Noorden Mixtape Series

A »Soundjourney out of Babylon – from light to shades to fire to waves« is what Cologne based DJ, live-act, and producer Mira Rachel (@mirarachel) had in mind when she recorded our 45th mixtape-episode. Combining melancholic and dark tracks with calm and gentle pieces, Mira draws a dystopian world of sound, in which you can drift along the river of technoid ambient and dark wave inspired electronica.

We’ve been in touch with San Antonio based producer Shea (@shea-mcgilvray) since the »golden lo-fi house years« in 2014/15. Despite only having a couple of tracks officially released on labels like Echovolt or Swamp Tapes, Shea has been a formative producer for us due to his extraordinary feel for harmonies and lo-fi aesthetics. His first full vinyl EP »Forest Flame« is just around the corner and dropping on Online Conversations in the next couple of months. Sit back and enjoy our 44th mixtape-episode by Shea.

Diane Barbé aka Diaphane (@dianeisadorabarbe) is a Berlin based music lover, photographer and researcher. By keeping a close eye on the eclectic environmental, cultural and human surroundings on her travels, Diane soaks in fascinating and often unnoticed nuances of life and translates them into sounds, pictures and words in her very own way of intimate storytelling. In her Noorden Mixtape she takes us onto a meditative journey from experimental electronics to dub and acoustic music. On February 15 Diaphane will play a live set at Madame Claude in Berlin. Cover photography © Diane Barbé

Noorden Mixtape 42 rounds off a series of mixes by a former Münster based DJ collective consisting of 7swe (@7swe), Phil Latch (@phil-latch) and Andrew (@andre-holthausen). The trio has played bar gigs together regularly and was fostering the local awareness for timeless Deep House music. After 7swe moved to Darmstadt and Phil Latch to Berlin, Andrew is the last man standing in Münster serving lush vibes at Fyal, SpecOps and Pension Schmidt week after week. Over the last years Andrew has developed a distinct expertise in selecting records and we are happy to share an hour with you.

Hailing from Cologne’s very own non-profit broadcaster Kölncampus Daniel is (co-)hosting the electronica and experimental music shows »Borderclash« and »Partikel« and compiling radio mixtapes since 2011. As eclectic as his musical preferences and selections can get, as deep is his passion for certain tropes and concepts he finds in the intersections of music, arts, film, literature and science and tries to express in his selections. In his contribution to the Noorden mixtape series he focuses on the blurry lines between hazy lo-fi electronica, distorted broken techno, bleak vaporwave and gloomy ambient.

The 40th mixtape-episode slows down everything to a speed, that feels acceptable at those hot summer days’n’nights. Raised on a farm somewhere in the countryside, Martin Schmitz’ mix is inspired by hilly meadows, wide-open fields and thick forest. Listening with closed eyes makes you feel the hot sun on your skin and the scent of fresh harvested crops in your nose …

Say »Hi« to our 39th mixtape-episode contributed by Berlin based DJ, producer, Lofile-labelhoncho and Filterhouse-founder Marbod (@marbodmusic). He sent us this mix a few weeks (or months?) ago, but as it totally feels like a »t-shirt-mix« for us, we wanted to wait until the temperatures catches at least half of the mixes heat. If you still feel cold whether the sun is brilliant outside – listen to that mix repeatedly.

The 38th edition of our mixtape-series is a contribution by Bristol based producer and DJ El Choop (@el_choop). We asked him to give us a short brief about the mix and so he did: »The tracks that comprise this mix are all within my absolute favourite flavour of techno. Dub techno that’s built with the dance floor in mind. I’ve been searching for this sound for the last year and here’s what I’ve found. Some incredible music from all the artists that have influenced me these past two years and without them I would not have gotten to where I am today. Thank you.« Cover-Image © Felix H.

Phil Struck (@philstruck) takes us on a 76-minute journey through enigmatic soundscapes, strange noises and playful patterns. A wild drum excursion here, a warbling flute there – the mixtape is a refreshing selection of avant-garde sounds to get lost in. The Hamburg based producer will release his debut album »Klint« in February on LL.M. (@noorden_llm).

It is a long time since we had a mix by our beloved buddy Bool (@boolbln) but finally it’s there: The 36th episode of our mixtape series with one hour of finest techno. Bool was very productive in the last months and we’re working hard on sorting out the right tracks for his first 12-inch on Noorden, that will be out in 2017. Tune in and Enjoy!

The 35th episode of our mixtape-series comes courtesy of Berlin based Ron Wilson (@wilson) who’s the man behind the fantastic 777 Recordings (@777recordings) as well as its newly established sublabel FFF. The mix starts relaxed and slow – perfect for a lazy afternoon on the couch – but gathers speed very fast to turn the lazy couch potato into a hazy dancer. Enjoy the mix and don’t miss to check out 777’s awesome label catalog.

»The events in Orlando combined with some personal situations that I have been grappling with have all gone in to make a very intense, sometimes eclectic and even violent mix that expresses a lot of the frustrations myself and people around the world are grappling with.« [Volvox, June 2016] Last autumn we came across the »Live at LeBain« recording by Brooklyn based DJ Volvox (@volvox). The energy of her jackin’ powerful acid flavored house and techno sound caught us straight away so we asked her for a contribution to our mixtape series. The past months were packed with highlights for the Discwoman (@discwoman) member: Brazil tour, Mexico tour, podcast for RBMA (@redbullmusicacademy)incl. a great interview/portrait you should read, debut appearance on Boiler Room (@platform) - quite an impressive chain of events. She also left notable marks in New York City as co-host of the monthly JACK DEPT. (@jackdeptnyc) parties at Bossa Nova Civic Club (@bossanovacivicclub) and resident DJ at UNTER, NYC’s »best after-h

A small darkened room equipped with a big screen and oversized speakers was the trigger for Noorden Mixtape 33. тпсб was hosting one of his intimate Dark Past Bright Future (@dpbf) nights and played a fascinating abstract, experimental House and Techno set accompanied by his own trademark video edits. The vibe of that night is captured in тпсб’s Noorden mixtape. After his debut EP on Noorden a couple of months ago, тпсб will release his first 12“ via DPBF in June followed by another 12“ on Memory Trigga later this year. On June 24th you have the rare chance to see тпсб playing records at the Noorden labelnight at Der Stur in Münster (rsvp at www.noorden.org/stur).

Helena Curtens – our beloved DJ-heros from the Black Forest – are back on Noorden with a fresh mix full of (classic) dancefloor bangers from primetime to after-hour. Enjoy the 32nd installment of our mixtape series – best at 9am after an extended clubnight ...

Our close friend Sascha aka @7swe takes over the decks for the 31st episode of the Noorden mixtape series. Sascha is one of the craziest collectors of vinyl and music equipment we know with a broad collection of thousands of records from Rap to Techno. A real diggers paradise! As a regular guest at Münster’s SpecOps and Fyal he knows exactly how to make people have a good time.

It’s jubilee time at the Noorden headquarter as we’re releasing our 30th mixtape today. Label honcho @alexketzer contributed a mix full of his up-to-date favorites and some Discogs-cheapos in between. Tune in and »eat’n’listen« a piece of our »mixtape-series-birthday-cake« ...

The 29th episode of the Noorden Mixtape Series is a showcase with own productions by Cologne based DJ and producer @devoecgn who will release an EP of his side-project Neozaïre via Noorden in February. A trip from Ambient to Techno over Dub and House. Tune in! TRACKLIST 01. Neozaire – 47.506 11.030 (unreleased) 02. Neozaire – Into Permafrost (Studio 4FF / 4FF004) 03. Neozaire – Dir zu Füßen (unreleased) 04. D’Evoé – Got Me (unreleased) 05. D’Evoé – untitled (unreleased) 06. Bool – Singa (D’Evoé Remix) 07. D’Evoé – Dusted (forthcoming on Ferro Tapes) 08. D’Evoé – untitled (unreleased) 09. Kordism – Fluids (Studio 4FF / 4FF004) 10. Illuminati Bros. – Here 2 Stay (forthcoming on Studio 4FF) 11. D’Evoé – Total Eclipse of the Part (unreleased) 12. Tobias von Dias – Fieldrecording Adam’s Peak (unreleased) 13. Neozaire – Colour Me Grey (forthcoming on Noorden) 14. Box and the Twins – Rooms Made Of Dust (D’Evoé Remix) (Scary Door /‎ scary door 002) 15. Neozaire – Mental At Gate 45 (Studio 4FF / 4FF004) 16. Neoz

Frankfurt based DJ Arno Schäfer contributes the 28th episode of the Noorden mixtape series. Arno stumbled upon our Soundcloud profile, liked the previous mixes and asked us, if we’d be interested in a mixtape by him. And of course: yes, we were! After listening to his recent mixes – for example his KANNMIX, a mix for LACK or the WHITE radiosession together with Edward – we’ve been very curious about what his mix for Noorden would be about. The result is a very danceable 90-minute set consisting of Arnos actual »top very important tracks«. We love it!

The 27th installment of our mixtape series comes courtesy of Stessy Evans (which was as a side project of Alex Ketzer back in the days). Inspired by late-90s melancholia, early-00s electronica and production techniques of bands like Holy Fuck or Fuck Buttons, Stessy Evans’ output is dedicated to dusty moods and dreamy feelings. Tracklist 01. Battles – Tras 3 02. AFX – Crying In Your Face 03. Stessy Evans – World 04. Abfahrt Hinwil – Planquadrat 05. Sensorama – Starescalator 06. Boards of Canada – Kaini Industries 07. Aphex Twin – Ageispolis 08. Frog Pocket – Carac Cyls 09. Boards of Canada – Melissa Juice 10. New Delhi FM – Continuing What Is Yet To Come 11. Edna X. – K-Keys 1 12. Holy Fuck – Latin America 13. LFO – LFO (Leeds Warehouse Mix) 14. Swayzak – Smile & Receive (Apparat Remix) 15. Radiohead – Fitter Happier 16. Gustav – Rettet Die Wale

Haarlem (NL) based hardware-loving producer @aleks_ams contributes the 26th episode of the @noorden mixtape series. Fans of dusty, distorted, tape-recorded house music very likely came across his productions in the last couple of months on Soundcloud. With Inverted Audio already having him on the »shortlist for rookie of the year«, we highly entrust you to keep your eyes peeled for his upcoming EPs on @naturalsciences and @hesperiandivision. An ambient album on @shimmering-moods-records hits the shelves later this year. After a bunch of live-set uploads this podcast marks Aleks’ debut DJ mixtape. It’s a compilation of (mostly unreleased) material he picked up while digging through the depths of the soundcloud crates. »There is so much yet to discover from people who are not shouting about with their stuff. I’m always on the lookout for that.«