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:
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
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 : )
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