I’ve pulled together a couple of my favourite techno and house productions at the moment. Apologies for the overuse of the ‘Pelski Highly Recommends’ tag here, but they really do all deserve it. Give them each a repeat listen before passing judgement (a couple of these are getting on a bit – I wrote this post a couple of months ago, but prioritized posting the Pelski Presents promo):
Ray Okpara has been putting out some fine releases lately what with the superb Ebele EP and now Brainowns. The hollow clunking of the tribal elements and house beat are offset by piano breakdowns and a distant waft of a vocal sample (Buy the whole, full quality thing here):
Ray Okpara feat Nikki – Brainows (Lauhaus & Boris Werner Remix) [pelski highly recommends]
Mr Steinberg’s, who topped Pelski’s 2009 chart, has been producing at a terrific rate lately. His original productions all fizzle with bouncy energy and inventive samples. It is interesting, then, to hear him remix someone else. Typically Steinberg injects a bumpy groove that’s impossible to resist:
Nils Ohrmann Feat Karas Day – Le Funk Fatale (Daniel Steinberg Remix) [pelski highly recommends]
More tasty tribal tech-house here from Marshall & Libex, it moves at a fast rate, and pummels you with pings, taps and rattled congas. Energetic, fun-loving stuff:
Marshall & Libex – Black Conga [pelski highly recommends]
My inbox is flooded with hundreds of tracks a day – labels, promotional boutiques or newcomer laptop producers – but rarely do I get tracks from big-gun techno dons like Gui Boratto, so I was delighted to see the larger labels now taking notice of the blogs. Sparse, melancholic piano keys open the track and a slow, thrumming klick-klack beat, before Hope’s elegant voice enters. In the typical Boratto manner, it builds, with a subtle and delicately woven progression. Beautiful techno:
Massive Attack – Paradise Circus feat. Hope Sandoval (Gui Boratto Remix) [pelski highly recommends]
I heard this next one in a Four Tet mix and couldn’t resist posting. It is beatiful, mesmerising house music. This is percussive dance music of the old school mould, proving house doesn’t need vocals to be soulful. The simple organic beats rattles away amidst that familiar ‘Souls of Mischief’ sample:
Matthias Meyer – Infinity [pelski highly recommends]
I was pleasantly surprised to find this remix make its way into my inbox last week. I remember listening to the excellent original ‘Donut’ over a year ago. It’s now equipped with a whole host of remixes from Gui Boratto, James Talk, Ben Hoo and Logistics. Boy 8-bit adds more rattling percussive beats to the pops ‘n click minimalism of the original, but still keeps it all sparse enough for that distinctive winding bass melody to come through. My favourite mix comes from the young and unknown Ben Hoo (which I’m not at liberty to post I’m afraid), who turns out a darker and techier take. I recommend you buy the whole thing from here:
This Zombie Zombie remix sees some anolog electro distortion-fuzz drift over a chorus of gentle, distant tribal taps and a crooning indie vocal line. An inspirational mesh of musical genres:
Last but not least, I have an intruiging techno track that truly defies genre parameters – and, yes, I’m aware of the cliched and overused status of such a phrase but the audacity of this track is truly something else… Brass loops trumpet, like an inaugurial fanfare, over a techy medley of rasping bass:
