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12"
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SUOL 071EP
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SUOL head honchos Chopstick & Johnjon have gone back to basics with this offering. The four original tracks on their Momentum EP are the result of some extensive studio jam sessions. Featured vocalist CeCe Rogers asks "What Is House Music" on the EP's opening track with shuffling snares, crisp claps, and relentless kicks. Warm analog pads take the listener into "Salvation". "O-Negative" is centered around a big analog lead sound that morphs and modulates. "Catalisa" adds a layer of disco funk to the synth jam with its bass guitar sample and organ stabs that dance around a filtered vocal sample.
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12"
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SUOL 068EP
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Suol label heads Chi-Thien Nguyen and John Muder, aka Chopstick & Johnjon, present Versions 2 after their work on Fritz Kalkbrenner's gold record single, "Back Home" (2014). "Keep It Real Son" features organ stabs, deep subs, whipping hi-hats, a Moog bassline and an instantly recognizable lead synth. "I Need Your Love" sees funky percussion lines skip along to rolling basslines. "Strings For Fools" is a journey full of bouncy percussions from around the world. "Wait A Minute" builds around a two bar guitar loop and a live electronic bass. Two vocal bits echo their way across a snappy beat.
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12"
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SUOL 055EP
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Suol label-bosses Chopstick & Johnjon return with the second single from their LP Twelve (SUOL 005LP/SUOL 009CD). The album's opener, "Run Slowly" is an intensely soulful track which bridges the gap between electronic and acoustic instrumentation. Densely-layered guitar and string harmonics dovetail alongside Chris James' mournful vocals to create a rich listening experience. André Lodemann's interpretation retains the melodic elements but injects it with space. Few Nolder's slightly harder interpretation has a tougher bass line and brittle synth stabs, but melts away into a delicately beautiful breakdown. Quarion's remix leaves the vocals intact and is a late-night excursion comprised of an ominous arpeggiated synth and muffled chords.
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2LP
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SUOL 005LP
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Double LP version. Housed in a gatefold jacket. Presenting a debut full-length album from Berlin's house institution and Suol founder, Chopstick & Johnjon. This is an album in the classical songwriting sense. Fortified by house predilections taken from the musicians' obsessively detailed and intoxicating dancefloor beats, the album presents its own clearly compacted and self-contained realm of sound. It's an album which, besides the collaboration with Boston's E-Funk wizard Tanner Ross on two songs, mainly arose with the cooperation with the English singer and musician Chris James. James, who has released tracks with his band Stateless on Ninja Tune and !K7, among other ventures, greatly contributes to the strength of the album. His warm voice and intuitive vocal arrangements blossomed immediately under the concepts of both Berlin producers, resulting in 11 tracks on Twelve which were developed by the trio. A decade has passed since the masterminds behind the Suol label, Chi-Thien Nguyen and John B. Muder, set out as Chopstick & Johnjon with a clear mission: to blaze a trail through the international house and techno scene. Those 10 years seem to have passed in the twinkling of an eye. Both as joint label managers and as a production team, they've come a long, long way. Techno, electro, house, hip-hop -- during their early years in particular, the duo set about exploring electronic music like kids in a candy store. Fearless and bold, they surrendered themselves to the moment, but with the Suol label they seem to have found their spiritual home for the time being. Suol's forerunners, Criminal Records and Baalsaal, were important stages in allowing them to hone their profile and gradually acquire the necessary know-how to develop an internationally successful label. We learn from our mistakes, as the saying goes, and all those diverse influences crystallized aesthetically, too, as they gradually created a collective sound concept, which is based on their shared experiences. Over time, their collaborative tracks started to become slower and more organic. What is today commonly known as slow house was for Chopstick & Johnjon a natural outgrowth of their passion for hip-hop and groove in particular. The creative pair compliment each other perfectly -- both in the studio and behind the decks. Thien, the classically-trained "muso" and John, the former hip-hop DJ with an ear for tight, compact arrangements. The chemistry is just right: tracks like "Clear Eyes" from their Friday Night Lights EP, "Keep on Keepin' On" with label mate Fritz Kalkbrenner on the microphone, or their biggest hit to date "Listen" are all proof of that. And as DJs, Chopstick and Johnjon are consummate experts at bringing the party to a boil at 116 bpm.
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CD
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SUOL 009CD
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Presenting a debut full-length album from Berlin's house institution and Suol founder, Chopstick & Johnjon. This is an album in the classical songwriting sense. Fortified by house predilections taken from the musicians' obsessively detailed and intoxicating dancefloor beats, the album presents its own clearly compacted and self-contained realm of sound. It's an album which, besides the collaboration with Boston's E-Funk wizard Tanner Ross on two songs, mainly arose with the cooperation with the English singer and musician Chris James. James, who has released tracks with his band Stateless on Ninja Tune and !K7, among other ventures, greatly contributes to the strength of the album. His warm voice and intuitive vocal arrangements blossomed immediately under the concepts of both Berlin producers, resulting in 11 tracks on Twelve which were developed by the trio. A decade has passed since the masterminds behind the Suol label, Chi-Thien Nguyen and John B. Muder, set out as Chopstick & Johnjon with a clear mission: to blaze a trail through the international house and techno scene. Those 10 years seem to have passed in the twinkling of an eye. Both as joint label managers and as a production team, they've come a long, long way. Techno, electro, house, hip-hop -- during their early years in particular, the duo set about exploring electronic music like kids in a candy store. Fearless and bold, they surrendered themselves to the moment, but with the Suol label they seem to have found their spiritual home for the time being. Suol's forerunners, Criminal Records and Baalsaal, were important stages in allowing them to hone their profile and gradually acquire the necessary know-how to develop an internationally successful label. We learn from our mistakes, as the saying goes, and all those diverse influences crystallized aesthetically, too, as they gradually created a collective sound concept, which is based on their shared experiences. Over time, their collaborative tracks started to become slower and more organic. What is today commonly known as slow house was for Chopstick & Johnjon a natural outgrowth of their passion for hip-hop and groove in particular. The creative pair compliment each other perfectly -- both in the studio and behind the decks. Thien, the classically-trained "muso" and John, the former hip-hop DJ with an ear for tight, compact arrangements. The chemistry is just right: tracks like "Clear Eyes" from their Friday Night Lights EP, "Keep on Keepin' On" with label mate Fritz Kalkbrenner on the microphone, or their biggest hit to date "Listen" are all proof of that. And as DJs, Chopstick and Johnjon are consummate experts at bringing the party to a boil at 116 bpm.
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12"
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SUOL 050EP
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Suol presents the first single from Chopstick & Johnjon's upcoming album Twelve. "Pining Moon" is arguably their most intently focused pop song to date. Recorded in collaboration with Chris James, whose projects include the band Stateless, the song features vocals from James and deeply emotional arrangements driven by a punchy kick drum and cleverly interwoven with dreamy acoustic guitar and cello cameos. Jay Shepheard delivers two different interpretations -- one airier, and one full of dancefloor groove. The Death On The Balcony remix is capped with a pulsating bass groove, which takes the song decisively in the direction of the dancefloor.
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12"
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SUOL 048EP
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Chopstick & Johnjon present the first vanguard of their upcoming debut album. For Roots they team up with Signaljacker aka Chris James of the infamous UK band Stateless (Ninja Tune, !K7). The title-track comes in two different moods - the dreamy, almost melancholic "Original Mix" plus the rather bright "Alternative Mix." "Still Breathing" eventually takes the beat even further down, bringing forth a never-heard side of Chopstick & Johnjon.
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12"
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MOOD 063EP
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"Another new Moodmusic signing is the longtime Berlin producer duo of Chopstick & Johnjon from Criminal Records and Baalsaal Records fame. Fresh from their recent Dirt Crew Records hit Birds the guys deliver another double A-sided bomb with Double Dribble / Rebound on Moodmusic. Double Dribble starts with a low-slung vocal making waves for the modulating hook-line and a build up before breaking into a 7 a.m. sun-riser hand-raiser break. Intense, yet deep, 'Double Dribble' has a classic Berlin house feel to it. 'Rebound' takes another route, starting with jacking percussion alá Chicago and a summerish synth groove which almost gives this a Balearic feel to it. Working the groove, the tracks builds and builds with more layers of analog heaviness and a neat arrangement, before dropping into a surprise break of Rhodes chords, giving the track another dimension. Feel the love when you drop this shit!"
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12"
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DIRT 027EP
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Dirt Crew welcomes two new hot producers to their label, known for their own imprints Criminal and Baalsaal and collaborations as Eyerer & Chopstick. "Birds" is an absolute smash tech-house bomb that proves its power in the club. The Afrilounge guys deliver two great remixes (one funk, one dub) that take the track towards a more stripped-down, percussive direction.
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