UPC 827170388185 release date 04.11.2013
Tracklist EP: A1. Awake At Night B1. Resonate
It has been too long since PRIVATE GOLD has seen fit to unleash the audio dragon to dropkick our listening holes. But unleash they finally have, in the guise of ex-Cologne enfant terrible, DASO. DASO is a longtime associate of the PRIVATE GOLD family, and it was only a matter of time before he poked his head out of his new Berlin cave to spray the landscape with some much needed fire. At once both cleansing and bringing new growth... A-side "AWAKE AT NIGHT" spreads it's reptile wings to block out the full moon, chugging along and swooping and swaying on superb bass tone coupled with stringy pads and vocal samples that eventually give way to the quintessential vocoded vocal line. Normal sad robot vocals be damned, this is a sad mecha-monster plaintively letting you in on what it's like to live, awake at night. B-side "RESONATE" doesn't go the usual way of lower energy, instead choosing to up the ante with a more direct to your ass push. Forceful whilst still retaining a certain beauty, the interweaving pads, accents, and buried samples give way to a distorted lead line that is bathed in fire. This is a phoenix rising from the ashes. Once again PRIVATE GOLD brings something new and exciting to the world of dance music.

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It's time for class once again. Students, take out your notepads, er, laptops. Today's lesson is how to spin subtlety, emotion, and intelligence into slices of smooth groove. Our coursework consists of the original of DISORDER VS. DISASTER on PRIVATE GOLD. Some of you may have gathered through the syllabus that DISORDER VS. DISASTER is in fact written by intellectual strongmen CESARE MARCHESE (of recent published work on VAKANT and DUMB-UNIT) and his co-author CESAR MERVEILLE (of the CADENZA university). We will also focus on the peer reviews, in fact re-interpretations, by renowned sonic experimenter BRUNO PRONSATO (THESONGSAYS) and head of this very department JIN CHOI. The thesis presented herein posits that through teasing ones heartstrings while simultaneously stimulating various parts of the brain, one can be brought to locomotion: in the layman's terms - to dance. The original's insistent organ chords mix with scattershot brushed snare rolls and a bevy of various, seemingly random percussion… loose and almost falling apart before the below 100hz bass creeps in, finally bringing about the traditionalist kick and hi-hat combo at 2 minutes and turning it into an ephemeral train chugging along a winding track. While the PRONSATO version chooses to stick with the kick from square one, it is by no means a stodgy, traditional affair. Fluid body movement brought about by delayed bits of melody, strong and percussive bass and the interplay of smeared shakers and his oft-repeated wet claps. But it's the unintelligible vocals and moody sine wave that eventually prove the theory. Brain first, but with body together. Lastly, CHOI gives us the straight bull. Without resorting to tricks, he twists the words of the two CES' into his easily recognizable powerhouse style. Crushed rim shots mixed with a bevy of cymbal play and a plaintive wail sits on top of a pushing low end. The most body interpretation of the three, but never lacking in brains where it uses brawn. If these three examples haven't shown you, perhaps you should transfer out of my class.

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The album format, in the world of Electronic Dance Music is most often a self-defeating gesture. There is, traditionally, little need for a long-players worth of club bangers and too often artists who try their hands awkwardly at variation and deeper meaning find they have too little experience and come up short, or even empty. Not so with JIN CHOI's A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE. A true artist album, where the artist has so much to communicate that it didn't even fit on a single CD. All told, 14 songs of emotion using the dance music idiom, but meaning much more. CHOI's previous work with ARCHIPEL, LESSIZMORE, CONTEXTERRIOR and his own PRIVATE GOLD imprint have brought this subtle yet forceful sound into a view, but with WHALES there has been extra care afforded to create a vivid multicolored and multifaceted sonic picture for the public to enjoy in places other than just the dancefloor. The album encompasses such disparate genre influences as ambient soundscapes (album opener DON'T LOOK INSIDE), 60s soul (SHE'S GOT GOLD), 80s neon disco soundtracks (eponymous cut A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE), smoky and moody blue-note jazz (CIRCLES-DARK MIX), and his often played with tough yet subtle minimalist (but not minimal) house excursions. Truth be told, to pick just a few songs to highlight the album would be a fallacy, as they all fit together into a larger whole. A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE is an album that says so much without saying it through a bullhorn. Full of shrouded emotion teased out of detail, in unlikely forms and places. A treatise on a subject that must be close to the artist's heart but is left up to interpretation by the listener. Nothing is forced, but a lot is gained. My interpretation: that one can hear the events lived in JIN's life over the time since he moved to bustling Berlin and changes were abound. At times melancholic and at times hopeful, at times subdued and at times ecstatic.
A THOUSAND WHALES OF LOVE is a proper album by a proper artist. Drink it in.
Tracklisting
01. Don't Look Inside
02. Godspeed Soul
03. She's Got Gold
04. A Thousand Whales Of Love
05. The Hour Glass
06. Amber & Gold
07. Brother Ash, Sister Dust
08. There Must Be Ways
09. Love & Soil
10. Solstice
11. In The Dark
12. Circles (Inhale Mix) - Digital Bonus Track
13. Stealing Gold - Digital Bonus Track
14. Circles (Exhale Mix) - Digital Bonus Track
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Welcome to the employee canteen at the offices of PRIVATE GOLD, would you like to have a seat? Take a load off, you've been working too hard. The kitchen has prepared some very special dishes for you this time around. Executive chef TOLGA FIDAN (best known for his incredible releases on VAKANT) provides the freshest ingredients to make the three entreés we have on the menu. Firstly, DOUBLE EDGE SWORD (Original Mix) does what Tolga does best: tease your psychedelic taste-buds. A meaty, umami flavored 80s electrofunk bassline anchors some wonderful call and response vocals asking you if you want to dance, telling you this song will make you dance whether you like it or not, and reminding you that all that's wanted is to use your imagination. Subtly placed chimes, pianos and synth hits are like a family passed down seasoning blend that makes the dish entirely unique. If the Brothers Johnson took ketamine and thought they turned into your dinner, this is what it would sound like.
Secondly PERLON's SAMMY DEE provides what amounts to a perfect clean remix course to re-whet the appetite and reset the taste-buds. A reductionist exploration of sharp and concise textures, sounds and flavors, it grooves while remaining taut and stretched (ULTRASTRETCHed, if you will). Hints of citrus, acidic berries, chili and the occasional full on root vegetable texture… all together not unlike a funky ass sorbet.
Finally we have label boss JIN CHOI pulling out all the bombastic stops. Pulling the flavor/sound that cut through the original mix (a vocal snippet that has been fully sautéed in weirdness) and putting it center stage, he then amps up the party aspect in his remake, adding some champagne and caviar audio touches that sound to the ears like big ass synth melodies. PRIVATE GOLD cannot stop with the magic and I'm guessing this one will leave everyone sated and happy.
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With age comes maturity, or that is at least what one would normaly think. Together the three men (Jin Choi, Walker Barnard & Tolga Fidan) associated with Private Gold's second release, the "I'm Just the Rain" EP, clock in at over 100 years… and yet this release is all thrusting crotches and wriggling teen lust man-booties. Only kidding, the songs on this release are nothing if not mature. Sure the aforementioned sex is there. In the cooing vocals, stompy bass and 60s psych of the contrapuntal guitar of the eponymous I'm Just The Rain or in the Jimmy Edgar-like funk and grind of Revolution For The Lovers. But what you notice after a few listens is, that these great dancefloor tracks are well thought out, that every little sound or slap, every tiny swish or sample is lovingly placed there. As if you could imagine that the studio is a leather upholstered room, where the men discussed Foucault and sipped a lovely sherry (a favorite of Jin Choi's). Tolga's Remix does exactly what it should, bringing the originals drive up into the 21st century. All squishy percussion and layered vocals, it will satisfy those looking for something more obviously cerebral, while still wanting people to move. The arrangement also recalls 80s pop songs, seeming to give it a subconscious verse/chorus/verse and longing romantic feel. Private Gold brings another unique and special baby into the world with the "I'm Just The Rain EP", and it's bound to be a hit.
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Since entering the scene in 2006, Jin Choi has released a string of EPs on a number of respected labels, such as Lessizmore, Systematic Recordings, Contexterrior and Archipel. Now, after carving his own aural aesthetic that emphasizes emotional expression over formulaic dancefloor functionality - and after his recent move from Cologne to Berlin - Jin felt the time was right to form his own imprint. "Private Gold" is a new homebase for his productions as well as those by his friends from Berlin and beyond, which will bring us soon wonderful music from Tolga Fidan, Jay Haze, Walker Barnard, Axel Boman, Martin Beume and many more. "You've Done Me Wrong" kicks off the label's first release and is also the EP's title track, and as such, it serves as something like a manifesto. Some music glows as if it was made of gold, and this kind of music shines in the dark and reveals the artist's heart and soul. "You've Done Me Wrong", emanates warmth onto the dancefloor and into the listener's psyche, showing Jin's influence from both Soul and House. "Love is You" follows a similar path, although this time utilizing jazz sounds over a house template, exploring the theme of love as a sickness, but not wanting to be cured. On the flip side, Jin takes his sound in a tropical, psychedelic direction with "Private Gold", featuring the abstract vocal styling of Sam Leigh Brown (who's previously lent her talent to Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Frank Popp Ensemble and most recently Bloody Mary and many more). This one radiates the most passion, composed from almost completely organic sounds, but subtly chopped-up edits and a jazzy beat. And for a cooldown, Mr. Choi offers "Cardboard Love", a winding, grooving track with a typical melancholic mood and catchy melodies for the hours after.
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