- I arrived at Vision later than planned, a little after 12.30 a.m., just in time to catch snippets of the last hour of Chicago native Mike Khoury's set between errands to the bathroom, the cloak room and the bar. What I did catch was impressive though. Khoury was taking us on a minimal trip with woozy drawn-out atmospheres floating atop rolling basslines, comparable to the likes of Sebo K and Prosumer. It enticed the crowd onto the floor.
Satoshi Tomiie took over the decks sometime after 1:30. Although I was absent for his arrival, I heard the roaring ovation and momentary lapse in music as I queued up for another jim and coke. I made my way back swiftly, zigzagging through the hoards of people in order to secure a position on the dancefloor.
Satoshi Tomiie got down to business right away. No prelude, no warm-up records to set the tone, just a definitive big-room prog sound with seemingly endless washes and sweeps to remind us that we were now in Renaissance territory. Heavy 4/4 basslines were on the menu for the first hour or two, as was a haunting female vocal a capella that got the dancefloor moving.
As the evening progressed, Tomiie became increasingly adventurous, looping sections of records and blending what seemed like film scores and other organic sounds into one coherent flow. I also got the feeling that Satoshi was exposing us to his freshest records, the stuff that cannot be obtained through an instant click on Beatport or a flick through the top shelves of your local record store.
It was at this point in the night when I began to enjoy myself the most. Tomiie was having a whole lot of fun, and the crowd was definitely feeling the energy. There were many hands in the air moments and impressive breakdowns that were effected out to the max. I did notice a few glitches though, such as Tomiie mistiming effects. Regardless, he bounced back quick enough.
Although I cannot name any specific tracks that Tomiie played, this single factor seems to be the primary cause of my enjoyment. I haven’t gotten the chance to listen to his new Renaissance comp, and judging by the elated crowd responses I’m guessing he did drop a few tracks from his latest series. Nonetheless, I’m glad to have gotten the opportunity to hear a plethora of new music in the environment where it belongs.
Photo credit: Rubin R. Roche