Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Heinrich Mueller - False Vacuum remix/remodel compilation on WeMe Records


WeMe Records have compiled a very nice collection of Heinrich Mueller remixes/remodels. The 2xLP, False Vacuum, is now available for pre-order at this link. Initially there are 200 blue vinyl exclusive to the WeMe webshop and later there will be 500 on black vinyl for Clone Distribution (you can pre-order it here). Keeping up with this aspect of Mueller's work has been one of the most enjoyable parts of doing DRL. There are so many real gems hidden away on obscure labels in very limited editions and it's great that some of these are going to get a bit more exposure again.You can sample all of the tracks at the pre-order link.

A1 The Hacker - Fadin'away (Heinrich Müeller Remix) 
A2 Tuxedomoon - What Use (Heinrich Mueller Technik Mix) 
B1 Station Rose - Dave (Heinrich Mueller Stanley Kubrick's Vision Mix) 
B2 The Advent - Untitled (Heinrich Mueller Remix) 
C1 Duplex - P.O.M. (Heinrich Mueller Time Dilation 2 Mix) 
C2 Stingray - The Sadist (Heinrich Mueller Remix) 
C3 DJ Stingray - Drone FX (Heinrich Mueller Remix) 
D1 Albert Van Abbe - NCS_0009121010 (Heinrich Mueller Remodel) 
D2 Alek Stark - HALO 8 (Heinrich Mueller Remix) 
This project has been in the pipeline for sometime and I helped select the tracks and wrote the promo text for it (below). Glad to see it is almost with us!

This is the first time any of Heinrich Mueller's highly sought after remodels/reworks have been compiled together. Many have been previously available only on limited releases and have patiently been awaiting discovery by a wider audience. For those who don't know, since the mid '90s Heinrich Mueller (Dreciya/Dopplereffekt) has been quietly amassing an impressive catalogue of these unique productions (currently about 40+) which completely transforms the other artist's track to his own exacting specifications. To the effect that there might be very little or nothing at all left of the original production. These 9 specially selected examples embrace all facets of his approach.
First up is the ultra smooth and minimal 'Fadin' Away' by The Hacker from 2000, probably one of his most sublime and timeless creations. Then jump forward to 2011 when he serves up an infectious and sparse slice of robot funk for Albert van Abbe's 'NCS_0009121010'. By the time of Alek Stark's 'Halo 6' (2014) he's still got the dance-floor on his mind, but it's located on an alien or perhaps underwater world in some dimension parallel to our own. In 2009 he works for the first time with fellow Drexciyan traveller DJ Stingray and delivers the hard edged but still quite delicate 'Drone FX'. Jump to 2005 and he conjures the playfully disjointed 'P.O.M. (Time Dilation Mix 2)' for Duplex. In 2000, when he had a close relationship to the label, International DeeJay Gigolo, who were releasing Dopplereffekt and the first fruits of Der Zyklus, they commissioned him to make a series of groundbreaking mixes. On one of which he got to mesh his own futuristic vision with that of Stanley Kubrick on 'Dave' by Station Rose. The other closes this collection and is another of his most accessible works, with the best bassline, 'What Use' by the legendary '70s San Francisco band, Tuxedomoon. In 2011 he also produced a darkly atmospheric and relentlessly mechanical interpretation of DJ Stingray's 'The Sadist'. In 2003, another of his best production efforts, again aimed off-squarely at yet another form of mutant dance floor, came out of a total revamp of an untitled track by The Advent. Fittingly this was originally included on Recreations, an album where artists were invited to do what Heinrich Mueller does best.

There will be a Drexciya Day/tribute event in London on Sat 1st Sept, Cambridge on 1st Sept,  Tallinn, Estonia on 1st Sept, Vienna on 5th Sept, Glasgow on Friday 14th September, Rome on 7th September and Manchester on Sat 8th September. I wasn't sure if I should suggest doing this again this year but as fans have already taken the initiative (like Dublin fans last year) maybe more of you would like to organise your own events around the world. Last year there were tributes in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Rome and on radio.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Drexciya Day 2018 and more


There will be a Drexciya Day/tribute event in London on Sat 1st Sept, Cambridge on 1st Sept,  Tallinn, Estonia on 1st Sept, Vienna on 5th Sept, Glasgow on Friday 14th September, Rome on 7th September and Manchester on Sat 8th September. I wasn't sure if I should suggest doing this again this year but as fans have already taken the initiative (like Dublin fans last year) maybe more of you would like to organise your own events around the world. Last year there were tributes in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Rome and on radio.
Like last time, this doesn't need to be something big, just a party in a bar or cafe will do, something to celebrate James Stinson's life and Drexciya on or close to 3rd September. This year will be the 16th anniversary of his death. If anyone wants to organise such an event please let me know and I will be very happy to share it. Email me details or contact me through the DRL FB page.
Dopplereffekt play their first show in Istanbul, Turkey as part of a Red Bull Music festival there. They play on 29th September. They also have a show in Estonia on 24th August. 
Das Heise Experiment 2 by The Exaltics on Solar One Music is finally available. This album features one collaborative track with Heinrich Mueller aka Rudolf Klorzeiger. It looks like an amazing package as usual. Available on Bandcamp and in stores according to The Exaltics FB page.
There is a great new Drexciya themed mix here
'Death in Vegas are huge fans of Gerald Donald in all his forms. He chose to 'reproduce' Metal Box, keeping certain elements of the original field recordings, the sounds of the Steel Factory opposite Drone's studio, the incessant drones from the planes landing at City Airport and the dial tones of the studio's VHF radio and layered over these with his own sonic tapestry.'
Heinrich Mueller under his Rudolf Klorzeiger alias has remixed an epic 10 minute version of 'Metal Box' (Mercury Box Rework) by Death In Vegas. The original can be found on their Transmission (2016) album. You will find it on the remix 12", You Disco I Freak. This one sneaked under the radar and has been available since April 2018. You can hear a generous snippet of it and purchase at this link and at Juno.
There have been loads more great images and info by Abdul Haqq about Drexciya over at his page, The Drexciyan Empire, which is about, 'The art of Drexciya. The concepts based on the origin story, the songs and label writings and from my work on Neptune's Lair.'