
DJ:
Svar
About the concept:
Here is the seventh instalment of our series “abc plays xyz”.
The idea behind it is to ask some DJs/mixing artists if they have an artist or label in mind that they love and would like to use for a mix.
So the approach of each mix is clear: the choosen DJ/mixing artist makes a selection of tracks produced by one artist (and her/his monikers) or released on a label (and its sublabels) and creates a nice mix from it.
Find links to all instalments at our overview. This time we have Svar with a mix of Sandwell District tracks.
About Svar:
It took some time but he got there: Growing up in the south of Germany in the small city of Ingolstadt and a couple of years in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Svar never had a special interest for music. It never really went beyond scratching the surface. But then as a teenager he finally discovered techno. He was immediately hooked! And so it began: He started to dig deeper and deeper and soon he knew he had to play himself, so he got 2 turntables and started mixing. Fast forward a couple of years: Now residing in Munich he has defined his sound: uncompromising, raw and gritty but also very atmospheric. When playing he tries to set a specific, mostly gloomy mood while at the same time being diverse in his style. He now holds a residency at the FRZMR event series at City Club Augsburg and regularly plays in Munichs best techno clubs.
About Sandwell District:
Sandwell District was a record label and multinational collective of techno DJs and producers that operated between 2002 and 2011. Their sound has been highly influential across the following generation of techno musicians, and has informed a major shift in world techno.[2] By the time the collective announced its “glorious death” in 2012 the American Billboard magazine could write that “Sandwell District’s influence on underground techno can hardly be overstated.”
Sandwell District was established as a record label in 2002 by Regis (Karl O’Connor) and Female (Peter Sutton) as an extension of their Downwards Records label, which had been instrumental in shaping techno’s Birmingham sound in the early 1990s.[5] The label was revived in 2004 and from 2005 increasingly incorporated the artistic input of the New York City-based Function (David Sumner) and the Los Angeles-based Silent Servant (Juan Mendez). Initially releasing records under their own identities, as the label’s success grew, it came to be seen increasingly as a collective entity, releasing tracks and albums anonymously partly in revolt against the increasingly celebrity-oriented DJ culture of the time, culminating in its 2010 collective album Feed Forward
(text taken from wikipedia)
Listen & Download:
“Svar plays Sandwell District”
Svar About His Choice:
The decision which label to pick was a no brainer for me, Sandwell District being my absolute favorite techno label. I’m not even sure what fascinates me the most about it: the sound itself, the artworks or the concept as a whole. I guess it’s the complete package, everything about it feels consistent to me. I can say that it definitely influenced me like no other label around: the sound is gritty, raw and noisy but at the same time atmospheric, moody and sometimes very trippy. With this mix I tried to encapsulate all these aspects and to be as diverse as possible while still trying to sound somewhat homogeneous. I wanted to give a glimpse of what makes this label stand out for me. Some tracks that I mixed in there are among my all time favorites, others I don’t even play that often. Have fun listening!
Tracklist:
01. Female – (Live Extract)
02. Silent Servant – Untitled (Regis Edit)
03. CH-Signal Laboratories (8003 Lucerne) – Scale 2
04. Silent Servant – The Self
05. N/A – Untitled (C/H Signal Edit)
06. Sandwell District – Immolare (Silent Servant Version)
07. Sandwell District – Hunting Lodge
08. Vandross – Hurt Me, I’m Waiting (Female Mix)
09. Rrose – Shepherd’s Brine
10. Sandwell District – Immolare
11. Female – Avon 1 (James Ruskin Remix)
12. Kalon – Man Is The Superior Animal
13. Silent Servant – Discipline
14. Function – Variance IV (Regis Edit)
15. Function – Untitled
16. Silent Servant – Untitled
17. Silent Servant – Murder Murder
18. Sandwell District – Grey Cut Out (Version)
19. Silent Servant – Demonstration
Websites:
Svar
Sandwell District @ Discogs.com
