In times of DJs surfing underage crowds on inflatable rafts, there are artists that really stand out over the never-ending flood of mediocre dance music for the masses; artists that you can always rely on to keep a constant stream of quality music coming your way. Disco Demons Guest Mix VI is brought to you by one of these artists – as always.

Based out in the UK, JÄGERVERB is without any doubt one of the most interesting artists in underground dance music to keep an eye on right now: game-changing original tracks (Ladybirds, Mozzarella, etc.) and remixes (Mustard Pimp, recently a big one for Roby Howler, etc.) on labels such as Dim Mak, Top Billin and GND – and most importantly, the all amazing Phosphenes EP on Belgian imprint lektroluv, one of the most interesting releases in 2012.

Disco Demons: Sorry for the generic question, but I still have to ask: how did you come up with the name Jägerverb? Does it involve Jägermeister schnapps?

Jägerverb: There was a miniature bottle of Jägermeister on my desk while I was brainstorming ideas for a new alias a few years back, so I took the “Jäger” and stuck different random words on the end. The “verb” comes from “reverb”. The name doesn’t mean anything but it’s phonetically pleasing and I like that it doesn’t sound English. My music feels more compatible with stuff from Belgium, Germany etc. released through labels like Lektroluv and GND, than what you’d expect from someone living in Sheffield in the largely bass-centric UK.

[Continue reading + tracklist after the jump]
Read more…

Thursdays are for techno, they say, so after an extended summer break I’m proud to finally present a new episode of the Disco Demons guest mix series. Disco Demons Guest Mix V has come all the way from Italy, from two of the most exciting producers around at the moment: countless remixes, original releases on Oh My God It’s Techno Music, Bad Life and, most importantly, the incredible Coordinates EP on Southern Fried a few days ago – BLATTA & INESHA have been on fire in 2012!

In this guest mix, the two Italians take you on an aural journey into their world of dark techno sounds, and in the accompanying interview they’re talking about EDM, Lou Reed and the best cities in the world to get drunk in. While you’re at it, make sure to check out the brand new video (NSFW) for Dirty Knees, their collaboration with Mustard Pimp.

Blatta & Inesha – Sufficiently Elegant Sack Of Songs From Within (Disco Demons Guestmix V) by Discodemons on Mixcloud

Disco Demons: Your sound has evolved quite a lot in the past few years, leaning more and more towards techno. Obviously this seems to be a general trend in the scene at the moment. Has techno become the new electro? ( – or is it just electro influenced by techno sounds?)

Blatta & Inesha: Dance music styles are made of cycles, every kind of sound and genre comes back in vogue every few seasons updated with current sounds. Electro in the shape we used to know has became aweful with all those cheesy commercial trance breakdowns, basslines that sound all the same and a big lack of ideas and evolution, so I guess it’s normal for some sensible producers to move to other directions… but to answer your question: to me techno-electro is still a pretty underground phenomenon, cheesy horrible wah wah sidechain is definitely the sound that is still mainly influencing electro!

On our side we never decided or said hey ok let’s do some techno from now on, we just realized that we like dark music and dark melodies better than bouncy happy music. The fact that it sounds like techno then is just a coincidence, I’m sure in 6 months it will sound totally different again, and so will the genres. We like to be ambiguous and take things not too seriously, like the whole Techno Nouveau thing we came up with. Being honest our music is not even traditional techno, the real techno scene is a boys club, very hard to get in and if you talk to some real techno integralist and you play a Blatta & Inesha track to him he will probably punch you in the face! (laughs)

[Continue reading + tracklist after the jump]
Read more…

A month can be a long time when waiting for a new Disco Demons guest mix to drop, but the wait is over now and I’m more than proud to present Disco Demons Guest Mix IV, compiled and mixed by two nice guys from Belgium who also happen to be one of the most interesting producers around at the moment called Jordi and Laurens – better known as AEROTRONIC!

And as if that wasn’t enough, the boys are giving away a free 320kbps download of their latest track Argus, beloved by the likes of Modek, The Oddword and Noize Generation!

Aerotronic – The Secret Tape Recorder (Disco Demons Guestmix IV) by Discodemons on Mixcloud

Disco Demons: Aerotronic used to be known for much harder sounds not much more than a year ago. At what point did you decide to sort of re-invent yourselves towards techno, and why?

Aerotronic: I think it’s because of several reasons, but the main one being that we feel there is not enough inovation anymore in the rougher electronic styles. And also, we’ve been playing this kind of music for almost 3 years now and we aren’t so punk anymore. Actually come to think of it, we’ve always liked techno a lot. But espcially now we are into the darker techno sounds.
Read more…

After a big room electro mix from Clockwork last month, the third Disco Demons Guest Mix is all about future techno again, coming from some of the pioneers of this new style: autoKratz, without doubt one of the most exciting producer duos currently around and founders of Bad Life Records, the no. 1 source for the freshest stuff in electronic dance music.

Both their collaboration with Lee Mortimer, Faith, and their latest track Splinters received massive attention all over the globe – and with some exciting new stuff coming up (more in the interview below), the future is looking more than bright for autoKratz. Enough talk, here’s Disco Demons Guest Mix III!

AutoKratz – Bad Life (Disco Demons Guest Mix III) by Discodemons on Mixcloud

Disco Demons: autoKratz (and Bad Life Records) are without doubt amongst the key tastemakers of this exciting new movement in dance music commonly referred to as “future techno”. What does future techno mean to you?

David: Cheers for that. We’re having so much fun with the label at the moment. We’re really happy that we’re getting to work with such amazing music, and a group of artists that are really different but strangely fit together.
Russell: For me I’d say Future Techno takes some of the sounds and sensibilities of techno, but presents it in a youthful, perhaps more electro way. It just seems right to describe these producers that are doing this sound, and it’s amazing that people get it and feel the same as we do. There’s too many sub genres in electronic music, but it’s kind of emerged naturally, but we don’t want to take it too seriously, as as soon as you limit yourselves to that sound, how can the label ever progress?

[Continue reading + tracklist after the jump]
Read more…

February has come – and it’s colder than ever: time for another Disco Demons Guest Mix to shake off the cold! After a great start into this series of exclusive guest mixes (mainly thanks to my man Attaque) it’s time for the second episode now!

This month’s mixtape is brought to you by an artist who has been a regular name on this blog from day zero until now, an artist whose tunes I’ve been dropping regularly in my DJ sets as secret peak-time weapons: Clockwork, 20 years young, based out in Los Angeles, currently one of the fastest rising names in electronic dance music. After having been all over the music blogosphere for some years, he recently got massive attention from the likes of Steve Aoki and Felix Cartal, resulting in a mind blowing EP soon to be out on Dim Mak Records. Most definitely one of the names to keep an eye on in 2012 – preferably from a safe distance.

Clockwork – Wind It Up (Disco Demons Guest Mix II) by Discodemons on Mixcloud

[Tracklist after the jump]
Read more…

With 2012 probably being the world’s last year, it’s time for breathing new life into this blog: Let me introduce to you the Disco Demons Guest Mixes – a new series of exclusive mixtapes, handcrafted by artists that I’ve blogged about a lot, artists that have influenced me as a DJ, artists whose music I simply love. And as people who make good music usually have interesting stories to tell, each mix will be accompanied by a short interview.

I’m more than proud to announce that the first mix comes from no one less than Attaque, an incredibly talented producer from Essex, UK, who within just a few months has managed to draw the world’s (and Bad Life Records’) attention towards his amazing tracks, receiving love and early support from names such as Tiga, Erol Alkan, Fake Blood and Brodinski. Enough praise, let the music speak for itself:

Attaque – From Here On In (Disco Demons Guest Mix I) by Discodemons on Mixcloud

Attaque: I guess there isn’t a distinct sound which sums up Future Techno which is why it’s exciting for me. It’s all about the mood and production of a track, I guess it’s having a techno aesthetic and then putting your own twist on it. If you look at the top 10 Electro House tracks on Beatport they all have certain sounds and rules they follow, whereas if you listen to Gesaffelstein or NT89 they completely have their own style. It’s an exciting time as producers are coming out with their own signature sounds rather than following the masses and making tracks that sound like everything else.

Check out the rest of the interview + tracklist after the jump!

Read more…