Shaun Reeves

Antelope skull and Tron lazers…

Words: Stephen Reynolds

Fortunately I was lucky enough to have Fabric nightclub on my doorstep from an early age and after one exclusive night back in April 2008 it quickly became my regular stomping ground. It has always been a daunting club for me, the descent down the steep dimly lit staircases, usually littered with various pickled individuals, followed by the emergence into this vast cavernous space unlike much else I have ever visited before.

Visionquest are also no strangers to Fabric’s hallowed halls, making annual visits, with their latest to showcase the recently announced ‘thirteen’ tour. An earlier press conference had left much to the imagination with the boys only revealing that they would be creating “immersive environments where they will alter spaces we already know”. At least we are safe in the knowledge that Seth will be able to gain a job in marketing if Visionquest falls through eh?!

After seeing what they had done previously with DC10, kitting it out with wigwams and other Mayan décor I was excited to see if they could create the same atmosphere within Fabric, however, when I arrived the club seemed in the same state as I had left it two years previous bar two blank screens and a small antelope skull above the DJ booth. Fortunately the music was on top form with Ryan Crosson, Shaun Reeves, Seth Troxler and Lee Curtiss all playing b2b2b2b delivering that combination of techno tracks layered with Detroit basslines and Visionquest favourites.

3am hit and the main room seemed to refresh. As many left for the kebab shops the music became progressively harder and we began to hear those familiar Detroit sounds more and more. Then the production really kicked in as the spiral lighting / lazers drifted over the crowd and these two solid white lines appeared upon the walls turning Fabric’s main room into a gigantic scene from TRON. I seriously had not seen Fabric like that before and found myself and others for periods just staring at the show they had created.
The stage had been kept off limits until Shaun appeared with his guitar and armed with Seth and Ryan one either side, began producing live samples with a seamless change over from the booth. It was a welcomed change of pace and again the music and light production co-ordinated brilliantly.

Room 2 and 3 played host to a man who witnessed the birth of Techno in Detroit, Kevin Saunderson. He was joined by the just as experienced Kenny Larkin, Kyle Hall and Patrice Scott to form the ‘Curators of Techno’. I dipped in and out of these rooms and loved the progression in sound from broken chopped up Techno to the solid industrial sound that Detroit is famous for.

Although it was not the night I was predicting, it took nothing away from the show they had put on. It was refreshing to see the promoters and production team work so closely, thinking about their audience as they progressed throughout the night, keeping them entertained with ranging visual and musical options. It was also good to see why Fabric has remained cemented in the top 10 clubs in the world – it is their ability to get the small things right, fast queue, no nonsense cloakroom and efficient bar staff, as well as producing crisp and perfected sound and lighting displays.

A night with pioneers of techno…

The city of Detroit is undisputedly the origin point of techno. Even today it’s still heralded and respected as techno’s birth place and the city still manages to continue innovating. As well as housing the founding fathers of the movement, the city has inspired fresh generations of talent, each with their own desire built on the city’s solid techno foundations. At fabric this Easter weekend they welcome a selection of artists from the Motor City who operate across these generational lines, bringing two distinctive visions of the future of music along with them: the old and the new.

Taking inspiration from the Mayan prophets and the parties they all enjoyed in Detroit during their formative raving years, Visionquest will be bringing their own hopes for a new phase of party-making to Room One. The four sided DJ outfit made up of Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss, Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves are set to launch their Visionquest 13 tour with fabric being what will be their only London club date together this year.

“The ‘Thirteen’ concept is to create a series of thirteen immersive environments where we alter spaces that you may already know”, comments Troxler.

“We’re stripping it back from what you might know and refocusing on what’s important, which is the connection between us and the people who are there”, Reeves continues. “There’s a lot in the theme of the event about the old cultures and new cultures, the old and new paradigm on a big scale and a small scale in our lives”.

Then, across Rooms Two and Three, Kevin Saunderson, who alongside Juan Atkins and Derrick May was himself part of the movement that birthed the techno music we love, will be presenting ‘Curators of Techno‘. A new project established to set the old and new guards of Detroit talent side by side, ‘Curators of Techno’ shows respect for both generations inviting them to interact with each other and simultaneously present each of their own sonic identities.
“It’s about the evolution of Detroit techno and the way that the originators have influenced the talent that followed”, Saunderson explains. “The main aim of the tour is to let the world experience this great history of producers/DJs, from the beginning of Detroit’s early days up until the current, working together on the stage and performing”.

In Room Two Saunderson will be calling on Kenny Larkin, a musical innovator in his own right who found home on the iconic European labels R&S, Warp and Peacefrog, to bring his sci-fi techno soul to the proceedings alongside sets from Saunderson himself and Kyle Hall. A definitive product of the new wave of Detroit, Wild Oats label founder Hall has firm alliances with his Michigan forefathers having provided a recording home for Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir and Scott Grooves, but more importantly he’s defiantly forged his own path, with his own productions garnering the same kind of international respect his older cohorts also command.

Room Three is where all of this motoric energy will come to a head though, as Patrice Scott, a Detroit native who himself is directly inspired by Saunderson’s work, will be anchoring the room as well as going back to back with Kyle Hall. Alongside a back to back performance from Saunderson and Seth Troxler, this’ll be the spot where the old school really collides with the new, with the two physically jostling against each other to create something new, fresh and completely unique.

Visionquest Thirteen – Curators of Techno
fabric, 77a Charterhouse Street, London
30.03.2013
23:00 – 08:00

fabric | RA | Facebook |

Fabric may be on the verge of Puberty, but the club matured long ago…

Photos: Mark Oxley, Angelo Palombini

On the weekend of 19th October 2012, fabric officially turns thirteen. Rather than shying away from the fact that there are certain triskaidekaphobic people out there who go the extra mile to avoid anything that involves the number that’s one more than a dozen; they’re celebrating the fact that they’ve officially entered puberty, by programming a suitably special line up for the Friday and by opening the doors for another 32 hour marathon on the Saturday to house sets from residents Craig Richards and Terry Francis alongside a slew of impeccable special guests, many of whom will be playing multiple or extended sets.

“We realise we’re in something of a minority in looking forward to our thirteenth anniversary but there’s no real concrete proof where the superstition arose around 13′s defamatory level of unexplained unluck”, comments Fabric.

Continue reading “Fabric is 13” »

A night of Visionquest & The Nothing Special is quite the opposite…

Visionquest are… Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Shaun Reeves and Lee Curtiss, the most innovative and exciting new breed of DJ/Producers to come out of the city of Detroit in a generation. Their remix of Kiki’s “Good Voodoo” on BPitch Control has gone down in history as one of the summer’s biggest underground hits and together they have released tracks on leading labels like Crosstown Rebels, Spectral Sound, Get Physical, Circus Company, Supplement Facts, Wolf+Lamb, Wagon Repair and Minus. Continue reading “Visionquest & The Nothing Special at fabric” »

All four members of Visionquest together for the first time in Italy…

With the 2nd June being a public holiday in Italy music events are popping up all over the place for the 1st June and one that springs up on the radar immediately is “A Light That Never Goes Out” and the reason is simple… The line-up! Headlining the night is Ellen Allien and Visionquest. I think it’s safe to assume that most people reading this will have at least some idea as to who Ellen Allien is, but for the sake of those who don’t: Ellen Allien is one of Germanys most predominant DJ/Producer who has made her mark on the underground music scene, not only for her renowned DJ sets, and not only for her moving productions, but also for establishing her own Bpitch Control record label that has become a staple part of DJ record boxes across the globe.

Visionquest on the other hand, have been making an impressive impact on the music scene and are the most innovative and exciting new breed of DJ/producers to come out of Detroit in a generation. A formation of four talented friends; Seth Troxler, Lee Curtiss, Shaun Reeves and Ryan Crosson. Both individually and together they have been pushing a unique sound, which their Visionquest label proves to demonstrate, along with their joint releases on leading labels like Crosstown Rebels, Spectral Sound, Get Physical, Circus Company, Supplement Facts, Wolf+Lamb, Wagon Repair and Minus.
When each of them come together to form Visionquest, you can count on something quite exceptional. And for the first time in Italy, the Visionquest lads come together to demonstrate exactly what they are all about.

Event Details

Big Wiggle celebrations for Easter…

Wiggle celebrate 17 years of being fully submersed in the music scene, so you would expect a great lineup to ensure a truly memorable night,…. which is exactly the case. As if having the Wiggle trio hit the main room wasn’t enough, they obviously thought they should provide an even more mammoth lineup by adding an enigmatic pioneer. One that is on a trailblazing quest to export his unique brand of cosmic underground house and techno from his hometown of Detroit to Europe and beyond, which is bringing him international acclaim. His name being Shaun Reeves.
Alongside best friends Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Seth Troxler he has helped put a warm, esoteric spin on the city’s musical heritage taking it away from clinical minimalism, back towards warmer, more spiritual party music. Together they have formed Visionquest, a genre-busting four-piece DJ combo, live act, record label and forward-thinking school of thought. The last few years have seen Shaun blossom in the studio as ‘The Royal We’ with Seth Troxler for Crosstown Rebels, alongside Guti and Miss Fitz for Wolf+Lamb and Raum…musik and most recently as Visionquest remixing Tracey Thorn.

Pete Herbert will be a main feature of Room 2 with a mix of Balearic leftfield disco/house/italo/dub/funk and beyond where he’ll be joined by an extra appearance from Terry Francis. The Pushamann will also be jumping in on the action, adding his ‘Nature Or Nurture’ style of music to night, which he seems to be doing at countless venues all over London.

Saturday 23rd April is sure to be a memorable night. But keep your eyes on news releases from Wiggle as the venue is being kept a secret for the moment!

Wiggle Group | Event’s Page | Tickets Page

Movement are back with a their 5th edition in Torino, which by the sounds of things is sure to impress….

Movement, which will be held from 28th – 31st October, is destined to leave its mark in Torino, a city that is gradually developing in popularity for music. Torino played host to the Winter Olympics back in 2006, as well as the imaginative “Club to Club” project and of course the huge “Movement” music festival.
Last year saw Movement taking hold of the Pala Olimpico, ex Isozaki Stadium, where we saw the likes of Stacey Pullen, Derrick May, Luciano, , Ricardo Villalobos and Richie Hawtin. Great line-ups but the only draw back was the location, as high hits and kick drum booms echoed around the entrance to the Pala Olimpico, the atmosphere was slightly lost, especially because it was so huge.
Though this year looks like there has been an improvement in terms of locations, multi-locations, but the Pala Olimpico is still on the list.

This year we can be expecting a couple of workshops and showcases organised as well as several pre-parties to get people warmed up for the event: -

18 Sep – Raresh, Torino
02 Oct – Shaun Reeves, Firenze
08 Oct – Derrick Carter, Torino
09 Oct – Derrick Carter, Mantova
15 Oct – Kevin Saunderson, Roma
22 Oct – Trus’ Me, Torino

From the website nothing is really clear or confirmed apart from the pre-parties and we are only able to gather who is headlining the 4 day event and the locations involved. But as to when the DJs are playing and what venues, it’s not clear. Although checking one DJs diary we can see when he is playing.

So all that can be confirmed is the following: -

Venues

Politecico di Torino (workshops)
Fnac Store (Red Bull Music Academy Panel)
Museo Nazionale del Cinema (Showcase)
Blanco Club Lounge
Kogins Club
Patio Club
Pala Olimpico

DJs

The Chemical Brothers
Sven Väth
2 Many DJ’s
Ellen Allien
Derrick May
Dixon
Ernesto Ferreyra
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumont
Ilario Alicante
Karotte
Kyle Hall
Anthony “Shake” Shakir
MCDE
Keith Worthy
Patrice Scott
I-Robots

For all the latest news and updates, check out movement.it.