Last week we kicked off taking a closer look into the Dekmantel Selectors series. Liner notes diving into Danilo Plessow’s soulful inaugral release, and also briefly touching on the YouTube mini-series. For part two we shift from the warm tones of Germany and move towrad the mechanical new wave pulse of Amsterdam.
Selectors 002, compiled by Young Marco, was released in February 2017. I picked it up fresh off a trip to South Africa, diving head first into what was already an exciting chapter of my own DJ journey. While my bags were packed with synth disco records from Johannesburg - a story I’ll share as a brief detour next week - my head was immediately turned by the cold, concrete energy of this compilation.
It quickly became a staple in my radio shows and soundtracking late night cocktail bars across London and Europe. It never quite worked in Bournemouth; this music belonging to a moody, hazy atmosphere. It evokes graffiti laden spots in Hackney Wick or the fog of smoking areas outside venues like Amsterdam’s Radio Radio in the dead of winter. It’s rustic, artsy, and electronic to it’s core.
For me, this compilation was an entry point into New Wave and proto-techno discovery, with the first half of releases leaning heavily into the 80’s in terms of original release date. At the time, Dekmantel was heavily shaping the local sound with releases from the likes of Palms Trax, Juju & Jordash, Tom Trago and Awanto 3. While many of my own records from these artists lean more toward house, they all shared a distinct, brooding Amsterdam vibe - one that perforates the entire tracklist of this comp, managing to unite a global cast of underground and anonymous artists under a single cohesive identity. The mark of a true selector.
To truly understand the DNA of this mix, let’s dive into the liner notes to look at the eccentric digger behind it. The notes reveal a curator who has spent a lifetime operating on the fringes of the dancefloor;
Chapter 2: The Leftfield Oddity — Young Marco (Selectors 002)
Young Marco (a.k.a. Marco Sterk) certainly doesnt come from a standard DJ background. Growing up, he was a skate rate who loved American post-hardcore and ‘90s hip-hop as much as early Warp Records. Although he’s been affiliated over the years with Amsterdam institutions such as Rush House and Red Light Records, there’s no question he’s always followed his own path, even when playing his favorite records meant that he was occasionally clearing dancefloors. Things are different these days, of course, as Sterk now regularly plays around the globe and has been widely hailed for his diffing prowess and uncanny ability to pluck jams out of genres to pluck jams out of genres, eras and geographies that even veteran DJs will often ignore. Still, his entry in the Selectors series isn’t meant to be a collection of pricey rarities. “Where’s the fun in that?” he explains. “Anybody with an internet connection can check what flavor-of-the-month records are in demand.” Instead, he’s put together a collection of tracks that represent not only how he plays music, but also how he makes music himself. The songs here are melodic, electronic and bound together by a refreshing sense of naiveté. Nothing sounds overly calculated; the tunes here span several decades and include dollar-bin records, avant-garde records, club records and yes, a few things that collector types have likely been looking to get their hands on. It’s not meant to be a grand statement, as Marco would rather provide an honest snapshot of his musical tastes and share a few of his favorite tracks and artists in the process. With an eye toward finding out how these tunes landed in his record bag, we asked him to explain why each song means something to him and how they all contribute to his craft.
DANNY BOY – “DISKOMIX (DISKO VERSION)” A true Dutch unclassic. Not a lot of people seem to know that Danny Boy was one of the pioneers of Dutch hip-hop. After making a slightly novelty 7” when he was a kid, he dropped this, produced by his dad Han Grevelt and Paul Natte. In contrast to his first record, this is a piece of pure, bad-ass electronic funk. The track never really got the recognition it deserved, but this record still sounds timeless to me. I always switched between playing the vocal and instrumental, but this is a special unreleased version merging both cuts. Plus it has samples of cats meowing! What else do you want??
Danny Boy - Diskomix (Disko Version) / Written & Produced by Paul Natte & Han Grevelt / 1984, Klaver Vier (Boni Records).
GERRIT HOEKEMA – “TELEVISIEWERELD” As “proto house” as it comes. This record originally came out on a compilation by short-lived Dutch foundation Pop Eye / Stichting Muziek Nieuws. Gerrit Hoekema never released many records; he only appeared on a few comps, so this was a pretty hard one to trace. Gerrit Hoekema is a pretty common Dutch name! I sent everyone by that name I could source a message, but I got no replies. Finally, through the help of some friends, we got in touch with the guy who put this out through the foundation. I love the pure naive sound of this track, the floating melodies and the little, hard-working 606 doing what it does best.
Gerrit Hoekema - Televisiewereld / Written by Gerrit Hoekema / Produced by Nico Selen & Gerrit Hoekema / 1988, Pop Eye / Stichting Muziek Nieuws.
THE FORCE DIMENSION – “200 FA (EXTENDED MIX)” Some Dutch voodoo EBM action from a quite prolific group. I don’t think I have ever played this without someone coming up to me and frantically asking what it was. I love the brutish percussion, but it also has a trippy, introspective side to it and that killer DX bass just cuts through everything. I always wanted to make an extended version of this, and I was lucky that they gave me permission to do it for this compilation. Dankjewel!
The Force Dimension - 200 FA (Extended Mix) / Written & produced by R. van Dick & T. de Groot / 1989, KK-Records.
FRANK YOUNGWERTH – “WHIRR (ORIGINAL MIX)” A perfect balance between percussive drive, chunks of emotion and weird freakout synths. This one has been in the bag for a long time. I bought it in one of those shops where you can’t listen to anything; I didn’t know anything about it, but the weird, hand-drawn label just looked perfect. I love taking a gamble based purely on the artwork, including questionable artwork. The joy of getting home and finding out something is awesome is way more exciting than going through a big stack of curated records in some boring boutique record shop.
Frank Youngwerth - Whirr (Original Mix) / Written & produced by Frank Youngwerth / 1992, Viola Da Gamba.
GHOSTWRITERS – “SWIZZLE” A remnant of the legendary Haarlemmerstraat listening sessions, where a select group of friends who would later start Red Light Radio, Red Light Records, Music from Memory and more all came together for the first time. We would listen to the weirdest stuff in varying states of consciousness. I remember hearing this for the first time and being completely blown away. I may or may not have blurted out, “GUYS, this is the SOURCE.” This is just a total trip. It was all recorded at Don Buchla’s house, which is also pretty cool.
Ghostwriters - Swizzle / Written & produced by Charles Cohen & Jeff Cain / 1981, Red Music (an imprint of Fundamental Records).
GREEN BAIZE – “SPICK AND SPAN” Early Italian house is a big inspiration for me. There was magic little era in the early ‘90s when all the stars, gear and ideas aligned, resulting in a sound that was inspired by Chicago and Detroit, but still distinctly Italian. But even within this niche, this track is in a category all its own. I’ve had some emotional end-of-the-night moments with this one. Yeah, it has a synthy flute solo, but man, what a flute solo.
Green Baize - Spick and Span / Written by A. Neri & M. Baroni, produced, arranged and mixed by: A. Lee, M. Baroni, A. Dodici, P. Pierette / 1992, Oversky Records.
LARRY HEARD – “DOLPHIN DREAM” A track from my favorite Larry Heard album. Obviously, he is one of the best that’s ever done it, not to mention a huge inspiration, so I had to have a Larry track on here. I found this one in a random CD shop in Crete many years ago. They had a few records on the wall, basically four random trance records and this one, which was unpriced—I think it was more decor than stock. Two of the trance records were apparently worth quite a bit, so I told the shop owner, “A couple of these records go for a quite a bit of money. If I show you how to sell them, will you sell me the Larry album?” He agreed, I helped him set up a Discogs account and he gave me both the record and a hug. I came back a few days later and he had already sold one of the trance ones for a decent amount.
Larry Heard - Dolphin Dream / Written & produced by Larry Heard / 1994, Alleviated Records.
RAY TRACING – “MARIOPAINT” Irdial Discs is one of my favorite labels, not just because of what they put out, but also because of the way they put it out. Cryptic communication and a huge oddball catalog, with no regard for genre. This nutty digi-dub track was made using nothing but a Super Nintendo and a delay. I love records that were made with the most minimal means; you really don’t need any fancy gear to make a great piece of music. Plus, the ending is really nuts and suddenly drops down the tempo, so it forces you to switch things up.
Ray Tracing - Mariopaint / Written & produced by Akin Fernandez / 1995, Irdial-Discs.
WOLF MÜLLER – “PFAD DES WINDES” The Düsseldorf scene has always had a strong connection with Amsterdam. The incredible nights I had at the Salon des Amateurs rewired me as a person and DJ—all of a sudden, anything was possible. They were also responsible for some of the worst hangovers of my life, as the DJ booth is pretty much behind the bar and you get force fed shots all night... and they are long nights. Jan Schulte is a resident there, and besides being a dear friend, he’s one of the most talented guys I know. We’re both closet anime fanboys, so when I heard this track I begged him to let me put it on the comp.
Wolf Müller - Pfad Des Windes / Written & produced by Jan Schulte / 2016, Dekmantel.
PERSONAL FX – “OBJECTS IN MIRRORS” I got this off a gypsy selling old stereos and used underwear in Waterloo Square. I initially spotted a copy of Weekend at Bernie’s on VHS, but then saw this dusty DAT tape. After doing some digging, I found out Personal FX was a one-off Friesian formation from the mid ‘90s that never put out much and eventually sold all of their gear to start some sort of UFO yoga cult in Bavaria. The group mysteriously disbanded or disappeared without a trace, so this might be the only thing that remains of their legacy.
Personal FX - Objects In Mirrors / Written by Wopke T. & Douwe Dibbema, additional production by Krest Comar / 1996.
💬 - Shawn Reynaldo
📷 - Gioia de Bruijn
🎨 - Ofpheu de Jong