Monday, December 31, 2007

Here's 130 records you really should have bought, begged, stolen or borrowed (and not given back) in 2007....I might be slightly biased about the number one slot...!
  1. Hatchback - White Diamond (Prins Thomas Miks Del 1 & 2) (Thisisnotanexit)
  2. Holy Ghost - Hold On (DFA)
  3. Pantha Du Prince - Saturn Strobe (Dial)
  4. Still Going - Still Going Theme (DFA)
  5. Maps - To The Sky (The Loving Hand Extended Remix) (Mute)
  6. Farah - Law Of Life (Italians Do It Better)
  7. Gui Boratto - Beautiful Life (Kompakt)
  8. Battles - Atlas (Warp)
  9. Faze Action - Stratus Energy (White Label)
  10. David Lynch - Ghost Of Love (David Lynch MC)
  11. Rhianna - Umbrella (Def Jam)
  12. Ame - Fiori (Ostgut)
  13. Grinderman - No Pussy Blues (Mute)
  14. Shackleton - Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos Apocalypse Now Mix) (Skull Disco)
  15. Mogg & Naudascher - Moon Unit Part Two (Supersoul)
  16. They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Dub Remix) (Thisisnotanexit)
  17. Depeche Mode - The Sinner In Me (Villalobos Remix) (White Label)
  18. John Cale - All My Friends (DFA)
  19. Combi - I Found Morning (Combi)
  20. Kinky Justice - New Day (ICI)
  21. Pharoe Monche - Body Baby (An Optimo Espacio Remix) (Island)
  22. Frank Hebly - Tuislangboogie (Magnetron)
  23. Kathy Diamond - Over (Permanent Vacation)
  24. Cage & Aviary - Television Train (Dissident)
  25. Phonique featuring Erlend Oye - Casualties (Morgan Geist Remix) (Dessous)
  26. Corsican Brothers - Whole Lotta Disco (White Label)
  27. Lee Jones - There Comes A Time (Prins Thomas Discomiks) (Aus)
  28. Lee Douglas - New York Story (Rong)
  29. Efdemin - La Ratafia (Dial)
  30. Chromatics - Running Up That Hill (Italians Do It Better)
  31. Roisin Murphy - Overpowered (EMI)
  32. Burial - Raver (Hyperdub)
  33. In Flagranti - Additional Alpha Blocker (Speak)
  34. Professor Genius - Across The Spree (Italians Do It Better)
  35. Jichael Mackson - The Grass Is Always Greener (Musique Risque)
  36. Hot Chip - My Piano (K7)
  37. Metro Area - Read My Mind (Environ)
  38. Rufus Wainwright - Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix) (White Label)
  39. Nemesi - Jurassico (Prins Thomas Miks Del 1 & 2 (Relish)
  40. Ost & Kjez - Milano Model (A Thrilling Mungophony In Two Parts) (Dialect)
  41. Chow Daddy - Never Fade (Moxie)
  42. Samim - Heater (Get Physical)
  43. Binary Chaffinch - False Energy (Dissident)
  44. Scotty Coats & Wes The Mes - Doublefisted (Rong)
  45. Stateless - Prism (Henrik Schwarz Remixes) (K7)
  46. They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - The Unstoppable Kite (Thisisnotanexit)
  47. Professor Genius - Pegaso (Silver & Kane Remix) (Disque Sinthomme)
  48. Smith N Hack - Falling Stars (White Label)
  49. Green Velvet featuring Jamie Principle - The Choice (Cajual)
  50. Solomun & Stimming - Feuervogel (Diynamic)
  51. Bloc Party - Where Is Home? (Burial Remix) (Wichita)
  52. ME - RNB Drunkie (White Label)
  53. DJ Pierres Afro Acid Project - Acid Trax (DJ Pierre Green Velvet Afro Acid Mix) (Simply)
  54. Franki Valli - Beggin (Pilooski Edit) (679)
  55. LSB - Fog (Eskimo)
  56. Baby Oliver - Shot Caller (Environ)
  57. Bjork - Declare Independence (One Little Indian)
  58. Ape Into Jam - 1972 (Dissident)
  59. Junior Boys - In The Morning (Hot Chip Remix) (Domino)
  60. Hercules & Love Affair - ROAR (DFA)
  61. Shit Robot - Chasm (DFA)
  62. Etienne Jaumet - Repeat After Me (Ame Remix) (Permanent Vacation)
  63. Joakim - Lonely Hearts (The Loving Hand Remix) (Tigersushi)
  64. Panda Bear - Take Pills (Paw Tracks)
  65. Padded Cell - Moon Menace (DC)
  66. John Miles - Stranger In The City (Pilooski Edit) (White Label)
  67. Douglas Sound - Breakwind (Wurst)
  68. Trus'me - NARDS (Still Love Music)
  69. Botox - Babylon By Car (I'm A Cliche / DFA)
  70. Blast Head - Soft Step (Lastrum)
  71. Boris - Legato (Careless)
  72. Color Climax - Disque O' Heights (Breakin Bread)
  73. Aeroplane - Aeroplane (Eskimo)
  74. Ilija Rudman - After Midnight (LSB Remix) (Love Is War)
  75. Altz - Hilltop Greeting (Lastrum)
  76. Smith & Mudd - Vegetable Square (Version Idjut Pabs Got A Big One Mix) (Claremont)
  77. Hatchback - Carefree Highway (Sentrall)
  78. Sorcerer - Surfing At Midnight (Tirk)
  79. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Part 3) (DFA)
  80. Hiem - Clubscene Popscene (Prins Thomas Discotek Miks (Eskimo)
  81. Aeroplane - Above The Clouds (Eskimo)
  82. Studio - Lifes A Beach (Todd Terje Remix) (Information)
  83. A Mountain Of One - Brown Piano (Remake By Studio) (AMO1)
  84. Kylie Minogue - 2 Hearts (Studio Remix) (Parlophone)
  85. Smith & Mudd - Shulme (Claremont 56)
  86. Glass Candy - Miss Broadway (Italians Do It Better)
  87. Faze Action - Disco Warrior (White Label)
  88. Colder - To The Music (An Optimo Espacio Remix) (Output)
  89. The Lotterboys - Can't Control The Boogie (Naum Gabo Remix) (Eskimo)
  90. Private Lives - Private Life (Souljazz)
  91. Thom Yorke - The Eraser (Henrik Schwarz Remix) (White Label)
  92. Jamie Woon - Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Remix) (Live Recordings)
  93. Gorillaz - Kids With Guns (Quiet Village Remix) (White Label)
  94. Francois K - Road Of Life (Quiet Village Sound Factory Dub) (Deep Space Media)
  95. Midnight Mike - United (Naum Gabo Remix) (Republic Of Desire)
  96. Matthew Dear - Deserter (Spectral)
  97. Osbourne - Outta Sight (Spectral)
  98. Nathan Fake - You Are Here (Four Tet Remix) (Border Community)
  99. Subway - Satellites (Souljazz)
  100. Lee Douglas - Our Song 99 (Rong)
  101. Faze Action - In The Trees (Carl Craig Remix) (Juno)
  102. Siobhan Donaghy - Don't Give It Up (Carl Craig Instrumental Remix) (Parlophone)
  103. Findlay Brown - Losing The Will To Survive (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix) (Peacefrog)
  104. Future Beat Investigators - Lotus (Sonar Kollectiv)
  105. Ame - Balandine (Innervisions)
  106. Sankt Goran - Back2back (Bear Gold)
  107. Kotey Extra Band featuring Chas Jankel - Sooner Or Later (Bear Gold)
  108. BV Dub - Requited Love (Styrax)
  109. Roland Appel - Dark Soldier (Sonar Kollectiv)
  110. Ebbro - Tre (Lucy Lee)
  111. Lindstrom - The Contemporary Fix (EYE Remix) (Feedelity)
  112. OOIOO - Uma (EYE Remix) (Thrill Jockey)
  113. Vangelis - Let It Happen (Beatfanatics Balearic Boogie Remix) (GAMM)
  114. Wild Rumpus - Musical Blaze Up (Rub N Tug Bitches Remix) (Bitches Brew)
  115. Ilya Santana - Discotized (Permanent Vacation)
  116. Justus Kohncke - Elan (Prins Thomas Versjon) (Kompakt)
  117. Partial Arts - Trauermusik (Kompakt)
  118. Al Usher - Here Today (Misericord)
  119. Divine Edits - Sermon (Divine Edits)
  120. LCD Soundsystem - Us Vs. Them (Any Color You Like Remix By Windsurf) (DFA)
  121. Antena - On The Boat (Chromatics Remix) (Permanent Vacation)
  122. Babytalk - Keep On Move (Stickydisc)
  123. Ilija Rudman - UMMA (Infant)
  124. The Swiss - Movement 1, 2 & 3 (Brennan Green Edit) (TBOT)
  125. Runaway - Shadows (Wurst)
  126. Linkwood Family - Piece Of Mind (Firecracker)
  127. Lovebirds - Behind You (Winding Road)
  128. Barry Mason - Body Get Your Body (Faze Action Edit) (Radius)
  129. Pepe Braddock - Sakura Incident (Atavisme)
  130. Principles Of Geometry - A Mountain For President (Joakim Remix) (Tigersushi)

And people said it was a bad year for music! There's 130 reasons right there for why its been a pretty dam good year for music!

2008 is shaping up to be pretty dam killer too especially with a whole slew of killer Thisisnotanexit releases - the They Came From The Stars I Saw Them LP is one of the best things you'll hear next year (its better than the new Hot Chip LP - seriously) plus the debut offering from Detachments, the return of Naum Gabo, Professor Genius' amazing A Jean Giraud collection, some out there pieces from Sculpture, the follow up to Hatchback White Diamond and remixes from Tim Goldsworthy, Brennan Green, Faze Action, Holy Ghost, Mungolian Jetset and Wierd Knights.

Happy new year - here's to 2008!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007


I've just got a copy of the Burial Remix of Thom Yorke's 'And It Rained It All Night'. If ever there was a collaboration you'd love to hear (well of artists that are alive - otherwise it'd be Ian Curtis fronting Can or something) it'd probably be Burial twiddling the dials on production and Thom Yorke in the vocal booth. Thoms mournful vocals and Burials late night dark melancholy - wow - in fact Thom should leave Radiohead and sort it out. Based on this remix he'd a be a fool not to - streets ahead of the In Rainbows album. The best Burial Remix so far produced - its more intense than the Bloc Party and Jamie Woon remixes that came out earlier in the year - but with those trademark Burial beats - and of course that undercurrent of beauty and melancholy that sound like the nightbus home - you should do all you can to get hold of this beauty.

Friday, December 14, 2007

You should all go and check this out over at the Allez Allez site - there's a new mix from Ewan Pearson which is really rather fine. Plus it includes Hatchback - White Diamond Prins Thomas Miks Del 1 (so I'm rather biased).

kate bush - nocturne [EMI]
cliff martinez - first sleep [superb]
can - don't turn the light on, leave me alone [spoon]
johann johannsson - englabörn [touch/4AD]
hatchback - white diamond (prins thomas disco miks part 1) [thisisnotanexit]
maps - to the sky (the loving hand remix) [mute]
mugwump - boutade [misericord]
vangelis - let it happen (beatfanatic mix) [G.A.M.M.]
jim rivers - i go deep [saw]
marcAshken - root rot (cb funk's rootdown mix) [leftroom]
brazilian girls - last call (carl craig Mix) [verve]
the john waynes - violeta [bloop]
laidback luke - housetrap [size]
etienne jaumet - repeat again after me (Âme remix) [versatile]
eine kleine nachtmusik - feuerprobe [CD-R]
midlake - roscoe (beyond the wizard's sleeve re-animation) [bella union]

http://www.allez-allez.co.uk/ewan.mp3

I'm also heading down to the Allez Allez Xmas party tomorrow night as the mighty Optimo are playing - should be a blinder.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Picked up the latest FACT Magazine whilst I was in Phonica last night (picked up the new Full Pupp release from Ytre Rymden Dansskola and the Beard Science edits release - also popped into Sounds Of The Universe and picked up the Quiet Village - Fragments Of Fear II Cd and the latest Dissident 12" which is an Invisible Scum Remix of Binary Chaffinch's earlier release False Energy. They had another new Dissident 12 called Colombia #1 by Colombia #1 but it was a bit intense for my ears - plus I should be Christmas shopping not buying records, anyway I digress....). So, the new FACT Magazine - notable for three reasons:

1. FACT Magazine voted Hatchback - White Diamond (Thisisnotanexit 003) a mighty 9th best 12" of the year!

2. Phonica Records in their top 10 releases of the year had Hatchback at a mighty 7th!!

3. Kiran Sande in his Contemporary Fix column mentioned how the Prins Thomas Remix of Hatchback was of particular note this year.

Hopefully we'll see the release featured in more end of year polls - and fingers crossed 2008 is even better than this year for the label.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Just found this on the TAPE blog - a mix from Daniel Donnachie that features both sides of the latest Thisisnotanexit release - nice work Daniel, we salute you! There's plenty of other great stuff on this mix too so get to it and get downloading.

Daniel Donnachie - Cosmic Dancing #41

Lovefingers - Astroturf // RVNG
Studio - East Side (Version) // Chinatown
Lovefingers - Bermuda // RVNG
Beard Science - Ark Raiders (T.Tauri Edit) // Beard Science
Simone Ferdi - Belzebu Tales // CD-R
They Came From The Stars: I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Dub) // This Is Not An Exit
Nick Chacona - Eagle City // Internasjonal
Beard Science - Hold Me Longer (Jininchi Rework) // Beard Science
Brennan Green - Escape From Chinatown // Chinatown
Nick Chacona - Mariachi // Internasjonal
Les Edits Du Golem - Klout // Golem
They Came From The Stars: I Saw Them - Signals (Album Version) // This Is Not An Exit

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z34AK9XI

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

For those that have no idea what I'm rambling on about or think that I've gone all poetic on you the below are simply the words to the new Hercules & Love Affair single out in 2008 called BLIND featuring Anthony from Anthony & The Johnsons. Have heard it out a few times now - Danny Wang rocked it in Kings Cross and then Tim Sweeney and Tim Goldsworthy rocked it a few times on Saturday at Fabric. The "Hercules Club Mix" which is on the 12" is absolutely insane - chiming feedbacky guitars, pounding 80s house, the best Anthony performance you'll hear....to quote Mr. Soft earlier this year "I know its early, real early to be talking about singles of the year but if this isn't in my top 10 at the end of the year...." Yep, its that good - the DFA might even hit the charts with it - who'd have thought.

There is also an amazing Hercules & Love Affair Remix of Aeroplanes 3rd single too coming soon on Eskimo - entitled Whisper and featuring disco muse Kathy Diamond. Again this sounded amazing on Saturday night so watch out in March for it. I reckon 2008 might well be Hercules & Love Affairs year.

Watch out in the next couple of weeks for my roundup of the year and what you should have spent your pennies on. Everyone appears tp have started already - but the shops are still getting hit with new releases so I'm going to call it late and see what happens next week on the release front...

As a child I knew, that the stars could only get brighter, and we would get closer, get closer, ooooooooh;
As a child I knew, that the stars could only get brighter, that we could get closer, leaving these darkness behind;
Ooooh ooooh oooooh;

Now that I am older, the stars should light upon my face, but when I find myself alone, find myself alone, ooooooh;
Now that I am older, the stars should light upon my face, but when I find myself alone, I feel like I am blind;
Ooooh ooooh oooooh;
And feel it, feel it, feel it, feel it;
Like I am blind;

I wish the stars could shine now, for they are closer, they are near, but they will not present my present, they will not present my present;
I wish the light could shine now, for it is closer, it is here, but it will not present my present, and it makes my past and future painfully clear;

To hear you now, to see you now, I can look outside myself, and I must examine my breath, and look inside, oooooooooooh;
To see you now, to hear you now, I can look outside myself, I must examine my breath, and look inside;

BECAUSE I FEEL BLIND, BECAUSE I FEEL BLIND!

Feel it, feel it, feel it, feel it, oooooh feel it.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007


I love Japanese disco music - and none more so than anything Luger E-Go (aka Kenji Takimi head of Crue-l Records) has anything to do with. The issue with Crue-l is that the releases are so dam hard to get hold of and they are usually in real short supply too. Like this which came with Prins Thomas Remixes! I mean £75!! Come on! I actually got a copy when it came out but still that seems alot of money for the 12"!!
Juno (big hugs) normally get a few Crue-l's in stock before they sell out in an instant - plus Jetset in Japan are amazingly quick if you miss out at Juno. The releases are rather expensive at £10.99 a copy but there you go - thats life. They'll be worth £75 in a years time so think about that. Anyways this is the new Crue-l and it's got a Luger E-Go Remix on it. You know its going to be good. Psychadelic japanese disco like only Kenji and EYE can.
You should all check out Lastrums recent releases too. Again, awesome out there Japanese disco and techno sounds.
Oh yeah and don't forget Mule Musiq either - they released a killer Todd Terje remix last week and a new one by Sasse out this week. Plus the next Betty Botox release will be on Mule - oooooooh. Apparently a re-edit of Love of Life Orchestra (as featured on the James Murphy Fabric Mix) plus some other stuff that I either can't tell you about (or simply don't know) you decide.
I also bought a copy of Trybe - Psychadelic Shack from a charity shop for a couple of quid at the weekend - BARGAIN! And I've heard some of the new Low Motion Disco album thats coming out next year on Eskimo and its shaping up to be killer. There's a Soft Rocks Remix of a track called LOVE LOVE LOVE which is amazing.

Monday, November 26, 2007


They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Remixes)
Its out this week on glorious 12" black plastic so go get yourself a copy! Phonica, Juno, Rough Trade, Pure Groove, Piccadilly Records and the usual suspects have copies so there's no excuses!
If you don't own a gramaphone the release will be available via the usual digital outlets in two weeks time.
If for some reason your local record shop isn't stocking it then let us know and we'll sort that matter out rightaway - or alternatively you can order directly from us if you'd like. Just drop us an email and we'll tell you how. I would point you in the direction of the Thisisnotanexit store but its currently being refurbished and the store is therefore a little out of date. It'll be back soon bigger and better we promise!
Over and out.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Thanks to everyone who came down to the party on Friday night - everyone seemed to be having a great time - and thanks to JD Twitch for delivering the final set and rocking the place until closing.

I had quite a few people ask about some of the music I played so here's a rundown of everything I played:

Telstar Ponies - Voices From The New Music
Erik Wollo - Little Dream In Turquoise
Javier Navarette - Pans Labyrinth Lullaby
Art Of Noise - Robinson Crusoe
Spektrum - True Love Will Find You In The End
Bloc Party - Where Is Home (Burial Remix)
Eurythmics - This City Never Sleeps
David Lynch - Ghost Of Love
Chris & Cosey - Sweet Surprise
Chromatics - I'm On Fire
Buckingham Nicks - Frozen Love
Curtis Mayfield - Right On 4 Tha Darkness
John Miles - Stranger In The City
Glass Candy - Geto Boys
Public Enemy - Public Enemy No.1
Madonna - Burning Up (Fast Version) 33rpm + 8
John Cooper Clarke - Evidently Chickentown
Kruton - Horn, Trevor
Gino Latino - Welcome
Can - Oh Yeah
Sonic Youth - Pink Stream
The Smiths - How Soon Is Now
Cage & Aviary - Television Train
The Birthday Party - Sonnys Burning
Joy Divison - Transmission
Spacemen 3 - Revolution
New Order - Silent Face
Holy Ghost - Hold On (Loop)
Ian Dury - Trust Is The Must
Color Climax - Disque O' Heights
Debbie Jacobs - High On Love
Los Charlys Orchestra - Soulfoundation
Boris - Legato...

In other news I also recieved the Hatchback Remix of They Came From The Stars I Saw Thems - The Unstoppable Kite. Not sure when this is going to come out but its a beautiful 9 1/2 minutes of slo-mo disco. Next summer you'll be wanting to get blissed out to this.

Friday, November 16, 2007


Well who'd have thought it?! My Bloody Valentine are reforming for some gigs in 2008 - only three mind but who cares!!! They're playing Glasgow, Manchester and London next summer. I've just spent the past half an hour with 2x phones on hold and my internet explorer open trying to bag some tickets - and the result? I got 2x tickets so me and my best MBV friend will be drowning in the sounds of My Bloody Valentine next June. The tickets are already going for silly money on ebay but I personally cannot wait - roll on next Summer!!!
Don't forget there's a Thisisnotanexit party at Bardens Boudoir tonight. Should be a good one. See you there! I'll definitely be playing some MBV in excitement at me getting some tickets!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

To get you in the mood for JD Twitch (Optimo) tomorrow night here's an interview and mix he did for Pitchfork. Enjoy!

http://www.divshare.com/download/2762665-54b

Pitchfork: Well, thanks a lot, I think this is going to go really well.
JD Twitch: Oh yeah? You've managed to listen to it?
Pitchfork: Oh yes, I've really poured over it. It's sort of what I was imagining, a mix of old and new, some historical obscurities. Let's go through them one by one.
01. Test Dept.: "Cha Till Sinn Tuille"
Pitchfork: The first is Test Department, which is certainly obscure, at least for America. These guys were from the industrial Glasgow scene, is that right?
JD Twitch: Yeah, a couple of them were from Glasgow. In the 80s, they turned into more of this multimedia group, and put on these massive performances involving like dance, and acting, and pyrotechnics. And the music changed to reflect a more Celtic culture. I chose this one to open because, well, because we're Scottish and most people think the bagpipes sound horrible! If you ever come on holiday to Scotland you will hear the bagpipes and those will sound horrible but this is just such a beautiful piece of music. And it's a bit humorous, it's like, well, we're Scottish, so he're a bit of Scottish-ness to start off the mix.
Pitchfork: Most people associate bagpipes with police funerals and things like that over here.
JD Twitch: Exactly, yeah. It can be a really melancholic and beautiful. Celtic music that isn't cheesy.
02. Tim Maia: "Rational Culture"
Pitchfork: And then we go directly into Brazil. Tim Mi-ee-a? Is that how you say it?
JD Twitch: I think so, I don't actually know. We played in Sao Paolo and Rio in February and the promoter who brought us over really treated us like family. And he knew we really like vinyl and particularly all the Tropicália from the late 60s and early 70s and he pulled me this record when I was there and was like, "You have to have this record!" And I just really fell in love with it. The guy is a member of some really bizarre religious cult. It's kind of the equivalent of the Scientologists in Brazil, maybe a little more far in than that. And he made this record to try and promote his religion. But I think this song, there is something really great about it.
Pitchfork: Yeah, I guess he had a run-in with marijuana a couple of times.
JD Twitch: Oh really? Oh, I didn't know that.
Pitchfork: Yeah, he was supposed to be big in the US and then he was found with a lot of marijuana on him.
JD Twitch: Alright! Okay, I had never heard of him before.
Pitchfork: I think he got on with the Os Mutantes for a while. they kind of brought him under their wing after he was exported from the U.S.
JD Twitch: Oh, OK. I'll find out about that because I am working on a collaboration with them at the moment, which we are going to perform in July. I've been communicating with the main guy, Sergio Dias, so I'll ask him about that the next time I email him.
Pitchfork: You're collaborating with Tim Maia?
JD Twitch: No, with Os Mutantes.
Pitchfork: Oh, wow, Jesus Christ, what are you gonna do?
JD Twitch: What happens is, they did it last year. A load of British musicians go over to Brazil and collaborate with Brazilians and then they came around the UK and show their collaborations. This year I didn't have time to go to Brazil so we've been doing it over the Internet and I'm doing one with Os Mutantes. Basically, we'll do one track and I can send it to him, and he'll add guitars and vocals and percussion and we'll perform it live in Glasgow, Liverpool and London in the end of July and after that Os Mutantes will play a full live set.
Pitchfork: That brings to mind a question. Do you play an instrument?
JD Twitch: No, not at all, no. I have a program and am constructing a song using samples from their own records, and you'd never recognize where I've taken them from. So I guess I play the computer, is what I play. But I created a whole new song using their own records. When we say we'll perform it live I'll probably just hit start on the computer and add a few effects [ laughs].
Pitchfork: Right. So not even in punk rock days playing drums or anything?
JD Twitch: Oh, three chords on the guitar, you know. I'm really lousy on the guitar
03. Whitefield Brothers: "Yakuba"
Pitchfork: And then we get "Yakuba" which is when the theme of this sort of really heavy drum, sort of on the "1," comes into the mix.
JD Twitch: It's from a reissue. I think a few are actually new, it's something I picked up at my local store. I've always had this obsession with drums. I think quite often in clubs people think everything has to be electronic. But real drums can be just as powerful in the club. And there's something about the drumming on this track that is really really fierce and I play this record in the middle of a set and it will still work in the club.
Pitchfork: You say local shop, which shop is that?
JD Twitch: Rub-A-Dub records, yeah.
04. Nino Nardini: "Afro Beat"
Pitchfork: Well, let's try to get to everything. Nino Nardini, some kind of obscure French character so far as I could tell.
JD Twitch: Yeah, he was a librarian. You know, those library records? This is a reissue on a 7" but it was on some library record that he would sell to TV channels or film companies whoever needed to use music. But again, it's got that really heavy rhythm that I really love. I think he's French or Italian. There's limited information about him. Nardini seems like an Italian name, so maybe he's Italian?
Pitchfork: So this is his take on Afrobeat?
Yeah.
05. Black Sabbath: "The Wizard"
Pitchfork: And then you go into Black Sabbath, which is really great. I got a big kick out of that.
JD Twitch: Yeah, again, the drumming on that song is just awesome. It's phenomenal. It's so incredibly funky. It's another thing that if you hear it live in a club, it's so powerful, even if you've never heard Black Sabbath, the groove sort of carries it along.
I remember when I was a kid listening to Black Sabbath and I always liked it, and then like four or five years ago I was at this gig and this hip-hop kid was warming up and he was pretty boring. And then, he dropped that, and it just totally brought that song back to me, he was into the breaks of it. It was weird and hypnotic being that it was in a different context.
Pitchfork: So you started out listening to metal, then? Or psychedelic rock?
JD Twitch: Where I lived, in this little town in the middle of nowhere outside Edinburgh, Scotland it was a really tribal place. You were either a mod or you were a rocker. So all my friends were rockers. We listened to a lot of Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Pink Floyd, that kind of music.
06. Johnny Wakelin: "In Zaire"
Pitchfork: "In Zaire" is apparently about Muhammad Ali.
JD Twitch: Yeah! "The Rumble in the Jungle!" Yeah. He was like a hero. It was pop hit in the early 70s. I think it was even #1. It's really cheesy and everyone that hears it over a certain age when they hear it probably laughs, but again, the rhythm on there. It's a record I knew from when I was a kid, but the rhythm on it! I mean, it's obviously trying to be a tribal, jungle rhythm because of the nature of the song but again, it's got this hypnotic drumming.
Pitchfork: Yeah, and it comes out of Black Sabbath really nicely. He's obviously white, taking on African culture. The second time we've seen this kind of phenomenon. He's being respectful-- he loves Mohammed Ali, we know that much.
JD Twitch: Yeah [laughs]. I wonder what your genuine Afrobeat musician would make of something like that. They probably think that rhythm is wack [laughs]. But I kinda like it.
Pitchfork: His album was called Reggae, Soul and Rock & Roll.
JD Twitch: Okay. [laughs] I think he was total one-hit wonder, he had this song and I think everyone was like "Ok, we've had enough." I'm just old enough to remember hearing it on the radio. It's one of my first hazy memories. I remember my mother playing it. Kind of scary when 40 years later playing records your mother liked [ laughs].
Pitchfork: Oh yeah, "Black Superman" was the other hit.
JD Twitch: Oh, okay. I'm going to check that out when we are done here.
07. Lindstrøm and Solale: "Let's Practice"
Pitchfork: Okay, Lindstrøm. Did you loop that drum beat going into Lindstrøm, because it seems to kind of go on for a bit.
JD Twitch: Yeah, I just kept it going and put a little bit of echo in. I used record and a computer for this mix so I used a little bit of editing on this mix.
Pitchfork: It's really nice...I've never heard of Solale. I don't think I'm familiar with her at all.
JD Twitch: Me neither! I kinda like the way she sings. It's this really monotone voice, it's almost like a machine. She's got a certain something to her voice. And there's a lot of reverb on it, again, so it's not something you might hear in a nightclub. It's really rocky, obviously a lot of Giorgio Moroder, it's kinda slow. And I like that slow tempo. A lot of clubs are pretty relentless. But sometimes when you're playing the tempo really low, you can get a sort of sleazy quality to the night.
Pitchfork: The vocal kinda reminded me of Brianticket...this kind of stoned-out chic, just in a corner.
JD Twitch: Yeah, it sounds like she's making up the words as she goes along.
08. John Cooper Clarke: "Evidently Chickentown (Betty Botox version)"
Pitchfork: Now, Chickentown, I feel like I heard this in another mix...maybe it was one of yours?
JD Twitch: Oh, really?
Pitchfork: But I heard it just recently. That's probably another song you remember from back in the day? From when it was bigger.
JD Twitch: Yeah, when I was a teenager it was a song that everyone knew. John Cooper Clarke was a bit of a legend, and everyone loved his words, and I went back and listened to the album, and the production on that song is pretty incredible. I think it's going to be used on "The Sopranos", we are a season behind, but apparently on it was used in an episode of that.
Pitchfork: That's what it is! Yeah, yeah. It was used at the end of an episode. Well, you'll love the new season. The final episode is great.
JD Twitch: Yeah, I might have to buy the DVD, I don't know if I can wait that long.
Pitchfork: Clarke sort of looked like Bob Dylan, in a way.
JD Twitch: Yeah, he had crazy hair. He was like Bob Dylan in bad need of a haircut. And he always wore his glasses as well.
09. Paul Haig: "Reason"
Pitchfork: So, then, Paul Haig. This is apparently a new track?
JD Twitch: It's brand new. Paul Haig was the singer in Josef K and then he went off and through the 80s, he collaborated with all sorts of people Bernie Worrell and...who else did he collaborate with?
Pitchfork: Mantronix. Bernard Sumner.
JD Twitch: Yes, oh yes. He made all these sort of electronic records. At the time, they were a little out of context, but he just came out with this single like two or three weeks ago. And I love his voice, and, again, he's like this great Scottish legend.
Pitchfork: Which was where I wanted to ask you about the Scottish pop tradition, the Delgados, Teenage Fanclub, Orange Juice, and all this. What is it about Scotland that makes all these sort of great melodies and pop?
JD Twitch: Yeah! So many times people ask me that. I think one of the things is that people in Scotland tend to look to America. Especially on the west coast of Scotland I think America and American music has always had a greater influence on what is happening than the rest of Europe. You can go back to the 40s and 50s and since Glasgow was a big port city a lot of American sailors were coming over and American music had a bigger impact. I think Liverpool as well, you'll find a real pop sensibility and you'll find it comes from the records that are brought in through the ports. And people in Glasgow in particular are always trying to come up with their own thing.
Pitchfork: So, during wartime, maybe.
JD Twitch: Yeah, and in the 50s and 60s with the records of rock'n'roll and soul records. And it's still that way, Country and Western has always been really popular here. It's just one of those things. And I think that can be translated into bands like Orange Juice, which was a kind of badly playing soul band. But they really liked soul music. That's my thoery anyway.
Pitchfork: I didn't realize Mark Knopfler was Scottish...
JD Twitch: Was he? Oh, I apologize for that! [laughs] I didn't know he was Scottish.
Pitchfork: Apology accepted...
JD Twitch: [laughs]
10. Betty Botox: "Cosmic Orgasm"
Pitchfork: Cosmic Orgasm, from Solid Sleep, the trance duo? From the Cosmic Orgasm track?
JD Twitch: It's an edit from a few tracks. It's a track from New York called "Slave to the Rave" by Evasion which was this early nineties kind of electronic, I guess you could call it tech-trance. And it's combined with another track called "Subliminal Aura".
Pitchfork: Oh, wow, I totally missed the mark on that. There is a track out there called "Cosmic Orgasm" from someone called Solid Sleep.
JD Twitch: Oh, right, okay. Betty Botox does edits and these are two New York tracks which have been edited together.
Pitchfork: Do you play trance? Did you ever DJ with trance music?
JD Twitch: Yeah, trance is a really dirty word now. What people think of as trance is a really horrendous musical form. But in the early 90s, in clubs here, there wasn't such a big divide-- it wasn't like you had techno clubs or house clubs. You had clubs that played electronic music. We would play all the new techno releases, but we'd also play a lot of Strictly Rhythm, nu-groove, and house. and we'd play a lot of trance, but it wasn't this kind of euphoric, Tiesto or whatever. It was deeper and druggier sound. But that sound changed eventually into this dramatic, European trance hell.
Pitchfork: [laughs]
JD Twitch: A lot of those early trance records, though were actually great pieces of music.
Pitchfork: I agree with you. There needs to be a sort of redefinition of trance music. What's good trance? What do you appreciate about it?
JD Twitch: It's something that is a little bit deeper, it's more like something you can trip out to rather than of this huge, euphoric, kind of thing that trance has become. You can tell that this is what that became. This new trance is a bastardized form of what you used to hear in dance clubs.
11. Mark Shreeve: "Assassin"
Pitchfork: "Assassin", Mark Shreeve, some kind of 80s, atmospheric, Tangerine Dream jam.
JD Twitch: How I got this is I used to collaborate with this guy called Mike, and he was about 15 years older than me. We had a few records out on Matador and disappeared without a trace. He was always trying to get me into these 70s and 80s prog records and they were always kind of a bit too, I don't know, hippy-dippy for me. But this was one track, I think because it basically is Assault on Precinct 13, which I just love, love, love. He's got 808 drums in there. There's something about it.
Pitchfork: Now, wait a minute, you were on Matador?
JD Twitch: Yeah! We did an album and three EPs for Matador, roundabout 2000, 2001?
Pitchfork: What was the name of this project?
JD Twitch: Yeah, no one knows it and it kind of disappeared. It was called Mount Florida?
Pitchfork: Oh, you were Mount Florida? I didn't know that...
JD Twitch: I was half of Mount Florida, with a friend of mine, yeah.
Pitchfork: And he was 15 years old?
JD Twitch: No, he was 15 years older than me. So, he had kind of grown up in the 70s and so he had gone through this whole punk phase and when your older you back and explore. So he was getting back to his synth roots, most of which were not quite my thing, but this was one that kind of resonated with me.
Pitchfork: Well, I've got to listen to Mount Florida again...I know it's around here somewhere.
JD Twitch: [laughs]
12. Ralph Lundsten: "Horrorscope"
Pitchfork: And this is another one that's in a kind of similar vein.
JD Twitch: He was an electro-acoustic composer and this was his most successful thing, I guess. It's actually just been reissued by a guy from Glasgow who's putting it out. It was cult record for a long time and was really hard to get so he's just made it available. But again, it just kind of fits in to the music that is happening now, and it sounds contemporary again. Music has these cycles where it just dips in and around. To me, this just kind of fits into what I'm into.
13. Sonic Youth: "Shaking Hell"
Pitchfork: And then, Sonic Youth, dude, like, what the hell, what is going on?
JD Twitch: When we first started, Sonic Youth came along and I absolutely loved them. So I went back and explored some of the first-wave New York records from that time, and "Shaking Hell", I just loved Kim Gordon's voice so so much. And this song is something that I've always loved, and it's got this really steady 4-4 rhythm so when I came across it I said "You know, I wonder if I can actually mix this" and discovered that I could. Her voice is so powerful and the guitar is so powerful. Sonic Youth are an all-time favorite of mine, especially early Sonic Youth.
Pitchfork: Yeah, Sister is at the top of my list. That wasn't Steve Shelley on drums, in "Shaking Hell" that was another one.
JD Twitch: Is it Bob Bert? I think it's Jim Sclavunos. I saw them on the EVOL tour, and I think that's when Steve Shelley had just joined.
Pitchfork: The drummer Chris Corsano is in that camp, and he just moved to Scotland, I guess?
JD Twitch: He lives in Edinburgh, yeah. We had him play on Sunday there at the club, which is incredible. We always try to, every once in a while, put on things that are a little bit more challenging. There are people who are there early, and we just wanted to see how he was going to go down. And he went down phenomenally. It was mainly club kids, but they were going crazy for him. He's one of the most intense performers I've ever seen in my life.
Pitchfork: Yes, his talents are off the chart. I was surprised he moved. There is a big free rock/freak folk whatever thing up here in Massachusetts and Sonic Youth is still here, so I wonder why he moved. It must be for a woman.
JD Twitch: Yeah, it must be. Especially Edinburgh. It's a beautifully city, it's a great city. But musically? There's not a lot going on. Unless there is some totally underground free improv scene that I don't know about, there's not a lot going on in Edinburgh so I think it must be for a woman as well.
Pitchfork: Well, I'm sure you have pretty women in Edinburgh.
JD Twitch: We certainly do. We certainly do.
14. Paul Johnson: "Rubber Band"
Pitchfork: And no one, I don't think, has put Sonic Youth and Paul Johnson together. Ever.
JD Twitch: [laughs] Yeah. [laughs]. The Paul Johnson is and old, dancemania, Chicago track, jacking. And it's a great title.
Pitchfork: There's a song by the Spinners called "Rubberband Man", and T.I., too.
JD Twitch: Paul Johnson is another guy I saw DJ and I had no idea he was going to be in a wheelchair and he was a phenomenal DJ. Absolutely mind-blowing. He was a very very nice gentlemen. Gentlemen is the word to desribe him, in fact.
15. Jodeci: "Freakin' (MK mix)"
Pitchfork: So who is MK? I am having a hard time finding out anything about him.
JD Twitch: MK is Mark Kinchen, who was a Detroit techno producer in the early 90s, but his style was more of a New York souns. The first record he made was a seminal New York sound. This is an unofficial mix he did back in the day.
Pitchfork: I can't find anything about him.
JD Twitch: That's weird, let's just check on Discogs.
Pitchfork: [laughs] We are both on Discogs right now. Discogs is amazing.
JD Twitch: It is. I have such a bad memory so often for records I have. I use Discogs to remember what all my own records are!
Pitchfork: Yep, he's in there. Boy he did a ton of remixes in the 90s, you are right about that.
JD Twitch: Yeah, there was a year when Mark Kinchen was on every remix going. And then he kind of disappeared, I don't know what happened to him.
16. Faze Action: "In the Trees (Carl Craig mix)"
Pitchfork: It's amazing the love people have for Carl Craig.
JD Twitch: He's a genius. For so long he's made quality electronic music. I have to confess, though, there was a period in the 90s when Carl was making his jazz thing and was doing remixes for labels like Acid Jazz, I just didn't follow it for a while. But then he's come back and has made some of the most outstanding singles of the last few years. I kinda wish he would lay off the remixes for a bit and go back to his own music. He sounds classic, and when you go back to it, it still sounds contemporary. He's a master of using synthesizers. He's one of the gods of electronic music.
17. Panico: "Guadalupe (An Optimo (Espacio) mix)"
Pitchfork: And this is the Panico thing you were talking about earlier. They've played Optimo, yes?
JD Twitch: Yeah, and they were great. They're on Tigersushi, who is a great ally of ours. They put out the Kill the DJ thing and Joakim is a good friend of ours, so it's kind of all in the family, I guess with Panico, Tigersushi and Optimo.
Pitchfork: We just had Joakim play here in Boston.
JD Twitch: Was he good?
Pitchfork: He was great, yeah. He went from like a disco into Italo and ending in a hard, jacking mode. It was really intense.
JD Twitch: That's cool. I've never heard him play hard techno. He's such a lovely man, as well.
Pitchfork: And tall!
JD Twitch: We almost never ever let DJs play at Optimo. Maybe twice a year we are both away and we'll invite someone we really trust like him to come and play. Our club has a really low ceiling and the DJ box is quite high. I'm 6' 1" and my head is almost hitting the roof, so when he plays he kind of stoops the whole time. He's incredibly tall, he must be 6' 10"?
Pitchfork: Who else has played Optimo?
JD Twitch: We've only been away, I think, four times in 10 years. We had Ivan Smagghe play one time while we were away. Other times we've just had friends play. Ivan Smagghe and Joakim are the only people we've had play there.
18. Solomun & Stimming: "Feuervogel"
Pitchfork: And then we have a brand-new techno jam. Is this something you picked up at the store or a promo you got?
JD Twitch: I bought this online from, Picadilly Records? No, Phonica records. It's something I read about and finally heard. It's so bombastic. So much minimal techno has kind of taken over the world and some of it is amazing, but some of it lacks personality. There's something about this one that stands out. It's something you might get sick of hearing after like a half-dozen times. It's something I was in love with at that moment.
Pitchfork: I wish we had more stores like that. Phonica, Picadilly, Boomkat, and things. I get all the emails and I'm very envious.
JD Twitch: Yes, and once you add in the exchange rate and the shipping, it gets very expensive doesn't it? My friend always complains that there isn't a store in New York that sells all of these records. He has to buy all his music on mailorder from the UK and it's really expensive! I was in Boston, like 10 years ago, and there were a couple of really good stores back then. Fred Giannelli was a friend of mine and he took me around to a couple of stores.
19. Truffle Club: "Gone Blue"
Pitchfork: I don't know anything about this one. I couldn't figure it out. I don't know what this one is at all.
JD Twitch: Truffle Club is actually a really really good friend of mine named Dave Clark, not the Dave Clarke, although he's probably been making music just as long. We put out an EP with him a couple of years ago. I work with him on remixes so I can get better production, and later this year we're going to try and do some musical collaboration. He's just super lazy and we're always trying to get him to record more music. He's also in a project called Big Ned, which is a David Lynch-ian kind of soundtrack project. He knocked this track out in about half-an-hour, and it reminds me a bit of Chris and Cosey. It works really well in the club.
20. Lee Douglas: "Breakwind"
Pitchfork: Is this the re-edit that My Cousin Roy did or is this the original?
JD Twitch: Roy is going to put it out on his label. He's a New York disco guy, so I don't really know that much about him. It's a re-edit of something... I know what it is, I just can't quite remember. He sent me the .wav file. It's coming out on vinyl in the next few weeks. I don't know that much about him. I think he used to be a drum'n' bass DJ.
Pitchfork: That makes sense. Some of the best DJs and producers have started in drum'n'bass. I think it's easier to mix.
JD Twitch: Does drum'n'bass still have a following over there?
Pitchfork: Yeah, there's still some people into breaks and drum'n'bass. I think it's the whole B-boy aspect of it. How about you?
JD Twitch: In Edinburgh there is a little bit of a scene. It's pretty much dissapeared. It's absolutely huge in Eastern Europe. Like massively.
Pitchfork: I suppose every genre is experiencing a revival in some part of the world at anytime.
JD Twitch: I suppose so, yeah.
21. Grinderman: "No Pussy Blues"
Pitchfork: Now, Grinderman. This is a good look for Pitchfork because we love this track.
JD Twitch: It's my favorite record of this year. Period. Don't even have to think about it. The first hour of Optimo we just play records. Our favorite records, from any genre, create a nice atmosphere for people to talk. This is when we would play this track. But one night, Johnnie played it right in the middle, at the peak of the night. And people went insane. And since then, it's always worked on the dancefloor it's become a total anthem. And of course, you would not think this was a dance record at all. It got the most insane record of a record from all year.
Pitchfork: How many things have passed from Espacio, the listening party, into Optimo, the dance party?
JD Twitch: There's definitely been a few where like I've played it at the start of the night and Johnnie's played it later or vice-versa. Another one was the cover version of Brian Eno's "Baby's on Fire" by the Creepers.
Pitchfork: So you were going to get "No Pussy Blues" in there one way or another is what you're saying.
JD Twitch: [laughs] Yeah. I was determined somehow that was going to get in there. [laughs]

Tracklist:01. Test Dept.: "Cha Till Sinn Tuille (Extract)"
02. Tim Maia: "Rational Culture"
03. Whitefield Brothers: "Yakuba"
04. Nino Nardini: "Afro Beat"
05. Black Sabbath: "The Wizard"
06. Johnny Wakelin: "In Zaire"
07. Lindstrøm and Solale: "Let's Practice"
08. John Cooper Clarke: "Evidently Chickentown (Betty Botox version)"
09. Paul Haig: "Reason"
10. Betty Botox: "Cosmic Orgasm"
11. Mark Shreeve: "Assassin"
12. Ralph Lundsten: "Horrorscope"
13. Sonic Youth: "Shaking Hell"
14. Paul Johnson: "Rubber Band"
15. Jodeci: "Freakin' (MK mix)"
16. Faze Action: "In the Trees (Carl Craig mix)"
17. Panico: "Guadalupe (An Optimo (Espacio) mix)"
18. Solomun & Stimming: "Feuervogel"
19. Truffle Club: "Gone Blue"
20. Lee Douglas: "Breakwind"
21. Grinderman: "No Pussy Blues"

What can I say - tomorrow is gonna be BIG!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Musical excitement of the highest order today. Sometimes you have days where a tune or record just totally get you to go "f8ck me thats special" - but the best days are when you get a few of them altogether at once!!

The first track up for discussion is Babytalk - Keep On Move from Stickydisc. Its their debut release and with the DFA links you know its gonna be good. This though is f8cking mind meltingly good. Analogue squelch bass, beautiful synth washes, and a phased in and out male vocal...this is hot...when you get 5 1/2 minutes in and the synths are screaming you just don't want it to end. So hot Mr. Jim Murphy put it on his new Fabric mix. Its now available on black plastic so go out and grab one - its sh8t hot (sorry for swearing Mum). Link here to buy and at $14 its a bargain for us Brits. They've set the bar high with the first release - I await their second with intrigue.

http://www.myspace.com/stickydisc

www.stickydisc.com

Second up is from the big bulk of Dissident releases last week. I bought them all because I'm a bit weird like that (still can't get my head round the drum machine one mind). Anyway the pick of the bunch is the Cage & Aviary - Television Train. WOoooooaaaahhhh this is good. Halfway through a guitar line that comes in and just makes me play air guitar. In a good way. And not when I'm at work I hasten to add. Anyways there's only 200 of these so get your skates on! So good it got played at Optimo FACT! And I'll definitely be playing this out on Friday night. It is £9 but its seriously worth it. Support the independents releasing stuff like this I say - the majors can go f8ck themselves. This is music.

http://www.phonicarecords.co.uk/detail.aspx?ID=25325

Finally is a newie I've got on mp3 that I know very very little about. Its a new single by Nemesi entitled JURASSICO. Sounds interesting? Its got a remix on the flip entitled "Prins Thomas Miks Del 1 & 2). Now you're interested! The second track to get the "PT Miks Del 1 & 2" after Hatchback I was intrigued - especially as its 13:39 long. So I pressed play and sat back - WHHOOOOSSSSHHH! Its a krautrocking psychadelic shot to the head - wait until the screaming guitars come in between 8 and 12 minutes and then its really something! If I heard this in a club I'd be punching the ceiling and hugging people I've never met before its that good. No idea when its out. Not sure if I'll play it out this weekend. All I know is its absolutely amazing.

So 3x amazing tracks in a day. What more can you ask for?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007


Thisisnotanexit Party is this Friday at Bardens Boudoir spookily 1 year to the day since we did the last one! Last year was amazing so come along and make sure this one is similarly great!

We'll have finished copies of the new single for sale on 12" featuring two Emperor Machine Remixes - already gaining support from JD Twitch, JG Wilkes, Roy Dank, Scotty Coats, Professor Genius, Prince Language, Shit Robot, Jacques Renault, Swag, Aeroplane etc This isn't out until November 26th so you'll have it 2 weeks before its in the shops!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Last Friday They Came From The Stars I Saw Them were on BBC Radio 6 on Marc Riley's Brain Surgery Show where they performed 3x tracks live. You can listen to it again by the power of the magical internet for the next 4 days and then it'll be gone. Opener Hot Ink will be on the album released next year and I think you'll all agree sounds AMAZING. Enjoy.

Marc Riley's Brain Surgery
Friday 9th November 2007

They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Hot Ink
Pere Ubu - Final Solution
Enon - Mr Ratatatat
Screaming Tea Party - Holy Disaster
Jay Jay Pistolet - We Are Free
1000 Violins - Why Is It Always December?
Bearsuit - Foxy Boxer
Frank Zappa - Let's Make The Water Turn Back
Link Wray - Batman
The Shins - Sea Legs
They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - It's Time
BC Camplight - Suffer For Two
1000 Violins - The Candle Man
The Supremes - The Happening
Ween - Blue Balloon
They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Living On A Island
Race Fans - Bookie Man
Black Lips - Veni Vidi Vici
Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod
The Pyramids - Hunch Your Body
The Ting Tings - Fruit Machine
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Melt

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/brain_surgery/tracklisting_20071109.shtml

Friday, November 02, 2007


Single of the week

Quite a few interesting bits and pieces are out this week worthy of a look and listen - the new Smith N Hack 12", a new Mindless Boogie with edits from In Flagranti, two new Dissident 12s (the one by Cage & Aviary particularly of note) plus two yes TWO new DFA releases - Holy Ghosts Hold On (a contender for 12 of the year for sure) and Shit Robots 'bells' tune Chasm featuring the absolutely immense Lonely Planet on the flip.

Single of the week though I'm going to devote to the new BVDub 12 on Styrax though as it won't get half the column inches of the above records but is wholly deserving of your attention. I don't know too much about BVDub but this is a killer release - if you're into Basic Channel or Deepchord then purchase immediately! Both tracks are deep melancholic minimal pieces of techno that are absolutely incredible - the kind of stuff that sounds the best at 1am when you're on the bus home and its dark outside and miserable and its a lonely winter ahead. File next to Burial too actually. Music you can get completely lost in. The 12s so good I went and bought everything else he's done from Beatport. Immense release. Not a dancefloor destroyer but one for the heart and soul.

In Thisisnotanexit related news I can also announce that the Professor Genius release scheduled for next year is shaping up to be a killer as we've got Brennan Green remixing one of the tracks. Not out for ages but I'm hugely excited about this one.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

There's a nice article here about San Francisco and the link to Oslo and cosmic space age disco...plus a nice little section on Hatchback and Thisisnotanexit. Happy reading.

http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=4843&volume_id=317&issue_id=322&volume_num=42&issue_num=04&l=1

Monday, October 29, 2007

I got up Sunday morning and with a few cups of coffee bashed this out. Its a mammoth 2 1/2 mix so hold tight! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did doing it! Apologies for the huge length but there was too much stuff I wanted to throw down on it that I just started and couldn't stop! A few exclusives on there too!

Thisisnotanexit Volume 8

Joy Division - The Eternal (Factory)
Unknown - Unknown (Burial Remix) (CD-r)
David Lynch - The Ghost Of Love (Unknown)
Durutti Column - Otis (Factory)
Chromatics - Running Up That Hill (Italians Do It Better)
Sylvester - I Need Someone To Love Tonight (Fantasy)
Maps - To The Sky (Loving Hand Extended Remix) (Mute)
Unknown - Sermon (Creative Use)
Phonique - Casualties (Morgan Geist Remix) (Dessous)
New Order - Silent Face (Factory)
Holy Ghost - Hold On (DFA)
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (Dixon Edit) (CD-r)
Willie Colon - Set Fire To Me (404 Reboot) (CD-r)
LCD Soundsystem - Us vs. Them (Any Color You Like Remix By Windsurf) (DFA)
Jichael Mackson - The Grass Is Always Greener (Musique Risquee)
La Funk Mob - Motorbass Gets Phunked Up (Electrofunk Remix) (Mo' Wax)
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game (Reprise)
They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Dub Remix) (Thisisnotanexit Records)
Nathan Fake - You Are Here (Four Tet Remix) (Border Community)
Hatchback - Jetlag (Thisisnotanexit Records)
Professor Genius - Pegaso (Silver & Kanes Roma Mix) (Disques Sinthomme)
Altz - Hilltop Greeting (Lastrum)
Buckingham Nicks - Frozen Love (Unknown)
Curtis Mayfield - Right On 4 Tha Darkness (Curtom)

Monday, October 22, 2007

There's a nice interview with Jorge Velez (aka Professor Genius) up on the 24 Hours blog so go and have a read! Thisisnotanexit Records will be putting out the A Jean Giraud tracks he mentions next year and they're absolutely deep and beautiful and I'm as excited as Jorge is about these tracks!

http://www.2-4-hours.blogspot.com/

My current record to watch out for In Flagranti's newie called Additional Alpha Blocker on Speak Recordings. I've never been a massive fan - although I did play Nonplusultra a hell of alot when it came out in 2004 - but this is pretty bloody good. The common theme is the bassline though - Nonplusultra had it and Additional.. has an awesome Level 42 bassline! It starts off deep and slow with keys and synth stabs and then slowly a slap funk bassline emerges from the mix as it ebbs and flows for 5 minutes. Imagine Metro Area with a slap bass and you're halfway there. It also sounds amazing mixed out of the Emperor Machine Remix of They Came From The Stars too! Haha! Anyway pick it up if you're out shopping as its worth a look.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Owing to the dam postage strike I haven't been buying much vinyl recently but I can say that this weeks single of the week is the mighty new release from Lastrum by Altz. The Max-Motion release which came out a couple of years ago has finally just come out on Death From Abroad - one of those records I still play out 2 years later - I even heard Jonnie Wilkes play it out on Friday night.

Anyways the new release from Altz is called VODKA BABY and is absolutely mindblowing. It sounds similar to Mungolian Jetsets work in its crazy vision - country guitar twangs, a stop start drum beat and then melancholic piano s and strings fade in and out of the mix. You've got to hear it to believe it! Anyways Juno had some copies at £10.99!!! Yes, I know, £10.99 but considering how good Max-Motion is and that was £10.99 I'll be getting my moneys worth from it - seriously worth every penny.

We're throwing a party in a few weeks to celebrate the release of the 4th single on the label - we've managed to pull this together mightily quickly and we've got JD Twitch (Optimo) booked in for a headline set of his usual quality. If you came to the last one you know what to expect - 250 people jumping up and down and refusing to leave come closing time! Anyways hope you can make it - its gonna be a good one.

Thisisnotanexit Records presents: They Came From The Stars I Saw Them SIGNALS Party
Friday November 16th

JD Twitch (Optimo)
They Came From The Stars I Saw Them (Live)
Sculpture (Live)
Simon A. Carr (DJ Set)

Bardens Boudoir, 38-44 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XJ
Easily accessible by buses 67, 76, 149 and 243

Doors 8pm - £6 before 9.30pm / £7 after

Optimo:
They Came From The Stars I Saw Them:
Sculpture:
http://www.myspace.com/danhayhurst

Thisisnotanexit Records:
Bardens Boudoir:

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

I've just got a new ipod - woohoo! Here's my top 10 playlist for this week and what you should be watching out for...

1. Surprise Party - Fear No Fear (Kill The DJ)

Dark dark dark gothic techno - imagine if Joy Division with a 303 and a Sawtooth!

2. Juan Maclean - Happy House (Prince Language Remix) (DFA)

Prince Language takes Nancy "Take me into space" Whang and Juan Maclean into deep space disco heaven. All about the piano though right.

3. Tiedye - Nothing (Italians Do It Better)

Slo-disco cover of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters - sounds bad - in reality its absolutely amazing. Not sure when its out but Mike keeps delivering with the Troubleman offshoot.

4. Propaganda - Frozen Faces (My Cousin Roy Edit) (Wurst)

Number 4 from the Wurst label and the quality is as high as always - Roy couldn't go wrong with this though as its one of my favourite ever records. Its a killer edit though - the killer sax riff repeated more and upfront! Out soon!

5. Shit Robot - Chasm (DFA)

DFA on it AGAIN with the poop robots newie - its all about the bell - if you've heard it in a club you'll know it.

6. Chic - I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)

Chic I Want Your Love over Moodymanns I Can't Kick This Feeling When It Hits. What more do I need to say?!! ??!?

7. Battles - Tonto (Four Tet Remix)

Kieran Hebden digs out his 4/4 drum machine and DFA remixes and takes Battles kicking and screaming onto the electronic peaking dancefloor. Totally deranged and the best Four Tet Remix like EVER!

8. Tony Allen - Kilode (Carl Craig Remix) (Honest Jons)

I thought Carl Craig had gone off the boil recently - kinda switched to autopilot and wishing he'd release something new from himself. And then he unleashes this ! A bloody contender for remix of the year DAM HIM!

9. LCD Soundsystem - Us Vs. Them (Windsurfs Any Colour You Like? Remix)

Hatchback and The Sorcerer raid my Dads prog collection and provide this which I can't stop listening to.

10. They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Dub Remix) (Thisisnotanexit)

Emperor Machines best remix in ages - the biggest funkiest bassline and warbling synths make this an absolute killer. Great feedback so far on this one - watch out for it on the floor!

Monday, October 01, 2007


Single of the week: Hatchback - White Diamond (Thisisnotanexit Records 003)
What else am I gonna vote for but this eh? It's now officially out so go grab a copy if you missed an exclusive white label. And if you grabbed it from a blog make sure you pick up a copy as its now mastered and in a beautiful Peter Saville-esque sleeve.
Phonica have also made it their single of the week so head over there if you're London based:
The release will be available digitally and outside of the UK from October 8th.
Plus Phonica have some exclusive white label 12" promos of They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Signals (Thisisnotanexit Records 004). This isn't out officially until November 26th so this is the only way to get one waaaaaaaaaay in advance. Oh yeah and there are 2x Emperor Machine Remixes on there too that are absolutely incredible. Narco disco anyone? Be quick as Phonica have low stock already....once they're gone they're gone....

Friday, September 28, 2007

How abouts you all switch off Facebook and take a little trip around the myspace world. Go on.

First up is the new Mungolian Jetset Remix. It's creatively titled "Dominique Leone - Clairevoyage (A Medley Performed By The 16th Rebels Of Mung). A genius title!! It is apparently a collaboration with the master of slo-house-scando-disco Mr. Lindstrom - a psychadelic match made in heaven. The remix of Mari Boine is also worth checking as thats not out yet either.

http://www.myspace.com/mungolianjetset
Trevor 'Action' Jackson appears to be quite quiet at the moment - hopefully he's finishing the next Playgroup album as it's been quite a while since that came out now. Still, after his recent promo only remixes of Ali Loves Secret Sunday Lover (how did this not get more exposure!?) a remix of Pharoahe Monch'es 'Desire' has appeared on Trevor Jacksons myspace player. It appears very old skool in its take and sounds like Travor Jacksons UNDERDOG moniker than Playgroup. I'm unfamiliar with the original but I've been digging this.
DFA are absolutely killing it at the moment - Still Going - Still Going Theme hit the shops this week and is one of the records of the year - the kind of joyous house record that makes you want to hug people on the dancefloor. Life affirming disco of the highest order. They've apparently remixes !!! as well for a release mid-October on Warp. I need. Plus don't sleep on the Hercules & Love Affair release either - I'm still waiting on BLIND to land but this'll keep me happy for the moment as it's so 80s sounding its just what I like. The LCD Soundsystem Remix package coming out is rather tasty too - with the man Hatchback contributing as WINDSURF to a remix of US VS. THEM in a way that I keep expecting my Dad to knock on my bedroom door and ask what this slice of 70s prog joy is (in a good way). Much beard stroking to that one. Hatchback is also going to conjure up a remix of They Came From The Stars I Saw Them slept on kraut jazz classic The Unstoppable Kite.
Anyway what I meant to write about before being distracted by DFA stuff was the NEW DFA signing Holy Ghost. I'd heard Synare Jam and Hold On care of Mr. Tim Sweeney - but now on their myspace player they have not only HOLD ON (and a nice remix of it) but two remixes Holy Ghost have done. One for US Vice Band The Panthers (which is ace) and one for Only Fools & Horses. Now I was hoping this was a nice remix of Hooky Street but its not. Its a new signing to Permanent Vacation. Anyway with no Del Boy in sight its STILL pretty f8cking amazing - deep, joyous, hairs standing up electronic music. Go listen LOUD and try and tell me otherwise.
Finally Sons And Daughters return soon with a new single The Gilt Complex. A great return but its the b-side thats got people talking. A cover of Adamskis Killer no less that apparently is AMAZING. So good the Optimo guys are desperate for a copy. My ear is firmly to the ground on this one but its probably wise to make a regular check on their myspace player.
Finally, Hatchback - White Diamond makes its official appearance on vinyl and digital download this Monday October 1st. For those that missed the limited whites (or if you want one in a proper beautiful Peter Saville esque sleeve) then get down the shops on Monday.
And if you want something to keep you occupied over the weekend then log onto Phonica and get yourself a very very exclusive white label promo copy of They Came From The Stars I Saw Them- Signals (Emperor Machine Remixes). Phonica have 20. Its a limited run of 50. Its not gonna be out until November so if you want it before your friends and everyone else get to it.
And goodbye.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Here's a nice interview with Hatchback for those who have wondered what the big man has to say. Happy reading!

http://www.amoeba.com/blog/

Scroll down a little bit and there you have it.....

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Well. I would have put up some of the stuff I bought on Friday but the package still hasn't arrived. Bizarrely the stuff I ordered later that day and got sent to work HAS arrived. I appear to have a post thief operating in my neighbourhood as a cd has also gone missing recently PLUS a previous order from Piccadilly Records (so if you live in N16 and buy records my advice is DON'T GET THEM SENT HOME!!!). My postman is obviously into slo-disco, 70s balearic, minimal techno and 80s electronic stuff - maybe I should get him to DJ at the next Thisisnotanexit event. I wouldn't normally mind but its like £60+ of vinyl gone walkies! Dammit!

Anyways I'm gonna go and have a listen to James Blackshaw - that'll calm me down. Sort of like an instrumental Nick Drake. Or something.

http://www.myspace.com/jamesblackshaw

And then after that I'm going to listen to some more Professor Genius stuff as the new stuff he's sent me (that I think will be coming out on Thisisnotanexit all being well) is a bit special. SPECIAL.

Oh and one thing I did get in the post was the new Gatto Fritto on Dissident. Woah. Like WOAH it's good. 200 only and the only place I've seen it is Juno. Invisible College its called. Get on it before everyone else does!!!

Friday, September 21, 2007


I lost my ipod on the flight out. I'd like to say it was quite liberating but I missed that black box full of music on the odd occasion. I'm thoroughly jetlagged but tomorrow night I'll be out with Hatchback as he's DJing in support of the mighty White Diamond single (Radio 1 approved as well don't you know) which comes out October 1st. Come along and have some fun - he might even unveil the next single planned for Thisisnotanexit - JETLAG (quite apt today) and in particular the FAZE ACTION REMIX which got delivered today. Watch out.

After being away for 2 weeks I also splurged some cash on a load of vinyl this morning - maybe I'll upload something when and if it all arrives tomorrow (come on royal mail). Anyways I grabbed the Carl Craig Remix of Kevin Saunderson, the new Pepe Braddock, the Scotty Coats & Wes The Mes DOUBLEFISTED on Rong, the Pantha Du Prince and Black Dice remixes of Animal Collective and the Smith & Mudd Idjut Boys newie. All good.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007



Holiday Time!



I fly out to Vietnam for 2 weeks tomorrow. So no posts or label work for 2 weeks.



Here's a smattering of whats been loaded onto the ipod for my holiday.....



Animal Collective - Peacebone (Pantha Du Prince Remix)

Durutti Column - Otis

Professor Genius - A Jean Giraud 5

Chromatics - Running Up That Hill

Apocalypse Now Soundtrack

Black Dice - Load Blown LP

Reverso '68 - Piece Together (Todd Terje Remix)

Quiet Village - Desperate Hours

Rubies - The Keys (Studio Remix)

Ricardo Villalobos - Ichso

Delia & Gavin - Days Of Mars LP

UR - Journey Of The Dragons

Stimming - Getting Out

Phonique & Erlend Oye - Casualties (Morgan Geist Remix)

Unclassics LP

Rilo Kiley - Breaking Up (Loving Hand Remix)

New Order - Your Silent Face

Factory Records / Hacienda Essential Mix

Hatchback - Jetlag

Surprise Party - Fear No Fear

They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - Signals (Emperor Machine Remix)

Naum Gabo - Picture

Private Lives - Private Life

Alice McLoughlin - The Dream (Petting Zoo Remix)

Social Being - Free Your Mind



Thats enough for you to think about methinks.



If you're around on Saturday 22nd September HATCHBACK will be DJing @ Sosho on Tabernacle Street in London as part of the SOFTMACHINES night. Come along and party with the Thisisnotanexit crew! Its also Hatchbacks debut London appearance so that makes it even more appealing, right?



Holiday time.




Friday, August 31, 2007



I briefly visited the TDK festival last weekend - purely to see Keith and Jonnie from Optimo play. The fact the Queens Of Noise was the busiest room there sums up why I made a sharp exit as soon as Optimo had finished. Anyways Keith and Jonnie played a great set, here's a list of what they played from what I can remember!
Phonique - Casualties (Morgan Geist Remix)
New Order - Your Silent Face
Bamboo - Spaceships Crashing
Prinzhorn Dance School - Space Invader (Optimo Remix)
Jodeci - Freakin' (MK Dub remix)
DJ Pierre & Green Velvet - Acid Trax
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Human League - The Things Dreams Are Made Of
There was obviously a load of other stuff that I can't remember or didn't know what they were but it was dam good. Here's the rather rare Bamboo Spaceships Crashing if you haven't got it...

SINGLE OF THE WEEK
A quiet week this week in terms of new releases so I've plumped for the two thing I have got that are stuck on the turntable.
1. Hercules & Love Affair - Classique #2 / ROAR (DFA)
DFA are back to kickstart the Autumn (yeah I've given up on Summer) with this little beauty that Tim Sweeneys been playing on Beats In Space for what feels like an eternity (he's since moved onto playing Classique #3 he's so ahead of the curve!). I can't decide which side I like more but I think ROAR (featuring Anthony from Anthony & The Johnsons) just shades it. Classy 80s style house music that when it comes out in a few weeks should be 'in your cart' in a shot.
2. A Mountain Of One - Brown Piano (Studio Version)
Balearic heaven! Two heavyweights of the current nu-balearic scene come together for this blissful piece of sunshine. Not sure what a Brown Piano is but this is muchos niceness. Available from Phonica and Piccadilly NOW!! Check out Studios forthcoming remix of Rubies too for some additional aural bliss. Its up on their myspace page.
Now, the labels myspace page gets friend requests all the time - wannabe pornstars and poor indie bands generally - but yesterday I actually got requested from a really really really good band! Called The Surprise Party the track FEAR NO FEAR is an amazing piece of industrail post punk thats apparently coming out on Ivan Smagghes Kill The Dj label - check it now before everyone else jumps on it.
Other news from the label. Hatchback - White Diamond will be hitting the shops on October 1st so make sure you pre-order / buy a copy! Only 1,000 in limited edition sleeves.
The follow up entitled JETLAG is scheduled for release in early 2008 has been finished and Faze Action are currently working on the remix that will feature on the b-side. And I can also now confirm that Thisisnotanexit will be releasing Naum Gabo's next single entitled PICTURE. A demo version has been played by Tim Sweeney already but there is now a finished version in existence. Rather excitingly Tim Goldsworthy from DFA is supplying the remix (as his The Loving Hand alias) and that will hit the shops Spring 2008.
Oh yeah and They Came From The Stars have a new-old album out soon on Onomatopeia so watch out for that. The NEW NEW album they've just finished recording will be getting sorted out over the next 6 months. Sounding really amazing even from the rough mixes I've heard so far....!

Friday, August 24, 2007




I found this yesterday whilst surfing around - and is apparently from the latest Mixmag. Anyways its the view of whats inside Daft Punks pyramid control room when they play live. And there you were thinking there was just an ON and OFF button!

I've been listening to alot of Neil Young recently - I think its the fact the weather here in London is so miserable and grey and wet. Neils melancholy is just hitting me at the moment. Anyway after including Down By The River from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere on my last mix here's a video of him performing one of my favourite Neil Young songs OLD MAN from 1971 at Massey Hall. Haunting.

http://streamos.wbr.com/qtime/wbr/neilyoung/mh_oldman.mov

SINGLE(S) OF THE WEEK

This weeks there's been alot of great disco gear land in the shops - proper good stuff for dancing! My particular favourite this week is a tie though - I simply can't decide between them.



First up is the man Jichael Mackson. He has a new 12" out called WASN'T ME. All you need to do is head straight for the track called THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER. Its got a really nice minimal groove, rolling bassline, a great spoken word vocal and then in the last 4 minutes of the track a reversed section of Chris Isaaks Wicked Game guitar riff. I hasten to add it sounds amazing - a truly innovative and great record, seriously.



The other joint record of the week is by Rimeroni Vumani on Magentron a label from Belgium. The ep is really strong - like Frank Hebly's Tuslangboogie which I loved earlier this year - but the track to hit is one called SUGAR BOOGER. Its a little TOO fast but pitch it down to -2 or -3 and its killer - a mixture of Metro Area disco stabs with a Luke Vibert ACID bassline this really rocks. I had a little dance round my room to this last night and that doesn't happen often I can tell you. The kick on this is something else too. My flatmate thought I was having a rave in my bedroom last night its that kicking.



Also worth a mention are GUI BORATTO's Beautiful Life which deservedly has now come out on a 12" on Kompakt. I've been loving this for so long I couldn't make it SOTW. Otherwise new balearic compadres Aeroplane pop up twice this week - firstly on a remix on the COYOTE EP2 12" on Is It Balearic plus their own debut release AEROPLANE : Aeroplane on Eskimo.
The Swiss - Movement 1,2 & 3 (Brennan Green Edit) is also worth checking for some proper disco action. Check the break in the middle - like wow.

Also worth a mention is last weeks BIS show as Tim Sweeney played a couple of new bits from the Juan Maclean. The one everyone has been most excited about (and the one I've had on repeat) is a track called HAPPY HOUSE with I suspect vocals from Nancy Whang. Built around a repeating early 90s piano hook and a DFA bassline (you know the bassline I mean - bass's now come with a 'DFA button') and an uplifting diva vocal (seriously I never thought Nancy had it in her) this is gonna be HUGE (round my house anyway). "take me into SPAAAAAAAAAACCEEEEEEEEE".

DFA have gone proper piano mad at the moment though - Still Going Theme is out soon, Hercules & Love Affair Blind is a massive piano tune, and the new Juan Maclean stuff has got loads of pianos. It's like the mid-90s never happened. I'm off to dig out some piano anthems now and head this trend off.

Finally a musical treat for you. You might thank me. You might hate me. Whatever happens it'll be stuck in your head all weekend.

Hot Butter - Popcorn

http://www.divshare.com/download/1712832-5ae

Have great weekends - I'm off to dance to Joakim & Optimo at TDK and then onto Turnmills for the DFA extravaganza with Tim Sweeney, Shit Robot and Hot Chip. Woohaa!

Over and out.