Review: Ben Klock is Berghain's DJ's DJ and Marcel Dettmann is the club's purist, but Norman Nodge is the teacher. Without the lawyer, family man and DJ's influence, it is arguable whether the Berlin club where both reside would enjoy the same kind of global profile. Nodge's DJing played a central role in shaping the club's musical aesthetic. Mixing classic house and techno styles with contemporary variants, his selection veers from the wild abstractions of Birds Two Cage and Oni Ayhun to the explosive white noise intensity of Planet Assault Systems' take on The Nightripper's "Tone Exploitation" and the stomping industrial techno of Charlton's "Black Slong". While Nodge is clearly an expert in building a set, he doesn't simply ramp up the tempo and cruise to a predictable climax. Nodge follows the PAS/Charlton segue with the gnarly rhythms and chain mail percussion of Ctrls and Chance 'Chancellor' McDermott, but then drops into the trippy acid and infectious vocals of Tim Taylor & DJ Slip's "New York Minds". He follows this shift in sound with Radioactive Man's melodic electro bass and Legowelt's warm synth version of Xosar's "Rainy Day Juno Jam", bringing to a close Berghain's most impressive mix yet.
Review: Orlando Voorn back in the house and it's sounding fresh! It brings only a second and rare release to the artist's own Voorn Kollektiv label, that until now was home to the sole Yes We Can single from 2008. Back then it was Obama in the headlines, now it's Corona, with Voorn doing what he can to help his industry prospering with a truly soulful, even tongue in cheek, house number that plays on sexiness as much as it does irony. Think something like Detroit Grand Pubahs sexed up alongside Theo Parrish's rhodes and Vorn's own glittering drum machines. Instrumental version for the heads, vocal mix for the party.
Review: While Orlando Voorn has always been associated with Detroit-influenced techno, his recent In My World full-length on Rush Hour cast the net wider for musical inspiration. In particular, it contained a number of sparkling deep house cuts. It's this deep house influence that he explores further on this two-tracker for Piston Recordings. He begins with the hazy swing of "Lost In Heaven", where looped cellos and violins mingle with drowsy chords and soft-touch beats. The strings are even more prominent on virtual flipside "Driven", with Voorn's clipped guitars and orchestral motifs rising and falling over a positive, ear-pleasing deep house backdrop.
Goon (feat Trish Van Eynde/Entire Kickless) - (5:19) 130 BPM
Anti Political - (5:16) 136 BPM
At Last - (8:06) 126 BPM
Chicago By Night - (6:17) 122 BPM
Predator's Cave - (5:35) 138 BPM
The Swamp - (7:08) 136 BPM
In My World - (6:06) 130 BPM
Review: Dutch techno legend Orlando Voorn is back! The man behind such seminal aisses as Fix, Designer Loops and Basic Bastard presents a varied palette of grooves on this album, from the smack electro of opener "Turn Left Right Here" and the fierce "Predators Cave" to the high tech soul of "Lead Me The Right Way" or "Anti Political" (which could have been on Transmat it's so soulful). There's some straight up dancefloor gold too of course, such as on "Chicago By Night" and "In My World" but still carry on with some serious injections of futuristic blues! Highly recommended.
