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Speedy J is my hero
Speedy J at the End Up (SF) after Love Parade
So this is a bit overdue, I think, but I needed some time to process what I heard and saw that night. I don't know if any of you were there that saturday night after Love Parade in SF... but you shoulda been! I know Poto got there sometime sunday morning to see the Listed lineup (which I'm sure was awesome), but in my opinion, Speedy J put on the REAL show.
I've always enjoyed a good techno set, but it's never really been my favorite type of music. That being said, Speedy J blew my fookin mind. I haven't been that excited by a set since Digweed at Vagabond this WMC, and don't ask me to say which was better, cause I might have to turn my back on my long time favorite... Anyway, he was playing a 2 hour live set with a laptop, midi controller and the big Allen & Heath mixer. Whoa buddy... to be honest, I couldn't even figure out how he was mixing. It was NOT normal. He had this crazy delay shuffle that he would bring in on one track, get it effected all to hell, then drop the next track on top with its own shuffle pattern, then somehow bring them both together with perfect timing and slam you into the next bassline.
It was mixing like I've never heard before, for sure. But more than that it was the energy level he brought to the dance floor. And that energy didn't stem from the slamming techno tracks (although that helped I'm sure), the energy came from the fact that he was SO into his music (all his own tracks) and that he was absolutely on top of his game. It felt really good to see an artist doing what he does best, and having that much fun doing it. It seemed to me that THAT is how music should be played.
I found myself belting out this uncontrollable deep belly laugh every time he built it up and broke it down, like a mad scientist on crack. And then I started looking around at other people crowded around the stage and I saw and heard other people doing the same.
Crazy, maniacal, evil mwuahaha laughs were forcing their way out of all sorts of people! It was the kind of vibe where you just turn to the stranger standing next to you and grab him by the shoulders and start shaking, screaming "what the fuck just happened?!?!?"
Josh Wink was supposed to play right after him.... however... He blew it up SO hard that after the final note echoes away into silence, and the crowd erupts into screaming and applause, they put a chill cd on low volume just to simmer down the crowd. My guess is that Wink had no intention of dropping an intro track right after that madness, lol.
After his set I went somewhere else and heard some other dj who was just playing tracks. Good tracks, I guess, but it felt like so much less. I immediately turned into a hater and left. It kinda made me re-think a lot of things about "being a dj". Just dropping tracks and mixing well is ok, but I no longer think it's enough. My respect and admiration for what I saw Speedy J do is so great, that I can't stand the idea of mediocrity in music anymore. And that's exactly what I think has happened to a big portion of "the scene" these days. I'm thankful that I heard that set, because it brought back a lot of higher ideals that have been buried in recent years by my own indifference. Thank you Speedy J!!!
So this is a bit overdue, I think, but I needed some time to process what I heard and saw that night. I don't know if any of you were there that saturday night after Love Parade in SF... but you shoulda been! I know Poto got there sometime sunday morning to see the Listed lineup (which I'm sure was awesome), but in my opinion, Speedy J put on the REAL show.
I've always enjoyed a good techno set, but it's never really been my favorite type of music. That being said, Speedy J blew my fookin mind. I haven't been that excited by a set since Digweed at Vagabond this WMC, and don't ask me to say which was better, cause I might have to turn my back on my long time favorite... Anyway, he was playing a 2 hour live set with a laptop, midi controller and the big Allen & Heath mixer. Whoa buddy... to be honest, I couldn't even figure out how he was mixing. It was NOT normal. He had this crazy delay shuffle that he would bring in on one track, get it effected all to hell, then drop the next track on top with its own shuffle pattern, then somehow bring them both together with perfect timing and slam you into the next bassline.
It was mixing like I've never heard before, for sure. But more than that it was the energy level he brought to the dance floor. And that energy didn't stem from the slamming techno tracks (although that helped I'm sure), the energy came from the fact that he was SO into his music (all his own tracks) and that he was absolutely on top of his game. It felt really good to see an artist doing what he does best, and having that much fun doing it. It seemed to me that THAT is how music should be played.
I found myself belting out this uncontrollable deep belly laugh every time he built it up and broke it down, like a mad scientist on crack. And then I started looking around at other people crowded around the stage and I saw and heard other people doing the same.
Crazy, maniacal, evil mwuahaha laughs were forcing their way out of all sorts of people! It was the kind of vibe where you just turn to the stranger standing next to you and grab him by the shoulders and start shaking, screaming "what the fuck just happened?!?!?" Josh Wink was supposed to play right after him.... however... He blew it up SO hard that after the final note echoes away into silence, and the crowd erupts into screaming and applause, they put a chill cd on low volume just to simmer down the crowd. My guess is that Wink had no intention of dropping an intro track right after that madness, lol.
After his set I went somewhere else and heard some other dj who was just playing tracks. Good tracks, I guess, but it felt like so much less. I immediately turned into a hater and left. It kinda made me re-think a lot of things about "being a dj". Just dropping tracks and mixing well is ok, but I no longer think it's enough. My respect and admiration for what I saw Speedy J do is so great, that I can't stand the idea of mediocrity in music anymore. And that's exactly what I think has happened to a big portion of "the scene" these days. I'm thankful that I heard that set, because it brought back a lot of higher ideals that have been buried in recent years by my own indifference. Thank you Speedy J!!!
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