Welcome to the first instalment of Mixed Review; a new regular piece that explores great music, articles, podcasts and more out there in the ether, as well as thoughts on current goings on in the scene – all from a new, currently anonymous member of Mantissa.
Covid-19 and its effect on the Industry
You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.
Front-lefters, centre-floor sweaters, dark-corner dusters. Boppers, steppers, senders. Owners, promoters. DJs.
The list of people scratching at the walls to get back in there goes on
At their most boiled down, clubs are music venues. But it’s not quite as simple as that. Clubs are communities. Clubs are safe spaces. Clubs are respite.
With our clubs closed, a colourful patch in the fabric of society has been unthreaded. Clubs are so fundamental, they reflect realism far more than they do escapism
But there might be hope on the horizon; the world is adapting to our new situation, and so clubs are looking to adapt too. So many of the changes people are making to their lives and businesses are truly positive for themselves and wider humanity, but it’s fair to say that some of the proposed changes to our night life are not being universally celebrated.
Gerd Janson played at an open-air venue in Germany on May 21st to a crowd of 100 people. 100 people in a 2,000 capacity venue, with all attendees restricted to “dance zones” that were chalked onto the floor, 1.5 metres apart from one another to enforce social distancing. Once we get past the nostalgia of the floor looking a little like a school playground, you’re left watching something that feels more like a silent disco than a club night. At the end of the day, dancing is a social activity. Sure, we’ve all had a bit of a boogy on our own before. But not for hours on end, in dark room, with the heating turned up. There’s a reason silent discos are shit; you lose all sense of togetherness and community when you’re plugged into your own headphones. There’s no group pulsation, no little smiles you spot when the tempo’s switched up, no shared rhythm with the person next to you. The Gerd Janson night at Coconut Beach, Munster didn’t seem quite as bad as this, but dancing, as both a social activity and expression of freedom, are both heavily compromised (if not completely blown apart) if you start applying restrictions of movement. “KEEP ALL FUN WITHIN THE FUN ZONES. YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SHARE FUN ZONES. YOU MUST REQUEST PERMISSION TO LEAVE YOUR FUN ZONE”. What you’re left with, is a venue playing music rather than a club.
RA News Article
Event Link
But there’s an even deeper problem than this that needs to be carefully thought through. Tickets for this particular event were on sale for 70 Euros each, a price that the managing director of the venue said will come down as capacity is allowed to increase. But at such a ridiculous price, the whole concept becomes elitist. The underground music scene was under growing threat even before the coronavirus outbreak (see The Quietus article also featured in the Newsletter) and these prices will only fuel that. It’s possible the impact of this will be less far reaching if the “old normal” of clubs is resumed sooner rather than later. But that’s an unknown at the moment, and I’m left thinking that the club clientele will change somewhat if ticket prices are set so high. Clubs break down so many social barriers, but groups will become re-marginalised if they either can’t, or refuse to, afford ticket prices.
This isn’t a swipe at club owners. There’s huge debt owed to landlords, and staff that will soon no longer benefit from the UK Government’s furlough scheme. Not to mention that for areas like London, where rent is inflated, venues often have a rateable value over £51,000, which prevents them from claiming grants. The financial outlook is a sad picture; club owners need as much revenue as possible to stay afloat, so maybe we all have a part to play in this. We can’t expect our local sanctuaries to survive if we don’t continue to invest in them, and maybe that involves socially distant dancing.
But now I think about it, was the “old normal” so great after all? It definitely felt great – most of the time at least. I’m spoilt in London by some excellent clubs and events. But some of my favourite venues have started cutting corners by overselling nights, or succumbing to the dominance of LWE, Krankbrother, and other event heavyweights. Maybe as the scene becomes further squeezed, gaps will appear for new promoters and local DJs to flourish. We should get there and support as best we can if that’s the case. Because it’s either that, or the event giants will flex their muscles and gain a tighter grip on the industry. Let’s cross our fingers for the former.
Depending just how fundamentally the club experience does change, and for how long, will determine whether even bigger gaps appear. Gaps that will require filling. The need for safe spaces and a sense of belonging isn’t going to dissolve; people will just find new ways to recreate them. If clubs either don’t open, or are bound by social distancing rules, we could be entering territory not seen since the 90’s. People tend to take matters into their own hands when they don’t get what they want; so who knows, the 2020’s could represent the second wave of UK rave.
Mix of the Month
RA. 728 Valesuchi
You don’t have time to get comfortable.
Rio de Jeneiro resident Valesuchi has developed an international reputation, gracing the stages of Berlin’s CTM, Sonar Festival in Barcelona, Santiago and São Paulo, the latter where she also performed at Dekmantel. But it’s safe to say that Valesuchi doesn’t stray too far from her roots and remains highly influential in the electronic music movement sweeping through Rio, and so many other South American melting pots.
The perfect time to release this heavy hitter on Resident Advisor.
This mix is a celebration of Latin American electronic music, but don’t expect to be transported somewhere tropical. True – there are carnival tones in the Afro-Cuban percussion of Vaskular and Valesuchi’s Black Jesus (2014, Cómeme); but the celebration owes itself more to the rich list of Latin American-produced electro and techno tunes, and the exploration of these diversities within just one hour. Xiao Quan’s Lazi is metallic and crass at the midway point, while the ghetto-tech fake-finale of Quarentena Do Crime (2020, ZONA de Isolamento V.A.I) by CRAZED BR would typically be the perfect ending. But she’s not done yet. Political instability breeds a steeliness in this part of the world, and you know Valesuchi has more to say when she leaves you to contemplate the full-length of Teto Preto’s contemptuous Bate Mais (2018, Mamba Rec.)before closing.
Pick ‘n’ Mix
Fictions #38 & #39 w/ Gigsta – The Bass Books specials
Fictions is Gigsta’s monthly missive on Cashmere Radio, which she has most recently used as a platform to present a two-part special feature: Bass Books. Gigsta is an exceptional DJ, but also just so happens to have one of those voices absolutely made for radio. The feature is a non-exhaustive take on bass literature, that also provides a window into Gigsta’s revered library and discography. Part 1 focuses on the dubby, introspective side of low frequency music, while the second explores later, more varied developments. You can find the full playlists on www.cashmereradio.com. As guilty as it may be, a personal favourite is Yvonne Archer’s Ain’t Nobody. It’s unfortunately easy to forget this 1983 original, which has recently been re-pressed by Isle of Jura (Australia).
The Many Faces Of Housekeeping: How Wealth & Privilege Are Distorting Underground Music
“Our language (is) shifting almost imperceptibly from vaguely egalitarian talk of ‘club culture’ to the creepily neoliberal ‘night-time economy…”
Black sky thinking indeed. This article calls to question the direction of travel for underground music, as its connections with wealth become stronger and its value as a commodity becomes greater. Warning: it doesn’t paint a great picture for the industry.
https://thequietus.com/articles/28302-housekeeping-faces-review
Bad Cop Sad Cop – Theo Parrish Season 1, Ep. 3
This is open and very enjoyable chit-chat between two legends of the game – solo host Dego and Chicago’s Theo Parrish. Clearly friends, they skip the formalities as they discuss ins and outs of the industry, Theo’s musical motivations and means of creativity. There’s plenty more episodes where this came from as well.
Acid House Flashback
Flashback was created in response to the British Textile Biennial 2019 programme. This brought them to the empty warehouses and mills of late-80s Blackburn, UK, and how these spaces were used to throw “parties for the people”. Flashback have collected an archive of interviews from those involved who share their memories of these special times. Prepare to feel nostalgic even if your parents hadn’t met yet.
The Curious Case Of Jay Electronica
With the eagerly awaited debut album A Written Testimony finally released in March 2020, the music industry has rushed to provide opinion on whether it was worth the wait, with no shortage of digs thrown at just how present Jay-Z is throughout the album. But Vibe remind us why there has been such a tired frenzy surrounding the album release, and why Jay Electronic remains one of the most complex, atypical superstars out there.
https://www.vibe.com/2020/03/curious-case-jay-electronica
Author: Anonymous