Negotiating the politics of consciousness is one thing but navigating the rhythms of the sexbeat is quite another; this is a dance on a tightrope with no balancing pole or safety net, this is a high-wire act tripping between the ecstasy of pain and the suffering of pleasure, this is the deliciously sacrilegious and sinful world of Venice Calypso.
From the East London underground to the catacombs of Paris and the Roman Necropolis and beyond, Venice Calypso – the brainchild of producer Sebastian Bartz – has been blazing a trail across any number of dancefloors hungry for hedonistic pleasures and a total derangement of the senses. What else to expect from the resident DJ at HTBX and his own club night, the celebrated blast of electronic white heat that is INFERNO, and head of the Four On Four record label? This is techno that subverts itself while pulling behind it nights of wild abandon in its slipstream.
Emerging blinking from a subterranean lair somewhere in the last creative hold-outs of a capital under attack from an ever-conforming world, Venice Calypso’s ‘Axis’ EP finds Bartz putting his own indelible stamp on the dance agenda. There’s no playing about here, no teasing – this bypasses the brain and goes straight to the body.
“I spent the last 12 months in the studio working and developing my sound,” says Bartz. “The three tracks on this EP are a fulfillment of that aim. You won’t hear a better sound in a club.”
Optimising a variety of frequencies, sounds and rhythms, the ‘Axis’ EP succeeds in taking you out of the mundane and into a kaleidoscopic world of pleasure. In addition to Venice Calypso’s own electrifying work, the EP also contains a hi-octane remix by the legendary Houz’Mon, Techno legend Bleaching Agent and Wax Wings The only thing missing is you