Micro-House, Minimal, whatever you call it, Fabric 13 (named for the London nightclub) was my first proper introduction to a style which I’ve really come to appreciate for it’s stripped down compositions and attention to detail. I’m a self-confessed maximalist when it comes to my own music so I really admire the producers of this genre for building so much energy and emotion into these seemingly simplistic sonic landscapes. Geiger’s wonderful mix of I Think About You isn’t quite as restrained as Villalobos’ offering, but a similar ethic permeates both tracks. My only complaint is that Geiger’s mix gets cut short just as it seems to be hitting it’s stride, but I suppose that was the point, damned minimalists! Another stand-out track from Fabric 13 you may remember is Jackson’s mix of Run Into Flowers which I posted on a while back.
As for the cover, I’m not such a huge fan of the haphazard-collage / inexplicable-gaussian-blurring / drop-shadow look, and it doesn’t really speak to the vibe I’m getting from the music inside, but at least the type is well executed.
[audio:geiger.mp3] [audio:easylee.mp3]
A quick note: I’ve installed the beta version of Martin Laine’s Audio Player WordPress plugin (thanks Karl for the heads up). This new Flash MP3 player replaces the old one and should do away with some of the quirks people were experiencing before. Please let me know if you have any issues with the new player.
Hmm, didn’t really like that first song— But the second one is awesome.
My touch-stone for minimal-house is Hypercity mixed by Andrew Weatheral. It’s a mix of 12″s from the Force Tracks label from ~2001.
It manages to sound delicate and crisp while still bumping along nicely.
It’s my favourite mix record and I recommend it heavily to everyone I can.
Yeah, kind of a weird cover. Don’t like it at all, especially set against the backdrop of the usual amazing covers you pull out for your posts.
The tracks are groovy though. I could never talk myself into releasing something this minimal. I would consider it unfinished and add another 35 elements to it.
I do totally dig the vox in the second track though.
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One of my all time favourite mixes.
Man. That cover is painful. Neat idea, but not executed too swiftly. I coud see a more literal collage out of paper or something.
Although this is a great series, I would HIGHLY recommend IMMER 1 on Kompakt. Still one of the best introductions to minimal techno on Kompakt. 2002 release. Another would be Tobias Thomas (label head)’s Smallville.
Forgot to mention, IMMER 1 was also mixed by Mayer.