This past weekend 19 people were crushed to death at the Love Parade in Duisberg, Germany due to poor crowd control. I hope the people responsible for the safety of the crowd face the full consequences of their actions and I also hope the organizers reconsider their plans of canceling further Love Parades because that in itself would also be a tragedy* — not because I care all that much for the latest incarnation of the parade but for the precedent it may set for future events of its kind.
There have been numerous such catastrophes at organized events around the world like soccer games in the UK and fireworks displays in Japan and those haven’t been canceled because of a few deaths, rather measures have been put into place to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again the next time the events take place.
That there is even the notion that an event like The Love Parade should be canceled henceforth is actually offensive to me because it smacks of bias against counter-culture and counter-cultural events and lifestyles.
The actual problem in most cases like this is neither the type of event nor the people attending but shortsighted organization, poor crowd control and, all too often, compassionless policing (though according to Der Spiegel the German Police Union did warn of the city’s inadequacy as a host of the event for years.)
I do think the decision to continue the party was wiser than stopping it and trying to tell 1.4 million to go home, a decision that could have lead to even more confusion and deaths and besides those who died probably would’ve wanted the party to go on anyway, I know I would.
As a person who spends a lot of time in nightclubs and event spaces in Tokyo this kind of news really freaks me out. I often feel that spaces here are blithely unaware of how dangerous they potentially are and after reading about the The Station Nightclub Fire you can color me absolutely paranoid about fire safety in clubs.
Believe it or not when I play at a venue I am not familiar with I always make a point of knowing where the exits are. There are a few clubs in Tokyo that down right scare the boogie out of me. They have poorly marked exits, blocked stairwells — drunk people sleeping it off until first train or furniture shoved on to fire escapes to make space for the crowd — and though local district fire brigades do come around every now and then have them clear up the place they slowly return to fire death traps as the months go by.
One famous Tokyo venue, which shall remain nameless, is so obviously a death trap I have on more than one occasion overheard punters pondering out loud how dangerous it is to be down in there.
While the rest of the civilized world is slowly stubbing cigarettes out of most entertainment spaces Tokyo is still smoking strong, and drunk people wielding fire sticks in a darkened venue with blocked stairwells and copious amounts of flammable liquids splashing around is a recipe for disaster in my eyes.
Not to mention Japan’s propensity for Earthquakes.
The annual Just Do It! outdoor techno festival (now called Just) took place this past weekend and as usual it was absolutely fantastic. There is nothing finer than being up in the mountains of Saitama, on the river, deep in a cool valley in early summer listening to great music on a lovingly crafted, crystal clear homemade sound system and sharing it with a few wonderful people there just for the love of it.
The DJ line up before me was a perfect flow of styles culminating in a live drum show by Drumno, three live drummers rocking it out in real time in the middle of the campsite on acoustic drums and filling the night air with their intense and energetic show.
They set a perfect tone for my set which, though there were a few technical glitches and timing errors, nevertheless rocked and rolled.
This set is decidedly schizophrenic and meanders all over the place, deep and dark in places, melodic, synthetic and light in others. I also added a few tracks from my tribal alter ego “Amazoku” towards the end and polished it off with my first attempt at a vocal track “Sooner or Later” an up and coming release on Greta Cottage Workshop scheduled for later in the year.
After me the sublime DJ Wang Gung took over from me and kept the flow moving deftly into the very interesting live electronic music of Computer Soup. Armed with a muted trumpet, a sine wave generating oscilloscope and a laptop the guys really came out with some tasty sonic treats – and that is when I collapsed into my tent and floated off into the warmth of the supersonic bass.
I really love doing this party and I’m so pleased to be involved every year. The sound is so good that no matter where you are in the camp site you can hear and feel the music as if you are listening to it on a stereo at home, yet not once is it overwhelming or intrusive. From inside the tent it’s so relaxing to lie back and listen to tunes and on the dance floor it’s thumping enough to feel in your bones, yet there is no need to shout to be heard, the perfect balance.
Speaking of tents, a big thanks also to Sarah, The Tsunami Devil, for showing us the ropes, literally. Camping without you would’ve been a tangled, exposed mess. Big hugs and kisses to you. Without you around I think we’d still be somewhere in the mountains trying to collapse the tent and roll up the sleeping mats.
Also thanks to Yosuke and friends for coming out very year and making a big noise during my set, your presence and energy are deeply appreciated.
And last but not least everyone who came together to do the party, real techno spirit.
■LIVE■
SHANE BERRY
DRUMNO
COMPUTER SOUP
■DJz■
THE KLO (potekoi disco)
TANGO (methane)
WANG-GUNG (void)
TEO (from seoul)
Just a quick note to say thank you to one and all who made it out to the mountains in Chichibu this past weekend.
I will do a more in depth recap later in the week after I have collected photos and videos from various people, and of course I will upload a recorded version of the live set I did too.
But for now I just want so say that it was truly fantastic and I am deeply grateful for everyone’s support and creativity, an inspiration.
The true techno spirit lives on in the mountains of Chichibu this coming weekend the 17th – 18th of July.
I am thrilled to be playing at the “Just Do It!” outdoor festival again this year and it’s my absolute favorite booking of the year. The Asami Campsite is deep in a valley in the mountains of Chichibu, Saitama, next to a crystal clear river and it is such a refreshing get away from the city.
Once a year the Just Do It! crew haul an audiophile quality, home built audio system across the river and set up for a weekend of galactic grooves and interstellar inspiration.
I have blogged about Blu’s previous works of art here. I absolutely love the sound design and music too, inspiring stuff. I could not find much info about the sound artist, Andrea Martignoni, but here is some more of his work on a different project.
I guess that's an affirmative on the connection. Now I'm able to tell everyone what I had for breakfast, seriously though, what a time hole. 12 hrs ago
