Séance Michael

Vol. 4
Mix Master Bee is back! 
90's Rave Techno for Sweaty Dance Floor Business
Mixed by GDS and Victor Vankmen
100% Wax
100% Hype

Dog'n The Wax Vol. 4 // Test Your Hype

“I can imagine as an apocalyptic: let it go down. I have no spiritual investment in the world as it is.” — Jacob Taubes

In his “On the Concept of History,” the messianic-communist philosopher Walter Benjamin asks us to imagine an angel who is unable to stop the suffering of the world. The angel cannot do anything at all but be witness to the ruin of the world, because the angel cannot close their wings, which are held open by a strong storm called “progress.” Before this angel is the entirety of history as wreckage and ruin, one single catastrophe piled up before the angel. The proof of this vision of history is given in the remarks by Benjamin that feel as if they could have been written today as we marvel at the stupidity and cruelty that must be protested over and over, “One reason why Fascism has a chance is that in the name of progress its opponents treat it as a historical norm. The current amazement that the things we are experiencing are "still" possible in the twentieth century is _not_ philosophical.” 

For those of us who seek something otherwise than history on the dance floor, the hagiography of raving does not serve us well in this moment. When Pat Parker tells us that “they will come” and asks “where will you be, when they come,” it simply is not true that techno or dancing or this community will save us. For too many “they” have already come and “we” have done very little, almost nothing, precisely as is allowed by the demands to survive in the world. In a very real sense, _we are them_. The hagiography of the dance floor may allow us to imagine that the reason the party sucks has everything to do with them, but the dance floor is us and we share it alike with our favorites and violence workers from Palantir, lovers and unkown abusers, those who are committed to this life despite the financial burden and those who fund their lifestyles with dirty family money, and so many of us are substance users whose favorite chemicals are caught up in exchanges of violence beyond any single person’s control, as well as other angels with dirty faces. 

Crafting a slow burn that ends in ecstatic and intentionally wasteful movement, this mix meditates on the idea that techno is not about release, not about community as a mystical body hiding its relationship to power, not even about freedom in the usual sense we take the term. Perhaps the power of techno's 4/4 beat is the way it captivates, allowing for somatic and sonic access to the deeper experience of world-captivation. To recognize techno and the movements it provokes in the body as a meditation on the inextricable link between submission and resistance may allow us to to reject the hagiography of the dance floor and recognize that in the struggle for pleasure the greater struggle is with the self. That even if and when the external oppressor is subdued, the oppressor within us may still lie in ambush. Techno allows us to give attention to the idea that the meaning of liberation might be the very undoing of the borders between us and them, between good and evil, between servitude and freedom. 

As these thoughts guide the mix, brought tracks by friends into conversation with older and new tracks by some of my favorite contemporary producers. I have also included a number of my own unreleased tracks as well as two off of my recent EP, available on Cathexis Records. Track IDs happily available upon request.

One Single Catastrophe (They Will Come)

CCL (@ccl-url) has many tricks and plenty of surprises up their sleeve. London-born, US-bred but now Berlin-based, they are playful in what they play but serious about how they play it, whether that's head spinning 160bpm cut, "cowgirl-breaks or wiggle steppers." The key for this multidisciplinary artist and former New Forms festival curator is to find the similarities and differences between shades of sound and rhythm and exploit them to spellbinding effect. As a producer, they are no different and have always managed to find fresh in-between sounds on labels like Fever AM and Discwoman. 

The singular DJ steps up this week with almost two hours of pure sonic adventure. It's a perfect showcase of how they can soundtrack imaginary worlds from humid future jungles to robot dances in the sky. You'll hear rhythms you could never imagine and contort your body in impossible ways, all while admiring the dexterity of the DJ who has threaded together such a trippy trip.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 427 - CCL

i been asleep a thousand years
i already cried all my tears
i don't have any fears
what is that sound in my ears?

covered in all of these scars
i think i came from the stars
destroying you with these bars
taking back what's ours

calm down
everything's normal
just another lockdown
and we deserve it

so strange
almost like it never changed
insane exchange
i hope it's worth it

i been so dizzy
you been so busy
are you even listening
to me?

x4

you don't even know how to have fun
you don't even know how to act dumb
i'm done, all you do is stress
it doesn't really matter anymore
i'll show myself out the fucking door

recovering from my remedy
sending love to all my enemies
all the failures were meant to be
i just wanna be set free

calm down
everything's normal
just another lockdown
and we deserve it

so strange
almost like it never changed
insane exchange
i hope it's worth it

i been so dizzy
you been so busy
are you even listening
to me?

x4

dizzy (prod. ronan)

For the 119th entry in the Honcho Podcast Series, we welcome @boxofbox!  I think many would agree that Jonathon is one of the sweetest and most supportive people in the scene. On top of being a wonderful human being, he's always an extremely talented DJ. 

Before our scheduled programing, @boxofbox has a few words to say about his mix and some lost Honcho tea:

'Fresh off the 10th Anniversary of Honcho @ Hot Mass, we are finally beyond the statute of limitations and can share with you the real story. Honcho’s origins actually harken back 20 years ago, when a then fresh-faced Michael Moraine assembled a specialized crew of ne’er do wells to execute a simultaneously coordinated heist of 7 distinct gambling venues across the US. The Honch, as they were known back then, have been on the run for the past 20 years, but now are able to tell their story. Michael, a.k.a. Don Sweetums, led the operation, running point from his swank Pittsburgh riverside cabana. The primary team included, Aaron “The Disaster” Clark, the munitions expert, George “Fun Cooker” d’Adhemar, the reputable bag man, and Clark “Sugar Caddy” Price, the wheels. The boys hired a novice hacker, known only as boxofbox to run comms. The mix you are listening to was the operation-coordinating soundtrack box played during the heist. A number of additional accomplices have asked to remain anonymous, but you can likely find them on the Hot Mass dancefloor as part of their mandated community service.

This mix is dedicated to the long lost 5th member of the Honcho crew, who during reconnaissance at the Orleans casino, fell into the alligator tank. RIP Jo Crystal.'

tracklist: https://tinyurl.com/3kud8md3

Honcho Podcast Series 119: boxofbox

@pureimmanence "Space Lounge" session recorded in the Mizz Softee Chillzone in Brooklyn, NY.

June 16th, 2023

Favorite Flavor: Spumoni

Tracklist:
1. The Orb – Orbisonia
2. Richard H. Kirk – Oneski
3. A Positive Life – The Calling (Loved'Ub Mix)
4. LA Synthesis – Frozen Tundra Dub
5. Leftfield – Melt
6. Cosmic Baby – Und ob ich schon wanderte im finsteren Tal
7. Pete Namlook & David Moufang – The Audiolounge
8. Higher Intelligence Agency – Shift
9. Mark Franklin – Release to the System
10. Matthewdavid's Mindflight – Tract of Hidden Animalia
11. Sideral – Mare Nostrum
12. Plastikman – Pakard
13. Vromb – Amalgame
14. The Irresistible Force – Suikinkutsu
15. Hans Berg – The Secret Garden
16. Fluid States – "Reset - Open - Transform"
17. The Orb – Katskills
18. Bluetech – Tranquility Gate (Mixmaster Morris Remix)
19. Sumsonic Presents – Falling
20. Pete Namlook & Klaus Schulze – The Heart Of Our Nearest Star (Part III)
21. L.S.G. – Shecan - Reworked
22. Pete Namlook & Bobby Bird – Maintaining Scan for UFO's
23. Trans-4M – Atharvaveda
24. The Irresistible Force – The Lie-In King
25. Oliver Lieb – Spice Diving
26. DP-SOL – Spacecakes 8
27. DP-SOL – Spacecakes 5
28. Hans Berg – Sky
29. Peter Van Hoesen – Ang Session 1014
30. DP-SOL – Spacecakes 2
31. audio active & Laraaji – New Laughter Mode (The Way In)
32. Pete Namlook & Mixmaster Morris – Fishology
33. Earth Nation – Revelation
34. Pete Namlook & Bobby Bird – Begend
35. The Sabres of Paradise – Ballad of Nicky McGuire
36. Tosca – John Lee
37. Sun Electric – Every Now and Then
38. Icon – Inside - Outside, II
39. Roberto Musci – Blue Garden
40. Pete Namlook & Move D – Der Bergkönig
41. Astralasia – Astralasia, Part 2
42. Link – Arcadian
43. Humate – 3.3
44. Coco Steel & Lovebomb – Press Zero

dizzy (prod. ronan)

nettle