Amsterdam’s one and only slice of midweek mayhem is transplanted to Rotterdam for the second collaboration between Katapult and Pakhuis Festival.
Awarded ‘best new party’ of 2008 during the 13th edition of the Golden Gnome awards in Paradiso, Katapult has established itself as a premier event in the Amsterdam nightlife, presenting the ‘what’s what’ of today’s underground dance music, with razor-sharp line-ups of local heroes and international talent.
This time around, The Heykids present an exhilarating line-up at the Westelijk Handelsterrein in Rotterdam. Leading the bill is one of the biggest names in the German electronic music scene, Mr. Roman Flugel. Active since the early 1990′s, Flügel is a chameleon visiting many styles from delicate ambient/idm to house, nosebleed techno and electro-pop tunes. Working under his own name, as well as the immensely popular Alter Ego and contemplative Roman V, he has asserted his reputation time and again, with remixes for the likes of Radio Slave, Primal Scream, Ricardo Villalobos, The Human League, Spektrum, Tiefschwarz, Baby Ford, Chicks On Speed, Daft Punk and many others. His impact is not constrained to the studio, also having co-founded the hugely influential Ongaku/Klang/Playhouse labels.
Pre-heating the floor for this titan will be Rotterdam’s one and only DON, Mr. Jeff Solo. The past year has seen Jeff’s profile rise at an astonishing pace, simply because he’s one of the finest dj’s around, always bringing the good vibes in great form. It’s with good reason then, that Katapult has for some time been proud to count Jeff amongst its residents.
Another Rotterdam born & raised figure of repute will make his appearance during the first half of the night. Returing to his hometown from Berlin-via-Amsterdam is Mr. Robin van der Kaa, previously one half of David Gilmour Girls who put out several 12 inches and one full length album on Headman’s Relish Recordings. Besides that they did remixes for Roxy Music, Ajello, Dennis Young, Hardrock Striker, Linus Loves and Juliette Lewis. Recently he’s been involved with Philadelphia’s own Pink Skull on their upcoming record on RVNG.
Closing the night will be the hosts themselves. The Heykids set themselves apart through a startling knack for recognising what’s new and exciting in underground dance music. It’s a flair Bernardo Gaeiras and Chris Julien developed during their early careers as artist/designer and cultural philosopher, unfurling the heady intricacies of life. Since their first musical encounter in 2007, the colourful and seductive textures of housemusic have exerted an ever increasing pull on them, honing their ears and driving their mutant house acrobatics to the forefront of the Amsterdam scene. The Spring of 2011 marks the guys stepping up their game as they finetune their eagerly anticipated productions and spin at some of the finest venues in Europe.
