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Solid Sleep

Hi, we're pretty excited about this Friday's techno double header of Sleeparchive and Substance at the Underground in Dublin. It's the first time that they have shared a bill in our fair city, and we're so excited that we're giving some guest list action to some lucky boys and girls. To be in with a chance to get a freebie, just answer the following question correctly.

Which one of these records is NOT a release by Sleeparchive?

Is it 

a) Hadron

b) Hospital Tracks

c) Trax on Da Rocks

Please send your answer to testpromotions@gmail.com and we'll notify the winners by lunchtime on Friday. I'll post an amazing set by DJ Pete aka Substance tomorrow when I get a chance...

Tuning out

It's very sad that Ferenc has decided to call time on CBS. Citing the reasons for its closure, he said that it boiled down to numbers -  not enough people tuned in. It must be so frustrating for him, given that he dedicated five years of his life for free on a  project that not enough people appreciated. You can't keep a good guy down though, and he'll be back with something equally impressive soon. In the meantime, Robot DJ is still around and a CBS-related forum, has sprung up. The robots have risen again! Also, big thanks to Kenny at ISM for his review of the Dopplereffekt gig. I think he pretty much nailed what we were trying to achieve. In some ways, I'm relieved that the gig is over because it took up so much of my spare time over the past few months, but equally, I'm honoured to have been part of it.

Myth making

There is a gaping chasm of truth between what is written, said and discussed about many 'underground' artists and what is actually true. I feel that techno is especially prone to this mythmaking process because it has no stars, there are no hits, it doesn’t make its way into the mainstream media and there is no dedicated radio or TV to support it. No wonder that most of the exposure for this music has migrated online. Add in the fact that most people who make techno don’t really want to be in the limelight, have their photo taken or want to be famous - this facelessness and lack of egotism is something I have always found especially endearing: unfortunately, it’s not always apparent, but that point is sufficient for a whole new post  - and there is ample room to make up stories about techno’s heroes.It can be amusing to hear that so and so only makes music on a Wednesday or that a well-known label signed three EPs and an album from an esteemed electro act because that act wrapped the label owner’s 3-series BMW around a tree, but this also means that it’s disappointing when confronted with the normal, humdrum reality of the artist’s existence. I’m not a fan of PR firms, but, faced with the alternative, an artist who won’t do interviews or be photographed, then it’s not hard to understand why the myth making process starts. This is adopted and often embellished by the fan base and the myth gains credibility. As the artist refuses to comment or speak publicly, it is impossible to confirm or repudiate the rumours. The myth becomes reality. Maybe we’ll never know the truth about some of the artists we love and maybe trying to do so is to spectacularly miss the point – in the end, they’re all lying in the same gutter as us: they’re just reaching for the stars, and maybe that’s all that really counts.

Sounds of the summer part 2

In what is becoming something of a regular feature on this here website, here are my thoughts on some more records that have been exciting me over the past few weeks: I was never a good trainspotter because I couldn't and still can't undestand the thrill people got from having every record by a certain producer or a particular label in their collection. Catalogue numbers interest me almost as little as train timetables, so owning a rare pressing of an old release is irrelevant. I'm sure I have a few valuable records in my collection -  one being 'The Journey Home' by Drexciya on Warp (although it's possible there has been a re-pressing) - but it never really meant much to me. I am far too interested in what the sounds are like than who has made them, and that facelessness, that possibility that this music could be made by anyone, was one of the things that endeared me to techno music in the first place. This is all a roundabout way of saying that I don't really have much idea who is behind Morphosis's 'Dark Myths of Phoenicia Part 2' on Morphine Doser, but it doesn't really matter. I played this record out last Saturday and its layered rush of electronic textures sounded ridiculously powerful over a sound system, compared to the previous record (to spare any blushes, I won't say who it was). Maybe it's the mastering, but the beats and snares really pack a punch. It's the perfect combination that so many house/techno producer strive for, the earthy rawness combined with the dreamstate melodies, but so few achieve. Speaking of lofty achievements, I notice that Claro Intelecto is bookending his 'Warehouse Sessions' series with a fifth and final installment. 'Hunt You Down' is the track for me, a return to the cavernous bass sounds that launched the series, but this time laced with cheeswire percussion. It sounds deceptively mellow at home, but assumes a much more powerful persona at higher volumes.

Speaking of emotions and identities, Cassy Britton has just released her second EP on her own label. While it doesn't signal a radical departure from her previous releases on Perlon and Beatstreet etc, it does see her consolidate and perfect her style. The basslines are tougher and meatier and her tendency towards stripped back, jacking rhythms remain, but the centrepiece, as usual, is that voice. Maybe it's because there are so few proper vocalists in electronic dance music -  I'm not counting samples of Martin Luther King, snippets of guys saying 'I go deep', girls screaming 'higher' or something similar, or worst of all those ridiculous pitchbent, hiccuping Minus 'techno vocals' - or it's just because her smoky, bluesy tones are just so distinctive and always hint at a traumatic chapter in her life: on 'Night To Remember' she was singing about 'the night I got changed', here, on 'April' (I think), she sings what sounds like 'love me, leave me, everybody want me'. I could be alone here, but her vocals and their velied message, combined with her new-old school compositions are utterly seductive. Finally, Shed had yet to make an impression on me -  until he remixed Substance's 'Relish'. Forget about the other versions, it's the main one that takes precedence, with a chord sequence that builds and filters to form such an all-encompassing arc that it threatens to overpower the solid beats and razor-sharp percussion on which it is built. Can't wait for for his debut album...

Dopcast

Here's a  little podcast taster to get you in the mood for this Saturday's show -  the Irish debut of Dopplereffekt at the Sugar Club, Dublin. Doors are at 7pm and some tickets are still available from City Discs, Beat Finder and Spindizzy. There will also be some tickets on the door...

:) 

Nightlife protest

I usually steer clear of politics on this site, but anyone who lives in Dublin (or, time permitting, elsewhere in Ireland) should really go to the Give Us The Night demonstration outside the Dail (Irish parliament) today (Wednesday) at 1pm. We are protesting about the Irish government's plan to push through a new Bill governing the sale of alcohol. Part of this new Bill, should it become law, will make nightclubs close even earlier than they do at present (usually around 3am). It never ceases to amaze me that Ireland has the youngest population in Europe and punches well above its weight in terms of DJs ad live acts who perform here, yet the scene is stymied by the most draconian licensing laws in the EU, and by ultra-conservative politicians with kneejerk responses to social problems (eg binge drinking, which, no one denies, is something that needs to be tackled -  but not by prohibitive measures). Anyway, get down on your lunch break and make some noise to register your disgust with the powers that be...