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Review : Cari Lekebusch @ Dogma |
 Swedish techno producer Cari
Lekebusch paid a visit to top Edinburgh techno/electro club Dogma on
Fri Oct 29. Here is a review of the night, soon to be followed
by an interview with the man himself....
What can we say about Cari Lekebusch that hasn't already been said? Having produced his way around pretty much every single label worth mentioning, either remixing others or releasing his own work, Cari is a living techno legend. Perhaps not as recognisable a name as Jeff Mills or Richie Hawtin, Lekebusch has always remained slightly under the radar, only becoming a widely recognised name with the explosion of Swedish techno that pushed
a warm, highly polished, pulsing tribal-tech sound. This explosion saw Lekebusch and other Swedish artists such as Adam Beyer, Joel Mull, Henrik B and Samuel L Session blast their way onto the international scene.
Photos by Andy Dalrymple/www.clubdogma.com
 But Lekebusch is far from being a newcomer to the techno scene. He has produced tracks as Braincell for Sven Vath's seminal label Harthouse and as Fred for Tim Taylor's Missile imprint. Lekebusch's music has caused many to work up a sweat on dancefloors across the globe since the early days of techno. Anyone remembering how it was "back in the day" will remember his cuts being dropped alongside the likes of Dave Clarke, Jeff Mills, Damon Wild, Tim Taylor, DJ Hell and Luke Slater. At the time, along with fellow Missile Cohort Nico - his "Squarebashing" style of techno with dysfunctional jerky rhythms, off kilter analogue bleeps and disjointed vocal samples became a staple of the Early Hardbeat Sound - inspiring a whole generation of producers and causing Havoc on the dancefloors of early nights such as Sativa, Pure etc.
As an old Stockholm B-Boy, his sound has morphed through the breakdancing soundtrack of electro, through hip-hop, dub-infused tech-house and pattern-play wonky-tech right through to the bang up-to-date techno sound. His beats (as he likes to call them) cross musical barriers seamlessly, never sounding contrived and never losing their edge. His work under monikers such as Mr. James Barth has seen him produce some of the most musically rich and diverse productions ever seen in electronic music this side of Four Tet. As a personal observation, I’d say that that he's one of the most underrated producers around, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this view.
 Lekebusch paid Dogma a visit at a special one off night at Edinburgh's notorious Venue as part of the tour promoting his Architect album. Released on Adam Beyer's label Truesoul, this album is a more soulful blend of deeper cuts with more musical references than his output on Swedish labels such as the techno-centric Drumcode and his own H-Productions imprint.
Supported by Neil Templar and Avionix's very own B*Wilder, the night went off to a flying start (literally, courtesy of some very strange balloons) with Templar laying down some dirty electro-breaks and what can only be described as electroclash. The mixing was tight, with layers being filtered, chopped and scratched into noisy slammin' beatscapes which provided an excellent and highly entertaining opening to the night. B*Wilder was also on top form, having cut up Basic Channel’s seminal Phylyps Trax on the fly into an electro-fied floor filler, he then went on to duo with Templar. The pair dropped cuts back to back and peaked with the Peel favourite Teenage Kicks in a fitting tribute to another esteemed and very much more bearded music legend.
 Having hit the decks Lekebusch quickly followed the outstanding form. Having dropped the pace somewhat and bringing the mood down to a slightly deeper level, he brought the crowd to check. What followed was a session which was described afterwards by the majority of those in attendance as being "kicking".
Comparisons were soon being drawn to the atmosphere of the now-sadly-defunct "Orbit", as Lekebusch began winding the sound up, dropping in the odd acidic burble here and B-boy shout there all underpinned by floor shaking subs and straight up 4/4 beats. The crowd dropped into the groove as Lekebusch progressed to more familiar territory, with pulsating dub basslines subtly driving the beats, large tribal licks and funky rolling hats.
What impressed me most about this was the fact that Lekebusch didn't play any "big tunes" as such. Its true to say there were some crowd pleasers, but I got the impression that Lekebusch was keeping things tight: concentrating on an overall buildup rather than peaking too soon.
 By the time the set began to peak, the crowd were literally at fever pitch. Rather than take the tried-and-tested (some would say predictable) formula of "breakdown, drum-roll, vocal sample and we're off", Lekebusch showed he had far more to offer by twisting up the effects and mixing his own fills into the mix by cunning use of the desk. His cuts were doing the damage as well, with one track breaking down into IDM jiggery-pokery which would have made Squarepusher proud. He cut-and-pasted a set of warm, driving techno on a far deeper level than we've come to expect at Dogma and with far more diversity than many had expected from a member of the Drumcode/Primate school of looped techno.
 Another major aspect of the set which must not be overlooked is the man’s amazing personality - it shone throughout and you genuinely did feel the man make a connection with the crowd, he was happy throughout, clapping along and wearing a mile wide grin as the crowd roared their approval - the consensus was 100% agreed - this man is a diamond.
Overall, this was one of the best sets we've heard for a while. Perhaps not as technical as Hawtin for example, nor as nail-biting as Surgeon or Speedy J but still diverse, entertaining and warm, showing a great range of taste and a wonderful sense of control.
Other highlights include Disco Pervert keeping us all entertained in room two with her maniac old-skool pop selections. Some tasty cuts and some wicked dancing from the Crew, including Mr. Templar's Crazy Legs and the Girl's stunning Booty Bop, even this old badger had a wiggle and that's saying something.
 The only other comment would perhaps be the lighting, which was an excellent effort, with three lasers and some seriously cool stage lighting. Being at the front of the hall was kind of like being in a battle with the Galactic Empire.
Needless to say Mr. Lekebusch is welcome back anytime. Another quality night from the Dogma crew, and another success to add to their record.
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