Peter Van Hoesen talks fabric through his new live setup

Peter Van Hoesen has been working behind the scenes tinkering and expanding his new live setup. The combination of hardware and software will be put to use for the first time in fabric's Room 2 tomorrow night, so the Farringdon nightspot sat down with him to discuss the mechanics of it all and his decisions to change the way he performed


We’re talking to you specifically about your live set up today as I’ve been told you’re now touring a new live set. In what ways is it new – is it about what you’re using to perform or is it more about you re-writing it?
Both. At last year's Labyrinth festival I tested a new setup which involved two hardware synths, complimenting the laptop setup. This was so much fun that I decided to explore this more thoroughly. It took me about four months to decide on a final setup, which right now includes three hardware synths and a drum machine. At the same time as I was exploring these new options I decided to write new material. Right now I have a lot of unreleased tracks exclusive to the live performance. My upcoming fabric gig will be the first time ever with this new setup.

How often do you change things up?
I have always been adding new ideas to the live set, but this is the first major change since 2011.

How much of it is new unreleased material? Do you find live sets double up as testing grounds for new tracks?
About 70 % is unreleased, most of it in the form of loops or midi sequences which can be modified and edited in real time. This allows me to try out different variations, to see how they work. So yes, in a way it allows me to test the waters, see what works and what doesn't. Some of these new ideas might end up as released tracks.

What is it you’re performing on now exactly?
There's an Elektron Monomachine synth which produces weird, bleepy percussive sounds. Then there's a Waldorf blofeld synth which I've programmed to play more pad-like sounds. For some shows I will add a Roland SH-101, that machine can create really deep and powerful basslines. It's a classic synth, easy to work with in a live setup. The other new addition is the iPad, running Moog's excellent Animoog synth. It's really interesting to see the iPad come to life as a real instrument, the touch interface really shines with this Animoog app.

Everything is sequenced via Ableton Live. All the sounds run through a number of outboard effects and filters to beef things up, there's a drum machine running along....it's a pretty big setup. There's lots of room for instant manipulation and even some live keyboard playing on the 101... I want to give the Jean-Michel Jarre in me a chance to come out.

Can you run us through why you’re working in this set up and what creative freedom it allows you?
I wanted to have more control over the sounds and the sequences, that's why the hardware machines have been added. This setup allows for much more creative, real-time editing. Every live performance then becomes something unique. I also believe that a live set should be a bit of a challenge for the artist, there should be some tension involved. This spices things up, makes it more interesting for me and for the audience. It's interesting to step out of one's safety zone once in a while. 

How different is it from what you produce with in the studio?
One of the goals of this new setup is to be able to produce with it as well playing live. I want to arrive at a situation where the studio setup is almost identical to the live setup. In the past I was investing too much time into translating studio tracks into live parts. I felt a lack of spontaneity arising from this method. So right now the goal is to come full circle, to have everything integrated in one setup for both purposes. I'm not sure if I will ever get there completely, but the process is probably more important that the end goal. So basically, I am trying to re-create the studio setup as much as possible on stage. The opposite is also true: I want the studio setup to become more like the live setup. So both situations are growing towards each other. Then there's also the fact that new tools are constantly tested and added to the live and studio setup, be it software or hardware. The important thing is to be able to work intuitively, without too much of a technical barrier in the way.

How’s that developed over time? Would you say there’s been a move more in favour of digital?
Hmm... I would say that there is a constant, healthy tension between the analog and the digital, or rather between hardware and software. Right now I have definitely moved over into the hardware domain more than let's say a year ago. One of the great things about electronic music is that there are new tools and instruments being released all the time, I find this very inspiring. Trying out new things, new approaches, new ways of making sound, that's why it's fun for me.

And finally, if money was limitless what’s your ultimate object of desire?
I'd love to have a compact Turbosound or Funktion One club full-frequency system setup in the studio. That would be smashing. We have great monitors in our studio, but a small club system would really brings things to live.

As we mentioned earlier Peter will be performing with his new live setup for the first time in Room 2 at fabric this Saturday alongside one of UK Techno's original trailblazers, Surgeon and fabric mainstay Terry Francis. Tickets are available from the fabric website

Halloween Weekend Clubbing Roundup: London, Berlin, Roma, Antwerp, Barcelona, Copenhagen, New York, Taipei & Sydney

It's a big weekend of clubbing as the freaks come out to celebrate halloween in true techno style. So instead of waffling, we'll get straight to the events. There's plenty to get through so we'll keep most of them short and sweet.

London

We begin on Friday night in London as Broken & Uneven's Hydra series continues as they welcome online record store Bleep.com to launch their new project, BLPGRN001, the first in a run of 12"s in collaboration with design collective Give Up Art and photographer Shaun Bloodworth.

Provide the music for the night's festivities will be a star studded line up consisting of Blawan, Lucy, Pangaea, Objekt, Kowton and the first UK live show from, the duo of Analogue Cops and Steffi, Third Side.

The party will be held in Hackney Wick at the Ican Studios and tickets are available from Resident Advisor

Saturday at fabric Room 2 hosts the official launch party of their latest cd, fabric 66 mixed by Ben Klock. The Berghain resident is joined by a couple of names that you'll see in the compilation CDs tracklisting in the shape of Truncate and Wincent Kunth.

You can read all about the CD and order your own copy from the fabric website where you can also purchase your Tickets. As part of the package you can get a discount when you order your CD and ticket together.

Berlin

It's tonight, and already started, but we couldn't do this post without giving it a mention. We're gutted we're not there, but if you're looking for something to do in Berlin tonight, this has to be your only destination.

Tresor, Sonic Groove Records and Fullpanda Records combine in Tresor's Globus room to bring you Timewise. Featuring live sets from Biosphere and Robert Henke and topping it off with an ambient DJ set from Adam X and Dasha Rush.

Once the show has finished the fun's not over, as Adam and Dasha take you down to Tresor's legendary basement for what's bound to be an epic after party. Full event info can be found on the Facebook Event Page

We stay at Tresor from Friday night's shenanigans as Tuna Park puts on an altogether international affair of great interest to us here at SDD. Two SDD Podcasters in Singapore's Xhin and Argentina's Pfirter and past SDD guest, Germany's Milton Bradley.

Full event info on Resident Advisor

We don't need to tell you that quality that can be found at Berghain's in house Saturday event, Klubnacht, so we'll let the line up talk for itself!

Robert Hood, Karenn (Blawan & Pariah), Obtane, Giorgio Gigli, Len Faki, Fiedel and Oliver Deutschmann. If you need more convincing, head over to Resident Advisor to see what's happening in the rest of the club.

Roma

Roma welcomes two of the UKs finest talents as James Ruskin and Shifted join Suprvsion vs Animatek  in taking over the Goa Club for Resistance Is Techno. The Facebook Event Page holds all you need to know

Antwerp

Hertz celebrate their 2 year anniversary in Antwerp's Petrol Club with two more of the UK finest talents, Luke Slater and Surgeon. Full info and tickets on the Petrol Website.

Barcelona

PoleGroup take over Barcelona's BeCool venue and host Peter Van Hoesen, Exium and Reeko. Doors open at 1am and entrance is 10 euros.

Copenhagen

On Friday night at Culture Box you'll witness a live set from legendary techno duo, Hardfloor. Full info on Facebook

New York

In New York on Friday it's another birthday as US party throwers, Oktave, turn three. Providing the celebratory music will be Brendon Moeller, Jeff Derringer and Max_M. Full event info on the Oktave website

Taipei

Smoke Machine host their 20th Organik party in conjunction with Field Records headed up by Delta Funktionen. Full info on Resident Advisor.

Sydney

For our last destination on our worldwide tour we land down under, in Sydney to be more precise, and after a weekend spent with the wonderful Dutch people, it would be wrong not to give a mention to one of their very best techno exports, Steve Rachmad. Disconnected Audio and Shrug present his show that's inspired by his recent album 'Secret Life Of Machines'.

Tickets available through Resident Advisor

Weekend Clubbing Roundup: London, Belin, Rotterdam, Copenhagen & Moscow

London

Coma celebrate their 1st birthday at The Nest tomorrow night and they've assembled a line up packed wall to wall with quality. Headlined by Detroit techno legend, Rolando. He's joined by Blueprint Records boss James Ruskin and the man behind Coma, Doubleffe.

Surface Records make it a double birthday celebration as they're celebrating 15 years as one of the UK's driving forces in techno. Surface Records are represented by the 65D Mavericks, Oliver Ho, Voidloss and the Surface DJs.

Tickets are still available on Resident Advisor.

After their last party at the Rhythm Factory with saw storming performances from The Black Dog, Andy Stott and Ø Phase, this time around Dystopia have raised the bar. Celebrating some of the best artists that the UK has to offer. Surgeon, Perc and Peverelist make for a hell of a night of music.

As with all Dystopia parties there's a pre show exhibition bring visual art together with forward thinking techno. The location of the East London warehouse hasn't been announced as of yet, but we've heard they've lined up something extra special. Head over to Resident Advisor to get the info on the location when it's announced. There's also a few tickets remaining, so don't hang about, otherwise it'll be more on the door.

fabric continue their Room 2 commitment to first class techno. A rare excursion into the dark room for Craig Richards is special enough on it's own, but the fact he's joined by a live set Blawan & Pariah, under their Karenn alias, and the genius of Peter Van Hoesen will make it a real treat.

Tickets available on the fabric website.

Making it a Saturday night hat-trick of outstanding events. Not to be outdone, Corsica Studios invite UK label Blackest Ever Black to bring their considerable stable of talented artists featuring most notably the likes of Vatican Shadow (we caught his live set at the Downwards label nacht @ Berghain last week and it made for inspiring stuff), Source Direct, Cut Hands, Russell Haswell and many many more.

Tickets are available at Resident Advisor

Berlin

Berghain give the residents of Berlin a pre show to the Ben Klock fabric cd launch party, in 2 weeks time, as he's joined by Truncate at the former power station. The rest of the main floor line up is made up with the exception skills of DJ Deep, Zadig (Live), Marcelus, DJ Bone and Francois X.

Full event info, including the Panoramabar and Sonntags line up, and set times head over to Ostgut website

Rotterdam

The Strictly Techno Weekender kicks off in Rotterdam on Friday night at Perron with a couple of stars of the Slash Dot Dash Podcast, the man behind 013, Pfirter and the man who's provided our latest, 015, Charlton. Inbetween them you'll find Bas Mooy and Flink.

Tickets are on sale on the Perron Website. Weekend passes are available, and well worth the 17.50 euros are Saturday night's part two is headlined by Len Faki.

Copenhagen

Just like Rotterdam, it's a serious weekender at Copenhagen's Culture Box. Mathew Jonson is one of our favourite artists around and he'll be performing live on Friday night. For the return journey on Saturday, Stroboscopic Artefacts boss, Lucy, is joined in the Black Box by Droid Behavior's Raiz.

Full info can be found on the Culture Box Website

Moscow

Tomorrow night at Shanti, Jugendkultur / Fragment host the Fullpanda Records combination of Dasha Rush and Lars Hemmerling aka Lada. Supported by Alexey Volkov and another Fullpanda artist in the shape of Yuka. Room 2 sees London based promotion, Lokee, showcasing their infamous party atmosphere.

Full info can be found on Resident Advisor

Weekend clubbing roundup: London, Birmingham, Berlin, Copenhagen, Athens, LA, Buenos Aires

There's plenty of events going on around the techno world this weekend. Here's our pick of them

London

On Friday, Coma continue their London Techno Champions series at the Horse & Groom with a London Debut for Avian artist Ventress and support from Doubleffe and Setaoc Mass.

There's a £3 concessions guestlist running for the party. Send your names to comaevents@gmail.com before 5pm tomorrow afternoon to get on it.

Sunday techno returns to London as Void are throwing a free party residents special. A collection of upcoming London based producers and DJs will be displaying just how bright the future is for London techno.

It's free so if you're in the area (or even if you're not) get yourselves down to Cafe 1001

Birmingham

Birmingham has a rich history of techno and on Saturday the Gibb Street Warehouse intend to keep that going. Function, who is of course part of the legendary techno collective, Sandwell District (named after an area of Birmingham) takes top billing supported by Birmingham's own first lady of techno, Rebekah.

Tickets for the event can be purchased on the Ticket Sellers Website

Berlin

Swedish Tuna @ Tresor (Friday 20th Jul 12)

It's a Stockholm LTD showcase in Tresor on Friday night at Pär Grindvik and Staffan Linzatti showcase their considerable skills with Drumcode's Joel Mull completing the Swedish connection.

Full event details can be found on Resident Advisor

Copenhagen

Whenever we do these roundup posts, somewhere along the line there's always a mention for our friends at Culture Box and more often than not there's a party in there which includes Luke Slater, so when the two of them came together for one event, it's was always going to find it's place on the post.

Support comes from local boys and Sonic Groove act, Northern Structures, and Circuit Club's Morten Kamper with Finn Of Tomland in the Cocktail Box. Full event info on Facebook.

Athens

The Greek economy may be in a precarious position at present, but the techno scene is alive and well as Time To Express boss, Peter Van Hoesen, heads to the capital to join Slydex, HRISL and Poen at the Astron Bar.

Doors open at 8pm and stay open until 7am and best of all, it's free!

Los Angeles

Droid Behaviour head to LA to host a CLR Showcase which includes Chris Liebing, Drumcell, Truncate and Dean Paul.

Tickets are still available on Resident Advisor

Buenos Aires

The last stop on our roundup takes us to Buenos Aires and the home town of our last SDD Podcast contributor Pfirter. For Wormhole .02 @ Cocoliche, Juan Pablo is joined by another home town boy, Jonas Kopp.

Full event info can be found on the Facebook Event Page

The Jubilee Weekend Clubbing Roundup: London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Italy, Hannover

For those of us in London a four day weekend is something a bit special, a four day week at the start of summer is a whole different ball game. There's some big events coming up, not just in the capital but all around Europe.... and here's the best of them

London

We kick off with a new comer to the London techno scene, Dystopia. The project goes beyond the standard format for a club night and pulls together the artistic talents of DJs, musicians, designers, visuals artists and photographer to form an inclusive creative showcase.


They've picked two very creative acts to guest at the party with Time To Express boss, Peter Van Hoesen and Stroboscopic Artefacts duo Dadub (check out their recent Dystopia Podcast 002). The venue will be announced for Saturdays party in the next few days. Full event info and tickets can be found on Resident Advisor

fabric are pulling in the big guns for room 2 on Saturday as the Berghain resident and Klockworks Records head honcho, Ben Klock links up with the man from Minneapolis, Berghain regular and Klockworks artist, DVS1.


Tickets available on the fabric website

When Plex and Perc Trax combine at Corsica Studios the outcome is usually pretty special, but Sunday could be the most special to date. 9 hours of first rate techno featuring some of the best names in Underground music. A live set from Kangding Ray, DJ sets from Lone, Perc, Randomer, Truss, AnD, DJ Skirt and many more make this rammed full of quality from start to finish.


Tickets available from Resident Advisor

Edinburgh

From the English capital to the Scottish capital now and Edinburgh is in for a massive treat on Friday as Adam X presents Traversable Wormhole for Unseen at Studio 24. There's no tickets so just get there and pay on the door. Full event info on Facebook

Dublin

And now on to the ROI captial, Dublin, as Fachwerk Records owner, Mike Dehnert, takes to the decks at The Academy. Again there's no presale tickets but head over to Resident Advisor for all the event info.

Italy

Je Ne T'Aime Plus Afterparty @ Studio 2 Club, Vigonovo (Friday 1st June)


Delsin Records' Morphosis joins Prologue Records artists Donato Dozzy and Neel at the Je Ne T'Aime Plus Afterparty, and best of all it's free. Full event info on Facebook

The One Festival takes place this weekend at Cocorico in Riccione. Techno highlights come from the legend that is Jeff Mills, Dasha Rush and Tommy Four Seven. All the info you need can be found on the Facebook Event Page

Hannover

TechnoDrivers mit Luke Slater @ Underground Club (Saturday 2nd June)

Our final stop off is in Hannover at the Underground club as TechnoDrivers welcome the man behind the Mote Evolver label, Luke Slater, headlines alongside a host of local talent. Full event info on Facebook

USA Weekend Clubbing Picks: Peter Van Hoesen & Mick Finesse

As our audience in the States seems to be growing more and more as the weeks go by, we thought we'd make an effort to feature more US events, and this weekend there's a couple of belters. We begin in New York with the infamous Bunker parties.

The strategy for the party is simple. Take one of the best techno DJs in the world and make them play all night. There's not many artists out there that could pull it off, but Time To Express boss, Peter Van Hoesen fits in that category. He's done nothing but impress us all the occasions we've seen him perform over the last 18 months and to witness him perform an 8 hour set is something we'd consider to be extremely special.

Tickets are available from Brown Paper Tickets. We recommend you get a ticket, because you won't get in without one. The event is limited to 150 people, to ensure the perfect atmosphere for this intimate party. More event info on Resident Advisor. Head over to Peter's Facebook Fan Page for more info on his releases and upcoming performances.

Our second recommendation for the weekend takes us to the Beta Club in Denver. Emote Music help Mick Finesse celebrate his first EP on Perc Trax by throwing him a release party. If Mick's Slash Dot Dash Podcast is anything to go by, then it'll be well worth checking out.

Entrance is $5 on the door, which opens at 9pm. Full info can be found on Resident Advisor. Check out the Facebook Fan Pages for Emote Music and Mick Finesse for everything else you'd ever need to know.

Im Dunkeln @ Horst Krzbrg (14th Jan 12)

'Im Dunkeln' basically means 'In The Dark' and we couldn't think of a better place to be when these four DJs are taking to the turntables. A mighty fine selection from the most forward thinking techno producers in the world.

Andy Stott has been wowing listeners relentlessly with a string of releases on the Manchester based label Modern Love. This has lead to a number of bookings at some of the best venues around Europe. Those who made it to the Plex / Colony / Machine party at Corsica Studios will know how much damage he did in Room 2.

Peter Van Hoesen is a name that will be familiar to followers of our blog. As a DJ, Producer and boss of the Time To Express label, he's one of the most respected names in the business. We've been lucky enough to witness his sets in London on numerous occasions over the past few years and everyone has been exceptional.

As with PVH, Milton Bradley is another name that needs no introduction to our blog readers. The man behind one of our favourite imprints, Do Not Resist The Beat!, as well as The End Of All Existence and his new venture with Henning Baer, K209. Milton's droning, experimental sound manipulation and attention to detail have made him stand out as a real talent.

Completing the line up is another Modern Love artist. MLZ. This talented producer has been building his name around the scene releasing some serious dub techno on Modern Love and remixing for Time To Express, Perc Trax, Mikrowave and a few more. We expect more big things to come.

Doors open at Horst Krzbrg tomorrow night at 23:30pm and entrance will set you back 10 euros. There's no tickets (there never is in Berlin) so pay when you get there. You can check out the Facebook Event Page for more info. Also while you at it check out the artists Fan pages

Andy Stott

Peter Van Hoesen

Milton Bradley

Darko Esser - Slightly Disturbed EP (Peter Van Hoesen & Sandwell District Remixes) [Balans 005]

Here we have the new release from Darko Esser's label, Balans. After releases from Rod, The Parallel, Betek and Dimi Angelis & Jereon Search it's time for the boss to take over. The release features one original track with two remixes by Peter Van Hoesen and Sandwell District and as you would expect, all three consist of the highest quality techno. Esser brings twisted acid, PVH takes a more restrained, stripped back view whilst Sandwell District up the atmospherics and make use of the bass frequencies. Check out the samples below.

Darko Esser - Slightly Disturbed EP (incl Peter van Hoesen and Sandwell District RMXS) - BALANS005 by Darko Esser

The release will be in the shops around the middle of February and will be available on vinyl and digital. More info on Balans can be found on their Facebook Fan Page and the same goes for Darko Esser.

Weekend Picks: London - Blackest Ever Black @ Basing House and fabric's 12th birthday

Looking at the flyer you be forgiven for thinking that's enough for a club night, but the guys over at BleeD thought otherwise. Going by their Facebook page it seems that the Secret Special Guest is no longer a secret. Turns out that, for the first time since 2006, Regis and Surgeon, aka the British Murder Boys, will be performing a special one off live set.

Basing House is the perfect setting for the party. Small, dark, intimate surroundings with an excellent Funktion 1 soundsystem. The venue plus the new development turns this from a great night out, into a phenomenal night out! Advanced tickets have now gone but there's spaces available on the door. Check out Resident Advisor for all the info.

Our second weekend pick is one of my favourite weekends of the year, fabric's birthday. 30 hours (and probably a few more) of partying in London's best club, listening to some of the worlds best DJs playing on London's best Soundsystem. I'm not going to go through all the names on the flyer, because I'd be here all day.

The techno stand outs are of course Ben Klock and Peter Van Hoesen. Both Ben and Peter have been in scintillating form in the last 12 months, and their most recent ventures to London have resulted in 2 of the best nights out we've had this year.

Tickets were sold out, but fabric have released some more. Head over to the fabric website to see what's still available.

We Fear Silence pres. Blueprint Records @ Cable, London (16th July 11)

This Saturday it's the next Blueprint Records party @ Cable, hosted as ever by the in house team, We Fear Silence. The last couple of Blueprint parties have been totally insane. Line ups including Sandwell District, Luke Slater, Surgeon and of course James Ruskin.

This weekends event is just as huge as it's predecessors. Ruskin will be joined by Time To Express boss, Peter Van Hoesen (remember how good he was at fabric!), the man from Minneapolis, DVS1, the beardman himself, Mark Broom and our good friends MB & CB from Colony.

Tickets are available from Resident Advisor now otherwise it's more on the door. Check out the RA page for all the info.