Less with Kate Simko and Spinoza at Annex

Less with Kate Simko and Spinoza at Annex

26 July, 2008

• Location: New York City, New York, United States

Line-up /
Special guests:
Kate Simko (Traum, Spectral Sound, Chicago)
Spinoza (Bunker, NYC)

Resident DJs:
Eddie Krilov
Vadim
Igal♦

Chicago-based Kate Simko is a University-trained classical pianist turned left field house and techno producer. Releasing music on labels such as Traum, Kupei Musika and Spectral Sound, Kate draws from a wide range of influences, combining her sense of melody and structure with her background in Chicago house and Detroit techno. Whether playing live or DJ’ing, Kate’s musical selection maintains a warm, soulful character, full of funky bass lines and loose rhythms.

Kate’s music has received critical acclaim in publications such as The Wire, XLR8R, de:Bug, Mixmag, URB, BPM and Remix and her Detalles project was named one of the ‘Next 100’ artists by URB magazine. A versatile DJ, Kate was named one of the Top 10 DJ’s in Chicago by XLR8R magazine. Gaining attention from labels and DJ’s around the world, Kate has performed at festivals such as Mutek (Montreal and Chile), the Detroit Electronic Music Festival and Worldtronics (Berlin), and has played beside a myriad of genre defining artists throughout the United States, Europe and South America.

Growing up studying piano and music theory, Kate discovered underground dance music during her teens and began DJ’ing at college station WNUR in 1998. Shortly after, she became dance music director of the station, where she learned the history of the music and was able to keep pace with current releases. At this time, Kate made a switch from a degree in classical piano to electronic music composition. In 2001, Kate moved to Santiago, Chile, where she continued her studies in music composition and met Andres Bucci. Bucci and Simko combined forces and have since recorded two full-length records together as Detalles (Traum , Kupei Musika).

Back in her hometown of Chicago, Kate is honing her talents, producing and performing full time. Kate is continually evolving as an artist, combining her wide range of influences into her own music, creating a unique personal sound that crosses genre borders, blending rich textures, melodies and intricate programming with funky bass and groove.

Also joining us this week is our long time friend Bryan from Bunker events in Brooklyn. Bryan Kasenic (aka Spinoza) is known in the electronic music world for throwing many successful parties, playing adventurous DJ sets, launching an influential newsletter, and starting Beyond, his own booking agency.

Although Spinoza has been playing tons of techno lately, he loves all music, and has a past that cannot be pinned down to just one genre. He started DJing in 1996, playing psychedelic soundscapes in chillout rooms and on college radio shows (Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers, and New York University). Slowly but surely, he became more obsessed with all forms of dance music, and at this point spins techno in New York City at least once a week, mainly at his own Bunker party.

Spinoza is also known for his many other roles in the electronic music scene. As a free service to the community, he has been publishing the weekly email newsletter Beyond NYC Events, since 1997. The newsletter has become an influential way to promote interesting under-the-radar electronic music events to a large fan base in New York. In 2001, Kasenic oversaw the booking of all of the promoters at Openair, a DJ lounge in the East Village that quickly gained recognition for its forward-thinking music programming. At Openair, one of the promoters he worked with was Magda, who brought in techno luminaries like Zip, Daniel Bell, and John Tejada to play at her first residency in New York City. From 2000 to 2005, Spinoza helped DJ Olive and Jameson run The Agriculture, a record label dedicated to bringing homegrown laptop dub to the masses.

Spinoza has thrown a ton of parties and weeklies in New York City, including a 5-year stint at Halcyon with the Undercity weekly. He has put most of his energy into The Bunker since January 2003, eventually turning it into the premier techno weekly in North America. In 2005, he started doing all the booking for the Wolf + Lamb space in Williamsburg, helping to almost instantly transform it into the hottest after-hours spot New York City has seen in many years. Spinoza has gone on to curate and help throw many larger warehouse and loft parties with Wolf + Lamb, proving that the New York City techno scene has a lot more life to it than the boring parties in bottle-service clubs might lead you to believe.

Kasenic’s latest endeavor is the Beyond Booking Agency. He is helping to build the electronic music scene nationally by booking his friends and allies in other North American cities. His initial roster includes Daniel Bell, Bruno Pronsato, Ryan Crosson, Deadbeat, [a]pendics.shuffle, Lee Curtiss, Someone Else, and Derek Plaslaiko.

While Spinoza has played lots of big clubs like Tresor (Berlin), Twilo, Tunnel, and Vinyl/Arc, he honestly prefers small intimate rooms. He has DJed at big parties in New York for the Madagascar Institute, Chengwin, Soundlab, Multipolyomni (at the Kitchen), Rubulad, Compacent, theDanger, the Lunatarium, Topsy, NYC Burningman, and PS1 Warm Up. He’s spun at way too many little parties at bars and lounges to remember, but some include: Openair, Halcyon, Orchard Bar (Soundlab), Luxx, Baktun, the Cooler, Filter 14, and Passerby.

Spinoza will very likely spin at your warehouse, club, bar, lounge, rooftop, bubble, loft, apartment, or street event if your heart is in the right place and you ask him nicely.

Event:	Less with Kate Simko and Spinoza at Annex
Location:	Annex 152 Orchard St New York, 10002 | U.S.A (212) 673-3410
Time:	TBA
Cost:	TBA

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