devil in the details

05182008429

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:58:00 +0000

05182008429, originally uploaded by cjn208.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:08:00 +0000

I've moved here for the time being.

At least until the next trendy blogging platform comes along.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:33:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:37:00 +0000

My pal Justin Carter (pictured on the right) with a nice mix. Dude has taste.

01. Boris - Legato - Careless Records
02. Tokyo Black Star - Game Over - Innervisions
03. Kerrier District - Yesco - Rephlex
04. Luke Solomun - Monsters - Cajual
05. Lavish Habits - Dance Wit You - Select Recordings
06. John Roberts - Hesitate - Dial
07. Murat Tepeli feat. Prosumer - Work It - Playhouse
08. Theo Parrish - Synthetic Flemm - Sound Signature
09. Matias Aguayo - Drums and Feathers - Kompakt
10. Sascha Dive - Deepest America (Moodymann Mix) - Ornaments
11. House of House - Rushing To Paradise (Walkin' These Streets) - Whatever We Want Records

Download it here.

HK

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:48:00 +0000

DSCN0239, originally uploaded by cjn208.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:44:00 +0000

It has been quite a while. Apologies.

Me on the new Circlesquare record @ Prefix, here.

Thanks to Rex for the shout out.

Elsewhere, stay tuned for video from last weeks PSFK conference. I had a nice chat with the guys from Hello Health and Help. Interesting insights on the future of healthcare.

See you around.

05182008443

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:18:00 +0000

05182008443, originally uploaded by cjn208.

DSCN0009

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:18:00 +0000

DSCN0009, originally uploaded by cjn208.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:29:00 +0000

The Smiths- There is a Light That Never Goes Out
Schneider TM- The Light 3000 (Smiths cover)

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:02:00 +0000

Greetings from a cold, crisp Montreal. It's been quite an hectic October so far, hence the lack of updates.

In late September, I checked out Austin City Limits, one of the best large festivals I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Spiritualized was my personal highlight, though it was odd to catch them outside in daylight. But as I haven't seen the fully electrified performance since the days of Amazing Grace, it was nice to see the bombast and atmospherics compared to the more stripped-down Electric Mainlines tour.

Then, it was off to Singapore in early October for the PSFK conference Asia. I moderated a panel with Mark Dytham of Klein/Dytham and Pecha Kucha as well as Andrew Hoppin of NASA. I'm pleased to say the session, and the entire conference, was incredibly inspiring. It was a painfully short trip to Singapore but I made up for it with excessive amounts of amazing food, from Malaysian curries to black pepper crab and incredible street food.

Switching gears to music, this mix from Dixon has been on constant repeat. After listening to excessive amounts of super cerebral techno, this is refreshing for both the sheer quality of the track selection and overarching emphasis on melody. Dixon plays New York on November 13 on Cielo's amazing sound system. (Too bad about their location/door policy)

Dixon- Innercity Mix

I'm also quite excited for Greg Wilson's forthcoming NYC appearance (Oct 25) at Primetime. My pal Eamon Harkin did a fantastic interview with him over here. I found this excerpt to be quite interesting:

Who in contemporary dance culture do you see as doing interesting things right now?

What I find most interesting and exciting about contemporary dance culture is the way that the internet has connected us all more closely together. All of a sudden a younger generation can go online and explore a wealth of dance music, dating right back to the 60’s, doing this from their own perspective. This has created a fresh dynamic that’s allowed an old timer like me to come back into things after a 20 year absence, without being viewed in purely nostalgic terms, which isn’t something that’d appeal to me. On top of this many contemporary artists are drawing from this dance heritage, to put their own spin on things, whilst the whole re-edit thing has also put a new twist on older tracks.

It’s part of a necessary process as far as I’m concerned, going back in order to move things forward. As the saying goes, to know the future first you must know the past, and this is what I feel is happening, as people look for more than just a surface understanding, needing to truly explore what came before in some depth. What they eventually do with this knowledge is going to be the really interesting part.

A few other things that are worth your time and attention:

The Hotel Gault in Montreal
Anything from Stafrænn Hákon
Jackson C. Frank- Blues Run the Game
The open bars of Anja Schneider's "Safari" as your ring tone.
Commix- Be True
Young Marble Giants- Colossal Youth
The Economist- The World Next Week Podcast
NYT Front Page Podcast
Fareed Zakaria's CNN show, GPS
The Forever War by Dexter Filkins

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:34:00 +0000

Creative Destruction

I recently stumbled across this NASA shot from the aftermath of Katrina. Oddly beautiful.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:10:00 +0000

In a fit of sleeplessness last night, I caught up with a few podcasts. Fareed Zakaria's excellent GPS show on CNN was a must-watch this week. I particularly liked the Q&A with Singapore's founding father, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Check out the videos here or download via iTunes podcasts.

Speaking of Singapore, I'll be moderating a panel at the PSFK conference Asia on October 10th. Full details are here. Come say hello if you find yourself in the area.

Elsewhere, I gave a talk a few weeks at the Interesting Conference entitled, "A Brief History of Techno." The conference was a great success overall and I thank David Nottoli and the Open Intelligence Agency for coordinating everything. Really inspiring topics and speakers, and I can't wait for the next installment.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:38:00 +0000

Richie Hawtin 2008 DJ Setup from Dean Koch on Vimeo.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:33:00 +0000

"He's been a governor for three years. He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America...It is not a big town...it would be an intensely political choice where you said, you know what, I'm really not first and foremost concerned with if this person is capable of being president."

-Karl Rove, speaking about Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, when he was still under consideration for the VP slot.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:39:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:59:00 +0000

Hi there:

A quick update for those of you who find yourselves in NYC.

I'm speaking at the Interesting New York Conference this coming Saturday.

If you feel so inclined, you can buy a ticket here.

My topic: "A Brief History of Techno"

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:09:00 +0000

05162008387, originally uploaded by cjn208.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:06:00 +0000

DSCN0023, originally uploaded by cjn208.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:24:00 +0000

For those of you in New York, a few handpicked recommendations for the weekend:

Friday:

Craig Richards doesn't travel stateside as much as we'd like. It's understandable, though, because as a weekly resident at London's Fabric, he gets to play music on one of the world's best sound systems. So when he does make it to these shores, it is a special occasion — one that brings out even the most jaded electronic-music aficionados. Richards doesn't follow the file-sharing, right-clicking herd when it comes to sounds and styles. Rather, he has a nose for under-the-radar cuts and producers, does the record bin due diligence the old-fashioned way, and has a masterful touch when it comes to arranging what he finds.

Sunday:

Barriers to DJing are getting lower (read: iPods, blog house). As such, it's important to remember that playing records can be an art form. Nicky Siano, who's recently re-emerged in NYC via a successful residency at Santos, was one of the most influential figures in New York's early dance scene. Through his curation of the Gallery and early DJ sets at Studio 54 and Mancuso's Loft, Siano honed and refined a sound rooted in house and disco with soulful emotional resonance. Today, he hits the Yard for one of the summer's best parties, the appropriately titled Sunday Best.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:08:00 +0000

Two very Gursky-esque images from the mindblowingly good opening ceremony:

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:29:00 +0000

Some bits and bobs:

-The most mammy CNN headline ever: "Russian tanks and troops on way to troubled region."

-A good Fader article by Jace Clayton aka DJ/Rupture on the new cumbia scene. For a taste, check the Bersa Discos site, co-run by my old friend Gavin Burnett (DJ Oro11). Tropical, latin and psychedelic is right.

-Been digging out from a promo backlog lately and I'm surprised to see a lot of familiar old names: The Orb, Bomb the Bass, Red Snapper and Nightmares on Wax. Need to digest properly these but the Bomb the Bass record already sounds quite promising.

-My friends Anna and Todd randomly stumbled into a moving sale in Williamsburg the other day. The vendor? None other than William Basinski, creator of one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, The Disintegration Loops.

From Hauntedink:

William Basinski's four-disk epic, The Disintegration Loops, was created out of tape loops Basinski made back in the early 1980s. These loops held some personal significance to Basinski, a significance he only touches on in the liner notes and we can only guess at. Originally, he just wanted to transfer the loops from analog reel-to-reel tape to digital hard disk. However, once he started the transfer, he discovered something: the tapes were old and they were disintegrating as they played and as he recorded. As he notes in the liner notes, "The music was dying." But he kept recording, documenting the death of these loops.

Here are some photos from their adventure, taken by Laura Heyenga.

This is my favorite loop, the first track in the fourth series. Music for swaying kelp beds.

William Basinski- Dlp6

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:44:00 +0000

I tend to focus on a certain kind of music on this blog, but I've been in the mood to get a bit out of my strike zone this week.

As such, I got a nice email from my pal Nick Barat (aka Catchdubs). He tipped me off on a few new mixes and an interview. Check one of 'em here. Also, if you haven't heard what he's up to with Fool's Gold, get on it.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:59:00 +0000

DSCN0090, originally uploaded by cjn208.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:11:00 +0000

PSFK Conference San Francisco, originally uploaded by Piers Fawkes, PSFK.

noreply@blogger.com (CJN) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:25:00 +0000