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.
Stereohype a techno house set from 2006, heavily induced with funky and tribal grooves. It was the last live set recorded with vinyl as the source. As you probably know, the volume of vinyl records varies from one to the next as does the balance of the (left/right) channels. To make things even more problematic, turntables, needles, cables, mixers, etc. all join the effort of making sound of mixed sets unbalanced and uneven, and making it that much more difficult for the DJ to achieve a tight blend. While that’s always a part of the challenge (and the fun), getting an even mix became a central focus of this recording and I did a few takes before getting something I was happy with. I’ll admit that some volume/balance adjustments were made during mastering and I think they really helped.
The problem described above are main reasons why I switched to DJ products like Traktor Scratch, Serato and Ableton Live – all of which are based on audio files played from the computer which minimizes the stereo problems to some degree and allows for more (visual as well as aural) control over the sound of each track.
On to the mix itself…
Its probably one of my most favorite mixes and the response has been very positive. Many of the tracks on it were frequently in rotation and got lots of play time at the Frying Pan, Liquids and other NYC venues around this time. Heavily featured is the artist Hertz, whose Alone & By Myself is a classic and comes in around the 19th minute. Another big-time track from the period is Joris Voorn‘s Incident. (As I look back at the track list, I want to mention each of the tracks as they are all amazing but I’ll highlight just a couple of more here.) Tobias Van Hofsten‘s Afterhours is one of those massive tracks with a huge driving bassline. Memory Lane (better knownw as Tomie Nevada) who could do no wrong delivers easily one of my most favorite techno house tracks of all time – Untitled 4a – whose driving raw elements make my head spin (pleasantly, that is) every time I hear it. Lastly, Stereohype is the only mix I ever recorded which features one of my own productions, Idiom, released on the French label ExtraBall in 2004 (around 48th minute of the mix).
Track List:
Blueface – Nan In
Mario Lenzi – The Loop of Love
Memory Lane – 4a
Samuel L. Session – Less
Hertz – Phonk
Memory Lane – 4b2
Hertz – Alone & By Myself
Deetron – Don’t You Know Why? (Edit 9000)
Patrick Dubois – Another Track (Southsoniks Remix)
Joris Voorn – Incident
Frank Biazzi – Reflections
Unknown – Expression Sessions 004
Cave – Paseo (Hertz Remix) Alek Biotic – Idiom
Marco Carola – Question 7b1
Bad Pimps – Get On Up!
Tobias Van Hofsten – Afterhours
Marco Carola – Question 7b2
Hertz – Work It (remix)
Nico Awtsventin – Aurelon
Hertz – Progress
