Loco Dice, Maus & Miguel Graça @ Aria

Saturday February 25th – It was freezing outside but it didn't take long to get Aria's big room warmed up. The place filled up early and remained packed for most of the night.

Loco Dice, aka Dice Corleone (what kind of kick ass name is that!), is a Tunisian-born DJ & producer based in Düsseldorf. He's recently released two very good minimal mix CDs – Green & Blue, a double CD venture he shared with Ricardo Villalobos, and Minimal Explosion for MixMag. Dice has appeared in the world's biggest clubs and his DJing credits include residencies at DC-10 and Dusseldorf's Tribehaus. He's also been producing remixes as well as original songs. You can hear these, along with some of his mix tapes, on his web site. However there's nothing on there similar to what he played at Aria.

Back to Saturday night...

Dice was hangin' around the club and nobody gave a care in the world or even acknowledged him. It's one of those night where people just show up not knowing who's playing and somehow everything just clicks anyway.

Miguel Graça opened the festivities and played a top quality tech-house set that got everyone fired up and ready for the main event. Not a dull moment in there: bravo Miguel !

When Loco Dice got on he seemed to fully understand the vibe of the place. He immediately sized up his audience and gave them exactly what they needed: a hard tech-house set that still retained all the intelligence and attention to detail of a minimal experience, showcasing his clever understanding of the art of repetition as well as an in depth knowledge of the uses of varied sonorities. However he did it I will never know, but Loco Dice still managed to let masterful peaks shine thru the general intensity of his selection. Simply brilliant!

At one point it even seemed like the man from Düsseldorf would simply not stop playing… and he didn't! Instead, Maüs join Loco Dice behind the decks and the both of them tag-teamed for the remaider of the night. Simply put: a match made in heaven, both DJs' harder repertoire complementing the other's perfectly.

Sadly, by the time they started their tag I was already WIPED OUT from having continuously danced all night long. After I while I decided there was just no point in staying if I couldn't dance, and I opted to commit an unthinkable crime: leave while Maüs was playing. I am told the party kept going more than an hour past Aria's usual closing time.

I just wish to convey my thanks to the Aria crew for bringing Loco Dice to Montréal again. The evening was simply amazing – a fuckin' classic, frankly – and the way things are looking, I think we're in for some SEVERE partying in the next few months. Keep it up!

Song of the Night: "Sandwiches", by Detroit Grand Pubahs, one of the few 'vocal' tracks heard, played by Loco Dice.

Find out more about Loco Dice or about Aria on their respective web sites.