JGM 74 - John Heckle
Monday, July 25th, 2011 | Podcast | 6 Comments
1. John Heckle - My Only Hope (Tabernacle Records)
2. William S - I’ll Never Let You Go (Trax)
3. Virgo 4 - I Have Always Wanted (Rush Hour)
4. Mr Fingers - For So Long (Jack Trax)
5. M.E. - It’s Hot (Trax)
6. Untitled
7. Risque Rhythm Team - More Than Just A Dance (Jack Trax)
8. Mr Fingers - You’re Someone Special (Jack Trax)
9. RDY4 - Liquid Love (RDY)
10. Tim Harper - Lake Shore Drive (Peacefrog)
11. Virgo - Go Wild Rhythm Track (Soul Jazz Records)
12. 69 - Filter King (Planet E)
13. Lil Louis - Video Clash (Dance Mania)
14. The Minister - Flying Around (Creme Jak)
15. Tyree - Acid Over (Soul Jazz Records)
16. Steve Poindexter - H20 (DJAX)
17. Fingers Inc - 326 Donnie (Gene Hunt Rework) (Rush Hour Records)
18. Gherkin Jerks - Tar Disc (Alleviated)
19. Marcello Napoletano - Linguetta Acida (Hieroglyphic Being Re-Duction) (Mathematics Recordings)
20. Fingers Inc - Distant Planet (Jack Trax)
21. Virgo 4 - It’s a Crime (Rush Hour)
22. Sparks - Beat The Clock (Giorgio Moroder Remix) (GMR Entertainment)
23. Klein & MBO - MBO Theme (Automan)
Direct download: JGM_74_-_John_Heckle.mp3
John Tejada - Parabolas
Monday, July 11th, 2011 | Sounds | No Comments
Parabolas, the latest album by John Tejada – his ninth studio album and first for German techno imprint Kompakt – finds the Los Angeles producer exploring a more melancholy, subdued direction with an emphasis on melody. Tejada has spent his musical career cultivating many musical styles, from his early techno & tech-house releases on his prolific Palette Recordings label, to the Detroit-esque output on Dan Bell’s 7th City and Moods & Grooves, to the string of minimal-leaning techno released by Poker Flat and other labels in the last decade, as well as more left-field output under guises such as I’m Not A Gun.
Unlike most techno albums, Parabolas is noteworthy because it unfolds like an actual album, rather than a collection of singles repackaged in album form, emphasizing subtlety and nuance. Opening with the smooth, mid-tempo house-leaning “Farther and Fainter,” the moodiness of Parabolas first reveals itself via the next track, “The Dream” – an eerie beatless ambient track that actually may have been better off as the first track. “Mechanized” is, for me, when the album really begins to pick up steam, a sparse, perky melody punctuated by a series of chords and haunting, ethereal textures that feels influenced by Detroit techno – a style Tejada has long acknowledged as a driving force of his inspiration as an artist. “Subdivided” continues on the moody path, its crisp, electro-style beat offset by smooth synth stabs, while “Timeless Space” slows down the tempo and beefs up the twinkly emotional elements with a vintage feel via the use of the Roland TR-808. Tejada drifts back into warm ambient land on “The Honest Man” before propelling forward again with the upbeat track “The Living Night,” its percolating beat offset by dreamy textures and nuanced melodies. Both “Unstable Condition” and “Hollow Hemispheres” feel like salutes to Detroit techno with a similarity to early Orbital, the former incorporating vintage percussive elements amidst a thumping kick drum and chirpy synth textures while the latter delves a bit deeper via subtle polyrhythms. The album closer, “Uncertain End,” feels aptly titled, emphasizing percussive intricacies without much of the emotion that pervades throughout most of the album. It’s a surprising choice for the final track, only because so much of Parabolas seems to bleed emotion. More than 15 years into his recording career, Tejada continues to evolve and reinvent himself, and the fans are the beneficiaries.
Interview with John Heckle
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 | Sounds | 9 Comments
Having found an appropriate home on Jamal Moss’ Mathematics imprint, John Heckle’s raw Chicago inspired sounds has resonated with many. Hailing from Liverpool, the 22 year old Heckle, tells us about his influences, his new album and upcoming projects.
PYF: What’s your earliest musical memory?
JH: Recording some shouty covers of The Beatles with my brother when I was about five or six. We had a tape recorder and some headphones in the mic socket to record, and some pans for drums.
PYF: Your sound has quite an affinity with Chicago - what was your first encounter with house and techno?
JH: Again I think my brother (Bill) had a lot to do with that. He took me to my first rave when I was thirteen, to a night called Bugged Out in Liverpool. He got me into a lot of the music I still listen to today.
PYF: Who are some of your influences (both musical and non-musical)?
JH: I find a lot of bands influential, such as The Smiths, The Beatles and The Doors, and artists such as Bob Dylan. In terms of electronic music, artists such as Larry Heard, Jamal Moss, Jeff Mills, Surgeon and Regis have been massive influences. Also some local DJs (such as Mark Forshaw, Sam Baron, Scott McGill, Binny and my brother most of all) have had a big influence on what music I play now.
PYF: How did you get into producing music? Was there anyone in particular that inspired/ helped you on your musical path?
JH: I started making music on a computer for fun in about 2003, which eventually led to the release of a track on RSB records a few years later. I would make tracks and play them in sets during my residency at Liverpool’s Alcatraz night, which was run by my brother and the guys we lived with at the time. We would spend most weekends hammering music in the house anyway, so making music and starting a night was a sort of natural progression. Anyway, it was at this night that Bill booked Regis to play. Regis forwarded a track I had just made to RSB and it was released a few months later in 2006. That is what inspired me to get serious about music. I think 2006 may have been a little early for me though as I was still only at the stage of teaching myself how to produce the sounds that I wanted to make. So I guess after a while production took a back seat. It wasn’t until a friend showed me the record The Sun God ‘Ancient Echoes’ that I got inspired to make music again; I’d never heard anything like that record. Soon after I started buying the Mathematics records. I was taken by the rawness and unpredictability of most of them; they were something exciting at a time when I was disillusioned with a lot of current trends. Read full interview…
JGM 73 - Night Gallery pt2
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 | Podcast | No Comments
Second installment from the Night Gallery crew, Kuri Kondrak and Shawn Kralicek.
Artist - Track (Label)
1. Ra.H - Fall Of Justice (Morphine)
2. Juju & Jordash - Tattoo Island (Philpot)
3. Gegenheimer - 21:4 (Ratio)
4. Fred P - On This Vibe (Esperanza)
5. Kassem Mosse - Untitled (Workshop)
6. Marcellus Pittman - The Mad Underdog (Seventh Sign)
7. F.U.S.E. - Approach and Identify (Plus Eight)
8. Chip E - Like This (DJ International)
9. Boo Williams vs Glen Underground - Mayday Funk (MAAD)
10. Common Factor - Get Down (Planet E)
11. Disco Nihilist - Relentless Drums (Construction Paper)
12. Dijkhuis - You Can Bring It (Night Gallery)
13. John Heckle - The 4th Dimension (Mathematics)
Direct download: JGM_73_-_Night_Gallery_Pt2.mp3
Midwest Electric: The Story of Chicago House and Detroit Techno
Friday, June 17th, 2011 | Interviews, Sounds | 1 Comment
Although a lot of the early beginnings of Chicago house and Detroit techno are well known in Europe, it has largely gone unnoticed within the US for the past 30 years. So, it’s great to see Afropop Worldwide present a well produced documentary that sheds some light on the early scene and key figures of house & techno in Chicago and Detroit. The documentary includes an interview with Robert Williams, promoter of the Warehouse and The Muzic Box, as well as Vince Lawrence (founder of Trax), Juan Atkins and Carl Craig.
