Trailer for a space opera

December 10, 2010

Quarion‘s “Moons Around Jupiter” is due to come out next week…but you can already listen to this exclusive teaser! This is a bizarre experiment where the Q-man shortens his whole EP into 5 mins, adds extra fx and has a voice-over giving facts about certain celestial objects. The whole piece sounds like a Science Fiction movie trailer…more “Dark Star” than “Avatar” though!

Promotion the old-fashioned way…

December 6, 2010

ever wanted to start a hand-stamped white label? This is what you need!

“Stumbled Across” was released a few weeks ago and has since received a sizeable amount of praise from the DJs and the media, including getting tipped as one of the month’s highlights in the december issue of De:Bug. Well done Iron Curtis!

Back at Retreat HQ, we’re actually working hard to finalize our last 2010 production. You see, we wanted rtr07 and rtr08 to follow each other pretty fast before our yearly break at the beginning of 2011. So after receiving the test pressings, we’ve just finished stamping and inserting the release info in the sleeves for the happy 50-ish who will get a promo copy of rtr08…

But what sort of record is it then? Well, it’s a 4-track EP by Quarion and it’s a winner. We can’t say much about it now, except that it’s called “Moons Around Jupiter” and that it’s definitely out there. Expect a pretty original teaser to appear on this site very soon!

If you can’t wait to get your hands on this fantastic record, you can already complete your Quarion collection via the webshop: we’ve got now the Q-man’s early releases on Drumpoet Community in limited quantities, including the super-classic “Karasu” which started it all…

Some reviews of RTR07

December 6, 2010

DE:BUG #148 – December 2010


Resident Advisor
Juno
Phonica

Iron Curtis – Stumbled Across – RTR07

November 8, 2010

We’re thrilled to welcome IRON CURTIS as a new character in the retreat saga! Hailing from Nuernberg but now based in Berlin, Mr. Curtis is known for his contemporary take on the classic Chicago House sound and has been making waves for the past two years with quality releases on Mirau, Morris Audio, Mule Electronic and Jackoff. However, we strongly believe that Iron Curtis is presenting a different aspect of his personality with »Stumbled Across«, an EP that ventures in weirder territories with the help of Hip-Hop, dubstep and techno influences. A definitive statement from a blossoming producer who brings the element of surprise back to the dancefloor!

»Cover Me« provides the tone for this EP, starting off with a distinctive un-straight kick drum that underlines a pad motif and a percussion build-up. The aquatic bassline lures you in the track while new chords are rising up from the background. The whole song breaks down after 3 minutes only to start again with renewed energy. Shuffling hi-hats, vocal snippets and quirky synths provide an ecstatic groove and lift the track to new heights of bounciness. No doubt that »Cover Me« would become a Co-op classic if the party was still happening in London …

Flip the record over and »Stumbled Across« introduces guitar stabs, crowd noises and reversed chords until the whole thing crashes down into a House beat that is jacking beyond comparison. A tribute to one of the founders of the Chicago sound, “Stumbled Across” is that seldom tune that manages to feel 100% classic yet 100% fresh at the same time: the 808 & 909 sounds are familiar but the arrangement and overall vibe allow the track to stand proudly on its own two feet. A masterpiece!

»Creeps« clocks around 90 BPM and showcases Iron Curtis’ talent in leading music into unexpected directions. The track begins with melancholic chords but evolves quickly into a fascinating journey, complete with strings, organs, bell-like sounds and bizarre interjections from what appears to be cocktail aficionados in an upper class party! The beat alone is definitely not your average Hiphop drum track (with a gated snare that Phil Collins would die for!) but excels in providing depth and consolidation to the whole structure.

The Ep concludes with the mind-bending »All My Friends«, a 2 minutes, 80 bpm neck-breaker whose wonky synth could make your body want to perform krump moves. Lethal!

A1 – Cover me
B1 – Stumbled Across
B2 – Creeps
B3 – All My Friends

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Release: November 10th 2010
(Releasesheet)

Back in stock!

October 11, 2010

We wish we could have our own pressing plant...pretty hard to fit in an appartment though!

Since the beginning of 2010, we’ve noticed that the stock of Retreat 12″s has been slowly but surely decreasing. Before we knew it, our 2009 releases were all sold out and we started receiving e-mails from people asking us to please repress those earlier records…

Well, we’re happy to inform you that RTR01, 02 and 03 are now back in stock! Packaged in a new, mat-black sleeve, these records sound as fresh as if they came out yesterday. From the heavy “Treats vol.1″ split EP to Quarion’s PBar classic “Turn Off The Light” via Session Victim’s highly praised “Out On Love” release, now’s your chance to continue your Retreat collection or start it from scratch!

Available at your favourite record store or via Retreat’s own webshop.

Summer Time Gone

September 14, 2010

our own little retreat in the countryside...Changdeokgung in Seoul

Well, I was beginning to enjoy slacking around with my flip-flops but now it seems like I’ve got to wear thick socks again…Bam, that’s it, summer is gone, the show is over, time to get back to work. Thankfully, the bittersweet J-pop of Mai Kuraki prepared me for this doomsday: there was no way in hell you could have missed her new single if you were in Shibuya during the last week of August…

Indeed, I was lucky to spend the last days of summer travelling between Tokyo and Seoul: seeing old friends, meeting new people, performing in front of the ocean, eating the best food on earth and just enjoying this incomparable pacific vibe…yup, it was the good life. Special shout outs to DJ Kent, Udo and Baya for the amazing moments!

Now I’m back in cold, grey and rainy Berlin…but what the hell, I love this city! It’s still bubbling with creativity and for what I’ve heard in various home-studios or work-in-progress demos, there should be some spectacular music coming out soon!

Here at Retreat HQ, we’re particularly excited about our new artist, Iron Curtis. This young man has been hammering out track after track of old-school-tainted-yet-still-contemporary House but guess what: he actually kept his most bugged-out music for your favourite vinyl-only label! Hauke and myself were blown away by his demo and we’re very looking forward to release his EP in the upcoming weeks. Expect RTR07 to hit the stores some time in October!

Speaking of stores, we’ve also decided to add more material to our webshop, including other music labels who are also following the “strictly-vinyl” philosophy. It’s the age-old “united we stand” motto but it’s particularly suited to this tough business.  So as of this month, you’ll be able to purchase the mysterious Skylevel imprint, a label that specialises in quirky edits and whose etching on the record proudly proclaims “vinyl till we die”. Our kind of people…

More news coming up shortly so stay tuned!

RTR Reels 04 – Matthias Reiling “Kickstart my love” Mix

July 20, 2010

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The Hamburg half of Session Victim has delivered a very special set for the fourth Reels podcast. Digging deep into the influences that made Das Gespenst von Altona such a fantastic debut (not to mention his recent Retreat output), Matthias Reiling blends twenty-three 7″ and one 12″ of raw Soul into a dazzling 34 minutes mix. The selection is flawless, alternating with ease between classic performances from Sam & Dave or The Soul Searchers to obscure gems such as Jerry Washington’s energetic “Baby, don’t leave me”.

Hotter than a chili contest, “Kickstart My Love” is set to be the soundtrack of the current heatwave sweeping over Europe!

Session Victim – On The Roll – RTR06

June 12, 2010

After their hot contributions for “Treats Vol. 2”, SESSION VICTIM prove indeed that they are « On The Roll » with a funkafied and no holds barred EP that pays homage to their Hip-Hop Roots.

» Move Me So « starts rather simply, with just a guitar and a vocal, but you can hear a moving bassline and distant rhodes chords creeping up from the background. Two minutes into the track and there’s still no kick drum, although the level of excitement produced by the magnetic groove is almost unbearable. A filtered drum break finally gives way to a four to the floor beat that should turn any dancefloor into a frenetic party. The track builds with high energy, as the pounding bassline seems to be directly lifted from an early 90’s Hip-Hop classic. The breakdown sees the vocal/guitar loop being played differently until the second part shifts gear and brings more surprises in the mix with the intro rhodes chords coming in and out. But just as you think this jam will stay on the same vibe until the end, the now-famous “Session Victim twist” appears and this time the boys conclude the track with gorgeous keyboard chords that slowly mellow the whole thing out, as if the song has reached serenity after so much action.

» A Wooden Mind«  begins with a rather off-beat percussion and bass loop, but a very comfortable analog groove sets in after a while. You’ve just embarked for a fantastic voyage…until a quirky rhodes motif steers the song into a somewhat more hypnotic direction, with a catchy but faint melody playing from a distance. A new part reintroduces the chords found at the beginning while the quiet melody gets pushed to the forefront in its full pop glory. “A Wooden Mind” finishes rather splendidly with elements of the melody appearing at will while the chords gently fade away…

» Secrets « is the EP’s closer and the first 100% Hip-Hop instrumental ever released on Retreat! Starting off in true old school fashion with only a drum workout, the track then releases a Leslie-fuelled organ loop as well as scratchy guitars. Enhanced by vocal snippets emphasizing the importance of being original, “Secrets” is a veritable showcase for Session Victim’s ever-evolving talent and a perfect conclusion to this well-crafted EP.

A1 – Move Me So
B1 – A Wooden Mind
B2 – Secrets

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Release: June 30th 2010
(Releasesheet)

Reviews of RTR05

May 6, 2010

DE:BUG #141 – April 2010


Read More »

More goodies!

May 3, 2010

Our online shop was looking a bit dull these days with 40% of our releases out of stock, but since last week, we’ve got some pretty neat new items in the Retreat bodega!
First of all, we’ve finally received represses of RTR03 and RTR04, so if you’ve missed Quarion’s classic “dusty fingers” ep or Hunee’s essential “barrio payment” ep, now is the time to complete your collection!
But what we’re the most excited to reveal is our own line of selfmade turntable slipmats! Available in 4 different flavors and crafted with love by Gesine at the Retreat HQ, these DJ essentials will help you cue, spin and scratch your records … not to mention make your fellow vinyl nerds drool with envy over the classic RTR design! These are available only on the Retreat webshop … don’t sleep!