Some worthwhile mixes from 2014

I don’t have the energy or motivation to come up with anything definitive or complete, but here is a selection of some of my favourite podcasts for 2014. I am making no claims to these being the ‘best’, but when I looked for the mixes I listened to the most frequently during the year, these were the ones I came up with:

First time to hear something by Rebolledo, who appears to be a Mexican addition to the Kompakt family. Anyway, he keeps up with Barnt, so that means he must be more than ok. Nothing too sensible hear, but very cool party vibes – reminds me of classic Kompakt era stuff.

Best ASC mix since his RA podcast. Perfectly balanced.

Composed and executed in 2013, but released in 2014. A fitting tribute to Pete Namlook.

Kind of loses it a bit in the later part, but the energy in the first hour is electric.

Killer electro workout.

That’ll do.

HOUSE OF LIQUIDOMMUNE 2015

I am very happy to say that for the 3rd year running I’ll be bringing in the new year by DJing at the HOUSE OF LIQUIDOMMUNE, held in the Kata, which is part of upstairs at the Liquid Room. The theme for Kata is “DOPE DRONE EXPERIMENTAL & MODULAR” and has a very full lineup with many of Tokyo’s more interesting names playing. I’ll be opening up the night, playing from 10-11pm and will be doing my best to reconcile “dope drone experimental” with the party vibes one normally associates with NYE. So basically I’ll be going from drone into quality, bent beats, or something like that. I’ll find out tomorrow, feel free to come join. And regardless, have a safe and happy NYE, and all the best for 2015.

More info: LIQUID ROOM PRESENTS “2015LIQUID” + DOMMUNE PRESENTS “HOUSE OF LIQUIDOMMUNE”

PC – Like the Moon

PC has put together a mix to finish off 2014, entitled ‘Like the Moon’. Some quiet and beautiful to finish off the year. Perhaps a sign that PC might be more active online in 2015? I guess we’ll have to wait and see… Regardless, an appropriate soundtrack for these quiet days as the year comes to an end.

http://www.official.fm/tracks/u4P1?aspect=flat

Future Terror – 28/12

I am very excited to be making my debut at Future Terror this coming Sunday 28 December. DJ Nobu and his crew will be taking over the whole Unit complex and have invited TM404 and Lucy as their main guests. Ryo Murakami is also playing live, he’s really become my favourite producer and live act in Japan – proper scorched earth techno. He’s playing in Unice, where I’ll also be DJing along with Ena and Haruka. Looking forward to playing with this great group of artists. They are bringing in extra sound for Unice and we are going to be going in heavy. I’m planning on doing a Drone and Bass set that will be a bit more uncompromising than usual. So if you want some techno fun to finish off 2014, come down to Future Terror and join us, should be a good one.

Future Terror at Unit, Sunday 28 December

ClubbingSpain

I was very surprised and happy to discover that ClubbingSpain included my recent “Mysteries of the Deep” podcast in their top 10 mixes of the year (unless Google translate is being a massive dick to me). My very sincere thanks to ClubbingSpain for listening to the mix and deeming it worthy of such high praise. This mix was really meant as my final statement on 2014 – the feelings conveyed in the mix are ones I really wanted to share, so I am very glad if they (and hopefully some others) could connect with it. Please check it out if you haven’t already, I am very happy and proud of this mix.

ClubbingSpain – Top 10 mixes of 2014

Svreca back in Tokyo

Svreca is returning to Japan to play a few more Frue parties. These have quickly become one of the key fixtures in Tokyo’s annual party calendar. The Spanish DJ has really managed to build a special bond with the Frue organizers and the Japanese crowd. Like his last visit at the start of the year, Frue will be doing a series of parties. On Thursday night, they’ll be at Dommune. The on Saturday evening, they will be hosting a more experimental night at Super Deluxe, where I will be DJing. Finally on Monday they’ll be doing a big all-night party at Unit. Joining Svreca for all these events will be Varg from Northern Electronics, who will be performing live at each event. He’s been emerging as a very interesting producer, and is rated highly by people whose opinion I trust, so I am looking forward to hearing him play.

Frue at Dommune, Thursday 18 December: Svreca, Varg, Asyl Cahier

Frue at SuperDeluxe, Saturday 20 December: Svreca, Varg, Agi Yuzuru, Bing x Masaya Nakahara, Chris SSG

Frue at Unit, Monday 22 December: Svreca, Varg, Wata Igarashi + more

And if you want to hear what happened last time Frue brought Svreca to Japan, the Clubberia podcast series has featured more than 3 hours of his set at Unit, as well as my set from the experimental party a few nights before.

Sonic levitation mix

Apologies for the blog being rather quiet. It has been a very busy and tiring end to a very busy and tiring year. I did, however, find the time to put together the 25th edition of the excellent Mysteries of the Deep podcast. I don’t really want to say much about the mix, in case I accidentally contribute to the creation of a new subgenre / techno meme… Anyway, it is something I created for moments when feeling tired, run down or world-weary.

My very sincere thanks to Grant, the curator of the Mysteries of the Deep series, who kindly invited me to contribute. Thanks also to all the producers featured on this mix, their music has given me energy and peace when I’ve needed it. I hope you might get something from listening to this mix too.

Chris SSG – Sonic levitation mix

Music for bruised heads and tired souls

Tod Dockstader – “Floating Up”

Maggi Payne – “Shimmer”

Laurie Spiegel – “Appalachian Grove I”

Jo Johnson – “Words Came After Music”

Justin Walter – “Western Tears”

Brett Naucke – “Rilea”

Ken Camden – “Eta Carinae”

Pulse Emitter – “Shamanic Pictographs”

Imaginary Softwoods – “Eye Color”

Steve Hauschildt – “Backwards Glance”

Gunnar Haslam – “Meter By Me, Sybil”

Dopplereffekt – “Z-Boson”

Cliff Martinez – “Rubber Head”

Outer Space – “The Planck Era”

Forma – “Forma 358”

Tod Dockstader – “Float Down”