the last week has been warm and sunny... having spent most of the previous week indoors while it was cold and wet, I decided instead to get out and catch some sun (rather than lock myself away and sweat it out in the heat - no fun).... as such, it's been a rather unproductive week.
having said that, here's something i've been working on today:
i call that slippery lead sound 'slinky cat' - and he or she is definitely a menace...
*** apologies for not putting any complete tracks up. I've been meaning to get across to a mixing studio on the other side of town, but haven't made time for it yet. I guess I'll try and get a few pieces finished off first and mix them in the one session.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Friday, 20 July 2012
snippets of sound
struck-down in mucus currently (with a cold)... while Berlin's summer got all wet and watery on us, I did the same... so here a few snippets of sounds created this week.
watery, submerged sound. everything you hear is the one patch. the girgling sound, the watery bells... the same patch can also be morphed into a tuned-noise sound (not shown here), which is what I was trying to create in the first place.
brassy lead. originally this was a percussive sample. now it's brass... the joys of ableton : )
and for those hankering for something you can whistle along to (music), there's some of that in the works too... but first I need to make sure it sounds the best I can make it, before I put it up (I've found a studio to mix-down in, across town).
watery, submerged sound. everything you hear is the one patch. the girgling sound, the watery bells... the same patch can also be morphed into a tuned-noise sound (not shown here), which is what I was trying to create in the first place.
brassy lead. originally this was a percussive sample. now it's brass... the joys of ableton : )
and for those hankering for something you can whistle along to (music), there's some of that in the works too... but first I need to make sure it sounds the best I can make it, before I put it up (I've found a studio to mix-down in, across town).
Friday, 6 July 2012
a room
Apart from recovering from last weekend's epic dosage of bass-heavy grooves and camping, this week has also been marked by my moving into a room of my own.
Several months back I couch-surfed with a few interesting young Berliners in Neukölln. Since that time, I've seen much of Berlin and been looking for my own room. In the meantime, one of the residents of the apartment - Gian Paolo, the painter mentioned a while ago - has decided to head back to Italy. And so, a room became available.
Though it's situated against what must be Neukölln's busiest and ugliest street - Karl-Marx Strasse - I'm wrapped at having a space of my own.
Now it's time to bust out some self-discipline and get busy : )
Several months back I couch-surfed with a few interesting young Berliners in Neukölln. Since that time, I've seen much of Berlin and been looking for my own room. In the meantime, one of the residents of the apartment - Gian Paolo, the painter mentioned a while ago - has decided to head back to Italy. And so, a room became available.
Though it's situated against what must be Neukölln's busiest and ugliest street - Karl-Marx Strasse - I'm wrapped at having a space of my own.
Now it's time to bust out some self-discipline and get busy : )
 | ||
| my room |
 |
| the kitchen |
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Fusion
It's been about a week since Fusion… I've sat down a few times to try and write about it, but I'm finding it hard to accurately describe the experience in words… anyway, here's what I've got...
Spread across ten stages, five days and who-knows how many square kilometres of a disused military airfield, Fusion is - in a word - massive! Though it's hard to truly grasp the magnitude of the audience - as there's no point where everyone is in a single given location - I'm told it pulls a crowd of around 70,000.
Like everything else about the festival, the line-up is epic - at least in terms of the number of acts playing. Despite this, I entered the festival only recognising a few names on the bill.
One of those names was the creative duo known as Kollektiv Turmstrasse. Having been wowed by their emotionally-driven sound many years ago (at another outdoor festival, during a local act's set), it was great to finally hear and see them outdoors.
Another must-see live-set was that of Oliver Schories. Having missed his recent sets in Berlin, I was glad to finally catch him. Taking to the stage directly after Nicone and Sascha Braemer's party-pleasing set of techno and tech-house, his distinctly deep, melancholic beats washed over the crowd. From the outset, a clear difference in sound-processing was apparent. In comparison, Schories' set was a lot more bass-heavy and not as bright (except for the absolute high-end frequencies) - a trademark of his sound, really.
Upon arrival, late Thursday evening, I made it my mission to quickly scout-out the different stages and try to get a feel for the site. The level of detail is something that really needs to be seen first-hand. Having been running for more than fifteen years - and in the same site (I'm pretty sure) - it's clear that the organisers have built it from the ground up, adding more eye-candy each year. In terms of aesthetic, it has a kind of jumbled bric-a-brac vibe to it... constructing objects from what's available.
All in all, Fusion was an absolute blast. I'll definitely be doing my
best to return next year.
Spread across ten stages, five days and who-knows how many square kilometres of a disused military airfield, Fusion is - in a word - massive! Though it's hard to truly grasp the magnitude of the audience - as there's no point where everyone is in a single given location - I'm told it pulls a crowd of around 70,000.
 |
Like everything else about the festival, the line-up is epic - at least in terms of the number of acts playing. Despite this, I entered the festival only recognising a few names on the bill.
One of those names was the creative duo known as Kollektiv Turmstrasse. Having been wowed by their emotionally-driven sound many years ago (at another outdoor festival, during a local act's set), it was great to finally hear and see them outdoors.
Another must-see live-set was that of Oliver Schories. Having missed his recent sets in Berlin, I was glad to finally catch him. Taking to the stage directly after Nicone and Sascha Braemer's party-pleasing set of techno and tech-house, his distinctly deep, melancholic beats washed over the crowd. From the outset, a clear difference in sound-processing was apparent. In comparison, Schories' set was a lot more bass-heavy and not as bright (except for the absolute high-end frequencies) - a trademark of his sound, really.
Upon arrival, late Thursday evening, I made it my mission to quickly scout-out the different stages and try to get a feel for the site. The level of detail is something that really needs to be seen first-hand. Having been running for more than fifteen years - and in the same site (I'm pretty sure) - it's clear that the organisers have built it from the ground up, adding more eye-candy each year. In terms of aesthetic, it has a kind of jumbled bric-a-brac vibe to it... constructing objects from what's available.
 | |||||||||
| I spent the first night sleeping in this hangar as my sleeping bag didn't arrive until the second day (a logistics mishap…) |
All in all, Fusion was an absolute blast. I'll definitely be doing my
best to return next year.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
live grooves
Last night, just for a change of pace, I decided to absorb some live music. Having been recommended the Edelweiss on a Tuesday night, for a selection of up-beat jazz and blues, that's where I found myself.
Tucked deep inside Gorlitzer park (which is more-or-less pitch-black past 10pm, as the council turns the lights off, to save power and money - I assume), it's a venue that mightn't seem so obvious at first, but is worth a visit. The downstairs bar is warm-glowing affair of mountainous murals and multiple picture frames, while upstairs - in the band room - is a green-walled room of grooves. It has a kind of 1930s-esque vibe... I suppose.
In terms of sound, the audience was treated with a selection of tight jazz grooves - not of the free-wheeling experimental variety, but of a more kick-drum-heavy, up-tempo vibe (a heavy kick-drum, in any form, seems to drive Berlin). Some gritty blues numbers were thrown in for good measure, as well as a few softer pop numbers (for the lovers) and a bit of dub (which kind of temporarily killed the vibe, in my opinion).
All in all, it was refreshing to hear and see live music. Watching the interaction and improvisation between the players was really interesting. I'll definitely get back to catch another Tuesday evening at the Edelweiss.
I'd been told that the house band loved to cover Bill Wither's 'Use Me' - and sure enough, it cropped up:
Tucked deep inside Gorlitzer park (which is more-or-less pitch-black past 10pm, as the council turns the lights off, to save power and money - I assume), it's a venue that mightn't seem so obvious at first, but is worth a visit. The downstairs bar is warm-glowing affair of mountainous murals and multiple picture frames, while upstairs - in the band room - is a green-walled room of grooves. It has a kind of 1930s-esque vibe... I suppose.
In terms of sound, the audience was treated with a selection of tight jazz grooves - not of the free-wheeling experimental variety, but of a more kick-drum-heavy, up-tempo vibe (a heavy kick-drum, in any form, seems to drive Berlin). Some gritty blues numbers were thrown in for good measure, as well as a few softer pop numbers (for the lovers) and a bit of dub (which kind of temporarily killed the vibe, in my opinion).
All in all, it was refreshing to hear and see live music. Watching the interaction and improvisation between the players was really interesting. I'll definitely get back to catch another Tuesday evening at the Edelweiss.
I'd been told that the house band loved to cover Bill Wither's 'Use Me' - and sure enough, it cropped up:
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Chymera
Returning to Loftus Hall this past Saturday night, I caught Chymera presenting a live-set in celebration of his recently-released LP (which comes highly recommended).
The above LP - Death by Misadventure - is a collection of dreamy, ethereal techno. Having given it a pretty solid rinse over the last few weeks, I was surprised to not recognise anything from the album in his live-set... maybe he hasn't yet worked out a way to present his newer material in a live format? (fair enough - these things can't be rushed).
Instead we were treated with some up-beat, melodic techno (no complaints here!). A tight sound, aimed squarely at the dance floor. Would love to hear him again in a bigger venue.
In terms of his set-up, it was something like:
two Novation Launchpads - one for launching clips, the other as a type of step-sequencer
two Korg NanoKontrols - for levels and FX sends, it seemed
Ableton
a Virus module (outboard synth)
The above LP - Death by Misadventure - is a collection of dreamy, ethereal techno. Having given it a pretty solid rinse over the last few weeks, I was surprised to not recognise anything from the album in his live-set... maybe he hasn't yet worked out a way to present his newer material in a live format? (fair enough - these things can't be rushed).
Instead we were treated with some up-beat, melodic techno (no complaints here!). A tight sound, aimed squarely at the dance floor. Would love to hear him again in a bigger venue.
In terms of his set-up, it was something like:
two Novation Launchpads - one for launching clips, the other as a type of step-sequencer
two Korg NanoKontrols - for levels and FX sends, it seemed
Ableton
a Virus module (outboard synth)
Thursday, 14 June 2012
unfamiliar territory with familiar faces
Last week, some friends from Melbourne - Thankyou City and Uone - were in town to play a few gigs and have a good time... which all made sense to me.
The place they were at was a plush apartment in Friedrichshain. Kitted out with decks, a mixer, an encompassing sound-system and some very comfortable couches, it was the perfect environment to kick off the evening. What's more, they were keeping the company of two fun German guys - who proved to be a barrel of laughs.
Wednesday, and on the cards was another trip to Watergate (this time skipping the line, and the cover-charge - thanks to our German friends)... Progressively, the evening turned into a thoroughly-wasted experience for all, including the evening's two headline DJs. I'm not sure if it's worth going into details on who they were, but by sunrise, every mix was sounding like a train-wreck... it was embarrassing and unprofessional...
There's a time and a place for partying. But if you're booked to play a gig - and it's a proper paid-gig (as this would have surely been) - you've got some kind of responsibility - towards your audience and your reputation - to ensure you can actually play a set...
despite this, we had a ball... (like I said, we got in free and were having fun... plus, it's not as though the tunes were bad - it's just that the mixing was off...)
Come Saturday night, it was time for Uone and Thankyou City to take the stage... The venue was Ritter Butzke, in Kreuzberg. A neat place with a friendly crowd.
Having got there early and checked out the different rooms, it was clear that a house and deep-disco flavour was in full force... Uone kept this vibe for his set, but with his own - much-appreciated - twist on the sound.
As numbers for the evening were a little lower than what was hoped for, some juggling of set-times was done and Thankyou City were moved to the main-room... A good move. Punchy kicks and shorter basslines ruled the beginning of their set. And on the bigger system, the more epic, cinematic part of their sound engulfed the listener.
The set started off with some newer material I didn't recognise - dark, progressive techno (but not too fast, and definitely with the Continuum/ThankYou City sound). As it progressed, we ended up in familiar territory; neat, fun techno.
* * *
Around 8am and the next stop was KalterHoltzig. Though Uone's second set for the weekend wasn't until later that afternoon, it seemed like a good idea to go and get familiar with the venue... Plus I'd never been.
Recently, someone had mentioned that sun-soaked Sundays - like the one we were experiencing, right then and there - were the best days to see KaterHolzing. Set against the Spree, with the sun shining and plenty of the venue being spread outdoors... it's clear to see why the good weather could change the anything-goes, Neverland kind of vibe it has (Neverland, as in Peter Pan).
I found myself groove-locked in a wooden bunker of general madness, all cruising by at approximately 126bpm... a lil slower at times...groovier at others.. but in general, time flew by... All of a sudden - some time early afternoon - and it was Uone's turn to take control of the groove. He took us down a bass-heavy, twisted kind of tech-house pathway, with some deep dubby sections and tribal meanderings, just for good measure. Ending up at a clear-favourite of his, Mark Henning's 'Breakfast Club'.
Having done an 8am-4pm stint at KaterHolzig (which was preceded by an evening at Ritter Butzke), it was time to call it a day for this sun-soaked being... Having said that, once I was safely back in the apartment, I immediately felt a slight pang of regret, knowing that the party was carrying-on... And indeed it was! Later in the week, I discovered that a friend had done a virtual tag-team with me, having arrived at the party around 6 that evening... only to leave 10am, the following Monday morning... it must've been fun catching a sunset and a sunrise ;)
The place they were at was a plush apartment in Friedrichshain. Kitted out with decks, a mixer, an encompassing sound-system and some very comfortable couches, it was the perfect environment to kick off the evening. What's more, they were keeping the company of two fun German guys - who proved to be a barrel of laughs.
Wednesday, and on the cards was another trip to Watergate (this time skipping the line, and the cover-charge - thanks to our German friends)... Progressively, the evening turned into a thoroughly-wasted experience for all, including the evening's two headline DJs. I'm not sure if it's worth going into details on who they were, but by sunrise, every mix was sounding like a train-wreck... it was embarrassing and unprofessional...
There's a time and a place for partying. But if you're booked to play a gig - and it's a proper paid-gig (as this would have surely been) - you've got some kind of responsibility - towards your audience and your reputation - to ensure you can actually play a set...
despite this, we had a ball... (like I said, we got in free and were having fun... plus, it's not as though the tunes were bad - it's just that the mixing was off...)
Come Saturday night, it was time for Uone and Thankyou City to take the stage... The venue was Ritter Butzke, in Kreuzberg. A neat place with a friendly crowd.
Having got there early and checked out the different rooms, it was clear that a house and deep-disco flavour was in full force... Uone kept this vibe for his set, but with his own - much-appreciated - twist on the sound.
As numbers for the evening were a little lower than what was hoped for, some juggling of set-times was done and Thankyou City were moved to the main-room... A good move. Punchy kicks and shorter basslines ruled the beginning of their set. And on the bigger system, the more epic, cinematic part of their sound engulfed the listener.
The set started off with some newer material I didn't recognise - dark, progressive techno (but not too fast, and definitely with the Continuum/ThankYou City sound). As it progressed, we ended up in familiar territory; neat, fun techno.
* * *
Around 8am and the next stop was KalterHoltzig. Though Uone's second set for the weekend wasn't until later that afternoon, it seemed like a good idea to go and get familiar with the venue... Plus I'd never been.
Recently, someone had mentioned that sun-soaked Sundays - like the one we were experiencing, right then and there - were the best days to see KaterHolzing. Set against the Spree, with the sun shining and plenty of the venue being spread outdoors... it's clear to see why the good weather could change the anything-goes, Neverland kind of vibe it has (Neverland, as in Peter Pan).
I found myself groove-locked in a wooden bunker of general madness, all cruising by at approximately 126bpm... a lil slower at times...groovier at others.. but in general, time flew by... All of a sudden - some time early afternoon - and it was Uone's turn to take control of the groove. He took us down a bass-heavy, twisted kind of tech-house pathway, with some deep dubby sections and tribal meanderings, just for good measure. Ending up at a clear-favourite of his, Mark Henning's 'Breakfast Club'.
Having done an 8am-4pm stint at KaterHolzig (which was preceded by an evening at Ritter Butzke), it was time to call it a day for this sun-soaked being... Having said that, once I was safely back in the apartment, I immediately felt a slight pang of regret, knowing that the party was carrying-on... And indeed it was! Later in the week, I discovered that a friend had done a virtual tag-team with me, having arrived at the party around 6 that evening... only to leave 10am, the following Monday morning... it must've been fun catching a sunset and a sunrise ;)
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
dark rooms & flickering images
Though much of the past week was spent in dark rooms surrounded by music, the focus was on motion pictures rather than repetitive beats.
Last November my sister and I completed a short-film called 'Ten Quintillion'. It was her vision (in both the literal and brain-wave sense), and my audio. As the two of us were about to graduate (she doing a BA in Film & TV, while I finished an Advanced Diploma in Sound Production), we used the piece as a grad-piece to finish off our respective courses. The film was later entered in various film-festivals across the world, where it proceeded to win a few awards, and in general, do really well for itself.
One of these festivals was the Hamburg 28th International Short Film Festival. As the organisers liked our film and wanted to screen it, they sent an invite asking if we'd like to come to Hamburg... and since I was going to be in Germany during the festival, it was decided that I'd go and represent the film. And that's how I found myself in Hamburg.
Here's the trailer for Ten Quintillion
In total, I think I saw close to 120 short-films across the festival. Below are a few that I really enjoyed, and recommend you see them, should you get the chance. While none of them seem to be viewable online, I found stills on the official Hamurg Kurz Film Festival site... so there's something pretty to gaze at:
Bear (director: Nash Edgerton) - a dark comedy set in NSW, Australia (personally, the shots of the bush made me long for outdoor parties again...)
Bigger Than Texas (director: Mark Pugh) - highly-stylised, from '93. Set in Australia. Touches of Pulp Fiction, but with a kind of late 80s/early-90s neon-glow. Apparently it can be found in the ACMI video library (Melbourne)... encourages late-night cruises in sports cars, while listening to Italo-Disco-esque grooves... and robbing banks.
Il Capo (director: Yuri Ancarani) - although it's shot in a quarry, has no dialogue and no music, Il Capo is a really interesting film. Slow-moving, but really impressive on the big screen.
The Centrifuge Brain Project (director: Till Nowak) - a German mockumentary about measuring brain activity while defying gravity (it's better than it sounds, trust me).
Compulsion (director: Andrew McVicar) - A beautifully-shot English drama. It creatively captures the suburban anger of a male teenager, and the havoc being wreaked inside his head (due to meeting a girl and falling deep in it...). The sound in this is really well done; check out the opening scene of minimal soundscapes, where silence is as important as sound.
Combustion (director: Renaud Hallée) - great balls of fire. Synced-up really nicely with the score. Parts of it reminded me of an experimental sequencer (working with phrases in a cyclic manner, rather than a typical linear arrangement).
Long Distance Information (director: Douglas Hart) - a Scottish comedy dealing with the awkwardness between a father/son relationship.
Monkey Spa (director: Dragan Zivancevic) - an abstract adventure involving monkeys in search of hot springs. Absurd vision and an amazing score.
El Quilpo Sueña Cataratas / The Quilpo Dreams of Waterfalls (director: Pablo Mazzolo) - experimental, abstract - beautiful rather than harsh and jarring.
Snow Canon (director: Mati Diop) - set in the French alps. Kind of kinky (it is French). Beautifully shot. The closing credits song is worth the watch alone - again, that glowing neon vibe.
White Turnips Make It Hard to Sleep (director: Rachel Lang) - A Belgian drama dealing with a break-up. Really well made... The plot isn't shocking, but it's the way the story is presented and how it's shot that really create interest. Would love to see a feature-length film from the same director.
As a footnote, it's worth mentioning that Ten Quintillion tied for first-place in the people's choice award (decided by the audience) - hooray : )
Last November my sister and I completed a short-film called 'Ten Quintillion'. It was her vision (in both the literal and brain-wave sense), and my audio. As the two of us were about to graduate (she doing a BA in Film & TV, while I finished an Advanced Diploma in Sound Production), we used the piece as a grad-piece to finish off our respective courses. The film was later entered in various film-festivals across the world, where it proceeded to win a few awards, and in general, do really well for itself.
One of these festivals was the Hamburg 28th International Short Film Festival. As the organisers liked our film and wanted to screen it, they sent an invite asking if we'd like to come to Hamburg... and since I was going to be in Germany during the festival, it was decided that I'd go and represent the film. And that's how I found myself in Hamburg.
Here's the trailer for Ten Quintillion
In total, I think I saw close to 120 short-films across the festival. Below are a few that I really enjoyed, and recommend you see them, should you get the chance. While none of them seem to be viewable online, I found stills on the official Hamurg Kurz Film Festival site... so there's something pretty to gaze at:
Bear (director: Nash Edgerton) - a dark comedy set in NSW, Australia (personally, the shots of the bush made me long for outdoor parties again...)
Bigger Than Texas (director: Mark Pugh) - highly-stylised, from '93. Set in Australia. Touches of Pulp Fiction, but with a kind of late 80s/early-90s neon-glow. Apparently it can be found in the ACMI video library (Melbourne)... encourages late-night cruises in sports cars, while listening to Italo-Disco-esque grooves... and robbing banks.
 |
| Il Capo |
 |
| The Centrifuge Brain Project |
Compulsion (director: Andrew McVicar) - A beautifully-shot English drama. It creatively captures the suburban anger of a male teenager, and the havoc being wreaked inside his head (due to meeting a girl and falling deep in it...). The sound in this is really well done; check out the opening scene of minimal soundscapes, where silence is as important as sound.
 |
| Combustion |
Long Distance Information (director: Douglas Hart) - a Scottish comedy dealing with the awkwardness between a father/son relationship.
 |
| Monkey Spa |
 |
| El Quilpo Sueña Cataratas / The Quilpo Dreams of Waterfalls |
Snow Canon (director: Mati Diop) - set in the French alps. Kind of kinky (it is French). Beautifully shot. The closing credits song is worth the watch alone - again, that glowing neon vibe.
White Turnips Make It Hard to Sleep (director: Rachel Lang) - A Belgian drama dealing with a break-up. Really well made... The plot isn't shocking, but it's the way the story is presented and how it's shot that really create interest. Would love to see a feature-length film from the same director.
As a footnote, it's worth mentioning that Ten Quintillion tied for first-place in the people's choice award (decided by the audience) - hooray : )
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
a blur of sound and colour
Well another (long) Berlin weekend has whisked past in a blur of sound and colour...
Kreuzberg was left a drunken-but-generally-happy mess after the several-days-long cultural festival, saw a few more venues, moved house again (across-town) and then headed off to Hamburg for a week to be part of the international short-film festival...
so all-in-all, I'm a little hazy on the thorough details (and as Hamburg is right-now beckoning to be explored properly, it'd be a good idea to get away from the screen)... despite that, here's a summary of what happened:
With a warm Saturday hurtling towards us, it seemed the best thing to do was go swimming. As it turns out, I ended up swimming twice. Once that afternoon in a lake not far from where I was staying, and then again that evening in a pool in Wedding. The main difference was that the second swim involved waves of bass rather than water.
Once a public swimming pool, Stattbad Wedding is now a venue for art exhibitions and the occasional party. With a lineup including Henrik Schwarz, Ewan Pearson, Dixon, Åme and Prins Thomas, I was keen to hear and see the place in action.
Arriving about 1am, the pool was heaving with people. Apparently, capacity of the venue is around 1500 people. With each of the three floors packed, it must have been somewhere close to this.
The main floor consisted of an empty 50 metre pool, while the two smaller rooms were in the innards of the building - what was once the heating and filtering section of the pool. In terms of layout, it's a hectic maze of exposed pipes and tiles. Good fun for getting lost in - though I had trouble differentiating between the 'Boiler' room and the 'Bunker'.
From 3am or so, Henrik Schwarz did his thing. And with the room packed from wall to wall, the Boiler room was living up to its name.
Later on in the morning, Ewan Pearson treated us to deep rolling tech-house and general deep-end house sounds, while Prins Thomas took us on a roller-coaster ride of unusual grooves; oddball funk and disco... techno, house and calypso (strictly-speaking, I didn't actually hear him drop any calypso, but I like how that reads).
The biggest surprise of the evening was the live-set from deep disco dons Genius Of Time. Admittedly, I wasn't so familiar with their sound before the gig, but standing towards the back of the pool, with the stage awash in blue lighting and an ocean of silhouettes bobbing to their deep grooves, I felt like I was seeing Atlantis from a deep-ocean submarine... a very cool memory to hold on to.
So if you happen to be in town and see a good-looking Stattbad gig coming up for air, dive right in - the water's warm! (ha.. ha..)
While the original plan for Sunday afternoon didn't involve riding across town and then coming home sometime Monday, somethings can't be banked on (like Sunday afternoon plans over a long weekend, it seems). In short; went for a ride to catch the end of the Mauerpark markets (which are pretty substantial... going to require a revisit), then across to a live gig in one of Berlin's last reclaimed squats/camps, Lohmüle. Following this, met-up with a friend and found myself at About:Blank in Friedrichshain.
In terms of the big-scheme-of-things, it was probably a pretty standard-fare kind of evening at About:Blank, but good fun. Situated in Friedrichshain, it's not far from Wilden Renate and worth a visit - if the weather is fine, don't forget to see the garden out the back (mung-out on the outdoor bedding, see what the other trashbags are up to in the caravan or stare at the pretty foliage).
Kreuzberg was left a drunken-but-generally-happy mess after the several-days-long cultural festival, saw a few more venues, moved house again (across-town) and then headed off to Hamburg for a week to be part of the international short-film festival...
so all-in-all, I'm a little hazy on the thorough details (and as Hamburg is right-now beckoning to be explored properly, it'd be a good idea to get away from the screen)... despite that, here's a summary of what happened:
With a warm Saturday hurtling towards us, it seemed the best thing to do was go swimming. As it turns out, I ended up swimming twice. Once that afternoon in a lake not far from where I was staying, and then again that evening in a pool in Wedding. The main difference was that the second swim involved waves of bass rather than water.
Once a public swimming pool, Stattbad Wedding is now a venue for art exhibitions and the occasional party. With a lineup including Henrik Schwarz, Ewan Pearson, Dixon, Åme and Prins Thomas, I was keen to hear and see the place in action.
Arriving about 1am, the pool was heaving with people. Apparently, capacity of the venue is around 1500 people. With each of the three floors packed, it must have been somewhere close to this.
 |
| not a great snapshot, but it gives you a rough idea... |
The main floor consisted of an empty 50 metre pool, while the two smaller rooms were in the innards of the building - what was once the heating and filtering section of the pool. In terms of layout, it's a hectic maze of exposed pipes and tiles. Good fun for getting lost in - though I had trouble differentiating between the 'Boiler' room and the 'Bunker'.
From 3am or so, Henrik Schwarz did his thing. And with the room packed from wall to wall, the Boiler room was living up to its name.
Later on in the morning, Ewan Pearson treated us to deep rolling tech-house and general deep-end house sounds, while Prins Thomas took us on a roller-coaster ride of unusual grooves; oddball funk and disco... techno, house and calypso (strictly-speaking, I didn't actually hear him drop any calypso, but I like how that reads).
 |
| not really, but worth a shot ;) |
So if you happen to be in town and see a good-looking Stattbad gig coming up for air, dive right in - the water's warm! (ha.. ha..)
While the original plan for Sunday afternoon didn't involve riding across town and then coming home sometime Monday, somethings can't be banked on (like Sunday afternoon plans over a long weekend, it seems). In short; went for a ride to catch the end of the Mauerpark markets (which are pretty substantial... going to require a revisit), then across to a live gig in one of Berlin's last reclaimed squats/camps, Lohmüle. Following this, met-up with a friend and found myself at About:Blank in Friedrichshain.
In terms of the big-scheme-of-things, it was probably a pretty standard-fare kind of evening at About:Blank, but good fun. Situated in Friedrichshain, it's not far from Wilden Renate and worth a visit - if the weather is fine, don't forget to see the garden out the back (mung-out on the outdoor bedding, see what the other trashbags are up to in the caravan or stare at the pretty foliage).
Monday, 21 May 2012
recollections of a weekend
"I'm ninety-five percent sure the lake existed in real life, not just in my head"... and so went the words of a Scottish boy dressed as a clown, as he lead us across Gorlitzer park this morning. As a small group of us wandered deeper into the park, it occurred to me that this is probably what it felt like to stroll into wonderland... or Narnia... or something along those lines...
Before this, the night had begun as a drinking game on the S-Bahn. The rules were simple; no holding on to anything (other than your beer) and every time you lose balance or move your feet, you drink. Repeat until the ride is over or you're out of beer.
Having met with some friends in Gorlitzer park, we consumed more beverages while deciding on the evening's plans. Having had it recentely recommended to me, a few of us decided on a bar in Friedrichshain called 'What You See Is What You Get'.... Despite it being a Saturday night, it was pretty quiet. The crowd was a kind of mixed group; mostly harmless, but I got the feeling the majority were tourists. Our ears were presented with a selection of house grooves; contemporary-sounding, a little cheesy at times, but good fun. I'd happily revisit the place, but maybe for a bigger (& better?) party next time.
Next up was to reconvene with the rest of the group back at The Laden. It was business as usual there, with the booze and tunes in fine form. Again, the sound system at The Laden is pretty incy-wincy. But to make up for this, if you want to get intimate with the music, wireless headphones are on-hand - allowing you to walk outside and catch some sun if you feel the need... Or something similar. While not the same as a Berghain-sized bass bin rearranging your insides, it allows you to get lost in music, and emphasizes the stereo image :)
Sometime after sun-up, one of the group lead us to a strange bar tucked deep into a corner of Kreuzberg. Word on the street - or rather the rumour - is that the owners have lost the key, and so the bar never shuts. Inside was a strange collection of misfits (including ourselves), who also happened to have stumbled into this bar - some clearly having also spent a night on the town, while a few looked well-rested, like they'd climbed out of bed bright and early, to be here by 6am.
Apart from yelling yarns with your fellow boozehounds and being a general menace, the central point of entertainment was a jukebox. A rotation of psychedelic rock, blues and tunes from yesteryear were the flavour of the morning.The other hunk of flashing-lights and metal was a singular poker machine. It was inhabited by one mad old lady the entire time we were there, who seemed to be muttering to herself as she spun her way through the morning. Apparently she is - or was (?) - the owner. Either way, when she blew a fuse over one overtly-boozey patron, he quickly pulled his head in.
To complete a loop, I then wandered back to Gorlitzer park to meet a friend and catch some sunshine. It was here that the Scottish boy in the clown outfit insisted we look for the lake. As it turns out, it existed in his head and in reality.
Before this, the night had begun as a drinking game on the S-Bahn. The rules were simple; no holding on to anything (other than your beer) and every time you lose balance or move your feet, you drink. Repeat until the ride is over or you're out of beer.
Having met with some friends in Gorlitzer park, we consumed more beverages while deciding on the evening's plans. Having had it recentely recommended to me, a few of us decided on a bar in Friedrichshain called 'What You See Is What You Get'.... Despite it being a Saturday night, it was pretty quiet. The crowd was a kind of mixed group; mostly harmless, but I got the feeling the majority were tourists. Our ears were presented with a selection of house grooves; contemporary-sounding, a little cheesy at times, but good fun. I'd happily revisit the place, but maybe for a bigger (& better?) party next time.
Next up was to reconvene with the rest of the group back at The Laden. It was business as usual there, with the booze and tunes in fine form. Again, the sound system at The Laden is pretty incy-wincy. But to make up for this, if you want to get intimate with the music, wireless headphones are on-hand - allowing you to walk outside and catch some sun if you feel the need... Or something similar. While not the same as a Berghain-sized bass bin rearranging your insides, it allows you to get lost in music, and emphasizes the stereo image :)
Sometime after sun-up, one of the group lead us to a strange bar tucked deep into a corner of Kreuzberg. Word on the street - or rather the rumour - is that the owners have lost the key, and so the bar never shuts. Inside was a strange collection of misfits (including ourselves), who also happened to have stumbled into this bar - some clearly having also spent a night on the town, while a few looked well-rested, like they'd climbed out of bed bright and early, to be here by 6am.
Apart from yelling yarns with your fellow boozehounds and being a general menace, the central point of entertainment was a jukebox. A rotation of psychedelic rock, blues and tunes from yesteryear were the flavour of the morning.The other hunk of flashing-lights and metal was a singular poker machine. It was inhabited by one mad old lady the entire time we were there, who seemed to be muttering to herself as she spun her way through the morning. Apparently she is - or was (?) - the owner. Either way, when she blew a fuse over one overtly-boozey patron, he quickly pulled his head in.
To complete a loop, I then wandered back to Gorlitzer park to meet a friend and catch some sunshine. It was here that the Scottish boy in the clown outfit insisted we look for the lake. As it turns out, it existed in his head and in reality.
Friday, 18 May 2012
p'funk in the p'house
 |
| DIY recording. Mic in the oven (no mic-stand) |
 |
| view from spare room |
getting wild(e) with Jan
During my last weekend in Melbourne, a friend & i were treated to an
exceptional set of neat-house-grooves, being spun by micro-house &
general-groove-connoisseur - as well as good friend - Timmus. He
wrapped the set up with the following emotionally-laden Jan Blomqvist
track...
(what a tear-jerker- thanks Timmus! thanks Jan!)
And as such, after several hours at the Laden, I found myself at Wilde Renate, part way through Mr Blomqvist's live-set. Care-of some really friendly door-staff, I wandered in freely, to find myself surrounded by a much younger crowd than I expected (although, think back on it, I had been given the heads-up that different nights pulled different crowds).
Though he didn't play 'I don't think..' while I was there, his set featured his distinctly-recogniseable voice, accompanied by tight production, with a somewhat-pop aesthetic (and as the gig was packed, it's clearly a sound that works both for him and his fans).. Though I only caught the end of the set, there were a few times where he got absorbed in sort of power-pop moments, which kind of lost the dance floor... but nicely showcased his voice. Overall; an intertesting gig :) (will have to catch another set of his - preferably a complete one next time).
although I got the impression this was a small gig on the full-blown Wilde-Renate-scale-of-things (as there's a large outdoor section that wasnt being used - and I'm told there's also a labyrinth in the building - the space sounded good and had some distinct style. Will definitely visit again :)
(what a tear-jerker- thanks Timmus! thanks Jan!)
And as such, after several hours at the Laden, I found myself at Wilde Renate, part way through Mr Blomqvist's live-set. Care-of some really friendly door-staff, I wandered in freely, to find myself surrounded by a much younger crowd than I expected (although, think back on it, I had been given the heads-up that different nights pulled different crowds).
Though he didn't play 'I don't think..' while I was there, his set featured his distinctly-recogniseable voice, accompanied by tight production, with a somewhat-pop aesthetic (and as the gig was packed, it's clearly a sound that works both for him and his fans).. Though I only caught the end of the set, there were a few times where he got absorbed in sort of power-pop moments, which kind of lost the dance floor... but nicely showcased his voice. Overall; an intertesting gig :) (will have to catch another set of his - preferably a complete one next time).
although I got the impression this was a small gig on the full-blown Wilde-Renate-scale-of-things (as there's a large outdoor section that wasnt being used - and I'm told there's also a labyrinth in the building - the space sounded good and had some distinct style. Will definitely visit again :)
 |
| Salon Zur Wilden Renate - outdoor part |
Monday, 14 May 2012
groove-locked behind a closed-gate
Last night I dropped in to Watergate. Solomun was playing the whole evening on the main-floor, and being a big fan of his productions, I was keen to hear & see him spin in front of a crowd.
Watergate gives me the impression that this is what Studio 54 must have been like... Getting in was a mission; they're not super-selective like Berghain, just super slow at processing people. Everyone around me was warming up with various forms of booze - and when the queue is that long, you can put away a fair bit before you're in-sight of the bouncers. Note to self: bring a pre-beverage for the queue next time ;) second note-to-self: find out who you have to speak to, to get yourself on the doorlist and bypass the queue... (as there's a second, shorter queue for those in-the-know... very exclusive, very Studio 54, perhaps?*)
Once you're in: Upstairs it's all very lights & disco - and it was packed. Solomun dropped hours and hours of contemporary house grooves. Lots of rubbery-Crosstown-Rebels-esque bass lines. Here's an example chosen almost randomly (by looking up Crosstown's latest releases):
cue the b'line (1:49):
Didn't love the layout of the main floor. Too much foot-traffic hustling & bustling... and there were some pushy people... Fuck-wits some would call them...(not a lot, but it only takes a few - downstairs and the crowd was much more welcoming)... I imagine it would be a much nicer experience when it's not so busy.
Sometime around 6am, the sun was up & streaming through Watergate's downstairs wall of glass (looking out to the Spree). Feeling a bit claustrophobic with the upstairs floor, it was time to wander down and catch some rays. By this point, I was considering having one last look around the place before heading-off. And then I got locked in a groove...
In terms of music, some of the best nights I've had in the past, have been under similar kind of conditions. You get to a point where you think, 'Ok, I'm outta here' (for whatever reason; another party, food/booze/sleep, other commitments) - and you tell yourself, 'a few more tracks, then I'll make a move'.... and five hours later, you're still there! Locked in a groove and loving it. Some things are worth sticking around for.
The jockee-of-discs in question was local spinner, Sven Von Thülen. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more sets of his (edit: got in touch via facebook, and might have solved my doorlist problem - he offered to pop me on a list for his Watergate gig with Kenny Larkin - sounds like fun). From 6am-10am-ish, Sven's grooves-of-choice were a kind of uptempo (128-ishbpm), melodic, deep-house... but in a soulful kind of vibe... think: Larry Heard, Theo Parrish, Motor City Drum Ensemble... including a few of my all-time favourites:
timeless...
(if you're listening on shitty speakers, you won't hear anything above till 0:27 - but it's worth the wait)
...and the rest of his set was comprised of grooves unbeknownst to me, but sounded gooood.
In terms of gear (anyone who doesn't care about technical stuff can skip this paragraph), Sven was playing across two CDJs, a Xone 92 mixer, and one turntable (which he was looping up with a looper/FX unit - that I've forgotten the name of... They're not a new toy, but I've never seen one in action before)... as a side-note; have noticed the Xone 92 mixer seems to be the club-standard here. It's used in both Watergate booths, plus the Berghain and Panorama booths - except for on Friday, when Arto Mwambe & Roman Flügel were using this rotary-fader (?) unit that looked like an old analogue synth (maybe that's exactly what it was; a synth for Arto's live-set, but doubling as a mixer via some line-level inputs... I'm not sure, but I've definitely never seen a mixer like that in any Dj booth).
***
Having spent a lot of the weekend in densely-packed clubs, I'm looking forward to when the weather picks up and more open-air parties are being thrown... A little more space to move is always appreciated : )
(having said that, there are some really tempting gigs at Berghain/Panorama & Watergate over the next few weeks - more crammed, sweaty, body-grinding is likely... and I'm still yet to see & hear KaterHolzig and Wilde Renate first-hand...)
(* I think David Mancuso had a better idea of how to throw a party with the Loft, and its more-openly-welcoming-than-Studio-54 ideals - he really set the blue-print)
Watergate gives me the impression that this is what Studio 54 must have been like... Getting in was a mission; they're not super-selective like Berghain, just super slow at processing people. Everyone around me was warming up with various forms of booze - and when the queue is that long, you can put away a fair bit before you're in-sight of the bouncers. Note to self: bring a pre-beverage for the queue next time ;) second note-to-self: find out who you have to speak to, to get yourself on the doorlist and bypass the queue... (as there's a second, shorter queue for those in-the-know... very exclusive, very Studio 54, perhaps?*)
Once you're in: Upstairs it's all very lights & disco - and it was packed. Solomun dropped hours and hours of contemporary house grooves. Lots of rubbery-Crosstown-Rebels-esque bass lines. Here's an example chosen almost randomly (by looking up Crosstown's latest releases):
cue the b'line (1:49):
Didn't love the layout of the main floor. Too much foot-traffic hustling & bustling... and there were some pushy people... Fuck-wits some would call them...(not a lot, but it only takes a few - downstairs and the crowd was much more welcoming)... I imagine it would be a much nicer experience when it's not so busy.
Sometime around 6am, the sun was up & streaming through Watergate's downstairs wall of glass (looking out to the Spree). Feeling a bit claustrophobic with the upstairs floor, it was time to wander down and catch some rays. By this point, I was considering having one last look around the place before heading-off. And then I got locked in a groove...
In terms of music, some of the best nights I've had in the past, have been under similar kind of conditions. You get to a point where you think, 'Ok, I'm outta here' (for whatever reason; another party, food/booze/sleep, other commitments) - and you tell yourself, 'a few more tracks, then I'll make a move'.... and five hours later, you're still there! Locked in a groove and loving it. Some things are worth sticking around for.
The jockee-of-discs in question was local spinner, Sven Von Thülen. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more sets of his (edit: got in touch via facebook, and might have solved my doorlist problem - he offered to pop me on a list for his Watergate gig with Kenny Larkin - sounds like fun). From 6am-10am-ish, Sven's grooves-of-choice were a kind of uptempo (128-ishbpm), melodic, deep-house... but in a soulful kind of vibe... think: Larry Heard, Theo Parrish, Motor City Drum Ensemble... including a few of my all-time favourites:
timeless...
(if you're listening on shitty speakers, you won't hear anything above till 0:27 - but it's worth the wait)
...and the rest of his set was comprised of grooves unbeknownst to me, but sounded gooood.
In terms of gear (anyone who doesn't care about technical stuff can skip this paragraph), Sven was playing across two CDJs, a Xone 92 mixer, and one turntable (which he was looping up with a looper/FX unit - that I've forgotten the name of... They're not a new toy, but I've never seen one in action before)... as a side-note; have noticed the Xone 92 mixer seems to be the club-standard here. It's used in both Watergate booths, plus the Berghain and Panorama booths - except for on Friday, when Arto Mwambe & Roman Flügel were using this rotary-fader (?) unit that looked like an old analogue synth (maybe that's exactly what it was; a synth for Arto's live-set, but doubling as a mixer via some line-level inputs... I'm not sure, but I've definitely never seen a mixer like that in any Dj booth).
***
Having spent a lot of the weekend in densely-packed clubs, I'm looking forward to when the weather picks up and more open-air parties are being thrown... A little more space to move is always appreciated : )
(having said that, there are some really tempting gigs at Berghain/Panorama & Watergate over the next few weeks - more crammed, sweaty, body-grinding is likely... and I'm still yet to see & hear KaterHolzig and Wilde Renate first-hand...)
(* I think David Mancuso had a better idea of how to throw a party with the Loft, and its more-openly-welcoming-than-Studio-54 ideals - he really set the blue-print)
Saturday, 12 May 2012
friday with Flügel
Friday night was all about Roman Flügel - what a dude! Having seen him play live in Melbourne a few months ago, I was keen to hear him behind the decks at Panorama... and he nailed it. Such good fun. A lot of the tracks he played sounded distinctly like his own productions - it'd be interesting to know how much of his set was original - or remixes he's done - versus other peoples' music. Will definitely keep an eye out for any more gigs he's playing (either live or DJing - really impressed with both varieties of the Flügel performance).
Fun techno...What's not to love? : ) *
(does anyone else also think the melodic synth vibes from 3:30 are kind of similar to the horn stabs in War's 'Low Rider', in terms of rhythmic lead melodies?)
Prior to Roman was the live duo of Arto Mwambe. Having come across their stuff accidentally years ago (again, in late high-school...) - I was keen to hear how it came across live. And the result? It was raw - but that's kind of expected when it's live (and this was 24-channel-mixing-desk-live, rather than the standard Ableton + controller set-up).... (as a side-note; Roman Flügel's live-set - in Melbourne this past April - was also of a rougher, more unpolished sound, compared with his releases... but don't let that deter anyone).
While it seems the general rule-of-thumb for set-times in Berlin is around 4 hours, it tends to be much shorter for live acts. Such was the case with Arto's hour-long set. While it was good fun, and recognisable as their signature bouncy-gritty-lofi-house sound, there were a few awkward mixes... at a couple of points, it sounded like someone had loaded a synth patch too early, while it was still playing... oops!
Arto's sound (again, poor audio quality in this video):
And paying respect to Loleatta's epic voice, here's the original disco groove that the above vox are taken from:
***
As a bonus, here's Roman doing his bit for dub-techno:
And here he is getting deep, introspective and beeee-yootiful:
* big thanks to Louis Tobin for showing me this little number
Fun techno...What's not to love? : ) *
(does anyone else also think the melodic synth vibes from 3:30 are kind of similar to the horn stabs in War's 'Low Rider', in terms of rhythmic lead melodies?)
Prior to Roman was the live duo of Arto Mwambe. Having come across their stuff accidentally years ago (again, in late high-school...) - I was keen to hear how it came across live. And the result? It was raw - but that's kind of expected when it's live (and this was 24-channel-mixing-desk-live, rather than the standard Ableton + controller set-up).... (as a side-note; Roman Flügel's live-set - in Melbourne this past April - was also of a rougher, more unpolished sound, compared with his releases... but don't let that deter anyone).
While it seems the general rule-of-thumb for set-times in Berlin is around 4 hours, it tends to be much shorter for live acts. Such was the case with Arto's hour-long set. While it was good fun, and recognisable as their signature bouncy-gritty-lofi-house sound, there were a few awkward mixes... at a couple of points, it sounded like someone had loaded a synth patch too early, while it was still playing... oops!
Arto's sound (again, poor audio quality in this video):
And paying respect to Loleatta's epic voice, here's the original disco groove that the above vox are taken from:
***
As a bonus, here's Roman doing his bit for dub-techno:
And here he is getting deep, introspective and beeee-yootiful:
* big thanks to Louis Tobin for showing me this little number
Friday, 11 May 2012
free-wheeling ramblings on Friedrichshain
Moved across to Friedrichshain last Thursday. Staying in a neat little apartment with a couple of rock-climbing enthusiasts and their cat. All very friendly so far : ) They're living in the north-east tip of the suburb, several blocks north of the Spree. The area is definitely more gentrified than Neukölln - the babies and prams are a giveaway!
***
Feel like I'm getting the feel of Friedrichshain (and slowly remembering how to spell it too). The area reminds me of Melbourne's Chapel St. It's definitely undergone gentrification in the last 5/10/15 years - but there seem to be some interesting parts left... just as Chapel St still has the Windsor end (to retain some street cred). From what I can tell, south of Frankfurter Allee/Karl-Marx Allee seems to be the more interesting part, while the northern bit is pram-town.
From Friday 16th, I'm off to Kreuzberg for a few days.
Enjoyed Friedrichshain plenty (more-so in the less baby-populated sections)... my rock-climbing-obsessed hosts took me climbing too; good fun, and good exercise.
 |
***
Feel like I'm getting the feel of Friedrichshain (and slowly remembering how to spell it too). The area reminds me of Melbourne's Chapel St. It's definitely undergone gentrification in the last 5/10/15 years - but there seem to be some interesting parts left... just as Chapel St still has the Windsor end (to retain some street cred). From what I can tell, south of Frankfurter Allee/Karl-Marx Allee seems to be the more interesting part, while the northern bit is pram-town.
 | ||
| pram-central |
 | ||
| not sure, but I think this is one of Berlin's last remaining squat(ish) ventures… a block from... |
From Friday 16th, I'm off to Kreuzberg for a few days.
Enjoyed Friedrichshain plenty (more-so in the less baby-populated sections)... my rock-climbing-obsessed hosts took me climbing too; good fun, and good exercise.
 |
| ... this! how's that for variety in the same neighbourhood? |
Thursday, 10 May 2012
sucked into an abyss
"it's a black hole that will swallow your time, money and soul" is how Berghain was recently described to me, by a North-American girl passing through town... she meant that in the most positive way possible...
Come Saturday night, I meant to have a short nap and head to the Laden again with my flatmates, aiming to be there around midnight. Instead, I woke up at 5am (feeling fresh) - a good time to check out Berghain and catch some of Steve Rachmad's set.
Knowing his sound from a few productions and remixes of his, plus his recently re-released "Secret Life of Machines" LP, I was expecting some melody. His set was pretty heavy, not as heavily-percussive as Blake Baxter and the support crew from the night before, but not as melodic as I expected. Got the impression that the Berghain floor is for serious grooves, while Panorama bar - upstairs - is of the more tech-house & disco-esque vibe.
After a short and sober stint, I left Berghain around 10am to head back to the flat to work on something... (as I'm trying to remain productive, amongst the distractions and 'research' - as Gian-Paolo & I have taken to calling it, meaning any social event that beckons you to go out and leave your work-in-progress... hopefully leading to the soaking-up of ideas and some further inspiration, or at least some reflection on how the piece is going... or to get generally wasted... it's like a choose-your-own-adventure novel, except it's your life, rather than a Goosebumps book).
By 4pm Sunday - having been productive, rested and eaten - I was back at Berghain (once your inked, you can enter/exit across the weekend). This time I met-up with a friend from Melbourne beforehand - she just happens to be a 'Bergs' devotee.
Such an intense place... Like an industrial playground. An ideal venue for dirty, dark techno... Four massive stacks of Funktion Ones make-up the Berghain room, plus two angled horn-and-mid-satellites face the crowd from in-front and behind... a good system for surround-sound-ish gigs?
In terms of sound, it's loud but clear (you can talk to your fellow oonce-devotees). The system seems to be pegged at 100dBSPL in both bars (I measured it - just out of curiosity). For those that are soft - or cautious, as I see it - with their ears, the cloak-room downstairs has earplugs (cut a cm off the end of them if Frankenstein isn't the look you're going for). 'Haben Sie Ohrstöpsel?' - 'have you got earplugs?'.
Visually, Berghain has got plenty to offer. While you can't take your camera in the venue (instead checking it at the door), there's plenty to see and capture in your mind's-eye instead. Whether it be the labyrinth of small dark rooms, the outlandish outfits of those around you or the variety of people in the crowd, there's something to look at.
From memory, the Berghain closed-up at around 10pm (with an epic, 5-minute breakdown courtesy of Patrick Gräser). Shortly after this Steffi took over the reins upstairs in Panorama and rode it out till dawn.
Panorama's system isn't as massive as the downstairs room, but it's still huge. Consisting of four suspended stacks of mids/high boxes (can't remember the manufacturer) - with the subs to one side of the room.
In terms of design, the space has been well-conceived. When you enter Panorama, the floor is directly in front of you, with the bar at the back of the room. But if you take a sharp-right, there's a walkway all the way to the back of the room and back to the bar. Essentially, it works as a pathway that can take you across the room without having to push through the throng of people on the floor. Clever management of foot-traffic... and you'll appreciated it doubly-so when you're tearing up the floorboards and not as many people are bustling passed.
They closed-up Panoramama sometime after dawn, Monday morning. Wandered out into a grey-sky feeling pretty good... Must have spent about 20 hours of the weekend in that epic hunk of concrete, steel and glass... what a wholesome way to start the week ;)
Will definitely be back there soon. Over the next few weeks alone, Carl Craig, Phonique, Trentemoller, Dinky, Dominik Eulberg and Extrawelt will be at either Berghain or Panormama. So another visit is inevitable.
In the meantime, I'm still to check out Watergate, KaterHolzig and Club Der Visionaere (each have been recommended).
Come Saturday night, I meant to have a short nap and head to the Laden again with my flatmates, aiming to be there around midnight. Instead, I woke up at 5am (feeling fresh) - a good time to check out Berghain and catch some of Steve Rachmad's set.
Knowing his sound from a few productions and remixes of his, plus his recently re-released "Secret Life of Machines" LP, I was expecting some melody. His set was pretty heavy, not as heavily-percussive as Blake Baxter and the support crew from the night before, but not as melodic as I expected. Got the impression that the Berghain floor is for serious grooves, while Panorama bar - upstairs - is of the more tech-house & disco-esque vibe.
After a short and sober stint, I left Berghain around 10am to head back to the flat to work on something... (as I'm trying to remain productive, amongst the distractions and 'research' - as Gian-Paolo & I have taken to calling it, meaning any social event that beckons you to go out and leave your work-in-progress... hopefully leading to the soaking-up of ideas and some further inspiration, or at least some reflection on how the piece is going... or to get generally wasted... it's like a choose-your-own-adventure novel, except it's your life, rather than a Goosebumps book).
By 4pm Sunday - having been productive, rested and eaten - I was back at Berghain (once your inked, you can enter/exit across the weekend). This time I met-up with a friend from Melbourne beforehand - she just happens to be a 'Bergs' devotee.
Such an intense place... Like an industrial playground. An ideal venue for dirty, dark techno... Four massive stacks of Funktion Ones make-up the Berghain room, plus two angled horn-and-mid-satellites face the crowd from in-front and behind... a good system for surround-sound-ish gigs?
 |
| a weekend in ink |
In terms of sound, it's loud but clear (you can talk to your fellow oonce-devotees). The system seems to be pegged at 100dBSPL in both bars (I measured it - just out of curiosity). For those that are soft - or cautious, as I see it - with their ears, the cloak-room downstairs has earplugs (cut a cm off the end of them if Frankenstein isn't the look you're going for). 'Haben Sie Ohrstöpsel?' - 'have you got earplugs?'.
Visually, Berghain has got plenty to offer. While you can't take your camera in the venue (instead checking it at the door), there's plenty to see and capture in your mind's-eye instead. Whether it be the labyrinth of small dark rooms, the outlandish outfits of those around you or the variety of people in the crowd, there's something to look at.
From memory, the Berghain closed-up at around 10pm (with an epic, 5-minute breakdown courtesy of Patrick Gräser). Shortly after this Steffi took over the reins upstairs in Panorama and rode it out till dawn.
Panorama's system isn't as massive as the downstairs room, but it's still huge. Consisting of four suspended stacks of mids/high boxes (can't remember the manufacturer) - with the subs to one side of the room.
In terms of design, the space has been well-conceived. When you enter Panorama, the floor is directly in front of you, with the bar at the back of the room. But if you take a sharp-right, there's a walkway all the way to the back of the room and back to the bar. Essentially, it works as a pathway that can take you across the room without having to push through the throng of people on the floor. Clever management of foot-traffic... and you'll appreciated it doubly-so when you're tearing up the floorboards and not as many people are bustling passed.
They closed-up Panoramama sometime after dawn, Monday morning. Wandered out into a grey-sky feeling pretty good... Must have spent about 20 hours of the weekend in that epic hunk of concrete, steel and glass... what a wholesome way to start the week ;)
Will definitely be back there soon. Over the next few weeks alone, Carl Craig, Phonique, Trentemoller, Dinky, Dominik Eulberg and Extrawelt will be at either Berghain or Panormama. So another visit is inevitable.
In the meantime, I'm still to check out Watergate, KaterHolzig and Club Der Visionaere (each have been recommended).
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
flying solo
Kicked off the weekend with my flatmates at small bar called 'The Laden'. A cool little venue that stays open well into the next day (one flatmate crawled home around 8am).
Following this, decided to check-out a gig in Friedrichshain, at the questionably-titled, 'Suicide Circus'. In particular, I wanted to hear headliner Blake Baxter do his thing. It was billed as a "DJ & live set combination", with Blake playing alongside a "[Roland] 808, 909, 303 and 404".
Here's an old (1987) Blake Baxter track I used to bounce along to in late high-school (around '04-'06, I remember digging up some early house & techno gems):
(bouncing staccato bass-line from 0:53, like dribbling a dozen basket balls at once - siick)
The warm-up jockees were all percussion and no melody. Though I arrived around 1am, come 3am it seemed like the same track was still spinning... not much was happening.
Mr Baxter took to the stage sometime after 3. His sound was tougher and more-percussive than I expected, but brought some vocals and melody into the mix. In terms of his set-up, it looked like he was running the Roland TR-909 as the main rhythm-machine and syncing the rest to this (or mixing into this on CDJs - didn't see him spinning vinyl, but I wasn't watching the booth for the whole gig, so maybe he did later - there were definitely turntables set-up).
Regarding the venue; there was plenty of space in the main-room and a solid PA; four large boxes suspended form the ceiling in each corner, angled at the crowd (kind of like Revolver's main-room PA in Melbourne, but each speaker was about four times the size). Pretty sure the subs were mounted on the floor.
In terms of vision, it had a dark/blue-light kind of vibe. Personally, I thought the decor was kind of tacky... with things stuck to wall in Pac-man-esque kind of patterns, and stencils of E... all a bit 90s rave, perhaps? (as a side-note: seen a few posters - mainly in the touristy parts of town - pushing 90s-styled parties... geared towards late 20-something/early 30-something tourists hankering after that cheesy pre-millennium vibe, I guess...?).
I got the impression that the crowd consisted of many tourists... despite all this, I was there till sunrise. Won't rush back to the Suicide Club, but if an act I particularly wanted to see was playing there, I'd definitely consider another visit (it sounded good - which counts for something)...
Following this, decided to check-out a gig in Friedrichshain, at the questionably-titled, 'Suicide Circus'. In particular, I wanted to hear headliner Blake Baxter do his thing. It was billed as a "DJ & live set combination", with Blake playing alongside a "[Roland] 808, 909, 303 and 404".
Here's an old (1987) Blake Baxter track I used to bounce along to in late high-school (around '04-'06, I remember digging up some early house & techno gems):
(bouncing staccato bass-line from 0:53, like dribbling a dozen basket balls at once - siick)
The warm-up jockees were all percussion and no melody. Though I arrived around 1am, come 3am it seemed like the same track was still spinning... not much was happening.
Mr Baxter took to the stage sometime after 3. His sound was tougher and more-percussive than I expected, but brought some vocals and melody into the mix. In terms of his set-up, it looked like he was running the Roland TR-909 as the main rhythm-machine and syncing the rest to this (or mixing into this on CDJs - didn't see him spinning vinyl, but I wasn't watching the booth for the whole gig, so maybe he did later - there were definitely turntables set-up).
Regarding the venue; there was plenty of space in the main-room and a solid PA; four large boxes suspended form the ceiling in each corner, angled at the crowd (kind of like Revolver's main-room PA in Melbourne, but each speaker was about four times the size). Pretty sure the subs were mounted on the floor.
In terms of vision, it had a dark/blue-light kind of vibe. Personally, I thought the decor was kind of tacky... with things stuck to wall in Pac-man-esque kind of patterns, and stencils of E... all a bit 90s rave, perhaps? (as a side-note: seen a few posters - mainly in the touristy parts of town - pushing 90s-styled parties... geared towards late 20-something/early 30-something tourists hankering after that cheesy pre-millennium vibe, I guess...?).
I got the impression that the crowd consisted of many tourists... despite all this, I was there till sunrise. Won't rush back to the Suicide Club, but if an act I particularly wanted to see was playing there, I'd definitely consider another visit (it sounded good - which counts for something)...
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
a day in May
Yesterday was May Day - a public holiday here. 27ºC, Sunny.
Having hauled my gear across town to Neukölln - to live with four interesting young Berliners for a few days - it was time to hunt down an open bottle-o (more like a milk-bar, in Melbourne terms - except they sell beer as well as milk... and like milk bars, are usually closed on public holidays).
With most of the others off to a private bbq, one of the housemates and I - an artist of New York/Italian descent - headed to Gorlitzer park. Traditionally, this particular park - situated right in the heart of Kreuzberg - ends up as a riot-zone between the Polizei and Berlin's anarchists and political activists. However, prior to this seemingly-inevitable meltdown, the area hosts a stack of outdoor PA systems.
With roadblocks, large crowds (1000s?) and plenty of riot police standing around looking bored, it was pretty mental getting in, but super peaceful half-way through the park... sat down and chatted, completely forgetting about the impending riot outside the park walls.
An interesting conversation with the housemate, Gian-Paolo. He hasn't worked in over a year and has been getting-by from selling his paintings... chatted about art and living in Berlin, and life and girls... and how ridiculously long German mobile numbers are (12 digits..?!)... that kind of thing.
Next up was to tackle the bedlam outside the park and see what sounds were being beamed out into the city. Crammed into the single block of Kreuzberg that Kleine Reise is in, there were at least half-a-dozen PAs. if you weren't directly front & centre of a speaker stack, leakage from one stage to another was obvious - but some decent grooves were cranking.
As the vibe between the police and the crowd was getting uglier (riot squads were starting to close in), it was time to make tracks. In doing so, I was stopped & searched by an officer. Pretty friendly, really... (even so, at the time, I had been here less than a week!) ... was interesting explaining that my helmet was for my bike, not for causing a ruckus...
Not sure if riots actually broke-out, but at 5:35pm, the forecast was looking something like:
thunder storm; possible riot; probable.
It seems as though having that many riot police and road blocks is kind of self-fulfilling in terms of developing a recipe for a riot - there was a tense feeling in the air.
In other news, had a mildly productive day today. Here's this loose & live recording of a bass-line I was working on:
Having hauled my gear across town to Neukölln - to live with four interesting young Berliners for a few days - it was time to hunt down an open bottle-o (more like a milk-bar, in Melbourne terms - except they sell beer as well as milk... and like milk bars, are usually closed on public holidays).
 |
| view from window in Neukölln - scaffolding included |
An interesting conversation with the housemate, Gian-Paolo. He hasn't worked in over a year and has been getting-by from selling his paintings... chatted about art and living in Berlin, and life and girls... and how ridiculously long German mobile numbers are (12 digits..?!)... that kind of thing.
Next up was to tackle the bedlam outside the park and see what sounds were being beamed out into the city. Crammed into the single block of Kreuzberg that Kleine Reise is in, there were at least half-a-dozen PAs. if you weren't directly front & centre of a speaker stack, leakage from one stage to another was obvious - but some decent grooves were cranking.
 |
| Gianni's flyer - his work can be seen at :www.artgianpaolo.com/ |
 |
| ("...bass from those high definition speakers... givin' us the boom boom boom..." - R.Clarke) |
Not sure if riots actually broke-out, but at 5:35pm, the forecast was looking something like:
thunder storm; possible riot; probable.
It seems as though having that many riot police and road blocks is kind of self-fulfilling in terms of developing a recipe for a riot - there was a tense feeling in the air.
 |
| ("Woop, woop! That's the sound of da police..." KRS-One. They actually sound more like "eyooore-eyooore" in Europe) |
In other news, had a mildly productive day today. Here's this loose & live recording of a bass-line I was working on:
Monday, 30 April 2012
burbs in Berls
First weekend in Berlin was a little quieter than expected, but more wholesome - and a good chance to fully recover from an epic succession of weekends in Melbourne.
It seems the beautiful weather has come along for the journey. Melbourne was exceptionally beautiful during my last few weeks there, and Berlin was close to setting some kind of record this Saturday... 29ºC is almost unheard of during April.
In response, we headed to the local lakes. In a word; beeeeeyoootiful. Without a doubt, the coldest water I've been in for a while. Literally breath-taking (as in muscle-tightening, hard-to-breathe... Just fine, so long as you keep moving).
A little hazy on the details after this, but I know I ended up at Kleine Reise a couple of times across the weekend... a bar in Kreuzberg. It was recommended to me by a friend when I said I was looking for something with the same kind of vibe as Killing Time (Windsor, Melbourne - a second home). While it hasn't filled the KT-sized hole in my soul, I'll definitely head back there. My only complaint is that it hasn't got a big enough system - by half. Having had a chat with one of the bartenders/owners/mangers, this could be due to the noise complaints they've experienced recently.
Onwards... following this, I wound up at an unlikely venue. Set inside a spare room within an apartment block, Loftus Hall - run by the same owners of Kleine Reise - could be easy to miss. While I'm told it's only a recent addition to Berlin's club scene, it has plenty of potential (on the smaller, more-intimate scale of venues). Packing a bigger system, the only changes I'd make are to add a few couches to the bar space and some red cellophane to the bar lights (as they bleed white light into the otherwise-red-lit dance-floor, which kind of effects the intimate atmosphere going on in there). The sounds were oozing a raw-house vibe. Really cool. Perhaps a little cheesy at times, but good fun.
Wandering out of Loftus Hall, the next adventure was quite literally beckoning from the other end of the street. Following my ears, I came across a bunch of wild (and wired?) kids cranking tunes from some kind of battery-powered amp...
... caught the train home around 5am, catching my first sunrise in Berlin (the sun sets really late at this time of year, and rises pretty early).
An interesting night hearing a bunch of sounds I've never heard before : )
Having slept most of Sunday, decided to go for a bike ride that evening. Despite getting lost, eventually made it to Templehof. Historically-relevant for those that way inclined, it's now a massive public park.Will have to visit again next time there's a proper event happening.
Come Monday evening, was invited to a small gig in a courtyard next-door to a comic bookstore. While the main act, Robin Sukroso, usually does a kind of one-man-band show with a modified electric guitar, tonight was an acoustic performance (as he recently had most of his gear stolen after a gig - shiiiit). Though not his usual show, his showmanship was top-notch - will make sure I get to his next electronic gig later in May.
Here he is doing his electronic thing:
While I failed to understand his intermission chit-chat (that damn language barrier) -he briefly described some of the modifications to his electric guitar; essentially he's added a bunch of velocity-sensitive drum pads to it, and also the top two strings (lowest in tune), can be used to transmit midi messages... so they can be used to play a synth, for example... and usually there are no intermissions, with one track leading into the next... a seemingly-endless succession of grooves... Will have to witness this first hand.
Here's the flyer:
Headed to Neukölln tomorrow. Should be a little more wild ;)
It seems the beautiful weather has come along for the journey. Melbourne was exceptionally beautiful during my last few weeks there, and Berlin was close to setting some kind of record this Saturday... 29ºC is almost unheard of during April.
 |
| South-West Berlin's forests, by Schlachtensee station (S-Bahn) |
A little hazy on the details after this, but I know I ended up at Kleine Reise a couple of times across the weekend... a bar in Kreuzberg. It was recommended to me by a friend when I said I was looking for something with the same kind of vibe as Killing Time (Windsor, Melbourne - a second home). While it hasn't filled the KT-sized hole in my soul, I'll definitely head back there. My only complaint is that it hasn't got a big enough system - by half. Having had a chat with one of the bartenders/owners/mangers, this could be due to the noise complaints they've experienced recently.
 |
| half a shop sign eye-balled on my way home - jack your body ;) |
Wandering out of Loftus Hall, the next adventure was quite literally beckoning from the other end of the street. Following my ears, I came across a bunch of wild (and wired?) kids cranking tunes from some kind of battery-powered amp...
... caught the train home around 5am, catching my first sunrise in Berlin (the sun sets really late at this time of year, and rises pretty early).
 |
| here comes the sun... |
An interesting night hearing a bunch of sounds I've never heard before : )
 |
| South-East corner of Templehof (Neukölln side) |
Come Monday evening, was invited to a small gig in a courtyard next-door to a comic bookstore. While the main act, Robin Sukroso, usually does a kind of one-man-band show with a modified electric guitar, tonight was an acoustic performance (as he recently had most of his gear stolen after a gig - shiiiit). Though not his usual show, his showmanship was top-notch - will make sure I get to his next electronic gig later in May.
Here he is doing his electronic thing:
While I failed to understand his intermission chit-chat (that damn language barrier) -he briefly described some of the modifications to his electric guitar; essentially he's added a bunch of velocity-sensitive drum pads to it, and also the top two strings (lowest in tune), can be used to transmit midi messages... so they can be used to play a synth, for example... and usually there are no intermissions, with one track leading into the next... a seemingly-endless succession of grooves... Will have to witness this first hand.
Here's the flyer:
Headed to Neukölln tomorrow. Should be a little more wild ;)
Friday, 27 April 2012
leaving Mitte
Was awoken early this morning by the bumping and grinding of a dorm-mate and the girl who works across the road from him. He works nightshifts, so they didn't lob-in till around 5am. After much huffing and puffing from the bed next to me, decided it was time to go for an early-morning ride :)
Took a detour off one of the main roads heading North (Prenzlauer Allee) - away from the TV Tower (Fernsehturm in Deutsche) - and found myself in an old cemetery. Apart from the distant hum of morning commuters, it would have been easy to forget I was in the middle of a city… Am really beginning to appreciate the amount of parkland remaining in Berlin - I'm sure it will make for some memorable, spontaneous park-parties come the warmer weather.
Next mission was to find a basket for my bike, so that I can lug more stuff around. Found one, care of a beauty-product-department-store… quick stroll in & out and I was up a complimentary bicycling accessory (and looking around town, I'm not the only one to have reached this conclusion - all I had to do now was find some zip-ties…).
Attempting to hurdle the language barrier, I next decided to hunt-down some occy straps (according to the girl at reception, that's 'gepacktrager-gammieband' in German)… done & dusted, the afternoon's mission was a cross-town adventure with all my bags.
Having found a couch to crash in the South-West of Berlin, it was time to check-out of the hostel and time to exit Mitte. Thanks to the kind generosity of a host on couch-surfers.org, I had a place lined-up not far from the S-Bahn station in Lichterfelde West… getting there proved to be a bit of a mission. Carrying about 30kg of stuff, I can safely-say that I need to lighten the load!
Later in the afternoon my host and I rode down to the local 'supermarket' to stock-up on food. Never has grocery shopping been so interesting! So many unusual foods - from packaged goods to veggies, there was a lot of things I didn't recognise. What's more, I've noticed that cheese is much cheaper here. So is Jagermeister (€10 a bottle)… interesting : )
this part of town is very picturesque and quiet… come the weekend, I think I'll be hungry for some oonce-tst-ooonce-tst sounds and vibe… maybe Berghain is on the cards for Sunday?
And here's the audio environment:
Took a detour off one of the main roads heading North (Prenzlauer Allee) - away from the TV Tower (Fernsehturm in Deutsche) - and found myself in an old cemetery. Apart from the distant hum of morning commuters, it would have been easy to forget I was in the middle of a city… Am really beginning to appreciate the amount of parkland remaining in Berlin - I'm sure it will make for some memorable, spontaneous park-parties come the warmer weather.
Next mission was to find a basket for my bike, so that I can lug more stuff around. Found one, care of a beauty-product-department-store… quick stroll in & out and I was up a complimentary bicycling accessory (and looking around town, I'm not the only one to have reached this conclusion - all I had to do now was find some zip-ties…).
Attempting to hurdle the language barrier, I next decided to hunt-down some occy straps (according to the girl at reception, that's 'gepacktrager-gammieband' in German)… done & dusted, the afternoon's mission was a cross-town adventure with all my bags.
Having found a couch to crash in the South-West of Berlin, it was time to check-out of the hostel and time to exit Mitte. Thanks to the kind generosity of a host on couch-surfers.org, I had a place lined-up not far from the S-Bahn station in Lichterfelde West… getting there proved to be a bit of a mission. Carrying about 30kg of stuff, I can safely-say that I need to lighten the load!
Later in the afternoon my host and I rode down to the local 'supermarket' to stock-up on food. Never has grocery shopping been so interesting! So many unusual foods - from packaged goods to veggies, there was a lot of things I didn't recognise. What's more, I've noticed that cheese is much cheaper here. So is Jagermeister (€10 a bottle)… interesting : )
 |
| my host's backyard - think I'll catch some rays & Vit D |
this part of town is very picturesque and quiet… come the weekend, I think I'll be hungry for some oonce-tst-ooonce-tst sounds and vibe… maybe Berghain is on the cards for Sunday?
And here's the audio environment:
Thursday, 26 April 2012
day-one in Berlin
 |
| goooood morning! |
Managed to hunt-down a push-bike today. Bit of a chunky beast, rather than a sleek machine - but it goes, and it didn't cost me the world. Now I'm free to roam the streets - just have to keep in mind which side of the road they cruise down here!
 | ||
| space-age apartments in Kreuzberg, alongside a DIY hostel? |
Don't feel like I've really got to know Berlin as-yet. Still sorting out the logistics of it all - and probably spending too much time in Mitte to get the real Berlin-vibe (as that's where the hostel is).
footnote: for anyone else looking to buy a second-hand bike, I got mine from Der Altladen, (Bürknerstrasse, 23, Kreuzberg). I'm sure you can find cheaper rides at the fleamarkets, but I didn't know when/where they were happening (and was keen to get a set of wheels quickly).
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
almost in Berlin
 |
| ticket to ride |
Made it as far as Frankfurt's main railway station - a short trip from the airport. My Frankfurtian friend, Luca, described his home-town as ugly and industrial. While my own experience has been limited to the airport and main railway station (so probably a little biased) - maybe he has a point? On the other hand, the plane flew in close to some pretty widespread forestland - and the train from the airport to main station took us through similar-looking terrain…
 |
| Frankfurt train tracks in the rain |
Apparently it's 12ºC here, but it feels warmer than I expected it to. Maybe that's because I'm lugging around half my body-weight in baggage? Will see if I can lighten the load soon.
Was fed and watered during the flight, feeling ok. It's about 4pm in the arvo here, and I feel like I've got 4 o'clock-itis - so I think I'll be ok with jet-lag ;)
Edit: have now arrived in Berlin. Staying in right in the centre (Mitte). Will try and find somewhere more exciting to reside in the next few days. Finding a second-hand pushbike seems like a good idea too.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Aril & Adelaide adventures
With the week's plan being Aphex Twin on tues, Aril Brikha Friday, followed by a quick trip to Adelaide for Saturday and Sun (checking out the Womad festival and hanging out with Dad) - it was looking to be a good week.
***
Friday's live-set with Aril Brikha was present by Chameleon Records. Being a long weekend (presumably with plenty of people making the most of it by getting out of the city), things were slow to kick off. All the same, come midnight and the place was bustling… the crowd was down for a good night : )
Aril's set was an uptempo adventure of banging, melodic techno. Great for stomping away. Most of it seemed to be cruising at 130bpm-ish, with a strongly percussive vibe. To wrap it all up, he dragged the tempo down to a lowly 110-ish jaunt before local act Child jumped behind the faders and pots, to take us on one of his theatric techno adventures.
In typical Chameleon style, the night was also well-catered for visually. Not sure who was on VJing duties, but it was looking lush.
For those interested; Aril's rig was;
a laptop running ableton, novation launchpad and livid's code controller… nice and portable.
***
Snatched some sleep Saturday morning and afternoon before heading off to Adelaide to catch-up with Dad, and check out some of the Womad festival....
Adelaide: The plane tou
ched-down with a jolt. On the road everyone seems to cruise around 10 clicks below the limit… Life moves at a different pace, compared to Melbourne - nice for a change.
Sat evening: Caught Mali's Tinariwen doing their tightly-grooving thing (despite the fact that two of the band member's had been held-up in a refugee camp). A bit later found myself checking out the lush sound of UK producer Bonobo and his band, for their last gig of the Black Sands LP tour. Another tight band - wish I'd caught the drummer's name, was grooving nicely… Wrapped up the evening lost in dub (with sprinkles of DnB) listening to the twisted experiments of the Mad Professor… he had a 24 channel mixing desk plus effects as his instruments of choice - would have been great to get a clo
ser peak at how he had it set-up.
Interestingly, I found I was the youngest in the crowd for parts of Womad (for example at Tinariwen's set), and other times it seemed like I was the oldest (a really young crew was getting into the Mad Professor's bass-a-licious sounds - Womad's an all-ages event)… the festival pulls a diverse crowd.
Sunday: back to Womad to check out some more mixed grooves. Early on in the day, and two Melbourne bands got our attention; The Melbourne Ska Orchestra and Blue King Brown. Both really tight bands and good fun.
During my meandering on Saturday night, I caught part of a doco being shown on the Democratic Republic of Congo band Staff Benda Bilili (the doco was called 'Benda Bilili!'). As it turns out, they were playing a set Sunday evening. Not as tightly rehearsed as some of the other acts on offer (I've since decided I prefer their studio work), but really good fun:
^ (Watch your volume level - kicks off with intense amplitude, and there doesn't seem to be a volume slider on the soundcloud player). The twangy stringed instrument from about 16 seconds is a home-made, single-stringed amplified lute. This track is from their Très Très Fort LP (Crammed Discs).
Here's the trailer for the doco on Staff Benda Bilili:
Continuing to emphasise an element of fun, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain played a cover set, reconfiguring the world of popular music through their small, four-stringed instruments. Good fun. Their arsenal was comprised of multiple ukuleles (including a bass) and voice (both lead and harmonising) - percussion provided through hitting the bodies of the instruments.
^ A personal favourite from their set
Aril Brikha http://www.myspace.com/arilbrikha
Blue King Brown http://www.bluekingbrown.com/
Bonobo http://www.bonobomusic.com/
Child http://childlive.tumblr.com/
Livid 'code' midi controller http://lividinstruments.com/hardware_code.php
Melbourne Ska Orchestra http://www.melbourneskaorchestra.com/
Staff Benda Bilili http://www.staffbendabilili.com/
Tinariwen: http://www.tinariwen.com/
***
Friday's live-set with Aril Brikha was present by Chameleon Records. Being a long weekend (presumably with plenty of people making the most of it by getting out of the city), things were slow to kick off. All the same, come midnight and the place was bustling… the crowd was down for a good night : )
Aril's set was an uptempo adventure of banging, melodic techno. Great for stomping away. Most of it seemed to be cruising at 130bpm-ish, with a strongly percussive vibe. To wrap it all up, he dragged the tempo down to a lowly 110-ish jaunt before local act Child jumped behind the faders and pots, to take us on one of his theatric techno adventures.
In typical Chameleon style, the night was also well-catered for visually. Not sure who was on VJing duties, but it was looking lush.
For those interested; Aril's rig was;
a laptop running ableton, novation launchpad and livid's code controller… nice and portable.
***
Snatched some sleep Saturday morning and afternoon before heading off to Adelaide to catch-up with Dad, and check out some of the Womad festival....
Adelaide: The plane tou
ched-down with a jolt. On the road everyone seems to cruise around 10 clicks below the limit… Life moves at a different pace, compared to Melbourne - nice for a change.Sat evening: Caught Mali's Tinariwen doing their tightly-grooving thing (despite the fact that two of the band member's had been held-up in a refugee camp). A bit later found myself checking out the lush sound of UK producer Bonobo and his band, for their last gig of the Black Sands LP tour. Another tight band - wish I'd caught the drummer's name, was grooving nicely… Wrapped up the evening lost in dub (with sprinkles of DnB) listening to the twisted experiments of the Mad Professor… he had a 24 channel mixing desk plus effects as his instruments of choice - would have been great to get a clo
ser peak at how he had it set-up.Interestingly, I found I was the youngest in the crowd for parts of Womad (for example at Tinariwen's set), and other times it seemed like I was the oldest (a really young crew was getting into the Mad Professor's bass-a-licious sounds - Womad's an all-ages event)… the festival pulls a diverse crowd.
Sunday: back to Womad to check out some more mixed grooves. Early on in the day, and two Melbourne bands got our attention; The Melbourne Ska Orchestra and Blue King Brown. Both really tight bands and good fun.
During my meandering on Saturday night, I caught part of a doco being shown on the Democratic Republic of Congo band Staff Benda Bilili (the doco was called 'Benda Bilili!'). As it turns out, they were playing a set Sunday evening. Not as tightly rehearsed as some of the other acts on offer (I've since decided I prefer their studio work), but really good fun:
^ (Watch your volume level - kicks off with intense amplitude, and there doesn't seem to be a volume slider on the soundcloud player). The twangy stringed instrument from about 16 seconds is a home-made, single-stringed amplified lute. This track is from their Très Très Fort LP (Crammed Discs).
Here's the trailer for the doco on Staff Benda Bilili:
Continuing to emphasise an element of fun, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain played a cover set, reconfiguring the world of popular music through their small, four-stringed instruments. Good fun. Their arsenal was comprised of multiple ukuleles (including a bass) and voice (both lead and harmonising) - percussion provided through hitting the bodies of the instruments.
^ A personal favourite from their set
Aril Brikha http://www.myspace.com/arilbrikha
Blue King Brown http://www.bluekingbrown.com/
Bonobo http://www.bonobomusic.com/
Child http://childlive.tumblr.com/
Livid 'code' midi controller http://lividinstruments.com/hardware_code.php
Melbourne Ska Orchestra http://www.melbourneskaorchestra.com/
Staff Benda Bilili http://www.staffbendabilili.com/
Tinariwen: http://www.tinariwen.com/
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
freaky deaky Aphex Twin
Last night I witnessed the freaky-deakiness that is Richard D James (Aphex Twin).
Off course it got really full on and brutal, but that was kind of expected - a lot of his sound seems to play with a contrast between beauty and ugliness. The first 20/30/40 mins (wasn't really counting) was my favourite - a little more melodic and ambient…
… but thought the last 10 minutes of really-hectic-distortion-and-feedback-chaos were pretty mental (in a good way? in a kind of sci-fi-armeggedon kind of way)…. would love to see him outdoors, in a more doof-like-vibe : ) would be keen to see a chill set of his too (if he does them?) - exploring some of his more melodic ideas?
Though he was hardly-visible - consisting of a bopping head, longhair and headphones - from a distance he could have been mistaken for a seemingly less-friendly relative of James Zabiela (who's always a blast to see behind the decks). Similarities can be drawn between their sound also (but who hasn't been inspired by the sound of the Aphex Twin?).
A lot of the evening was paying homage to various strains of techno - in a variety of different forms (straight-laced, broken, glitchy)… All of which appeals to my inner dork. And looking around the crowd who turned up last night, seems to appeal similarly to both the inner and outer dork of plenty of others : )
an interesting gig - better than a quiet Tuesday night at home : )
The evening's set was at least as eclectic as this cut from his Drukqs LP.
Off course it got really full on and brutal, but that was kind of expected - a lot of his sound seems to play with a contrast between beauty and ugliness. The first 20/30/40 mins (wasn't really counting) was my favourite - a little more melodic and ambient…
… but thought the last 10 minutes of really-hectic-distortion-and-feedback-chaos were pretty mental (in a good way? in a kind of sci-fi-armeggedon kind of way)…. would love to see him outdoors, in a more doof-like-vibe : ) would be keen to see a chill set of his too (if he does them?) - exploring some of his more melodic ideas?
Though he was hardly-visible - consisting of a bopping head, longhair and headphones - from a distance he could have been mistaken for a seemingly less-friendly relative of James Zabiela (who's always a blast to see behind the decks). Similarities can be drawn between their sound also (but who hasn't been inspired by the sound of the Aphex Twin?).
A lot of the evening was paying homage to various strains of techno - in a variety of different forms (straight-laced, broken, glitchy)… All of which appeals to my inner dork. And looking around the crowd who turned up last night, seems to appeal similarly to both the inner and outer dork of plenty of others : )
an interesting gig - better than a quiet Tuesday night at home : )
The evening's set was at least as eclectic as this cut from his Drukqs LP.
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