Get The Curse

No introduction needed for the acclaimed artist and Dessous + Pokerflat head man. It’s not that we haven’t heard much of him since the Bugnology days, but despite regular releases and frequent touring the DJ has almost yielded his place in the spotlight to all sorts of young bucks. Almost.

His latest release on Pokerflat with vocals courtesy of Paris the Black Fu and some great remixes by Joris Voorn and Detroit bad boy Kris Wadsworth is a killer EP. Also, featuring in NRK’s latest installment in The Lab mix-CD series Bug delivers two outstanding mixes. We couldn’t resist asking him to contribute to our Raw Material section, it’s been a while since the last one, don’t you think?

Steve Bug: “Of course i could have chosen more tunes from the 80’s or even 70’s, because there are a lot of tracks that i really like and would see as influential for me, but I found just too many superb tracks after house music started, so I went with these…”

LIZ TORRES Can’t Get Enough
(12″ – Jack Trax – 1988)

SB: One of those tracks that really got me into house music. Alongside Ralphie Rosario’s “You Used To Hold Me” and several others, these are the first tracks I remember from going clubbing at Hamburg’s Front club in the late 80’s. The strong jackin’ but still commercially successful stuff was an easy access for a lot of people to house music. Of course I could have named hundreds of other, more underground tracks from that period, but for me this track is very special, I still like it a lot and it kinda stands out to all the other tracks I’ve been dancing to those days.

MODEL 500 The Chase
(12″ – Metroplex – 1989)

SB: After already being hooked on house and acid, this one was of my hymns back then. I can’t think of any other tune that has been driving me that crazy on the dancefloor. Especially with the perfect light jockey controlling the simple lightning system at the Front club, this was very mind blowing. Unfortunately a lot of clubs forget about the effects of lights in combination with the music these days.

BOBBY KONDERS Let There Be House
(12″ – Nu Groove – 1990)
SB:  1990 was my first summer in Ibiza, most clubs have been playing more commercial stuff, but the Space after hour was great for all kinds of house and techno. This tune was big inside the space and I remember loosing it while just letting the house be the house there.

Aphex Twin Heliosphan
(CD – R&S – 1992)

SB: My favorite track of the Selected Ambient Works by Aphex Twin. It was released exactly at the right time. I had already started playing gigs here and there and I was playing quite a lot in Munich since I made a lot of friends that were throwing parties there during my stays in Ibiza in ‘90 and ‘91. In ‘92, an almost weekly, but very private after hour started at a friends house close to munich, people would hang around for days, chill out, listen to music, maybe take a nap or eat something and then listen to more music. If someone wanted to talk they would go to the kitchen so that the music wasn’t interrupted. Every time I played in munich I ended up there and this album was of course the perfect match for this place.

Basic Channel Q1.1
(12″ Basic Chanel 1993)

SB: My favorite Basic Channel record. For me this track totally stands for the E-Werk in berlin. When I am listening to this tune I can still feel the vibe in there. Dark, sweaty, industrial and a lot of reflections…

Plastikman Plastique
(12″ – Plus8 – 1994)

SB: Plastique, originally released as a 12″ and as a part of the “Musik” album. I have to say when the album first came out I didn’t really get it, but after listening to it again, i was like “wow”! and still, no one ever tweaked a 303 as weird and strange. Also the whole effect settings and drum programming was very different and crazy. For me plastique is still one of Richie’s best tracks.

Carl Craig At Les
(12″- Planet E – 1997)

SB: Carl Craig stands for so many things and I honestly think he is one of the most important producers in the electronic music scene. I have been following him since he released his very first tracks. At Les is one of my all time favorites of Carl. It is such an amazing track and it is music that unfortunately doesn’t come along very often these days.

Rhythm & Sound King In My Empire (ft Cornell Campbell)
(10″ – Rhythm & Sound Recordings – 2001)

SB: First released on a 10″ if I remember right, later a part of the album “Rhythm & Sound w/ the artists”. A track that I’ve been listening to a thousand times, and it never lost its beauty. I listen to the album in my studio a lot when I am doing anything else than producing. The whole album is just incredibly produced and it is definitely a timeless one.

Recloose Cardiology
(12″ – K7 – 2002)

SB: In 2002 Recloose released his Cardiology album, it was a great fusion of funk, disco, house and techno. Good sample work, great synth lines and quality vocal recordings here. The title track cardiology I still like the best, even though there are couple of other good ones here. I wish there would be more albums like this.

Owusu & Hannibal Le Fox
(CD – Ubiquity Records – 2006)

SB: I was in Australia in a car with a friend of mine, the stereo played the Owusu & Hannibal album. I bought a single with Morgan Geist mixes before, but i didn’t know they’ve been releasing an album. In that car “living with owusu & hannibal” made its way into my top albums for years, I think I bought at least 5 copies for me and my friends when I got back in Berlin.