The fly folks at Move in Medellin put together this excellent “aftervideo” of Will Azada’s back to back appearances in Colombia from March. For most of you who probably weren’t able to make it to the party, it gives a look into how the Move crew and Proper Trax get down. Fond memories that will live forever! Chris Mitchell’s “Drum Trax” and Will’s “Pump That Shit” comprise the soundtrack. Special thanks to Intra Media for doing it, shall we say, PROPER!? Cheers!
If you weren’t aware of our fifth record, you are now. Proper Trax number five comes from Alex Falk–someone who has been here since day one, playing no small part in providing his own flare to the label’s aesthetic with his Piltdown Sound contributions “Bom” and “Xanderplatz” on Split Personalities II, as well as his thoroughly detailed opinions on the arrangement of Will Azada’s hi-hats. We’re proud to announce Alex Falk’s debut solo effort: TERSE
After sweating out the winter heatwave generated by Chris Mitchell and Grey People with Proper Trax 4, Alex Falk distills a purified form of techno from the often unnecessary complexities of the style. Terse—the fifth limited twelve from Proper Trax–further solidifies the label’s unflinching commitment to the rough ‘n’ tough sounds of the southern US underground. Don’t sleep, as this one is aimed to take its place in the record bags of the globe’s in-the-know heads.
Available since late February through the Proper Trax grapevine, copies are now making their way through distribution channels and should be arriving at a record shop near you within the next week. If you don’t want to wait around, or just prefer to deal directly with us (and receive the WAVs), you can hit the shop on the sidebar and order copies from the label instead.
BUY TERSE AT JUNO RECORDS
BUY TERSE AT DECKS RECORDS
Stacked to the brim with proper tunes, here is Will Azada’s March chart for Juno, a broad selection of “Twenty Trill Trax.”
Well, we blew through the original run of Proper Trax 4 and decided to repress 150 copies due to the demand. Once those are gone, this run is done and we’re moving on to PROPER-005! You can order it direct from the label on the sidebar, or check out retailers like Juno.
You can also catch Marcel Dettmann dropping “Drum Trax” on NYE in Amsterdam in this video (timestamp 4:20:00)
It’s been another long wait for the next edition of our Proper Picks feature, but what better way to kick off 2013 than to present the the man behind Deeply Rooted House, DJ Deep! Cyril Etienne’s impeccable taste and mixing skills have helped solidify him as a stalwart veteran of the French house and techno scene. With his brand of boundary-blurring “deeply rooted house,” and imprint of the same name, he’s helped revitalize contemporary dancefloor sounds with an inspired run of releases from a variety of house/techno veterans and new blood. Capturing his “DJ diary” of 2012, he was invited to kick off Tresor’s KERN mix series, introducing a broad base of listeners to some the favorite tracks of his career.
For this Proper Picks, Deep wanted to highlight what he considers to be five underrated and overlooked gems of 2012 spanning the sounds of house and techno. And after having heard them (with the exception of “Easy Does It” — I promise I did not put him up to that!), I can understand why he curated these particular records! Without further ado, Proper Trax presents DJ Deep and his Proper Picks.
A promo of this was sent to my house which is something that does not happen anymore for me. I absolutely love the title track “Elokuu.” It’s definitely a deep track with a bassline reminiscent of classic Chicago house, but it has a lot of personality, and I find myself touched by it’s unique vibe. I feel lucky to have received a promo record that I feel so much!
Markus Schatz – Smoking Wild Album Sampler [Salon]
I absolutely love this record. Since I got it, it’s stayed in my bag. It somehow reminds me of the early days of Deepside and St. Germain. Not that it sounds like them, but the structure of the tracks have a feeling that is close to that era. My favorite from the sampler is “Deep X” but the flip side is also very nice.
Claudia Anderson – Hysteria [Singular]
Marcelus’s first release on his Singular label is by a young Austrian female producer, and I have to say the track “Falling Lines” really grew on me. When I first heard it I thought it was perhaps very inspired by Marcelus’s EP1 on Deeply Rooted House, but I realized after playing it that there was more to it, and I got hooked on “Falling Lines.” I think it takes a little time to really appreciate this record.
Will Azada – Easy Does It [Mystical Disco]
This one is stuck in my record box, and I even had to buy a second copy, which is the same thing that happened with Zadig’s “Manic Mansion.” It’s got a unique feel that for some weird reason reminds me of Armando but it has no element in the track using any of Armando’s signature sounds. It’s “classic” feeling but not retro in approach, which shows Will has a great talent for showing respect to the early days of House, but brings something new and personal to the table. This is one of my favorite records!
I guess man is made of contradictions right? On the one hand I am sometimes a slightly disappointed how people copy their mentors or push their nostalgia so far that they do carbon copies of past tracks by House heroes such as Kerri Chandler or Ron Trent. On the other hand, I like this record which definitely pays tribute to the original House
creators, but I also like the fact it’s somehow fresh and naive—at least this is the way I hear it!
For more insight into the mind of DJ Deep, check out his recent interview with Juno Plus.
FUCKING PROPER VOLUME 1 BY WILL AZADA
Proper Trax is proud to present the first in a series of mixes that is geared toward the past, present, and future works of the label’s artists.
The first volume is a two-hour showcase of the straight-up, body-bumpin’ shit we do.
Volume 2 to follow early next year, with a taste of the darkness.
Here’s an excellent mix from label dude Lee Holman, which also happens to feature Grey People’s “Abrahadabra” from Proper Trax 4. Lots of goodies included in Lee’s 70+ minute techno journey…deep, tough, weird, and straight-up jackin’….next level techno shit, boys and girls–get your fix today.
Mr. Chris Mitchell is blowing the lid off the Proper Trax Soundcloud account with a load of fresh listens coming through for the exclusive mix he did for us. We’re not sure if it’s our exceptional keyword tagging skills in honor of his penchant for azngrls or a supercool blogger trying to get street cred, but we’re happy to see the influx of heads looking for something good to listen to. Whatever, it doesn’t matter, we’re just happy that someone appreciates the dopeness on display!
Here it is for those that haven’t heard it:
We’re handing out this bass bumper from Will Azada as a free download, get it while supplies last.
The last two weeks have been a little hectic, to say the least, for some of us involved with Proper Trax–particularly for me (Will) and Alex Falk. Shortly after we arrived in Berlin for our two-week stay, Proper Trax 4 hit the first of the European shops (Decks.de) and quickly sold out. It then hit Juno and climbed to #9 on the site’s techno sales charts within a week, followed by my own direct distribution to Spacehall in Berlin, which were completely sold out within three days of drop-off. There’s still one more batch of fifty copies that landed at our main distributor today, and once those are gone, PROPER-004 will officially be sold out, and will have been the fastest-selling in the Proper Trax catalog so far. And with that said, I speak for us all when I say, “THANK YOU” to all of you out there that have been following the label, whether you’re just arriving or have been with us since day one.
During our stay in Berlin, we hit a lot of cool parties, but two of the most surreal and amazing moments of the trip had to be on our first Saturday morning at Panorama Bar with Ben Klock vs Marcel Dettmann and Ryan Elliott, and the next Monday morning at Berghain with Dustin Zahn followed up by Discodromo closing out Panorama Bar. The first night set the stage and raised the bar for the rest of the trip, while the last night couldn’t have made for a better climax and resolution to the journey. Not only were these parties exceptional in terms of vibe and music selections, but they marked major milestones for the label. There is nothing quite like hearing your music played by some of the best DJs in the world, on some of the best sound systems in the world, for the most insane crowds in the world. Truly a landmark two weeks for me, the Proper Trax crew, and our friend Jackson Lee at Mystical Disco! It all culminated in one of the most moving periods of my life as a musician and lover of this music we call house (or techno, whatever!) My eternal gratitude goes out to Dettmann, Elliot, and Zahn for spreading what I like to call PROPER TRAX! Also, I can’t forget to mention the mind-bending sets that came from Karenn, Giorgio Gigli, Shackleton, Xhin, and Discodromo (who I had never heard of previously, but seriously took things next level at Panorama Bar during my last morning there. I think that four-hour session was the pinnacle of what people describe when they describe a “perfect” night at PBar).
The last two weeks have been a proper conclusion to all the hard work and efforts we’ve made as a crew for the last couple years. Props to all of you locals that showed me around and helped us out (Nick, Harold, Kris, Marcus, Gabriele). Thanks to all the homies that were there with me and even those that couldn’t be–this time. Grey People, Chris Mitchell, Alex Falk, Jackson Lee, Adam Arthur, Merino, Kyle Geiger, and everyone else….ya’ll all know who you are. So with that said, with 2013 right around the bend, it’s time to GO HARD, GET RAW, and KEEP IT PROPER!
-Will Azada
