1997

Ship in Storms

This week’s guest on Line Noise is the inestimable DJ Hell, a German producer, DJ, label boss and so much more, who started DJing in 1978, released his first single - the all-time classic My Definition Of House Music - in 1992, helped to invent trance music, definitely invented electroclash and still has time to be an ambassador for the 2024 European Football Championship. We talked about Kraftwerk, our definitions of house music, the importance of a good name, Ukraine and so much more. Photo by Daniel Mayer.

Line Noise Episode 175 (DJ Hell)

monojam

My guest on Line Noise this week is legendary Japanese producer and DJ Ken Ishii, a man who did more than anyone to bring techno music to Japan, bridging the gap with old school Japanese electronic music as he did so. We spoke about the 30th anniversary of his classic Reference To Difference album, the joy of weird noises, appearing on the cover of Newsweek, Pac Man, anime and more. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

Line Noise Episode 190 (Ken Ishii)

We got all up close and geeky about Aphex Twin in company with Disco Pogo’s Jim Butler, the editor of the new book: Aphex Twin - A Disco Pogo Tribute. We talked about our favourite Aphex myths, Richard James’ enduring appeal, Wolfgang Tillmans and the power of the Jockey Slut archive. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

Line Noise Episode 192 (Aphex Twin special with Disco Pogo's Jim Butler)

Welcome to Line Noise. Today our guest - on what is the 200th episode of Line Noise (kind of) - is Mr. Wolfgang Voigt one of the most important producers in the history of German electronic music and the cofounder of Kompakt Records. On this episode, though, we are largely taking about GAS, his sublime ambient / psychedelic techno project, under which name Voigt had come to Barcelona to play a live gig. We talked about dub, forests, LSD, Krautrock, gabber hits and so much more. I hope you enjoy it. Line Noise is supported by Cupra.

Line Noise 200 - Wolfgang Voigt / GAS

Another Barker masterclass.

Sam Barker asks more from techno. The artist known simply as Barker is one of electronic music's most consistently conscientious and curious producers, challenging listeners to question the norms we accept about our shared culture—whether it's the music that fills the room, the process behind it, or the purpose of the space itself.

British-born yet based in Berlin since 2007, Barker forged a connection to many of the city's leading institutions, including Ostgut Ton, and over the course of a long and fruitful relationship, he carved out one of the more singular paths on the club and label's roster.

Not one for orthodoxy, Barker challenged four-to-the-floor techno framework in favor of melodic experimentation. By decentering or completely stripping away the typical trappings of kick drums and claps, his productions are both light and immersive, buoyant in low-end presence and shimmering in weightless space.

Six years after Utility, his sophomore album Stochastic Drift arrives this month. Shaped by pandemic-driven reinvention, it burrows deeper into harmonic twists and freeform drift. "At some point I became conscious of the process," he wrote of his latest album. "The only thing you can do is embrace the uncertainty and see every change as a potential positive.”

Consider his RA Podcast another sequel. Like his much-beloved 2019 mix for FACT, it's a collage of live recordings and a fitting expression of the artist's own internal spring. RA.982 radiates wide-eyed optimism: percussion cloaked in foggy, swirling pads and trance-like chords, neatly synched in synthetic glimmers. 

All in all, it's an hour of music crafted for contemplation, collective euphoria, or heads-down epiphany—or for that matter, any moment, really, its emotive depth seemingly endless.

@voltek

Find the tracklist and Q&A at ra.co/podcast/982

RA.982 Barker

Support the label, buy it here https://vaultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vs10yrs

@alarico_katana

Alarico - Rugiada [VS10YRS]

This week on Line Noise I spoke to Thorsten Quaeschning, the musical director (and longest-standing member) of foundational German band Tangerine Dream, a group whose influence looms over ambient and electronic music. We spoke about black metal, where to start with Tangerine Dream, founder member Edgar Froese’s plans for the band after his death in 2015 and how the current band (in which Quaeschning is joined by Hoshiko Yamane and Paul Frick) are carrying these out. Line Noise is brought to you by Cupra.

The photo is from the band's recent Barcelona concert.

Line Noise 209 - Tangerine Dream

Ben Cardew spoke to Sabres of Paradise’s Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns, about the band's reunion, why Sabres split in the first place, remembering Andrew Weatherall, plans for a possible third Sabres album with a feature from Tom Waits (!?) and the band’s unclassifiable appeal. Line Noise comes with the support of Cupra. Photo by @leafhopper

Line Noise 223  - Sabres of Paradise at Primavera Sound 2025

Bundle of Joy

Multi-Family Garage Sale (Bargain-Bin Mix)

Jams and sketches. All with TE OP-XY these days

monojam

Katmat

Related tracks