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[Off The Record]
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Peter Rauhofer
ESSENTIAL MIX
(FFRR/SIRE)

Peter Rauhofer, a New York City DJ who usually works under the name Club 69, here creates two full-length sessions of house music that are deep, tribal, and vocally expressive enough to satisfy the most obsessive purist. As Club 69, Rauhofer mixes comedic attitude, bawdy talk, and distortedly orgasmic beats; these sessions, however, display a sumptuous seriousness and a need for bonding with the music (and with one’s fellow dancers) that’s essential to New Yorkers in the aftermath of September 11. The first CD recalls — and updates — Paradise Garage–style disco from the 1980s: the music rolls, raw but smooth, on echo effects, intoxicated voice chants, and furiously delicate beats. Best tracks: Alma Matris’s tribal "Musica Electrica," Deep Swing’s "In the Music," PQM’s "You Are Sleeping," Vidal’s "Believe," and Airmale’s "Brainwashed."

The second CD, deeper and jumpier and much more anguished, updates 1990s house music. It booms, soars, and cries out; explosion is everywhere. Beats and voices grow louder and bigger, as Rauhofer’s overlay mixes ratchet the music tighter and hotter, highlighted by Suzanne Palmer’s club hit "Hide U," Lula’s "The DJ, the Music, & Me," and Cevin Fisher’s "Keep It Coming." Like most of today’s house DJs, Rauhofer works his magic less by mix technique than by song selection, and for extreme sounds, beat hooks, and just plain weirdness his selections match those of master selector Danny Tenaglia. House-music babes will know exactly what I mean.

BY MICHAEL FREEDBERG

Issue Date: November 29 - December 6, 2001

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