Christ or cannabis -- which will it be? This weekend marks the passage of two important holidays: Sunday is both Easter, the celebration of Christ's resurrection, and 4/20, the celebration of...well, wait, uh, what were we talking about again? Chances are you probably don't care about either, which is a perfectly normal response. Instead, get your fill of nightlife on the days before, with some top talent poached from Coachella. Read on--your weekend awaits.
10 p.m. Sunday, April 20. $25-$28
"I am not, never have been, nor ever will be, a Nazi/fascist/racist. I think and hope that would be without question obvious to most people that know me even just a little bit." These are the words of William Bennett, a British industrial musician and noise pioneer who's been at the fore of extreme music and culture since the late 1970s. Like many of his peers, his music has long been steeped in controversy due to his fascination with -- and appropriation of -- the symbolism and imagery of the fascist right. This statement was posted on his blog last year in response to a spate of critical articles that cast him, in the best-case scenario, as an irresponsible and childish artist who is desperate for attention.
His works as Whitehouse reflect an individual unafraid to evoke humanity at its worst. The LPs carry names like Buchenwald, Dedicated to Peter Kürten Sadist and Mass Slayer, and New Britain (which might seem vaguely cheery on the outside, but features a song called "Will to Power" and another named "Ravensbrück," after the concentration camp of the same name). Despite appearances, these works are not ballad-like celebrations of the Aryan race. The content mimics the confrontation implied in the titles, with a Dadaist approach to total noise that induces gut-wrenching dread. Bennett's pseudo-fascist ramblings, found sound recordings of American neo-Nazis, and snuff-like sonic re-creations of murder and rape scenes play out like an uncomfortable affirmation that these events and viewpoints -- as terrible as they are -- form part of the full spectrum of human existence.
Bennett himself alludes to this in an interview with The Quietus, referring to the madness implied in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness: "'The heart of darkness metaphor is a very powerful one when it comes to art, literature, music, life," he says. "The metaphor suggests that there's the world in which we inhabit, then there's this dark corner of the world. But I see it the other way 'round: the dark part is the prison we don't even realize we inhabit; it's self-created. The heart of darkness is actually everything, and we're in the prison." In other words, Bennett transgresses taste to confront us with the reality of humanity's worst impulses.
His most recent output has continued to provoke controversy. Under the guise Cut Hands, Bennett has become an uncomfortably celebrated figure in the techno world, with a sound that marries heaving mechanical percussion with polyrhythmic patterns indebted to the African diaspora and the Yoruban religions Santería and Voudou (check out Afro Noise and Black Mamba. Not one to do anything without a provocation, he laces his works with romantic written depictions of Africa that recall the racism of the colonial period -- but he says he does so to reveal European stereotypes of the continent. It's all thoroughly unsavory on the surface, but we think he makes his point. Decide for yourself this Sunday, when Bennett performs at DNA Lounge.
Base presents Guy Gerber at Vessel
9 p.m. Thursday, April 17. $20
Guy Gerber operates in the strange world between commercial and underground. On one hand, the Israeli producer has been a regular on the global tech-house circuit for the past four years. On the other, however, he's collaborated extensively with Puff Daddy -- the duo will be releasing a joint work called 11:11 this year. His DJ sets chart a course between those two poles, but have been growing more commercial lately. Check out his BBC 1 Essential Mix.
As You Like It presents The Martinez Brothers at Monarch
9 p.m. Friday, April 18. $20
The Martinez Brothers might be young, but they have deep roots in New York's storied house community. They grew up in the Bronx, with a Paradise Garage-obsessed father who steered them toward the city's underground. Now they're playing Japan and Ibiza, and releasing singles like "The Causeway"/"Issshhh!", which recalls the intensity of Manhattan in the '90s, but with a more contemporary, techno-inflected slant. Listen to their Boiler Room set.
9 p.m. Saturday, April 19. $10-$25
Nina Kraviz is a polarizing figure. The way she owns her feminine sexuality -- in her music and in her public persona -- seems to make a lot of people nervous. But no matter what you think of the pornier aspects of her marketing, it doesn't change the fact that she's a badass DJ able to deftly connect old-school Chicago house with new-school European techno (just listen to "Ghetto Kraviz" for proof). Check out her Boiler Room.
9 p.m. Saturday, April 19. $20-$30
Maceo Plex may not be Eric Estornel's first project, but it is his first alias to become famous at a global level. The American producer (now living in Valencia, Spain) is at the forefront of a new big-room house sound that fuses vocals with glossy, looped-up instrumentation. "Vibe Your Love" and "Conjure Balearia" are the kind of anthems that keep Ibiza dancefloors moving till dawn. As a DJ, he has some experience with that as well. Check out his Village Underground mix.
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