Greetings from rainy Berlin. I’m drying off next to an extremely convenient fireplace in the hotel lobby, bathed in glorious wi-fi. I arrived Saturday morning and checked out Watergate that night but didn't partake in the inevitable Panoramabar after-hours due to the volatile combination of jet lag, fatigue, and an empty stomach full of Beck's Gold. Yikes. I'm not going to live my early departure (8 am?!) down. Anyhow, the highlight upstairs was an inspired set from London-based Will Saul (of Aus Music), who’s one of my favorite DJs around at the moment. His background comes from the breaks world (he also runs Simple Records), and he has an exceptional ear for melody and pretty much played across all genres, a refreshing change from many Berlin-based DJs staying in the pocket of minimal-ness for the course of the night. His best tune was unquestionably Latex- "The Porcupine" which apparently is a pseudonym of Loco Dice. It’s an incredible cut, blue-hued vibrato stabs and all. Don’t sleep on it.

I didn't catch much of Jesse Rose's set, though he played jacking, tight, techy-sounds including a filthy mix of Switch and some chopped-up, stuttering remix of Simian Mobile Disco's "Hustler" at the end of his set that absolutely brought the house down. Also enjoyed a few leadoff cuts from BPitch's Kiki, before heading downstairs to see arguably the nicest man in dance music, Mr. Ewan Pearson, playing with Phonica's Heidi for most of the night downstairs. It was nice to finally hear his collaboration with Al Usher, "Cruising," on a nice warm sound system, and the two went back to back, playing loads of stuff I haven't yet heard, so I look forward to the latest installment of Ewan’s Enthusiasm selections as well as some of the new stuff at Phonica...

I’ve got a long day in the air tomorrow- TXL-EWR-PHX, so my next dispatch will be from some much-needed desert sun. Looking forward to drying out. Stay tuned for some music you need to hear on this humble site, and be sure to tune in each week to the Flavorpill show on Viva-Radio for my latest picks alongside the impeccable selections of Jake Lancaster.