Chaos Restored 2

Justin Martin: Chaos Restored 2 (Buzzin' Fly)
Well, other then the glaring bio error where Buzzin' Fly tries to trump OM Records and gets the facts laughably wrong on just how many mix disks San Francisco's Justin Martin has actually released (BTW, that's THREE mixes, not two), this is probably one of this year's best mixes.

On Martin's first mix, he captured and codified the whole Dirtybird farting bass noise that everyone in Northern California has since completely run into the crowd.

Martin's first installment of Chaos Restored for Buzzin' Fly found Martin somewhere in the middle of his latest phase, which is much deeper and fully represented on this installment.

Here he finally shows the maturity he's always flirted with on novelty tracks like "Stoopid" and "Ghetto Train," especially on his new remixes of Radiohead's "Nude" and the seminal Marshall Jefferson classic "Mushrooms," which straddle the increasingly blurred lines between pop, deep techno, and more "urban" (white kids w/dreads, you can read this to mean dubstep if you so desire) sounds.

There were few dynamite tracks this year, but on Chaos Restored 2, Martin manages to drop some of the best of them (e.g. Stimming's "Kleine Nacht Musik"), and like any good DJ, champions some future classics (his own "My Angelic Demons" and the Per Eckbo Orchestra's "Kodo Verano" from the red-hot Oslo imprint), which, with the bar set so low these days, qualifies this one for album of the year.

Fabric 43

Metro Area: Fabric 43 (Fabric)

I like Metro Area, and sure, a lot of other people like them too, but I do believe that a good chunk of that has had to do with the commercial success of DFA, to which the Brooklyn duo of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani owe more than just a passing kinship.

What excites me personally about Metro Area is what this Fabric chapter is all about, digging in the crates for the obscure genius shit that was dismissed as too forward thinking in its own time and playing them out with pride in 2008 and making it work.

These old records were hard to mix — trust me, I know — blending Ministry's "Work For Love" dub with ANYTHING else, and all you got was clackty clack. But it still to this day has the sickest bass line from a record made in Chicago that wasn't even technically an acid-house track.

I respect that kind of courage as these guys take the best elements of real '80s electrofunk and give a history lesson on the origins of today's electro house, minimal, and techno sounds, much like the tracks of the decade past were built on a foundation of '70s disco and funk.

Oh yeah, did I mention that these guys are loaded up with plug-ins and utilities galore and that they actually play and mix these old tracks in ways that the old masters like Larry Levan and Tony Humphries were never able, setting the old electro-funk style in a whole new context?

It's easy to dismiss this one as trend humping retro-fetishism, but if you give this one a close listen, you'll discover some re-conceptualization going on, and though Andy Warhol ain't nothing new, there's still a ton of folks who consider that guy revolutionary. That kind of art is what is going on Fabric 43, so give the boys some love.

Jason Short: "Falling In Proton" Radio Show, 11/24/08
Jason Short gave me this mix when I asked for something new from him that was also representative of the wide spectrum that his Auralism imprint is covering.

"Falling In" really dissects the core workings of the label's growing mystique, from spacey IDM to clankin' mnml. I haven't felt this entranced by sounds since the heyday of MDMA and Spacemen 3, and that's been a while, folks.

Tracks from in-house producers like Roman Stange and Eutactic are true to form, while Billy Dalessando's remix of "Ef" by Limacon, as well as the Robert Babicz track "Purple Dance," and the sublime "Therim" by Rift, take this mix to another dimension.

And though there are many nice sounds, there is still something lacking in the musicality department. When that is found, however, it will assuredly usher in the next era of the label.

Screw You EP

Kate Lawler: Leaders Of The New School 011 (LONS/Toolroom)

I have to admit that the rolling psy-trance bass line attached to an otherwise tough peak-hour techno track found on Kate Lawler's debut single "Screw You" was one of the more solid cuts this year.

That's surprising if you consider the up-and-down nature of the Leaders Of The New School imprint thus far — a point that I keep hammering home in every singles round-up I wrote this year.

This mix for the label has some nice moments as Lawler definitely knows how to program a compelling mix, even when far too many of the peak-hour cuts sound big-room cheesy and tired. But when she hits the right groove, like on the opener by Mecanique, "We're All Freaks," Chris Special's "Go Deep," and especially the aforementioned "Screw You," she is as good as it gets.

Electric 04

Agent 86: Balance pres Electric 04 (EQ)
DJ Agent 86 is a talented young buck from Down Unda, but I'm not sure how much attention this cat will get in America because the latest from this locals-only offshoot of the legendary Balance series is an urban (FYI, dread heads, this does not mean dubstep) turntablist affair.

But in lieu of the more American hip-hop or mash-up DJ/dance genres, Agent 86 plays an interesting and tasty mix of electro house, UK funky, and straight-up disco house done in that quick-mix style ala Jazzy Jeff.

At best, this is interesting but a little out of step with American listening tastes.

- Sean-Michael Yoder

Ireland and her music is really what this story is about.

When I think of Irish music, I think of Belfast and seminal artists like U2, Stiff Little Fingers, and Van Morrison who all weave a rich tapestry of the romantic poet traditions as old as the Emerald Isle itself and the modern problems that plague all divided nations.

But Northern Ireland and Belfast are also part of the UK as well as being Irish, so when acid house came sweeping across Britain it also came across the Irish Sea as well.

Us Yanks may not know it but Ireland does have a proud techno heritage rooted firmly in the Motor City as well and has spawned and nurtured a few of it's own DJ heroes along the way.

However at no time have Irish producers enjoyed such a high profile as Belfast has developed. The city now has its own sound which is finding deep kinship with us California techno heads (witness the genius of the new Timmy Stewart release on SF imprint Utensil to get thy bearings) and suddenly discovering love and open arms all over the world.

Desy Balmer, owner of Nice & Nasty, has been there since the very beginning and has an amazing perspective on this newish phenomenon. He hit it right on the head in our recent conversation-the Irish like it hard but not fast and with lots of melody.

I cannot think of a better way to describe the best releases coming out of Ireland (and therefore more favorite releases period) right now than that.

Without further ado I turn things over to Desy…

Give us a brief history of Nice & Nasty, the label has been around for a long time so please share a little background info first.

Nice & Nasty is 15 years old this year.

It was a dream of mine. At the age of 19 I got a local enterprise grant, some money from Prices’ Youth Trust and got a few heads together and decided to set up a label. Today I carry it around my neck like a cross. One day it will bring me salvation though.

The label was also a club promoter up until last year. We have released the first bits of music from Ubiquity (who went on to form Agnelli & Nelson); we released the first ever remix by Matthew B who then, with Layo Paskin, became Layo & Bushwacka; and alongside Dee Lynch’s Blue records, Mark Kavanagh’s Red imprint, and Holmes & McCready’s Sugar Sweet were the first labels to emerge from the Ireland post-rave scene.

I think that as Red, Sugar Sweet and Blue disappeared or morphed into something different we stuck around and until Eamon Doyle’s D1 and a few others that have since went off my radar.

Today though we are just the old man of the Irish sea. I have helped Richie Parker set up KKD and Diarmaid O’Meara set up Gobsmacked and through a deal with EPM got many local labels digital distribution, such as Acii Tone, Static, Skream Science, 0×3 so I think we deserve a little mention in the history of Irish electronic music.

As a DJ and promoter that’s a whole story for a different day involving touring with the Prodigy, fighting with Keith from the Prodigy (ten years later), going from acid house to drum & bass to techno. Playing techno and the odd back room session of funk and soul. Claiming to be a house DJ but playing techno. Supporting Garnier, Billy Nasty, Alex Smoke, Shades of Rhythm, DJ Sneak and Derrick Carter, N-Joi, Richie Hawtin, Octogen, and Nick Warren. Writing for various publications. Stalking Richie Hawtin (interviewed him 4 times now). Getting far too drunk. Being obnoxious and yeah getting more drunk, among other things.

Today, however, I am focused on the label 100%. I still DJ and yes I’ll play at your gig, but I no longer focus on my career as such as I really would like to have a label with a legacy of good music that fostered new artists, acts as a platform for Irish artists and stayed true to certain punk ethics, D.I.Y. traditions, and some good old fashioned parties.

Any time I got the chance of an interview I used to roll out the past achievements, but I intend on celebrating the bits we have done and concentrating on the next release, the next remix. It’s the only way, just keep moving forward, no real plan other than just find good music, get it together, maybe a remix and release it. See what the reaction is and move on to the next and the next and the next.

One day I’ll stop but until then watch this space.