We’ve long been a fan of Bas Mooy‘s contributions to the global techno scene at Darkfloor. His excellent session for Mantis Radio from 2011 is still as sharp as a knife.

Based in Rotterdam since the late 90s the techno producer, DJ and multiple label owner is a mainstay in clubs and record boxes the world over. Responsible for ARMS, Audio Assault and most recently Mord – Mooy continues to push some absolutely essential cuts for the clubs and warehouses.

Ahead of some of his best material yet on his new EP – Rage, Remedy & The Lash – we asked the Dutch master three questions as part of our irregular series – the 666. We cover six forgotten techno gems, six artists to watch and six all time favourite albums.

All of the tracks embedded below can be watched as one with this playlist.

Question 1.
Your love of techno is well known, your label Audio Assault a go-to bastion of reliable cuts and dancefloor warfare. As a DJ of some pedigree and experience – what are six forgotten techno gems? Tracks you don’t hear enough, ones that have faded into the shadows, or ones that simply most folk slept on.

Really hard to pick six. I guess these are the kind of questions that I would probably give a different answer to if you ask me tomorrow or the day after, but these are the ones that came up right now.

Secret Cinema – Acid Come
Have been playing this so many times and I’m not sure if a lot of people know this tune. When I used to play this out there would always be some people coming up to the booth to ask what it was. Acid Come is simply a wall of sound, hitting you like a wave. Wish Secret Cinema would still make pounders like this.

Jamie Bissmire – Number & Measure (Chris McCormack remix)
One of my all-time favourites. Back in the days I heard it every now and then, but I think there’s not a lot of people playing this anymore to be honest. I still do. Played it recently in Germany and it still kicks ass! Ground was one of my favourite labels back then.

Steve Rachmad – Chios
Love this track and still play it every now and then. Rachmad is definitely one of Holland’s most legendary producers and his discography is simply amazing.

Surgeon – Intro version II
Played this at Tresor in January and was actually one of the tunes that got the biggest crowd response. Still kills is every time! Always been a big fan of Surgeon and basically love everything he has ever made. Must say that recently more and more people start to play that ‘nineties’ kind of techno again, which is cool, since a lot of it still does the trick.

Christian Wunsch – White Coats (Function remix)
This is one of those broken beat tunes that even the people that don’t like broken beat stuff can appreciate. At least that’s my experience.

Paul Birken – Acid Youth of Malibu
Released quite recently and was one of my favorite tunes of the year. It did get some attention, but I think still too many people slept on it. Paul Birken is one of those guys that really knows how to abuse the machines. I just finished a remix of this tune by the way, which will be released some time soon. Also Paul did a release on my new label Mord, which was released in December. The man is a legend and I’m excited to have him on board!

Question 2.
Through your ARMS and Audio Assault label, many moons ago now, I was introduced to, amongst others, the mighty sounds of Radial. Now a solo project for Jeroen Liebregts, he was, for me, a gateway producer from the world of breaks and drum n bass into the warehouse of techno that I fell hook, line and sinker for.

What six artists are the interesting ones to watch (well, listen to) in techno and the fringe scenes surrounding it. Who’s pushing things forward in their own, and interesting sonic path ways?

With my new label Mord I really want to try and push some (relatively) new artists and not go for the easy way of asking a shitload of established artists to send me some tunes. Mord has been getting a lot of amazing support and feedback on the first couple of releases, so it makes sense to stay on the path I’ve chosen. I want to have total freedom in what I release and don’t want to be pinned down to one style or a certain range in the music I release. There’s so many labels out there where you always know what to expect, which is fine. I guess with my other label Audio Assault it’s probably like that too. But with Mord I want to explore the range a bit more and hope people can appreciate that.

Charlton
First artist that comes to mind is one of my best friends and someone I really respect for staying true to his own sound, Charlton. We have been doing some music in the past with our Diabla Diezco project and did two gigs recently where we teamed up for a b2b session for the first time in years. The plan is to make some new tunes again soon, so keep an eye out for that. Charlton has been away for a couple of years to live in London and came back to Rotterdam with an amazing amount of holy fire in his productions. His tune Chaotic Behaviour immediately grabbed me by the balls and I knew this was perfect for Mord. His EP on Mord did really well, we just did a repress and I’m looking forward to his next one, which is currently in the making.

Wire
I got intrigued by Wire’s first EP on his own label Wire and the mysteriousness around this producer, so I decided to get in touch with him. He has only released one EP on his own label, so in my quest for new artists he was an interesting one to approach. It’s always nice to be able to present new artists and I’m really curious to see how someone like Wire develops, since of course there’s going to be more pressure to create a follow up for his first release on Mord. Looking forward to what he comes up with.

Lag
Lag’s track Sama Doma is in my sets since the moment he sent it to me. Crazy weird tune, with wicked drum programming and a cut up vocal in it, really fast too. Anyway, Lag is from Serbia and he’s been doing some amazing tunes. Together with the remixes by Forward Strategy Group and Truss I think this release gave him the attention he deserves. Tracks got picked up by the big guns and got loads of airplay so far. Support and feedback has been amazing!

AnD
After three Mord artists it might be time to come up with a name outside my own stable ;) Since the first time I heard some AnD tunes, their tracks have been represented in almost all my sets. Immediate dancefloor damage. Usually does the trick when you need a tune to shake things up a bit and punch the crowd in the face. Recently played with them in Birmingham and their set was exactly what I expected, proper techno warfare! They will be playing in Rotterdam at Strobe (Perron) this weekend. Looking forward to that.

Happa
Happa is so young, it’s almost scary to think of how many great tunes he can make the following years. Really talented guy! Totally love that Vondelpark remix he did.

Planetary Assault Systems
A true legend and has been around for ages, so he probably doesn’t belong in this category of ones to watch. But still, I want to mention him (Luke Slater). His tracks amaze me every single release he does. The last Mote Evolver is a killer again, been playing the Nanendi tune a lot. Big big fan of Luke’s tracks since I started DJing/producing. I am truly happy that I got the chance to release on Mote Evolver, since Luke has always been one of my biggest inspirations. Never afraid to re-invent himself again. Great variety in his tunes, instead of going for the safe way he’s always exploring the boundaries of techno music.

Question 3.
Formative years. What six albums were and are key to your musical development. Your desert island discs question.

Let’s just make sure I answer this in all honesty. There’s a thin line between stuff that inspired you when you were young (and maybe foolish…) and guilty pleasures. I wasn’t really into a lot of electronic music when I was younger, so I am mainly influenced by bands I used to listen to as a teenager and still most of the music I listen to is the albums that I listened to back then. Not sure what effect those bands had on my own sound as a techno producer, but I’ve always been into different genres of music. To be honest I almost never listen to electronic music at home. Anyway, will pick 3 electronic music albums and 3 non-electronic. Not sure if they are all key to my musical development, but these are probably the ones I would grab if you sent me to a desert island within the next five minutes.

Prodigy – Experience
It’s cool to see the impact some of those tunes still have. They played a great show at Metropolis Festival in 1994, happy to have witnessed that. I remember I went to Lowlands Festival in 1995 and experienced that Prodigy concert with all the technical problems they had, but think it has been one of the most legendary shows I went to – the amazing quality of the E back then might have also contributed a tiny bit ;). A lot of people may not like the stuff they did later on, but for me personally the Prodigy and this album just bring back a lot of good memories. Still got a lot of love for that ravy breakbeat kind of stuff anyway. Some of my friends were into electronic music and went to raves, they introduced me to this kind of stuff and this was the kind of electronic music that got me into it actually. Unfortunately the following years there was so much ‘mellow’ electronic music back in the days when I started clubbing, that I completely lost interest in it. For a couple of years I went to rock and hip hop concerts instead. Until I re-discovered electronic music after visiting a techno party with full on proper techno. Right after that I knew I wanted to start DJing and I started buying records. Still think those were the golden days, late nineties, was a good period to start exploring techno.

Jeff Mills – Waveform Transmission Volume 1
Amazing album by an amazing artist. Nothing but respect for Mr. Mills. Great influence as a producer and one of the best DJs on the planet. Shared the bill a couple of times with him over the past decade and he’s such an inspiration.

Speedy J – A Shocking Hobby
I think Speedy J’s influence has been immense. He is the ambassador of the Rotterdam sound and especially his early work had a massive influence on me and probably a lot of other producers from Rotterdam. He’s responsible for some classic bangers, but also has a history of really great experimental tunes. I have a lot of respect for Jochem and what he meant for the Rotterdam scene and techno scene in general. I’ve said it before, but a track like ‘Pannik‘ is just the soundtrack for the city of Rotterdam. And when 50.000 people in a football stadium ‘sing’ your electronic track (Pullover) I guess you are a proper ‘boss’ anyway.

Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
The first time I listened to Joy Division I immediately noticed the influence it had on so many other great bands. Maybe it’s not very original to name Joy Division or this album, but it’s just one of my favorite albums ever, can’t change that. Great band, great story behind it and of course a big influence to so many great bands that followed.

The Cure – Seventeen Seconds
Been going through my vinyl collection many times over the years to look for this and last year suddenly I found it again. Always been a big fan of The Cure since my teenage years. I remember the first time I went on a holiday without my parents. We were 14/15 I think, drank beer and played Staring at the Sea – The Singles from a ghetto-blaster. It was the first time I heard them and I loved it. Still love that album, but got some special love for Seventeen Seconds if I must choose one album.

Stone Roses – Turns Into Stone
Always been fascinated by the Stone Roses, still play this album quite a lot. Been playing this so many times when I was a teenager. Actually forgot a both it for a couple of years before I rediscovered it again. Great band, with a weird history and not a lot of output unfortunately. Still got a lot of love for this album and immediately brings me back to when I was fifteen. Nostalgia all the way.