Inspired by a hilarious video (see above), I wanted to create a mix that showed some Techno cliché. Obviously, I disagree with the statements in the video, but I certainly know what he means. Don’t we all?

However, if you take this mix without any irony, you can still enjoy it as a solid Tech-House mix.

Tracklist:

Nerditional Information: The Techno Viking is an internet phenomenon that grew from a video of a long-haired guy who was filmed dancing on a techno parade. I don’t really know how the original video got popular, but you can find dozens of references and mashups on that – including the video shown above.

There are a couple of older tracks in this mix, including Yoshimotos 2006 hit “Do What U Do” and one of the gazillion remixes of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”. I included it because I think Deadmau5 is a great producer and remixer and he always manages to put something special and non-obvious into a remix.

The track “Social Anxiety” is a release from Jetlag Digital, one of my 2009 favories . I hesitated for a minute if I should really include this here: To me, this track has a somewhat different atmosphere and less Techno cliché than the other tracks, but it still is a great, straight and deep dance track.

Oh, and check out Swen Weber! I only know a few of his productions, but all of those rock.

Here’s a little warm-up for the weekend: A pumpin’, pushin’ and ass-kickin’ mix full of House music. I included both remixes of classics as well as a few fresh tracks. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

1. Strip Steve – Breakin’
2. Olaf Basoski – NGOM
3. 45th Street – Adrenalin
4. Gimbal&Sinan – Take Off
5. Roger Prinz – Freak Like (Ron Paul Mix)
6. Urban Shakedown & Micky Finn – Some Justice (Super Mal Remix)
7. Soul Of Man – Dirty Waltzer (Trouble Soup!! Remix)
8. Slyde – We Love It
9. The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name (Soul Seekerz Dirty Dub Vox Mix)
10. Mihell – Don’t Mean Shit
11. Powers That Be – Planet Rock

Then there’s “Some Justice” by Urban Shakedown & Mickey Finn. If you listen to the original, it might be a little hard to understand what’s so great about this track. However, this particular style (Breakbeat House / early UK Hardcore / Oldschool Breaks) was pretty popular in the early 90s and also got me hooked to electronic music. I am still glad that there is a more recent remix though – I guess it’s a “you had to be there”-thing.

There are also a few fresh tracks in here, such as the awesome “Dancin’” by Strip Steve or “Take Off” by a fabulous newcomer duo called Gimbal&Sinan . I really like their productions for being very playful and well-produced, and I think they have a lot of potential.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paxsimius/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Ninca Leece delivers a very nice blend of electronic pop music with a strong House flavor. On her debut solo album “There Is No One Else When I Lay Down and Dream“, she gives a very impressive demonstration on how electronic music can sound both relaxing and danceable at the same time. This also reflects in the selection of her sounds: Spacey string sounds meet dry synths, with occasional appearances of mild distortion.

Ninca is originally from Rennes (France) and now lives in Berlin. Considering that France is currently my favorite country for electronic music (apart from the UK, but that’s a different story) and Berlin is the electronic music capitol  of Germany, it’s not really surprising that her music resonates with me.

Her concert videos also look really nice, so it’s probably a good idea to see her live on stage.

I have been a fan of the label Etage Noir (particularly Parov Stelar) for quite a while now. They release a great fusion of jazz, swing and electronic beats that’s still danceable and not just generic downbeat lameness.

However, I recently learned that they re-activated their sub-label Etage Noir Special and are aiming for a couple of new releases in 2010. They describe their style as “Electro House”, but their stuff seems to be much more interesting than your typical cheesy bigroom Electro House.

There’s also this amazing video for Saint Pauli’s “I Need Rhythm”. It was relaeased in 02/2009 already, but I have totally missed this one. It takes the ideas of contemporary urban street art (-> Banksy) even one step further. Enjoy!

It is very rare that a records sounds both oldschool and fresh at the same time. However, Strip Steve’s Delta Disco EP (out on Boysnoize Records) is one of these rare cases.

The five tracks are more or less classical house tracks, but somehow manage to combine oldschool US house elements with a distinct french touch. My personal favorites are AM/FM with its cool bleepin’  acid finale and Breakin’ with its pumping french house beat and  its cut-up rap vocals. And there’s even some breakbeats in the mix!

House-lovers, go get this one! It rocks!