Sadness at the death of a man who's been an important part of my musical journey.

RIP sir! Thanks for the great years helping me discover the unknown.

New York party Merge is often described as a queer techno extravaganza. Over the past two years, it's built a loyal community from the ground up while integrating everything from high-energy trance to disorienting acid into its rave repertoire. Resident Clarisa Kimskii has played a defining role in the collective's growth, largely thanks to the ultra-kinetic and rhythmic pace of her DJ sets.

Time and time again, the Washington DC native has demonstrated her ability to lock in dancers through captivating and hypnotic selections across various sub-styles of techno. There are tribal, witchy cuts. Jacking, Detroit-style funk. Psychedelic, DJ Nobu-style grooves and austere sounds that nod to Sandwell District. It's the kind of range that explains why Kimskii has been booked worldwide many years over, and more and more as of late. Her deep understanding of techno's myriad flavours come from two decades of industry experience as well as esoteric productions on labels like Mysteries Of The Deep and L.A.G. (her own short-lived, underrated, essential techno platform).

Kimskii's long time in the techno scene, her experience and her expertise is expressed in full form on her RA Podcast Moving from industrial grit to gentle transcendence to heady acid, the mix feels free, fluid but also remarkably precise, just like Kimskii herself.

@kimskii

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/901

RA podcast

RA.901 Clarisa Kimskii

For this edition of The Bunker Podcast we're releasing @otodojo's live set from their album release party at The Bunker in April.

artist video explanation accompaniment:
https://youtu.be/h-xMUetPiTg?si=9qj-4DNHj2dHUBtT

artist statement:

In February 2023 I focused on developing a new live set for my debut with @thebunkerny for an album release, named one of the best releases of 2023 by @mixmag-1. I trained the set with performances at Bossa Nova Civic Club with Perfect Party Look Book and at Forest City Lodge with Microtones in Ithaca.

Maybe describing this can help you process some live set ideas.

My previous approach to delivering this material live (originally at The Long Count Cycle, then at Technically Yeah) was using stems as a bedrock and improvisation on top. Even though this worked fine, it got a bit stale for me and I wanted to be as satisfied as a listener when a groove sets in. So I decided to go fully based on MIDI information and instruments, with an added challenge that my CPU can’t take too much of a load, so I needed to make sure I disabled certain instruments before bringing others in. A disclaimer is that I am not fully endorsing all of the equipment in this list, there are some caveats that I’m happy to discuss.

In Ableton I created custom instruments through stock plugins like operator, collision, wavetable - these instruments are divided into ones I cycle through and ones that are constant throughout the set.

The constant ones exist in instrument racks and are freely interchangeable through chains - all of the parameters are mapped to the same knobs on my Novation Launch Control XL enabling me to wash through several instruments running varying sounds. I also have stored macro variations for those instruments in case I need some sound immediately without menu diving (like 1/16 note hi hats).

The cycled instruments instruments are mostly from my tracks in Amphibious / Aural Spirits that are all controlled by four channels on my Xone K1. Initially I tried using Tip by K-Devices and Map-8 to disable a swath of devices (thanks One Child Policy for the tip!). Yet I found that the CPU load was comparable with just leaving the devices on and simply stopping clips. This made for a much better workflow.

I slowly progress through the cycled instruments while improvising with the constant instruments and the main drums / accenting discussed below.

My iPad is running Werkbench by Karl Scholz @karlalamusic, a sequencer sampler app that can easily form interesting polyrhythms and is great for anything sample-related, like live accenting, bass lines, drums, etc.

For the main drums I didn’t want to be too focused on sequencing as it takes up a lot of time, so I just wanted to scroll through patterns that I generate beforehand. I opted to use a modified version of Instant Haus by @alexkid which stores drum patterns for four-five instruments. Modifying this was a bit challenging as it is difficult to determine what kind of patterns I think can stay interesting over an hour time period. This is playing Smackos 808 Simulator by @legowelt-official as well as other custom drum instruments.

For acid lines I am using a Roland TB03 on lend from Indy Nyles and sequencing the 303 with Sting by Iftah Gabbai  as well as his Microtuner device coupled with note echos (I believe this is the most CPU intensive part of the set).I am using Ableton Push as a means to do miscellaneous control and Jaw Harp / Mic for some added organic-ness.

I am running all of this through an Apollo Twin Duo and Allen & Heath Xone 96 at the club.

The Bunker Podcast 227

The Bunker Podcast 227: Otodojo

https://www.instagram.com/aurorahalal
https://www.instagram.com/deep_creep

Mutual Dreaming with Aurora Halal and deep creep @ The Lot Radio 09-28-2023

All time favourite Aurora Halal @itsallhalal warming up for D-Dan 12th December 2022 11.00-1.30am at NYC's legendary Nowadays.

ani/live Thirty Three: Aurora Halal @ Nowadays

Recording of Batu B2B Donato Dozzy (the secret B2B) at Aura, Draaimolen Festival 2023, Day 1.

Batu B2B Donato Dozzy at Draaimolen Festival 2023

@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

"I’ve been contacted regarding this mix. It wasn’t recorded at Tresor in 1998 as I and others had assumed, but rather it’s a retrospective mix done in 2010 with what Silent would have played had he played there back in ’98. A mix in the style of if you will. Apologies for the confusion." 
https://www.nts.live/shows/silent-servant/episodes/silent-servant-10th-january-2024

Silent Servant Presents: Optimistic Decay 100124

Veronica Vasicka presents a monthly 2-hour show featuring the lost synth-wave treasures she has archived from the late 70s and early 80s, along with other iconic underground electronic music drawn from over four decades. Expect to hear exclusive tracks from releases on her seminal Minimal Wave and Cititrax labels plus cassette-only and private press rarities. 
https://www.nts.live/shows/veronica-vasicka/episodes/veronica-vasicka-23rd-january-2024

Minimal Wave w/ Veronica Vasicka - Silent Servant Tribute 230124

Silent Radio Transmission April 2016
Broadcast Monthly From Los Angeles

Pinkcourtesyphone // Wistful Wishful Wanton
Five Times Of Dust // Smile with the Eyes
Delroy Edwards // Untitled - B4
Dont // Feeling
Tarcar // Loathing & Fear In December
Blkln // Lafillequi
Les Stagiaires // Airport
Container // Absorb
M1n1s+ry // S@me 0ld M@dness (demo)
Powell // Oh No New York
Killer Nun // Sequence 13
DAF // Als Wär’s Das Letzte Mal
Ugandan Methods // Untitled / Mat Output 1/2
Shadow Lust // Galician Dream Sequence
CTI  // Hammer House
Sound of Mind // Programing
Alejandro Jodorowsky // Holy Mountian Soundtrack 
/ Trance Mutation
Beau Wanzer // Headspace

Silent Radio Transmission // April 2016

FACT mix 349 - Silent Servant (Oct '12)

Central American born Silent Servant has performed worldwide in clubs from LA, Berlin to Osaka. A chance meeting with Karl O'Conner in 1999 would establish a friendship that would open the door to the Sandwell District label in 2006. Silent Servant's sound is a reinterpretation of early '80s post-punk electronics, paired with the deep, metallic sounds of Basic Channel and Downwards.

Silent Servant Presents: Optimistic Decay 100124

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