April Selections

             

Wishing  all of you a very Happy Easter ! I've got some goodies selected for listening pleasure, my picks for April:

1. Simon Baker - Grey Area(Extended Mix)[2020Vision]

Continuing with warm groovy deep goodness, Simon Baker gives us a superb track on 2020Vision, dub chords w/ a certain spacy feel to it and a quirky sample that joins the groove every now and then. Something  about this that gets you hooked ! Part of Simon's album Traces, do checkout Someone Like and L Train too. 

Release Date : 03-13-2011 | Set Fit : Warmup, Getting There | Time of the Day : Late Afternoon, Early Evening, Late Evening, Night

2. Bucher & Kessidis - Lowdown[Plastic City]

Grind written all over this, your typical club friendly tune. High pitched keys supplemented w/ a female voice and a funky bassline. Good stuff ! Part of their massive EP Live On that also features Nonda and Leon.

Release Date : 03-18-2011 | Set Fit : Warmup, Getting There | Time of the Day : Late Evening, Night

3. Robert Babicz - The Sun[Babiczstyle]

This man needs to introduction when it comes to rich sounds and lush textures. Superb synth on this with a very emo touch, along with his trademark classy bassline and synth stabs that add some funk to the track. Part of Volume 1 on Babiczstyle. 

Release Date: 01-31-2011 | Set Fit: Getting There, Peaktime, Finish | Time of the Day: Late Evening, Night, Late Night

4. Onur Ozman - Helvetica[Cabrio]

Onur Ozman - Helvetica by Onur Ozman

Some deep house descended from the Alps, Onur dishes out a very warm tune. Reminds me of the styles of Evren Ulusoy's groovy bass and Danny Howell's mids. He also tries to break the conventional 4/4 flow and throw in some breaks which sorta makes the track standout. Part of Helvetica EP, which also features Am Anfang. 

Release Date: 03-16-2011 | Set Fit: Warmup, Getting There | Time of the Day: Early Afternoon, Late Afternooon, Early Evening, Late Evening

Guy J @ Leonia dissected !

                  

Ever since I started following his music, back in 2008 with the massive hit 'Geko', I dreamed of the day Guy would bless India with a performance. Earlier this week, I learned that he'd be playing in Bangalore on Friday and Pune on Sunday. There was no doubt Mumbai / Delhi would be chosen for the Saturday slot. But Prateek Pandey proved me wrong, he inboxed me saying Guy was spinning in Hyderabad on a Saturday, which is very unusual for international gigs here.

The music started at 11 PM with Sowmya Balakrishnan doing the warm up duties with a 124 BPM'ish deep funk house set which was pretty good minus a complete halt to the music somewhere in between, followed by which she took a tech house'y direction.
                      
Guy came around half past one, quite a few had taken their spots on the dancefloor, every one had their space. Having this gig 30 Kms. away from the city had it's pros and cons, filtered crowd with enthusiasts only, who understand the phenomenon known as Guy J, an intimate setting, being the former and less women, being the latter. He did a monster opening that had 'Guy's entry into the arena' written all over it.
                      
 The first hour comprised bouncy tech. mainly, just to get everyone's attention and throw a trailer of what was to come. The sound was off the hook and I mean literally, way too much for the size of the club. Guy turned the bass down, the kicks were overwhelming all the other layers. Gradually he took the set into 'Guy J' space with that trademark sub-bass and melodic neo-prog atmopsherics, playing what I think is another one of his takes on James Holden's Nothing.
                      
He cut down on the energy a bit to give everyone a quick breather before peaktime, during which the set took off into some bombarding electro'ish tech. and some techno too. This gig, unlike the ones in Bangalore / Pune, was Guy's new album 1000 Words' showcase, the set was filled with so many unreleased tunes.
                      
Post peaktime tunes included Henry Saiz's take on Lamur, Heliscope(both original and Egbert remix).
                      
Towards the end of the set he drifted into dark deep proggy space, dropping Azimuth and his takes on Jim Rivers' Vibrant and Sei A's Meth Ii. He also played his remix of Der Dritte Raum's Hale Bopp, by request. That did it for me. Gradually he bought the energy down and finished with his take on Bent's As You Fall.
                      
                      
                      

It's sad that I didn't get to hear Guy J's slow mo / downtempo stuff that's on his sets, especially after I heard CD 1 of his album on Transition's Cloudcast. There was so much energy in the place, those tracks didn't fit in and neither did Geko or Lunar. Let's hope the next time I see him, it's a warm up set. Altogether, a massssive night !

Focus on Vinayak^A

 There are two approaches to make it big in the scene these days. You can either have a random hook of a woman humming, some casual keys and a bassline(read MJC) OR insert so many different sounds into a track that the listener gets ear-F*CKED ! Vinayak Karthikayan chooses the latter as his weapon of choice, and always leave his audience wanting for more. Hailing from Patli Putra, Bihar, India, this humble gentleman has managed to wreak absolute havoc in the 'technically prog' scene, having a bunch of remixes under his belt, gaining support from the likes of Hernan Cattaneo, John Digweed, Robert Babicz, Cid Inc. and so many more. Each track has a different story to tell, each with multiple breakdowns, each better than the one that precedes, more like multiple eargasms. He's got a bunch of tunes still due for release, and I can't wait to get my hands on some of them. So till that happens, check out his Soundcloud page, it's a musical labyrinth in there ! Here are my fav's:

1. Ride A Penny

Do not miss the classic vintage 70's voice hook at 1:10 and such a beautiful groove he builds up with the keys !
ride a penny (lo Kik Rec) by Vinayak^A

2. Ucleden - Bridge Over Troubled Water(Vinayak^A Remix)
Just love the 'mmmMMmmm' in the groove, fits like hand in glove, not to forget the superb groovy tech feel.
Ucleden - Bridge Over Troubled Water (vinayak^a mix) by Vinayak^A

3. Vipul Angrish feat. Jasbir Jassie - Indian in San Juan(Vinayak^A Remix)
Bringing out the beauty of Indian Classical music, Vipul did a stellar job on this. Vinayak made it even better.
Vipul Angrish Feat Jasbir Jassie - Indian san juan (VInayak^a Mix)sc by Vinayak^A

Jan + Feb + March showstoppers !

2011 seems to be a very promising year, with some genre-defying productions being released by David Granha, Pezzner, Henry Saiz, Agoria and many more. Call it techno, house, progressive house, whatever you want, point is, it's good music. Here are my fav.'s from recent weeks:

1. David Granha - El Escalon[Outside The Box]
David Granha, featured once again simply because he makes eclectic electronic music. Doing justice to the label's name, he's dished out a stellar track El Escalon. First heard it on The SF Show - Ep. 22  w/ Praveen Achary on the resident mix. Quality selections on the show, don't forget to catch up on the previous episodes. This track is a showcase of dark proggy basslines, supplemented with David's trademark atmospherics, synths and a superb pan job on the more prominent synth(reminds me of a butterfly flapping it's wings if I could translate it to audio), that builds up into an acid monster. Part of The Silly M EP which features The Silly M and Afraid.

Release Date : 23-02-2011 | Set Fit : Getting There | Time of the Day : Late Evening, Night

2. Microtrauma - Saturation[Traum]

Aaaahhhhhhhhhh, just discovered this gem of a track today. Daniel Päßler and Ricardo Linke a.k.a. Microtrauma show us what is deep tech. at it's best. Melodic dark synths throughout the track, with perc stutters and lush textures, you'd feel totally immersed in the sound scape these guys have created. The funk reminds me a lot of Cid Inc.'s style. Part of the Colorblind EP, which also features another massive tune Contrast, Diffusion and remixes from Max Cooper, Richie G and Ryan Davis.

Release Date : 07-03-2011 | Set Fit : Getting There, Peaktime | Time of the Day : Late Evening, Night, Late Night

3. Evren Ulusoy - Fade To Blonde[Proton]

Now getting back to what I love the most, warm deep house with groove. Evren releases yet another beautiful tune with his usual weapons of choice, a warm bassline, groove and white noise. The breakdown is melodic, w/ a splendid guitar hook that joins the groove later on, altogether a perfect mood-setter. Part of the Fade To Blonde EP, which also features Rulers Make Bad Lovers.

Release Date : 30-12-2010 | Set Fit : Getting There, Peaktime | Time of the Day : Late Evening, Night, Late Night

4. Ian Donovan - Aurora Borealis(Henry Saiz's 70's Remix)[Bedrock]

Finally to speed things up, the man who gives birth to sound, Spaniard Henry Saiz provides a mad mad maaaaaaaad take on Aurora Borealis. Whoever has heard the original(and If you haven't go bang your head on the wall a hundred times) knows what I'm talking about, this is a conversion from dark to darker paranoid bliss. Five and a half minutes into the track, the tempo drops down to a point at which it sounds like a recording from the early warmup hours of Woodstock with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin jamming, which is where the high pitched voice sample in Ian's original comes in. Suddenly, BANG !! It's back to the original tempo. Perfect if you want your crowd to meditate in between the dance routine. Part of Aurora Borealis Remixes which also features a Marc Marzenit & Henry Saiz Atilan remix. 

Release Date : 14-03-2011 | Set Fit : Getting There, Peaktime, Finish | Time of the Day : Early Evening, Late Evening, Night, Late Night