anatomy news

lots of things happening in the smilecoldanatomy galaxy. read on to see what some anatomy mixers are up to lately:

STROBOSCOPIC ARTEFACTS SHOWCASE in BERLIN TONIGHT last minute alert! berlin club suicide circus will host lucy and pfirter for a showcase of SA sounds. look it up on RA then go go go!

NAX_ACID in LONDON TOMORROW curator of the first anatomy and the mind behind aconito records, nax_acid and his label-mate bioni samp will be playing the fluid bar in london tomorrow. it's either cheap or free, and i'm sure nax will be banging out some new aconito jams. go check it out!

PERC and FSG in LONDON (NEXT SATURDAY) perc and the lethal corporate duo of smear and patrick walker will join forces with truss at an underground party in london next saturday to celebrate the release of perc's LP wicker and steel. check it out and get tickets at RA.

PROLOGUE in JAPAN THIS SUMMER claudio prc, dino sabatini and iori will all play the rural festival next month in shizuoka, japan! unfortunately the rest of the details are announced in japanese... via this flyer. but this sounds awesome and i hope to hear some reviews of this one later.

DINO SABATINI'S NEW LABEL speaking of dino, he's started his own label, outis music. go check out the official homepage, where he explains the inspiration behind the label: odysseus, the ancient greek hero, whom i studied extensively in school. also get on the label's new podcast. the first release drops later this month on digital and - yes! - vinyl.... go dino!

NEW MIXES from GIORGIO GIGLI double your pleasure with two new studio sets from giorgio: first, a low-bpm deep techno journey for smoke machine. and for the true romantics, this two-hour collection of dramatic atmospheres for speedy j's electric deluxe podcast. and just for the hell of it, check out this youtube clip of giorgio's recent zooloft epic. ciao giorgio!

XHIN GETS THE CURSE another new studio set from an anatomy mixer, as xhin puts one together for get the curse (direct DL here), and check out the intriguing (as usual) tracklisting here. and what's more: xhin is set to tour the US in july! stay tuned...

end: march, begin: april

i hope everyone has been enjoying tom bonaty's mix! something very big is coming up as we launch into the month of april... but until then, here's some stuff that brings pleasure to smilecoldanatomy's ears and eyes:

TIN MAN is LOST IN LA new track by tin man? new, free, 320mp3, 10-minute-long track by tin man? yes! xlr8r is hosting a free download of 'lost in LA', a wondrous piano jam fleshed out with acoustic percussion and handclaps, brewed quite nicely with a dreamy vocal narrative and discreet acid lines. the track is from tin man's newest album perfume, which as RA has reported should be released (in 2xLP) at some point very soon... and look! tin man has just contributed a mix to the little white earbuds series, do it to it!

JUNO PLUS TALKS DARK TECHNO, TALKS WITH JAMES RUSKIN always nice to see another perspective on the more abstract strands of techno that have gotten attention lately (especially on this blog) - richard brophy considers lucy's new album and the recent ostgut ton compilation and their use of field recordings while discussing techno experimentation. also on juno plus, blueprint boss james ruskin talks about his many collaborations, including his ongoing O/V/R project with regis.

ROBERT HENKE DISCUSSES ABLETON, GEAR, SURROUND SOUND the mind behind monolake chats with the passionweiss magazine about his role in the development of the venerable ableton music production software, as well as his self-designed monodeck controller hardware. he also talks about how he does live surround sound... speaking of which, monolake will be playing a live surround set along with detroit's echospace duo at smartbar saturday april 23! it's part of the avant_mutek weekend in chicago... check out the story on RA.

ACONITO 006LTD last but most definitely not least, a new collaborative release on aconito records, the achromorphe, is scheduled for release next week. nax_acid and his brother ink on one side, obtane and claudio prc together on the flip... watch the preview video here on youtube, and click on that picture if you want to see the hand-writing on each sleeve. 250 copies, vinyl only, highly mechanized, coming this monday, april 4! more info here at the aconito blog.


that's all for now. oh, i've also started the anatomy twitter, under the name patty anatomy, for those looking for more techno-related social media. and stay tuned! more exciting news (the least exciting of which is my april chart) will be coming very soon.

news! mixes!

time for some news and updates about things that matter in the world of smilecoldanatomy...

ANATOMY MIXERS IN ACTION i'll try to post regular updates on events and things happening with the awesome folks who have contributed mixes to this site. i had already mentioned the upcoming mini-techno-market aconito/prologue party with nax_acid and giorgio gigli coming up in a few weeks, but before then - actually tonight/saturday march 12th - giorgio teams up with obtane for a zooloft showcase in rome, more info here... you can maybe consider it a celebration of their brand new record. and later this month, claudio prc plays a local basstation party also featuring ellen allien; listen to a mix claudio made for the occasion here. meanwhile, the forward strategy group guys just put out another perc trax record, and last but certainly not least, nax_acid preps a collaborative record with ink, obtane, and claudio prc, to be released next month.

SHACKLETON AND BEN KLOCK INTERVIEWS experimental/whatever producer shackleton talks with the quietus about, among other things, his live set and his focus on quality control. meanwhile, little white earbuds interviews ben klock about how he came to berghain and ostgut, and gets his perspective on the culture behind the music.

NEW ALBUMS FROM BRUNO PRONSATO AND KATE SIMKO exciting news on the house-ier side of this writer's tastes. bruno prepares lovers do, a work that has been in progress for two years, and one that will be released in late may, on the eve of movement weekend in detroit... check out this ibiza voice interview with bruno and his girlfriend ninca leece; looks like a public lover album is in the works as well. meanwhile, chicago's own kate simko gets ready for lights out, her first solo full-length album, which will be released in may as well. tonight in the windy city, she'll celebrate the release of the album's first single at darkroom; details here.


... and, yes, finally, more recommended mixes!

if you are in the mood for some deadly techno funk, try out this set, tcdp026 by dead sound. i guess this dude does stuff for perc trax... makes sense: this strays nicely away from strict 4/4 to incorporate tons of punchy, syncopated beats. more info here.

hey! some fresh dasha rush jams: lada, a live collaboration with lars hemmerling. lean, stripped-back percussion, swirling melodies, and barely-controlled blasts of noise, with a raw improvised feel... hell yeah!

if you're still reeling from obtane's terrordrome mix, try out another fresh mix (direct download), this time one full of rhythmic techno (and a few record skips, unfortunately). an italian interview (which i can't understand) accompanies this mix for the soundwall music website. on the italian tip, check out another mix of deep dark stuff from claudio prc, fwd0121.

and a new mix from prologue boss tom bonaty for the smoke machine podcast. it weaves together a bunch of new stuff, including some new deep tracks from prologue, and brings it all home with plastikman's 'marbles'... very nice.

finally, check out this mix by dj kiddo - frozen molecules (winter 2010). my friend and local chicago dj has great taste in techno sounds, so give it a try!


i think that's all for now. oh also: i'll be making my debut on the friendly funktion ones of smartbar in may (the weekend before movement in detroit), doing a 90-minute opening set in front of my fellow local qbot as we support berghain dj's ben klock and ryan elliott! check out the RA event page here, and why not become a fan of my dj page as well. also, i should be dj'ing on qbot's wluw radio spot the monday of that week.

okay, have a good weekend, and come back in one piece in a few days when i'll be sharing the next anatomy mix!

mid-week blues/news

hello all! i've been busy doing some off-blog writing/reviewing, and also recruiting some more artists to contribute to the anatomy mix series here. more on that very soon but for now here's some quick news...

PARTY PICK OF THE WEEKEND: silent servant and dvs1 at smartbar friday night! chicago welcomes the debut of oktave, a promotion group originally from new york city that is now trying to expand and bring better techno things to the windy city. check out this mix by oktave man jeff derringer, who will help open the night along with karl meier... AND be sure to check out the new little white earbuds podcast featuring both silent servant and dvs1. looks like the two headliners will get 4 hours to tag-team at smartbar... should be tons of fun!

and if you can keep your shit together, saturday night sees some sexy slow-house sounds descend upon the city with an underground loft party with soul clap and art department. more info at the RA event page.

on to some quick music tips:
been really enjoying a few mnml ssg special mixes lately. check out the classy sounds of steffi, the harder techno stuff of patrick walker (forward strategy group), and the deep 'live' microhouse of kettenkarussell.

it's been dormant for a little while, but nax_acid's aconito records will be back in action later this month with the release of a new record, gaia's archetype, by hironori takahashi. the record features two original mixes by takahashi, 'serv' and 'outgass', along with an extremely atmospheric edit by nax. while the main aconito website is still under construction, get more info here. release date: monday 11.22!

another anatomy friend, claudio prc gets his first vinyl release under his own name ... on prologue records! the clear depths EP will feature claudio's 'clear depths' original mix, a 'variant', and remixes by silent servant and obtane. stream the tracks at prologue's soundcloud... super deep stuff here. the record hits stores next week, thursday 11.11!


that's all for now. stay tuned...

fresh music reviews

here's my thoughts on some new deep sounds coming from the italian front:

giorgio gigli, obtane, & nAX_acid - environmental radiation dose on the moon
released barely 2 weeks ago, only on (solid silver) vinyl, i've been looking forward to this record for some time. three of my favorite techno producers join forces as a ZAltd (zooloft/aconito) trio to push deeper into uncharted depths... both sides of this record build slow, hypnotic grooves over the course of nearly ten minutes, featuring the producers' love of sudden transitional splashes and seemingly-random atmospheric noises. 'the child that was watching the moon' is an epic slice of techno noir, with a warm, droning bassline endlessly laying the foundation for frighteningly exotic slashes of noise. on the b-side, 'the moon that was watching the child' is a bit more aggressive and distorted, with bass growls and fuzzy acidy squelches balanced with a series of bells chiming almost lazily around tightly syncopated drums. all in all, this is serious, avant-garde techno made for forward-thinking dancefloors. 200 vinyl copies only, no digital. get on it!

claudio PRC - diving point (w/ rossella 'dark room' remix)
from another anatomy mixer and his fellow italian, rossella, comes this digital single, to be released later this month on elettronica romana. the italian deep techno label (with alumni like donato dozzy and giorgio gigli) has seemingly sprang back to life. here, claudio continues to make forward-thinking techno that cuts deep; with 'diving point', he jumps right into peak-time space, with a sustained, shivering electric tone that becomes the main theme of the track. distorted percussive riffs and reverb'd hand claps drive the track forward, with atmospheric noises floating in and out of the mix. rossella's aptly-titled 'dark room' remix takes energy from the original and sends it into more introspective (and, perhaps, more headphone-happy) spaces. restrained, and at the same time haunting and psychedelic, the remix is anchored by a plaintive piano melody, while harsh rays of light are discovered among looping echoes of vocals and chimes. two good tracks for different situations. digital release date is july 22; until then, stream the tracks at elettronica romana's myspace.