Modeselektor/Moderat – 50 Weapons of Choice 2-9 release

Something unexpected, rare and highly classy from the Berlin based technoid juggernaut that is Modeselektor. In 2006, a little known bootleg emerged featuring the vocals from 50 Cent’s “Just A Little Bit”, released under the name “50 Weapons”, which subsequently got linked back to the ‘Selektor boys. With the dust having settled,  they’ve just dropped a whole new installment of the series, featuring Siriusmo, Roska and Housemeister amongst others. The plan with this self-titled label is to go the distance and release 50 weapons and then stop. If they’re anything like these gems, they’re going to become very hot property.

Remixing unreleased Modeselektor and Moderat material this time around, the assembled crew live up to their awesome reputations. Siriusmo’s mix of “Untitled” is a heavy glitch-step with some incredible double-time breakdowns, while Phon O’s “Art & Cash” is just hands down stunning – a truly breathtaking mix of Baltimore drums, tribal drums and galloping Berlin synths that may well become the favourite with DJ’s from this collection. Headhunter and Shackleton keep things fairly minimal on their mixes – the former making “A New Error” into an icy dub-dream rhythm, while the latter’s “Rusty Nails” goes even heavier on the frosty atmospherics for a full-on 6am vibe. SBTRKT does wonders with “Art & Cash”, supplying upfront beats and roughed-up chords for a heart-wrenching builder, while Housemeister goes full on glitch-techno for his mix of “Untitled”. Roska rounds the set off in the only way he knows how – deep basslines and a slew of perfectly arranged handdrums – on his take on “Art & Cash”. It’s a genre hopping collection, but there’s absolutely no faulting the quality of any of these prize nuggets. All we can say is – use these weapons wisely.

Review: Oliver Keens