SIX FOR ONE: Acid Safari
We go on a musical safari with a Revolver favourite…
If you're a Revolver connoisseur, the name Acid Safari should be as familiar to you as the Revolver couches. Better known to his parents as Samuel Klett Navarro, Mr Safari is the friendly Spaniard who made Melbourne home for the last twenty years. In that time he contributed considerably to Melbourne's club and DJ community. Recently he waved bueno por to Australia to head back north, but his music remains in the form of recent EP Modal signed to Revolver's in-house record label of the same name.
It’s a tidy two-track release that goes from acid-inflected dank jams (‘Modal’) to brooding techno steep in melancholia (‘End of Days’). (Revolver resident Mike Callander rounds out the package with a jacked remix of ‘Modal’ which should work a bloody treat on any dancefloor). As you would expect from someone whose been active in the scene for over 20 years, Acid Safari's musical upbringing is wide-ranging. We shot through a couple of questions to the man himself to gauge just how deep those influences go - and as expected, it‘s quite the safari…
REVOLVER MEMORIES
The Jezabels - Pleasure Drive (Zero Percent Mix)
‘Due to the length of time I’ve been attending and playing at Revolver, it’s hard to pick just one. So I am going to give you two. This one represents the Friday nights where I supported Mike Callander. For a few years, the remix he made of Jezabels’ ‘Pleasure Drive’ under the Zero Percent name (alongside The Presets member K.I.M.) was always a pretty moment of the night.’
Serge Santiago - Adventures in Failure
‘The other track is from the glory days when Revolver wouldn’t close their doors over the weekend. ‘Adventures in Failure’ by Serge Santiago, which was the B-side to his the remix of ‘It’s a War’ by Kano, reminds me of some crazy sweaty nights at Revolver. Amongst other tracks like ‘Rippin Kittin’, it was also a staple in Boogs sets. By the way, if you play the original of ‘It’s A War’ back to back with Audion ‘Mouth to Mouth’, you will find it’s the same track just with different samples.’ (ED: Nice)
A Spanish artist everyone should hear
Antonia Vega - Se Dejaba Llevar (1995)
‘Interesting question, so much to choose from, but I will go with a beautiful song by Antonio Vega. He is recognised as one of the best Spanish songwriters ever - and there are a fair few. ‘Se Dejaba Llevar’ is a conversation between her lover and her friend, a song about somebody who relinquishes control because of love. Multiple meanings can be found.’
This is Techno
Emmanuel Top - Spherique (2011)
’I have a long history with this track and three pieces of vinyl that have come my way throughout the last 20 years.’
Childhood Memories
Supertramp - Dreamer (1974)
‘Again, so many. One of the perks of having a record collector as a father was I always had so much music to go through. I don’t remember doing this, but I probably used to rock the baby play park when this came on.’
Major Influence
Green velvet - La La Land
‘I am going to give you two tracks for this. Watching Green Velvet live at Benicassim 1998 or 97 definitely change the game, it was hypnotic. I just realised how similar it sounds to Confetti ‘This is the Sound of C’, which is the track that steered me towards techno and electro early on.
Choice - Acid eiffel
‘My major influences are the Detroit masters Jeff Mills, Kenny Larkin, Kevin Saunderson, Richie Hawtin, Len Faki, Radio Slave, DJ Hell, DJ Koze, Roman Flugel, Mike Dehnert, Oscar Mulero and Prince of Denmark to name a few, but I am picking a track from one of my favourites: ‘Acid Eiffel’ by Choice (Laurent Garnier). Mad, epic, cinematic… you name it, this one has it all.’
New talent
Lake Turner - Videosphere (2020)
‘So I was in-between choosing TRW72 for some superb machine techno or Arthur Robert, but I have to shed the spotlight on somebody which might not be a new artist as such, but their new album (Videosphere) is out of this world. From that album, you can the single ‘Videosphere’ by Lake Turner released on Kompakt’.
Perfect music for an acid safari:
DJ Metatron - Oh Ah (2014)
‘Something I was working on last weekend while I micro-dosed is an EP I am going to call ‘Mini Trip’. Hopefully, it will be out in Feb or March. But one of my favourite things to listen to while on an acid safari, in fact, any time really, is DJ Metatron / Prince of Denmark / DJ Healer. And finally, anything on the INTRANSIT mix series I have on my Soundcloud.’