Liz Revision: “Megahertz Mix”

1. Gui Boratto: “No Turning Back”
2. Pantha du Prince” “Florac”
3. Trentmoller: “Always Something Better (Trentemoller Remix)”
4. Kollektiv Turmstrasse: “Holunderbaum (Mick Rubin Remix)”
5. Tony Rohr: “Afterburnt”
6. MSTKFT: “Heartbreaker (Laidback Luke Remix)”
7. The Knife: “Heartbeats (Rex The Dog Mix)”
8. Oliver Hacke: Untitled (B2)
9. Williams: “Poltergeist”
10. LCD Sound System “Someone Great”
11. Crisopa: “Fibra de Carbono y Cambios Automaticos”

Watching this documentary on the contemporary techno movement gave me goosebumps. And I recognized every single track in this trailer (yay for those technerd points).

Speaking in Code is an intimate account of people who are completely lost in music. A heartbreaking and lighthearted documentary, it’s a vérité glimpse into the world of techno.Captivating and entertaining, the film takes you around the world, following the people who make electronic music … their lives.

Starring: Modeselektor, Wighnomy Brothers, Monolake, Philip Sherburne, David Day & Amy Grill

Also featuring: Ellen Allien, Tobias Thomas, Marc LeClair AKA Akufen, Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer, Reinhard Voigt, Sascha Ring AKA Apparat, Sascha Funke, Mario Willms AKA Douglas Greed, Miss Kittin, Dan Paluska AKA Six Million Dollar Dan, Mike Uzzi AKA Smartypants

Featuring music by: Modeselektor, Wighnomy Brothers, Robag Wruhme, Ellen Allien & Apparat, The Field, Monolake, Michael Mayer, Gas, Jonas Bering, SCSI-9, Gui Boratto, Superpitcher, Steadycam, Dettinger, The Rice Twins, Reinhard Voigt, Oxia

Although the artists featured are mostly based in Germany, the internet has spread this particular sound throughout the world through niche-oriented internet media. Germans aren’t the only ones generating the energy of the new movement, but their scene is very visible. We do need educational vehicles like one this to explain to the world why we’re so passionate about something so abstract, yet moving and emotional. Can’t wait to see the final product.

ALSO: Here my more-academic rant on Gaper’s Block: “Speaking in Code: A Documentary on the Passion-fueled Lives of Contemporary Techno Creators”

Techno enthusiasts, I would propose, operate on a generally more abstract level than just “having a beat you can dance to” along with a sung allegory of lost love or pursued-yet-unrequited love. Much along the lines of Western Classical enthusiasts, they giddily freak out about an unexpected bass-modulated, gated atonality, and derive blissful pleasure from well-placed syncopation and juxtaposing the minimal alongside the maximal.

A few years back I modeled for iGo car sharing. If you’re not familiar, iGo is a non-profit car-sharing service, providing cars you rent on a half-hourly basis across the city. Gas & insurance is included, and there are lots of cars in the area. They were trying to let DJs and musicians know that cars are free from midnight until 6am, so it would be like there’s a DJ-discount, ha!

Anyway, so the above photo is the original flier with a closeup of my head. Decent design, but then a few years later they decided to change the layout, as shown below. Why, you ask? I think I might have figured it out…

{READ MORE}

Here is a funny mix I did that’s released on “Pirate Party Submissions” on subVariant.

Liz Revision: “OK What the FUCK, Liz?”

[Pirate Party] was an invitation for local artists to hand in the work they wanted to share, for free, on the subVariant site, and be promoted and featured in the local press, music blogs, social networks and the like. Sort of like The Pirate Bay, but totally legal since everyone who handed in music has the right to distibute the works (yes, there is a mighty huge .torrent link at the bottom too…please seed!) (And please note the Creative Commons distribution below it…we may all distribute at will but if you want to commercially use or modify any of these works you gotta contact the artist in question).

Secondly, it’s completely non-curated. Unlike a traditional record label that screens for quality, taste, appropriateness and style, we did nothing of the sort. We’re just helping everyone “pirate” interesting electronic music + art within a local community and also globally through the powr of thar intartr0nz YARR.

OK, I’ll admit CDs in general are pretty boring and kind of outdated now that broadband and MP3s are standard. However, Matt Moldover of Controllerism fame has definitely spiced up the concept of the CD with his latest release of original work that’s also a theremin-like toy (!) The track names are even embedded in the circuitboard. Mad hot. Get this thing! It’s available in 3 editions at $10, $25, and $50 in varying degrees of awesomeness.

Were you one of those kids who had a next door neighbor who had that sweet corvette PowerWheel and were too woefully poor to have one yourself? We were those kids, and we decided to do something about it….20 years later.

We decided to modify and race PowerWheels, We do it for the glory, for the daring dreamy dream of that tasty elixir known as childhood that we’ll never have again cause we have day jobs and don’t weigh 70 pounds anymore. (Fatty)

We also want to play Mario Kart in real life without all those pesky pixels.

The PowerWheel Racing Series (PPPWRS) presents to the world an event for the ages.

On August 15th 6 teams will gather to win the prized PowerWheel Cup an award so prestigious I just decided to make it up five minutes ago to sound impressive.

Four Events will take place:

1. Off Road Race
2. Mario Kart Round
3. PowerWheel Polo
4. The Endurance Demolition Derby

FREE ADMISSION
11:30am Gates Open

DJs: Liz Revision,
Bands:

Sacremento Park (next to it)
3506 N Sacrement
Chicago, IL

This Event brought to you by: Pumping Station: One (Chicago’s Only Hackerspace), Best Express Messenger Service, and Chief O’Neils Pub

These cool, strechy Wristlings^TM by Liz Revision aren’t just adorable wrist-adornment, they are also helping out a good cause. A portion of the proceeds are donated to Expanding Your Horizons, a nonprofit that holds conferences to nurture girls’ interest in science and math courses to encourage them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math. $6.

Available at Fractalspin.

It’s time for another installment of Detox, your 4th Sunday getaway at LAVA, presented by droopzilla.com and subVariant.

For August, our guests are Renan (Soul Foundation), DJ Mani ( House of Godz), and Liz Revision ( subVariant), supported by resident DJ, Droopy.

This month, we are also supporting markrunsforcancer.com. Our friend, Mark, is raising money for the American Cancer Society during the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. This month’s Detox will be a fundraiser of sorts, so please consider showing some support, or at least coming by to wish Mark luck, and have a drink with us. Oh yes, the music as well. Lots of good music.

Check out the web-flyer here. See you there!