Neurotrancer
Steve Lalla
slalla@hour.ca
Omniscient music critic that I am, I have been blessed with a vision of the future, of enraptured pre-teens, old computer parts Velcro-ed to their hips and ears, popping URLs for breakfast and working 80-hour weeks in holographic offshore chat rooms. Every weekend they gather under a black cellophane sky lit by strobes and blue spotlights, chewing the insides of their cheeks off as their ears feast on thousands of watts of distorted pre-AI hardcore, spontaneously screaming alien gibberish as incomprehensible as their strange, androgynous names. Their mean body weight is dwarfed by the IQ ratings of their high-speed brains; exposed to only a few minutes of blinding sunlight each month, melatonin and serotonin levels are regulated by gaudy prepackaged pharmaceuticals with names like Funky Fresh and Chilly Willy.
I was able to interview hell-bent trance jock Cham (at the promo helm of Starlight 2 this weekend) to try and grasp a mote of insight into what the hell is going on with these nutcase parties lately.
Hour Sex-crazed orgies?
Cham Trance-nrg.net is actually a promotion company - we promote parties but also DJs that we think have enough potential to be heard in the Montreal rave scene. Trance-nrg.net was formed approximately a year and a half ago by Juniah, who wanted to help promote himself and some of his friends. I joined not long after to help. The current members are Juniah, myself, Axel Klein, Antheriel, Deepspace, Fucktop, Francko Da Wra and Rëd. We are principally into hard
dance music (hard trance, nu nrg, freeform) and trance, but we also support happy hardcore, acid techno, electro and other styles. Hour Remote-controlled chia hair, perhaps?
Cham Starlight 1 was back in the day when all the parties were busted. [That's back in 2002 for all you newbies.] It was very difficult to throw, but after a lot of effort we finally did, and we were very surprised. We only printed a thousand cheap black-and-white flyers and were expecting only 200 people, but it ended up as 600. We want to make sure that people that are gonna come to Starlight 2 get the best music, with a really nice vibe and crowd, at a low cost. We're really looking forward to the Nick Rowland and Dave Wright set, those guys are our idols; they're tops in the nu nrg/hard trance scene in the U.K. - it's gonna be great!
Hour Bong!
Starlight 2 is composed of three themed realms, with the Star Room bringing the happy hardcore and freeform of Toronto's D-Minus, New Jersey's Daywalker, our very own Tipsy T, Intrancyve, Amalgam and many more, while the Moon Room focuses on electro and d'n'b featuring locals Mini, G O'Brien, Galaksy and Burlington's Endo. The Sky Room features Rowland & Wright alongside Indica, Mad, Nutron and the Trance-nrg crew ($15 advance, $20 door; info: 514-440-9727).
OOO
Friday night's main event pits Akufen and Vincent Lemieux, representing the Soirée Risqué 11 (at O Patro Vys, 356 Mt-Royal E.), revered for their funky minimal techno aesthetic, against the wily Noah Pred, who has invited veteran techno strongman Philgood to his Remedy evening at Stereobar. Who shall prevail in the battle for your soul? I couldn't care less, having already sold mine to Satan, who for the past five years has been moonlighting as Johnny Jackoff, front man for local punk outfit Vaginal Croutons. They play their farewell (and good riddance!) show Jan. 23 at Petit Campus, and I'll be there.
Comprised of Zone-33, MarsAttak, Moebius, Fictional, Stalker, Mutante, Maskinn, Mack One, Sleek and dozens more, Neurotik Sound System are a loosely-organized gang of fiendish communists, constantly misspelling the word "techno" and playing their records at the wrong speed. These bastardizers now kick-off their new weekly "hard tekno" night Jan. 28 (at Syndrom, 5777 St-Laurent), dispensing societal ideals of greed and profiteering as they refuse to charge cover at the door.
"Low short frequency circuit breakers try to take us on illusionary rides to the future/ polygram graphic rap actors flash ya cash and jewellery like bus passes/ that's why your ass got stuck up/ so wake the fuck up or get smoked" - RZA, a.k.a. Bobby Digital
I'm just too old to get into this. Music i can follow to a very far extent but this thing borders on the experimental edge of the current youth's need to make something out nothing. I get that a mood is being created and that people enjoy it but I just don't get it. I know that I sound like an fart saying this but I can't help what I feel.
|
|
Sam Truglio
|
{1 vote}
|
|
|
Funky article, Lalla...by the way, who's your supplier?
Seriously, You must of tapped into some funky zen vibe because I really thought that your vision of the future is pretty damn neat. And if this trancing vibe continues to grow I've gotta say that you've a follower in me. It was a brief and eye-opening piece of reporting that actually made the rusty wheels in your noggin' creak into gear. Cham Trance-nrg.net is a name I'm gonna remember for future reference, thanks.
|
|
Pedro Eggers
|
{3 votes}
|
|
|
