Lustfaust & Schneider TM are playing an exclusive gig for the opening of the Haunch of Venison Berlin space on September 13th from 21h (CEST). The event will be streamed live on www.lustfaust-live.de. This is part of the Jamie Shovlin Lustfaust retrospective (first shown at the I.C.A. in London early 2006).

Lustfaust was an experimental noise band active in West Berlin during the late seventies and early 1980s composed of a group of session musicians. Featuring a Japanese jazz drummer, Matsushita ‘Bobby’ Kazuki, a Belgian guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, Guido van Baelen, a German bassist, Hans Berger, and the California-born, German/American Peter Kruger, the band was a curiously international mixture, initially formed through a mutual distaste for the inoffensive music that it was for the most part their job to produce. Their combination of an aggressive on-stage presence, instrumentation through found objects such as cement mixers and pneumatic drills, and the use of an anti-capitalist community-based model of distribution (if you sent the band a blank cassette, they would return it with their latest release) spawned the Dadaist Geniale Dilettanten movement of the early 1980s and pioneered the burgeoning cassette culture of the late seventies.

There will be a Lustfaust & Schneider TM 7" record released at this event, put out by MirrorWorldMusic (MWM), which is the label of Dirk Dresselhaus (aka Schneider TM) and Michael Beckett (aka kptmichigan).

The cover was designed by Mick Larkin who was responsible for a series of Lustfaust tape covers in the late 70`s.

This is some exciting news! Also check out Lustfaust on myspace.com/lustfaust

Take a deep look at Chicago and take this record to accompany you.
By Kev the Head, CUE Central Europe, December 2003

Jackmate’s new album is a great piece of music. It has a very fitting cover: On the front there’s a picture of a major American city - probably Chicago – and on the back there’s a wood of feeble birches like you’d find on the borders of cities, along railroads and brownfields. The Prodigal Son is the perfect soundtrack to a setting like this. The music is a deep affair, - a slightly sad and longing sound that takes you places and tells you stories. Not in a cold and hard Detroit kind of way even though Jackmate plays with Detroit elements. There’s plenty warm and mellow bass work under the driving high hat and the pumping kick drum and beautiful melodies… Jackmate plays a sound well held together in one vibe although he toys with various styles, having a good bit of electro influence in there. Prodigal Son is essentially a very American album – in the best of ways.

Resopal-Schallware 2003, distributed by EFA

www.resopal-schallware.com

SkinnyMan's new single "i'll be surprised" is an instant UK hiphop hit!

The album "Council Estate of Mind" is out now. Long time runner on the scene, SkinnyMan finally gets the release he deserves, with a beautiful, heavy album on Low Life records.

Originating from Leeds, Skinny moved to North London when he was 5. Finding a melting pot of cultures suddenly on his doorstep Skinny took to the streets, immersing himself primarily in the musical culture of reggae and dancehall whilst at home loving the soulful sounds coming from his mum's record player.

A natural talent for running his mouth off (later to be known as rapping), SkinnyMan soon built up a reputation for being a talented lyricist, but it was his reputation for being in trouble with the police that grew even bigger. Let it be said that Skinny believes in the good of marijuana and as an active promoter of its use he doesn't see it as a harm to himself, no greater than alcohol or cigarettes at least, and therewith lies one of several differences of opinion with the law.

As Skinny progressed through open mic battles as a youth he consistently won titles around London, after becoming a founding member of The Bury Crew SkinnyMan left the fold to start up the now infamous Mud Family with Mongo and Chester P. Over the years they built up a reputation for being one of the best Hip Hop crews in England whether on vinyl, on stage freestyling or battling other MCs - check ‘The Mud Files’ on Ronin records or the now classic Mud Fam and Mark B 12" on K-Boro. During this period the Mud Fam expanded with new members joining and Chester P branching off to form Task Force with his brother Farma G.

Skinny eventually signed a deal with Talkin’ Loud and completed a handful of album tracks whilst at the label. However, before the album was finished Skinny was sent to jail for 9 months for distribution of marijuana. Whilst he was inside Talkin Loud was shut down by its parent company, freeing SkinnyMan from his contract and leaving him to develop his album at Self Destruct Music upon his release.

With a deal via Low Life Records the 'Council Estate of Mind' album is out now. Skinny is currently touring the UK with DJ Flip and will be in Europe in February '05.

Check the mp3 file on the mudfam site of Skinny introducing Council Estate of Mind on Tim Westwood's show on Radio1. What an MC!

www.lowliferecords.freeserve.co.uk/skinnyman.htm
www.mudfam.com/homepagehtml.html
www.mudfam.com/mp3a.html

Dark and hard and funky, Devil’s Advocate rocks like few records ever did.
By Kev the Head, CUE Central Europe, December 2003

There’s a huge amount of energy in this record. Dave Clarke tunes his sound to a raw punk feel, taking the music from a techno base off into electro and retro hardcore sounds, without ever straying from his heartfelt commitment to the dancefloor. Listening to this record it’s impossible to sit still. It rocks so hard I get a head bangin’ fit every time the bass kicks in.
There’s several vocal collaborations on Devil’s Advocate, this comes as a surprise as one is used to Clarke’s music being an instrumental affair. It works wonderfully though. On Way of Life we hear DJ Rush’s voice telling us to get on with it over a tune that is an anthem already. The infamous Chicks on Speed sing about the classic theme of the woman who’s “in parties” in a very eighties style to Clarke’s dark and kickin’ electro sound. Indie hip hop head and Def Jux recording artist Mr. Lif left such an impression on Dave Clarke when he saw him at a show in London, he got him to work together on a track for the album. This track brings back the hip hop roots Dave Clarke originally comes from.
If you’re serious about dance music, you must have this album.

Skint Records UK, 2003

www.daveclarke.com

"With Compliments" - Benjamin Wild Album out on Forcetracks

Smooth and soulful minimal-house music. Sometimes you may wonder if it isn't too cheesy, but then you always get those little edgy bits in a track - which make sure it's not. Benjamin Wild likes to shuffle his beats; -this makes the album a well groovy affair. The bass lines are deep dub styled and the chords are made of the midnight stuff you want to hear in a cool and wet inner-city setting.
"With Compliments" is Wild's debut album, following up an impressive season of releases on most of Germany's labels that currently make up an intensely creative scene of dub-house, minimal-house and electronica entrepreneurs: Force-Tracks, Interfakt, Kompakt, Decode, Perlon, Festplatten. Plus contributions on compilations for Raum...Musik, Elektrolux, Dial...
The Album combines Wild's more jazz-influenced stuff with his more minimal, electronic side. It's a very melodic approach to minimal-house, with particular care applied to detail like light percussion and clicking sounds, surrounding heavy bass lines that roll out into a beautiful dub-affair.

www.force-tracks.net/ft/
www.wildjamin.de/