Ferrer to Middling

What do people make of Dennis Ferrer? I've just had a few listens to his 'Black Man In Outer Space' release as Son of Raw, and while I'm impressed by his production style, I'm left wondering what the hype is all about. Ferrer's been putting out records for over a decade, and like a lot of his previous releases, 'Black Man...' is based on the shuffling, skipping groove that formed the basis for the New York garage sound in the 90s, the pre speed and 2-step variety. That's not a criticism per se, but it makes me wonder why he's only getting the plaudits now. There's no doubt that he excels at making beats: the drums on 'Black Man...' are heavy and thick, and have a depth that is all too rare, but how come himself and Jerome Sydenham have only got the props in Europe in the past two years? Have people on this side of the pond really been unaware of these guys and labels like Ibadan and King Street for this long - and have they only got turned on to them once they got sick of stripped back techno? Was this the warmth that was needed to melt the minimal heart?

Comments

[tom/pipecock]

dennis and jerome have been doing some really nice melodic techno/house type stuff for years now. "sandcastles" is an awesome jam, we were banging that one out here in pittsburgh back in 03. even though their sound can be a bit UR-by-numbers at times, its still nice to see them get some props for their shit.

[EC]

simple : richie hawtin played one his records.

[chrisdisco]

while i dont think it is quite as simple as richie playing them (ricardo, luciano and loco dice seem much more likely), it does seem to be part of the resurgence of deep house. and i think the difference is that many of the people now listening to deep house are coming to it through/from 'minimal' and their backgrounds are more techno than house. so i think many are discovering these guys for the first time, because it is a sound they havent been listening to before. i have a feeling that the excellent new prosumer + murat tepeli album will continue this trend - introducing old chicago house via the backdoor, if you will.

[Tad]

For someone like me who came to techno (and even a flirtation with minimal) after first liking late 90s deep house, Jerome and Dennis' music is like coming back home when I hear it among a current club set.
When I was on honeymoon in NYC recently I heard Willie Graff play a terrific set at Cielo that straddled these kinds of productions and a more European techno sound.
I suspect part of the problem was a disdain for US house among many in the English and European club scenes. Certainly here in Australia you were just considered uncool for listening to that kind of stuff. In fact, music that's sexy and to which one can wiggle their hips was virtually outlawed among the cognoscenti for a while there. How would the likes of Prosumer cope?
But maybe the way that some sounds are shut out of the loop gives them the space to develop and mature independently. So when they burst forth again they have a freshness they couldn't have if everyone was being influenced by everyone all of the time.

[Jacob W]

Um, King Street garage stuff used to get shitloads of European play in the mid to late 90s and I remember several Sydenham tunes being reasonably big hits in garage clubs in the UK e.g. "Powder" (with Kerri Chandler). So it's not a case of them never having been popular just of having come back into the spotlight again.

[tom/pipecock]

but are the crowds in garage clubs in the UK years ago the same as the crowd listening to it now? their tunes definitely weren't as techno influenced back then, that is for sure.

[Tad]

Yeah, the point is about WHO is listening to Dennis now. Not the same crowd/scene.
The last time he was in Sydney he got booked by one of the cheesiest house promoters and had a miserable gig by all accounts. I wouldn't have ventured there (or gotten past the door in all likelihood) despite loving his recent sounds.