Bulletin (14/02/22)
A small but transparent window into what’s going on with me, be it my DJing at parties or online, my label activities and radio show, or whatever else might have been on my mind recently.
Lisbon nights out
This weekend in Lisbon was relatively active for me. On Friday I decided to go and see Steffi play at a new venue run by the cultural associations behind Rádio Quântica (home to my radio show Flamingo) and the queer techno party Mina. The new place is called Planeta Manas and is located right behind the airport in Prior Velho - an area that is only 15-20 minutes’ drive from the centre, but feels like it’s really in the middle of nowhere. In fact it kind of is, because public transport is a 20+ minute walk away and the area is purely industrial: motorbike garages, a large Chinese supermarket, warehouses etc.
The club itself is housed in an old factory that used to make neon signs, and it still has the wire fittings and spikes to show for it. This industrial feel is what makes it so cool to visit, and already the team have used lights, smoke and decorations to create extra atmosphere on the dancefloor. There are some things that could be improved - more seating, a better soundsystem- but these things will surely come with time. For now it’s a great DIY space with lots of promise.
I knew that Steffi wouldn’t be on until at least 3am so I decided to have a nap before going, and for once I was successful. Two hours of shut-eye and a quick taxi ride later I was in the venue to hear Yuri Rios warming up. At first, as I acclimatised to the space, I enjoyed some of the electro selections Yuri was making, but as time went on and the choices got harder and straighter I started to find the whole proposition oppressive, especially over that soundsystem in a not-that-full room. The bpm rose to over 150 and the vibe became punshing, so I basically opted out and spent the rest of the set chatting in a side room until Steffi started.
She immediately dropped the pace back down to what sounded like the mid 130s, for moody but funky electro with lots of space in it. For me, it was exactly what I needed to dance. I wondered if it would resonate with many of the younger crowd who (it seemed) had been enjoying the previous barrage. Steffi’s proposition was a less immediate form of gratification and I worried that the Manas crowd is still largely a subsection of the Mina crowd, who demand intensity from the word go, often at the expense of groove or musicality.
But as Steffi patiently continued, using the mixes to inject anticipation and energy with each transition, she gradually built up a new and exciting vibe that had people on board. By the time I left, the benefits of the nap having sadly worn off, she had risen back into the 140s and the crowd was fully hers. I was sad not to stay later to see Shcuro, whose party it was, but bed was calling.
The next evening I went to see Loraine James in concert at ZDB, supported by Photonz on DJ duty (he’d actually also warmed up at Planeta Manas the night before - trooper!). Marco’s set was fabulous, ranging from broken percussion to groovy house to dubstep and all sorts of other things, mixed carefully and discreetly apart from a few well-placed spinbacks. The volume in ZDB’s aquarium room was about right during his set, which boded well for the concert, though after previous earsplitting experiences there I had my earplugs with me just in case…
Loraine James’s first 15 minutes or so was a lot of fun, with her playing live keys on top of the hyperactive beats and loops she’s apparently known for (not by me - this was literally the first time I’d heard her music). People were dancing and the energy was increasing, and I suppose either Loraine or the sound engineer felt that energy too because - you guessed it - the sound got turned up way higher for absolutely no reason. Even with earplugs it was hardcore, and for my friend who didn’t have earplugs it was unbearable. We took an executive decision to go out into the courtyard, where the volume was obviously lower but the music much less clear. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the end I decided it wasn’t worth it any more and went home.
Anyone who’s been reading my writing about nights out for the past however many years will be sick and tired of this refrain by now, but PLEASE, can venues sort out their sound? (And their sound engineers?) It’s bad for the music and it’s bad for people’s health.
Welt Discos
Viewtiful Joe’s Slappin’ Limerick EP is now available for digital download as well as on vinyl. This is the first full digital release on the label and will hopefully be useful for the many electro heads out there who are fully digital. I do hope the vinyl release will still appeal to some willing buyers since the artwork and sticker are so cool (thanks to the designer marutonkun).
My mash-up of Huerta x Midnight Fantasy is still finding its way into people’s bandcamp collections and I just made the second lot of donations to the charities nominated by Steve and Tom from Nuances de Nuit. We’ve raised 100€ for Gladt in Berlin and £80 for Mind in the UK. This is actually quite low given the number of people who have bought the track, but it’s clear many people either don’t want to or aren’t able to give that much money. I think if I do a similar release in future, rather than saying pay what you like, I’ll set a flat rate of 2€, which seems reasonable for a tune and will result in much more money raised.
Finally, the next Welt release has finally been approved at TP stage (after quite a bit of back and forth) and should soon be in production. I’ll announce it here and on Instagram when it’s almost ready!
Gigs
This weekend is going to be a particularly good one.
First off I am playing at Gut Level in Sheffield, a queer-led DIY cultural space that I’ve only heard good things about. Bakk Heia have done a party there and I know Sofie K played at their Love N Lust party this weekend just gone. I think I’ll fit right in. The party goes til at least 6am and you can get tickets through the Gut level website.
Then on Saturday I’m playing with one of my heroes, Prosumer, at his party Heyday at Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh. Again, anyone who used to read my original blog 15 years ago will know how much Achim’s DJing affected me and changed my appreciation of music in those early years in London. So it’s a huge thing for me to play at his party and I am both nervous and really bloody excited about doing it. The night starts early at 11pm and I will be there dancing from the first record. Tickets are on RA here.