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::features:: |
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[Techno With Ade Fenton] |
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by Colin Ong, 12.06.01 |
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“…….
It's
always good to catch maybe the last half an hour so that you won't double
up on the tunes they have played but, you know, if I got into my head that
they are better than me, then I will start getting butterflies, so I try
not to”
An
hour before his set, Ade Fenton arrived at the Riverhouse with records in
tow. Dressed casually in a black leather jacket (which he admitted to
regretting, considering the weather), he made his way to the console
unannounced and with only a few realising that he had arrived. For e-mergermuzik,
it also meant a chance to get to know Ade a little better. Singapore was his second stop in Asia, having played a set in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Next stop, Perth (Australia) but for now, the night belonged to Singapore – HARDCORE 003: DANGEROUS LIAISON. Ade
has been involved with techno from the very beginning as a DJ in 1993 and
this soon culminated in the release of his first single ‘Coded’ on
Advanced. Asked about his humble beginnings, Ade cited Joey Beltram’s
‘Energ Flash’ as the catalyst for his affair with techno. His rising
techno profile earned him a residency, which he still maintains, at Atomic
Jam in England. An experience he has found to be wonderful. As
a resident DJ, he often plays warm-up sets for others. Serving in the role of
resident DJ one day and headliner another, it was no doubt interesting to get
his perspective on ‘respect’ that should be accorded. He has come across
DJs who go beyond warming-up and instead dish out banging tunes to the last
minute. So, how does he work around this? “I bring it down by about 10 bpms and take it from there”. Plain
and simple. And in reminding us of the role of a warm-up DJ, Ade offers this,
“bear in mind that it's the
guests (DJs) who are the main thing of the night and If I was ever warming up
for somebody and I have been playing really hard, I always make sure that my
last 10 minutes or so, I just try to calm it down a little bit so that that DJ
has got somewhere to go.”
Time.
Often we don’t have enough when we need it. Ade is no exception. “I
can't manage my time. That's one of the things I'm not really good at, as well
as managing my time, you know, being a DJ, you playing every weekends, trying
to find the time in the studio. More releases brings more DJ-ing work. its
difficult to manage the time.” Despite all this, his ‘Perverter 2’ is
set for release this year with a full-length album production underway. Not
only will it contain Ade’s signature techno sound but also a variation in
styles. The album will also feature, in his own words, “a
more industrial sound of the nineties like Nine Inch Nails”. If all
things work out, we can look forward to a Christmas release.
Every
year seems to be the year of a certain music style. Trance one year and hard
house the next. Ade’s view on this is that it is really unnecessary for such
distinction of styles. The objective is for everyone to have a good time no
matter the style of music. While
Singapore appears to be experiencing a techno revival of some sorts (with Dave
Clarke, Thomas Schumacher, Christian and Techkroniq, etc.), the same could be
said of the UK. Ade noted that even on a commercial station like Radio One is
playing techno. Judge Jules even features techno in his hard house (said to be
the current sound) sets. Even then, techno may not be the hottest thing in
2001. On the positive side, the influx of hard house and tech-house (a fusion
of techno and house) may just steer it in techno’s favour. “I
think there's always been people who said for a while, ‘it's gonna be the
sound of that particular year.’ Dance music is so disposable at the best of
times and it all goes round in cycles in the UK at the moment. Hard house is
the big thing. Next year everybody will hate hard house but I am pleased that
techno kind of seems to stay on that same level and retains a certain amount of
integrity and credibility.” One such tune to experience commercial dance
success last year was ‘Jaguar’. “Probably
the biggest single last year was 'Jaguar', if that had caught on, really really
caught on, then maybe that would have been the start of something bigger. The
trouble with fads is they come and they go so quickly. Techno hasn't really
risen to that kind of 'fad' level, you know, so it would be easy for it to fall
down again.” One of techno’s latest coup is Dave Clarke’s remix of
Depeche Mode’s latest single, ‘Dream On’.Ade feels that such productions
help push the sound in the scene.
Scheduled
for the last set, he didn’t waste time and picked up on the energy generated
by the DJs before him. It was a small club in Ade’s opinion but the
enthusiastic crowd made up for it. He made sure they had a great time. As soon
as his set began, more moved up to fill the dance floor. Known
for his ‘cut up’ style and not being a DJ who just plays song after song,
Ade delivered a set filled with pounding basslines. It would have been more
than justified if warning signs were present – “brace yourself for
impact”. Flourescent lights floated in the air as hands were raised in
exuberance with feet shuffling and tapping to the beat. No doubt there were
those who did not display the same level of enthusiasm but it was most likely
because their eyes were trained on Ade working the decks. Banging out each
carefully selected tune.
The
various DJ sets were unfortunately marred by a sound system that let the night
down. Promised as the “biggest ever sound system set-up per square feet”,
the quality wasn’t present as basslines ‘cracked’ amongst a few others.
An opinion shared by a few including the DJs themselves. All
in all, those present had a great time. We sought comments on Ade’s set as
the night came to a close and they didn’t fall short of superlatives and
encouragement, even though he was often referred to as the ‘last DJ’.
With
his label work, DJing and productions keeping him busy, Ade is looking forward
to a holiday and spending time with his girlfriend. We wish him all the best
and hope things work out in his favour. For more details on Ade Fenton’s releases, visit http://www.advancedrecords.co.uk
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