Dekmantel Mix Series Archive 1-500

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Dekmantel Podcast 117 - Perc Apr 10, 2017

Show notes

Since the turn of the millennium, UK artist Alistair Wells has been putting out a tough and abrasive brand of experimental techno that cannot fail to arrest your attention. Always skewing existing ideas into his own new—often brutalist—ways of thinking, his output has seen him become an in demand live act and DJ who plays across three decks all over the world. He does so under the alias Perc, mostly on his own label Perc Trax, and at the same time he has also brought on a number of likeminded artists from Ansome to Manni Dee. His own catalogue boasts albums like Wicker & Steel and The Power And The Glory, and these have rightfully won him deserved time in the limelight. That fact proves that although Wells has been around for years, he is as vital now as ever. As such he brings something new to our mix series across an hour of lively selections. Very quickly settling into a high tempo, high impact groove, there are maximalist techno cuts, passages of angst ridden noise and thumping bangers all bolted together into something uncompromisingly physical and in your face. Franky, it’s a vital visceral offering that would work at any point in the past, present or future of techno.

Dekmantel Podcast 116 - Objekt Apr 03, 2017

Show notes

Here at Dekmantel we are a big fan of Berlin based Brit Objekt. Evidence: you will see him play our festival in Amsterdam as well as Lente Kabinet, and then Dekmantel Selectors in Croatia. And right now, the man known for his unrivalled technical nous is in a fine run of form. His recent, self-released EP is another testament to his ability to skew house, techno and breaks into his own imaginative forms. Following on from releases on Hessle Audio, Bleep and an album on PAN, it is another boon in his fine discography. And he is just as impressive across a 90 plus minute selection for us: it finds him serving up a cavernous world of intricate and hi fidelity sounds that are abstract and unusual. Moving through sparse minimal soundscapes into pummelling but atmospheric drum tracks and on to jungle, dub and experimental worldly rhythms, it is a wildly compelling and singular selection filled with unusual sounds that often leaving you wondering WTF?!

Dekmantel Podcast 115 - Vladimir Ivkovic Mar 27, 2017

Show notes

German DJ Vladimir Ivkovic is resident at Dusseldorf’s Salon des Amateurs, and he has truly made the place his own over the last 12 years. Quite what to expect from him on any given night is anyone’s guess: he can do folk and experimental, sludgy techno or abrasive noise that is always original and arresting in equal measure. The Belgrade born artist also runs Offen Music and manages Loco Dice’s Desolat, and this year will close down our Selector’s stage, something we're truly looking forward to. And it is that fact which informs the 80 minute podcast he has done for us here. Designed for soul soothing and post party contemplation, it is a meditative mix with basically no drums. Instead it is about suspensory ambient sounds, worldly lullabies and blissed out Balearic moments that encourage you to lay back and stare into the sky. As beautiful as it is beguiling, it is a mix that has us very excited for what is to come and proves what a singular talent this man is.

Dekmantel Podcast 114 - Awanto 3 Mar 20, 2017

Show notes

Later this year, Awanto 3 will release his new album 'Gargamel' with us. Three tracks from it are included in the podcast he has put together, and as you should expect, they are rugged, hard to pin down affairs. And that pretty much defines the Dutchman’s career to date. Early on he founded Rednose Distrikt with Aardvarck, later on he released on labels like Rush Hour, and always is he inventive and unpredictable, whether solo or working with the likes of San Proper and Tom Trago. From sample heavy house jams to rip roaring techno, he is always on the move, just like his Dekmantel Podcast. Starting warm and loungey, it picks up through dumpy broken drums, colourful chords and spraying basslines. The final third is more jacked up and raw, with filtered vocals and frazzled textures moving you from a vibey house party to a more energetic and cosmic dance floor. Robust and with a heavy analogue feel, it is a fine way to tease us ahead of Gargamel.

Dekmantel Podcast 113 - Overmono (Tessela & Truss) Mar 13, 2017

Show notes

Overmono is the UK sibling duo of Tessela and Truss, aka Ed and Tom Russell. As individuals, they have embodied everything that is exciting about the English underground for the last few years on labels like R&S, Perc and their own Poly Kicks. Now, combined as a live duo, they are making widescreen techno for XL Recordings that is informed by a ravey past and always comes on strong. In the club their shows are arresting affairs cooked up on an array of hardware tools. You can catch this show at Dekmantel Festival this year but for their podcast, they enter DJ mode and serve up eighty minutes of the sort of beats that colour their own sounds. Far from an all out techno assault, it is a well balanced trip through reflective metal breakbeats, deep pulsing kicks and experimental electronic ambiance that leaves you suspended in space one moment and tethered firmly to the dance floor the next. Unfolding with a spaced out and dreamlike feel, this is techno but not as we know it.

Dekmantel Podcast 112 - Dexter Mar 06, 2017

Show notes

Dexter is one of electro’s most important figures. The Dutchman has been a key part of the scene for nearly twenty years, both with his own solo works, but also in collaboration with the likes of Steffi. Together the pair run their own Klakson label, a small but well formed outlet that constantly invigorates the genre. As a performer he is famously adroit in the live arena, but also does magical things with records across multiple decks. His roots as a breakdancer mean he is a slave to a powerful rhythm, and that shows in this new mix he has put together. Though it lasts only an hour, Dexter packs so much you feel you have been riding his grooves for much longer: there are plenty of slithering analogue lines and sci-fi melodies, but also much more raw and rugged drum patterns that encourage you to jerk your body as the tempo moves from 120 up to 135bpm at the hands of tracks from labels like Klakson, Viewlexx, Fragile and Apron. Never settling in one place for too long, you’ll find yourself lost in acid, then catching a breath in a more serene synth workout then ducking and diving below a volley of percussion before you can even say ‘hell yeah!’

Dekmantel Podcast 111 - Wata Igarashi Feb 28, 2017

Show notes

Like many of his Far Eastern peers, Wata Igarashi has a deep, trippy, psychedelic techno sound. Listening to his tracks is like being beneath a dark sky that is expertly coloured with little exploding fireworks or shooting stars. There is also an element of automated industry to it that speaks to a bleak future and it comes on labels like Time to Express, Bitta and The Bunker New York. On these releases his immaculate sound design is always subtle yet stirring, and his DJ sets are similarly stylish and absorbing. Here he serves up one such trippy techno affair that builds in intensity and has “a little more bite towards the end“ according to the man himself. At two hours long it snakes its way through various desolate landscapes, with dubbed out rollers and more intense, multi-layered cuts all making for a variety of moods and grooves that segue together smoothly and seductively.

Dekmantel Podcast 110 - Dollkraut Feb 20, 2017

Show notes

As Dollkraut, Pascal Pinkert very much operates out on his own. His mastery of sound makes for music that is at once from the future but also reminiscent of the past. Fusing synth and new wave, pop hooks and a knack for rough riding grooves, he is a versatile producer who can freak you out or make you open your heart. The Dutchman does so with releases on labels like Doppelschall and The Gym; releases that soon sell out and become much sought after. His latest is the gritty yet romantic Holy Ghost People album, which is due on Jennifer Cardini’s new label in March. The same haunting but spaced out 70s sound that characterises his music and DJ sets also defines the mix he has put together for us here. It’s a jaunty journey through a cinematic and upbeat world of naive pop, electro boogie, robot disco and glam-synth gorgeousness that oozes style. Few DJs have a sound that manages to be as aesthetically tight yet musically diverse and this, but Dollkraut pulls it off with ease.

Dekmantel Podcast 109 - Felix Dickinson Feb 13, 2017

Show notes

Felix Dickinson’s story is closely linked with the story of house. He has been playing it (and making it legal to do so via his pre criminal justice act rave orchestration) since day one, has held decade long residencies in Japan and has made it under names ranging from Foolish and Sly to Bastedos. Besides working with labels like Rush Hour and DFA, he also runs his own Cynic Music and has been a key DJ at places like Glastonbury, Garden Festival and Sonar. His style is, generally, to play music from all over the place, but he always manages to mesh them together into some thing fun and coherent. Over the course of 70 odd minutes here he shows off his far ranging taste and looks back as much as forward. Carefully controlled throughout, the set mixes up floor filling house with breezy grooves, chattery Chicago jack and euphoric piano anthems. It’s party starting but tastefully so and once again has you wondering who needs DJ Harvey when you have Felix Dickinson.

Dekmantel Podcast 108 - Lee Gamble Feb 07, 2017

Show notes

Lee Gamble is one of the most adventurous producers, label bosses and DJs in the electronic world. Over the course of four album projects and many EPs he has explored the ghost of jungle, abrasive ambient and textural techno in thrilling and compelling ways. Formerly releasing on Pan, he now heads up his own UIQ label and with it has curated some of techno’s most exciting new sounds. As well as DJing, he is behind a regular NTS radio show and tours a mesmeric live A/V show that always encourages you to escape and get lots in unfamiliar musical worlds. The two hour mix he serves up for is the freaky, left of centre post-rave adventure you would expect. It’s disorientating and non linear. Initially it focuses on texture and mood more than groove, then his jungle roots bubble up, and just as you think you know where you are going, Gamble pulls back and descends into bleak cinematic soundtracks. Unpredictable and wilfully contrary, like his own challenging productions it is a masterclass in sonic subversion that reveals more with each new listen.

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