paradox solutions...
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...:::...it seems there is this paradox: i've been moving (not like a vector with direction, but...) with an intention and desire and sometimes it seems as though this is impossible without grasping for things with a clenched-jaw and white-knuckled grip...and it's not as though these things are even so well formed that i could call them by a name, but it's more a feeling of imminence and agitation that seem to present themselves with a persistent hum (i remember a childhood sound of lazy summers...). was there ever a time when people had time?
i feel like i have been falling for a long while now and still the ground seems so far away. perhaps it is only my perspective and think: well, maybe i am flying instead (i put my parachute away...)?
it seems the psyche needs sleep and reading manhole 69 again recently has given me ground to spring from. in the story: an experiment to eliminate sleep goes horribly wrong and ends with the subjects suffering from catatonic seizures. the central hypothesis of this short story is that the mind cannot endure continual consciousness, particularly self-consciousness, and reacts by shutting down. they could “no longer contain the idea of their own identity”.
i've been dreaming lately. i run to bed at night. i've been needing it (not sleep, but dreams...). they have been emotional, visual, spatial...but most of all reactive and i've been practicing responses to these heavy-lidded interactions. i pull them into reality. perhaps i look for them in day-to-day life...patching over routine. i try to make things "not new, necessarily, but more". armed with my imagination, i apply pressure to the mundane and send out micro-pulsations that disturb and re-align my daily patterns...
neri oxman has been an inspiration lately. she writes of her work: repetition is not the response to local conditions and therefore we have to move towards custom fit solutions. nature does not differentiate between material, structure and performance. just think of what happens when you break a leg but are still meant to walk. the inner structure of bones adapts to this sudden rupture and the material (calcium) comes together in the weakest point in order to optimize material and structural performance. it's all about integration.
strengths and weaknesses change in time. or maybe it is more in how we learn how to apply them that one supercedes the other? regardless, i like to think about how to thicken those points of connections...disperse the load-bearing moments that are in danger of collapsing...and create things so beautiful that they look like they could only have walked right out of a dream...:::...
download: 080529-modyfier part01
soulphiction – reclap (kalabrese remix) : may 2008 on sonar kollektiv
matchbox – upad aah : apr 2008 on kindisch
guillaume & the coutu dumonts – god dman the whole shebang : apr 2008 on karat
mri – not : may 2008 on resopal schallware
henrik schwarz & kuniyuki – the session feat. yoshihiro tsukahara : may 2008 on mule musiq
move d & benjamin brunn – honey : may 2008 on smallville records
the viewers – streethorn : may 2008 on audiomatique recordings
notic nastic & patrick graser – i’m very close : may 2008 on liebe detail
konque – sinking basement : apr 2008 on konque
reference – exo : may 2008 on beretta grey
robert babicz – dark flower : apr 2008 on audiomatique recordings
braincell – absorb (grindvik remix) : may 2008 on harthouse
loco dice – consequently eccentric and delicate : may 2008 on desolate
download: 080529-modyfier part02
und – fox in the box (skylark mix) : may 2008 on rebirth
morten sorensen – start something : apr 2008 on tirk
myomi – sun in my eyes (paul wooford dub) : may 2008 on southern fried records
chelonis r. jones & marc romboy – helen cornell (2000 and one dub) : apr 2008 on systematic
quarion – vibrations : may 2008 on drumpoet community
milton jackson & sei a – jinzou (manuel tur remix) : may 2008 on urbantorque
roberto rodriguez – ride with me feat. max c. : may 2008 on compost
loco dice – pimp jackson is talking now!!! : may 2008 on desolate
robosonic – kaput in hollywood : jun 2008 on discomafia
morten sorensen – woo hoo : apr 2008 on tirk
martin buttrich – cruise control : may 2008 on planet e communications
booka shade – charlotte (dubfire remix) : may 2008 on get physical music
miss fitz – drifting on : may 2008 on contexterrior
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GREGORY SHIFF
The process here is, I believe, a fairly typical one of putting together music that is exciting in the studio, running through it a few times to get the general flow, and then having things go a bit haywire during the actual performance. Ultimately then, how much does the process affect the final substance of the music? I think that’s hard to pin-down. But when I listen back to this show, it most definitely is a musical snapshot of my emotions at the time.
I was very deep into trying to find the right way to present my concept series on The Vacationist. I had this atmosphere in mind, tracks that fit that feeling, a narrative, and this beautiful artwork. It was all quite clear to me, but making sure that was communicated to an audience was proving a bit trickier than I imagined. There was some degree of that internal tension going on during this gig, and yet it captures what I’m trying to do on the label quite well.
The music here is a healthy combination of new ‘live-only’ tracks, some older material, and a few things which will be out later on The Vacationist. In particular, I was test driving the songs from part-two in the series. This EP, “The Ventrilquist & The Mime” was recorded in a couple of different studios in Barcelona, and I think a little Spanish flavor comes through (even if the music was composed by an American and a Scandinavian).
Back in the process side of things, I had been on a long and at times frustrating transition from my old all hardware setup, though a brief all laptop configuration, before landing at my current hybrid environment. This night, I felt as though the equipment I was using had finally faded into the background, and I was once again just feeling and performing the music, not worrying about the various technical details. That way, any craziness that goes on during the performance is purely musical and not because of some malfunctioning gear or user error, and the show just becomes a natural expression. Its really special when something new comes together during my set, something that I’m hearing for the first time (and is obviously new for the audience as well). There is definitely some degree of that happening during this recording.
Also, affecting things are the club itself. This show was recorded at the Arena Club in Berlin. The club is relatively small and sounds good (due to a dedicated sound-man), so the vibe was pretty intimate. It was also a Persona Records party, and it was great to be playing with my label-mates and be among friends. Is that part of the process or the substance? I’m not sure.
00:00:00 Service and Reward
05:24:64 Quick Rides
08:22:14 The Walk Home
13:22:50 Red with Freckles
17:53:27 Cranky Mother
21:11:29 Empty Rails
24:00:17 Attraction in Boots
27:32:22 The Vacationist
30:12:09 Blessed
33:44:48 Black Beer Memories
38:01:11 Oil Mist
41:29:27 The Three Sisters
44:51:22 Arrived Not Landed
50:02:35 Trust Her Drones
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PETER VAN HOESEN
the original starting point for this mix was the idea of going back as far as possible into my musical memory. it was to be a search for those first electronic sounds that have somehow influenced me and lead me to the present moment. the resulting selection would then serve as the backbone of the mix.
as it turned out, this was not as easy as i thought it would be. first of all, the first draft of the list (containing about sixty tracks) was decidedly incoherent. an interesting selection it was, but highly unsuitable for mixing purposes. usually i am a stern defender of eclecticism, but it turned out to be impossible to come up with a selection that would made sense to me (let alone to someone else).
so i decided to focus mainly on music with a (direct) relation to the dance floor. this made things easier, as i could then focus the mix towards a clear goal. the final selection is a combination of electronic new wave, early new beat, house and detroit techno. these are the styles that i feel have influenced me more than anything else. the selection stops chronologically in 1994, whereas i originally set out to include 'contemporary' tracks as well. however, i didn't feel like doing a three hour mix, so the remaining part will have to be dealt with another time.
although this mix is mainly about dance music, it's not made with the dance floor in mind. the main approach is one of selection and representation in a much more functional way than i would normally go about when playing for a crowd. no tricks, just the music. at times i felt it was necessary to let the tracks run out completely, leaving the mix to its essential function. the mix is about the tracks, the memories related to them as well as the influence on today's electronic music landscape and my personal musical development. going through my record collection, selecting the tracks, i was transported back to all those particular moments relating to each and every tune. the memory linked to music seems like a very strong and vivid one. places, faces, crowds, clubs, comments, record shops and after parties all came back to mind.
each track has a few lines of additional information, placing it into a (personal) historical perspective. i hope i have all the dates and label info right, if not then please feel free to correct me.
01 jansen & barbieri: toys, 1985, pan east records
the 'worlds in a small room' album was commisioned by jvc, to accompany a documentary with space shuttle footage. it was originally released in japan only. 'toys' is the second track on the album - dreamy eighties electronic sounds, vaguely vangelis-like (cfr. bladerunner).
02 severed heads: we have come to bless this house, 1986, nettwerk
australian project severed heads remains somewhat obscured within electronic music's rich past. the ep 'dead eyes opened' was released in several formats on different labels, with different tracks each time. 'we have come to bless this house' was released on the 1986 nettwerk version.
03 a split second: flesh, 1986, antler records
for some this track marks the (un)offical start of new beat, an electronic genre that didn't really cross many borders during its few years of existence, but was hugely popular with the belgian club crowd back then. remaining interesting for about two years after its peak, new beat was mainly focused on mixing electronic body music with new wave, synth pop, chicago acid and balearic beats. 'flesh' exemplifies the characteristics of new beat: a slow, grinding beat combined with hypnotic synth lines. an interesting fact is that the original version of 'flesh' was pitched down heavily when played in clubs, thereby creating the bass-heavy kick 'thud' that was so popular back then. this is also how i represented it in this mix.
04 snowy red: euroshima (wardance), 1988, antler records
another new wave/new beat crossover, with the typical elements nicely laid out. the dark, pre-reese bassline made the track stand out at a time when new beat was starting to lose its freshness.
05 public relations: public relations, 1987, another side
the public relations project didn't release much as far as i know, but this track (and the popular 'new beat mind') were solid new beat anthems back then. there's a distinct synth pop influence present in this track, which made it perfect for radio air play. i remember hearing it in shops, bars and on the street - it was everywhere, much like i experienced jungle when i went to london in 1993, hearing those crazy breakbeats all over town.
06 liaisons dangereuses - los niños del parque, 1985, roadrunner
this is a piece of sublime electronic funk with attitude. it's taken from the album 'liaisons dangereuses' on roadrunner. the entire album is worth every penny, presenting a band far ahead of its time.
07 severed heads: dead eyes opened, 1986, nettwerk
by now it will be clear to everyone that i'm a huge severed heads fan. 'dead eyes opened' is one of those tracks appropriated by the new beat movement by pitching it down to a slower, funkier groove than its original intention. it's another fine example of genres and styles meeting and merging.
08 808 state: san fransisco, 1991, ztt
this track is taken from the 'ex:el' album, probably 808 state's opus magnum. this is manchester at its finest, meshing rolling bass lines with exciting breakbeats, crossing styles and coming out on the other side with a big smile.
09 infiniti: techno por favor, 1990, ten records
this track takes this process mix into detroit techno territory, with one of the best tracks on the 'techno 2 - the next generation' compilation. juan atkins (assisted by eddie flashing fowlkes) dashes out a solid dose of machine funk: a hard-hitting detroit bassline, heavy 909 action and a female voice putting techo and its roots in perspective. timeless.
10 mayday: wiggan (re-mix), 1992, buzz
if there's one album i'll be taking with me to that fictional island, it'll be 'relics', released by now-defunct belgian buzz label (fyi, the cd version is much more interesting than the vinyl release). 'wiggan' is another detroit techno classic, there's just so much funk and groove going on with so few elements, it gets to me everytime i hear it. this is derrick may at the top of his game as a producer: raw and refined at the same time.
11 fingers inc: i'm strong, 1987, alleviated/r&s
r&s re-released this in 1990, that's how i picked it up. this larry heard production still stands out when played today, with wild percussion and weird bleeps driving this tune forward. the vocal version features robert owens in excellent shape.
12 blakkat: blakkat medic mix, 1994, bush
this takes us back to the uk, with mark bell in true form. 'blakkat' is a wild-pitch style track that keeps building and grooving along with its excellent sense of composition and production. everything is right there: the beats, the bass, the strobes, the smiles.
13 3mb featuring juan atkins: die kosmischen kuriere, 1993, tresor
deep techno from the detroit-berlin axis. this was the one of the finest moments of the second tresor compilation: lush, jazzy techno, deeply layered, distinctly musical. whenever people tell me that "techno isn't real music" i remain silent, think of this track and smile.
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RQM
Originally I was going to write about a song I recorded with that mad sonic professor known as Milanese, but since the tune is still on the operation table and it's nowhere close to being patched up I chose "Miss Pacman" instead. This 12" is my debut single as a solo artist, and it will be out on DJ Shir Khan's Exploited label on July 14th, so hopefully by the time you read these words you will also be able to listen to the song.
In General
My creativity is driven by compulsion. I create because I have a deep urge to do it and when I am not performing or recording I feel depressed or to say the least unhappy. I suppose it's like this because I interact with life on an emotional level, so apart from storing up images, ideas, pictures and random free associations, I also store up emotional imprints. And once I reach that certain point, where there is no more free space left on my internal slate I wipe it clean by writing and recording.
5 Out of 10
The process of writing a song always starts with the beat. I always tell producers that it takes about 5-10 beats to find the right one for me to write to. I wouldn't say that I'm picky with the instrumentals, but I certainly look for beats that I feel, specifically the ones which create a strong emotional picture in me, and it takes a while to find those. In a way I write the movie to the soundtrack. I create the story to go along with the mood of a song.
Blackout
Once I find the right beat I try to clear my mind and allow the pictures to well up naturally. At this point I also turn up the sound system and just start mumbling to myself to get a feel of the track rhythmically and harmonically. I also start throwing out random phrases until I find the first line of the song, which captures one of the polaroids floating through my mind. Once I get the first line I just allow the words to flow without forcing them, trusting that they will make sense once they hit the paper, and somehow they always do. The term blackout is a good way to describe this because in some way this state of mind is the equivalent of a trance. And I cannot overemphasize how important it is to have the right beat to be able to do this. If you only like the beat and you don't feel it you start forcing the song and by doing so you never hit that peak point. Once I peak I write something like 3-4 verses, a chorus and a c-part. And that's pretty much how a song is born.
Miss Pacman
The idea for this song came from a quote taken from Kristian Wilson, the Vice President of Nintendo that I randomly found somewhere on Myspace: "Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music." The thing is I always wanted to write a song about clubbing and this was the exact image I needed to make it happen. Big ups to whomever it was that dug this up and put it on their profile!!!
Constraints
Even before I found the right instrumental I already had an idea for the "main character" of the song - a blue pill popping party girl by the name of Miss Pacman. At this point it was also clear to me that my solo LP will be about love and relationships, a sort of Wong Kar Wai version of the Kieslowski Three Colors film series, so I knew the basic frame I was working with to focus the songs thematically. The song had to be about love or sex.
Weeks later I received a batch of beats from Boris Meinhold of Micatone and they all happened to be on this Neon Ed Bangeresque sort of tip - like an answer to a prayer. I skipped through all of them to see which one had that special something, that feeling to push me to start writing and the instrumental with Eva Be singing on the chorus ("You can't leave without doing this") was the one. Originally the song was arranged for the dance floor and didn't have too much space for vocals so I rearranged it with Boris into a standard verse-chorus-verse song structure.
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RADIOACTIVE MAN
The track was originally a 2 Lone Swordsmen track that didn't go on the “Wrong Meeting” albums. Often there are tracks that don’t get released and are forgotten about, but I wasn't letting this one go. It’s got guitar e.bow on it, which I really love using. It’s basically a small, funny shaped thing which sits on the top of one string at a time and causes the string to constantly vibrate, giving a feedback-kind-of effect. Think the riff in “Heroes” by Bowie and you’ve got the e.bow sound. An ace vocal by Mr. Weatherall, crunched up and distorted. It works as an instrumental, too, and I have been playing it in live sets.
gut sense...
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...:::...more and more i think trying to explain a creative process is like trying to describe how to open and close your hand...it’s something you know how to do, but words are lost on the action. perhaps certain activities just don’t translate into thinking? or maybe it is symptomatic of our limitations...that we are bound to linear thoughts (one at a time) and are too slow to process multi-sensory input. as a result, the way we respond ends up happening in the subconscious which is so often indescribable.jean nouvel (who was recently awarded the pritzker prize for architecture) says of his own work, "every architecture is an opportunity to create what i call the missing pieces of the puzzle. to find how you can create more poetry with the place where you are and the program you have. you research what will be the most emotional, the most perfect, the most natural. the purpose of all this thinking is to arrive at a result that makes gut sense." i leave my head behind. form gives way to formlessness eventually. the practice of anything takes concentration and tenacity. perhaps thinking sharpens the subconscious...exists in a symbiosis with creative instinct...the feral making-mind...
fred sandback is an artist i have been looking at a lot recently. he writes, "i’m full of thoughts (more or less). my work isn’t. it’s not a demonstration of an idea either. it’s an actuality. ideas are also actualities. the notion that there are ideas that then take form, or ideas that can be extracted from the material substratum, doesn’t make any sense. i’ve always balked at writing anything because there is this need that everyone seems to have for the conceptual or verbal validation of art which doesn’t interest me at all...there’s only a certain amount of control that you can have over a situation. i’m interested in working in that area which the mind can no longer hold onto things. the point at which all ideas fall apart.”
i am most curious about that moment, too...in how kinetic memory make things. about observing and experiencing things for what they are and noticing the whirling debris that life purges.
download: 080505-modyfier part01
deepchild – fractures (robert babicz remix) : apr 2008 on beef records
tricksi – move me (phonique remix) : mar 2008 on sonar kollektiv
animaltek – pleasure & pain : mar 2008 on wir
mangelt – komplex (namito remix) : apr 2008 on schneiderei
catrat – freedom (jay haze dub mix) : apr 2008 on sonar kollektiv
m-lito – miss you (liapin & afrilounge remix) : mar 2008 on genowefa recordings
mlle caro & franck garcia – dead souls (radio slave long distance kiss mix) : mar 2008 on buzzin’ fly records
monkey brothers – panico escenica : apr 2008 on regular
mogwai – kick out the jams (manuel tur remix) : apr 2008 on i0 music
baaz – connect : jan 2008 on sthlmaudio
junior boys – no kinda man (chloe remix) : mar 2008 on get physical music
gui boratto – tales from the lab (dirty disco remix by alex bartsch) : mar 2008 on defrag
gabriel ferreira – salmonella (stefan tretau remix) : feb 2008 on miniature records
kowabata – persuasion (serafin’s back to new york re-interpretation) : mar 2008 on drumpoet community
alejandro vivanco – rojo pomodoro (digitaline remix) : apr 2008 on andes music
download: 080505-modyfier part02
kraak & smaak – sqeeze me (a skillz remix) : apr 2008 on jalapeno records
sasha dive – street life (samuel davis dark groove remix) : apr 2008 on deep vibes
lopazz – 24 hours (jochen trappe remix) : apr 2008 on apparillo music
wagon cookin – mallorca (sasse remix) : feb 2008 on compost
milton jackson – randoms : apr 2008 on tronicsole
martinez – burning the midnight oil : mar 2008 on cray1 labworks
juno 6 – salamis (cio d’or remix) : mar 2008 on broque
move d – untitiled a1 feat fragment : apr 2008 on workshop
restless soul – turn me out (vocal mix) : feb 2008 on raw fusion Scandinavia
sebbo – watamu beach (moritz van oswald rework) : mar 2008 on desolate
minilogue & kab – that’s a nice way to give me feedback (wighnomy brothers quintenzirkel remix) : apr 2008 on audiobahn
alexander roland – balungan : mar 2008 on karmarouge
sasha – coma (slam soma coma mix) : apr 2008 on ultra
tolga fidon – for our fathers : mar 2008 on vakant
coalition of the killing – too many machines (argenis brito late night mix) : mar 2008 on auralism records
