The Alphabeat: 26 Alphabetically Arranged Electronic Music Acts

This will be my project. From A to Z. Twenty-six of the best electronic music acts/DJs/producers, one for each letter of the alphabet. A little history, some tracks, all that jazz. Anyways, let's begin with...A.

A is for AUDION

Matthew Dear goes by a variety of aliases; Audion, False, Jabberjaw, Matthew Dear...each alias catering to a specific taste in techno. Audion, probably his most notorious alter ego, appeals to the darker recesses of techno, while still appealing to the body and the feet. Audion is deep, dark, and danceable: indeed a curious mixture of adjectives until one hears some of his best tracks...

Audion has released under Spectral Sound (the dance counterpart to Ghostly International), Cocoon, BPitch Control, and a scant few other labels, seeing as Audion's output is, for lack of a better term, infrequent. Most of his best tracks have been on Spectral, a few of which I will delve into below...

Audion - Billy Says Go



A classic Audion track. Yes, I've looked at this cut before on here, but a quick review never hurt anyone! The bass sounds almost plucked here, giving it a sharp, foreground presence. The snaking, hissing synth line that emerges from the ether only adds the ominous nature of the track, fueling the sense of danger and foreboding that pervades the entirety of the song. Tribal drums, liberal use of hi-hats, and that killer four-note synth riff give the track its personality, but it still remains a dancey little slice of techno, arguably almost sensual in its brooding, thick sonic tendencies...



Audion - That's That



Minimal that breathes tech house is hard to find. This is about as close as you'll get, that being said. Expertly mixed drums give instant life to this track, before a simple two-note synth line trots along for the ride. This track is definitely less full-bodied, but I think it's better for it. It's not in-your-face bombastic, but trickles along, establishing more of a groove than any sort of tension. An elastic synth line is the only element that really creates any tension, but it sounds just right when bumped up against those drums and that synth riff. An interesting offering from Audion, but this is a surprisingly groovy and microhouse-esque cut from the man that definitely warrants a listen.



Audion - Look At The Moon



Here we see Audion returning to his traditional penchant for dark minimal techno. A guttural tom rumbles along with hi-hats in tow until a ghostly plea breaks the stale air, echoing endlessly in the empty space surrounding Audion's sparse beats. Eventually, a metallic, arpeggiated synth line plonks out on the offbeat, creating the lone melodic element in an otherwise bleak atmosphere. Only near the end do the hi-hats begin to hiss and the track begins to take actual form, winding slowly and dejectedly around the whining synth line, before finally giving up and fading off into the ether. Not really danceable, but I get the feeling Audion doesn't really care or notice. Worth a listen with some nice headphones.


Audion - Noiser



More of the same, minimaltastic stuff. A jarring kick, a warped, volatile synth line that fabs and rises from time to time, a skittering, buzzing tom, it's all here. This is the Audion that builds tension and then lets it implode in a cascade of almost-noise, only the kick and underpinned squelches and blurts of sound left to fill the void. Minimal techno at its...housiest?





Audion has a variety of EPs, single-side 12" vinyls, one LP, and a plethora of remixes ripe for listening. No better way to kick this off with a bang, albeit one that's maybe more of a spoken 'boom' than a belted 'bang'!

Audion is dark, skeletal techno had its most naked and revealing. Cathartic when it needs to be and omnipresent, hell, ALL the time, an Audion track brings with it a sense of brooding, disquieting dancefloor drama that can get even the most liberal house fans to dance. A beautiful marriage of minimal and techno that can stretch from one extreme to another at will. Enjoy.

A is for Audion.

-NL

The big five oh (That's 50)

The big 50. A milestone! Imagine that. Well, for this special occasion, I think I'm going to...well, I don't exactly know! I might take a rain-check and figure something huge out...but right now, it's late, I'm tired and going to bed, so here are a few tracks to munch on. Enjoy.

DatA - Aerius Light (Breakbot Remix)





Kid Cudi - Day 'n' Nite (Jokers of the Scene Remix)





Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts - Odyssee






Night folks.
-NL

Quicksand / Getaway

Dettmann is king of Berghain, the Berlin club for which said producer has honed his sound. Home to primarily Ostgut Ton, Dettmann's production style is skeletal minimal. Creeping, bare-bones tracks that, while buoyed by a danceable, solid rhythm section, writhe and twist with an almost tortured, subdued agony. Dettmann's minimal in one of ghostly synths and abrasive, atonal stabs of white noise and seemingly emotionless pads and synths. His production is in full force on this, his first solo 12" for Ostgut Ton.

QUICKSAND: Immediately, this is a Dettmann production. A solid kick underpins a wriggling, skeletal synth line that pans from one side to the other, with occasional washes of sound and upward or downward pitches in sound. A heavy, grainy snare is brought in every four bars before a wonderfully placed hi-hat establishes the commonplace rhythm that will support this track. The wavering, drunken synth line spirals, dives, caves, and rolls along over a completely unpredictable path through the nearly nine minutes of this track. There is no climax, either. A squealing buzzsaw synth brings in a minor melodic element, but it falls flat since this track doesn't need it at all. The topography of the sound is stunning alone, and this synth line only dents the overall feel of the track. But overall, a solid cut for the head and a little bit less so for the floor. Minimal techno at its most spastic and skeletal. Only Dettmann...

(4/5)



++++++

GETAWAY: On the flip, Getaway begins with a wicked eerie ambient wash of rings, keys, and "oohs". A deep kick enters next, beginning to establish rhythm. A churning, low-end gravitating tom follows suit, further shaping the rhythm and thickening the already deep low-end to something equivalent to the consistency of frozen chunky chicken noodle soup. A pulsating, bleeping synth comes next, giving the track its first melodic element. As things grow and chug along, another spacey synth enters, further adding to the tracks deep, mysterious tone. The drums churn along to the point of almost tribal, warmed up a bit as is not usual for Dettmann. This extra synth line doesn't really add to the track that much, and it wavers too much between ambient and minimal. Dettmann is a great producer, but I can't even easily tell you what this track was aimed to do. It first plays to a more ambient tone, but the drums and rhythm section speak a different tone. Not a bad cut, but not classic Dettmann.

(3/5)

++++++

QUICKSAND / GETAWAY = (3.5/5)


A wonderful A-side and a mediocre B-side are what you'll find here. The A-side is classic Dettmann, I might add, and future releases find him further honing this style of minimal that, while lacking melodically, makes up with powerfully catchy and minimalistic drums, and an effects-laden synth/pad workout that moves through too many dynamics to name, yet always keeping attention. A great start for Dettmann.

-NL

Sunny days in wonderful places.

Sitting here in my Burlington, Vermont hotel room, the warm, high 60s breeze rolling in through the open windows, I'm loving life. Simple, comfortable, pure bliss. In light of these feelings, I feel it's only right to review one of my favorite tracks from Gui Boratto, and maybe of all-time: "Beautiful Life".

On the second "Remixe EP", Gui Boratto turns up with the original 12" mix, a remix of his own, and one more from Berlin producer/DJ and BPitch Control mainstay Sascha Funke.

The original is a beauty. Ten minutes of anthemic, euphoric tech house with a definite ambient house feel. It kicks off with, well, a kick, and a simple, catchy arpeggio that rises and breathes deeper and deeper with each beat, as if life is slowly being drawn back into its body; a dying soul regaining life. A guitar riff creeps in the back, and the main riff is taken on by a trancey, perfectly picked synth, catapulting it into the clouds and allowing the riff to fully soar and inhale the atmosphere around it. The riff never slackens, paving the way for the beautiful vocal line, sung by Boratto's wife. "What a beautiful life, what a beautiful life, what a beautiful love." Simple but poignant. But the music and tone really make you believe what she's saying. No need to read to far into this song. It's beautifully simple, almost irritatingly catchy, and just....perfect. The kind of track that gets stuck in your head and stays there, something you can always return to for reassurance of the right decisions we hope we all make. Absolutely stunning and definitely worth a listen or two.

Gui Boratto's own remix adds an reverbed bell synth to the beginning that rolls, scoops, and flounders along with a lazy swagger that grows into what turns out to be the main riff, applying the kick, snare, and hi-hats at just the right times. The main riff actually doesn't come in for a while, instead being teased with a sparse, glancing rendition of a similar melody using spacey trance chords like the original. Halfway in the vocals drop over Boratto's bouncing bassline while the main melodic element is finally played-out, albeit in a very simple, derivative form. The weird bell synth appears a bit later, spiraling this remix to and fro, with the pseudo-actual melody being teased further, for release that never comes. A little odd, and a little disappointing, as the main riff of the original is half the draw of listening to the track in the first place!

Sascha Funke strips off the ambient wallpaper lining this house, only to refinish it with dark, moody techno wallpaper. The main riff is still present, even more so than in Boratto's remix, and this is definitely a good thing. A punchy bassline butts head with rattling pad and dry-as-bones hi-hat and snare before the main riff rises out the gloom, buoyed by Funke's undulating bassline. The whole track is underscored by a niggling, sly techno feel, very typical for Funke, and definitely geared towards the dancefloor. At about 3 and a quarter minutes, the drums again drop and the main synth riff comes on full force, even more than before. Rippling and pulsing with a vivaciousness and vitality that Funke is completely capable of creating and is known for. An extra guitar line adds a little extra character and melody for the casual observer, and the vocals drop soon after. Funke's drums work wonders under the trancey chords of Boratto's original; more rhythmic and definitely more danceable.


The Original:


Sascha Funke's Remix:



All in all, I recommend the original version for a first listen, and then Sascha Funke's remix for comparison. The original for built for the heart, and Funke's remix retools it successfully for the floor. A great EP, a wonderful song, and a beautiful day. Happy spring everybody.

-NL