“…[Justin] Vandervolgen’s launched into the outer spaces of techno and fallen back through the roof of house music and landed on the disco master bed,” RA scribe Andy Beta wrote on the Brooklyn producer. And there Vandervolgen made himself comfortable under a soothing Balearic blanket, one might add. As his recent release for the Golf Channel imprint makes clear, Mr. Vandervolgen is a hunter of the extraordinary. His “Clapping song” is a genre-defying whirlwind of invention and a hailstorm of bliss for your dancefloor. Besides, any dj mix that features Nicholas’s super-euphoric “No more” cannot go wrong. Well, perhaps it could. But this one doesn’t.
Esther Duijn (Nowar, Exquisite)
“Johnny in despair” reiterates a voice in XDB’s edit of Aaron Carl’s “Crucified”. It’s the memorable starting point to a mix we are anyhing but in despair with. A lovely offering from the lovely Esther Duijn from Amsterdam. Which has deepness written all over it’s 64 minutes and grooves just soooo right. Perhaps you’ve come across D.A.D, her working combo with fellas Steady Douglas and Anonym? Or could it be that you witnessed her feu sacré in Amsterdam or elsewhere across Europe? Anyway, this lady here is on a roll.
Reade Truth (White Label, Wurst, Planet E)
Mesmerizing, fluid and sexually charged: The deep tech house style of Mr. Reade Truth speaks for itself in the upbeat and flawless mix he crafted for Roof.fm. The New York underground producer has a very unique disco vision which he shared with releases on both Brennan Green’s Wurst and Carl Craig’s Planet E. Also check out Reade Truth’s recent “Wonderful Division” EP with Natasha Romanova he released on his very own White Label.
Juergen Junker (Neurhythmics, Naïf)
Sometime ago at a London location, Phillip Sollmann aka Efdemin was blown away by a raw live performance. The energy emanated from the machines of one Juergen Junker, a fellow German from Heidelberg, now living in the UK. As I’ve written elsewhere on the man: “Junker may not be exactly a household name in the dance scene. But he’s anything but a rookie, releasing disco-drenched deep house on his own Neurythmics imprint since 2001.” What you can expect from this mix? It will take you back, back, back to throw early 90ties house gems (fiery divas! Todd Terry bangers!) at you and regale you with b-boy disco vibes. Almost two hours long, this is dancefloor history for your asswhiggling pleasure!
André Lodemann (Best Works Records)
Yo, this shit is hot! Not that I’m complaining about the heat wave that has been turning my rooftop apartment into a bloody furnace, but this title of a Jus-Ed classic readily jumped to mind. Also because some fine mixes are overheating my hardisk. No more dawdling, I will make them available over the next weeks. Kicking off the summer series is André Lodemann. A straightforward house pumper from the fingers of this Berlin don (whose excellent “The Light” is featured here): Fat kicks, broad salvos, grande fiesta, you know the score.
Tevo Howard (Beautiful Granville)
Is Lionel Richie house? You’d probably say no. Make no mistake, Tevo Howard might be the guy to correct you. While pointing out that out-of-towners have strange notions about what house music really means in Chicago. Who was I to argue with him, shovelling down spoonfulls of omelette that windy October evening in a café on Granville Avenue? In any case, Tevo Howard is a very nice man and he has produced some of the most gorgeous, equally raw and elegant house sound of late. For Roof.fm, Tevo very kindly took to the decks. A deejaying newcomer? Anything but that. 14-year old Tevo was quite the spinner back in the days, frequenting Chicago clubs and radio shows around 1990. So, please get down. Let’s call it house-not-house. Or pop house, as Tevo would have it.
Eddie C (7 Inches of Love)
Eddie C is something of a late bloomer: After having been behind the decks with adroit for almost two decades, the Canadian’s first record was released last year only. Since then, Edward Currelly has taken the fast lane to success: His ten releases on the lovely 7 Inches of Love imprint (which he co-runs with Canadian disco-bro The Mole), Jisco Music, Karat, Wolf Music or most recently on Kolour Recordings have earned him the tagline of being the “Canadian crown-prince of downbeat disco”. Does the man live in Berlin like so many of his fellow Canadian artists? Quite the opposite is the case. Eddie dwells in the hinterland of the Rocky Mountains. We trust it was this lush ambiance which inspired the deep and serene flow of Eddie’s techno mix - no downbeat disco, that is.
Adam Marshall (New Kanada)
ROOF.FM asked Adam Marshall to make a contribution almost two years ago – and here’s what finally came out of it: A great display of mixing skills. Adam heads for the lands of jack and echo chambers, conjuring up a bubbling fusion of fat kicks, darkly-tinged atmospheres and bittersweet melodies. If this is what the horizon of New Kanada looks like these days: We’re more than game.
Jacques Renault (DFA)
Is it just me or does this guy look like an Arthur Rimbaud kind of guy? Cliché or not, Jacques Renault has the looks that, coupled with the name, can invoke literary allusions. Dunno if he has a rebellious side, but he certainly harks from a post-punk background. In New York city, the Washington-native got a “dance music education”. Renault housed his way into my last year’s favourite list with his superb piano banger “Let’s play House”, which came out on Radio Slave’s Cabin Fever imprint. Check out this lovely mix and take a ride on the “D” Train…
Princess P (Random Acoustics)
When Move D. remarks that someone is a good DJ, you listen. In the case of Princess P, Mr. Moufang is right on the money: apart from an impeccable taste, Muriel de Bros from Berne brings a seasoned cook’s instincts and a true digger’s craving for musical gold with her. Having absolved the Red Bull Academy in 2008, Princess P started her own DJ team “Tribal Kidz” as a teen in the early Nineties, ran an underground club called Funkbunker in the bowels of Berne’s legendary World cup stadion Wankdorf and is now hosting her aptly-named Italo disco night “Dolce”. Her sets embrace the eclectic: From indietronics to disco, from Warpish techno to vintage house. Here, she delivered a rather straight and delightful house mix.
Dplay (Mild Pitch, Running Back)
Get intoxicated by this drunken-disco-deep-house-vibe: We just love this mix, it’s one of the best in the ROOF.FM series. Conceived much in the spirit of “Schroulé” and “Tschaka”, two tracks released on his “Huub Sand” EP for Running Back, Essen’s Dplay herewith gives definite proof that he’s got ‘em burning up. Slowly, as in the “Slow Club”, the night Dirk Gottwald is co-hosting with Mild Pitch colleagues Manuel Tur and Langenberg. Please don’t expect a tracklist for this one: Dirk’s suggestion was to leave it open. So, I guess it’s up to you guys to fill out the blanks…
Iori (Phonica, Prologue)
Is there any better way than to begin the year with a promising newcomer? ROOF.FM is proud to present Okinawa’s Asano Iori. I came across him by virtue of his fabulous “Galaxy” (there are still a few copies out there, also check out Iori’s recent Prologue release): A simple but beautiful dub techno piece, creating a great vibe with its askew chord patterns. It is no surprise then that Iori’s mix is exploring that deep-space, the topology of which was blue-printed by Basic Channel. Add Kenny Larkin, Reagenz, Levon Vincent or Cio d’Or to that, and you get an idea. Yes, we still like it raw, deep and slightly eccentric here, and that’s how it’s gonna stay in 2010: Keep jammin’ with us. With grooves from the ROOF.
> Download mix (6th January 2010, 320 kbps)
> Tracklist
Note: I had to lower the quality of the archived mixes to 192 kbps due to massive downloads. That is for the time being, until I find a better hosting/tracking situation. New ones will always be 320 kbps, though. So better be quick!
Santiago Salazar (Historia y Violencia, Macro)
It has been a good year for Santiago Salazar. While 2009 saw two great releases on Historia y Violencia and the Berlin based Macro Imprint, the man of Underground Resistance fame is not exactly idle at putting together mixes: Following his offerings for mnml ssgs and Little White Earbuds, this is his third podcast in 2009. Don’t miss this one: the Chicano from Los Angeles starts off with Stefan Goldmann’s remix of “Arcade”, then heads into downright techno territory to end up with El Coyote’s excellent “La Luna”, forthcoming on (Santiago’s) Ican label. By the way, Salazar has a remix for DJ Bone in the pipeline and a housy EP coming up on Wallshaker Music.
Rob Mello (Classic, Disco 45)
ROOF.FM owes to Rob Mello. It was probably his penchant for fleshy and bouncing house tracks which led to the unearthing of a long-sought-after gem: Spinning records in a Geneva club some five years ago like a true master, Rob put on the ominous banger I had been looking for ever since the early nineties. Rob told me it was a Masters at Work remix from 1992, their first ever: a simply-wrought, but super-effective cut and not surprisingly a big hit at the Soundfactory Bar at the time. Rob himself has a lot of house history on his hands: A DJ since 1985, he co-produced the first Black Science Orchestra release, was a member of Heaven & Earth, whose fine Prescription EP is now being re-issued by the fantastic Running Back imprint. Right now he is in the process of re-booting Luxury Boot Records, a label he ran with Zaki Dee in the nineties. Also watch out for Mello’s new release coming up on Disco 45.
Deetron (Music Man)
Born and bred in Berne, Sam Geiser aka Deetron still lives in the Swiss city. After all, this is home. It was in Berne that Deetron cut his teeth as a teenage hip-hop DJ while Berne’s Phont label (formerly run by Stefan “Morris Audio” Riesen) released his first 12inch as Soul Mate. Then again, Deetron’s career as a three-deck wizard kicked off during the mid-nineties in Zurich, at Trax club in the Rohstofflager. Another testament to his uncanny skills is this mix recorded live some weeks ago at Bologna’s Cassero club.
Frivolous (Scape, Karloff)
The story goes like this: Daniel Gardner AKA Frivolous spent five months in a cabin on a small and probably deserted island. When the hubbub of Berlin had him again, it took him a while to readjust and complete this podcast for ROOF.FM, which Daniel painfully dubbed as his “Get back the Bliss” mix. Understandably, after such a Crusoesque timeout from all beats electronic. And shame on us, it took us even longer to make it available. Expect nothing less than the sublimely adventurous: This is a great booty shaker.
Kai Alcé (NDATL, Real Soon)
The house music of Kai “KZR” Alcé is an intimate affair: So sweet, quirkily melodic and, well, deep. So recognizably Kai Alcé. The Atlanta producer has developped his unique voice with a dozen of releases on his own NDATL imprint, Mahogany Music or the Real Soon imprint. KZR’s mix for ROOF.FM will take you back into Garage territory, via that stellar LCD Soundsystem song, a Deelite classic and good old Herbert.
> Download mix (23rd of September 2009)
> Tracklist
Chaton (Plak)
«91+ Ahead Session 1.5» is an odd charmer: Positively jubilant, it features a screechy trumpet sample over a raw and stomping drum groove. This track - released last autumn on the Plak imprint - would have marched straight into the ROOF.FM best list of 2008, had we ever compiled such a list. Conceived by one Stef Chaton, the release is typical for the fine dance aesthetics this Geneva artist has been promoting and encouraging with his Plak label and the equally-named record store (which is one of the few remaining quality outlets in Switzerland). Uniting recent burners by Levon Vincent or Efdemin with the legacy of Relief and Nu Groove, Chaton’s mix for ROOF.FM elegantly unfolds in the hazy borderzone between classicist house and vintage techno.
Jeroen Search (Figure SPC, Smallville)
All the way through his artistic trajectory, Jeroen Search has been cultivating an unadulterated love for techno. Minimal techno, that is. The Dutch producer sees himself in the tradition of Robert Hood, the originator of this so utterly misinterpreted dance genre. Search’s puristic path - he sticks to analogue equipment - has led him to put out releases on his own label Search, Jeff Mills’ Axis realm and more recently on Hamburg’s Smallville or Len Faki’s Figure SPC. Presenting previously unreleased stuff, Jeroen’s ROOF.FM mix is an airy yet cavernous summer round-trip: It will have you dance in your livingroom as if you were on that mountain slope, that secluded bay, that grand forest clearing.
Rebolledo (Cómeme, Kompakt)
“It’s a special disco-style, his, ehm, very own Rebolledo sound” says Matias Aguayo of Mexican DJ Rebolledo. We were curious, indeed, after we saw the guy, well, frenetically banging these sticks on a rusty ton in the gorgeous video of “Pitaya Frenesí“. His mix for ROOF.FM is more than revealing: Rough and jacking, melodic and eccentric. From Grandmaster Flash to Justus Köhncke, it holds an amazingly inspired blend of music. Not surprisingly, the parties at Mauricio Rebolledos own little club TOPAZdeluxe in Monterrey are rumoured to be legendary. Just take a look at the picture. Life must be great playing that guitar under the Mexican disco sky.
Anonym (Sushitech, Bloop)
There is little information to be gathered in the web on the “one who is anonymous”. Is he the Man with the White Face, then? One could argue that contemporary strategies of techno masquerading (Redshape, for one) are always slightly embarassing in their ostensibly sooo-serious-we-hark-back-to-the-days-attitude. But who really bothers when the music is simply that good? Anonym, for another example, has delivered one of the most euphoric house tracks of the last year (”I can’t stop loving you” on Bloop). And so much we have learnt: His short liveset for ROOF.FM is an homage to Detroit.
Planetary Assault Systems (Ostgut Ton, Peacefrog)
There’s nothing like the gurgling, metallically clanging percussion monsters Planetary Assault Systems has been dishing out over the past twenty years. This is top notch techno, after all. But as Luke Slater’s album “Temporary Suspension” proves, it’s also a refreshing take on the fast and banging sound that PAS stands for. It comes as no surprise that Slater releases this album on the Ostgut Ton label; Slater holds a residency in the famed Berghain club. Fasten your seat belts for this relatively short (but nonetheless satisfying) mix.
Secondo (Dreck, Soul Jazz)
A term commonly used in Switzerland, the word “Secondo” denominates a migrant’s child, someone who grows up in a country other than this parents did. Radovan Scasiasca was born to his Italian-Serbian parents and raised in Zürich, where he trained to become an architect but later chose to persevere his musical career in London under the monikers Secondo and AM/PM. By his very own method of micro-sampling, Scasiasca is cutting house tracks that build an atmosphere of the beautifully estranged. Secondo’s mix for ROOF.FM is likewise breathtaking, uniting productions from the likes of Harmonious Thelonious, Omar S., Sensorama, Move D. or the Prescription People.
Anton Zap (Uzuri, Quintessentials)
Continuity is a virtue. But it’s somewhat coincidental (early delivery) that we welcome Anton Zap in our midst right after his brother-in-music Jus-Ed. Having emerged on the scene only two years ago, the young Russian producer has been responsible for a couple of cool releases that have updated the deep house formula with that touch of Russian melancholy. His offering for ROOF.FM is no exception here: drenched in lush harmonies, Anton’s mix flows by as if in a dream.
Jus-Ed (Underground Quality)
Edward McKeithen is not only a prolific and very-much-in-demand producer, he also hosts his regular Underground Quality radio show in New York. And NYC underground radio is where it’s at: Jus-Ed infused his soulful mix for ROOF.FM with the arresting charm of his voice. Dedicated to the people on the roof as he likes to have it. Well, the rooftop boogie people bow their heads to Mr. McKeithen. How could we ever forget about the “sexy side of this thing” called house music? Check it out: You better get that feelin’.
Kassem Mosse (Workshop, Mikrodisko)
Howard Thomas - Untitled - Sound Signature
Lords of Afford - Wasteland Britain - Sabrettes
Baby Ford & the I-fach Collective - Tea Party - Playhouse
Lenell Stevens - Curly Warp 94 - Djax-Up
Hieroglyphic Being - Kilometer Zero - Apnea
Various Artists - 8 (Ae Mix) - Fatcat
2ls - Circulation - Warp
Alter Ego - Lycra - Harthouse
Alois Huber - Ezk - Sabotage Rec.
Blaze - Lovelee Dae - Eigth Miles High Mix
Tim Harper - Earthquake - Djax-Up
Patrick Pulsinger - Care - Disko B
Acid Scout - Balance - Disko B
Don Williams (Mojuba, a.r.t.less)
Unknown Artist: 12 Inch Tools
Patrice Scott: Far Away (Mike Edge Remix)
Various: Endless House Tools 1 of 9
Rezkar: Arabian Nights
Omar S: Blown Valvetrane
Scan 7: You Have The Right (Accapella Mix)
Kerri Chandler: Pong (Bones & Strings Dub)
Norman Nodge: ManMade
Gowentgone: Love And Respect (Oracy Mix)
Loco Dice - Black Truffles In The Snow (Mike Huckaby Mix)
Martin Luther King Jr: A Preacher Leading His Folck
Wbeeza: War Fear
Octave One: Night Illusion
Convextion: Untitled
Ben Klock: Gold Rush
Various: House Tools 1 of 9
Norman Nodge (MDR, Ostgut Ton)
Atypic: Blah
Equalized: Equalized # 2
Silent Phase: Meditive Fusion (Kenny Larkin Mix)
Low Low: Low Pressure
User: User 09 -User
Adonis pres. Pop Dell Arte: No Way Back (Nu-Disco Long Player)
Norman Nodge: Attitudes
G-Man: Quo Vadis
Pasta Boys: Moonraker
Najemsworb: Not Only
Gary Martin: Black Forest
Stephen Brown: Jackin Off
Unit Moebius: Let´s Go
DJ ESP: Skip
Christian Bloch: Paradigm
Robert Hood: Loft
Mat Nordstrom: Lucky Drawls
Tyche: Scald
Sub Space: Chain Reaction
The Analogue Cops a.k.a. Xenogears: Uap
Superkord: Untitled
Casey Hogan: Rhythm Arps
Shadow Sync: Cartoon
Vakula (Uzuri, Quintessentials)
Moodymann: The Thief That Stole My Sad Days …
Franck Roger: When Animals Manifest
Moodymann: Untitled
Slowhouse: One - Untitled
DJ Sprinkles: Sloppy 42nds (Glorimar’s Deeperama)
Mr. Fingers: Distant Planet
Kelli Hand: Holding On
Omar S: Oasis #4
Omar S: Oasis Two
D. DePorres & Theo Parrish: Subterranean
Joe Farrell Quartet: Collage For Polly
Tonio Rubio: Bass In Action N°7
TheFeelings: Feeling Tense
Bob Azzam: Rain Rain Go Away
John McLaughlin: Fallow Your Heart
Duminie: Dark Matters’ feat Umar Bin Hassan
Wandler (Motoguzzi)
Function - Isotope
Goldwill - One Bill (Sascha Dive Mix)
Holgi Star - Not for Me
Channel X - Hot Candy
Rose & Ulysses - Promethée
A.mochi - Harvester
Adam Beyer & Agaric - California Gold
Function - Burn
Reboot - Assign the Source
Gel Abril - Spells of Yoruba
Cassy - Idle Blues
Omar S. (FXHE)
Dave Angel - Airborne (Carl Craig’s Drums Suck Mix)
Reese & Santonio - Structure
Chez Damier - Help Myself
Omar S - Blade Runner
Omar S - Micronesia
David Wulle & Andy Garcia
Scott Grooves - Only 500
Omar S - In Side My Head)
M.K. - Somebody New
Unknown - Unknown
Unknown - Unknown
The Temptations - Your Wonderful Love
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Doggone Right
Four Aims - Still Water
Thomas Fehlmann (Kompakt, Flowing)
There are only a handful of Swiss citizens that have been as instrumental in the evolution of electronic dancemusic as Thomas Fehlmann. Palais Schaumburg, The Orb, Teutonic Beats, 3MB or Kompakt are important stations in Fehlmann’s career. Born and bred in Zürich, Fehlmann left for Germany in the early 70s. The producer of the Berlin radio fixture Ocean CLub has compiled a selection of his more recent productions for ROOF.FM.
The Mountain People DJs (Mountain People)
“Get offline. Take a walk.” The Myspace-page of the Zurich electronic duo Mountain People parades a nature-loving message. A piece of advice we like to embrace, especially when coming from veteran club entertainers André “Rozzo” Schmid and Philippe “Serafin” Egger. After all, the everyday interruption folly of digital media is not exactly what one would call beneficiary to our concentration capacity. So, let’s pack that rucksack and head for the peaks. Respectively: the deeps. The mix of the Mountain People DJs in your ear. How, where, when? On ROOF, the new platform for electronic music from Switzerland, and not only from Switzerland.