First in the five part series is synth pop pioneer Gary Numan. He invited them into his studio to give a lowdown on how Ultravox was a defining influence on the ever-innovating electronic mind behind classics ‘Cars’ and ‘Are Friends Electric’.

Most of the material is previously unreleased or has never been available in a physical format before. This includes new music, unreleased dub plates and a wealth of archive material including selections from the Brazilian producer’s scores for TV, film and video games, some of which were never used, as well as ISAM live show DVD and ISAM live audio album. There are also remixes he did for other artists (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eskmo) and remixes other artists did for him (Shed, Photek, Jimmy Edgar, Emika, Bibio and many more).

To celebrate the release Think Tank Media have put together this ‘Making Of’ video to give you a brief insight into this ambitious project. So much care has been poured into this project those fortunate enough to be able to afford it are very, very unlikely to find cause for disappointment. As for the rest of us – well, there’s all that drool to leak.

Amon Tobin Boxset is available from Ninja Tune Today.

With issues exploring titles such as ‘Virtual Reality: Life in a Computer’, ‘Can Computers Come to Life?’ ’51 Things You Must Know About Your Future’ and interviews with “The Swiss Chemist who invented psychedelic drugs’ Omni magazine embraced technology as seen through the eyes of the armchair scientist and held skeptical, but respectful criticism for what may have bent outside defined “science”. “Omni’s science coverage,” writes Paul Collins, “was built on a sturdy tripod of space exploration, medicine, and computing, but always with a certain fondness for speculative woo-woo.” The magazine hilariously once boldly predicted: “By 2000, Sweden will have a largely automated robot society” and famously dubbed the term ‘cyberspace.’

Omni magazine’s cover artworks are superb examples old-school sci-fi slanted photomontage, illustration and design; with robotic fantasy illustrations and geometric linear styling, innovative typographic playground moves, and clean crisp designs – merging the gap between the graphic and photographic. The magazine consistently pushed and played with boundaries, outputting designs that were timeless, redefining, and admirably well thought out. Although sometimes criticised for being too risky, Omni created culturally and socially dynamic graphic content admired and respected as a great source of design inspiration to this day.

Omni was always at the forefront of technology with regard to the contents of the magazine, so it was a natural progression to be in the forefront of technology in the actual means of its production. After in Winter 1995, Omni was the first slick print magazine to go exclusively electronic. Being on the Internet allowed Omni to take more risks and refocus on what it had once been, “the home of gonzo science writing” but sadly for unknown reasons the online edition latest just 3 years and the magazine finally shut its doors for good in 1998.

It may of been years since Omni magazine graced our newsagents and television screens but with the advancement of technology in so many areas of the world, Omni’s magazine covers have lived on through new outlets. Stanislaw Fernandes‘ beautiful original airbrushed femanoid record sleeve for Columbia Records ‘Enchantment’ (also published as the cover for Omni’s January 1985 edition) has had some what of a rejuvenation lately when Jimmy Edgar, in collaboration with graphic designer Pilar Zeta, ‘sampled’ the images for his two latest releases – ‘This One’s For The Children‘ and ‘Majenta‘ – released on Hot Flush Recordings.

Jimmy Edgar’s music is like the aural equivalent of those mid-’80s “future robot” airbrushed covers and these illustrations reflect the sound of a sleek digital future. May Omni Magazine’s bright past live on.

I first heard the a-side whilst wiling out during his set a few months ago when we were billed to warm up for the South London producer. I’ll take this moment to recommend to anyone that hasn’t checked out this man DJ…make sure you take the next chance possible! Even though my memories from the night are a little hazy, I can remember the track swelling out from the system turning the small floor into a frenzy.

Big bouncing kicks, razor-sharp claps and clasped hi-hats open the track. In comes a smoked out saxophone that works together with lush piano samples to provide an unforgettable hook. A sampled vocal asks “can you feel it coming on strong?” before hearty toms bellow into the structure adding funk to the rhythm of the kicks. A warm synth begins to ease it’s way into the mix as the track breaks down before kicking into a shuffling, jazz-licked masterpiece.

Hessle Audio co-founder Pangaea provides, in Bob’s own words, a “dark and jazzy” remix on the reverse. It isn’t the first time a Hessle Audio head honcho has remixed his productions. He also had his ‘Blonde on Blonde’ remixed by Pearson Sound back in 2010. Pangaea reconstructs the original by mutating its saxophone into melancholy textures working with fizzing accents to develop a shivering soundscape sitting over intricate percussion that swings, stutters and halts. Beautiful!

WNCL will be soon moving into 12″ presses which means this release will be final instalment in the 10” series. I for one will definitely be grabbing myself a copy!

His recent collaboration with Progression resulted in experimentation around the 140 tempo on the tech roller ‘Chance Meeting’, which is receiving support and radio play on BBC 1xtra from the likes of J-Kenzo. Stream the track below.

With a forthcoming release on new London label Nineteen89 Records and in talks with Lo Note UK, we got in touch to find out little bit more about the London based producer. He also kindly prepared out latest Inhabit mix series installment.

For those who are unfamiliar with you or your work, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi, my names Sean, I’m nineteen and whatever time I have free from my doing my degree I make beats and go clubbing. Also spending the little money I can find in my student loan on records.

How long have you been producing and DJing?

I have been producing on and off since I was about 14. I started out messing around with a fairly rudimentary drum machine and synthesizer that I spent all my summers saving up for, emulating the music that I loved at that time which was jungle. I hadn’t yet realised that you needed a sampler to get the amen break! Then I progressed to computers which is all I use now and I make mostly techno. Djing came later for me, maybe when I was around 16 or 17. I sold all my outboard gear to get a pair of Technics, which now I sometimes regret but there is nothing better than hours mixing in your bedroom. Having said all that it has perhaps only been in the past year to eighteen months that I have really started taking producing and Djing a little more seriously.

What inspired you to start making music and is it the same thing that inspires you today?

When I started, I just wanted to make something as crazy as early Photek and Aphex Twin which was basically all I listened to in my mid teens. It made me seek out sounds and beat structures and kept the music kinda weird for a long time, but it didn’t really get me into engineering as such. Since becoming a regular clubber I realised that side of things needed some real attention. Now the main thing that I want to do is create a groove someone could dance to. I think my production is pretty functional and dance floor orientated, which I think is how it should be in dance music. I don’t really understand how you could translate an emotion, experience or an abstract idea into a bass-line or percussion groove.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your radio show?

To tell you the truth I am not much involved in that anymore, the other guys still do it on a weekly basis but I don’t have decks and stuff in my house at the moment. I think they are taking a brief hiatus because of exams but they’ll be back! It’s just a way for us to test out new stuff and get feedback if we’re not playing out!

You have a release forthcoming on Nineteen89 Records. It’s the first release for the label right? Can you tell us a bit more about that?

Yeah its the first release and I’m pretty excited about it! Basically Conor approached me saying he wanted to sign some stuff and it went from there really. He has been lurking in the background of quite a few things around London for a while so I knew he was serious about what he wanted to do with the Label. Releasing vinyl was also an essential part of it because I still try to buy and play as much vinyl as I can afford. The release should be coming out in the summer and features a collaboration with Progression on the A side which is actually a glitchy 140 track and then a more usual solo piece from me on the flip. Its been getting some pretty good support from established artists like J:kenzo and Phaeleh, as well as from some newcomers like South London Ordinance and Last Japan.

Any more releases in the pipeline?

I’m going to be doing an EP for Lo Note UK, one track has definitely been signed but other than that the details are yet to be ironed out. I’m really excited to get something out with them, They are really serious about what they do, which includes real attention to detail both in the sound of their records and the design of their sleeves. Keep your eyes peeled for future details.

Can you tell us a little bit about the mix your prepared for us?

I decided to try and play the selection that I would in a club, but I have mixed it slightly slower and more carefully than I would for a dance. Sometimes it would be nice to have the opportunity to play longer sets than just an hour, because some of the techno tunes I have put in the mix from the likes of Sasha Carassi or Psyk sound so much better when they have a little time to breath, with more attention on the blend. I saw Levon Vincent recently and his style was just wicked, so slow, careful and deliberate. I have been thinking about giving that a go and seeing what the results are.

Download Link

Tracklist:

Communist auto worker- Unknown speech
Jerome Syndenham, Kerri Chandler- Beat Down (just for fun dub mix)
Shenoda- Speak Easy
Paleman- Halfout (dub)
Rumah- Murmur (dub)
Mark Du Mosche- L’argent
Obsolete Music Technology- Latency
Butane- A Rave Mistake
Raffaele Attanasio- From Shake To Stardom (Psyk edit)
Tom Hades- Oh Yeah (Sasha Carassi remix)
Ciscos Ferreira- Pagodas (Adam Beyer remix)
Robert Hood – Clash
Joy o and Boddika- Froth
Skudge- Silent running
Psyk- Throes
Sasha Carassi- Fragma
Truncate- Concentrate
Unknown- Unknown (dub)
Bobby Champs- Latte (forthcoming pictures)
Paleman-Slither(dub)
Rumah-Stutter (dub)
Rumah-E1 (forthcomming nineteen89)
Akzidenz-Cinema (dub)

In 2010 Outlook settled in Fort Punta Christo, an abandoned Fort built in the eighteen hundreds, located on a peninsular surrounded by the ocean just across the bay from Pula. In 2011 Outlook organisers decided to keep the new found location and decided to step things up with higher technical specification of staging, lighting and sound systems than any other festival of its size in the world.

The rapid growth of the festival is due to the hard work and great vision from the directors and as Chef puts it in the video below “the main reason the festival is so good is because they are fingers on the button when it comes to booking good quality acts.” That’s why it came as no surprise when they walked away with “Best International Festival” at The U.K Festival Awards.

We caught up with 4 artists that have played Outlook every year – Chef, Mala, Plastician and Goth Trad, to talk about the progression of the festival, what makes the Outlook different, the sound at the festival, the crowd that attend, the site location and the guys behind the festival.

The main stage for Bloc in 2012 is a monolithic auditorium that will teleport Bloc’s reputation for inter-stellar production values to another, better dimension. The shows we’ve been formulating deep in the laboratory will be totally immersive audiovisual spectaculars that will continue Bloc’s trajectory to becoming a truly omni-media presentation of electronic music and culture. The gargantuan stage will also be encased in a ring of steel shipping containers to focus the experience for the Bloc family.

The largest of the permanently installed structures at the London Pleasure Gardens is The Hub. The design will be familiar as the main stage at the Shangri-La area of Glastonbury – however that concept has been developed to produce a vast indoor space that will be the second largest stage on site.

Sitting next to the Hub is the other-worldly Dome stage. An acoustically treated, 30m geodesic dome presented in the round – with the DJ’s appearing in the middle of the crowd underneath an immense battery of lights and lasers – this stage is one of the most individual we’ve ever worked with.

All these spaces – including the main stage – are covered and soundproofed.

However one of the most impressive additions is the use of a deep-sea fishing vessel, The Motor Ship Stubnitz that belonged to the German Democratic Republic before the collapse of Communism. It is 80 metres in length and weighs 2,541 tonnes. A team of forward-thinking artists and engineers have converted it into a moving platform for the sonic and visual arts.

Urs Blaser (‘Blo’) is a Swiss-born sonic artist who spent the eighties touring Europe rigging avant-garde art happenings in industrial spaces across the continent. When the Berlin wall fell, Blo travelled to the port in Rostock where the DDR’s fleet was being catalogued to assess its scrap value. The Stubnitz, the largest ship in the fleet, was existing in an ownership vacuum between an ousted repressive regime and the future government of a reunited Germany. Via a series of complex negotiations now lost to history, Blo took possession of the Stubnitz in 1992 and quickly set to work.

The hull of the ship was gradually modified to his exact specifications – both in terms of the performance space and the audio installation. An atrium gallery looks over a main dancefloor, creating an industrial, hi-spec venue inside a maritime monument to Europe’s recent, turbulent history. A second club space at the stern of the vessel as well as the deck are also fully kitted out for Bloc-specced throwdowns.

Stubnitz is a maritime monument to Europe’s recent turbulent history, an amazing industrial themed space that has played host to live performance, art installations and the occasional techno DJ for the past twenty years. You can watch a video below

To win one of these unique birds (pictured below) from Ronzo just answer this question and email your answers to ro@verynearlyalmost.com with the subject RONZO COMP before the 9th May.

Which city is home to Ronzo’s ‘Credit Crunch Monster’?

You can read more about Ronzo and his world of birds in issue 18 of VNA.