Thu, 27 Jan 2011 / 1 CommentDeep, strong and relentless, this is the first full length E.P. of The Analogue Cops on their own label Restoration. As usual, an unquestionable raw force is summoned by the abrasive touch of their experienced hands on incorruptible machines, without any mean computer involved in their operations.
“WHY YOU LOVE ME” is a killer house track with an unmistakeable debt with Detroit, a powerful garage-influenced bassline and two charming loving voices over a very thick bass drum; finally, the magnificent trumpets of the break and the fiercy cymbals after them crown it all.
“CRC*09?, an extract of The Cops’ live at the infamous Crackers Club somewhere in Berlin at the end of last summer, is an evidence of their high efficiency on the crime scene. The obscure combination of their artificial tribal percussions with a dangereous urban bass line and a dark mumbling voice is enlightened by a blazing old-schoolish piano assault. The dancefloor is now secure.
On side B, “REFUSED” is a dancefloor mass-weapon: it begins with impenetrable heavy beats and the voice and the claps of an artileryman. The advance of a low frequency tank has an hectic pace, but slowly a sneaky technological string line succeed to bring peace to this dangerous zone.
“WAIT A SECOND” is the first Cop’s dubstep tune to be released and it’s one of the very few dubstep track you can find on your filthy streets to be fully assembled only with hardware equipment and recorded on tape. There is no straight kick, and the bass line is vicious; the funk is in the air and he is going to hurt somebody.
RST0012 is played by the best djs around: you know who they are.
LISTEN THE MUSIC:
http://www.dnp-music.com/promos/Cut/RST012/rst012-a1.mp3
http://www.dnp-music.com/promos/Cut/RST012/rst012-a2.mp3
http://www.dnp-music.com/promos/Cut/RST012/rst012-b1.mp3
http://www.dnp-music.com/promos/Cut/RST012/rst012-b2.mp3
Fri, 22 Oct 2010 / Post a commenthttp://soundcloud.com/restorationberlin/soundwall-analogue-cops
How did the Analouge Cops project come to life?
We both come from the same town, near Padova. We didn’t hang out in the same places, but when I (Marieu) moved to Barcelona, I found by chance a room at Domenico’s (Lucretio). When he moved to Belrin I decided to follow him, as the city gives more opportunities; we went to live together in De La Calles house where there was a little studio that we implemented with our machinery and right there we started producing.
The name Analgoue Cops indicates your inclination for analogical machines, what did you buy as a first, and why analog?
The first machine I (Lucretio) bought was a Korg Electribe, in 2001, when I wasn’t a dj yet; listening to other people’s records I decided to produce with machines like them, and not by computer. Fact is that when you’re used to listening to old school house music or techno – made in a certain way, with its own kind of sounds – and then you hear new records, digital ones, and try to compare them to, for istance, Jeff Mills ones, you realise that analogic is the only way to get those results.
Who are the artists that most influenced you and led you to this decision?
First of all Jeff Mills, no doubt, and Robert Hood, but it actually is a clear path that starts from Chicago House, New Jersey house, Masters at Work, disco, Larry Levan, Ron Hardy, Ron Trent, Frankie Knuckless, Blaze, then Detroit, Birmingham and UK Garage, Berlin, the Tresor.
Is there some connection between Detroit and Berlin?
Well people from Hard Wax and the Tresor did push this genre in Berlin, being the first fascinated by transatlantic music they spread this culture through the city, whereas Tresor, if we don’t consider England and a first more commercial wave, was the first european club to bring here guests from Detroit; thats why Berlin is the centre of european techno.
And why did you guys choose Berlin?
Surely because of the cheap way of life, and then, of course London as well has a great groove, but Berlin’s one’s more techno and we do find ourselves more at home here.
How was the Restoration project born?
The Restoration label was born in 2007 to “restore” the situation.
What do you mean?
The high way was lost. It’s a comeback, not a copy from the past, but an effort to bring back the supremacy of a certain kind of products. Once a record had to be played at a higher volume to beat the competitors, but then quality got lost in the process. We think our goal should be to produce music of a certain level, precisely bringing back the analogical product’s supremacy… music is for everybody but not everybody can make music: anybody can write but not all can write the Divine Commedy.
And as far as it concerns clubs, what’s your taste? Playing live or dj-sets?
We would rather dj-set, as it gives you more chance to express yourself, I mean, live experience allows you to give away your music and enthuse people, but it’s always just an hour of time, and it’s homemade stuff brought around, always rather statical, you can change it someways but in the end its what you have in your machinery, you necessarily have to soundcheck and to pay extreme attention to what’s going on around your equipment.
But I did attend on of your live and I must say I did like it, I found it better than many others…
Of course! Ours is only hardware! We are happy of performing live, but we wouldn’t love doing it always, we do need the chance to express ourselves also as djs.
And who inspires you in dj sets?
All the americans for sure, they have a different manner of mixing, with high low frequencies. One must hear the mix, it shouldn’t be hidden, it’s a more aggressive style.
Who is or has been the best dj around?
At the moment i think Theo Parrish is. After him there’s Jeff Mills when playing vinyl records, also Robert Hood and James Pennington aka Suburban Knight..we always had lots of fun when they played.
How about Italian djs?
Baldelli for sure!
How about producers? Who do you think is the best ever?
Drexciya and Jeff Mills are even, then there’s Underground Resistance, Theo Parrish, Green Velvet, Masters at Work, Joey Negro, actually old productions were always cool!
And in Italy?
Ra.h from Morphine, but he’s libanese. Stefano aka Ksoul, Volvoc aka iSoul8 from Archive, Riccio. But unfortunately these are the producers that in Italy don’t get credit enough.
What’s your opinion regarding digital, both as production and as a market?
We are not against digital production, we are against the abuse, digital can’t replace analog: you can use some VSTs etc, but the sound needs to come out from a machine: try listen our remix of Moodymann, which came out as Appointment (Analogue Corps +Live Jam aka EMG + John Swing) and then come back and tell me. As far as it concerns the market, those labels don’t exist to us, we don’t really see them as proper labels, but it’s a matter of opinions. The digital market has a reason to exist where access to vinyl is limited, like South America for istance, thats an understandable need. But I do not understand spending 2.50 euro for a track: if you want a 4track album you pay it 10 and it’s more than a vinyl that costs eventually 8.
Anyways we believe that in first world countries digital shouldn’t be played, people must spend time, listen to vinyl records, select them instead of having 4000 random files.
Do you think it’s all becoming a show business?
We think that someone build some show business around it; when everybody was ok someone wanted more, and ended up ruining it all, just as it happened in italian politics.
Is there a way to restore underground music culture in Italy?
The message that it takes time to listen to a record needs to pass through, music must be listened with the best equipment, vinyl, in the best conditions, your amplifier and speakers, taking your time. In a club a good plant, a good mixer and djs playing vinyls.
Choose a record each from that bag if you manage to
Drexciya Neptune’s Lair on Tresor, and Jeff Mills Divine EP on Purpose Maker.
What do you think about Soundwall?
It surely is a great mean/portal that allows djs and producers to communicate their message, and an opportunity to get to know more for listeners and electronic music lovers, it’s italian number one!
A greeting to Soundwall’s readers?
Go listen and play always vinyl records! Ciao to everybody!
