| As Stefan Robbers digs deep in the vaults of Eevo Lute Muzique to unearth some early techno treasures and re-release them in remastered form, we take a closer look at the history of Eindhoven's legendary techno label. |
  
Even before Amsterdam and Rotterdam the small Dutch town of Eindhoven became one of the main focal point for 90s techno music in the Netherlands. Saskia Slegers' Djax-Up-Beats provided an early outlet for unsigned local artists and quickly became a hotbed for the entire Dutch techno scene. One of the label's first signings was young Stefan Robbers a.k.a. Terrace, who recorded five of the label's first ten releases.
Djax-Up-Beats quickly became the major European outlet for the rough and acidic sound of Chicago House, and while Robbers remained an active contributor to the label during that period - crafting classic remixes for the likes of Mike Dunn and Armando, with his own productions as Terrace and as part of the Acid Junkies - his real passion lay with the more subtle and mellow electronic sounds coming from Detroit. So as early as 1991, together with partner Wladimir M., Robbers set up a label to explore this direction of music under his own creative control: Eevo Lute Muzique.
The label's first productions all came from a small roster of artists: Dylan Hermelijn under the name 2000 and One, just now at the peak of his popularity with his 100% Pure and Intacto labels, Ross 154 a.k.a. Jochem Peteri, today well known as Newworldaquarium, Erwin 'Max404' Van Moll, and of course Wladimir M. and Robbers themselves, the latter first under the name Florence, before moving his original Terrace alias from Djax-Up-Beats to his own label.
Those first productions quickly established Eevo Lute as one of Europe's leadings outlets for sophisticated techno music. They also attracted the attention of Detroit's Carl Craig and a partnership with his label Planet E was established, with many releases appearing on both labels and Craig himself contributing to Eevo Lute's first label compilation Agenda 21. After seven years and over 30 releases Robbers and Manshanden put the label on hold in 1998 to dedicate themselves to diverse other projects, but in 2002 Eevo Lute was brought back into the action with batteries recharged and an unchanged dedication to deep and emotional techno - evident in striking productions like Terrace's 'City Sounds' and The Moderator's 'Reversed Evolution'. Recently Eevo Lute has further broadened its musical focus with its digital-only sublabel Eevo Next, releasing deep housy and downtempo listening music by artists like Estroe, Grandcru, The Moderator and of course Terrace himself. Now in 2008 Robbers has finally raided the vaults of Eevo Lute, re-releasing some long lost treasures from the label's glorious back-catalogue, carefully restored and remastered to meet the standards of modern day productions. The series commences with the very two releases that started the label in 1991: Robbers own 'US Heritage' and Wladimir M.'s 'As The Leaves Fall From The Trees', previously two highly sought after collectors' items. A solid 17 years after its inception Eevo Lute Muzique seems undeterred in bringing its trademark sound to its audience - soulful and emotional, yet lighthearted and danceable. Always true to Stefan Robbers' motto: 'From Detroit to Eindhoven with a smile.' |
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