SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

**j_love01** · March 14, 2011, 02:27:25 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

Visionquest is the brainchild of four producers from Detroit who are set to write a whole new chapter in their city's rich musical heritage.

It’s commonplace in the life of a young Native American, to undertake a very definite turning point in his life as he approaches puberty.

In order to define the young man’s spiritual path, a period of fasting and solitary physical and mental exploration will commence. This usually manifests itself with the young man going into the wilderness for 3-4 days, often under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs.

Otherwise known as a vision quest, his hedonistic and practical trip into the unknown heralds a distinct rite of passage for the young adult in question. The hope is the spiritual direction in life will appear at some point during his vision quest. The sensory deprivation involved and the intensity of the experience, it is hoped, will resonate with the fledgling boy as he moves into full adulthood.

Friends frequently go on vision quests together. Name the finest purveyours of modern music and I bet at some point during their lives there have been epiphanies (medicated or otherwise) that have informed and reinforced their creativity.

Four such friends are Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Shaun Reeves and Lee Curtiss. Having grown up together in techno mecca Detroit, a city of exceptionally rich musical heritage, they represent the freshest wave of new producers to emerge from this dance music heartland in a decade. Informed by their city’s techno heritage from the likes of Juan Atkins and Jeff Mills, but influenced by the emotive house music sounds of Kenny Dixon Jnr and Theo Parrish, they were organising credible parties in Lee’s basement at an early age.

Between the four of them they have released records on a selection of the world’s biggest techno and house labels, played at some of the world’s biggest clubs and each increased their own solo stature with a number of hugely reputable productions. Seth, in particular, holds a legitimate claim to biggest breakthrough DJ in the last year, with a residency at Circo Loco at DC10 in Ibiza and voted the third best DJ in the world in the highly credible Resident Advisor poll (one behind his personal hero Richie Hawtin).

So after these personal journeys of musical discovery, the four have reunited in 2011 with their new, multifaceted Visionquest project. A fourway DJ collective as well as a label, Visionquest is looking to re-position people’s parameters as regards to the boundaries of electronic music.The label is open format and will feature other material than just strictly dance floor-orientated music.

The first three-track EP release on Visionquest called, Where The Freaks Have No Name, is by Washington DC duo, Benoit and Sergio. Standout title track Walk and Talk is a groove laden, hypnotic ode to narcotic haze with the rather standout lines: “My baby does K all day, she doesn’t wash her hair, doesn’t wash her clothes. Just sits on the couch watching television shows.” Distinctive, odd, yet hazily beautiful, the record has already been receiving play after play from a wealth of renouned DJs.

As a DJ entity, Visionquest is a four-way mesh of all that is exciting in house and techno at the moment. Grooves, soul, the odd-banger and, most importantly, a journey, form the fabric of their sets. An overused term, but if you are getting four friends who have enjoyed as rich a musical success in the last year as these guys, you would expect to be taken on some kind of journey…a Visionquest if you will.

Is Visionquest informed by your own experience? Where did the four of you have your first Visionquest?

Seth: Deep in the woods…

Shaun: … we first started using the term ‘Visionquest’, back when Ryan’s family used to have this holiday cabin up in the wilds of
North Michigan.

Ryan: The four of us used to go off on these retreats to make music and share ideas... explore the forest... with animals... and go on a journey both physically and mentally...
Have there been any Visionquests of late?

Lee: There have been a few, the most recent, and easily the most unexpected was me taking a fall while out hiking, breaking two vertebrae in my back and spending the next week in hospital out of my mind on painkillers.

The multi-faceted nature of the Visionquest staple makes it stand out. Was Visionquest always going to be a label and a collective? How has the idea progressed in the last year?

Seth: We’ve been planning the label for several years now, ever since we used to throw the ‘Teshno’ parties in Lee’s basement back home in Detroit. I think we came together on this because we wanted to hear more music that wasn’t being released. We all have wide tastes as far as music is concerned and felt it would be nice to have somewhere to showcase those musical ideas that was also a place where we could put out our own music without any limitation.

Lee: We have been fortunate enough to have friends making the exact music we felt the world was missing. Each release up to this point is literally coming from close friends of the group, which has really cemented everything as a family affair. For us, it’s less about classifying and categorising music, but more about how we think the music can contribute to broadening perspectives and creating long lasting material people will connect to on a deeper level.

You guys are firmly representing a new wave of producers from Detroit. How has the city informed the music you are making today?

Ryan: Detroit is like no other city on earth. Its downtown population has pretty much halved in the last 20 years leaving behind this weird kind of ghost city, which is surrounded by lots of very suburban satellite cities where most of the population of greater metropolitan Detroit actually live.

Seth: It’s like Gotham City after Batman has died.

Shaun: While the city has fallen on bad times, it will always have this unbelievable musical heritage that is impossible not to absorb, both from the days of Motown and more recently as the birthplace and key breeding ground of techno.

Lee: I love Detroit. It has been good to all of us and is an amazing place from which to draw inspiration. It’s hard to see it in the shape it’s in now,but somehow it keeps producing diamonds.The first four releases on Visionquest are varied to say the least.

What is the ethos behind the label’s musical policy?

Ryan: As electronic musicians, the influence and love for dance floor oriented music will always be present. If the A side is pop, indie or folk, a dance or club oriented remix will most likely be on the other side, giving the music a chance to reach as many ears as possible. The concept is simple; to push musical boundaries and put out music we love while having as much fun as possible doing it.

Seth: As you have mentioned, for our first four releases on our Visionquest label we are bringing in three duos and one female solo artist, all of whom are relatively new on the music scene. The debut release, out at the end of January, will feature Berlin-based production duo Benoit & Sergio who have previously released on Spectral Sound and have an EP out on DFA soon. The second release is from a band called Footprintz from Montreal whom we are really excited about. Their record is not exactly straight up dancefloor sounding music, but it will be backed up by an amazing remix from Ewan Pearson.

**j_love01** · March 14, 2011, 02:30:30 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

What can people expect from a Visionquest show, in personnel and music?

Shaun: It will be a minimum of three of us but usually four, playing together on four decks and single mixer tagging all night…

Seth: … we’ll be having rampant sex with your ear vaginas…

Lee:… and later in the year we are planning to introduce a visual element, which will step things up a notch.

When was the last time the four of you were together? What did you get up to?

Seth: It was back at the start of October in Ibiza for my birthday. We rented this baller villa in the south of the island for the week leading up to the DC10 closing party.

Lee: The villa had this amazing grill and Elliot, our agent in Italy, had specially flown in all this amazing meat from Umbria where he’s from, so we had loads of our friends round and indulged our second favourite past time after music which is grilling.

Is Visionquest a conscious kick against the formulaic nature of dance music? Is it also a kick against an identifiable brand,whether that is a record label or a DJ as a brand?

Ryan: It’s not a kick against anything. With the music we are releasing, the record sleeves and the limited artwork inserts, we’re trying to offer an aesthetic that isn’t offered from many labels in electronic music today.

Lee: Visionquest is less of a kick against dance music and more of a celebration of how far it’s come and the endless possibilities of where it can go from here. In the last number of years, dance music has crossed over, expanded and shifted into a place that we all think is ready for our label.

Shaun: It will focus less on releasing strictly club music and more on being an open format label where we can release anything we find interesting and forward thinking. I think that as a DJ group, Visionquest will remain club oriented but will continue pushing boundaries of dance music culture.

Can you break down your individual role in Visionquest for us?

Ryan: We are all involved in the process when it comes to making major decisions. For the label we are each are finding new music/artists that interest us and we can present them to the whole group. Music aside, Seth is extremely savvy with design, so he has spearheaded the artwork for the label.

Shaun: Ryan and I have been doing a lot of label logistics and artist relations to get things to mastering and we are also starting to take a more active role in press functions. Lee is a musical engine room and he is also concocting some amazing video segments and getting more involved in the mix downs for the label.

What, in the wider musical spectrum, really pisses you off?

Lee: Anything that is hastily written or formulaic. Originality is at a premium these days. Long gone are the likes of Johnny Cash and Led Zeppelin.

Ryan: Concerning the wider musical spectrum, nothing really pisses me off. I could probably spend all day knit picking about this and that, but what for?

As a live dynamic how do you envisage the Visionquest show progressing into 2011?

Lee: The live show will become more of an experience than a DJ performance this year, with the addition of some very unique and groundbreaking visuals. We will also be doing more label nights and slowly building on our Visionquest experience nights, where we transform clubs to provide a new and hyper entertaining night from start to finish.

Ryan: I don’t feel it’s super complicated, but it takes time to make sure we are all on the same page working as a cohesive unit. Everyone has to feed on each other and be able to improvise in order to have a natural feel and vibe to the set.

Seth: Eventually we’d like to incorporate other artists from the label as well, not just have Ryan, Lee, Shaun and I playing. If we could have a serious block of time to work in and out and incorporate Benoit and Sergio for example, or a vocalist as well, it could be something
truly special.

Where do you personally consider the most vibrant scene in the world to be today? Perhaps the place that would be most receptive to the Visionquest sound?

Seth: London has one of the most involved and open dance music scenes in the world today…

Lee: …there are so many cities around the world where you can find magic. For me London always seems to be hungriest to see what is coming next and embraces whatever you throw at them with open arms. There’s always amazing parties and of course, Fabric, where you can play some really forward thinking sets and everyone keeps up with you.

Shaun: Yeah, London and Berlin seem to be the most consistent.

Who is individually inspiring you in house and techno today?

Seth: Our friends mainly…

Ryan: … yeah Benoit & Sergio, Tale of Us, Cesar Merveille, Guti and Guy Gerber. All of them have a great musical knowledge but the real secret lies in their attitudes. They are all great people and I think they bring out the best in those around them in any situation. I’ve also been inspired by Matthew Dear as of late. He took a big step with Asa Breed a few years ago and continued to work towards a rock/pop style. He is really starting to nail it. It’s great to see and hear someone continue to push themselves and work hard when maybe they really don’t have to as much as six or seven years ago.

Lee: I’m still inspired by non-techno and house music and apply it to my music. I listen to everything from classic country to new jack swing and draw my influence from there rather than listening to other artist’s techno tracks and trying to emulate them.

Who is about to do a Seth Troxler in 2011?

Ryan: Nobody. It’s impossible to ‘do a Seth Troxler’. He’s completely unique and genuine and that’s why he’s been able to do what he’s done in such a short period of time.

Shaun: We’ve known since he was 17 or 18 that this was going to happen.It was just a matter of time. We’re very proud of him.

Seth: Ahhh….

Lee: I’m not sure what ‘doing a Seth Troxler’ involves, but it sounds like you’ll need a shower afterward! If your baby was doing K all day. I mean all day every day, would you wash her hair and clothes for her?

Ryan: No way! Her ass would be on the curb!

Lee: I’d just pay Bill Patrick to come over and talk her through his interview with Mayaan Nidam on Slices until she was so bored and depressed, she’d give up the drugs, leave the house immediately and go get a job.

When we get to that light at the end of the tunnel, would we find a Visionquest waiting for us?

Seth: That is the final vision quest, and it’s one journey we’re all going to have to take!

**j_love01** · March 17, 2011, 03:21:59 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

For ticket info, email wigginout@sounds-like.org

**j_love01** · March 24, 2011, 03:25:54 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

Presales are almost sold out, remaining tickets will be put on http://www.residentadvisor.net/soundslike

For presale info, email wigginout@sounds-like.org.

**j_love01** · March 26, 2011, 02:52:05 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

The last of the tickets are now available for online purchase...snag them while you can, once these are gone we will start a standby list for no-shows and/or cancellations.

Tickets here: http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?235623

**j_love01** · March 30, 2011, 12:10:07 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

Now that most of the tickets are gone don't forget to get yourself a wig. Trust me, you don't want to show up without one because we will have extras...and they've been through the ringer.

**j_love01** · April 4, 2011, 10:02:46 AM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

Tickets are now SOLD OUT! If you'd like to be put on the standby list please send an email to wigginout@sounds-like.org with your full name. You will be notified if we have any cancellations. You can also come to the dock and hope for no-shows or late arrivals, the standby list will have first dibs.

**j_love01** · April 8, 2011, 06:31:41 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

Tickets are not transferable! If you can't make it please let us know, we have a list of people that want tickets.

**j_love01** · April 14, 2011, 07:33:52 PM

Re: SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

An email with full party details will be sent out tonight to all ticket holders.

SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

SOUNDSLIKE...Wiggin Out Too with Lee Curtiss (04/16/11)

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