Having discretely passed from international chart topping success with the ubiquitous ‘Put Your Hands Up for Detroit’ back in 2006, to establishing position as one of the industry’s premier DJ’s, Fedde Le Grand continues to purvey his talent to worldwide dance floors bringing his unique blend of fine House music in all its glorious forms.

Fedde’s first release on Toolroom; ‘Just Trippin’ was a huge anthem, cementing his status within the Toolroom family. Also producing under his moniker F.L.G, which allows Fedde to experiment with a more stripped-back, darker, minimal Tech House sound; he released his double A-sider ‘Amplified’ / ‘Pink Bird’ on Toolroom last year, garnering massive attention on the dark and sweaty dancefloors of the world’s best clubs. It only seemed right that Fedde be next in line for this illustrious series.

Reflecting his world renowned DJ sets, CD1 is mixed under Fedde’s F.L.G. moniker and delivers a stripped back attitude, manifested through the deployment of varied rhythmic and skittering percussive elements. Beginning deep, in a slick and smooth style, with tracks from the likes of Solomun and Ramon Tapia, the mix lays a distinctive groove. Tracks from Noir, Saeed Younan, Joey Negro, Mark Mendes & F.L.G.’s new exclusive for Toolroom; ‘An Old Technique’ are intertwined with flowing Tech House, as F.L.G’s craft fully winds up rolling beats, and sends them marching and stomping into a field of de-tuned vocal stabs and pressure-building peaks.

You will find bouts of light tribalisms and throbbing cuts on CD2, as Fedde Le Grand finds himself on his excursion into more underground tastes; a statement that sits comfortably in the grey and somewhat surprising area between House and Techno. The inclusion of tracks such as Joris Voorn’s remix of Steve Bug’s ‘Swallowed Too Much Bass’ results in an undulating, hypnotic but ultimately highly energetic and uplifting mix. Also featuring his remix of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’, Fedde uses tracks like Ntfo’s ‘Filter’, Mark Knight & Koen Groeneveld’s Toolroom smash ‘Put Your Hands Up’, alongside another compilation exclusive; Johnstar’s ‘Tick Tock Track’, to narrate full on Fedde Le Grand mode – a chunkier and tougher approach that indulges in epic gut-busting synth melodies.

Fedde’s mix simply inhales and exhales life, striking the right balance between refined Techno tweaks and genre-busting House music that provides a soundtrack that stimulates the ears and feet at the same time.

Release Date: April 5th 2010

Now onto its second release the Platform series gives musicians an outlet to produce something noteworthy. Always exceptional and pioneering in his craft, Paul Woolford was an esteemed choice to curate the latest edition in the series.

Never one to compromise, Paul comments, “Immediately I had a list of records that I knew I wanted to include – every record has been picked from the heart… It was imperative to me that I used only these tracks, with no fillers at all. My aim was not to give a ‘snapshot’ mix of what I’m playing on the floor at this time, but to provide what is hopefully a lasting document of my approach to music.”

Titled Surgery ‘One’ and ‘Two’ Paul said the idea of how to construct the first mix came to him after 3 days deep in thought in Brazil. He was in Sao Paulo for a gig at D-Edge and instead of wondering around the Latin American mega-tropolis exploring the city and looking at the Oscar Niemeyer architecture, he was locked in a hotel coming-up up with about 70% of the sequence for Surgery One, something that surprised even Paul himself.

The second mix uses Oni Ayhun’s ‘OAR3-B’ as its anchor, which Paul describes as, “One of the most beautiful pieces of electronic music I have encountered.”

The breadth of tracks Paul has used here is staggering, there are even records dating back to the early 90s, yet his unique approach and deft touch gives them a contemporary feel and brings them into present day. The mix also pays homage to the American mix masters, skillfully incorporating some of their tricks with tracks blending and threading throughout, in some cases appearing over both discs. Paul even takes to using two versions of his remix of Morgan Geist to kick start proceedings on the second disc, although his authorship of this mix reaches far deeper as he features 9 tracks that are comprised of new productions, remixes and specially constructed edits.

The result is a proper ‘mix’; an effortless listen that explores the full spectrum of techno, jazz, cinematic electronica and house.

To conclude Paul adds “I have had so much fun constructing these mixes, and after repeated listens in various states, altered and otherwise… I think they will last for some time. I sincerely hope you do too.” We’re sure we will…

Released 15/03/10

The dusky atmosphere of Future Chaos has given way to a more radiant sound, buoyed by waves of synthesizers and propelled by clean-lined grooves. Raising the tempo, Simenon takes inspiration from classic techno, while vocal contributions from Richard Davis, Kelley Polar, The Battle of Land and Sea, and Paul Conboy bring Bomb the Bass into newfound melodic focus. It’s a brighter, more immediate sound than before; warmer, too, with the singers’ voices positively glowing inside intricately woven electronic nests. But there’s no lack of nuance. Every track is a delicate balance of intimate delivery and cosmic sonics, underscored by a faint sense of melancholy.

The album came together quickly. While the shrink-wrapping still cooling on copies of Future Chaos, Simenon was already sketching out tracks for a new album, and in late 2008 he headed into a São Paulo studio to work with a new collaborator: Gui Boratto, Brazil’s master craftsman of deep, melodic techno, known for his records on Kompakt and Kompakt Pop, as well as a thrilling remix of Bomb the Bass’ own “Black River.”

“The idea came about when I heard his remix of ‘Black River,’ which I adored,” says Simenon. “It was a very comfortable environment, very easygoing. Gui’s got a small studio in his house, and I had the basic sketches drawn up a few months beforehand, so we could just work together on one computer, bouncing ideas back and forth.”

The tropical environment proved fruitful. It took just two weeks to give the album its basic shape. “It just happened,” says Simenon, “right from the offset, when Gui and I sat down in the studio. Even though some of the stuff he does is dark, a lot is quite uplifting. A lot of those melodies really began in that first couple of weeks in Brazil.”

Back home in Amsterdam, Simenon sent the unfinished tracks to a select group of singers; New York avant-disco maven Kelley Polar and occasional Swayzak collaborator Richard Davis each tackled two songs, while The Battle of Land and Sea (Portland, Oregon singer-songwriter Sarah O’Shura) contributed one. Longtime Bomb the Bass collaborator Paul Conboy lent his deep, distinctive voice to four songs on the new album.

A final guest appearance is made by none other than Depeche Mode’s Martin L. Gore, who plays synthesizers on the closing song, “Milakia.” The original tapes were recorded more than a decade ago, after Simenon had produced the band’s album Ultra. “It’s a track I’ve always loved, but could never find a home for, really,” he says. “It seemed like a perfect closer for this particular album.”

The results add up to a compelling set of interlocking songs that each have a specific sound and feel, from the ’80s-inspired “Boy Girl” (featuring Conboy) to the jewel-toned minimal techno of “Up the Mountain” (featuring The Battle of Land and Sea), and from Kelley Polar’s dizzying harmonizations on “X Ray Eyes” and “Start” to the unforgettable heartbreak Richard Davis brings to “Price on Your Head” and “Happy to Be Cold,” two of the album’s most enthralling songs. It’s a rich, rewarding album that makes the most of its particular tensions—tough/sentimental, guarded/yielding. Its brightness draws you to it, and its shadows draw you in: Back to Light.

It goes without saying that an album this rich offers a wealth of material to inspire remixes—and so old hands and upstarts alike are jumping at the chance to put their spin on the music. Four digital singles feature an impressive cast of characters: Gui Boratto, John Tejada, Extrawelt, Atom TM, Mark E, Jake One, Kwesachu (Kwes + Micachu), Anderson Noise, Leo Zero, FM Radio Gods, and DJ Marky & S.P.Y. Even Simenon himself gets in the act, with an additional Bomb the Bass remix of “The Infinites.” And why not? After Simenon’s many years spent producing other people’s records, Bomb the Bass is making up for lost time—and it’s our gain.

I’ll leave it entirely to your discretion, whether this can be considered a publishing-worthy news item. It’s why the subject is complemented with a question mark. The text isn’t probably ready for print as such either. Sorry about that.

Anyway.. It seems that our demoscene group Kewlers has gotten “fanboyed” by Deadmau5 in a fashion slightly too obvious. First up, the Kewlers PC-demo ‘Protozoa’ from 2003:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1khU3CycA#t=00s

..followed by Deadmau5′ tune ‘FML’ from his album ‘For Lack of a Better Name’ released last fall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMKcmomGg#t=50s

..a clip from a Deadmau5 interview where he briefly mentions his musical roots and influences:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZhO-Qy3U#t=55s

..and finally, a comparison video of the aforementioned tracks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EQmXAxU0

I have no other official evidence, but a reliable source confirmed off-the-record that Deadmau5 had been very interested in demoscene during summer of 2008. Mau5trap Records hasn’t yet been reached for a comment. If you’re not familiar with the demoscene as a cultural phenomena, you can read about it on Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demoscene

If you have any further questions please forward them to me. Being the other one of the main composers of the tune used in ‘Protozoa’ (Mel Function being the other one) I’m acting as the representative of Kewlers and can answer or forward questions accordingly. Also, if you decide to publish this as a news item please notify me about it as we’d like to keep track of how people perceive this.

Kewlers doesn’t have the financial resources (or the interest, for that matter) to take any legal action. It has been a demoscene tradition, that clearance/permission is usually given sometimes even to lesser commercial derivatives if the permission asked and it’s creators properly credited for in the derivative.

Unfortunately this is not a clear sampling case as the demoscene related controversy of 2007 involving the producer Timbaland and demosceners Tempest & GRG was (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbaland_plagiarism_controversy). However, given the apparent similarity between these two tracks and the fact that no permission has been asked for, the least we can do is to present the evidence and let everyone draw their own conclusions.

Best Regards,
Little Bitchard / Kewlers
http://www.kewlers.scene.org/bitchard/
http://www.kewlers.scene.org