RTR Reels 06 – Sebastian Rebig “Timeless Transition”

RTR_reels-06It was long overdue but we’re excited to finally present you the next episode of the Reels podcast series! Behind the wheels of steel this time is Sebastian Rebig, a true house music lover and proper vinyl junkie who owns more than 9000 records. Sebastian hails from Mönchengladbach (in the famous Ruhr region) and has been playing since 2000 in various locations around Germany. He has caught the ears of many passionate listeners, including Session Victim who have since then invited Sebastian to spin at some of their parties. Thanks to his record selection, deejaying skills and deep knowledge of music, Sebastian Rebig is the perfect example of a „DJ’s DJ“.

Reels 6 is vintage Rebig: a faultless collection of forgotten house classics from Mood II Swing or Black Science Orchestra blended with contemporary heaters from Fresh & Low or Moomin. A 68-minute mix which covers the whole spectrum of house music and which will have you dancing in the living room in no time!

 

RTR REELS 05 – Session Victim “The Loom of the Land”

After a two-year pause, we’re happy to resurrect our series of Retreat podcasts with none other than Session Victim! After two solo excursions (reels 1 and reels 4 from Hauke Freer and Matthias Reiling respectfully), a proper SVM mix was long overdue and “The Loom of the Land” most definitely delivers the goods! In a smooth, yet trippy 30-minute ride, the deadly duo mixes up 9 tracks ranging from their own output to music from Four Tet, Fudge Fingas and Black Sabbath! And with three Session Victim tunes (including an unreleased intro!), this podcast is just the perfect companion to SVM’s fantastic “The Haunted House Of House” album out now on Delusions On Grandeur!

Back in the game!

How are you supposed to go to work after such a breakfast?!!!?

Phew, it’s been so long since the last post, it almost feels like a resurrection!

As always folks, I’m the one to blame: maybe it’s a renewed love affair with music that keeps me inhouse with my beloved instrument? or maybe it was a relaxing stay in Australia that infused a delicious-but-dangerous slackness in my work ethic, long after I rotated back to Berlin? Anyway, I haven’t visited WordPress in a while and now there’s a lot to say!

Concerning Australia, the Session Victim boys and myself had a wonderful stay at the other end of the world a few weeks ago: great gigs, great food, great friends and all in all just a bloody great time! Special thanks to Mad Racket, Christian Vance, Future Classic and all the aussie crew for setting up Retreat’s first international tour, we’ll be back soon!

It’s a bit late for this one, but we still wish to express our gratitude to everyone that has supported our label in 2010: it’s been our best year so far so we thank you all for helping us promoting the vinyl cause! Despite the fact that more and more labels are doing only digital releases and that Technics has (apparently) finally stopped producing the world’s best turntable, a certain “vinyl-niche” (with vinyl-only labels and vinyl-friendly DJ’s) has definitely settled in the music underground and we’re proud to be part of this movement…

So what’s in store for Retreat this year? Well, since we’re sometimes eager to continue with our traditions, we’ll start the 2011 catalogue with another edition of the “Treats” series…which brings us now to volume 3! Iron Curtis, Session Victim and Quarion have all submitted an exclusive track for this record and while we can’t divulge more info at the moment, we promise you that “Treats Vol.3” will be the best episode so far! You can also expect some hot new music from Session Victim and Quarion on Retreat later this year as well as exclusive podcasts and a few surprises…

And don’t forget that if you’re looking for previous releases from Retreat’s two main artists and their affiliated projects, our webshop has got all the goodies! From Session Victim’s first bangers on Real Soon to Quarion’s classics on Drumpoet Community via Matthias Reiling’s recent masterpieces on Giegling, you’ll be able to complete your collection at a very fair price.

Before signing off, we’d also like to mention that our super designer Gesine Todt has just finished crafting an open font for Google’s Web Fonts API! A very classy typeface that you can download here.

Thanks for your ongoing support, we promise to hit you up with more news very soon!

ps: our special heartfelt thoughts go out to our followers in Japan, as they are facing a terrible crisis. We wish you a lot of courage and hope during these tough times…

 

 

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

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!

RTR Reels 03 – Iron Curtis “Reels 2 Reels” Mix

Three is the magic number as Iron Curtis blesses us with a freaky, genre-bending DJ set for our Reels podcasts. Flowing with ease between Disco, House, Techno and some indescriptible weird flavors, the “Reels 2 Reels” mix is a highly personal affair as Iron Curtis connects the dots between Curtis Mayfield, The Mole, Losoul and Marshall Jefferson. But let’s hear what the producer has to say about his set:

“Here’s a little mix I did for the ‘Reels’-podcast-series of my buddies at Retreat. It contains some of my alltime favorite 12″s, some tracks i went nuts on the past few years, two fantastic edits done by my dear friend Jool (under his ‘Edit Piafra’ moniker) besides some later records and tracks from 2009 and 2010.
Thanks to my mate Baaz who allowed me to use his spaceship-like-lookin’ cd-player for this mix.
I hope the quality is not too bad and you guys like it – even this mix is a little genre-rollercoaster in it’s first half.”

RTR Reels 02 – Mark August “Slow Pressure” Mix

We’re happy to have Mark August for our second installement in the Reels series. This talented Dutch producer who has moved to Berlin in 2009 recorded a set that explores the deeper and slower aspects of electronic music, whether it’s House, Techno, Nu Disco or Dubstep. Blending music from artists as diverse as Rhythm & Sound, Theo Parrish, Scuba, Redshape or Tensnake, Mark managed to record a very coherent and thoughtful mix that should soothe your soul and move your feet. After releasing on Perspectiv and Connaisseur, this is how Mark likes to summon his future projects: “loads of plans and new freshness up my sleeve, still looking on how and when to give them their place in this world”. We’re all eagerly waiting!

Autumn Madness

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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… Continue reading “Autumn Madness”

RTR Reels 01 – Hauke Freer “fried and then basted” mix

RTR_reels-01Starting 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!

Reels

RTR_reelslogoA 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!