Cracking night had in Valencia at the weekend.
Full video of the sets here if ya missed it.
Sadly, video disappeared into the black hole of Twitch.
Pioneers of everything synth
We’re delighted to have one of Spain’s pioneers of everything synth with us, Adrián Marth. The Barcelona artist was already on our radar, his Marthian Worlds in the bag, when we bumped into him before his cracking set at last year’s Ombra Festival. After said live show a decision was made; the Italo Moderni boss needs to be on WE FORFEIT. From a mutual love of all things EBM, Italo and synth, our conversation charts the rise and rise of the Catalan artist, DJ and label boss. Tracks come care of our guest, unreleased material from the label and some favorites from the WE FORFEIT camp.
Tracklist and interview questions from recording ::
Clay Pedrini :: New Dream (I.D. Limited)
Who is Adrián Marth and what is Italo Moderni?
Adrián Marth :: Disorder (Wrong Era/ Italo Moderni)
Rapha :: V More Karabli (Italo Moderni)
How did you become influenced in electronic music and, in particular, italo? Who are your influences?
Adrián Marth :: Black Ritual Witches (Wrong Era (Slow Motion/ Italo Moderni)
Why did you decide to set up your own label? What style is Italo Moderni pursuing?
Journeyman :: Something Dies In The Soul (Day mix) (Kosmorama Disco)
Win2Win :: Fantasia 500 (Wrong Era)
L&O::Even Now (La Musique Fait La Force)
Shortly after you started this project, the world entered into a pandemic. How were you able to adapt and continue to develop your label and yourself as a performer?
Anne Clarke :: Our Darkness (Virgin)
Petra & Co :: Just Let Go (Dub) (La Musique Fait La Force)
Your live show has seen you perform in events such as IFM streaming festival and at the Operator stage at Ombra in Barcelona. What is your process for performing live? Is it different to how you create music in the studio?
Adrián Marth :: Adrian Marth – Experiment Man (Italo Moderni)
You’re based in Barcelona, but your collaborations and various artist compilations draw artists from all over the continent. How do you find artists to collaborate with? What do you look for when you want to work with an artist?
Chino :: Shoplifters (Italo Moderni)
Italo disco continues to see a resurgence in popularity. Why is this genre so enduring and endearing?
Larry Day :: Fashion Girl (I.D. Limited)
Alba :: Philomena (Aube)
Suicide Booth :: Aura (Das Drehmoment)
How is the music scene in Barcelona?
Mata Hari :: Mata Hari Mata Hari (Blanco y Negro/Bordello A Parigii/Moustache)
It appears that the electronic scene in Spain favours darker sounds: we’ve already spoken of Ombra festival, countless artists talk of their love of post-punk and industrial while labels like barro, fill-lex and soil really push this sound. Why do you think darkness continues to be so prevalent in the Spanish scene?
Boris Divider :: Parallel (Arcanoid remix version 2) (Frigio)
What are you releasing next? Any snippets for us?
Timothy.J.Fairplay :: Altar Room (Italo Moderni)
Univac :: Aegis (Italo Moderni)
What do you have planned for the future? (tours/shows/record releases etc. remember this interview will probably air mid February)? And to finish, what is a guilty pleasure track for you?
Axxess :: Dancing Shadows (Lamborghini/Medical)
Synth wave, coarse acid, and braindance musings all coming to the fore
Suction Records recently crossed a pretty incredible milestone. The Canadian imprint, founded by Jason Amm (Solvent) and Gregory De Roche (Lowfish), has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. For more than two and half decades the label has curated a wealth of music, unearthed unheard artists and brought smiles to the faces of the electronic faithful.
WE FORFEIT, after a serious amount of datebook dueling, managed to catch up with Jason just before Christmas. The result? A two hour show that charts the very first synthesizer steps of Solvent and Lowfish, the growth of their unique style of electronics and the evolution of the imprint and sound.
From High School encounters and fax machine correspondences to Detroit recognition, Solvent maps how two Canadians broke onto the scene in the early 1990s. From these humble beginning, Amm describes new directions in his sound and the elation at discovering RX-101. As Suction has evolved, so does the conversation with synth wave, coarse acid, and braindance musings all coming to the fore.
Thanks very much to Solvent for chatting with us, and thanks so much for all the years of music.
Tracklist ::Solvent :: My Blue Car (Suction)
Lowfish :: Spiders and Glass (Solvent remix) (Suction)
Lowfish :: Walking with Scissors (Suction)
µ-Ziq ::Tango N’ Vectif (Rephlex)
L’usine :: Charydis (Isophlux)
Lowfish :: Arch Melvin (Suction)
Solvent :: Panel of Experts (Soul Jazz)
Adult :: Dispassionate Furniture (Ersatz Audio)
Perspects :: Desire & Efficiency (Ersatz Audio)
Solvent :: My Radio (Ghostly)
Solvent :: Fasten (Minimal Rome)
RX-101 :: Bloom (Part 1) (Suction)
RX-101 :: August ‘97 (Suction)
RX-101 :: Sys.rx.9.b013 (Suction)
Kübler-Ross :: Bridges (Ice Machine)
Ceramic Hello :: Gestures (Ice Machine)
Skanfrom :: Trains & Lines (Suction)
Digital Poodle :: Soul Crush (Suction)
CrusHerr :: Off The Planet (Dope Sheets)
Useless Idea :: Mello Tron (Suction)
June :: Navigation (Suction)
Solvent vs Lowfish :: CemBlex (CEM Rmx) (Vynalogica)
Solvent vs Lowfish :: Built-In Microphone (CEM Rmx) (Vynalogica)
Ceramic Hello :: Sampling The Blast Furnace (Suction)
Emitió por Radio Relativa 09/02/23
WE FORFEIT :: Radio Relativa #25
The ball bearing gets rolling
The lads are back after the Christmas break with a show brimming with quality. Every genre under the electronic sun is explored. The ball bearing gets rolling with our friends from Leipzig and some brand spanking new releases care of Clear Memory and Pulse Drift. Italo and pop melt in our WE FORFEIT extended version of 1980s gem “Self Control” before we sink into some broken beats and silken synths from Canada’s Pop District.
Shame on us, for the first time we’ve got some tracks from one of the most able modern day acid abstractionists: Roy of the Ravers. Never afraid to mine their way into the golden techno seams of the 90s, Aphex Twin, Joey Beltram and Kinesthesia all feature. The genres keep coming thick and fast with classic fuzzy fizzing house coming from Sweet D and T.Traxx. We dig ever deeper to unearth modern house imaginings from Hieroglyphic Being on Hivern, Juzer on Rubber and Benedek on L.I.ES.
The styles just keep coming. Liquid lavender flows from Upsammy, and her remix of Larry Heard, before the laser grooves of Melatonin Man on Nous’klaer Audio. To close, we’ve a little tribute to a pioneer of electronica. Gridlock were a US outfit active from the mid 90s to the early 2000s, and were responsible for some truly wonderful machine music. Sadly, Mike Wells of the duo passed away some months ago. As a wee homage, this month’s show ends with Gridlock’s “364” with a special collaboration from Proem.
More styles than ya could shake a stick at. ¡Enjoi!
Tracklist ::
Int Main :: Setup II (Clear Memory)
Digitizer :: Machine Learning (Pulse Drift)
Robyrt Hecht :: The Cone (Clear Memory)
Laura Brannigan :: Self Control (Atlantic)
Raff :: Self Control (Carrere)
Pop District :: Red Eye (Distant Works)
Roy of the Ravers :: Oriental X0X-Press (90’s Bassmix Edit) (Emotional Response)
Roy of the Ravers :: The Clock House Pt.2 (Emotional Response)
Aphex Twin :: Heliosphan (R&S)
Kinaesthesia :: Kobal (Rephlex)
Technical Onslaught :: Eyes Of The Mind (Rawax)
Joey Beltram :: Proto Four (Ownlife)
Sweet D :: Thanks Ya (Traxx)
T.Traxx :: Piano Project (Clone)
Hieroglyphic Being & The Truth Theory Trio :: Aum 8 (Hivern Discs)
Mr Fingers :: Outer Acid (Upsammy Hearing Voices Remix) (Alleviated)
Melatonin Man :: Garrol (Nous’klaer Audio)
Gene Hunt & Rob Hardy:: 16 & Indians (Rush Hour)
Leron Carson :: China II (Sound Signature)
Juzer :: The Saturators (RUBBER)
Benedek :: Lighten Up (L.I.E.S)
Gridlock :: 364 (One Day With Proem) (Hymen)
The last twelve months has dissolved into a kaleidoscope of similar news stories, mutating variants and a continued sense of unease. Thankfully there is always music to sooth the fevered brow; music and tradition.
Blurs. Slurs. Furs.
Little off schedule, but always on point, here at WE FORFEIT. Another year has passed. Where does it go? Blurs. Slurs. Furs. The last twelve months has dissolved into a kaleidoscope of similar news stories, mutating variants and a continued sense of unease. Thankfully there is always music to sooth the fevered brow; music and tradition. And the WE FORFEIT boys are staunch traditionalists if they are anything.
As has become a tradition here at the WE FORFEIT household at Christmas, we’ve sipped sherry, gobbled cake and taken time out to collect together some of our favorite releases of 2021.
Robbie struggles to find his way into 2021 as he’s stuck down re-issue lane. Tracks come from the cracking Profondo Nero compilation on Dekmantel for some Italo festive cheer. Next Madrid’s Unusual Systems is well represented with two tracks from their most recent album by P89 before some warming techno nostalgia from the Likemind camp. The boundary to “new release” is finally breached with Alphonse’s tripping jungle techno gem “Beechwood.”
Chris takes the helm with his hometown of Glasgow and World Crime League. Spain is a major focus. We have Valencia’s HC Records and Mick Will’s always top editing for Frigio, Roger Van Lunteren’s superb 12” from the Masa Series before returning to Madrid with Martin Matiske on Femur and Javonntte on DJ F’s Prayers For The Long Life. In between is a sprinkling of electro by DMX Krew, a dollop of nostalgia from Axodry and some acid rumblings from Humanoid. Atenna and Omar Josoef close Chris’s segment as we finish up back with Ibierian electronics care of the excellent Promising/Youngster on Analogical Force.
We’re back for more in 2022 with a belly full of desire, a record bag full of hope and a whiskey bottle nearing the dregs.
Galvanica :: Nightlights In Japan (Dekmantel)
Isamar & Compañia :: No Estas (Dekmantel)
Diego :: Walk in the Night (ZYX)
Mark :: Dreamland (Dekmantel)
Attack 41 :: Soviet Calculator (P89 Remix Vocal) (Unusual Systems)
P89 :: Acid Dream (Unusual Systems)
Fugue :: Contrapoint (Likemind)
Nuron :: Mirage (Likemind)
Alphonse :: Beechwood (Klasse Wrecks)
World Crime League :: Morning People (Infinite Wisdom Glasgow)
Mariska Neerman :: Transatlatic Romancer (HC)
Simbolo :: Synchrono (Mick Wills Edit) (Frigio)
Martin Matiske :: Ran´ningu (Femur)
DMX Krew ft Black Tony :: Night Creatures (Breakin’)
Javonntte :: Monday Love (Prayers For The Long Life)
Axodry :: Loosing You (DBH)
Humanoid :: Pyramid 17 (De:tuned)
Roger Van Lunteren :: Saskia End Courts (MASA Series)
Antenna :: Timables (Clone Royal Oak)
Omar Josoef :: Morning World (Hard Fist)
Promising/Youngster :: Both of You (Analogical Force)
Rejoicing in the return of Ombra, of course cancelled in 2020 with COVID, the lads from WE FORFEIT have scoured their collections to bring the festival to those who couldn’t make it there this year.
Rejoicing in the return of Ombra
Rejoicing in the return of Ombra, of course cancelled in 2020 with COVID, the lads from WE FORFEIT have scoured their collections to bring the festival to those who couldn’t make it there this year. Robbie gets the ball rolling with the veteran synth pop of Belgium’s Parade Ground and Italo Moderni’s Adrian Marth. Pinkman Records was well represented at Ombra with label boss Marsman curating the Operater stage. The imprint’s back catalog it plumbed for this special before homegrown talent takes center stage with El Aviador Dro and Valis on Oraculo Records.
Credit00 and June cross Robbie and Chris’ selections. Chris links his Scottish hometown with Madrid as he serves up Broken English Club’s scorched and serrated version of Esplendor Geometrico of “Rotor” released on Glasgow’s Contort Yourself.
Spain is well represented in this month’s show. We’re back to Madrid, or should I say Valencia now, with Frigio Records and some serious edit action from Juanpablo, Sneaker and Vinilette as well as Clock DVA’s brooding remix of Pragma. Barcelona’s adopted son, Neud Photo, offers an electro respite with the smouldering Indeks before Chris offers Iberian imprints like Brokntoys, Fill-lex Records and Soil.
The mood lightens as Minimal Wave maestro Das Ding offers three cold muzak productions taken from his Tear Apart Tapes label. Amin Peck, who sadly wasn’t at the festival, leads us out with his italo-wave “Suicidal.”
¡Enjoi
Parade Ground :: Golden Years (Dark Entries)
Adrian Marth :: Testarrosa Girl (Italo Moderni)
Parade Ground :: Hollywood (Dark Entries)
Roberto Auser :: Never Say Never Again (Mark Du Mosch Remix) (Pinkman)
Peeping Tom :: Soaring (Pinkman)
Norwell :: Nordic Nights (Pinkman)
El Aviador Dro :: Auoduelo (Mecanica)
Valis :: Cold World Melts (Valis Remix) (Oráculo)
Credit 00 :: System Down (Bordello A Parigi)
June :: Direct Contact (June)
Trenton Chase :: Say So (June)
Esplandor Geométrico :: Rotor (Broken English Club Remix (Contort Yourself)
Credit 00 :: Ice Cream (Uncanny Valley)
Son Of Sam:: God Save The King (Vinilette´s Edit) (Frigio)
Neud Photo :: Indeks (Return to Disorder)
Pegasus :: Perseguido Por El Rayo (Juanpablo & Dunkeltier´s Edit) (Frigio)
Pragma :: Amna (Reborn And Reformed Clock DVA Remix) (Frigio)
WLDV :: Who are you (Fill-Ex)
Gamma Intel :: Bad Intel (Brokntoys)
Kovyazin D :: Despite Everything (Soil)
Das Ding :: Intermission (Tear Apart Tapes)
Das Ding :: Dream Decay (Tear Apart Tapes)
Das Ding :: Nerd (Tear Apart Tapes)
Amen Peck :: Suicidal (Borderline)
