Function lays down the Sandwell District style on this week's RA podcast.

Over the space of the last four years, Sandwell District have managed to carve out a place in the hearts of techno fans worldwide with their austere minimalist sound aesthetic. The label was actually founded by Birmingham-based Peter Sutton (AKA Female) back in 2002, but lay stagnant until it was revitalised with two releases from Sutton three years later. It has since developed into an international effort, with the Sandwell artist roster sharing the label managing responsibilities.

One member of their American wing is David Sumner (AKA Function), who got his first break via a trio of techno twelves for Damon Wild's Synewave imprint. Sumner then went on to launch his own label under the Infrastructure banner, releasing a flurry of his own material before getting in contact with Sutton's Downwards bedfellows Regis and Ian J. Richardson to sign some of their tracks. Their relationship has since grown, with Sumner becoming a fully-fledged member of their techno alliance and using it as a platform for his claustrophobic Sähkö-esque minimalism and bleakly hypnotic warehouse techno. For this RA podcast, Regis and Sumner picked the tracks, while Sumner did the mixing, and, as you might expect, it's a journey deep into the world of techno.

What have you been working on recently?

Finishing up a new Function 12-inch that will form the basis of an album and John's finishing a new Silent Servant 12-inch. Regis has been working with Ancient Methods on a 12-inch for DN.

Where and how was the mix recorded?

It was recorded at our studio in Berlin, Regis and I decided on the records together but it then made more sense to just have me do the physical mix. I had set up a chain that included Ableton, turntables, hardware and effects.

Can you tell us a little about the idea behind the mix?

I think the idea was to somehow represent what we have been doing live/out over the past year (this was a challenge to do in one hour as we play between three and five hours as a rule). From the outset it was about creating tension.

Sandwell District seems to have its basis in a lineage of anonymous techno production. Yet you consent to interviews, do podcasts, etc. How do you walk that tightrope effectively?

I think that's maybe a misconception as artist names do appear on the label. People may come to that conclusion due to operational methods we sometimes employ, as an example, artist names are sometimes added onto a release a few months after it has come out (no doubt due to indecision at the time or some internal squabble). The N/A thing was an experiment in human nature .... probably.

You recently played the Labyrinth Festival for the first time. Can you talk a little bit about the experience?

Macbook Pro, UC-33, Roland TR-808, TR-909, SH-101, Space Echo, Lexicon PCM-80, 24 Channel Mixing Desk, three hour time slot after the legendary DBX in the mountains of Nigori...

Regis and Silent Servant have a reputed love for post-punk. Are you also listening to quite a bit of rock music, or is it all techno?

From Sonic Youth to Rob Hood, Einsturzende Neubauten to U.R and The Jesus and Mary Chain to Mr. Fingers there is a connection that makes perfect sense to everyone involved with this so-called label.

What are you up to next?

A Function longplayer, a Sandwell collective album project, a limited Sandwell Mix CD, a remix package of Function tracks featuring mixes from Ben Klock, Norman Nodge and CH-Signal Laboratories and a collaboration with Jerome Sydenham, among a number of other projects.


HG - 02A - Horizontal Ground
Sweet Exorcist - Testfour - Warp Records
FB - 04A - Frozen Border
Ben Klock - Check For Pulse - Ostgut Ton
Ø - Sähkörausku - Sähkö Recordings
Function - Variance (Marcel Dettmann Edit) - Sandwell District
Silent Servant - Discipline - Sandwell District
Choice - Acid Eiffel - Fragile Recordings
Moritz von Oswald - Watamu Beach Rework - Desolat
Peter Van Hoesen - Face Of Smoke - Komisch
The Vision - A-472.0 - Hardwax
DVS1 - Running - Klockworks
DBX - Losing Control - Accelerate
G-Man - K.6 - G-Man Records
Marcel Fengler - Twisted Bleach - Ostgut Ton
Function - Disaffected (Ben Klock Remix) - Sandwell District
Function - Variance - Sandwell District
Daniel Stefanik - Effervescing Elephant - Freude Am Tanzen
Tadeo - IO (Cassy Movingonmix) - Apnea
Ben Klock - Subzero (Function-Regis Remix) - Ostgut Ton
DJ Slip - Every Time Takes a While - Creation Rebel
Lil' Louis - Frequency - Dance Mania
Ø - Atomit - Sähkö Recordings
T++ - Audio 1995 #8 - Apple Pips
Shed - Estrange - Ostgut Ton
John Carpenter - Police State / Romero And The President - Milan

RA.177-Sandwell District (19.10.2009)

In Love With Kraviz XVI

Respect The Freaks

Gembix - Sundown Roll Plucker

Dunas

INFORMA celebrates it’s 10th release with a special compilation for Monument. Read about the release:  https://mnmt.no/exclusive/informa010-compilation-modern-atmospheric-techno/

Tracklist:
@claudioprc – The Place Where We Were Born 
@alfredo-mazzilli - Gandharva 
@hironori-takahashi - Foreav 
@naxacid - Crisium 
@ness – The Spaceship Of Imagination 
@takaaki_itoh - Terraria
@reggy-van-oers – Ebullient 
@deepbass – Battle For The Mind

more techno

MNMT Mix: INFORMA010 — A Compilation Of Modern Atmospheric Techno

The next guest of BASSIANI Podcast series is JP Enfant, Amsterdam based DJ, Producer, Promoter and Label Manager. This set, nearly an hour and half hours long was recorded at Bassiani. “Sultry, Dreamy, Warm, Stimulating, Sexy. That is what I want to bring across in my sets. I don’t just want them to dance, I want them to completely lose their minds.” - BASSIANI's 32nd podcast mix is the perfect representation of what JP Enfant tries to do with his DJ sets. The mix, that is broken up into several different parts, is an Impeccable combination of ambient textures and more of dynamic, experimental techno.  

BASSIANI Podcast-ის მორიგი სტუმარია ამსტერდამელი დიჯეი, პროდიუსერი, პრომოუტერი და ლეიბლის LET Recordings მენეჯერი JP Enfant. სეტი, რომლის ხანგძლივობაც დაახლოებით 80 წუთია , ჩაწერილია კლუბში BASSIANI. "ჩემი სურვილია სეტის მოსმენისას არა უბრალოდ ცეკვავდნენ, არამედ მოსმენისას საკუთარი თავი სრულიად დაკარგონ. ამიტომაც ვცდილობ, რომ ჩემი დაკრული მუსიკა მუდმივად გამომწვევი, თბილი და პროვოკაციული იყოს." - შეიძლება ითქვას, რომ BASSIANI Podcast-ის რიგით 32-ე სეტი JP Enfant-ის მიდგომის იდეალური რეპრეზენტაციაა. მიქსი, რომელიც დრამატურგიული კუთხით რამდენიმე განსხვავებულ ნაწილად იყოფა, ემბიენთ ტექსტურების და ექპრეტიმენტული, ატმოსფერული ტექნო ესთეტიკის უნაკლო სინთეზია.

@JPEnfant

BASSIANI PODCAST SERIES

Bassiani invites JP Enfant / Podcast #32

In the early hours of 2018 a duo of house preachers of the highest order was in control of the Ankali dj booth. Map.Ache and Sevensol aka Manamana hail from Leipzig where they run the label/recordstore Kann Records and if their debut Prague performance has taught us one thing, it's that the two know where the groove is at. We're glad we could share an hour-and-half long excerpt of their set, as the vibe they delivered is a supreme cure for the vicious frost outside.

Ankali #002 — Manamana [extract]

La artista @grandriver protagoniza la nueva pieza de la serie #YouPlayIWrite, con un viaje ambient de alto vuelo y poco habitual en esta serie de música electrónica que surgió de su actuación en Berlín en el evento de @paral-lel-festival. En la web encontrarás una entrevista con esta genial artista, cuya trayectoria es tan singular como su música: https://www.vanitydust.com/ypiw/grand-river Enjoy!

vanitydust.com

You PIay I Write [15] — Grand River [Recorded live at Paral·lel Festival Berlin Showcase]

► Underground Resistance vet Stingray joined us to close out the party.
► Follow us on SoundCloud: blrrm.tv/subscribe-sc

DJ Stingray | Boiler Room Berlin x Coke Carbonate

For this episode of our MNMT Recordings we welcome Munich -based  MTRL with his breathtaking set from Anecumene online festival.  

Read more : https://mnmt.no/magazine/2021/02/23/mnmt-recordings-mtrl-anecumene-9128-live

Follow MTRL :

https://soundcloud.com/mtrl_audio
https://www.facebook.com/MTRL.audiovisual
https://www.instagram.com/mtrl_io/
https://mtrl-io.bandcamp.com/

Bassiani invites JP Enfant / Podcast #32

BASSIANI

Recent comments

Jephta | EMBODIMENT

Shumoved *)

sysadmin

CafeCiaoJoe

Related tracks