"As well as coverage of records, mixes and production work in the Deep House scene, I'd also like to use this blog to promote recommended local nights. Whilst a lot of readers may not be from the same area, it is hoped that some people in the East Midlands area of England may come across this and check these nights out. The first event that I'll bring to attention is held in Stamford featuring a top local line-up that's not to be missed if you're anywhere near the area."
Awakening's Black Eye Friday night will take place between 9pm and 3am at Opus Dai in Stamford, Lincolnshire on 21st of December
"The act most familiar to me is the SAS crew that host upstairs. I shared the decks with them many a time a few years back so I can personally vouch for the sheer quality that is in their record collection.
Also on board and over-seeing the event is local DJ Matt Taylor. To check out an example of his sounds, hit play below. Feel free to download to!"
After the huge success of their previous House nights, Awakening is back to start your xmas holidays with a bang! Work is over for the year and it's time to party!
Come and join us on 21st of December for Black Eye Friday, for your monthly does of Deep House from the areas most talented DJs.
As always, entry is free from 9pm to 3am along with plenty of drinks promos to keep you moving.
Follow us on Facebook: Awakening back to the beats
Over the last week or so I've been immersing myself in Brock Van Wey's new project Earth House Hold. It comes in the form of an album entitled 'Where Love Lived', released on CD by the relatively new Love's Label. Brock's work usually manifests itself in the ambient scene, under his Bvdub moniker with a wide spacious, dreamy kind of sound. Clearly someone heavily influenced by various forms of music, he has tried all sorts of approaches to production from dub techno to downtempo/R&B. In the 80s and 90s, Brock spent a great deal of time DJing, when House music was young. He has created the marvellous 'Where Love Lived' album in an effort to capture the magic that swept through those decades before the music became saturated and bogged down with modern effects. This is an honest look at the scene back then, stripped back, simple and leisurely and pushing nostalgia for this era to the very fore. Brock has placed raw emotion at the very heart of this music in a similar way to his work as Bvdyub yet he has pitted it with a raw and repetitive Deep House structure to really drive home the impact. As someone who shares the same idealistic reflection back on those days, this is something that has really grabbed me and as I consider my end of year favourites, it is quickly rising to the top of the pile. Below is an embedded Soundcloud preview of the album from the label. If you like what you hear, click through to www.darla.com and run a search for it - you won't be disappointed!
I've been using Juno to build my record collection since I was in my teens, so I'm delighted that I've been able to make my debut EP 'Connection' available for download from there. As a distributor, Juno takes some beating with its easy to use interface and it's healthy stock of vinyl and CDs.
Add to this the charts section, where both renowned DJs/producers and everyone else can share their favourite records and then there's brilliant 'embed' feature, allowing you to share the functionality across a range of platforms.
01> Fabio Monesi/Kastil - Split Grooves EP Part 1 [Wilson]
"It would have been almost impossible for me to not order this one - two of my favourite artists combing for a split EP. Both have a reputation for an old-skool style and this has been thrown to the fore here, presented on beautiful yellow vinyl. All four tracks are bombs and it really is difficult to single out a particular track or even to say which artist comes out on top. Simply a must have."
02> George Davis/Kastil - New Saft EP [SAFT]
"The long anticipated first catalog release on Patrick Luca's SAFT label has landed at last. I heard a sample of the Kastil track months ago and decided that it was possibly one of the finest slices of House music that I'd ever heard. Eventually hearing it in full on this record did little to change that opinion. It's a playable cut sure to have an instant impact on the dancefloor, masterfully crafted as usual by Kastil. On the flip, there is an original by George Davis and a remix from another favourite artist of mine, Shane Linehan."
03> Jason Grove - 313.4 Ever [Skylax]
"I discovered Jason Grove last month and bought a couple of his records. The first was charted last month and the other, his album from earlier this year, just had to be charted this month - based purely on the amount of play its been getting from me. Grove's album is a melting pot of subtle differences in style whilst always retaining a raw, old-skool feel to the production. It's difficult to choose a stand-out track but I have probably mixed with 'Raw In '92' the most."
04> Andres - Second Time Around EP [La Vida]
"A fan of Andres' work yet never having bitten the bullet before and ordered anything of his on vinyl, I grabbed 'Second Time Around' based solely on the sheer excellence of 'Skate This Way'. The EP is slumped back in terms of tempo, allowing the groove to really carry itself alongside the generous helpings of funk woven into the tracks. All three pieces are excellent, but the strings, bass and groove of Skate This Way make it the obvious choice."
05> Benedict - We Ctrl 002 [We Ctrl]
"Despite being an excellent EP overall, which I'm sure to pick out regularly over the years to come - it seems difficult for me not to talk immediately about the Fulbert remix. French artist Fulbert is a big part of this growing fondness for old-skool sounds in House music and I've always enjoyed his material. Here, he churns out possibly his finest work, a remix of Benedict's 'Why Don't You Finish With Me'. Benedict is championing the old-skool sound too though and each of his cuts are solid but 'Problem With My Snuffbox' is just about the winner."
06> BLM/Flori/James Johnston - Black Key EP Vol 1 [Black Key] "These compilation EPs seem to be flavour of the month, and this is another that boasts a great line-up. BLM provides something deep and Housey, Flori's piece leans heavily on the acid side and the consistent James Johnston cooks up something special in the form of Lights Off."
07> Fabio Monesi/Mirco Violi - Back To Back Part 1 EP [Aurour] "Another fine split EP for Fabio Monesi as this time he joins Mirco Violi. This record doesn't have quite as much of the Old-Skool feel that gleamed through his EP with Kastil, instead it provides something slightly more robust and dancefloor friendly - particularly on the Monesi side. Mirco Violi, who's name I'd normally associate a little more towards the minimal scene, turns out a pair of beautiful cuts on the 'deep side', giving the record an extra dimension."
08> Fred P/Pjotr/Vakula/Benedikt Frey - It's All In The Mind [Ethereal Sound] "Russian label Ethereal Sound curate a four-track EP that will surely win the interest of the rest of the world - not least because man of the moment Vakula is included in the line-up. True to form, Vakula's piece is absolutely outstanding. Elsewhere, Fred P provides a deep acid work out, Benedikt turns in a dubbed funky piece and Pjotr has contributes something deep and moody."
09> Mike Huckaby - Baseline 88-89 [Synth] "The legendary Mike Huckaby is at it again, with two more superb detroit style cuts. The stand-out for me on this is Baseline 88, in which his baseline literally throbs. Reminds me of Theo Parrish' Heal Yourself And Move a little, but it's much more playable on the dancefloor. Both pieces use the baselines to propel the track, with little in the way of melody - making them ideal tools to play out. Baseline 89 on the flip is joined by a full percussive work out to give it a different feel."
10> Giovanni Damico/Sek/Volta Cab/Flori - Seven Days A Week (Part 2) [Morris Audio] "Morris Audio have been one of my favourite labels over the years as their consistency has never dropped. This second installment of Seven Days A Week sees a quality line up of artists. A year ago, I'd be unfamiliar with them but over the last few months I have bought records by all of them. Each contribute a top notch track and it really is difficult to separate them. Damico's is a little more chilled than the other three, which have a more dub infused atmosphere to them."
"After over a decade of listening to, mixing and making House music, I've finally arrived at a short set of tracks that I'm happy to share with the world. 'Connection' is a set of four digital tracks inspired by all my favourite artists from Inland Knights, Theo Parrish and Moomin to name just a few. The EP was produced in Zynewave Podium using a broad range of samples I have collected over the years. Feel free to give it a listen and download if you wish. If anyone wants a free copy for promo purposes then let me know and I will sort it out"
PRESS RELEASE
Connection is the debut EP from Lincolnshire, UK based artist Magnofon. It precedes a full album release due out in 2013, containing a couple of tracks from the album. Harry Towell, the man behind the project is already an established producer within the experimental/ambient scene, recording as Spheruleus. He also runs netlabel Audio Gourmet, which specialises in releasing free 15 minute ‘tea break’ EPs.
Harry got into House music whilst in his teens, building a collection of vinyl and eventually playing out in bars and clubs. His time spent as a DJ peaked around 2007 when he played alongside the likes of Fred Everything, Nathan Coles, Inland Knights, JT Donaldson, The Littlemen, Da Sunlounge and DIY. Shortly after, a change in circumstance meant that DJing had to be sideline and that is when he began to spend any spare time creating ambient music.
In 2012, a move meant that Harry was reunited with his records and decks. He began to catch up with the Deep House scene, buying records to supplement his collection and mixing them into ‘Warehouse Decay Sessions’, a nostalgic nod back to his DJing days. He began to experiment with recording his own Deep House tracks and before long, he had enough material for an EP, which became ‘Connection’.
The name Connection refers to Harry connecting to the Deep House scene as Magnofon, marking it clearly as the first EP in his discography – hopefully the first of many. The sounds are inspired by the likes of Theo Parrish, Inland Knights and Global Communication – deep, but with plenty of groove.
credits
released 24 October 2012 Written and produced by Harry Towell Cover artwork by Richard Outram
12 James Johnston - Get Back To The Feeling [No Matter What]
13 Jordan Peak - Don't It Feel Good [Robsoul]
14 Wil Maddams - Rip & Run [Traxx Underground]
15 Malone and Mollison - Paradise [Underground Vibe]
Warehouse Decay Session 5 was influenced by the nostalgic old-skool House sound that seems to be present in a lot of my favourite records since getting my turntables set up again. Of the records I've been ordering, I'm increasingly drawn to that 90s garage sound that you can hear on labels like Local Talk, Traxx Underground and Saft and so I decided to put together a pile of records on which this is particularly prevalent.
I must confess, I did try to order them properly so that everything would flow on the mix - listening back, it doesn't sound perfect but it will certainly do. I've been meaning to get a mix of this sound together for weeks now, so I'm pleased that I'm finally able to share this music with you.
Most of my favourite current artists and labels feature here and Jason Grove features twice for reasons that your own ears will reveal if you listen. If you're new to this house sound but it sounds too familiar to be new, then I'm afraid you're mistaken and your ears are playing tricks. All of these records are recent and have been released in the last couple of years, that is...until the last track. The Malone and Mollison EP has been a secret weapon of mine for years. Released in 1995, this one was dubbed as old-skool back then!
Warehouse Decay Sessions number four continues the series, delving through yet more of my ever growing collection of House wax. This session, I intended to mix everything on the fly, including some of my recent purchases against older records. It starts off deep and dubby but doesn't stay like it for long. Housier moments come and go here and there and towards the latter stage of the mix, things get heavier as I throw in a few records I used to play out just before I packed it all in. The mix is rounded off with a couple of quirky records, starting with Tom Ellis' 'Thing One', a superb piece that uses sax to great effect. The closing track is by Hugo from a great EP on Floppy Funk.
"Four very playable cuts from a new artist on my radar, Jason Grove. Each piece is absolutely top drawer and I have a feeling I'll be reaching for this EP for years to come. They all retain a deepness to them, which always earns stripes in my book, but the predominantly old-skool vibe that carries them is what gives it the edge. Particularly standing out amongst this solid set is 'Reach Out', which sets deep driving House keys against building vocals.But really, I could go on about each piece. So good, that I bought Grove's album '313 4 Ever' from earlier this year."
02> Ad Bourke - Raw Ivy [Scenario]
"Ad Bourke is another new name on me, as I reaquaint myself with the deep house scene. This generous helping of quirky deepness, presented on stunning green vinyl is getting some heavy rotation on my turntables right now. Most of these cuts are shorter but there is a loopy tech-jazz production to them with plenty of twists and turns that marks this mini album as a winner. For the DJ, they work as great set starters or openers to a mix CD and for the listener, they're some of the finest underground joints that you'll find right now."
03> Washerman - The Deeper Side Of Me
[SAFT]
"In this second outing for Patrick Luca's new Saft label, quality Swiss producer Washerman arrives with a top-notch EP. For the most part, it leans heavily towards the old-skool House sound that is so championed by both Washerman and Luca alike. It's this sound that is really grabbing me at the moment, with the likes of Deymare, James Johnston and of course Washerman using raw old-skool and garage techniques in their production. 'The Deeper Side Of Me' is as good an example of this as you will find right now and if you manage to secure yourself a copy, it'll soon become apparent as to why. The track that seems to find itself onto mixes the most at the moment is 'Mellow Go', but my personal favourite is 'Deep Feelin'."
04> Desos & Michael McLardy - Can't Live Forever EP [Say Deep]
"I've been tracking the work of both of these artists over the last few months, with both Desos and McLardy contributing some fine work to the scene. This, however, is the standout in both's discography in my books - with both of their respective production techniques amounting to a wholesome body of work. This EP will appeal to both Deep House and Tech House heads, with a great cross-over between these two related genres. All of the tracks are playable and it's difficult to pick a winner, which will ensure that you'll be lugging this one around in your box for months to come."
05> Ernie - Black Noise EP [Bliq]
"The ever-consistent Bliq label teams up with Minuendo label boss Ernie for the Black Noise EP, to which Ernie provides a monstrously deep set of tracks. The EP kicks off with 'Burning Detroit', a seriously deep and percussive low-slung number. It is remixed by the talented Ordell, who adds an edge to the track with broken beats, more of a groove and some simple spoken vocal samples. On the flip, 'La Posse' is another seriously deep number from Ernie, low-slung again but with a squelching bass line to carry it. 'Terra Nostra' completes the affair with a haunting deep groove. The tracks on this EP may not set the dancefloor alight, but this is just how I like my House music. Deep."
06> James Welsh - Wolf EP 013 [Wolf] "The excellent Wolf Music label continue a consistent year with a fine set of tracks from James Welsh. Opening with the dubbed out 'M62' and following on with the much deeper 'Zippy Share', this EP kicks off extremely well. Welsh continues to vary this excursion on the flip, starting with downtempo vocal groover 'Nowt'. Whilst James Welsh has produced a superb and well rounded EP for Wolf Music, it is again the label's star-player that stands out - Medlar has done it again, with a superb and playable remix of 'M62'."
07> Deymare - Rhythm Box EP [Minuendo] "Excellent Spanish label Minuendo have just put out this EP from Finnish producer Deymare in a hand-numbered limited edition. Deymare is a versatile producer, with his early material spanning more minimal production techniques on the likes of Morris Audio and other works possessing a classic garage feel. This talented producer seems to tailor his work to the label, and his versatility is further apparent in this superb EP for Minuendo. The title track adopts a Theo Parrish style deepness, percussive and gently effective. After this, the EP features a smooth remix from Above Smoke. On the B side, Deymare utilises the recording space to further promote his creative versatility. 'Days Gone' is another deep cut, but with much more of a driving force. Then my personal favourite 'Overground Is No Ground' rounds things off. Again, it has that Parrish, Moodymann feel to it but this one really kicks and is easily the most playable of the bunch."
08> DJ Steaw - White Journey EP [Local Talk] "The consistently brilliant Local Talk presents an excursion from the equally consistent French producer DJ Steaw. This one is a two tracker which features DJ Steaw's signature old-skool garage House skills. 'I Want' is an edgier, more up-beat feeling slab of House that will make people go nuts. The flip-side track 'Sky Hunt' will still catch as much dancefloor attention, but this time it's more of a heads-down affair as the swirling keys take hold."
09> Paradise - Mercy
[Cinch] "This EP is a completely unknown quantity for me, but I stumbled across it and was impressed by the samples. When this arrived my fondness for developed further, despite being initially frightened by the dreadfully crass inset image on the vinyl. The fondness grew once the needle hit the grooves and these techy deep House grooves were given the time and space to do their thing. The title track is a bit of a peak-time groove, reminding me of the good parts of the filtered funky house scene from several years ago. The flip-side is where it hits my territory, with bassline-fuelled deep House track 'Reach Out' pleasantly looping on. 'Shone' sees things out, with another excellent tracky groove, underpinned by housey keys."
10> Satore - On Tape [Feelharmonic] "A search for productions by Ordell and Ernie after being impressed by the 'Black Noise' EP yielded the discovery of this EP by Satore. It's a seriously deep and dubby affair, lots of percussion, moody keys and laidback vibes. The EP isn't one for the dancefloor really, but it's just how I like my House music and I feel sure that I'll be using this record for a mix CD at somepoint. The stand-out piece of the four tracks here has to be Ernie's remix of 'For The Road'."
This is my first post in a while, as I've not been able to afford any new records! I'm saving up for a well-earned holiday, you see, so I've not even been keeping tabs on new releases to avoid temptation.
I have managed to put together a 'retrospective demo' CD of the sort of stuff I used to play in bars, clubs etc a few years back. So these records are all at least 5 years old and hardly the latest, freshest sounds but still, I had great fun timewarping and putting this one together. Enjoy...
TRACKLIST:
01. The Littlemen - My Feelings[Mobile Trax - 2004]
02. Toka Project - I Gotta Go[Robsoul - 2007]
03. Mario Fabriani - So Good (Members Only Remix)[Fetish - 2006]
04. Da Sunlounge - Feel So Good[Myna - 2005]
05. The Littlemen - Lock The Bank[Nightshift - 2005]
06. Jazzy Eyewear - Take Control[Nordic Tracks - 2005]
Since getting acquainted with my records/turntables again, I've not only re-developed my old vinyl-buying habit, but I've also got an appetite for listening to House music tracks and mixes on my iPod. I've been scouring Soundcloud for mixes from some of my favourite artists and there are a few that I've been coming back to time and time again.
I thought I'd bundle my favourite three together in a post here so you can enjoy them too:
JAMES JOHNSTON VIBE AND PEPPER PODCAST 01/12/11
After being out of the loop for so long, I knew there'd be a few names floating about that I wasn't familiar with. One of the first I'd discovered and was really impressed with was James Johnston; every sample of his productions I listened to was bang on the money and I subsequently bought a load of his tracks. His 'After Everything' on his own label No Matter What is absolutely fantastic and was well worth spending a few quid shipping it in from a Belgian Discogs seller.
James' well-stocked Soundcloud account is a great cross section of his production and DJ work and should be a first port of call for anyone unfamiliar.
This brings me nicely to his mix, made for Vibes and Pepper recordings at the end of this year. It is posted on James' Soundcloud account for you to stream or download and features a fine selection of House sounds which spans deep, detroit, garage and tech influences.
A tracklist isn't available but I know for sure that XTC from the After Everything EP is in there towards the latter part so well worth taking the time to listen
KASTIL vs DJ MISTER, LIVE @ HOR DAGO! NOCHEVIEJA NEW YEARS EVE 2011 http://soundcloud.com/kastilmusic http://soundcloud.com/dj-mister
Another mix I've been enjoying from the end of last year is a live recording of a New Years Eve set by Kastil and DJ Mister. It's a five-hour vinyl only session that begins on a slow-house disco note and builds towards House and Deep House moments and heads towards a more up-beat, garagey end. There are real gems aplenty throughout and lots of track I.D queries that are too numerous to even pursue. The mix has since been removed from Kastil's Soundcloud account unfortunately but then I bet a five hour mix was taking up a fair bit of hosting space! So it kind of makes this post a little redundant, but still - Kastil/DJ Mister, if you're reading, great job!!! It's on my iPod and I listen to this all the time - gardening, cleaning, lunch-breaks, tea-breaks, commuting...even played it at a recent party of mine as I was too occupied with drinking to take to the decks myself. Great comments were aplenty FULBERT, SOUL NOTE PODCAST
I'm a fan of the old-skool style House productions of French artist Fulbert and particularly enjoyed his recent work for Local Talk. On an entirely unrelated note, I've really been enjoying the output of the Soul Notes label of late. The two have combined here, with Fulbert providing a podcast for the label, presumably to warm up for a possible release on the label.
It's free to download and spans a carefully programmed selection of deep cuts of all shapes and sizes. Fulbert manages to offset the warmth of deep chord washes with jacked out cuts, woozy trippiness, disco wobbliness, proper old-skool sounding House music and a whole lot more.
I notice towards the end that he makes good use of a Slowhouse piece from their superb but rare vinyl-only series. Well worth a click is this
"Three solid deep/tech House cuts from Milton Jackson. I've long been a fan of his work, which is always consistent. It's tough to pick a stand-out track from this one as they're all very playable but the title track just about edges it for me"
02> Bicep/Unknown - Make Love In Public Places [Love Fever]
"Superb garage-House from up and coming producer Bicep here. Vocal samples, deep rhodes keys and a jacking garage rhythm makes this one a real highlight. The flip is a downtempo disco style cut which is certainly listenable but not much more than hazy late night 'listening' music for me"
03> Rio Padice - Moon Phases EP [Housewax]
"4 excellent tracks from top deep House producer Rio Padice. Each has a slightly vintage analog feel to it and all four work well for me. Tracks one and two are chilled to the core deepness but there is an edge to bassline-driven track three and the jacking beats of four that stand out"
04> Adryiano - Snapback Grooves [Soul Notes]
"Excellent well-rounded EP from Adryiano, with four playable pieces. There's an overriding old-school theme to a couple of the tracks which really comes to the fore in the Kirill Tipo Remix of 'Feel Like'. Man of the moment (for me, anyway) Kastil comes in with a chilled deep House remix of 'Open Up', which gives it a completely different feel'
05> Malin Genie - Sancta Simplicities [Slapfunk]
"I recognised the skipping garage beats and 'laughing?' vocals from Malin Genie's 'Turd Machine Tiger Dos' after having heard it in a Tomska podcast. The rest of the five track EP doesn't disappoint either, with a varied pallette. With jazzy 'All About The Original', the minimal-tech of 'Boter', square beat deepness in 'Alemal' and then the downtempo 'Four Drops', there's plenty of versatility to keep this one in your bag."
06> Iron Curtis - Thoughts On [4 Lux] "It seems here that 4 Lux have worked with Iron Curtis on this one to provide a repress package for 2008's 'Thoughts On'. The tempos range from the up-beat original to slow and low-slung with 'Interlude In The Park'. The EP comes alive when you spin piano driven 'Oh, Come On' and the 2012 mix of 'Thoughts On'
07> Nick Lawson - Drum Boppin [Back To You] "Nick Lawson's a new one on me but he looks to be well established so perhaps my time out from the scene has meant I've been missing out. This EP on Back To You sees two Lawson originals joined by remixes from two of my favourite artists of late - Jordan Peak and Rio Padice. Peak's mix is quality up tempo tech House as you'd expect, Rio's remix is deeper but his beats on this really kick. The real gem though is Lawson's original 'Seen This'"
08> Homepark - Estimated [Bliq] "I have been out of the loop with House music since 2009 so I have missed out on this one from 2009. The three cuts are all playable, especially the more peak-time 'Beatdown'. James Duncan gives more of a kick to the title track."
09> Wasnme/Konstantin Sibold - Standing Hi [Caramel] "Excellent EP from two new names for me and on this evidence, I'll be keeping an eye out on their future output. Wasnme is particularly excellent here, providing 3 great cuts of which the stand-out has to be Standing Hi, the title track. This is mainly down to its bouncy bassline"
10> Medlar/KRL/Maxxi Soundsystem/Weekend Express - Wolf EP 11 [Wolf Music] "This is an interesting and varied EP on Wolf Music, starting with the obvious standout choice by Medlar. 'Static' is an acid House number worthy of a mention but it's the two disco cuts on the flip that have really grabbed my attention. I'm not sure when I'll play them, but they're both excellent tracks"
I work in the upholstery trade and this afternoon I came across a close-up photograph of a fabric swatch and decided to earmark it for a music project. I was particularly keen on the tone of it, as it had an almost African feel to it. Then this evening, I was washing the dishes and listening to music as usual when I came across an old mix of mine from back in 2006. And here we are...another blog post!
2006 was a year where in terms of DJing, I was pretty much in my prime as I was starting to get quite a few gigs. This was my first and possibly only recorded mix as I had some terrible problems with my laptop at the time and even to this day, I'm pretty proud of it. I intended to make a set that was so deep that it would tread a strange, almost dark territory and scoured some of my weirder, more underground records. The result is something that's consistently dubby, hypnotic, deep and beautiful at times. Occasionally, my developing interest in ambient music can be detected and the mix has the odd flicker of African influences too. It's the latter which ties in nicely with the cover image I have selected.
As for the mixing, it's pretty decent on the most part. The only real blemish is the recording quality, due to that ancient heap of junk laptop I used to capture it. There is a consistent hiss which is present throughout but hopefully the quirky and hypnotic deepness will prevent your ears from focussing on it too much...
04 Giles Smith Presents Two Armadillos - Butterfly Bee
05 Sakro - Hold Me Tight
06 Detroit Swindle - The Wrap Around
07 Tomska - Deep Inside
08 Jimpster - Get A Hold On Your Soul
09 Dan Berkson and James What - Onika
10 Patrick Turner - Skywalking
11 Chris Carrier - Junction
12 Brawther - Do It Yourself
13 Atjazz - Looking Glass
Warehouse Decay Session number 3 continues the vinyl-only airing via my Mixcloud account. After the last session's occasional trainwreck, I was keen to concentrate nailing the beatmatching this time round. I kicked things off with possibly my favourite House track of all time - an old Dan Curtin record I bought off a mate when he was skint. I think it cost me the price of a pint at the time, which was about £2.50 in those days! 'My Deep Love' is a fine deep cut with skipping beats, surely Curtin's best piece as far as I'm aware.
On from this, despite a slight mismatch of keys, I went for Demarkus Lewis's 'Do You Really Know?', another all time favourite of mine. I've a lot of Demarkus's records so they'll crop up regularly in the Warehouse Decay Sessions. Further into the mix, I opted to juxtapose deep vibes with a techy edge before airing a trio of recent purchases. First up is the bass heavy 'Hold Me Tight' by Sakro which moves into a superb dancefloor friendly moment by Detroit Swindlers - this is the piece I often skip straight to if listening when I'm pressed for time. Next up is a piece from Tomska's record on Vibes and Pepper Recordings, all of which are excellent.
I then drop in a big deep House tune from Jimpster, which I remember playing heavily at gigs just before I put DJing on the backburner. This record got a lot of support at the time and it's easy to hear why. I follow it with a hypnotic techno groove by Dan Berkson and James What - this is the flipside to their massive collaboration with Robert Owens - I'm sure I'll give that an airing some time in the future. I drop another personal classic after this, Patrick Turner's 'Skywalking' brings in a fine slab of electronic funk. I was considering packing the mix in at this point but I saw that I hadn't been mixing for that long and fancied carrying on for a few more records. I left it very late and just about brought in the minimal beats of Chris Carrier's 'Junction'. Since this noticeably depleted all of the energy that 'Skywalking' had built up, I decided to prat around with some strange scratching effects, that I still can't decide if it works or not. In hindsight, it really wasn't necessary but what the heck. The deep keys return with Brawther's excellent 'Do It Yourself', a piece with a strong old skool feel and hints of garage. I close it all off with Atjazz's 'Looking Glass'; another classic in my books. The needle started to gather dust from too much weight being applied on the tone arm...so the sound started to distort. A perfect reason for me to call it a day.
After getting myself stuck into Juno's Deep House section for the first time in a few years, there was some serious catching up to do. I decided to go for some more recent records - particularly from this year and here are the ten I have enjoyed most.
I have taken full advantage of Juno's chart-making feature, available for anyone to use and shall be doing so again shortly, after I've amassed a few more pieces of vinyl
01 - James Johnston - After Everything EP [No Matter What] Jan 12
02 - Tomska - Mental Raw EP [Vibes and Pepper] Mar 12
03 - Sakro - Believe In House [Houseworx] Apr 12
04 - Dubbyman - Time and Sensibility EP [Ornate Music] Jan 12
05 - Zoo Look - People Let Me Down EP [Join The Dot] Mar 12
06 - Jaffa Surfa - Pimpin EP [Houseworx] Aug 11
07 - Detroit Swindle - The Wrap Around EP [Saints & Sonnets] Mar 12
08 - Four Walls - The First Floor EP [Lake Placid] Mar 12
09 - DJ Aakmael - Deepermotions [Unxpozd] Feb 12
10 - Noir & Chris Minus/Moodymanc/Aki Bergen & Pezzner/Huxley - Sampler Deluxe Vinyl Edition 1 [Neurotraxx Deluxe] Dec 11
I thought I ought to break up my mixes and their accompanying babble with a post about someone who actually knows what they're doing. I came across this piece earlier in Kastil's chart on Juno and I'm keeping some money back on the side for when it drops, as there's no way that I can be without it. I don't really need to say much more than this - just hit play above and unveil what is sure to be one of the finest slabs of House around at the moment
12 MAW ft. Roy Ayers - Our Time Is Coming (Jazzanova The Guestlist Remix)
13 Hidenobu Ito - Beauty
14 My My - Going Going Gone
15 Bebel Gilberto - Aganju (Spiritual South Sub Rub Instrumental)
After a successful short mix a few days prior (WDS#1), I was keen to press on with a follow up and I decided to ring a few changes. This woud naturally throw down the gauntlet and see whether the first session was just a flash in the pan or whether I really should be on the front cover of Mixmag.
So, firstly I wanted to extend the airplay to around the hour mark to include more tracks. I wanted to go deeper, include a few harmonic transitions and throw in a good range of House sounds.
I decided this time not to mix on the fly and spent about two hours testing the transitions and building the tracklist. Well...I wish I'd never bothered, as I messed up a couple of mixes when I eventually hit record. The transition between tracks three and four is particularly unbearable but please don't let this put you off! The bulk of it works and there are some very nice moments to make up for it. One such is the harmonic mixing used between tracks seven and eight; just click and hear it for yourself! Oh, then there's Roy Ayers...we'll come back to him in a moment.
Musically, the tempo is set slower than the first mix and starts of deep with the dubbed out detroit-style sounds of Rick Wade, Dubbyman and Four Walls. Whilst these records aren't all recent, they are new purchases I have made. The mix eventually gets to techy and edgier territory which reaches a bit of an early crescendo in Santorini's Out Of Bounds, before heading deeper again with Brawther's Spaceman Funk. When this hits a breakdown, some percussion comes in and I fade in a real classic from Demarkus Lewis. There is a tribal element to this warm track which I built upon with Ray Okpala's The You Of Cool. The tribal element heightens here before it gets weirder on Modi's Aputicat. Things are broken back down with a Frank Leicher track before one of my favourite records comes in - the Jazzanova remix of a Master's At Work and Roy Ayers classic. 'Our Time Is Coming was given to me about 8 years ago when I got my first set of Technics and although I would regularly listen to it over the years, I would rarely ever mix it live. This was because I found the broken beats ridiculously difficult to mix - so I avoided it. I can't tell you how delighted I am to have included it here! Such a wonderful track. There's not much that can really follow this and I did intend on finishing the mix here originally. I decided to mix on the fly from here on and included three very different records. The straight up funky deepness of Hidenobu Ito, the electronic quirk of My My and then broken bass heavy beats that make for a Spiritual South remix of an old Bebel Gilberto record.
08 Ekkohaus - The Healer (Kreon's Linderman Remix)
09 Federico Molinari - Dos
Kicking things off with a short mix that clocks in at just over half an hour, this is my first proper attempt at recording a mix in about 3 years, so I was chuffed that it turned out okay. If anything, the fact it went so well is perhaps what got me back into this whole thing again!
I had bought a few new 12"s in the run up to this session and then went about setting aside a few piles of records. I set the recording levels and got right onto it in on-the-fly fashion.
Opening the mix is an old favourite deep electronic cut by Carl Finlow and then the mix chugs along at a steady pace through garagey moments by the likes of Tom Ellis and Tomska, via more stripped back/techy pieces by Seuil and Peace Division. I also managed to shoehorn in a coupe of favourites from Baaz an Slowhouse - I dare say I'll be flipping these EPs over to the B side for use in future mixes.
My name's Harry and for as long as I can remember, I've spent my spare time trawling through different forms of experimental music. It all began when I got my first set of turntables as a teenager and spent much of my time and money in record shops. I eventually managed to build a respectable portolio of local bookings in the midlands, UK before scaling it all down to a halt for various reasons. One crucial factor was that my record collection and turntables were put away in storage due to a lack of space following a move.
Towards the end of my DJ 'career' I got into ambient music in a big way and began to write a blog called Audio Gourmet. It documented my various projects in music, at a time when I was also learning to make my own ambient tracks. It still featured the odd house mix or beat driven productions to begin with but gradually I focussed on ambient music more and more.
My work with sound has since seen limited edition commissioned CD and vinyl releases come out on small labels and I am an active member as part of a growing community of artists, listeners and labels.
In 2010, I used the Audio Gourmet blog as a name and foundation for starting my own label which has since grown to feature over 60 releases.
This brings us back to present day, in which a recent move has reunited me with my old turntables and records. Naturally, I have been putting together mixes of my records and adding new additions to my record collection and that's why I have set up this blog. I will be periodically posting mixes, which I've entitled Warehouse Decay Sessions to air my feelings of 'nightclub nostalgia' as I get re-acquainted with my records. It also springs back to mind some of the clapped out old warehouse parties that I played at, which have probaby now since been closed.
The posts here will not just be mixes from me, but they will also feature the work of other DJs too and any noteworthy House related discoveries. The Audio Gourmet blog will continue to offer my insights into the modern ambient scene whilst here I will cover my taste in House music, under the pseudonym Magnofon
