Photek thinks drum and bass is boring.
Over the past few years, he said, the scene, of which he is an integral member, has stagnated.
"I think it's boring. It's just not cool," he said, after spinning a two-hour set at OPM Lounge on Friday. "But you can't say that unless you're going to do something about it."
His set would indicate he's got some ideas for drum and bass that represent the genre - and Photek himself - coming full circle.
"In the U.K. in the 80s, no one listened to hip-hop, everyone was listening to The Cure," he said. "I hated that. The first tracks I ever made were hip-hop tracks."
Which is the source of drum and bass, at least for Photek's "intelligent drum and bass" interpretation
"Drum and bass is only a result of kids like me. It's a product of hip-hop heads going to acid house parties and mixing them together," he said.
That origin was the focus of his DJ set, one dominated by hard and heavy drum and bass punctuated with downbeat dub and hip-hop beats. The set was very different from his last major label release, 2000's "Solaris," on which Photek flirted with trip-hop and threw back paranoid Chicago-style acid house.
This change also showcased the sound of his latest project, called TEKDBZ, in which he mixes drum and bass with more traditional hip-hop MCs.
"It's ground that's been treaded on before - I think the first was Goldie with KRS-one," he said. "I'm working with an unknown. I'm working with a hip-hop artist from scratch. I'm trying to bring drum and bass to hip-hop fans here."
But at his show, Photek didn't spend too much time on hip-hop alone; most of his set was hard and fast drum and bass, the heavy beats and dirty, spare synth hits and samples that made him one of the most influential DJs in drum and bass.
He didn't play anything immediately recognizable, at least not until his set closer, a remix of U2's "City of Shining Lights," in which thick, rough beats contrasting with Bono's shimmering vocals gave the song a new urban subtext.
The U2 remix was a surprise, especially given Photek's early aversion to the rock gods.
"I always hated U2. I was really anti-rock," he said. "I was only about hip-hop, jazz and electronic stuff. I only liked black music. Now I'm into anything and everything, and I pull it into everything I do."
Photek said that he first incorporated his newfound eclecticism after his last compilation, "Form and Function," came out in 1998. A new compilation, "Form and Function, Vol. 2" comes out this summer on his own label, Photek Productions.
While the small club was barely filled, Buffalo's drum and bass scene proved to be hungry for an established DJ like Photek. The crowd was loud and responsive and left a positive vibe throughout the set.
Photek's set was part of OPM Lounge's Friday drum and bass series. Pendulum is the next big name in the series, spinning on March 17, followed by Photek-collaborator DJ Die on March 24.
