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Automatik at Rex Club, Paris, with Layo & Bushwacka! and Antony, 6 September 2002
intro
Layo & Bushwacka! did a wicked set at the legendary Rex Club in Paris, and
the KindaMuzik London connection happened to be there to witness the event.
Rex Club, Paris. Located in the basement of Rex Cinema is the techno club that opened its doors in the early eighties and never looked back. A big sound system and bigger names of DJs on the playlist are the ingredients of success for Rex, most notably the long running residency of Laurent Garnier who became the superstar DJ playing all over the world but kept his Thursday spot at Rex.
According to one of the doormen there is always a queue, going around the corner, so when you go you may want to go early. 'Early' means around midnight in Rex terms, doors open half an hour earlier. The club itself is downstairs next to the Cinema (right off the exit of Bonne Nouvelle metrostation). Downstairs, the room is rectangular with an industrial metallic interior, very sleek, tables on the side in the front, dancefloor in the back. Mind you, if I understand correctly, the tables are 'for reservations only', ie order a pitcher or a bottle of spirits and you're on. That did not apply to me though, I was on my feet all night anyway…
That night all ears were on Layo & Bushwacka! (aka Layo Paskin and Matthew Benjamin), residents of London's The End (not to be confused with Paris' The End, coincidentally not far from Rex). In 1998 Layo and Bushwacka! released their first album, 'Low Life', on The End's End Recordings, with a blend of 'electro, techno, underground house and old skool breakbeat'. Their second album, 'Night Works', was released earlier this year on XL Recordings. Their act is as diverse as their own records, all over the place, eclectic, but never out of place, though I do have to expand on that a bit later.
Supporting the troops is Antony, an Automatik resident since 1999 and dropping mixes and productions for the label of the same name. He warms up and cools down, L&B playing from 1.30 - 5.30am, the party going on till 7.
A friend of mine told me he saw Paskin and Benjamin in Brighton not so long ago, 'and they were GREAT but the crowd was TERRIBLE…' Hello! That is at least half the party! It was not the case at Rex. The whole crowd was up to par with the duo, following their every move and spin. Literally so. The DJ booth in Rex is a sort of elevated fishbowl, a box with glass windows on all three sides. Standing in front while they played were a dozen or so clubbers, eager to catch a glimpse of the act.
And all the crowd wanted was banging tunes, rightfully so I might add. Everyone was up for dancing and breaking to no end. No building up, just pumping sounds please! A couple of times there was a silence in between stompers (this is me expanding on the eclectic bit now), a transition from one beat to another. It was greeted with booing! I couldn't believe it! As soon as the beat returned not long after, it was back to business and everyone was happy again. (I think once it really was an error in mixing, but the other times it was definitely part of the mix.)
One of the more memorable moments for me was when Insatiable came on. The track by Eric Miller (aka Thick D/ Thick Dick/ E-Smoove) is unmistakably a top tune of today, and I just love it. The beat came on and I recognised the vocals coming, so I clapped my hands preparing myself for the launch. But, imagine this, I was standing on the platform in front of the fishbowl booth, right next to the gaping dozen, facing the crowd below that was looking in my direction, or rather Layo's (or Bushwacka!'s — I was standing with my back to the booth). 'When the music starts to play, I'm insatiable!' So here I am singing along with Latzana (Eric's singer girlfriend), pointing my hands forward into the red and blue lit dark and I am the only one, for a second feeling like I'm being stared at by 800 French. Unfazed I just danced some more and more. I'm sure it was Bushwacka! (or Layo) they were looking at, as they did in general during that night, superstar DJs they are.
I had a wicked night out.
Rex Club is open from Wednesday till Saturday, with Automatik's techno every Friday and house on Saturdays by several promoters. Upcoming dates at Automatik in September feature, among others, Mute's Luke Slater and Manu le Malin and Torgull, both of French label Bloc 46. And if you're in Paris this Saturday (September 14), it's Techno Parade day. Its theme this year is 'Laissez Nous Dansez!' ('Let Us Dance!'). Enjoy.
www.automatik.fr
http://www.kindamuzik.net/live/layo-bushwacka/layo-bushwacka-automatik/1840/
Meer Layo & Bushwacka! op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/layo-bushwacka
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