Ezmun announced the tracklist for Cooking With Gas 16, his two-hour techno programme on Scientific Sound Asia, in August 2020. Scientific Sound Asia is an electronic music radio station, promoter and music-news platform for Vietnam, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the rest of Asia.
Cooking With Gas was Ezmun’s weekly programme of percussive, groovy and dark selections, curated by the DJ. This edition offered two hours of techno.
Originally from Cumbria in the United Kingdom, Ezmun had relocated to Vietnam to pursue his ambitions as both a DJ and producer. Covid-19 then forced a temporary move to Melbourne, where he released a weekly show centred on his favourite sounds.
Like many DJs, Ezmun began in his bedroom before playing house parties for close friends and cohorts. By 2019, he had made his club breakthrough with sets in Manchester, Hanoi, Laos and Ho Chi Minh City.
Ezmun drew on the dark, sparse atmosphere of minimal half-time 140s and the lairy clatter of percussive leftfield bass, using both as peaks and troughs within an energetic techno setting. He was gaining recognition in Vietnam’s underground and hoped to return there.
While in Melbourne, he planned to explore the local underground scene and hone his production skills with the intention of releasing his own music the following year. Cooking With Gas also gave him space to showcase friends and undiscovered DJs while exploring the genres he loved in greater detail.
Ezmun’s Cooking With Gas 16 episode opens with Panzer Knacker’s Original Mix on DJAX Upbeats, setting a firm Peak Time Techno foundation. Brommage Dub’s Brommage Dub on SVEK brings raw, deep and hypnotic techno into the sequence before Markus Homm and Benny Grauer’s Bergmassiv and Simon Stokes’ Mr Copy remix of Jazz Hands return to the peak-time pressure.
John Vertel’s Silkiness on Peak Time keeps the techno focus direct, while Shall Ocin’s Orbis on Ellum introduces Tech House detail. Eerie Volver’s Lacuna on Concrete Records and Spec X’s Don’t Do XTC Anymore on Infamous Tracks restore the tougher peak-time approach.
Kimono’s Ice on KMNO Records and Fer’s Suspiria on Reisen sustain the programme’s tense techno energy. Brommage Dub’s Knowledge and Kimono’s Transfer System, both on International Sound Laboratory, lead into David Arias and Riven Benavi’s Sound of Gravity on Spazio Sonoro Records.
Dillon Nathaniel’s Red Trolley on Big Beat Records supplies a brief Bass House change of pace. Markantonio and Atroxx’s 1965 on AnalyticTrail then returns the set to peak-time techno before Cari Lekebusch’s Smutstvaett on International Sound Laboratory.
Andrea Belluzzi’s Reborn on Genau Recordings and Sebastian Lopez and Flug’s The Piano on UNCAGE keep the late section focused on forceful techno. Girls Revenge’s Watch You Burn and Barks’ Becomes Animal, both released through Rodz-Konez, sharpen that direction further.
Pinch and Mumdance’s Strobe Light on Tectonic introduces Breaks, followed by Matrixxman’s Protocol on Too Lost LLC and its Hard Dance emphasis. Regis’ remix of Hardened Chord on Peak Time restores techno intensity, while TSVI and Tzusing’s 24hr on Nervous Horizon closes the episode in peak-time mode.
Cooking With Gas Episode 16 9th of August 2020
Panzer Knacker - Original Mix
Brommage - Brommage Dub
Markus Homm, Benny Grauer - Bergmassiv
Simon Stokes - Jazz Hands (Mr Copy Remix)
John Vertel - Silkiness
Shall Ocin - Orbis
Eerie Volver - Lacuna
Spec X - Don’t Do Xtc Anymore
Kimono - Ice
Fer - Suspiria
Brommage Dub - Knowledge
Kimono - Transfer System
David Arias, Riven Benavi - Sound Of Gravity
Dillon Nathaniel - Red Trolley
Markantonio, Atroxx - 1965
Cari Lekebusch - Smutstvaett
Andrea Belluzzi - Reborn
Sebastian Lopez, Flug - The Piano
Girls Revenge - Watch You Burn
Barks - Becomes Animal
Pinch, Mumdance - Strobe Light
Matrixxman - Protocol
Regis - Hardened Chord (Regis Remix)
Tsvi, Tzusing - 24hr
Listen on Mixcloud here.