725 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
725 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
(RE-written and modified off of article in DETAILS magazine JULY 1992)
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Typed out by: Johnny Wishbone
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THE TECHNO REVOLUTION - Simon Reynolds
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------------------------------------------
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Four Years after its invention in a Detroit bedroom, techno is now
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dominating dance floors from London to LA. Is it the next musical
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insurrection or is it just danceable noise? Simon Reynolds reports.
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MIdnight, saturday and I am pushing through a jungle of limbs in the
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fluorescent grottoes that make up the LABRYNTH, a hardcore techno club in
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northeast London. The ultraviolet light makes teeth glow with an eerie,
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extraterrestial hue. It also highlights the dancers drug ravaged
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complexions. But then in a rave culture spots are sexy.
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First thing you notice is every other boy wearing a woolly bobble hat(a
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sock cap with or without a pom), despite the fact that it's a sauna in
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here. My guide tells me that the hats help bring on hyperventilation. Next
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you notice a lot of kids who seem to have the flu-rubbing vicks VapoRub on
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their necks, or passing around tubes of a nasal decongestant spray. In
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fact, it's another Ecstacy enhancer. The tingle of the ointment and the
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menthol fumes increase the buzz of X-tacy.
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The Labryth mostly hosts young white Kids from London's East End and from
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Essex, two of the UK's techno strongholds. Although both are very much part
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of the rave culture, techno is quite different from house music. It's
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almost entirely non-vocal and has little relation to disco or black pop
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tradition. There are many types of Techno, but right now the dominant force
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is hardcore which is fast paced (130-140 Beats Per Minute,BPM"s..house
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clocks in at 120 bpm), heavy bass, and melody free.
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Next we hit the Breakfast Club in central London, which starts at 5:00am
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and goes on until midday Sunday. Despite an intensive body search on
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entrance, there's no shortage of disreputable types whispering offers of
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"whizz"(speed), "charly"(cocaine), and various brands of "X" or
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"E"(Ecstacy). The dance floor resembles something between a Nuremberg Rally
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and a soccer match. Apocalyptic and bombastic, the music's an ambush of
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sound, fury, and blaring samples that enforces a new kind of dancing: all
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twitches and jerks, like disciplined epilepsy. Close cropped boys move like
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they are doing kung fu with an invisible adversary, others mold their hands
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into the shape of cocked pistols and let them rip.
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Drugs are essential. Most tablets sold as Ecstacy are concoctions of
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amphetamines cut with LSD or Valium. Some kids "neck"(swallow) as many as
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five X pills a night. Speed promotes megalomania and agression rather than
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the tactile intimacy of X. You can see the difference on the dance floor.
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The kids seem lost in autistic bliss, and you get the idea that they'd
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rather be masturbating than screwing. Pleasure is expressed in slang terms:
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On a good night, you're "faced"(off your face), "sledgied"(into oblivion),
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"cabbaged"(brain dead).
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Complaining that it is to fast to dance to, the older rave crowd dismisses
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hardcore techno as the "new heavy metal". They prefer the more song
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oriented garage trax. The youth call it "that garage shit" and is just
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bland jazz-funk. The battle lines have been drawn.
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---------
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The Techno story begins in the late 70's in Detroit, when three young
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black American friends, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Juan Atkins,
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were electrified by the sound of KRAFTWERK"s "Trans-Europe Express." The
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Three became Europhiles and futurists, infatuated with Ultravox, Depeche
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Mode, New Order - groups whose cold precision was in stark opposition to
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black music's passion and warmth.
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Juan Atkins was the first to make music as early as 1981 with the
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electro-era outfit CYBOTRON, and then in 1985 as MODEL 500. Soon
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afterwards, Kevin Saunderson (as Reese and Inner City) and Derrick May (as
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Mayday and Rythm is Rythm) also began recording tracks in their bedrooms.
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But in Detroit Techno remained a small subculture with never more than a
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few hundred followers.
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Nonetheless, their tracks went on to spawn a huge British Subculture. Neil
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Rushton, a british pop entrepeneur sold the idea of "Detroit Techno"
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compilation to TEN Records, while Saunderson's pop-techno band, Inner City
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had two huge world wide hits with "Big Fun" and "Good Life". Then things
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started to go wrong. Disillusioned , Juan Atkins and May dropped out of
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music and Saunderson led Inner City in a disastrous soul direction. But
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still a seed had been planted.
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The 90's brought in a new breed of U.K. whiz kids who made records in
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their bedrooms using cheap samplers and outmoded analog synths and who were
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fired up by a do-it yourself fervor reminiscent of punk. Warp Records in
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Sheffield was a hot bed of talent, with groups like Forgemasters, Sweet
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Excorcist, and the brilliant LFO. Then came out of Manchester, A GUY CALLED
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GERALD, and 808 STATE. But the finest moment in the early scene came with
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Orbital's "Chime" a shimmering hymn that was recorded in a few hours for
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less than a hundred dollars and went on to become a top twenty hit on the
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club charts.
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The hardcore mentality picked up in 1991. These days any music illiterate
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can cobble together a white-label twelve inch by tossing a few samples over
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a looped , sped-up breakbeat. The market has been flooded with obscure,
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limited edition white-labels, which are highly prized by Dj's competing to
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play the latest tracks regardless of their longterm worth.
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ALTERN-8's Mark Archer and Chris Peat started out by making "arm-chair
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techno" but shortly after moved into hardcore techno. Wearing outfits made
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of chemical warfare protection suits and face masks, Altern-8 are KLF like
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pranksters. Their Top three hit "Activ-8" featured a sample of their label
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boss's 5 year old daughter saying "nice one, top one, get sorted" a slang
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phrase for getting high on Ecstacy that bypassed the BBC sensors. And when
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they appeared on a british TV program called "On top of the Pops" they
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convinced the camera man to zoom in on a jar of Vicks placed ontop of their
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sampler, the equivalent of waving a cocaine spoon on prime time TV. Their
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latest single "Evapor-8" cheekily manages to compact two drug references
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into a single word.
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----------
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SPIRAL TRIBE is a loosely knit collective that organizes illegal parties
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and outdoor raves while simultaneously recording and ditributing their own
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white-label tracks. They are part of the crossover between the rave scene
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and the "crusty" subculture (sqaut dwelling nouveau hippies, anarcho-punks,
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and slackers who got the name "crusty" from their matted dreadlocks and
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hobo garb.)
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Hoping to interview the Tribe, I find myself in a dilapidated squat in
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northeast London. Ten Years ago a sqaut party would have been dub reggae or
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hippie rock, but tonight it's thick techno-voodoo rythm's. Downstairs
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assorted figures huddle, rolling joints or snorting ketamine, a brain
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deadening anesthetic that is suddenly back in favor. Currently slang terms
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for the drug are "baby food" (users sink into a blissful inertia) and "God"
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(some are convinced they have met their maker).
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The Tribe's spokeman is Mark, who expounds their anarcho-mystical creed
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with the gleam of a prophet in his eyes. "We keep everything illegal
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because it's only outside the law that there is any real life to be had.
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Last summer we did a party that went on for fourteen days. It's a myth that
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you need to sleep. Stay awake and you discover the real edges of reality.
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You stop believing all the false reality that was hammered into you from
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birth."
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In the week I've been chasing them for an interveiw, Spiral Tribe have
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been lying low. After a rave in rural Wiltshire, thirty-four members were
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arrested, their vehicles trashed by the cops and their phone-line they use
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to publicize their events cut off. However the Tribe are gearing up to
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launch a non-stop conflagration of illegal raves, and most likely more
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altercations with the police. Kicking it off will be SOUND SYTEM CITY on
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June 21, a massive rave near Stonehenge - traditionally the summer
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celebration place for hippies and pagan worshippers until police placed a 4
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mile exclusion zone around it a few years ago.
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Like alot of Apocalyptic sects, Spiral Tribe combine paranoid conspiracy
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theories with fantasies of returning to a lost golden age. They call their
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philosophy "terra-technic" and hope to use technology to unleash the
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primordial power of the earth. "Like music from non-western cultures,
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techno's based on harmony and rythm, not melody," says Seb, one Tribalist,
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"We're not trying to get into the future. We're trying to get back to where
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we were before western civilization fucked it all up."
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---------------------------------
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Today Belgium is at the crossroads of the global traffic in Techno-music.
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Since 1990 Belgium has unleashed a steady stream of hardcore tunes that
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have incited something akin to pandemonium on the dance floors of Britain,
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Europe, and America. R&S Records, the country's leading Techno label is run
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by Renaat and Sabine Van De Papeliere, a husband and wife team who last
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year sold more 12'inch singles in Belgium than all other labels combined.
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The belgian story began with a late 80's dance craze called "New Beat".
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Dj's started to spin house records at 33rpm rather than 45rpm creating an
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eerie trance dance groove. When groups like LORDS OF ACID and A SPLIT
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SECOND inorporated that slow motion beat, they became huge hits in Belgium
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and ended that country's pop inferiority complex. As the 90's kicked in the
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beats per minute accelerated as Dj's began playing techno with their
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turntables set to plus eight. With groups like T99, Second Phase, Rythm
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Device, a native hardcore was born charcaterized by the "Belgian Hoover"
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effect(sound), an ominous drone that sounds like a swarm of bees. Renaat
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thinks it's implicitly utopian, allowing people to create their perfect
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world on the dance floor."Because there are no words, it leaves your
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imagination free. You can escape from everything." While Belgium still
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leads the way with the music, Renaat says the frontiers of club life are
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being pushed back in Rotterdam, Frankfurt, and Berlin, where Dj's are
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talking about a merciless 180 bpm's as a goal. He mentions one club in
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Cologne where temperatures reach tropical levels and Dj's wear oxygen
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masks. And he dreams of one day holding a Techno-woodstock modelled also on
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Berlin's annual rave carnival , the Love Parade. Apparently last years
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MAYDAY rave attracted over 30,000 people.
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----------------------
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In the beginning of this century, the Italian futurists worshipped
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technology and speed and prophesied a new music based on the art of noises.
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In the century's last decade, young Italian Americans in New York worship
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the velocity and noise that is Techno, and they congregate at Limelight for
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"Dance Energy" (on Thursdays) and Lord Michael's "Future Shock" (on
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Fridays).
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"Fifty percent of the kids are just into the music," says Lord Michael,
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the promoter/producer who introduced techno to the Staten Island
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/Bensonhurst crowd and then lured them into the Manhattan clubs. "They get
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off on the agression, cause New York's a very agressive city. The other
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fifty percent are taking Ecstacy or acid. Some of them smoke PCP.It's
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Wild."
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These days the New York Techno scene has opened out somewhat. "Most come
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from outside Manhattan," says MOBY, a Techno artist and occasional Dj at
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"Future Shock"(on Fridays). At 26, MOBY is relatively old for a techno whiz
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kid. A former punk who breifly played in the seminal drone-rock band
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Flipper. Moby is also a Christain Vegan who abstains from alchohol and
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drugs. "I'm ascetic, but I love drug culture. I prefer adrenaline highs,
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but I like being in a nightclub where five thousand people are buzzing. As
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for my religious beliefs...well, the first Rave was when the Ark of the
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Covenant was brought into Jerusalem and King David tore off all his clothes
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and danced like crazy."
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-------------------------------
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In New York Techno may be a form of psychic release , a way of venting the
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tensions of urban life. But in San Francisco, some ravers see it as part of
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a spiritual revolution. Acid guru Timothy Leary's ideas about "the
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politics of Ecstacy" are being adapted for the computer age by a new
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generation of heads and freaks, and they're hoping that the rave experience
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will bring on a blissed-out of state of "higher understanding". "They are
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calling Dj's digital shamens on the west coast," says Todd Roberts,
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associate editor of the L.A. dance music magazine URB. Like the
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terra-technics, it's all about using futuristic technology to return to the
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ancient purpose of music: communal release through ritual , ecstatic
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dancing.
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While Los Angeles has the most highley developed rave culture in the U.S.,
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the accent there is on a certain fashion-conscious hedonism rather than
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mystical enlightenment. Ecstacy and LSD are big, but so are crystal meth
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and nitrous oxide(laughing gas) - drugs that deliver a buzz but hardly open
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the doors of perception.
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Techno is being consumed by hordes of suburban kids looking for a new
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underground sound (now that the so called alternative rock, from Nirvana to
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Nine Inch Nails, has gone mainstream). They are into it because it's
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confrontational and agressive , a new way to shock the sqaures and it
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hasn't been co-opted yet. So on Friday or Saturday they hit three or four
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raves (each numbering between three to five thousand people) before the sun
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rises over the Valley. Then they drive through the streets having had the
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time of their lives only wanting more. With Techno you can never drive fast
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enough to catch up with the Beat.
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-typed out by Johnny Wishbone for the Cause....
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----------------------------
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RAVE NEW WORLD: guide to the best dance music and nightlife in America, the
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UK, and Europe.
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From July 1992 edition of DETAILS magazine
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----------------------------
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NORTH AMERICA
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ATLANTA - anything goes here, you just have to know where it happens and
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when...and though the major clubs are kept in business by a steady stream
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of white postadolescents who like their music safe and their crowds
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homogeneous, there's a small , eccentric underground dance scene where
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X-tacy still rules...after all HOT-lanta is the city that bred such club
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characters as Ru Paul, Larry Tee, and Lady Bunny.
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Radio stations - WRAS 88.5 fm/college radio station with two dance
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shows...The 12 Inch show sundays at 8pm(easy listening techno/house
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stuff)...The House Fairy Show saturdays midnite(a bit more
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hardcore)....WREK 91.1fm...Anno Domini..wednedays at 10:30pm(a heavy
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industrial show).....WUOG 90.5 fm ...college station....Essential
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Rhythms show tuesdays 8pm(latest club stuff)
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Record stores - Let the Music Play, 2345 Cheshire Bridge Rd.,
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404-321-7746...lots of imports and Techno, Dj's buy here.....Wuxtry, 197 E.
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Clayton St.,Athens, 404-369-9428...latest imports
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Clubs - Berlin, 5920 Roswell Rd., 404-255-4471....best night "Wall of
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Techno Sound" saturday nights.....Colorbox, 140 E. Washington St., Athens,
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404-369-7315..thrusdays are industrial night "Thrillsville" Djed by Ritchie
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D.....The Cove 586 Worchester Drive, 404-875-2464...house and indutrial
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music for an ecsatic after hours crowd of gays, transvestites in leather
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and silicone....The Eagle 306 Ponce de leon Avenue, 404-873-2453...scary
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after hours leather hardcore..techno on mondays.....The Heretic 2069
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cheshire bridge Rd., 404-325-3061....almost as scary as the Eagle but in a
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scarier part of town.....Masquerade 695 North Ave, 404-577-8178, three
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rooms:Heaven(name live acts) Purgatory(local bands) Hell(the basement dance
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floor where gothic and industrial is played)...Plastic 721 miami circle NE,
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404-261-2101..open only on Tues, Fri, Sat...under 21 club so expect lots of
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baggy jeans, baseball caps, and high tops.....Traxx 339 Marietta St.,
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404-681-5033...large warehouse like club...saturday is
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techno-house....Velvet 89 Park Pl., 404-681-9936...celebrity hangout..very
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plush...with techno and industrial Friday thru Monday...home of Romeo
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Colgne, the only club character of note since Ru Paul moved to New York
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BOSTON - Boston has never been a mecca for dance worshippers mainly because
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clubs close at 2 am and the city's best Dj's move to New York once they get
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hot.
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Radio stations - WERS 88.9 fm college station with a decent dance
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show...WZOU 94.5 fm ...disco classics sunday nights and club hits
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throughout the day.
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Record Stores - Dance Music Plus 240 Meridian St. 617-567-5200...good stock
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of imports, techno, house.....Vinyl Connection 23 Huntington Ave.
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617-536-2560....techno, house, good imports
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Clubs - Chaps 27 Huntington Ave., 617-266-7778....best known gay
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club.....The Cotton Club 965 Masachusetts Ave., 617-541-0101...small,
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intimate, friendly...crowd gets dressed up and dance to new jack....Indigo
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823 Main str., Cambridge, 617-497-7200, best known lesbian club....
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CHICAGO - House music originated here, though the locals ignore that fact.
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There's a big after hours scene but raves don't always work because the
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underground has trouble staying under(no -one can keep a secret) The best
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clubs offer rap, house, and industrial.
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Radio Stations - WLUW 88.7 fm university station plays the latest dance,
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alternative and rap music.
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Record Stores - Gramaphone Records Ltd. 2663 N. Clark st.,
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312-472-3683...hard to find imports...Wax Trax, 2449 N.Lincoln Ave.,
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312-929-0221...alternative and industrial specialists.
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Clubs - Avalon 959 W. Belmont Ave., 312-472-3020...laid back....Tuesdays
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are open mike nights for up and coming rappers...wednesdays are the Heavy
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Metal head banging Chicks Club....Cairo 720 N. Wells st.,
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312-266-6620....techno on sundays and mondays.....Exit Lounge 1653 N.Wells
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st., 312-440-0535.....weekend nights are body slamming hardcore also with a
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bit of rap and goth....scrap metal, mechanical debris, and biker residue
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everywhere...no cover charge if you have a tattoo....Kaboom 747 N. Green
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st., 312-243-8600...megaclub with six bars, great pop art collection, and a
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suspended lazer enhanced walkway....Medusa's 325 N. Sheffield Ave.,
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312-935-3635...huge alchohol free club for kids...techno,
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industrial.....Shelter 564 W. Fulton st., 312-648-5500...Chicago's most
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important club...Dj Mark Farina who leads the afterhours underground with
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ambient Techno, Derek Carter who plays a dark sexual groove, Burt
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"Non-stop" Blanchard plays electric hip hop and deep house...a must to
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attend.....Smart Bar 3730 N. Clark St., 312-549-3604...heavy industrial to
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wispy UK fare....Warehouse 738 W. Randolph st., 312-434-9004 loftlike
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place...rowdy crowd...house music...casual dress code but no sports
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insignias allowed.
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--------------------------------
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DETROIT - Detroit is a city bred on Motown and blue-collar rock...much like
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Chicago but with a more craving for advancement in sound.
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Radio stations - CIMX 88.7 fm ...Canadian station that plays alternative
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music all day long.....WDET 101.9 fm "Fast Forward Fridays" midnite,
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hardcore techno.
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Record stores - Buy-Rite Music 7324 W. Seven Mile Road .,
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313-864-0219..hardcore Techno and house....Recordtime 25110 Gratiot Ave.,
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Roseville, 313-775-1550..for the seroius Dj's
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Clubs - Dirt Box, various locations 313-537-2072..this roving party happens
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at least once a month in galleries, chinese restaurants, or out of
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town...music usually house, industrial, and alternative....Heaven 1050
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Larchwood Ave., 313-368-5497...gay black afterhours club for serious
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dancers who want the deepest of house...open on weekends till
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6am.....Industry 15 S. Saginaw St. Pontiac, 313-334-1999, multi-level
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club...safe sex tuesdays where they give out condoms and Virgin label
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records...sundays are techno rave nights.
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---------------------------
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LOS ANGELES - LA's underground is moving from illegal dance clubs, nitrous
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tanks, and drunk driving to cozy, smoky bars within five mile radius of
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each other.
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Radio stations - KCRW 89.9 fm "Militant Mastermix" saturdays at noon...KQLZ
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100.3 fm, headbanging music worshipped by Sunset Strippers....KROQ 106.7
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fm, best outlet for new alternative bands....MARS 103.1 fm, Techno-rave
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industrial music station with a bit of alternative
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Record stores - Prime Cuts 7758 Santa Monica Blvd., 213-654-8251, where
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Dj's shop and work....Street Sounds 7751 Melrose Ave., 213-651-0630, first
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stop for alot of Dj's when shopping....Vinyl Fetish 7305 Melrose Ave.,
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213-935-1300...good for industrial stuff
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Clubs - Catch One 4067 W. Pico Blvd., 213-734-8849...afterhours club open
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till 5am on weekends....gay crowd..."Divas for Dollars" drag performances
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on Mondays......Club 1970, 836 N. Highland Ave., 213-669-1000...every
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sunday Dj Billy Limbo resurrects 70's trash disco to a John Fluevog
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crowd....FUCK!(yes it is a real club), 3909 Sunset Blvd.,
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213-664-1929...S&M as art, as Miguel and Dj James demonstrate on Sunday
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nights with whippings, waxings, and whackings set to an industrial
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groove...Maxx, 6423 Yucca st., 213-463-9661, newly opened...deep
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house...Pompeian designed interior....Mayan, 1038 S. Hill St.,
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213-746-4287...big beautiful theatre turned dance club where techno rules
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on fridays........MORE, 836 N. Highland ave., 213-960-5172, 3am raves for
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motley crew types featuring the best non-techno Dj Steve Loria....World on
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Wheels, 4645(1/2) Venice Blvd., 213-933-3333, disco rollerfest first
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saturday of every month...ten dollar admission gets you skates and fruit
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punch....The Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., W. Hollywood,
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310-276-6168...Techno-rave nite on thursdays "Joy"...west hollywood crowd.
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----------------------------------
|
|
MIAMI - good mixture of latino style and modern dance flavors. South Beach
|
|
is becoming one of the country's club capitals. Hosts a hybrid of clubs.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - WHQT 105.1 fm...hip hop everynite but sundays..WVUM 90.5 fm
|
|
college station with a good industrial dance program "Industrial Dance
|
|
Consortium" Fridays at 10pm.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Underground Records 3303 NW 7th st., 305-649-8622...good
|
|
selection of dance music...Yesterday and Today Dance Music, 1614 Alton Rd.,
|
|
Miami Beach, 305-534-8704...very club oriented
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Avenue A, various locations, no phone...must contact the Spot for
|
|
information 305-532-1682....Boomerang, 323 23rd st., Miami Beach,
|
|
305-532-1666, thursdays are UK inspired Rave nights...saturdays are rare
|
|
groove nites..attracts the area's leading Dj's like Luis Diaz, David Knapp,
|
|
and Carlos Menendez....Cameo Theatre, 1445 Washington Ave., Miami Beach,
|
|
305-532-0922, converted theatre presents big name acts during the
|
|
week....weekends are for dance music extravaganzas.....Paragon 1235
|
|
Washington ave., Miami Beach., 305-534-1235, large area that hosts to gays,
|
|
models, tourists, and fitness freaks....weekends are happening....Warsaw
|
|
Ballroom, 1450, Collins Ave., 305-531-4555, best gay club around only
|
|
rivaled by the Paragon...music gets popular after being played here by Dj
|
|
David Padilla.....Water-Front, 3615 NW S. River Dr., 305-635-5500, gay bar,
|
|
salsa club, and a madhouse....boat rides are available on the club's party
|
|
boat....bizarre and wonderful.
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
MONTREAL - Like New Orleans, Montreal is a pot of mixed french and english
|
|
spices with other ethnic spices in the mixture as well. The nightlife
|
|
reflects it's ethnic mix. You have Potugese, Italian, Haitain, West
|
|
African, French, English, Jamaican, and other sorts of people. Most clubs
|
|
stay open till 3am.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - CKMF 94.3 fm....saturdays are all dance with "Club
|
|
Energie"...CJFM 95.9 fm.....top forty but friday and saturday nite stay up
|
|
with the "Party Mix" from 7pm till 4am,
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Archambault Musique, 500 rue Ste.-Catherine est,
|
|
514-849-6201. Huge selection of everything...Le Club De Disques W.O.W.,
|
|
1448 Peel st., 514-281-6443...international 12'inch singles and US hits.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Balattou, 4372 boul. St.-Laurent, 514-845-5447...a gigantic club
|
|
featuring Afro-Caribbean and Latin Music....Disalvio, 3519 boul.
|
|
St.-Laurent, 514-845-4337...intimate cliquey club favored by pop stars,
|
|
fashion types..jazz,funk,house,hip hop....L'Esprit, 1234 rue de la
|
|
Montagne, 514-397-1711, spooky former funeral home located in the english
|
|
speaking part of town...dance pop....Metropolis, 59 rue Ste.-Catherine est,
|
|
514-288-2020...huge futuristic dance palace....house, hip hop, techno...the
|
|
crowd is a mix of all......Station C, 1450 rue Ste.- Catherine est,
|
|
514-523-0064, Montreal's gay Disneyland, a complex of four clubs including
|
|
K.O.X.(for men) and K-2(for women).
|
|
-------------------------------------
|
|
NEW YORK - NY breaks all rules and gets away with it. The city has set the
|
|
standard for nightlife in North America and possibly the World.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - WRKS 98.7 fm...rap and house on fridays and
|
|
saturdays...WQHT 97.1 fm..plays the top 12'inch on Fridays..WDRE 92.7 fm
|
|
plays alternative dance and industrial and gothic...WNYU 89.1 fm plays
|
|
nightly alternative and house.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Beat Street, 446 Fulton st., Brooklyn, 718-624-7465..for
|
|
rap, reggae, house, and imports...BPM, 334 Bleecker st., 212-929-2434,
|
|
imports, and place to get club passes...Decadance, 119, Christopher st.,
|
|
212-691-1013, specializing in 12'inch singles and imports...Downtown
|
|
Records, 164 W. 25th st., 212-924-5791, underground house...popular with
|
|
Dj's...Vinylmania, 60 Carmine st., 212-924-7223....lots of 12'inch singles
|
|
from floor to ceiling.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - The Bar Room, 432 W. 14th St., 212-366-5680...fridays are "The Clit
|
|
Club" New York's biggest lesbian party...saturdays are "Meat" an all techno
|
|
gay party....Zanzibar, 430 Broad St., Newark , New Jersey, 201-643-8338,
|
|
open till 7am on weekends....Keep Refrigerated, various locations,
|
|
718-388-9766, Brooklyn based floating party which dances to house and local
|
|
bands.......Limelight, 660 6th ave., 212-807-7850, Lady Bunny a popular
|
|
club character presents saturdays "Shampoo"...wednesdays are Disco 2000
|
|
with Dj Keoki....Pyramid, 101 ave. A., 212-473-7184, wednesdays are
|
|
"channel 69" bad drag performance art...sundays are "fuck"...no frills gay
|
|
dancing......The ROXY, 515 W. 18th st., 212-645-5156, large
|
|
madhouse...roller skating wednesdays...gay dancing on saturdays hosted by
|
|
Dj Frankie Knuckles and Larry Tee....Save the Robots, underground dance
|
|
club from 3am till 8am...gets very packed...ask around for
|
|
details.....Sound Factory, 530 W. 27th st., 212-643-0728, large
|
|
non-alcholic after hours club..peaks around dawn.....The Spectrum, 802 64th
|
|
st.,/8th ave., Brooklyn, 718-238-8213....the Saturday Night Fever disco
|
|
club from the movie...complete with the original dance floor....Tilt, 179
|
|
Varick st., 212-246-3423, best night is the "Mental House" saturdays with
|
|
Dj Steve McMahon.
|
|
-----------------------------
|
|
PHILADELPHIA - a friendly little town in which all Dj's are pals, the drag
|
|
queens don't bite and the punks are too polite to start any trouble. Philly
|
|
discovered X-tacy a little late but they will swallow almost anything.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - WDAS 105.3 fm, outstanding rap and house mixes on weekend
|
|
nights...WKDU 91.7 fm, university station that plays alternative and
|
|
industrial sonic blasts.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Third Street Jazz & Rock, 20 N. 3rd st.,
|
|
215-627-3366...lots of imports of techno, house, and industrial.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Black Banana, 247 Race st., 215-925-4433...longest standing after
|
|
hours eurodisco in town...Dj Doz and Xanadu are occasional
|
|
hosts....Revival, 22 S. 3rd st., 215-627-4825, the town's most comfortable
|
|
spot for the widest cross section of dance cultures....Xero, 613 S. 4th
|
|
St., 215-629-0565...a friendly mix of b-boys and college students....Ricky
|
|
Lee Raves on thursdays and saturdays..hardcore techno on fridays and pure
|
|
house on sundays.....The Warehouse, 700 N.Delaware ave., 215-829-9993...Dj
|
|
Robbie Tronco promises a house party on the riverside.
|
|
----------------------------------
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO - The bay area dance scene is as rich as ever. Not as trendy
|
|
as the LA scene but more laid back and casual. The scene may be small but
|
|
not small minded.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - KMEL 106.1 fm...dance chart dominated....KSOL 107.7 fm
|
|
..dance hits, soul, funk, and hip hop.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Amoeba Music, 2455 Telegraph ave., Berkeley, 510-549-1125,
|
|
soul, funk,jazz,hip hop and lots of 12'inches...Reckless Records, 1401
|
|
Haight st., 415-431-3434...good selection of 12's , imports, and rare white
|
|
labels.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - DNA Lounge, 375 11th st., 415-626-1409, dance club with live
|
|
entertainment...body peircing demonstrations, special disco nights and
|
|
industrial rave nights....Kennel Club, 628 Divisadero,
|
|
415-931-1914...warehouse space...live alternative music acts...thursdays is
|
|
gay dancing night...world music on saturdays and sundays.....Toon Town,
|
|
various locations, 415-267-4886...hardcore grooves, crammed with ravers,
|
|
hippies, and the lunatic fringe who dance till sunrise.
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
SEATTLE - Seattle's thriving new crop of dance clubs may mean the end of
|
|
the city's outlaw warehouse raves. Nightlife here is beginning to calm down
|
|
while still losing none of the grunge that put Seattle's music scene on the
|
|
map.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - KCMU 90.3 university station known for its "Rap Attack
|
|
Show"....KUBE 93.3fm plays hip hop and techno.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Orpheum, 618 Broadway E., 206-322-6370, huge Dj selection,
|
|
all sorts of mixes...Underground Dance Music, 422 E. Denny way,
|
|
206-329-0556...dance and imports.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - And The Weathered Wall, The Purity Remains, 1921 5th ave.,
|
|
206-448-5688...big club, warehousey ambience to it...plays house, techno on
|
|
fridays, and gay nights on wednesdays......The Edge, 315 Occidental ave.,
|
|
S., 206-621-9251...chic cavernous club....best night on thursdays
|
|
"decadence"...progressive rock on fridays and saturdays...old wave on
|
|
sundays....OZ Nightclub, 131 Taylor ave. N., 206-448-0888, dark club...hip
|
|
hop and house on wednesdays...acid house and industrial on saturdays...no
|
|
gang wear dress code in effect....RE-Bar, 1114 Howell st., 206-233-9873,
|
|
ambient industrial Mondays...queer disco on thursdays...funk and hip hop on
|
|
weekends........Romper Room, 106 1st ave. N., 206-284-5003...after hours
|
|
club..Dj's play evrything from old wave to no wave.
|
|
----------------------------------
|
|
TORONTO - bars and clubs stop serving at 1am so there's a huge market for
|
|
what are locally known as "booze cans" warehouses that are rented for the
|
|
night by party throwers who sell alchohol illegally. Also the drug scene is
|
|
big too in these warehouse parties. Techno is the main sound though the
|
|
garage , house sounds still are going strong.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - CFNY 102.1fm ...Chris Sheppard's Techno stint at the club
|
|
"RPM 2000" is simulcast friday nights....CING 107.9fm a mix of techno,
|
|
house and rap.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - HMV, 333 Yonge st., 416-596-0333...great for UK
|
|
imports....Play de Record, 357A Yonge st., 416-586-0380...lots of
|
|
12'inches, white labels, imports, salsa...Seekers Books, 509 Bloor st. W.,
|
|
416-925-1982...postindustrial CDs and plenty of obscure european
|
|
labels....Starsound, 427 Yonge St., 416-977-0525...all purpose dance music.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Factory, 19 Mercer st., 416-408-2870..recently legitimized
|
|
warehouse club with techno on fridays and saturdays till 6am....Go-Go, 250
|
|
Richmond st. W., 416-593-4646...five low-concept floors and a rooftop
|
|
patio...wednesdays are gay nights....RPM 2000, 132 Queens Quay E.,
|
|
416-869-1462...fridays and saturdays feature Dj Chris Sheppard(producer of
|
|
TECHNO TRIP cd compilation and Sheppard's REvenge Technotrip 2)...techno
|
|
weekends...psychedelic dance on mondays....lots of suburban people flock
|
|
to here.
|
|
-----------------------------
|
|
VANCOUVER - Though the music scene here is geared toward live alternative
|
|
acts, dance is moving up at a rapid pace. Especially in the gay clubs in
|
|
the West end and Yaletown neighborhoods. These clubs tend to draw a wide
|
|
range of people who'll dance to everything from house to disco.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - CITR 101.9fm(cable for pure sound)...University of British
|
|
Columbia's station which has the best dance program friday nights called
|
|
"Homebass" hosted by Dj Noah every friday night at 9pm. CKZZ 95.3 fm the
|
|
latest in dance pop...saturday nights are "party mix" nights...COAST 1040
|
|
am(cable 88.5fm) "club 1040" plays on saturdays as well...evrything from
|
|
alternative to techno...CJSF 93.9 cable fm...Simon Fraser University
|
|
station..."Pandora's Psycho Groove-a-thon" fridays and industrial "Tactical
|
|
Agression State" saturdays at noon.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Odyssey Imports, 534 Seymour st., 604-669-6644...Western
|
|
Canada's largest selection of imports and a good selection of 12'inch
|
|
singles....Zulu Records, 1869 W. 4th ave., 604-738-3232...imports,
|
|
alternative, industrial..in store listening.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Celebrities, 1022 Davie st., 604-689-3180...the biggest and best
|
|
gay club in town...sunday nights are techno, mondays are classic
|
|
disco.....Graceland, 1250 Richards st., 604-688-2648...Warehouse like with
|
|
house on fridays "Panic" with Dj Chad and saturdays techno "Beyond the
|
|
Dance" with Dj Noah also the Dj of "Homebass" radio show on CITR
|
|
101.9fm...LUV-A-FAIR, 1275 Seymour st., 604-685-3288...city's trendiest
|
|
alternative dance club...tuesdays are dance classics...wednesdays are
|
|
underground music....Twilight Zone, 7 Alexander St., 604-682-8550...theme
|
|
nites five times a week, best night on fridays "Blitzkreig" for alternative
|
|
dance.
|
|
--------------------------------
|
|
EUROPE
|
|
|
|
AMSTERDAM(Holland) - The current club favorites are house, techno, and the
|
|
recent Gabberhouse(hardcore house) named after the Gabbers-footballers who
|
|
dance all night, mostly under the influence of X-tacy. Clubs stay open
|
|
until 5am on average.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - Amsterdam Extra 106.8 cable..latest in club
|
|
records...Radio Three 91.5 fm hardcore on wednesdays
|
|
|
|
Record stores - GET Records, Utrechtsestraat 105, 31-20-622-3441, Dj's
|
|
favorite spot.....Rythm Import, Singel 10, 31-20-622-2867...the city's best
|
|
selection of club music and imports.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - ROXY, Singel 465, 31-20-620-0354, trendsetting house Dj's spin for
|
|
fashion victimized crowd..hard to get in if you don't have a membership
|
|
card...Subtopia(a.k.a. Das Boot), behind the central station on a boat, no
|
|
phone...underground gabberhouse till 9am on weekends.
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
BARCELONA(Spain) - this is Barcelona's year with an invasion of tourists
|
|
and athletes for the olympics. Barcelona bars don't get crowded till 1am.
|
|
Clubs hit their stride between 3am to 5am.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - Radio Club 25 95.5 fm...new dance and pop.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Blanco Y Negro, Carrer Calvet 29, 34-3-209-9899, european
|
|
and US imports from house to garage trax...TOCS, Carrer Consell de Cent
|
|
341, 34-3-215-3121...well balanced dance selections.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Centro Ciudad, Carrer Consell de Cent 294, 34-3-487-7722...heavily
|
|
strobed basement club with a casual good time crowd...Districto Distinto,
|
|
Avinguda Meridiana 104, no phone...an early AM stop for crusing
|
|
singles....Satanassa, Carrer Aribau 27, 34-3-451-0052...small sweaty club
|
|
known for its homo-erotic sculptures, and retro-disco music.
|
|
-----------------------------
|
|
BERLIN(Germany) - Since the Berlin wall came down west germans have sought
|
|
empty warehouses in the east to hold raves and they found them. Most venues
|
|
are near where the old wall use to be. The scene is becoming agressively
|
|
divided. There's the Teutonic/industrial faction who wear military outfits
|
|
and dis any location that is not "toxic" enough to make them ill. Then
|
|
there's the fun/global thinking crowd and the hippie/funk/soul crowd.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - Radio 4U 98.2 fm alternative dance, techno, house.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Hard Wax, Reichenberger Str. 75, 49-30-618-8846...the
|
|
owner Mark is responsible for the Detroit-Berlin connection....Virgin
|
|
Records, Kurfurstendamm 12-15, 49-30-880-0810, new megastore, good place to
|
|
find UK rarities....WOM, Augsburger Str. 36-42-882-7541...another megastore
|
|
with a great dance department.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Planet, Alt-Stralau 44-45, no phone...large warehouse open saturday
|
|
night till noon sunday....Tresor, Leipziger Str.(Potsdamer Platz),
|
|
37-2-229-23-46...a pre-war bank vault....great place for techno...hosts a
|
|
few stars like Westbam and Derrick May....Walfisch, at subway station
|
|
Heinrich-Heine Str., no phone...after hours club for zombies..good hard
|
|
music....W.M.F....in the old public Toilets under Potsdamer Platz, no
|
|
phone...booming sounds...best on saturdays.
|
|
-----------------------------
|
|
LONDON(England) - Clubland is beginning to recover from the euphoria of the
|
|
late 80's. It is now the young rave crowd and the re-emergence of the older
|
|
club scene. Clubbers are wandering back to the smaller venues and listening
|
|
to the slower grooves. Dressing up and communicating are back in.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - Capital 95.8 fm...good rap show, rave music on friday and
|
|
saturday nights....KISS 100 fm..London's finest and only legal twenty four
|
|
hour all dance station...Spectrum International 558-am Bizzare mix of pop
|
|
music from all around the world....Pulse 90.6fm pirate station that plays
|
|
hardcore techno.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Black Market, 25 Darblay st., Soho, W1,
|
|
44-71-437-0478...dance shop split into house upstairs and soul
|
|
downstairs...City Sounds, 8 Proctor St., High Holborn, WC1,
|
|
44-71-405-5454...specializes in house, garage trax, and white labels...TAG
|
|
Records, Westside Basement, the Trocadero, Picadilly, W1,
|
|
44-71-434-0029...Hardcore, techno, 12'inch paradise with loud instore
|
|
music...also carries white lables...Vinyl Zone, 112 New Kings Rd., Fulham,
|
|
SW6, 44-71-384-2320....where alot of the Dj's shop.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Bar Industria, 9 Hanover st., W1, 44-71-493-0689.."Macho Sluts"
|
|
saturdays is a friendly gay night for drag queens...music a mix of garage
|
|
trax and trash....Club Dada, 24 Shaftesbury ave., W1, 44-71-734-8802...busy
|
|
central London club...young hardcore crowd...fridays are "kinky disco" and
|
|
saturdays are "3rd Base" hardcore techno.....Maximus, 14 Leicester Square,
|
|
WC2, 44-71-734-4111...dark, smoky, jam packed club...saturdays are " Love
|
|
Ranch" a house party that draws a spirited crowd in feathers and bra
|
|
tops...long lines and a no-nerd door policy.....Ministry of Sound, 103
|
|
Gaunt st., SE1, 44-71-378-6528...Cavernous industrial club...New York Dj's
|
|
make frequent stops here...The Rocket, 160 Holloway Rd., N7,
|
|
44-71-700-2421...converted victorian theatre...saturdays "The Orange Club"
|
|
is a techno-rave like party...lasers, visuals etc.
|
|
--------------------------------
|
|
MADRID(Spain) - Most clubs are walking distance from each other and they
|
|
get going at about 3am. The young crowd here is status conscious. If it's
|
|
expensive then it must be popular is the general attitude.
|
|
|
|
Radio station - Radio Vinilo 95.1 fm the dance music station.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Madrid Rock, Gran Via 25, 34-1-523-2652...a megastore with
|
|
wide selections....Quality, calle sandoval 13, 34-1-445-2294...a good Dj
|
|
resource.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - Archy, Calle Marquez de Riscal 11, 34-1-308-3162, designed to look
|
|
like a medeival castle.....Pacha, Calle Barcelo 11, 34-1-446-0137, the rich
|
|
dance here to house and disco....Provisional, Calle Fernandez de los Rios
|
|
59, no phone...for serious dancers...gets going at around 4am with techno
|
|
and hip hop.
|
|
-------------------------------
|
|
MANCHESTER(England) - its massive dance scene reflects all concievable
|
|
personal tastes and musical styles. Clubs are msotly trouble free and shut
|
|
at around 2am. Illegal after hours clubs come and go.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - Pirate stations: Frontline and Unity between 100.5 and
|
|
104.5 fm...they play a variety of dance music....they are often busted but
|
|
pop up within a number of days...KEY 103fm plays house, hip hop and techno
|
|
on saturday and sunday evenings.
|
|
|
|
Record stores - Eastern Bloc, 5-6 Central Buildings, Oldham st.,
|
|
44-61-228-6432...sells all types of dance to Dj's and the
|
|
public...Manchester Underground Records, 33 Fennel st., 44-61-839-4043,
|
|
underground sounds....Spinn Inn, Unit 1, Market Centre,
|
|
44-61-834-5383...all sorts of dance music.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - The Hippodrome, 13 Corporation st., Middleton, 44-61-654-9454, old
|
|
theatre in a quiet part of town...fridays are techno and saturdays are
|
|
house to hardcore....The Hacienda, 13 Whitworth st. W.,
|
|
44-61-236-5051...famous warehouse style club..plays house and garage
|
|
trax...PSV, Royce Rd., Hulme, 44-61-226-8108...eccentric druggy crowd..the
|
|
jumping off point for after hours parties....The Wiggly Worm, West Mosely
|
|
st., 44-61-236-9748...Techno thursdays and soul nite fridays.
|
|
----------------------------------
|
|
PARIS(France) - Clubs in France are expensive and don't start till midnite.
|
|
They usually close at dawn. Clubs are the best place to hear music as the
|
|
record stores are still stuck in the Michael Jackson phase.
|
|
|
|
Radio stations - Nova 101.5fm...best dance station in france
|
|
|
|
Record stores - BPM Records, 8-12 rue Keller, 33-1-40-21-0288...latest in
|
|
US deep house and garage trax...Champs Disques, 84 ave., des champs
|
|
Elyse'es, 33-1-45-62-65-46. the top Dj's shop here....USA IMPORT, 17 rue du
|
|
Bourg Tibourg, 33-1-42-72-54-14...tiny shop but sells the latest techno and
|
|
house.
|
|
|
|
Clubs - La Luna, 28 rue keller, 33-1-40-21-09-01...city's trendiest gay
|
|
club...acid trax...sauna like environment.....La Locomotive, 90 boul. de
|
|
Clichy(place Blanche), 33-1-42-57-37-37, large club...3 story...crazy kids
|
|
get sleazy on Thursdays....Follies Pigalle, 11 place Pigalle,
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33-1-48-78-25-58,...the club of the moment...weekends are retro-disco and
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house....trendy clubbers.....Sheherazade, 3 rue de Liege,
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33-1-48-74-85-20...old russian cabaret...fridays british Dj's play deep
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house, soul, funk, and rare groove on the other nights.
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Compiled on July 19/1992 by Johnny Wishbone for the Cause....Peace!
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Another file downloaded from: The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Taipan Enigma 510/935-5845
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408/363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510/527-1662
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 801/278-2699
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The New Dork Sublime Biffnix 415/864-DORK
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The Shrine Rif Raf 206/794-6674
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Planet Mirth Simon Jester 510/786-6560
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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