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MARC POPPCKE
Making a mix for Modyfier wasn’t an easy job for me. If I do a promo mix for my myspace page or a club promoter, I choose more tracks for the mix which I would play at the main time in a club. For a radio set, I tend to choose more warm-up tracks, because it’s intended more for listening than dancing.
However, for Modyfier, I wanted to do something really special – a mix that is more timeless. To record a club set was too boring for me. This was the reason why I thought for a long time about what I could do that would personally be more interesting. This is how the idea came about to compile the tracks that have been the most emotional for me over the course of my career as a DJ.
Most of these are not tracks that I would play during main time in a club. These are tracks that are intended for those special moments in an evening. As a DJ, I wait for these times. They are the reason why I became a DJ in the first place and now I think of myself as one more than anything else. I like to produce music, too, but the thing I love best is to play a DJ set at a good party with an open minded crowd.
However, I think these special moments are extremely rare. I had one of them last November at Watergate during the Diynamic label night. My playtime was 7:00 – 12:00 and I was a little bit nervous before, because it was the first time I played the end at Watergate. However, my worries were groundless. An exceedingly positive energy existed which is very hard to put in words. It was amazing and I will never forget it. I played a lot of the tracks that are part of this mix at the end of my set. It was one of those magic moments when time stands still, when all worries of the everyday life are forgotten and everyone becomes one with the music.
While I write these lines, the mix plays just in the background and one cold shower after another runs over my back, reminding me again and again of this special night at Watergate. It also brings on so many memories from my life. Each track on this mix tells a specific story from my life. Each one connects to personal moments or reminds me of people who are (or were) important for me. To tell the story of each track would require writing a novel, but as an example, I will write about the opening and closing track, ‘Breathe’, by Télépopmusik.
Actually, there are two. The first reminds me of when I began in the record shop where worked for three years (2002-2005). It was a very exciting and beautiful time for me – being engaged in new music every day was wonderful. When ‘Breathe’ was released, we listened to it in the record shop continuously – from morning to night – and the track is still one of my absolute favorites to this day. I can’t really say which I like more: the original track or the remix by Jori Hulkkonnen. I simply love both (fortunately, they are on the same side on the vinyl so you can hear them one after the other.)
The second story reminds me of New Year’s Eve, 2003. It was the closing night of the most important club for electronic music in my hometown of Hannover. Being a resident at this club was an important chapter in my life. I learned much of what characterizes me today as DJ. There was a good balance between big-name DJs (very often I would play the warm-up sets for them), and the local residents who were experienced and very good. One of these was Andi de Luxe, who was also my boss in the record shop at the time. His understanding of music and his way of playing was an influential model for me and I learned a lot from him. To this day, he is one of the best DJs I have ever heard.
So on this night (NYE 2003), I started my set with the original of ‘Breathe’ and finished it with Jori Hulkonnen’s remix (just I have done now for Modyfier). Both versions are simply so meaningful to me that they deserve to be on this mix.
There are many other tracks that I associate special moments in my life with, but they didn’t really fit in with the musical context here. As an example‚ ‘Break in the Clouds’ by James Holden or ‘Nights of the Jaguar ’ from DJ Rolando. It would interest me to know what tracks other people connect with in this way and why. Perhaps some readers would like to post them in the comments section?
01. Télépopmusik – Breathe (Extended Mix) – Catalogue
02. Unai – I like your style – Force Tracks
03. Blaze – Lovely day – Playhouse
04. Nina Simone – Here comes the sun (Francois K. Rmx) – Innervisions
05. Justin Martin – The sad piano (Charles Webster Rmx) – Buzzin’ Fly
06. Trentemoller – Le Champagne – Naked Music
07. Lindstrom – I feel space – Feedelity
08. DNTEL – (This is) the dream of Evan and Chan (Superpitcher Rmx) – Plug Research
09. Erlend Oye – Sudden Rush (Ewan Pearson Rmx) – Source
10. Chelonis R. Jones – I don’t know? – Get Physical Music
11. Morgan Geist – Super – Environ
12. Moloko – Sing it back (Herbert’s Tasteful Dub) – F-111
13. Sebastien Tellier – La Ritournelle (Sven Love & Catalan FC Rmx) – Record Makers
14. Télépopmusik – Breathe (Jori Hulkkonen Rmx) – Catalogue
Lastly, I want to say thank you to all the artists and remixers for this beautiful music which has became such a big part of my life.
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ASCHKA
I took this on as an exercise in introspection. Eventually it became a simple meditation, a closed session with me on one side and me on the other side. Kind of like playing catch with myself. In reality I have very poor coordination. But dropping the ball can make for some interesting developments too.
I discovered my innate inability to throw or catch balls a long time ago. At first it appeared to be quite limiting. Like many things at the time, it seemed a critical life skill. Being inept at ball sports was awful. Around the same time my music teacher discovered I had perfect pitch. So, "pitch" in the baseball context was not meant to be. Moving on was important. I was composing by that time anyway. But after a while the solitary and introverted aspect of it became oppressive. That's when sharing music became essential.
The starting point is a feeling. Inner expression is externalized, providing an abstract result that says so much more, and in a way so much less, than words. And if you find it hard to express yourself in conventional ways, or don't want to, music can be a great emotive vehicle.
Music is about choices, and about taste. Every step of the way, decisions are made, sometimes consciously but mostly intuitively. From those decisions, and the accumulation of them, emerges something as unique as a fingerprint.
While I'm producing a piece, it always seems to be a step ahead of me, as if it wants to lead me somewhere. In the best of cases I gladly go. Resistance can be pretty futile. Or, I end up cleverly thinking that instead, I'm leading the piece somewhere, until suddenly it turns around and surprises me in a way I could not have imagined. When creation takes on a life of its own, it's magical, and yet it's also the most natural thing in the world.
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WAYNE & WAX
"Go on gig wit it." - Them G.Spot Boyz
My process these days? Every Monday evening I open up Ableton Live, pull up my ever-evolving Beat Research set and drop in 6-12 tracks that I've downloaded that week, rapidshares and megadownloads and mediafire of all sorts and from various sources. I warp the tracks (ie, tell Ableton where the downbeats are), which allows me to stretch tempo independent of pitch, which I do a lot. Then I insert them into tempo-similar blocks. Within those blocks, I'm loosely pre-sequencing tracks by placing them adjacent to others that seem to flow with them, either harmonically, rhythmically, or vibewise, Then, that night at the club, I'll play my way through the sequence, real-time triggering songs, crossfading, dubbing out, adjusting tempo.
In the booth, I sometimes work in the opposite direction from what I arranged. I play down to up. That's how this set emerged, actually. I'm not sure what the implications are, if any, for that sort of reverse flow to appeal to me more in this case.
This mix is a small slice of recent adventures in Beat Research (late December 08). I call it "Gig Wit It" because it emerges from a gig, but more importantly, because it's dance music. It's the sort of thing I might play in an uptempo mood, btwn 140-115 bpm, a little later in the night (/early in the morn). Otherworldly electronic timbres and Caribbeanized beats -- lil snappy mnml dubstep dancehall cluuub music, not to draw lines or anything. I hope the lines sound fuzzy from the get-go.
They should, since no single song ever plays on its own for more than 4 bars. Lately, I've been tending toward the long blend, playing two or more tracks simultaneously for an extended period. It's a mashy sort of mixing and though one might expect for things to get a little too dense (they sometimes do), the approach can work quite nicely with more minimal music (much of this is).
One final thing about this process: I finished this mix a month ago, but I've been sitting on it, struggling to put together the words to frame them. I'm far more confident about the tracks I've assembled. Hope you gig.
01. Frikstailers & MC Gringo, "Fudegú de Perequetê"
02. Them G.Spot Boyz, "Stanky Legg"
03. Shackleton, "In the Void" (DJ /Rupture Remix)
04. Zombie, "Dripping Like Water"
05. Terror Danjah, "Trojan"
06. Scuba, "Tense"
07. An-ten-nae, "Citoyan Du Monde" (Dov Remix)
08. L-Wiz, "Girl From Codeine City"
09. The Dice Man, "Polygon Window"
10. Soul Clap, "Die Ente"
11. Kirkledove, "Middle East Riddim"
12. Emynd, "We Don't Give A ... (Instrumental)" (mixed & mastered by starkey)
13. Oliver Huntsmann, "La Boum"
14. Starkey, "Pressure"
15. Dusk + Blackdown, "Lata VIP"
16. Teetimus and Daseka, "Beauty Riddim"
17. Glenn Frey, "You Belong to the City"
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MATT WALSH
As a DJ and Producer I find it very hard to fit myself into a specific “genre”. I have always admired people who can fit themselves into different genres without overstepping the “mash up” borderline…
I also believe strongly that a night of music doesn’t always have to be a constant level and tempo. In an ideal world, the mix I have put together would be suited pretty late in the morning. After 4am when only every now and then there is a desire to maybe feel the need to raise your hands. Although this mix is pretty strictly techno orientated, I have tried to find a middle ground between beard central and all out hands aloft. Some tracks are new, some are not, some are fillers and some are anthems but all of which I love. It includes a few of my favourite dance music producers (Kiki, Robag, Adam Beyer and Jesper Dahlback) and all of which have their own style and sound but can easily be played in a set that is considered house, techno, tech house and even disco.
01. Marco Corola – The Tribe
02. Douglas Greed/ Einzelkind - La Belle
03. And.Id – Acapulco
04. Tomski/Fredboy – The Tickel Song (Falko’s Trip Tickel Mix)
05. Pole – Achterbahn (Frivolous Remix)
06. Chelonis R Jones – Rehabilitation (Daschund Remix)
07. Hobo – Failsafe
08. Hibern-8 – Wood and Stone
09. Fred Hush, Noseda – In The Dark
10. Nhar – Don’t Forget to Lick
11. Heartthrob – Baby Kate (Jesper Dahlback & Adam Beyer Remix)
12. Adam Beyer and Jesper Dahlback – As If Dubs
13. Thomas Muller & Okain – I Tele You Bo
14. Emerson Todd – Say My Name
15. Butch – Dark Fader
16. Guy Gerber – Guilty Pleasure
17. Rennie Foster – Devil’s Water (Kiki’s Superdub)
18. Royksopp – Beautiful Day Without You (Robag Whruhme Remix)
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TELEOST
My ambition in making this mix was to mimic all my favourite DJs of the moment - Marcel Dettmann, Marcel Fengler, Donato Dozzy, etc. - but without any of their skills. To do this I would need a good recipe for success, which went something like this:
- Go through your recent downloads and find Berghain/Berlin/dubstep crossover tracks that are dark and rhythmically unusual. I plumped for FOUR of the Scuba remixes - remixes are good because you get two impressive names for the price of one, and also choosing four Scuba ones lends my mix a bit of CONCEPT.
- Then find some more obscure ambient stuff for the start of the mix; everyone loves weird droney bits to get them in the mood and the more obscure the better. I kicked off my new year's eve mix CD with a Loscil track, this time it's Experimental Audio Research!
- Definitely include one or more tracks from the whole Basic Channel/Chain Reaction axis, because there is no greater indication of 'I know my shit!' than repping Moritz & Markus. I've almost gone overboard - there's Basic Channel, there's Vainqueur/Maurizio and there's even a Substance remix in there.
- Next you need a detroit or chicago (or detroit- or chicago-sounding) ANTHEM, so you can go from all the pounding rhythmic stuff into this unabashed cheesy HIGH and watch everyone marvel at how you can be both 'intense' and 'fun'. For me, it had to be Rolando's recent EP, because that covers the UR ground as well.
- Of course the mix has to end with a blissed-out finale, and what better choice than an early and somewhat forgotten Ostgut Ton EP. I even went the extra mile and included a sample from a famous dubstep record over the top of the break, just for kicks. Happily the keys kind of match, so I didn't even have to bother playing around with the ableton pitch function - sometimes things just fall into place!
For me, recording a mix is a bit like eating a delicious mango. Selecting tracks is like being at the fruit stall, taking your pick from the fancies on offer and going for a particular sound. My sound has been with me since I was a 6 year old, listening to my mother's Billie Holiday records. It's all about soul and feeling. Then I let the choice of tracks ripen - like the mango - maybe while reading a great novel or just chilling out with my friends. Living with these tracks over the years means I have developed a kind of familiarity with them that goes beyond the latest-fad choices of other DJs.
Once I decide to record the mix, I start the peeling process - testing the edges of each track, the mutable bits that in combination can produce something more than their individual parts. Cassy once said that she doesn't need big breakdowns in tracks - she's the DJ, that's her job! I like to think that carefully carving your own story out of the tracks is the mark of a truly delicious mix. When I cut a mango, I generally isolate the difficult centre first before moving to the juicy side bits. In this mix, I wanted to make the first part unusual to reflect my more esoteric musical tastes. I think a DJ should try and inscribe their personality on a mix, so the first half of this one is exploring my more thoughtful, introspective side. Then, after the mid-way break, I go for the juicier, more rhythmic parts. I like to party, and I hope you do too.
Above all, this mix should be like a satisfying meal with a distinctive flavour and a memorable aftertaste. House/techno should be soulful and individual, so I've tried to get this across. This is my heart in musical form...savour it like you would that mango.
01. Experimental Audio Research - 'Untitled 3' [Mille Plateaux 036]
02. Shackleton - 'The Rope Tightens [Badawi Remix]' [Skull Disco CD002]
03. Ø - 'Loihdittu' [Sähkö 023]
04. Scuba - 'Poppies [Substance Remix]' [Hotflush RMX003]
05. Pan•American - 'K.Luminate' [Kranky 041]
06. Tomas Jirku - 'Baryon' [Substractif 002]
07. Scuba - 'From Within [Marcel Dettmann Remix]' [Hotflush RMX005]
08. Headhunter - 'Grounded '[Tempa GROUND]
09. Scuba - 'Hard Boiled [SCB Edit]' [Hotflush RMX005]
10. Basic Channel - 'Octagon' [Basic Channel 007]
11. Ozy - 'Pull The Strings' [Force Inc. 222]
12. Rolando - 'Where Were You' [Delsin 073]
13. Scuba - 'Ruptured [Surgeon Remix]' [Hotflush RMX003]
14. Vainqueur - 'Lyot [Maurizio Mix]' [Maurizio M-2]
15. Brtschitsch - 'Twirl' [Ostgut Ton 002]
16. Burial - 'Shell Of Light' [Hyperdub LP2]
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