PASSINGS: DJ Gina Turner mourns the end of Revolutions at the 808 Loft's final party |
Bit of a frustrating week here at Circuits as the Hub continues to change. In the year and a minute since we embarked on this column, talents have come up and parties have launched that signal a move toward a new dance sound that Boston can embrace or reject. We’re hoping it’s embraced. The final party at the 808 LOFT, to which Circuits has devoted much ink, was an impromptu success, but it heralds another change in our beloved techno landscape. As much as we love to cover hip-hop and house, our real passion is techno, or whatever you want to call the modern, clean, 4/4 sound that can be ecstatic or smooth. It’s blowing up worldwide, whether the Germanic version, the French racket sound, or the DFA-fueled NYC scene, and it has a foothold in Boston with camps like ROBOTLOVESONGS, UNLOCKEDGROOVE, and PROPERAZZI. But it took a blow with the closing of the 808 Loft and the elimination of long-time techno show REVOLUTIONS from Emerson College’s radio schedule. DJ GINA TURNER was one of the many DJ personalities the show produced, alongside producer MORGAN PAGE, DJ RED FOXXWORTH, DJ SARIN, and others. “It was a way to express myself and let others know about the talent in New England,” she writes from Los Angeles, where she’s finishing up her Emerson studies. “People who lived outside of Boston could still get their electronic-music fix. Even when they lived in the suburbs and couldn’t make it to nights like Elements at the Phoenix Landing or Hearthrob at Middlesex, they could hear about how the nights were and find out about new music.”
Circuits profiled Revolutions over the summer, but the long-running radio show deserved more love. Meanwhile, the final loft program was marred by an early-AM police visit, but it’s worth noting the underground party had very little trouble with this in the past — most patrons came out for the music and the camaraderie. The point is, there is now a tremendous opportunity to move this party, and its mailing list and its audience, to a proper club, and Circuits is hoping some big, legit club will pick it up. Club agents could visit the Robotlovesongs.com Web site to reach out to those guys. We can’t do anything more than guarantee coverage, ha-ha . . .
Further frustration came with an e-mail from WNYU last week that read: “MIKE UZZI, having recently moved from Boston to New York City, will be joined by unlockedgroove label mate Jamie Rollins on Rotation.” Rotation is already one of the better music programmes in the nation, and now it’s landed our beloved Uzzi. On the upside: Uzzi has become co-curator of Boston techno label Zero G Sounds. “I’m pretty psyched to get to work with him in this capacity,” says label proprietor and local DJ EDDIE ODABACHIAN, “since he has an incredible grasp of techno musicology and a great sense of the electronic-music market.” All of which is true, of course, but the guy is still 214 miles away.
The good news is we still have a few grand old legends of the scene, DJ PAUL DAILEY and the KOOKY SCIENTIST, for example. Dailey hosts a show on nationwide satellite XM Radio called Hard Wired where he drops the finest mixes of techno slabs for your enjoyment. The show airs Sunday mornings at 3 am (prime time in post-club radio) or Thursdays at midnight on Channel 80, the Move. Upcoming guests include genius Berlin producer and BPitch label owner ELLEN ALLIEN on October 15 and Swiss/Chilean club lord LUCIANO October 22. Check our Web site for a link to Dailey’s latest mix or catch him October 28 at the Red Door in Portsmouth.
Meanwhile, the Scientist, a/k/a FRED GIANELLI, recently returned from a successful appearance at the second anniversary of the Hot Cakes radio program in Mexico. To judge by the man’s Flickr account, the trip was a success, except for the confiscation of two bottles of Tequila he planned to bring back to Basstown. . . . Our hip-hop scene continues to burble, of course. The Phoenix profiled local hip-hop hero SLAINE a few weeks back, but let this be a reminder that the coming-out party continues tonight (October 12) at the Middle East downstairs. Alongside ILL BILL, Southie’s finest rapper takes the stage to celebrate the release of The White Man Is the Devil Vol. 2, the latest mixtape from the pride of Boston’s La Coka Nostra crew. As Ali G might say: “Rezpekt.”
On the Web
DJ Gina Turner: //www.myspace.com/djginaturner
Hot Cakes Radio: //www.hot-cakes.net/main/hot-cakes.html
