Lauded Italian techno figurehead Donato Dozzy will headline the Civic Underground this Saturday January 25. The Rome-based producer is highly regarded by the electronica cognoscenti, having accumulated a formidable discography that includes last year’s Donato Dozzy Plays Bee Mask, one of the best releases of 2013. Featuring seven divergent reworkings of Chris Madak AKA Bee Mask’s ethereal piece ‘Vaporware’, the album came about accidentally, the result of Dozzy’s inability to contain himself and his compulsion to keep exploring the different directions he could take the original 13-minute track. Dozzy also appeared in many year-end Best Of lists in 2012 thanks to his Voices From The Lake album, which he created with long-time collaborator Neel. However Dozzy’s reputation cannot solely be attributed to his studio output.His sets at Japan’s Labyrinth Festival are the stuff of clubbing folklore, while his CV also includes an audio installation with Rabih(AKA Morphosis) at the VeniceBiennale. Far from being constrained by a particular genre, Dozzy’s exploration oftechno, brooding minimal and psychedelic electronica traverses broad sonic terrain. With an extended set from Theta State in support, this is not a show to be missed by anyone who likes to think – and dance – outside the square.
German producer Phillip Sollmann, who makes moody minimal house with Oliver Kargl as Pigon but is best known for his output as Efdemin, will release Decay, the follow-up album to 2010’s acclaimed Chicago, in March. Establishing himself among pre-eminent German producers with his self-titled debut in ’07 on Dial Records, Efdemin soon confirmed that he is an equally adept DJ with the release of the mix, Carry On, Pretend We’re Not In The Room, which captured the effortless sense of panorama that imbues his DJ sets. Chicago was an intricately constructed concept album inspired by an urban blues aesthetic, and while Sollmann’s trademark attention to detail continues throughout the forthcoming Decay album, the mood is far more club-oriented. Composed by Sollmann during his three-month residency late last year in Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto, Decay was created primarily with analog equipment, showcasing deep techno soundscapes across ten tracks. At first blush, Decay seems to be a rare beast: a coherent techno album that one can play continuously from start to finish (I dare say it’s perfect for a late night drive), or pilfer for individual tracks to work a late night dancefloor. From the outset, there’s no faffing about, as the opening track ‘Some Kind Of Up And Down Yes’ immediately plunges the listener into immersive techno realms, with Sollmann culling the extraneous minute-and-a-half intro that characterises many techno cuts, crafting the tracks with listeners, rather than DJs, in mind. While tracks such as ‘Solaris’ are sure to do the business on the Berghain dancefloor, Decay retains a coherence that ensures that it is very much a techno album, as opposed to a collection of techno tracks. Have yourself a listen to Decay when it is released on the final day of March.
One of the co-founders of influential Cologne label Kompakt Records, Germany’s Michael Mayer, will play at Ivy Pool Club on Monday January 27 to round off the long weekend. Mayer is a one-man institution, responsible for classic compilations such as Fabric 13 and the aptly named Immer trilogy (‘immer’ meaning ‘timeless’ in German), both of which showcased immaculate sequencing and track selection spanning everything from peculiar pop and off-kilterdisco to micro house and more robust minimal techno. Mayer’s extensive back catalogue of remixes, which comprises the memorably brazen rework of Baxendale’s ‘I Built This City’ and a catchy refashioning of WhoMadeWho’s ‘Every Minute Alone’, is similarly beyond reproach. He has also released accomplished albums like Touch and his more recent outing Mantasy. Mayer will be playing as part of a 12-hour bash that kicks off at two o’clock in the afternoon. What better way to cap off your Australia Day celebrations than partying poolside to some quirky European house and techno?
Saturday
January 25
The Civic Underground
Monday
January 27
Ivy Pool Club
Saturday February 1
Oxford Art Factory
BYO Warehouse Bash
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through [email protected]
