The Year in Electronic Dance Music - 2003

Fav techno of 2004:
What Was Her Name? (LFO Remix) - Dave Clarke (Skint)

I fink it might be from last year officially.

Adam Beyer's remix of Ignition Key by Speedy J is still secretly the best dance record of the year.

http://www.no-future.com/vbulletin/index.php?s=

and for electro, there's Electroalliance:

http://www.electroalliance.net/enter.htm

My impression is that harder, home recorded techno and electro is still way underground except for a few names, but thriving in its own cottage industry kind of way. Lots of 12"'s, lots of names, but for many it's a hobbyist thing except for a few lucky European DJ/producers. Some day, many years hence, someone is going to have to sort through all this stuff.

My impression is that the commercially successful material is quite derivative, overproduced and over-hyped, not indicative of the depth that is available out there. Every time I dig a little deeper past the hyped names and find someone like Max Duley or Stanny Franssen, I'm rewarded. The best stuff as usual comes off complete unknowns in the suburbs of the big cities and pops up for about 2 weeks before vanishing forever.

If "Satisfaction" was the "Doom's Night" of '03, I guess I'll have to listen to it some more. What were some of the good remixes?

i know it was a 2002 disc, but i am still loving the parallax corp. cd. are there any other full-lengths of dark electro that i may have missed this year? I still haven't gotten my hands on the Ellen Allien mix or LP.

is the 313 list still around. is it as overpopulated as i imagine it to be?

thanks colin.

xpost.

i actually like the radio mix of satisfaction. its one of those tracks that benefits from the simplicity of its original ideas.

Ulrich Schnauss
SND
Schneider TM (in parts beautiful, fun, prankstery, fun; in other parts just drunk and too much tomfoolery and indulgence)
AFX rinsin' it with Traktor (or summat) at ATP - the first hour of his set was majestic.

best bootleg: Hidden Fingers: DJ Spec'sMr Fingers Can U Feel It vs Bjork Hidden Place (although this may be 2002)

oh, and Mu: Chair Girl 12": Energy Flash stabs meet Sexual Harrasement

Thanks for the Agoria pointer, Ronan!

and I only like the original (radio/extended) mix of Satisfaction.

its on my list. i think its great. Vitamin, Aerodynamik are prime Kraftwerk. And the second half of the 4 part opener is pretty good.

Madonna-Hollywood (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
The Faint-The Conductor (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Electric Six-Dance Commander (Benny Benassi Remix)
Senor Coconut-Smooth Operator (Agoria Remix)
Agoria-Sky Is Clear (Michael Mayer Remix)
Ferenc-Yes Sir I Can Hardcore (Michael Mayer Remix)
Linus Loves-Stand Back (Archigram Remix)
Pepe Braddock-Angola (Carl Craig Remix) (really essential)
Goldfrapp-Strict Machine (Ewan Pearson Remix)
Seelenluft-Manila (Ewan Pearson Remix)
Luomo-Tessio (Moonbootica Remix)
Playgroup-Make It Happen (Zongamin Remix)
Medicine 8-Rock Music Pays Off (King Britte Remix)
Bebel Gilberto-Close Your Eyes (Buffalo Bunch Remix)

I could never agree that Satisfaction was the Dooms Night of 03, but it was a pretty irresistible tune, especially when played loud and in a club, for such a pop house track, it really nags crowds into psychosis in a club, I think powertools were an obvious choice for the video.

I do think generally it was a crap year for house compared to last year, not just nostalgia talking either, nothing for me has come close to At Night, Take Me With You, So Much Love To Give, Carnival, Lu Cont's remix of Silver Screen Shower Scene etc. I glanced at my top 40 of last year and anything in the top 15 is pretty much better than anything I can think of for a chart this year.

God I don't want to depress myself, I've really enjoyed music this year but I've been listening to old house and stuff and dancehall a bit and bits of everything.

x-post-yeah Bucci Bag really grew on me, I kept changing my mind about it and ultimately had to accept that it would be a massive betrayal of everything I stand for (nothing) to deny myself the pleasure of that "I am. ready to. rrrrrrock!" hook. It is like Satisfaction a record which takes on new life when drinks are spilt every time you hear it. My fave club was closed in June though and nothing really took its place so it's harder to love these records.

It's a good time to ask this as any: was it just me, or did it seem like the Rhythm & Sound albums present a cosily nostalgiac view of reggae before it was all ruined (RUINED!) by dancehall crassness?

like Kraftwerk and today's messy electronic scene. I thought parts of the 4 part opener were worryingly stuck in 1993/4. It was almost like listening to Resistance D or something on Trance Europe Express vol 2. (the Volume compilation). Thankfully the album gets better, and when they remember they also wrote good pop songs.

as ronan's post suggested,2003 wasn't the best year for dance music in dublin,my favourite club also closed at the start of the summer,and it was a different club to ronan's,(i presume)which says something about the health of dublin's dance scene....

i think satisfaction wanted to be this years doomsnight,but doomsnight was so much better its unbelievable...

bring me closer by richard davis is one of the few new tracks to have really caught my attention,although i've been listening to a lot more of that end of things than hard techno,which seems kind of stuck in a rut...
only really discovered kompakt,etc,this year,and i've listened to total 3 so many more times than any other dance...

in terms of dancefloor techno,that vitalic associated song (either them remixing something or someone remixing them)with the woman's voice and the kind of siren-y noise was great,not quite pannik but then nothing is

didn't see much live techno,unfortunately,but rob hood fucking banged it out at the dublin electronic arts festival...
saw sterac play an electro set which was really good,but slightly disappointing cause we were expecting techno and he's an amazing techno dj

The best show I saw was probably Sneak and Derrick Carter at Tribal Gathering Warehouse Party or 2 Many DJs at Glastonbury. Mind you 2 Many DJs are up there cos it was extremely sunny, the drugs were great, and I can't think of a better time and place to hear Vitalic and Rollin' and Scratchin' and Blue Monday and Beyonce, it's cheating really.

I saw so much fucking stuff I can't barely remember it all though, it blurs a bit. Weatherall was really good in Dublin recently and Garnier at the Winter Party was also really good fun. Felix Da Housecat was great in Dublin too in June.

I really like that Richard Davis track yeah, and eventually am discovering micro-house, it's just so difficult when I have to search so hard for the CDs. Also my Mayer Fabric mix got robbed with my discman at a party.

xp

i dont know if thats the track ronan,it doesn't really sound like new order at all,its very much a "track"

weatherall was cool, absolutely rammed and sweaty and generally a good laugh. Really hope Electric City get someone like Mayer or that kind of thing over at some stage. It's a really good venue and I'm well into all the old style house and stuff that the residents play.

to turn this thread more into being about Dublin and dance, haha, what are you doing tomorrow night Robin?

x-post, cool Nik.

as for tomorrow,i don't know yet,i gather theres a few parties so i'll just wait and see what all my mates are doing...

i didn't even think of going to a club cause i don't want to have to deal with town if at all possible,and i kind of assume if there was something good enough to change my mind i'd have heard about it,but then again maybe not...
what about you?
is there any good clubnight on?

i might try and download that vitalic track,i've tried a few times to get the ignition key track after reading you going on about it on your blog and here,but with no success so far...

I haven't heard of many psy-trance fans, but there was a night in Tivoli for a while. It sounds crusty.

the reason i ask is cause it seems to be a completely insular scene (haha a techno fan calling other dance music insular),not in a bad way,but as i said no one seems to know anyone who is into it,although the few people from ie dance (irish dance music mailing list) who went along seemed really impressed with the night if not the music

did this happen anywhere else?

there's something really weird about the psy trance scene and im not sure i'm describing it well but im curious to see if someone in another city knows what i mean...

and Israel

http://www.explodingplastic.com/features/topalbumsof2003.html

That sounds harsh but I don't really mean to be, 'cuz the music can be really good. It's just that fans can be frustrating to try and talk about music with.

Considering how the flouro techno hippies who make this music are mostly vegetarian, it's amazing how meaty they make their kick drums.

So true. Also rated the Kraftwerk album. And some good stuff surfacing at the end of the year: the Lawrence album is absolutely amazing and I am just getting into Taka Taka, the Claro Intelecto EP and that Kowalski album.

I couldn't get into the LFO, Matthew Dear and MU albums.

dude, there are two Lawrence albums! Self-titled from last year and Abscence of Blight. Both are great, although it always seems like Andy and me are the only ones outside Germany who actually own/rate his stuff.

Matthew Dear - Lines In The Dirt
1. Taho - Matter [Sub Static]
2. Monne Automne - El Salvador(Ricardo Villalobos Mix) [Lofi Stereo]
3. Akufen vs. Algorithm - Delgado(Akufen Mix) [Revolver]
4. Scum - Peanux [Circus Company]
5. Ark - Rue De La Rush [Circus Company]
6. Luciano & Quenum - Funky Dandy [Cadenza]
7. Heib - Akrobat [Auftrieb]
8. Magnet - Rising Sun [Kompakt]
9. Sense Club - Tranzglatte [Perlon]
10. Heib - Superdub [Auftrieb]
11. Blome & Grummich - Headcleaner [Sender]
12. S.R.I. - Songs To Remember(Voigt) [Auftrieb]
13. Monne Automne - El Salvador(Star*Dub) [Lofi Stereo]
14. Horror Inc. - Dream Within A Dream [Perlon]
15. Black Label - Limited Eight [Trapez]
16. Null - Eins Fuchsbau Mix [Auftrieb]
17. Mikkel Metal - Nepal [Kompakt]

The City's Collapsing But Not Tonight

Forced Exposure review: "The City's Collapsing (But Not Tonight) is the first album release by (Michael) Zorn, who grew up and lives in East Berlin. Musical influences that seep through in his own work were, on the one hand, mid-eighties electronic dance and pop around Depeche Mode, but all-important has been Berlin's Hardwax record store, where he shares more than a few roots with the Din and Chain Reaction labels, from Detroit to dub reggae to British electronica. The 12 tracks of the album expand on the blue summer night mood of his first 12", fueling its relaxed electro calm with the undercurrent tension of more upbeat techno. Zorn's refined focus on atmosphere, melodic development as well as groove and rhythmic arrangement lead to a record that remains straight and accessible without becoming backward and impersonal. With its modest restraint from sound trickery, Zorn's methods and sensibility leave him plenty of room to play with ambiguities on and between all levels, which mark the main source of lasting fun for the listener. Hence, while DJ's will pick out particular favourites either for floor or lounge, the album works just as well at home, where a varied but coherent flow reveals Zorn's unique voice."

He's involved in that Boy Roboy album on City Centre Offices. Did anyone get to hear that? Worth a purchase?

Mike the nihilist pop star turned me on to the LFO album which i am getting into. Have been mixing some of the wife's old Naked music comps into my mp3 and digging that very recently.

Thomas Koner is starting to make headway with me. I have bought some of his older albums and am really starting to admire his aesthetic. Also starting to dig black dice, broker/dealer, dntel, luciano, oh yea and loving Matthew Dear's Dog Days!!!!
The whole album is not too bad.

Rhythm & Sound w/artists is probably up there for album of the year, even though it is stuff that has been out for a while it is breathtaking at times. Mixing it up with a little old augustus pablo for a nice sunday afternoons listening.

As far as Psy trance goes from up the thread I used to love it with a capital L and yes the scene is insular, but it is fun. We were so used to being bagged on from house heads in the mid 90's that we just stopped caring what everyone else thought. Our music worked for us and it certainly made the drugs more intense, cause that what acid techno was ment to do wasn't it. These days though I find myself not doing drugs so much and have drifed away from the scene. It started a long time ago and has a history with ebm (front 242 type stuff)

Here is a link to a thesis someone wrote on it: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/carts/contmusic/mh/goa.html

some interesting stuff

Good, good. One of us.

Top tunes for 2003:

Mathew Jonson - Typerope (ITISWHATITIS)

This was out on promo at the tail-end of 2002, and only got a proper release the following year. Caned by just about everyone: Richie Hawtin, Mike Shannon, Luciano, Villalobos, Sammy Dee etc...
Deep, bleepy, and totally anthemic! Saw him do a live PA a few weeks back, and he has got a LOT of very nice things in the pipeline.

Carl Craig - Tres Demented (Planet E)

Pretty straightforward stuff, but it's all about the build-up, innit? This record sounds really clean and pristine, and is a ton of fun to mix. The yelping on one of the tracks is both bizarre and totally brilliant.

Krikor - Pas de nom (Karat)

Cut-up funk out of Paris. I'd imagine that this would be the result if you crossed Circus Company and Perlon. It's all quirky chugging baselines, and wicked vocal snippets flashing in and out. A lot going on these tracks but they still manage to breathe.

Robag Wruhme - Kopfnikker (Musik Krause)

Bass monster. Somehow combines a massive low-end with off-kilter, jerky rhythms and it still feels nice n skippy.

Dan Bell - Squirrel Bait (Logistic) (squeezing in as a Dec. release)

Stripped down spacious minimalism with loads of sub bass. Awesome!

Rework - This Girl's Very Good (Playhouse)

Totally hypnotic bassline business. Sounds of doom soar overhead while an unperturbed vocalist recites her lines saucily. Like other Rework singles, this sounds gritty which sets it apart from most of the stuff in the deep techno/house scene.

Top albums:

Besides the usual suspects (Villalobos, Dear etc):

Sami Koivikko - Salmiakki (Shitkatapult)

I'm getting tired of dub-techno too, but I thought this was a bit special. Koivikko has an amazing ear for melody and it shines through brilliantly on this record.

Stephen Beaupre vs Deadbeat - It's a Crackhaus Thing (Onitor)

Nothing terribly new here: glitchy funk-house in the same vein as Akufen, and a sampling aesthetic borrowed from Herbert. What makes this special is the fat chewy basslines, and the dynamics of the tracks, which make this a killer for the floor.

Tread (aka. Hiratoshi Watanabe) - Tread 3 (Third Ear)

Low-bpm deep house from Watanabe (aka. Kaito). At times slightly fromage, but if you can get past that, there is rich reward in the summery and upbeat tracks that make up most of the album.

Andres - Andres (Mahogani)

All the signature production tricks of the Detroit house axis are present here: hushed vocals, background crowd noise, and hand clapping. To listen to this album is to feel transported to some hot and noisy basement party. This album feels plain lush! I only wish it were longer.