RED RACK’EM - SELF PORTRAIT

BERGERAC

£17.75

Format: 2 x 12" Vinyl
Catalogue No.: BERGLP001
Release Date: 15 Feb 2017
Genre: Deep House

A1 April Fool
A2 Hot Weekend Featuring City Hayes
A3 Something That I Thought About
B1 Wonky Bassline Disco Banger
B2 Mad House
C1 Tomato Pope
C2 The Music Featuring Rick Wade
D1 Kos Mich
D2 Sel
D3 You Used To Make Me Feel

Respected producer and DJ Red Rack'em is due to release his new album 'Self Portrait' this February via his own label Bergerac.

Formed over the course of four years during a "transitional" period after moving to Berlin, 'Self Portrait', as the title suggests, is a true reflection of Danny Berman and his influences.

Red Rack'em has fully mastered his signature blend of house and disco along with his cut and paste attitude to sampling on the forthcoming LP. Crowd noise can be heard from live recordings, whilst hiss and crackle from snippets of Youtube clips add texture - the distinctive repeated vocal on 'Tomato Pope' is from an old heavy South American funk track, gleaned from an obscure DJ mix. It's an approach that is innately tied to the producer, whose love for DJing started out in sample-heavy hip-hop and who taught himself to produce whilst working full time as a television editor.

His talent for writing original vocals stands out elsewhere, on 'You Used To Make Me Feel' "a self dissection of past attitudes to romance". 'Hot Weekend', an early highlight of the album "about tripping your head off with a lover and wondering if the relationship is worth anything" - features the vocal and songwriting talents of City Hayes, a.k.a DJ Flic. A New Zealander now living in Bali, and friend of the producer, the pair are regular collaborators.

Elsewhere, Detroit legend Rick Wade makes his featured vocalist debut on 'The Music' after Berman was inspired by interviewing him on his Smuggler's Inn radio show whilst Rick was staying at his apartment in Berlin. Picking out a section where Rick talked about secretly listening to disco and funk as a child, Danny hit up the deep house pioneer who loved the idea and was happy to be a part of the album.

Much of 'Self Portrait' carries a somewhat cinematic, dreamy quality, with every track having its own personal story. Yet it never loses its sense of fun or danceability, as is evident on the first single, and one of this year's biggest tracks, 'Wonky Bassline Disco Banger'. Played out everywhere by the likes of The Black Madonna, Moodymann and Motor City Drum Ensemble, the quirky hit set expectations high for the upcoming album.

‘Self Portrait' is the culmination of years of musical exploration from an artist who started his career as a teenage scratch DJ in a remote Scottish fishing village. He moved onto jungle in Bristol, techno in Edinburgh, and house in Liverpool before finding his sound in Berlin. He spent years teaching music before taking it up full time, and has long been championed by Gilles Peterson. He's been running his tastemaking Smuggler's Inn radio show for a decade with an accompanying label, in addition to Berman's other two labels Bergerac and Nettles. Berman's genuine love for his craft is evident across all these multiple projects.

“I just want to show everyone who I am and what I am about. This is my personality and character and what I believe in. Do you hear what I hear?"

DJ Support:

The Black Madonna
Pete Tong BBC Radio 1
Eats Everything
B Traits BBC Radio 1
Detroit Swindle (Dirt Crew / Freerange)
Jimpster (Freerange Records)
Bruce Tantum (XLR8R/RA)
DJ Tomas (Google Play Music / XLR8R)
Archie Wall (www.fluxmusic.net)
Ji-Hun Kim (Das Filter)
Dan Beaumont (Work Them Records)
Aaron STW (Stamp The Wax)
Bill Brewster (DJ History)
Thilo Schneider (Groove)
Luke Solomon (Classic)
Tensnake (Permanent Vacation/Mirau)
Alex Barck (Sonar Kollektiv)
Moodymanc (2020 Vision/Tsuba)
Kornel Kovacs (Studio Barnhus)
Chaos In the CBD (Rhythm Section)
Aera (Aleph Music/Innervisions)
Greg Fenton (DMC/Magazine Sixty) (Magazine Sixty/DMC Magazine) Reviewing
The Drifter (Permanent Vacation/Maeve)
Jacques Renault (DFA)

Additional Support:
Dixon, Ame, Hunee, Detroit Swindle, Jimpster, Inkswel, Medlar, Mad Mats, Doc Daneeka, Kito Jempere, Ron Basejam

Press & PR

Published Mixmag - Album Review Mixmag - Single Review
Con?rmed coverage DJ Mag - Wax Lyrical Trax Mag - Chart Trax - Review - Album of the month Mixmag - Opinion feature Groove - Interview + Review + track on cover CD Tsugi - Review DJ Mag It - Review
Pitched Guardian - Harangue The DJ DJ Mag - Review
Trainspotting review feature The Move - Interview Clash Magazine - Review
The Ransom Note - In?uences Clash Magazine - LP news Viral Bpm - LP news Dummy - Top 10 The Ransom Note - LP news
Inhale - LP news Data Transmission - LP news Broadway World - LP news Skiddle - Interview Phonica - Best of 2016 Phonica - Chart
Confirmed coverage Thump - Album stream + interview Rumore Magazine - Review 22 tracks - Playlist Trax - Mix and interview march 31st
Pitched BE-AT.TV - Feature Deep House Amsterdam - Interview Red Bull - Interview i-D - Interview Mixmag - In Session Kaltblut - Feature Resident Advisor - Online announcement
DJ Mag - Premiere Stamp The Wax - Record Shopping
In discussion DJ Mag - Back to yours playlist Clash - Interview XLR8R - Premiere XLR8R - Review Attack Magazine - Top tracks Resident Advisor - Podcast Music Radar - Sampling feature

http://www.clashmusic.com/news/red-rackem-lines-up-new-album-self-portrait

http://www.theransomnote.com/music/influences/influences-red-rackem/

http://www.theransomnote.com/music/news/red-rackem-announces-new-self-portrait-album/

http://www.dummymag.com/news/the-10-best-disco-rarities-according-to-red-rackem

https://www.mixcloud.com/billbrewster/dj-history-podcast-382-furtive-50-part-2/

He does it every time and his name is Red Rack'em - Gilles Peterson (BBC 6 Music)
Wow, this could be one of the house albums of the year - Tensnake

Self Portrait is a kaleidoscopic run through an unabashedly pleasure-focused musical landscape - Thump

He has now firmly established himself as one of the most interesting producers and disc jockeys on the circuit at present - The Ransom Note

Seriously rich in ideas and incredibly fun - DJ Mag

Stylistically, the Scot acts between Deep House, Jazz Breaks, HipHop sampling and Disco on his extremely entertaining second album Self Portrait - Groove Magazine

Ten tracks of classy house avoiding the agreed breaks and filtered samples too often abused by producers - Trax (Album Of The Month)

Red Rack'em unloads his autobiographical scattergun - Clash Magazine

Self Portrait is an assured, confident and hugely enjoyable set - Juno Download (Album Of The Week)

Red Rack'em returns with a storming album of cut'n'paste funk, deepest house and wonkiest disco - Piccadilly Records (Staff Pick Albums