TOP 5: Techno Acts To See At Pitch 2020
📸 Duncographic
The PItch Music & Arts techno lineup deserves your attention…
For the fourth year running, Pitch Music & Arts returns to the picturesque Grampian plains for its annual four-day exhibition. The festival provides an abundance of high-quality acts for lovers of house, disco and techno to help punters make full use of the Victorian Labour Day weekend. In particular, techno has expertly been showcased in the past by esteemed internationals including Ben Klock, Donato Dozzy, Len Faki and Paula Temple. In 2020, this trend is set to continue with renewed vigour, and we’ve taken the liberty of selecting the five techno acts that simply must be seen across the weekend.
Regis (Saturday Morning, 1:30-4:00)
Hailing from Birmingham in the United Kingdom, Regis is a name that proudly stood out upon release of the lineup. The enigmatic Karl O’Connor has been a famous pioneer of the unique Birmingham sound with fellow midlands artists Surgeon (his British Murder Boys co-member) and Female (the other Downward Records label boss). It’s a hard, fast and uncompromising style that strips down the bassline funk that gave light to the more prominent sounds of Detroit & Berlin - an approach that even sees Regis lending his vocal work to the blisteringly heavy techno he purveys. A debut Australian performance just one year ago at Melbourne’s Sub Club basement got the ball rolling for Regis down under; don’t pass on this second chance to see him kick the festival into gear early on Saturday morning.
Aurora Halal [LIVE] (Sunday Morning, 00:00-01:00)
Brooklyn’s own Aurora Halal has been making big waves across the musical world. The creation of both her own Mutual Dreaming party series as well as the annual Sustain-Release festival has been the large-scale buttress to not only her imaginative DJ sets but a continually evolving live performance. It’s an act comprised of both dancefloor grit and hazy sensuality; embedding elements of euphoric freedom with dark acidic tones - ‘high-definition psychedelic immersion’ as she has said herself. It’s no coincidence that Berghain and De School can’t seem to keep her out of their respective lineups.
Halal is an engaging performer who has quickly amassed a niche, but loyal following from the most particular of musical enthusiasts worldwide. Scared of even studying genres themselves at the risk of sacrificing the ingenuity of her performance, be sure not to miss a precious minute of Aurora Halal [LIVE] at Pitch.
Kobosil (Sunday Morning, 01:00-03:00)
Since his first significant exposure to electronic music aged 14, Max Kobosil has managed to stay true to himself, both in terms of his DJ moniker and his innate drive for success. Growing up in the Neukölln area of Berlin, Kobosil was able to leverage the guidance from key Ostgut Ton figures to propel himself towards the upper echelons of techno music. Demonstrating an unmistakable influence from the sounds of EBM, drone and industrial, Kobosil defied his age and achieved a Berghain residency before he was even 25 years old. His record label R-Label Group, which releases his productions and support fellow up-and-coming Berlin producers, followed a collection of releases on Ostgut Ton. Now entering the definitive period of his DJing career, there’s simply no better time to witness Kobosil’s pulsating brand of high-octane techno.
Robert Hood (Sunday Morning, 03:00-05:00)
Robert Hood is arguably one of the most eminent figures within techno. A founding member of Detroit’s UR (Underground Resistance) in 1989 with legendary icons Jeff Mills and “Mad” Mike Banks, the ordained minister’s minimalist approach to techno shaped its direction through the late 90s - an influence we still see the effects of today. Five years on from UR’s formation, the creation of the M-Plant record label and subsequent releasing of Minimal Nation occurred, an album considered by many to be the inspirational force behind the fabrication of minimal techno as a genre. 2018 saw an unexpected cancellation of a highly anticipated Australian tour for one of techno’s greatest ever contributors; it’d be an understatement to say Hood’s performance is unmissable.
FJAAK [LIVE] (Monday Morning, 04:00-05:00)
A fitting conclusion to festivities on the Resident Advisor stage, Berlin duo FJAAK bring their unpredictably brilliant live set to our shores. Since their origins in 2009, Felix Wagner and Aaron Röbig have become a well-established force in contemporary techno. An enviable discography, including 11 singles/EPs & two albums have seen their music reach the sound systems of the world’s most prominent clubs & festivals. Tales, and indeed footage, of their exhilarating live performances, have reached all corners of the globe. We expect no less from them at Pitch. A performance from FJAAK has been the stuff of Australian dreams for what seems like an eternity. Now they’re finally coming Down Under - and you won’t find a better place to be in the early hours of Monday morning.
