Beatport: Watch: Audien’s Best Week Ever @ Musique Non Stop

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1. Watch: Audien’s Best Week Ever 
2. Bankrupt Manufacturer Vestax Rebuilding, Not Dissolving 
3. Premiere: Ramiro Lopez, “Phill” [Suara] 
4. Our 10 Favorite Tech House and Techno Tracks of 2014 
5. Pete Tong Reveals 2014’s ‘Essential Mix of the Year’ Winner

Watch: Audien’s Best Week Ever Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:00 PM PST 22-year-old Nate Rathbun – better known to his legion of fans as Audien – won’t soon forget the first week of December 2014. For starters, the producer was midway through his ‘Audacity’ headline tour, which included a string of sold-out shows from San Francisco to New York City. In the midst of the final tour dates, the news came that the summer-ruling Audien remix of Bastille’s “Pompeii” had been nominated for a 2015 Grammy. In the new year, he’ll also join Marquee Las Vegas as an exclusive new resident. Then, to complete his December dream run, Nate signed with Astralwerks, a label he shares with such rarified company as Deadmau5, Porter Robinson, the Chemical Brothers and Eric Prydz. In the same week that he was notching up all those life highlights, we traveled with Nate to his idyllic hometown of Mystic, Connecticut to track his journey from bedroom producer to Grammy contender. That video is coming soon, but in the meantime here’s our look inside a production dynamo’s “best week ever.”

Bankrupt Manufacturer Vestax Rebuilding, Not Dissolving Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:30 PM PST U.S. Vestax representative and distributer Mixware has released a statement to DJ TechTools, clearing up some of the confusion about the Japanese DJ equipment manufacturer’s reported bankruptcy. “The bankruptcy procedure was a necessary first step into the rebuilding of Vestax Japan and Vestax brand,” begins Mixware’s statement. “Measures, engineering team, new product designs and financial support are already in place to support the rebuilding process and more information will be published by Vestax Japan during the course of the first semester 2015.” The statement goes on to explain that Vestax is not going away, and that new Vestax products will again be produced once the company is restructured. “This process will definitely take some time before the first new Vestax products reach the worldwide markets but we're confident that once again under the leadership of its original founders, Vestax will soon reemerge as a strong innovative brand as it has always been.” Rumors of the company's closure first began to spread after Vestax went silent on social media earlier this year, failed to unveil new products at trade shows, and reportedly ceased operations August 31. The company's liabilities appear to be around 900 million yen (around $7.5 million). Mixware’s statement refers to “the leadership of its original founders,” so it appears that the company has not been sold, and that its leadership remains intact.

Premiere: Ramiro Lopez, “Phill” [Suara] Posted: 22 Dec 2014 12:00 PM PST On December 29, Spanish techno producer Ramiro Lopez will be releasing his new Cathexis EP on Coyu’s label, Suara. Lopez has been putting out tracks for the past seven years, with releases on esteemed labels like Bedrock, Noir, Terminal M, Tronic, SCI+TEC and Waveform, but Suara has been a frequent home. ​”​It’​s always a pleasure to have fresh tunes coming up on Suara,” the Toledo, Spain resident explains. “After my Tuna Ice Cream​​ EP, was released ​this ​summer, I wanted to follow up with some more techno and effective tracks, as a result of how I am feeling in the studio at the moment. Coyu and myself have tested​ every track and received​ ​great feedback. Now it’s time to share them with everybody else. Can​’​t imagine ​a better way to say good​bye to this amazing year. Hope you enjoy ​listening to them ​as much as I have producing and playing them!​”​ We’re very excited to debut one of our favorite tracks from Cathexis,”Phill,” below. Cathexis is exclusively available on Beatport Dec. 29. For more info, visit Suara.

Our 10 Favorite Tech House and Techno Tracks of 2014 Posted: 22 Dec 2014 11:30 AM PST It’s easy to find out the top-selling tracks in each dance genre, over at the Beatport store. For our Year In Review series, however, our genre Editors took a dive into a vast catalog of music to share their 10 favorite releases of the last 12 months. They might not be the biggest names in the game – but these are the tracks we love, that you need to know, from 2014. We’re kicking things off with standout releases bearing the Techno and Tech House Beatport tags.   1. Proudly People — “Little Helper 126-4″ Few tracks hit harder or started sets better than Proudly People’s “Little Helper 126-4.” Its reduced groove is perfect by itself, but it’s even better when it’s looped, edited or layered on the fly. [Matt Ferry – Editor/Berlin] 2. Jules & Moss — “Bis April” Jules & Moss hit it big this year with “Bis April.” Extending the magic of the summer season when it was released, we still hear this one dropped in sets by DJ tastemakers across the genre spectrum. [Matt Ferry] 3. Alex Niggemann — “Materium” If you attended any respectable club night in 2014, there’s a good chance you were subjected to the glory that is Alex Niggeman’s “Materium.” Through its eight-minute playtime, this track exudes deep space vibes that we’re expecting to hear well into 2015. [Matt Ferry] 4. Reelow — “Illegal Jump” If there’s one thing Eastern Europeans know inside and out, it’s quality tech-house. Hungarian-born Reelow exemplified that sound this year with “Illegal Jump.” It’s the ultimate in pummeling, late-night, warehouse mayhem. [Matt Ferry] 5. Darlyn Vlys & Thomas Gandey — “Hero” If “sleaze tech” was a real thing, Darlyn Vlys and Thomas Gandey’s “Hero” would be its anthem. Sweet, low-slung grooves tailor-made for the moment when the night takes its inevitable turn toward the weird and wonderful. [Matt Ferry] 6. Gesloten Cirkel — “Vader” 2014 was the year of Gesloten Cirkel. Period. [Christine Kakaire – Editor/Berlin] 7. Lewis Fautzi — “Binary” (Oscar Mulero Remix)  One of the things that the beloved label Soma has done so well, for so long, is bringing together the pillars of modern techno and matching them with the scene’s up-and-comers. Case in point: this remix of Soma debut artist Lewis Fautzi by Spanish techno don Oscar Mulero. It landed at the beginning of the year, and hasn’t lost any of its impact since. [Christine Kakaire] 8. Sebastian Mullaert & Patrick Siech — “Genome” Minus’ renewed vigor over the past two years has seen them mostly revisiting the same “mnml sound” that made the label so famous in the mid-2000s, until this beauty appeared out of nowhere. Teaming up with techno Swedes Patrick Siech and Minilogue’s Sebastian Mullaert was an inspired move for the label. This release bodes well for more hypnotic analog noodling over the two forthcoming installments of their ongoing Genome trilogy. [Christine Kakaire] 9. Planetary Assault Systems — “Serc” This track is a perfect example of why we love our ‘Secret Weapons’ series so much: everyone went wild for the much more upfront title track of Luke Slater’s Future Modular EP, and rightly so…until the subtle, slow-burn quality of b-side track “Serc” began to reveal itself many weeks – and many listens – later. [Christine Kakaire] 10. Cozzy D — “D&H” Tucked away on an EP that’s overflowing with the tech-house style that Cozzy D’s known for, was “D&H” — a nod to melodic, last-track-of-the-night techno, replete with filtered organs and sweeping, classic melodies. [Christine Kakaire]

Pete Tong Reveals 2014’s ‘Essential Mix of the Year’ Winner Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:30 AM PST This year, the Essential Mix judging panel was again asked to vote on the standout 120-minute session of the year, from a shortlist of five. As revealed over the weekend, it was Canadian maestro Dan Snaith – better known as Caribou – who took home the grand prize ahead of Ten Walls, Joy Orbison, Bicep and Jon Hopkins. The judges included Pete Tong (obviously) and his BBC Radio 1 peers B. Traits and Danny Howard, as well as a handpicked line-up of industry insiders and 2013 winner Eric Prydz. You can check out Snaith’s victory face right here. This Essential Mix aired back in October, the same month that we got to know Caribou’s latest LP, Our Love. Naturally, we hear a couple of album cuts, plus music from the likes of Joy Orbison & Boddika, Butric, Pearson Sound, Anthony Naples, Daft Punk and Les Sins. Snaith also works in productions under his Daphni guise. All in all, it’s an eclectic listen. As the man himself put it, “For people who've seen me DJ before, that won't be a surprise.” Back in November, Snaith also put together a special 47-minute DJ mixtape to accompany copies of Our Love sold through music retailer Rough Trade. You can take a listen to that one, and see the tracklist, over here. Before that, though, do your ears a favor and hit play on the triumphant Essential Mix below (via Caribou’s official SoundCloud).