MARCUS WORGULL & PETER PARDEIKE - Blythe

Daunting and challenging is what this is. "Blythe" is the newest release from Innervisions, which is one of the best labels at this moment. If you like slightly weird and incredibly deep house music of course. Deejays who spin this will have their nasty-face on and head bang like a true gangster. Because holy fuck is this epic or what?

MY #4 TRACK FOR 2013

Holden changed the way I listen to music when he released his album, The Inheritors, in 2013. If you've read my blog it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of James Holden. I am positive Holden could fill this list by himself and it's not easy picking just one track. Listening to "Gone Feral", "The Inheritors", "The Caterpillar's Intervention" and "Renata" made me realize that James can do anything when making music and he's the only musician that gives me that feeling. 

I gave his album another listen and realized that "Blackpool Late Eighties" is where The Inheritors all come together. The entire album builds up to this one track. "Blackpool Late Eighties" is peaceful, majestic and intriguing. With eight-and-a-half minutes in length it is also the longest track on the record and that means something coming from James Holden. 

Holden doesn't only make very special music. He is also an inspiration to others. If I'd do a quick summary of Holden I would say he's an influencer, an innovator and a guide for other deejays. Whenever he releases an album people start to think different about music and the way they produce music. James Holden changes the way people listen to music. 

You can find my #5 track for 2013 here.

MY #5 TRACK FOR 2013

If I look back at 2013 I'd say the deep side of house is getting more and more sophisticated. That's a good thing, because it sure as hell needed to get more sophisticated. Players like Tale Of Us, Dixon, Âme and Mano Le Tough are paving a path for other deejays to follow. The strength of their dj-sets and releases made them top of the food chain in 2013. Dixon was voted no. 1 DJ on Resident Advisor, everything Âme and him released on their label Innervisions turns into gold and Tale Of Us has released some spectacular tracks like "Concor" and "Primative People" this year. 

One of the tracks they all play is "Wek" from Fango. Fango combines samples of the Peruvian jungle with loud percussion and hard-hitting drums. He doesn't have a lot of followers on Soundcloud or plays on Youtube but there's something about his tracks that I haven't heard before. It sounds playful and yet it would smash a dance floor right open. Keep an eye on Fango for 2014.

BEARLY SESSION #2 - DENNIS WILLIAMS

Dennis Williams was high on my list to do one of the BEARLY SESSIONS because I love watching him play live and listening to his sets at home. I believe that because Dennis is a little older then most DJs, his taste in music is more refined. When you talk to Dennis about music you clearly hear that he's got a huge passion for it which transfers to his sets. The tracks he picks have something special, but sometimes you have to listen closely to be able to hear it. Lucky for Dennis, I love to listen a little more closely. 

Take the track with the African vocal at 17:45 mins called Adesse - Baayi for example. It's incredibly deep and soulful and is one of the highlights in the entire podcast for me. 

The other highlight (read: jaw dropping moment) was Mano Le Tough - Inside Animal Minds. Because it's played this late into the set it feels like a reward just listening to it. It's played after 54 minutes and I rewinded the set three times just to listen to it again. I just couldn't figure out the melody, it's insanely powerful, sinister and unpredictable. 

Dennis' closing track, Rebelski - The Rift Valley (Luciano remix), is such a sunny and joyful tracks, the vocal is incredibly powerful and enchanting. The perfect pick to close a two hour musical journey with. It made me realise that I had so much fun listening to this podcast that I can't even imagine how much fun Dennis must have had while making it. 

LENGTHY MASTERPIECE 1 // FAIRMONT - UNUNOCTIUM

LENGTHY MASTERPIECE will be a new series that contains lengthy electronic masterpieces of music. Tracks that are out of the ordinary and you can't listen to everyday because they blow your mind every time you listen to it.

I had to look up what an ununoctium is exactly but apparently it has the highest atomic number and highest atomic mass of all the elements discovered so far. I'm not sure what that means. But what I am sure of, is that you rarely ever listen to something that builds up energy and anticipation as smooth as this and feels unstoppable at the same time. You will not even notice "Ununoctium" building its way up. This is pure silk pouring from Fairmont his hands. 

MIC MILLS - Moretti

Tough rolling house banger with lots of whacks, claps and smacks. 

LEMON 8 - Model 8 (Lemon 8 remix)

I can't believe how much power this track has. "Model 8" is almost beaten to death by the percussion there's just so much strength and fierceness in them. You could qualify the track as techno or house but that doesn't matter. It was released in 1993. Back then house was only played at raves and acid sounded cheesy. And I love how cheesy the acid sounds in "Model 8".


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MOLOKO - Sing It Back (Herbert's tasteful dub)

Accidentally stumbled upon this when I was listening to classics from the 90s. Do you remember Moloko's "Sing It Back"? It was a pretty cool dance track released in '99. Mathew Herbert made a tasteful dub version which is so much more then tasteful. It's classy and sexy. 

The murky grooves in Herbert's version are delicate, deep and the vocal is not as present as it is in the original. I like it a lot.

MARK DEUTSCHE & MUSOE - Push

At first you'll think "Push" is a pretty standard tech house track. Which it is, but Deutsche and Musoe added an unpredictable and vague groove that feels grim and cryptic at the same time. 

"Push" reminds me of Nicolas Masseyeff - Mugen because that track also sounds pretty basic at first. But when you give it a couple more plays the track goes a lot deeper then you think.

HOLDEN - The Caterpillar's Intervention

Lately I've been listening to James Holden again. Maybe it's because of ADE, but it made me realise that all of my personal heroes are together in one city for one week playing at their best. Except for Holden. 

After ADE I always want to listen to the best or most intense music I have. You can listen to house, techno or whatever but there's nothing quite as intense as Holden's latest album The Inheritors. I've posted two tracks from his album already here and here. 

The album is 75 minutes in length and if you've never had a listening experience before and you're curious, you should definitely give it a go. Just press play and try to do as little as possible. Holden really demands your full attention and if you give it to him I guarantee you, it'll be something special.

"The Caterpillar's Intervention" is the fourth track on the album and it sounds to me like an epic introduction of what's about to come. The way the saxophone joins the party adds to the buildup perfectly. It gave me goosebumps the first time. But what really blew my mind was that free jazz solo near the ending. It just walks the thin line called sanity and yet it never sounds like it's out of control. 

JULIE MCKNIGHT - Home (Knee Deep Club mix)

At first I thought this was just another cheesy house track with lyrics that you've heard a thousand times before, but I was wrong. Julie McKnight is actually singing something that has meaning, she's not repeating the same three lines for over eight minutes. Knee Deep added a great piano riff. I love the cheerful touch the track gets because of that. 

There's so many tracks with lyrics that just try to hard and claim to be something in a cheesy way with cheap lyrics. Tracks like that just don't convince me but this one does. I just can't stop singing when it's on.

MAX COOPER Live at ADE 19.10.13

You never know what you might expect from Max Cooper a.k.a. King of the electronic jungle. He's been breaking boundaries the minute he stepped into the electronic music scene and his sound is at the verge of what people are accustomed to.

I saw him play at Amsterdam Dance Event last week and I thought Max was going to give us a set filled with electronic bangers and make us break the house down. Instead, his set was more focussed on the experience and feeling his music rather then dancing to it and I loved it. You really never know what you might expect from Cooper but it's always something special. 

GABRIEL ANANDA - Let It In Let It Out

I saw Gabriel Ananda live last week at Amsterdam Dance Event and he really surprised me, in a positive way. He played a liveset for one and a half hours which contained so many amazing tracks and "Let It In Let It Out" is one of them.

The dreamy synthesizers fly all over the place and the bassline is solid. But that short, powerful and most of all unexpected solo in the end did it  for me. Certainly when Gabriel played it live with crazy volume. It's just beautiful.

DENNIS WILLIAMS - Left In The Leaves

I'm really digging these tech and progressive vibes. Especially early in the morning, because it wakes me up nice and slow and puts a smile on my face. 

STARDUST - Music Sounds Better With You

For me, this is one of the finest tracks in electronic music there is, it's timeless and makes you feel good every single time you play it. "Music Sounds Better With You" was released in 1998 and you can still play it in a club or at a festival if the timing is right. It was produced by Thomas Bangalter who is best known for being one half of Daft Punk.

Do you remember that video?

TIGERSKIN - This Place Is Empty Without You

The track is beautifully slow paced and embodies a soundscape so captivating you could almost fall asleep to it.

DE SLUWE VOS At Higgs Live

De Sluwe Vos is always fun to watch. He plays with a lot of energy and mixes quickly. Expect huge kicks, loud snares and razor-sharp hi-hats. He pretty much wrecks the living room in barely one hour.

Vos has just released a new EP titled Vibe Over Money on the Dutch label Soulfood, which sounds great. Only 300 copies were made and it's a vinyl exclusive release. 

MAX COOPER - Frank

I thought I was a Max Cooper fan and know almost every track. Apparently there's always a bigger fan, since friend R. sent me this and I never heard of it. 

"Frank" sounds a lot like Cooper's older tracks and was released in 2008, it contains a heavy groove and barely any glitchy soundscapes. I'm hooked on that loud hi-hat that peeks his head around the corner sporadically. 

MICHAEL MAY - BEARLY SESSION #1

Michael May has been my go-to guy for a long time when it comes to techno. I love his unique productions and the way he perceives music. You could call him a producer, DJ or live act but he'd rather call himself a music enthusiast. He almost always performs as a live act with exclusively his own tracks but for the first Bearly Session he wanted to do something different. Expect one hour filled with techno and four of Michael May's own tracks. Can you guess which one's are his? 

Michael May: "I wanted to start with a detroit groovy touch and sort of ride that vibe towards dub techno. It stays dusty and groovy for a while and for the end I wanted to give it a Berlin techno kind of finish. Throughout the set you can hear four of my own tracks which have not seen a release yet."

PSYK - Distane

I love those two small breaks. As soon as the beat starts to roll again you realise that the continuously echoing synth and the tiny hi-hat is enough to keep you going.