Oh it's March already! Although there was no proper winter this time, anyway the arrival of spring makes difference - people are ready for new things, new projects, they become more active... That means we can anticipate good parties and hopefully good records coming out too.
I'm just back from Riga - a quick overview. First, I participated in Intelligent Debosch party. My set was rather experimental, consisting of more abstract and laid-back tunes than usually, so I was glad that people seemed to accept it well. Actually I find it amazing - our beloved Space:Garage is probably the only club in the Baltics where such music is played and welcomed. Another good point about this venue - time after time in the Garage I meet people whom I know from my "clubbing past" but haven't seen for long time (years!). So, for instance, this time I had a pleasure meeting Gosh and Dmitriy (the one who was a good house DJ). In general, the crowd was very mixed at this Debosch - from drugged youngsters to regular people to more "solid" ladies and gents whom you usually don't meet there. Probably that was one of the reasons why there was some tension in the air (or was it the full moon?). I mean, the mood wasn't bad, just a bit weird. In general, that's an interesting topic - mood in parties and the factors behind it. The interesting thing is that this ir largly unpredictable, and organisers can't have a complete control on providing the best atmosphere, vibe, mood - call it as you wish. Probably there are too many factors involved - and music is just one of them. Said this I must add that it isn't a simple polar dichotomy - either a good/positive or bad/negative vibe. It can be uplifting, spiritual, psychodelic, energetic, crazy, melancholic, chaotic, deep, thoughtful, friendly, full of affection and love etc. For instance, next week-end DJ Vobla from Moscow and our local Datashock (Ivars Mednis) were in the house with untypically pop-dance tunes (from electropop to all times anthems), and it worked out so well - smiling smaces, openness and positive craziness all around. That moment I realised that it's perfectly OK sometimes to play old hits or even somewhat naive but lovely tunes, because it's not just about pushing boundaries and exploring new musical teritories but first of all entertainment and having fun. Simple like that!
Meanwhile, Ind-ex site has published my another mix, which could be seen as a homage to the real house music (whatever it means), uplifting melodies and analogue drum machines. The new school meets the old school, and the mix is a kind of bridge between contemporary minimal aesthetics and house music roots that stretch back to Chicago. I must confess that I've grew up dancing and listening to Detroit techno and Chicago house (apart from the European Tresor, Disko B, R&S stuff), and although I've never really played Chicago house trax as a DJ, I really like those groovy jacking minimal tech-house tracks with references to Chicago yet produced in a more contemporary way (think of e.g. Tigerskin, Todd Bodine, Marc Romboy). Regarding "analogue approach", sometimes it's a conceptual opposition to music made on computers, but more often it's incorporation of elements from the both hardware and software worlds. Think of Move D, Jackmate, Carl Craig, Oliver Huntemann...
Last but not least. Some people told me that actually they regularly reading this blog, it's good to know, and so I will try to write here more often.
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