I had the craziest dream. Super vivid, and it just kept going. Seriously, like it seemed to last a decade. Instead of playing electronic music live on gear that made sounds, so you could keep track of what you were doing with physical buttons and switches and things, all the boys and girls were using laptops. But that wasn’t the weird part: what was strange was, people were just putting whole tracks on those computers. I know what you’re thinking – so they were DJing, right? But no! They were just playing tracks one after another all the same tempo. Sometimes they used, like, the computer keyboard. You couldn’t even see two tracks playing at once — like, you just had to stare at the screen to see when they were nearly done and then make them play one at a time. And then people were adding loops over top that never stopped, so everything sounded like a trainwreck. It was kind of a nightmare.
Anyway, I woke up with night terrors, but then I saw Ceephax Acid Crew in a big cube of video game graphics and I knew everything was okay again. Ha – like, why would you buy an expensive computer that does all these cool things if you’re just going to play it like a single CDJ with no crossfader?! Too funny.
Now I see Ceephax Acid Crew and I’m awake and it’s not a dream.
URSS got a camera, and now you have Ceephax Acid Crew playing in your computer from the Internet, and that proves it’s real. “Live motherf***in’ acid,” says some man.
Source/location:
La Fabrica del Vapore, Milan, Italy
31 January 2015
Milan’s Intellighenzia is a brilliant host for independent electronic music culture; find more:
RA: residentadvisor.net/promoter.aspx?id=14567
SC: soundcloud.com/intellighenzia_label
TW: twitter.com/intelectronica
Ceephax Acid Crew is playing live on familiar gear, which you can read from his rider. Who’s who of live gear, really:
1 x TR-909
1 x SH-101
1 x TR-707
1 x KENTON PRO 2000
1 x YAMAHA RS-7000
14 x 6.35MM (1/4 INCH) JACK TO JACK CABLES (NOT SHORT PATCH CABLES)
3 x MIDI CABLES
Ceephax Acid Crew would like you to know that he doesn’t play Behringer mixers and that he needs LOTS AND LOTS OF TABLE SPACE. (Ha, Andy’s rider looks like my rider.)
Ceephax is warming my nerdy heart because he’s making Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart references on Twitter. Yes, he’s English. He’s Andy Jenkinson. Don’t mention his brother – I’m only talking about Andy.
Yes, he plays acid. The gear, the squelching bass lines, they come from the 90s. But they also get twisted through the neon-colored filters of Andy’s imagination.
Ceephax Acid Crew has a sense of humor. This works for live playing because he’s willing to do silly things. It’s not a mistake. It’s just a player who will actually laugh with you and let you laugh at him and let you laugh.
Ceephax Acid Crew makes pop. He plays songs that have the feeling you had when you played into your cassette Walkman when no one else was listening because they made you feel good, and you alone.
Ceephax Acid Crew is not a robot. He’s not a chiseled male model behind a pair of CDJs playing 15-minute techno tracks. He is actually f***ing up a bit with his drum machine because he’s using his hands and fingers to make stuff and they’ve got blood flowing through them, and they’re connected to a brain and that brain is happy to let you know that it’s making decisions and some of them probably aren’t, strictly speaking, “correct,” but that human being is playing for you now and it doesn’t know what will happen, either.
I’ve talked about Ceephax Acid Crew before and I’m sure I’ll do it again. But now seems like the time. Because now big manufacturers are remembering that they invented the gear on which acid was invented. (Hello, Roland AIRA.) And now companies make step sequencers again. And now everything doesn’t have an iPad dock in it, and everything doesn’t boast hardware/software integration, because the revolution will not be a big dongle.
And this revolution matters, because it means you can play live again, and it won’t sound like a record, and maybe people will smile when they dance.
Rant concludes.
https://www.facebook.com/ceephaxacidcrew
Photos via Ceephax’s Facebook page… he’s coming to your town, hopefully.
<3 this post
<3 this post
<3 this post
Acid without 303 is no Acid.
But
Take it Acid comes 😉
Acid without 303 is no Acid.
But
Take it Acid comes 😉
Acid without 303 is no Acid.
But
Take it Acid comes 😉
Don’t forget two TB-303’s in his setup!
Yeah that’s not his whole setup, I guess he just asks for those things as people can get them locally and they’re heavy – good luck getting gigs where you insist on two TB303’s on the rider!
I am sure his setup changes from gig to gig. He has only one TB-303 in this video and a TR-606 he doesn’t seem to be using much.
Don’t forget two TB-303’s in his setup!
Yeah that’s not his whole setup, I guess he just asks for those things as people can get them locally and they’re heavy – good luck getting gigs where you insist on two TB303’s on the rider!
I am sure his setup changes from gig to gig. He has only one TB-303 in this video and a TR-606 he doesn’t seem to be using much.
Don’t forget two TB-303’s in his setup!
Yeah that’s not his whole setup, I guess he just asks for those things as people can get them locally and they’re heavy – good luck getting gigs where you insist on two TB303’s on the rider!
I am sure his setup changes from gig to gig. He has only one TB-303 in this video and a TR-606 he doesn’t seem to be using much.
holy shit get that guy up front out of there
Why? Because he’s enjoying himself? The more people headbanging to acid the better.
‘cos he’s putting the whole fucking gig in jeopardy with his dodgy beer handling and general pissed up-ness. dopn’t fucking try and touch the faders and shit… what are you doing??? I’m guilty of over doing it at raves but he crossed the line in to annoying twat territory.
IN JEOPARDY!
Jeopardy Acid
quello è un mio amico c’ha un problema con l’alcol
holy shit get that guy up front out of there
Why? Because he’s enjoying himself? The more people headbanging to acid the better.
‘cos he’s putting the whole fucking gig in jeopardy with his dodgy beer handling and general pissed up-ness. dopn’t fucking try and touch the faders and shit… what are you doing??? I’m guilty of over doing it at raves but he crossed the line in to annoying twat territory.
IN JEOPARDY!
Jeopardy Acid
quello è un mio amico c’ha un problema con l’alcol
holy shit get that guy up front out of there
Why? Because he’s enjoying himself? The more people headbanging to acid the better.
‘cos he’s putting the whole fucking gig in jeopardy with his dodgy beer handling and general pissed up-ness. dopn’t fucking try and touch the faders and shit… what are you doing??? I’m guilty of over doing it at raves but he crossed the line in to annoying twat territory.
IN JEOPARDY!
Jeopardy Acid
quello è un mio amico c’ha un problema con l’alcol
Lovely music, good vibes!
Lovely music, good vibes!
Lovely music, good vibes!
“The revolution will not be a big dongle”. Oh, you and your turns of phrase <3
“The revolution will not be a big dongle”. Oh, you and your turns of phrase <3
“The revolution will not be a big dongle”. Oh, you and your turns of phrase <3
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Andy play twice in Copenhagen, first time in 2008 I think. His live sets are magnificent, some of the best I’ve seen. Not only is it a joy to watch him perform, the sound coming from all that lovely gear sounds so damn fat coming through a club system.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Andy play twice in Copenhagen, first time in 2008 I think. His live sets are magnificent, some of the best I’ve seen. Not only is it a joy to watch him perform, the sound coming from all that lovely gear sounds so damn fat coming through a club system.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Andy play twice in Copenhagen, first time in 2008 I think. His live sets are magnificent, some of the best I’ve seen. Not only is it a joy to watch him perform, the sound coming from all that lovely gear sounds so damn fat coming through a club system.
Great taste, Peter. Andy is one of the few truly gifted and talented COMPOSERS creating electronic music today, he really does bring out wondrous melodies and sound from his gear.
But you haven’t actually told us where these live vids were recorded, and when they happened?
I ‘m at the first video, at the beginning it says, @la fabrica del vapore, Milan, Italy
31 january 2015.
Really great stuff!
Great taste, Peter. Andy is one of the few truly gifted and talented COMPOSERS creating electronic music today, he really does bring out wondrous melodies and sound from his gear.
But you haven’t actually told us where these live vids were recorded, and when they happened?
I ‘m at the first video, at the beginning it says, @la fabrica del vapore, Milan, Italy
31 january 2015.
Really great stuff!
Great taste, Peter. Andy is one of the few truly gifted and talented COMPOSERS creating electronic music today, he really does bring out wondrous melodies and sound from his gear.
But you haven’t actually told us where these live vids were recorded, and when they happened?
I ‘m at the first video, at the beginning it says, @la fabrica del vapore, Milan, Italy
31 january 2015.
Really great stuff!
Oh yes! I was having this conversation about how much to do live with James off of Alone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBo_Erz28mE). I take out the “necessary” – i.e, laptop, grid, sound card, and One Synth to Rule Them All And In The Strobe Lighting Bind Them. James on the other hand takes out frikkin everything – iPad, midiNES, Midi Gameboy, MPC, Meeblip, Shruthi, Kaoss Pad, Mixer… And I must be forgetting something. Inspirational to watch, but I’d have a nervous breakdown if I took all that out and had to rely on it all!
Oh yes! I was having this conversation about how much to do live with James off of Alone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBo_Erz28mE). I take out the “necessary” – i.e, laptop, grid, sound card, and One Synth to Rule Them All And In The Strobe Lighting Bind Them. James on the other hand takes out frikkin everything – iPad, midiNES, Midi Gameboy, MPC, Meeblip, Shruthi, Kaoss Pad, Mixer… And I must be forgetting something. Inspirational to watch, but I’d have a nervous breakdown if I took all that out and had to rely on it all!
Oh yes! I was having this conversation about how much to do live with James off of Alone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBo_Erz28mE). I take out the “necessary” – i.e, laptop, grid, sound card, and One Synth to Rule Them All And In The Strobe Lighting Bind Them. James on the other hand takes out frikkin everything – iPad, midiNES, Midi Gameboy, MPC, Meeblip, Shruthi, Kaoss Pad, Mixer… And I must be forgetting something. Inspirational to watch, but I’d have a nervous breakdown if I took all that out and had to rely on it all!
Seen him live about 10 years ago, proper mental!
Seen him live about 10 years ago, proper mental!
Seen him live about 10 years ago, proper mental!
We opened for Him a few years back in Nebraska 🙂 I still have that ugly Pink shirt you sold me Andy 🙂 i wear it and the wife makes fun of me !!!!
We opened for Him a few years back in Nebraska 🙂 I still have that ugly Pink shirt you sold me Andy 🙂 i wear it and the wife makes fun of me !!!!
We opened for Him a few years back in Nebraska 🙂 I still have that ugly Pink shirt you sold me Andy 🙂 i wear it and the wife makes fun of me !!!!
I love ceephax also. great composer. I am wondering where does he stores all the the melody-lines? on the boxes he brings with him ok – but it seems more than this, e.g. the where are the lines for the 101 stored? there are sometimes bass, melo and some chords running at the same time.
I love ceephax also. great composer. I am wondering where does he stores all the the melody-lines? on the boxes he brings with him ok – but it seems more than this, e.g. the where are the lines for the 101 stored? there are sometimes bass, melo and some chords running at the same time.
I love ceephax also. great composer. I am wondering where does he stores all the the melody-lines? on the boxes he brings with him ok – but it seems more than this, e.g. the where are the lines for the 101 stored? there are sometimes bass, melo and some chords running at the same time.
that stupid guy almost hit the andy’s head. totally not good.
that stupid guy almost hit the andy’s head. totally not good.
that stupid guy almost hit the andy’s head. totally not good.
I love that new track around 20 mins
I love that new track around 20 mins
I love that new track around 20 mins