Category: colectivo futurecast

pursuit grooves = colectivo futurecast 027!

we give you pursuit grooves ladies and gentleman! this month’s episode of the colectivo futurecast gets up close and personal with Brooklyn resident, Vanese Smith. her mixtape-styled recording for us is a mixture of past influences & current favorites; including cuts by legends such as Patrice Rushen and Mtume, alongside newer sounds from the likes of Quadron and Electric Wire Hustle. all in all a fantastic mixture of soulful sounds to spend a sunny spring afternoon wandering around the city. read our interview with Vanese and listen to her 60-minute mix below…

listen to & subscribe to the futurecast at colectivo futurecast

5 minutes with…

PURSUIT GROOVES (Tectonic / Brooklyn, NYC)

nodding grand | facebook | soundcloud

* how and where was this mix recorded?

I was at home and I grabbed about 100 CDs, threw them on the floor upside down and picked some at random!!!! ha. Okay, not really.  There was a bit more strategy involved.

* you started producing at the tender age of 14, how would you say your style has evolved over the years? do you apply a different approach to your music now?

My background and influences are still the same ya know but as I got older every few years I would become a bit obsessed or focused on a particular sound/genre so my tracks would reflect that. So for that reason I don’t think I’ll ever repeat a certain production sound because my ears keep changing.  And I’m an artist who needs to be inspired to create, so I like to try different things. I like a variety of rhythms and I don’t think I should be limited to just one thing.

* how did being a part of the Red Bull Music academy back in 2008 influence your career and yourself as an artist?

I met a lot of other really cool and talented artists. Some of which I still keep in touch with. As an artist it just encouraged me to keep creating.

* what do you normally listen to at home? which are your top three favorite albums?

At home i’m either working on my own stuff or sometimes there are a few sites that I check to see what’s new. Favorite albums – So many that I like within the last ten years. The list is just too long to name just three.

* in an interview for FACT magazine you mention being a very social and political person, and how that permeates through your music. what is your overall view of the current pressing issues around the world? do you see your music evolving over time according to the different socio-political climates?

I try to be optimistic, but honestly unfortunately there are some sad things happening in terms of humanity. I wish things weren’t so money and power focused as that seems to be the downfall of everything. I tried to touch on a few things on “Frantically Hopeful”… but sometimes people just want to thin about happy things and just dance! So I make those too.

* which projects are you currently working on? what does 2012 hold for Pursuit Grooves the producer and the DJ?

New alias called 91 Fellows coming out on Deepblak Recordings late spring…. and we’ll see what else happens release wise. Otherwise I’m in a really good place now in terms of being productive so that could turn into so much in the future.

No Comments by on March 25, 2012
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langenberg = colectivo futurecast 026!

after a couple of months break, the colectivo futurecast is back in action with a very special mix from german producer & DJ extraordinaire Max Heesen aka Langenberg. currently based in Essen, Max is a co-founder of the Mild Pitch imprint, where alongside Dplay & Manuel Tur, he strives to curate a versatile selection of soulful electronic music. with releases on some magnificent labels such as Mule Electronic, Drumpoet Community, and Millions of Moments; he is definitely one of those producers we tend to keep an ear out for, both for his solo efforts and his collabs under the Ribn moniker. we are certain you will enjoy his exclusive mix for us, which by the way oozes a summer-like vibe and will undoubtedly help carry you through the tail-end of winter. read our interview with Langenberg and listen to his mix below.

listen to & subscribe to the futurecast at colectivo futurecast

5 minutes with…

LANGENBERG (Mild Pitch / Essen / Germany)

discogs | facebook | soundcloud | ribn | mild pitch 

* how and where was this mix recorded?

i recorded this mix a couple of days ago in my hometown essen, using a classic setup with turntables and cd players.

* you first started playing records at squat parties in your hometown at the age of 17, what do you know now that you didn’t know then, in terms of your style and approach to DJing?

well, i think i didn´t know anything at that time regarding what it means to be a dj or how my style would sound like one day. i had no intention to become a dj. it just happend by chance. i began to organize parties primarily to fight boredom. dj wise it was some kind of wildstyle experiment mixing funk, soul, hip hop & rare grooves. then i started to lay hands on electronic music and to collect house & techno records. nowadays things are coming back together. what i know now and what i didn´t know back in the day is that these soulful tunes would become an inspiration and part of my profile as an electronic music producer today.

* a couple of years ago you started the Mild Pitch label with Manuel Tur & DPlay, what were your expectations when it first launched and how has it evolved into present day? 

we started mild pitch as an platform to explore a more versatile take on electronic music. us three (dplay, manuel tur and me) had releases on other established labels before founding mild pitch in 2009, but for us it felt like the next logical step to create our own imprint which simultaneously  meant less borders regarding our output. over the last two and a half years the label has grown and there are a lot of things to keep your eyes on. the music industry, especially manufacturing vinyl, is not an easy business these days and there are lot of things which need to be discussed over and over again; this also means we have to spend a lot of time on thinking about the way we want to act and where to lay our focuses on. in the beginning we had to compete for peoples attention. nowadays we enjoy public attention and it’s a challenging task to handle, in order to keep things off too much pressure and to continue our own way without being affected by peoples expectations.

* what do you normally listen to at home? which are your top three favorite albums?

i listen to lot of different music. these are some albums i have been listening to over and over again the last year:

Slum Village – Slum Village – Barak Entertainment / 2005

Wildbirds & Peacedrums – Heartcore – Leaf / 2008

Massimiliano Pagliara – Focus For Infinity – Live At Robert Johnson / 2011

* what is your favorite thing about living in Essen?

this is hard to say. you have to know that Essen is not a city blessed with beauty. for me it always will be the people and projects keeping me at a certain place.

* what was your highlight of 2011? 

DJ wise? there has been a lot of nice moments last year. i really enjoyed each time playing at robert johnson in offenbach, because of its outstanding PA and the nice people which take care of us during our visits. panorama bar, berlin, has been special too. i like the vibe, the people and its professional and grounded surrounding.

* which projects are you currently working on? what does the future hold for yourself and Mild Pitch?

i´m currently working on my third single for mild pitch, as well as follow up 12″s for labels like dessous recordings and liebe*detail. regarding mild pitch our 13th release has just been released these days. it comes from jacob korn and features a langenberg remix which is also featured in my recorded mix for collectivo future. furthermore there will be another ribn release featured on the poker flat compilation “gunslingers and greenhorns”, which will be released by the end of the month.

No Comments by on February 16, 2012
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artfruit = colectivo futurecast 025!

our futurecast series continues with dana dramowicz aka artfruit. based in the up and coming polish metropolis of warsaw, dana is a versatile character who is truly passionate about all kinds of electronic music. freelance writer, bass music DJ, 1/2 of production outfit shoju, label founder, and music blog curator are all part of her life’s repertoire. the mix she provided is best suited for careful headphone listening on a cold, rainy day; which means it’s the perfect companion for the soon-to-arrive winter season. check out our interview with dana about her current and future projects below, as well as the tracklist for her set after the jump…

listen to & subscribe to the futurecast at colectivo futurecast

5 minutes with…

DANA DRAMOWICZ aka ARTFRUIT (Concrete Cut / Warsaw, Poland)

souncloud | her beats | concrete cut | twitter: @artfruit

* how and where was this mix recorded?

I’ve been slowly choosing tracks for the mix for a few weeks now, but I finally sat down to put the mix together (in Ableton Live) during a week holiday here in Krakow. I am attending the Unsound festival (one of the most magical festivals in the most magical of cities!), and I found a free afternoon to dedicate to the mix.

* tell us a bit about yourself, you’re a DJ, producer, label owner, and blogger. how do you keep a healthy balance between all of your facets?

I wouldn’t say I have a healthy balance! Haha. Along with my “day job”, it’s really difficult to stay active in each of these musical spheres, but my usual approach is to take it one project at a time. And I try not to stress too much about it, and just have a good time with it. I tend to produce tracks only when I have a specific idea in mind, so I am not one of those people who is glued to their computer making just any beats all the time. DJing is pure pleasure for me. Blogging is something I allow myself when I have some free time – which these days is very little!

* you currently curate Her Beats, a blog focused on women in electronic music. how has it evolved since its beginning and where do you see it going in the future?

It all started with a group I formed on Last.fm in 2008, only because I was shocked that such a group didn’t exist yet, so I guess you could say I just wanted to fill a void. When Facebook became more popular I was, once again surprised that there wasn’t a page on the subject there either, so it was only natural to migrate activities there. Now we have over 3000 fans on Facebook, and it seemed only natural to expand to a blog format where I can do a little more than simply post links. With Last.fm & Facebook I really felt like I should try to represent women in all types of electronic music, even if I personally don’t connect with the music, but you’re right in that Her Beats is much more actively “curated”. I try to write about artists and music that I really love, and the podcast series reflects that as well.

* what do you normally listen to at home? which are your top three favorite albums?

Since I started getting serious about DJing a couple years ago, the vast majority of my home listening feels like some sort of frantic race to keep on top of new music. It’s fun, but it can get exhausting and it’s a weird feeling to feel like listening to music is “work” sometimes. When I really want to get self-indulgent, I usually turn to more ambient stuff, dub techno, techno, deep dubstep, and some more experimental indie or rock stuff too. And in this case I tend to look backwards instead of listening to the absolute newest stuff out there. There is no chance I can think of my top three albums, sorry! I have too many to name!

* what is your favorite thing about living in Warsaw?

Warsaw is so incredibly vibrant. People like to say that it feels like Berlin 5 years ago, which I can understand. What I really like is that Warsaw is very tuned into global musical trends and innovations so we have a lot of interesting music and people are open to new stuff.

* looking ahead, what can we expect from Concrete Cuts and yourself as a producer?

As long as there are still Polish producers out there we’ll be on a steady release schedule with Concrete Cut for a long time! The next release will come in November/December from a Warsaw producer called 0311, but we don’t have any solid plans for 2012 yet. Production-wise, I’m hoping to write a lot more material and hopefully release a couple records on some international labels soon. I’m definitely going to explore some strange BPMs more, slow techno, superfast juke… we’ll see!

tracklist

DeepChord – Stars | buy
Monolake – North | buy
DJ Rum – Plead With Me
Morphosis – Silent Screamer | buy
Aphex Twin – Tha | buy
Isan – Prooger | buy
Lucy – Ter | buy
Laurel Halo – Constant Index | buy
Andy Stott – Dark Details | buy
Liars – A Visit From Drum
Ayshay – Warn-U | buy
King Midas Sound – Waiting for You | buy
Lily Chou-Chou – Arabesuku
Boards of Canada – Under the Coke Sign | buy
Grouper – Vapor Trails | buy

artfruit – colectivo futurecast 025 by colectivofuturo

1 Comment by on October 24, 2011
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