Amsterdam-based DJ, producer, and live act VNTM has been on incredible form over the past couple of years, with recent releases landing on top labels like Afterlife, Gem Records and Filth On Acid.
On the performance end of things he’s also been refining his talents, and his touring scheduling has included shows where he has played to crowds at hotspots such as Awakenings and Printworks.
The Dutch artist joins us for this months edition of our Five Tracks series, where he highlights productions from Luigi Tozzi, Regent, and Rodhad, among others. Get the full discussion, including words from VNTM himself, below.
“As I don’t really play DJ sets at the moment, but rather stick to only playing live, I could have come up with some of my own tracks that I enjoy playing but that would be a bit boring. Instead I chose to give you a selection of tracks that I’d like to call ‘moody floor fillers’. These are the tracks that form the glue between the big anthems. Minimalistic, no big drops, and yet very functional tools that connect the big tracks with each other without losing energy.”
Amandra – Tour Karin (Edit Select Remix)
Label: Affute
The first one from my selection is this seven and a half minute trip by Edit Select and Amandra, an ever evolving ride without any obvious buildup markers. Its deep, moody pads perfectly mirror what I tried to explain in the introduction, it’s moody, it’s serious, and it has a constant drive, yet it tells a story and could serve perfectly before or after a more melodic cut.
Applescal – Dreamerboy
Label: Atomnation
This is yet another perfect example coming from fellow Dutch producer Applescal, He’s been successfully running his label Atomnation for many years and they are definitely on my watchlist when looking for deeper tracks. This example gives you a steady groove with a very clean and technical mixdown, accompanied by dreamy and slightly euphoric chords. A very nice tool to bridge the gap between melodic and upbeat techno tracks.
Luigi Tozzi – Atacama
Label: Non Series
Luigi has been one of my favorite producers for a long time, known for his hypnotic and very minimalistic tracks. On ‘Atacama’, he’s using a slightly more house-leaning but effective groove that you can mix in and out almost everywhere throughout the track. Functionality on top!
Rødhåd – Mental Strength
Label: WSNWG
Rødhåd is one of the artists I had the pleasure to hear a few times this year on different lineups and in different settings, and he is always one of the artists to surprise me most with his intricate layering and multi-deck sets. For me he’s king in using these tool-y tracks together with the more anthemic ones, creating one big stack of grooving action. His sets are truly inspiring and are a gold mine when looking for the kind of tracks I’m compiling a list of right here!
Regent – Efficient
Label: Arts
Repetitive, dub, efficient techno. Basically that’s how I’d describe this final cut for my list. With its deep and dub chords and the uplifting positive vibe all over, it can definitely be marked as one of my favorite tracks on a sunny afternoon. This one has sparked so much inspiration to keep things simple in my own productions as I sometimes tend to add too many unnecessary layers.
VNTM – Sonar Repetition is out November 18th on Obscura Music.