|
by Don Crispy
Real Grooves
Scandinavian techno is the focus at Yellow this weekend
 |
| Jori Hulkkonen |
With its long, dark winters, Scandinavia offers clubbers
plenty of reasons to get out and literally shake off their
cabin fever. Perhaps for this reason, the region has long
been a hotbed of techno, throwing up dozens of talented DJs,
producers and influential dance labels.
The second volume of Real Grooves, a party hosted by expat
party promoter Josh Child, brings together two of the more
committed ones, both of them with decade-long careers in dance
music.
Hailing from a small town in the north of Finland, Jori Hulkkonen
grew up listening to an odd blend of traditional Finnish pop
and early electronic beats emanating from the radio in neighboring
Sweden. He began to produce music at the end of the ’80s,
creating the Lumi label as a vehicle for his productions in
1993.
Seeking a more prominent platform for his tracks, Hulkkonen
began to issue releases through imprints such as Cari Lekebusch’s
Hybrid, and soon found himself in touch with well-known French
DJ Laurent Garnier’s F communications label. The meeting
proved fortuitous, resulting in his critically acclaimed debut
album, Selkasaari Tracks, an original blend of Detroit techno
soundscapes and Chicago-influenced beats.
The success of the album saw Hulkkonen become one of Europe’s
most in-demand DJs, playing top clubs and festivals including
Denmark’s Roskilde and Spain’s Sonar. Two further
albums for F communications, 1997’s Jii Hoo “Let
Me Luv U” and ’98’s The Spirits Inside Me cemented
his reputation for quality techno.
With a new album out taking a more organic direction with
contributions from Chris Udoh of the Wamdue Kids and Paul
Oxley, Hulkkonen holds down a monthly residency at Finland’s
No. 1 club, Kerma, while DJing from the Golden Gate to Red
Square.
Joining Hulkkonen behind the decks will be one of Sweden’s
foremost techno producers. With a career that has been developing
since the late ’80s, Jesper Dahlbäck began by producing
dance music. In 1993 he formed the Stockholm-based Globe Studios
along with two other influential producers, Peter Benisch
and Adam Beyer.
He has also been associated with two of Sweden’s other
top names in techno, working with Cari Lekebusch at the Planet
Rhythm label, and founding the DK imprint with Thomas Krome,
a label Dahlbäck has also shared at times with Hulkkonen.
In the late ’90s, he also became associated with the
SVEK label, twice nominated for the Swedish Grammy Awards
as well as being chosen as Label of the Year in Mixmag.
Dahlbäck issued his first full length for SVEK, creating
the template for a sound that blends Detroit minimalism with
elements of house and trance. Dahlbäck was also recently
in Japan to play the Metamorphose festival with Thomas Krome...
Meanwhile, for the dayglo faithful, the season has moved indoors
and veteran trance producers Arcadia have a party scheduled
for an unusual location in Chiba Prefecture. Featured in an
NHK program and used as a location for commercials, the cavernous,
recently renovated Aquamarine Studio is said to evoke the
atmosphere of a London or New York warehouse.
Electronic Music Autumn Session will feature some familiar
and some lesser-known artists, including live sets from Talamasca
(France), Vatos Locos (UK) and Violet Vision (Israel), with
DJ sets slated from Celli (Spain), and Japan’s Kotaro
(Equinox) and Hiyoshi (Dakini).
Real Grooves: Oct 16, from 10pm,
¥4,000 w/1d. Yellow. Tel: 03-3479-0690.
Electronic Music Autumn Session: Oct 16, from 10pm, ¥5,000
(adv), ¥6,000 (door). Aquamarine Studio, Chiba Prefecture.
Info: www.arcadia-music.net
credits: Real Grooves
|
