Review: In the 22 years that have passed since he made his debut, Deetron has released music on an eye-watering number of high quality labels. It's somewhat surprising, then, to find that this is the Swiss producer's first outing on Running Back. It is, of course, very good, with snappy opener "Body Electric" - an ear-catching fusion of crunchy house drums, jazz guitar loops, toasty disco bass, sweet synth lines and rushing piano riffs - leading the way. "T-Symmetry" sees Deetron add bustling breakbeat blasts and more bold piano motifs to a surging future Balearic techno anthem, while "Txt" is a melodious chunk of spacey techno hypnotism rich in rising and falling synth lines and swirling chords. Those glassy-eyed synth lines and alien electronics can be admired further on the accompanying "Beatless Mix".
Review: Hot on the heels of his Storytellers release with DJ Bone earlier this year, Deetron returns to his regular label, Music Man. Like the Swiss DJ's flawless DJ sets, this two-tracker effortlessly straddles the house/techno divide. The tile track resounds to rolling grooves, dramatic chord surges and repetitive vocal snatches. It builds and drops seamlessly, making for a cut that will work equally well in peak time or warm up situations. On the AM version, piano keys are integrated into the groove, breaking down to create the kind of wide-eyed euphoria that will work everywhere from Panorama Bar to Ibiza clubs. Deetron does it again.
Review: Sam Geiser aka Deetron serves up a 5 tracker on his label Character. They are the producer's take on house music from the viewpoint of an accomplished DJ of nearly twenty years. Having carved a long standing reputation in both the techno and house worlds, Geiser exposes another side of his personality here. Utilising soul, funk and hip-hop production techniques, the tracks are built on sampled material, much in the vein of his earlier and heavily charted tracks. "I Got To Have You" starts off the EP in fine form, this soulful number having the same energy as previous anthems like "I Cling". He then gets down with some superb hi-tech soul on the stylish "Take Me Higher" while loopy latin house gets its turn on the infectious "Supper In Casa Blanca"
Review: Character is a relatively new venture from Switzerland's foremost purveyor of straight-up tech house goodness. Deetron is commonly found hanging around Music Man but he's started this new operation as a direct outlet for his music, and he follows up last year's Theory Of Light EP with the surefire party-starting attack of "The Believer". Both in its original and dub form, the chunky square wave bass notes and harmonising string notes hit with that channeling of Motor City magic that Deetron has made his name on. As an added bonus, "Dexterity" offers a completely different proposition made up of minimal drum lines and edgy bleep tones.
Review: Music Over Matter is the album that Sami Geiser's previous releases had hinted that he was capable of. Featuring a long list of collaborators, it varies in style but does not lose the Swiss DJ's love of house and techno. The somewhat unpredictable pairing of Ripperton and Cooly G guest on "Thinking", a bleepy torch song covered in layers of electronic static, while Fritz Kalkbrenner sings evoactively on the piano-led "Bright City Lights". On a more dance floor tip is "Crave" with Hercules & Love Affair, where smooth piano tinkling and dulcet tones play out over a primal rhythm, while "Sing" is possibly Deetron's finest moment to date, a conga-led disco affair bathed in soft-focus Moogy weirdness.
Review: For whatever reason, until now crossover success has evaded the supremely talented Swiss DJ Deetron aka Sami Geiser. However, that could all change with the release of "Character". Seen on the most superficial level, it's a rolling techno groove, but that basic description does it a disservice. Epic melody lines flit in and out of rich, sumptuous strings, and the purring, building bass is reminiscent of that other great melodic techno track, "Diabla" by Funk D'Void. That's not all; the release also features "Can't Love You More". With its rolling, tribal groove and aching vocal that states 'can't love you more', it could be Deetron's answer to Octave One's "Blackwater".
Review: Given Deetron's penchant for mining the sounds of classic Detroit techno, his ear for melody, and the presence of Ben Westbeech on vocals, it's perhaps unsurprising that "Rhythm" has the air of a classic tech-soul anthem. It comes backed with some stellar remixes, too. Chief among these are the two rubs from Will Saul and October (vocal and instrumental), which sound like a cross between Laurent Garnier's "Crispy Bacon", Ken Ishii and Jeff Mills' more melodic, electro-centric efforts - all murky bass, heavy rhythms and intergalactic melodies. If those are a little too tough for your tastes, there's also a classic deep US house interpretation from Karizma which is similarly sublime.
Review: By now, we should all know what to expect from Sam 'Deetron' Geiser, namely quietly uplifting, Detroit techno influenced deep house with lashings of soul. "Out of My Head", featuring the silky smooth vocals of Ovasoul 7, certainly ticks all the right boxes - sharp synth-strings, gorgeous melodies, great space in the mix and spacey synths - making it a summer anthem in the making. The remixes, too, are rather stellar, with George Fitzgerald in particular impressing with his rising, building, floor-friendly take. KiNK steps up to the plate, too, delivering superb vocal and dub versions that add some shaker-driven shuffle and old skool sassiness to proceedings. Impressive stuff, as expected.
Review: Is Seth Troxler a romantic at heart? It's hard to say, but he does go off on an unexpected rant about 'this thing called love' for his contribution to Love Song. The fact that his vocals are surrounded by a Deetron's cool, trance synths and throbbing, bassy groove, make his utterances sound all the more convincing. Steve Bug has been put in charge of the remixes and does a fine job. Working under his Traffic Signs guise - a project that Bug started some time ago for his Chicago-style experiments - both versions see the German DJ/producer push the track into the kind of grinding, jacking sound that exudes pure carnal appeal.
Review: Swiss hi-tech soul legend Sam Gaiser aka Deetron recently made it into the ranks of the revered !K7 DJ-Kicks mix series. In mandatory fashion, the label now presents a exclusive track that was featured in the mix. Featuring British soul futurist Steve Spacek on vocals, the emotive "Choose Me" is a lush and bittersweet number - the future of techno-soul if we've ever heard it. As brilliant as that was, it's all about the Jupiter mix up next, which retains all the evocative qualities of the original, but delves into much deeper and life-affirming vibes.
Review: This an altogether epic offering from Deetron; a vast collection of un-mixed tracks from his brilliant DJ Kicks mix (naturally included as a bonus cut) that is little less than a lesson in the evolution of techno over the last three decades. Amongst the 38 tracks you'll find fine representatives of a myriad of sub-genres (intelligent techno, dub techno, IDM, ambient techno, gospel techno, and so on), as well as past, present and future classics (Damier and Trent's "Morning Factory", Spacetime Continuum's "Swing Factory", Mark Ernestus's recent Equinoxx remix, the Motor City bliss of Rhythim is Rhythim AKA Derrick May's "Ka-o-tic Harmony", a brilliant old Black Dog Productions workout). In other words, it's a breathlessly brilliant collection of both well-known and obscure gems. It comes heartily recommended.
Review: Over the course of the last decade, Swiss stalwart Deetron has been responsible for a string of impressive remixes. Happily, these - and many others you may have missed - have now been collected together on the decidedly epic Re-Creation: Remixes Compiled. As you'd expect, the 25-track set flits between full-throttle, peak-time friendly techno futurism, bustling deep house goodness and more downbeat explorations that defy his reputation as a maker of killer club cuts. Highlights include the loved-up synth breakdowns and jacking, Chicago-style groove of his Juan MacLean remix, a wonderfully retro-futurist take on George Fitzgerald's "Every Inch", a thrusting, stab-happy revision of Quarion and a lusciously jazzy take on Todd Terje's "Alfonso Muskedender". That said, on another day we could have listed another five or six highlights: it really is that good.
