| eccentricbeats |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JAMES ZABIELA- Renaissance Presents UTILITIES
Album Release Party
Wednesday, July 6th
The Quest � Ascot Room
Wyman Building
110 North Fifth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 338-3383
www.thequestclub.com
UK: Renaissance � June 20th
US: Thrive Records � July 5th
Sasha prot�g� JAMES ZABIELA (pronunciation: zah-bEE-la) continues to prove he is at the forefront of modern DJing with this eagerly anticipated follow-up to ALiVE, devoting one disc to the much publicized Ableton technology, mixed entirely off computer; whilst he goes totally live on the second, using 3 CD decks, samplers and EFX units. What results is a techy, bleepy and funky rendition of computerized soul.
A debate is raging within the world of dance music � what is the future of DJing? Three partisan camps have emerged: vinyl, CD and totally digital, using computer technology. In short, the modern DJ has more options as to how to mix than ever before. Quite remarkable when you consider but 5 short years ago, 3 decks were considered a novelty. Along the way there have been defining moments in this development; an outstanding example was 2004�s ALiVE album (Renaissance/System Recordings) by James Zabiela, the compilation being the first to truly highlight just what can be done using 3 Pioneer CDJ 1000s (the CD equivalent of a turntable) and an EFX unit. It even came with a short CD-Rom film demonstrating the totally live trickery that was employed.
A year on and James Zabiela once again joins forces with Renaissance for the follow-up. Given his well-documented love and support of the CDJs, you�d think that a further homage to the joys of CD mixology would be in order, but in part you�d be wrong. James explains, �Since �ALiVE� there has been a huge leap in computer software. Things are continuing to move forward at a rapid speed. I therefore felt it was really important I made of use of all these technologies � or UTILITIES (hence the name) � available.� Aware of the long-running debate over formats, James hit upon his own unique idea to separate the technologies and let people draw their own conclusions. UTILITIES two discs therefore come as disc 1 - �Computed� and disc 2 - �Recorded�. As the names suggest, one uses the much publicized Ableton technology and has been programmed entirely on computer, whilst the other makes a welcome return to last year�s format of CDJs, samplers and an EFX unit recorded live. �With this format on the album I�ve employed all the UTILITIES as I wanted to,� elaborates James, �But it has also allowed me to lay down what is essentially a musical debate. For the first time on one album, by comparing both discs, people can draw their own conclusions as to what system they prefer.�
But let�s not forget that beyond the mixing techniques James distinct musical style remains at the heart of the album. The album showcases James� growing ability to bridge the experimental and club worlds, and it embodies a sound that presents a dancefloor take on techy and minimal progressive house, with just enough breaks to keep the funk oozing in and futuristic sci-fi elements that may just induce its own robophobia. In a further move to distinguish the follow-up, he also chose UTILITIES to be the platform to showcase his very first foray into the world of original production. The result is two incredible cuts � �Robophobia� and �EyeAMComputer� which are currently causing mayhem on dancefloors round the world and are available on the The Utilities EP [SINGLE] out now. Beyond his own productions James draws on a host of current talent, including the previously unavailable Kriece remix of Aphex Twin�s seminal �Windowlicker� and tracks and remixes from Infusion, Buick Project, Trentemoller, Lee Coombs, Montero and many more.
Renaissance Presents�.
JAMES ZABIELA �UTILITIES�
Album Release Tour
(JUNE 2005)
Friday 3rd June - Zouk, K.L.
Saturday 4th June - Park 97, Shanghai
Friday 10th June - Loop, Taipei
Saturday 11th June - Womb, Tokyo
Thursday 16th June - Beijing
Friday 17th June - M2, Seoul
Saturday 18th June - Zouk, Singapore
Saturday, 25th June - Renaissance 'Utilities' CD Launch @ The Cross London
** U.S. TOUR DATES **
Thursday, 30th June - CHARLOTTE @ Sun Set Club
(JULY 2005)
Friday, 1st July � WASHINGTON DC @ Nation
Saturday, 2nd July � MIAMI @ Space
Sunday, 3rd July - NEW YORK CITY @ Cielo with Steve Porter
Wednesday, 6th July - MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ The Quest - Ascot Room
Friday, 8th July � CHICAGO @ Soundbar with Damian Lazarus
Saturday, 9th July � SAN FRANCISCO @ Paradise Lounge
Tuesday, 12th July � KANSAS CITY @ Kabal
Wednesday, 13th July � CALGARY @ Tantra
Thursday, 14th July � DENVER @ The Church
Friday, 15th July � DALLAS @ Seven
Saturday, 16th July � LOS ANGELES @ Avalon Hollywood
press release courtesy of Betty Kang at Plexi Pr. |
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