Last night I went out to the “Block” in Tel Aviv to hear Jake Fairley, AKA Fairmont, play at a party organized by my friends from N-Factorial and Pacotek.

Fairmont was HUGE, and judging by the standing ovation he received when it was finally time for him to leave the DJ’s stand, I’m far from being the only person who feels that way. Except for a slightly disappointing set by Move D, yesterday was a great display of electronic music at it’s finest with Pacotek’s Anna doing a great job on the pick up after Jake.

I’m not as young as I used to be and I can no longer do the things I used to do to keep myself alert and awake at parties. My priorities now in my mid 30’s are very different from the ones I had in my mid 20’s. The drugs and hype are for me a thing of the past, and have been for many a year, so when I find myself hopping about at night for 5 hours straight and leaving a party in the full light of day I’m pretty sure that I must have a had a really grand time and that the music must have been fucking great.

Another indicator for me that last night was something special were some of the faces I caught in the crowd. I bumped into Yiftach and Rei, who together with Pacotek’s Tsachi, and a whole bunch of other fine souls led by Danny Zarzewski, pretty much kicked off the Israeli Techno scene about a decade ago. They launched the party producing cooperative “100 Meter’s Underground” that has the distinction of being the only one, out of a bunch of similar operations here in Israel, whose activities received academic recognition.

It feels like only yesterday we were all raving in the caves outside Jerusalem, listening to Danny spinning vinyl 100 meters underground, but as the years go by less and less of “the tribe” show up at the parties. People get old, tired, boring, married and dead…

Pactoek to me are “the new kid on the block” but they’ll be celebrating their 5th birthday next week (with Carsten Jost, Yay!). Fact is they’ve already lasted much longer than “100 meter’s”, “Hazofe”, and all the other techno coops that I have seen come and go, ever did.

I was a club owner for four and a half years.
I’ve heard electronic music on four continents.
I’ve been to the full moon and half moon on Koh Phangan and heard Trance played in the mountains around the Kullu valley. I heard Dimitri at the Escape and was selector at the gate when Digweed and Oakenfold played in Jerusalem.

I don’t go to parties far away from home anymore because I’m no longer willing to take the long drives there and back. If I can’t take a taxi to a venue I ain’t going (I’ve become way too lazy…). My days eating dust and dancing on uneven surfaces at underground parties located in godforsaken locations are probably over. I no longer go to parties hoping to get laid because I’m happy with what I’ve got waiting for me at home…

I still love the scene, the music and the few people I still recognize at the clubs. I’m 34 years old and I’ve never felt more committed to the music I love. I wonder how old I’ll be when I go to my last party…