Def Mix. Why does it hold such a legendary position within the House music scene? Perhaps it’s because one of its clan, Frankie Knuckles invented House music, or because another of its crew, David Morales is arguably the most influential producer/remixer of all time. Or perhaps it’s that Def Mix just happens to be one of the most successful dance labels to come out of America. Whatever the reason might be, the entire Def Mix crew come together for the first time in the UK to present us with an album that celebrates their 20th anniversary at the cutting edge of electronic music, we catch up with David Morales ,Frankie Knuckles ,Hector Romero and Satoshi Tomiie .
Doesn’t get any bigger than these guys.
Continue reading ‘20 Years of Def Mix - Interview with David Morales ,Frankie Knuckles ,Hector Romero and Satoshi Tomiie - oh my!’
Glasshouse, the innovative and consistently excellent pièce de résistance of the Leeds clubbing universe, is on the move. For well over a decade the night has reigned as cult king of the UKs dance underground thanks to a distinctive and all-too-rare combination of stellar resident DJs and an intimate, individualist aesthetic that for years ensured capacity crowds and a fiercely loyal clientele on the strength of word-of-mouth alone.
Continue reading ‘Glasshouse Team up with Gatecrasher’
Who would have thought that a small party six years ago (now famous for taking place in the promoters’ backyard in East London!) would spawn hundreds of events in clubs across the Capital plus countless trips to other lands (Germany, Holland, Wales and Ibiza to name a few) and the creation of the largest dance festival in London that is South West Four? Tonight we bring you legends of the harder generation alongside the nu-blood stars of today in a celebration of all things HeatUK!
Continue reading ‘HeatUK: The 6th Birthday’
Todd Terry Interview - Enough said …
words by Phil Cheeseman
I think it’s fair to say that it’s been a while since you produced a big vocal record…
Well, I’ve been doing vocal records, but whether people label them as big vocal tracks or as an underground record doesn’t matter; it’s all the same to me. However people labelled it or whether this person sang it or that person sung it, you know, to me it’s the same. Sometimes people label one record as being way bigger than another and I don’t really get that.
Continue reading ‘Todd Terry – Strictly Rhythm Interview’
One of the most outstanding producers and DJs of the current electronic scene is about to drop his hotly anticipated album… Sébastien Léger presents ‘Planets’ which is set for release in November on his own label - Mistakes Music. Featuring 11 tracks written by Sébastien to showcase what his label is all about; ‘Planet’s has quickly taken on other-worldly status and every track has been named after a Planet in our solar system… we caught up with Seb to chat about the album…
Continue reading ‘Sebastien Leger Planets - Interview’
Following the massive success of the debut LUST album, compiled by Master At Work Louie Vega, suSU are now delighted to announce that ‘all things dance’ music connoisseur, production wizard and remix extraordinaire Joey Negro (aka Dave Lee, Jakatta, Akabu, Raven Maize, Z Factor, The Sunburst Band etc) is supplying the soundtrack for the follow up album.
The LUST theme is threaded and has been inspired by Swedish born artist Jonas Larrson who is fast becoming one of the acclaimed names of the visual arts fraternity. Jonas’ tastefully erotic images combine conceptual imagery with textual prose. His unique blend of digitally enhanced monochrome photographs of the female form are then tinged with hand daubed paint and they caused a sensation when they were showcased as part of the ‘Off the Record’ series at ArtSpace Gallery in London last April.
Continue reading ‘Lust Art & Soul, A Personal Collection by Joey Negro’
You’re releasing Balance012, which is a three disc album what made you do it over three CDs?
One whole extra CD of great music! It actually gave me a better opportunity to express myself in the way I like to play a club set. I really enjoy and actually play better when given more time as it allows me to tell the story slowly and with more detail. To make records make sense of each other and not just ram a bunch of hits into a mix. It depends if you would rather read the highlights or read the whole story.
What are the differences between the three CDs?
I thought long and hard about this package. It took me over two months to compile and mix the three discs.
CD1..I’ve wanted to put together a collection of music that I find beauty
within. Music made with passion, warmth and with a slight melancholic feel to
each track. There are so many multi disc mixes with the standard ‘ambient
chill out’ disc’ that I wanted to try and make something that was very nice
to listen to but not an ambient mix.
CD2 - This was the disc I was struggling with right up until the last week. I went in with the intention
of making this a collection of druggy house music and minimal techno and it
actually ended up being quite a ride with more ups and downs than I’d set
out to make. The mix twists and turns and chugs and bumps along and really
is pretty much the closest I’ve come to capturing what I do in a club since
the Tyrant CD’s. There are so many layers to these tracks and I feel this
mix will open up over time to anyone who gives it a chance. It represents the part of the night that you get lost in and have no real idea what happened.
CD3 - Ahh..the consummate rocking CD. One always feels under pressure to put
a more ‘rocking’ CD on a mix. This is it. Again I wanted to try and do
something a little different so I set out this mix as a continuation of the
previous 2 discs. It starts out in a much bolder way than anything I’ve done
Previously. It’s tough and drummy (my new word I’ve been using!) for a
long time before letting you off for a moment then back to drummy! it’s
music for fucked up people.
These are the best mix CD’s I’ve made since Craig Richards and I made Tyrant
and I’m really happy with all three.
Continue reading ‘Lee Burridge Interview: Balance 012′
One of the most outstanding producers and DJs of the current electronic scene is about to drop his hotly anticipated album… Sébastien Léger presents ‘Planets’ which is set for release this winter on his own label - Mistakes Music. Featuring 11 tracks written by Sébastien to showcase what his label is all about; ‘Planet’s has quickly taken on other-worldly status and every track has been named after a Planet in our solar system.
Continue reading ‘Sébastien Léger - Planets Album’
After a fantastic 2005/6, most notably with his track ‘Pump Up The Jam’ enjoying heavy airplay and subsequent chart success which also included a live Radio 1 broadcast with Pete Tong., D.O.N.S returned in 2007 with a track featuring heavily on the planet’s dancefloors this summer with ‘Big Fun’ and his massive remix of John Dahlback’s ‘Everywhere’ .
Continue reading ‘D.O.N.S’
Stockholm-based singer-songwriter Sara Berg releases her debut UK album, “When I Was A Young Child I Used To Feel Pleasure From Playing With Others”, on October 8 through Gaymonkey Records. Confident, noir-ish electropop, “Young Child…” was co-produced with award-winning labelmate Ebb, and pins Berg’s voice and heavenly melodies onto beats honed from well worn dance floors.
Berg describes the new collection as a concept album, which evolved over the past few years as she explored the paths of success and failure. Notions of dignity and integrity – how far one is willing to go to achieve their goals and what price they are prepared to pay – are evident throughout each track’s poetic lyrics. “This is an album about dignity,” Sara says. “Having, losing, and struggling to regain dignity. It’s harder than you might expect to live as you please.”
Continue reading ‘Sara Berg’
Andreas Thiessen’s ‘Timbalestics’ project has joined the Seamless family for the release of their latest single ‘Meo Amor’. This percussion-led, Latin-tinged houser has appeared on radio playlists worldwide and is gathering masses of support with every play. No stranger to the house scene, Timbalestics mastermind Andreas Thiessen has been DJing and producing for many years, with his Darmstadt club night ’Pleasure Club’ in its 3rd year and related compilation series ’Pleasure Club’s Finest’ in as many volumes, Andreas is making quite a name for himself in the club scene of his native Germany.
His debut solo single ’What You Are’ was released on Soul Tonic Records in 2004, which paved the way for him to combine his production talents with those of Jesse Funk (of the famous Schwarz & Funk) to create the Timbalestics project he currently works under, releasing ’The Vibe’ in 2005 on Do The Hip! Recordings and now, their latest work ’Meo Amor’ on Seamless Twelves.
We take a few moments to get to know the man behind it all, Andreas Thiessen…
Continue reading ‘Ten Minutes With Timbalestics’
Whoop! debutant Russell G has made quite an impression with his first release. As well as licensing enquiries for a major compilation series, positive feedback from the clubs and summer festivals has been flowing in thick and fast, with Asle, Timo Garcia, Andy Moor, Kamisshake, Paul Thomas and Tall Paul to name just a few all heavily supporting the release.
Whilst Russell is still getting to grips with being on the receiving end of the feedback, we catch up with him for a chat on the good and the bad of the switch from DJ to producer…
Continue reading ‘Losing It with Russell G’
Def Mix. Why does it hold such a legendary position within the House music scene? Perhaps it’s because one of its clan, Frankie Knuckles invented House music, or because another of its crew, David Morales is arguably the most influential producer/remixer of all time. Or perhaps it’s that Def Mix just happens to be one of the most successful dance labels to come out of America. Whatever the reason might be, the entire Def Mix crew come together for the first time in the UK to present us with an album that celebrates their 20th anniversary at the cutting edge of electronic music.
This album is a collaboration between all four DJ’s, who have come together for the first time to work on a release that reflects the historic moments of House over the last 20 years. This album boasts some big firsts, including exclusives in the form of Mariah Carey “Dream Lover” (Def Klub Mix) and U2 “Lemon” (Badyard Club Mix), neither of which has been granted a UK licence before.
Continue reading ‘Defected Presents 20 Years of Def Mix Classics’
Over the past ten years Finger Lickin’ Records have built themselves a reputation as purveyors of the finest breakbeat known to man; introducing us to the likes of the Plump DJs, Soul Of Man, A Skillz and Slyde. Beatz & Bobz meanwhile have been busy organising the UK’s longest running breaks night, with the list of past guests at the Exeter night reading like a who’s who of the scene.
November 2nd sees the two heavyweights join forces for a party of epic proportions at London’s Heaven. The line-up for the night is stellar, even by their own standards, with FL and BB inviting down the very best artists that have inspired, recorded for, or simply blown them away on the decks. This is arguably the hottest line up EVER!
Continue reading ‘Finger Lickin Records & Beatz & Bobz - Double 10th anniversary party’
Gilles Peterson knows his music. His career so far has seen him responsible for two of the UK’s best labels of the last twenty years, Acid Jazz which introduced us to the likes of The Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai, and Talkin’ Loud which brought the likes of underground heroes Reprazent and 4Hero to the mainstream consciousness. In 2006 he decided to launch his latest musical venture, Brownswood Recordings, a label for soulful sounds no matter what the source.
In its short lifespan, it has already been behind classic albums from Bristol soul boy Ben Westbeech, the beat-driven orchestral sounds of The Heritage Orchestra, Japanese adrenalin-fuelled jazz from Soil & Pimp Sessions as well as the first two in the series of gorgeous Brownswood Bubblers compilations. With a years worth of incredible music already behind them, Brownswood will be throwing a party with us to celebrate, and the line up is something else.
Continue reading ‘Gilles Peterson brings Brownswood to The End’
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