Renegade Sunset Part 1

Portland analog enthusiast, Elliot Thomas – otherwise known as Etbonz - sent Gumar an unreleased work the other day. After hearing the driving motorik vessel of the rhythm, the cascades of melodic layers in hues of deepening red, orange and eventually a starry black night, the aesthetic tone was clear – a chase on a highway under the darkening sky. The track’s title referring to a just, non-dogmatic vigilante victory. Within the grandeur and freedom of openness and simultaneous escape, we find solace in the beat and the renegade sunset.
Etbonz - Jammin 2 Victory

Behind The Music

It can be said that Beats In Space - a weekly podcast/wnyu broadcast, hosted by the beat-monger, and international DJ/sound-wizard Tim Sweeney - is the spot to go for the heady shit. That's why we were excited to hear new jams from local artists Etbonz and Suzanne Kraft on a recent episode (also check out a great write-up on Etbonz and a stellar mix of his on Ecstasy). Perhaps more exciting is how Mr Sweeney came across the Etbonz 7"... On a recent west coast jaunt, the Sween-ster stopped by the rose city to drop hours of tracks from his unfuckwithable collection at Groove Suite. Needless to say, memory of such an intoxicating dance experience has acquired a certain haze over time. However, it was the summer day record-store-crawl that preceded Mr Sweeney's epic DJ set that might have longer lasting impact for Portland. Sweeney was originally booked by dj extraordinaire and sadly soon to be California resident, Matthew Quiet for Matthew's birthday, which was the night of the show. They spent the afternoon before the show visiting a few of the many great record selling establishments, including one of our favorite Portland record shops - Clinton Street Records. There, one half of the ownership, Jared aka Maxx Bass, gave Mr Sweeney said Etbonz 7" which was released to accompany the 5th installment of I Want You quarterly magazine… behind the music.

Speaking of Clinton Street Records. A recent trip netted Weewl The Pleasure Principal, Fleetwood Mac's Mystery to Me, The "Personal Jesus" single, and Screamadelica all for under $20. The latter has provided a nostalgic rekindling for the warmth of production found on an album which features production cameo credits from Andrew Weatherall (who is known for many things, including this fantastic Force Tracks mix, Hypercity) and Alex Patterson of the Orb. Below is the Orb’s stellar dub of “Higher Than the Sun” which can be found on their Remix Project Double CD Auntie Aubrey’s Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty

Primal Scream - Higher Than the Sun (Battersea Shield Mix)

This story comes full circle with this exclusive Suzanne Kraft future-house harbinger brought to us straight from the source. Diego Herrera splits his time between Portland, Los Angeles, New York and the rest of the world. He performs as Suzanne Kraft and his upcoming Greenflash EP comes out on the bustling Running Back Records and will feature an array of songs, but not this one which can be found here.

Suzanne Kraft - CHNG

Summer Constellations

Weewl - Summer Constellations (FRM001)

Trax:
1. Coop's Intro
2. Yagya - As It Is
3. Aphex Twin - Pulsewidth
4. Aoki Takamasa - Live in Tokyo
5. Mark Fell - Multistability 1-
6. Jimmy Edgar - Teletraux
7. Kingfisherg - Patch Face
8. Popnoname - Touch (Field Mix)
9. Dettinger - Blond
10. Unai - Blissful Burden
11. Todd Terje - Glittertind
12. Farben - The videoage (Re-edit)
13. Luke Abbott - Melody120
14. Clark - Primary Balloon Landing
15. Thomas Fehlmann - Permanent Touch
16. KGB MAN - Ariana

Streetlights

The party is flamboyant, but not aloof. Intentional angles abound with costumes as gallant as silk adorned velvet nightingales. It is the gala ball of New York in the late 1980’s/early 90’s, contextualized perfectly by the film Paris is Burning. It is this vibe which Malcom McLaren sauntered into our speakers with at the perfect moment with Deep in Vogue, just a blink in time (less than one year to be exact) before Madonna’s Vogue provided a veritable death blow to the dance/lifestyle which shares that name. Following the release and ubiquity of Madonna’s Vogue the form of dance, and the associated lifestyle went from a communal, rising, positivity of the Ball scene - and the cultures it housed - to a purchasable chew toy for the hungry masses.

Malcom McLaren - Deep In Vogue (Extended)

(Buy this album)

So we cannot blame McClaren for his attempt to expose us, because by all accounts going to a Ball was nothing short of an ecstatic experience for the maligned minorities who built the Ballroom up from scratch. It united those in attendance by fully embracing the nature of their own identities and providing the sacred space of the dance floor/runway to project their fantasies and dreams. McClaren’s intention - clear to see in the video for Deep in Vogue - was to share and display, not to exploit.

The world has so much to learn from vogue - how to resolve conflicts, how to express love and hate with the dying art of free movement. It is at once selfless and narcissistic. Identity and culture decoupaged and formed into a party gel. A home for the misfits and the peacocks. McClaren tried his hardest to help build momentum for the growing movement.

Sadly, McLaren's party ended in April of last year with his passing, and we are left to the street in introspection. His career was long and fruitful, with Deep in Vogue representing one facet of a sparkling diamond of a career. In spite of his efforts, and his genuine support for those for whom the ballroom was a solace, his own passing succeeded the symbolic passing of the ballroom movement by a generation. However solemn these endings may seem, there is another who may serve as a guide to help us glow in the streetlights, and navigate the remains.

DJ Sprinkles' only full length release is the sumptuous, ecstatic, deep-house delight Midtown 120 Blues. The album has a breadth of scope that can summon quiet walks through a city street at night, and simultaneously transport you effortlessly to a high-society penthouse dance party. Ball'r (Madonna-Free Zone) places the listener on the formerly mentioned street, in a very specific context - the sweaty, post-ball bliss felt by many a-vogueing queen mixed with the accompanying period of solemn reflection over the ironic fate of the dance itself. This direct and purposeful context is sincere and tells a story with polite and seductively quiet vocals - both typical house vocal noise and the ambient sounds of background cheers and interview sounds from the ball-going crowd.

DJ Sprinkles aka Terre Thaemlitz - Ball'r (Madonna-Free Zone)

(Buy this album)

The crowning jewel of this scrumpet of a song is the explanatory monologue at the end of the piece. It is startling at first to hear a radical voice speaking to us in the context of a largely instrumental album, in the broader context of a genre which, as Sprinkles points out, typically only features semi-evangelical words about the “true” meaning of house. However, the jolt subsides quickly, and Sprinkles’ voice glides us into a deeper understanding. It proves that the celebratory music which precedes and underlines his voice is not just a filler, or a decadent ruse, but a sacred artifice which ties it all together. Sprinkles’ voice keeps the listener caressed while being sensitive to the meaning and intentionality of the movement. Perhaps the best part of the monologue is its simplicity in telling the story of the fate of Vogue. It informs the layman house listener lacking inroads to the inner sanctum of house music without sounding preachy or dogmatic. Indeed, Midtown 120 Blues creates the metaphysical place of worship for house-heads. Ball'r and the rest of the album exemplify house music in its classic and honorary forms, and helps to break down the perception of House music as a meaningless or vapid art form focused strictly on physical pleasure without sacrificing the sensual essence McClaren reflexively brought into vogue.

As Sprinkles attempts to resuscitate the ball room through story-telling and exquisite beat making, he also reminds us of the memory of McClaren and the wake of Madonna’s Vogue.

DJ Sprinkles is one of a handful of identities of Terre Thaemlitz. For more, see an upcoming post examining Thaemlitz, Carl Craig and Jan Jelinek as pioneers of identities-as-aesthetic-vessels in electronic music.

Dream Screen

Here at Fluorescent Radio we have a cosmic vessel for voyaging into our personal dream-consciousness. It’s also capable of the dream-states of those interested in joining us. It is called the Dream Screen. This screen enables us to enter deep states of waking consciousness in order to translate the aesthetics and sensations we find in dreams. The result is a two-hour streaming radio show which can be heard live every Monday on Cascade Community Radio. Recordings of our adventures can be found on the shows’ internet home. The Dream Screen is a metaphysical machine, capable of broadcasting the nuanced and kaleidoscopic world of the dream. We’d like to share this powerful device with you, and we invite you to send us your dreams. The simplest way to do this is to send a written account to drmscrn@gmail.com. You can also send an audio or video account. We will share your story with our listeners, discuss it and attempt to match it to a song. Your dream will be broadcast on the screen, thus creating a feedback loop affecting not only your dreams, but the dreams of other listeners’ as well.

We will share some of the results of the dream screen with you here on Fluorescent Radio from time to time.

Maxin' in Rio

The Tropical Zone lines the equator accepting the intense rays of the sun. As the sun hits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - which lies smack dab in the middle of the tropical zone – it reflects a prism of vibe-colors back to its inhabitants. Among the human translations of this reflective process: love.

After working with Frank Zappa for most of the seventies, the synth pioneer as well as multi-instrumentalist George Duke resided in this tropical paradise also known as Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City). It was there that he recorded the sensual masterpiece “A Brazilian Love Affair” in 1979.

Flash forward to year 2011. DJ/Producer Roane Namuh, submerged in the deluge of a Pacific Northwest winter, completes his edit of “Brazilian Love Affair.” One can only imagine the need for the warm love of the tropics in such a cold, wet place. The yearning for the tropics is clear in the remix, as are the dense clouds and darkness of Portland’s rainy season. It may be because of the need to translate those warm emotions into something familiar to a northwest denizen. Or it may be a simple sound-light experiment to see how tropical rays are viewed through a clouded lens.

Roane's edit of A Brazilian Love Affair triggered film visions. A seedy groove rises out of a film noir romance scene, inviting the films actors to dance lasciviously & raw. Bump and grind visions known only by the subconscious wet dreams of future tense Fred Astaire.


Listen or download for free directly from Roane's Bandcamp

Slowing down the groove and consulting mentor Lovefingers. Impresario of the fantastic international disco/groove imprint ESP, Lovefingers is also a member of the Stallions (the esteemed Lee Douglas being the other member), and curator of a truly expansive, yet equally intimate collection of music, the collection of his daily free mp3 uploads on lovefingers.org. This collection, which spanned over 900 days, accumulated in my library and slowly the man (or sensual love machine) began massaging his beautiful, warm style into me via massage-mosis.

This track, written and performed originally by the fantastic Italian singer-songwriter, Lucio Battisti, has been edited by Lovefingers for ultimate chill space. As always Lovefingers has told me a story about love, the feeling of the streets, and provided a clear vision of romance. It is the 779th daily track of his fingerness. Enjoy.

Lucio Battisti - Doo Doo & Doo (Lovefingers Instro) (track 779)

Gumar

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