function: recompiled ii/ii

Manhattan to Berlin: Dave Sumner, better known as Function, had found a new path in techno, and as he obsessively talked about the British Murder Boys and the work of Mika Vainio, he focused in on his latest influence: Sleeparchive. Elements of Plastikman's take on jacking raw rhythms collided with Sähkö bleeps for a powerful post-Jeff Mills form of techno. After a laptop, Battleship-like session in Berlin with Dave and Karl O'Connor, better known as Regis, Dave decided to move to "techno Mecca". He returned to NYC to get ready, and three months later, on the day he moved to Berlin, his record was released as Isolation on Sandwell District and was named DJ Magazine's 12 Inch of the Month. He then set up his studio in the warehouse of Tony Vieira. Sandwell District: Sandwell District is a literal place -- the Black Country -- where the industrial revolution began. It's one of the many Dadaesque references in the Integrale catalog. The whole thing has this major punk DIY spirit. Sandwell District quickly evolved from a label into a music project with a distinctly egoless and mysterious approach. They functioned around the motto of "Decentralizing the artist ego, blurring the lines between the artist, label and DJ; re-arranging the DNA of modern dance music." The first record on Sandwell was by Regis, followed by records from Juan Mendez as Silent Servant and Dave as Function; soon they would all release collectively. Sandwell District was a more mature response, the second stage of a career with the disparate influences absorbed, digested, and slowed down, yet somehow more emotional. Later, Rrose would become an integral part of Sandwell, right before they broke up at the height of their popularity, in the spirit of their heroes Big Black. Dave then went on to record his debut solo album Incubation for Ostgut Ton and revived Infrastructure. The Next Phase: Sometimes the only way forward is to look backwards. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, as the saying goes. Recompiled I/II and II/II is an attempt to understand what has happened and to liberate the artist from the burden of their own oeuvre. Moving forward, Function is still connecting the dots with his DJing around the globe, with residencies at Berghain in Berlin and Bassani in Tbilisi, Georgia.