The pleasure-meets-pain principle

After a small delay in them getting it up on the site, here is my review of Ewan Pearson's latest mix CD on Inthemix (link here or text below). 

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.

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).

Nice to bump into fellow blogger Shortino. In the silliness of the moment I not only managed to harass the ever warm and friendly Mr Pearson for track names for my compadre, I even tweeted them. #tweetlikerichiehawtin I say!

Ewan Pearson – We Are Proud Of Our Choices

When Ewan Pearson and co-author Jeremy Gilbert wrote their academic text on dance music, Discographies (Routledge, 1999) they drew on influential currents in cultural and political theory from Lacan to Derrida and Butler 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 jouissance (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.

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.

Starting in poppy electronica territory with the Gold Panda remix of Lemonade’s "Bliss Out, he is soon traversing delicate tech-house with tracks from A Ldric, Ivan Smagghe & Roman Flugel, and Lusine. 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 Neville Watson’s "Full Flight" explodes into frenzied analogue handclaps. Suddenly an unassuming mix is forcing you to take notice.

From here things get techier, stripped back, with more than a hint of dubbiness. But by the time YOSA’s "Margaret" makes its plaintive cry things are ready to take a turn back to big, haunting melodies from Gregor Tresher (a Petar Dundov remix reminiscent of Dosem’s "Beach Kisses"). This is quickly followed by menacing-as-fuck teutonic vocals from Xenia Beliayeva on Systematic and the driving prog of Chris Fortier before further brain-bending house from Al Usher (remixed by rising star John Talabot) and B.d.i. Decisively pummelled with this sustained finale we get a bonus encore thanks to the sweetness of Little Dragon and Bot’Ox, proving once again Pearson’s ear for pop hooks.

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.

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.

Tracklist

Lemonade - Bliss Out (Gold Panda Remix) / Pitch And Hold - We Have Come To Bless Dave Smith

A Ldric - Birds On Tree

Rmnvn - Uno

Lusine - Cirrus

Wah Chu Ku - T Times Too

Yukihiro Fukotomi / Foog - Open Our Eyes

Neville Watson - Full Flight

Taron-Trekka - Shiroi

Hot Natured - Equilibrium

DXR - Faderpushing Sunday

Yosa - Margaret

Gregor Tresher - The Life Wire (Petar Dundov Variation)

Xenia Beliayeva - Analog Effekt

Chris Fortier - Sunday Is A Travel Day (Ink & Needle's Skybed Remix)

Al Usher - Silverhum (John Talabot's Wilderness Remix)

B.D.I. - City & Industry (World Balloon Dub Mix)

Little Dragon - Fortune (World Of Apples' Cosmic Edit)

Bot'ox - Blue Steel

Straight outta Porirua

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 de rigueur 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 Herbert, Chris Duckenfield (he the greatest house DJ on the planet), Hot Chip and Moodymann being among the guests in recent years, the gig has generally been a synthesis of a loose party and serious artistic aspirations.

But as I bought tickets last November, my Festival program was noticeably sans 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 Recloose and Frank Booker 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.

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 (this one and this one) 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.

When I got there Simon Caldwell was keeping the vibe distinctly deep and chuggy, with recent faves like MCDE's "Raw Cuts #3" and Precious System's "The Voice From Planet Love", before taking a sharp turn into electro-funk territory with a Crispin J Glover stormer on the long-defunct Nuphonic label.

Then Recloose, Frank and vocalist Mara TK appeared on the main stage to smash out the live version of their Hit It And Quit It 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 Hot Mix 5 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 joie de vivre of the performance (not to mention the exuberance of the punters).

Starting in resolutely boogiefied territory with Unlimited Touch's "Love Explosion" alongside newbies like Escort's "Starlight", they moved into more uptempo fare by dropping the likes of "Disco Circus" and the near-perfection of Black Joy'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 Joe Dukie 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 Was Not Was' politically-charged yet super-cute anti-Reagan diatribe "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming". 

Then it was back to Simon, Ken Cloud 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.

Stunning output

A year ago I reviewed Future Classic's Beck's Festival Bar event at the Sydney Festival, leaving pleased but somewhat underwhelmed (here or here). But with Trevor Jackson headlining in 2010 I snapped up tickets as early as the Festival presale last year, long before Vito DeLuca of Belgian duo Aeroplane was announced as support.

Jackson played a vital role in the development of my interest in music outside the house spectrum, especially when I heard Morgan Geist's flawless (yet rough around the edges) revision of The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers", an early DFA release distributed also on Jackson's seminal Output label. I still remember the first time I heard it, played in an early set by local DJ Michael X 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.

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.

Before Jackson made it onto the main stage, a somewhat empty venue got to experience Yen, 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.

Following Yen, FC boss Nathan McLay 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.

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.

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 (John Daly'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 (Noze) and even a cheesy pop classic (the restrained Bitshit re-edit of "Love Shack").

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. 

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 Joakim re-edit of Severed Heads' "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.

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. 

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 The Shortwave Set and Friendly Fires), storming French fare (Sebastien Tellier) and overt pop (Florence + The Machine).

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 Ewan Pearson re-rub of Junior Boys' "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. 

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 per se, 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!

Trainspotted—ten of the very best

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, here it is.

Kings Of Tomorrow Featuring Julie McKnight - Finally (Danny Tenaglia's Return To Paradise Mix) (Defected, 2001)

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.

Josh One - Contemplation (King Britt Funke Mix) (1-Off Recordings, 2001)

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…

Tiefschwarz - You (Dub) (Classic, 2002)

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.

The Rapture - House Of Jealous Lovers (Morgan Geist Version) (DFA, 2002)

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.

Golden Boy with Miss Kittin – Rippin’ Kittin (Tobi Neumann Glove Tension Dub) (Ladomat 2000, 2002)

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.

Moloko – Forever More (FKEK Vocal Mix) (Echo, 2003)

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.

DJ T. – Philly (Get Physical Music, 2003)

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.

Black Joy – Moustache (Yellow Productions, 2005)

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.

Hot Chip - No Fit State (Audion Remix) (EMI, 2006)

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.

Dolle Jolle - Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje Extra Doll Mix) (Permanent Vacation, 2008)

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.

That old fashioned house music vibe...

Seems that for me summer is the season for DJ mixes and on a whim I cranked one out today, my first one using Traktor 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.

Thanks to Soundcloud you can listen via this widget or download. Hope you like it.

Tad's House of Melodies Mix 2010-01-07 by Dr Tad

TRACKLIST
Ronnie Dyson - All Over Your Face (John Morales After Session M&M Mix)

Neurotic Drum Band - Robotic Erotic Adventure

TJ Kong - The Centre Of The World

Tony Lionni - Found A Place

360 - Neon One

Mone - We Can Make It (The 'I Believe' Dub)

2000 And One - Spanish Fly

Vince Watson - A Very Different World (Funk D'Void Epic Remix)

Steve Bug Featuring Gigi - Like It Should Be (Ribn's Translucent Vox Mix)

Marshall Jefferson Vs. Noosa Heads - Mushrooms (Noosa Heads Remake)

Stereotyp - Keepin Me (Fauna Flash Remix)

Code 718 - Equinox (Henrik Schwarz Remix)

DPlay - Tschaka

The Source Featuring Candi Staton - You Got The Love (Fire Island Vocal Mix)