I'm down with Modern
Closer Musik and Mikkel Metal - One Two Three (No Gravity) and Microho
I'm always listening to DJ mixes at work. Basically all the time. So when something that I listen to really catches my ear, I know it must be something pretty special.
This track comes from one of those special mixes. The song is actually two tracks, as a kind of techno-mashup of the classic minimal love song from 2000 by Closer Musik (Matias Aguayo & Dirk Leyers - they're now broken up and doing solo projects), combined with the closing track from Vicitimizer, this year's full-length album by Mikkel Metal (aka Mikkel Meldgaard).
Now, combining techno songs like this is nothing out of the ordinary - just listen to the transitions on a well-mixed CD - but two songs put together like this is unusual, and it is one of a few tracks done this way that appear on Collectors Series: Pt. 1 - Popular Songs, compiled and mixed by the amazing Modernist, aka Jörg Burger. Burger has been a big part of the Köln (Cologne) sound for years now. Working as a DJ and producer there under a couple of aliases, including Bionaut and Burger Industries, and releasing many EPs and full-length albums, Burger's work as The Modernist leans towards a pop sound, and his Popular Songs mix reflects this pretty much perfectly. Among other minimal techno and techno-pop gems, the mix includes the sweet techno-pop song "Breathe" by Telepopmusik, the Superpitcher remix of Dntel's "This is the Dream of Evan and Chan" (talk about perfection!), Erlend Øye's "Ghost Town" from his great Unrest album (produced by Metro Area's Morgan Geist), as well as a couple of exclusive remixes Burger did (his rework of the Ada track on here is solid) and another mash-up of a pair of Superpitcher tracks.
So, Popular Songs is very Kompakt Records- and Köln-heavy, but if you are into that sound, you will absolutely love this CD. It is the first of a series of CDs released by Faith Recordings, started by Stefan Struever, the A&R dude for K7 who started the DJ Kicks mix-series (I own probably half of those mixes and have been a fan since Kruder & Dorfmeister's came out in the mid-90s) and Kurt Thielen, former Rough Trade Germany Music Director. You can buy Popular Songs from our friends at Forced Exposure (US) or Boomkat (UK). ALSO, this track, as well as the Superpitcher mash-up, is available on 12" via Kompakt Records, which you can buy via their online shop, or in your favorite dance music retailer.
Both highly recommended. Stay tuned for Pt. 1, as mixed by Kaos and Sal P. of Liquid Liquid...