Finnish techno duo BuRu — brothers Mikko and Ilkka — craft the sort of deep techno the world could use a lot more of. Brandishing a sound that’s tailored for sweaty warehouse parties, their modus operandi harkens back to a time when DJs worked dance floors into a frenzy from the shadows of the DJ booth instead of from a stage illuminated by spotlights and pyrotechnics.
On the pair’s exclusive Big Shot Guest Mix, they pay little attention to release dates, building their session with bespoke cuts that were released as far back as 2010. The result is a flawless effort featuring tracks from Marcel Dettmann, Rasmus Hedlund, Scuba, Developer and Adriana Lopez. Listen to their session below and get a taste of BuRu’s many incredible flavors.
BuRu’s Fitting The Pattern EP is out now on Konstruktiv.
Thee Cool Cats (Gerry G and Tony E) and Lee M Kelsall struck creative gold not long ago with their spirited collaboration “Thee Corner” issued on their new Altus Project, a label they run with Sean Roman. A rocking 4/4 re-think of Suzanne Vega’s 1987 pop hit “Tom’s Diner,” the boys took the song in a far more interesting direction than synth legend Giorgio Moroder did on his interpretation of the classic on his disappointing new album Déjà Vu.
The trio join forces on the latest Big Shot Guest Mix, a session comprised of a dozen house hits featuring Leftwing & Kody, Nick Hannam & Tom Garnett and Clyde P as well as their aforementioned collaboration.
Hit the play button below and bear witness thee magic.
Thee Cool Cats & Lee M Kelsall’s “Thee Corner” is out now on Altus Project.
In an age of casual cool selfies and humble brags on social media you’ve got to give it up for Berlin DJ/producer Pilocka Krach‘s chutzpah. Releasing music since 2007, Krach named her debut album Best Of. The name of the label she runs? Greatest Hits International, of course. Ms. Krach lives the 100 percent mindset to the fullest, and she brings oodles of energy, passion and fun to whatever creative project she is involved in.
To commemorate the release of Best Of and give clubbers a taste of what to expect at her upcoming summer DJ gigs, Krach put together an 11-track Big Shot Guest Mix, examining the relationship between the spoken word and the groove.
Krach’s session opens with “Wordy Rappinghood” from Tom Tom Club’s seminal debut album, then touches on contemporary cuts by Schleppgeist, Sassafras and SBTRKT. Along the way she mixes in two electro-charged cuts off Best Of, “Gitarre Spielen” and “Superboy.”
Explaining her mix she says, “Electronic dance music is mainly about [using] sound and rhythm to create a specific atmosphere in the room. I am also interested in the concept of dancing to songs of rock, pop and hip-hop to identify with an idea of a message. Let’s dance!”
Pilocka Krach’s Best Of is out now on Monika Enterprise. Catch her upcoming DJ sets at Chateau De Fous, Etang Sur Arroux on June 13, Bordell Des Arts in Berlin on June 18 and a live appearance at Hive in Zürich on June 26.
London born Miss Jools (a.k.a. Julia Porter) has been deep in the mix since the ’90s, working on the front lines back in the day as a record store buyer, radio host, club promoter and all around party rocker behind the decks. After finding success around 2006 with Sleeper Thief — a collaboration with Audiofly — she aligned herself with Anja Schneider and Ralf Kollmann’s mobilee imprint and eventually relocated to Berlin in 2009. Since then she has been carefully honing her tech-house/minimal production signature, one which is rooted in a less-is-more creative ethos when it comes to output.
In March Jools’ slinky, techy gem “Calima” was featured on Sol Asylum Volume 6, a three-track EP issued by the label run by kindred soul Julie Marghilano. After the EP’s release Jools took time off to recharge her creative batteries and is looking to get back into studio mode shortly.
In the meantime we were able to cajole Jools to helm the latest Big Shot Guest Mix, a nine-track affair knee-deep with stellar offerings from the likes of Patrice Scott, Claudia Amprimo, Alix Alvarez and Eddie Richards, which we’re happy to present to the world.
“I actually did this mix a month ago at my home,” Jools says. “It’s always a bit harder for me to do a mix at home and to be as inspired as much as I would be if I was recording it live in a club with a dance floor and a crowd in front of me to vibe off of, but I selected a few old tracks that are always in my record bag and mixed it up with some great new release that are floating my boat right now.”
What’s in store for Miss Jools this summer? Plenty.
“I will be doing a little US Sol Asylum tour the first two weeks of June and July will be my first time at the Garden Festival in Croatia, which I’m really looking forward to as I particularly love playing in Croatia and the party people there,” she says. “Sol Asylum will reside again at Club Der Visionare throughout the summer months so, yeah, I can’t wait for summer.”
Check out Miss Jools’ Big Shot Guest Mix below, and get a taste of what to expect during her upcoming summer gigs all over the world.
