Kaua‘i is invited to experience the changing face of dance music and culture this Saturday with a guest DJ from San Francisco, who will be performing live on turntables that use both records and CDs. This week at “Tangled Up,”
Kaua‘i is invited to experience the changing face of dance music and culture this Saturday with a guest DJ from San Francisco, who will be performing live on turntables that use both records and CDs.
This week at “Tangled Up,” held at Whaler’s Brewpub at Kauai Lagoons, one foot will be planted firmly in the past and the other towards the future, said promoter Erik Penn.
DJ sWEet P, known outside the clubs as Preston Lytton, will play from his Internet music catalog, available on www.stompy.com.
Digital downloads are quickly being applauded for many reasons, Penn said.
A song can go from the production studio to Lytton’s virtual library to a freshly burned CD in no time, allowing DJs like sWEet P to play underground dance music that is so fresh and new that much of the music has yet to be released to the public, making for a special night of tunes and smiles, Penn said.
“At DJ sWEet P’s last performance at ‘Tangled Up’ the positive energy was so thick! It is amazing to watch a talent like sWEet P work the dance floor and see everyone having such a great time,” Penn said.
This catalogue from dance music producers like Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Robbie Hardkiss and others are easy to listen to and download.
With advancements in computer and digital technology, music and dance culture is changing, and the way of vinyl records and turntables are starting to become items of the past, being replaced with CD players.
As the first waves of house began to break on San Francisco in the late 1980s, Lytton had a vision for an eclectic kind of party, something he called a little “less grab-ass and more shake-ass.” Disenchanted with the “meat market” club scene, he created the soon-to-be-legendary party Toon Town in 1990, one of the first to remix the social dynamic by putting the music at the front and center of the experience.
After parting ways with Toon Town in 1992, Lytton founded Stompy, a production group that centered programming on musical style rather than big names.
Lytton said while living in Spain for two years, he found himself lost like Don Quixote on a quest for noble beats. With no way to stay connected to the S.F. music scene, the idea for Stompy.com began to take shape.
The parties he produced with Stompy have consistently caught fire with house artists, reviewers and people who dig on deep, front-edge house music. He began spinning records in 1995 after a six-year hiatus. Lytton’s perspective as a DJ and promoter gave him a birds’ eye view of the music scene.
He’s always tried to cultivate a “I was country when country wasn’t cool” approach, leading him to sniff out the most influential trends, like digital music and the possibilities it offers, Penn said. Admission to “Tangled Up” this Saturday is free before 10:30 p.m. A full bar is available. This event is open to those 21 and older with a valid ID.
