News / / 16.12.13

IN Motion: Cocoon & Shapes

Motion, Bristol | November 29

Techno is a funny one in Bristol. Definitely not the staple beats of choice for the city, as the dub boys have started making house (poorly) and those who’ve been into that for years have seen that side of things watered down significantly, more techno influences have emerged in the city, so much so that arguably the world’s biggest techno brand have landed at Motion. They’ve also brought their top dog Sven Vath along for the party with Bristol party-heads Shapes in Room Two.

From the off this feels like a victory. Tough, melodic continental techno is a real result for Motion and as Crack arrives we find Mr Vath already causing a stir with his winding techno dramatics. It’s all very fist-pumping and Crack is happy to indulge, but something altogether more potent is waiting for us next door with in the Shapes 2nd Warehouse.

Mathew Jonson is one of techno’s truest purists and consistently underrated anomalies. Jonson almost exclusively plays out on hardware and over the course of a number of aliases and projects has built up a sterling back catalogue of techno that incorporates influences from jazz to minimal to Villalobos-esque looping and oddity. Tonight he comprehensively steals the show. The hour and a-half he plays re-aligns what a special talent he is, throwing is snippets of his own tracks amongst other less recognisable creations. The travesty for all concerned is that the room is less than half-full (a nod to the heavyweights next door).

More musically fluid than a DJ set, Crack is jammed at the front on the barrier as bizarrely the room becomes even more dispersed. However this only goes to strengthen the camaraderie with those around us. We aren’t imagining how shit hot this is. After Jonson finishes with us, we’re in need of a bevvy before Adam Beyer goes to work with something altogether tougher. It’s the perfect way to end a night, bookended by two giants of the genre. But the gem was definitely found in the middle, it was just a shame there weren’t more people there to witness it.

 

Beyer
Vath
Jonson

 

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Words: Thomas Frost

Photos: Khris Cowley – Here And Now

 

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