Frank, I spent so much time on this tee, using my non-existing drawing skills to the max...you better wear it!

Phew, it really feels like eons since I’ve sat down and wrote some nonsense for our blog…then again, it’s not like I’ve been lazy: I’m known as der Pressemann, the one in charge for all the release sheets, party infos, Reels descriptions and basically every written text that is related to Retreat, so there has been some stuff to rant about, but fair enough, my last proper blog entry was in November. Back then, I was moaning about the tough Berlin winter but now, believe or not, the sun came back! My brain still has trouble processing this new information and I was indeed training to live in this Ice Age for the rest of my life (dressing up with 5 layers, being really cautious not to slip on the road, mumbling instead of talking so that my lips don’t bleed)…but hey, the ice is gone, the birds are singing and the days are getting longer so I guess I can ditch those adamantium gloves.

So what’s new at  Retreat HQ? Well, in case you didn’t notice, we have a new record out entitled “Treats Vol.2″ which is getting some major airplay. It’s a hot split EP with two cuts from Session Victim and 1 track from myself. You can read about it here and there but also just make up your own mind by listening to it. Session Victim are now busy working on RTR06 but if you’re a fiend for their groovy cut-up approach, i would strongly recommend that you check out Matthias Reiling‘s excellent “Das Gespenst Von Altona” on Giegling. This Mini-album from the talented producer who makes up 1/2 of Session Victim has Funk stamped all over its 3 House tracks and 5 Hip-Hop Instrumentals. Being the ageing b-boy that I am, my preference goes to the 5 little gems: intricate yet bouncy beats that seem to be tailormade for MC’s like DOOM or Kool Keith. Hot ish! In fact, if you’re in Berlin tonight, be sure to check Matthias out at Farbfernseher, it’s about to become pretty steamy in this little place!

That’s it for now peeps, more news and the usual q-nonsense will follow shortly…

Thanks to Gesine, we managed to get a few pics during our latest promo action.

As usual, we stamped every one of the 60 Test Pressings with the Retreat logo (three times!) and a small “RTR05″ banner. Alongside evidence of our unadulterated geekiness,  you’ll also have an exclusive peek on the brand new sleeve design!

As you might have noticed, I generally leave the writing to Yanneck and take care of the administrative stuff at Retreat HQ . But  I just returned to Berlin after spending three weeks in the sunshine in Sydney and felt the need to thank all my friends and music lovers down-under for looking after me.  Special thanks to:
Jimmi, Ken, Richie and Adam for the excellent Mad Shuffle Party. Chad, Nathan and Jay from Future Classic for hospitality, great times at the beach house (and forcing me on the surf board) and hooking me up with some gigs.  Sinclair and Simon Caldwell for inviting me to your radio shows.

It's the R's, baby

Yes, I know it’s a bit late for a 2009 round-up/2010 forecast, but hey, we were both busy Hauke and I: the Haukster was packing his bag and deciding which suntan would be more appropriate for the tough australian beaches while I was recovering from extreme NYE parties and rehearsing for my first ever gig as keyboardist and background singer…

But we’re now on a roll again and we wanted to give you all a little résumé of our first ever year as a vinyl-only label, plus a little teaser of Retreat’s future.

Needless to say that Hauke and I are pretty amazed at how things have worked out for our little company: in a year, we’ve managed to put out four quality EP’s which are almost all sold out and placed two songs from the Retreat catalog in compilations from two of Berlin’s major clubs (Watergate and Cookies). Plus we’ve managed to set up what is now a nicely packed monthly party in a warm and intimate location. So yeah, we are very, very happy that the Retreat ship had such a smooth cruise during its maiden voyage. But if it wouldn’t have the following people (and their undenying support) on board, the vessel would have sunken a long time ago:

. The artists, Session Victim, Quarion and Hunee: you’re the reason we’ve started our label. If it wasn’t for your cut-up Discoid House, Nu-Detroit vibes or Post-Afrobeat workouts, there would be no Retreat, pure and simple. Thank you so much for creating such amazing music and giving us a strong identity.

. The designer, Gesine Todt: her input has been invaluable to Retreat. From providing us with the most recognizable “R” in the music-business since Reinforced to designing every single Retreat outlet, Gesine’s work has been nothing short of outstanding, due to the fact that we usually work with such tight deadlines.

. Our guests at the Retreat party, DJ Honesty, Andreas Andersson, Session Victim, Alex Dallas, Finn Johannsen, m50 AKA Area, Patrice Scott, Hunee, Mark August and Iron Curtis: a million thanks for providing us with the ultimate Funk for a non-average thursday night out in Berlin. Even though our budget only allowed us to pay you pennies, you all played from the heart and helped us to set up a monthly base for our musical adventure.

. The mastering engineers at Calyx and Dubplates & Mastering (RTR 01): our gratitude to you for making our records sound so crisp. We like to keep things a little bit dirty and you always managed to pull this feat off, without ever compromising on the sound quality.

. The distributor, Intergroove: thanks for supporting our small label since day one. We’re treated with the same regards as your bigger clients and we really appreciate that. Who knows? One day we might even sell more than 600 copies per release

. The manufacturer, Handle With Care: congratulations on a job well done. Although there were a few f-ups here and there, you always came through with putting our love on wax.

Then of course, we would to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that bought, played or danced to a Retreat record! We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.

So what is to expect from the R in 2010? Well, it’s only january and there’s a lot of planning to do (plus we’re a bit secretive with certain stuff) but we can already announce the release of RTR05: it will hit the shops on the 3rd of march and will feature music from Quarion and Session Victim. Yep, it’s a follow-up to our debut release and will be (quite logically) entitled “Treats Vol.2″. We can’t tell you more, except that there’s a definite disco vibe and that it’s quite freaky (a weird story about danish daughters getting nasty with pepper candy in the midnight hour…ouh!). And watch out for that new cover design

But before this one drops, you’ll be able to groove with us via our Reels page (new mixes coming soon!) and of course via the parties @ Edelweiss. Next up, we’ve got the mighty Mano Le Tough from Internasjonal to give us a disco hand aswell as Berlin’s own Elie Eidelmann who will bless us with a fresh House selection. You know where you have to be on the 28th…

Thanks again for a wonderful 2009 and let’s keep on building in 2010!

This was actually taken in London

It’s going to be my fourth winter here in Berlin, but I still can’t get used to the following natural phenomena: how fast the sun is setting  between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. It’s almost as if you look out the window, write some nonsense in 140 characters and when you look out again, bam, darkness crept in…

I won’t lie, it gets me depressed sometime. That’s why I’ve decided to take german lessons again every morning, so that I can get as much “light” as possible and mostly because I want to master a bit more properly a very difficult language. Although I’m pretty sure that I’m learning stuff that my fellow german co-conspirator doesn’t use (Hauke, wie oft benutzt du den Konjunktiv I??!!?), it feels good to implement new knowledge other than music history, sofware use or geopolitics (what I’m into these days).

But speaking of my Berlin Kumpel, have you checked out his exclusive “Fried and then basted” mix? It’s the first session of our brand new REELS platform and it’s pretty hot! We already have a couple of exclusive mixes lined up for the next editions, including a killer slo-mo House set from Mark August so stay tuned!

On the Retreat front, Barrio Payment has been getting mad support from a lot of cats…and the 12″ is almost sold out! So much thanks to everyone for supporting Hunee and our small family business. The record bags are also about to disappear very quickly from our stock so get them while you can…or just wait until we manufacture some more

you love it already

Quite a busy week at Retreat HQ: first of all we’ve got Hunee‘s amazing “Barrio Payment” EP droppin’ at a record store near you, so be sure to cop that one! We’ve also got our monthly party coming up this Thursday with special guest Mark August on the 1′s and 2′s. And…we’re proud to announce that we’ve now set up our own little online shop! Yep, if your favourite wax dealer can’t get you a copy of “Treats Vol.1″ or if you live somewhere with NO record shops at all, you can order vinyl directly from us! Get more than one record and we’ll throw in one of these 100% Cotton bags that come in handy for carrying 12″s, vegetables from the market or just cruising around Prenzlauer Berg pretending you’re a fashion designer or social network developer (don’t forget the tight jeans though). Of course, you can also just order the bags if you’ve got all our records or if you think our music sucks but the design rocks…

where's the flying pig?

Blimey, what a weekend! First of all, props to all of you that made it to Edelweiss last thursday, that was one hell of a party! Hunee dropped a killer set, somewhere between Disco, House and 80′s ballads, and Patrice Scott blessed us with a wild selection of underground House & Techno. Needless to say that the temperature was pretty high in that basement…

I just grabbed a few hours sleep than I flew straight to the U.K. for a weekend of relentless DJ action in Leeds and London, organised by the cool lads from mono_cult. A few sound and technical issues during both gigs, but I had a good time, specially in London where I was playing with the infamous ladyboy Agnès.  I also spend some time with my favourite “disciple” Breakplus, an old friend of mine who knows a thing or two about chopping samples and my mate James, a dedicated music-lover, near-professional fencer, biker extremist and all-round sweet person. Thanks for the good times lads!

Back at the Retreat HQ, we forgot to mention that you can actually find Session Victim’s “Contribute” (RTR01) on the “Watergate 04″ compilation mixed by Sebo K!

We’re happy that “Contribute” made the final selection on this solid DJ Mix, that also features tracks from Rick Wade, Patrice Scott, Mood II Swing and Agnès. Thanks for the support Sebo!

That’s it for now, but we’ll be right back in a few days with more news and more features on the RTR blog!

Yes my people, I hope you’re well. Once again, I’ve been mad lazy with the Retreat blog…please forgive me. It’s not that I don’t like updating our site (hey, who could refuse writing uncensored nonsense once in a while?), but I DO want these posts to have a little more substance than the usual 140 Characters.
So what’s new at Retreat HQ? Well, a lot actually! First of all, Hauke and I are super-happy that we managed to sell ALL vinyls of RTR03! A huge THANK YOU goes out to everyone that bought a copy from Berlin to Toyko (90 records sold in Japan alone!). Of course, it sounds a bit corny to brag about selling 500 vinyls…but you can ask any industry/label head these days and they will all tell you that vinyl is going down. Well, we’re quite proud to have proven them wrong, basically by releasing quality music and by sticking to our guns (STRICTLY wax). We’re not going to change the world, but we’re happy to build our little oasis and delighted to see that more and more people are passing by…so once again, Thanks!
Speaking of buildings, one of the upcoming tracks on Retreat is called “Foundation” and it’s solid as a rock. I can’t lie, I always have goosebumps when I play this track and I can’t wait for the peeps to hear it. The mastermind behind this tune is Hunee, one of the finest DJ/music lover in Berlin. He’s getting a lot of attention at the moment, thanks to his mesmerizing productions for Feel Music and W.T. Records, not to mention a wild cut on the upcoming Drumpoet Community comp. He produced the no holds barred “Barrio Payment” EP for Retreat and it’s a mind-blowing, booty shaking affair. More info coming soon!
Finally, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re constantly tweaking our website. Now we have a nice banner courtesy of Gesine and we’ve rearranged some pages slightly. But the big news is that we’re soon going to offer two lovely new things: the possibility to buy records (and upcoming surprises) directly from us and a page containing exclusive DJ mixes, live sets and diverse aural pleasures from the Retreat family! So please stay tuned, I promise that my next entry will appear before 2010…

But that doesn’t mean we were on full-on holiday mode. Oh no. I, for instance, was busy touring Japan from mid-june to july with my homeboy Lexx aka Kawabata and hanging around with the unstoppable DJ Kent. The land of the rising sun has some of the best record shops in the universe so we all got our fingers dusty more than a few times and I was happy to see that Retreat was already in the (Light)house:

Quarion @ Lighthouse Records

Back in Berlin, Hauke and myself planned the next Retreat releases between dips in the lake and long-ass breakfasts. Not to mention that we had to do another stamping session for the test pressing of RTR03. Hauke even managed to get my lazy butt to help him, I have proof:

RTR HQ

RTR03 is a 3-tracker from yours truly available from the end of august. Not to sound too dramatic or pompous but “Dusty Fingers” is the first complete, double-sided Quarion EP since “The Workout” so it’s at least worth 15% of your attention if you’re into my music…

Hauke and myself were so motivated by this release that, hey, we decided to throw another party and invited top-notch collector Finn Johannsen to drop his sweet selection of House, Disco and soulful dance music at the funky Edelweiss Lounge in Kreuzberg. If you’re in Berlin this week, please come by!