The growth of Mechatronica has been nothing less than very impressive. Over its relatively short life, having opened its doors two years back, the Berlin label has clocked up fourteen releases with eight releases on the parent platform, one on its sub-label and five on its digital arm. Not bad going if you also throw into the mix that Mechatronica also hosts parties in the German capital. I caught up with the label and spoke with Casper Mejlholm to find out how these machine music men tick and what the future holds.
The growth of Mechatronica has been nothing less than very impressive. Over its relatively short life, having opened its doors two years back, the Berlin label has clocked up fourteen releases with eight releases on the parent platform, one on its sub-label and five on its digital arm. Not bad going if you also throw into the mix that Mechatronica also hosts parties in the German capital. I caught up with the label and spoke with Casper Mejlholm to find out how these machine music men tick and what the future holds.
Firstly, who are Mechatronica?
“There are four of us in the collective right now: Federico, Dani, Milan and myself. Dani and Federico founded the collective back in 2012, I joined 2-3 years ago and Milan more recently. We share responsibilities between us depending on what the rest of our life and schedule outside of Mechatronica looks like, so at the moment I take care of most of the day-to-day work and organisation of our projects.”
In many ways the label has been classified as an electro imprint, and we asked Mechatronic about their opinion on the interest surrounding the style now and if it’s good for the sound? “Yeah, I think it’s positive over the past couple of years it led to a lot of new opportunities, friendships and music discoveries, so we in the collective are really appreciative of the interest in the style we play and release. I try not to spend time thinking about if the interest is real or not, or if it’s good for “the sound.” Of course, being part of a collective that’s invested heavily in this direction of music for years, we need to use critical thinking when we are approached by venues, promoters or artists wanting to work with us. We love the sound, and want to present it in the right way with the right people. In the end I guess you decide for yourself what’s real to you, and everyone makes a choice to push the sound in whatever direction they feel passionate about – and that’s how the electro output becomes so diverse as it is at the moment. Connecting with like-minded people and creating communities has never been easier, so if you’re feeling like the current state of the sound is not nice or real to you, you can get together and change it.”
Mechatronica has already worked with a cracking set of musicians such as The Exaltics, Drvg Cvltvre, Umwelt, Norwell and Dj Nephil having featured on the label’s compilations. Such names illustrate that the Berlin imprint is much wider than one genre and is willing to explore a spread of styles.
A recent addition to the roster has been No Moon. Following 12”s on the likes of Craigie Knowes and X-Kalay, the Manchester producer delivers Sirens for the Berliners. Four tracks of up front jams are the product. The title piece is a tightly coiled rhythmic serpent. Cracked percussion is rinses in reverb for an industrial entity with more than a sting in the tail. “Bathdub Dub” is a lighter affair. Beats still cut and the factory floor is once again present, its shadow being cast over the entire EP, but the noodling keys and bubbling bars bring a brighter tone. “Where Am I” is a cerebral track. Spectral synthlines are countered by steely snares in a piece that ghosts on the floor. The finale is the bruising “Acid Ix.” Playful 303 tweaks dance and twirl under the immense pressure of a bassline made to burst ear drums and speakers alike.
Within the electro sphere an interesting signing was made in April of 2018, Zeta Reticula and Helga Neuer. Why interesting? Zeta Reticula is a moniker of Uroš Umek aka UMEK, one of the biggest names in electronic music and one who can definitely divide opinion. Despite such forum controversy, the Slovenian’s work under this pseudonym has been very warmly received. The four tracker, I Am Mensch, offers a number of ideas. The title piece is a tongue in cheek vocoder affair before the science fiction steel of “Lumnisferatu” with its razor sharp rhythms and panting Tour De France breathlessness. The glacial “Mimic To Appear” opens the flip, a track of artic blasts and icy funk. The closer takes on a different form. “Cromat” melts warm wedges of bass with a full bodied melody in a track that leans more into the realms of techno.
It can be a daunting task working with bigger name artists, but the Mechatronica men found a “shared vision” and a “common interest” for the Zeta Reticula and Helga Neuer project. Up and coming musicians are also well represented on the imprint, from the digital series featuring the likes of Daribone and Datawave, to the White Series which expands on influences and inspirations.
“As DJ’s we have always been playing a variety of styles surrounding electro—like italo, new wave, synth pop, EBM, industrial, acid house etc. But we didn’t have a platform to release music in this direction, and that’s how the idea of the White Label series came about.”
At the end of October the series will be grow with EPs from Franz Scala and Nixxon with Casper guaranteeing “White releases are vinyl only and no represses will be made.”
With even more on the horizon, Assembler Code & Jensen Interceptor having just landed, and a spring in their musical step, Mechatronica are very positive about the future. Casper clearly outlines that “Our goal remains to promote the sound and push artists in all shapes and sizes through our platforms. not just via our own label, but also by helping producers get noticed by other labels and promoters through playing their demos on our radio shows or booking them for our parties. We like to collaborate with other labels and promoters as well for the nights, to increase the interest and community around the sound here in Berlin, like we did with Cultivated Electronics for our Easter rave this year. These collabs have been really fun so far so we are planning more in this direction, both in Berlin and abroad.”
Maybe impressive doesn’t truly sum it up.
For anyone wanting to catch Mechatronica, here are some dates and venues to note:
Oct-12 Mechatronica x Casa Voyager, Sameheads Berlin
Oct-19 Mechatronica x Galactic Funk x B-side, Oosterbar Amsterdam
Nov-9 Mechatronica x Lunacy, Glasgow
Nov-17 Mechatronica x mjut, Leipzig
Dec-8 Mechatronica x Pinkman, Griessmuehle Berlin
Visit Mechatronica at their website, Facebook, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp.
