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.

Prins Thomas’ remix represents a certain kind of musical fusion of deep house and disco that can only be reminiscent of colorful cocktails and South Floridian sunsets. Lasting nine minutes, the track reserves time to build intensity, recede, and build some more. Tasty morsels of savvy, afterhours funk swim between and throughout the softly padded beat. Prins Thomas creates patterns of aural undulations, of wave-like form, that provide a soothing electronic exodus for those in a quaint, carefree mood. Sit back, sip your drink and follow the sun as it sinks beneath the waterline.

The Round Table Knights remix “Floatation” with club-friendly atmospherics – but for all the keyboards’ inspirations, the final product sits firmly on the smoother side of house. Just as the music loses itself to distorted reverberation during the build, soothing lyrics coyly beg the listener to “Take my hand [and] come with me” – whereupon one cannot help but obey! The mist and tranquility of trance anchors itself one way on the well-weathered shores of bigger club hits, but it also forges into contemporary progressive; solid up-tempo hi-hat and stab combinations are overlain with the repetition of high register and even higher reaching piano chords. I became separated from the evolution of progressive trance for a few years, but I can say (with personal confidence) that this remix does justice to the delicate balance between both the groove and majesty of trance.

Last but (in this reviewer’s opinion) absolutely furthest from least is the ambitious housey-dubstepped brainchild of Slof Man. Teasing the listener into the track with atmospheric keys is the only point of comparison between this and any other rendition of “Floatation.” Slof Man turns this vintage tune into an atypical dance excursion. Its individuality is fortified by broken beats that glide into the melody and float briefly out of reach before pummeling the dancefloor with aggressive volleys of aural vertigo characteristic only of dubstep. The track simulates a wickedly fun and “techy” experience whose appearance alongside sexy hypno-breaks will come as an honest surprise to those seeking your average progressive tune. Slof Man’s remix is edgy, delivering both spook and groove without the inclusion of vocals. This remix traces one of the first substantial lines in the sand by marking the successful synthesis of progressive trance and dubstep along the endless beaches of electronic possibility. Sacrificing density for individuality, this track floats – soars, perhaps – above the rest.

- James Woodruff

The second disc is very different from its predecessor; disc two ushers in many familiar names with an array of unfamiliar sounds. Loz’ Remix of Yousef’s “Way Of Life” is a spooky and devilishly tender opener, running xylophone over wooden blocks as water over creek pebbles. “Just Us (Blakdoctor Voice Mix),” mist-laden and full of intrigue, trails behind before segueing into Derrick Carter’s retrospective mix of DJ Q’s “Glasgows Jazz” – thus beginning a succession of snare- and stab-laden dance music that provides the sort of oldskool atmosphere where the only sounds to speak of originate from airy, cautious vinyl records. Johnny D’s “Manipulation” brings back the contemporary to Yousef’s second disc and, stage having thus been set, Gabriel Ananda’s delicious bump-and-grind “Dopplewhipper” swoops and dives through its techy entrails. It is arguably the disc’s most compelling track and should be savored like a piece of red meat. Yousef reaches back to some of 2008’s most famous with the inclusion of classics such as Guy J’s remix of Sasha’s “Mongoose,” Carl Craig’s rework of Faze Action’s “In The Trees” and Dubfire’s rendition of Radio Slave’s “Grindhouse.” The latter half of Yousef’s mix follows a similarly minimalistic path, representing a stark divergence from the uppity west coast house vibe of the first disc. Yousef then re-infuses his second mix with smooth, swinging jazz-house by the likes of Tim Deluxe and “Come Home,” one of Yousef’s very own. ‘Cameras ready, prepare to flash!’ breaks the artificial silence: Green Velvet’s classic track “Flash,” naughtily remixed by Danny Tenaglia himself, rips through the aforementioned placidity with a tribalistic funk to match the aura of the DJ behind Cr2’s Circus Vol. 1, stapling firmly into place an otherwise otherworldly collection of music that (in any other DJ’s hands) would seem mismatched and uncharacteristically bold.

But that is, perhaps, the quality which Yousef embodies most successfully with this eclectic release – uncharacteristic boldness. Do the mixes make sense? Scarcely, by convention’s standards. But, in sampling an album mixed by an artist as varied and uncompromising as Yousef, we must ask ourselves: Is it conventionality that we are really after? Chances are that if you dig this album, the answer is a resounding ‘hell no!’ But as the discs together interweave deep house, jazz-fusion, minimal techno and bass-laden soul into a singular driving beast, it ought to be the listener who ultimately decides whether this latest release from Cr2 Records jives or dives.

- James Woodruff

Work on Solar Life Raft began with Rupture responding to the recession by staying local and working with nearby friends and collaborators, including Shadetek, who he invited to co-produce the mix CD. They reached out to fellow Brooklynites Gang Gang Dance, Telepathe, and Jahdan Blakkamoore, offering their skills as remixers. To these remixes they added a half-dozen original productions, and a fascinating selection of other tracks. One of Rupture’s several collaborations with poet Elizabeth Alexander, who spoke at Obama’s Inauguration, finds a place here, as does entrancing multilingual poet Caroline Bergvall. Ghostly voices from classical wunderkind Nico Muhly’s Mothertongue flow into an exclusive beat from London’s leading female grime producer, Mizz Beats. French musique concrete and avant-garde legend Luc Ferrari rubs up against the latest wave of U.S. dubstep. Indeed, while others focus on the U.K. sounds, Rupture & Shadetek make a convincing argument for the creativity and excitement of stateside dubstep and electronica. At times the narrative flow is delicately smooth, at others the duo use the first-take recordings to capture the energy and freshness of a live mix. The inclusion of sounds and artists from outside of electronic dance music move Solar Life Raft into a territory all its own. This is an album with lasting emotional resonance that can still make the car trunks rattle.

American musician DJ /rupture is back in Brooklyn after living most of the ’00s in Barcelona. Rupture, aka Jace Clayton, began his career when he DJed internationally in Wax Poetic, a band featuring Norah Jones. He went off on his own following the 2001 release of his highly influential Gold Teeth Thief mix CD. Since then, his technically adept party-rocking has brought him to over 30 countries, including appearances at major festivals: SONAR (Spain), Transmediale (Berlin) and most recently, the Pitchfork Music Festival. Additionally, he released Uproot, his fourth official mix CD, Patches, a live album from a duo project with guitarist Andy Moor of The Ex, as well as collaborated with filmmaker Jem Cohen and Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto on a live soundtrack, all the while hosting a weekly radio show on WFMU.

Producer Matt Shadetek is a lifelong New Yorker. Albums Burnerism and Pale Fire won him fans across Europe and America, making him one of the few U.S. producers to record on the U.K.’s Warp Records. He has released instrumental hip hop, dancehall, dubstep and many things in the cracks between, including the viral hit “Brooklyn Anthem”. His recent turn to dance production foregrounding Caribbean and African influences has won him support from the ultra-competitive Brooklyn teen dancehall scene, as well as from trendsetting DJs like Skerrit Bwoy, Diplo and Green Lantern.

Solar Life Raft is out November 10th on the Agriculture label.

Released simultaneously with Solar Life Raft will be a digital-only compilation Solar Life Raft: The Ingredients. “The Ingredients” offers a selection of Solar Life Raft tracks in unmixed form, allowing the curious to hear how Rupture & Shadetek transformed the sounds, and pulling away the curtain of DJ mystery. “The Ingredients” compilation serves as an up-close guide to the “making of” Solar Life Raft.

“It’s difficult to say which performances were the best, as the proceeding spanned across four stages, but after a quick look at Internet message boards, it looks as if Moderat, Richie Hawtin, Dirtyphonics, Dub FX, DJ Hell and James Holden, who rocked the crowed with a four hour set in the wee morning hours, made the biggest impression on the Audioriver faithful. Holden played for an hour and a half longer than we was slated to, only to go on to give a couple of encores, and ended the beach portion of the festival in style. Feedback regarding the festival is very positive, although there were a few hitches along the way, the biggest of which was the lack of free space on the tent field, despite the fact that it was twice the size compared to last year. This means that for next year we will have to find a bigger location for the tent field, as the beach itself can’t accommodate such a high number of tents. And we can’t simply make the festival grounds smaller, because this year’s edition took up the whole of the beach’s capacity”, says Audioriver spokesperson, Lukasz Napora.

And what did the headliners have to say about the festival? On Sunday, Richie Hawtin wrote on Twitter: “thank you POLAND… hope it doesn‘t take another 5 years to come back…”. The guys from Moderat, on the other hand, said that they had never played on such a good soundsystem, while Lee Jones, one half of MyMy, was very surprised by the reaction the duo received from Polish clubbers. “They’re amazing! They go crazy every 16th bar!”, said Jones.

Audioriver’s newest attractions, such as the Festival Cinema and Street Theaters, were also very well received, but the biggest success of all in this respect was without a doubt the Muzzo Stage, which during the daytime was surrounded by punters dancing in the Old Market Square and… in the fountain to be found in the Square. Several dozen people dancing in water up to their knees was definitely a priceless scene.

Unfortunately, for the first time in the festival’s history not all the artists that were booked performed. On the Friday, the organizers received a message from Rusko’s manager stating that the artist missed a total of three flights! The situation surrounding the absence of Chase, on the other hand, was a little more complicated. “A few weeks after we booked the duo, it turned out that only Status will be able to come to Plock, as on the same day the group had another engagement in London. We wanted very much for the performance to take place, so we refrained from renouncing the contract. However, it must be clearly stated that the contract included a paragraph which required the show to be promoted as a performance from both members of Chase & Status, which is why we did not inform the general public about this state of affairs beforehand. Needless to say, we are not fully content with such a turn of events, even though Status together with MC Rage literally tore the roof off”, says Lukasz Napora. Also, Polish DJ Poziom-X didn’t manage to play his morning set, which was supposed to commence at 6:30 on the Sunday. However, the reason for this was James Holden’s out of this world performance, which, as mentioned already, took up an hour and a half more than was originally planned. “We would like to thank Marcin for understanding the situation and giving his time to James. In short, the Sunday morning in question was without a doubt one of the festival’s best moments”, adds Napora.

“All in all, we would like to thank everyone who came out to Audioriver this year. Thanks to such a turn out, we are motivated to more with each edition, as such high numbers confirm that there is a place for quality underground dance music in our scene. Sure, not everything was perfect, but be hope that punters appreciate our efforts to make each edition even better than the last”.

Chandeliers float elegantly above an impenetrable fog of dry ice. It puffs away in a cool breath letting the light fall on a sea of upturned faces. “This is Pure Pacha!” Sander Kleinenberg whoops from the DJ box, raising both fists in salute. The girl next to me bursts into a flurry of elbow-popping motion as Sander slams on a remix of We Are Your Friends that thunders across the dance floor like a charge of the Valkyries. Pure Pacha is the quintessential Friday night party in Ibiza – a mélange of music, spectacle and moments that simply wouldn’t happen anywhere else.

Tonight the sense of anticipation is as thick as the smell of cologne because none other than Paul Oakenfold is due on the decks soon. One of the original superstar DJs, Oakie “discovered” Ibiza in 1986 and floated back to London to kick-start the acid house revolution. There is a gradually thickening clot of clubbers around the DJ booth, edging closer in anticipation of his set. Even Sander seems to have caught the fan-club feel, skittering around the booth like a hyperactive kid, clapping, giving a photographer the thumbs-up, pouring champagne. Suddenly a boy dives past me, camera phone aloft to snap Oakie descending upon the DJ box.

He has flown in for the night from his “day job” as Madonna’s official tour DJ. A lot of DJs probably wouldn’t bother taking the time to play for a couple of thousand fans after rocking stadiums night after night, but the huge grin on Paul’s face says it all: he’s home. A flutter of fingers reach upwards and he hangs over the edge of the booth to grab and shake the waiting hands. Sander lets the music drop. The lights lower then remerge on a trio of stunning dancers who slither up onto the podiums, trailing a sea of sequins as the crowd ripples with excitement. Alice in Wonderland never saw anything like this. A wooden hatch opens beneath the stairs and two waiters pop up like surreal rabbits, carrying vast trays of iced glasses and bottles of vodka. No one is paying any attention, though. Every ear is tuned in impatient glee for the first shimmying wave off sound to crash over the room. The bass rumbles as a looped vocal intones: “welcome to Perfecto.” A palpable crackle of energy sparks across the room and suddenly everyone who has come to remember forgets – forgets what year it is, where they are, mostly likely who they’re with. The only thing that matters is the music lifting the club to the stratosphere and Oakie bopping at the controls, controlling the speed and altitude of the flight. Someone reaches up to pass him a CD. He pulls a jokey pose behind the decks. For a few hours, 2009 can be 1989… a pure celebration of sound and motion.

Highlife (The original and the Invol2ver Remix) are decent tracks – however, the vocal intrusion leaves something to be desired for most tech-house sets. Certainly the lesser of the two tracks, ‘Highlife’ may be a reflection of Sasha’s willingness to enter melodica rather than true techno fervency. An interesting and worthwhile EP, nonetheless. Sasha and Adam Parker release a record mapping the ins and outs of what it means to live both the high – and the low – life of living four-to-the-floor.

Words: James Woodruff

Dave Seaman has brought into this decade a unique techno sound, with orchestral crescendos to boot. A definite floor-stomping track, “Attack Of The Abalones” abandons the harmonious aspects of Seaman’s productions in favor of flavors reminiscent of Smith & Selway’s cerebral techno productions. As the track progresses, reverberating female vocals up the feverish pitch. With a halt, the frenzy ceases and submits itself to a spacious breakdown. Exploding back into the rhythm, “Attack Of The Abalones” will rip dancing couples apart and increase the circumference of swaying hips. A true club banger, precisely timed for the summer months.

“Wrong Side Business” brings forth memories of a Spektre or Audiojack track – well composed techno with just the right amount of electric groove carrying the stabs and fourth notes. The track deviates from the typical, however, due to its progressively spooky nature. Wailing female vocals, a sparse breakdown and maracca-esque cymbals fade in and out of obscurity like ghosts in a haunted castle. As quickly as the miracle of sound breaks the door down, it disappears like the gray-blue smoke from the tip of a cigarette. Overall, a *far* more impressive release than Dave’s last, and I thoroughly look forward to his next EP.

Words: James Woodruff