Sweet variety collection of Techno to get hot and bothered about... these tracks have been keeping me warm as the long cold Chile nights roll in....                                                          

Slightly mixed thoughts on including this one in the post - some classify this as Techno, others as Electro House - however because it was included on an album called 'The Definitive Techno Compilation' - i am pretty sure its Techno.  Its a fantastic remix, the duo have spruced up the originals punchy bass and tweaked the echoing space-synth to roll over, imparting a much groovier feel - this remix inspired me to buy most of Olivier Giacomottos' productions

Gail In The O (John Acquaviva & Damon Jee Remix) - Olivier Giacomotto.mp3

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Marek receives honorary title of hypnotic funk daddy with this dreamy euphoric groove. Driving crystal strings, a wavering bass line and of course the crooning vocals delivered by Fabian Reichelt who manages to impart solemn soul into the fresh techno. I love the gentle break before the drop.
Its a delicious production from a producer i had great hopes for in 2009 (see my post here,) he has certainly stepped up to the mark. I can only hope 2010 brings more Hemmann! His Left/Right EP will be available to download on the 26th April here

Left - Marek Hemmann.mp3

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If you love deep & dubby Techno then check this out - 'Mekong Delta' was originally released in 2007  this massive production is a mix of dry drums, pulsing organ and frequent breaks. Its an essential piece of "big" techno, and one of my favorite rave anthems...was lucky enough to see this at Melt 2008 where it just tore the dance floor to shreds

Mekong Delta - Len Faki.mp3

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DJ Madskillz is one of the most respected DJs in the Netherlands he boasts a discography over 90 productions,  not to mention a huge list of remixes, i enjoy his work. With his 2010 remix 'Mr Bean Does an E' he audiolizes the fantastic title by bringing a huge amount of energy into this remix, jumping it up with a pumping beat…. this is a fantastic tech house track that bears little resemblance to the original... best thing to come from the commercial clubbing giant Ministry of Sound since, well...ever!

Mr. Bean Do An E (DJ Madskillz Remix) - Dan Curtin.mp3

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Some great whomping Techno, from my choice duo 'Moonbeam'  - rapid bright plucked strings, a cold spacey synth, shimmering bass lines and soaring breakdown, a really pleasant atmospheric Techno melody...get it here

Liveliness (Moonbeam Mix) -  Moonbeam & Jan Zyabovski.mp3

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At the conclusion of the poll experiment, Techno was the clear winner with 47% of the vote, Drum & Bass was the next favorite choice, with 29% of the vote, it's a winner-takes-all system on 1UPMANSHIP - so today's post is a couple of Techno goodies!

Released in 2008, 'A Thousand Nights' has long been one of my favorite Techno tracks - it's astonishingly repetitive but this only enhances the subtle nuances and serves to bring the track to an extremely satisfactory climax - Extrawelt has performed a superb job on the rework transforming the original into a minimal masterpiece...get it here

A Thousand Nights (Extrawelt Remix) - Gregor Tresher.mp3
 
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It's been eight long years since Umek's debut album 'Neuro,' but the wait is finally over with the recent release of 'Responding to Dynamic' its packed with hard hitting beats and up-tempo old skool vibes. 'Individual Breath'  is a raw build of fast pulse beats, that eventually wails into a thundering climax. This is a pumping techno track built for the energetic dancer... well worth the wait

Individual Breath (Original Mix) - Umek.mp3

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Taken off Max Coopers latest album is the tile track 'Chaostisch Serie' - it begins with an Aphex Twin style of freaky exhaled human noises, these slowly whirl into the mix as the track floats into familiar territory.  The whump whump synth so recognisable from Harmonisch & Stochastisch Serie floats in, complementing the dark, fast beat - before receiving the 'chaos' treatment as its swirled and mutated whilst it builds into the breakdown .... the serie trilogy is a must for any Techno fan!

Chaotisch Serie - Max Cooper.mp3

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Its 6 am techno - the sun has come up, so have all the ravers - the vibe is relaxed, the wannabees have left, its left to a core group of purists  to sway to the gentle rhythm cresting the noise-wave - mellow Tech-House to get your heads nodding and maintain the racing heartbeat - get it here

Furthermore (Marc Romboy Remix) - Martin Eyerer.mp3

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'Almost Nothing' is a deep melody, rammed with a complex mix of groovy processed drums, feathered synths and haunting vocals - the feeling from 1.01 onwards is modern Western - John Wayne would tear it up to this beat - released at the end of 2009 by Audiomatique Recordings you can buy it here

Almost Nothing - Adultnapper.mp3 

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Please vote on the new Poll to help me decide what i post next...(at the top of the Page)

Time to spice up the website with a couple of neglected genres, a pinch of Prog-House, an excerpt of Electro-House and some more tasty Tech-House ... all nicely suited for the coming summer

This track is just 1 of a 100 reasons why i am a big fan of the Sonar Kollectiv label - i brought the original single in 2006 - but promptly lost it in my music collection. On the 5th March 'My Vision (Dixon Edit)' was re-released on the Elektrish Compilation and i was re-united with my old friend :) For a track with such a heavy tribal kick - it's remarkably calming!

My Vision (Dixon Edit) - Agora Rhythm.mp3

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A great bit of Progressive, saw this track classified as 'Dream Dance' - which summarizes it very nicely... however just thought i would give Aqua Diva a special mention, as she literally makes love to your eardrums with her husky breathy vocals

First Breath (Dankaan Vocal Mix) - Aqua Diva & Schodt.mp3

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Fantastic light electro-pop, its a commercial blend of heavy vocoder (Dahlback on the vocals) and bright synths accompanied by a  heavy bass beat, very enjoyable and very cheesy...taken off his album 'Winners & Fools'

I Had A Feeling - John Dahlbäck.mp3

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Available exclusively on Beatport is Jokers Of The Scenes' sick remix of Boy 8-Bits' 'Wolfen' - serious bass and a direct contrast to the lilting fairy music posted above - the build up to the breakdown is speaker shredding material...starts scary and ends on a lighter note (sort of like my first sexual experience)

Wolfen (Jokers Of The Scene Remix) - Boy 8-Bit.mp3

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I have noticed that generally my mates music tastes are transitioning away from 'boring' Dubstep and into Techno...

There is no question...masses of Dubstep is terrible. The genre has become overrun by hyped-up fans and by hyped-up producers who are copying and repeating the already-set cliche's. It's disappointing that the majority of these fans can't recognize this because they are dosed up to the eyeballs with party drugs.

Particularly irritating are the talented producers who conform to the demands of the ignorant masses - which means yours truly has to wade through mountains of commercialized (sorry to use that word) awful 'Dubstep.' 


However, having heard some of the awesome 2010 releases, it is clear to me the genre still has so much love to give. Hopefully with my assistance, the part of you that enjoyed grubbing about in the dirt when you were small, will slowly grow - and the urge to get filthy will drive you back to my side :)

Rant over, now to satisfy a request for some Techno/Tech-House Bangers....

Boom, first off thanks to Josh for reacquainting me with this awesome track. 'Lost Thought - Part 1' is
taken from the EP My Toyz - released by Skryptom Records. It is a really great piece of whomping techno, grinding synths and a killer drop...worth a click - its available here

Lost Thought - Part 1 - Popof.mp3

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Pretty fresh release from the Dirtybird label, taken from the 'Bird Brain Remixes - Part 3' is Christian Martians' take on 'Monster Island' - Claude Von Stroke, Martian has taken the original and freaked it up a notch, its now considerably darker and much scarier - wait for the drop to hear siren wail and the monster roar!

Monster Island (Christian Martin Remix) - Claude Von Stroke.mp3

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Federleichts' Original was great...however i find this version a significant improvement, Kollektiv & Turmstrasse have stripped much of the original vocals, their buildup beat is very tribal and subtly enhances the sweeping strings overlay and its a real tease up to the breaking point... a full 4 minutes of excellent anticipation.

On The Streets (Kollektiv Turmstrasse's Let Freedom Ring" Remix) - Federleicht.mp3

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Never heard of Glanta until i pickled up his Pan Adam EP...wasn't disappointed, it's a great release... i didn't think much on my first listen, so i put it to one side... however had another listen and decided that it is in fact epic... it would be a monotonous androgynous beat if it wasn't broken up by segments of high-pitched synth and shiny bleeps that, in my opinion, turn 'Pan Adam' into into a slightly spiritual experience!

Pan Adam (Original Mix) - Glanta.mp3

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'Pantograph Bouncing' Such a sick track, rolling percussion and distorted synths, it toys with you - almost every 30 seconds the steady rhythm of the track is interrupted by a brief whine that almost, nearly does...not lead to the main breakdown...its a glorious compilation of tinkling synths, chyme beats and heavy 'bouncing' bass... this is my choice techno track of 2009!

Pantograph Bouncing - Anna.mp3

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Earlier this week, this young blogger was fluky enough to escape the 8.8 Concepcion earthquake (one of the largest ever recorded) shaken but unharmed (in fact i slept through all of the tremor until it threw me out of bed,) - The immediate result of this massive earthquake was a 12 hour power cut and the immediate evacuation of all the lower part of Ancud (the town i am living in,) about an hour later it was hit by quite a large tidal wave.

Three days later, and we have a slight food and petrol shortage, however people have returned to their homes, power is back up, and the internet is running smoothly... the immediate chaos appears to be over, so in this period of relative calm, i thought i would take the time to share the music i was listening too on my iPod whilst the power was out...

If you were following my blog last year, then you would have been lucky enough to cop some Francesco Diaz & Young Rebels, this dynamic duo have been producing together since 2004, and their progressive house tracks are...anthems, nuff said really - their latest tune 'Damascus' was released through the Wormland Black Label, it's a great track - the build up is like a mashup between Benassi & the Bloody Beetroots, its a winning harpsichord/organ melody with a thumping undertone - makes you want to rave-it-up in a church :)

Damascus (Original Mix) - Francesco Diaz & Young Rebels.mp3
 
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Next up some Finnish D&B - "Askel' is a haunting experimental dubstep track, beautifully simple and with an awesome vocal sample, check out the artist Vesicles' MySpace for more info - the track is available now on the album Finnish Drum & Bass and Dubstep 2010 - don't let the title fool you, it is crammed full of intelligent and imaginative music!

Askel - Vesicle.mp3
 
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If your a fan of Paul Kalkbrenner then you will love his brother Fritz, if you have listened to Sky & Sand then you will have definitely heard him - the pleasant hum along vocals are the multi-talented brother... now he is back with a fresh EP - The Dead End (available now), the track i have chosen from it is called 'Philadelphia' its a really lovely piece of ravey Tech-House

Philadelphia - Fritz Kalkbrenner.mp3
 
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Now its time for one of my all time favourite D&B producers - Spor - he is a truly gifted producer, and an unparalleled DJ and i have been fortunate to see him live on a number of occasions. I am not going to lie, I have been waiting on his newest EP 'Conquerors & Commoners' with serious anticipation, so when the EP dropped into my inbox 2 months early, i was very, very happy.

So i quickly had a listen, and was really surprised by this track - 'Overdue feat. Tasha Baxter' - a relaxed ensemble of tinkling plucked strings and really pleasing vocals - it is definitely not signature Spor, however the addition of a drum loop makes it extremely tasty liquid, so i will be purchasing the EP as soon as it comes out!