Selections: Elisa Bee
In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their collections. This week, Milan’s Elisa Bee spotlights slamming house, techno, acid and electro
Elisa Bee first appeared in DJ Mag back in 2017, when she delivered an entrancing blend of chunky house and rumbling techno for our Fresh Kicks mix series. At the time, she’d been DJing for a decade and slowly building up a discography, with her latest release coming via Unknown To The Unknown.
Since then, the Milan-based artist — originally from Sardinia — has gone from strength to strength. EPs have come via the likes of Kneaded Pains, Step Recordings and Posthuman’s Balkan label, the latter of which she appeared on again recently. The label pressed her previously digital-only acid stomper ‘Melt’ to vinyl for the label’s ‘Unitary Covert Sonic Procedures’ series, money from which has gone to help the people of Ukraine.
In February, Elisa made her debut on Ben Sims’ Hardgroove label, following a track on his Symbolism imprint last year. Her ‘Send Me A Vision’ EP packs plenty of techno punch over its four tracks, but there’s a decidedly funky slant too, from the thrumming groove of the title track, to the rubbery pitched percussion of ‘Tell Me More’. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the highlight of the EP, opener ‘Offline Matters’, where a carnivalesque organ dances among skittering hi-hats.
These are tracks built for the club that reveal an appreciation for music that stretches far beyond, much like Elisa Bee’s Selections.
“Fear-E launched his own imprint, Posh End Music, a few months ago, and the sound of this first EP is 100% for me. I’ve been lucky enough to know what Scott has planned for the label and to listen to his own album that will be released in the near future. The album is incredible and the list of artists that will release music on the label is great, so I highly recommend you keep Fear-E and Posh End Music on your radar.”
“Most of the vinyl records I own are jazz records, and nowadays I’m really excited to see many young and talented artists creating great music. I discovered Binker & Moses when their first album came out and since then I’ve followed them with great interest. I’m happy to finally be able to listen to their first studio album in five years, this time with new member Max Luthert on tape loops and electronics.”
“I love Tresor, and playing there was one of the best moments of my DJ career. I am also a big fan of the label and this release blends many of the genres I love the most: techno, funk, electro. The Detroit connection in the release is strong and not only in musical terms, The AM being one of Detroit’s newest techno ambassadors.”
“I’ve been following Ben Sims and his imprints for many years now. Symbolism and Hardgroove have released so many banging tracks that I don’t even know where to start, but this very recent EP by Thomas Hessler went straight inside my digital DJ bag. Favourite track: ‘The Collider’.”
“Over the last five years, Fantastic Voyage kept on releasing music that I really like and support, be it acid or house, techno, electro, even ambient. This great compilation sums up the musical diversity that characterises the label, featuring a huge amount of tracks of different genres and some of my favourite producers at the moment: Nikki Nair, Stones Taro, Skeleton King. Favourite track: Dagga ‘Proximity’.”
“Val Grande is like a musical lab for my long-time friend Nic Sarno, a place where he experiments and plays without any kind of boundary. The results are very rough, unique and meditative trips for the ears and the mind. ‘Disintegration’ contains The Cure songs, only ‘disintegrated’ by Val Grande.”
“This Mr. Ho edit of Reggie R’s ‘Get Up’ is an acid gem. The original mix was released in 1989 on Real House Records; on Reggie R’s ‘Out Of Control’ EP, there’s a mix of elements of Chicago house and Detroit techno as well as a taste of hip-house. I found this edit while digging on Klasse Wrecks’ Bandcamp page, another label I highly suggest to follow.”
“Ukrainian artist Poly Chain just released her ‘Dogtooth’ EP on Poland’s Dom Trojga, a label I follow with great interest. Poly Chain’s music reveals a unique signature style and personality; I hope to see her playing live soon. The electro vibes and synth-work on ‘Kieł’ are just perfect. Definitely an artist not to miss.”
“Posthuman’s labels Balkan Vinyl and I Love Acid have been very important for me in the last couple of years. Since Josh wrote to me asking for some demos and we started talking, I felt in the right place. I’ve played so many tracks from these labels in my sets, they’ve always been a constant in my collection. The ‘UCSP III’ compilation was released a few months ago and it features Granary 12 (they produced some of my favourite acid tracks ever!), Boxia, Nightwave and Global Goon, so it’s a real honour for me to have one of my tracks on it.”
“I found this gem a few days ago while digging on Bandcamp, and fell in love with it. I was already a Piero Umiliani fan; he is a soundtrack giant and I like to listen to his music while I’m home reading or just enjoying some quiet time alone. ‘Paesaggi’ (the Italian word for ‘landscapes’) was first released in 1971, so this reissue comes after many decades with the promise of doing full justice to the composer and the original.”
