July 2 – Mathias Kaden + Supernova |

July 2 – Mathias Kaden + Supernova

Mathias Kaden

Likably undisguised, always surprising and full of verve – putting Mathias Kaden’s charisma in a nutshell is one thing. Another is the feeling of hearing him live in a night club or open air – nothing feels like that. Very naturally he absorbs the audience’s vibe and radiates his own energy into it – no matter whether it’s for a warm-up, at prime time or whilst closing. Mathias Kaden has been a DJ for more than 15 years now. And after more than 1500 gigs he still hasn’t lost his addictive enthusiasm which has given special moments to fans on dancefloors on almost all continents.

It all started far away from the big clubbing centers, in the green heart of Germany between the contemplative cities of Jena and Gera. Growing up there, Kaden was a passionate nightclubber and discovered DJing in the mid-90s. His sets then were dominated by the classic vocal house of his American heroes. Later, his sound preferences broadened from minimal house arrangements to a contemporary eclecticism that Kaden has found a fitting trademark for, namely Power House. Instead of strict limits in genre, Power House describes his very own way of fast mixing whilst keeping a certain groove and yet continually surprising his audiences with his music. None of his sets are like another.

Kaden’s outstanding skills to interweave different spheres of electronic club music are documented by mix compilations for Watergate Records, Cocoon Recordings and the German magazine Groove. His stylistic open-mindedness is also shaping his own productions. His first tracks were built in 2001 together with Marek Hemmann. Their sessions together resulted in five EPs for the Jena record label Freude am Tanzen. At the same time, Mathias Kaden created a versatile style as a solo artist, released between 2005 and 2009 mainly by the Berlin label Vakant. In 2009, he also finished his debut album „Studio 10“ for Vakant. It was a surprisingly experimental and diversified piece of music with various guest musicians and has been well received by both fans and the press.

With his „Tentakle EP“ on Desolat, the „Polyphonic EP” on Pets Recordings and his second album „Energetic“ on Freude am Tanzen, Kaden recently set more of a course on house again and let the energy of his DJ sets slip into his music. In return he gave this energy of his tracks back to the dancefloor: During the tour for his album, he played the “Energetic”-tracks live with a set-up of much-loved hardware, which allowed him to recreate his musical repertoire playfully and spontaneously. Thus, in 2016 he spent a special amount of time touring North and South America. Along the way he reactivated his Japanese inspired side project Mathimidori with the EP “Ongaku” on Mule Musiq and a remix for Timo Maas. The latter ranks within a long list of remixes that Mathias Kaden has produced throughout his career. He has added new facets to tracks by Trentemøller, 2000 & One, Jesse Rose, Kink, Monika Kruse, DJ Koze and Emanuel Satie.

Mathias Kaden’s gig radius has vastly extended in the past years, with regular performances at well-known clubs and festivals around the world, including his residency at Cocoon Ibiza at Amnesia. Nevertheless he has stayed closely-knit with his Thuringian heimat. Since 1998 he lovingly nurtures his residency at the legendary Muna, a club that for more than 20 years has been and continues to be hightly appreciated as an important location for ambitious parties outside of Berlin, Hamburg et al. At the also well known club Kassablanca in neighbouring Jena, Kaden was promoting the Klanglauf night for ten years which hosted renowned DJs like Luciano, Steve Bug, Solomun and Soulphiction. And finally, Freude am Tanzen has become Mathias Kaden’s home – due to longstanding friendships and their work as a label and booking agency.

But Freude am Tanzen is not the only friendship that has led to new creativity: with the Leipzig band Marbert Rocel and the Jena percussionist Michael Nagler Mathias Kaden founded a real band for a spontanous live-set at the Nachtdigital Festival in summer 2010. Three years later, this band released the widely appreciated album „Plaited“ and played a number of tours. And with his friend Daniel Stefanik he has been playing intensive and exuberant back-2-back sets. So no sign of fatigue: the timetable for the next tour is tightly packed and a new EP on Knee Deep In Sound is set for release in 2017.

Supernova

Supernova are Emiliano Nencioni and Giacomo Godi; an Italian DJ and production duo that have over the last decade made the transition from rising stars to established international talent and are now recognised as artists and performers of enviable stature.
Both Emiliano and Giacomo are classically trained musicians, something they believe has set their approach to electronic music apart from many of their peers, granting them the technical abilities and theoretical know-how to produce the music they want without restriction.

Taking their lead from the music of their youth – everything from Chicago house, acid house, hip-hop, funk and acid jazz – they achieved their first notable success in 2007 when Sony BMG released their debut album ‘Downtown Underground, which included collaborations from the likes of GrandMaster and Melle Mel).

As the variety of different ways that electronic artists are able to perform grows ever larger, so the debate as to what actually constitutes a DJ set rages every fiercer. Rather than get drawn into the debate however, Supernova prefer just to do their thing. At the beginning their set up was 100% live – including Moog, Virus and Micro Korg keybords, a logic control mixer and external hardware effects and filters – and they only performed their own records, but after a punishing tour schedule across two continents they realised they needed to develop something for suitable for clubs. Their current set-up comprises live instruments, decks and Ableton to create an ever-evolving musical experience that is “constantly renovated to create something unique.”

It certainly seemed to work. Gigs across the world followed their initial album tour and to date Supernova have played at some of the most established venues and festivals on the planet, including Elrow (Barcelona/Ibiza), The Bpm Festival, Monegros Desert Festival, Ministry Of Sound (London), Cavo Paradiso (Mykonos), Space (Ibiza), Kazantip Festival (Ukraine), Tenax (Italy), Space (Miami) La Terraza (Florianopolis) and many many more.

In 2009 they started their own label Lapsus Music that is now considered one of the most interesting project inside the underground independent labels world scene with support from many big names and showcases across the world.

Their probably biggest hit comes in 2010 with “Beat Me Back” the collaboration with Detroit techno master Kevin Saunderson. Following this and many other big releases, the duo have been asked to remix some of the biggest classics of the House Music such as Frankie Knuckles “The Whistle Song”, Kerri Chandler “Bar A Thym”, Jakatta “American Dream” and Romanthony “What Price Love” just to name a few.

One of the more significant relationships of recent years has been Supernova’s continuing affiliation with house giant Defected Records. Defected has released a number of the duo’s productions including remixes of seminal records ‘Can You Feel It’ and ‘Strings of Life’ as well as three Eps. 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of Supernova and the duo is asked to mix one third of the long-running and acclaimed Defected In The House Miami compilation series. The long career follow up with their strongly supported “The Circle EP” for Noir Music, their successful collaboration with acid house legend DJ Pierre “The Beat” (Lapsus Music) and remixes for Kling Klong, King Street Sounds and Moon Harbour. In 2015 the NYC legendary label King Street Sounds ask them to mix their “House Legend” compilation series and last but not least they release Suite 58 EP on Lapsus Music including remixes by Tiger Stripes and Luna City Express.

Late 2015 and early 2016 see a really tight release schedule for the Italian duo featuring tracks on Get Physical Music, Kling Klong, Moon Harbour, Relief, Defected, Stereo Productions, Toolroom, Material and their own Lapsus Music.

“We believe in this rule: ‘work hard, hard, hard with a smile on your face always trying to do something better than the day before’. Following this rule has made us growing up step by step overcoming the difficult moments and getting the best possible results”.
For Supernova, music is their life, their language and a huge part of their relationship with others people. “We believe that we have a lot to say in terms of music and that our journey is just at the beginning. The only way to complete this journey is to do a lot of good music; This is our mission!”