Learning Secrets Presents Teengirl Fantasy and Jacques Renault

We didn’t think we would ever recover from that bombastic 8th anniversary party Learning Secrets threw for themselves a couple of weeks ago. But now that we are finally seeing straight, Learning Secrets have announced their next big throw-down — on February 25th they are bringing Teengirl Fantasy and Jacques Renault to Austin for an epic 18 and up night at the brand new Beauty Ballroom location off of East Riverside. I know you have probably been looking for a good reason to see what the new Beauty Ballroom location is all about — well, now is your chance.

So, you might know Teengirl Fantasy from their much-lauded debut LP 7AM (2010) — or at least their masterfully trip-a-delic instant club hit, “Cheaters”. But if you don’t know Teengirl Fantasy, don’t fret, because once the newly reformed classic 1990s techno label R&S Records releases the new Teengirl Fantasy 12″ and LP this Spring, everyone in the universe will know who they are.

Nick Weiss and Logan Takahashi met while studying at Oberlin College. They became fast friends over a shared love of classic house and techno records. Together they began creating new styles of dance music, instead of just lazily ripping-off what had already been done before. Teengirl Fantasy is not simply just house music or dance music. Weiss and Takahashi blend together certain qualities of house music with aspects of trance and electronica, creating an almost experimental free-form concoction. Of course when you read experimental and free-form, I know that instantly registers as undanceable; but Teengirl Fantasy’s tracks possess an inherent sense of rhythm that throbs and pulses as steadily as quickened heartbeats. And not that we condone the use of psychedelic drugs, but we will say that Teengirl Fantasy is a blissed-out head-trip in every key. I suspect Weiss and Takahashi’s live set is going to blow more brains than David Cronenberg’s Scanners, so get ready to freak the hell out.

It is an undeniable fact that the legendary Learning Secrets veteran Jacques Renault knows how to blow minds too. A Washington, D.C. native, Renault moved to Chicago in 1997 to continue his studies of viola — but he got an education in dance music instead. Fully immersed in the Drum ‘n’ Bass scene, he held a residency at Smart Bar and became a buyer at the legendary Gramaphone Records. In 2002, Renault relocated to New York City, where he held residencies at Happy Endings, APT, Tribeca Grand and 205 Club. Along with his Runaway collaborator Marcos Cabral, Renault launched the labels On The Prowl and OTP Party Breaks; and with friend Nik Mercer, Renault began producing his own series of dance parties called Let’s Play House, a moving party that uses Brooklyn warehouses, Manhattan ballrooms, hotel lounges, and everything in between for its regular events.