THE SECOND ROOM
The beat is my shepherd, and I want it all

2007 has since New Year’s been playing out as a year like no other. I can feel the vicious cycle already kicking in. Snapshot here and we have the perfect example.

Despite the raucous windstorm that’s been whipping Tokyo all Thursday night, I’ve got to pack sensibly for this weekend’s assignment. Last weekend it was Mother Records “Ground Beat” season-opener, this weekend it’s off to Aichi Prefecture for Fineplay Music’s “Global Exposition.” Camera No. 2 for SGK Studio and this weekend also assisting the Calderon V-DJ show.

Sure, this sounds like a lot of fun, and it is sometimes, but the logistics of pulling off a near-perfect video shoot are already a nightmare. Add to that another 100 kg of extra gear and how to keep it safe, and then it starts getting complicated.

We’ll pull it off; we always do. But it does involve a lot of planning. Gotta make sure the cat is fed and my sister is keeping an eye on my modest sty. The packing I’ve committed to formula. Nothing else to do while I’m waiting for a video to render but chat about Earth-shaking developments.

“Ground Beat” was a total success with at least 4,000 in a beautiful venue that offered not only a level dance floor, excellent camping conditions and a sizable mound of snow. Yeah, snow, first time for me, too.

Mother sculpted a fabulous lineup that brought the energy up right on scale with a blend of house, progressive and full-on. Coming on after a killer Sub-6 live set, Ta-Ka broke things open and set the dancefloor perfectly for the Protoculture live – among the best I have seen up close in 2007. Nate was going for it the entire hour and everybody felt it. By the time Logic Bomb finished, the crowd was starting to bake – a perfect time for Son Kite, followed by D-Nox (DJ) and the Seb and Marcus back as Minilogue.

Read the flyer carefully for this summer’s grand “S.O.S.” – four days, Aug. 12 (Sun) to 15 (Wed). I don’t know how they are going to do it yet, Or the T.P.E. Records open-air – another four days from July 27-30. (At least it’s Friday to Monday.)

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Back to the Calderon V-DJ show, which made psychedelic trance history on April 22 and in the process invented an entirely new category of live show. Getting tightly edited video clips that were also the music was a brand-new experience for this Sunday morning crowd. It took them a while to grasp what was happening – and then they could not stop watching.

I have to tell you that it’s a blast being the understudy of a true genius. Oh, the things you can learn by watching him work. Witnessing SGK’s dream unfolding was a special moment. That first instant when he really latched on to the kid’s senses and gave them something they had not expected practically sent me to tears it was so priceless. (“Ain’t no thang!” remember?)

As I wrote above, it is a “V-DJ” show, which uses DVJ (DVD, CD output in one deck) mixing of both and synchronized graphics. The bottom line is that the DJ is also the VJ, and providing graphics that match. The true V-DJ show will evolve slowly because the DVJ decks are still quite expensive. But this is the new direction – the best thing in sight now for psychedelic trance’s killer app. For certain, this concept having been demonstrated has raised the bar for party graphics from here on out. Well done, Sharon!

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Next month, I have the modest pleasure to announce, I have been invited by New Caledonia’s trance-for-charity-causes organizer A.P.A.P. to perform during the islands’ national music festival – “Le Festival de la Musique.”

That the Association was given the chance to showcase our music and the still-new trance culture there with tremendous official support on a public park shows the measure of appreciation that can only be reached when your activities result in generous support to those who can really benefit from it. Excess monies from APAP’s parties go to the needy. APAP runs a year-round program of charity activities, especially for disadvantaged children.

As the first American DJ to play psy-trance in New Caledonia (Dec. 2006), I am deeply honored to be invited back. When I get back from Aichi-ken, I’m gonna put the finishing touches on DJ set that’ll take their heads clean off!

A lot of tapes to be shot between now and then… We’ll pull it off; we always do.