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Dark Sky – The Walker (Roman Flügel Remix)
Roman Flügel may be one of techno’s most prolific stars. The Frankfurt artist’s remix of Dark Sky’s ‘The Walker’ is his 10th remix in six months. But this makes it no less of an occasion.
Flügel’s take on ‘The Walker’ channels the loose melancholy of the original but injects it with a bubbling euphoria that threatens to erupt, but never quite does. Over the track’s seven minutes, ethereal voices climb over one another whilst synths gurgle in the background.
The track is a masterclass in managing dance floor tension and has been a staple of his sets of late.
‘The Walker’ is taken from the London-based duo’s new ‘Othona’ album, their second album released via Modeselektor’s Monkeytown Records.
Via Mixmag.
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Phil Kieran – Blinded By The Sun Remixes Pt. 1
Roman Flügel and Andrew Weatherall supply two outstanding remixes of Phil Kieran recent album ‘Blinded By The Sun’, which David Holmes claimed is “one of the best electronic dance inspired records in recent times.”
Mixmag described Phil Kieran as “one of those producers that impresses with every release” so it comes as no surprise that two music heavyweights have jumped on board for remix duty. Kieran accounts Flügel and Weatherall to both having a heavy influence on his career.
German DJ and producer Roman Flügel is easily one of the most revered names in the dance music spectrum. His take on ‘No Life’ is a masterclass in production. Flügel has created a track that is powerful whilst also superbly intricate. Flügel holds over twenty years of experience, extensively releasing on a number of labels whilst also co-founding Ongaku, Klang and Playhouse Recordings.
UK born DJ and producer maestro Andrew Weatherall remixes ‘Finds Love’ and reminds the listener of how beautiful electronic music can be. Combining cosmic layers with the ethereal vocal, this is a lesson in what a remix means. Weatherall has been experimenting with techno since the 90s, and well regarded as one of the world’s most influential DJs.
Tracklist:
Phil Kieran – No Life (Roman Flugel Remix)
Phil Kieran – Find Love (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
Release Date: February 24th 2017
Label: Hot Creations
Kieran created a ten track narrative in ‘Blinded By The Sun’, inspired by his experiences in the industry. It was met with high acclaim globally and this remix package further imprints his vision on pioneering imprint Hot Creations.
Remember the original versions of the two tracks below:
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Roman Flügel – All The Right Noises LP
Empty hotel beds. Again and again hotel beds. Occasionally in between objects and unreal and so real places, as well as people on dancefloors, between El Paso and Tisno. Then again empty hotel beds. Again and again. If you roam through Roman Flügel’s Facebook photo section, you find diverse hotel dormitories that serve the producer and DJ as a calming place. A place where no beats are banging and euphoric party energy is absent. A place where only heartbeats call the tune. The new album of the long-standing artist from Frankfurt seems to be made for those places. It spreads gentle minor tones and the bass drum kicks rarely. All tracks are resting in themself and conventional clubmusic is only distributed on the edge.
“To me the studio work is a welcome alternation from my DJ sets during the weekends. This time the opposition even goes so far, that I partially bypass obvious beats and even the classic 4/4 scheme is often avoided.” Flügel discloses and revers on tracks like “Fantasy”, “The Mighty Sun” or “Life Tends To Come And Go” – three tunes, that in a sense frame his album “All The Right Noises”. They represent the beginning and the open, in an infinitely sounding future disintegrating end. “In addition to the contrast of the weekend business, I focused on the freedom of structure. Nothing needs to function. Some tracks are simply recorded live and never got quantized. It is an attempt to dissolve the musical pulse, or blurring it at least ” he reports on the ambient veil, that covers his third album for Dial. Unlike its predecessors, who are partly dancing with jazz or krautrock, “All The Right Noises” narrates elliptical, avoids redundancy and acts like a musical “découpage classique”, in which the listener feels as little as possible, that it is the music that absorbs and disembodies him.
A charming longplayer, with whom Flügel newly conquers unknown places that promise nothing less than salvation. Words can’t express their meaning and style descriptions are fitting only partially. Techno is perceptible. As well as Ambient and psychedelic. Even Library-Avantgarde à la Piero Umiliani can be felt in tracks like the ghostly pounding “Dust”. Then again nothing can be pigeonholed, as everything is far away from common electronic music styles. Styles that the 46-year old already expressed, manipulated and trimmed in his long career with projects like Acid Jesus, Alter Ego, Eight Miles Heigh, Sensorama or Soylent Green in order to enlist himself deep into the history of contemporary electronic music. “Withdrawal”, “reduction” and “energy” are now the keywords that immediately pop up in his mind, when he recollects the creative process of “All The Right Noises” in his 15 square meter studio. There he produced digital and analogue – depending on feeling and intuition – to arrange music that is suitable for the perfect story arc of his album. “Since the release of “Fatty Folders” I avoid to publish a loose track collection as an album. I tried to arrange something that is self-contained. For the new album I used fewer notes then usually. No unnecessary extras, no gimmicks. When I found the basic sound and produced it accurate, a meaningful track order appeared autonomous. Tension and relaxation are this time important parameters, as well as harmonious relationships” he reveals and casually defined, what emotions his ten new tracks are able to evoke. Focusing on the above-mentioned reduction seems to have calmed him, too. Calmed from all the long weekends on euphoric dancefloors, which he visits since its first release in 1990 repeatedly and passionately to move them with his live and DJ skills.
Once Roman Flügel disclosed in an interview, how relieved he felt as a musician, when he started producing music with machines. Now it seems that he emancipated himself from them. Because even if the machines made him arrange “All The Right Noises”: the music he produced goes beyond the structures of what is commonly traded as machine music. It works on the dancefloor, but actually it is more beneficial for that dreamy state of mind, that humans catch while bedding. And here we are again at Roman Flügel’s social media photo diary. Hotels beds, again and again hotel beds…..
Out October 28 on Dial Records.
Tracklist:
01. Fantasy
02. The Mighty Suns
03. Dead Idols
04. Nameless Lake
05. Warm And Dewy
06. Dust
07. Believers
08. All The Right Noises
09. Planet Zorg
10. Life Tend To Come And Go
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Roman Flügel – 9 Years (DJ Koze Ρemix) / Pampa Vol. 1
DJ Koze and Marcus Fink’s Pampa Records have shared the first of 19 brand new tracks from their upcoming “Various Artists – Pampa Vol. 1” compilation.
You can now hear DJ Koze’s remix of Roman Flügel’s track “9 Years,” which closed out the latter’s epic Radio 1 Essential mix last year and incorporates the snare drum of a Mood II Swing track.
The compilation features all new tracks from longtime label artists such as Axel Boman and Isolée, and newcomers including Jamie xx, Gold Panda and Mount Kimbie.
A message from Pampa along with a quote from each artist about their contribution to the compilation below.
“Hello Friends,
We are touched to finally present you Pampa Vol. 1. When we decided to go for a label compilation our main goal was: Every single song has to be a star!
Almost 2 years we kept chasing and squeezing the best out of our good friends and admired artists until we finally got what we dreamed of in the beginning: A Firmament of Stars.
We kindly asked the stars behind the stars to write a little quote on their work.”
Lianne de Havas – Lost and Found (Matthew Herbert Remix)
Matthew: “I loved the original track and one day I was in a hotel room in Italy and took an mp3 of the finished track and tried to chop it in to shape before a gig. I don’t normally do this kind of thing, so feel a bit awkward about the whole affair.”
Roman Flügel – 9 Years ( Dj Koze Remix)
Kosi: “As I listened to this beauty I felt a deep wish to make a version for the club in a decent and humble way. Just adding a beat and stretching the arrangement to 10 minutes. Only god knows how the significant snare drum of my favourite Mood II Swing Classics made it into my version. We asked these old heroes for permission and a new child was born.”
Ada – You And Me
Michaela: “There was this organ-melody I had in mind but after a while I got stuck…then Dj Koze joined in and suggested to add a beat, so I followed his advice and snatched one from Die Vögel.”
Axel Boman – In The Dust Of The Planet
Axel: “In my recent music the end part of my songs are getting longer and longer. More than half the song is an extended ending. I aim to stretch that end until the beginning is completely erased and the end becomes the beginning. A metaphor for life, aging and my fear of dying. I think this song is an important step towards this new start.”
Nasrawi – Bump With You
Nasrawi: “‘Bump with You’ was a part of a full album that I thought could be Pampa style, so I played it for Kosi while driving us around Dubai all weekend, not saying a thing about who the music was made by. Then on the way to the airport he finally wanted to know what the hell this track was and boom, a new Pampa track was born, fresh like a Barsha Falafel!”
Funkstörung – I Does It
Fakesch: “’I Does It’ is the best statement in hip hop history…period! It throws us back to the future: late 70’s Funk, early 90’s HipHop, 2016 Electronic…it proves why Funkstörung got the Funk! A crazy collab with our favourite weirdo ‘Sensational’ (former Jungle Brothers)!”
Jackmate – Pacemaker
Michel: “Pacemaker happened at the end of an all-nite-jam, catching that moment of fatigue harmony and overdoze…“
Lawrence – Glow
Pete: “Travelling by night can be the most inspiring thing in a DJ’s life – a journey between complete emptiness and wonderful insanity. Almost connected to utopia one seeks for the brilliance. Producing a piece of music prior a night out at the club a guide through nowhereness- sometimes it glows in the dark…!”
Dntel – Snowshoe
Jimmy: “We bought snowshoes a couple years ago but never ended up in any snow, so a year later I returned them, unused. I thought about them a lot, though, and this song reminded me of them.”
Josef – I Wonder
Josef: “I originally tried to make a song like Unicorn Kids´s ‘Pure Space’, longing and youthful and with that kind of synthesizer but in the end this little song came out…”
Michel Cleis – Un Prince
Michel: “‘Un Prince’ is the first almost finished track I produced for my forthcoming album. Harmonies and arrangement appeared very fast. Colour addition came through a recording session with singer Sophie Hunger and *keys man* Alexis Anérilles having tasty food, good Italian wine and rainy days as inspiring partners.”
Die Vögel: Everything
Mense: “We had a kind of British 2-Step beat with some clarinet-melodies and got stuck. Then DJ Koze joined in and suggested to get rid of the beat. That was a wise decision. Sophia Kennedy sang the lyrics which begin melancholic and end sanguine and the music does the exact opposite. And that’s that.”
Mount Kimbie – Bells_5
Kai: “The track Bells_5 came together just after I had broken up with my girlfriend and was homeless, sleeping in the studio in Bermondsey, South London. I used acoustic foam to make a bed and turned the guitar amps on at night for heating. Love the hi-hat sound in this one.”
Stimming – No 17
Martin: “A tiny spinet chord progression, a low analogue tanzbär woouap, a pinch of ritalin and fresh mountain air are the ingredients for my track no17.”
Isolée – I Like It Here Can I Stay
Rajko: “I wrote this song during a transitional period in my life for my cat. It is inspired by an Apache Native American custom. When someone is really sick, a medicine man performs a very sacred ceremony where they chant to the ill individual.”
Jamie xx & Kosi Kos – Come We Go
Jamie: “This song is an ode to London’s orbital motorway, the M25. I was thinking about a family who was so isolated, so removed from society, that they would just go and spend the end of their days in a car. The cooperation with Kosi has nothing to do with it.”
Gold Panda – Black Voices
Derwin Digger: “This track started out as a remix for a group called Voices of Black who released some 12″s on Wolf & Lamb and my Notown label. They are currently on hiatus. The original sketch became this little jam I made in hope that one day they’ll work together again.”
Acid Pauli – Nana
Martin : “Recently my friend Adrina gave me a little white tissue with the following words printed on: “Manifest with precision.”
Every time I read it , I think about Nana and how precisely she manifested in this piece (of music), the moment she left our world but not.”
Roman Flügel – 9 Years
Roman: “When I started to work on ‘9 Years‘ I was thinking of a particular beautiful and on going relationship and how precious friendship is in general. One day I suggested the track to Kosi and he felt it immediately. His club version which he sent to me completely out of the blue somehow emphasized my originally feelings.”
Track listing:
CD 1
1. Lianne La Havas Lost & Found (Matthew Herbert Remix)
2. Roman Flügel – 9 Years (DJ Koze Remix)
3. Ada – You and me
4. Axel Boman – In the dust of this planet
5. Nasrawi – Bump with you
6. Funkstörung – I does it
7. Jackmate feat. Nik Reiff – Pacemaker
8. Lawrence – Glow
9. Dntel – Snowshoe
CD2
1. Josef – I wonder
2. Michel Cleis – Un prince
3. Die Vögel – Everything
4. Mount Kimbie – Bells_5
5. Stimming – No. 17
6. Isolée – I like it here can I stay?
7. Jamie xx & Kosi Kos – Come we go
8. Gold Panda – Black voices
9. Acid Pauli – Nana
10. Roman Flügel – 9 years
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Roman Flügel – Monday Brain LP
Very few artists have influenced the sound of house and techno as much as Roman Flügel. Having been active since the early 90’s under various aliases, few have been revered so widely as a DJ, live performer, producer, remixer, intellectual and record label owner. The record labels he helped found, Ongaku, Klang and Playhouse, are pivotal imprints in the electronic music scene, and his ability to gracefully incorporate and master most styles of 4/4 has seen him create a range of genres from techno, house, electro, ambient, IDM, downtempo, and acid house. Respected both as a solo artist and collaborator, this veteran of the scene has just ticked the label’s bucket list with an incredible double vinyl for Hypercolour.
6 tracks of highly polished techno/electronica cover a range of tempos and styles on ‘Monday Brain’, a double pack vinyl to be released this October. Flügel demonstrates his ability to morph his sound with the times, and displays his breadth of sound design magnificently over the release.
Cosmic IDM sensibilities are explored on EP opener ‘Teenage Engineering’, building in harmony and texture, and a fine example of Flügel’s melodic sound, whilst ‘Make It Happen’ captures more psychedelic touches over a solid groove.
‘Man Sees The Face God Sees The Heart’ goes as deep as the title suggests, rhythmic sounds melodically ride over minimal beats and luscious bass in a stirring slice of modern electronica, whilst ‘Church Of Dork’ wigs out like the very best Chicago house records, its synth motif worming around the jacked up beats. ‘Picnic For Players’ comes ready with blissful and melancholic riffs, dipped in warm reverb for a classic sounding piece, and the EP closes in fine style with the shadowy ‘Vegetarian Leather Jackets’.
Even after two decades of music production and arrangement, Flügel shows no sign of dipping in the quality control department, and ‘Monday Brain’ is a testament to this producer who is clearly heading into the prime of his career, displaying an effortless knack of creating timeless dance.
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Video: Simian Mobile Disco and Roman Flügel – Hachinoko
“Hachinoko” originate from Japan, and are a sweet delicacy, so perfect for our dessert – the larvae of bees or wasps, carefully harvested from their hives and cooked in sugar and soy sauce. The taste is said to be crunchy on the outside, with a gooey centre and a smoky finish… imagine, if you will, an image of dozens of tiny bee larvae, trapped in their hexagonal wax birthing cells, tapping out notes on tiny synthesiser keyboards, generating plinky electronic rhythms, over the throbbing drone of the hive’s background buzz. Before you chomp them all down."
SERIALGK 