An improvised and mostly unrehearsed three turntable Techno throw-down, performed live at the temporal point in space-time that is Freerotation Festival.

The last time I played an up-tempo Techno set like this at Freerotation was in 2011, and I’ve been pestering Steevio to let me bang it again ever since - this was the year it finally happened. 
Set times aren’t announced until the day, so it was as much of a surprise to me as anyone else to find out that I would be playing the closing set in that room.
After a night of excellent live & DJ sets from the highly talented women I had the honour of sharing the bill with, I had to be on top of my game to maintain the energy levels at the high bar they had set. 
My aim was to keep the tempos up around 137 BPM, make good use of all three turntables, improvise as much as possible in a spontaneous way by keeping the rehearsing to a minimum, and stay as present in the moment as much as I could possibly be.
I worked out the intro and the first couple of tracks, but then kept it mostly freestyle after that, which led to some unexpected twists, turns and inspired moments that kept me on my toes, and the crowd buzzing. 
This was one of those special nights where the amazing and supportive crowd gave so much energy, that it fed straight back into the music, which then began to feel like an energy flowing right through you, that pulled you even deeper into the moment. 
Presence!
I was ecstatic to  have been so well received by the large crowd that had gathered, it was an honour & a privilege to hold the space for 90 minutes, and a joy to have the opportunity close the room on such a high. 
Unfortunately some of the amps developed a fault, causing them to overheat & create a nasty burning smell, so the set had to be brought to an abrupt end to avoid causing a fire. 
An unmet demand for a final tune rampantly ensued, I loudly and regrettably responded “The Amps Are On Fire!!”, to which someone remarked “of course they are, you did a good job”, which I felt was a fitting end to a smoking night of Techno-music, that was pure heat from start to finish! :)

Recorded Live on Sunday 7th July 2019, 
4:30 - 6am, in Sammy String's (Room 3), 
at Freerotation Festival, Baskerville Hall, Hay on Wye, UK.

www.residentadvisor.net/dj/alexdowney
www.facebook.com/AlicksDowney/
www.instagram.com/alyxdowney/
Interview: www.untitled909.com/alex-downey/

Photograph by Calandra Balfour @Calandra
Audio mixdown by Charlie Tear @charlietear

Freerotation 2019

Alex Downey's 'The Amps Are On Fire Mix' Live at Freerotation 2019

Exploring and researching raw stripped down machine funk. All funk created at space station AXD02084.

Member of the Waveform Syndicate together with Aztronouth and LUUS.

[ Crobot Muzik || Bass Agenda || Cyber Domain || Ovelha Trax || Boomstraat 1818 ]

Alex Downey has been supporting the UK electronic underground movement as a DJ, record-shop manager and now radio presenter for nearly 20 years. Based in Brighton on the south coast of England, he is arguably the city's most prominent purveyor of all things Techno, where he is a regular fixture at the premier high profile events, alongside acts such as Underground Resistance and Derrick May.  
As the main driving force behind the counter at Brighton's highly respected and much-missed [covert] record store & web-site, he was instrumental in bringing quality Techno & House to the city - and beyond, developing along the way a boundless knowledge, vast record collection and infectious passion for the music that's unmatched by most. 
His musical taste & experience speaks for itself and his nocturnal activities behind the decks have earned him much respect and a great reputation amongst the global electronic community. He has been invited to perform at many key events such as ‘Free-rotation’ in Wales,'The Big Beat Boutique' & 'Stompa-phunk' in Brighton, 'Retro_vert' & 'Wiggle' in London, ‘Labyrinth’ festival & ‘Haus-Tek’ in Tokyo, and at many other far-flung destinations, hundreds of smaller parties and long-forgotten club nights that rocked hard, and kept the lifeblood of the scene pumping. He is currently resident DJ at 'Our Friends Electric' in Brighton as well as the 'Split' / 'B A L A N C E' parties in London where he has recently shared the stage with Red-shape, Dave Clarke, Robert Hood, Luke Slater and Carl Craig, to name a few. You can also hear him spin on the ‘Split Show’ - a globally syndicated online radio show with a large number of keen listeners worldwide that he co-presents alongside techno legend Ben Sims.
Alex’s energetic style and enthusiasm for all things deep & electronic are sure to bring some magic to the party and are matched only by his razor-sharp DJ skills. One of the UK’s treasures, solidly and confidently attending to business while other media-hyped storms have come and gone.

Drawing on a diverse range of electronic music influences, Dan continually evolves his style, prioritizing the fluidity of sound and his creative process over traditional genre boundaries. His music resonates with emotions and moods, resulting in a rich mix of tracks.

https://www.instagram.com/ruditservaleriana/