New ETG T-shirts. Fresh for 2017.
The new, strictly limited edition, EarToGround 2017 T-shirts. Front and back print. Highest quality print on heavy duty Fruit Of The Loom. The print will last as long the shirt does. Front design, left chest, the new bespoke updated ETG Records logo with ETG electric circuit arrow designed by Grade A.
Back design, ETG015 artwork from ‘Descendents Of Sinners’ by Marcos Leiras Santos.
Available in S,M,L,XL in Techno Black.
ETG sticker included and FREE download of ‘Temples Of Messiah’ by Dax J.
Buy now £15 from the ETG Bandcamp. Click HERE
Dress like a true Techno Soldier
Fresh for 2015, the EarToGround – LDNwht combo shirt. Heavy-duty, Techno black, Fruit of the Loom, first come first served, limited to just 70 pieces in total, available in sizes M/L/XL. Included on the bottom right are the three ETG invaders.
Buy now £15 from the ETG Bandcamp. Click HERE
Welcoming Jonas Kopp, Ness and VSK to EarToGround Records
Few would dispute Jonas Kopp as being one of the most prominent and exciting figures to emerge from Argentina in recent years. An accomplished producer, in-demand remixer and versatile performer, he has fast transitioned from Buenos Aires’ best-kept secret to one of contemporary house and techno’s leading lights, on a par with genre-defying luminaries such as Levon Vincent, Ben Klock, Marcel Dettman and Ryan Elliot.
His debut EarToGround release saw 5 brand new tracks from Jonas displaying his unique sound past, now and future. Four appeared on the marbled white vinyl and one was the digital bonus.
VSK is an Italian Dj/producer based in Rome. After sharing the decks with Conrad Van Orton at “Fluid” parties, he became a resident DJ at Goa Club in Rome, where a good feeling with the public grew. Since then VSK started working in a Recording Studio as a professional audio engineer, dealing with productions for movies and television.
Recent appearances have seen him stepping up to the decks at Tresor in Berlin as well as Corsica Studios here in London.
His debut EarToGround release consists of 4 tracks of extremely stand-out Techno each displaying a specific style of the genre as seen by VSK.
Ness began his electronic music journey in the late 90’s and his evolving interest and passion soon encouraged him to start a dj career experimenting with various genres – from trance to pure experimental. With a background in sound engineering and many years of research and fine-tuning, he gradually developed a distinct personal style with a strong focus on atmosphere combined with hypnotic vibes. In 2007 he opened his own record store in his hometown in Sardinia (Italy) and 2 years later he founded his first label – Mono Records.
Ness’s music and dj sets are well accepted and defined as an exploration of wide range of deep hypnotic techno and ambient soundscapes.
Recent appearances have seen him stepping up to the decks at Tresor in Berlin as well as Corsica Studios here in London and the highly acclaimed Amsterdam Dance Event.
His debut EarToGround release sees 3 outstanding original tracks backed with a equally big remix from Christian Wünsch.
Techno London 2014
When I was asked to write this article I was sceptical if I was best person for the job, do I know enough about it all? Well anyway I decided to give it a shot. To keep things simple I’m going to talk about the type of Techno London has seen a resurgence of over the last few years. 128-135 BPM not the harder 250-350 BPM Hardcore Techno. To cover the harder stuff is a whole different story.
I’m going to touch on how I view things now and from when I actively started getting involved.
London has always been well known for its progressive and constantly evolving underground dance scene. Over the years England has more and more become a country of mainstream commercialism, its prevalent now more then ever. In defiance to being told what watered down, money making music to listen to and like is why our underground has always been so strong.
It has to be said that Techno has always been here, rolling along in the UK’s depths from the late 80’s early 90’s from such, still very influential figures as James Ruskin, Luke Slater and Ben Sims, out of London, Regis, Female and Surgeon. Overseas in Europe around 2005 was when you started to see influential figures such as Marcell Dettmann and Ben Klock breaking through. They started performing in London soon after but were no where near in demand here as they are nowadays.
In 2011 when my colleagues and I decided to start putting on events we felt the scene in London needed something adding to it. Back then you had the likes of Lost and Plex doing great stuff and the occasional big name appearing at the bigger clubs but there was still a lot more to be done. A lot of new home grown and international talent were on the rise and needed to be known about in London to help progression and add new interest to the genre. I’m not saying we are solely to thank for the recent resurgence its been an over all progression from all angles. But we like to think we have defiantly played our part.
I guess you could say the recent resurgence started around 2010-11 (some may argue this but as I mentioned at the beginning, this is all from my own personal perspective) and from then until today it has been growing very steadily. Right now there are loads more parties going on with new and interesting acts being booked all the time. Some parties are a success some aren’t. But generally speaking I think its safe to say right now our Techno scene is in a good strong state. It’s still not perfect though and I think more could be done by some to support and push the home grown talent we currently have.
I think a lot of the people new to London’s Underground want more pace, technical diversity and progression from their music which is why Techno is becoming more and more popular.
Pretty much every weekend now, between them, the capitol’s Techno events are attracting well over 2000+ people. You can stomp away all weekend till 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. Is it sustainable? Yes I think it is . As the scene carries on growing more people will be attracted in the search for something more substantial and different to what they may have been used to in the past. The exact same thing is happening right now in Malta, Paris and I’m sure a whole load of other places too.
Techno is purely about the music it doesn’t matter if your ugly, beautiful, black, white, young, old, gay, straight, fat, skinny or dressed like a tramp. All are welcome. You could say Techno is just today’s fashion but I wouldn’t be so sure. It’s music of great substance and depth it can be sometimes dark, light and very emotive. It constantly changes and evolves, that’s beauty of it. Total freedom of expression.
Its very true to say that some people have been jumping on the band wagon, using the word “Techno” in their event or track blurb to look cool and current but its always very obvious and their said material usually has absolutely nothing to do with the genre. But that’s their problem and all they are doing is confusing people and making themselves look confused. A few of the larger promoters have questionably jumped on the resurgence but as long as there educating the crowd correctly and doing the genre proud then it’s all good.
What ever music your into just be true to it and yourself.
I asked a few Techno artists local and abroad… “What’s the your most favourite thing about playing or visiting London?” and they replied…
Truss (Perc Trax / OCS / Avian / R&S)
“The diversity of the musical landscape in London is almost unparalleled. As such, I often find an acceptance and willingness amongst the crowds here to allow me to play new or unexpected music within the context of a techno set.”
DVS1 (HUSH/Klockworks)
“Best thing. Customs.. Wait, that’s the worst thing… Best thing is vibe of the city and seeing friends!”
Rebekah (CLR/Decoy)
The last time I played took me by surprise. People literally hanging off the barriers, the atmosphere rivaling some of the best parties across Europe. A very knowledgeable and party-hardy rowdy bunch of people!
Dave Flores (Truncate/Audio Injection)
“Favorite thing about playing in London for me is the fact that the crowds are really up for anything. You can go as hard as you want or as deep! They’re up for it! Also the fact that I’m playing in a country where a lot of my earlier influences come from… lots of techno history!”
DJ Deep (Deeply Rooted)
“In my youth London was the place we were travelling (car, boat, no eurostar yet, and sometimes fly) to get a hold of treasures such as US imports or of course British House and Techno, we had great stores in Paris, but they would only have a limited amount of copies per record, so it was often we’d miss stuff. And now every time I get a chance to play in London I remember how much of an important role the city had in my life as a young DJ, not only the record stores, but the whole culture around Music.”
Mike Parker (Prologue/Mote Evolver/MLTrd)
“The best thing about playing in London is the enthusiasm of the fans there. The recent party at Corsica Studios recently was top notch.”
Time for a bit of shameless plugging… As you may of noticed, as ever we have some great stuff out and coming up on EarToGround. Recently you saw Dax J’s excellent Sephora EP and November 3rd sees the release of Cleric’s debut EP on the label, ETG011, Synthetic tails. Soon after German duet, dualit will also be stepping up for their first.
Cover art and released audio links can be found below…
Cleric – Synthetic Tails – ETG011 (out Nov 3rd)
dualit – Raw Material – ETG012 (release date TBA)
Hopefully now after reading this reading this have new interest towards to genre or if you are already a devoted fan and will be rushing out this weekend to rave.
Shouts to: All the EarToGround crew and friends including artists and remix artists, Krista and Ray and all at Jaded, Children Of Tomorrow, Individual Collective, Void, Plex, The Hydra, Corsica Studios, fabric, Nina at Apelago, Veto Music, EPM, Matt at Alchemy, BM Soho, Hardwax, egg and more importantly everyone who buys Techno and comes to the parties. Loads coming up. Do not miss a beat!
November Update
It’s been an exciting year at EarToGround. Alongside our busy release schedule we have also now gone digital as well as signed three new artists. Philippe Petit, Cleric and dualit. Also we now hold a monthly label residency with our friends at Jaded over at Corsica Studios. Each one so far has been a massive success and we very much look forward to what 2015 has in store. The next one is on November 23rd. This time round we have one of the years rising stars Emmanuel headlining. To add to the occasion the event will be EarToGround vs Monnom Black, Dax J’s new imprint.
Dualit Interview
EarToGround will soon be welcoming onboard to an exciting, raw Techno duet from Germany. Singularly they are know as Oliver Rosemann and MasCon. Little is known about these guys so before their what is an excellent debut release on ETG, we thought it fitting to find out a bit more about them…
-Hi guys thanks for taking the time out to answer a few questions. Firstly where in the world are you right now?
M: I live in Freiburg (Germany)
O: I am based in Leipzig (Germany)
-How is the weather?
M: The weather is okay, but I’d rather have more snow since I live in the mountains.
O: It’s too cold for me – I love the summer. 2 weeks of snow a year would be alright though.
-You seem to of come out of nowhere. Can you tell us a bit about your individual back grounds? Where do you hail from and how have you ended up coming together to produce as dualit?
M: I started DJ’ing and making music in the middle of the 90‘s. After moving to Berlin I primarily played in Germany, but I also played live and as a DJ in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, UK and Belgium. Aside of these gigs and productions I contributed to the labels Antikonsum, Klangnet and Zinch. At a gig in Leipzig I saw Oliver playing live for the very first time and I was instantly amazed by his style. Prior to moving away from Berlin, I was a resident DJ (Headquater) at Tresor for 2 years.
O: Before dualit I was living in a basement, without any human contact whatsoever – just kidding, haha. I’ve had a couple of solo releases, among others on Mindcut, which released our track Martian at the end of last year. I also played a lot of live sets in Germanys clubs, including the 1040 and the Distillery in Leipzig, Germany’s oldest club!
-Can you try and explain your sound and how you come about making a track. Is it fair to say a lot of hardware is involved? If so would you like to tell us what your favorite bits of kit are?
M: dualit has several meanings, one of them is uniting the sounds made on a computer with music and analogue devices. I am representing the analogue world, while Oliver mostly uses digital components. I’m in love with the Korg MS10 and MS20, but I also utilize devices made by Moog, Roland, MFB and others – it needs to be analogue!
O: It’s important to me to experiment and get life into the sounds, for example through modulations – various synthesizers and effects help me with that.
-You seem to produce quite a lot of tracks. What is your production rate. How many and what time scale?
O: We forced ourselves only to eat when we finished recording a new song, enabling us to produce about 3 tracks each day! Joke
M: Haha, at the end of 2012 we decided to work together and 2013 was a very productive year for us.
O: It’s just working out really well, “the ass matches the bucket”, as we would say in Germany.
-Do you perform LIVE/Dj or both ? What do you prefer?
M: I started out as a DJ, later we would play live sets as a duo, usually I was solo though.
O: I’ve also played by myself and live as a duo, I really enjoy playing DJ sets. We’re currently working on a dualit live set!
-Apart from your forthcoming release on ETG, what do we have to look forward to from you guys in 2014?
M&O: We’re really looking forward to the ETG release, that’s a good start for 2014! At the moment we’re discussing having EP’s released on 5th Wall (middle of this year) and Mindcut (end of this year).
-Any message for what will no doubt, soon to be, your new followers here in the UK?
O: I really enjoy Techno from the UK! Good tracks were and are being produced and different styles created, unfortunately I’ve never been to the island. In case dualit spills over, I’d at least be with you in my mind, hehe.
M: The UK and the local techno is great, I once played in Edinburgh – that was a very different but amazing feeling. I’m really looking forward to people from the UK recognizing and enjoying our music!
So there you go! dualit’s release has been booked in for mastering on March the 7th. Expect to see out on black gold a month or so after.
For some more information and sounds please follow the links below:
Philippe Petit’s Podcast
Tracklist:
Rich Oddie – Bloodstream (Surface LTD 004)
MTD – Nonsense (Myk Derill Remix) (Retrometro 021)
Philippe Petit – Guadalupe (forthcoming EarToGround 009)
Birth of Frequency – The Woman By My Side (COT 08)
Benjamin Damage – ETI Rework (50Weapons 31)
RAIZ – Cored 1 (VRV 001)
Stansislav Tolkachev – I’m Not A Number (Plector 005)
Philippe Petit – Venus (upcoming EarToGround 009)
Len Faki & Johannes Heil – Maniac (Len Figure 49)
Philippe Petit – Stars (upcoming Knotweed 012)
Outline – Encounter (Blueprint-R01)
Jeroen Search – Subdued (Decoy 08)
Mark Broom – She Don’t Like The Collar (Mike Parker Remix) (Selected-Edits 3.5)
Philippe Petit – Meteorite (Roman Lindau Remix) (forthcoming EarToGround 009)
P.E.A.R.L. – Order Decay (Falling Ethics 001)
O Phase – Dirtro II (Robert Hood’s New Device Mix) (Token 37)
PVS – Intercellar (Max_M Remix) (M_Rec 19)
Philippe Petit – Meteorite (forthcoming EarToGround 009)
Ben Sims – Strike (Kirk Degiorgio Remix) (Machine 02)
Gonzalo MD – Deep Purple (Ressort Imprint 003)
Relapso – Persistencia (Mark Morris Remix) (Relapso 001)
Philippe Petit – Stars (Terrence Dixon interpretation) (forthcoming Knotweed 012)
Par Grindvick – The Planets (Stockholm Ltd 029)
MR G – Let Down (Bass Culture)
Markus Suckut Interview
On Friday 25th October (Halloween weekend) at Cruciix Lane, EarToGround will throw its first party in London since 2011. We took a break for a while to focus on building our label, into something we would be able to look upon and feed with our passion for techno for many years to come.
Now we are back to give you some great nights of music in LDN again, so as we did before, we’ll be bringing you in demand artists and some friends we’ve picked up along way to display their talent to the London techno faithful.
So we are proud to have announced that the three main acts on the night of our EarToGround : Dark Sessions will be Jonas Kopp (UK debut), Markus Suckut and Reeko (London debut)!! With our resident label crew Gareth Wild, Dax J and Chris Stanford also featuring.
Ahead of the forthcoming event we caught up with Markus Suckut for a brief insight into his world…
Hello Markus, first of all thanks for accepting our invite to join us on the night, we’re sure your going to give us a solid set. You’ve been a busy man over the past couple of years especially, there’s often a great new ep or first class remix from you in our bags. Dance floor ready stripped back raw techno, of course we’ve known this for sometime, its why we asked you remix for ETG002: Secluded – Confront EP.
So how’s things? What’s keeping you busy at the moment music wise?
– All is good at the moment for me, I am healthy and happy with how things are developing. I am focusing on original stuff at the moment. I’ve bought a couple of new things for my small studio. I am really happy what’s happening with these new tools.
You started your own label, SCKT not so long ago, vinyl only project too. What kind of satisfaction did you get from starting the label and can you give us any info on what’s coming up?
– Yes. That was a big step for me and definitely the right decision. I have all the freedom about the music and graphic design. That was the most important for me. There’s one more remix EP coming up with remixes from The Artist Formerly Known As 19.454.18.5.25.5.18, i guess he doesn’t need any introduction and also Albert van Abbe will be on this release. I really like his music since I’ve discovered his label No Comment. The series is just about the music, not about names or so. Also I have just finished SCKT03 which should be out early 2014 I guess.
Ok lets go back your early years, where did you grow up and what music was you into in your teens, any clubs or gigs in particular that hold strong memory?
– I grew up and still live near Essen/Duesseldorf in Germany. I’ve listened to a lot of rock music because of my father but I’ve discovered electronic music kind of early. I was hanging around a lot with classmates and I’ve played soccer in a local team for at least 10 years. I nearly never was going out to clubs here cause I think we have not that many cool clubs here.
And can you tell us some of your early inspirations that drew you into the sound that is techno?
– That’s difficult to say for me. It was more commercial dance and trance music as I just had a public radio and music TV as a source for this kind if music. I also was to young to go out or to know what’s happening around all that.
So your 27, music is your living and way of life, right? Can you tell us some of the defining moments that have kept you on your path to getting to where you are today?
– Actually I am 26 and I still have a day job as a graphic designer.
One of those moments where, when Len Faki came back to me and said that he wants’ to release the tracks I gave to him, The album process was also showing me that i am on a good way. It showed me that Len is trusting me 100% in what i do. It’s important to me to have this kind support. It’s my biggest passion to do music and djing but if no one would believe in what i am doing I wouldn’t be where I am today. I have to thank a lot of people out there, supporting me.
If its possible to ask this question to somebody who obviously has a determined commitment to both. What do you enjoy most, playing music or making music? What do they both mean to you?
– I like both of them. Making music is very special and intimate. I can do what I want to do, express feelings, but no one is there when my tracks are developing. No one says it’s good or not, as i don’t have any reaction. When I am djing I have reactions from a lot of people. It’s also great to share music, make them dance and having a good time together. It’s the best thing in the world for me when I see that the people are enjoying what I enjoy – playing out music.
You’ve played some heavyweight venues in recent times, but we’ve noticed you’ll be playing at Womb in Japan on the 28th September. A special place to play by all accounts, first time at the club? First time in Japan? What are you anticipating from your approaching trip?
– It will be my first time in Japan all in all. I wanted to play the Womb since i’ve listened to Chris Liebing’s live recording from there and i still can’t believe to go there, experiencing that culture and vibe on my own now. Also I will see my friend A. Mochi in Tokyo, as he will play also that night at the Womb.
So I am looking forward to some sightseeing, inspirational moments and hopefully a good vibe there.
Well Markus, its been an absolute pleasure speaking with you. We’ll be counting the days until Fri 25th October when you join us for EarToGround in London, for what will certainly be a long night of stomping!
EarToGround Dark Sessions
EarToGround returns on Friday October 25th with a Halloween party at the perfectly chosen Crucifix Lane venue at London Bridge.
We are VERY happy to bring three of Techno’s leading and prolific names, Jonas Kopp, Reeko and Markus Suckut.
Click the e-flyer below for tickets…
EarToGround goes Digital!
After many requests ETG001 is now available on digital formats and available now at all good download stores. Junodownload, Beatport, Boomkat and many more. Dax J & Chris Stanfords “Programm” original accompanied by remixes from Shifted & Truss.
The rest of the releases will follow over the next year or so, if you never got these on vinyl, now is your opportunity to start following our journey, but rest assured vinyl lovers the new releases will always come on wax long before.
