Santiago Salazar, ladies and gentlemen! Member of Underground Resistance, producer of Los Hermanos, recording artist for Planet E. A biography made in heaven. Macro pulls the most incredible people these days and there’s a method to the madness: “Arcade” immediately shows why Santiago is known to be one of Detroit’s most forward thinking producers and DJs. The chords! The hook! The synths! The drums! Finally an anthem that’s 0% retro and 100% euphoria. Leaving the recent fashions behind, “Arcade” spreads all the warmth and enthusiasm one could dream of this year. This is 2009!
And if this wasn’t enough: Hot on the heels of “Art Of Sorrow", man of the moment Stefan Goldmann does his first remix for Macro! His stunning version is a 15 minute monster. Not just a jam, but a fully composed journey from deep reverberation to drum machine fueled peaks to a japanese flute and koto workout. Depth on a new level. This is the difference this label makes - others do ambient, cosmic or krautrock. Macro does the thrilling stuff. (And arguably the most controversial record of the year).
As a special for you we give you a free arcade ride here: PLAY ARCADE NOW!
Paul Woolford (2020 Vision): “Stefan's version is an absolute bomb - I'll be using this a lot in the later hours. Superb!”
Laurent Garnier (F-Com): “The Original is very strong !!! And the remix - I love it ”
Agoria (InFine):: “J’adoooooore ! I love the remix of Stefan. Loving all the last stuff of Stefan.”
Âme (Innervisions):: “Great record and Stefan’s remix for Santiago Salazar is a blast! ”
James Holden (Border Community): “Awesome!”
Jimpster (Freerange): “Good lord! Stefan's mix is incredible! A work of art this one. I love it.”
Jon Marsh (The Beloved): “I really like this. Although the SG remix is cool and creative I prefer the original -not overly complex but subtly shifting at all times, very cool... ”
Alex Attias (Planet E):: “This is superb and of course original, different and unique! I like all your releases and I will support this one on radio and clubs. ”
Alex Dallas (Drumpoet Community): “ Loving the tracks. The Goldmann mix stands out for me!”
Prins Thomas (Full Pupp): “Amazing remix from Stefan!”
Terre Thaemlitz (Comatonse):: “ Wow, Stefan's remix is very nice! This track I can definitely work in... and I will! It's got that kind of "jackin" sound... ”
Tiefschwarz (Souvenir):: “Wow, Stefan’s remix is amazing! ”
Ben Watt (Buzzin Fly): “Playing Stefan's remix on the radio and in the club!”
Cio d’Or (Harry Klein):: “The original: An absolutely fat kick is rolling under a not less bright melody for big rooms & beaches with an Asian flavour. A floorkiller for sure! The remix: Wow. What a start into the track! Very cool rhythms & then this hymn for summers as a big surprise. Summerhit! Loving this label! ”
Erik Rug (Rex Club):: “I dig the Stefan Goldmann remix! I like that atmospheric/japanese koto vibe. Very good !”
Göran Dahlström (Djungeltrumman): “Amazing release! Really into both sides, the SG remix is the one for my set though. Great build up, great sound, great flutes! ”
Harri (Subclub): “Quality, really like both mixes, look forward to playing them out.”
Kid Dub (Definitive): “The Stefan Goldmann remix is crazy!!! I love it!”
Quarion (Drumpoet Community): “"Mindblowing release! The original is already a monster but Stefan Goldmann manages to take the track to another level, giving a whole new meaning to "Orchestral House" in the process. One of the most uncompromising (yet groovy as hell) dance tracks of 2009! ”
Len Faki (Berghain):: “Really beautiful hypnotic release. Will definitely play the original!”
Manuel Tur (Freerange):: “Really like the original a lot, wonderfully rough track! ”
Martyn (3024 / Applepips):: “Loving the original Arcade!!! Will definitely play. ”
Michael Reinboth (Compost): “Nice nice tunes, like them both, full support.”
Motor City Drum Ensemble (Four Roses): “This has been a regular in my box for the last 2 months, and boy - it really causes dancefloor damage everywhere. Absoluter Killer! Bin ein riesiger Fan davon.”
Nico de Ceglia (BBC Radio 1): “Excellent release, straight to no.1 in my chart and I'll play it for sure!”
Philip Marshall (Rebel In Control): “I'm really liking Stefan's mix, especially that special moment at 5 mins where all reveals itself. The melodies, especially the eastern-sounding flute are very unexpected and very beautiful. Actually, the end of Stefan's mix is utterly bewitching. It's why I love what he's doing, it's opening dance up to so much more than its own hermetic world. ”
Philip Sherburne (The Wire / XLR8R): “Woot! woot! Effing fantastic. The interplay between the soloing guitar and the fat, buzzy chords is beautiful -- too few tracks these days really bother to integrate the hook with the rest of the structure, but salazar does. Goldmann's remix is also wonderful. ”
Random Circuits:: “This EP is excellent, a real breath of fresh air, Stefan does the business again!” - review: "Macro head man, Stefan Goldmann, remixes Santiago Salazar’s forthcoming single, “Arcade”, on Macro. Meandering from slow building percussion, aural synth patterns, delicate, oriental string sections & even a bit of classical, this is a fantastic remix that really hits the spot. Layered to perfection throughout, there is so much going on all of which has been packed so tightly away I think I will need to give it a lot more listens to hear everything, which is a good thing."
Ruede Hagelstein (Souvenir): “I love your Macro music thing!”
Sian (Poker Flat):: “Another truly unique piece of modern music. Very nice remix also! ”
Toshiya Kawasaki (Mule Musiq): “Both versions are really nice! ”
Velanche (XLR8R): “The original is a fantastic track. I really enjoyed the richness of it, the darkness of it. Stefan Goldmann's take is a solid and epic take on the original. ”
Yannick Elverfeld (Needs): “I’m impressed. So brilliantly different, so beautiful!”
Resident Advisor: "Detroit producer Santiago Salazar has made some inspirational techno music either as part of Los Hermanos or on his own—including an impressive debut on his own Historia y Violencia label last year. "Arcade" may not rank as his most subtle work: it centres on a soaring electronic bassline that threatens to but never quite succeeds in drowning out the subtle melodic flourishes that have become his trademark—but its smart arranging and rich sounds are unmistakably Salazar's.
Unfortunately, the remix by Stefan Goldmann promises great things but falls victim to its creator's whims. Sounding like Los Hermanos or vintage Carl Craig, its raw, shuffling drums and hissing, shaking percussion create the perfect environment for the introduction of mellow acoustic guitar riffs and spacey chords. It's at this point that Goldmann introduces the New Age pan pipes.
They sound hideously out of place, but it gets worse as Asian plinky plonk textures join the arrangement to steer the remix into an ambient finale that could be the combined soundtrack to the dueling dwarves in the Stonehenge scene in Spinal Tap and a love scene in a Japanese martial arts movie. In short, an unfortunate choice of samples has ruined a potentially excellent remix. To paraphrase Blake Baxter: Stefan Goldmann: what happened? 2/5 Richard Brophy"