With the announcement of the final Booka Shade dates and side shows for their Australian tour. It got me thinking of producing a mix for this very website since there has been little to no action. Using Booka Shade’s template of bringing melody through a steady rhythm I have produced this mix for your listening pleasure.
Here is the track list below with some old and newly released tracks for you! concentrating in the Tech House, Techno genres.
1.) Cari Lekebusch - Shaded / Jesper Dahlback Remix (Turbo Recordings)
2.) Devilfish and Roel Salemink - Manalive / Roel Salemink Remix (Bush Records)
3.) John Tejada - Voyager (Palette Recordings)
4.) Paco Osuna - Sleeping (Unpolite Records)
5.) Radioslave - Screaming Hands / Wink Intepretation (Rekids)
6.) Martin Buttrich - Stoned Autopilot (Planet E Communications)
7.) Slam - City Destroyer pt.2 (Soma Quality Recordings)
8.) Mandy and Booka Shade - O Superman feat. Laurie Anderson / Matt John remix (Get Phyisical Music)
9.) Rejected - Let’s Go Juno / District One remix (Rejected Music)
10.) Jona - Sunset (Get Phyisical Music)
11.) Mr James Barth - Workin The Truth (Turbo Recordings)
Til’ next time enjoy the mix :)
The stream can be accessed below and/or can be downloaded via “right click/save as” via this link.
Not some one that is not a stranger to Canberra electronic audiences, Dale Baldwin has been doing some extraordinary stuff recently from his Canberra home musically speaking. Coming from a background of playing at Canberra venues such as Cube to Red Gecko and Toast the man has a lot of experiences to lean back on in terms of his music. Dale’s music can only be described as melodic in nature as he likes to be flexible in his musical output and does not subscribe to any given favorite genres of the day. Dale has just been signed to Sydney independent label Elektrax Recordings and sub label Hypnotic Room.Sporting a roster of who’s who of Australian and World electronic musicians such as Zen Paradox (Steve Law), Future Sound of Melbourne (David Carbone, Josh Abrahams and Steve Robbins), Little Nobody, Dave Tarrida, Si Begg, Thomas P. Heckmann and TR-Storm to name a few. Not bad at all for a guy and his studio in the suburbs of Canberra. With one eye set on club land and the other on musical experimentation, rest assured we have not seen the last of this lad.
Q&A with Dale Baldwin
CTEK: What stirred up your passion of electronic music.
Dale: Music has always been a part of my life. I played jazz clarinet, bass and guitar though High School and have always been looking for new things to try out and explore. What started me in electronic music was getting some cheap version of Fruity Loops back when I was about 15. I switched to Cubase pretty quickly though, FL is a piece of shit.
CTEK: Your sound is very much your own take on electronic music. How do you describe it to others?
Dale: To me it’s just my personal take on house music. I know that to a lot of people calling it house music doesn’t describe what I do at all but I’m at the point where I just don’t care what you call it. I could walk around calling it 90’s Psycadelic Acid Influenced 8bit Tech Progressive House music, but that’s just pushing the point of no return way past ridiculous.
CTEK: There seems to be a very vibrant experimental side to your works. Do you think there is a space for experimental electronic club music within Australian Club Scene or has the ministry of sounds of this world taken it to far?
Dale: I think when you stop experimenting and just try and produce the same style of music over and over is when things start getting stale. I think people lose sight of the fact that originally this music came about because of kids in Chicago and Detroit messing around, beating out simple patterns or what ever they could with boxes like the Roland TB-303, TR 808 and 909. For them it wasn’t about taking drugs or making money it was about experimenting and making music that they loved.
As far as Australia goes I think MOS are the Microsoft of our club scene in all its bastardized glory. They have this wonderful ability to jump on a trend and ride it until its dead and buried before jumping on the next thing. You do have to give them credit for knowing what to jump on though, otherwise I’m guessing they wouldn’t have survived as long as they have.
CTEK: Seeing artists like Zen Paradox(Steve Law), Future Sound of Melbourne (David Carbone, Josh Abrahams and Steve Robbins), Little Nobody, Dave Tarrida, Si Begg, Thomas P. Heckmann to name a few on the same label, how do you feel being indirectly associated with them and their legacy to electronic music generally?
Dale: I’m absolutely stoked to finally getting my work out there but I really wasn’t expecting it to be out through a label surrounded by these guys at all. I found an original copy of Little Nobody vs DJ Fodder’s Cocaine Speaking on vinyl in the bargain bins at Landspeed a few years back and it’s kinda odd to now be asked to do a remix (or total rewrite in my case) of the track for the upcoming digital re release in October.
CTEK: Finally where do you want to be in the next 10 years time with your music and life generally? Do you still see yourself based in Canberra?
Dale: I’m not really thinking that far ahead. I had a pretty big crash and burn (more burn than crash I think) a few years ago when I was still a pretty naïve teenager and learned the hard way that its all about small steps in this game. If you try and take big leaps you’re just going to go head first into brick walls in the messiest way possible. I’m still pretty young compared to most of the bigger guys out there so I’m happy to do my own thing for now and work my way up slowly. In the long run I would like to be out there making noise at the same level as some of our other Canberra exports such as Jaytech, Mikah and Vance but for the moment I’m keeping my goals realistic and just concentrating on producing quality tunes in my own way and style.
Staying in Canberra? My partner and I are already looking at moving to Melbourne. After 5, almost 6 years up here I think I’m about ready to move back home to Victoria. Canberra is a great city to work and study in but I could probably do with a change at this point. Living in Canberra has been the longest place I’ve lived since I was about 9 so I think it’s almost time to move on again.
Dales current digital eps can be found at the following url’s….
Q&A Session with 1/2 of the Crooked Sound System (DAVE S)
CTEK: How did you first end up buying records and mixing?
Crooked Sound System: I was always into music and then my cousin bought decks- I was hooked from the first time I saw someone scratch. Then I saw a DMC video and just went Whoa!! I have been buying records and practising since 2000. 2008 will be my 7th ACT DMC final.
CTEK: What is Dubstep and what’s the difference between Dubstep other genres of urban music from the UK like Drum and Bass, Garage and Dancehall.
Crooked Sound System: Dubstep is a really diverse genre that has its roots in reggae, dub, dancehall, grime, drumnbass and stems directly from garage and 2 step. It is characterised by huge basslines and skanky, grinding rhythms and sits between 130-140 bpm. Due the low frequencies you can’t actually hear a lot of the music through MP3 and crap speakers- its made for big sound systems!!!
CTEK: What artists influence you and your musical tastes?
Crooked Sound System: Bob Marley, Cash Money, DJ Fierce, Dexta, and I am into everything from roots, hip hop, drumnbass, dancehall, dubstep, breaks… just not electro house! What got me into dubstep was a DJ Hatcha mix Dubstep Allstars Vol 1. My friend, DJ Remedy (The other dude in Crooked Sound System) is a massive influence on me and he is a sick DJ and good bloke too.
CTEK: When shopping for tracks what do you look for?
Crooked Sound System: I have a really diverse taste in music so I tend to listen for the vibe, originality and whoa factor! Something that stands out- whatever the genre. If I feel like I have heard it before or if the bass is weak I won’t buy it.
CTEK: Could you name a few artists/websites people should check out if they are keen to find out more about Dubstep and Australian Dubstep scene?
Crooked Sound System: Check out Benga, Skream, Loefah, SPL, Kode 9, Plastician etc… Aussie dubstep is growing too: Flippo (Melbourne) Garage Pressure (Sydney), VOID dubstep nite, Sub Continental Dub (Aussie dubstep label)- too many to list but have a look at: dubstep.com.au – the best Australian dubstep forum- stacks of free tracks and mixes as well!
CTEK: You are also known for youth mentoring through the ACT youth centres teaching kids how to DJ and produce. What is the most important lesson you have learned while doing DJ mentoring program?.
Crooked Sound System: If you ever get the opportunity to give your time/knowledge/skills/ resources to a good cause- do it! Definitely one of the most meaningful things I have done in my life and something that I will look back on with pride. Music is the most creative form of communication and it can break down barriers.
The podcast can be downloaded from http://www.c-tek.org/podcast/crookedsoundsystem%20welcome_to_dubstep.mp3 or streamed below!
Sorry due to Wordpress shitting it self I had to post everything again. Good and bad has come from this. The bad I have lost original data that was posted but fear not we still have copies of all original mixes so in the next week mixes will be reposted for everyone’s enjoyment.
So here are two mixes to start you off done by me for different reasons. First mix was completed for promo for a party that took place during early Aug 2008 in Canberra.
Please find minimal to deep techno in this mix from artists like Carl Craig, Marc Houle, Vince Watson, New Order to name a few
The mix can be downloaded from http://www.complexual.com/musicdir/HiJiNXPromo_ChrisWallis.mp3 or streamed directly below.
