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)

48번째 vurt podcast는  지난 8월 26일에 열린 vurtnight에서 녹음된 ASTMA(haqua, Tokyo)의 두시간 실황 세트와 함께합니다.  실험적인 레이어와 하드사운드를 결합한 새로운 테크노 스타일로 도쿄 언더그라운드 씬의 새로운 에너지로 주목받는 아스트마(ASTMA)의 두시간 세트와 함께 뜨거웠던 8월의 벌트나잇을 느껴보세요. 

https://soundcloud.com/satoshi-kajiura

The 48th vurt podcast features with a two-hour DJ set from ASTMA (haqua, Tokyo), recorded at vurtnight on August 26.  Feel the fever of vurtnight in August with a two-hour set from ASTMA, whose new techno style combines experimental layers and hard sounds to create a new energy in the Tokyo underground scene.

vurt podcast 48 - ASTMA

117th guest of KHIDI’s podcast series is Ukrainian DJ, producer and live-performer - Na Nich, who is a founding member of Rhythm Büro, a techno initiative in Kyiv that brings together the genre's most innovative minds to various unique locations across the city

Regardless of the genre, Alexander's music is characterized by his signature groove and engineering perfection, and he remains forward-thinking in his approach

@sunchase

KHIDI Podcast 117: Na Nich

Live recording @ the Future Intel headquarters in The Hague. Streaming live on Youtube and futureintelradio.com.

Mattikk ╚═ Future Intel X Nerve Collect ═╗ 29 02 2024

Rinse FM Podcast

Allecto with Quiet Husband - 03 July 2024

The third week of August 2024.
Oslated Special Mix 055 - Kai Galactic

DAYBREAK
Tokyo
Japan

Kai Galactic is Techno DJ in Tokyo. He learns under the influence of father about Galaxy for the childhood period, and it becomes the reason of DJ name and his DJ play.

He met Techno music for school days and started his DJ career in small county town.He moves the base in Tokyo.

His DJ style plays deep and tripping Techno and creates story on the floor.

Kai Galactic organizes his own Techno party "DAYBREAK". He invited Kangding Ray, Blazej Malinowski, and Deepbass.

In 2023, he launched "DAYBREAK Recordings", expanding his activities to include releasing his own track and managing his own label.

Discography
V.A - Some Sacred Grounds [2024 / Art Bei Ton]
Noton EP [2024 / DAYBREAK Recordings]
Kagura EP [2024 / DAYBREAK Recordings]
Konnect EP [2023 / DAYBREAK Recordings]
Tsukiyo EP [2023 / DAYBREAK Recordings]

https://soundcloud.com/kaigalactic
https://www.facebook.com/kaigalactic
https://www.instagram.com/kaigalactic
https://daybreakrecordings.bandcamp.com

- Artwork by Clément Davout

Oslated.
http://www.oslated.com

Oslated Special Mix

Oslated Special Mix 055

Oslated Special Mix 055 - Kai Galactic

Believes in Omens: NORPRK
— Jin Invites Series #19 —

Mix Page:
www.jinsynth.com/norprk

Artist Page:
@sk-njob

— Artist Intro —
norprk is an Electronic Music Producer based in the mountains of Andalucía with roots in UK bass music, crafting dub and ambient soundscapes using modular synths and field recordings. 

x1hr mix of original and unreleased compositions and experiments in ambient, drone and dub.

--------------------------------------------

Cover Illustration: @jinsynth at Kolophonium Design Studio

#ambient #liveset #dj
#illustration #art #drawing

Believes in Omens: NORPRK

www.openlab.fm | 106.4FM in Ibiza & Formentera
Check the full tracklist on our website:  https://openlab.fm/news/observatory-095-sungate-with-scope-moy-santana

Welcome to episode number 95 of Observatory by Sungate
Scøpe steps up for the first hour of this years last show, a meditative maelstrom from the SCOPÁVIK founder hailing from South Korea.
Sungate co-founder Moy Santana seeing us off deep in a haze of tribal drumwork, fractal synthscapes, and rumbling low frequency.
Art and animation by Abel Fernandez

Download our App:
IOS: bit.ly/OLappApple
Android: bit.ly/OlAppAndroid

Observatory 095 - Sungate [with Scøpe & Moy Santana]

soundcloud : @sonhan
instagram : www.instagram.com/sonhan.n/

sonhan @ GIMIC - 07 February 2025

225a

Dementia

╚═ Future Intel ═╗
Future casts from the present — your weekly music and art intel — Streaming live on futureintelradio.com & Youtube every Thursday and Friday night.