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Kate Simko is a pianist, electronic music producer and DJ.  Combining her musical training with her love for electronic music, Kate is continually exploring a dialogue between the classical tradition and electronic music – her two strongest musical influences.  Kate studied Music Technology and Piano at Northwestern University, which gave her access to cutting edge production technology while she advanced her formal musical training.  Reflecting her musical background, Kate’s music possesses a unique harmonic, structural and spatial depth.

Kate released her first electronic music album on Traum (Germany) in 2003 (as Detalles with Chilean producer Andres Bucci), which led to various performances in South America, including the 2004 MUTEK Chile festival.  In 2005, Kate was commissioned to create a remix for Philip Glass, which was released as part of the Glasscuts remix album on his label, Orange Mountain Music.   The record release party was part of the 2005 CMJ Festival (New York) and Kate’s remix was featured on classical radio stations throughout the United States.  The song was then chosen as one of fourteen finalists in the Dance/Electronica category of the International Songwriting Competition.  In 2006, Kate released her first solo record, worked on new remixes and saw the release of two new Detalles records as well.

Throughout her career, Kate has received national and international press in publications such as the L.A Times, The Wire, Art Papers, Grooves Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, URB, de:Bug and XLR8R and has performed her music throughout the United States, South America and Europe.

Women in techno have always been second-guessed. Initial reviews called Kate Simko’s tracks “light”, which made it apparent that they hadn’t listened to them at all. Propulsive, groovy and hypnotic, Kate’s music occupies the space between techno and house with an international voice that sets it apart. The artist in question is something of a complete package, a classically trained pianist who found herself at Techno’s doorstep during Midwest rave’s heyday in the mid 90’s. A student in music technology at Northwestern, Kate later ventured out to continue her studies in Santiago, Chile and a start a successful project with Andres Bucci under the name Detalles, marking her entrance into the emerging new techno scene. Playing events such as Detroit’s Movement Festival, Decibel, and MUTEK have steadily built Kate’s reputation and her Chicago night Wake Up! has hosted everyone from John Tejada to Mikael Stavostrand, earning a “best regular club night” nod in the weekly publication New City. Kate is a music lifer, committed to the craft and impressing the more savvy critics one record at a time.

Kate Simko is playing at the next Essential on Saturday October 17, 2009.

He quickly earned a reputation for forward thinking DJ sets that were clinical, sophisticated and extremely sensual. This combination resulted in a residency for Family, the weekly party at Detroit’s Motor. With a reputation for high energy sets that were versatile and tasteful, Plaslaiko slowly became in demand on the Midwestern club circuit; sharing the stage with such techno luminares as John Acquaviva, Kevin Saunderson, Richardo Villalobos, Baby Ford, and Matthew Herbert. It was also during that time Plaslaiko was asked by Carl Craig to perform at the inaugural edition of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. In 2003, Plaslaiko became part of the original team of DJs at Detroit’s Untitled parties, sharing a residency with Tadd Mullinix (aka James T. Cotton), Matthew Dear and Mike Servito.

In 2004 he made the decision to head east and set up camp in New York City, determined to bring a slice of the Motor City to the Big Apple. Currently, Derek is one of the resident DJs at the Bunker (Subtonic) in NYC, as well as an integral part of the Wolf + Lamb monthly parties. He was honored in the Village Voice 2006 “Best Of” poll as New York’s Best Techno DJ and has been traveling the globe since dropping ridiculous mixes for sites like Resident Advisor in the process.

Derek Plaslaiko is performing at Essential on Saturday October 17, 2009.

He has released over 30 12″ Ep’s and 19 Albums (CD, DLP, LP) so far and he has been featured on many compilation and mix records. He is also a sought after as a remix artist. The last years have brought him live around the world, from Mutek in Canada and Mexico to Swedish Style in Tokyo, plus touring Europe in many respected clubs. Mikael is often asked by Swedish Cultural Institutes to represent Sweden abroad at festivals (ex. Detali Zvuku in Kiev, Take me to Sweden in Berlin and Swedish Style in Tokyo).

Between 2000 to 2007 he ran the record label Mitek. Mitek’s aim was to produce and promote upcoming Swedish talents in the field of electronic music. In the years Mitek produced 22 records with different kinds of electronic music, from avant-garde to club. In the summer of 2006 he also started his new label “Sunset Diskos”. This label is purely for club music and deep, funky minimal tunes are the aim here. With artists such as himself, [a]pendics shuffle, agaric & Bulgur Brothers, Pheek and Franco Cinelli.

Now he is released by Kindisch/Get Physical [DE], Spectral Sound [US], Minisketch [IT], Adjunct [US], Lick My Deck [UK], Sounderground [UK] We Are [SE], Sushitech [UK], Thema [US] and others, with more exciting prospects on the way soon. He has licensed tracks for Fabric mix CD’s (Audion & Steve Bug), mix cd’s by James Holden, Tanja Vulcano, Steve Bug, Agoria and more. His music is heavily played by Dj’s such as Matthew Dear, MANDY, Alexkid, Richie Hawtin, Paco Osuna, Steve Bug, Claude Von Stroke, Ricardo Villalobos, DJ T, Ryan Elliot, Jeff Samuel, Tanya Vulcano, Davide Squillace, Marco Carola, Dinky, Butane, Jeff Milligan, Dubfire, Troy Pierce, Magda, Ryan Crosson, Mark Henning, Miss Fitz, and Jay Haze to name a few.

Mikael Stavöstrand is performing at Essential on Saturday October 17, 2009.

DJs :
Juan Atkins – Metroplex Records / Detroit

A major electronic music pioneer from Detroit, Juan is widely considered the godfather of techno, particularly Detroit Techno which later transformed into the modern genres of electronic dance music.

Celebrating Juan Atkins & Kimyon record release “Work For Money” featuring Tricia on All About Music

plus…

Kimyon featuring Tricia Live – No Agenda Recordings
Taimur+Fahad – BlkMarket Membership
Neil Aline – Chez Music
Luis Baro – All About Music
Bruce Tantum – Time Out New York
Karraskilla – Biatch Corp
Lera – Gravitonium
Vadim – Less

Live bands :
Anton Glamb, Apollo Heights, Costanza, Naja Rosa

Visual Arts exhibition curated by Ellie Colon and Kimyon Huggins

PAINTERS : William Quigley, Ross Brodar, Ellis G, Michael Manning
Kimyon, Joseph Ferm, Adam Ludwig, David Last

MIXED MEDIA : Jeewon Paek, Jung Paek, Juan Carrasquilla

LOSTCITIZEN.NET VIDEO INSTALLATIONS : Cynthia Karin, Rob Kingwill,
Todd Terry, M1 of Dead Prez, Allison Silva, Crunc Tesla, Affliate Skate
Company, Ad Hoc Art, Leo Kesting Gallery, Lauren Flax, Lowkey,  Dirt Nasty,
BRICOLAGISTA!, Schui

PHOTOGRAPHERS : Matthew Bender, David Winthrop, Effi Cohen, Nicholas
Monaco, Deborah Matlack, Art Cantu, Oleg Kikin, Naja Rosa Koppel,
Sergey Gribov, Jason Lam, Claudia Quigua, Jaime Filomio

INSTALLATIONS : Daniel Wurtzel

SCULPTURES : Benjamin Keating, Francisco Osorio

SPOKEN WORD : Hensly Burrow and guests

Hair by Sakura Sugihara

Hosted by Gazelle

Enjoy free food from Saluggi’s Pizza and Dantes Fried Chicken

Admission: 2pm-6pm free, 6pm-9pm $10, 9pm-6am $30 / $25 reduced, 21+/ID
No free re-entries after 6pm. No $10 re-entries after 9pm.
Presale $20 tickets are available at www.essentialshow.com
RSVP to EssentialShow@gmail.com for reduced admission
Location: 38 Howard Street, corner of Broadway, SoHo, New York

ESSENTIAL website: http://www.essentialshow.com/

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=98139674479

Show your support on Resident Advisor: http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?104750

About some of the DJs:

JUAN ATKINS – Metroplex Records / Detroit

Widely credited as the originator of techno music, Juan Atkins along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson crafted a sound that is heard at any given moment around the world. A major electronic music pioneer from Detroit, Juan appeared behind aliases such as Cybotron, Model 500 and Infiniti, and has released many classics of sublime Detroit techno, including the 1982 electro track “Clear”.
Recorded by Atkins and Rick Davis as Cybotron, this track is often considered the first proto-techno track.
Experimenting with fusing the extra-terrestrial funk of Parliament Funkadelic with the futuristic rhythms and hard math of Kraftwerk and the progressive dance theorems proposed by Giorgio Moroder, the Model 500 12″s laid the blueprint for Detroit Techno.
Along with the tracks made by two schoolmates from the grade below, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, Detroit Techno quickly made its way across the Atlantic and immediately sparked the emerging rave culture and soon after the entire global dance community.
Moving through the later 80’s as Model 500, Atkins continued as one of the most prolific and sought after producers of electronic music throughout the 90’s, culminating in the use of an Atkins’ original as the musical bed for the 2000 launch of the Ford Focus ‘Detroit Techno’ automobile.
Packing clubs from Detroit to NY to Venezuela, Juan has mastered the art of soaking up new rhythmic elements from contemporary dance music while keeping his unerring, instantly recognizable sense of melody intact. Much discussed and anthologized not only for his 20 years of production credit but also for his ability to rock a dance floor, Juan Atkins’ music and DJing is deified in Europe and embraced all over the world. Juan has also been prolifically releasing albums, remixes and collaborations on Belgium’s R & S Records, Germany’s Tresor, and others. His six full-length releases are available only as imports.

KIMYON featuring Tricia Live – No Agenda Recordings

DJ/Producer/Artist Kimyon is owner and operator of The Muvment, a New York based music and art production-company. The Muvment is responsible for  the Tru Skul, Arts Industria and Pockit Rockit event series.
His New York residencies have included Lotus, Piano’s, Avalon, The Cabanas @ The Maritime Hotel, Hiro, APT, and LOVE NYC, Bungalow 8, and Santo’s Party House.  Kimyon has made international DJ appearances in The Dominican Republic, Belgium, Macedonia, Greece, and Thailand, and nationally in Los Angeles, Detroit and Miami.
Kimyon has curated and shown in multimedia openings at Pablo’s Birthday Gallery in Tribeca featuring fine art, performance art and strong music elements.  Currently curating at Paloma in Greenpoint Brooklyn.  Kimyon is the current resident DJ at The Danger Parties based in Brooklyn.  He has also shown in the Husdon Art Walk and in the Brik Gallery in Catskill, NY.  Kimyon is managed globally by Richard Maher Agency based in Melbourne, Australia.

TAIMUR+FAHAD – BlkMarket Membership

Blk Market Membership’s new techno ambassadors Taimur + Fahad have been responsible for bringing in a bevy of top tier talent to clubs across town, on the river, as well as exotic locales such as Miami, Detroit and Seattle. Their techno soirees have developed a cult following and continue to raise the bar with undiscovered and established techno artists.

NEIL ALINE – Chez Music

It’s not easy for an outsider to break into the small circle of party people who make up New York City’s dance-music elite, but the 32-year-old deep-house doyen Neil Aline has not only entered that celebrated coterie, he’s become one of its main men. Soon after the Tahiti-born, Paris-bred Aline became a student at NYU in ’97, he filled a gaping hole in the city’s airwaves by starting up the BPM show on the university’s radio station. BPM quickly became a favorite stop for DJs many of the city’s—and the world’s—top spinners. “Hosting my mix show each week,” he says, “and mixing alongside the crème of dance music like François K, Laurent Garnier, Dimitri from Paris, Carl Craig, DJ Pierre, Daft Punk, Afrika Bambattaa and Jumpin’ Jack Frost has been my biggest inspiration.”

It’s through Chez Music, the record label that he established when only 23, that Aline’s name has become synonymous with high-quality house music. The label has released tracks from such esteemed artists as Osunlade, Jazztronik, Llorca. Miguel Migs, Alan Braxe and DJ Spen (see below for a full discography), and Jon Culter and E-man’s “It’s Yours” was one of THE club hits of ’01, and reached number one on dance-music charts around the world. Chez has also released the Aline-mixed On the Rocks compilations, which serves as a perfect introduction to his smooth-as-silk mixing technique and selection skills.

The success of Chez has enabled Aline to take his deejaying career to the next level. He currently hold’s down residencies at various of NYC’s hot spots. He also guest DJs at clubs all over town and travels around the country frequently to guest and work the ones and twos. He’s been hard at work on his international résume, and has spun everywhere from European capitals like Paris, London, Zurich and Brussels to Asian metropolises such as Tokyo and Shanghai—and even his native Tahiti! But it’s still in NYC that Aline’s influence is most felt. Flyer magazine summed up it up thusly: “Considering the current decline of club life in the city, Neil Aline is pumping needed life’s breath into our endangered scene. He’s taking the risks we need to take.” But Tricia Romano, the nightlife editor of the Village Voice, said it best: “Anything with Chez Music’s Neil Aline’s name attached to it is a guaranteed go.”

LUIS BARO – All About Music

Luis’ humble beginnings started in the early 80’s when he was captured by the sounds of the Hot Mix 5 on WBMX, Chicago’s then top urban radio station. The seedpod of his music production broke and started to take root as he would regularly record what he’d heard on the radio, make his own edits, and bring them to school. He ingrained himself in the local scene and along his travels he was offered a job as street promoter for the biggest party of the land, Sunday’s at The Riviera, and it changed his life. He worked there until the club closed in 1989.

The early 90’s gave rise to the rave scene and when it broke in Chicago, Luis quickly became the biggest Rave / large party event planner in the Midwest. In 1998 Luis became the Sunday resident DJ at Smart Bar quickly gaining respect of his peers and the dance community at large, playing alongside such artists as Cassius, DJ Sneak, Derrick Carter and many other talents from around the globe,

In 2001 Luis was hired by XM Satellite Radio to bring his brand of music to the national airwaves. As Program Director, he created The Move, the first and only 24 hour House Music radio station in all of North America. Moving to Washington D.C and building his studio along with learning music production. Luis broadcasted his live show “All About” Mon-Fri to millions of listeners and on the weekends played in cities all over the U.S. He also was the PD of XM Chill a station that ranked Top 10 listenership of the 160 broadcasted channels. He forged many great relationships and the respect of many great producers and DJ’s like Louie Vega, Pete Tong and Frankie Knuckles among others. He traveled the world with the mission to bring his funky vibe heavy brand of dance music to devoied music fans. In 2006 Luis decided to move to NYC to further his career as a DJ/producer and to work with other like-minded people.

This sparked the need to focus own production and music full-time. He since left his duties as Program Director at XM but kept a two-hour weekly show on Area ch. 80 every Sunday. He subsequently remixed Jake Childs on Dust Traxx, Luis Radio on City Deep, and currently Roland Clark’s “House Healed Me” as well as Todd Terry’s “The Work” being released in March 2009 on Dust Traxx as their official 50th Release Anniversary.

Aside from current productions Luis has teamed up with renowned House procuder/dj Scott Wozniak as resident DJ for a weekly event called Moonshine in the East Village in NYC, that’s quickly become a favorite hang out for many of New York’s top underground spinners.

About some of the Visual Artists:

MICHAEL MANNING

Throughout my life I have been attracted to the stories I have encountered in mythology and religion, and this has been expressed in much of my work. At an early age I questioned the meaning and purpose behind these stories and the messages they were imparting. Initially I rejected them, but through exploring them more deeply in my work and in my life, I came to truly appreciate the diversity of how one can choose to live one’s life. In addition, I developed a very clear, open sense of how people should treat one another.

My paintings began to use stories within mythology, along with my perspective of right and wrong, as a framework for addressing current issues faced by society. While my use of established mythology has been vital, my current work has established a more immediate relevance. I’ve been able to deal more directly with these issues of morality, mortality, and injustice. With the use of traditional mythology as a foundation, I see the new work as a kind of new mythology—new stories, commenting on current issues. These stories have been constructed from my individual point of view, but with universal significance and meaning. The current series of paintings I am working on focuses on a central archetypal hero figure that uses the traditional hero pattern, laid out by Joseph Campbell as a starting point for many of the paintings. With the traditional hero pattern as a background, the traditional deeds and adventures of the hero are substituted with events found in everyday life. The end results are narrative paintings that use allegorical images to show every day events as equivalent to the actions of a classic mythological hero.

ELLIS G.

Ellis Gallagher is a native New Yorker. As a former graffiti writer, his work can be found in New York City and beyond, in Autograf: New York City’s Graffiti Writers by Peter Sutherland (Powerhouse Books 2004), as well as in numerous newspapers, magazines, on television and in films. Currently a Contemporary/Street Artist known as (C)ELLIS G., Gallagher’s work has appeared on the cover of Time Out New York, in the New York Daily News, The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Village Voice, The Brooklyn Paper, Mass Appeal Magazine, Artnet Magazine, Overspray Magazine, Der Spiegel Germany, The Area Revue France, H Magazine Spain, as well as on NY 1, RAI TV Italy, Chinese News Network, NYCTV, The Hallmark Channel, Current T.V., WPIX 11 (NYC), NBC 4 (NYC), WNET 13 PBS(NYC) and the streets of New York City and beyond. Gallagher will publish his first book “Adhesives,” the ultimate compendium of graffiti, graphic design and street art stickers with Miss Rosen Editions for Powerhouse Books.

DANIEL WULRTZEL

Brooklyn based artist Daniel Wurtzel makes elegant sculpturesincorporating light weight materials suspended in a column of air. More information at http://www.danielwurtzel.com

Supported by:

LESS – electronic music and art events in New York: http://www.lessparty.com/
BlkMarket Membership: http://www.blkmarketmembership.com/
BiatchCorp: http://www.biatchcorp.org/
halcyon… where Brooklyn’s underground surfaces, since 9999
get hip at http://halcyonline.com / get mp3s at http://halcyondigi.com

Flyer images:

Experimenting with fusing the extra-terrestrial funk of Parliament Funkadelic with the futuristic rhythms and hard math of Kraftwerk and the progressive dance theorems proposed by Giorgio Moroder, the Model 500 12″s laid the blueprint for Detroit Techno.

Along with the tracks made by two schoolmates from the grade below, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, Detroit Techno quickly made its way across the Atlantic and immediately sparked the emerging rave culture and soon after the entire global dance community.
Moving through the later 80’s as Model 500, Atkins continued as one of the most prolific and sought after producers of electronic music throughout the 90’s, culminating in the use of an Atkins’ original as the musical bed for the 2000 launch of the Ford Focus ‘Detroit Techno’ automobile.

Packing clubs from Detroit to NY to Venezuela, Juan has mastered the art of soaking up new rhythmic elements from contemporary dance music while keeping his unerring, instantly recognizable sense of melody intact. Much discussed and anthologized not only for his 20 years of production credit but also for his ability to rock a dance floor, Juan Atkins’ music and DJing is deified in Europe and embraced all over the world. Juan has also been prolifically releasing albums, remixes and collaborations on Belgium’s R & S Records, Germany’s Tresor, and others. His six full-length releases are available only as imports.