Slam’s monthly Return To Mono residency has been running at Sub Club since October 2004 and continues to pack them in with it’s heady mix of international DJs and homegrown talent from the Soma roster and the wider electronic community. The boys themselves are returning to mono this Friday alongside one of the pioneers of UK Techno, Surgeon. Last time he played the club back in 2009 for Monox it was a sell out so we can’t help but expect more of the same this time round.
As the night approaches we thought we’d get to grips with some selected highlights from his musical career, treat your ears to some top level DJ mixes and share with you some content from one of the industry’s biggest specialists…
Birmingham dance wizard Anthony Child has built a solid career along with an innovative back catalog of minimal dancefloor techno since his first Surgeon releases started popping up around 1991. Surgeon is often mentioned favourably by the critics in the same breath as the Legend that is Jeff Mills.
In 1994 backed by producer Mick Harris (Child is a fan of Harris’ Scorn project), the former Napalm Death drummer locked Child in his tiny studio, imploring him to “go mad.” The result was released on Downwards, and was instantly hailed as some of the highest quality U.K. techno of its time.
Releases on Blueprint and Ideal Trax followed and significantly this track was his first release on SOMA Quality Recordings back in 1996…
There was then a number of momentous releases on ultra-exclusive Tresor label throughout the late 90s topped off with Force & Form in 1999.
More recent additions to his repertoire include releases on his Counterbalance imprint. Another prominent theme from Child’s career are his artist collaborations with artists such as Mick Harris, British Murder Boys with Regis, and more recently Ben Sims and the Frequency 7 project resulting in tracks which take a tone far darker than those from his Tresor years…
Here is a recording from 2010 of his Frequency 7 project live from Osaka Japan…
At the end of last year Surgeon was the star turn at Boiler Room, the forceful dance music platform for artists and fans in the know…
Catching an artist like Surgeon in an environment like Sub Club will undoubtedly be a night to remember.
Once Return to Mono has finished and all this has been and gone on Saturday morning here is rare treat for you from the man himself who decided to present a selection of classic chill-out room favorites for his Ambient Set at Free Rotation last month. In his own words: “No dreary industrial drones, just colourful, uplifting psychedelia…”
https://soundcloud.com/dynamic-tension/surgeonfreerotation2013
Have a listen to Slam’s latest radio show, where they preview the main event. This show also features Perc, another one of electronic dance music’s reference points.
https://soundcloud.com/soma/slamradio-045-perc