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Masters At Work
(MAW Records, NYC)
Live at 103 Harriet, San Francisco - Pt 1
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Tech The High Road
RBMA and RA hit the Royal Festival Hall
On 12th February, the Red Bull Music Academy and Resident Advisor brought together some of the most influential pioneers from the worlds of avant-garde electronics. Promising new collaborations were premiered; old hands reminded us why they've played together for years; masters of the techno-verse found a way to make old tricks new again. All the recordings of this special night are now online, with videos and additional interviews to match. Tech the high road!
The Bugge Wesseltoft and Henrik Schwarz started things in the concert hall. Both are clearly keen to expand their boundaries, Wesseltoft having played alongside French techno giant Laurent Garnier and Schwarz recently helping put together a mix CD that spanned the past 50 years of minimalist music. In practice that meant long, drawn-out improvisations from the two that began from, effectively, nothing but a riff or fragment that slowly built to a climax. Each piece had a similar structure as a result, but it was fascinating to see just how the two got there, especially when both left their respective piano or Ableton comfort zones.
2010 Academy participant Andras Fox came on immediately after, filling in the space between acts all night long with selections from the crate he brought to the Academy.
As you might expect from a duo that has performed together for nearly two decades, Matmos — Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel — provided the most assured concert hall performance of the evening. They know better than anyone that electronic music needs to be performative, and they obliged by showing us exactly what each drum hit, mic mumble and piano tinkle meant to their two lengthy compositions. Far from the buttoned-up show that their hyper-conceptual full-lengths might suggest, Schmidt ended the duo's first song by sweating it out on the drums to ecstatic effect.
Following Daniel and Schmidt was the trio that we'd all been waiting for: Carl Craig, Francesco Tristano and Moritz von Oswald. Err... quartet. They were quickly joined by David Brutti, wielding a sizeable baritone saxophone, but it was a welcome surprise. Brutti fitted perfectly into the expert mix of swirling electronics offered up by Craig – which were manipulated throughout by the dapper Von Oswald – and the piano accompaniment of Tristano. The group only played for about 35 minutes, but the standing ovation at the end indicated that they could have played for much, much longer.
All in all, it was a journey of many twists and turns, and everyone would agree that although the motorway might be the most direct route, this scenic musical b-road certainly proved more rewarding. As they say, the man who made a mistake never made anything, and seeing artists as establihsed as these still taking risks brings the excitmenet back in spades.
VIDEO BONUS:
Carl Craig, Francesco Tristano, Moritz von Oswald & David Brutti live
Carl Craig Interview
Matmos live
Bugge Wesseltoft & Henrik Schwarz Duo live
Not Not Fun
Smooth as silk on RBMA Radio
Martial Law
A Ninja Tune Special on RBMA Radio
Springtime in Fall
Highlights from Primavera Club 2011
15 years of Versatile Records
The quintessential Paris label celebrates its anniversary
Gracias Por Todo, Madrid
Total Recall: Red Bull Music Academy 2011
Merry Go Sound
Madrid 2011 - Term One
Más Matadero
Red Bull Music Academy 2011 - Week One
Amplified Beyond The Beat
Radio highlights from the RBMA World Tour 2011
Deep Fried Dap
Highlights from the Daptone family tree on RBMA Radio
Under The Westway
RBMA x Major Lazer sets from Notting Hill Carnival now on air
No Sleep Till Olganitz
Highlights from Germany's Nachtdigital fest on RBMA Radio
In The City
Festivalwatch: Stadtmusik.FM, Basel
LA Parklife
RBMA Radio goes HARD Summer
Neo Neo
Neopop Festival special on RBMA Radio
Croatia Calling
Hartera special on RBMA Radio
Sète You Free
RBMA Radio goes Worldwide
Another Place, Another Time
Sónar in review on RBMA Radio
Move, D!
Movement Detroit highlights on RBMA Radio
Heatmakers
Boiler Room one-year anniversary and special on RBMA Radio
Nuits Up
Les Nuits Sonores Special on RBMA Radio
Les Yper Sound
Festivalwatch #2: La Villette Sonique, May 27 - June 1
Making Wavves
Young Turks special on RBMA Radio
Far East Movement
Highlights from SónarSound Tokyo on RBMA Radio
The Royal Catalonian
An audio recap of the A Taste of Sonár event in London
Hörvergnügen
A German Sound Exploration
The Devil's Dancers
New Wave + Industrial highlights on Red Bull Music Academy Radio
Crossing The Border
James Holden opens his record box for RBMA Radio
Ginga Beat
Portuguese show on RBMA Radio turns 100
Word On The Street
Chairman Mao navigates through old and new on RBMA Radio
In The Moog For Love
Moog music on RBMA Radio
Elevator Music
Elevate Festival on RBMA Radio
Year-End Closing!
The year 2010 in Academyworld
Boogie Wonderland
Boogie past, present and future on RBMA Radio
Night Skanking
Night Slugs Special with Bok Bok on RBMA Radio
Circle Of Dub
RBMA Radio & Tectonic Recordings launch dubstep into outer space
Dusty Fingers
A special selection for vinyl lovers and dollar bin kingpins
Frequency Modulation
RBMA Radio Pop-Up Studio @ Amsterdam Dance Event
Concrete Jungle
RBMA Radio Pop-Up Studio @ Amsterdam Dance Event
Basement Boys
Red Bull Music Academy x Dommune
Flashback
2010 festival highlights on RBMA Radio
Another Revolution
Kirk Degiorgio's Sound Obsession turns fifty
Heat Wave
Major Lazer x Notting Hill Carnival session on RBMA Radio
Lights Down Low
Four hour set from Theo Parrish on RBMA Radio
The Hundreds In The Hands
PanamériKa turns 100
On The Double
Hyperdub Special on RBMA Radio
Green Professors
RBMA Radio at Oxegen Festival
Cabride Reveries
SonarDome x RBMA Radio
Parclife
Primavera Sound Special on RBMA Radio
Move With It
Movement Festival Detroit on RBMA Radio
future roots experiments
dublab focus on RBMA Radio
D10
Dissonanze special on RBMA Radio
Rappin’ All Over
New hip hop shows on RBMA Radio
Zombie Nation
RBMA residency at Fabric kicks off with Brainfeeder
Tech The High Road
RBMA and RA hit the Royal Festival Hall
Sublime Frequencies
RBMA Culture Clash feat. Trojan, Soul ll Soul, Metalheadz and DMZ
Hitek House
Future Garage Special on RBMA Radio
Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah!
Disco special on RBMA Radio
Bubble Metropolis
Detroit Special on RBMA Radio
Listen Death From Above
DFA label spotlight on Red Bull Music Academy Radio
Chords Got Soul
Soul singers tune up on RBMA Radio
Dub Be Good To Me
The London-Kingston love affair on RBMA Radio
Making Waves
Mavericks of an era on Red Bull Music Academy Radio
Africa Center Of The World
Continental Focus on RBMA Radio
I Hear You Singing In The Wire
Wichita Records Label Special on RBMA Radio
Northern Soul
WARP/ED special on RBMA
Be Reasonable, People
Warp Records Label Special on RBMA Radio
No Ice Cream Sounds
Notting Hill Carnival Special on RBMA Radio
Yes We Cannes
Festival Pantiero special on RBMA Radio
Break A Dawn
Nachtdigital Special on RBMA Radio
Pips and Blanks
Domino Special on RBMA Radio
Punchestown Drunk Love
Oxegen festival special on RBMA Radio
Beats It
Beats Special on RBMA Radio
Catalunya Calling (Back)
Red Bull Music Academy presents SónarDôme 2009
Dem A Call Us Pirates…
RBMA Radio takes over Lisbon's airwaves
