Laurent Garnier

Laurent Garnier – Live Booth Sessions
(Live improvisation & DJ set)

Get your tickets here: https://www.concorde2.co.uk/bookTickets.php?pageName=Laurent+Garnier+&dateTime=2010-11-12

Straight from the Concorde’s website:

Hold tight for possibly the biggest electronic music gig in Brighton this season, starring the mighty Laurent Garnier supported by a one off coming together of DJs from Stompa Phunk, one of the longest running and best loved parties in Brightons clubbing history . Between 1998 and 2009, Stompa Phunk delivered some of the most memorable sessions this town has ever seen every Friday for over a decade at Funky Buddha and Audio, bringing numerous legends of house and techno to town week in, week out. And out of all those who came to play, Laurent Garnier was arguably the biggest and best of all and certainly the unanimous favourite of the SP team.

Dance music royalty doesnt come much higher than Laurent Garnier, and we are honoured to announce this exclusive Brighton gig with his current Live Booth Sessions project. Working live with collaborators Scan X (a techno legend in his own right) and newcomer Benjamin Rippert Rocco, the trio rework Laurents original tracks in real time, incorporating fully improvised jams with Laurents peerless DJing. Already a highlight of festivals the world over, it goes without saying that this rare UK gig is absolutely not to be missed.

From early days hanging out at the Hacienda to his current role as worldwide ambassador for house techno, electronica and club music in pretty much all its forms, Laurent Garnier has earned a reputation as one of the finest dance musicians and DJs of all time. Famed for his 6,8, even 12 hour sets, he spins everything from the freshest undergound house to classic techno, soul, and even drum n bass, while his extraordinary productions (including classics such as Acid Eiffel) have earned him the respect of not only the staunch underground but the wider club world, too.

More recently, hes been touring in support of his epic Tales of a Kleptomaniac album, and his latest project, the Live Booth Sessions, sees him join forces with Scan X and Benjamin Rippert Rocco for a next level DJ-live-jam show of typically astounding proportions.

Stompa Phunks veteran residents and regulars count among their number some of the most respected names in electronic music today, including Radio Slave, Serge Santiago, Evil Nine, Kenny Hawkes, David Parr, Tula and more lesser known but equally devoted house and techno fanatics. The full line-up is being kept under wraps for now but be assured that a crack squad of SP faves old and new are primed and ready to hit Brighton once again..

www.laurentgarnier.com

12/11/10

Photo from Tim Green's Myspace

Bio from Tim Green’s Myspace: In 2008 few names have made the kind of impact on the worlds house and techno scenes as 24 year old Tim Green. Originally from Kent and now based in London Tim’s production talents have seen him release music through some of the worlds most respected labels, and gaining major plaudits from the likes of Ritchie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Pete Tong, Tiga, Josh Wink, Carl Cox, Locodice, Nic Fanciulli, Dubfire, Steve Lawler, Anja Schneider, Slam, Damian Lazerus, Tiefschwarz, Laurent Garnier, MANDY, Lee Burridge, Agoria to name a few. Add to that a string of high profile remixes and dj gigs across the globe and it’s not hard to see why so many people are talking about Tim as a future star.

Tim’s ascendancy to the spotlight started in 2006/7 when he released singles under the name TG for such renowned labels such as FourTwenty, Infant & Fling, and even getting remixed by the likes of Martin Buttrich, Jamie Jones & Konrad Black. Fast forward to the beginning of 2008 Tim took the decision to start recording under his own name, Tim Green as well as TG. The fruits of his production stints were some of the most interesting and forward thinking music on the planet. Interest has come from far and wide for this young prodigy. but Claude Von Stroke was first to capitalize by signing his dance floor bomb ‘Revox’ to his highly acclaimed Dirtybird imprint. The track went onto become the one of the labels biggest releases of 2008. Next up German based Trapez records, easily one of the most respected techno labels on the planet, picked up Tim’s dirty vocal anthem Mr. Dry which was released in August 08. Within the first week of its release, Mr Dry climbed to number one in the top 10 minimal charts on Beatport. Mr. Dry went onto become one of the biggest techno anthems of 2008, being played from Fabric to Watergate, Space to Womb. If that wasn’t enough legendary UK imprint Renaissance promptly signed Tim for a series of singles, the first of which was again released to acclaim in October 08, with the tracks ‘Creature’ & ‘Give It A Go’ again showcasing the versatility of his production.

Tim also embarked on a slew of high profile remixes during this time for the likes of Cr2 records, Southern Fried, Fling, Phoebic & Viva. As well as 2 huge remixes, firstly Steve Lawler’s 21st Century Ketchup single on Dubfires Sci-Tec as well as The Audio Bully’s latest single ‘Flickery Vision’. Again these mixes became a staple diet in many of the world’s top djs record boxes for most of the year.

The impact Tim has made hasn’t gone un-noticed by the dance music press either, with Tim being names a ‘Player Of The Year’ In I-DJ magazines end of year summary into all things good in 2008, whilst DJ magazine nominated Tim for ‘Best Breakthrough Producer’ in their ‘Best Of British’ Awards.

So in just over 2 years, Tim has risen to working with the biggest djs and labels on the planet, and we haven’t even mentioned his DJing yet! Tim has been found destroying dancefloors over recent times at some of the worlds best clubs such as Fabric, The End, The Egg & Retox in London, Stealth in Nottingham, The Custard Factory Birmingham, Circus in Liverpool, Watergate, Tresor & The Weekend Club in Berlin, The Hive in Zurich, Studio 80 in Amsterdam as well as well as many more of the world’s best parties.

09/05/2009

Photo by Marek Richter

Often considered one of the worlds best DJ’s, Laurent Garnier has been booked for this year’s Beachdown festival. The event, on the Beachdown website, is currently listed as Laurent Garnier Live. Could Brighton be about to witness Garnier’s eclectic live show. We certainly hope so! 

Garnier is due to release his 5th studio album this year, Tales of a Kleptomaniac. It was announced only recently that his label F Communications was on an indefinite hiatus, only for his new album to be released on the very same label. 

If you have not seen Laurent Garnier before then this is a must. If you have seen him before, than this is also a must. See you people at the front.

Garnier at Brighton City Fesitval in 2007
http://www.brightonfusion.co.uk/live/2007/10/26/brighton-city-festival-various-venues/

Garnier at Brighton’s Audio in 2006
http://www.brightonfusion.co.uk/live/2006/10/14/laurent-garnier-audio/

Tales of a Kleptomaniac will be released on May 11th, 2009.

Photo by Eliot Gill

It’s time to start buying festival tickets again and this year we are spoilt for choice. The early bird ticket offers are flying out with even large established festivals such as Sonar extending their lower rate pass sales by one month. Glastonbury has sold out already so don’t take the chance and get stocked up on tickets now. There is nothing worse than delaying buying a ticket only to find the event has sold out and your only choice left is the risky world of online auctions. Brighton’s own answer to Glastonbury, alright maybe on a much MUCH smaller scale is the Beachdown festival.

Set in the beautiful designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty site of the South Downs just north of Brighton – Beachdown offers comfortable, secure camping including a quiet family camping area and a guarantee of having the driest underfoot site of anywhere in the UK due to the chalk base of the South Downs – rainwater simply seeps straight away. So sorry – no mud-baths here.

It’s only the second time Beachdown will be coming to our Downs but with a license that spans a few years to come, it should be a regular fixture. That means people if it sounds like the festival for you then get buying tickets. Early bird tickets are currently available for £85 with a £8.50 booking fee online. Normal adult tickets for the 2009 event are priced at £97.50 plus booking fee.

Friday 28th – Monday 31st August

Devil’s Dyke, Brighton

The near complete line up:

Laurent Garnier, Grace Jones, Super Furry Animals, The Zutons,  Saint Etienne, Grandmaster Flash, The Fall, James Taylor Quartet, Dreadzone, The Blockheads, Secret Affair, The Sunburst Band, Acid House Brass Band by The Williams Fairey Brass Ensemble, The Apples, Nostalgia 77 Octet, Lack of Afro, Snowboy & The Latin Section, The New Mastersounds, Jazz Cotech Dancers, The Fantastics!, Prince Buster, Sugarhill Gang, Norman Jay Good Times, Joey Negro, Gilles Peterson, Jazzanova, Tru Thoughts, Rebel Control, 4 or 5 Magicians, Mean Poppa Lean, Ocean Reid, The Beautiful Word, Chris Simmons, Seeker, Sweet Sweet Lies, Gloria Cycles, Los Albertos, Portslade, Cordelia Fellowes’ Gypsy Squat Pop Project, Drookit Dogs, The Perils, Transformer, Two Spot Gobi, Saw Gang Buzz, Jah Shaka Sound System – 4 day residency, Favela Chic – 4 day residency

Click here to buy tickets

So why the change? SP’s bookings recently have not been as well sourced as in the past. Cagedbaby, Evil9, Phil Hartnol among others are names known for quality but lack to bring in the numbers as they seem to be repeats of previous bookings. Let’s think back to Ivan Smagghe, Laurent Garnier, Andrew Weatherall, Steve Bug, Green Velvet, Damian Lazarus, Josh Wink and many more. These guys along with the SP residents have created many a memorable party. Yet the people or Brighton often want new bookings and artists, this is hard to do when faced with falling numbers of punters and stiff competition. We could blame the people of Brighton for not abiding to loyalties or being drawn in by chequered shirts. At the same time we can not ignore the hightened popularity of Indie music. Every bus load of kids we get coming to our uni’s is a step away from the club scene and and skip in the direction of maskara and tight jeans. You only have to look at your local source magazine to see proof of this. Dance music is not dieing here, the more underground scene is just not as popular with the younger generation. Guitars are in, 1210’s are out. Club wise students seem to be more prone to go to DnB nights or commercial shite electro. It’s a shame as we cannot deny the income their presence brings to our local promoters is much needed.

Having successfully kept Brighton dancing for many years from free parties, the Funky Buddha through to recent years at Audio, we salute Stompa Phunk for their contribution and work.

On top of their Bi-monthly spot SP with be throwing some special parties, starting with Darren Emerson at the Concorde on the 25th Jan 2008.

Words: Marek the Czech

The night
It’s not everyday we find ourselves running from West Street’s “Tru” to the safe ground of the Concorde 2. Yet tonight was different: tonight was the Thursday of Brighton’s first city festival.

The Brighton City Festival is the brainchild of Ocean Room’s main man and general Brighton club personality, Ben Gill. The line up was a great achievement for Brighton and the concept went down smoothly and without issue. One could go to a participating venue, pick up a wrist band, and could then enter all included venues for the duration of the night.

And so it begins.

We take a cab to Creation. Creation has recently been treated to a revamp. It has also gone down the path of other “cool venues” in not spelling its name correctly. The new Creation — or “Tru” as it’s now known — is situated next to the old Standard, which has been renamed “Kulture”. Even for the most moronic of individuals, it has to be evident that these marketing moves are designed to entice their target market even more. We shall refer to these people within their target range as pricks.

Tru looked slightly cleaner then when it was the Paradox or Creation but no amount of paint or disco balls can cover up the sheer horridness of the venue or the clientele. And they certainly went for gold, hanging a wide range of glittery disco balls from the crust-infested ceilings. We were here to see Soulwax again – but try and put aside the chequered-shirted thugs on display? Forget it. Our photographer took his camera out of his case and an uproar of pricks suddenly mobbed him, demanding they be photographed. Only in Tru could such an event occur. Most people hate the photographer — after all, no one looks that great in a club surrounded by flashing lights. Our first few shots should demonstrate what was encountered. Some people even requested that they be paid £5 for a photo – sadly these shots did not make it onto the Brighton Fusion website. Life is tough, especially in the “hood” otherwise known as Tru.

As we squeezed passed the inhabitants in the “hood”, Soulwax were setting up. They kicked off with their remix of Felix da Housecat’s “Rocket Ride”, a fun track three years ago, but now it seemed a little overplayed at this point. They hit their usual set list of Daft Punk’s ”Robot Rock”, “E-talking” and their live version of the Gorilla’s “Dare”. The thing that made the situation a touch dire was the lack of atmosphere. The sound system was a vile as always, which almost made me feel pity for Soulwax who had clearly dry-cleaned their nice white suits – a waste maybe.

At this point, I retired to the toilet. As I sat there excreting on to two floating bottles, I heard a sample of 808 State’s “Cubik Olympic” — a tad phased, I realised enough was enough. The toilet was a mess and the people where not much better. ‘Vodka would be the cure’ I murmured to myself. I queued and waited patiently. It was finally my turn. After being charged £8.50 for two single shots of vodka, I’d had it. That was the last straw. I could handle shitting on a bottle but being financially accosted was just it. We exited the club, leaving the array of beautiful Martini drinkers to lark about. We had safely left the “hood”.

We pulled up to the Concorde2, already to a much more familiar crowd. Suddenly recognizable faces started to pile into the venue. This was a much better situation. Underground Resistance were busy working the stage. Not insulting UR, and even giving them the utmost respect, we just didn’t feel the vibe in the main room. We chose to huddle in the bar, mingle, smoke fags and wait for Garnier.

When Garnier made his way to the stage, a majority of the crowd moved to the main room. It wasn’t that long ago since we’d seen Garnier at Audio, and he provided a great night. It would be interesting to see how the man would hold up from the view of a person seeing him for the second, or even third time. Laurent Garnier these days sees his job as “educating and entertaining the crowd”. He’s been quote as saying: “I’ve always been very open-minded”. It’s this self-created job as a teacher that seems to give him his DJ style. A few flaws do follow, but the man is technically excellent as a DJ — his mixes are clear, concise and fun. He’s a showman who never goes off key. He’s constantly fiddling with the mixer, eyes closed and deep in thought, he brings in thudding breaks, synth-sounds and dark beats. He is a prime example of a dedicated professional DJ. He carries this off with such ease and style that he is great fun to watch.

It was at the point when Garnier was trying to “educate” the crowd that was possibly his only flaw on this night. His track selection was a little repetitive as a result — you could almost tick off a list of tracks he was guaranteed to play. Alas, we shouldn’t let that take away anything from the man! He’s a bit like watching the “Sixth Sense”: you know what’s gonna happen all the way throughout.

Sticking with true LG-style, Garnier broke into d’n’b at around 3:30am. Throughout the night, he’d seamlessly mixed genres other DJ wouldn’t have an idea about doing. I love Laurent Garnier: his productions are seminal, he’s a great DJ and entertainer, I would definitely go see him again, and I would, more importantly, recommend him to any LG virgins.

Around 4am, Garnier was off, but returned for one more track due to high demand. I’m sure, if he had been allowed, would have happily played for hours more. This is his job, and unlike many new school DJ’s, he has mastered his art and isn’t tied down to a one-hour set on Ableton.

We all had a really good night. Ben Gill has succeeded in bringing something fresh and exciting to the Brighton scene. Hopefully other promoters will follow in tow. The only criticism I can really see of the event was the slight misdirection of its promotion. Many fliers had been handed out stating all the bands names who should be performing. What the marketing failed to point out was that these were to be DJ sets. A slight short change for the Indie market in Brighton. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you are not a DJ then don’t DJ. A great night for techno, a bit of a fisting for live music/Indie.

If we could do the whole night again, we would miss Tru completely. Shame we missed Green Velvet and a few others, but without published set times, the whole festival was confusing. The website said times would be published but this never surfaced. Oh well — maybe there will be a next time??

Oh, and who gives a fuck about Westwood?

Words: Marek the Czech

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I swing by Audio at around 11:00, looks like most of Brighton have realised what’s in store and form an orderly queue that spreads up and round the corner. Tonight will be packed. In fact, like a twat, I’ve been dreading this night for a while. I love Audio, but admittedly it can sometimes be a bit to packed. It’s a small venue, which is also one of its selling points. But Laurent Garnier, a man who could attract a lively bunch of people to a funeral, could be something else. The night was perfectly managed by the venue, not packed out so you can’t move but flexible and free while still keeping an amazing atmosphere.

On entry, Laurent stands in the booth, flicking through a lifetime’s supply of CD’s – he prepares his set to a Jazzy backdrop. What a pleasure getting into a venue and being greeted by the headline act. You can almost picture Laurent now; “non, non, non, a hwil play see whole naight, or a hwil not play at all.” And what a night it was to be. It’s clear 2 minutes after entry it was gonna be manic, filling up 4 times more space then Paul Woolford just the week before (not comparing the 2 of course).

And it begins. I feel my feet start frog stepping on the spot. Garnier is a well know and respected artist – he’s known as a king of techno yet famous for his incorporation of different styles both in his production and live sets. So what could we expect? He breaks straight in with some classics, and fills audio with a deep techno sound that I haven’t heard in a good while. Everyone seems to be playing much fluffier stuff these days – not bad sets, yet just more flaccid. Frankly I want something darker, dirtier and ooh a little more Detroit. After all we live in the Detroit of the UK don’t we? Excuse the pretentiousness but is this place, Brighton, not meant to be cutting edge? Sometimes it feels like we live in Portsmouth yet all think it’s so good. Cock’s to that.

Garnier fed in so many genre’s into his hours you’d be amazed. You don’t get to many DJ’s that can really play to an audience. In reality any cunt out there can beat match… and look how special you are, you picked some tracks. Garnier takes on a different role, everything is thought out, enjoyed, not playing music cause “it’s cool” but playing it because everyone involved is eating up every track. This is were the years of experience come into play, know the audience, play tracks and create more then just a club night atmosphere. Rip the fucking roof off and serve to it the crowd with some Dijon mustard.

We had such a musical rollercoaster of an evening. 2:00 we’re hit with breaks (not the cheese you hear most places), 2:30am comes the signature track “Man with the red face” – bringing a riot followed with a DnB period. Seeing the reaction from the crowd Garnier grabs his mike; “So you like DnB” he bellows. The crowd go wild. Why? Frankly I held my head in my hands and retreated to sit this one out. But you can see what’s happening, read the crowd and feed them. Feed them that dirty Dijon mustard they’ve paid to eat. A while passes, and it’s back to the key, Tech. Garnier, now skipping like a French man with a fresh baguette. And it goes on… we get more and more hypnotised by the Dijon and keep begging for more.

Things suddenly go quiet, the crowd stare like zombies. Blissful vocals of; “You make me feel, mighty real” – creep out of the speaker system. A real slow build up, working it’s way to a crescendo sending the crowd flying. Remember the Dijon? Yeah they are swimming in the shit now. Time passes, things get darker: “You’ve got to believe in something, why not believe in me” hits the speakers. Someone help me out here. I know this sample is widely used. E.g. Fierce Ruling Diva’s – Believe and that track that people always claim is Dave Clarke’s – House of God. Spread some light here, is that Dave Clarke’s version? Or why the fuck would it have the Orbital – Chime aspect? Ah at this point I’m too fucked to comprehend what’s going on. After all, it is 4:30am.

The camera goes away, it’s time to relax and just be free. Can’t tell you too much about the end cause frankly I wasn’t mentally there. But what can be said is; it was stunning.

I wanted to be sceptical about tonight. I can’t imagine Mill’s, Hawtin, or the like, let alone Garnier playing at Audio… turns out I was wrong.

Fuck me, how wrong.

Audio
http://www.audiobrighton.com

10 Marine Parade
Brighton
East Sussex
Tel: 01273-624343

info@audiobrighton.com

Words: Marek the Czech

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