We Are Machine - Live mix series

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https://wearemachine.net/2017/11/27/live-001-mix-dance-spirit/

1. Hi guys! Thanks for checking in with We Are Machine!  Where and when was this mix recorded?

Reagan:  This mix is an hour pulled from our 3 hour set at the PLAYASKOOL dome out at Burning Man this past summer!
 
2. What specifically made this gig stand out for you? What made it special?

Chris: Well, at first the gig was a bit trying, as we had been DJing around the playa for almost 24 hours at that point. We walked up to the booth and John Acquaviva and Tara Brooks were playing to a fairly large crowd which- being tired like we were- was a lot to take in. After playing for about 45 minutes we had a good vibe going in the dome, and the energy was running high and we were really getting into it. 

For me the last hour or so was very special as the sun was rising on a beautiful Friday morning and there was a specific group of people who were dancing hard to our music. It was so cool to watch how our music was making these people move and how connected they were to our creations. Also, meeting and bonding with Kaz was a highlight for me. Super sober vibing old school raver – he was vibing so much I thought he was high on drugs but he’s just elevated! I am glad I connected with him.
 
3. What was your approach heading into the gig? How did you prepare?

Chris: We have all our music categorized so we can choose our selections wisely depending on the situation. We prepared everything way in advance as we are total studio hounds so the month leading up to the burn was spent focusing on music to make playa magic for others.
 
4. What are some key moments that stand out for you?

Reagan: An exceptionally receptive crowd, an alien landscape, a giant fire installation on the roof and a wicked sunrise! Nowhere else do you get this kind of dreamscape scenery- like something out of a movie. It’s forever embedded in my memories.

Chris: Watching people dance to our music during the sunrise is something I will always treasure.
 
5. Looking ahead, what are some key dates coming up on your schedule?

First, we’re off to play Phoenix, Arizona with our good friend Tara Brooks on December 23rd. Then we’ll be spending some quality time with our families for Christmas. After that we are very excited to be playing New Year’s Eve in Brooklyn, NY for the Cityfox Experience 26.2 hour New Year’s Marathon party with quite the all-star lineup! Then, we fly back to Los Angeles to play New Year’s Day at night. We’ll then be spending some time with our friends and colleagues in Tulum connecting with nature in the jungles and getting some inspiration.

We Are Machine - Live 001 - Dance Spirit

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Full tracklisting:  https://wp.me/p90OfT-KE

1.	Hi, Chris!  Thanks for checking in with We Are Machine!  Where and when was this mix recorded?

I recorded this set early in January 2018 at a secret warehouse location.

2.	What specifically made this gig stand out for you?  What made it special?

Any time you can play into the late night and early morning with an embracing crowd, you get those special moments.

3.	What was your approach heading into the gig?  How did you prepare?

My preparation for each gig is the same week in and week out.  I put in a lot of time going through promos and searching for tracks that are interesting and fit into any parts of my extended sets.  I think that’s what takes so much time now – narrowing down your music to have cohesive and strong choices.  Once I’m at the gig and about to start, I find that first track to transition from the DJ before (if there is one) and go with it and let the music and crowd lead me somewhere.

4.	What are some of your key tracks in this mix?

This is an early part of my set with the first 2 hours showcasing deep vibes and building on top with each record.  There are a few of my own productions in this mix including my remix (as Cool Gold with Stephen Wilson) of Phoenix “Rise Up” out now on the Tactal Hots label.  Also included, is an original track (“Lost Letters”), which is in collaboration with Andromo and soon out on Culprit. And, there are other remixes of mine in there too – Slumber “Temple” (Chris Fortier Fully Executed Remix) forthcoming on Motek, and one for Prophetts on my own Fade Records.

5.	Looking ahead, what are some key dates coming up on your schedule and what projects are you lining up for 2018?

I’m looking forward to spending 2018 playing only the shows I really want to play and to cut down on gigs that are less memorable.   I would rather play less, but more meaningful gigs, than just filling my calendar up.

We Are Machine - Live 002 - Chris Fortier

https://www.facebook.com/wearemachinemusic/

Full tracklisting:  https://wp.me/p90OfT-UJ

1. Hi Edwin! Thanks for checking in with We Are Machine! Where & when was this mix recorded, and what makes it a good representation of your overall sound?

Thanks for having me! The mix was recorded at my studio in Amsterdam, but I tried to capture the vibe of a club set. When DJing I always enjoy playing a mix of house and techno, and just like when I am playing in a club I created a few peaks and some deeper moments. It’s basically a club night compressed into a one hour mix.
 
2. Joris Voorn included your new dub of Steve Bug & Cle’s “It’s Time” out today on Poker Flat in his set at Grand Palais in Paris for Cercle. What is your working dynamic like with Joris as you co-run the Rejected and Green imprints together?

It was great to see my remix for Steve and Cle being played at such a beautiful location in Paris.
Joris and I have been friends for more than 20 years and we started Rejected back in 2006 to release our own music. Nowadays my main focus is on Rejected. Next to label management, I am also doing the A&R, although I always like to check with Joris for new releases. We are actually working on special project to celebrate the label’s 12th anniversary. More info on that soon!
Green is Joris’ own label and he is responsible for the A&R, and I am the label manager.
 
3. What keeps Rejected and Green exciting for you? What kind of sound are you looking for in the music you sign these days?

Releasing new music is always exciting. It’s not easy to find good music as the amount of demos we get sent is overwhelming. But I guess that’s part of the challenge. With Rejected we focus on club music. We just signed a great new release from youANDme which is coming out in August.
The music on Green is a bit more diverse, but we still keep the club in mind. Joris just released his new single, “District Seven” from his upcoming album. We also have an exciting new release from Zoo Brazil and Mark Fanciulli under their Test Tone alias coming out in July.
 
4. You’ve been a DJ for over 20 years having played at clubs like Fabric and Panorama Bar and at festivals like Awakenings and Mysteryland. What’s been the key to your longevity?

It sounds cliché, but my passion for house and techno keeps me going after all these years. I enjoy music now more than ever. I always considered myself more of a DJ than a producer, but nowadays I really enjoy spending time in the studio. Especially since I started taking piano lessons again. For me it really helps with the creative process in the studio.
Naturally I still enjoy DJing very much, and I am very excited to play the Joris Voorn and Friends stage this Sunday at Awakenings Festival!

We Are Machine - Live 003 - Edwin Oosterwal

www.facebook.com/wearemachinemusic/

1. Hi Ray! Thanks so much for checking in with We Are Machine. What was special & unique to you about this B2B session with Monika Ross?

Hey hey! Monika is a very good friend, and we had the chance to play b2b for a long session. It’s always super nice to have great moments- to be able to play eight hours B2B is a really great thing to do. We always have these long sessions at Climax in Stuttgart. <3

We played the day before in Mannheim [at Parker Lewis], and the day after we took the train to Berlin. It was such a long weekend for me that I even got sick after.  :(
 
2. Which tracks would you recommend to someone just getting into your sound as a DJ where you could say: “THIS is what I’m about.”

I would tell them to check my label, AMA Recordings. That is what I play. My label is the style of music I play of course with some differences here and there.
 
3. How would you describe an It’s Ours event to someone new to you? How has the party series evolved since its inception in 2015?

It’s a friends-based bookings party where we mostly play B2B, and that you can do best with friends. Not much has changed since 2015. We still have the same thoughts. It was the late Charles Bukowski who once said, “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.“ The parties are named after and inspired by Bukowski’s poetic piece, “It’s Ours.”
 
4. What are some key DJ gigs you’re looking forward to on your schedule in the coming months?

I will be flying to Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, but I’ll have a great all-night-long show in Rakete, Nürnberg which I am looking forward to a lot.
 
5. Most recently, your AMA Recordings released the 21 EP from Argentinian artist, Alexis Cabrera. What can you say about the label’s releases you have in store for the rest of the summer/early autumn? 

This latest release should have been out way earlier, but if you have a label there are loads of delays that can happen. This one is a great one though, and the Fabe remix is amazing too. Alexis Cabrera has a very good finger on the plus of modulation sounds at the moment. I love his tunes and all of these too.

 For AMA, there will be a summer break and then back with releases from Steven Cock, Luca Doobie, myself and load of others. :)

We Are Machine - Live 004 - Ray Okpara B2B Monika Ross

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Tracklisting and Q&A: https://wearemachine.net/2018/09/05/live-006-mix-ralf-kollmann/

1. Hi Ralf!  Thanks so much for connecting with We Are Machine.  The recent release of Mobilee Rooftop Summer Vol. 3 spotlights some of the big tracks from this past season in Barcelona. What memories stand out for you as Mobilee continues to evolve?

Some incredible moments again this year as the sun set over Barcelona. Patrice Bäumel, SIS, Raxon and Matthias Meyer set the bar high soundtracking these special moments this season. We had a lot of changes at Mobilee the past year with a restructuring of the company and brand which gave us the chance to open some new doors musically and reach out to exciting new artists. Besides Rodriguez Jr.'s output which has a significant influence on the label's sound- as he has been part of the crew since the early days- I was very excited about some great remixers we brought in like Tim Green, Audiofly, Tiefschwarz, Claude VonStroke and Audiojack. SIS did some great stuff this year not to mention the debut releases of David Mayer and Jonas Rathsman on the label.
 
2. Up next for the Mobilee Rooftop series is Tim Engelhardt who will be playing live on September 9th along with you and Lis Sarroca. What should people who may be new to Tim's music expect from him in this setting?

Tim is representing a new generation of producers and his melodic techno sounds are standing for a new genre that established quite well in the past few years. His sound is a perfect match for our rooftop, and he is able to adapt his live performance to every situation with his huge repertoire. He recently played the hottest spots with the Brooklyn Mirage in New York, Do Not Sleep at Heart Ibiza, Berlin´s Watergate and so many festivals around the world. Don´t be surprised if he extends his live set and does something very special and new that day! Barcelona´s Lis Sarroca has been around for a while. She plays a great mix of dubby and minimal house and techno. I saw her playing with Audiofly and at La Terrazza before. So I thought it's time to bring her to the 10th floor!
 
3. “We Were Riding High” was originally released in May, and now a pack of remixes of the track from Rodriguez Jr., Audiojack and Tiefschwarz recently landed at the end of August. What are your memories of when you first heard the track?

I met Timo Maas at Panorama Bar a few years ago, and since then we were in touch trying to find the right music for a release on Mobilee. When he sent the demo of this collaboration track with Eric Volta and Basti Grub, I realized instantly that this is something special. I signed it right away the same hour. I heard there were some other high profile labels reaching out in the following days. ;) It was great working with Timo, Volta, Grub and the whole team around this project. Very proud of the remix pack, and hopefully it will make another big wave to close the summer season...
 
4. So, the Mobilee Rooftop events have been going on for over a decade now. How gratifying has it been to see the Mobilee brand grow into what it is today?

Staying relevant in underground dance music for such a long time is a great honour, pleasure and challenge at the same time. It´s important to reinvent yourself regularly as an artist and label brand. The Mobilee rooftop series has definitely became a part of the label DNA over the years, and it has seen some big names behind the decks. It's a very special international community coming together on the Gates Diagonal Rooftop. As we can't pay high fees due a limited capacity and the high production costs involved, we are always depending on friends and family from the closer and the extended networks to jump on the lineup. Nobody has ever regretted it yet!

We Are Machine - Live 006 - Ralf Kollmann

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In celebration of @Trunkfunk’s twentieth anniversary, label founder @NIBC discusses the Swedish label’s history, the new 20 Years of Trunkfunk Part 1 vinyl sampler and he shares an exclusive mix of tracks from the Trunkfunk catalog.

https://wearemachine.net/2020/08/18/live-013-mix-nibc/

We Are Machine - Live 013 - NIBC

We Are Machine