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GIORGIO GIGLI

From my private collection of 12inch, 10inch and 7inch vinyl, this set represents an introspective path of emotions, thoughts and untold words. In the same way as you read a book, every track represents a chapter and every vinyl groove is like the ink path of a pen writing a story onto blank pages. This set represents my history and roots. In 120 minutes, I tried to tell you what I was, what I am and what I might have been in a future that doesn't exist anymore.

Once upon a time...the future. Has been realized using vinyl with 3 technics sl-1200mkII and ortofon concorde pro cartridges, 2 disc stabilizers and an allen&heat xone series mixer. For a more realistic listening, please play this mix at low volume (headphone listening recommended).

Special Thanks To Our Loved Ones (we still try).

giorgio gigli - process part 203 (once upon a time...the future) by modyfier

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OBTANE

First of all, I really want to thank Rayna for the opportunity she gave me to contribute to the Process Series.

This mix reflects a present vision into the future. You'll feel endless energies alternating between post-romantic and introspective moments (like life should be). It’s an hour of sharp cuts, psychedelic drones and dark beats. I love sci-fi culture and tend to dislike things that are human-centric as I think the real danger for our species is our species itself.

I grew up with Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. I continue to live in a state of limbo, ignoring what I consider the worst expressions of society: politics and religion. I always get interested and inspired by the third-part, the hyperspace, the after-human, technologies, mechanics and anything considered "hybrid".

obtane - process part 202 by modyfier

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CHYMERA

Once upon a time I was a vinyl DJ. Gradually I lost interest in the process of acquiring endless slabs of wax to add to my collection. The catalyst was when my entire vinyl collection, CD collection, 1210s and mixer were robbed from my house one fateful night back in 2002. I had been Dj'ing for 2 years by then but those were my most enthusiastic 2 years ever. I literally devoured techno, house, electro, electronica and much more besides. It was a brand new and fresh sensation for me after many years as a metal and alternative freak.

It was a killer for me to have all that robbed. The records were one thing. The decks also had a lot of sentimental value in that I had received one of them as a bonus after spending a summer in Germany during college installing TV studios around Germany. If it hadn't been for that highly generous gift then I may not have headed down the path of the DJ all those years ago. As it was, I purchased the other deck and a cheap mixer and threw myself into it. From that point on I was hooked! I loved the physical side to it, spending hours in my bedroom working on the mechanics of mixing, then once that was done finding new and ever more daring combinations of records to layer on top of one another.

After the decks were robbed I managed to buy another pair second hand along with a mixer. I then began the soul destroying and wallet burning task of buying back all my favourite records. Still to this day some of them I have never been able to find again. I dj'ed with some enthusiasm for the next 3 or 4 years and then by around 2005 I had pretty much lost interest. It was around this time that I really made big advances with my own productions and I decided to concentrate more and more on that. With good results (I think)! I left Ireland in 2006 to move to Costa Rica for a year. It was during this time that I became reacquainted with Dj'ing through the discovery of Beatport and digital download sites. Once again I started consuming and reconsuming...even buying up mp3s and wavs of tracks I already had on vinyl, and not to mention finding many tracks which had been previously robbed and I had never found again until that point. Now I am purely a digital DJ. Although this mix was done on Ableton, I play with CDs normally, however my mixer is on the fritz at the moment. I don´t have any attachment to vinyl anymore. In fact, they are all in storage in Ireland at the moment but due to be shipped over in 2 weeks. I´m going to go through them all, keep only the ones with sentimental value and then put the rest up for sale. I have all I need on my hard drive now.

Rayna asked me to do this one a very long time ago, I think almost 2 years at this point! For one reason or another I never got around to it. Actually, that´s not entirely true. There were at least 4 or 5 failed attempts over the past 2 years. Initially I wanted to do something really special like a non-electronic mix or a weird abstract one, but I just couldn´t get the attempts to sound good. So finally I just went and took it back to the basics. This is a straight up mix, going from some more listening orientated though still vaguely dance-able stuff at the start through to some solid house in its various forms. I consider myself a producer before DJ, although I do love DJ'ing. But the time it takes to stay on top of new releases and promos is just not worth it when there is valuable studio time wasting away. I play most weekends but usually I am booked to play live sets. I get booked for DJ sets maybe only once a month or less. In the week before the DJ set I sit down and listen through everything that´s been building up since the last time I checked.

Techno is always closest to my heart but I must say that there is so little of modern techno which moves me. I´m just not fully into the forms which are around today. I found that when I was playing techno tracks out, people weren´t getting it a lot of the time. The stuff I was playing was too dated, for them at least (not for me). I have become better at knowing what kind of crowds might appreciate it and when I do drop in the old stuff at the right time, they go wild! So anyways, the mix is predominantly house. And I think it´s evident from the sound that this is the kind of house that has been around for many years as well but I hope it won´t ever go out of fashion. Most of the tracks I picked up in the last 2 weeks along with a couple which I have been trying to slot into a mix for a while. I really concentrated hard on the flow with this one. I let the tracks breathe. I wasn´t interested in lots of layering or effects because most of the tracks have a very definite start, middle and end. There´s a lot of musicality and emotion to the ones I selected. I just let them tell the story. For me one of the most important things about putting together a mix is not just the tracks that you include but the ones you leave out. All the tracks need to gel together in the right way. If one is not working, you need to take it out. I think they flow into each other very well from start to finish. I hope you also feel the same way!

chymera - process part 201 (long time coming) by modyfier

01. Dead Can Dance - Ascension
02. Four Tet - Angel Echoes
03. Alex Q - Love (Reynold Remix)
04. Sascha Funke - Mango
05. Nufrequency - Fallen Hero Feat. Ben Onono (MCDE Remix)
06. Azari & III - Reckless (With Your Love)
07. Solaris - That Chick Feat. Fifi (Break Mix)
08. Glocal - After Midnight (Old Is Cool LNX Davis Mix)
09. Mano Le Tough - Eurodancer
10. DJ Sprinkles - Masturjakor (kINK And Neville Watson Remix)
11. Circulation - White (Mix B)
12. Chymera - The Rumours Of My Demise
13. Carl Craig - A Wonderful Life

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THE SIGHT BELOW

Live sets are usually tricky to translate into a recording. Most likely when any artist is mixing live electronic music, the tendency is to adjust the sound and balance of instruments according to the acoustics of the room, the speakers available and setup (stereo, quad, etc) and multiple other factors (like the number of people in the room). Ultimately, what sounds great live might not sound that interesting when you record straight from the main soundboard and play it back at home, in headphones or home stereo system. It is one of the main reasons I seldom record live sets – they just rarely translate well into the recorded format. I remember last year somebody recorded a bootleg of our set at Sonar festival in Barcelona. It’s been floating on the Internet for a while and I must say it’s a pity, as it is definitely not representative of what we sound like in a live setting. Part of the beauty of live performance is the physicality of it –like when listening to a very dense, textured wall of guitar noise with sub frequencies at 120db’s…ah, beauty!

Anyway, based on this previous experience, I’ve become more aware of this and have decided to start recording lots of The Sight Below (or solo) sets. I usually tend to record in subgroups, at least 4 channels worth of stems. That way I can master the recording later in my studio and adjust levels of stems, eq the mix, compress, and translate what sounded great live into what would sound great in a recorded setting. I definitely do not try to make it sound like the published works (album or ep’s) – part of the beauty of live performance is to experience either new material or new arrangements of songs. Otherwise you might as well just stay home and play the record.

When Rayna asked me to write a new piece for Modyfier I decided recording and mastering a live set for her blog was the way to go. I’ve been an avid reader since its inception and feel really honored to be writing piece #200. I prepared this live set for an event at the Seattle Art Museum called SAM Remix. It was a very special event in which I created visuals that would interact/react with the music. I was also performing in quad sound for the first time and it added a new level of depth to the music. Of course, this last aspect is very difficult to translate into a stereo field, but with that in mind, I hope you, the reader, enjoy this live set. Hats off to the folks at Modyfier for creating such an amazing body of work and happy #200!

the sight below - process part 200 (live at the seattle art museum) by modyfier

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OBLIVIOUS

stroboscopic artefacts showcase text here.

Oblivious Artefacts // Stroboscopic Artefacts Modyfied # 5 from Oblivious Artefacts on Vimeo.

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PERC

stroboscopic artefacts showcase text here.

perc - process part 199d (stroboscopic artefacts modyfied part 04) by modyfier

01. Xhin "Arrival" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
02. SCB "20.4" [SCB]
03. Scuba "Three Sided Shape" [Hotflush]
04. Wacker Und Zittrich "Tournesol" [Meerestief]
05. F "The Untitled Dub" [7even]
06. Lucy & Ercolino "Gmork" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
07. Perc "Wooden Art"[Stroboscopic Artefacts]
08. Remute "Crackin' Skulls" (Pacou Remix) [Tresor]
09. Pascal Mollin "District 10" (Alien Invasion Remix) [Brilliant]
10. James Ruskin & Mark Broom "Hostage" [Blueprint]
11. Marcel Dettmann "Unrest" (Norman Nodge Remix) [Ostgut Ton]
12. Perc "1909" [Perc Trax]

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ERCOLINO

stroboscopic artefacts showcase text here.

ercolino - process part 199c (stroboscopic artefacts modyfied part 03) by modyfier

01. Hudson Mohawke "Star Crackout" [Warp]
02. Xhin "Arrival" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
03. Flying Lotus "Tea Leaf Dancer" [Warp]
04. Lucy & Ercolino "Gmork" ( Dadub Tool) [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
05. Francesco Tristano "Strings of Life" [Infiné]
06. Cio Dor "Organza" (Milton Brandley Remix) [Prologue]
07. Lucy & Ercolino "So the Nothing Grows Stonger" (Dadub Remix) [Stroboscopic Artefacts] 

08. Johann Johannsson "Fordlandia" [4AD]

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XHIN

stroboscopic artefacts showcase text here.

xhin - process part 199b (stroboscopic artefacts modyfied part 02) by modyfier

01. Xhin - Intro [Not On Label
02. Modern Heads "Mooger" [Prologue]
03. JPLS "Convolution" [Minus]
04. Lucy, Ercolino "Gmork" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
05. Audio Injection "Way I Am" (Monoloc Remix) [Droid]
06. Cari Lekebusch "Robs Melody" [H-Productions]
07. Masuki "Dry Rain" (Pfirter Remix) [MindTrip Music]
08. Daniela Stickroth "The Slot" (Xhin Remix) [Lineal]
09. Kai Randy Michel "Subtile Dimension" [Brillant]
10. DJ Pierre "Stress Or Justice" (James Ruskin Remix) [Afro Acid Digital]

11. Decoy Linzatti "Gomit Shin" [Stockholm LTD]
12. Xhin "Link Tool" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
13. Lucy & Ercolino "So The Nothing Grows Stronger" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
14. Jalebee Cartel "Tough Cookie" (Xhin Remix) [Not On Label]
15. Xhin "Arrival" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
16. The Knife, Planningtorock "Schoal Swarm Orchestra" [Rabid Records]

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LUCY

Stroboscopic Artefacts is delighted to present a label showcase on Modyfier. We have collected together four Processes from our artists, a slight slither of prose and one audio visual teaser to give you an insight into our sounds and our thoughts. We begin with the short story which gives you a hint as to the label’s dystopian awareness:

No one knew when it had happened. But the arts of the Fifth Power had prevailed. New laws had been imposed upon the two worlds. And these laws could not be broken. Slowly the old ideas of the judge and the judged became nonsensical and even courts of justice soon became obsolete.

The first law declared the closing of the boundaries. The reflective surfaces that were once able to connect the worlds lost their patina of iridescence. One world slid into darkness: the expanses of water, gleaming metals, even the eyes of the creatures grew dull as the connections were severed. Yet, the other world could still peer unnoticed into the darkness.

The next law forbade memory, and with it time and consciousness. With consciousness erased, the ideals and hopes, the dreams and melancholies that had once given depth to their world vanished. Deprived of their own consciousness they became mere mirrors, the perfect two dimensional reflection of the collective ego on the other side.

However, those forced to see their own actions again and again also underwent consequences. The eyes of their opposites were no longer filled with the unknown. Other perspectives had disappeared. Imagination had been deprived of movement, and movement itself transformed into a static image. The Fifth Power had guaranteed their safety, but it had made them unable to change. The two worlds became transfixed, inertly engaged in an endless stroboscopic process.

The Processes begin with label owner Lucy. He chose to record his mix in one take with no post editing, no over-thinking, no cheating; this is exactly the straight-up approach of his dj sets. Xhin’s Process is a mix that brilliantly intertwines hard, deep techno with his uniquely leftfield elegance. Ercolino’s Process is a selection, a handpicked insight into his references. He’s packed tracks for every eventuality and the result is a wandering moonscape of moods. Perc’s Process is a mix which seems to start at the foot of a glacier and travels far from this point, right into an industrial dub filled wasteland. Stroboscopic Artefacts’ visual designer Oblivious presents a video response to the Krishnamurti acappella from the SA001 release. This is also excitingly the first ever video short to be featured on Modyfier.

Text by Clare Molloy and Luca Mortellaro (The explanatory part) and Amanda Morelli (The dystopian short story).

lucy - process part 199a (stroboscopic artefacts modyfied part 01) by modyfier

01. Lucy "Why Don't You Change" (Krishnamurti Acappella Extended) [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
02. Frank Martiniq "My Visor" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
03. Redshape "Dark & Sticky" [Delsin]
04. Peter Van Hoesen "Above 90" (Norman Nodge Reconstruction) [Time To Express]
05. Xhin "Link" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
06. Scuba "From Within" (Marcel Dettmann Remix)
07. Perc "Wooden Art" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
08. Lucy & Ercolino "So The Nothing Grows Stronger" (Dadub Remix) [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
09. Robert Hood "Sleep Cycle"
10. Dino Sabatini & Donato Dozzy "In Vaders" [Prologue]
11. Surgeon "(Intro) (Version II)" [Tresor]
12. Planetary Assault Systems "MOD" [Figure]
13. Alan Fitzpatrick "Face Of Rejection" [Drumcode]
14. Xhin "Fixing The Error" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
15. Lucy & Ercolino "Gmork" (Luke Slater Remix) [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
16. Jeff Mills "Moon"
17. Chevel "Trevisun" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
18. Hironori Takahashi "Medue" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]
19. Lucy "Why Don't You Change" [Stroboscopic Artefacts]