Max Graef - Rivers of the Red Planet (2LP Anniversary Edition) [Tartelet Records]

Format: 2xLP Anniversary Edition on marbled colored vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve, including a download card with the original tracks plus 11 unreleased cuts.

Max Graef brings focus back to his universally beloved debut, Rivers of the Red Planet, with an exclusive Anniversary Edition featuring new reinterpretations, rare B-sides, and unreleased archival gems, available October 17th.

In the post-minimal 2010s, deep house underwent a resurgence, with instrumentation, analog gear, and old-school sampling replacing the clean digitalism made entirely "in the box." Max Graef was adept at reading that moment, but even his earliest releases on his Box Aus Holz label already hinted at an eccentric instinct for off-kilter club music. His dusty, groove-laden tracks were instantly charming and seemed to operate on a twisted logic all their own. With Rivers of the Red Planet, the Berlin prodigy made the leap to the long-play format, crafting an expansive experience with all the temporal, textural, and energetic range expected from an enduring, timeless classic.

The album's magic lies in its impulsive balance of energies, between pounding grooves, vocal collaborations, and playful sampling decisions. Since then, Graef has released two more albums for Tartelet, plus a collaborative record with lifelong friend Glenn Astro on Ninja Tune. He has also cultivated a fascinating sound culture around his TAX FREE label, with a network of projects alongside like-minded and wandering spirits. In the 2025 Anniversary Edition, Graef offers a response as intriguing as it is revealing to the "what ifs" that so many fans have pondered.

"I thought it would be fun to reinterpret some of the old tracks and rework them from today's perspective and with the equipment I use now," Graef explains. "I found some of the original stems, but in some cases, I just sampled the whole track. I'm not a big fan of remixes, but it was quite a journey to go back to the way I used to produce music. The most interesting challenge was finding a way to make those old tracks into something I would still play today."

The new versions are as fascinating for their similarities as for their differences. While still brimming with the talent of a versatile beatmaker, they lean towards a richer variety of moods and grooves. Running (Ancient Mix) is a downtempo, dancehall-tinged dream that relocates Wayne’s melancholic vocal into a street soul reverie, adorned with 90s R&B MIDI harps. Superswiss (Atmosphere Mix) leans on a plasticky slap bass and a deliciously dubby sax, woven through a languid beat for eternity – the perfect chill-out mix with bite. Itzehoe (World House Mix) delves into a sub-heavy, spring-loaded new jack swing funk, as if Jam & Lewis met Smith & Mighty downtown and popped into a juice bar for a quick shot of freshness. Jazz 104 (Acid Mix) turns up the heat with agitated breaks and basslines that leap out of the mix with a clarity and purpose that speaks to the evolution of Graef’s craft over the last decade.

While the finer details of these new versions are perceptible, they do not diminish the magic of the original album. Like any self-respecting and self-questioning artist, Graef looks at his early work with mixed feelings, but the sincerity of his creative decisions shines through.

“It was fun revisiting the album,” he admits. “It also made me a little sad, but it’s part of the journey to accept decisions you made over 10 years ago. I was very naive and didn’t care about anything. I admire my 20-year-old self for being so punk in that sense. It’s definitely a good goal to keep some of the spirit from that time and remember how not to give a f*** about everything.”

The Anniversary Edition will be released on October 17th on all digital platforms and as an exclusive 2xLP edition pressed on marbled vinyl, with a gatefold sleeve. It includes a download card with the original tracks plus 11 unreleased cuts.