Quantum Loop Enterprises (QLE)
Tokyo Nights
03/18/2001

DJ Saaf, FrequenSqueeze (live), UnderTow, Pierre Plastique (surprise finalizer) Oefenruimre Voices, Amsterdam, fl20,- (reservation) / fl25,-

For the first time this year in Holland's psytrance scene a concept based party was organised, from the initiative of the two Frequensqueezers Kim and Jesse. In the place where they practice from time to time. The owners were interested in their music, and asked them if they wanted to host a presentation of their music... it turned out to be a lovely presentation indeed.

The place itself wasn’t very large: the main room held a capacity of around 80 people; the bar was situated near the entrance. A smaller area was separated from the main one by a sound-proof door, which could be closed for conversational purposes. Since the place itself was a practice room for musicians, the sound system was absolutely fabulous: perfectly adjusted to the sound of the night’s live-act, Frequensqueeze.

When the music started around 11, there were a mere 20 to 30 people inside. DJ Saaf, one of Holland's best DJ's, had begun with some dub and relaxing music as Future Sound and the (new) Orb, so that the people there could get to know one another a little. He gradually moved on to psychedelic breakbeat and progressive, tenacious towards a strong fundament of psychedelics. You could clearly notice his vast experience of music in general, and psychedelic music in particular, taking the listener from one musical style to another, and coherently shifting older musical generations with the pearls of technology that are made today. People were taken onto the dancefloor, as Saaf approached the progressive side of deep psytrance: 'simply' magnificent...

In the meanwhile around 50 people were present, most of them on the dancefloor. The ambience was still very relaxed as Frequensqueeze got on the podium. As with their previous performances, they squeezed and twisted a few buttons before they let the bass kick in, but when it did, the crowd started bouncing off. It seemed like they needed a little time to get inside the act, but they caught the crowd right away. Strong thumps filled with deep grinding grooves, filled up by psychotic sound-screeches and percussion. They got to being on a roll around their third track, keeping the crowd where they wanted them, and finished the 70 minute-long act with their Catcher in the Psy. Very strong track, with a sound that coalesces deep progressive trance like Cass & Slide with psytrance as made by Gus Till. It can't take much longer before these prodigies get some international recognition...

It was more of a music presentation than a normal psytrance party, where the emphasis was clearly put on the music as opposed to creating a wonderful environment. The decoration was minimalistic, with a few decos with Japanese signs printed on it, and a projector beaming Manga pics on the wall, altered by psychedelic screensavers. The chill-out was also a bit stingy on this matter, and contained a handful of nice decos. Nothing spectacular, but nice and clean.

After having squeezed the frequencies for a fulfilling amount of time, the music was left for dj Undertow. Undertow has been active in psytrance since the beginning, and alike Saaf, he does not spin very often at parties. He started out with some real freaky tunes, and basically stayed on that level of madness. Lots of Koxbox and Psychopod, the better Twisted stuff, and some weird ass tracks I hadn't heard before. Old and new, all was consumed by the mix. This guy stuck perfectly to the concept of full-on, and the mixing was virtually infallible.

After Undertow there was some time left for another DJ. Pierre from Cosmic Circus had been into the music all night, and was willing to show his skills for the remainder of the party. He mixes well, and always likes to show people his favourite tracks, but this time he went way beyond what I had heard from him before. With fathomless mind-warping trance he captured the few minds that were still there, and took them deep into the realms of music. It's impossible to make a set like that without profound inspiration, and this was hereby a confirmation of the fact that the music had been outstanding throughout the night.

What struck me was that there were a lot of new faces present. I guess that’s what you get if you try out something new. Holland's scene is in need of new developments, and this party provided the beginning of the necessary change. The organisation still needs to mature on some aspects, but the level of musical quality was exceptional for Dutch standards. The DJ's followed each other up coherently, instead of the usual scenario that the DJ's show their skills separately. This concept has a vast potential....

Wick