To listen: The boss of Lobster Theremin Asquith links Detroit to Berlin with 1 hour of techno at 140

CThis week, the boss of the Lobster Theremin label signs 1 hour of lively techno mix, cut for the dancefloor.

Launched in 2013, the Lobster Theremin label is one of the institutions that have undeniably marked and shaped electronic music over the past decade. By revealing talents such as DJ Seinfeld, Ross From Friends, Route 8, Palms Trax or even nthng, its founder emeritus Jimmy Asquith has also become a reference on the European techno, minimal and lo-fi scene, if not international.

Behind the decks or during his residencies on Rinse FM, the Londoner pushes the boundaries of house and techno and explores an ultra-wide spectrum ranging from drone to noise, passing through the groove of New York house as well as the stiffness of Berlin techno. Today, the selector goes against the current fast and trancy trend, and delivers 1 hour of “old school” techno, quite harsh and loaded with influences from Detroit, Berlin, and Birmingham. The result is an ecstatic and liberating mix to listen to anywhere and anytime, as long as you have room to dance.

What did you want to express through this mix?

With the trend of techno getting both faster and harder over the last 5-10 years, I wanted to explore a variety of traditional styles that would be in and around the original Detroit, Berlin pattern of the 90s and 2000s , harder European influences, and ideas of vintage British techno. However, the entire mix is played at over 140 bpm to match the velocity to what I feel is the most exciting techno around.

Paradoxically, even if the sounds sound rather traditional, all the tracks are practically new. I like to delve into the vast expanses of new digital releases to try and unearth some real gems and I believe there are a few here. As for my work on the label [Lobster Theremin]I like to put my art director ears on selecting tracks for my sets and I honestly feel like that’s the definition that helps define my taste as a selector and my sound as a DJ.

Under what conditions/with what configuration was it recorded?

Pioneer DDJ-400 on Apple Macbook Pro. Headphone mixing on a pair of Sony MDR-7506s (I use them for both production and DJing). Sitting by the window in the spring sunshine at 9 a.m. on a Saturday (I had the weekend off) with my cat and a carafe of coffee. Happiness ????

What influences/what scene did you want to represent here?

More traditional, well-worn techno sounds and themes, especially the Detroit-Berlin connection with some Birmingham vibrancy. A good extra dose of rave vibes and some stepped bangers. I often feel like my mixes have a theme and are pretty tight, but listening to them again I think there’s a lot to take away in terms of ideas and especially if a listener hasn’t been exposed to these ideas, I hope to encourage him to broaden his tastes and explore other styles and sub-genres.

Where would be the best place to listen to it?

Honestly, in any environment where you prefer to listen to techno. A Sunday walk with pastries, coffee and airpods in the sun? Are you at the gym and need an hour of strength training? Are you sitting at home and need something that constantly echoes in the background while you cuddle your cat? Are you playing, partying or having an after party with your friends and someone plugs in the auxiliary output of their phone and plays that music on SoundCloud? All these scenarios seem optimal to me.