one of our favorite tunes on GUTE LUFT and invite you over to KOMPAKT.FMand purchase the CD / 2LP (with free CD) if you like what you hear!

LISTEN/BUY: Thomas Fehlmann “Gute Luft” (KOMPAKT – CD/2LP w-free CD) on KOMPAKT.FM

A POP AMBIENT mainstay, Jens-Uwe Beyer aka POPNONAME is no stranger to the Cologne scene. Beyond releasing two acclaimed full length’s on ITALIC, he is continually building bridges within the local community with the SOUND OF COLOGNE project that has included the likes of ADA, THE MODERNIST, THE FIELD, JOHN STANIER (BATTLES) and JAN PHILLIP JANZEN (VON SPAR). He has also recently collaborated with JAKI LIEBEZEIT (percussionist of CAN).

POPNONAME has put together his favorite moments from the past decade of POP AMBIENT on this delightful 30 minute mix featuring classic tunes from MINT (aka WOLFGANG VOIGT), TRIOLA (aka THE MODERNIST/JÖRG BURGER), GUSTAVO LAMAS and a brand new tune from DJ KOZE that appears on POP AMBIENT 2010.

This mix also appears on the webzine R.FM! You can download it from them HERE.

Look out for a new single from POPNONAME out this spring on KOMPAKT POP!

Enjoy This Unreleased Free Download – Thomas Fehlmann’s “In The Wind”

Dear friends, it’s that time of the year again… Cologne just received its first snowflakes and there’s a sweet scent of hot wine in the air. Christmas is coming closer so we want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your fantastic support in 2009! It was a very good year…

We’ll kick off the new decade with the 10th installment of our beloved POP AMBIENT series. Before it’ll hit the shelveson January, 18th we’d like to sweeten your waiting time with a free download of Thomas Fehlmann’s contribution ‘In the wind’. We’re very thrilled to announce that Sir Fehlmann just finished working on a whole new artist album which should see the light in March 2010. But first things first here’s the POP AMBIENT 2010 track listing:

That said, they’ve come up with a podcast – over an hour long mix to get you through the holiday cheer!