Twenty years ago, Jen Cardini and Shonky cut a track that became one of the quiet signatures of minimal's Berlin years: stripped drums, a hypnotic bassline, a vocal hook that never oversells itself. "August In Paris" came out on Mobilee Records in 2006, at a moment when the label was one of the houses defining that sound alongside names like Anja Schneider and Ryo. It got played out, sampled into DJ sets for a decade, and became a reference point for a whole run of producers who came up chasing that particular restraint.
Why is a Mobilee classic coming out on Cardini's own label?
Here is the part worth noticing: the anniversary edition isn't a Mobilee reissue. It's coming out on Correspondant, the label Cardini has run out of Berlin since 2011. That's not a small detail. Artists reclaiming and re-releasing their own back catalog on their own imprint, rather than leaving it to whichever label originally pressed it, has become one of the more interesting quiet trends in dance music as artists pay closer attention to who controls their masters and who profits when a track gets a second life. Cardini choosing to run "August In Paris" through her own operation says she sees real, continuing value in that catalog, not just nostalgia.
What's actually on the reissue?
The package pairs a remastered original with three new interpretations: Kasra V, Jennifer Loveless and Jump Source each contribute a rework. That's a deliberate choice, current names from the minimal and deep-tech underground rather than legacy remixers cashing in on the original's name. It reframes the anniversary as a handoff rather than a museum piece, tying the 2006 record to the sound its own descendants are making now. The digital edition is out today; the 12" follows on September 11 through Correspondant.
Why play it live at Rex Club right now?
The timing isn't accidental. Cardini and Shonky play an all-night set at Rex Club in Paris on August 29, the night right after the reissue drops, giving the remastered version its first proper outing on a dancefloor that has hosted Cardini's sets for years. For a label boss reissuing her own record, there's no better test than watching a room react to it in real time.
