Mick Chillage

Mick Chillage "Night Works" Out now!!!!!!!

2011-09-12T02:44:00.000-07:00

Lee Norris AKA Norken, Metamatics etc and founder of seminal UK electronica label Neo Ouija has just released my third CD album "Night Works" on his newly formed ambient experimental label ...txt recordings.

"Night Works" as the title suggests is a collection of ambient pieces created and recorded in the early hours and inspired by night time which conveys a wide range of emotions and moods that the twilight hours can bring.

The label will release strictly limited edition CD's and already has many beautiful releases in the pipeline, including albums by Solipsism AKA Craig Murphy [Herb recordings] and a new amazing discovery Ersha, plus works from Lee himself under is Nacht Plank guise.

"Night Works" is out now and it is limited to 200 copies

"Night Works" teaser forthcoming on ...txt by Mick Chillage

txt ...bolt ons by ...txt

http://www.txtrecordings.co.uk/shop.html

Sen "Sensory Emotive Network"

2011-08-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

I first discovered the music of Sen AKA UK based John Shern through myspace about five years ago, I think it was the image from the seminal George Lucas classic THX1138 that attracted me to his music, images aside I was instantly drawn by its minimal yet deep and soulful sounds a perfect balance of ambient drones, stark techno grooves and a healthy helping of human emotion, futuristic yet familiar.

So I have been eagerly awaiting Sen's Debut album since my first encounter with his deep vibes and this year the wait is over as "Sensory Emotive Network" gets a CD and digital release through Cold tear recordings.

The album opens with the Deep droning atmospherics and rain recordings of "Soul Rain" subtle sinister strings appear creating a sense of uncertainty, slightly reminiscent of the haunting work of Mark Isham's classic "The Hitcher" soundtrack.

Next we have "Skychords" full of shifting swirling atmospherics and a deliciously treated bluesy guitar refrain, the addition of a subtle downtempo 909 drum sequence and a deep bass growl with tastefully placed ethnic percussion keeps the track evolving nicely, resulting in a hypnotic yet deeply thought provoking mantra.

"We Now Understand" even though its clocking in at over 14 minutes, the track never becomes tiring, from the start a creepy storm like wave of sound emits while an ominous low end rumbles in the distance, slowly a deep house groove creeps in, the atmospherics shift around in a sinister manner creating one moody experimental dancefloor epic.

"These Moments" changes the tone somewhat as a rather emotive yet heart warming chord structure compliments a highly reverberated and distorted techno groove, the clever use of soaring high strings adds further emotion.

The Sci-fi influence of Sen seem rather evident on "Rebound" as haunting atmospheric tones and what sounds like distant ringing church bell makes this sound like an alternative soundtrack to "Bladerunner" a deeply delayed groove is introduced a voice pad rises in the mix creating a further intensity. Think Rod Modell meets Vangelis and you are only halfway there.

"Never before again" takes on a Melancholic yet optimistic journey as a simple key refrain riding on top of some lush electronics grooves along with some subtly flanged and filtered drums, rising and falling hats keep the percussion interesting and a humming low bass line keeps it in the tradition of the classic dub techno sound.

then we have "Within Reach" possibly the standout track on the album? It starts of with a slightly sombre tone, then a really beautiful change is introduced halfway through which is a welcome surprise and gives you a feeling that anything is possible. Uplifting and beautiful and perfectly placed on the album.

"Scuba drift" takes you to the deepest depths of your imagination with its dreamy floating modulated synths and sub-aquatic rhythms.

The album closes off beautifully with "Jem" a rather ethereal mix of pads and dreamy vocal refrains.

"Sensory Emotive Network" is truly a stunning debut long player and an album which has all the hallmarks of a future classic. While some of this album can be placed in the dub techno genre, it would be unfair to simply catergorise it all this way, John has taken the blueprint of dub techno and created something deeper and more expressive which may make some of the big guns in the scene re think their game.

Highly highly recommended.

By the CD direct from coldtear

Psychonavigation records "Mindfield"

2011-07-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Dublin based Ambient, electronica, alternative label Psychonavigation celebrated its 10Th anniversary last year and to celebrate it label boss Keith Downey decided to release a compilation, as time went by the compilation just seem to snow ball and now it actually arrives one year later.

The "Mindfield" compilation features some truly stellar names like The Future Sound Of London, Move D, Scanner, Spacetime Continuum amongst others on both the CD and digital release, there's no doubt that there's a certain wink to those who originally inspired the label many years ago. Both versions include a selection of previously unreleased material some tracks taken from forthcoming and previously released works on Psychonavigation itself and some previously released material from other labels.

"Mindfield" digital release version.

With over twenty tracks on the digital release it is obvious that many of these do not feature on the CD but also some of the CD tracks are not on the digital so there are some exclusives on both formats a cheeky but clever move for the label.

I know it may seem a little unfair for me to review a compilation that includes my own "Veymx", but I will try to be as honest as possible. Over all the compilation is quiet varied, with many genre's popping up along the way, from the massive cinematic techno of the black Dog's remix of Anodyne's "Corrosion" to the ambitious electro R&B pop song of Meljoanns "So Academic" to Rival Ace's minimal hip hop Rap of "My 1st Verse" so the comp is very much suited to the digital consumer, only purchase the tracks you like.

Highlights include:

More from the mighty Anodyne with his "Symmetry" epic synth strings and blistering breakbeats. [Digital]

Norken's "Pretty Bubblegum" a Haunting micro tech house jam [CD version and Digital]

Drafts On A Theme's "74" with their rather melancholic piano and beats combo [Digital]

The Future Sound Of London's "Heart Sick Chord" classical meets electronica [CD and Digital]

Space Time Continuum's deep tech soul of "Beryllium" [CD and Digital]

One of the albums biggest surprises is from newcomer Jez Wells with the deeply moving and accomplished composition of "Ydok"[Digital]

Finland's finest electronic export Lackluster gives us a melodic and ethereal IDM track in the shape of "Be the Trimtab" [Digital]

Dialog's haunting dubby "Ghosts" [Digital]

The godfather of Irish electronica Roger Doyle finishes off with the moving strings and modulated synths of "From The Room" [CD and Digital]

So in conclusion "Mindfield" [Digital] is a highly ambitious electronic music compilation which I feel is pretty accessible in most cases and it should appeal to a wide range of electronic music tastes and should further psychonavigation's identity as a forward thinking,open minded
label who's not afraid to mix up genres and new and well established artists.

You can judge my inclusion here : )

"Veymx" [Taken from "Mindfield" on Psychonavigation records] by mick chillage

CD only Highlights:

David Morley "Equator" previously released on his excellent "Ghosts" album.

Robert Leiner's "Tung Gung" a tough polyrythmic journey of tech breaks, previously unreleased.

Boxcutter's rather Aphexish melodic mentalism of "Diagonal Reader" previously unreleased.

Enrico Coniglio "The Girl From Murania" from Enrico's "Topfonie 2"
Feat Arve Henrksen's trademark haunting trumpet playing.

Scanner's "Persephone" a spine tingling epic soundtrack inspired piece.

Sense "Less Than Perfect" a deeply moving ambient composition that's reminiscent of the finest tracks off Aphex Twins Selected Ambient Works Volume 2.

Karol Gwozdz "Gurnolsunkje Tragedyje" a delicate yet highly emotive piano and strings combo of incredible beauty.

So even though the CD version has some of the same tracks as the digital, I feel the CD certainly works better as a more cohesive listen, thanks to a solid helping of some of the biggest names in the ambient techno/IDM scene which gives you a glimpse of the labels influential past particularly from track two with Spacetime continuum's "Beryllium to track six with the Black Dogs epic remix of Anodyne's "Corrosion" its almost like hearing Warp's Artificial Intelligence again for the very first time.

From track nine onwards, starting with FSOL's chamber music inspired "Heart Sick Chord" "Mindfield" certainly showcases the labels more recent obsession with the classical/ambient genre and maybe its a glimpse of the future for Psychonavigation? but it certainly finishes off "Mindfield" beautifully.

"Mindfield" is released on the 29Th of July 2011
Order direct from Psychonavigation

Fooled by MP3 ? Not Me!!!

2011-06-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

What ever happened to all the years of developing hi fidelity sound for the consumer? Its almost impossible to walk into a high street store these days and buy some decent Hi-Fi kit.. It seems most people these days are afraid to be seen playing music from a turntable or CD player on a separate system, its like they have been brainwashed into thinking if its small and its the latest gizmo it must be better ?

Today most homes have ipod dockers and shitty PC speakers pumping out poor quality MP3, and its not just the XBOX generation, many adults who once enjoyed vinyl and CD have moved over to MP3 not realizing that the old technology and media had a far superior sound quality but for most people nowadays its quantity not quality that matters. "Oh my ipod holds 1000,000,00 tracks" "CD's and vinyl take up too much space, blah blah". Many have chucked out their amps and speakers to purchase ipod dockers not realizing a simple jack to phono lead can connect the media player to an old amp. "Oh but the amp doesn't charge the ipod" use your PC for christ sake!!!!

Stereo Mini Jack to phono lead €2.99 approx..

ipod Docking System €400.00 approx

Originally the MP3 was developed to reduce the size of audio files for quicker and easier transfers over the web, ideal for commercial applications where a composer of music for a TV commercial could easily send a demo to the client without them waiting for a CD in the post or trying to hear it over a telephone line but somehow it managed find its way to consumer use.

Now when you purchase a download at some stores they state the following...

Files @192kbps: Suitable for home listening and ipod etc..

Files @320kbps: Suitable for Dj use.

Wav or Flac etc: Suitable for professional use.

Ok if anything the 192Kbps may scrape by for DJ use, as you are not going to be able to hear all the details with crowd noise etc, while the 320Kbps will reproduce bass better on bigger club sound system. Truly the 192Kbps files should only be used for streaming music samples and is an absolute crime for these to be sold to the consumer..

And wav for professional use now ?

Well as most people know CD's use WAVs or AIFF files. When the CD was introduced in the early 80's it was a consumer product promising the best sound ever along with some dodgy claims of indestructibility, the CD was aimed at home use and not for the reserve of professionals like Radio, TV and movies producers.

So you now have to be a DJ or TV producer to enjoy higher quality sound ?

So is the convenience of modern technology is devaluing art ?

When you actually go to the trouble of entering a record store and browsing through vinyl/Cd's and making a purchase with your hard earned cash you are usually more committed to listening to the album properly, so if at first you are not so sure about an album you will go back in a day or so and try again which you may find one or two pieces growing on you, after a few more days you can find yourself compelled to listen again, often albums that take many listens can end up being some of your favorites..

With MP3, particularly illegally downloaded ones you have no invested interest if it doesn't appeal within two or three tracks in you just quickly go to the next album, so an album which could have slowly grown on you has been discarded to the bottom of your hard drive or dragged and dropped to the waste bin and never given a chance.

Another appealing factor with physical releases is that you usually commit yourself to listen all the way through, opening the CD case or slipping out of the vinyl sleeve, carefully placing the record to the turntable and dropping the needle or that sound of the CD loading tray closing and then sitting back to enjoy the music as it was intended to be heard, from browsing the liner notes and perhaps reading the lyrical content to enjoying the artwork and often savoring the scent of the print all adds to the sensory experience.

The problem with the MP3 on an ipod or other portable device is that the temptation to quickly flick to the next track or album is way too easy, too many choices creates greater indecision and if you are listening on a PC you also have the sound of the PC's fan and hard drive spinning over the already poorly compressed audio and generally awful generic computer speakers.

In tests it has been proven that vinyl or cassette will hold your listening attention longer than CD, while vinyl has certain surface noise issues and cassette has the old hiss problem, the analogue sound reproduction stimulates the human brain for longer periods than CD so what does that say for highly compressed MP3 files which often holds up to 80% less digital information than a wav file as used on CD ?

While some people may listen to music to just happily sing along to or as a comfort in the background the MP3 is fine for that but if you really want to feel the power of rock or the emotion of classical and the detail of electronica etc, then vinyl or CD on a proper sound system is still the best way to get the maximum feeling from the music.

So apart from the actual audio quality of MP3, the effect of illegal downloads is impacting big time on the quality of production, many underground electronic acts who would have hired session musicians and professional recording studios and engineers in the past are now resorting to solely home produced releases as the return for big studio albums is practically zero thanks to all the so called freeloading music fans, so epic sounding electronic albums like The Orbs "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" and 808 States "Ex:el are quickly becoming a thing of the past.. Instead we now have the beatport/Juno generation, where someone who's been knocking out a few tracks on a cracked version of Fruity Loops in the space of a few months sets up a digital label, the online distributor will distribute because they get a fee from the label to host the music so it doesn't matter if it sells zero units. Back in the purely physical days the distributor had to be a lot more choosy about the artists or a labels they unleashed on the public.

While some people may argue that everyone should get their music heard but the problem is that the digital markets are flooded with too much generic electronic music and much of the really good material gets lost in the sea of mediocrity and the idea of scrolling through the thousands of new releases every week online is just not the way I want to find new music.

While there are some benefits that the MP3 has to offer, its ideal for streaming samples and demoing music online, the ipod is a perfect traveling companion, also its also fine for DJing with , no more lugging massive back breaking record boxes around with you but I just don't see why its been pushed as the only media to consume music ? Maybe I'm one of the very few true music lovers and for most music is just a disposable art form that has no value anymore it seems ? many also have the attitude of "F**k em musicians make enough money, that may be the case for acts like U2`or Beyonce but not for the small indie artist. Its not just the music scene though, the same mindset seems to apply the movie industry.

Nowadays many people are content with watching the latest movies recorded with a shaky hand held camera in some dodgy cinema the file is further compressed and then downloaded and viewed on the 3"x 3" screen of the latest blackberry or other trendy must have device, so with everything so instant and accessible the value is lost, I remember back in the days of pre VCR waiting for a week in total excitement because a James Bond movie was gonna be screened on TV for the first time or to read in the NME that your favorite band was releasing a new CD and to check your local music store every week to see if it had arrived and the thrill of seeing it in the store made your heart jump!

Recently one of my favorite acts Biosphere announced his new album will be released in July, I ordered the CD online and have awaited patiently for the last six weeks or so only to hear from Geir Jenssen himself on a certain social networking site that the album has already being downloaded illegally 23,000 times, so thats 23,000 people have heard it [in lesser sound quality of course ; )] before me without paying for it..

I often ask myself a question about someone who has actually purchased a CD or download and then felt the need to share the music online. Are they looking for some sort of pat on the back or acknowledgement ? "Oh look at me, I was the first to share this amazing record" or to be accepted on some music sharing forum, maybe there is some ego stroking thing going on, who knows?

Some internet providers have had to take action against serial illegal uploaders by cutting off their web access, only to have certain groups complain that it is now a basic human right to have internet access, well isn't it a basic human right to get paid for work that you do ?

So most people may think that I'm a fool for buying CD or someone else who has honestly purchased a digital download, while there are those who continue to support the music they love, the freeloaders should be thankful, because as soon as everyone develops the same freeloading mindset the well of free new music will most certainly dry up!!

Mick Chillage DJ set @ The Turks Head Dublin 25/06/11

2011-06-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Mick Chillage dj Set Turks Head Dublin 25/06/2011

All tracks randomly selected from my CD collection
except for Monkey Harris "Halloween"
taken from his excellent free download album
"Sea Of Love"

01 David Alvarado : She
02 Ultramarine : What Machines Want
03 Reagenz : Keep Building
04 Rohag Wruhme : Thora Vukk
05 Kenny Larkin : Butterflies
06 Reagenz : DJ Friendly [playtime version]
07 DJ Sprinkles : House Music Is Controllable Desire You Can Own
08 Reagenz : Confidence
09 Johannes Heil : Halo Static
10 Random Factor : Rewire
11 Wamdue Kids : That's The Feeling
12 Johannes Heil : Twentythree
13 Bjorn Torske : Bergensere
14 Kerrier District : Disco Bus
15 Bjorn Torske : Nitten Nitti
16 Johannes Heil : The Ace
17 Monkey Harris : Halloween
18 Secret Cinema : Star Sapphire

Running time one hour forty minutes approx....

Download the set @320kbps from yousendit

Mick Chillage : FAXology PS 08/122

2011-05-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning for sometime to write an article on Fax records but I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be writing an article about my own release for the label.

Fax records have been a major influence on me ever since I discovered the cult electronic imprint back in 1993. While so many labels have come and gone since its inception in 1992 Fax still continue with the same open minded approach and high quality standard, breaking new artists and giving Pete himself and many veterans of the scene a platform to release cutting edge and experimental music.

Fax continue to release on CD and focus on full albums while many independent labels struggle to survive with just MP3 releases. Over the years the label has pioneered completely new formats like the MP3 CD [several albums on one disc] and double discs with DTS and regular stereo versions included, so with names like, Klaus Schulze, Anthony Rother, Ritchie Hawtin, Move D and even the godfather of ambient himself Brian Eno and many collaborations with Pete, its no surprise to the labels continued success.

Over the years some of my productions have had a Fax records feel, not that I ever consciously set out to emulate the sound, I guess its down to the fact that I have listened to so much of Fax over the years, it just instinctively appears in the creative process. So it has always been a dream that one day I may release on the label, I've had plenty of friends and followers of my music saying "That has a strong Fax vibe" or "why don't you send some music to Namlook"

So Mick Chillage "FAXology" is a result of me psyching myself up to send Peter a demo for Fax records, as the title suggest the CD is collection of Fax inspired pieces which Pete felt would suit a release to celebrate the labels fast approaching 20th year. Pete said while listening to the works he began to reminisce about the early days of Fax with albums like Broadway 2350 etc and felt the time was right for such a release.

So I am absolutely delighted to be part of this incredible legacy and to present a collection of my Fax inspired works just before Fax celebrate its 20th birthday.

Mick Chillage FAXology CD is out 14/06/2011

Check the official info here namlook.de

FAXology PS08/122 Teaser Clips forthcoming on Fax [Germany] by mick chillage

Pre listen on itunes now

Secret Cinema "Minerals"

2011-05-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Secret Cinema AKA Jeroen Verheij releases his latest long player "Minerals" on the recently formed Netherlands based Gem Records. The album is released on vinyl and CD. The tracks on Minerals, are inspired by the hardness, color and material of various minerals.

The CD version comes with two albums disc one "Night On Earth" covers the tech/house vibes Jeroen is more associated with and then the ambient/experimental collaboration "Moving Earth" with Mental Youth..

Night on earth opens with "Exploration" a dreamy ambient intro before heading into the deep tech house of "Smooth Talc" its layered poly rhythmic groove and funky arpeggio's and swelling synth stabs and melodic organ refrains make this an blinding opener. "Crystal System" effortlessly flows in next, a bouncy and hypnotic deep bass driven growler that cruises along with some tastefully filtered and delayed cymbals, vocal stabs and shimmering Detroit-esque keys keep this emotive and deeply funky

The deepness continues with "Turquoise" with its solid house groove, filtered alien funk and a mutating yet incredibly infectious organ hook keeps it building. "Calcite Night" ventures into some serious tech-jazz.

Things get slightly sinister yet extremely deep with the off kilter afro tribal vibes of "Moms Scale" its a rather dark and hypnotic mantra.. "Star Sapphire" is an absolute killer techno track reminiscent of The Black Dogs "Bytes" period. "Smoky Quartz" takes us in a more minimal direction but its warped acidic bass line is almost psychosis inducing but with the help of sweeping cinematic swells it brings you back to a normal mind state.

Towards the end we have "Caught In Amber" another acidic bleep treat with an almost jazz like feel but never leaving the dance floor. we are then given a little breather with the beautifully haunting Interlude "Passage" before finishing off with the early IDM inspired "Ruby FM" which ends "Night On Earth" with a subtly melancholic vibe..

Disc two "Moving Earth" is an ambient mix created from the source material on the tracks off disc one, Dirk-Jan Hanegraaff and Robert Kroos also known as Mental Youth, collaborated with Verheij on this collection of deeply haunting yet futuristic ambient textures. For the maximum effect, this is one for personal listening in a horizontal position with the lights out.

Overall "Minerals" is a stunningly produced release, although disc one "Night On Earth" is extremely club friendly I feel its one of those techno/house music albums that will work for home listening, perfect for preparing for a night of clubbing or for long journeys with only your headphones to keep you company, because of its mixed format its ideal for parties, a guaranteed floor burner with an underground edge often venturing into the more darker/experimental side of club culture. The inclusion of a second ambient album will only further delight the more open minded music fans.. 9/10

Minerals is out now on Gem Records on Vinyl and double CD..

Stream the album here @128kbps
Secret Cinema - Minerals: CD1 mixed (128Kbps) by GEM Records

Soma Coma 5 Various Compilation

2011-05-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

Various Soma Coma 5

Glasgow based Soma records are celebrating their 20Th birthday this year, to mark this occasion they are releasing their 5Th Soma Coma compilation.
Soma maybe best known for their techno and house music releases from the likes of Slam, Funk de void and many many more but the label is certainly no stranger to other forms of electronic music, most recently they have ventured into the full on ambient album territory with the ambient classic "Music For Real Airports" by The Black Dog.

So the fifth in the Soma Coma series yet again displays a rather eclectic range of electronic music with some previously released tracks and some new artists to the Soma roster..

Some of the highlights are, the albums opener "Later Vexations" by The Black Dog, the track effortlessly combines beautiful shifting pads and electronic bleeps with distant melodic flourishes and then a deep bassline and a minimal downtempo groove appear, keeping this haunting track evolving with a graceful momentum.

Recent newcomer Joe Starwarz delivers an emotive string soaked epic "Cry" which rides along a deep dub tech structure and subtle jazz breaks. Hatikvah moves us with his thought provoking electric piano composition on "Daedalus". From Decimal we have the dreamy uplifting and infectiously melodic "The Lesson of Hope" which takes me back to the days of labels like "Recycle or Die".

Another new comer to the label, Vakama AKA Conor Dalton, debuts his mesmerising "Yemaya", its a deep grinding dub tech epic set adrift with a Steve Hillage style solo guitar jam which kinda makes you think this is what the Orb and David Gilmore's recent collaboration should have sounded like.

Gene Farris serves up "Smoke Session Pause" which is a Delicious downtempo funk jam, that wouldn't sound out of place on a Nightmares On Wax album. Harvey Mckay's "Life" returns us to the more emotive side of the album, a rather short but delicate and haunting track.

Counter Plan treats us with a melodic yet deeply soulful slab of electro minimalism that is "The Morning After" and in a similar vein "Sleazy Listening" by Chaser is an excellent shimmering electro jazz jam with a deep funk vibe. Universal Principles keeps thing's in the funk arena with "Dons Different Ducks" Smokey Keys, throbbing bass and a tastefully modulated synth line sit nicely on top of some classic breaks all designed to keep your head nodding blissfully.

The album finishes with the rather quirky minimal hip hopper "The Strip" which has a synth melody that reminds me of Lalo Schiffrins "Enter The Dragon".

So a truly solid collection of downtempo cuts from Scotland finest electronica label which will suit any mood and one that certainly displays Soma's dedication to quality music, here's to another twenty years!!!

The Album will be released on CD and digital 23rd May

Alka "Compounded" Remix Album

2011-03-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia based Bryan Michael, AKA Alka creates some of the most stunningly beautiful electronic music, he effortlessly blends a huge palette of sound into some of the most memorable and emotive electronica. Alka's work is often full of intricate detail and rhythm but he always leaves plenty of room for melody which is often lost by many in the IDM genre.

May 2011 will see the release of Alka's Compounded" which is a collection of remixes from his excellent "A Dog Lost In The Woods" album which was released on the diverse Electronic Eel label in 2009. The compilation features remixes from some rather well known names from around the globe, Icelandic based Ruxpin [electrolux] Gate Zero [fax] and also along side label mates City Rain and Axiotronic plus other rising names, all showing their unique take on Alka's already mesmerising work.

All proceeds from the album will be donated to the Peta2 organisation.

Check out more info on Alka @ Discogs

I am also proud that my remix of "What Will Become Of Your High Existence" has been included.

Alka's "What Will Become Of Your High Existence?" [micks ghostly echoes mix] by mick chillage

"Compounded' is released on May 17th 2011

Tomtom Records.. Rising from the ashes..

2011-03-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

In recent years Iceland has been constantly surprising me with an unbelievable amount of high quality electronic music emerging from its relatively small population.

Iceland maybe famous for its beautiful icy landscapes and its and its recent volcanic eruption but it is has also made quite an impact on pop music with an electronic edge, as Bjork formally of the Sugarcubes blended her unique vocal talents with acts like 808 state in the early nineties and has also worked with Mark Bell [LFO] and Alec Empire amongst others.

The noughties saw the rise of bedroom producers like Yagya and Ruxpin who have made some rather big waves in the global ambient/electronica scene, with some of their out of print releases fetching serious money on ebay and Discogs.

In recent years, through connections on Facebook I have been introduced to more underground acts from Iceland, one act in particular "Stereo Hypnosis" AKA Beatmakin Troopa & Jafet Meige have released two stunning CD albums on the Triangle Productions label, both albums venture in a rich sonic terrain of ambient, dub, hip hop, jazz, and folk which gives you an amazing sense of the awesome environment which surrounds them.
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Stereo+Hypnosis

So 2011 starts of with a new Icelandic label TomTom Records, the label was started by electronic musicians Jóhann Ómarsson (aka Skurken) and Árni Grétar (aka Futuregrapher) the label is scheduled to release the music of many known and established Icelandic electronic producers.

Tomtom records gets off to a stunning start with its first release by Prince Valium, AKA Þorsteinn Konráð Ólafsson who has previously released music on the now defunct Resonant records.

The album "Andefni" has a deep sense of melancholy and each track has its own very strong identity, some of its high points are "Electropet" which plays a somewhat chamber music melody with clean sine tones before launching off in a fuzzy electro groove with an arpeggio progression that's reminiscent of Aphex Twin's "Polynomial C".

We are then sent off on a deep and soothing journey on a lake of flowing synths and subtle beats with "Efni" and from the ethereal vocals and the moving church like organ keys and strings of "Dab60" the beauty just keeps coming.

This is already a contender for best album of 2011 and means that Tomtom records are certainly a label to keep a close eye on.

http://www.tomtomrecords.com/index4.html

John Barry Remembered

2011-01-31T11:52:00.000-08:00

Sadly my very first blog of 2011 is due to the death of composer John Barry, who sadly passed away from a heart attack on the 30th of January. Barry's music was a true inspiration to many electronica producers. Paul Hartnoll of Orbital regularly cites Barry as a musical hero.

One of my earliest musical memories was watching Goldfinger on TV for the very first time when I was a child, yes I enjoyed the movie but it was the music that truly blew me away. I had just barely grown out of nursery rhymes but that was the effect Barry's unmistakable and otherworldly emotive themes had on me.

The very first piece of vinyl I owned was "The James Bond 10th anniversary Collection" covering a selection of key points from "Dr No" through to "Diamonds Are Forever" which was a ninth birthday present from my parents, a start to my Barry Obsession and a music obsession in general..

With a massive score writing credit for a diverse range of movies and from working with contemporary greats like Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey to mainstream pop acts like A-ha and Duran Duran. Barry was a composer who wasn't afraid to mix things up, from using experimental synth tones on Her Majesty's secret service and combining genres like jazz, country and military in one composition was child's play for Barry.

While most music scored for film only really works within the context of the movie, Barry's music can stand alone Just like any piece of classical,rock or pop and it can act as the soundtrack to the movies in your mind or even your own life.

Barry recently spoke out about his peers In an interview with The Guardian, the four-times Oscar winner said, "[The composers] have nothing to say. They are just messing around with notes. I'm at a loss." He also told The Guardian, "I walk out of the cinema bewildered these days. I think, what was the producer or director thinking of to allow 45 minutes or an hour of music that doesn't mean a damn thing? Today it's very empty.

It is a sad loss for the movie and music world because we all know Barry was a one off, as he pretty much redefined the movie and TV scores through the 1960's, yet he never ran out of appeal or emotive creativity through the years and decades that followed.

I doubt another composer will ever match the thrilling emotive and sexy brilliance of Barry but there is one consolation, I still haven't heard all of his works yet so I have many more wide screen journeys to take with him and many familiar timeless epics I can return to again and again.

My top 10 CD albums of 2010.

2010-12-26T03:10:00.000-08:00

2010 another great year for electronic music, while the DJ charts and digital download stores where hyping up some rather dull flavor of the week techno and house etc but if you looked outside of these areas there are still artists and labels releasing some breathtakingly emotive music.

Ambient music in particular made a fairly healthy return, often popping up in well known DJ's podcasts and charts. My chart isn't in order and I emitted digital only releases from my top 10.

1)Thomas Köner - Nunatak • Teimo • Permafrost [Type]

Apologies for including a reissue in my chart but these three early releases from Köner have that timeless quality which sound like no other ambient from the early to mid nineties, no movie samples, twiddling bubbling synth sequences, water or whale samples, just pure unidentifiable drones shifting and morphing with hauntingly beautiful results..

2) A Guy Called Gerald - Tronic Jazz The Berlin Sessions [Laboratory Instinct]

Manchester's finest returns with another stunning collection of techno tracks with that unique Gerald slant, alien afro future funk of the highest order which truly separates him from the rest of the techno clones..

3) Bvdub - The Art Of Dying Alone [Glacial Movements]

Brock Van Wey, has been gathering a rather large underground following with his CDR releases on labels like Quietus and Styrax etc, with his brand of stunning soundscapes, The Art Of Dying Alone is truly breathtaking from beginning to end a modern ambient classic..

4) Anodyne - corrosion [Psychonavigation]

Ireland's answer to Aphex, Muziq etc returned after a lengthy hiatus with his blistering sonic assault of breakbeats and techno with a rather apocalyptic flavor throughout, 2010 also saw the release of the remixes 12" featuring remixes from Autechre and the Black Dog which really put Anodyne and Psychonavigation on the electronica map..

5) The Black Dog - Music For Real Airports [Soma]

The Black Dog venture into the ambient arena with a title that got tongues wagging about it being a statement to Brian Eno's "Music For Airports" while Eno's concept was more about creating a calming mood for the traveller while waiting to depart the black dogs approach was more about creating a soundtrack using field recordings, drones, and emotive compositions that captured all the emotions which can be experienced in such places, from anticipation, stress, sadness, anger etc.

6) Mark Van Hoen - Where Is The Truth [City Centre Offices]

A beautiful collection of deep shoegazing inspired songs and instrumentals with dubby and glitched electronics and warm synths with touches of Marks avant garde edges. The album also features Neil Halstead of Slowdive amongst other guest performers.

7) Pete Namlook and Lorenzo Montanà - Labyrinth [Fax]

Another prolific year for Pete Namlook and his Fax label, with great collaborations between Pete and Move D and solo works like his "Pearl" series and the melodic "Permutations" but his collaboration with Italian IDM producer Lorenzo Montana really stood out with Lorenzo's intricate beats and soulful melodies and Pete's trademark ethereal synths made this a serious contender for album of the year..

8) Loscil - Endless Falls [Kranky]

I'm not sure what it is about the seductivness of Scott Morgans music, but he really is a master of subtlety, the tracks slowly evolve to reveal a haunting beauty and this is probably Loscil at his very best ?

9) Atom™ - Music Is Better Than Pussy [Rather Interesting]

Uwe Schmidt returned to top form after the disappointing digital scrap book of "Muster" with a tongue in cheek look at minimal techno, minimal yet deeply funky and experimental techno tracks with often hilarious lyrical content. also worth mentioning was his experimental ambient Li3835tra3um3 which featured some great ambient tracks which returned to similar terrain explored in "Dots" etc..

10) Sage Taylor - Rain Time [Pronounce]

A truly essential release that only one hundred lucky people will get to hear and I'm happy to be one of them. Based around a theme of rain, each track shifts into the next with the sound of rain running against glass and other materials the album delivers a deep sense of melancholy and emotions that only those wet home bound days can sometimes bring, stunning!!!

"Tron Legacy" Music by Daft Punk

2010-12-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

On paper it may seem like an odd choice for Disney to pick popular french dance music producers Daft Punk to score their latest big screen epic "Tron Legacy", while its not Thomas Bangalter's first time to write and produce music for a full length feature, its certainly the first time he as been involved in a full on traditional score for a mainstream blockbuster.. In 2002 Thomas created a minimalistic score for Gasper Noes disturbing independent masterpiece "Irreversible" and recently for Noes latest "Enter the Void" mainly using uneasy drones to brilliant effect..

A few months back some previews of Daft Punks score hit the internet and one piece in particular sounded like a deeply atmospheric electro track in the vein of Anthony Rother/John Carpenter which really got my attention but hasn't actually featured on the soundtrack CD.

I was really hoping for maybe an almost ambient electro score from the french duo but as its turned out Daft Punk have had access to a full orchestra and have mixed it with moments of electronic minimalism, which may come as a shock or disappointment for those who were hoping for a full on Daft Punk album. While the score may not have the originality or stand alone listening experience of soundtracks like Thomas Newman's "American Beauty" or "Blade Runner" by Vangelis but it certainly has a few epic spine tingling moments.

A few of the traditionally orchestrated pieces worth mentioning are "Overture" and the deeply emotive yet short "Arrival" some of the purely electronic compositions that stand out are the rather excellent "End Of Line" which reminds me of John Carpenter and early Orbital. and the Lush mix of synths and strings on "Son Of Flynn" Other High points utilise a stunning blend of tough electro grooves and the trademark fuzzy Daft Punk acid sequences combined with stunning orchestral strings and horn swells on "Tron Legacy (end titles)

While most of the music fits safely into the Hollywood mould of action movies and at times you would be hard pushed to tell the difference between Daft Punks score or the work of say established Hollywood composers like Hans Zimmer etc, so there's no doubt that Daft Punk have succeeded in their first venture into traditional movie scoring and have blended the use of electronic sounds effectively to compliment the technologically advanced themes of the movie.

Overall the soundtrack stands up pretty well for a home listening experience with the exception of a couple of obvious action driven compositions which I'm sure will effortlessly blend in with the images depicted in the visually stunning movie and I'm sure that the score will certainly secure Daft Punk some future work in Hollywood but I wouldn't bring the "Tron Legacy" soundtrack to any party..

7.5/10

"Snow Drifting" a winter ambient mix by Mick Chillage.

2010-11-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

Winter has arrived early this year, so I was inspired to create a new ambient mix.

Hope you enjoy!!

Download from Rapidshare

01 Mark Isham : Winter Again
02 Pete Namlook : Season's Greetings "Winter" [excerpt]
03 Lull : Sheet
04 Biosphere : Kobresia
05 Higher Intelligence Agency and Biosphere : Melt water [excerpt]
06 Peter Benisch : Waiting for Snow Part VI
07 Indio : Snow Drifts
08 Higher Intelligence Agency and Biosphere : Countdown To Darkness
09 Vangelis : Antarctic Echoes
10 Irezumi : Endurance part VII
11 Mark Isham : Tibet part II
12 Geir Jenssen : Tingri The Last Truck
13 Daniel Pemberton : Antarctica
14 Biosphere : Microgravity
15 Ennio Morricone : Humanity part II
16 Peter Benisch : Waiting For Snow Part V

Brian Eno "Small Craft On A Sea Of Milk" [Warp]

2010-11-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

2010 really seems to be the year ambient goes overground again, with The Black Dog's "Music For Real Airport's" generating lots of well deserved hype and the unfortunate stellar disappointment from The Orb and David Gilmore's "Metallic Sphere's" and now we have Brian Eno's Latest opus which has been released on the legendary Warp records.

The album is available in various forms including a somewhat overpriced signed collectors double Vinyl/CD set, a double CD and the single CD which is being reviewed here.

"Small Craft On A Sea Of Milk" starts off with no real surprises for Eno fans, the first three tracks have that sort of haunted bluesy desolate soundtrack feel, from the achingly delicate piano composition of the opening "Emarald and Lime" to the dreamy guitars of "Complex Heaven" which are both both beautifully played by Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams.

Unfortunately from track four things go way out of focus, as it ventures into self indulgent industrial tribal glitch rock. On one track it sounds like Michael Flatley tap dances under the influence of ecstasy while Ritchie Hawtin tries to emulate 303 sounds on a broken DX7.

There are times where I can I hear a slight Aphex Twin "Drukqs" influence ? but without the effortless confidence and intricate details of Mr Richard D James.

Other moments of Eno's take on industrial techno or warpism's sound like an endurance test with the use of some unforgivably pointless sounds and over the top screeching guitars which are often so irritating you may prematurely reach for the eject button, but fortunately on Track ten "Slow Ice, Old Moon" the album returns to some spooky soundscapes which sound similar to some moments off Brian's ambient classic "Apollo" then we are treated to the gentle and rather emotive bleeps and shifting drones of "Lesser Heaven" and from here on in we are eased back in the comfort zone.

Towards the end we have "Written Forgotten" with its deep buzzing acidic synths, atmospheric pads and dreamy acoustic guitar combined with some oddball vocal samples and warm symphonic strings, which creates a shifting piece of ambient that wouldn't sound out of place in a David Lynch movie.
The album closes off with "Late Anthropocene" which sees Brian moving into the similar sonic terrain of Christian Fennesz with its beautifully layered female choir and wind chimes and glitchy abstraction..

Overall this album has a slight identity crisis, kind of half ambient and half industrial experimental, while the ambient half works really well I feel that the industrial side of it could had have been put to one side for another project perhaps, or even better kept for brian's own personal enjoyment.

Where its ambient 8/10

Where its other 3/10

Johannes Heil "Loving" [Cocoon]

2010-10-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

German based techno producer Johanness Heil is well known for his often dark take on techno/electronica, particularly on albums like the excellent "Future Primitive" on Kanzleramt.

So his latest full length offering released on Sven Vath's rather trendy Cocoon imprint might come as a surprise or even quite a shock to some of his hardcore fans, not that Heil sticks with one style of electronica, in the past he has displayed a talent for producing anything from Hip Hop to Electro to pure ambient etc, but its the fact that "Loving" is full of bouncy, uplifting floor filling and almost crowd pleasing tracks at times which might upset some of Heil's die hard fans.

From the opening track "Hallelujah" we are instantly introduced to Heil's new sonic terrain with a two step style beat in a "We Will Rock You" by Queen style before heading into a sound with elements of traditional African music, with its almost cheesy tribal chants, the track develops nicely though with some deep synths and epic strings giving it an uplifting feel.

"All This One" sets us up for a taste of what's to come over the rest of the album with its minimal techno groove and bouncing stabs. "The Ace" picks up the pace as it starts off with a solid 4/4 groove and an almost "French Kiss" inspired organ sequence, the track is a real builder and reaches some almost epic highs with its deeply layered synths and strings". Then we have "Glockenspiel" as the title suggests this minimal groover layers a melodic glockenspiel vibe riding on top of a samba influenced techno groove.

Midway into the album we have "Big City Nights" which takes us away on some fat analogue bass antics with a disco feel and the use of emotive strings give it that uplifting feel yet again.

"Freedom Of Heart" starts of with a nice edgy groove full of electro toms and a simple bassline, then introduces a nice lightly phased piano and synth riff, it all builds up nicely with the introduction of a tasty string and pad combo and further funky synth keys, a clever arrangement keeps the track moving along with breakdowns and build ups designed for the dance floor.

"Halo Static" takes a more experimental approach with its glitchy flanged and bit crushed tech/electro beats and moody strings and abstract melodies and some clean technoid stabs, think speedy J meets Plastikman and you're halfway there.

"Twenty Three" returns with a chunky groove and dreamy atmosphere and the most uplifting keys and bassline combo on the album, then with a lovely deep and moody dub techno twist to add a sense of mystery only to return to the comforting vibe it opened up with, Heil turns it up another notch with a simple yet affective acid refrain, this is possibly the best track on the album...

"Could This Be" starts of with a slightly cheesy almost "Love is in the air" bassline and a typical house groove and some smokey organ stabs which then progresses into an almost handbag house territory with its diva vocal sound bites and its twisted acid sequences, quirky flutes, but the further addition of what sounds like a distorted lead guitar and cheap orchestral samples turns this into a bit of a Frankensteins monster of a club track.

The album closes off with the title track "Loving" which ventures closer to deep house with its strange mix of catchy simplistic bass and melodies with a slight reggae time signature layered with cinematic strings, lush female vocals and stabbing synths..

Although I couldn't really recommend this album to most fans of Heil's past darker strains of techno or to anyone looking for something new and groundbreaking in electronica, but I do feel this works very well as an album of DJ friendly techno/house tracks but lacks Heil's usual sense of identity to a large degree but Johannes has certainly proved himself yet again as a varied and very talented producer..

7/10

Mick Chillage DJ set @ Decode 08/10/10

2010-10-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

This is my second set from Decode..
The tracks chosen for this mix where randomly grabbed from my CD collection
and imported into ableton and these are the tracks that made it on the mix
on the night!!

Hope you enjoy

Tracklist

01 : As One "Rumours"

02 : Sensorama "Kondens"

03 : Spooky "No Return"

04 : Hug "heroes"

05 : Robag Wruhme "Skrubbs"

06 : Sunday Brunch "When It All Comes To This" [Night Drive Mix]

07 : Youngsters "Smile"

08 : Stakker "Stakker Humanoid" [Scan X mix]

09 : Youngsters "Abusive Melody"

10 : Sensorama "Quarzzeit"

11 : Orbital "The Naked And The Dead"

12 : Pete Namlook & Hubertus Held "Hey Leroy"

DOWNLOAD FROM YOUSENDIT

Mick Chillage DJ set from Decode Dublin 24/09/10

2010-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

This Dj mix is taken from my set at the launch night of Decode in Dublin.
the tracks chosen for this mix where randomly grabbed from my CD collection
and imported into ableton and these are the tracks that made it on the mix
on the night!!

Hope you enjoy

1: Sieg uber die sonne "You'll never come back"

2: Louie Austen "As long as I have a song"

3: A Guy Called Gerald "Pacific samba"

4: A Guy Called Gerald "Wow Yheah"

5: Metropolis "Metropolis" [Original]

6: Metropolis "Hyporeel"

7: Atom tm "Click track"

8: Telex "Raised by the snakes" [Anthony Shakir remix]

9: John Tejada "Clever bunch"

10: Isolee "Beau mot plage"

11: Octogen "Square bells"

12: 808 State "State to state"

DOWNLOAD IT @320kbps from yousendit

Mick Chillage's "Old School Classics Megamix"

2010-09-12T05:47:00.001-07:00

Everyone has their own definition of what old school is or what classic dance, techno, house, music is, I guess this is a collection of mine.. This mix will hopefully appeal to those who were around in the late 80's to mid 90's and maybe the younger clubber who has an interest in the past.. Also you may notice the dominance of the UK scene in the mix, this is due to the fact that the records of Detroit and Chicago etc.. had not really penetrated Ireland in the early days except for maybe kevin Saunderson's Inner city project or Rhythim is Rhythim "strings of life" which I originally had in the mix and later removed.

In my early years of clubbing I always wanted to hear a perfect mix of my favorite tracks, and sometimes I came very close, but the DJ would usually fuck it up with something like Black box's "ride on time".. or even worse Timmy Mallet's "Teeny Weeny Polka Dot Bikini" which had the ubiquitous "Aw Yeah" Public Enemy sample in it... Anyway fast forward to present day, I am fortunate to have all of these influential tracks in my CD collection and some amazing music making software called Ableton and now I have what I would call the perfect Dj set of my favorite old school classic's Ok some of the tracks may not be seen by many as classic or even old school, but they just connected with me in that unexplainable way...

Hope you enjoy
Mick Chillage Aug 2007
Mick Chillage Old School classics megamix
Tracklist :
Inner city : goodlife
Humanoid : Stakker Humanoid
L.F.O : L.F.O
Sweet Exorcist : Testone
A guy called gerald : Voodoo Ray
Meat Beat manifesto : Radio Babylon
Future Sound of London : Papua New Guinea
Depeche Mode : Happiest girl (Orb mix)
Orbital : Chime
Joey Beltram : Energy flash
Hardfloor : Accperiance
Slam : Positive education
Jam & spoon : Stella
Luke Slater : Love (Mick chillage extended edit medley)
808 state : Pacific 202

Sage Taylor "Raintime" on Pronounce records.

2010-08-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Pronounce records, a DIY label based in Detroit release their third very limited CD album from electronic composer Sage Taylor who is based in Portland Oregon.

What's hard to Believe is an album of this quality is unfortunately limited to one hundred copies, its a sad sign of todays physical market I guess ? I feel the music on here would appeal to wide range of music fans, if it was given a bigger push.

"Raintime" lies somewhere between the minimal classical compositions of steve Reich and Michael Nyman to the dreamy moments of say John Beltran's ambient techno but without the use of 4/4 beats.

I found the overall concept and theme of the album similar to Yagya's "Rigning" which of course is the Icelandic for rain but Sage's work is a very different affair but equally as hypnotic and deeply calming yet delivering a deep sense of meloncholy and emotions that only those wet home bound days can sometimes bring..

A truly essential release that only one hundred lucky people will get to hear, and I'm happy to be one of them..

http://www.discogs.com/Sage-Taylor-Raintime/release/2166950

Phasen "Gainesville"

2010-08-27T02:48:00.000-07:00

Lately there has been a lot of discussions regarding the current state of techno music, thanks to the easy access of music making technology and trends like the new wave of so called minimal techno, many veterans in the scene feel that it has opened the flood gates to a new breed of soulless lazy producers, which is causing a lot of damage to the name of techno. This maybe the case for many of todays new and upcoming producers but its certainly not for Florida based Ryan Parmer AKA Phasen.

I first discovered Phasen's music a few years back on myspace music, I was immediately struck by the level of maturity and emotion in Ryan's compositions, as he was only in his late teens. The most obvious influences in his music at this time would have been acts like Boards of Canada, Tycho, etc..

Around this time Phasen was releasing some CDR's through the highly respected U-cover label so I ordered one of the albums which displayed his awesome talent for composing down tempo IDM hip hop styled tracks with some beautifully composed and played acoustic guitar and dreamy synths and quirky electronics, it was a rather stunning collection of melancholic pieces which perhaps captured the spirit of the endless warm days that Ryan would have been immersed in while growing up in the sunshine state.

Over the last few years Ryan has more or less left his early inspirational sound and moved into the techno/house music arena somewhat, but without losing his unique sense of melody and compositional values. Maybe the influence of going out into the atmosphere of Florida's club life has made an impression on him, whatever the reason is, it really shows that Ryan can produce music of any genre which always turns out to be a deeply moving sonic experience of the highest order.

Today the sound of Phasen is a lethal cocktail of House, techno, electro, disco, dub, hip hop ambient and beyond but somehow he manages to effortlessly blend multiple genres into all of his tracks, which can work equally well for home listening as they would for causing dance floor hysteria, thanks to the combination of his stunning key work, deep spacious tones and intricate beats and often cone busting basses. Unlike a lot of producers today Ryan doesn't really care about neatly fitting in to any one genre or scene, so he makes music that borrows influences from everywhere and makes it all his own.

Autumn 2010 sees the release of "Gainesville" on Dublin imprint Dublin Xpress Recordings its a collection of the most imaginative and memorable deep techno, house club friendly tracks that I've heard in some time, which could make some of the bigger producers to seriously consider hanging up their jack leads.

The album opens up with "The Times we Forget" a deep tech house groover that starts off with dub style chords, eerie strings and earth shuddering bass, giving you a sense of uncertainty but then the track takes a serious change in direction with the introduction of some beautiful flamenco guitar and uplifting pads which erases all of your troubles and sets you up for the great journey ahead.

Next up is title track "Gainesville" think Maurizio meets Hardfloor as deep dub techno sounds and rising acid sequences meet with bouncy old school house style piano riffs which only Phasen could pull off with such ease.

"The Truths we will find" opens up with dark sweeping pads and bleeping melodies before taking you off on a solid mid tempo techno groove, again the dub techno influences are strong here but on top of this we are treated to an array of instrumentation not usually associated with this genre, from tapping wine glass melodies and stunning freestyle piano flourishes that will bring Larry Heard to mind.

Towards the end things go in an even deeper direction with "In My House" an emotive electronic symphony that combines lush pad arrangements, deep tech stabs, blues influenced smokey organ refrains and solid grooves and some rather soulful twists and turns which will delight the fans of producers like Chris Brann and The Timewriter etc..

The album comes nearer to a close with the club friendly strains of "Floridian" a bouncy tech/house tune which is full of massive build ups and breakdowns, wobbly basses and sometimes a little on the edam flavored side of melodic.

things finish off with the beautiful but short "Outroduct" which sounds like it could have come from the Icelandic producer Yagya's back catalogue.

The album also comes with a collection of remixes of the title track, the most outstanding remix is from Germany's Nachklangmusik which has the potential of dominating dance floors across the globe.. F.L.O. turns out a lovely mellow ambient dub tech mix, while Ireland's Captain Random keeps it minimal and DJ friendly with his rendition. The collection concludes with a Nacim Ladj remix, which brings it back to a retro acid flavor, with a touch of influence from the likes of UK acid pioneer A Guy Called Gerald.

Over all "Gainesville" is a great and somewhat original collection of groove based electronica that should change a lot of peoples perceptions of what techno and house music has to offer and it also gives you a reason to keep a close eye on Phasen, as I'm sure this is only a little taster of the diverse and emotionally rich music that he has in store for us in the near future and in many years to come....

Anodyne Corrosion remixes EP Out Now!!!

2010-08-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

In May 2010 Irish electronica master Colin Cloughley AKA Anodyne returned after a lengthy hiatus with his Corrosion album on Dublin Based Psychonavigation records, "Corrosion" is journey through the dark side of dance music, full of apocalyptic orchestrated synth arrangements with truly dancefloor devastating caustic beats and growling basslines which pays respect to early 90's artists like AFX, Autechre, µ-Ziq and many many more. "Corrosion" is certainly a contender for many electronica fans as one of the best albums for 2010.

August 2010 sees the release of The Corrosion remix EP firstly in the digital format consisting of seven tracks and then in september a limited three track 12" vinyl release featuring remixes from Autechre, The Black Dog and Lackluster. The digital release includes extra remixes by Ed Devane, Mr Spring, Anodyne and Mick Chillage.. This is certainly the greatest collection of big league elctronica names ever seen on an Irish release!!!

Autechre's remix of "Close Your Eye's" sees Manchester's finest go in an old school direction with the use of the infamous "Funky Drummer" break yet paying close attention to keeping the spirit of the original track by adding further key changes in the lush pad sequences and other intricate details.

The Black dogs remix of "Corrosion" starts off in a minimal techno terrain accopannied with bleeping synths and other electronic tones which develops into some deeply cinematic synth action of epic proportions. reminiscent of early Reload/Global communication tracks.

Lackuster turns out probably the most technologically advance remix of them all on his reworking of "707" with his trademarked edited beats and experimental electronics but with that melodic and emotional feel that only Lackluster can deliver.

Ed Devane treats us to a hardcore breaks and bass mash up of "Haze" which should appeal to fans of Venetian Snares etc, while Mr Spring keeps his eye on the dancefloor with his rendition of "Wasteland"

Anodyne's "Chemical Sunset" Mick Chillage Remix [Promo Edit Version] by mick chillage

The EP is available from the following : itunes, boomkat.com, junodownload.com, bleep.com, Beatport.com and many more..

Sample all the tracks here on the junodownload player

A Guy Called Gerald, a true techno survivor...

2010-08-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

Manchester based Gerald Simpson AKA, A Guy Called Gerald is probably one of the best known and respected artists from the UK electronic music scene and one that certainly doesn't belong to any one particular movement as over the years he's jumped from acid house, techno to Jungle etc..

In the late 80's Gerald started out by trying to emulating the electronic sounds of Chicago and Detroit. The results where an infectious mixture of alien sounding afro acid grooves which sounded very unique with only the bare blueprints of the Detroit techno sound left intact. 1988 saw the release of his seminal "Hot Lemonade" album and at around the same time Gerald also worked with fellow Manchester based techno outfit 808 state on the heavily acid tinged techno album"Newbuild"

"Hot Lemonade" featured a version of the 1990 hit "Voodoo Ray" but overall the album really displayed an artist bursting with electronic innovation and it still sounds soulful and futuristic even today.

The early nineties saw Gerald in the top of the Charts with the Haunting tech mantra "Voodoo Ray" and then the release of his second album "Automanik" on CBS records, the album continued with a similar feel to his debut but sounded more polished and accomplished. One of the tracks titled "Untitled" was originally going to be called "Specific Hate" after the alleged lack of credit Gerald got for his creative input on 808 State's chart hit "Pacific" but the record company decided it was better to go with "Untitled" or "Subscape" as on the vinyl edition.

Gerald was pretty much respected for being one of the key acid and techno music UK originators but in 1992 he embarked on a new direction and this time possibly single handily invented the Jungle movement with his proto junglist album "28 Gun Bad Boy" which was full of clattering breakbeats deep sub basses and rude boy ragga chants and of course his trade mark melodies and electronic sound. By the mid nineties "Black Secret Technology" hit the scene, again Gerald displays a truly unique vision of the Drum & Bass/Jungle sound, a deep and dark tribal funk oozing with blues and ethereal ambient vibes yet retaining a street wise sound which certainly set him light years apart from the rest of the jungle scene.

Through the late 90's and early to mid 00's Gerald released some more albums and various 12" etc, his Junglist sound became a little more accessible somewhat, as he ventured into a kind of mature soul vibe which was particularly evident on the "Essence"released through K7 records but he managed to keep his position as a legend of British electronica.

In 2006 Gerald releases an new collection of techno on the Berlin Based label Laboratory instinct, the album "Proto Acid the Berlin Sessions" is a collection of deep techno acid jams with that distinct Gerald Simpson feel, Incredibly programmed drum machines emitting poly rhythms in perfect harmony with synchronized bleeping and buzzing circuits with a dark and soulful edge.

May 2010 saw Gerald returning with another album for the Laboratory Instinct label, this time titled "Tronic Jazz The Berlin sessions" initially I was expecting some sort of conceptual jazz electronica album but we are treated to another excellent collection of moody and soulful floor movers and right from the opening Gerald sets the tone with the stunning dreamy Detroit inspired "People moover" the album pretty much moves effortlessly from gem to gem, the dubby technoid flavor of "The Dip" sees Gerald mixing up the genres of techno and house and beyond with the greatest of ease, then we have tracks like the minimal bass driven stomper "Wow Yeah" The album also includes yet another version of "Pacific" in the shape of "Pacific Samba" well you can never have enough versions of this classic!!!!

The album finishes of with the eerie pulsating arppeggiated sci-fi soundtrack of "Merfed" Ok so Gerald may not be currently releasing groundbreaking material like he did in the past but he has proved that in world full of unidentifiable techno clones that this Guy from Manchester is still more relevant than ever, and he also proves that there is still plenty of life left in this beast called "techno".

Is this an ending, the descent for ambient music ?

2010-08-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Yet again the internet has given birth to another overnight sensation, this time its actually a 35 minute piece of ambient music ? What baffles me is how this fairly interesting piece of music has taken off ? I mean most ambient music on the web by a well known artist would be lucky to get a couple of thousand hits per year with one of their tracks, so for an unknown electronic artist with 203 followers on soundcloud to reach half a million in one day its hard to understand how ?

Well I guess the name of teen pop idol Justin Bieber and his hit song "U Smile" has helped somewhat in drawing an audience to this genre of music usually ignored by mainstream followers or could it be the mastermind of some major music marketing executive to further boost the profile of J Bieber by causing a viral sensation ?

Seemingly The track in question was achieved by simply importing the original 4 min pop song into some free software and slowing it down by 800%, which I have to admit the results are pretty interesting. The track now reminds me a little of John Foxx's "Cathedral Oceans" album but without the deeply emotional impact. Some people are claiming this to be the most beautiful ambient track ever created, like the music that could possibly be played on the PA system at the pearly gates ?? Seriously though you wouldn't have to search for a very long time on youtube etc to find ambient music thats far far superior.

Ok so this track could be a very positive thing for the ambient music scene in general or more than likely it could start a worrying new trend, I can imagine already thousands if not millions of people around the world already trawling through their pop MP3 collections frantically time stretching track after track in the vain attempt to find the next instant ambient hit..

So where does this leave the producers of real ambient music ? will everything we produce from now on be judged as some pop song we simply slowed down and called it our own ? or does this open us up to a whole new audience of ambient lovers ?

Hopefully though like all internet sensations, it will be forgotten about in a few days, the major record labels will continue to spew the same old shit, artist like Shamantic will probably never make a buck from his own music and the real ambient music world will continue pleasing their small group of dedicated fans..

Time will tell...

J. BIEBZ - U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis

Mick Chillage Ambient Journeys Mixes. four hours @320kbps

2010-08-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

Heres my first ambient mix, since the "Best Served Chilled" tapes of 94 & 95 and a rather lengthy four hours in total thanks to developments in technology & a substantial collection of ambient music. I decided to split them into two parts and offer the files at 320kbps after getting some feedback on various forums on what is the perfect ambient mix.. I may upload the whole mix in one piece later..I feel this mix is more suited to personal listening rather than trying to chill people out at a social gathering, as it shifts from very dark minimal drones and deep environmental sounds to gentle classical pieces to pure space music & occasionally returning to earth with more emotional compositions . Fortunately due to the very long running time of the mix I was able to included full length versions of most of the tracks while using a repeated theme at various intervals using multi-tracking additional looping & effects.

I hope to create many more "Ambient Journeys" although a title probably a little cliched by now ; )

Mick Chillage June 2009

Ambient mix 1 part A

01 Hal 9000 intro
02 Cyorgy Ligeti: Requiem For Soprano..... "2001 A Space odyssey" O.S.T
03 Jack Dangers : Burbidge Chain "Music For Planetarium" [brainwashed]
04 Lustmord : Metastatic Resonance " The Place Where the black stars hang" [Soleilmoon recordings]
05 Lull : Whiteout "Like A Slow River" [Glacial movements]
06 J.S. Bach : Italian Concerto BWV 971 "Cello Suites" [Apex]
07 Steve Hillage : Garden Of Paradise (excerpt) "Rainbow Dome Musick [Virgin]
08 Aaron Martin and MachineFabriek : Cello Drowning "Cello Recycling / Cello Drowning [Type]
09 Irezumi : Endurance Part II "Endurance [Snowblood]
10 Dots : Dots "Dots" [Rather Interesting]
11 Cluster : Cluster 71 part II (excerpt) "Cluster 71" [Sky]
12 Selstram and Strahler : Waldschrat "^ö^" [Source]
13 J.S Bach : Orchestral Suit No.3 in D Air On A G String "Cello Suites" [Apex]
14 John Foxx : Infinite In All Directions "Ocean Cathedrals I" [Edsel]
15 Johann Johannsson : IBM 1403 Printer "IBM 14CI, A Users Manual" [4AD]
16 Stars Of The Lid : Even If Your Never Awake (Deuxième) [Kranky]

http://www.xfmdublin.com/blog/wp-content/mick-chillage-ambient-journeys-vol1-part-a.mp3

Ambient Mix 1 Part B

17 Murcof : Cosmos 1 "Cosmos" [Leaf]
18 Evan Bartholomew : Reborn We Fluctuate And Fade "Caverns Of Time" [Somnia]
19 Mark Van Hoen : Untitled "Playing with Time" [Apollo]
20 Miles Tilmann : Middle Fields "3D Concepts" [Toytronic]
21 Adagio : Gayane Ballet Suite "2001 A Space Odyssey" O.S.T.
22 James Bernard : Mars Rain "Atmospherics" [Rising High]
23 Gel-Sol : Rainboze "IZ" [Psychonavigation]
24 Goldmund : Anomolie Loop (1960-1969) "Corduroy Road" [Type]
25 Chapterhouse : Beta Phase "Blood Music Retranslated By Global Communication" [Dedicated]
26 Stevie Be Zet : Passion & Hope "Archaic Modulation" [Recycle or die]
27 The Fires Of Ork : The Facts Of Life "The Fires Of Ork" [Apollo]

http://www.xfmdublin.com/blog/wp-content/mick-chillage-ambient-journeys-vol1-part-b.mp3

Nachklangmusik "Stereotype world" EP and remixes

2010-08-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Highly talented German based producer Nachklangmusik releases his latest EP this time for Irish based DXR recordings.

The EP is released in three parts, featuring six original tracks of deep melodic and moody tech/house groovers effortlessly blending dub IDM and experimental touches throughout. The final EP features three remixes, Artist on Remix duties are F.L.O, Phasen and myself..

Check my remix in full.....
Nachklangmusik "Stereotype world" Mick Chillage remix [DXR] by mick chillage

Just press a button ????

2010-08-03T02:34:00.000-07:00

It still shocks me when I mention the term "electronic music" and how some people often react, as if its not a form of real music, as if its some sort of gimmick or novelty music, often comparing it to "Washing Machine music" or making stupid R2D2 sounds with a condescending grin on their faces, as if that sums up all the electronic music ever created.

Yes!! a lot of it is utter rubbish but that can be said about all forms of music and Its not as if electronic music is some sort of a new fad, its roots can be traced back to the early 1900's with sound experimentalist like Ferruccio Busoni etc and it has also become so commonplace in modern day culture that you would imagine electronic music would have been accepted as a valid form of art by now ?

One comment that really makes my blood boil is "oh its not real music, unless its played on a real instrument". Well most electronic music is created by recording a performance played on a keyboard/synthesizer, except for maybe some methods of sampling or those who simply use pre programmed musical elements but in this article I want to focus on those who actually write and compose original pieces.

Lets look at acoustic instruments, they have been around for thousands years, in order to achieve their characteristic sound they are cleverly designed and crafted in a particular way, which was pretty much considered cutting edge technology back when they first appeared.

Just like guitars, clarinets and violins etc, the synthesizer was created as an instrument to have its own unique sound, the only difference was it uses electronic circuitry to create it, and the advantage of the synth is the user can change and manipulate the tones in infinite ways to create an infinite palate of sound. So if you strum or pick the strings of an acoustic guitar it will always sound like an acoustic guitar, you don't actually have to know how to play it to trigger its unique sound, so the same applies to the synthesizer, press one of the keys and it will produce a synth like tone, but tweak some of the dials and you can create many different synthesized sounds.

Unfortunately the synth was somewhat misunderstood in the early days which seems to have resonated right through to today, a lot of users felt it was meant to replace traditional instruments and spent a lot of time displaying how great it was at emulating acoustic instruments, which sadly wasn't the case at all and this use was never the intention of its inventors. Thankfully in the late 60's Walter Carlos released "Switched on Bach" which displayed the works of classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach performed entirely with moog synthesizers, which helped in some way to convince the world that synthesizers where a valid musical instrument.

From the late sixties onwards the synthesizer started to creep into popular culture, a few examples are the jazz scene branched off into the fusion era, mixing traditional jazz with electric guitars and electronic sounds. John Barry used some synths to great effect on His soundtrack to the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". By 1974 Kraftwerk released "Autobahn" and the world went synth crazy, jean Michel Jarre's "Oxygene" was an original opus created entirely with synthesizers and it was a huge hit. Film maker John Carpenter scored his movies entirely with synthesizers which greatly added to the atmospheric feel of the films.
By the 1980's Synth Pop was an unstoppable force, but some were still not convinced that it was real music ?

One argument often brandished by the rock purist world is that all synths sound the same no matter who uses them, for example, "when Hendrix picked up a guitar it distinctively sounded like Hendrix", this maybe true but the same can be said with electronica artists, no one else plays synths or gets the same sound like Klaus Schulze or Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Orbital etc..

Then there is the infamous story of one synth pop act who were carrying their Fairlight into the BBC studio to perform on The Old Grey Whistle test, which was spat upon by a member of a popular metal act. So what's the problem if you compose music using electronic devices ? If you write a novel on an ipad rather than a traditional typewriter does this mean the piece of literature is sub standard ?

The composition of music seems to be valued by some by the fact that it was written and played on a guitar or acoustic piano etc and then performed live and recorded, take any of the classical composers before the 20th century many of these wrote music on paper and most of it was intended for an orchestra or choir etc, many of them never actually heard their pieces performed, because they didn't have the luxury of a choir or orchestra at their disposal and chances are they probably couldn't play all the pieces they wrote if all the instruments needed were handed to them, does this devalue their brilliance in any way ?

Electronic music producers these days can pretty much do it all on their own thanks to MIDI and audio based sequencers both software and hardware, basically the sequencer acts like a conductor with an orchestra, the composer, can input notes on a keyboard or notate if they can read and write music and depending on the software.

The sequencer can record each separate performance, then the composer can play it back in a loop which enables the composer to move on to the next element and so forth until all the basic elements are combined. So just like a classical or soundtrack composer may write a piece for a full orchestra, its obvious he/she cannot play all these parts alone, so the notation is handed to each player and the conductor signals them when to come in, the electronic musician/composer can do the same with a computer or hardware sequencer. The sequencer can be programmed to command each musical part when to come in, drop out, rise in volume change of chords etc.

This method of production is not just used by electronic music artists, pretty much most of the music you hear today whether its rock, pop, jazz etc, will probably have been created using a computer sequencer and also many other electronic treatments, so it would be pretty fair to call all music electronic these days.

So its not just a simple matter of pressing one button as some people will often say, just because you have state of the art technology at your finger tips it doesn't equate that you are guaranteed to write masterpieces every time you switch on the equipment, its all down to the talent skill and soul of the user, as yet no machine or computer can write music which can actually connect with humans on an emotional level.

Playing live, Now this is where electronic music becomes most criticized, traditionally live music consists of a drummer, bassist, keyboards, lead guitar singer etc.. I'm focusing on the solo artists in this case. Most electronic music will be performed live with the composer jamming with a sequencer which is comprised of prerecorded elements of the original work.

In recent years most electronic artist will use a laptop and maybe one midi controller keyboard, this is the most hassle free way of playing live, no one wants to take their home studio with them and most cannot afford to hire session musicians to play all the parts individually. This set up enables the artist to perform a live digital arrangement and the controller makes it easier for them to access Fx, mixer controls etc which they can manipulate on the fly or even play some keys if they have it connected to a soft synth or other. Another advantage is that it usually does away with the need for a sound engineer.

Setting up a live set usually involves a lot of preparation, every element of each track has to be recorded into the laptop and perfectly looped and then plenty of rehearsal is important in order to remember when to trigger each element, how to fade in or out etc.. Although it may look like the digital performer is checking emails or on facebook, it is actually taking a great level of concentration and skill and remember its their own music they are performing and not simply playing someone else's work or DJing, which brings me to another issue often encountered by the laptop performer. Say if the artist is performing a live rendition of a melodic down tempo track at a house/techno club, it won't be a surprise if some reveler will come up to the DJ box and ask if they could play something more upbeat : (

Note:

this blog is not about trying to convert people into actually liking electronic music but more about trying to dispel the myth that its just a matter of pressing a button to make music electronically. or its not intended to be a definitive history of electronic music. Unfortunately this blog will not be read by those with the rather out dated ignorant attitude, but I am happy that I can get my points across without being rudely interrupted.

Mick Chillage August 2010

Vakama's "Cyan" Mick Chillage Epic dub mix [nice & nasty] 2009

2010-08-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

Vakama's techno monster "Cyan" was the first remix I created for [nice and nasty] and is still one of my personal favorite ambient tracks and is still available from itunes, beatport juno etc..

http://www.junodownload.com/products/cyan/1388614-02/?trackid=4

Vakama's "Cyan" Mick Chillage Epic Dub re-work by mick chillage

"Detroit At Night" by Bellyoftheunderdog

2010-08-01T03:25:00.000-07:00

Waterford based Producer and DJ Bellyoftheunderdog presents a mix of late night Detroit inspired techno tunes, featuring tunes from claude young, ian o brien, orlando voorn, jamie behan, dj klaina, trish van eynde, gemini, mick chillage, dj bone & lots lots, lots more! Detroit by night style.

Tracklist coming soon

Bellyoftheunderdog Detroit at night by botud Detroit at night

Mick Chillage Journey thru my house Vol 1

2010-07-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

Mick chillage journey thru my house vol 1

Journey thru my house is a deep house megamix, which I created using ableton live back in 2007 most of the tracks have been selected from various CD albums which I have purchased over the years.

Hope you enjoy Mick Chillage

Track-listing

Marco Passarani : Criticize (Sullen Look) peacefrog

Metro : $1.15 Please (Freddie fresh presents abstract funk theory) Obsessive

Glenn Underground : Return to zion (Lounge excursions) guidance

Kerrier district : Lets dance & freak (Kerrier district) rephlex

Jori Holkkonen : Wanna do you (when no one is watching we are invisible ) F comm

Boy robot : we accept all our parents credit cards (rotten cocktails) City centre offices

Sunday brunch : My world (no resistance) Svek

Vince watson : Mystical rhythm (Biologique) Alola

St Germain : IL (from detroit to st germain) F comm

Susumu Yakota : Sky blue (sound of sky) exceptional

Plastique : Laugh gas '98 (Atom tm presents acid evolution 1988-2003) logistic

Sunday brunch : Things you said / night drive mix (no resistance ) Svek

Jorgen Paap : Mit dir (total 4) Kompakt

Chris Grey : Sun needs planet (fish & luvconfushun) fragmented

David Alvarado : My Plea (Mayasongs) peacefrog

The timewriter : the waterfront (Paintbox) Plastic city

Mick Chillage's "Pauls Party Mix" Deep house, funk, old school etc..

2010-07-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

This is a mix which was created for Paul Chillage's birthday back in june 09, which I have finally decided to share with you... The mix was recently featured on the sequence radio show [Pulse, RTE] but only one hour was played so here is the full mix in all its beatiful glory ; )

01 Mick Chillage : Departure [Stefano Vozza remix]
02 Norma Jean Bell : Mystery
03 Metro Area : Miura
04 D.O.P : Lion
05 The Timewriter : Handsome Machine
06 Random Factor : Move On
07 React 2 Rhythm : Intoxication
08 Metro Area : Machine Vibes
09 Kerrier District : Yasco
10 The Timewriter : Flicking Pages
11 I Cube : Picnic attack
12 The Timewriter : Blue Sky
13 Spooky : Aqualung
14 Mick Chillage : Pure Blue [Dave anderson remix]
15 Jimpster : Love like this
16 D.O.P. Party Rocking
17 The Timewriter : Heartstrings

mick-chillage-pauls-party-mix-june-09-1.mp3

Free Mick Chillage Music

2010-07-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Over the last few years I have released some music with various net labels and shared some tracks on soundcloud etc, with pretty much everything from ambient, house, techno, IDM etc..

Kosmo Net label via soundcloud

Mick CHILLAGE by kosmo netlabel

From Etoka Miniature via souncloud

Mick Chillage - Zero In by EtokaMiniature

07 Mick Chillage - Sightings (original mix) by EtokaMiniature

From my soundcloud page

Deep ambient remix of Radioscotvoid chiptune "I love Special K"

Radio ScotVoid "I Love Special K" Mick Chillage's Black Hole remix by mick chillage

The Beast, Hardcore breaks gabba mashup of Gerry Goldsmiths "Omen" score..

The beast by mick chillage

Early ambient electro recording

Another Night Drive [1997] edit by mick chillage

Another early recording, ambient, IDM..

A Good Nights Bleep by mick chillage

3 track EP "Eye On The City" from this_side.net

http://www.this-side.net/releases/tup003

Chicago inspired deep house track

Chicago pad [download limit reached] by mick chillage

Note : DOWNLOAD LIMIT REACHED AT SOUNDCLOUD.

Get this track and the full compilation here http://www.this-side.net/releases/tup006

The Black Dog - 08 Dark Days, Grey Nights - Ambient DJ Set

2010-07-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

The Black Dog return with the final ambient DJ set for the current podcast series, this one is more suited for those who like the darker side of ambient..

The Black Dog - 08 Dark Days, Grey Nights - Ambient DJ Set by The Black Dog

01. David Lynch – The Air Is On Fire – Strange World Music
02. Gas – Untitled – Kompakt
03. Pan Sonic – Wanyugo – Blast First
04. Nocturnal Emissions – Clear Bells – Earthly Delights
05. Alva Noto – Prototype 8 – Mille Plateaux
06. William Basinski – Fringe Area – Raster-Noton
07. Labradford – P – Kranky
08. White Rainbow – Awakening – Kranky
09. The Black Dog – Gate 21 – Dust Science
10. Lustmord & Robert Rich – Undulating Terrain – Fathom
11. Chris Watson – Vatnajokull – Touch

Seefeel Vaults...

2010-07-24T04:43:00.000-07:00

The original indie ambient dub masters Seefeel return with first new material for almost 14 years + announce one-off London headline show..

Check out the selection uploaded by Warp records @ Soundcloud..

Seefeel - Faults by Warp Records

Mick Chillage's Old School Classics Megamix

2010-07-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

Everyone has their own definition of what old school is or what classic dance, techno, house, music is, I guess this is a collection of mine.. This mix will hopefully appeal to those who were around in the late 80's to mid 90's and maybe the younger clubber who has an interest in the past.. Also you may notice the dominance of the UK scene in the mix, this is due to the fact that the sound of Detroit & Chicago etc.. had not really penetrated Ireland in the early days except for maybe kevin Saunderson's Inner city project or Rhythim is Rhythim "strings of life" which I originally had in the mix and later removed. In my early years of clubbing I always wanted to hear a perfect mix of my favorite tracks, and sometimes I came very close, but the DJ would usually fuck it up with something like Black box's "ride on time".. or even worse Timmy mallet's "teeny weeny polka dot bikini" which had the ubiquitous "Aw Yeah" Public Enemy sample in it... Anyway fast forward to present day, I am fortunate to have all of these influential tracks in my CD collection and some amazing music making software called ableton I now have what I would call the perfect Dj set of my favorite old school classic's Ok some of the tracks may not be seen by many as classic or even old school, but they just connected with me in that unexplainable way...

Hope you enjoy

Mick Chillage Old School classics megamix
Tracklist :
Inner city : goodlife
Humanoid : Stakker Humanoid
L.F.O : L.F.O
Sweet Exorcist : Testone
A guy called gerald : Voodoo Ray
Meat Beat manifesto : Radio Babylon
Future Sound of London : Papua New Guinea
Depeche Mode : Happiest girl (Orb mix)
Orbital : Chime
Joey Beltram : Energy flash
Hardfloor : Accperiance
Slam : Positive education
Jam & spoon : Stella
Luke Slater : Love (Mick chillage extended edit medley)
808 state : Pacific 202

Future Sound Of London Essential mix from 1994

2010-07-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

FSOL - Earthbeat Studio Session Pt. 1, Essential Mix - BBC Radio 1 1993-12-04 by +dB

"Best Served Chilled" an early mix tape recreated

2010-07-21T04:03:00.000-07:00

Finally I have got around to recreating side two of my "Best Served Chilled" mix tape This is an early chillout mix tape I created back in late 1994 using just a Kam dj mixer and two portable CD players with no pitch control.. I painstakingly worked out the mixes relying on the LCD countdown of the CD players and using the faders to blend the tracks. One of the later tapes has mixed by "the Chillage Idiot" written on the inlay card.. A lot of these tapes were passed on to friends and are listened to in far away places like Australia, Ibiza etc..

Thanks to Carl for keeping these cassettes and for sending me copy's of the original inlay cards with the track listings etc.. I have yet to re hear the originals but from my best memory I have recreated the mix digitally and Again all these tracks bring back great memories of a period in electronic music when everything sounded fresh and they had a profound emotional and inspirational impact on me..

Some of you will probably be very familiar with the artists and the tracks on the mix, but for those of you who may be hearing these for the first time,I hope you enjoy the timeless quality of these tracks as much has I have over the years..

Side One :

Reload : the enlightenment (a collection of short stories) Infonet

Brian Eno : an ending ascent (Apollo atmospheres & soundtracks) editions EG

Syzygy : Dreams of flying (Morphic resonance) rising high

Global communication : 4:02 (76:14) dedicated

Future Sound Of London : Flak (Lifeforms) Virgin

Vangelis : Main titles part 2 (Blade runner OST) Warner

Reload : Phase 4 (Auto reload EP) Infonet

Biosphere : Startoucher (Patashnik) Apollo

Pete Namlook : traveling without moving, trip 8 (Air 2) Fax

Reload : the biosphere [Global communication remix](Auto reload EP) Infonet

Side Two :

Track list :

Chapterhouse : Delta Phase (ChapterHouse Blood Music retranslated by Global Communication) Dedicated

Stevie Be Zet : Passion and Hope (Archaic Modulation) Recycle or Die

Future Sound Of London : Dead Skin Cells Virgin

Jam and Spoon : N.A.S.A (Tripomatic Fairy tales 2002) Epic

Banca De Gaia : Shanti (Desert Wind) Planet Dog

Beaumont Hannant : A Summer Spent (Texturology) GPR

Download Best Served Chilled Zip

Electric Deluxe podcasts with Pete Namlook and Atom™

2010-07-19T03:18:00.000-07:00

Jochem Paap Aka "Speedy J" who has recorded for labels Warp, Nova Mute etc.. is the Rotterdam based techno producer who runs the Electric Deluxe label. The electric deluxe podcasts are quickly becoming a thing of legend amongst fans of truly cutting edge electronica and techno music, here I present two podcasts by two of Germany's most influential artists and two of my personal favorites.

First is Frankfurt based Pete Namlook who pioneered the next phase of ambient music in the early to mid 90's with his incredibly prolific Fax label, which often released an album a week in the early days. Today the label is still going strong and covering everything from ambient, techno, jazz, IDM, and beyond.

Over the years Pete has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the electronica scene, Ritchie Hawtin, Klaus Schulze, Bill Laswell, Jochem Paap, and Move D to name a few. Pete prefers the term "Environmental" music rather than the often misused "Ambient" title.

Next, Uwe Schmidt Aka Atom Heart, Atom tm and a million other aliases and sometimes collaborator with Namlook as "Jet Chamber" Uwe has pretty much made every kind of electronic music known to mankind but with a unique and distinctive Atom™ sound sometimes with a satyrical look at current trends in music production and modern culture.
Uwe is pretty much one of the first artists to intentionally use digital glitches as an integral part of his compositions, which now has become almost common place.
Uwe moved to South America in the mid 90's as he got bored with the scene in Germany, while there he soaked up the flavors of latin music and the aliases Lisa Carbon and Senor Coconut amongst others were born.. Uwe runs his own label "Rather Interesting" but has released on many many labels like Rephlex, Pod, Fax, and Ninja Tune.

Both mixes include much of their own work along side some of their favorite artists. So wether your a longtime fan or discovering these two great artist for the first time I'm sure you will enjoy..

Electric Deluxe Podcast 014 Pete Namlook by electric deluxe

Electric Deluxe Podcast 022 Atom™ by electric deluxe

Anodyne remix EP

2010-07-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Anodyne - Remix EP featuring remixes by Autechre, The Black Dog, Lackluster, Mick Chillage and more..

(Psychonavigation Records)

Corrosion is anodyne's first full length LP in over a decade and is the first official anodyne release since appearing on the Skam : Mask 500 compilation alongside Gescom, Hell Interface & Hakan Libdo.. The albums 12 tracks blended elements of old skool rave, elektro and breakbeat into a darkly beautiful, electronic LP. Since it's initial release word has quickly spread of this unique talent and what now follows seems like the perfect accompaniment. It's deceptively strong stuff [Sean Booth / Autechre] I couldn't recommend this release more highly, It's bloody ace [Rob Hall / Gescom] The artist was keen to involve two of his own personal heroes Autechre & The Black Dog to contribute to the Remix EP. Both acts lend their incredible talent to the remixes and the results are simply stunning. The digital release also features 5 bonus remixes covering everything from Electro House - Acid Breaks - IDM. Anodyne - Remix EP will be officially released as a Limited 12" Vinyl (300) & as a 7 track Digital remix package on August 23rd through the Irish imprint Psychonavigation Records.

You can stream full length mixes here @ bleep.com

The Chillage Idiots XFM 16th July 2010

2010-07-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Chillage Idiots Xfm 16th July 2010 by The Chillage Idiots

01 - Zulusas: "Glimmer" [Intelligent Toys - We Make Music] Sutemos Net Label

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02 - Mark Van Hoen: "Yourself" [Where Is The Truth] City Centre Offices

03 - Izu: "Jumpers" (The Village Orchestra mix) [unreleased] (2006)

04 - The Pad Foundation: "Human Resources" [Late Night Sessions] myspace.com/padfoundation

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05 - Matthew Herbert: "Berlin" [One One] Accidental

06 - Shoosh: "Here Come The Crystals" [Magus] Herb Recordings - Craig Murphy and Neil Carlill - out in August

07 - Plank and Shintaro: "Upstairs" [exclusive] unreleased - for possible future release on Hydrogen Jukebox or Neo Ouija

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08 - Move D and Namlook: "Stranger" [Stranger I] Fax +49-69/450464 edit [full track is 34 minutes]

09 - Atom TM: "Suck My Groove" [Music Is Better Than Pussy] Rather Interesting

10 - Monseiur Electronique: "I Really Need You" (Mikele Avatone mix) [I Really Need You] Etokalogue

11 - DJ Sprinkles: "The Occassional Feel-Good" [Midtown 120 Blues] Mule Musiq

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12 - Sonnamble: "Heal" [Seven Months In E Minor] Forwind

13 - Enrico Coniglio: "Glaciers Are Coming Closer" [Late Night Broadcast] Laverna.net

14 - Posthuman: "Asha Grew Wings" (LJ Kruzer Remix) [Hilda Family Remixed] Myuzyk.net

15 - Biosphere / Deathprod: "Katedra Botaniki" [Nordheim Transformed] Rune Grammofon

16 - Beta Two Agonist: "Horta" [A Selection Of Ambient Explorations And Grooves] Databloem

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17 - Nachtklangmusik: "Ghost Groove" [Stereotype World] DXR

18 - Conforce: "Intimidation" [Machine Conspiracy] Meanwhile

19 - Gregory Waasawkiboss Davis: "Three Monkeyz Part Tuo" [unreleased] no label at moment

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20 - Beaumont Hannant: "A Summer Spent" [Texturology] GPR

Recommend net releases [Ambient]

2010-07-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

There's a wealth of unbelievable free legal music on the web, no matter what your taste in music is.. On my blog I will try my very best to feature only the finest quality free electronic music as possible, today I'll start with this incredible compilation of deeply atmospheric and emotive ambient music from Italy..

Enjoy !!

http://www.laverna.net/releases/Lav35.html

Mick Chillage eclectro electro mix

2010-07-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna post links to various mixes I've created over the last few years, thought I'd start with this electro mix I created a few years back..

Most of these are hosted at XFM Dublin's website home of The Chillage Idiots..

Mick Chillage Ableton electro mix was exclusively created for the guys at

who run a fantastic web site dedicated to all things electronic - full of news, features, links to free downloads, mixes etc. The guys ran a feature on my recent breaks mix & many more Mick Chillage related works. Paul Chillage suggested that I might do an exclusive electro mix for their site and when I put it to them - their response was something that I could not ignore. Enjoy.

Tracklist :

Dave Ellesmere : Laguna

Blotnik Brothers : Tin Can (beats loop)

Kraftwerk : Tour de France (Francois K mix)

Blotnik Brothers : Undulation

Anthony Rother : God of the Gods

Silicon Scally : Non Functional

Little Computer People : Little Computer People (Karl Bartos remix)

Anthony Rother : Genstruktur

Bass Junkie : Welcome To Futura

Speedy J : Ieee Mitten Menu

Radioactive Man : Suity Bloke

Chaos A.D. : Mind war electro

Blotnik Brothers : Tin Can

The Stereo Nerds : H.D. Endless

ELECTRO MIX DOWNLOAD HERE >>>> mick-chillage-electro-mix-1.mp3

Sunlit Flowers

2010-07-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Unsigned chillout track which is a completely original composition..

Mick Chillage on Soundcloud

2010-07-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

You can stream various selections of my music from released tracks to works in progress etc..
at souncloud, which from time to time I will include free downloads : )
Expect anything from Ambient, electro, techno, deep house, IDM and beyond...

Latest tracks by mick chillage

Tales From The Igloo, one year since its release..

2010-07-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

In 2009 Psychonavigation records released my debut album "Tales From The Igloo" the result of almost 13 years of experimenting with electronic sounds & structures while constantly redefining & perfecting my vision which draws from many influences, it also displays my passion for creating a wide range of genres within the electronic music spectrum..

The album is a collection of pieces created between 2005 & 2008 which were carefully chosen to display my deeper, atmospheric & more emotional side. blending Ambient, Electro, Techno, Dub & experimentalism to create a unique mixture of various moods, sometimes reaching epic wide screen scope. From the furthest outpost of distant galaxies on "Gateway Station" while returning to earth gracefully with the soulful electro blues of "Melting Emotion" to the disturbing dark environmental tones of "Disturbed Earth" & "Hypothermia". The album concludes on a high with a beautiful remix of "The Final Storm" by ambient pioneer Pentatonik.

"Tales From The Igloo" selection [psychonavigation] 2009 by mick chillage

The album is still available from various sources

http://www.psychonavigation.com/talesfromtheigloo.html

http://www.discogs.com/Mick-Chillage-Tales-From-The-Igloo/release/1847236

http://www.juno.co.uk/artists/Mick+Chillage/