BIOGRAPHY
Abe Duque is one of techno's most inspiring and often unsung heroes, and his new album is DON'T BE SO MEAN.
He started as a resident at New York's notorious Limelight, back in the days of Michael Alig and the club kids and the excess of "Bright Lights Big City". Since then, he's wound his own unique path through production and DJing.
He's been up, from Limelight to Tresor Berlin to releasing on key techno labels like Tresor, Disko-B under aliases like Rancho Relaxo Allstars and Kirlian. He's been down, so broke that the first releases on his own label, Abe Duque Records, were released with no labels, no promo - just music on one side and a message from Abe scratched by hand into the vinyl on the back. He put the albums out without telling a soul, putting his faith in the ability of great techno to reach great people. And since the releases included now-pivotal anthems like "What happened?" cowritten with Blake Baxter; his own "Champagne Days, Cocaine Nights", and eventually his 2005 album, So Underground it Hurts, the idea worked.
Abe had blown up and he was up again, suddenly being asked to remix pivotal dance figures like the Chemical Brothers, Miss Kittin, DJ Hell, even the Pet Shop Boys and Princess Superstar ...
Now we have his third album, Don't Be So Mean. Like the earlier CDs, it's had its more pumping efforts released as hand-scratched vinyl releases for the fans. But this album also collects Abe's more meditative, dreamy side with numbers like Why Do They Need US and OFMA alongside the fist-pumping tracks like electrifying Tonight is your answer, the optimistic Life Is So Good To Me and of course the the two gorgeous numbers Following My Heart, with vocals by Virginia Nacimento, and Salute the Dawn, a collaboration between Abe and regular collaborator Tijana T, with contributions from Debussy and Henry Thoreau.
Dark acid basslines, Latin percussion, deep-house grooves and ethereal electronica and piano instrumentals ... This album blends Abe's last two years of performing his live show from Australia to Japan, the US to Berlin, Barcelona to South America, Holland to Eastern Europe, and releases on the already mentioned Tresor and Disko-B, as well as Warner Bros, International DJ Gigolos, Sahko, Tension, Abuse, Mille Plateaux, Sonic Groove, Rapture as Abe Duque and also alter egos Kirlian, Super Secret Symphony, Facil and the techno supergroup jam, the Rancho Relaxo All-stars....
