Neil Landstrumm

[crime]

we'll have venetian snares, exile and µ-ziq tonight. i'll let you know if they could mess with neil ;)

Exile was the best IMO, I can't really comment on Mike Paradinas (Muziq) as I don't know his stuff so well, but V. Snares and Vex'd seemed to be just playing their previously released stuff.. Cool sounding and everything, but exile was pure improv. totally made up there on the spot... V. Snares & Muziq were a bit hard for my tastes, as was the second half of Exile's set, the first 15 mins of Exile though, was like the most amazing techno live act I ever heard in my life.. proper impressed, and it takes a lot to do that with me these days.... :)

[Traxx]

Exile is amazin live.

[spiralz]

i played with landstrumm last year. warmed up for him. was a great nite. his style and the way he used the hardware was amazing. no laptop and ableton. LIVE sets done the proper way. real nice guy to chat with none of that ego bullshit that some of the techno superstars have.

[rotten]

yea exile was **** ace! gimme more!

[module]

I play this stuff all the time also!! as do a lot of people on the continent, and this is my point, I wouldn't let the fact that this kind of stuff is harder to mix compromise my music taste, and this is the problem right now, people are too obsessed with perfect beatmatching, at the expense of interesting music, to me, I hear someone playing a set of purely straight techno, that all fits together very nicely, and personally, I find it boring, 9 times out of 10, it sounds like the same record over and over even (maybe I'm getting old).. I mean what does that say about the average standard of djs these days, I wouldn't say it was a total **** to mix, just you have to know your records well, and know the right spot to mix it, and you can't do 6 minute mixes slowly fading from one record to the other, and accept the fact that you can't really mix this stuff on 3 decks, because there's too much going on... in fact you don't need to mix this stuff on three decks, because there is enough interesting stuff going on in it to stop you falling asleep after the first 16 bar....

@ Module: Yes I do know, Stevie G, Tarrida also spins this stuff.....

stevie came over to belfast a few times. total gent.

and yeah, 3 dex is jus no good for this stuff. i used to p;ay it, but the more i got into fx & 3 dex & long layered mixes, the less of that sound i played. it jus isnt lent to that type of constant mixing, you gotta let a tune alone & let it play.

again, its the difference between a live artist & a dj who makes tools. both techno, but both worlds apart in techno itself.

either way, landsrtumm is bonkers.

[Sunil]

**** word and this "he has bigger dick then mills and beyer" argument is lame.

why do you people have to compare something that can't be compared just like that?

They were random names of techno players, and for me none of them capture the same kind of energy or 'techno-ness' of Landstrumm the other night. Wasn't meaning to appear so confrontational with my post, but to be honest I think it's just a measure of how much Neil's set charged me up the other night.

[Sunil]

adam beyer was brilliant last week at atomic jam, and all his mixes are always spot on aswell

Beyer up to a point was one of my faves. Last time I played with him though I was very bored by his set. That said I still check his tunes, and still pick up the odd bit. I'm sure he was good last week, was it all minimal though?

[Sunil]

sunil, was it totally bonkewrs wacky synths & spastik drums all over the shop ?

he jus defys loopage.. like berkovi when i had him over.. jus mental hatstand breaky madness with a big daft 4/4 & all sorts of crazy noises..

i always loved this stuff live but jus cannot dj that type of music.. tobias schmidt & the whole sativae/drought crew.. love it to listen & dance & hear live, but its f**ker to mix lol

Yeah there was some weird synth stuff going on, with lots of bleeps, chopped samples, rave FX and bass! The beats crossed into loads of stuff - techno, electro, grime and other mad shit! There actually was one shuffly 'minimal' style tune he played which was totally out of control, sounded great.

[Sunil]

why do you people have to compare something that can't be compared just like that?

Actually I'm probably like a dog with a bone here, but I'm going to answer your question.

The approach Landstrumm or other like minded producers take to production or live performance is the very thing that keeps a jaded scene fresh. I've been listening to and buying techno for a long time and I'm at a point where I need more meat in the sandwich than ever before to keep me interested. Techno on its own does not do that, and unfortunately listening to a narrow or bland range of music in one set in a club does not appeal to me at all. Getting into techno via rave was the route many people including myself took, whether people always acknowledge it or not... it was rave culture that often hooked them in - and it's ultimately rave culture that keeps the scene truly exciting, be it a warehouse party somewhere, an outdoor rave, a sweaty club, or any other place where people have lost it to the music (or maybe something else) and are getting totally absorbed. Landstrumm is one of the very few that can carry off the feel of rave in a modern context, and it's combining the familiar with the totally weird or unknown that makes it a winner; and actually makes people dance or "throw shapes" like they used to at the beginning. Mills can play "Sonic Destroyer" and it'll feel like a trip down memory lane for a few minutes, Hawtin might drop on oldie too towards the end of a set and true enough it'll probably get the biggest reaction of the night but the likes of Hawtin, Mills or whoever are invariably slaves to a genre that peaked a long time ago and that's why in many ways we're got to a stage where "stripped down" and "minimal" are where it's meant to be at. It's purism to the extreme and as a result we've been left with in my opinion, a lot of poor, balls-less music that masquerades as avant garde (and might kind of be in some ways), but lacking the energy or drive of yesteryear. By the way, I still respect Mills and Hawtin a lot but I think it's their own very individual approaches to pushing the music forward that have ironically created a monster or two that ran out of control; I include the current wave of "minimal" as being one of those monsters. I know some may disagree with me here, but despite the early inventiveness of nu-minimal I think it's rapidly going down the drain.

For me personally I feel the likes of Landstrumm's set had so many ingredients that just are not in other people's sets or music - It has rave elements, it has experimental beats, crazy sounds, supreme bass. It can pass itself off as techno, it can pass itself off as a hybrid of old skool, all in all it's amazing party music. For some people I spoke to the other day they were literally like "Wow, I've never heard anything quite like that", and showing genuine excitement. THAT's what it's truly about. Also consider that he was playing live and displaying how live is best performed, i.e. with machines and the room for error. For that reason people will anticipate his next performance when they see his name on a poster, although if they see "live" after someone else's name they'll know not to expect any more that a laptop and one controller to get the party moving - which lets face it, is not very exciting to watch at all. "Live PA" or "Live" in brackets after a name used to mean something but now it doesn't carry quite the same weight. People used to be bowled over by Orbital or guys that had equipment (like a band would). This is VERY important to create a positive and credible image for this music, something which is has slid a lot over the last number of years, and really needs to return.

So in a nutshell - I think Landstrumm's approach stands for experimentalism, diversity and FUN - paying no heed to purism and effortlessly combining old skool/nu-skool music and techniques, whilst always sounding proper underground. Some of you may disagree with what I've said, but all I know is that I rarely dance and for an hour and a half the other night I was stuck to the floor going absolutely mad! Felt as good as it did as when I first heard or danced to rave music, something that I haven't felt in a long time.

[koma]

great post :) lots of good points there
I should make some questions more often :D

[Conan]

Yeh I have to say that I was there on Thursday and was blown away by Landstumm's set. I've never really come away from a dj or live act and said yeh that was deadly and satisfiying but I did after thursday. It was just so raw yet polished and the bass was f uckin filthy. Being able to stand there and just listen to and feel the bass flowing around the room was enough in itself but the wonky, rave-y beats were class as well. I saw a flyer for Landstumm at a festival in Ireland over the summer and going on last thursdays showing it'll be off the hook.

I know what you mean Sunil with regard to the big names out there and the difference in quality but I'd say we're all better off focusing on the good of landstrumm rather than those other dudes Im sure you will anyway......... oh by the way Mills is playing along aside pete tong at global gathering this year if that's not bollox i dont know what is!!

Fair play Landstrumm! Your starting a revolution. :clap:

[module]

excuse me, but landstrumm be doing this from waaay back conan.. and tbh, i'm very suprised sunil is only diggin it now..

its not 'new' by any stretch.. its 110% smart & f**kin heavy, but its not new..

[Sunil]

excuse me, but landstrumm be doing this from waaay back conan.. and tbh, i'm very suprised sunil is only diggin it now..

its not 'new' by any stretch.. its 110% smart & f**kin heavy, but its not new..

How did you work that out? Just because I put up a positive post about him? Err, I have mountains of Landstrumm records including your recommendation "Bedrooms and Cities" from when it came out.

And some of his recent material is 'new'. He as an artist may not be new and might still carry some distinctive production traits, but yes some of his music does sound new.

[crime]

excuse me, but landstrumm be doing this from waaay back conan.. and tbh, i'm very suprised sunil is only diggin it now..

its not 'new' by any stretch.. its 110% smart & f**kin heavy, but its not new..

as Sunil said, Neil's new stuff is totally different now to his old stuff, in fact I feel every album was a progression of sorts, he's never stood still..

module, when did you actually last hear neil play? what was the last release you heard from him? because the recent "Life of grime" and "factory" e.p.s are a very long way from the early peacefrog work...

[gavinj3]

he's on the ball alright .....

www.scandinavianyc.com

Scandinavia Label - Neil Landstrumm, Motion Graphics, Record Label
Scandinavia Animation - Motion Graphics/Broadcast Design/Skate Clothes/Neil Landstrumm/Techno History/Wonky - Record Label.
---------------

he's playing at leechrum festival, later this year in leitrim, can't find this years website but its a very good lineup
http://www.leechrum.com/leechrumfestival.htm

[module]

ok.. my bad.

i haventy heard anything as in bought any vinyl, but ive been played a few of his newer tracks by ppl that still buy/play vinyl.. and tbh, imo, it didnt sound like that big a departure.. yes, theres the grime/dubstep influence & the early rave vibe re-emerging, but i 'personally' didnt find it overly brand new.

its still top quality & the fact its done with a lot of hardware i dig, but.. ya know what ? i'll jus get me coat ;)

[module]

as for hearing him play, well... belfast was never that upfront a city for music, and the last 3-4 years it has got steadliy worse.. i dont think he ever played here.. the only live shows are those that ive been given or d'loaded.

[Conan]

Yeh maybe Landstrumm's stuff isnt the newest but the energy and power in the last set I heard certainly was. I've seen all the big names and have never felt as good after as I did after Landstrumm's set on thursday, I guess that was my point. If people went out every week and heard and felt that kind of energy in a nightclub you wouldn't hear the "techno is dead" statements.

[massplanck]

I guess that was my point. If people went out every week and heard and felt that kind of energy in a nightclub you wouldn't hear the "techno is dead" statements.

Hail to the Hardware.

[module]

sorry if i came across snotty there.. no intnt to offend or incite.

maybe its cos i was soo into that end of techno a while back. maybe the names/sounds jus sound more familiar.

but i do agree.. yeah, his stuff is very very vibrant. soo much going on in trax.