Tune #119: Stelios Vassiloudis - Entropy

I believe that I should have written a dedicated post about Stelios Vassiloudis a long time ago, but I guess better late than never.

Stelios Vassiloudis is a Greek electronic music producer and DJ, hailing from Athens. He has established a solid musical background at a very early age, given that he had started playing piano at 5 years old and had studied music theory along with other instruments. The first listening experiences from his parents music collection (ranging from The Beatles and Pink Floyd to Bach and Beethoven) and his studies at a music school have influenced him to evolve his style throughout the years.

His first productions can be found in the early 2000s, focused on progressive house (if you remember, it was the dominant electronic music genre of that era). His collaboration with Viton Mavropoulos to create Wooden Swordz (2004), a nod to the famous homonymous Greek rock band (Ξύλινα Σπαθιά) using a sample taken from the band's track "O Vasilias Tis Skonis", remains still a highlight in the history of Greek electronic dance music.

After this seminal release, he secured releases in various popular labels of that time (Audio Therapy, Electronic Elements, Armada, Renaissance, etc.) either as a producer or as a remixer; his remix on Arenok - Free Yourself is a representative example of his editing skills.

During the early years, Stelios Vassiloudis has adopted his alias Stel for his productions (a nickname still used for his late night DJ sets as Best Radio 92.6). In 2011 it was time to release with his original name the first studio album It Is What It Is, a splendid continous mixture of progressive and tech house with downtempo and ambient elements. The 2-CD album was released in Bedrock (the legendary label of John Digweed and Nick Muir) and has marked a long-standing collaboration until today.

Naturally, his works have been supported by prominent DJs (Sasha, John Digweed, Josh Wink, Laurent Garnier, Steve Bug) and therefore he was granted the opportunity to travel in several places around the globe to perform as a DJ.

In 2022, his second album All Else Fails was released (in the equally seminal record label Balance) and personally this specific work showcased his evolution as a music producer. The shift from club-friendy tracks to an ambient and experimental orientation indicate his versatility in the music production. While I am not familiar with all of his works (in 2023 his third studio album was released by Bedrock), I would dare to say that he is one of my favorite contemporary artists in the field of electronic music.

So, which track is to be selected for today's post? I choose Entropy from his first album, because acoustically (for me) it represents the first ambient signs that would be more evident in his later works.

STELIOS VASSILOUDIS - ENTROPY

P.S. Wishing everyone a Happy 2025!

Label Realm: music haBits

Off to letter B:

Baroque Records was founded in 2000 by Keith McDonnel (Innate) and Mick Parks (member of Tilt and Parks & Wilson projects). Oriented towards the progressive side of EDM, it hosted the first releases of Leama and Andy Moor, with occasional appearances by Tilt and Quivver. The label continues to exist in digital format.

Barely Breaking Even started in 1993 as an idea of Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly, in order to promote parties in the local scene of UK. Three years later, the homonymous label was created, releasing compilation albums from various genres. While it is mostly known for comps by hip-hop DJs, my contact with the label was through the third installment of City 2 City series by DJ Deep (a brief review of a track included in this part may be found here), a tribute to Detroit/New York/Chicago house scene.

Bedrock is the alias of the progressive house/trance duo Nick Muir and John Digweed. They have produced several anthems under the alias, such as For What You Dream Of... (1993) and Heaven Scent (1999). In 1999, they established Bedrock Records, releasing high quality tracks by prominent artists. The golden age of Greek progressive house can be detected in the releases between 2000-2006, by Stelios Vassiloudis (Stel), John Douskos (Dousk) and George Pallikaris (G-Pal).
The high standards of the label are maintained till this very day, especially by Diggers' Live At series.

Black Hole Recordings was set up by Arny Bink and DJ Tiësto in 1997. In 2009, Tiësto sold his part of the company to Arny, making the latter the head honcho of the label. I was never a fan of Tiësto's DJ output (with some exceptions) and the Dutch "Supersaw" trance sound in general. However, the first releases (Magik/In Trance We Trust series) are very solid. The label continues releasing new material, under the supervision of Arny.

Bonzai Records is a seminal label that shaped the dance scene of Belgium since the early nineties, releasing material in Hardcore, Techno, Progressive Trance and Hard Trance. It was founded in 1992 by Christian Pieters (DJ Fly) as a sublabel of Lightning Records. On March 2003, the mother company faced hard times, as it went bankrupt. However, the Bonzai label was re-launched 2 months later under the Banshee Worx company, along with Marnik Braeckevelt (Marnix B), who served as A&R of Lightning Records, and DJs Yves Deruyter & Laurent Véronnez.
As an incurable proghead, I was mostly into the progressive sound of things, presented by Bonzai Progressive (one of the many Bonzai sublabels). Artists like Yves Deruyter, Laurent Véronnez (Airwave/Lolo/Velvet Girl), Mike Dierickx (Push/Plastic Boy/Solar Factor), Philippe Van Mullem, DJ Phi-Phi and Jurgen Leyers (DJ Fire) rocked the Belgian and European dance floors with their music!

Tune #82: Young American Primitive - Sunrise

Do you remember Greg Scanavino?

YOUNG AMERICAN PRIMITIVE - SUNRISE


Mostly known as Young American Primitive, Greg Scanavino was a member of the west coast breaks scene that emerged in the early nineties from the Bay Area. In 1992, he released his homonymous EP at ZoëMagik Records, a indie label that focused on the native electronic sound of San Francisco. The first album followed one year later, showcasing his initial musical ideas. His music appeared in several compilations and caught the eye (or ear!) of DJ superstars Sasha & Digweed, resulting to the inclusion of track These Waves in mix album Northern Exposure, released in 1996.

In the same year Geffen Records signed Scanavino for the production of his second album African Cosmopolitan. In late 1997, some promos were circulated but Geffen never officially released the album and apparently YAP parted ways with the company!

In 2001 he made a brief return to music production, in order to fulfill his remix duties for artists like Pole Folder, Anthony Pappa & Barry Gilbey. Additionally, he collaborated with east coast DJ Jimmy Van M & Terra Deva for the production of track Forget Time. Possibly frustrated by the strategic movies of large music companies and in search of artistic freedom, he created his own label YAPLAB Recordings in 2005, a joint venture with Jonathan Lisle, who worked as A&R manager for Bedrock records.

In 2010 he released via digital format the "lost" second album, which unfortunately did not share the same quality with his first one. His last traces are found in 2012, when he released the comp CD Continuing Transmission, which featured old & new material...

Back to the posted track: Sunrise is obviously part of the first album and represents the signature sound of YAP. The main synth melody accompanied with the driving minimal effects create a calming experience (best served when stranded in space).

Trivia: the vocal sample "You know what's worrying me Stu? No, Jory what's worrying you? Miss Christian, I never told her my name" is taken from the episode It Cralwed Out Of The Woodwork of the TV Show The Outer Limits (1963).

Tune #56: Van Bellen - Groovepalette

Ο Γερμανός Jörg Querner, γνωστός ως (Yoogie Van Bellen), ανήκει στην τρομερή φουρνιά της progressive trance μεταξύ τέλη 90's - αρχές 00's, μιας εποχής που παρήγαγε καταιγιστικά κομμάτια (όπως το Breeder - Tyrantanic που αναρτήθηκε παλαιότερα). Κινούμενο σε αυτά τα πλαίσια, το Music Miner παρουσιάζει το Soul Feel Groovepalette!

VAN BELLEN - GROOVEPALETTE


Το μουσικό υπόβαθρο του Yoogie περιλαμβάνει διάφορα ακούσματα, όπως οι πρωτοπόροι Pink Floyd, Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk (από τα 70s), disco και soul (από τα 80s), καθώς και italo dance και hip hop. Μεγάλη επιρροή σύμφωνα με τα λεγόμενά του αποτελεί το συγκρότημα Art Of Noise, ένα από τα πρώτα μουσικά σχήματα που χρησιμοποίησε το sampling σε pop μουσική.

Το DJing και η παραγωγή μουσικής ξεκίνησε σε ερασιτεχνικό στάδιο στο δεύτερο μισό της δεκαετίας του 80. Ολοκληρώντας τις επαγγελματικές του σπουδές το 1994, η χρονιά ορόσημο αποτέλεσε 3 χρόνια αργότερα, όταν συνεργάστηκε με τους Harry Kane & Andreas Bialek, οι οποίοι δεν είναι άλλοι από τους Nalin & Kane.

Στο label τους, Superfly, κυκλοφόρησε το 1997 η πρώτη παραγωγή του Van Bellen με την ονομασία Let Me Take You (On A Journey). Την ίδια χρόνια οι Nalin & Kane του δάνεισαν τον κομμάτι τους Talkin' About για remixing.

Το χρονικό διάστημα 1997 - 2004 αποτελεί την χρυσή εποχή για τον Yoogie, καθώς κυκλοφόρησαν κομμάτια όπως:

• Saint & Sinners - Pushin' Too Hard (σε συνεργασία με τον Wilfried Belz)
• Saint & Sinners - Pacific High
• Power Dove - September Soul (σε συνεργασία με τον John Johnson)
• Breeder - New York FM (remix)
• DJ Sakin & Friends - Protect Your Mind (remix)
• John Johnson - I Want Your (remix)

τα οποία χρησιμοποιήθηκαν κατά κόρον από τους Sasha & Digweed, προμοτάροντας τον ήχο της progressive trance.

Στην ίδια κατεύθυνση κυμαίνεται και το Soul Feel, το οποίο κυκλοφόρησε το 2000 στο βρετανικό label Beak Recordings. Την επόμενη χρονιά το κομμάτι συμπεριλήφθηκε στο Bedrock DJ Mix του Jimmy Van M, κάνοντας το ευρύτερα γνωστό στο κοινό της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής.

Πραγματοποιώντας ένα διάλειμμα μεταξύ 2005 - 2011, ο Jörg Querner επέστρεψε στη δράση με μουσικές στο φάσμα της progressive house. Μπορεί αυτές να μην προσεγγίζουν τα πρότυπα της χρυσής εποχής, αλλά ένα είναι σίγουρο: o Van Bellen έχει στο παλμαρέ του μία πληθώρα από σπουδαίες δουλειές και θα έπρεπε να τυγχάνει μεγαλύτερης αναγνώρισης...