2013's Great American Techno Festival will take place from September 13th through the 15th.

This is the third year in a row that the festival will take over Denver for a weekend. Though details are still scarce at this point, GATF usually spreads itself out over club nights and outdoor events. What we do know is the festival will keep its emphasis on homegrown techno artists. Axis head Jeff Mills will headline, and he'll be supported by Seattle producer Lusine, Drumcode associate Kyle Geiger and local DJ Clark Warner. Bruno Pronsato is also billed. Further names and venue information will be revealed in the coming weeks and months.

Full details of the RA showcase at the first PAN_ACT festival in New York have been revealed.

Presented in partnership with Mutual Dreaming, the event will take place at Brooklyn venue 285 Kent on Saturday, June 22nd. It will be headlined by Terrence Dixon, whose singular approach to techno makes him a nice fit for the festival's experimental ethos.

The lineup also features rapper (and sometime Madteo collaborator) Sensational, who will perform live with PAN regular NHK'Koyxen. Rounding out the bill is DJ Richard of fledgling New York label White Material, and Berlin-based artist Call Super, whose recent Houndstooth EP The Present Tense was recently described by RA's Andrew Ryce as "vivacious and texturally rich."

This year's PAN_ACT festival will be held from June 14th through 29th. In addition to the first wave of names revealed earlier this month—Regis, Laurel Halo and Rashad Becker among them—the second lineup announcement saw Juan Atkins, Kevin Drumm and Paul Clipson added to the bill.

Les Siestes Electroniques have announced full details of its two 2013 festivals.

Inaugurated in 2002 in Toulouse, the annual event has since expanded to Paris, touching down in the French capital in 2011. LSE invites the public to enjoy a series of talks, workshops and concerts conducted by emerging electronic music and digital artists. The Toulouse edition will run from June 27th through 30th. It will be split across the Compans-Cafferelli gardens in the day and the La Grainerie and La Dynamo clubs at night. Highlights include sets from Redshape and DJ Deep on Friday evening, and Andy Stott and Redinho on Sunday.

The Paris edition will have a slightly different format, with four shows split across various dates in July. The location for the July performances will be the Musée du quai Branly, a museum situated in the gardens of the Eiffel Tower. Kangding Ray will play on Sunday 7th, Sinner DC on the 14th and Sylvain Chauveau and DJ Arc de Triomphe on the 21st and 28th respectively. Entry to all these events will be free.

For a taste of what to expect from the festival, check out the teaser video below.


LES SIESTES ELECTRONIQUES teaser by lessiesteselectroniques

Virgo Four founding member Merwyn Sanders has revealed his frustration that "no one knows" about his departure from the group in 2011.

For the past two years, Eric Lewis has been touring as Virgo Four with his cousin Terry Ivy against Sanders' wishes. Lewis and Ivy appeared in a recent Slices interview that reported them as the original duo, while recent flyers, interviews and promotional material have done the same. This has angered Sanders, who feels his attempts to launch a solo production career have been hindered as a result.

"We split as far back as November 2011, but no one knows this," Sanders explained via email. "There are people who come to my Facebook wall or send me emails and say 'looking forward to seeing you at next show,' and I have to explain because they don't know we split."

In the late 1980s, Sanders and Lewis worked together on music that was eventually released under a variety of aliases. The popularity of their music has slowly grown since the pair moved on to other ventures from around 1992 onwards. It was in 2010 that Rush Hour picked up on the cult status of their LP, which led to the release of the Resurrection retrospective. Following a selection of shows and more successful releases on Rush Hour, Sanders claims he made it known that he wished to call time on the Virgo Four project in June 2011, stating that he wanted to focus on solo work, with the name of the group laid to rest at the same time.

"I just asked to make it clear and known that we split," Sanders states, "and at that time, there was only talk of completing gigs we contractually needed to fulfil, which I think was one or two." Lewis, however, disputes this. When contacted for comment on Sanders' claims, he responded, "No, [Sanders] did not say anything about using the name in the future, nor did he suggest not using the name."

At the time of the split, Virgo Four were already contracted to gigs that kept Sanders involved with the project until the autumn. Of the contracted concerts, Sanders rescinded on the final two, one in Australia and one in San Francisco, on the agreement that someone could perform in his place to fulfil those two obligations.

Lewis brought his cousin Terry Ivy in to fill Sanders' role in playing keys and singing at Virgo Four performances, although he disputed the definition of Ivy's role within the group: "You are incorrect regarding Terry fulfilling the role of Merl," Lewis stated. "To perform the music, with as much fidelity and accuracy as possible, a minimum of two people are needed. Terry, being a keyboard player, fulfils this requirement admirably."

More recently, the booking of Virgo Four gigs was handed over to the Fellowship Agency, run by Derek Van Belen. "I started booking [Virgo Four] six months ago," Van Belen says. "Merl [Sanders] already left the band. I was aware of this. Eric [Lewis] and Rush Hour told me they decided to split and found a replacement together and were both OK with Eric moving forward." Upon being contacted about the situation, Fellowship were quick to take down the promotional photo that featured both Sanders and Lewis, although at the time of writing the biography is still focused on Virgo Four as being Sanders and Lewis. Rush Hour and Kindred Spirits, who have been handling the logistics of Virgo Four's bookings, declined to comment.

It seems apparent that Virgo Four is still considered as the pairing of Sanders and Lewis by many, as illustrated by a interview for the blog This Greedy Pig, which makes no indication of Sanders' departure despite being published just last month. Likewise, the recent Virgo Four feature on the Electronic Beats' Slices DVD 1-13, while referencing Sanders in the voice-over introduction, is set around a show Lewis and Ivy performed in Paris. Although Ivy contributes to the interview, no mention is made of his name, nor any distinction made from the original lineup described in the opening of the short film.

"I'm pretty certain there was no formal public announcement of Merl's [Sanders'] departure," Lewis confirmed. "Merl only told a few people, the [Rush Hour] guys and I, of his decision. This was a private interaction between lifelong friends, so in short, I did not see a reason to make a grand, public announcement."

There are numerous examples of bookings for Virgo Four around the world that have used promotional material featuring Sanders and Lewis together, long after the split had taken place. Most recently, an appearance at an event at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on May 17th featured a promotional shot of Sanders and Lewis that has been widely used since the pair first signed up with Rush Hour in 2010.

"There has been no indication or compliance to any of my requests to make it clear we split and put some variation on the name," Sanders claims. "Rush Hour and Eric said, 'yeah yeah we will make it clear,' but a year and a half later I see my picture being used and the general audience doesn't know." Lewis and Ivy were due to play a gig at Louche in Leeds on May 18th, but upon becoming aware of the debate over Sanders' departure from Virgo Four, the promoters took the decision to withdraw from the booking less than two weeks before the event.

"We as promoters have been caught in the middle of a dispute between Eric and Merwyn and their representatives," Brinsley Kazak from Louche explained when asked for a statement. "With the information we were given and the fact we had to promote a show which was two weeks away we decided it was best if we cancelled so we could move forward with our event and leave the guys to figure out their disagreement." Kazak was keen to give credit to Lewis and Fellowship, as both co-operated once the gig was cancelled and Louche received a refund for the booking fee and flight share contribution which had already been paid upfront.

At present, Sanders claims to be finding difficulty in establishing a solo career independent of his history with Virgo Four, which he attributes to the lack of clarity over his departure from the duo. "This past year I have done a few releases as Merwyn," Sanders explains. "Some mistakes were made with the releases adding Virgo Four to my name but that is why I started posting 'formerly known as Virgo Four' on everything I could, so people would think, 'formerly?' and realise Virgo Four has split. It has been an uphill battle for me to get people to know we split and to refer to me as Merwyn."

While it is unclear at this stage whether Lewis will heed Sanders' request to change the name for future bookings and releases, Sanders is clear on the outcome he would like from this situation. "There needs to be an adjustment on the Virgo Four name for Eric to solely keep using it since it is so synonymous with our names," he says, "and just let everyone know it was not cool to keep using my photo for shows and interviews and misleading V4 supporters."

Reporting by Oli Warwick

A new concert series called St. John Sessions will begin in East London on June 27th.

The monthly Thursday night showcases will take place at the St John at Hackney Church. They have been curated by Moringa, a UK-based arts organisation, with a proportion of the proceeds from each show going towards local East London charities. The theme of the sessions revolves around avant-garde and experimental electronic music: first up is an event on June 27th, which features William Basinski, Fennesz and PAN affiliate Helm. This will be followed by a show on July 11th with Nils Frahm and Jack Wyllie of London band Portico Quartet.

On August 29th, Werkdiscs chief Actress will headline, with a second guest to be announced closer to the date. Finally, September 19th sees a three-pronged lineup featuring Canadian sound artist and composer Tim Hecker, Yellow Swans co-founder Pete Swanson and Young Echo member Vessel.

Tickets for the William Basinski show are available here on RA.

Mark Ernestus will release two collections of his Jeri-Jeri material, 800% Ndagga and Ndagga Versions, on June 3rd.

One of the most recent projects from the Hard Wax owner, Mark Ernestus Presents Jeri-Jeri represents the Basic Channel man's increasing interest in African music. (He was also involved with compiling Honest Jon's Shangaan Electro album, among other things.)

For Jeri-Jeri, Ernestus collaborated with Sabar drummers from Senegal, led by Bkane Seck, as well as musicians who play Mbalax—a style of music described by RA's Justin Farrar as "an intricate and pointillist brand of trance-funk." The results, recorded in Dakar in 2011, were released as a series of five 12-inches on Ernestus' own Ndagga imprint.

The two compilations cover all the material released on those records, and will see release on CD, vinyl and digital. 800% Ndagga will contain the vocal tracks, while Ndagga Version is reserved for the instrumentals. Over the course of the two albums Ernestus collaborates with well-known Senegalese musicians, such as Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal.

Tracklist
800% Ndagga
01. Gawlo feat. Baaba Maal
02. Xale feat. Mbene Diatta Seck
03. Ndeye Gueye feat. Doudou Ndiaye Rose
04. Mbeuguel Dafa Nekh feat. Mbene Diatta Seck
05. Casamance feat. Ale & Khadim Mboup
06. Sama Yaye feat. Mbene Diatta Seck
07. Bamba feat. Mbene Diatta Seck, Ale & Khadim Mboup
08. Daguagne

Ndagga Versions
01. Lignou Mome
02. Casamance Version
03. Leumbeul
04. Sama Yaye Version
05. Xale Rhythm
06. Gawlo Version
07. Dub Dafa Nekh
08. Walo
09. Bamba Version


800% Ndagga and Ndagga Versions are available now digitally, and will be released on CD and vinyl through Ndagga on June 3rd, 2013.

Details for Need I Say More VIII, taking place on Monday during Movement festival in Detroit, have been revealed.

The gig was announced a day too late to be part of our Movement afterparty guide, which you can read here, but that certainly doesn't make it any less worth going to. Put on by Seth Troxler and Ryan Crosson of Visionquest, the well-loved indoor-and-outdoor party traditionally takes place at the Old Miami veterans' bar on Memorial Day—the final day of the festival—starting from early morning and going until evening.

Soul Clap will kick off the event at at 7:30 AM for the early birds, followed by Waves and Italian duo Tale Of Us. The last set out on the backyard lawn, due to finish up around 7 PM, will be a back-to-back affair between Hessle Audio head Ben UFO and Running Back founder Gerd Janson.

Greg Wilson will head stateside next month for three gigs.

The legendary UK DJ—who's also known for his regular essays on the history and current state of dance music—is set to bring his much-loved disco style to three cities in the eastern half of the country. The first stop on Thursday, June 6th, is Detroit, where he'll play Paxahau's Movement Appreciation Party at TV Lounge. The event, which will also feature an appearance from Berlin-based DJ and Meander co-founder DeWalta, should help local clubbers decompress after this weekend's Movement Festival.

Wilson is next due for a night in Philadelphia at Morgan's Pier, overlooking the Delaware River. Then on Saturday the 8th, he'll fly to New York to Set Sail on an early-evening boat party hosted jointly by local venue TBA Brooklyn and the AUTOBRENNT crew. Tickets to that one are available here on RA.

To get in the mood, visit Wilson's SoundCloud page and check out his latest freely-downloadable effort, an edit of Marina Van-Rooy's 1990 track "Sly One."

New York's Museum of Modern Art PS1 has outlined it 2013 Warm Up program.

The weekly outdoor event series will kick off on Saturday, June 29th, and run through until September 7th. As always, the artist lineups have been selected by a panel of music industry movers and shakers, including DFA co-founder Jonathan Galkin, RVNG chief Matt Werth and Kris Chen of XL Recordings. The parties will be held in MoMA PS1's courtyard, with a temporary landscape designed by CODA called Party Wall. Each concert will run from 3 PM through 9 PM.

The first event for the year will be held in association with the recently announced PAN_ACT festival, with Juan Atkins supported by PAN affiliates Lee Gamble, Heatsick and NHK'Koyxen, as well as label boss Bill Kouligas. Headliners for the following events include The Martinez Brothers, Marc Kinchen, Kode9, A Guy Called Gerald, Marcellus Pittman, Julio Bashmore, King Britt, Caribou and Cajmere. Other notable guests include Ben UFO, Miles, Octave One, Stellar OM Source, Jackmaster, Recloose, Jon Hopkins and an extensive range of New York-based talent like DJ Qu, Anthony Naples, Kim Ann Foxman, Terekke and Dre Skull.

Jimi Tenor and Nicole Willis will release an album called Enigmatic in July.

The husband-and-wife duo have recorded the LP as Cola & Jimmu, and will put it out through their jointly run Herakles label. Though this will be their first output under that name, the pair have a long history of collaboration: Tenor (real name Lassi Lehto) contributed the horn arrangements on two Willis & The Soul Investigators LPs, and they co-wrote the "Call Of The Wild" track from Tenor's 2000 album for Warp Records, Out Of Nowhere.

The pair have labelled Enigmatic as a "deep house revival" record, with a press release claiming they drew inspiration from "Bobby Konders releases on NuGroove [and] Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Firecracker," with vocal styles comparable to Gwen Guthrie and CeCe Peniston." It features Tenor's own flute, saxophone and drum programming, while Willis lends her vocals and works on production.

Tracklist
01. 369°Grind
02. Enigmatic
03. Transcend Our Love
04. Tombstone
05. So Refined
06. I Made Up My Mind
07. Satyricon
08. Wild Honey
09. Brooklyn Girl
10. Classified

Herakles will release Enigmatic by Cola & Jimmu on July 1st, 2013.