Ben Annand Labyrinth Festival Japan 2008 (part 2) by Ben Annand

What did we do before Soundcloud existed? Well we started with mixtapes, then moved to mix cds for a while. Things started going digital around 2005/2006, and there was a gap before Soundcloud was founded in 2007 and of course took some time to become standard for djs posting live sets.

In that little interim we had a bulletin boards called 4Four. It was here that my mix post of a set I did for Frisky Radio in early 2007 caught the attention of Labyrinth Festival in Japan, and I was asked to play this exceptionally good event for the first time in September 2007. It was the top dj experience of my life! Maybe the top dance experience too, I really represented out there.

I was honored to be asked back in 2008. Things were a little different with the weather very wet; this was the last year at the Gunma location. As well, I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed a day or 2 before flying and I was a mess. I did pull it together for this set, though I will say it was not easy!

This is a unique set due to timing, around the same time music availability was transitioning from vinyl to digital, there corresponded an explosion of music in a previously neglected genre, minimal techno. For me, the minimal revolution went way too far, and often wasn’t groovy enough for me, but there was a sweet spot of funky, trippy minimal music which I explore in this set from 2008.

I too, was transitioning from vinyl to digital at this time, and that showed in my mixing setup, which was 2 technics turntables, a first-generation serato interface, and my mac powerbook. A few years later when my laptop died, I bought and switched over to CJ2000s.

Labyrinth is one of the top underground festivals in the world, it sells out of 2000 tickets in one day every year. It was the kind of party famous djs made plans to attend even if they weren’t playing that year, and you know that’s rare! The experience re-set the bar for outdoor parties for me, and has been an inspiration for Tropical, though on a smaller scale, ever since. If you ever get the opportunity to go, take it!

https://www.facebook.com/mindgamesjapan/
www.mindgames.jp