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)

VII Jahre BU

Next up on the #GrooveResidentPodcast is @kapitelbollwerkbern resident, Dubtopia organiser, Midilux and montsomnia member @phrex. Interview and track list: bit.ly/GrooveRP34

Groove Resident Podcast 34

Tracklist

Groove Resident Podcast 34 - phrex

big leg taps into late night moods for moody times, drifters roll into the sound of lamplights blurred in the reflections of puddles passing by..

Astral VIP - Big Leg - Refuge Worldwide [12.10.23]

@poly-chain very much takes electronic much into the future. The Kyiv artist born Sasha Zakrevska uses IDM, electro, and techno as building blocks to construct her own eerie, intense, and atmospheric sound worlds that are as cinematic as they are physical. Her edgy melodies are inventive, and her machine rhythms are hugely distinctive. She has not only written solo albums but has composed for theatre and museums, collaborated with Nene H, and released charity albums for Ukraine as part of her ongoing musical resistance.  

For this week's podcast, Poly Chain has sent us the recording of the very special live show she played at Dekmantel Festival this summer. It is an absorbing hour of beatless sound that will move you as much as any drum track. There are storytelling chapters to the set that takes you from darkened underworlds to starry cosmic expanses as the moods go from reflective and calming to more intense and unsettling. It is very much the sound of tomorrow, today.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 450 - Poly Chain

Suzan은 무수한 연결점들 속 소리와 박자들이 점점 쌓이기도 흩어지기도 하는 무한한 상상의 세계를 그린다. 빛과 어둠 속에서 결국 한 점으로 연결되어 이어지는 댄스 플로어를 꿈꾼다.

Suzan depicts an imaginary endless world where sounds and beats gradually accumulate and disperse in countless connected points. He dreams of a dancefloor where light and darkness eventually connect to our own point.

🪦
https://on.soundcloud.com/95j2sRdQ3Q4JVkmAA
https://www.instagram.com/suzan.______/

17
여정 속 현재에 있는 지금, 마음속 소중한 것과 과거를 가지고 한 걸음씩 나아간다. 이곳의 모두가 음악과 댄스를 통해 해방되기를.

Wed July 24 2024

22:00-00:00 Ansol
00:00-02:00 Suzan
02:00-end SJK
⠀
Address : 414-20, Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul

[17] 001 •º SUZAN ^∆^

EMC broadcast w/ Vinylkite & aotp 02.05.2024

Vakula is a prolific Ukranian producer, DJ and outspoken artist who very much has his own sound and is a Dekmantel family member for a long time now. Releasing a vast amount of house and techno that touches on everything from super sweet and deep to melodically off kilter, stripped back and ornate to magically cosmic. Before now the Leleka boss has released a number of conceptually strong LPs and plenty of EPs as well as an album of psychedelic rock and spoken word. His album 'You've Never Been To Konotop' is a modern classic. He takes risks and isn’t afraid to buck trends, basically, and for that reason has a cult following around the world. 

Proof that Vakula does things his own way is this mix (released on his birthday) which focusses completely on techno. At around two and a half hours, it really allows him to stretch his legs into a weird and spaced out techno world. From Detroit and Millsian to old school and jacking, many different moods and grooves are explored here but never do energy levels dip below full on sweaty. 

Dekmantel Podcast 063 - Vakula

We’re proud to welcome this week one of UK club music’s true originals to our mix series: Pinch.

Known as a pioneer of dubstep: the sound that sparked one of the biggest waves of musical creativity ever seen in the UK, Pinch began Subloaded in Bristol back in 2004, which was the first dedicated dubstep and grime night outside of FWD>> in London. To this day the impact of the party still ripples through Bristol's bass community. 

Techno’s endless permutations are as much an inspiration as dub in Pinch’s music. Both influences and the intersectional sounds pervade both his productions and mixes - this unique crossover leading to demand worldwide for his DJ sets, as well as production skills renowned through his ‘Tectonic’ label, and work with the likes of Mumdance, Riko Dan, Shackleton and Adrian Sherwood. Enjoy this hour-long mix for our series; demonstrating why he is one of the most versatile artists around.

Tracklist:
1. Interplanetary Criminal ’Tension’ (Sneaker Social Club)
2. Die & Pinch ‘Jungle Reflection' (Forthcoming on Gutterfunk)
3. Elmono ‘The Shermi Paradox’ (Forthcoming on Tectonic)
4. Roman Poncet ‘Atlas (Antigone Remix) (Figure)
5. Dazino ‘Dragon Wave’ (Safe Trip)
6. Al Wootton ‘Power Must Change Hands’ (Trule)
7. Kastil ‘Binding Echos’ (Stale)
8. Overlook ‘Seance’ (Osiris Music)
9. Keikari ‘Halti’ (Nord Ltd)
10. ASC ‘Steadfast’ (On The 5th Day)
11. Vort ’50 Yen’ (E-Beamz)
12. Craig Knowes ‘Breakpoints’ (No Moon)
13. The Advent ‘High Horse’ (Klockworks)
14. Walton ‘Abys’ (Unreleased)
15. Bakonga ‘Disposition’ (Forthcoming on 789YTIVIL)
16. DJ JM ‘No Days Off’ (Nervous Horizons)
17. DJ Lag & Okzharp ‘Now What’ (Forthcoming on Hyperdub)
18. Smith & Mighty ‘Love Is The Key (Version) (White Label)

DIM178 - Pinch

After a short break, we are returning with a new episode of the Harmony Rec. podcast series. Today, we have the honour to finally introduce an artist who has been on our radar for a while. 

Konduku aka Ruben Üvez is a Berlin-based DJ and producer, originally from the Netherlands. Starting his career by releasing a well-received debut LP - "Kiran," Konduku quickly got recognition among the listeners. Since then, Ruben has been a part of several impressive music projects. His work has been released on record labels such as Delsin, IDO and Idle Hands, proving Konduku as a natural talent. Producing is not the only thing that keeps Ruben busy.  His DJ CV includes a variety of prominent European clubs beginning with De School and ending with Berlin's about blank. 

The set itself describes Konduku in detail. Excellent mixing skills accompany the unique music style that we would describe as groovy and organic. The transition from summer to autumn is often uneven. Still, we believe that Konduku's set will make it softer for you. Enjoy.

@kondukukonduku

Harmony Rec. podcast | Konduku

For this episode of our MNMT Recordings we welcome Munich -based  MTRL with his breathtaking set from Anecumene online festival.  

Read more : https://mnmt.no/magazine/2021/02/23/mnmt-recordings-mtrl-anecumene-9128-live

Follow MTRL :

https://soundcloud.com/mtrl_audio
https://www.facebook.com/MTRL.audiovisual
https://www.instagram.com/mtrl_io/
https://mtrl-io.bandcamp.com/

VII Jahre BU

Natalia Martinovna

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