Weekend Weapons…Perc

Weekend Weapons…Perc

15 October, 2009 | 4.28AM

• Written by: Zack Rico
• Filed under: Music News: ovum recordings, perc trax

Alistair Wells aka Perc smashed his way into my student bedroom back in 2004, with the massive ‘Ice Cream For Kenton’, and I’ve tracked the Londoner’s production career ever since.

A true underground head, Londoner Perc rarely steps out of the techno shadows, even though his productions have landed on some of techno’s leading labels like Kompakt, Drumcode, CLR, and Traum.

As expected, over the years Perc’s sound has changed. From tech flavoured progressive house, he dabbled in tech house, acid breaks, and melodic moments along the way, and more recently he has become adept at creating big room techno bangers such as 2007’s ‘Up’ (produced alongside Fractal), and the evil metalic shuffle of ‘Cylinder Swing’.

Today, Perc’s sound has moved towards the dark and heavier dub side of techno, as championed by the crew surrounding Berghain and Sandwell District.

His recent ‘Mathlete’ EP on Ovum Recordings - the 200th release for Josh Wink’s label - dragged its feet through sleazy machine-driven fog, and as these five Weekend Weapons show, Perc is refining the sound in his own unique way through his DJ sets, Perc Trax label, and productions.

Fever Ray ‘Seven’ (Marcel Dettmann’s Voice In My Head Mix) [Rabid]

For me Marcel Dettmann is the one of the most exciting producers out there. His productions put a fresh spin on a number of classic sounds and they work well for me wherever I am playing.

This is one of my favourite remixes from Marcel and it’s up there with his mixes for Deetron and Kevin Gorman. A perfect sound for my sets right now.

Perc ‘Mathlete’ (Original Mix) [Ovum]

This is the lead track from my debut EP for Josh Wink’s Ovum imprint and a track that has been a key part of my sets since it was completed.

The tracks on my Ovum record are my take on dub techno, pulling in influences such as Basic Channel, the current Ostgut Ton/Berghain sound, and the ‘Birmingham’ sound of Surgeon and Regis, etc.

I try not to display my influences too blatantly and I can never understand why people aim to make carbon copies of the music they love. Surely it is better to take some of the atmosphere and attitude from the music that inspires you and add it to you own ideas?

Mayhem ‘Split Second’ (Scuba Remix) [Subway]

Scuba is really pushing his sound forward right now and his tracks always find a way into my sets, whether as dj tools or key lead tracks. This is a remix that I only discovered recently but it sums up his sound well, mixing dubbed out stabs with stepping beats. Scuba’s Hotflush imprint is always one to check as well.

Ben Gibson ‘Vanished Between’ (Original Mix) [Perc Trax]

Ben is one of Perc Trax’s newest artists and his recent album was the first on my label. Like many of the tracks I’ve mentioned here, his tracks fuse a number of different sounds together to create something fresh.

This track and ‘Wirklichkeit’ (also on his album) have been doing really well for me in my recent sets.

Dark and atmospheric with enough energy to keep things moving. Also check out his track ‘Blind Probe Head’ on Labrynth, which is another perfect example of his sound.

V1NZ ‘Disposition’ (Original Mix) [Android Muziq]

I know very little about this. I was sent the promo recently and this track just jumped out at me.

Broken beat techno, which is one of my current loves, with chopped up classical piano sprinked over the beats.

Perfect for me right now, and it sounds great in a club.

• (4) Comments
• (2601) Views
• Check out Perc on Beatport