Tag: Iron Curtis

Retreat Label Night – Loftus Hall, Berlin

Get prepared for another steaming party as the Retreat crew take over Loftus Hall for an evening which promises to reach every corner of the Dance Music panel! It’s a special one indeed: not only do we celebrate the release of Retreat n°12 from Iron Curtis but we also bring a special guest for his first ever Berlin performance: Mr. Beatnick!

This talented DJ and producer has been navigating the undercurrents of the London scene for years, spinning Hip-Hop, Broken Beat, Disco and House while avidly collecting rare Jazz and obscure records. A Hip-Hop producer at heart, Mr. Beatnick broke through with the amazing « Synthetes » EP on Don’t Be Afraid, a daring House record which ended up on essential compilations from the likes of Scuba, Gilles Peterson or Paul Woolford. With his latest release, the superb « Sun Goddess » also picking up momentum, we can bet that Mr. Beatnick will be one of the hotly tipped artists in 2013!

 Also on the line-up tonight is the great Iron Curtis with a wicked new live set! It’s been a busy year for the Iron Man, but after an accomplished debut Album on Mirau and killer Acid-drenched tracks as one half of Achterbahn D’Amour, Nuremberg’s finest is finally back in the Retreat camp for a brand new EP. « Glazing » is a fantastic 4-tracker which sees Iron Curtis breaking new ground while staying true to his inimitable style. We really can’t wait to hear those new tunes live!

 Finally, making sure that the party starts and ends on a good note, the Retreat heroes Session Victim and Quarion will come up with a quality selection of House, Techno, Nu Disco or whatever the hell they feel like playing!

So come down to Neukölln’s number one spot and party with us as we close the 2012 chapter with a blast!

Event on Facebook, RA

Session Victim/The Hints/Iron Curtis & Leaves – Treats Vol. 4 – RTR11

Your favourite vinyl-only label kicks off its 2012 discography with another episode of the Treats saga! If the previous volume were associated with straightup dancefloor goodies, Number 4 is more focused on musicianship as Session Victim, The Hints (Quarion & Jules Etienne) and Iron Curtis & Leaves pick up the instruments to compose 3 songs drenched in Funk and Soul with an undeniable 21st century House feeling!

Fresh off their acclaimed The Haunted House Of House album, Session Victim fire up the ep with something that seldom occurs nowadays: the cover of a modern Dance classic! Originally released on Deeply Rooted House by the enigmatic Rootstrax, Harlequin has already achieved mythical status thanks to its amazing bassline. Clocking in at almost eight minutes, svm’s version is a proper Funk workout that begins with rhodes chords, percussion, guitar melodies and saxophone licks over a long yet exciting intro. But as soon as the live bassline kicks in, you know that it’s game over and that people with or without true dancing skills will sweat it out on the floor! Add to that an enigmatic vocal, some rhodes and sax riffs coming at every turn as well as a few chord changes and this piece really is the closest Session Victim have ever been to sound like a proper band. Wow!

The B-side introduces The Hints, a new project from Quarion co-produced with multi-instrumentalist Jules Etienne, one of Berlin’s best kept musical secret. The Hints prefer an old school approach to making music, so apart from the mpc  beat and sampled vocal, all the instruments have been played live by Q & J on the 110 bpm Boogie monster that is Downtown: liquid Pianet chords, Poly 61 stabs, a killer bassline, dramatic organ layers, live (and loose) percussion and even a  quick trumpet melody! The groove is tight and could go on for hours but the Hints love to come up with new chords so we’re treated with a wonderful bridge that appears twice in the song. The Hints also love to keep things short and sweet, so Downtown stays under the 6-minute mark but leaves a fulfilling impression.

After his celebrated debut album on Mirau, Iron Curtis teams up again with Leaves for another sweet and sour House-pop gem. A & F features melancholic rhodes chords that set the stage for a skippy beat and a weird keyboard loop. The  bassline builds up a nice groove while the mysterious Leaves sings with a soft voice. Passion is the theme of this extra fine little boogie snack that actually finishes way too soon and leaves you craving for more! May we suggest to just put the  needle back on and play the track over and over again, like we’ve doing for the past few weeks?

A – Harlequin
B1 – Downtown
B2 – A & F

[audio:http://www.retreat-vinyl.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/RTR11-A1.mp3,http://www.retreat-vinyl.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/RTR11-B1.mp3,http://www.retreat-vinyl.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/RTR11-B2.mp3|titles=Harlequin,Downtown,A&F |artists=Session Victim, The Hints, Iron Curtis]

Release: July 25th 2012
(RTR-11_Releasesheet)

Retreat Label Party – Loftus Hall,Berlin

Oh yes, it’s been a while since our last Retreat label party! But like we said back in 2011, we’ve decided to organize fewer events and make each of them more special…so we’re very excited to set up our first label night of 2012 in the fabulous Loftus Hall!

It’s the perfect setting for Quarion to unveil his brand new live set : going back to the roots of Dance Music, the Q-man’s live show puts hardware to the forefront via the ever trusty TR-909 & SH-101 from Roland! Expect some raw beats, heavy basslines, deep atmospheres and those inimitable Quarion melodies!

Iron Curtis’ contemporary take on Chicago House through releases on 4lux, Mule or Retreat has won him accolades left and right. But his musical palette goes way beyond the four-to-the-floor bangers, and his upcoming album on Mirau will showcase Mr. Curtis’ affinity for Hip-Hop, Soul and Dubstep Flavors. He’s also a very solid DJ and we can’t wait to see him turn Loftus Hall upside-down!

Last but not least, Session Victim will rock the 1’s and 2’s with their choice of House, Disco and Funk delicacies. The duo are definitely one of Dance Music’s hottest properties, thanks to their distinctive “cut-up groove” sound that burns dancefloors everywhere and that is masterfully displayed on their debut LP for Delusions Of Grandeur!

All in all, a great line-up of artists devoted to the vinyl cause…and to the art of moving butts !

(First 100 people free before midnight)

Entering year n°4

our flashy new 2012 logo...a bit posh, don't you think?

Happy New Year everybody!

You’ve turned 2011 into 12 very special months for Retreat so we wanted to thank you for your unlimited support!

There were many highlights this year: our first Retreat tour outside of Europe (in Australia of all places!), the exponential growth of our online shop, the mad success of Session Victim‘s “Good Intentions” (which even landed on RA’s “tracks of 2011” poll!) and the enthusiastic reviews of Matthias Reiling’s “Escape The Room”.

We’re thrilled that our vinyl-only imprint is getting some props, although to be honest, our goal was never to get a piece of the hype pie with the help of charts or reviews. Retreat is, and forever will be, a label that cares most of all about music, hence our erratic release schedule: a new Retreat record only happens when Hauke and myself feel 100% happy with the tunes!

But the attention we received in 2011 has definitely proven that quality prevails over quantity: Retreat had only 2 records out last year but they might have had the most impact out of our whole catalogue! So thanks again for your endless support!

Now what is to expect from Retreat in 2012? Well we’re still juggling with different ideas, namely a new Quarion EP or the next volume of “Treats” so we won’t announce RTR11 yet…

But one thing for sure is that there’s a lot of action going on for Retreat artists OUTSIDE of Retreat in the form of debut albums: Session Victim have put the final touches to their longplayer for Delusions Of Grandeur and are prepared to drop this groove masterpiece before the summer! Iron Curtis is also working on his first full length for Mirau and the album is due to surface some time in the second half of 2012!

As you can see, everything is pretty much under wraps at the moment, but rest assured that more info on all these various projects will pop up on this blog when the time is right. 😉

Enjoy the beginning of 2012 for now and stay tuned!

Iron Curtis/Quarion/Session Victim – Treats Vol. 3 – RTR09

After a short break, Retreat is back in full swing with its first 2011 release: an essential new installment in the infamous Treats series! Featuring exclusive tracks from Iron Curtis, Quarion and Session Victim, Treats Vol. 3 represents a fascinating snapshot of each artist’s current musical evolution, whether it’s Iron Curtis’ own take on Detroit Techno, Quarion’s stripped-down House with a twist or Session Victim’s endless quest for the perfect groove.

You, On A Friday Night begins flat out with one of the dirtiest square wave bassline this side of the Atlantic, promptly followed by tambourine beats and offbeat FM stabs. It’s a rock-solid foundation and Iron Curtis unfolds it delicately for a good minute and a half before introducing the breakdown with a piercing synth chord. As the rhythm kicks back in with extra percussive elements, the iron man gets down to work on the bassline by twisting, filtering and stretching it in a very impressive manner. The beat drops once again while the sharp Juno synth reveals a proper chord sequence, bringing an unexpected emotional feel to the entire track. After an exciting build-up, the drums reappear and an additional hi-hat implements the final touch to this bouncy masterpiece.

Quarion deliberately ventures in tooly house territory with the super-effective groove of Mysteries Of Time. This tune highlights dubby chords revolving around a heavy 118 BPM rhythm and a strong sub-bass. Although pretty basic in its form, Mysteries Of Time has a very live feel as the beat seems to drift in and out of the foreground while someone speaks about the confusion of our awareness of time. The madness happens after 3 minutes as Quarion flips the script on time manipulation and introduces a bold tempo change! But you won’t be bobbing your head for too long as the track soon goes back to its original form and concludes as enigmatically as it began …

Turn the record over and the shuffling beat of Good Intentions will instantly pull you in Session Victim’s realm. The groove provided by these dusty Rhodes licks is nothing short of addictive and it will get your hips moving in no time. Subtle vocal snippets and a flowing drum programming lock the whole track on rails while keeping your behind on the floor. Your excitement grows as the SVM boys filter the main theme and Jupiter chords appear from the background. No doubt that you’ll be sweating that last shot of Tequila when the drums slam you back in the track and the loop makes a glorious comeback! But you’ll be able to catch a breather when a sweet synth melody plays along these dusty keys until Good Intentions reaches its well-rounded conclusion.

A1 – You, On A Friday Night
A2 –Mysteries Of Time
B1 – Good Intentions

[audio:http://www.retreat-vinyl.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RTR09-A1.mp3,http://www.retreat-vinyl.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RTR09-A2.mp3,http://www.retreat-vinyl.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RTR09-B1.mp3|titles=You On A Friday Night,Mysteries Of Time,Good Intentions |artists=Iron Curtis,Quarion, Session Victim]

Release: May 25th 2011
(RTR-09 Releasesheet)