TuneLab
Awakenings Festival 2018 Saturday - Live set Joseph Capriati
Area V
Joseph Capriati at Awakenings Festival 2018, Area V – because sometimes you just need the unadulterated, piston-driven therapy of proper techno, and we're all grateful for the algorithm that served this up. The vibe is pure industrial warehouse catharsis, a sea of raised hands under strobe lights. Capriati drives a relentless, high-octane set with an average BPM of 130.1, firmly in hard techno territory, and uses the dominant key of 12A as a bedrock for brutal, harmonic progressions.
The energy is overwhelmingly focused on a punishing low-end, with sharp mid-range percussion and sparse high-end accents creating a tense, minimalist soundscape. The mixing is fast and functional, all about maintaining that peak-time pressure without respite. Tracks like 2Pole's 'Hyperion' and Berg's 'Montag' are quintessential weapons from the techno trenches, all driving kicks and eerie atmospherics.
The inclusion of something like Relaxing BGM Project's 'Vintage Backdrops for Fine Dining' is a hilarious and brilliant crate dig, adding a surreal, sampledelic twist. Layton Giordani's 'Body Language' provides a moment of sleek, modern muscle, while the long play of Technasia's 'I Am Somebody' allows for a deep, hypnotic build. From the unknown, murky opener, through the peak-time assault of tracks like 'Hyperion', to the closing jack of James Dexter's '93', it's a lesson in uncompromising, peak-time techno dynamics that leaves no room for breath, only dance.