Ibiza Voice :: The Blog

Marc Houle follows 2007’s Techno Vocals EP with a string of releases that experiment with the true potential of the digital download age, 3 tracks released per week for one month.

The project aptly titled Sixty-Four represents an exciting phase in Marc Houle’s production cycle with most of the year having been spent testing ideas for his album. As a result, these twelve tracks were only ever meant to represent ‘work in progress’, functioning primarily as DJ tools for Magda, Troy Pierce and Richie Hawtin over the summer with Marc also performing them live on the road and during the Contakt shows. However, exactly because of their ‘in-between’ nature, their inherent quirkiness and route one approach the crowds have really taken to them and other DJs have been desperate to get their hands on them. To satisfy demand, Minus has put together this very special series of digital releases for August, before a double pack 12″ hits the shops in September featuring seven carefully selected tracks.

They contain such a wealth of unique and twisted sounds that it’s a challenge finding adjectives to describe them. Houle attacks each idea with verve and tenacity, constantly varying the unconventional line up of machines at his disposal, in fact there’s a vast collection of equipment on display here - early analogue synths, sequencers and drum machines, 80s digital synths, modern buchla synths, samplers, vocals, acoustic drums, electronic trigger pads, bass guitar - even a vst! The result is a plethora of sound encapsulating different styles and multi - coloured dimensions as each track revolves around a musical motif that’s subsequently stretched, contorted and wrenched in every direction possible. It all works perfectly as Houle never loses sight of the basic orthodoxies needed to make a techno track kick.

Week 1 sees the digital release of Sands, Deathray At You and Jouster, and the depth and quality of sound generated from his arsenal of machines is immediately apparent. Just check out the heavily treated raw bleeps and blips that usher in the huge, filtered bass loop on Sands. Every element is given space to breathe as the slow techno groove constructs around a dark acid bassline before the 808 hats introduce more beautifully crafted sounds, creating a lush analogue landscape. The beginning of Deathray At You reflects the title perfectly. A four-note descending bassline then takes the floor and Houle starts running amok with a selection of modulated effects that literally pull the sound inside out while the unobtrusive beats keep everything ticking over. Jouster combines more classic beats with laser cheeky unquantized toms and a low slung, warbling bassline in a rough and ready style including a classic, sampled vocal section.

There’s a strong reference to 80s computer and video game culture during week 2 with Buchla9 as it leaps and cavorts across the sonic spectrum  - Just wait for the bass to kick in. Steeplechase is another high-end mixing tool continuing the theme of machines in meltdown with a fuzzy bassline slowly warping up and down while the loose groove speaks with a lazy tongue. Door Nobula then rounds off the instalment with a more aggressive techno workout. The beat hammers the point home with lethal precision as a twisted, freaking acid line dominates the majority of the track.

Week 3 returns to a slightly more sedate state of affairs with Flapping Around displaying some distinct early techno tendencies although its not long before Houle launches the unassuming riff and we’re off again. Selection 12 contains authentic bass guitar work, looped and filtered against a backdrop of delayed drum rolls and thick, reverberating swathes of guitar. The post punk overtones bring a dark, brooding quality to the project making it a welcome but not entirely out of place departure. Ketchup and Beans then kicks in with a tasty electro-funk groove. It’s an infectious dancefloor warmer complete with bouncing, elastic bassline and hypnotic hook taking control and ordering you to dance.

As we enter the home straight of this mammoth release, the fantastically titled Meatier Shower rains down as the title implies, complete with raw sampled hook line and creative interplay between the bass and a Magda vocal. It’s a bomb that detonates with insane harpsichord riffing at the end and a deeply meaningful last note. Investments instigates more mischief with shifting time signatures and delay effects that disorientate the dancefloor before What Are You Doin brings the curtain down. Drifting amid a haze of classic beats and a self referencing cut up vocal, it revolves around a programmed sequence, chattering in a way that reaffirms Marc Houle’s complete and almost unnerving control over his machines.

Artist/Title: MARC HOULE | SIXTY-FOUR

Catalogue No.:  M64
Label: MINUS
Format: MP3, WAV
Distribution: Beatport / M-nus.com
Track Listing Digital:

M64a-Marc Houle-Sixty-Four: Week 1 06.08.2008
Sands - 6:40
Deathray At You - 6:28
Jouster - 5:20

M64b-Marc Houle-Sixty-Four: Week 2 13.08.2008
Buchla9 - 8:38
Steeplechase - 6:40
Door Nobula - 7:56

M64c-Marc Houle-Sixty-Four: Week 3 20.08.2008
Flapping Around - 5:50
Selection 12 - 5:19
Ketchup And Beans - 6:15

M64d-Marc Houle-Sixty-Four: Week 4 27.08.2008
Meatier Shower - 5:01
Investments - 5:58
What Are You Doin – 5:41

m-nus.com

Sascha Funke is back…

After his second album “MANGO” (BPC167) and an expanded US tour together with Ellen Allien, the dynamic four-power team Sascha Funke, DJ Koze and Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher present the new Mango Remixes. With catalogue number BPC180 comes the summer soundtrack from Berlin based label BPitch Control. This artist line-up is definitely high class. Hanging out together and travelling across the country, the close friends were inspired and created their own summer language - the “MANGO speech” was born. Of course it was an affair of honour that the Hamburg based DJ Koze and both of the Cologne artists contribute their remixes for the album track “Mango”. ”All for one and one for all” the soundtrack of the “Mangobrothers”.

RELEASE: MONDAY 4th AUGUST 2008

A: Mango Cookie (DJ Koze’s Pink Moon Rmx)

The killer remix from Hamburg with an impressive length of 12 minutes. Suspense is the keyword. The solid kickdrum will grab you immediately and shake you around. Not to mention the vocal parts DJ Koze used from the album track “The Fortune Cookie Symphony”, which explains the name of this remix as well. The tempo increases and is heating up slowly. But take care of yourself after the break - the bassline will blow you away. Pink Moon is rising.

B: Mango (Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher’s Como Mango Version)

The answer from Cologne. What a smasher. The Como Mango Version is more close to the original track by Sascha Funke, but, of course, Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher flavour their remix with their own interpretation of “Mango”. The vocals, sung by Superpitcher, were especially recorded for this remix and create the characteristic sound and unique accent. Finally, this dreamy track is perfect club material and a hundred percent guarantee for standing ovation. We remember the moment when the blinds at Panorama Bar opened and the whole area was flood by the incoming morning sun. We want to comment this with Superpitcher’s own words: “Give me Mango baby!”

bpitchcontrol.de

Monika Kruse’s third and final EP release from her upcoming first solo album “Changes of Perception” features three tracks that encapsulate her diverse influences and commence her new direction.

Wackypaky is an innovative mixture of vocals and percussive patterns, mixing old-school Detroit house with modern-thinking music production. Its complex pattern of melody lines produces an emotional track that hooks you in.
When I Woke Up is a track we can all relate to, a nod to the confusion following a long night of partying. Its crazy drum patterns and warm and strong sub-bass builds a deep, mesmerising foundation of a track.

Sung by Monika Kruse herself, Don’t Come Close is a withdrawn record. The portrayal of a couple’s first meeting it captures the spark and intensity of the moment. A perfect musical flow of rhythm and melody, it heightens the heartbeat and in its vivid vocals Monika shows her capacity to create a song full of life and feeling.Monika Kruse co-produced these tracks with Gregor Tresher for the forthcoming ‘Changes of Perception’ album coming in September. This is the final EP sampler from the project and shows the bandwidth of their combined talents, inspiration coming from their depth of experience and knowledge.

This will be Monika’s debut artist album and marks her stature as an artist and female spearheading the new movement of fresh, underground electronic music bringing people across the World together.

Keep watching for the journey has just begun for Monika Kruse…

www.monikakruse.com | ww.myspace.com/monikakrusemusic

After setting the scene alight with numerous killer singles, Israeli producer Guy J releases his hotly anticipated full length artist album with label heavyweights, Bedrock Records.

Guy J has emerged over the course of the last two years to represent an intrinsic part of the Israeli dance music juggernaut that has been steadily powering through clubland in recent times.

Along with fellow countrymen Guy Gerber, Sholmi Aber, Chaim and Gel Abril, Guy has been at the forefront of a movement back towards the melody rich sounds on which House music is based.Guy’s productions, with their driving beats, shimmering synths and journey-like qualities, embody characteristics from all manner of House music.

Guy states “I didn’t set out to write an album - I just wrote tracks when I was in different moods, hence each track having different types of genres, different influences.” He adds, “This is the album I wanted to make… it has a warm sound… it’s very sexy and really tells a story.”

On this, his debut artist album, Guy fully exploits the opportunity to explore the length and breadth of his creative capacity. Alongside the dance floor orientated cuts on which he has built his reputation, Guy straddles moods of ambient, techno and electronica whilst constantly maintaining a melodic and highly emotive core. Anyone who appreciated the majesty of Nathan Fake’s ‘Drowning in a Sea of Love’ will instantly feel at home with ‘Esperanza’, as would fans of the Kompakt or Border Community sound where the focus is first and foremost on musicality.

‘Indigo Fields’ opens up the album perfectly and immediately encapsulates the rich tapestry of sound for which Guy J is famed. Following on, ‘Nebula’ highlights the dancefloor focused underbelly of the album by marrying dark, driving bass with Chicago-influenced synth-stabs that leave you doubtless of Guy’s sonic capabilities. ‘Geko’ again picks up a strand of the classic house blueprint albeit this time in slower and more twisted fashion. Guy’s first single ‘Under Pressure’ appears on the album in a slightly more restrained album version. Flourishes of synthesis and noise appear and disappear as the track travels patiently through peeks and troughs of intensity.

By the time ‘Druma’ jerks into the frame you realise you are experiencing the work of a genuine musical talent. Epic slabs of sound are stacked atop glitchy lo-fi drums which results in a listening experience that simply swallows you whole. Closing track ‘Esperanza’ completes the journey and in archetypal Guy J fashion it’s a musically dense trip that is dynamic enough to keep you hanging until the very last beat.

Hernan Cattaneo, Sasha and Tiga are among Guy’s many supporters thanks to consistently releasing sterling tracks. In support of the album, the three singles ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Geko’ and ‘Mirko’ are all being released through Bedrock Records in the coming weeks and months.

What is without question is that Guy has managed to produce an album that is brimming with soul, a feat which an artist can toil for an entire lifetime hoping to achieve.

 Bedrock Records Head Honcho John Digweed says “Guy J has emerged over the last couple of years with every production getting better and better. I realised that Guy had a great ear for making club tracks but with this album project Guy has really pushed himself further musically, delivering an album full of diversity with a warm melodic contemporary sound. I feel this album would sit well setting you up for a night out, helping you wind down at an after party or even just lazing by the pool. The crisp beats and beautiful melodies lock you in from start to finish.” And we couldn’t have put it better ourselves.

A bonus CD has been included with the album featuring club mixes of 7 of Guy’s tracks including Geko & Esparanza… Appearing on the CD are 2 new unreleased tracks from Guy, so make sure you pick up this great little package. Oh, and if this wasn’t enough, there will be an exclusive digital mix of the club tracks mixed by Guy J with the digital release.

TRACKLIST

1. Indigo Fields
2. Nebula
3. Geko
4. Mikro
5. 2 Steps
6. Under Pressure
7. Love Is Not Alone
8. Save Me
9. I See You Next Time
10. Druma
11. 7 Steps
12. Esperanza

BONUS CD

1. Geko
2. Mikro
3. Nightloss
4. Under Pressure
5. Save me
6. Aftertouch *
7.Avalanche *
9.Esperanza

* unreleased tracks

www.bedrock.org.uk  ****  www.myspace.com/guyj1