Uptown Magazine - April 2/09
Soft Focus: Shaun Ryder
Few people embody the anything-goes excess that helped define the early days of acid house as much as The Happy Mondays’ frontman Shaun Ryder. Part poet, part prophet, part mad genius, Ryder and his ragtag group of misfits were at the centre of the influential Manchester scene, U.K. rave culture and the second Summer of Love. Feeding off the ecstasy-fueled energy that was sweeping across Europe, The Mondays (and later Black Grape), helped bridge the gap between punk, rock, funk and electronic dance music. In a rare interview, Ryder sits down with VBS.tv’s Ian Svenonious to talk about his upcoming reunion tour in the U.S., the influence his band had on U.K. club culture, conspiracies, drugs, his musical heroes, TV and musical slavery.
Movement (May 23-25) and Mutek (May 27 - May 31)
Separated by only one day this year, the two premier North American electronic music festivals, Movement in Detroit and Mutek in Montreal, have finally joined forces to encourage electronic music fans to take a few extra days off and hit both events. You can bet there will be a bunch of tired festival-goers taking advantage of Via Rail’s special deal from Motown to Montreal this May. With both festivals slowly releasing their initial lineups, it looks to be an impressive year at both events. Building off one of its best festivals ever, Movement continues to expand its reach with acts such as Afrika Bambaataa (live), Loco Dice vs. Luciano, Derrick May, Wighnomy Brothers and Z-Trip performing in downtown Detroit at Hart Plaza. The Prodigy will kick off the festival at a special opening party on May 22 at The Fillmore. Mutek will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary at various venues around Montreal with expats such as Adam Marshall, Mike Shannon and Deadbeat, along with international heavy-hitters such as Ricardo Villalobos, Zip, Dandy Jack andWolfgang Voigt. For the first time since 2004, hometown favorite Akufen will also be debuting new live material. While Paxahau has always offered up audio from the festival’s events on its website, Mutek has recently announced a new podcast series featuring performances recorded over the past nine years. So far, you can download sets from Telefon Tel Avi, Akufen and Gentle Bakemono. Unfortunately, Paxahau’s extensive archive is not downloadable, but is available on demand.
Quick Hits
Can You Hear This?
Wondering if all those loud shows have affected your hearing? This simple online test should give you an indication of what kind of damage you may or may not have done.
Puck Scoop and Illegal Curve
With the NHL playoffs right around the corner, Puck Scoop and Illegal Curve should keep hockey fans busy when they aren’t cursing at the TV because their team is playing like the Jets. Two of the best hockey blogs around.
