A MOTORIK OPEN LETTER TO ALL THE DROOGS
2nd Jun 2012
The following is a letter we sent out with the promo for our first record. It was intended to give a background to those hearing about us for the first time, and show them where we’re coming from and where we’re going.
As we lead into the MOTOR!K first birthday (!!!) celebrations I feel those of you out there supporting us from the start should get the chance to read this, we are as greatful to you as anyone in this whole process. Thank you for joining us on this journey into Techno.
UNTZ.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE MOTOR!K CREW
As I sit down to write this, the MOTOR!K crew is preparing for the launch of our record label. Motorik! Records will begin releasing music for some of the most talented, visionary and passionate electronic music producers that I’ve had the pleasure of encountering. Working with such an incredible bunch of artists is an exciting prospect - no doubt we’re about to embark on some melon-twisting musical (and life) adventures.
How did we end up here? This wasn’t in the plan. How did the Motorik! crew go from casually putting on a monthly party to getting organised enough to start a damn label? Indulge me for a moment, while I look back on the turn of events that brought us here. Hopefully, it’ll give us all some perspective on what’s about to come.
June 2011. It had been over a year since my band, Lost Valentinos, had played a show. I was looking for an outlet for CSMNT61, the electronic project that I had since begun with fellow ex-Valentinos Nik Yiannikas and my brother, Andrew. Not much was doing until I got an excited call from my brother. He tells me he’s just met up with an old acquaintance from la-la-land (Vi Hermens) and that they have a plan.
Their vision: a world where techno flows in abundance. Free from the politics of clubland, unspoilt by the meddlesome desires of the usual promoters and clubs, untainted by the apathy of career DJs who will do and play whatever it takes to get a gig. It sounded like a place where we could explore some interesting ideas and actually make something happen. I threw my hat in the ring.
A couple of lengthy conversations later and the mandate was decided on. This was going to be ‘Fun With Techno’: a free, pop-up, techno-flavoured monthly night featuring our favourite local DJs and producers. We wanted to avoid over-defining ‘techno’ and instead make this about a pure, visceral experience. The only sense of a musical direction was the vague implication that we should try things out that we’d be afraid to play in the usual clubs around town. The name and logo were decided quickly. A heartfelt nod to the musical Krautrock visionaries that influenced everything that is holy in electronic music coupled with an undisguised reference to the city whose underground scene was brave enough to find out just how deep they could go.
Within a few frantic weeks, the concept of Motorik! became a reality. On July 1 2011, The Finger Prince, Slow Blow, Cosmonaut and Vi Hermens played techno in a blacked-out comedy club through a hired sound-system to about eighty friends and curious on-lookers.
The next six months passed by in a haze of colour and techno. Producers created tracks to play, musicians came out of their basements and became a part of it, and audiences rediscovered a genre they thought they had put to bed. The Motorik! dance floor became an incubator for ideas, alliances and sounds. Somehow, it seemed like a new collective consciousness was emerging.
Whatever we had thought the Motorik! party would be, we quickly discovered that it had become a testing ground for producers to try new material and a feedback loop for the development of a forward-thinking sound in Sydney. What had started for each of us in isolation was now generating rich collaborations, channelling our collective energy and giving us purpose. Joining our initial line up of the Finger Prince, Slow Blow, Cosmonaut and Vi Hermens were regulars Jensen Interceptor, Wordlife and Light Year. Tunnel Signs from the Death Strobe Records camp, Glitch DJs and Chux also lent their distinctive touches to the mix.
From this point, the logical next step was to create a platform to share what those at the parties were already experiencing. The perfect collaborators were already at our fingertips. Angus Gruzman and Frank Xavier of the Finger Prince possessed the experience and the passion to take our project to the next level. Thus Motorik! Records was born.
The Motorik! record label showcases the talent of the artists who were initially drawn to and bound together by the raw energy of the parties. The first round of releases, available in the coming months, will feature EPs from Jensen Interceptor, CSMNT61, the Finger Prince and Wordlife. Meanwhile, the parties continue and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. It’s time to make this shit happen.
- Patrick Santamaria (CSMNT61 / CO-FOUNDER OF MOTORIK)
