Score: 7.5/10
Like most correspondence in our epoch, the news of 65daysofstatic’s fascination with Eastern European dance parties broke through e-mail. A rather oddly worded note from Iryna Berliawsky was sent out members of the Sheffield foursome's mailing list, containing the following utterances:
“I have been to CEE both nights now, even if this cold must grow always like a great fist… they have broken through a new dance hall in the old train tunnels without his help…Spring soon I count, and then we will have a party like before, and dance, dance, dance.”
It soon emerged that Iryna was actually a central figure in an Eastern European themed ARG (alternate reality game) that players followed over the space of four months, which led onto, amongst other things, a do it yourself remix of 65dos’ The Distant & Mechanised Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties title track “Dance Parties” (the remix can still be found here). Some may already be familiar with 65dos’ previous dabblings with “Dance Parties,” the track from which the EP takes its title appeared on 2007’s The Destruction of Small Ideas and retrospectively, it now seems obvious that the group would have wished to expand on this “stand-out” (as colleague Alex Bradshaw termed it last year) track.
The EP sees the group “creating a 16 strong choir from their own under rehearsed voices” on opening track “Dance Parties [Distant],” which due to the dominant use of synth and enthralling closing chant; “All hold on the day is young/All wake up the future’s here/The schools all closed/The roads are clear” makes this variation on a theme an explosive high-point of the record. The EP includes a second re-working of the dance party variety in the form of “Dance Parties [Mechanised].” This song develops into a heavier rave-rendition, featuring the electronic undercurrent of the track now fighting eagerly with the more noticeable guitar section and stuttering drum beats. The closing sample of the song which observes that “the radio stations are afraid of this stuff” even seems to be a subtle reference to Mogwai’s “Punk Rock” from the seminal Come On Die Young.
Interestingly, the connotations between the dance party theme and the last two tracks on the EP are not as evident. Although “Goodbye, 2007” often acts as a prelude to “Dance Parties” in the live setting, here the order is rearranged. Unlike the plethora of new directions previously heard on the EP, the aforementioned effort harks back to Fall of Math-era compositions. This slight moment of recession can be easily forgiven though, partly because of the wealth of new material the listener is offered with both variations of “Dance Parties” and also due to album closer “Antique Hyper Mall,” which is quite possibly one of the most down-tempo and laid back efforts the group have created.
As 65dos’ Eastern European ARG escapades came to a close, players were treated to an essay on music, life, and social networking from wily protagonist Oscar Thompson. Thompson submitted that what society needed was a “LAST DANCE, the actual culmination of an entire history of fights and parties…One final underground movement before the entire fucking concept is swallowed up by this My-fucking-space-based hegemony and commodifying of an alternative idea of how we are supposed to live”. Whether 65dos are now set on changing the world with their music is uncertain, but The Distant & Mechanised Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties seems a fine place to start.
“I have been to CEE both nights now, even if this cold must grow always like a great fist… they have broken through a new dance hall in the old train tunnels without his help…Spring soon I count, and then we will have a party like before, and dance, dance, dance.”
It soon emerged that Iryna was actually a central figure in an Eastern European themed ARG (alternate reality game) that players followed over the space of four months, which led onto, amongst other things, a do it yourself remix of 65dos’ The Distant & Mechanised Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties title track “Dance Parties” (the remix can still be found here). Some may already be familiar with 65dos’ previous dabblings with “Dance Parties,” the track from which the EP takes its title appeared on 2007’s The Destruction of Small Ideas and retrospectively, it now seems obvious that the group would have wished to expand on this “stand-out” (as colleague Alex Bradshaw termed it last year) track.
The EP sees the group “creating a 16 strong choir from their own under rehearsed voices” on opening track “Dance Parties [Distant],” which due to the dominant use of synth and enthralling closing chant; “All hold on the day is young/All wake up the future’s here/The schools all closed/The roads are clear” makes this variation on a theme an explosive high-point of the record. The EP includes a second re-working of the dance party variety in the form of “Dance Parties [Mechanised].” This song develops into a heavier rave-rendition, featuring the electronic undercurrent of the track now fighting eagerly with the more noticeable guitar section and stuttering drum beats. The closing sample of the song which observes that “the radio stations are afraid of this stuff” even seems to be a subtle reference to Mogwai’s “Punk Rock” from the seminal Come On Die Young.
Interestingly, the connotations between the dance party theme and the last two tracks on the EP are not as evident. Although “Goodbye, 2007” often acts as a prelude to “Dance Parties” in the live setting, here the order is rearranged. Unlike the plethora of new directions previously heard on the EP, the aforementioned effort harks back to Fall of Math-era compositions. This slight moment of recession can be easily forgiven though, partly because of the wealth of new material the listener is offered with both variations of “Dance Parties” and also due to album closer “Antique Hyper Mall,” which is quite possibly one of the most down-tempo and laid back efforts the group have created.
As 65dos’ Eastern European ARG escapades came to a close, players were treated to an essay on music, life, and social networking from wily protagonist Oscar Thompson. Thompson submitted that what society needed was a “LAST DANCE, the actual culmination of an entire history of fights and parties…One final underground movement before the entire fucking concept is swallowed up by this My-fucking-space-based hegemony and commodifying of an alternative idea of how we are supposed to live”. Whether 65dos are now set on changing the world with their music is uncertain, but The Distant & Mechanised Glow Of Eastern European Dance Parties seems a fine place to start.
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