Event Reviews
Take Home a Slice of Fabric 10th Birthday Cake – Ivan Smagghe Mix
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
It took them a while but here it is, a small slice of the fabric 10th birthday for you to take home, courtesy of Ivan Smagghe. His set from Sunday evening was definitely one of the highlight sets from the weekend, slotted in between the formidable Terry Francis and the supremo Steve Bug, Ivan pitched his set just right to set room 1 alight. So sit back, listen and enjoy, and if you were there re-live a few memories. Also don’t forget the Smaggster will be down at fabric again to see the new year in. Check our NYE guide here for more details, or skip the decision making and buy tickets from Ticketweb.
You can download the mix from here, just right click save as, or stream it from the player below.
Weekend Party Round Up – DDD, Lost In the Loft, Superfreq and Disco Bloodbath
Friday, November 13th, 2009 | Event Preview, Event Reviews | No Comments
Gale force winds, torrential rain but despite the forces of nature there is still plenty of things on for the folk of London town. We’ve got parties hundreds of feet high, we’ve got new warehouses, we’ve got lofts and we’ve got our old favourites. But before we get into that let me reminisce about last weekend.
Disco Bloodbath continued their sound system travels around north east London locations last weekend. Previous Bloodbaths that I have been to always tended to be held in various ironic Dalston clubs which were always great fun. But with its astronomic rise to popularity over the last few years it was just getting harder and harder to pack everyone in to those sweaty basements. On Saturday they set up shop at a warehouse on Bocking Street and I have to say it was a great location. The space was just perfect for the size of crowd. Furthermore it was in an actual warehouse with real warehouse pillars and high ceilings rather than a mock warehouse which is actually a car park under some railway arches. › Continue reading
Contakt Pushes DJing to Gig Status – Contakt @ Brixton Academy Review
Friday, October 30th, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
Since the mid nineties the DJ turned into the super star DJ. No longer was the DJ some person that happened to be playing records in the background, they were thrust into the limelight, they became centre stage and elevated above the crowd, they became closer to becoming the rock star. Well at the end of September Richie Hawtin and the Contakt bunch stepped DJing that little bit closer from merely playing records to putting on a full blown show. Gone are the dark sweaty dingy small clubs; in are the arena sized live venues. No more will the single sweeping blue light and occasional strobe keep the crowds visually entertained, it must be 30ft high LED screens with intricate graphics. Production values now rival a rock gig. But is that what clubbing and dance music is all about? Had Richie Hawtin pushed the concept too far away from its roots? There had been a lot of apprehension on whether the London Contakt show would be any good founded on some of the issues from last year along with a bit of a Minus backlash with people growing tired of their sound for being too cold and too clinical. There were also qualms about the venue, the ticket price and just a general feeling of tiredness from the whole idea. Leading into the show/gig/party, expectations seemed pretty low with a general feeling of well I’ll pop along to see what its like plus I’ll get to hear a bit of Hawtin.
I happened to pop along too and to answer my questions – it can be; I don’t think so, he’s having a go at trying something new; the venue worked; and finally was it any good – a resounding yes! › Continue reading
15 Hours of Party Perfection – Fabric 10th Birthday Review
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | Event Reviews | 3 Comments
Pictures by Nick Ensing and Nik Torrens from Resident Advisor
The last 10th birthday I attended was about nineteen odd years ago on a Saturday afternoon and it consisted of a bouncy castle, some jelly and ice cream along with a goody bag full of sweets and a slice of cake. Fabric’s 10th birthday however was to say the least a little different. I didn’t really see any jelly and ice cream on offer, although there were bananas and a BBQ for nutritional support. It was lacking a bouncy castle, although you could say the mechanical rodeo bull was a grown up version of it. And the only goody bag you were likely to see would have been the inside of a body bag due to excessive celebration. But what fabric lacked in traditional 10th birthday festivities they totally made up for with their 30 hour marathon and the most impeccable line-up you would ever lay eyes on. The hardest decision was not whether to go but when to go. The guarded set times along with the massive array of talent that were going to play meant you either stayed for the two whole days to catch everyone or picked your time wisely to catch as much as possible.
Despite all the birthday options going off across the capital I ended up plumping for the quite civilised (really? do civilised people do this?) Sunday morning arrival with a quiet Saturday night under my belt. The first taste of fabric came thundering through the floorboards of Smiths, the bar next door to fabric. Popping in to start the day with a fry up, a quick glance across the bar saw a mix of glee and confusion on the faces of the other diners as their plates vibrated across the table to the bass and beats of room 1 pounding through the floor. Quite a surreal experience, especially for those just there for their Sunday paper read and breakfast.
As surreal experiences go that was just the first for the day. On entering the club it was odd to see club casualties crashing out with massive smiles on their faces ready to be replaced by fresh faced party revellers. It was going to be interesting to see how well the sober new comers would mix with the inebriated after partiers, › Continue reading
The Bank Holiday Just Stomped Right Through All Over My Brain | Garnier, Villalobos & Secretsundaze
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
Now that I’ve picked up the pieces (Yes its been three weeks..) its time to talk about the bank holiday weekend that recently stomped all over my brain. The first outing was way out at matter, where the French master Laurent Garnier was down to show off his new live show. Unfortunately being a working man meant it was a bit tough getting back and mustering up the energy to head straight back out again, so I didn’t end up getting down to the club till gone midnight and therefore missed the whole live show. Not to worry as I’ll be catching it at Sonar and Worldwide festival this year. But what I did catch was the mighty Francois K who did his usual trick of coming on and obliterating any warm up. It’s not a bad thing because it does often work and that night it picked the night up in the right direction. However I think he might have scared some of the after work drinks crowd with the blistering tunes he was playing.
The crowd itself wasn’t as busy as I thought it was going to be. Usually a Garnier gig is a road block event. Maybe it was, but with matter being so huge it comfortably held everyone with plenty of room to dance. The rest of the club wasn’t used though with room 2 being closed early on or all night and › Continue reading
Madlib & J.Rocc @ Deviation, Fabric Review
Sunday, May 31st, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
Here at EarPipe we do like to venture off the house and techno path every so often, so last Tuesday we headed down for the delayed Madlib & J.Rocc gig for Deviation. After missing his flight the previous week, the anticipation for Tuesday’s gig was at swine flu fever point. Getting into Fabric at 11pm the crowd had packed into Room 1 to get the best view and sound for Madlib’s arrival. Keeping the crowd warm was original Beat Junkie member J.Rocc. He was dropping funky classics such as Apache and They Reminisce into deeper stuff from Dilla and MF Doom. He even dropped Beastie Boys Paul Revere which had my guts rumbling like nobody’s business. For the best part he had the crowd eating out his palm.
Towards the end of J.Rocc’s set Madlib comes out and MCs live over loads of Madvillain and MF Doom stuff which sends the crowd berserk. J Rocc DJing and Madlib MCing, things look like › Continue reading
Some Fun Things Been Happening Over The Last Couple Weeks | Secretsundaze, Eastern Electrics and Superfreq!!
Sunday, May 17th, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
- Image by Paul at Vision7Media
This weekend has been relatively quiet (and a little wet) so I’ve had a bit of time to tell you where I’ve been. First, two weeks ago was yet another bank holiday weekend and the Sunday was set as the big night since Saturday was reserved for watching a fat Manc get decked by a cheeky chappy Phillipino. Anyways Secretsundaze started their summer of events with their opening party on the THAT terrace out in the middle of nowhere (well no where in Greenwich with no Jubilee line). It was touch and go whether the weather was going to be good but Mother Nature for once pulled through and the terrace was to be blessed with sunshine all afternoon. Sunshine, drinking and outdoor dancing is just a great combination. The crowd were really up for it and despite some pretty shaky mixing, apparently due to some technical difficulties, the party still went off. Brothers Vibe did a great job of changing up gears from evening to night whilst Melon was knocking out some great grooving house beats. Move D early on was good but maybe a little too deep for my liking. Being tired and hungover whilst hearing some laid back deep grooves can make one a little sleepy however it did go well with the sunshine and glamorous crowd. So despite the awkward location and shaky mixing Secretsundaze was in my eyes a success. › Continue reading
EarPipe’s Things We’ve Liked and Are Looking Forward To
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | Event Preview, Event Reviews | No Comments
- Photo From Resident Advisor
Sorry for being a bit slow on the posts front recently. Its mainly down to me being found at weekends crawling around the floor of darkened rooms playing repetitive electronic music. That said I want to tell you about a few of those excursions.
Firstly way back at the end of February we got invited to the launch of Nic Fanciulli’s Saved Sessions at matter. The brand spanking new club was ideal for the heavy weight line up that Nic had brought in. Nic Fanciulli himself played a brilliantly judged tech house to techno set, whilst the the comedy techno antics of Green Velvet blew the socks off many a bewildered tourist clubber. The New York legend Francois K then smashed it home leaving only the lovers of techno to revel in the ridiculous bass that the matter sound system pumps out. Hopefully this is the start of a beautiful residency. Judging by the next Saved Sessions it sure will be. Derrick Carter vs DJ Sneak, Dennis Ferrer, Theo Parrish, Jerome Sydenham and Will Saul!?!?!?!?!?!?Surely i’ve died and woken up in US house heaven?
Fast-forward a couple of weeks and we’re down at East Village where Prologue had brought in Norman Jay for a bit of Good Times magic. I was worried whether Norman Jay was a one trick pony with his chesse-a-thon sets as seen at Carnival. However I was happily proved wrong as he dug out some great house music to have the basement turned up to gas mark nine. › Continue reading
The Sonar Report 2008: EarPipe Limps into Sunday
Sunday, September 7th, 2008 | Event Reviews, Events | No Comments
As we head into the dark and gloomy winter months we should really conclude what actually happened on the last two days of EarPipe’s Sonar weekend. In previous parts we told you about our escapades at La Terrazza with the Soma boys, our thirst for mojitos, the booty shakin breaks of Diplo and the mind warping sounds of Contakt. In our third and final instalment, we’ll be covering our haggered limp across the finish line from Saturday to Monday.
To kick Saturday off earPipe caught the Dirty presents showcase at the Sonar Dome. Until that day we had never heard of Dirty and their collection of French DJs and producers. Some digging about and it turns out these guys run a not for profit website hailing from Paris called d-i-r-t-y.com, where they release edits and compilations as well as run a bi monthly party. Their sound is a real mixed bag of stuff. Pilooski on his own was dropping all kinds of down tempo beats from soul classics edited in the Dirty way right through to upbeat disco and electro. He then followed his own set with Pentile on his joint live project called Discodeine. Together they combined the brash, rawness of electro with the funk of disco, but it’s not in your face jump around electro like their fellow country men Justice make; it’s more calculated, restrained and twisted.
To finish the Dirty showcase, Pilooski took to the stage once again as part of the Dirty Sound System where the whole team just ripped the SonarDome to pieces. Playing a French blend of their trademark electro sound they had the marquee bopping about like lunatics. Definitely people to catch again in the future.
Back over in the Sonar Village, The Field, a one man production extravaganza was creating his epic soundscapes for sun lavished crowds. His productions are in one word beautiful, it is the way that they twist and turn in a pleasurable but not overpowering wall of sound. It is kind of minimal, but not through the ethos of removing elements more so minimal in the way his music progresses. The soaring sounds fit snugly for the late afternoon slot just as those mojitos were beginning to hit home once again.
EarPipe’s final stop off for the day was purely for comedy value. Inside at the SonarComplex DJ Scotch Egg had been mounting his Osaka Invasion all afternoon. If you haven’t heard of Scotch Egg, he is basically a mental Japanese fella who bangs out hardcore gabba music with an 8 bit computer game take on things, though a combination of gameboys, megaphones, distortion and a bit of crowd participation by throwing scotch eggs at them. Is Mr Egg avant garde? Probably not. It is however completely nuts music and really can’t be taken seriously by anyone on this planet. Its shear insanity and the fact that it could give you a brain haemorrhage, nose bleed, as well as make your ears bleed and induce an epileptic fit kind of makes it so entertaining and a little intriguing. If you don’t believe me watch these videos. Scotch Egg 1. Scotch Egg 2.
For the final visit to Sonar by Night, EarPipe manages to catch the last half of Soulwax on their Weekend Never Dies tour. We always enjoy the energy they create as they relentlessly plough through their songs, rarely stopping for breath. It’s a whirlwind show and their drummer must be one of the hardest working out there. Interesting takes on Daft Punk’s Robot Rock as well as their classics NY Lips and E-Talking. These guys have played Sonar for the last few years and they have always put on a great show.
Next up for EarPipe was Dubfire out in the SonarLab. The Deep Disher was flying solo in his new “back to my roots” techno persona. We did enjoy his set of techno beats, but we did feel a bit sterile afterwards. There were some great tunes in there, but on the whole the set just didn’t seem very imaginative. It was an onslaught of typical techno tunes which were fun but not really that memorable. If Dubfire wants to shake of the shackles of Deep Dish then he’s going to have to try harder. However it was great when he dropped his recent remix of Radioslave’s Grindhouse Tool.
Sonar’s grand finale came down to the legendary Ricardo Villalobos. Over the past year the guy has been brilliant, so what better a setting than the outside SonarPub with the sun rising in the early morning sky and a few thousand revellers ready to go completely mad. Ricardo’s set was nothing short of breathtaking. Probably being on the right side of inebriated, his mixing was tight and tune selection playful. Effortlessly cherry picking South American influenced percussive house and techno through to the down right heavy balls to the wall stuff. The cheekiness and range which he can play is something that many DJs envy. Evidence of this was when he dropped Sis’ Trompeta, which is basically this year’s Heater. But despite it being a corny track, its silly sample was perfectly apt to end a weekend of debauchery and serious electronic music, and like last year at Exit when Heater dropped, it erupted in various gypsy-esque dances. Keeping command of his crowd to the very end he rounds of preceedings with house classic Lil’ Louis’ French Kiss. Perfect.
And so ends another year at Sonar. Three days and two nights of great music, great atmosphere and plenty of mojitos. However it doesn’t stop there. On the Sunday Secretsundaze happened to be keeping the party spirit alive by doing their Sunday shenanigans at La Terrazza. It was an ideal club which completely encompasses what Secretsundaze is all about and what it should be ideally in the UK, open air with plenty of sunshine, a great crowd and the highest order of house you can imagine. For their Barcelona party Johnny D, 2000 and One and Mountain People all played exceptional sets, keeping my frail legs moving to the very end. I could give you details, but they’re a bit thin on the ground. But I do know we had a great time and it was a brilliant way to finish off the weekend and seal my fate for a fragile journey home. So until next year, Adios Barcelona!
Bank Holiday Antics at Hi Tek Soul and Eastern Electrics
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 | Event Reviews | No Comments
It’s been such a struggle to get back to normal after the bank holiday weekend. There is just something about having an extra day of weekend and a day less off work which tips me off the careful edge of balance between recovery and debauchery. But why moan about such trivial things when the renowned August bank holiday was exceptionally fun this year.
A civilised delayed start to the weekend took place this year for EarPipe. Rather than listen to one hour Tenaglia sets in deepest darkest Clapham, EarPipe decided to start the weekend on Saturday night in fine fashion at Hi Tek Soul, who happened to host the most Detroitiest Detroit line-up a none Detroit person would have seen outside of Detroit this year. Taking place at the ritzy glitzy Ministry of Sound for the third or maybe fourth time this year, the punters had the delectable selection of DJ Rolando, Stacey Pullen, Ken Ishi and of course Derrick May. Also, let’s not forget Jim Masters, who does such a sterling effort warming up or closing down for all these techno heavyweights.
From midnight onwards there was no hanging about with DJ Rolando. He just jumped feet first into a deep techno puddle, splashing all those around with relentless beats and bass. Like a kid with wellies on, he just splashed about care free dropping everything from upfront tracks to classic UR. A clichéd but perfectly apt moment was the dropping of Rolando’s own seminal classic Knights of the Jaguar, possibly my favourite EDM track of all time.
Out back in the bar, the versatile Stacey Pullen was teaching the kids about house music. Digging out some Chicago and Detroit beats, he did what he does best, effortlessly gliding between the slower end of techno and the Chicago side of house; such a talented DJ that seems to consistently deliver.
Derrick May was on deck duties from 4am onwards. By this point it starts to become a blur. All I know is that Derrick continued along the heavy foundations laid down by Rolando, momentarily stepping out for moments of funk rhythms. A solid set from the Detroiter, however I guess the combination of Clapham Park dancing in the day and the late set time meant much of the crowd had begun to thin halfway through his set. Unfortunately when that happens at Ministry the atmosphere of the Box room just gets sucked right out, leaving the night to slowly wind down to its 7am finish.
Despite that, Hi Tek Soul still remains the only thing worth going to Minstry for. Well that and when Secretsundaze takes over the courtyard.
As for the Sunday, the antics were supposed to be of a carnival nature. Plans for some Good Times and a bit of Panza were hampered by the increased police presence. No we didn’t get arrested for inter-gang warfare; it was only the conservative denial of entry to the Middle Row streets due to Carnival being a bit too busy. Who woulda thought? So the day was spent sitting in front of the job centre drinking cans of G&T whilst eating curried goat as busy Carnival people bustled around. It’s a glamorous life.
Tearing myself from the streets of Nottinghill, I venture south to Southwark where Mulletover, Disco Bloodbath and Resident Advisor have all joined forces to entertain the masses in a car park for the Eastern Electrics event. Being too ginned up there was a major failure in making it down for Raresh’s outdoor set. We did however make it down in time for Geddes who is consistently good right now. Every set EarPipe hears from the man is perfectly set for the crowd and venue. Sunday was no exception. He was precariously edging towards techno but nicely keeping those beats caged up; occasionally letting them take a swipe at the crowd.
Over in the Resident Advisor room Will Saul and Gerd Jansen were warming the second large railway arch as more destitute clubbers filed in from Secretsundaze. Still feeling the buzz from Carl Craig’s set the crowd were more than welcoming to Will and Gerd’s assortment of electronic sounds. Whilst in the Disco Bloodbath room which had taken over from Mulletover, Maurice Fulton was pumping out the disco. This was the first time EarPipe had ever heard or seen of Maurice, but on first impressions we decided this guy definitely knew how to spin disco. It wasn’t just Disco though; he’d often wonder off road and pick up some delectable acid house fruits to add an extra dimension to his set, truly a great DJ who probably stole the night for us. If you get the chance, definitely catch this guy.
Meanwhile Cassy was taking command of the RA room. I always expect her to play her restrained hypnotic loops which are so familiar on all her productions. But the two times we’ve caught her she has just gone fully for it. Long hypnotic minimal loops probably wouldn’t have been appropriate for a large cavernous room with a bunch of people that had been out all day. Gauging it right she drops some great techno and house dropping tracks from SIS and Johnny D and thus proving why she is so revered on the Berlin scene.
Appleblim had the tough job of following Cassy. After hearing Appleblim’s acclaimed RA podcast it was going to be touch and go whether their dub techno come dubstep sounds would be invigorating enough to keep the bank holiday crowd alive. Unfortunately the dark and moody sounds just didn’t suit for that time in the morning. Which is a shame as we could see what they were trying to do but when you’re up against tired legs they just didn’t stand much of a chance.
For their first outing, we must say Eastern Electrics was a hit. The venue was superb coupled with a great crowd and atmosphere, lets hope they get more gigs going there.
The Sonar Report 2008 Part 2: EarPipe makes Contakt
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 | Event Reviews | 1 Comment
In the first part of EarPipe’s Sonar review we left you at the Soma La Terrazza party with a club full of glamorous people and decadent house music. Fast forward to Friday afternoon and that chic taste of vodka limon in an open air club has been replaced by a sweltering room, a furry mouth and an undying thirst for water. Being only the second day you can’t really whimper at the fact that we’re still in Barcelona, the day is glorious and one of the world’s greatest music festivals is taking place. Why feel hungover and sorry for yourself in some hot box hostel room when you can do the same outside on the fake grass of the Sonar Village whilst sipping that all important sixth mojito.
After a relatively slow crawl to the CCCB, EarPipe pitch up under a tree and relax to the various obscure bands. The first of these being a couple of natives called El Guincho who were described in the guide as a combination of funk, afro beat and African rhythms making them sound quite intriguing on paper. However I was totally confused when they opened with this. Its intro sounded a lot like the Ronette’s Be My Baby and was far from the funk and afro beats that were expected. A few more tracks in and the band edged into the African vibes and got a fair proportion of the Sonar Village on their feet. Quite an achievement considering many of the revellers tend to be struggling from the night before.
El Guincho was to be followed by EarPipe’s highlight of the day Quiet Village. Their ambient/psychedelic down tempo album Silent Movie has been receiving critical acclaim from all over and their recent RA Podcast was one of the most refreshing in recent times. But what’s most interesting is that one half of Quiet Village comes from the dark and pounding depths of Matt Edwards aka Radioslave. Much like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Matt has two guises where Quiet Village is definitely the Dr Jekyll persona. They open their Sonar set with the incredibly beautiful Victoria’s Secret, a long and winding scenic track laden with strings and clichéd wave crashes and cooing birds. They continue through their album dropping the great vintage 70s funk sounds of tracks like Can’t Be Beat and Pillow Talk. Ideal for a chilled sunny afternoon. As you can see by this video it was totally a sit down affair.
Kalabrese had the job of following Quiet Village. He made use of the opportunity to present his Rumpelorchestra from Switzerland. Together as a small three piece band they infused influences from jazz, afro-beat, funk and house. The energy from their performance got the crowd back on their feet. One thing that makes the Rumpelorchestra stand out from other outfits is their use of brass instruments which really brings in that classic jazz feel. Seems like a bit of a brass revival with Ronson and the mainstream getting involved.
For the evening, a trip to the Raum open air party was supposed to happen, but unfortunately it hadn’t started early enough to make it worth the trip. So instead EarPipe watched the surprise defeat of Croatia to Turkey before heading to Sonar by Night. On arrival to the vast venue we were greeted by the two tone sounds of Suggs and Madness. Their blend of pop and ska had the crowd singing along to all their greatest hits like One Step Beyond, Our House and It Must Be Love. Even the younger fans would have been able to join in what with Suggs doing all those fish finger commercials. A quick run over to the Sonar Park and we catch the finishing moments of BC vs JC feat. Darren Emerson. JC is infact Jamie Cullum the floppy haired jazz come easy listening artist that your parents and even your grandparents like. BC is Jamie’s brother Ben on guitar, talk about nepotism. And they’re all backed up by former Underworld brains Darren Emerson. Together they jam out a sort of soulful jazz influenced house come techno sound. Once we start looking past our music snobbery we actually find their performance quite pleasurable and to be fair BC vs JC feat Darren Emerson is a good way of introducing electronic dance music to the kids in a more palatable format, so props for that. However we are still getting over Jamie Cullum bopping his floppy haired head to electronic beats.
Meanwhile in the SonarClub, Diplo our man from Philly is entertaining the crowds with his ghetto tech and Baltimore breaks. There are no rules for this man; he plays whatever whenever so long as its got booty shakin bass riddem and tings, its just fun, unadulterated music which you can just bounce around to. He cuts and mixes everything from hip hop, techno and electro in that mashup raw way that’s currently popular. In the space of an hour I was hearing MIA edits, hip hop classics from Dead Prez, big electro numbers from Justice and even a splash of Plastikman Spastik. Diplo just delivers a whirlwind of music in such an effective manner. It’s not the sort of music we’re into down at EarPipe but it is much fun. And seeing some of the most die hard EDM fans just getting right into it is just proof of that.
Now on to the main event. The performance that was eagerly anticipated by a 10,000 strong crowd outside in the SonarPub was of course Richie Hawtin and his band of merry techno laptop technicians with a cube in tow. It was the Barcelona leg of their Contakt tour where the concept was built around a collective DJ performance creating one set rather than individual ones. Unfortunately the cube was no where to be seen, the reports from other gigs were saying that its lights changed colour but we were unable to give the official EarPipe word on that. Their introduction was very prog rock-esque. A mystical silence fell on the SonarPub before the black curtain was drawn back to reveal quite an impressive LED stage as an eerie soundscape comes in over the speaker. Like an epic prog rock entrance, Richie Hawtin rises from behind the laptops to rapturous applause. He continues to tweak the eerie soundscape whilst slowly bringing on each of the Contakt family one by one. As they do, their names are emblazoned in giant letters on the LED screen. It’s all very Spinal Tap, they probably had the system turned up to 11.
Over the course of the next six hours the Contakt group go through various combinations of DJs. Troy Pierce starts with Gaiser who are then later joined by Heartthrob and Magda. Hawtin comes on and replaces Troy for a bit and plays solo for a while. Marc Houle comes on later on and there is just steady rotation. The overall sound of the set is basically Minus, tripped out techno sounds with abstract noises with a relentless and hypnotic groove. At points there were up to three or four DJs chipping into the combined set. But in all honesty I’m not really sure what they were doing, what they were chipping in or having any effect at all? To us it just sounded like a normal set, with different DJs coming and going. The entire performance seemed like an elaborate back to back session. It was no different to your normal Minus night. Marks for trying to come out with something different and unique but I feel it didn’t push the boundaries obviously enough. Its neither here or there between intricate DJ set or rehearsed live performance.
Despite my grumblings of an elaborate back to back set the whole six hours definitely kept EarPipe entertained. Hawtin did all the usual stuff including those filter out buzzy drops and dropping classics like Yekke Yekke. Gaiser ran through some of the twisted horse music off his new album to great effect. Troy Pierce, Marc Houle and Magda all chipped in to create an amalgamation of sound which saw a crowd stay strong well into Saturday morning as the sun rose. They even finished everyone off with a little blast of Techno Vocals before bringing the curtain down on it all, quite literally. We must also add that the visuals were pretty stunning for the whole event. The way they were worked in across all the LED screens to create one big canvas was quite amazing, and the actual visualisations went hand in hand with the music. Whoever did that I salute you sir.
So to sum up Contakt is an elaborate back to back that doesn’t add anything new. The music is still pretty good to party to and its not really any different from your normal Minus party.
Part 3 coming soon 
)
How to get your Wild in the Country ticket refund
Friday, July 4th, 2008 | Event Reviews | No Comments
From RenHQ on how to get your refund:
REFUND INFORMATION
Tickets bought directly from renaissance.com will be reimbursed for the face value of each ticket purchased. Please send your contact details along with a valid unused ticket and transaction confirmation to:Rebirth Music Ltd.
52a High Pavement
The Lace Market
Nottingham
NG1 1HWTo guard against loss/damage please send all tickets by recorded delivery.
E-Ticket customers: Please send your contact details along with your e-ticket voucher to the above address.For all other outlets please contact point of purchase for their refund policy.
Once again apologies for any inconvenience caused.Kind Regards
Renaissance
The Sonar Report: EarPIPE’s Review Part 1
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 | Event Reviews, Events | No Comments
It seems like only yesterday since EarPipe was scoffing its all meals in one croissant whilst basking in the Barcelona sunshine listening to an obscure foreign hip hop band after being massively on it for two days already. You’ve probably guessed that such a sequence of words can only mean we’re talking about the advanced music and multimedia arts festival Sonar and that this is the first part of EarPipe’s Sonar Report for 2008. We’ll be covering, well attempting to cover what we saw at the Sonar events and a bit of the other stuff that happened off Sonar too. All this is of course subject to memory!
So to kick off, proceedings began with EarPipe’s visit to Sonar by Day held in the CCCB MACBA complex. The same format from previous years was kept with the usual outdoor Sonar Village courtyard area, the marquee Sonar Dome, the two indoor arenas and our personal favourite the Red Bull Music Lounge, five great arenas where you can catch the obscure, the weird and the wonderful.
On the first day the Sonar Village were treated to DJ2D2’s Spanish trip hop stylings in between live performances. He keeps the crowd nicely ticking over as they sip mojitos in the sunshine. The main treat however was Little Dragon who have been slowly creeping to popularity on the alternative scene. Their recent single “Twice” has been getting plays from the likes of Giles Peterson and the like. Their sound is a combination of electronica jazz with hints of dub, hip hop and funk, think Bjork but with a bit more funk. The result is some beautiful songs over interesting beats and melodies. The laidback jazzy melodies were perfect in the Barcelona sun and definitely complimented the numerous rounds of mojitos.
Departing briefly from the laidbackness of outside, earPipe took a trip inside to check out the Red Bull Music Lounge. Of course the lounge must only be entered via the claustrophobic metal lifts to experience that “doors opening onto at basement rave in blade” feel. Doing just that the doors roll back and Patrice Baumel is breaking out the techno to a packed room dancing as if it were DC-10. I’ve always loved the atmosphere in the Red Bull Lounge. When the right DJ comes on you get a real house party vibe and Patrice was doing that to the fullest extent, playing electronic house to techno with intriguing melodies laced in.
A short trip downstairs sees earPipe stumble across Pan Sonic an experimental electronica/techno group. Their music was chin stroking and abstract of the highest order. Whilst I’m not usually one for this type of music, Pan Sonic were intriguing with their body reverberating sounds. It was literally a wall of noise, but a carefully calculated chaotic one. Understandably these guys are all about the sounds they can create using custom built synths and drum modules to tickle every end of the audio spectrum that computers just can’t reach. Their show consisted of the group on stage with their equipment and an oscillation visualisation to show you how gut wrenchingly raw their sound was. Interesting but definitely not for the faint hearted or more so those with loose bowels. This clip may go some way to explaining what I’m on about.
Thursday night left us with a few options. There were various parties going on all over the city. The choices were the GetPhysical pool party at Liquid outside of the city, the Club4 special at City Hall with Beyer, Carola and Matthew Dear or the This is Hardcore night at Razzmatazz with Holden and Felix da Mousemat. With too much choice came much deliberation, but not fancying the long trips or queues, the group plumped for the Soma party at La Terrazza. On the bill were the Soma family from Slam to Silicone Soul and Funk D’Void. La Terrazza is a beautiful open air club set in the hills near the Olympic village. On arrival Silicone Soul had just finished and Funk D’Void had taken to the reins with his new deep and melodic sound as heard on his recent Sci Fi Hi Fi. Funk D’Void laid down the spaced out house sounds which slowly built up to Slam’s set, who instantly tore down the new build with Radioslave’s Grindhouse Tool. Slam kept to a steady pace with the right sort of techno for the fairly glam crowd of La Terrazza, keeping everyone interested and moving. A great party to kick the weekend off.
Part 2 shall be along shortly.
Massive Attack @ Meltdown Festival & Radiohead @ Victoria Park
Thursday, June 26th, 2008 | Event Reviews | No Comments
The last couple of weeks at EarPipe have been manic in a musical sense. Firstly we were at Sonar festival the weekend just gone and we will be bringing you the full report soon. But we also managed to catch two gigs from two Goliaths in music. The first was Massive Attack at their opening gig for the Meltdown festival at the Southbank Centre, London. Being the curators for this year’s festival, they planned to do two live shows at the opening and closing whilst packing out the time inbetween with performances, showcases, talks and the odd silent disco.
The Royal Festival Hall was a spectacular venue to hold the band. Usually reserved for orchestras and the ballet, Massive Attack had transformed the stage into a cityscape of lights and equipment resulting in one of the most impressive and carefully thought out light shows for a gig I have ever seen. Their light installation added and enhanced the mood of Massive Attack’s dark trip hop stylings creating such an audio visual experience. The LED screen combined with the mood lighting really brought enhanced their music whilst also conveying messages adding a political stance to the gig. As for the music, the band moved through all four albums and even showcased tracks from a forthcoming album. Highlights for me have to be the beautiful Teardrop, the winding, dark Angel and of course the euphoric Unfinished Sympathy, which had the entire auditorium up on their feet. If you’re going to Glastonbury, make sure you catch them.
The other gig which EarPipe managed to catch was Radiohead’s final London gig of two on their In Rainbows Worldwide tour. Set in the heart of Hackney’s Victoria Park, Radiohead had a sort of mini festival set up. Large stage, big crowd and the great outdoors. The weather was clear and sunny. Aeroplanes floated over as they approached London City Airport. Truly a great local venue. Whilst their light show was pretty it was not a patch on Massive Attack. On the plus side it was all eco friendly using only the bare essentials. But for Radiohead that’s beside the point. Everyone was here to hear their new album and to see what tracks from the past they may dig up.
In Rainbows sounded phenomenal on the sound system. Crystal clear as the few thousand strong crowd floated away to Nude and Videotape. Bodysnatchers and 15 Step injected a great energy into the set whilst House of Cards ushered the sun into the horizon. After hearing live I think I can safely say that In Rainbows is their best work since OK Computer. Maybe the freedom from the shackles of big record labels allowed the band be true to themselves to create shear quality music. That said their back catalogue is by no means meant to be ignored.
A lot of Radiohead fans attend their gigs to play the “will they play their big hits” lottery. Usually they’ll drop one or two from the two albums which brought them so much popularity. But with this being their last gig in London at such an different venue, fully dedicated to the band and a crowd to follow too. Surely something special should happen….. and by god it did. Merely a couple tracks in from the new album and they slide into Lucky. The crowd go wild, I shed a small tear. Couple more tracks later National Anthem reverberates around the park and is shortly followed by No Surprises, launching the crowd into karaoke mode.
Lucky and No Surprises was special. Two of my favourite tracks from OK Computer. I had had my fill of Radiohead nostalgia, but they take it further. Harking back to the second album, My Iron Lungs and title track The Bends bring back the raw feel of their early days and have the old skool and now middle aged fans thinking is the early 90s all over again. If that weren’t enough the encore is finished by KARMA POLICE! Again the crowd sing in unison from start to finish with Thom Yorke’s angel like voice. The stand out moment comes as track finishes but Thom Yorke continues solo on his acoustic through another round of the chorus and the entire park complete the vocals. What a way to end the performance. But it wasn’t left there. The band return yet again to perform the second encore and finally finish with Paranoid Android!
What a perfect set, perfect venue, truly AMAZING, what a band. Radiohead we salute you.
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