Reworks 2009

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    Sep 28, 2009
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  • As one of Greece's leading festivals, Reworks in Thessaloniki has been staging quality electronic music for the last five years. Hidden in the most Eastern fringe of the Western world, it may still be off the radar in most of the non-Hellenistic world. But its line-up matches those of any other major European festival. With massive icons like Sven Väth, DJ Hell, Paul Kalkbrenner and Dennis Ferrer, exciting international newcomers like Shlomi Aber, Martinez Brothers and Heidi and local representation by the likes of Argy, And.id and Viton vs. CJ Jeff, this edition of Reworks carried all the ingredients for a spectacular weekend. The maze of interconnected clubs and outdoor stages that made up the Vilka Complex was smaller than expected (in two days it drew between seven and eight thousand visitors), giving the festival an unusual intimacy on the one hand, but some logistic troubles on the other—problems easily overcome in the sultry September night. Photo credit: Ioanna Hatziandreou On Friday evening, Reworks was treated to an early surprise. The two Athens-based jocks Viton vs. CJ Jeff wasted little time on build-up tactics and immediately created a fully fledged festival vibe in one of the smaller indoor areas. Meanwhile at the Club Stage, people were gathering to see Heidi start her post-midnight slot. They seemed shy at first, but luckily the BBC DJ was persistent in bending them to her will. By the time uncle Sven stepped into the limelight, it was only a matter of finishing the job off properly. Lacking the usual hand-picked backing groupies, Herr Väth was able to focus on what he does best: controlling the crowd with unmatched charisma. His set may not have been the most interesting musically, but it was definitely a treat to watch the room explode. Headliner Dennis Ferrer was missing at the Air Stage, where New York deep house label Objektivity was celebrating its fifth year anniversary together with the festival. He had to cancel his show because of health problems (which, according to management, he has overcome in the meantime). His slot was filled by Steve from the Martinez Brothers, who played a convincing house set. Classics like MK Express's "God Made Me Phunky" were effortlessly mixed into brand new stompers like "Debbie Downer," a track produced by the Martinez boys with Greece's own Objektivity delegate Argy—who closed the morning off with a captivating and deep performance. Photo credit: Ioanna Hatziandreou The main attraction for many on Saturday night was Stereo MC's, who performed at the more mainstream outdoor stage. They have a massive amount of fans in these parts, many of them chanting along to every lyric. The Air Stage was home to the more spacey side of techno, with And.id, a recent Mobilee signing, as the local hero. He definitely knew how to stir the stubborn audience up with more than just a laptop. Beware of Greeks bearing trumpets: When And.id played one halfway through his set, the crowd went ballistic. The same unfortunately can't be said for Shlomi Aber, who played some extremely boring minimal records afterwards, a far cry from the material on his brilliant album for Renaissance. As for DJ Hell and Paul Kalkbrenner, both delivered what was expected: Music for big rooms. Too bad the latter is bound to play his Berlin Calling anthem for the next five years or so. It really does feel like a musical gang rape every time that castle chant kicks in. Luckily, the rest of Kalkbrenner's set was decent as always. The most interesting sounds of the festival came from the Barcelona-based American live act Filastine, who played an amazing mix of electronica, hip-hop, dubstep and world music. He used anything from his laptop and some hardware to a bunch of spoons, numerous weird percussion instruments and even a shopping cart to get his point across. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill Ableton set. Photo credit: Ioanna Hatziandreou Two days of partying at the Vilka Complex left us with some questions, though. Reworks' website states that the event is "the first ever complete audio-visual art festival in Greece," but apart from some extremely cool VJing at the Air Stage on Saturday, the visual aspect nearly went unnoticed. Also, the drink prices were really steep. Five euro beers just doesn't seem right. As for the dance floors—well, they could have used some more fuel at times. The Greek crowd was more restrained than expected, really waiting for those big breaks to occur. Good thing the music made up for most of these drawbacks. Reworks may not offer many artists you won't see elsewhere, but it has solid programming on many different levels, making it a welcome alternative for those who seek a different festival experience.
RA