FADED mag

CARDIFF PARTIES SOUTH WALES NIGHTLIFE

DJ PICKS / VENUES / LISTINGS / REVIEWS

PULL IT UP

FADED

Check out the mix Shibuya Boys put together for us at www.soundcloud.com/fadedmag

In a recent interview for Plastik Mag, DJs Veto and Conroy from Cardiff discussed the difficulties of making nightlife happen in our city.

“We started doing a night called Hully Gully at Undertone” said Veto, “but it was right next to Ten Feet Tall, so it was hard to get people to pay to go downstairs when it was free to head upstairs.”

“Especially when they copy your music,” added Conroy facetiously.

Such are the challenges that Cardiff faces. Ask any touring DJ and they’ll tell you it’s a pain to get to. Why bother crossing the bridge when you can just play Bristol?

Luckily, there are those who know better. Teak. All Forms. Blue Honey.

Three examples of promoters who in recent months have brought some of the most interesting names in electronic music to Cardiff – DJ Sprinkles, Mount Kimbie, Young Marco, and DJ Kon, to name but a few. If Cardiff nightlife is due a renaissance, now’s the time.

TWO

Cue FADED Mag. We’re here to celebrate, talk to the people involved and get you to the right parties. Just don’t hassle the DJ for Bang Bang when you get there please? Cheers x

Xav Boucherat

Francesca Donovan

Jessica Fletcher

Max Goldbart

Tom Phillips

KEY TO THE CELLAR DOOR

INCOMING

Romare (Ninja Tune) @ Gwdihw Sat 13-12-14 / 21:00 / £5.00 w/ Veto, Blue Honey

Terry Francis (Fabric) @ Clwb Ifor Bach Fri 19-12-14 22:00 / £10.00 w/ Matt Owen, Marc Parsons

Doppelate (Sprung) @ Undertone Tue 23-12-14 22:00 / £3.00 w/ Fa·çade, Harry Wootten

There is more to Cardiff Bay than scenic panoramas and shiny restaurant chains. Look below the surface and you might be surprised at what you find: Cellar Door, Cardiff’s “Filthiest underground experience.”

Every second Saturday, The Vaults on Bute Street plays host to partygoers, sweating out the fortnight.

Faded spoke to Jack Feeny, Cellar Door’s Marketing Manager. He said, “Anyone attending can expect to hear real gritty underground house, deep house and techno. The DJs remain anonymous until the night. We have a collective set of residents - the Undercover DJs - all up and coming local talents. Sometimes the concept of a headline act overshadows everything that’s good about a venue. We didn’t want that to happen.”

This refreshing outlook is matched by the night’s surroundings. Residents mix in the old bank vaults, where low ceilings are optimised by wavy acoustics and an atmosphere immersed in grime.

Overground is where #bankvaultraves become fantastical; a cavernous old foyer is subset with a loop projection of visuals. “People have always responded to

the more quirky ideas we’ve had in the Cartoon Room.

We’ve had a circus, a wedding, jet skis, and a Willy Wonka chocolate factory this year”, said Feeny.

Cellar Door is a venue for everyone and Jack and the rest of the Vaults team welcome all to their sub-level playground, “There’s no pressure for people to be or act in a certain way which is really appealing if you just want to go out and let your hair down.”

THREE

Ritzi Lee (Underground Liberation) @ Undertone Fri 26-12-14 / 22:00 £10.00 w/ Ben Hunter, Tom Bateman

Faded banks on Cardiff’s top underground venue to deliver a spectacular after-dark experience

FADED

San Soda (We Play House) @ TEAK Fri 12-12-14 22:00 / £13.00 w/ Andy Hart, Seka

FOUR

FADED

HUNDREDS OF LAYERS DEEP There now exists within the club music press an obsession with the new. These days, it’s more important to be first, than best. Quality is a lesser priority.

This isn’t even necessarily a bad thing. Consider how much you’re introduced to on a weekly basis now, compared to your innocent, sun-soaked, pre-myspace days. Consider how all this new content has broken down the borders between genres, and produced some of the most radical sounds to ever emerge.

What it does mean though is that the selector has a more important role than ever. It’s not enough for a DJ to go out and find great music – there’s great music everywhere guy!

The real skill lies in filtering it all through the board, and getting the vibes right – putting together something that’ll actually get people moving.

We spoke to four DJs putting in work in Cardiff just now – to dig through their records, and talk about partying.

Check out the mix Shibuya Boys put together for us at www.soundcloud.com/fadedmag

4 DJS FROM CARDIFF TALK US THROUGH THEIR RECORD COLLECTIONS AND MEMORIES Favourite track to blow up the crowd?

Mr Fingers – ‘Washing Machine’ or Fabrizio Mammarella’s remix of ‘Intimate Stranger’ Track for when the lights go up?

Patrice Rushen – ‘Haven’t You Heard’ or Diana Ross – ‘Love Hangover (Frankie Knuckles Remix)’ Record you most regret buying?

I didn’t buy it, but a friend gave me this Cilla Black album...

Track you really wish you’d produced?

Aphex Twin – ‘Rhubarb’ Favourite Venue in Cardiff?

The Teak Venue.

Favourite clubbing memory in Cardiff?

Closing after DJ Sprinkles, she was amazing.

Recommend one track by a Cardiff DJ? Chesus – ‘Special’

SEKA Teak Resident

SHIBUYA BOYS NO USER REC

FADED

Favourite track to blow up the crowd?

We’re on a footwork thing now.

Traxman - ‘I Need Some Money’ Track for when the lights go up?

Tory Lanez - ‘Henny in Hand’, or maybe some Darkthrone if we’re feeling weird.

Record you most regret buying?

I bought a bunch of Weather Report off my dad, which is hard to live with.

Track you really wish you’d produced?

Anything by Container. He’s nuts.

Favourite venue in Cardiff?

Don’t like going out but Undertone used to be alright. Teak’s good but no tap water, which is outrageous.

Favourite clubbing memory in Cardiff?

Getting knocked back from Clwb. That takes serious commitment.

One track by a Cardiff DJ? DJ Guy’s 12” on All Caps.

Delete

MARC

FIVE

Favourite track to blow up the crowd?

Marco Carola – ‘Question 10-Comodo’ Track for when the lights go up?

David Bowie – ‘Let’s Dance’ Track you really wish you’d produced?

Horror Inc – ‘Dans La Nuit’ Favourite venue in Cardiff?

The Teak Venue.

Favourite clubbing memory in Cardiff?

Nowadays probably out back of the Gwdihw in the summer.

One good track by a Cardiff DJ? Chesus – ‘Intergalactic jam’

FADED

VARIOUS Next Life (Hyperdub) Footwork’s relentless tempos, jagged samples and raw synth work tore open a hole in the space-time continuum like no other genre in recent years.

The tragic death of pioneer DJ Rashad last April was a huge blow to UK futurists Hyperdub, with whom he’d released the

excellent Rollin’ EP and Double Cup LP just months before.

Rather than become victims of nostalgia however, Hyperdub have rightfully decided to honour the man’s memory with this outstanding compilation from names pushing the genre forward, featuring Traxman, J-Dub and DJ Tre. Results are electrifying.

OUTER SLEEVES

SIX

MR MITCH Parallel Memories (Planet Mu) By now you’ll have all noticed how grime has returned to public life. What’s been interesting this time round is the emergence of off-piste instrumentals from the likes of Mr Mitch, Visionist and Murlo, all of whom have ventured into the genre’s darker, quieter

Three of this month’s UK releases worth talking about

CLARK Clark (Warp) It’s not hard to see how Clark’s noisy techno ended up on Warp. His ability to fuse together such a disparate range of influences without ever once appearing contrived is highly prized on the UK’s most important label. He’s that rare thing – an electronic Check out the mix Shibuya Boys put together for us at www.soundcloud.com/fadedmag

spaces. Here Mitch returns with his first full-length offering on Planet Mu, developing the trembling, square-wave driven minimalism of February’s The Room Where I Belong EP. Washed out strings, hollow flutes, stripped back beats, the distilled essence of Ruff Sqwad era romance. Essential nightbus listening.

music producer who you can immediately tell could just as easily be scoring films.

His adventurous movements through the synthscape don’t usually lend themselves well to the dancefloor, but such is the mastery of his execution that you’re gonna be too swept up in them to notice.

AN IDIOT REVIEWS

Dai Treherbert takes you through his trip to The Vaults’ Cellar Door cutting myself, as the folk at this event were so ‘edgy’.

To make it even worse I was told to wait for the drop, I was careful to watch my step but it was a difficult task in the dark surroundings.

Apparently ‘The beat’ was sick. He must be one of the quirkily named disc jockeys but no one seemed unwell to me.

After all this drama I thought I would get a bottle of H2O to cool myself down. At seven pound a bottle it must have been some sort of holy water as the

wide-eyed customers could not get enough of it.

Many of the partygoers wanted to attend the Boiler Room event in London, think I’ll give that one a miss, as I’m not yet Corgi registered.

FADED

I heard there was some sort of heavy underground house in an abandoned bank vault so I thought I’d pop along. Much to my dismay all I saw was a lot of rabbit-eyed people bobbing about, no sign of an oversized abode.

I don’t know what was sweating more - the walls, or me. Despite this there was an abundance of woollen head garments and baggy jackets. There was more neon than Piccadilly Circus.

With the amount of hoop earrings on display the scene resembled the Olympic opening ceremony.

There was danger at every turn. I was preparing to be punched as people kept telling me to wait for the hook.

Luckily it never came.

I was also scared of

“There was more neon than Piccadily Circus”

SEVEN