Introduction
Christopher Rave: Peak
Artist: Christopher Rave
Title / Release Page: Peak
Release Date: 2015 Feb 02
Genre: Techno / Glitch
License: CC BY-NC-SA
Media: MP3
Pricing: Free / Donation
Label: Planet Terror Records
Rating: ★★★★★★
Christopher Rave is a DJ from Sheffield who has been getting a lot of work in the area. This is his first release for Planet Terror Records, and undoubtedly won’t be his last. Let’s talk about Christopher Rave: Peak in a bit more detail.
Christopher Rave: Peak
Typically I don’t review this kind of work. And, in fact, I looked to see if I could find someone else to write about it because I am personally not all that enthralled with this kind of music. Why? Well, I would have to say that I don’t have the context for this kind of music. I am not into any club scene. That is the primary context that I think this kind of music has to be experienced in.
This is why this kind of music fails for me: there isn’t any other context that I can put it into that it will work. It’s not good listening while reading, cleaning the house, going to sleep, waking up, or driving, or anything other than listening to and dancing to in a club, really. But really, the thing that ends up bothering me is that it isn’t work that I can just plain listen to without getting bored, even when there is a solo line, or something that should keep me interested.
But, while I rave about how narrowly focused this music is, it is not the worst thing I have ever heard. There are definitely House and Techno releases that have driven me up a wall because they were just plain flat piles of junk. Christopher, on the other hand, does take the time to build lines into his work, do some variations in the work and make it a bit more interesting.
There is a level of skill that is on display in Peak that many DJ’s have forgotten these days. It’s about the ability to interact with an audience. Understand what the audience wants, and be able to react to their changes. That’s something that is really more on a level with musicians that improvise on their instruments.
Personally I wouldn’t say that Christopher Rave is an improviser, but he has definitely built a skills set that allows him to interact and communicate with an audience in a more effective manner than many of the DJ’s in the Techno and House styles I have heard.
Add to this his excellent production skills, and it’s easy to see why he is a very in demand DJ in the Sheffield area.
Conclusion
As I’ve said, I am not normally all that into House and Techno works. They tend to not work for me in any context other than the club scene. And, not being into the club scene I find it difficult to relate to this type of work. However, I can say that I find Christopher Rave’s work to be more interesting than the majority of House and Techno recordings I have listened to. It doesn’t drive me crazy enough to turn it off immediately, and I find some of the variations of lines to add something more to his work than is typical. Add to this his excellent production skills, and his ability to interact with an audience, and it’s easy to see why he is an in-demand DJ in the Sheffield area.
