Introduction:
Mark Groot is a producer and artist from the Netherlands. This young and talented man quit law school and dedicated his life to only one thing; his Music.
He followed a course on SAE (Audio Engineering school) and graduated with honors. Besides his work as a producer and DJ he works at Delsin Records, where he takes care of the vinyl shop.
His music is flowy; sometimes even sort of hypnotizing but direct hitting. In his tracks as well as his sets you can hear that Mark likes to play with different moods. Catch people with dynamic and tense music and after that get them back on the ground. This skill together with his open minded and friendly personality makes him Mark Groot.
About the concept:
Here is the forty-ninth 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.
About Dug Techno:
Dug Techno was born of the desire to discover & play timeless 12″s. As many as possible, which is why I sell vinyl for a living. First at Phonica & Kristina Records, then at Berlin’s recordsale.de. I literally have ~3.000 new records per day to choose from and have been surrounded by fresh inspiration for years now thanks to working in music shops. I carry this with me into sets and reflect these influences into the diverse range of parties & performances I have organised or been a part of over the best part of a decade in London.
I believe progress and evolution are at the heart of Techno and the best is yet to come. But only through the modification, enhancement & subversion of Techno’s tropes can the genre’s boundaries be pushed out further into the unknown. Thus: with knowledge of the past we must strive forward to create anew!
About Jeff Mills:
Jeff Mills is considered to be one of the most brilliant DJ’s and producer of techno in the World.
He is the most recognised representative figure of the Detroit Techno scene, where he began his career as a DJ on the WDRQ radio in 1984.
He created the collective “Underground Resistance” alongside “Mad Mike Banks”, which became a reference in the electro sphere.
In 1992, Jeff Mills created his own label “Axis”, allowing him to keep his artistic independence and produce his own timeless electronic music compositions, inspired of science fiction.
While he performs as a DJ all over the world, averaging 100 dates in a year, Jeff Mills’ artistic career goes much further than simply techno music.
For over a decade, he has transcended disciplines with a large number of collaborations in contemporary art.
Jeff Mills is involved in numerous projects at this moment in time, and is forever evolving and recreating his individual artistic performances, within and beyond any given boundaries.
taken from Triangle website
Listen & Download:
“Dug Techno plays Jeff Mills” (download coming soon)
Dug Techno About His Choice:
Aged 33 Jeffery Eugene Mills inaugurated the Purpose Maker series. This label covers the fierce tribal funk of his early years, is home to The Bells and the stylistic focal point for my mix.
The EPs on this imprint can be testing if listened to from front to back – but they were not made for that. Instead, they’re the ultimate DJ tools. If you’ve never heard The Wizard in action, there’s only one thing to say: no one does it like Jeff! A man(-machine) so technically & creatively adept he drives crowds to elation with 909 solos and 3-layered mixes that undermine any notion of predictability thus allowing you to truly get lost in waves of raw rhythms.
This mix is my distillation of that spirit, composed with Mills’ records only, 3x Technics & a Xone:92. I like to think of it as A Firework Display In Reverse.
The man is a living legend and I suspect one day his drum machines will leave the planet returning The Wizard to the rings of Saturn, where meteorites clash & clash against each other to form rhythms we could never imagine as Jeff rides out to infinity in a locked groove of cosmic proportions.
Jeff, if you’re reading this: you’re my hero!
Tracklist:
00. A Jeff Mills Quote
01. Millsart – Untitled
02. X-103 – Thera
03. Jeff Mills – Glen21 *
04. Jeff Mills – Striping Effect
05. Jeff Mills – Utopia
06. Millsart – Steps To Enchantment (Stringent)
07. Jeff Mills – Late Night (Mills Mix)
08. Jeff Mills – L8
09. Jeff Mills – Cubango
10. Jeff Mills – The Bells (Deconstruction)
11. Jeff Mills – In The Bush
12. Jeff Mills – Yamato
13. Jeff Mills – Automatic
14. Jeff Mills – Casa
15. Jeff Mills – Ride The Rhythm
16. Jeff Mills – Reverting
17. Jeff Mills – Alarms (First Mix)
18. Jeff Mills – Black Is The Number
19. Jeff Mills – Avenger
20. DJ Hell – Allerseelen (Jeff Mills Remix)
21. Jeff Mills – Sweet Scent Of Fear
22. Jeff Mills – The Fly Guy
23. Jeff Mills – Bellson
24. Jeff Mills – If (We)
25. Millsart – Gamma Player
26. Final Cut presents True Faith – Take Me Away
27. Jeff Mills – Basic Human Design *
Introduction:
Inland aka Ed Davenport is a British DJ and Producer based in Berlin. A long-term love affair with intelligent, hypnotic and ecstatic shades of House and Techno led to his first releases in 2006. More than 10 years on Ed continues to pour his heart into what he does best; producing records, DJing and performing live, and running his Counterchange label.
As Inland, his output stands for purist, atmospheric club music with weight and soul; its feet firmly planted on the dancefloor, while its head scans the outer-limits for more experimental formations. The outcome is modernist electronic music that manifests itself as Techno. He performs Live and DJs in clubs worldwide playing surging, visceral selections new and old. Inland productions have surfaced on Berlin’s Ostgut Ton, Counterchange, Function’s Infrastructure New York imprint and Boddika’s respected UK bastion Nonplus+.
Productions under his real name focus of deeper, hypnotic house, euphoric late night moments and melodic minimalism. Releases like his acclaimed ‘Silver Walks’ EP on Mano Le Tough, Baikal and The Drifter’s Maeve label, or the extensive 2 x 12” ‘Festnetz’ for Adriatique’s Siamese label only solidify Ed’s skills at constructing timeless, harmonically addictive club outings at slower tempos.
Introduction:
Oliver Deutschmann, founder of the labels Vidab and GKNSTR, who plays irregularly at Berghain
Interview:
Hello Oliver, it was cool to meet you again at your Berghain a few weeks ago – a real pleasure to listen to your powerful set. So we are happy to have you for our „Music & Interview“ series. Let‘s start at the very beginning of music life. What kind of music did you listen to when you were a teenager discovering music as a hobby/love? When did you start the first time to spin some vinyls? What was your reason to start with playing records to an audience and producing own stuff? Any other projects like being in a band etc before that?
Thanks a lot! I listened to a lot of Hard Rock, all kinds of Metal and Hardcore as a teenager. We also organized parties where I was responsible for the music. So first I was a more a ‚Rock‘ Dj. On those parties I Played stuff like RATM, Tool, Ignite, Pennywise, Slayer and so on. I started then to go to Techno Parties around my hometown in South Germany. Sometimes we drove to the Omen club in Frankfurt to see Sven Väth at his friday’s parties. I became a Techno DJ a bit after I moved to Berlin in 1998. Producing my own stuff was just a normal development for me then. I started with a Korg ESX 1 Sampler. Even did my first Live sets only with that little machine.
(Oliver Deutschmann Promo Pic 1)
You played very often at Berghain. You also played there a few weeks ago. What is special for you playing at this club many clubbers speak about? What was your relationship to the crew in the past? What changed over the years? Any other clubs you like because of some special experiences there? You also play some festivals this summer e.g. Her Damit Festival (you also contributed for their first EP). How do you prepare a set for a club night and what’s different if you prepare something for a festival? Please also tell us some of your strangest experiences being a DJ?
It’s always special because its just still the best club in the world for me. They are simply professional on all levels. Plus the crowd, who can be super enthusiastic and willing to rave. There are a lot of other clubs or promoters around the world I really like of course. UKW Kraftwerk in Rostock, Rottweiler Bar in Gothenburg, Forum in Bielefeld, the Überhaus crew in Beirut for example. It’s just too many to mention. And, I never prepare for a gig. I only know 5 minutes before my sets what will be my first track. Strangest experience? I had a lot. Good and bad ones. But one time a guy offered me a blowjob while playing. On a 2 meter high stage with no curtain hanging from the booth table. Not really discret, haha.I found this really funny. Gig was amazing though!
(Oliver Deutschmann Promo Pic 2)
One of my first records you were involved was Gowentgone, your project with Stephan Hill released on your label Vidab. What was initial moment to create this project and found the label? How did you work together? Which equipment did you use? The latest Gowentgone release listed on discogs was released in 2010. Is that project finished?
We created vidab because no label wanted to release our gowentgone tracks. It was really frustrating trying to get into that business as producers. So we decided to set up our own label. We asked some friends to give us their music, did some kind of application with artwork, music, our ideas and sent it to Kompakt. Luckily Michael Mayer loved the stuff and so we signed a distribution deal with them. Finally we were able to release our and our friend’s music. Best decision ever. And a big thank you to all the labels that didn’t give us a chance. Without you this would have never happened! We used mainly Korg hardware to do our gowentgone stuff. Our track ‚Love & Respect’ that was sold very good got finished in three hours. That shows that you just need a good idea to do a great track. Which or how much expensive equipment you use is secondary. And btw, we just released a remix for Faltin a few weeks ago on the vidab X series. You can definitely find it on discogs now.
(the29nov video for Oliver Deutschmann’s “Darkness Falls”, Vidab 2013)
Vidab and the sublabel Falkplatz was also one of the first labels for Ed Davenport – with a housy sound. He also released there an EP called “Inland”, a name he used later for his techno moniker (first record “EP X” on Vidab too). You also produced a few EPs together. How did you discover Ed in the first place and what was the reason for signing him on your label(s)? What was the difference between working with Ed and working with Stephan on a record? Did you use similar equipment? Was it a total different way of producing?
I met Ed around 10 years ago when he moved to Berlin. He did a remix for my second Ep on Konsequenz that I did with Koljah. We got friends and met in our studios from time to time. Ed is a great guy, a very good friend and an amazing producer. All these criteria led to all those releases. I’m happy that I had the chance to release his first Inland stuff on Falkplatz and vidab. And he definitely gets now the attention he deserves for that project. With Stephan the production process went a lot faster because the gowentgone stuff is so simple, but effective. With Ed I set a bit longer on each track, diving a bit more into the production process. I like both ways of being creative. Using your instinct and also being analytical in the production process is very important in my opinion
(the29nov video for Ed Davenport’s “Living Rooms”, Slim Audio 2012)
On Vidab you also released our album “Out Of The Dark”. How do you work on an album? Is it something like a collection of lose club tracks just tied together? Or do you follow a concept? Is the composing process different? As we know this is your only album. Any reasons for that? Is it easier to produce a solo record or do it together with guys like Stephan and Ed? What about the process and the equipment?
I wanted to release another album since quiet a time now. But I didn’t feel pretty inspired to do one. Don’t know if it should be a couple of clubtracks or something more arty. I wanted to release a bunch of good Eps on good labels before I do one again. So, now could be the time to work on that. Let’s see.
(Oliver Deutschmann Promo Pic 3)
Besides Vidab you also run the label GKNSTR where you release under the alias Orion. Why did you set up a new label? What does it mean for you running an own label? Who is Oliver Deutschmann and who is Orion? What characteristics make them different?
GKNSTR I set up just because I wanted to try out something new. Releasing stuff from known producers under unknown project names. Focussing on the music only. Worked pretty well. Especially with Cadency (Hector Oaks) or Hysh (Niereich). Orion i created to do more deeper stuff. Just to unbind from my Deutschmann productions. I’m producing so many different stuff that it is just impossible to release everything under one name. And of course it is also refreshing for myself to create new projects and to surprise people.
(full stream of “Warehouse” by Cadency, GKNSTR 2016)
On GKNSTR there is an unofficial remix of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel Loved” made by you. Why did you use this track for re-editing (not a hit like “Enjoy The Silence”)? What role plays/played this band in your life? What are your musical influences?
I have different vocal samples from Depeche Mode. The ones for ‚I feel loved‘ just touched me the most so I started to build a track around them. I am a big Depeche Mode fan since ‚People are Peole‘. My ,mother bought me the 7“ single back then. Unfortunately I lost it in a moving years back. My influences go back long. Used to sit in my uncles room as a little kid listening to his vinyl collection. Pink Floyd, The Who, Deep Purple, Neue Deutsche Welle and so on.
(Oliver Deutschmann’s remix of Depeche Mode’s “I Feel Loved”, GKNSTR 2015)
Apropros remixing. There are several Oliver Deutschmann remixes? What are criterias to agree on making a remix? Do you enjoy creating a new version of an existing track or is it something you have to do because it is part of the business/scene?
I have to like the original track. That’s it. Then I do it. And, yes, mostly I enjoy to do it. Depends on the samples I get. When the samples sound good and there is, for example, progression in the synth samples it’s pretty easy.
(Oliver Deutschmann Promo Pic 4)
Some releases that also got our attention are the 4 Archive EPs and the mix CD “Futureworld” on Slim Audio – incl. a movie by the29nov films. Slim Audio was a label started by Slim Magazine. Unfortunately not much information about the label and the magazine can be found – also the movie is not available anymore because their website is down. So could you please tell us something about it? How was it to work on releases with such a label (owned by a magazine)? The EPs were named „Archive“, so these tracks existed on your drive already for a while? Are you someone who produce a lot of stuff that never get released building large archives of tracks?
The magazine isnt existing anymore. The label is. I’m running it with James Blonde, who is also doing the Sweatlodge Agency. But I use this only for my own material now. Doing nearly no promotion. I’m only sending the promos out from my own mail account. Its just pretty easy to release my stuff there. Its digital only, I also do the mastering on my own. The artwork photos are shot by my daughter. So we have the full control about everything. Absolutely no compromises to do. I love that. And yes, I do tons of loops and tracks. Most of them will never get released. Some of them on the next Archives, maybe!
(the29nov trailer for “Futureworld”, Slim Audio 2012)
We mentioned the video crew the29nov films above (and already used some of their videos for this feature). They made some videos for your tracks. More and more such crews popped up in the last months/years. What do you think about making videos for techno? Are they helpful while promoting a release? Nice gimmick? Had MTV (and music videos) an large impact on you in the 80ies and 90ies?
I was a big fan of MTV and Viva in the 90ies. So, of course this had a big impact on me. And I always appreciate it a lot when somebody does a video for one of my tracks. Especially the 29nov guys. They are really talented I think. And yes, I think it helps a lot to promote a track or an Ep if you have a cool video.
Your latest release was on Mote-Evolver, the label run by techno pioneer Luke Slater. Tell us please something about this release. How did you get in touch with Luke to get these tracks released? 3 of 4 tracks have strong vocal samples. So how did you produce the EP and where did you find samples like this?
Luke wrote me and asked if I could imagine to release an Ep on Mote-Evolver. No question! I sent him some stuff and he chose 4 tracks. Everything went super easy. The vocals I sampled from youtube. I think I took them from motovation speakers, buddist nuns and priests or so. Cant really remember as I sample so many vocals from there. All those tracks I produced in the first half of 2017. It was a real productive time for me as it was clear that I will move out of Berlin in august and have to give up my studio there. So, I worked like crazy to have a lot of finished tracks before my moving.
(snippets of Oliver Deutschmann’s EP “Lost In A Loop”, Mote-Evolver 2018)
You released on several label – some run by yourself. How do you select a label for your stuff?
Well, mostly I got asked and if I like the guys behind it and the label I do it. Most important thing for me is to work with people I like, with people that are kinda easy going. Just like me.
YWe are aleady at the end of our small interview feature. For sure we have to ask you what’s coming next… Any special gig? New records? What are your future plan?
Playing Shanghai and Bejing the first time in august. Looking forward to ‚Her Damit‘ in september of course. Also my new project S.M.O.D. is going pretty well with upcoming an Ep on Second State. And I still wanna do another album if I find inspiration for that.
Floors: up to 3 (then there is way more space for more guests)
Opened in: NYE 2015
Minimum Age: 18
(inside G|C pic 1)
After these short facts please tell us something about the club and its history. What’s the philosophy behind? The idea? Which styles can your visitors celebrate here?
Music connects people: At Geheimclub it does not matter who you are, where you come from, who or how you love, who or what you believe and what you do outside of the club. Music brings people of different characters to a common denominator and connects them to one big family. It applies the principle: Anyone who does not look for stress and provocation, respects and tolerates his counterpart, is neither sexist, homophobic, stigmatized, violent or otherwise decent, comes in. Simple as that.
We are playing strictly techno and house!
(inside G|C pic 2)
Could you give us a short overview about your technical equipment? Is there special?
Soundsystem: Handmade Föön Audiosystem, measured by Prof. Dr. Anselm Goertz (Institute for acoustics and audiotechnology RWTH, Aachen)
Do you run own parties? Do you have some resident DJs?
Every weekend our Klubnacht is happening on Saturday, where we are inviting different Djs. The party starts at 12 pm on Saturday to Sunday and normally runs until 12 am on Sunday, sometimes even longer.
We’ve got a bunch of resident Djs see next step for details
(inside G|C pic 4)
Short introduction of the residents
Nicolas Lendkrais‘s musical roots are way back in the 90’s, first in love with trance. “One day, there will be a club, where I will be resident with full heart” – luckily it became the Geheimclub. His sets are sometimes driving, sometimes spherical with some surprises in form of some nice, old not – techno tracks. Facebook | Soundcloud
Magnus‘s first tries as a Dj were in 2014 for some private parties, since 2017 he is resident Dj at Geheimclub, playing dark and industrial techno with some EBM touch sometimes. First he started working as a lightjockey in a big room disco. Facebook | Soundcloud
DXTN is Dj since 1996 and learned the basics at a Dj learn group. He started producing in 1999 and stopped it then, but plays some of his tracks back from these days. He is the CEO of the club and is known for his insane mixing skills, even with 4 vinyl players. He started with Gabber and Schranz in his early days. Facebook | Soundcloud
Dynamic Perceptions was born in the Harz in Germany. In the beginning of his DJ career he played artists like Faithless or Benny Benassi but since 2002 he’s developed an interest in electronic music and started visiting underground raves and festivals. It was 2007 when he began spinning vinyl on his own and the first party followed soon. With the wish to develop further he moved to Magdeburg to a little crew where he learned to organize parties and experienced a lot of new electronic music. His love for music was growing steadily and in 2016 he joined Geheimclub Magdeburg as a Techno and as a house Dj. Sometimes his music is slamming, sometimes more playful, but always worth a journey. Facebook | Soundcloud
Pernox is new to the business and started together with r:brockwell in 2017. Since then he became Resident of the club really fast. He is playing fast and hard, sometimes, especially for openings, more dub and atmospheric stuff. He is the booking agent of the club, together with r:brockwell Facebook | Soundcloud
Deguchi, formerly known as r:brockwell, found his love for fast driving techno becoming more and more influenced by Dax J. He is also into EBM and more spherical sides of techno and likes to play a lot of styles in his sets. Hearing techno since he was 15 years old, he started 9 years later his career in 2017 and became resident at the club together with Pernox. He is also doing the booking for the Club. Facebook | Soundcloud
Jan Goertz is Dj since 2013, and started producing 2014. Since 2017 he is resident at Geheimclub Magdeburg. His style is influenced by people like DVS1 or Nihad Tule. He started with some little parties, thrown by some friends and himself in Magdeburg. Facebook | Soundcloud
sa.mu is a Dj since 2014 and became resident of the club in 2017. His style combines different genres like Deeptech, tech-house, dub-techno and house. He started as a KaB resident and organized underground raves with the Ennea crew. Since 2016 he is part of the Deep Dive group. Facebook | Soundcloud
Niklas Albrecht is a young house Dj at Geheimclub and started his fresh career at 2017. Since then he became an important part of the house section of the club. Facebook | Soundcloud
(selected resident mixes/sets)
Besides own parties: are the regular parties by other promoters? Please tell us some details.
No, no other parties hosted by outsiders at the moment
And are there specials? Special performances? Something different?
We started a fetish party this year, which takes place every 3 months in our club. Additionally we have a Resident Night that is happening every month. We are also hosting complete label nights (like the Seelen. night that took place at the club in May 2018)
(inside G|C pic 5)
Please name a few artists who already played here.
Freddy K, Vincent Neumann, Héctor Oaks, Remco Beekwilder, Kyle Geiger, Dustin Zahn, Escape to Mars/ Inhalt der Nacht, Repressed Mind, Moerbeck, Dj T-1000, Alex Bau and many more (they are all listed on our Geheimclub webpage).
(inside G|C pic 6)
Coming to an end of this short feature. What are your future plans? Any nice DJs playing here soon? Anything else you wanna say?
We have a Truck for the CSD this year in Magdeburg and are really looking forward to play there.
Djs to come: Oliver Deutschmann, Ekserd, Acierate, Echoes of October, Lars Huismann, Introversion and many more
Exclusive Mix by Pernox & r:brockwell:
Tracklist of Exclusive Mix:
01. WaWuWe – Beams
02. Moerbeck – In my Brane
03. TAFKAMP – When The Desire Turns Evil
04. Dax J – The Bounce
05. Aiken – Midline
06. Tensal – Quantico
07. Exilles – Fade
08. Sleeparchive – Null Sekunden
09. Wrong Assesment – Virtual Hand
10. Dyad – Akhoe
11. Kas:st – 77-77
12. P.E.A.R.L – Mirada Muerta (Oscar Mulero Remix)
13. AWB – Ecliptic
14. Parallx – Substare
15. Terence Fixmer – Aktion Mekanik (Kobosil 44 Version)
16. Asymptote – Belief System
17. Pfirter – Sut (Thomas Hessler Remix)
18. Anetha – Return Ticket
19. CVesth – World Control
20. Sugar – unreleased
21. Héctor Oaks – Bring Down Their System
