na: playhouse

eMusic has always had a bit of the great Playhouse catalog, but this weekend saw the arrival of quite a bit more – filling in some of the gaps of one of the most venerated house labels in Germany today.

Blaze – Lovelee Dae
I’ve already penned my love letter to this song, but if you haven’t bothered to read it, I should just reiterate how perfect this song is for summer: “It’s a lovely day/ and the sun is shining/ Everywhere I go/ I see children smiling.”

Lindstrøm – I Feel Space
We’ve had this space disco in the catalog for a few months now, but this Playhouse version of the release contains an excellent remix by Get Physical’s production team M.A.N.D.Y.

Max Mohr – Sweet / Time Travel
Two excellent singles from the often-underrated producer. (It’s not hard to understand why he’s underrated: he’s released two singles and one album in seven years.)

Melchior Productions – The Meaning
Brilliant 2004 full-length from Thomas Melchior that, in many ways, prefigured the current boom of minimal producers looking back to Chicago for inspiration. If I remember correctly, this is one of eMusic Electronic columnist Philip Sherburne’s favorite records from the label. Here’s an interview he did with him on his blog.

My My – Klatta EP / Serpentine EP
Two EPs from the talented trio that made one of the most well-regarded albums of last year, Songs for the Gentle. Again, our man Philip sez (in Pitchfork):

Listening to one of their tracks unroll is a bit like watching a procession of clowns spill out of a Volkswagen, prompting the listener to wonder just how they squeezed so much stuff into a form so compact. Their song-like tracks (or track-like songs?) are at once lumbering and delicate, unwieldy, and pointillistic.

Losoul – Brain of Glass / You Know
Remix single that features two of techno’s most popular remixers, Alter Ego and Supermayer. Both remixes are very much in their particular styles: Alter Ego’s is a pressure-filled stormer that rarely lets up, while Supermayer sensitively ratchets up the tension as much as they luxuriate in the beauty of the track.

Losoul – International Snootleg
One of the best schaffel tracks you’re likely to ever hear. Taut, rocking, vulnerable.

And, of course, that’s not even talking about the world’s last disco band of consequence (Captain Comatose), a duo that delivers just about everything you could want in a post-Akufen world (John Tejada & Arian Leviste, a trio that is helping to continue to heal the wounds between Germany and France (Rework) and a duo that kind of doesn’t make any sense on this label at all (Shinto).