Meet Michael Ballus and his analogue artillery

I am pleased to introduce you a great producer called Michael Ballus.

His love for analogue instruments is enormous and in his bunker in Bad Driburg – it’s the real name, I myself thought it was Michael saying his town was “bad” but… it’s the city’s real name – close to Kassel in Germany, there Michael collects and plays many juicy analog machines.

Michael grew up with friends like Gabriel Ananda (Trapez), Alex Multhaupt (Karmarouge) and Graziano Avitabile (Platzhirsch Schallplatten) all of them transmitted to Michael the love for hardware and djing.

He produces only on hardware synths and boxes, bypassing completely any computer based sequencer or Vst instruments and Vst efx, because he says they sound cold.

I asked him what was his favourite piece of gears he owns and heanswered it’s the analog synth Deep Bass Nine and the 808 clone Mam Adx-1 .

Complementary to his analogue artillery Michael often uses his own field recordings of natural sound processed to get unique hats and snares – this tecnique is nowadys used by many producers as TommyFourSeven, Plastikman and myself (eheheh).

Actually he’s looking for a serious label to release his deep tracks and he’s also working on some new ambient music projects.

I really love Michael’s  webcam video in which he plays live his own tracks in the studio, YouTube is full of such videos, be sure to check them out so to get a taste of his incredibly elegant sound and analogue warmth.

Here’s a couple of links:

so far he released for Rumpfunk Records two deep and experimental lps full of techno, electronica and ambient: Waldgedicht EP (October 2008) and In Weiter Ferne which registers the label’s downloads record: 60.000!!! being Rumpfunk a netlabel you can freely download both of them

Last cool things about Michael, he’s an hardcore gamer, those fps games in which you roam around with a big gun in your hands trying to shoot enemies, actually his web clan is Homefront’s number one in the world . wow! – this is why you can see homefront’s big poster stuck on Michael studio wall.

Now let’s hit play and drown deeply with michael’s warm music.

Filed under: ambient music, art, detroit techno, electronica, live set, net label, techno music, Uncategorized, videoclip, 808, Alex Multhaupt, analog, analog instruments, analog synth, analogue instruments, Ballus, bloefeld, Deep Bass Nine, deep techno, detroit, detroit techno, gabriel ananda, Graziano Avitabile, hardware, homefront, In Weiter Ferne, Karmarouge, live set, Mam Adx-1, Michael ballus, Platzhirsch Schallplatten, Rumpfunk Records, techno, techno electronica, tommy foru seven, Trapez, vst instruments, Waldgedicht EP, waldorf, www youtube

Something Leninist included in IPO//030. a superb compilation

Ipoligica Recordings’ guys are back with this excellent compilation featuring many great producers and friends.

IPO//030 is available now only at beatport Exclusive (bhuuuuu) but will be sold on every major web music store shortly, so for all of you who don’t have a beatport account (or just hate beatport) be patient and wait for your favourite web store to sell this compilation in the near future.

the compilation contains “12 tracks by 12 different artists. A concept where the pure electronic music and experimental (Gianluca Angelini – boss at ANG rec, Giulio Maresca – boss at Ipologica Recordings, Miquel Salla) through the deep sounds (Gabe Dm, Alveol, Enrico Sedda, Yuuki Hori, Gabriele Brunno – boss at NGB) and dub-techno sounds (Ness, Gale Talk) ending up in things hybrid, more acid (Kawatin) and mental (Fabio Sestili – also boss at Ipologica Recordings). An image of a beautiful label that has as a common denominator: the love for the sound class and its roots in electronic music”.

I really like the music in this compilation, particularly the first track scored by Alveol, which is a great producer and a very sweet guy.

I would like to make a special mention to the track called Soundtrack by Giulio Maresca who shows here his more intimate and delicate side, he’s not only a fine techno dj but also a great producer with a good taste and strong technique.

personally I also like the track by Miquel Salla, it’s got good synths sounds, sparkling hats and stompig kick. I also like the Ness’ one it’s got his particular dub touch which defines his style.

my track?…it’s just a piece of vintage sounding sovietic dancefloor stomper (or at least this is what I imagine sovietic youth to dance in their uniform when they party on the 23 of february for the day of Indipendence). this is it:

comment or criticize it if you feel like

 

in the end… the compi is great and you should buy it as a christmas gift for your top quality seeker friends I am so proud to be part of it!

Filed under: ambient music, detroit techno, electronica, GabeDM, techno music, Alveol, beatport, beatport exclusive, deep, deep techno, dub, dub techno, Enrico Sedda, experimental, Fabio Sestili, Gabe DM, Gabriele BRunno, Gale Talk, Gianluca Angelini, Giulio Maresca, ipologica recoridings, Kawatin, Miquel Salla, Ness, something leninist, sovietic, techno, vintage, vintage sounding sovietic dancefloor stomper, Yuuki Hori

Kraftwerk, and the Electronic revolution – documentary

Kraftwerk And The Electronic Revolution by Thomas Arnold

This long documentary (180 minutes !!!) attempts to cover the rise of German electronic and experimental music from the 1960s, centered on Kraftwerk but focusing on the large avant-garde/ kraut rock scene that developed in the eastern Europe.

Aside form the many clips, both from videoclip and concerts, very interesting to me is the long interview with Karl Bartos (member of Kraftwerk form 1975 unitl the 90′s).

it’s a long documentary but  very nice produced  which reminds me of another fabulous music documentary aired on BBC4 called Synth Britannia, here the topic is the english new wave but the seed still came from the Kraftwerk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(via VST Cafe)

Look up on youtube for the other 13 parts or buy it on Amazon. com

 

 

Filed under: ambient music, art, documentaries, electronica, live set, and the Electronic revolution, documentary, electronic, Germany, Kraftwerk, kraut-rock, Thomas Arnold

meet the mysterious RROSE

 

my ears are frying and I am crying out of joy.

this is RROSE

Filed under: ambient music, art, electronica, techno music, Rrose, Sandwell District, techno

MiMi, a record label.

I recently discovered this little but very unique net label called MiMi, a net label which released so far 179 (!!!) albums and eps.

 

Mimi covers many music genres: pop (electronic or acoustic), ambient, electronica, field recordings. Every release is special of his own and if you add the fact that everything (!!!) is downloadable for free you get a very special pack, with lots of goodies, to spend the next 100 hours of your listening-to-new-inspiring-stuff time.

I started from Mi176 a release from N-qia called Sweet Sequence EP, a glitchy/acoustic/electronic pop 4 tracks album from this avant-garde band from Tokyo: it’s unique and really inspiring, every detail is so impressively tidy and so solidly produced that is a joy especially  for my lately over stressed techno abused ears

Randomly you can playlist any of Mimi’s 179 releases, for example Spatial White Noise (Mi 106) which starts with a spoken words intro (some field recordings of a tv and noise in the background) to introduce a hyper relaxed acoustic song, very gentle until crazy noises start to raise along with chorus made of loooong vowels … it seems to be in a dream or in some dilated atmos like The Doors’ psychedelic trips. Very slurpy I must say.

Another aspect of uniqueness of Mimi is the geographic provenience, if you look the graphics and the elegance and sobriety  of the website anyone would undoubtedly say “far east….Japan!” but then, you hit the contact link, and this address pop up:

“MiMi Records
A/C Fernando Ferreira
Bairro António Sérgio, Bloco C1-2esq
3020-078 Coimbra – PORTUGAL”

….yes….Portugal?….yes!.

See, it’s funny but hey it’s Portugal nothing Japanese at all.

This made me reconsider some past roommate’s bad experience I had with Portugueses, definitely I want to meet more Portuguese ppl as Fernando! Cause he’s doing a great great superb job!

the real reason for this strange connection is explained here

Anyway let’s stick to the subject:

Mimi has it all: do you like Ambient? Then check She Sings Sea Songs (Mi115) by Linda Bjalla so comfy and interesting it become my daily working soundtrack since two weeks.

Or you prefer more electronic groovy tunes? Then I suggest you to listen to Hiroshi Hirose a.k.a archidelic’s “Hairline Drawing” (mi007): sweet and smart micro-sampling IDM electronic.

If you are in a mood for some “new wave/electro pop/slow ambient intros” tunes (eheheh…) check Lili Hirakawa’s Spectrum Ep (Mi095) a beauty if his own, or Alektronic’ Birds Ep (Mi135).

Final word for Oporto’s producer ocp, because his 1234 ep is experimental and techno and glitch and noisy (and minimal and contemporary as I like).

Mimi records is what I like from a net label: free to download (of course), experimental, good quality, hidden gems, perfectly run.

Mimi has so many treasures for you to discover that will bring you through a journey of inspiring and quality music for the next winter months.

Filed under: ambient music, art, electronica, net label, techno music, 1234 ep, Alektronic, Birds Ep, free download, Hairline Drawing, Hiroshi Hirose a.k.a archidelic, japan, Lili Hirakawa, Linda Bjalla, MiMi, N-qia, ocp, Portugal, She Sings Sea Songs, Spatial White Noise, Spectrum Ep, Sweet Sequence

Aphex Twin – MTV UK Party Zone Special From 1996

I just found this on Filter27 blog and decided to repost it in here.

it’s a good special UK Mtv dedicated to AphexTwin and I think it’s cool even if it’s hard for me to understand clearly when Richards speaks 

 

the interview goes really deep into Richard’s life and sentiments and music and influencies on his work, also lots of great videos in it!

at 6:00 you can watch the video of “ON” released in 1993 for Warp record, it’s  a great tune wich shows all the good sounds Warp records expressed in those years.

Filed under: ambient music, art, documentaries, techno music, videoclip, 1996, Aphex Twin, MTV UK Party Zone, Richard D. James, UK Mtv