Blog Archives
My Favorite Robot – Barricade (DJ Tennis Remix)
My Favorite Robot’s next release is a very special remix by DJ Tennis. It initially comes as a 10” vinyl and will then be available digitally in autumn.
MFR’s ‘Barricade’ was first released on DJ Tennis’s Life And Death label back in 2012. It was a huge house track that resonates to this day, so it makes sense the taste- making Italian steps up to remix it. He is someone with a cultured take on brooding house and techno, as evidenced by the music he A&Rs for his label as well as things like his own standout DJ-kicks mix from last year.
His new remix is a masterfully melancholic one that starts with a delicate ambient synth line hanging in mid air. Breathy vocals eventually arrive to send shivers down the spine and finally, deep, rolling, mid tempo kicks bring a groove that carries you away into a reverie. It’s made all the more mournful and poignant thanks to some broad synth chords and swirling pads later on and is sure to provide a real centre point of any seriously emotional set.
This is a stunning and absorbing single and another high point for My Favorite Robot Records.
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The Juan Maclean – The Brighter The Light (DJ Tennis Remix)
Juan Maclean is a Brooklyn-based DJ and producer who has been a mainstay of the New York club scene, as well as maintaining a rigorous international touring schedule, since the release of his first records on DFA in 2002. After putting out an extensive catalogue of 12” singles and LPs for the label with vocalist Nancy Whang (most recently, 2014’s In A Dream LP, and this year’s 12” single ‘Can You Ever Really Know Somebody’), he returns to the label with ‘The Brighter The Light,’ a deep piano-based club track, augmented by three equally DJ-friendly remixes.
“The Brighter The Light” emerged while Juan waits (somewhat) patiently in Brooklyn for Nancy Whang to return from touring with her ‘side gig,’ LCD Soundsystem. Taking the tiniest splice of a demo vocal and sprinkling it throughout, Juan spun off the work being done for the next LP and created a new piece altogether, offering the smallest glimpse of what is to come, but ending up with something with a completely different purpose: his DJ set.
The remixes are a truly euphoric bunch of tracks, coming from Australia’s Len Liese (yes his remix is Balearic AF), DJ Tennis, (fresh from his fantastic DJ Kicks released in July) and Octo Octa, who contributes her second remix for The Juan Maclean (look up her remix of ‘Here I Am’ from 2014, it’s brilliant).
There are already two more singles being planned (with a similar club-driven purpose) to tide over fans and DJ sets while Juan and Nancy finish work on their fourth LP, to be released in 2018.
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Dj Tennis – Certain Angles feat. Fink
After nearly half a decade since their monumental ‘Make It Good’, DJ Tennis and Fink re-collide on !K7. The Certain Angles 12”, to be released on 13 October, includes an exclusive club mix by DJ Tennis.
Inspired, recent studio sessions have bore two breathing, sonic landscapes, entitled ‘Certain Angles’. Glimmering pianos, droning machines and captivating song writing take form, wrapping the Berlin-based singer’s voice in subtle melancholy. Both humbly understated, yet party-ready, ‘Certain Angles’ perfectly summarises the Life and Death founder’s recent etching in the DJ-Kicks stone.
DJ Tennis has also called on four of his most trusted allies to reinterpret the single, with four digital-only remixes: The/Das deliver a pensive moment of bubbling body music; Francesco Leali appears with a timeless, genre-bending re-perception as OPUS 3000; Lee Jones salutes the faithful dancers, while Mentrix’ unclassifiable excursion challenges the towering borders of Techno. The ‘Certain Angles (Remixes)’ digital EP will be released on 27 October.
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DJ Kicks: DJ Tennis
DJ-Kicks has tapped up Life And Death label founder DJ Tennis for the next instalment in its long running and landmark series, which is due for release on 14th July. The Italian is the first artist to ever be granted not one but two discs across which to showcases his style, and he doesn’t disappoint.
DJ Tennis is Manfredi Romano, a life long music fanatic who has 20 years experience in music and started out managing punk bands, progressed to putting on leftfield events, started one of the most important Italian rock and electronic booking agencies, then started the Life And Death label. Since then it has slowly but surely carved out its own musical niche and has made stars of a number of acts. Tennis’s own recorded output is selective and stylish indeed, often featuring real melodies and a musicality that is frequently lacking in dance music, and includes releases like Make It Good, The Outcast with PillowTalk on Kompakt and EPs with Martin Buttrich on Rhythm Assault and an EP on Omnidisc last year. That knack for the musical and emotive side of things characterizes both cerebral mixes he has put together here.
The mix comes as a double CD and triple vinyl release and features four exclusive tracks. These include a brand new original from DJ Tennis featuring Fink and called ‘Certain Angles,’ plus new Tennis versions of tunes by Pole and Frank Bretschneider, and finally an unreleased track, ‘Paratrooper,’ from acclaimed Tel Aviv duo Red Axes.
Disc 1 is a slow burning seventy minute electronic trip that mixes plaintive piano with suspensory synths, gentle broken beats and textured sound sources with subtle and supple minimal grooves. Never hurried and always thoughtfully composed, the likes of Rephlex’s Bochum Welt, Jon Hopkins, Mouse and Mars, Isolee and Four Tet all get called upon along the way. The result is an expertly sequenced and perfectly balanced selection that is deep and insular and, as such, it will work as well for post cub comedowns as it will for lazy and sombre Sunday mornings.
Disc 2 is more energetic but just as considered, so is perfect for sunny afternoons or long drives. Here, dubbed out atmospheres percolate round house and techno grooves of increasing intensities. Big names like Traumprinz and Robert Hood build the tempo, Kenny Dixon Jr provides soulful party moment and classic electro slickness from The Other People Place help oil things along. Later on, icy ambiance from Biosphere stops the mix from ever getting too hot and sweaty before Tennis zones us out with the blissful final section, including his own excellent and piano laced new cut ‘Certain Angles’.
In programming these two diverse, eclectic and yet coherent rides, DJ Tennis shows off his singular knack for nailing an aesthetic that is subversive yet seductive in equal measure.
Out on July 14th! Pre-order here: https://K7.lnk.to/DJTennisDJKicks
CD1
01. K. Leimer – Acquiescence
02. Bochum Welt – La Nuit
03. Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto – Aurora
04. Jon Hopkins – Vessel
05. Adam Johnson – Anex
06. Pole – Raum 2 (DJ Tennis Technoid Version)
07. Monolake – Pio
08. Byetone – Neuschnee
09. Mouse on Mars & Atom TM – Key My Brain
10. Bauri – Twinkle Stars
11. Rival Consoles – Recovery
12. Oval – Textuell
13. Isolée – Allowance
14. Caribou – Melody Day (Four Tet Remix Featuring Luke Lalonde, Adem And One Little Plane)
15. D’Arcangelo – N-Tower
CD2
01. Basic Channel – Q Loop
02. Frank Bretschneider – Go! Said The Bird (Tennis Version)
03. Red Axes – Paratrooper
04. Traumprinz – Intrinity
05. Robert Hood – Escapes (6:47)
06. Kenny Dixon Jr. – Soul Sounds
07. Rhythm & Sound – Mango Drive
08. Marcello Giordani – Perché non Vuoi Ballare?
09. The Other People Place – Let Me Be Me
10. Biosphere – Ikata-1
11. Roby J – Crossed Movements (LOM Extended Version)
12. MBG – Jumping Trip
13. Loscil – Sickbay
14. Maribou State – The Clown Feat. Pedestrian (Axel Boman Remix)
15. DJ Tennis feat. Fink – Certain Angles (DJ-Kicks)
16. Kona Triangle – Astorias Ascent
3LP
A1. Traumprinz – Intrinity
A2. Basic Channel – Q Loop
B1. D’Arcangelo – N-Tower
B2. Loscil – Sickbay
C1. Frank Bretschneider – Go! Said The Bird (Tennis Version)
C2 The Other People Place – Let Me Be Me
D1. Bochum Welt – La Nuit
D2. Kenny Dixon Jr. – Soul Sounds
E1. MBG – Jumping Trip
E2. Monolake – Pio
F1. Pole – Raum 2 (DJ Tennis Technoid Version)
F2. Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto – Aurora
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Art Department – Walls (DJ Tennis / Chaim Remix)
The latest remix package of Art Department’s Natural Selection album, sees production heavyweights DJ Tennis and Chaim rework the sublime ‘Walls’…
The start of 2015 has become a momentous time for Art Department with Kenny Glasgow recently departing to focus on solo projects and Jonny White stepping up to take on the AD mantle alone, kicking off with a brand new compilation album for fabric.
Exciting new directions for both parties sit against the backdrop of the still very much active sophomore Art Department album, Natural Selection, which saw the duo pick up plaudits from the likes of Rolling Stone, Mixmag & Clash Music to name but a few. Key tracks from the LP have been handed to some of the hottest producers around, the results of which are being released on No.19 through 2015.
Hot on the heels of the recent Guy Gerber and &ME remixes, comes this latest mix package. It kicks off with Berlin based, Italian production heavyweight and Life & Death records boss DJ Tennis at the controls. He strips back ‘Walls’ to its component parts and reimagines it as a stirring and emotive slice of underground house music that marries broken percussion, filtered arpeggios and moving pads to great effect. Defying any real genre classification this is simply superb electronic music and climaxes with a two minute beatless outro that is nothing short of spine tingling.
The second of the two mixes comes courtesy of Tel Aviv, techno stalwart Chaim who wraps up the record in a warm cocoon of hypnotic drums and synths, and peppers it with tight edits of Kenny’s distinctive vocals. A perfectly deep, late night offering for any discerning dancefloor, the mix shows why this producer has been so vital to labels like Bpitch Control, Visionquest & Supplement Facts over the years.
This is another standout remix selection that does justice to the Art Department’s Natural Selection and is not to be missed. Stream the original track below.
Tracklist
01 Walls (DJ Tennis remix)
02 Wallls (Chaim remix)
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Agoria – Baptême EP
One of the most accomplished and revered producers in electronic music today makes his solo debut on Kompakt: French mastermind Agoria presents his new mesmerizing floor epic Baptême.
“I’m very happy that Baptême will finally be released“, says the producer, “it’s a very special tune for me, representing a lot of changes in my personal life these last two years. It signals my ‘second life’, if you will“.
Meaning “baptism” in French, the cut’s title is indeed a perfect fit for its particularly festive spirit, exuding both solemnity and sheer pleasure, hallmarks of Agoria’s unique brand of emotional and versatile techno. Bouncy, minimalist percussion is joined by an extensive, dub-styled sub-bass and floating shards of atmospheric synths, quickly escalating into a high definition mover fitted with gorgeous swabs of piano and a keen sense for emotional space.
On the flipside, the original track gets a fascinating rework from DJ Tennis and The Rapture’s Luke Jenner, whose Lucky Blue Eyes Version adds more wiggle room to the proceedings, bolstering its loosened grip with enticing new vocals. In yet another step forward, Agoria himself revisits the remix, sharpening its blurry edges and successfully putting the vocals to work in a prime time environment: “my friend Patrice Bardot – the chief editor of Tsugi Magazine – even said that this one sounds like The Doors for the 21st century“, he adds – and indeed, it’s next level dreaming for those who need a little bit more from their floor than just another knock on the head. (via kompakt)
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Video: Dj Tennis – You Closed My Eyes
Berlin-based Manfredi Romano aka DJ Tennis has shared the official video for “You Closed My Eyes,” a track from his recent double EP “Local” on Life and Death. Check it out below.
SERIALGK 