Modeselektor - Modeselektion Vol. 04 (2018)

We’re extremely proud to be partnering with the good folk at Monkeytown Records in order to present a brand new chapter - no. 04 no less - in Modeselektor’s aptly named “Modeselektion” compilation series.

Modeselektor are the Berlin-based production/DJ partnership of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The duo emerged from the cultural upheaval of post-wall Berlin with roots in wild underground acid house parties and a healthy disrespect for techno purism. They took their moniker from a function on the Roland RE-201 space echo analog delay effects unit. In 2001 they met Ellen Allien and signed to her label BPitch Control releasing a string of trailblazing, genre-exploding EPs and two albums: “Hello Mom!” (2005) and “Happy Birthday!” (2007) featuring collaborations with Thom Yorke, Maximo Park, TTC, Siriusmo and Paul St. Hilaire. 2009 saw them establish their own imprint Monkeytown Records (plus sublabel 50 Weapons) and release their third album “Monkeytown” with their biggest fan Thom Yorke guesting once again. The duo have also combined with Apparat to form Moderat and release three studio albums and a live album together.

“Modeselektion Vol.04” brings together an utterly enthralling and 100% exclusive collection of 17 free-thinking and boundary-pushing tracks and is a direct reflection of Modeselektor’s genre-defying DJ sets week in, week out around the world. At its heart it celebrates invention, innovation and hybridity combined with a hearty commitment to moving dancefloors. Indeed, this has been the ethos from the inaugural release in the Modeselektion series in 2010.

“The choice of tracks is influenced by our thirst for effective dance music. After almost four years of touring with Moderat, we really felt the urge to dedicate ourselves again to what made us.”

This sentiment encompasses both the curation and the production of a brand new Modeselektor track - their first since 2015’s ‘Trees’ (a collaboration with Paul St. Hilaire on 50 Weapons). ‘Kalif Storch’ - named after the nightclub of the same name in Erfurt, Germany - finds the duo in wild form, re-drawing the blueprint for acid techno as only they can.

Across its 17 tracks, Modeselektor have curated an essential compilation of state-of-the-art weaponry, from exalted visionaries Actress, Vatican Shadow (Hospital Productions), Peder Mannerfelt, Lone (Magicwire / R&S), Radio Slave (Rekids) and Rødhâd (Dystopian) alongside a crop of exciting upstarts: rRoxymore (Don’t Be Afraid / Videogamesmusic), Kasper Marott (Twin Cities), Sarah Farina (Through My Speakers) with Yo van Lenz, Fadi Mohem (Werk Music), Monkeytown trio FJAAK and Solid Blake - the Glaswegian third of Copenhagen's Apeiron Crew.

The diversity of sonics herein is dazzling. Both Skee Mask and AFX-approved Brainwaltzera (Film Records) nod respectfully to past musical forebears, but successfully infuse their own individual personalities into their dubwise breakbeat science, the former with ‘Lil DB Tool’ - a track that could have blessed Metalheadz’s trailblazing “Platinum Breakz” circa ’96, and the latter with a gloriously warm, uplifting electro-braindance cut titled ‘Vodiga’. Likewise, the mercurial Claude Speeed (Planet Mu, LuckyMe) and Lory D (Numbers) conjure decisively dancefloor-facing tracks that delicately and beautifully balance a sense of heritage and futurism.