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Hood Music

I'm not a fan of acting as a press officer's mouthpiece, but I think there will be genuine interest in this from some of the site's visitors - the tracklist for Rob Hood's Fabric mix CD, 'Fabric 39'...

01 Monobox - Silicone Fingers – Logistic
02 Element 9
03 Robert Hood – Who Taught You Math – Peacefrog
04 Pacou – X-Factor – Cache
05 Robert Hood – Strobe Light – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
06 Marco Lenzi – Taboo – Molecular
07 Joris Voorn – Fever [Rephrased] – Keynote
08 Fab G – Bust The Vibes [Real Disco Mix] – Grand Prix
09 Dan March – Sandune – Meta
10 Element 3
11 Diego – Mind Detergent [Robert Hood Remix] – Kanzleramt
12 Jeff Mills – Skin Deep – Axis
13 Robert Hood – School – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
14 Element 23
15 John Thomas – Mr. Funk – Logistic
16 DJ Skull – Informant – Hypnotic Tones
17 Scorp – One Side – Music Man/N.E.W.S
18 Pacou – All It Takes – Cache
19 Phase – Mass – N.E.W.S.
20 UK Gold – Agent Wood - [Adam Beyer Remix] – New Records
21 Solid Decay – Legalize! - Lessismore
22 Element 7
23 Robert Hood – Side Effect – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
24 Mion- Drop The Filter – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
25 Scorp – New Energy – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
26 UK Gold – Agent Wood [Original Mix] – New Records
27 Robert Hood – Still Here [Los Hermanos Remix] – Music Man/N.E.W.S
28 John Thomas – Pulp Funktion 2 – Logistic
29 Robert Hood – The Greatest Dancer – M-Plant
30 Low Life – Exclamation - Mosaic
31 Robert Hood – And Then We Planned Our Escape – Music Man/N.E.W.S.
32 Element 12

Hand Stamp of Approval

Here's an anamoly for 2008: the re-appearance of the hand-stamped, anonymous techno 12-inch. I know, we've been here many times before: anyone who was seduced by Basic Channel - one of my inroads into techno was the label's compilation, which had a gritty grey rendering of the BC 'logo' on a pure white background - and Schatrax or more recently, by Sleeparchive's output, will be au fait with the concept of the hand-stamped inlay as a powerful anti-image. If you're willing to go back further, punk had its fair share of hand-stamped releases, part of a DiY ethic that is still prevalent in techno music nowadays (although it could be argued that nowadays, the ultimate DiY statement is to release music on your own netlabel and to eschew physical product alltogether - see below for the counter-argument). The two releases that typify this return to basics are the latest Cyclical Tracks release, 'The Essentual' (sic) and 'Equalized Part 1'. Both were procured from that bastion of techno purism, Hardwax, and both follow a simple yet effective line in dancefloor functionalism, repetitive grooves that sound like an amalgamation of hypnotic dubby techno -  BC again raise their shadowy heads -  and a slower and more palatable take on the looped techno rhythms that were so popular at the start of this decade. In the case of the Cyclical Tracks series, we at least know that the label comes from Spain and there are artist names credited on this latest EP  -  Vera and Mara Trax. But we don't even get that far with 'Equalized', whose white inlay and promo-style stamp gives no clue about the author. Techno artists have a long, and often lucrative relationship with staying in the shadows and remaining enigmatic, but rather than merely copying UR and Basic Channel's mysterious approach, these two hand-stamped, vinyl-only releases send out a different message. In an age when it's possible to find out about and digitally acquire the work of even the most obscure producers with a few mouse clicks, both releases are afforded an all-too rare anonymity by operating outside the newly-formed distribution parameters and doing things the old-school DiY way and . 'Come and find us if you can' they seem to suggest, because music should be discovered, not force fed to its fans like a commodity.

New Cisco System

So according to Mnml Ssgs, Cisco, one of Tokyo's leading techno record stores has closed its doors. It's more bad news for vinyl, but is the picture as bleak as the guys who run the blog claim it to be? They make the point that Japan/Tokyo is one of the last bastions for vinyl culture and that this closure signals the beginning of the end for crate digging and vinyl buying in the city. I visited Tokyo once. Admittedly, it was five years ago and it was only for a few days, but even during that whirlwind visit, I couldn't help but notice the vast number of specialist record stores (it was like the city was too well served). It seemed like crate diggers' heaven - indeed, the promoter who I was with told me that Francois K and Derrick May used to come to the city for exactly this purpose - but maybe the situation has changed in the interim. Of course, Cisco hasn't closed entirely: it will continue as an online operation, focusing its efforts in a country with a huge youth population with siginificantly high disposable incomes and the most advanced technologies and highest broadband penetration rate in the world, so to assume that it's gone forever is wrong. It simply marks a move toward further consolidation of the vinyl market and will join other (and hopefully for Cisco, as lucrative) operations like Juno, Nuloop and Decks. The other point about clubbing in Tokyo - how true is this? Maniac Love is no more, but wasn't it always a small 200-capacity party? Is it really such a significant loss - what's the situation in the bigger clubs like Womb etc? Remember, things have to get better before they get worse (or before they get even worse)...

He's quite a Sim card

Things take a tougher turn this Tuesday afternoon as Ben Sims drops in for a chat. One of the (many) highlights of this year's Bloc Weekend, Ben Sims has a passion for old school electro and Chicago house, while his no-nonsense, chopped up DJing, cheeky, sample-heavy 'Killa Bite', 'Manipulated' and 'Hardgroove' records as well as his Theory label have made him one of techno's global techno players. Never afraid to speak his mind, Mr Sims waxes lyrical about his love for vinyl, why he doesn't want to be viewed as a techno DJ and what his new mix CD sounds like.

You have a reputation for being quite opinionated...
"I can be quite opinionated, so I'm glad I have a reputation for speaking my mind. Life's too short to keep quiet about what you feel."

Is the music industry a place with an especially high bullshit factor?
"Admittedly, there can be a lot of bullshit and bullshiters in this scene. It's hard to know who you can trust and how to seperate real friends and 'industry' friends. I'm very wary of people now, there's alot of users out there."

Do you ever regret that you didn't make it as an electro/hip-hop DJ rather than a techno DJ - or has what you do now got more longevity?
"Sadly, I simply wasn't good enough as a hip-hop DJ, my skills stopped around 1988 and I haven't had the time or dedication to move beyond that. Turntablism requires patience, which I only have in very short supply. I loved hip-hop, breakin, the whole scene, but there's no future in just spinning old music because for me every genre has its golden era and the period of hip-hop/electro I'm passionate about is 20 years old now, so progressing to something else is only natural. I chose to play techno, I liked the energy and raw funk of the music, but I don't class myself as a techno DJ, I'm just a DJ, and right now, I play techno. It's what I'm known for, but hopefully people recognise that I'm not just a one-trick pony."

What is the situation with Theory - it hasn't released much new music lately. Has it been affected badly by the general downturn in sales and distros going bust?
"I actually cut two new Theory records in late December and I'm very happy with them. I didn't release any Theory beats last year, so it feels like the right time now. As a DJ, I receive far less vinyl promos now as more and more people are going down the digital route, which is understandable the way things are now. I just prefer vinyl and playing CDs just doesn't do it for me, so having new records is important. Even if they only break even or lose a bit of money it's worth doing to show it's still what I'm about. I've lost thousands through distributors going bust and it can be very hard sometimes, but I've never released music just to make money, it's not the motivating factor and as long as people, many or few, buy them, it's a still positive move to put them out."

You’re still a vinyl advocate/lover/DJ: is this something that is becoming more and more difficult? Do you ever see a situation where you will only release music digitally?
"I haven't really embraced the digital side of things yet. My next few releases will be the first that are available for download as well as on vinyl, so I'll just see how things go. It seems enivitable that one day vinyl will die and digital will be the only way, but for now it's still my main focus. Real DJs play records as far as I'm concerned."

In a recent interview, you said that most modern minimal was 'soulless and full of lame FX'. Wasn't most loopy/tribal techno quite samey and soulless as well- and this is why people stopped listening to it and playing it?.
"Whenever any formula is repeated endlessly and bastardised, it becomes soulless. Styles get popular and people jump on bandwagons, it's the nature of the beast and I wouldn't try and defend the hundreds of loopy nothing records I receive because obviously there's shite in every genre of dance music and a lot of people missed the point with the whole tribal/loop thing. For me, it was about sampling records from my youth, bringing elements of music that I loved into my tracks or digging hard for samples from 70s and 80s raw percussion or drum heavy disco records, not just using a fucking sample CD. That's just lazy and for people without heritage. As soon as that sound became popular, people jumped on it and most of these artists are now doing minimal because that's what's in now. If country and western became the new thing then they'd make that too, idiots! But yeah, most minimal does nothing for me, I'm not against it as a concept of music, yeah strip it to its essential basics but you have to keep the groove, the funk, without that it's just not music. So many miminal tracks just don't have anything in them that interests me, a kick, a hat, bleep, an echo, an reverb, that's not funky enough for me, too empty. There are some great minimal artists who know how to make it, sadly they are a rare breed."

Are you still putting on parties in London? Were you never tempted to move to a country where you are far more popular as a DJ, say like Spain, and where what you do is more popular? With the exception of Lost and a few other nights like your own, London has never really been techno central.
"I still persist with doing parties in London. The last one was with Ken Ishii, The Advent, Paul Mac, Vince Watson and Colin Dale. It was very successful so there is a crowd here, just not that many. Again, it was never really a money thing doing the parties, I just got frustrated that I didn't have anywhere I played regularly in London that felt like home or a residency. Also the only place I ever saw DJs I like or am friends with was on the road, so it seemed a good idea to start something. Sometimes it's frustrating when you put on a line up that would be a 10,000 people festival elsewhere in Europe and you only get 1,200 here, but that's just London, it's never been the capital of techno and it's never been particularly fashionable to like techno here. I kind of like that though. Yeah, I've thought many times about moving to other countries or cities to make my travelling easier, maybe one day I will. Right now, I know there's still more things I wanna do in London and I still kinda miss it when I'm not here."

Are you still as popular as ever as a DJ in places like Spain and eastern Europe - or has minimal become more popular in these places too?
"Minimal has exploded everywhere, but I think in the long run, it has been good for me to stick to my style. There was a period where gigs slowed up and that's probably why so many other DJs jumped on it. There were many clubs that stick to their guns though, and many that won't even book minimal now because as every club is doing it, it doesn't fill venues like it did. There has been more of a merging of the two scenes recently too, which I definitely think is positive. In the same way that minimal all night is boring, so is tougher stuff. Well, so is everything. Mixing up different styles in a night is how it should be."

Are there any upcoming producers that you would tip at the moment?
"Quince from Holland is very promising, making clubby, emotive Detroit-flavoured techno and electronica. I'm looking forward to see how he progresses. On the tougher end of things, Kazu Kimura is doing some really interesting stuff, playing lots by him right now. Norman Chung from Singapore is coming up nicely with the more sample driven/loop based stuff, definitely worth checking out if that's your bag."

You’re about to release a mix CD, your first in quite a while and includes material from 2000 & One, Shinedoe, Redshape, Educutuion and DJ 3000. Are these the kind of producers who are making great records and pushing techno forward at the moment?
"Yeah the mix has quite a mix of artists, some new, some old, different styles, a lot of the producers I've been really into over the past couple of years are in the mix. I think the way to push techno forward is incorporate elements of various styles, to keep it interesting, techno isn't just 'bang bang', it never started out like that. "

There is also some older stuff from Tyree and DJ Funk on the mix: is it important for you to play older stuff? You’re a big fan of Chicago house and techno - does it continue to influence what you do?
"Admittedly it's hard for me not to drop older stuff. I'm a huge fan of old Chicago stuff and always try to play something in my sets, whether it's an original or a re-edit. I don't want to just focus on what's new as so much great stuff has come before it. If I want to get in the mood to make a mix CD or even start a track, sometimes I just have a little mix up of old records to get my groove on. It's not always Chicago house, could be anything, disco, soul, hip-hop... just something to get my head nodding before I've even started, maybe even just do an edit of an old track. A few of the re-edits I've been dropping for a while should see the light of day on theory soon (DJ Rush being the first). I just think that a lot of the funk and energy of music has been lost in the digital age, so I surround myself with music from the past 30 years whenever possible. It's an overused statement but one eye on the future, one on the past pretty much sums me up."

Age-old Techno

Jeff Mills said a few years ago that he was making and releasing music for an ageing audience - does this hold true for techno generally nowadays? I'm not sure if this statement is 100% correct, but there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that there is some truth in what he said - and that it's not a lazy generalisation. When techno, acid house or whatever you want to call it first exploded, it sucked in a large proportion of the generation that was then in its teens and early 20s. The shift in culture at the time was so seismic that it was hard not to feel seduced by something genuinely new sounding. Nearly twenty years later, what passes for 'youth' (although that word seems obselete for this post!) or 'popular' culture is a huge mish-mash of styles and genres.
Where clear divisions once existed, fragmentation is now the key characteristic and the house-techno microcosm shows the most interesting demographic imbalances. While some people went off and had kids, bought a house and settled down, others just kept going. Berlin is now one of the world capitals of techno (and, though less documented, a house capital too). While cheap rent and non-existent licensing laws are usually cited as the main factors for Berlin's status, one other reason is rarely talked about. It's the capital city of a country where no one has kids any more. Germany has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe and, if you go to a club in Berlin or to a club in any other major German city for that matter - or even take a look at the 'Feiern' DVD if you don't want the hassle of leaving your sitting room - it's obvious that the age profile is much higher there than in a club in Ireland or the UK. At this point, I don't want to explain why this happening because I'm not a sociologist and even if I was, any explanation would be shaky at best: do Germans just want to have more fun and less responsibility than the rest of us? Do they think that techno is more important than kids? Or are they unable to have kids or have them when they are older - it is true that in the 'old' EU states, fertility rates are falling and people are leaving it longer and longer to have kids. so maybe this is explanation for Germany's older techno profile. Contrast this situation to Ireland and the UK, where the clubs are usually full of people in their teens to late 20s with just a sprinkling of thirtysomethings in the room - is this because these societies dictate that we buy houses rather than rent apartments and therefore we have to get a 'real' job and a mortgage, knuckle down and knock techno on the head at an earlier stage?
My cursory knowledge of Spanish clubs suggests to me that a relatively similar age profile exists there as in Ireland and the UK, even though there is a stronger rent culture but also, paradoxiacally, falling birth rates. Adding to this confusion is the greatest unknown factor, those people who still listen to techno but who don't go out anymore - after all, tempos have been dropping steadily since the late 90s, and the current whatever you want to call it minimal/techno/deep house fusion could be just as pleasing a soundtrack to do the ironing to...

Prosumer recreation

Following on from my original post about the wonderful album by Prosumer & Murat Tepelli, the good folks at Ostgut Ton have provided a free download from 'Serenity' to whet your appetite. Check out the rather beautiful, trippy 'Go Silla' here for a taste of what to expect when it drops. Something sweet for nothing on a wet Thursday afternoon...

Can't get no Sleep

They seek them here, they seek them there, those trainspotters seek Sleeparchive everywhere! Ever since the first anonymously packaged Sleeparchive record appeared a few years back, these droning, bleeping hypnotically repetitive tracks have become an essential part of any self-respecting techno DJ's armoury. Clearly influenced by the early to mid-90s school of minimalism, Sleeparchive records - and the odd remix for Monolake and Bpitch Control - still sound distinctive, taking the Finnish/Detroit blueprint a few quantum leaps forward. Scheduled to play the Bloc Weekend, I caught up with Sleeparchive's official 'frontman', Roger Semsroth, who in a rare interview, talks Hardwax, laptops and anonymity.

You are closely affiliated with Hardwax: did the shop help you discover a lot of the music that influenced the Sleeparchive sound?
"When I started listening to more and more techno-related music 10 years ago, I bought my records in many different shops in Berlin. But after a while, I thought that there is no need to go to any other shop than Hardwax. I found all the music I was looking for in the shop and I also liked the atmosphere at Hardwax. Over the years, some of the people at Hardwax became very good friends of mine. But I think the music that influenced me most for Sleeparchive I bought on eBay - I was not into techno in 1993 when the first Sähkö stuff was released."

Do you think generally, Hardwax has been an important supporter of techno in Europe?
"In many threads, when people ask for good shops around the world, many people have Hardwax in their list, so I think the shop is really important for many people."

Would you say that the back catalogue of Sähkö was as big or a bigger influence than Plus 8, Plastikman and Detroit producers like Dan Bell and Rob Hood on Sleeparchive?
"Rob Hood is great music, but was never an influence. Also, Plus 8 was never my cup of tea. It's mainly Mika Vainio on Sähkö, Plastikman and yes, Dan Bell is a genius!"

Do you think in turn that Sleeparchive's music has influenced emerging artists? I bought a record on Sandwell District by Function recently that had the same kind of bleeps and tones as your work....
"I think he was inspired by Mika Vainio as well, but it's actually a really great record! By the way, every Sandwell District is fantastic so far."

There seems to be a split nowadays in techno between people who make new school minimal and those, like you, who make music that is rooted in the sound that emerged in the 90s. Do you agree that there is such a division?

"I really don't care :) I don't follow so-called minimal music these days."

Apparently, you were not involved in one of the Sleeparchive records: how many people are actually in Sleeparchive and who are they?
"We are 3 people at the moment. I really don't wanna talk about the other two as I know they don't want me to!"

You have also remained quite mysterious, never having your photo taken. Is it important for techno artists to have a sense of mystery?
"This mystery thing is a bit strange to me. I have a website, I have e-mail, I play concerts. The only thing I don't like is to see myself in a picture. I think a picture of the artist has nothing to do with his music."

You use a laptop when you play live - do you also use only software when you produce? What is your view on using analogue equipment vs software?
"It's another thing I really don't care much about, but it's really funny sometimes. Everyone is using mobile phones, nearly everyone is listening to music on their i-Pods, everyone is using the internet and so on, but if it comes to equipment, people make something evil of modern technology. That's strange sometimes. I listen to music I like. I don't care much how the music was made."

More recently, your work has focused on non-dance floor tones and sounds ('Antti-Rannisto'): is this a direction that you see yourself moving into more and more in the future?
"Yes, I think my next release will sound more or less similar to my five tracks on that CD. We also have some great tracks from people around the world we are going to release next year. A lot of those tracks does not have a bassdrum. It's music you can dance to if you like, but it makes more sense just to listen to it."

Pierce of the action

Minus gets its fair share of critcism -  some of it is deserved, some unmerited -  but I'm standing by a post I made last summer: Troy Pierce is the label's strongest asset. The reason that I'm reiterating this claim is because I've just listened to a mix he did for Proton Radio (I found it on a new-ish blog, the strangely-named but recommended  Minimal Sausages). Anyway, you won't hear any hamsters' fart-style beats or heavy FX on this set, just dark, searing rhythms, noirish electro and Pierce's penhant for electronic music's Gothic elements. I's even go as far as saying that this mix  is better than anything he's produced -  have a listen and see what you think...

Angelic upstarts

Last year was a good one for off-centre electronic music. Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu put out some of 2007's best albums - Boxcutter, Neil Landstrumm and U-ziq - and the Aphex-affiliated Rephlex also scored with 'Eksel' by D'Arcangelo. The work of two Italian brothers, its mixture of glitchy abstraction, electro drums and trippy Italo melodies has made it something of a slow-burner. One of the many acts to play Bloc, I managed to prise the boys away from their computers - and got some tongue in cheek answers in return...

What's it like to work together seeing as you are brothers? Do you have any
arguments when you are working on the studio?
"No, we are always straight in there, kicking the balls."

Are there any other brothers or sisters in your family?
"Yes, we are quadruplets, and there are two other brothers who perform our
PAs from time to time."

Is D'Arcangelo your real name or a stage name? Does it mean 'dark angel' in
Italian?
"It is our one and only real birth name so we see ourselves as that as a
result."

You have been making music for over ten years - what inspired you in the first place?
"Actually our first release was more than 15 years ago. We've been making music since the 80s, it's our chosen form of self-expression beyond visual art, writing etc. We are inspired by many aspects of our universe. Our thoughts and feelings and interactions."

Was Marco Passarani and the Nature organisation an inspiration for you when you were starting up?
"No, we give respect to him/them, but we had already started before that hook-up."

Does Italy have a healthy electronic music scene?
"Healthy? Everywhere has a scene, sometimes it's small and concentrated,
sometimes on more of a mass scale. We don’t like to nationalize music."

You didn't release a lot of material for a few years - from 2002 to 2006. Were you working in day jobs or did you just want to take a break?
"We released a handful of tracks and did some touring. We are always making music; making it a commercial product is not the main objective. We are also involved in industrial and aesthetic design as well as computer programming, when it suits us."

You say on your MySpace that you sound like "two old gits pretending to be deaf". You don¹t look that old in your pictures - are you?!
"All the D'Arcangelo brothers are now 55 years old, but we have a regenerative disorder that keeps us looking young."

I like your music because it mixes up a lot of older electronic styles but also brings your own approach to it  - is this your aim?
"There is no aim. It is just like breathing or making love. It's an impulse. We don't like to find ourselves repeating ourselves or reaching conclusions that are not unique."

I really like 'Eksel' because it focuses a lot on melodies  - was it a conscious decision to make a softer, more melodic sound?
"No. have you heard 'Broken Toys Corner'?"

Are you playing live at Bloc? What kind of set will you play -  harder than the album?
"Depends what mood the kids are in, but we don't have to decide now. It will be musically special."

What are your next release plans -  hopefully it won¹t be such a big break until the next release...
"Make us an offer, we'll see."

Syntaxed

It's only ten days old, but already, 2008 has claimed its first victim, according to Tom and friends. On first appearances, it suggests more doom and gloom for that tiny part of the worldwide music industry that electronic music accounts for, but as Tom points out, this development is part of a necessary bloodletting process rather than something more sensationalist. Like Pipecock, I'm still a vinyl buyer and, as he suggests, high vinyl prices have meant that non-digital consumers have become far more picky about their purchases. It's a fair point: ten years ago, when I didn't even have a quarter of the disposable income that I do now, I bought far more records. Maybe that's because there were a number of great underground music stores in Dublin at the time and it had also something to do with the fact that at the time, I was on a journey of discovery, educating myself about electronic music. Nowadays, I am more inclined to only buy fewer records (always online too: I love Hardwax, but I will always miss that personal touch, when a friendly buyer - yes, they do exist - will pull out a rare gem from under the counter that never made it onto the shelves), but I make sure to choose more astutely, making sure that these are timeless records, music that I intend to come back to in ten years time and still love. Of course music, like art, fashion or literature is beholden to a set of cylical circumstances: as Tom also points out, the same kind of shake-up will inevitably affect digital distributors in the year ahead, with the result that digital collectors will also become more picky. In the meantime, here's a question for users of services like Beatport, etc who were originally vinyl collectors: do these websites' lower prices mean that you find yourself buying more music - or do you buy the same amount and save yourselves more money? I'd be interested in hearing your answers...