S+L afters vibing

JD Twich is one half of Optimo, the legendary Glasgow party and a label. Some time ago he launched a new imprint called Against Fascism Trax, attempt to “provoke dialogue that is fundamentally anti-racist, anti-sexist, non-homophobic, non transphobic, non-ageist and non-ableist”. This podcast is a two-hour segment of this set at Hotel Forum's Kitchen from Unsound 2019. Before the performance, JD Twitch said of his Unsound set: “This will be the first ever presentation of an Against Fascism Trax DJ set, an experiment in whether music can convey an intent non verbally.” Starting the set and threaded throughout is the Italian protest song "Bella ciao", which originated in the late 19th century as a working-class anthem and was adopted as a hymn of the anti-fascist resistance in the 1940s. The song takes on new meaning in the current pandemic, as the need for new forms of solidarity — with health workers, cleaners and sanitation workers, impoverished people and all manner of vulnerable populations — becomes urgently clear.

Unsound Podcast 64: JD Twitch - "Against Fascism Trax"

Music by the late, great Andrew Weatherall, selected and mixed by his friend Timothy Clerkin. More info via: https://crackm.ag/32GBUQZ

Andrew Weatherall – Mixed by Timothy Clerkin

Beesmunt Soundsystem @ TESTFM — 07/03/2020

https://www.nts.live/shows/optimo/episodes/optimo-10th-march-2020

Optimo 100320

We welcome Belfast born and Glasgow based DJ Jonnie Wilkes to the NSA guest mix series. Renowned for his adventurous and diverse sets either alone or as one half of Optimo there  is always a different energy when Jonnie is in town as the crowd really expect big things which he delivers on time after time. Constantly brilliant,  Jonnie is a genuine original and ambassador of the scene so we are delighted he was down for joining the series.

NSA Guest Mix Vol 42. JG Wilkes (Optimo)

@markknekelhuis is a world explorer who brings a love of live instrumentation to his dance music. The Knekelhuis label boss is a staunchly DIY operator who is also the voice of Volition Immanent, a live act along side Dekmantel regular Parrish Smith. He makes music that manages to be deeply personal but also immediate and arresting and that same style defines his radio shows on Red Light Radio.

His mix for us is an exploration of deeply hypnotic sounds and dreamy breakbeats to slowly but surely wake you up right at the start of the week. Once you’re in the groove, there is space travelling electro and beautifully delicate melodic techno that continues to sooth your soul as you journey through the cosmos and off to a better place.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 279 - Mark Knekelhuis

European Carryall head of operations Telephones dives into his Aussie tour bag for our latest installment!

Check out the full interview with Telephones: https://oddysee.fm/podcasts/telephones/ 

“It’s a straight up special Australia party-mix! A snapshot of what I played over there. Not one particular set, but it has many of the most played and favourite records from that tour-bag. It´s got a lot of the main bits I played at Pitch Music & Arts, so for everybody that has asked (thanks, really appreciate that!) if that set was recorded – this is kiiiiiind of a rewind.. to be played loud haha. I also wanna give a big shoutout to Sameheads Berlin for burrowing me a CDJ so I could include my “secret” USB bag of tricks, edits and private things, like the second last track here.”

https://soundcloud.com/telephones

Interview

Oddysee 004 | 'Getting Down Under' by Telephones

Tune in to Andy Blake mix, recorded for the day organized, planned and curated by Hugo Capablanca of Discos Capablanca for Mutant Radio.

Andy Blake  [Discos Capablanca Takeover Vol:1]

This Was Belgium 1987-89 - 2 hours of New Beat favourites

New Beat was born and initially exploded in 1987, went supernova (in Belgium) in 1988 and then the formula morphed a bit and was declared dead in 1989. It was slow and initially all about the atmosphere with industrial strength beats - the main form of rhythmic propulsion being the pounding kick and heavy snare. It was often mainly instrumental and when there was lyrical content it often became more about slogans and giving commands - "Move Your Ass And Feel The Beat!", "Let There Be Brightness!", "Shout Out Loud!". While not really New Beat, it's no surprise Technotronic's "Pump Up Jam" was produced by a crew who had produced a ton of New Beat gems.

In 1989 one of New Beat's founders, Marc Grouls said "New Beat is atmosphere, beats, no lyrics, and sure as hell not commercial!!!!!" But, it was already too late. A zillion bandwagon jumpers had diluted the music and flooded the market with too many sub standard 12" singles. New Beat temple, the legendary Boccaccio nightclub, in Destelbergen, near Ghent, had been closed down and it looked like it was all over, but really, it was just the beginning. New Beat morphed into Hard Beat (many of the tracks on this mix are from the Hard Beat era) which quickly morphed into Belgian Rave, which was huge and hugely influential in the UK and is an often overlooked part of the DNA of UK Hardcore, and all that came after. Then from Ghent, R&S Records established itself as thee European Techno label and a huge wave of incredible Techno records emanated from it and many other mighty Belgian labels, but that is another story. 

New Beat arrived just as I first started DJing and I played a lot of it in my DJ sets and built up connections with several of the leading Belgian labels who would send me 12" singles so I had records nobody else here had any idea even existed. I would compile New Beat charts for the music paper The NME which may have given the impression there was a thriving New Beat scene in Scotland. The reality was very different; people here, many of whom would embrace the rave just a little while later never really took to it in a big way.

This mix is comprised of many of my personal favourites that I have loved since they came out (and two I missed at the time and only heard later). I think the tracks have aged like a fine wine, often sounding as good if not better today as they did then. There is definitely a faint whiff of fromage and a big dollop of stoopid in several of these tracks. Of course, it is not all about the cheese and many of these adhere to the "atmosphere, beats, no lyrics, and sure as hell not commercial" rule mentioned above. Some of the best programmed 303 Acid basslines ever made can be heard here along with transcendental hypno synths and those Belgian beats going on and on....! Slow and low, from under 100bpm up to 116, New Beat doesn't chug, it swings in a very distinct way. If you get to see any videos of Belgian clubs of the era, the way people moved to this music is incredible and so different to any dancing we see today.

Many of these tracks are made by the same people under various aliases, which will perhaps be audibly evident. Most of the names have been forgotten, if they were ever even known outside their native Belgium at all, but all are legends to me. 

This mix isn't any kind of attempt to tell the story of New Beat but rather a mix 33 of my favourite 12" singles from that era showing many of the various strains of the New Beat and Hard Beat sound. A lot of love went into this and I hope someone somewhere discovers this music for the first time and falls in love with it as I did way back when. This was Belgium!

This Was Belgium 1987-89 - 2 hours of New Beat favourites

https://www.nts.live/shows/bell-towers/episodes/dance-music-show-19th-may-2020
- - - -
PEJZAZ - NOC 
POWER POINT - 24K (PP EDIT) 
LAST RHYTHM - OPEN YOUR MIND (MURKY RHYTHM MIX) 
BLAIR SOUND DESIGN - BOOTLEG BASS
CARTOUCHE - FEEL THE GROOVE (UNDERGROUND MIX) 
REX THE DOG VS DJ HAUS - TRANSMITTER 
CODE 5 - CHINA GIRL (HOUSE MIX) 
SOUL CENTRE - A GOOD ONE
OVERROCKET - MIRROR 
DJ GIGOLA & KEV KOKO - SUENO 
BELL TOWERS - WANT YOU NEED YOU (WOLFRAM REMIX)

DANCE MUSIC SHOW 19/05/20

A familiar face around the Dutch capital, Amsterdam-based DJ and producer Kennedy has been immersed in music and records for over two decades, putting into practise his mantra of moving both the body and the soul.

While day-to-day he can be found behind the counter at Red Light Records pushing wax, as well as being part of the team at Jamie Tiller and Tako Reyenga's Music From Memory imprint, his own musical endeavours see him taking over the waves at Red Light Radio and running his own Dream Machine imprint, which he launched last year with a debut record from himself. 

This year will see him release a second on the label and also debut overseas on DJ D.Dee's renowned Pacific Rhythm imprint. In the run up to these production outings, we asked him to take the reigns for this week's Shine A Light On mix, which sees him serve up a soothing selection of music for the soul...

Kennedy: The 'Shine A Light On' Mix

The CockTail d'Amore resident and former Oscillator co-founder @budino themes her vinyl-only mix around "obsession", moving through slow electronics and hypnotic cuts to percussive rhythms and Italo House.

Interview: https://www.stampthewax.com/2020/05/27/diggers-directory-budino/

Diggers Directory: Budino

To celebrate the release of Artificial Dancers - Waves Of Synth, (RHMC005) we hosted another Rush Hour Store Broadcast.
 
On the bill, we had Artificial Dance label founder, Interstellar Funk alongside good friend, the designer of the artwork, and excellent wave collector Steele Bonus.

Store Broadcast 017 I Interstellar Funk & Steele Bonus

Sixsixsixties - Corona d'Amore - 06062020

@acolourfulstorm

Our next mix is made by Moopie. For those who don’t know, he’s running the great ‘A Colourful Storm’ label. 
The first time I encountered the label’s existence, was at the label’s inaugural release of the Denial - California Dreaming 7” EP. A sweet minimal wave interpretation of ‘California Dreamin’, most known by the version from the Mamas and the Papas. Re-issued by A Colourful Storm, delivered in a beautifully designed cardboard carton sleeve.
It’s hard to pick a few of the highlights from the label, but I’m gonna try by mentioning the Christoph De Babalon, Kallista Kult, and upcoming Désaccord Majeur 3 track EP (so nice!) material. 
Moopie is Beijing-born and based in Melbourne, Australia. His mix turned out to be a dreamy, mostly 90’’s IDM selection, getting more bleepy techno-ish towards the end. Thanks for this. Enjoy.

Knekelhuis # 64 - Moopie (A Colourful Storm)

Live recording from our last gathering at home away from home. Limited Edition 45.
The best pleace you never heard of, great crew, last night before lockdown.
There are ways to support dear people:
limitededitioneditions.bigcartel.com/
or become a member with access to the years of recorded history
withfriends.co/limited_edition/join
and help one of those truly independent places survive. 
Thank you guys!
https://soundcloud.com/thenaturalmagic

S+L afters vibing

Daniela Mentoni