FOUNDATIONS: DAVE CLARKE
"The Baron of Techno" John Peel
It’s Friday.
I’m relaying the foundations.
And this week, I’m reaching into the very top drawer of techno and electro music.
DAVE CLARKE
“The Baron of Techno” - John Peel
Clarke is one of Britain’s standout electronic artists. An exceptional and thunderous producer; visionary and technically astonishing DJ; and a forthright, iconoclastic commentator on the music industry, dance culture and the wider role it could / should be playing in society.
To understand the man, I highly recommend this excellent RA Exchange with Will Lynch from 2010. Beyond his clear passion and depth in music, one thing that really struck me after relistening to this discussion over the past couple of days is Clarke’s focus on politics (or the lack of it) in dance culture.
As someone who always thought this thing should be about music and the communal experience of raving, I never really understood those who wanted to politicise everything.
Dance music, in my view, was always supposed to transcend divisive issues around political aliegance. But anyone who’s been following my output here for the past year or two will probably have noticed I’ve already shifted my perspective on this.
As Clarke relays to Lynch in the RA discussion:
“We’re living in the world, let’s be part of it. Let’s have the music for the soundtrack perhaps, but let’s be part of it and let’s see what we can do.”
I couldn’t agree more.
So if not in a strictly ‘political’ sense (a term I find unhelpful and inherently divisive), then I certainly believe we should be pushing the cultural and social perspective of dance music beyond mere nihilistic hedonism.
Anyway, more on that another time.
For now, to the beats: Four slabs of brilliance.
ESSENTIAL MIX, 2000
Up first (and the reason I decided to throw Clarke in the arena this week) is his Essential Mix from 2000. I distinctly remember sitting in my mate’s living room and listening to this set go out live, while recording it onto cassette. As soon as it finished we sparked another zoot and listened to the whole thing straight through again.
As a die-hard drum and bass kid, this spoke to me in a way that no other techno session had up to that point in time. I know the term ‘best sets of Techno / House / whatever’ gets bandied around a lot (not least by me), but this one is a strong contender.
Prepare yourself for techno as it’s supposed to be delivered. Rough, relentless. Blistering pace. Cuts and chops for days. With 50 tunes over 2 hours, there are quite simply too many moments to mention but I would draw your attention to these belters:
Triple threat - Russian Roulette “Look'n Like A Woman” into DJ Funk “Run (Telephone Stalker Mix)” into Recycled Loops “Six Is Nine”. Pure twisted class.
Triple threat - Defenders Of The Ghetto “My God (Vocal)” into Aztec Mystic “Knights of the Jaguar” into Detroit Grand Pubahs “Sandwiches”. Unbelievable scenes.
Kernkraft 40 “Zombie Nation”. First time I heard this, before it went on to take over the world.
I actually can’t believe it’s 25 years old.
Have fun.
ARCHIVE ONE
For my money, this is Dave Clarke’s finest production. That’s not to throw shade on his more recent work, but this is one of the standout albums of the 90s. It would be dropping jaws if it was released today.
Combining wide-screen aesthetics that Christopher Nolan would be proud of with rude techno kicks from the bowels of the earth, broken beat hardcore and a smattering of industrial hip-hop…
This is weapons grade club material and it simply doesn’t get much better.
WORLD SERVICE, ELECTRO
Oh no, I’m going to do it again. Allow me to present one of the greatest Electro mixes of all time. If anyone can direct me towards the verion of Redlight District he uses I’d be forever in your debt.
The techno set is also exceptional.
JOHN PEEL 60TH BIRTHDAY SESSION, 1999
And finally, a blistering 20-minute tear out for John Peel on Radio 1, as part of his 60th Birthday celebrations. Again, I remember listening to this live and John being almost lost for words when Clarke ended the session with his favourite ever track Teenage Kicks layered over the top of Clarke’s own thunderous remix of Leftfield’s Phat Planet.
Absolutely no messing about whatsoever.
More soon, might get political I dunno.
Love ya.
Rubin