Drumcode Tour pushes into the red in Toronto

Drumcode Tour pushes into the red in Toronto

11 October, 2008 | 4.44PM

• Written by: Industry Boy
• Filed under: Music News: adam beyer, drumcode tour, joel mull

“I used to play the drums when I was a kid and I’ve always been fascinated by drums,” said Adam Beyer before last night’s gig at Circa club in Toronto.

“I like loud things. When I was a kid I used to run around hitting things and everywhere I went I tried to make as much noise as possible.

“I was the loudest kid in the classroom; although I have calmed down a lot now.”

But has he? The music was so loud in the DJ booth when Adam started his set at 2am, that for shits and giggles, I downloaded an app from the iPhone’s app store called Decibel Meter.

‘Ever wondered how loud a sound really is? Well now you can with Decibel Meter!’ was the sell that hooked me.

Backstage, with two closed doors in between the iPhone and the DJ booth the counter peaked at about 106 db, roughly the same loudness as a chainsaw.

In the DJ booth though, the app couldn’t handle the overwhelming noise and it crashed.

“Adam always likes to come on and turn the levels up,” explained fellow Drumcoder Joel Mull, whilst pointing at the Allen & Heath Xone:92 mixer, its channels now clipping red.

“He likes to play techno loud.”

Adam explained his philosophy later.

“This is techno, and it’s supposed to be loud. You need to feel the music, and it has to be right in your face.”

Circa’s crowd seemed to like it in their face.

It could have been because we were in Toronto, a city that is more European and more multicultural than most North American cities, or the fact that Adam Beyer is considered a techno hero here, but the crowd lapped up anything the duo threw at them.

From chunky driving techno grooves to slamming bleepers. it resonated loudly to much admiration.

The floor of the small DJ booth was one big puddle of Jagermeister, vodka, cranberry juice, broken glass and beer – the growling bass had caused all the drinks and bottles to shuffle towards the edge of a shelf like lemmings, before committing themselves to a messy suicide.

Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock’s stripped back techno track ‘Scenario’ (check it out in the player below) came on, and the dancing people responded with increased enthusiasm.

“You know we’ve never had techno is this room before,” revealed Alex the promoter.

“Normally the techno DJs we book play downstairs, but this is a much better space for it.”

The soundsystem and the lights in the room were definitely suited to the pure sound of Drumcode.

When we had first arrived in the club, a local double act was playing live, and the room was glowing dark red.

“It’s like a womb in here, I love it,” Joel Mull had said.

Too often in clubs the lighting guy gets carried away and does his own over-stimulated set, out of sync with the DJ’s music, but in Circa, they clearly knew what they were doing, and more importantly, they were listening to the set.

Rather than unleash a barrage of strobes and multicoloured madness, the lights in Circa remained motionless for at least 45 minutes into Joel Mull’s set.

Vrajitoroo ‘Mai Hai’ started dribbling out of the speakers, and plenty of whistles filled the air.

At 2am Circa had to stop serving booze, but that didn’t seem to affect the level of attendees – the room was busy all the way till 4am, and by the time Adam finished the night at 4.30am with David K ‘Train of Thought’ there was still a decent number in attendance.

Afterwards, Alex the promoter dragged us to his studio around the corner for an impromptu afterparty (the studio was located above a late night Caribbean eatery called The Jerk Spot).

Video: Adam Beyer reflects after he and Joel Mull finish their set

A few beers later, we scarpered back to the hotel for some shuteye.

After four hours of interrupted sleep we were standing on the sidewalk outside the hotel with sunglasses on, surrounded by record bags and suitcases.

We looked like proverbial techno refugees. No home to go to, malnourished, and with no recognizable roots.

And then it hits me, a moment of clarity shining through the fog.

Beyond the music and glamour of DJing, Adam Beyer, Joel Mull and the hundreds of other globetrotting DJs out there are a product of our time.

Technological determinism led to their existence. Globalisation enabled their prominence.

They travel through the world like free radicals in a machine, corrupting the fabricated system by a process of evolution reversal.

By re-introducing human beings to the joys of dancing, they remind us of our animalistic roots. They teach us to let go.

Everything that we do, everything that we say, and everything that we think was pre-determined by man before us, but by exposing us to our innate feelings dancing to electronic music rapidly shortens the gap that was created by evolution and history.

A few short hours of techno hypnotism reminds us of our souls and rewinds time as though the last 2000 years didn’t happen.

The indifferences we feel towards our neighbors in everyday life, seem to dissipate on the dancefloor.

It’s like the overwhelming feedback of life somehow tails out when we dance free.

“For me, techno is for the consumption of DJing,” says Beyer. “The music is a tool, with the greater goal of making people dance and enjoy themselves.

“It’s not timeless, it’s about right here right now.”

And DJs wake us up to the fact that life is precious and that this exact moment will never come again.

Adam Beyer just happens to do it a bit louder than most.

• (3) Comments
• (1646) Views
• Get Marcel Dettmann & Ben Klock 'Scenario'