Splitting their time between Stockholm and Washington DC, Pleasurekraft seem to embody the best of both sides of the Atlantic.
Kaveh Soroush and Kalle Ronngardh craft deep, probing techno cuts, but with an arena sensibility. There's a sense of American bombast in there, yet tempered with the continual innovation displayed by continental techno over the past two decades.
Fresh from yet another lung-bursting trip across the United States, Pleasurekraft recently unveiled their annual promo mix. Seemingly fusing "the blood, sweat, and tears of 30+ human beings" the mix contains "a good solid chunk of techno/house music, both new and old."
Essentially giving a broad sweep of their current set, the mix has proved overwhelmingly popular with fans. Gaining more than 20,000 SoundCloud plays in just 24 hours, you can tune in below:
Alongside this, Pleasurekraft have pieced together a playlist for Clash. Featuring cuts which have currently caught their ear, it ranges from the soulful productions of Adana Twins to some of Fabio Giannelli's more overlooked Get Physical joints – all of which are present in their brand new promo mix.
A typically broad-ranging selection, the duo even find time to include something tasty from their own Kraftek imprint.
Check it out now.
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Adana Twins – 'Drive' feat. Khan (Exploited)
A lot of people talk about records having "soul" – and there are plenty of wonderful records out there that have soul – however that does not necessarily mean they are emotive. This track by the Hamburg based duo is just dripping with emotion. When I originally heard this record and the three chord piano progression came in for the first time I literally got goosebumps. It's not easy to make a dance track that works in a club setting and has this much emotional intensity – I'll play this record for years and am jealous we didn't make it!
Frankey & Sandrino – 'The Edge' (Innervisions)
The best way to describe this record is in terms of an impressionist painting. Each little piece is so beautifully made that you can listen just to the pads in it – or the percussion, or the ambient children's sounds, or the leads that don't conform to the repetitive melodies that are so often peppered in club tracks – I could keep going but you get my point. But it's when you really stand back and take this whole track in that you stand in awe of its musicianship. Again – not an easy thing to pull off in a sea of loop based and fad driven music – but 'The Edge' is and will be one of my favorite electronic records ever made. If all "deep house" records that people fawned over were this good – this diluted sub-genre wouldn't be another notch on the bedpost of dance trends.
Tiger Stripes – 'Keep A Movin' (Desolat)
Our boy Mikael from Sweden aka Tiger Stripes – who is such a lovely person with an encyclopaedic knowledge of classic dance records changed his usual sound a bit for the Desolat EP this record came from (also check the incredible track 'Sisters' off the same release) – and in my personal opinion it is the best work he has done to date – cerebral, dark, brooding, and oh so beautiful. I am so happy to have not only done a remix together but also to be working on future projects with him as well for next year.
&Me – 'After Dark' (Keinemusik)
What is there to say about &Me that hasn't been said already. Part of the dope Berlin Keinemusik crew who really are as cool as they seem – this record I think shows &Me at the top of his game – and a brilliant vocal over top to really get those zombie hands in the air at 7am.
Fabio Giannelli – 'Maintain (Just Be Deep Mix)' (Get Physical)
Dope percussive remix from Bushwaka's solo 'Just Be' moniker on the one and only Get Physical. The vocals are just soooooo fucking good on this record. One of my favorite records from last year.
Whyt Noyz – 'Shift' (Sci+Tec)
London based duo who have regular homes on Sci+Tec and Minus are one of our absolute favorite techno producers. The fact that this track went relatively unnoticed as the last track on a four track EP is shocking to me – one of my top three favorite tracks of the year. Incredible vocals – incredible baseline and drums, and wait for it – THE HOOK! Yes it's possible to have a hook in a techno track and still have it be cool!
Paul Ursin – '28 Drums' (Kraftek)
Up and coming Sicilian producer Paul Ursin sent this record over a few months ago and after about 30 seconds of listening I already knew it was going to be on our label. So well made, such a tight and original groove, and just constructed to demolish dance floors – so exciting… and it's out now!
Paride Saraceni – 'Dissolute' (Snatch!)
Another Italian on the list – Paride's EP that this track came from has another wicked track that I had such a hard time deciding which one to use (check 'Words'). Again this is a great example of a track with emotion – and the vocal sample he used is the way you use a vocal sample properly without bastardizing it.
Terranova – 'Tourette' (Kompakt)
&Me teams up with Fetisch when they release under the Terranova moniker – this tune (like everything &Me touches) is so creative and original sounding from the groove all the way up to the more musical ideas in it but it still has that visceral quality to get everyone moving on the dance floor.
Matrixxman – 'The Spell' (Kraftek)
One of my absolute favorite records we have ever put out – again another techno track with actual melodies in it that can still rock a dance floor. This guy is originally from Washington DC and now based in San Francisco – and I first heard about him after picking up a copy of a remix he did for Damian Lazarus' Crosstown Rebels imprint – and he has been slaying it ever since with great releases on labels like Matthew Dear's Spectral (and of course ours – if we're allowed to call our own label 'great'!).
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Check out the latest Pleasurekraft announcements on their official website.
