Aceedo - Pop Rock Paradox

💖Tam Tam live at PleasureMaxx (24.02.2) 💖

Get excited for this weekend with a closing set captured at the @pleasuremaxxx & @pda.berlin collaboration held in the mighty @c0smicslop.
2 hours of sensual record selection by @tamtam_pda. DJ & Founder of the underground party Public Display of Affection. 

Public Display of Affection is a queer-friendly party with its roots in Berlin and its soul somewhere on every dance floor. 
Designed for a new kind of positive hedonism to manifest & be motivated through community-focused amor, PDA is known for its libido-raising disco adjacent sounds. Sonically inspired by the origins of Disco, EBM, NewBeat & Proto House, PDA is a home for acceptance and sexiness in all forms. 

Their next Public Display of Affection will be held on 30.03.24

H.A.N.D. MIX 055 : Tam Tam

At Field Maneuvers 2023, Optimo (Espacio) played the final set in the Sputnik tent as part of the Watching Trees takeover. "We expected everyone to be on their final reserves of energy," they said. "But it was instantly apparent that there was electric energy in the tent. It ended up being one of the most joyous, life-affirming gigs of [the year]."

@optimo-music @fieldmaneuvers

Find out more about Field Maneuvers 2024: https://ra.co/news/80472

RA Live - Optimo (Espacio) - Field Maneuvers, UK

Recording of Sean Johnston & Vladimir Ivkovic's set at Dekmantel Selectors 2024.

Dekmantel Selectors 2024

Sean Johnson & Vladimir Ivkovic at Dekmantel Selectors 2024

The MFM Mix series continues with Istanbul-born, Amsterdam-based multidisciplinary artist Deniz Omeroglu (@loradeniz), who released her debut album 'SUN SHONE' with us earlier this year. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Welcome to the series Deniz. Being from Turkey originally, what did your musical upbringing look like? 

LD: There was always music playing in our house - we even had speakers in the bathroom. My dad really enjoyed listening to music; he had an open mind and a great collection of CDs and records. It brought together Western influences, world music, and local sounds. That diversity really shaped my ears and sense of sound from early on. My brother played the piano, so classical music was also part of the atmosphere. I guess I grew up listening to almost everything except electronic dance music. That came into my life later - after graduating from the conservatory and going through my own personal rebellion. 

MFM: Comparing to West-Europe, where you live now, do you feel there's difference in how music plays a role culturally? 

LD: Totally. I think we, as a culture, tend to experience and express emotions more intensely - both internally and outwardly - compared to Northern European countries. So you can often feel that emotional depth and variation in our melodies and rhythmic forms. Just the other day, I found myself wondering... what kind of music would I be making now if I had grown up listening to Chicago house at home?

MFM: You've produced the whole album yourself. Being a classically trained pianist probably helps a lot when creating and writing new music, right? How did you go about writing the songs?

LD: In the past, my creative process was often fueled by pain and drama. But now, I don’t need those emotions to create anymore. Maybe that used to be what made my music distinctive, but now everything feels a lot more free and in flow. Coming from a classical background actually caused years of writer’s block - I often had no idea what to do next. Being classically trained means you're expected to perform everything perfectly. It took a lot of unlearning to let go of that mindset and teach myself that there’s actually more comfort in imperfection. So, rather than being a pianist specifically, it’s more about having music theory to fall back on when I feel stuck - that’s what really helps. But honestly, the most important part of writing new music for me is taking care of myself. All the self work - that’s what keeps my creativity alive.

MFM: When does a song determine if it needs your voice incorporated? And how do you then decide whether its going to be in Turkish or English?

LD: When it comes to language, it’s not really a conscious choice - it just happens naturally. I dream in both Turkish and English, and even while answering these questions, I find myself thinking in both. Sometimes it’s just easier to express something in Turkish, and other times it flows better in English. As for when I decide to use my voice in a song, it really depends. Sometimes melodies come to me while I’m just humming, and other times I feel the need to actually say something. I think of my voice as a human oscillator - just another unique textural element. I use my voice to create percussive or synth-like sounds, layering it in the same way I would with instruments, to add something personal and distinctive.

MFM: Please can you tell us a bit about your mix? 

LD: I think this mix gives off a sense of melancholia but not too much, intimacy, and cerebral energy. It’s not really representative of what I’d play out at clubs, but it’s full of tracks I love listening to, my all time and latest favorites. There’s a lot of slow burners, ghostly sensuality, and a touch of leftfield sass. my intention was to record something as much for the body as for the head in the most mfm way possible. Something light, something fun and something genuine.

MFM Mix 053: Loradeniz

5 hours in the wonderful surroundings of Public Records in NYC. Back to back from start to finish. Peace to all the ravers and staff in the place.

5 HOURS IN NEW YORK CITY AT PUBLIC RECORDS - LUCA LOZANO + MR. HO

"Over dinner, the promoter mentioned how hard it was to play disco at the club, which made me smile, given the party was called “Bye Bye Disco.” She asked if I could play something that would help people understand and appreciate disco in a fresh, modern way, so that’s exactly what I set out to do. "

Recorded live at Bye Bye Disco in Beijing.

H.A.N.D. MIX 075  - Trent

PDA MIX 16 ♥ AAGUILAA

This edition of the PDA mix series comes from  AAGUILAA, who we are thrilled is joining us this Saturday at our CSD party. AAGUILAA is the resident DJ at Brussels’ iconic queer party Los Niños and this recording is a testament to his ability to get a dance floor moving. Expect acid, peak-time panel-beaters and mutant-disco cuts all through a very Belgian sonic lens.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

PDA MIX 16 ♥ AAGUILAA

Intergalactic Gary @ ALTES WETTBÜRO - DRESDEN - 22.12.2012

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

From the Have A Nice Day Party in Berlin, with Valentina aka Budino.