LISTEN ON MOST PLATFORMS HERE

On Touch Grass, Danish electronic music veteran Morten Vammen revisits the lost art of the long-form dance track. Four interconnected versions move between ambient, dub, disco, house, and techno. An alternative to the relentless intensity and instant gratification of contemporary club culture, the EP proposes something different: a sensual, utopian dancefloor with room to breathe.

Establishing a sonic utopian social space “When I’m out DJing, I often need a long track that works as a slow, soft, airy, luxurious intro. Something I can put on while I wander around the room checking the acoustics, but which gradually accelerates to a tempo where I can start mixing in disco, house and techno. The Touch Grass (intro accelerator) mix can do all that – it sets a mood – and take it to the next level.”

The whole production process was completely old-school, jamming with no AI or pre-made loops. The vibe and aesthetic are slightly retro-futuristic, opening up a space somewhere between Detroit, Chicago and Berlin on one side, and The Loft and Mediterranean dub on the other.

I ended up making several dubs, some harder and faster, allowing me to return to the track later in a set. Then I tried listening to all four versions back to back, which reminded me of Manuel Göttsching’s classic E2-E4, only with a bit more low-end. Perfect as a kind of energetic ambient backdrop that can just as easily work loud and danced to.“I’ve grown tired of the relentless ketamine techno currently dominating festivals and basement clubs. To my ears, it lacks sensuality, arrangements and nuance. It reminds me of gabber, only without the humour and anger. It’s music designed for clowning around to drops on Boiler Room. Which is fine, and probably a reaction to all the real-world alarmism and inequality, but just like punk, the form eventually becomes as formulaic and predictable as the blues.“

“I was already tired of playing terror sets back in the early ’90s – but its hot again. Maybe that’s what happens when you’re a young producer with ADHD who’s more preoccupied with Instagram than studio sessions. Or maybe people strive for monotony – maybe its an advantage when you’re completely fucked at 7 a.m.?  Speed and noise are great spices, but they’re not my main course.”

Touch Grass attempts to reclaim the dancefloor as a sensual, utopian, organic social space. Not another soundtrack to the pending apocalypse, but a tool to open new utopian spaces.

No grass was used in the recordings.

Touch Grass is out now – LISTEN ON MOST PLATFORMS HERE

The post Sonic utopia? Morten Vammen / Touch Grass E.P. appeared first on BLAZAR.