Ghostly International
The precocious Sam Valenti IV founded Ann Arbor-based Ghostly International in 1999 while studying art history at the University of Michigan and in a matter of months found himself at the helm of one of the leading lights of the blossoming, multi-faceted electro circuit. Inspired by labels like Mo' Wax and 4AD Records, Valenti has successfully sought to build something bigger than a label, an institution grounded in a distinctive cultural aesthetic. Early 12-inches (both on Ghostly and Ghostly imprint Spectral Sound) from the likes of Tadd Mullinix, Matthew Dear, and Kenneth Graham generated an immediate buzz among tastemakers of the dance underground, but it was Ghostly's beautifully realized 2002 compilation Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau that really catapulted the label to the front of the nu-electro scene. Packaged in a gorgeous hardcover booklet featuring 28 glossy pages of artist bios and notes about the origins and concepts of the compilation (which is based on an aesthetic linkage between '70s disco and the much older Art Nouveau movement), the release featured a varied collection of contemporary electronic artists reinterpreting and revisioning the classic, chirpy, Giorgio Moroder-inspired sounds of Italianate disco, to spectacular effect. In the wake of the comp, Ghostly has issued several other compelling releases, including an abstract IDM-flavored full-length from Mullinix and an electro-acoustic album by Ann Arbor's Midwest Product.
Adult.
The enigmatic Detroit duo Adult. are boundary pushers of the highest order, orchestrating a spectacular collision between synth-based electro sounds and punk ethics, and doing so with compelling insouciance and swaggering panache.
Snow Robots Volume 1
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2001
Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau
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2002
Dabrye
Under the guise of Dabrye, talented Ann Arbor based electronic producer Tadd Mullinix records a glitchy yet startlingly graceful brand of abstract hip hop dominated by crunchy beats and drifting melodies. It's a unique style that embraces you gently but doesn't let you go.
One/Three
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2001
Matthew Dear
Detroit-based producer Matthew Dear exploits the dynamic, funky rhythms of minimal techno to maximum dance floor effect, but infuses his compositions with warmth and vitality, yielding an alchemical blend of sounds that's at once intimate and wildly energetic.
Leave Luck to Heaven
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2003
Dykehouse
Equally proficient with a guitar or a computer, Dykehouse creates swirling, textured, blissed-out pop songs deeply reminiscent of the halcyon days of British shoegazer.
Midrange
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2004
Tadd Mullinix
Under his own name, Michigan producer Tadd Mullinix records lush, glitchy abstract techno with a pronounced sense of humor. He has also released material under the aliases Dabrye, James Cotton, and SK-1.
Winking Makes a Face
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2001
