bennyhana22

Oh My Giddy Aunt 😲 Ben x

Soairse now in the CS slot at E1 Ben

Yup. Got to say, Shanti vs Object vs Karenn (DJ) vs Saoirse is an insane clash! Have tweeted E1 to see if they've replaced Call Super. That line-up does need another reasonably big hitter... Ben

Waterworks Crew. Tomorrow I will be: Purple t-shirt Shorts (obviously) Short hair Glasses Beard Would be delighted to say hi to any threaders who would like to. Rave hard and safe, team. Ben x

I'd take that! 😂 Ben

I swear to high heaven that was autocorrect!!!! Ben

And, tapping up your insider trading, @Ddiamondd, is the bush telegraph saying anything regarding the ID of the very special guest at Venue MOT Unit 18 (TTT night) on Saturday...? Ben

Working on a no harm trying model, I tweeted Objekt just to mention that he'd get a great reception we're there to be an opening at E1 on Saturday and he was keen! Ben

Nooooooooooo!!!!!! Ah, fuckity fuck! I love you, @Ddiamondd, but only when your unrivalled inside info brings me good news!! Ah, nuts. Well, hopefully this might give some opportunities for some others. If that means that it's solo Shanti and Objekt for headline slots, that ain't shabby. My big hope is that E1 can find a replacement for CS at the afterparty, as that's a big part of what we're looking forward to... Please let us know if you get any replacement intel. Ben

I cannot imagine ever writing that sentence again... Ben

As you might guess, this almost never happens. I'm infuriatingly consistent in seeing who is on the list. One slightly unexpected deviation was Glastonbury in 2016. I had fully intended to go to see Plaid play live in the Glade before heading for the SEC on the Sunday night, and was kept in Spaceport by an incredibly techy set from...Richy Ahmed. No, really! Ben

Am visiting Child 1 in Berlin in a few weeks. He's taking the old man out one night. 'ello....👀 Ben

Are you suggesting I am predictable and lacking in spontaneity? How dare you?! Oh, go on then. Jossy Mitsu Bruce b2b Danielle Bit of Skeezenkers object blue Pangaea End of Batu Call Shanti* *Really want to see Shanti, so this is first choice for closers, though I'll see Call Super that night at E1. Love Karenn, but seen them a couple of times, so it's Shanti, though also tempted by Ben UFO/Objekt, obviously. That could be stellar too, as Objekt may help deliver the side of Ben UFO I really like. And then there's Saoirse. Argh! For a festival that boldly claimed 'No headliners', the closers clash is ridiculous! Ben

On this current discussion theme, can I suggest that people post info about events that they're going to, or that have caught their eye, that maybe showcases more of the types of techno and club stuff we're talking about? I for one would be really grateful for heads up to nights that are not just more of the same. Ben

Fair do's - I've not seen them together and only seen clips from the LV set. Child 3 is quite discerning, mind. He's more an IDM boy than pure techno, though he's a music student and so has his own opinions on what he thinks constitutes good quality in dance music. I'm very pleased that he and I saw the first hour of DVS1's set in the Moat at Dimensions a couple of years ago. Absolutely spellbinding. Brooding start, moving into 60 minutes of seamless, immersive techno heard through one of the best outdoor dance sound systems I've heard. We need more of this. I'm so glad you've picked up on this convo @Matt42. It's something that's been bugging me for a few years and wanted to talk about, but not wanting to come across as some superior techno snob (insert appropriate riposte here, team...!). I've really wanted to start a discussion with artists asking the question "why does techno get faster and faster every year?", but obviously there's no obvious forum for a mere punter like me to pose such questions. Ben

Child 3 said they (DA/HAAi) were phenomenal at Lost Village. If they can translate that to the Depot then oooft! Ben

Thanks, Adam. And you're right, of course. Out of upvotes today, but have a virtual one. And as someone who loves The House of God, I'm with you on the Birmingham sound! Ben

Amen, Matt. THIS THIS THIS. I look around at the crowd roaring as the next 140bpm massively over-reverbed kick comes in and just despair sometimes. No subtlety, no progression, no (and I'm sorry this makes me sound w*nky...) intelligence. I'm lots older than you, Matt, and though not as deeply familiar with the scene as you have been since you got into it, I was in my formative years (tho not clubbing...I was at Medical School, FFS!) in 1988 when acid house hit. I remember so fondly the transition into techno as Detroit landed in the UK and the UK said yes please, and took up the mantle. Glorious. I won't repeat your description of the way it has gone, but it's slightly sad for me that the stuff you and I get frustrated by seems to have become the standard format. Certainly in the UK. For me, that's probably because it's kind of the lowest common denominator - unchallenging in the way that the most popular, popular music usually is. I think I need to go to the Monument Festival in Norway - three days of smart, hypnotic techno. And it makes me a bit sad as I love, and will not give up on, techno. At it's best, 128-130bpm for me, dark and glitchy, beautifully but inexorably slowly progressive, percussion designed and deployed with real intention, there is nothing more transportive for me. In my best techno moments I have felt inside the music with a euphoria unreplicated anywhere else. I'll not give up seeking out those experiences as I know that there are still loads of artists who still get it. Ben x

Ha! Yes and no. It's definitely under the techno umbrella, without the identifiable tropes of hard house - no obvious drum roll drops, mid-track drumless sequences etc. - but yes, the concept is comparable in terms of its evolutionary line. The worst aspect of it? It all sounds exactly the same... Ben

I think that lack of consideration/dancefloor 'etiquette' has increased a bit over recent years. I'm almost certainly wrong, but I wonder if its partly down to the evolution of drug use - either type, dose, purity etc. Purely anecdotally, and I'm not judging, the pervasiveness of ket on the 'floor seems to have changed the feel a little - happy to be put right on that... Ben

I found this a really interesting read, and it echoes a lot of how I've been feeling about the scene for quite a while. DJs are playing too hard, for too little time and, for me, far too fast. The bpm of typical club techno has gone up and up and up, creating rammed rooms without any true community vibe. It almost feels...'angry' at times. I don't mean the crowd, I mean the vibe. Take Amelie Lens - plays some cracking stuff, but it's ALL at 138-140bpm, without any space for the tracks to breathe. She segues into artists like I Hate Models (I hate I Hate Models...) whose entire schtick is just wham wham wham kick drum at 145bpm. Sorry, but it's crap. And it's SOOOO popular. Rebekah seems to be a terrific person, really committed and obviously hugely important for female advocacy and safety. But when she plays, it's just fast wallop, almost undanceable now - and other artists are influenced by the nights they're playing. I saw a bit of Paula Temple last month at Hidden. I think she's great, but in that company, at that 'type' of a night. she seemed to want/need to stick to the brief and it was just all too hard, too fast. I'm not being grumpy or an old fart here (well, i am but, y'know...), but almost the majority of techno seems to have moved in a particular direction that I'm not sure is true to its core. I'm going to XXL at WHP and looking forward to it - there are lots of artists across the three rooms that I'm keen to see, and scheduling means that there should be a decent crowd split. BUT, these uber-events are not really for me. Not for techno, IMO. Waterworks on Saturday should be a brilliant opportunity for me to see some artists playing more varied stuff than is often on the bill at nights I might got to. E1 after that should be good as well, and if we fancy it, we might bugger off to Venue MOT Unit 18 at 4am or so for a couple of hours of properly under the radar raving. Ben

Hoping to catch some of Jossy Mitsu on Saturday at Waterworks, though might miss her as my pal arrives in London a little later than me. She seems ace. Sorry it wasn't quite the night you were hoping for, guys. Ben

Only seen George Fitzgerald mix once, and he was magnificent. Some of the stuff he played was not even really my thing, but the way he did it was masterful. Ben

Nearly 10000 tickets sold so far, so that's a decent capacity and, as you say, with seven venues, it'll need a decent chunk of Gunnersbury Park to create that set up. Have to say, I can't wait. Anyone going out that night too? We're off to E1. Ben

I'm at Waterworks too, guys, so if you think you've seen me and want to say hi, I'd be delighted. I'd similarly be in no way offended if you pulled your cap peak down and shuffled past as inconspicuously as possible! 😂 Ben