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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

Tags: Ali Demirel, Ambivalent, Barem, Brixton Academy, Contakt, Fabri, Fabrizio Maurizi, Gaiser, Heartthrob, JPLS, Magda, Marc Houle, Minus, Richie Hawtin, Troy Pierce

The Weekend Reprise – Contakt, Ministry Birthday, Aphex Twin, Secretsundaze & WYS!

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments

I don’t know why but the last weekend in September always seems to be unnecessarily massive. Maybe because it’s the start of uni and the clubs want to start with a bang to get the kids hooked in? Guess it makes sense. Get em whilst they’re young and all that.

So what does the weekend have installed for all these younguns? Well the question should probably more what doesn’t the weekend have installed.

Contakt with Richie Hawtin

For one more time this year London will be graced with the last Contakt show for the year. It’s been almost a year since they last step foot in London and almost a year and a half since they started doing the show. If you haven’t heard by now the Contakt concept brings the Minus clan together, allowing them to perform as one unit set to the backdrop of some impressive visuals. Basically it’s an elaborate back to back session with all the Minus producers in front of a massive LED display showing some incredible trippy visuals. › Continue reading

Tags: Ali Dem, Ali Demirel, Ambivalent, Aphex Twin, Barem, Brixton Academy, Contakt, Dixon, Fabric, Fabrizio Maurizi, Gaiser, Heartthrob, JPLS, Luke Vibert, Magda, Marc Houle, Marcel Dettmann, matter, Ministry, Ministry of Sound, Minus, Nick Warren, Richie Hawtin, Sasha, Secretsundaze, Troy Pierce, Wet Yourself

Richie Hawtin and the M-Nus Mob Take On Brixton

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments

Now that summer is already drawing to a close its time for the autumn activities to commence; September through till November is often a juicy period on the clubbing calendar. It’s often the time when people are starting new endeavours in new places, be it students, graduates or just plain new job starters. Either way, people are back from their summer escapades, people have relocated and the clubbing community is back to full strength. Prime pickings for big ass stellar events.

One on the not too distant horizon is Richie Hawtin and his band of merry laptop equipped men (and one girl). The M_nus mob return to the capital city to serve up another helping of their multimedia extravaganza show Contakt. It’s been almost a year since they would have last wowed the crowds in London with their multi tag team dj sound and retina burning visual show, so it should be interesting to see how or if the show has evolved. › Continue reading

Tags: Ali Demirel, Ambivalent, Barem, Brixton Academy, Contakt, Gaiser, JPLS, Magda, Marc Houle, Minus, M_nus, Richie Hawtin, Sonar, Troy Pierce