Luomo - Vocalcity

Sasu Ripatti's one of the most prolific and varied electronic producers in the modern scene. He hails from Finland, and his deep house/tech house moniker is called Luomo. Here's his record from 2000, the lovely Vocalcity.

Heart and soul with a steady pulse. 'Tessio' is in particular one of the best things that has ever happened to music.

i guess you make me warm, when you do the hum

Michael Mayer - The Immer Series

 Michael Mayer is an iconic dj/producer and electronic musician that co-runs seminal electronic label Kompakt with Wolfgang Voigt (Gas). He is a god of sorts when it comes to making mixes within the minimal techno/microhouse scene, as evidenced by the Immer series.

part 1
part 2

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part 2

immer 3

The Field - From Here We Go Sublime

The Field is the recording moniker of one Axel Wilner, an electronic producer from Sweden. His debut effort, From Here We Go Sublime, is easily one of my favourite electronic records of all time.

There is very little else out there that parallels the mood set by this one. It's not trance in the literal sense - microsamples, cut up vocals, icy, polished soundscapes, a sense of complete isolation and longing for times gone hardly make for dancefloors for the regular ravers. But what this is probably what 'trance' has been trying to achieve in its aesthetic, that unabashed bliss/aural ecstasy hybrid. This is minimal at its finest, this is hypnosis at its finest. As someone once said - "The sound of God's walkman skipping" 

Sun & Ice 

Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36

A milestone in minimal techno. A great eclectic mix that highlights Villalobos' taste for the unusual (japanese percussion, jazz snares, crazy mumbled female vocals and hundreds of samples I will never be able to identify) that kicks off in sparse fashion and maintains the ideal of its minimalistic aesthetic, adding layer upon layer of sound as it progresses along the way. There is a constant timbral shift, from the lazy calm of the opener and 'Moongomery' to the more melodic 'Andruic and Japan' (the centrepiece of the event and featuring aforementioned crazy women and a lot of tribal clapping percussion) which carries the album into its festive second half. All the while, the Chilean producer entices the senses with a fine array of microrhythms that pulsate with textures, textures that build up and break down over time. This in turn makes Fabric 36 one hell of an inviting and a surprisingly organic listen, where the sum of the album experience is much greater than its parts; and where Villalobos displays a whole new breed of techno; one he's nurtured, let grow and from the sounds of it, eventually left on its own outside a late night carnival. Recommended to all fans of electronic music - don't sleep on this if you're looking for a mix that's greater than the sum of its parts. Also, Villalobos is probably one of the most exciting arrangers in terms of percussion on the electronic scene today.

4 wheel drive