funsters there is a short but OK article about ken collier & beatdown
in the current (well current here) issue of wax poetics, the one with
bill withers on the cover warning this article contains descriptions
and characteristics of the beatdown sound, no 'definitions' tho :^)
philster
It's written by a listmember, too, Dan Bean. Speaking of Beatdown,
from what I got from this article, beatdown is more a style of playing
than a genre in itself. The pitched down, deep (however one chooses to
define the word seems to fit) tracks that straddle the line between
chunky tunes to chill to and funky (Mike Clark even played Abe Duque's
"What happened?" at a way-pitched down tempo when I saw him a few
months back, making it into a whoole new listening/dancing experience),
groovy tunes to dance to, for lack of a better, or more accurate,
description.
I'm surprised that no listmembers have given their account of the
Beatdown night last month during the fest weekend. Delano Smith, Mike
Clark, and Norm Talley were in full force and spun some good @ss house
that Sunday night at the Porter Street Station. Craig Alexander from
Chicago was playing when I arrived, playing some good Chicago-sounding
tracks, and finishing with a remix of Let No Man Put Asunder with what
sounded like an almost two-step beat underneath it. Delano Smith
played well, starting with a housey version of Kraftwerk's Numbers, and
following up with some nice tracks that kept the booties shakin' and
the dancefloor quite full for the duration of his set. He must have
worn a lot of the dancers out becuase by the time Norm Talley started
playing the dancefloor wasn't nearly as full, but Talley was able to
build the groove back up, only to finish with the vocal version of
Bring Down the Walls. Then Mike Clark did his thing, to the delight of
all present, only to be joined by a vocalist for a nice finish.
The venue at and the crowd at that show really gave me an impression of
what the experience might have been like during the late 80's at the
Music institute, where the place was dark, the music was jacking, local
people (not just the folks from the suburbs) danced like they didn't
care and good times were had by all (or so the story goes, anyway).
Definitely one of the highlights of this year's festival weekend.
Another highlight for me was the K Alexi/Mark Verbos show at the Buzz
Bar Friday night. (Paul Johnson and Echoplex were sccheduled as well,
but weren't there). K ALexi couldn't have played a better set to
begin the weekend with. Loads (and I mean LOADS) of edits of otherwise
familiar tracks; his own Club MCM and My Medusa, other really jacking
and groovy Chicago minimal house, Strings, French Kiss, I called U,
Kaos Juice Bar, his Kraftwerk re-edit, and a ton of other tracks that I
can't remember that kept me moving till 4am. Definitely a DJ worth
seeing if you haven't seen him spin before, a jacking party guaranteed.
ANyone who can pull off playing the most recent edit of a Madonna song
(the one that samples the 80's Italo tune) Frankie Goes to Hollywood's
Two Tribes (in a very extended dance version) and then follow that with
a progression of great house tracks that make you feel like you're
dancing in mid-to-late 80's Chicago is a good DJ in my book.
Unfortunately, the attendance wasn't really there. The drunk folk who
were there to goof off for a while and then go home left before 1
o'clock, and there seemed to be very few people in attendance
afterwards. Nevertheless, K Alexi gave it his best, and it showed. It
may as well have been a floor packed to capacity, with the energy and
the music selection that he played. Another sign of a good dj who
plays his best in spite how big (or small) the attendance may be. Jack
Tracks indeed.
Saturday night, it was Shake who played a great set. A good mix of
styles and genres; a bit of disco edits, a bit of classic house, a bit
of wigged out, Soundhack-like techno, then Phylyps track II made a
welcome appearance, then a bit later a remix of Snoop's Drop it Like
It's Hot. A few more nice tracks followed, and then a nice finish with
Radiohead. Again, a nice blend of genres, all of them fitting the mood
of the set, the genres complimenting one another. Pure Detroit class
if you ask me (as were the others mentioned above).
On the festival grounds, Robert Hood at the end of the first day on the
main stage was the highlight of that day for me (along with Mike Clark
earlier that day). He played a lot of hard, minimal, funky tracks, a
few of his own, something from Minimal Nation (I think) and then
finished off with Der Klang Der Familie and some other tracks, after
his live jam on the 909 and a sequenced synth. It amazes me how all
these guys can do and be their own original style, and still keep the
music sounding fresh and exciting, even after all these years!
Sunday was a chill day for me (and the festival lin-up wasn't all that
exciting), and on the last night Derrick May, Mike Huckaby and Louie
Vega were the highlights. Derrick kept the pace of Beyer for about a
half hour, and then played his signature tribal and melodic stuff.
Some newer, unfamiliar to me tracks, a really cool funk/disco song
after his signature acapella track, and some newer, almost
electro/industrial tracks towards the end. The last track he played
was rather interesting, a pacey beat, with a reverbed, dubbed out
guitar riff, a rather melancholic sounding piece.
Mike Huckaby played some nice house at the end of monday on the
riverfront stage stage, a bit of modymann, and a new track at the end
that D. May played before the end of his set also. Looks a like a new
white label (anyone have info on what it was?). Louie Vega played a
nice garage-y set earlier on the same stage, which kept the crowd happy
and dancing, in spite of the early afternoon heat.
It was also nice to meet of few of you guys in person (Fred and Dan
Bean at the Beatdown show) and Tom Cox driving down Woodward on his way
to white castle :o)
Wojtek
On Jun 24, 2006, at 11:50 PM, Philip wrote:
funsters there is a short but OK article about ken collier & beatdown
in the current (well current here) issue of wax poetics, the one with
bill withers on the cover warning this article contains descriptions
and characteristics of the beatdown sound, no 'definitions' tho :^)
philster
