duggup

Artist: Kenji Williams
Website: magnatune.com/artists/kenji_williams
Track Name: Tektonik Illusion
Playback: mp3/flash
Download?: Yes

I can number the violinists that have changed the way I feel about music on one hand. Daryl Way from Curved Air, Jerry Goodman and Jean Luc Ponty. I recently found a new name to add to the list.

Kenji Williams is combining a rather yummy violin with an envelope pushing approach to techno, house and trance ( and then there are some weird dub influences that creep in to round it all off. I love the way he combines the laptop, drum machines and the mix part of his act with the violin. It’s his attempt at resolving the old tech – new tech dichotomy that all of these artists have in common. I can remember being stopped dead in my tracks by “Curved Air” the very first time I heard them, same with Jerry Goodman and it’s the same with Kenji. You just have to spend a little time getting past what you find you think about dance music and I believe you will find a rather talented performer here.

The blurb from the site…

Classically trained in violin since the age of 7, Kenji Williams, performs live ethereal violin, with a laptop and drum machine transmitting self-produced classics to the dance floor. Tracking Kenji’s musical career, from serious classical violin training, to his early influences in Detroit and European techno and house, to 4 years touring with trance group Medicine Drum, the combination of ingredients that make the sound of ABA Structure fuse into an exotic, tantalising, and intoxicating sound that can be described as progressive, psychedelic techno, tech-house, and tech-trance (for uptempo) and ambient techno, electro space dub (for downtempo).

And here is a clip of Kenji Williams performing live at the Vision Quest trance festival in the mountains of Japan.

I probably should add Eddie Jobson to the list of violinists as well… I’ll let you know.

thatch is fascinated by guitars, music, guitars, production, silly noises, guitars and used to be a musician. Did I mention the thing about the guitars?
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