trauma on the highway

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)

What a night! Such a pleasure to play for a packed dancefloor during Kater Blau's 56 Hour Nonstop/Sum Over Histories showcase. I'll forever smile when thinking about it. @kater_blau

I was thinking about writing more about this night and was finally inspired when I read @jake-basker's comments on his absolute masterpiece set from Garbicz 2022...

I struggle with posting live sets since they always sound flat or awkward to me later. They never seem to capture the energy and the magic of that feeling everyone shared. That yes yes more more, this is better than sex right now feeling that defies expression and just drives people to dance harder and longer. What a beautiful mystery of this human experience that music can inspire us so intensely...

That night was it the tracks I played? Was it how I played them? Was it the people dancing? Was it all those things together somehow? It was also Kater, the legend, love, and energy behind this place known the world over for cutting edge music. Also the other artists on the bill, and the lucky collection of people who ended up there and vibed together. That night was magical for all of us no matter the reason and this is here to remind us of what we created that night.

Maddix At Kater Blau Berlin

"10 years Mayan Warrior -  Happy Birthday.
Thank you for your trust, I had a blast!
 No words just music. 
Love goes out to all of those beautiful souls."
Acid Pauli

Follow Acid Pauli:
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/acidpauli
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealacidpauli

Cover Photo by  Selim Cinek @selimcinek (IG)
Cover Design by  Esteban Armendariz
Art Piece: Paradisium by Dave Keane & Folly Builders

Acid Pauli - Mayan Warrior - Burning Man 2022

Tracklist:
Follow - Amelie Lens
The Andor Voyage - Metro Dade
Pragmatic (Original Mix)- Zimmz
Kronos - Hi-Lo
Shifting Soul - Alex Lentini
CSE - Reinier Zonneveld
Vibration - Bec
New Generation - Layton Giordani
Resonate - Lilly Palmer
Solar Storm - Mark Michael
Pure - FOVOS
Ultimate Distortion - Alan Fitzpatrick
Power - Layton Giordani
Dystopia - Rebuke
Strange Dreamz - Wehbba
Sides - Ron Costa
Hear The Sound - Franck
Your Mind - Adam Beyer
Eskes - Roel

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parameters (in panama)

With only a few days left until we ourselves become deserted on an island, we thought we'd share with you our Bestival Desert Island Mix.

Made with the lovely Pedestrian, we hope this selection of sunshine music will be the perfect accompaniment for when you're next stranded on a beach.

www.ownsteam2014.co.uk

Maribou State & Pedestrian - Desert Island Mixtape Pt.I

FUR - Pulp (Linkwood's Stargazer Remix)

Function - Immolare (Osaka version) + Sandwell District - Untitled
Female - Blood Tide (Regis remix)
Function - Burn (original mix)
Unknown - Untitled Regis '08 edit 
Function - Untitled
Silent Servant - Untitled
Sandwell District - Hunting Lodge
Female - Cally 2
CH-signal Laboratories - Hypnotica Scale 1
O/V/R (Regis & James Ruskin) - Rapid Eye
Sandwell District - Speed + Sound (Endless)

Sandwell District - Cursed mix

Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler went back to back live at Ultra Music Festival 2017 from the Resistance Stage powered by Arcadia.

Jamie Jones
SUBSCRIBE: @jamie-jones
LIKE: www.facebook.com/jamiejonesmusic?fref=ts
FOLLOW: twitter.com/jamiejonesmusic

Jamie Jones b2b Seth Troxler Live At Ultra Resistance 2017

Live recorded set from June 2019 at Montreal's Piknic Electronik.

Lauren Lane - Piknic Electronik Set 2019

Adesse - Untitled Love 
Label:Prime Numbers – PN20 
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, 45 RPM 
Country: UK 
Released: Feb 2013 
Genre: Electronic 
Style: Techo, House

for pre-orders www.pnrecords.com

Adesse - Metachemistry

Yamcast #5 /w Trus'me (@trusme)

To end this weird year off, we have the honor to present Yamcast #5, by one of our beloved residents and big music head, Trus'me. Founder of Prime Numbers record label and recently established in Lisboa, David has always been a favourite of ours because of his top selections of both soulful and eclectic records.

Expect to find him playing live for us next summer. In the meantime, we sat down with him for a small chat regarding music, creativity, and what's happening nowadays in his life.

//Who are you?

I’m known as Trus’me, but my real name is David Wolstencroft. I’m from Manchester originally and I fell into music very early with a label called Fat City Recordings who took me under their wing. I started a label called Prime Numbers and that was my platform for releasing music for the last 15 years. 

Now I find myself in Lisbon. I needed a change. I was living in Berlin for 5 years and it’s quite hectic - you know, clubbing, DJing, continuously in the music, I wanted to get away. I wanted sun, I wanted beach but I also wanted the music on the weekend and Berlin’s a 1 hour flight away, so Lisbon seemed like the best place to live. When you’re a constant travelling DJ, you’re always thinking about moving and the sun, the beach and Lisbon is like a little bit of everything. Everyone sort of B-lines through here, so I see everybody at some point in the year, but I also can go to the beach in 10 minutes. So like, this is the place for me right now.

//What's the idea behind the mix?

I think I played one of the opening parties and the closing parties for Yamba so I feel like I have a good idea of the style of music that works there and I’ve tried to show that in the mix. It’s never just stagnant in one style in the night. If we go from slow, soul jams, to disco, to boogie and then it gets more kind of fun, kind of like Detroit house and then it can even get a little bit more minimal towards the end. But the fun factor is that there is always like a push and pull. Whenever it gets a little bit this way, there’s always like “hey we’re on a beach so lets make it more fun, let's make it more happy" and I think that’s the Yamba vibe really. They’re not scared to go into the groove but they’ll always bring it back and it doesn’t matter about the tempo or the style, there will always be that fact that we’re on a beach, in the sun and we’re all outside. I tried to create that within the mix so that hopefully you’ll feel like you’re on the beach dancing and you’re going from a club till midnight.  

//Are you creative in other areas?

My degree was in graphic design and media, so I would say that the creative juices were always rolling but with that particular degree, it was all different areas. Music and production was one of them and I think I just held on to that one more than the other stuff. I’ve always been creative when I was younger, I always took art, I was always drawing, painting, I played an instrument in a windband, I was in orchestra but it was never really ticking the box or giving me that fulfillment. It was only when I found the Detroit sound, where they kind of bring everything together. The jazz, the soul, the hip-hop, the disco. They bring an electronic edge to it and it’s a little bit, you know, coming from Manchester, a rainy city, it was a little bit deeper and it’s a little bit darker but not in a miserable way, just more moody. And that’s when I found that particular world, a globe, where it doesn't matter what genre it is, it's just the vibe of the music. That’s where I felt more creative and that’s when I started to produce music.

But with a creative process with other things, I find that more with bringing people together. Right now I have different projects that I’m (...)

... Read the full interview:
yambayamba.com/trusme

------------------
Trus'me's media:
www.instagram.com/djtrusme
@trusme
www.facebook.com/trusme

Yamcast #5 /w Trus'Me (Prime Numbers)

a self taught graphic artist who's addicted to music & very fortunate to be surrounded by many friends who produce minimal to techno to progressive trance to tech house throughout the world.  Here's my chance to explore, love exploring... & by all means whilst you're listening feel free to check out my works... always happy for feedback :)

Adesse - Metachemistry

Trus'me / Prime Numbers

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