alek biotic – Page 2

Tag: alek biotic (page 2 of 5)

Barrel Bottom

February 22, 2010 / admin / Comments Off

barrelBottom

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).

idiom

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

February 12, 2010 / admin / Comments Off

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:

Middleman

January 27, 2010 / admin / Comments Off

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?

Download: Middleman (mp3)

Overtone

January 20, 2010 / admin / Comments Off

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.)

Download: Overtone (mp3)Download: Overtone (wav)

The Culprit

January 13, 2010 / admin / Comments Off

The Culprit is a circa 2003, loopy, funky techno jam inspired by the sounds of Joey Beltram and DJ CZR. A few labels nearly picked this one up, but at the time I had no other productions which would make good record companions, so for that and probably other random reasons it never made it out. Its loop-based structure makes it fun to play and useful DJ tool, so I’m making it available here, in original wave format.

Almost entirely sample based (I believe the only played part was the bass) its got a retro vibe dominated by the thick, filtered groove. Have a listen and download it below.

Download: The Culprit (mp3)Download: The Culprit (wav)

Alek Biotic Delivers a Brand New Live Mix: Present Day

January 7, 2010 / admin / Comments Off

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.

Download: Present Day (mp3)

Track List:
Minimorph – Marrakech
OTP, David K, Jerome Pacman – Out Of Phase
Makotrax – What a Fxxxing (Side B Katana Remix)
Phase – Subraum-Omen
Dollkraut – Cheveux Noir
Lemos – Jo The Monster (Agaric Remix)
Wolfgang Gartner – Latin Fever
Solead – Les Capitales
D. Diggler – Bipolar 3.0
Phil Kieran – Past The Present Future
Recilod – Softrum (D. Diggler Remix)
Cari Lekebusch – Spindizzy
Umek – Work This Data
A.Mochi – Black Out
Sasha Carassi & Gianluca Luisi – Homer (Dustin Zahn Remix)
Phil Kieran – Never Ending Mountain
Kalon – Haiku (Female Remix)
Pfirter – De a Poco
Secret Cinema – Jazz Me

Btw, if you like Present Day, be sure to also check out Stereohype which has a similar vibe.

Triage

December 29, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

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.

Download: Triage (mp3)Download: Triage (wav)

Sativa

December 8, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

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.

Download: Sativa (mp3)Download: Sativa (wav)

Exclusive: Rough Cut

November 24, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Rough Cut is a hard techno track with a driving motive and thick groove. What I always liked about it is that it “grew” organically, much on its own with me just adding some water, so to speak. Much of the filtering was performed live and the final mix was initially considered the rough cut, which explains the title.

Due to the fast pace of music technology and the global reach and influence of dance music, many tracks quickly become characteristic of a specific time-frame (a polite way to call them “dated”), but I’d like to think that this one spans generations. Whatever,… enough metaphors. Here it is – another exclusive, and available in WAV and MP3 formats.

Download: Rough Cut (mp3)Download: Rough Cut (wav)

Rough Cut is a hard techno track with a driving motive and thick groove. What I always liked about it is that it evolved organically, much on its own with me just adding some water, so to speak, here and there. Much of the filtering was performed live and the final mix was initially considered the rough cut, which explains the title.

Due to the fast pace of music technology and the global reach and influence of dance music, many track quickly become characteristic of a specific timeframe, but I’d like to think that this one spans “generasions”. Whatever,… enough metaphores. Here it is – another exclusive, available in MP3 and WAV.

Incognito

November 16, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Incognito is an old housey track. It was produced in 2002 and almost got released on New York’s Gotham Grooves label shortly after the release of Funk Matter EP (which came up a couple of months ago in this post), but I forget why it never made it out. The artwork on the left was being considered as well at the time.

Anyhow, much like Funk Matter, Incognito is a sample-based, up-tempo jam and features some nice bells in the background. Wav download is provided.

Exclusive:< For the first time on on this blog (if my memory serves me right), I’m posting a few key samples used on a track so you can mess with them, if you’d like:

Download: Incognito Bassline (wav)Download: Incognito Guitar Loop (wav)

If you just want to listen to or download the track these links are for you:

Download: Incognito (mp3)Download: Incognito (wav)

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