[rĕt′rə-grād″] adjective
- Moving or tending backward.
- Opposite to the usual order; inverted or reversed.
- Reverting to an earlier or inferior condition.
Arriving some 32 years after Garry Hughes (DJ Uzi) and Adem Jaffers (Tekno Mandala aka VJ Mandala) had originally jammed together for the first time at Le Rox Nightclub in S.A. (Aust) c1991.
They returned to collaborate virtually in a one-off retro a/v live-stream titled RETROGR4D3. Jamming sounds and vision from the past – revamped for a more contemporary age.
DJ Uzi streamed a/v live from San Francisco, where a/v feed was received by Tekno Mandala for remix in Melbourne and re-streamed.
As an added special retro-appearance, long-time Cyberthon collaborator Till Gangemi (Don’t Shoot the Messenger aka DSTM) was also live in the Melbourne studio with Tekno Mandala for a 2-way mix fusion – in glorious SD PAL 4:3 ratio.
The mash up of old analogue and new digital tech between these two veteran VJ’s comprised of a Numark AVM02 mixer, Mac Pro, PC Desktop, 2x PC Laptops, Metta Machine Video Feedback rig fitted with a Canon MV900 MiniDV, A400 Pi AmiBerry Amiga 1200 emulator, Amiga 4000 with an IV24 Genlock, an Amiga 1200, Fairlight CV video processor, VHS player and a couple webcams. Using a swath of new/old school software such as VMix, Resolume, Scala and Elan Performer in the pipeline.
With enough ceremonial incense and mantras offered to the Tekno Deities, R3TROGR4D3 was a time-warped blast from the past.
This event was hosted by Cyberthon Recon Unit; which kicked off at 6pm AEST, live-stream commenced at 6:06 PM AEST and to rumble until 8:08 PM AEST via the R3TROGR4D3 Rumble Channel ONLY!
As a result of the audio stream technical issues, it was decided to restripe audio with a pre-recorded Mixcloud set by DJ Uzi.
During this process there were also cosmetic improvements made, including adding an edit of studio-cam footage captured in-situ.
The resulting release is a playful homage to a more innocent and adventurous time at the Melbourne Raves, and an expose of the DJ and VJ’ing artforms that drove the scene.
Also see remastered live-stream on authors blog <here>.
Discussion (1)
🙋⭐⭐⭐🌟🌟💥Wow, what a party crasher 🌪️💎
It's such a weekend starter right now, thanks so much. The fun with the signs at the beginning, the VHS heads, ET and the sound reminds me of OXA in Zurich around 1990-1998, the club that initially had people out the door at 5 a.m. for an hour and then again an hour later opened and told the authorities. Well, a new day, a new event. This is how the first afterhours were pushed through in Zurich. I have at the successor Q-club with 3 rooms and a huge foyer plus a chill out area, run by one of the Stardj's from OXA and a party-loving good guy and the son of a rich man from Zurich. There I have started 2001 making visuals with miniDV camcorders, 2 VHS, a Panasonic WMX-50 5-channel plus an Alpha video mixer, and my G3Mac.
Thank you very much, great post, something directly entertaining and refreshing.
👯💃🕺Keep it up and 🌼don't do anything I wouldn't do bennoH.🐼
PS: thank you Sven-e and DJ-Gogo for letting me be with you and for the good jobs at Q-Club