The key word: consciousness

WEEKEND STORY

Hello reader of the night. In this review we will cover the Canada Day weekend of 2024, along with the mourning ceremony for our friend who passed away in May 2024. The rest of this text is a long adaptation of what was originally published on StereoSociety https://www.facebook.com/groups/Stereo.Mtl/posts/10161373330082836/

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As you know, at least the old-timers among you, it is nothing exceptional in our circles to run into the same person in two different places over a weekend, and that makes sense since we are active on the scene.

But this weekend we saw each other three, four or five times on average, starting with the funeral ceremony in memory of Gail, then SB, Stereo, Ardër or something else, Piknic, SB again, and Stereo again.

Over this big weekend, I had the privilege of meeting the same people several times on different dance floors. That is very rare, because in general there are people you only see now and then, every few weeks, yet all through this long weekend they were there. It is a privilege, because at last it gives us a little time to really talk and dance again and again.

SO!

What a Canada Day weekend, once again!

First of all, just THANK YOU @Stereo for making all this possible. I mean this whole musical experience, this sound quality, this incredible space at SB as much as at ((())), and this community that recognizes itself and grows attached to these people, who identify with this (((culture))) made of its own codes.

This last weekend of June definitely deserves a mark on the calendar for having been an example of that, bringing together laughter, hugs and good memories shared in memory of our sister Gail.

It seems important to me to underline how touching and well led the ceremony in her memory was, in the presence of many friends and people from the underground community.

All shared a deep affection for this woman of heart, appreciated for her helpfulness and her presence over the years for each of the people there. Love, we were told during the ceremony, means letting go, and not holding the departed back here through nostalgia or sadness, no!

On the contrary, the ritual of mourning lets us cross the tipping point of a loved one’s disappearance, accept it, and send them plenty of love to accompany them toward the light, and so allow them to continue their flight, whatever it may be.

And so the dozen or so (((friends))) present showed their affection for a person who mattered to us. Too late, however, you will tell me, and I grant you that, and that is the irony, because every one of us would have answered the phone at any hour if she had asked for help, and we talked about it.

All through the weekend, the discussion about how much others matter continued from one dance floor to the next, sometimes between dances, or at the bar, or at the smoking spot… and we celebrated Gail!

No need to name names, it was a privilege to share the floor with many of you, and the key word of this weekend is “Consciousness”, because spirit and consciousness showed themselves all weekend long, resonating with the powerful emotion generated during Saturday’s celebration.

What an intimate experience, to then find the same familiar faces at each dance event, or nearly.

First, under the imperial rule of Tommy, everyone had made a date there, and what a night!

Whatever era you knew Gail from, the 2010s or the 2020s, musically it was a true masterpiece in terms of musical selections and remixes of great timeless classics.

Those who were there will confirm that the whole sound and the music served with the Cardeli flavour, in the light of the purple candles lit in memory of Gail, before an audience of regulars and “veterans” who came out to celebrate our friend, all the energy of the place, all the ingredients together gave something sacred to this night, it seems to me. It was a night of great class, with a deeply felt musical performance to mark the memory of a person loved in the community, and above all, by the person who best represents Stereo…

And that, I find, deserves a tip of the hat for the symbolism of the gesture. Mission accomplished Tommy, you presided over the best night possible to accompany Gail in memories through your music… We danced with her in joy on Saturday night, thank you for that.

SATURDAY NIGHT (SB AFTER PARTY)

Ärder night by Mike Larry

I, who am not a fan of Techno, must admit I let myself get completely absorbed in the techno rhythm thanks to the explanations of my friend Racil. “Chris, you have to pay attention to the subtleties in the high spheres, the DJ only removes thin layers, and what seems linear to you is actually super progressive.” And Solange adding, “It’s ultra mathematical, listen to the tempos.”

So that is what I did, and honestly, I UNDERSTOOD techno thanks to that.

I went to this place to honour the invitation Mike Larry had given me, and I stayed for the music itself once I had dived in. Thank you Mike Larry for the time shared this weekend, it was quality time.

SUNDAY MORNING – STEREO SOUL BUTTON

Even if the planning and booking of Soul Button must have been done well before the passing of our sister, it was nonetheless perfectly in keeping with the celebration and the dance of souls of the weekend.

As expected, DJ Soul Button is a creator of journeys and a companion in a waltz for the soul, and once again, meeting the people there since Saturday’s celebration allowed for dancing and for sharing plenty of conscious love among ourselves for our friend who left us.

Soul Button – Imagine to be free – an incredible and clear message.

YOKOO

STEREOBAR SUNDAY NIGHT 240630

The last dive of the weekend into the (((rhythm))) was at LBD, after a fuuull AFRO afternoon at Piknic. Arriving there, I ask a veteran friend his opinion of YokoO, and he whispers in my ear: “In my view, he is the best technician at exploiting all the frequencies of the SB system. You’ll see, he sets up his vibe and doesn’t let go of us.”

Really? I said to myself. Because that’s a strong statement… especially after the incredible Saturday we had just had with Ze Boss. But ok, let’s listen and see…

And absolutely! Phew! Completely elsewhere, incredible.

So;

I validate what my friend Marc-Eliott said:

without hesitation, I can only underline the technical excellence and the undeniable mastery of every phase of the night by this Yoda of rhythmic and textural consciousness of sound matter.

DAMN I tripped my life on the dance floor, and I felt like putting words on this experience, simply for the testimony that will remain of something so fleeting… so elusive.

I said to myself wow! I have to bear witness to this guy’s structures! I want to write this down! The dude FUCKIN played so well with long basslines. He knows perfectly which sounds to reduce to near silence, and he keeps your consciousness right on a thin line before the drop.

First off, you could call it Deep-minimal, with long linear elements in a techno structure, but with JAZZ sonorities and super well-placed, minimal saxophone notes. I lived this precise moment with an unknown dancer, we were perfectly in phase, and it was like hunting for the red Smarties in the box… we didn’t miss a single sax note in all their rarity, and it was delicious to share for the space of a moment.

It was textural candy, and if I were to try to describe it, I would refer to a structural banquet of “kick&snack in midle freq”, with lots of little vinyl scratching sounds and small vibrating scratches, interspersed in an abundance of deep drops, over a heavy, weighty bassline, ultra satisfying cerebrally and morphologically. Techy-urban rhythms (à la Nathan Burns) on a deep-minimal linearity, finding their groove in the assembly of all the textures that reveal a bouquet of beats to dance to. Very very pleasant to the ear.

I adored his whole composition of the night through loooong, satisfying, very complex blocks of DANCE, ultra detailed, with TOOOONS of textural and sonic elements that add complexity to the rhythmic delight.

The guy took me on one hell of a space-time trip on the floor. I absolutely reached the level of abandon sought by the (((dancer))), which is to be able to jump in anywhere in the structure and dance like an animal all over the floor. This artist and his line of work should be studied in order to evolve toward the modulation of the soul.

I abandoned myself totally to the music on Sunday night, because of the whole weekend, without taking anything away from the others, it was the best performance, and the best technician we had as an operator. The whole was a masterpiece, and it was a privilege for The Dancers who were there to have such a Pilot for the night, because it was extremely refined and of international class.

Santo asked me what do you mean by international class? Well, in my view, what we had tasted was the result of long experience on many dance floors all over the world.

For us to be able to live such a level of genius on the floor, the guy must have given performances like that many times before, and he must have brought crowds all over the world into an extremely cohesive spirit for years. It matters, because it determines the dancer’s experience cerebrally, and that comes with an enormous amount of experience, from seeing and hearing and understanding the vibe from all over the world.

And where he took us was Absolutely Masterful, a delight in every form without a single hitch all night. That is why I say: “Of international class.”

So I add yokoo as a master of the big picture: he composes, owns and develops his whole night in perfect awareness of his floor. A constant look at the crowd, very conscious and connected, he plays literally looking at the crowd, and he fuckin DRIVES the machines on a rotary mixer.

A REAL ONE!

I went to thank the guy at the end of his set, and what a surprise to learn that his name is Julien (!!??), he speaks French 🙂 Awesome!

Here is a very Veeery good example of the sonorities and uses of silence and the delicious little textures that represents exactly what I mean

In conclusion, what an incredible weekend!

I did not follow the machines who made it to Stereo for the last night. I had had enough, and I had all this to write.

Your friend

The S.O.U.L guy…

Costa

THE NIGHT THE LIFE – STEREO REVIEW 240629 – CARDELI – SOUL BUTTON – YOKOO – GAIL COLWELL MEMORIAL