Free Spirit (Rémi Andrade) and Tony Katana (Tommy Bonnevialle, here disguised as 'Tony Kashmere', a moniker for 'softer' material) collaborate in the fifth chapter of the 'Counterflux' series, a series of CD mixes born from the mind and spinning hands of Free Spirit, bedroom dj and former Chase Records owner. Each installment highlights multiple aspects of hardcore techno, acid techno, and many other styles in electronic music. The sets are offered online for download (Facebook/mediafire/...); in addition, 13 cd copies with artwork are always sent to fans and friends. The length of the two sets, along the lines of mixtapes, had to fit on a single CD, a long-play CD.
Tony Katana belongs to a group of versatile French dj's who spin the better 90's underground hardcore techno, gabber, and speedcore, blending them with contemporary releases. He regularly shares live mixes via Facebook (under Tony Katana) and YouTube. Other notable French names include DJ Fusion, Mascore, Martyr, DJ Ash, and more.
Some of Katana's mixes are among the best in the contemporary underground hardcore techno and gabber revival. Well-known and lesser-known 90s tracks are mixed with, among others, newer industrial Italian releases in a tight, rhythmically thumping style, making combos of different elements of tracks, sometimes touching on the psychedelic style of SpeedyQ's and Tec-9, with occasional long transitions. John Dark and SpeedyQ's are, for the record, amongst his major influences for Djing for the explorative & adventurous nature of their output. All of this contrasts quite sharply with a good portion of Dutch Dj's. "Early rave" (a marketing gimmick!) is not included here.
A mix clocking in at +200 bpm, 'Décharge cabalistique' (see link below), is, in my opinion, a very good example. Only after listening to a few mixes did I realize the man has an extensive background in classical music (see his piano renditions of metal albums in the link), and that skill and sensitivity are reflected in both the almost harmonically rhythmic mixing, as well as the harmonically logical and equally surprising contrasts in melody and harmony. In this Counterflux Part, Katana tries to emulate Free Spirit's style (digging deep in genres, mixing long transitions, technoid elements, …).
I listened to this Counterflux mix first in part, once in its entirety, and finally with the video.
I did the latter to better understand the mixing work. Initially, I was a bit lost in how Katana reinvented himself. After the fragile intro by Ulver, somewhat IDM-like, not completely my thing, the mix picks up with more experimental, technoid tracks by Liza N Eliaz and Lorentz Attractor, bathed in pads, creative 303 lines, and reverbs that create and build atmosphere. These tracks also appear in the excellent mix 'Matt Fraktal – Fraktal + Timeless'; could this have been a source of inspiration, i asked myself? Tony answered affirmative.
The first culmination is a long transition from Lorenz Attractor's 'Complexity Crisis' into 'Industrial TR' by Vdd Energise (sample: 'ecstasy!!'), with the hats pattern(s) as common ground. overall The menacing atmosphere that had been building finally explodes accompagnied by a our beloved marching 'hardcore' bassline. Wonderful! Then Katana shifts back a gear, the atmosphere builds again with techno, acid techno by Propionic and Koenig Cylinders flowing nicely with harmonic key into Headshop's 'Universe' from the PCP stable; a track that falls somewhere in between hardcore, acid, hardtrance, unique in itself. I remember discovering tracks like these when digging further into hardcore techno after the popular gabber period... . Luckily we don't feel that old yet, and people spin it in 2025!
Katana masters the art of casting tracks, giving them a role in the story; here the for me unknown 'Filmcore' by Simstim. Equally clever is the use of lesser-known, more of 2 strong filler techno tracks by FFM and Marc Acardipane (, followed by the strange melody of Zekt – Fixed, after which follows a more obscure proto goatrance track and one Marc Acardipane track. FFM's track is mixed very well and for a long time. Seeing it mixed live gives me a better understanding and respect for the calm and apparent simplicity with which track after track are seamlessly woven. The techno track by Matrix Project on AREA51 appeals to me less because I simply don't like this kind of monotonous techno too much. The introduction of this track and the fantastic track by Mechanism (with a slightly lower gain?) sounds a bit rushed. I learned it sounds that way because it was brought in the first break.
Whereas a previous mix featured a modernist piece as the intro, the minimalist classical electronics of Matmos now provide the outro. Original! Listen carefully to the complexity of the resulting harmony.
In my opinion, the mix could have been longer, which makes it seem like there was a bit of a rush to deliver the last three tracks (which perhaps couldn't have been mixed any other way).
The good reasons to listen to Katana's mixes are also present here: distinctive track selections, transitions, rhythmic layering, atmosphere, harmony and melody, and contrast. Could you guys give the file a bit more gain on your next CD? Fantastic!
Considering that Katana is constantly exploring new areas of the electronic music spectrum, a black metal-tinged speedcore set mixed with Persian classical music could be on the menu next, or am I being too hasty? Stay tuned!
Glaze your ears.
Wouter.
LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Katana/pfbid0vD3Bgoyq51kjt3k1UccUUgyc5P46CsjsJWiKnxfwXBdJ7LFVmXXo1mZniVj6DV41l/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonyktn
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-820786501
Audio samples:
Tony Katana – Décharge Cabalistic
https://www.gabbatracklistworld.com/index.php?explore=view&trackid=6206
https://www.facebook.com/100078252973008/videos/395023396957969/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDltmwGBCs
Matt Fraktal – Fraktal + Timeless
https://www.gabbatracklistworld.com/index.php?explore=view&trackid=4679