Techno/house bobbins, 2009

What does everyone think of the "new" Beatport?

playlist feature is kind of nice I guess, a 'next' button would be great, site WAY slow now, too much minimal/prog/tech-house promotion still, seems like they put any techno record that is faster than 132 bpm in the 'hardcore/hard techno' ghetto.

too bad "us deep house feeling", as a whole, got ridden into the ground in 2008

yeah I'll bite.
why didn't I buy any of those records in 2008? being a huge us deep house feeling enthusiast I was ready to give in and rep something from that mainly teutonic wave of appropriation. but no, it was a lame attempt at replicating stuff produced 15 years ago, turning it into a kind of fetishized museum piece. with some tedious and vibeless experimentation coaxing the requisite kneejerk responses from confused, nervous crowds.

probably my fault for thinking ilm was all happy cooks instead of one big mouthpiece for the cafeteria menu.

i'll make another ridiculous connection here and say Circadia sounds like something Mr. Fingers would have done if he was better at programming drum patterns.

This statement is ridiculous. You need to go back and listen to Washing Machine and study those drums to see how far out you can push a 707. Even his restrained tasteful 707 stuff like Love Mystery or Mysteries of Love is perfect. I am not trying to trash talk Lerosa but his shit is playschool compared to Larry Heard.

probably my fault for thinking ilm was all happy cooks instead of one big mouthpiece for the cafeteria menu.

That is a nice way to describe the board.

My music money went to used records and recording hardware last year. I mainly bought used NYC and Chicago records with a bit of electro thrown in for good measure. If nu-deep house wasn't the way to go in 2008, what were you buying instead?

the usual deep house from the usual US artists, some used. there was little to go by on in the new dept- and nothing in the 'nu' dept.
I did buy a whole lot of dub CDs including all the Scientist I could find.

also enjoyed Quarion's remix of Andres Garcia "No More Tears" last year- caveat/full disclosure, both are friends. it was a pretty quiet year...

i can hear Washing Machine from start to finish without ever actually playing it again. it's fused into my mind. i don't personally believe putting a simple delay on the drum sounds = interesting drum programming. there's nothing that complex or interesting about the drums on Washing Machine. it's a bit of delay on the secondary rhythms while the kicks stay steady. i'm not saying i'd take Lerosa over Larry Heard or even that he's remotely as classic or talented but this is the 09 bobbins and i am bobbin to Lerosa in 09.

There is a lot more going on in Washing Machine besides delay. What is happening on that track is that every sound on the 707 is being run out to the board on an individual channel. He has an analogue delay set up on one of the aux sends and the send is running back to the board. What he is doing is delaying individual channels on the fly while the 707 plays through the song in track mode, all that shit is being done in real time by hand. It isn't just one delay part, it switches up all the time and he is grabbing a different drum sound every four bars. He is also adjusting the delay itself through out the track so that the delay jumbles and stretches out depending on where he is in the song. He also can mute the delay channel so he can surge the delay and then slam the channel shut and emphasize the start of the next bar.

The drums themselves are really clever. I like the way he uses the the open hat to denote bar lines without resorting to loud claps on two and four. I also like the way he used to claps to add syncopation and played them off the lo tom, the tambourine and closed hat. It is a simple track based on 8 four bar loops and an empty pattern that repeat in a cycle. They way he pulled off that track was about as elegant as you can get on a 707. It is real subtle and he doesn't beat you over the head with his changes. If you are really listening every pattern flows builds into the next one and then the cycle turns around without losing any energy.

While all of this is happening he is working the board, grabbing some drums from patterns, muting others, cutting them in and out on the mixer while also sending different individual drums though the delay. None of this was done on a computer, this is all being done by hand in real time.

If you can hear every bar of that track in your head from start to finish I am impressed.

This was pretty hot for 2008 bobbins: http://www.discogs.com/Larry-Heard-25-Years-From-Alpha/release/1531473

Speaking of 09 bobbins, has anyone heard this yet: http://www.discogs.com/Mr-White-Aeroplane/release/1620206

Just gave that Mr White record a listen on Boomkat, not so much.

larry heard is the eddie van halen of drum machine, haven't you heard

wow so funny and accurate. props vahid the funny accurate man.

I think creative lulls of a few years are usually not a problem within genres and give time to digest gluts of new stuff or other genres, but in deep house things have been lean for a while now (yes I am ignoring the new business environment). I think it works as a nearly extinct special interest niche, confined to ritual extended-family type clubbing, no longer technology-centric or associated with paroxsytic drugginess and a drive to be overwhelmed and absorbed in a large crowd. it has dispensed with a consumerist obsession for the new and cool. maybe that's also how it avoids being lumped in with the mainstream house and corresponding club experience.

thre are people old enough to be your mom and dad, getting in tune with themselves, each other and the world by playing and making dance music which comprises instruments and/or vocals to express and incite feelings. in a freakishly cult-like, endearing or infuriating but always harmless way, most of those feelings are intended as positive reinforcements or illustrations of lovely or constructive ways to work through negative experiences. ideally the music does the talking and people spontaneously fill in the blanks from time to time. sometimes I wish it were different but like sometimes I wish life was different.

the hypnotic nature of certain sounds and the fact that 22%, 97% or another fraction of any given record uses electronic means and devices is both a given and secondary, one of the things that connects it to a larger culture and the times in general but can never be in focus. in this subculture people hardly see any point in dissecting, talking or writing about the music and their experience (but some people could do that well) nor do they feel the need to lionize their DJs except maybe in larger, supposedly cool cities. If they do so it's probably because he or she is one of few.

I'm afraid the whole thing doesn't really lend itself to talking about it. not online, not in magazines and especially not on the floor. Shut up and dance.

^^ neither funny nor accurate

:-(

I did try harder tho!

try not ruining the thread

I have nothing for this thread. you haven't been paying attention

If nu-deep house wasn't the way to go in 2008, what were you buying instead?

UK Funky, the Frivolous back catalog, Matthias Kaden and re-edits/nu disco.

expensive anchovies, shirts/ties, pristine white shoes

Display Name, in the internet fashion of not letting a simple disagreement die, i'm going to continue our discussion.

"None of this was done on a computer, this is all being done by hand in real time."

vs.

"99% of my tracks are live jams recorded on a 2 track editor, so I normally just jam for a while, muting channels, triggering different midi clips, playing with EQ and dials "

http://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/2008/12/mnml-ssgs-mx17-lerosa.html

Lerosa produces the same way Larry Heard did!

You're right about the 25 Years from Alpha single, great stuff on there.

I don't think anyone (including Leo himself) thinks he is a better drum programmer than Larry Heard. Tho I will add that I think the track he gave us has melodies similar to some Mr. Fingers jams. Also, I don't entirely disagree with blunt's perspective on deep house, he is mostly right with some nits I will pick when I'm not internetting from my phone.

http://www.tearfund.org/webdocs/Website/Campaigning/YVAP%20front%20page%20flyer.jpg

work through negative experiences
work through negative experiences
work through negative experiences
work through negative experiences
work through negative experiences
work through negative experiences
work through negative experiences

"I think creative lulls of a few years are usually not a problem within genres and give time to digest gluts of new stuff or other genres, but in deep house things have been lean for a while now (yes I am ignoring the new business environment)."

i just don't see how this is the case. things have been quite good recently in terms of recorded material from all the usual spots (detroit, chicago, new york) as well as other spots (some good stuff from the UK, pepe braddock, kai alce down in atlanta, karizma in DC, etc). i don't think there's been so many ubiquitous anthems, but is that really a problem? right now most deejays in this department are playing a really good variety of music, stretching into some dubby techno, broken beats, and other various forms.

"I think it works as a nearly extinct special interest niche, confined to ritual extended-family type clubbing, no longer technology-centric or associated with paroxsytic drugginess and a drive to be overwhelmed and absorbed in a large crowd. it has dispensed with a consumerist obsession for the new and cool. maybe that's also how it avoids being lumped in with the mainstream house and corresponding club experience."

aside from the "nearly extinct" part, i think this is spot on.

"thre are people old enough to be your mom and dad, getting in tune with themselves, each other and the world by playing and making dance music which comprises instruments and/or vocals to express and incite feelings. in a freakishly cult-like, endearing or infuriating but always harmless way, most of those feelings are intended as positive reinforcements or illustrations of lovely or constructive ways to work through negative experiences. ideally the music does the talking and people spontaneously fill in the blanks from time to time. sometimes I wish it were different but like sometimes I wish life was different."

i don't understand the meaning of "harmless". what kind of music is "harmful"? aside from terrible nonsense?

"the hypnotic nature of certain sounds and the fact that 22%, 97% or another fraction of any given record uses electronic means and devices is both a given and secondary, one of the things that connects it to a larger culture and the times in general but can never be in focus. in this subculture people hardly see any point in dissecting, talking or writing about the music and their experience (but some people could do that well) nor do they feel the need to lionize their DJs except maybe in larger, supposedly cool cities. If they do so it's probably because he or she is one of few."

agree here, but i'm not sure about people not "lionizing" their deejays. i think in every city, the real deep house deejays are known and respected as such, and well loved because of it. doing it like that is not something that you can just jump into, it requires years of record collecting because of the lack of focus on "the new" as well as an understanding of a larger culture that extends beyond deep house into soul, jazz, afrobeat, funk, etc. aside from the retarded hype surrounding the Martinez Brothers (are they really even deep house?), even the "new" guys on this scene tend to be older.

"I'm afraid the whole thing doesn't really lend itself to talking about it. not online, not in magazines and especially not on the floor. Shut up and dance.

― blunt"

and this i tend to agree with. rock on.

banning me from posting in threads is a bitch move BTW.

you're a bitch move

see what i did there

your mom moves like a bitch

lol, mine was intentionally bad, i hope that was too.

intentionally bad like your mom's rimjobs?

same question applies.

all of my name calling is intentionally bad, that's what makes it entertaining for me.

oh my god, all this time you've been psyching us out

you're actually a critical-slash-comedic performance-slash-genius

and i have a big cock. don't forget that.

http://musicmiami.net/images/hughjhitchcock_com/normajeanbell.jpg

she's the baddest bitch in the room.

so just shut the fuck up. seriously. buncha fuckin babies.

I listen to all kinds of music but when it comes to deep house, I find that when contemporary tracks focus on or limit themselves to dubby and hypnotic elements, they enhance a sort of tunnel hearing effect (after 'tunnel vision', why not) detracting from the purpose/feeling/narrative of good deep house and disco. it's something for your mind, for your body but not your soul.

it's kind of like in hip hop where you can make choices with every record on the lyrical content of what you're playing. you can cultivate an aggro/edgy vibe, you can choose to play particular artists or recent releases, or you could look at it differently and try to come up with things that play off something else than ego, machismo, money etc. if you're doing a good job at that, tracks that use those references will noticeably cause confusion, diminish the energy level, turn it into a negative buzz. in that sense they are not harmless.

http://bp0.blogger.com/_M0cuxJsSjdU/Rwvbn7UorfI/AAAAAAAABQM/zRp7JUAnnQU/s400/polar-bear-face-palm_thumbnail.jpg

buncha fuckin babies.

bunch??

is the bobbins thread going to be like this all year again

i'm belatedly getting into that ilario alicante 'in africa' ep, anyway.

like the remix on that ep best...

there are lots of good releases so far this year.

was gonna say, doubt i'll be reading or posting on this thread much this year.

did anyone go to sascha dive at visions bar a couple of weekends ago? and did anyone else notice how until like the last two hours, sound was only coming out from one channel of the funktion 1 soundsystem? made an already mediocre night worse for me, another reason why clubbing in london is bullshit and a waste of money right now

as predicted at the end of last years thread, the new boola record on lomidhigh is brilliant

ive had more fun in visions and various dalston dives in the last year than any clubs in london. you can hardly blame a dodgy PA for the state of london clubbing

only one channel working on the pa for practically the whole night (and throughtout the headline acts set) is a bit more than a "dodgy pa". the promoters seemed reluctant to offer any explanation. like it would've been nice to know there was some technical difficulties before paying the entrance fee. saying this, it seemed like no one else in the crowd was to bothered by the lack of stereo so maybe i was just being uptight.

my beef isn't with visions, it's a really cool venue.

90% of systems in clubs are mono anyway so most folks wont notice. i do a fair bit of whinging about audio fidelity myself. Other than tha PA what was the craic there?

hmm I was at Sascha Dive (with at least one ILXor) but I thought the PA only really fucked up about 2 hours into his set...or so I recall. I thought the music he played was v good, v intense compared to what you'd expect....wasn't feeling James Priestley though...apart from some white label he played which I can't remember the name of.

I found it took about an hour to relax in there cos there were so so many people...dancefloor was pretty manic, but after a few drinks really enjoyed it. Dive deteriorated for me after 2 hours or so, lost his way a bit...

it was definitely noticeable tho, I mean the speaker on one side of the dancefloor just went and suddenly you could hear people chatting etc beside you. I moved up the to the step where I guess the monitors were making it a bit closer to stereo sound.

(oh yeah and this thread indeed a waste of time, secret techno board anyone?)

i don't think it's a regular thing in visions, i've been there many a time and there haven't been any issues...

god just don't reply to pipecock, people, it's easy.

obv not that easy