Tartelet RecordsTo the casual observer, the Copenhagen-based record label, Tartelet Records can have a somewhat random or haphazard quality to it. The releases are placed somewhere within the field of experimental house and techno but there doesn’t seem to be any identifiable logic to the distinctive output. That is, unless you dig a little deeper and examine the aural and visual aesthetic with discerning eyes and ears, which is when you’ll discover that the labels founding fathers have very set ideas on how they want to go about the business of putting out music. Since its inception, the Tartelet crew has been on an ambitious, idealistic mission to put out the freshest, strangest and most remarkable new electronic music while paying meticulous attention to its visual communication. This is why every record on the young Danish label marks a new chapter in terms of both music and cover art.
Kenton Slash Demon‘it-factor’, ‘charisma’, ‘sex-appeal’; whatever you choose to call that intangible, elusive characteristic that make people pause whatever they’re doing and lose their sense of place, is what this demonically talented duo from Copenhagen have in spades. And, as audiences who’ve witnessed the Kenton Slash Demon live experience can attest to, Jonas Kenton and Silas Moldenhawer not only know their way around the silvery knobs and matte-black synths of their Copenhagen-based production studio. The recent collaboration with visual artists Dark Matters has also seen them actualize a Dionysian spectacle of a live show that has even the most jaded cynics dancing with tears in their eyes.
Although the Kenton Slash Demon back catalogue is still relatively small compared to that of seasoned dance floor giants, they’ve managed to drum up fervent enthusiasm in discerning circles. When ‘Khattabi dropped in the summer of 2009, electronic connoisseurs took notice. Then came the ‘SUN’ EP, which not only amplified the building buzz but also saw the mighty John Talabot incorporating the single of the same name into his DJ-set. Far from resting on their laurels, the duo flung themselves head-first into the overarchingly ambitious ‘Schwarzschild Solution’ trilogy, the project inspired by Karl Schwarzschild’s complex theory on gravitational pull and celestial bodies that contained the three records ‘SUN’, ‘Matter’, and ‘Daemon’ as well as a slew of mind-bending remixes. It cemented the span and scope of their talent and established that Kenton Slash Demon isn’t just music to take drugs to; It is, as that great director Alejandro Jodorowsky once put it, the drug itself.
This unshakable knack for orchestrating benign sensory overload began somewhere in the tiny big city of Copenhagen where Jonas and Silas grew up together and discovered their mutual love of electronic music in their teens. After they’d been DJing and producing for a while, they met two other talented musicians with whom they formed Copenhagen electro outfit, When Saints go Machine, the band which is now a well-established part of the Danish indie-scene and currently receiving international praise for their new Album, ‘Konkylie’. Jonas and Silas have been developing Kenton Slash Demon as a separate entity, but their involvement in WSGM has undoubtedly played a significant part in honing the signature Kenton Slash Demon sound. You might say that it adds that element of tight professionalism to the dynamic - a layer of craftsmanship that helps realize their spaced-out sensibility.
Needless to say, It’s always a pleasure to watch talented people doing their thing at the top of their game. And yet, whenever this particular artistic ascent assaults the senses, you get the distinct feeling that the top isn’t even remotely within visible range. Lingering in the undercurrent of their effortlessly clever yet strikingly immediate, beat-driven narratives of tracks like ‘Khattabi’ ‘Sun’ and ‘Daemon’ is the very real possibility that there’s so much more come. More startlingly fresh, uncategorizable dance music to be made, more dance floors to be annihilated.
Samuel andré MadsenUsing the dingy dive bars and trance-inducing techno clubs of Copenhagen as his playground, Producer/DJ Samuel André Madsen is fast on his way to becoming an internationally recognized exponent of timeless techno and classic, effervescent house. At 24, the tall beat-smith is a fully-fledged member of Copenhagen’s new batch of rising young club stars, and his mission – the dissemination of the distinctive blend of technoid soul, which has come to be his trademark – is winning over an increasingly diverse crowd of music lovers. It’s a sound that draws on the vast expanses of vintage, American dance music, bringing about a growing production catalogue, where hypnotic echoes of Detroit hero Omar S and subtle pulses of Chicago-house weave themselves in and out of the aural tapestry. New and old, tradition and innovation is combined in a stealthy yet soulful balance.
Of course, Samuel’s no stranger to contradictions. The first thing you’ll notice, if you ever get the pleasure of engaging him in conversation, is his nuanced take on life. Coming from a remote and religious part of Jutland where Samuel and his brother would have to shroud their 90s euro-dance listening sessions in the secrecy of their bedroom, and then relocating to the melancholy, concrete wilderness of Copenhagen’s Nordvest (North Western) area at 19, this is no accident; Samuel has explored a considerable part of the Danish socio-cultural spectrum at a tender age – a fact which often reveals itself in his worldly productions, podcasts and DJ sets.
James BraunWhile growing up in a quiet, rural part of Denmark, James Braun predominantly found escape from the boredom in music. Artists like Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Theo Parrish, Tortoise and Aphex Twin led him down dark and mysterious alleys into a haven of the moving sounds of the big city.
He started making music and DJ'ing in '98 at his local high school, and moved to Copenhagen after finishing his final exams in 2000. Ten years later, he’s an acclaimed producer and DJ in his native country, who produces and remixes left and right. He’s also gained quite a bit of international recognition after his releases on Tartelet Records and Mothership Music, which have won the hearts of notables like Carl Craig, Martyn, Steve Bug and Anja Schneider.
When Djing, James Braun skilfully mixes house and techno in a smooth yet highly dynamic way; there’s deep chords for the soul, basslines for the heart, big kicks for the guys and sexy claps for the ladies.
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