The remix album tends to be a rather challenging beast, to say the least. It often feels rushed, uninspired, and simply designed as a quick cash-in. Every once in a blue moon, though, the result is nothing short of solid gold and offers exciting added value for everyone involved. To prove the latter, rhythmic powerhouse Keope invited a handful of fellow-minded artists, Acid Pauli, Viken Arman, Terr, Acid Coco, Philou Louzolo, DJ Holographic, Kalabrese, and Frank Wiedemann, to rework the tracks of their sophomore record, ‘Flikka Flokka’.

The aforementioned album ‘Flikka Flokka’ was a musically free-spirited and overall vivid affair, which brilliantly showcased the duo’s ever-expanding sonic universe. Already danceable to the max, its key tracks are now receiving a carefully crafted strobe light makeover, verifying that it’s actually possible to reshape an already dazzling longplayer in the best possible way.

We are presenting the remix from the first part of the track ‘Kumare’ by Acid Pauli & Viken Arman.

‘Flikka Flokka Remixed PT.1’ will be available after the 11th of July HERE.

Yaeji & OHHYUK – Year to Year / 29
Korejac OHHYUK, član popularnog seoulskog indie-rock sastava Hyukoh, i korejsko-američka senzacija Kathy Yaeji Lee, poznata samo kao Yaeji koja u svojem radu spaja elemente house i hip-hop zvuka sa sanjivim vokalima, zajedno su objavili EP “Year to Year / 29” za etiketu XL Recordings. Pogledajte videospotove za pjesme “29” i “Year to Year”.

Florian Picasso & GRX – Far Away
Nakon prošlogodišnje suradnje na pjesmi “Restart Your Heart”, Florian Picasso i GRX aka Martin Garrix ponovno udružuju snage za novu uzbudljivu pjesmu “Far Away”. Videospot koji je režirao i napisao Loïc Schütz u početku prati Floriana kako luta pustinjom bez ikakvih znakova života, daleko od svog svijeta…

PWCCA – Radioactive Decay
Na španjolsku techno i industrial etiketu Signal Rec koju vode Drop-E i Mau vraća se PWCCA s novim EP-jem “Radioactive Decay”. Svoj jednistveni, sirovi i hipnotički techno zvuk, madridski DJ i producent donosi na šest traka, a Klubikon je premijerno predstavio naslovnu, “Radioactive Decay”.

Ako ste propustili, prošlom prilikom smo slušali i predstavili muziku koju potpisuju Lebanon Hanover, Ellen Allien, Johanna Burnheart, Acid Pauli i Uncertain.

Lebanon Hanover – Ellen Allien Remixes
Berlinska umjetnica Ellen Allien izbacila je tri remiksa romantičnog darkwave dua Lebanon Hanover, dva remiksa pjesme “Living On The Edge” i remiks pjesme “Invite Me To Your Country”.

Johanna Burnheart – Sisyphos (Acid Pauli Remix)
Nakon što je prošle godine izdala album “Burnheart”, priznata njemačka muzičarka Johanna Burnheart najavila je EP “Burnheart Remixed” za 19. studenog, a sadrži pet remikseva koje potpisuju Acid Pauli, Beth Lydi, Nesa Azadikhah i Pilo Adami.

Uncertain – Pattern
Nakon izdanja za etikete kao što su WRKTRX, UNCAGE ili Ingoma, austrijski DJ i producent Rainer Gonaus, poznatiji kao Uncertain, izbacio je techno EP “Sequence” za etiketu Kneaded Pains koju vode Dense & Pika. Klubikon je premijerno predstavio četvrtu traku “Pattern”.

Ako ste propustili, prošlom prilikom smo slušali i predstavili muziku koju potpisuju Cristoph, Artche, MEDUZA i OKRAA.

Proslavivši svoju dvadesetu obljetnicu 2019. godine, etiketa Poker Flat je ovaj impresivni jubilej obilježila serijom remiksa najslavnijih izdanja nevjerojatnog popisa talentiranih izvođača, a sljedećih će mjeseci uslijediti i brojni slavljenički eventi. Zapravo, serija je bila toliko opsežna da se nekoliko izdanja prebacilo i u tekuću 2020. Posljednja dva su zapanjujući remiksi Steveove vlastite trake “Loverboy” – jednog od prvih izdanja Poker Flata – od strane Acid Paulija i dvojca Catz ‘n Dogz.

Uhvatili smo Stevea kako bismo diskutirali o remiksima i seriji izdanja te novoj etiketi Sublease Records.

Bok, Steve, hvala na razgovoru. Kako si dosad zadovoljan 2020. godinom?

Prilično je dobro, bio sam na turneji, skijao sam, penjao se i napokon uspio uhvatiti nekoliko dana u studiju.

Lani si proslavio dvadeset godina Poker Flata. Pretpostavljam da je nemoguće izdvojiti najvažnije trenutke, ali što ti znači činjenica kako je etiketa i danas još itekako aktivna i plodna?

Znači mi mnogo, na početku zaista nismo očekivali kako ćemo opstati dvadeset godina, ali osjećaj je sjajan, a i u posljednje se vrijeme čini kako se naša konzistentnost isplaćuje. Primili smo mnoštvo nevjerojatnih demoa izvođača s našeg područja kroz posljednjih nekoliko godina. Mislim da smo muzički upravo na još jednom vrhuncu.

Je li bilo trenutaka kada ti se možda činilo da nećete biti u stanju nastaviti?

Zapravo smo imali dosta sreće sa sustavom koji smo složili. Imali smo nekoliko vrlo snažnih momenata, ali nikada nismo ludovali s troškovima pa smo uspijevali izdržati i u trenucima kada stvari ne bi išle glatko.

Jednom si bio rekao kako s Poker Flatom izvođačima želiš pružiti dom a da ne potpisujete ekskluzivne ugovore. Znači li to da imaš neuobičajeno mnogo povjerenja u ljude s kojima radite?

Pa i ne, ja jednostavno mislim kako nema smisla nekoga potpisivati ekskluzivno. Ako je izvođač sretan s našim radom, nastavit će nam slati snimke; a ako je nesretan, vjerojatno će nam početi slati sranja kako bi ispunio ugovorne obaveze. Također, danas je vrlo korisno da izvođači objavljuju i na drugim platformama. To pomaže u njihovom rastu, a onda profitiramo i mi.

I Acid Pauli i Catz n Dogz su nedavno objavili svoje remikse tvojeg singla “Loverboy”. Je li i nakon sveg ovog vremena čudno vidjeti kako drugi izvođači doživljavaju tvoj rad?

Ma ja to obožavam. Posebno u ovakvim slučajevima jer ta dva remiksa su nevjerojatna. Pogotovo što je ta stvar dosta teška za remiksiranje jer ima malo pamtljivih momenata, ali su iznimno pamtljivi. Oba remiksa su sjajna: nekako ostaju vjerna originalu, ali dodaju nešto što on ipak nema. Zahvalan sam na takvim apdejtima.

Novi remiksi su dio tekuće serije. Možeš li nam reći što slijedi?

Mislim da je sljedeći na redu Martin Landsky, i to “1000 Miles” Harryja Romera, ali još je mnogo toga u planu. Pratite nas i dalje.

Reci nam nešto o svojoj novoj etiketi Sublease. Zašto je upravo sada bio pravi trenutak za njezino pokretanje te po čemu se razlikuje od Poker Flata?

Počeo sam svirati dosta minimala i deep-techa, što sam počeo i promovirati pa mi je dosta ljudi poslalo svoje demoe. Trake su bile toliko dobre da sam ih naprosto morao objaviti, ali se nisu uklapale u stil Poker Flata pa smo pokrenuli podetiketu. Osjetio sam da je dobar trenutak za nešto novo. Zaista mislim da je pravo vrijeme za okretanje prema modernijem, minimalnom houseu i technu primjerenom DJ-ima za vrtnju. To su stvari koje super sjedaju u miks, lebde i nemaju velika podizanja.

Nedavno si tvitnuo kako rast cijena nekretnina i zemljišta u Berlinu postaje sve veći problem. Kako misliš da će se to odraziti na scenu i što se može napraviti u borbi protiv toga?

Mislim da mi ne možemo učiniti ništa. Jednostavno više nema dovoljno prostora, zbog dolazaka ljudi iz drugih gradova i država. Također postoji velika potreba startupa i drugih tvrtki za uredskim prostorima jer svi oni misle da moraju biti u Berlinu, a izgleda da im nije problem plaćati 30 eura rente po kvadratu. To će definitivno utjecati na sve umjetnike – već se mnogo fotografa, slikara i muzičkih producenata moralo odseliti iz mnoštva prostora jer se mali ateljei i studiji transformiraju u goleme poslovne prostore. Berlin više jednostavno nema mjesta gdje se mogu prebaciti, a gotovo su sva područja već eksplodirala s cijenama. Tako da sam siguran da će se mnogi umjetnici odseliti u druge gradove, a slično će se dogoditi i mnogim klubovima, restoranima i drugim biznisima. Osjećaj ovog grada će se uvelike promijeniti.

Što te još uvijek uzbuđuje na elektroničkoj muzičkoj sceni?

Muzika sama. Ali i dijeljenje iskustava s drugim ljudima. Povezivati se s publikom tijekom DJ seta je neprocjenjivo.

Gdje možemo uhvatiti tvoje nastupe u nadolazećim mjesecima?

U različitim državama Europe, ali i u SAD-u te u Južnoj Americi.

Hvala, Steve – nadamo se da ćete nastaviti raditi još barem 20 godina!

Hvala puno

Read the English version HERE.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, Poker Flat have marked this impressive milestone with a series of remixes of some of its most iconic releases from an incredible array of talented artists, alongside a number of anniversary events over the coming months. In fact the series was so extensive that many of the releases have spilled over into 2020, with the latest a pair of stunning remixes of Steve’s own ‘Loverboy’ – one of the first tracks ever releases on Poker Flat – by Acid Pauli and Catz ‘n Dogz.

Here, we caught up with Steve to discuss the remixes, the series in general and new label Sublease Records.

Hi Steve, thanks for talking to us. How’s your 2020 been so far?

Pretty good, I’ve been touring, skiing, bouldering, and finally managed to spend some days in the studio.

Last year you celebrated 20 years of Poker Flat. I guess it’s impossible for you to pick out highlights from all that time, but what does the label still being around and thriving today mean to you?

It means a lot, I don’t think we’ve expected to be around for more than 20 years when we first started, but it’s a great feeling, and lately our consistence seem to pay off. We’ve received so many amazing demos, by area artists over the past few years. I think musically we are definitely at another peak right now.

Were there ever any moments in your history when it looked like you wouldn’t be able to continue?

We’ve been quite lucky with the set up we’re having. We had very strong moments, but we never went crazy on expenses, so we managed to cope with the not so strong moments easily.

You’ve said previously that with Poker Flat, you want to give artists a home without signing them exclusively. Does that mean that you have to put a lot of trust in the people you work with on the label?

No, I simply think there is no point of signing someone exclusively. If the artist is happy with our work, they’ll keep sending stuff, if they’re unhappy, they’d probably send shitty music to fulfil their contract. Also nowadays, it can be very helpful if an artist releases on other platforms as well. It will help her/him grow, and that will also get back to us.

Acid Pauli and Catz ‘n Dogz have both just put out new remixes of you single ‘Loverboy’. Even after all this time, is it strange to hear other artists do their takes on a record of yours?

No, I love it. Especially in this case, they are both amazing remixes. And it is definitely a difficult one to remix, since it has so few, but at the same time very memorable elements. Both remixes are great: they stay somehow close to the original, but add something, that the original doesn’t have. I’m very grateful for these updates.

The new remixes are part of an ongoing series… can you tell us about what’s coming up next?

I think the next one is Martin Landsky – ‘1000 Miles’ by Harry Romero, but there is plenty more in the pipeline. Stay tuned.

Tell us about your new label, Sublease. Why was the timing right for you to launch it, and how does it differ from Poker Flat?

I started to play lot of this rather minimal, deep tech tunes. And I also charted this kind of stuff, so people started to connect with me and sent over demos. The tracks were so good, that I had to release them, but they didn’t really fit on Poker Flat, so we decided to start a new sub-label. I felt it was a good time for something new, I really feel that there is a growing movement towards modern, DJ friendly minimal house & techno. Stuff that works great in a mix, that floats and doesn’t have big build ups.

I saw you tweet recently that the rising property prices in Berlin is really becoming a problem. How do you think it will effect the scene, and what can be done to combat it?

I don’t think there is anything that we can do about it: there are simply not enough spaces anymore, due to the influx from other cities/countries. And there is a big need for huge office spacers from start-ups, and other companies who think that they need to be here. And they don’t seem to have a problem to pay 30€ per square-meter. It will definitely effect artists of all types, I’ve already seen photographers, painters, and music producers having to move out of places, because a bunch of small units was being transformed into huge office spaces. Berlin doesn’t have that many areas to switch to. Almost all areas are already overpriced. So I am sure that many artists will move to other cities instead. Actually the same thing will happen with many clubs, as well as restaurants and all other businesses. So it will change the feel of the city in a big way.

What still excites you about the electronic music scene?

It’s the music itself. But it’s also about sharing experiences with people. Being able to connect with a crowd through a DJ set is priceless.

Where can we catch you playing over the coming months?

In various countries in Europe, as well as in the United States, and in South America.

Thanks Steve – here’s to another 20 years!

Thanks a lot

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