Write Ups

AMOEBA.COM / BOMB HIP HOP INTERVIEW - Jan 18, 2012

I was a DJ first and it’s still my favorite thing to do. I started with rare groove and funk and rock and still do it, although under a different context. Now I take my favorite rare groove, funk and rock and layer it over club beats, breaks, house etc… I call it “Electric Nostalgia”. I have about 20 tracks in the hopper ready to put out that are just waiting for a free moment. But I keep getting asked to produce concerts and do interviews and stuff….

LA TIMES - 2011

“Stephanie Tucker of Hollywood, who in June was attending her second silent disco night at Central, said that “on a normal dance floor, everyone stays in their little circles.” But at silent disco, she’s experienced more interaction among strangers. “It’s almost like because everybody has got the headphones on that we all have something in common.”.” *

SF BAY GUARDIAN - 2011

“It’s amazing to watch,” MoPo told me. “When the club experience is focused on a hubbub of different dance styles, the context becomes electric. This installment is our tribute to Lovevolution, and in future installments we want to take it to the streets. If you take away the outdoor volume levels, no one can complain about noise. It becomes about civil rights — our right to congregate freely and openly.” *

GULF COAST MUSIC REVIEW - April 24, 2010
"Motion Potion(MoPo) has mastered all of the techniques mentioned above so well that the music he creates is full of hooks just waiting to sink into your brain and keeps his tunes running around your head until you just have to have more!"

THE PITT NEWS - April 10, 2010
If experience is what Kowal wants, he’s off to a great start. When he’s not retooling nor releasing tracks on his website, the DJ spends much of his time traveling the country and performing in front of thousands of gyrating strangers. He said it beats the hell out of being a health inspector."

“There’s nothing about this job that is anywhere near as mundane and difficult compared to the things that people do to make a living,” he said. “I’m so incredibly fortunate.”

DOWNBEATSCAPE - March 26, 2010
“Funk mash up artist DJ Motion Potion has a series of EPs coming out this year and the first, "Electric Nostalgia Vol. 1" is quite like the title describes - a mashup of old school funk and disco with newer electronic and rap samples that create a whole new lounge and dancefloor beast.”

THE MIAMI HURRICANE - March 24, 2010
“For a DJ like myself who’s always been genre-blind, the silent disco format has been a true gift,” Motion Potion said. I didn’t start DJing until I was 23 years old,” Motion Potion said. “Playing for college audiences gives me a chance to remind younger cats that their lives have not even begun. This is one of the events I’m most excited about.”

DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE
"at 3am on Sunday morning, June 17th, partaking in the revelry of DJ Motion Potion, who was spinning live in the tent, my notion of the Silent Disco changed, and so did the concept and possibilities of a house party. It takes a minute to adjust to the idea that everyone in the tent is listening to the same music, but when you realize the sick beats you’re hearing are from one of the country’s most talented DJ’s, and everyone around you is breaking down their favorite versions of the lawnmower, you slip into Silent Disco heaven with little problem." Scott Goldberg, Digital Media Wire

SFWEEKLY
"He frequently finds himself DJing for people who hate DJs and… trying to get people to listen to music they usually avoid at all costs. He apparently even gets people to kiss people they normally wouldn't" -Darren Keast, SF Weekly, 7/2/03

JAMBASE
"I walk into this swanky new venue and my nostrils curl emphatically as the libidinous bump coming from the speakers hits me. The DJ is slammin', all live cuts, a relentless push push push, sweatier than Herbie Mann on Fire Island, hands in the air, rump rising right. When I see Motion Potion behind his array of beat technology it all makes sense. Like the title of one of his mixes, he is an instant party and just the catalyst to christen this new space proper. Introducing the band he tells us, "There's no place in the world I'd rather be. " His is a philosophy of unrepressed joy, life lived in the minute, elevates the here and now. It should be said that I’m a harsh critic of DJ culture. Ten years behind the boards on radio gives me a perspective on this art form that makes me dubious of most turntable workers. Being blunt: most don’t dig deep enough, most don’t channel the trombipulated funk I crave in the live setting. That night I added Motion Potion to the short list in my head that includes Cut Chemist, DJ Logic and Kid Koala." Dennis Cook, Jambase, April 2003

SF BAY GUARDIAN
“We got completely funked up. After all, it was P-Funk tribute night at WhatDaFunk, DJ Motion Potion's (a.k.a. Robert Kowal) weekly night." Amanda Nowinsiki, SF Bay Guardian