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Celebratin' Motion


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POSTED: Friday, May 29, 2009

It will be a celebration of classic dance beats tomorrow at the Motion Music Festival.

Chicago's DJ Jesse Saunders, the originator of the hard-driven house sound, who is currently on tour to recognize house's 25th anniversary, will certainly be spinning “;On & On”; into the wee hours of Sunday.

Also starring will be Reuben Wu, better known as part of the electro new-wave-inspired band Ladytron.

               

     

 

Second Annual Motion Music Festival

       

        Featuring Ladytron's Reuben Wu and “;Godfather of House”; DJ Jesse Saunders
       

» Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.

       

» When: 9 p.m. tomorrow

       

» Cost: $18; 16-plus

       

» Info: (877) 714-7668 or hsblinks.com/au

       

A favorite with fans around the world for eight years now, Ladytron was supposed to open for Depeche Mode during that band's scheduled Eastern European minitour earlier this month, but that was canceled due to DM singer David Gahan's illness. Instead, the band will headline its own Australian tour early next month, where Wu will join his band mates after his gig here.

Through e-mail correspondence with Wu from his Liverpool, England, home, he said, “;I was a DJ before I joined the band. I trained in music as I grew up, but never really set out to be a musician.

“;I was actually working professionally as an industrial designer for the first few years of being in Ladytron and gave it up after we all went full-time with the band.”;

Known for using vintage analog synthesizer gear in concert, Ladytron's sound is a cool and calculated balance of lush electronica, circa 1980s, paired with the measured emotion of main singer Helen Marnie.

“;We have always been a bit of an underground band,”; Wu said. “;I think it's just the nature of our music and us as people. We've never taken the 'normal' route for anything and have done everything on our own terms.

“;Fortunately, our fans are real music lovers and are totally devoted, which we appreciate, plus we have a lot of fans in high places, such as Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Christina Aguilera. I like the fact that we've been doing this for 10 years and are still enjoying and loving what we do.”;

Ladytron's profile has certainly risen over the last year's time. The band's latest and best album, “;Velocifero,”; is getting wider play, thanks to its singles “;Tomorrow”; and “;Runaway.”;

On the aforementioned Australia jaunt, the band will be part of the Luminous festival to be held in the world-famous Sydney Opera House, and curated by a hero of Wu's in Brian Eno, whose first band, Roxy Music, included in its repertoire the song “;Ladytron,”; from where Wu's band took its name.

And, yes, Ladytron is working with the diva-licious Aguilera on her next album. She's apparently a big electro-dance fan, and will be covering a number of recent favorites with the help of people like Wu. With Ladytron's production help, Aguilera has already recorded her version of Ladyhawke's “;My Delirium.”;

“;Our collaboration with Christina is going really well,”; Wu said. “;She is such fun to work with and very focused on the music. I was impressed by her taste as well—she has Elastica's first album on her car stereo!”;

And Wu still finds time in his busy schedule to man the decks at any given nightclub to get the dance floors pumpin'.

“;Yeah, I DJ quite regularly. ... We generally play nightclubs at peak time, so it's mainly a lot of dance-floor stuff,”; he said.

“;The last gig I deejayed which I totally enjoyed was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was heaving! I normally DJ with (band mate Mira Aroyo)—it's more fun, but this time, in Honolulu, I'll be DJing solo.”;