DE:BUG #148 – December 2010
Tag: Iron Curtis
Iron Curtis – Stumbled Across – RTR07
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
Release: November 10th 2010
(Releasesheet)
Iron Curtis (DJ) – Tresor, Berlin
Retreat Label Party – Edelweiss, Berlin
Back in December 2009, Iron Curtis dropped a killer set at Edelweiss… but the best was yet to come a few months later: the Iron Man submitted a mind-blowing demo to Retreat and the outcome is “Stumbled Across”, a bold musical statement that gets released this week. Of course we had to throw in a special party for that!
Iron Curtis’ contemporary take on Chicago House through releases on Mirau, Mule or Jackoff has won him accolades left and right. But his musical knowledge is not limited to four-to-the-floor bangers and you can hear shades of Hip-Hop, Soul or Dubstep in Mr. Curtis’ productions. He’s also a very solid DJ and we can’t wait to see him turn Edelweiss upside-down once again!
We’re also excited to have Quarion back with one of his great live sets. He admits himself that Edelweiss is one of his favourite spots to perform and try out new music. Having just finished producing a rather interstellar EP for Retreat, the Q-man promises a live show full of surprises…but without compromising on the bounce factor!
Last but not least, Session Victim will make sure that the party starts RIGHT with their choice of quality Disco, Funk and slo-mo House. These musical brothers are currently one of Dance Music’s hottest properties, thanks to their distinctive “Cut-up groove” sound that burns dancefloors everywhere. And it’s only the beginning!
Definitely one of the best parties you’ll stumble across this month!
Summer Time Gone
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!
Session Victim (Live) and Iron Curtis – Nürnberg
with Baaz
at RA
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.”
Retreat Label Party – Edelweiss, Berlin
For the final Edelweiss Extravaganza of 2009, we’re looking forward to listen to Iron Curtis dropping his exciting selection of electronics on the 1’s and 2’s. Mr. Curtis has been gaining a lot of praise for his debut releases on Morris Audio and Mirau earlier this year and he’s definitely set to bring more pressure in 2010 (check out his upcoming works and you’ll get the idea!). Iron Curtis is also a very solid DJ with a taste for House that is a bit out of the ordinary…just our type of guy, really 😉
Also on the lineup (and working at the door, depending at what time you arrive) will be Retreat’s founders Quarion and Hauke Freer. The deadly duo will embark on a perilous mission, which is to make you move your feet and shake your thang with musical gems in genres as various as Funk, Disco, Broken Beat, House, or Detroit Techno!
Be advised, it’s going to be a wild one!