Erick Morillo's Death Was Horrible For Everyone
Come on men (and women), we must do better
Welcome back again to another edition of Music Is The Answer, brought to you by me, Marcus Barnes.
This edition features a little bit on the horrible death of Erick Morillo, an archived interview with the acid house pioneer DJ Pierre, a couple of album recommendations and much more…
There’s going to be a break in transmission this month as I move house and take a break from social media/online activity/work to reconvene and get used to life in a new location. I’ll still get my techno reviews done in a couple of weeks, but that will be it until mid-late October I think.
The aim is to be back on the other side, reorganised, reenergised and ready to see out this crappy year with gusto.
As I always say, any support would be much appreciated - shares, feedback, suggestions for topics I can cover, music recommendations… Anything you like. I love interaction with my readers!
Erick Morillo
It’s been just over a week since news of Erick Morillo’s death rocked the industry. In that time there’s been a slew of rather short sighted tributes (to put it mildly) and a hell of a lot of disappointment and anger, mostly from women who have seen a shocking amount of people basically excuse Morillo’s behaviour towards women. I’ve already said my piece on Twitter…
…But I want to reiterate that it’s inexcusable to 1) pardon someone’s abuse of power with such a lack of consideration for the victims and women in general and 2) enable such behaviour by turning a blind eye OR by using the ultimate bullshit free pass that men always get from childhood to adulthood, “Boys will be boys”. Fuck that. There is nothing that can excuse demeaning, intimidating and abusing another human being, not being ‘troubled’ or having ‘demons’ or anything.
All of those people who allowed him to carry on doing what he did have a lot to answer for. They knew, and they enabled him. It’s time for our industry to grow up, take responsibility for its warped hedonism and start healing itself and those within it who lose themselves to drugs, sexual misconduct and antisocial behaviour. Just because you’re talented, doesn’t mean you can ruin people’s lives and do whatever the hell you want without facing the consequences.
We need to call people out, help them face up to their issues and guide and support them into rehabilitation so they can become a positive influence on themselves and the wider community. Electronic music has such a toxic, enabling culture attached to it, so many artists (mostly men) are almost celebrated for their bad behaviour and damaging excess. This ‘rock star’ idolatory has to stop, it’s infantile and it destroys lives.
As a man who is acutely aware of the privilege we hold in this world, it’s my duty to highlight shit like this and I will continue to do so until people start waking up and making a sincere and sustained effort to rewire their regressive, harmful ways of being.
Annabel Ross wrote a brilliant piece on all of this, so please make sure you give it a read and think about how you can contribute to instigating positive change in your own life, and the culture itself.
Album Recommendations
Every couple of weeks I highlight a couple of albums that I’ve enjoyed - one from the past and one more contemporary. It’s my hope that readers will take time to listen and perhaps investigate the artists behind the LPs, an exercise in discovery provided by a human being, not an algorithm. Funny thing is, if you were to ask me to recommend an artist or album in person I’d be stumped - having time to think about it ahead of my bi-weekly newsletter means I can actually do a decent job of it!
Wax Doctor - Selected Works 94-96 [R&S]
One of my absolute drum’n’bass heroes, Wax Doctor produced some stunning tracks back in the mid-90s, returning around the dawn of the millennium to reunite with Alex Reece and remind everyone what a don he is. This compilation from R&S presents eight classic cuts, including an all-time favourite of mine - ‘The Spectrum’. Skip to 1min 40 on this Kool FM set with DJ Trace from July 1995, which is where I first heard the track, with MC Ryme Tyme riding the tune in his usual dexterous way. Excellent. A couple of his other classics are missing from the comp, but it’s still well worth a listen. Wax Doctor was a masterful producer and his pre-DnB techno stuff wasn’t half bad either.
Listen here (While you’re there, check all the other uploads on the Ambiance channel)
Jesse Perez Presents Late Night Tango: Two Sides To Every Story (A Downtempo Experience)
I’ve been a fan of Jesse Perez for years (full disclosure: we’ve been industry buddies for a few years now - I even stayed at his place in Miami during WMC back in 2014). I love what he brings to house music, real party vibes; Black, Latino, sexy, raw… A little while ago he told me he was working on a downtempo album and this is it, under his Last Night Tango alias. It’s a bit of a departure for Jesse, pushing himself into new territory, not only with the pace of the music but his use of vocals and it’s really paid off. There’s such an enjoyable feeling across all the tracks; chilled with a warm, Sunshine State atmosphere, laidback breaks, hints of hip hop and echoes of sixties psychedelia. Wonderful album. Makes me want to jump on a plane to Miami, take a boombox down to South Beach and catch some rays while chilling by the ocean with the homie Jesse.
Indie Blog Archive 007: DJ Pierre
The story behind this interview is pretty funny, and it’s a good interview (if I say so myself), so make sure you click the link and have a read.
Blind Test
I’ve got to send a massive shout out to Electronic Beats for this series, which I stumbled across earlier this week. As you might have gathered by now, I am a huge drum’n’bass fan. Watching this excellent video not only put a massive smile on my face, it also gave me a chance to play along and flex my knowledge of the music. I was sat there on my own shouting out the names, haha! I think I got about 8.5 out of 10, which is not bad considering I wasn’t a DJ and never collected DnB records. All my knowledge comes purely from being an avid (read: obsessive) radio listener and tape enthusiast. Such a joyful video and I believe the rest of the series is similarly positive, informative and uplifting. Great concept, can’t wait to watch the others.
Couple of PR Charity Bits
Had a couple of charity-related PR bits come through over the past week or so and I thought I’d bring them to your attention.
1) Koppaberg x Kojey Radical
The cider brand has launched a flavoured rum. I don’t drink so I can’t advocate for the booze itself, but they’ve linked up with Kojey Radical (full disclosure: my other half is his legal representative - though this came to me via an unsolicited PR email) and released a limited edition T-shirt. Profits from sales of the tees will go the Music Venues Trust, who need a hell of a lot assistance right now. More info here and purchase button below…
2) Avicii Invector Game
Nintendo Switch have released this music-based, rhythm-action game which utilises 35 of Avicii’s tunes. All music royalties generated will support suicide awareness through the Tim Bergling Foundation.
Aunty Carol’s Reggae Playlist
It’s a very long story (which I may tell one day) but I only met my dad a couple of years ago. I’ve since made a good connection with his side of my family and one of his sisters, Carol, has been particularly pro-active in maintaining contact. She holds regular get togethers at her house, reggae and dancehall booming out all day and night, kids and adults jamming, weed, booze, vibes...
One of the things she does quite a lot is send me her favourite reggae tunes, and mixes, via WhatsApp. They’re all YouTube uploads so I’ve made a little playlist of all the tunes (and one of the mixes), for you lot to enjoy.
Tune Of The Day Continues…
Speaking of playlists, my Tune Of The Day series is still going strong via my Instagram account. If you don’t follow me, no worries, I’ve compiled all the tracks in a YouTube playlist, which you can link to below.
One More Tune!
I’ll leave you with this… Silly, cheesy, ostentatious and on repeat before every one of my trips to Miami over the years. Love it!
Big shout to my brother Tristan on this one, my trusted partner-in-crime for Miami 2011 and 2012.
“Bottles in the aaaiiiirrr, living without a caaaarrrre!”
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