tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34142679422800004002024-03-14T07:47:51.385+11:00Disco DissertationDr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-36636626433441343342012-03-07T15:31:00.001+11:002012-03-07T15:36:35.243+11:00More, more, more. How do you like it?<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mtY_t-TnLnI/T1biapvrCYI/AAAAAAAAAfI/9ObCmvBsRbE/s1600/Whitney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mtY_t-TnLnI/T1biapvrCYI/AAAAAAAAAfI/9ObCmvBsRbE/s400/Whitney.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This blog and my musical pursuits have been far too quiet
lately. All that bloody politics stuff. I mean, really! After the
disappointment of not being able to review my first ever <a href="http://www.playgroundweekender.com.au/">Playground Weekender</a>
last weekend because the damn thing was cancelled due to flooding, I’ll be
writing on the <a href="http://www.futureentertainment.com.au/futuremusicfestival/index.php?city=Sydney">Future Music Festival</a> and the DFA after party for <a href="http://residentadvisor.net/">ResidentAdvisor</a> and will post here.</div>
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In the meantime, here’s a little mix I put together with
some recently purchased tracks.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F38952557&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=ff7700" width="100%"></iframe></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">TRACKLIST</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Whitney Houston - Dub Will Save The Day</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Behling & Simpson - Left Behind</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Discoshit - Strike A Pose!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The M. E. B. - M5-M6 (Brennan Green Remix)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Young Edits - Cloud Busting</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Giorgio Luceri - More Heart (Feat. Indr)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">FCL - Back (Arto Mwambe Remix)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Genius Of Time - Houston We Have A Problem</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Storm Queen - Look Right Through (Art Department Remix)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maceo Plex - Under The Sheets</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">DJ’s Rule - Get Into The Music</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kenny “Jammin” Jason with “Fast” Eddie Smith - Can U Dance</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Boys Noize - Adonis</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kolsch - Opa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rrose - Waterfall</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Satori - Satori (Nu Skool Sonic Mix)</span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-52935625628713239232011-05-14T21:43:00.000+10:002011-05-14T21:43:45.604+10:00Music for the fall<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><object height="300" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.mixcloud.com/media/swf/player/mixcloudLoader.swf?v=106"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashVars" value="feed=http://www.mixcloud.com/api/1/cloudcast/tadtietze/dr-tads-autumnal-house-mix-2011-05-14.json&embed_uuid=486897e8-25b1-47de-beea-bf3393530da2&embed_type=widget_standard"></param><embed src="http://www.mixcloud.com/media/swf/player/mixcloudLoader.swf?v=106" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="feed=http://www.mixcloud.com/api/1/cloudcast/tadtietze/dr-tads-autumnal-house-mix-2011-05-14.json&embed_uuid=486897e8-25b1-47de-beea-bf3393530da2&embed_type=widget_standard" width="300" height="300"></embed></object><br />
<div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px;"></div><div style="color: #999999; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0; padding: 3px 4px 3px 4px;"><a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/tadtietze/dr-tads-autumnal-house-mix-2011-05-14/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=cloudcast_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Dr Tad's Autumnal House Mix (2011-05-14)</a> by <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/tadtietze/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=profile_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Dr Tad</a> on <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=homepage_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> Mixcloud</a></div><div style="clear: both; height: 3px;"></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><div style="font-family: Times; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b></b></span><br />
<b><div style="display: inline !important; font-family: Times; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My latest DJ Mix.</span></div></div></b><br />
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</span></div></div></b></div><div style="font-family: Times; font-weight: normal;"></div></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Tracklist</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Tom Trago - Use Me</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Floating Points - Vacuum Boogie</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Motor City Drum Ensemble - Raw Cuts #5</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Coco Steel & Lovebomb - Feel It</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jago - I'm Going To Go (Frankie Knuckles Instrumental Plant Mix)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Justus Köhncke - Timecode (Maxi Version)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Star You Star Me - Vega Cruises</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Submantra - Fashion feat. Adam Clay (Dub Mix)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sterling Void - Serve it Up (Extended Original Instrumental Version)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rodriguez Jr. - Pandora</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">DJ Joe T. Vanelli Featuring Csilla - Play With The Voice (Original Free Voice Mix)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yennah - Dyadic Shift (Audiomontage Bonus Beats)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Burnski - Sometimes Takes Longer</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jori Hulkkonen - The Other Side of Time</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mr. Monday - Future</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">DJ Yoko - Flamenco - Satoshi Fumi Geome-trick Mix</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Furry Phreaks - Soothe (feat. Terra Deva)</span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-62728701531348567682011-02-16T21:31:00.000+11:002011-02-16T21:31:36.944+11:00Something old, something new<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aiAGP6qgfGQ/TVujbioIinI/AAAAAAAAAU0/m3oYLWBiUYA/s1600/smiley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aiAGP6qgfGQ/TVujbioIinI/AAAAAAAAAU0/m3oYLWBiUYA/s320/smiley.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My latest mix which is a bit 80s/90s in flavour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10422188&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="wmode" value="window"></param><embed wmode="window" allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10422188&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad/dr-tads-something-borrowed">@Dr Tad's Something Borrowed Something Blue Mix 2011-02-10</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad">Dr Tad</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Tracklist</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Move D feat. DJ Laté - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Theo</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Sven VT - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Ever Since You Came</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lee Curtiss - The Disco Dub</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Das Moth - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Moon - Jacques Renault Remix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Neville Watson - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Time To Lose Control</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Leroy Hanghofer - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Pin - Jacques Lu Cont Mix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Helium Robots - Long Lost</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Evan Evans - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Repitition - John Daly Remix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Patrice Scott - 2000 Black</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Hard Ton - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Marilyn - Zoe Xenia Remix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Liberty City - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">If You Really Love Someone - MURK Dubs Again</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Darkman - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Annihilating Rhythm - Wild Pitch Mix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Kenlou - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Bangin' - Bangin' Beats</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Armando - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">100% Of Disin' You</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Julian 'Jumpin' Perez - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Jack Me Til I Scream - Jumpin' Mix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Cajmere Featuring Dajae - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Brighter Days - Underground Goodie Mix</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cabin Fever - Lovemusic</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Crystal Waters - 100% Pure Love</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Chez Damier - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Can U Feel It - Mk Dub</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Storm Queen - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Look Right Through - Vox</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Maceo Plex - Vibe Your Love</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">Talk Talk - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px;">It's My Life - Extended Mix</span></span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-85459862366299107782011-01-25T20:15:00.014+11:002011-01-25T20:48:45.307+11:00Where Henrik Schwarz is at<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TT6UIA8sWUI/AAAAAAAAATk/fvWPL9ULcmk/s1600/IMG_0181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TT6UIA8sWUI/AAAAAAAAATk/fvWPL9ULcmk/s400/IMG_0181.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br />
<br />
My <a href="http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=8592">latest review</a> at Resident Advisor:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Future Classic presents Henrik Schwarz, Beck's Festival Bar, 13.01.2011</b></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Live techno has never been easy to pull off. It upsets the clubland habit of dancers only occasionally paying attention to the DJ as they lose themselves in music. And it's this gap that, with some justly celebrated exceptions, live electronic acts have found difficult to bridge.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was how I felt about <b>Henrik Schwarz</b> when he last toured Australia in late 2009. His show at Sydney's Civic Hotel struck me as a bit of a greatest hits parade that lost focus and energy at the halfway mark, as though he'd run out of things to say. He substituted bombast for performance when he could have told a tale more clearly his own. It was fun, but nowhere near matching the emotiveness and subtlety of his productions.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To my surprise, his performance for Future Classic at this year's Sydney Festival was a qualitative leap forward. In two-and-a-half hours he seemed able to tantalise as well as pummel, perhaps finding more room to manoeuvre in the expanded setting. Schwarz followed <b>Nathan McLay</b>'s favourites-filled warm-up a little after 10:00 PM by opening with deep, thumping percussion before sliding into the Afro-tinged "I Exist Because of You," detouring into the looped house of <b>Tenaglia</b>'s "Equinox," and revising <b>Bill Withers</b> into soulful techno. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unlike 2009, Schwarz wasn't scared to deconstruct his sounds, with sizeable stretches of pulsating low-end, tripped-out hiss, acid squelch and abstract beats. Then it was more African chants (his recent remix of "Kuar"), an interlude of polka-esque frivolity and his rousing reworking of "Think Twice" by the <b>Detroit Experiment</b>, replete with a teasing extended breakdown.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was just an entree, however, to a middle peak dominated by poppy vocals, including his own "Imagination Limitation" and hysteria-inducing remix of <b>Michael Jackson</b>'s "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," now intensified with a crunchy acidic bassline. For a moment, the school-night punters exceeded Schwarz's own bouncily fervent stage presence with their excitement.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the gates were thrown open for free entry at 11:30 PM, he dropped a more soulful and musical selection that included <b>James Brown</b>'s "It's a Man's World," his collaboration with <b>Kuniyuki</b>, "Once Again," and the sublime atmospherics of <b>Stateless</b>'s "Bloodstream." Then it was time for a finale, which included his Innervisions collaboration "Where We At" and the modern <b>Omar-Stevie</b> classic "Feeling You." </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If, in 2009, I had felt that Henrik Schwarz didn't have enough to say, this time he delivered a complex and satisfying story. And even though he was given authorial rights for the night, he also drew us all in as willing protagonists in the narrative.</span></blockquote>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-21483123226204793602011-01-09T10:55:00.000+11:002011-01-09T10:55:00.678+11:00Tensnake: Not holding back his love<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TSj2QfNqj3I/AAAAAAAAATQ/HgSRi7KNS6M/s1600/ca2ef_1323673.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TSj2QfNqj3I/AAAAAAAAATQ/HgSRi7KNS6M/s400/ca2ef_1323673.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://www.winajie.com.au/">Win Jie</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Resident Advisor have just put up <a href="http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=8515">my review</a> of <a href="http://www.myspace.com/tensnake">Tensnake</a>'s live show in Sydney last week:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Adult Disco presents Tensnake, Civic Hotel, 02.01.2011</b></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thank goodness for Future Classic, who have not only been championing <b>Tensnake</b>'s sounds for longer than most in Sydney, but for also making sure his only appearance in the city was not going to be as fine print for the Field Day festival. So as everyone was stumbling toward the end of a long weekend dominated by bloated outdoor events and hastily slapped-together sideshows, here was a little breath of fresh air.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Already heaving when I arrived before midnight, the compact and sonically immaculate venue approached sardine can status as residents <b>Nathan McLay</b> and <b>Chad Gillard</b> built the tempo and feeling. They happily segued between lighter fare like the <b>Dead Rose</b> reconstruction of <b>Gladys Knight</b>'s "Taste of Bitter Love," freestyle-esque tracks like <b>Ilija Rudman</b>'s "Time and Time," and trippier sounds like <b>Harvey</b>'s powerful take on "Rushing to Paradise."</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As Tensnake's live setup awaited his arrival on stage at the scheduled starting time of 1 AM, a nervous Chad suddenly popped up asking if we'd seen where the star attraction had disappeared to. The problem was quickly rectified and raucous cheering drowned out the last record of the warm-up. Immediately Marco Niemerski was away with the boogiefied "Get It Right," persisting with the slow build delivered by the residents.</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Indeed, the first half of his hour-long set was about as wonderful a revisionist exercise in joyous, soulful, early '80s disco atmospherics as you could hope for through a laptop and Akai controller arrangement. Once he dropped "Coma Cat" at the midway point of his set, though, the subtlety of what he was doing dissipated a little and we were served a more staccato selection of "big" tracks—a dark reconfiguration of "In The End (I Want You to Cry)," the pumping <b>Glossy</b> edit of "Burning Love," the <b>Foals</b>' "Cassius" and finishing on his genre-crunching remix of "Reckless with Your Love." It was all hands-in-the-air stuff, but seemed to come to a halt too quickly—a conclusion drawn hastily by about a third of the punters, who promptly headed for the door. </span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was a shame because, once they got over some missteps in trying to recapture the mood post-Tensnake, McLay and Gillard hit their straps with some cool tuneage. At what other club night can you hear <b>Manolo</b>'s <b>Celeda</b>-sampling "The Answer" alongside old-fashioned disco-house and <b>Kink</b>'s bleepy, acidic "E79" before some banging techno sliding into '80s synth pop? Despite the thinning crowd, those who remained were rewarded with some nice eclecticism, even if the high quality parts were sometimes greater than the whole. </span></span></blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-14878173556359824362010-11-30T23:42:00.000+11:002010-11-30T23:42:22.259+11:00A trippier shade of house<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TPTwJRwYdeI/AAAAAAAAASk/qS1jFnrnH74/s1600/light-virus-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TPTwJRwYdeI/AAAAAAAAASk/qS1jFnrnH74/s400/light-virus-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
For your listening pleasure, my latest mix to listen to or download:<br />
<br />
<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F7539462&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F7539462&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad/dr-tads-sick-day-mix-day-2010-11-30">Sick Day Mix Day 2010-11-30</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad">Dr Tad</a><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Tracklist</b></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Convertion - Sweet Thing</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Prins Thomas - Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ray Mang - Inner City Disco</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Young & Company - Legs & Co - Pete Herbert & Dicky Trisco Edit</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Al Usher - Gnanfou - Swag's Gnanby Dub</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Talking Heads - Heads - Cosmic Boogie Edit</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Justin Vandervolgen - Sheebooyah</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ray Mang - Letcha Body Go</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hunee - Bobo</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kink & Neville Watson - Metropole</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Neville Watson - Let Me Go</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sister Sledge - Lost In Music - The Revenge Rework</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Justin Vandervolgen - The Clapping Song</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam - Steve Lawler Remix</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sister Sledge - You Fooled Around</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-9194894905391947732010-06-20T23:33:00.000+10:002010-06-20T23:33:47.546+10:00Night and day<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">OR: THE SONAR DIARIES, PART FOUR</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TB30DOM2-8I/AAAAAAAAANg/WFzUPXHNz7I/s1600/photo-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TB30DOM2-8I/AAAAAAAAANg/WFzUPXHNz7I/s640/photo-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Night</span></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">So for those who have never been, what is Sonar By Night really like? Well, if you can imagine one of those massive aircraft-hangar-like exhibition halls where they hold car shows and the like, located in the 'burbs, filled with tens of thousands of wasted youth, with drink queues a mile long (first for your drink ticket and then the drink itself), bumper cars and food stalls, and a cheesy rave atmosphere.... well, there you have it. Except the quality of the music is always superior—straddling the cool end of current pop and EDM tastes as well as delving into the more experimental and obscure.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">But like any festival, there is always too much time spent facing crowd crush to get between stages (luckily only three this year, whereas I seem to recall there were four when I first went), and making choices that mean you get to sample more than experience those acts you want to see. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">So here is my blow-by-blow account of the night I had, but there were so many other nights that could've been had.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">First up I caught the end of <b>Hot Chip</b>, pushing their cheery pop-electronica sound in a slightly tougher and more dance-y direction than I was expecting. Following that I scooted over to check out Dubstep-meets-tech hero of the day, <b>Joy Orbison</b>. Tight mixing and interesting sounds, but with an MC who seemed to be unable to move much beyond "Hello Barcelona" and "This is Joy Orbison" in his vocal stylings.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">Then it was off to catch the first bit of <b>LCD Soundsystem</b>'s set. <b>James Murphy</b> looked resplendently shaggy in a creased white suit and belted out favourites from <i>Sound Of Silver</i> and the new album like "Us v Them" and "Drunk Girls". As I'm seeing LCD soon in Sydney I took the opportunity to check out the return of <b>Richie Hawtin</b>'s alter-ego <b>Plastikman</b>. Now this was clearly one for the fans, accompanied not just by a fantastic light show but a dedicated iPhone app that streamed track names and times and even BPMs! It was solid, dependable acid house and techno, but I've gotta say it washed over me a bit. As someone once sang, "Is That All There Is?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">Then it was off to see Barcelona's <b>John Talabot </b>(not his real name—does anyone know who he really is?), whose sound would probably best be described as intense, trippy and distorted nu-disco. While he was only holding a relatively small crowd (a couple of thousand at most) this was interesting, emotive and trance-inducing DJing. Even when big, obvious disco samples rose in the mix there was a modern, techy edginess to them that was truly exciting (and groovy at the same time).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">Back to see <b>Dixon</b> (of Berlin's Innervisions label), I was very happy to see he was pushing the darker edge of his sound, with big tribal beats and techno influences—all very appropriate for 3.30am. And a great lead-in to <b>Booka Shade</b>, also playing darker and less euphoric than when I've seen them before.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">But as 5.30am rolled around it was time to stumble out the door and look for the SonarPro bus promised to those of us with "accreditations". But where the hell was it? Happily I took Option B and entered the very modern Metro station Europa I Fira. It was a fitting and humorous end to the night as many hundreds of truly wasted dancers sitting on the platform heard the first train of the morning approach, getting their feet and cheering as if they had just been hit with the end of a massive breakdown in the middle of an epic DJ set.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><div style="font-family: Times; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Day</span></span></b></span></div></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;">After an incredibly heavy six-hour sleep (could the jetlag finally be banished?) I headed out for the CCCB to catch the one last Sonar By Day act I wanted to see—Detroit's living legend <b>Moodyman</b>. Now this guy is an acquired taste. Last time I saw him, he performed behind a white sheet for the first 30 minutes of his set. This time it was a white towel draped over his head (pictured above). Characteristically, this was a performance that went well beyond playing records, with <b>Mr Dixon Jr.</b> engaging in between-track and during-track patter, much of it hilarious.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">He started with a story about how the "lady at Customs" had looked at his records and said they were the biggest CDs she'd ever seen—and what sort of CD player does he own that plays them? And as if to prove the point one of the SL-1200s he was to play on had a fault and needed to be replaced, delaying the show by 10 minutes.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Now, trainspotting is not something you get to do at a Moodyman gig*; he tells you what most of the tracks are. And this being a daytime Sonar set, he stuck with a classic sound dominated by soul, funk, disco, new wave and some hip-hop. There were <b>De La Soul</b> and <b>J Dilla</b>, <b>Fred Wesley</b>, <b>James Brown</b>, <b>BT Express</b>, <b>The Clash</b>,<b> The Whispers</b> and even <b>Nitzer Ebb</b>. Finally he had to be prised off the decks after his all-too-brief 90 minutes, accompanied by the sunshine breaking through after a downpour in the early stages of his set. For all the tired, post-Sonar By Night refugees, this was the perfect metaphor for the way he'd lifted our spirits on a steamy afternoon.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">*That said, he played the original track that <b>Daniel Wang</b>'s "Free Lovin" is based on—with the weird Afro instrumentation—or maybe it was Danny's own version. Can anybody help?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-64468627788187182642010-06-19T22:01:00.000+10:002010-06-19T22:01:22.520+10:00The sun is shining...OR: THE SONAR DIARIES, PART THREE<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBysf6Yr65I/AAAAAAAAANY/-cmZHqAgbhQ/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBysf6Yr65I/AAAAAAAAANY/-cmZHqAgbhQ/s400/photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The jetlag, the bloody jetlag. When you stay up to after 5am after virtually no sleep for 28 hours, surely the payoff is a long snooze. But, no, after four hours was all I managed and so I headed off for a late breakfast at <a href="http://www.mercatsantacaterina.net/">Mercat de Santa Caterina</a> and downed two <i>cafes con leche</i>, quickly recalling just how good the coffee is in Spain.<br />
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Then it was Sonar By Day, meeting up with my friends Ant and Lisa and their entourage, sitting in the lovely summer sunshine. Sonar By Day is always a mixed bag: art exhibitions, movies, technology demonstrations and musical acts. This year's robot exhibit was very fun, and I saw an American musician knock out a terrific 30 minute acid house set simply by twiddling the nobs on three little boxes produced by <a href="http://www.elektron.se/">Elektron</a>.<br />
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I found both DJ <b>Annie Hall</b> and up & comers <b>Nedry</b> a little flaccid for my tastes, and the dubstep oriented goings on in the Red Bull Music Academy also not my scene. But the standout for my brief day at the CCCB (apart from the great Sangria) was <b><a href="http://www.myspace.com/aufgangsonar">Aufgang</a></b>.<b> </b>This French trio has a German name—roughly translated as "emerging" or "rising"—and their energetic and supremely tight use of their two grand pianos and one drum kit is a sight to behold. Their sound is somewhere between classical music, techno, sweet Air-like pop and storming piano house, but none of those descriptions do them justice. And they've already proven their coolness by getting Barcelona nu-disco wunderkind <b>John Talabot</b> to remix their track "Channel 7". Check them out!<br />
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PS Just a little aside, on the way out I watched <b>Booka Shade</b> getting interviewed at the Sonar radio tent and finally got to do the fanboy thing and tell them how great they are. A true groupie moment, and they are such sweet, funny guys.Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-68995095653928535182010-06-19T03:33:00.000+10:002010-06-19T03:33:51.900+10:00Desolat(ion)OR: THE SONAR DIARIES, PART TWO<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBumtbxUAuI/AAAAAAAAANQ/pRMDY_xPbRI/s1600/web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBumtbxUAuI/AAAAAAAAANQ/pRMDY_xPbRI/s640/web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
The odd thing about clubbing in Spain is that the clubs tend to be located in the most out-of-the-way spots you can imagine. So, <i>por ejemplo</i>, the techno generation would often drive hundreds of kilometres to massive constructions named for how many km they were located down a particular inter-city highway. Needless to say, the road toll was uncomfortably high at the end of weekend-long benders. Then there is the <a href="http://www.monegrosfestival.com/">Monegros Festival</a>, an annual pilgrimage to a remote mountainous region in northern Spain, and featuring some of the biggest names in techno.<br />
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It's true even in big cities like Barcelona, and last night I went to the opening of a new venue called <a href="http://www.ghoabeachclub.com/">Ghoa Beach Club</a>, located just outside the city outskirts on a beach adjacent to Parc Litoral. The occasion was the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/desolatmusicgroup">Desolat</a> off-Sonar label party and the headliners were very impressive indeed: <b>Martin Buttrich</b>, <b>Loco Dice</b> and <b>Marco Carola</b>. It took our taxi driver some time to find the damn place: even the street was not in his navigator device and we bumped into several other partygoers on the way, all searching for the <a href="http://www.ghoabeachclub.com/map.html">mysterious venue</a>.<br />
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Finally we arrived to find an outrageous episode of crowd crush occurring at the front door, with hundred heaving back and forth, some breaking into boos and hisses. The Spanish know how to queue politely. Not.<br />
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I had a ticket, but Dave and Andy didn't and we almost turned back but then realised that we would be let in... and when we got inside there was only a small crowd and the whole incident had been about poor organisation. In fact, there were more hangers-on in the spacious DJ area than on the dancefloor at that point, although that would rapidly change as the large space—replete with a massive resort-like pool (briefly used by some brave punters before they were dragged out) and multiple bars—filled comfortably.<br />
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Sadly, Buttrich finished his performance just as we managed to get inside and we were treated to an extended warm-up by <b>Davide Squillace</b>. It was a well thought-out and prolonged warm-up set of generic tech-house that helped set the scene but lacked anything really special. But it gave us time to imbibe overpriced mixed drinks (even small bottles of water were 4 Euro) and admire the amazing ability of the crowd to smoke so heavily in the open-air venue that the cigarette fumes were at times almost overpowering.<br />
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With Loco Dice on, the music continued in a locked groove, techy fashion without many highlights. But as Andy observed, Dice's drugs must have kicked in at the 30 minute mark and suddenly it was all EQs, filters and effects. He was soon joined by Carola and they pumped out music that would have been positively banal if it wasn't for their ability to play with every effect parameter on a Pioneer DJM-800 mixer and their undoubted ability to read the crowd. It's not that the music was bad, and it was certainly danceable (I managed a lot of grooving despite being stupidly overtired and running on Red Bull), but it was just that big modern European techno sound, pioneered at clubs like DC-10 in Ibiza. In some ways it was musically akin to what Luciano was playing a couple of years ago, but delivered without his panache and talent for layering unexpected elements into the sound.<br />
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At just before 5am Andy and I called it a day, just in time to see the first tram of the day arrive at its stop and to catch a taxi with a nice Indian driver who we talked sport with (football and cricket)—leaving Dave to power on for at least another couple of hours.<br />
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For a long time in Sydney, Lost Baggage ruled the roost as the premier techno night, pulling high-visibility European DJs who play very much in the style we saw at Ghoa. This party was like the super-professional, highly competent and more pleasantly populated version of a Lost Baggage night, run at a pretty venue with an excited crowd. This is Euro techno clubbing—it's fun but it really may just be the funky house of its generation.Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-33126620498546885002010-06-18T18:18:00.001+10:002010-06-18T20:36:18.681+10:00Lost my dog (and my sleep) in BarcelonaOR: THE SONAR DIARIES, PART ONE<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBslzLoclUI/AAAAAAAAANI/WVC-zOGg9s0/s1600/Sonar+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBslzLoclUI/AAAAAAAAANI/WVC-zOGg9s0/s640/Sonar+2010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Here I am, baby... but only just in one piece. That jetlag is a killer!<br />
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I arrived in Barcelona (which has a very new, very big and very sexy airport) on Thursday afternoon local time in a very underslept state after over 24 hours in transit and went straight to get my SonarPro media accreditation for this here blog. With suitcase in tow, I negotiated some side streets between the Aerobus stop and the place the take your photo and give you your pass, this year in an old convent building that has been subsumed by the cultural centre, the <a href="http://www.cccb.org/en/">CCCB</a>, where Sonar By Day is held. Only got lost once on the way!<br />
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Whilst waiting in an irritatingly long queue I was shouted to a hawked beer by the crew of UK deep house label <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1878919120"></span>Lost My Dog<span id="goog_1878919121"></span></a> and got into conversation about the state of the UK scene with label honcho and DJ, <a href="http://petedafeet.net/">Pete Dafeet</a>. Further to my controversial post on the oversaturation of festivals in Australia, Pete indicated that the once-bloated club scene in the UK (and especially London) was fast mutating into a more fragmented space with much more modest and underground-oriented nights pulling punters. Most shocking of the big club failures was London's Matter, which had essentially collapsed, taking the owners of still-successful superclub <a href="http://www.fabriclondon.com/">Fabric</a> with it (they had apparently put Fabric up as the guarantee against which Matter was financed). So Fabric, still pulling in the masses, is up for sale. Erk!<br />
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Pete has an interesting <a href="http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?169370">off-Sonar party</a> on Sunday, with US house legend Joshua Iz at the top of the roster. It seems that Lost My Dog is referencing the classic deep house stylee that first got me hooked on dance music just over a decade ago. I will try to review some of their output here in the near future.<br />
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Then it was a 30 minute sojourn inside Sonar By Day and catching a sneak of Pete Tong in the main outdoor area. The BBC Radio One institution was playing a more indie/underground selection among older favourites (I think the Henrik Schwarz version of MJ's "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" was there!), but he still seemed an odd inclusion in the normally overly cool selection.<br />
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But then it was off to stay at my long-time Barcelona friend <a href="http://blogs.euobserver.com/galdon/">Gemma</a>'s place, meeting her flatmate, taking a much-needed 20 minute powe rnap and going for a cool 4 euro Mojito & tapa deal at a local bar with her and our mutual friend Luke—let me say the <i>Patatas Bravas</i> was superb, and who could argue at prices like that?<br />
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Then off to Gracia for dinner at a very traditional local Catalan restaurant, where perhaps the meat was too much (Luke ordered a 500g steak after our entree... and I had an amazing smaller steak with <i>foie gras</i> sauce, which I know is un-PC but was spectacular).<br />
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Finally, it was time to dash across town to meet Dave and Andy and head off to my first off-Sonar event at the newly constructed and much-hyped <a href="http://www.ghoabeachclub.com/">Ghoa Beach Club</a>. Stay tuned for the skinny on that...Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-48942747952350987582010-06-13T17:05:00.000+10:002010-06-13T17:05:31.208+10:00Festival blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBRswBwMMoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/V4rprP2M_DQ/s1600/IMG_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/TBRswBwMMoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/V4rprP2M_DQ/s640/IMG_0032.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sometimes everything goes wrong but it all works out anyway. That was my experience of this year's We Love Sounds festival, held (as usual) in the Hordern and surrounds. All the portents were poor—a less impressive line-up than previous years, poor ticket sales, cancellation of the Perth leg of the festival's national tour, downsizing of the venue, etc, etc. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was lucky enough to get free admission because my friend Phil (pictured above) was playing. When <a href="http://decoded.outer-rim.org/">Dave</a> and I arrived we soon realised how limited the sales had been, with only a hundred people barely making their presence felt in the Royal Hall of Industries. There was a sedate atmosphere and very short lines for drinks all day. Things did pick up as the evening progressed, and the Hordern was apparently inaccessible for 2-3 hours because of the massive electrohouse crowd rammed in to see <b>Crookers</b> and <b>Steve Aoki</b>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nevertheless, the music we did catch was excellent. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sethtroxler"><b>Seth Troxler</b></a>, following the <b>Bang Gang</b> in the RHI, miraculously managed to shift down several gears from their noisy, ravey nonsense. Sure he lost half the crowd at first but then expertly built atmosphere without resorting to obvious choices (the "Angel Eyes"-sampling bleeptastic techno monster he played was nothing short of thrilling). Soon the empty hall was filling up to genuine underground sounds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Off to the Forum, we then caught most of <a href="http://ooft.blogspot.com/index.html"><b>The Revenge</b></a>'s set, which was a slow-building, pitched down house sound warm-up (ridiculously programmed after the hideous blare of <b>Sound Pellegrino Sound System</b>). Unlike the last time I saw him, at La Campana last year, there was a cohesion and flow to what he was doing that suggests growing maturity as a DJ. It was a perfect lead-in for <a href="http://www.myspace.com/getmandy"><b>M.A.N.D.Y.</b></a>, who have not been on our shores since 2007.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sadly the promised live show was not to be as the airline had sent their equipment to some misbegotten part of the world. But, after not having played together for some time, Patrick and Philipp played a storming set that started a little shaky (too much Dirtybird-style stuff for mine) but then tore the roof off the now comfortable full Forum. That massive <b>Angelique Kidjo</b> track by <b>Tim Green</b> was the absolute highpoint in terms of energy, but seeing the boys having a ball behind the decks reminded me that tech-house DJs don't all have to be mopey and serious all the time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then it was <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ellenallien"><b>Ellen Allien</b></a>'s turn: she who had blown me away with her festival and after party sets two years ago. This time she was much more eclectic, mixing indie sounds with techno and even old Chicago house. The musical selections were always top-notch but the set was all over the place. And one does wonder whether she, dressed in oversize t-shirt and bright red leggings, is more fashionista or DJ?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, we decided to brave the queue for <a href="http://www.underworldlive.com/index.asp"><b>Underworld</b></a> and to our surprise we were allowed in to find... a near deserted Hordern. It would seem the electro kids had moved on after Aoki's set finished and while the room filled up again it was disappointing to see that it was far from packed (as it had been last time I saw the band here). Underworld, of course, didn't disappoint, mixing more recent material including the euphoria-inducing "Scribble" with classics like "Rez", "Cowgirl" and "Two Months Off". The visuals, their amazing stage presence (<b>Karl Hyde</b> > <b>Peter Garrett</b> on the gangly dancing front, any day) and the musical production were all stunning, letting us leave on a high note.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wish I could be as kind to the after party (and I didn't stay to see the worst of it).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So what to make of the poor ticket sales for WLS? In late 2008, just after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the onset of global economic crisis, I <a href="http://discodissertation.blogspot.com/2009/01/drama-on-high-seas.html">speculated</a> that we were approaching a <i>fin-de-siecle</i> moment in the Sydney electronic music scene. At that time it seemed to me that the overpriced hedonism being offered by increasing numbers of promoters in proliferating venues was unsustainable. But the unexpected economic revival under the influence of government guarantees of a fragile financial sector, the stimulus package, the reflating of a residential property bubble and the continuing good fortune of exports to China seems to have not only staved off the collapse of the economy but the restructuring of a bloated EDM scene.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2010 things are not looking so good. Quality nights like Future Classic's Adult Disco are pulling small numbers and there has been a string of festivals performing below expectations (Shore Thing, the tiny Space Ibiza event and now WLS). It would be too easy to blame this on the specifics of the events—even if their quality is variable. Rather, it seems to me that what we are seeing is a classic <a href="http://www.isreview.org/issues/32/crisis_theory.shtml">crisis of overproduction</a> in the Marxian sense.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">During the good years, promoters used profits to expand and upgrade their operations and thereby created larger markets for their product. When I seriously got into clubbing in 1998, international acts in a particular genre came around every month or two, but in recent years a minimal head (for example) could almost see a different international every week. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yet as more players entered the market, a saturation point was reached—more was being put on than could possibly be absorbed. Such expansion need not stop as long as the factors which allow promoters to find a large enough market willing/able to consume the product persist, most importantly a growing economy where employed wage workers can fork out pricey entry fees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There is a paradox in how these economic processes work themselves out. Even while too much is being produced across a sector of the economy (here, too many club nights and festivals), for each individual business person it is in their interests to keep expanding in order to beat the competition. It is my understanding that WLS tried to expand this year in particular because there was a new festival on the block with a similar type of line-up, the same venue and a well-known brand (Creamfields).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In a different time, with Sydney clubgoers happier to spend their hard-earned pay for a fun day out, perhaps both festivals could have done well. But I am speculating that the relative failure of WLS this year is an early warning that we are heading for a double-dip recession, initially being reflected in a contraction of discretionary spending by consumers. Given that retail sales in general are sluggish, the headline unemployment figures (generally a lag indicator anyway) may be lulling us into believing that old cliche that "the economic fundamentals are sound".</div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-79545619567571356142010-06-13T14:48:00.001+10:002010-06-13T15:21:53.792+10:00A red view of The Greens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
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Now available <a href="http://web.overland.org.au/previous-issues/feature-tad-tietze/">in full online</a> is my article on "The Greens, the Crisis & the Left" in the latest issue of <i>Overland</i><a href="http://web.overland.org.au/"> journal</a>.<br />
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There was also a <a href="http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/06/03/the-greens-as-a-social-democratic-and-left-party/">lengthy discussion</a> of it on Mark Bainisch's blog <i><a href="http://larvatusprodeo.net/">Larvatus Prodeo</a>.</i>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-32308077589735510182010-06-01T21:22:00.001+10:002010-06-01T21:22:59.080+10:00Back on the ones and twos<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hey, what the hell happened there? More than three months between posts so undoubtedly there'll be nobody reading this. Which is probably a good thing as writing about music has been the last thing i've wanted to do. Instead I've had a political article published in the </span><a href="http://web.overland.org.au/current-issue/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">latest</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overland</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> journal, on "The Greens, The Crisis & The Left". Get yourself a copy, why don'tcha?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But for the first time in months I did feel inspired to lay down a mix, reflecting my penchant for melodic and somewhat trippy nu-disco and tech-house, with a few classics thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fdr-tad%2Fdr-tads-disco-techy-mix&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff0015"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="wmode" value="window"></param><embed wmode="window" allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fdr-tad%2Fdr-tads-disco-techy-mix&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff0015" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> </span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad/dr-tads-disco-techy-mix"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr Tad's Disco-Techy Mix</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by </span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr Tad</span></a></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">TRACKLIST</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">John Daly - Aurora</span><br />
<div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mark E - RnB Drunkie</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cole Medina - Red Hot</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mugwump - Tellakian Circles</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tensnake - Need Your Lovin (Dub Mix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lindstrom & Christabelle - Baby Can't Stop (Album Version)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Marc Poppcke - Destination Disco</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Luther Vandross - Shine (Mixshow)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Greg Gow - The Bridge (Late Night Grand River Mix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tevo Howard - Without Me (Boogiedisco Mix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dennis Ferrer - Sinfonia Della Notte</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Manolo - The Answer (Gipsy Kink Remix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Spirit Catcher Feat. Ilija Rudman - Secret Stranger (Instrumental Mix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ellen Allien - Lover</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Daryl Stay - My Groove (Vincenzo Remix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nomi & Rampa - Inside (Dr Dunks aka Eric Duncan Remix)</span></span></div><div style="font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pet Shop Boys - It's Alright</span></span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-12263947732916846302010-02-18T07:11:00.002+11:002010-02-18T07:12:35.879+11:00The pleasure-meets-pain principle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S3xJAPlHsDI/AAAAAAAAAMs/3rwNWIs-HLs/s1600-h/l_4f1a36769e1fe145c367a12130e07451-450x273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S3xJAPlHsDI/AAAAAAAAAMs/3rwNWIs-HLs/s1600/l_4f1a36769e1fe145c367a12130e07451-450x273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S3xJAPlHsDI/AAAAAAAAAMs/3rwNWIs-HLs/s400/l_4f1a36769e1fe145c367a12130e07451-450x273.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a small delay in them getting it up on the site, here is my review of <b>Ewan Pearson</b>'s latest mix CD on <i>Inthemix</i> (link <a href="http://www.inthemix.com.au/music/45891/Various_Artists_We_Are_Proud_Of_Our_Choices_mixed_by_Ewan_Pearson">here</a> or text below). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite another night of Sydney summer downpour I ventured out to see Ewan play at the Civic on Saturday night. He was playing a five-hour set and I had to leave halfway through, but you could tell he was going somewhere special with it. As expected his track choices were esoteric, sometimes a little too proggy for my tastes, but he seemed to have beaten the horrors of jetlag to keep a small but appreciative crowd in the groove.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sadly I won't be seeing him at the Playground Weekender as I am yet to work up the courage for a four-day party session in a rural setting (call me soft, but I'm about to hit the big four-oh and have a day job).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nice to bump into fellow blogger <a href="http://sydneylovestechno.blogspot.com/">Shortino</a>. In the silliness of the moment I not only managed to harass the ever warm and friendly Mr Pearson for track names for my <i>compadre</i>, I even tweeted them. #tweetlikerichiehawtin I say!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Ewan Pearson – We Are Proud Of Our Choices</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ewan Pearson</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and co-author </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jeremy Gilbert</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> wrote their academic text on dance music, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Discographies</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (Routledge, 1999) they drew on influential currents in cultural and political theory from <b>Lacan</b> to <b>Derrida</b> and <b>Butler</b> to deconstruct some of the crude assumptions about the scene held by critical outsiders. But their spirited defence of dance culture, centred in their view around <i>jouissance</i> (how Lacan described a moment of ecstatic reverie bordering on agony) could also puncture the pretensions of some cooler-than-thou scenesters who wanted to reduce the pleasure of the dancefloor experience to the laboured hipness of their own tastes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite his considered curation of the latest mix CD on Kompakt there is very much the pleasure-meets-pain principle about Ewan Pearson’s approach to EDM on display here. It is a mix that sneaks up on you with restraint and a rejection of obvious pyrotechnics yet still manages to deliver a series of dramatic peaks in its 80 minute running time. And it’s a very intimate experience suggesting that, like the old socialist song, Pearson is proud of standing by his artistic convictions. He is no dedicated follower of fashion (the tracklist is almost wilfully obscure) and this gives him the room to stamp a coherent musical personality on a disparate selection of tracks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Starting in poppy electronica territory with the <b>Gold Panda</b> remix of <b>Lemonade</b>’s "Bliss Out, he is soon traversing delicate tech-house with tracks from <b>A Ldric</b>, <b>Ivan Smagghe</b> & <b>Roman Flugel</b>, and <b>Lusine</b>. Even this early the spare beats serve to structure insistent melodies, rising and falling. But before they can get out of control Pearson shifts the atmosphere into decidedly more moody deep house territory. The hypnotic, breathy spoken word vocals of "Open Our Eyes" continue to hang in the mix, even as the Detroit-flavoured build-up of <b>Neville Watson</b>’s "Full Flight" explodes into frenzied analogue handclaps. Suddenly an unassuming mix is forcing you to take notice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From here things get techier, stripped back, with more than a hint of dubbiness. But by the time <b>YOSA</b>’s "Margaret" makes its plaintive cry things are ready to take a turn back to big, haunting melodies from <b>Gregor Tresher</b> (a <b>Petar Dundov</b> remix reminiscent of <b>Dosem</b>’s "Beach Kisses"). This is quickly followed by menacing-as-fuck teutonic vocals from <b>Xenia Beliayeva</b> on Systematic and the driving prog of <b>Chris Fortier</b> before further brain-bending house from <b>Al Usher</b> (remixed by rising star <b>John Talabot</b>) and <b>B.d.i</b>. Decisively pummelled with this sustained finale we get a bonus encore thanks to the sweetness of <b>Little Dragon</b> and <b>Bot’Ox</b>, proving once again Pearson’s ear for pop hooks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unlike many DJs who use Ableton to simply replay their club performances without the blemishes, Ewan Pearson takes advantage of its tools to reconstruct tracks so they can be blended for a seeming infinity, with small elements transplanted from their usual homes to other far reaches of the mix. This seems to me to be the studio equivalent of his love for combining tracks when playing out not because of any strict stylistic similarities, but rather the sonic and emotional resonances between them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This prolonged looping creates a trippiness that binds the diversity of ideas on offer into a coherent whole. It also reproduces those endless yet brief instances of being lost in exaltation among the smoke and flashing lights. Moments we want to recapture as if experienced for the first time but discover are now teasingly beyond reach. By eschewing the easy pay-off and seeking out those intensities in more complex movements, Ewan Pearson has created a work of great subtlety but also great feeling.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tracklist</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lemonade - Bliss Out (Gold Panda Remix) / Pitch And Hold - We Have Come To Bless Dave Smith</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A Ldric - Birds On Tree</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rmnvn - Uno</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lusine - Cirrus</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wah Chu Ku - T Times Too</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Yukihiro Fukotomi / Foog - Open Our Eyes</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Neville Watson - Full Flight</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Taron-Trekka - Shiroi</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hot Natured - Equilibrium</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">DXR - Faderpushing Sunday</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Yosa - Margaret</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gregor Tresher - The Life Wire (Petar Dundov Variation)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Xenia Beliayeva - Analog Effekt</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chris Fortier - Sunday Is A Travel Day (Ink & Needle's Skybed Remix)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Al Usher - Silverhum (John Talabot's Wilderness Remix)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">B.D.I. - City & Industry (World Balloon Dub Mix)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Little Dragon - Fortune (World Of Apples' Cosmic Edit)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bot'ox - Blue Steel</span></span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-90319287734381735562010-02-01T21:58:00.000+11:002010-02-01T21:58:34.856+11:00Straight outta Porirua<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></span></span> </span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S2akhdpbflI/AAAAAAAAAMk/u44uQwmmy_s/s1600-h/recloose_0TKyv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S2akhdpbflI/AAAAAAAAAMk/u44uQwmmy_s/s320/recloose_0TKyv.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There was a worry I had that the Sydney Festival closing night gig was going to be some sort of anti-climax. For some time now it has been </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">de rigueur</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to expect local stalwarts Mad Racket to deliver a fitting last night at the Beck's Bar under the summer skies. With the likes of </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Herbert</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chris Duckenfield</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (he the greatest house DJ on the planet), </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hot Chip</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Moodymann</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> being among the guests in recent years, the gig has generally been a synthesis of a loose party and serious artistic aspirations.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But as I bought tickets last November, my Festival program was noticeably </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">sans</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Racket action. Maybe the happy marriage was over and there was to be a new coterie of Beck's collaborators? Happily, that was soon rectified, although I wondered if <b>Recloose</b> and <b>Frank Booker</b> were something of a consolation prize compared with past overseas guests—after all, Auckland is not as far away nor as glamorous-sounding as London or Detroit. And the ticket sales were certainly not up with the stellar ramming of the Hyde Park Barracks venue in previous seasons.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But the end result was something just a tiny bit special regardless of the hiccups on the way. Compared with the two other Beck's gigs I attended (<a href="http://www.inthemix.com.au/events/reviews/45573/Severed_Heads_Becks_Festival_Bar_Sydney_140110">this one</a> and <a href="http://discodissertation.blogspot.com/2010/01/stunning-output.html">this one</a>) this was easily the most consistent and thoughtfully programmed... kinda like most MR parties at the Bowlo, really. Or maybe it was the relative lack of high expectations which would usually be engendered by having *MAJOR NAMES* on the bill that created space for what was simply a great night out.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I got there Simon Caldwell was keeping the vibe distinctly deep and chuggy, with recent faves like <b>MCDE</b>'s "Raw Cuts #3" and <b>Precious System</b>'s "The Voice From Planet Love", before taking a sharp turn into electro-funk territory with a <b>Crispin J Glover</b> stormer on the long-defunct Nuphonic label.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then Recloose, Frank and vocalist <b>Mara TK</b> appeared on the main stage to smash out the live version of their <i>Hit It And Quit It</i> radio show. Working off two MacBook Pros, at least two turntables and a seemingly endless array of electronic and acoustic instruments, they delivered exactly that—in execution and spirit this was the staged equivalent of a very pacy, thrilling two hours of Black US radio circa 1979-89. The <b>Hot Mix 5</b> they weren't, but this was a complete show, not just some DJs and knob twiddlers gazing at the ground, and any spotty transitions were more than made up for by the sheer <i>joie de vivre</i> of the performance (not to mention the exuberance of the punters).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Starting in resolutely boogiefied territory with <b>Unlimited Touch</b>'s "Love Explosion" alongside newbies like <b>Escort</b>'s "Starlight", they moved into more uptempo fare by dropping the likes of "Disco Circus" and the near-perfection of <b>Black Joy</b>'s "La Stache". Then a sharp left into more electronic sounds, a smattering of hip house obscurities and a return to pure soul with Mara TK ably filling in for <b>Joe Dukie</b> on "Dust". With soulful disco back on the agenda there was a final foray into Recloose's back catalogue in "Can't Take It" before somehow fittingly closing the set with <b>Was Not Was</b>' politically-charged yet super-cute anti-Reagan diatribe "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming". </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then it was back to Simon, <b>Ken Cloud</b> and Recloose for a fittingly techy post-midnight B2B session for the swelling crowd. It was a salient reminder of what the Racket crew have created—the most consistent (and often most brilliant) dance music event in Sydney, still going strong after 11 years. Not every Racket is genius, but even nights like this where not everything goes to plan are still well ahead of the game. The Sydney Festival certainly has a good thing going here... it should stick to it.</span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-28454041520004755572010-01-23T17:39:00.000+11:002010-01-23T17:39:15.592+11:00Stunning output<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S1qCNU6T6MI/AAAAAAAAAMc/C81-m94zSXM/s1600-h/trevorjackson1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S1qCNU6T6MI/AAAAAAAAAMc/C81-m94zSXM/s320/trevorjackson1.jpg" /></span></a><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A year ago I reviewed <b>Future Classic</b>'s Beck's Festival Bar event at the Sydney Festival, leaving pleased but somewhat underwhelmed (<a href="http://www.inthemix.com.au/events/reviews/41363/Beck%E2%80%99s_Festival_Bar_pres_Disco_Nouveau_Hyde_Park_Barracks_Sydney_230109">here</a> or <a href="http://discodissertation.blogspot.com/2009/01/old-disco-in-new-bottles.html">here</a>). But with <b>Trevor Jackson</b> headlining in 2010 I snapped up tickets as early as the Festival presale last year, long before <b>Vito DeLuca</b> of Belgian duo <b>Aeroplane</b> was announced as support.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jackson played a vital role in the development of my interest in music outside the house spectrum, especially when I heard <b>Morgan Geist</b>'s flawless (yet rough around the edges) revision of <b>The Rapture</b>'s "House of Jealous Lovers", an early <b>DFA</b> release distributed also on Jackson's seminal <b>Output</b> label. I still remember the first time I heard it, played in an early set by local DJ <b>Michael X</b> at the influential techno night, Crunch, in 2002. The sudden explosion of horns on the background of a gritty, jarring punk-funk rhythm was like nothing I'd heard before, and yet at one with my youthful attraction to the melding of post-disco and post-punk sensibilities in early 1980s NYC.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What Jackson, who always seems to have pursued tougher sounds, was doing associated with Future Classic I wasn't quite sure at the time. And yet when I thought about it, despite the label's glossier and more melodic vibe (even when releasing techier fare), FC has always connected with artists and DJs who are edgier than the mainstream of house and nu-disco. There are good reasons why FC is one of Australia's best electronic labels when they wear influences like those on their sleeves.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before Jackson made it onto the main stage, a somewhat empty venue got to experience <b>Yen</b>, who managed to pique my interest with their mash of psyche-rock, Balearica and sweet pop. But while they played well, and had good ideas and interesting hooks, these locals never quite took off. It was, as one of my friends commented, a band in need of a good producer to bring out their best.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Following Yen, FC boss <b>Nathan McLay</b> played a set much like he did at last year's event: a series of what seemed like his big tracks and personal favourites of recent times, undercut by an unfortunate lack of flow. As he did, though, hundreds more people filled the Hyde Park Barracks venue, leaving it comfortably full and another popular success.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But within minutes of Trevor Jackson placing a needle on Traktor timecode vinyl any hiccups or disappointments on the night were quickly forgiven. Well, almost, as his first track (by Yacht) skipped twice because the subs under stage were heaving from its searing kick and bass.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the next two hours Jackson delivered on the promise embodied in his legend. Only recently having restarted touring as a jock, and already having starred at such respectable clubs as NYC's Guggenheim Museum (don't laugh, the DFA crew tore apart MoMA a few years ago), he skilfully negotiated modern punk-funk, dubby deep house (<b>John Daly</b>'s instant classic "This Is A Lonely Beat"), string-laden techno, snippets of old disco and italo (a cheeky line from "Funkytown" included), modern leftfield house (<b>Noze</b>) and even a cheesy pop classic (the restrained <b>Bitshit</b> re-edit of "Love Shack").</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was a vibe that allowed throbbing eighties electro-funk to consummate its long hidden love affair with glitchy, bleepy noughties tech-house. Smashing through tune after tune (his basic digital set-up seems to have given him the freedom to only play the best bits of tracks) there were occasional mixes that needed minimal technical skill but paid off in subtle or startling mood-shifts. Once again earning his reputation as a connoisseur, Jackson's set-list was only amenable to a smattering of trainspotting (what on earth was that crackling, heavy technoid take on the "Nutcracker Suite", anyway?) but that didn't stop it winning in the "hips" department—by God, this was music to dance to, and keep dancing to. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With DeLuca at the side of the stage itching to get on, Jackson raised an index finger to him as if to say "one more" and then dropped the heavenly <b>Joakim</b> re-edit of <b>Severed Heads</b>' "Dead Eyes Opened". It was a perfect finish to a brilliant and inspired set, one which read the crowd without for one second surrendering to it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To follow such brilliance would be hard even for the most experienced of DJs, but Vito DeLuca was always known as the more studio boffin member of the Aeroplane team and it seems that he has only recently started DJing on a big scale. This came across with his hesitant and sometimes messy transitions, but with the venue filling up again after the gates were thrown open from 11.30pm (as is Beck's tradition) and the average age of punters dropping by at least 10 years he banged out an unashamedly populist selection. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In fact, for all my jokes about Aeroplane (the duo) inventing "Rave Balearica" as a new subgenre during their larger-than-life performance at last year's Parklife, DeLuca went further—mixing hyper-melodic italo with euphoria-inducing poppy nu-disco and one-dimensional French electro for an overall effect that one punter described to me as "Bang Gang, only softer". In amongst it all were some faster-paced Aeroplane hits (remixes of <b>The Shortwave Set</b> and <b>Friendly Fires</b>), storming French fare (<b>Sebastien Tellier</b>) and overt pop (<b>Florence + The Machine</b>).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The kids were loving it, but it was a case of "never mind the quality, feel the width" with some of the tracks, and a far cry from the subtle and at times devastatingly emotive qualities of the Belgians' own productions. It was only when the glorious <b>Ewan Pearson</b> re-rub of <b>Junior Boys</b>' "Hazel" filtered up through the mix that things seemed to be turned right. Yet for all the limitations of DeLuca's set, he was clearly enjoying it and connecting with the Friday night mood. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unlike last year where I felt let down by uninspired performances from great talents, this year Trevor Jackson sealed the deal so well that nothing else could stain my appreciation of the night. Like festivals <i>per se</i>, the Beck's Bar is always something of a mixed bag. But Future Classic have delivered a truly superior mixed bag this time around. Great stuff!</span></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-82514031158321035072010-01-15T23:33:00.005+11:002010-03-04T20:47:21.233+11:00Trainspotted—ten of the very best<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S1BgGJVBHqI/AAAAAAAAAMU/HIoYnE4wNhY/s1600-h/Trainspotter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/S1BgGJVBHqI/AAAAAAAAAMU/HIoYnE4wNhY/s320/Trainspotter.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can imagine I was chuffed when I got asked to contribute a "top 10 tracks of the noughties list" for the Spank Records Blog. So, like, <a href="http://blog.spankrecords.com.au/spank_records_blog/2010/01/best-of-the-noughties-dj-charts-part-8.html">here</a> it is.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 32px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Kings Of Tomorrow Featuring Julie McKnight - Finally (Danny Tenaglia's Return To Paradise Mix) (Defected, 2001)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The best mix of the best house song of the noughties, Tenaglia delivers a big room tribal monster that transforms itself into a bittersweet celebration of Julie McKnight’s adoration for God. Danny feels the spiritual love and so do we. Never fails to send shivers up and down my spine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Josh One - Contemplation (King Britt Funke Mix) (1-Off Recordings, 2001)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Taking an obscure hip-hop track into the deepest of deep house tangents, King Britt teases and plays with the haunting and sexy female vocals, which inevitably spin me into trippy reverie on the dancefloor. That groove could go on forever…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tiefschwarz - You (Dub) (Classic, 2002)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The track that marked the Schwarz brothers’ transition point between copying US house and staking out their own, harsher, darker electronic style. Having come to electronic music through stateside house (whether discofied East Coast, jackin’ Chicago or trippy West Coast sounds) this track shifted my mindset further afield.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Rapture - House Of Jealous Lovers (Morgan Geist Version) (DFA, 2002)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Like a shock to the system, DFA melded two NYC aesthetics—the punk-funk of The Rapture and the electronic disco redux being pioneered by Metro Area—in a moment of prefigurative genius. Raw, visceral and immediate, this was one of the early tracks that ripped apart the constraints of genre-specific DJ sets. For me, DFA was the label of the noughties.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Golden Boy with Miss Kittin – Rippin’ Kittin (Tobi Neumann Glove Tension Dub) (Ladomat 2000, 2002)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Probably the best—and definitely the creepiest—pop song of the decade, this should have made Miss Kittin a household name. Instead it’s about as definitive an underground Teutonic singalong electro track as you can get.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Moloko – Forever More (FKEK Vocal Mix) (Echo, 2003)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In Moloko’s dying days they produced this melancholy exploration of loneliness, as if to map their own impending split. But it took my American hero Francois K to bring out the song’s full emotional impact, surprisingly doing it against a decidedly European palette of electronic house sounds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">DJ T. – Philly (Get Physical Music, 2003)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If only the Get Physical of today was the same as the Get Physical of then: a melange of styles and genres created by a friendship circle of talented producers and ideas men. It was this early electro-house track—inspired by the disco and Italo of Thomas Koch’s childhood—that was first among equals in the label’s astonishingly consistent early output. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Black Joy – Moustache (Yellow Productions, 2005)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before there was nu-disco it was called, er… new disco. Capturing the euphoria of a debauched night in an altogether too glamorous Rimini nightspot in the late 1970s, this sublimely melodic piece of French revivalism takes you high before letting you float back to the ground in a state of bliss. Irresistible.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hot Chip - No Fit State (Audion Remix) (EMI, 2006)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The scene: a grimy warehouse party in East London. The time: 5am. The mindset: twisted. And so it was that this track insinuated and gnawed its way into my fragile brain, refusing to depart no matter how many times I played it. Dark, disturbing tech-house at its best and an antidote to the soulless, empty minimalism so dominant at the time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dolle Jolle - Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje Extra Doll Mix) (Permanent Vacation, 2008)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Scandinavian nu-disco was a key part of my musical decade, but it reached its apotheosis with this flawless reimagining of an old Jean-Luc Ponty melody, so tender and enticing that the synths wash you straight into its arms. It shouldn’t work on the dancefloor: it’s long and languorous, seeming to lack punch or pay-off. But in fact this is musical foreplay that makes the sex redundant. Radiant.</span></div></span>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-28919261068441713342010-01-07T16:40:00.006+11:002010-01-07T16:43:50.980+11:00That old fashioned house music vibe...<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Seems that for me summer is the season for DJ mixes and on a whim I cranked one out today, my first o</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ne using Trakt</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">or Scratch Pro (still using SL-1200s, thank God). After quite some getting used to, Traktor has reignited my interest in house music—although I'm much happier with a more discofied and melodic style than I have been in ages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks to Soundcloud you can listen via this widget or download. Hope you like it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fdr-tad%2Ftads-house-of-melodies-mix-2010-01-07&show_comments=false&auto_play=false&color=ff0015"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fdr-tad%2Ftads-house-of-melodies-mix-2010-01-07&show_comments=false&auto_play=false&color=ff0015" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> </span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad/tads-house-of-melodies-mix-2010-01-07"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tad's House of Melodies Mix 2010-01-07</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://soundcloud.com/dr-tad">Dr Tad</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>TRACKLIST</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ronnie Dyson - All Over Your Face (John Morales After Session M&M Mix)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Neurotic Drum Band - Robotic Erotic Adventure</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">TJ Kong - The Centre Of The World</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tony Lionni - Found A Place</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">360 - Neon One</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mone - We Can Make It (The 'I Believe' Dub)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2000 And One - Spanish Fly</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Vince Watson - A Very Different World (Funk D'Void Epic Remix)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Steve Bug Featuring Gigi - Like It Should Be (Ribn's Translucent Vox Mix)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marshall Jefferson Vs. Noosa Heads - Mushrooms (Noosa Heads Remake)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stereotyp - Keepin Me (Fauna Flash Remix)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Code 718 - Equinox (Henrik Schwarz Remix)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">DPlay - Tschaka</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Source Featuring Candi Staton - You Got The Love (Fire Island Vocal Mix)</span></span><br />
</div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-17621358763413690612009-12-21T15:03:00.000+11:002009-12-21T15:03:45.962+11:00After Copenhagen—the genius of capitalism explained<object height="205" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7908590&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7908590&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="205"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/7908590">The Story of Cap & Trade</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/storyofstuff">Story of Stuff Project</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-64470479202368006842009-09-07T03:27:00.004+10:002009-09-07T09:28:25.376+10:00The land of milk and cookies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/SqPxTopwoUI/AAAAAAAAALw/KYwDKQQISpI/s1600-h/web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/SqPxTopwoUI/AAAAAAAAALw/KYwDKQQISpI/s400/web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378407699642884418" /></a><br />Travelling to North America is always a mixed blessing—it is where the biggest and worst excesses of unbridled capitalism can be seen, but it is also home to some of the most amazing cultural phenomena of our age. Just think about musical heritage of the United States... jazz, soul, funk, disco, electro, house and techno were all born within its borders.<div><br /></div><div>So, off to a psychogeriatric conference in Montreal, and my cousin's wedding in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Mississauga,+ON,+Canada&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.724817,57.128906&ie=UTF8&ll=43.616194,-79.642639&spn=0.992225,1.785278&z=9">Mississauga</a> (near Toronto) before a brief trip to NYC to see world-class emergency psychiatry services in action, I decided to immerse myself in the good (and naughty) things North America has to offer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Montreal was certainly a revelation: a modern European city located on the wrong continent. Walking the immaculate streets for hours or even exploring its amazing network of underground shopping malls, metro stations and tunnels (designed to protect you from the elements in both the heights of summer and depths of winter) this seemed such a liveable city, and without the neglect of public services and infrastructure that sadly blights Australia.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly, Montreal was reputed to be second only to NYC in its late 1970s disco scene—also a polysexual, multicultural, liberal melting pot. So when I hit the second hand record stores there were literally thousands of old 12"s waiting for me, often at stupidly low prices. I even scored a pristine, still-sealed copy of the <b><a href="http://www.discogs.com/artist/Doobie+Brothers%2C+The">Doobie Brothers</a></b>' "What A Fool Believes" in a its rare, original dance remix 5:31 minutes version, among about a dozen other fantastic finds.</div><div><br /></div><div>The city also seems to have an exciting electronic music scene, again very influenced by its European connections. In particular you can't help wondering if <b>Tiga</b>'s <a href="http://www.turborecordings.com/">Turbo Recordings</a> has been so electro-influenced in part because of Quebec's connections to Gallic culture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sadly, <b>Liz</b> wasn't able to accompany me on this trip because of her work, but this city is now top of my list of places to drag her. And those wide boulevards, grid-like street network and fashionable eateries will be sure to tickle her fancy. It's like Melbourne, only much, much better!</div><div><br /></div><div>In Mississauga for the wedding, I am once again reminded of the problems in North America. The recession has obviously struck Ontario (home to much of Canada's manufacturing base, including the auto industry... don't forget how close Detroit is to here) much harder than Quebec. There's also the size of the cars, the endless miles of freeway and the sense of all-encompassing suburbia. Mississauga itself is a rapidly-growing city—700,000 people at most recent estimate—dominated by shopping malls and towering blocks of condos (think Surfers Paradise but without the beaches or tourist trade). </div><div><br /></div><div>Nevertheless, my family lives just 20 minutes walk from the town centre in a lovely house with a huge backyard in which they grow their own organic tomatoes and right next to extensive parkland laced with bicycle paths.</div><div><br /></div><div>So <b>Kris</b> & <b>Steph</b>'s wedding was beautiful, with the wry and witty Irish-Canadian <b>Father Kelly</b> on marriage duties. The reception, many hours later thanks to a photography session that by all accounts nearly killed the bridal party, was more of a mixed blessing. There were moments of sheer magic, sheer silliness and sheer torture—but has anyone ever been to a wedding reception without all three? Special shout-out must go to <b><a href="http://www.djemporium.com/wedding/home.html">DJ Emporium</a></b> (his name or that of his business?) who managed to bring tiny speakers for a huge hall and deafen us all. :(</div><div><br /></div><div>But between wedding and reception was one of the highlights of my trip so far... sneaking off to the local supermarket to get a pack of Oreos and carton of milk with my cousin <b>Anna,</b> and then sitting on the grass by the roadside guzzling both. Spoiled for choice (see photo above) we went for the original type. The best of consumer capitalism, I say!</div><div><br /></div><div>Off to NYC tomorrow, and to see <b>Francois K</b> spin at <a href="http://www.deepspacenyc.com/">Deep Space</a> at <a href="http://www.cieloclub.com/">Cielo</a>, with the legendary dub poet <b>Mutabaruka</b> on live PA! I'll keep you all posted...</div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-68823648624916933742009-08-14T21:01:00.004+10:002009-08-14T21:16:18.739+10:00Sydney Design 09: Young Blood Designers Markets—Fail!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/SoVFbBcnmTI/AAAAAAAAALo/qK3xkM6xuOA/s400/IMG_0199.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369774461256440114" /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, like, designers markets aren't my number one Friday evening pastime, but <a href="http://www.sydneydesign.com.au/sd09/markets">this one</a> was apparently pretty great last year and so Liz and I trekked to deepest, darkest Ultimo to reach the imposing Powerhouse Museum. Word had obviously got around and so we stood waiting outside, with our friends, in the cold, in a gargantuan queue tonight. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then as we snaked closer and closer to the entrance... just 10 people from the front... we were stopped. </div><div><br /></div><div>First it was a 10 minute wait. Then 45 minutes. And then finally "sorry, it's full, we're closing". </div><div><br /></div><div>So it was back to the Cross, to <a href="http://gourmettraveller.com.au/aperitif.htm">our favourite wine bar</a>, and some amazing cocktails. Now that was a win.</div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-85741156064449690742009-08-09T17:08:00.004+10:002009-08-09T17:24:46.850+10:00Lacanian chaos<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/Sn52R-a8xkI/AAAAAAAAALg/ekg92nTMhbk/s400/thepervertsguidetocinema1.1186244997.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367857857058096706" border="0" /></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Zizek! (2005)</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizek"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Slavoj Zizek</span></a> the man sometimes appears to be as chaotic and random as this barebones documentary, but behind the frenetically waving arms, scruffy beard and near-comical self-deprecation is a towering thinker with boundless intellectual (and physical) energy. The filmmakers capture some aspects of his thought, and accurately convey his explosive creativity, but it is he and not their film that commands attention.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5 stars out of 5</span><br /><br /><br />Now, for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Pervert's Guide To Cinema</span>...</div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-7728385686916565072009-08-05T22:59:00.006+10:002009-08-05T23:08:38.016+10:00'Like a Ginsu knife'<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/SnmEPwWqu3I/AAAAAAAAALY/1BpWWNkYbbI/s1600-h/04858-ss-santoku-jpeg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/SnmEPwWqu3I/AAAAAAAAALY/1BpWWNkYbbI/s400/04858-ss-santoku-jpeg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366465837201537906" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />'I went to Chicago because a friend of mine said that I really need to see <span style="font-weight: bold;">Leonard Cohen</span>. Leonard Cohen is supposed to be the voice</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">of hi</span><span style="font-style: italic;">s generation. He’s a poet, he made music and he did whatever. I won’t deny the brilliance of his poetry. Leonard Cohen is about 75 years old. The cool thing I thought about Leonard Cohen was that he was getting on his knees. He’s doing his shtick. His shtick is he’s doing this poetry with people playing music. The poetry was probably cutting through like a sword, like a Ginsu knife. Just the sharpest-ass shit but the music was like karaoke. He had a tight-ass band but no one went outside the lines. It was like paint by numbers. Staying within the lines. That’s how music has become.'</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">—<span style="font-weight: bold;">Carl Craig</span>, interviewed in <a href="http://www.supmag.com/2009/07/12/carl-craig/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sup Magazine</span></a><br /></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-18317491956873310462009-07-23T20:21:00.006+10:002009-07-23T20:29:01.856+10:00Crimes against chinstroking<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/Smg6IBKjF9I/AAAAAAAAALI/JPSky-ILE1A/s1600-h/20080220sm_record1_500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/Smg6IBKjF9I/AAAAAAAAALI/JPSky-ILE1A/s400/20080220sm_record1_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361599265810618322" border="0" /></a><br />My <a href="http://www.inthemix.com.au/music/43574/Beatfanatic_Vinyl_Junkie_Culture">review</a> of the very fun new <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beatfanatic</span> CD.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Beatfanatic — Vinyl Junkie Culture</span></span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Sometimes a guilty pleasure overtakes you, when you know something just isn’t that groundbreaking, meaningful or deep but you can’t help loving it. And that’s what the latest excursion by Swedish producer <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beatfanatic</span> is like: pitch-perfect euphoric nu-disco mining a largely obscure yet warmly familiar bunch of samples and themes.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Not that the man is anything less than a slick and proficient craftsman, but surely something this much fun must be bad for you.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />In both this guise and a myriad of others (he’s also <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beatconductor</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Discoconductor</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jazzconductor</span>—spot a pattern here?) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ture Sjöberg</span> has produced an accomplished range of re-edits, remixes and recreations over the last half-decade, on labels like Raw Fusion, Soundscape, Spicy and G.A.M.M. And his output has certainly been varied—not scared to churn out traditional soul and funk sounds, broken beats or even slamming house rhythms.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />But on this latest compilation it’s all smooth-as Balearic hedonics and he pulls it off deliciously. The CD quickly moves from the bleepy, low-slung "Automatic" to the soaring cheesiness of "Fly Away", before settling through the sweet vocal loops of mid-tempo groover "In This Life". Then it’s the funkified, hip-grinding delights of "A Soulful Mode" and the moody, <span style="font-weight: bold;">John Carpenteresque</span> cinematic chill of "In Heaven".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"Sharpskin Boogiestomp" pilfers <span style="font-weight: bold;">Vangelis</span>’ legendary "Let It Happen" (a track already brilliantly reworked by Beatfanatic a few years ago) while "Guide" is all nu-soul goodness. "Prince Of Darkness" wouldn’t be out of place in an <span style="font-weight: bold;">Idjut Boys</span> set with its combination of blaring brass section and dramatic, cosmic synths. On the other hand, "Berlin Calling" is deep, dubby, melodic tech-house and "Bombay Billie" tips its hat to the late, great <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mr Jackson</span> before veering off somewhere altogether different. Only CD closer "Nautonnier" strikes a bland note—a jazzy deep houser that runs too close its early-noughties formula.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If you’ve come to taste the latest masterwork by the likes of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lindstrom</span>, maybe <span style="font-style: italic;">Vinyl Junkie Culture</span> will come off a bit obvious and lacking in chinstroke potential. But an utter pleasure it still manages to be.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Guilty as charged.</span>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3414267942280000400.post-17571152350273693962009-07-23T20:02:00.009+10:002009-07-23T20:15:15.854+10:00Down the drain<div><br /></div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vD9SRyz7_Yo/Smg1n2ZqdGI/AAAAAAAAALA/pf2TGwQRkas/s400/1---Toilet-716266.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361594315118900322" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div>So Dimitri <a href="http://www.inthemix.com.au/events/reviews/43309/SHE_ft_Dimitri_From_Paris_Piano_Room_Trademark_Sydney_260609">didn't go down all that well</a>...<div><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">SHE featuring Dimitri From Paris @ Piano Room & Trademark,</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >26.06.09</span><br /><br />How to explain my disappointment?</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">You see, while never having seen him DJ before, I have been an unashamed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dimitri From Paris</span> fan since the late 1990s when his amazing <span style="font-style: italic;">Mixmag </span>CD was released hot on the heels of his debut artist album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Sacre Bleu</span>. What grabbed me then was his effortless blending of disco motifs with a range of contemporary styles… trippy deep house and electronica on the mix CD and lush, experimental chill-out and trip-hop on the album.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Since then his career has climbed much higher, commercially if not always artistically. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Playboy</span> discs have had moments of crossover genius even if they have often failed to create the same kind of <span style="font-style: italic;">jouissance</span> as earlier efforts. And when looking further back to his underground edits of the 1990s or forward to his ability to oversee retro compilations with a keen ear for both the crowd pleasing and the obscure (that awful <span style="font-style: italic;">Cocktail Disco</span> thing excepted), you just had to admire the guy. Right up to the latest, stunning release, Nightdubbin’, restoring faith for those who thought Dimitri is just a cash cow these days.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Finally, there were the reports of cleverly crafted DJ sets. Yes, sometimes erring on the side of just copying the tracklists of his latest mix CDs, but solid, fun and floor-grabbing performances.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />So I think the letdown last Friday was particularly acute. Because, frankly, Dimitri was a bore.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t because he played “too commercial”. There were plenty of tracks I’d never heard. And he could hardly be accused of running a promotional tour for Nightdubbin’—boogie tracks were few and far between. It was that both his sets—disco in the Piano Room and a mixture of big-room disco and house in Trademark—lacked flow, relied too much on bland sounds and failed to create a mood or groove. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />So here’s how the night went:</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />(1) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Jackson</span> dies. World in shock.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(2) Get into Piano Room despite lack of collared shirt, lack of my name on their list (thanks Graham, thanks Al the door dude!).</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(3) Sound in Piano Room pretty awful beyond the (miniscule) dancefloor. Rammed beyond human comprehension.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(4) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bobby Disco</span> plays nice pitched-down house sound but then makes some mixing fuck-ups. Oops. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(5) Dimitri comes on and plays, barely getting the throng revved up until near the end. Promising start with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sharon Redd</span>’s "Can You Handle It", but then apart from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tata Vega</span> and a little Italo it’s all dullsville until a flurry of predictable big tunes in the last half-hour: "Lady Marmalade", the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Todd Terje Bee Gees</span> remix, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Diana Ross</span>’ "The Boss", a really awful re-edit of "Relight My Fire" and finishing on "Love Sensation". The mixing is OK, with a correct use of cutting rather than blends, but there’s no drama, no tension.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(6) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Danny DeSousa</span> takes over, straight away upping the quirkiness level with <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Christie</span>’s "Saddle Up" and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gino Soccio</span>’s "Try It Out", making me realise that this is what Dimitri lacked in his 90 minutes.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(7) Swing into Trademark. Note that this is <span style="font-weight: bold;">not</span> the gentrified end of the venue. At least there’s more energy around.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(8) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Graham Cordery</span> playing big favourites—"Relight My Fire" (but the good, original version), SHE anthems, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fire Island</span>’s version of "There But For The Grace Of God". Punters lapping it up.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />(9) Dimitri comes on, looking more animated than in Piano Room. Crowd just as rammed and floor just as hard to navigate. Starts with piano-house version of "Keep The Fire Burning" before swinging through to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Phyllis Hyman</span>’s "You Know How To Love Me", and sending people higher with <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Sunburst Band</span>’s classic "Garden Of Love" and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ashford & Simpson</span>’s "Found A Cure". But then he surprises with his new remix of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Darryl Pandy</span>’s "Just Came To Party"—all late 80s Chicago goodness—following up with a similarly jackin’ instrumental track and then <span style="font-weight: bold;">Alcatraz</span>’ "Give Me Luv" (when was the last time you heard that out?!?). Sure it’s not subtle, but at least there’s a buzz happening.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(10) I trudge home, pondering what went wrong. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />So, how to explain my disappointment? Was he in mourning for MJ? Was he jetlagged? Was the venue the right place yet not the right place? You can hardly blame the promoters or the crowd… all reports are that last time Dimitri played SHE he was firing on all cylinders. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So, maybe next time.<br /><br />Or maybe I should stick to the CDs.</span><br /></div>Dr_Tadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728540288447347803noreply@blogger.com1