{"product_id":"apparat-dj-kicks","title":"Apparat – DJ-Kicks (Coloured Vinyl)","description":"\u003cp\u003eSasha Ring’s work under his Apparat moniker has always been evolving; over three albums on the Shitkatapult label and the collaborative full lengths with Ellen Allien and Modeselektor as Moderat on Bpitch Control, he’s surprised a lot of listeners with his output. Confined to little or no definitive style his music has always been in a constant state of metamorphosis, simultaneously breaching new waters and staying true to his unique spirit of musical openness and his obvious passion for sound design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAptly joking that his \u003cem\u003eDJ KiCKs \u003c\/em\u003eselection reflects his style to “not really have a style” it’s evident that Ring is more than aware that his contribution to the series might look ‘intelligent’ on paper – with the tracklist aligning variant artists like Oval, Autechre, Ripperton and Thom Yorke – but given his recent tour at the start of the year, it’s simply a representation of where he’s at in terms of modern music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I didn’t want to make this kind of ‘smart’ mix, that’s eclectic and sounds like it’s done ‘on purpose;’ but I need to do different things to keep myself motivated,” Ring explains. “At first I wanted to make a collection of influences, all kinds of old songs but then sometimes with those mixes it’s hard to keep some kind of flow and they’re just not very easy to listen to, so I ended up using good new music; music that almost gave me hope that there’s more out there than boring minimal techno.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Apparat contribution is as stylized as the preceding mixes in the series from Kode 9 and James Holden; with Ring embracing the opportunity to create a mix that represents both his personality and his brave take on ‘club’ music. With an incredibly prevalent talent for manipulation of both tempos and melodies, Ring includes tracks from a handful of dubstep producers like Dutch producer Martyn – whose ‘Miniluv’ provides a glorious rhythmic propulsion when under-layed beneath Patrice Baumel’s ‘Sub’ – and Ramadanman’s ‘Tempest’ – whose melody all but dissipates at the optimum moment – layering and blending them perfectly with tracks from across an array of genres from Autechre’s percussive white noise to Oval’s erratically colourful sound slices or the echoed clicks of Phon.o’s ‘Intervall.’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“A mix needs a bit of dynamic,’ he states. “There were these weirder things I wanted to use, like this Four Tet remix (of Born Ruffian’s ‘I Need A Life’) and then there are some tracks i had to use as tools to glue it all togehter. The way I used the Martyn track is more of a tool to adjust the Patrice Baumel track dynamically to the following ones. But most of the songs are in there for musical reasons. All these artists have their own sound signatures and manage to inject that space into every new song they produce.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAchieving a sense of progression in the mix through both his selections and his awareness of sonic space, Ring manages to harness his enthusiasms for frequency perfect soundscapes, often creating moments of sheer beauty out of his polarized composite parts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The mix isn’t that balanced when it comes to melody I guess,” he continues, considering his point. “There’s a lot of sweetness on there, but it is dark and mysterious at points. I guess the bittersweet-ness has long been kind of my thing and with this mix I was just trying to spice it up a bit.” — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/apparatberlin.bandcamp.com\/album\/dj-kicks-apparat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLabel\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite the gaunt, grey frame staring out from the sleeve, the sounds which lie within \u003cem\u003eApparat's DJ Kicks\u003c\/em\u003e make for a technicolour lesson in computer music. \u003cem\u003eApparat\u003c\/em\u003e's pedigree in electronica is second to none. The Berlin-based producer operates with fellow Germans Modeselektor as Moderat, worked with BPitch Control boss Ellen Allien on the acclaimed Orchestra of Bubbles and has also released three solo albums of his own. Apparat's mix, following in the wake of dance floor-orientated efforts from Juan Maclean, Kode9 and James Holden, explores electronic pastures less immediately concerned with making you move. As he puts it, \u003cem\u003eDJ-Kicks\u003c\/em\u003e features \"good new music — music that gave me hope that there's more out there than boring minimal techno.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComposed from 24 tracks, \u003cem\u003eDJ-Kicks\u003c\/em\u003e adds up to a cleverly conceived collection located somewhere within the hinterland between emotive techno, indie and dubstep. If one was to complain, you could say that everything about this mix takes itself very seriously. But, as a result, it hangs together beautifully with a blend of ebb and flow and light and dark which can't help but draw you in. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ra.co\/reviews\/8103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eResident Advisor\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/4AC0ZJCXpWMTQu4sQRkvZr?utm_source=generator\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinyl tracklist:\u003cbr\u003eA1 Luke Abbott – More Room\u003cbr\u003eA2 Patrice Bäumel – Sub\u003cbr\u003eA3 Ripperton – Echocity\u003cbr\u003eB1 Cosmin TRG – Tower Block\u003cbr\u003eB2 Pantha Du Prince – Welt Am Draht\u003cbr\u003eB3 Born Ruffians – I Need A Life (Four Tet Remix)\u003cbr\u003eC1 Vincent Markowski – The Madness Of Moths\u003cbr\u003eC2 Ramadanman –    Tempest\u003cbr\u003eC3 Phon.o – Intervall\u003cbr\u003eD1 Spherix – Lesser People\u003cbr\u003eD2 Joy Orbison – The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow\u003cbr\u003eD3 Thom Yorke –    Harrowdown Hill\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: !K7 Records\u003cbr\u003eFormat: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition, Reissue, Repress, Blue + White Marbled\u003cbr\u003eRepressed: 2025  \/ Original: 2010\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Electronic\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Abstract, Dark Ambient, Techno, Dubstep, Ambient, Breakbeat, Tribal, Minimal\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Eletronic \/\/ Club Mix Compilations\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"!K7 Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46257288872094,"sku":"4062548120493","price":60.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/a_73c09a7d-9692-4ea3-a425-9e4d4f143acd.jpg?v=1765017865","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.mom\/products\/apparat-dj-kicks","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}