early 2014 albums outlook (part one)

we're about six weeks into the year, and on my radar i've spotted a few dozen albums worth keeping track of. some have already been released, and there's a bunch more due to arrive in the next few months. exciting! here's the first half my list, arranged (i think) in alphabetical order.

ACHTERBAHN D'AMOUR - ODD MOVEMENTS (acid test) this one, from the duo of iron curtis and edit piafra, was actually just released. we're promised "a wintry retreat from the club" that's heavy on the 303. release date: early february, 2014

AMBIQ - AMBIQ (arjuna) a collaborative project from experimental producer max loderbauer, clarinetist claudio puntin and percussionist samuel rohrer. having recently discovered the joys of loderbauer's debut solo LP from last year, transparenz, and having heard the very cool stuff he's been making with vladislav delay as heisenberg, i'm really interested in hearing what he's up to next. release date: february 14th, 2014

ARCHANGEL (aka BRUNO PRONSATO) - THE BEDROOM SLANT (foom music) a 'new' project from bruno pronsato that actually seems to have begun last year, it apparently has the experimental house producer working more with live instrumentation, on a sound that's more informed by rock and post-punk music. should be interesting, given bruno's roots as a (speed metal) drummer. release date: april 7th, 2014

BROCK VAN WEY - HOME (echospace [detroit]) just released, and i wrote this RA news about it. it's more than two and a half hours long and you can hear it all at the label's bandcamp page. release date: february 9th, 2014

D.Å.R.F.D.H.S. - DET STORA OVÄSENDET (clan destine) with a really long name, the swedish duo of varg (i did an RA review for his misantropen LP last year; he also collaborates with anatomy favorite abdulla rashim as ulwhednar) and michel isorinne, specialize in dark, wintry ambient soundscapes, as previously heard on a cassette release for funeral fog records last year. this one will come out on vinyl limited to 250 copies. release date: february 14th, 2014

DONATO DOZZY & NUEL - THE AQUAPLANO SESSIONS (spectrum spools) kudos to editions mego offshoot spectrum spools for doing this reissue of dozzy and nuel's first two records on their own label aquaplano. these days, the original versions command ridiculous prices over at discogs, so hopefully these hypnotizing techno tracks will reach more eyes and ears in 2014. release date: march 4th, 2014

EDIT SELECT - PHLOX (prologue) the next album on munich's prologue imprint is the full-length debut for glasgow's edit select, and prologue promises a mix of sounds including "emotional ambient tracks" and "hypnotic" dancefloor stuff. release date: march 3rd, 2014

EFDEMIN - DECAY (dial) it's the german producer's third album, recorded in kyoto, japan and focusing on "the deeper side of techno." (you can learn more by way of this RA news/interview piece) i wasn't too keen on his previous two LPs but this one sounds very, very interesting... release date: march 31st, 2014

EKOPLEKZ - UNFIDELITY (planet mu) the label likens this album to "the fuggy feeling of a teenage bong intake" and talks about a "dreamy, nocturnal feel" - two very appealing descriptions, methinks! release date: march 10th, 2014

EOMAC - SPECTRE (killekill) as one half of lakker and on his own as eomac, this UK producer has crafted an intriguing array of genre-jumping tracks over the past few years, usually with raw, heavy percussion and druggy atmospheric vibes. this will be his debut album, and berlin's killekill describes it as "a unique mix of distorted techno, slow-mo lo-fi hymns, and breaky, wonky dubstep/rave experiments." release date: sometime in april, 2014

FRANCIS HARRIS - MINUTES OF SLEEP (scissor & thread) the second album from francis harris (aka adultnapper), following 2012's leland, composed in dedication to his late father. this one is a tribute to his late mother. expect another dose of lush, indie-tinged, heavily emotional house music. release date: february 24th, 2014

HANDS (aka THE FIELD) - THE SOUL IS QUICK (ecstatic) axel willner is well known for the looping, ambient-ish techno he produces as the field, mostly for cologne institution kompakt - and late last year, his source material was reshaped into a lovely pair of remixes from wolfgang voigt's magnificent GAS project (which had been silent for years). this new alias, hands, seems like it'll be a darker, noisier endeavor, one conceived as "a protest record" and inspired by "human decay." release date: february 10th, 2014

JEFF MILLS - CHRONICLES OF POSSIBLE WORLDS (axis) the latest album project from the mighty jeff mills is a soundtrack made to be broadcast from suits worn by choreographed dancers, and inspired by the axis boss's study of exoplanets. release date: january, 2014 

JULIUS STEINHOFF - FLOCKING BEHAVIOUR (smallville) a co-founder of smallville, steinhoff recently revealed details for his debut solo LP. i'm expecting some smooth, deep and vibrant shades of house for this one. release date: springtime, 2014

KANGDING RAY - SOLENS ARC (raster-noton) this is the album i'm looking forward to the most in early 2014. kangding ray has turned into one of my favorite producers; i think each of his previous three LPs has its own enduring value, and each shows a clear sense of stylistic progression as he's gradually refined his evocative, abstract approach to techno. and look out, solens arc - whose twelve tracks are to be heard as (side-long) arcs - will be kangding ray's first album put out on vinyl! release date: february 24th, 2014

KASSEM MOSSE - [TITLE TBA] (workshop) yes, great news: kassem mosse, another one of my favorite experimental house/techno producers, has confirmed that his debut solo LP is on the way, and due out "soon" on the always-interesting label workshop. no other details to share for now, but it would probably be a good idea to jump on this one when it comes out, given that workshop releases are often hot commodities. release date: tba 


... and onto part two...

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!

after labor day...

hello! i'm still alive and kickin'... i've just been busy with work as well as tons of live music around chicago lately. here's some quick bits for your tuesday morning:

new RA podcasts - resident advisor has been on a bit of a roll lately with its podcast series. last week featured a set from bruno pronsato, as well as an interview revealing his upcoming releases (a new public lover single is out very soon, with public lover AND bruno pronsato albums seemingly ready to be released later this year and early next year) . this week's featured mixer is superpitcher. the guy has made a name for himself pushing dreamy, melancholy dance music that often (and purposefully) borders on the pretentious. i'm not a big fan of his own material... then again i haven't dived too deep into his catalog. i might have to change that after this charming mix of 'voodoo' house music. he has just released a new album on his 'home' label kompakt, entitled kilimanjaro.

music for falling asleep to - check out this list of 10 ambient albums to doze off to. with albums by artists like brian eno, sigur ros, and wolfgang voigt on the list, i think i approve!

todd burns interviews plastikman - first done in july (in the midst of the plastikman world tour), RA's todd burn features the full transcript of his interview with richie hawtin on his own blog. one big topic of discussion is the challenge for hawtin to recreate his plastikman sound as well as the challenge to make something new.

and if you need some more new tunes, here are my quick picks...

juho kahilainen's new all-analog live project 'mind over machine' - juho told me a bit about this idea when he was working on his anatomy mix, so i'm excited to finally get a taste of what he was talking about. he goes in a bit more depth at this facebook event page for the live debut of the project. expect disorienting bleeps and cerebral acid lines in this short but tasty set...

smear - process part 231 - another excellent collection of sounds from one of the guys from forward strategy group. i don't even know how to describe this other than to say that smear brings the noise here. very interesting set; download now!


that's all for now. up next i'll preview this weekend's SONAR festivities!

music n news n shit

if you need stuff to hear/see, i suggest this:

brand-new super-fresh bruno pronsato live set
stream it or download it... either way, just get on it because this is definitely good stuff. this is a recording from bruno's set at watergate club in berlin just a week ago... some of this sounds like new material, and with a new album due to be released at some point later this year, i wouldn't be surprised if some new studio stuff shows up in this diverse set of playful jams.

this weekend in chicago: wicker park festival
chicago's hipster community gets taken over this saturday and sunday by the annual wicker park festival. with 3 stages of non-stop music in exchange for a $5 suggested donation, there's plenty of indie-oriented variety going on: electronica, jam, rock, metal... smilecoldanatomy's top pick is the live-band-electronic stylings of holy fuck, who will headline the south stage saturday night. check out the facebook event page and myspace page for set-times and more info.

also this weekend in chicago: vroom vroom techno day party
come ham it up at pour's backyard beer garden with some dance music from dj's reppin' chicago, detroit and milwaukee. this will go on from 2 til 10pm rain or shine and is free! check this facebook event page for more info.

efdemin comes to chicago
berlin-based deep house dj/producer efdemin will make what i think is his debut appearance in chicago this fall, in support of the album named after our fair city. tune in to the warm vintages of chicago, and get ready for some dial-style jams at smartbar on friday, september 24.

shed and his second skin
on the eve of the release of his second album, fact talks with shed about techno, breakbeats, and his various production aliases. a very honest, informative read, and it makes me even more excited to hear the traveler, due to be released via ostgut ton in exactly one month!


hear, see, learn, enjoy your weekend!

new bruno pronsato project: public lover

smilecoldanatomy is a huge fan of bruno pronsato's work. his new label, thesongsays, has been garnering some raving reviews, and it looks like the self-proclaimed 'romantic techno' enthusiast will be starting 2010 on a particularly sexy note with a new project, public lover. bruno has been gracious enough to share a freely-downloadable recording of the live debut of this sensual collaboration with ninca leece.

i had never heard of ninca leece before, but bruno has a history of mingling moody, alluring female vocals with his intriguing take on electronic music, with positively lovely results. for public lover, ninca softly delivers smooth-as-butter vocals over bruno's trademark off-kilter percussion and handclaps, and lots of mellow synths. even if it only stretches a bit over a half-hour, it works so nicely...

you can also stream this set, and see the praise that is already piling up, at bruno's soundcloud. i've already given this a couple listens, and i'm intrigued and excited. having already announced a potential u.s. tour with thomas melchior, i can't wait to see what's in store this year for bruno and his crew of lovers.