The Sound of One Key Clicking

Random ramblings form HAKATAK president-for-life PJR

So MTV has now decided that electronic music is cool. Oh goody. Now they’ll take a handful of easily accessible groups (Chemical Brothers and Prodigy come to mind), anoint them with their holy cablecast ointment, and singlehandedly make an entire genre seem calculated and obsolete like that awful offal from Seattle, grunge. I mean the whole music industry, from MTV president Judy McGrath, to the guy who empties the wastebaskets at Twin Tone proclaims like a mantra that dance music is “back.” Does this mean I can’t listen to DJ Krush anymore? It almost makes ya wanna take up Rockabilly or something.

Don’t get me wrong, I was among the anointed back in the InSoc days, and it can make life very sweet…for about a year. And that’s my big fear; now that us formerly scorned and ignored electronic-types are the flavor of the month, how long can it be before there’s a new flavor? Ahh, the bittersweet cycle of ignore, embrace, co-opt, discard that has become the hallmark of pop culture.

Of course the cynical will point out that I’m just sour-graping it, because I didn’t get HAKATAK off the ground soon enough to get one of those $10,000,000 distribution deals like Astralwerks or City of Angels. And that’s true, too. But what I’m really afraid of is a record store so awash with mediocre techno compilations and horrible 70’s fusion marketed as “Acid Jazz,” that the average tongue-pierced kid can’t find the good stuff, like ours.

Oh well, if you’re gonna make a career for yourself in the music biz, you’ve got to believe that quality will win in the end. (You know, like Alanis Morisette.)

BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON

HAKATAK’s sophomore effort makes its debut February 25. Featuring the incredible voice of Barbara Cohen, Brother Sun Sister Moon is an otherworldly stew of trip hop, techno, and ambient. Deeper than space beats and bass courtesy of PJR collide head on with the singer the St. Paul Pioneer Press described as “dark, melodramatic, intense, desire-filled and dangerous,” while the Minneapolis Star Tribune states, “Barbara Cohen is one of the strongest voices in all popular music…”

Two years in the making (really), The Great Game will be our first stab at full blown pop success. Things are going well, if initial reviews are any indication. (See the Reviews [link] page.) BSSM is already getting airplay on Rev 105 [link?], the grooviest major market radio station in the country.

Brother Sun Sister Moon will be playing a live set during their CD release party at the Fine Line in Minneapolis on Saturday March 8. Stop by and see what trip hop show is all about.

HAKATAK will also be releasing a limited edition vinyl EP from Brother Sun Sister Moon. Called Way Down Deep, the EP contains six tracks, including two new remixes of the trippy burner “Nicosia,” and the dark dubstramental “Laudanum,” which is unavailable elsewhere.

Also, the Brother Sun Sister Moon record kicks off our Boombastica imprint, which is the room in the HAKATAK mansion devoted to all things slow, low, and deep. (See Headtrip Vol. 1 Issue 3 for more details.)

THINK TANK

Think Tank continues to confound the nattering nabobs of negativism, moving up the PROGRESSIVE chart to #6. There continues to be confusion among genre-dolts everywhere, however, as to whether Think Tank is Industrial or Techno. Hmmm. Maybe we should let MTV decide. Look for a profile of Think Tank in an upcoming issue of Alternative Press.

Dissonance

The self-titled full-length debut from Dissonance is mixed, mastered and slated for an April 10 release. Electrical tape manufacturers everywhere will be rejoicing when Cat and David unveil their new show at a CD release party in Dallas sometime in April. (Those who’ve seen Cat Hall perform will know what I’m talking about.) Check out the “Groups” page for a link to the new Dissonance website.

Dissonance will be the first release under HAKATAK’s new Ecstatika imprint. This is the imprint reserved for those who feel that white noise has been underrated as an element in modern music.

Minneapolis: Electronic Music Mecca?

We were informed by Phil Vanderwerken of L.E.D recently that Minneapolis has five (count ‘em) groups in the top 75 of the national club charts (according to Progressive). They are: Think Tank (#6), L.E.D. (#8), Psykosonik (#57), Haloblack (#58), and Superstitch (#73). Not bad for a one horse town…

PJR: Music Industry Insider

Beginning with the new Spring issue, Yours Truly will be contributing a regular column to the new revamped Interface magazine. The column, called “Wirehead,” will focus on music technology, and begins with a series of four articles on low budget recording (a subject I am, alas, very familiar with). Other “Insider” contributors include Chris Randall of Sister Machine Gun, Chase of Re-Constriction Records, and others. Be on the lookout; Interface has been one of my favorite reads, and with the new format and staff, the new improved version promises to be even better.