From the meanders of post-punk and industrial, Juan Mendez has unveiled an expressiveness associated with techno with monochrome tones and sphinx shapes. For more than two decades, the Los Angeles DJ, producer and artistic director has been a noble cultural agitator who has gradually become something of a local legend. He was part of the Sandwell District collective, gave an initial hand to the Tropic of Cancer project and, under the mantle of Silent Server, has consolidated a shrewd career. A wizard of dystopian electronica and a tireless spirit, Mendez has consolidated a huge community to his form and style.
Negative Fascination was the debut in the golden catalog of Hospital Productions, owned by Dominik Fernow (aka Prurient, Vatican Shadow, et al). The alchemy of austere beats, anemic melodies and hallucinatory atmospheres very much mirrored Mendez’s fascination with the sonic textures and sonic escapism that would become staples of his productions. Less minimalist and more open to unusual rhythmic resolutions, Shadows of Death and Desire emerged around six years later as a rare and undefinable object by nature. While there are allusions to Cabaret Voltaire, Underground Resistance or Throbbing Gristle, the thick fog of mutations is fragmented into truly revelatory moments; instrumental tracks, or even songs, in which the voice, synthesizers and drum machines lead to an intoxicating sensory feast.
On this occasion, he lands at ZDB not for a concert, but for a curated session behind the decks. Those who know him know that this will not be a mere DJ set, but that each of these presentations will be a careful exercise in unraveling proposals and exceeding expectations. An absolute boss. NA
