zooloft - patterns of behavior

check out the thrilling new video for a recent track from giorgio gigli and obtane, 'patterns of behavior':



this one is from the newest record on the duo's label, zooloft00I. and berlin heads, look out: after playing for grounded theory last month, giorgio and obtane will be back there tomorrow to headline the ://about blank party. those berliners sure have good taste in music...

monday moods: zooloft

it's been a while, but it's time for some fresh monday moods. today, i'm simply passing along two excellent recordings from the zooloft duo of obtane and giorgio gigli, in action in barcelona last month.

first up is a two hours of ambient, 'modern classical' and related rhythmic electronics. expect dramatic sounds from zooloft alongside the likes of murcof, clock DVA, iori and raime. you can find it here at clubbingspain (scroll to the bottom for the download/'descargar' link) and of course, if you're fluent in spanish or able to use a web translator, please be sure to check out the accompanying interview with both giorgio and obtane. stream the set on soundcloud.



and now here's a treat. later that night in barcelona, both artists played sets at moog club... and here's obtane's live session, downloadable at the zooloft homepage. as usual for obtane, it's a menacing trip, full of his trademark growls and deep, sexy sci-fi terror.

kudos to giorgio, obtane and clubbingspain, discos paradisos and moog for three hours of zooloft sounds... enjoy! and look out for zooloft 00I (that's the record art at the top of this post) - it's another dark techno journey featuring an excellent remix from orphx. keep up with zooloft at facebook and the new westilltry! tumblr.

midpoint 2011

hello all! and thanks to those who patiently tuned in to my set on rts.fm last week ... i started a bit late and was preparing for a 2-hour set, but with approval from my gracious host oleg, i decided to dig deeper and play for three hours... i hope to have an mp3 recording of my set from the site soon and i'll be sure to share it with everyone!

in a related matter, my friend andrew solomon also has a spot later today at the rts.fm studio here in chicago - same starting time as my set last week, 2pm central (US). check out the rts.fm link here, and the facebook event page here. furthermore, andrew will be playing with m50 (for free!) at downtown bar and lounge tomorrow/friday night... not much you need to know about that party, but click through to the RA event for more info.

and, in more anatomy-associated news:

XHIN DEBUT US MINI-TOUR: LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK huzzah! another anatomy mixer makes it stateside. unfortunately no chicago date, but i hope the heads in california (this weekend) and nyc (next friday) give xhin a warm welcome for his first appearances in the country. more precise details at xhin's RA page. he's also returned to stroboscopic vinyl, with a track on SA's 10th wax release. give it a peak here.

NEW FORWARD STRATEGY GROUP VINYL COMING SOON smear and patrick walker join forces with some corporate affiliates for a new vinyl release on dynamic reflection. find the rest of the revealed details here and stay tuned... go FSG!

NEW ZOOLOFT VINYL IN STORES another update from the zooloft collective: 00G, the dark thoughts of fate's manufacturer, is out now on delicious vinyl and probably at a store 'near' you - for example, at juno. kudos to giorgio, obtane and milton bradley for a tasteful dose of darkness and as usual, zoom to the zooloft blog for more dystopian audio/video.


okay, that's all for now. coming soon: july top 10 chart, more record discussion and yes, finally... anatomy 15!

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...

techno transmissions

hello! thanks to all who have tried out any of the jams from the SA anatomized mixes. now, onto new news for new techno and other new stuff...

NEW ZOOLOFT anatomy affiliates obtane and giorgio gigli are at it again, with zooloft 00G: the dark thoughts of fate's manufacturer. as usual, it's a combination of rhythmic and beat-less abstraction, with a blistering a-side to go along with two ultra-deep tracks on the flip: milton bradley's slow, pulsing reverberations, and the howling ambience of a zooloft edit. samples and more words at the zooloft blog. further kudos for a nice review of the incredible tale on LWE. go zooloft!

PERC PREPS WICKER & STEEL another anatomy mixer on the move: perc prepares to release his debut full-length album, wicker & steel on his perc trax imprint next month, june 10th. the first single, my head is slowly exploding, is a real mind-bender, with a properly twisted edit from ancient methods. read more about wicker & steel in the RA news, and london heads take note: the album's launch party goes down saturday june 11th with help from another anatomy-approved duo, forward strategy group.

RA.257 - O/V/R james ruskin and regis go live for RA's podcast in what will probably be one of my favorite picks from the series in 2011. just under an hour long, and turning out to be bit of a tease (as part of a longer live set), the duo do it deep, dark and intensely angular, balancing mechanical precision with a bit of cinematic warmth. blade runner techno!

AMBIENT TECHNO FOR JAPAN in the wake of the tragedy that struck japan two months ago, one positive thing to take away from the situation (apart from the heroism exemplified in the workers who are venturing into stricken, irradiated reactor plants in order to stop a brewing nuclear disaster) is the artistic reaction, as creative minds around the world lend a supportive hand. the minds behind japan's celebrated labyrinth festival are banding together to create composure, a compilation of sounds from some of the more notable names in the ambient/techno spectrum including convextion, donato dozzy, sandwell district... more information can be found here. slated for digital release at some point this month, and cd release in june. and if you haven't yet, donate a few units of your local currency and show some love!

CIO D'OR AND DONATO DOZZY PRESENT 'J' speaking of dozzy and japan, the deep-diving wizard joins forces with cio d'or for 40 minutes of ambient, tribal jams on the mnml ssgs blog to celebrate the island nation. note the delightful placement of monolake's 'void' as the set approaches the halfway mark... don't need too many words for this other than it's definitely 'worth a listen'.

YUGOSLAVIA - 25 MONUMENTS FROM THE FUTURE well maybe not the future; these structures were built in the 1960s and 1970s, but they sure look like relics from somewhere forward in time. those will be the days!

SMOKE MACHINE PODCAST 012 - ALAN BACKDROP last but not least, one more anatomy friend in the mix! almost 90 minutes of seriously lush deepness from alan backdrop... stream and download at the smoke machine soundcloud.

that's all for now! stay tuned for my top 10 may chart, and my preferred picks for this year's movement festival in detroit.

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!

obtane - terrordrome [anatomy 08]

the 8th anatomy comes from the other half of the zooloft duo, obtane!

i discovered obtane's music through a prologue sampler EP in 2009 (discussed here)... his dark, noisy, intense techno has been released via synewave, sonic groove, and stroboscopic artefacts, but his recent focus has been his own zooloft imprint, which he operates with giorgio gigli. obtane's dcast mix from a few months ago is an excellent story of rhythms from techno's future, but like giorgio's anatomy mix, obtane has even more abstract ideas in mind for his mix here, which he has named terrordrome... but more on that later. first, some discussion:

Hello, Obtane! Tell us a bit about yourself. What musicians have made the biggest impact on you? What made you want to create your own music?
Hello Brian! I'm from Italy, I was raised in a little harbour city on the Ligurian Sea, that's the north-western part. Brian Eno, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, for sure, made the biggest impact on me. Also, some things from Jean Michel Jarre (Equinoxe and Oxygene). Later I felt a huge influence from industrial bands like Throbbing Gristle and Clock DVA. Minor influences also from EBM bands like DAF and Liaisons Dangereuses. From the Italian scene, the only band that totally captured my attention were Goblin.

I first started listening and playing records when I was 14, and after 10 years (almost always at my home), I thought I learned something so I tried to build my own first track. The result wasn't really bad, at all.

You've described your music as 'cinematic' and 'sci-fi'... what are your favorite films? How have they inspired you as an artist?
Yes, I love sci-fi and horror movies. My favourite movies ever are Metropolis, Blade Runner, The Omega Man, Deep Red and The Omen (the original one from 1976). But I'm also a big fan of so-called violent cinema. My preferences here are for Kubrick and Abel Ferrara. Also big fan of fucking weird movies and Alejandro Jodorowsky (Santa Sangre) is the master, in my opinion. I also love Pasolini films (Uccellacci e Uccellini), Blow Up by Michelangelo Antonioni...

When you are in the mood for non-electronic music, what do you listen to?
I generally listen to late 1970 disco, 80's funky, oldschool electro. As you see my preferences are still in the electronic side. I usually need synths, haha... Also, classical music, Schonberg and Stravinsky, and some Italian experimental music like Luigi Nono.

Tell me about Zooloft. How did it start, and where did that name come from? How is Zooloft different from the other labels you have produced for?
The name Zooloft is derived from the antidepressive Zoloft and the child isn't random since children have the most humour and the best mood. Zooloft initially started as a platform for my productions. After meeting Giorgio Gigli, I wanted him in my label as half-part. We totally changed the Zooloft design and concept to make something unique. Everything is done with precision and passion, every release that comes out is like a piece of heart from Giorgio Gigli and Obtane. Zooloft has a romantic but dystopian philosophy and it's focused on the true underground spirit of techno music. Every record tells a story and comes with a special packaging. This union between design and music is the main engine of Zooloft. Our policy could be: quality, not quantity. And here the choice is doing limited edition vinyls.

Aside from your collaborators, do you have a specific philosophy of music?
What captures my attention is dark sounds, tight, mechanical rhythms, and dystopian ideas. As I have said before, I'm very inspired by artists like Surgeon, Regis, Adam X, Function and Marcel Dettmann. I like the industrial vein in techno music and, for sure, one of my favourite synthesis is FM.

Every track of mine is constructed thinking of visions, scenarios. I can't imagine my music without a vision. When I do a track I think what I want to explain first, not the opposite. A concept, an idea behind it. Like a short movie, every sound is like a frame.

Some of your fellow Italian producers have also contributed mixes for smilecoldanatomy, and many of you have collaborated together somehow. Do you sense a unified approach to these sounds coming from the Italian underground?
Yes, definitely. I like this breed of new Italian artists and that's why I'm still in Italy. I could move outside my nation but I wanna see what will happen first. Maybe something very important is moving around... Apart from the collaboration with Giorgio Gigli, I recently did a track with Claudio PRC for Aconito Records. He's very talented and I was really satisfied of the result. I'd like to produce some tracks also with Dino Sabatini in future, his musical tastes are very close to mine.

If you had to choose your favorite records or pieces of music, what would they be, and why?
I like to play long tracks so my choices go to 2-tracker EP's. A perfect track for myself would be like Face of Smoke by Peter Van Hoesen: it's solid, powerful, dark and vengeful.
Every track I select tends to be 'sinister'. As sentimental and emotional favorites, I can tell the 154 album on Delsin. It's very touching, a true masterpiece. As tearjerkers I also have to mention the Forever Delayed album on Islands & Islets. Then the Philip Jeck album An Ark For The Listener.

Zooloft's output has been primarily through vinyl, but digital versions have been released when the records sell out... and I always like to ask artists: what do you think of the vinyl/digital debate?
I think releasing the digital version when the vinyl sells out is a good idea. I'm not a big fan of digital but it can be good if you make your digital music available on good shops like Boomkat. Of course, if you spread your releases on every mp3 store of the planet... Your music get confused, there's no target anymore, your music is sold together house and dance music: Beatport is a total mess. Too many labels, too many genres, like a record supermarket. That's a real catastrophe.

Are there any producers or labels that you are watching closely in 2011? What is the last record or track you bought?
I'm ever more into Sandwell District, I love what they're doing. But there's no a label I'm following with precise interest. I like what I hear at the moment. Some Ostgut records are great and some not for me. I bought the Einoma EP on Shipwrec, then an acidic techno vinyl named Titrology, then The Great Traitor (with Monolake remix) and the latest Oscar Mulero album.

What are you doing in 2011? I know you have a few releases coming up soon, would you like to elaborate on your plans for this year?
After the Obtane/Claudio PRC track on Aconito Records, I have a remix coming on Stroboscopic Artefacts, a track for a V.A. on a new Italian label, an Obtane/Giorgio Gigli EP on KRD Music, the new Sonic Groove EP coming in September, then I'll work on the Zooloft album with Giorgio. In the meantime, continuing with Zooloft releases. Then there will be a special collector item coming on Zooloft for Christmas 2011, but you have to be good ;)

Finally, tell us about Terrordrome.
I tried to take the thrilling perspective of some electronic tracks. I think the mood is very frightening and sinister. I was inspired by a Dario Argento movie where the character is getting stalked by a strange man. I think the music speaks itself. I alternated dark soundscapes with more rhythmic tracks. Some moments are also very noisy. Other moments are more romantic...


okay! and now, for a 100-minute walk through obtane's dark, dramatic, musical cityscape...






thanks again to obtane. i really appreciate the thought that went into this set of sounds, as well as his enthusiasm in sharing his story. to keep track of the man, check out his RA page, as well as the zooloft homepage and blog. the next zooloft record comes out in a few weeks, followed by his collaboration on aconito, to be released next month; i highly recommend checking out both. until then, enjoy this mix... terrordrome!

giorgio gigli - room of secret memories [anatomy 05]

i am really, really excited to share a very special set of sounds with you all, from a very interesting artist...

(click on photo to enhance)

giorgio gigli hails from rome, italy, and over the past few years he has developed a distinct style of deep, hypnotic, darkly romantic techno. more recently, he has been busy releasing his music through limited-edition vinyl alongside obtane on their label, zooloft records.

no interview for now, and no more explanation... about this set, giorgio only had this to say:
"shadows never sleep"






for more info about giorgio and zooloft, check out the zooloft blog. it's been a pleasure to get to know giorgio, and as the 5th contribution to this blog's mix series, i could not be more pleased. his unique, reflective selections are exactly the sort of things i've come to expect from these anatomy mixes; thanks again to each artist for contributing, and thanks to those out there reading and listening... enjoy!

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.