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*
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LIVING & BREATHING DANCE MUSIC!

ISLAND LIFE!
Ibiza moves with the
times
HEAVY BALEARIC TACKLE

FROM DISCO TO DISCO

The disco bug bites
Ibiza

Brooklyn calling!

WOLF + LAMB
are coming

Glimpse takes on Space

SONAR SPECIAL
Mary Anne Hobbs
shares her 2010 top tips BEATFREAK MANIFESTO
The new mutant
breaks generation
dOP rewrite the
rulebooks
SEALED WITH A KISS
Phonique’s summer
STUDIO WIZARDRY house romance
Vol.4 No.86 June 2010 £3.95

Richard Norris’ production magic

The grand designs of Walls

PLUS
172
Vol.4 No.86 June 2010 £3.95
0 6
Soul Clap, Guy J, Lady Waks, Kavsrave,
Grum, Human Life and more… CUTS 9 770951 514130
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£4.50 outside UK & Eire

cover1.indd 1 14/5/10 14:51:32

Untitled-1 1 14/5/10 14:56:16
 Contents
features comin’ up
026 BROOKLYN CALLING! 06 Acid house pioneers unite for good
104
We get behind the phenomenon that is NYC cause with Last Night A DJ Saved
outfit Wolf + Lamb — production duo, label My Life
family, movement and club event.
018 Fashion
033 IBIZA SPECIAL
All the hottest news from the hottest island in 023 The Rave Goblin
dance music including 15 Years Of DJmag Ibiza
at Space and a VIP competition to be there. 024 Bitchin’
044 HITTING THE GROUND
RUNNING aaa
We chat to Glimpse in the wake of his perfectly-
formed debut album ‘Runner’ and ahead of his 092 The We Fear Silence crew take
new live residency at Ibiza’s Space. over Cable’s Saturday night

048 FROM DISCO TO DISCO

We explore the resurgence of sensuous
disco-influenced sounds and their influence on
the White Isle.
054 SONAR 2010
We pick the essential acts to catch at this year’s
Sonar with a little help from Mary Anne Hobbs.
066 DOP ON PLASTIC
Piss-taking Parisian trio dOP are laying down a
new future for organic house.
programming
033
102 The best raves in the land this
month
104 We tag British hip-hop DJ Yasmin at
South Africa’s H20 party
106 On the road with James Zabiela
109 Hyp! Hyp! Hyp! at Brixton’s Plan B

070 PACHA SUMMER IBIZA 2010 music

Rising Pacha star Juan Diaz mixes this month’s
anthem-filled, Balearic-themed covermount CD. 114 Killers — this month’s essential
anthems
072 BEATFREAK MANIFESTO
A new generation of beatfreaks are taking the 117 In the Bag — Style Of Eye
breaks template into new mongrel territory.
118 Singles
077 SEALED WITH A KISS
Deep house master Phonique is back with a 136 Albums
seductive summer LP ‘Kissing Strangers’.
140 Compilations
089 FROM OMG TO MIA
Things are kicking off big style for Rusko — the
rowdiest soundboy in dubstep. tech
142 Tech news, including the latest 077 044
026 news on Pioneer’s CDJ350 and
DJM350

149 Numark’s V7 turntable raises the

game

152 In the studio with Richard Norris

aka The Time & Space Machine

155 The Block controller from Livid

156 Kutski reviews the new Kaossilator 068
Pro

158 Production tips and tricks

156
www.djmag.com

DJ486.contents.indd 3 17/5/10 14:36:28


BALEARIC BLISS!
You can’t beat Ibiza. Despite all the blathering about Eastern
Europe, Malta and Greece, there really is no substitute for the
party island. And as a new season dawns, you can bet there’ll
be a whole new generation discovering the island’s many
charms.
It’s a complex blend of ingredients that gives Ibiza its
enduring appeal. On the one hand arguably the world’s best
clubs. On the other, a beautiful landscape, climate and plenty
of unspoiled beaches, and an indefatigable Balearic culture
that gives the island a unique spirit that keeps people
returning to it again and again.
But crucially, it’s because Ibiza moves with the times that it’s
been able to keep its crown. This year, techno playboys Seth
Troxler and Jamie Jones are the new faces of a reinvigorated
DC10; arch electronic iconoclast Aphex Twin is due to play at
Space’s We Love party, a strange and wonderful, if bizarre
thing; and Luciano brings his encyclopaedic knowledge and
off the scale skills to Pacha — another huge curveball.
There’re fresh surprises and experiences to be had around
every corner, and for Ibiza veterans and virgins, it’s looking
like a delicious prospect indeed. Another hazy summer
season on the White Isle, and pure Balearic bliss, beckons.
DJmag can’t wait!
BEN MURPHY
Editor
004
DJ486.intro.indd 4
DJmag.com Ltd, The Old Truman Brewery, NEXT ISSUE OUT
91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
30.06.10
Editorial 020 7247 8855
Editor Ben Murphy ben.murphy@djmag.com
Upfront Editor Joe Roberts joe.roberts@djmag.com
Access All Areas Editor Allan McGrath allan.mcgrath@djmag.com
Music Section Editors Ben Murphy & Allan McGrath
Tech Editor Mick Wilson mick.wilson@djmag.com
Art Editor Martin Brown martin.brown@djmag.com
Chief Features Writer Claire Hughes claire.hughes@djmag.com
Fashion Helene Stokes helene.stokes@djmag.com
Listings listings@djmag.com
Contributors
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Kulkarni, Joe Madden, Dan Reid, Mark Gurney, Elijah TC, The Wideboys, Ben Arnold, Joe
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Advertising 020 7247 8855
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Publisher James Robertson
Managing Director Martin Carvell martin.carvell@djmag.com
Accounts Sylvia Wilkie sales.ledger@djmag.com
DJ Magazine is published by Thrust Publishing Ltd. under licence.
DJ COMPETITION RULES: To enter a competition you can send your answer by post to [name of competition], DJ Magazine, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL or email
competitions@djmag.com to be received on or before the closing date. By sending your entry you agree to these competition rules and you confirm you are happy
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14/5/10 16:17:29
 fabric
Saturday
June

05
---------------------------------------------
Room 1
Terry Francis
19
---------------------------------------------
D’julz Room 1
Ralph Lawson Craig Richards
Guido Schneider Live Radio Slave
--------------------------------------------- Mr G (Live)
Room 2 Taimur Agha
MOBILEE S LIFEBLOOD

12
---------------------------------------------
ALBUM TOUR Room 2
Dan Curtin M PLANT PRESENTS
Martin Landsky --------------------------------------------- Robert Hood (Live/Dj)
Hector Room 1 Mark Broom

26
And.Id (Live) Craig Richards James Ruskin
--------------------------------------------- Mathew Jonson (Live) ---------------------------------------------
Room 3 Raresh Room 3
DFA RECORDS Jozif Terry Francis ---------------------------------------------
Justin Miller --------------------------------------------- Silicone Soul Room 1
Jacques Renault Room 2 Craig Richards
Prince Language Ivan Smagghe Magda
Ewan Pearson Jimmy Edgar (Live)
Chloe (Live) ---------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------- Room 2
Room 3 Terry Francis
Terry Francis Surgeon
Brett Johnson Len Faki
Nick Dare ---------------------------------------------
Room 3
Fabric opening times are from
SUSHITECH RECORDS 11pm to 8am.
Brothers’ Vibe Entry £18/£14 students.
Makam (Live) £8 from 4am, £5 from 5am. Fabric
operates a 24hr drinking license.
Yossi Amoyal 77A Charterhouse Street, London,
EC1 3HN. 020 7336 8898.
Advance tickets are available from
www.ticketweb.co.uk and from our
website www.fabriclondon.com

fabricfirst members free and 1 guest

at £8 throughout june.

A selection of recordings from these

events will be available to hear again
on fabricfirst
www.fabriclondon.com/fabricfirst

Design by Village Green.

Untitled-1 6
fabric-DJ-AD-JUNE-2010.indd 1 17/5/10 17:51:31
14/05/2010 17:23
 Makin’ Fashion
Noise p.013 p.018
THE hot new acts THE coolest festival
causing a commotion attire to be bustin’
this month. out this summer.
Back to Love
Acid house pioneers support DJ charity
THESE DAYS top-name jocks are less likely to save your life
than they are to play an overblown set of identikit Beatport
bangers, attempt to steal your girlfriend, then have you
thrown out of the VIP area by their burly crew of minders
because they’ve thrown some kind of bearded diva hissy-fit.
Which means it’s the original mad heads of the Summer Of
Love who are behind Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, a new
charity based around the motto ‘unity, community and
serious fun’. Set up last year by Ibiza-based Jonny Lee at the
same time as his production company Follow Your Heart, and
inspired by taking part in charity fun runs, its aim is to raise
funds and awareness for humanitarian and environmental
causes.
With Shoom’s Danny Rampling, a friend of Jonny’s since
they met in Thailand in 1991 where he was running a bar
called The Vinyl Café, Mark Wilkinson and Nancy Noise as
006
DJ486.upfront1.indd 6
Rave
Goblin
p.023
OUR resident ranter
pulls no punches!
ambassadors, the charity launches on May 29th at Ibiza’s
International Music Summit before a series of events in
London beginning Saturday 5th June, World Environmental
Day, raising money for Survival International who support
indigenous tribes.
With a screening of They Call It Acid – The Movie, a film on
the acid house movement, in Soho in the afternoon, the
evening welcomes The Acid House Effect, a night of pioneer-
ing DJs at Corsica Studios, with a line-up including Alfredo,
Nancy Noise, Steve Proctor, Trevor Fung, Toddla T mentor
Winston Hazel, Colin Hudd, and fellow Steel City resident
(where Jonny is also originally from) Chris Duckenfield.
The following night at The Light Bar it’s Balearic Mystique,
the party Jonny started in Ibiza last year and has grown
into a Balearic DJ agency. With Danny Rampling heading
up a roll-call of talent such as Ross Allen, Balearic Mike,
www.djmag.com
Mancunian legend Moonboots, A Man Called Adam and DJ
History’s Bill Brewster, it promises a diverse selection of
dancefloor beats.
“I’ve had various contacts with shamen,” explains Jonny,
who’s been going to Ibiza since 1987, on his support for
Survival. “Quite a few different people come to Ibiza from
Uruguay, Ecuador and Brazil, and I’ve heard stories of their
tribes being displaced. There’s a real breakdown of commu-
nity when the mining companies try to take over the land.
It’s exactly what the Avatar movie represents.
“I’m trying to bring together the dance tribes, as we’re all
part of a tribe in a roundabout way so it’s kind of one world,
one love, one tribe.”
Clichéd though it may sound to those who’ve grown-up a
generation removed in an era when clubbing has become a
mainstream leisure activity, with all cynical money-making
activity that goes with it, it’s this original spirit of commu-
nity which is driving the whole endeavor.
14/5/10 16:18:14
 Steve Proctor

EDDY TM’s
Stamp of Approval
Where dance meets rock every issue…
Chris Duckenfield
Colin Hudd
SINGLE + REMIX!
ENVY
‘Normal’
Stop/Start
Fresh from her venomous co-lead vocal with Riz MC
on Losers’ debut single ‘Flush’, this sees the
brilliant young Mancunian spit blood onto a CD. If
Eminem was a Manc, and a girl, this is what he’d
sound like. It’s like a vocal machine gun and comes
with an awesome mix by rising dubstep star, SkisM.

TIP!
UNICORN KID
‘Dream Catcher’
Data
He was the Head (Secret) Gardener’s top tip from
South By Southwest this year, “best performance I
saw”. Expect big things now Data have got hold of
this progressive Scotsman who makes lovely,
wonky, bleepy dubstep.
Alfredo
SINGLE + REMIX!
ETIENNE DE CRECY
‘Hope (Remixes)’
Legend of the Gallic old guard, this is the tune he’s
been dropping from his mad colour-box live show.
The original will excite all us side-chain compressor
lovers, and the excellent Djedjotronic mix makes a
marvellous Crookers impersonation.

ALBUM!
NOISIA
‘Split The Atom’
Vision
The producers that have all other producers
scratching their heads, or running scared, deliver
the biggest kick that dance music arse has felt for
quite some time. This is a thing of true shock and
awe. Buy it. RIGHT NOW!

“There was a strong spirit, that was what was so fresh about
it,” recalls Danny Rampling on the early days of acid. “It was
new and it created this unity consciousness between many
networks of people. That was what was so powerful about it.”
“The whole thinking and philosophy behind Balearic has never
really changed,” Rampling adds when asked about his own DJ
set at the event. “Everything gets pigeon-holed and put into
genres now and Balearic is an openness to music really. It’s a
warm, lush sound.”
With plans to take the charity global from the winter, Jonny is
a hive of activity gearing up to run Balearic Mystique weekly
in Ibiza this summer. He’s also going to be “co-producing a
Balearic festival with the guys from Folk in Manchester” from
22nd – 26th July and putting on “an event called Earth Dance
Ibiza which is part of this global network. It’s on September
18th and it’s in about 200 locations in 50 counties. It’s the
world’s largest synchronized dance event which also raises
money for charity.”
Just don’t mention rave.
“I cringe at that word,” says Jonny. “I was an acid house
clubber before the gangsters got involved and you had the
moodiness and commercial element. Acid house to me was a
really positive ethos and a major part in social change at the
time. Rave was the demise of acid house.”
www.survivalinternational.org
TUNE!
CAMO & CROOKED
‘History Of The Future’
Audioporn
These boys prove their brutal Hadouken remix
wasn’t a fluke with this bonkers tune that flits
gorgeously between drum & bass and electro. Big.
Eddy Temple-Morris presents ‘The Remix’ every
Friday, 10pm – 1am, on Xfm London, Xfm
Scotland and Xfm Manchester.

007

DJ486.upfront1.indd 7 www.djmag.com 14/5/10 16:18:29

 BOSTON OUT!
Soul Clap bring the Efunk
WITH PLENTY OF HOUSE stuck in the
groove of endlessly recycling and looping
up snippets of its own past, there’s a new
breed of producers who are taking their
inspirations from less obvious, more
oblique sources to create a sound that both
tips its head to the past while also striding
firmly ahead of the pack into the future.
In this respect, Boston’s Soul Clap, aka Eli
Goldstein and Charles Levin, aka Cnyce and
Elyte, aka Chaz Shabaz and E-Heavy, really
are as cosmically out there as their adopted
umbrella term of Efunk (“everybody’s
freaky under nature’s kingdom”) implies.
Part of Wolf + Lamb’s extended family,
the pair became involved with the Marcy
Hotel’s influential circle of producers Instead, Soul Clap are now concentrating
and DJs after Eli and Charlie, friends on a wave of original material that follows
since high school and a DJ/production
partnership since being booked to play
together in Washington in 2001, sent Zev
Eisenberg a re-edit of Stevie Wonder’s
‘Love Light’ which he snapped up for Wolf
+ Lamb Black in 2007, their vinyl-only
label, before finally releasing it last year.
“When we did mixes we’d always make
custom versions of songs to put them on
For the ultimate glamping
festival experience, check into....
008
DJ486.upfront2.indd 8
the mix to make it more interesting,” Eli
tells DJmag over the phone from a road
trip, “add an acappella on top, extend a
different part or take off some of the rap,”
a fact born out on their recent Efunk mix-
tape which throws a re-edited Miles Davis
into the mix alongside Slick Rick and Zapp
for a tempo-tampering drop top Caddy
ride through Soul Clap’s world, and can
be heard throughout June as they post a
classic mix each week on their podcast.
Their latest single for Wolf + Lamb Black
sees them taking Jaime Foxx down a dark,
sexy, slo-mo house route, alongside R Kelly
and Lonnie Liston Smith re-edits, and
marks the end of their bootlegging.
www.djmag.com
recent remixes for Suol, No.19 Music and
Wolf + Lamb.
Out now is the ‘Joint Custody EP’, a
collaboration with Wolf + Lamb’s Gadi
Mizrahi on his new vinyl-only Double
Standard Records, which features booming
808s aplenty. “The most important reason
we’re going back to vinyl is because we love
record stores,” says Eli. “Boston record
shops were where everyone met and
taught us so much growing up. So we’re
trying to keep them alive.”
Also available are the ‘Clapz II Dogz EP’
on Glasstable Records, a joint release
with Dirty Bird signings Catz and Dogz,
and the debut of Boston super-group
e
SECT, which adds Ross Tanner (one half
of Mothership’s Voodeux) and Boston
after-hours legend Sergio Santos to the
Soul Clap mix, for an EP of the deepest,
dopest slow-jams on LA-based Culprit.
But it’s their July EP for Crosstown Rebels
that is set to land the Soul Clap mothership
firmly on terra firma. Featuring their first
original vocal on ‘Action/Satisfaction’
(“we bought that off the guy for $40,”
interjects Charlie), the stoned crunk-funk
of ‘Noneadatwhitestar’, the result of an
afternoon jam between Sergio Mendez’s
girlfriend and Charlie (“this dude is working
40 hours to be somebody, his girlfriend gets
out of bed once and ends up on Crosstown
Rebels,” he laughs) and ‘Break 4 Life’, an
official reworking of Goldie’s ‘Timeless’, it
distils their myriad influences into a potent
Efunk brew.
“We’re trying to bring basslines back to
the dancefloor and change the way people
dance. No more techno sidestep. We want
winding ‘n grinding and romance,” says
Eli. “If people aren’t getting laid at the end
of the night we’re not doing our job.”
Read the full interview online now at
djmag.com
17/5/10 14:39:44
 SOLID GROOVE WHAT’S ON IN ASSOCIATION
WITH
Fat! Records drops second release from THE OFFICE
Randomer and Fife
STEREO?
The reinvigorated Fat! Records has just released the double-sided ‘Too Many
Times/Slum City’ from the double-headed beast of Randomer and Fife. The music that’s been keeping us sane
With the former track a perfect slice of future-garage, all skittering beats, while putting this issue together…
cut-up female vocals and warm stabs, and the latter adding some nasty bass
tones and four-four underpinning to the action, it emphasises exactly the 01. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
‘Blood Pressure feat Riko’ (Greco-Roman)
kind of hybrid post-breaks sounds that Chew The Fat! has embraced lately.
02. Wolf + Lamb
Supported by Gilles Peterson and Mary Anne Hobbs, a further forthcoming ‘Love Someone’ (Wolf + Lamb)
release for Soul Jazz, and solo Randomer EP for Instru:mental’s Autonomic,
03. Various
means you’ll hear plenty more from this pair this year. ‘International Deejay Gigolos 12’ (Gigolo)
04. Michael Mayer
‘Immer 3’ (Kompakt)

CREDIT TO THE
05. Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno
‘Dog On A Rope’ (Tru Thoughts)

RE-EDIT
06. Delorean
‘Subiza’ (True Panther Sounds)
07. Blondes
‘Touched’ (Merok)
08. Kabuki

Todd Terje flips the script

‘Generation X (Eveson 140 Refix)’ (V
Recordings)

09. Fred Everything

‘Om Masters’ (Om)
IN A GENRE constantly treading the fine-line between
serious muso credentials and a taste for music that wanders 10. Hot City
‘Another Girl’ (Moshi Moshi)
into the incredulously cheesy, Todd Terje (or Terje Olsen to
his mates) has always been a welcome breath of fresh air.

The disco DJ with a difference, Terje’s ‘Remaster of the

Universe’ compilation, a collection of his greatest re-edits,
remixes and originals, displays all the tongue-in-cheek
humour of a man who chose his name because it sounds
I 2010
a bit like Todd Terry while boasting more puns than your
typical DJmag article (check out Kacic Kullmann’s Five’s
‘Terjelator’). It even covers Ace Of Base’s ‘All That She Wants’
in a dub-stylee.
“It’s more if I can play something that’s bad and make it
work,” he says of this obvious disdain for prescribed cool.
“I’m not an Ace Of Base fan but I had the idea it would be fun
to take, on one hand extreme poppiness, and on the other
extreme dubbiness. This is my playable compromise.” SEUIL
“I really love looking forward in the music
With an effortless ability to turn tracks like M’s ‘Pop Musik’ While Terje is keen for the release to mark the end of his scene, and an amazing dawn for new labels
into Balearic belters, the compilation includes his cosmic re-edit proclivity, there are one or two unfinished projects and new music is going on. 2010 is when I
Turkish take on Simon Baker’s ‘Plastik’ and a polka ‘cover’ of which could yet see the light of day. will release my first album and a new label is
his euro-synth classic, ‘Eurodans’, by New Mjøndalen Disco “I tried to do ‘The Conga’ but I didn’t get too far,” he admits on the way too, something more musical
Swinger. “It’s a tribute band from my home town.” on his most unlikely re-edit. “Usually I have problems finding from what I have done in the past. The dOP
With an infectious party mix and a second CD with unmixed something good because you have so much crap. But in this album is planned for the second part of the
tracks, a separate 7” and 12” feature previously unreleased case the 12” version had so much percussion there were too year too, that’s gonna be huge. Me and lots
tracks from the compilation. many ways to go!” of friends are also going back to vinyl, even
if I never stopped buying it.”

Or why not create your own

glamping nirvana at...

www.djmag.com 009

DJ486.upfront2.indd 9 17/5/10 14:40:00

 SECRET
WEAPON
THE DJ’S GUARANTEED KILLER!

GEDDES

TOM DEMAC
‘Crewcuts & Curls’

HEART TO
murmur

With remixes from Wolf + Lamb,

Jamie Jones and Luke Solomon

BEAT
there really is something for
everyone here, a must-have EP in
my opinion. From peak time to early
morning after hours, I’ve had such
fun playing all of the mixes
attached to Tom’s original EP. Wolf

Grum drops his debut album

+ Lamb take ‘In Your Eyes’ and slow
everything down, stripping it back
to bare bones and give it an
awesome bassline, Jamie takes
‘Crewcuts & Curls’ and forges a
vocal workout while Luke takes the
same track and does something
truly amazing and inspiring. One of
the best releases on murmur so far.

010 www.djmag.com

DJ486.upfront3.indd 10 17/5/10 12:28:00

 If you’ve heard the inevitable comparisons
between Grum and Mylo, then you now
know who to blame.
“It was my dad’s music,” admits Grum, aka
Graeme Shepherd, on the heavy shadow of
pop legends like ELO, Fleetwood Mac and
The Human League over his debut album
‘Heartbeats’, alongside influences such as
Daft Punk more analogous with his youthful
24 years of age. “It’s driving music. I used
to hate it at the time but as I got older I just
came back to it.”
Out now on Heartbeats, it follows plenty of
blog heat since the Scotsman first
appeared, while the release of killer singles
(and album tracks) ‘Heartbeats’ and ‘Can’t
Shake This Feeling’ point to the kind of
potentially chart-topping melody maker
being snaffled up by the biggest vocalists in
the US at the moment.
“I’ve moved in a poppier direction from my
first tracks which came out two years ago
but I’m really happy to have the album out
there as I’m really proud of it,” explains
Graeme of the album’s looming crossover
appeal. “When I started on the record I
wanted to make something a bit more
memorable than just an electronic dance
record.”
As such the long roll-call of guest vocalists
includes Canadian electro-pop duo (and
childhood sweet-hearts) Electric Youth,
whose performance on ‘Turn It Up’ sounds
like a lost Streetwave classic, and house
legend Romanthony on the album’s biggest
dancefloor killer, the aptly-titled electro
pile-driver ‘Power’. “I know quite a lot of his
work and obviously his track with Daft Punk
was massive. It’s a cool little nod towards
them,” Grum says.
Another stand-out track destined, no
doubt, to find itself as the backing to a
high-end advert, probably to the horror of
music purists everywhere, is a vocodered
cover of David Bowie’s ‘Fashion’.
“It started out as more of a remix I did for
Kam KHD410 strip ad DJ Mag.qxp:Layout 1 18/01/2010 11:48 Page 1
DJ486.upfront3.indd 11
someone. It was originally an electro-house
cover,” he replies when quizzed about the
obvious risks in choosing to mess with an
iconic track from such a universally revered
artist. “He wasn’t even that big an
influence. If you listen it’s almost a
mash-up with Stevie Nicks’ ‘Stand Back’,” he
adds, referencing the ’80s anthem which
also formed the basis of Linus Loves’ far less
subtle Match Of The Day anthem, ‘The
Terrace’, a track originally released on
Mylo’s Breastfed label.
With Grum’s eye-catching artwork — based
around square barcodes — also designed by
The Phantom, who created the look of
Mylo’s ‘Destroy Rock & Roll’, what does he
think about the possibility of being in
competition with the man from the Isle Of
Skye?
“We’re quite similar in a way, but we’re quite
different too,” laughs Grum. “His new stuff
seems to have gone more underground, a
bit Booka Shadey and cooler, whereas I’ve
gone the other way. I’m interested to hear
him come back. I’m sure he’s got a big track
nobody’s heard yet, so I’m quite looking
forward to it.”
It’s this kind of generous humility that
underlies Grum’s fashionable exterior, and
despite the imminent release of his album,
plus confirmed summer festival dates at
London’s T In The Park and Creamfields,
where he’ll unveil his new live show, he’s
still coming to terms with the idea of fame
as illustrated by the time he heard
Aeroplane drop one of his tracks at Space.
“It was my remix of Freeland. It was just one
of those moments where I was really
enjoying it, then sloped off to the bar. It
was the first time I’d properly heard one of
my tracks in a club. It was really nice, my
friends were going mental but I’m quite a
quiet guy.”
Expect, instead, to hear Grum’s music doing
the talking this summer.
www.djmag.com
Pick ‘n’ Mix
YOUR mixes, YOUR productions, YOUR live acts…
We pick the best each issue!
CIAV MAY SUPER MIX
CIAV, aka Daniel Ciavarella of
Melbourne, Australia, may have
only played out a few times but -
judging from this mix - any canny
promoters should track him down
pronto because boy got game!
Starting out with Matthew Herbert’s
beautiful ‘Leipzeg’, Ciav journeys
through the cream of nu-disco and
deep house, Pollyester’s ‘German proving he still has an ear for
Love Letter’ and Henrik Schwarz’s soaring sing-a-long potential.
stoned-cold classic ‘Feeling You’ soundcloud.com/ciav
How it works
Post a link to your mixes, tunes or live sets on DJMAG.COM’s ‘Pick ‘n’ Mix’ forum. We listen
to as many posts as we can and pick the best each issue. Remember to include a pic and a
brief biog with your post!
Tangled Web
http://tiny.cc/x7o0q
Having been given Wolf + Lamb’s ‘Since when do
Jews make techno?’ stickers, here’s a blast of the
equally unlikely Matisyahu, an American Hasidic
Jew, reggae artist and badman beatboxer.
http://tiny.cc/gwyl
http://tiny.cc/gwyl8
With some even more brain-boggling vocal effects,
Bobby McFerrin (singer of ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’)
performs some multiphonic singing at Montreal in
2005. Sick.
http://tiny.cc/tmqom
Festival season is upon us with more
choices than ever before (minus poor
Glade) so Adam Buxton puts his designer
welly boot into the Big Chill generation
and their picnic hampers.
011
17/5/10 12:28:05
 PROGRESSIVE HOUSE ruled the ‘90s and beyond before being
overshadowed by bleepier, more minimal forms of house but its melodic
legacy has never died. It’s been re-imagined and redefined by a generation
of artists brought up on the sound of Sasha, Digweed and co.
“I used to love everything Bedrock did,” says Guy J proudly, the Israeli-
born, Belgium-based artist currently preparing his second album for the
label after 2008’s critically acclaimed debut ‘Esperanza’. “I have loads of
vinyl from years ago so it was a dream to be part of it. It’s a big thing for
me.”

Purveyor of lush mood music that touches as much on the experimentalism

of James Holden as the heroes whose footsteps he’s following in, Guy’s ear
for emotive, spine-tingling chords is matched by an appreciation of tougher
dancefloor sensibilities, too.
“I don’t consider myself as only progressive. It’s good to find other labels
to release music on,” he says of the tracks that have also appeared on Tiga’s
hip Turbo label. “It’s hard to give what I do one name. It’s not really tech-
house, it’s more progressive-techno. These days, everyone has more than
one sound.”

As such his new album comes in two parts, one CD of chill-out downtempo
material and a second featuring a brand new selection of previously
unreleased dance material. “I’ve done around 70 percent. But the
remaining 30 percent is very important!” he laughs.
This summer will see him testing the album out with appearances at a
number of festivals including his spiritual home of the Bedrock Arena at

CHORD MEMORY
South West Four on Saturday 28th August.
“I’m going to play more original tracks and edits that I’ve made than when
I usually play, more big stuff,” he says of the challenge in tackling such a
huge crowd. “I’m playing with Ableton and a midi-controller but I’m hoping
Guy J and the return of melody to add instruments, my synth and maybe some drum machines in the
future.”
“It’s not really live, it’s semi-live,” he adds of this current set-up. “Half live,
half dead!”

BA LAND BACK TO ‘86

IN IBIZA
Reader donates DJmag history
We took a trip down memory lane recently when an
avid reader dropped in his collection of DJmags and
our earlier pre-1991 guise, Jocks.
World’s favourite Donated by Matt Maurice, who spent the
airline on the late ‘80s and ‘90s DJing as Vinyl Matt
world’s favourite (appearing in DJmag for an article on
island pirate radio) before playing celebrity
hangouts in the noughties and
setting up a successful music and
DJ consultation company, the
collection marks 24 years of
collecting since the age of 17.

Stretching back to 1986 when

Edwin Starr fronted the first
Jocks, our personal favourites
British Airways launched their new Ibiza service, flying out of London City Airport, on include April 1988’s cover star Steve
29th May — ensuring clubbers can arrive at the White Isle in style. Wright (who banned acid house
With all-inclusive one-way fares available to book on BA.com from £69, the service most from his Radio One show) and
definitely includes frills with complimentary food and drink, free baggage allowance, December 1990’s combination of
free online check-in and seat selection 24-hours before departure. rave experimentalist The Scientist
and pop-rapper MC Hammer.
Flights begin on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays, flying out between 7am and 1pm “My favourite era was ‘88 to ‘92 when
and returning between 11am and 5.50pm, while an additional Wednesday flight is the dance scene for me exploded,”
scheduled for the season’s peak in July and August. recalls Matt. “Then 2003 to 2004
Jumping aboard a brand new Embraer 190 aircraft, ravers can get from the heart of the when I managed to get bootleg of
capital to the beach, or terrace, in less than three hours — perfect for a weekend break. the month every other issue with my
And for those who fancy some sun without the temptation of the world’s largest clubs, music productions!”
BA are also launching flights to Majorca.

012 www.djmag.com

DJ486.upfront4.1.indd 12 12/5/10 16:13:06

 LA FRENCH TOUCH
Human Life drop their debut single
WHILE THE WINE-WASTING, freedom fry-naming antics
of George Bush-era America suggested the country
once had an uneasy relationship with France, the arrival
of Human Life, three friends from LA, seems to have
healed that rift.
A collaboration between DJ/producer Joshua Collins,
who has over 200 releases to his name, vocalist Matt
Wasley, and producer, DJ and vocalist Rachel Star, the
former two met at the party of a mutual Swedish house
producer friend, Rachel joining after hearing their
initial forays together.
Debut single ‘In It Together’, released 7th June on
LIFEX Records, combines the warm wandering funk bass
of classic French house with the kind of electro-pop
falsetto that could come from a Kitsune track, a huge
rave-synth-filled breakdown igniting all elements and
blasting them off into space.
With a host of remixes from Kris Menace, Acid Girls,
Jaymo & Andy George and Louis La Roche adding vari-
ous dancefloor slants, the group’s je ne sais quoi has
already captured the attention of the legendary Alan
Braxe.
“We’ve been a fan since his Roulé releases,” says Matt,
telling how the band met him at the WMC two years ago
and sent him a demo that he then signed. “After that
he called us and said he was coming to LA and wanted
to produce some music with us. It was an absolutely
amazing experience to get to work with him and see the
way he operates.”
NEW AC
A COMMOT TS CAUSING
ION THIS M
ONTH...
The result, ‘The Vulture EP’, drops sometime around
October and is preceded by second single ‘Wherever We
Are’, which already has remixes lined-up from Grum and
Boston’s Nightriders.
With their live show combining Ableton Live with live
bass, keyboards and vocals, a US tour starts in the sum-
mer before they hit the UK and Europe in the autumn.
“It seems to be a lot of people from around the world
are moving here as they realise the weather is amazing
and it’s the place to be,” adds Matt of LA’s growing
influence. “People like Switch and Adam Freeland live
here now. It’s a bit of a dance music Mecca, at least in
the States.”

CROYDON COUNCIL
Kavsrave and his South-East bass crew
CROYDON residents already seem to be born with a gene that facilitates the making of bass music. So when your
best mates growing-up are A1 Bassline and Joy Orbison, it’s both nature and nurture propelling you into a life of
low-frequency manipulation.

“I’ve known Christian, A1 Bassline, since I was about eight-years-old,” says Kavsrave, aka Jamie Kavanagh,
casually of his Southern Fried-signed friend. “We first became friends through playing mini-league football.
And I’ve known Pete, Joy Orbison, since I was about 11,” he adds of future garage’s current hot property. “We all
used to get together at weekends for a mix, playing garage and d&b.”

It seems only logical that his first ‘Quotes EP’ (out now) has just dropped on purveyors of shimmering electronic
crunchiness, Numbers. Sounding like the playlist of a pay-as-you-go mobile on the back of the 154 twisted
through a cerebral beat machine programmed by the best minds of Detroit, San Francisco and Glasgow, ‘PClart’
and ‘Tightly Closed’ are cloaked in r&b’s sweetness while containing the metallic exo-skeleton of a Cyberdyne-
manufactured dancefloor killer. There are already talks of a follow-up, but in the meantime, collaborations are
underway with Tek-One and Al Bassline, the latter pairing having already produced last year’s blog bomb ‘Lucky
Charms’, a slice of euphoric rave-infused dubstep. A further project with old school garage legends Dem 2 is also
on the cards.

“I’m also doing a guest mix for Mary Anne Hobbs on June 9th which I’m really looking forward to,” Jamie adds
of the Radio 1 tastemaker most responsible for breaking new bass acts. “She’s given me so much support, along
with the likes of Sinden.”
And with new friends like these, it doesn’t take a genius to realize big things are on the way.

www.djmag.com 013

DJ486.upfront4.2.indd 13 12/5/10 16:11:01

 60 seconds with...
Lady Waks
When did you start to DJ out yourself?
“I think it was 2003. It went really quickly, I hadn’t thought
about being a club DJ at first. Then DJ Quest gave me some
records and I acquired a lot more, and I played the first
set of my own party in the second room. I played another
club a few times, and at the same time I was working at the
biggest Russian event company in St Petersburg. We ran
the May Day event for 20,000 people, and they put me on
the line-up. I said ‘No, I’m not ready to do that!’, but I did
the first set. I thought maybe it would be empty at that
time, but people rushed in like water as soon as the doors
opened.
“I was standing on stage and it was such an amazing
feeling. I hadn’t even done a big club gig before, but I just
fell in love with the whole thing. I started to buy more
records, and people started to book me.”
Why did you end up playing breakbeat?
“I love broken beats. I play hip-hop at some private parties
sometimes, I play funk or trip-hop and hip-hop, and in my
014
DJ486.upfront5.1.indd 14
words:CARL LOBEN
breaks sets I sometimes play some hip-hop — in Germany
it works well. So I play all kinds of broken beats, except
drum & bass, really.”
Your parties InBeatWeTrust got really big, didn’t they?
“Not really big, the location fits about 1000 people. The
most people I had in the club was 1800 the whole night,
not all at the same time. But then we did InBeatWeTrust
parties and festivals all over Russia to introduce the people
to breakbeat. I know that we’ve pioneered breakbeat in
Russia, because after we did a party in a city a promoter
would then do their own breakbeat party — which was
good. We started something, and it’s still growing.
“Russia is so big with so many different kinds of people
in so many cities. If breakbeat exists in a city, it’s big. But
there are a lot of cities where people have no idea what it
is. The most famous style is drum & bass, it’s what most
young people who start to go out get into, and techno is
quite big. Breaks and drum & bass are the biggest styles in
St Petersburg.”
www.djmag.com
THE DIMINUTIVE LADY WAKS can probably lay claim to
being Russia’s No.1 international DJ, as she is the one who
plays all over the world. Alexandra grew up in St Petersburg
and got into electronic music through breakdancing and
hip-hop parties.
After scoring a hip-hop show on Radio Records, the
biggest Russian radio station, she started putting on the
InBeatWeTrust nights with hip-hop in the main room and
electronic music in the other. The first international DJ she
booked was Terry Ryan from Atomic Hooligan and — as she
started to get into this faster music — she started to bring
over lots of other people from the UK and Europe to play
for her.
A cracking DJ herself now, Waks has also recently started
InBeatWeTrust Music and plans to keep doing parties in
Russia, release more productions, and continue to play
all over the world.
What made you want to do the piss-take track ‘Minimal’
with Hardy Hard?
“We were on tour in Germany, it was my first tour with
Westbam and Hardy Hard, and we were touring for a couple
of months around Europe. It was really strange to see how
minimal had taken over in Germany, it had got really big
and people loved it but we didn’t really understand how.
We decided to do a joke track especially for the tour, and
in the end it was released on Menu Music and made a lot
of sales. We didn’t expect this at all — it was a joke, the
production was really simple.”
Are you happy at how success has come to you
comparatively quickly?
“I wouldn’t say it’s quickly, it’s taken me a long time to
get to this point. I’ve done parties for no-one, I had no
attention or feedback for such a long time. The parties
suddenly got full, it has been quite a long road for me. I’m
just happy I didn’t give it up in that time!”
30/4/10 12:50:32

HOW THE SOUTH WEST
IS WON!
Words: JOE ROBERTS & BIANCA MITCHELL
THE LATEST WAVE OF ARTISTS announced to play South West Four in London on
August bank holiday includes giants of house Pete Tong, Laidback Luke and Layo &
Bushwacka. And as if that wasn’t enough, SW4 also welcomes Erick Morillo for an
exclusive London festival performance, plus massive trance stars Sander Van
Doorn and Marco B playing back to back.
With last year’s event selling out weeks in advance, we have a superb prize
consisting not only of two tickets for the entire weekend event but also accommo-
dation in a nearby hotel for both Saturday and Sunday night, allowing the winner
to sleep off both days excesses.
The mouth-watering line-up of Saturday 28th August continues with the king of
Bedrock himself, John Digweed, heading up the Bedrock Arena, plus trance
heavyweights Paul Oakenfold and Judge Jules revisiting The Gallery Arena.
“I consider myself pretty lucky to be playing every year at SW4,” says the man
known as Diggers. “It’s the sixth time in a row that I’ve been at the festival and it’s
just one of those sort of landmark gigs that every DJ wants to play at now.”
Newly announced for Sunday 29th are the cream of Radio One with Kissy Sell Out,
Jaymo and Andy George, and recent winner of Sony’s Best Specialist Music
Programme, Zane Lowe, choosing SW4 for his only London festival appearance this
summer, bringing the big stage noise.
“This year will be the first time I have had the honour of playing a set at SW4 and
I’m already flicking through my records, anticipating the hi-jinx that will ensue on
the day as I take to the decks alongside established acts I’ve had huge respect for
since I was a tot!” says Kissy Sell Out in typically understated fashion.
The Radio One bods are joined by king of ghetto bass, Hervé, and Dim Mak’s
www.djmag.com
DJ486.upfront5_2.indd 15
John Digweed John Digweed
M.A.N.D.Y
Carl Cox
Layo & Bushwacka
Steve Aoki, unleashing the finest in brain-shaking electro, dubstep and other
sounds that pack more bounce to the ounce.
Day two also sees the arrival of a name that’s become synonymous with the festival
- Carl Cox. He returns to Clapham Common to host his Carl Cox & Friends Arena
alongside techno lords Dubfire and Adam Beyer, London institution Layo &
Bushwacka and German duo M.A.N.D.Y.
“Last year SW4 was a lovely day with a really good festival energy,” says Layo. “It’s
amazing that from 2.30 in the afternoon the place is completely rocking which is
fantastic to see, and obviously in the heart of London it’s easy to get home. The
fact it’s in London, the energy of the place, the talent playing and the professional
way it’s run makes it very enjoyable to play at. All the kind of things
you look for from a festival.”
For the chance to join these acts, plus a whole
load of others including global superstar
Fatboy Slim, just answer this question:
Which DJ is headlining South West Four on Saturday?
E-mail you answers to joe.roberts@djmag.com. The winner will be chosen at
random from the correct answers and announced on 30th June.
015
13/5/10 16:59:02
Untitled-1 2 17/5/10 19:22:41
Untitled-1 3 17/5/10 19:22:46
 FASHION

Camping it up…
3

Bring on the outdoors! We’re good and ready for the festival
season. We know which ones we’re going to and who we
want to see, but what to wear is a whole other conundrum…

Essential Selection
Bottoms up to Malibu with their art attack
WHETHER IT’S YOUR DRINK OF CHOICE OR Vegas or Barbados!
NOT, there’s no denying the iconic white We’ve been given five of the limited edition
bottle with its palm tree and sunset bottles to give away to our lucky readers.
branding is easily recognizable. Send in an email titled Malibu By U, with
This summer, the coconut rum will be your birth date and address to
flowing as they launch the ‘Malibu by U’ helene.stokes@djmag.com.
campaign — encouraging fans to design
their own label. Visit Malibu-rum.com/byu
where you can either upload your creation
or work on it directly on the site.
Best three entries win trips to Rio, Las

018 www.djmag.com

DJ486.fashion.indd 18 30/4/10 10:13:43

 FASHION
WHAT A SITE!
5 Ducking and diving on
the internet

CHANGINGHABBITS.ORG
OK, so it’s terribly fashionable to
think green and tot up your eco
enhancements, but it’s also
essential and, well, real. Join this
organization, calculate your carbon
footprint, learn loads about what
you should and shouldn’t be doing.
Pass it on. Well, it’s a start.
What you wearing?
6 AFROJACK
It’s all about the threads…

What are you wearing right now? How do you like to shop?
“Ha, ha, amazing first question! At “I like to shop with my girlfriend or
the moment I’m in my Björn Borg stylists, because they help me when
boxer shorts in the studio. I just had it comes down to making choices.
a powernap! That makes it easier when I really do
“But seriously today was a good not know what to choose. And I
sunny day, so I went to a theme park don’t have to carry any bags.”
CROOKEDTONGUES.COM with my girl, which means lots of
It wasn’t that long ago that we walking, therefore easy clothing — Essential festival item?
plugged this sneaker friendly Nike Air Jordans, as always, Puma “My Rolex, it is my ‘Afrojack Prize’, it
online paradise – when something socks, they rock! Some brand less always reminds me of how I started
is this good it gets the respect it expensive semi-skater like pants — I with absolutely nothing and also
deserves. Visit and weep. Sign up like some space down there! My new that, if you put your mind to
for updates at your peril! Buddha to Buddha hoodie, a shirt something, you can do whatever
and some easy Ray Ban sunglasses.” you want to do! And a Rolex always
looks cool.”
7 Favourite designers/labels?
“The guys who create the crazy Most treasured item?
Nikes! I was in some crazy sneaker “My Buddha to Buddha bracelet, it
stores in Miami, usually they don’t weighs like 300 grams, so it feels
have my shoe size (15) so my choice natural now.”
is always thinned. I saw some shoes
so sick I wanted to buy them just so What have you got in the pipeline?
I could look at them sometimes! “It’s going to be crazy — I have a lot
“Also the big Buddha to Buddha of tracks coming out. My
01. LACOSTE 05. 55DSL bracelets are sick, they are my collaborations with David Guetta,
£120 jacket sponsor now, but before they were some of my own productions and
lacoste.co.uk 55dsl.com
THISFESTIVALFEELING. I’d already bought some stuff from some tracks I can’t say anything
02. SCHOTT 06. JANSPORT COM them. Expensive but really cool!” about! I’m going to do two tours in
SHORTS £49.99 With so much going on over the the US in June and I’m really excited
£60 jansport.com Favourite boutique? about that because it’s going to be
asos.com summer, it’s damn near a full-time
07. SCHOLL job keeping track of everything. “Jaycee’s or something at Lincoln in the first time I will be touring the
03. PATONGS £60 TFF does a whole lot of legwork on Miami, they always have some crazy US (I did the WMC twice but no tours
£12 scholl.com your behalf and we’re happy to clothes, Urban Outfitters did some yet). And of course I will be in Ibiza
patongs.com funny-ass shirts. And the internet is this summer! Let the summer
share the love.
really having a clothing revolution begin!”
04. NOBIS
£26 at the moment! There are so many
nobis.ca online shops.”

www.djmag.com 019

DJ486.fashion.indd 19 30/4/10 10:13:52

 FASHION
GOOD WOOD
Kulte create wooden sunglasses
with designers Waiting For The Sun.
TAKING THINGS up a notch or two, Kulte are quite
literally going back to their roots with a range of
sunglasses handmade from 100% wood. A delightful
case of nature versus nurture. Take a peek at their
online introduction to the range and
we think you’ll concur that it’s extra
special and worthy of a piece of your
hard-earned. Our personal faves are
the aviator styles, mainly because
their model is a whole hunk of spunk
bear! Hang on to those hormones.
Anyways, if you ask our opinion,
they’re a snip at 135 Euros, and they
also come in a sweet ‘Toblerone’-type
case with a lovely piece of cloth.
LESS IS MORE...
Bitesize chunks of forward-
thinking musings
CAMP ECO… Think twice about your
camping equipment this season. Green Tent
Company offer recyclable tents at buff
prices. They’ve teamed up with The Big Chill
and are offering special contra deals online.
Thegreententcompany.co.uk
FEIYUE
GOOD…
Finally the Feiyue
t-shirts are dropping.
We’re fans of their
footwear and now

SHADY DEALS Waitingforthesun.fr we’re smitten with the

tees — £33 from
feiyu-shoes.com.
Kangol make exceedingly good hats…

SLAP US SIDEWAYS,, the goods just keep on coming. Kangol

are offering DJmag readers five of their Panama Trilbies — a
natty classic that’ll bust up some serious cool points. As ever SMELL YOU LATER… News that
there’s a tasty mix of traditional and technical ingredients Mason Martin Margiela are to release their
that go into the designs on their SS10 collection. first collection of fragrances, Line 3, has got
us in a right ol’ tizz. First reports speak of
Kangol rock up the finest of looks and remain one of those sweet jasmine and musky cedar… bliss.
labels that fit happily with street cred and underground
sensibilities. Obviously.
WIZE UP… Wize
Get grabbing with an email titled Kangol Competition to
and Ope watches are
helene.stokes@djmag.com telling her
busting out a
your hat size and which festival you will be attending this
collection of edgy
summer — cos she’s nosy like that!
timepieces with
colours aplenty and a
touch of bling if you
fancy. Find a tasteful
Artists that make fashion sense range starting at £45
at muazo.com

KELIS ROLL UP… Whether it’s a t-shirt or a

short-sleeved shirt, you’ll be needing to roll
KELIS launches her latest
album, the electro-kissed up the sleeves for the fetching summer look
‘Flesh Tone’, with a string of that just about says it all.
glittering dates across the UK
that takes in Glastonbury, The
Coronet, G.A.Y. and The Big LISTEN
Chill. She’s been working with UP… Damn it
some hot-to-trot producers all, WESC
like Boys Noize, Free School, headphones still
Benny Benassi, David Guetta rule. Just when
and The Crookers — we’re keen we were about
to see how this will affect her to switch our
live performances. loyalties, along
come these
Ever the style goddess, Kelis’ super colourful,
current look lavishes in the summer
direction of Grace Jones/ sunshine pairs.
Gaga-esque — a pastiche of £46.75 from
diamante, Indian and yukka.co.uk
tribal-bling inspirations. You
go, girl!

020 www.djmag.com

DJ486.fashion.indd 20 30/4/10 10:14:12

 15 years of DJ Mag Ibiza at Space.
July 1st 2010.
Discoteca: La Terraza: El Salon:
Derrick Carter Chris Coco
Metro Area Pete Gooding
Silicone Soul The DJ Mag
The Martinez Brothers all Stars
Spooky Tensnake

The Red Box-Hosted by DJ Mag Spain.

DJ Coxswain,Tetsuya Ura, Victor FL, Andrea Oliva, Jp Candela, Djerry C & Mikel Romero
plus more acts t.b.c

SPACE BEACH CLUB

Playa d’en Bossa s/n, 07817 Sant Josep de Sa Talaia
Price 25 Euros.
Tickets available from spaceibiza.com

ibiza ad .indd 1 17/5/10 17:36:52

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:11:50

Y
ou can smell it in the air: that musky twang
of spliffs, cider and turd-ravaged portaloos.
It must be festival season! Now, as little as
10 years ago, that meant the nation’s young-
sters spending life-changing weekends dancing like
bozos, guzzling back stimulants and — most importantly
of all — taking a break from boring ‘real world’ stuff
like work, rent, relationships and personal hygiene. In
recent times, however, unwelcome interlopers have been
infiltrating the UK festival circuit in ever-increasing
numbers, bringing with them the party-pooping stench
of everyday suburbia. We are speaking, of course, of that
most abhorrent and reviled of festival attendees: the
parent-with-child.
There are two main reasons why it has, of late, become
acceptable amongst certain sections of society to drag
babies, tweens and early teens along to events that
really ought to have signs by their entrances that read,
“You must be this tall (and this jaded) to get on this
ride.” The first is the gradual smushing-together of age
ranges: 50 became the new 30, 30 became the new 20, 8
became the new 14, and so on and so on, until basically
everyone between toddling age and retirement age was
required to act like a Twitter-addicted 22-year-old with
an extensive collection of Nike Air Force Ones.
The second reason why Glastonbury, Big Chill etc are
now awash with tykes on trikes is the interminable rise
of the hipster parent. You know the sort: they’re deter-
mined to instil their offspring with their own insecure
need to stay constantly “on trend”, and will start brain-
washing them into the empty ways of hipsterism the
very moment the placenta’s been wiped off, by plonking
them into a Public Enemy babygro and hanging a framed
Kraftwerk album sleeve in their nursery.
“Oh, little Emily just loves Rinse FM,” they proudly
chuckle to friends, overjoyed that their coolness is so
ingrained that it’s actually been passed on through their
genetic code. “She always jiggles about in her high chair
when we put it on — don’t you, Emily?” No, the reason
the poor little sod is jiggling about is because you’re
forcing her to listen to what sounds — to those barely-
formed and heartbreakingly fragile ears — like a car
crash being shouted at by a rhino.
Of course, parents shouldn’t be forced to sit indoors
frittering their lives away to Deal Or No Deal until their
offspring naff off to college. In fact, there’s a festival
specifically designed for them: Camp Bestival. Parents:
take your young’uns along to Camp Bestival, by all
means. You can enjoy a polite shuffle to cosmic disco in
the Hummus Tent while little Tobias and Mia have a story
DJ486.rave goblin.indd 23
LITTLE KIDS AND
MAD FESTIVALS
DON’T MIX!
read to them by Iggle Piggle in the Happy Clappy crèche
field. That’s fair enough. Camp Bestival is purpose-built
for families — you don’t really get meow-meow-faced
rave-nutters attending, because they’d stand out like
oiled-up nudists at Mecca.
Take your kids along to any other festival, however,
and don’t be surprised if you get stared at like you’re
as thick and irresponsible as Shannon Matthews’ mum.
You might think you’re filling your kids’ minds up
with happy, wacky memories that’ll make them fondly
remember their childhoods, but you’re not. What you’re
actually doing is forcing them to endure an increasingly
harrowing series of experiences that will take many,
many hours of intensive therapy to unravel and mend
once they reach adulthood.
Here are just a few of the indelible horrors that the Rave
Goblin has witnessed at UK festivals: a gurning rave-kid
making retarded-horse noises as an equally mullered girl
gives him a shambolic blow job by the entrance to the
dance tent; an insanely drunk, insanely fat man taking a
runny shit into a babbling brook, before toppling back-
“What you’re actually
doing is forcing
your kids to endure
an increasingly
harrowing series
of experiences that
will take many,
many hours of
intensive therapy
to unravel and
mend once they
reach
adulthood.”
www.djmag.com
wards into said brook and covering himself in his own
steaming bum-piss; and, most unforgettably of all, a
young man deep in a K-hole who — for a reason he could
no longer remember — had sliced his own throat open
with a knife (don’t worry, some medics patched the poor
fucker up). You really want your wide-eyed kids to see
some mental-ass shit like that?
And while kiddies can receive permanent mental scars
from festival-goers, the damage can also travel in the
other direction. Nothing brings a freaky-dancing, eye-
ball-licking high crashing down to the ground quicker
than the sudden and unexpected appearance of a
mystery child, staring at you with an unnerving mixture
of grim curiosity and abject disgust, as if they’ve just
walked in on you wearing a rubber nurse’s uniform and
rimming an elderly colonel.
Here’s what kids like: sitting on the sofa, watching
Spongebob marathons and giving themselves diabetes
by eating too many Haribos. Here’s what they’re not in
the least bit arsed about: 2ManyDJs playing a surprise
Belgian new-beat set in the Ginsters Pasty Tent. Grow
up, wudya.
023
17/5/10 10:59:16
 bitchin@djmag.com
where you lot get mouthy... ON
Dyer straits Househeart Reply DJMAG.COM
SETTATERR NOW:
What the f*** is Danny Dyer doing DJ sets for?! What the hell was Pippi Househeart on when she wrote
Is he not making enough money metaphorically that letter in to you? “Cir De Tech… which means circus
sucking off ‘hardmen’ in his ‘Deadliest Men’ techno because it ain’t just a sound it’s a feeling of
L programme or pulling his own hopelessly expression!” How does that even work? It literally makes
implausible mockney tough guy impression in his pretty much nearly no fuckin’ sense at all.
Check out the
* new-look
second rate acting career? Oh no, the grotesquely GANDALF THE LIZARD, VIA EMAIL
arrogant little turd has to coin it on the celebrity DJ circuit.
Worse still, I’ve heard he’s been turning up half cut and, Swedish slur DJmag.
com now!
basically, acting like a right div. What a fackin liberty. Listening to Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show recently, he played
Seriously, it well pisses me off that both promoters and what he considers to be The Hottest Record In The World
punters are stupid enough to pay his inflated wages when Right Now. Or should that be what the record company Fresh news, videos,
there are so many good, well intentioned DJs, both pluggers have convinced his producer is a hot record right
underground and commercial, that deserve a shot at the decks now? Anyway, the one in question was ‘One’ by some
mixes and charts
of our land. I just don’t people called the Swedish House Mafia, which was

* Win
geddit. basically a load of Ibeefa trancey house bollocks.
GABY, LEEDS, VIA EMAIL I honestly don’t understand all the hype round these
three. Two of them have beards, which would suggest that Pick up tickets, albums
Nope, nor do we. It’s a truly they’re trying to be a 21st century equivalent of Sweden’s
tragic state of affairs. most famous musical sons — Bjorn and Benny from Abba. and much more online!
Hammer, nail, head on all Which must leave the other one — Axwell, is it? — as an

* Don’t miss out!

that you’ve said! Anni-Frid/Agnetha hybrid, I guess.
But is the ‘Mafia’ part of their name because their
Flashback: underhand practices prevent anyone else from Sweden Subscribe to DJmag
Rez THE STAR LETTER wins a UDG — ie. someone half-decent — getting a look-in?
I was flicking through the Ultimate Courier Bag with I expect a mafia to leave a horse’s head in my bed, not Digital for just £12 per
May edition of the Serato logo.
Holds 45 LPs, accessories &
send me running for the hills with their commercial year
magazine and to my nonsense.
laptop, plus detachable Serato
surprise I found an article interface pocket. JAMES, MANCHESTER, VIA EMAIL
on the place it all began for www.ultimate-dj-gear.com
Trance would be a fine
me —Rezerection.
Rez was my first rave, and thing! NEXT ISSUE ON SALE
quite possibly my first love! As a wide-eyed 14-year-old I was
blown away by what I witnessed at The Event 2, and always got
Why is there never even so much as a paragraph of proper
trance coverage anywhere in the magazine beyond the 30TH JUNE
the same feeling at each and every Rez there after. Even the reviews page itself? I understand it’s not the coolest or,
downpour at The Event 3 couldn’t put a dampener on the admittedly, most cutting-edge music genre right now, but

proceedings!
You would leave Rez looking forward to the next one. You lived
for Rez and forged some great friendships there. Even now you
meet people in clubs and even shop queues who you had met
all those years ago. It was that kind of place. No alcohol at all
inside, and never any trouble.
* NIC FANCIULLI
there are still producers within the scene doing
interesting things — Marcus Schossow, Jaytech, Mat Zo to
name just three. Surely, in the name of diversity alone, We catch up with the
the odd feature or news piece could go the way of trance? Saved Records boss
DISGRUNTLED DAVE, VIA EMAIL

*TheBEN KLOCK
KENNY, VIA EMAIL

Berghain techno master

From the forums Reader chatter from DJMAG.COM speaks out

TOPIC: BUDDHA: I’d make ‘if you were made

* BOYS NOIZE CD!
god awful pop tunes where the ‘DJ’ is
What would you mentioned ‘dropping it’. prime minister what would you’
conversations illegal and punishable The German electro don
do if you were ERIC LEE: I would make all drugs only by dry rape. mixes our covermount
made prime legal. And sit back and witness the
party… and resulting carnage. DJHOWARDBROMLEY: I’d make Mr
minister? T prime minister.
CRAIGJOINER: My first job would be
to convict the bankers that influenced ERIC LEE: Pity the JOIN IN THE
DOBBY: I would outlaw the and were part of the cause of the fool. DISCUSSIONS
NOW, ON THE
production and consumption of god economic crash… then legalise the FORUMS
W
awful pop tunes, particularly those drooogs. AT THE ALL NE
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024 www.djmag.com

DJ486.bitchin.indd 24 17/5/10 17:09:21

 The O2. Peninsula Square, London SE10 ODY
For full listings for all other nights, travel info & student
discounts call 0207 549 6686 or visit our website.
june
matterlondon.com

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FRI 4TH SAT 12TH SAT 26TH SAT 3RD

JUN JUN JUN JUL

RAM KINKY MALINKI THE WORLD WE LOVE...

PRESENTS…. MATTER LONDON
Sidney Samson KENNY DOPE (PART 1)
Andy C Joey Negro
Sub Focus Prok & Fitch
DJ Hype Kid Massive Kenny Dope M.A.N.D.Y. (Patrick Bodmer)
Noisia & more tba (house set) DJ Hell
Xample & Lomax — DJ Spen 20:20 Soundsystem (live)
Culture Shock 10pm – 6am Martin Solveig Ralph Lawson
Zero T & Ulterior Motive £15 adv Neil Peirce Paul Woolford
Aki (Womb Tokyo) THE POOL &
Red One Kenny Dope TIRK RECORDS:
MCs: (breaks/hip hop set) Todd Terje
SAT 19TH
GQ JUN Cash Money Maurice Fulton
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Fats Bugz in the Attic Bill Brewster
Moose COCOON — —
10pm – 7am 10pm – 7am
EZ £15 adv £15 adv
Breakage & Newham Generals Sven Väth
Chef (all night long)
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Stamina MC 10pm – ???
Crazy D £20 adv Etienne De Crecy
Justyce High Contrast The Whip (live)
— London Elektricity The Japanese Popstars (live)
9.30 pm – 6.30am Nero Adam Freeland
£15 adv FRI 25TH Netsky Shinichi Osawa
JUN Danny Byrd Luke Walker
TC feat. MC Jakes —
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SP:MC
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The Matthew Pendulum (dj set) Bar 9
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MATTER-DJ 17/5/10 17:02:08
14/05/2010 17:54
 Brooklyn
Calling!
Brooklyn, NYC duo Wolf + Lamb aren’t just a DJ/production outfit. They’re a
movement, a label, a club, and extended family of like-minded artists,
offering a passionate, soulful techno and electronic disco alternative to the
plodding tribal drums of tech house and the harder sound of Berlin.
And with a new artist album ready to drop, they’ve come for our hearts,
minds and dancing feet…
Words: joe roberts Pics: dan reId Stylist: holly silius
F
ew artists inspire a devotion
bordering on the religious. But the
gospel according to Wolf + Lamb has
already spread far and wide, their
near mythical Brooklyn parties at “six
star hotel” The Marcy attracting an international
cast of like-minded friends, adopted family and
disciples, while their series of podcasts and three
labels — Wolf + Lamb digital, Wolf + Lamb Black,
their re-edit series, and Wolf + Lamb Music — have
preached an alternative sound to the plodding
tribal drums of tech-house.
So the arrival of their debut album, ‘Love Someone’,
out 14th June on Wolf + Lamb, and its preceding
Wolf + Lamb Experience party in London, a
showcase of the labels’ unique musical talents and
organisation, not only sticks the pin firmly back in
New York as an innovative centre of nightlife,
following years of redundancy during Giuliani’s
reign. It also offers an alternative paradigm to
Berlin’s stranglehold on the UK’s clubbing
imagination.
Desert Trip
As with every great spiritual adventure, however,
their journey starts with a trip into the desert.
“We went to Burning Man in 2003,” says Zev
Eisenberg, the ‘Wolf’ of Wolf + Lamb next to Gadi
Mizrahi’s ‘Lamb’, the literal translations of their
Hebrew names. Two New York-born Jews, the pair
met in 2001 having both made a name as DJs at
small-scale parties, Zev spinning deep house and
trance, Gadi playing hip-hop. But it was the advent
of minimal techno, the first sound that they both
bonded over (and immortalised in their ‘Since when
do Jews make techno?’ stickers), and their
experiences at Burning Man which began the
process of gestation that gave birth to their current
incarnation as purveyors of deep, lush house and
disco.
“The first two years you just kind of watch and figure
out where you fit in,” Gadi explains about the
festival that appears for a week in the middle of the
026
DJ486.W+L_feature.indd 26
Nevada desert as we have lunch following a first
look at the venue for their party. “There’s nothing
like it in the world. It’s literally like being on Mars,
you just don’t know what to do or how to express
yourself.”
In 2005, while wandering through the Mad Max
landscape, Gadi found an artist who’d created a
40-foot version of Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’,
essentially a giant toilet — the following year, they
played their first gig there in it.
“It’s like a urinal lying on its back and then there’s a
drain pipe, which is where you walk in,” explains Zev
excitedly. “It was so amazing watching people crawl
in and being part of their bizarre Burning Man
experience. The music was also something people
hadn’t heard before because out there it’s really
heavy, West coast, cheesy-ish kind of breaks. We
were playing minimal.”
“It was kind of like Kompakt,” interjects Gadi. “More
emotional, minimal trance.”
Having performed again every year since, including
as part of an inflatable art and sound installation in
2007, they now have residencies at numerous
soundsystems. But it was Burning Man’s blend of
vast, unbridled natural beauty, unfettered creativity
and extreme hedonism that seems the beginning of
Wolf + Lamb becoming something bigger than just a
label or a pair of DJs.
“We started to really like the morning shift when
everyone’s feeling really great from the whole night
and the minimal sound just didn’t fit right so then
we started wanting to get more warm,” says Gadi.
“You ended up playing pop music,” Zev recalls of
2008’s crystallising moment. “That was the one
thing that did make sense there, Sade, and that was
all we played the whole time. Then when we came
back, we went to a friend’s cabin to work for a few
weeks with a clean slate. We knew we had to make
music to work over there because that’s the mood
we’ve always been comfortable with. That’s when
we put out the ‘Bear Valley EP’.”
www.djmag.com
The Marcy
Parallel to this musical rebirth was the founding of
The Marcy in 2005, their studio cum home where
they also throw parties, in indie-rock’s heartland,
Williamsburg. Tired of trying to put on parties in
New York’s bars and clubs, which would want to
close at 4am just as the drugs were kicking in but
the queue at the bar was dwindling, they had
originally hired an old machine shop with the
intention of opening it as a venue, moving in simply
to help do it up.
“Then halfway through, we threw one crazy
balls-to-the-wall party, and we realised we weren’t
going to open a bar,” says Zev with a glint.
Instead, they embraced Burning Man’s idea of
user-generated content (a familiar concept to Zev
who also works as a web designer), growing it into
something that’s part Andy Warhol’s Factory —
filled with friends who are also musicians, many of
whom the pair nurtured through their first releases
for the label — and part David Mancuso’s Loft, the
best house party in the world that runs from 11pm
till 1pm the next afternoon, and boasts top quality
sound.
Despite a website depicting The Marcy as an
opulent, gaudy hotel, a whimsical idea parodying
Zev’s work for Trump Towers, the parties are
ostensibly put on by friends for friends, label artists
such as No Regular Play, Nico aka Nicolas Jaar, Soul
Clap, or Deniz Kurtel — Gadi’s girlfriend who is also
currently working on a Crosstown Rebels album —
playing most parties, often alongside Wolf + Lamb
Detroit counterparts such as Seth Troxler and Lee
Curtiss.
Despite having a capacity of just 200, with only
around 50 able to fit into the main room, the pair
found a creative way to fit up to 500 people in by
hijacking an adjoining lot.
“Nobody says anything, it doesn’t belong to us!”
laughs Zev at this brazenness. “Our friends helped
us build steps to access the yard through a window.
It’s really funny, girls are always slipping in their
13/5/10 16:59:44
 L - r: Gadi & Zev

www.djmag.com 027

DJ486.W+L_feature.indd 27 13/5/10 16:59:46

 high heels. It just adds to the whole obvious DIY feel of
the place, like you’re in our home. At the same time, the
sound is pristine. We’re really serious about that. The
whole thing is really well put together, everything is
pro.”
When the success of the party began attracting
unwanted hipsters interested in drinking beer but not
dancing, the pair simply introduced an extortionate
door charge with friends getting a Marcy hotel room key
— made at the same time as their fake website — for
cheap entry.
“It has this idea that the party supports the building,”
says Gadi. “So the people who live upstairs do the door.
No Regular Play live on the third floor, so they play every
party and run the bar. Most of the money goes back into
the building to pay rent, which is a really organic way of
doing it.”
“It’s the same as this weekend, bring in whoever is
around,” he says of the approaching London label
debut, having just asked Deniz and Zev, neither of whom
were originally on the line-up, to stay and play.
“Wolf + Lamb is me and Zev, but it’s also a family.
There’s a lot more attention to a community based thing
than a label where the people have good ears and
they’re picking people from all over the world. That’s
one thing, but this is like an in-house. No Regular Play
were brought up from nothing, they had no releases,
Nico was brought up from not having any releases,
Deniz and Smirk as well. They were all brought up.
Other labels pick artists saying, ‘this guy is going to be
good’. This is like artists who haven’t had anything out.”
“Including us. We didn’t have any releases,” adds Zev.
Love Someone
It was as The Marcy was being built that Zev first found
out he had cancer, something he is currently recovering
from with ‘an alternative therapy regime’ that includes
sauerkraut juice for breakfast. Having recently been in
India, and stopping touring due to the excessive
amount of equipment needed for his current diet, his
illness adds an extra poignancy to both Wolf + Lamb’s
communal, life-affirming spirit of art and adventure,
and the atmospheric content of ‘Love Someone’, their
first joint release since last year’s ‘Brooklynn EP’.
With ‘love’ a recurring theme at their parties, the
album’s title track is the most potentially commercial, a
glorious slice of looped, filtered disco. But elsewhere
Wolf + Lamb pursue their own unique vision of mood
and depth that’s come to characterise their parties,
where the tempo rarely ventures above 120bpm, and
they encourage guests to bring their weirdest, favourite
records.
Opener ‘Just For Now’ emerges from a primordial soup
of reverb and organ, via a burst of what sounds like a
show tune, morphing into a brooding, gangster shuffle
as a voice contemplates life after committing the
irreversible act of murder: “all you can do is continue
living life”. Yet it’s immediately soothed by the slow,
bubbling electro bass and 808 handclaps of ‘Shoeshine
Boogie’, a remix of Mock & Toof.
‘Want Your Money’ appears in two versions, Wolf +
Lamb’s off-kilter original and a straighter house remix
from Dyed Soundorom, while ‘Monster Love’, a
collaboration with Smirk, hints at broken relationships
in its jazzy ambience and whispered voices, dissolving
and reforming around a wandering double bass. Finally,
‘I Know You’re Leaving’ rides along on a Rhodes until it’s
flooded by the warming light of a gospel choir
declaring, “someday we’ll all be free.”
“Wolf + Lamb is so multi-faceted, we work on everything
together, so when it came down to making music over
028
DJ486.W+L_feature.indd 28
the last few years we’ve done it separately,” admits Gadi
of the pair’s limited releases together. “We’ve done
everything together over the past five or six years and
this is one of the areas where we have our separate time.
But it happened that we did make these tracks and we
both really liked them. They’re all very different so I felt
that was good.”
“It’s more of an EP than an album,” agrees Zev. “Gadi
and I, even though we work really well together putting
on the party, sitting in the studio, for some reason, we
don’t actually do that much of that together.”
Instead, Zev used his convalescence to begin work on a
solo album, with a further Wolf + Lamb EP in the
pipe-line, and Gadi, as well as DJing and recording solo
and with label artists Soul Clap, started his own
vinyl-only label, Double Exposure.
“If Wolf + Lamb is a religion, Double Exposure is a cult,”
he announces, and it’s a plausible assertion — Gadi,
Charlie from Soul Clap and Greg from No Regular Play
got Double Exposure tattoos to accompany the Wolf +
Lamb cross tattoos both he and Zev have.
While success has had its advantages, and given them
the ability to pull in a crowd of 500 people at 24 hours
notice, like the time Gadi and Deniz persuaded Zev to
make an impromptu trip back from India over SKYPE,
part of the Wolf + Lamb experience lies in the conditions
they’ve created for themselves at The Marcy.
“One of the problems is that there’s a Wolf + Lamb
monster now of hype so promoters just want to book us.
Then we go in and they’ve clearly never heard what we
play and they don’t have the crowd for it,” Gadi says of
his frustration at some recent gigs. “They’re always
telling us to play harder anywhere outside of London.
It’s fucking heart-breaking to be in that situation.”
Pilgrimage
In this respect, The Marcy has become like Panorama
Bar, the ultimate pilgrimage for thrill-seeking dance
tourists looking for an atmosphere and sense of
freedom and adventure that’s unrepeatable anywhere
else. But for Gadi, this is where the Berlin parallel ends.
“I don’t think Berlin is into what we’re doing,” he says,
despite recent gigs there. “I’ve seen a few friends move
there and get into a completely other genre, really hard.
They get taken over by Berlin. You’re not going to get
booked unless you bang it out, they’re taking speed so
they’re into this hard stuff. Our crowd, even Jamie
Jones, has gone into disco and house — Berlin had to
choose and they went Berghain. Even harder than
where we were a few years ago.”
Come their own party, held in the basement of an art
gallery in East London that’s due to be demolished two
weeks later, they’re playing Outkast too, alongside a
ream of deep house and disco gems like Metro Area’s
sublime ‘Let’s Get…’, umbrellas placed over the decks to
stop the sweat that’s raining from the low ceiling.
With Soul Clap and Wolf + Lamb taking turns behind the
decks seemingly as the mood suits them, following No
Regular Play’s live set, it’s the perfect illustration of the
instinctive, if it feels good do it, approach that’s grown
Wolf + Lamb from a pair of techno misfits in the Nevada
desert to a coalition of friends carving out new niches in
whatever they turn their hands to — something both
Gadi and Zev seem genuinely surprised by.
“The only thing we haven’t spoken about is our future
plans because we don’t have any,” says Zev at the end of
the interview.
“It’s true,” adds Gadi. “Who knows?!”
The only thing you can be sure of is, wherever Wolf +
Lamb lead, others are bound to follow.
www.djmag.com
13/5/10 16:59:54

Soul Clap
Gadi: “They’re so good, so creative.
They can take on a new genre and hit
it out of the park. I’m seeing them do
it with their own production and it
blew me away. This new Double
Standard EP is us going at electro and
old Chicago house, the old 808 sound.
We were together in Miami, not for
conference, and we just banged out
that whole EP. We were going for that
electro sound and that Metro Area
vibe on ‘Romantic Comedy’. I’ve been
sweating Metro Area for the last year
and a half. There’s three of their
tracks that are staple and I pretty
much always play at the end of my set
to a crazy response, so I feel in love
with this sound they have and we
tried to do our take on it.”
Deniz Kurtel
Gadi: “She came to one of the
first Marcy parties years back.
She’s done LED installations
for lots of them, one of the
pieces is now a permanent
installation in the dance
room, it’s really pretty. I think
she’s been to almost every
single party, she’ll fly in and
stick around. I was actually
thinking she should have been
in the background of the
pictures today because she’s
kind of held us together when
we had our falling out and
stuff. She’s been the voice of
reason when, doing
everything together, I think,
‘What the fuck could I do
outside of this if it didn’t work
out for whatever reason?’ I’ve
spent my whole adult life on
this one project.”
www.djmag.com
DJ486.W+L_feature.indd 29
No Regular Play
Zev: “They came to one of our parties. They’re
straight up hipsters from Minnesota. Greg’s
into jazz, he’s a trumpet player. They’d never
heard anything electronic but they came to one
of our big parties when we weren’t doing the
Marcy and Matthew Dear played. I guess they
had an experience and just really connected.
They went home, started making this music for
a year, got a bunch of tracks and came back to
us. They really waited till they had something to
show. We picked out a digital EP straight away.”
Gadi: “The digital label is great, as you can
scope people out. Once they’re on the vinyl
label it’s like, this is family. They have a new EP
that’s brilliant.”
Nico
Gadi: “He was 17-years-old and sending stuff. It was all very experimental, but
there was something about it so we started working with him. He lives in New
York, but he was born in Chile. Almost all our artists live in New York, which is
another thing about the label. Everyone is pretty much local so the last party
was almost all the label artists. I think it’s important to have people in the
neighbourhood to throw showcase parties. You can also see them and talk
about music. Le Loup, who is French, is Nico’s friend and he’s one of the only
artists not living in the States.”
Seth Troxler/Shaun Reeves
Lee Curtiss/Ryan Crosson
Gadi: “We threw this bigger party with them and they were also just breaking
out. I think Ryan was the only one who had a Minus EP out at the time. We got
really close with Lee, then Seth, Ryan and Shaun. It’s easy to get close with
Shaun because he’s just cool. It was one of the best parties we threw. Then we
worked on music together. But they’re more Wolf + Lamb affiliated. They’re like
the generation before us and they’re doing their own thing, they have their own
dreams. They don’t send us their demos like No Regular Play or Soul Clap.”
Thanks to: The Red Gallery, 1-3 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3JL
Additional Photos: Rob Low
CATCH VIDEO INTERVIEWS WITH THE WOLF + LAMB CREW ON DJMAG. TV
NOW…
029
13/5/10 17:00:06
 ‹SATURDAY 28TH AUGUST 2010›
‹MAIN STAGE› ‹CREAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH BENCH› ‹CHIBUKU 10TH ANNIVERSARY›
›David Guetta ›Armin van Buuren ›Richie Hawtin presents Plastikman
‹ DANCE FESTIVAL EXCLUSIVE › ›Ferry Corsten ‹ EXCLUSIVE ›
›Deadmau5 ‹ EXCLUSIVE › ›Erol Alkan
‹ EXCLUSIVE › ›Eddie Halliwell presents ED-IT ›Crookers
›AUDIO BULLYS ‹ EXCLUSIVE › ›MAGDA
›THE JAPANESE POPSTARS ›JUDGE JULES ›MIX HELL
›OCELOT ›Gareth Emery ›LUKE CARR
›JOHN O’Callaghan ›DOM CHUNG
›Gareth Wyn
›Rob H

‹PRYDA FRIENDS› ‹MIXMAG› ‹HED KANDI HOSPITALITY›

›Eric Prydz ›TIGA ›Phil Faversham
›Pete Tong ›SWITCH ›John Jones
›Joris Voorn ›KISSY SELL OUT ›Wez Clarke
›Sébastien Léger ›DJ MEHDI ›Sarah Louise
›POPOF ›ALEX METRIC ›ALAN HARTLEY
›FUNK D’VOID ›JAYMO + ANDY GEORGE ›Dean Oram on Drums
›JEMMY ›GRAMOPHONEDZIE ›Lady V on Saxophone
›ZOO BRAZIL

‹APE – D+B› ‹APE – DUBSTEP› ‹STRONGBOW› ‹RESIDENTS TERRACE›

›ANDY C ›Benga ›Tom Middleton ›H2
›High contrast ›Rusko ›JESSE ROSE ›DJ Ellesse
›HYPE ›Caspa ›Fenech Soler LIVE ›ed mackie
›FRICTION ›JOKER ›Joe & Will Ask? ›Tim Owen
›MAD PROFESSOR ›NERO ›Crystal Fighters LIVE ›CMWmSmDm
›KEN EVIL ›RICH REASON ›Louis La Roche ›LEE ELLIS
›May68 LIVE ›Rob Casson + Andy Currie
‹MC’S› ›Loz ›Prostitutes + Policemen
›MC Dynamite ›General Jimmy ›Kev McGowan
›ROD AZLAN
›GQ
›IC3
›SP:MC
›MAD RUSH

‹TICKETS›
›Weekend Tickets ›Day Tickets
›With camping - £100 +BF* ›Saturday - £59 +BF
›Hospitality with camping - £185 +BF ›Sunday - £55 +BF
Supported by
›2 day ticket without camping - £100 +BF
›Saturday Hospitality - £100 +BF
*limited offer / strictly 18+ / line-up subject to change ›Sunday Hospitality - £100 +BF

Untitled-1 2
CF10_ad_DPS_2_DJ_june.indd 1 17/5/10 16:47:33
 ‹£100 CAMPING / 0844 888 4401 / WWW.CREAMFIELDS.COM›
‹TICKET OFFER*

‹SUNDAY 29TH AUGUST 2010›

‹KALEIDOSCOPE MAIN STAGE› ‹CREAM/VANDIT 1OTH ANNIVERSARY ‹SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA›
n ›Tiësto BENCH›
›Axwell
IN ASSOCIATION WITH

‹ EXCLUSIVE › ›Paul van Dyk ›Steve Angello

›Calvin Harris ‹ EXCLUSIVE › ›Sebastian Ingrosso
›Laidback Luke ›Sasha ‹ SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA‹EXCLUSIVE ›
›Dada Life ›James Zabiela ›DIRTY SOUTH
›BANG BANG CLUB ›Hernan Cattaneo ›KIM FAI
›KIDS ON BRIDGES ›Nick Warren ›AN21
‹SPECIAL GUESTS› ›AFRO JACK
›Leftfield ›MAX VANGELI
›ANTON POWERS

‹MIXMAG PRESENTS COCOON› ‹ANNIE MAC PRESENTS› ‹GOODGREEF XTRA-HARD›

›Sven Väth ›Annie Mac ›LISA LASHES
›DUBFIRE ›Major Lazer ›SHOWTEK LIVE
›MARCO CAROLA ›Ms Dynamite ‹ EXCLUSIVE ›
›Yousef ›Zinc ›KUTSKI B2B ALEX KIDD
›Raresh ›Riva Starr ›ANDY WHITBY
›Style of Eye ›ANNE SAVAGE
›ANDY MAC ›BOOTEK LIVE
›A*S*Y*S
›DUTCH MASTER
›RASCAL

‹STRONGBOW› ‹HED KANDI HOSPITALITY›

›Evil Nine ›Andy Norman
›The Subs LIVE ›Dean Rigg
›GRUM ›Sam Cannon
›DAVID E SUGAR LIVE ›Stephanie Jay
›GoldieRocks ›ALAN HARTLEY
›THE PeTEBOX LIVE ›Dean Oram on Drums UK
FESTIVAL
›Mr Paul ›Lady V on Saxophone AWARDS
›The Tea Street Band LIVE
›Benji Boko WINNER
›Dead Audio Boy
MusicWeek
Awards10
Festival of
the Year

‹TICKET NUMBERS + INFO›

›Cream Tickets ›See Tickets ›Information
›0844 888 4401 / 0844 888 4416 (Hospitality tickets) ›0871 220 0260 - www.seetickets.com ›0151 707 1309 / www.creamfields.com
›Ticketline ›HMV ›Location
›www.ticketline.co.uk ›www.hmvtickets.com ›Daresbury / Halton / Cheshire
›Ticketmaster ›View Tickets ›Coaches
›0844 847 2448 (24hr) - www.ticketmaster.co.uk ›0870 428 6998 - www.viewtickets.co.uk ›www.biggreencoach.co.uk/creamfields

Untitled-1 3 17/5/10 16:47:35

17/05/2010 12:26:12
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:05:42
 Ibiza. Whether you’re a die-hard Balearic veteran or a dilettante
toe-dipper into the White Isle’s hedonistic charms, there’s still no
place on earth quite like it. An unmatched ratio of unbelievable clubs, a
constant flow of quality DJs and an indescribable magic that remains well
over two decades since Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold and co
‘discovered’ acid house culture thanks to a man called Alfredo, the open-air
Amnesia terrace and some, ahem, ‘magic beans’. While it might be facing
competition from emerging summer hotspots, Ibiza’s ability to constantly
reinvent itself and embrace new ideas means we’ve got another season of
surprise, sick line-ups and classics nights. And we’ve got all the details on this
season’s big moves in the following pages as well as a VIP competition to win a trip to
Space for our 15 Years Of DJmag Ibiza party at Space on Thursday 1st July. Get involved!

VIP COMPETITION! COME TO DADDY!

Win a VIP trip to our 15 Years Of Electronica enigma Aphex Twin
DJmag Ibiza party at Space! headlines the We Love… closing
p.034 party
p.041
LUCIANO GOES FOR DE-CADENZA
A look at Luciano’s new Sunday WARUNG/KEHAKUMA
residency at Pacha News of Brazilian club Warung’s
p.036 new residency at Privilege and the
new Kehakuma night at Space
LIVING THE VIDA LOCO p.042
DC10’s Circo Loco is back…with Seth
Troxler and Jamie Jones as
residents
p.038

www.djmag.com 033

DJ486.ibiza intro.indd 33 17/5/10 17:26:00

 DJMagazine Ibiza celebrates 15 years of Balearic rave reporting
Words: ALLAN MCGRATH
IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN. As essential as your sun
lotion, euros and passport (well, almost),
DJMagazine Ibiza is back to lead you through another
season of Balearic barminess and Ibizan escapades.
Yep, once again our on-island sister publication will
be available across the island and it is with immense
— and understandable — pride that we say this will
be our 15th anniversary season. When you consider
that most come back a shrivelled shell of their former
selves after 15 days there, we reckon it’s little short
of a miracle that we’ve toughed it out on the Balearic
front-line for some 15 years.
When DJMagazine first rocked up on Ibiza with a pen,
notepad and camera in hand, things were very
different. In the 15 years since we’ve watched many a
promoter crash and burn, or simply slide by the
wayside. Other magazines have come and gone. Roofs
have been forced on terraces. Restrictions have
changed the face, or at least the timetables, of how
Ibiza parties.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS DJMAG IBIZA THEN?
DJMag Ibiza is our on-island Ibiza magazine covering all
the moves and grooves rocking the White Isle. It’s 114
pages and is absolutely stuffed chocka full of artist
features, hot news, club reviews and comprehensive
listings.
SO IT’S BASICALLY EXACTLY LIKE A MORE COMPACT
DJMAG BUT TOTALLY DEDICATED TO IBIZA?
Pretty much, yeah, but there’s also loads of essential
travel information like beach, bar and restaurant guides,
useful tourist numbers and a map of the island. It’s also
translated into Spanish for locals. Think of it as an all-
round travel companion and essential information source
for Ibiza adventurers. Or just something to read on the
bog.
1996
Ku gets renamed Privilege. Ministry Of Sound arrive on the
island. Carl Cox plays for six hours on the old Space terrace
dropping Basement Jaxx’s ‘Flylife’, ‘Armand Van Helden’s
‘Witch Doctor’ and Rozalla’s ‘Everybody’s Free’. Classic.
1995 1999
DJmag Ibiza lands on the island. UK superclub An underground revolution stirred as Circo
Cream launch their first full season here at Loco begins at DC10. And Darren Hughes
Ku, while Radio 1 broadcast live from Ibiza for launches his 22-hour marathons at Space
the first time. on Sundays under the Home banner.
034
DJ486.ibiza 15 years_feature.indd 34
But despite the quick-shifting sands, Ibiza’s
unparalleled beauty, epic-scale clubs and eternal
ability to reinvent itself has meant there is still no
place on earth quite like it when it comes to club
culture. For one third of the year, literally every
relevant DJ on this planet will pass through at some
point. From the renewed underground energy of Circo
Loco to the stylish diversity of Pacha’s line-up,
through the world-beating, festival-styled marathons
of We Love… Space on Sundays to the recent embrace
of dubstep or the ongoing San An revolution
spearheaded by Pete Tong’s Wonderland, Ibiza’s
capacity to endlessly inspire, excite and surprise
remains. So if you’re lucky enough to make it over,
make sure that you grab your copy of DJMagazine
Ibiza to guide you through. And if you haven’t booked
yet, then have a gander at the next page’s
competition for details on how you can bag a free trip
over to the White Isle for our 15 Years Of DJMagazine
Ibiza party at Space.
SOUNDS GREAT, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST THEN?
Nada, zilch, nuttin! DJMag Ibiza is totally free and has
been ever since we started in 1995. We’re nice like that,
eh?
SO WHERE CAN I GET A COPY?
If you’re on the island, it’s more like where can’t you get a
copy! We print up 50,000 copies of DJMag Ibiza and they
are distributed right across the island in all the essential
bars, restaurants and clubs.
WHEN DO THEY COME OUT?
We do two issues that cover pretty much the full season’s
activities. The first hits the streets on 1st July, the second
on 15th August.
2000 2002
Renaissance’s live shows at Privilege shock the system with Carl Cox starts his Space residency
pop stars Kylie and the All Saints joining names like Leftfield, proper on Thursdays. Boutique
Moby and Hybrid. Base Bar opens in Ibiza Town. Sven Väth art-deco hotel Es Vive opens in Figueretas with after-hours
launched his tempo temple Cocoon at Amnesia naughtiness aplenty.
2001 2003
Darren Hughes’ Space on Sunday gets rebranded Pacha hits 30 years and launches flagship in-house
We Love... Space on Sundays. Erick Morillo’s Friday night with PeteTong. Luciano and Loco Dice start
Subliminal arrives at Pacha in spectacular style. dominating the underground with their Circo Loco sets.
www.djmag.com
17/5/10 12:26:16
 Booka Shade, Metro Area, Martinez Brothers and
more at our massive anniversary rave

We couldn’t let our decade and a half anniversary of Balearic rave reporting slip by without holding
at least one massive, balls-to-the-wall rave now, could we? So to celebrate we’re teaming up with
Playa D’En Bossa’s globally renowned Space for our 15 Years of DJMagazine Ibiza party.

Taking over both the cavernous Discoteca and the legendary Terrace on Thursday 1st July, we’ve
recruited our favourite decknicians both classic and contemporary to make our party go off with
one serious Balearic bang.
Joining us so far to mark our momentous 15th anniversary season are German production masters
Booka Shade, NYC house trailblazers The Martinez Brothers, future boogie kings Metro Area, the
monstrously underrated Tensnake and Soma’s Silicone Soul.
The DJMagazine all-stars will be making an example of themselves in El Salon with a special
appearance from founding DJmagazine editor Chris Coco.
Best of all, tickets for our 15 Years Of DJMagazine Ibiza session are a wallet-friendly €25 for anyone
purchasing tickets from spaceibiza.com. Can we say fairer than that? Well, actually we can.
As part of our mega anniversary of Balearic rave reporting, we’re offering up a free VIP trip to join
us at our 15 Years of DJmagazine Ibiza party with flights provided by Monarch. Get lucky and you
and your chosen rave partner will be raving it up with all the DJmag massive and our top quality
line-up of cutting-edge DJ talent at Space on 31st July. The prize package includes:

•RETURN FLIGHTS FOR YOU AND A MATE, DEPARTING LONDON ON THURSDAY 1ST JULY AND
RETURNING SUNDAY 3RD JULY

•ACCOMMODATION FOR TWO NIGHTS

•VIP ENTRY TO OUR MASSIVE 15 YEARS OF DJMAGAZINE IBIZA PARTY AT SPACE ON

THURSDAY 1ST JULY

To win, just answer our mind-crushingly simple question below and send your answers, passport
name and contact number to joe.roberts@djmag.com before Monday 21st June.

Back in the days of the legendary open-air Space terrace, what did the crowds do every
time a plane flew overhead?

1. Flying hi-fives.
2. Cheer ecstatically.
3. Hold their lighters in the air.

Good luck and see you down the front!

2004 2006 2008

Mauro Picotto takes his Meganite concept to Ibiza’s Privilege. Armin Ibiza Rocks moves to Bar M and smashes it with bands like Tongy shocks the dance world by swapping Pacha for San Antonio’s Eden
Van Buuren launches his Amnesia residency. The open-air Space Maximo Park, Kasabian, The Streets and Babyshambles. A with his Wonderland project. DC10 get repeatedly smacked down by the
terrace of old enjoys it last season. Boo! DJMag Ibiza is now printed new era begins. authorities and end up serving a one-year ban. Chemical Brothers play at
with full Spanish translation in every issue. We Love. David Guetta’s F*** Me I’m Famous goes weekly and smashes it.

2005 2007 2009

The new closed roof Space terrace packs one of the Tiësto sells out Privilege with two colossal roadblocks. Bora No DC10 leaves a massive void. Luciano’s legendary beach
best soundsystems on the island. Woop. Ibiza Rocks Bora, DC10 and Amnesia are forced to close at beginning of parties at Ushuaia are the biggest sign of Playa D’En Bossa’s
launches in Privilege’s back room with bands like season. Manumission leave Privilege for Ammesia after a upmarket image shift. With nights like Mr C’s Superfreq among
Fischerspooner and The Rapture. mid-season ruckus with their long-running home. its roster, Boho club launches at the old San An venue Extasis.

www.djmag.com 035

DJ486.ibiza 15 years_feature.indd 35 17/5/10 12:26:28

 Style haven Pacha capture the weekly residency of
Chilean-Swiss underground house icon Luciano in this
summer’s curveball capture
Words: ALLAN MCGRATH
IN THE shifting sands of Ibizan clubbing, every summer
throws up at least one totally unpredictable move that
even the Island’s most voracious gossip fiends just didn’t
see coming. Two years ago, it was Pete Tong who stole the
headlines by crossing the previously impenetrable Ibiza
Town/San Antonio divide when he swapped his home at
Pure Pacha’s stylish shakedown for the rowdy streets of
San An in the name of his bold Wonderland project at Eden
— becoming 2008’s surprise package in the process. Last
season, it was probably the last-minute (and ultimately
unsuccessful) switch of Hed Kandi from Eden to Playa D’En
Bossa superclub Space, although the wholesale
introduction of debutante dubstep big-hitters within
Reclaim The Dancefloor’s line-ups didn’t go unnoticed
either.
This season, however, there is no doubt about which
curveball capture has sparked the most eyebrow raising
and it’s that of Luciano’s new Cadenza residency at Pacha.
Taking place on Sunday nights at the glamourous Ibiza
Town venue, Cadenza’s Vagabundos night will bring the
cream of underground house and soulful techno to a venue
traditionally associated with big-room, vocal house. Across
the 17-week season, Detroit legend Carl Craig will play live,
as will French techno maverick Dantron Eeprom and crazy
countrymen dOP from Circus Company, while names like
Reboot, Moodymann, Martinez, Daniel Bell, Stacey Pullen,
Theo Parrish and Spectral Sound’s Ryan Crosson all add
their flavours to what is one of the most impressive
line-ups of the season.
“I wanted to do something different and out of the regular
format — bring up something new without compromising
our identity,” explains Luciano. “Pacha gave us full
freedom to spread our vision. I’m not doing mainstream, I
couldn’t do it even if I wanted to as I am not designed for
that. But I aim to bring mainstream people into something
deeper and change their perception.”
Indeed, while Luciano’s island presence has previously
been best defined by his legendary residency within the
anarchic, unrestrained atmosphere of DC10’s underground
music haven Circo Loco — the platform that arguably
launched the Swiss/Chilean house hero into the global
superstar status he occupies today — his switch to Pacha
isn’t as surprising as it might first seem. Especially when
you consider the popularity of Michel Cleis’s ‘Le Mezcla’,
originally released on Luciano’s Cadenza, on the Pacha
floor last summer.
Pacha boss Danny Whittle, for one, believes the Cadenza
boss’s instinctive Latin groove fits perfectly with the club’s
musical tapestry, while adding a modernised underground
thread to its age-old appeal.
036
DJ486.ibiza luciano_feature.indd 36
“I’ve been listening to Luciano
for quite a while, right back from
days at DC10 and I’d always really
liked his stuff as a DJ,” explains
Whittle.
“I never saw him as a minimal or tech-y
DJ, I always thought he had a bigger
sound than that. No matter what he
was playing, there has always been a
real rhythm and vibe to his sound — a
lot of groove and Latin beats — and I
always thought it would work well at
Pacha.”
“It’s all about the evolution of the club. The
club’s been open 40 years now. I remember
when Ministry Of Sound first came to Pacha,
it was something brand new that never
happened. I then took over and brought in
people like Erick Morillo’s Subliminal and
Underwater with Darren Emerson. This is just
another addition, freshening up the venue. For
me Pacha was a club that needed some fresh
content on Sunday and Cadenza’s
residency is just that — it’s
perfect.”
Pure Pacha gets a new look this season
Friday’s flagship Pure Pacha has been given a fresh sheen and looks sleeker than ever this year with a
series of impressively diverse Pure Pacha Presents… parties. The French connection is made through four
Club 75 parties which Justice, Cassius, Busy P, DJ Mehdi, Optimo, DFA’s Shit Robot, Belgian Balearic kings
Aeroplane, A-Trak, Annie Mac and Jesse Rose play on 28th May, 13th Aug, 9th July 1st Oct. Also on board
for Friday is Sasha who will play four dates (2nd July, 23rd July, 27th Aug, 24th Sep), both for Sander
Kleinenberg’s This Is and Renaissance, the latter also bringing names like Trentemøller (25th June) and
SOS (24th September). Wall Of Sound bring DJ sets from icy Norwegian electronica outfit Royskøpp and
dark-disco duo Ocelot on 11th June, while The Dirty Dutch crew of Chuckie and Sidney Sampson bring
their CD wallets of bleepy, white-hot electro crunkers on 30th July.
www.djmag.com
14/5/10 16:23:20
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:19:28
 Jamie Jones

Seth Troxler

Ibiza’s underground celebrates the rebirth of its favourite melting pot as

Circo Loco returns with Seth Troxler and Jamie Jones as residents
THE PRAYERS of Ibiza’s underground house disciples have
been finally answered — Circo Loco is back in full effect at
DC10 this year. Strangled out of last season’s proceedings by
licensing issues, the legendary Monday party is rising like a
phoenix from the flames with a full season of weekly events
starting on Monday 31st May and a fresh roster of residents
that promise to breathe fresh life into the island’s definitive,
debauched daytime experience.
Billed under the prophetic banner of ‘The New Era’, Circo
Loco’s 2010 season looks set to break free from any dull
drums and monotonous mnml of old and instead places
faith in the new wave of sensuous, disco-edged
underground house and psychedelic, almost pop-edged
grooves typified by DJs like Jamie Jones and Seth Troxler —
both of whom have been made residents at the club.
“We’ve kind of broken away from a lot of what is going on
and created our own little corner,” said Jamie Jones. “It’s
just party music. DC10 is the ultimate party and we just want
to play party music. I’m not going to be playing ‘YMCA’ or
anything. Our sound is still deep, chuggy and edgy but it’s
music, ya know, you’ll hear basslines, you’ll hear vocals and
you’ll hear melodies rather than feeling like everything’s
been on loop for three hours which is something that
sometimes happens there that I’m not really into.”
Having discovered DC10’s anarchic magic as an Ibiza worker
at the turn of the millennium, Jones has risen as one of the
club’s favourite sons in recent years and describes the joint
as one of the only he’d actually “pay to play at”. He is joined
by Perlon boss Zip, Parisian DJ W!ld and, of course, Seth in
the new look resident team.
“Rather than anything commercial, DC10 has always been
underground music which is something that Ibiza lacks a lot
of the time — it’s raw,” added Jamie. “I’ve seen a big guy go
to the bar surrounded by five model-type girls and pay for a
round of drinks with a 500 euro note that he took from a
whole wad of them and tell the barman to keep the change
- but then they’ll be shoeless hippies from Ibiza Town
dancing next to them.”
If ever there was a DJ that is matchmade for both the
unrestrained hedonism and free-reign musical
experimentalism that Circo Loco embodies then it is surely
Seth Troxler. Amazingly though, the globe-trotting playboy
has never so much as stepped foot in the club before — a
testament to both the unstoppably swift ascendancy of this
precocious talent and Circo Loco’s desire to remain on pulse
of the global underground’s cutting-edge.
“I’ve only been to the island four times and that was last
year so it’s all pretty new to me,” admits Seth. “It’s a new
experience, it’s a bit of fun for me, I think it’s pretty cool
someone coming and being resident who doesn’t really have
any backstory — I can just come in and do my thing.”
“Right now I’m on a really psychedelic vibe,” added Seth.
“I’m not really into the very drummy sound, I want to bring
back songs that tell stories, songs that have a bit of magic to
them — songs that you go home and remember. Not just
drums and drums and drums and drums.”

BREAKING THE MOULD

Shifting to Wednesdays, Eden’s Reclaim The Dancefloor bring the bass and the noise once again
LARGELY beating to the familiar rhythmic pulse
of the 4/4 groove, Ibiza has long been ruled by
house and techno with anything else often
getting pushed to the sidelines.
Or at least that was the case until last year’s
Reclaim The Dancefloor revolution at Eden
mashed up dubstep, drum & bass and ghetto
bass with the ravier edges of house, techno and
electro. Bringing over dubstep big-hitters like
Skream, Benga, Rusko and Caspa to an island
they themselves had never set foot on, Reclaim
The Dancefloor went from last season’s
mould-breaking wildcard to a bonafide San
Antonio success story and returns with an even
bigger line-up this time round.
“Last year was a real eye-opener in terms of just
how far we could push things so it’s opened up a
lot of doors for this season,” explains Reclaim
The Dancefloor promoter Mark Newton. “There’s
a lot of people playing that we went for last year
but couldn’t get because they didn’t want to play
in San Antonio. We’ve got acts that we didn’t
book before because we didn’t know how the
crowd would take things. Then there’s DJs that
are making the switch from other nights on the
island because, musically, Reclaim fits them
much better.”
Once again, the dubstep high-rollers of Skream,
Benga, Rusko and Caspa are all on board, with
names like Joker, Trouble ‘n’ Bass maverick Drop
The Lime, Digital Soundboy duo Breakage and
Shy FX, and recent coverstar Redlight among the
bass-heavy debutants pushing the envelope
even further this season.
The mentalist digital dancehall and futurist
bashment of Diplo and Switch’s Major Lazer
soundystem will be pushing Eden’s subs to their
full, gut-wrenching limits on Wednesday 1st
September, while Tiga will be hosting two Turbo
Records parties on 7th July and 25th August
with names like Aeroplane, Switch, Thomas Van
Party and Brodinksi joining the Canadian
electro don. Like last year, drum & bass gets a
solid repping with the inclusion of Chase &
Status, High Contrast, Sub Focus and Friction.

038 www.djmag.com

DJ486.ibiza circo loco_feature.indd 38 14/5/10 16:04:47

 Prodigy headline this year’s Ibiza Rocks birthday

THE MOSH-HUNGRY madness of Ibiza Rocks is about to get smacked up and amped up to hyperspeed
this season with the arrival of the legendary rave-punks The Prodigy — who headline the Ibiza Rocks
5th birthday on Tuesday 20th July. The generation-defining, stadium-smashing outfit are just one of
many top quality acts that Ibiza Rocks have recruited this season. Gutter-mouthed rapper turned soul
boy Plan B and indie-dance heroes Delphic both make their Ibiza debut, while crossover deebee
sensations Chase & Status will showcase their live show on the island for the first time. All the
madness will unfold every Tuesday at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel from 8th June to 14th September.

JUST ONE
ESSENTIAL DATES: 29th June Plan B, 20th July The Prodigy, 27th July Dizzee Rascal, 3rd Aug Chase &
Status/Tinie Tempah, 17th Aug LCD Soundsystem, 31st Aug Kele/Delphic, 7th Sep Pendulum.

TRANCE
Catch Above & Beyond’s only Ibiza date
of the summer at Anjunabeach
TREAT ‘EM MEAN, keep ‘em keen is Above & Beyond’s stance this
Ibiza season. Abstaining from their normal run of gigs at Cream’s
Amnesia shows so they can get their second artist album finished,
the UK-based trance trio are giving their legions of Balearic-bound
fans just one chance to see them this summer — at their 1st July
event Anjunabeach with Cream at Amnesia. Bolstered by an epic
three-hour set by Above & Beyond themselves, where they promise
to roadtest their forthcoming album material for the first time, the
event will also feature sets from Andy Moor as well as the deeper
melodic strains of Anjunadeep’s Jaytech.

London’s Fuse present a series of beach parties

at Playa D’En Bossa’s Ushuaia
WHILE DC10’S absence left a gaping void in Ibiza’s daytime party calendar, the
success of the Ushuaia beach parties at Playa D’En Bossa’s stylish Ushuaiai went
some way to redressing the balance with Luciano’s Wednesday parties one of
the surprise packages of the summer.
This season, the Swiss/Chilean rhythm master has moved his Cadenza parties to
Sunday, while London’s underground house movement Fuse are presenting five
Tuesday daytime parties from 4pm to midnight on 1st June, 29th June, 27th
July, 31st August and 28th September. Residents Enzo Siragusa and Nima Gorji
will be joined by a range of high-quality, deeper house guests.
“By allowing these parties on Playa D’en Bossa it really gives people that holy
grail of partying on a beach and reclaims some of the Ibiza spirit,” says Fuse
promoter Dominic Cools-Lartigue. “It’s one of those things people dream about
when they go on holiday — partying on the
beach all day in Ibiza. The fact
that you can actually do
that without worrying
about the party getting
shut down by the police is
great.”
“We’re looking at less obvious,
big-name DJs that can go right across
the styles,” added Dom, on their secret
guests. “DJs that are still very much
current, but have a real history to them
and can reach back over 15 years of this
music.”

www.djmag.com 039

DJ486.ibiza circo loco_feature.indd 39 14/5/10 16:04:59

 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
ROGER SANCHEZ

TERRACE AMNESIA

RELEASE YOURSELF VOL. 9

AVAILABLE EARLY JUNE 2010

OPENING
22.06.10
special summer guests
OTHER SURPRISE
CHRIS MOODY � PERFORMANCES
www.rogersanchez.com www.facebook.com/rogersanchezfanpage
www.twitter.com/djrogersanchez www.youtube.com/rogersanchezmusic

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:09:59

 We Love... Space on Sundays rocks the island by
booking Aphex Twin for their closing party
Aphex Twin: globally revered electronica icon without equal, mad sonic scientist, mysterious
and enigmatic outsider to the world of mainstream club culture, master of the most head-
mangling polyrhythmic chaos but equally the most soul-lifting ambient works. Not, you might
rightly think, a DJ you’re ever likely to see in the main room of Balearic superclub Space. And
you’d have been right… until this season, that is. After stunning the dance world by booking
legendary mistress of style and funk Grace Jones last summer, the crew behind We Love… Space
on Sundays have this year secured the man behind tracks such as ‘Windowlicker’, ‘Come To
Daddy’ and ’92 rave classic ‘Digeridoo’ to headline the We Love… Space on Sundays closing
party on Sunday 26th September.
“We have been thinking about booking Aphex for a few years now but didn’t quite feel it would
work or indeed that he would want to play in Ibiza,” admits We Love’s Mark Broadbent. “But
having seen his show at the Warehouse Project last year, we realised we just had to do it. It may
fall flat on its face or be the best thing to ever hit these shores but it needs to be done just like
Grace Jones last summer, which turned out to work a treat.”
“I think that our reputation for putting on quality shows helps with bookings that might not
seem obvious — people trust us to give it our best shot, make the show spectacular and attract
the right crowd for the show,” added Mark.
With a schizophrenic and maverick approach to DJing that knows little bounds or restrictions,
the question as to what Aphex Twin will actually play remains an open one. Mentalist drill ‘n’
bass, raw acid, industrial terror techno, white noise attacks and odd childlike melodies have all
wrestled in his sporadic, highly sought-after DJ sets in the past. But then that’s exactly what
makes his appearance such an exciting and groundbreaking one.
“We have booked Aphex Twin to be Aphex Twin, he has a huge following of fans all over the world
and they know what to expect,” said Broadbent. “It would be strange if he turned up with a bag
of UK funky, wouldn’t it, but then who knows? Whatever happens it will be the most talked about
show of the summer.”
Running from Sunday 13th June through to Sunday 26th September, We Love…’s full
programme includes Simian Mobile Disco, Joris Voorn, The Juan Maclean, Hot Chip (DJ set),
Prins Thomas, Paul Woolford, Felix Da Housecat, Carl Craig (live), Claude VonStroke, Four Tet,
Jesse Rose, James Holden, 2Many DJs, Jeff Mills and DJ Pierre.

As if the Space opening party

wasn’t epic enough, this year it’s
getting super-sized as a two-day
event for 2010’s opening fiesta
— named ‘The Weekend
Invasion’. Kicking off at 4.30pm
on both Saturday 29th May and
Sunday 30th May and running
right through till 6am and
beyond, the two Space opening
parties will again feature the
famous outdoor space of the car
park, an arena unique to the
opening and closing parties.
Stretched to its fullest capacity,
Space’s six snaking arenas will
also be put to use. Line-up wise,
there’s a slight difference
between the two days.
With party-starting legend
Fatboy Slim headlining,
Saturday’s line-up has a slightly
more safe and mainstream feel
with Groove Armada’s Andy Cato,
John Digweed, Pete Tong and
Mark Knight, while Sunday takes
on a more techno and tech-house
template with Carl Cox, Steve
Lawler, Tiefschwarz, 2000 And
One, Chris Liebing, Cristian
Varela, Guy Gerber, Radio Slave
and Nick Curly.
The Space opening party goes two days for the first time
www.djmag.com 041

DJ486.ibiza aphex twin.indd 41 17/5/10 14:37:10

 The sound of underground Brazil arrives in Ibiza with
Warung’s new Wednesday night Privilege residency
AN EVER present in the upper reaches of our top
100 clubs poll, Brazil’s Warung is landing on Ibiza
with its bold Wednesday night residency at the
colossal Privilege this season. Lying blissfully on
the golden sands of Southern Brazil’s Praia Brava
and flanked by rainforests, the beach-hut of
Warung is pretty much universally known as one of
the most spell-binding South American clubbing
experiences around and it’s now hoping to
transport some of that famous samba magic to the
Balearic party island.
“It’s about bringing global clubbing together,”
explains Illustrious Management’s Ulli Rüger, who
has helped mastermind the move. “Brazil is an
amazing clubbing destination and Warung is its
most legendary and beautiful club, so for us it is
really important to promote it in the heart of
Europe’s club scene.”
While wading into the crowded, competitive and
fiercely protective Ibizan clubbing landscape has
clearly left certain Warung favourites off-limits
(Sasha, Sven Väth, Paul Woolford and Luciano are
all favourites at the Brazil club), Warung Ibiza’s
line-up plots an impressively diverse spectrum for
a debut season. Party starting genre chameleon
042
DJ486.ibiza warung_feature.indd 42
Felix Da Housecat, house legends X-Press 2 and
Kevin Saunderson’s pioneering techno-pop outfit
Inner City are all on the bill, while the more
melodic techno vibes of Robert Babicz, Aril Brikha
and, of course, Brazilian über producer Gui
Boratto also find a home. Representing
tomorrow’s talents are previous DJmag coverstars
SOS and Global Underground’s Sultan.
“In the beginning we’ll be starting off very
house-orientated, before switching through the
night into tech-house before ending up on techno
— which is the philosophy of Warung,” explains
Ulli. “We’re also representing the cream of
Brazilian electronic music, with two live
performances from famous electronic live act Life
Is A Loop and Warung Brazil resident Aninha.”
Offering an alternative appeal to the main room,
the Coco Loco room will be host to weekly label/
promotion showcases.
“We’ve got Supernature with Solomun and
Audiofly, Secretsundaze with Giles Smith and
James Priestley, Get Physical with Heidi and Alex
Kid,” continued Ulli. “Then on 8th September we’ll
be doing a Hope Vs Audiotherapy night with Dave
Seaman, Nick Warren and D.Ramirez doing a
four-hour back-to-back.”
Space’s in-house Wednesday sessions bring old school
legends, new school innovators and quality sounds all-round
WITH Mauro Picotto’s Meganite sessions at Privilege experimentalist Agoria and more leftfield choices
no more, Playa D’En Bossa’s Space have launched an like Cobblestone Jazz.
impressive attack for Ibiza’s Wednesday techno and It all kicks off on Wednesday 2nd June with the
underground house crowd through their weekly legendary François K, Get Physical’s M.A.N.D.Y, Steve
Kehakuma parties. Bug, Martinez, the intense Dutch techno of Secret
And if you’re sniping this might be some half- Cinema who plays live and a conscious nod to the
hearted, in-house attempt to plug the midweek gap, new school through the shimmering sounds of the
then think again. unstoppable UK techno innovator Glimpse.
Instead, Space’s Kehakuma has gone all out to
marry the best of the old school and the modern
musical shapeshifters with each week bringing
together up to eight top quality headliners. German
electronic masters like Booka Shade, Martin
Buttrich, Sascha Dive , Ellen Allien and Tiefschwarz
all feature across the season. The Dutch rolling
tech-house sound of 2000 And One is represented,
Mannheim innovators like Nick Curly and Johnny D
have been secured and the sensuous, edgy and
achingly of-the-moment grooves of Seth Troxler, Lee
Curtiss and Jamie Jones also appear.
At the same time, there is still room for NYC’s house
hero Dennis Ferrer, underground house don Jesse
Rose, Rekids boss Radioslave French techno
www.djmag.com
17/5/10 12:27:15
 Grum - Heartbeats - The Album

Includes the singles

“Can’t Shake This Feeling” & “Heartbeats”

9/10 - Album of the Month - Future Music

“The perfect balance of warm electro-pop
and pumping dancefloor propositions”
Mixmag ****
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:54:15
 044

DJ486.glimpse_feature.indd 44 17/5/10 17:51:56

 With a live residency at Space, Ibiza and a perfectly-formed debut album — ‘Runner’ — in
tow, summer 2010 couldn’t get any hotter for Glimpse.
DJmag snagged him to talk inspirations, thriving under pressure and of course his plans
on the White Isle…
Words: BEN MURPHY Pics: ROB LOW
“I
am a complete workaholic a lot of the
time,” considers Christopher Spero, aka
Glimpse. “I’m really specific about how I
work in the studio, when I work in the
studio, the equipment that I use, and I try to be very
precise to the extent that I’ll lie awake at night
thinking about a hi-hat. To the extent that it pisses
my girlfriend off, understandably. It’s out of
control!” he laughs.
It may well be the case that this 29-year-old London
DJ/producer is obsessive over detail and a slave to
the rhythm, but it’s an approach that’s clearly paid
off. With a handsome back catalogue of releases that
any other relative newcomer would give their
eye-teeth for, on all the coolest labels (try Get
Physical, Buzzin Fly, Cadenza and the mighty Planet E
on for size), suffice to say, Glimpse is hot property
indeed. Yet it’s down to his relentless work ethic that
he’s risen from relative obscurity to being one of the
most in-demand artists out there in a matter of years.
This summer, he’s destined to detonate Space, Ibiza
with eight dates of a live residency at We Love, while
there’s also the small matter of a much-anticipated
debut artist album ‘ Runner’, out now on the
none-cooler Crosstown Rebels. But it seems that
Chris is taking it all in his stride.
“I’ve been doing this professionally for three or four
years, playing almost every weekend, but until you’ve
got a platform like Planet E or Cadenza, where
suddenly overnight everyone knows your name a lot
more, you don’t get noticed so much. The association
with Carl Craig and him playing a lot of my stuff has
helped me a lot. With Crosstown Rebels as well. I’m
definitely happy with where it’s going now!”
Chris makes it all sound so easy, but his journey has
DJ486.glimpse_feature.indd 45
been one of applied dedication and determination.
At the age of 14, he discovered the liberating power
of dance music, bugging out to one of the nation’s
most beloved dance acts when they played live at a
big London venue.
“I went to see Orbital at Brixton Academy, and they
blew my mind and I thought, ‘I’ve got to get into
this!’”
Post-rave epiphany, he began DJing and immersing
himself in electronic music. It was to prove the
sounds of granite-tough techno that would come to
shape his perspectives and encourage Glimpse to
take his hobby seriously, though. Birmingham
butchers Surgeon and Regis featured in his staple
listening diet, as well as Robert Hood and idol Jeff
Mills. Concurrently, he developed a taste for more
organic sounds, all of which colour and feed into his
electronic productions today.
“I listen to a lot of Afrobeat actually, a lot of blues and
jazz stuff. Techno-wise, it’s all about Jeff Mills, he’s
an idol of mine. I love a lot of old Detroit techno.
Present artists that I like are Omar S and Levon
Vincent. I like really earthy techno and house, I
suppose.”
ASTUTE
In 2005, Glimpse began to emit his first few releases
on his own label, the Kompakt-affiliated Glimpse
Recordings. A series of ‘% Black’ releases garnered
plenty of attention with their chrome-plated,
glimmering technoid styles. Later, growing in
confidence, he set out to build a name for himself,
with tracks for all kinds of different labels.
“I always was a bit paranoid in sending my music to
other people,” Glimpse admits. “I started my own
label and always released on that until people started
asking me for remixes and stuff. Last year, I thought,
I’m gonna start sending music to other labels and a
lot of other people said that I really should.”
It was an astute move. With the stakes raised, and his
increasingly high production values, his cuts became
ever more exciting and diverse. ‘We Existed’ (2008,
Four Twenty) showed a propensity for slick but steely,
underground vocal house, featuring soul legend Taka
Boom; last year’s ‘Drifting’ on Carl Craig’s Planet E
was a perfect simulacrum of Motor City electronics,
rich in mahogany synths and space-age, star-gazing
optimism; and his face off with Lee Van Dowski on
Cadenza, ‘La Cucina Del Cabrón’, was a perfect
stripped down confection of tech funk and rumbling
ethno percussion.
Perhaps his finest moment to date is ‘Colours’, a
hugely potent, upbeat slab of classic house, tinged
with old school atmospherics and huge synth stabs,
made in collaboration with fellow feted producer Jay
Shepheard. Working equally well alone as with other
producers, Chris considers collaborations to be a vital
part of his working process.
“It’s an important part of my work. I do all of my
collabs over Skype. When you’re into the same music,
you’ve got the best job ever. You get into the studio,
go have some breakfast, listen to some music that
one or the other brings to the table, and then just
get going. I think it’s one of the things that I like
about my job the most. It doesn’t always work, if it
doesn’t work you’ve got to be prepared to go, ‘Cool,
no worries, let’s give it another crack or not’.
Everyone’s got a different view on a sound or on a
groove, and I find it really exciting to get other
people’s views.”
ON THE RUN
The final part of the jigsaw, of course, is the album,
and thankfully ‘Runner’ delivers on all that promise,
and then some. A condensed, satisfying hit of
fathomless electronic clubbed-out splendour, it
smelts molten machine funk with more organic,
warmer fragments of soul and African percussion to
create a distinctive, devastating brew that could have
been made by no one but Glimpse. ‘Walk Tall’ works
ghostly shimmers of live marimba, sprinkling its
skeletal, brittle majesty over driving but mellow
house drums and an inspirational snippet of speech
from jazz great Cannonball Adderley. ‘If I Was Your
Girl’ is a majestic flotilla of Basic Channel dub techno
studio desk manipulations and phantom echo,
spliced with smoky r&b-licked male vocal tones and
half-forgotten smudges of Detroit chords.
“I wanted people to listen to the album and look back
at the music that inspired me,” Glimpse insists. “So
there’s a lot of the Afrobeat, blues and jazz in there.
If I’m going to listen to techno, it’s going to be purist
techno, that’s what I’m into. So that’s gonna come
across, and my interest in Detroit and Chicago
house.”
Disco, too, rears its head on the looped-up ’70s funk
and propulsive 4/4s of ‘New Beginnings’, but as Chris
045
17/5/10 17:52:01
 quite rightly points out, if you want to plunder the past,
you have to do it right.
“Disco is wicked, I’ve always been into it. Jeff Mills used to
play disco at the end of his sets, Robert Hood played disco.
It’s always had a very good relationship with techno and
house, there’s a grey area in the middle that all of those
genres can occupy. In the right hands it can still be great.
But in the wrong hands, it will be sacrilege. “If you’re
making filter disco and you’ve got a really great analogue
filter, and a great sound and an understanding of techno
and disco then you can get a great result, but if you sit
there trying to copy someone then you get a bad result.
That’s what techno does, it acts as a sponge. It’s constantly
reinventing itself, absorbing other genres and taking other
bits, pianos, disco… that’s kind of why I like working
within it, it’s limitless, really.”
The biggest departure of the album, though, is the epic,
strung out Kosmiche electronica of last track ‘Train In
Austria’, a beatless but surging clank of rolling stock
through a snow-blanketed landscape, and a dedication of
sorts to one of Glimpse’s favourite tunes of all time,
Tangerine Dream’s ‘Love On A Real Train’.
“That’s a complete reference, you’re the first person to pick
up on that! That’s why it’s called ‘Train In Austria’. I wrote a
whole series of records about train journeys. I went
through the Alps and it was this long and really amazing
journey. The whole rhythm and the sounds, it was quite
epic, and that inspired the vibe of the track.”
brisk jog to clear his head, the slender framed Glimpse
found running therapeutic, and that it aided the creative
process. In fact, running has been a constant in his life
since meeting his girlfriend two years ago, who introduced
him to it.
“When I started going out with her she was a really keen
runner and I was quite unfit, cos I was spending quite a lot
of time in the studio. And she bought me some running
shoes for my 27th birthday, which I’ve still got. And I
started running. I thought it was quite a fitting title for the
album, because when I was in the studio in Berlin working
on the album, I’d go running in the afternoon. You could
get lots of ideas.”
PRECONCEPTIONS
For an artist so ensconced within dance music culture, it
seems surprising that until last summer, Glimpse had never
been to Ibiza, his perception of the island tainted with
preconceptions of its naffest excesses. Thankfully, a set at
Space last summer changed all that, and now he’s a
card-carrying convert.
“I’d only ever seen Ibiza Uncovered and I guess I had a
negative view of what it might be like,” Chris confesses.
“Last year I played one gig at Space, it was an amazing gig.
I played the last set on the Terrace. I literally landed and
went there with no expectation. I thought it would be
quite quiet but it was absolutely rocking, it was an amazing
show. I had an absolutely fantastic time and I can’t wait to
get back out there, to enjoy it on every level, playing,
working, clubbing, and just as a holiday. It ticks a lot of
boxes. It’s nice to go to a club one night or two nights, and
then the rest of the time chill out.”
Good thing, too, as he’s got an unprecedented eight date
live residency at Space night Kehakuma, a fact Chris is still
reeling from.
“My agent phoned me a few months ago, and said we’ve
booked you for Space and I was really happy!” he smiles. “I
was quite surprised that I had eight shows but I’ve been
writing music especially for it. It’s going to be quite a lot of
stuff off the album, but there’s quite a few things that are
custom-written for that environment, too.”
Naturally, Glimpse won’t be letting the double whammy of
a prestigious live residency in Ibiza or adulation for
‘Runner’ get in the way of that dedicated work ethic.
“I’ve got a new single coming on Cocoon with Martin
Dawson after the album, and there’s some other bits,
something with Matt Tolfrey. Jay Shepheard and I are
doing an EP for my label. I’m doing a collaboration with
Will Saul at the moment, he’s a good mate.”
With plenty of new releases already lined up, it looks like
he’ll be pounding the pavements – and dancefloors – into
submission for a long while yet…

Largely made last year when Chris was on a self-imposed

sabbatical to Berlin, inspiration for the album’s myriad
different directions was often borne out during running
sessions in the afternoon — hence the album’s title.
Hitting the studio in the morning and then going for a

Glimpse’s five faves for the

White Isle…
1. Tangerine Dream
‘Love On A Real Train’ Virgin
“This is one of my favourite records. One of the most
emotive pieces of electronic music ever made. An
absolute masterpiece.”

2. Beaumont Hannant
‘Woven Textures’ General Production Recordings
“Another great track from the English duo that
released four LPs during the ’90s but have now
disappeared. This track is really original, and the
textures and production are amazing.”

3. Boom Bip
‘Do’s & Dont’s’ Lex Records
“I’ve never heard anything like this before. Just
amazing.”

4. Glimpse & Jay Shepheard

‘Colours’ Glimpse Recordings
“This is a track I wrote with Jay last summer, and it
really rocked the terrace at Space. I’m looking
forward to playing some new edits of it again this
summer.”

5. Pet Shop Boys

‘Heart’ EMI
“I have always been fascinated by this record and
never tire of it. The vocal is amazing. It has an ability
to cross genres and never date. Perfect pop music!”

046 www.djmag.com

DJ486.glimpse_feature.indd 46 17/5/10 17:52:03

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:06:28
 Nu disco is set to be the sound of Ibiza 2010, edging
minimal out of the way as its anything-goes spirit
brings joyful Balearica back to the dancefloor. DJmag
reports…
Words: Claire Hughes
I
n the UK, across America, all over Australia, in Brazil,
Berlin, Norway, Paris, Portugal, Ibiza and Japan
there’s a fresh sound working its way out of back rooms
in clubs onto main room dancefloors.
And it’s this groove-based, vastly musical house sound,
laden with vocals, that’s been shoving the bland, soulless
sound of minimal out of the way as it cuts a path to the
nearest, glistering mirrorball-lit spot on the dancefloor.
“I’m really happy that after the dark period of minimal
people are getting back to joyful melodies and joyful
music,” says German disco-house producer Tensnake.
“It’s just better to dance to, better to have a good time to.”
Tensnake is just one of the legion of future dance stars
making this new style of disco and 1980s boogie-
influenced house music that’s been bubbling under for the
best part of a decade and is now pushing its way into the
mainstream.
His 2009-released ‘Holding Back (My Love)’ was one of the
biggest underground ‘nu disco’ tunes of last year; played
by everyone from Prins Thomas to Pete Tong. It’s put
Tensnake and the output from his Mirau label on the global
nu disco map; an underground network that snakes a
pulsating path to vibrant scenes flourishing in pockets all
over the world.
This nu disco circuit is where DJs such as Greg Wilson, The
Revenge, Prins Thomas, Todd Terje and Lindstrøm all DJ
regularly, every weekend. And when they’re not playing
records, they’re making them, or doing re-edits of old disco
cuts to play in their sets.
And now, with the Ibiza 2010 season just kicking off, tracks
such as Tensnake’s ‘Coma Cat’ are already looking set to
mutate from the underground hotbed — where they’ve
been bubbling under for a while — into fully-blown Ibiza
anthems.
Balearic
“I think in a way it’s because people in Ibiza want to hear a
more Balearic soundtrack that this style of music is
becoming more popular,” says Sean Brosnan, head honcho
of Needwant, the label that’s just released the third
instalment in the successful ‘Future Disco’ compilation
series.
“People used to think disco was a dirty word but now it’s
come back round again. When I DJ, I combine deep house
048
DJ486.ibiza disco_feature.indd 48
with disco stuff, boogie-influenced music, even some of
the filter house sound that was popular in the 1990s. I’m
30 this year and I grew up in the 1990s listening to house
music that contained lots of disco samples. Bands like
Crazy P, Faze Action and a lot of the stuff that came out on
Nuphonic and Paper Recordings in the 1990s sampled old
disco tunes. I dug back from then and I think a lot of the
people making re-edits of old disco and boogie tracks from
the 1970s and 1980s are doing the same thing.”
Sean put out his first ‘Future Disco’ album last year; one of
the final compilations to come out on the now defunct
Azuli label. That first selection of disco-infused tunes
included fresh cuts such as Tensnake’s ‘Holding Back (My
Love)’ and the Hercules & Love Affair remix of Chaz
Jankel’s ‘Get Yourself Together’.
After it was released, the album became 2009’s biggest
selling compilation on iTunes. It also generated the kind of “It’s because people in
feedback on blogs and in music press and music-dedicated
websites that encouraged Sean to make plans to put out a
Ibiza want to hear a more
follow-up to the first one. And this summer, Needwant has Balearic soundtrack that
a residency at Space in Ibiza as well as a set of tour dates
that will take the label’s future disco sound all over the this style of music is
world.
“There’s been a lot of interest in disco for a long time now,”
becoming more popular”
says Sean. “In London there’s underground parties such as SEAN BROSNAN,
Horse Meat Disco and Disco Bloodbath that are packed out
every time they happen. And there are underground NEEDWANT
parties like that all over the world. In Norway, Prins
Thomas and Lindstrøm have been pushing the sound for
ages. Then there’s the whole DFA thing from New York, and such as Escort and Holy Ghost from New York.
Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space (www.beatsinspace.com) According to king of the re-edit, Greg Wilson, it’s no
show that he does out of the city every week. He’s really surprise that old tunes from the soul, funk, disco and
been hugely responsible for pushing this new disco sound. 1980s boogie era continue to be re-worked and re-hashed
Really it’s just groove-based music that’s been a bit of a by music fans today.
refreshing antidote to the boring minimal sound that “The thing about this new disco scene is that it
we’ve all had to suffer for so long.” encompasses so many other things apart from 1970s
disco,” says Greg. “I remember when I started DJing in the
Anything goes early 1980s people used to refer to disco music not as a
This nu disco eclecticism encapsulates the anything-goes- specific genre but just the music played in clubs and
style spirit that DJs such as Larry Levan were famous for at discotheques which was predominantly soul and funk. It
the Paradise Garage and that DJs such as Francois K and was only later down the line it became a specific genre
David Mancuso have based their entire DJing career on when the more European aspect of it came to the fore.
— and still purvey now. The baton has now been picked up Then when people thought of disco, they always thought
by DJs from all over the world. The Social Disco Club in of it in those terms. Saturday Night Fever changed things
Portugal is all about this nu disco sound. So too are bands and put disco music into a different context; taking it away
www.djmag.com
13/5/10 10:21:47
 Greg Wilson picks his
current, hot-to-drop top
10 re-edits.
01. The Beatles
‘Tomorrow Never Knows
(Leftside Wobble Edit)’
Original released in 1966
 
02. Cosmic Boogie 004
‘Youngblood’
Original by War
Released in 1978
 
03. Disco Deviance 014
‘Shack Up (Revenge Edit)’
Original by Banbarra
Released in 1975
 
04. Duff Disco 004
‘Eagle Flight’
Original by Steve Miller Band
(‘Fly Like An Eagle’)
Released in 1976
 
05. GW Ruff Edits #4
‘French Crystal’/‘Belgian Jungle’
Originals by Crystal Grass (‘Crystal
World’)/Chakachas (‘Jungle Fever’),
released in 1974/1971
 
06. Jay W McGee
‘When We Party (Uptown
Downtown) (Chopshop Edit)’
Original released in 1982
 
Tensnake 07. Sharon & Diana  
‘Special Hangover (Henry
Greenwood Edit)’
Originals by Sharon Brown
(‘I Specialize In Love’)
& Diana Ross (‘Love Hangover’)
Released in 1982/1976
 
08. 6th Borough Project
‘Just A Memory’
Original by Hi-Gloss
(‘You’ll Never Know’)
Released in 1981
 
09. T-Coy
‘Carino (Greg Wilson Edit)’
Original released in 1987
 
10. William DeVaughn
‘Be Thankful For What You Got
(Onur Engin Edit)’
Original released in 1980 (this was a
remake of a previous recording by the
same artist issued in 1974)
 

www.djmag.com 049

DJ486.ibiza disco_feature.indd 49 13/5/10 10:21:52

 from the black side more. People talk about punk as a
movement, they say how big it was, but it was tiny in Greg Wilson
comparison to what disco was — it was massive.”

One of the tunes Greg is playing non-stop at the moment is

an edit of William DeVaughn’s old soul classic ‘Be Thankful
For What You Got’ by an unknown Turkish producer called
Onur Engin.
“I picked up that track originally on Soundcloud,” says
Greg. “If it wasn’t for Soundcloud I would never have been
able to find that re-edit, and I would never have been able
to make contact with someone like Onur. Now the
possibilities are endless and I do think that’s what’s
pushed the whole re-edits culture that’s been a huge
driving force in this nu disco scene. It’s all about young
people interpreting old sounds with a fresh, future twist.
That’s what makes it such an exciting fresh scene rather
than just an exercise in nostalgia.”
It’s this maverick, feisty, old-meets-new eclecticism that’s
back with a vengeance and taking over clubland. Wind
back 10 years and the thought of combining a mid-tempo
house tune with a techno cut, then a hip-hop tune with a
bit of funk, soul and filter disco would have been unheard
of but now, walk into any club anywhere in the world, and
you’re more likely to hear a DJ mixing it up than boshing
out five hours solid of techno.
It’s anarchy; not just in the UK, but on dancefloors all over
the world.

Freedom
“I think it’s more about freedom than anarchy,” says The
Revenge, aka Glasgow-based producer Graeme Clarke.
“Most DJs play using a laptop now and crowds expect a DJ
to have loads of music with them, so they expect to hear a
wide variety of tunes when they go out dancing.”
Graeme’s label Instruments Of Rapture has been
instrumental in supporting this nu disco scene and,
according to him, DJs are starting to realize that they’re
now playing to the iPod and iTunes generation of clubbers
who have shorter attention spans. These clubbers, he says,
are used to picking and choosing what they listen to and
have developed musical tastes that aren’t restricted by
genre.
“At the end of the day a DJ is communicating with a room
full of people via music so you can’t dictate to them,” says
Graeme. “It’s like you’re having a conversation through
music and you have to pick up on what people want to hear
and dance to. We’re going through tough political times at
the moment. The planet is in economic crisis, then you
have natural events like that volcano going off recently
that brought the whole world to a standstill. I think that
it’s because of things like this that people just want to have
fun, listening to music that makes them smile, dance and
be happy and they certainly don’t want to go out and
dance to the same, boring, one-dimensional soundtrack
all night.”
The Revenge started doing re-edits of tunes over a decade
ago; using them as DJ tools to bridge the gaps between
genres.
“For me, the whole re-edit thing was just about making DJ
secret weapons for myself to play in my sets and bridge the
gap between the hip-hop, soul, disco, house and funk that
I was playing in bars and clubs around Glasgow,” says
31-year-old Graeme. “That’s what DJing has always been
about for me: you’ve got a room full of people and a whole
load of tunes and you’re just trying to tie it all together and
make everyone dance.”
In 2007, his re-edit of Hot Chocolate’s ‘Cadillac’ got so
much attention on the blogs (with Todd Terje bigging it up
all over) that it got picked up by Jiscomusic for release.
Since then, Graeme’s been putting out his own music
through his own Instruments Of Rapture label and is
working on a full-length production album for Jimpster’s
“It’s all about young
people interpreting old
sounds with a fresh,
future twist. That’s what
makes it such an exciting
fresh scene...”
GREG WILSON
Delusions Of Grandeur label; yet another imprint that’s
pushing this eclectic, nu disco sound.
Back in March this year, Graeme DJ’d in Miami at New York
DJ Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space party.
“Seeing and hearing Harvey DJ there was amazing,” says
Graeme. “For me the spirit of disco is that eclecticism and
that’s what Harvey does. He played for five hours; playing
everything across-the-board and keeping everyone in the
palm of his hand, dancing and having an amazing time. I’m
not old enough to have been to the Paradise Garage but
I’ve read about it and seen footage and I think that’s really
what this nu disco sound now is about. People make the
mistake of thinking that disco music back in the 1970s and
1980s was all about what was going on at Studio 54 but it
wasn’t; it was just about people dancing in clubs and losing
their minds through an eclectic mix of music played by DJs
who didn’t stick to one genre.”
Ibiza has traditionally been the stepping-stone to the
mainstream when it comes to what’s hot in dance music.
That’s why, this summer, it’ll be this nu disco sound you’re
going to hear creeping further into the main room line-ups
in the clubs; being played by DJs such as The Rapture, Greg
Wilson, and the mighty Tensnake.
“It’s just because people are fed up with the minimal sound
and are hungry for something new,” says Tensnake.
“They don’t care if it’s cool, or if it’s right or wrong, really
it’s just about having fun.”
The Revenge

050 www.djmag.com

DJ486.ibiza disco_feature.indd 50 13/5/10 10:21:59

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:12:47
Untitled-1 4 17/5/10 17:29:09
Untitled-1 5 17/5/10 17:29:13
 BLIPPIN’ ‘N’
TIPPIN’!
W ith Sonar 2010 looking like the strongest edition yet,
DJmag tapped up the warrior queen of experimental music
herself, Mary Anne Hobbs, to find out why the Barcelona
electronic music fest remains such a magnetic draw and
who the best acts to catch are this year…
Words: BEN MURPHY
W
hen it comes to the best in futuristic,
challenging, uncompromising music,
Sonar rules. The iconic Catalan festival
— which every year stretches out
across Barcelona with tentacular grace and in 2010
takes place between 17th – 19th June — manages to
pack in the finest of all the electronic beats that matter
within its line-ups, from the biggest, globe-straddling
acts to the freshest firebrands, with an emphasis on the
experimental. By day, the domain of out-there sonic
scientists plying their trade in the blazing sun, and by
night, a ravemungous aircraft hangar of capacious size,
designed for heads-down grooving, Sonar has
something for every open-minded music fan.
In 2009, everyone from Grace Jones to Moderat to
Martyn to Animal Collective played; this time, the festie
organisers have upped the stakes, inviting giants like
The Chemical Brothers, LCD Soundsystem and the
dapper Roxy Music to the party, as well as expanding the
festivities to another outpost of Spain — Galicia’s A
Coruña — inviting the likes of Sasha to ignite the
dancefloor.
For many, though, the reason Sonar has such enduring
appeal is the breakthrough artists who play there before
they hit the big time. An unerringly accurate musical
barometer of peerless cool, when people play Sonar one
year, their profile is elevated immeasurably the next.
But just who are the essential acts to catch in 2010?
Well, if anyone’s qualified to comment, it’s Radio 1’s
experimental music ambassador Mary Anne Hobbs.
As a DJ and broadcaster she’s remained a tireless
champion of the freshest beats since first hosting The
Breezeblock show on Radio 1 in 1997. Today, her
Experimental show on the station pushes the freshest in
dubstep, techno, ambient and the latest bass music
mutations, and has led to Mary Anne becoming a kind of
dubstep conquistador.
REAL POTENTIAL
With constant DJ gigs all over the world, she’s also now
a regular fixture on the Sonar line up since she first
curated a stage there three years ago.
“Sonar invited me to curate in 2007 and to bring UK
dubstep to their stage for the very first time,” Mary
Anne remembers. “I chose Oris Jay, Kode 9 & The Space
Ape and Skream to represent the different eras and
textures of sound. We had no idea what to expect,
especially as The Beastie Boys were headlining at the
exact same time as my showcase just 10 paces away on
the main stage. But the night was biblical. The stage
was mobbed and completely wild. It was the first time
anyone had a sense of the real potential of the sound
globally.”
054 www.djmag.com
DJ486.Sonar_feature.indd 54
Since weighing in with that none-more-heavy
line-up in 2007, Mary Anne Hobbs has become a
card-carrying advocate for Sonar and
reckons the sheer size of the platform
that it affords new artists is
unparalleled.
“The scale of Sonar is what makes it
so significant,” she believes. “To offer
up a stage to an artist which (at 8500
capacity) is probably 10 times the size
of anything they may have
experienced before is very exciting.
And it’s a real challenge to see if a fresh and vital young
artist can cross over there. For many — Skream, Flying
Lotus, Joker and The Gaslamp Killer particularly — Sonar
has been a real tipping point in their career.”
Each year Mary Anne has upped the ante, but 2010 is set
to trounce them all. At Sonar By Night on 18th
June, she’s invited three of the most influential
beat-makers alive to blast out their most
highly-evolved rhythms from her stage,
reflecting the progression of her beloved
dubstep, funky and mongrel bass music beats.
With LA’s cosmic overlord Flying Lotus, future garage
hype machine Joy Orbison and UK funky poster boy
Roska all playing — as well as Mary Anne herself, of
course — it’s destined to be the biggest one yet, and
she’s already awaiting it with baited breath.
“Everything’s exciting, from the phenomenal
soundsystem, to the incredible industrial setting under
the warm star-studded skies in Barcelona, to the
wonderful audience who come with open hearts in such
vast great numbers, the sunshine, the food, the
beach, the architecture. It’s a multi-sensory
cultural experience!” she enthuses.
Mary Anne reckons that 2010 is destined to be a
particularly exciting and significant
year for music.
“The greatest thing about electronic
music in 2010 is that you never
know what’s around the next
corner. The cheap production
software that allows almost anyone
to build beats and the global
platforming that Soundcloud and
MySpace allow mean that the whole
creative process is now accelerating
so rapidly, it’s impossible to predict
what’s next.”
In this light, there could be no
better time for Mary Anne to pick out her Sonar top tips.
For bass music bliss, read on…
11/5/10 11:53:05
 MARY ANNE’S
TIPS FOR SONAR NOSAJ THING
ROSKA One of the most feted and “One of the most
rated of the new crop of mutant house exciting of the new
pioneers behind the UK funky generation LA artists,”
phenomenon, Roska, fresh from the says Mary Anne of the
release of his self-titled debut album wonky psychedelic
on Rinse, gets the nod from Mary hip-hop dude who’s
Anne as one to watch this Sonar. drawn favourable
“Roska is a dazzling young London- comparisons with the
based star of the UK funky scene, and likes of Flying Lotus.
the very first UK funky artist ever to be “He’s bringing his full
booked at Sonar for my showcase on live light show into
the Sonar Lab stage 12-3am Friday Sonar By Day on Friday
18th June,” she informs. 18th June.”

LUCKY ME PRESENTS
“The Saturday night showcase on
the Sonar Lab stage from
Glasgow’s inspirational crew from
12-3am is a must. The whole five
act bill looks impressive, and I’m
particularly excited to check
Machine Drum’s set for them.”

HUDSON MOHAWKE Mary Anne

expects big things from the versatile,
day-glo electro funker who recently wowed
the world with the ‘Butter’ LP.
“This Glaswegian boy wonder signed to
Warp will follow my showcase on the Sonar
Lab stage on Friday 18th June,” she says.
ROXY MUSIC To prove she’s not all just about the heavy bass, Mary Anne’s tipping the suave glam
rockers, who should be on firing form, after Bryan Ferry’s recent star turn with DJ Hell.
“Anyone born in my era will find it hard to resist another bout with Bryan Ferry on the Saturday night at
Sonar. He was always pop music’s real panther!” she winks.

JOY ORBISON “The shooting star of the

ZOMBY “Notorious as one of the
Hyperdub label’s most mysterious and
elusive producers. I hope he will show in
Barcelona. He’s a challenging character
but I admire his work very much.”
THE SUGARHILL GANG “I’m serious! Old
skool hip-hop heroes play the Sonar Lab stage on
Friday night after my showcase… I can’t wait!”
UK’s electronic underground… He was the first
artist to be confirmed to play at Sonar in 2010. I
actually booked him way back in autumn of last
year to perform on my Sonar Lab stage on
Friday 18th June. I imagine he will be
devastatingly good.”

055

DJ486.Sonar_feature.indd 55 11/5/10 11:53:29

 DJMAG’S TIPS
FOR SONAR
LCD
SOUNDSYSTEM
With James Murphy
insisting that their new
third album ‘This Is
Happening’ will be their
last, there may not be
that many more
opportunities to catch
his live punk disco
juggernaut live. And
with reports suggesting
this is also his best
record yet, it would be
foolhardy to miss them
perform tracks from it in PURSUIT GROOVES Surfacing on dubstep impresario Pinch’s Tectonic label, Pursuit
the inspiring environs of Grooves’ debut album ‘Foxtrot Mannerisms’ was like a mental NYC mesh of Jill Scott on cosmic pills
Sonar, as well as all the with a side order of bass music and electronic atmospherics. This huge talent’s popularity is set to
classics, of course. snowball — catch her at Sonar first, while you still can.

PLASTIKMAN
Richie Hawtin has
resurrected his
dormant Plastikman
moniker and you
know what that
means.
Unparalleled acid
techno sound and
fury and tracks from
his beyond classic
‘Sheet One’ album,
blasting out of one of
the most formidable
soundsystems known
to man, not to
mention visuals that
would give James
Cameron a heart
attack. To miss this
would be folly.
FUCK BUTTONS It’s not just the name that’s keeping this Bristolian duo off the
daytime radio playlists. Their immensely wigged out Kosmiche electronics are a long way
from the conventional, but that hasn’t stopped them picking up critical and public acclaim
for their last, Andrew Weatherall-produced album ‘Tarot Sport’. Live is where they come into
their own — down some moon juice and sink into the sounds.

MOODYMANN
Detroit’s disco-tech
enigma is coming to the
festival for a rare-as-
hen’s-teeth appearance
and anything could
happen. The be-Afro-ed,
outspoken Kenny Dixon
Jnr sure isn’t known for
doing it the conventional
way, so expect anything
from ebony toned jazzy
electronics to looped up
electrofunk to raw,
soulful techno, via
twisted hip-hop. Or just
expect the unexpected AEROPLANE Arguably, this Belgian duo took the nu disco sound to the new levels of
— and for it to be popularity that it’s currently enjoying. But with anticipation rising for the forthcoming
amazing. album due on Wall of Sound, have they got what it takes to go all the way? Find out when
they play Sonar By Night on 18th June…

056 www.djmag.com

DJ486.Sonar_feature.indd 56 11/5/10 11:53:45

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:07:25
 ULTRA SONIC
WAVES!
The best extra-curricular events and club nights taking
place around the Sonar festival 2010…
Words: BEN MURPHY

A
s much as the three days and nights of Sonar 2010 itself remain the main event, the Barcelona-based
electronic music festival just wouldn’t be the same without the satellite parties that orbit around the city.

Representing the absolute best of underground dance music, there’s everything to be found here, from red
light blinking sweatboxes heaving to nocturnal rhythms, to sun-dappled beach bound label showcases. It’s a cheese-free
alternative to Miami WMC.
There’s too many parties to go to them all, though — what to do? Look no further than DJmag’s guide to the best of the
best, of course…

17th JUNE
M-PLANT, EPM MUSIC & PHONOMONKEY
PRESENTS ROBERT HOOD ‘OMEGA’
NITSA, Thursday
The man behind the original, real minimal sound (yeah,
not the soul-less nonsense) Detroit’s Robert Hood is
back to blast Barca after last year’s phenomenal party at
Nitsa. Playing “semi-live”, and showcasing tracks from
his new album ‘Omega’, he’s joined by techno king Mark
Broom, crazy ass electro bass nutjobs Detroit Grand
Pubahs and DJ3000. Free entry with an invite or €15
without.
nitsa.com

KODE9 & PLAT DU JOUR PRESENT

HYPERDUB 2010
MONDO, Thursday
We can always rely upon Plat Du Jour to bring the best
beats to Sonar. Previous years have seen hook ups with
revolutionary labels Numbers and Brainfeeder, and this
time they’re linking with Kode9’s crew of futuristic bass
music fiends Hyperdub for a showcase of next-level
electronics and neon bright synthage. Expect warped
bleeps from Ikonika, deep UK funky vibes from Cooly G,
leftfield two-step from Darkstar and plenty of prolapse-
inducing basslines from noise terrorist himself Kode9.
Limited adv. tickets at £15 from ticketweb.co.uk.
mondobcn.com

FREAK N CHIC, BLABLA & ALL INN

SHOWCASE
BOULEVARD, Thursday
The Parisian pranksters of unimpeachable, wonky
underground house cool land at Sonar for more deep
down, queasy, anything goes electroid funk. Main
man Dan Ghenacia, Shonky and the excellent Dyed
Soundorom lock horns with Alex Niggemann, Daniel
Sanchez, Mulder and Olene Kadar of the Blabla crew,
and techno, minimal and classic house will be the order
of the day.
myspace.com/boulevardcultureclub

058 www.djmag.com

DJ486.Sonar_feature 2.indd 58 17/5/10 10:06:24

 SOMA
LA TERRRAZZA, Thursday
A regular fixture for Off Sonar and another essential
party, Glasgow techno label Soma takes over one of
Barcelona’s coolest clubs for a deep techno and acid
house session. Details were few as DJmag went to press,
but we can reveal that label bosses Slam will lay down
their kinetic rhythms, along with Silicone Soul and
plenty more from the Soma roster.
laterrrazza.com
18th JUNE
2020 VISION
CITY HALL, Friday
It just wouldn’t be Sonar without a shindig of
gargantuan proportions courtesy of the fully focused,
fresh-to-death 2020 Vision crew. Each and every year,
their party is a highlight, and their take on deep house
and sediment burrowing techno is always on-point and
engineered for maximum funkin’. Igniting City Hall this
time are head honcho Ralph Lawson, Julien Chaptal and
Fernando of 2020 Soundsystem and Silver City renown
kicking out the dub disco jams, ‘Plastik’ producer Simon
Baker, tech cats Audiojack and the promising Burnski.
Don’t miss this one.
cityhall-bcn.com
DJ486.Sonar_feature 2.indd 59
BASS CULTURE, SAFARI ELECTRONIQUE
& REX CLUB
BOULEVARD, Friday
This is gonna bang, big style. French electronic
chameleon D’Julz brings his label Bass Culture booming
into the Catalan capital, with DJ Kasper, Lemos live and
underground favourite Alex Picone in tow. Expect classic
house vibes mixed with modern, darker machine sonics.
Arnaud Le Texier takes on room two with his Safari
Electronique stable, with a funk-infused tech house
sound. Fellow groovers Ekkohaus, Antonio De Angelis,
Cesare vs Disorder and Luciano Esse bolster the line up,
and add a third room hosted by legendary Paris club
Rex, with residents Mlle Caro, Molly and Yakine, and it’s
guaranteed to go right off.
bassculturerecords.com
KOMPAKT
NITSA, Friday
Cologne’s masters of kosmiche techno bring their
melodic, melancholic and massively influential sonics
to town for what just might be the Off Sonar event of
2010. Boss man Michael Mayer, oddball genius DJ Koze,
Sao Paulo musical mystic Gui Boratto and the wicked
Superpitcher, all erm, pitch in their takes on techno and
lush electronics. Perfectly suited to Sonar’s ethos, this is
one for the experimental heads and dance junkies alike.
nitsa.com
19th JUNE
CROSSTOWN REBELS
PLAYA EL PRAT, Saturday
Perhaps the UK’s preeminent electronic dance imprint,
Crosstown Rebels is packing major heat at Sonar this
year. Try Damian Lazarus, man of the moment Seth
Troxler, tech turned disco dude Jamie Jones, Tom Craven
and Shaun Reeves on for size, who’ll all be packing
their biggest club cuts for a typically next-level musical
showdown that runs from 7pm-5am.
059
17/5/10 10:07:29
 CADENZA
KANNA BEACH CLUB, Saturday
No doubt still celebrating bagging that prestigious
residency at Pacha, Ibiza, Luciano and the gang come
to Barcelona to showcase some out-of-this-world DJ
skills and deep tech knowledge, as well as an instinctive
ability to rock the disco. The Swiss-Chilean enigma is
joined by Reboot and Robert Dietz. Beg, borrow, steal,
blag entry. Just reach!
kannabeach.com
20thJUNE
CECILLE
RAUM, Sunday
Boom-boom-da-da, boom-boom-da-da, boom-boom-
da-da… Yup, the Mannheim sound is still everywhere.
House stripped bare with rumbling basslines and all the
ex-minimal set going mad to it. If that’s your bag, then
this will be right up your street. Label boss Nick Curly
leads the charge, accompanied by scene poster boy
Johnny D (who made the defining ‘Orbitalife’), Alex &
Anthea back to back, Marcus Fix and more. House taken
to its rhythm-centric conclusion.
raumclub.com
060
DJ486.Sonar_feature 2.indd 60
SPUN OUT! BOULEVARD
MOOG, Sunday Ramblas 27, Barcelona 08001
The wild card in the pack. The obvious draw for this
party is undoubtedly acid house psycho-billy nutcase CHIRINGUITO CALAMAR
polymath Andrew Weatherall, from whom we can only Platja del Prat, El Prat de Llobregat,
expect the unexpected — maybe old skool electro, Junto club maritime, Barcelona
maybe punk disco ‘n’ industrial, or perhaps, just a
tearing techno set. The erudite, eloquent Ewan Pearson CITY HALL
brings his slo-mo house ‘n’ eclectic beats to the table, Rambla de Catalunya 4, 08008
and finally, fellow musical eccentric Tim Green adds Barcelona
some wonky tech and warm rhythms. A big one!
masimas.com/moog KANNA
Paseig Maritim 1, Sant Adria de Besos,
Barcelon
21st JUNE
LA TERRRAZZA
M-NUS BEACH PARTY Poble Español, Avenida Marques de
CHIRINGUITO CALAMAR, Monday Comillas, 08038 Barcelona
Still in Barcelona? Still got a modicum of stamina left?
Still awake? Then get thee to the M-nus beach party! MONDO
Magda, Troy Pierce, Hearthrob and Barem spinning — or Moll D’Espanya, 08039 Barcelona
should that be triggering? — metallic techno in the
gorgeous sunshine for the heads and degenerates still MOOG
capable of partying. Better still, it’s absolutely free! Arc del Teatre 3, 08001 Barcelona
We’d be mighty surprised if boss man Richie Hawtin
doesn’t make an appearance, too. NITSA
Nou de la Rambla, 113. Barcelona
RAUM
Calle Tarragona 141, 08014 Barcelona
www.djmag.com
17/5/10 10:07:46
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:10:57
 Walls aren’t your typical Kompakt act. With their guitars and psyche-out
electronics, they’re getting everyone from dance nuts to indie kids excited.
And in their debut album ‘Walls’ they’ve just cut a modern epic to file alongside
those Boards Of Canada and Aphex Twin classics…
Words: BEN MURPHY

Left to right: Sam Willis & Alessio Natalizia

062 www.djmag.com

DJ486.Walls_feature.indd 62 11/5/10 15:43:17

 S
am Willis and Alessio Natalizia
— or Walls — are deadly serious
about music. For them it’s not
just the soundtrack to the
washing up, or a debauched
night out on the tiles. It’s a way of life. And they
don’t like it when it gets cheapened and defiled.
“Music is an integral part of every culture from
time immemorial, and now it gets reduced to
being an iPod advert,” Sam Willis spits
disgustedly. “We’re so serious about this, music
is our life, we want to be the best that we can
and make the best music we can, and we’re only
just getting started.”
It’s not just talk. Walls’ debut self-titled record,
out now on venerated Cologne techno label
Kompakt, oozes passion, soul and true beauty
and is very unlikely to be found soundtracking
the latest Steve Jobs money-spinning device
any time soon. It’s original – a rare commodity
indeed these days — and has got everyone from
the indie bods of NME to Norwegian disco
pioneer Prins Thomas and techno mage James
Holden excited, with its astral, psychedelic
propensities and zonked, melodic soundscapes.
Imagine bluesman John Martyn drenched in
Echoplex reverb, circa ‘Inside Out’, jamming
with Seefeel at Kraftwerk’s Kling Klong studios,
while DJ Harvey looks on approvingly, and
you’re in the ballpark. Guitars and heavy layers
of synth spin out a galactic web of entrancing
sound — with Sam Willis, known as one half of
DJ duo, bloggers and promoters Allez-Allez
— manipulating the electronics, and Alessio
Natalizia, of Banjo or Freakout renown,
strumming the tripped-out six string and
teasing out the melodies. ‘Hang Four’ is a
Balearic, summer haze shimmer of bobbing,
crystalline guitar, warm buoyant bass and slow,
4/4 cosmic discoid thud (“‘Hang Four’ is a lot of
people’s favourite track,” says Sam. “It really
puts a smile on faces. I feel so proud that we
made that. It’s very summery”); ‘Burnt Sienna’
is like a faded, nostalgia-laced photograph of a
forgotten, brilliant electro shoegazing band,
like Ride colliding with Apparat; and
‘Gaberdine’ could be a lost Border Community
gem, were it not for the folky vocals and zoned
atmospherics atop the psyche house beat.
In fact, ‘Walls’ is the kind of record you could
happily file next to Boards Of Canada or Aphex
Twin’s best albums, but Sam seems positively
dumbfounded by all the praise that’s been
heaped on it already.
“We’re still getting our heads round the
response to the record!” he froths. “You expect
people to say nice things about your record, but
when you’re so close to it, it’s very hard for you
to hear the music objectively. It feels like a very
timely record for how things are now. Neither of
us could have made it alone. If this record’s
masters were deleted or one of us got run over
by a bus, we couldn’t remake it.”
COMBINED MINDS
Indeed, it’s very much the product of the
combined minds of the two musicians, who
each brought entirely different approaches to
the Walls sound. They first began to work
together when Sam was asked to provide an
Allez-Allez remix of Alessio’s outfit Banjo Or
www.djmag.com
DJ486.Walls_feature.indd 63
Freakout. What was intended as a simple re-jig
became an ongoing collaboration, and the duo
realised there was plenty of mileage in their
sonic meld.
Walls were born, and set about cultivating their
uniquely psyche sound. With Allez-Allez’s
Kompakt connections, Sam passed the music on
to label boss Michael Mayer, who instantly liked
what he heard, despite, or maybe because of,
its difference to the rest of the Kompakt roster.
“We came up with a name, put some music up
on MySpace and started sending it out to a few
people,” Sam recalls. “It happened very quick.
Michael Mayer took a liking to it, and Kompakt’s
original idea was that we should do an EP or a
mini album. We then went away and did a whole
bunch of sketches that we were working up, and
then it was looking like an album. A short
album, but we think it works really well,” Sam
says.
BREVITY
‘Walls’’s brevity is part of its charm. Despite its
deep, meditative undertow, none of the eight
tracks outstay their welcome, offering
bite-sized, tantalising tastes of dream-state
rhythm rather than stretching them out into
flabby, overwrought epics.
“The brevity is important. To me, if people are
going to take the time to listen, you want to
reward them and for them to feel it’s time well
spent. I don’t think about DJs mixing it in.
“If someone was to explain this band to you,
they’d be like, ‘So what does it sound like, is it
nine-minute odysseys?’ We can’t do that. We
don’t feel the need to extend our tunes.”
Sam insists that ‘Walls’ is an album to be
listened to closely, where the details in the
music have the ability to transport the listener,
especially when heard in headphones. And if
the music is doing its job, drugs aren’t required
to trip you out.
“I love dance music and dancing, but it’s more
important in some ways when people listen to it
on headphones. It’s a large part of dance music
culture, going out getting wasted and dancing.
But at the same time if you can transport
somebody without a chemical high, it’s
infinitely more meaningful. Rather than get you
on the dancefloor, Walls’ aim is to take you
away wherever you want to go, it’s like a magic
carpet. That’s the power of your own mind.”
Like other artists that they consider as
contemporaries, among them The Field and
Four Tet, Walls come from dance music, but are
making something to listen to rather than
something that’s easy to mix into the next
record. And that’s only to be applauded. But
they’re not neglecting the club floors entirely;
next single ‘Hang Four’, out this month, sees
both Sam and Alessio contribute separate
remixes under their other aliases, and also
features mixes from The Field and Sam’s
brother’s band, Loose Fit. They’ve also just
bagged remixes of Caribou and Tracey Thorn,
and apparently have loads more music in
reserve. These Walls are destined to keep
building…
Read the full interview on djmag.com now…
063
11/5/10 15:43:20
Untitled-1 2 17/5/10 16:58:45
Untitled-1 3 17/5/10 16:58:49
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066 www.djmag.com

DJ486.dop_feature.indd 66 10/5/10 12:42:30

 T
here’s no doubt about it — today, the
dancefloor is a far more musical place to be.
After a wave of tunes driven by technology
instead of ideas, producers have started
thinking again about the content of their
tracks. French trio dOP (or dope, Organic and from Paris)
exemplify this trend more than most, incorporating live
horns, keys and vocals into a style light-years from your
average house platter.
“You can see more real piano players, real singers, real
horn players today,” states Damien Vandesande, dOP’s
horns man. “I think this way, the music will last longer,
because it’s like jazz. People want melodies and
instruments.”
Damien and his cohorts Clement Zemstov and Jojo Illel are
in the right place, then, to spread their gospel of
experimental, soulful house music. Clement is a
percussionist with experiences of drumming with the
Mandinka people in Africa, while Jojo boasts a honey-
coated croon. With Damien’s horns, the three of them
create unique tracks crafted almost entirely from the
instruments they use.
“We have been friends since we were six-years-old,” reveals
Clement. “We used to produce for other artists, many
different styles and whatever. We wanted it to be just the
three of us, no bullshit, no complications, pure
plutonium!”
Getting introduced into the scene by Nôze, dOP instantly
found themselves surrounded by the more unusual
characters in the European party circuit, and within a year
they had notched up singles on Circus Company, Milnor
Modern, Eklo and Supplement Facts, not to mention a
whole host of remixes.
Now their latest project is about to drop, ‘Watergate 06’ —
unsurprisingly, the sixth edition in the Watergate mix
series (out now). Never known for their DJing, dOP decided
to ditch the usual idea of a mix album and set about calling
upon their friends to collaborate on exclusive tracks. Nôze,
Mathias Kaden and Tiefschwarz are just some of the artists
who have chipped in to bring about the final mix.
“It was a good opportunity to do it,” says Damien. “A real
project with friends, and they all play in Watergate, so it
made sense.”
SURPRISING
There are some pretty surprising guests amongst the
tracklisting, most notably Italian dirty house producer
Daniele Papini, and his remix of ‘Carte Blanche’. It turns
out Jojo is a huge fan of Papini, or at least he gave DJmag
that impression bouncing around the room to ‘Church Of
Nonsense’ at a pre-party in London.
“Originally, the lyrics for ‘Carte Blanche’ were on a remix
DJ486.dop_feature.indd 67
for DJ Hell,” explains Damien, “but
we had a big misunderstanding
with Gigolo, so we took back the
vocals, because the vocal is ours,
and we got Papini in to do the
remix, because the lyrics are very
hardcore. When we play this track
live, people go crazy, because Jo gives
it the sexual one! Like a sexual tornado!”
“It’s a gay track,” Jojo adds, “inspired by
Berghain!”
A bit closer to the usual dOP style, Mathias Kaden’s recent
embrace of all sounds organic (check his mind-bending
album ‘Studio 10’) made him the perfect candidate to take
the reins on one of the wilder tracks from the dOP archives.
“We did this track ‘The Ceremony’ four years ago when we
started,” Damien reveals. “I played the trombone, and we
had this crazy synthesiser, the Roland SH100, and Clement
was drumming live. We knew nothing about techno, the
only thing we knew then was Aphex Twin and Nôze. The
track disappeared and then we thought about the
compilation and we thought ‘ah! It’s perfect for Mathias!’
He did an edit and added his 808, and what he did was
crazy!”
For all the nutty tendencies of the music, though, overall
the Watergate mix is one of the most dancefloor-focused
releases dOP have put out. Where their EPs often feature as
many downtempo tracks as party starters, the whole mix
bristles with energy from start to finish.
“It’s a CD for clubbing, so it was time for us to play with
what we learned from clubbing over the last few years,”
Damien explains, “’cos the album is gonna be totally
different, not for clubbing! I’m sure a lot of people are
gonna miss the clubbing part in the album, so the
Watergate CD is like the clubbing version of dOP.”
From their roots in producing hip-hop, before the house
bug grabbed them, dOP have learnt a lot about how to
translate their instrumental tendencies into material that
will work in a club. For Jojo especially, it was a slow process
learning how to play up to club audiences in just the right
way.
“Now I know the psychology, how to approach the crowd in
a club,” Jojo reveals. “It took almost one year to
understand that. It’s been just three years that I’ve been
going to clubs, but now I know the culture, when to be
aggressive, when to be sweet, but at gigs we are getting
more and more wild.”
Rather than wild meaning nosebleed rave carnage, Jojo is
pointing out the scope that the dOP material has for
different live situations. “What’s good in our music, is that
we can play the same track very quiet,” he explains, “or
very loud. When we play tracks live now, how we play them
gets more and more extreme,” adds Damien. “In Salon Zur
Wilden Renate in Berlin, we closed a crazy three day party,
and we asked to play the smaller floor for fifty people, and
we played sat down, it was very relaxing. But when you play
in front of 3000 people with lights and smoke machines,
you have to give it to the people!”
Some of the standout collaborations on the mix came from
the two occasions when dOP joined forces with fellow
Parisian Seuil. Having been a mainstay of labels like Freak
N Chic and Minibar, Seuil is deeply entrenched in the Paris
scene. With Damien and Jojo both appearing on his
imminent album, he’s at the forefront of a reinvigorated
dance scene in the French capital.
“There’s not a party scene here,” reveals Damien, “but
there’s a really great musical energy in Paris. These days
you have Nôze and Seuil, Oleg Poliakov, Masomenos, a lot
of people with the same passion in music.”
TIGHT KNIT
Currently, dOP share a studio with their long time friends
Nôze in the Troisieme district in the centre of Paris, which
has borne the fruit of many collaborations between the two
crews. But as their relentless gigging schedule and
ever-increasing public profile has grown, so they have
needed to spread their wings further. In just the last few
weeks, Clement has moved to Berlin, and the guys have
wasted no time at all in carving themselves a groove in the
techno mecca.
“Our new home base in Berlin is Salon Zur Wilden Renate,”
Damien says fondly of the infamous party den in
067
10/5/10 12:42:32
 Freidrichshain. “We built another studio here as well as our
one in Paris.”
“So now there is one studio at my house,” adds Jojo, “one
studio here, one studio in Berlin…”
All this said, if your group is as tight-knit as dOP’s, is there
not a cause for concern when one of the pack decides to
re-locate to another city?
“Not at all, I think it’s a great thing,” states Damien firmly.
“It’s more interesting for us all that we move a bit. We deal
not with the same people, not with the same environment,
and so we will not end up with the same sound. It’s
perfect.”
Having well and truly established themselves in the
European scene, Damien, Clement and Jojo are not resting
on their laurels for one moment. Not content with going
beyond the call of duty with the Watergate mix, their
arsenal of forthcoming projects would make lazier groups
weep.
“We have a lot of projects because we have a lot of music up
here,” says Damien tapping his head. “We have to find
ways to express ourselves. We have to do music every day,
it’s totally a need.”
Most notably, the artist album proper from dOP will be
coming out in the Autumn. In the works for a long time, it
sees the group indulge their musical side even more,
sidestepping the dancefloor altogether.
“The dOP album is moody,” states Damien firmly. “The
things are not improvised, everything is more in the
writing process, with a lot of details and orchestration.
Everything has to be prepared and organised, with a lot of
structure.”
“It’s gonna be out in the perfect time, I think,” muses Jojo.
“With the Watergate project, it’s perfect for June. The dOP
album is more an iPod project, the depressive music for the
winter. It’s perfect.”
Having worked with three different symphonic orchestras,
and giving themselves more space to engage their own
classical training, the album promises to be a far cry from
the usual house act putting out a collection of twelve
peak-time bangers. The city they take their lead from is a
place rarely associated with house music.
“The album is very dark, it’s from the Bristol school!”
Damien exclaims. “We have a common love, Clement, Jojo
and me, for all the groups of Bristol.”
068
DJ486.dop_feature.indd 68
With such admiration for a city fuelled almost exclusively
on Jamaican soundsystem culture, it had to be asked when
the boys would take on some kind of dub aspect to their
music. For that, look no further than their new side-
project, Aquarius Heaven, which debuts on the Watergate
mix. With a release already lined up for Eklo this summer,
the dOP boys are joined by a few friends for a more
heads-down sound.
“Aquarius is gonna be more dubby,” Damien explains.
“Psychedelic songs, heavy lyrics, heavy basslines.”
ANIMATED
And if you thought that would be enough for dOP to be
getting on with, think again.
“A lot of people send me tracks to sing on,” Jojo explains.
“I have a little project that I want to finish in two years,
taking the best producers that I know and doing fifteen
different tracks with fifteen different producers, so I’m
starting it now.”
To cap it all off, they get even more animated when asked
about bringing more live performance into their shows.
“The next thing we’re gonna do after the album is a French
acoustic band,” Damien reveals excitedly. “This one we’re
gonna play live with real instruments.”
However, with all this talk of dark albums and acoustic
projects, you’d be forgiven for thinking that dOP were
leaving their club days behind. Unsurprisingly though,
Damien is confident that the dancefloor side of dOP will
only grow with the rest of their myriad projects.
“For the club we’re gonna go more big room, and the real
club punk techno style will develop!”
www.djmag.com
THREE ACTS PUSHING THE
“LIVE” SOUND IN HOUSE
Wareika
This German trio play live with guitars
and keyboards. They quietly slipped onto
the radar with a deep, flowing sound that
has already materialised in two albums so
far this year, one on Tartelet and one on
Perlon.
Recommended listening:
‘Formation’ Tartelet
Feindrehstar
A fully-fledged seven-piece band,
Feindrehstar fuse the energy of a ska
horn section with p-funkiness and the
dynamics of house music. Their imminent
album on Musik Krause should pack in the
jazzy freak-outs and rock-solid grooves.
Recommended listening:
‘Dancetrack’ Sonar Kollektiv
Brandt Brauer Frick
Reining in pop sensibilities with an
almost classical approach to their tracks,
Brandt Brauer Frick are three very
talented multi-instrumentalists whose
winsome tunes get girls swooning with a
tinkle of the ivories or a tweak of the
Electribe.
Recommended listening:
Brandt Brauer Frick ‘Iron Man’ Tartelet
10/5/10 12:42:38
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:04:44
 Cherry-
Picked To
Perfection
Revered Spanish house jock Juan Diaz — who’s
mixed this month’s covermount CD — has really
made his mark in recent years as one of club
titan Pacha’s residents, in Ibiza and beyond...

Words: HELENE STOKES

W
hen Juan Diaz was invited to join Pacha’s booking agents, Pacha Futura, he
thought all his Christmases had come at once. He was then drafted in to become
a resident on the Pacha motherland in Ibiza, and his dream of a lifetime came
true.
Starting out on his DJ trajectory from the early age of 15, Juan would play weekend afternoon
sessions for the local teenagers at the club underneath the building of his family home in Cata-
lonia. “I passed by the club’s front door everyday, and I would be looking down and thinking ‘Oh
man, I wanna see what happens in there’.”
This soon led to his seven-year stint at the 5000-capacity Pacha Pineda near Barcelona, and
then in the mid-noughties he was plucked to play in Ibiza at the world famous cherry-tastic club
for Erick Morillo’s Subliminal Sessions. He’s since flown the flag for the Pacha brand across the
world, notching up air miles to Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Germany, Holland, South
Africa, Japan and beyond.
This summer Pacha glistens with the promise of another top, fun-filled season on the White Isle.
They’re tech’d up to the hilt with the launch of their VIP Guide App and bursting with juicy tunes
from their Pacha Recordings imprint from which Juan has mixed and blended together this
month’s covermount mix…

You just played Tall Trees in Yarm at the weekend, how was it?
“Yeah it was amazing, the club was full, there was some really good energy on the floor — wow, it
was very nice. I haven’t played in the UK for a couple of years. It was good to be back.”

How do the UK crowds compare to Spanish ones?

“The only thing I feel that’s different is that at 11 o’clock the club is full. People go out early in the
UK, while in Spain we have to wait until 3 o’clock before we go out. The thing is you start the party
early, that’s the only difference, really.”

How would you describe your sound?

“I play house music but I like all different styles. If I hear a big techno track that has good
grooves, I’ll get it for my set. If I hear an electro track that makes me feel good, that makes me
feel like dancing, I’ll get that for myself too.
“At the beginning of my DJ sets I start with deep house, vocal house and after that I mix some
techno tracks, electro, progressive house, it depends on the people that I have in front of me.”

How long do you normally play for?

“If I have a good feeling of the people and the soundsystem I can stay until the end. It’s not many
times that I do my two hours because it’s on my contract and I leave early to the hotel. When I
get a good feeling and good feedback from the people on the dancefloor, I can play for five or six
hours. For my last set in Sao Paulo in Mokai club, I started there at 2.30am and my last track was
at 7.45am.
“In Ibiza in the winter sometimes I have to start at 12 and finish at 7.30am but I feel good
because I like the atmosphere. The people, they understand what I play and the soundsystem is
amazing!”

What does Pacha have in store for the season?

“This year, Sunday night will be amazing with Luciano. They have moved Flower Power to
Tuesdays. Mondays we have the Swedish House Mafia, Wednesdays is Subliminal Sessions, my
favourite night, I was resident last year and this year will be the same, with Morillo, Harry ‘Choo
Choo’ Romero, Tom Novy, Mark Knight. I love this night with the energy. Then Thursday will be

070 www.djmag.com

DJ486.cd feature.indd 70 12/5/10 11:22:54

 the same as last summer with Fuck Me I’m Famous with David Guetta and friends.
Friday is Pure Pacha with Sasha, Sander Kleinenberg, a lot of big names. Saturday is
TrACk By TrACk
Defected with Def Mix, David Morales, Bob Sinclar, Frankie Knuckles, Martin Solveig
and Simon Dunmore. I think this summer it’s going to be strong in Ibiza with Pacha’s
lineups.” Pacha resident
Juan Diaz
Tell us about your productions…
“I’ve been working really hard this year, since January I’ve finished about 15 tracks leads us
and remixes. I have new samples, plug-ins and my home studio is getting bigger so through the
that I can do big masters and mixes.” selection
What equipment do you have? of tunes
“I work with Logic Audio 9.2 and of course I work with Mac because the new version he cherry-
of Logic can’t work with PC. I have a Yamaha 03 mixer and two Yamaha speakers with picked for
subwoofers, to feel the phat bassline!
“Mostly I work by myself but sometimes I work with my partner Jorge Montia.” this issue’s
covermount
How long have you been producing? CD…
“I did my first production in 2002, but at this time I didn’t understand how to work
anything so there was another guy with me. After that I did some more that way and
then I decided I wanted to be able to do it myself. I went to some teachers to help
me understand Logic, Moto etc.
“If I hear the first record I did with my own hands, from then ‘til now I am moving up,
up, up. I’m understanding how to do everything, understanding you can put that
with that and so on. I think every day you can understand something new.”
01. Tuccillo ‘My issues (Juan diaz & Jorge Montia remix)’
What are you using when you DJ? “My first project with my friend Tuccillo. My partner Jorge Montia and I have
“I play just with CDs. I’m waiting for all the clubs of the world to buy the new Pioneer remixed this fantastic track to open the groove in the clubs.”
2000, because it’s an amazing machine! Always I say about the change of vinyl to
CD is a good thing. I think it’s an advance. When I play with CDs I can do loops and 02. dkS ‘Sing With A Swing’
effects that you can’t do with vinyl.” “The follow-up to last year’s ‘That Jazz’ — a romp through the roaring '40s. A nice
track with a big sax on the break.”
What’s happening with your Marfil Recordings label?
“It’s stopped at the moment, I’m waiting to change the brand and make new music 03. Peter Brown ‘house Music rules (kC Taylor Main room
there. At the moment I’m working with Pacha Recordings, Bambossa Recordings remix)’
from the USA and sometimes Blanco Y Negro in Spain. But my option is always Pacha “This is house music, pure and simple. Peter knows the way. A fantastic KC Taylor
Recordings, because they are good producers and the label has good tracks — I love remix, I’m giving this full support.”
all the music that comes from there.”
04. inusa dawuda & Jack Moreno ‘Shake your Money (Graham
What plans do you have for the summer? Sahara Mix)’
“I will play Wednesdays at Pacha Ibiza once a month, doing the opening from 12- “This track reaches out and says, ‘Take me’. An infectious ragga vocal track with
2.30am. ass-shaking demands.”
“I’m also going to Brazil, doing a little tour of about five or six dates. Brazil is amaz-
ing. The people feel the music, every time I’m there it’s fantastic and the food is 05. Juan diaz & Tanya dream ‘Spirit 2010’
amazing!” “Big work from my friend Tiko, I’ve added a ‘Spirit’ acapella from my old track
exclusively for this session.”
What productions do you have in the pipeline?
“Well, there’s my remix for Tuccillo, one of the other resident DJs and producers 06. Bob Marley ‘Sun is Shining (kC Taylor Main room remix)’
from Pacha. I’ve just done a remix with Jorge Montia. And there’s a new remix with “A Pacha favourite, it’s rocked the dancefloors from Sri Lanka to Moscow. KC
DJ Java from Privilege for the old track ‘Overdrive’ by DJ Sandy vs Housetrap. We’ve Taylor does it again.”
done a fantastic remix coming on BU! Records, a young Balearic label. I’ve also
done a remix for Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero for his new track called ‘Don’t Stop’, and 07. Jordane evane ‘fucking (original no Stab remix)’
I’m just finishing that now. The last to go out is another remix for DJ Onionz for his “This pumps and pushes in a good way, a perfect hard track for 5am.”
legendary label Electrik Soul. It has an electronic, salsa, Cuban sound with some
really good beats. Wow, it’s great.” 08. Goldfish ‘holdtight (Juan diaz & Coco Silco remix)’
“My friends from South Africa gave us the good parts to do a remix, with big sax
Is there anything else you’d like to add? and synthesizers, and we had some good times doing it.”
“I only wanna thank you guys for thinking of Pacha and I’m so happy to do this. I
was so happy to be asked to mix this CD. Thank you.” 09. Juan diaz & Tanya dream ‘The funk! (original Mix)’
“A vocal track with my friend Tanya Dream, she has a very good voice, and we
wrote the lyrics in two hours! Soooo quickly.”

'PAChA iBiZA 10. dennis Volpe, Johnny Mendez & Juan diaz ‘She Says
(original Mix)’
CLASSiCS' iS oUT 14Th “A good track for tech-house clubs, I have made with my friends from the
JUne And feATUreS Netherlands. It will be out on Pacha Recordings in a few weeks.”
Three CdS of
11. Benny Maze ‘Something you know (richard Grey for The
eVerGreen hoUSe Man Pacha remix)’
GeMS To WheT yoUr “Perfect track to finish the compilation. I play it in my sets to finish the parties.
WhiTe iSLe APPeTiTe! Richard Grey is one of my favourite producers.”

www.djmag.com 071

DJ486.cd feature.indd 71 12/5/10 11:22:58

 BEAT
There’s a new generation of DJ/
producers taking the breakbeat
template and mutating it into
myriad fresh forms influenced

FREAK
by electro, bass music, dubstep
and other mongrel beats.
DJmag meets the most
influential beatfreaks to
discover how they’re changing

MANIFESTO
the game forever…

Words: CARL LOBEN

I
n 2010, the genres in electronic music are mashing
together like the early days of rave. House, trance and
techno are still the dominant dancefloor genres, but
assorted non-4/4 styles have asserted their individuality
by forefronting bass, broken rhythms and sci-fi sonics.
Genres such as drum & bass, dubstep, global bass and (UK)
funky have their own self-contained scenes that sometimes
overlap, but what about breakbeat-fuelled sounds?
Breakbeat has always been a bastardised scene that borrows
from other styles, and what was once called nu skool breaks is
now a wide-open forum that takes in elements of bassline,
future garage, dubstep wobble, techno, fidget, electro and
house. In fact, there’s perhaps even a case for coining a new
term to encompass this broad umbrella in a post-breaks
universe… but that’s another story.

Many high-profile breaks DJs (Cut La Roc, Freestylers etc) now

drop dubstep, d&b or electro-house tracks in their sets in a
mash-up stylee that harks back to the bung-it-all-in big beat
days. No longer all about a drum pattern (boom-tish-boom-
boom-tish) or a regimented bpm count, breaks is as much
about an inclusive aesthetic these days where broken rhythms
combine with innovations in electro technology and bass
science.

The breaks scene itself has undergone a transformation in

recent times. Nu skool breaks pioneers Adam Freeland and
Tayo from the Friction days (see page 98) effectively left the
scene a few years ago to move into electro and dubstep
respectively, while more recently nu skool godfather Rennie
Pilgrem has been flirting with the slower-paced nu-funk.
While still associated with breaks, big guns the Plump DJs
(with their recent Global Underground comp) and Krafty Kuts
(with his re-rubs) have lately been experimenting with electro
in its various forms. The Stanton Warriors have created a large
Matter-ramming brand with their broad-based Stanton
Sessions, while other scene names have jumped ship into
electro-house (Hyper, Pete Jordan), nestled into (global) bass
music (Atomic Hooligan, Baobinga & ID) or bedded into
tech-funk with Meat Katie, Elite Force et al.
All this activity has effectively left a vacuum for a new
generation of DJ/producers to fill — a new church of
beatfreaks, if you like. DJmag meets some of Britain’s
brightest…
NAPT
New-gen poster boys Ashley Pope and Tomek Naden
describe their sound as N-Funk – chunky club
rhythms with subterranean bassline licks and diced
samples. NAPT cleaned up at this year’s Breakspoll
Awards, scooping Best Producers and Best Track,
while their label Funkatech walked off with the Best
Label gong. Look out for a big single with a big
grime artist over the next few months…
How do you describe your sound?
“A melting pot of electro, breaks and house finely
crafted into cutting-edge dancefloor steppers.”
Who plays your tunes?
“Anyone and everyone who likes to mash things up
including Miles Dyson, Zombie Nation, Plump DJs...”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Some highlights include Empire Brisbane, Fabric
London, Mekka Miami and Glastonbury.”
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
“RuPaul is due a comeback... if that’s not on the
cards, then Prince.”
www.napt-music.com

072 www.djmag.com

DJ486.Beatfreak_feature.indd 72 12/5/10 15:15:58

 HIGH RANKIN
Will Rankin makes dubstep-heavy bashy rave music “in a vain attempt to
get laid”. His ‘This Is Suicide Dub’ comp on his own same-name label
employs dastardly dub and freakbeat riddims, while his ‘Meow Meow’ track
— and accompanying T-shirts — earlier this year lampooned the
penis-shrivelling properties of now-illegal plant food Mephedrone, aka
miaow. In another dimension, he’d be a stand-up comic.

How do you describe your sound?

“Sexual with a hint of fear.”

Who plays your tunes?

“Hervé, Crookers, Skream, DJ Fresh, Busy P, Adam F and Scratch Perverts.”

What’ve been your best gigs so far?

“I heard a youth playing ‘Meow Meow’ out of his Nokia N95 at a bus stop.
That was better than headlining Global Gathering.”

Who would you most like to collaborate with?

“I would love to get Tom Waits on a tune. I am an enormous fan of his. My
next choice would probably be Taz and Beefy or the Kersal Massive.”

myspace.com/highrankin
PEO DE PITTE
London-based Swede Peo, who also makes house under
the name Haggstrom, has been thrilling with
experimental beats lattices these past couple of years.

GELLA
Signed to Jay Cunning’s Sub Slayers
imprint, Andy Gella – who used to be a
house and techno producer – has been
making fucked-up, choppy, rhythmic
breakage using his surname for four
years now. He dubs himself “an
OCD-inflicted studio hermit” and
ragga-heavy single ‘Twinkle’ with MC
Spyda on Sub Slayers was a DJmag
Money Shot release a few weeks back.
Another EP is coming soon, as well as
remixes of Flore & Rodney P and Ribs &
IG88 on Downbeat.
How do you describe your sound?
“Slow-braised 2-step seared in
aromatic ragga, served with a confit of
bass, sour jungle dressing and a gabba
techno side salad.”
Who plays your tunes?
“The last single on Sub Slayers got
support from the likes of Freq Nasty
right through to Laurent Garnier,
which I was properly stoked about. I
think it definitely helps up-and-coming
producers to have a broad range of
people buying their records, rather
than to stick rigidly to one scene.”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Sunday afternoon at Glade festival
last year was awesome — my first
opportunity to play on a proper festival
sound system, an experience I hope to
be repeating in the near future.”
Who would you most like to
collaborate with?
“Reso, Bassnectar, Si Begg, Hellfish &
Producer. Fantasy Collaborations? Carl
Craig, Aphex Twin, Leftfield.”
myspace.com/gellabeats
Recent overhauls of the Drumattic Twins, Flore, Beat
Assassins, Loops Of Fury and Mr B have made him the
breakbeat remixer du jour of late, and he’s just done
collaborations with Matt Cantor from The Freestylers and
The Loose Cannons.
How do you describe your sound?
“Rare groove-oriented music in a blend of different
genres.”
Who plays your tunes?
“Fake Blood, Sinden, Loose Cannons, Crookers, Laidback
Luke, Tittsworth, Elite Force, Plump DJs, Afrojack, Kissy
Sell Out, Krafty Kuts and Foamo.”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Last year I had some amazing gigs at The Egg, Ministry,
Global Gathering and Fabric here in the UK.”
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
“Liam Howlett. He knows his beats for sure.”
myspace.com/peohaggstrom

BEAT ASSASSINS
Jimmy Mofo, who used to run breaks ‘zine
Mofo, and Joe Lenzie — aka Wooz from d&b act
Sigma — are the Beat Assassins. A breaks act
who’ve broadened out recently, together they
make and play urban dancefloor bizness
encompassing electro, breaks, bassline house,
dubstep and drum & bass. Their Urban Electro
Project — with part four about to drop — has
featured vocalists such as Sweetie Irie and
Ragga Twins, and their ability to effortlessly flit
between booty breaks and dubstep or electro
and fidget shizzle is second-to-none.
How do you describe your sound?
“Electro productions on breakbeat drum
patterns, enhanced by urban vocals.”
Utah Saints, Dub Pistols, Barack Obama and Dr
Dre.”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Glade Festival 2009 was very memorable as
was winging a dubstep set at Metalheadz in
London. But the most memorable was
supporting Busta Rhymes in Miami to 30,000
crazed kids, then being invited back to Busta’s
mansion with some honeyz to spin beats on the
diamond-encrusted Technics.”
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
“Vocal-wise Ludacris or Wiley. Music-wise, Huey
Lewis & The News or T’Pau on an ’80s power
ballad.”

Who plays your tunes? myspace.com/beatassassinsuk

“Stanton Warriors, Groove Armada, Deekline,

www.djmag.com 073

DJ486.Beatfreak_feature.indd 73 12/5/10 15:16:04

 PYRAMID
PYRAMID are Scott, aka Breakspoll host and MC Ken
Mac, and Nicky D’Silva, aka Inchy from tear-out titans
Ctrl-Z. Their new project has yielded blistering results
so far: big bastard beats, big bastard bass and kick-ass
vibes to nice up the floors. They’ve been collaborating
with the Stereo MCs and The Freestylers, while their
revamp of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Starry Eyed’ has been big in
the game. “It’s all about having fun and pulling bass
faces,” they tell DJmag, smirking broadly.

How do you describe your sound?

“We like it heavy with the bass and rolling with the

2BIT THUGS
Gangster guys 2Bit Thugs are all about bass.
Big, warping elastic bass. They’re also about
crunk synths, hip-hop influences, four-deck
scratch sets and crazy quick mixing. And
wearing hoods. They’ve recently revamped
Audio Bullys, Dub Pistols, Dirty Freek, and
also — appropriately enough — ‘Gangsters’
by Rico Tubbs. Their dutty ‘Darsh’ and ‘Sex
Symbol’ tracks are out soon.
Who plays your tunes?
“We’ve had support across genres, from DJ
Yoda to Kissy Sell Out, Russ Cuban to Rico
Tubbs, from The Bulgarian to DJ Zinc .”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Last year’s Glade festival was crazy,
Tignesfest in France was amazing and
Gangsteppaz in Poland was wicked too.”
drums. We are writing from 128bpm up to 140bpm,
whatever the vibe is in the studio that day — although
we are very happy in the 140bpm jungle-drum-break-
dubsteppy vibe that we are pushing at the mo.”
Who plays your tunes?
“We’re getting good support from a lot of great DJs.”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Glasto, Glade, Fabric, Matter and the festivals and big
club nights abroad but we still buzz when the night has
been slammin’ at the small independent nights, too.”

How do you describe your sound?
“Bass-heavy breakneck beats with a hip-hop
edge. Production-wise, right now we’re
pushing a real wobbly 2-step sound —
taking elements of future garage, dubstep
and breaks and adding our own trademark
twist.”
Who would you most like to collaborate Who would you most like to collaborate with?
with? “There are just too many, we are music junkies.”
“Jack Beats and DJ Zinc because they
always hit the moneyshot with basslines. In myspace.com/pyramidbreaks
an ideal world we’d get a studio session with
N.E.R.D, Marlena Shaw and QBert.”
2bitthugs.com

601
Nat Slater and George Miller from Who plays your tunes?
Harrogate in North Yorkshire are 601, “Jay Cunning, Cut La Roc, Annie
and they’ve been producing together Nightingale, Lady Waks, Si Begg, Laurent

BEN & LEX

West country beatfreaks Ben Ervine & Alex
Who plays your tunes?
since the mid-90s and have been mates
since childhood. Their ‘Dirty North’
album was nominated in the Best Album
Garnier, Afghan Headspin, Rektchordz.”

What’ve been your best gigs so far?

Shellard cut their teeth on fellow Devon-based
label Functional before setting up their own
Ape Music. They say they’re all about “big bad
bass-heavy rave music,” and they too have
broadened out from breaks of late to take in
dubstep, ravey electro and breaky warehouse
bizzle. With a score of original releases and
recent acclaimed remixes of Afghan Headspin,
the Dub Pistols and The Wrongstars, these
guys have really upped their game.
How do you describe your sound?
“Like our DJ sets, we like our tunes and remixes
to cross the borders and tempos of all things
bass-heavy, from wonky electro-y house
through breaks and into dubstep and back.”
“Everyone from Freq Nasty to Krafty Kuts,
Rennie Pilgrem, Annie Nightingale, Cut La Roc
and Jay Cunning.”
What’ve been your best gigs so far?
“Last year’s headlining set on the Thursday
night unofficial rave-up at Glade was freakin’
amazing.”
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
“Probably Freq Nasty — dude’s a legend. Either
that or Elite Force or the Aquasky/Black Noise
boys.”
myspace.com/benandlex
category at Breakspoll in February, while
they folded their own Polar Red label last
year to concentrate on gigs and
productions — they’re now signed to Cut
La Roc’s Rocstar imprint and DJ agency.
Recent remixes for Pop N Lock, Sound Of
Habib, Re:Connect, Unstable and Si
Begg’s Noodles has seen their stock rise
further, and they’ve just finished a track
called ‘Go This Way (Lalala)’ with vocals
from the mighty MC Chickaboo.
How do you describe your sound?
“Big, bashy, bass-heavy beats, dripping
in influences from other genres , coming
from slightly leftfield.”
“Playing live at Glade last year was an
ambition fulfilled. Supporting
The Stanton Warriors at a packed-out
Sugarbeat was one of the craziest DJ sets
we’ve done.”
Who would you most like to collaborate
with?
“A lot of the bass music guys have really
been influencing us recently, so
Baobinga & ID or Ramadanman. George
is an unashamed metal fan so he dreams
of working with Emperor!”
myspace.com/601music

074 www.djmag.com

DJ486.Beatfreak_feature.indd 74 12/5/10 15:16:10

Untitled-1 6
Movida2010_DJ_Mag.indd 1 17/5/10
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Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:55:46

 SEALED
WITH A
KISS
Deep house master Phonique is
back with a seductive summer
smooch of an album, ‘Kissing
Strangers’ — a beguiling love
letter to his adoptive home of
Berlin…
Words: Jim butler
Pics: Alexander Gnädiger
F
or better or for worse, but mostly for the
better, Michael Vater has spent the best
part of his 37 years on this planet in
nightclubs — certainly the best part of his
adult life anyway. The stories he could tell
are manifold. After all, he’s been a successful promoter,
and under the moniker Phonique, DJ and producer in
Berlin, arguably the club capital of the world, for a
decade and a half.
However, despite all those late nights and even earlier
mornings, there’s one encounter that he’ll never be able
to forget. It happened when Vater was a tender
18-year-old and just taking his first tentative steps into
clubland’s nefarious subterranean heartland. There he
was, all eager, impressionable neophyte, sort of minding
his own business when his attention was caught by a
girl, perhaps similar of age, who was stood a short
distance away eating ‘candy’, as Vater has it. Listening
back to the tale now, nearly 20 years on, the candy-
DJ486.phonique_feature.indd 77
eating temptress sounds like a seductive Lolita-type. But
to an 18-year-old it was a jaw-dropping performance.
“The girl soon realised I was watching her,” Vater recalls
today, taking up the story. “And she soon gestured over
to me to see if I was interested in eating some candy
too. Of course I was interested, so I went over, had some
candy, and then we kissed. I enjoyed it. And then I never
saw her again.”
Disregarding the juvenile predilection to think
euphemistically of ‘eating candy’, the event has stayed
with Vater all these years for a couple of reasons. Firstly,
because it was obviously intense and heady as only
teenage experiences can be; secondly, because that
brief romantic encounter can be applied to music, too.
“Sometimes, you only hear a track once and it just
makes sense,” he explains. “You never hear it again, but
for that one moment it is perfect.” Hence the title of
Vater’s third album under his Phonique alias, ‘Kissing
www.djmag.com
Strangers’. “It’s not just about kissing a person,” he
clarifies, “but it refers to kissing music, too.”
RENOWNED 
Kissing music is something Phonique has become
renowned for. Although not a household name in the
UK, he’s long been a favourite of unabashed house
heads, having recorded for the likes of Poker Flat, Brique
Rouge, Dessous and our very own Crosstown Rebels. His
2004 release, ‘The Red Dress’, was one of the hits of that
year, while his 80s-inspired Technotronic track from the
same year, ‘Where’s The Party At?’, was a light-hearted
homage to the simple joys of a good party.
This serious and daft dichotomy has endured through
Phonique’s recording career, as exemplified by his first
two albums, 2004’s ‘Identification’ and ‘Good Idea’,
which followed in 2007. His musical styles are similarly
eclectic, as befits a true musical connoisseur, but
whether he’s drifting off into jazzy-inspired lounge
077
6/5/10 12:40:58
 recordings, getting frantic with hip-house, applying some sense of freedom, which is why this album is different, it to be in fine fettle — and let’s face it, he should be a
vintage synths to soulful strings or adding some dark stylistically, to ‘Good Idea’. I like to try new things. It’s reliable gauge.
stylings to brooding techno, it’s all underpinned by his deliberate.” “There was a time not so long ago when things weren’t so
love for house music. good,” he says. “It was either super mainstream or super
As is, it would appear, the noticeable upping of pitch and underground. Now we have both. Producers can be
Some folk will label it deep house. And yes, there’s traces tempo as the album progresses. It works much like one of underground and successful and I think that’s because
of all the deep house auteurs from Ray Mang and Faze Phonique’s distinctive DJ sets. Taking in the beatific moods there are so many people out there who like good music,
Action to Miguel Migs and Larry Heard on ‘Kissing that frame ‘Kissing Strangers’, the album also appears to regardless of genre.”
Strangers’, and in 2008, Phonique also picked up two be a love letter to Phonique’s adopted home. Although his
gongs (Beatport’s Best Deep House Artist and Ibiza’s Best name is synonymous with Berlin’s famed nightlife, Vater And to that end, Michael Vater has recently found himself
Deep House DJ) testifying to his prowess for all things only moved to Germany’s capital in 1995 and not for dipping his inquisitive toes into the often-impenetrable
bottomless and broad, but it’s really just house music in all reasons readily associated with partying. Although there world of that high cultural watermark — classical music.
its glorious varying shades. Consequently, ‘Kissing were chemicals involved. Inspired by Carl Craig’s 2008 Recomposed album — where
Strangers’ incorporates crooner house (‘Endless Love’ “I moved here,” he explains, “because I wanted to finish the Detroit legend, alongside Basic Channel’s Moritz Van
featuring the unmistakeable vocals of Louie Austen), my studies. I was studying chemistry.” Oswald, interpreted music by Maurice Ravel and Modest
blissful soulful house (‘Amy’s Heart’, which then gets a Mussorgsky — his ventures into classical have led to him
more dynamic reprise as ‘Amy’s House’ later on) and SWEPT UP DJing at Berlin’s itinerant hipster Yellow Lounge night.
light-hearted house (‘Feel What You Want’, the second Having helped to put on parties in Cologne, he soon found “I played the likes of Rachmaninoff and Beethoven,” he
track on the album, after ‘One Step’, to feature the sweet himself swept up in Berlin’s grand post-1989 reinvention. explains. “I wasn’t mixing as such, more trying to capture
honeyed vocals of Rebecca). From promoting parties it was a natural progression to the feeling of that music. I really enjoyed it.”
But for all its versatility, ‘Kissing Strangers’ is undoubtedly start soundtracking them. Over a decade later, he’s still However, if you think Phonique is going to be hanging up
an album for the summer months. Its release, therefore, is amazed by Berlin’s ability to constantly amaze and enthral. his house boots anytime soon, think again.
perfectly timed. Phonique concurs. “I still go out at least three times a week, because there are “I’m always thinking about house music,” he concludes.
“Absolutely. The moods the album evokes are completely so many great DJs and clubs about. It’s not about hardcore “I’ll often be driving in the car listening to the radio when I
tied in with summer. The track ‘Summer’ puts me in mind of partying and getting fucked up, it’s more about listening start to think of a different melody to the song I’m
Sunday afternoons at the Panorama Bar or Bar 25. ‘The to new music and meeting people. It’s not a problem in hearing. ‘Afrique’ on the new album is one such track. That
Passion 2010’ (a re-worked version of Phonique & Kiloo’s Berlin to take in three clubs a night, I know in London that was inspired by Toto’s ‘Africa’. If you listen carefully you can
classic from 2008) has already worked in that environment. is more of an adventure. For me, Berlin is the perfect place hear it.”
I saw it in Brazil. to be. It keeps me updated, and while that is not the main From kissing strangers to kissing music, it would appear
“When I make an album, I want it to reflect the warmer, reason I go out, it’s good to experience it.” Phonique is obsessed.
more positive sides of the musical experience. I like that As for the current health of house music, Phonique believes

“I still go out at least

three times a week...
It’s not about
hardcore partying
and getting fucked
up, it’s more about
listening to new
music and meeting
people.” Phonique

078

DJ486.phonique_feature.indd 78 6/5/10 12:41:05

 Deeply Soulful Sundrenched
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Untitled-1 6 17/5/10 18:05:55

 BPC at SONAR
06.18. BPITCH CONTROL BEACH PARTY
06.19. BPITCH CONTROL BOAT PARTY
06.19. BPITCH CONTROL SHOWCASE at NITSA
ELLEN ALLIEN IBIZA DATES
07.21. KEHAKUMA at SPACE
08.04. BPC SHOWCASE at DC10
09.08. KEHAKUMA at SPACE
10.03. SPACE SEASONʻS CLOSING PARTY

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 18:17:20

 YOU GOT ME
FLOATING!
If you think Caribou
is a massive North-
American mountain
moose, then think
again. The name
Caribou refers to
Canadian-born Dan
Snaith: multi-
instrumentalist,
maths PhD, all-
round nice guy and
brains behind
‘Swim’, his latest
album, out now on
City Slang — a
psychedelic, rave-
euphoric electronic
opus that sees him
return to his dance
music roots…
Words: Bianca Mitchell

T
here’s nothing not to like about this
down-to-earth musical genius and when you
consider he came up with many of his
musical ideas whilst writing a maths PhD,
it’s even more astounding to think he
devised the kind of sound that instantly stands out in the
ever-morphing prism of dance music.
If you’re looking for a stimulating new direction for your
musical curiosities, this is precisely what you’ll find when
you press the play button on ‘Swim’. It truly exists in its
own world of style and originality and migrates from the
psychedelic sounds of his 1960s-infused ‘Andorra’,
released in 2007.
It’s even better when you learn that Dan Snaith feels much
the same sense of satisfaction with his most dance-based
offering to date.
When producing the record, his most important goal was
to create dance music that sounded fluid or liquid. And
that’s precisely what he’s achieved. Each track offers a
unique sense of washing around from ear-to-ear, sliding in
pitch, muffled underwater effects and lots of panning
synth, giving effortless liquid movement as well as a
completely unique sound.
“As a big music fan, I’ve been guilty in the past of hearing
my favourite music and thinking ‘wow, I love the way that
record sounds – I have to incorporate some of that in the
music I’m making,’ whereas this time I really consciously
wanted my own fingerprint so that it’s hard for people to
say ‘Hey, that comes from there,’ because everything is my
own combination of ideas.”
As well as wanting an original electronic soundscape, Dan
is very much into the juxtaposition of emotions.
“My favourite music is stuff that emotionally contradicts
itself,” he suggests. There are various melancholy themes
in the album — the opening ‘Odessa’ is about the divorce
of one of Dan’s close friends, but the music is celebratory
and distinctly uplifting. “I like the way dance music can do
that — be all about escape and hedonism, but have really
melancholy lyrics.”

www.djmag.com 081

DJ486.Caribou_feature.indd 81 12/5/10 15:14:02

 London club culture
Dan was born in Ontario, Canada but has resided in London
for the past 10 years. In spite of his roots, ‘Swim’ is heavily
inspired by influences and elements of his London
surroundings.
According to Dan, he’d always worked in an insular way,
avoiding local trends and what was happening at a
particular time. But the latest album reflects the growing
frequency of his live DJ performances and his love of
London club culture.
“Theo Parrish was doing a residency at Plastic People
— the first time I went there, the music he played was all
his own and his records got me totally reinvigorated about
dance music. It was such an exciting thing and really
kicked off my desire to make this record.”
Furthermore, Dan has been impressed and inspired by the
vast emergence of young producers infiltrating dance
music everywhere at the moment.
“I love James Blake, Ikonika — all this wave of dubstep
stuff that’s happened recently which is far more
idiosyncratic and interesting than a few years ago when
everything was very formulaic,” he froths. “I like lots of UK
funky stuff, too.”
Back in 2008, Dan won the Canadian Polaris Music Prize
(the equivalent of our UK Mercury Music Prize) for his lush
LP ‘Andorra’. When asked if reaching such critical acclaim
affected ‘Swim’, he maintains it had little or no bearing on
the record itself.
“I like the way dance
music can be all
about escape and
hedonism, but have
really melancholy
lyrics.” CARIBOU
82
DJ486.Caribou_feature.indd 82
“Being given a prize is a surreal thing. I work so much by
myself that I don’t think about my music as part of a prize
or even from a community of Canadian music for example,”
he says. “It was really nice and really affirming, but if
anything it made me more confident not to worry about
following certain rules which is really great, as I’ve set up a
lot of changing expectations from one album to the next.”
Which is probably why he spends all of his spare time
making music. “It never gets boring. If anything, I get
more excited about making music now than when I first
started.”
Throughout the production of ‘Swim’ he made around 700
half-finished tracks, going for weeks and weeks without
being happy with anything.
“It can be frustrating but at the same time I never think
that I’m sick of this, it just spurs me on even more to make
something better.”
Subpoena
Dan hasn’t always been known as Caribou. He released his
first two albums under the name Manitoba, before being
threatened with a lawsuit by punk band The Dictators’
frontman Richard “Handsome Dick” Manitoba for having
the same name. Still to this day, Dan can’t believe the
events that unfolded.
“Even after all this time, I’ve had no direct contact with
him. He hired a private investigator to subpoena me at one
of my gigs in LA — it was like a movie or something —
completely out of the blue and totally surreal. I was like,
‘What is happening here? Who is this guy?’ I had no idea
who he was and then it was a really frustrating process of
realising there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even
afford to go to court in the States,” he remembers. “It was
prohibitively expensive even to hire a lawyer to fight the
case and in the end, I realised I was going to change
names and get on with it.”
Luckily, Dan looks back on the whole bizarre charade as a
blessing in disguise.
“Everything has turned out totally fine. I was so worried
though, I didn’t know what was going to happen, whether
it was going to be the end of me,” he says. “If anything it
was invigorating because lots of people got in touch to say
‘We don’t care what you call yourself’, and what an actual
dick this guy is, so if anything, it spurred me on to be more
determined.”
It’s set to be an eventful summer for Dan and the Caribou
band who are continuously touring their live show at the
likes of Sonar, Field Day and even a set at Heaven in the
middle of June. If you haven’t experienced their live
performance already then now is the time.
“If this record had been made a few years ago, I really
wouldn’t have had a clue how to play it live,” admits Dan.
But technology has seemingly caught up with his
expectations and desires for the Caribou live experience.
Team this with the distinctive blissful vibes of ‘Swim’ and
you have yourself an absolute summer must-see.
12/5/10 15:14:04
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:45:06
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:22:41
 T
he Prins Thomas re-edit of his
2009-released smasheroonie ‘This Sweet
Love’ might well have rocked Ibiza to its
Mediterranean submerged core last
summer but the very last place you’ll ever find
London-based producer James Yuill is atop a podium
at Space.
“Just look at me,” he grins, glancing down at his
no-name windcheater, chunky dad cords and brown
Cornish pasty shoes. “Do I look like I’d ever feel
comfortable on top of a podium?”

Yuill has never been to Ibiza; despite having

executed a staggering 105 gigs in 16 countries last
year alone doing his “housed up” live show to
promote his debut album ‘Turning Down Water For
Air’.
Less than a year on from the release of this album
— a longplayer that got bigged up by everyone from
The Chemical Brothers to A-Trak, Phoenix and Radio
1’s Zane Lowe — and he’s back with the follow-up,
‘Movement In A Storm’.
This new album masterfully marries folktastic lyrics
and acoustic guitar with cleverly syncopated,
dynamic beats and deft electronic flourishes. ‘First
In Line’ is an uplifting vocal house tune with
Royksopp-style melodies. And ‘My Fears’ starts with
a deliciously haunting vocal and melody before
descending into glitchy, heavy electronica
underpinned with an Underworld-ish riff.
The album took him six months to make, an intense
process that involved James spending hours locked
up in his bedroom in Dalston, London, using his
laptop (complete with Protools and Ableton), his
acoustic guitar, an mbox as a pre amp, a Kaos pad
and some e-drums.
To call James a geek would be mean; except it’s what
he calls himself, eyes glinting behind his thick-
rimmed, Librarian-style specs as he explains how he
goes about putting a song together.
“It generally starts with a melody,” he says.
“Normally I tend to play a chord, then sing vocals on
top, then add the rest from there.”

LIFE-CHANGING
At university James studied forensic science and
planned a career in forensic acoustics — the intricate
process of cleaning up sounds gathered on secret
recording devices used in covert police operations
— until he found himself unable to find a job and
made the life-changing decision to try and make a
career in music.
When he landed an album deal with Moshi Moshi in
2008, his life-long love affair with music seemed
finally to be coming to fruition.
“I’ve been writing songs since I was 10,” he says. “I
remember finding the backing track to a
Bananarama song and then singing over the top of

YUILL TIDES
James Yuill’s new album combines mellifluous
acoustics with electronic wizardry.
DJmag finds out more…
that and recording it.”
There was an album that came before James was
signed to Moshi Moshi. His 2005-penned ‘Vanilla
Disc’ he describes as “a bit more Radiohead-ish, a bit
more Beatles-esque.
“When you do your first-ever album it’s made up of
all the songs you’ve built up over your whole life,” he
says. “The songs on ‘Vanilla Disc’ had an electronic
twinge, and I put the album out myself via CD Baby.
It used to be for sale on iTunes but I’ve taken it down
because it doesn’t feel like me anymore.”

James Yuill isn’t your average music-maker. He’s

Words: CLAIRE HUGHES been dubbed the ‘Prince of folktronica’ (after ‘King’

www.djmag.com 085

DJ486.james_yuill_feature.indd 85 7/5/10 15:55:17

 Four Tet) but the music he makes doesn’t strictly fit into that
format. When he plays live, he is a total one-man-band,
simultaneously manipulating his voice, an acoustic guitar, his
laptop, his e-drums and some of the other bits of kit he used to
record his album.
“I’ve developed the live show for this new album a lot,” grins
Yuill, sipping his preferred tipple of Rooibos tea. “I’ve basically
maintained the acoustic elements but made it more electronic.
And that electronic vibe is even more developed for the live
show.”
But while he’d like to make the kind of music that emulates
production heroes such as Underworld, Yuill admits he’s still a
sucker for a good, proper song.
“I do love power ballads,” he laughs. “Take That’s ‘Rule The
World’ is one of the best songs ever written. I think Gary Barlow
is a genius. But I also love Tears For Fears’ ‘Woman In Chains’.”

HAUNTING
Yuill’s tastes are as varied as his musical aspirations. He picked
up a guitar aged 12 because he wanted to play like his hero Kurt
Cobain. From there, as a teenager, he got into heavy rock bands
such as Korn and it wasn’t until he went to university in
Cambridge that he discovered his penchant for the
introspective, haunting, guitar-led laments of Nick Drake.
“Listening to his music changed the way I write songs,” says
James. “Just the way he de-tuned his guitar. Stuff like that. I
drew quite a lot of comparisons to him because he studied in
Cambridge when he was 19. He was quite shy and introverted
and I remember listening to ‘River Man’, a song he wrote when
he first moved to Cambridge as a teenager, and that really
hooked me in.”
Later on, after leaving university and moving to London, James
started getting into electronic music such as the weird sonics of
a lot of output from Warp records and music from bands such as
4Hero and the more “obvious” dance outfits such as Massive
Attack.
“I never got into the whole DJ thing,” says James. “For me
electronic music has always been about listening to the actual
music and working out and appreciating how it’s been put
together. That’s what really made me want to start making it
myself.”
James says he might start DJing one day; maybe once the
mammoth bout of touring he has in place for his new album is
over.
“First I need to learn to beat mix though,” he laughs.
“I still think that if you don’t start with the basics and learn the
art of beat mixing then you’re not really a DJ at all.”

James picks his top five acoustic/electronic crossover numbers…

1. National Forest
‘A.M. Lights’
album: ‘One Million’.
Released: 2006
”This guy’s from Manchester
and was signed to my
manager’s old label Faith &
Hope. On this track National
Forest teams up with Jacob
Fletcher (folk singer). I love
this track as it’s got a real
Mercury Rev quality to it.”
2.Clue To Kalo
‘Seconds When It’s Minutes’
album: ‘One Way, It’s Every Way’.
Released: 2005
”Fantastic album from
Australian Mark Mitchell,
released on Mush Records. The
production is brilliant! He uses
lots of organic sounds instead
of electronic sounds, which
helps to create his own unique
sound.”
3.edIT
‘Ashtray’
album: ‘Crying Over Pros For No
Reason’.
Released: 2004
”This was released a while ago
on μ-Ziq’s Planet-Mu imprint.
The album is a combination of
subtle melodies and Aphex
Twin-style programming.
edIT is now a member of a
group called The Glitch Mob.”
4.Fridge
’Cutup Piano And Xylophone’
album: ‘Happiness’.
Released: 2001
”Their genre is described as
post rock, but this album
‘Happiness’ is pretty much what
we know as Four Tet now. It
sounds like waves upon the
shore. A beautiful song.”
5.Cornelius
‘Drop’
album: ‘Point’.
Released: 2001
”This is Japanese musician
Cornelius’ fourth album and
it’s the ideal mixture of
acoustic and electronic. It’s
quite experimental, but the
harmonies make this album
one of my all-time favourites.”

086

DJ486.james_yuill_feature.indd 86 7/5/10 15:55:21

 RESIDENTS:
NIC FANCIULLI • UMEK • YOUSEF
SUMMER LINE-UP INCLUDES:
ANDY C & MC GQ
ANGELS OF LOVE DJS • CARLO LIO
CRISTIAN VARELA • DANNY TENAGLIA
DUBFIRE • ELIO RISO • FATBOY SLIM
FEDDE LE GRAND • GREEN VELVET
JOHN DIGWEED • JOSH WINK
LAYO & BUSHWACKA! • LOCO DICE
LTJ BUKEM & MC CONRAD
MARCO BAILEY • MARK KNIGHT
MONIKA KRUSE • NICOLE MOUDABER
PENDULUM (EL HORNET DJ SET) & MC VERSE
PLUMP DJS

FOR FULL LISTINGS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT

CARLCOX.COM • SAFEHOUSEMANAGEMENT.COM • SPACEIBIZA.COM • ANGELSOFLOVE.IT

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:35:47

 Ibiza’10
MIXED BY SIMON DUNMORE
FEATURING DENNIS FERRER, QUENTIN HARRIS, THE SHAPESHIFTERS,
RASMUS FABER, DJ GREGORY, CHOCOLATE PUMA, ATFC, COPYRIGHT,
JAMES TALK & RIDNEY AND MORE
2CD / 2EP / DOWNLOAD OUT NOW
WWW.DEFECTED.COM

SATURDAYS / SABADOS
05 JUN - 25 SEP 2010
BOB SINCLAR / DAVID MORALES / SANDY RIVERA
DENNIS FERRER / QUENTIN HARRIS / JUNIOR JACK
& KID CREME / THE SHAPESHIFTERS / ATFC
CHOCOLATE PUMA / COPYRIGHT / RIVA STARR
DJ SPEN / DAVID PENN / SIMON DUNMORE
SHOVELL LIVE ON PERCUSSION

WWW.DEFECTED.COM WWW.PACHA.COM

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:49:53

 FROM
OMG
TO
MIA
Conquering
America,
producing MIA,
joining Mad
Decent... things are
kicking right off for
Rusko — the
rowdiest soundboy
in dubstep…
Words: Joe Madden

www.djmag.com 089

DJ486.rosco_feature.indd 89 6/5/10 12:38:31


A
sk Rusko if he ever imagined dubstep
would grow into the world-
conquering force that it has, and, just
briefly, his cheery-rave-kid
demeanour drops and he comes over
all far-away and awestruck.
“No way. Never. I thought it might maybe get to a
certain level in the UK, but never that it’d become as
big as it is right now. I mean, dubstep can be very
aggressive, it can be very experimental — it’s not the
sort of music you’d think would ever be as popular as
piano-and-cheesy-vocal house. It’s pretty ‘intrusive’
music, y’ know? And yet... here we are!”
Like dubstep itself, Rusko has enjoyed a breathlessly
swift and steep rise. It’s just four years since the
release of his first twelve, but he’s already graduated
into dance music’s big leagues. Things might well
have turned out different, however, had he stuck
with his teenage dreams of reggae stardom.
“It was the local reggae scene in Leeds that first got
me into dubstep,” he remembers. “There’s a huge
sound-system scene up north, what with people like
Iration Steppas. I was producing digi-dub, which is
the modern UK dub-reggae sound. Then I heard
dubstep and I was like, ‘Hey, this is the same thing!’
I mean, there are Iration Steppas records from the
early ’90s that sound just like dubstep tracks. So I
switched.
“I moved down to London in 2006, just as my first
release — ‘SNES Dub’ — was coming out on Dub
Police. I was living a couple of streets away from
Caspa, so we started DJing and producing together,
began working harder and harder, and it basically all
went off from there.”
High impact
Rusko’s come a long way, both figuratively and
literally, since then: he’s relocated to sunny LA, and
been inducted into the peerlessly cool Mad Decent
crew — his brand of gleefully gonzoid tuneage
dovetails perfectly with theirs.
“Obviously, Switch and Diplo are the main men at
Mad Decent, and I’ve been friends with Switch for a
long time. We worked together a lot when we were in
London, and we recently collaborated again on the
A-Team movie soundtrack. And the type of dubstep I
play, it’s perfect for the crowds that Mad Decent
events draw. I play for the party kids, the raver kids
— because that’s me. My music’s not deep or
anything; it’s hype party music for jumping up and
down to. It’s punk rock.”
Rusko’s high-impact, crowd-pleasing sound has
earned him the ire of many a blog-spotting,
chin-stroking Hyperdub fanboy. Gracious under fire,
he maintains that dubstep is a church broad enough
for all. “There’s always going to be a split amongst
listeners, in any genre. In dubstep, you’ve got the
40-year-old guy who comes home and smokes a joint
to a Kode 9 album, and you’ve got the 19-year-old
who double-drops a couple of pills and goes out
raving to Rusko. It’s not like there’s any beef or hate
there, it’s just personal taste. I think it’s a really cool
thing that dubstep has developed so much, and in so
many directions, and now has so many fans, that you
can have that split. I think it’s healthy, more than
anything.”
Rusko’s debut album — entitled ‘OMG!’ and featuring
his squished face billowing fag-smoke on the cover
— may not result in him cracking that lucrative
090
DJ486.rosco_feature.indd 90
RUSKO’S
40-year-old-stoner market, but you can bet that the
pill-scoffing 19-year-olds are going to lap it up in
FINEST MOMENTS
droves. A potent distillation of everything that’s fun, 01. Rusko
loopy and dangerous about raving, it’s ‘The Prodigy ‘Cockney Thug’
Experience’ for the dance kids of 2010. This early anthem is a still-brilliant mash-up of rolling
“A couple of the tracks have been around in DJ sets wobble-bass, reggae horns and good old-fashioned
for a year or so,” says Rusko, “but a lot of them I’ve swearing (“Fack!”).
purposely held back for when the album comes out,
to make them more special. But I’m one of those 02. Various
terrible people who’ll change and change stuff until ‘fabriclive37’
the last possible second; literally until the tracks are Co-hosted with Caspa, this 2007 mix acted as an
being taken away for mastering. The album was introduction to dubstep for many, and helped to
basically finished a year ago, but with a completely define the fledgling jump-up sound.
different tracklisting!
“I made sure that every track was tested on real, live 03. Little Boots
ravers,” he continues. “I can’t really make music ‘Remedy (Rusko’s Big Trainers Remix)’
unless I’m DJing. I like to make tracks Monday to Proving that Rusko could do melodic as well as
Wednesday, test them out Thursday to Saturday.” mental, this 2009 relick married filthy squelch to
And he’s rigorously immersive in his research. ethereal whoosh.
“Yeah, I’m a proper raver kid, y’ know? You can’t DJ
to people on drugs unless you’ve taken a lot of 04. Rusko
drugs. It’s true! Some DJs have never taken a pill in ‘Da Cali Anthem’
their life, but you’ve got to be in it to win it.” This 2Pac-sampling synthsplosion is the first dubstep
track to gain a foothold on US radio, having been
Feverishly anticipated play-listed by major hip-hop station Power 106.
If ‘OMG!’ is about to cement Rusko’s position in the
worldwide underground, he’ll soon be invading the 05. Rusko feat Crookers
overground with his next project: the feverishly ‘Oy’
anticipated third album from MIA, of which Rusko is One of the high points of ‘OMG!’, this collabo with
the executive producer. Italian hip-housers Crookers is gleefully synthetic,
“There’s a track by Blaqstarr,” he says, “and a couple arcade-machine funk.
of tracks I did with Switch, but yeah, the rest of the
album I produced myself, and then me and MIA
mixed it together in Hawaii.”
So what can we expect from this slightly unlikely
pairing? “We just went overboard — it’s super
experimental. Some of it has me playing crazy
distorted guitar, then there are tracks that sound
like love songs, with full piano and MIA singing like
an angel. There’s the sound of waterfalls on one
track, the sound of MIA’s baby’s heartbeat, the
sound of ice cracking in glasses…
“The basic idea was to freak people out and surprise
them, to make the album as not-what-you’d-expect
as possible. When you put an MIA album into your CD
player, you want to hear shit you never heard before.
That’s why people love her.”
Rusko will be joining MIA on her world tour later in
the year, but until then, he’s enjoying his position as
dubstep’s unofficial ambassador to the US. “It’s
really cool to be able to be the first person to play
a dubstep show in a certain area,” he brims. “I
played the first-ever dubstep show in Tennessee,
the first-ever in Nashville… It’s great.”
Not that the ambassador’s role doesn’t involve
the odd stressful moment. “I’ve done a lot of
American interviews for the album,” he winces,
“and the first question is usually, ‘Rusko, please
explain to all of America what dubstep is.’ It’s
such a hard question! Put-on-the-spot or what
[laughs]? But it’s all good, because I really want
the sound to spread. I’m out here trying to help
dubstep blow up to even crazier levels!”
Rusko’s album ‘OMG!’ is released 7th June on
Mad Decent
6/5/10 12:38:31
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:37:14
 Burning Inner City Flashback Around The
Up p.094 p.096 p.098 World p.100
The parties setting trends Getting inside Edinburgh’s The clubs that changed dance Malta Music Week with
and smashing up cities vibrant clubbing movement music forever more. This month — Creamfields and Ministry Of
Friction Sound

ACCESS ALL AREAS

FRONTLINE, BACKSTAGE & UNDER THE FENCE CLUB REPORTING!

Loud and proud

We Fear Silence take over Saturday night programming at South London’s Cable venue
WHAT a difference a year makes, eh? It wasn’t all that long ago when DJs, clubbers and
London clubland at large were lamenting the lost glories and gaping holes left by the
quick-fire departures of venues like The Cross, The Key, The End and Turnmills.
Right now, though, London is on fire when it comes to quality clubbing with under-
ground hotboxes, Dalston disco dens and warehouse shindigs all rocking to the best
names in the business week in, week out. And the capital’s ongoing nocturnal resur-
gence has got a further shot in the arm with the news that the We Fear Silence crew
— the brainchild of former End programming team Ajay Jayaram and Ryan Ashmore —
have completely taken over the Saturday night program at Bermondsey venue Cable.
Long seen as the perfect mid-sized venue to fill the gap left by The End amongst
discerning London clubbing heads (including Ryan and Ajay themselves), Cable’s
800-capacity archway space will now play host to a diverse roster of quality, cross-genre
parties each and every week.
Just the start of what’s to come from the We Fear Silence crew, the promotions already
signed up include Paul Arnold’s ever-innovative Chew The Fat!, the deeper d&b alliance
of Fabio & LTJ Bukem’s Swerve and Creative Source, Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly and Goldie’s
Metalheadz, all of which extend their ties with the We Fear Silence crew.
In terms of new signings, taste-making electro label Modular and grime/bass music dons
Dirty Canvas are teaming up with Ninja Tune’s sub-label Big Dada to bring Jammer, Toddla
T, Redlight and Mumdance on Saturday 3rd July, while compilation kings Balance will host
the Agoria album launch on Saturday 17th July with the French techno king himself.
“We cut our teeth programming a really diverse spread of music at a club that was open to
everything and anything so that’s always going to be the angle we come at things from,”
explains We Fear Silence co-founder Ajay Jayaram. “For us it’s always been about good
music. It’s about people that are pushing the envelope and doing good things… regard-
less of genre.”
“We’ve worked all hours since moving operations to Cable to ensure we deliver on abso-
lutely every level,” says Ryan Ashmore. “New lighting rigs have been installed, the already
excellent sound system has been reconfigured and now sounds even more insane. For us
Cable fills a middle ground, that intimate vibe people are crying out for — not just punters
but promoters.”
Large enough to feel like you’re having a big club experience but small enough to mean
you won’t lose your friends,” adds Ajay.

092 www.djmag.com

DJ486.AAA1.indd 92 13/5/10 15:00:46


Tensnake
Ramadanman
Redlight
Ben Watt
Sven Väth
Potentially the start of a shining new era for the venue, We Fear Silence’s Cable
revolution will kick off a double-header weekend from Friday 4th July when
FACT magazine will champion a killer line-up of future bass, post-dubstep
and alt-techno, while Modular bring German deep disco-loving don Tensnake
(live), The Swiss (live) and a DJ set from Norwegian electro-pop honey Annie.
wefearsilence.com
DJ486.AAA1.indd 93 www.djmag.com
NEWS NUGGETS
DUB BE GOOD
FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS Dub-boro has provided a
series of sick, bass-heavy events to fill the lonely void
that is the Loughborough music scene. From their
humble beginnings in the function room above a pub to
hosting parties of over 1000 people, each event is held
in secret locations announced on the same day and
entrance is on advance ticket-only basis. This Thursday
June 17th sees Dub-boro’s 10th and final party at
Loughborough’s student epicentre with their biggest
line-up to date including Zinc, Jack Beats, Martelo,
Joker, Plastician, Jakwob, dBridge, Instra:Mental,
Ramadanman and Transit Mafia. Big tings a’gwan,
clearly. dub-boro.blogspot.com
IMPRESSIVE MATTER
IF YOU LIKE CONCEPTUAL LIVE SHOWS in awesome venues
then lo and behold! Head down to matter on Wednesday 9th
June to catch incredible sound architect Matthew Herbert and
his Big Band project. Fresh from the recording of ‘One Club’,
the second installment of his One Trilogy, Matt and his Big
Band take to the stage to perform an abstract collection of
sounds taken from various club environments celebrating the
temporal idea of a load of randomers coming together each
week to get mashed. The band will be joined by Eska who is
fronting the Goldsmiths Vocal Ensemble and returns after the
massive success of their collaboration at the Barbican last
year. The event starts at 7pm and tickets are £18.50 advance
Matthew Herbert
and £25 on the door. matterlondon.com
PARK LIFE
SVEN VÄTH and his legendary Cocoon collective return, this
time to the beautiful Leeds countryside for the second of
their open-air Cocoon In The Park festivals on Saturday 10th
June. Alongside Sven, you can expect all the big names
including Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice and Adam Shelton.
In traditional Cocoon style, the show also features dancers,
a full lighting display, pyrotechnics and live VJing along with
many other extras on top of last year’s event all taking place
on 600 acres of Leeds’ 16th Century Temple Newsam estate.
And to top it all off, Audio-Plus are providing a custom-built
PA as part of their Funktion One setup. All because they can.
facebook.com/cocoonInThePark
ABSOLUTELY UNREAL
ROCKING IT most Saturday nights at Plug, Sheffield’s Shuffle Mr Scruff
seem to have upped the ante with their May programme.
Beginning on Saturday 1st May with recent DJmag coverstar
Eric Prydz, the rest of the month sees breaks badboys the
Stanton Warriors touch down on Saturday 8th May, Ovum
Records boss and all-round legend Josh Wink arrive on
Saturday 15th May, before Diplo’s Mad Decent bass feast on
29th May. Part of the Mad Decent tour that is doing the rounds
right now, Diplo will be joined by rowdy dubstepper Rusko,
bass music eccentric Mumdance and NYC’s slick-haired bass
music superstar Drop The Lime. FFI the-plug.com
093
13/5/10 15:01:10
 BuBu
rnin
rnginUp
up
AAA
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL
Pics: BMATTHEW BRINDLE
WET YOURSELF
LONDON
WHERE?
Weekly Sunday nights at Fabric.
SOUND?
Eurocentric techno, deep house and
electro.
S
unday night. Just reading
those two words is usually
enough to send shudders of
post-weekend blues chilling
down your spine. The calendar’s weekly
reminder that we’re all slave to the same
nine to five drudgery as just about every
other fucker on the planet, Sunday night
is essentially a big fat full-stop on all the
weekend’s clubbing-related hedonism —
you played yesterday, now pay tomorrow.
Or at least it was until Mr Cormac, Peter
Pixzel and Jacob Husley ripped up the
rave timetable and stepped out into
London’s club scene with their Wet
Yourself parties back in March 2007.
“The thing was we could see that there
was a real scene with so many strong
elements going on in London,” explains
Mr Cormac. “But there didn’t seem to be a
party on Sunday might that borrowed
from all those elements — at least not on
a musical level. All the other good Sunday
parties focused on either the dressing up,
or the silliness or the fashion-kind of
thing… we really loved all of those but we
Peter Pixel, Mr Cormac & Jacob Husley
094
DJ486.AAA_2.1.indd 94
Clubs setting trends and smashing up cities…
AREAS
felt there was a gap for one that was really
strongly led by music.”
First taking up residence at East London’s
Aquarium, it didn’t take Wet Yourself long
to make a name as a musically clued
hotspot with bookings like Miss Kittin, Rex
The Dog, Mr Oizo, Martinez, The Hacker,
Oxia and Italoboyz. Within well under a
year, Wet Yourself was firmly established
as the definitive Sunday session for
anyone in London looking for a
work-dodging hit of underground electro
or tastemaking techno.
So much so that it didn’t take long before
London’s temple of cutting-edge
underground sound came knocking on
Wet Yourself’s door for a Sunday
residency.
“Fabric actually first asked us to move a
year before we did as we were happy
where we were, being independent and
doing our own thing,” explains Cormac.
“But we kept in contact and a year later
when they asked us, it just felt right.
Everyone there is really passionate about
what they do and it’s been a real
challenge to create something different in
that club — it’s been a great move.”
Launching at the Farringdon megaclub
last February, Wet Yourself’s dusk-til-
www.djmag.com
dawn Sunday sessions have been reliably
packed out with art students, stop-outs,
bar workers, techno hedonists,
fashionistas and just about anyone else
who doesn’t have to get up on Monday —
“although we do get our fair share of
people who just go straight to work for
eight after staying up till six,” jokes Peter
— including, on one occasion, Jacob’s
60-year-old Dad who was busting out
some moves to his son’s set to celebrate
his birthday.
With a roll-call that counts Phil Kieran,
M-nus don Gaiser, Rui Da Silva, Marcel
Dettman and Sasha Funke amongst its
high grade bookings and a dedicated
weekly crowd, Wet Yourself are now
extending their music aims through their
own label, as well as constant tours across
Europe.
“We’re just starting to get our schedule
together,” explains Jacob. “We’re
planning on having a full release every
month, with music from ourselves and
artists like Alex Under, Alex Kid and Pig &
Dan all contributing to the label.”
“We’re holding a boat party at Sonar with
Miss Kittin, Martinez and a special guest
for 200 people,” adds Cormac. “Then we’ve
got a gig in Berlin on 3rd July and are
hosting a tent alongside Trailertrash at
Lovebox festival which we’re really excited
about.”
DATES
Sun 6th Jun: Wet Yourself @
Fabric, London
Marc Houle, Peter Pixzel, Jacob Husley
and Cormac
Sun 13th Jun: Wet Yourself @
Fabric, London
Peter Pixzel, Jacob Husley and Cormac
Sun 20th Jun: Wet Yourself @
Fabric, London
Saytek (live), Louis Guilhem and more
tbc
Sun 27th Jun: Wet Yourself @
Fabric, London
Cristiano Pixeldot, Antony Di Francesco
and more tbc
GET TO KNOW
NEWCASTLE
● Seven mates who met on
Newcastle’s clubbing scene, Jaunt
was born out of a boredom with the
same-old, same-old and desire to
focus on underground up and coming
bookings. Since
beginning at the
intimate Red
Rooms in
November 2007,
Jaunt’s rollcall
includes Solomun,
Milton Jackson,
Milton Jackson Anil Chawla,
Motor City Drum
Ensemble, Damian Schwartz and PBR
Streetgang.
● With a pretty minimal (as in
‘non-existent’ rather than the music
policy) after-hours scene in
Newcastle, the Jaunt boys have taken
matters into their own hands. Or
their own kitchen, to be specific,
making it the location of many
impromptu DJ sets from the likes of
Sascha Dive and Chris Tietjen.
● Jaunt’s most recent Giles Smith
renegade parties have
been their clandestine,
industrial unit parties
with secretsundaze’s Giles
Smith playing the first and
Hot Natured’s Lee Foss the
second. On both
occasions, buses picked
the Jaunt rave massive up
from the city centre, drove
them to the out-of-town unit with
the gates locked upon entry and
staying closed right till the end.
● If you want to sample the
soundtrack of Jaunt’s renegade
techno and underground house
sessions without making it all the
way to Newcastle then subscribe to
their regular podcast through iTunes
or jaunt.podomatic.com. Past
contributors include Dorian Pac,
Burnski and Kruse & Nürnberg, as
well as residents like Richard Rowell
and Blackhall and Bookless.
● As well as their annual Ibiza
escapades and more unit parties, the
Jaunt boys will also be bringing Circo
Loco to Newcastle towards the
tail-end of the summer. They’re also
making moves to take over East
London so watch this space.
13/5/10 11:24:24
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:18:30
 Inner City
AAA
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL AREAS
ON YOUR ED(INBURGH)
The Scottish capital’s club scene might not boast the heritage or buzz of its
Glaswegian counterpart, but it boasts a raft of killer underground parties
“E
dinburgh’s club scene
doesn’t suffer from the
fierce competitiveness as
many other major
cities,” believes Sarah David, promotions
manager of Edinburgh venue Cabaret
Voltaire. “There’s a limited number of
underground venues now, so promoters
and venues will speak to each other on an
honest level and it’s a far tighter
community in the clubbing scene. It’s all
about greater communication. A lot of
the dog-eat-dog attitude has stopped
and we’ve joined forces to help the
underground scene thrive.”
Dedicated to alternative music seven
nights a week, Cabaret Voltaire oozes
underground charm and consistently
brings the big boys to its intimate
basement dwelling with nights like
bi-monthly banging techno session
KOMPAKT, jackin’ Chicago housin’ party
Caspa at Volume
096
DJ486.AAA_2.2.indd 96
UK hotspots explored...
TELEFUNKEN, KARNIVAL and Edniburgh’s
longest running Friday night TOKYOBLU,
a forum for disco, deeper techno and all
forms of house, populating the club’s
calendar.
On the last Friday of the month, rave
legends Utah Saints mash down party
sounds from bass, electro, d&b and more
at their SUGARBEAT CLUB residency which
has hosted the likes of Krafty Kuts,
Justice and Felix Da Housecat over the
years.
Then there’s Gareth Sommerville’s deep
house bastion ULTRAGROOVE which takes
place on fortnightly Saturdays and has
welcomed names like Ben Watt, Milton
Jackson, Todd Terje, Claude VonStroke,
Jimpster, Jesse Rose and Switch. Another
long-running local legend is MUSIKA who
also host regular nights at Cabaret
Voltaire (Joris Voorn played in March), as
well as other venues across town.
Like just about every other corner of the
country, dubstep and its associated bass
mutations has blown huge ruptures here
with the sporadic INNUENDUB bringing
names like Bar 9 and Emalkay to ‘the Cab’
in recent months. But perhaps dubstep’s
biggest proponent here is VOLUME.
Recently celebrating their third birthday
at the Bongo Club with El-b and Planet
Mu’s Neil Landstrumm, they’ve given
Edinburgh debuts to Skream, Benga and
Caspa. They also hold a bi-monthly
residency at the intimate Sneaky Pete’s
venue, the next of which takes place on
Saturday 5th June from 11pm to 3am.
Entry is free all night too. Blap!
The Bongo Club itself is another solid
forum for underground beats. On
monthly second Saturdays, BIG ‘N’ BASHY
live up to their name with a rambunctious
sub-smashing assault of jungle, reggae
and dubstep, while the monthly XPLICIT
parties streamlines the bass filth to drum
www.djmag.com
CITY SOUNDS:
House, dubstep, techno,
bass music, breaks and
drum & bass
KEY DJS:
Gareth Sommerville, Derek
Martin, John Tokyoblu &
Termite
ESSENTIAL PARTIES:
Ultragroove, Sugarbeat Club,
Muzika, This Is Music &
Volume
& bass purism — Klute touches down on
Friday 1st June. Swapping grime for
glam, the regular CONFUSION IS SEX
parties are all about trash disco, sleazy
electro, out-there live performers and
extrovert art.
Another small venue that should be on
your radar if you’re heading to Edinburgh
is The Caves. Quarterly house/techno/
minimal night KAPITAL have had the likes
of Ellen Allien, Anja Schneider, Nathan
Fake, Pier Bucci, Alex Smoke and James
Holden to play. Monthly night DEPARTURE
LOUNGE covers global music, soulful
sounds and broken beats with past guests
including Benji B, Zero dB, Jazzttronik
and Patrick Forge. Sourcing a more
mechanistic and raucous breed of
breakbeat funk, AZ-TECH deliver names
like Far Too Loud, Defcon1, Baobinga and
I.D, although you might need to wait till
autumn for your next fix from them as
they bow out for their annual summer
break with Flat Out’s Peo De Pitte on
Friday 28th May.
Finally, we can’t finish up without tipping
a mention to weekly indie electro session
THIS IS MUSIC which brings a mixture of
achingly cool live electro acts and eclectic
DJ talents (Totally Enormous Extinct
Dinosaurs have played in the past) to
Sneaky Pete’s every single Friday night. It
runs from 11pm till 3am and is just £3 ins.
WEBSITES
confusionissex.com
departurelounge.me.uk
thecabaretvoltaire.com
ultragroove.co.uk
myspace.com/az_tech_breaks
myspace.com/bignbashydub
myspace.com/kapitalclub
myspace.com/thisismusicedinburgh
INFO
GETTING THERE
If you’re travelling from London
then by far the most sensible and
cost-effective way of getting up there is by
plane with return flights from London Gatwick
available from as low as £42 from easyJet. If
you feel an irrational need to slum it then
National Express coaches run from London,
and most major cities, for as low as £10 if you
book in advance.
easyjet.com thetrainline.com
nationalexpress.com
WHERE TO STAY
The latest luxury hotel in the
capital is Hotel Missoni (1 George
IV Bridge), a warm, ultra-modern and slick
hotel experience that’ll set you back around
£570 a night for a double room. On the other
hand, Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is plentiful with
budget hotels and hostels, with beds available
from as little as £10 a night at places like the
cosy Royal Mile Backpackers (105 High
Street).
hotelmissoni.com royalmilebackpackers.com
PRE-PARTIES
Near Edinburgh’s train station and
the hottest new watering hole in
the city centre, 99 Hanover Street is a swish
bohemian oasis of fine beverages and quality
grub. On weekend nights expect a raucous
party-starting atmosphere and a soundtrack
of hip-hop, soul and a smidge of house.
showmefun.co.uk
SOUNDS
GARETH
SOMMERVILLE
Ultragroove residents top 10
01. TRACEY THORN
‘Why Does The Wind’ Buzzin’ Fly
“Tracey Thorn + Morgan Geist = dancefloor perfection.”
02. BEN DEAN
‘Standard Model’ Baker Street
“The choice cut from a great EP.”
03. MATTHIAS HEILBRONN & JOESKI
‘LA MUSIKA’ Pata De Perro
“Afro Cuban house with hot percussion and an acid
twist.”
04. SPIELTAPE
‘I Deal’ Artizan Music
“Linear tech-house that’s perfect for those head down
moments.”
05. BING JI LING
‘Sunshine Love’ Monk
“Ray Mang’s beaten dub is a cert for club play when
the sun goes down.”
06. TEVO HOWARD
‘Crystal Republic’ HHYR Records
“Old school sounding acid assault form the ever
consistent Tevo Howard.”
07. KINK
‘Rachel’ Ovum
“Kink’s take on the classic Chicago sound that really
pays off when the strings drop.”
08. TRUTH IS LIGHT
‘Where He Leads Me’ Truth Is Light
“Gospel that even Richard Dawkins would find hard to
resist.”
09. FLOATING POINTS
‘Shark’s Chase’ Eglo
“Off kilter, bass-heavy and brooding. Not for the faint
hearted.”
10. CLARO INTELECTO
‘Back In The Day’ Modern Love
“A straight up club banger that kills it every time.”
11/5/10 15:39:55
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:48:52
 Flashback

AAA
The clubs that changed dance music forever…
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL AREAS

FRICTION
Bar Rumba
1996 - 1999

DJS: Tayo, Adam Freeland

and Rennie Pilgrem

“W
hen we started
putting ‘Nu Skool
Break Beat and
Future Electro’ on
our fliers it wasn’t meant as a genre
name,” recalls Tayo, one third of the
three-headed Friction DJ unit alongside
TCR’s Rennie Pilgrem and Adam Freeland.
“It was more just a way of differentiating
our sound from the big beat stuff and to
show that we were pushing things in a
more futuristic direction — a bit of a press
angle for hype.”
Christened the home of ‘nu skool breaks’
by the dance music world at large, Bar
Rumba’s Fricton wasn’t the first, or only,
Tom Middleton
Si Begg, Freq Nasty, Rennie Pilgrim
place to push a deeper, cybernetic
breakbeat antidote to big beat’s cartoony
lager-spilling riot— in fact, Paul Arnold
had booked all three of the Friction three
for his early Chew The Fat! parties, while
Rennie had been running his Mashed
sessions of alternative electro and breaks
in Central London since 1995 — but it fast
snowballed into a buzz-centred
phenomenon that placed it as the central
touchpoint for this nascent scene.
So nascent, in fact, that there weren’t
even enough ‘nu skool breaks’ records to
fill the night at first when they set it up
with promoter Ian Williams.
“You could almost count the people
making the sound with your hands,”
remembers Rennie Pilgrem. “There were
the US people like DJ Icey and Uberzone, I
had been running my TCR label and there
were pockets of other people thinking on
similar lines, but really we were stitching
different things together before it had
fully-formed.”
In that way, Friction started as a blank
creative canvas; an instinctive testing
ground for a brand new funk.
A hip-hop kid who got sucked into drum &
bass and wasn’t turned on by house, Tayo
would be dropping slowed down deebee
bangers like DJ Red’s gnarly bass
boomerang ‘Enter Da Dragon’ on 33rpm
alongside the Florida electro-breaks
sound of DJ Icey et al and the choicest,
pre-cartoony cuts from Skint Records.
Rennie was an old skool rave legend (as
Rhythm Section with Ellis Dee), whose TCR
label had stuck with the raw funk power of
a house-tempo breakbeat when ‘arkdore
had a silly-fast tempo tantrum, while
Adam Freeland was the buzz name of the
moment thanks to his ground-breaking
‘Coastal Breaks’ mix.
Together, they formed a pretty unbeatable
resident trio and, along with a shrewd
booking policy, Friction fast represented
the cream of a rapidly snowballing breaks
scene — think Finger Lickin’ Records, Fuel
Records’s Tipper, Botchit & Scarper’s Blim,
Danny McMillan and Freq Nasty. A far cry
from the tainted word breakbeat has since
become, Friction’s sound was synonymous
with totally futuristic machine funk that
cut loose from so much of the era’s staid,
fluffy house and came delivered with
widescreen Y3k production values.
“We were only hyping it up as the centre of
this new movement to get people to come
but in the end it became a sort of
self-fulfilling prophecy,” laughs Tayo.
“Sasha would come down to check it out,
drum & bass heads like Fabio, Roni Size
and DJ Die would get down to see what
was going on and we’d even have people
like Andrew Weatherall, Tom Middleton,
Leftfield’s Paul Daley and Carl Cox playing
proper breakbeat sets. I think Hybrid used
to say in interviews that their first album
was part-inspired by coming to Friction —
they’d drive up from Wales and then get
straight back in the studio. It really felt like
the centre of something special.”
TIMELESS MOMENT:
A queue right down to Piccadilly
Circus and total delirium indoors
when Carl Cox played an
exclusive breakbeat set for
Friction — dropping Outlander’s
rave-stabbing Belgian techno
beast ‘The Vamp’ and then
going back-to-back on four
decks with Adam Freeland.
DEFINITIVE TRACKS:
* Tsunami One ‘Number 43 With
Steamed Rice’
* Semi Detached ‘Who Da Fuck’
* Blim ‘Chronologic’

DRIVING FORCES The promoters behind the dancefloors

How did you get into it all?
“I started designing club flyers and
working with various promoters in
Belfast when I was at art college. When I
set up my own graphic design
consultancy in 2005, Mynt were one of
my first clients. At first, I just designed
various promotional flyers for the club,
then in 2006 Lawrence Bannon, the club
owner, asked me if I’d help him to start a
new polysexual club night... Yello was
born.”
What was the original inspiration
AARON EAKIN behind Yello?
YELLO (MYNT CLUB, BELFAST) “We wanted to throw a weekly party that
would attract a mixed gay and straight,
open-minded crowd but with a future
facing music policy. Before Yello existed
Belfast’s club scene was quite
segregated in terms of gay and straight
clubs so we’ve tried to change that.”
Most memorable moment as a
promoter?
“Making into DJmag’s Top 100 clubs this
year was a real thrill. We were one of
only four clubs on the island of Ireland
to make the poll and we ranked higher
than any other Belfast club.”
What’s the hardest thing about
running a weekly promotion?
“Packing out a club every week is the
biggest challenge every promoter in the
country faces right now. The key has
been to keep our line-ups fresh.
Encompassing house, techno, electro
and disco, we vary our music style from
week to week with guests like Will Saul,
Ben Watt, Mark Knight and Dubfire.”
What’s next for Yello?
“We have also just added two prolific
Belfast DJs to our residents roster —The
Jet Project, aka Timmy Stewart and John
McIver. Joining our existing residents
Scope, Dibby Dougherty, John Craig and
Aaron Shim, Timmy and John will hold
an exclusive monthly residency at Yello.”

098 www.djmag.com

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Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:43:13
 Around The World
AAA
ACCESS ALL AREAS
On the radar
Malta Music Week puts the sun-baked Mediterranean island on
the global clubbing map
A
hidden gem that remains an
unknown entity to many, the
small Mediterranean island of
Malta lets out a clarion call to
clubbers with Malta Music Week. A six-day
programme that begins on 26th June,
Malta Music Week will host two of the
biggest dance music events the island has
ever seen with the Ministry Of Sound
festival and the annual Creamfields Malta.
The MTV-sponsored closing concert Isle Of
MTV will close the week on Wednesday
30th June at the dramatic Il’Fosos Square
in Floriana. Camp disco revivalists The
Scissor Sisters and r&b megastar Kelis
headline with more acts promised.
“There was some controversy over winter
because there were certain media reports
saying Malta is the next Ibiza,” explains
Nicholas Spiteri from Clubbers Events who
put on the Ministry Of Sound festival,
clearly referring to The Independent’s
infamous article ‘Move Over Grandma,
Malta Is For Clubbers’.
“It definitely isn’t, but the scene is
definitely growing. We had Prodigy over
recently, we have Faithless coming over
this summer. All the big DJs from Sasha
and Digweed to Sven Väth have now
played. Between us and Creamfields just
about everyone has been covered.”
Malta’s Ministry Of Sound festival is the
first to make its mark on Malta Music Week
on Saturday 26th June — housed in
100
DJ486.AAA_4.indd 100
Joining the disco dots across the planet
Malta’s largest and longest running
open-air club Gianpula.
Perhaps sign of the island’s more
mainstream tastes, the open-air main
arena will be headlined by electro-pop
crossover sensation Calvin Harris and
Toolroom Records’ tech-house titan Mark
Knight. But there’s plenty room for more
underground names too. Bedrock’s Guy J,
the man behind last summer’s melodic
techno anthem ‘Lamur’, headlines the
progressive arena alongside German
production veteran Johannes Heil, while a
third arena will be filled with the deep,
lush house sounds of Frenchman Okain
who has had releases on labels like Tsuba,
Ellen Allien’s Bpitch Control and Paul
Ritch’s Quartz Music. In the fourth arena,
the hugely hyped live trance act Dash
Berlin continue the world tour for their
‘The New Daylight’ LP.
Taking place on Monday 28th June
between 6pm and 4am, Creamfields forms
the second rave of the week at the Ta’ Qali
National Park and three adjoining areas at
the island’s other open-air clubbing haunt
— Numero Uno.
Represented across the bill are the classic
uncompromising techno of Dave Clarke,
the deep tech vibes of Eric Prydz, Ferry
Corsten’s big room trance sound and
Dubfire’s minimal missives. Nic Fanciulli,
Wonderland’s Pete Tong and David
www.djmag.com
Squillace complete the line-up.
While admitting the authorities still aren’t
the most accommodating, Gerry Debono,
part of the Fresh Events crew who promote
Creamfields, also believes a corner has
been turned for the Maltese market.
“In the past three or four years things have
really been growing,” explains Gerry.
“In the beginning it used to be a struggle
to convince top acts to come to Malta, but
now people realise that there’s a really
strong scene here. It’s very locals-based so
there’s a really strong community and
clubbers are really up for it — it’s like the
North of England in that sense.”
“We have 8,000 people coming to the
event which actually makes up 2% of the
population — it shows just how much
demand there is for these events,” he
adds.
“For those who come from overseas, you
can have those two or three full-on
parties, but then you can chill out properly
and discover the island for the rest of your
week. There are lots of really beautiful
beaches, a huge amount of history and
places to see, an amazing diving scene and
drink will only cost you a few euros.”
isleofmtv.com / freshevents.info /
creammalta.com / clubbersevent.com
14/5/10 16:25:37
 URBAN ART FORMS
AS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, David Guetta is a
pretty big deal right now. As are Carl Cox, Sven
Väth, Armand Van Helden, Digitalism, Luciano,
Boys Noize, Carl Craig… and you can catch all of
them at the massive fuck-off Austrian festival
that is Urban Art Forms, which tales place
between Thursday 3rd June and Sunday 6th
June in the forested Wiesen area of Austria. The
canvas-covered dance arenas mean that no
matter what the weather, the show must - and
will continuously - go on. And that’s no word of
a lie. The music rolls for almost 24 hours each
day and the urban art theme extends to visual
displays, light shows and mind-blowing effects
for a complete AV art experience. It’s also a d&b
lovers dream thanks to the Dogs On Acid Stage
which hosts Roni Size & Dynamite, Friction,
dBridge & Instra:mental, Logistics, DJ Fresh
and Ed Rush & Optical. uaf-festival.at Roni Size

,
Ashley Beedle

SUNDAY SESSIONS
BROOKLYN YARD in New York is where the
outdoor chill-down is at this summer thanks to
the Sunday Best afternoon parties. Beginning
on 30th May and running through to 5th
September, each week brings a different flavour
with Dam Funk, Ashley Beedle, Michael Mayer,
Floating Points, Linkwood, Todd Edwards,
Optimo and Prosumer all among the guests. The
idea is to showcase a broad range of honest,
authentic talent and create a relaxed
atmosphere where like-minded folk can come
together to unwind, hear some quality tunes
and still go to work the next day. The event is
brought to you by resident DJs Doug Singer,
Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin bringing you
the best al fresco jams under glowing vintage
fairy lights. Sip cocktails, munch on Mexican
food and dance it all off again while listening to
your favourite DJs. Sounds good. It runs from
3pm to 9pm each Sunday. sundaybestnyc.com

PASSPORT CONTROL
Argentina’s sprawling capital — Buenos Aires —
is rife with quality electronic music
PERHAPS the most European-like
place in South America, Buenos
Aires boasts a club scene that is as
buzzing as any city on the
continent — aided by the vigorous
party spirit of the locals. Nowhere
is more legendary than Pacha BA
(Avenida Rafael Obligado y Pampa)
and its long-running event
Clubland, which is an institution of
Crobar
world clubbing. Always a much
more full-on affair than the Pacha
name would indicate, with Hernan
Cattaneo as principal orchestrator,
this temple has seen them all from
Derrick Carter to M.A.N.D.Y. to the
Chemical Brothers but it is the
progressive sound and Global
Underground bandwagon that
have produced the most famous
sessions. The likes of Sasha,
Digweed, Nick Warren, Anthony
Pappa and Dave Seaman are now
part of dance music folklore here.
In contrast to Pacha’s size and
renown, the tiny Cocoliche (878
Rivadavia) is the underground don
in town, offering forward-thinking
house and techno sounds across a
multi-level venue. The calibre of
guests tell you everything you
need to know about how serious
this place is about its music; read
Marcel Dettmann, Robert Hood,
Seth Troxler and Ben Klock in the
past 12 months alone.
With a capacity of over 2000,
Crobar (Marcelino Freyre) is
anything but the little brother of
the famous clubs with the same
name in Chicago, New York and
Miami. In fact, since opening in
2005, it has become ‘the’ place to
play for the big international
artists, thanks in no small part to a
crisp sound-system and slick
production capabilities. In the past
year Sven Väth, Luciano,
Tiefschwarz, Juan Maclean and
Layo & Bushwacka! have all
starred.
Located in Palermo — the heart of
Buenos Aires’ nightlife — since
1998, Niceto (5510 Niceto Vega)
has earned its stripes to be ranked
amongst the most respected clubs
in all South America. The two room
club has had guests from across the
dance spectrum, as diverse as
Goldie, Zombie Nation and the
Wighnomy Brothers down the
years. A staging post for anyone
who thinks they can cut it as a
musician in Argentina and an
evergreen and interesting program
of events.
Away from the main action, there is
a plethora of good music to be
found in smaller parties and
venues, the best of which are
Bahrein (345 Lavalle) for trance,
techno and drum & bass and
Levitar Ambient Bar (1715 Godoy
Cruz), a small bar regularly
featuring the best young and local
house or techno DJs.
GREGO O’ HALLORAN

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DJ486.AAA_4.indd 101 14/5/10 16:25:49

 The Essential 10

AAA
If you only go out once this month, make sure it’s to one of these...

ACCESS ALL AREAS

2. I AM DIXON
Sound Control, New Wakefield St,
Manchester, M1
Friday 25th June

LIKE all the best things in life, the

premise behind ‘I Am’ is pretty simple.
One DJ, one venue, all night long. And
there’s not many better placed to man up
and man the decks for a night’s entire
intoxicating duration than Steffen
Berkhann, or Innervisions boss Dixon as
you probably best know him. Well-
schooled tastes, impeccable skills, an
encyclopaedic knowledge of all things
house and over 15-years of experience in
preaching that love to the deep house
1. TOGETHER masses, Dixon is sure to take you on a
The Coronet, New Kent Rd, London, SE1 journey tonight.
Friday 25th June 10pm - 4am £14 adv iam-dj.com

CLOSING Together’s 16-date, almost entirely sold out season at The Coronet is tonight’s bass-heavy throwdown
— curated by South London’s Deadly Rhythm crew. Taking the same forward-looking, genre-smashing ethic that has
propelled their Plan B parties to the forefront of the capital’s clubbing cutting-edge, the Deadly Rhythm crew have
recruited LA’s synth-funk revivalist Dam Funk, beatific Glaswegian beatsmith Hudson Mohawke, Bristolian wonky
producer Joker, recent DJmag coverstar Redlight, Hyperdub’s Kode 9, Rustie, dubstep godfather Hatcha and MJ Cole
to join the dots between bass badness new and old. In the third room, classic two-step and old school garage
revivalists Days Like That are in control with Dem 2, Noodles (Groove Chronicles) and DEA Project’s Para headlining.
10pm - 6am £10 adv together-club.co.uk

3. JUST JACK PRESENTS

REBEL RAVE
Motion, Avon St, St Phillips, Bristol, BS2
Friday 4th June

STEP aside old timers, tonight’s Just Jack is all about

tomorrow’s techno shape shifters. Jamie Jones, of course,
should need no introduction following last year’s ground-
breaking ‘Don’t You Remember The Future’ LP and its unavoidably
massive single ‘Summertime’. Jones forms one half of Hot
Natured with the second of tonight’s headliners Lee Foss, while
the third Deniz Kurtel will be instantly recognisable for providing
one of the many highlights on Seth Troxler’s recent ‘Boogybytes’
compilation through his hypnotic remix of Rosina’s ‘Fables &
Fairytales’. Tom Rio, Pinch, October and Dan Wild also play.
10pm - 6am £10 justjack.org

4. TECTONIC
FABRIC, CHARTERHOUSE ST, LONDON, EC2A
Friday 11th June

PINCH’S Tectonic take over the main room tonight,

which means dubby electronica of the highest order
with Pinch, Skream, Kuedo (Jamie Vex’d’s new
alter-ego), Youngsta, Kryptic Minds and Pursuit
Grooves (live). In the second room, Zero T host the
album launch for their ‘fabriclive 52’ comp with Wookie
(exclusive UK garage set), Fracture & Neptune, Ed Rush
and Alix Perez, while the mighty Autonomic crew of
dBridge and Instra:mental continue their trailblazing
fabric residency with Bullion and Flight in support. One
for the heads, and also one of Fabric’s deeper Friday
night sessions all-round.
10pm - 6am £14/£11/£6 after 3am
fabriclondon.com

102 www.djmag.com

DJ486.AAA.Top_10.indd 102 10/5/10 12:43:44

 5. SATURDAY SESSIONS
Ministry of Sound, Gaunt Street, London, SE1 7. DIRTYBIRD
Saturday 26th June
5TH ANNIVERSARY
JORIS Voorn presents the first in what Ministry and the Audio, Marine Parade, Brighton, BN2
London clubbing community at large will be hoping Friday 25th June
becomes a very long-running series at the legendary
superclub. Blurring the boundaries between house and THE weird, wonky and wonderful sounds of
techno, Voorn is consistently lauded as one of the most Claude Von Stroke’s Dirtybird label land on
cutting-edge artists in the scene and will tonight be joined Brighton’s Audio tonight. The big bird
by Dutch tech-house titan 2000 And One and French tech Claude (left) himself won’t be featuring,
don Deetron in the booming Box. The all killer no filler but his label co-founder, the man behind
approach continues into 103 (formerly the bar) where Will such classics as ‘The Sad Piano and ‘Ghetto
Saul and Motor City Drum Ensemble will be holding court. Train’ and all-round badman when it comes
11pm - 7am £15 adv ministryofsound.com to tough, melodic and totally innovative
house shapes (that’s Justin Martin if you
haven’t worked it out), will be headlining
which is good enough for us. Also on the
bill is J Phlip who has been dropping some
serious bombs on Dirtybird of late,
including the absolutely rude and aptly
titled ‘Dropping Bombz On Yer Momz’.
11pm - 4am £5 b4 midnight
audiobrighton.com

8. WIGFLEX
Stealth, Masonic Place, Nottingham, NG1
Friday 4th June

SHEEEET YO! Talk about nailing a line-up, the Wigflex bwoys have come up with an excruciatingly
on-point and diverse selection of future beat dreamers for tonight’s Stealth skank-out. Croydon’s Joy
Orbison, voodoo rhythm sorcerer Shackleton and boogie-step master Floating Points would surely be
reason enough to secure our attendance. Whack in James Blake, the ubiquitously innovative Mount
Kimbie, Deadboy, wonky figurehead Alex Nut and Martin Kemp and you’re really cooking on gas.
10pm - 6am £8 adv stealthattack.co.uk
6. SUPACELL
Undertone Basement, Church St, Cardiff, CF10
Saturday 5th June 9. CODE
Club 69, Sneddon St, Paisley, PA3
DON’T sleep on this one. Techno innovator Joey Saturday 19th June
Beltram is journeying over to Cardiff to thunder this
tiny, 150-capacity basement of a ravebox with his IT ain’t easy when you’re the only top quality techno night toughing it out in your hometown,
rampaging grooves. Yep, just 150-capacity. So that’s a which is why props are definitely going out to the Code crew in the Scottish town of Paisley. Pulling
rare-as-rocking-horse-shit chance to catch the New out the stops to bring the biggest guests to their humble, intimate home of Club 69, they’ve
York legend behind such classics as the definitive tonight recruited one man who is arguably the UK’s most consistently cutting-edge techno
demonic acid groove ‘Energy Flash’ and the original ambassador — Surgeon. Fresh from mixing down a genre-splicing ‘fabric’ compilation, Surgeon
hoover-tastic rave anthem ‘Mentasm’ — quite possibly will be dealing in the most intense, experimental and gritty techno sounds.
two of our favourite techno tracks, like, ever — and 11pm - 3am £10 adv twitter.com/codeglasgow
more recent missives on Adam Beyer’s Drumcode and
Marco Bailey’s MB Elektronics in a totally intimate,
fiercely underground environment.
10pm - 4am £12 adv supacell@hotmail.com

10. DJ-KICKS PARTY

Village Underground, Holywell Lane, London, EC2A
Friday 11th June

TO support the release of his recent ‘DJ-Kicks’ compilation,

Border Community’s tousle-haired eccentric James Holden
will be curating his own special night at the intimate Village
Underground — home of the recent hush-hush
secretsundaze launch. Joining Holden will be Border
Community’s acid house obsessive Avus and one Kieran
Hebden aka Four Tet, who has become something of a
staple stalwart of the BC parties ever since he made the
AKA bar at Border Community’s End (RIP) parties his own.
10pm - 5am £13 adv magicandmedicine.com
www.djmag.com 103

DJ486.AAA.Top_10.indd 103 10/5/10 12:43:57

 AAA
Wild Waters, Johannesb
urg
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL AREAS
Pics: FRANK VAN GRÉUNÉN
A walk on the wild side
British hip-hop vixen Yasmin has been turning heads with her street savvy
DJ sound — we watch her blow some more at South Africa’s H20 Party...
F
rom the huge inflatable
footballs suspended in the
airport to the cranes Wild
Waters glinting on the
skyline; DJmag’s first
impressions of Johannesburg are very
much of a city scrubbing itself up before
the influx of visitors for the World Cup.
South Africa might have a reputation as
one of the world’s more crime-ridden
countries, but at the waterpark-housed
H20 party the biggest danger is getting
your shoes soaked. A brief unseasonable
but torrential downpour has turned
much of the site into something
between Glastonbury and Ibiza, with a
sea of gym-ripped bodies dancing in the
muddy puddles beneath the palm trees
and cheering enthusiastically every time
a plane flies over on its descent to the
airport.
Running for ten years, H20 has
established itself as South Africa’s
biggest daytime party, one of the few
events to have stayed afloat in the South
African dance scene’s choppy waters. As
promoter Dave Forbes explains, sheer
distance means that it’s sometimes
difficult to get the big name
international DJs over, a situation South
Africa’s economic turmoil, with many of
the moneyed classes who can actually
afford to go clubbing leaving the
country, hasn’t helped. As a result, the
vast majority of the bill is comprised of
South African DJs like Roger Goode and
Ricardo Da Costa who are huge names
here if practically unknown anywhere
104
DJ485.AAA_dj yasmin_start.indd 104
else, with a smattering of international
DJs H20 have invited over as part of this
year’s ‘Beyond Borders’ concept.
One of whom is London hip-hop DJ
Yasmin Shahmir. The number of South
African names might make the bill pretty
opaque to outsiders, but the country’s
musical preferences are easier to see,
given that the main stage is dedicated
to progressive house, with another three
arenas for funky house, deep house and
fidget house. Indeed, the only outpost
for anything other than four-to-the-
floor is the hip-hop stage Yasmin will be
headlining.
Not that the 21 year-old DJ is remotely
fazed by the prospect of being the UK’s
hip-hop representative at such a
house-heavy event. After all, this stage
is nothing compared to the size of some
of the places Yasmin has played recently,
as support DJ to American r&b
superstars like N*E*R*D and Eve. And
when it comes to looking ‘Beyond
Borders’, the fact that Yasmin has
managed to break into the male-
dominated hip-hop scene on her own
terms speaks for itself.
“There are a lot of stereotypes you have
to break down in this industry,” she
admits. “You still get hip-hop purists
who say, ‘What would you know about
hip-hop?’ or ‘Can you even mix?’ But the
beauty of hip-hop is that ‘I don’t give a
fuck’ attitude it has. That’s what I get
from it anyway — the confidence to say
‘This is who I am’.”
It’s an attitude that’s served her well
since moving to London from Glasgow
www.djmag.com
two years ago. Getting her first gigs in
the VIP rooms of West End clubs, it was
pure self-belief that landed her on-stage
supporting N*E*R*D at their 2009
London Roundhouse gig after ‘phoning
the promoters to ask if they needed a DJ,
catching the ears of Eve’s manager, who
promptly whisked her away on a
whirlwind tour of Europe and the Middle
East.
“I’ve always been a realist, so I’ve never
been starstruck by celebrities or
impressed by money,” Yasmin states.
“I’m just into real talent and real music
and my priority is always just to play the
best set I can.”
Raised on a diet of American hip-hop
and r&b during her teens, those
influences still inflect Yasmin’s sets as
much as gentle Scottish tones still do
her accent, but she’s also picked up more
than a tinge of dubstep, grime and drum
& bass in her new home. Her sets strike a
clear-headed balance between the
crowd-pleasing commercial anthems she
spins to stadium crowds and the more
underground sounds she plays at her
own monthly London night Bad
Intentions.
“I’ve definitely become more influenced
by UK sounds,” she explains. “Hip-hop is
a mainstream genre in America so it’s
had a lot of money behind it, which isn’t
the case in Britain. But we have this
whole alternative scene with dubstep
and grime that we do really well. You’ve
got people like Chipmunk taking it into
the charts now, as well as artists like JME
keeping the underground strong with
pure street music.”
Now that British urban music can
conquer the US with Taio Cruz as much
as devastate the clubs with grimy
basslines, so Yasmin embodies the
confidence and chameleon qualities of a
new breed more likely to be found
downloading tunes and promoting their
nights on Twitter than spending their
days in record shops and their nights
flyering in the rain.
Although Yasmin acknowledges a
healthy respect for hip-hop history she’s
far from beholden to it or the traditional
segregated roles of DJ, producer, A&R
and artist; talking excitedly about her
plans to compile a mixtape of up-and-
coming British talent, guest spots on
stations like BBC Radio 1Xtra,
sportswear sponsorship contracts and
even her ambitions to start singing on
the productions she’s currently working
on.
“I want to be a creator as much as a
player,” she claims. “A lot of my
generation are real entrepreneurs so we
work in different areas — music,
fashion, film-making — and because the
industry isn’t so black-and-white now
we can prove that we’re talented in more
than one thing. I want to inspire people
but I also think that I’ve got a duty to
pass knowledge on because a lot of older
DJs taught me things that you just can’t
get off the internet.”
30/4/10 14:15:56

There’s plenty that lots of other DJs
could learn from Yasmin’s set tonight.
Beginning with Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Fix Up
Look Sharp’ and featuring tried-and-
tested standards from Busta Rhymes,
Snoop Dogg and Outkast, Yasmin is
certainly adept at giving the crowd what
they want. But it isn’t necessarily in the
way they expected for, as befits a woman
who is as big a fan of A-Trak as she is
Jazzy Jeff, Yasmin also throws in some
pounding tribal house and electro under
acapellas from Craig David or Soul II
Soul’s ‘Back To Life’.
Even the most cynical hip-hop purist
would be impressed, not that there’s any
of them here, the crowd in front of the
stage swelling with people much more
interested in partying than trainspotting
and who are so vocal in their approval
that they refuse to let Yasmin leave for
half an hour after her allotted slot.
“It was a good gig, and it’s always
interesting to see how people react to
different things in different parts of the
world,” she ponders. “They loved a lot of
electronic tribal stuff here, and when I
was touring with Eve you find out that
Romania loves reggae for example, or
DJ485.AAA_dj yasmin_start.indd 105
DJ Yasmin
Dubai really goes for UK funky. I love
going to these countries and then
reporting back home so other people
can bring some of that UK flavour over
next time. Music has no boundaries so
it’s not about distinguishing things as
www.djmag.com
BEST OF
BRITISH
DJ Yasmin’s props to
the UK’s leading
lights
Mr Thing (former Scratch
Pervert and turntablist idol)
“His sets are just amazing.
When you’re a hip-hop DJ
you tend to analyse other
DJs when you go out and
he’s just unbelievably
inspiring every time.
DJ Cable (DMC Champion
and guest at Bad
Intentions)
“Cable really plays across
genres, so he can play you
the sickest ‘90s hip-hop set
followed by a grime set and
it’s always fantastic and
perfectly mixed.”
Twin B (Radio 1Xtra DJ and
one of Yasmin’s biggest
champions)
“One of the most genuine
people in the industry, a
fantastic ear for talent and
a huge supporter of UK
music.”
Labrinth (producer of Tinie
Tempah’s number one single
‘Pass Out’)
“The guy is a genius. He is
being American or British or whatever,
on another level musically
but I still really want to give the UK a
and I really think he is
good reputation abroad.”
going to make his mark on
If only we could guarantee the same
British pop culture.”
thing about the football team who’ll be
following in her footsteps. PAUL CLARKE
105
30/4/10 14:16:00
 AAA
Tripod & Stiff Kitten, Irel
and
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL AREAS
Pics: DAN REID
The Green party
We tag James Zabiela from Dublin to Belfast to get an insight into a
weekend in the life of the travelling DJ
J
ames Zabiela is the one with
the surfer’s hair-do sitting on
the tower of black plastic flight
cases outside Dublin airport.
Airports (and, of course, hotel
rooms) are almost like a second home. His
favourite is Singapore. Oslo, too, is a good
one. He has no idea how many air miles he
has amassed, but he knows it’s quite a lot.
He usually uses them to fly his girlfriend
or his mates out to whichever corner of
the globe he might find himself in on any
given weekend. In the cab into town, he
jokes about George Clooney’s character in
Up In The Air, a businessman obsessed
with collecting air miles, airline privilege
cards, access to exclusive airport lounges.
106
DJ486.AAA_james_zabelia_start.indd 106
It’s something he can relate to, the
strange, timeless serenity of travelling
alone in that weird hinterland paved with
moving walkways and populated with
smiling cabin crew.
“It’s nicer to be on my own sometimes,”
he says. “You can just live in the
headphones. It’s a solitary existence, but
it’s pretty chilling. Once you’re in that
bubble, you feel like you’re a vessel. You
can almost switch off. When I first started
travelling, it was like ‘oh my god! I’ve got
to get the plane!’, ‘where’s my luggage?!’,
‘when’s my connection?!’ and ‘have I got
my passport?!’, all very stressful. But now,
I just go into auto-pilot, and it becomes
that serene experience.”
www.djmag.com
It’s the little bits of home, of familiarity,
which provide comfort when he’s away
— seeking out a Starbucks, watching
EastEnders, Doctor Who or episodes of
Inspector Morse (an addiction he was
introduced to, somewhat incongruously,
by We Love... Space promoters Darren
Hughes and Mark Broadbent, a series
which the pair are apparently somewhat
obsessed with).
“Before I started DJing, I’d never even got
on a plane or been to a different country,”
he says. “My parents went away to Spain
once or twice, but I just wanted to stay at
home and go out on my skateboard. I
didn’t even have a passport until I was
19.”
Until, that is, he was spotted by Sasha.
After handing over a mixtape to Lee
Burridge at Bedrock, Zabiela achieved
every young DJ’s dream, the dance music
equivalent to being spotted by Man
United’s talent scouts and being given a
shot on the youth team. Impressed,
Burridge gave Sasha the tape, which he
listened to on a drive up to Liverpool for a
gig at Cream (remarkably, one of Zabiela’s
first gigs was warming up for Sasha in
Cream’s Courtyard room). He was signed
to Sasha’s agency, Excession, and the air
miles began tumbling in.
Tripod: Dublin
We arrive in cosmopolitan Dublin, where
Zabiela is playing at Tripod, as a guest of
its gregarious promoter Donal McCarthy.
The Tripod promoter has long been a
pivotal figure in the Irish scene,
responsible for bringing over anyone
who’s anyone in the world of dance music
since the early-’90s. He knows everyone,
and generally has a tale to prove it.
Zabiela faces stiff competition, however,
from Berliners Magda and Sebo K at The
Button Factory, and the mighty Michael
Mayer and Ivan Smagghe at The
Underground, who are all in town on the
same night. Dublin’s scene is vibrant,
sure, but by anyone’s standards, that’s
potentially an issue. But come 1am when
Zabiela takes the controls, a crowd surges
from nowhere, and when they spot his
distinctive floppy locks, there are raucous
cheers and chants of his name.
He ducks down, hiding behind the booth
for a bit, half the pretence of setting up
his laptop and various midi controllers,
but mostly because it’s probably a bit
embarrassing. For the following two
hours, Dublin is rapt. By his third track,
the initially bashful Zabiela is bouncing
around behind the console like a nutter.
Veering from throbbing, driving tech
house or coarse electro through the
occasional head-spinning, borderline epic
breakdown to the odd tough, dubstep
break, he topples those sub-genres like
dominoes. One minute it’s something
clicky and weird from Extrawelt or a
breakbeat from Ellen Allien and Apparat,
the next it can be Christian Smith’s
towering new mix of Carl Craig’s ‘At Les’,
an understated epic, or Modeselektor’s
11/5/10 16:08:37

mix of ‘Prototypes’ by Headhunter,
dubstep pitched right down to lock into
his solid groove.
As anyone who’s seen Zabiela play will tell
you, it’s virtually impossible to know just
quite what he’s doing at any given time.
Confounding, in fact. He’s a blur,
switching between his laptop, his effects
unit and the CD turntables. Though it’s
something purists might lament, it would
be absurd to imagine him using anything
as archaic as vinyl, those flight cases that
follow him around the world containing a
pair of CDJ-2000s, the unit he helped
Pioneer to develop. One reason Zabiela
loves going to Tokyo so much is that, as
well as satisfying his love of sci-fi (“it’s like
walking around in Blade Runner”), he can
go and see his new friends in the Pioneer
laboratories, the mad scientists who make
it happen. He even took one of the
middle-aged technicians to Space last
summer.
“He was walking around with his eyes on
stalks,” says Zabiela, giggling. “I think it
blew his mind.”
Stiff Kitten: Belfast
The next day, Zabiela emerges and we
drive up the M1 to Belfast. He’s travelling
with Tom Budden, also on Sasha’s
Excession agency, founder of the
DJ486.AAA_james_zabelia_start.indd 107
burgeoning ALiVE label and Zabiela’s
regular warm-up. They sit in the back
glued to their Macbooks, Zabiela watching
episodes of Breaking Bad, and sorting
their sets in Pioneer’s Rekordbox
software, ready to transfer to an SD card,
and slot straight into the CDJs.
Conceivably, both could pitch up to their
gigs with an inch-square of plastic and
play for hours on end.
When we arrive, we tour the city. Paul, our
driver, takes us down the Shankill Road,
where houses and pubs are covered with
Loyalist murals. Around the Falls Road, we
see where the Republicans painted
pictures of Che Guevara standing
alongside murals screaming support for
Palestine, and for the repatriation of the
bodies of the Manchester Martyrs, three
Fenian men executed in the 1860s for the
murder of a policeman. The scars run
deep. We pass the Sinn Fein offices, the
entire gable end of the building
emblazoned with a mural of hunger striker
Bobby Sands. Minutes away, there are UDA
paintings of paramilitaries holding
Kalashnikovs, wearing balaclavas,
informing you that you are entering
www.djmag.com
Loyalist Sandy Row. With every street,
allegiances shift and change. The murals
are almost like attractions now, with taxis
full of tourists snapping pictures, but
they still resound, a powerful, arresting
reminder.
Zabiela plays at the Stiff Kitten that
night, the first time in about six years.
It’s an intimate, perfectly formed venue
(with a crisp, gutsy Funktion One system)
run by those behind Shine, Belfast’s
dance music Mecca since the mid ‘90s,
when it was founded by techno luminary
Alan Simms. It’s jammed as Tom Budden
flips off selections from Rob Mello and
Alan Fitzpatrick, so by the time Zabiela
arrives (once more to a roaring,
rapturous reception), things are starting
to get out of hand. Having eschewed a
soundcheck earlier in the day, he sets
about constructing his set up on the fly –
the laptop, the midi-controllers, the
effects units – then once more within
minutes, the bashful, self-effacing
Zabiela is a blur of scratching, delays and
cut-up loops. Finishing the night with
Siopis’ moody vocal anthem ‘Really Love
Ya’ sends the crowd into orbit. Watching
Zabiela slamming track after track into
A ‘LIFE’
THROUGH
SOUND
Zabiela’s recent
masterful mix
album, ‘Life’, part of Renaissance’s
Masters series, was punctuated with
his own field recordings, adding
atmospheric interludes from his
travels into the mix. Here he talks
about being the ‘weirdo with the
microphone’...
“It’s to have a memoir, an audio diary
of my life. I just took it everywhere.
There’s stuff as unglamourous as
leaving my creaky front door in
Southampton, and walking through
the snow, all the way to San Telmo
market in Buenos Aires. There’s all
these live percussionists in the street,
and I even timed some of the
percussion to the mix. They’ll be after
me for their PRS. It’s time consuming,
because you have to record
everything, and a lot of it is just
ambient noise. You can’t skip through
it, because you might miss
something, so you have to listen to it
all until you hear something
interesting. Like when I was in Peru, I
was walking and there were these
scantily dressed girls offering
massages, and then a police car went
past with the sirens at exactly the
same time, and it really worked, quite
seedy and dark. Getting moments like
that make it worth it. At the end of
the mix you can hear me being
harassed by some guy in the street in
Peru, shouting at me ‘What’s that?
What are you doing?!’”
each other, having seen the spectacle
twice in as many nights, makes it no easier
to fathom. Perhaps it’s best not to try. Far
better to sit back and enjoy it.
BEN ARNOLD
107
11/5/10 16:08:50
INTHE PARK 2010
SVEN VÄTH
RICARDO
VILLALOBOS
LOCO DICE
ADAM
SHELTON
Tickets & Info
cocooninthepark.com
11am-11pm - Temple Newsam, Leeds
The festival site is set within
the grounds of a 450 year old
mansion house in the rolling
Yorkshire countryside, an
area of outstanding natural
beauty surrounded by
forests and lakes, playing
host to an exclusive lineup
over one stage featuring
Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice,
Adam Shelton and headed-
up by the Cocoon ringmaster
himself, Sven Väth. Expect a
breathtaking Cocoon
Cocoon in the Park returns in production including
dancers, full lighting show,
2010 for our second spectacular
open-air festival, the only one of pyrotechnics, Live VJ along
it's kind in the UK. with many other extras to
Untitled-1 6
top last years event. A
custom built PA supplied by
Audio-Plus to provise their
Funktion-One setup.
Join us and thousands of
like-minded souls for what
promises to be a truly unique
and captivating experience.
Following a successful run of
marathon events throughout
Cocoon In The Park
f an Page
10TH - JULY - LEEDS
Early Bird..£35..Adv..£40..VIP..£75
system.
the spring in the intimate
environment of the Mint
Club - Leeds, System hosted
Loco Dice, Ricardo Villalobos
and Sven Väth all who gave a
unique solo show. Returning
all together in force bringing
you that real spectacular VIP’s have express entry
Cocoon experience. through their own lane, so
This year gives you the no queueing. To be part of
opportunity to go VIP and this experience grab your VIP
experience this unique show passes today. Tickets are
from a private raised platform limited. For tickets/Info and
with a personal bar and travel from your region visit:
toilets. VIP’s will also be
cocooninthepark.com
treated to a few glasses of Look forward to seeing you at
champagne throughout the Cocoon In The Park 2010.
day.
17/5/10 17:49:39
 AAA
Plan B, Brixton
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL AREAS
Pics: KEVIN LAKE
Deep South
Brixton’s resurgent Plan B gets down to bass badness of all forms with
Claude Von Stroke, Scratcha, Untold and Mumdance all repping
B
rixton is a melting pot. A
bustling, fast-paced
community with an
ever-growing musical
history, it is once again
home to a burgeoning, thriving club
scene — not really what you expect when
you hop off the zone three tube in
deepest, darkest South-London. The
Fridge may have finally had its doors
nailed up, but taking the focus away from
the East and delivering the sonic-punch
back into the area is the re-emergence of
cool, bubbling venues such as Plan B.
Shut for an eternity for change of
ownership — and pretty much everything
else — the new Plan B has come up
fighting since its relaunch last autumn.
With the consistently cutting-edge
line-ups, a weighty Funktion One
soundsystem, a warehouse space
designed by hipster Kate Moross and a
natty 24-hour licence, it’s a force to be
reckoned with right now. Most
Claude Von Stroke
DJ486.aaa.planb.indd 109
impressively, though, is the fact that
they’ve got some of London’s top
upcoming promoters on board. And
tonight’s Hyp! Hyp! Hyp! certainly fit into
that category with a line-up of genre-
merging bass talents that includes bumpy
house king Claude Von Stroke, funky don
Scratcha and bass badboy Mumdance to
name just three.
In a hyper-charged society that bleeds
once sectioned-off styles of music into a
bassy, appreciative love-in, Hyp! Hyp!
Hyp! have taken this idea and ran with it
— clearly evident by the line-up staring us
in the face, a heady mix of garage, grime,
techno, house and wonky dubstep —
kicking off proceedings was the strained
rave tinges of resident P45.
The crowd (some local, some chatting
about journeys home) are eager and pack
room one out nicely to the enveloping
tones. After sampling some delights from
UK funky supremo Julio Bashmore,
www.djmag.com
headliner and tech-house legend Claude
Von Stroke comes forward to drain heads
for a two-hour workout.
Giving the bowel-loosening rig an ample
workout, the Dirty Bird overlord cuts
through in thick swabs of 4/4 beats,
warming sub bass, and everything in
between.
A rare London departure from his usual
nest of Fabric, Claude destroys the floor
with his ever-surprising selection as the
room bursts at the seams. Clearly, heads
are eager to see this modern electronic
legend perform on their doorstep, and all
for a banging twelve bucks. And with more
underground cream yet to step to the
plate, the evening represents the eclectic,
continuing history of the UK’s incestuous
underground music cultures, and in their
rawest form.
In the dark basement lair of the freshly
made-over room two, Untold and his
imprint Hemlock Recordings are in the
thick of a take-over showcase of busting
talent. Future garage, sub low
murmurings and digi-dub
experimentalism come from Hyperdub
youngster LV, James Blake and Fantastic
Mr Fox, all plying Zomby, Martyn, George
Fitzgerald, Kyle Hall and everything they
could fit in between.
Bringing down the temperature in room
one to a lower degree is Hyperdub’s funky
newbie and Rinse FM brekkie show host
Scratcha with his flamboyant and
intelligent flavours.
After smashing up so many raves this year
with off-kilter tune ‘Ganja’, it’s natural to
see him presenting a wide-ranging set
that definitely waves his grimy roots
goodbye. Even during the graveyard shift,
the Hyp! boys retain quality control as
Mumdance rolls out some spectrum-
spanning bangers. Although missing some
MC action (usually hyping his sets by
Scratcha
about a 1000%), he smashes out his usual
eclectic mix of Plastician’s ‘Cha’, to Zombie
Disco Squad’s remix of Drop the Lime’s
‘Set Me Free’ and Agent X’s ‘Decoy’.
If this is what Brixton has to offer from
now on, they’ll have to get some more
night buses servicing the route. South
London is back and it’s ready for your
return. JOE GAMP
BRIXTON
CALLING !
3 OTHER ESSENTIAL REACHES
ISA GT’S MUSICALIA @ THE
DOGSTAR
Hosted at the most eccentric, nuttiest
boozer in South London on the first
Friday of the month, Isa GT’s blend of
global booty rhythms, ass-shaking
cumbia and bottom-heavy bass
monsters is always worth checking out
for something with a tropical tinge.
DEADLY RYTHYM @ PLAN B
Deadly Rhythm gels and melds
together the very best in techno,
dubstep, funky and other bass-driven
cultures on the last Friday of the
month. Expect big things with Scuba,
Appleblim, Alex Nut and Moodyman all
lined up to play
TOTALLY TROPICAL @ THE
REST IS NOISE
Formerly The Goose hang out, The Rest
Is Noise ply their signature night
Totally Tropical, a vivacious and daring
blend that involves everything from
Casper Clarke, to Rattus Rattus and
Klose One every single Friday.
109
30/4/10 15:07:47
 AAA
Nation, Liverpool
Marc Vedo’s homecoming
ACCESS ALL AREAS
Pics: BEN THAPA
One Nation under one groove
With a killer cross-genre line-up of bass-heavy treats, Liverpool’s PlayDUB crew
celebrate their first birthday at Nation
I
n this current flux of genre-mashing
creativity, there are lots of
promotions really pushing the
envelope with their programming.
Indeed, right now barely a day goes by
without some ingeniously sourced,
comprehensively cross-genre line-up
literally jumping off the page (or screen)
at us.
But when it comes to the crunch, success
can be measured in simple dancefloor
mathematics. Massive line-up plus packed
dancefloor of hedonistic loons equals a
killer rave.
Boasting a line-up that includes MJ Cole,
Congo Natty, Foamo, TC, Plastician and
many more tonight, Liverpool’s PlayDUB
crew have clearly got the equation
absolutely nailed if the scenes for their
first birthday at Nation are anything to go
by. It’s barely gone midnight and literally
everyone is at it — including some of the
fluro-bib-wearing security — as Rich
Reason pounds out some truly ear-
warping and gut-twisting dubstep.
It’s definitely a tough start for sensitive
ears, but equally DJmag doesn’t see
anyone complaining for the early crowd
are bouncing and hopping around as
though this could be the very last days of
debauched partying. Everyone’s further
emboldened as Rich drops The Prodigy’s
‘Breathe’ and then teases with Ben E.
King’s ‘Stand By Me’ — yes, that’s right;
the slow, cinematic version — finally
augmenting it with a fearsome pounder
towards the end of his set which ups the
ante even further.
“There’s a huge boom of sudden interest
in the music we’re pushing; dub, reggae,
garage, dubstep, drum & bass and
jungle,” explains PlayDUB’s PR man Danny
Vortex, above the ripping basslines.
“Tonight we’ve also launched our sister
110
DJ486.aaa_playdub.indd 110
night PlayCLASH, which is bringing a
slightly alternative, mash-up edge to club
nights in Liverpool and what better time
for the launch than PlayDUB’s first
birthday party?”
Not everything, however, has gone totally
to plan with Iceland’s violently spewing
aerial contribution sending a cloud of
powdered glass which not only paralysed
flights but sent panicked shockwaves over
UK clubs and their promoters. Yet the
stalwart young promoters of PlayDUB
have embraced a show-must-go-on ethos
with gusto.
So taking into account the flights chaos
and the fact that many marooned acts
haven’t been able to honour their booking
tonight (A1 Bassline, Tomb Crew and
Tenor Fly included), both Play nights have
been truncated from two into Nation’s
Courtyard as one. It’s a big room to fill yet
there’s a steady stream entering the
hallowed old venue as Plastician is
followed by headliner Kissy Sell Out.
Here’s a man who has built his reputation
on energy and creativity and offers
volcano-loads of both, with a tight mix of
jump-around treats and further
bass-busting tracks. He might have his
detractors, but Kissy remains a scene
stealer and tonight is no different. If the
crowd were horses they could be eating
right out of his hands.
There’s also large kudos in the fact that
tonight’s PlayDUB forms part of the
Outlook launch — one of many festivals
taking place on the Croatian Adriatic this
summer including The Garden Festival,
Electric Elephant and Papaya — which
illustrates how much respect is levelled at
promoters Danny, Kuz and co.
“We hope to see PlayDUB established in
Liverpool with a strong community-based
fanbase along with branching out into a
few cities and holding a tour, too,”
www.djmag.com
Plastician
MC Dubkutta
explains Danny on their future plans. “We
have so mans plans and ideas and this is
only the start. We are looking at starting a
music management and artist’s agency in
the not too distant future as well as a
limited edition clothing label.”
It’s ambitious stuff but any new night to
the city is always welcome, and the drive
of all concerned is refreshing to see.
The night climaxes on a couple of hours of
heavy, hectic drum & bass with both ragga
junglist legends Congo Natty and nu skool
don TC putting in solid turns. And with the
PlayDUB crew partying with such vigour,
these boys are sure to be pushing the
envelope for many months, if not years, to
come. DAMO JONES
5
PLAYDUB
FACTS
•Two of the band members from
Reverend & The Makers came to PlayDUB
in November after their gig in Liverpool.
•The PlayDUB creators are starting a
record label, which will be called Light
Plane Records.
•PlayDUB held an official True Tiger
Records Party in November last year.
•Plans for the PlayDUB UK tour are fully
in motion with Manchester, Leeds and
many more in the not so distant future.
•The first instalment of PlayDUB’s
birthday was supposed to take place at
Liverpool’s Korova but the original
venue got burnt down two days before
the event.
12/5/10 13:00:07
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:13:34
 24 & 25 JULY 2010 - DE SCHORRE BOOM - BELGIUM - WWW.TOMORROWLAND.BE
Untitled-10 1 19/4/10 16:04:00
Adv. TL DJ Magazine V2.indd 1 19-04-2010 16:44:11
 HANG ON TO YOUR BASS BINS! THE BEST NEW MUSIC IS RIGHT HERE

MUSIC

Kiss kiss,
bang bang
Phonique’s deep house masterpiece
‘Kissing Strangers’ is our album of the issue
p.136

KILLERS IN THE BAG! SINGLES CHAMPION

The cutting-edge
releases you need in
Style Of Eye takes us
through his essential
Our expert reviews team
run through the hottest
BURNS
Scottish trailblazer Burns
your life this month beats of the moment upfront releases lives up to the hype with
p.114 p.117 p.118 his ‘European Sex Music’
compilation
p.140

www.djmag.com 113

DJ486.music_intro.indd 113 11/5/10 15:38:45

 REVIEWS KILLERS
THE CUTTING-EDGE RELEASES YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE
Myagi & The Root
Sellers feat Norma
Maguire
‘Simmer’
Westway
Take huge clomping drum
breaks, and empty into a
soundsystem. Simmer for
over six minutes, adding
tasty electro-tech keys, wub-
bing bass, guest raps and a
sweet femme vox. Watch the
devastation ensue as this
breaks beast surges over the
crowd like a digital tsunami.
For extra flavour, sprinkle
in an ultra-chopped Zero B
remix, that sees the hardcore
hero shred rave keys like
a hyperactive sushi chef,
Basic Soul Unit
‘Midnight Ridim EP’
Room With A View
myspace.com/basicsoulunit
The likes of Kyle Hall and
Floating Points are orien-
teering a brave new path
for soul-soaked techno and
house. Time to add Toronto’s
Stuart Li — known for
releases on Clone and Dolly
— to that list, on the basis of
this phenomenal new EP on
that paragon of depth, Room
With A View. Dappled in the
machine-engineered syn-
thetic sunshine of the Motor
City, the title cut is a broken
up, pitchy surge through
VITAL
LABEL
perspectiv-records.com
114
DJ486.killers.indd 114
a Menace to Sobriety mix
packed with evil synths, and
a delicious, percussive elec-
trofunk mix from Marzetti.
Tasty.
funky darkness, with lush
keys colliding with metallic
layers, and bubbling bass.
The other three tracks are
equally good. Brilliant work.
www.djmag.com
Totally Enormous
Extinct Dinosaurs
‘All In Two Sixty Dance-
halls EP’
Greco-Roman
Brontosaurus beat. Ste-
gosaurus step. What a gift
TEED’s name is! All jokes
aside, Greco Roman’s new-
est acquisitions really have
birthed a monster that will this strange and beautiful
have you writhing in T- hybrid is. Pure kinetic ener-
Rexstasy. The essential track gy, any raver with a pulse will
is ‘Blood Pressure’, featur- dig this. The bleepy electro-
ing grimester Riko — what pop of ‘Garden’ is sweet, too,
begins as an old skool jungle but ‘Blood Pressure’ is the
roller drops and morphs into one.
a broken up warehouse acid
bleeper. Words cannot do
justice to what, or how good
ID
‘Mustang EP’
Sub Slayers
myspace.com/subslayers
Emblematic, alongside
frequent studio partner
Baobinga, of the way that
breaks and bass music has
come to co-exist extremely
successfully, ID is also a shit- rolls in a dub-wise fashion
hot producer. The breakbeat with double-timed claps and
title cut on this wicked EP for an old skool jungle-style
Jay Cunning’s label uses clas- bassline that mows your
sic skull-snappin’ beats and head, steamroller style.
wobbly low-end to deliver a
pirate radio pumping, alarm
bell ringing, city demolish-
ing concrete killer. The excel-
lent ‘Fresh Air’, meanwhile,
Who’s behind it? monies and groove. Originality
Swiss DJ/producer Ripperton. and quality are my main prior-
ity. As I’m playing out really
What does it sound like? often, I can try the tracks on
“It’s a wide electronic land- the crowd every weekend, so
scape,” says Ripperton. “My I release only the best that
influences are definitely house people and my friends send to
and Detroit. I really need har- me.”
17/5/10 12:30:30
 REVIEWS KILLERS
THE CUTTING-EDGE RELEASES YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE

Kabuki Utah Jazz

‘Just Hold On/Generation X ‘Vintage Album Sampler’
(Remixes)’ Vintage Recordings
V Recordings myspace.com/utahjazz
myspace.com/iamkabuki

Two cuts from drum & bass
cat Kabuki’s forthcoming al-
bum get radical remix treat-
ments. The most surprising
is Innervisions deep house
dude Marcus Worgull’s ver-
sion of ‘Just Hold On’, which
works MPC punching snips
of Jenna G’s vox and adds
gorgeous tech soul chords to
a cool 4/4 beat — an exercise
in submarine perfection.
Rising deebee don Eveson
tackles the flip with perfect
composure, releasing a neo
dub jungle missive that uses
bits of Paul St. Hilaire’s roots
voice, and will drop jaws of
those who loved Skream’s
‘Burning Up’. Textbook killer!
Could Utah Jazz be the most
underrated d&b producer out
there? The evidence certainly
suggests it. Particularly with
this unbelievable preview EP
of his forthcoming album,
which takes its cues from
jungle’s past but adds new
ideas to the potent pudding.
Many will latch onto ‘Skyward
Bound’ with its absolutely
gorgeous, ’70s jazz funk sam-
ples, and crashing, smash-
ing Amen break choppage
— the perfect blend of liquid
atmospheres and devastating
beats. But others will favour
the flip, ‘Take No More’, with
its emotive piano riff remi-
niscent of Sébastian Tellier’s
‘La Ritournelle’ and aching
bluesy tones, all accompanied
by that essential deebee drum
clatter. Both demand your
attention immediately.

Paul Woolford Various

‘Bloodline EP’ ‘Left’d 02’
Intimacy Left’d
myspace.com/paulwoolford myspace.com/leftroomrecords

Something we couldn’t have Very cool showcase of new

predicted is Paul Woolford
making bass music. And mak-
ing something as unbeliev-
able as ‘Let It Go’ is doubly
jaw-dropping. By taking ac-
knowledged inspiration from
the raw release and physical,
body-moving rhythms of pro-
ducers like Untold and Ram-
adanman, and adding Detroit
bleeps and his immaculate
production skills to ‘Let It
Go’, he’s fashioned one of
the undoubted biggest tunes
of the year so far. ‘Blood-
line’ itself, meanwhile, is a
techno cut built on squelches
that move through your
ears and brain, disorienting
and directing the feet. Both
prove positive that Woolford
just keeps getting better and
better.
artists on Leftroom’s subsidi-
ary imprint. Four tracks of
varying styles, Jacksonville
contributes the crisp, clap-
ping rhythms and psych-
edelic house grooves ‘n’ us the stabbing organ and
whispered vox of the funky as dusky technoid atmospheres
fuck ‘Midnight All Day’; John of ‘The Sender’. Not big, not
Johr brings the reverbed clever, just wicked house
snares, heavy kicks and ech- built to rock floors — and
oey samples of Murk tribute headphones.
‘Baby’; Waifs & Strays add
the Chicago house update of
‘3am’; and Greg Paulus gives

Who releases on it?
“I try to release 50% of Swiss
artists like Masaya, Agnès,
Dachshund, Van Hai, Quenum,
Entlet, Quarion, Crowdpleaser,
St Plomb, Chaton and David
Durango. I also really like work-
ing with fresh new talents like
Blagger, Jonny White, Behling
& Simpson recently, and I buzz
making interactions between
young and established producers
like Isolée, DJ Koze, 2000 & One,
Mark August, Tobias, Jackmate
and October.”
Who’s playing it?
“I think all kinds of DJs play
Perspectiv tracks, as I’m trying
to release different kinds of
music on every release. It’s like
in my DJ sets, going from house
to techno and downtempo.”
What’s next?
“The next Perspectiv is my new
song called ‘1976’ which has
been amazingly remixed by Sebo
K. In the near future, I’ll release
a new EP from St Plomb and it
will be remixed by the fabulous
Jackmate/Soulphiction. ”

www.djmag.com 115

DJ486.killers.indd 115 17/5/10 12:30:33

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:16:24
 GUEST REVIEWS

In the bag....
STYLE OF EYE
Thought that Swedish music was all Abba and dodgy big
room house? Well, the acerbic, acid-doused, cantankerous
electro of Linus Eklow, or Style Of Eye, is the antidote to
all that.
Kicking out a combustible combo of roughneck ghetto
house, proper techno and bass boomin’ beats, he’s made
a name for igniting discotechs across the map, and cutting
fresh tracks for such taste-making stables as Classic,
Dirtybird and Tiny Sticks that cast genre considerations to
the wind and instead concentrate on rocking the party.
“It’s my restlessness, I always need to do something that Bassline’s heavy 4/4 garage beats, via his own powderkeg
feels fresh to me,” admits Linus. “Otherwise I just get remixes of Deepgroove and Kid Sister, it’s designed to
bored. Hopefully there’s something that connects the dots drive electro addicts bananas.
between the productions. I don’t aim to be crazy, that’s “I really wanted to show where my heart is at the moment,
just how it comes out!” the music that I respect and that I play,” Linus notes on
the musical motivation behind the mix. “I wanted to do a
His new double mix CD, ‘Ministry Of Sound Club Presents party compilation rather than something for home listen-
Style Of Eye’, sees Linus deliver a seditious selection for the ing. Sort of a pre-party listen.”
renowned London club’s new cooler diffusion mix series. Here are his latest tried-and-tested floor batterers…
Running the gamut from KiNK’s neo acid house to A1

Teki Latex Justin Martin Brodinski

’Dinosaurs With Guns’
Sound Pelligrino
“It’s produced by Noob, he’s one of my favourites at the mo-
ment, but I think it’s really interesting how he’s transformed
over the years. I think this could be like the next ‘Techno
Vocals’, that M-nus tune that was really big. I think it’s going to
grow slowly before people really start to recognise it.
“It’s all about the crazy story, and for me it’s got that classic
sound to it. The kind of quirky vocals are what’s pushing it
forward.”
Jan Driver
’Tellyfoam’
Boys Noize
“This feels really fresh, it’s a great building track, and the club
always goes nuts when I play it. It’s how he takes his sound
into Boys Noize territory, but it still sounds like him. I’m
very happy to hear Boys Noize try something different, it’s
definitely one of my favourite labels.”
’Robot Romance’
Dirtybird
“His new EP on Dirtybird really blows the speakers for me! This
is his first solo material for what seems like too long now. I
could have picked any of the tracks off this EP.
“If I close my eyes and listen to this, I can almost smell the
barbecue in Golden Gate Park [San Francisco] on a Sunday
when we used to have those Dirtybird parties. He’s got a really
original sound, and this is one to look out for.”
Siriusmo
’High Together’
Monkeytown
“He always delivers huge productions, they’re so well put to-
gether. This track has a disco feel to it, and it takes me back to
when I was a little kid on my skateboard, a summery vibe. It’s
hard to explain, it’s just a really happy track! I haven’t played
it in my sets, but it’s one of those tunes that’s pushing things
forward and doing things that are fresh.”
’Arnold Classics (Tony Senghore Staggering
Daggering Remix)’
Grizzly
“I could have picked any of the things Tony’s done recently.
He’s found a really fresh style, taking his melodies into this
year and doing it really well. His tracks always stand out.
“For us, Tony Senghore has never been away, but he hasn’t
released anything for a really long time. He brought me into
the dance community, and what I learnt from him is that it’s all
about finding the ideas that will take things further and push
the boundaries.”
Boys Noize & Erol Alkan
’Waves (Gonzalez Rework)’
Boys Noize
“For me, Gonzalez is one of the few producers who can trans-
late a huge dance track into a piano track without losing any of
the energy. He’s a genius. Sometimes I open my sets with this,
and it’s very energetic, but yet it’s still just the piano.”

www.djmag.com 117

DJ486.in_the_bag.indd 117 5/5/10 10:57:10

 HOUSE REVIEWS
The Shapeshifters
Helter Skelter
Defected
7.5
Daft Punk have a lot to answer for. Mostly for unspeakable acts com-
mitted against vocals on ‘One More Time’ and influencing others to
do similar. The Shapeshifters are the latest in a long line, here doing
things so heinous to Steve Edwards even his own mum would have a
hard job recognising him. ‘Helter Skelter’ is actually annoyingly infec-
tious, thanks to a catchy stabbed bleepy key hook along with which
Edwards delivers a staccato, hurried vocal; think somewhere in the
region of Tom Novy’s ‘Your Body’ and Outwork’s ‘Electro’. Disposable
yes, but good fun while it lasts.
Romanthony MONETY!
Be 2 Nite SHO
Launch
8.0
Romanthony was something of a fixture back in the ‘90s
thanks to a string of weird, wonderful and decidedly
maverick releases on Azuli and his own label Black Male.
Then up he popped on Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’ and
promptly disappeared. ‘Be 2 Nite’ shows both sides of
his erratic talent; the Samba Raw Vocal and Dub are the
familiar dense, dark, Murk-ish underground grooves.
But flip to the main vocal and you’ll find an unashamed
commercial and almost radio-targeted song — complete
with Roman crooning like a good’un — that could be Daft
Punk at their most pop.
Chris Perez & Louie Gorba feat Ms Patty
RU Feeling Me (Alex Kenji Mix)
King St
8.0
Taken from Kenji’s ‘Street King Volume 1’ mix comp, this
is one of those rare grooves that grabs you from the off
thanks to a simple but irresistible commanding rhythm
built around a basic, punchy reverbed key stab. Other
than that there’s just a drifting string in the background
and, of course, Ms Patty’s panted spoken word vocals and
singular sung hookline. If you don’t at least nod your
head to this you can’t be alive.
Pete Heller
Overtime
Buzzin’ Fly
7.0
Every serious producer should have at least one monster
disco groove in their portfolio and Pete Heller’s is the
still big ‘Big Love’. But that was a decade ago and in the
intervening years his output has been sporadic and rather
deeper. ‘Overtime’ fits the deep category like a glove but
there’s nothing aggressive here, and neither is there any
of the introspection or intensity that often comes with a
Buzzin’ Fly release. Instead there’s an understated horn
riff that might or might not be African, a soothing, one
word vocal and Heller’s trademark intricate percussion.
Lazy like a summer night.
Eddie Thoneick & Erick Morillo feat Shena
Nothing Better
Subliminal Records
7.5
Subliminal has made something of a speciality of knocking
out big, epic vocal records characterised by trance-
inspired grandeur floating over a resolutely house base.
‘Nothing Better’ is quite the perfect example. The much
travelled and ever reliable Shena provides the vocals while
Morillo and producer/remixer/DJ/dentist Thoneick lay
down a wide soundscape of big piano chords, atmospheric
keys and bouncy beats. Probably not cool for those who
care too much about their cred, but right on the money
for Ibiza.
Francisco Allendes & Marcelo Rosselot
Catrianca EP
Cadenza Lab
7.0
‘El Grillo, el Indio y el Robot’ is a sort of ‘La Mezcla’ without
the hooks and though it has its charms, they come neither
quickly nor easily. A long, rambling intro meanders for
minutes before you realise it’s no intro, it’s the track, and
then we’re into a little Fela Kuti-style guitar riff, a drop,
and back to before. ‘El Ladron De Mails’ keeps to a similar

24bit/96kHz Digital Audio

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24bit/96kHz Digital Audio

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Comprehensive MIDI control
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118 www.djmag.com

DJ486.house.indd 118 17/5/10 17:56:09

 HOUSE REVIEWS

PHil Cheeseman 10 Trevelyan Gdns, London, NW10 3JY

QUICKIES
style but reduces things to pure percussion peppered
with a few chants. Obscure.

Bah Samba
Don’t Let Them Get You Down Vanjee & Mark ‘Panic Room’ just edging
Favouritizm Alston feat Matt out its siblings ‘Chrome’
8.0 Belis and ‘Triad’.
If luxury came as audio it would probably sound like Whole Lotta Love
this; smooth, sophisticated, intricate, radiant with Camel Rider Nelski
class and quality. Over the top? Check out the musi- 6.5 Body Pop (Radio
cianship and vocal performances. Naturally, none of New York’s Vanjee & Slave Remix)
Rising Music
QUENTIN HARRIS STRICTLY RHYTHM
that means anything if the tune itself isn’t happening. Alston deliver a beefy,
But it is, of course: Bah Samba isn’t so much about atmospheric groove with 8.0 01. YOKO ONO ‘Give It To Me (R Rodriguez Vocal/Alt Mix)’ Mind Train
“Yoko Ono doing a song which is, well, very Yoko Ono. I love it!”
navel-gazing as good-time tunes executed with care long, lingering drops and Simply superb and enor-
and attention and as a house/jazz/soul fusion groove, a soft-rock styled vocal. mously long, Radio Slave’s 02. THE DJOON EXPERIENCE FEAT KENNY BOBIEN ‘Old Landmark’ Cheers
“It was time for a great foot stompin’ gospel house song.”
‘Don’t Let Them Get You Down’ is in the same grand Camel Riders steer things devotion to intricate
tradition as classics like MAW’s mix of Be Be Winans’ in a housier direction and arrangement and careful 03. BANG BANG ‘Broken (Sean Smith Remix)’ Lost My Dog
“This has an after hours vibe. It’s dark and musical at the same time.”
‘Thank You’. add piano while Doman production comes off in
& Pete Gooding hit the spades. Like Cobblestone 04. JOSH WINK ‘Jus Right (Jimpster Remix)’ Ovum
“Along with ‘Hey Hey’, this was the track that I heard everywhere during WMC 2010.”
Chocolate Puma feat Colonel Red cooler, deeper boompty Jazz, Dennis Ferrer and
Back Home beats. Jimpster all rolled up in 05. UNDERGROUND SOLUTION ‘Luv Dancin’ (2010 Harry Choo Choo Romero’s
Defected one tasty wrap. B-Boy Remix)’ Strictly Rhythm
“Now this is how you update a classic! Modern and not over-produced, it’s perfect.”
7.0 Ross Evana
Fela Kuti riffs seem all the rage at the moment, Chrome EP Pete Gooding & 06. DJ DUKE ‘Blow Your Whistle’ ffrr
“This was a fave of mine during the Junior Vasquez Sound Factory days!”
although you could justifiably ask when they weren’t. Leaders Of The New School Chris Coco
As this is Chocolate Puma we’re talking about however, 7.5 Nightdance EP 07.  ARMAND VAN HELDEN ‘The Witch Doktor (Miss Honey Dijon & Quentin
Harris Sound Factory Cut Up Mix)’ Strictly Rhythm
don’t expect any pretty Afro-ethno beats. Do expect Filtered loops are back Nang “Honey and I took this SR classic and re-worked it.”
the normal Puma attack of big drums, big drops and with a vengeance and 7.0
08. NINJASONIK ‘Somebody Gonna Get Pregnant’ Marriage
fast-firing key riffs plus a counter-balancing melodic here’s a producer who’s Cultured chill grooves “Every year, there is a mindless record that just works and for some reason, is amazing.”
vocal hook from Colonel Red and a little frisson of the taken to them like a fish from Gooding & Coco who
09. QUENTIN HARRIS & DENIESE HENDERSON ‘Wait (R&O Tribute Re-
revving motorcycle/geiger counter effect popularised to water. Taut basslines, strike a vintage house keys Production)’ Strictly Rhythm
a year or two back. Classic Chocolate Puma, in short. funky nu-disco licks and stance on the original, “This is my tribute to Oscar G & Ralph Falcon.”

liquid, rolling beats are while Toby Tobias does his 10. PAUL OAKENFOLD & LED ZEPPELIN VS F.S.T.R. ‘Babe I’m Gonna Love
all the order of the day, tech thing. This Basic Track (A TOT Mash Up)’ CDR
“Genius.”

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www.djmag.com 119

DJ486.house.indd 119 17/5/10 17:56:11

 disco REVIEWS
It’s A Fine Line MONETY!
It’s A Fine Line EP SHO
Marketing
9.0
Following a couple of killer
single releases — firstly the
ardent electro-disco classic for
History Clock, ‘Woman’, and the
deliciously skewed/brilliantly
titled ‘Never Go With A Hippie To A
Second Location’ for ‘Live At Rob-
ert Johnson’ — Ivan Smagghe and
Marketing label boss, Tim Paris
return to make a perfect hat-trick.
Anything but linear, both tracks
‘Do The Hot Tar’ and ‘Bachbeat’
move in a wonderfully idiosyn-
cratic fashion; melodies with
curdled time signatures snake
around peculiar, vintage-style
house rhythms and unusual disco
effects. Eccentric Body Music.
New Young Pony Club
We Want To
The Numbers
6.0
A broad choice of remixes to choose
from on this latest from their self-
released album, ‘The Optimist’. Kris
Menace and Silver Columns weigh
in with two, no-brainer, peak-time,
electro-disco mixes that don’t
particularly tread new ground, but do
serve a purpose. More interestingly,
XL’s psych/garage goths, The Horrors,
provide a chromatic, krautrock-style
version while all-round interplanetary
musician, Mickey Moonlight, adds a
quirky, tropical disco touch preceding
his forthcoming long-player on Ed
Banger.
TBD
Oh My
DFA
7.0
Following a slew of consistent
releases on DFA, the latest addition
to the roster is TBD — the brainchild
of !!!’s Justin Vandervolgen and
NYC’s Lee Douglas — who together,
re-define the term ‘acid-rock’ on this
latest release for the label. The title
track, Oh My’ is laced with scorched
303 lines wrapped around fuzzy guitar
riffs and pile-driving disco drums. On
the b-side, ‘OK, Cool’ loses the guitar
in favour of some sizzling 909 hi-hats
for a sleazy, DJ Pierre-style acid house
workout.
Andy Bell
Call On Me
Mute
6.0
Synth pop personality, Andy Bell,
makes a return to a familiar home,
120
DJ486.disco.indd 120
Mute — the label that launched a
career with Vince Clarke as Erasure,
more than 20 years ago — with this
latest techno pop number, ‘Call On
Me’, featuring a varied choice of
remixes. His long-term partner, Vince
Clarke, swaps his old DX7 in favour
of some modern production devices,
reflected in a techy-disco reworking.
Other contributions from Deadboy
(following his superb, future-garage
smash ‘If You Want Me’ for Glaswegian
collective, Numbers) and Chicago-
based, nu-disco contenders, Hey
Champ, help along this interesting
comeback.
Jonathan Jeremiah
Heart Of Stone (Remixes)
Island
6.0
Pilooski, famed for groundbreaking
re-edits/remixes of Frankie Valli, Elvis
and Nora Dean’s haunting, nyabingi
reggae classic, ‘Angie La La’, turns
his hand to the mystical crooning of
Jonathan Jeremiah’s ‘Heart Of Stone’.
The result is a loose house groove with
quirky ‘discoid’ chirps that could have
been borrowed from Mr. Oizo’s sample
library. Penguin Prison’s linear disco-
house version is a little disappointing,
but Pilooski does manage to keep the
ship from sinking.
John Talabot
Matilda’s Dream
Permanent Vacation
8.0
Another cosmic disco stunner from
John Talabot, dropping his second
release for Permanent Vacation. Tribal
drums build up beneath emotive
synth washes and subtle flecks of
delicate acid flourishes. Backed with
www.djmag.com
a cool dub version of ‘La Ninya’ —
complete with balearic guitar phrases
- and a tough remix of the title track
by DFA affiliate, Jacques Renault, tak-
ing ‘Matilda’s Dream’ to a much, much
darker place.
Ichisan & Nakova
Pionir
Nang
7.0
This latest release on Nang comes
from Slovenian disco duo, Ichisan
and Nakova (aka Igor and Jure), who
between them, have coined their style
of patriotic disco as, ‘Yugo Disco’.
‘Pionir’ is a slick electronic production
with a growling bass, chirpy cowbell
patterns, cascading arpeggios and a
meandering lead guitar. Lusty Zanibar
from Bearfunk Records produces a
more euphoric version with lengthy
breakdowns, as does Discodromo, by
including some epic synth moments.
Poni Hoax
We Are The Bankers
Abracadabra
6.0
Debut release on Dirk De Ruyck’s
(Eskimo) new venture, Abracadabra,
with a single from Tigersushi’s punk-
funk troupe, Poni Hoax. A loose
Talking Heads-style post-punk tune
that’s accompanied with remixes
from the likes of Renaissance Man
(providing an average electro-house
remix); The Living Island, with their
percussion-heavy, disco-dub and
Tim Goldsworthy’s Mustang project,
whose Afro-disco version is the
highlight of this EP.
QUICKIES
jonathan buRnip jonathanburnip@gmail.com
La Bionda Wanna Rock You’ and the
I Wanna Be Your Lover instrumental version of
White Steve Bender’s (frontman
8.0 of Eurovison finalists,
First brought to the Dschinghis Khan) ‘The
attention of many Final Thing’.
Italo-disco obsessives’
attention after appearing Gentlemen Drivers
on the cult Automan L’Arche
label back in 2002. This Because Music
classic sees another 6.0
re-issue with two lesser- Following the likes of
known productions from Uffie and Breakbot,
brothers Carmelo and Gentlemen Drivers
Michelangelo La Bionda, offer an EP of strobing
‘Burning Love’ and ‘I Got electro-disco, quirky
Your Number’. synth-pop, and cinematic
electronics.
KZA
Let’s Get Lost Vol. 2 V.I.P. Connection
Let’s Get Lost West Coast Drive
5.0 Morning Star
KZA of Japan’s Force Of 9.0
Nature re-edits three Killer, super-rare cosmic
bona fide disco classics, disco/Afro funk 12” from
and adds a little twist French production team
with an instrumental dub gets a facsimile ‘re-issue’
of wedding party classic to annoy those that paid
‘Everybody Dance’ by through the nose for an
Chic; Moroder’s catchy ‘I original.
Joel Martin Quiet Village/Maxxi & Zeus
01. Chantel Curtis  ‘Hit Man’  Pye
“Moroder-influenced Moog disco with a French harmonica twist.”
02. Voyage  ‘Point Zero’  Marlin
“Primal Afro tribal house music from 1977!”
03. Ashra  ‘Shuttlecock’  Virgin
“The roots of modern Kraut electronic disco.”
04. Stevie Wonder  ‘Race Babbling’  Tamla
“Unbelievable proto Detroit techno from Motown’s star pupil.”
05. Patrick Cowley  ‘Sea Hunt’  Megatone
“Exotic soundtrack-inspired Italo from San Francisco.”
06. Jimmy Bo Horne  ‘Spank (Edit)’  Boot
“This never fails to rock a dancefloor. Been sampled so many times, but who cares!”
07.  Lime  ‘On The Grid’  Prism
“Heavyweight hypnotic Euro sleaze remixed to perfection by producer John Morales.”
08. Martin Circus  ‘Disco Circus (Francois K Edit)’  Unidisc
“Psychedelic rock with chanting voodoo priests?”
09. Candido  ‘Thousand Fingered Man’  Salsoul
“Louie Vega once stated this was his favourite all-time disco tune.”
10. Eddy Grant  ‘Nobody’s Got Time’  Ice
“This monster classic was recently ripped off by the Gorillaz.”
7/5/10 15:41:21
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Untitled-8 1 19/4/10 11:57:34

 O UT O UT 2 1ST
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Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:52:24

 electronic/deep house REVIEWS
QUICKIES
BEN ARNOLD ben.a.arnold@gmail.com

Ripperton
1976
Perspectiv
In Flagranti D’Julz 8.0
Through A Rabbit Second Hand Feet EP Ripperton goes particularly deep here
Hole Ovum on this latest for his Perspectiv label,
Codek 7.0 following on from the 14 tracks of
7.0 Bass Culture honcho silken depth he provided on recent
The peerless In Flagranti D’Julz brings three tracks long-player ‘Niwa’. Crisp claps, soothing
drop this Balearic of serious dancefloor pad sounds, layers of synths, this is like
bombshell, an excursion pressure for Ovum, notably being wrapped in a feather duvet, that
into spooky electro-pop the title track, a shuffling is until it gets its groove on whereupon
with dreamy vocals from ‘French Kiss’-esque trancer it promptly heads for the dancefloor.
Natalie Smash and mixes that builds and builds. Mobilee man Sebo K provides a remix,
from Moscow and Danielle and what a rolling, bass-driven slab of
Baldelli. Let’s Go Outside party action it is, too.
Sunday Morning In
Sarrass The Church Of Bass Andrea Fiorito
Lust EP (Remixes) Moderato Zoologico
Third Ear Soma Cynosure
7.0 7.0 8.0
With previous forays on Three fine remixes here Here, Andrea Fiorito drops another on
Compost Records’ Compost for the brilliant Let’s Go Mike Shannon’s Cynosure. ‘Escape From
Black spin-off imprint, Outside (aka Stephen Myself’ leads the charge, a rolling deep
Freiburg producer Sarrass Schiebert) from Viva houser punctuated with old school,
presents four tracks of Records man Leon, Todd Terry-style hi-hats. ‘Zoraida’ MONETY!
lush, understated, lusty Sleaze Records boss Hans is all claustrophobic and menacing
SHO
deepness for the excellent Bouffmyhre and Stefny. before flanking you with disorientating Matt Tolfrey & Chris Sylvester
Third Ear. space synths and a meltingly gorgeous Real Talk EP
vocal from Amelia Saul arriving like an Murmur
intoxicating breath of spring air. And 9.0
just when you think you have ‘Jazzato
Minimo’ pegged, it turns all flamenco Leftroom Records boss Matt Tolfrey and Chris Sylvester (also known
piano meets pulsating minimalism. as Inxec) have every right to be as smug as bloody Paxman given the
Insane and brilliant. outcome of this latest collaboration for Murmur Records. Because
throwing down ‘Real Talk’, featuring a particularly dulcet spoken
Manik word performance from Kevin Knapp, is like administering dancefloor
My Machines EP catnip, like bona fide disco witchcraft. It almost feels like cheating.
Four:Twenty Almost. Presumably one or both of them met the Prince of Darkness
8.0 at the Old Street/Kingsland Road crossroads and traded their soul or
Lush synth gorgeousness here from souls for Satan’s synth. Whatever the cost, it was clearly worth it. Play
Christopher Manik with ‘Fable’ on this, sit back and watch those under its throbbing spell tailspin into a
Bristolian stable Four:Twenty, a track writhing, whooping mass of vulgar, Bacchanalian abandon, convinced
not in fact dissimilar to Silicone Soul’s that you are the finest DJ of your generation.
line in building deepness, but minus
the over reliance on hoover basslines.
‘Aftermath Class’ is a toasty-warm Deetron producer for the major labels) indulges
groove with an acid bassline arriving Collide/Dark Matter his passion for all things deep. The
Green
Roman Flügel turbo halfway, while the masterful Rick Wade
pops off his ‘Detroit Chiller’ mix of the 8.0
fabulous ‘Nobody Loves You’ builds and
chugs with a flavour of the ’80s boogie
track with little thought for foreplay, It is indeed a brave man who waits until about it. ‘No Pressure’ too is firm, tribal
01. Cole Medina  ‘Red Hot’  Internasjonal
“This loop monster is irresistible.” stuffing in some chopped vocals and a halfway through a track to bring in his and, well, very deep indeed, a 4am
humping house loop. Devastating. hi-hats, but with ‘Collide’, Deetron’s clarion call to the dancefloor. Did we
02. Schweiz Rec  ‘Unknown’  Workshop
“A wonderful-sounding house tune spiced with ‘Levon Vincent peppers’.” debut on Joris Voorn’s Green imprint, mention it was deep?
03. Gunship  ‘Locussolus’  International Feel Absurd Allstars he skirts around the subject, letting the
“The rebirth of acid meets The Slits and later Eddie van Halen. Very übercool!” Remix Series arpeggiating Detroit synths keep his Moscow
Absurd Recordings groove going. All meaning, of course, Deep Heat
04. Raoul K  ‘Sun Of Gao (Village Mix)’  Fatsouls Records 7.0 Loeb
“I hope Ricardo Villalobos plays this tune.” that when the climactic moment arrives
Hailing from the house music dead (and oh, does it arrive), it does so with 7.0
05. Krause Duo  ‘Up’  Philpot
“Let’s say Panorama Bar, around 9:30 in the morning.” zone that is the City of Angels, Absurd gusto. Over, the monstrous ‘Dark Matter’ Moscow is producer Matt Waites, also
Recordings bring together their is dark until its break, when wondrous known under the nom-de-plume
06. Freiland  ‘Geduld (DJ Koze Remix)’  Kompakt
“Koze takes us on a journey to our favourite hospital and back. Brilliant.” ringers for this substantial five-tracker. synths bring a lump to the throat. Nightmoves, and here he’s thrown
Playhouse/Diynamic type Holger Zilske, down some classy dub disco, an intense,
07.  Jackmate and the Missing Linx  ‘Discodisco’  Pampa 02
“He is my hero and a true expert in deconstructing dance music.” Suol’s Penner, Chopstick and Johnjon Tomas Malo hypnotic builder with clanging cowbells
and Mollono.Bass take on Pablo Nobody Loves You/No Pressure and spaced out synths. DFA founder Tim
08. Lil’ Tony  ‘Solid State’  Moodmusic Architech
“This piano riff could last forever.” Bolivar’s ‘Other Vision’, while Hamburg’s Goldsworthy (under his Thee Loving
Kollektiv Turmstrasse and Highgrade’s 8.0 Hand guise) strips the track right down
09. Shlomi Aber  ‘Groove Mechanism’  Ovum
“Techno needs good tools and this quiet beater works pretty well.” Todd Bodine take a pop at Tigerskin’s In this latest for his own label Architech, to its basics, while maintaining the
‘Response’. The Kollektiv take it by a a concern co-run with London jock intensity. On the digital release there’s
10. It’s A Fine Line  ‘Do The Hot Tar (It’s A Fine Line)’  CDR
“Hot stuff from my French colleagues.” nose, but distinction goes to Zilske for and producer Mat Playford, Tomas versions from Toby Tobias and The
his ice cold, low-slung groove. Malo (really Tom Gray, a ‘mainstream’ Blessed too, both well worth a look.

www.djmag.com 123

DJ486.electronic.indd 123 30/4/10 14:16:43

 GLOBAL BASS REVIEWS
Chief Boima MONETY!
SHO
Techno Rumba
Dutty Artz
9.0
This debut EP from Bay Area
producer/DJ, Chief Boima,
is a breath of fresh air in a
climate where producers
follow rules as much as
one another’s generic bass
sounds. Lead track ‘Techno
Rumba’ is modern African
music exuding class and
style. Like much of the great
contemporary African music
it’s incredibly stripped down
with only a slow house
groove, a b-line bump,
some neat snare work and a
hypnotic guitar lick. Rupture
and Shadetek trip it out a
little and Uproot Andy takes
it uptempo and tropical on
his mix.
Ramadanman
Glut
Hemlock
9.0
Ramadanman is absolutely pumping
out the releases at the moment, all
consistently top draw. It’s appropriate
then that his debut on Hemlock
should be entitled ‘Glut’: it’s a low-
end booming monstrous affair with
nods to the Chicago sound of ghetto
house as much as to the UK’s jungle
heritage. The flipside ‘Tempest’ is a
more wooden percussion trip with
shimmering synths and emotive
melodies. It kicks a third of the way
in with deep subs and a groove that is
just too sick.
Supra1
I Still Believe
Trouble & Bass
7.0
Drop The Lime and company’s Trouble
& Bass imprint continue their ‘Heavy
Bass Champions Of The World Series’
(now that’s truly global bass). This
time it’s the turn of Polish producers
Supra1 who oblige with two original
dubstep tracks and a host of mixes.
Main track ‘I Still Believe’ is a decent
track but the diva-style vocal doesn’t
quite succeed for me. It’s a case of
B-side wins then as ‘Ghoster’ does
everything right – soulful pads, swung
drums, great synths.
Ital Tek
Moment In Blue
Planet Mu
7.0
Looking ahead to Ital Tek’s album on
Planet Mu, we are presented with a
124
DJ486.Global bass.indd 124
rather beautiful single that’s set to
soundtrack the upcoming summer
months. There are two originals,
the heavy funk dose ‘Crush Horizon’
in particular shouldn’t be slept
on. However, it’s the remixes that
dominate the package. Falty DL’s
is typical of the New York producer
— techy garage beats and plenty of
invention — but it’s Ikonika’s remix
that shines a little brighter; the
Hyperdub producer absolutely kills
this one with the melodies.
WAFA
Ewid Disco
Grizzly
9.0
Debutant WAFA opens his account
with a track that’s set to stir more
than a few festival fields this summer.
‘Ewid Disco’ is definitely inspired by
disco drums, but once the pitch-bent
Nintendo arpeggio basslines enter
we get the feeling this is far removed
from a regular disco groove, instead
owing a larger debt to grime, garage
and straight up anything wonky.
Ewid’s bastard Italo basslines duck in
and out, transposing higher and lower
but never losing the groove, which is
relentlessly addictive.
Funkineven
She’s Acid
Eglo Records
8.0
Alex Nut’s Eglo Records are
responsible for some of the most
forward thinking music coming
out of the UK at the moment, with
Funkineven staking a claim for one of
the best new producers. ‘She’s Acid’
www.djmag.com
Catch
Sinden o
Kiss 10 n
Thursda0
morning y
s 1-
QUICKIES
SINDEN, infosinden@gmail.com
for mor 2am
bass-he e
avy
beats
Heatwave feat The Cheerz
Serocee Whooz Da Baddest
War Dance Moveltraxx
Heatwave 7.0
7.5 One of the most wildly
Heatwave link up with random releases I’ve come
Toddla T’s right-hand man, across recently, collecting
Serocee, for the tribalistic remixes from across the
bashment of ‘War Dance’. house and the ghetto
Potent dancefloor material music scenes. Features
from London’s finest. Oliver $, Douster and DJ
Gant Man.
Duncan Powell
Pushing Kalbata
2nd Drop Wallabee
7.0 Double Science
More great bass music 6.5
from 2nd Drop Records. Deep and dubby garage
‘Pushing’ opens with some from Tel Aviv producer
euphoric strings, beauti- Kalbata. Cosmin TRG is
fully melodic and stirring. also enlisted on the remix.
Falty DL features on remix Solid release.
duties.
is deep and melodic, fun, colourful
and very funky with the cosmic slop
of Parliament and Prince, but giving
props to Detroit techno’s forefathers
at the same time. Quirky and brilliant
modern soul music.
Bert On Beats feat MC
Anbuley
Suomo
Man Recordings
7.0
Estonian producer Bert On Beats won
a recent remix competition held by
Man Recordings. He impressed them
so much that, after a few slam-dunk
remixes, he was gifted his own
release. The debut release, ‘Suomo’
sees him teaming up with Ghanian DOUSTER ZZK RECORDS
female MC Anbuley, and it’s very
01. JAY WEED ‘On The Nile’ Grizzly
much a team effort. Bert’s tough “Egyptian Lover meets the Cyber Pharaohs, Jay Weed does big things!”
hitting afro-tech is the perfect foil for
02. DJ ERICK RINCON ‘La Bomba’ CDR
Anbuley’s tracky vocals, which never ‘Just what a good 3ball guarachero track is — epico-dumb lyrics, stadium melody and
funky tribal rhythm.”
obstruct the groove. Remixes come
courtesy of Ku Bo, Haaksman and 03. DOUSTER ‘Punani (Arcade Remix)’ ESP
“Love how my boy Arcade’s built the whole thing — the bass is HUGE!”
Lazy Ants.
04. DVA ‘Ganja’ Hyperdub
“The lead is so stoooopid, this is somewhere between stoned Dutch house and drunk
Carte Blanche UK funky!”
Black Billionaires EP 05. VYBZ KARTEL FEAT POPCAAN & GAZA SLIM ‘Clarks’ Zj Chrome
Ed Banger “Ah weh yu get da new ‘Clarks’ deh, daddy? Perfect summer anthem.”
7.5 06. MARCUS PRICE & CARLI ‘Mat, Bira, Kvinnor, Weed (Kingdom
‘Black Billionaires EP’ is a collection of Remix)’ Palms Out Sound
“Sweden’s finest remixed by one of my faves. Heavy bass drum and diva voices are my
bassy jacking house tracks influenced shit!”
by classic Chicago labels such as Trax
07. TEKILATEX ‘Dinosaurs With Guns’ Sound Pellegrino
and Dancemania, and produced under “Dinosaurs AND guns... what else could you ask for?”
the collaboration partnership known 08. TOK VS RISHI ROMERO ‘Defense vs African Forest (Mycon Deep
as Carte Blanche, otherwise known as Refix)’ CDR
Riton and DJ Mehdi. ‘Gare Du Nord’ is “When deep Dutch house meets dancehall, it has to be perfect!”
the ‘banger’ and the most immediate 09. CROOKERS FEAT YELLE ‘Cooler Cooler (Douster Remix)’ Southern
Fried
of the five, followed by ‘In The Mix’. “An innocent little remix that converts itself into a hard bubbling club masher.”
Chi-town rapper and heiress to the
Chicago throne, Kid Sister pops up on
10, GYPTIAN & NICKI MINAJ ‘Hold Yuh (Remix)’ VP Records
“One of my favourite tunes of 2010, now with my favourite female rapper.”
the catchy ‘Do! Do! Do!’.
30/4/10 10:15:16
 techno REVIEWS
Richard Brophy PO Box 8174, Dublin 1, Ireland

Forward Strategy Group

QUICKIES Group Code
Perc Trax
Andrea Alpha 606 & Sync 7.0
You Still Got Me 24 FSG is gaining a reputation for uncom-
Daphne Lunar Passport promising techno, and ‘Code 1’ won’t do
6.0 Cultivated Electronics it any harm. Dense, grainy offbeats and
The title track on the fifth 7.0 mysterious textures are married on a
Daphne release doesn’t Alpha 606 from the Inter- relentless loop workout. ‘Code 2’ is more
offer much variation on dimensional Transmission intense, with straighter beats but the
the series theme with label teams up with Sync kind of distorted hammering rhythms
its Minnie Mouse vocals 24 to deliver two breaking you’d usually hear in an iron foundry.
and hardcore breaks. electro tracks that are Donor Truss takes down the tempo and
However, ‘Got To Forget’ sparse and stripped back, intensity levels with a panning remix
is much slower and more but nonetheless teem with of ‘Code 1’, while his edit returns to the
atmospheric — a genuinely depth and resonance. grubby techno explored on ‘Code 2’.
beautiful piece of music.
Hutton Drive DJ Yoav B
Maayan Nidam Chord Memories Love Dubs
7th Sign Delsin Redshape
MONETY!
A Turnaround EP
Freak n’Chic 7.0 7.0 Red Pack SHO
7.0 Domenic Capello’s release Perhaps as a reaction against soulless Present
More widely known as Miss has nothing to do with the digital techniques, Israeli producer Yoav 8.0
Fitz, Nidam impresses with old Ian Pooley classic, but B’s latest release tends towards raw,
these excellent stripped- its dubby beats and sad freeform sounds. ‘Higher Love’ features This double-pack shows the same
back drum tracks. ‘Perplex- keys combine with spiral- rough, dubby beats underpinning a diversity that made Redshape’s debut
day’ features irresistible ling acid lines to create a gnarly acid sequence, while the title album such a stellar affair. ‘Soylent
vocal samples, while ‘The memorable techno-house track goes further, focused on jazzy, Red’ unfolds over rough breaks and thanks to some bright chords, but then
Road To Recovery’ sounds track. broken beats. However, the track a menacing hardcore bass, while a a wall of feedback noise envelops the
like Cobblestone Jazz if that yields the best results from this similarly malevolent filtered bass arrangement. ‘Forest Of Dawn’ is even
they released on Perlon. approach is ‘Soul Surrender’. Featur- dominates ‘Mucky Bones’, underpin- spookier, with death-paced voodoo
ing mysterious riffs and a menacing ning dissected vocals. ‘Grind’ features drums and soupy psychedelic textures
underlying bass, it builds up the kind raw breaks copper-fastened to bleepy fading, just as the night ends, only to
of eerie atmosphere that’s hard to get sequences, while ‘Brick Brack’ and reveal a droning outro. Electronic music
from a laptop. ‘Drama’ are tougher, their steely drums rarely sounded so evil.
creating streamlined DJ tracks. Only
Morphosis the eerie, super-deep synth of ‘The Les- Claro Intelecto
Musafir son’ is redolent of the sound Redshape Back in the Day
MOS emerged with, but now it forms part of Modern Love
7.0 a far greater picture. 7.0
Given that Rabih Beaini, aka Morphosis, Thanks to the Daphne and Hate
also records freeform music as Ra.H, it’s projects, you’d be forgiven for thinking
not surprising that his latest missive TR-One that the Modern Love stable had relo-
doesn’t follow a formula. The title track Shit Ain’t Worth It cated to the old school. However, given
marries Villalobos-style horns with a Pogo that Mark Stewart is behind the project,
pumped up Resse bassline to form a 7.0 it’s handled tastefully. A detuned
menacing outcome. ‘Running Out’ is The Pogo night in Dublin launches its hardcore riff and evocative piano keys
less predictable: a repetitive squelchy label with this impressive three-tracker. merge with Mark’s hazy dub beats on
riff threatens to build into a demented TR-One had a great debut release a few the title track. ‘New Life’, meanwhile,
subsonic denouement, but just as it years back on Fine Art, but ‘Bombay’, features a lighter connection to the past
threatens to get out of hand, Beaini with its melancholy bass and layered as playful house beats are intertwined
MATT O’BRIEN OFF-KEY INDUSTRIES shifts the track’s arrangement to end melodies, sounds more like the Durutti with a catchy, familiar sample that could
with a warm, bleepy sequence. Column fused with Chicago house. The be lifted from an old acid house or pop
01. MATT O’BRIEN  ‘Dodaso (Schatrax Remix)’  Off-key Industries
“One of my favourite producers bringing the remix treatment to Off-Key. Heavy stuff.” title track and ‘Sometime Again’ are dance track.
02. SKUDGE  ‘Convolution’  Skudge Syrinx in keeping with TR-One’s deep techno
“Superb dub house builder from the mysterious Skudge crew. Essential.” B.D.O. sounds, but both are understated, Gerd
Ann Aimee with a focus on warm, live-sounding Friendly Fire
03. ERIK & FIEDEL  ‘Let’s Git It On’  MMM
“‘Mentasm’ hoover madness – devastating stuff!” 7.0 basslines and lithe percussive Clone
04. MATT O’BRIEN  ‘Into The Red’  Curle One of the problems of making deep intricacies. An understated debut that 7.5
“Some self-promotion. Peter Van Hoesen and Donato Dozzy on the flip.”
techno is that too often the results deserves your attention. One of the most innovative producers
05. PANGAEA  ‘5-HTP’  Hessle Audio sound bland and over-polished. Here, from the ‘90s Dutch techno scene makes
“Twisted, druggy, wonky dubstep. Nice.”
Syrinx just about gets the balance right: Demdike Stare a welcome return. It sounds like Gerd
06. FRANCO CANGELLI  ‘When They Come’  Mowar the glistening synths on ‘Breakdown’ Forest Of Evil has mellowed out further and the title
“Sublime Detroit-inspired techno from the Mowar label boss.”
never lapse into faux-epic excess and Modern Love track is based on irresistible woozy
07.  REGGIE DOKES  ‘Until Tomorrow EP’  Royal Oak
“Another great EP of masterly Detroit house cuts.” ‘Outro’ is a gloriously melodic piece of 8.0 synths and delightfully spaced out
08. JACKMASTER CURT  ‘Real Fresh’  Jiszack Master Records ambience. ‘Dubsequence’ steals the Having released one of last year’s jazzy keys. ‘Vibration’ is even more out
“Proper back in the day jacking acid business.”
honours though, its filtered, emotive best albums, Miles Whittaker and there, a late-night groove dominated
09. TEVO HOWARD  ‘Crystal Republic’  Hour House Is Your Rush chords reminiscent of but not derivative Sean Canty‘s project returns with this by a spooky organ sound. Like a slightly
“Classic sounding emotive Chicago house.”
of classic Sterac releases like ‘Sitting On vinyl-only release. ‘Dusk’ starts with more sinister take on Bodycode, it’s the
10. 2 BAD MICE  ‘Waremouse’  Moving Shadow
“Old school rave monster. Nearly 20 years old and still sounding fresh.” Clouds’. half-heard muffled sounds and eerie perfect counterpoint to the blissed out
synths. There is a hint of playfulness title track.

www.djmag.com 125

DJ486.techno.indd 125 30/4/10 15:08:52

 DRUM & BASS REVIEWS
MONETY!
SHO
Bassnectar
Basshead/Teleport Massive
(Bassnectar Remix)
Basshead
9.0
Bass nirvana. The sort of piece
that — when played loud and
you’re slightly worse for wear
— makes you instantly lose the
capacity for coherent speech,
reducing you to a gibbering,
appreciative wreck! Stomped
out at half speed and an instant
crowd pleaser possibly for the
start of a set, ‘Basshead’ is a series
of crazy bass grumbles, burps,
folds and serrations interspersed
with a robotic “Basshead!”
announcement. A comical
earthquake plodding slime beast
in a foul, stinking mood.
Subfocus
Splash feat Coco/Timewarp VIP/
Splash (Rusko Remix)/Coming
Closer VIP
Ram
8.5
It’s not necessarily the A-side here that
grabs me by the proverbials, although
with appealing sung lyrics and an
incredible build-up to a neat and tidy
dancer it’s likely to get more attention.
All bass addicts should however steer
their Hummers to the ‘Timewarp’ VIP
mix, where a combination of nerve-
tautening synth high notes and slurping
guttural bass blurbs combine in quick
succession — galloping over a zombie
psycho-disco rhythm and bubbly, joyful
vibes. Heads high.
Capone
Back To Detroit/On The Wheels/
What I Do/Fly Away
Test
9.0
A strong and forthright set where
every piece shines bright in its own
126
DJ486.D&B.indd 126
right. ‘Back To...’ is the sort of unfailing
chocolate boom sponge the man Dillinja
is revered for, and my favourite ‘On The
Wheels’ features an MC that gees you up
for a satisfying release of stamping fat
lady mud-wrestling. Then ‘What I Do’ is a
supercharged peak of the night skipper
that generates atomic energy levels,
and ‘Fly Away’ is an anthemic soulful
roller. The shit.
Nu:Tone
Hyper Hyper/Set Me Free
Hospital
9.0
Generates electricity like a Sim-City
power grid where an instantly recogniz-
able convulsing electro riff during the
intro is a delight to mix with and sparks
you into action as soon as it drops.
Clean, polished quality with a subtle
peppering of dirt through a gruff “Get
hyper” voice stab. Once it begins in
earnest we dare you not to bounce as a
playful, bubbling bass, mischievously
musical bleeps and old skool drum fills
complete the baking of this delicious
cake.
Pendulum
Watercolour (Mixes)
Immersion
9.0
This particular release reminds me of the
work outputted by Concord Dawn (what
the hell happened to them?) a few years
back, where maudlin, soulful male lyrics
elevate the proceedings gradually up to
critical bass intensity. Superb slightly
vocodered soul singing mixes perfectly
with stages of mellow but manic music
complete with bleepy android concert
keys and high-energy drops. A perfect
example of how d&b can simultaneously
www.djmag.com
be both palatable music as well as a
surreal, wholesome bass fix.
Serum
Souped Up/Push It
Co-Lab
8.5
One with a good groove embedded
deeply within, like veins of high-grade
gold glowing bright within boulders of
craggy granite. Much like output from
the Full Cycle crew at their finest, the
attraction here is the back to basics
combination of an elevating bass
progression that instantly addicts
and attracts as it encircles and coils
around a drum break that could only be
produced by someone who has a deeply
entrenched knowledge of hip-hop
percussion. Raw value ore.
Disaszt & Infame/Camo &
Crooked
Oh My Dear (Body & Soul
Remix)/Vampires (Phetsta
Remix)
Mainframe
7.5
Preferred the original, I was just
knocked sideways by the way its cheeky-
chappy helium voice loop of the title
combines with enfolding waves of sheer
bass power. This version has been tech’d
up a little, where rising pitch zooms and
malfunction mania pulses with ferocity.
Flip over for a treat where a Technique
Recordings stablemate awards us with
a half-step smasher, with a gurgling
beautiful bass and floor friendly vibes.
Taxman
Dreamland/Acid
Liq-Weed Ganja
8.0
Those that reminisce over the early Good
Looking catalogue should purchase this
one without question. Like an up to date
cross between the seminal ‘Drift To The
Centre’ and Photek’s ‘Dolphin Tune’ with
a bit of Goldie’s ‘Sea Of Tears’ thrown
in for good measure, this is a euphoric
mélange of furiously rinsed Amen,
soothing dolphin calls, waves lapping
against a shore, traditional 808 boom
bass and retro Moog keyboard chords.
Camo & Krooked/Netsky
Turn Up The Music/Memory Lane
Hospital
7.5
Not your de-rigeur tempo here, but it’s
Hospital, Camo & Krooked and it’s great.
A crisp celery snap vivacious drum
relaxes and invigorates while original
‘Ten City’-style Detroit garage house
vibes elevate your hands on a reflex
basis. Enjoy the male, almost gospel-
soul-style vocal chants while a classic
retro rave-style riff joyfully hypnotises
and the odd key splash and cool breeze
chord add interest. Relief rocker.
QUICKIES
ALEX C alexcdnb@gmail.com
Total Science & SPY female speech introduction
Gangsta/Above The giving way to an orgasm
Clouds of rippling bass, folding
Shogun Audio and fluttering over a nutty,
5.5 dusty break.
Harsh Armageddon chords
reminiscent of Adam F’s Utah Jazz
‘Metropolis’, a soldier Quincy/Pharcyde VIP
battalion skipping beat Quincy
and ominous vibes conjure 7.5
impending doom. Flailing A cool dreamy encounter
hands in the darkness. into hip-hop past, as
calming piano, polished
Heist ‘Think’ break and relaxing
Mothership/Unicron violin introduce an organ
Sumo Beatz riff as used on the classic
6.5 Pharcyde piece ‘Passin’
The Darth Vader sample Me By’.
is the best bit in this. The
rest, like the loud broken- Sensai & Heist/Dr
leg break and mish-mash Dub
of bass fury, seems Interrogate/Afraid
Calypso Muzak
disjointed.
6.0
Original Sin & Tax- Slightly tear-out by
man numbers to be honest, a
Back For More/Eva- cymbal-ridden chattering
sion (Remix VIP) drum lays the foundation
Image for vocal statements at
5.5 8-bar ends and a gabba
Porn d&b, with an aroused gurning bass chunder.
BODY AND SOUL NASCA RECORDS
01. CAMO & KROOKED AND BODY & SOUL ‘The Big Rush’ Nasca Records
“Brand new highly energetic collab with ourselves and the acclaimed Camo & Krooked.”
02. DAVIP & ENCODE ‘Vamonos’ Breed 12 Inches
“Hard hitting future funk mayhem from two upcoming Russian producers.”
03. BODY & SOUL ‘Brave New World’ Nasca
“Electro influenced swing beat triplet tune keeping the fun factor on max ‘til the
very end.”
04. CAMO & KROOKED ‘Turn Up The Music’ Hospital
“One of the most beautiful minimal techno influenced drum & bass tunes ever.”
05. DISASZT, TENCHU, KOS ‘Raise It Up’ Big Riddim
Brutal three o’ clock in the morning rave anthem. Kills it each and every time.”
06. BODY & SOUL AND FOURWARD ‘Comply To The Rules’ Nasca Records
“Stripped down nasty and raw neuro-funk banger forthcoming in summer 2010.”
07.  NOISIA & FOREIGN BEGGARS ‘Shellshock’ Vision
“Absolutely breathtaking breakbeat madness from the No.1 production outfit.”
08. ED RUSH & OPTICAL ‘Get Ill (Prolix Remix)’  Virus
“The original is already a classic. The remix absolutely takes it to another crazy level.”
09. BODY & SOUL AND FOURWARD ‘Waiting’ Nasca
“Another Austrian collab bringing back the vibes of the legendary Bad Company times
around 2001.”
10. NOISIA & PHACE ‘Floating Zero’ Invisible
“Very inspiring techy influenced minimal roller.”
30/4/10 10:09:17
 breakbeat REVIEWS
Mutiny
Carl Loben, carlloben@hotmail.com

QUICKIES Tell U Something

Lucky Break
8.0
Freeflow45 Kouncilhouse Enter… the dragon. Loving the neo-
Nuskool Detention/ Demons Chinese twirling ‘n’ chiming strings in
Spook Busted Cablestone the intro before a burbling b-line and
Bombtraxx 7.5 slippy-slidey garagey beats enter the
7.0 Slower breathy original fray. The near-madrigal chimings really
Dom Sweeten, who’s also from the home counties give the track a jolly, exotic feel and
released on various hard homeboy, about 128bpm, make me want to go to China again —
dance labels in other with tasty female vocal, or at least the circus. Afghan Headspin
guises throughout the turned into a half-steppa max out the Chinese feel in the first
noughties, comes with dubbed-out thang by section of their mix, before big bastard
a whistle-possé nuskool Circuit Breaker. break-steppa beats and heavy wobble-
sidewinder, backed by a board bass nice up the dance. Spyke
zippy electronic burbler. Destroyers & Agre- from France goes the bassline house
sivnes route superbly, and label chiefs Jack NAPT
Perpetual Present Picklock (Bill Vega & Stat take it dutty dubstep. Fuck Critics/Narcotics MONEY
The Message New Decade Remix) Funkatech ! SHOT
Acidphonic Electroshok Slyde
7.0 8.0 Move Ya Body
9.0
Stompy squat party acid ‘Ardkore! These guys know Slybeats Fuck you as well, NAPT! Fuck you for
breakbeat darkside bizness the score when it comes to 8.0 being the new poster boys of break-
emanating outta east injecting tunes with poi- The Slyde guys return with a saucy slab Leuce Rhythms beat. Fuck you for winning all those
London, dripping with sonous hardcore energy. of electro sleaze. These party-rockers Headroot (Your Love) Breakspoll awards. And fuck you for
volcanic, molten lava funk Deep still, and with ‘real’ never seem to fail to do the biz, and Scarcity being such hard-working, excellent
(possibly from Iceland). breakbeats, too. ‘Move Ya Body’ will certainly achieve 7.5 producers — and DJs, come to think
its aim on the floors. Lashings of funk, The original here’s quite a straightfor- of it. It’s probably more a gener-
hints of disco, a slice of hip-hop vocal- ward electro-breaks missive that stabs alised call out to haters that the
ising and a carefree big beat abandon, repeatedly like a deranged woodpeck- hip-hop vocals are on about here
the original here is a sure-fire winner. er. This Leeds kru have got it going — over kick-ass rasping electronic
Their own ‘Rolla Mix’ employs more on, and we’ll be hearing a lot more of breakbeat — but this music journo
wobbly bassline undertow, while ‘em. Leuce lips sink ships. The Retroid won’t be kissing this unnamed MC’s
Dirty Moolah from New York turns in a mix sends it into the realms of ‘real’ ass, as I always do seem to like
wicked Ramirez-y electro party funker. electro, all bodypoppin’ clicks and old NAPT’s shit. Bastards. ‘Narcotics’,
skool synth before dubious trance-y meanwhile, is a fucked-up jump-up
2D flutters join the fray. Germany’s squelch-a-thon that Paul Woolford
All That Ska B-Phreak supplies the definitive mix would be delighted with.
Resin for peak-time floors, staccato electro
7.5 stabs working overtime and offset
Resin Records have been quiet for a by plentiful use of the classic housey breaks project with vocalist Natasha
while now, but this is a timely return female vocal to keep it accessible. Chamberlain, and although ‘Precon-
— just in time for the festival season. ception’ isn’t really doing anything
‘All That Ska’ is yer typical feelgood Dreadzone new — sounds like Smithmonger from
ska-dub piece: nothing revolutionary, Gangster five years ago — it just passes through
but predicated on the conscious skank Dubwiser the net as an early doors DJ tool.
7.0
Krafty Kuts Against The Grain that makes a horny, festie frenzy piece
such as this so infectious. Rimshots, The next single taken from Dread-
Kickflip introduces elastic beats and
a scything bass undertow for a tastier
01. Krafty Kuts feat DJ Assault  ‘Shake Them Hips (Drumsound delays, sirens and the rocksteady — zone’s ‘Eye On The Horizon’ is a treat, and Metroboy — aka Ben from
Bassline Mix)’  ATG this is natty bizness, fo’sho. ‘Kinda conscious warning about the merits — Ben & Lex — turns in a nice lengthy
“Funky electro banger with a heavy d&b mix.”
Jazz’ is a twangy freeform nu-funk cut or not — of trying to be a gangster in minimal opus.
02. Krafty Kuts feat Sporty O  ‘Let’s Go Let’s Ride’ ATG that’s kinda Red Snapper in a smoke- the ‘hood. The original’s quite poppy,
“A hint of dubstep, a touch of disco and some dirty bass.”
filled basement on cognac. but the Pyramid guys turn it into a sick The Analogeeks
03. T im Healey & CalvertRon  ‘Back To The Ghetto (Krafty Kuts pulveriser that uses rave synths almost Lose My Head/Subconscience
Remix)’  Surfer Sofa Records
“A cheeky little bass shaker with some crazy chords.”
Kultur & Columbo akin to Pendulum. Not sure about the En:Vision
Kissing The Funk EP ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ reference but 7.5
04. Yeah Yeah Yeahs  ‘Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Mix/Icey Re-Rub)’  CDR iBreaks otherwise MC Spee and Earl 16’s sweet A corrosive angle-grinding bass is
“Massive tune given the DJ Icey treatment.”
7.0 rhymes are offset by the production soon joined by big bastard beats and
05. Lee Mortimer & Foamo  ‘Superman (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)’  CDR These Spaniards have quickly shot mayhem, while The Trolley Snatcha an almost psy-trance 303. Then comes
“Disco breaks and a quirky hip-hop vocal with a ridiculous bassline.”
to the apex of the Spanish scene by remix utilises Uzis and lethal dubstep the vocal sample from Grandmaster
06. Sub Focus  ‘Rock It (A.Skillz Remix)’  CDR virtue of some top-notch produc- bizzle. Flash’s ‘The Message’ — “Don’t push
“A.Skillz gives this winner another lease of life.”
tions and party-rocking DJ sets. They me ‘cos I’m close to the edge” — and
07.  Nero  ‘Electron’  MTA Records became the first Spanish act to top the Eight: Ball the snakes are really let loose. You
“Love this electro d&b flavour.”
Beatport breaks chart recently, and Preconception can see why Future Funk Squad signed
08. Gramophonedzie  ‘Why Don’t You (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)’  CDR this looks set to do well for them, too. Big Square this to his label: it’s a dirty, far too
“Wicked jazzy beats and licks, all given a Krafty workout.”
Not too heavy, ‘Blow Me’ is a slab of 6.0 loud beast for the great outdoors.
09. Afrojack  ‘Daft Sound (Krafty Kuts Re-Rub)’  CDR nuskool funk overlain with a tongue- Seb Taylor is otherwise known as ‘Subconscience’ retains a similarly
“Does the trick!”
twisting hip-hop vocal, while ‘1, 2, 3, Digitalis, who used to release psy- dirty feel, but isn’t nearly so attractive
10. DJ Fresh & Adam F  ‘Hip-Hop’  Breakbeat Kaos Breakbeat’ is an electro groove-steppa tinged breakbeat on labels like Sinister — apart from the Justice-y bit in the
“Destroys — full stop!”
for breakers to throw down to. and Sound Of Habib. Eight: Ball is his breakdown.

127

DJ486.breakbeat.indd 127 30/4/10 10:08:11

 garage/grime REVIEWS
The Mike Delinquent
MONETY!
Project SHO
Genesis EP
Spoilt Rotten
9.0
One half of the original Delinquent
team, Mike returns with a solo name
and solo effort, dropping a four-
tracker of extreme bass pleasure.
Consisting of ‘Stampede’, ‘Lick it
From the Top’, ‘The Warning’ and
‘Dancehall’, we are treated to a mash-
up of mainly instrumental dubstep,
funky and 4x4 vibes with a few choice
vocal snippets. Stamping his mark on
the EP from the off, this defines the
next chapter in the MDP story.
Lady Chann
Sticky Situation
Girls Music
8.0
Awesome new signing to Sheffield
producer Toddla T’s heavyweight imprint
Girls Music. Chann fuses her hard-hitting
dancehall, soca, r&b grime chatting
with tight clarity over UKG original
don Sticky’s crisp, breaky two-step
production. With music, timing is always
paramount, and cleverly reminiscent
of the Ms Dynamite ‘Booo!’ days, this
sounds remarkably fresh for 2010.
Toddla hooks up with Seiji on the remix
to add a carnival bass vibe that will be
tearing up clubs and festivals over the
summer. Also check ‘Eyes Too Fast’ for
another belter.
TV Rock
In The Air (A1 Bassline Remix)
Data Records
7.0
Mega house producers from down under
craft a peak-time house bomb. In steps
A1 Bassline to bring some quirky, funky
subs to the mix. Opting to use the full
sung chorus and retriggered synth riff
from the original, A1 switches the drop
into a filtered squelch over furious funky
percussion and pitched-down vocal
stabs. Keeping the overall mix quite
spacious and progressive, this is not one
of his most heavy b-line efforts, but still
works floors nicely.
Cassius
99 (Reset Remix)
Cassius Records
8.0
Pioneering French house duo Zdar &
Bombass get the rights back to their
classic crossover smash, and boy, are
we glad. Handpicking two fresh and
enthusiastic remixers really adds a dif-
ferent twist of firepower to this timeless
classic. Reset from Milan get twisted and
dirty, chopping, slicing and dicing the
samples into an Italian slice of ecstatic
128
DJ486.garage.indd 128
4/4 chunked-out funk that will get any
party rocking. Tim Green drops a house
bomb and Cassius remaster the original
to complete the release.
MJ Cole
Riddim EP
Prolific Recordings
9.5
Always ahead of the game, Matt Cole-
man gets mucky in the studio on four
exclusive new cuts — ‘Flux’, ‘Phoenix’,
‘Thekla’ and the aptly-named ‘Volcano’
riddims all feature. MJ has been DJing
around the world of late, and this is
crystallised here with snippets of tech-
house, Dutch beats, US bass, future
garage and UK funky percussion, all of
which erupt out of the speaker with no
muddy ash.
SRC
Going Out
Rwina
8.0
Super Riddim Creator is the guise of Bir-
mingham native Ricardo Carrido, who
has been using classic Mario samples
to put together grimy anthems for the
past year or so, which you would have
heard on a wide range of Rinse FM shows
and most recently on Mary Anne Hobbs’
Radio 1 Experimental show. ‘Going Out’
is like an 8-bit version of Joker’s ‘Purple
City’, real smooth synths and acoustic
percussion not normally found in grime.
This is the debut release of a trio he
has forthcoming via Glaswegian outfit
Numbers and grime’s premier label No
Hats No Hoods, so he is definitely one to
watch this year. Don’t sleep on ‘Sort Of A
Start’ on the flip.
Rude Kid
Screwdriver
No Hats No Hoods
5.0
Following the success of the ‘Jack
Daniels EP’, and his instrumental compi-
lation ‘Are You Ready’, Rude Kid follows
www.djmag.com
up quickly with a sign of what is coming
in the near future. Screwdriver is the
happy medium between his danceable
‘Jack Daniels’ style, and his bass heavier
‘Electric’ style. It has the characteristics
of a typical dubstep tune but still retains
the shuffles that make Rude Kid’s tracks
stand out. Hopefully his future material
doesn’t fall into the pit of wobble and
noisy dubstep that is already getting
tiresome, and he can continue to make
original exciting music again.
Teddy & G.Tank
Lunch Box
Underground Unit
6.0
Rinse FM’s Teddy (formerly known as
DJ Silencer) collaborates with G.Tank
on their first pre-album release ‘Lunch
Box’, which is a collection of tracks that
didn’t make the album. The let down
with this compilation is there isn’t
any collaborations between the two
East Londoners, but there are gems in
‘Travelodge’ and ‘Final Lap vs Wizard’.
It’s the usual skippy 140 bpm heavily
hip-hop-influenced style, reminiscent of
Swizz Beats in the ’90s. If you like Teddy,
you will like this, but there is nothing
‘new’. Watch out for their album ‘Ghana-
ian Fire’ dropping later in the year.
DJ Spooky
Murderer
Oil Gang
7.0
East London’s Spooky has the pleasure
of being the opening release on the
newly formed Oil Gang label, and he
opens it with a cracker in ‘Murderer’. The
last release Spooky had was ‘Joyride’
which sampled dancehall classic ‘Yuh
Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet’, and he goes
back to his roots again by sampling
Barrington Levy’s ‘Murderer’, bringing
it up-to-date for a version that grime
and dubstep fans will love. Catch the
Iron Gates remix on the B side which has
been battered by all the grime DJs.
QUICKIES
THE WIDEBOYS, wideboyslaptop@hotmail.com
ELIJAH BISHOP, elijahwork@googlemail.com
Fiskin vs Pied Piper Guido
Do You Really Like It You Do It Right
2010 Megamix Punch Drunk
White 7.0
7.0 The Bristol native Guido
Chart-topping MC track picks up where producers
from way back when gets a such as Davinche, Rapid
cheeky mash-up treatment and Wiley left off, and
from Fiskin, perfect for the composes some really
two-step sing-a-long crew. magical drum work. The
bassline and hook is unfor-
AlexisK gettable, catch this on his
The Death Of Every- album ‘Anidea’, out soon.
thing Cool
Permanent Damage Wiley
6.5 Name Drop
Female producer from Eskibeat
New Zealand specialising 6.0
in dubstep, shows big Eskiboy back to his grime
promise, with crossover beginnings: simple catchy
garage flex on this tidy, flows over a classic Wiley
well-produced EP. Nice. production. It’s all in the
snares with this one.
DJ Richie Don djrichiedon.com
01. Rusko  ‘Woo Boost’  White
“This track drops like a teenager’s jaw when checking his first ever porno mag!”
02. Rusko feat Ludacris  ‘How Low (Jehovah’s Refix/DJ Stylez
Blend)’  White
“Dirtiest dubstep version out there.”
03. Big Boi  ‘Shutterbug’  Def Jam
“Big Boi flows over this infectious beat to provide an unrivalled combination.”
04. Sub Focus  ‘Could This Mash Up Be Real? (Richie Don & RM 4am
Refix)’
4am Sessions  CDR
“A cheeky mash up of the awesome club banger.”
05. Rihanna  ‘Rude Boy (TC Refix)’  Island/Def Jam
“TC turns this ladies anthem into a dancefloor destroyer.”
06. Lethal Bizzle feat Luciana  ‘Go Go Go’  Search & Destroy
“Luciana adds her unique sound to this monster beat.”
07.  Example  ‘Kick Start (Wideboys Remix)’  Data Records
“The legendary Wideboys make over this summer’s festival anthem.”
08. Afrojack  ‘Zeggie’  White
“Lil Wayne’s ‘A Milli’ gets royally Afrojacked!”
09. Vanilla Ace  ‘Bebe Bash’  White
“A full flavour powerplay.”
10. Kano  ‘Pass Out Freestyle’  Jack Bauer Mixtape
“Kano adds his twist on Tinie Tempah’s 2010 anthem.”
12/5/10 12:58:37
 DUBSTEP REVIEWS
QUICKIES
MARKLE 58a Tetherdown, London, N10 1NG.

MONETY!
SHO
Bless Beats feat Emika
De La Soul & Remi Double Edge Kidkut
Nicole Ninja Tune Lilt/I Love ’04
Let It Go (True Tiger 8.5 Applepips
Remix) Like a breath of salty sea air,
Island Pinch blows through with a
9.0
5.0 devastatingly fresh remix, When not pumping out
I wouldn’t have put this lot straight back to dubstep’s releases on his own
together on one record, let roots. Immerse imprint, Adam
alone feed it through the Kidkut Jackson also pens
dubstep meat grinder, but Alexis K the odd danceable jig, and
hey, TT do a half-decent job. Death Of Everything this one’s been picked up
Cool by fellow Bristolian, Apple-
Lorn Permanent Damage blim, for his sublime Ap-
Cherry Moon 2.0 plepips label. ‘I Love 04’ is
Brainfeeder Not many labels can boast a bastard of a track, an odd
7.0 an address in Bermuda. calamity melting classic JB
Awkward, sombre and me- Still, just because it’s sunny breakbeats with pastiche
lodically eloquent, this new doesn’t mean you should hardcore/jungle synths
single from Fly Lo’s imprint put out records. Very little to and a restrained mid range
will delight dedicated fans commend. wobble. Utterly addictive.
and draw more to the cause. ‘Lilt’ is the opposite: all
fluid percussive groove and
housey references. Utterly
brilliant.

Late
Phantom Papers EP
Immerse
8.0
There is definite sonic character in much
of Finland’s dubstep illuminati — both
Clouds and Desto have it — but that
subtle melancholy is more appar-
ent than most in Lauri Ampuja aka
Late’s richly emotive music. Obvious
comparisons with Burial will give those
too lazy to probe deeper a steer, but the
intricate beat play, melodic textures and
inquisitive, often pensive, mood is very
much his own. Another lovely 12 from
a label fervently pushing open-minded
dubstep.
Ital Tek
Moments In Blue EP
Oli Marlow Sonicrouter/ MLR Planet Mu
01. Mono/poly  ‘Oil Fields’  Fat City 6.0
“The true sound of a mouth trumpet summer.”
I’ve always viewed Ital Tek as a bit of an
02. James Blake  ‘CMYK’  R&S oddity. The Brighton based producer
“More serene composition from Blake.”
has never taken off but clearly has a
03. Blawan  ‘Iddy’  Hessle Audio hard core of fans who slavishly follow
“New heat from Blawan’s debut Hessle 12”.”
his sounds. Now, this might be down to
04. V/A  ‘Tropical Heat Vol 1’  Myor
“Slugabed, Mesak and Nino ride to the very pinnacle of awesome hip-hop.” a discography of homogenous dubstep
05. Mount Kimbie  ‘Maybes (James Blake Remix)’  Hotflush come electronica beats, but his new
“Blake shatters apart Kimbie’s breakthrough, re-staining it a fragrant orange hue.” album is really rather good. This remix
06. Guido  ‘Mad Sax’  Punch Drunk EP sees the bleep droid Ikonika and odd
“May as well be called ‘Mad Sex’, given the facial reactions this one’s getting…”
bot Falty DL reshuffle the loops with
07.  XI  ‘Ghost’  Orca Recordings assured finesse.
“First platter from the Orca imprint frames XI’s drum funk perfectly.”
08. V/A  ‘Astro:Dynamics’  Astro:Dynamics Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip
“New compilation of next-level beats.”
Sick Tonight
09. Ramadanman  ‘Glut’  Hemlock Sunday Best
“Mr Kennedy happily turning his woodpecker percussion up to 11 on this one...”
5.0
10. Eleven Tigers  ‘Clouds Are Mountains’  Soul Motive
“Illustrious debut LP from Lithuanian producer Eleven Tigers.” More acerbic social commentary from
Pip Sac as Sick Tonight regurgitates
around a whirling cacophony of break-
beats, whilst Great Britain develops
into a decidedly cheeky electro nodule.
Relevant remixes come from Doctor
P, whose obvious narcoleptic attacks
only seem to happen when he’s set his
clown dial to 11. Mumdance decides
a head nodding future garage cut will
suffice, and Sampha chips in the most
interesting effort with a quasi-cosmic
boogie rub.
Todd Edwards
I Might Be
Scion A/V
5.0
Ahhhh, the ole cut-up merchant is back!
A God to some, an undeniable master
beatmaker, sadly the 4/4 garage king
returns with a pretty average vocal
cut. Not the second coming, Jesus can
rest easy. To show the UK they’re no
slouches, Scion enlists golden balls Joy
Orbison on remix duties, which produces
a pretty tasteful bump. MJ Cole ditto,
thankfully leaving the grimier funky 4/4
he’s been pumping out recently on the
hard drive.
James Blake
CMYK
R&S
7.0
I’m never really surprised when a promo
CD from a major label comes infected
with a noisy dubstep remix, but I am
surprised when a legendary techno
label plucks a twisted soul-smith like
James Blake from dubstep’s furthest
leftfield and produces a robust EP. All
power to them both. For those that
devoured Blake’s ‘Air And Lack Thereof’
on Hemlock last year, this will moisten
the deepest parts of your disenfran-
chised soul.
DJ Madd
Flex’d (Ikonika Remix)
Boka
6.0
A favourite DJ Madd tune of mine, the
surprisingly light and sultry ‘Flex’d’
gets offset and detuned by Hyperdub’s
Ikonika, delicately installing some
trademark bleeps and building a trancey
mood with silky shades of synth. Pleas-
ant enough. DJ Madd returns on the
flip with Detroit Skank, a pumping four
to the floor steppa, all filtered synths,
Jah horns and a heavyweight rolling
bassline. Again, pleasant enough.
Dom HZ
Mist
Open Earz
6.0
This plucky bunch of rascals are steadily
knocking out solid 12” nuggets, and
have now clocked up their third release
with this ditty from Dom HZ. A keen
purveyor of atmospherics, the title track
hits a flush streak with its enchantingly
melancholic refrain that gives way to a
butcher’s rack of meaty weight. ‘Eleva-
tor Skank’ reaches for the tissues after a
vigorous wank to smooth jazz’s greatest
hits and ‘Without You’ straddles the two
styles with a rousing vocal to boot.

www.djmag.com 129

DJ486.dubstep.indd 129 6/5/10 12:42:55

 trance REVIEWS
Nitromethane
Time To Die
Anjunabeats
4.0
You have to raise an eyebrow at any re-
release of the McGuiness Brothers’ ‘Time
To Die’ that comes minus Seraque’s
speaker-blistering ’06 remix. Raise the
second eyebrow (the expression now
full-blown surprise) when the immeas-
urably inferior Silvester rework does get
a starting line-up spot. Both the new
Anjunabeats and Merlin remixes have
a few moments, but sound like they
were produced halfway through the last
decade. Ho-hum.
The Thrillseekers
Savanna
ASOT
7.5
In its original form ‘Savanna’ is the total
antithesis of The Thrillseekers last single
- the club-energizing ‘City Of Angels’.
Whilst instrumental, it has much more
in common with ‘05’s ‘By Your Side’,
with a great deal of its bittersweet brood
coming via its poignant lead guitar.
Proving the Ying to the original’s Yang,
Daniel Wanrooy’s mix is a skilfully-
judged club-port and also cleverly finds
a Balearic inflection to the guitar.
Boom Jinx & Andrew Bayer
So It Goes/By All Means
Anjunabeats
8.0
The ultra-melodics that Boom Jinx
trades in are admittedly easy on the ear,
but many producers work with similar
sounds, without approaching the same
quality level. Here, alongside Andrew
Bayer, both the ocean-lapping tropics
of ‘By All Means’ and the calling female
harmonies of ‘So It Goes’ field high-
calibre riffs. It’s the multilayered quality
of their underlying production that
really makes them soar, though.
Icone
Hyperspace
Flux Delux
6.5
There must be something in the air;
130
DJ486.trance.indd 130
Miikka Leinonen
MONETY!
SHO
Exordium
Fraction
10
I’m trying to recall the last trance
track that got my blood pumping
to the same degree as ‘Exordium’.
There certainly hasn’t been one this
year. Leinonen might have a bit of
an on/off approach to trance (this is
his first in two years), but when he
pays out, he pays out big. ‘Exordium’
daisy-chains furiously catchy
chord progressions and suffusing
pads with a flawless, unflinchingly
euphoric riff and then lets it all rip
with mercury-popping results.
June definitely seems to be a month
for the uplifting stuff. Nit-pickers may
say ‘Hyperspace’ has a few sound parts
that could have been fresher. The vast
majority of it, though (including, most
critically, the main-line), has plenty
going on in the originality stakes. Add
to that the rapacious drive behind the
track, and it should ensure explosive
results on the majority trance-floors.
Scott Mac
Damager 02
Captivating
8.5
My all-time favourite tech-trancer,
‘Damager 02’ managed to marry the
firebrand culture of the sub-genre
with (shock-horror) a clever hook and
some genuine production groove. W&W
(inevitably perhaps) lose a bit of the
bounce factor, but manage to work in a
cool new melodic drop and purposefully
fierce payoff to their remix equation.
Way Out West
The Gift (Michael Woods Remix)
Deconstruction
8.5
Many will look at the words Michael
Woods and ‘The Gift’ and commence
an unconscious brain-slaver. Artisan
remix talents such as his are usually
www.djmag.com
overexposed and/or worn out after 10
years. Through some judicious work
choices, Woods has dodged that bullet,
and here perfectly refreshes the WOW
floor-favourite.
Ally Brown
Prejudice
CGI
7.0
At the more visceral end of this month’s
fare, ‘Prejudice’ kicks off with running
Jules-flavoured basslines, and a haunt-
ing four-note intro riff. It builds up into
a big euphoric beastie in the break and
then just as quickly drops back into its
thunder-some bassline. Liam Melly’s mix
produces similar results.
Fred Baker Pres Saona
Saona
Magik Muzik
7.5
Fred Baker… there have been some
crimes. Not least his ‘Children’ ‘remake’
from a few years back -— ouch! When
he gets it right though, he can of course
get it ‘Mystery Land’ right. Saona, with
its chilled, beatific riffs (that kindle
real emotion) is far closer to that end.
Andy Duguid gives both the tempo and
euphoric-o-meter a notable nudge on
his mix, to fair effect.
Tim Stark PO Box 272, Oxford, OX3 8FJ
QUICKIES
Who Is Loverush UK release. Emo-
We Are tive, sun-splashed, and
White
with a clever production
10 kick-up just at the critical
Mysterious artist name moment.
currently shielding the two
name producers behind Robbie Nelson
‘We Are’. The kind of track Shangri-La
that labels used to do Crashing Waves
bloody battle over. Huge! 8.0
‘Aviator’, Nelson’s last,
Loverush UK was a grower, but this is
Different World just instantaneous. Tense,
Loverush nagging riffs, voracious
7.0 production and a great
Shelley Harland on vocals, line in Eastern-sounding
and another top-notch vocals.
Gareth Emery Garuda
01. Ben Gold  ‘Sapphire (Trance Mix)’  Garuda
“A stunning club track with some ludicrously large build-ups.”
02. Gareth Emery  ‘Global’  Godskitchen
“One of the official tunes of this year’s Global Gathering.”
03. Faithless  ‘Not Going Home (Eric Prydz Remix)’  Nates Tunes
“Incredible breakdown and atmosphere.”
04. Paul van Dyk  ‘We Are One (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)’  Vandit
“This is pure PvD.”
05. Sasha & Emerson  ‘Scorchio (Pulser’s Naughty Remix)’  CDR
“This surely never-to-be-released bootleg remix is brilliantly made.”
06. Adam K  ‘Complicated’  Hotbox Digital
“Chunky house with a superb Wippenberg-esque riff.”
07.  Jon O’Bir  ‘Out Of Touch’  Garuda
“We’re pushing a lot of UK talent on Garuda.”
08. Andy Moor feat Carrie Skipper  ‘She Moves’  AVA
“Brilliant progressive trance record.”
09. Pulser  ‘Broken Universe (M.I.K.E. Remix)’  Garuda
“Originally on my ‘The Sound Of Garuda’ CD in November.”
10. Nenes & Pascal Feliz  ‘Platinum (Ben Gold Remix)’  CDR
“Amazing bootleg of an amazing track.”
4/5/10 10:57:03
 HARD DANCE / HARDCORE REVIEWS
QUICKIES
DJ kutski kutski@mac.com

waxes lyrical about your standard night

Headhunterz &
MONEY
out with the day-glo ravers.
Brennan Heart SHOT!
Wragg & Log:One his hardstyle beats recently The MF Point Of Neil Thomas
Necrosis and Vortex adds an extra Perfection Jack’s Back
Atmosphere dimension to make things Scantraxx Audio Surgery
8.0 shine even brighter. This is a 8.0
South-west duo Wragg & big vocal hardstyle anthem.
10 Northern wonderkid Neil Thomas is
Log:One have quickly risen Two of the leading artists in the Dutch back with another monstrous release,
to the top of the hard trance Weapon X hardstyle scene have collaborated this time mixing old school hard house
scene and this is one of their For The Haters to produce a new concept within the flavours with an intense European hard
best productions to date. Enzyme harder styles — dubstyle! The vocal trance bassline. This is really forward
8.0 on the track poses the question: thinking hard dance, taking elements
Ramp Original artist from the when music reaches its pinnacle, it from the past with the classic “Jack
Feel The Thunder Enzyme hardcore crew in can evolve no further. Has hardstyle has a groove” vocal we have all become
(Vortex Remix) Holland steps up with a reached it peak, and if so, is it time for synonymous with over the years.
Kiddfectious Digital four-track EP of blistering yet a new era? The track then drops into
7.0 melodic gabber beats. a sick acid line with what can only be Stimulant DJs
Danish newcomer Ramp described as a dubstep arrangement Hard Like Thunder
has been impressing with of beats with a hardstyle drum kit. As Tidy
odd as it may sound in print, it sounds 8.0
awesome and goes off in the clubs. The Stims are back on the scene and we
welcome them back with open arms.
The brainchild of Brisk and Ham from
the UK hardcore scene, they combine
Phil York vs Technikal Organ Donors the winning formula of uplifting riffs
The Ritual The Drum and rap vocals to devastating effect.
BK Remix Audio Surgery Any fans of their earlier work should
10 9.0 definitely check this out.
This is a rare collaboration between two The loveable pranksters of the harder
leaders of the UK hard trance scene with styles are back again. Rocking at a Darren Styles
ANDY WHITBY AWSUM the original fusing Phil’s European style
and Alf’s UK flavours to magnificent
steady 135bpm, this track builds in
percussion, with a definite tech-trance
Sound Without A Name
Junkbox
01. ANDY WHITBY & TECHNIKAL  ‘Rumble’  AWsum effect. BK is up on the remix to deliver vibe. But don’t let this put you off if you 9.0
“Big old skool stabs, chopped up vocal and power kick-back.”
one of his best in a long time, stripping are into the harder stuff, as when this Hardcore’s headliner is back with
02. AWSUM ALL-STARZ  ‘Warrior (Energy Syndicate Remix)’  AWsum things down into a tech-trance oriented drops it’s almost like savage minimal another killer. This time it’s on more of
Bootlegs
“AWsum’s new signing puts his own spin on a trance classic for our Bootleg imprint.” beast with a euphoric strong lead break- hardstyle — if such a thing could exist. a progressive freeform vibe with rolling
03. ANDY WHITBY & KLUBFILLER VS CALLY GAGE FEAT KYLA  ‘Every- down and a chunky electro-influenced It still fits perfectly into the techier vibe acid lines and trancy stabs, but fans of
thing’s Alright (BK Remix)’  AWsum drop. built earlier, meaning this would still be Darren’s vocal tracks will not be disap-
“Monster collab, backed with this huge BK remix.”
peak-time fodder for the trancier DJ. pointed either as it has an awesome
04. SHOWTEK FEAT MC STRETCH  ‘Dutchie’  DMW Anne Savage vs Lisa Lashes catchy male vocal in the breakdown,
“Clever vocal, über-happy riff and insane bendy acid... love it!”
Release Me Faction-G followed by the hands in the air riff.
05. ANDY WHITBY & KLUBFILLER  ‘DJ Whore (Energy Syndicate Siren Trax Bouncer
Remix)’  AWsum
“ES on the remix tip again, putting his own spin on the latest AWsum release.” 9.0 Can You Feel It Al Storm
06. RAMP  ‘Fear The Thunder (The YoFridz Remix)’ Kiddfectious The two leading ladies of the hard dance 9.0 Werewolf
“Epic vocal and huge riff... favourite KF release yet.”
scene head back into the studio after re- London-based grime MC Faction G has 24/7
07.  SCOTT FO SHAW & LEON B  ‘Funk ’81’ AWsum Funk cent anthems such as ‘You’re Not Alone’ teamed up with the Can You Feel It 8.0
“Big summer hard dance funky house!”
for a release on Anne’s Siren Trax label. production team to remake Kicks Like Sometimes a track just strikes a chord
08. ILLUMINATE  ‘Sixth Sense (The YoFridz Remix)’  AWsum Black This time, they take things down a more A Mule’s old skool classic ‘Bouncer’. In with people: you can’t quite put your
“Fridz again, this time for AWsum’s Black imprint... monster kick and bass action.”
tech-oriented route with an infectious true rave breaks style, the beats and finger on why. ‘Werewolf’ is very much in
09. ANDY WHITBY  ‘U Ready? (Energy Syndicate Remix)’  AWsum vocal and dirty bassline, all overlaid basslines are very current with an elec- this vein. There is just something about
Fresh update of my debut AWsum release.”
on top of chunky tech beats. Big remix tro/dubstep vibe, but with the classic this track — with its classic horror movie
10. SHOWTEK FEAT MC DV8  ‘Rockchild’  DMW
“Hardstyle guitar mayhem at its finest, will be big in my festival shows this year.” package on this one as well from Organ stabbed riff and hardcore breakbeats to samples — that has made it stand out
Donors, Bexta and Dumb Blonde. keep things nostalgic, while Faction-G from the rest.

www.djmag.com 131

DJ486.hard dance.indd 131 7/5/10 15:39:48

 Hip-hop REVIEWS
LDZ MONETY!
The London Zoo EP SHO
Dented
9.0
Six transmissions of frabjous
derangement you’d be fkn looney-
toons to wanna miss. ‘Everybody
Does It’ is a brilliant rejection of
the mainstream combined with
the recognition of the important
universals, bouncing beats and
bass swathed with some gorgeous
b&w-strings. ‘Crazy Ill’ is electro-
dub peppered with b-vox that
sound half-African, half-Bulgarian.
The bastardisation continues with
‘Sand On The Beach’’s aqua-boogie
techno and closes out with the
stunningly accurate ‘I’m A Dick’.
LDZ are another incredible addi-
tion to Dented’s peerless roster.
Essential.
Mudmowth & Metabeats
Madd Tight
Associated Minds
8.5
“No-one knows where you’re at/
Like Bratislava.” Psyche to the
heart, hardcore to the soul, beats a
wonderfully crisp slam-thunk, bass
like nipple-clamps, piano and hyped
vocals lacing the whole together
before it kicks you in the head. Fan-
tastic stuff as you’d expect from the
mighty Metabeats. Play fuck-off loud
and start your summer of naughty
nuisance-neighbourliness here.
Wu-Tang Clan
2010 Clap
Gold Dust Media
8.0
Mathematics lays down a bouncing
starlight-speckled beat, then Raek-
won, Ghostface Killa, Meth and U-God
stroll by the mic and drop top-notch
nuttiness with the nonchalance only
true genius veterans can muster. Love
the minimalism, the poetic force,
the old-skool breaks and bridges,
and Meth just fucking kills it. Like
everything Wu, essential.
132
DJ486.hiphop.indd 132
Murs & 9th Wonder
I Used To Love Her
SMC
8.0
With the tragic death of Guru you
might be thinking that no-one’s able
to do the odd bit of relationship-
related hip-hop that isn’t mawkish
and mediocre anymore – well, listen
to this. It’s got great lyrics, honest
and from the heart and wide in impact
and reach. More importantly, the
web of wonder and tactile grace that
9th Wonder slips underneath the
verbals is skin-puckeringly gorgeous
throughout — soft-rock, soul and
psyche-pop blended beautifully.
Cam’Ron & Vado
I Don’t Believe Niggas
NA
7.0
Always gotta cock an ear Cam’Ron’s
way and he’s in form with new rhyme-
partner Vado on this weird little
track – a tiny shard of Arabic violin
dervishing over rippling double-
kick beats. There’s a hollowness
at the track’s heart, a place where
the sound-FX and reverb and echo
actually dominate the mix more than
what’s being echoed and reverbed.
It works in a strange ass-backwards
way that matches the lyrics’ themes of
unreality and disconnection. Nice.
9th Prince (feat Planet Asia)
Revolution Music
Wu Music
7.0
Hysterically OTT conscious rap that
stomps forth with the kind of right-
eous po-facedness so damn sure of it-
self, it’s practically Japanese. You can
picture the orchestral-loop backing a
particularly ridic battle-scene at the
end of a vintage Manga, 9th Prince &
Planet Asia recasting themselves in
www.djmag.com
verbals ancient and futuristic. It’s the
kind of thing that should be pushed at
the young before they forget that hip-
hop can take on ANYTHING. Fab.
yU
Almost Time
Mello Music Group
7.0
An Al Green loop spun into the centre
of your skull, Diamond District’s yU
spinning an absorbingly downbeat
tale of the anticipation and release
involved in playing live to a room full
of drunk and high people. Smoky.
On the flip the freaked out cubist
daisy-age wonder of ‘Brainwash’ sees
Grap Luva, Op Swamp 81 and Finale
try to hold on to Slimkat78’s world of
waywardness. Intriguing.
Army Of The Pharoahs
Godzilla
Enemy Soil
6.0
The AOP album leaves you kinda
nauseated sometimes with the epic-
ness of the vision and soundscape.
Better when things pull back from the
widescreen, like on this filthy little
pipebomb. It helps that Celph Titled &
Apathy are on fire, and that producer
Grand Finale weaves and focuses
things so brilliantly.
Lil Brother feat Torae
24
Hall Of Justus
7.0
Madness on the mix from producer
Khrysis, a hyperventilated hydraulic
beat that keeps pummelling your
ears. No bassline, just a drone-synth
and some old-skool whoops pep-
pering the ears, Lil Bro and Torae
somehow managing to ride things
compellingly, refusing to let you off
the hook until your heart’s racing.
QUICKIES
Neil Kulkarni, 81 Crosbie Road, Coventry, CV5 8FX
Lupe Fiasco feat than owt Jada or Sheek are
Alisha Keys gonna give us.
Love Letter To The Beat
Arista Capone
6.0 Moment Of Truth
The first leak of the soon- NA
come ‘Lasers’, and kinda 6.0
underwhelming until you One of the first Guru
realise that Lupe’s one tributes and from the heart
of the few mainstream of Capone and CNN – gritty
rappers to be moving the beats, peerless verbals, a
form forward. Won’t be nice mix of Premo beats
disappointed if this turns (including the astonishing
out to be cut from the LP, ‘Code Of The Streets’). Hear
but it’s maybe the best hit it, remember, go back to
hip-hop might give us this the LPs, pay yer dues.
summer.
Wale
Styles P Kini Big Deal
It’s Over Alido
D-Block 3.0
7.0 Now, why would I wanna
From the ‘Ghost Dub Dime’ listen to Wale’s over-rated
project, and as ever P keeps nasal nonsense when I can
things hard, steady and just hear Nigerian Neato C’s
(even with a somewhat ‘Kini Big Deal’ original that
annoying chorus hook) this is shamelessly ripped
this bodes well for a season from? Avoid and go straight
of new mixtapes better to Neato’s monster.
Charlie Sloth Charliesloth.com
01. CHARLIE SLOTH  ‘One More Drink’  iTunes
“It has a storyline which most can relate to and is light hearted.”
02. CHARLIE SLOTH, FARMA G, BLACK THE RIPPER  ‘Not Like
You’  iTunes
“A great contrast of rappers on this record really makes it work.”
03. TABANACLE  ‘Robbery’  CDR
“Tabanacle has a very aggressive delivery with some very topical lyrics.”
04. JOE BUDDEN  ‘Good Enough’  Amalgam Digital
“One of the best rappers on the planet at the moment - check out his ‘Mood Muzik’
series.”
05. SKANDAL  ‘The Breakout’  Kilamanjaro
“I put him in my ones to watch in 2010 on 1Xtra He’s a beast on the mic.”
06. MYSTRO  ‘U Live N U Learn’  LowLife
“Mystro never lets you down with his music and videos. This track is banging.”
07.  JAY-Z & KANYE WEST  ‘Hater’  Roc-A-Fella
“The beat is killer and the way Jay-Z and Kanye compliment each other is second to
none.”
08. TEEF  ‘Take Him Out’  CDR
“The Frank remix of this joint is off the hooook. He reminds me of a modern day Roots
Manuva.”
09. 50 CENT  ‘Do You Think About Me’  Interscope
“This track seems to get the ladies in the right mood, which is always a good thing!”
10. GUCCI MANE ‘Heavy’  Atlantic
“The guy is in prison and is still one of the hottest rappers around.”
4/5/10 10:55:59
 "%!40/24
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Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:42:05

 leftfield REVIEWS
Wildbirds & 7.0
Peacedrums MONETY!
Retina SHO
Leaf
9.0
Drawing on an impressive list
of personnel to complete this
unique and majestic five track
EP — including Valgeir Sigurosson
(CocoRosie, Bonnie Prince Billy),
Hildur Guonadottir (Mum, Throb-
bing Gristle) and the 12-strong
Reykjavik Chamber Choir (who
also featured on Björk’s ‘Medulla’)
— this latest offering from the
relentlessly innovative Icelandic
duo is as unusual and unconven-
tional as you’d expect. Haunting,
celestial, choral greatness.
Born Ruffians
What To Say
Warp
8.0
Not been that convinced by these
guys thus far, but there is some-
thing about this song and the way
it just slots together that works an
absolute treat. More than the sum
of its parts, it’s not just the unique
vocal, the sparse drum work, the
pointed bassline, the floating synth
or the jangling guitars. It’s the way
they feed off and into each other
that makes this track a work of such
brilliance.
Tweak Bird
A Sun (Ahh Ahh)
Souterrain Transmissions
8.5
Fuck yeah! Tweak Bird rock… not
in the kind of beer-swilling, two-
fingered rock saluting, American Frat
house kind of way, but in that full on,
fuck you kind of a way. To be honest,
they leave you no choice: they simply
steal your time, attention and re-
spect. Fear not however, it’s definitely
time well-spent as pounding drums,
134
DJ486.leftfield.indd 134
riff-laden psychedelic fuzz and, err,
flute assault your ears in a most
astonishing way.
Chilly Gonzales
Never Stop
Phantasy Sound
7.0
Building from stark finger clicks and
handclaps via a delicate looping piano
line, a slo-mo 4/4 and Gonzales’
simple vocal refrain, ‘Never Stop’
somehow ends up in a weird, shape-
shifting 808-style acid rave-fest. Not
quite sure how he manages to cover
the musical equivalent of A-Z in the
space of four minutes and 45 seconds,
but he does. Hats off!
CocoRosie
Lemonade
PIAS
7.5
A paradoxical tale of chalk and
cheese, this lovely little taster from
CocoRosie’s forthcoming album ‘Grey
Oceans’ comprises two very distinct
and different parts. The verse is a
haunting and delicate affair complete
with sorrowful piano refrain, slow
sparse beats and woozy synthesiz-
ers. The chorus on the other hand is
a distinctly upbeat and cheery affair
boasting strings, brass and timpani
drums no less. We likey.
Maxxi & Zeus
The Struggle/The Cell
International Feel
9.0
With Harvey’s Locussolus alias and
the magnificent Gunship 12-inch still
bookending the playlists, Interna-
tional Feel come oh-so correct again
with this outing from Matt Edwards
and Joel Martin. Perfectly timed
for the beginning of the Balearic
season, it’s two cuts of cinematic
seashore-lapping beauty that whisk
you away to another time and place of
serene beauty. Touches of pertinent
www.djmag.com
FOUND SOUNDS, PO Box 20437, London, SW16 2YJ
QUICKIES
Stac courtesy of US producer
All Or Nothing DJ Zeph and trustwor-
Wah Wah thy label mates Colour
8.0 Climax.
Dreamy downtempo
soul mixes courtesy of Deela
LenAfroSaxon and the Shelta Blues
currently rated Blue Switchstance
Daisy. It’s the latter that 7.0
hits the spot, with tons of A solid four-track EP of
bottom end and whirling Afro-tinged beats and
echo FX. Quality. pieces from Deela that
includes mixes from the
Cibelle under-rated Radio Citizen
Man From Mars and the lesser spotted
Crammed Discs Kid Loco. Pretty solid
throughout.
spoken word, washes of sound and It’s a bit of a pop oddity
well-chosen FX — yep, its all there. is this. A touch of elec- Quincy Jones
Beautiful. tronica, a touch of folk Strawberry Letter 23
and a touch of squelching Interscope
5.0
Gotan Project dubstep make this well
La Gloria worth a listen. Oh dear Quincy. You were
Ya Basta the Daddy, the innovator,
7.0 The Killer Meters the benchmark producer.
A little late off the block with this one, Rainbow Of Love Then you did this. Let’s
but any new Gotan Project outing Breakin’ Bread just pretend it didn’t
deserves the coverage. Unfortunately 7.5 happen. Best not men-
the jury’s out on this one though. Floor friendly, UK bre(a) tion it’s Akon replacing
The hallmark sounds are all there, ie. d disco soul with a couple Shuggie Otis, too. Oops,
accordion-led in the key of tango, of top-notch remixes I just did.
although it’s the electronic sub bass
underpinning that seems to modern-
ize and discredit the original sound.
Ghislain Poirier adds a tougher remix.
Yacht
The Afterlife
DFA
7.5
Inspired by the likes of Ze Records,
the B52s and even the kraut-pop
stylings of Propaganda, Yacht offer
up their most ‘pop’ sounding release DJ GILLA APRIL FIRST WORD RECORDS
to date. Echoes of Fun Boy Three 01. KIDKANEVIL & ODDISEE ‘ZoOoOop!’ Jus’Like Music/Apple Juice Break
prevail, especially in the harmonies, “A product of the recent Red Bull Music Academy in London — available on the ‘Oscil-
lations 2’ comp.”
whilst crushed drums and synths add
the backdrop. A full set of mixes also 02. THE SIMONSOUND  ‘Moon Rocks’ First Word
“My favourite track from the forthcoming album ‘Reverse Engineering’.”
grace the release, from The xx, Joy
Electric, a mainstream DAT Politics 03. T Y ‘Emotions’ BBE
“The don is back! Check the sublime ‘Special Kind Of Fool’ LP.”
and even May Ling. Nice.
04. JAY ELECTRONICA ‘Exhibit C’ Decon/The Dragon Society
“The saviour of hip-hop? Maybe, his recent show at The Jazz Cafe is my gig of the
The Haggis Horns year so far.”
Cockroach Grind
First Word 05. ASM FEAT WILDCHILD ‘Root To The Fruit’ First Word
“Another new signing to the label — pure summer BBQ hip-hop vibes.
8.0
06. SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA ‘Sunshine’ Ranking Records
Maintaining their position as one of “Cinematic vocal dubstep (make of that what you will!) — this is a simply gorgeous
the world’s leading live funk outfits, tune.”
the Haggis Horns (reeds of choice for 07.  ERYKAH BADU  ‘Window Seat’ Universal Motown
“The controversial video got a lot of the headlines, but the track behind it is vintage
Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse and Badu.”
Jamiroquai amongst others) continue
on their quest to showcase their 08. HERMA PUMA  ‘Psycke Out’ First Word
“Taken from the forthcoming album ‘Synchromistic’ — dancefloor goodness.”
incredibly tight and precise sound.
Vocals are the addition this time 09. WHITEFIELD BROTHERS FEAT QUANTIC ‘Lullaby For Lagos ’ Now
Again
courtesy of Nia Saw on ‘Cockroach “Afro-funk so authentic you can scarcely believe it’s a new recording.”
Grind’, whilst the flip, ‘The Jerk’, 10. KINNY  ‘Petrified Daze (Andy H Remix)’ Tru Thoughts
shows the band at their instrumental “Bass-heavy rework from my co-label boss at FW Andy H — a guaranteed floor-filler
every time.”
(and production) best.
6/5/10 12:41:56
 17 th International Festival
of Advanced Music and
Multimedia Art
www.sonar.es

Barcelona
17.18.19 June

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matthew herbert’s one club, pete tong, joy orbison, zomby, new young pony club, mary anne hobbs, dixon, uffie,
john talabot, bradien, speech debelle, jimi tenor & kabu kabu, moodyman, emilio josé, hudson mohawke,
mike slott, aufgang, carte blanche (dj mehdi & riton), delorean, nosaj thing visual show, dj hell, claude vonstroke,
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Untitled-1 6 17/5/10 17:59:43

 ALBUMS REVIEWS

Phonique
Kissing Strangers
Dessous

8.5
Right place, right time
Michael Vater, or Phonique, must be feeling pretty smug
right about now. While those around him have been lead
by the capricious ebbs and tides of dance music trends,
the Berlin-based producer has kept true to his deep house
ethos all along, producing perfect upbeat electronic dance
cuts bathed in warm funk, ignoring the dark excesses of
the mnml set who made his city so trendy. And boy, has his
method paid off.
In 2010, it’s a different, far funkier musical climate we find
ourselves in, and Phonique, with his third album ‘Kissing
Strangers’, is finally due to collect his long overdue rewards.
Easily his best record to date, every one of its 15 tracks
oozes passion, funk and effortless groove. A mixture of
original tracks and stunning reworks of several handpicked
dance classics from across the ages, this record reads like
Vater’s love letter to the dancefloor and the music that
drives it, in all its myriad manifestations. From the throb-
bing, pneumatic disco pumpin’ bassline of his version of
Candido’s classic ‘Thousand Finger Man’, to a very subtle,
electroid tech house nod to Toto’s ‘Africa’ in ‘Afrique’ (fear
not, it’s genius), this is an album that throws up surprises
at every turn.
‘Summer’ nabs the gorgeous, molten keys from Kool & The
Gang’s ‘Summertime’, and snaps them to simmering house
drums, alternated with disconcerting, steely angular edges.
Devastating.
‘Endless Love’ is an emotional, sun-dappled heartfelt houser
with the gorgeous tones of crooner Louie Austen at the
helm, while the Balearic reggae/Sade hints of ‘Amy’s Heart’
with Ruben quite take the cake. And those wanting some
straight-up, anthemic house like they used to make will
fall head over heels with ‘Feel What You Want’ (a take on
the Kristine W cut). A slinky, perfectly-proportioned little
number — looks like your summer romance has arrived
early…
Ben Murphy

7.0 7.5 7.0 8.0

Ellen Allien A Guy Called Gerald King Britt Wolf + Lamb
Dust Tronic Jazz: The Berlin Sessions The Intricate Beauty Love Someone
BPitch Control Laboratory Instinct Nervous Wolf + Lamb
A deep grower Timeless techno textures Flawed beauty Wolf in sheep’s clothing

BPitch boss Ellen Allien clearly wants you
to dream whilst listening, and dancing, to
her fifth artist album — ‘Dust’. It’s full of
enchanting, wandering melodies, abstract
lyrics and sparse arrangements all designed
to outline moods and emotion. What that
means is that it’s a grower. It’s not filled
with instant, buy-it-now, gratification, and,
ultimately, that works in its favour.
As you should expect from an ever-evolving
producer, ‘Dust’ marks quite a departure from
her last effort and its abstract digitalism. In-
stead, it’s grounded in song writing, guitars
and — albeit unhinged — pop complexion. As
a result, the oft sketchy beats and alternating
tempos (across each track and the album
as a whole) mean that, the odd track aside,
‘Dust’ is for home listening and, as such,
proves that techno needn’t always be about
darkened boxes and sweaty, relentless beats.   emotion rather than indulging in amateurish
Kristan J Caryl
Reckon the soul-moving, analogue forms of
classic Detroit-style techno have been rinsed
for every last drop of their creative possibili-
ties? Well, A Guy Called Gerald thinks not and
you’re likely to follow suit once you slap his
13-track techno odyssey in your soundbox.
The follow-up to his tracky Chicago acid
explorations (2006’s ‘Proto Acid: The
Berlin Sessions’), ‘Tronic Jazz’ is the sort of
gloriously immersive and diversely textured
experience most techno producers only
dream of. Dark but delicate, deep but driving,
it glides from lush, astral journeys like ‘People
Mover’ through the ghostly, rave electronica
of ‘Iland’, right up to ‘Dirty Trix’s moody,
cybernetic electro undercurrents.
Could it have been made at any point in the
last 15 years? Maybe, but by expertly sculpt-
ing its sonic palette as swathes of rich, solid
plug-in gimmickry, ‘Tronic Jazz’ will stand the
test of time more than most.  Allan McGrath
Versatility is both King Britt’s greatest
strength and his Achilles’ Heel. One of dance
music’s true legends — too often underap-
preciated — the Philadelphia DJ/producer is
an eclectic cat indeed, having penned that
infamous remix of Josh One’s ‘Contemplation’
and produced hip-hop crew Digable Planets’
first classic album, as well as counting numer-
ous immaculate house tracks to his name.
Diverse tastes, then, and ‘Intricate Beauty’
is a kind of microcosm of his productions to
date, mixed together beautifully, even if the
variety of styles often sit awkwardly together.
The classic ‘Nightlife’, with Kim English,
makes a re-appearance, which will delight
fans of classic US house, while ‘Blackhand
Side’ makes an astonishingly rude, bass
splurging deviation into UK funky. But ‘Now’
and ‘Inner Self’ make strange and uncomfort-
able diversions into trance territory, mud-
dling what could have been a flawless vision.
 Ben Murphy
When Brooklyn NYC’s Gadi Mizrahi and Zev
Eisenberg, or Wolf + Lamb first arrived on the
scene, it was easy to be sceptical. Minimal
hipsters emerge from America’s coolest
borough and are instantly branded the best
thing since hyped bread? Well, it may have
looked that way, but there’s a hell of a lot
more to Wolf + Lamb than meets the eye, as
their debut album on their label attests.
For a start, their music ain’t minimal.
Stripped down, yes, but there’s more funk,
grit and sex here than they even know
what to do with. ‘Just For Now’ is murky,
dangerous and ghetto, packed with jazzy
snippets and squelching electro funk; ‘Low-
down’ is all acid bubbles and boogie beats;
and the title track is filter disco heaven.
Short but very sweet, ‘Love Someone’ is
the perfect introduction to their world. 
Ben Murphy

136 www.djmag.com

DJ486.albums.indd 136 5/5/10 10:56:19

 ALBUMS REVIEWS

6.0 8.0
Pezzner The Chemical Brothers
The Tracks Are Alive Further
Freerange Records Freestyle Dust/Parlophone
House and beyond The magnificent seven

The first solo LP from one half of upbeat-
house experimentalists Jacob London sees
Dave Pezzner taking a more progressive,
melodic approach than in his previous guise.
This (relatively) new direction pays off, with
the album’s finest moments arising when he
subtly shifts gears midway through a track,
such as the post-disco tones of ‘Chiuso Per
Ferie’ which temporarily melt into pulsing
tech-house, or the tribal percussion of ‘Al-
most Here (Part 3)’ that slowly reveals a lush,
Lusine-esque texture.
These skilful manoeuvres allow Pezzner
to work up a sound that is gently leftfield
but which never strays too far from the
dancefloor, perhaps best encapsulated in the
wonderful Kerrier District acid-wobble which
‘Balboa Park’ eventually unleashes.
Not an immediate jaw-dropper, but repeated
listens reveal an intricacy that puts Pezzner
ahead of many of his house contemporar-
ies.  Tristan Parker
Awash with psychedelic swirls, heavy with
rambunctious reverb and riddled with
head-twisting passages of sound, ‘Further’ is
a journey way, way out there for an act who
should, by rights, be on their way down by
now. No chance.
On their seventh album, The Chems condense
two decades of acid house anarchy and
psychedelic exploration into eight tracks of
raw, pure headtrip magic.
The 12-minute electronic odyssey of recent
single ‘Escape Velocity’ is a mad Kosmische-
leaning groove, the galloping machine
meltdown of ‘Horsepower’ is panic attack,
panel-beating acid techno at its best while
‘Another World’ feels like a drugged-out,
distorted take on ‘Star Guitar’.
Channelling their most extreme and
unrestrained tendencies without ever
being indulgent, ‘Further’ shows they’ve
lost none of their fire and fervour.  
Allan McGrath

8.5 6.5
Glimpse James Teej Mathew Jonson
Runner Evening Harvest Agents Of Time
Crosstown Rebels Rekids Wagon Repair
Back to the future Reaping the rewards

Infused with analogue crackle, revolution-

ary fervour and messages of divine love,
Glimpse’s debut long-player delivers on
the promise of great things inferred by his
earlier discography. Resolutely dancefloor, it
takes the stripped-back minimal dancefloor
grooves of recent years and injects them
with ’60s and ’70s spoken word samples and
attitude to inject a beating undercurrent of
funk, soul and humanity.
Previous single ‘If I Was Your Girl’ joins the
dots between old school soul and harmonic
R&B over cavernous techno, while ‘Things
To Do In Denver’ evokes smoky Harlem jazz
clubs, its melange of voices punctuated by a
woman preaching God’s power.
‘I Know I Show It’ could be Nina Simone
performing over looped-up piano, had house
been invented 50 years earlier, while closer
‘Train In Austria’ burns out through a haze of
shimmering synths, ending an album that’s
vintage in more ways than one.  Joe Roberts
With releases and remixes for No 19, My
Favourite Robot and Rebirth, the next logical
step for Canadian producer James Teej is
a full-length album. So can his debut long
player on Rekids succeed where so many of
his peers have come unstuck?
In the main, it’s a yes. The first half of
‘Harvest’ works well thanks to the textured,
organic approach; in particular, the breathy
pulses of ‘Greenback’ and the ethereal house
of ‘Late Blooming’ set a deeply atmospheric
tone, which
Teej adds to with the moody organ riffs of
‘Left Believing’ and the sexy vocals of ‘Seven
Day Mend’.
Unfortunately, using sitars in electronic
music never works – check ‘The Rain Await-
ing’ – and ‘Sicken’ is a bit too close to a
well-known Garnier track for comfort. Despite
this, Teej makes a great recovery with the
blues-guitar outro of ‘All We Have Is Time’.   the sonic outlines within which you can so
Richard Brophy
8.0
Like a dream
In the past 10 years, Canadian Mathew
Jonson has released 12s under his own
name and as part of the Modern Deep
Left Quartet, and artist albums as part
of Cobblestone Jazz, but until now a solo
full-length has somehow evaded him.
And ‘Agents of Time’ is not what you
may expect: it’s stuffed with arresting,
grinding dance (‘Thieves in Digital Land’)
urgent cosmic vibes (‘Sunday Disco
Romance’) and beautifully weightless
minimal (When Love feels like crying’),
yes, but passes by like a delightful day
dream with its loosely sketched beats,
memories of micro melodies and hazy,
half-remembered rhythms all providing
easily get lost.
Come the final beat, after the dumpy kicks
and ketty twists of ‘Pirates in the 9th’ and
the ethereal, circling atmospheres of ‘New
Model Robots’ have drifted by, you awaken
as if from dreamy unconsciousness, not
quite remembering what just happened
but knowing that you immediately want to
return, such is the soothed, illusory state
of mind it leaves you in.
Overall, it’s Jonson’s loose beat architec-
ture and minimalistic aesthetics which
make this stand up to such rewarding
repeat listens, and which allow you to get
so lost in amongst it. Not bad for a debut.
Kristan J Caryl
 

www.djmag.com 137

DJ486.albums.indd 137 5/5/10 10:56:31

 ALBUMS REVIEWS quickies
-
8.0 8.0
Silver Columns Tracey Thorn Andy Compton
A Certain Ratio Tiefschwarz Yes, And Dance Love And Its Opposite Kholofelo
Mind Made Up Chocolate Moshi Moshi Strange Feeling Records Digi Peng
LTM Recordings Souvenir Music 3.0 7.5 6.5
Avant-funk pioneers Sweet like house music Heard it all before Breaking up with the Straight out of
girl Compton
Andrew Weatherall’s favourite band have The German brotherly house duo are back There’s already a million
been around since the late ’70s. Although with their third studio album and for this former indie tykes having Musing on love, lust Having personally grown-
quiet for long spells these Manchester post- double whammy (the CD version ‘Chocolate’ a stab at dance music, and loss in the modern up in urban concrete tem-
punkers never actually split up, and were also comes with a download album called so what makes Silver world, this Ewan Pearson ples of rave, Devon’s Andy
definitely ahead of their time with their white ‘More Chocolate’) they’ve moved away from Columns any different? produced return to Compton (of The Rurals)
boy avant-funk sound. the electro house production sound they’ve Not a great deal, as it Thorn’s indie-folk roots provides a glimpse of
Signed to the legendary Factory Records, favoured in recent years towards deeper, happens. This is Hot Chip tempers middle-aged something more organic.
they did experiment with acid house around moodier more atmospheric flavours. lite, or more accurately, a romantic disillusionment The steeply-reclined keys
1990 — working with Bernard Sumner from And for this project, all recorded in their Ber- budget Erasure with Vince with the eternal possibil- of ‘Clouds’ hint at after-
New Order, Shaun Ryder and Norman Cook lin studio, Ali and Basti Schwarz have joined Clarke’s genius removed. ity of fresh beginnings, noons in the Jazz Cafe,
— but there’s little trace of electronics or a forces with production pal Philip Maier; also Sub-par electro pop.  making the ideal post- while ‘Save The Children’
Hacienda influence here. known for his releases under the name Santé. Ben Murphy relationship soundtrack.   could be a Sonar Kollectiv
One highlight, ‘Which Is Reality’, shifts from On ‘Chocolate’, ‘What You Want’ is a dark and Joe Roberts classic.  Joe Roberts
‘Shaft’ wah-wah guitar into a funky drummer delicious, twilight hours dancefloor moment
melange. Otherwise, ACR flit between the jazz while the quirky, jazzy ‘Trust’ includes vocals
sound of long-lost ’80s funkers Working Week from Berlin techno dandy Seth Troxler.
(‘Down Down Down’, ‘Rialto’), Bunnymen/ Meanwhile ‘More Chocolate’ contains a batch
Cure melancholy and angular Franz Ferdinand of more dancefloor-tailored cuts; all inspired
punk-funk before ending in a freeform John by the house and techno influences that lie
Zorn stylee. Clinically executed, this is a must at the heart of the Tiefschwarz sound.  Claire
for history lovers and contemporary alt. Hughes
funkers alike.  Carl Loben Technasia
Central The Herbaliser J.Rogers
Technasia Herbal Tonic (Best Of) Access
4.0 Ninja Tune Blipswitch
House central 8.0 6.5
Director’s cuts Impressively diverse
When Charles Siegling debut
split with recording part- 15 landmark tracks taken
ner Ali Khan a few years from the 15 years which This debut from Califor-
2.0 9.0 ago, it was inevitable that have seen The Herbaliser nian J.Rogers instantly
it would affect Technasia’s grow from two trip-hop caught our ear with its
Uffie Grum output, but that it would turntablists into a live maverick diversity — deep
Sex, Dreams and Denim Jeans Heartbeats result in such a sea funk collective. Featuring trippy techno rubbing up
Ed Banger Heartbeats change is surprising. He classics like ‘The Blend’ against the intelligent
Shit (But You Know It) Hard to Heartbeat trades jacking, evocative and ‘Stranded On Earth’, wobble-step of ‘Ill Killaz’.
techno for upbeat house it’s a story with as many It’s almost worth buying
Throughout her debut album, Florida-born Putting much of the hype into Hype-Machine music, but too often veers twists and intrigue as the just for the none-ruder-
Paris-based MC Uffie regularly boasts about over the last two years, Grum aka Graeme into filtered, good-time gangster thrillers they than dubtech odyssey
her laziness and lack of talent, before rubbing Shepherd’s debut arrives on a tsunami-sized grooves for comfort.   sound like they’re scor- ‘Evil Spirits’ alone.  
everyone’s noses in it by saying “If I get wave of expectation fed by feverish internet Richard Brophy ing.  Paul Clarke Allan McGrath
popular/then that ain’t fair”. activity and an uncanny amount in common
Which at least has the virtue of honesty, but
it’s still galling hearing her parade around
with previous ‘saviour’ of dance music, Mylo.
Side-stepping such comparison, Heartbeats
repeatTHE LPS WE CAN’T LEAVE ALONE...
like a spoilt stage school brat when there delivers instead a tasty serving of ’80s inflect-
are thousands of more skilled MCs out there ed outré pop sensibility as hinted at by its
working so hard for so little respect. So, if title track and ‘Can’t Shake This Feeling’, the
brutal frankness is the order of the day, let’s kind of infectiously upbeat and catchy track
point out that the only reason anyone has Madonna wished she could have produced Jamie Lidell Starkey The Black Dog
any interest in Uffie at all is due to her hipster with Stuart Price. Compass Ear Drums And Black Music For Real
connections and passing resemblance to ‘Turn It Up’ could almost be vintage Madge, Warp Holes Airports
Natalie Portman; and that even when she while ‘Want U’ slows things for an epi- 8.5 Planet Mu Soma
removes the silver spoon from her mouth cally cosmic torch song. There’s dance, too, Warp’s whacked-out 9.0 8.5
and replaces it with Auto-Tune instead it whether it be the chirpy Italo of ‘Runaway’ soul boy is back in sonic Philadelphia’s street bass Complex concept album
still goes no way towards hiding how woeful or ‘Power’ which has Soulwax written all over maverick mode on his king explores totally new from the restless sound
the Peaches Geldof of electro actually is.   it, but everything is delivered with a similarly third, and most complete, possibilities for the bass renegades makes for a
Paul Clarke keen ear for a hook. Expect to hear it every- album to date. music template. totally consuming listen-
where this summer.  Joe Roberts ing experience.

138 www.djmag.com

DJ486.albums.indd 138 5/5/10 10:56:39

Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:57:52
 COMPILATIONS REVIEWS
Burns
001: European Sex Music
Music Response
8.0
Sweaty, steamy, red-hot
funk for the future
In the warp-speed world of electronic music,
18 months is like a lifetime. Yet in that period,
few British producers have exploded onto the
wider club consciousness with the same tidal-
wave force as Burns.
Blowing out of the blogosphere with a decid-
edly ruder take on filtered funk and electro
through a spate of white-hot EPs on 21-12
Records last year, the Scottish sensation fast
hit an apex of adulation that lesser artists
spend a whole lifetime dreaming of. Calvin
7.0
dOP
Watergate 06
Watergate
A French fancy
Adding to the growing number of mix compi-
lations as ersatz artist albums, French enig-
mas dOP (or dEEP, ORGANIC & from PARIS)
follow in the footsteps of Ricardo Villalobos
and Noisia and craft a continuous blend of
almost entirely their own productions and
collaborations. It’s a decision that’s paid off,
as dOP ain’t your typical techno act.
For one thing, they’re a more vivid proposi-
tion, flinging in live horns, keys and vocals
amidst the spare 4/4 beats — a move that’s
made them stand out and be hailed as one of
the freshest new acts working in dance.
‘Les Fils du Calvaire’, with Nôze, sees them
tap into subtle gypsy jazz horns and textures,
while sacrificing none of the midnight-black
techno vibes of the Watergate dancefloor,
while the jaunty brass and oddball vox of ‘The
Ceremony’ bleeds nicely into the dubby tech
abyss of ‘Glory Hole’. A little too stripped
back and samey in places, but taken as a
whole, dOP deliver the goods. Ben Murphy
140
DJ486.compilations.indd 140
Harris and Deadmau5 snapped him up as their
tour support DJ, everyone from Dizzee Rascal
to The Gossip capitalised on his hyperactive
remix skills and now US r&b star Kelis has
invited him to produce for her album.
Still sceptical? Or just playa’ hatin’ on the
basis of just how unashamedly big time this
debauchery-hungry upstart already is? Well,
step right this way, please. For if you need any
proof that the much hyped Burns is a) much
more than Mylo mark 2 (thank Christ) and
8.0
Kode 9
DJ-Kicks
!K7
Hyperactive bass futurism
A notable detachment from the dubstep that
dominated his first mix CD (2004’s ‘Dubstep
Allstars Vol.3’), Kode 9’s uptempo 'DJ-
Kicks' contribution is centred on the more
experimental edges of funky, with tracks
from Cooly G, Scratcha DVA and Addison
Groove all featuring. In its whole, though, it’s
a genre-mangling journey through modern
bass music — something Kode 9 is something
of an unwitting figurehead for.
Elements of tribal skankers, glitchy micro-
house, neon synths and woozy r&b all
flit in and out of a mix that opens on the
depth-charge Detroit pads of Lone’s ‘Once In
A While’ and closes on the panic alarm dub of
The Bug’s ‘Run’.
The potential for a sonic mess is high,
especially with Kode using his 31 chosen
components as high-impact hits rather
than entire tracks. In practise, though,
it’s all head-spinningly, gut-wrenchingly
intense.  Allan McGrath
www.djmag.com
b) not just another Daft Punk-aping, electro
cat with the same hard drive of club bangers
as every other Erol Alkan wannabe then this
eyebrow archingly diverse double-disc mix
compilation is just that.
Plotting a visceral future for rave techno —
best exhibited by his own driving‘Teknique’
— Burns has no time for juvenile bleeps or
throwaway beats. Instead, the Burns DJ
sound is a far ruder, sleazier and full-figured
proposition with everything from Armand Van
8.0
Todd Terje
Remaster Of The Universe
Permanent Vacation
The modern master of the edit?
Edits, remixes, refixes… the art of stamping
your own sound on another artist’s work is
a misused — and misunderstood — thing
indeed. These days, there’s no shortage of
half-assed producers just adding a bass drum
or hacking away some vocals and passing off
their latest edit ‘creation’ as some bonafide
Balearic masterpiece.
Norwegian Todd Terje, however, is a different
proposition entirely as this collection of his
finest remoulding magic proves.
Brimming with trippy disco and electro-funk
gems, Terje’s respectful but playful approach
never fails to cast a new perspective on his
sonic subjects.
And anyone that makes the guilty pleasure of
Ace Of Bass’s ‘90s pop-reggae ditty ‘All That
She Wants’ seem suddenly not all that guilty
— as on Terje’s dubbed-out, synth sparkled
skank as Chuck Norris — is, well, a bit of a
bleedin’ genius.  Allan McGrath
Helden’s hip-houser ‘Ski Hard’ and the rude-
bass blasts of Zombie Nation’s electro thug-out
‘Worth It’ getting worked into the mix.
A second more leftfield selection finds homes
for tracks as disparate as the ‘70s space-travel
funk of Dexter Wansel’s ‘Life On Mars’ and the
contemporary campness of French electro-pop
anthem Yelle’s ‘Ce Jeu’. Believe the hype and
savour what might be the most genuinely
exciting British DJ proposition this year.
Allan McGrath
9.0
Down To The Sea And Back:
Compiled by Balearic Mike & Kelvin
Andrews
Creative Use
Balearicadelica
Balearic DJs love to raise the eyebrows of
people asking ‘What’s this tune, mate?’ by
revealing that that track is an obscure, one-
off dalliance with dance music by a famous
and resolutely un-dancey act.
On this 12-track compilation of summery
shufflers both old and new, Balearic Mike
and Kelvin Andrews pull off an impressive
crate-digging hat-trick by including long-lost
and incongruously credible disco/funk tunes
by The Osmonds, The Hollies and lumpy ’70s
glam-rockers The Sweet.
The disconnect between the bands’ respective
images and the music is comically disorien-
tating. There’s far more to 'DTTSAB' than
mere novelty, however: tracks like Al Usher’s
pretty techno roller ‘Lullaby For Robert’ or
The Tritons’ beatific cover of ‘Satisfaction’
perfectly capture that elusive ‘dancing bare-
foot in the sand’ vibe.  Joe Madden
6/5/10 14:50:49
 COMPILATIONS QUICKIES

7.0 8.0
Bustin’ Out 1982: Felix Kröcher DJ Hell
Strictly Bob Sinclar Kismet New Wave To New Discover Gigolo CD 12
Strictly Rhythm Rinse 12 Beat Volume 2 Kontor International Deejay
Rinse Future Noise Music 6.0 Gigolos
Going back to his house London to Berlin ‘n’ back 7.0 Minimal new sounds 6.5
Cool but familiar The new two-disc album Back to the house
The last we’d heard of Bob Sinclar, he’d bug- The 4/4 takeover of the UK’s ‘urban’ scene This uneven but largely compiled and mixed by The 12th instalment of DJ
gered off to Jamaica to make a reggae album continues apace with the latest instalment in cool comp collects punk German techno meister Hell’s anticipated annual
with Sly and Robbie. Thankfully however the Rinse FM’s mostly-excellent mix series. Rising funk, early electro and Felix Kröcher features selection of tracks from
French DJ has retained enough dignity not to star Kismet was discovered by the Rinse crew hip-hop in a wide ranging tracks from several big Gigolo artists is classic
grow some whiteboy dreads, and enough self- while DJing at an after-hours party, and overview of 1982. Tracks names of the moment house in its purest form.
awareness to know that what most people that’s the vibe he offers up here. from Gary Numan, ESG including Seth Troxler There are some brighter
want from him is happy-clappy house music, Pitched somewhere between the sexy grind and Man Parrish are stone and Tiefschwarz. On the moments amongst a
not dubious irie vibrations. ‘Strictly Defected’ of London’s old-skool garage scene and the cold classic, but a bit whole it’s a sound far blend of fairly uneventful
sees him let loose on the Strictly Rhythm darker, druggier sounds of Berlin’s till-dawn- overfamiliar. Still, a great more suited to the club yet thumping energiz-
back catalogue and all the anthems from the and-beyond techno parties, 'Rinse 12' might primer for those who than the home stereo ers. Highlights include
New York label’s 20-year plus history — such not be the most home listening-friendly haven’t bagged these without branching into Hard Ton’s ‘Forever No
as Ultra Nate’s ‘Free’, Armand Van Helden’s mix in the world — the tracky selection is tunes already. anything other than More’ and Skerl’s 'Liron'.  
‘Witch Doktor’ and Barbara Tucker’s ‘Beautiful far more 4am than 4pm — but it’s still a fun,  Ben Murphy run-of-the-mill territory. Bianca Mitchell
People’ — are there. Some of them have been bumpy ride into the techier, Afrocentric end Bianca Mitchell
given a bit of a superfluous spit-and-polish of house music (and who’d’ve thought we’d
remix by Sinclar himself and he’s also includ- ever see Hiro or Thomas Schumacher on a
ed a couple of his own new tracks with Axwell Rinse mix?). If you’re after something a bit
and reggae toaster Mr. V, but it’s the old gems deeper than UK funky that’s still on the same
that still shine brightest.  Paul Clarke basic wavelength, Kismet’s your man.  Joe
Madden

Argy Disco Discharge Mirror System

D-Edge: Sao Paulo Pink Pounders Reflector
These Days Records Harmless A-Wave
7.5 6.0 6.0
Close to D-Edge Fluffy disco fromage Deep, minimal and
Just when the days of Harmless’s plentiful melodic
the city-themed mix CD ‘Disco Discharge’ series Hippy chill-out relics Mir-
seemed numbered, Poker has been a revelation ror System (also known
8.0 7.0 Flat artist Argy teams — each one exploring as psychedelic electronic
up with Sao Paulo club the diverse historical act System 7) mix up the
Darkstarr Dinky D-Edge. Thankfully, this strains of disco’s journey softer, more melodic and
Darkstarr’s Psychedelic Disco-Tech: Musica Libre is no lazy prog workout, through cleverly themed hypnotic edges of techno,
They Live By The Night Cocoon Recordings with the precocious talent two-disc collections. house and electro. With
Music Response Liberating sounds flitting from classic deep Focusing on the sounds Trentemøller, Guy Gerber,
Funk the party house to the brittle, of gay disco and hi-NRG, Peace Division and
She is still best known for the irresistible ‘Acid sensuous techno of Ribn, this edition has got some Phonique all featuring,
Ashley Beedle and Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy in My Fridge’, but this mix for Väth’s Cocoon David Alvarado and Aril stone-cold classics but the resulting journey is
promote their Darkstarr events and mixes in part paints Dinky in a more esoteric mood. Brikha.  Richard Brophy there’s a bit too much expectedly lush in feel,
with the aim of bringing some revolutionary While the middle section of the mix provides cheesy fluff.  Allan although a little too
soul to the party. a decent synopsis of nouveau German deep McGrath polite.  Allan McGrath
Cosmo kicks off the first of this two-disc house — featuring tracks from Motorcitysoul,
collection of psychedelic disco-tech (a term
coined by the duo themselves) with gentle
Damian Schwartz and Tensnake — the more
interesting sounds occur at the edges. Dinky
repeatTHE LPS WE CAN’T LEAVE ALONE...
burners and classic vibes including Ashley’s teases the listener with an intro that moves
own scrumptious Mavis featuring Candi from the sweet abstractions of Matthew
Staton’s ‘Revolution’. Ashley Beedle offers Styles and Odd Machine into the clipped stac-
his funky take on strobing cosmic disco on cato beats of Nina Kravitz and later into the
disc two with highlights including Shake The US tribal house of Demarkus Lewis’s ‘Untitled Five Years Of Juan MacLean Ten Years Of
Dog’s delectably sleazy ‘Kite Yo Danse’ featur- Love Affair’ and the glorious deep techno of Dirtybird DJ-Kicks Highgrade
ing Jepthé Guillaume and the body-winding Soul Capsule’s ‘Overcome’. Dirtybird !K7 Highgrade
rhythms of ‘Djomani (Disco Jams Mix)' by Similarly, as the mix reaches the point 8.5 9.0 9.0
Blackjoy. of climax, Dinky surprises again with the Half a decade of weird, The strongest sign yet Ever-forward facing,
Both CDs gradually ease into the groove piano-flecked house of Bruno Prosanto wonky, whacked-out and that the ongoing embrace Highgrade celebrates
and each track plays out in its full, extended and the mellow introspection of Pier Bucci irreverent 4/4 funk from of classic house flavas is 10 years of soul sodden
glory. It’s definitely worth taking the time to and Villalobos ending this liberating mix.  Claude Von Stroke’s label. a full--blown romance techno with entirely new
appreciate this selection of carefully hand- Richard Brophy rather than the casual tracks.
picked gems. Bianca Mitchell flirt it first appeared.

www.djmag.com 141

DJ486.compilations.indd 141 6/5/10 14:50:57

 words: MICK WILSON/LUKE PEPPER

TECHNEWS
NEWS

TABLES TURNED
Numark’s V7 turntable raises the game.
p.149

STUDIO SPACE
Richard Norris aka The Time & Space
Machine talks us through his sound.
p.152

BLOCK PARTY
The Block controller from Livid reviewed.
p.155

NO STOPPING THEM
Pioneer’s mission to dominate the DJ booths of the
world continues…

KAOSS THEORY PIONEER have just released yet more new additions to
Kustki reviews the new Kaossilator pro. their CDJ and DJM range — the CDJ-350 CDJ and the
p.156 DJM-350 mixer. The newest fruits of their labour, they
are aimed at the DJ who has just decided to take the
plunge into the world of the CDJing artform rather than
PRODUCER the seasoned pro.
The CDJ-350 is obviously going to be the replacement for
Killer tips and hints to boost up your the CDJ-400, but has some of the features found in its
sound. bigger brothers like being able to play tracks from a USB
p.158 device and the ability to utilise Rekordbox to prepare
tracks from your library. Using Rekordbox, users can set
up beatgrids to use the CDJ-350s beat-keeping facilities
— with just the push of a button it matches the song that
is playing to the preset master BPM. DJs can easily match
the tempos of two songs and get straight into the mix. Of
course, users are still going to have to perfect the art of
mixing though as auto beat syncing this isn’t.
Another feature ported from the new CDJ range is the
ability to use the CDJ-350 as a controller to manipulate
your DVS software of choice (for example Traktor or
Serato Scratch Live) and also to use it as your audio
interface.
The general look of the CDJ-350 is slick and cool with the
jog wheel looking similar to the CDJ-400s.

142 www.djmag.com

DJ486.tech_news.indd 142 17/5/10 14:38:08

 SOUNDBYTES
RETRO STYLING
Headphones are an essen-
tial bit of DJ kit and with so
many on offer every taste
is catered for. Panasonic
RPHTX7 have joined the
market with their retro-
looking phones aimed at
the bedroom DJ. Serious
sounds, a good look and
just £59 a pair. Tidy.
£59. panasonic.com
GOOD AS GLUE
The Glue plug-in is a
virtual version of the in-
dustry standard SSL4000
compressor used in many
a studio worldwide — fans
include Deadmau5. The
Glue compressor adds
production magic to your
dance tracks at a fraction
of the cost of the original
SSL hardware. Squeeze a
little onto your mix we say.
cytomic.com
PRICE HARD AS STEEL
CDJ-350 £520 Hercules is continuing to
offer the entry level DJ
DJM-350 £439 complete control of their
DVS software with the addi-
CONTACT tion of their new DJ Control
pioneer.co.uk MP3 e2 controller —
housed in an all-new casing
with larger jog wheels for
better control. This small
little wonder will fit into
The DJM-350 mixer offers something completely new to the mix any laptop bag for ultimate
— the ability to record every bit of your set straight to a USB stick deck portability.
directly from the mixer as a WAV file. The DJM-350 also has four hercules.com
kinds of effects built in — filter, crush, jet and gate — to allow DJs
to get a little creative when in the mix.
The EQ section on the mixer is of the isolator variety and can be
used as kill switches when rotated fully to the left. The DJM-350 is
a two channel multiple input mixer, which is designed to be used
in conjunction with the CDJ-350 players, but it can also be used
perfectly as a standalone mixer in its own right as turntables and
other audio sources can be connected to it.
www.djmag.com
DJ486.tech_news.indd 143
News TECH
SYNTH ATTACK!
Fxpansion have a fantastic set of soft
synths aimed at the electronic dance
community called DCAM Synth Squad.
Made up of three individual synths
— Strobe, Cypher, and Amber — the
synths cover the sounds of old ana-
logue beasts but with a modern digital
twist. The sounds available include
bold analogue-style leads, super phat
basses and complex pads, which can
be tweaked and mashed up beyond
all belief. All three synths can be com-
bined together to make one super
synth called Fusor, which combines all
the sounds of each of the individual
modules but with added control over
modulation and FX parameters. DCAM
synth squad offers serious sound
abuse for just £157. fxpansion.com
TECHTALK
YOUR SELF-HELP FROM THE FORUM
If you are playing live gigs of your own
material what would you say is the best
device to be using? I’ve got a Macbook
Pro, a Korg Mircokorg and also Novation
SLMK2, which is cool for midi control, but
was wondering about other options
such as NI Maschine and Ableton?
Phil Venture, London
Your general set up should be just fine.
NI Maschine is ok for live use and can be
set up to be used as a general controller.
We also did something similar whilst
controlling Ableton in our gigs. However,
there are no clear markers as to what
the buttons do once it is set up in this
way.
City Gents
Akai’s APC20/APC40 might be a better
option. It has a good number of sliders,
as well as the pad control for firing
samples and clips.
Kirsty Orr, Paisley
Ableton and Novation have just
released an upgrade that integrates the
Launch pad and the SLMK2 together as
the ‘ultimate Ableton control package’,
which would be good for playing live.
Ernest Reid
143
17/5/10 14:38:24
 TECH News SOUNDBYTES
HI FI DJ
Harman/Kardon’s
MAS110 is an all-in-one
amplifier hi-fi system that
allows jocks to connect
their decks and use the
MAS110 as their sound
system of choice, with
analogue and digital
inputs connecting from a
mixer. It’ll also read tunes
from your iPod or USB
storage device. £699.00
Harmankardon.com
H armankardon.com

NEW
DISCOVERIES MASH IT UP
Native Instruments are
releasing an upgrade for
Ion is giving budding jocks a chance to discover their hidden
their popular Maschine
talents with the Discover DJ package. Discover DJ is an all in controller. The Version 1.5
one digital DJ unit that comprises of a controller with large upgrade will add more
vinyl-styled jog wheels for scratching, a mixer section with the functions to this little box
usual volume fader and EQ controls, and a version of Mixvibes of delights, one being the
DVS software to play all your digital tracks straight from your vintage sampler emulator
iTunes library. Plug straight into your laptop and play Mr DJ. that mimics some of the
great samplers of years
ionaudio.com £69
gone by. It will now also
be able to import Akai
MPC programs directly,
JARGON: ASD file making this Maschine an
BUSTED: Information data file even more tasty option
RALPH LAWSON for Ableton audio for all you producers.
native-instruments.com
(2020 SOUNDSYSTEM) tracks

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT .ASD files are the files that hold the entire
warp, beat and pitch data of an audio track
HEATH XONE 4D that has been warped in Ableton. These files
are important as without them all the time-
stretched information would not exist and
Ableton wouldn’t be able to sync all those
tracks to ensure perfect mixing.
“The Allen & Heath Xone 4D mixer is the
centrepiece of our sound during 2020
Soundsystem live gigs. I mix 16 channels
on the unit using Ableton Live with the
midi controls of the Xone.
“I can utilise 16 channels by using eight
of the Xone channels times two, by using
the shift function of the mixer. I also
control the midi parts going to
keyboards and I have a cue channel for
the drummer.
“There is a soundcard built in so I can
really conduct the show from one very
small box compared to using a
traditional mixing desk. On top of that I
still have the usual Allen & Heath filters
to put effects on the sound. It makes for
MOBILE MADNESS
The digital assault has hit all areas of the DJing community and with this in mind Denon have
a very versatile, hands-on performance released the DN-HC5000. Looking very similar to Denon’s ubiquitous twin CD controller for
tool. I have just finished a video tutorial mobile DJs, the new DN-HC5000 provides the same control and performance capabilities as
of how you can set up your 4D for DJ
the DJCD systems but with dedicated hardware control of Serato’s Itch DJ software for all
magazine TV. Check it out at djmag.tv -
it’s all about the hoof.” your digital music files. The beauty of this unit is that it will still also control Denon’s dual CD
player, offering bag-loads of options for all your DJing needs. denon.dj

144 www.djmag.com

DJ486.tech_news.indd 144 17/5/10 14:38:59

 To U se
Ho w ixing
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av o r it es use
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HOW TO GET STARTED

DJ Mag recommends “Mixed In Key” software for professional Harmonic Mixing.
Please visit www.MixedInKey.com to get this revolutionary software.

Untitled-8 1 19/4/10 12:10:40

 TECH News

DJ DOCTOR SMALL PACKAGES

Dear DJ Doctor,
I’m a DJ and about three years ago I started a
college course on how to produce my own music.
Three years later and I’m starting to understand
and to get a hold of things. What I want is your
advice on what next. Soon I’ll have tracks mastered
and ready to go, but where do I go from there?
Jack Day, via email

DJ Doc replies:
Well it is all dependant on what you want to do with
your tracks. The dream of signing a big record deal
may be floating round your mind, but this is
perhaps an unrealistic scenario. These days, the
most important thing to do is get your stuff heard.
Even to the point of starting your own label and
releasing your records on your own, this has to be
something that you should consider. Korg’s new Monotron Analogue The sounds created can be tweaked
On the other hand, if you’re adamant that you want Ribbon Synthesizer might be tiny but to make some really phat bass and
to get your records signed then the next step is to
send your tunes to the appropriate labels. Make
has a remarkably big sound. Harping acidic-type noises, external sounds
sure you do your research as to which labels would back to the days of old school can even be routed through it and
suit your music and send them your tracks. Offer to electronica, the Monotron is a fully- tweaked to the max with the five
do remixes on spec as this is a good way of getting fledged, true analogue synthesizer knobs. Never again be afraid to take
a good reputation and getting your name out
there.
with an easy-to-play ribbon keyboard something so small out of your
Another good way to get exposure is to send your that you’d slide your finger up and trousers in public.
tracks to DJs. DJs love nothing more than having down to make sounds. korg.co.uk £59.00
exclusive tunes to drop into their sets. Also never
take critique to heart. One man’s poison is another
man’s nectar, stay true to your goals and style. As
long as your music isn’t complete shite someone,
somewhere will want to buy, listen and play it!

GOT A BURNING QUESTION?

SEND your query

to the DJ Doctor at
djdoc@djmag. JARGON: Normalising.
com BUSTED: Adjusting an audio file in editing
and you could Software to maximise sound quality.
win the wicked Normalising is a technique to maximise the sound of an audio file to
AKG K81 its peak without it distorting. It is usually done when putting mix CDs
headphones. together to make all the tracks play uniformly at the same volume,
keeping the mix sounding more slick.

146 www.djmag.com

DJ486.tech_news.indd 146 30/4/10 14:24:13

 monitoring
headphones

NEW

The Xone XD-40 offer excellent audio performance in a comfortable,

strong, lightweight and compact format. The closed cup design
provides good isolation from ambient noise, and minimal bleed.

The extended, punchy bottom end is complemented by a crisp and

detailed mid and upper range. They are light and well padded,
making them comfortable and less fatiguing for extended use.

0 Circumaural isolation design

0 40mm diameter drivers
0 High power neodymium magnet design
0 Frequency response: 15Hz - 28kHz
0 1300 mW of power handling
0 Rotating earpieces and foldable design

Designed to provide the ultimate isolation from ambient noise,

fitted with the largest drivers available and with 1500mW handling
capacity, the XD-53’s are the perfect monitoring tool for your mix.
Robust and beautifully engineered, they will survive the rigours of
a DJ's lifestyle - and won't let you down.

0 Circumaural isolation design

0 53mm diameter drivers
0 High power neodymium magnet design
0 Frequency response: 5Hz – 33 kHz
0 3500 mW of power handling
0 Rotating earpieces and foldable design

Designed for DJ’s

www.xone.co.uk :: www.facebook.com/AllenHeathofficial :: t: +44 (0)1326 372070 ALLEN&HEATH
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:36:04
Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 16:44:07

BRING THAT
BEAT BACK!
Numark’s NS7
controller threatened
to bring back real
deck control to the
digital DJ community
but didn’t quite get
a firm foothold.
But with their new
V7 controller, is
victory finally
around the
corner?
I
t was almost a year ago to this day when
Numark sent over the NS7 for us to play on
and enjoy. We were suitably blown away with
the fun factor and approach that they had
taken to bring proper DJ skills and performance
back into the domain of the digital DJ. The beast
looked the part, and mixing on it was like the
good old days of the Technics 1210. But the NS7
came with some slight drawbacks.
One, it weighed more than a very big person;
two, to set it up as a travelling jock in the DJ
booth was a mission, especially if the supplied
laptop stand was attached; and three, it wasn’t
cheap, either. So our initial fun and love slowly
faded away. But hey, what’s this? Numark have
now addressed all these small issues and hit back
just like the Emperor did in Star Wars, thrilling us
with the V7.
There is a saying, V is for victory, and the V7 is
certainly up there with the best controllers in
the DDJ market. So what’s out of the box? Well,
straight away, it is plain to see that Numark
have taken the NS7 and chopped it into its core
elements, resulting in the V7 turntable.
Just like its bigger sibling, it is a direct-drive,
DJ485.tech_numark.indd 149
motorised turntable with adjustable torque.
The seven-inch platter also uses a real vinyl disc
and slipmat for that authentic deck control and
hands-on feel. Numark’s ideal setup would be
to partner up two V7s, and add their X5 mixer to
give that classic two-deck mixer combo. When
used in this way, the setup looks mighty fine, but
for money or space conscious users, the V7 can be
used on its own to control both virtual decks of
the supplied Itch software.
Just to clarify, the V7 is ultimately designed to
be used with Serato’s Itch Digital Vinyl Software,
and is one of the ever-increasing number of
heavyweight, pro controllers designed to make
the most out of this nifty bit of digital DJing
software.
Exceptional
The V7 is of exceptional build quality and smacks
of professionalism. This deck is solid, heavy and
built from a rugged, all metal construction that
will definitely survive the rigors of life on the
road. The clever jocks amongst us will pack it up
in a flight case to protect its uber good looks.
The V7 is finished in sleek brushed black metallic
aluminum and the platter, knobs and faders all
www.djmag.com
words: MICK WILSON
Numark’s NS7 controller TECH
have a reassuringly firm feel to them. The V7 also
doubles up as your audio interface, so audio from
Itch can be routed straight out of the deck — no
extra soundcards are needed. Just plug your
laptop in and you’re away, minimizing all the bulk
of an extra box and cabling.
Strip search
Another great feature found on the NS7 that has
been ported over to the V7 — which Numark will
point out they were the first to adopt — is the
needle search feature. Numark call this the Strip
Search function, a touch-sensitive strip that
sits at the top of the deck section of the V7. DJs
can scrub through their tracks to audition them
using this function, which works like picking
up the needle and placing it into the vinyl at
various points of its timeline, simply by sliding
your finger up and down it. This can all be viewed
directly from your laptop with the on-screen
waveform, just above the main waveform display.
All tunes from the music library in Itch can be
selected via the V7 using the rotary click knob to
scroll up and down. To load onto a deck, simply
push the Load A or Load B buttons. Navigating
through a music library takes no effort at all,
149
30/4/10 10:06:46
 TECH Numark’s NS7 controller
enabling the DJ to concentrate on mixing duties
rather than on laptop functions — the V7 makes the
Itch software an absolute doddle to operate. DJs can
now spend less time looking at the screen reading
their emails or browsing internet porn mid-set and
more time enjoying actually doing what they are paid
to do — DJ.
Another bonus, small though it may be, is the
lighting on the V7. All the buttons on the deck
are backlit, which makes using the unit in a dark
club relatively simple. On the pitch bend fader,
for example, when the track is at its original pitch
the 0% light illuminates to indicate this. Simple
things like this just add that extra value to the user
experience.
Connection to your laptop is taken care of by one
USB lead. As stated earlier one V7 can control both
of your virtual decks on Itch. The back panel has
outputs for both decks A and B for hooking up to
the left and right input channels of a mixer. If two
V7s are going to be used, one deck hooks up to the
computer via USB and is allocated as the left, whilst
150
DJ485.tech_numark.indd 150
VERDICT
BUILD QUALITY 5.0
EASE OF USE 4.0
FEATURES 4.0
VALUE FOR MONEY 4.0
SOUND QUALITY 4.0
HYPE
Just like the NS7, the V7 has
performance and scratch-
ability written all over it. A must
for die-hard turntable fanatics.
GRIPE
Not quite the all-in-one solution
for controlling Serato’s Itch, as a
mixer is still needed.
The V7 opens up the
options for DJs to
consider when it comes
to which controller is best
for their needs. I loved
using it and my
scratching is shit, but it
took me back to the time
when I first started DJing.
This is definitely worthy
of a look, and the price
point isn’t bad at all.
PRICE
£549
CONTACT
numark.com 4/5
the other deck is linked together directly via the link
input and the supplied link lead, and allocated as the
right turntable. can choose between manual and auto-loop functions
and can alter these with a variety of controls such as
Unlike some of the other controllers on the market, doubling, halving, loop shift, and manual controls.
the V7 is designed to mimic real turntables, so there Hot cue points can also be programmed into Itch
are no volume controls or headphone sockets built via the unit for DJ deck trickery and can be recalled
onto the unit. Listening to the track that is going easily at the touch of a button. There are five hot cue
to be cued up will have to be aided by your mixer of banks for storing your cue points so plenty of scope
choice. Some users might grumble at this, but hey, for creative track marking — useful for scratch heads
these weren’t features on 1210s, either! to show off quick-fire scratch skills.
Loop Da Loop The V7 is a great bit of kit for using with Serato’s
Itch now ships with built-in FX, and the V7 has Itch software, and there will be a true battle for
an easy-to-use FX section consisting of a couple controller supremacy in the marketplace now. The
of knobs and a slider. To choose the effect that is unit has instant appeal to old school vinyl heads and
desired, push the rotary knob to select, dial in how true turntablists, but is not quite the all-in-one unit
much parameter of FX is needed, then apply with of other manufacturer’s controllers. Despite this,
the slider — that’s it. This can all be switched on there is enough fun and quality with the V7 to lead
and off by one little button. The V7 also has a Loop this unit to victory.
section for controlling Itch’s looping facilities. DJs
www.djmag.com
30/4/10 10:06:49
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Untitled-1 6 17/5/10 17:53:28

 TECH In The Studio
THE TIME & SPACE
MACHINE
Richard Norris — aka The Time & Space Machine — invites us into his
cosmic castle and hips us to his production techniques…
R
ichard Norris has been a major player
in the electronic music scene for over
two decades. Originally known for his
iconic acid house cuts as part of The
Grid and now for his cosmic collaborations with
DJ/producer Erol Alkan as Beyond The Wizard’s
Sleeve, he has forged his own unique sound and
style.
With Richard Norris’s acclaimed new solo album
as The Time & Space Machine (out now on Tirk
Records) upping the psychedelic factor, and
delighting all lovers of tripped out, galactic
sounds, DJmag decided to delve into what makes
the cogs of Norris’ mind whirr — and how he
creates those cosmic grooves…
‘The Time & Space Machine’ is your new album,
recorded in your studio under a castle in Lewes.
What influences did you draw upon?
“Mainly music that stimulates the senses, that
152
DJ486.tech_in the studio.indd 152
uses the studio as an instrument, and has got
some kind of psychedelic slant… so psyche,
Krautrock, freakbeat, cosmic music of all forms,
plus a dose of electronics.”
How do you work in the studio?
“Normally, I have worked with one other person
on separate projects. Dave Ball in The Grid, Erol
Alkan in Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve, but with
the Time & Space Machine, it is more of a solo
project. Apart from a couple of drum and vocal
sessions, the album was recorded on my own, in
my studio under a castle in Lewes. I played guitar,
bass, keyboards, vocals and programmed and
mixed it all. It was a challenge, as I find working
with one other person quite a good way to go.
More than one opinion is sometimes useful. I
found with working on my own it was a bit more
organic. The tracks just developed a life of their
own and I followed where they were going.”
www.djmag.com
Can you give us a breakdown of your current
studio set up?
“As you can see, it’s a pretty basic affair. Logic
7 on my Powermac laptop, hooked up to a
Focusrite Sapphire audio interface, a Yamaha
02 mixing desk, a few rack mount synths, a
controller keyboard, a couple of mics for vocal
takes, and some guitars and effects pedals. For
my monitoring I am using Mackie 824s — they
are clear and true, and have got a great sound to
them. The bass response is really tight: I actually
prefer them to Genelecs. I like to keep my set-up
pretty straightforward, so I can just hit record
and get going.”
Do you use a lot of software in your set up,
then?
“Actually no, not really. I don’t use that many soft
synths: the Mellotron, that’s about it. I use a few
plugins for effects, like OhmBoyz Ohm Force, PCP
30/4/10 10:16:39
 In The Studio TECH

Nitro and Vintage Warmer, just a few delays When we started doing the remixes, one of great warm sound! However, the editing and
and compressors.” us would start the mix, bounce it over to recall possibilities of Logic and Protools are
the other person’s studio, who would then hard to beat.”
So do you buy into the whole software vs add their bits to the track, then we’d come
hardware argument, especially when it together to work in one studio on the final How do you go about recording a track?
comes to synths? stages. As the new record involves vocals, “I mainly start with a melody, or a beat, or
“I like to be a bit more hands-on when it drums, strings and more, it has mainly been actually just a general idea of the theme or
comes to recording, so I don’t use many me starting a track, sending it over to Erol mood for a track, it all depends on the piece.
synth plugins. I prefer to use real keyboards to add additional parts, working it up at With the Time & Space album, I recorded
and synths… I do like the Mellotron plugin, Erol’s, then recording additional parts like drummer Wildcat Will playing along to about
though. drums and strings at Strongroom Studios in 25 half-finished ideas, then took the best
“I actually have quite a few hardware synths London.” bits, edited the drums, then added vocals,
that I like to use when I’m recording. The keyboards, guitars and mixed it.”
Access Virus, Roland Juno 106 and 101, SE-1, Have your recording and production
EMU Vintage Keys, Matrix 1000, Yamaha CS5, techniques changed much since you were What piece of kit are you after at the
Wasp, Moog Prodigy. As well as the synths, I in The Grid? moment?
use guitars: I have a Fender Stratocaster and “There have been massive changes. When we “I’d really like a Fender Rhodes suitcase
a Telecaster.” started with The Grid, we were mainly based keyboard at the moment. It’s such a warm
on Alesis MMT8 sequencers. Then we started and inviting sound, every time I play on one
When processing your sounds do you use a to use Cubase, then by our third album we I seem to come up with a new song.”
lot of outboard equipment? had moved onto Logic. All tracks were laid
“I haven’t got a lot of outboard stuff. I use a down to two-inch tape in the studio, and Can you give any advice to someone
compressor, a few other vintage effects like we tended to write and do all our remixes looking to start making music?
the Roland Space Echo, Electro Harmonix in commercial studios, recording tracks “For electronic music, probably get Logic
Electric Mistress, Roland Digital Echo, and at Eastcote and mixing at Sarm, Olympic, and a laptop, a small Mackie desk, a Shure
a Korg Hammond Leslie simulator, that’s it, Metropolis, Townhouse, Matrix and many SM57 microphone and a cheap keyboard.
really.” other great London studios. For a few years, Maybe a guitar or two. I’d probably use
we seemed to be going to a different studio plugins and then save up a bit of cash for
What bit of kit is essential to the way you every week. Now I generally do most of my some analogue beasts. Another thing —
work? work in my own studio, only venturing out to don’t buy too much gear, just work out what
“Probably Logic, as it’s a very malleable another studio for live instrument sessions, you really need and learn to use it inside
workhorse, has good sound quality, some or occasionally to do final mixes, or if I’m out. You don’t necessarily need the latest bit
key internal effects and I know it pretty producing a band. of shiny gear, just what works for the kind of
well.” “In The Grid, everything was on tape, we’d music you are going to make.”
use a lot of outboard effects, and we’d do
You worked with DJ Erol Alkan on Beyond mixes and dub mixes live on the desk, either Any last tips for budding producers?
the Wizard’s Sleeve. How did this an SSL or a Neve. It was an all hands on deck “Keep going!”
partnership work in the studio? approach. With the advent of Protools in
“It’s changed from when we first started. studios, I think I’ve only used a two-inch
Then we were mainly doing a lot of edits, tape machine a couple of times in the last
which on the whole we did separately. few years. Which is a shame as they have a

www.djmag.com 153

DJ486.tech_in the studio.indd 153 30/4/10 10:16:42

Untitled-1 6 17/5/10 18:11:14

CHIP
OFFTHE
OLD BLOCK
Livid unleash their multi-purpose, easy-to-use controller — The Block
T
exas company Livid have been
making beautifully crafted
hardware such as Ohm 64,
as well as various software
products, since 2000 now. Their latest
product is The Block — a multi-purpose
controller for the digital DJ or VJ.
When we opened the box our first
impression was that The Block looked
pretty stylish and minimalist. The silver
front plate, blue LED pads and wood
casing go together very nicely.
The Block is minimalist in more ways
than one, though, as what is actually
sent is just the controller itself and a USB
lead. There’s no power cable because it
plugs and powers via the USB and there’s
not even an instruction manual. Some
people might see this as a downside, but
ultimately getting straight to grips with
the product in a hands-on fashion is less
time consuming than trawling through
a manual. Seasoned controller users will
find The Block relatively intuitive, while
others can find tutorial videos online.
The Block is built with a finely finished
jelutong wood casing with an anodized
aluminium faceplate screwed on top. The
rubberised buttons have got a good feel
to them and are backlit by a blue LED light
when active. In general, The Block appears
fairly sturdy although it could do with a
better design. After one slight knock, a
crack has appeared on the corner joint.
DJ486.tech_livid block.indd 155
The main section of The Block houses
64 touch pads in rows of eight by eight.
There are two faders on the bottom left-
hand side of the unit, with seven function
buttons above these and eight rotary
knobs across the top of the unit. The
function buttons can be programmed to
change presets or sound banks. There is
also one larger button handy for tapping
out tempo changes on the fly.
Livid have built The Block to be able
to work with your software of choice
relatively easily. This comes in handy for
VJ applications such as Arkaos Grand VJ
or Cell DNA as it is layered out in a similar
way to these programs with the added
flexibility of the rotary knobs and faders.
Ableton live
To get an idea of its ease of use, we set
up The Block to work with Ableton Live
and got to it. Pressing MIDI learn in Live
chooses a function to be assigned. Press
a corresponding button on Block and
this will assign a function to that specific
button or knob just like that. It’s a doddle.
Endless combinations of presets can be
stored to your specific preference at the
touch of a button. The ease and simplicity
of The Block really stands out, although
there is a gripe in that the rotary knobs
across the top of the unit are not in line
with the touch pad. This can take a little
www.djmag.com
words: TOMMY BOURNE
The Block TECH
bit of getting used to when using The
Block for the first time, although after a PRICE
while knowing which knob corresponds £349.99
with which column becomes second CONTACT
nature, so it’s not a major problem. lividinstruments.com
Livid also have a handy downloadable
Block Editor application, which provides
an interface for quickly changing MIDI VERDICT
assignments and presets of the buttons,
sliders, knobs, and LEDs on the go. Livid
BUILD QUALITY 3.5
EASE OF USE 4.0
are constantly creating new software tools
FEATURES 3.5
and patches for The Block controller such
VALUE FOR MONEY 4.0
as a synth, sampler, sequencer, and Max SOUND QUALITY N/A
for Ableton Live set ups. The ideology
behind the software is about tweaking
and experimenting with the way The Block
HYPE
A nice simple and easy-to-use
can be used. It is also editable in Cycings box that can control a multitude
74 Max/MSP software. This makes it very of DJing and VJing software..
versatile and will have bags of appeal to
DJs and VJs alike.
GRIPE
It’s not exactly plug in and play,
In the current market of controllers, there so users are going to have to
are a few contenders — particularly when map and program some of the
it comes to Ableton Live — and the Akai controller set-ups from scratch.
MPC40/20, the Novation Launchpad, The Block from Livid is a
and the Monome controllers all offer cool looking controller
variations on a theme. The Block is that is versatile in its use
slightly ahead of the Monome on the and functions. All in all,
control front, but it is not quite up there
it’s a quick-fix controller
for use with not just your
with the Akai in terms of overall quality. DJing software but
Among the cheaper options, however, anything you want to fire
The Block is a solid choice thanks to its at it.
responsive faders and rotary knobs,
which are not a feature on many of of the
alternatives. 3.5/5
155
30/4/10 10:17:26
 words: KUTSKI

TECH Korg Kaossilator Pro

CUTTING
ORDER
FROM KAOS
Radio 1’s hard dance champion
Kutski puts Korg’s new do-
it-all unit, the Kaossilator Pro
through its paces…

K
org have been one of the most reputable companies
in the electronic music scene since pioneering the
keyboard market as far back as the ’60s, but didn’t
really make a splash into the world of performance
DJ accessories until the late ’90s, with their now-legendary
Kaoss Pad effects unit. Let’s take a look at their latest creation
— a Frankenstein-style fusion of both their synthesis and DJ
FX, in the form of the exciting new Kaossilator Pro.

Those into their DJ technology will be familiar with Korg’s

original Kaossilator, which was a pocket-size synth that could
simply be hooked up to anything that had an audio input.
Despite it gaining a hardcore cult following, the slightly
fragile nature of the unit and its lack of features lead this to drum rolls. The unit also comes with an array of spooky space- PRICE
be more of a cool toy to play with, rather than something that style sweeps and effects that would even make Doctor Who’s £299
would be of use in a professional capacity. However, this all panties moist!
promises to change with the latest revision, in the form of its CONTACT
big brother, the Kaossilator Pro. As with all gadgets like this these days, the Kaossilator Pro korg.couk
It is designed to be a stand-alone synth, drum machine, has midi function, albeit quite basic. This is where the unit
effects unit, and even a very basic sequencer which could be loses marks. Despite having full midi and USB connectivity,
used as part of a studio setup for live performances, or as an users are very limited to how it can be used. My first instinct
addition to a DJ’s setup, to add textures to their sets. It comes was to connect a midi keyboard and play the instrument in a VERDICT
with 200 preset sounds, covering just about every perceivable more traditional way, but this is not possible. I understand
style of music that producers would wish to make, from jazz the charm of the unit is its unique interface for performance, BUILD QUALITY 5.0
to dubstep. The presets are broken down into leads, acoustic but if the ability to connect in a more elaborate way is there, EASE OF USE 4.0
instruments, one-hit drum samples, sweep effects and drum I cannot understand why they wouldn’t make use of this FEATURES 3.5
loops. opportunity. To add to the frustration, even though the unit VALUE FOR MONEY 4.0
can receive midi data from a DAW such as Logic or Ableton SOUND QUALITY 4.0
The method in which these instruments are played is Live, and it detects clock tempo changes etc, there is no way
completely unique to the Kaossilator Pro. The Kaossilator uses to sync them up, so it will constantly be playing out of time. HYPE
the same XY pad that users of Korg’s other DJ style product This leaves the midi functions limited — it just feels like it A truly revolutionary approach
to live performances.
the Kaoss Pad will be familiar with. With musical presets could so easily do so much more.
such as piano emulation, the ‘X’ axis controls the note that GRIPE
is being played, whereas the ‘Y’ axis applies modulation, Overall, this is a great new addition to what is possible with Disappointing midi
which depending on the preset, varies from filters to reverbs, live performances these days. The interface and how it is used functionality.
distortion and the likes. Another aid Korg have thrown in is really refreshing. With Korg having thrown the traditional
to help the less tactile musician amongst us is the gate/ rulebooks away, they have succeeded in making this the A flexible solution for
arpeggiator. It will re-trigger or gate the note that is being professional version of the original Kaossilator, listening to professionals and
played to a musical timing that can be adjusted with a fader, the users, adding all the missing links, and packaging it in a budding artists alike.
so no need to worry about repetitively hitting the pad in sync. robust body casing, and despite some minor midi issues that

4/5
Adjusting the fader whilst simply sliding your finger randomly I’m sure could be fixed in firmware, the Kaossilator Pro is ideal
around the pad can produce some epic, complex-sounding for aspiring and professional DJs and musicians alike. Being
riffs. such a flexible tool, I’m quite excited to see how different
artists will find different ways to use it.
HEAVY-SOUNDING
The drum samples are broken up into one-shot kit samples
and loops. The one-shots allow the user to tap different
regions of the pad to trigger different hits within
the set, effectively enabling DJs to play in their own
drum patterns, much as they would in an MPC-style
sampler, and when used in conjunction with the gate
arpeggiator, this can produce some heavy-sounding

156 www.djmag.com

DJ485.tech_korg.indd 156 30/4/10 10:05:45

 RICKY
MONTANARI
RICCIONE ITALY

DJPOINT.NET YOUR PASSION OUR PASSION

Untitled-1 6 17/5/10 17:47:27

 words: MICK WILSON

TECHPRODUCER MIX DOCTOR

Every month, we pluck a track from our
forums at djmag.com and our Mix Doctor
We reveal some handy tips and tricks to help you on gives it a medical. For your check-up, surf to
the road to wicked productions... the Pick ‘n’ Mix section and check out the
Mix Doctor sticky for instructions.

KILLER SO UNDS FEDDE LE GRAND & FUNKERMAN FURIOUS FRED PRESENTS

freshest sounds
How to create the
on the dancefloor...
IF YOU GOT yourself a copy of
Fedde Le Grand’s recent Toolroom
Knights mix, then you’ll be well
acquainted with Fedde and Funker-
man’s killer collaboration ‘An Old
Technique’. One part jackin’ tech-
house, one part filtered funk, it
reinvigorates classic influences with
a totally fresh groove and features
a cleverly chopped vocal sample
that adds a hypnotic, 4am edge. We
chatted to Fedde on how it all came
together.
“Funkerman had come up with a re-
ally nice basic disco beat, which re-
ally inspired me the minute I heard
it,” explains the Dutch house hero.
“He passed the beat over to me and I
filled in the blanks in the percussion
and rhythmic sections with some
congas and a couple of hi-hat lines,
putting everything together in a nice
D-swing.
“I then came up with a bassline that
fitted around the elements we’d
already created and found this funny
sample that slotted into it perfectly. I
‘AN OLD TECHNIQUE’
added some IK multimedia reverb,
and then I cut up the sample, so that
this became the lead sound. The IK
reverb has plenty of natural options
and parameters to choose from which
allows me to adapt it to any sound in
the mix. It takes some playing with to
master all the possibilities, that’s if
you ever find them all.”
“When that was all done, I arranged
the track in a DJ-friendly way and
that’s how we ended up with ‘An Old
Technique’.”
‘BRAND NEW FUNKY’
soundcloud.com/djmag-mixdoctor
UNDER the microscope this month is
Furious Fred’s ‘Brand New Funky’ — a
soul-tinged, synth-laden house track that
touches on the nu disco genre. Listening to
the overall mix, we think we may have
someone trying to pull the wool over the
doctor’s eyes. It’s pretty damn perfect.
The track uses a lot of cut up vocals and
samples in the form of the Jackson Five and
other old school hip-hop flavours. The
intricate nature of these samples could be
an area in which the mix would fall down,
but the balance and the production
processing is excellent.
When listening to the track you can hear
the spatial elements of the reverb and
effects that have been applied to the
samples to glue them into the mix. The
synth sounds all have their place in the mix
and are not sitting too ‘safe’. There is
movement and good stereo placement that
appear as the sounds play, a good
technique to make a track sound dynamic.
I think we have professionals here trying to
play a trick on the doctor! The bass sound is
particularly interesting as it is loaded with
distortion and grunt, but still cuts through
with quite a lot of definition rather than
sounding muddy.
The drums work well and add lift when

SAMPLE TANK: ZERO G: VOCAL FACTORY

needed. The strings have a good full tone to
them, and don’t drown out the other
elements. We think someone is up to no
ALL PRODUCERS must have hit this problem: got a corking good here as this track is what you’d expect
track that’s ready to blow but you need a vox for that added from a producer who has been in the game
bang. Where is Beyonce or Ga Ga when you need them? Well, for quite some time.
Zero G is looking to sort this out with a new sample pack that
comes loaded with a massive 3,700 vocal samples in one col- Upload your tracks to the new Mix Doctor
lection — Vocal Factory. dropbox at http://soundcloud.com/
The pack contains vocal samples of male and female singers mixdoctor/dropbox
covering a multitude of styles including vocals from pop,
dance and urban-style singers. There are even folk and
downtempo voxes, which are good for adding vocals to more
leftfield-style tracks.
Included in the collection is the Vocal India pack. Probably
not for everyone’s tastes, it’s a quirky little tool for producers
looking to add a different flavour to their dance tracks.

All the vocal samples have been recorded by professional

singers and come with accompanying harmonies. The Vocal
Toolbox is a good feature for getting all vocally creative in
your tracks, offering vocal samples in a variety of ways from
single line delivery to scratches, mashed up voxes with added
FX, and human beatbox for that Jamie Liddell-type effect.
The vocal samples in the packs have all been recorded by PRICE
VERDICT
£100
3.5/5
professional singers and this is very apparent when you hear
the quality that is on offer. Suffer shit singers no more! CONTACT
zero-g.co.uk
158 www.djmag.com

DJ486.tech_producer.indd 158 30/4/10 10:18:24

 Producer TECH

PRICE
£34.95
CONTACT
samplemagic.com

VERDICT
BUILD QUALITY N/A
EASE OF USE 4.0
FEATURES 4.0
VALUE FOR MONEY 5.0
SOUND QUALITY N/A

HYPE
A decent read that will answer
plenty of studio production
questions.

GRIPE
It took me ages to learn these
techniques and giving them
away in a magic book is
cheating!

A useful book for beginners

to get to grips with studio
production techniques that
is packed with hints and tips
— quite a handy read to have
at hand during a studio sesh.

4/5

Sample Magic’s new book ‘Secrets of House Music Production’
SAMPLE MAGIC are one of the biggest names in
dance music when it comes to sample libraries, so
when they release what they’re calling ‘the essential
guide to producing cutting-edge house music’ we
wanted to know if it’s something worth checking
out.
Scanning the pages, the first thing to notice is the
slick and simple layout. Broken down into different
production categories and musical genres, it is easy
to find something that will be of use to all budding
producers.
Don’t be under any illusion, though, this book isn’t
going to make you the next Mylo or Calvin Harris
overnight. Readers still have to learn their trade and
that takes time and effort. What it does do is point
producers in the right direction with some very
ABRACADABRA!
reveals the tricks of the trade
useful advice.
Sample Magic got together with music journal-
ist and tech-head Mark Adamo to write the book
and there are also words of wisdom from a few of
clubland’s most prolific producers such as The Young
Punx, Way Out West and Mark Knight who have all
added a little contribution to the content by sharing
the secrets they have learned during their years in
the studio. This adds to the learning experience of
the book because you’re getting proper tips and
advice from real producers who have already made a
mark in the dance community.
The Secrets of House Music Production focuses
on the main software music packages like Logic,
Cubase and Ableton but the techniques can be used
with any musical production software so it doesn’t
limit itself here. Essentially, the book is quite a
basic and simple read but this doesn’t make it light
on information — it’s exactly the opposite. All the
information is easily digested and doesn’t boggle
the mind.
If you are in the market for a guide to production,
there are a lot of books and videos out there and
they all vary in quality and usefulness. Some are
quite a headfuck to read and take a degree in rocket
science to understand. Others offer no real advice
at all.
The Secrets of House Music Production is a nice bal-
ance. It’s a good read for the beginner but might not
be as informative to the seasoned professional.

EXPERIMENT with WORK with what you have IF a track doesn’t sound AN EASY way to time-
different things when got. It’s not all about quite right then fix it ‘in stretch tracks is to use

PS
producing. Go against the having the newest, the mix’ before you get to Ableton Live. Ableton does

norm and it will add an
extra dimension to your
style and sound, don’t be
afraid!
flashest bit of kit — master
what you have and it will
pay you back tenfold.
the mastering stage.
Better to get it right at
source than trying to
rescue it at the end.
TI
the job a lot easier than
some of the time-stretch
programs that come with
sequencers like Cubase.
It’s fast to use as well.

www.djmag.com 159

DJ486.tech_producer.indd 159 30/4/10 10:18:26

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Untitled-1 4 17/5/10 17:32:21

 westendDJ.co.ukFREE
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Mail order / service : 970 North Circular Road, London, NW2 7JR - 020 8208 6988
email and international sales: info@westenddj.co.uk
Prices are correct at time of press and are subject to change. E&OE. Vouchers subject to terms.

Untitled-1 5 17/5/10 17:32:27

DJmag_issue486_latest.qxp 17/05/2010 16:23 Page 1

www.HTFR.com
Established 1991

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MR329925 UK LOWEST
’s PRICE MR324742 £975.00 MR322763 £1489.00 MR290879 £749.00

Untitled-1 2 17/5/10 17:27:00

m
KORG NANOKEY

MR291939
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m NUMARK DJ IO
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or SMS your name and address to 07920 090547
DJMAG485

Untitled-1 3 17/5/10 17:27:07

Untitled-1
Untitled-2 6
1 17/5/10
19/4/10 17:54:50
19:53:26
 Call: 01892 515007
You can pay by:
Any credit/debit card.
Cheque/bank draft.

www.jbsmusic.co.uk
Instant decision finance.
Pay over 12 to 48 months

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Phone: 01892 515007 www.jbsmusic.co.uk

Visit:JB’s music store 59 St. Johns Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN4 9TT Open 10-6 mon-sat.

5244_DJ16_04_10
Untitled-8 1 copy.indd 1 19/4/1012:25:31
19/4/10 11:58:20
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Oxford
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www.sae.edu
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London 020
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255 1313 Oxford 01865 7871551
0141 429 150
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3AA3<B7/:<3E@3:3/A3A
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produce, engineer, remix and perform your music
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Untitled-1 1 17/5/10 17:03:45

 Edwin Congreave is the keyboard player from
Foals. He’s also a DJ in his own right and a big fan
of ’90s dance. These are the tracks that have
shaped his musical taste today…
Words: HELENE STOKES
What’s the track that takes you back to
your childhood?
“The album ‘Murmur’ by R.E.M. It’s their first
album and my sister had it on cassette. She’s
six years older than me and she got into
Britpop when I was a very impressionable
young child. I thought she was the coolest
thing and I stole cassettes from her and would
quietly listen to them. In terms of dance
music, ‘Free’ by Ultra Nate, it’s got that very
nostalgic ’90s feel.”
What was the first track that you ever
bought?
“I can’t remember what the first single I ever
bought was, but ‘Parklife’ was the first album. I
think I bought a lot of really shit r&b singles
when I was about 10, which is probably best
forgotten. But ‘Parklife’ would be the first
album.
“I was a huge Blur fan, it was one of my first
exposures to that whole world — I idolized
them because I didn’t really know what else to
idolize. I remember poring over the inlay to
the album and examining everything because
I thought everything was of deep significance,
even the thank you list.
“I only saw them recently, because we played a
show with them in Hyde Park, I’d never seen
them before then and it was about as good as I
could have hoped for.”
What always gets you on the dancefloor?
“‘You Don’t Know Me’ by Armand Van Helden,
because it’s played everywhere and it’s just
amazing, isn’t it? It’s like the ultimate party
tune, wedding tune, huge club tune, it’s vocal
and it’s still underground.”
What’s the most valuable record that you
have in your collection?
“Well, it’s a pretty sad story about my record
collection, I mean, I lost pretty much all of it. It
either got stolen or there was some horrific
accident and it got left somewhere. We went
on tour, it was the last tour that we booked and
178
DJ486.lucky7.indd 178
paid for ourselves before we got signed and I “I’m DJing at my sister’s wedding
moved out of my house to help pay for it and I in a few days and I get to play all
put all my possessions into the van and when the house and garage that I
we got off tour and emptied out the van none really love. It’s not even a guilty
of my stuff was there. I lost all my records, all pleasure for me, I just think it’s
my CDs. But financially, I’ve found out that I’ve amazing music.”
got a 12” that’s worth something over £100, I
only got it a couple of years ago, it’s by Mala
called ‘Left Leg Out’. He’s one half of Digital
Mystikz. Apparently it’s really rare now.
“When I lost everything I was really
disheartened, I stopped buying, but I’ve got
the money now. I’m so sick of MP3s and I DJ
off CDs, but I want to get back into playing
house music off 12”s, it’s a good discipline, I
really love deep house. I’ve got back into
buying five or six records a week.”
What’s the track that inspired you most in
dance music?
“‘Sparkle’ by Carl Craig, I got that a really long
time ago and it has that clunky feel, like it’s
been made from machines but it’s got a real
spirit to it. It’s got this incredible positivity and
joy to it and I listened to it many, many times
before I knew anything about the scene or any
other stuff that he’s done. But I lost that
record, I think it was a repress anyway, it
definitely wasn’t the original.”
What’s guaranteed to make you cry?
“I’m sorry but I’m very bad at crying! But I
think it would probably be a Björk tune but I’m
not sure which one. Björk and LCD
Soundsystem I love but I’ve never seen them
play. My favourite Björk track is ‘I Miss You’, I’m
not sure if it would make me cry, I’ll go with
that anyway, it sounds like it probably would.”
Your all time favourite track of all time?
“Recently I’m starting to really love big
commercial dance music, like old ’90s stuff, so
I don’t think this is the best tune of all time but
‘Lady’ by Modjo is probably my favourite. I
used to say it was flippantly but I think it
probably just is. It’s absolutely amazing.
13/5/10 11:49:38
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Untitled-1 1 14/5/10 15:00:37

Untitled-1 1 14/5/10 15:05:43