electro in the Vancouver party scene...

[axion]

Originally Posted by Sykonee

I get the impression from electro that it plays to the 80's innocence with technology wonderfully. For those of us who recall that decade, it does bring back a wave of nostalgia but now that we live in a society that is so overrun with technology, electro strips down the overabundence of it to a grittier, simpliar, human quality.

The next wave of party kids (gererally speaking of course) seem so co-dependent on modern technology that was a novelty even in the 90's. The same could be said for the music, as a great deal of it, in all forms, has that technological gloss to help it sound that much more appealling. To get into any kind of EDM that sounds as raw as most electro does is more difficult unless they approach it from an ironic or historical point of view.

god damn, son. breakin' it down

props for one of the most intelligent posts i've ever read.

[ffa]

I just wanted to bring this thread back because I have done some observing over the last few months.

What have I been observing you ask?

Well, I have played a few all night parties, where I have had a chance to play electro, mixing all forms of it from electro-house to electro-breaks to old skool electro, and it has gone OFF!

The crowds have been a mix of young and old, the venues have been indoor and outdoor, etc... etc...

So my conclusion is: electro will work at a party/rave/etc... the promoters just need to give it a chance! Even those god damn "big djs" (which I am not a huge fan of, but makes for a good example in this case) like Sasha, are adding electro sounds/flavours to all their music. Progressive now sounds electro like (just heard the latest Sasha compilation), etc... etc... So I guess it is just a matter of time now, when the big party promoters will book Sasha, and he will drop electro, and all of a sudden, electro will be all over the party scene... which is kidna sad, cause that the sign when the elite and the music snobs are done with electro and are moving on to something new...

Where am I going with this? I dunno... I guess all I am saying is "hey promoters: don't wait for Sasha to tell you what to do! Book electro at your parties NOW, cause it is great music... MUCH better than the same old same old 1999 Plaza Trance/Hard Whatever/Blah Breaks that is played at most major parties today. You don't have to follow the same safe formula as everyone else over the last 7 years. It is time to add something slightly different. I have had enough of trance/house/breaks at parties".

anyhow.

-f.

[Sykonee]

Since all the over-the-top theatrics have made the partying experience far more passive (I mean, c'mon! Tiesto In Concert's pretty much Cirque du Soleil-lite) everything's getting back to basics for those who just want to party instead of spectate. Watch for the almighty hoover to make a comeback in two years. ;)

[dj_soo]

i never understood why more djs in that ever-present "120 - 135 BPM" genres don't mix it up more (I know you do, farshad :P). House mixes with breaks which mixes with electro which mixes with speed garage which mixes with 2 step. It's all in roughly the same tempo so why don't DJs mix it up more? I'm not even talking about doing mashup styles and trying to do challenging mixes w/ unquantized rock songs either.

Fuckin djs need to add more variety - especailly in that specific tempo since it seems like there's the most variety of genres at that speed...

[C_squared]

Worst idea to come out of John B's recording studio: Electro d'n'b :sick:

[dj_soo]

i dunno, I kind of liked American Girls...

[Tayfoon]

Personally I love electro and would love to see more Electro acts come to town, one that played at a party was Steve Angello at the valentines rave, but Id rather see a good electro DJ at a club setting

[ffa]

/\ hehehehehee.... may be you should come to Lotus Long Weekend sometime :-) Vancouver has some very good local electro DJs like RC Lair, James E, Trevor Risk, March 21, Timeline, may be even myself (hehehehehehe)... Most of those guys have played at Lotus Long Weekend at one point or another in the Cheeky room.

C_Squared: electro DnB? woa!!!

mofo-x: hallelujah!!!!!! I have only been saying that for the last, well, since I started DJing! hahahahahaha... I usually mix stuff from ALL over the electronica map in my sets. But one thing I am going to say is that SOMETIMES, a certain crowd is all high on a certain drug, and may not like it too much all over the map, and also the party has a specific musical theme, and people come out to hear that very specific music... Example was the Soundproof party I played at 2 weekends ago, where people come out to hear Techno. BUT, even there, were Techno was the theme of the evening, I still managed to sneak in some other deviations, and did not just play 1.5 hours of HARD banging straight up techno, and the crowd loved it. Well, OK, my set was pretty hard and banging, but it was not all the same, if you know what I mean. I even managed to sneak in bit of breaks!

Anyhow...

-f.

[Leviathan]

Some one please bring in Sven Vath damn it!

I've been on a pretty big electro kick since seeing him in Ibiza last year. I'm more into the techno side of it though. I have to get together with you guys sometime for beer (Farshad and Minishad)

[ffa]

/\ beers sound excellent! we need to add Glynshad, so we can have the complete Team Shad in effect! ;-)

But seriously, Glynshad introduced me to David Clark's Electroboogie compilation, which came out in 1998 (I think) and, coming from a techno God, it kicked some serious ass and was WAY ahead of its time. Also, The Hacker (who is also another techno freak) has a wicked electro comp, which came out in the late 90s as well, but that one is influenced more by the Miss Kittin side of things :) It is a TOTALLY AWESOME compilation though.

-f.

[dj_soo]

Originally Posted by ffa

C_Squared: electro DnB? woa!!!

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/americangirls.php

Originally Posted by ffa

mofo-x: But one thing I am going to say is that SOMETIMES, a certain crowd is all high on a certain drug, and may not like it too much all over the map,

Well, that's the mark of a good DJ tho isn't it? To build and ebb and flow and make all the tracks make sense and mean something when they drop and blend them together so seamlessly...

Me? I'm just getting sick of one-genre nights in general - maybe I'm just burnt from attending too many dnb and/or breaks nights in the last several years, but my favorite DJs out there are the ones who aren't afraid to mix things up genre-wise yet still keep a good flow to their sets. Seeing Mat the Alien at Soundwave 2 weeks ago really reminded me of how fantastic a DJ he is (I've long considered him the best DJ in Canada) and how amazing his transitions between genres are... he would be grooving on breaks and suddenly switch it up so smoothly that you didn't even realize he was playing hiphop or reggae or dnb until halfway through the song. You'd just sit there and dance your ass off and suddenly realize that "wait a minute... he's on dnb now!"

[P.A.R.T.Y]

^^^FFA^^^
I know your helplessly trying to plug your electro night via. FNK and you know what? It`s making me wobly. We know there`s a Wednesday Electro night at lotus, woo hoo!
Here are some reasons why electro doesn`t go down well in Vancouver clubs. First of all, its semi-intelligent, industrial-gated, abstract-slow techno. Second, its better for home listening. Third, Besides electro genres such as; freestylers, aphex, freeland, and squarepusher, most of the shit is undanceable.
I like electro in its own, there are elements in electro (miss Kitten, the hacker, etc..) that define certain elements in the scene. However, I am not convinced. Listening to groups like Orbital, Catalyst sampler and Kid Creme, I think that these artist have contributed just as much, but in a more subtle and profound way. Anyway, I still like listening to electro. Some albums such as; FSUK2, Dr.ELECTROLUV, and Laurent Gaurtnier-Vitalic, are extra special.

[dj_soo]

Originally Posted by P.A.R.T.Y

^^^FFA^^^
I know your helplessly trying to plug your electro night via. FNK and you know what? It`s making me wobly. We know there`s a Wednesday Electro night at lotus, woo hoo!

^ not an Electro night - it's a mash-up night which happens to play electro, but there's also hiphop, 80s, breaks, funk, soul, pop, and god knows whatever else Team Trainwreck want to drop (usually depends on how much they've had to drink).

Originally Posted by P.A.R.T.Y

Third, Besides electro genres such as; freestylers, aphex, freeland, and squarepusher, most of the shit is undanceable.

Uh, wow, I've never considered any of those artists "electro" and I certainly don't consider Squarepusher to be danceable :-\.

[P.A.R.T.Y]

Wow, that was the quickest bitch slap I`ve ever recieved. BTW, yeah I consider those mentioned artist closer to the electro range than not.
Team trainwreck eh? haha..That`s funny.
Look, Electro is very trendy and very anti-pop. I see Electro artist using their status much like groups like the Sex Pistols did, to gain following and influence in a rebellious manner of speaking.
I especially like the use of analog instuments in electro, that is why its so easy to listen to, however, I can think of at least 10 other good uses.

[dj_soo]

I'd say the Freestylers and Freeland are breaks first and foremost and only a few of their tracks have electro influences. Squarepusher is more associated with jungle or IDM and Aphex Twin is uh... just Aphex Twin - precurser to modern IDM...

Electro is such a broad term nowadays too tho, there's electroclash, electrobreaks, old-school 80s electro, electropop etc.

Love the avatar btw :).

[Leviathan]

Thats funny cause I think I was at a club with close to 5000 other people last summer dancing my ass off to some decent electro / techno, Hell I have video footage of Alter Ego doing live PA of their track Rocker at the same club packed.

It goes over well in other areas of the world, so this

"Second, its better for home listening. Third, Besides electro genres such as; freestylers, aphex, freeland, and squarepusher, most of the shit is undanceable.
"
just doesn't hold water.

Originally Posted by P.A.R.T.Y

^^^FFA^^^
I know your helplessly trying to plug your electro night via. FNK and you know what? It`s making me wobly. We know there`s a Wednesday Electro night at lotus, woo hoo!
Here are some reasons why electro doesn`t go down well in Vancouver clubs. First of all, its semi-intelligent, industrial-gated, abstract-slow techno. Second, its better for home listening. Third, Besides electro genres such as; freestylers, aphex, freeland, and squarepusher, most of the shit is undanceable.
I like electro in its own, there are elements in electro (miss Kitten, the hacker, etc..) that define certain elements in the scene. However, I am not convinced. Listening to groups like Orbital, Catalyst sampler and Kid Creme, I think that these artist have contributed just as much, but in a more subtle and profound way. Anyway, I still like listening to electro. Some albums such as; FSUK2, Dr.ELECTROLUV, and Laurent Gaurtnier-Vitalic, are extra special.

[REV]

honestly, I hate the term electro... makes me think of all the cheese pop shit w/ non-sense vocal that's come out of this scene in the past four years. However, I really do think that this new blend of grunge-punk-oldskool-house-acid is the sound for me. It's really something alot of people can dig to, like you are saying, and anywhere I'm playing lately people love it (especially when dropping some techier progressive, house, breaks or techno with it).

Either way, hate electro- love this new sound that is hard to categorize

Farshad, we should do it up sometime

[ffa]

/\ totally!!! yeah, I know what you mean about the "new sounds coming out" and hating the generalized use of the term electro... hehehehhehe.... but it's the best I got to refer to all the cool new shit that is coming out... Usually, when something has that "electro" sound (which I cannot describe here online), I call it electro :-) But I think there is that specific sound that binds all the music I refer to as electro for sure... we should totally jam sometime! I am down!

mofo-x: thanks for replying to P.A.R.T.Y. I guess you have said everything I was gonna say, so thanks :-) hehehehehe... by the way, when so I see you next? The team has very token of appreciation for the last time you played :-) WHICH ROCKED BY THE WAY! poeple are still talking about it.

P.A.R.T.Y.: this thread was not meant to be a direct plug for any night I am involved with... I was very frustrated as to why every party just has the same god damn same old same old House/Trance/Progressive/Breaks music, and why no one wants to venture into other avenues... In the beginning of the discussion, people brought up various points like "it is hard to dance to" or "it is too image oriented" etc.... etc... but as I posted yesterday, I have come to the conclusion (based on several all night parties at which I have dropped electro recently) that it can work, people love it, and they will dance to it. The promoters just need to give it a chance. But I think as I said, they are all waiting for Sasha to drop elecrto ;-) hhehehehehe...

leviathan: you say Alter Ego do a live PA? OMG! and Sven Vath do electro? wow! Man, sounds like you saw some wicked show there! I am jealous.

Anyhow, good discussion :-)

-f.

[cerah]

Originally Posted by ffa

So my conclusion is: electro will work at a party/rave/etc... the promoters just need to give it a chance!

-f.

Psssssssssst... my party has electro ;)

You should come out... we'll have some open decks n the morning n we're prolly gonna be staying until at least the early afternoon :D

[dj_soo]

Originally Posted by ffa

/\ totally!!! yeah, I know what you mean about the "new sounds coming out" and hating the generalized use of the term electro... hehehehhehe.... but it's the best I got to refer to all the cool new shit that is coming out...

That's how I feel about the term "mash-up" :)

Originally Posted by ffa

mofo-x: thanks for replying to P.A.R.T.Y. I guess you have said everything I was gonna say, so thanks :-) hehehehehe... by the way, when so I see you next? The team has very token of appreciation for the last time you played :-) WHICH ROCKED BY THE WAY! poeple are still talking about it.

Thx yo :) anytime you want me down at your night, just let me know... I'll probably be at the Met tomorrow night and Fort Knox Five at Tokyo on Saturday... gimmie a shout - the Doctor has my number. It better be a belt cause I kiiiillllllleeeeeddd it (or some such).

[Bevvy Swift]

what aort of electro are tyou speaking of? afrika bambataa electro florida kinda breaks? or choppy, 80's synth groove sort of stuff? i like it all, but theres not much acceptance for different music at raves. people like what they like i guess

[ffa]

/\ I am talking about all electro... both the old skool electro-breaks ala Afrika Bombattaa as well as the 80s sounding stuff, electroclash, and even disco punk sounding electro. As Mofo-x pointed out, mixing it up is a good idea.

i like it all, but theres not much acceptance for different music at raves. people like what they like i guess

but there in lies the problem! A lot of the kids that go to the parties are virgins to the whole scene, music, etc... and get their "education" from the parties.. they "like" what they hear and develop a taste around what is presented to them. So it is up to the promoters to introduce them to new sounds. I think they would like these sounds if they were played out more at parties.

-f.

[mapleleaf4ever]

^ That is very true. I had never heard of Breaks, Speed Garage (although I wish hadn't really), Jungle/DnB until I started Partying. I had only been listening to various flavours of House and Trance from what I was sent from my European Friends and Chris Sheppard on CBC. If I hadn't of gone to Parties I would have never heard of it... heck I wouldn't have discovered Electro if I hadn't gone to BT!

[dj_soo]

^ that's the other problem tho - the majority of the DJs in the scene are the same kids that are educated to the whole 1-night/room = 1 genre (or subgenre as the case is now). There's fantastic music in every genre (except maybe trance ;)) and people need to be exposed to the idea of not being so tunnel-visioned for a single genre.

[REV]

hmmm i do think that "electro" (shit I hate that term) doesn't work well at the raves here that are mainly 16-18yr old... I've dropped some, and people really generally want the vocally fluff and played out disco riffs. If a room was pushed as anything other then a funky house room, it can work better.. in the end I still think its a club/small room sound unless the people really want to hear it... and unless you're benassi they could care less.

anyways, I think the whole genre shit will be done soon for anything other then massive parties.. everywhere else its more and more becoming druggy music or not... people care less about what subset of filters it is and more about if the music can keep their friends dancing and interested

Farshad: When you want to jam? Tougher-edged 3-for-3 set @ BT?