HONEST JON’S AT PLASTIC PEOPLE
Mark Ernestus / Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir / Actress
Thursday December 17, Plastic People, London
Three killer deejays, once again.
Shake is the best-kept secret of the first wave of Detroit techno legends. Some of his first recordings were with Derrick May and Carl Craig for Metroplex, before he set up his own imprints, Puzzlebox and Frictional. Like his own pioneering music, his brilliant deejaying is stripped-down and bass-heavy — thrilling, physical, raw and direct — cutting and scratching pure techno funk, steeped in soul and hip hop erudition.
Mark Ernestus’ awe-inspiring music has been released under the names Basic Channel, Maurizio, Main Street, and Rhythm And Sound. The Wire reckoned his set of futuristic reggae sevens at our last, all-Berlin party (alongside Sleeparchive and DJ Pete, no less) ‘easily the best of the night… as refreshing as a blast of cold water in the face’.
With an album for Honest Jon’s coming in the Spring, Actress is a kind of wildly pro-creative London crossing of these Berlin and Detroit traditions — edgy, humorous, a little pervy — with Theo Parrish and Moodymann, John Carpenter soundtracks and dubstep, nineties soul and Library electronica, all in the mix. Fact magazine raved about Hazyville, his LP debut for his own label Werk (also home to Zomby and Lukid) : ‘a jaw-dropping, endlessly rewarding exercise in grainy techno claustrophobia’.
One week to go, and we’re sure the night will sell out, like last time — so step forward. TICKETS
