Robbie Kowal (born August 1973), also known by his professional names Motion Potion or MoPo,[1] is an American DJ, record producer, and concert promoter.[2] Known for blending electronic music with the genres of funk, hip hop, and psychedelic rock,[3] he first started mixing live in 1995.
Motion Potion | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Robbie Kowal |
| Also known as | MoPo |
| Born | August 1973 (age 50) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Genres | Funk, breakbeat , disco , remix |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, producer, concert organizer, founder and partner of Sunset Promotions |
| Instrument(s) | Turntables, Ableton, Pioneer CDJ-2000 |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | [1] |
Kowal was born in Boston, Massachusetts. After moving to his current base of San Francisco in 1997, he co-founded the concert promotion company Sunset Promotions or SunsetSF in 2001, which became known for producing festivals such as the SF Funk Fest and North Beach Jazz. Since then he has helped found and/or produce festivals and concert nights such as All Shook Down Music Festival, Sea of Dreams NYE, Ghost Ship Halloween, Loveboat Halloween, North Beach Jazz, Festival of the Golden Gate and Mojito Café.[4] According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2006 MoPo was the first DJ to play a silent disco in the United States,[5] and since then he has founded Silent Frisco, a headphone dance concert production company.[6] In 2015, Silent Frisco and SunsetSF merged to become HUSHconcerts, an event production company that now contributes to more than 1000 events per year.
Motion Potion tours frequently, and is best known for crafting intensively researched tribute sets, typically related to artists headlining a festival at which he performs. Among the themes he is best known for include Radiohead in Remix, Talking Heads Dance Party, Santana in Remix, Janet vs Michael, Beasties/Beatles/Beck, Prince's Purple Reign, and Metallica in Remix. This propensity for deep dives has seen him booked repeatedly at numerous festivals. From and from 2002 to 2004 was the first and only DJ at Bonnaroo. He is also the only DJ to have played every year of the Electric Forest Festival). The San Francisco Weekly has called MoPo "the godfather of the silent disco,"[7] while SFist called him "one of the nation’s foremost purveyors of the 'Silent Disco' concept."[8] He periodically produces music, and in 2008 he released a series of three EPs titled Electric Nostalgia Vol. 1-3.[1] In 2017, MoPo released a Radiohead-tribute remix album entitled 'Subterranean Homemade Alchemy' to raise awareness for social causes championed by the band.[1]
Notable performances edit
The following is a list of selected notable appearances by Motion Potion as a DJ:[9]
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (2000, 2001, 2003, etc.)
- San Francisco Funk Festival (2000-2004, 2008, etc.)
- High Sierra Music Festival (2000, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2013)
- Berkshire Mountain Music Festival (2001, 2002, 2003, etc.)
- North Beach Jazz Fest (2001, 2003, etc.) - produced 2003, 2007
- Gathering of the Vibes (2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
- Bonnaroo Music Festival (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
- Burning Man Festival (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)
- Jamcruise II (2004)
- Exotic Erotic Ball (2004, 2005) - host and DJ
- Noise Pop Festival (2006)
- Vegoose Festival (2006, 2007)
- Rothbury/Electric Forest Festival (2008, 2013, 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2022)
- Camp Bisco (2009, 2011, 2012)
- Lightning in a Bottle (2009, 2013, 2014)
- Treasure Island Music Festival (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- BottleRock Napa Valley (2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021)
- Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2022)
- Metallica XXX (2011)
- Sonic Bloom (2012, 2014)
- Earthdance (2012)
- Panic en la Playa (2013, 2014)
- Avetts by the Beach(2017)
- Dave & Tim Riviera Maya (2017)
Discography edit
EPs edit
| Year | Album title | Release details |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Electric Nostalgia Vol. 1 |
|
| Electric Nostalgia Vol. 2 |
| |
| Electric Nostalgia Vol. 3 |
| |
| 2015 | Subterranean Homemade Alchemy - AKA Subalchemy |
|
DJ mixes edit
| Year | Release title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Erectrofly'd | Produced CD in May 2007[9] |
| Wet in Sweat | Produced CD in May 2007[9] | |
| 2008 | The History of Psychedelic Rock in Remix | Live mix CD |
| A Decade of Kraak & Smaak | Live mix CD |
Remixes/mashups edit
| Year | Single name | Compilation/album | Release details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Break Yourself" (mashup by MoPo) |
The Best Mashups In The World Ever Are From San Francisco 2 |
BootieUSA (May 15, 2006)[1] |
| 2006 | Various tracks | Bonnaroo Bangers | Bonnaroo[1] |
Further reading edit
- Interviews and articles
- "DJ takes deeper look at music". Steamboat Today. February 12, 2004.
- "Robbie Kowal on 15 Years of Putting on Concerts in S.F." San Francisco Weekly. March 8, 2011.
- "How I Got Here with Robbie Kowal". Amoeba Music. January 2012.
- "Robbie "MoPo" Kowal's Ideal San Francisco". SFist. August 1, 2013. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014.
- "Silent Frisco's quiet revolution takes dance parties out of club". SFGate. December 27, 2014.
- Discographies
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e "Biography". MotionPotion.com. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
- ^ Port, Ian S. (March 8, 2011). "Going Big and Going Broke: Promoter Robbie Kowal on 15 Years of Putting on Concerts in S.F." San Francisco Weekly. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ Jam, Billy (January 2012). ""How I Got Here" with Robbie Kowal of SunsetSF - Part I in new Dave Paul Guest Amoeblogger Series". Amoeba Music. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ "Robbie Kowal". The Bold Italic. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ Levin, Rachel B. (August 19, 2011). "Boogie Nights: 'Silent disco' is making itself heard". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ Vaziri, Aidin (December 27, 2014). "Silent Frisco's quiet revolution takes dance parties out of club". SFGate. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ Phaneuf, Whitney (July 2012). "Comfortable Silence". San Francisco Weekly. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ ""The Weirdness is a Good Thing": Here's SunsetSF Founder Robbie "MoPo" Kowal's Ideal San Francisco". SFist. sfist.com. August 1, 2013. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-20.
- ^ a b c "Highlights". MotionPotion.com. 2009. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
External links edit
- MotionPotion.com
- Motion Potion on Facebook
- Motion Potion on Twitter
- Motion Potion on MySpace
- Motion Potion on Tumblr
- Audio and video
- Shows and companies
- HUSHconcerts (company)
- Silent Conference (company)
- Subterranean Homemade Alchemy (album download)