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2005/12: Student Direct: Graeme Yeo
Watch Out! Radioactive Man!
Since its inception in February 2004, Sequence has developed from an obscure monthly night into a hub of quality underground music. The music policy broadly comes under the banner of electro, but guests and residents play a range, from bass heavy grime and dub-step to intricate bleepy techno. November’s guest was Keith Tenniswood under his Radioactive Man moniker (responsible for two albums and two mix CDs, including a critically acclaimed mix for the Fabric series) and The Attic was filled to capacity before Midnight in anticipation. I’m a big fan of this venue, small enough to stay intimate, but big enough for a good atmosphere – the perfect balance for a sweaty rave.
The continuing success of Sequence at filling the Attic each month is not just down to big guest names. A mixture of local talent, up-and-coming artists, as well as more famous DJs, producers and live acts, have meant the nights have stayed fresh and diverse, and as the word has spread, the crowds have grown. The quality of the residents has a part to play and people are taking note. The Computer Controlled DJs have had slots at Sankey’s and Dry Bar recently, and have been collaborating with nights such as Kindergarten and Locked. Things aren’t looking to slow down.
The night started with resident Mark ‘Turbo’ Turner playing a hard-edged, tight set and was followed by regular guest Pete Mangalore with his own particular brand of twisted electronic mayhem (the flyers’ description of ‘murder-pop’ somehow works). By the time he finished at midnight, the dance floor was rocking. The resident Computer Controlled DJs then were then in control and for the next hour seamlessly blended all manner of electro, techno and old school breakbeat tunes (think Altern-8) with squelching acid bass lines thrown in for good measure.
It was Radioactive Man for the last two hours. His set started off shakily with some messing mixing, but he soon got settled spinning his trademark ‘machine funk’ electro, gradually picking up the pace until he was banging out dance floor movers from the likes of Koma & Bones, Underground Resistance and Mode Selektor, finishing up with some hard electro including some of his own productions. The set was unfortunately a bit samey and after a while, the relentless broken electro became a touch formulaic. Keith Tenniswood’s C.V. is impressive and varied - he has been involved in productions for Beth Orton, Primal Scream and Jon Carter and has long been Andrew Weatherall’s musical partner, but none of this was apparent from his record selection, and it would have been nice to have had a less predictable sound and structure to his set.
That said, the dance floor was moving all night and the crowd was certainly appreciating the beats coming from the impressive sound system. There were weird and wonderful tunes for the vinyl-spotters, but the focus remained firmly on making people dance and the atmosphere was electric. I had been building myself up to see Radioactive Man for a while and in the end I was slightly disappointed. The highlight for me was the Computer Controlled DJs warm up set. They know their crowd and play to it brilliantly with an exciting blend of electronic music.
Graeme Yeo
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