Max HeyraudJustin Bank and Seán Ruane deliver a steamrolling live recording from the smoke-filled walls of Dublin’s FRAME, taking this week’s Mix Of The Week on a deep, no-nonsense journey through the tougher end of ’90s and noughties techno and house, captured at the club’s season opening party.
Hardgroove has been a buzzword in the techno community for the past few years. But as cheap imitations of early-2000s records lose their shine, so too have many of the artists who jumped on the bandwagon. What remains are those who never needed the trend in the first place: artists genuinely infatuated with the loop-driven, analogue warmth and swinging rhythms that defined the sound long before it became fashionable.
Dublin-based Justin Bank and Seán Ruane are two such artists. Their knowledge and understanding of this era of techno and house far exceeds their years, and their record collections and mixes make that abundantly clear. Their latest escapade, recorded at the season opening party of Dublin’s newest club, FRAME, showcases their range to exquisite effect. From the Detroit techno soul of Robert Hood and Jeff Mills to the swung, muscular grooves of Sweden’s Samuel L. Session, this is a lesson in techno delivered with conviction, curiosity and respect for the music’s roots.
This is music that demands more than a passing familiarity with the classics. It takes depth, technical ability and the guts to let a record breathe, to take risks and to trust the instinct of the moment. Both Bank and Ruane have those qualities in abundance, digging beyond the obvious and paying homage to the foundations without simply retracing the same old steps.
In a culture increasingly obsessed with the new, the next big thing and the relentless consumption of music and art like fast food, club culture can often feel like a reflection of the same disposable mindset. So when two young selectors arrive with a bag full of classic records, unafraid to make mistakes, take chances and play from the soul, it feels like a breath of fresh air. Not because the music is old, but because the feeling behind it is timeless.