Visionquest launch special live shows and prep new album

By Dan Carter

Where the various solo efforts of Detroit’s Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss, and Shaun Reeves have breathed an unpretentious air into forward-thinking electronic music, together, as the underground powerhouse Visionquest, the quartet has found unprecedented harmony in their creative endeavors. That quest of which we speak is a dual production outfit and eclectic label, which has issued forth wave upon wave of norm-challenging new music.

Kicking off last week at London’s Fabric nightclub, their Visionquest 13 concept takes in a set of global club and festival dates, all rife with immersive visual experiences to accompany their boundary-pushing new sounds. Beatport News took the rare opportunity to sit down with all four members in London to trace the project’s origins.

Weekend Weapons

Rebel Raver Subb-an's five favorite tracks right now

By Lauren Salm

A fast-rising Damian Lazarus protege, Subb-an has become a deep-house staple, having releases on labels like Cocoon, Spectral Sound, Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, and now Visionquest. In fact, when Lazarus recently announced that he would embark on a 10-year anniversary Crosstown Rebels tour, entitled Rebel Rave, the 24-year-old Berliner known to friends as Ashique Subhan was made an integral part it.

To coincide with the tour, Subb-an will release the third installment of the Rebel Rave series on March 19, right after he puts out his first EP on Visionquest, Rain, on March 11. Although the next few months are sure to be busy ones for him, he took a moment to tell us about what tracks he feels light up a dancefloor.

Morning Roundup

A new dubstep beatbox champion, roadtesting Keith McMillen's QuNeo 3D, Baauer takes Billboard's #1, and more

By Ken Taylor

We love us a good beatbox, no matter the style of music. Today’s just happens to be a solidly funny goof on dubstep, and while we obviously hold the genre in the highest of esteem, it’s good to never take life too seriously. Click on through to check out one helluva homemade video.

Interview

Ryan Crosson and Cesar Merveille unleash Visionquest's first full-length

By Lauren Salm

As a follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed DRM Part 1 EP, Visionquest’s own Ryan Crosson has again teamed up with Cesar Merveille, this time for a similarly named full-length album—the label’s first ever. With a more than cinematic unity of sound and flow, Crosson and Merveille together offer up nine pieces that are less like tracks and more like a jam session of sultry and chill sounds dabbling in many different genres.

The two Berlin-based producers are definitely no strangers to the spotlight. Crosson has appeared on the cover of both Mixmag and DJ Mag this year, and Merveille has quickly skyrocketed as part of Luciano’s Cadenza crew. We recently chatted with them about their new album, working together, and what the future holds for the duo.

Interview

Benoit & Sergio talk New Ships and love at first sight

By Michelle Kuppersmith

Benoit & Sergio (aka Benoit Simon and Benjamin Myers) met at a birthday party at a club in Washington, DC, and although it was friendship at first sight, their musical relationship took some time to marinate before coming to fruition. Fans are certainly glad that the duo moved from the dancefloor to the studio, creating emotive electronic pop music that emits a longing for the past and a yearning for something new.

Their new EP, New Ships, was just released on Visionquest, and the guys are currently on tour in support of the hauntingly beautiful collection of tracks. In an attempt to see what makes them tick, Beatport News posed a few questions prior to their gig at hipster haven Le Bain in New York City. Amidst a great deal of giggling and jokes, Benoit & Sergio let us know just what makes their tracks so dreamy and what their true inspirations are.

Morning Roundup

Video from Aphex Twin's Barbican performance, new music from Daft Punk, the upcoming OWSLA tour, and tons more

By Ken Taylor

It’s a rare day when you get still-smokin’ new footage from an Aphex Twin gig and audio from a new Daft Punk project, but there’s a whole lot more in today’s news, including tips on the new OWSLA label showcase, an interview with Mount Kimbie, and some opinions from Youngsta. So let’s check it out!

Track of the Day

Lauren Lane - Lazer Eyes ft. Jaw of dOP

By Joshua Glazer

When it comes to injecting a bit of fun into the sometimes staid world of dance music, few have done more to keep the comedy coming than Seth Troxler and his Visionquest compatriots Lee Curtiss, Ryan Crosson, and Shaun Reeves. On the lead track from their imprint’s wittily titled Teen Collection Hot Jam 96 sampler, Jaw (from fellow fun boys dOP) joins forces with newcomer Lauren Lane to create a good-time party jam for all.

Weekend Weapons

Guy Gerber

By Ken Taylor

Unlike your garden-variety contribution to Fabric’s vaunted mix series (if there is such a thing), Guy Gerber‘s installment last month, Fabric 64, took a much different tack—one adopted by the likes of Ricardo Villalobos and Omar S before him. Rather than turn in a conventional mix of multiple artists’ hits-to-be, Gerber, in an attempt to “make an album that will be one long composition, kind of like what Steve Reich was doing,” recorded 16 new (or somewhat tweaked and previously unreleased) tech-house-infused monsters, essentially setting a high-watermark for all mixes to follow.

Artists To Watch 2012: Laura Jones

By Beatport News Editors

At the end of 2010, Laura Jones had but one track to her name—”Intentions,” released on Leftroom’s Left’d 003 comp. But she spent 2011 making up for lost time. First came “Love In Me” for Leftroom, an even more self-assured take on deep, melodic house, and a week later she followed up with “Live A Little” for the hotly tipped Visionquest label, cementing her rep as a mover and shaker in house music’s new guard. (Just a few weeks ago, Leftroom released a remix package for “Love In Me” featuring reworks from Maceo Plex, Kate Simko, and Eats Everything.)

So what’s next for Jones? Read on for a chat with the Leeds-based artist to find out why you’re going to be hearing a lot more from her this year. And don’t miss her In With The New Top 10 on Beatport.

Beatport Live presents Shaun Reeves & Bill Patrick

By Beatport News Editors

Things got extra woozy in Beatport’s Berlin office last week when Bill Patrick and Shaun Reeves took over our Ustream channel for an exquisite, two-hour B2B session of deepest house.

Shaun Reeves, of course, is one quarter of the Visionquest crew, whose members and eponymous label were the toast of 2011. Bill Patrick, meanwhile, is the quintessential DJs’ DJ, a crack(ed) selector who loves to lead listeners down rabbit holes of his own intuitive design.

You’re really not going to want to miss this one—read on to check out the archived audio and video of the session, and read a brief interview with the prosecco-loving Mr. Patrick. While you’re at it, don’t miss his Drunk on Prosecco Beatport Top 10.

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