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janky

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About janky

  • Birthday 01/01/1950

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    http://www.electrophobic.com/

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  1. Anyone have any spots from the Low End Specialists' set?
  2. November 22, 2003 http://www.electrophobic.com/Journalistic/031122.html Infusion @ Centro-Fly [November 20] [New York, NY] This was my third time seeing Infusion at Centro-Fly._ On their past two appearances, they were the opening act for Steve Porter and Dave Seaman, respectively, and on each occasion they had the club oscillating._ However, in contrast to their last two visits, Infusion found themselves the headliners and, as expected, they had everyone on the dancefloor in a complete frenzy. Last Thursday's performance was an abbreviated set but it did not, in any way, fail to deliver._ The boys from Down Under started the music with some breaks and from there they slowly, but surely, increased the intensity of the breaks._ The bass got deeper and as each track intensified, we found ourselves venturing element by element into my favorite part of any Infusion night:_ the banging peak._ There were flying synths and tribal beats dissipating in every direction and like many of the people around me, I was dancing f*****shly and loving every second of it._ It's the peak time progressive house that attracts my ear and Infusion's peak time productions are absolutely top notch._ While some producers shy away from the bigger sound, Infusion has shown that they have more than just a mild propensity for harder music._ An excellent example is their own "Troika", which, to few surprises, found it's way into Anthony Pappa's record box._ I only hope that they continue to turn out at least a few bangers. Soon after their peak, Infusion transitioned back into the breaks and after about thirty or so minutes, their set unfortunately came to an end._ It was a quarter to three on a Thursday night so it's understandable that things winded down but, as always is the case, no one in attendance wanted them to quit._ A few imperatives could be heard but the night was no more and Infusion put an end to another successful visit to New York.
  3. I used to think Pizza Mart was the most amazing pizza until I moved to Manhattan... Joe's is the best slice. John's is the best coal oven.
  4. March 31, 2003 http://www.electrophobic.com/Journalistic/030331.html Sean Cusick & John Digweed @ Centro-Fly [March 26] [New York, NY] When the Centro-Fly promoters announced that Sean Cusick and John Digweed would perform the first Wednesday following the annual Winter Music Conference I wasn't exactly sure what to think. Afterall, the party was to be held on a Wednesday and there was no holiday anywhere in sight. Thus, for many, there was the gloom of an ensuing day of work and attendance at Centro-Fly either meant taking a sick/vacation day or having an awfully rough time at the office. Even so, there still would be those that wouldn't be able to make it due to work commitments or logistic reasons. On the other hand, we are talking about New York - a city that truly doesn't sleep and one that holds plenty of diehard Digweed fans. So, it was very possible that the promise of an elongated set and a $15 cover charge could lure the devoted in large numbers. Therefore, I decided not to press my luck and opted for an arrival time just before 10 o'clock. Upon arrival to Centro-Fly I was greeted with a pleasant surprise. There was absolutely no line to get into the club. In a matter of minutes I had entered the club, checked my pullover and had my first drink in my hand while listening to Sean Cusick warm up the floor. In all the times I've heard Sean Cusick perform in the opening role, he has almost always started the night in a minimal and downtempo manner. Often, over time, the music would slowly but surely advance and eventually we would hear the culmination of intricate and well-defined sounds just prior to the headliner taking the decks. But, on this night Cusick decided to change his policy and entertained us with music that was definitely on the harder side of the spectrum. There were those that were surprised by Cusick's direction but overall his set served its purpose because there were more than a few that were moving and grooving on the dancefloor. By 11:30 the club had filled up significantly and Digweed could be seen wandering around the booth readying himself and his records. No more than ten minutes had passed when I heard a roar from the crowd. Although I was no where near the dancefloor, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind about the meaning of the applause. It was clear that Digweed had seized the decks and the heart of the night was about to commence. Before getting into the details of Digweed's set, I'd like to digress for a moment and comment on the vibe. While Centro-Fly has never been notorious for catering to musically minded patrons it has seen significant improvement over the last year. The owners have not only improved the layout of the club but they have also upgraded the quality of the sound system. However, there was still the possibility that the air could be filled with some level of pretentiousness as often is the case on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays where the music sometimes becomes a second priority to the scene. But, I am happy to report that the vibe in Centro-Fly was truly the best I had ever seen it. Everyone that was present was there for two reasons - to hear John Digweed and to dance off their asses. It had been almost a year since I'd heard Digweed on the decks so I can honestly say I almost forgot what an amazing experience he is capable of providing. After taking over the decks from Cusick, Digweed opened the night with four or five tracks that all contained vocals, including Steve Porter's mix of Amber's "Anyway" and the recent rework of East West Connection's "High on Life" by Lexicon Avenue. Not too long after Digweed shifted gears and propelled us towards complete dishevelment. The music spewing towards me was exactly the kind of music I wanted to hear and just everyone else in Centro-Fly, I was going absolutely crazy. Digweed was effortlessly melding some of the most complex tracks into a single, perfectly saturated wavelength. There wasn't a single break in the sound that could be ascertained and for me that is the Digweed factor. Above and beyond the music he places on the decks it his mixing that yields the insatiability within me. I simply just can't get enough. After creating madness within Centro-Fly utilizing the recent Deep Deep, P. Diddy, and Kellis collaboration titled "Let's Get Ill" as well as Ubu's utterly massive "Ride The Snake", Digweed halted the music and stepped into some breakier music. Following the breaks the music turned arguably progressive with the beautiful, yet mysterious synths of "Donner Pass" by Momu. This is absolutely stunning piece of music that appears to lie on the cusp between breaks and the journalistic melodies of early progressive house. Just prior to Digweed being on the decks for five hours the night reluctantly came to an end. The final encore of the night came in the form of a remix of the popular "Clocks" by Coldplay. From what I gather, the mix has been done by Cosmos, aka Tom Middleton, who also composed the infamous "Take Me With You". It is not certain whether or not Middleton's focus in writing the two tracks was to create astonishing encores but, in like fashion to "Take Me With You", I am positive his rework of "Clocks" will be played towards the end of many sets to come as it was the perfect contrast to an already hectic night.
  5. What kind of music does PvD spin? Does he play deep, dark progressive house?
  6. Fuck Big Brother, I want the Chicken Nazi!
  7. Here's my review from The Roxy. You guys will have fun in Baltimore. Watch out for a track that soundsl like "Scorchio" and a track with an Indian chant in it...great stuff. --- Sasha and Jimmy Van M @ The Roxy [October 25] [New York, NY] While I have visited a fair number of nightclubs in and around the country one of the few that had eluded me, in my own backyard no less, was The Roxy. So, as you can imagine, I was quite excited about the night as the last time I heard Sasha was with John Digweed back in April for the Delta Heavy Tour. I was unable to make Sasha's return to New York at Arc but gathering from the reports in the field it was a somewhat subpar night. Thus, upon entering The Roxy a little before midnight last Friday I carried with me a lower level of expectations. The Roxy is an outstanding space. The room is quite large and holds numerous, almost hidden, side rooms and areas in which one can rest and escape the masses of the main floor. I don't think I am able to accurately estimate the maximum capacity of the club but it's definitely large enough for the biggest of nights. Afterall, there has been a recent resurgence of big name DJs visiting The Roxy of late, including Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk (next weekend), Carl Cox (this Thursday for Halloween) and Sasha, so one can imagine that a fair number of folks can shake a leg without feeling part of a collective sweatbox. With that said, there's always the issue of the sound in a larger space and the sound was definitely unsatisfactory. Yes, the infamous Phazon massages the soundwaves but either it's misconfigured or the space is just way too big because there were areas on the dancefloor where the more subtle elements of the music were swallowed by the bass. Thus, I was delegated to playing my own game of hopscotch most of the evening looking for that sweet spot. As I entered the club Jimmy Van M was on the decks and was playing quite minimal, almost ambient music. The crowd was thickening as the minutes went by and after about an hour Jimmy Van M had transitioned into some more upbeat music garnishing the room with pinches of breakbeat here and there. There is no refuting that Jimmy Van M is one of the best opening DJs and one characteristic he possesses is an ability to maintain a tight range of music throughout his opening sets. The range created is one where the music is pulled upwards just enough to garner interest and then almost immediately it is pulled back only to be pulled up once again. This tight range in the music is continued until Sasha or Digweed (allow me to reminisce just a bit about those nights on West 27th) enter the booth invoking a thunderous applause. Then, instead of immediately retreating, Van M then plays two or threee upbeat tracks to really get the crowd involved and soon after the decks are then perfectly preheated for the opener. I wouldn't say Sasha made an explosive introduction upon taking over the decks but the music was by far very danceable and everyone quickly funneled their anxiety into their feet and started dancing the night away. The music throughout the night seemed to be quite cyclical in the sense that Sasha didn't seem too set on playing one specific sound for any amount of significant time. For example, there were moments when Sasha would utilize some melody combined with really long winded chords and lengthy breakdowns and then the gears would shift into more erratic beats and finally he would cap it all off with an absolute floor filler of a track. Although the cycle provided Sasha a lot of flexibility with his programming, I found it a little bothersome and this is one of the main reasons his set was a bit short of amazing. However, I would like to assert that I was quite impressed with the peak time tracks Sasha brought with him to The Roxy. I believe I counted at least a half a dozen really intense pieces of music that made everyone crazy. Personally, I would have preferred to hear a few of those peak time tracks strung together but I'll take them anyway I can get them. It's not often that I feel a need to comment on the mixing of any DJs playing in the bigger clubs but I would like to pause just a moment to expand upon something that caught my attention. Given the afore mentioned cycle Sasha appeared to be employing and the various mini genres he was exploring, it was astonishing how well Sasha was able to transition from one sound to another. It was as if Sasha was navigating the rockiest of roads loaded with hairpin turns and yet was able to turn the sharpest corners into the smoothest of curves with zero turbulence. This is the elusiveness of Sasha's mixing that deceives even the best of trained ears and there was no better display of this craftmanship then in the last hour when Sasha effortlessly dashed through the genres once again adding a funkier twist in the beginning and then finishing with a sequence of tracks that were uplifting yet very driving and packed with energy. In it's entirety, I was impressed with Sasha's set. The beginning was surprisingly well orchestrated and the ending was nothing short of spectacular. However, there was a middle section that lasted about a half an hour that really didn't seem to progress one way or another and created a bit of a lull. So, instead of dancing, I used this time to perambulate around the club and take a respite. Also, with respect to my initial expectations, I can say they were pleasantly surpassed. While a good majority of people continue to compare his recent sets to those during his residency at Twilo and in turn seem to find disappointment in the amount of time he spends on the decks, I found, in the four hours he was spinning, that I got a chance to hear more than enough of the music that made me a fan of Sasha's music in the first place.
  8. Sorry it's late - I forgot to cross post my review here... === Sasha and Jimmy Van M @ The Roxy [October 25] [New York, NY] While I have visited a fair number of nightclubs in and around the country one of the few that had eluded me, in my own backyard no less, was The Roxy. So, as you can imagine, I was quite excited about the night as the last time I heard Sasha was with John Digweed back in April for the Delta Heavy Tour. I was unable to make Sasha's return to New York at Arc but gathering from the reports in the field it was a somewhat subpar night. Thus, upon entering The Roxy a little before midnight last Friday I carried with me a lower level of expectations. The Roxy is an outstanding space. The room is quite large and holds numerous, almost hidden, side rooms and areas in which one can rest and escape the masses of the main floor. I don't think I am able to accurately estimate the maximum capacity of the club but it's definitely large enough for the biggest of nights. Afterall, there has been a recent resurgence of big name DJs visiting The Roxy of late, including Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk (next weekend), Carl Cox (this Thursday for Halloween) and Sasha, so one can imagine that a fair number of folks can shake a leg without feeling part of a collective sweatbox. With that said, there's always the issue of the sound in a larger space and the sound was definitely unsatisfactory. Yes, the infamous Phazon massages the soundwaves but either it's misconfigured or the space is just way too big because there were areas on the dancefloor where the more subtle elements of the music were swallowed by the bass. Thus, I was delegated to playing my own game of hopscotch most of the evening looking for that sweet spot. As I entered the club Jimmy Van M was on the decks and was playing quite minimal, almost ambient music. The crowd was thickening as the minutes went by and after about an hour Jimmy Van M had transitioned into some more upbeat music garnishing the room with pinches of breakbeat here and there. There is no refuting that Jimmy Van M is one of the best opening DJs and one characteristic he possesses is an ability to maintain a tight range of music throughout his opening sets. The range created is one where the music is pulled upwards just enough to garner interest and then almost immediately it is pulled back only to be pulled up once again. This tight range in the music is continued until Sasha or Digweed (allow me to reminisce just a bit about those nights on West 27th) enter the booth invoking a thunderous applause. Then, instead of immediately retreating, Van M then plays two or threee upbeat tracks to really get the crowd involved and soon after the decks are then perfectly preheated for the opener. I wouldn't say Sasha made an explosive introduction upon taking over the decks but the music was by far very danceable and everyone quickly funneled their anxiety into their feet and started dancing the night away. The music throughout the night seemed to be quite cyclical in the sense that Sasha didn't seem too set on playing one specific sound for any amount of significant time. For example, there were moments when Sasha would utilize some melody combined with really long winded chords and lengthy breakdowns and then the gears would shift into more erratic beats and finally he would cap it all off with an absolute floor filler of a track. Although the cycle provided Sasha a lot of flexibility with his programming, I found it a little bothersome and this is one of the main reasons his set was a bit short of amazing. However, I would like to assert that I was quite impressed with the peak time tracks Sasha brought with him to The Roxy. I believe I counted at least a half a dozen really intense pieces of music that made everyone crazy. Personally, I would have preferred to hear a few of those peak time tracks strung together but I'll take them anyway I can get them. It's not often that I feel a need to comment on the mixing of any DJs playing in the bigger clubs but I would like to pause just a moment to expand upon something that caught my attention. Given the afore mentioned cycle Sasha appeared to be employing and the various mini genres he was exploring, it was astonishing how well Sasha was able to transition from one sound to another. It was as if Sasha was navigating the rockiest of roads loaded with hairpin turns and yet was able to turn the sharpest corners into the smoothest of curves with zero turbulence. This is the elusiveness of Sasha's mixing that deceives even the best of trained ears and there was no better display of this craftmanship then in the last hour when Sasha effortlessly dashed through the genres once again adding a funkier twist in the beginning and then finishing with a sequence of tracks that were uplifting yet very driving and packed with energy. In it's entirety, I was impressed with Sasha's set. The beginning was surprisingly well orchestrated and the ending was nothing short of spectacular. However, there was a middle section that lasted about a half an hour that really didn't seem to progress one way or another and created a bit of a lull. So, instead of dancing, I used this time to perambulate around the club and take a respite. Also, with respect to my initial expectations, I can say they were pleasantly surpassed. While a good majority of people continue to compare his recent sets to those during his residency at Twilo and in turn seem to find disappointment in the amount of time he spends on the decks, I found, in the four hours he was spinning, that I got a chance to hear more than enough of the music that made me a fan of Sasha's music in the first place.
  9. You guys missed out. Porter fucked the place up. Here's my review... === Steve Porter @ Discotheque [June 13] [New York, NY] I arrived to Discotheque around midnight and Steve Porter had just gotten on the decks but the place was already jumping. Everyone seemed to be in a really good mood for one reason or another and I got that feeling that it might be a great night out. One of the things I first noticed was that the lights were way more toned down this Thursday and were definitely less intrusive. The past few Thursdays the lighting guy had gotten a little too hectic a little too early and folks were just not ready for it. So, it was good to see he was taking more of an incremental approach. Of course, as usual, the sound system in Discotheque was absolutely perfect. I really do feel that Discotheque has one of the better sound systems in the city so it's a blessing the Hidden parties have discovered this gem of a nightclub. As for the Bostonian's set, he was absolutely banging. Mr. Porter wasted little time with a proper introduction and set the tone early for the rest of the night by quickly moving into some really driving progressive house. Just about every track had a fair amount of full-on energy behind it and when he went a bit harder he didn't follow the peak with a plethora of downtempo tracks. Rather, he played a breakier track and then a transition track to pick up the pace. Soon, he found himself back at full force with the crowd jeering him on. I don't think I saw a single person in the entire place that wasn't moving their ass and when he laid down Head Affect's "Afro Chrome", the place was electric. This peak time monster, by far, was my favorite of the night and I assumed he would have to transition into something a bit slower but to my surprise he took the beats to another level and introduced some serious tech-house. Everyone in the place was loving it! I quickly assumed that the music wouldn't go any harder than "Afro Chrome" as it's got plenty of pace but when it did, I simply couldn't hold back a smile. Steve Porter had broken the barrier of expectations and Discotheque was chaotic. Steve Porter's initial set lasted another 20 or 30 minutes and then Groovecreator got back on the decks. It was then that I decided to call it a night and say goodbye to my friends but before I exited Mr. Porter was back on the decks going at it once again. Hopefully he'll bring exactly what he brought to Discotheque when he spins with Anthony Pappa on July 13 at Centro-Fly.
  10. Steve Porter @ Discotheque [June 13] [New York, NY] I arrived to Discotheque around midnight and Steve Porter had just gotten on the decks but the place was already jumping. Everyone seemed to be in a really good mood for one reason or another and I got that feeling that it might be a great night out. One of the things I first noticed was that the lights were way more toned down this Thursday and were definitely less intrusive. The past few Thursdays the lighting guy had gotten a little too hectic a little too early and folks were just not ready for it. So, it was good to see he was taking more of an incremental approach. Of course, as usual, the sound system in Discotheque was absolutely perfect. I really do feel that Discotheque has one of the better sound systems in the city so it's a blessing the Hidden parties have discovered this gem of a nightclub. As for the Bostonian's set, he was absolutely banging. Mr. Porter wasted little time with a proper introduction and set the tone early for the rest of the night by quickly moving into some really driving progressive house. Just about every track had a fair amount of full-on energy behind it and when he went a bit harder he didn't follow the peak with a plethora of downtempo tracks. Rather, he played a breakier track and then a transition track to pick up the pace. Soon, he found himself back at full force with the crowd jeering him on. I don't think I saw a single person in the entire place that wasn't moving their ass and when he laid down Head Affect's "Afro Chrome", the place was electric. This peak time monster, by far, was my favorite of the night and I assumed he would have to transition into something a bit slower but to my surprise he took the beats to another level and introduced some serious tech-house. Everyone in the place was loving it! I quickly assumed that the music wouldn't go any harder than "Afro Chrome" as it's got plenty of pace but when it did, I simply couldn't hold back a smile. Steve Porter had broken the barrier of expectations and Discotheque was chaotic. Steve Porter's initial set lasted another 20 or 30 minutes and then Groovecreator got back on the decks. It was then that I decided to call it a night and say goodbye to my friends but before I exited Mr. Porter was back on the decks going at it once again. Hopefully he'll bring exactly what he brought to Discotheque when he spins with Anthony Pappa on July 13 at Centro-Fly.
  11. Anyone checking out Steve Porter @ Discotheque tonite? It should be damn fun. I only saw him with Fortier @ the Plant Bar awhile ago and that wasn't a proper set. My friends in DC said he rocked Buzz when he was down there and the Abercrombie and Fitch model really hasn't had two many big nights in NYC. Plus, maybe he'll play "Two Days on Lansdowne", one of my faves... Also, it's cheap and in a good venue with a great sound system. What more can you ask for? http://www.discothequenyc.com/upcoming.html
  12. I'm in - have a safe drive - Krish - no speeding! ------------------ 4 9 7 23 5 5 4
  13. I agree Tyco. It really is hard to put a label on the tracks that Sasha and Digweed spin. But, suppose, for the moment, that you are writer for a DJ magazine who's responsibility is to describe what Sasha and Digweed actually play. You need to be more specific than simply "SND music". Well, then I think you need to come up with genres to describe the shifts in the music from when Digweed hits the decks around 2 until 10AM. So, here's my 2 cents: Stage 1: Deep and dark rolling house with possible tribal elements and some various percussion. Stage 2: Sasha's ethereal transition to lighter trance with consistent, hard backbeats. Stage 3: Progressive house begins to supercede the softer trance. Stage 4: Progressive trance explodes early in the morning and Twilo becomes a dog fight. Close your eyes, you can hear indistinguishable voices, 2 basslines, a water dropping into a pond, and a razor cutting squelch. This is complete chaos. Stage 5: Gradually bring the music back to Stage 3 and start throwing in funky, experimental tracks to end the night. In this stage, there might be one or two tracks left over from stage 4 but this is basically the end of the SND night. Digweed. ------------------ 4 9 7 23 5 5 4
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