Wake Up! : Pheek live

I had a busy day leading up to the party. First a student org meeting, then a few hours of library work, then a department dinner/reception, then a birthday gathering at the pub nearby. Nonetheless, after a good afternoon/evening of socializing, I was still up for a night of techno. I drove back to my place, changed into something more dance-y, and then off I went to Sonotheque, for another night of fun.

?h??-0h00: Antiphase vs. Kiddo

Unfortunately, my previous engagements that evening prevented me from catching anything but the last few beats of their back2back set (a.k.a. "ping-pong" in France), so I don't have much to report about their set, except that I liked the last track they were playing. However, I do have this cute pic of Kiddo peering over the edge of the DJ booth. Sorry the picture wasn't crisper!

0h00-1h30: Pheek live

Pheek's set was great, although the video clips don't show it very well. Something about the accoustics in that club make the crowd louder than the music to my camera's mic. That never happened when I recorded video in Paris, so I'm not entirely sure what's going on with that. Nonetheless, I did get a 2-minute long segment of the very beginning of his set, which was mostly static-y pads and high-end twiddling, finally brought into motion by beats around the end of the clip. Also, the third clip captures a few moments of one of the video projections that appeared a few times during the night. There's something about the classical indian dancer (is that kathak? bharatanatyam?) in a pixelated, iridescent silhouette that I find mesmerizing. And the occasional jump-cut and reversal adds a nice stuttering effect.

Anyway, Pheek's set was nice, crisp minimal techno with moments of looser microhouse. Generally, his emphasis was on fine and intricate patterns in the high-end, with punchy but relatively mellow bass beats and a rather thin mid-range. Check out the video clips for a sample, despite the poor sound quality. This was also a pretty tough show for my camera and pictures, partially due to the DJ booth of reflective glass, and partially thanks to the fact that I had left the ISO really high and the shutter too slow. One day, I'll get a hot SLR camera that allows me to take good quality pictures without flash. Someday. That's what research budgets are for.

1h30-2h00: DJ Sassmouth

Just like last time at Sonotheque on a Thursday, Sassmouth's set was wonderful, but far too short. Sam managed to throw down a few good techno tracks that skirted the line between heavy classic techno and crystalline, crackling minimal. Half an hour later, the bar manager was making the "kill it!" sign with his hands and turning up the lights.

Thankfully, I was able to snap a bunch of great shots of Sam (and some video) before the night was over. The first one was actually a botched, fuzzy picture, but I like smooth luminescence of the photo.