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| Mono Junk at the decks (Photo: TehnoTasand) |
A small anniversary for TehnoTasand series of techno parties in Tallinn, when the tenth edition was held in Kultuurikatla Aed, a semi open-air venue close to the Old Town. Nice weather and pleasant ambience, with some people playing table tennis in the yard, attracted a sizable crowd that indicated increasing interest in techno in the Estonian capital.
Harder beats were found in so-called Kanal B room where MÜRK resident Artur Lääts got the things moving with a solid set, including a secret weapon, Gareth Wild’s “Get Raw” mixed with ever-present “Losing Control” and the finale with DVS1’s simple but memorable chord parade “Black Russian”.
The Kanal A room featured more reserved sounds, starting with stylish ambient dub session by DJ mrds, who prepared the ground for Rajaleidja aka Joel Tammik. He has been the main purveyor of dub techno in Estonia, in recent years pursuing more experimental paths of sound research. Rajaleidja’s PA was an amalgamation of abstract dub textures and filtered noises.
Next up in Kanal B was the night’s headliner Mono Junk, one of Finland’s foremost techno producers and founder of Dum Records. Wearing a Skudge T-shirt, which reminded about his recent EP for the Swedish label, Mono Junk aka Kimmo Rapatti dropped a rough vinyl set dominated by old school and acid sounds. After the electro funk tunes of West Coast breakdancers, he hit with 1992 Belgian rave stabs and also with Circuit Breaker’s utterly functional “Overkill” as a reminder of Richie Hawtin’s real talent. For a while it seemed the newest tracks played were released in mid-1990s but it was part of the game to remind about rich heritage of electronic music and excellent selection compensated casual mixing.
The night was wrapped up by Aivar Tõnso, legendary DJ and producer and a member of Hüpnosaurus, who was in the mood for electro disco, while in the other room residents Kaur Kareda and mrds did their part.