Regis & Scorn to perform at the Narcissus Trance Exhibition (26th June 10)

Karl O'Connor AKA Regis and Mick Harris AKA Scorn will collaborate as part of the Narcissus Trance exhibition, which begins at London's E:vent Gallery next week.

The show is based around the ideas that Canadian scholar and philosopher Marshall McLuhan had on the interaction of technology and humanity, and in particular his concept of the Narcissus Trance, which is described by co-curators Paul Purgas and Shama Khanna as "a process that anaesthetises the nervous system in order to allow technological media to merge with the mind." It's not the first time that the O'Connor and Harris have collaborated with Purgas, as they took part in his two We Can Elude Control shows alongside Sleeparchive and Secondo in 2008. Again, a physical product will be released to commemorate the commission; and this time it's 7-inch single bearing text by writer and theorist Mark Fisher AKA K-punk.

Turner prize nominated Mark Titchner, acclaimed New York painter Wade Guyton, author and conceptual artist Tom McCarthy and emerging London based sculptor Ben Washington are amongst the other artists contributing work to the exhibition, which runs from June 26th through to August 8th. The grand opening on Friday 25th June will be anchored around some special live performances, with Rose Kallal doing a new piece with three 16mm projectors and a Roland SH-2000 synthesizer, and O'Connor and Harris showcasing their latest project for the first time in public. The aforementioned artists will also contribute installed pieces to the exhibition that, according to Purgas, "will function as more of an immersive encounter." The exhibition will also host discussion events stemming from McLuhan's theories, and the project will continue into the new year, with a second exhibition at Bristol's Spike Island in January.

Find out more information at the Event Gallery Website

How to use the Pioneer DJM 2000

The DJM 2000 was first unveiled back in March, but since then not much has been said about it, until now.

Pioneer have now released a video which takes you through everything on this feature packed mixer.

For more infomation check out the Pioneer Website

Samuli Kemppi - Live @ Berghain (5th June 10)

I'm a big fan of Samuli Kemppi and I'm also a big fan of Berghain, so putting them together is just excellent. Putting them together and recording it is unbelievable!

Direct Download (Right click, save as)

Keep up to date with all of Samuli's info through these two links

Samuli Kemppi Twitter

Samuli Kemppi Myspace

Shake It presents Canada Day with Richie Hawtin @ Village Underground (1st July 10)

The few times Richie Hawtin brings his array of technology to London, there's always something not quite right about it. The last few choices of venues SEOne, The Brixton Academy and Ministry Of Sound have raised a few questions. The Contakt show at SEOne was over crowded beyond belief, poorly run and never got going. I saw the same show a month later at I Love Techno and it was immense. Something about London just didn't work. The idea behind it, and off shoot of the Narod Niki shows, was a great concept and ILT proved how good it could work. The ratio of scene-sters to genuine techno fans was far too high, and the main show started far too late, and by that time it was too late to rescue it. Especially as Hawtin was no where to be seen for the first 90mins after the intro.

At last years Friday night Sonar showcase however, Richie was back to his brilliant best. I put all thoughts of Contakt, Cubes, Clothing Lines and any other hype that was surrounding him at the time, to the back of my mind and, as cliche as it sounds 'just concentrated on the music'. Hawtin put in a tremendous performance that night and convinced me that when it is all the techno, there's few better.

I have a feeling this night is going to be just like that memorable night back in Barcelona, in a considerably smaller space, but all about the Techno. No frills, no spills (although maybe a few Canadian flags), the London crowd cruisers will be kept away by the annoyance of Friday work (don't worry i have the day off) and Richie will serve up his finest to mark the occasion.

Tickets are still available at:

Resident Advisor

Ticketweb

I have mine. And for those of you that might be around the west end in the afternoon of Canada Day, Hawtin will be playing a half hour set at 5:30pm in Traflagar Square as part of the festivities

First names announced for Timewarp Holland 2010

Here are the first names for this years Timewarp Festival in Holland

Sven Vath

Loco Dice

Marco Carola

Karotte

Speedy J

Chris Liebing

Sandwell District

Gui Boratto (Live)

Joris Voorn (Live)

Early reports suggest it will be held on 4th December this year but in 2010 it looks like the event will be held in Amsterdam rather than the previous years where it's been held in Rotterdam. My 2 visits to the Maassilo venue, in Rotterdam, over the last 2 years have made it one of my favourite venues in the world. Timewarp need to have something special to live up to the old converted power station. But it's not often that Timewarp lets us down so I'm fairly confident whatever they dig out will be more than a little bit special!

You can follow Timewarp on Twitter or check out their Official Website for all the info on this event and future events

T Bar closed

The East London venue is the latest in a ever growing line of closed down London venues. It's been a turbulent few months for the London club scene, with the closure of Matter for the summer, and the news that fabric has gone into administration and is up for sale.

You'd think things couldn't get any worse, but it seems the bad news just keeps on coming with the announced closure of T Bar. Originally in it's Shoreditch High Street location the place was buzzing. Playing host to some of the best djs in the world and always for free. It seemed to lose some of it's specialness when it moved away from central Shoreditch to it's new location, hidden away out the back of London's financial district.

It never seemed to spark to life in it's new location and is now thrown out onto the clubland scrap heap. A message from the T Bar facebook group last night, read as follows

"Dear members/fans and friends,

It is with great sadness that I have to announce that T Bar is now closed. After six and a half years of incredible music, outrageously good times and spectacular memories we are calling time on the T Bar rave.

Thanks to you all for your support, loyalty and for making T Bar the special place it has been for so long. Please feel free to upload photos and memories to this page....

Big love

The T Bar boys and girls.

xx"

Mathew Jonson - FACT Mix 155 (Jun 10)

One of my favourite artists of all time. His live set @ fabric's 10th birthday was one of the best live performances i've ever seen. The track listing for this mix looks like it's practically the same set. Unfortunately this time i'll have to listen to without the help of fabric's incredible soundsystem, but it's still very very special. At fabric he finished with 'Marionette' and i was almost in tears. Such a magical moment.

Direct Download (Right click, save as) Link available for 3 weeks

Tracklisting

1. Symphony for the Apocalypse – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
2. After the Bombs Fell – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson
3. Never Say Die Remix – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson
4. Decompression Remix – Unreleased (original on Minus) – Mathew Jonson
5. Ghosts in the A.I. – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
6. Octopus Brains (Mathew Jonson Remix) – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson, Deadbeat
7. Lizards and Dragons (Mathew Jonson Remix) – Unreleased – Mathew Jonson, The Mole, Chris Hreno
8. DMT (Mathew Jonson Remix) – Cobblestone Jazz – Wagon Repair
9. Marionette (Live Version) – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
10. Marionette (the beginning) – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson
11. Sunday Disco Romance – Wagon Repair – Mathew Jonson

You can follow Mathew Jonson on Myspace for all the info on his future gigs and releases

Ben Gibson - In A Realized Luck Of Immanence

Here is the first free giveaway from Perc Trax. More will be coming soon including dj mixes, exclusive tracks and unreleased remixes and edits.

This is the mixed version of Ben Gibson's debut album that was released last year on Perc Trax.
Support for the release came from Chris Liebing, Laurent Garnier, Avus, Par Grindvik, Joseph Capriati, October, Drumcell, Xhin and many more.

Ben Gibson - In A Realized Luck Of Immanence (Mixed) - Perc Trax by Perc

The full album and the individual tracks can be bought from

Beatport

Whatpeopleplay

Juno Download

As ever keeping up to date with all the latest Perc Trax info couldn't be easier. Just add them to..

Twitter

Myspace

Ricardo Villalobos cancels DEMF Performances

Due to problems obtaining his US work visa, Ricardo Villalobos has been forced to cancel his two performances this weekend in Detroit.

The celebrated DJ and producer was scheduled to headline Beatport's stage at Movement on Sunday, then play back-to-back with Cassy at the Voyage Royale afterparty on Sunday night. According to a press release sent out early this morning,Richie Hawtin will replace Villalobos at Movement, then DJ alongside Magda at Voyage Royale, in addition to headlining the festival's opening night as Plastikman.

The announcement comes just days before what would have been Villalobos' first Motor City appearance since 2002. Movement's executive director Jason Huvaere said: "We are disappointed Ricardo is not able to make it, especially with it being so close to the festival, but the show must continue."

Slash Dot Dash pres. Sandwell District & Traversable Wormhole (Live) @ The Hub Club (10th July 10)

Slash Dot Dash returns for 2010 to bring you the very best in cutting edge, underground techno. For our first big event in years we're flying in legendary duo Regis & Function from Sandwell District and Chris Liebing's CLR imprints latest signing and techno's next big thing, Traversable Wormhole.

£10 Early bird tickets are now on sale at Resident Adviso r but be quick because there are limited numbers of pre sale tickets. Once the Early Birds are gone then they'll go up to £12.50, then £15 on the door.

Sandwell District
(Regis & Function)
http://www.myspace.com/function_dave

Sandwell District is, without doubt, THE underground Techno label of the moment. With support from all quarters (they count Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Len Faki and the Berghain crew, Laurent Garnier, Miss Kitten, Jeff Mills, Sleeparchive, Speedy J, Troy Pierce, among their many devotees) they have not just blurred the boundaries of techno, but have dissolved them and re-built it in their own unique image...

Function and Regis need little introduction, as stalwarts of the hugely influential Downwards Label they have been breaking down and re-arranging the D.N.A of conventional dance music for over a decade. Sandwell District however is very much it's own animal and although it shares many of it's ideals and energy with the iconic Downwards, it is very much a label of the here and now. As Beatportal recently put it, "Influential British techno label Downwards are causing waves with their new imprint Sandwell District, as is Marcel Dettmann, Shed and Sleeparchive, who have all picked up where Downwards left techno in the late 1990s."

With Function already scoring 2 massive hits this year, with his "ISOLATION AND ANTICIPATION EP'S " and Regis causing major waves on the underground as his alter ego KALON, it seems as if in the past 12 months, Sandwell District can do no wrong. Going from strength to strength with every release, so far this year both Function's mighty 'Isolation' and the Kalon and Function Mixes of Silent Servant's 'Violencia' earned DJ Mag Techno Record of the Month, Function's 'Anticipation' held the #1 Bestselling Techno Record position for 6 weeks on Juno, in June the label earned Resident Advisor's prestigous, Label of the Month, and currently the Kalon and Function mixes of Silent Servant are getting major airplay and DJ Support. And now with mixes from Marcel Dettmann and Troy Pierce in the pipeline for the next sandwell 12"s, as well as Function remixing Miss Kitten, Heartthrob (Minus) and the Richie Hawtin, Joey Beltram and Mundo Muzique +8 classic, Final Exposure 'Vortex', 2009 is already promising to be another major year for SANDWELL DISTRICT.

As you would expect, Function and Regis's approach to live/dj work is forward thinking and challenges convention ... Digital and Analogue equipment is combined to create the maximum creative environment for both ARTISTS to feed off each other during a set.

Traversable Wormhole (CLR - NYC & Berlin)
http://www.myspace.com/traversablewormhole

In 2009 a series of five anonymously produced ink stamped vinyl recorded releases appeared in the global techno scene under the mysterious guise "Traversable Wormhole. The series released exclusively on vinyl. The sound of "Traversable Wormhole is a unique signature of sci-fi laden techno music with gaps of time,space & bass in between sound & rhythm.

Within a month's time of it's conception Volume 2 of the series appeared and a huge buzz was soon amassed on the project. Accusations on who was the artist behind the project ran wild. People all over the techno scene had made theories to who was behind it. The project quickly received huge support from many of the world's most renowned techno shops such as Rub A Dub , Hardwax, Juno & Decks.

Word traveled fast through the wormhole and it was soon reported that globally respected dj’s such as Chris Liebing, Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Mathew Herbert, Ryan Elliot, Andrew Galluzi, Surgeon, Function, Frankie Bones, Surgeon, DJ Deep & Radioslave were all supporting the sound of TW. With the series fast approaching into further galaxies with the appearance of Vol 3. Techno cult blogsite MNMLSSG (http://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/) tracked down TW via Twitter. A sonar ping was sent back to the popular blog and soon a "Traversable Wormhole" mix appeared anonymously on the site, receiving rave reviews. Their were also reports through the anonymous "Traversable Wormhole" Myspace profile that dj's from the dubstep scene were supporting the songs that had more of a broken beat structure in the series. As the series transgressed to Vol 5 by the year end of 2009 the mystique of anonymity continued to grow.

To usher in the very start of 2010 "Traversable Wormhole" would release the sixth volume of the series. At the same time 20 year veteran techno artist/dj Adam X originally from NYC but now residing in Berlin would be invited to partake in a feature called "Playing Favorites" on "Resident Advisor" the worlds biggest electronic music website. As Adam's feature read towards the end he would subtly take claim as the producer behind "Traversable Wormhole".

While traversing the wormhole, Adam has crossed paths with Chris Liebing and his CLR imprint. Forthcoming in Summer 2010 CLR will release "Traversable Wormhole" Vol 1-5 in digital format for the first time ever with all five volumes being digitally remastered in the highest of quality. Also planned for release at the same time period is a massive remix project that maybe the biggest ever in techno. "Traversable Wormhole" has found itself remixed from some of the best in the scene. Surgeon, Marcel Dettmann, Sleeparchive, Function, Chris Liebing , James Ruskin, Peter Van Hoesen, Terence Fixmer, Kevin Gorman, Tommy 247 & Brian Sanhaji have all taken a turn in remixing TW. The remix project will see release on both vinyl and digital format. Then come September 2010 CLR releases on CD "Adam X presents Traversable Wormhole Vol 1-5" a full length mix of all 10 songs, mixed by the artist himself.

In support of the CLR releases "Traversable Wormhole" will traverse the world with a live show tour starting in July 2010.

The Residents

Kicking off the night will be Chris Stanford and XI. Both no strangers to the London Techno scene. Part of the legendary Lost Souls parties at Public Life they've played host to a number of the world's very best underground DJs and will be bringing this party to the boil, setting it up nicely for our guests.
http://www.myspace.com/chrisstanforduk
http://www.myspace.com/andrew_djxi