I was initially asked to make a mix for Fabric to share with its fans and party goers - normally a simple task. Living in Berlin for the Summer, I thought finding a DJ setup in a city full of professionals would be easier than it was! I was able to piece something together at a friend's place with one of the most basic and junky mixers I've used since I was a kid.
However, after a couple hours of mixing on my new toy tin can, things started to come together. This mix includes some of my own nu music (nu release on Mike Shannon's Cynosure) as well as old and new favourites. I threw in a few of my "Bredits" (as my friend calls them) for some unique DJ fun. Hope ya'll dig. See you soon.
Trash-Time. It´s part of my artist-life on tour: times in cabs, at security-check, soundcheck, hotel check-in…
Some weeks ago one engine of the MD11-plane imploded on our flight from Quito in Ecuador to Bonaire Island. So, I had to wait many hours with 260 other stressed people for damn KLM to get us out there. Trash-Time. Wasted-Time (the lil’ airport in Bonaire ran out of internet-vouchers within 20 minutes and we couldn’t get out of the waiting lobby). But! Guess what? I had Tenori-On in my hand-luggage. I was one of the few winners in the situation.
I was working in Ecuador on my new Chill-Out-Album (Ambient Film Themes Vol.1) that is comprised of soundtracks that I’ve done for different films and TV-documentaries since 1999. This was the perfect moment to get the final tracks started. The Tenori-On offers a great matrix (16 to 16 small LED-buttons) with sequencing modes like normal 16-step modes known from drum machines and computer-sequencers. But it also features some new, very fancy modes like random mode or bounce mode. I used the bounce mode on my new Get Physical 12" track V-Point for the crazy marimba arpeggiator melodies. Every time I play that in a club people scream. I think it’s because of the, ahem, yes: Bounce-Mode! The notes "fall" or "jump" up and down. For the chillout tracks I use the random mode quite often as it offers me easy rhythmic random changes. Random means it seems that it’s changing all the time, but in the end, it´s the same thing. It’s very useful as you don’t need to program it by hand…the Tenori-On does it for you! Thanks Toshio Iwai (he invented the Tenori for Yamaha). The onboard sounds are nice but I also load some of my acoustic recordings into the machine. I also use the Tenori Matrix as a sequencer in my studio. As I usually don´t make music with plug-ins or computer based setups. I prefer all kinds of hardware gear for making music.
A typical setup in my studio is a Roland 808, 909 and 606 (the 909 triggers all machines ), a MPC 1000, a Moog prodigy and the Tenori-On. I like the clock of the Machines more than a Computer clock (especially the shuffle of the 909 or unquantized loops on the MPC (I use the MPC as a MIDI-sequencer and Sampler). With modern hosts like Cubase, it’s easy to cut the jam-sessions as 24 or 32 bit wave files on the computer (and not on my tape-machine. I like the sound on tape but not the editing).
When I came back from Ecuador I recorded the Tenori sessions and arranged them on Cubase, as I think it´s easier to arrange it on the computer than on the Tenori itself. The tracks will be released on Get Physical and Itunes, the album is called Ambient Film Themes Vol.1.
01. Lopazz - Share My Rhythm - Get Physical Music 02. Lopazz - Blood (Tiefschwarz RMX ) - Output Recordings 03. Lopazz - I Need Ya - Output Recordings 04. Lopazz - Migracion ( Luciano RMX ) - Get Physical Music 05. Lopazz - Child of Dance - Compost Records 06. Lopazz - 2 Fast 4 U - Get Physical Music 07. Lopazz - We Are - Get Physical Music 08. Dakar - I´ve Got That Feeling (Lopazz Rmx) - Get Physical Music 09. Lopazz - Take Me Home - Get Physical Music 10. Lopazz - Migracion - Get Physical Music
I’m not going to go on about how to be a great DJ and what is the best way to do it…but…it starts by being yourself and having a good selection. I think the key is to believe in what you’re playing. It’s also a question of the right moment: one minute you have it and the next you lose it!
So here’s a selection in three parts, entitled Turnstyle Blues. I’m only happy when I’m sad and emotionally/sexually charged. I guess I’m fueled that way! It all started with me drooling on my keyboard, dreaming of…and I decided once and for all to lay down some of my favorite tracks in a harmonious way using Ableton Live (my left turntable has a pitch problem and the right one...well never mind the right one!).
The process was pretty much the same as the one I use in making music: a cue element is playing and I hum different harmonies over it until I find something interesting. I’m obsessed with the idea of a perfect blend (my years as a musician, catching up I guess!). The beautiful paradox is that it’s often caused by a simple accident! My life and work is pretty much based on that perspective. Rest assured there are many imperfections in the selection!
The first part sets a pretty mellow mood, concentrating on me as a child looking over the garden in the rain from my bedroom window in England. I would spend hours watching it pour down on us! The second and the third parts emphasize the crescendo, to my present feelings. For Modyfier, the third part was handed in. The idea is to get the other two parts on different blogs and then to import them together to get an almost three hour set! You can find Part 1 on Noice, Part 2 on Tsugi and Part 3 here on Modyfier.
01. Anja Schneider & Lee Van Dowski - La Roulett 02. Davide Squillace & Michele Tabucchi - One Lobster Please (Mathias Kaden's Gambass Remix) 03. Geoffroy, Kolombo & Mugwump - Nothing Without You 04. Mark Broom - Meltin Pot 05. Johnny D - Gualia 06. Fra Soler & Maxim Ruiz - Zambomba 07. The Juan Maclean - One Day (Marc Romboy Remix) 08. Pimp Pomp Pump - Pimp’s Love (Siskid Mix) 09. Jacuzzi Boys - Ramba Zamba (Sascha Krohn Remix) 10. Siskid - Mental Bruising For Jackie O 11. Mr. White - Aeroplane 12. Ripperton - Long Distance 13. The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored (Rabbit In The Moon Remix) 14. Marc O'Tool & Criss Source - James At Last 15. 2020 Soundsystem - Sliding Away (Johnny D Vocal Mix) 16. Alloy Mental - I Am (Marc Houle Remix) 17. Foals - Olympic Airways (Supermayer Remix)
Right after the release of my last EP Moist/Outrage on Meant Records a few months ago, I felt like a pressure was released from my creativity. I would stand in front of the machines and instruments with no real objective, jamming with no real purpose. And you all must know what that means: it's the beginning of the blank page…
Luckily, my best friend and associate, Siskid (whose studio is just under mine), came up one day and said, "Hey bro, Chloe made a remix for Wolves...would you like to try and remix the other main title of my new EP, Speak like a True JFK?" Waaaahhhh...I was feeling no creativity and big pressure. Especially because this project was tightly linked to the talent of the artists mentioned earlier, and I had only one week to do it. As my mum always told me, “Think before acting, son!”. (Isn't that a good one mum!!!!)...
Speak like a True JFK is a huge peak time track, with analogue synths and drums that twist my mind. Siskid's work on the vocals blew me away ever since the first day I heard the demo. I just love that track! I chose to keep the same vibe: dark but groovy (something I definitely share with Siskid!!!). To stress the freakier side of the track I used tom rolls, darkening the vocals and playing a funky slapped bass, keeping a big peak time break. And here we go: no more blank page. Inspiration is back and flowing. This is what I like about making music...SPEAK...LIKE...A TRUE...
The remix is done and the guy downstairs still has to give his ok to put it on his EP. The fear is back. The track starts. He's in front of his monitors and I know that no friendship will interfere in the judgment. The track goes on. He starts to smile and his head moves with the kicks. I win. He likes it. And here is the final result. Hope you'll like it too.
When I record a mix, I always start from fresh sounds I heard over the last several weeks. I don't want to play only unreleased stuff or tracks from obscure digital labels but I try, when it's possible, to play things not everybody already plays. I like to dig in my vinyl collection and find a track released 3 or 4 years ago that perfectly fits with current trends.
The most important thing to have as a DJ is personality. I made this mix with songs I couldn't put in my last mix on getthecurse and it reflects what I would call my specialty: dark, sexy, warehouse music.
I try to build my mixes as a summary of an entire party, with 15 - 20 minutes of warm up, a peak time and a relevant end.I made this one with Ableton. This is only the second mix I have done with this software and it is something new to me. I've always considered myself a classical DJ, mixing with vinyls and cds, and this is a new transition for me.
I could imagine someone creating a picture from this sound. The day I made this track, I had very low energy because I was ill with a big flu. I drank lots of chamomile tea that day. That is the only thing I remember. For me, production, in general, is a very emotional thing. I made this track in the studio along with a friend of mine.
I never really considered myself a musician, but rather more of an arranger. I first started mixing (before producing). It is how I understood how to make my own tracks. I feel that a mix is the finished product of a musical creation. It has a purpose: to be played for a public. The difficulty of the task though resides in assembling tracks with one another in order to create something singular and coherent. Some dj's, I feel, are content to just play one track after the other while others like to create more of a story. That's what I try to do. I tried constructing a mix that really resembles myself. Something that shows everything I love about dance music.
Before starting the mix, I asked myself what support would I use to make my process!First, I thought about recording in live mode because to me it is the most spontaneous and natural way possible to capture music (as opposed to the homemade way)! To me, the music has to project a mood, a moment or a certain feeling. The random side and the mistakes that can be made throughout that process I find are a plus and often add something special to it. It is important to feel a humane presence. It is that side of the music that interests me the most.
But instead, I opted for an intermediate way to record this mix which basically consisted of using two cd turntables in order to be able to make loops. I had to rip some vinyls for the occasion. I constructed this mix with a selection of twenty tracks or so. And like a jigsaw puzzle, I started trying out different tracks in different orders until each one fitted where it should. I recorded two sessions and had a friend choose the best one. I really like the idea of using loops in order to rediscover a track on a different angle! It is an approach that I don't usually use since I have a tendency to mix solely on vinyl and always use some cd's as well. I found that I had some difficulty in not having an audience and seeing their reaction to the music, but at the same time, it helped me experiment new things whilst taking risks that it might not work. To singularize and take risks is, to me, the most important thing because let's be honest, there is nothing more boring than seeing and listening to the same thing everywhere. It's really what I tried to do here: something personal and original that can still make you dance.
I find the reasoning of this process really interesting when we see the number of mixes or podcasts available online. With this large number of choices how can we find something good to listen to? To ask the artist to express himself is definitely something great in order to understand how each and everyone functions. In my case though, the best way you'll understand me is not with words but with the music! Open your ears and your senses, this is my process!
01. Daniel Bell - Untitled 02. Seuil - My House Your Motel 03. Miss Fitz - Woods 04. Marlon D - Funky Angel 05. Russ Gabriel - Change 06. Mood 2 Swing - Do It Your Way 07. Daniel Bell - Berserk 08. Horseshoe 2 - Collage 09. Melchior Productions - Lets Go Deep 10. Chrom - Never Forever 11. Le Loup - Give Me Some 12. Freaks - High Spirits 13. Lauhaus - Varna Vibes 14. Rick Wilhite - What Do You See (Rickys Groove Mix) 15. Le Loup - I Keep Secret 16. Wolf + Lamb - Must Be Brooklynn 17. Le Loup - Rising Sun
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