28 January, 2010

Newsflash: The Gig at Bar Loop & "A Blast From The Past" link series #1–4

Hello there, here is some up-to-date info about where I'm standing with my constantly evolving quest for aural bliss at the moment.

The Gig At Bar Loop

On Monday 25th January I played my first ever set in a club environment, at Bar Loop in Helsinki. The bar is owned (to my knowledge) by Mr.A, who you might know as a veteran Dj and event organizer in Helsinki area for much more than a decade already (the most famous may be his alliance with Heikki L for Danceteria club events).

There is an Open Decks event at Bar Loop every Monday. I found out that the Bedroom DJbooking the spot is entitled to play all the night. I think this is very good concept, because it offers newbies a possibility to try out playing in a club without too much pressure, and it's commercial-wise very risk-free for the management. And even better, being able to play six hours in a row is very good practise for a starting DJ. I recall my longest ever DJ set before last Monday was about four hours long, played at home. To sum it up, it was quite nice to be on charge of the atmosphere from the beginning to the very end.

There wasn't that much people on that Monday night but it was expected and my goal for this set was to offer a nice surrounding for long conversations at the tables. I was happy to receive positive feedback about the set, especially volume level control (the selection was considered good also!). I decided to put some extra concern on following the volume, since I 've had too many dull bar nights when there is no possibility to talk with others just because the music has been played out too loudly. I didn't record the set but for tunespotters I'll provide the tracks I played with Traktor. Those a few vinyl gems I can't put on the map anymore, I'm afraid. All in all, this was a very positive experience and I would like to thank Bar Loop and Mr.A for having these kinds of Open Decks nights, they are essential opportunities for new DJs.

A Blast From The Past

My fellow Facebook friends might have noticed that I have been posting these "A Blast From The Past" youtube links. The idea is very simple, every week I choose a track that has come from the past to haunt my mind, then I look for it at youtube and post the link to my profile. It's going to be interesting to look at the end of the year what tracks got selected! Still, I don't wan't to spam my homepage every week with something like that, so I'll gather every 4th week the links and then put them here. Here are the first four from this month:


And the tracks I played at Bar Loop (excluding a few that I played on vinyl)…

Tom Middleton – Moonbathing
Tom Middleton – Sea Of Glass
Kettel – He's His Own Man
Trentemøller – Nightwalker
Jori Hulkkonen – Four Seasons, Four Loves
Kraftwerk – Musik Non Stop
Sven Väth – Harlequin Plays Bells
Argy feat. Bajka – Upon Ourselves
Beat Pharmacy – Cape Town
Ferdy & Matt van Wyk – Miami 8:06
Outlines – Listen To The Drums (Jazzanova Remix / Dixon Edit)
Fela Kuti & Kwanzaa Posse – Wicked Funk (Afro Ambient Mix)
Felix Laband – Whistling In Tongues (Todd Terje Remix)
Kaoru Inoue – The Secret Field (Todd Terje Remix)
Studio – Life's A Beach! (Todd Terje Beach House Mix)
Kuniyuki Takahashi – Flying Music (Rhythm And Trumpet Mix)
Cécile & Delphi feat. Dennis Coffey – Una Domenica Italiana
Motor Mouth – Horses, Cars & Stars (Marcello Giordani Just In Time Remix)
Henrik Schwarz & Amampondo – I Exist Because Of You (Henrik Schwarz Live Version)
Junior Boys – Work
Dølle Jølle – Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje's Extra Døll Mix)
Tom Trago – Passion (Motor City Drum Enseble Remix)
Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy
Mark Knight & Funkagenda – Shogun (Mark Knight & Funkagenda's Average House Band Remix)
Marco Zenker – Namibia Dub
Osunlade – Momma's Groove ((Jimpster's Hip Replacement Mix)
Beat Pharmacy feat. Spaceape – Ghostship (Deadbeat Remix)
Kuniyuki Takahashi – Dear African Sky (Henrik Schwarz Remix Unreleased Live Version)
Atjazz – Parallels (Jazzanova Serial Remix Instrumental)
Bill Withers – Who Is He (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Adam Singer – Follow Me
Marcos Valle – Besteiras De Amor (Jazzanova Remix)
Global Communication – The Way
Laurent Garnier – Last Tribute From The 20th Century
Âme – Doldrums
Pryda – Frankfurt
2Raumwohnung – Wir Werden Sehen (Solomun Vox Remix)
Kraak & Smaak – No Sun In The Sky (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Henrik Schwarz – Walk Music
Coldcut feat. Robert Owens – Wak A Mile In My Shoes (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
Elastic Sound – Moscow After Autumn Rain (Blacksoul Remix)
Beat Pharmacy – Drifter (Dub Mix)
Wigald Boning – Kobra Dance (Joris Voorn Dub)
Wigald Boning – Kobra Dance (Joris Voorn Interpretation)
Culoe De Song – African Subway
Humate – Love Stimulation (Tom Middleton Remodel)
T & F vs. Moltosuogo – Are U Doin' It With Me? (Danny Howells Edit)
Daniel Kyo – Naikrovek (Scope's 'Noche Urbana' Mix)
François DuBois – I Try (Scope Remix)

+Encore (there were several vinyl picks here)
Armand van Helden – I Want Your Soul (Sam-El & Mr. Marsu Back To School Edit)

04 January, 2010

Electronic Music Events And Me in 2009

Year 2009 is coming to an end, and it's a good time to sum up the events I have visited this year. This year I made my first ever visit to a foreign club, Cocoon in Frankfurt. Here are my top 5 events for this year with some notes, they are in no particular order excluding the best event :)

Tahko-klubi w/ Tom Middleton @ Ahjo, Helsinki

This event grabs the number one spot, Tom Middleton's eclectic DJing style is something everyone should experience. Happy music, some funny tricks (like using Finnish language course samples "Mitä kuuluu? Hauska tavata") and overall cunning planning make Tom Middleton a DJ to see. The last track (before three encore tunes!) sums it up: Cosmos - Take Me With You. Someone bring this man back to Finland ASAP!

Sven Väth World Tour Opening @ Cocoon Club, Frankfurt, Germany

This was the first time I saw Papa Sven live, and I must say he has the certain charm. However, I spent most of the night in lounge area, which was set for a Thinner Label Night (Marko Führstenberg, Sensual Physics & Gabriel Le Mar). The main room was so crowded one couldn't really dance there, the downside of a popular artist. The lounge room had enough space, and the deep hypnotic dub techno kept rolling and rolling until there was no space and time, only the bass. These Thinner guys would make a blast in Finland too, I guess.

Music Got Me! - Jazz Edition @ Out Of Juice, Tampere

This was the surprise event of the year for me. Sampsa Vilhunen owns a wicked collection of old soul/jazz/disco/anything that grooves like Jack records and this was my first proper encounter with this kind of music. Dance music of the gods and something very different, indeed.

Romance w/ Mr.A & DJ Flight @ Laterna, Tampere

Didn't surprise me, Flight is an excellent organizer of events and this was yet another very well managed event. I have grown to a fan of Romance concept, this old Slavic restaurant Laterna gives certain flair. Both Flight and Mr.A played very groovy music, showing once again that a good club night doesn't need big foreign headliners. "Finns do it better!" :)

Cosmic City w/ Ben Klock @ Redrum, Helsinki

A night filled with groovy techno. Lil Tony warmed up the floor with a good selection of tracks. Although the intensity drop between the end of Tony's set and start of Ben's was drastic, the German's selection grew to biblical dimensions, especially the last 45 minutes. One of those precious moments where world around disappears leaving you with bare music.

A few honourable mention to events that just didn't make it to the list:
One w/ Orkidea's 6h set - Wealthy selection of quality prog and trance, iLikes!
AfterFlight Mash-Up - This is just huge!
Danny Howells and the first time hearing "Rushin' To Paradise" on a proper volume pressure level (played by Mr.A)
Kraftwerk - This was my second meeting with these gentlemen from Düsseldorf, so not that extraordinary. Still, a Kraftwerk concert is always a great experience. Wir sind die Roboter…