Airdrop Records, Agency & Blog

AIRPOD 54 | JONA

paulo — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:47:27 +0000

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Having returned to his hometown of Brussels over the last few years, Jona is planning to move back to Berlin this Spring!

After releasing his first tracks and getting picked by Get Physical in 2005 to be an entire part of the family, Jona has since released some landmark EPs on Supplement Facts, Planet E and Resopal. More recently over the last year, he also joined the Airdrop and Mobilee families by releasing a splendid mini album on Airdrop and a floor-burning record on Mobilee’s sublabel Leena.

Expert in the twists and turns of music theory and studio recording and always driven by his desire to explore new sound perspectives and ideas, Jona keeps reinventing his music around his perfect production techniques. This week he delivers this new mix we have been waiting for so long, giving a good example of what a Jona set would sound in the club…

ADDIG021 | FRITZ & LANG | CONFESSIONS EP

paulo — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:24:19 +0000

GET IT ON BEATPORT

Artist: Fritz & Lang
Title: Confessions (This Ain’t Time For)
Label: Airdrop Records
Format: Digital
Cat. No: ADDIG021
Release Date: 23rd April 2012

Tracklist:
1. Confessions (This Ain’t Time For) – Original Mix
2. B4U – Original Mix
2. Rain Again – Original Mix
4. Confessions (This Ain’t Time For) – Death On The Balcony Remix
5. Confessions (This Ain’t Time For) – Jef K & Gwen Maze Remix

ADDIG021 – Fritz & Lang – Confessions (This Ain’t Time For) EP by Airdrop Records

Solomun – “B4U is the standout for me on this release. Gonna try it out for sure!”
Soul Clap -”Rain Again! Such a cooool vocal… and weird. ☺”
Lee Curtiss – “This is such a great Remix from Death On The Balcony! Playing this!”
Silicone Soul – “Ahhhh, the pleasure of a new “Airdrop”… lovely deepness throughout esp. both mixes of Confessions.”
Lee Jones – “I LOVE the DOTB Remix. Definitely playing and charting that!”
Rainer Trueby – “B4U and Confessions are very inspired pieces of music… very nice!”

Andrés Zacco – “Lovely fritz & Lang music! Pure soul on Rain Again. Thanks.”
Trickski – “Smooth music from the Airdrop camp! They don’t release much, but when they do it is always dope!”
jozif – “Good stuff as per usual from Airdrop. Gonna be spinning the Death on the Balcony Remix. Thanx.”
Till von Sein – “Death on the Balcony Remix is the one for me…but the whole ep is really solid again from Airdrop..”
Alland Byallo – “Fun stuff and really well produced. These guys are a real talent!”

French-Argentine duo Fritz & Lang left a strong impression last year with their debut effort – the Crash EP, released in February 2011, included the hit of the same name and stunning remixes by Maya Jane Coles and Feadz.

Fritz & Lang is the fresh collaboration between Parisian Francois Touin – a professional synth head, and the Argentine Nico Stofenmacher – better known through his work on igloo-rec as part of Elephant Pixel. Developing their sound further down their very own electro-disco alley, the duo present here three new original numbers, stamped with the F&L quality seal.

The title track, “Confessions (This Ain’t Time For)” slowly builds up through a warm and steady blend of synths and vocals, a crazy mix previously only heard on Fritz & Lang productions. Their chic yet relaxed and quirky vibes lead onto the track’s main vocal lines, making for a perfect spring opener.

“B4U” takes the tempo up a notch, never leaving the warmth behind. Synth melodies cross their ways in and out of each other building for an epic momentum. “Rain Again” is some pure nu-disco filter vocoding action, on which Stofenmacher lets his vocal talent steal the show.

When Fritz & Lang met Death on the Balcony in Berlin, both duos came together for a listening session and our friends from Leeds decided to take “Confessions” in for a make up session… it came out fully decked out, with shiny dancing shoes and mid ’90s glitz… Jef K and studio partner Gwen Maze, pulled out their best rolling basslines, straightening the mix for full floor effect.

AUX 05 | EXOS | WITH THE – RE-EDITED

paulo — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:50:58 +0000

Artist: Exos
Title: With The – Re-Edited
Label: Aux-Rec
Format: 12″ only
Cat. No: AUX 05
Release Date: 16th April 2012

Tracklist:
A1. With The (Exos & Ruxpin 2012 Mix)
A2. With The (Oculus Remix)
B1. With The (Andres Zacco “UFO” Mix)
B2. With The (Yagya Remix)

GET THE 12″ ON HARD WAX / JUNO / DECKS

Brendon Moeller – “Cool deep techno biz. All cutz going in the bag. ”
Dominik Eulberg – “Yagya is superb!! 5/5!!”
Gerd – “LOVE it! A really great ep!!”
Joris Voorn – “YAGYA!!! Can’t go wrong…”
Laurent Garnier – “Lovely mix from Andres Zacco here guys… Will play for sure. ”
Tim Xavier – “WOW! Really hot stuff!!”

Marco Carola – “Nice EP! Favouring the Exos & Ruxpin 2012 Re-Edit the most.”
Matthew Dear – “Thank you for sending guys. Gonna take it and try it.”
Philip Sherburne – “Quite nice, particularly the 2012 re-edit and the Zacco mix.”
Scuba – “Nice release… Feeling the Oculus mix for sure. Will test.”

Exos lives in Iceland where he has been producing some essential Techno since the mid ’90s. He released many of his productions on the foundational german label Force Inc. Music Works. Exos’ music ranges from the most experimental compositions to some of the most elegant dancefloor tracks. He also gets in the studio with his father Octal, who released some of his music on Mosaic.

While listening to ‘Strength’, his second album on Force Inc. – a long player he actually co-produced with Octal in 2001, a short interlude caught our attention. “With The” – little over 2 minutes long – is the kind of groove you could listen to on loop for a whole day. We thought more juice could be squeezed out of that loop.

We decided to contact Exos ten years later and see if that little idea of re-editing “With The” would be something interesting for him. Not only was he super excited, but his best friends in production also were – none other than Oculus, Ruxpin and the infamous Yagya, who left the world begging for more with his ‘Ringning’ album released in 2009.

We also thought we could add a 3rd dimension to this project and introduced Exos to our best friend from Argentina – Andres Zacco. Fast forward a few months, and this incredible records lands in our hands. Genuine flying saucer which travelled from the other side of infinity, to build a bridge between the lands of ice and fire.

Each variation around this same theme, possesses its own identity, giving an ultimate representation of every artist’s style. Exos and Ruxpin expand on the initial creative ground and Oculus simply sets fire to a galactic warehouse. On the B side Andres Zacco shows brings his production up to unattained levels and blows some magic solar winds through the record’s grooves. Water finally brings all these elements together under a mix that displays Yagya’s full dexterity…

We hope to bring you more collaborations between the otherworldy lands of Argentina and Iceland in the future, and woud like to thank everyone taking part in this incredible project.

AIRPOD 53 | LHAS Inc. | Part 2 by Jamie Read

paulo — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:38:42 +0000

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Following Felix Dickinson’s mix, here are 80 minutes displaying the genius of Jamie Read. This is the 2nd part of two AirPod episodes dedicated to UK’s classic house duo LHAS Inc.

LHAS Inc. recently released their first remix ever produced for our 20th record release. Jamie Read is better known for a string of classic releases in the mid-’90s which he produced in answer to the Chicago sound of the time. At the time, Jamie Read’s music was also object to an unfortunate offense.

Indeed in 1995, keen to have his music released on Cajmere’s Relief label, Read handed a demo DAT tape to Joe Lewis for him to transmit it. Some time later some of these tracks appeared on Relief as a Joe Louis release entitled “Back To The Beginning“, with no credit to the people who actually produced them. A while later, further material from this DAT was released under Louis/Lewis’ name on this release and on “Netherlands EP” on Basement 282, again with no mention of the actual producers.

That famous DAT contained music made during a period when Read was recording at the studios of 10th Planet with legendary Lee Purkis, Chris Hartley and David Manuel (the 3 of whom ran 10th Planet and recorded as Insync vs. Mysteron).

Jamie Read also started LHAS – the Larry Heard Appreciation Society – around the same time. Later renamed LHAS Inc. as Felix Dickinson joined Read, the first two records which by Read alone, came out on a dedicated imprint, Push II Shove. These were followed by the first three records including Dickinson’s participation in ‘03 and ‘04, on Wax (Doc Martin’s label), Eskimo and Cynic.

In the last two years, LHAS Inc. presented two more records, “Learning To Live” on the fantastic Vibrations project (one of the best 12″s release in 2011 in our humble opinion) and another one on Cynic.

We are really proud to have included their first remix work ever on “Benzo – The Remixes”, released on Airdrop, on Monday, March 12th through Syncrophone Distribution.

AD 020 | JOHN SPRING | BENZO – THE REMIXES(w/ FRANCO CINELLI, MIKE HUCKABY, LHAS Inc.)

paulo — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:04:11 +0000

Artist: John Spring
Title: Benzo – The Remixes
Label: Airdrop Records
Format: 12″ / Digital
Cat. No: AD 020
Release Date: 14th Mar 2012

Tracklist:
A. Playing No More Games
(Franco Cinelli Remix)
B1. Drummachines
(Mike Huckaby Remix)
B2. Benzo (LHAS Inc. Remix)

GET THE 12″ ON JUNO / DECKS / PHONICA

Soul Clap – “U know dat Franco mix is a B O M B !”
Chateau Flight – “Now this is a GREAT Mike Huckaby remix! ☺ Playing!”
Raresh – “WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW !!!”
Mathias Kaden – “These are great remixes!! Great release, will support all. 5/5!”
Doc Martin – ”All mixes have a place. Really glad to see Huckaby and LHAS on this record.”
Tobi Neumann – „Drummachines Mix from Mike Huckaby sounds solid to me… deep moods!“
Catz ‘n Dogz – “WOW… nice release again from Airdrop! Gonna go for LHAS as my fav.”
Melon – “Oh yes… The Mike Huckaby mix is GREAT! Will play for sure!”

Exactly a year ago we released our first collaboration with John Spring, the Benzo EP which included three phat floorburners, featuring that classic Spring sound. We are really proud to present you with outstanding remixes for each of these.

The first person on board was none other than Mr. Mike Huckaby himself. Spring and Huckaby being fellow Native Instruments workers and contributors, the project possessed an instant appeal to the Detroit-based producer. Fresh from a series of outstanding project, including Tresor’s 20th Anniversary compilation, the 2nd volume of his Sun Ra Reel To Reel edits and an outstanding 10″ on Sushitech, Huckaby’s mix is a fresh burst of pure groove.

The second ones to be selected for their participation, were Felix Dickinson and Jaime Read from England. Felix Dicksinson is a man of many guises. Also known as Foolish from duo Foolish & Sly, he has been running the Cynic label since 2004 – Dickinson is also one of the best disco re-editers the old continent has to offer. Long time production partner Jaime Read is well known for his mid ’90s productions, many of which got simply stolen by Joe Lewis and released on Target and Relief. Together they call themselves LHAS Inc., the Larry Heard Appreciation Society.

The last mix, comes from Airdrop spearhead Franco Cinelli. Upon receiving internal information about the project, Cinelli immediately decided to contribute to the record and dropped a disco house party stormer, making it directly to the A-side…

AIRPOD 52 | LHAS Inc. | Part 1 by Felix Dickinson

paulo — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:17:33 +0000

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In the light of AD 020, our twentieth 12″ outing, “Benzo – The Remixes“, UK’s classic-house duo LHAS Inc. prepared two unique mixes for AirPod.

LHAS – the Larry Heard Appreciation Society – is a project started by Jamie Read in the mid ’90s, later renamed LHAS Inc. as Felix Dickinson joined Read. Dickinson’s name has surfaced through many different projects, from numbers of disco edits, to producing as the Foolish half of Foolish & Sly, as well as running the celebrated Cynic label. The first two records, produced by Read alone, came out on a dedicated imprint, Push II Shove. These were followed by the first three records including Dickinson’s participation in ‘03 and ‘04, on Wax (Doc Martin’s label), Eskimo and Cynic. In the last two years, LHAS Inc. presented two more records, “Learning To Live” on the fantastic Vibrations project (one of the best 12″s release in 2011 in our humble opinion) and another one on Cynic.

We are really proud to include their first remix work ever on “Benzo – The Remixes”, released on Airdrop, on Monday, March 12th through Syncrophone Distribution. And probably the first LHAS Inc. mixes, featured outside of Cynic’s treasure download chest. Enjoy this first part, mixed by Felix Dickinson.

ADDIG020 | Brandub | Bank Side EP

paulo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:52:33 +0000

Artist: Brandub
Title: Bank Side EP
Label: Airdrop Records
Format: Digital
Cat. No: AD DIG 020
Release Date: 9th Feb 2012

Tracklist:
1. Procesos (Original Mix)
2. Writhing Dub (Original Mix)
3. Writhing Dub (Beat Pharmacy Remix)
4. Procesos (Brandub’s Ultra Dub)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ADDIG020

The first release of 2012 on Airdrop comes from young Argentine producer Brandub. Hailing from the city of Cordoba, Exequiel Brandan presents his second EP on Airdrop under the Brandub guise and continues exploring the deep path he started beating last year.

The two original cuts ‘Procesos‘ and ‘Writhing Dub‘ show all the subtlety in Brandub’s production, in which lone ethereal elements blend in homogeneously with smooth beat sequences.

When we first made him listen to it, Brendon Moeller instantly fell for the project and Brandub’s textures. He decided to immediately slip into something more comfortable – aka his Beat Pharmacy overall – to complete the release with his very own writhing, quite an incendiary device!

Soul Clap – “Procesos is beautiful deepness! Perfect for sunrises and sunsets on beaches!”

Troy Pierce – “Procesos and Writhing Dub are awesome!! Def playing these!”

Gerd – “Procesos is a GREAT deep nugget!! Support for sure!”

Terry Francis – (Fabric London) – “Liking everything on here.. A cool release from Airdrop.”

Raresh – “This is a very good ep for me! Supporting all!”

Gary Beck – “Nice and deep Beat Pharmacy mix on this package. Will test it where possible.”

DVS1 – “Liking the original of Procesos the most I think. Thank you!”

Norman Nodge – “Lovely relaxed tunes for the milder moments. Will test Writhing Dub.”

Ambivalent – “A nice deep EP. I am always looking for stuff like this for early sets or after hours. Great! Beat Pharmacy the pick.”

tINI – (desolat) – “Deep and nice stuff from Brandub!! Will play his Writhing Dub.”

AIRPOD 51 | FUNKALICIOUS JAMES

paulo — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:45:39 +0000

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Some of you have been lucky enough to attend one of Funkalicious James rare appearances behind the wheels of steel. The others had to wait until… today! Yes, the wait was long, but get ready for an hour of pure FUNKaliciousness in the classiest manner.

Last summer, Funkalicious James’ edit of Janet Jackson – That’s The Way got rinsed on the floors and beaches worldwide by anyone in the know from Soul Clap to Till Von Sein.

Funkalicious James is also one half of the Childhood ‘87 project with Le Loup – their edit of “Caught Up” on our 2nd Aux-Rec 12″ outing made some serious commotion in 2010.

This year, he comes back with a full EP for Airdrop. Due out in the spring, it also includes stormer remixes by John Spring and Douze, who just dropped a really hot one on Le Loup & Seuil’s Hold Youth. Funkalicious James will be playing this weekend on Saturday, February 11th, at Airdrop’s winter shindig in Paris.

21.01.12 | GREENER LABEL NIGHT | ROSARIO, ARG

paulo — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:12:03 +0000

Saturday, January 21st 2012
GREENER LABEL NIGHT

FRANCO CINELLI
ANDRES ZACCO
5 hours set

La Macarena
Rosario, ARG

–

On Saturday, January 21st, Franco Cinelli and Andres Zacco will take over the infamous Argentinean establishment for the monthly Greener Label Night.

No compromise tonight, as the two will man the turntables all night long. Franco Cinelli and Andres Zacco will also present their new productions and remixes that are set for release in the months to come. Hear it directly from the source!

AIRDROP’D 09 | DEATH ON THE BALCONY

paulo — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:43:42 +0000

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AIRDROP’D 09

Mark Caramelli and Paul Hargreaves really marked their territory in 2011. On top of their latest release on Airdrop, the Leeds duo presented its productions on Jef K’s Silver Network label, on Catz N’ Dogz‘ Pets Recordings imprint and on Culprit the label handled by Los Angeles DJ-collective Droog.

This new edition of Airdrop’d – our free download series – presents ‘Long Ago‘, initially included in DOTB’s ‘We Need Passion EP‘ on Airdrop. ‘Long Ago‘ got remixed by Mark E for the occasion, but today we are sending you the original version for download. Enjoy!