Area 709

So, we're about 10 days away from Trancemission 14, Soundproof's annual summer party.  Yes, you read that right, 14.  We've been around for 14 years!  Craziness!  This is - without a doubt - the one event I look forward to the most every year.  It's also the one event that takes about a week off my life, well worth it I may add.  No matter how well organized you think you are, you inevitably end up foregoing more sleep than you originally intended or thought possible.

I've updated the event details here on Area709.  If you take a gander off to the left side of the screen, you'll see a "Trancemission 14" event listing.  The DJ line-up and ticket meeting points have been updated, and I'll add additional event details in the coming week.  This is the first year we're running 24 continuous hours of music.  Last year we successfully undertook 20 hours, a big step above every year before that where we always pulled the plug at the 12 hour mark.

I'm not sure how you program a 24 hour lineup.  Luckily, I didn't have to, and my responsibilities have stopped at stage logistics.  Andy and Colleen went through about 8 versions of the line-up before they reached a version they thought worked best.  Colleen mentioned off-handedly that she wasn't completely comfortable where she ended up on the line-up.  I shared this comment with Jeff, who in turn quipped, "Well, that probably means it's a good line-up!"


12:00pm Stacey Shkuratoff (DnB)
1:00pm Roberto Alcantara (electro)
2:00pm Teresa Johnson (electro)
3:00pm Mobot (prog/techno/tech-house)
4:00pm Ehsan Rezaie (tech-house)
5:00pm Kyle Archer (techno/tech-house)
6:00pm Yo (live PA, tech)
7:00pm Nemo (minimal techno)
8:00pm Chord (house/minimal techno)
9:00pm John Tennant (live PA tech/breaks)
10:00pm The Trucker (techno)
11:00pm Jeff Griffiths (live PA, techno/tech house)
12:00am Mike Burridge (electro)
1:00am Chris Singer (electro)
2:00am Drew David (techno)
3:00am Evan Jones (techno)
4:00am Colleen (techno)
5:00am Dan Bull (tech house)
6:00am Dark Arps (live PA prog/techno/breaks)
7:00am Mike Lee (trance)
8:00am Kurtis (electro/house)
9:00am Ira Sentesy (tech house/techno)
10:00am Jeff Johnston (tech/prog/breaks
11:00am Clint Hanson (tech house)


I'm quite excited to hear, well, everyone play.  See?  This is why I never get any goddamn sleep at these things.


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On a somewhat related note, if you're in Victoria on July 30 and 31, you should really go check out the Victoria Electronic Music Festival (VEMF) - www.vemf.org Now, I haven't been myself, but I've heard nothing but good things from friends about past VEMFs.  Forgetting the fact Vancouver hosted the Olympics, I don't think this city has the collective maturity or community cohesiveness to do something similar.  So, for a fun, urban, multi-day music festival on the West Coast it seems we have a choice between the VEMF in Victoria in July, or Decibel in Seattle at the end of September.  Both look really fantastic.

The VEMF was a free event in past years.  This year, organizers are asking for a $5 entry fee and it appears the event will be enclosed by gates or fences of some sort.  I've read some snide comments online about this.  Anyone who is complaining about these changes needs a swift reality check:

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1186

The link I posted above is from Resident Advisor's excellent 'Oral History' series, and the article is specifically about the evolution of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF).  The VEMF is not the same beast as the DEMF, but I think the article highlights some important, less-than-obvious hurdles similar festivals have to work hard to overcome.  Working with a municipality is not necessarily easy, or cheap.  While I'm not privy to any of the reasons that led to the changes, I usually give organizers of events like these the benefit of the doubt.  Planning and carrying out all the logistical work for Trancemission is exhausting; I can't imagine how much work the VEMF must be and how many things must go sideways in the process.

Besides, $5?  I spend that much on coffee every day. 

I am now stepping off of the soapbox.  I'll post another brief update next week before I head out to Pemberton for T14!

Cheers,
Jones