'A dance is the devil's procession, and he that entereth into a dance, entereth into his possession.' St Francis de Sales (as found in 'Turn the Beat Around', Peter Shapiro's excellent book on Disco)
Massimiliano Pagliara is a future star, no doubt about it. Few people these days manage to be stellar from the get go, but his first release on Balihu was just that. A perfect mix of everything that moves him, whether disco, house, techno or electro. Call it house perhaps, but Massimiliano has the talent to make his tracks sound futuristic and deep, influenced by elements from the past, while updating them with the present and the future. Digging into pure sound and clubbing at the same time, he has a good shot at arriving once again at the dark side of the moog, or any other tool he might use. The dj-set here is at times melancolic, atmospheric and nostalgic, but never loses forward momentum. Electronic music, and house music in particular, is at its best when it suggests something outerworldly, almost glossy, while keeping in with an underground desire to keep the groove going and to change or update it at the same time. Listen to this dj-mix and find out for yourself that club music can be the most beautiful contradiction.
Manna, our collaborative project with forwart and plain, ventures into the night again with guests DJ Sprinkles, aka Terre Thaemlitz, Madteo and Massimiliano Pagliara.
DJ Sprinkles is the nom de plume of Terre Thaemlitz, one of the most prolific artists, producers, cultural entrepeneurs, etc, to ever rise from the electronic music underground. His brand a deep and politically charged house music, his releases on Comatonse, Mule Musiq and Mille Plateaux are all classics. Essential!! Massimiliano Pagliara, born in Italy, but these days residing in Berlin, is a star in the making. With a record on Balihu in 2008, an EP on Live at Robert Johnson, Rushhour and an upcoming collaboration with Roger 23 on meakusma, Massimiliano’s first visit to Belgium will be a memorable one. Madteo’s debut album Memoria was released on Morphine Records in 2008 to great critical acclaim. His sound is a fusion of hiphop and the deep end of house. Unique, deep and beautiful, futuristic stuff, that nods to the past.
After last year's promising edition with Shackleton, we are again going back to nature for another music marathon at the unique and intimate bunker location in the heart of the Ardennes, next to the border with Luxembourg.
With, amongst many others, special guest Madteo playing his first show in Belgium, one week before his show at the Bota Bar in Brussels. With his Memoria album on Morphine in 2008 and his upcoming release on meakusma, New York based Madteo takes references of Disco, Jazz, Dub, Noise, HipHop and even Detroit Techno to exciting and new extremes.
Herrmutt Lobby will present one of their rare & phat electro-hop DJ-sets with scratch and controller madness at its best! The Hague based Walrus, originally from Brussels, is part of the prolific 54kolaktiv stable and is presenting one of his first live shows. Expect an electic mix of Dubstep infected tripping Techno.
If the weatherís good, Brussels Manna, Plain and Café Belga resident DJ Sensu will close down the inside part of the night with one of his eclectic, surprising and intense DJ sets.
We'll then continue the party outside.
During the whole night (and perhaps day as well), a special outside soundsystem will host long DJ sets by Lamadameaveclechien's SoFa, Lalai Drama & Lari Fari, next to Load and Clear's Foton and meakusma soundsystem.
There's a lot of camping space, so bring your tent. This is the event to kickstart the summer!!!
Back to nature - burning bodies in the sun
Back to nature - just like lemmings, every one
Back to nature - capitalist aircraft fill the air
Back to nature - aerosol sun breaks on air
meakusma pres. Madteo w/ Sensational “Naughtica Live set” at samurai.fm
'I'm a bit of a straight kickdrum and bass slut.'
Playing around with obvious and less obvious influences, mixing hiphop, house and techno, Madteo delivers a live set of downright future hiphop. Together with MC and his "brother from another mother" Sensational, on the wonky hiphop tracks featured in this set, he uses understatement as his artistic means of expression. Sensational and I go back from when, in the mid 90s, I used to be the one doing the (boring) mailings with his very first few solo LPs from my days helping out at the Wordsound offices in Williamsurg, BK...then he fell into some hard times, a young broken hearted uniquely talented MC with no place to sleep who wandered the streets of NYC 24/7 on the hustle for about 5-6 or even 7 years.....so for a period of a few years he ended up sleeping on my couch a lot and that's how our music collaborations jumpstarted.
With a basic set-up, without too much technological trickery, layering or anything like that, he focuses on the few sounds that he thinks work and then indeed makes them work. His acclaimed debut Memoria on Morphine Records is an essential record for anyone interested in the future of club music (we're all supposed to be, aren't we).
A self-confessed straight kickdrum and bass slut, this Madteo live set sounds like the past, integrated in some glorious future.
On Saturday 14 March 2009, meakusma returns to Recyclart, presenting their uncompromising take on electronic music.
Amsterdam based Newworldaquarium stands for grooves without end, slowly changing colour and shape, sneaking their way into your head. His 2008 ‘The Dead Bears’ was hailed as a landmark album by top dj/producers and journalists alike. Newworldaquarium uses the Detroit legacy and gently twists it around, using records, samples, loops and beats to conjure up a low-tempo, deep and subtle disco-like groove.
Of Finnish descent, but born and raised in California, Tin Man has two major musical passions: fragile, deep electronica and acid house. With acclaimed releases on the Finnish record label Sähkö/Keys of Life, Cheap Records from Vienna and his own imprint, Global A, his most recent ‘Wasteland’ E.P. is his most bold so far, fusing chicago house with an opiated version of European electronica and indietronica. This is his first set in Belgium, not to be missed.
For the second time, Swayzak Soundsystem’s renowned DJ, producer and musical magician Roger 23 comes to Recyclart with his sophisticated, spontaneous and energetic mix of electro, house, techno and futuristic ear candy. His magic touch will, yet again, transform the dancefloor into an intergalactic musical adventure.
Last but not least, Brussels’ finest & first electro DJ, Surreal Sound founder, producer for labels such as Nature & Roulette and a resident at the Fuse club's first season, Joost de Lijser will warm up the night with a 3 hour set of rare acid house records.
Visuals by Rüts DVD contributors Zuper! and Kris Klijsters.
Be there and be early!
Note: we will make sure there's a photographer around, covering the event with a set of pictures. These will be made available through our website. Contrary to today's trend of posting pictures on Facebook and other networking websites, we would like to ask you not to bother taking too many pictures and just enjoy the party. Posting pictures on Facebook has the averse effect of people being afraid of an embarrassing picture showing up somewhere. A party can be like a cocoon, protected from the outside, drowned, for a couple of hours, in futuristic music, not futuristic gadgets. Let's party!
Resonance Ghent 2009 ::: Day 2 ::: in collaboration with meakusma
On Saturday 28 February, we are teaming up with Resonance in Ghent to bring you performances and dj sets by Efdemin, Claro Intelecto & Andy Stott, Peter Van Hoesen, Move D & Benjamin Brunn. On this second night of the three day Resonance festival, in the ballroom of Voouit, we will also focus on our recently released audiovisual rüts DVD, a collaboration with Scottish music collective Ampoule. It features video's and short films with music by Peter Van Hoesen, Move D, Benjamin Brunn and many others. This event is a collaborative effort of two collectives, presented as a performance night co-hosted by meakusma.
After the three rüts vinyl mini compilations, comes the first meakusma DVD. True to the collective's spirit, it functions as a mini-compendium of established artists and debutants of whom many have already been featured on the vinyl releases. 23 tracks by Move D & Benjamin Brunn, Kate Simko, Pub, Subjex, Terrence Dixon, Herrmutt Lobby, Roger 23, Kinora Viewer, Roebin de Freitas, Peter Van Hoesen, Immer.Chic, Trifonic, Rony & Suzy,... get a visual interpretation by, amongst others, man vs magnet, Chris Parks, Defasten, Kris Clijsters, Les agents Myop, Scott Pagano, institut Goetze, Humanstudio, ego, miH, Ewo, Dirk Ignoul... The visual contributions range in style from more straightforward digital visual design to cut-up pieces to short movies, whilst still having a distinctly understated feel. Trying to establish networks between musicians and visual artists, the results are often subtly surprising. The visual artists have been given total freedom in the development of their pieces and in their interpretation of the music. Created with the kind help of the Youth Education & Culture project and compiled together with the Ampoule collective from Scotland (still to become absolutely notorious for their high quality electronic music output), meakusma has chosen quality over shock effect.
As bonus you can drag & drop all tracks as wav-files them to your hard drive. The record is distributed by several distributors and can be found in selected physical and digital recordshops around the world, on the ampoule website and in our own webshop. More info and individual snippets can be found in the release section.
You can get the DVD here
First of all we want to thank all volunteers, artists and guests for two fantastic events at Katakomben & Recyclart! It was a blast!
As little Christmas gift you can find in the media section one hour of Surgeon's more then excellent DJ set at Katakomben, as well as Aardvarck's refreshing, suprising and polarising set and Bachel's very fine close down at Recyclart! Special thanks to all of them!
Watch out for more exciting events, releases, Samurai shows,... in the next year.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
13.12.08
manna & meakusma at faro/recyclart
Saturday the 13th of December, meakusma continues the party at Recyclart. A manna event in the afternoon at Faro will give the whole an even more festive feel. The night part at Recyclart promises to be nothing more than spectacular with the debut performance in Belgium of techno and electronica legend T++, new techno deity Shed also debuting live in Belgium, Holland's answer to Detroit Aardvarck, Bachel of the Ampoule collective and Will O'Brien, the man behind Sub-Scape.
Manna at Faro, in the afternoon, once again plunges into leftfield electronica. Pub & Pliiant head things here with their unbridled take on hiphop and electronica. Pliiant will also do a solo live set. Ukraine's Vakula is debuting in Belgium, just as Immer.Chic, mixing things up in an unusually eclectic way. Manna, Plain and Cafe Belga resident Sensu kicks things off in his distinct style.
At the manna event, the 'ruets' DVD will also be screened.
meakusma returns to this unique basement location, where many things started for them 10 years ago. For this night, celebrating the 'rüts' compilation, created with the kind help of the Youth Education & Culture project, we aim to spoil you with 2 rooms, a stellar line up and the state of the art Funktion One soundsytem.
From 8 pm till 11 pm, there will also be an exhibition featuring the work of Hervé Jungblut (ego) and Benjamin Rondia. Next to that, there´s selected screenings of videos from the DVD planned and, also, the rüts DVD will be available for a special price for people with a presale ticket.
The third part of the rüts vinyl mini compilation series features 4 tracks, searching for common and less common grounds between functionality and abstraction.
Immer.Chic kicks things off with a genuine techno trip called «The End Of Eternity». A dark and futuristic track, with a stumbling groove that stands out because of its atmos¬pheric density and its unconventional sound design.
Vakula is a man of rhythm, musically raised by his grandmother, who introduced him to african american soul and jazz music. This education has had its consequences, as is shown on «We Shall Dance». Basically an amalgam of jittering and spacy sounds, Vakula layers different grooves and soulful samples over a house rhythm that directly aims for the legs.
On the B-side, two more established producers step into the limelight. Paul David Rollmann is a man of many trades. Here, under his Even Tuell moniker, he delivers an easy but also unsettled track. «Thanden Strakk» is a mid-tempo shoegazer of a house track. Softly tapping beats, an organ playing chords in the background as well as a light but dissonant synth chord form the framework of this psycho-trip of a track.
Move D & Benjmin Brunn are clearly soulmates. After superb releases on Smallville and Bine, they are featured here with a track that fully exploits the possibilities of stereo. A wonderful piece that communicates a spatial deepness, echoing Basic Channel.
Part two of the rüts compilation again subtly touches upon different ends of the electronic music spectrum, with atmosphere and density right in the center of its throbbing heart.
The a-side features two new talents. Morthen Kiang kicks things off with a driving beat, full of groove and dub elements.
Rezenio Kariem, a.k.a. Rezkar, is a young guy from South Africa. Over a varied house beat, Rezkar layers an abundance of strings-laden sounds, making for a fl uid, almost plasma-like feel.
The b-side dives head first into more experimental territory. Belgian techno producer Valyom° surprises with a surreal and dream-like track. On «Mermaids», metres-high waves of sound collide with a bumpy beat, creating a throbbing surface.The final statement comes from Roger 23. «No Movement In A Cycle» truely is a dark and chordish thunderstorm of a track that moves incessantly forward. Powerful and dystopian, no beats, with just a shimmer of light at the end of its tunnel.
This special event on the 28th of November is presented within the collaboration we worked out with Ampoule over the last 20 months. With the kind help of the "Youth education & culture" project, we managed to establish a label platform with our first 12" vinyl mini compilations and a DVD including 25 music videos, 6 short movies and 1 poster. From 9pm onwards, one of the most legendary locations in Scotland called 'Club 69', with the support of Rubadub, will be host to an Ampoule and meakusma label night featuring Pub, Peter van Hoesen & Hermutt Lobby, accompanied by dj-sets by Martin & Euan from Rubadub.
So in case you are around, please come say hello and dance your socks off.
A selection of clips from the forthcoming rüts DVD are previewed at SMartival in Brussels on the 28th November 2008. The DVD has been compiled in collaboration with Ampoule records from Glasgow and contains musicvideos and short films from artists such as Move D & Benjamin Brunn, Pub, Chris Parks, Terrence Dixon, Roger 23, Kate Simko, man vs magnet, Peter Van Hoesen, Visual Kitchen, Les Agents Myop, Scott Pagano, Nick Bax, Ego, Herrmutt Lobby, Subjex, Roebin de Freitas, miH, Trifonic, Rony & Suzy, Ewo, Dirk Ignoul etc. It will be released on meakusma at the end of this year. After the screening, Ego (Ambivalence, Lmalc - BE) will be available to answer some questions
We are very sorry to have to announce that Monolake can not play a live set at our December event at Recyclart due to a mistake by his booking agency.
Luckily, we have found the perfect replacement in Berlin's Shed, presenting his new album 'Shedding the Past' for the first time in Belgium! Shedding the Past is without exaggeration the best electronic dance music album of 2008 so far, fluidly taking in influences of Techno, Dubstep, Electronica and Minimal and was released on the prestigious OstGut imprint, Berghain's very own label.
We are trying our very best to present Monolake in the near future and hopefully, after some years of trying, it will finally happen next year!!
Café Belga & manna pres an early nuit blanche event
This new edition of Manna cheats a bit on the concept of the 'White Night'. From 8 p.m. till 1 a.m., the exquisite Café Belga will host an early evening party featuring artists Kate Simko, Katrien Klausing and the Manna residents Sensu, MCK and Molte.
Part of one of Nuit Blanche's 'Off' events, this Manna once again focuses on the unknown and the unexpected. Chicago-based Kate Simko makes her debut appearance in Belgium. With a classical music background, Kate has been defining her electronic musical stance on labels such as Spectral Sound, Traum, and Kupei Musika. Her music plays with genre borders, textures, delicate melodies and a solid groove underneath.
Next to Kate, Manna has invited one of the biggest names of the Belgian ambient scene of the nineties. Katrien Klausing has an impressive track record working for labels like R&S, Mute, Tommy Boy, etc and touring with artists such as Biosphere, Aphex Twin, Derrick May, Carl Craig, and many more. Truly one of the great ladies of Belgian electronic music, Katrien's set is not to be missed.
Manna stays focused on featuring artists that sound different without preaching any revolutions. No hypes, just quality music: the unknown and the unexpected, as was said before. See you soon.
Before releasing the rüts DVD in collaboration with ampoule records, we are happy to present the first of three 12" vinyl releases titled rüts.
On the A-side Peter Van Hoesen delivers another energetic and hypnotic techno track while ampoule-head Pub comes up with one of his darker electronica tracks. On the B-side you can find an un-released vintage Clatterbox track which can be seen as a continuation of the downtempo styles fondly remembered by Clear and Clatterbox fans; and another tripping masterpiece of old-breed Detroit-based producer Terrence Dixon.
The record is distributed exclusively by Rubadub and can be found in selected physical and digital recordshops around the world, on the ampoule website (www.ampoulerecords.com) and in our own webshop. More info and snippets can be found in the release section!
Septic Heart live (Skull Disco - UK), Roebin de Freitas live (Curle - BE), Cupp Cave live (aka Kingfishberg - BE), Solariumface dj (Lamadameaveclechien - BE), Phoenetics dj (54Kolaktiv - BE), Lari Fari dj (Lamadamaveclechien - BE), Beatnologistz dj (Lamdameaveclechien - BE)
After a couple of months of delay, many discussions and hard work, we are happy to announce you the launch of our new website.
By browsing through the different sections, you will discover lots of new goodies such as the media section with audio/video streams and downloads from our past events.
Please also have a look in our releases section where you will discover our long expected output very soon.
So, in case you like what you see, please grab our RSS feeds, bookmark us, subscribe to our newsletter or just have fun by browsing through the site while listening to some excellent live performances of former events in the media section.
Thanks to Jo for your programming ideas and help !
Cheers
Quick News
Pictoplasma 2009 10.03.09
The music video "Webs Made Of Nylon" from the rüts compilation will be screened at the furthcoming Pictoplasma festival 2009 in Berlin during the Psychedelic Midnight Mix on the 20th March.
Peter Van Hoesen on Mind The Gap Volume 78 09.03.09
Peter van Hoesen's track "Lto Mess" from the rüts compilation is featured in a digifile with Gonzo (circus) magazine issue #91, March/April 2009. Check!
meakusma presents Immer.Chic 'Midnight Opera 4' mix at samurai.fm 20.01.09
The 4th mix in our serie at samurai.fm is presented by Immer.Chic .Midnight Opera Four is not a mix to dance to in the first instance,. Immer.Chic's aim is to move your mind. With this mix he tried to trace his memories of the first time he watched the Russian "fairy tail movie" 'Skazka stranstviy'. It is a very impressing dark and melancholic movie. As dark as the book of Hieronymus Bosch's Collected Works' his parents owned back then. It was always kept in the near of their piano. Hence there has always been a connection between his music and these disturbing but at the same time fascinating pictures. In these times he also learned about the outer space and he mused a lot about things like infinity and the proportions of planets and galaxies. In the nights he would fantasize a lot about all these ascendancies in his dreams.
meakusma presents Tin Man 'Wasteland' mix at samurai.fm 21.11.08
meakusma's third samurai.fm show features a mix by Tin Man. His unusual acidic tracks have been released on Sähkö's sublabel Keys of Life, Cheap records and his own Global A Recordings. His latest and masterful mini-album 'Wasteland' features heavily here. This very unique mixture of dark and tripping drones, opiated vocals, electronica and Chicago house is quickly proving to be essential in every music lover's frame of reference. Run to your local record shop, but first indulge in this exclusive mix
On the 5th of December mck is playing a dj set alongside Berghain's Ben Klock, Peter van Hoesen and Adriaan Vankeerbergen in one of Brussels most promising venues of the moment, Congres Station. This night features a state-of-the-art soundsystem - Funktion One !!
The 2nd mix for our radio show at Samurai.fm is finally online! This time, Peter van Hoesen delivers 45min of fine Berlin Dubtechno, classic Neo-Detroit & one of his own goodies released on t2x. Check!
Katrien Klausing, one of the biggest names of Belgian ambient scene of the nineties while working for labels such us R&S, Mute & Tommy Boy ,kindly allowed us to stream her very nice Dj set recorded at our manna event at Brussels Café Belga last Saturday. 2 hours of classic Ambient, Afromusic, Classic Detroit Techno, Dub & beyond - check it out!
Freedom of Speech, the short film of our graphic head 'Yko' in collaboration with Anders Eideberg is nominated for this years Imago Film Festival in Portugal in the competition "Under 25"
On 2nd of October, meakusma soundsystem is accompanying Benjamin Rondia's " NOT ART, JUST A FUNNY GAME " exposition at Centre Culturel de Waremme from 6.30-10.00 pm. Fore more info, please visit:
meakusma pres. Roger 23 "Return to the Planet" at samurai.fm 07.07.08
For our first monthly Radio Show at Tokyo/London-based Samurai.fm, we are proud to present an exclusive broadcast-mix from Roger23, who tells a story from super rare and forgotten 80’s Electronic Punk to Deep House, Detroit-Electro to beaten technoid tracks like Berlin-based artist Dynamo.We guarantee massive pleasure for power, technology and your head !
