The lead track from the EP is a little more stripped-back than our last few releases but again includes heavy classic house, techno, post punk, italo disco and UK garage influences whilst also bringing something new. We’ve also kept to the Evil Nine tradition of working with our favorite rappers, this time with our friend B Dolan (Strange Famous) who provides the main hook to ‘Auto’. On the imaginary B-side we’ve got a remix from the awesome Broke One whose music just keeps getting better and better. He turns our original into a big old rave-stabbed bangggaaahrrrr.

We’ve always loved the ‘Donk’ synth sound and have been trying to include it in a track for a while; finally we succeeded by squeezing it into the second track from the EP ‘Silent Runner’. This one comes off a little more UKG than the other and ends up sounding a bit like Reel 2 Real’s ‘I Like To Move It’ (but not really), we thought seeing as ‘Auto’ was more minimal we should do something with a big riff to go along side it and this has a big riff in it.

Lots of love, Pat and Tom.

ps. As a gift to our readers here is a link to to download the new For Lovers Mixtape – Part III ‘Love In A Cold Climate’. The tracklist is below.

That having been said, “Pink Trees” took a bit longer for me to appreciate. Its deeper, darker underbelly slowly churns beneath a likewise brooding tempo; as such, its eight-and-a-half minute duration is necessary for the full melody to realize itself. The synthesizers are the only part of the track that notably evolve into deeper and sexy techno; I imagine this singular quality makes the track a most essential addition to the earliest parts of any contemporary set. Grinding along at a modest rate with a likewise modest melody, “Pink Trees” appears to have been produced with the intention of precluding tracks that hit harder without sacrificing the musical integrity upon which Babicz has built his reputation.

“Percofonik,” the EP’s second track, is an astonishingly fresh tune with unrelenting bass and tantalizing brushes with tribal percussion. It deftly skims the opposing side of ‘German techno’ and comes as a true surprise on this release given the nature of the first track. Babicz’s second production makes use of the same type of gnarled and rousing bass that propels “Pink Trees” through its Herculean eight plus minutes of playtime; its density and wavelength, however, are substantially increased. This suggests to me that “Percofonik” may well fit more aptly amongst tracks with higher octane than contemplative techno tracks usually incorporate. In my mind, “Percofonik” is a fitting – if somewhat eclectic and funky – complement to its partner production, and whose constituent attributes promote its inclusion amongst styles ranging from deep house to tech house and beyond.

Perfect Stranger’s remix of “Otagu” eliminates the stylistic interplay that defines Nyquist’s original work, opting instead to possess one’s mind with moody and sometimes minimal techno. Various shakers, clappers and stabs align this type of techno with the CD wallets of DJs who seek lengthy and intricate builds utilizing the fewest possible constituent sounds. The result? Perfect Stranger produces a perfectly strange version of “Otagu” whose build-ups give more the impression of an opus than a simple techno track. Whether in the club or at home, this remix is a must-have for the techno purists out there. Blending rich musical landscapes with persuasive rhythm, Perfect Stranger’s remix creates a novel and simply unforgettable experience.

Label: Electronic Petz
Cat: EP055
Style: Deep House, Tech House, Electronica
Release Date: 24/12/2010

Boy 8-Bit – Promo Mix May 2010

The remix comes courtesy of Canadian producer Kevin Shiu. Based in Vancouver, Kevin has been at the forefront of club culture since the early ’90′s. His signature style ranges from deep tech house through driving techno and remains true to the underground sound that first inspired him: a deep, moody sound with pounding percussion and a mighty hypnotic groove.

The two bonus mixes of ‘Can’t Deny The Three’ are also currently featured on the compilation ‘MOS presents SOS’, and are pure club dynamite.

Butch’s take on Sasha’s Ray LaMontagne collaboration is a furious slice of tech-house. “The original ‘Eclipse’ is quite deep,” explains Sasha, “So when we decided to have it remixed, we wanted to take it up a few notches, both to offer variety and make it suitable for those peak time hours.” The resulting mix is a builder in the purest sense. Butch adds in layer upon layer of sound as the variation drives towards its climax, where the innovative use of two mini-breaks in quick succession drown the listener in an intense audio wave; a unique ‘moment’ that never fails to work wherever its played, be it the centre of a dancefloor or thrashed through the iPod headphones!

Nhar’s re-work of Charlie’s ‘Midnight’, contains all his emotive hallmarks founded by a driving kick, a part that’s pretty much omitted from the original, as Charlie explains, “Although there’s a lot of energy in ‘Midnight’ it doesn’t have a traditional 4/4 beat. Nhar really was the perfect choice to re-imagine the track for the dancefloor, his contemporary, yet melodic style, provided him with an immediate understanding of the original and where it then needed to go. I’m delighted with the outcome”

With the original mixes also featured in their full-length, fully mastered guise for the first time, ‘The Midnight Eclipse EP’ is a very welcome addition to the emFire roster.

Sasha / Charlie May – The Midnight Eclipse EP is out December 7th on emFire

The original version of ‘The Morning Rush’ is a dream beat for any MC. Oddattee – who is a protégé of Dälekvents his feelings about life’s adversities, whilst Bit-Turner lets rip on the DJ duties. The versatile Swiss ‘beat-tinkerer’ displays his signature sound with a visionary dark and funny remix of ‘The Morning Rush’.

On ‘Track This’ by Sensational, there are a few who manage to use their voice with an aura of reluctant cool as this New Yorker does. This is pure dirty rhymes and dirty disco. So track this!

On the remix version by Al Haca, ‘Track This’ is carefully and affectionately reduced to the bare minimum, as if to remind us that sometimes less is indeed more.

First up on remix duty is another Scotsman, and a producer in who over the past 12 months has shot himself to the forefront of the scene, with his immensely powerful productions. Here Sei-A turns in a mix that is set to rule large spaces and festivals. Taking the delicate textures of the original, he creates his own melodic, spacey glue, which flows between his fantastic, dramatic tribal drums. Holding everything together to create the tightest of mixes.

Kevin Yost as his alter ego Nivek Tsoy has been releasing some killer throughout 2009 and here he drops another into our appreciative laps. Understated and with the sickest of lo-slung grooves, he again, manages to lock in the power of the original production whilst stamping his own mark on the mix. Whereas the previous mix was very much for large spaces, Tsoy’s mix is for those dark, sweaty cellar moments. This one is for the girls, and guys for that matter, to shake their hips to and get their groove on.

Another remix and another producer in a rich vein of form right now, Brendon Moeller. Many are supporting his current remix of Michel de Hey and his remix of Hatikvah is set to drop next week. Here he features here in his ‘Beat Pharmacy’ guise. For the psychedelic, atmospheric, triptastic fans out there, Moeller delivers in epic proportions. Another for those wide-open spaces, and a mix that is set for great things this summer.

Kicking things off, the titular A-side production ventures into somewhat signature Umek territory, with a well paced and programmed arrangement that centers around some well placed stabs and delivers a powerful tension-and-release effect with its massive, dancefloor-rocking breakdown. “Hero Bill” on the other hand, takes a more subdued and discreet approach, opting for more attention to the groove and utilizing its tribal influenced percussion section and perfectly executed bassline.

Add to the mix a cleverly engineered ethnic/synth sample that rides atop the groove, and you’ve got a highly playable, genre defying surefire winner.

Don’t say we don’t spoil you!!!!

Label: 1605 Music Therapy
Cat. number: 1605009
Release date: 30 August 2009
Genre: Tech House – Techno