At a launch for a line of race-car tyres a couple of years ago, dosed to the gills on hippy-strength blotter-acid, I remember thinking (and at one point bellowing) "Jesus Christ! I'm surrounded by whores! How are they getting away with this in public?". I was awash with terror. Speechless in the corner of diner-style vinyl booth, I surveyed what I perceived to be the beating heart of the South African sex industry. "You've peaked. You'll be back to normal in a few hours", I told myself. I lied. It was a night of terror but I slithered from the experience the following evening reborn, having shed a few layers of fear.
Months later at the Louries, I watched awards being dished out while choking down a bag of mushrooms. Exposed to dangerously high levels of smug while in an altered state, I was rewarded. I saw people at their worst, under a harsh light, and laughed. At the very least, I gained a story to tell.
Months later at the Louries, I watched awards being dished out while choking down a bag of mushrooms. Exposed to dangerously high levels of smug while in an altered state, I was rewarded. I saw people at their worst, under a harsh light, and laughed. At the very least, I gained a story to tell.
A couple of weeks ago I played my farewell set. The first 2 hours of the set were completely on target. People were having a good time. The pictures don't lie, it was a fun party. I wish I had been there.
The following are extracts from an email a friend of mine sent to a friend of his, describing what happened. "Tonight started off alright, and as my DJ friend got going, I took my first pill. A few drinks in me, I was feeling fine, when the pill suddenly kicked in. After several moments of utter confusion as to what was going on, I realized that the “e” pill that I had ingested was actually ketamine. Several of my friends were in the same predicament, having been hit by something totally unexpected, and just as my friend’s set was starting to rock, Several of his friends were unable to stand up, let alone dance. I felt bad for him since I had promoted his party and so wanted to rock out to his music.
I remember you asked me to explain what I meant when I referred to a “level 3 ketamine trip” or whatever. Well, that’s basically what happened to me tonight. The idea is that in this state you completely lose your sense of what is real. More so than LSD, you almost even lose your capacity for language. Operating your body becomes an epic struggle. All the while you are wondering if people are perceiving you to be as fucked up as you actually are.
Later, as I was beginning to regain my senses, The music suddenly stopped. I was jarred...you know that “bad DJ moment” when you are rolling on e and it comes to a grinding halt. I looked up and was horrified to see that my friend had apparently taken the same pill as me, maybe 40 minutes later. He was completely catatonic at the decks, frozen, periodically peering at the computer screen from 2cm away. I immediately recognized the symptoms and rushed up to the stage and tried to talk him through it.
People started approaching the stage and asking what was going on. I explained that there were some “technical” difficulties. So there we stood, for 20 minutes, me trying to get through to him that he had to play something, it didn’t matter what at that point, and I had no idea about the software he was using. It turned out later that he only needed to hit the space bar on his keyboard to restart the music, but at the time it was an inaccessible mystery..."
I recorded the set. The intention was to do a post-party blog entry, mix attached. What I heard, hiding under my duvet the following day, made my blood chrystalise. There is a 20 minute gap. A track ends and then... nothing. Until at one point, the silence shatters. This is what broke it...
Mystery Track (Mediafire)
I have never heard this track before in my life. If anyone can tell me what it is, I'd welcome the information. I'd also like to know what the fuck it was doing on my computer in the first place because whether you enjoy this or not, you'll have to agree that it has no place in a Deep, Minimal Techno set. I can't imagine what was going through the minds of the dancers, I know there was absolutely nothing going through mine.
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