Loco Dice commemorates five years of Desolat with a Beatport Mix

By Emma Robertson

Dusseldorf-born Loco Dice began DJing in the ’90s, and although his roots were originally planted in hip-hop, he’s become one of the most respected and recognized figures in contemporary techno. An early partnership with fellow techno DJ/producer Martin Buttrich in 2002 led to the founding of Desolat Records five years later and since then it has grown to become one of the foremost labels in electronic music today, featuring a stellar crew that includes tINI, Guti, Hector, Shlomi Aber, and Pulshar, to name a few. Today, the label is commemorates its fifth anniversary with a Beatport Mix comprised solely of Desolat releases. We caught up with Loco Dice to chat about hip-hop, artistic performance, his favorite tracks, and how it feels to be celebrating five years of Desolat.

At The Controls: Martin Buttrich

By Christine Kakaire

At The Controls is a new series that peeks under the curtain of electronic music production, to highlight the behind-the-scenes people whose contributions have had a lasting impact across the dance music landscape.

Martin Buttrich has been a stalwart of electronic music for two decades, but this year he appears to be on the cusp of something big. For many years, he was the silent studio partner of Timo Maas, guiding him towards landmark tracks like his signature remixes of Azzido da Bass and Tori Amos. Buttrich also bolstered the productions of his Desolat label co-owner Loco Dice, as he ascended to the highest ranks of popular DJs. But a few years ago, Buttrich began to ease himself into the spotlight more and more.

With a planned full-time relocation to Los Angeles, a new artist album, a new jazz project, and a new release for Carl Craig‘s Planet E label, Buttrich has set off on a path that will take him him further from DJ/producer projects and closer to the new field of production possibilities that has blossomed in the United States. We called him up while he was in Dusseldorf to talk about his long-term balancing act at the controls of the producer and the artist.

Argentina’s Guti and his pianos

By industry boy

Electronic music producers are by and large a bunch of deviants, but even going by those standards Argentina’s Guti sure is one colourful reprobate.

As a child, Guti was a jazz pianist and did very well for a small boy from Buenos Aires. Then the teenage years hit, and, like all teenagers, he rebelled and ran off to join a rock band. But unlike most adolescent music projects, Jóvenes Pordioseros, or Young Beggars in English, happened to be hugely successful. The band achieved gold record status in Argentina and were singed to Warner Music, no less. Guti played keyboards in the band and for a while he lived like a rock god.

Then when that chapter of his life finally came to an end in 2009, Guti did what most rock stars never do and became an underground house music producer. Loco Dice was the first to notice Guti’s talents and signed him to his respected Desolat imprint.

Relocating to Dice’s hometown of Düsseldorf, which he describes as “a really nice small city,” Guti began quietly releasing juicy house rhythms full of Latino and jazz spirit. His album Patio de Juegos (Playground) dropped in March 2011 on Desolat to great acclaim, and he has been touring like an electronic music radical ever since.

He has also had releases on Luciano’s Cadenza, Davide Squillace’s Hideout, Guy Gerber’s Supplement Facts, and London’s Defected. And last week he dropped “Keep It” for Satoshi Tomiie’s SAW Recordings, his first solo single outside of Desolat since he was signed to the label in 2009.

“Keep It” is SAW Recordings’ most anticipated release in quite a while, not least because it features a remarkable remix from label boss Satoshi Tomiie, who hasn’t released any new music in a couple of years. There’s also an infectious, underground, drum-heavy house jam from Guti on the B-side, called “Bam!”

Tomiie’s “Keep It” remix is the first track to come out of his new studio. The Japanese house pioneer spent over 24 months building a new studio in his New York City apartment, which was finally completed last year. Tomiie will release more singles and remixes in 2012, including a collaboration with Melisma label boss and Cadenza contributor Dani Casarano.

Here, in this exclusive interview, Guti chats about his breakthrough 2011 year, his love for pianos, and his relationship with Satoshi Tomiie.

tINI

By Dan Cole

Having originally cut her teeth in Munich and now residing in Berlin, tINI, a relative newcomer to the scene, is already being touted as one of house and techno’s brightest new stars. She joined the Desolat crew in 2009 after catching the attention of Loco Dice with “That’s Right,” released on the Desolat X comp.

This month, she released her debut album, Tessa, recorded mostly in Ibiza and named for the friend who encouraged her to follow her musical path. We caught up with her to find out more.

The world is Guti’s playground

By gorana romcevic

The musical adventures of Argentina’s Guti [a] started in his early childhood, when he was growing up in an exceptionally musical family, surrounded by orchestra directors, saxophone players, and pianists. He started as a classically trained jazz pianist, continued in rock bands, and then moved to Europe and opened a new chapter with electronic music.

After his first hit with Damian Schwartz [a] , releases for Desolat [l] label followed, and this week he releases his debut album on the same label. Patio de Juegos, which he recorded across Europe, brings together 14 tracks mixing various genres and moods. In an interview with Serbia’s Gorana Romcevic, Guti discusses his journey from jazz to electronic music, his relationship with Loco Dice [a] and Martin Buttrich [a] , and the differences between Düsseldorf and Buenos Aires.

Album of the Week: Pulshar, Inside

By alex hughes

The Desolat [l] label has made its name with just the type of punchy, percussive tech-house jams you’d associate with its founders, Loco Dice [a] and Martin Buttrich [a] . But the new album from Pulshar [a] , Inside is a considerable departure: a slow-burning downtempo delight that takes in dub, slow motion disco, and even a smattering of instrumental hip-hop.

Interview: Martin Buttrich

By terry church

Co-founder of Desolat records and collaborator with names like Loco Dice and Timo Maas, Martin Buttrich [a] has been busy in the background, making music and keeping his head low.

Although he’s been releasing and producing material for over a decade, it’s only been since 2006 that he’s come out of the shadows and into the spotlight in his own right.

In a recent interview, Buttrich talked about his new release with Loco Dice, New York influences and life in Hannover.

Catch the full story with this mystery producer on ResidentAdvisor.net

Hit the jump to check out the player, and here for a video.

Top Track: Loco Dice ‘Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!’

By zack rico

One of the best tracks on Loco Dice’s new album ’7 Dunham Place’ is ‘Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!’, a dirty booty tech house record that will rock any party.

The track features a cool bassline and a dude talking over the top about sex and music, and it sounds very raw and unprocessed.

There’s no big build up or breakdown, just a brilliant funky beat and an infectious groove that bounces and bounces.

The male vocal, too, comes across as unrehearsed and sounds like it was recorded live in one take, almost as if Loco Dice [a] was messing about in the studio with some friends and thought ‘Hey Jackson, you sound like a pimp – talk into this mic and give me some vocals’.

Raum, Cadenza and Get Physical join forces for Barcelona rave

By zack rico

Beatportal has just got word of a ridiculously big techno party being planned for Barcelona, during Sonar Festival.

Raum Open Air! on Friday 20th June has a capacity of 3600 is being jointly hosted by Luciano’s Cadenza [l] records, Get Physical Music [l] , Raum Musik [check out the label's tunes in the player below], Desolat, Monza Ibiza, Ibiza Voice and Resident Advisor.

The line-up is retarded.

Luciano versus Loco Dice? Reboot? Craig Richards? Alejandro Vivanco? Martin Buttrich? M.A.N.D.Y. and DJ T? Tobi Neumann? Pier Bucci? Samim?

Our pants have just exploded.

WMC Interview: Loco Dice and a different perspective

By terry church

For someone who’s become quite well-known within the techno scene, the last thing you’d expect to hear out that person’s mouth is, “I’m still hip-hop. I never left hip-hop.”

And if you were to take even a quick listen to much of the upcoming album by Loco Dice [a] , ‘7 Dunham Place’, it still may be difficult to see (or hear, as in this case).

But to understand the man behind the persona, hip-hop is fully part of the equation.

As Dice (as his friends call him) was spotted perusing the streets of Miami in the middle of a four-gig grand slam marathon during the annual party known as WMC, we pulled him aside to try to decipher the method behind the madness.

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