Detroit Techno legend DERRICK MAY: July 3rd!!! (Event Over)

Friday July 3rd

Neumos and Decibel proudly present

The return of Detroit Techno legend...

DERRICK MAY : Transmat, Detroit
http://www.derrickmay.com
http://www.myspace.com/derrickmay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_...(musician)

Doors open at 8pm / 21+

Advance tickets available at Moe Bar, Rudy's Barbershop, Select QFCs or online at: http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncomme...:WNEU0703%3a&linkID=twspok

$15 advanced / $18 at the door

Neumos
925 E. Pike St, Seattle

DERRICK MAY BIO
If one name crops up again and again in discussions of techno, it is that of Derrick "Mayday" May. Alongside Atkins, Juan, Craig, Carl and Saunderson, Kevin, May is regarded as one of the kings of the Detroit sound. Inspired by Yello and Kraftwerk, he began to make electronic music with Atkins and Saunderson while studying with them at Belleville High, Detroit. Recording either as Mayday or Rhythim Is Rhythim (occasionally in conjunction with Carl Craig) and generally on his own Transmat Records label, he went on to carve out a new vein in dance music that synthesized the advances of the electro movement with the more challenging end of the House movement - a music that defined "techno". Early cuts such as "Nude Photo" (co-written with Thomas Barnett) and "The Dance", both on Transmat, were inspirational to many. However, it was the release of "Strings Of Life" in 1987 (co-written with Michael James) with its wide appeal to the house music fans of the 80s & 90s, simultaneously brought May his deserved acclaim and Detroit techno to European club-goers.

May went on to cut three tracks on System 7's debut album, before Network released Innovator: Soundtrack For The Tenth Planet in 1991, a six-track EP that comprised some of May's definitive moments to date. In the same year, May was responsible for what Carl Craig has called the finest remix ever, Sueo Latino's "Sueo Latino", itself a reworking of Manuel Goettsching's epic "E2-E4". It was followed in 1992 by Relics, a double album of Transmat's finest moments, heavily featuring Rhythim Is Rhythim, which coincided with a re-release of "Strings Of Life" on the Belgium label Buzz, this time in a drumless version reminiscent of May's "Sueo Latino" remix. More recently, Transmat has been revived following its signing to Sony. This has resulted in the long-awaited release of Rhythim Is Rhythim's 1991 recordings, "Kao-tic Harmony" and "Icon", and the Japanese (and subsequent American) release of a comprehensive Derrick May retrospective, Innovator, which contains all May's work for the Transmat label including remixes and tracks released for the first time.

Derrick May is one of the founding fathers of Detroit techno, a precursor of its many variants and particularly of acid house. His eastethic, skeletal, melancholy style gained him the nickname of "the Miles Davis of techno". He introduced both a psychological element and a futuristic vision in dance music. Along with his high school mates Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, May began early in life to explore electronic music May sponsored the single Let's Go by X-Ray, that introduced the hypnotic, repetitive electronic figures of techno, and then recorded Nude Photo (co-written by Thomas Barnett) (Transmat, 1987), credited to Rhythim Is Rhythim, one of the records that started the techno revolution world-wide.

Inspired by the legendary Detroit disco DJ, Ken Collier, May, along with High School friend Juan Atkins, formed Deep Space, a DJ and party outfit in the early eighties. Playing what they termed as 'conceptual disco' to the high school party scene that was very much alive in Detroit at the time, the duo set themselves apart from the other DJ and party collectives at the time. Atkins had already been very influential in shaping the emerging techno sound with his recordings as Cybotron, but May's time was soon to come.

In 1986 May set up his now legendary Transmat label, taking the name from the early Atkins track 'Time Space Transmat' on his Metroplex label. May cut his production teeth with the label's first release 'Let's Go', developin his craft from the guiding hand of Atkins. His next release, under the guise of Rhytim is Rhythim entitled 'Nude Photo' (co-written by Thomas Barnett), with it's bending synths, melodic staccato bass and deep bass drums would come to define the emerging techno sound.May then continued to develop his sound for Transmat. Utilising the familiar bass sounds with ever more complex beats, flange effects, twisting chords and deep strings, May produced a catalogue of music that pushed the boundaries of what could be accomplished with electronic sound ever further apart. To many, the techno of Detroit is very much ingrained within the character and history of the City itself. A City that was isolated from the rest of America, with a downtown area in financial and architectural ruin, a deteriating motor industry and the reputation of it being the 'murder capital' of America, Detroit, on the outset, seemed a desolate and empty place. In reality there was a spirit and soul there that lived on in the City's urban communities from its glory days and its great musical heritage. This mixture of coldness and warmth, desolation and soul, was perfectly represented by May's Techno experiments. The classic tracks that include 'Beyond the Dance', 'The Beginning', 'Icon' and his most famous release 'Strings of Life' all emphasise Techno's most crucial componant, that this is the music of machines, cold and soulless machines, but May injected and extracted so much hope, spirituality and soul from them that the result was truly inspirational.

:: with supporting DJs ::

PEZZNER vs NORDIC SOUL : Freerange / Om / Decibel / Broken Disco

PEZZNER BIO
Up until 2008 Dave Pezzner was virtually unknown to the electronic dance music community, aside from his works in the duo “Jacob London” (Classic Music, Doubledown, U-Freqs). For 16 years he cut his chops with partner Bob Hansen, creating eccentric house and break beat rhythms often crossing the lines between bad-ass, funky and hilarious.

In the winter of 2008, Pezzner took to his own studio to begin work on his first solo output composing songs that are more serious, with an abstract artistic sensibility. Quickly Dave’s catalog began to materialize with a signature sound: Lofty percussive themes with intentions to create hypnotic soundscapes for the body as well as the brain.

It wasn’t long before Pezzner found his first 5 songs scooped up by London-based Freerange Records, covering the first two EP’s of his career, “Other Lover” and the epic three-part masterpiece “Almost Here.” These two EPs garnered him massive support from artists as varied as John Digweed, Laurent Garnier, Peter Kruder, Steve Bug and Ben Watt, setting up Pezzner as a producer on the rise.

These first two releases laid a solid foundation for his career and follow-ups are now in the pipeline on our own Om Records imprint, London’s Urbantorque Recordings, plus another EP for Freerange. Dave has also got an arsenal of remixes forthcoming for heavyweights including Josh Wink, Mark Farina, and Mike Monday. Its a dizzying number of releases for an emerging artist, but now that Pezzner’s stepped out on his own, he’s definitely got a lot to say.


NORDIC SOUL BIO
Nordic Soul has long been enamored with artistic expression, the creation of music, and the technology that fuses it all together, much to the benefit and evolution of the world of electronica and the underground culture that surrounds it. His healthy obsession began at the age of eleven in Detroit with the gift of his first guitar, got a kick in the ass with the purchase of a keyboard and drum machine during his teenage years, and continues to the present as the king of Seattle techno exists as the founder and director of the Decibel Festival. Known to his friends as Sean Horton, this DJ, producer, performer, and programmer brought a distinct and dirty Detroit flavor with him to Seattle in the mid-90’s and the musical zeitgeist of the city has been forever transformed by his presence.

Nordic Soul has deeply impacted the electronic community not only through his work for the annual Decibel Festival but also by slaying Seattle dance floors year-round. His emotionally charged sets are infused with live instrumentation and ripe with the mélange of organic and synthesized tones, all riding on top of heavy bass lines. The resulting music is a living, hybrid creature with a rich sense of soul that delights in its own existence. A lover of many musical styles, Nordic Soul’s interest and roots in hip hop, IDM, industrial, and dub contribute to his current musical palette that straight drips techno into the mouths of the waiting audience, thirsty for the unrelenting madness and unabated aural penetration that is electronic music.

Since Nordic Soul's inception in 2003 he's shared the stage with a diverse cross section of international talent, including Moby, Bassnectar, Trentemoller, Simian Mobile Disco, Green Velvet, Radio Slave, Derrick May, Modeselektor, Apparat, Moderat, Boys Noize, John Tejada, Monolake, Thomas Fehlmann, Kraak & Smaak, Matthew Dear, Funkstroung, Cobblestone Jazz, Luomo, Miles Dyson, Tipper and Four Tet to name a few.


....See you there!