what is light without shadow?...
.
.
.
.
...:::...can light be without shadow? (like letting the letter 'q' be written down in a word without a 'u' following...). does light turn into form as you take darkness away from an empty field?

i return again to reduction. to making through subtraction. i scratch my intention into a lightless place...pin-prick moments of clarity into a shadowy plane and slowly render meaning. form emerges (hello! sunshine)...

and maybe music is like that, too. where if you rub a little quiet (a light-filled eraser) into the cacophony of your daily sounds (a murky dark), that a rhythmic sound will begin to play...just maybe if you listen hard enough, sounds will take on value. like a million shades of gray, and cast note-filled shadows where your steps fall...:::...

download: 070129-modyfier

drei farben house – unprivate (unai remix) : aug 2006 on forcetracks
pinktronix – its raining djs : dec 2006 on irma records
cajuan – raven (joakims antwerp re-edit) : jan 2007 on fine records
bodycode – exciting ride : feb 2007 on spectral
feldah & koba – is klar (pan-pot remix) : jan 2007 on 60sec records
butane & abe chapman – nowhere kansas : dec 2006 on mo’s ferry
christian dittmann – dub 1 (d diggler remix) : jan 2007 on rrygular
audio werner – flatfunk : jan 2007 on circus company
mikael stavostrand – blau : dec 2006 on kontra-musik
benjamin fehr I ffwd – truth or consequences (falko brocksieper remix) : jan 2007 on catenaccio records
house of black dress – she had no aims no great desires showed no jealousy held no grievances : dec 2006 on underline
towie – marietta : jan 2007 on no dough
lump – some hope : jan 2007 on karloff
rekorder – rekorder 7-1 : dec 2006 on rekorder
elias landberg – loopfunctional : jan 2007 on mezzotinto
drei farben house – on my side (daso remix) : jan 2007 on brut!
sasha virus – pop voice (bitch version) : jan 2007 on xela digital
b.u.r.n.e.d. – discodrome (tuner & jackson remix) : dec 2006 on bikini tracks

.
.
DJ TOMAS

Affiliations:
Umoja Soundsystem (DJ crew), Voltage Music (label) and ForwardEver

Technical Information:
Vestax PMC 17A Mixer
Technics 1200 MK II Turntables
Stanton 890 Needles
Sony MDR V500 Headphones
M-Audio Fast Track Audio Interface
Bias Peak Pro 5 Sound Editor
Human brain

Programming Note:
“Process” was track channel mixed, cross-fader-central. This refers to mixing by leaving the crossfader in the middle position, and sliding each channel’s individual volume control up or down to mix between tracks.

Form and Formats:
The process: Started by choosing records. That might sound simple, but it was a choice of quality and familiarity versus quantity and interface–a choice between vinyl and digital formats.

Like many other DJs, my record collection is split into three formats: vinyl, CD and MP3. However, my acquisition of hardware interfaces for the later two systems has not kept pace with the preponderance of digital music available. Although I own a copy of digital mixing program Traktor, I find it frustrating and awkward to use. The software interface is overly complex, the program doesn’t catalog iTunes folders accurately, and it requires a sound card that supports multiple “outs” so you can monitor using both headphones and speakers simultaneously. Additionally, running the program on my lowly Macintosh iBook G4 pushes the machine’s CPU power to about its limit. So digital music was out for now.

Sadly, my freshest, most exciting recent sounds are all on MP3. Burn CD’s and mix em’ along with your vinyl you say? That would be nice, but CDJ players are also cost-prohibitive; as such I don’t own a pair, or even a single unit. That brought me back to square one: vinyl.

Luckily, multiple sources (promos for review for various freelance outlets I contribute to, a small amount of purchased vinyl from Amoeba, Open Mind and Tweekin’ Records) have kept me somewhat current on vinyl releases. And this is important: I mainly collect certain specific genres on vinyl while other genres I collect solely on MP3. Broken beat, dubstep, reggae and most of my house collection is on wax; techno, hip-hop and global beats I collect digitally.

The mix I have compiled represents a tiny cross-section of not only the genres that I play out, but also the formats I mix between, and the latter often affects the overall process of the final mix. Mixing vinyl puts me in an entirely different space than mixing MP3’s or CDs. For instance, the mood or feeling of the vinyl records I chose, plus the tactile interface of moving and adjusting the pitch of the records (via the record player’s pitch controller or my fingers on the turntable spindle, etc.) contribute to the concentration or anxiety I afford to a mix, blend or transition. Vinyl mixing has an innate physicality.

Transition Tunings:
Throughout this mix I tried to place and emphasis on “just letting the record play,” while being conscious of the amount of time it would take to get through the set. As a result, I did a lot of editing on the fly to the track selection. I had the basic 14 or so singles chosen in advance, arranged via BPM (listed after the label in the song list), but I reshuffled certain choices, and nixed others. During the mix I raided my record closet for transition records, and the final the last two records were last minute additions.

Hence, I mixed 18 records, which, coincidently started off at 118 BPM with a broken beat track, and the mix is similarly bookended by a broken/2step-ish track. This performance is representative of the fact that I rarely play an entirely straight four/four (house or techno) set–gotta have those off-kilter polyrhythms in there. That being said, I have a tremendous amount of respect for DJs who mix minimal house, techno and other more rigid sound formats, and do so with a sense of style and soul. After 15 years of DJing, this is something that I still aspire to each time I play out.

I should also mention that this was my second attempt at this mix. The first attempt was smooth until a poor transition on the final record–over an hour into the mix. Additionally, the first mix suffered from some digital distortion in the recording process. Overall, I’m satisfied with this second pass. Most of the transitions and blends are in-key or at least complimentary to each other.

My major regret is that I recorded this from analog vinyl, through a marginally good premixer, into a digital audio interface, encoded as a mono AIFF file and then converted to MP3. All that makes for a less than stellar stereo experience. That’s why my next major purchase is going to be a DJ mixer with stereo XLR outs, as well as finding audio editing software that record in stereo.

Words About The Wax:
Domu – Quarantine (New Religion) 118–A song from The Electric Institute compilation put together by Kirk Degiorgio. Catch Kirk on his upcoming US tour in March. Domu has a new label called TrebleO, which is quite excellent.

DJ Spinna – We Can Change This World (Papa)–Spinna has a beautiful studio in Fort Greene Brooklyn, and has really come into his own as a house/nujazz producer. You should hear his ridiculous sets at New York’s Shelter club–off the hook house!

Listen To The Music – Reckless Woman (Out of the Loop)–This is Ewan Pearson in disguise.

Kahil El’Zabar – Running In The Streets-Charles Webster Remix (Deeper Soul)–Kahil El’Zabar is a major figure in the world of free jazz, and leads the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble based in Chicago. This is one of Charles Webster’s best remixes, and his other recent work has established him as one of the world’s finest producers. Bjork noticed, and he’s producing her next album.

Rockers Hi-Fi – Push Push (Different Drummer)–The massive original mix from 1995. Get Physical’s M.A.N.D.Y. recently remixed this track for Great Stuff. The “He can turn the tide…” sample is reggae singer Johnny Osbourne from his Channel One/Scientist era recordings.

Brooks – Clicks (Mantis)–Haunting!

Baseline Road – You Will Find It (Nordic Trax)–Cats from Colorado on a Canadian label. John “Community Recordings” Nedza and Mathew “Deep House Soldiers” Brandy make weightless dance music in mile-high clouds.

Theo Parish – Solitary Flight (Sound Signature) This track from 2002 started an avalanche of interest in this cat’s production. And you can hear why: intentionally off-track kick and snare inflections, like J-Dilla doing house. And the soul is undeniable. I heard this track for the first time in LA at an afterhours art gallery club. It was 3 a.m.; there were about 12 of us in an empty gallery with a huge soundsystem and this record. I nearly cried it was so perfect.

Agora Rhythm – Circles (Nite Grooves) Don’t sleep on New York’s Nite Grooves. They’re always slipping these moody gems out of the woodwork when you least expect them! Tetsu Shibuya & DJ Shingo are doing tracks for Sonar Kollektiv as well.

Harold Heath – One More Try (Groove Pleasure)–One of the better tracky dubs I’ve heard in a while. This is a real “L.A.” underground record. If you go there, check out sets by Raul Campos, Tony Watson or Marques Wyatt.

Parov Stellar – Primavera (Auris) This label is also home to dubby goods by Lars Behrenroth and Frankman. Parov Stellar also does nujazz and jazz house for Sunshine Enterprises and his own label.

Vincenzo – Can You Feel What I Feel (Dessous) That’s the voice of The Temptations’ David Ruffin from The Motown Story on the breakdown.

Soda Inc. – Flight SU 118 (Shayan) About the closest thing to trance I’d ever play. But this reminds me of Jam & Spoon, and early Sven Vath stuff. German producers have been going back to this sound of late.

Total Science – Sugar Sweet (Head To Toe) Head To Toe was the Irma Records offshoot founded by Fabrizio Carrerr. It only lasted 13 releases before folding, but all 13 were killer.

Iz & Diz – Happy (Hudd Traxx) SF/Chicago stalwarts get dubby for us. A great single from 2006.

Nubian Mindz – Casablanca (Irma Unlimited) This is Collin “AlphaOmega” Lindo from Reinforced Records, a drum & bass producer by trade. I’ll be damned if this isn’t the essence of Chicago house inna speed garage-type format. Oddly, Professor Smith and myself used these same Rhodes chords for a midtempo track we released as Live & Direkt on Ubiquity. Check the similarities! Eerie.

Cio D’or – 4 Men Terror (Treibstoff) Awesome track from the Cologne-based producer and DJette.

Maddslinky – Dark Swing (Sirkus) Call him Zed Bias or Dave Jones, this producer goes left when the scene goes right. No “electro house” DJ is he; Jones is continually rewriting the rules of broken, jazz, garage and future rhythms.

Ending Process:
Thank you to Modifyer for providing the forum and idea for this mix. Restriction is the absence of freedom; Pharoah Sanders sings “you’ve got to have freedom,” and I agree. Here’s to freeing up the mix. To stepping out of minimal, maximal or whatever genre box we wall ourselves inside of, and, through a process of personal and community evolution, chart new freedoms in our music and our dance culture.

tomas palermo - process part 005 by modyfier

01. Domu–Quarantine (New Religion) 118
02. DJ Spinna–We Can Change This World (Papa) 118
03. Listen To The Music–Reckless Woman (Out of the Loop) 120
04. Kahil El’Zabar–Running In The Streets-Charles Webster Remix (Deeper Soul)
05. Rockers Hi-Fi–Push Push (Different Drummer) 120
06. Brooks–Clicks (Mantis) 121
07. Baseline Road–You Will Find It (Nordic Trax) 120
08. Theo Parish–Solitary Flight (Sound Signature) 122
09. Agora Rhythm–Circles (Nite Grooves) 123
10. Harold Heath–One More Try (Groove Pleasure) 124
11. Parov Stellar–Primavera (Auris) 125
12. Vincenzo–Can You Feel What I Feel (Dessous) 126
13. Soda Inc.–Flight SU 118 (Shayan) 126
14. Total Science–Sugar Sweet (Head To Toe) 127
15. Iz & Diz–Happy (Hudd Traxx) 127
16. Nubian Mindz–Casablanca (Irma Unlimited) 128
17. Cio d’Or–4 Men Terror (Treibstoff) 128
18. Maddslinky–Dark Swing (Sirkus) 130

isolate to elevate...
.
.
.
.
...:::...sometimes so much comes pressing in from all directions that dimensionality gets flattened…sometimes i feel spread out against the sky (like evening, you know: let us go then you and i?...)...where definition gets rolled so thin until things are legible only by what they are not…frayed and disconnected, i short circuit some hard wired mechanism…i am driven to be more than my own reflection…blades dull in repetition…so i isolate to elevate. i go wander alone...and this is what emerges...

i think about clouds of sound…about organizing frequencies inside a room like weather fronts...(i want to feel wet when i walk through it)…i want sound particles to stick to me (drench me like a thick fog might if i weren't wearing a raincoat), to condense on me in a growing cacophony... collect in my crevices and slowly begin to pool...(especially in the space between my clavical and neck)...sound might well up there, as though it were a spring. and if it were to keep filling, this sound might begin to stutter and rush, drawing noisey rivulets...finding me topographic in its movement...

and maybe a single note might escape...launched from my wrist bone as it runs down my arm...separating from the singular sound of many things (a thousand faces are equal to one...). a percussive drop, all on its own. i think of an orchestra tuning with all that unparalleled bowing...and how it slows and hushes and from that beautiful and dischordant harmony, sound lifts and finds the stratosphere, coalescing from an apparent nothing...

this is my formation...i am clouding over open planes. i am heavy with running scales. ready to pour...:::...

download: 070122-modyfier part01

pinktronix – fresh air : dec 2006 on irma records
justine electra – fancy robots (nouvelle vague rmx) : nov 2006 on city slang
pinktronix feat. chelonis r. jones – crash! : dec 2006 on irma records
kalabrese – airolo : aug 2006 on stattmusik
pan-pot – black dog (jesse rose remix) : dec 2006 on mobilee records
oezguer can – jaettedansen : dec 2006 on harthouse
minilogue – seconds (moonbeam remix) : jan 2007 on traum
williams – the shivering (pitch & hold in camera mix) : dec 2006 on love triangle music
marc houle – does your car speak : dec 2006 on minus
jesse rose – didn’t i (audion remix) : jan 2007 on get physical music
audiofly & scarlett etienne & loose lips – earsex : dec 2006 on tsuba
martinez – echochamber : dec 2006 on audiomatique recordings

download: 070122-modyfier part02

gaiser – seepage : jan 2007 on minus
gebrueder ton – denk an mich (extended mix) : dec 2006 on modus operandi
bigger than jesus – a beautiful life : dec 2006 on silver planet
andres up – in medio virtus : nov 2006 on definitive recordings
tiger stripes – black beach : jan 2007 on dialect recordings
detalles – move on (jonas berring remix) : dec 2006 on kupei musika
minilogue – the leopard (extrawelt remix) : jan 2007 on traum
guy gerber & gregor tresher – open the gates (deetron remix) : dec 2006 on great stuff
acid circus – minimal junk (jason emsley remix) : nov 2006 on droid records
segeke – ring finger psychology : jan 2007 on geometricdeck
kiki – trust me (super dub mix) : nov 2006 on bpitch control
luke sardello – somebody said : oct 2006 on icon recordings

.
.
BLUFARM

most people tell me electronic music needs to make them dance or something else of that kind. i think this is false advertising engraved into people with no imagination. music can make you dance, but should also make you think, relax, dream, and most of all OBSERVE, gather information, make decisions, feel good about your life in a non selfish way. my mix will not put you in a club. i hope it will put you in the mood to imagine what to do next. you can be in an airplane, in a waiting line, at work, when all these other things are happening...what do you want to do? i do not take myself seriously, this is all for fun, hope you have fun too.

blufarm - process part 004 by modyfier

01. tomorrow goodbye (farben remix) - auch
02. right then and there - jeff samuel
03. spirit diescalier - mike shannon
04. the capsule - jamie jones
05. sideshow - philly soundworks
06. dragon - shit robot
07. bleu - isloee (dixon remix)
08. sharing transparently - cristian paduraru
09. instinct - pier bucci
10. fuer den garten - kock & wilk
11. see mi (basic reshape version) - rhythm & sound
12. thirds in trees - marc houle
13. big & dirty - martini brothers
14. micro dub - blufarm

dripping...
.
.
.
.
...:::...there are places of condensation…when thoughts become so heavy and wet that they begin to fall...

it's hard to know when these moments will come...and to know how to set up a system so that when they do begin to rain, that they aren't lost on splatter and empty pavement...

this is how i manage...

i set up a heady infrastructure for collection...a series of gutters falling into swales and catchbasins...(sometimes i feel so flat that floods might come rushing)...

these lines i've been drawing lately have been taking a turn...becoming more animated...(informing a way of being)...they are dripping...following a slope to it's end, falling again, running again, collecting again, falling again...filtrating. creating a movement in a field. informing a process...

because sometimes, i get so lost i don't know what is the right way to go at all. i like it when slope and gravity combine to give an easy direction...

and below: this is what has been strained through my headphones...:::...

download: 070115-modyfier

justine electra – fancy robots (broke (aka matias aguayo & markus rossknecht) rmx) : nov 2006 on city slang
shapernod & snax – loves too much (al usher (parial arts) remix) : dec 2006 on suicide
cicada – cut right through (dj delicious remix) : nov 2006 on critical mass
christian paduraru – sharing transparently (rekleiner remix) : dec 2006 on absurd recordings
human resource – dominator (frank de wulff remix) : dec 2006 on harthouse
claude vonstroke – who’s afraid of detroit (paul woodford remix) : dec 2006 on dirtybird
alexi delano – space for bass (ad resharped mix) : dec 2006 on harthouse
barem – link : dec 2006 on minus
juno – mini plug : jan 2007 on loose records
falko brocksieper – slap : dec 2006 on sub static
gaiser – neural block : jan 2007 on minus
canson – beenden : aug 2006 on stattmusik
gavin herlihy & craig torrance – so that’s what happens (isolee remix) : dec 2006 on mood music records
shonky & jennifer cardini – lies : dec 2006 on mobilee records
damian schwartz – tu y yo (pilas remix) : dec 2006 on mupa

.
.
.
.
CHRISTIAN MARTIN

When I construct a mix, I usually have about six months of new songs banging around in my head. I don't always strive for the newest of the new - sometimes I'll hear an amazing song and a year will go by before I find a place for it in a mix.The transitions between tracks are just as important to me as the tracks themselves. I had some early trouble with clunky mixes between great songs in this mix - Ableton Live saved the day, as always.Ultimately, my goal is to assemble a group of songs that inspire me and humble me; songs that reveal something new even after dozens of listens. I want to be able to hear these tracks in a club, a car, or someone's living room at 3pm after a warehouse party.

tracklist: christian martin's set

01. Vincenzo - Valium [Liebe Detail]
02. Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia - Far Away [Crosstown Rebels]
03. Christian Martin - Tom Waits [unreleased]
04. Jimpster - Square Up [Buzzin Fly]
05. Khia - My Neck, My Back (acapella)
06. Alter Ego - Blow [Klang Elektronik]
08. Claude Vonstroke - Who's Afraid of Detroit? (Three Channels remix) [dirtybird]
09. Christian Martin - Wolf Eels & Moon Snails [unreleased]
10. Moloko - Statues (Martin Buttrich remix) [Echo]
11. Cobblestone Jazz - Dump Truck [Wagon Repair]
12. Claude VonStroke - Killah [CDR]
13. Martin Buttrich - Cloudy Bay [Pokerflat]
14. Hot Chip - No Fit State (Audion remix) [EMI UK]
15. Minilogue - Hitchhiker's Choice [Crosstown Rebels]
16. Square One - Vesuvius (Justin Martin's 'I Hope It Doesn't Blow' Mix) [Freerange Records]
17. Mikael Weil - Silmarions (Claude Vonstroke Bavarian Ferrari Mix) [True to Form]
18. Tracey Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich remix) [Astralwerks]

.
.
.
.
BRANDON PLANK

A lot of people say they plan out sets and mixes, but I don't have the patience for all of that. I grab music that I'm in the mood to hear, toss in some new tunes that will go well with it and bang it out. I think it's important to use the DJ mix as a tool to not only promote the DJ, but new music, so it's important to give the listener some fresh material. It's this fresh, new material that sets the DJ apart from the rest and makes it easier to have people take notice. Every once in a while, I like to grab some older tunes and work them into a set, just to fuck with the listener, because the older material out there can be better than some of the new tracks released... if you know what to look for. Overall, I like to be different and try to mix things together that may not normally be played together, but don't deviate from a consistant flow. It all makes for happy speakers and headphones.

tracklist: brandon plank's set

01. El Farouki - Interaction - [deep in dub]
02. QiK - Fall (Dilo Remix) - [igloo-rec 009]
03. Samim - Radiative - [Moon Harbour]
04. Brandon Plank vs. Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall - UNRELEASED
05. Sebbo - Chunky Fudge (Ripperton Remix) - [Trackdown]
06. Brett Longman - Love Bluff - [Logisitic 050]
07. Samim - Masua - [Circus Company]
08. Square One - Vesuvius (Justin Martin’s ‘I Hope It Doesn’t Blow Mix’) - [Freerange]
09. Acid Circus - Minimal Junk (Jason Emsley Remix) - [Droid]
10. Martinez - Echochamber - [Audiomatique]
11. Wighnomy Brothers - Hankkofloppe - [Freude Am Tanzen 029]
12. Jamie Anderson - Open Your Mind - [Fixia 001]
13. Martinez - Cosmic Dubster - [WHITE]
14. Agoria - Baboul Hair Cuttin (Radio Slave Remix) - [Different]
15. Lee Van Dowski & Quenum - The Joint Echo (Caulfield’s Remix) - [Num 11]
16. Plasmik - Eight To Nine (Anja Schneider’s Tabledance Mix) - [Connaisseur]
17. BLM And Marc Ashken - Break Up - [Fear Of Flying 001]
18. Junior Boys - In The Morning (Alex Smoke Remix) - [Domino]

remnants...
.
.
.
.
...:::...there comes a filling point, where every last bit of creative emotion has been pressed through a fine gauged sieve…where all that’s left are the calcified ideas that couldn’t fit through, rattling aimlessly around on a flat metal screen…

leftover...

and what do you do with these disconnected pieces? where do they go if you don't place them somewhere else?

i've been thinking about how to make these dense and milky moments feel light-filled and glassy. about how i might string them all together, bead-like, to make something new and beautiful. because, sometimes, creation comes mostly in re-interpretation. in re-assembly. in taking the strata of mistakes and pressing them together...pulling them out of a chronology, out of time, so that they are collapsed into a single moment of re-definition...

and, as always, as i do this, music is with me...:::...

download: 070105-modyfier

ben klock & dettman – dawning : feb 2006 on osgut ton
detalles – hello donee (pier bucci remix) : dec 2006 on kupei musika
james figurine – apologies (dj koze mix) : nov 2006 on monika enterprise
the timewriter feat. the man who could – space for lovers (rulers of the deep electronica remix) : dec 2006 on plastic city
amphibian feat nathalie elizabeth – empty (marlows five, four, three version) : nov 2006 on curl curl
tonepushers – daydreamer (jesse somfay pass the pillow remix) : dec 2006 fade records
delgui – highlights (charles webster remix) : dec 2006 on clone records
alden tyrell – disco lunar module (lindstrom & prins thomas remix) : dec 2006 on clone records
kenzo – workin it out (idotek’s insane remix) : dec 2006 on music to die for
stuart mckeown – field of dreams (jesse somfay’s zephyr trail mix) : dec 2006 on proton music
miyagi & fujiya – cassettesingle : dec 2006 on sonar kollektiv
yoshiki – maybe in december : jul 2006 on op.disc
lee van dowski – ultimate desert ambassador (mike shannon’s view to vodka remix): dec 2006 on soma records
slope – runnin : dec 2006 on sonar kollektiv
laszlo beckett – bleep me daddy : jan 2006 on hand on the plow