This morning we’re delighted to welcome Krefeld-born, Berlin-based DJ and producer Philipp Otterbach to MailTape!
I’m a huge fan of Amsterdam-based label Music From Memory, founded by Abel Nagengast, Tako Reyenga and Jamie Tiller (who tragically passed away last year), which historically focused on re-releasing titles and albums, forgotten gems brought back to life. It was some time after their release of his album The Dahlem Diaries in July 2023 that I discovered Philipp Otterbach and I immediately embraced his universe.
Philipp Otterbach’s selection
Water Pistol Cowboys - I’m Sorry I Was Ignoring You
Philipp: ” I love being productive on Sunday morning and getting things done before heading over to music production for the rest of the day. This one was brought to me by beloved NVST and it has everything i need. Amazing String Work, Spoken Words.. It also fulfill my love for super short tracks which from my perspective is a masterclass in general and I am sometimes jealous about. It’s also more challenging when it comes to DJ mixes. So it’s an ongoing topic for my three picks. “
Motorpsycho - Trylleball (Sannan)
Philipp: ” These 2:29 minutes by MP are part of a 2 x 10 inch Box and were written for the play “Begynnelser” (Beginnings) realized by the independent theater group De Utvalgte based on a text by Norwegian author Carl Frode Tiller. I am really into the atmosphere in combination within the shortness and the choice of instruments. One of my all time favorite live bands which I first saw live on my 18th birthday. “
Mark Kramer - Ovulation Always Brings Me Down
Philipp: ” It’s so inspiring to be guest in Kramer’s musical cosmos since so many years. His Solo Work, or involvement in Bongwater, ½ Half Japanese, Let it come down, Butthole Surfers or the Label Shimmy Disc even itself - impressive. We had briefly contact a while ago and I was moved that he send some lovely feedback about tracks from my album on Music from Memory. What a nice human. These 2:29 min are from the Compilation Guitarrorists released via No. 6 Records which I bought at the Birdman in NYC years ago. “
MailTape’s selection
Philipp Otterbach - Small Town Nights
Jules: ” It’s hard to pick out a single track from The Dahlem Diaries, which feels like a journey into another universe. The different tracks, although produced at different times between 2020 and 2022, follow one another coherently, taking us from one emotion to another. I chose this track because it’s one of the longest on the album (here is my personal preference), and because I love its mysterious, gripping atmosphere. “
Tim Koh & Sun An - Incense Holder
Jules: ” Another gem from Music From Memory! This one is taken from Salt And Sugar Look The Same, the collaborative album from American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Tim Koh and Southern California-based graphic designer, art director, and sound designer Sun An, released in June 2024. I love the strange sweetness of this track, and it’s also a super-short piece that Philipp is sure to enjoy. But the 18 compositions on this album, which is a real journey, are all poignant, oscillating between joy and sadness. “
Whatever the Weather - 25°c
Jules: ” Whatever the Weather is the ambient ater ego of North London DJ and producer Loraine James, whom we’d already picked up for a Mailtape episode back in 2018, before she set the whole electronica world alight with her intriguing, tumultuous club and IDM universe, an expression of her inner space. As with this track which opens the eponymous album, we enter a more meditative universe, open to the outside world and focused on the contemplation of landscapes and the climate that affects them day after day. A simple, suspended setting, summed up by the track titles in degrees of temperature, which allows the artist to truly pursue his exploration of textures and sounds. “
Duval Timothy - Mutate
Jules: ” In this track taken from the EP Meeting with a Judas Tree, the multi-disciplinary artist from South London Duval Timothy incorporates nature sounds recorded while wandering around South London, walking with his mum in the hills surrounding Bath, hiking through Freetown, the hills of Spoleto, in Ghana and in Sierra Leone. This track is much longer, taking time to develop, but it’s a good way to end our journey this morning. ”
That’s it for this morning, thank you for joining us! Much love to Philipp Otterbach for his emotional and vibrant selection and to Babi Brunellio for her dazzling illustration!
