HENRIK JONSSON & JOEL ALTER - En Melodi

Stumbled on this beauty produced by Henrik Jonsson & Joel Alter right before making the BEARLY SESSION #4. I immediately wanted to make it a pivotal track for the podcast because I can't stop head bobbing to it. As soon as the piano kicks in I realised that this is the kind of shit I started the Muziekbeer for. 

"En Melodi" is extremely slow in its progress but keeps building on sexiness and positive energy. Because it's almost ten minutes in length you might think the first chapter sounds boring, but it's all part of the deal. It's a stripped back sexy beast with godlike instrumentals and a filthy bassline. This magnificent piece of art is purer then Adam & Eve and the sickest track I've heard so far this year.

BEARLY SESSION #4 - MUZIEKBEER

As a music goon and blogger I am psyched to do a BEARLY SESSION. Blogging is a perfect way to share music you love with other people and that was my goal for the podcast. A few tracks I played have already been featured on my blog, but there's a lot of new (and very old) stuff in there as well. I hope you'll have as much fun listening to it as I had making it.

Ø PHASE - Binary Opposition (process 3)

What a stunning techno beauty this is. The attention to detail that Ø [Phase] has is unparalleled. His debut album, Frames Of Reference, has been in the making for almost twelve years and "Binary Opposition (process 3)" is the opening track. Its rhythmic texture is refined and the BPM is tickled down which gives the track a rather light and peaceful feeling.

ZADIG - TTRXL

Peltier Sylvain is a techno producer from Paris and is the crème de la crème of techno livesets. I haven't heard a lot of deejays live that match Sylvain's level of intensity and power. Here's his latest.

"TTRXL" came out late January '13 and is one of my favorite Zadig track. It's incredibly fast-paced, has a lot of power, swing and attitude. 

AXEL BOMAN - Purple Drank

How's this for a love song? Listening to this 3 year old (!) masterpiece makes me wanna grind a tree like Balou from Jungle Book. Boman energized the track with a calmly thrusting groove and redefined the meaning of the word sexy. Singing "I woke up with your name on my lips" is touching and almost poetic, isn't it? Purple drank, however, is not very poetic. It's slang for cough syrup and that explains why the vocal is so vague.

I can't believe "Purple Drank" was released in August '10 and I never heard it before. Makes me wonder what kind of unknown treasures are still out there waiting for us to press the play button.

BABY POP - U Know What I'm Saying

Straight up gangster house released in '95. 

Everybody on Discogs is begging for a copy or repress because there are hardly any tracks that capture the gangster-house feeling as well as "U Know What I'm Saying" does.

VESSELS - Elliptic (Barker & Baumecker remix)

Sam Barker & Andreas Baumecker with a stunning IDM production. Baumecker is a disciple from Ostgut Ton, who works behind the scene for the mighty Berghain. Barker is less techno-oriented and leans more towards electronica. The two combined released a marvelous album, titled Transsektoral, in September '12 on Ostgut Ton that united techno with experimental.

In reminiscence of their album I stumbled across their version of "Elliptic". I was grabbed by the uplifting atmosphere and the absolute grace with which the track progresses. 

RØDHÅD - Newspeak

This track has so much of what I look for in techno. A ghostly vocal, short breaks that create lots of tension, smashing basslines and power. Lots of power. 

"Newspeak" was the first release on RØdhåd's Dystopian.

MICHAEL MAY - Syndrome Of Past Behaviour

Michael May produces techno without compromise or mercy. He has been doing so for over a couple of years now and there's a release set for him in the near future on Sub1990. Mastering will be done by none other then Brian Sahaji.

I first laid eyes on "Syndrome Of Past Behaviour" when May played it in the final minutes of BEARLY SESSION #1. The bombardment of his colossal offbeat drums carry way more power then your average 4/4 track. If anything, I'd call "Syndrome Of Past Behaviour" a Spartanic lethal weapon. May shows no pity for his listeners with the drop executed after six minutes. It comes clashes down so loud you might have to turn your volume down. 

GARDENS OF GOD - Ys

Lithuanian producer Mindaugas Lapinskis is a newcomer wonderboy. When you listen to "Ys", and the other two tracks on the EP, you notice he's a wonderboy with a sophisticated sound. This might be Gardens Of God first release but he's been producing for quite a while. The sinister soundscapes combined with a touch of disco and emotive synths reminds me of Mario Basanov. I wouldn't be surprised if the two producers were friends seeing as they're both wonderboys from Lithuania. 

AVUS - Staring Into One Eye (Wesley Matsell remix)

Shit on me. This one helluva remix by Wesley Matsell has been sitting no, dying, in my library for ages. I played it today and remembered how Dominik Eulberg destroyed the Boiler Room with it. I blogged about his set in April '13 and wrote "One hour filled with wicked tracks and not so wicked ones. I'll take the not so wicked ones for granted though." I couldn't really appreciate Matsell's remix back then. The synths overdid it for me. He exaggerated them. It was a little too powerful.

Now, I think Matsell made the synthesizers sound like a wizard casting Wingardium Leviosa. He pitched 'em so high, you have to get up to either cover your ears or dance.

BEARLY SESSION #3 - D'LECTRONIQUE

After a two month break we're back with a new podcast. I'm super psyched to have good friend, and DJ, Dominique D'lectronique Top do the third instalment of the BEARLY SESSIONS. I first saw D'lectronique play at a private party in Holland a few years back. She played the closing set and I remember she rocked my socks off. Dominique wasn't just cool and extremely sweet, but that same charisma also transferred through her track selection and that gives a dance floor energy. Lots of it. 

I did a small interview with D'lectronique about her thoughts behind the podcast, her career as a singer and what her favorite bear is.

How and where was this mix recorded? And what were your thoughts behind it?

This mix was recorded in my little studio at home, I have all of my gear set up there. I always record my sets and when I record something at home, I play it the same way as I would do on stage. Two technics, two iPads for midi-controlling and at the base of it all; my computer with Traktor Scratch Pro. I use the record output of my mixer for recording. 

I’d love to expand my setup someday, but the way I have it setup now gives me pretty much all the control I need when I play. On a side note, I recorded the whole set in one take. When I started recording mixtapes, I used to start over and over when I messed it up.
For this mix I really wanted to give you a peak inside my head, these two hours are a pretty decent representation of who D’lectronique is.

Tell us a little bit about the name “D’lectronique”?
I was 18 when I started DJing and I wanted to have a cool stage name, something that would fit me perfectly. So, I started thinking. My name, Dominique, is french. I play electronic music. Musique D’electronique is the french term for electronic music. My DJ name started out as "Dominique 'Lectronique", but I soon decided to skip the 'ominique'. D’lectronique had a better ring to it and has been my alter-ego ever since.

And yes, I love electronics.

I’ve heard some stories about you singing through a microphone while DJing, is this true?
Yes, thats actually true! I don’t sing as much as I used to, but I was the lead singer in a band for years! Sometimes when I’m feeling silly, I grab a microphone and sing when I’m DJing.

What do you have in store for us in the near future?
I’ve been producing my own tracks again, maybe you will see those floating around the interwebs! Other than that, keep a look out on my social feeds for updates on shows and what not.

What’s your favorite bear?
The Cinnamon Bear. Because they are awesome. 

GRAZE - Ripley

Graze consists out of two producers: Adam Marshall and Christian Andersen. They released a small album together in December '13 which was received fairly well and consisted out of bass-focused tracks with a slightly somber touch. From all the eight tracks on the album, "Ripley" is the production that stood out the most for me. 

Marshall and Andersen made the bass sound as filthy as a sewer and worked with a ghastly vocal and some percussion in the background to give the entire track a melodramatic warm feeling. "Ripley" doesn't feel full-on club mode, but a few steps back. After-mode.

DJ TENNIS @ Output Brooklyn, New Years Eve 31.12.13

DJ Tennis does not only own the Life And Death label, which is one of the biggest labels of this moment because of his vision and taste in music, but he's also a boss behind the decks. This three hour set has got some killer up-and-coming Life And Death releases, including Ten Walls - Walking With Elephants and many others.This is three hours of true epicness and must've been the perfect way to start 2014. 

JOEY ANDERSON - Repulsive

WOW.

Starts of as a heavy hands-up banger with crazy synth work but progresses rather deep with a second synth that sounds more gentle and mellow. Andersons hihats have such an creative rhythm. They're full of funk and razor sharp at the same time.

"Repulsive" is original and fun to listen to. You have no idea where the track is going. Excellent release by Dekmantel.

EDUARDO DE LA CALLE - Quasi Calligraphic

Eduardo De La Calle produced "Quasi Calligraphic" with balls and intelligence. It's exciting listening to it because it sounds so original and inventive. The ingenuity with which Eduardo uses his arpeggio, after two-and-a-half minutes, to fire away those amazing chords is fascinating me. This is a masterpiece.

SLEEPARCHIVE - Elephant Island

"Elephant Island" is bleepy hypnotic techno at its best. Sleeparchive's work has been criticised a lot because his tracks are almost unplayable and they sound like they're cut out of a longer session. Critics say his releases are loops that barely seem to evolve and sound airless if you don't listen to them closely. I think his loops are pressed together so tight that they sound different on every listen. It's fascinating to listen to his productions. His approach on techno is unique. "Elephant Island" is outrageously expressive, twice the length of his other tracks and his only track with a vocal. The bleeping hypnotic melody slowly evolves into something that'll mess with your mind if played in the right setting and time. "Elephant Island" is a 5AM club nightmare that will drive you crazy on a proper sound system. 

LEVON VINCENT - ???

Levon Vincent has been in the electronic music scene for ages and is widely regarded by colleagues and fans as one of the greatest. His productions compositions and DJ skills are unmatched. Whether it's house or techno, Levon Vincent has made legendary tracks for both. 

"???" is a stripped back, raw and funky house track that is sexy and elegant in its musical spirit. If you listen to the melody here you might think your twelve year old kid brother could create something similar on the trumpet. I agree. But Vincent lays it on the track in a way that it feels boss and powerful like hell. 

The only complaint I have is that "???" ends too quickly.

SOULPHICTION - When Radio Was Boss (Jackmate Remix)

"When Radio Was Boss" is a killer track with an old school touch. Incredibly funky bassline that just bounces up and down continuously and progresses in the most groovy way imageable. The track only has a few short breaks and because of that it feels unstoppable. A killer release by Pampa Records.

MAHER DANIEL, JON CHARNIS - Lonely Stars In Open Skies (Luca Bacchetti Endless remix)

Summer is approaching and everybody wants to produce the next summer jam (read:"Gotham"). If anything, this has to be the biggest contender yet. Luca Bacchetti made one hell of a remix. Gently building for about three-and-a-half minutes, then there's a humongous break which reminds me of Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal. Hopkins created an unexpected shift in the melody there and Bacchetti did the same here during the break. This is exciting stuff. 

I'm psyched because this isn't your typical feel good summer jam. "Lonely Stars In Open Skies" isn't dripping with happiness and joyful feelings. Instead, It'll put a dirty smile on your face and you'd wanna dance your ass off.