Hernan’s return to the Masters Series in 2010 brings with it an exciting new development. This year the ever-creative South American has slowed things down to present a distinctly cosmic disco-esque take on his inimitable sound.

“I felt it was time we took a fresh direction,” says Hernan, “But, although it was always going to be alternate, I wasn’t sure just what this direction should be. So, I locked myself away and started going through loads of music for inspiration. It wasn’t till I pitched a Henry Saiz track down (and it sounded brilliant) that I hit upon the idea of dropping everything back 15-20 BPMs on the first disc.”

Entitled ‘Day’, disc one is a beautiful, shimmering ride through Cattaneo’s audio world, its musical style the perfect antithesis of two’s club-inspired ‘Night’. But what’s all the more remarkable is how he’s also managed to work five (out of a whopping eleven) original productions, remixes and edits into the mix – no mean feat considering the unique nature of the material. “I know there’s a big debate amongst dance music fans about exclusives on compilations right now, but for me it’s a purely positive objective. Just as with the alternate style of the ‘Day’ mix, it’s another way of distinguishing the album from a live club set, a statement to the fact a lot more effort has gone into the project as whole,” he challenges. “I’ll not deny working outside of the traditional comfort zone of 125 (approx) BPM was easy, but between commissioning tracks from some of my favourite producers / friends, using or adapting my own productions and sourcing some amazing music (like the fantastic Sigur Ros track that closes the ‘Day’ mix – it’s such a great song!), I think it came together really well.”

Although ‘Night’ finds Hernan in more familiar territory, it draws upon the remaining six exclusives to ensure his fresh authorship and feel of the mix continues throughout, and comes backed by tantilising gems from likes of Way Out West, Henry Saiz, Quivver and Tone Depth, to name but a few.

Renaissance: The Masters Series – Hernan Cattaneo, Parallel – is out July 5th

*** denotes album exclusive

First released in 1993 on William Orbits legendary Guerrilla imprint, ‘Little Bullet’ is arguably one of the defining tracks of its generation; it’s influence and status has grown year on year as it continues to remain a fond favourite of DJs and clubbers alike. And it’s this enduring appeal that influenced Charlie May and Duncan Forbes to revisit the tune, albeit with initial trepidation as Charlie honestly admits, “We weren’t sure whether to re-work Bullet. Some things are best left alone.”

“However,” says Duncan picking up the conversation, “There was no harm in trying, so after locating the parts amongst a pile of DATs (which some may be amused to learn were the current studio door stop!), we decided to have little experiment and play around…”

The result was nothing short of spectacular and the duo swiftly realised it deserved a full release. Shot through with the classic sound of modern day Spooky, ‘Little Bullet’ is reborn in full contemporary techno glory. “Sound systems have come a long way sine the record was conceived and LB 2010 has been produced with these developments in mind,” they explain in unison.

One listen and it’s plain to hear they’re not kidding, this re-loaded Bullet is armed with a devastating bass line, whilst its synonymous pad and vocal now come with accentuated goose-bump beauty. Even the harshest critic will find it hard to argue this is one track that really does make the hairs on the back of head tingle. If further confirmation were needed just ask all those who were lucky enough to be on the floor at Bedrock’s Easter extravaganza at Matter during Digweed’s set.

Spooky – Little Bullet is out 7th June via Beatport, followed by all good digital outlets

Renaissance touch back down at their new London home for a Spring extravaganza that takes in talent from the opposite ends of our spectrum – the return of a long-standing favourite and the London debut (for us) of a highly-respected, fast-rising genius…

Flying in for his first London show of 2010 is the Japanese-by-way-of-New York legend Satoshi Tomiie. Since the early nineties Satoshi has blazed a contemporary path through dance. From the collaboration with Knuckles on ‘Your Love’ via seminal tracks such as ‘Love In Traffic’ and ‘Virus’ or remixing the likes of Papua New Guinea and Kosheen, his production has always been one step ahead of the curve. Factor in compilations on Global Underground, his own SAW label and, of course, Renaissance and you have one of the richest CV’s in dance. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch a true legend at work.

Dropping in alongside Satoshi is a man with an equally accomplished pedigree – Paul Woolford, down to celebrate the launch of his Renaissance compilation, Platform. Renowned for his We Love residence at Space, Ibiza, the seminal ‘Erotic Discourse’ and remixing the likes of Depeche Mode, Simian Mobile Disco and current band du jour, Delphic, Woolie’s a dance maverick who will provide the perfect foil to Satoshi.

With further support coming from production maestro Jim Rivers, The Warehouse Project’s Greg Lord, Roo and resident Marcus James, the musical stage is well and truly set.

Finally, clubbers will surely delight in the return of the special ‘Deluxe’ advance ticket, which for a bargainous £18.50 provides guaranteed admission and a copy of Paul’s Platform.

Date: Saturday 27th March
Venue: Cable, Bermondsey St Tunnel, London, SE1 3JW
Doors: 10pm-6am
Ticket Price: £16 Standard e-ticket / £18.50 Deluxe ticket (includes copy of Paul Woolford’s Platform album) available from renaissance.dj
Door Price: £18
Dress Code: Relaxed, no sportswear
Line Up: Satoshi Tomiie, Paul Woolford (Platform Album Launch), Jim Rivers, Greg Lord (Warehouse Project), Craig Stewart, Roo, Marcus James
Info: www.renaissance.dj

So what is it?
James is embarking on a headlining world tour from March 2010 to coincide with the album, at the club shows the compilation will be given away for free to a majority, if not all, the music-lovers who have bought their regularly priced ticket to the event.

The album will be presented in a shrink-wrapped, full-colour wallet on a flexi-DVD that’s both eco-friendly (50% less carbon emissions) and lightweight (again, 50% less than standard CD/DVDs). Alongside the 2 mixes that comprise the compilation, the package will also feature two exclusive videos: a tour diary and making of the Masters Series, alongside custom screensavers, desktop wallpapers, icons and more!

The real magic of this concept is that the party-goers won’t have to pay more than a regularly priced club ticket for their entry where they will collect the free album. Also, all artists that feature on the album will receive their royalties. This is a point James and Renaissance felt passionately about so ensured it remained part of the concept.

James comments “A bit like my previous Masters Series this mix is another snapshot into life through my ears. Rather than make 2 distinct journeys (one home listening and one club) I tried to carry the theme of ‘life’ over the span of both mixes, this time blurring them together, making for a single soundscape. The fact we’re going to be distributing this mix in a unique way alongside traditional methods also makes this project all the more exciting for me to put together.”

Tour Dates February – July 2010

February 25 Classico Veracruz, Mexico
February 26 La Huasteca Monterrey, Mexico
February 27 Foro Alterno, Guadalajara, Mexico
February 28 Mamitas Beach Club, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
March 3 Merida Grounds, Merida, Mexico
March 4 Piramides de Cholula, Cholula, Mexico
March 5 Avalon, Los Angeles, USA
March 6 Bosque de la Cuidad, Mexicali, Mexico
March 12 Sankey’s, Manchester, UK
March 13 The Plug, Sheffield, UK
March 19 Orange Rooms, Bournemouth, UK
March 20 Digital, Brighton, UK
March 24 DJ Mag Party @ The Shelborne, Miami, USA
March 26 Pete Tong Pool Party @ The Shelborne, Miami, USA
March 27 Beatport Pool Party @ The Gansevoort, Miami, USA
April 03 Ministry, London, UK
April 04 Tall Trees, Yarm, UK
April 06 Snowbombing, Mayrhofen, Austria
April 10 Cocoon, Frankfurt Germany
April 16 Studio, Budapest, Hungary
April 17 Club Kristal, Bucharest, Romania
April 23 Expo, Kiev, Ukraine
April 24 Expo, Kharkov, Ukraine
April 30 The Pod, Dublin, Ireland
May 01 Shine, Belfast, UK
May 02 High Tide, Southampton, UK
May 02 Electric Carnival, Birmingham, UK
May 07 Stealth, Nottingham, UK
May 08 Vox Festival, Modena, Italy
May 14 Pavillion, Tbilisi, Georgia
May 15 Exit, Kaunas, Lithuania
May 20 Ambar, Perth, Australia
May 21 Chinese Laundry, Sydney, Australia
May 22 Brown Alley, Melbourne, Australia
May 23 Lot 33, Canberra, Australia
May 28 Zouk, Singapore
June 18 Metro Theatre, Bogota, Colombia
June 19 Loop Arena, Lima, Peru
July 02 State, Buenos Aires, Argentina

For those unable to make any of the world wide shows the album is available at all usual outlets, released officially on April 12th.

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

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

In these challenging, yet exciting times, media visionaries have developed dynamic ways of delivering music away from the traditional methods; Radiohead’s recent digital download scheme of ‘pay what you want’ for their ‘In Rainbows’ album is probably the best and most famous example to date. Now James and Renaissance continue this trend as they release the sequel to his ‘Masters Series’ with a dynamic, unique approach that’s primed to change the face of current compilations…

So what is it?
James is embarking on a headlining world tour from March 2010 to coincide with the album, at the club shows the compilation will be given away for free to a majority, if not all, the music-lovers who have bought their regularly priced ticket to the event.

The album will be presented in a shrink-wrapped, full-colour wallet on a flexi-DVD that’s both eco-friendly (50% less carbon emissions) and lightweight (again, 50% less than standard CD/DVDs). Alongside the 2 mixes that comprise the compilation, the package will also feature two exclusive videos: a tour diary and making of the Masters Series, alongside custom screensavers, desktop wallpapers, icons and more!

The real magic of this concept is that the party-goers won’t have to pay more than a regularly priced club ticket for their entry where they will collect the free album. Also, all artists that feature on the album will receive their royalties. This is a point James and Renaissance felt passionately about so ensured it remained part of the concept.
James comments “A bit like my previous Masters Series this mix is another snapshot into life through my ears. Rather than make 2 distinct journeys (one home listening and one club) I tried to carry the theme of ‘life’ over the span of both mixes, this time blurring them together, making for a single soundscape. The fact we’re going to be distributing this mix in a unique way alongside traditional methods also makes this project all the more exciting for me to put together.”

The compilation will also be released in the traditional CD and digital formats affording people multiple options as to how they get their hands on a copy of what is sure to be one of dance music’s most eagerly anticipated projects in 2010!

Whether it’s DJing, heading-up the respected Get Physical label, producing or compiling mix albums, there’s no doubt Patrick and Philipp – aka M.A.N.D.Y. –
are amongst the most exciting pioneers of electronic music on the planet. Their releases and club appearances are met with eager anticipation, founded on a reputation for delivering quality, eclecticism and the damn right weird and wonderful! Now, as the pair join forces with Renaissance for the first time, that trend is set to continue and ascend…

M.A.N.D.Y.’s eagerly anticipated ‘Mix Collection’ does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a beautiful hybrid that flawlessly blends and balances tempos, genres, moods and emotion. A feat that’s made all the more remarkable when you consider Patrick and Phillip have managed to include a whopping 44 tracks, which they further elaborate on, “Eclecticism has always been the key to our approach in selecting tracks for our compilations and the broad brief of ‘The Mix Collection’ enabled us to carry on this way. It’s never an easy process and, as with all our mix comps, this was chosen, edited and produced with blood, sweat, tears as well as a lot of fun and love!”

‘Upside Down‘ (Disc One) kicks things off and, although it may be the more relaxed mix of the pair, remains true to its audio rollercoaster promise. Be it the ambient intro of Shed and dOP; their own ‘Full Off…’ (a production recorded exclusively for the comp’); the impeccably sequenced mid-section that fuses Lopazz, Sebastien Tellier and Bronnt Industries, or the finale of Schneider TM & Kpt-michi-gan’s Smiths cover – ‘The Light 3000′, this is a body of music that delivers throughout its 70 minutes.

Not to be outdone, ‘Downside Up‘ (Disc 2) puts on its dancing shoes, snatches the baton and picks-up the pace, transporting the listener further into M.A.N.D.Y.’s unique musical world. It’s a constantly shifting, yet perfectly poised landscape crafted out of the 27 records that comprise the disc. Key names such as Peter Kruder, Chromeo, DJ Koze, Martin Buttrich, Felix Da Housecat and Ben Watt rub shoulders before giving way to the inspired inclusion of seminal Miami Bass classic, the aptly titled ‘Bass Generator’. Keen to underline the entire album’s cohesive diversity, things come to fitting close with The Black Dog giving way to the cheeky use of the piano riff from Radio Slave’s take on Hell and P Diddy’s ‘The DJ’ and bonus track ‘What It’s For’ by friends and Get Physical regulars, The Junior Boys.

Utter brilliance.

Henry Saiz is fast becoming one of dance music’s brightest properties. From his two-track inclusion on Digweed’s critically acclaimed Transitions 4, his previous EP on Renaissance – Artificial Paradises,or the lauded remix of Guy J’s Lamur, his star has been in constant ascent. Now the trajectory continues as he delivers a stunning three track EP, Madre Noche.

Whilst all of the tunes feature the meticulous, trademark Saiz production, each have their own distinct style. Title track Madre Noche, from which the EP takes its name, features an infectious, chunky bass line juxtaposed against a haunting pad; Rhinemaidens a killer arpegiated foundation that queues up one of the most powerful riffs you’re ever likely to hear, whilst Hadal takes a pinch of acid and a twisted top line and blends them into an emotive collage as it build towards the finale.

Already picking up support from Sasha,Digweed and Hernan, Henry Saiz’s Madre Noche EP is already one of this year’s most anticipated dance releases…

Henry Saiz – Madre Noch EP is out 28th September via Beatport, followed by all good digital outlets