JEREMY P CAULFIELD : DUMB-UNIT / BERLIN / TORONTO
At a time when so much techno feels like endless variations on a played-out theme, it’s heartening to know that there are still a handful of artists, labels and DJs who can combine experience, skill and forward-looking ideals in style. Step forward Jeremy P. Caulfield, who amply ticks all of the above boxes.
As proprietor of leading neuro-minimal imprint Dumb-Unit, DJ of widely-acclaimed repute, and occasional producer of stripped-back, ominous dancefloor bombs, Jeremy has emerged from his early days on the Canadian techno circuit to become a leading light of today’s underground club scene. Using his fifteen years of DJing experience as a springboard, Jeremy has utilised Dumb-Unit as a pivotal platform for the blossoming careers of artists including Butane, Lee Curtiss, Sweet N’ Candy and Seph, loosely defining a hinterland micro-scene of murky, intricate sounds that play with the darkest recesses of the mind while remaining firmly attached the propulsive drive of the dance-floor.
It’s an ambiguous definition best articulated by his series of Detached:Works mix tapes and CDs, which over the course of three volumes and 10 years neatly plots Jeremy’s evolution from sparky underground enthusiast to undisputed connoisseur of finely-tuned contemporary techno. From early residencies at Toronto’s legendary Blue and Fukhouse parties (where he knocked around with like-minded local jocks Adam Marshall, Ian Guthrie and Jeff Milligan, while playing alongside techno deities like Richie Hawtin, Derrick May and Jeff Mills), Jeremy’s established himself as one of North America’s finest DJs. In 2008 alone, alongside his residency at Watergate, (in his adopted home of Berlin) Jeremy has played nearly every weekend across the globe, including gigs at renown clubs and festivals such as Fabric, Fuse, Mutek, and the Sonne Mond Sterne Festival and tours of Japan, Australia and South America .
Meanwhile, his rare but intricate rocking live shows surface every once in a while to remind us that his darkly-tinged, boiled-down beats and distantly unsettling grooves are one of the most precious jewels in the jagged DU crown. Check his killer releases Dumb-Unit, Trapez and WMF if you need any proof.
Somewhere between his smart, re-edit heavy sets, his vigorously spiky artist releases, and his scandalously consistent label, there lurks the charred, elusive heart of Jeremy P. Caulfield. The fun part is trying to find it.
LEE SMITH 2008
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