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Digging Deeper with H.I.M.W.O.L.

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Having released numerous singles on DJ Spen’s Quantize and Unquantize labels previously, Australian producer H.I.M.W.O.L. gets set to unleash his brilliant self titled debut album with the camp, now available on Traxsource.

House Is My Way of Life is a whopping 17 track album jam-packed with new releases alongside some of his chart-topping tracks, showcasing his versatility as he joins the musical dots between soulful, Jackin’ and Deep House. The album sampler features 5 cherry picked gems, kicking off the party with a catchy soulful outing, ‘He’s My Baby’, featuring the brassy vocals of songbird Raye Cole, which also comes with a tasty remix from Spen & Thommy Davis. ‘Keys’ is a lush Deep House cut, teased with heartfelt sweeping stings and emotive piano melodies; ‘Off Beat’ comes loaded with a quirky urban house groove that’s beautifully drizzled with a sensual vocal; and ‘I Need You’ is a classy slab of feel good piano house, loaded with a hot vocal hook. H.I.M.W.O.L.’s productions vary in style boasting beautifully penned vocal melodies to innovative rhythmic compositions all aimed squarely bat the dance floor.

H.I.M.W.O.L hails from Australia where he was exposed to music from a young age and was influenced by various artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind & Fire, Cymande, Miles Davis, Danny J Lewis, Frankie Knuckles, Jamie Lewis and Masters at Work, to name a few. His musical journey started with playing piano at the tender age of 5, which is still one of his first choice instruments when producing new music. Having honed his craft as a DJ and dabbling with production in the ’90s, 2009 was the year H.I.M.W.O.L started to take his music production to another level, meticulously manipulating beats and samples until he was satisfied with the distinguished and unique sound he has today. To date he has had much success with numerous releases on prestigious labels such as Quantize Recordings, Peppermint Jam, King Street Sounds and Defected Records.

We dig deeper with H.I.M.W.O.L. in our latest exclusive interview.

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Digging Deeper with Oliver Huntemann

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Myths abound in the north of Germany when it comes to techno ground zero, and they refuse to go away. Oliver Huntemann is one of a handful of children of the north who, for what seems like an eternity, add an element of credence to the mythology. He does not, of course, live in a snowy forest or at the edge of the polar oceans. The sun does, on occasion, shine down on Hamburg. Nevertheless, there is a tendency towards a hypothermic reduction in the rigorous efficiency of the Huntemann oeuvre. Images of cold storage warehouses, desolate heavy plant sites and bluish flesh are not entirely misplaced. Shards of German Engineering glimmer in his music, laced with persuasive logic, gruesome Darwinism. What remains: what works.

In “Brighter than the sun“, the English music theorist Kodwo Eshun depicts the birthplace of Kraftwerk, Dusseldorf, as the “Mississippi Delta of Techno“. Huntemann’s tracks may well have dragged themselves out of the same primaeval soup, but it was the far north which fired them with the necessary steel for clubland. The resulting creations are linear, free of fancy, charmingly direct. One particular London arbiter of taste sought to label the nature of his skeletal sound as “bare and stripped back to the metallic core“ – whereby Huntemann’s reduction does not end in thin minimalism, it draws attention to the core itself. Less is more to the max. The only luxury is a little dirt.

Whilst hordes of German producers and DJs set their satnavs for Berlin, Oliver Huntemann chose to head back home. His epicenter is, and will remain, the north. Hamburg, to be exact. This is where he produces his music and it is from here that he sets out into the world, thrilling the populous with his DJ sets.

Huntemann is also the owner of Senso Sounds, the label on which he released his Propaganda LP in 2017. The imprint is busy in the midst of releases two remix packages from the LP, the first of which came out November 30th (buy it here) and featured re-works from Alex Stein, Shall Ocin, Raxon, Carlo Ruetz, Hatzler, Marc Houle and Distale.

We catch up with the Hamburg producer, DJ and label owner to talk about his 2018 gigs, releases, weirdest food he has eaten and much more.

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Digging Deeper with XY&O

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Welsh three-piece band XY&O, aka Skip Curtis, Nick Kelly and Tudor Davies, have been causing a storm with their distinctive style of Haze-pop – a sound that fuses elements of warm electro, chillwave and synth pop combined with profound lyrical content.

We grab a chat with them as they unleash their brand new single ‘Fever’.

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Digging Deeper with SkyWhite

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SkyWhite is a brand new talent from Mozambique, from which he brings his Zona Quente EP.

At the tender age of 20, SkyWhite has been snapped up by Afrocentric Records for this powerful debut release. A brand new talent to the music scene, SkyWhite’s journey into music began when he learned to play the piano at 10 years old. He was turned on to house music at just 16 after attending Black Coffee’s (Ballantine’s Human Orchestra) performance in 2014 and promptly learned to DJ. He honed his craft playing at local parties and events, before producing a selection of his own tracks that were promptly signed by one of the hottest Afro House labels of the moment, Afrocentric.

We grab a chat to find out more about this talented wunderkind.

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Digging Deeper with Amy Root

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Lynn – the debut EP from burgeoning Netherlands-based producer duo Amy Root – came out on November 9th, via Reflektor Records. An exquisite collection of original productions from friends Lukas Amer and Sjoerd Huissoon, the three-part opus combines tight, emotive beats and exhilarating harmonies with diverse global influences to noteworthy effect.

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Jon Hopkins, Bonobo and Jamie XX, the Lynn EP explores multiple world music cultures within a familiar, yet exciting framework. From Japanese drums, Bulgarian choral music, South African percussion and more, the enigmatic duo brings their music to an exciting and surprising new way of experiencing dance music.

Amy Root’s inaugural EP comes shortly after Amsterdam Dance Event 2018, a week which saw the pair debut their sensational new live show at the Melkweg on October 18th and Into The Woods festival on October 19th.

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Digging Deeper with Nandu

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The first LP release for Connected comes from Nandu and as with his previous release, Another Jam EP, One Mans High Is Another Mans Anxiety is a unique genre-crossing palette containing elements from deep house, house, Afrohouse, electronic techno and beyond brought together in Nandu’s original style.

One Man’s High Is Another Man’s Anxiety draws inspiration from Nandu’s roots in Jazz, Rock, Pop and even Salsa. A natural musician, and one who is never bound by creative restraints, he seeks to inspire and draw on the imagination with his compositions. Creating sounds that take you from South American beaches to bitter Nordic winters; from the theatrical deep jungle to sparse and unsympathetic urban ambiances, Nandu creates unparalleled soundscapes within his music.

Over the last three years, Nandu has built a key following and glowing reputation for himself with a line of cutting-edge releases on labels such as Constant Circles, Azzur and Rebirth, as well as forming his own imprint entitled Calypso Chili in 2017. He also holds down a residency at the Culture Box club in the Danish capital, running his own party titled ‘Into The Wild’ which hosts the likes of Manu Le Tough and Re.You. Now he takes to Connected to house his next album which is a project from the heart and is a true composition by a true musician. An emotional trip; an intricately crafted soundscape that makes just as well for bedroom listening as it does on a big sound system. Nandu has created an intelligent journey of music that’s is not to be missed.

You can find One Man’s High Is Another Man’s Anxiety on both digital and vinyl.

We sat down with Nandu for a chat to discuss the album, anxiety, his production process, and future dreams.

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Digging Deeper with Eskuche

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Eskuche is an artist who’s certainly emerged as an act to watch on the American house front.

He cut his teeth for years in the New York underground, breaking into the scene with brute force alongside his former collaborator Nu Sky and a signing on Lee Foss’ then-nascent imprint, Repopulate Mars. Since then, he’s made the bold choice to focus on his solo work, working tirelessly in the studio to perfect his craft and landing heavy support from Jamie Jones in the process, with a signing on Hot Creations and a performance at New York’s Paradise party at the end of September. The artist had just wrapped up his third season living in Ibiza prior to then, where his skills got him recognized by the Ibiza Talents crew and a subsequent residency at their outdoor parties at El Patio.

We sat with Eskuche following his debut Robot Love EP on Desert Hearts Recordings, the label branch of the exploding boutique festival brand of the same name from the West Coast. He fashioned a refined three-tracker for the label, bringing a different favor of tech house into the mix. We picked Eskuche’s brain on his relationship with Desert Hearts, his current goings-on, finding his way artistically, and more.

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Digging Deeper with Paula Cazenave

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Barcelona’s Paula Cazenave has recently dropped her latest EP on her own Combine Audio, and it has been turning major heads since.

Crazy Trip features two originals from Paula, with each also getting a re-work by Ben Sims. After her Wildlife EP, the latest appearance on her own record label, Cazenave has produced two new cuts: a stripped version of her famous “Picky Pigeons” plus an entirely new track dubbed “Crazy Trip”.

Paula Cazenave has been producing techno for over 12 years, her name appears on labels like Beat Disaster, Patterns, Basics, Special Series, Audio Family, Ak-Recordings, Amigos, Wild, Different Is Different Records and more. She started her career in 1996 and has played in the most important venues and festivals of Spain, Europe and South America. To name a few: Awakenings, Aquasella, Dreambeach, F135, Fabrik, Metropolis…

We caught up with a busy Paula to discuss the release and what she has been up to recently. Check it out below and make sure you head to Beatport to get yourself a copy of Crazy Trip.




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Digging Deeper with DJ Meme

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Multi-award winning remixer/producer DJ Meme has worked with some huge names including The Bee Gees, New Order and The Pet Shop Boys, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Frankie Knuckles, and many more.

We chat to Brazil’s top house producer as he unleashes his new single “Fall To Raise Up” with Jay Sebag on David Morales’ DIRIDIM label, which is available here.

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Digging Deeper with Dr.Nojoke

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Dr.Nojoke is a producer and live-act born, raised and still living in Berlin.

For two decades now he helps to shape deep electronic dance music with a vision is so unique as the history of his city itself. Dr.Nojoke’s next EP is entitled zero.two and is due to be released on September 28th through his label CLIKNO.

We invited him to talk about his influences and approach.

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