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. Read More »
Oh yeah, here we go again: another round of honest and uncensored charts from yours truly, Q-chan! As usual, a lot of different music is featured in my selection so I hope that it will inspire you to dig a little deeper…
Rufus & Chaka – Masterjam (LP – 1979) – MCA: Seems like I’m having a little fixation with everything that involved the pairing of producer Quincy Jones and writer Rod Temperton in the late 70′s/early 80′s…these two legends had a chemistry that was seldom matched in showbiz. Add the slick groove of the Rufus band with the vocal acrobatics of Chaka Khan and you come up with “Masterjam”, another perfect Funk/pop album. My song-writing partner Jules Etienne knows how hooked I am on “Live In Me”…
KiNK – Trevoga – Undertones: This is off his “Psyche Funk EP” and it’s a monster. A very raw track that blurs the boundaries between House, Hip-Hop, Dubstep and Drum n’ Bass, thanks to its prominent old-school breakbeat. From what I heard of his upcoming tracks, you can expect much more madness from KiNK.
Session Victim – The Keyboarder – Delusions Of Grandeur: The Hamburg-Berlin connection is once again in full swing on this cut-up funk masterpiece due out in a few weeks on Jimpster’s label. The groove is undeniable and the disco strings are catchy as hell !
Sigha – Rawww – Hot Flush 2: This is exactly the sort of hybrid track I knew somebody would come up with : a slowed-down dubstep tune that fits in any House or Techno set. The production is so heavy that you’ll feel the whole dancefloor shaking. Read More »
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… Read More »
Starting off our Reels series is Hauke Freer, better known as one half of Session Victim and co-owner of the vinyl-only label you love to love. Hauke recorded a 3-decks Funk assault with an approach that is similar to his sample-based production: quick changes, elements of surprise and an indestructible groove. Moving easily between US classics (Moodymann and John Tejada) and current european flavors (music from Firecracker or Millions of Moments), Hauke’s “fried and then basted” mix will make you bounce for 30 mins straight!
A musician is someone who has been moved by other people’s work and has been able to synthesize both his influences and his own talent in order to create something special. At Retreat, each musician can only express himself one release at a time and we sometimes feel that 15 mins can be too restrictive. That’s why we’ve decided to set up Reels, a platform that will showcase Retreat’s artists and supporters via exclusive DJ mixes, live sets or any audio material that is close to their soul. We promise there will be a lot of surprises!
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…
After a split 12” and two eps from its founders, your favourite vinyl-only label welcomes an exciting new artist for its fourth release. Hailing from Berlin, Hunee is a true music lover, a passionate dj and an amazing producer (not to mention a top notch friend). His recent productions on Feel Music, w.t. Records and Drumpoet Community have caught the ear of many key players and made him one to watch in 2010. Needless to say, Hunee takes it to a whole other level with his Barrio Payment trilogy: from soulful House to slow-mo Disco via Afrobeat, the producer holds nothing back and that’s exactly how we like it at Retreat hq. Read More »
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… Read More »
I know what you’re thinking: “oh, here we go, another boring chart!”. Well, I hope you’ll find this one a bit more interesting, because from now on, I’ve decided to post my charts ONLY on the Retreat blog (and just copy it to RA for good measure). I was tired to post charts everywhere and most of all, I felt it wasn’t always “honest” enough: a chart for Juno for example contains music that’s only available on their shop and since I play a lot of old music, I felt this sort of chart wasn’t representative enough…
but enough of the talk, here are the tracks/albums that move me in october 2009: Read More »
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. Read More »
