DJ Spotlight:  Butane

Butane with be at Treehouse Miami, September 23rd, tickets available on RA:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?292278

Otherwise known to his friends as Butane Ramerez, Andrew been DJing since the Fall of 2002 and producing original electronic music since September of 2004. His monthly party, Alphahouse, has been gaining steady momentum on a national and international scale since it’s inception in April of 2003 – and is now infamous for the marathon after-hours sessions that everyone from Magda to Someone Else has praised as among the top parties in the world. Andrew started a vinyl imprint of the same name in 2005, hoping to capture a bit of the spirit of the party on wax. From sleazy, futuristic minimal techno house, to deep and funky European and Detroit syled techno, Andrew has an appreciation for heady dance music. Having taken a view that DJing is more than just playing other people’s records, Andrew has embrased all forward-thinking technology in his DJ setup that allows him to layer and loop and create while he’s on the tables.

DJ Spotlight:  Dan Curtin                                                                                          

Dan Curtain will be at TREEHOUSE this weeknd, pre-sale tickets available:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?292278

Curtin’s impressive discography dates back to 1992, with his first releases for Detroit’s 33RPM 

Records and Belgium’s Buzz Records. He soon inked his own production hub, Metamorphic 
Recordings, which remains actively committed to quality techno and electronica to this day. Curtin’s 
unwillingness to restrict himself to a singular style has been instrumental to releases such as his albums 
Silicon Dawn, Web Of Life and Art & Science on Peacefrog Records, and for influential imprints 
such as Strictly Rhythm and Sublime. 

In 2003 Curtin shifted towards a funkier production sound, and his creative instincts urged him towards 
the fast-paced electronic music scene of Berlin. This relocation triggered a string of well-received 
releases for Tuning Spork, Klang Elektronik and Soma, followed by Pull Up, Dan’s debut for Berlin 
imprint Leena. The release marked a new chapter in Dan’s musical career, as he followed it with the 
trio of Other, Beat Fiend and Mr. Bean Do An E for Leena’s sister label mobilee records. The mobilee 
association was cemented with the release of Lifeblood in 2010, a full-length opus that is as much 
a testament to techno’s expressive potential, as it is to Curtin’s mastery of the form. 

Over 70 singles, 9 albums and 20 years later, Dan Curtin is as innovative and vital as he has ever been. 
All the while, he has cemented his international reputation as a DJ, appearing at many of the world’s 
best clubs, and ever aware of the vital give-and-take relationship between the DJ and the dancefloor. 

DJ Spotlight:  MONOLOC

Pre-sale tickets available on Resident Advisor:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?286542

 Monoloc based in Germany/Frankfurt am Main started to produce his first sounds in 2001. 

A few years later he moved to a proper studio to ziro in on his music productions. The new place and his inspiring studio neighbors created a perfect environment so that he was able to upgrade his skills increasingly. 

Monoloc´s vinyl debut came in October 2008 with the „In a Haze EP“ (Smallroom 01).

He released already on labels like CLR, Synewave, MultiVitamins, Micro.fon and Droid for example who get thrilled by his deep minimalistic techno sound consists of organic and sometimes dark vocal elements. His keen sense for good sound let him always know how to produce tracks with his special personal touch or how to create a great ambiance for the dancefloor . His music is slow, dark, enegry and danceable 

Midyear 2008 he was ready to take it to the next level and founded his own label Smallroom Music. Artists like Maetrik, Alexi Delano, Elon , Ascion , Kane Roth, Mike Wall , Jan Hendez„ Brian Sanhaji, Emerson, Matt Star, Jon Seber and many more had released on his emerging label yet. As a label head he has focused till now on discovering fresh and innovative young talent artists. 

Monoloc is actually touring all around, visiting the best clubs of the scene. Above all festivals like Nature One, Rave on Snow, Day & Night, Ruhr in Love, Dom Mladih (Sarajevo) to name few. His DJ sets can be described as pumping and Deep. 

He has a string of E.P’s and remixes lined up and has no intentions of slowing down.

DJ SPOTLIGHT:  CELL INJECTION, a techno duo composed of Drumcell and Audio Injection, check out their bios below!  

CELL INJECTION will invade Treehouse Miami this Friday night, tickets available on Resident Advisor:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?286428

DRUMCELL

[clr;droid recordings]

Drumcell is the founder of Droid Recordings and co-founder of Droid Behavior along with the Vargas brothers of techno duo Acid Circus. Since the mid Nineties Drumcell has been a firm believer in the power of techno and over the past decade become one of Southern California’s greatest champions.

As a graduate of the Musician’s Institute, a veteran performer at parties, and longtime recording engineer Drumcell harnesses a strong musical background with a gifted sense of technological intuition. The delicate balance keeps him pushing the limits of his gear continually as a way to develop his artistic express. Forming the Droid Behavior collective with Acid Circus earlier this decade was another other major step in this ongoing development. In turn, the collective has helped expose other local artists as well as established DJs to the growing legion of techno fans in the Los Angeles basin. In the past five years, he’s played alongside nearly every major DJ in the genre via the trio’s signature Interface parties. This year he also did a mini-tour of the US which culminated in him playing the main stage at the prestigious Movement festival in Detroit.

Drumcell ‘s constant push into the bleeding edges of music technology has earned him the title of product specialist for Native Instruments. He is out there pushing the limits of what current technology has to offer- developing homebrew software as well as cutting edge hardware solutions to bring a fresh, innovative taste to his production and performances. Innovations that blur the lines between live performance and a traditional DJ set up creating “a thick blend of acidic techno and aggressive but funky minimalist groove”. Drumcell is one of the few artists exploiting the full power of software like Traktor and Ableton run through state-of-the-art Allen & Heath mixer technology. In conjunction, the trinity is used to create a hybrid of flexibility and fidelity for the ultimate in electronic music performance. Drumcell uses this platform to highlight his own needles-in-the-red brand of aggressive, discordant techno. In fact, this summer’s Droid Recordings release “Cell Injection”, with longtime production partner Audio Injection, crystallized this amped up testosterone booster meets Quaalude jack and funk perfectly. In turn, the release captured the attention of many of the world’s top techno jocks in the process – including Speedy J and Richie Hawtin. It’s a sound born of musical menace and the kinds of wickedness that only the poisoned airs of LA can conjure.

Recently, Drumcell has also had a string of additional successes including remixes of techno legend Chris Leibing on Leibing’s own CLR label as well as the seventh anniversary of the now legendary Interface parties These gatherings have brought the best of the old school warehouse vibe together with intense new school multimedia presentations that defy explanation. He is currently developing a audio/visual performance to be unveiled by the end of this year in hopes of elevating his performances at these events to the next level. Drumcell will definitely be one artist worth watching in 2010.

AUDIO INJECTION

[clr;droid recordings]

Since being introduced to electronic music back in the early 90’s, Audio Injection has been hooked. At the early age of 15 he started Djing and playing out at local underground events and raves around the Southern California area. You would find him spinning various styles from house, acid, & techno to hardcore techno.

After years of Djing he then decided to learn to produce his own music, which landed him releases on techno labels such as Monoid, Stimulus, & local label Droid Recordings. Since being associated with local event production group Droid Behavior in 2003, you can find him as a resident at the infamous Interface warehouse events as well as a regular producer for Droid Recordings along with Drumcell (Co-Founder of Droid Behavior). He has also played together with Drumcell at Berghain, Berlin in 2010 & 2011 as well as playing gigs in Athens, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Wales, and various gigs throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

In early 2011 Audio Injection started a project called ‘Truncate’ which focuses on the deeper, darker, and more raw side of techno. His Truncate releases have been getting support from big players such as, Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Jonas Kopp, Chris Liebing, Speedy J, Dvs1, Luke Slater, Ben Sims, Silent Servant, Technasia, and many more.

With releases & remixes on labels such as Droid, CLR, Electric Deluxe, Sleaze, BluFin, Enemy, Impact Mechanics, Ground Factory and many more, Audio Injection continues to shape his own sound as well as collaborate with Drumcell to release more mind bending techno, putting Los Angeles & Droid Recordings on the techno map.

DJ Spotlight:  Ambivalent

Pre-sale tickets available on Resident Advisor:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?283039

“The curtain went up before I knew I was on stage.” -Ambivalent aka Kevin McHugh

Currently working out of Berlin, Kevin McHugh has spent the last decade living in the German capital or New York and in a sense; these two metropoleis represent the contradiction at the heart of his Ambivalent persona. On the one hand the reckless freedom and hedonism of the Berlin subculture, on the other the more considered, conceptual approach of its New York counterpart. As a result his idiosyncratic sound lies somewhere between the two, a precarious balancing act that manages to infuse stripped down, finked up minimal techno with a distinct sense of purpose, often defined by a pearl of an idea around which his skeletal grooves revolve.

After growing up in Washington DC on a balanced diet of Acid House, Go-Go and Punk, his active involvement in the electronic scene began in New York in 2002, producing a series of memorable parties for Creative Time in the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. Fusing house and techno with experimental multimedia and urban installations, Kevin was quick to recognise connecting patterns of value between these art forms, with temporal, physical, spatial and minimal elements among the most obvious common denominators. If one person embodied these principles through music it was Richie Hawtin. The pair were soon working together, co-producing the Plastikman show at Mutek in 2004. The planning process meant spending the best part of a year in Berlin during which time Kevin assimilated into the scene. Energized, he returned to New York and besides co-presenting the Nerd Tank on East Village Radio, he began working on his own compositions, which quickly led to a debut release on Camea’s Clink label in 2006. His event organising activities also intensified, buoyed by the network of DJs and producers he’d met in Berlin.

It was after one particularly intense party, that Kevin set to work on a new track. Extreme images from the event were still flickering across his mind as he picked up his studio mic and, in a flash of inspiration, laid down a twisted, one-sided conversation in a single take. He passed the resulting track to Troy thinking it was just a bit of fun, a tongue-in-cheek parody for his friends to play. Within days Richie was telling him - the track was blowing up, the dancefloor reaction to R U OK was unbelievable. What followed was beyond his wildest imaginings as the track went global, topping charts around the world aided by Ali Demirel’s tripped-out video interpretation. By 2008, the gravitational pull had become too strong to ignore and he returned to Berlin, hooking up with the Minus community and embarking on a non-stop schedule of live shows and DJ gigs. 2009 also saw him join the line-up for the London Contakt special as well as the release of several remixes, a JPLS collaboration and his own follow up EP is 5.

2010 holds even more promise for Kevin, with back-to-back releases. Rumors shows another quirky wordplay, voiced by a character twisted in knots trying to learn the meaning of all the gossip floating around. His second release of the year comes on strong with a dancefloor bouncer Down accompanied by an aggressive vocal challenge. With a DJ mix and an album in the works, it’s already becoming more interesting by the day.
Ambivalent by name, ambivalent by nature, Kevin McHugh insists we shouldn’t read too much into his ideas, but as long as he continues making such bold musical statements, that stimulate the instinct and intellect in equal measures, he’ll just have to get used to the attention.

DJ Spotlight:  Mathew Jonson

Pre-sale tickets available on Resident Advisor:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?283034

Vancouver B.C.’s own Mathew Jonson has built a solid reputation over the past few years through his participation in the Modern Deep Left Quartet, Cobblestone Jazz and by various productions under his own name. His forays into Jazz, house, fusion, techno and other electronic based music(s) reference a youth filled with musical creativity and ingenue. 

Formally trained in drums, percussion from a young age, Mat also had stints performing clarinet and classical piano. In fact, a young MJ played in the under-18 drum concert band at the age of 11, a feat made spectacular by his early ability to improvise in lieu of reading music. Through his father’s interest in early electronic music and instruments, Matt discovered a new form of sound and musical composition, a form he began to tweak and fiddle with at 10 years of age, utilising keyboards, basic sequencers and sound modules. Between 12 and 17 years, Matt began experimenting with computer-based sequencing and sound—programming being the logical extension of his early box instruments. 

A visit to the monolithic Vancouver World Fair in 1986 catapulted the youngster into a world of compu-based generation and musical exploration. The focus of this globally influential event was the transmission of humans and information in the digital age, a catalytic theme for the young Jonson and his already burgeoning sense for production. During his late teens and early twenties, Matt could be found performing regularly in Vancouver, Victoria and environs throughout. An increasingly personal interest in live performance prompted Matt to focus again on outboard equipment, old 70’s anologues with a primarily hands-on usage.

Mat’s deeply moody solo performances, combined with his impressive session playing in the Modern Deep Left Quartet and Cobblestone Jazz, served to build a reputation for masterful composition, riveting and intensely emotional musicianship and, ultimately, national and international acclaim. His solo productions for Itiswhatitis and a collaborative Perlon recording have brought him broad international attention and exposure, evident in his travels to Geneva, Switzerland to work with Luciano, Germany and his performance at Mutek’s Micro 7—a prelude to Mutek’s 3rd edition were he played with Cobblestone Jazz. Although Mat’s Itiswhatitis releases have been licensed by such luminaries as Dan Bell and Carl Craig, attracted the praise of Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier and Larry Heard, Mat’s understated modesty speaks through the deeply personal nature of his work, a testament to his artistry and genuine character.

DJ Spotlight:  Martin Landsky

Martin Landsky is joining us for the kick off of our new weekly “LINK Presents.”  Pre-sale tickets available on resident advisor:  http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?282992

Martin Landsky is mobilee’s longest-serving newcomer, bringing more than a decade of musicianship to his burgeoning partnership with the Berlin label.

Landsky’s extensive discography reads like a chronological guide through electronic music’s hottest sounds, and through Germany’s most vital labels; from deeply chilled dub house for his own Efforil/Intim imprint, through sampladelic disco-influenced sounds for Dessous, to his long association with Poker Flat that journeyed with him through electro experiments, driving techno, and flirtations with minimal. Whether uplifting and anthemic, dark and contemplative, or somewhere in between, Landsky’s unwillingness to be pigeonholed has taken him to the uppermost echelons of Berlin’s club scene, and higher still to a new association with mobilee records, which will see a solo release in 2011.

Landsky immersed himself in music from a young age; he grew up tinkering with cassette tape edits and breakdancing to funk and hip hop, and soon took up DJing, flexing his budding talent at school parties and local youth clubs. His discovery of acid house drew him to Hamburg’s legendary Front Club, which will eternally hold a place in Landsky‘s musical heart, having provided him an early DJ residency, and brought him together with future Poker Flat boss Steve Bug.

Impressive work on Effortil/Intim lay the groundwork for DJ appearances in key clubs like E-Werk and Tresor/Globus in Berlin, until he eventually moved to the city in1999. It was a momentous year for Landsky as he developed a deeper appreciation of house and techno. Invigorated by his new surroundings, he sought to add his own voice to Berlin’s thriving music community and founded a Poker Flat Night with Steve Bug and Clé at the Sternradio Club.

By 2000 the first Martin Landsky productions had appeared on Poker Flat, and the following year his debut longplayer In Between, cemented his position as a producer to be reckoned with. Early, heady inspirations nestled beneath the surface, and moved within his warm and future-leaning sound aesthetic. He followed the album with the cheeky Mission Upskirt EP, vocal stylings on Reject, and the classic titular tropes of Housed - all of which diversified the Martin Landsky sound and confirmed him as a pivotal part of Poker Flat. After the rousing tones of FM Safari in 2005, the hit “1000 Miles”, with its hazy, hypnotising slow-burning feel, stood as a landmark work for the producer and a new benchmark in his repertoire.

Landsky additionally proved himself as a remixer of note, following 2008’s huge re-rub of D.H.S‘s “House Of God” with his rework of Pan-Pot‘s “Confronted” for mobilee, casually combining his love of deep, atmospheric techno with classic, hands-in-the-air moments. Last year he also put his special touch to John Tejada‘s well renowned hit ‘Sweat On The Walls‘ on Poker Flat. Outside of the studio, Martin regularly graces the DJ booths of world renowned clubs like Watergate and Fabric, with sets that nod to the legacy of Front Club, maintaining its deft balance of escapism and musical discovery.

The future continues to be bright for Martin Landsky. As he forges into 2011 — taking inspiration from those early days of rave within modern, finely-tuned electronics — he continues to explore the shared vision, passion, and love of music that continues to drive him and the extended mobilee team in all that they do, and all that will come.

DJ Spotlight:  Joseph Capriati

He will be @ Treehouse this Sunday.  Pre-sale tickets available on resident advisor: http://residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?280798

Joseph Capriati begins 2011 in the enviable position of being exactly where he wants to be. Well documented as one of the brightest new stars in techno, 2010 was the year when Capriati’s natural talent and huge potential blossomed; reinforcing the momentum which has been driving the 23 year old Neapolitan’s career forward at an unrelenting pace since he made his production debut in 2007. Starting 2010 with his remixes of Adam Beyer’s seminal ‘Remainings III’, fans have been spoilt with a steady flow of landmark productions including the release of his debut album ‘Save My Soul’ on home town label Analytic Trail; his chart topping remix of Joey Beltram’s ‘Slice’ reissue; the marathon seven-track ‘Gashouder’ EP for Drumcode; and a debut on Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label via Joseph’s ‘Wope’ collaboration with Paco Osuna. It is then no wonder Joseph is content and ready for more success in 2011.

Born and raised in the southern Italian city of Caserta, less than 30km from Naples, it was natural for a young, music-loving Capriati to be drawn to the big city to fulfill his musical curiosity. Having grown up on a diet of early hip hop and classic house from the likes of Masters At Work and Todd Terry, Capriati bought his first DJ console at the tender age of 11; cutting his teeth playing to his friends in garages after school. It was not until he was old enough to attend his first techno party that his passion for techno over-shadowed his early musical influences and set in motion the journey that has taken him to the position he is in today. As Joseph himself remembers, “the first time I heard techno was at Old River Park in Naples in 2003. It was a 12 hours party with Dave Clarke, Billy Nasty and Rino Cerrone. I was totally impressed by that sound and something in my mind changed.”

Inspired and energized, Joseph made the leap into production; slaving away on a home PC and hi-fi speakers, honing his skills for three years and eventually creating his first important records like C’est La Vie and Microbiotik which found their way on two of the most influential Neapolitan techno labels; Analytic Trail and Globox Records. From this moment on Joseph was made. What followed was an explosion in Joseph’s profile at home and abroad. Following his first high profile gig at Naples’s infamous 5000 capacity Golden Gate venue in October 2007, Joseph has not looked back; spreading his wings and travelling all over the globe. A highly attractive draw in Holland, Germany, Spain, Eastern Europe has meant regular appearances at Awakenings (Amsterdam), Berghain (Berlin), Row 14 (Barcelona), Cassette (Madrid), Forsage (Kiev), Escape Club (Sofia), Studio Martin (Bucharest) and many more. However, Joseph’s reach goes far beyond Europe. Already established in South America, Joseph has built a strong connection with the crowds at Crobar and Inferno in Argentina and Carnival, Forum and Der Zoo in Columbia. He has played the exclusive WIRE Festival in Tokyo and made guest appearances at Bar 13 and Dos Torres in New York. Not afraid to reach out to the frontiers of electronic music, Joseph has travelled to the less well know techno hotspots like South Africa, Mauritius and Honduras where he has enjoyed some of his most memorable gigs; proud to be part of the development of these emerging scenes.

This clear and decisive change of approach is key to Capriati’s success. Quick to understand the professionalism and determination required in order to carve out a career for himself; Joseph’s passion and conviction is plain to see in the way he has gone about making and playing music. Whether it be having the confidence to release a debut album containing ambient tracks and Drum & Bass; or the discipline and creative freedom displayed to convinced Adam Beyer to release two multiple-track EP’s on his Drumcode label; or the versatility and insightfulness that characterizes Josephs DJ sets and enables him to connect with crowds across Europe, South America, Asia, North America and South Africa. 2010 gig highlights have ranged from warming up Cocoon in Frankfurt with a pitch perfect mix of tech house through to upstaging the entire Drumcode Total event at Berghain in Berlin with an impromptu four-hour back-2-back set with Adam Beyer.

With his path laid out before him and the force of momentum behind him, Joseph Capriati welcomes 2011 with excited anticipation. “I just want to make music or play gigs everyday. It is the most important thing in my life. When I am in the studio or on stage I feel disconnected from the world and I enter another dimension where there is just the music, the people and myself. I could be sick, or be feeling sad about something, but when I’m playing I totally forget everything and this makes me happier. Looking at the people dancing and following my musical trip is an amazing thing. There is nothing better than this for me.” And so the future for Joseph Capriati is simple. Keep on doing what you love and do it with the passion and commitment that has proved so potent a driving force to this point. Confirmed future projects include a remix EP from Joseph’s Save My Soul album as well as more original productions on Drumcode; collaboration projects with exciting acts from the world of techno and a remix for Slam as part of the Soma 20th Anniversary project.