Played by Sven Vath

DEVELOPER - DRIVE THEMES - SOUND14 - CORMIX045 CD2

The Tetra

DC123 - Alan Fitzpatrick - The Tetra - Drumcode

Ben Klock - October

On a Train Update

On a Train Update (Update Mix)

2025-08-31 WHATen

Swayze

Null Press

Andre Kronert - Roll The Dice (Juan Sanchez Remix)

Synchrotonic / Holiday In Singularity

Synchrotonic

Caravel

Caravel (Original)

With their ‘Moving Forward’ track widely regarded as one of the highlight cuts from Drumcode’s recent ‘A-Sides’ compilation, Manic Brothers make their full debut on the label with this four-track EP of elegantly industrial techno. ‘Custom Illusion’ sets the tone for the EP’s mechanical yet melodic aesthetic, shunting and shimmering in equal measure as it weaves a tensely poised atmosphere. ‘Black Bay’ works up a full force groove punctuated by a pitch-bent elastic hook and panning effects. ‘Restless’ continues the exploration of sparse feelings with a marching, cavernous groove and abrasive pulsing pads while ‘Gone Too Soon’ conjures up an enchanting wall of sound with the distinctive melodic hook adding a warm hypnotic charm to a backdrop of resounding, pounding beats.

DC99 02 Manic Brothers - Black Bay - Original Mix - clip

Cocoon Recordings is back in full force with the follow up to last year’s superb vinyl compilation ‘Dots & Pearls’. Providing a tracklisting that is nothing less than the modern interpretation of House, Techno and Tech-House ‘Dots & Pearls II’ eschews monotonous loops and predictable formulas and rather delivers a selection packed with energy and depth. 

Ilario Alicante and Todd Bodine have the honour of opening the record and very much set the tone for the feel of the album. "Modern Apocalypse" gives the impression that the duo wanted to produce a matching track to follow up Ambivalent's "Iwato" in a DJ set. The record has a wonderfully stripped and spacious feel to it, conjuring up an early hours feel with its entrancing effect and stabs plucking at the air around you. Next up we have Subb-an feat. Jacob Phono with "In The Night" a track that explores how the sound and atmosphere of big 90s Techno acts like Underworld can be transferred into our contemporary Minimal and Deep House universe, a task in which they succeeded brilliantly. Resonant beats and percussions, some 808 claps, funky fills and filtered layers match perfectly with the hypnotic vocals and form an impressing overall result that fits into the DJ's set at any time during the night. 
Mark Reeve's contribution "Carry Me" springs from typically Reeve-like UK-influenced House sounds. Softly filtered layers and cool vocal elements provide the right mood, and the long build-up with much patience and even more emotion makes "Carry Me" one of the best and deepest British Tech House tracks in recent times, a certain winner for fans of 20:20 Vision and Global Communication. 
With "Jellied Eels", Marco Effe steps up to try and win the prize of 'the fattest beats on the compilation'. The E-piano chords are a sure fire hit and the warm layers in the breaks loosen the heavily muscled beats a little, but they can't hide the fact that there is an energy packed affair, which erupts in a perfect surrounding and will take any dancefloor beyond the boiling point. It’s easy to hear why this has been sitting in the sets of Sven Väth and Luciano for some time. Danito & Agent! have just recently delivered their Cocoon debut and their mix of deep House elements and big-room Techno citations has already convinced the experts. Their track "Raw Symphony" is no exception here but rather travels further into the realms of cinematic techno. Detroit sends its regards with a fat bass/strings combination and much pathos, based on an elegant House-style beat that never demands too much and leaves enough space for the above mentioned big-room sound. With "Iwato", Minus figurehead Ambivalent contributes a slightly dark but still deep and minimal Techno track that lives on a juicy Chicago bass line and pays tribute to the compilation's motto by using uncommon sounds and effects. The pearls are literally hearable in the arrangement, setting accents in order to prevent the track from sounding too rounded-off. Hypnotic and kicking, but still unpredictably different. Berlin, 07:30 h in the morning – here's the matching soundtrack for a winter sunrise! 
Harvey McKay's "First Strike From Mars" sounds like its title suggests, and Captain McKay doesn't take prisoners. Demanding, massive and equipped with a mighty beat, the tune is reminiscent of recent Slam releases or some of the stronger Santos productions. A peak time production that has only one message: no escape and total madness on the dancefloor, this is a winner that has been getting plays from Sven Väth and Luciano! Sawlin's "Posay" is plumbs the depths of the Techno ocean, with plenty of echo and even more reverb, his remote metallic percussion sounds create an atmosphere that would also be perfect as the soundtrack for a big art installation. "Posay" shows that Techno in the year 2012/2013 does not only mean 'in-your-face', but rather depth and elegance. 

Besides the vinyl edition, ‘Dots & Pearls II’ is also released in a digital version, which contains four extra pearls, in addition to the eight tracks of the vinyl version: With "Sequence Of Moments", Martinez sends the listener back to the high times of that DBX-influenced Detroit sound full of bleeps and blonks, like Daniel Bell or Fred Gianelli perfected at the time. However, he doesn't deliver a retro piece at all, but combines the raw and direct vibe of Bell with modern sounds, layers and pads, and thus moves himself a little towards the Reboot or Johnny D corner. With their contribution "The Gate", Patrick Kunkel & Sascha Barth follow the current sound of now: matching parts of House, Minimal and Techno, in a skilful mix that, on the one hand is reminiscent of the hypnotic-minimal DJ sets of Ricardo Villalobos and on the other hand releases energy galore, in order to make demanding ravers happy. This is definitely one for fans of Pele and Matthias Tanzmann. Next Ross Evana pays tribute to fat Chicago beats and follows Sneak & Co. with his superb production "Cheget". The kick drum pumps, the claps and hi-hats clack heavily and the thick, pitched-down organ stabs in combination with the percussive staccato vocal fragments make the whole thing even more driving. And as if this wasn't enough, Evana adds some industrial sounds and effects that would easily fit in any big Depeche Mode remix, just lacking Dave Gahan's vocals in order to make the crowd freak out. Playing, dancing, partying, you have everything in here. With their track "Still Laughing", Fumihiro Hoshi & Tadac present their unique and different sound and provide a perfect closing opus to this outstanding compilation.

Harvey McKay – First Strike From Mars

Compost Black Label #105

No One Gets Left Behind (Konstantin Sibold Remix)

The EP starts with Mikael Jonasson’s, ‘Benefit of the Doubt’ which uses dark, melodic bleeps to create tension before the epic chord stabs kick in that resonate over the throbbing bass line. Adam Beyer steps up with the second track ‘Never Really Left Home’ that uses a rhythmic synth-line to create a dark and moody piece of music. Ida Engberg then delivers her unique style of techno using old rave sounds and a huge hoover style synth to create a driving techno track that will keep any dancefloor moving. The Manic Brother’s supply another big track named ‘Different Directions’ using reverberated stabs to create an atmospheric, but still functional track with lots of rhythmic percussion thrown in. Patrick Siech then steps up with the next track, ‘Kill Room’ that also uses atmospheric percussion and stabs to build into a funky drum groove. Joel Mull presents the sixth track on the compilation; ‘Rimson’ that uses hypnotic drums to captures the listener’s attention to lead into a floaty synth and vocal line before the track introduces a pulsating bass line. ‘Second Coming’ is the next offering with Petter B using recurrent percussion to full effect to create a purposeful, heavy hitting techno track. The final track by Cari Lekebusch called ‘Xylopeggiator’, conveys a dark, pounding 5 AM rhythm that uses vocal samples and a melodic synth to create a hypnotic drum pattern.

05 - DC107 - Patrick Siech - Kill Room - Drumcode

Double Dawn EP

Double Dawn (Original Mix)

Gary Beck - Rascal (master) Clip - BEK Audio 015

SMEER Campaign’s musical journey began in Chicago and has been shaped by the vibrant pulse of its underground scene. Now based in Brooklyn, he continues to immerse himself in the NYC club scene and has played at many venues including Dead Letter 9 and Speak Softly. With a collection curated meticulously over the years, he continues to feed his curiosity to seek out new sounds and push the boundaries of dance music. Known for his deep minimal hypnotic house grooves, his sound continues to evolve with elements of funk, acid and breaks layered in to take his audience on a journey. Experience the unique blend of influences and the unmistakable groove when you join the SMEER Campaign.

UPCOMING SETS

Burning Man 2025

PAST SHOWS

9/24/24 | Earthly Delights w/ Sola System | Brooklyn, NY
8/17/24 | Kronos w/ Denninger, Heedon & Kipp @ Dead Letter 9 | Brooklyn, NY

12/25/23 | Xmas Sunset w/ J Rynecki @ La Barca | Playa Venao, Panama
8/24/23 | Burning Man Thursday Dustoff @ My Favorite Things | Black Rock City, NV
5/11/23 | Berlin Thursdays @ Ruby Room Shibuya | Tokyo, Japan
1/1/23 | House of House NYE w/ Acid Alien & Mas Gallo @ Speak Softly, Lou Lou | Manhattan, NY 

7/10/22 | Jamais Vu w/ Serrain @ Sultan Room | Brooklyn, NY
4/16/22 | House of House w/ Acid Alien & Mas Gallo @ Nublu | Manhattan, NY

9/6/21 | ARC Festival Omni Afterhours | Chicago, IL
5/13/21 | Voyage Nights w/ Sam White Sound @ Arbella | Chicago, IL
4/6/21 | Eris w/ Brian Thibualt | Brooklyn, NY
2/10/21 | Abstract w/ Mandi & Serrain @ Paseo Bar | San Juan, Puerto Rico
2/17/21 | Abstract w/ Mandi & Naldo Snow @ Paseo Bar | San Juan, Puerto Rico
1/22/21 | Celeste Garden w/ K.HSIA | Chicago, IL

8/11/20 | Pragmatik w/ Hunter Vita @ Fox Bar, Soho House | Chicago, IL
6/24/20 | Le Nocturne w/ Sam White Sound | Chicago, IL
2/28/20 | OTB Departure Afters w/ Bontan & RJ Pickens | Chicago, IL

9/26/19 | Off The Rails w/ Slipping Jimmy & Sam White Sound @ Chit Chat | Chicago, IL
9/3/19 | 3 Feet Deep w/ Jozif @ City Hall | Chicago, IL
8/22/19 | Off The Rails w/ DJ Heather & Sam White Sound @ Chit Chat | Chicago, IL
7/14/19 | 3 Feet Deep w/ Facundo Mohrr @ City Hall | Chicago, IL
7/11/19 | Airwaves w/ Victor & Berko @ Cerise Rooftop | Chicago, IL
6/23/19 | 3 Feet Deep w/ Roy Rosenfeld @ Cerise Rooftop | Chicago, IL
1/12/19 | 3 Feet Deep w/ Sravan @ Arbella | Chicago, IL

9/13/18 | 3 Feet Deep w/ Zimmer & Berko @ Cerise Rooftop | Chicago, IL

Cocoon Recordings has been founded in the year 2000 as a part of the Cocoon Music Event GmbH. Sven Väth has initiated Cocoon Recordings in order to complete the Cocoon platform as a supporting tool for young artists in Electronic Music. The label philosophy is as simple as demanding: helping young producers and DJs to release their music without depending on Major Label structures. The releases can mainly be assigned to the genres Techno and House.

Cocoon Recordings as a label and Sven Väth as an artist stand for the use of vinyl as sound carrier, also in the future. Admittedly, the Digital Division of Cocoon Recordings has also been set up in 2008 and the numbers of downloads are indeed enjoyable. However, the label's focus is on vinyl, now and in the future. In order to complete the range of services that Cocoon Recordings offers, the publishing company Cocoon Publishing was founded in 2010.

DEVELOPER - DRIVE THEMES - SOUND14 - CORMIX045 CD2

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