It is nice to witness a label from Berlin gaining so much attention over the ast years: André Crom managed to raise his label to one of the most popular from Berlin. A lot of his artists are influenced by hip hop and also show this in their productions: there is always a funky groove in the tracks, just think about Mat.Joe’s Heart to Find EP.
So, the label is celebrating its 5 years anniversary with their crew:
At RITTER BUTZKE: 5 years of OFF RECORDINGS with Berlin’s darlings Robosonic (seldomly have I seen a team that produces tracks that are ALWAYS good like Robosonic’s), Fumée Grise (very, very good DJ), Him_Self_Her, Purple Disco Machine and Kruse & Nuernberg, Kevin Knapp and Sowade – and of course: André Crom himself with Chi Thanh(!).
Naming all those wonderful people, I dearly miss Martin Dawson (R.I.P.) today, who has been part of the OFF Recordings releases and line-up so many times. Let’s think about everyone who contributed to the life of today’s OFF RECORDINGS. In remembrance: André Crom & Martin Dawson’s track “In the City (OFF020)” for you to download – even now, one of the best summer tracks out there:
“Wer sich ausgiebig bei Resident Advisor und Beatport umhertreibt, dem dürfte OFF RECORDINGS wohl bekannt sein. Bei RA bestücken sie die Top 10 der most charted Labels und auch in den Beatport Deephouse Charts tummeln sie sich meist mit mehreren Tracks.
Gründer des Ganzen ist André Crom und zum 5jährigen Bestehen seines Labels hat er sich ein paar besondere Leckerbissen mit ins Boot geholt und man spürt: hier stehen wahre Musikliebhaber hinter den Plattentellern!
In diesem Sinne: Take off your whatever und komm vorbei um 5 Jahre OFF Recordings zu feiern!”
Him_Self_Her
André Crom & Chi Thanh
Robosonic
Kruse & Nürnberg
Kevin Knapp
Purple Disco Machine
Fumée Grise
Sowade
TUNE IN HERE: http://ustream.tv/beatport
Beatport DJ Event: http://dj.beatport.com/
5 years of Off Recordings on Beatport Live!
Andre Crom & Chi Thanh
Andre Crom had an amazing start into 2013: a #1 Beatport Deephouse Charts hit („Teenage Mutants & Andre Crom „Hanging On“).
Besides that, both his label and himself entered the „mostcharted labels/artists of 2012 list of Resident Advisor with # 8 for OFF Recordings and # 40 for Andre Crom
The future does not look bad either: solo shows and label showcases all over the world are confirmed for the first half of 2013, including key events such as Sonar, A.D.E. and several ibiza gigs.
What’s the reason for this popularity? Quite simple, Andre Crom and OFF Recordings release music to give people on the dancefloor a good time.
The sound selection is moving fluidly from deep underground pop tunes over big primetime records, from jacking house to reduced groovetools – diversity and fresh trends are welcome and keep things interesting.
The OFF sound, as well as Andre’s own productions, take influences from all kinds of musical genres such as disco, 80s pop, jazz, funk, soul, blues, and hip hop with house, produced in a modern yet raw, cutting-edge style.
However, it’s Andre Crom’s sets, playing a mix of his own productions, unreleased OFF signings and carefully selected new tracks, grooving behind the decks just as much as the crowd on the floor – that are the best proof for his deep and profound love for house music and a good party.
CHI THANH is a German-Asian multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, drums, bass, sax…), music producer & DJ based in Berlin.
(“CHI“ means “energy“ and THANH “pure sound“)
PAST:
CHI THANH is no newcomer to the game, he has already, under different monikers, written/remixed and produced music for diverse and international stars and artists, but chooses to keep it a bit „secret“… he was even nominated as a songwriter for a Grammy in 2004.
PRESENT:
CHI THANH has now found his way back to his electronic roots and recently did remixes for “big names“ of the scene like: Booka Shade, Etienne de Crecy, Gossip, Yolanda Be Cool…
THE SOUND:
CHI THANH now steps out on his own with his first album project under his “real name“ CHI THANH.
He wrote, played, produced, programmed and mixed everything himself on his debut album entitled KISS THE SKY.
“Organic, acoustic real instruments, guitars, psychedelic 60s vibes meet Berlin Deep House club beats“. One could call the sound “Hippie House“. He collaborated with some international artists/
Sticking true to his sound and vision he recorded and wrote the album in Venice Beach, California and Laurel Canyon, Hollywood where the “Hippie vibe“ of artists such as Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young still lingers around. He then finished the production in Berlin to add the deep club music feel.
FUTURE/MISSION:
CHI THANH is getting ready to create “Magic Moments“ for worldwide audiences and to perform his dynamic DJ/Live-Set Show
Kruse & Nuernberg
Kruse & Nuernberg have been a constant presence in the spotlight of the deep house scene for a while now. With championing releases like Lovers n’ Fighters on Noir Music, (a Beatport Deep House Number 1 for weeks) in 2010, Daze Without You (Resident Advisor Number 2) on Liebe*Detail in 2011 or their Off Course EP on Andre Crom’s OFF Recordings in 2013 they have shown a consistency that few others can brag about.
Very few producers embrace the concept of “Teamwork” as literally as Florian Kruse and Nils Nuernberg. Both born and raised in a rural area near thriving Hamburg but with different musical roots and influences, both passionate djs in their own right, both outgoing and always eager for good fun and; above all, both promising music creators. It only took an encounter to set it all off… Once they got together to create their first hip-moving beat, it all became so natural and fluid that several years and influences later, we find them both having studios in Hamburg and Berlin and being at the forefront of a revolutionary deep house revival all over the world, turning dancefloors into frenzy with an always thankful, shiny smile on their faces and enjoying the occational silly, shallow prank, always trying to create good memories.
A lot has indeed happened since their first release in 2007… Growing their own style, always deep but intense and bouncy, flirting sometimes with soul, sometimes with techno and always with an overall feel of good vibes and energy translated directly into moving feet and sexy dancing in dancefloors all around the globe.
They were quickly spotted by some of the hottest and most respected labels around releasing heavily accepted works on Noir, Liebe*Detail, Stil Vor Talent, Exploited, Lazy Days, Rejected, Moodmusic, and more recently OFF Recordings (becoming part of their steady roster of core artists) while also remixing names as massive as Dennis Ferrer or Groove Armada. They also went a step forward and launched their own label in 2008, Save Room, a place for like-minded talent and another outcome for their incesant flow of inspiration featuring (and even propelling) artists like Huxley, Sasse, DZeta N Basile, Topspin & Dmit Kitz, Dirty Culture and more.
Proof of their prolific nature, is their full lenght album released in 2012 on Lazy Days and accounting remix work by Wolf+Lamb, Mario Basanov, Spirit Catcher & Fred Everything and their work under the Wiretappeur moniker, also praised into the likes of Digweed’s Bedrock platform.
Their lives now, of course, alternate between flights, hotels and clubs, they are still good friends after such a long time, and as they face thousands of sweaty dancers all over the world, they keep the smile high thinking how proud they are to be creating the soundtrack for some of the most fun nights in people’s lives.
Robosonic
ROBOSONIC aka Cord and Sacha have finally arrived on the international scene in summer 2012 with their hit record „Worst Love“, released on Off Recordings with remixes by Dr. Dru and Fritz Zander. Already a „classic“ now, the record was stuck for weeks in the top positions on Beatport and, besides being charted by some players of the house scene like DJ Sneak and many more, has made it to Number 1 in June on Resident Advisor’s „Top Charted Tracks“ and Number 35 in the Resident Advisor „Top Charted Tracks of 2012“. Nonetheless, ROBOSONIC are not new to the game at all!
For years the boys have been building a reputation as DJs for murdering dancefloors worldwide – not only playing what they really feel, but also performing their own multidimensional electronic music. In 2007, ROBOSONIC released their highly acclaimed debut album called “Sturm und Drang” [accompanied by a series of 12” vinyl] on their own, now defunct label DISKOMAFIA.
Tracks by ROBOSONIC have been remixed by stars and heroes like Jesse Rose [Made To Play], Oliver Koletzki [Cocoon, Stil vor Talent] & Florian Meindl [Trapez, Flash], Christopher Just [Gigolo, Kitsuné], Deadset [Frontroom] and Alexander Robotnick; and have been played by a slew of big name DJs.
Besides their productions, their lovable personalities and their realness, ROBOSONIC are notorious for their DJ performances. For seven years now, the boys have proven their skills at a wide variety of events worldwide, including festivals, illegal raves, penthouse parties, clubs, on the radio and on TV.
Since 2008 they have collaborated with their friends BERLIN MITTE INSTITUT Web TV show, to host the BERLIN KREUZBERG INSTITUT [BKI] show. The archive of this platform for DJ mixes and live sets now reads like a who’s who for talent in electronic dance music: Phonique, Anja Schneider, Riva Starr, Style of Eye, Stephan Bodzin, Dominik Eulberg, Rodriguez Jr., Zombie Disco Squad, Mike Monday, Dapayk, Cats’N’Dogs, the Martin Brothers and the Keinemusik crew are just a few names among the hundreds that participated in the project BKI.
After almost four years of abstinence from original productions during which Robosonic travelled the globe DJing, the boys were back in the studio game in 2011 with a sublime release on Jackmode Music entitled „The Sweetness“, including a remix by one of Dirtybirds‘ finest, J.Phlip. „The Sweetness“ original was subsequently licensed by Joris Voorn for the „Cocoon Heroes“ compilation on Sven Väth’s well-known label.
„The Punchi EP“ released at the beginning of 2012 on their own digital imprint named „0001“ was dedicated to the multifunction towelling scarf [www.punchi.de]: in a fresh „robosonic yellow“ (limited 500pcs, sold out!) the Punchi was successfully introduced as a true and innovative rave merchandise for heated situations.
After ROBOSONIC‘s success with „Worst Love“ in summer 2012, a follow up on Off Recordings named „Over The Edge EP“ was released at the beginning of September. „The Edge“ has peaked at Number 6 in the Beatport Deep House Charts and at Number 22 in the Top 100 – and by January 2013, the track is still in the Top 50 of the Deep House Charts! Both „Worst Love“ and „The Edge“ were the biggest hits that came out on Off Recordings in 2012 and have helped it to become one of the most sought-after Deep House labels on the planet.. Off Recordings label nights as far as Colombia and Mexico followed and it’s far from over.
September 2012 also saw a heart-warming Robosonic Remix of a track by the famous jazz-crooner Louie Austen („Never and Ever“) on Monkey Music, who became famous for collaborations with Tiefschwarz or the Matthew Herbert Dub of „Hoping“.
November 2012 saw a Robosonic Remix for Channel X on Oliver Koletzki’s label Stil Vor Talent, which was the beginning of a loose collaboration with the label that at the beginning of 2013 culminated in the release of an original record entitled „Feldrecord Im Zirkus EP“, with remixes by NU and Channel X. This artful EP pays tribute to pianist Laura Weider, who challenged herself to a particular kind of concert during the crazy lifetime of the Berliner Bar 25: the „Longest Concert of a solo artist“ (40 hours) that ended up as an official Guinness World Record. Robosonic managed to tape the whole concert and used samples and field recordings – made by pianist and public alike – to create a club track that catches the weird and emotional atmosphere of this moment.
For 2013, you can expect Robosonic to continue their run to the next level, amongst others with a rework of Johnny Corporate‘s Y2K hit „Sunday Shoutin‘“ on Defected (released 11th February), a collaboration with the Exploited act Adana Twins on a label yet to remain secret, a remix of a Kerri Chandler classic on the legendary New Yorker house label King Street Sounds, a remix for Noir Music, another hit on Off Recordings before summer, and much more!
Be ready for more creative chaos on a next level, open source inspiration, wild parties, visual workout with love and detail, sweat on the walls, bassy music with a 4/4 heartbeat, hi-tech soul!
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