Berlin's Apparat Prepares Next DJ-Kicks

Sasha 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.

Aptly joking that his DJ-KiCKs selection 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.

“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.”

The 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.”

The mix also includes two exclusive Apparat tracks, as well as an unreleased track from Telefon Tel Aviv, all of which will be released in full track versions on an EP later this year. The gorgeous album-opener "Circles" builds off of highly textured string plucks and rattling percussion into a propulsive track, complete with shimmering guitar and a melancholy vocal. Surfacing near the end of the mix, the DJ-Kicks exclusive track "Sayulita" exemplifies Apparat's skill for mixing the tactile with the intangible. Swaths of swirling melody shroud a backing percussion track so clear the listener feels that they might be in the same room as the player.

Apparat- DJ-Kicks

(October 26th, !K7)

http://www.apparat-djkicks.com