BPM MAG - Nov/Dec '12 by BPM Magazine

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PEOPLE

CONTENTS

NOV/DEC 2012 EDITION 64

• MUSIC

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TOP OF OUR PLAYLIST THIS WEEK Nathan Kabingesi BPM Mag - Feature Writer Artist: Matthias Heilbronn Title: Have Mercy Genre: Deep House Record Label: Electric Minds Release Date: 8 Oct 2012 I like this because… it’s got one of the slowest, sweetest build-ups I’ve ever heard, and with a climax that fully justifies how long the track...

MAGAZINE TEMPLATE DESIGN: Johann M Smith | Johannmartinsmith@gmail.com COVER IMAGE : Supplied by ELECTRIC WANT TO STAY INFORMED? Join our newsletter! Simply email the words ‘Beats People Music’ to bpminfo@eject.co.za

E-CLIP LIVE & DIRECT AT BOOM 2012 Serbian born, Marko Radovanovic, is one of the new breed of psy-progressive trance producers currently making moves on the global scene. Inspired by the solar eclipse, his alter-ego, EClip, takes the essence of this natural phenomenon and transforms it into music that mixes the elements of both the night and day. He first produced full-on music under the... PROTOCULTURE’S PROG TRANCE KITCHEN “I love powerful stuff but it needs to be beautiful and delicate at the same time.” Protoculture, South Africa’s very own number one Progressive Trance export brings it home this October with the Godskitchen tour. He will be playing alongside two of Trance’s other big loves, Dash Berlin and...

No part of this magazine may be imitated or reproduced in whole / in part or online, without the permission of BPM Magazine. Any views, opinions & visual material expressed in BPM Magazine cc. by contributors are not necessarily shared by the BPM Magazine or its staff. We do not accept responsibility for any omissions or mistakes, as we do everything possible to make sure all information published is accurate.

EDITORS NOTE & CONTRIBUTORS THE WALL MUSIC NEWS THE LITTLE MISFIT DECKS OF FURY: THE STEVE AOKI WAY UPFRONT WITH GARETH EMERY HERE'S TO YOU PORTER ROBINSON... DJ BUBBLES ATMOS & PROTONICA JR'S READY TO COOL THE SUMMER NICK HOLDER: STILL HOLDING IT DOWN SHOW US YOUR PARTY FACE THE DEEP END WITH LUO 5 MINS WITH RICHARD THE THIRD DA CAPO: HOUSE MUSIC'S GOLDEN CHILD ALBUM REVIEWS ALBUM REVIEWS ALBUM REVIEWS DOWNLOAD: DJ PICKS DJ TOP TEN CHARTS PARTY INFO & EVENTS ASTROBABBLE - SCORPIO & SAGITTARIUS

STEVE BUG IN A NOIR FRAME A conversation with co-founder and owner of Poker Flat Recordings, Steve Bug. He is a Deep and Tech House producer/DJ/talent nurturer and *progressor of a more hybrid and underground house music sound music from Germany...

MAGAZINE ENQUIRIES: info@bpmmag.co.za BPM Mag is published six times per Annum in SA only DISTRIBUTION: BPM is nationally distributed to over 300 carefully selected outlets ranging from: Retailers of Musical Instruments Gear & Equipment, Studios, Colleges & Varsities, selected live music venues and more... To find your nearest outlet email: info@bpmmag.co.za

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DJ CODAX AT THE WORLD DMC “Preparing for a battle is on another level. You spend hours, weeks even months trying to perfect a six minute routine.” The realm of competitive DJ-ing is a blitz of global fanfare, multifarious identities and inimitable turntable skills. Moreover, it’s one where you either make your mark emphatically or...

EDITOR’S NOTE MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO'S THE BEST DJ.... o the DJ Mag Top 100 poll came out in October. Is it just me or are people really caring a lot less about it? By this I don’t just mean DJs - I mean everybody! In the past there would be quite a bit of online chat about the poll after the announcement. Of course a lot of it is always negative popularity contests have a habit of bringing out the worst in people. Truth is the world of music and entertainment is made up of many dodgy operators and ‘chancers,’ so something like this poll was destined to be fraught with allegations of corruption and unfair practices. The stigma attached to the poll has existed for quite some time now, but in the past 2-3 years it has probably been at its lowest point. You’d think DJ Mag would have done more to restore the reputation of the event but then again would it help unless we saw a whole new Top 10? The ever outspoken Gareth Emery actually touches on the subject in our interview with him on Pg. 16. He alludes quite clearly to the fact that there are many DJs that are booking out shows across the globe that never feature prominently on the list, if at all. So I had to chuckle when a bunch of local lads decided to do their own SA DJ Top 100. It’s a nice gesture, but if anybody took it seriously there would no doubt be allegations of favouritism or crookedness with this too. I’ve heard recently that another collective but these guys are fairly heavyweight in the SA dance scene - want to do the first ever SA Dance Music Awards. Again, nice idea, but it’s all about the execution and the little bit of info I got on what was being planned, made it clear that this was going to be flawed from the outset, particularly favouring one specific genre. Interestingly enough, I’ve also just heard that Metro FM are not doing their awards this year. Well actually it has been shifted to February next year, so technically that means nothing for 2012. As for the SAMAS. Don’t get me started. I think most SAMA winners, other than the accolade, don’t really gain much else from the award. It’s not like one’s bookings are going to quadruple and CD sales triple overnight now is it? We’ve thought about launching the Annual BPM MAG Dance Music Awards - it’s been discussed, this I’ll admit. But aside from the huge responsibility one needs to accept if you are going to do something like this, the sheer workload, unpleasantness and stress to pull it off successfully is enough to deter us every time the subject is broached. We have a very democratic point of view on music at BPM Magazine. We don’t favour a genre, or a DJ or a scene. We work with whoever is doing their thing, strutting their stuff successfully. The fact that this happens to be higher profile DJs is simply because they are newsworthy and more people want to read about them. But if you’ve got a story to tell, and it’s one we think needs to be told... hey, we’re interested too. Anyway we’re turning 10 years old next year. Yup BPM Magazine hits double figures! We won’t be doing a DJ award ceremony but we do have some cool stuff planned. Don’t go away; 2013 is gonna be ‘massif mon!’

Peace. DAVE MAC Editor-in-Chief

Find me here: dave@bpmmag.co.za | Twitter: davemac77 | Facebook: dave.mac.mckinley

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: FEATURE WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Mary Honeychild - Mary is a fusion queen, her love for music is defined by her roots of drums, saxophone and deep bass. She discovers the break and combination in genres and takes us on journeys into the origin and amalgamation of scenes such as Jazz, Hip Hop and EDM. The Little Misfit - The Little Misfit is an anonymous observer who has been around the electronic music scene for more years than most. She’s seen it all, done it all and has the tales to tell. Not much surprises her any more although she is still wholly excited by music, dancing and socialising within this scene. It’s with this passion and experience that she casts a slightly jaundiced, feminine eye on the many components that add spice to Cape Town EDM Culture. Tendai Luwo - Recovering blueberry muffin addict, dj, remixer and voice over artist, Luo first firmly sank his teeth into music while working for Rhodes Music Radio (RMR 89.7fm) in 2009 and has never looked back since. Now a loyal disciple of all things deep and soulful, He can be found roaming the streets and alleyways searching for his next dose of good 'ol house music. Nathan Kabingesi – Nathan is a selfconfessed house junkie; you can usually spot him in a corner of the dance floor getting high off the DJ's supply. Appreciating the finely spun mix, he's not shy about calling out the occasional slip of the needle. Expect incisive and considered opinions on everything from the latest album releases to trend developments in the world of EDM. Jonathan G Shaw – Production Tips – Jon is a professional record producer who has worked with a multitude of artists and record labels in a freelance capacity. Outside this, he lectures music business at the University of the Witwatersrand and provides business consultation to the music industry. jshaw@smstudios.co.za Dave Skinz - DJ, Music Manufacturer, Wordsmith, Record Store owner, Promoter, and gamer par excellence are some of the multi-faceted roles that Skinz has played in his 15 year love affair with dance music. When not indulging himself in MMA footage and band practice, he spends his time waiting for Arsenal to take the treble. Www.daveskinz.com Donovan Leon - Donovan Leon is a Producer/ Engineer for DCL Studios and has had the opportunity to work and collaborate with many top artists & producers such as: Crighton Goodwill, Robin C Khol, L’loyd Cele, Jamali, CH2, Denim, Thembi Seete (Boom Shaka), Kwesta, Zubz, Sasha P (Nigeria), Jae, Ziyon (Liquid Deep), Verona, 37MPH and many, many more.

6 INTERACT

THE WALL GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? YULE DARQ DLAMINI In the words of a great vocalist: "I'm addicted to you, I get high, Off your mag..." This September issue of BPM Mag feels like home... Favourite DJ is on it, Kid Fonque. 1 of the producers I look upto is on it, DJ Mpho-Za. The coolest producer from Vaal is on it, Miza Modibedi. Coolest pair of DJ's made it, Pimp Squad. And my comment made it... I'm going to mint it and frame it. ABONGILE GEORGE MRGDEEP Hello, my lovely awesome magazine, without you I wouldn't have seen the big S.A tour DJ comp 4 Steve Aoki. I enrolled, I hope and wish for good results. Checkout the mix; http://www.soundcloud.com/mrgdeep/olmeca tequila steve aoki sa tour mix, I also wanna wish my self a good luck for exams as I am currently upgrading my NSC, and also de Matriculants. Study for a brighter future! Peace! NEO ZAWADI MOCHACHA We are growing with every issue:) Baie Dankie BPM

GIFT MCOCO I GOT MY BPM MAG TODAY I REALLY ENJOY SO MANY GADGETS TO BUY. ITUMELENG MALOKO Finally my BPMmag arrived and I like every page in this mag, guys you are all doing a wonderful job nothing needs to be changed, I like the mag all the way, once again you guys are my Michael Jackson, you rock my world.........BPMmag 4eva, AMEN!!!!!!!!!! ORIN HANRAHAN Is there a way to get bpm mag online? perhaps an android app etc.? May be something to check out in the future :) BPM Mag: Hi Orin, you can read it online here www.bpmmag.co.za. Smartphone app coming soon although the site is optimised for mobi. VVÚYÒ TSWABOLE-VISTA Got the mag...aye! ELGAR BOTHA Just wrote in for TWILIGHT OPEN AIR FESTIVAL II , gonna be a KILLER! :D GOODLUCK Thank you to the legends at BPM Mag for the review of The Lucky Packet Mixtape! Thanks to our awesome label Just Music for making all these amazing songs available! MORNÉ VANDER Awesome, the legendary BPM Mag reviews my Album in this months addition with a really nice shout out to KARANA too :D Couldn't be happier!! BRAZILIANSOUL CREW Muffin-Music Avenue Music invited Brazil’s finest to South Africa, Edground (Brazilian Soul Crew member) with Disc 3 solicits you to an amazing factory of Soul, Deep and Vocal music, with club anthems like “People Dancing, Going Nowhere, So lonely” among others to give you three hours of quality music. Review by BPM Mag

TIM-AFRICAH O. THEMBA KUBHEKA I love BPM Mag! PHINITHI NATE IV NTELEKOA At the March for Reading Awareness from Bloemfontein Station to City Hall I held my fave mag, BPM Mag in the air. In the mag you'll find inspiration if you're a budding sound engineer, graphic designer and [leftfied] writer NYTXPRESS MOLEFE Bpm edition 63 super super thanks,bpm mag world number one mag. Thanks big up for giving me the kind of info I need,keep up the good work guys.

GUGU PULE NKALA Pretoria the capital city of deep house music. Black Motion, the pair of gifted young lads from Pretoria that look set to shake up the global house scene with their post modern Afrocentric style and signature sound. GODSKITCHEN: WIN DOUBLE VIP TICKETS ON BPM LIFE.CO.ZA BPM: Sum up why Godskitchen events are your kind of party and tell us who you would like to see perform at a future Sonic State event?

The winners' answers: Carolina Sequeira Godskitchen are my kind of parties because they bring us, G - reatness. O - riginality. D - iversity. S - ensation. K - eepsake. I - nterest. T - rance. C - reativity. H - ypnotic. E - ntertainment. N - ew. In a nutshell Godskitchen never disappoints. Always bringing us Greatness and Entertainment with their Originality in their New concepts. Their events are Keepsake, never to be forgotten. They bring us a Diversity of the BEST Trance artists sending us off in a Hypnotic state of mind in one magical night with their Sensation tracks. Their Creativity always brings high levels of Interest and desire and I wouldn't want to miss what they have in stall for us here in CT this year with Dash Berlin in the mix it is bound to be amazing! :D :D :D I would LOVE to see Sonic State bring us Tiesto at a future event in Cape Town. TIFFANY CHRISTIE FREEMAN Johannesburg: Godskitchen are my kind of parties because it is a gathering of like minded people that are brought together for the love of music. I wouldn't call godskitchen a party... it is an experience. One to treasure each time. To be surrounded by like minded people all FEELING the music and not caring about stupid social dinamics. It is an experience for the ears, soul and mind. To be able to dance holes through your shoes, closing your eyes, letting the music take you on a journey without a care in the world is truely letting go.The experience of meeting new people and coming together for the LOVE of music is truely life changing. You leave with a thought of knowingness that you are not alone. I would love to see ANDREW BAYER and MOONBEAM!

DROP US A MESSAGE on our Facebook page wall or email us at hello@bpmlife.co.za. We want to know what you’re loving, what you’re hating, and most importantly... What you’re listening to! Let us know what you’d like to see in the next BPM Mag and we could publish your letters here! JOIN OUR FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/bpmmag FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: www.twitter.com/bpmmag

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THE NEWS THE LATEST CLUB AND DANCE MUSIC NEWS FROM SA AND AROUND THE WORLD

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PASCAL & PEARCE RELEASE COMPILATION PASSPORT TO IBIZA

fter a chance meeting in 2007, Pascal Ellinas and Dave Pearce have emerged as one of South Africa’s hottest production and DJ team. The duo made their name over the past 18 months doing official remixes of some of South Africa’s biggest artists including: Locnville, Goldfish, Flash Republic, Zebra & Giraffe & GoodLuck and remixing some of the biggest international names in EDM including: Roger Sanchez, Wretch 32 Feat Example, TV Rock, Ian Carey, Above & Beyond, Childish Gambino, Cedric Gervais, Nadia Ali and Martin Solveig.

Their remixes have charted on Beatport, DMC’s Buzz Chart and on Europropaganda’s Ibiza Club Charts. The guys have supported the likes of Avicii, Afrojack Paul Oakenfold and Paul Van Dyk on their SA tours. Their latest single Disco Sun (featuring Juliet Harding from GoodLuck) was signed to Dutch EDM powerhouse Spinnin Records for the world (ex UK/USA) earlier this year. It reached Top 20 on various Beatport charts and has already picked up over 1.3 million views on YouTube. Following on the success of their debut album Passport Pascal & Pearce unleash a brand new Double CD compilation album Passport To Ibiza for the

summer holidays featuring their exclusive P&P remixes of Tailor, Yoav & GoodLuck as well as some of the biggest tracks from their DJ sets including Porter Robinson, Afrojack, Hardwell, Kaskade & Skrillex as well as Ian Carey. Says David Pearce, “the compilation was a great opportunity for us to showcase the ‘live’ aspect to what we do. So whereas the first two discs we released were all our own compositions, [original or remixes], Passport to Ibiza consists of the tunes we’d typically drop in our DJ sets, but of course there are a handful of our own remixes too.” Read Heather Mennell’s review on Pg. 46

MUSIC NEWS

GOODLUCK ARE FEELING LUCKY. ARE YOU? Three time SAMA award winning South African electronic music act GoodLuck have released their latest offering - the Lucky Packet MixTape. GoodLuck’s debut album achieved an astonishing five number one singles. The trio’s passion for electronic music has spilled over into a new product in their business, The Lucky Packet. It's available in stores now and Lucky Packet events will kick off in November in Johannesburg and Durban and

December in Cape Town. The CD which comprises 16 tracks, features some of the world’s hottest dance producers with rare releases from the likes of Faithless, Kaskade, Gramophonedzie, to our very own home grown Yoav and Pascal & Pearce. “What started as a series of events showcasing our favourite electronic artists has grown into its own crazy run away brand,” says Ben Peters the Producer of GoodLuck “And for us the next logical step was to somehow get that music into the hands of our fans - so we’ve put together our absolute favourite songs and made the summer’s coolest MixTape!” Read our review on Pg 46

CELEBRATE THE END OF THE MAYAN CALENDAR (NOT THE WORLD) WITH COSMOGENESIS Cosmogenesis is an unusual new art, music and cultural event that will be lighting up in the auspicious period of 12 - 23 December 2012. This time marks the end of the ‘Long Count’ Mayan Calendar, so it’s a good time to have an event with the theme of transformation, which is what 2012 is all about. The event will be a journey through various music scapes, uniting related forms of electronic music into the weave of the dance. But it doesn’t end with music Cosmogenesis will give participants real transformative tools in the form of workshops, lectures, films, ceremonies and performances. Here you can bask in a multi-

LOVE AND LIGHT DAY PARTY IS BACK 22 Dec’ 12 feat. PROTONICA & ATMOS The third Love and Light is set to take place on Saturday 22 December 2012 at the spectacular Mountain Shadows in Paarl featuring top international progressive psytrance acts Protonica and Atmos, as well as a selection of South Africa's leading underground artists. (Read our features on both international artists on Pg. 24). The event will be a full day 12-hour electronic music experience, starting at 10 am on Saturday morning and ending at 10 pm on Saturday night, and is no more than 63 km's from Cape Town. Camping gear is not required. Love and Light supports the local community and encourages party-goers to make the most of

the weekend and book into some of the local B&B’s and guesthouses in the area. For those who don’t wish to drive, there will be a return bus to take festivalgoers there and back safely. Facilities and attractions include: ! comfortable eating areas ! fully licensed bar ! a crystal clear fresh water dam to splash around in and river to explore ! intention-induced chill-out areas

layered environment to explore your many modes of being on planet earth – from drumming to dance, spirituality, the environment and recreating your life in a positive way. The focal point of Cosmogenesis is the dancefloor, for it will be housed in one of Carin Dickson’s psychedelic artworks - what she calls “The Lightship Temple”. She aims to make this structure her greatest creation to date, a stunning mix of sacred geometry and light art. The venue is “The Valley of Stars” in eastern Free State. Tickets will be on sale online through the website, http://cosmogenesis2012.com

Neelix

Helpful links: Love and Light Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/loveandlightCT Love and Light event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/46706328 9978879/

TRUTH CELEBRATES 13 YEARS! Johannesburg’s most loved underground clubbing institution blows out the candles on another year dedicated to delivering only the finest in electronic dance music to its bevy of loyal patrons. Connecting the dots between house, techno, electro and trance, Truth has stayed relevant by constantly reinventing itself through the music. The club would be nothing without the vision and hard work of the staff and DJs as well as the dedicated clubbers who flock to the club every weekend. On Saturday 1 December, Truth celebrates thirteen years at the forefront of South Africa’s dance music

scene with a birthday celebration featuring no less than four of the finest international artists from across the globe headlining three separate dance arenas. Gracing the decks at Truth on this auspicious occasion are: Terrace/Main Floor (House) ! Stimming Upstairs @Truth(Deep Tech/ Techno) ! Zombie Soundsystem feat. Shane Watcha (UK) ! Nekes (Germany) Truth Trance Room (Trance) ! Ben Nicky (UK)

REZONANCE NYE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THIS YEAR’S THEME 29 December 2012 - 1 January 2013 | Cape Town, South Africa The theme for this year’s Rezonance NYE Festival is Transformation. 'I Am Because We Are' Only 20 minutes from Cape Town, the festival returns to the beautiful and historical Contermanskloof Estate in Durbanville. Featuring two dance floors and an ambient lounge with over 80 of the best local and international acts over four days, the multi-genre festival continually showcases the best there is to offer. International acts confirmed thus far include X-Noise, Major 7, Avalon, ATeam, Bliss, Painkiller and homegrown boys, Rinkadink, Rex, Lost & Found, returning to our shores for the event. This year Rezonance will also focus

more on enhancing the festival experience with new features such as the Chill Temple, the Heartbreak Motel, additional green initiatives, the Info Stand and much more. “Dreaming of a world where anything is possible we continue until it is at least probable. Get on the bus, party on. Always Further.” For more info: www.rezonancefestival.com

Stimming

NEW RELEASE: Underground Overground The Commercial Hippies Underground Overground is a five-track EP brought to you by psy-trance legends The Commercial Hippies. Moving with the times, the EP is available for free download on www.commercialhippies.com “The inspiration for Underground Overground came straight from the dancefloors of the festivals, parties and clubs of Cape Town,” says Anton. The five-track collection contains musical influences from punk, hip hop and electro to country and disco. “It is a culmination of the work we’ve done over the last three years, and represents where we are musically as far as psy-trance is concerned,” adds Gareth. “This EP is a fusion of many things celebrating the psy culture and music.” The psytrance duo has a busy season ahead with tours in both Brazil and Australia planned, and of course they’ll be rocking dancefloors in South Africa. “This EP, available for free download, is a thank you to our fans,” concludes Gareth.

EDM FEST LAUNCHES THIS DECEMBER The all new EDM Fest will take place on 15 December at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg and on 16 December at the CTICC in Cape Town. NuWave Entertainment and Tinderbox are bringing some of the world’s top EDM DJs to thousands of South African electronic dance music lovers for one united display of mind-blowing trance, progressive trance and live vocal performances. The wheelchair friendly venue will be transformed into a first class party location with bars stretching over a 150 meters, food areas catering for a variety

of tastes and ATM machines inside the venue grounds. VIP’s will enjoy a separate raised area, with exclusive bars and couches, overlooking the main dance floor to take in the full view and revel in the electrifying experience of what the night will bring. Attendees can expect a number of internationally acclaimed acts such as World #13 Gareth Emery; World #36 W&W; World #74 Lange; South Africa’s #1 Trance DJ Protoculture and Sarah Howells performing a live vocal set.

10 COLUMNIST By The Little Misfit

The Little Misfit

SOLDIERS OF PSY-TRANCE LIKE AN ARMY CAMOUFLAGED FOR A TRIP TO THE RAINBOW, PARTY PEOPLE CAN BE PLACED INTO DIFFERENT RANKS here’s nothing quite like the disdain veteran tranceheads have for the noobs invading the annual summer dancefloor.The vets feel a sense of ownership over the party battleground. Some collect wrist bands like badges of honour; the lumo plastic bracelets find a permanent home on their tattooed arms. They’ve been to war (who hasn’t felt like that after a party), and it was psychedelic. Like notches on the butt of a rifle, the more parties you’ve been to the higher your status is within the trance community. For these decorated jar-heads trance festivals are so much more than just a party, but a vocation to be taken seriously. It becomes a lifestyle choice more than just a way to let loose - so it’s not surprising this feeling of wanting to defend it. Like an army camouflaged for a trip to the rainbow, party people can be placed into different ranks.

“THIS ISN'T SOME SHALLOW OBSESSION, SOME TRANSIENT FAD - HERE TODAY AND TECHNO TOMORROW.” Wallowing at the very bottom of the system are the Privates. These are those kids who’ve woven fake dreads into their hair and look like they got into a fight with a bucket of glitter - the noobs. They throw themselves into the heart of combat - the middle of the dancefloor - and instil a rigorous training regime to prepare for the long summer ahead: 40 minutes on the dancefloor, an hour mission to the car bar, 40 minutes on the dancefloor, an hour mission to the car bar, and so on. Moving up the ranks we get the Corporals; they’ve been to a couple of parties now, so they’ve lost the fake dreads, and have acquired enough clout to lord over the privates - oh you’ve only been to two parties…The corporals take a more relaxed approach, and breakup the training regime with regular intervals at the swimming hole.

Photo-credit: Image: Captain Hook – Psytrance artist

After a couple of seasons, once say you’ve been to at least two Earthdances, you can safely call yourself a sergeant. You’re now knowledgeable enough to be prepared for all eventualities. You know that drinking from an open cup on the dance floor will only end up splashed down your front, so you bring your booze in a sealed bottle. You come prepared for rain, no matter how sunny it’s supposed to be. And you can carry an expert conversation about the line-up. Then we get the real veterans. The regiment that’s stomped their way to the top of the hierarchy - those faces that are as familiar as the scent of nag champa, who’ve been tagged in countless party Facebook albums, and are close personal friends with bartenders/door staff/ DJs/ pizza guy. Let’s call them the Lieutenants. These guys are always overlooking the party, whether it’s propping up the bar, standing back stage with their BFF stage manager, or holding court on the perimeter of the dancefloor.

But of course, every army needs its Generals - who else but the people who make the music? The DJs and producers command the dance floor with their tunes, front left, front right, front left, front right… Okay, I think you see where I’m going with this. But in all seriousness the military dedication tranceheads apply to their partying is admirable (pun intended). In what other electronic music scene are people so fiercely protective? Those who are into psytrance are prepared to go to war for it, metaphorically of course. They’ll defend their preferred sub-genre of trance at all costs. It’s an all-consuming habit, and therein lies the magic of these parties and the culture attached to it. This isn’t some shallow obsession, some transient fad - here today and techno tomorrow. Once the psy bug has bitten, it’s got you for life. And if you make it past the private stage, you’ve also most likely made friends for life, I know I have and that’s something worth fighting for. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

12 COVER FEATURE

By Sergio Pereira

DECKS OF FURY: THE STEVE AOKI WAY

eading the first paragraph of Steve Aoki’s biography - “I’m a time travelling, speed reading, fortune telling, machine gunning, gypsy loving, scuba diving, multi-tasking, poker playing fan of life.”- you can easily see that he’s another cum laude graduate of The Charlie Sheen School of Winning. Steve doesn’t just bring the party; he is the party. His shows aren’t just your MacBookenhanced, run-of-the-mill, one-arm-in-the-air DJ sets, but a whole rock star glittered affair complete with stage dives, champagne spraying and crowd surfing on an inflatable raft. The stage antics are part of his charm; so my first questions when I get him on the phone is ‘has anything embarrassing ever happened, whilst he attempted the outrageous’? “Yeah, of course,” he laughs. “Trying to pop a bottle of champagne and the cork won’t come off - things like that. Everything you can imagine has happened... I tried to chase someone and totally missed (laughs).”

“MORE THAN ANYTHING WITH THIS KIND OF MUSIC, IT'S PURELY AN UNDERGROUND ART FORM. IT'S RELYING ALMOST ENTIRELY ON THE BEAT …”

SUMMER PARTY IN MZANSI In December, Steve will be bringing the party to South Africa for three special dates. This isn’t his first visit - he was out here in April 2010 - and he remembers Mzansi quite fondly. “It’s a brand new culture for me; I’d never been down there before. Just driving around the city, eating the food, hanging out with the people, [and] I spent a couple of days at the Kruger National Park - and really got to see nature and wildlife; I love this kind of stuff. Then, I went to see a beach and went shark-diving. So, I really tried to explore as much as I could, outside of just doing the shows.” This time around, Steve’s local shows will be, arguably, bigger than the ones in 2010. Does he have any expectations for the tour? “I’m always looking forward to playing ‘new’ places, because I don’t go [to South

Africa] that much,” Steve says, “I haven’t been there in 2 years, and I’ve put out so much music since then and now; So, I just can’t wait to play all my new music, all these new records that are inspiring me right now - and give back more [to the crowds].”

SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION His connection to our country stems beyond the shows, however, since Steve recently signed local electro house producer, Haezer, to his famed label Dim Mak Records. “I’ve known of Haezer for a while - for at least two or three years. I’ve been a fan of his production for a long time; I’ve known of his sound and always wanted to put out his music.” Steve elaborates on how the partnership developed. “Just recently, we started talking, and he was writing his EP [The Wrong Kid Died] and he sent me some of the songs - and it was exactly up my alley. I’m just a big fan of his work, and really, really excited that we put out the EP; it’s his best body of work he’s ever done, in my opinion, and he’s touring all over the world around it.”

The party kingpin adds that his trip down here might also end up being a scouting and knowledge-gaining expedition. “I’m always learning and I want to be more educated. So, when I go down there, I want to hear more producers and artists coming from your country.” Additionally, he discusses his love for Lady Gaga’s recent arch-nemesis. “I’m a big fan of Die Antwoord, since day one actually. I’ve become friends with Ninja and he’s a great guy. What Die Antwoord is doing is incredibly innovative and original; their style of music, the flows, and the production everything about them is out of this world.”

POST-WONDERLAND Despite being actively involved in the EDM scene for years, it took Steve quite some time to drop his debut full-length album, Wonderland, which was only released in January of this year. Will his next full-length be released much quicker? “Oh, yeah,” he exhales. “This first album was basically a guinea pig for me. I really took the album on my own terms. I mean, we reached out to all the artists ourselves. Also, my touring schedule was really one of the big cruxes of why it took so long. I was touring so much that I didn’t have much studio time; it was sporadic. That also changes the whole writing process - when you’re in the studio for two weeks straight, you’re gonna have a flow, with songwriting, that is gonna move faster than doing it over the course of four months.” “This next album, I’m really taking time out for it. I had a hectic schedule this year probably the most amount of miles, and I might even crack three-hundred gigs in 2012. At the end of this year, I’m gonna slow down, and, in January/February, really focus on studio time for this album. Plus, I have other projects. Not just my album, but I’ll be working on producing with an actual band. So, I’m expanding outside of dance music; I want to do other productions and more in that world.”

CROSSING OVER It’s interesting that Steve highlights crossing over, because Dim Mak recently signed J Devil, aka Jonathan Davis, whose metal band, Korn, jumped into the electronic music world with 2011’s The Path of Totality. Does Steve see more and more artists, like Korn, taking the plunge into EDM soon? “You have to have the heart for it. More than anything with this kind of music, it’s purely an underground art form. It’s relying

almost entirely on the beat; it’s not really relying on a vocal superstar. There’s pop sensibility in dance music, but it’s all about the music itself. So, the authenticity factor to why you’re doing this music is extremely important. Whereas, if you’re a pop star, you could be completely manufactured and you could be huge; people will love you. In this world, you can’t do that; it’s an underground thing. No matter how big it gets, especially in America, it’s still underground. You can’t hear this on the radio. You can’t hear this on national television. The kids choose it - it’s a completely democratic way of listening to music. The kids pick these albums. The kids pick their favourite artists. It’s word of mouth; it’s the internet - you have to discover it and you choose to like it yourself. For an artist that comes into this world, as long as they believe in the soul and essence of it, and improve their craft to be at the level of other artists, they’re always gonna have some sort of [fan] base,” Steve concludes.

For more information on Steve Aoki, please visit steveaoki.com. Steve Aoki and Nicky Romero will be performing across SA this December. Tour Dates: Friday 7 December at the Wavehouse in Durban Friday 7 December in Cape Town - a massive Harrington Street block party Saturday 8 December at H2O Wild Waters in Johannesburg

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16 ARTIST Q ‘n A By Mary Honeychild

UPFRONT WITH

GARETH EMERY

omething of a musical prodigy, Gareth Emery’s talent was realised on piano at 4 and then guitar when he was fifteen. Sure, it sounds a bit like a typical DJ cliché [especially the piano bit, Ed], but the guy really did make his musical prowess count with his instant classic, Mistral, which he evidently wrote on a laptop at age, 22. He’s also a man known to have shunned major record label attention and is an outspoken, confident player in the field of EDM. Ahead of his visit for the EDM Fest Tour on 15 and 16 December, Mary Honeychild chatted to Emery who revealed his tendency for being upfront, as he talked about the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll, his opinion of DJs who do nothing but play other producers' music and of course his unpredictable adventure in Syria two years ago.

You've been nominated several times for the Miami IMDA Best Podcast award, what from your experience makes up the essence of a great listening mix/podcast? The key ingredient is good taste in music. If you haven’t got that, you’re going to struggle. I have always had my own taste in music and feel fortunate that so many people seem to connect with the music I pick. I think the show also works as it’s so short. Fifteen tracks in an hour makes for a very short, sharp look at the best dance music releases of the moment.

EDM FEST TOUR DATES Nasrec Expo Centre CTICC Johannesburg Cape Town 15 December 2012 16 December 2012

www.edmfest.co.za

One of your latest EP releases 'Concrete Angel' is another add on to your long list of great production work. What was the creative process behind this EP? It was originally written as an acoustic track by Christina who sings on the record, it had potential and I felt like turning it into an electronic track. It was far from easy; the original tempo was 105 BPM so we needed to re-record a few parts of the vocal so it worked at a faster tempo over an electronic backing. I also kept going back to re-work the track as my original interpretation of it didn’t have enough energy. I think it took three months from conception to completion, although it’s been my biggest track of late, so it was definitely worth it.

“MOST OF THE LEADING PRODUCERS IN THE WORLD HAVE ENGINEERS HELPING THEM IN THE STUDIO TO SOME EXTENT.” In last year's voting you sat at the number thirteen spot on the DJ Mag TOP 100 Poll and this year you're at number fourteen. What in your opinion is the significance and relevance of a poll of this kind and why do you think you have stayed so steadily in the top rankings of it over the last few years? I don’t really think it’s relevant. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to be high in it, and I’ve been the highest British DJ every year since 2009. But I look at this year’s list and it looks like a bit of a joke. From top to bottom it’s full of inaccuracies. It isn’t really an accurate gauge of whose popular or who is selling the most tickets, as there are people outside the list who sell more tickets than one or two people in the top ten. It’s always flattering to see your name in such a list, but given the state of this year’s list, I don’t think it retains any credibility. In the last year, I’ve sold out a lot more shows at number thirteen than when I was number seven… so being lower really means nothing. What is your opinion of DJs who don't produce their own music? Most of the leading producers in the world have engineers helping them in the studio to some extent. I think it depends how much they do. You have some artists like Armin who used to produce all his own stuff, but now works with Benno de Goeij from Rank 1, and I totally get that. The guy is busy, you can understand why he doesn’t have that much time, and he’s very open and honest about it. Then you have another act, who I won’t name, where the DJ is literally the ‘face’, a guy who’s never been in a studio in his life and who’s essentially been hired by a team of producers to front a project. When can we next expect a new album release from you, and is there anything in the pipeline? 2013 for sure. I’ve written most of it, it’s just a case of testing the tracks in the clubs to make sure they’re right, and adding vocals to some of them. I can say for sure it’s going to be the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m excited. Your tour schedule is jam packed with gigs all over the world spanning, China, Australia, Thailand, Spain, USA and of course SA. From all of the gigs on your rotation which country or city has pleasantly surprised you in the past in a way that is probably unforgettable?

Probably Damascus, Syria, around Christmas in 2010. There I was detained at the airport for an hour because I didn't have a visa, with my passport confiscated and everyone speaking Arabic. It looked as if I was going to get deported until the promoter arrived and somehow got me in. Then I went straight to the show, which had been moved outside as they’d lost their club venue due to licensing at the last minute. It was freezing cold, but there were thousands of people there and the show was amazing. After that, I ended up going to an all night after party before my flight home at nine AM the next morning, without even seeing my hotel the whole trip. Those twelve hours in Syria… were certainly unforgettable. What do you think may be the secret behind the success of your Garuda party selling out Manchester's legendary Sankeys four times in a row, which ultimately led to your critically acclaimed compilation, The Sound Of Garuda? Every time we put on a show, whether it’s in Manchester or across the world, we not only

pick a great line up, but spend a lot of money on production to ensure the show is truly special. I think after our first few shows, people realised Garuda parties were quite special, and kept coming back. You've played in South Africa during the Spring/Summer party season in Cape Town and Joburg in 2011. What are your memories of the last time you were here and what are you looking forward to this time? Cape Town was amazing… Joburg was amazing until it started raining like crazy. I was playing on soaking wet decks and the sound system cut out about three times. That said, I still played through my set and the super hardcore crowd went with me. So I’m excited to go back and do Joburg properly in slightly better conditions. If people come out ready to go absolutely crazy they’ll go back having had the night of their lives. I can’t wait!

20 FEATURE

By Sergio Pereira

HERE'S TO YOU, PORTER ROBINSON… “WHEN YOU'RE CONSTANTLY ON THE ROAD AND BEING EXPOSED TO NEW MUSIC, IT'S HARD NOT TO BE INSPIRED BY NEW STUFF ALL THE TIME…”

t’s 12pm in the City of Angels (Los Angeles), which means it’s 9pm in the City of Strikers (Johannesburg). “I just woke up,” Porter Robinson groggily proclaims after our initial introduction. Well, I’m in my fluffy slippers, old man pants and sipping warm milk, Porter; so, technically speaking, we’re both tip-toeing in the Sandman’s desert right about now. Suddenly, his internal alarm clock goes off and Porter comes to life with a chuckle, nonetheless, I bet he still wishes he was tucked away in his warm hotel bed.

Homesick Apart from being Skrillex’s BFF,

exchanging high fives with deadmau5 and Tiësto at the biggest EDM festivals in the world, and becoming a seasoned road warrior in the process, Porter is still very much a regular twenty-year-old, who misses hanging out with his high school friends from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “Yeah, I totally miss them,” Porter affirms. “Even though I don’t see them quite so much, I think they’re all supportive. Whenever I’m [playing] locally, I always invite them out and treat them well. I spend a lot of time missing home. My home is one of the most important things in the world to me. Not to say that I don’t like my immense privilege of getting to tour all the time. Touring is amazing; I love getting to share music with people - but I also truly love being at

home with my dog [and friends and family]… I get homesick.”

EP vs. LP Not trying to depress the poor guy before he has even gulped his first cup of coffee, the conversation shifts to the general feedback of his most recent EP, Spitfire. “I find the thing that people have told me about it is that it’s kind of multi-genre. I’ve been known for doing electro-house [yet, this EP] incorporated other tempos and BPMs. But yeah, it’s so weird, you know? When you’re constantly on the road and being exposed to new music, it’s hard not to be inspired by new stuff all the time. So, Spitfire feels so old to me

now; I hardly feel like the same artist who made that,” Porter says. This declaration obviously leads to the discussion of new music. In previous interviews with other publications, Porter has been sidestepping the question: will his next body of work be an EP or an LP? I decide to push for a more concrete answer and ask if he’s made a decision yet. Porter clarifies, “The thing that will determine it, ultimately, is just the volume of music that I make. I’m going to selfimpose a deadline on this thing; I’m giving myself a point, and at that point it needs to be done. It just depends on how much I have done by then. I guess, regardless of how many tracks it has, I want this to have the soul of an EP and the heart of an LP. Things will be arranged in a coherent way and it’s going to tell a story. [Whether it ends up an LP or an EP], this will be structured more like an album - no matter how many tracks end up on it.”

Speaking Everyone’s Language One already-decided musical output we can expect is Porter’s recently-completed collaboration with British beat-master Mat Zo. “In terms of the sound, it’s got something in common with Language but [it’s also] got this disco, soulful thing to it. We used this classic disco-diva sample for the vocals, and it’s played on some

pretty powerful, emotional instruments. Basically, it started off as one of Mat Zo’s songs; I heard it and told him that I wanted to remix it. He said, ‘Why don’t we make this a collaboration?’” He continues, “I’m really excited for it to come out, but I don’t know when it’s going to be released… I think people will really like it, though.” Interestingly, the young producer brought up the comparison to Language, the entrancing smash-hit that has ignited the charts and parties around South Africa. I tell him about the track’s success in SA, and query the possibility of a visit from him soon. “It just depends on whether I get booked. I’d absolutely love to come; I just haven’t gotten the offers in yet,” he adds. “[It’s good to hear that] Language is doing well there. That song has surprised me with the fact it is charting internationally. Most of my music, to this point, has performed well within the DJ circles and the United States - for the most part but I’ve been pleasantly surprised to hear it’s been doing well abroad as well.”

Artistic Integrity Chatting about factors that may influence releases, Porter states that integrity and art should always come first in music - no compromise. In the past, he has also been quoted as saying that consistency and

points of emphasis are important in one’s music. Trying to understand his psyche even better, I ask him to explain what he thinks makes Porter Robinson distinctive and stand out from the rest? “I’ve always said this before: the hope is that the music will speak for itself. I try to make sure that my music is effortful and detailed; I always put enough effort into it that I’ll feel satisfied artistically. Also, I’m pretty obsessed with emotion [in songs]; these days, I go into a song with a concept,” he says. “I don’t know… There are artists who have similar philosophies [as I], but I’m just trying to do what I love, I guess (laughs).” Well, doing what he loves has lead to him achieving so much so soon. Having already hit several pinnacles at the age of twenty, what sort of goals and motivation keep him going? “Right now, one of my goals is to try to write some more sounds and material. I try to just follow my muse [and] write music that is special, beautiful and especially emotional. I hope to keep raising the bar and to do something unique. But again, it’s much easier said than done, and people will believe it when they see it. It’s so hard to talk about what you’re up to… I kind of want [people] to discover it for themselves.” For more information on Porter Robinson, you can visit www.porterrobinsonofficial.com

22 Q ‘n A

By Nathan Kabingesi

DJ BUBBLES NATHAN SITS DOWN WITH THE LEGENDAR Y DJ BUBBLES TO TALK VINYL, JAZZ AND MAKING LOVE MUSIC

ubbles is the kind of guy they had in mind when they coined the term O.G.; everything about him exudes an easy selfassurance that says, “I’ve been there, done that, printed my own t-shirt.”

So, who is DJ Bubbles? Bubbles is (after a pause) a vinyl junkie, crate digger, lover of music and all things eclectic. What was it like watching House and Hip-Hop coming into their own as musical genres? I didn’t really know what it all was at the time, but you could see how much the youth were into it, whether it was hiphop, dance music; it was just a privilege to be around during those golden years and watch the growth of all these movements and all of them produced the DJ you see before you today.

EITHER YOU CAN MOAN AND COMPLAIN, OR YOU CAN SAY, “HEY, HERE’S WHAT WE’RE DOING…” AND BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL.

How did you get involved mixing the Flispide House compilations? Flipside Records put out an ad requesting mixes, so I submitted and on my way home I got a call from Lady Lea who said, “How would you like to mix the next Flipside House compilation?” I was like “Word?!” Flipside House 2 came out in September 2000, and it was basically house played at 33 bpm instead of 45. My style was always gonna be different ‘cos I favoured a lot of jazzy stuff. Your sets are unpredictably eclectic and played only off vinyl. There a philosophy behind this? As a DJ, when you invite me to play, I’ll play what I’m feeling. Pandering to a crowd is no fun, it becomes mechanical,

and you end up just playing whatever records are hot. I try to stand out and bring something fresh. Some DJ’s get nervous and play what they think people want to hear and more often than not lose people. How different was the scene when you were coming up to how it is now? Yo man, a lot has changed. In Pretoria there were so many night clubs, there was variety, before commerciality took over. Even radio was cool, you weren’t bombarded. Then the majors figured out how to infiltrate and start dictating trends. One youth station, back when they started out, they were more open to different stuff, nowadays, not so much. The biggest problem right now is when producers/ labels get lazy they start conforming to popular taste and become complacent. Tell us about your label, Urban Touch Recordings. When I joined USM, they had been going a little mainstream and then they started bringing in more off-beat stuff. Then they got swallowed by a bigger label and things changed. So I decided to start Urban Touch Recordings in 2005. My vision was bringing out Love Music - I want it to be a platform for cats that are already creating music that they love - music that when you hear it, you’re blown way and in that

way I’m contributing, positively, to making it (the industry) better. It’s all about the integrity of and love for the artform and respect for it, if anything it’s how you respect it that sets it apart from all the whack shit. Either you can moan and complain, or you can say, “Hey, here’s what we’re doing…” and blaze your own trail. What should we be anticipating from the label in the near future? There’s a bunch of talented guys who are making amazing music right now; Mac P, Mo Nexus, Blue Buttons, and Soul Speak. I’m also getting together with Soul Sista, who’s written quite a lot of material; and with the producers mentioned earlier, we’re putting together something really special. Compilations these days have one or two strong tracks, the rest are fillers; what we’re trying to do is make albums that you’ll wanna keep and maybe hand down to your kids; quality over quantity. If you put your all into something, and people go out there and buy it, then I think that’s a fair transaction. We’re trying to be honest, keep integrity intact and let the product sell itself; we might even get back to selling from backpacks, actually connect with people. That’s what we’re creating. Check out the Urban Touch Soundcloud link here: http://soundcloud.com/urban-touchrecordings

24 ARTIST Q ‘n A

By Mary Honeychild

ATMOS “I'M NOT REALLY A FAN OF 8 BIT NINTENDO PROZAC HAPPY PING PONG MELODIES… IT SOUNDS SO CATCHY AND GEEKY.” tmos is an alternative electronic music producer/DJ whose upfront, no ego attitude towards making music and DJing has led him down a creative production path incorporating old Goa Trance and his interpretations of Minimal, Electro and Deep House. He talks to us about his ‘freak of nature tune’ track Klein Aber Doctor, his opinion on Minimal soundscapes and what Love & Light Outdoor Festival attendees can look forward to.

What do you think was the relevance and reason for the inspirational effect your track Klein Aber Doctor had on other producers? As a young dude, I was fascinated by many different styles of electronic music and DJ's at the time, and it helped me merge all the cool music I heard into one song somehow. I think the inspirational effect would be that from that time all producers who heard it knew it's actually okay to create a freak of nature. With your most recent album, Tour de Trance released in 2008, you painted a vivid fairytale of the story behind the 'conception' of this release's all new faceted sound; combining Deep House groove elements with typical Goa Trance. What initially led you down this production path? It was when all DJs around me were moving more towards electro/minimal and the tempo dropped down to 126 -130 bpm. I was OK with the tempo but I didn't really agree on all the soundscapes that minimal and electro house brought along. I'm not really a fan of 8 bit Nintendo Prozac happy ping pong melodies… it sounds so catchy and geeky. I chose to follow the tempo trend but decided instead to colour the songs on that album the way I thought made this type of music sound more interesting. Given your obvious love, knowledge and passion for good quality electronic music that is friendly and perfectly dancefloor suited; what do you believe electronic music producers should hold as a primary priority when making music? If you as a producer just concentrate on the fact that a song is only say seven minutes of a DJ set and not a whole life story then you kind of understand that it's better to produce

something that generally fits into a two hour set of almost any progressive trance DJ rather than something that has to be so outstanding that perhaps it's hard to fit into those one hundred and twenty minutes that people normally judge a DJ for. You are currently working on your fifth album, when is that due out for release and what sort of story can we hope this one to tell? This time on ‘604’ as I call the new album, you can expect to hear uncle Atmos finding his way back into the roots of the Headcleaner era. I have understood somehow that I need to supply my listeners/fans with the trance music I once became famous for. It's a piece of music I started maybe two years ago, some of the tunes you will hear on that album started as simple test areas for new kicks and basses that I later decided to finish as songs and add to the album.

on bringing to the table for your Love & Light performance and what can local trance fans hope to experience from you this December? A set tailor made for the dancer/neuronaut containing music they will remember as a gift. My sets are about making the crowd want to go to another party like that soon, again, and not to make one special DJ look like he's the only one in the universe that can do this. Really anyone can do this if you prepare yourself enough before, and have a feeling for dance music. In all of your extensive years of DJing what have you discovered best describes a quality outdoor party DJ set? Being prepared and if the promoter trusts you enough to give you a three to four hour slot where you can tell a good story. I have been booked many times lately to play marathon sets like that and I really love it… no extra charge.

The Psytrance scene in South Africa has enjoyed a strong and steady following with a large audience preference to the full-on Psy sound; and more recently a move to the sounds of Progressive Trance with the success of parties like Love & Light. What do you plan

The third LOVE AND LIGHT is set to take place on Saturday 22 December 2012 at the spectacular Mountain Shadows in Paarl. The event will be a full day 12-hour electronic music experience, starting at 10am on Saturday morning and ending at 10pm on Saturday night, and is no more than 63 km's from Cape Town.

PROTONICA “WE ARE FOCUSING MORE ON OURSELVES IN ORDER TO CREATE SOMETHING OF OUR OWN, SO WE SET OURSELVES APART FROM BERLIN AND FROM THE REST OF GERMANY.” erman Progressive Psy Trance producer/DJ duo, Protonica made up of Ralf Dietze & Piet Kaempfer will be delivering a live set of PsyProg at the upcoming annual Love & Light Outdoor Day Festival. A conversation with Ralf reveals truths about their Techno producing split personalities, growing into the art of music producing and the socially accepted aspect of Progressive Trance.

PHOTO: MARCUS GEBHARDT

Your latest album Form Follows Function reflects a solid Progressive Trance delivery. Was there any specific sound template you guys were working with? We did not have any special sound template or a particular concept or idea. Certainly, we are inspired by other artists while we collect our own new ideas for our tracks. The music we listen to does not always come from the trance genre. For us it is important to realise the track's musicality, hence we are producers. With album sales never being the incentive these days do you feel you achieved what you’d set out to do with the album? An album is a showcase of oneself, or rather, like a fingerprint. We are delighted that people around the world like our music as well as all the bookings that have come along with this album, so yes we are indeed happy.

electronic music. But, we are not heavily incorporated or integrated into the Berlin scene. You could put it this way, we are focusing more on ourselves in order to create something of our own, so we set ourselves apart from Berlin and from the rest of Germany. Nevertheless, Berlin is an interesting city with many facets in electronic music and culture.

The sound of your previous album, Search, reflected a more traditional psytrance sound but you’ve since moved to a more progressive soundscape. Would you agree? We aren't getting any younger! This has developed over time. We kind of felt that we wanted to move away from full sounds to drier and more progressive sounds. In the past the music was more guided and decisive by Psy, something we are familiar with because we have both worked in the psytrance scene for a long time.

How would you describe the Progressive Trance scene in Germany and how have you seen it change over the past five years in your country? Since the scene in Germany has existed for quite a while there are many long-term followers. It has grown over time also through new members from the commercial trance scene. This is because Progressive Trance continues to be more socially accepted. Thanks to and through all the social networks like Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, etc. a new and young generation is also being reached and therefore everything is growing faster.

You’re both from Berlin, the home for techno enthusiasts across the world. How does your choice or preference of Progressive Trance differentiate you from the electronic music scene in Berlin and also the rest of Germany? Sure, without a doubt Berlin is a platform for

It's very simple. We don’t want to produce merely trance. With Kaempfer & Dietze we have the freedom to switch to techno thus creating some distance between trance and vice versa. Previously, we had established ourselves with Kaempfer & Dietze in Progressive House. Now we’d like to return to techno. It is important for us, to keep our two projects absolutely separate. The two scenes are two different pairs of shoes. So you haven't yet considered doing an amalgam of your two favourite electronic music sounds into one production project or has there been any curiosity regarding an idea of this kind? Yes, we have indeed planned that in the past. But nothing came out of it. As I said, two pairs of different shoes.

You also produce Progressive House/Techno under the moniker 'Kaempfer & Dietze.' What was your motivation behind this additional project?

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT ACCOMMODATION NEAR THE EVENT, PLEASE GO TO THE EVENT PAGE. Helpful links: Love and Light Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/loveandlightCT Love and Light event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/467063289978879/

28 Feature

By Levi Letsoko Photo: Kevin Goss-Ross

JR'S READY TO KOOL THE SUMMER SOUTH AFRICAN RECORDING ARTIST JR BOGOPA TALKS TO BPM MAGAZINE ABOUT HIS NEWEST ALBUM AND FUTURE PLANS. hile most of his peers are still trying to make sense of the business workings of the South African music industry, JR Bogopa is in the driving seat of his career - artistically and commercially and at the same time enjoying every ride as it comes. “My last album Colorful (The Beega Edition) had an impressive reception from a much broader audience. The benchmark for my new album, titled Kool Forever, was very high,” says JR. He adds: “I have been working very hard in the studio to put together a diversified body of work for this album. I played around with different sounds to come up with something that defines the different cultures in our continent.” It has been quite a challenging journey for the Pretoria born lad, mostly mistook for a one hit wonder after his release of the slam hit Gata Lenna. On his latest offering JR has collaborated with Louise Carver to cook up a cross-over jam. This is a format that he has openly exploited from the beginning of his career. “I come from an era where local rappers are victims being boxed into a certain cage and tied down by street credibility which limits them to producing work strictly intended for a rap audience. I took a stand to go against all of that!” affirms JR. That could not have been an easy decision to make. Especially in an industry that is struggling to maintain its own market when compared to the House/ Dance scene. “I have another epic collaboration with a singer called Nokwazi on a song called Muntu. Nokwazi is popular for being the main vocalist on the Brothers of Peace song called Wamuhle,” he elaborates. Bogopa is focused on maintaining a level head and a strong will not to allow his achievements to derail him from his future goals in any way.

“I currently own a 100% margin of my music. I am an independent act and I have always dreamed of giving a helping hand to other talented young people by helping them launch their music careers through my own establishment,” he enthuses. “I don’t see myself performing music forever. I will definitely be sharing my knowledge and experiences with other upand-coming artists and giving them much needed musical direction. I am very passionate about the music industry as a business and I take it very seriously,” he adds. In partnership with the well known youth clothing designers-Loxion Kulca-, JR had an opportunity to launch his own sneaker range known as Colorful. Bogopa thinks very highly of his ideas, as he believes that every idea is an investment opportunity which possesses very high commercial benefits when managed properly. “It is important to maintain a strong relationship with the corporate clients as well. I joined forces with the sweet brand Smoothies to put together an event called ‘Colourful Nights’ at night spots around

Pretoria - which is hosted every first Thursday of every month,” says JR. “The support has once again been incredible. We bring the nights back to life and the people are embracing us with their support,” adds Bogopa. Being the brains behind Boza’s Kitchen, a buy and braai spot, JR is also planning to create a similar setup in Soweto with the intention of having a solid business base outside of his music career. Behind the hard-core, streetwise business demeanor- JR is also very handy with numerous charity organizations with their social responsibility initiatives. He is currently on the verge of being appointed as a Representative for the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) to highlight the urgency of blood donations. About his latest offering he says, “Kool Forever is packed with a lot of surprises. There is a lot of beautiful music on it and my maturity as an individual as well as an artist is evident.” In closing he adds, “It’s important that I spread my wings to other African countries, hence my collaboration with Cabo Snoop and AKA. These are two artists who are very well recognized both in SA and beyond our own borders.” The first single from Kool Forever is Phuma which is on high rotation on major radio stations. The album will be available at music stores from the first week of November 2012.

30 FEATURE By Tendai Luwo

NICK HOLDER STILL HOLDING IT DOWN

n any industry longevity seems to be the elixir of life, greatly desired but awfully illusive. So when an artist like Nick Holder comes along and stays put for 20 odd years, you best believe there has to be something special about him. And what would it hurt if BPM tried to find out? The name Nick Holder is synonymous with house music. For South African house music junkies in particular, you can’t think Nick Holder without thinking Summer Daze. But Nick was around long before that single was released in 2001 and fondly reminisces about the joys of yesteryear “so much has changed since the good old days of vinyl. Back in the day we just had House and Soulful Techno from Detroit, now we got so many genres of House and Techno. DJing was a skill, you had to know how to mix two records back to back and rock the crowd.” Fast forward a few years and Nick decides to make a move that’s becoming more and more popular with international DJs and producers; he moves to SA. “I had many offers to DJ here back in 2000 but turned them down. Then a friend of mine - producer Abacus - said I need to go to SA, my music is well known there, so in 2009 I decided to visit. When I landed in SA I was in shock, I could not get over how big deep house was here. Then I heard the music the SA producers were making and I said to myself, “so this is where deep house is hiding out.” The fruits of this bold move are clear to see. The list of local collaborations is endless and has ultimately resulted in a heavily South African inspired album released by Nick this year. New experiences and environments aside though, he admits the making of this album was a challenge. It was originally due for release in 2007 but a host of setbacks resulted in it being held back till now. That hasn’t taken anything away from the greatness of the album and it even

“DJING WAS A SKILL, YOU HAD TO KNOW HOW TO MIX TWO RECORDS BACK TO BACK AND ROCK THE CROWD.” features local acts such as Lee Ann King, Moneoa and spoken word artist Sphelele. Released with Baainar Records and distributed by Soul Candi, it seems My Sound has finally received the royal treatment it deserved all along. Back in the studio, Nick has also been working closely with other local producers and offering them a little wisdom and guidance. The likes of Da Capo (featured on pg 40) and Problem Child are signed under his label DNH and he promises to help them in releasing their respective albums next year. The mentorship doesn’t end though with those under his wing, and Nick Holder also offers a little bit of advice to all other up and coming producers. One of his biggest hits, Summer Daze, was a

sample of the Pat Metheny Group’s song Slip Away and seeing as how sampling is becoming a popular trend amongst our producers, he saw it fit to share some information on the topic, “When it comes to using samples my best advice is to get them cleared through the label or the publisher. The problem is if your song blows up chances of getting caught are high. I’ve been warned once and sued twice, and I tell ya it’s not worth the risk, I paid a heavy price.” As the interview comes to an end, it becomes a little clearer as to how this man has managed to stay at the forefront of an ever changing game; it’s the right combination of resilience, patience, intellect and talent. That’s how Nick Holder holds it down. Look out for him on your local radio stations promoting his new album, My Sound and also watch out for two music videos to be shot here in SA soon. Want to know more? Read the full transcript of Tendai’s interview at www.bpmmag.co.za

32 SHOW US YOUR FACE

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36 COLUMNIST By Tendai Luwo

THE DEEP END WITH LUO POKING THE WRONG BUTTONS TENDAI WAXES ON ABOUT THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF SELF PROMOTION... f you live in South Africa and have an account with FNB Bank, you will be well aware of a particular batch of messages they send to you. Not the smiley face and “R 1,500 deposited into your account Ref: John Doe…”, but the “Mrs. Sibeko just swiped and won X amount”. Now for anyone who isn’t Bill Gates, those sms’s are the biggest anti-climax ever. And that’s how I feel when I get certain Facebook notifications and it’s another DJ who has posted a link on my wall or tagged me in an album art picture that has no relevance to me whatsoever. Self promotion via social network spamming is like laminated sofas at your grandmother’s house; people may not say it to your face but they hate it. Simply put, you’re doing it wrong. From a house music perspective, South Africa is a womb of talent and more fertile than biblical women, but ensuring that that same talent receives the exposure and recognition it deserves, is a different ball game. Major record labels still haven’t quite been bitten by the house music bug, therefore it’s up to the artists to get their own music out there and hopefully they can stir up enough hype that eventually the powers that be can’t deny it and scoop them up. This is where the problem begins. With limited resources (by resources I mean a Blackberry and Soundcloud account) budding producers and DJs have been forced to be creative. But for reasons only known to them and their god, there is a strong belief that plastering links of their work on any and every Facebook wall and Twitter account is the key to musical success. The issue is most people use social networks to communicate with friends and when it is used for business purposes

the account tends to not be handled by the actual celebrity in question but rather a PR team or manager. This then means when your link appears on someone’s wall, it either gets in the way of an ‘I miss you’ wall post by Aunt Susie or receives no attention whatsoever. Furthermore, there is a lot of below average content out there and we have all downloaded it at least once in our lives. So with the price of data bundles, one quickly gets annoyed by the fact that they took their time and money to download something, only to find out it wasn’t worth it. Hence when you proceed to send your links out, most people are more cautious and unwilling rather than eager and excited to see what you have in store. Thankfully though there is a relatively simple solution to all this. Using those same resources, all one needs to do is change the strategy. You should still post links on your own social networks account but they shouldn’t be the centre of your campaign. Rather, gather a database of email addresses out there. Music magazine editors, label owners, A&R executives and relevant DJs, then draft up a press release. Keep it simple though; a brief introduction

to the track or mix and its information, as well as a short bio about yourself will suffice. Don’t start saying ‘this is the best track you have ever heard’, let them decide that for themselves. Once that is done, attach a link to your work, send it out. Simple right? This doesn’t guarantee anything though but it is definitely a more professional and accepted approach. And if that doesn’t convince you, name one artist you know who made it through spamming people on social networks? It’s okay, I’ll wait. A career in the entertainment industry is no walk in the park, but it’s the little things that make it that much easier. Some of the most simple approaches have the power to yield spectacular results. It may be easy to get caught up in what you may perceive as the right way to go about things because everyone is doing it, but if what everyone is doing was right then everyone would be famous. Simply put, don’t sell yourself short by poking the wrong buttons.

FUN STUFF

5 MINS WITH...

RICHARD THE THIRD

WE GRAB 5 MINUTES WITH SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE DJ'S & ARTISTS AND ASK THEM... WELL... JUST ABOUT ANYTHING WE FEEL LIKE!!!

riginally from Joburg and now based in Cape Town, electronic music producer, Richard The Third, has a taste and respect for original local flavour, mashing

Kwaito, Bass, Dub, rinsing Dubstep, House, Hip Hop, and Downbeat into his own superbly refined music. His brilliant ten track album Left Of Center was released in September this year on African Dope

1. An authentically South African sound is... Piet-my-vrous and Police Sirens.

16. Running and co-managing the Red Bull Stage at outdoor festivals is a lot like... Being Ralph in the first bit of Lord of the Flies when it’s all still awesome. If we had to run a Red Bull Studio Live Stage at Oppi [Koppi] or Rocking the Daisies for significantly longer than a few days someone would get a rock dropped on their head.

2. Brostep is for... Boytjies and Biatches. 3. Dubstep is the kind of genre that... …was initially so fresh and exciting that it wasn’t long before it got mutated into Brostep.

17. If you were a street artist what would your tag name be? RichIII

4. Kwaito music ignites... Desire for social change and a true sense of South African identity at its most powerful but at the very least the insatiable desire to get down and hook up.

18.You were ... A drama student ... in High School. 19. An ... Appreciation of Woody Allan ... movies makes a female attractive.

5. The Biscope duo is all about... Resolving old sibling rivalry issues to do with who got the most attention when growing up, with overcompensated amounts of Bass, Drums and Psychedelic-Filth.

20. The worst piece of advice someone’s ever tried to convince you of is... To immigrate oversees because of the ‘situation’ in SA (i.e. post apartheid white paranoia).

6. Trip Hop inspires... Rolling down the street smoking endo slipping into maudlin, pensiveness.

21. What is the one promise you keep making to yourself that you always break? I don’t make promises to myself any more. One has to make too many promises to the rest of the world to worry about oneself.

7. What does an alter ego offer an artist other than a feisty stage name? The opportunity to not have to use your given name as your stage name (i.e. DJ Richard Rumney? No.) 8. DJing is an art best left to... Geeks who spent their formative social years listening to their dad’s record collection and now want to be the life of the party by playing records. 9. What is the one thing you know how to do really well in less than five minutes? Make two and a half bowls of two minute noodles. 10. If you lived in a fantasy cartoon world where all the characters were DJs, your catch phrase would be... "Can anyone lend me some headphones?” 11.’Pap en wors' or 'Fish & Chips'? Fish and Chips! 12.You love it most when... I'm playing a selection of my current favourite tracks to a receptive full dancefloor. It’s not an inspired answer but it’s honestly what makes me most happy.

Records. He also forms one half of the 'Biscope' Dubstep DJing duo with his brother and daylights as the manager of Red Bull Studios.

“CAN ANYONE LEND ME SOME HEADPHONES?” 13. What do you like to do when no one's watching? Practice my arms in the air “hyping-thecrowd” moves. Still working on that… 14. What is your definition of failure? Doing anything less than half-assed (Halfassed is still a scraping pass above a fail). 15.Our preferences keep changing as we evolve. What is your biggest love and loathe at the moment? Biggest love: The cutting edge of media and entertainment, e.g. Soundcloud, Xbox, Watching a full TV Series in one go. Biggest loathe: The impression for a lot of young artists that traditional media is still the only way to go: e.g. Have to have traditional radio play, have to sell lots of CDs, etc.

22. What is the most overrated virtue? Being forthright. ‘Speaking your mind’ openly doesn’t make you an honest person, it’s the definition of an asshole. 23. There are far too many emcees, ... not enough mics ... in the world. 24. If you weren't spending your days pursuing your love of the music industry, how else would you be raking in those Rands? I guess I would have gone into the theatre and film industry. Whether I would be raking in Rands or raking up leaves as a gardener in between jobs would be another question. 25. The South African music industry needs more... Faith in itself, we’re not just some undeveloped music scene. We’re one of the freshest most exciting places to be making music in the world right now, if we’re open to representing a unique South African flavour.

FEATURE By Tendai Luwo

DA CAPO HOUSES MUSIC'S GOLDEN CHILD ost people don’t expect much to come out of Limpopo, not even textbooks. So imagine the shock one receives when they find out that one of the most talented and promising local acts at the moment comes from and still lives in that quiet part of South Africa Da Capo is a 22 year old producer and DJ. He hasn’t been on the scene much longer than he has been out of high school but everyone from DJ Fresh to Nick Holder is shouting praises about the young boy upon mountain tops, and with good reason. With no mentor and little guidance, Da Capo taught himself everything he knows about music and production and in due course it resulted in a string of hits that keep coming. The nature and good quality of Da Capo’s productions is so tightly embraced by the deep house music fraternity that his remixes are always highly anticipated and sought after like a rare vinyl in a hidden music store. “When I started music I persuaded myself to work hard on a regular basis” His words echo the sentiments of many great artists before him and form the foundation for his growing repertoire. A quick Traxsource search will yield a lengthy selection of Da Capo tracks to choose from and one will have a jolly hard time trying to pick one over the other because all his productions carry the ability to infect your soul like a special strain of musical virus. The ‘Da Capo Touch’ remixes in particular are the apple of any Da Capo fan’s eye. “Touch means something special, music that really touches your body and soul from all angles. It differs a lot from a normal Capo remix” Much like a fine wine, one gets the strong feeling that a lot of time, passion and work goes into them and the result resonates through the speakers. The proof is in the pudding and with a remix of Ralf Gum’s hit single, Linda, to add to his accolades, there clearly is no

denying that there is something special in Da Capo. It’s even more mind boggling when one finds out that Da Capo is still a student at the University of Limpopo. How he manages to juggle releasing music on a regular basis, performing all over the country and studying is a mystery but he definitely does it well. His unique name also stirs up some curiosity. “I used to call myself Calypsoul till I found out that the name was similar to another DJs name ‘Calypso Wa Polokwane’ so “WHEN I STARTED MUSIC I PERSUADED that’s when the name MYSELF TO WORK HARD ON Da Capo came about.” Whatever the A REGULAR BASIS” reason behind the name though, it is still launching his own music label, ‘Surreal one that is sticking really fast to Sounds’ that will act as a home for all his everyone’s tongue in the house music music as well as other artists that he is world. close with and relates to on a musical Da Capo also hopes to bless us with level. a full length album in the middle of 2013. All in all, Da Capo is a breath of fresh This will certainly please those who have air in the over crowded room that is the been following his music ever so closely house music industry. His ability to make for the past two years and will also serve spirit-moving music at such a young age as a much needed boost into the means that it can only get better with commercial realm for the growing artist. time, and we will definitely be waiting Having already worked with the likes of merrily on the sidelines to see what great Rocco, Moneoa, Timmy Regisford and Zaki work he gives us next. Ibrahim to name a few, it’s almost too much to contain the excitement when Wondering what the fuss is about? you think about what the album could Search Da-Capo-Mogashoa on Facebook have in store. and become a fan. In the spirit of upholding his amazing work ethic, Da Capo is also planning on

42 ALBUM REVIEWS

1. Electro Candi 4 – Various Artists (Soul Candi)

<House> The latest Electro Candi looks and sounds like it should have come with a small caps caption “Cape Town – Berlin – Johannesburg” beneath the title like one of those print ads one often sees in glossy magazines; everything about is says ‘Designer.’ Finally, they’ve figured out what they’re doing with this series! Each of the three discs on the album has a distinct sound signature stamped onto it by the DJ whose name it bears; in this instance 2lani The Warrior (JHB), Andre Lodemann (Berlin) and Chris Jack (CT) were brought in to supply their particular brands of Candi. 2lani’s is a tight, well sequenced collection of somewhat techy, somewhat soulful but always deep (multinational) tunes. Andre packs some of his best loved gems on to a disc comprised entirely of self-produced tracks and remixes; it’s pitched perfectly to appeal to fans of his style of deep tech and virgin ears alike. Chris Jack brings a bit of colour to the compilation, adding a selection of tunes that gingerly straddle that ever so elusive line between deep and techno to round out quite possibly the finest Electro Candi since the first. Reviewed by Nathan Kabingesi

2. Layders - For All Seasons (Soul Candi) 3.

(Soul/Bossa Nova) What the Layders are doing musically is by no means unique; they’re essentially a six piece band playing a fusion of urban soul, reggae and bossa nova inspired jams. What does set them apart from the proliferation of Raphael Saadiq/D’Angelo sound-alikes though, is an aspect of their live performance that hits you from the first verse; their polish. They come across like a group of talented musicians that have spent time working on a style that will appeal to a broad swathe of listeners, and it works. Their debut album, For All Seasons, is a collection of original songs and covers just about every genre a live band could be expected to play, reflecting the various musical inclinations and influences of the members. Twenty tracks on a debut might seem like overkill, but given the quality and variety of the arrangements, your ears aren’t likely to fatigue. The lead vocalist’s tendency to deliver his lyrics in a vaguely American twang is irritating, and detracts somewhat from how good the guy actually is. All in all, their music is well crafted, smartly packaged, and if the album doesn’t convince you that these guys are the real deal, check out their live show. Reviewed by Nathan Kabingesi

3. Labrinth - Electronic Earth (Sony Music) 5. <Electro Dance Pop> Labrinth's début album arrived earlier this year eighteen months after his début single Let The Sun Shine. This English New Age Electro Pop artist is the very first to be signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label in six years, who wasn't 'discovered' on one of the talent scout's 'talent shows'. This album, while reflecting clever production talent and radio ready car music, presents nothing new or exciting, but a regurgitation of over popularized teeny bopping Euro dance music, pulling in the dramatics of vintage PC game music, airy synths, glitch, guitar riffs and predictable heard-it-all-before lyrics. Did I get excited? I'm generous if I say even mildly, but hey that's me; if you're into 'throwing bombs on it' you'll probably like Earthquake featuring none other than Pop Rapper Tinie

&LIGHT C I T Y

Tempah. He also adds a special little mention to his mentor 'Hey Simon, we're f*#cking it up.' Sure okay, if you think so. I don't know what gets me more about this guy, the album cover with him sporting reflector aviator shades or his incessant showcase of his pretty R&B vocals - very obvious in the Motown-esque Express Yourself. I have the funny suspicion that this is what he'd rather be doing than trying to be the next best thing in what 'the kids are into'. Reviewed by Mary Honeychild

4. Richard the 3rd - Left of Centre (African Dope) <Dancefloor Electronica> Richard the Third is a straight up boss. This ten track album from the SA BASS movement ambassador is a juicy, proudly South African chakalaka chutney flavoured piece of work. He incorporates the best of local kwaito, rinsing Dubstep, Dub, House, Hip Hop, Trip Hop, Downbeat and of course Bass into an original sound amalgam that is not only of a superb production quality but the kind of bumping and authentic music that stimulates thought, rhythm and a sense of local pride. One of my favourites on the album is the very first on the release, a track aptly titled Boss that is a perfect Kwaito-Bass dance floor drop. EvildeMan feat. Fifi and (THIIS) Unfortunate Fool feat. Nonku are two of the more rhythmic Dub/Trip Hop inspired tracks characterised by gentle, dreamy female vocals, with lyrical themes that are abstract and metaphorical. Nice touch. Short Left encompasses a multi layered sound, rolling snares, gorgeous synth stabs and subtle vocal samples underpinned by a strong incessant drum groove that is beautifully built up. Divine. Best taxi ride ever. He also teams up with world music songstress, Zaki Ibrahim on the trippy, breakbeat Dragonfly that gets its ethereal feel from the slower and mellow bpm. Overall, a pioneering sound strongly geared in the direction of a rich electronic music future. Reviewed by Mary Honeychild

5.Vaganbundos - V/A - Mixed by Luciano (Cadenza) <Tech/Minimal> Okay, quick introduction: 1. Vagabundos is a wildly popular club brand, known for their untamed, stylish carnival affairs which bring together the very best DJs in house and techno. Having held down residencies at DC10’s Circoloco, Ushuaia and more recently, wildly successful nights at Pacha, Vagabundos urges Ibiza action seekers to “follow the trail of futuristic beats, hot bodies and the whiff of anarchy...” 2. Luciano is the ring master. Label boss of Cadenza and a highly regarded DJ, he became famous for his magical, mind-altering sets that combined sun-drenched Latino rhythms, forward-thinking techno and raw house grooves. Vagabundos 2012 is a 23 track DJ Mix from the man himself. Everything I’ve already mentioned sums up what you can expect. The mix glistens with both the rich history and free spirited opulence that Vagabundos embodies. It’s been mixed digitally and expertly so (up to four of which are often found all playing in the mix at one time). You’ll find everything from ethereal downtempo, deeper Chicago 4/4 to bouncy tech house and techno all laced with the irresistible Vagabundos insanity. A colourful snapshot of the white isle at its best. Highlights: Romanthony Bring U Up (Deetron edit ), Dave Aju Away, Away. Reviewed by Heather Mennell

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46 ALBUM REVIEWS

6. Robbie Rivera - Dance or Die - The Album (Just Music) 6.

<Progressive House> Robbie Rivera’s latest album - Dance Or Die is proclaimed to be his most innovative and exciting release to date and features collaborations with Wynter Gordon, Blake Lewis, Steve Edwards and of course long time collaborator Jes. Hailing from Puerto Rico and residing in Miami (and Ibiza) it is EDM producers like Rivera that have proved well poised to ride the new wave of interest in electronic dance music in the United States. Dance Or Die reflects this by serving up a real EDM mashup of styles and genres. On first listen you could be put off by the diversity on this disc, but what Rivera does, and does well, is to incorporate a lot of what has been proven to work in the pseudo-commercial dance music world. A cynic would call many of these productions clichéd, and maybe with good cause - he does tend to use almost every trick in the book - but nonetheless if this new, very loud and in your face style of electro infused progressive house is what floats your boat, then Rivera’s new disc will not disappoint. If you’re a trainspotter, however, who looks out for only the most ‘cutting-edge’ Berlin techno (if there is such a thing), then Dance Or Die is not for you. Reviewed by Damien Albetto

7. Netsky - 2 (Just Music)

10.

<Drum ‘n Bass> Netsky’s liquid D&B belters have demolished charts and dancefloors all over the world. His uplifting chord progressions, feel-good melodies and funkfuelled basslines have launched the young Belgian into the ranks of the D&B elite. The chart success of his 2009 selftitled debut album brought drum ‘n bass to a broader audience and (along with acts like Chase and Status) helped reinvigorate what seemed to be a fading genre. He’s been a great asset to the genre. Considering all of the above, his sophomore album was met with nail-biting anticipation. 2 consists of 14 tracks as he tinkers with a number of other dance genres like electro house (on 911) and Dubstep (Squad Up featuring Jimmy Jams). The closer, Drawing Straws gives a nod to old skool jungle. You’ll find well executed collaborations with Dynamite MC, Diane Charlemagne, Selah Sue and Bridgette Amofah. The majority of the album is the hands-in-the-air euphoric D&B that Netsky is known and loved for. This is a pop D&B album and in this role it performs excellently. Reviewed by Heather Mennell

8. GoodLuck - The Lucky Packet (Just Music) <Electro House> South Africa’s two-piece “electro-swing” act GoodLuck have made a mixtape. Initially, I was sceptical. I felt that doing a mixtape as a live act is a bit of a cop out. Anyone can put together a compilation. But after a listen it’s obvious that the pair have put a lot of time and energy into choosing tracks that’ll make you shimmy and shake your hips this summer. Lucky Packet is very reflective of GoodLuck’s style and sound. Swing is one of those genres that will always put you in a good mood and while purists might disapprove, it blends pretty well with a 4/4 beat. The first half of the album is different from the generic “summer anthem” compilations you’ll find on the shelves

this summer. It’s totally unpretentious and a whole lot of fun. That doesn’t hold true for the second half of the mix which gets pretty ravey. You could say that it moves from a smoky swing club onto the main floor. You’ll find the euphoric roof-raisers here courtesy of Sander van Doorn, Faithless, Kaskade and Dubvision. The title doesn’t lie - it is a lucky packet, but all in all GoodLuck have done a good job. Fans will be pleased to find a handful of their remixes included. Standout track: Kraak & Smaak - The Storm. Reviewed by Heather Mennell

9. Pascal & Pearce - Passport to Ibiza (Just Music) <Electro House> Pascal Ellinas and Dave Pearce have been obliterating dancefloors with their filthy electro house tunes for quite some time. Through their highly successful singles, compilations and DJ sets, they’ve achieved significant presence in the local scene. Passport To Ibiza is their third mixed compilation - a double disc which blends the global main floor sounds of the moment with their own productions. If you’re after epic builds and breaks, pounding slabs of bass, sirens and punchy percussion (all at around the 128 bpm mark), Pascal & Pearce have brought the goods. Their ode to Ibiza will undoubtedly entice some airpunching this summer. The last three years have seen dance music morph and merge into so many new forms and this is reflected in this shape shifting mix. Disc 1 kicks off with the Dubvision remix of their Disc Sun featuring GoodLuck’s Juliet Harding, but it’s not long before the boys turn the crank handle and get things cooking with a Skrillex and Kaskade collaboration Lick It and the likes of Hardwell and R3hab. You’ll find a concentration of uplifting trance elements and other rave pyrotechnics on Disc 2 - which will work best when dropped in the strobe-lit depths of a big night. Reviewed by Heather Mennell

10. This is EDM - Various Artists (Just Music) <Electronic Dance> This is EDM is a value for money 2012 collector’s item double disc, showcasing forty four tracks on a compilation album release by Just Music. It highlights, bookmarks and spotlights some of mainstream's biggest chart topping electronic music producers, who in the last two years have spanned the realms of Euro Trance, Progressive House and whatever else spun and landed between it. Sporting tracks by Sander Van Doorn, Hardwell, Nicky Romero's Toulouse, Avicii, Basto, Kaskade, Afrojack, Pascal & Pearce's Disco Sun , Laidback Luke, Alex Kenji's Pressure featuring Nadia Ali's unmistakably and precisely suited dance music vocals as well as Fedde Le Grand's So Much Love and Hook n Sling's Surrender, it’s all crammed onto disc one. Disc two carries on with pretty much the same theme featuring drops by Cedric Gervais' robotic search for Molly, Deadmau5's iconic Ghosts n Stuff, Kurd Maverick's Hell Yeah and Dubvision's rework of All By Myself. Axento, Deniz Koyu, Arty and Adrian Lux draws disc two to a classy close of happy, uplifting, summer beach time and open air dance floor ready music; wrapping up an offering of thoughtfully compiled world class commercial dance music that hits all the right knobs of contemporary taste balanced out with quality production by talented producers. Reviewed by Mary Honeychild

www.bpmlife.co.za Where the beat lives on...

48 ALBUM REVIEWS 11. Avalon - The Remixes Volume One - V/A (NANO Records) 11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

<Psytrance> Nano records have released yet another bag of summertime goodies that will have most fans salivating, this writer included. The Remixes Volume One, presents remixes by a select group of Psytrance artists of some of Avalon's best tracks. The uplifting Final Transmission by Avalon & Mr Peculiar was superbly remixed by Zen Mechanics. The amusing Funky Voodoo by Avalon vs. G Nome was remixed by Captain Hook. Stinking Warehouse remixed by Loud is a slow track with strange sounds and long build ups. The Burn in Noise remix of the full on track Aggressive Progressive is splendid. Play it Bahia remixed by Lucas and Sybarite is one of those tracks that makes my mind wander into a desert like dreamscape as a lone shaman. The slightly darker edged Destiny Awaits, as remixed by Cosmosis, is a perfect example of my kind of dance floor classic. Laughing Buddha also never disappoints and his remix of Teleporter is a winner. I love Tristan’s very clean style of psytrance and Out There is no exception. There are just so many gems to be discovered on this album including remixes by Chromotone, Master Blasters, Dickster, Sonic Species, Materia, Brainiac and Mindfold. Recommended. Reviewed by sevenR

12. Perfect Stranger - Leap of Faith – (Iboga Records) <Prog / Tech / Psytrance> Wait what? A three disk progressive album from Perfect Stranger, what an absolute treat! Disk one contains all original Perfect Stranger tracks, disk two is filled with Perfect Stranger remixes of his own tracks by Loud, Liquid Soul, Sun Control Species, Tristan and others whilst disk three is a live set of Perfect Stranger at the Indigo Festival (Israel). More fun, class and bang for buck cannot be found in any other package. Monolith is a dark and foreboding track and I love it so much I cannot get enough of it. Time Warp is faster paced than the opening tracks, with techy synth sounds. Leap of Faith, the title track, is very minimal with a nice churning bassline. The trippy Already Happened is almost 12 minutes long, but will keep me glued to the dance floor. Each consecutive track is just an improvement on the preceding one and Our Time, That’s When It’s Callin’ Me and Carnalisimo are some of the finest dark progressive psytrance tunes you will hear this year. On the remix disk I really love the resonant nature of Wild Cave and the playfulness of A Mosquito Bit My Leg. Highly recommended. Reviewed by sevenR

13. Skazi - My Way (Hommega/Just Music) <Psy Prog> Skazi is back onto the scene with his new 14 track album after 5 years of silence. Falafel Pt. 1 is a fun Psy Dubstep mix with Freedom Fighters. Warrior featuring Soul J contains reggae rapping, hard psytrance marching, heavy metal guitar and symphonic melodies. At last a tune without the unnecessary singing and extras, Dramatic is classic Skazi; banging beats, interesting sharp synth and metal guitar. The boy-band-singing on How to Feel Alive left me feeling nauseated; the track would be 100% better without it. Falling is almost unlistenable with the rubbish lyrics and high pitched female wailing, although the music is okay. MC Fish brings the album back again with the excellent track, The Drum, but this type of thing (Rasta skanking) can get a bit old too when used so much. I

thought I’d never say this but the singing on Down to Eden by Arno Carstens blew me away! It’s no wonder this stonking tune made the 5FM radio charts - it’s aimed at that market. Pizdets, Boom and Talking about Love are solid banging psytrance tracks. This album is all over the place, it contains a number of great tracks but also quite a few stinkers. Reviewed by sevenR

14. New Order 3 - V/A compiled by Easy Riders (HOMmega Records) <Psy Prog> Easy Riders is a production duo made up of Ace Ventura & Rocky. Both are highly accomplished electronic music producers, Ace needing absolutely no introduction to SA dancefloors after his last 2 blistering gigs here. As a duo, Easy Riders have tended to flirt with the groovier, techier side of the psyprog spectrum, and on New Order 3, they manage to continue walking this fine line with a jaw-droppingly good collection of 9 progressive monsters. Astrix has made a welcome return to his best form with a new sound that is slower and grittier and he kicks things off with Vicious Cycles – an absolute monster that has already been caned at the start of the outdoor season. Vertical Mode’s Push It Down (Zentura Remix) - is another solid, large tune, again heard quite a bit since season started. Darma (State of Flux) and Basic vs. DAddiction (Keep the Frequency), take things a little deeper and edgier before the strange but typically Loud sounding Network, (co-produced by Zen Mechanics) steadies the ship with a straight up triplet, respite with some interesting percussive samples. The late Cosma’s legendary The Time Has Come, gets a euphoric working over by Symbolic & Rocky, before Sphera’s remix of the Liquid Ace track, Psychic Experience, a melodic groover with just the right amount of techy-ness, sucks you right in. Easy Rider’s Rolling Stoned is an instant classic and Yotopia’s remix of Ace’s Connected, is the perfect closer to a superb, and I mean, SUPERB psyprog compilation. All killer, no filler! Reviewed by Dave Mac

15. Haldolium - Lowlights (Blue Tunes) <Progressive Trance> Easily one of the most distinctive sounding acts in Psychedelic dance music, Haldolium presents a new full-length release in the form of the album Lowlights. As an artist matures, so they become more comfortable in their expression and through this their personal touches and deliberate references become more apparent in their work. This album has been developed by a highly skilled sonic architect, has a characteristically dark and quirky undertone throughout as the musician’s personality comes through strongly. Each track becomes a mass of moving texture, with detailed spacial aspect and deftly phrased dance hooks. Lowlights is filled with hints and references to a vast repertoire of ideas and musical experience while made more accessible through its stylistically familiar groove patterns. Combined with the signature futurist vocal layering, Haldolium’s advanced sound comes together in a slightly more contemporary fashion than ever before while still providing an aural adventure to the more demanding listener. Reviewed by Stefan Wyeth

For more reviews online go to: BPMMAG.co.za

50 DOWNLOAD

DJ PICKS

DOWNLOAD SITES: www.afrodesiamp3.com / www.audiojelly.com / www.beatpor t.com www.djdownload.com / www.djsonly.com /www.emusic.com http://free.napster.com / www.junodownload.com / www.rhapsody.com www.stompy.com / www.trackitdown.net / www.wasabeat.com

ARTIST | TRACK | STYLE BROKEN TOY - NECESSARY ROUGHNESS - PSYTRANCE Broken Toy at his best is sleazy and psychedelic without trying too hard. Necessary Roughness delivers this. A slinky 142 BPM groover, the original is exactly about that: the groove, with effortless smatterings of psychedelia and melody. Deliriant gives it the remix treatment serving up a tougher bassline and a harder, more direct approach. Good stuff all around. Picked by Dave Mac AEROSPACE - INVADERS EP - PSYPROG Aerospace delivers three new collaborations with Double Click, Motion Drive and Sonic Sense. These magnificent progressive tunes are chilled and have deep bass lines that will make your toes curl. Global Warming is the most interesting track with its robot vox, peaks and troughs. Picked by sevenR ETIC - TRUE NORTH EP - PSYPROG True North is a two track EP. The title track is hypnotic but is not as interesting as Wingman, which took me on a relaxing journey. I felt slightly short changed and maybe one additional track would have sealed the deal. Picked by sevenR ATOM DEVICE - DAYLIGHT EP - PSYPROG Daylight is Atom Device’s second progressive EP. The title track is melodic and uplifting and their remix of Wet Inputs by Aqualize is simply stunning. After experiencing the throbbing bass and pure classy psyprog emanating from Reload all I can say is, bring on the album. Picked by sevenR MINDWAVE - ENLIGHTENMENT EP - PSYPROG The new EP by Mindwave starts off with the atmospheric title track, Enlightenment. This bass driven tune contains beautiful voice and banging beats. Somnium continues with the stunning voice but with 80’s synth thrown in - love it. These three tunes just made me want to hit the dance floor hard. Picked by sevenR POP ART - RAIN OR SHINE EP - PSYPROG The playful nature of Pop Art is once again enforced with these two banging tunes. I dare you not to bop your head or tap your feet while listening to this release as it is filled with so much summer fun. Get your copy NOW! Picked by sevenR HAEZER - THE WRONG KID DIED - ELECTRO HOUSE Haezer’s production envelope is being pushed with every release, evidenced quite clearly with The Wrong Kid Died, released on Steve Aoki’s label, Dim Mak. Still boasting the crazy, in yer face electro he has built his reputation on, this 7 tracker see the electro house producer tailor his tunes to what may best be described as a little more DJ friendly now. Powerful stuff! Picked by Dave Mac THE BEAT PROPHET & ODV - #UPSTAIRS - MINIMAL The Beat Prophet & ODV are Joburg based producers. On #Upstairs they weigh in 4 variations of minimal tech inspired by the upstairs floor at legendary JHB club, Truth. Whilst each version has its own personality they all tend to stay quite true to the original in terms of being moody and sombre, although the original is definitely the twistiest of the lot. Solid track. Picked by Dave Mac MY FRIEND - NICKY ROMERO (MANUEL DE LA MARE REMIX) PROGRESSIVE HOUSE Nicky Romero is a Dutch DJ and house music composer/producer. He has worked with, and received support from, DJ's such as Tiësto, Fedde Le Grand, Sander Van Doorn and Calvin Harris. My Friend released by Spinnin Records in 2010 was a smash hit in the club, now remixed it’s another huge banger. Picked by Beatarmy MARY GO WILD - GROOVEYARD (NICKY ROMERO REMIX) PROGRESSIVE HOUSE This is a track close to our heart as we used it in our album, I Love House Music - mixed by Beatarmy. Every Dj has that track that they believe will

make the crowd ''GO WILD''. The original released by Grooveyard in 1996, is funky and has that real 90's sound... We have always enjoyed this remix recreated in 2010. Check out the original music video for a good laugh. Picked by Beatarmy COME WITH ME (DEADMEAT) - STEVE AOKI FEATURING POLINA VOCAL/PROGRESSIVE HOUSE Steve and legendary vocalist Polina teamed up for this release early in January this year. Polina Goudieva is a Russian born singer-songwriter, whose vocals have been featured on the anthems of countless dance tracks such as Kaskade, Tiësto, Avicii and now Steve Aoki. Picked by Beatarmy TORNADO - STEVE AOKI AND TIËSTO - PROGRESSIVE HOUSE Through relentless touring Aoki gained huge support from colleges such as Tiësto. This track is huge, a rising Arp sound sending party goers into music heaven. Breaking into an awesome trance synth with complex breaks. One vocal snip, ''YEAH'' just before the break, and yeah it’s a huge track. Picked by Beatarmy NO DOMINATION - BEATARMY - HOUSE This track will take you way back... Remember the day Nelson Mandela was released? The Beatarmy used the speech, ''The time for negotiation has arrived'' which was the speech FW De Klerk gave to a hungry South Africa waiting for change. The track is a build up to the second break in which FW releases Mandela. The second hook is more dance/electro and will get the crowd feeling involved and proud! Check out Beatarmy DJs on Soundcloud with their release No Domination released October 2012. Picked by Beatarmy LUTHER SOLE ESSENTIAL - IT’S NORMAN’S FLUTE - HOUSE Infectious! That’s the best way to describe this diamond of a track. Produced by Vaal Triangle based producer and DJ Luther Sole Essential, the song features three simple yet moving elements: a guitar loop, a pan flute and subtle female vocals. These elements were then perfectly blended together to produce a song that takes you on a fist pumping journey of deep house. This is the perfect song to add to the climax of your deep house set. Picked by Deejay Luwo MONOCLES - LOUD EP - HOUSE Monocles is one half of the popular house outfit, Monocles & Slezz, however this time he has decided to flex his solo muscle with this soulful number. Loud is a decent production by Monocles and is characterised by an inaudible vocal sample that creeps in and out of the deep house infused track. The EP features nine other remixes of which the ones by V. Underground, Rufus and Tizmo are definitely the tracks to look out for. Picked by Deejay Luwo XOLI M - MY BETTER HALF - AFRO DEEP Xoli M is a singer/songwriter starting her journey in music in 2010 when she recorded her first hit track Set Me Free alongside Black Motion. In addition she has worked with other great South African producers such as DJ QT, DJ Qness, Mckenzie, RootedSoul, Sir Javas, Afrikan Roots including international Producers DJ Slyvi & DJ Malvado. Picked by Afrodesiamp3 DJ GANYANI FT JERAH - GANYANI'S HOUSE GROOVES 8 PT 1 AFRO HOUSE He is worthy to be called a Legend in the South African Music Industry and goes by the name DJ Ganyani, having been in the industry for decades and releasing hit songs throughout his career, Limpopo Funk, This Life and many more. He is back with another offering to his House Grooves series... Hiswona! Picked by Afrodesiamp3 DJ TIRA FT MAMPINTSHA - EZASE AFRO VOL 2 - AFRO HOUSE Brand new album from Afrotainment's front man DJ Tira called Ezase Afro Volume 2 with a collection of supper hit tracks from the heart of KwaZuluNatal South Africa. This album features collaborations with Mlu, DJ Tira featuring Mampintsha. Bound to be one of their biggest releases yet again and a must have in your collection. Picked by Afrodesiamp3

54 DJ CHARTS

NOV/DEC12

DA CAPO (DNH Records / Polokwane / House)

STEVE AOKI (Dim Mak / Electro House / Los Angeles)

1. Da Capo - Samba In Africa (Da Capo's Touch) • 2. Da Capo - Touch Experience (Main) • 3. Da Capo - Sabir (Main) • 4. Rocco feat. Akram Working Hard (Da Capo's Deeper Touch Remix • 5. Martin Iveson - 13.10.11 (13.11.11) • 6. Atjazz & Jullian Gomes - Overshadowed (Atjazz Galaxy Aart Dub) • 7. Problem Child Ojari (Main) • 8. Problem Child - Twelve Twelve (Main) • 9. Da Capo & Punk - Satisfaction (Main) • 10. Ralf GUM feat. Monique Bingham Take Me To My Love (Raw Artistic Soul Vocal Dub)

1. Autoerotique - Roll The Drums (Felix Cartal Remix) (Dim Mak) • 2. Hershey - Takes You Places (Dim Mak) • 3. Tiesto & Steve Aoki Tornado (Kill The Noise Remix) (Dim Mak) • 4. Dirtyphonics - Dirty (Dim Mak) • 5. Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas Vs. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike - Phat Brahms (Dim Mak) • 6. Steve Aoki Ooh ft. Rob Roy (Mustard Pimp Rmx) (Ultra) • 7. Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas - Beat Down ft. Iggy Azalea (Afrojack Rmx) (Dim Mak/Ultra) • 8. PeaceTreaty - In Time (Dim Mak) • 9. Steve Aoki - The Kids Will Have Their Say (Bassnectar Rmx) (Ultra) • 10. Wax Motiff & Neoteric - Go Deep Torro Torro Remix (Dim Mak)

ONE TRACK MIKE (Make-Believe / CPT / Techno, House, Break-beat 1. Fabo Arp Mix - Cosmic Girl • 2. Flow & Zeo NY Candy • 3. Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - Time Outta Joint • 4. Smash TV Remix- This Ride • 5. Jacob Phono - Next True Wave • 6. Konrad Black, Art Department Graveyard Tan • 7. Sascha Dive - Move On • 8. Daniel Dreier - Who Likes The Beast • 9. Affkt - Kruso • 10. Brett Johnson - Rude

MIKE T DEEP (Euphoric Soul.DJ / JHB / Deep House)

PROTONICA (IONO Music / Psy Progressive Trance / Berlin/Germany) 1. Ace Ventura & Rocky - Serotonin Overdose (Protonica Rmx) (Iono Music) • 2. Vertical Mode Deep Vibrations (Astrix Remix) - HOMmega) • 3. Symbolic & Vertical Mode - Back To The Source (HOMmega) • 4. Ace Ventura & Zen Mechanics Mind=God (Iboga) • 5. Protonica - Codes (Iono Music) • 6. Ritmo - Music From Heaven (Captain Hook Rmx) (Blue Tunes) • 7. Major7 & Vertical Mode - MajorMode (Iboga) • 8. Perfect Stranger & Loud - ...Already Happened (Iboga) • 9. Protonica Floating Point (Liquid Soul Remix) (Iono Music) • 10. Liquid Soul & Perfect Stranger - Wildcave (Blue Tunes)

1. The Layabouts feat. Terri Walker - Here With You (Reel People Music) • 2. DJ Sandy Rivera feat. Alisa Fedele - Avenue (Defected Records) • 3. Daniel Dexter -There Will Be Jazz (Poker Flat Records) • 4. Stimming - The Song (Original Mix) (KNM) • 5. Kleva Keys feat. Diamondancer - Raising Vibrations (Kleva Keys Deeper Vibration Mix) (House Keys Records) • 6. Terrace -Trying To Believe (Nick Holder Mix) (DNH Records) • 7. Josh Milan -Thinking About Your Body (Louie Vega Dance Ritual Mix) (Vega Records) • 8. Chymamusique & Claude feat. Rona Ray - The World Is Good (Soul Candi) • 9. Omnipotent (Art & Sole Soloist Mix) (HD Music) • 10. Giorgio Bassetti - A Song for Us (Zulumafia Remix) (U.M.B.O Records)

SAPHO THE ACTIVIST (Mo'House / JHB / Deep House)

GOKON RAVE (PsynOpticz) / CPT / Psyprog)

• 2. Bas Amro - Ten (Free Range) • 3. Mes - Back to basics(Andre Lodemann Rmx) (Saw Rec) • 4. The

MPHOZA (Soulcandi / JHB / House) 1. Mphoza ft Alves - On My Own (Soulcandi) • 2. Mphoza ft Thandi Draai - Get Down (Soulcandi) • 3. Mphoza - Get Up (Soulcandi) • 4. The Layabouts ft Omar - As Long as you believe (Future Retro mix) (Reel People Music) • 5. Jullian Gomes - Lovesong 28 (Poonshal) • 6. Mphoza ft Marissa Guzman Love Light (Soulcandi) • 7. Bah Samba - Moonlight (Soul Dynamix Rmx) (Favourtisim) • 8. Akubu Another World(Andre Lodeman Mix) (Zeed Rec) • 9. Mphoza ft Lolo - Bring back the love (Soulcandi) • 10. Mphoza - Eita (Soulcandi)

1. Atjazz & Jullian Gomes - Overshadowed (Atjazz)

1. Gokon Rave - Under The African Sky (Original Mix) • 2. Jiser & Rael Bleep - Enjoy (Original Mix) • 3. Stereotype - Impulse (Original Mix) • 4. Kularis - Waterzone (Original Mix) • 5. Ringo Savage - Progressive Disease (Original Mix) • 6. Coming Soon - Make It Work (Original Mix) • 7. Gokon Rave - This Land (Original Mix) • 8. Vaishiyas - Select (Original Mix) • 9. Ace Ventura - Presence (Interactive Noise Remix) • 10. Gokon Rave - Lex Nevel (Original Mix)

Layabouts ft Omar - As Long As You Believe (Future Retro Mix) (Reel People Music) • 5. Jullian Gomes Lovesong 28 (Poonshal) • 6. Acos Coolkas ft Nata Tomata - Don’t Fly Away (Jimpster Vocal Mix) (Audio Tonic Rec) • 7. The Layders ft Young Slugz Friday Night (Jonny Miller Vox Mixdown) (Soulcandi) • 8. Jin Choi - Half Baked (Maceo Plex Groove Rmx) (Serialism Rec) • 9. Jt Donaldson - Trust me (Broadway & Wilson Mix) (Om Rec) • 10. Marques Wyatt - For Those Who Like To Get Down (Deep Sunday Retro Vibe Mix) (Om Rec)

56 NATIONAL EVENTS

Fri 9 Nov | DJ Fresh | JHB @ Avastar Nightclub | Dj's: DJ Fresh | www.facebook.com/AvastarNightClub

Every Tues | Trademarx Student Night | PTA @ Trademarx | 19h00 | www.trademarx.co.za

Fri 9 Nov | Wham! Bam! Thank You Ma’am! by Lady Lea ALBUM LAUNCH | JHB @ Pit Lizzards,Vanderbijlpark | Dj's: Lady Lea | www.ladylea.co.za

Fri 9-10 Nov | Cape Town World Music Festival | CPT @ The Assembly | Host: Beanstalk | Info line & URL: www.theassembly.co.za

Fri 9-11 Nov | Groovy Troopers presents Mandala Project 2012 | CPT @ Botriver | Dj's: Logic Bomb, Duotekk, Ganeisha, Guapa Lee, Biorhythm, Chabunk, Berns, Delphi, Gandalf Grey, Headroom, Humerous, Myzo, Ninjah, Parana, Solar Axis, SterealKey, Shockwave, Tune Raider and more | Feat: State of the art sound, 2 shaded dance & chill floors, Original art-work & installations, Camping, Swimmable dam (bring lilos), bars and a food & crafts market | R190-R290 | www.psymedia.co.za

.co.za

Get listed for FREE at: info@bpmmag,co.za Simply email us your details on time - It’s FREE!

Fri 7-9 Dec | Vortex - Let There Be Light v:4 | CPT @ Circle of Dreams, Riviersonderend | Host:Vortex Trance Adventures | Dj's: Koxbox, Materia, Tron, Spiros Wom, Tim Duster, Lox, Connecto, Skragg, Jester, Wobblez, Sonic Blaster, Magnus Corona, Tuneraider, Zion Linguist, Biorhythm, Rubix Qube, Ganeisha, Guapa Lee, Mark, Xueno, Bernz, Jamal, Tickets, Gandalf, Sonic, PsydStep, I-Mike, Dala | 12h00 on Fri 7 Dec | R320 | (021) 531 2173, www.intothevortex.co.za Fri 7-10 Dec | Carvo Present: Oh Ship! | CPT | Dj's: Fresh & Euphonik, Goldfish, Blackcoffee, Roger Goode, Mi Casa and many more! | www.ohship.co.za Sat 8 Dec | Olmeca Tequila presents Steve Aoki Live | JHB @ H20 At Wild Waters | Dj's: Steve Aoki & Nicky Romero | 18h00 | R200-R1250 | www.computicket.com Wed 12-23 Dec | Cosmogenesis 2012 | Ficksburg @ "Valley of the Stars" | Unveiling of the temple & Opening of the event will take place on: 12/12/12. During the following days the Temple will host a series of healing workshops, sound journeys and shamanic ceremonies leading up till the weekend of the 15th/16th Dec. We will have a two day/one night party over this weekend. From then on the Temple will host a couple more days of alternative events with the main celebration kicking off on Wed 19 till Sun 23 Dec | R700-R800 | www.cosmogenesis2012.com Fri 14 Dec | Wham! Bam! Thank You Ma’am! by Lady Lea ALBUM LAUNCH | JHB @ Steelworx, Tzaneen | Dj's: Lady Lea | www.ladylea.co.za Sat 15 Dec | DJ Fresh | Mpumalanga @ News Cafe - Witbank | Dj's: DJ Fresh | www.djfresh.dj Sat 15 Dec | Wild Kei Fest 2012 | P.E @ Bayview Farm: Kei Mouth | Feat: The Wildkei Music Festival will be held on Bay View Farm, 5km from Kei- Mouth, the farm is 50 hectares, sufficient space. Outdoor festival environment, come enjoy the bands and Dj’s | www.whatson.co.za Sat 22 Dec | Love & Light Day Party | Mountain Shadows Paarl -63km out CT Live: ATMOS, Protonica | Dj’s: ATMOS, Protonica, Lox, Connecto, Stereotype, Ivan Turanjanin, Monique Pascall, Anthea Scholtz | 10am till 10pm | Early bird tickets: R200 Normal: R250 @ Web Tickets & selected outlets www.facebook.com/loveandlightct

brought to you by:

Sat 10 Nov | Durban Poison @ Truth | Durban's finest Coco Loco & Sk9 & more... Sat 17 Nov | Phonokemi (Denmark), Kanan K7 (CPT), Floyd Lavine (CPT) & more... Sat 24 Nov | Truth presents Roger Goode's Pandoras Box CD launch Sat 1 Dec | TRUTH'S 13th BIRTHDAY | Stimming, Nekes, Zombie Sound System, Kev O Brien, Ben Nicky & more... Sat 8 Dec | Surprise International DJ, residents & more... Sat 15 Dec | Day/Night Event Zula Sound Bar & Cafe: www.zulabar.co.za Fri 2 Nov | Dia Del Los Meurtos, Nomadic Orchestra, Toby2shoes, Circusswing, HoneyB Sat 3 Nov | Llevado, Lavi, Beach Party, Grimehouse, Chris Taylor Fri 9 Nov | VoodooVoodoo, DJ Phax Mulder, DJ Azuhl, DJ Eazy Thurs 15 Nov | SugarRush Candy, Jamjarr, Crimson House Blues, Smug Juggler, No Ones Arc Sat 24 Nov | Watch your DUBstep feat Grimehouse, Funafuji, Fletcher, Damage Inc Fri 30 Nov | FRAT Party!

.co.za

58 ASTROBABBLE

By Lois Siddhu

SCORPIO 23 OCTOBER - 20 NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER 2012 ON 23 NOVEMBER THERE IS A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE.

ARIES | 21 Mar - 20 Apr | FIRE Often your thinking patterns get stuck in a groove of repetitive design and you no longer see the real world around you, but only what is going around in your head. Be cautious in expressing your underlying irritabilities as tempers fray unexpectedly.

LEO | 23 Jul - 22 Aug | FIRE Everything in life depends on your own input and your own proliferation will rely on your ability to assimilate new information and change outmoded patterns of behaviour. Compulsive and excessive behaviour are prone to stir up deep-seated fears that lead to anger.

SAGITTARIUS | 22 Nov - 21 Dec | FIRE The point of tensions come from your emotions and needs that reflect in your mentally, academic side. These tensions which are within your own psyche manifest in this see-saw effect you experience in your life. You need to seek a balance in all things.

TAURUS | 21 Apr - 20 May | EARTH Underlying frustration comes when duties and responsibilities suddenly escalate. Although you will feel compelled to express your truth there are restricting elements that will force you to keep your temper in check.

VIRGO | 23 Aug - 22 Sept | EARTH Ultimately you have to come to terms with the facts that the onus is on you to create the sort of life and career that you wish for yourself. There are growth opportunities in learning new things.

CAPRICORN | 22 Dec - 19 Jan | EARTH You are very single-minded which gives you the ability to concentrate and focus your energies on a point and then persevere to achieve it. However negatively this can be that you are stubborn therefore you need the counter-balance of flexibility and changeability.

GEMINI | 21 May - 21 Jun | AIR If you could glimpse the vastness of the possibilities available to you, you would shift your way of thinking, to include what you have always relegated to the attic of your subconscious and therefore not paid attention to. CANCER | 20 Jun | 22 Jul | WATER With your sentimental nature you can be very caring and supportive but on the other hand you tend to hold on to grudges and resentments. Leave behind the excess baggage that this causes in your life.

SAGITTARIUS 21 NOVEMBER - 20 DECEMBER

LIBRA | 23 Sept - 22 Oct | AIR It is a time when you are tightly squeezed to walk your talk and make changes if your lifestyle is based on consumer greed. You will realize that the earth can only sustain you to the extent that you are taking care of it SCORPIO | 23 Oct - 21 Nov | WATER By understanding and having a clear picture of who you are you no longer need to feel inadequate.You try hard in your life to be all things to all people but in the long run you have to realize that you have your own solo journey in life.

AQUARIUS | 20 Jan - 18 Feb | AIR It is a valuable learning experience for you to know and realize your own issues in order not to try and find a scapegoat to deal with your anger. Allow yourself to express your feelings and angers and this will help you to see with a clear insight. PISCES | 19 Feb - 20 Mar | WATER Joy can be yours which comes from an unshakeable belief in the beauty and goodness of the Universe. Your tragedy could be the waste, indolence and frustration that can result from not maintaining this belief.

DECEMBER 2012 ON 28 NOVEMBER THERE WILL BE A PENUMBRAL LUNAR ECLIPSE.

ARIES | 21 Mar - 20 Apr | FIRE The deeper you journey into the labyrinth of your inner consciousness the more you are able to find the golden threads that connect you to all living things. Therefore you need time and space to reflect on what is important and what you want to achieve.

LEO | 23 Jul - 22 Aug | FIRE By sacrificing the assumption that you always know what is right enables you to accept the needs and validity of others and with this realization comes the knowledge that to achieve happiness it must be given to others

TAURUS | 21 Apr - 20 May | EARTH Looking for re-enforcements from outside rather than waiting for your own inner authority to come up you invariably shift into pleasing others which creates that you try constantly to justify your existence instead of just accepting yourself.

VIRGO | 23 Aug - 22 Sept | EARTH Without enough mental input and assertion of your intellectual outlook there is a danger of nervous or physical restlessness that can develop into more serious mental and emotional conditions with circumstances to match.

GEMINI | 21 May - 21 Jun | AIR The challenge is to shift from your underlying belief structures to include and embrace life in its fullness. Don't judge the outcome of events but see how the wheels of life are still turning.

LIBRA | 23 Sept - 22 Oct | AIR You are inclined to identify with whatever stimulus seems the most appropriate to your ever-shifting outlook. In order to acquire an integrated identity you need to embark on a definite task or service in life.

CANCER | 20 Jun | 22 Jul | WATER Profound expansion is possible as you find yourself on the growth edge of manifesting your dreams. Relationships are highlighted and through working in harmony with partners obstacles can be overcome.

SCORPIO | 23 Oct - 21 Nov | WATER The lack of mercy can arise when you judge the action of others in black and white, which may make you feel justified in your retaliation and punishment but is devoid of compassion and empathy.

SAGITTARIUS | 22 Nov - 21 Dec | FIRE A control issue could give you sleepless nightsâ&#x20AC;Ś stay objective and try not to let it get to you.Taking things personally won't help and the same applies to a relationship dynamic CAPRICORN | 22 Dec - 19 Jan | EARTH As you are very aware of your boundaries you need a demarcated working space. For the moment it seems as if it is your destiny to suffer through your work but make sure you do not get caught up in victim mode. AQUARIUS | 20 Jan - 18 Feb | AIR You may feel as if you are facing a wall of pragmatic necessities which is solid as earth and you cannot just burn your way through them. Consequently the best advice would be to slow down and deal with the practical necessities in life one at time. PISCES | 19 Feb - 20 Mar | WATER A lot of your emotional issues at present are directly related to your home and also to the way you care and nurture yourself. You need to realize your own personal needs and attend to them

Lois Siddhu lives in a circle of mountains in the Baviaanskloof. For professional Astrological Counseling CALL 049 839-1178 or Email: masonwaspstudio@telkomsa.net