This is the long-awaited debut album from Roland Leesker, the German producer at the heart of the Get Physical record company for almost a decade and a half.
With a set of solo tracks and collaborations, he describes the first piece of work solely under his own name rather than one supporting others. “I thought it could be nice for a change to produce a few new tracks myself, focusing on what got me here in the first place: Music and the joy it brings, creating it. So this is me, Searching For Peace“
What’s the music like?
Not entirely peaceful! As it turns out, Leesker has a fine line in the production of house tracks, heavily flavoured with disco – and each of the cuts on this album make a strong impact. Along with the best house music producers he has a talent for translating less into more, so that what feels like minimal starting material becomes something really substantial.
To that end, Keep On is a slinky electro disco number, with a winning bass line. Let It All Go has a good, slightly slower disco strut to go with its sultry spoken word contribution from Dan Diamond. What Is has a flavour of Chicago house, nodding to a period that clearly influences Leesker – but doesn’t dominate his music too much.
Does it all work?
It does – especially in a dark room!
Is it recommended?
Very much so – a classy house album, tightly structured and delivering the goods one beat at a time.
For fans of… Booka Shade, Modeselektor, Gui Boratto
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Published post no.2,327 – Thursday 10 October 2024
Thandi Draai has built a strong reputation as a DJ bringing some of the best Afro house music to the dancefloor, and her contribution to the last in Get Physical’s compilation series continued the good momentum the label have built up.
This fifth volume was actually released in December, but with the nights still long and dark in this part of the world it is a compilation Arcana didn’t want to let slip away.
What’s the music like?
The reason this collection should be praised is of course the music, well chosen and executed, with a number of standout new productions.
Among the best are Draai’s own cuts, headed by the superb Letha with DJ Beekay and the excellent collaboration The Clique, made with Candy Man, Cuebur feat. DJ Clock & Kitty Amor. Draai also turns her hand to one of Get Physical’s biggest hits, Samim’s Heater, in a distinctive remix. BlaQRhythm offers the slightly woozy (in a good way) Insimbi Yamabutho, while Dylan-S & Ed Ward offer the propulsive Phantom, with a fine breakdown.
McK & Nana Atta’s Lungisa is spacey, with an unusual loping break beat that works well, while in contrast Foozak & D.O.A. head for the trancier side of things with Uhula Kweeri, offering some great vocals. Josi Chave & TorQue MuziQ’s Inzangoma, featuring Khokho Madlala, is a powerhouse of a track, but topping these is Africa Get Physical from Suffocate SA and Roland Clark, who delivers a fantastic vocal in praise of the continent and its values. The sentiments – “Let’s all come together so we never have to dance alone” – are spot on.
Does it all work?
It does – Draai’s sequencing is pretty much spot on, and there is rich stylistic variety. Not surprisingly, the rhythmic elements are all on point.
Is it recommended?
Yes – the fifth in an increasingly vital series that is doing a great deal of good for house music. This one has plenty of highs!
For fans of…
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Published post no.2,095 – Thursday 22 February 2024
The Africa Gets Physical series has been a ray of light in house circles since it started. For its fourth volume Berlin label Get Physical hand the reins to Thandi Draai, who has been making waves in South African tech house over the last couple of years. Draai’s guide looks across the continent for inspiration, highlighting a range of talent in house circles.
What’s the music like?
Excellent. House may be the main musical discipline but there is a lot of variety here, and it is well chosen and ideally sequenced by Draai.
Of the 17 numbers there are some powerful stand-out tracks. Afro Brothers’ Amathuba, featuring Pixie and Lucky Keys, is a slightly trancey number with a really strong vocal. BlaQRhythm’s In The Jungle goes heavy on the percussion, while the next one strong offbeat presence. Dawgpound uses a clever, refracted vocal on Egypt to give the impression of a distorted monastery set to house beats. Eltonnick & G-Wash10’s Osiros, featuring T_Phoenix, is just superb, its driving beat and penetrating vocal complementing each other perfectly. Meanwhile Khensy & Cuebur’s Hulelewani is powerfully wrought, with a richly harmonised vocal. On the deeper side sits Sikkelela, with rich harmonies from Un_nown & Zikhona.
Throughout the collection modern tech beats sit comfortably with original percussion – which gives the music plenty of drive – and some really excellent, authentic vocals.
Does it all work?
It does – Thandi Draai’s selection is full of top quality house, and the impression is that there is still plenty more where this came from.
Is it recommended?
Definitely – the most inspiring volume of Africa Gets Physical to date, for which the label should be applauded. We need more exposure to house music from the Southern Hemisphere, especially if it’s as good as this!
Francesco Tristano has a number of musical specialities. You may know him as a pianist, partner with Alice Sara Ott in recent concerts revealing the percussive power of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Or you may know him as a pianist who has shown his worth in improvisation, playing alongside Carl Craig – and showing his love of techno in a pioneering arrangement for piano of Rhythim is Rhythim’s Strings of Life.
If you know him for this, you are likely to be aware that Tristano also DJs regularly – and has added his voice to the already illustrious crowd who have mixed an instalment of the Get Physical label’s Body Language series. Tristano’s own brand of body language consists largely of his own work, either through originals, remixes or collaborations, but it is clear from this interview he is far from self-centred. Though of course we had to ask him a few things about himself…
How long have you been DJing, and how did you start?
I got in touch with the DJ world when I was living in New York City in the late nineties. By the end of my NYC stay, in the year 2003, I was DJing in a bar/lounge downtown. But I knew my thing was to play live. So I didn’t really DJ publicly except for one party at the Rex club in Paris and I recorded a DJ set for BBC Radio 1. Body Language isn’t really a DJ mix either – it’s more like a produced session with many live elements such as live synths playing.
I gather you had a shortlist for Body Language of several hundred tracks. How do you go about choosing a selection for commercial release from that list?
It was important for me to find a common thread of melody and harmony throughout the mix. It was mostly about listening to which collection of tracks would make sense harmonically together.
You included the Joe Zawinul track The Harvest, which really stands out early on in the compilation. What made you want to choose it?
Zawinul is arguably my greatest inspiration, and from a very early age. I guess I just had to have one of his tracks on the album. The Harvest is taken from his 1985 solo album Dialects – that’s just after the break-up of Weather Report.
Would you say some of the pieces here – Amnesie with Luciano, for instance – are more about rhythm and atmosphere than out-and-out melody?
We actually made the track for a film, Barbet Schroeder’s Amnesie which, you guessed it, takes place on the island of Ibiza. In accordance with the script I was working with cello samples, and also a vague harmonic relationship to the film’s main theme (which is also played by the cello). The rhythmic programming is Lucien’s, and provided a great drive for the minimalistic cello figures.
Does the mix tap in to your own clubbing experiences?
Sure. I like techno which is not limited to kick drum and high hats. Bring in some vintage synths please.
Why do you think the piano is so important both in club music and in your own music making?
The piano has been my companion since I’m five years old. I can always count on it. It doesn’t even need power. . . As for the piano in club music, I am not entirely sure. Chicago house made ample use of piano samples, but it wasn’t really using live pianos. Maybe piano is present in electronic music symbolically because it is the ancestor of the synthesiser…
Would you say constructing a DJ mix is similar to constructing a larger-scale piece of classical music, in terms of key relationships and development?
Sure. Beat-matching is not enough.
Can you remember your first encounters with classical music?
There was a piano at my house. My mother listened to Bach, Wagner, but also Pink Floyd and Vangelis all day long. It was only a question of time until I touched the keyboard.
How does your work with Alice Sara Ott, playing Bach and Stravinsky, complement the work you do as a DJ?
Since I don’t work as a DJ (live sets only) it’s pretty much the same. Music is like cuisine: you have ingredients, and you can create very different dishes with the same set of ingredients.
Do you think dance / electronic music and classical music have a lot more in common than we realise?
I wish we would loosen up these denominations. Who decides if a given piece is classical? Detroit techno classics are called classics for a reason. Mozart never thought of writing a ‘classical’ sonata. It was the contemporary (‘techno’) music of his time.
What does classical music mean to you?
The same as techno ¬ i.e. nothing. Music is one long, universal continuum of which we are all part.
What are you listening to at the moment, and what piece of classical music would you recommend Arcana readers go out and find?
I am listening to Bach’s St. John Passion and I can only recommend it. But I would also recommend Starlight by Model 500. . .
Francesco Tristano’s contribution to Get Physical’s Body Language series is out now. The series includes mixes by DJ Hell, Modeselektor and Dixon. Meanwhile Scandale, his piano duet album with Alice Sara Ott, includes Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Ravel’s La Valse. For more information click here – it is available now on Deutsche Grammophon
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