Not sure what I can say about this one. Its a weird, barely finished concoction from ’03. Aside from mangled beats it also features a few samples from John Cage’s Prepared Piano. The plan was to put those to better use at some point, but that still hasn’t happened.
If the title makes no sense to you, that makes two of us. Otherwise, fill me in. Either way, I hope you enjoy.
Barrel Bottom is a fun track that took a while to get to sound right, and I’m still not totally happy with the final cut. However, the groovy beat and catchy synth riff earned it a spot on an Alek Biotic record released on the French ExtraBall label and featuring three other tracks including the title track: Idiom. (See cover on left).
The voice sample used in Barrel Bottom is by Alex Peace and was pulled off a Subliminal release by CZR & ITO titled Bringin’ The Funk. Chicago based producer and DJ, CZR is probably my favorite house producer and while I haven’t kept up with his recent releases I used to buy his vinyl without even listening to it first, knowing that the production and grooves would always stand out above the rest.
Samples from Alex Peace’s accappella on Bringin’ The Funk record also ended up in a few Biotic tracks. I’ll try to point them out as we go forward.
Back to Barrel Bottom. Again, no download links since this record is available for sale, for example here.
Dirty Yellow was released on the German imprint PlanetNatus in 2004. The label, run by Robert Natus features a collection of “Favorite Tools” records, with this track appearing on the first such release along with tracks by Bjorn Bommersheim, DJ Mahatma as well as Robert himself. A well-rounded hard techno release, Favorite Tools is available for purchase on iTunes and elsewhere. I’d bet that if you tried a little harder, you might even find yourself a vinyl copy. (Its very likely that I gave away all of mine.)
Anyway… the track has a nice, crispy groove driven by the shuffled hi-hats and rolling bassline. It features some vocal samples mangled into a new phrase which I tried to understand and struggled until my girl said that it sounds like “Dirty Yellow”. So that became the title.
The track also features a nice break around the midpoint which follows the bass theme more directly and hints at the inspiration for the track which is (loosely) a traditional Eastern European beat.
Say What?
It appears that this track has been re-released just last month (!) on a compilation titled: Tretmuehle Pres. Connected Vol. 1 – Real Techno Guide, which also features tracks by some of my favorite techno artists, including John Acquaviva, Lars Klein, Redhead, WJ Nenze, Neil Landstrum, Basic Implant (Sven Dedek & Alex Bau), Dave The Drummer, Henry Cullen and others. Pretty ridiculous collection. I’m thrilled to be included in that mix.
No downloads here, but you can listen to Dirty Yellow right now:
Ego Programme is an experimental track from ’04. It combines IDM and Drum n’ Bass elements into a complex and trippy arrangement which stands alone in the Montaz/Biotic catalog.
Inspired by the sound of Squarepusher and Funckarma/Quench, the track features a variety of mangled beat chunks and even some orchestral elements, played using a (since forgotten) software application. Non-sampled beats were arranged using Native Instruments’ Battery, while the played synths were mostly played on the Access Virus B.
I’m not exactly sure why this genre wasn’t pursued more since but its something to keep in mind since I do dig it. Hope you will as well.
Middleman appeared on Bazooka10 label’s first EP, along with the title track: G-Lock. If this label sounds familiar, its because another Biotic track (Ghost, covered here already) appeared on a Bazooka10 compilation as well.
The track itself is a pretty early work (#21 in fact) and was produced in 2001. While the raw production shows both its age and its adventurousness, there is a certain quality about it that I’ve always liked. So much so, that the string sounds and synth arrangements make it a candidate for a remix in the future.
While this wasn’t the first ever Biotic release (Ghost would be it), this was the first non Various Artists release available on vinyl. The photo above shows its label, along with the name misspelling on it. And no, the mislabels wouldn’t stop there. Future Alek Biotic releases would contain mis-named or mixed up tracks, even the artist name. But seriously… who cares?
This just might be the biggest Dopevector release yet(!), and I’m thrilled to make it available in source format. Overtone is a remix of a track by the same name, but since I like it so much better than the original, it basically won over the title. The track was scheduled for release on the (awesome) Canadian techno label Ascend Recordings, however for one reason or another it never came out. Ascend hasn’t had a release in a few years and it appears that the label is no longer around which is too bad since I really liked its sound and have a bunch of the releases on vinyl.
In any case, Overtone remains one of my all time favorites and is likely my most satisfying production effort. What separates it in my mind is emphasis on the second beat which gives it an interesting rhythm shuffle. Rather than setting the tone of the track, the beat on this one serves the main theme and follows it closely. Obviously, the key element (preserved from the original) is the massive distorted riff, thickened by a sub level bass. These, and other synth sounds were played by a combination of the Access Virus B, and Native Instruments’ Reaktor software. Drums were played on the NI Battery drum sampler and dirtied up with the usual suspects.
(Btw, I’ll likely post the original version at some point in the future, so if you dig it do come back for more.)
In case you haven’t noticed, for the first time that the Production and Posted On dates are the same. That can mean only one thing. A brand, spankin’ new release! That’s right. Read on and check it out.
Compiling, mixing and recording sets can be a long and exhaustive process. But as a live mix, I really thought that this one would be done quickly.
Wrong.
Endless last minute track substitutions and additions, re-takes, multiple mastering attempts (each separated by careful review of the entire 80 minute set on different speakers and headphones) all stood in the way of the final recording. But all that is behind us now. I’m thrilled to have this set finally perfected and available to you. Get ready for: Present Day.
While it’s precedent, The Hook Up Service, was your summer pool party mash-up stacked with funky, up-beat grooves, Present Day is a focused and dark live set featuring the latest releases by techno artists spanning the globe; from places like Argentina, U.S.(Texas and Minnesota), Ireland, France, Germany, Slovenia, all the way to Japan.
Mixed live using the incredible Vestax VCM 600 controller and Ableton’s Live software, Present Day is a vintage Alek Biotic live set, updated to present day repertoire and technology.
So, turn up the volume, hit play and enjoy. Track list will be posted here soon. Comments are always welcome.
Track List:Btw, if you like Present Day, be sure to also check out Stereohype which has a similar vibe.
Triage is a techno track from ’04. If my memory serves me right, the bass line was played using the sweet Imposcar synth. And since I’m a little short on time today, I’m going to leave it at that. Wave download is included. Enjoy.
Anathema was released on Gotham Grooves in 2005 on the Various Villains: Volume 2 record, which also featured tracks by Agent Orange, Adam Jay and Noah Pred. As mentioned in the previous post on Sativa, the two tracks are closely related and follow a similar sound pattern. The second of the two, Anathema is the more mature. For more production details, please check out the post on Sativa.
I was fortunate to have a release on Gotham Grooves’ first Various Villains record as well, which featured a track called Directive. We’ll cover that one here as well at some point.
Btw, while this was a Montaz production, it ended up on the release under the Alek Biotic handle. But, who cares… after all, BeatPort also misspelled “Villains”. But the player below is nice.
I’m also including our own player so you can hear the track in its entirety and in higher quality. But no download this time since its available at BeatPort.
I’ve always loved the unique sound and versatility of the ride cymbal. Its distinct sound can be disguised and blended into a variety of genres while remaining very common and bare. I bring this up because Sativa is a track based on a sampled beat with a driving ride cymbal which marked a new direction in my productions. Coupled with a deep bass on the other end of the spectrum, Sativa really fills up the air, with the mid range filled by a mangled percussive riff and a twisted and evolving line played through Native Instruments’ Absynth synth. To get the rich harmonic sound from a very simple melody I layered multiple takes, each processed differently. The track also makes heavy use of delay and reverb effects which add to its spaciousness.
By the way, a very close relative of Sativa is a track titled Anathema, which was released on Gotham Grooves in 2005. We’ll cover that release at some point in the future.
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