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 Had an 'interesting' night at Clash of the Titans on Saturday. Was really looking forward to this gig with the opportunity to see 48 Sonic and Manuel Bundy deal to the Welli massiv given the relative lack of breaks of late (combinations doesn't really count as the pa wasn't clear enough to really make an impression) . Unfortunately my enjoyment was thwarted by the way the gig was timetabled putting Bundy on at 11 and Sonic on at 4:30. As I've said to some friends, it would require quite a show of endurance to see both or possibly a disco nap in between. These two were obviously top of the bill, with myself and many of my friends hanging out for there interprtations on twisted beats and breaks. Unfortunately I arrived too late to catch Bundy (did hear wicked reports of his eclectic selections) and found myself desperately hanging out till 48 Sonic came on (despite my body trying to tell me to go to bed). The addition of a smart drink gave me a wired (and rather unpleasant) sense of consciousness, but did nothing for the physical exhaustion that I found harassing me. Caught Mu's set, although ultimately it was Sonic's less rootsy flava'd jungle that twiddled my buttons. He came on with some pretty 'melodic' stuff which had me jumpin' around then switched to some rather directionless tech step (not necessarily representative of the genre), then switching back to something with a bit more texture. By that stage my body was telling me not to hang around so off I went (wishing that Sonic had been on at a more realistic hour). 48 Sonic played Grooverider's remix of Pacific by 808 State which had me almost wetting my pants - do love that one. In terms of the breaks nothing special, but the source material is so sublime that I have a good time whenever it's played (brings back fond memories of Grooverider down in Chch). Spoke to Jason/Kava about what Sonic played (he was there for the full set) and enjoyed it, although he reckoned that a lot of stuff played was from A-Sides and his record label and was played more for its rarity value rather than necessarily on musical merit (there's plenty of good material out there which simply doesn't get the full forum it deserves in Welli). Whilst the programming at the Titans gig was pretty extreme, it's quite indicative of the way that many gigs are structured which have many musical styles in Welli (house, techno, dnb, dub, reggae). All too often dnb/jungle is shoved to the end of the bill forcing the rollers to hang around till well beyond when any 'reasonable' person would have headed for some sleep (I know of lost many an hour chillin till the breaks start rolling). Dnb is no longer the marginal genre it once was and deserves as much opportunity to reprazent as any other style - or we will continue to see it reside in the musical ghetto of Welli's dance scene. Did spend a pleasant Sunday chilling out and a visit to a friends place had me rediscovering an old favourite Coldcut's Journey by DJ compilation. It does what I hear very rarely, intelligently mixing multiple musical styles and has content that was obviously well ahead (must be about three years old now) of its time when it did come out (must be about three years old now). For those people on the list in Welli who want to check it out, you can find it at the Public Library. Am curious to hear how the Freq gig went, i must say there was a hell of a lot on on Saturday and the crowds were spread pretty thin. do keep in touch. Psecret |