Test Pressing Podcast

It's always nice to get a mix from Rune Lindbæk and this one is as good as ever taking in the brand new, and pretty special, mix of Joakim by Todd Terje, an unreleased Idjut Boys mix of Keren Ann's 'My Name Is Trouble', the Toby Tobias mix of Hardway Brothers and some Arthur Russell and Steve Reich. Not to mention his own mix with Øyvind Blikstad turning Madonna into a beach siren. He has a few releases coming soon with Rune Lindbæk feat Kurt Maloo 12" coming out late May with ace mixes from Cos/Mes, Seahawks and Ray Mang and a solo LP to follow named 'Krasava' in July. All to be released on his own Drum Island Records.Back to the mix - 30 minutes as tight as you like. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/185-RUNE.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/185_Mariupol_Mix.mp3)

Alright. Here's that rare thing - a balearic party mix. I love a mellow one, as we all do, but its nice to hear a DJ in party mode and here's Balearic Mike live and direct (well not live live) from the Vinyl Dreams launch party, San Francisco on the 18th of June in 2011. Vinyl Dreams was conceived in 2010 by Mike Bee and his (former) partner Darren. Mike has some history as a journalist for US publications URB and XLR8R as well as being a DJ, radio host and more. Being a lover of vinyl and seeing the US dance music industry shrink heavily since the late 90's Mike felt there was a gap for a certain kind of music in the US - disco, deep house, balearic - and sought to fill that niche. They launched in June 2011 using an email list (website soon to come) and have been doing decent business with a great buzz around the country and abroad. They love good music but are keen to point out its not about being a snob in fact far from it. They (well Mike these days) have had great support from the likes of Cosmic Kids (of DFA fame) and Jacques Renault and since the shop is online, people often go via Mike's apartment to browse and listen to stock on the weekends. You can check some of Mike's mixes here on Soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com/mikebee). (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/184-BALEARIC-MIKE.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/184_Live_At_Vinyl_Dreams_Launch_Party.mp3)

Alexis Le-Tan has been into 'this' music for a long time now. His mixes have appeared on Lovefingers, Noise In My Head (http://noiseinmyhead.com.au/2011/06/120611-w-alexis-le-tan/) and Beats In Space (http://www.beatsinspace.net/playlists/467) and he has also released the Space Oddities compilations and various other edits over the years. He also runs a very fine creative agency based in Paris by the name of Monsieur L'Agent (http://www.monsieurlagent.com/). Check their work. More new/old music from Alexis soon under his Golem guise with the promise of a high-end mixtape for the summer. This mix is on an ambient tip and is pretty lovely. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/183-ALEXIS-LE-TAN.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/183_When_Sound_Becomes_Colour.mp3)

Always good to welcome Sean Johnston / Hardway Bros back to the fold. Here he is with a great mix of lowdown, and sometimes dubby, house and disco business. Sean throws the A Love From Outer Space parties with Andrew Weatherall and they have a pretty big party coming up on Easter weekend at Corsica Studios, the 5th of April to be precise, with a top line-up which includes Optimo, Trickski and Stopmakingme. It's also to sort of celebrate the release of Weatherall's new three cd compilation. If you want to find out more you can go to The Ransome Note here (http://theransomnote.co.uk/ticket/a-love-from-outer-space-easter-special-with-andrew-weatherall-optimo-trickski-more/123/) or buy tickets at Resident Advisor here (http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?338905). Let's get busy. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/182-HARDWAY-BROS.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/182_ALFOS_Equinox_Mix.mp3)

We asked Tiago for a mix a long time back and here it is. Recorded and selected at home in the company of friends its one of those where he just goes as he chooses. You can hear Tiago in club mode here (http://thepool-london.com/loop/tiago-new-live-mix.html) but the mix below is for your iPod ears. The man himself is off to do some gigs. He's at Disco Bloodbath in London on April the 5th, then he is off for a Japanese tour from the 13th to the 21st and then he is off to Australia from April 26th to the 28th. If anyone in Japan is interested in booking him while he is over get in touch with Chida here (mailto:chida@ene-tokyo.com) and for any Oz bookings The House De Frost here (mailto:thehousedefrost@gmail.com). Last plug while I've got you he is also on Twitter these days and you can find him here (http://twitter.com/adnarimogait). (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/181-TIAGO2.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/181_Tiago_Test_Press_Mix.mp3)

Jan Hammered (aka Ian Williams) has been doing mixes for us for some time now and have to say, as I've said before, they sit the line perfectly between music for the heads and music everyone can get. Here he is again with a new mix. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/178-JAN-HAMMERED.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/178_Your_Place_Or_Mine.mp3) While I have you Ian is soon moving to London and bringing with him his rather good Nai Design skills. Nai is Ians company that builds bespoke furniture - from shelving on to the soon coming 7" record boxes for Claremont. You can check his work below. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/tumblr_lznzq8NqV11rq119b.jpeg)(http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/nai-design.tumblr.jpeg) Its very tidy and if you are in need of a special home for your records rather than the IKEA shelf he's your man. You can contact him through his website here (http://nai-design.tumblr.com/). Next up Balearic Social to celebrate their year of radio. x.

Salinas Jockey Club is a new Soft Rocks related project from Chris Galloway & Andy Simms. They are currently working on rounding off their new material and have releases penned in with Soft Rocks label 'Kinfolk' and the Roots Unit house label 'Vibrations'. Musically the project runs from beautiful ambiance to chilled house with some mid-tempo niceness in between... Eyes peeled. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/177-SALINAS-JOCKEY-CLUB.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/177_Whispering_Waves_1.mp3)

A while back we ran some anniversary mixes by DJ Yozo from Japan's EAD record shop. We are happy to say he is back with a new one to celebrate this years anniversary. I get the feeling there might be some very expensive records on this mix. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/175-YOZO.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/175_EAD_Anniversary_Mix.mp3)

This is a perfect mix for the weekend. Some of you may know Bing Ji Ling from his work with Incarnations and also the Phenomenal Handclap Band with next up a new release from his Paqua project alongside Paul Murphy and Alex Searle on the Claremont label. Some hot debuts on this mix - the aforementioned Paqua, a Quantic/Alice Russell track that isn't out yet, and a new PHB track that will be a B-side at some point in the future. Also on the mix is one of our favourites, 'Toda Menina Baiana' by Gilberto Gil. It's a beauty of a mix actually. First out of the balearic traps for us this year and if we can post more like this I'll be a happy man. The mix is called "Mex-i-coastin'" as he just spent six weeks in Mexico scouring the Pacific Coast from Mazunte, Oaxaca to Sayulita, Nayarit. We are about to do the Mexican tourist office a favour here (not that it needs one) and post some of Bing's photographs from his trip. I need to get there. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/174-BING-JI-LING2.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/174_Mex_i_coastin.mp3)

Haven't done a mix this year so happy to welcome Steve Kotey to get the ball rolling. I like the way when Steve sent the mix through he'd put the genre as '1976 Porno Soundtrack'. If that doesn't give you a clue where its going we are talking full on sleazy disco. Steve is pretty busy right now. Firstly, he is working on a new project with Andrew Meecham of Emperor Machine called Grand Corporation (http://soundcloud.com/steviekoteyproductions/t). It's mostly analogue based house music with plenty of Chicago references. Releases coming on the 'good to see them back' Classic as well as 2020 vision / Redux. The Classic release has Jeremy Glen on vocals. Then there's his Soiree project with Max Essa whose Zim Zim (http://www.discogs.com/Stevie-Kotey-And-Max-Essa-Present-Soir%C3%A9e-Zim-Zim-Zah-Zah/master/208102) track I played a lot. Cheeky and funny but then with a serious edge apparently the new album has lots of crazy vocal action from Max. Steve says "if "Flight of the Concords" made New Wave, Disco and Krautrock it might sound like this". It's coming on Bearfunk in the summer. He's then got his My Ambassadors Reception label with some great releases this year with new projects from Loud-E with 'Loudefied Vol.II', Albion returning with 'Mixtura II' and a new 'Disco Diva Delights' compilation. Finally, more releases from Max Essa and Utopus (ace mix from The Beat Broker on that one) and a new imprint (does he sleep?) with the Utopus crew called Future Nuggets. You can check that here (http://soundcloud.com/future-nuggets). (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/173-STEVE-KOTEY.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/173_Disco_Honest_Mix.mp3)

Joel Martin is a man of principles and probably one of the most knowledgable people I know in the world of synth-based soundtracks. He's also part of underground heroes Quiet Village who, as their name suggests, like to slowly get on with things in their own particular way. He's soon off to Berlin to finish the 3rd instalment of their Maxxi and Zeu project for International Feel. Next up from Joel is a new project with Gerry Rooney from Black Cock where they have created two labels - Lucky Hole and Golden Hole. You can follow/like them at the Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Velvet-Season-The-Hearts-Of-Gold/200637163349561) for updates and news. We've heard two of the new tracks and they are bottom heavy and sleazy as can be. They are also about to remix the new project from Mo Morris and Phil Manzanera (that sounds good already) War Cry. Busy in a quiet way. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/179-JOEL-MARTIN.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/170_Joel_Martin_Velvet_Vibrations.mp3)

New mix from Peter Visti here, a DJ for over 20 years and producer of releases on Music For Dreams, Eskimo and Mindless Boogie as well as one of the men behind one of the underground hits of the last few years 'Stars' alongside Jakob Meyland. Early next year he'll release his solo album 'Illusions Of A Twisted Mind' on Bearfunk. Look out for that one. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/169-PETER-VISTI.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/169_Live_At_Grammofon_Cafe.mp3)

(http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/168-DR-ROB.png) The Tokyo-To Kissas were made, one a month, during 2007. My first year in Japan. Prior to the move to Tokyo, I had spent much of my free time recreating Harvey`s Moonshadow sessions in a shed at the end of our garden in Croydon, so I was already on a pretty mellow one. Then someone, probably Tim, gave me a load of Jose`s Café Del Mar sets, about ten of them on a CD. While a Pre-90s Balearic obsessive, my attention had been focused solely on Alfredo`s box, Blancmange b-sides, wondering why there weren’t more records like The Woodentops, and why you couldn’t get hired playing records like that anymore. I knew very little about the Café Del Mar. Although I had thrown up there once. Listening to Jose’s tapes, I thought “I’ve got loads of stuff like this. I can do this.” I had originally planned to sell all my records in Japan. To quit DJing. To let it go. Anyone who knows me will know that I am always saying this. But something always seems to come along and spark my interest again. DJ History, the Sarcastic mix, Baldelli’s tapes. I fast found that I couldn’t “do this” and that telling a hopefully entertaining story using largely beat-less instrumentals is a lot harder than you might think. A fact that anyone who has listened to a To Kissa can attest to. I was uneducated, but with assistance from friends like Moonboots and Jolyon, who provided mixes and IDs, I began to acquire “Café Classics” from Tokyo`s countless second hand record shops. Awash with Windham Hill and ECM. The To Kissas were really just compilations, made for friends, of what I`d found that month, with a few other things I thought might fit thrown in. Paul was kind enough to run with them. After I’d done a couple, I realised that they were never gonna be tributes to the Café. To this day I think I’ve only made one “mix” with a beach in mind. They were all made late at night, when the kids had gone to bed. And I had started drinking. That year I was a mess. I had quit my job to move and look after the boys. I was often on my own. After dropping my sons off at school, I thought about killing myself pretty much every morning. But then there would be the laundry and the vacuuming to do. I had just turned forty, and mid-life (well, you can only hope) and my hormones, as they approached the cliff at a clip, were a devil on my shoulder taunting me to continually prove that I was a man before it was too late. I never thought I measured myself that way. I guess we all do if we are honest. I was also hung up on the language. I was lost. I spent hours every day studying. And still I was lost. My frustration and fear would peak into bouts of anger. Tired of being ignored. Tired of being treated like an idiot. “I’ll have you know I’ve got a PhD.” But I was an idiot. I couldn’t read or write. And I was essentially deaf and dumb. Paul once said to me “You seem to be on a bit of a downer about Tokyo. How can you be on a downer in such a fantastic city?” He made me feel guilty. I was on a downer, and I was blaming the city, which wasn’t fair. Tokyo is an amazing place. It was just me. And my age. Consumed with regret (such a bad place to be) and having the “luxury” of the time to reflect on all my bad habits and daily mistakes. Driven crazy by all the hard naked bodies I would never get to see. The lingerie of dreams. Gone. Days bitter with “Why did I never sleep with a blonde when I was at university?” Nights awake thinking “I’ll probably never see my grandchildren”. “Never. Never. Never” was my mantra. The To Kissas were something to lose myself in. In hindsight, to wallow in. I’d never call it a night and it would always end with me waking on the floor, ‘Let It Bleed’ still playing, and the weight, or lack of it, of the two litre carton of sake informing me that it would be a few days before I would feel “normal” again. I missed my friends, and I missed my youth.

So here we are with a new mix from Psychemagik. These two have been on something of a roll when it comes to their own releases and the quality of their mixes which make highly rare music sound pretty accesible. On a remix front they've been busy recently with mixes for Metronomy (http://soundcloud.com/psychemagik/metronomy-everything-goes-my) (free download on this one!), Time & Space Machine, Azari & lll (http://soundcloud.com/psychemagik/azari-lll-reckless-for-your) and Crystal Fighters. They also have a Valley Of Paradise remix 12" out early next year with versions from Leo Zero, Time & Space Machine, Greg Wilson and Toby Tobias and are releasing a very limited edition EP in the first few months of the year named 'Triumph Of The Gods Suite' with bespoke artwork and limited edition screen print by designer Trevor Jackson. Finally there is a new Healin' Feelin Edit 12 out now - check it here at Phonica (http://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/102811) or here (http://soundcloud.com/psychemagik/boogie-drome-exerpt) and here (http://soundcloud.com/psychemagik/diamond-star-exerpt) at Soundcloud. To keep up to date on what Psychemagik are up to follow them at Soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com/psychemagik), Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/Psychemagik) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Psychemagik/119680627929). So back to the the mix, it's a two hour epic full of records I've never heard and, as ever, is totally on point. Top draw. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/167-PSYCHEMAGIK2.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/167_Sunrise_2.mp3)

We are big fans of COS/MES at Test Pressing so happy that they've come through with a mix for us here. Their productions and remixes are always doing something interesting away from the traditional notion of what our "balearic" scene should be doing. They have odd arrangements, can last 12 minutes (happily) and seem to be in a world of their own. Hope you enjoy this one. (http://testpressing.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/166-COS-MES.png) Download (http://testpressing.org/audio/166_Opera_City.mp3)