CDCY003

27 MARCH 2019

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5 6 𝔇𝓲𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓢𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓼 13 24 𝓒𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓱𝓪𝔁 𝒞𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝓊𝓅

ໂ𝓁𝒶 𝓃𝒶 𝓈ℴ𝓊 𝓅ℴ

𝓐𝓬𝓲𝓭 𝓒𝓻𝓮𝔀

25 27 ℒℴℴ𝓀𝒾𝓃𝓰 𝒶𝓉 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓪𝔃𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝟶𝟹

𝓉𝓌ℴ 𝓁𝒶𝒷ℯ𝓁𝓈

29 39 ℒℴℴ𝓀𝒾𝓃𝓰 𝒟ℐ𝒾𝓃𝓰 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈

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𝒜𝒽ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝒜𝒻 𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂ℯ𝓇 342 𝓐 𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼

Catching up

We can't cover everything in detail, some things we missed, some things stood out more than others - but for the sake of documentation here's a behind the scenes look at what went on.

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The last 3 months of KlubD in general were really good, not just for the NYE Lamache booking, or the Ceephax Acid Crew booking, but from the Cypriots as well. Georges D’Andre and Aristodemos were amazing, the Alternadiva night was full on, both nights were warm and embracing. Huge shoutout to Mesitis, who finally got a chance to remind us that he is a class DJ - it was incredible. Alex Tomb and Van Sim both had all nighter sets that went very well.

There was also a night where KlubD coincided with another party called ‘4040’ which was a pre-party and after party to Latyp & Plasmatik - a lot of crazy stuff happened that weekend, and we wont tell any stories here.. but if you know, you know.

Sousami saw the new pairing of Plasmatik & Plusone - everyone is playing with everyone, it's a really chemical time in Cyprus. Reködo Records is also doing a great job of facilitating chemistry through booking local DJs like Raw Silver, & Maik. It sounds cheesy but 2019 could be the year where the ‘barriers’ between groups are dissolved.

Having spoken to Andreas from Rekodo, there are a number of problems regarding record shop culture in nicosia - something isn't quite working, but having said that, more and more people continue to push that culture.

Moneda had a record/exchange event; Mr. Vinyl himself, Magos, is also running a lot of events from his record store, and moving his collection around Cyprus to places like Sousami and so on.

Actually, everything about the night was good, conceptually.

Disco Sucks

Spivak, Milton Fields, Aristodemos, Mohama Tajalof, Joralsky

Holding a disco party in the depths of Coronet club in theory is very cool; repurposing/liberating spaces that have a historical relationship with toxicity & controversy, and filling them with radiant euphoria.

Coronet club 31.12.2018 / NYE I think everyone learned something from ‘DiscoSucks' this year; at least I hope so.

It was a big night, and a bit strange; I left at midday thinking 2018 never ended. Whatever happened at that little ritual in the basement has taken us into a different timeline.

Yet, the character of the venue is hard to ignore; it's a bit damp, with claustrophobic corridoors, and in general, not such a pleasant place for a lot of people to trip together. There is an eeriness imbued into the dust. This is likely to be an intentional part of the experience though, it's not out of near-sightedness or illplanning, but it did put a weird spin on the night experientially. The dance floor area isn't ideal either, as the central raised area creates a division between the audience.

It was the third edition of the‘DiscoSucks’ series, and the pattern has become clear now: the night begins on high energy, transcendental disco beats (you know euphoric stuff), then at around 8am the lights go out and the remaining people are taken on a strange, mysterious sideways journey (I might be tempted to call it K-hole Disco). It's a good concept.

But despite everything that 'wasn't nice', the whole experience was... authentic, vivid; it felt really ‘out there’that night. The visuals were stunning, shifting from deep blues and reds to a sharp, lusty pink - the ceiling of mirrors in Coronet is amazing - you could watch the entire night through that warped lens, lost in the reflections.

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The atmosphere was chaotic and psychotropic; the venue was totally full, with a breakfast banquet in the backroom; overall it was exciting but tense. One minute Spivak was playing a really suave cyber-disco warm up, next minute Aristodemos was euphorically peaking, and suddenly it was 10am and the remaining people were sent to another world with some very specialmaterial. Everyone played well, with each artist delivering a unique take on the concept, but Joralsky's set most captured my attention.

Pics Zouris

Ela Na Sou Po

After hours is a special time, the state of mind that people end up in after hours and hours of dance music is a very sensitive one. The minor details of tracks become delicious, and the vibe/ essence of a track can really blossom; after hours are golden hours. This after hours set was really unique because the ‘essence’ was very consistent but the aesthetic was completely undefinable; the micro-rhythms were nonstandard, and there were strange organic elements shifting around, creating really exotic 'spaces'. While we know that the first hour was problematic, once the DJ found his form, the set became powerful. As the rhythms were more complex, they were harder to keep in order, and this had a peculiar effect on perception.

Each time one rhythmic element seemed to pop out of place, everything started moving in slow motion (musical strobing effect?), and as Joralsky clicked it back into place, time would click back into regular speed; it was surreal.

I honestly have no idea what to expect for round 4 next year, which is exciting.

Thank you to those involved for such a dramatic and interesting experience. As an end note, I wish to extend a personal message to everyone; be careful with what you're playing with. Everyone in the scene should be looking out for each other, and we should all take a moment to ask ourselves "do I know what I'm doing?". Have fun, but be safe.

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There are a lot of people starting new things.

It's very good news – the more varying parties we can throw, the more chance someone will get hooked on Underground music. There is a lot of space in the landscape now, currently, but we're also heading towards a time where parties should be unique, or they should explore something different or something missing from the scene. Low Tom, for example, is a new Limassol-based event series playing with post-punk, various waves and so on. In Nicosia we have C'est Demon in this area, as well as XRC through Milton Fields, and artists like Regressverbot, but in Limassol there is next to nothing available.

In this way, Low Tom could be a good idea as it provides something not available close-by. On the other end of the spectrum, Subaerial appeared the day before NYE, presenting a really refined ambient ceremony - a nice model that hasn't really been touched on by anyone except Honest Electronics.

CDCY spoke to two new event organisers about their backgrounds, their ambitions and their new events. We also tracked down one of the Island's visitors, Klara, from Macedonia, to talk about their experiences in our scene, and what Techno is like in another small country. �����

Conversation 01 Maria Spivak

đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź You continue to surprise me with your

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versatility: you can play Dance floor; darker vibes; downtempo & ambient; a variety of Live-sets, and you produce too. Your DiscoSucks set had a very consistent essence to it, another feeling which I hadn't heard from you yet.

I described it as Cyber Disco, but I would like you to elaborate on that and tell us what was behind the set.

It's very important for me to keep my sonic antennas open when I listen to and play music. I try to avoid getting

caught in a loop of limiting myself to one style of music and I push myself to blending various genres. The DiscoSucks set was meant to be a fun and playful approach on how I view subgenres such as disco, Italo, postpunk, new wave etc. I tried to be less intellectual about it and instead allowed the retro-infused cabaret environment inspire me to create the Cyber Disco atmosphere that you refer to. I hope I achieved it. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź I have interviewed you before, 2 years ago, back when I was doing my master's thesis and I was first meeting all of you, but I will ask you again what I asked you before: what is your background on all this? How did you get into Electronic music, synthesisers, and collecting and archiving music as a DJ does? đ?“˘đ?“šđ?“˛đ?“żđ?“Şđ?“´ My experience with music-making began at an early age when I started entertaining the thought of composing elementary melodies and fiddling around on the piano as part of my classical piano training. I was naturally drawn to learning different instruments just because I could, such as guitar and drums, and I experimented with playing and listening to various genres of music which helped me better understand the nature of rhythm and pattern making which are essential ingredients when making electronic music.

Of course, the fact that I was introduced to rave culture at a younger age also played an important role. When I bought my first synth later on, I began to figure out the process of building a track and performing it live, even though my awareness of the capabilities of my gear was limited. Slowly and gradually that developed as I became infatuated with machines and electronic

instruments and I continued buying and selling in an attempt to discover what my own sound was.

In the meantime, practicing and playing around with midi and its implementation helped me put together a more formulated work system.

Producing was a more intricate and theoretical process as it took a while for me to wrap my head around the idea of building and managing a studio in which I could jam, sketch ideas and finally achieving a work flow which suits my personal style of making music.

I am still struggling with that but I think it is this process that essentially makes my sound evolve and be unique. Collecting and archiving music came as a natural aftermath of being fascinated with electronic music as I spent countless hours listening to and Pic by Zouris organising it. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź What are your ambitions for the next few years? any releases planned? any gigs abroad? You're going to be in Athens for most of the first half of 2019, what will you be doing there as an artist? đ?“˘đ?“šđ?“˛đ?“żđ?“Şđ?“´ My ambitions for the next few years is definitely to focus on production and releasing material.

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I have a few things planned for 2019 which include a release on a European label, a release on our own label Honest Electronics, as well as a collaboration with a friend which is in the works and finally working on my live set for my future gigs. I have recently become obsessed with traveling and meeting like-minded musicians and artists especially in Athens, as I can see a lot of similarities between the scenes.

I feel like it has become a priority for me to work with other people and to collaborate on ideas and music as I feel like this allows me to expand and improve the quality of my craft and also makes it a lot more fun. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź So lets get into Low Tom – what are you hoping to cultivate with this series? đ?“˘đ?“šđ?“˛đ?“żđ?“Şđ?“´ Low Tom is a new project initiated by me and Constantinos Avgousti who also plays as Sixonesix. It began as a fun little proposal on how we could organise gatherings that would revolve around our shared aesthetic of new wave and industrial obscurities within the electronic dance music realm.

We are interested in bringing forward the live performative aspect of an act into the dance floor as we feel this is something missing from the scene in Cyprus. We will hopefully announce our new plans soon! đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź What would you say to anyone (including me!) who is inspired by your progress as an artist, any advice? đ?“˘đ?“šđ?“˛đ?“żđ?“Şđ?“´ I would say that I am just as inspired by you and everything that you do for the community. For me, the underground electronic music scene in Cyprus has to be one of the biggest reasons I started taking music-making seriously in the first place. I found it fascinating seeing how people worked together to help push this community and its members to new levels each year, and most importantly how the values that are being reflected have a healthy impact on the greater arts community in Cyprus. I found the courage to do what I do because I was inspired by the people around me, so I am certain that it is the first step anyone needs to take in order to progress as an artist, to support and be supported.

Conversation 02 Mohama Tajalof đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź So did Disco Sucked? How was it for

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you? Did it resolve the year? đ?“œđ?“¸đ?“ąđ?“Şđ?“śđ?“Ş To be honest I was never into NYE outings, but this party definitely set my heart on fire. Such a sweaty night.

Winter needs more disco you know. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź Well then, bravo to the DiscoSucks team, and yourself, for bringing that experience.

How long have you been raving, collecting music, djing and so on? đ?“œđ?“¸đ?“ąđ?“Şđ?“śđ?“Ş I have been raving, playing at different contexts and analysing the dance floor for more than a decade. But I had a radio show back in the 00s when I was ten, thanks to my biological father who was managing a radio station at the time. I remember going at Versus for the first time at 16, and not "getting" it.

But you know, after a certain point you start to experiment with psychedelics, and you realise the spatial sounds and Pic by Pan the 4/4 rhythm essence, and you merge with people while you sort of become each other's school, and you finally start connecting the dots. I reckon I was always more comfortable in expressing myself through music. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź Thanks for sharing! What are your ambitions for the next few years?

Do you have any dream gigs? đ?“œđ?“¸đ?“ąđ?“Şđ?“śđ?“Ş I am cultivating Subaerial at the moment - a series of micro ceremonies that are performed on the island's grounds, with genres falling under the roof of experimental, ambient and downtempo. It is a delicate attempt to dance less on auto-pilot, and elevate the soul while lying comfortably down having a quadraphonic experience of high-quality hearing, with throbbing

Pics by Peter Eramian

Conversation 03 Klara

frequencies encompass the body. I think that we need an equal amount of raves and these kind of healing ceremonies in order to be grounded. Alongside the sense of oneness and spirituality in raves, comes a feeling of disorientation and wounding the spirit. Subaerial

đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź So how was your time in Cyprus? Were

functions as equilibrium.

đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź It's cool that you're thinking about where

your event sits in the landscape. The scene here is still small, and truth be told we need a lot more of both raves and rituals – and with more and more raves coming, it's absolutely the perfect time for you to present this idea – having a balance between the varying social-andsound-based practices.

As my last question for you, I'm curious to know if you feel up to sharing your experiences in the Techno scene in regards to social identity. Do you feel comfortable talking about your own experiences in the scene here? đ?“œđ?“¸đ?“ąđ?“Şđ?“śđ?“Ş I don't mind opening Pandora's box.

I grew up with a highly communicative single mother, who has had the ferocity to protect by choosing to be the dominant model in my life - thus she let me be. I am constantly transforming myself, as I have a healthy relationship with both the masculine and feminine energies inside me, constantly switching from one to the other. Yes, I have experienced sexism, harassment and misogyny - but not as a DJ as far as I remember. Although we are transcending the fourth wave of feminism, women still need to combat inequality with arrogance most of the time. But I've come to realise that I am not into the perpetuation of a dichotomy of the sexes, and I refrain from playing in "strictly women-only" line-ups, especially if they're used as a righteous selling point.

At the end of the day, you do you boo!

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you treated well by our promotors?

Honestly, I felt like visiting childhood đ?“šđ?“ľđ?“Şđ?“ťđ?“Ş friends that I haven't seen in years, not like meeting strangers‌ such warm home feelings and connection‌ I am so happy I got to be hosted by such amazing humans like Alex, Panicos and Alexa and spend few days with them in their homes. I am truly blessed. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź What is the techno scene like in Macedonia? (any nice places? is the crowd good / big / small?)

Techno scene in Macedonia is very small đ?“šđ?“ľđ?“Şđ?“ťđ?“Ş and far behind I must say with deep sadness in my heart. Skopje currently has only one club that meets all world standards, which owns a F1 System and all the required gear and proper space, and they are doing all the work for the scene currently. There are only two other clubs that are appreciating the techno crowd, but they are focused on the Detroit sound while all the rest are hosting House DJs. The problem here is the lack of diversity on the techno genre and fresh artists and organizers with passion to create and do with open doors for them to express. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź While it's hard to say, what kind of impression did you get of our scene here?

I loved the vibe! I could feel the đ?“šđ?“ľđ?“Şđ?“ťđ?“Ş openness of people and their urge to set themselves free from the construct of society in dancing. The crowd and the feedback was amazing! Impressive I must say! Even though I get a feeling those nights are not something you get to see and feel every so often. People

đ?“šđ?“ľđ?“Şđ?“ťđ?“Ş

reconnect with our true self even when unconsciously affected and partially perceived though our senses.

Out of this, using music as a medium, when playing open air in natural surroundings, I tend to open people's consciousness and awareness contrary to the closed, underground club environment when my goal is to put them in a trance state, which is completely the opposite, making them flow in an unconscious state to free themselves and make them go deeper in their own unconscious ways.

seemed like they were waiting for such event to treat their souls. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź We have legendary beach and forest parties here in summer, would you want to come back for that? If you did, what would be different? How do you conceptualize your approach to playing in different spaces and environments!

I would definitely LOVE to be a part. đ?“šđ?“ľđ?“Şđ?“ťđ?“Ş For me playing open air has a far better meaning and I appreciate the experience much more when comparing to a closed club environment.

Both have very different approach and vibe.

I am a forest creature, the forest is my home.

We often forget how important nature is to us for we are stuck in the system we currently live in, forced to be concrete jungle animals in the society we live in, in which we' ll never be deliberate enough to even understand how to be fully human. When playing outdoors, I want to remind people of this importance, of how nature intended us to behave as beings. I want to make sure I send them in the right places with both their mind and being with full appreciation of nature and the exact present moment of time and space.

I also study symbolism. The sphere, open space, gives us the opportunity to open our minds reconnect with our own selves and all others, it is the universal symbol of unity, equality, completeness, life, death, the self, the essence of life or god and the mother's womb (source of life), all of these forces and meanings can lead us to ground and to reach out above towards the source of life, to

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Pic by Panikos

Ceephax Acid in the House

Colazione 03

Ceephax Acid Crew [Live]

Janis Plasmatik, Minut, and Klara

KlubD 05.01.19

Location N/A 06.01.19

A lot of people were really excited about this booking; a huge start to the year. Ceephax has a big reputation in the world of Acid Techno, dating back to 1997, and has a lot of experience using his collection of vintage machines.

He brought with him, amongst many other gadgets, his trusty TR-303, accompanied by a TR-707, and frankly it was worth it just to listen to the Roland gear through the KlubD system.

Colazione is shaping up to be a really solid entity in the Underground Techno scene here.

At the beginning of the series, there was a bit of confusion about what Colazione was supposed to be: is it a rave? Is it an afterparty to KlubD? is it casual? Are people bringing stuff? are the DJs playing chill-out or full on? There are no official answers or statements about this yet, but so far its being treated like a ‘proper rave' by both the audience and the performers; a rave that permits both a) a chance to rest after KlubD, and b) a good night sleep before work on Monday. Pretty much perfect actually.

Socrates had fun warming up the room because in general people were excited by the synthesisers and drum machines set up waiting.

It was worth the wait because the first thing Ceephax did was let off a kick drum loop from the 707 and it was shaking the room, it was basically the golden kick. It's hard to say what the secret is, except that when you have 20 years practice using a machine, you learn how to make it work.

The sound-system was expanded this time, with a pair of tops added to the main stereo towers, to help push the sound down the long hall.

As always none of the acts were announced, which can be frustrating, but when you have some faith and show up early to the party to find Janis Plasmatik playing the warm up set, it makes for a huge reward.

For most of the set he would play 20-30 minutes of darker acidic techno, then break-out into something warm and euphoric, like deeper acid house; these break-out moments were emotional and rewarding, and gave a really

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It was an admirable warm up too: The Warehouse is not the easiest place to make a warm up. The sound-system is great, but as it is fully-analogue, it takes a while to warm up, which has a big effect on the bass in particular.

The warehouse also needs a lot of people in it to help hold the sound, so the artist who is warming up has these acoustic problems to fight against whilst trying to work up a vibe and set the mood. Things started slow but about an hour into the set Janis pulled off a mix which seemed to bring the atmosphere to life almost

seemed to bring the atmosphere to life almost instantly – it's easy to exaggerate, but it was like the momentum of the entire evening blossomed out of that one perfect mix.

This was then followed by a live-set from Minut, a Cypriot artist living in Berlin. The set had a good flow, a strong beat, and it continued the momentum set by Janis very well.

The year has started strong in regard to music releases from Cypriot labels; we don't have many labels but the ones we do have are proving that they're taking it seriously and pushing for good content.

Looking at Two Labels

Then entered the 'headliner', Klara, the young DJ from Macedonia. Stylistically and conceptually, Klara takes an interest in the shamanic side of DJing, using her performance as a way of guiding everyone in the room on a collective trip. In order to achieve this flow, she taps into a varied repertoire of deep music, from deep minimal house (Minilogue for example), to darker deep Techno that is more similar to Alex Tomb's style. It was a really tasteful set, melodic, but laced with tribal elements, and in many ways, very consistent with EssĂŠ's set from the previous Colazione. This is the kind of artistic consistency which can take Colazione from just something to do on a Sunday, to something anticipate as part of their weekly or monthly rave plans.

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Currently its a story of two labels, Honest Electronics and the new Capparis Spinosa; Honest Electronics operates two labels named Honest Electronics & Dishonest, and this year is going to be an interesting opportunity for the team to solidify what is going on with the two labels.

Until now, the sublabel 'Dishones' hasn't had enough time to fully define itself, with just 2 releases so far. There is a significant difference between DIS01 and DIS02, in that one was a 10-cut LP from Raw Silver & BillyD, and the other was a liveset from a Rave, cut into 4 slices and served. It will be really interesting to see how Dishonest develops over the future, and with DIS03 set to release anytime soon, I guess we're about to find out!

That being said, the line up for releases this year is extensive and the hard work that goes into this label is so impressive – the aesthetic and the character of Honest Electronics is unconventional, but people have to do some unconventional stuff in order to stumble into new paradigms, new models, new directions, and new futures.

Capparis, the label of Alex Tomb also had a release in the opening of

DJing for days

this year, release number 2. It's way too early to try and see a pattern in what is going on with this label but the theme is emerging. There is this organic, natural vibe coming off of the imagery, track and EP names, which are halfbased on the plant "capparis spinosa". There is a lot of colour as well, deep purples and soft pastel tones, nice imagery and textures.

All these elements contribute to how someone perceives the label and the music – label organisers have to care a lot about how their releases link to each other thematically, conceptually, aesthetically – ultimately you're curating the release of a collection of works over time – the stronger the coherence between works, the more solid the label seems.

Just look at Perlon, 110+ releases all with immaculate aesthetic and thematic consistency, 10 years or more of tight creative control based on a strong vision.

With these 2 labels growing and growing, maybe we're already looking at the start of our own Perlon-tier labels here in Cyprus, which is why it's exciting to pay close attention to what's going on. I guess we will find out in 10 years time! What else is missing? A minimal label.

We desperately need a minimal label here.

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The most common set time we see in Cyprus is about 2 hours. For a DJ, 2 hours is a short amount of time, but for fans, promoters and booking agents, 2 hours is a long time to entrust in any one artist. If you spend all year waiting for an event, or if you invest significantly in an event, it can be risky to give a single DJ more than 2 hours 2 hours is enough time for a DJ to present something, without being too long that, should the artist not click with the setting or audience, it's not too long to wait until someone else is there to push the momentum forward.

The problem is that in a 2 hour frame, you can often spend the majority of the set working with the vibe left by the previous DJ, and trying to leave a vibe which the next DJ will work with. Experienced DJs don't perform as if they are in a vacuum, they take time to understand the context they're playing in. As an extreme example: If someone was booked to play between Alex Tomb and Aristodemos, they might spend all of their 2 hour set time trying to connect the two sets. This is especially true with Minimal genres, as it is important to maintain a continuous, uninterrupted flow across many performances and not rushing into different areas too quickly.

If an organiser really trusts an artist, they start to offer 3 or 4 hours – look at Monuments festival this year, for example; it's all 4 hour sets entrusted into some of the label's finest connections. To many underground DJs 3-4 hours is where things start to get fun; it's enough time for someone to really elaborate.

When it comes to DJs like Aristodemos, Alex Tomb, BillyD and Janis Plasmatik, it can be infuriating if they're only given 2 hours, the magic comes when you give them time to go somewhere.

4 hour sets come with all of the most fun

Alex Tomb đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź You played at KlubD recently for more

artwork, sorting based on the energy of each track, adding cues etc. All this is saved in Traktor and with audio file tags. Then all these factors come together while performing and I have 100% 'control' of all those parameters at anytime.

than 7 hours, did you have any idea what time you would have to finish when you prepared for the set?

Yes, KlubD closing times are đ?“Łđ?“¸đ?“śđ?“Ť predefined more or less, they usually close between 6:30-07:30, so I knew that I had at least 7 hours. Luckily enough, that night the crowd followed and stayed till the end, I could definitely have taken it for another couple of hours, but we had to close. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź Before going to a gig, how do you decide what music to bring, or do you just bring everything?

But in general, for me, an all night long set of 7 hours is usually the easiest slot; just as long as I have enough good music for every moment to choose from. Besides, I have been lucky enough to have the chance to do it for a long time and quite often, so is quite the normal for me.

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I am playing digitally, so yeah I bring everything. However before my music is imported into Traktor, there is a lot of organisation and passes through a lot of personal 'filtering'. I never keep music that I do not like on my computer. Whatever I have in my folders and in Traktor will be played eventually. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź In terms of planning for a long set, do you like to work in ‘movements’, phases' or 'sections'? or do you try to be purely improvisational?

My sets are totally improvisational, ���� meaning that everything is done for the first time at that moment. However, I always work in movements & phases, yeah, but being able to successfully do those movements repeatedly for 7 hours, for example, requires a lot of preparation before hand. I have a quite complex folder/playlist structure in Traktor that I have perfected over the years. This includes chronological ordering, finding the main harmonic key of each track, a lot of comments,

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Pic by Honest Electronics

BillyD đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź What was the longest set you have

R.Villalobos and the second one from Rene Audiard). After this settlement I started the journey; mostly minimal but also tapping into an oasis of house and techno tracks. People seemed to enjoy it as they stayed there for the whole thing! Great creative experience for me, love long afterhours sets! đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź When you play back to back with Hxos, does it change how you think about set planning? đ?“‘đ?“˛đ?“ľđ?“ľđ?”‚đ?““ A back to back set is indeed much different than a set I would play alone.

Mixing a record ontop your partner's record requires not only to know your records, but also to know your partner's records as well, at least as much as you can. This can only happen after a lot of hours of practicing together in a not party environment. That way it is easier to create a better flow when you actually are in a party situation. Having that in mind, for me a back to back set can only be done with somebody that you know well as person as well, [Hxos & I] have similar taste in music, and have a very similar attitude. That is exactly why me and Hxos chose each other, as artists we do understand each other, and there is good communication between us while we are playing, sometimes with zero words exchanged.

Of course there is some fun in just playing b2b with friends, but for me, in a live situation, a b2b set has to sound as good as a single person's set, no excuses, but with the music flavor of two minds mixed well in practice.

played? Where was it? đ?“‘đ?“˛đ?“ľđ?“ľđ?”‚đ?““ My longest DJ set was about 3 years ago when me and Miltos arranged an outdoor party [something like a preXRC party] at the ‘famous’’ Xenio's piece of land in Ayious Trimithias. I played a 12hrs afterhours set after Miltos set. Started at 07am and finished at 07pm when Aristodemos popped-up to take the dj booth for another 12hrs [unofficially]. And my set was planned. I knew that I am having this slot so I was prepared well. It was also something that I was practicing a lot at the time. Longer set for me means more music and interesting tracks’ combinations. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź How do you decide what records to bring?

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Its different than when I play a 2,3,4 hours set. Usually these kind of sets are either main or warmup sets played in a bar or club, which is something that narrows down the spectrum of different techno styles I can work with... When you have to DJ for half a day this music spectrum becomes much richer and wider. Having that in mind, I took 2 bags of records (around 100 records).

From minimal and micro to deep and harsh techno, tools and acapellas and even some old classic tresor records.

Of course nothing was planned within the set. It was a difficult slot to plan anything, 35c degrees with not much of a shade and everyone had been partying for 6-7 hours already, so what I wanted to do was to devote atleast half an hour at the start to rest the dancer's minds and feet. So I chose two long 15min minimal house records to start (If I remember correct the first one was from

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Pic by Iza

Pics by Iza

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Joralsky đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź Hey Emm, what's up?

đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź Do you ever try to divide up the time

I've probably seen hundreds of hours of you performing at this point so lets cut to the chase! Do you like to know when you are supposed to finish, or do you prefer to just go at it and see what happens? đ?“˜đ?“¸đ?“ťđ?“Şđ?“ľđ?“źđ?“´đ?”‚ During my first ever gig on a proper stage I needed a light cue to remember when I was half-way through it I completely blacked out that time and played less! Since then I realize that the maturity in one's performances is reflected in acknowledging the time limits of their performance.

Especially in free improvisation, so many sets are ruined for not finishing at the "right" time.

into sections, phases? đ?“˜đ?“¸đ?“ťđ?“Şđ?“ľđ?“źđ?“´đ?”‚ For extended sets I definitely have some themes I want to explore. I tend to visually imagine my sets ahead of time, which is why I ask for photos of space if I don't know in advance and I ask around who is going to be there so I can imagine them as dancing. It is silly, but I really do do that as, overall, I tend to DJ for a close-knit group of friends: a friends' DJ, as it were.

For DJing this is a bit different, especially when assigned a closing set.

I sometimes set out to play as long as people will accept me, which has led to extended sessions in the past. đ?“?đ?“˛đ?“´đ?“¸ đ?“œđ?“Şđ?“ź If you can't bring your entire library to a gig, how do you decide what to bring?

Is it a meticulous selection process?

đ?“˜đ?“¸đ?“ťđ?“Şđ?“ľđ?“źđ?“´đ?”‚ I carry with me a few large sticks of

music and a record bag. Some sticks include new finds while others have old material that I tend to revisit.

While I do prepare for specific shows, depending on time-slots and vibe of event, I always have back-up plans if things diverge from the original intentions. Overall, I prefer to have a loose structure through which I navigate with according to people's response.

The environment of the gig dictates more significantly the selection.

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Pic by Zouris

Looking Ahead at Summer 38

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It's March now, maybe even April by the time you read this. When Issue 04 comes around it'll be over 40 degrees again. In 40 degrees, the mind dissolves, so now is the time where decisions are made and plans are settled. What do we want to do this summer? What do we need this summer?

Outdoor festivals and beach parties is where Cyprus excels, we’re on a beautiful island in the mediterranean and the setting couldn't be better.

There are more organising crews than ever, too, including a number of unannounced debut events from some very passionate and professional people. We can expect a visit to Kampia, to Mazotos, hopefully Pomos, too – but it doesn't always have to be far-away – last year there was an absence of Poolside parties, which seems like an obvious success. Not every villa with a pool is expensive, it doesn't always have to be as top-class as the villa in Kannavia for Space Troopers last year.

Having said that, last year was a really good summer. Low Society V in Mazotos was a great setting, I'm certain most people would be glad to go back there for round 2.

The Gathering is a staple of each summer, too, and with the all-local line-up, there is a lot of chance that it'll be the best one yet. There's a history to what's going on a Kampia, which predates Honest Electronics, and the all local-line up seems to be a way to reconnect with that history – the real beauty of Kampia is the energy energy which has been

there, an energy which has been nurtured by a community of dancers, and this year the event pays respect to that community. Furthermore, international artists come with some complications including higher prices – having a local-line up will allow some redistribution of funds, which can facilitate quality of life improvements; better shades, improved constructions and so on.

On top of this, we can expect another season of off-radar events at places like the white house in Mazotos. Some of the best raves were at this site, and the problems with this site are easily confronted. It's hard to dance on rocks for example, so all you’d need to do is move the dance floor onto the flat surface where people were parking before, cut the grass, put up a good shade and done. You'd still be 10 meters from the sea, meaning you're close enough to dance in the water for example, but you'd have a solid surface to dance on. A lot of things were figured out last year, so this year should be consistent improvements across the board through minor changes to last year's model.

It would be amazing to see a KlubD beach party this year with Mesitis playing the after hours for example.

Pics by Iza

A lot of influential people are back this year, too, and frankly it looks like it might all kick off.

There is a big announcement pending from Alex Tomb, involving a big label from Berlin to top everything off.

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đ?“?đ?“ˇđ?“ˇđ?“¸đ?“žđ?“ˇđ?“Źđ?“Žđ?“śđ?“Žđ?“ˇđ?“˝đ?“ź

• Big congratulations to Manic promotions on passing the 10 year anniversary, we haven’t had a chance to really cover the impact and influence Maik has had on the scene, yet, but his years in the game is seriously impressive. • Square Bar also passed it’s 5 year anniversary this period, and we’ve written before about how grateful we should all be for what Square does.

The owner and the staff work so hard, and the community around it are loyal. • Dimi Shoe, a Cypriot artist, singersonger writer, author and illustrator has released a new mini-book/zine - go to @dimi.shoe on instagram to check that out. • CDCY is always looking to grow - if you like to tell stories, or if you like to analyse things, or if you have something to say - contact us, have your voice heard and contribute to what we’re building here. • As a last note, you may have noticed that every issue has a different designer - we hope to keep this going to celebrate the talent and art of people in our scene. If you are interested, and you know how to use graphics programs, contact us.

CDCY Issue 03 Cover pic by Iza

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Words Niko Mas Design wrangou Pics Iza, Zouris, Peter Eramian, Panikos, Pan Illustrations moharmy, wrangou

find out more at rebellion.earth

cdcy is a zine for rave culture and underground music in cyprus @c.d.cy

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