11 FavoriTe Tracks of oliver Way

Oliver has been a recognised figure in the Techno & Electro scene for some time. Beginning his DJ life in 1991 while working in a local record shop in Buckhurst Hill, Essex called Bass Box Records (owned by legendary rave organisation Raindance).

He cut his teeth in the early Techno scene around London playing clubs such as EC1 and Greys Inn. In 1993 he moved to New york where he became involved with the evolving Rave scene, helping put on various events as well as DJing at clubs and events around the city.

Upon returning in 1995 he started the record label and DJ booking agency Morpheus Productions. Under this pseudonym he also released his first records. In 1998 he was offered the residency at Dublin’s JDP events that were held in the club owned by U2 ‘The Kitchen’ - which was in the basement of the Clarence Hotel owned by Bono. It was at this time he started Urban Substance cords with JDP owner Jason Denham and releasing his own music, as well as other artists such as Robert Armani.

Oliver later joined the Electro / Techno / Funk outfit Detroit Grand Pubahs. Taking up the pseudonym (The Mysterious) Mr O he produced alongside Paris the Black FU for their own label Detelefunk label. More recently he has collaborated with Ben Long (Space DJz) on numerous releases and provided remixes for labels like Torque, Engineroom, Beard Man and BulletDodge Records. In 2001 alongside partner Jonas Stone he started EPM Music, which has grown and grown over the years to become one of the most reputable electronic music companies working in digital distribution & music publishing.

EPM’s co-founder and one half of the Detroit Grand Pubahs, Oliver Way has spent the best part of a quarter century promoting and pushing other artists, currently managing Robert Hood, Floorplan, Eddie Fowlkes, James Ruskin & Mark Broom. His debut solo album was released in 2018 titled ‘From The Shadows’ on the EPMMusc imprint.

Since then he has started a label with Laurent Garnier & Scan X called Cod3 QR and continues to release new music under his own name and with various collaborations.

Detroit Techno at it’s finest by one of its genre defining artists, ‘Mad’ Mike Banks. Mike was a session musician for Motown who later went on to produce in dance music groups such as Members of the House, and later started the label and group Underground Resistance alongside Jeff Mills, and soon after Robert Hood. This track is on side D of the ‘Electronic Warfare’ double EP. Mike shows off his musical skills with this sublime lesson in how to do techno right: with soul, funk and emotion. The ethereal strings on this make the hairs on my arm stand every time. The synth melody gives a sense of flying through space. A true masterpiece by an absolute legend whose music plays a large part for me getting into techno music.

Released in 1996, Planetary Assault Systems is veteran UK techno producer Luke Slater. This is a track that inspired me to produce music, its hypnotic minimalism fascinated me and caused me to deconstruct it to see why it managed to stay interesting for so long, with what sounded like so little. But after more thorough evaluation I realised there is a lot going on than you realise. Rises that keep the track moving, the occasional sound of a reverb loaded clap to catch your attention, subtle changes that keep things evolving, for over 10 mins. ! An epic journey into deep techno that is now 27 years old !

3. d etroit g rand Pubahs ‘Engineroom’ (Engineroom)

A track I made with the previous listing in mind. I wanted to make a track that was hypnotic, minimal, and managed to keep building for over 10 mins, like Surface Noise. There are subtle changes that you don’t notice unless you are really listening. The main difference is that ‘Engineroom’ has a live instrument in the form of a saxophonist from Belgium called Domgue. He recorded a bunch of live takes which I then edited to fit into the mix. Paris the Black Fu added the final touch with the shimmering strings. A track I am very proud of as it is also named after a good friend who passed away too soon.

4. Laurent g arnier ‘ tales from the real World’ (Cod3 Q r)

Taken from his latest album recently released this summer. Anyone that knows Laurent Garnier will know his music and DJ sets are very personal and always a journey. This is no different. The vocal sample from an Alan Watts teaching on how to meditate fits so perfectly into this epic track. A solid 4/4 beat keeps your head nodding, basses pulse, while the gritty synth and hats build into a frenzy of euphoria. A huge track for the dancefloor, as Alan Watts states: “you don’t have to try to understand anything, just listen to the sound”.

5. d any rodriguez & o liver Way ‘First act’ (Link audio)

A track I am very proud of, and it came together in one session. Sometimes this happens when the stars align and the vibe is there. I had this beat and piano demo track, and took it to Dany’s studio to work on it together. Within a short space of time it had come to life. Dany has an incredible collection of vintage synths, and he is a great at developing pads and melodies with them. The Kurzweil 2500 is one of the great synths and plays a big part in creating the emotion of this track. This is not club techno, but techno track with an electro beat that I love to listen to, and hope you do too.

Myself, and a long time friend / production collaborator, Jason Carter referred to this track (and numerous of Robert Hood’s tracks from this period) as ‘ant music’ because we imagined his music to be the soundtrack to ants working. Released in 1994, it was on the first EP that was released on his own M-Plant imprint (‘Protein Valve’ EP), and started the sound that Hood was to become so synonymous with, stripped back, minimal sounds, used to devastating effect which may seem so simple, but believe me this is not easy to execute well. Galloping bass, bleeps, 2 keys on a keyboard repeated, and these big strings give rise to one of the most seminal tracks in techno history.

Sandwell District was a techno group consisting of Regis, Silent Servant and Function whose releases were on their label of the same name. They split up back in 2011, but recently have reformed for live performances around the re-release of this album. Tracks like “Immolare” and Silent Servant’s ‘Untitled (Regis edit)’ are some of my all time fav techno tracks. Deep, dark techno as it should be.

I highly recommend checking out all of their music on their label Sandwell District, and discover a world of sparse, evolving, futuristic deep techno that constantly evolves throughout every track

8. Freddy Fresh ‘a fter t hought’ (EPM Music)

Freddy is someone whose production I have admired for decades. He made his name with big beat collaborating with artists like Fatboy Slim, but I always prefered his melodic electro / electronica music that is deep, and shows his skills as a pianist, besides his ability to know exactly what he is doing with modular synths like no one else I know. Who the hell knows that to get the best out of a Synthi VCS3 you need to take your shoes off

9. vril “a lte seele (Marcel d ettmann & vril b ass Mix)” (d elsin)

Although both artists are known in the techno scene this is an electro track.

The original version is cinematic, electronica which you could imagine as part of the soundtrack for Blade Runner during one of the dystopian cityscape fly overs.

Dettman & Vril take this original and give it a massive kick up the arse with an 808 beat, adding extra grit, and driving the original ambient track to the dancefloor.

10. dJ Hyperactive ‘ reptilian tank’ (Contact)

This track defines a unique style of the Chi-Town (Chicago) jackin’ sound. Hard hitting kick, short jagged stabs, with escalating high frequency synth that sounds like it’s wobbling, creating tension as it swirls up and up before dropping the back in with the snare. A quirky sound that DJ Hyperactive became renowned for when it came out in 1996. It was ground breaking as it was produced in a completely different way than had previously been released on other Chicago labels like Dance Mania or Underground Construction.

It came out on Contact Records which was Hyperactive’s own label, and every release is an education in this style of ‘nu jack’.

11. suburban Knight ‘Winds of Fear’ (EPM Music)

Once again electronic funk is showcased in a Detroit Techno track, this time another Underground Resistance artist, Suburban Knight, who is probably best known for his releases on Derrick May’s Transmat label ‘The Groove’ and ‘Art of Stalking’. On ‘Winds of Fear’ he comes up with the grooviest bass line, and rhythmic drumming. There isn’t much to it, but it has such a vibe about it, ending too soon.

This release is supported with 2 other Detroit legends: Robert Hood & Eddie Fowlkes both providing edits and adding their own unique touch.