- September's line-up at The Bunker, a New York monthly, was so impressive that I didn't think twice about flying from Chicago just to attend the party. The party's booker, Spinoza, started things off in the house-heavy front room with plenty of deep and dubby techno that kept me trainspotting often, while the back room was already packed by 11:30 PM as Derek Plaslaiko dropped dance floor friendly techno and house jams, gradually building the set's intensity and pace until he had fists pumping and the floor cheering. He played harder than I have heard him play for some time, and warmed up the room well for Octave One.
Photo credit: Seze Devres
During Plaslaiko's set, I periodically visited the front room as Eric Cloutier performed an extended set before Jan Krueger took over. I've seen Cloutier play in a number of settings in several cities around the US. He always delivers, but he officially became one of my favorite DJs this night. His mixes are incredibly smooth and precise, and I can say that as a DJ I'm a bit envious of his skill and talent. He ranks up there with the best of them. Following Plaslaiko in the back was Wagon Repair's Hrdvsion, AKA Nathan Jonson. His unconventional hybrid of pop/R&B samples with raw analog beats didn't seem to sit well with everyone. I saw several confused faces. I smiled at his clever re-edit of Prince's "Erotic City," but overall his set lacked fluidity, leaving few opportunities for the audience to dance.
Luckily, he was followed up by Octave One. The last time I heard the duo was in the sonically lacking cement underground stage at this year's Movement festival, so hearing their all-hardware live PA on The Bunker's sound system was a treat. Despite being poised behind two tables full of enormous mixing desks, Korg drum machines, synthesizers, and effects pads the duo immediately made the room come alive with energy and kept people dancing. Watching a discerning audience like the regulars at The Bunker getting down and dancing with abandon reminded me why I love Detroit techno. The brothers kept the emotive strings, jazzy melodies and vocals to a minimum and focused on keeping their set bumping. I would have loved to hear a killer live version of their cosmic masterpiece, "Daystar Rising," but eventually we were treated to a stripped down version of "Blackwater," which was good enough for me.
Meanwhile, in the front room, Jan Krueger's all-vinyl DJ set effortlessly glided between raw house grooves and old bleepy techno by way of seamless, bafflingly long mixes. Krueger puts tracks together that you never thought would work and makes them sound perfect in the context of the mix. For most of Krueger's set, though, I was in the back. It had been five years since I'd last seen Surgeon, and hearing him was, as cliché as it sounds, a cathartic experience.
Photo credit: Seze Devres
Despite abundant shifts between tempos and genres, Surgeon never let the energy dull for a second. He truly lives up to his name, swiftly cutting up and dropping in an array of loops and samples with great finesse, never over-embellishing with effects. His own personal edits of classics like "House of God" were exciting and used judiciously among his old Tresor releases, dubstep, reggae and electro. The way he worked in "Megatron Man"? Quite possibly the highlight of the night. The only downside to this party was that music was maybe TOO good in both rooms, making it incredibly difficult to commit to a location throughout the night. But if that's your biggest problem, you're doing everything right. Well done, Team Bunker.