Listado de la etiqueta: STEVE RACHMAD

Artist: Rebekah. Title: Distant. Label: CLR.
Release date: 22-05-2015 (digital) and 08-06-2015 (vinyl)

Tracklisting:

A1 Rebekah – “Distant”
A2 Rebekah – “Distant (STERAC Remix 1)”
B1 Rebekah – “Synchronicity”
B2 Rebekah – “Distant Memory”

Digital only: Rebekah – “Distant (STERAC Remix 2)”

About the release:

Distant is Rebekah’s 2nd release on CLR, after the success of her first Cycles EP back in 2013, the long awaited second single Distant is veering towards a deeper side of this Artist’s repertoire. Rebekah has been pushing her sound forward in the studio and has in the last year worked more and more with analogue synths and sequencers which is evident in the title track. Opting for a more broken beat and using a vast palette to create a soundscape that keeps the groove moving forward, which opens up with darker pads, maintaining the mood and feel.

Distant Memory takes sounds from the original track and shapes it into something slightly different and unpredictable by Rebekah, showcasing a completely new element of this artists work. Its downtempo and slightly experimental but also warm and inviting.

Synchronicity lifts up the pace and is a full out techno groove workout, Rebekah’s signature kicks come in to play but is almost more elegant here, complimenting the Distant pieces but also holding its own within the more discerning of dance floors.

STERAC has produced two fantastic remixes of the title track Distant, remix 1, is more of a groovier exploration where as remix 2 (digital only), leans to the more hypnotic side, both remixes are outstanding as expected from STERAC aka Steve Rachmad, modern techno at its best.

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Artist: Sterac. Title: Different Strokes. Label: Mote-Evolver.
Release date: 18-05-2015. Genre: Techno.

Tracklisting:

A1 / 1 – Stroke 1
A2 / 2 – Stroke 2
B1 / 3 – Stroke 3
B2 / 4 – Stroke 4

About the release:

Having both been on the scene for over twenty years, Mote Evolver’s founder Luke Slater and Dutch producer Steve Rachmad are considered veterans of the techno scene – both outlasting the genre’s various dips and flourishes in popularity. This considered, Rachmad’s debut on Mote Evolver seems all the more highly anticipated. Operating under his STERAC guise, Rachmad’s inaugural contribution to the label comes in the form of four hypnotic, rolling drum-machine experiments.

Rachmad’s formula across the EP is a spartan, uncluttered one. Even the track titles (Stroke 1 – 4) suggest he has taken some pains not to complicate proceedings unnecessarily, instead letting the music stand for itself. In the wrong hands the use of Roland 808’s can feel like a tired cliché when it comes to techno, yet Rachmad’s manipulation of the tool is nothing short of masterful. There is a buoyancy to his thudding rhythms, filtered hats shuffling effortlessly above raw 4/4 pulses. This trait is defined right from the offset – ‘Stroke 1’ marching forward steady and resolute. As with the rest of the release, the track has an abstract quality to it – the elements are processed heavily; filters and stereo-delays a common feature. Across ‘Stroke 2’ even the synths used feel hazy and out of focus, jutting forward between Rachmad’s stuttered rhythms. This and ‘Stroke 3’ both have a celestial space-age feel, like a satellite being gracefully travelling across the orbit. The EPs closer on the other hand, ‘Stroke 4’, is incontestably rooted to the dancefloor. Devoid of melody, the track is a frantic percussive workout, jagged claps and ticks jutting out between Rachmad’s booming low-end.

As a whole, the EP maintains a perfect balance between holding a consistent theme, whilst still offering plenty of twists and turns along the trip. It is perhaps little wonder Rachmad’s STERAC project has been garnering much acclaim in recent years – this EP in particular revealing a focus and clarity that only comes with years of experience.

About the artist:

Since his earliest productions, Amsterdam’s electronic music pioneer Steve Rachmad has created a legion of monikers for his various compositions. We’ve seen tracks from Black Scorpion, Tons of Tones, Rachmad Project, Scorp, Parallel 9, Ignacio, Dreg, Sterac Electronics and many more come out of his studio…

One of the main characters living on Planet Rachmad has always been STERAC: a side of Steve’s musical personality that’s not easily described. Let’s say that where other aliases were used for excursions to more dub-, disco-, or house- oriented records, STERAC’s focus has always been on the no-nonsense, darker, and deeper side of techno.

The STERAC discography consists of classic tracks on labels such as M-Plant and Tresor, with the 2012 remixes of his legendary album Secret Life Of Machines (1995) demonstrating the lasting quality of the STERAC oeuvre. Reinterpretations by Ricardo Villalobos, Joris Voorn, and Marc Romboy to name a few, proved a bit hit with fans and fellow artists. This year, STERAC releases appear on Klockworks and Delsin, while his schedule takes him on a tour past the world’s finest clubs: from Berlin’s Berghain to Tokyo’s Womb, and from Output in New York to Club Rex in Paris. On top of that, a series of selected remixes is coming your way.

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Artist: Sterac. Title: Klockworks 12. Label: Klockworks
Release Date: 23-06-2014

Tracklisting:

  • A1 Track 2
  • A2 Rotary
  • B1 In Circles
  • B2 Scheepsrecht

Press release:

Dutch techno legend Steve Rachmad, aka STERAC, joins the Klockworks ranks with an outstanding four-track EP, set for release on June 23rd.

For almost 20 years, Steve Rachmad has concentrated on the kind of melodic, grooved club tracks that DJs love, releasing on labels such as Music Man, Rejected, Tresor and Wolfskuil. Over this time, he has been responsible for some of techno’s true classics, ‘Astronotes’, ‘Asphynx’ and ‘Thera’ to name a few.

The particular tracks signed by Ben Klock for KW12 draw from a number of the styles STERAC has explored over the years, and each add something else of their own.

Opener ‘Track 2’ is punchy and brilliantly executed, setting the tone for the rest of the EP. It centres around coarse mid-range notes that develop throughout and bind the warm lows with high-frequency hiss.

Rachmad uses a similar sound palette on ‘Rotary’, a track that featured prominently in Ben Klock’s Fabric mix CD. This time he opts for a more spacious mix, allowing the unpredictable texture of hardware to create a retro bassline sure to get any crowd moving.

‘In Circles’ is deep and moody, but with uplifting strings and a Detroit feel. The strings give ‘In Circles’ the 3-dimensional, sci-fi quality that often marks out techno of the highest order, they are bouncy but reserved in their arrangement, keeping the track’s energy in perfect balance.

‘Scheepsrecht’ ends this release in style. The producer weaves the core elements with canny arrangement and an endlessly-dynamic mix, resulting in hypnotic, hard-as-nails club gear.

Bringing old-school production values up-to-date and keeping that unmistakable Dutch flavour, STERAC shows another side to the Klockworks sound. KW12 is sure to be on constant rotation amongst techno DJs of all styles, and will prove itself to be yet another essential Rachmad record.

Sterac Biography:

Since his earliest productions, Amsterdam’s electronic music pioneer Steve Rachmad has created a legion of monikers for his compositions. We’ve seen tracks from Black Scorpion, Tons of Tones, Rachmad Project, Scorp, Parallel 9, Ignacio, Dreg, Sterac Electronics, and many more come out of his studio …

One of the main characters living on Planet Rachmad has always been STERAC: one of Steve’s personalities with a musical nature that’s hard to pin down. Let’s say that where Steve has used other aliases for excursions to more dub-, disco-, or house- oriented records, STERAC’s focus has always been on the no-nonsense, darker and deeper side of techno.

The STERAC discography consists of classic tracks on labels such as M-Plant and Tresor, and in 2012 remixes of his legendary 1995 album Secret Life Of Machines demonstrated the lingering quality of this piece; reinterpretations by Ricardo Villalobos, Joris Voorn, and Marc Romboy to name a few, proved a big hit among fans and colleagues.

This year, releases appear on Klockworks and Delsin, while his schedule takes him on a tour past the worlds !nest clubs; from Berlin’s Berghain to Tokyo’s Womb, and from Output in New York to Club Rex in Paris. On top of that there will be a selected series of remixes coming your way.

Listen: