House Music Circles: June

House Music Circles: June

30 June, 2009 | 8.25AM

• Written by: Mazi Namvar
• Filed under: Music News: audio soul project, fresh meat records, house music circles

I’m obsessed with the idea of bringing together what some might consider the many disparate camps of house music - its colorful sub genres have helped spread the four four beat across the globe and fostered experimentation that might not have otherwise happened without specialization.

Sometimes though we get caught up as fans, creators or DJs with over emphasizing the prefix of our favorite hyphenated sub genre - and I think this kind of separatist behavior harms the music as a whole.

I’ve been told plenty of times by promoters or other DJs how ‘crazy’ I am for playing so many different styles in just one set. Coming up in Chicago, that’s exactly what the definition of a good DJ was - someone who could weave a unique tapestry out of deep house, vocal house, techno, minimal, ghetto, disco or whatever else they made their own through the art of mixing.

To this end I’d like to use this month’s column to mention tracks and labels that aren’t afraid of mixing and matching styles.

House Music Circles: June

A good artist to start with is French producer and Berlin resident Shonky. From his first record on Freak N Chic to his soon to drop ‘Chocotox’ EP on Contexterrior, the man has consistently infused several flavors into each of his tracks.

His initial output was more minimal but always with a funkier approach. The four cuts on his upcoming ‘Chocotox’ project run a wide range from soulful disco influenced vocals to hypnotic, almost trance-inducing keys and syncopated tech bass lines.

He’s even quite effectively used a very familiar Everything But The Girl keyboard loop making it his own with great drum and effects programming. It’s a bit kitsch but it’s brilliant how he distills his personal memories into a coherent and fun record.

His ‘Coco Feel And Love Shonk’ from earlier this year is another great example of an uncategorizable track that just works wonders. Of course he borrows heavily from the early 90s vibe of Chris Coco et al, but he does it with style and I think pulls it off beautifully.

I’ve been impressed with the output of new label Room With A View. Their byline reads, ‘Music deserves more space for your own interpretation and imagination.’

With only 4 releases they’ve already managed to set an agenda that confounds rigid classification. The label’s first VA compilation entitled ‘Perspectives 01’ held jewels like Detroit native Abacus’ ‘The Answer’ which a shop might label ‘techno’ but really it could just as easily be considered deep house with its warm beats and dub flourishes.

My favorite track on the comp is label boss Dairmount and Berardi’s ‘Bass-Ment Tale’ essentially a raw-as-they-come warehouse stomper complete with horn blasts, rough Kerri Chandler style lo-fi drums and a male vocal cut-up that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck every time I hear it loud.

I’ve played it at an afterhours, in a smokey deep house club and at peak time in a 2000 plus venue, and it always causes the same equally devastating result.

‘Perspectives 02’, coming out next month, takes just as many risks with influences from jazz to ambient to dub to techno to house.

There’s a Jimpster remix of a cut called ‘Bleep Me’ that sounds like post modern Basic Channel, a new Art Of Tones (Ludovic Llorca) masterpiece named ‘Terres Conquises (Tribute to C2)’ [yes that’s Carl Craig he’s paying respect to], and there’s my favorite track on the EP ‘Omni’, again by label head Dairmount with production partner Berardi, which has a female vocal and lush pads fused to analog bleeps and chirps, underpinned by a heavy drum kit and the clunkiest of shuffling cymbals.

This track could snatch your soul in the right environment!

Another of my current favorite producers is Julien Chaptal of Remote Area Records who seems to have a knack for blending together sub genres at will.

Earlier cuts like ‘Am I Loco Lima’ or ‘Balkafono’ from his ‘Tokens’ full length steep heavily into techno.

The micro-melodies and heavy bass lines could certainly be imagined as minimalism, but the rich rhythm tracks and organic arrangements signify a relaxed approach reminiscent of producers like Morgan Geist or Daniel Wang.

Chaptal’s latest ‘Mamdaye’ EP complicates this stylistic yarn even more.

On the title track he’s got Latin percussion, a simple sub bass, the faintest of Moog bumps, and cracking 909 drums working against, of all things, Ce Ce Peniston vocal samples from her biggest hit ‘Finally’. It’s a fusion junkie’s dream and a purist’s nightmare - I love it!

Then of course there’s the unstoppable DJ Koze. What exactly does he make? Deep, jazzy, experimental, funky, dubby, tech, futuristic, electronic, organic, percussive, down tempo, pop, underground - it really is hopeless trying to reduce his art to mere categorization.

And yet every time I play one of his tracks it rumbles the bins, shakes the floor, and brings smiles to faces.

His new remix of ‘Strange Behaviour’ on Ripperton’s Perspectiv label is a perfectly multi-flavored stew.

The track is low slung, at only about 120 BPM, has an arpeggiated synth line deep in the mix wrapped under a single note bass line, and there’s no claps, snares or percussion for the first half.

Then sprays of strings, pads and horns mingle with the vocals from the original, which Koze makes sound like a jazz songster in a smoky lounge.

Then, midway through, everything explodes into an epic Detroit techno affair; the synths begin squelching, swirling effects and brightly mad hi-hats sizzle and eventually are joined by circular tom toms.

It’s a wild ride finally resolving into a minimal cadence that reminds me of Herbert’s early cut ‘Butt-Head’ on Phono.

What excites me most about house music is its versatility and open mindedness. If as a community we encourage and support the creators taking risks than I think we stand to grow and evolve; and conversely if we get lost and seperated into fringe sub-genres than we only make it easier for outsiders to marginalize us, and our music.

The willingness to freely play around with what goes between four kick drums in a single measure is what keeps this music alive and vibrant.

See you on the circuit!

About Mazi Namvar aka Audio Soul Project

A prolific producer, remixer and DJ, Chicago resident Mazi Namvar’s name has appeared on over 200 records in the 15 years, under a number of pseudonyms including Audio Soul Project.

A DJ for 18 years, Mazi has played at clubs like Fabric in London, Crystal in Istanbul, Q in Zürich, Avalon in Los Angeles, Masai in Varna, Level in Bahrain, Red Light in Paris and Simoon in Tokyo.

He continually works on remixes, and his recent credits include Marc Romboy and Tyree Cooper’s ‘Lost’ on Josh Wink’s Ovum Recordings, Nick and Danny Chatelain’s ‘Sube Conmigo’ on NRK, AlexKid & Chloe’s ‘Afterblaster’ on Brique Rouge, Alexander Maier’s ‘Sahara Rain’ on Mood Music, Cates & dpL’s ‘Through the Weekend’ on OM Records, Chaim’s ‘C Factor’ on Missive Recordings, Sandrino & Adryan’s ‘Solar Wind’ on Fresh Meat and Nosmo v Kris B & Ben Brown’s ‘La Cocina’ which was licensed to Darren Emerson’s ‘Bogotá GU36’ DJ mix; the latest in the Global Underground series.

Currently most of his original music appears on Fresh Meat Records which he co-owns with partner Nathan Drew Larsen. Other recent productions have appeared on Systematic, Dessous Recordings, Circle Music and SAW Recordings. 

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