every memory has a soundtrack of its own

alice. electronic music enthusiast since '09. here to share music that I love, sometimes with a memory associated with the song.

[milkbunsssss]

A part of you Is bringing out something in me It's all for you so, please Stay a while with me

[milkbunsssss]

I first heard this song while I was listening to Fabric Presents: Amelie Lens. ‘Rave with Me’ was one of the songs I kept going back to so naturally, I started going down a rabbit hole with finding out more about Nur Jaber.

A staple at Berghain and also a resident of ://about blank’s STAUB parties, Nur Jaber definitely has a solid presence in the world of techno.

Born in Lebanon in the capitol of Beirut, Nur Jaber started out with a classical background that later transitioned to playing drums and bass guitar, to DJing house music, before landing in what she’s best known for: heavy techno.

Her upbringing in Beirut was where she was first exposed to the dance music scene but also where she was in a constant mindset of survival mode. It wasn’t until she got out on her own and eventually made her way to Berlin that she realized how much she had unconsciously bottled up from living in a country that was on the brink of destruction. Techno helped her find a freedom that didn’t exist before, and helped release some of that bottled up trauma. From there, she began pouring her own feelings and experiences into her music, most notably seen in Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Nur also uses her own vocals in some of her songs, wanting the

LOOPING OF STRONG, INFLUENTIAL WORDS TO HELP THE UNCONSCIOUS AWAKEN

On top of DJing and producing, Nur Jaber also runs her own label, OSF, which stands for “On S’en Fout” which roughly translates to “We moved beyond caring”. It’s a reminder that no matter what is going on back in her home country, that it can’t stop her from following her dreams.

[milkbunsssss]

Black is the colour of my true love’s hair Her lips are like a rose so fair, She’s got the sweetest face and the gentlest hands I love the ground, whereon she stands

I cannot get enough of this song. The vocals are absolutely haunting and even though the song is over 7 minutes long, I always find myself thinking that it was over way too soon. There’s quite a few remixes of this song as well, each one beautifully done.

The Devine Intervention remix came out in 2007 and is still played to this day. From my quick search, it seems like MarLo is still quite a fan of the song, playing it several times a year in his sets, sometimes mashed up with another song.

I can’t remember where I had heard this song live but it’s standalone enough that my memory was instantly triggered when I found it again on Reddit. A bit of a chance encounter but maybe the same will happen again when I’m at the next ABGT.

[milkbunsssss]

SLEEPLESS, LIGHTLESS, I’VE BEEN WAITING, FOR YOU. IN SECRET, COUNTING, THE HOURS, UNTIL THE MORNING SUN

Jezper Soderlund (Airbase) has been in the scene since 1994 and also went by a myriad of other aliases (he had over ten!) However, he has since merged everything under ‘Airbase’ back in 2005.

‘Denial’ was released back in 2008. This song has so many dreamy layers to it, echoing in a blissful mix. I never get tired of listening to it.

The lyrics were sung by Floria Ambra, who also happened to be Airbase’s girlfriend at the time (they later got engaged). I found this tidbit to be really sweet 🙂

[mafiacherry]

"are u busy rn?" yes i'm listening to music

[milkbunsssss]

[[Note: post written in January 2020, before any COVID restrictions]]

The first time I heard a mix of this song was probably ATB’s at Dreamstate, several years back. The vocals were catchy and haunting and hard to forget. Little did I know that this song has a lot of history that goes way back.

It was originally recorded as a cappella in 1983 and became an international hit in 1992 via Opus III. Since then, there have been many covers and variations on it. What I did not expect was a techno remix of it by none other than Brennen Grey.

I was out last weekend, lamenting to my friend about how there were zero techno events going on, and how we have to travel at least an hour away if there happened to be any. Our only best solution was to drink in the car and listen to techno, as we did not feel like paying $50 for a shitty club venue event that was going on nearby. My friend chose Adam Beyer’s Awakenings set from 2017 and about half an hour into the set, “It’s a Fine Day” started playing.

I can easily say that Brennen Grey’s version is my favorite. I just wish he had it on Spotify but luckily, he had provided a free download on SoundCloud (provided in the description of the SoundCloud link I have above).

Brb gonna keep playing this on repeat.

[milkbunsssss]

Was feeling blue the other day over how out of reach Berlin’s infamously hedonistic KitKat club was to me, being that I am situated all the way in the States so I decided to look up their instagram to relive the memories. To be honest, their IG feed wasn’t quite what I was looking for (probably doesn’t help that I don’t understand a schnitzel of German) but luckily their IG stories for that day/night was intriguing.

“Symbiotikka tonight” was plastered over the screen, accompanied by the typical thumping techno beats that Berlin is so known for, splashed with hazy videography that is not unlike the dungeon-esque rooms of KitKat itself. Curious, I clicked on the tag and was taken to their Symbiotikka page.

Symbiotikka is KitKat’s Wednesday techno and fetish night, which did not seem unlike their Wasteland party that I attended last October. Now I was feeling at home. I clicked on one of the videos and was instantly pulled into a dizzying “I must find this song NOW” frenzy. Luckily for me, I did not have to look far: the DJ was tagged in the caption.

DJ JORDAN.

Off to Soundcloud I went and luckily for me, his New Year’s set for this year at KitKat was posted at the very top. How lovely would it have been to ring in the new decade while sharing the swings above the pool with another latex-encased gal? Until that can happen again, I'll just imagine a sweltering crowd pulsate collectively to the never-ending pounding drum kicks.

Note: this post was written back in late February of 2020.

[milkbunsssss]

praying to the moon to just take me home, to take me home, to take me home

[milkbunsssss]

In the end, if we meet again Please tell me that you’ll be there Just holding my hand

The original was one of my favorite tracks from Gabriel and Dresdan’s Remedy album. Fatum’s remix is so good as well, I have a hard time deciding which I like more. The remix has a darker and more moody feel, which I’m always a sucker for. 

[milkbunsssss]

Can we agree that Eleonora has the perfect voice for floaty, haunting lyrics?

[milkbunsssss]

rezz

I didn’t realize I talked about Rezz this much until I got gifted two of her merch separately from friends who don’t even know each other LOL.

Seriously though, sunglasssister has me rolling in tears most of the time.

[ravetaper]

KLOUD - EDC Las Vegas 2021 Live Set

This is a 45-minute audio recording of Kloud at EDC Las Vegas 2021 live set, Saturday, October 23, 2021, at the Circuit Grounds stage. The set began at 7:00 pm.

Rave Tapes · Kloud Live @ EDC Las Vegas 2021 (full set, stereo)

KLOUD. What a pleasant surprise! I hadn’t originally planned to make Kloud’s set. I expected to record Diplo and Lee Foss’s opening B2B set at Cosmic Meadow and then take a leisurely break before checking out one of the trance dj’s at 8:30. But a bad accident on the northbound I-15 delayed my arrival by one hour. I was only able to catch the last 20 minutes of the Cosmic Meadow set – bummer!

Eager to record *something*I checked my set time spreadsheet. There was Kloud’s name, staring back at me. There had been some buzz online about Kloud. Some people were annoyed that is set was so early and were worried they would miss it. “Well, I won’t miss it,” I told myself.

But first, I had to make it to Circuit Grounds. The security staff is instructed to contain the crowd at Cosmic Meadow until the opening sets finish at 7 PM. Organizers don’t want masses of people wandering the festival grounds before the other stages officially open. So as soon as 7 PM hits, the walkways are opened, and people rush to reach their preferred stage. Not wanting to miss any seconds of Kloud’s set, I half-jogged my way to Circuit Grounds.

Circuit Grounds is easily one of the best venues at EDC. First, it’s a massive space, but not as massive as Kinetic Field. It’s huge, but not overwhelmingly huge. Second, the sounds system rocks. No matter who is playing, the sound is usually excellent, with clear fidelity and loud volume. Visually speaking, the stage is surrounded by a series of large LED panels. Lighting trellises extend far back on either side, so the space feels simultaneously contained yet wide open. That Kloud would play at Circuit Grounds almost guaranteed it would be a good experience.

It did take me about 3-4 minutes to reach Circuit Grounds after the gates opened. So I probably did miss the opening notes of Kloud’s set. However, I managed to get close enough and fire up my recorder just as a slow build was developing in the mix. It was actually a good place to start the recording. As most of the crowd hadn’t arrived yet, I got first pick of where I wanted to stand – direct center, right behind the vip skybox deck. That spot may not have the best view, but it’s certainly the best spot from an auditory standpoint. I took a swig of water from my hydro pack and settled in for the ride. And what I ride it was!

Truth be told, the first time I heard Kloud was one week before EDC. About 7 days before the festival, organizers finally release the set times. For me, that week is a mad rush to figure out which artists I want to see.

Of course, there are a few standouts every year that I know I will see. But then there are some time slots where my choice isn’t so clear. I actually spend several hours scanning live sets on SoundCloud and YouTube, hoping to discover worthwhile up-and-coming artists. The criterion I use for choosing an artist isn’t necessarily the genre. Anyone who follows this site knows that I enjoy most sub-genres of electronic dance music. Rather, the criterion I use is very simple: am I moved by what I hear? To me, there must be some kind of emotion contained in the music. That emotion can be wild and aggressive, mellow and melancholy, bouncy and energetic, or any other combination of emotions I can connect with.

Unfortunately, my system isn’t foolproof. Sometimes an artist’s live performance outshines anything they have online. The opposite is also true. Sometimes an artist has impressive content online, but the live set falls flat. In many cases I just have to take a chance and go with my gut. Sometimes it pays off big time. Other times, it’s “meh, oh well. Maybe I should have seen that other set…”

And this brings me to Kloud’s set. To borrow from the kids’ current vernacular, Kloud’s set was, in a word, Fire! I mean, from start to finish, I was just blown away. It was hard driving techno, not too fast, not too slow, and it had a distinct personality.

Upon seeing Kloud’s robotic helmet, one can’t help but draw comparisons to Daft Punk. But the mask also integrates animated LEDs somewhat reminiscent of Rezz’s electric glasses. Ok, I thought, what am I in for?

I should take a moment and say I have no problem with masks, uniforms, so-called gimmicks, whatever it takes to differentiate from the crowd. I actually like it when an artist embodies a mysterious avatar. It adds a fun element to their brand. At the end of the day, however, the music has to stand on its own. There have been several artists who successfully incorporated a mask while proving their musical muscle: Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Marshmellow, Voyd, Malaa, Claptone, to name a few.

That said, Kloud certainly added his (its?) name to my list of competent, masked, producers and deejays.

The music itself meshed perfectly with Kloud’s robotic image. It felt like we were listening to music robots would dance to. The connection to Daft Punk isn’t only symbolic. I’ve always imagined Daft Punk’s music was made by funky robots, androids that somehow became infected by human soul. I was sensing something similar in Kloud’s music, although this creature was still more machine-like. KLOUD hasn’t yet been compromised with human funkiness.

And I friggin’ loved it! This was one of the sets that turns me into an instant fan. From this point forward, I will not miss a Kloud set if I can help it. I can’t wait to hear what he (it?) unleashes next time.

And the emotion that I demand was unquestionably present. In this case is was hard and mechanical, but there was something else. It was as if the Robot was yearning to be human. This contradiction culminated in the Kloud’s final track of the set. The female vocal “Follow me and I will follow you, Save me from this hell that I’ve been through” reminded me of some Isaac Asimov plot line, like two robots trying to escape a doomed space station.

It was all just so perfect. The music, the helmet, the venue, the crowd, the atmosphere. I can say with confidence this was one of my favorite sets of the weekend.

Thank you, Kloud! Until we meet again!

Buy Kloud’s new album ANATOMY on Apple Music!

Watch Kloud on YouTube!

Listen to Loud on SoundCloud!

Listen to Kloud on Spotify!

[milkbunsssss]

Last night, I dragged my stale ass back home after a night of drinking the worst tequila ever. (Fact: do not give into the hype like I did, majority of celebrity-endorsed alcohol tastes like ass. I’ll let you guess which one I tried). 

I glance at my phone and see it’s past 1am. In a previous lifetime, I would still be going hard, pounding shots, desperately trying to find another place to keep the party going but in this current life, I’m wiped out. I look down again and notice a text from a long-distant friend, who was more or less in the same hazy mindedness as me. He sends a Spotify link for this song without saying anything else. I open it, drop my phone on my bed, and start winding down.

5 minutes later, I start my text back to him: “I love this! It reminds me of older trance.” But before I send it, curiosity bites me and a quick google search tells me this song is indeed older trance, from 2008 - few years before I knew what trance music was, haha.

Anyways, I just wanna say, friends who have great music tastes and send you their finds are the best. :’)

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So just walk away Cause I don’t have the strength to leave you So just walk away Turn around without a word to say Will you walk away, walk away There’s no ever getting used to you So the sun can come down without your arms around me

[milkbunsssss]

Gonna be part of my monthly repeats for sure. 

[milkbunsssss]

My favorite find from this past Friday. It feels like I’m stuck in a dark, dreamy vortex, floating alongside an industrial orchestra. What the hell do I mean? Even I don’t fucking know, but you should give this song a listen. Do me a favor, and turn the volume all the way up, you won’t regret it.  

[milkbunsssss]

Three hours into our drive, conversations died off and all but the driver drifted off to sleep, lulled to top 40 EDM. However, as soon as this song went on, the four of us lifted our heads, rubbed our neck cramps, and went, “Wait wtf, this song is really good. BUMP IT LOUDER.”

And so it became our theme of the weekend, ever so fitting as we spent not one but two nights in a row watching the sun come up, piercing our bloodshot eyes and illuminating a sense of normalcy that many of us have not had since early 2020.

[ravetaper]

i_o EDC Las Vegas 2019 Live Set

This is the complete 69-minute live set of i_o at EDC Las Vegas 2019, recorded at 7:00 pm on May 17, 2019, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This recording is different from the official Insomniac live stream.

Last week I heard about i_o’s passing. The news struck hard. i_o was a rising star. He was a fresh face, full of talent, a young ambassador bringing techno to the EDM crowd and making it cool again.

I saw i_o play twice. The first time was at EDC Las Vegas 2019. He was one of the artists I purposely hand picked while trying to figure out my personalized schedule – a difficult task considering the daunting number of stages and artists performing each day.

As soon as Mala’s opening set concluded at Cosmic Meadow, I ran across the speedway to Circuit Ground and flicked on my camera just in time to catch the first notes of i_o’s set. I was giddy I had made it in time.

The air was warm with a light breeze blowing. The sun was still in the sky. People kept arriving by the hundreds. There was a sense of elation in the air. After the months and weeks of anticipation, after the ordeal of arriving in Las Vegas and sorting out accommodations, fighting traffic to reach the speedway, and making it through security, once inside the festival “headliners” were ready to let loose. Walking into the massive sprawl of Ciruit Grounds with i_o’s techno blaring and coordinated visuals splashing across a matrix of LED panels…one was easily overcome with inspiration and energy.

As you’ll hear, the set is a pattern of one techno banger after another. The sun began to set, marking the transition from day to night and signaling the start of a beautiful weekend.

As the daylight faded, the lighting and visual effects became more pronounced. Lines of code scrolled by at hyper speed, with the iconic i_o logo flashing on the center screen. To me, the computer imagery perfectly complemented the mechanical nature of the i_o’s music. Simple but powerful. The audience locked into the dj’s time code.

The set included many highlights, my favorite being a brilliant mashup of Eric Prydz’ “Generator” and Deadmau5’s “Monophobia”. As far as I know, this mashup is an i_o exclusive.

Speaking of Deadmau5, the second time I saw i_o live as was at Deadmau5’s Cube v3 show at the Hollywood Palladium on September 26, 2019. When I bought the tickets several months prior, the opening acts had not been announced. I was thrilled to discover i_o would be one of the opening djs.

i_o’s set at the Deadmau5 show was great, of course, but it was hard to compare to the magical open-air set played over Circuit Ground’s thundering sound system at EDC.

Some might wonder why I am releasing this recording after i_o’s passing, more than a year after his performance at EDC. The main reason why I didn’t release it earlier was because his set had been broadcast on the official EDC live stream. As a result, torrents of the ripped mp3 started popping up within hours of the performance. The set was already out there on the internet.

Still, news of i_o’s passing prompted me to pull up my files and take a closer look at what I had. Within a few moments I knew the right thing to do was to clean up the recording and share it. The simple reality is that my recordings sound drastically different than official streams. While this recording lacks a dry feed from the soundboard, it does a superb job of capturing the sound from the audience’s point of view. There’s no denying that this is a LIVE performance! Also, I discovered that the stream rip is missing the beginning of the set. I suspect the live stream started some minutes after i_o started. This means that my recording is likely the only one that exists that has the entire set, from start to finish.

That concludes the info I wanted to share about this recording. And as I type these words, listening back to the recording on headphones, the Prydz-Deadmau5 mashup comes on and a tear begins to fall.

“All of the love we generate The only thing that carries me on There’s nothing we need that it can’t create”

With the pandemic, the canceled shows including EDC 2020, and now i_o’s death, there is a lot to be sad about. Yet, I am an optimist. I hold fast to the ancient wisdom: “this too shall pass”, and I remember the endless stream of uplifting music just a click away. At least I can take comfort knowing i_o’s EDC set has been digitally immortalized, to be embraced by his fans for years to come.