One of the biggest records of this summer’s festival season ‘Downpipe’ is a massively infectious groove that’s gonna make you shake – “it’s gonna make your hands shake” and builds excitement from start to end as the collaborative talents involved create an all-consuming journey for this, the first ever dance collaboration in the history of Underworld, already crowned ‘Essential New Tune’ on Radio1 by Pete Tong.

An insanely infectious piece of music that has feeling and passion rushing through its veins, the combination of tech grooves and intense progressive-build nods heavily to the tight production skills of Mark Knight and D.Ramirez and sees a stunning return to international dance floors for one of electronic music’s most iconic voices – Karl Hyde, for this, the much anticipated and long overdue follow up to the 2007 anthem ‘Columbian Soul’.

Having created a defining soundtrack to a chemical generation with the almighty ‘Born Slippy’ and countless club crossover hits including the likes of ‘Rez’ and ‘Cowgirl’, Underworld are highly regarded as one of the best in the business.

Take this heritage and legacy and combine it with one of the most prolific DJ production partnerships in the world right now and you have something very special indeed.

It’s a floor-exploding, pulsating monster with Knight, Ramirez and Smith working the tribal callings of Karl Hyde to full on effect. His hypnotic vocal gets deep under your skin and firmly locked in your brain.

The combination of Underworld’s unmistakable talent for drawing on primal energies and Mark Knight and D.Ramirez’s unquestionable production skills and knowledge of the Dance Floor tells a powerful story that is ahead of the curve and pays off with a monster riff in the drop.

Couple this with the artistic talents of street art icon Nick Walker, specially commissioned to produce the artwork as part of Toolroom’s limited edition sleeve series (which has already included one off pieces from Goldie and Jamie Reid) and you have a piece of future clubland history.

‘Downpipe’ is above all, a sure fire winner that will drive the main room of any big club or festival, clever enough to seduce the underground.

Mark Knight and D Ramirez – “We’ve been planning the follow up to Columbian Soul for some time and wanted to do something next level; instantly Underworld came to mind. Downpipe is a track with new spirit and plenty of reason to dance. It’s been a real honour to team up with the biggest act in dance and a major coup for Toolroom Records to have secured the release”

Underworld – “working with Mark, Dean and Toolroom has been a pleasure. When we heard the guys ideas for the track we just had to get involved. Downpipe sounds enormous, we can’t wait to hear it out on the dancefloor.

www.djmarkknight.com

www.dramirez.co.uk

www.underworldlive.com

www.toolroomrecords.com

Darren Emerson is without question one of the most influential dance figures of all time. After joining now world renowned dance act Underworld at just 18, he helped propel the group into the mainstream and contributed to one of dance music’s biggest tracks in ‘Born Slippy’. Initially signed to legendary London imprint Junior Boys Own, Emerson and Underworld were one of the label’s most prolific and successful artists. We caught up with him to discuss his punk rock roots and the group’s influence on the Acid House explosion.

Darren – one of our UK House music dance heroes. Another outstanding year. Where have been your highlights of 2009?

“Ibiza obviously has been brilliant – as always. ‘Pure Pacha’ was incredible. Also, Sander Kleinenberg who I love playing with, we did the ‘Exit Festival’ together in Serbia back to back this year. We are old friends, loved getting it on again with him spinning tunes we both loved. France and Singapore really great also – especially the Formula 1 after party. “

Junior Boys Own – an immense part of the world of House Music. It’s where we kids got started, the tunes made our lives. An amazing part of dance music culture…

Good, fantastic times. We had great parties with a great bunch of people. They were mostly older than me as I was one of the young lad’s back then – I was the whippersnapper knocking about with my brother and his friends so I was always knocking about with older people. Also people like Steve Hall, Terry Farley, Pete Heller and Simon Eccles were there – and they were all the cool guys.”

So some big respect as an 18 year old for this pioneering crew…?

“Well yeah. I respected what they were doing, especially with the parties, and I ALWAYS respected Andrew Weatherall. I was a big fan of him and he was doing some killer mixes at the time. His James ‘Come Home’ and his Happy Mondays mixes – I was really inspired into that kind of thing because it wasn’t all about House and Techno – this was the alternative side to our sound which I was really pulled in to. I was going to ‘Phuture’ on Thursday nights and I used to love going down there because it was all about good music, not just House music. House music was exploding at the time, but down there, they moved away from that slightly and played stuff from The Cure and a bit of Carly Simon – that’s what got me into alternative music even more. I was always an electronic kid, cutting and scratching in my bedroom and always into DJing but that was what really pulled me away – and also knocking about with punks which really opened my mind and got me into guitar music and stuff like that.”

Amazing times…

“Yeah they were. It was the Acid House explosion and everything was new and it was a new era and with a new explosion of music coming through. It was the Acid House 303 sound and that’s what it was all about…”

So how did the adaption from loving music, being a bedroom DJ, admiring producers and DJs too, to actually making music and DJing…?

“At 18 I kind of moved into making records. I was DJing since I was 16 in the clubs in Essex and I worked my way up, then one day I was asked to play at the Milk Bar on a Monday nigh with Nicky Holloway. The first gig I did in London though was at The Limelight and that was on a Saturday night and I played downstairs, it was really fantastic and proved to be a good break into London for me. From then I never looked back really and from there I played at the Milk Bar off Tottenham Court Road – and that’s where THE people were coming down. I managed to get the DJ Of The Month Award’s in The Face and i-D magazine’s, both in the same month. It was all blowing up for me and I was still only 19 at the time and the Monday night’s were really going off for us and it was packed. The night was called ‘The Recession Session’ and it made Monday night a night to look forward to.”

How did the mental sound of Acid House and also the drug side influence your own musical direction that took you to musical stardom with Underworld and as superstar DJ?

“I was a proper House fanatic and I was listening to LWR which was a rock pilot radio station and I was a proper train spotter. I knew everything that was coming out. It wasn’t like today when there’s thousands and thousands of tracks coming out on Beatport or Juno and practically anyone can make music from a laptop. In those days, we used to go to the studio and it was when I met Rick Smith (Underworld) who was in a rocky/new wave kind of band which had just been dropped. He was looking for a DJ and at the time I was the local DJ in Essex and I knew his brother-in-law and that’s how we hooked up. I started to show Rick what was good and bad in the dance scene because he didn’t really know much about dance music and he was teaching me a lot about the studio and before long, we were writing tunes. Then we started to get a few remixes under the name ‘Stepping Razor’. Karl came back from L.A, he was doing session work over there in order to make ends meet. He came in and at first he didn’t know how to fit in with me and Rick because we were doing all of these instrumental tracks and it was dance music. We started cutting up Karl’s vocals in a William Burrows kind of style and that was the birth of us working together. I was DJing but was also able to be in the studio with two talented musicians.”

How did the introduction to Junior Boys Own come about?

“I think Andrew came down to check me out one night at the Milk Bar and he liked what I was doing because I was really mixing things up and cutting things and scratching things up – nowadays you just have to hit a loop button, but in those days I used two of the same record and that was my style. Myself and Rick had quite a few tracks by then too, and we went to Kensal Rise where JBO had an office there which they were sharing with Pop Promotions. We were going there to meet Pop Promotions and we started talking to this guy called Jonathon who we thought could maybe be our manager and look after us. We played him one of our tapes. In the corner of the room Steve was sitting. After the meeting finished Steve got in contact with me said “I really like that stuff, it’s really good, lets have another meeting” and that’s how we got the show on the road with JBO. We first started out under the name ‘Lemon Interrupt’ and we did ‘Big Mouth’, ‘Eclipse’, ‘Miniappolis’ as Lemon Interrupt. ‘Big Mouth’ is the one with Karl playing his harmonica and they put out these tracks just to feel around really – and then came ‘Skyscraper’ which we put out on Boy’s Own records which was still on London Records. That kind of finished that deal and we went back to JBO which was when we started doing ‘Dubnobasswithmyheadman’, ‘Second Toughest In The Infants’ and ‘Beaucoup Fish’ – they’re the albums that I was part of anyway.”

Junior Boys Own DJing memories…?

“Well there’s one in particular that stands out – usually the one’s which were really good you can’t really remember much about, but the one that sticks out is the one where Andrew asked me fill in for because he couldn’t make it and he asked me to play for him. I was honoured because I looked up to Andrew and thought it was a fantastic thing to be asked to do, at a young age as well. It was in Bogner Regis so it was a weekender, I remember going on and doing my usual thing of using two records and starting off with a long intro. I remember Norman Cook was there and it was the first House party he’d been to and he always says now in interviews that I was the first person to get him into House music. I remember using Robert Owen’s ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’ over and over again just looping it and going back and forth. Justin Robertson was playing there as well, it was really good fun to play that weekender. I remember waking up the next day and feeling a bit hazy sharing hair of the dog with promoter Charlie Chester. I spent that Sunday with him at the bar having Sunday afternoon pints. So yeah, I’ve got some good fond memories of that party.”

Many people think that ‘Born Slippy’ is the biggest dance record ever made. Do you agree?

“I was actually in Miami with Liam Howlett from The Prodigy and he popped up one time when we we’re talking and said “I was reading the NME and there was the top 100 dance records ever made, and you we’re Number 1 and we were Number 2!” We laughed about it, but The Prodigy are definitely up there, they’ve got the big tunes such as ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ and ‘Firestarter’ haven’t they? But I’ve heard ‘Born Slippy’ so many times. It’s hard for me to say. It’s amazed that a lot of people still like it and I still play it when I’m DJing at a big arena party. I do mash-up’s of it just to make it sound better for me because I’ve heard the original so many times. But it still goes off. It’s quite annoying actually when you go on Youtube and type in my name and all the first results that come up are just me playing ‘Born Slippy’ even though I play so much different stuff. But it’s THE big tune and it still manages to get people rocking.”

Which other Junior Boys Own tracks did you love and/or play at the time?

“Definitely X-Press 2 ‘The Boys’ – they’ve done some fantastic and big tunes and I love what they’ve done. That track was an early one which really stood out. Boca Juniors and the track ‘Rays’, that was a great track, – I used to love it. Also ‘The Dust Brothers’ which is what they were called before they turned into The Chemical Brothers, the track ‘Songs For The Siren’ I got to know that track when I was playing on a Thursday night at The Drum Club and I remember this guy with curly hair coming up to me with a white label with the title ‘Songs For The Siren’ saying “this is our new one’, and it was Ed from The Chemical Brothers. I thought it was a great track with really haunting vocals on it, and it was the one which really kicked things off for them.”

Do you miss the label running side of the music industry?

“At the time it was tough for me to say I don’t really want to do this anymore’ because I’d been running ‘Underwater’ for the previous 15 years and started it up when I was in Underworld in 1994. I think spending 15 years running an independent dance label was pretty good going, I had a good innings. But to be honest I think it was the right time to move on, I don’t miss it at all. It was good though, we did have fun times, we did some great parties and I was doing nights in Ibiza and we had the residency at Pacha for four years. But times change and you have to move on. We were selling vinyl at the beginning, now record sales have completely gone. I had to change with the times and I didn’t want to be doing it anymore because I wanted to focus on doing some of my own stuff again. I was looking after a lot of other artists and their creativity and not myself and my own creativity. Also as I said, we did Ibiza for four years and each time we went it took up half year. I’ve been writing on and off since 2002 and recently I’ve been writing with a friend of mine called Nick who I met at ‘The Big Day’ out in Australia many years ago who I actually once signed to ‘Underwater’. Over the years we’ve wrote loads and loads of stuff and there’s an album there that’s going to come out. I was talking about doing a small digital label just for my own releases so that I can get them out quick and into the digital market. I’m sure that won’t be as big a headache as the Underwater label was…”

What’s next from you?

“There’s my digital label which will be called ‘Hard4slow Records’, where they’ll be plenty of tunes coming out on that in the near future. I’m looking to get the album I was telling you about finished because at the moment I’m just sifting through a load of different mixes which are spread over quite few files, and I’m looking to get a mate of mine called Steve Doug who is the Chemical Brothers engineer in on it too. Then find a home for it and put it out!”

Mysterious dark-pop enigmas Miike Snow will release a new single ‘Black & Blue’ through Columbia Records on October 19th. Following on from where their massively acclaimed debut single ‘Animal’ left off, Miike Snow will continue to surprise people as they re-twist and re-interpret the formula for widescreen and emotive 21st century pop music as we know it. Their long awaited eponymous debut album gets a full UK release on October 26th and is already being noted as one of this year’s must have discoveries.

Having been embraced early on across the blogosphere, Miike Snow were quickly been adopted by more traditional mainstream channels. Championed by the likes of Radio1 with support from the likes of Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Jo Whiley & Pete Tong, NME and across the dancefloor with a series of chart busting remixes. This continues here on Black & Blue with new re-workings courtesy of Tiga, Caspa & Netsky alongside the much sort after remix of ‘Animal’ courtesy of Mark Ronson.

Miike Snow have also proven themselves to be one of the most intense and dynamic new live acts following triumphant performances at Latitude, iTunes festival (with Calvin Harris), Ibiza Rocks, Get Loaded In The Park, V festival & several headline UK dates (Not to mention 2 sold out US tours). They are currently confirming a full Autumn tour of the UK to be announced very shortly, watch this space for details.

Man? DJ? Robot? Miike Snow is actually a band comprised of Swedish duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, childhood friends who spent time playing in bands and working on various projects in studios throughout Gothenburg. After separate moves to Stockholm they reunited in 2000. Then In 2004, whilst working on writing a pop album for someone else, the pair met American songwriter Andrew Wyatt .The release was small, there was little distribution and an alleged large sum of money was lost in the process, but from the experience a friendship was formed, and in 2007 Miike Snow was born.

Karlsson and Winnberg’s backgrounds in the DJ scene and punk bands alongside experiments in progressive electro and new rave lead to a series of writing / producing stints with some of the world’s biggest recording artists (as Bloodshy & Avant )- culminating in their Grammy win for Best Dance Recording for the song “Toxic” for Britney Spears. Wyatt has been a member in Black Beetle, Fires of Rome and The A.M as well writing and producing the new Daniel Merriweather album with Mark Ronson amongst other things
Miike Snow’s eponymous debut however is a full band collaboration, showcasing both their deft mastery of the studio, while acknowledging each members talent for songwriting, production, arrangement and performance. Here they adopt a collective consciousness far removed from the sum of the individual parts and together Miike Snow have created their own unique sound and space that will continue to evolve both in the studio & more importantly through playing live over the coming months and years.
Recorded in Stockholm in the 400 year old home used to house King Gustaf III’s mistress, Miike Snow make pop music, but not as we know it, a pulsing soundtrack for lovers spurred on by hope, fear & redemption. They have created songs that lift and lull, where dark subject matter is used to create beautiful sonic illusions & stimulate euphoria. Miike Snow is a warm electronic record, rich with soul & heart that can soundtrack both dancefloor and darkness and life in between, that will make anonymity an impossibility.
Finally ready to step out of the studio, but not the shadows, Miike Snow is released on Columbia Records on 26th October

For a couple of years, FILTH have been pushing boundaries in the north and, fresh from their first season in Ibiza, they’re due to arrive in Birmingham on Friday October 2nd, then monthly after that. Having brought the likes of Arno Cost, Style of Eye, Loose Cannons and Riva Star to their events elsewhere, Birmingham’s scene is set to have a welcome injection of new thinking, new music.

Bringing the fidgety, jacking and energy laced 4/4 to the Black Country for this inaugural event is Mowgli, along with residents Jackinori and Eddi Zanetti. Italian born, London based house producer Mowgli, always puts the music first. Spending hours each week picking out the best new music to play for you, he’s also produced for some of the best breaks labels like Skint, Southern Fried and Domino, has remixed the likes of X-Press 2, Sugarbabes and Don Diablo. As Minimow he takes the mood down, spinning deep house, tech and minimal. Music is in this man’s blood, so you’re sure to be taken somewhere special in his presence.

Room 2 is th Ice Cream Van room with more kinetic beats from the likes of Andy Styler, Ollie Newis, Tomarse, Made for Radio and Costello.

Bouncing at one of the north’s best club (Mint, Leeds) each month, Filth have offered fresh house sounds and catapulted the burgeoning likes of Bart B More and Lee Mortimer to stardom, whilst pleasing a crowd that rivals the regulars of any club night in the country. The family which has grown around a core of competent residents and music focused promoters, is one that gets involved, dances from the first to the last beat, and welcomes you whoever you are. Birmingham, meet Filth.

RAINBOW GARDEN:

MOWGLI (aka MINIMOW) http://www.myspace.com/mowglimusik

JACKINORI http://www.myspace.com/jackinori

Elliot Croft

Eddi Zanetti

Andy Styler

ROOM 2 – ICE CREAM VAN (up2nogood):

Danny Savage

Ollie Newis

Tomarse

Made for Radio

Costello

ÂŁ6 NUS/ÂŁ8 DOOR

PARTNERS WITH http://www.soonnight.com

This week it doesn’t get much bigger than this. American dance music megastar and legend Erick Morillo returns to Kissdafunk for a one-off special. He’s been on the cover of over 20 magazines and lives the live of an international playboy.

He’s also regarded my many to be the best house dj in the World.

The last and only time he played for Kissdafunk in November 2007 he caused an almighty roadblock – it was incredible. This time the party takes place at the bigger 02 Academy giving him the platform he deserves.

Check out the video from the last Kissdafunk held at the 02 Academy which David Guetta and Laidback Luke show how fabulous The O2 Academy can be as a venue.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFCDXRLe77k

If there is one party you go to this autumn make sure you don’t miss this rare chance to see one of the dance music’s true superstars.

Check out Erick Morillo’s latest Track – Say The Word

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS5RLLv7Li4

This event will sell out.

Kissdafunk at The 02 Academy

55 Cookridge, Street

Leeds City Centre LS2

10pm till 5am

Line-up

ERICK MORILLO

ROB TISSERA

LUKE POMPEY

Advance Tickets: ÂŁ20 +BF / Members ÂŁ18 OTD / ÂŁ16 NUS +BF / Limited Number of VIP tickets available from Kissdafunk.com for ÂŁ30 + BF

Tickets Outlets

Ticketweb: http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_northeast&query=detail&event=341835

Kissdafunk Standard & VIP) http://www.kissdafunk.com

Skiddle http://www.skiddle.com/tickets

TicketArena : http://www.ticketarena.co.uk

Hard copy tickets also available at Crash Records, Leeds, Jumbo Records, Leeds, Voodoo, Pudsley, Disc, Bradford, 02 Box Office, Leeds

http://www.erickmorillo.com

http://www.o2academyleeds.co.uk

http://www.kissdafunk.com

Brevity, soul and wit: some of the hallmarks of the Spinto Band’s latest forthcoming release ‘Slim & Slender’ – the Delaware native sextet’s self-recorded debut. A succinctly stated 4 song package, this EP serves as a precursor to the self-recorded LP to follow in 2010.

These four songs were so good and immediately exciting that the band’s label, Park The Van Records, wanted to get this collection of tracks out as quickly as possible, opting for 10″ vinyl and a digital download commercial release, landing October 6th 2009. In support of Slim & Slender, The Spinto Band will headline a Park The Van Fall label tour covering much of the Eastern U.S. with label-mates Pepi Ginsberg and Generationals rounding out the bill, each celebrating exciting 2009 PTV releases, respectively.

Self recorded in the band’s brand new studio, these very well may be some of the The Spinto Band’s best stuff yet. Included are a lot of extended instrumental explorations, like the bouncily jubilant cover of Ary Barroso’s classic ‘Brazil’, from the Terry Gilliam film of the same title.

“Brazil has been a long time classic amongst the band,” singer/songwriter/guitar-player/production-guru Nick Krill explains. “I first heard it in the film and have overheard Jeff and Tom and others playing the melody on different instruments over the years. The song brings to mind flying high above a city with angel wings sprouting from my back.”   

Their previous full-length, ‘Moonwink’, had Spinto’s crafty penchant for taking care in carving out space for all sounds in elaborate arrangements, and ‘Thayer Function’, Slim’s original instrumental is a sunwinked continuation of this calling card.

Krill explained the genesis of this cut: “Back when we used to record in Thomas and Sam’s basement, our former band mate, Albert Birney, penned a song called Layer Function. Albert now lives on Thayer Street in Rochester, New York, and Joe made up the riff for what would eventually become Thayer Function during a sing along on Albert’s porch while we were on tour last year. The title just popped out and immediately made perfect sense…kind of making a nice reference to our old basement recording days just as we were beginning recording ourselves again almost ten years later.”

Continuing work on building out the band’s own studio for this return voyage into their self-recording roots, the Spinto Band plans and prepares for what’s next. “We are working on that new material in a new studio we have been slowly piecing together over the course of the summer,” according to guitarist Jon Eaton. “Now that we have found a bass clarinet, we are a lot closer to being done. The next step is to figure out how to play the bass clarinet.”

Spinto Band tour the US this month and next:

SEPTEMBER

18 – Chattanooga, TN – Miller Plaza

19 – Bristol, VA – Rhythm and Roots Reunion   

20 – Bristol, VA – Rhythm and Roots Reunion   

28 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel   

29 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft   

30 – New Orleans, LA – Howlin Wolf w/ Generationals

OCTOBER

01 – Baton Rouge, LA – Chelsea’s Cafe   

02 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival   

04 – San Francisco, CA – Hardly Strictly Blue Grass Festival   

05 – Brookdale, CA – Brookdale Lodge   

06 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater   

07 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress   

09 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge   

10 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Tavern   

11 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre   

12 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck   

13 – St. Louis, MO – Gargoyle Club   

15 – Covington, KY – Mad Hatter   

16 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom   

17 – North Adams, MA – Mass MoCA   

20 – Charlottesville, NC – The Southern   

21 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle   

22 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

23 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts   

24 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts   

www.parkthevan.com/spintoband

www.spintoband.com

www.myspace.com/thespintoband

Release Date: October 6th, 2009

Park The Van Records

10″ vinyl (US Only) Digital (Worldwide)

Evolution. Changing times call for changing tools. That’s why Pioneer’s new multi-format player is the natural selection for the next generation of DJs. It’s been 15 years since the genesis of Pioneer’s first CDJ deck, which led to the world-beating CDJ-1000 series. Now it’s time for something completely new. Introducing a major leap forward for the club standard CDJ series: the CDJ-2000 – Pioneer’s new professional player for the digital age.

The CDJ-2000 fizzes with fresh DNA and can play music from multiple sources, including CD, DVD, USB storage devices and SD memory cards. It also comes with the revolutionary music database management software for DJs: rekordbox™. Based on Pioneer’s ‘Prepare & Perform’ concept, rekordbox™ works (for both Mac and PC) like the leading music database management software, but is more creative and more DJ-friendly. rekordbox™ allows DJs to prepare more before their performance and opens a door to tools such as Hot Cue Banks and Quantize, for perfectly synced loops every time. DJs can then export data to a USB or SD device to access vast libraries of music files and perform live – without the need for extra equipment or any inconvenient rewiring in the club. No need to burn CDs, simply take your USB device to the club, plug in to the CDJ and play. Through the industry-first Pro DJ Link, music files and database data on one single USB or SD device can be shared simultaneously by up to four players connected via LAN (local area network) cable. Plus, the data history of each DJ set is automatically saved and can be made into a playlist that can be loaded back into rekordbox™. Another key facet of the CDJ-2000 is its advanced HID (human interface device) and MIDI capabilities for native control of DVS (digital vinyl systems) via USB. What’s more, it achieves Pioneer’s highest sound quality to date through an improved audio output circuit, a new audiophile-pleasing Wolfson DAC processor, and a built-in 24-bit/48 kHz sound card.

Naturally, the CDJ-2000’s layout is related to its robust, reliable predecessor, the CDJ-1000MK3. However, although it fits easily into the MK3’s footprint, it ramps up performance with the largest (6.1-inch) clearest full-colour screen in the business. Below the screen is an industry-first waveform Needle Search™/Needle Drop ribbon, so that all the convenience of direct file browsing can now be found in an intuitive hardware format. Add to these features a highly evolved illuminated Jog wheel, and an overall enhanced design, complete with carry handles and Kensington lock, and you have the ideal digital innovation for total performance and seamless synchronisation.

‘DJing is increasingly about the endless creative possibilities opened up by digital Darwinism. Natural selection favours superior performance and those who can better streamline processes to channel the best of the software and hardware worlds. It really is all about the survival of the fittest. This new hybrid species of multi-player, our CDJ-2000, is thus an adaptable digital solution for the evolving needs of leading DJs,’ comments Mark Grotefeld, Head of Marketing (Pro SV), Pioneer Europe.

CDJ-2000 KEY FEATURES

Fully compatible with a wide range of media formats

Besides regular audio CDs (and MP3 data CDs and DVDs) the CDJs can play music files that have been copied to SD memory cards and USB storage devices, such as flash memory and hard disk drives. Compatible file formats are MP3, AAC, WAV and AIFF (16/24-bit). Files on Tonium’s Pacemaker*1 can also be played when connected as a storage device via USB.

rekordbox™ database management software for DJs introduces the ‘Prepare & Perform’ concept

The idea behind ‘Prepare & Perform’ is that rekordbox™ works in harmony with DJs, allowing them to analyse, arrange, edit and export their music and data to digital media before their performance. Put simply, rekordbox™ offers an alternative to taking a laptop to the club. Not only does it function like a database for DJs (and is compatible with the leading music database management software through a bridge feature) but it also offers many more creative opportunities. DJs can prepare cue points, loops and Hot Cues in advance of their show. They can manage music files by editing tag information and artwork, while rekordbox™ analyses such track information as BPM and wave data. DJs can also edit beatgrids, which utilise the CDJ-2000’s new Quantize performance features, so, as an option, all cue points and loops can be set perfectly on-beat every time. In addition, users can create, edit and manage playlists in rekordbox™ and the CDJ-2000 creates a history playlist on your storage device of every track played for review when you next sync with rekordbox™.

Huge full-colour display screen leads the market

A bright, elevated 6.1-inch LCD enables DJs to acquire all information at a glance in the dark. And it’s not just about browsing directly though text, because artwork can also be displayed. Thanks to a combination of the GUI (graphical user interface) and a rotary selector, track browsing/selection is made super-quick and easy. Plus, for on-the-fly programming, tag lists can be created using the dedicated Tag button. Meanwhile, that all-important wave data is displayed with improved precision, so that high/low amplitude components can be grasped in the greatest detail to date.

Industry-first Needle Search™/Needle Drop for speedy searches and previews

This industry first reproduces digitally the action of needle dropping on vinyl. Needle Search™ lets you instantaneously preview music at any chosen point with pinpoint accuracy. Simply slide a finger along the Needle Drop pad while listening to the stuttered preview and checking the wave display to locate peaks and troughs. This tactile ribbon controller can also be used to conduct keyword searches.

Industry-first Pro DJ Link permits multi-play from a single source and file sharing among four players

For the very first time, DJs can connect up to four CDJ-2000s and rekordbox™ by LAN connection and instantly share music and data between the players. That’s one LAN hub, one USB storage device or SD memory card, and countless creative possibilities – multi-directionally reinforced.

Improved quality audio output circuit with Wolfson DAC processor

A high-performance Wolfson DAC processor allows audio to be reproduced with a lush analogue feel. Great news for audiophiles is the better signal-to-noise ratio, giving a massive improvement on the CDJ-1000MK3 processor, and a new hybrid operation amplifier circuitry that also minimises noise. The result is a clear, transparent sound that is faithful to the original.

Advanced connectivity with 24-bit/48 kHz sound card, HID and MIDI control via USB

The CDJ-2000 has a built-in sound card so no extra interface or unnecessary rewiring is required and connection is possible by using only one USB cable. Information can be output as MIDI to software and other MIDI devices via USB. The player can also be used as a MIDI controller. But HID control offers superior interfacing with software, beating MIDI with speed, audio/visual streaming and two-way information on displays. Consequently, the player can easily, precisely and natively control such DVS systems as Serato’s Scratch Live*2, Native Instrument’s Traktor*3 series and MixVibes’ Cross*4 – without any need for time-coded discs.

Quantized beat loop for perfectly synced cue points, loops and Hot Cues

After music files have been analysed with rekordbox™, the Quantize function automatically corrects and syncs the beat during a manual loop or real-time cue in. This even works if the in/out point is off beat. There is also a convenient auto one-touch four-beat loop onboard, if required. And thanks to a new 0.5 frame step, there’s twice the resolution for setting even more precise cue and loop points.

An extra three Hot Cue Banks, available via the rekordbox™ playlist

Aside from the three Hot Cue buttons on the CDJ-2000 player itself, there are also three Hot Cue Banks to be found in the rekordbox™ playlist. This provides users with an abundance of Hot Cues to further extend the editing opportunities.

Advanced new Jog for smooth operability and greater feeling adjustment

The all-new club conscious Jog dial is illuminated in four different places. It’s also much quieter and smoother in operation, and has a far wider tension range when compared to the CDJ-1000MK3.

Vinyl Life’s Butcha, Phaze Future and Richie Roxx grew up in New York City and religiously read the Village Voice on a weekly basis to learn about the best concerts and most interesting new music. So, to actually be featured in The Voice – the country’s longest running weekly alternative paper – for their work is truly something special. Dennis Romero nails it by telling a story of three real guys who met under a mutual admiration for electro, hip-hop, house and techno – but crafted only with vintage analog gear. The authentic 80’s influence comes through the music and you can feel what NYC was back in the day through Vinyl Life.

Not content with limiting their release to CD and digital, Vinyl Life also printed up Vinyl copies and commissioned limited edition hand-painted cassettes. This all adds to the authenticity of the music and adds some extra value to the fans without much expense falling on Vinyl Life’s shoulders. “We all grew up listening to cassette mixtapes bought off the streets,” Butcha says. “It was a no-brainer to create vinyl and cassettes because these mediums were crucial to the overall experience of the time. Plus, kids today only know about music from MP3’s and CDs. We can’t have that.”

Vinyl Life’s live show is also like nothing currently on the market. A recent show at NYC’s Santos Party House featured improvisational versions of the album tracks and even a cover of Joey Beltram’s classic “Energy Flash” (Check out Deneka Peniston’s awesome photos here). Whether it’s as a full live act or a DJ set (or both), Vinyl Life is fully capable of providing the music for an entire evening. No two shows are alike.

As both a treat for the fans and a way to help spread the music, Vinyl Life is offering its debut album as a pay-what-you-want download ($1 minimum) from their Bandcamp page. All donations are greatly appreciated in order to keep moving this art forward!

www.vinyllife.com/

www.myspace.com/vinyllife

www.myspace.com/tapetheorymusic

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool are a shiny new electro- pop outfit hailing from North London. Their superb debut ‘Dance The Way I Feel’ is an infectious slice of electro-pop with Pet Shop Boys influenced vocals and a catchy as hell baseline that will quite literally drag you onto the dance floor- the perfect post summer slam.

What a year it’s been for the three piece. They’ve shared stages with the likes of Sam Sparro, Mr. Hudson, Cypress Hill and Reverend And The Makers as well as packing out their own gigs with their own brand of infectious pop. They’ve gained support from most at Radio 1. They -were invited to play no less than 3 stages at Glasto, no mean feat when this time last year the band weren’t even in existence.

Ou Est started life as a 3 piece when founding member Charles Haddon moved to Camden in 2008 where he met locals Joe Hutchinson and Caan Capan. Within a month of the trio’s paths first crossing, ‘Ou Est Le Swimming Pool’ was born. The band had just started to make music together when they met production wizard Anders Kallmark who was instantly spellbound and asked if he could come aboard. They have built up a reputation for being one of the most exciting live bands of the moment; their passionate live shows bursting with energy and chemistry as they jump about the stage.

See what all the fuss is about:

19th September – Oakfield Social Club

22nd September – Single launch – The Legion

2nd October – Korova- Liverpool

3rd October – Met University- Leeds

9th October – Sussex Uni, Brighton Centre – Brighton

15th October- Bucks Uni – High Wycombe

Digital Single (DBUY 282)

Dance The Way I Feel – Young And Lost Mix

7″ Vinyl (BUY 283)

Dance The Way I Feel

Outside

12″ Vinyl (BUYIT 283)

Dance The Way I Feel – Armand Van Helden Club Mix

Dance The Way I Feel – Armand Van Helden Dub Mix

Digital Bundle 1 (DBUY 283)

Dance The Way I Feel

Outside

Digital Bundle 2 (DBUY 284)

Dance The Way I Feel – Armand Van Helden Club Mix

Dance The Way I Feel – Blue Eyed Boy Remix

Dance The Way I Feel – Drill Club Mix

Dance The Way I Feel -Dynamikk Remix

Defected Records continues to celebrate its 10 years In The House with the release of ‘Defected Clubland Adventures Vol 2’ featuring both upfront and classic releases by the world’s biggest and best known international house producers.

Defected Records is the British independent dance music label that has regularly surpassed the majors with its releases. It constantly presents records that grow organically from the underground which later become huge universal hits. It has a vast online community that stretches to every continent and its events schedule takes in (almost) every major city making it truly global. It’s now ready to release the second in the commemorative album series – Clubland Adventures Vol 2.

This year Defected celebrates its tenth birthday. In that time there have been some unforgettable moments. Hitting No.1 in the UK with Roger Sanchez’s ‘Another Chance’, or the time that Kings of Tomorrow ‘Finally’ was first played on a dance floor by Sandy Rivera at The Ministry of Sound.

Reading Defected’s early discography, it reads like a roll call of all the most prolific producers from the late 90’s and 00’s. As a label it quickly stamped its signature sound on club culture and developed some of today’s best known producers and DJs. Junior Jack, Bob Sinclar, Sandy Rivera and Masters At Work all grew with the label from the start and helped forge the distinctive soul, funk and disco flavoured groove that was to be later nicknamed the ‘Defected’ global house sound.

To celebrate this landmark achievement, the labels biggest musical moments have been brought together in two commemorative collections entitled ‘Clubland Adventures Vol 2’. With the original released last February, this second set contains a further 46 original and remixed classics from the past 10 years.

It’s all presented in a boxed 3 x CD package mixed by Simon Dunmore, featuring major releases including; MAW presents India ‘To Be In Love’ (Full Intention Vocal), Soul Central featuring Kathy Brown ‘Strings Of Life’ (Martijn Ten Velden & Mark Knight Toolroom Mix), Funkerman ‘Speed Up’ (ATFC’s 0-60 Extended Mix), Martin Solveig ‘Everybody’ (Original Mix) and a host of other huge Defected Records signature tracks.

You’ll find productions from Michael Gray, DJ Spen, Chocolate Puma, DJ Gregory, Copyright, Dennis Ferrer, ATFC, Marc Evans, Hardsoul and Julien Jabre all names synonymous with classic Defected.

Alongside the musical history lesson is an extensive retrospective birthday book, featuring in-depth label biography, sleeve notes and Simon Dunmore’s (Defected Records founder and label head) personal moments be them high or low from Defected’s 10 years “In The House”.

Defected’s records have been extremely collectable throughout these ten years and we know that if you’re a dance music lover this album will simply be unmissable.

Defected Clubland Adventures – 10 Years In The House, Volume 2

Released 5/10/2009