Hello,
Germany's harbour city has long been famous as a hotbed for hip-hop as well as for its 'Hamburg school' of German indie rock. For the past decade however the city has become synonymous with quite a different sound: That of cutting edge house music, from the subtle experimentalism of labels like Dial and Smallville to the pop-influenced minimalism of Diynamic and Liebe*Detail.
For this newsletter we have selected some of the recent highlights from up north, such as the debut albums of three hotly tipped producers, Christopher Rau, John Roberts, and H.O.S.H., as well as new output on Tensnake's Mirau Musik label, house stalwart Dessous Recordings, and Dairmont's highly noteworthy Room With A View Imprint. |
FEATURED RELEASE
Originally hailing from the southern parts of Germany, it is no wonder that Christopher Rau has chosen Hamburg as his city of residence. His deep and fragile productions are a perfect fit with the style commonly identified as the house music sound of Germany's harbour city and championed by labels such as Dial or Smallville.
It is the latter that has picked up Christopher Rau's debut album, 'Asper Clouds', after releasing the young producer's previous collaborations with Jaques Bon, 'Cloverleaf Days,' and with Smallville's own Smallpeople group on the recent 'Meadows EP'.
Not unlike John Roberts on his recent album debut for Dial, Christopher Rau bases 'Asper Clouds' on samples of piano loops and jazz brass, around which he constructs his introspective and highly personal house music tracks.
From the playfully bleepy 'Ping To You', the slightly tongue-in-cheek cool jazz tribute 'The Cool World', to the melancholic minimal swing of the album's closing track, 'Talk', 'Asper Clouds' is a truly accomplished album from a producer we're eager to hear more of.
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MORE HAMBURG HOUSE ESSENTIALS
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Maxi-Single released 01-11-2010 on Dial
Sturdy, spacious maxi single from house heavyweight Isolée out on Dial. 'Toern' is stripped and crisp with the driest stab fluttering in and out and the title track is deeper, winding synths over a metallic shuffle, both executed in his unique timeless style. Ace.
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Holger Behn a.k.a. H.O.S.H. has been part of the Diynamic family since the label's beginning and now connects the dots for his long expected debut album. Ten tracks mash up house, minimal techno, and pop influences for a convincing package.
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Hamburg house institution Dessous releases this beauty by current shooting stars Goldwill: 'Nachtzug' starts out the EP like a steadily pulling steam train, the title track is a chord-heavy slammer, and 'Sketches' drops subtle hints of seductive acid. Hit!
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Album released 25-10-2010 on Dial
The first signing to Dial outside their close circle, John Roberts' debut album fits right in with the top-notch output they've had this year. Deftly creating luscious hues with crackly samples, melodies and old school house elements in a distinctly soulful way, it's a strong contender for house album of the year.
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Room With A View label owner Phil Dairmount teams up with Marino Berardi for this nice three tracker, offering three takes of 'Love Unltd' a solemn, Detroitish organ-house grinder, which works those filters to great effect. Recommended.
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Session Victim do it again: The Berlin-Hamburg duo of Hauke Freer and Matthias Reiling follow up their recent hit, 'Left the Building', with another EP of first-class, disco-informed house music that gets two sped-up classic house remakes by Gerd, seriously tailored for the dance-floor.
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Smallville's Smallpeople project teams up with the label's current hotshot, Christopher Rau, for 'Meadows', a perfectly reduced house hit carried by shimmering chord stabs. 'Life Aquatic' adds some extra punch to its deep house with a big 909 kickdrum. Recommended.
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Compilation released 08-10-2010 on andmusic
Hamburg's deep techno insiders' tip Audision recruit an all-star line-up to remix their recent album: John, Roberts, Arne Weinberg, Sten, Ada, Roman Flügel, Alex Smoke, Robag Wruhme, and many more deliver amazing interpretations from deep house to moody techno. Killer!
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Co-owned by current high flyer Tensnake, Mirau is hands-down one of our favourite labels at the moment. Danish superstars Kasper Bjørke & Tomas Barfod contribute some surprisingly hard-hitting slammers on their 'Superbacon EP'. Serious hit material throughout.
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Maxi-Single released 04-10-2010 on Soma
Hot on the heels of Hatikvah's debut album, 'Synchronicity', follows 'In the Spirit'. The single includes two Rod Modell / Deepchord reworks, which shine, as always, in all glittering dubtechno colours, with the bass-drum-less 'A Balmy Night Mix' particularly standing out.
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Specialising on split releases, Hamburg's Liebe*Detail imprint divides its 34th outing between Manchester's Tom Demac and Germany's Motorunit & Cassique, whose 'Black Beauty' is a nicely spaced-out synth-house piece.
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M.in contributes a dose of Frankfurt house to Hamburg's newly restarted Baalsaal imprint: Percussive DJ tool 'Who Said I'm Crazy' gets a nice and deep makeover by Luna City Express (check!), as well as a more minimal edit by newcomer Reto Ardour.
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