Articles
Andy Vaz Interview and Set
Mark O'Leary's Grønland

Albums
Acre
Arborea
Ólafur Arnalds
Kush Arora
Asura
bbcb
Steve Brand
Nick Chacona
Robert Curgenven
Cuushe
Daniell and McCombs
Delicate Noise
d'incise
Ecovillage
Danton Eeprom
Seren Ffordd
Paul Fiocco
El Fog
Koutaro Fukui
Corey Fuller
The Go Find
Ernest Gonzales
Koss
Francisco López
Ingram Marshall
Craig McElhinney
Minamo
My Majestic Star
Mystified
Nest
Nommo Ogo
Olive Oil
O'Leary - Passborg - Riis
Oy
[Post-foetus]
RPM Orchestra
Ryonkt
Richard Skelton
Slow Six
Sone Institute
Sousa & Correia
Stanislav Vdovin
Viridian Sun
Christian Zanési

Compilations / Mixes
Erased Tapes Collection II
Hammann & Janson
Leaves of Life
Music Grows On Trees
Phasen
Quit Having Fun
Scuba
Thesis Vol. 1

EPs
Aubrey
Be Maledetto Now!
DK7
Herzog
Hrdvsion
Mr Cloudy
Damon McU
Morning Factory
Neve
M. Ostermeier
R&J emp
Stanislav Vdovin

Thomas Hammann & Gerd Janson: Live at Robert Johnson Vol. 4
Live at Robert Johnson Vol. 4

Having run Robert Johnson's Liquid night in Offenbach for nine years, DJs Thomas Hammann and Gerd Janson clearly know their way around a house groove or two, and are smart enough to know that a mix can be as, if not more, seductive when it works its magic subtly rather than slamming listeners into submission. As a result, theirs isn't a banging mix but one that pulls the listener in gradually (note how smoothly Juicy Fruit's “Liferaft” eases the listener in with six soothing minutes of wah-wah guitars, syncopated house piano chords, and silken house pulsations).

At times, it's minimal in the best sense of the word—hear, for example, how deliciously DJ Du Jour's “A Fish Scene” strips itself down to little more than a crisp Kraftwerk-styled beat pattern, warm bass pulse, claps, and a simple synthesizer melody, or how Fresh Tunes#2's “W.B.W.U.”  likewise reduces itself to deep house swing and elastic bass lines. At other times, the set serves up thick, radiant slabs of cosmic disco and ecstatic house that are delectably funky and soulful (e.g., Lontano's “Lovebass,” Chez Damier's “Take It Away”). Lest a misleading impression be given, the mix does, in fact, slam in a few places too, specifically when Soundstream's “Makin' Love” and DJ Duke's “Can You Feel It” dig into their respective string-draped disco and jazzy house with feverish intensity. A couple of other things warrant mention: it's impossible not to think of “I Feel Love” by Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer when the cycling synth pattern rolls into position during Stephan G & ThePersuader's remix of Dr. Nobody's “The Big Bang Theory”; and the mix ends on a rather surprising note when Superpitcher's mix of DNTEL's “(This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan” brings things home with six luscious minutes of pure vocal pop.

February 2010