Jeremy Hollister (jeremy@mte.com)
Fri, 28 May 1999 15:39:18 -0400
Hey, I was at that same New Years Party!
I was likewise highly impressed with the show. I will say they are three
of the few DJs who can really pull off what they do, charismatic and then
a dance party at the same time.
I heard that they will be playing in london in a week or so in a club with
four floors, one on each floor with Carl Craig on the fourth, sounds like
an amazing night in store.
Looking forward to hearing the new release.
BTW I always get crazy sick when I get back from Tokyo, must be the the
fifteen hours in a flying petri dish, aka jumbo jet.
Jeremy
On Fri, 28 May 1999, Rahav, Nathaniel (NYC) wrote:
>
> I had the chance to see UFO in tokyo also, one New Years Eve 2 or 3 years
> ago. That was the best party I have ever been to. The amalgamation of sounds
> you describe below was present at my show too. I dont think it's something
> new for them, but I'm sure they've become even better at it by now. Most
> notable was their seamless mixes of samba with house with drum & bass with
> 60's spy-jazz. That was the only show I ever saw where the DJ's rocked
> straight ahead jazz and had the crowd going wild. Their sense of buildup &
> escalation is incredible. Right when the clock hit 12 they dropped Airto
> Moreira's Celebration Suite, which has since become for me the ONLY song
> that should be played when the ball drops.
> In a separate room there was another cat who was playing the ILLEST
> downtempo rare funk & moog music that I have EVER heard.
> In addition to the fat beats their visuals were also great. They had a stage
> with three panels on it, each one a different color. Behind the screens they
> had beautiful women dancing, whose silhouettes projected onto the colored
> panels in an amazing way. Once in a while the UFO DJ's, who were all decked
> out in 60's spy suits, would get behind there and dance with one of the
> women, but they were dancing swing-style with turns & spins & stuff.
> Then they had a video projection where they were showing retro images mixed
> with hillarious cartoons, lots of beatnik themed images & animations.
>
> It's funny what you said about the dancing crowd in Tokyo. The UFO show was
> the only one where I didnt notice that happening. Every other party I went
> to (including Juan Atkins at Yellow), all the people danced facing one
> direction, towards the DJ, and not with each other. It's really kind of
> bizarre, the difference between our American Ultra Individualism, where
> people dance on their own and try to be unique and dont dance with each
> other, vs. Japanese non-individualism where people dance the same way,
> facing the same direction, vs. Latin America's Romantic Togetherism, where
> people only dance in couples....
>
> If you EVER get a chance to see UFO live, do so by any means.
>
> .·´¯`·.¸¸.N·a·t.¸
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gen Kanai [mailto:gkanai@earthlink.net]
> Sent: Thursday, May 27, 1999 9:17 AM
> To: acid-jazz@ucsd.edu
> Subject: Review: UFO at Liquid Room (Tokyo)
>
>
> AJers,
>
> I had the opportunity to check out UFO (United Future Organization) in
> their hometown with their hometown crowd at the record release party for
> their new full-length "Bon Voyage." What a crowd! My god, Liquid is a
> pretty large venue compared to what I know in Los Angeles and the place was
> packed, wall-to-wall with people grooving.
>
> I didn't buy the new album because I know I'll get it cheaper here when it
> comes out domestic but from what they spun, it sounds like an eclectic mix.
> I have no idea if what they spun comes close to what the album is like
> (most likely not) but I heard samba, salsa, Fela-ish stuff, techno, house,
> d'n'b, and acid-jazzy stuff too. It was really like taking a trip around
> the world to dance music. I think UFO is definetly expanding their sound
> to encompass some of the newer trends. Not sure how I feel about it but
> I'm pretty sure what they spin live is a lot more dance-y/house-y than what
> the album will be like.
>
> My friend, who's not into the scene per se, commented that he thought it
> was funny that the Tokyo crowd was all dancing towards the DJs even though
> all they were doing were spinning records. I guess in Tokyo, UFO has
> reached a certain level of stardom that the crowd wants to check them out
> even if they're just spinning records.
>
> We got in free because a friend of a friend's company was recording the
> event for a webcast. As soon as I find out more about when that's
> available, I'll be sure to let you all know.
>
> Gen, who is back from Tokyo and who caught a cold and is sick in bed on
> antibiotics...yuck!
>
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