Buzzin Electronic Music

DJ Umek - Umek? Hell Yeah

Hell Yeah Recordings starts off a new compilation series with one of the original ambassadors of techno and of electronic music, Umek.

CD1 is a document of the current techno scene, and it’s all about Umek’s legendary mixing skills and his ear for a killer techno tune, no matter where it comes from.

Umek has selected the tracks from techno artists such as Fergie, Koen Groeneveld, Spektre, Dyno, Piatto, Dandi & Ugo, Olivier Giacomotto, Tomy Declerque, then added a few of his own tracks and remixes, and blended everything into what really sounds like the techno mix of summer 2009.

CD2 is a limited edition that contains 12 exclusive unreleased electronic workouts by Umek. All recorded between 2000 and 2006, and sourced from Umek’s own “Hidden Folder”, and only ever available on this bonus disc. The result is a fascinating retrospective way to discover the roots of a real techno authority.

I last saw Umek battering the dance floor at a disused air force base in the German countryside two years ago.  He banged out hard core track after hard core track. Minimal was one thing his set wasn’t.

This compilation for Hell Yeah! Recordings shows that the intensity remains, but there seems to have been a shift.  The assault of beats is still there, but the set is tighter, perhaps a more thoughtful considered dj-ing style has been used.

Umek forces the beat constantly, slightly tweaking it with a bit of reverb.  He loads on effects to lift the music away from some of those dark industrial techno styles out there.  The end result is bouncy, funked-up techno. Drawing on some of the biggest producers out there and blending them with new talent particularly from his homeland Slovenia, the mix is a pure expression of what the current pure techno sound is.

Minimal this may not be.  But what a nice change that is!

The difficulty in putting together a mix compilation is that it will be listened to in a very different environment from where the inspiration came from.  I’ve found some DJ mixes to have been modified for the bedrooms and lounges that they will be played in.  Not so with Umek.  From the start to the abrupt finish this set has all the power I have come to expect from his live sets.

Umek? Hell Yeah! Tracklist

CD1 – mixed by UMEK

01) Federico Milani – Green (Alex Di Stefano Remix)
02) Aneuria – Koya Si Ti (Tomy DeClerque Remix)
03) Andrea Mattioli & Gabriel C – Twister (Dandi & Ugo Remix)
04) Marshall & Libex – Turin Quality Clubbing (Piatto Remix)
05) Spartaque – Fobia (Piatto Remix)
06) Marco Brugattu & Paul Cart – Billie’s Mascotte (Nihad, Lasse & Nima Remix)
07) Oliver Koletzki & Roland Clark – Yes We Can (Umek Remix)
08) Joy Kitikonti – Voiceover (Kiko rmx)
09) Olivier Giacomotto & DJ Tonio – Rex The Club
10) Lollo – Microminitech (Gennaro Mastrantonio Remix)
11) Umek – You Might Hear Nothing
12) Mowree – Special Wine
13) Steve Mac & Paul Harris – Dizzy Heights
14) Alex D’Elia & Da Lukas – Didascalia (Piatto Remix)
15) Namtrack – This Is What U Need (Amir Remix)
16) Koen Groeneveld – Wake Turbulence (Spektre Remix)
17) Maxime Dangles – John Conrad
18) Umek – 16th Century Japan
19) Dyno & Alex Di Stefano – Sutura
20) Sinisa Lukic – Frka Frka
21) Joseph Capriati – C’est La Vie (Umek Remix)
22) Tomy DeClerque – Loki
23) Quivver – Is There Anybody There (Boz Boz Cut)
24) Fergie – Exit People

CD2 – UMEK unreleased exclusive tracks

01) Always Avoided
02) Generation Roots
03) Luda Koka
04) Mild Fun
05) Monoton Falling
06) My Fellow Captives
07) Satisfying Place
08) Seems Artificial
09) Signs Speak
10) Sladoledar Iz Tomacevga
11) Sneaking Sequence
12) The Final Piece

All I can say is, get me back to that air force base’s dance floor, so I can dance my ass off and say Umek?  Hell Yeah!

Umek? Hell Yeah, DJ mix CD from Slovenia’s Uros Umek is available on Hell Yeah Recordings

For more information on Umek visit his website www.umek.si or myspace
www.myspace.com/djumek