Hi & Saberhägen are back. Originally coming to our attention via Glasgow-based Huntleys + Palmers in 2015, the duo has put out a steady stream of a couple of releases per year since then. With a brief hiatus in 2019, while only releasing a single track and focusing on solo projects, the duo are back with their first full release in two years.

Not taking themselves too seriously on social media outlets, we’ve noticed their music almost juxtaposes their carefree attitudes and has a sober maturity about it. “The Blood I Suck” EP is another addition to an already strong discography. Titled after… well, apparently after a booze-filled night of banter, the name of the record again shows you the contrasting sides between their personalities and the music itself (or at least so it appears). Continuing to merge live instrumentation with careful sampling and easy-going melodies, this EP encompasses what we’ve come to love about their music.

Today we’re shedding light on the closing track “TyTB”. A slowly evolving, late night journey, it fuses elements of various genres to produce a unique piece in true Hi & Saberhägen fashion. Building up slowly to reveal a dusty, lighthearted sample, the bulk of the track is a lot more somber in mood. Yet somehow, this direct contradiction in musical styles blends to create the perfect atmosphere.

Pre-order your copy here.

Cet article Hi & Saberhägen – TyTB [Hi & Sabs] est apparu en premier sur Bolting Bits.

Steve Huerta, who now goes solely by Huerta (soundcloud), is a producer and DJ originally from California now residing in Berlin. Rising to prominence with a big release on Dirt Crew Recordings with friend, roommate and fellow Golden State native Urulu several years ago, he has since become a household name in underground circles. Releasing mainly on Amadeus Records, he has also continued to release various bits on the aforementioned Dirt Crew and more recently an EP on Let’s Play House. His approach has definitely matured over the years, evolving into a crisp, polished sound taking shape from various influences while still being able to explore different avenues of house music.

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/boltingbits/mixed-by-huerta”/]

Not only is Huerta an adept producer, but he’s also a skilled curator behind the decks. Living in Berlin he’s had plenty of opportunities to play to audiences in his current hometown as well as abroad, honing his skills and crafting his sound. Today, he’s kindly provided us with a fluid selection of tunes while also answering some questions for the latest instalment in our MIXED BY/ series.

INTERVIEW

Thanks for taking the time to chat! Originally from L.A., you’re now located in Berlin. Do you bounce back and forth when you can or do you mostly spend your time in the German capital?

I spend most of my time in Berlin, which I kind of see as home now. But every winter I make moves back to California. It works out really well to go then because of the holidays, but mostly because it’s a perfect break from the icy bleakness that is Berlin winter. I always set up a little tour for the states so it works out nice doing a some gigs and also just chillin, enjoying the sunshine.

Anything in particular you miss about being back home?
It’s a few main points really: the sun, the ocean, my dog, Mexican food, and my family and friends of course! haha.

The scene is definitely a bit unbalanced between Europe and North America. Do you ever foresee yourself moving back to the USA full time while still managing to make a living off of music?
The scene in LA has become really cool since I left, and at times I imagine how my music stuff would be going if I had stayed. When I see the homies doing dope projects like the Faraway parties and seeing institutions like Dublab, and now NTS, really prospering there it makes me miss it a bit. Buts it’s also nice to be able participate in this kind of stuff during my visits. I think I will eventually move back to LA, but for now I really love Berlin and the community I’ve found here. There are totally different advantages in each place. But if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and right now my system allows me to enjoy the best of both worlds. 

Why did you recently decide to drop “Steve” from your artist name?
The short truth of it is I thought it would look cooler on a record, ha. But also, I had a bit of a hiatus from releasing tunes for about a year and I kind of wanted to a have little reset. I felt like my music had matured quite a bit from my first records back in 2012, and yeah I duno I guess just to have little fresh start, but not a complete overhaul. 

Growing up you played some drums and guitar in bands. How did you make the transition to house music and was there any particular reason or influence for the shift? 
I played guitar a lot in high school, but in “bands” is kind of an exaggeration. It was my brother and my friend Andrew playing loud blues in my garage with pretty shitty instruments. Great memories nonetheless. But ya as I went into university my tastes just went further and further into electronic stuff. These were the glory days of the blogs and free downloads and shit like that. So I got into collecting loads of music and inevitably DJing at college house parties. By way of DJing I got back into creating my own music with cracked version of Ableton. Sampling and using Ableton really just opened the floodgates for me. I never really turned back. 

You were primarily an ‘in the box’ producer in the past. Have you loaded up on some hardware more recently? 
Yeah I still do a lot in the box, but I’ve found a few pieces of kit to be super useful recently. The Korg Minilogue is such an intuitive synth. It’s got a built-in sequencer and really nice delay. Been using it on pretty much every track from the last year. I’ve also got the small but surprisingly big sounding Volca bass, and I’ve been borrowing a couple things, a Novation Bass Station and Roland JV1010 module.

Urulu seems to be a pretty good friend of yours and even your musical styles are quite similar. How did that friendship start and do you find that you two influence each other, perhaps more than others? 
Yeah Taylor and I are good buds. We met in LA years ago when we were both starting to release music. There weren’t so many people that we knew making house tunes at the time so we became friends pretty quick out of our mutual interest. Yeah we’ve definitely influenced each other a lot, I guess mainly because we’ve been working on music together on and off for the last 4 years. Our process is very similar, and we do a lot of show and tell when working on our solo stuff. I mean he’s my flat mate in Berlin so I can actually hear what he’s working on all the time, and vice versa, haha.

You’ve had a few collaborations with fellow Berlin resident Youandewan recently on Amadeus and on his latest album. How did those come about? Was it a natural course of events considering you two hang around in the same circles? 
Yeah it happened very naturally after we met and became friends in Berlin. Somewhere along the line we realized we had freakishly similar musical influences from growing up. Just as much into Led Zeppelin as Broken Social Scene and Radiohead. So I guess our similar musical sensibility led to our collaboration. 

Are you still as involved with the day-to-day operations of Amadeus Records as you were in the past?
Well Amadeus has always been Urulu’s label, but since I’ve released the bulk of my music on the label I’ve come to identify with it strongly and invest some time in it with him. I guess a right hand man type situation. A&R isn’t really a thing so much with Amadeus since it’s really just us and a few close friends like Cromie and Chaos in the CBD doing the releases. 

Can you name some artists that you’re currently really enjoying, possibly some that we should keep an ear out for?
Hmm that’s a tough one, to be honest most of the “new” stuff I’m listening to is old stuff that I’m discovering. There are so many places to find amazing second hand records in Berlin. Shout out to The Ghost, where I’ve been making lots of great discoveries as of late. Other than that I gotta plug some of the mates. Got some lush new Cromie coming at some point on Amadeus. In the Berlin circle, Mculo and his Roots by the Oder project. Also a mysterious character known as Gene on Earth got some spicy tunes coming up. 

Finally, as always we’d like to know if you’re willing to share any information on forthcoming material, gigs, etc. We love to be in the know!
My next record is coming up on a new outlet for me called Three Fingerz Musique. The 4-tracker should be out in the next month n half. You’ll see previews pop up not to long from now. Also preparing another record for Amadeus for later in the year. Gigs are gonna pick up for me end of May with dates in Berlin, Oslo, then onto Love International Festival in Croatia in June. July I’ll be in Copenhagen and Secret Garden Party in the UK.

Igor

Cet article MIXED BY/ Huerta est apparu en premier sur Bolting Bits.

Enter AMA017, the forthcoming release from Huerta & Youandewan which we were fortunate enough to get an advanced listen to. Both producers have released on Amadeus in the past. Huerta has had a few collaborations with head honcho Urulu and some solo work while Youandewan remixed Savile’s “Being” and also has a few releases on Will Saul’s acclaimed Aus Music.

The first track by Huerta is “Mandala”, a groovy little number with warm chords, tasteful percussion and what sounds like an arpeggiated Moogy lead line that reappears throughout. This track will certainly find its way into many a record bag this summer. Huerta’s second solo contribution to the EP is “EisTee”. A low-slung groove, slightly moodier atmospheric chords and a spellbinding lead line lend it a hypnotic charm that borders on what some call ‘wrong house’.

“Apache Line” is a collaboration between Huerta and Youandewan that holds a steady rhythm while a spooky lead and dubby chords slowly ramp up the tension before eventually petering out. This is one to keep dancers’ feet moving in the wee hours. The final track and Youandewan’s only solo offering of the package, “Yo Endlos” has his signature stripped back rolling groove with an indiscernible female vocal that ebbs and flows continuously. From the pleasantness of Mandala to the late night vibes of Apache Line, a fairly wide scope is covered in just four tracks and should be able to please even the pickiest of DJs and listeners alike.

The record is set to be released soon but in the meantime you can preview “Mandala” and “Apache Line” here:

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/les-yeux-orange/premiere-huerta-mandala” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/wearesoundspace/premiere-huerta-youandewan-apache-line” /]

Igor

Cet article Huerta & Youandewan – AMA017 est apparu en premier sur Bolting Bits.

Taylor Freels better known as Urulu has been a steady name in house music for the past half decade. Starting his career in his native Los Angeles with releases on labels such as petFood and Exploited, the Amadeus Records head honcho has since relocated to Berlin. With well received releases on Dirt Crew Recordings, Let’s Play House and more recently Andy Hart’s Voyage Recordings, Urulu continues to elevate his productions while staying true to his unwavering brand of house music. Get to know the man himself through his musical selection and this exclusive interview in our latest MIXED BY.

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/boltingbits/mixedby-urulu” /]

Have the cities you lived in influenced your music in any way? From Los Angeles to London to Berlin?
Yes, absolutely. My current surroundings always have an influence on my music. However, (I suppose) you’ll always tend to here, stylistically, what growing up in California has done to my output.

Take us through your studio. A recent photo you posted showed quite a bit of hardware. Do you have any go-to pieces that you use on almost every production?
Jomox 888, Korg Minilogue, Yamaha sy-22, Roland Jv-1010, Nord Rack mount, Novation Bass Station2, Allen&Heath Zed 14 Mixer and the Dx7 is my flatmates.

It’s funny, out of all the gear I’ve purchased over the past couple years, I tend to use the least expensive one the most, my Roland JV1010. That entire series of Roland sound modules have such a goldmine of presets.

Do you use a lot of samples in your music or do you prefer to start from scratch? What’s a good starting point for you when making a new track?
As of recent I’m trying to sample less.  My goal is to milk these machines as much as I can. I’d normally start with simple drum loops.

You co-manage Amadeus Records. It seems like your output there has slowed down a bit with only four releases over the past two years. Is it something you plan to get going again at a more regular pace or maybe you’re thinking of going in a different direction?
I do (mostly) everything for Amadeus, it’s sort of my bastard-child. It’s been a project I’ve put a lot of time and money into, but as of recent I’m trying to emphasize the focus on each individual record. My tastes tend to teeter-totter quite frequently, so with this label, the fewer releases the better really. I want to grow a roster rather than an assembly line (of which you can already see). The next record will be a split from Steve Huerta and Ewan (of Youandewan) sometime mid summer. I am absolutely in love with this record.

Are you still involved with Rebel Magazine? Did that experience help you get to where you are today?
Ah no, rebel faded about four years ago, maybe even longer. It was a great project. I ran it with Brian Vu (who moved to NYC and is now doing graphic design full time) when we were in high school. It was a great outlet for us, I’ve always loved music journalism. Rebel definitely had an integral part to my current network of music-industry friends. A lot of them of which went on to work for some pretty sweet companies. I had a blast with Rebel but it definitely was created to have a shelf-life.

Side note, Brian will be designing the cover sleeve for my next record.

Your most recent EP on Andy Hart’s Voyage Recordings “Greetings From Namek” has been well received by fans and DJs alike. How did you get in touch with Andy and is there any reason for the Dragon Ball Z themed title?
I’ve known Andy while here in Berlin. I think we initially met through mutual friends. You tend to realize how small and connected the scene is here (in Berlin). That record was a good eight month long process, probably the longest time I’ve spent on a release. And I would like to think it paid off. I’m more than ecstatic to be welcomed into the Voyage family and have started to work on a follow-up.

As far as the title, I grew up glued to watching Dragon Ball and have been wanting to reference it somehow. Glad you’ve picked that up

When you’re not producing, playing gigs, digging for new music or rambling on Twitter, is there any particular way you like to spend your time?
I play a lot of video games. Always have. But in addition I’m normally just bouncing back between the EU and the states, trying to stay as active as possible. I also eat a lot of pizza.

Finally, what can we expect from Urulu in the latter half of 2016?
I’ll probably grow my mustache out, haven’t quite decided yet.”

Interview by Igor

Cet article MIXED BY/ URULU est apparu en premier sur Bolting Bits.