N.O.I.A. - The Rule To Survive 31th Anniversary - N.O.I.A. Records

Italian band N.O.I.A. was amongst the first electronic music groups to emerge in the late seventies and early eighties alongside peers like Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode. Nowadays they are re-releasing their back catalogue alongside a carefully curated selection of contemporary remixes and this latest package features two tracks, ‘Rule To Survive’ and ‘Time is Over Me’ with remixes from Kirk Degiorgio, Prins Thomas, Gaudi & The Orb and Baldelli & Dionigi.
In their time N.O.I.A. released on labels like Italian Records, had success both in the live arena but also in the studio and were always evolving throughout their active years, from a raucous and abstract sound into a more accessible outfit that were successfully on the Italian, German and Belgian dance markets.
First up is “The Rule To Survive” (Looking For Love), originally produced by Oderso Rubini and mixed in 1983 by Tony Carrasco at the Regson Sound Recording Studios in Milan. It’s a shiny disco cut with tons of bright synth lines, a real instrumental groove and fantastic melodies that shimmer like a hot sun. Nu-disco king pin Prins Thomas is the first to remix and does so in his usual epic, proggy, rock style with even more guitar licks and reflective synth lines.
Long time techno mainstay Kirk Degiorgio and the man behind London’s Machine parties with Ben Sims then reworks the track into a slow-mo bit of techno with whip lashing percussion, cosmic synth work and a healthy 80s vibe that harks back to the original.  Italo Disco legends Baldelli & Dionigi then get to work on the same track, slow it down even further and rebuild it in magical layers of arpeggiated synths before dropping some heavily filtered vocal lines for the true kraut-disco feel.
The second track on this EP is a previously unreleased one dating back to the second half of the 80s. “Time is Over Me”, written by Bruno Magnani and, up until now, recorded only on the old “8-track” stored away in the Piatto brothers’ studio-loft is a truly lush, dreamy and breezy bit of disco with clean and crisp vocals, loveably tinny drums and intergalactic melodies that cannot fail to cheer you up. As well as instrumental and a classic 80s dub version,  Gaudi and The Orb turn out a robotised version that is more driven and direct for the dancefloor, with groaning basslines, meandering synths and plenty of dramatic drum tumbles.  It’s full of far from banal reggae and electronic citations and atmospheres and closes out an EP that reminds us of some forgotten classics at the same time as providing the world with some amazing contemporary reworks from some of the best in the game.



Tracklist:

1.The Rule To Survive (Original Mix)

2. The Rule To Survive (Original Instrumental)

3. The Rule To Survive  (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)    

4. The Rule To Survive (Kirk Degiorgio Remix)

5. The Rule To Survive (Baldelli & Dionigi Remix)

6. Time is Over Me (Original Version)

7. Time is Over Me (Original Instrumental)

8. Time is Over Me (Dub Version)

9. Time is Over Me (Gaudi & The Orb Remix)

FABRIC 77 - Marcel Dettmann - Fabric Records

German producer and DJ, Marcel Dettmann takes the helm for the 77th part of the Fabric mix series.

Growing up in Fürstenwalde in the former German Democratic Republic, Dettmann has been influenced by various music styles since he was a child. His grandmother worked as a music teacher and inspired Marcel and his family to play instruments. In addition the radio at Marcel´s home was always on if there was already no record playing.
Little by little he discovered the likes of Depeche Mode, The Cure or DAF, then later Detroit Techno and Chicago House. As they only had a record player at home he obviously just bought vinyls. His passion led him to start recording mix tapes for himself and his friends, and he also began to organise parties in his hometown. When school and apprenticeships didn’t seem to work out he ran a small record store in the house of his mother. It was with this job that he financed the beginning of his own elaborate record collection.
Dettmann was DJing at the club Ostgut from the late 90s - the forerunner to Berghain. For a decade he’s been a resident DJ of the world renowned club in Berlin. Even though Marcel is involved with several labels such as Ostgut Ton, for the fabric mix he prefered to pick mostly unreleased material from his own imprint, Marcel Dettmann Recordings (MDR).

“I mixed it at home with 2 CD players, as most of the tracks are not available on vinyl yet.
The mix is mostly based on unreleased MDR demo tracks, which I’ve carried around with me for the last few years. For example the ROD track, I’ve had this one for at least 3 years. Now it is finally a good opportunity to release those tracks and they will all come out on MDR.” - Marcel Dettmann

Marcel chose to incorporate a variety of techno sounds in this mix – including tracks from fellow MDR artists Answer Code Request and Norman Nodge, to younger names in the industry that he's recruited for his label, such as Wincent Kunth, and a number of his own remixes, tied together by releases by the likes of Terence Fixmer and Robert Hood’s Monobox.
Fabric 77 is a well-balanced snapshot of current techno in a master’s hands. It may surprise some listeners with its vibrancy, delicacy and range that reaches far beyond the sound you would expect in a dark sweaty club at 6am.
It’s a perfect personal reflection of Marcel’s love of all music and techno in particular.

Marcel Dettmann will launch fabric 77 at fabric on Saturday 30th August (tickets: http://www.fabriclondon.com/club/listing/947) and at Berghain on Saturday 6th September.


Tracklist:


1. Ryan James Ford - Arthure Iccon [MDR]
2. The Persuader - Sun Position [Concrete Music]
3. Terence Fixmer - Inside Of Me [Planete Rouge]
4. Marcel Dettmann - Apron (PAS The Rhythm Remix) [MDR]
5. Answer Code Request - Transit 0.2 [MDR]
6. Dario Zenker - Nearlin [MDR]
7. Monobox - Film [M-Plant]
8. FBK - It’s Not The Point [MDR]
9. Marcel Dettmann - Radar (Byetone Remix) [Ostgut Ton]
10. Rod - RSPCT [MDR]
11. Paperclip People - Country Boy Goes Dub (Marcel Dettmann Remix) [Planet E]
12. Norman Nodge - BB 1.0 [MDR]
13. Francois X - Rising [MDR]
14. Marcel Dettmann - Lightworks (Phase Remix) [Ostgut Ton]
15. Lockertmatik - M_Lock 4 [MDR]
16. Wincent Kunth - Carlre [MDR]
17. Joey Anderson - Repulsive (Marcel Dettmann Edit) [Dekmantel]
18. Marcelus - Flash [MDR]
19. Vril - Torus XXXII [Forum]

POWELL - Fizz - Liberation Technologies

Powell, ovvero quando la dark new wave incontra la techno.

Owner dell'etichetta Diagonal, il talento londinese sbarca sul pianeta Mute (etichetta leggenda che dagli anni 80 in poi produsse gente qualunque come Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, Yazoo, New Order, Moby) tramite Liberation Technologies, sublabel di lusso nata poco più di un anno fa ma che vanta già 4 uscite.

"Fizz", due tracce in aggiunta alla beat version, è un lavoro fuori da ogni concezione, da ogni canone estetico moderno, sospeso tra il passato fulgido ed il futuro acusticamente troppo arido, in apparenza almeno, per concepire certe sperimentazioni da amp gracchiante.