Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 197: nd_baumecker @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 197: nd_baumecker Posted: 06 Apr 2014 10:01 PM PDT On paper Andy Baumecker has only been putting out records for a few years, but his limited discography belies a wealth of experience that stretches back more than twenty years in the music industry. From DJing and producing to working in a record store and even running a couple of labels, Baumecker’s exposure to the music he loves to make has been intensive and varied. Though he has had a couple of credits to his own name, it is with Sam Barker that he is best known; their Barker & Baumecker project has so far generated a handful of releases including the very impressive Transsektoral album in 2012. Though output from the duo has been only occasional to date, its high quality has kept fans of their work anticipating new releases. We got in touch with Andy to find out when we can expect to hear more from the pair, if he plans on releasing any of his own tunes and who else he is working with in the studio. He also mixed our 197th exclusive podcast which shows off his incredible talents as a DJ; an hour of house and techno mixed with a few early influences too.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 196: Bicep @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 196: Bicep Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:01 PM PDT Sitting in the East London studio of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar from Bicep, there’s a wealth of covetable machinery on various racks and stands around us. The Belfast duo whose Feel My Bicep blog won them a huge fan base before they’d even released a record are explaining to me their shift toward using hardware and how it has flamed their creativity. It’s been a somewhat fortuitous rise for the two friends, who found the outlet for their love of music they began in 2008 started attracting increasingly impressive numbers of visitors, soon becoming an internationally renowned blog for its solid content and design. Their first releases found outlets through Traveller Records and Throne of Blood, but it was 2012 that saw their biggest spike in popularity, with three twelve-inches, including the Inner City-sampling “Vision of Love” on their own Feel My Bicep label. The record was a big boost for the duo, though ultimately lead to increased scrutiny by critics due to its association with the revivalist sound of 90s house. Over the course of our chat, we discuss media perceptions, their plans for their own label, and why it’s more fun tweaking a knob than clicking a mouse all the time. They also put together our 196th exclusive podcast, which they described as a collection of their latest acquisitions and fancies, and shows off their immaculate taste for house and techno.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 195: Amir Alexander @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 195: Amir Alexander Posted: 02 Mar 2014 10:15 PM PST Photo by Lauren la Quiche Thank the universe for artists, for without them our lives would be devoid of the colour and sound and movement and thought that they give us as their deepest expressions. I was reminded of this after interviewing Amir Alexander. Even though our exchange was email based, there is no denying the overpowering force of the artist that comes through in his words and ideas. For some people, these ideas might be pretty out-there, for others, down-right absurd, but I would argue that those who feel like that lost touch with the muse a long time ago. Alexander makes house and techno and has been doing so for a long time. His releases began gaining more traction a couple of years ago and nowadays can be found on labels like Finale Sessions, Deep Vibes, Hypercolour, Secretsundaze, Argot and of course Vanguard Sound! Like a true artist, Alexander took my questions and ran with them, giving us a deeper insight in to his music and purpose at the same time. He also put together our 195th exclusive podcast, which is about as good a way to start your week as I could imagine. So thank the universe for the artists. They are our connection to the eternal; a touch of the otherworldly here on earth. Download LWE Podcast 195: Amir Alexander (75:17) Tracklist:

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 192: Marco Bernardi @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 192: Marco Bernardi Posted: 02 Feb 2014 10:01 PM PST He’s been releasing under different guises for more than a decade, but it’s really been in the last few years that Marco Bernardi’s brand of house and techno has been grabbing our attention over here at LWE. From the taut, dystopian funk of “Mystery of Nazerus” on Clone to the rave-tinged house of “Klinsfrar Melode”‘ and the Detroit homage “Star Traveller,” it seems Mr. Bernardi can lend his hand to a variety of sounds and nail them all. But then perhaps this isn’t so surprising given that the Glaswegian/Italian has been involved in the music business since his mid teens, having played keyboards in a pub band for years before getting turned on to electronic music and beginning to produce his own. Whether under his own name or his most frequently used pseudonym, Octagen, Bernardi has been unassumingly prolific for over ten years and with a raft of records in the pipeline only looks to be even more so in 2014. LWE caught up with the producer to find out more about his past, find out what his favorite keyboard jam is and to learn about his new Take The Elevator label. He was responsible for our 192nd exclusive podcast as well, which due to the sheer number of exclusives making up this sweltering hour and a half of techno, he has asked us to withhold the track list for. So for this week, put the anoraks down and just enjoy!

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 186: Gunnar Haslam @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 186: Gunnar Haslam Posted: 01 Dec 2013 10:01 PM PST It’s hard to think of a record label in the past few years that has charted success quite like New York’s L.I.E.S. Yes the trusted institutions like Delsin, Rush Hour and Clone have continued to go from strength to strength, but when you consider that L.I.E.S. Is still very much the new kid on the block and add to that equation that the majority of their signings have never appeared elsewhere, it speaks volumes about how well the label is doing. Gunnar Haslam is one such signing, coming to attention with his Mimesiak LP released in July of this year, the collection of rude, often experimental tracks harnessed perfectly the ethos of the label. As impressive as the long player was, his just-released follow up EP for LWE editor Steve Mizek’s Argot label revealed that the producer is learning on the job; the three tracks that make up the Bera Range EP showing a marked evolution in his abilities. Without any real information on Haslam, LWE sought to unearth some vital facts about the New Yorker and charged him with putting together our 186th exclusive podcast. The resulting mix is 85 minutes of top notch techno that reflects both the dance floor and more cerebral sides of Haslam and is a vital listen no matter what your personal preference is. Download LWE Podcast 186: Gunnar Haslam (85:46) Tracklist:

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 185: Vester Koza @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 185: Vester Koza Posted: 24 Nov 2013 10:01 PM PST Until the early part of 2013 Vester Koza was an unknown quantity. In February though, he began to trickle releases via his Maslo label that has quickly established him as a producer to watch; his blend of understated, dubbed out house and techno hitting all the right notes. Cuts like “The Way (of the Dub)” proved to be cerebral yet functional on the dance floor as well, and this is an aesthetic he’s carried through to his most recent output, an untitled two tracker again on the Maslo label. His eye for detail, which has imbued his tracks with a refined, accomplished touch also extends to the label artwork, giving the impression that Mr. Koza is taking his time to construct an engaging body of work rather than pumping out tracks for the sake of it. With little known about the London producer, LWE went in search of one of 2013′s most promising new arrivals to get the low-down on the method behind his work. He also mixed together our 185th exclusive podcast which is a mesmerizing, deeply submersive experience in late night techno and house music.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 184: Benedikt Frey @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 184: Benedikt Frey Posted: 17 Nov 2013 10:01 PM PST If the small handful of releases that Benedikt Frey has been releasing over the past couple of years sound carefully considered and far from the work of a new hand then it’s for good reason. Frey had already been active under the name Suedmilch for some four years before he turned to using his own name. As Suedmilch, he made perfunctory dub-inflected house and techno that occasionally showed signs of the promise that was to come. By Frey’s own admission he started releasing too soon, though if his Suedmilch period served as a means to get to where he is now then it was certainly not in vain. When Frey appeared on the It’s All In The Mind Ethereal Sound sampler, it was apparent that here was a real talent. That small taste of meticulous, burnished deep house was soon followed up by a four track EP for Mule Electronic, which mined even deeper recesses of house and also conveyed Frey’s ability to credibly work with vocalists. Since then, increasingly impressive EPs have been forthcoming for Live at Robert Jonson and his own Love Pain Subshine & Rain imprint, all favoring a slightly tougher style, mixing his considerable talents for deep house with techno. LWE reached out to Frey to quiz the producer on his approach to music making, if having his own label gives him more freedom in what he releases, and whether we are likely to see a full length album from him soon. He also gave us our 184th exclusive podcast made up of scintillating exclusives and forthcoming tracks that shows his mastery in the studio also extends to the DJ booth. Download LWE Podcast 184: Benedikt Frey (62:35)

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 183: Austin Cesear @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 183: Austin Cesear Posted: 10 Nov 2013 10:01 PM PST With the wealth of record labels and producers growing seemingly exponentially, it is no wonder when the occasional releases slip between the cracks and go unnoticed at first. It happened a few years ago when Seattle producer Jon McMillion released his astounding, self-titled, full-length debut. And just last year the quietly achieving Public Information label issued an album from the hitherto unknown Austin Cesear, with his Cruise Forever long player. Its granular, analogue-sounding jams embraced experimental house and techno and was stitched together with ambient vignettes. Perhaps the slow uptake on Cesear’s remarkable album was due to its medium and its limited run (only 400 vinyl copies were pressed), but when the right ears did finally happen upon the record, it received its overdue acclaim. Previous to the album, Bay area native Cesear had been part of a band called Range Rover whose sound joined the dots between drone, rock and dub techno, and he had also dabbled with production for the bass-wise project Drop/Dead. LWE sought out the young producer to find out whether his other projects were still active, how his jammed approach drives his sound, and if he feels any pressure to follow up his hugely impressive first release. He also provided us with our 183rd exclusive podcast, an hour long journey of house and techno to sate even the fussiest of tastes.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 182: Gerry Read @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 182: Gerry Read Posted: 27 Oct 2013 10:01 PM PDT Though his first releases hinted at a bright future for another bass-wise producer not afraid to flex his knowledge of vintage garage samples, Gerry Read had already changed tack by his third outing and steered a course for raw, feverish house and techno. On his first release for the English label Fourth Wave, the young producer marked out his intentions with two brutally raw tracks; one a deep house banger that any discerning Chicago stalwart would play ’til the needles burned through the wax. The other, a taut, tech-house affair with heavily treated samples and a degraded sound design that felt like it could fall apart at any minute. More releases came and as they flowed through channels like Fourth Wave, Delsin and 2nd Drop so it started becoming clear that very little was known about this increasingly on-point producer. Scarce details: his age, a blurry photo, and the fact he defrauded his grandfather for his name came to light. And the music. By the time his debut album Jummy dropped, there was some hype about the maverick beat-maker and the mystery only added to it, stripping away everything but the music to stand on its own. LWE didn’t find out much more through it's expertly designed questions, other than that Gerry has a girlfriend, prefers to listen to music au naturale, and has never recorded a mix as long as the one he made for us. The rest is semantics really.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 181: Keith Worthy @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 181: Keith Worthy Posted: 20 Oct 2013 10:01 PM PDT Part of the Detroit wave that slipped through the cracks, Keith Worthy had been steadily applying his trade as a DJ for a good many years before he started to produce records. When he did finally press his talent to wax, it was for his own label, Aesthetic Audio, which he set up in 2007 and which has been home to releases not just from himself but also Juju & Jordash, Tony Lionni, Steven Tang and more. From the outset Worthy has trodden some familiar ground, that deepest of Detroit house and techno, that raw sound of emotion pouring through the machines it was created with. It’s a palpable thread through Worthy’s work, from the aching strings of “Shelovesmenot” through to the plaintive leads of “Rockit Science” hinting at cosmic heartbreak — emotion is everywhere you turn. With his debut album soon to be released, LWE wanted to uncover more of the Keith Worthy story and so tracked him down to talk about his label, the album and what it takes to produce honest music. He also mixed together our 181st exclusive podcast, a timeless mix of heartfelt house and techno, made up of freshly minted and age old classics.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 180: Sven Weisemann @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 180: Sven Weisemann Posted: 13 Oct 2013 10:01 PM PDT He hasn’t quite been releasing for ten years, but there is everything to suggest that Sven Weisemann is a true veteran musician. With four albums to his name and about 30 single releases, the prolific producer has become a constant presence in electronic music. His deep, dubbed out techno and house he puts to his own name is almost instantly recognizable for its honed aesthetic and sheer quality. His late night, granular, downtempo Desolate project has enjoyed its own success, his two Desolate albums openly influenced by the sound of Burial but taken to its most haunting, beautiful conclusion. Weisemann’s 2009 album, Xine, introduced another side to the producer, that of composer. Sitting somewhere between experimental soundtrack and modern classical, Xine featured Weisemann’s considerable piano playing prowess. LWE reached out to Sven to ask him more about this side of him, to find out about his new album, Inner Motions, and to get the lowdown on his various pseudonyms. He also mixed our 180th exclusive podcast, a brilliant but surprising mix of tough, weathered techno that stands in contrast to his usual deep, melodic style.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 177: Oliver Hacke @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 177: Oliver Hacke Posted: 15 Sep 2013 10:01 PM PDT Though the minimal sound fell from favor some years ago, there is no denying the quality of music created by some of its progenitors and those who were influenced by them. Although very much an integral part of the minimal movement, labels like Traum and Trapez also stood slightly apart from it; their releases from that time still are relevant today. One artist who popped up repeatedly on both labels was Oliver Hacke. He had deep roots in the sound but rather than driving relentlessly at the aesthetic like many producers later did (causing the genre to become a parody of itself), he infused his tracks with more disparate influences. To that end you could hear disco, jazz, deep house, and elements of dub techno throughout his productions. First releasing in 2002, he had a prolific flurry of releases in 2003, but from then on his output became more erratic until it seemed to have stopped entirely from 2008 onwards. And when a mix from Hacke came through at LWE HQ I had to rack my brain a bit to place the producer whose name I hadn’t encountered for some time. One listen to the mix piqued my curiosity, so LWE contacted Hacke to find out why he stopped producing and whether he is likely to return to it. He filled me in on these questions and more, with his stunning mix — the 177th exclusive for our series highlighting why DJing is his primary passion at the moment.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 176: Youandewan @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 176: Youandewan Posted: 08 Sep 2013 10:01 PM PDT Not long out of school, a young Ewan Smith began messing around on DAWs like Reason and Fruity Loops. He proved to have a propensity for production, before long scoring a track on an artist sampler as Youandewan. With more tracks forthcoming over the next couple of years, his considered, melodic, deep house cuts started finding appreciative listeners, leading to remix offers from a wide array of artists. Smith had decided his own productions needed some incubation time, so while his remix work started picking up (he has done nearly 20 since 2010) he put more and more time into his own tracks. That focus had paid off, with Smith's new releases coming out on notable labels like Simple,

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 175: Linkwood @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 175: Linkwood Posted: 01 Sep 2013 10:01 PM PDT It was nearly ten years ago that Scottish label Firecracker Recordings got underway with an EP of various artists, featuring a track that would quickly become a house classic. All three tracks on the limited run, ten-inch collectible vinyl were of faultless quality, but it was the sprawling, epic house cut “Miles Away” by the duo Linkwood Family that stood out as the calling card for this freshly minted imprint. The label continued on in a similar vein, issuing highly sought-after pieces of wax, adorned with painstakingly crafted covers of the utmost quality. For their part the duo that made up Linkwood Family also continued to push their special brand of organic, boogie and funk soaked house music: Lindsay Todd with his own releases as House of Traps and the man responsible for the artwork on the highly prized pieces of vinyl, and Nick Moore who forged ahead with the Linkwood name, releasing further must-haves on Firecracker, Prime Numbers and Firecracker offshoot Shevchenko. With his brother Tim Moore they further impressed as Discreet Unit and The Complainers, while his debut Linkwood album for Prime Numbers earmarked the producer as one with serious scope. LWE approached Moore to find out more about his musical background, how his engineering work influences his own productions, and to get the low down on his forthcoming sophomore album. We also charged him with the responsibility of putting together our 175th exclusive podcast; an incredible mix of forthcoming gems and contemporary classics from himself and his peers.

Little White Earbuds: LWE Podcast 173: Steven Tang @ MNS

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LWE Podcast 173: Steven Tang Posted: 18 Aug 2013 10:01 PM PDT Sometimes it’s not just a fable that Slow and steady wins the race. It’s taken more than a decade for wider audiences to discover the persistence and clarity of creative vision which have defined Steven Tang’s catalog. But all along, the Hong Kong-born, Chicago raised producer would remind himself that “failing is not an option,” and continue releasing stunning deep-house and techno records on his own Emphasis Recordings for going on 15 years. Tang operates both under his own name, where he makes his most expressive and musical tracks, and Obsolete Music Technology, which showcases his most floor-friendly work. While Emphasis will always be Tang’s homebase, branching out with other labels — including Aesthetic Audio, Machining Dreams, Syncrophone, and most recently Smallville Records — has afforded him the renown his talents deserve. In July Smallville released his debut album. Somehow, after 15 years in the making, it succinctly emphasizes his appeal, offering a mixture of more commanding dance tracks and more esoteric explorations with dance music’s form. And now there are many more vinyl-hungry fans paying close attention. Little White Earbuds took the opportunity to interview Steven Tang at his apartment in Chicago, learning more about what’s given him the drive to make it as a full time artist. He also mixed together LWE’s 173rd exclusive podcast, 60 minutes of luscious house and techno, both new and old.