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| JV at work on the ones and twos! |
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Jason Vasilas - June '05
www.jasonvasilas.com
Texas-based Vasilas's deep, techy sensibilities first made their mark on UK tech
house label Groove Pleasure with the haunting 'Already Mine', but it was the
follow-up 'Possession' with it's 'Stripped down dub' that really did the dancefloor
damage, fusing his now trademark clinically-clean production with Croydon basslines. "I
took the reverse route into the game," says Vasilas, "experimenting
with everything from melodic electronica to breaks and d'n'b before I found my
true passion for tech house." It's this approach which gives JV's productions
and remixes their edge, and he prides himself for creating "genre-blurring
hybrids", an attitude very much in keeping with the tech house spirit. In
the coming months we can expect releases on Uppercutz and Household as well as
remixes for the likes of Get Fucked and Sinister recordings, very much confirming
his reputation as a true heavyweight of the scene.
Jason's Ten Tune Tips...
1. Cylon - Kit Cat (Talisman Rmx) - Honchos Music
STUNNING dancefloor techno tune with lush stabs and pushy bassline, more like
this please!!
2. Precision Cuts - Polly 800 (Phonique Rmx) - Simple
Deep grooving tune that travels along the dancefloor at its on pace, the chord
breakdown is the highlight for me.
3. Big Head - Beautiful (JV's Lush Vocal Mix) - Sinister Promo
Breaks label Sinister going out on a limb and steering away from its signature
sound on this one...
4. DJ Ali - Change - Sugarcane Promo
New Orleans Sugarcane is going from strength to strength, HOT release. Stay tuned
more timeless music.
5. Magik Trax - Get Nasty B/W Here It Is - Honchos Music
Thick, chunky, warm and melodic house - Honcho quality production for sure.
6. Get Fucked ft/ DJ Gabo - Corrupt (Original + Freeman Rmx) - Sensei
Sensei continues to impress with this one. Dancefloor builder from the
GF boys along with DJ Gabo from Brazil.
7. Dj Fex - Mysterious Conversation - Dessous
Simple moody track thats heavy on the vibe and gets the job done.
8. Miles Maeda - My Force Ep - Dot Bleep Recordings
Dry wiggly beats and funky snippets make for stripped down groovers
on this EP.
9. Various - Fresh Meat - Vol 2 - Gourmet
Nice to see an established label like Gourmet adding some much needed variety
into the scene, tasty cuts all around.
10. Mastik Soul & Undertow - Tribal Bounty (A.D.D. & Shubert Rmx) - Yoda
Bold new label with loads of tech house talent. Stay tuned for more from these
producers and label
JV and Granite's 'Hallucinate' EP is out soon on Household
Recordings
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Jon Shanks - Nimbus
www.wobble.it
Any afficionado of the deep tech spectrum of house music should take note of the name.
Converted from drum and bass by the likes of 16b and regular trips to seminal London tech-house night
Subterrain, Jon Shanks started playing around with digital production and soon made his debut on respected
imprint Sub Rossa. His next step was the formation of production outfit Nimbus, in collaboration with two
friends Oli and Pete. The trio have a raft of quality material in the pipeline including forthcoming
releases on Swiss label Bitboutique and the mighty Iron Box.
As Jon puts it: "I guess the stuff we make can be loosely classed as ‘tech house’ but theres always
a large musical element in everything as we all used to play the piano when we were younger. I guess
we’re trying to make music thats got a lasting value, rather than stuff with a short life that will
only get played for a month and then be forgotten about."
Jon's top ten deep tech journeys:
1, misc – rocket skating (sender)
all 4 tracks are tight but the highlight is the b1 ‘the magic number’ – filthy bassline.
2, m.i.a. – schwarzweiss (substatic)
another classic substatic album. dark and grainy soundscapes with cheeky, tricky minimal beats.
3, lump – wer einen und at (mental groove ltd)
most interesting record ive heard in months. best out of all the mental groove ltd series. has enough ideas in it to make at least 2 or 3 other tracks. genius.
4, weltwzei – expander (2 $ egg rmx) (sender)
no brainer here with the combination of sender and 2 $ egg. typically gritty, grinding production and constantly changing arrangement.
5, t polar – department of stealth (morris audio citysport)
amazing 8 tracker of house and minimal beats. totally fresh and original sounds throughout.
6, john spring – strange (substatic)
a totally different sound for substatic. seriously chunky and tight with an extra fat bassline.
7, cycle repair – new york blackout (bitboutique)
standout from the latest bitboutique record. look out for these guys, some amazing new stuff coming up.
8, monobox – trade (pantytec rmx) (logistic)
really interesting take on the original. great chopped up vox and excellent build up before it drops.
9, cirez d – deep inside (truesoul)
deep chugging tech house sounding quite similar to aril brikhas classic groove la chord. been a fan of everything on this label so far.
10, 2 $ egg – graphit (klang)
more brilliance from 2 of my favourite producers. amazing stuff.
Watch out for the Nimbus ep coming in the summer on Bitboutique, featuring a remix from
Cycle Repair: www.bitboutique.ch
Nimbus will be appearing on the forthcoming
Framed / Formed ep on Iron Box around June / July
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| Chris lays down some tunes (even while
the decks are on fire!) at Melon... |
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Chris Udoh, Philadelphia, PA
www.tigerhook.com/
1. Pete Heller's Big love - Stargazin'/
The Drop- Junior
2. Unkle - Eye for an Eye (Tyrant Mix ) - Mo wax/Island
3. Tomorrow Ltd. - Standing Alone (Original & Studio Nova
Mixes) - Honcho
4. The Vaden Plas - Santa Margerhita (Peace division Mix)-
Independente
5. Layo & bushwacka - It's Up to you (shining Through)
(Lee - Cabrera unreleased dub) - XL /End
6. Randall Jones feat. Miss Phoenixx - Up out of here (Udoh's
Tunnel mix) - CDR
7. Chemical bros. feat the Flaming lips - the golden path
/ Nude night - Astralwerks
8. Morjac feat Raz Conway - Stars - Credence
9. Sifter & Adan - Miles & Ilses - Honcho
10. Funky Transport feat. L - Beautiful Boy (deep house souldiers
mixes) - Eighth Dimension |
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Chas (aka Chas Burns) has been involved
in writing music as Flow since the tender age of 13, playing
in ‘cyber-punk’ bands and messing about with drum
machines and guitar amps before being captivated by the explosion
of the acid house scene.
In the early to mid nineties he dj’d
with the Leicester based Babble sound system before venturing
more seriously into his own music productions. It was in 1997
that Chas began recording as Flow and released one single
and two double singles with Low Pressings
as well as embarking on an extensive US DJ tour.
Initially with his music Chas was the ideas man and someone
else did the engineering; however, before long he reached
the point where frustration and a strong creative desire drove
him to buy some kit and get busy finding his feet as a producer
in his own right. After locking himself in a room for a couple
years that move is
really starting to pay off.
Interesting fact: Chas
once held the world record for the longest dj set: 42 hours!!
The current record of 72 hours is held by Martin Boss, USA.
1. Various Artists 'Volume 1' Affected
I like my pizza with lots of things on it...AND I like the
taste of this one (all four).
2. Pierre Cavert 'Apartment On 5th' Sensei
Still big in my bag!
3. Curtis Hope 'Good Day at the Office' Sensei
Nice deep house...Then the bassline kicks in and turns upside
down. Great!
4. Urbantorque Unreleased 'The Departure Lounge Remixes'
Urbantorque
Every release just oozes quality (and I'm not the first to
say that, nor the last)
5. Subsound 'Looking Back' Affected
6. The Diogenes Club 'Music For The Soul' EP Urbantorque
I love four tracks. I love four different tracks. I love this
EP.
7. Feline 9 'Cats' Drenched
It's that drum pattern...Good breaky Tech-House, with a nice
'Hypno-Groove' element (there, I said it!)
8. Sound of the Suburbs 'All You Need' LHB
Nice Latini percussive flavour and a good bounce. Choice cut.
9. Da Sunlounge 'du' Myna
My fav track of the three.
10. PC Synergy feat. Roni Six 'Six on the Ten' Drenched
Like all three, percussive elements and nice live sexy sax. |
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Alex Deans original musical interests were
hardcore and techno, a far cry from the deep, lush house sounds
he now produces.
Upon shifting to Nottingham in the early 90's, he was heavily
influenced by the free party vibe at events like DiY, and
shifted his focus to smoother sounds.
Alex began DJing, then got into the studio in 97, starting
out strong with releases on Drop, quickly followed by tunes
for Bosh, Eukahouse, Get Groovy, and many more.
His fantastic "Espiritu" for Halo's
US-based Bluem imprint came on the back of strong releases
on Freaked, his own killer house imprint. With 3 releases
in the can, including jams from that other famous Nottingham
tech head Tony Thomas (who lives just down the road), Freaked
is one to watch for 2003!
Alex is just back from excursions around the USA, and vows
to tidy up his studio one day soon...
1.She Funk - Rythm Doctor featuring Cassio
ware - Discfunction
2.Mr G - Henpecked ep - Pheonix G
3.Version Limited 01 - version limited
4.Body/Style - Oh dee and Chuck weasel mix
5.Cheza by Kyaha featuring Mapumba - pearmusic
6.J-rod & Pat nice - Deep Fixin - Safe in Sound
7.Lawnchair Generals - U Dirty ep - Westbound
8.The most beautiful boy in Brazil - Physics - Deeplay
9.DJ Ali - Will you wait - Village
10.Pat Berry - Do you dance - Toko
11.Demarkus Lewis - All of em!!
12.Spin Cycle - Geek3
13.Plastic Head Band - Odori
14.Kenny Hawkes - Dance for me -MFF
15.Souldoubt - Red Bridge - Bluem. |
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Etienne (Steve) Stehelin, an Los Angeles-based
technical wizard, has been producing his own unique brand
of intelligent club-house since the late '90s.
To date, Stehelin has released his sweet tech-house sounds
on labels such as Tweekin', Terraform Records, and is now
signed to San Francisco's ubiquitous Om Records.
About the Tech-house list, Steve says:
"I'd have to say, its a good time to come home half drunk
& flip on the computer & look at what all you kooks
have to say."
"I dont post much myself 'cause i go record shopping
about
once every 3 months & am usually in the dark about most
of what y'all are talking about. Or maybe thats because im
half drunk..."
"The MOST entertaining thing to do, however, is post
something like "so what do you folks think defines "tech-house?"
& watch everyones inboxes fill up to about 300 new messages,
flame wars, opinions, etc.... try it, it works..!"
[Err, no, please don't..! Ed.]
Etienne is currently on tour in Eastern
Europe, where he's loving the gorgeous locals and the up-for-it
vibe at the gigs...
Grant Nelson Presents - Ethnicity Part 1
Missy Thing - Fred Everything
Inner City Experience w/ Craig Law, Mark Grant,
Lance Desardi, & JT
Knee Deep (white) Funky Nassau / Your Love
Om Records - Om 100th release Comp
Inland Knights - Long Weekend - Drop
Odori allstars - Tracks For Hire
Product - that new green one...?
Lance Nuance - Subtle Rebuttal - Dufflebag
Rithma - Ambien After Vicodin - Rithma 003 |
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