Rhythmism.comQ&A with Bryan Kasenic | The Bunker @ Public Assembly - June 5th
by rhythmism
Wednesday, Jun 3rd 2009, 04:42 PM
The Bunker has grown from its birth in a subterranean lair on the lower east side into New York's preeminent showcase for underground techno. Behind the music is the man, Bryan Kasenic, who founded the series in 2003 and has nurtured it for six years - no minimal feat - with a consistent roster of the best producers and DJs in techno. We caught Bryan between marathon weekends in Detroit, Montreal and New York to give due credit and echo the acclaim from artists and fans worldwide for Bryan's underground toil of sweat, tears and blood, upon which the minimal technoistas ride today.
The next Bunker is Friday, June 5 at Williamsburg's Public Assembly and features a lineup of techno innovators: Jan Krueger and Bunker favorite Derek Plaslaiko take over the front room while Bruno Pronsato, Alva Noto, Byetone, InsideOut, and Spinoza keep things going in the back.
Then join Rhythmism.com as it welcomes The Bunker residents Spinoza & Derek Plaslaiko to the annual Rhythmism.com Beach Party at Water Taxi Beach LIC. Outlook: Sunny techno & 79 degrees on the horizon.
RHYTHMISM.COM Q&A with BRYAN KASENIC
When did you start the Bunker parties? Take us through a historical timeline of the different venues to date.
I started The Bunker with Timeblind in January 2003. The party was at subTonic in the Lower East Side until April 2007. It temporarily moved to Luna Lounge in Williamsburg for two months until settling into its new home at Galapagos in July 2007. At some point in 2008, Galapagos became Public Assembly, and The Bunker stayed on board. After six full years of weekly parties, The Bunker became a monthly in January 2009, and started using both rooms of Public Assembly.
What is the philosophy or objective driving the parties and how has it evolved since inception?
The goal has always been to provide a place for people to hear great electronic music that had no other outlet in New York City. I've always just wanted a dark room with amazing sound where people could get lost in the music. In its earliest incarnation, the music at the party was far more eclectic than it is now, with everything from ambient to breakcore, often in the same night. It was a bit too unfocused for its own good, and we really weren't attracting a very big crowd. The focus shifted more to techno after the first year, but the resident DJs really mix it up, and we still bring in guests who play stranger music from time to time to keep it interesting (the inclusion of Raster Noton artists this month being a perfect example). Having two rooms this year has really opened it up and allowed me to experiment with the curation a lot more.
How has the techno landscape changed in NYC over the years?
Well, when I started doing this, there really wasn't all that much happening in NYC. Robots started around the same time as The Bunker, and Kevin McHugh had been doing his Micro Mini parties. At this point, there are far more crews throwing parties than ever before, with many of them just popping up in the last year or two. In a way, it has made things more competitive, but it's also increasing the overall number of people interested in techno here.
What were 3 of the top nights in your memory and why were they so special?
That's a really tough question to answer. There have been so many amazing parties over the years (about 317 total by my count), it's really hard to narrow it down.
03/03/06: 1st 3/03 Acid Celebration with Carlos Souffront and Mark Verbos. I've always had a really soft spot for a 303 acid line, and decided to celebrate when the Bunker fell on 3/03. Derek Plaslaiko wasn't even a resident yet, and he suggested booking Carlos to play an all acid set. Verbos' opening set was amazing as always, and Carlos completely ripped our heads off with the most insane acid DJ set I've ever heard.
See photo gallery
05/09/08: Dan Bell was working on getting together his live set of classic DBX material for a world tour, and needed a place to do a practice run in front of a crowd. He asked if he could do it at The Bunker, and of course I was honored. The set was mindblowing, and I think we were the only intimate venue on the planet that hosted it.
See photo gallery
01/09/09: The Bunker 6 Year Anniversary. John Roberts kind of surprised everyone with his live set in the front room. The turnout was crazy and Marcel Dettmann annihilated the back room. I don't think I've ever seen that room explode quite the way it did that night.
See photo gallery
You recently traveled to Detroit for Movement and Montreal for Mutek. What were some of the highlights of each respective festival?
At the Movement festival, Octave One was definitely the best set I saw all weekend at Hart Plaza, by a longshot. No Way Back was one of the best parties of the weekend again, with amazing sets from everyone on the lineup, and an indescribable tagteam "set" from Carlos Souffront and Traxx at the end. I really enjoyed all of my own parties at Oslo as well: The Bunker with Jan Krueger on Friday, House-N-Home with Cassy on Saturday, and a last minute surprise party on Monday with an epic Steve Bug and Adultnapper tagteam set.
Mutek was really a festival full of highlights this year. The audio/visual performances were very strong with Robert Henke's ATOM installation and amazing sets from Gas, The Fun Years, Atom Heart, and the Raster Noton crew. As far as the dance music went, Sunday night's closing night event with all Canadian artists was definitely the best party. Akufen played his first live set in five years, and won over the crowd right from the start, Stephen Beaupre had the place going nuts, and then The Modern Deep Left Quartet played one of the best live electronic music sets I've ever heard.
At Mutek you participated in a panel, "The New World Order: Re-Deploying Digital Culture in North America" - This panel assembled North America's new decision-makers to discuss the issues and possibilities for electronic music and digital culture in the New World, emphasizing the power of collectivity, networks and imagination. What were some of the key points and inspirations that you came away with?
One of the key points I came away with is that the persistence of a small group of dedicated people over the past ten years really is paying off. People often bemoan the sad state of the electronic music scene in North America, but honestly, we've come a long way, made a lot of progress, and have a bright future. Of course none of this would have been possible without the extensive network we have built over the years. Going to North American festivals like Mutek, Decibel, Communikey, and Movement and meeting all of the other people from around the continent who are making things happen through consistent hard work is always very inspiring to say the least.
What does the future hold for Bunker?
I have some pretty insane lineups for the next few months, but I'm only releasing that info one party at a time right now.
Rhythmism.com thanks Bryan Kasenic for his time and his dedication to the music first & foremost; and holding it down at all 317 (and counting!) Bunker parties.
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Bunker
BACK ROOM:
Bruno Pronsato (Perlon, Hello?Repeat, thesongsays | Berlin) live
Alva Noto aka Carsten Nikolai (Raster-Noton | Berlin) live
Byetone aka Olaf Bender (Raster-Noton | Berlin) live
Insideout (Clink | Berlin)
Spinoza (Beyond, The Bunker | Brooklyn)
FRONT ROOM - 8 HOUR MARATHON SET
Jan Krueger (Hello?Repeat, The Bunker | Berlin)
Derek Plaslaiko (The Bunker, Spectral | Queens)
Public Assembly
70 North 6th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
10PM - 6AM | 21+
$10 before midnight; $20 after
Upcoming Dates
June 27: House-N-Home with Keith Worthy and Patrice Scott at 12-turn-13
July 3: The Bunker at Public Assembly
August 1: House-N-Home at Studio B
August 7: The Bunker at Public Assembly
September 4: The Bunker at Public Assembly
September 12: House-n-Home 1 Year Anniversary at 12-turn-13
www.beyondbooking.com/thebunker
The next Bunker is Friday, June 5 at Williamsburg's Public Assembly and features a lineup of techno innovators: Jan Krueger and Bunker favorite Derek Plaslaiko take over the front room while Bruno Pronsato, Alva Noto, Byetone, InsideOut, and Spinoza keep things going in the back.
Then join Rhythmism.com as it welcomes The Bunker residents Spinoza & Derek Plaslaiko to the annual Rhythmism.com Beach Party at Water Taxi Beach LIC. Outlook: Sunny techno & 79 degrees on the horizon.
RHYTHMISM.COM Q&A with BRYAN KASENIC
"a place for people to hear great electronic music that had no other outlet in New York City"
-Bryan Kasenic
-Bryan Kasenic
When did you start the Bunker parties? Take us through a historical timeline of the different venues to date.
I started The Bunker with Timeblind in January 2003. The party was at subTonic in the Lower East Side until April 2007. It temporarily moved to Luna Lounge in Williamsburg for two months until settling into its new home at Galapagos in July 2007. At some point in 2008, Galapagos became Public Assembly, and The Bunker stayed on board. After six full years of weekly parties, The Bunker became a monthly in January 2009, and started using both rooms of Public Assembly.
What is the philosophy or objective driving the parties and how has it evolved since inception?
The goal has always been to provide a place for people to hear great electronic music that had no other outlet in New York City. I've always just wanted a dark room with amazing sound where people could get lost in the music. In its earliest incarnation, the music at the party was far more eclectic than it is now, with everything from ambient to breakcore, often in the same night. It was a bit too unfocused for its own good, and we really weren't attracting a very big crowd. The focus shifted more to techno after the first year, but the resident DJs really mix it up, and we still bring in guests who play stranger music from time to time to keep it interesting (the inclusion of Raster Noton artists this month being a perfect example). Having two rooms this year has really opened it up and allowed me to experiment with the curation a lot more.
How has the techno landscape changed in NYC over the years?
Well, when I started doing this, there really wasn't all that much happening in NYC. Robots started around the same time as The Bunker, and Kevin McHugh had been doing his Micro Mini parties. At this point, there are far more crews throwing parties than ever before, with many of them just popping up in the last year or two. In a way, it has made things more competitive, but it's also increasing the overall number of people interested in techno here.
What were 3 of the top nights in your memory and why were they so special?
That's a really tough question to answer. There have been so many amazing parties over the years (about 317 total by my count), it's really hard to narrow it down.
03/03/06: 1st 3/03 Acid Celebration with Carlos Souffront and Mark Verbos. I've always had a really soft spot for a 303 acid line, and decided to celebrate when the Bunker fell on 3/03. Derek Plaslaiko wasn't even a resident yet, and he suggested booking Carlos to play an all acid set. Verbos' opening set was amazing as always, and Carlos completely ripped our heads off with the most insane acid DJ set I've ever heard.
See photo gallery
05/09/08: Dan Bell was working on getting together his live set of classic DBX material for a world tour, and needed a place to do a practice run in front of a crowd. He asked if he could do it at The Bunker, and of course I was honored. The set was mindblowing, and I think we were the only intimate venue on the planet that hosted it.
See photo gallery
01/09/09: The Bunker 6 Year Anniversary. John Roberts kind of surprised everyone with his live set in the front room. The turnout was crazy and Marcel Dettmann annihilated the back room. I don't think I've ever seen that room explode quite the way it did that night.
See photo gallery
You recently traveled to Detroit for Movement and Montreal for Mutek. What were some of the highlights of each respective festival?
At the Movement festival, Octave One was definitely the best set I saw all weekend at Hart Plaza, by a longshot. No Way Back was one of the best parties of the weekend again, with amazing sets from everyone on the lineup, and an indescribable tagteam "set" from Carlos Souffront and Traxx at the end. I really enjoyed all of my own parties at Oslo as well: The Bunker with Jan Krueger on Friday, House-N-Home with Cassy on Saturday, and a last minute surprise party on Monday with an epic Steve Bug and Adultnapper tagteam set.
Mutek was really a festival full of highlights this year. The audio/visual performances were very strong with Robert Henke's ATOM installation and amazing sets from Gas, The Fun Years, Atom Heart, and the Raster Noton crew. As far as the dance music went, Sunday night's closing night event with all Canadian artists was definitely the best party. Akufen played his first live set in five years, and won over the crowd right from the start, Stephen Beaupre had the place going nuts, and then The Modern Deep Left Quartet played one of the best live electronic music sets I've ever heard.
the persistence of a small group of dedicated people over the past ten years really is paying off.
At Mutek you participated in a panel, "The New World Order: Re-Deploying Digital Culture in North America" - This panel assembled North America's new decision-makers to discuss the issues and possibilities for electronic music and digital culture in the New World, emphasizing the power of collectivity, networks and imagination. What were some of the key points and inspirations that you came away with?
One of the key points I came away with is that the persistence of a small group of dedicated people over the past ten years really is paying off. People often bemoan the sad state of the electronic music scene in North America, but honestly, we've come a long way, made a lot of progress, and have a bright future. Of course none of this would have been possible without the extensive network we have built over the years. Going to North American festivals like Mutek, Decibel, Communikey, and Movement and meeting all of the other people from around the continent who are making things happen through consistent hard work is always very inspiring to say the least.
What does the future hold for Bunker?
I have some pretty insane lineups for the next few months, but I'm only releasing that info one party at a time right now.
Rhythmism.com thanks Bryan Kasenic for his time and his dedication to the music first & foremost; and holding it down at all 317 (and counting!) Bunker parties.
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Bunker
BACK ROOM:
Bruno Pronsato (Perlon, Hello?Repeat, thesongsays | Berlin) live
Alva Noto aka Carsten Nikolai (Raster-Noton | Berlin) live
Byetone aka Olaf Bender (Raster-Noton | Berlin) live
Insideout (Clink | Berlin)
Spinoza (Beyond, The Bunker | Brooklyn)
FRONT ROOM - 8 HOUR MARATHON SET
Jan Krueger (Hello?Repeat, The Bunker | Berlin)
Derek Plaslaiko (The Bunker, Spectral | Queens)
Public Assembly
70 North 6th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
10PM - 6AM | 21+
$10 before midnight; $20 after
Upcoming Dates
June 27: House-N-Home with Keith Worthy and Patrice Scott at 12-turn-13
July 3: The Bunker at Public Assembly
August 1: House-N-Home at Studio B
August 7: The Bunker at Public Assembly
September 4: The Bunker at Public Assembly
September 12: House-n-Home 1 Year Anniversary at 12-turn-13
www.beyondbooking.com/thebunker
