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...

friday funk

i'll keep the funk to a minimum for now as i have a weekend to attend to. you can maybe catch me at this party with christopher rau tomorrow night, otherwise i will be jamming tunes on the beach, like so:













and then go check out this neat new feature piece at RA - a US edition of my favorite dj, with words from/about eric cloutier, dan bell, function, mike huckaby... have a good weekend y'all.

friday funk

the air & water show will fill the skies over chicago this weekend, but come fly with me at these events:

TOMORROW: JOHN HUGHES AT NOON the hefty records boss will play a live set at noon - for FREE - at the pritzker pavilion downtown, together with a drummer and a vibraphone player. check out this youtube video, which hopefully gives us an idea of what to expect. the music will only last a little over an hour, so be sure to arrive on time!

TOMORROW NIGHT: TAMA SUMO & MARCEL DETTMANN AT SMARTBAR a lethal one-two punch of berlin beats: tama sumo should keep it more on the house-y side, and if dettmann's set last year at smartbar is any indicator, he should be bringing a pile of intense techno back to town. get pumped up with this recent mix from tama sumo, and this set for CLR from dettmann (direct download). gramaphone DJ tyrel williams does opening duties - i'm very excited for a no-computer no-nonsense night of techno and house in the windy city!


and now, onto a few mixes i've been caning. a little bit of deep house; a mysterious, oddly funky live set; a warm serving of laboratory techno... read on:

kassem mosse - RA.272 i've only recently become a casual fan of gunnar wendel, aka kassem mosse - it probably started with this laid record last summer - but i had the privilege of seeing him perform live a few months ago and enjoyed his slow, smoke-filled take on house music. and that's basically what he serves up for RA: deep and loose. do it to it!

milton bradley - LWE podcast 91 one of my absolute favorite producers right now, milton bradley shares a live set with little white earbuds. while his records betray an affinity for broken beats, this recording sticks mostly to 4/4, which is fine with me. funk music for ghosts, i say.

dino sabatini - outis podcast 01 not only does our anatomy friend have a new label with its first record modulated waves out at shops, he's offered up the screams of outis - a new 'hybrid' mix blending together dino's own material. it's deep, dark, clinical and dangerously hypnotic. and to sweeten the deal, he's offered up full streaming versions of both modulations from outis 001. go dino!


okay, that's it for now. fans of the anatomy mixes, fear not: i'm arranging the next few mixes, and otherwise plotting a few appropriate sets of sounds for the fall and holiday seasons later this year. stay tuned, and have a good weekend!