Found In Sound: 09.16.09

On Saturday night, I went to see Lawrence, aka Sten, aka Peter Karsten, play at House N Home in Brooklyn. House N Home was celebrating its first anniversary as one of the city's premiere House music events, led by the excruciatingly popular underground DJs Jus-Ed and Anthony Parasole.

Let me just say that the guys throwing House N Home are doing a great job. A very hospitable, low stress environment made the excellent music and vibe that much more enjoyable. The sound system was tweaked to perfection (the venue is a second-floor walk-up space called 12 Turn 13 in Clinton Hill), with lots of sub and bass tones to fill up your chest cavities and make your ass wiggle. Both Jus-Ed and Anthony Parasole put on nice, seamless sets, and then Lawrence took to the decks around 1am (earlier than I expected).

I was surprised to see him spinning sans laptop, using two CDJs and two turntables, with a big book of CDs at his disposal and a crate full of records. I guess it all depends on how you learned to do it - records, cds, laptops, Abelton, Traktor, Serator...whatever. Anyway, Lawrence continued the vibe started by Jus-Ed and Anthony Parasole - low impact, dubby house, lots of nice breaks and peaks, just the kind of thing to get the uber-hip DIY House crowd moving. I noticed very few people standing around - even the brave, solo party-goers were up and moving, bouncing along contentedly to the beats being served by Mr. Karsten. A really nice event, all around.

The next day I went to Other Music and picked up his latest disc on Mule Electronic, called 'Until Then Goodbye.' While I was expecting (and hoping for) some of the same vibe to which I'd been treated the previous night at House N Home, instead the new record is more of an experimental, ambient, slow-moving affair. Not that it's not good - I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's just that coming off the buzz of Saturday's show, I was hoping to have a bit more of the dubby, deep house flavor that made me so happy. I actually would say I prefer Karsten's last album as Sten, called 'The Essence,' which is more of a minimal techno affair.

But whatever - I'm not bitching. House N Home, Lawrence, Mule Electronic: good stuff.

jD

Found In Sound: 09.04.09

I am in love with Ellen Allien. The queen of all things Berlin techno, this is a multi-tasking woman if there ever was one. Not only is she an accomplished producer and DJ, but she also runs one of the best electronic/techno labels in the world (BPitch Control) and has her own clothing line. She defines über cool. And yes, I think she's hot - in that 'only comes out at night, German DJ producer impresario' kind of way.

Last year, Ellen released her 4th full-length album, 'Sool,' to mixed, if not negative reviews. The knock on 'Sool' was that it was too minimal, too abstract, too weird. Without any real floor bangers for the DJ crowd to latch onto, and with lukewarm reactions to the remixes that the few singles off the record generated, 'Sool' pretty much came and went. Never mind that it was an idea record, or an artistic statement, or that it didn't conform to most ideas about what a techno record is supposed to sound like - nobody's too interested in any of that right now, I guess.

This week, a new single from Ellen came out on Beatport called 'Lover.' Now this is something the DJs can get into. Both sides of the record are upbeat, heavy kick, four on the floor tracks that leave little doubt as to their purpose - to get asses on the floor. While Allien still has her head firmly in a minimal mindset, both 'Lover' and its B-side 'You Are' are more dynamic, more intense, and well, more conventional than anything we've heard from her in a couple years now. Even her excellent collaboration with Apparat, 'Orchestra of Bubbles,' didn't have anything this out front ('Jet' is a great track, but the production is not entirely dance-floor friendly).

So - which Ellen is better? Experimental, under-produced, atmospheric Ellen, or bumping, grinding, stomping Ellen? I personally vote for both. While I am thoroughly enjoying both sides of this single, I hope it doesn't mean that the moderate beating she took on 'Sool' is going to drive her permanently into the middle. The best artists allow themselves room to explore, and more accurately, room to make mistakes. Some of those mistakes end up being classics. Some of them end up being 'album cuts.' But all of them help define the greater body of work and make sense of the artist's overall style. The irony here, of course, is that 'Lover' isn't getting the best reviews, either. So maybe Ellen is getting some backlash, or maybe she just shouldn't pay attention to what critics say across the board.

Personally, I hope she'll keep chasing her creative expression and expanding upon what is already an impressive career. As for the critical white noise, who gives a shit...?

jD