RETREAT » RTR04

More goodies!

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:42:06 +0000

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!

Hunee – Barrio Payment – RTR04

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:00:16 +0000

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.

Starting off with swinging hi-hats and a wah-wah loop, Foundation builds excitement before a killer organ riff and bouncy bassline manage to bring the last non-dancers on the floor. A whispered ouh baby gives you a hint of what happens next: an emotional break where a woman declares her love to her companion while majestic chords rise from the background. Add a drunken-style hihat, some claps and you’ll feel goose bumps when the kick drum and bassline come back in! The track just seems to grow and grow until it breaks down once more to let the organ riff reappear and take you just that bit higher … what a rush!

The B-side begins with the polyrhythmic action of Barrio Payment: layers and layers of percussion, scattered drums and marimba licks. Is this really House Music? Does anyone care? Similar to the beat freakings of Tony Allen or IG Culture, Barrio Payment rolls and rolls with a solid bassline anchoring the groove. But just when you think it’s just a drum & bass workout, Detroit-style stabs warp the track in another new dimension and turn it into the official soundtrack to Nigeria’s upcoming space program.

To finish off an already amazing ep, Hunee comes through with the super erotic Funk of Amiadar. With its slow groove and hot vocal snippets, Amiadar begs to be played as the last track of the night, before couples continue their dance behind closed doors … Sexy but never vulgar, the tune unfolds at it’s own pace, thanks to moody chords and offbeat percussion. The break is truly ecstatic: with a majestic synth bassline rising from the background and intense moaning, you can only let yourself go as the break resolves in a sweaty beat. Amiadar then reaches its conclusion in a gentle manner while the sexual tension never drops …

A1 – Foundation
B1 – Barrio Payment
B2 – Amiadar

Release: November 4th 2009
(RTR04_releasesheet)

Pop the bubbly!

yanneck — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:34:00 +0000

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…

Retreat Label Party – Edelweiss, Berlin

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:45:45 +0000

October 22, 2009

You’ll need to find a pretty good excuse not to come to the october edition of our residency in Edelweiss: first of all, the party will celebrate the release of the mindblowing ”Barrio Payment” EP from Hunee, a new artist on Retreat. Fresh from an acclaimed gig at Panorama Bar, this true music-lover will delight us with his selection of House, Disco and Boogie. Then we’re also honoured to have Patrice Scott playing a special old-school set for the party. Via his Sistrum imprint, the Detroit native has been releasing some of the deepest house cuts around, making him one of the most respected producers in the scene and a very in-demand DJ. Finally, getting you warmed up for these sonic delicacies will be Quarion, without a doubt one of the true masters in the art of getting a party started. Unmissable!