Sounding Depth

Well, well, well. It's been a busy week already, and it's only Wednesday. I played some records at the Fourthcity Weekly on Monday night. Great times. Those guys have created a wicked thing down there. It never fails to blow me away that they can pull in such a good crowd, and create such a good vibe, all on a Monday night, week by week. Fantastic.

Introcut and djn started it out with some nice hip-hop beats, and a little jungle, replete with scratchaction. Kris Moon, winner of Fridays' laptop battle, played a surprisingly restrained set, quite ambient even, but beautiful just the same. Then I played some records. Rama went "Bam, Bam" and took it up a notch, 2-step style with toasting by Ali getting the ladies on the fuh-loor. Obelus's live performance was refreshingly physical. It's great to see an actual drummer hitting actual drums, and doubly so when he's wearing a headlamp like a spelunker. Zapan closed the night out right with some great hiphop turntablism.

Then last night I had the priviledge of playing an atmospheric set at polygraphic @ the aurafice cafe. It was fun to play all the stuff I don't normally, and not worry about beatmatching. "Layer upon layer upon layer".

So, two late nights in a row, and I feel kind of delerious right now. Hopefully I'll catch up on my sleep before the big one on Saturday.

Here's a wee bio I had to write for another reason, but I guess I'll put it here if anyone is interested:

I started listening to electronic music back in the early 90s, with a
major introduction being the Trance Europe Express series. I think my
exploration of mind altering substances helped hook me into the music.
I started to go to warehouse and outdoor parties, and then in 1997 after
having a go on a friend's tables I decided to buy my own and start
DJing myself.

I started out playing trance, goa and psychedelic mainly, and then got
into some harder trance. At the same time, I was fascinated by Detroit
techno and german minimal techno, especially the deep dubby stuff.
Living in New Zealand made it hard to find those records though.

From hard trance I got into techno, tribally kind of stuff, then
started to buy more house influenced techno once the thrill of the outdoor
party wore off and I started going to clubs more. Living in London for a
year helped that houseward drift in my tastes.

Returning to NZ, I got into playing clubs and my first radio gig, which
was simply pre-recorded hour long sets. The houseward drift continued,
especially with a residencey in a lounge bar. But it was always the
offbeat house productions that appealed to me. I definately don't dig
on formulaic music.

After a while at the radio station I got bored of just playing music,
and decided I wanted to talk about it too, and so I started a show called
NZealectronica, which survives to this day. Obviously it focused on
local music, and it allowed me to share not just my passion, but my knowledge
with others. Pretty rewarding stuff.

The tech-house that I had be playing started to get pretty samey by the
time I moved over here, a couple of years ago, and thankfully, the
great record stores in Seattle allowed a huge selection and exposed me to
many labels I hadn't heard before. My tastes really expanded and went out
into some electro, glitchy stuff, microhouse (my fav.) and some
experimental techno.

Living in Seattle is brilliant, as far as a music scene that is to my
tastes. I'm an avid local supporter, and I try to get as many local
producers into the studio as I can. This city and region is so alive
with talent and the musical community is very supportive and vibrant.
It's a great place to be.

Another year, another time slot. 5-7pm local time on a Monday now, which should be good for those of you chained to your workstations or avoiding the floating bridge logjam.

Good things are in store for Seattle electronica fans in the coming few weeks. There's the SEA vs PDX laptop battle at Chop Suey on Jan 23rd. I'm playing some records at the Fourthcity Weekly the following Monday, and remember it's these guys who we have to blame for the whole laptop battle phenomenon.

Then on Saturday the 31st Jan, is what could be the best show Seattle has seen in a long time: Convergence with Monolake headlining, and a preposterous wealth of North West talent in support. It's almost silly how good the line-up for this show is. And cheap too! Remember that this is a benefit for the Decibel Festival which will firmly put the Pacific Northwest on the global map for electronica. Coming to clubs near you in September.

So, as for the show, due to the fact that we're celebrating MLK's birthday, and the station is undergoing even more remodeling, the next one won't be until the 2nd of February. This will be the long promised NWelectronica special. Dope jams have been flooding in - I'm not even sure how I'll squeeze all the talent into two hours.

The following week, 9th Feb, will see a show celebrating two auspicious anniversaries which fall on the same day, Waitangi Day and Bob Marley's Birthday. I and I will treat we to da kiwi roots and riddims.

^To tune in, click on the "listen" link above^