Get your balloons ready, its almost time to celebrate. r_AW-style!

April 2004. A time when Peaky Pounder still came from Finland. Rude Awakening was a new name delivering hugely distorted techno tracks. And P60 was this -barely 2 years old- venue under the smoke of Amsterdam. The rest, as they say, is history...

It would be suited to start this anniversary newsletter with a long story about all the previous 19 editions of Club r_AW, the highlight performances, the shocking backstage stories, crowd antics or how even Aphex Twin himself is getting into the vibe by playing Rude Awakening tracks in his sets lately. Then again, let's just focus on the matter at hand.

The Third Movement presents: Club r_AW, 5y anniversary!


Coming to you on the 17th and 18th of April, the 20th - a.k.a. the 5 year anniversary - edition of Club r_AW deserves a decent time slot to unfold its hard tech industrial hardcore bridge. Will 15 hours be enough? With 2 nights in a row spanning over 2 venues, the r_AW weekender should deliver a piece of the action for everyone!



APRIL 17 2009, from subtle hits to solid techno percussion, the Friday hard tech drive by:

MISS DJAX		WALDHAUS & WEICHEN TECHNIKK		KIMVO		SANDY WAREZ		RUDE AWAKENING		JEFF AMADEUS

Click on the photos to have a view at the artists' their Myspace pages.

One of the names jumping into sight when one takes a closer look at the Friday line-up is Kimvo, alter-ego of TTM producer and Club r_AW resident N-Vitral. What to expect? "I'll be doing an Ableton DJ-set," Stefan replies. "It won't be a regular live-set, because I simply don't have enough Kimvo-material to fill up a full hour. Secondly, Ableton is a fantastic tool which allows me to do extraordinary things with music live on scene. The possibilities are endless when playing with Ableton instead of records or CDs. It allows me to fragment and manipulate certain tracks, and thus better react to the moment. This way new edits of existing tracks are born. I'll attack the crowd with drum-loops, unfinished Kimvo tracks and existing music from other artists. This will all be mashed together into a story in which I'll work towards several intense climaxes. The set will reflect my view on the harder genres. That's all I'll say for now." You've released only one Kimvo track to date. Is there more finished work? "Yes, but not completely finished. You can expect to hear new stuff on the 17th." After 5 years, you're informally known as one of the residents of Club r_AW. Do you feel at home with this crossover concept? "Definitely. The music which I produce as N-Vitral is a crossover of different styles, mostly hardcore and techno. So yes." During the Saturday edition you'll also perform as N-Vitral. Is there something like a home-advantage when performing as a resident? "I don't know. People know what N-Vitral stands for I think, so that creates some expectations. On the other side I don't feel a home advantage. In my view you're as good as your last performance, the past doesn't really matter. I try to prove myself to the crowd each and every-time. It's important to keep reinventing yourself as an artist. Continue to find your borders. Face the insecurities of your musical talent and eventually grow and evolve. I have to keep evolving."

"That's why Kimvo was introduced. As Kimvo I encounter different experiences and problems than I would as N-Vitral. The structure of an industrial hardcore track has a different approach than a hard techno track. The flow is different and production-wise there's a difference in depth and layers; challenges all around." In 2006 N-Vitral opened his Q-Base set with a now infamous unfinished track. Anything happening with this material? "The track has been mixed again and will appear on the next N-Vitral EP! I received so many reactions about this track that I couldn't just leave it untouched. In the end I'm happy it took so much time before I mixed it and send it to TTM. Lately I've been working on the art of mixing and I think I've grown quite considerably. Because of this, the Q-Base track even gained power in the form of this new version. The kick is extra fat, and the arrangement is a lot richer compared to the original." So of all the performances at r_AW, which one made the most impression? "I think that would be my own set during the November 2007 edition. Crazy! I had the feeling there was some kind of magical electricity in the air. When I started my set, with the Q-Base track, I heard cheers coming from all corners of the P60. Even before a familiar tone was played. From that point on, it all went by like a dream; I don't exactly know anymore what I played, in what order, with which effects and at what speed, but it all seemed to fit. And to see the P60 crowd move up and down: that's indescribable."

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APRIL 18 2009, Saturday continues with fierce industrial ending up at the broken beats of hardcore by:

I:GOR

PEAKY POUNDER

MYSTIFI CATION

PROMO

MICRON

N-VITRAL

MONSTER X

VOID SETTLER

Click on the photos to have a view at the artists' their Myspace pages.

One of the newcomers on day 2 of the r_AW anniversary is Monster X. Who? Well, Monster X! "I'm Julien Caraz aka Monster X. This name comes from an old school sci-fi movie with Godzilla. Monster X is another nuclear monster fighting Godzilla. I took this name because obviously I was needing a name and I've always loved horror and sci-fi movies." A quick read-up on Monster X unveils an alternative past. Apparently Julien used to be in a 12-piece metal band. "I was singing. Mmm, not really proper singing, more screaming 'a la' death metal. And playing bass. I was also taking care of the samples which were triggered by a mate during the live gigs using Akai samplers." The band still exists? "It doesn't anymore. It was too hard to manage a band with 12 people who usually never agree. At the end I thought it was more a waste of time and too much politics. That's why I chose not to work with other humans anymore. I really prefer to do my own music at home whenever I want to. I can awake in the middle of the night, do a track and then go to bed again. Which is not possible if you're working with a band." Do you think your metal past reflects in your current sound? "Not sure about that. It probably does in some ways, maybe when it comes down to the arrangement and structure of a tune. I still listen to some metal bands, but it's not my favorite dish anymore as it used to be." People might link you to breakcore at first, but recently you've also released slower work through EPs at Peace Off. "I don't really do breakcore, I'm more into 4/4 beats and slower tempo like 130 or 140 BPM. I even did some more funky stuff." Monster X recently released his second EP 'Satan is love' at Peace Off. How did you get in contact with the label boss, Rotator? "The first release, 'Disco zombie assault' was first released as a free digital download on Bedroom Research, a wicked net label owned by Subjex.

Then when Rotator first heard it, he immediately asked me if I was interested in having it released on vinyl on Peace Off. I was really surprised because the usual Peace Off releases are more uptempo and hectic, but I couldn't say no!" Satan is love, is he (or she)? Julien laughs, "I hope it's a girl!" Your profile mentioned that you make your own Reaktor plugins, do they credit to your current sound? "I'm using Reaktor since the second version when it was called Generator. I like the way you can create your own FX, beat machines and synth. Whatever you think of. It really helps during the creative process. I still use it everyday." On the 18th of April you're flying in from France. Do you think there's a French element within your music? "I don't think so. I don't really care about other peoples music, I just try to do my own thing. The only French element in my music is probably me." The Club r_AW booking is your second booking in The Netherlands. How do you describe a Monster X set yourself? "Indeed it's my second booking in The Netherlands. The first time was at Not your monkey Not your robot. A Monster X set is a kind of half mix / half live-set with my tunes. And more patterns and weird FX in Reaktor. I usually start slowly, and then... Mmm you'll see!"

So what else is there to say? Time-tables will be announced - in true r_AW tradition - at the venue on the night itself. If you don't want to miss out on any of the international acts, come early! We're talking before midnight, check. Final updates concerning the Club r_AW 5y anniversary can be found next week at thirdmovement.nl.

CLUB r_AW, 5y, the facts: FRIDAY APRIL 17 2009 Melkweg, Amsterdam 22:00-05:00 SATURDAY APRIL 18 2009 P60, Amstelveen 22:00-06:00 (!) PRE-SALE Tickets for the Melkweg night: Ticketservice outlets and at the door of the Melkweg itself. For the P60 night: Paylogic, Primera shops and at the P60. Damage for each night will be €16 flat (Melkweg tickets INCLUDE subscription), more at the door. The animated center of Club r_AW 5y: clubraw.nl