Dj Magazine Feb 2010 by vassiliy fartukov

DJMAG.AE

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2

DJ Magazine TOP 50 PARTY @ 360, THURSDAY MARCH 11

BEIRUT BEAT DJ Magazine takes over The Basement

‘I’m something of a raver’ ‘ DJ MAGAZINE MIDDLE EAST

The other side of Paul Van Dyk

HEADS UP

THE 18 best things in dance music this year

Interviews with:

Timo Maas, Pendulum and Jade

UP, UP aND AWAY!

Amin Golestan

WIN SENNHEISER AND SHURE HEADPHONES + BLOC PARTY TICKETS

FEBRUARY 2010

THE DJ Magazine Top 50 winner TAKES OFF Also: Chi’s 3rd birthday, Space at Sanctuary, ATFC at Barasti, Full Moon party at Nasimi and Kiko Navarro at MustHaveSoul

LIVING & BREATHING DANCE MUSIC!

Contents UPFRONT 04 06 12 18

Win a year’s entry to Chi Space at Sanctuary 60 Seconds: Jade Fashion

AAA ACCESS

FEATURES 23 Circus Loco

Dubai-born Amin Golestan joins the house music circus after winning the DJ Mag Top 50.

ALL

AREAS

James Lavelle

The Freestylers

Beirut Beat

Image Conscious

Club listings

28 S wing time

Pendulum’s El Hornet talks their third album, surfing and thrash metal ahead of their Dubai gig.

30 Leader of the trance

MUSIC

Who knew Paul Van Dyk was a raver at heart? Paul gets honest ahead of his Dubai and Beirut double date.

34 S tructure and Chaos

Opposites attract as Lindstromm, and new recruit Christabelle, create a shimmering disco-pop album, ‘Real Life Is No Cool.’

54 55 68 72

In the Bag – MRK 1 Singles Albums Compilations

37 Last requests

MustHaveSoul’s new resident Kiko Navarro gets confessional.

38 H eads up

The year ahead in highlights.

40 The six degrees of separation

74 78 79

TECH

Tech producers

Native controller CDJ2000 reviewed

ATFC digs deep to meet our tune challenge.

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editorial

Editor Andy Buchan andy@djmag.ae Contributing Editor Mike Ross mike@djmag.ae Sales and Marketing Lisa Chauhan lisa@djmag.ae

We have a winner Every DJ remembers their first competition. Mine was at a non-descript bar in the UK, where I went up against seven other equally nervous DJs. Following a Gabba DJ wasn’t perhaps the most ideal of starts, but I had a cunning plan - I’d pre-prepared the set (naturally), but had scribbled the pitch points on my hand, so that all I had to do was cue it up and I would be home and dry. Only, it was the dry bit that was the problem. This was my first performance infront of anything more than my four bedroom walls, and I was more nervous than Grooverider at Dubai customs. Which meant that my cunning plan sweated off within minutes of arrival. Four botched mixes later, and I was down and most certainly out. Not so our cover star, the winner of the first ever DJ Magazine Middle East Top 50 - Amin Golestan. After nearly three months of intense competition, hundreds of entries from across the region and thousands of votes from all over the world, Amin emerged victorious. Following in Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk and Tiesto’s tracks isn’t easy, but the Dubai-born Iranian DJ is no stranger to the high-life. He’s played in Moscow, Tokyo, Ibiza, Miami, been released on Dave Seaman’s label Audio Therapy as well as Sander Kleinenberg’s Little Mountain and is Pioneer’s poster boy for the Middle East. And all before he’s a quarter of a century old (Amin is a fresh faced 23). He heads up our Top 50 coverage, including interviews with the top three and profiles of the Top 10. Elsewhere, we talk to previous winner Paul Van Dyk ahead of his Beirut and Dubai double date, discuss surfing, thrash metal and going it alone with drum and bass kingpins Pendulum and look ahead at the 18 best things in dance music this year. Enjoy the issue, and congratulations Amin.

Andy Buchan Editor

Online Vassily Anitoli vas@djmag.ae Design Allan Tinsay allan@djmag.ae Contributors Cover photography Martin Beck (Bareface) Styling Ant Kidd (Bareface) Entertainer Bareface (www.bareface.com) Shot on location at Global Village Oliver Adams, Martin Beck, Xan Blacker, David Craig, Rukshan Jayasekara, Lloyd, MaDJam, Martin Metcalf, Georgina Wilson-Powell, Lisa Sant, Zahra Soar, Luke Smith, DJ Solo, Danilo Venegas. Printed by United Printing and Publishing LLC Tel +971 2 414 4135 uppsales@upp.ae P.O.Box: 39955, Abu Dhabi, UAE

The publisher does not accept any liability for errors or inaccuracies contained in this publication, however caused. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information contained in this publication is intended for general use and readers are advised to seek specialist information before acting upon any information enclosed herein. No part of this publication or any part of its content may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form, without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The only exemption to this is for extracts used for the purpose of a fair review. New Dawn Media Group FZC Launch sample copy

Double vision

Two CD compilation from Beirut’s Fady Ferraye Once one of Lebanon’s most high profile DJs, Fady made the move to Amsterdam to further his DJ and production career. But with a monthly residency in Beirut, and a double CD, with one disc dedicated to the Paris of the Middle East and the other to the ‘Dam, it’s clear that his native country is firmly in his thoughts. You’ve named one CD Amsterdam, and the other Beirut - what’s the biggest difference between the two? Well I consider my music as the common factor between the two - I am inspired by these two beautiful ladies. They are totally and unexplainably different, and I like that. How did you record the mix? I mixed it live at my studio in Amsterdam, using two CDJs, and then edited it and mastered it using Live Ableton 8 and some high-end plugins. But I wanted to keep the feeling that it is one hundred per cent live. How did you decide what tracks to put on there? And are there any exclusives? I wanted to create a story line, as I do when I play live. I wanted to describe how I see these two influencial and cultural cities: Amsterdam with its lush, groovy and mad hypnotic face, Beirut with its underground feel, as twisted and darkly beautiful as its cobwebbed streets. But to be honest, I just played the first tune, and that one yielded to the flow; I might have been inspired by J.S.Bach who once said “There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself”. What made you release a physical CD in the current climate? Although the world had changed, and every music lover is online, there is still a special feeling to have the album that you dig, physically, you can touch it, hold it, place it proudly on your

library shelf, show it to your best friends, and play it everywhere. Plus, you might have it as a collectible item one day. That intimate thing definitely can’t be compared to having data on a file somewhere on your desktop. But that’s an age-old argument, analog vs digital. I think, finally, everyone has their own way of listening to music, whether it be a physical item, or a digital one. The content is always going to be the most important thing to look for, but an album, is not only about the music content, it is about the artwork, sometimes the cover, and the message behind it. You have one of your songs on there called ‘A Girl With a Cello on a Bike.’ Is that a true story? It’s not a true story, but after seeing a black and white photo of a girl on a bike with a cello on her back on a blog, I had the inspiration and idea to start a melodic track, with different chord progressions, and different moods. And it is a story about a girl who is rushing into the conservatoire, finding her way through the busy streets of Amsterdam, and thinking about a love lost somewhere between the note sheets and the bed sheets! You old romantic. Have you put any Middle Eastern producers on the Beirut CD, apart from yourself? There’s a track entitled ‘Champagne’ and it is by two upcoming and talented Lebanese producers, Shant and Diamond Setter, Diamond Setter is the Basement Beirut’s resident DJ. It was released on my label Goosebumps Records, and it had a lot of support from big names in the scene. And also Champagne itself has a big presence and role in our Beirut nightlife, you can hear that in the break of Shant and Diamond Setter’s track. Fady Ferraye, The Double Effect is out now on Daxar.

INSIDE TRACK n Australian DJ Anthony Pappa is the latest Antipodean DJ to make it to Dubai, after his date at Chi on Thursday February 11 was confirmed. Part of his latest globe-trotting tour, Anthony will play Argentina, Hungary, Greece, Brazil, Peru and Russia in February. n Barsha in Dubai has long been tipped to become a clubbing hub, thanks to its central location and the emergence of several hotels. And the first club is here, Catwalk. Focusing on commercial house and R&B, anyone looking for creative DJ kicks are likely to be disappointed. But, the close proximity to new Dubai, cheap drinks and the simple but effective design will win many over. n It’s always employed a liberal definition of the word jazz, and this year’s Jazz Festival in Dubai is no different with James Morrison and David Gray headlining. More interestingly, the Brand New Heavies are scheduled to play, alongside the James Taylor Quartet. The festival runs from Wednesday February 17 to Friday February 19 at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre.

On the stereo Darling Farah ‘Hell/Hell’ EP Making the move from fidget to Satan-tinged house, Darling Farah has made an EP that German techno fans will love. Patrick Carrera and Darko De Jan ‘Na Na’ With more deep rolls than a Beth Ditto sandwich, this Arabic-influenced track will work in any house set. Crookers feat. Kid Cudi ‘Embrace the Martian’ (Seiji Acid remix) 808 bottom end, intergalactic lyrics and a toned-down bassline = fun times. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool ‘Dance the way I Feel’ (Armand Van Helden remix) Squelch-laden take on jacking disco, with a delightful dubstep middle eight. Liquid ‘Sweet Harmony’ (Danny Byrd remix) Cheesy, yes. Nostalgic, yes. Destroys dancefloors? Absolutely. Nick Tohme ‘God’s Love’ Hands in the air spoken word house track from Quantum’s resident: we’re converted. Wisqo - ‘Welcome to Planet Pandora’ Like the film - Avatar was set on Pandora, cinephiles - this is a lush and dense, other-world musical experience.

n Anmol Pinto, one of Dubai’s more amusing DJs (follow his Facebook or Twitter updates), has had his first ever track, ‘Jumeirah Jane’, has been signed up by German label VEMK. A big melodic monster, it’s out on February 19 across the usual platforms and comes backed by recent Defected star Afroboogie and DJ Mag top 50 winner Amin Golestan.

Simian Mobile Disco - ‘Cruel Intentions’ (Joker remix) Bristol’s Joker shows that dubstep needn’t be all aggression and nuclear basslines, with this epic take on SMD’s latest battle weapon.

n Following hot on the heels of our Top 50 poll comes another DJ competition - but this time with an allimportant twist, as this is only open to female DJs. Organised by 22.10, a female-focussed entertainment company, the competition is open to all DJanes based in the UAE, with any style of music welcome. Interested DJs should submit a recorded mix to info@2210dubai.com, and selected DJs will then enter the heats in the Virgin branch at Mall of the Emirates, where they will be judged by crowd reaction and a panel of judges. The heats begin on Friday February 26, and run for four weeks before the final on Friday March 26 at the rooftop of the Media One Hotel in Dubai. Winning DJs will get a contract with 22.10 including a gig, products from the sponsor brands, as well as gift vouchers from the SAE in Dubai.

BEAT IT

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Chris Lake and Steve Smith - ‘Humanica’ Dirty Vegas star and Dubai favourite Steve Smith contributes a Wild West harmonica solo to this blistering slice of electro-tech.

Costa Papa - SAE The art of warming up – few people understand and fewer accept it. Some pointers: know who is playing before and after you. Do not play peaks; the set should be consistent. Take the time to build the mood - more drums less vocals is always good. Organize at least a two hour set. Close the set with style, and make a statement with a smooth track, so the next DJ can pick up where you left off.

SECRET

WEAPON

THE DJ’S GUARANTEED KILLER!

Pete Farmer

Watch this Space Ibiza super-club returns to Dubai

Chaka khan Vs Camisra ‘Aint nobody’ Vs ‘Let me Show you’ I was resident at a club in the UK when my fellow DJ Mark Gillings dropped this track out of the blue. As soon as the bass line and vocal kicked in, the floor went absolutely nuts. During the following weeks at different venues we were working at, the track got the same instant reaction. After much harassment to gain a copy, I was finally given the white label! Ever since it has been my secret weapon to fill the floor and gain that electric atmosphere! An oldie I know, but one that every generation loves.

That’s right reading fans, Space Ibiza - the legendary club on the white Isle - is taking over Sanctuary at The Atlantis on Thursday March 4, with club resident Camilo Franco in charge of the ones and twos. Acting as the perfect warm-up for the up-coming summer season, Camilo will be showcasing his usual blend of jacking house and Balearic classics to the Sanctuary faithful. Camilo was also kind enough to tell DJ Magazine why this upcoming season in Space his fourth at the club - will be the

best yet. ‘Because Space is the best club in the world, the crowd is amazing and I will be touring with Space Ibiza all over the world this summer.’ Wise words Camilo, wise words. The fun doesn’t just stop there, however. Oh no. The good, good people at Sanctuary have kindly offered one VIP table with a bottle and entry for six people on the night. Simply head to www.djmag. ae, and answer the question to the right to be in with a chance of a winning a free night out.

What do you mean you don’t own? Funk D’Void, Volume Freak That Lars Sandberg, aka Funk D’Void, hasn’t followed the same DJ trajectory as Eric Prydz is one of life’s greatest mysteries. For on this, his second album, Lars lays the sound blueprint for driving, Technicolor techno that’s as happy on a set of 2000s as it is on a late night set of headphones. Then again, it’s perhaps no surprise that his work remained funk fried - he did take his name from a Parliament lyric. Lead single ‘Emotional Content’ is the spirit of Detroit - diseased car factories and euphoric house history and all - distilled into eight synapse-

snapping minutes. But better was to come as the quite heavenly ‘Diabla’ was the centerpiece of the album: a head-screwing mix of lush, orchestral notes and knee-bending bass that the Chemical Brothers always closed their sets with. Released on the ever-conistent Soma record label - the first guys to release Daft Punk, and also home to fellow sunny-side techno practitioners Silicone Soul - it remains the benchmark techno CD and marked a turning point away from mechanical, techno and into a rave new world.

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Space Ibiza is being hosted at which club in Dubai? a) Sanctuary b) Reserve c) Asylum

Livin’ la Movida Loca What’s this? Another DJ competition? But didn’t we, DJMag - the authority on all things DJ-related – just do one of those? Yes, we suppose we did. But that was of course the democratically elected Top 50 award. This time around we are to bear witness to the first ever Middle Eastern instalment of the much-lauded Movida Corona DJ Competition, an annual event that has been producing and promoting local talent around Europe which is now celebrating a glorious decade in existence. The search for the King of DJs has officially begun and the competition is open to anyone who fancies their chances as a DJ. The aim of the game seems both simple and effective; take a bedroom DJ with a bit of talent, shove them on a stage in front of real-life human beings with itchy dancing feet, then see how they perform. The ones who successfully get the punters to dance, scream, whistle and generally have a good time will go on to the final, cash-richer, new Pioneer DJ equipment in-tow and the promise of gigs in some of the region’s finest establishments.

How to apply

Judging Criteria

Registration for the competition is simple: send an e-mail to corona.movida@gmail.com and you will be sent back instructions on what to do next. This will involve filling in a form, sending a biography of yourself with a nice hi-res photo, passport scan and residency (the regional final will be taking place at the end of the year – October – so they need to make sure you will be eligible to play then, should you win). The organisers have also stressed that all applicants must have a passport that will be valid until the end of 2010 and will be eligible to travel overseas.

Being such a subjective medium, DJing is never going to be easy to score: what is pleasing to one pair of dancing feet may sound like a horrible mess to others, so the criteria upon which the finalists will be chosen is simple: make the crowd dance.

Why, you ask? Well simply because the Grand Final – the venue of which has yet to be announced – might possibly involve travelling to somewhere in Europe to perform against all of the other regional finalists. Last year’s grand final involved entrants from over 16 countries travelling to play at Ministry of Sound and other venues in London.

Ear and now

Valentine’s Day gifts for the lady There are three dates that should never be forgotten: birthdays, anniversaries and the announcement of the DJ Magazine Top 50 poll (today!). And thanks to commercial pressures, Valentine’s Day can now be added to that list. But don’t despair, time poor men, as DJ Magazine is here to help. If you’ve haven’t heard of Beats by Dr Dre headphones yet, then you’ve clearly been hiding in a soundproof bunker. These crystal clear in-ear cans have proved a revelation, and look hotter than

an asbestos-clad Megan Fox. And now you can cancel out any extraneous sound (like, nagging, for instance) by buying a pair of these headphones for your other half. Created and endorsed by Lady GaGa, they deliver pitch-perfect highs, precise mids and a club caliber bass. Distributed by Monster, these cunningly designed headphones are out now and cost Dhs484 and available in Virgin, Plug Ins and iStyle stores.

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Of course, there will be judges on-hand to mark the entrants on technical ability, charisma and style, but it is the DJ that gets the best reaction from the crowd that will win the most points. Corona is looking for the ultimate party DJ: someone who goes all out to make sure the dance-floor is rocking, so bear this in mind when you prepare your mixes. With heats planned to begin in the middle of March in choice venues in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the application process has officially begun, so get recording and send an e-mail to movida-corona@ infusion.ae to receive your DJ Kit.

FANTASTIC FOUR

This issue’s hottest four names in dance music

Essam Gawish

French Horn Rebellion

Addictive drums and bass

Top Brass Band

Far be it from DJ Magazine to endorse drug taking in this day and age, but tech-tribal DJ and producer Essam Gawish has made us do just that with his tech-tribal banger ‘Da Drugz.’ Darker than a January morning in Sven Vath’s house, it’s a six minute journey into 4am territory, with the slightest hint of Arabic music.

Despite a name suggesting unruly private school music lessons, Brooklynbased brothers, Robert and David Perlick-Molinari, tick all the boxes when it comes to indie electro-rock cool: David produced and engineered MGMT’s massive ‘Time To Pretend’ EP, while first single, the insanely catchy ‘Up All Night’, opened Kitsune’s ‘Maison 8’ compilation. Next up is the ‘Beaches & Friends’ EP, out 1st March, on Once Upon A Time Records. Having already topped Hype-Machine, it’s a collaboration with Brazilian duo, Database, with whom the band toured in 2009. Collectively producing the vocal hooks and synth lines, they’ve each created individual versions, with another from second Brazilian DJ partnership, The Twelves.

First bitten by the tribal bug over a decade ago - when, let’s not forget, tribal was at its euphoric peak - Essam has since made it his signature sound, along with a splash of prog. A residency at Cairo’s Vybe club for three years has ensured he’s got a keen ear for the dancefloor as well as the Top 10 charts. And thanks to his American upbringing, Essam also has club-time in some of New York’s most prestigious joints, sharing booths with Steve Lawler and Hernan Cattaneo. And for those who want a perfect snapshot of his 2010 sound, check out the B-side ‘Cairo Nights’.

Jet Project

The results range in mood from the laidback swagger of the ‘Hey Champ Remix’ to the full-on electro-party vibes of the ‘Club Edit’, demonstrating their genrejuggling ingenuity. Just don’t expect any French horn solos along the way.

Greg Stainer

Up and Away

House of house

Forming their production partnership after a couple of back to back DJ sets, Belfast’s Timmy Stewart and John McIver’s Jet Project has gone from strength-to-strength over the last year. Embracing the many annexes and extensions of house, plus a whole wing of techno, their debut album, ‘Heads In The Clouds’, gave a taste of their chunky sound when it was released on Darkroom Dubs last summer. Since then, label Extended Play, run with Swag’s Chris Duckenfield, has provided an unfailing parade of dancefloor killers.

Or ‘Greg Staaaaainer’, as he goes on his prime-time UAE radio shows, is one of Dubai’s most consistent DJs and also one of the more travelled thanks to his regular stints in booths across the UK, South Africa and the Middle East. And thanks to his debut album ‘6 mil, 2 Headphones’ also one of the most creative, with the high-point being the soul-drenched collaboration with fellow Dubai favourites, Abri.

‘Zuma’, out now on Get Digital, provides a prime example of their solid groove, driven along by manic percussion and brass stabs, and precedes single, ‘Understand This Groove’, released on Get Physical before the spring. Having already rocked the foundations of Slam’s legendary Pressure night at the Arches in Glasgow twice and Barcelona’s La Terrrazza club, Jet Project should soon be getting used to aeroplane food.

Not only can Greg boast an album, a prime time radio slot on Radio 1, but he must be one of the longest-running residents in the UAE thanks to his marathon stints at Zinc. Packed week and year round, Greg never fails to play for the crowd, and also educate with his blend of ‘slamming funky deep bouncy techy soulful uplifting house’.

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Jade He was in the first band to get signed in the Middle East, runs the most adventurous night in Beirut and makes music for shampoo commericals. Welcome to the wonderful world of Jade You run one of the most adventurous clubs in the Middle East, programming tech house nights alongside live dubstep. How much of a challenge is that? When I started The Basement in 2005, it was purely a selfish trip. I wanted to build a bigger home where I could invite friends and music lovers and share some interesting sounds, and host live acts and local and international talent.. I didn’t think much of the consequences, neither the market (I come from an engineering background), so I had to deal later on with the management issues and all the stuff that comes with nightlife. Plus the fact that people all around do not care about quality anymore, they want the easy stuff. It’s been going downhill since 2005 and more and more commercial venues with no soul are opening and the alternative scene is drowning. However, I have my DJing and studio work on the side, so even if The Basement is functioning like an NGO, I’m not changing its direction - it’s still doing well and it has kept its reputation intact over the years. You’ve got a promotional video that depicts carnage in Beirut, while hundreds of clubbers let loose below. Is that still an accurate portrayal of the city? The video can be interpreted in two different ways. But if you know The Basement well, and the message we’ve been spreading since day one, then you will understand the meaning of it. The Basement is involved in a lot of fundraising activities. When the war broke, we refused to open, not even in the mountains (where a lot of people were partying, carelessly), but we did one event (Minimal Resistance) and gave the proceeds to an NGO that was preparing food daily for refugees (Mowatinun). Then after the war I organized massive fundraisers in Berlin (Watergate), London (The Key) and Paris (Rex) with big international artists (who offered their participation, www.tobeirut.org) and we were able to raise around 20,000 euros for The Lebanese Red Cross. What we meant by the video is that, despite the fact that they were always trying to shut us down, and kill us, and make us kill each other, we’re still alive and inside the basement, it’s one religion and one political party for all: music.

How would you sum up the club scene in Beirut? In Beirut, there are more talented DJs than there are quality clubs, and more quality clubs than the quality crowd... You figure out the rest (smiles). What can other cities in the Middle East learn from Beirut? They can learn from our mistakes. Which is what they are doing well. You were in the first band to be signed to a major label - would you ever get back to live music? DJing and production was a compromise I made to still be able to live off music. With the band, and six members, you can’t go far if you’re in the Middle East. But when you’re solo, it’s so easy to move and play, which is why I got into DJing. And being part of Clique Bookings Berlin took me to places I had never imagined visiting before (Moscow, Palermo, etc.). So the whole experience is still magical. However, there’s nothing like performing live, strumming that guitar and singing - that’s the real thing.

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I’m spending a lot of time in my studio with my friend Diamond Setter, and aside from our productions, we’re working on some cool music for TV commercials (another way of keeping our creativity alive). We’ve done a lot of stuff that is being aired actually (Lotocampaign, Stolichnaya, Head and Shoulders to name a few) so the idea is to be able to secure a steady income and manage more free time to produce non-electronic music. I just spent all my savings on buying an underground space in the middle of Beirut, and my dream is to be able to furnish it soon and turn it into a recording studio, where i’m hoping to spend the rest of my days. You’ve made the move into production and remixing - what can we expect from you in the coming months? As Jade & Diamond Setter, we have a lot of productions coming out this year, on respected labels (Noice! (US) - Supplement Facts (FR) ReadyMix (CAN)) and more to come. You can check out our sounds by visiting www.myspace.com/ jadediamondsetter.

TRACK RECORD

UP FOR GRABS Sennheiser headphones You don’t want to know the lengths that DJ Magazine went to secure these super-dooper limited edition headphones, the product of a high-profile collaboration between Adidas and Sennheiser. But we have a pair in our office which we’re giving away (once you’ve prised them out of our sweaty clutches, naturally). To win, simply log onto www. djmag.ae under competitions, and answer the following question: Which country do Adidas and Sennheiser come from? a) Germany b) Austria c) Sharjah

Bloc Party

JC, Ohm Records Dubai is… What I have called home for the last 27 years. One thing you might not know about me is… I am single. I’m not a politician but… Women only nights would be a must once a week, with me as a DJ and trainers/caps are allowed in clubs. The one thing that truly scares me is… Getting my vinyls scratched.

They’re one of the biggest guitar bands of recent times, but have also been making some of the most dancefloor-friendly beats. Which makes this DJ set by lead man Kele from Bloc Party all the more exciting. Charting his personal musical history, expect everything from Detroit techno to nu-rave and good old indie classics at Alpha and we have three pairs of tickets to give away.To win, log onto www.djmag.ae and answer the following question... Bloc Party’s first album was called a) Silent Alarm b) Ignore your Alarm c) Alarm Bells

The one song I’ll never play is… Erm, one of them David Guetta chart-topping choons.

Shure headphones

There are two types of people on the planet... And the rest are all apes?

Your headphones say a lot about you. If they’re the white iPod plug ins, it’s that you’re cheaper than cheap and think MP3s are the ultimate in technology. If it’s a pair of Shure 750DJs, then you really mean business. Distributed by NMK, they are tuned to offer high output bass, with extended highs and with a snug fit, we’ve got a pair to give to whoever can answer the following question on our website, www.djmag.ae.

I have no time for... Bad Music. If I ruled the world... Every Tuesday would be guys night out with free drinks. When I’m not busy ruling the world I like to... Make baby carbon footprints with my RCA nitro car. If I could have a drink with any dead celebrity it would be... Larry Levan.

Who distributes Shure headphones? a) NMK b) NME c) NOIDEA

I get inspiration from... Parents and friends.

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Fashion

Snow far snow good!

If like us you’re heading directly to the slopes for the real thing (Dubai’s indoor ski slope doesn’t count, it’s all about Lebanon’s mountains), then you’ll need at least one of these nifty numbers

4 1

01. TWO ANGLE Dhs120 chemical-records.co.uk

05. FLY 53 Dhs400 fly53.com

02. CALVIN KLEIN Dhs550 calvinklein.com

06. SCHOTT Dhs1,000 0207 436 0986

03. KANGAROOS Dhs330 0208 970 2823

07. PULL-IN Dhs240 pull-in.com

04. FAT FACE Dhs550 (gilet) Dhs180 fatface.com

08. ELECTRONIC SHEEP Dhs220 electronicsheep.com 09 T WO ANGLE Dhs550 chemical-records.co.uk

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Fashion

Essential Selection

WHAT A SITE! Let your fingers entertain you. Click on!

The Avaalan Party Suit suits you!

JUSTGIVING.COM/RUNLESLEY-RUN Our lovely ex-editor Lesley Wright is running the London Marathon, on 25th April 2010. Which’ll be interesting as she normally only runs when chased. Her chosen charity is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) — a very worthy cause indeed. Make a donation if you wanna see Lesley sweat it. Good luck lady!

What you wearing?

D RAMIREZ

It’s all about the threads… THESARTORIALIST. BLOGSPOT.COM As blogspots go, this one is the uppermost, the big chief daddio, top of the game one that we all look up to. Stylish New Yorker Scott Schumann roams the fashionable cities of the world, snapping trendsetters and cool folk as he goes. We’re not worthy! Bristol-based urban outfitters Avalaan have a cunningly positive, laidback attitude to their business. Whilst taking strides in producing high quality, durable snow and streetwear in environmentally-friendly fabrics, they’re in no real rush to conquer the retail world. This is precisely why we rate them one hundred percent — they’ve got ethical nonce and art-driven apparel cred. The Avalaan Familia is a close-knit community of DJs, creatives and innovative athletes all hell bent on exercising their talents through this buff brand. And when it comes to shelling out for a ‘ski-suit’ our money is on their Kev Munday designed ‘party suit’. It’s looking mighty fine on the eyes and extra easy on the pocket — Dhs1,000 for the jacket and Dhs800 for the pants. avalaan.com

What are you wearing right now? “I’m currently sporting a pair of All Saints pirate trousers — MC Hammer stylee — with a black vest coupled with a Diesel cardigan.” Describe your style… “My style was once described — not by my own words — as rock star.” Favourite designer/label? “My favourite designer is without doubt Vivienne Westwood — I love the way she plays with shapes and silhouettes. For everyday wear I almost always shop at All Saints. They generally copy Westwood in the way they play with shapes (as in the pirate trousers) but you don’t pay Westwood prices.”

BACKSTREETMERCH.COM Does what it says on the tin. It’s a perfect place to shell out your hard earned on one of your favourite band’s branded up T-shirts. They’ve got everything from Dizzee Rascal to Mighty Boosh, AC/DC to Radiohead. Who knew we needed so many tees?

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Favourite boutique? “There was an amazing store in Sheffield called Brother To Brother, where I would buy all my designer gear, but that’s gone so now I guess my favourite store would be All Saints.”

Are you off on a winter hol? “I’m not into the slopes as I prefer a far warmer winter holiday so this year I’m off to California, where I’m staying for most of February. Then it’s over to Miami for the Winter Music Conference, which isn’t quite a holiday but still not a bad place to be.” Most treasured item? “I have a Vivienne Westwood full-length winter coat in a green kind of tartan pattern, which I’ve had for a few years and it only comes out in extreme winter conditions (namely my Russian trips). I remember loving the coat in the store but it was £1000. Later on, they put it in the sale for half price and I just had to have it.” What are you up to? “Myself and Mark Knight are currently working on more productions with Underworld, and I’ve got a secret bomb track for this year’s Miami WMC!”

SWING TIME You’re actually quite an eclectic DJ - do you ever wish you could break out of your dnb mold when you’re DJing?

recent years. How much of an impact do you feel you’ve had on that emergence?

I think one of the fantastic things about the crossover audience we’ve attracted throughout the years is that it gives us the ability to colour outside the lines of what defines a traditional DJ set. It’s been quite some time since I’ve felt like I had to stick to a certain formula whilst DJing. Of course people will expect us to predominantly play drum and bass music as that it what we’ve spent so long working on, but we’d be equally as comfortable playing anything from house to thrash metal depending on the time and place.

Long before the existence of Pendulum there were drum and bass and jungle producerswho caught the ears of the wider and perhaps more mainstream audience. I’d say in the last five years we’ve had a similar reaction to our music and it seemed like it was being taken seriously again by the media, whether the purist drum and bass fraternity wanted that or not. Really for me, it’s all about progression and moving onward rather than doing the same thing for 20 years and wondering why younger generations don’t get it. We’ve been fortunate to have struck a chord with a wider audience simply by doing what we enjoy.

You’ve also been doing album preview DJ sets. How has the new material been received? We returned home to Australia to tour around the country DJing and used the gigs as a sounding board of sorts for music we’ve been working on for our next LP. Quite a few songs were changed after each show, like a real time evolutionary process. We would play the show, gauge reactions of the audience and then head back to the hotel room to make changes, doing it all again the next evening. We’ve been really happy with the way the tracks have been received so far, especially seeing most people had not heard them before and we weren’t announcing when it was one of our new ones in the set.

As there’s no MC at this show does that free you up as a DJ to play a more varied set, or is it a restriction for a drum and bass DJ? Touring without an MC means I’ve got no excuses and no backup plans. In the traditional sense some drum and bass DJs may find this intimidating, but I’m at my most comfortable time in life when I’m playing and relish the challenge of me against a room full of punters. Pendulum DJ set and Da:Funct Live @ Alpha, Friday February 12. Tickets Dhs100 from www.djmag.ae, Dhs150 on the door.

You’re a big surf fan any plans to get out to Oman or maybe just Dubai when you’re here? And how long did you last on the wave rider at Wild Wadi last time you were here? I’d love to head to Oman, it’s just time constraints that stop me doing things like that especially right on the deadline of when this album should be finished. Hopefully I can get a small wave in Dubai this time, it was dead flat when I was in town last year.The wave rider was a unique experience but I can’t really understand the guys who ride the thing all day every day yet never surf in the ocean! You’re playing in Dubai on February 12, but there’s also a Pendulum DJ set in Marseille on the same date. Who’s playing that one, and which one would you rather play? I’m not a huge fan of cold climates so I’ll take Dubai any day over a crisp French winter. That’ll be Gareth McGrillen (Pendulum’s DJ Speed) performing there. Drum and bass and dubstep have made a massive impact on the music scene in

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LAST REQUESTS Spanish sensation Kiko Navarro has signed up to be MustHaveSoul's international resident. And to celebrate, we decided to ask him the last time he... Played at 360.. I think it’s one of the most wonderful spots to play real house music. Great soundsystem, wonderful people who know and feel music, an open air venue, the sea surrounding the place, nice views - what more can you ask for? The last time I talked about Dubai was.... At Christmas. There’s always a lot of curiousity about the city - my friends and family know I go there quite often and are always asking about what they saw on TV or heard on the news. I wouldn’t live there because I love Mallorca where I come from, but I always have fun when I’m in Dubai. The last time I messed up a mix was... It was at my last gig on 9th January. I finished the last 30 min playing disco tracks. As you know they don’t always have a straight tempo, so unless you do a perfect loop, it’s quite difficult to create a good mix. I tried to do a longer mix and, well... It happens but onlyfor 1 second (laughs). The last time I paid for a download was... Yesterday. I usually buy tracks on the typical digital shops. There are a lot of illegal blogs and sites, but I prefer a legal shop where you get proper sound quality and hopefully the artist gets their royalties. The last time I voted in the DJ Magazine Top 100 poll was... I don’t believe the hype as Public Enemy said on one of their first songs. I don’t like to vote for these kind of things. Actually, I don’t like to vote, even the elections in Spain. I hate all the marketing around a DJ or artist. Somebody who creates any art is good because of his art, not because of the money that's spent to get a high profile.

The last time I released a compilation was... A few years ago - it was on Pacha Recordings, a DJ set of some originals and remixes from my first album 'Perceptions.' The last time I got nervous before a gig was... When I played at Southport Weekender festival. I was nervous, excited, happy, inspired - put all these feelings in a shaker and move it fast! It was a great experience and was very good receiving big support from people like Spen, Karizma, Kerri Chandler and others. The last time I thought about global warming while getting on a plane was... I don’t really think about this, but I have been thinking recently about how beautiful nature is and how clever it is. It’s the source of power. It’s very sad to see how people destroy our environment just for their economic interest. Money is destroying us. The last time I abused my position as a DJ was... I can’t remember, I’m not that kind of DJ. The last time I got recognised was... A few days ago I received an email saying that I had won an award from the specialist Deejay mag in spain recognizing all my work on the spanish house scene. The last time I had a residency was... Saturday nights at 360 in Dubai. I’m very proud and happy about it, as it’s one of my favourite spots in the world. I hope to see you there on March 5 when I will play a special sunset slot for audio tonic and then on Saturday March 6 for my peaktime set for MustHaveSoul.

The last time I lied was... I hate lies I just do it when is convenient and necessary, which I try to make sure never happens. In fact, I think I might just have...

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Jenny Burton - -Bad Habits’ The inspiration behind the record I’m best known for. A fantastic low slung soul/disco tune which actually sounds like a lot of tunes mashed together from that era. Most people think I wrote my version from scratch, but I’m laying my cards on the table here. Ms Burton also recorded a song for the soundtrack to Beat Street...

degrees of separation

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force - ‘Frantic Situation ‘- (Beat Street Soundtrack) There were many great tunes on this double LP (the first for an American film) but this one always gets me preparing for a ‘battle’! It’s easily as good as ‘Planet Rock’ but got a little overshadowed for some reason. This film is probably what kick started my dance music obsession and was shot entirely in New York..

DJ Chus & Rob Mirage - ‘Back 2 NY’ EP Right up to date on Defected and two cuts that get heavy rotation at my gigs. ‘Back 2 NY’ is a chugging synth heavy affair with time-stretched vocals and slapping drums, while ‘Still Beatin’ lies firmly in tribal tech territory and is included on my new mix album for the label which also features....

Basement Jaxx - ‘Fly Life Xtra’ The Brixton boys have gone on to great things since this little gem. Basically a dub which never saw an official release but is THE version and where Felix and Simon beat Morrillo, Sanchez, Van Helden, Sneak and Daft Punk at their own game. There were no hard feelings, however, as soon after they all formed a collective called Da Mongoloids....

The Challenge: To create a mini-mix, in six linked tracks. These links can be geographical, historical, label-related etc. The Challenger: Aydin Hasirci, AKA ATFC. One of the most prolific and versatile house makers around, Aydin is no stranger to crate-digging to find lost disco classics. But how will he fare with our mini-mix? 40

Da Mongoloids - Spark Da Meth (ATFC’s Wildstyle Remix) An old track brought up to date by yours truly and one that I had a lot of fun with. It provokes the same kind of battle cry as ‘Frantic Situation’ so we’re nearly coming back full circle here. This remix features my biggest kick drum to date, so watch out.

Barbara Tucker - ‘Beautiful People’ The record that I found myself dancing on a speaker stack to and the one to cement my love for house music. Barbara sung this live at our Amsterdam showcase and tore the place apart - she nailed it and confirmed her title as the original house diva. Weirdly, one of the few Strictly Rhythm releases not to get an update. Hmm I must speak to them about that.

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ATFC plays the Milk and 2 Sugars night at Barasti on Thursday February 18.

Hang on to your bass bins! The best new music is right here

MUSIC

Count down Sinden reworks Robbie Williams’ latest p.56

Benga boy

Nuclear basslines from dubstep Kingpin Benga p.55

Rip it up

RipGroove 99 gets the re-edit treatment p.64

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Fourplay

Could FourTet’s latest album put Keiran and co mainstream? p.69

REVIEWS IN THE BAG!

In the bag....

MRK1

When you absolutely, positively, have to obliterate every bass stack in the goddamn room, MRK1 is the man to call. The Manchester DJ/producer (real name Mark Foster) first rose to infamy as one of grime’s foremost innovators, stretching the genre to its limits with early underground smashes like ‘Proper Tings’ for Immunity Recordings and ‘Turn It Up’ for Texture Records (both 2002). Later, he began to sculpt futuristic, razor-sharp beats for his deadly MC squad Virus Syndicate, bringing a raw sampladelic hip-hop edge to grime’s militant spaceage pulse on albums like ‘Work Related Illness’ (2005) and ‘Sick Pay’ (2008). While the grime competitors struggled to keep up, MRK1 was already moving on, his expansive, city block-levelling basslines and roughneck instrumentals purpose-built for the incipient dubstep scene. He’s since carved a niche as one of dubstep’s baddest lieutenants, with a DJ schedule almost as formidable as his back catalogue of bass-splurging, gully wobble steppers on labels like his own Contagious, forward-thinking experimental stamp Planet Mu, and Pinch’s revered Tectonic. MRK1’s recent series of cuts have tended towards the outright sick, designed to demolish the dance, and new single ‘Move Your Soul/The Electrician’, out now on his Contagious imprint, precedes new MRK1 and Virus Syndicate albums this year. “My album is gonna be the best-selling releases I’ve had out on Contagious, with a couple of newer tunes, and tracks and remixes from Skream, Marlow, Chimpo and Jack Sparrow,” said MRK1. “There’s the new Virus Syndicate album coming in March or April, too. It’s sounding really good, it’s just finished now.” These are his latest club bombs…

Jakes ‘War Face (Remix)’

Doctor P ‘Sweetshop’

Hench

Dub Police

“It’s a high energy tune, with a military-style intro, with a sample taken off some old war film. It’s got a lot of screaming in it! It’s also got a very powerful drop, a big bassline — it smashes it every time. Jakes is on my AIM, so we send each other tunes quite a bit, I get all his new stuff off him. That’s one of the outstanding ones at the moment. I think it’s a VIP mix, though, which makes it that much more special!”

“It’s quite different to what I would normally play. It’s got a kind of hardcore rave intro, with a ‘take me higher!’ vocal sample, and people are like, ‘what the hell is he playing?’ And then it drops into this disgusting bassline, with a high-pitched, Joker-esque sort of feel. That always gets massive reactions. It makes a tune stand out if it’s got something a big different about it. I remember when I used to go and buy tunes, and say, ‘I don’t know what it’s called but it’s got this sample in’, and then instantly the guy would be like, ‘yeah it’s this one’, and you’d be buzzing, thinking, ‘yeah I’ve got it!’”

Benga vs Virus Syndicate ‘Untitled’ Dubplate

“This is another big one. It’s on dubplate at the minute, not sure what we’re doing with it. It’s one for the clubs, jump-up style, with the usual Benga sort of feel, his trademark. It’s like ’26 Basslines’, with catchy lyrics from Virus Syndicate.”

MRK1 ‘Move Your Soul’ Contagious

“One of my most recent tunes. It’s got a big orchestral, eerie ensemble string breakdown, and then it goes quiet, before you’ve got a big crowd sample of people screaming. If you’re in a club, people think it might be the person next to them making noise, so they might feel obliged to make some noise too! “I’ll go with a certain sound for two or three tunes, and then get a new piece of equipment and drag out some new sounds. I’m trying to update all the time. This has got a drum & bass feel to it, this tune in particular goes back to a track called ‘The Pulse’ by Bad Company.”

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Virus Syndicate ‘Crazy’ Dubplate

“When I play this out it gets one of the best reactions from the crowd. This one is slightly different to my usual productions. It’s got the heavy bassline, but the vocals, because of the way they’re mixed down, stand out on top of it, so I’ve been trying to mix it up a bit with a grime element. It’s a skippy beat, with a bit of bounce to it.”

MRK1 ‘The Electrician’ Contagious

“This is the flip to ‘Move Your Soul’. It’s an uptempo dubstep tune, sort of in the Caspa or Rusko style, with a screaming bassline. Instead of being a wobble, it’s a straight sine synth, a mixture of a synth and a sub. It’s getting quite a bit of play, people like Diplo are playing it as well.”

house REVIEWS Andre Lodemann Still Dreaming

Harry Choo Choo Romero

Y MONET!

SHO

‘Night At The Black (Remixes)’

QUICKIES

Freerange

David Penn & Rober Gaez

Steve Angello

Andre Lodemann may not be an especially new producer, but he’ll probably forgive us for saying he’s still relatively unknown; his debut for the label poses the question why. ‘Still Dreaming’ boasts smooth, deep house beats with subtle percussion, pretty chords and rhythmic pads, stripped, deepened and darkened in the ‘Soul Phriction Mix’, while ‘Whatever I Do’ strikes a more body-shaking imperative with low-slung beats and cool keys.

Deep Inside

Size

Penn’s collaboration with Rober Gaez further explores his penchant for mixing traditional house vocals with tough percussive grooves, the cameo vox here supplied by Sheila Cuffy. Nick & Danny Chatelain tweak it a little tougher.

Match power with melody and you have a winning club track formula — and that’s exactly what Angello does here with a strong, euphoric rising note hook, surefooted beats and a vibe that’s very much of the moment. Ephemeral, but that’s the nature of it.

Soulfricans

DJ Spen pres LaShay

Sophia May

Sex In Africa

All By Myself

Come Back

Launch

Code Red

Nervous

New York’s Jovonn is one of those underground producers who’s been in the game a long time without ever really enjoying much of a profile. ‘Sex In Africa’ kind of explains both points; it’s good, but not crowd-pleasingly good. Obvious hooks are in short supply, as are any gimmicks that might make it stand out, things that leave other producers, certain DJs and true deep house heads as the few who can appreciate the Jovonn style of building layers of rhythms and textures. And that style is in full colour on ‘Sex In Africa’, an insistent, rambling and complex instrumental that fancies itself as Fela Kuti goes house. Impressive.

Spen’s knack for crafting earthy, soulful house shines in this gritty organ groove that’s reminiscent of Moodymann. LaShay’s ad-lib style vocals set the scene for Spen’s bumping beats, and there are plenty of dubs.

Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper provide bouncy mixes for an inoffensive and slickly produced vocal — but it’s all about as underground as a telegraph pole.

Monday

Urbana

Bambossa

Romero returns to the scene of a former glory, 2001’s ‘Night At The Black’. Taking first bite himself, he delivers a canny updated version that keeps the jazz-rock fusion feel to the fore in the context of a smooth, fluid mix that steps away from his recent angular electro grooves, the latter explored more closely in the Jose Nunez mix. Also in on the action are Jerry Ropero and Dean Coleman, Ropero opting for a clean, clipped groove and Coleman a fuller, psychedelic disco sound.

Matthias Heilbronn & Joeski Stuck In A Dream Maya Records

Adopted and native New Yorker respectively, Matty and Joeski have both made their mark individually over the years, but with this collaboration they’ve scored something greater than the sum of the parts. Striking a heavy blues tone with a male vocal and haunting guitar part, ‘Stuck In A Dream’ combines Heilbronn’s soulful roots with Joeski’s penchant for Latin power, the latter manifested in a neat set of beats. A floating flute part suggests something of a ‘La Mezcla‘ influence, one that’s more apparent in the dub, but this has personality enough of its own.

Angela Johnson Better Dome

Johnson’s rich and expressive tones are instantly recognisable from her excellent Cooly’s Hot Box work. The original is a shuffling nu-soul groove, but Italy’s Micky More gives it the sensitive house treatment, making good use of Tortured Soul member JKriv’s nimble bass work

in a pair of mixes that leave the song centre stage and aim squarely at the Southport Weekender massive.

Akabu Sax My B**** Up Z

Old school ravers will rise up as one on hearing this classic bassline. Yep, the magpie-like Dave Lee strikes once again with the original flavours. But as the title suggests, ‘Sax My B**** Up’ has more to it than that. There is also, you guessed it, some wicked saxophone work from The Sunburst Band’s Jim Knight. Audiojack tweaks and loops it for a steelier mix that changes the bass and gets all hypnotic, while Dave comes back for another bite with his alternative ‘Piano My B**** Up’ and ‘Drug My B**** Up’ mixes and bonus track ‘Freak Out The Freaks’.

Palermo Disko Machine Vesuvia/Theme Of Palermo Disko Machine Vulture

The lower tempo and electro-jazzfunk of ‘Vesuvia’ make it more of an intriguing whimsy than anything, but Alan Braxe has things fully operational for ‘Theme Of Palermo Disko Machine’. Admittedly, the two-and-a-half-minute synth pads intro is something of an over-indulgence, but once we get going Falke shows real feeling for his warped Italo disco sound, lavishing it with a variety of basslines from funky slap disco to analogue pre-acid and keeping things snappy with a sequence of cameo percussion parts. Guaranteed nitro for the disco heads.

Brooklyn Friends Gloria’s Groove/Obedience Nite Grooves

The latest in David Morales’ revived and ramped up Brooklyn Friends series is a double delight. Percussion and track heads should go directly to ‘Gloria’s Groove’, a meaty dark room dub that displays tough basslines, acidic rumbling and insistent beats, the latter spiced with the Latin flavours typical of previous excursions. ‘Obedience’ switches tack to a richly musical tapestry, a vintage Def Mix style bassline providing the structure for some attractive mute horn vibes and Satoshi Tomiie’s grand, orchestral piano doodlings.

Daniel Bovie & Roy Rox Preacher True House Music

Bovie & Rox’s ‘Stop Playing With My Mind’ and ‘Love Me’ have been stealth hits for those in the know. Here they return, with Harry Choo Choo delivering a mix at the tougher end of his spectrum, though he can’t resist banging in some of the piano from the original two thirds of the way through.

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Smokingroove Nasimi 01

Gene Farris

‘Take me Back’ (John Hawley main Robot Mix)

“Like the track says, take me back to Chicago. Proper Bumpin’.”

Nima Gorji

‘Groove Control’

“Big Percussion, jack beatz and a phat ass rolling bassline.”

Smokingroove

‘Check Me Out’ (Johnny Fiasco Rmx)

“Johnny drops some Fiasco magic into this original Smoker!”

Wally Calleiro ft. Nadine Loren ‘Axe’ (Wally Calleiro OG

House Mix)

“Funk bass & french vocal hooks always get the job done.”

Paz & Smokingroove ‘Smokin’ by the Shore’ (SG’s Voices in my Head Mix)’

“Our take on this great little ‘Empire of the Sun’ monster.”

Inland Knights ‘Cant Wait’ “So Simple but so affective - The Inland Knights way.”

Smokingroove

‘Box Cutta Style’ (Easily Influenced Rmx)

“A solid remix of this Classic SG Masterpiece.”

Soydan

‘E Love’

“Beats, bass, electric synth and a sax = peak time jacker. ”

Mastiksoul ft. George Lianes

‘Back to the 80’s’ (Latin Version)

“Made in true Mastiksoul fashion, bounce house.”

Solomun ft. Ole Soul

‘Cloud Dancer’

“Slower, deeper funk with a great vocal hook.”

electro-house/acid REVIEWS Chew Lips Salt Air (Dekker & Johan Remix) Kitsuné

Here’s a name to look out for in 2010. Dekker & Johan have been quietly knocking out tough, simple, moody remixes. This is more of their tight electrotech, a sound that will make them massive as the year unfolds.

Levon Vincent/Steffi

Traxx Faith

Nationn

Hell feat Bryan Ferry U Can Dance Gigolo

Blimey, Hell has upped his game! While it’s not a classic vocal from Ferry, a Roxy Music homage from him is better than a hipster blog rip-off, and the sleazy backing really works. Killer remix package too. Tim ‘DFA’ Goldsworthy gets all sloppy, Carl Craig brings the mood then the static energy, while Simian Mobile Disco throb away in a dark sweatpit.

Boris Dlugosch Bangkok Phantasy

Y MONE

SHOT!

He’s been out of the spotlight for ages, but — bang! — he’s back with an absolute killer. It shouldn’t be too much of a shock, as ‘Bangkok’ is essentially a tougher, nastier, clankier version of ‘Keep Pushin’’. His basslines are still distinctive, with that pushed-down funk, even under all that distortion. What’s known in the trade as a banger.

Traxx broadens the classic Chicago sound without losing the magic that makes it so compelling. From the EBM bass of ‘Violent Epoch’ and ‘Cosmic Zig Zag’ to the superb low-slung rhythms and eerie synths of ‘Enka’ and ‘A Heart Alone’, through the gloriously soulful vocals of ‘Parametric Melody’ and ‘XTC 4 Love’ — the latter containing the spine-tingling “She brings me ecstasy” refrain — this is a masterful portrayal of house music’s past and future.

Robbie Williams You Know Me (The Count & Sinden Remixes) EMI

Stop! Don’t skip past this. Last time Robbie was with us, Soulwax turned ‘Lovelight’ into a powerful dancefloor blast. This isn’t as good as that, but as a jaunty, horror-stabbed piece of percussiveness, it’s not bad at all. The only criticism is that without any serious hooks it’s a bit throwaway. Sometimes it feels like the fidget/ghetto-tech crew are making hay while the sun shines.

QUICKIES Kasper Bjorke

you hadn’t reckoned on Boy 8-Bit giving it a rub of ‘Baltic Pine’.

Young Again (Serge Santiago Mix) HFN

Ed Davenport

Lovely WhoMadeWho-esque ballad gets bleeped up by Italo-tech poster boy. Full of computer melancholy.

Late Night Jam/24 Hours

La Roux

Ostgut

Quicksand (Boy 8-Bit Mix)

Vincent’s ‘Late Night Jam’ consolidates the sound he has developed, with dense, dubby drums underpinning a humming bass, insane reverberating effects and nightmarish chords. By contrast, Steffi’s contribution is derived from a classic approach, with a driving, snaking rhythm augmented by a plunging Chicago bassline and reverberated claps.

Polydor

If you thought that you were done with ‘Quicksand’

My Paramour District of Corruption

The Berlin-based UK producer delivers the dramatic chord sweeps of ‘Paramour’ but ‘Regalia’ is more effective, thanks to the alignment of insane rave sirens with Dehnert-style epic riffs.

STL/Steinhoff Neurotransmitting Clouds On The Secret Smallville

Stephan Laubner continues his remarkable run of releases with ‘Neurotransmitting…’, a heavy, dubbed house track which introduces and then eliminates a seemingly detuned chord sequence, repeating this simple-yet-effective set of commands until the needle runs out. Julius Steinhoff, who runs the label, takes a few steps back with the rolling, decidedly ’90s deep house groove of ‘Something Like Wonderful’.

IFM Back In The Days EP Uzuri

‘Miles’ is a thinly-veiled paean to Larry Heard, its subtle chords changing over a churning bass, while ‘Tom’ focuses on a repetitive organ riff and ‘Raw Vibe’ sees the duo opt for a jacking approach.

salah sadeq 01

Sidwho

(techfui, torque)

‘Violet Run’ (Jamie Paton Edit)

“Killer artist combination on this 80s fused track.”

Christian Fischer

‘Kolibri’

“Christian sets the pace for 2010 with a fresh cruiser.”

Vernon

‘Give Me Love’ (Shaun Reeves and Lee Curtiss Remix)

Maetrik Kiki ‘Good Voodoo’ (Visionquest Remix) 04

“Reminiscent of Robyn S but the guys keep it deep, raw and edgy.”

“Enticing techno structure to house Chela Simone’s affected vocals.” Sex With Bass Nomi & Rampa ‘Inside’ (&ME Remix) Mothership “Infectious synth lines and a whole lot of bass!” DJ Rasoul ‘It’s Time’ 06 “Somewhere in the “Originally 2007’s electronic funk surprise from the soul man, released. ” Arizona desert, 07 Yousef ‘Come Home’ the “Great club opener from circus trooper yousef for papa Sven.” spaceship from Close Christopher Groove & Phillip Straub ‘UAF Theme 2009’ 08 (Florian Meindl Remix) Encounters periodi“Florian drops his groovetech magic on the urban artform festival.” cally lands and‘Palace’ sexy Cortney Tidwell (Michel Cleis Remix) 09

“Michel Cleis perfectly compliments the hypnotic, melodic beauty of the original.”

Anthony Collins

‘Another Lonely Night’

“This is genuine music coming from the heart. Anthony i feel you bro!”

Arkiv - Enjoy your vinyl digitally www.henleydesigns.co.uk ort nclub.indd 1

15/9/08 3:20:00 pm

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REVIEWS soulful/prog QUICKIES Jay Lumen

Silk-black and city-scaping music for driving through cities of skyscrapers.

Body Language Anjunadeep

A proper thrill-ride. Tense, exciting riffs, stabs and snare-less peaks are all studio machined to wow a crowd. Love it.

Spacelight Orchestra

Josh Gabriel

One great, kinda rare groove/funk cut-up thing, and a percussion-driven house number with dirty black, soulful vocals.

Entanglement Different Pieces

Less tech and more overtly prog than his last one.

An Orchestra Of Remixes Vol.2 Black Bridge

3 Amigos feat Dawn Tallman We Are One (Love, Faith and Trust)

Y MONET!

SHO

Jellybean Soul

Golly gosh, soulful house is still alive and well, and who would have thought that the bloke who wrote the theme music to the Ricki Lake show could still turn out dope stuff of this standard. Help comes in the form of George Mena and Marlon D, who work the ‘3 Amigos Club Mix’ and that is where the buck stops, ’cos it’s tha shizzle! Dawn Tallman is outstanding, plain and simple.

Ferry Ultra feat Gwen McCrae

Sven Hauck

Guy J

I scoured every record shop in the UK for this and finally picked it up at the Southport Weekender. A massive spin with the modern soul scene and why not, there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle, and let’s face it, McCrae is a Stradivarius when it comes to whacking out a soulful vocal over soulful beats.

I’ve not heard a bad Hauck track yet, and ‘Recombinate’ is another very competent driving number, with a judiciously played melodic top line. On the remix, Derek Howell shakes things up with some stabbed synth business and an outside-the-box mid-section.

A letdown compared to Guy’s ‘Lamur’ missive. The quirk, funk and drive are gone, replaced instead by a sterile, trudging tempo and lead line. Ed Davenport rushes it into remix rehab and brings it back out in at least partially refreshed form.

Ilya Mosolov

Paul Thomas

Electrofly continue to impress with their breakbeat prog factors. Speedy, with kicks that crave being turned up loud, the inflection of the riff laid over ‘Surge’ does it proud. If you’re after something a bit more chilled, the long held notes of ‘Cristallization’ will do the trick.

In its original form ‘Onzieme’ is a chunky, thudding number that broods its way through its runtime — only occasionally flexing its muscles with a big horn sound. On the remix, Josef Mihalik opens it up with an unexpected and very effective pair of melodic drops, before kicking back in with a tempered play on the horn. Strong track with a fine remix — can you ask for anything more?

Let Me Do My Own Thing Peppermint Jam

Muzikjunki, Marco Den Held

Heaven’s Will Electric Sheep Records ‘Plankton’ (Original Mix)

“Nice little prog house tune with cool blippy bits!”

Brian Coxx

‘Killing me feat Sandy Spady’ (Main Mix)

“Awesome chilled-out house track with an even MORE awesome vocal.”

Danny Nightingale

‘Pacifica’ (Original Mix)

“A blatant rip-off of the Deadmau5 prog sound, but good nonetheless!”

P.T.M ‘Own Movement’ (Dankann Remix) “Prog-tech house with cool chopped up vocal sample and epic(ish) strings breakdown!”

Laidback Luke, Gregor Salto Acquah’ (Original Mix)

‘Shine Your Light feat Mavis

“Prog house track + funky house beat + vocal = win!”

Maxi Valvona

‘Mellow Dramatic’ (Komytea Remix)

“Deep, sensual, melodic progressive house.”

Calvin Harris

‘Flashback’ (Eric Prydz)

“One word : Epic. ”

Smashing Sebastien ‘Come with it feat c Reid’ (ATFC’s Motherlode Mix) “Main room dancefloor destroying house track with kick-your-ass MC-ing”

Seduction

‘Burnout’ (Aaren San Remix)

“Speaker melting electro house. Listener Discretion is strongly advised.”

Anmol Pinto

Surge Electrofly

Waxman

Anmol Pinto

‘Jumeirah Jane’ (Original Mix)

“Totally love the vocal breakdown halfway through.”

Recombinate Baroque Limited

Possibly too techy for some readers, but check out the deep and delectable ‘Elysium’, with its phat, subby bass and sexy, wispy female vocal parts that dance in between the shoulder wiggling minimalist percussion. ‘Heaven’s Will’ moves left-of-centre into a deeper, prattling percussive groove, with heavenly vocal chords and tearful strings sweeping the bars with big bold strokes.

Soulfricans

Sex in Africa Launch Entertainment Dreary and irritatingly dull. A harp sample whirls away over chugging beats building up to the crappy brass or crap keyboard sound that jus’ wanders around, not knowing where to go next.

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Electroaspect Intuition Nightshade

A classically prog outing that has it all. Great drum and percussion work, pace and atmosphere are iced by multistranded top lines that echo, pan and shuffle their way around the speakers. You never know where or when they’re going to pop up next! Good mixes from Josh Dupont, Grunjah and Vitas Merkel.

Ballroom Bedrock

Onzieme Baroque

Sophia May Nervous

You ever heard the phrase “a sheep in wolf’s clothing?” Well, this nasty lil’ commercial load of tosh is actually Inner City’s ‘Good Life’ set to different lyrics and a very different genre of music, commonly known in the music business as “crap”. That classic hook from ‘Good Life’ has been ripped off and transformed into wishy-washy mince not worthy of bearing the Nervous logo.

TRANCE REVIEWS Oliver Smith Anjunabeats

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‘Cadence’isthestandard-fit,verylovelyAnjunabeatsnorm—thesoundbeingdistilled yetfurtherstill.‘Pacific’,though,istheone: melancholicattimesandwithawandering,wistfulmainlinethat’llcaptureonthe firstlisten,it’saponderingbeautyoftotal understatedsophistication.Thiswillboth satisfythefaithfulandengagethoseoutside the fold.

Richard Durand Silver Key Magik Muzik

As with his remix of A.O.T’s ‘Madagascar’, Durand uses another far-fromregulation top line sound to fire ‘Silver Key’. It’s a barely contained, squeaking, pitching beast and once it gets stuck in the brain, it’s there for the duration. Backed by a tumble of tech beats and supporting sounds, Sied van Riel’s mix tempers the riff and adds a dollop of additional melody.

Matt Hardwick vs Gulf Impossible Kill The Lights

Lighter on the melodics and heavier on the darker atmospherics than we’ve come to expect from Matt, ‘Impossible’ is a valley-deep trancer. The lamenting vocal and relatively low tempo only add to that immersive feel. If that all sounds a bit too autumnal, John O’Callaghan and Ben Gold are on hand and weigh in with much heavier re-shapes.

Solarity Laika Enhanced

Bisecting the quality/quantity axis with consummate precision, Enhanced were the big label story of 2009. Here,

Solarity (who so recently smashed it with their Anjunadeep release) provides them with another stylish, creative number. Adding to that all-round air of imagination, bright young things Ashley Wallbridge and Ad Brown both pass it through the remix mill and come out with flying colours.

Tasadi Luna Lost Language

‘Luna’ comes a close second to ‘Mercurius’ in terms of quality and the tone of the vocals and lyrics haven’t lost an ounce of their power. Santiago Nino’s ‘Dub Tech Mix’ dives deeper but allows the song its space to shine, while Supramental’s low-fi sounding rework has more going on than meets the ear.

Johan Gielen Repeat The Music Magik Muzik

Solarstone & Alucard

Redstar Everything That Matters Red Force

Euphoric, authentic, confident trance that know where it wants to go.

Breakfast

age. Extending that further still is this remix edition of ‘Air Guitar’, with great reworks from Leon Bolier and DJ Eco.

Sied van Riel All Rise Liquid

Air Guitar Flashover

Casey’s tracks seem to hang around in CD wallets much longer than the aver-

Uplifting trance with neat riffs and well-modulated euphoria the order of the day.

Late Summer Fields 2009 Solaris International

Ferry Corsten headlines the remix package here, but the honours are spread wider than that. The Forerunners retain the original’s chilled mellow dramatics and work the break for all it’s worth, while co-producer Alucard’s ‘Shadow Lord Mix’ alters the DNA to make it darker and proggier.

Kyau & Albert I Love You

Super8 & Tab Anjunabeats

Euphonic

01. Super8 & Tab ‘Irufushi (Original Mix)’ Anjunabeats

A very simple vocal with a very straightforward message, this will get loved-up reactions. Cosmic Gate field a faster, beefier remix, which comes within millimetres of trumping the original. Sheer brilliance.

02. Matt Darey Feat Kate Louise Smith ‘See The Sun (Aurosonic

04. Kyau & Albert ‘I Love You (Cosmic Gate Remix)’ Euphonic

Marco V

05. Marco V ‘When The Night Falls (Dub Mix)’ In Charge

When Night Falls Standing out like a big, bashed thumb from Gielen’s Flashblack set at ADE was this trance translation of X-Press 2’s ‘Muzik Xpress’. For those not EDM-active in ’92/’93, a quick net-scan will turn up the original; those that remember will be pleased to hear that Johan’s redux is clearly respectful in its treatment. The sirens, the vocals and the crowd noise are there, but big riffs are absent.

QUICKIES

In Charge

Mr V’s most trancified offering for a long while is a high drama piece with a bouncingly good vocal. Sounding not a little like Depeche Mode, it grips the floor hard. The dub once again shows how flexible Marco’s tracks are — pitch it up or down by 5bpm and it still works just as well — a quality to be respected.

“So many A-list DJ plays can’t be wrong!”

Remix)’ Nocturnal

“The Aurasonic remix really does the job.”

03. Filo & Peri Feat Aruna ‘Ashley (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix)’ Vandit “An all-round top release.”

“You know the end result — quality!”

“A hands-in-the-air, prog tech-trancer at its best!”

06. Mike Koglin & P.O.S ‘Autumn (Original Mix)’ CD-R “Another fantastic track from a wicked collab.”

07. Lange pres Firewall ‘Wanderlust (Sunny Lax Uplifting Mix)’ Lange Recordings “One of the best uplifting trance tracks out there!”

08. Paul van Dyk ‘Nothing But You (Super8 & Tab Remix)’ Vandit “Works everywhere we play it!”

09. Wippenberg ‘Pong’ Extended “An absolutely sensational release!”

10. Above & Beyond ‘Anjunabeach (Nitrous Oxide Remix)’ Anjunabeats “Peak-time trance madness.”

Time for battle... HAK series;

Extreme performance mixing www.henleydesigns.co.uk ort nclub.indd 1

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15/9/08 1:03:36 pm

REVIEWS electro/disco-punk ‘Cruel Intentions’, a highlight from their ‘Temporary Pleasure’ LP, has all the hallmarks of a Ce Ce Peniston classic. Except it’s Beth Ditto on vocals; proving she’s an accomplished soul diva. There’s an army of remixes: Joker delivers an electro-step take, Greg Wilson slips out a cosmic groove, Heartbreak add minimal funk and Detroit delay touches, while Maurice Fulton delivers a showstopping, psychedelic house version.

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Hell feat Bryan Ferry U Can Dance Gigolo

A DJ Hell/Brian Ferry collaboration is never going to be mundane, but this surpasses expectations. ‘U Can Dance’ is a lost Roxy track rendered into a contemporary club classic by the visionary hands of Hell (above). Add into this conspiracy of talent remixes from Carl Craig (who creates two strokes of pure genius), DFA’s effortless helms-man Tim Goldsworthy and Simian Mobile Disco on their most on-point form, and you hardly need us to tell you: you need this.

Legowelt The Lichtenstein Account Open Concept

With every release Dutch producer Danny Wolfers becomes more conceptual. This EP, which soundtracks financial impropriety, sees him flit from the jacking acid of ‘British Aerospace’ through the almost upbeat melodies of ‘Day Sailor’ and into the gloriously catchy key changes and pulsing arpeggio bassline of ‘Woodland’. It’s unclear how this particular story ends, but the Legowelt saga is set to continue for some time yet.

DJ Kaos Komischer Ruckenwind Clone Loft Supreme Series

Clone goes out on a limb to support music that might not otherwise get heard. It means the drifting, melancholy guitars and beautiful melodies of ‘Ruckenwind’, a Balearic slow burner transposed to the West Coast, gets the attention it deserves. It’s backed by the Chicago-meets-Italo hybrid of ‘Rough Side’, whose predatory bassline, hissing percussion and evocative melodies will be enough to convince the doubters.

Sync 24 We Rock Non-Stop Cultivated Electronics

Label boss Sync 24 delivers his first full EP for Cultivated. ‘Rock’ looks to some of techno’s nuances, with a focus on metallic drums and a glitchy, harsh sound. The title track comes with dark rave sirens, the bouncy ‘Solvent Abuse’

is as grimy as the pastime, while ‘Chosen Module’ covers scorched earth acid territories, and ‘Mario’s Mushroom’ ends the release in relentlessly abrasive mode.

Vetrik Next Phaser EP

Shilas Bedroom Fashion I Like Skirts Kartoza

QUICKIES Bottin

The Notwist

Bear Funk

City Slang

Bottin’s tripped-out original and ‘Planeti’, a cosmic synth jam, are the highlights on a release that includes house, punk-funk takes and a remix that sounds way too similar to ‘Strings of Life’.

After their sublime electronic crossover debut, the ‘Neon Golden’ LP, The Notwist moved onto explore other post rock territory with mixed results. ‘Come In’ sees the band return to peak form, and is hopefully a sign there’s more to come (in).

Thatboytim Takeover

An incredibly accomplished debut from Shilas Bedroom Fashion, aka Sebastian Klimt and Sascha Burghard. ‘Skirts’ mixes hip-house with rock motifs, electro snappy snares and thundering breaks b-lines. The vocal version features Californian rapper Ms Vybe, which gives it an old school hip-house vibe. The dub version focuses solely on the power riffs and builds. It’s superbly effective. Finally, label boss Maelstrom teams up with current partner in crime Redux, and delivers a more housed-up version.

James Yuill Moshi Moshi

Northern Irish producer Tim delivers two servings of stripped-back, hyperactive electro funk. T-Polar’s take on ‘Steps’ is a glitchy, stop-start affair, and Educution delivers an excellent techy remix.

James is a man of two sides, dabbling happily in songwriting and grooves. This 12” sticks more to his electronic side, but it’s clearly intended to inspire more than fancy footwork.

Mat Playford Tuning Issues Paper Recordings

Pyramid Transmissions

The work of a Lisbon-based producer, ‘Phaser’ is couched in acid, rave and even trance influences. The ‘t’ word is audible on the laidback ‘Dirty Oranges’, but Vetrik provides a rude awakening for any head nodders, as ‘Myon Zekt’ rolls in with distorted breaks and grainy waves of acid. By the time the evocative melodies and shuffling 808s of ‘Next Phaser’ kick in, however, this rambunctious interlude is already forgotten.

Darkmode Infiniti EP M_Rec Digital

Early UK disco and deep house pioneers Paper Recordings team up with trailblazing UK house producer Playford to produce a prime release that resonates with deeply-mined influences. The main track features Kathy Diamond on vocals, and Playford matches the angelic qualities of her voice to a rumbling, caustic bassline. The dub version rolls in on tight percussion and builds out on bubbling acid, while ‘Distant Cosmic Shore’ completes the package with driving, jazz-infused, keyboard-drenched, psych house.

Glocal After Midnight

David Dodds does his best Detroit techno impression on ‘Infiniti’, and listening to the wirily futuristic rhythms of ‘Dynamic’ he does sound convincing. However, ‘Construction Kit’, with its resonant bleeps and ‘Defiance’, which is powered by tight claps and powerful, primal rhythms, proves that he also does a pretty good job of approximating bleep techno and Chicago-style jack.

Simian Mobile Disco Cruel Intentions Wichita

As recent remixes display, Shaw and Ford are back on firing form.

Rebirth

Glocal draw inspiration from a myriad of influences, which is always a good start for top remix action. Rotciv (of Mister Mistery Records) leads the pack, adding a p-funk bass keyboard line. Affkt & Danny opt for a Chicago feel, followed by a warm, revolving bass. Londonbased Italians Hyena Stomp (Nico and Severino to their mates) take a deep house route, rolling the keys through delays and cutting the rhythm track to congas and claps. Chilean pioneer Los Updates takes a similarly percussive route, while LNX & Davis go for an old school version.

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Tristan Bain 01

Cerrone

360

‘Supernature’

“Massively atmospheric piece of disco groove.”

MFSB

‘TSOP’

“This classic has such a happy skip to it!”

Dan Hartman

‘Vertigo/Relight My Fire ’ (Longer vinyl Mix)

“6 minute epic build up then pure boogiefest”

Rufus & Chaka Khan ‘Any Love’ “Another chorus that i just have to sing along to!”

Invisible Man’s Band

‘All Night Thing’

“A real classic disco vibe to this.”

Barry White ‘Your Sweetness Is My Weakness’ “Strings,check,handclaps,check,bazza on vocals,check.smooth disco!”

Don Ray

‘Standing in the Rain’

“Another atmospheric classic.”

Diana Ross

‘The Boss’

“This gets me singing along and dancing every time.”

Chicago

‘Street player’

“It’s all about the horn section, baby.”

First Choice

‘Let No Man Put Asunder’

“Totally love the vocal breakdown halfway through.”

REVIEWS techno/minimal Scuba Aesaunic EP

Groove’ is a laidback, easy track with raw percussion and some sweet Rhodes meandering amongst broken vocals. ‘a116’, meanwhile, comes on like a modern day version of ‘French Kiss’: with its surging, hypnotic synthy attack, long build ups and filtering, this will take the roof off. ‘Hip Op’ is another more laidback groove, and last but not least, ‘All Those Beats’ is definitely the most sprightly, fun and breezy of the tracks with its bumpin’ groove and positive vibes message. Big!

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Hotflush

For many techno lovers, it takes time to appreciate that Scuba is exploring new territory. My eureka moment came on this new EP, where the Hotflush boss flits effortlessly from subtle, ethereal breakbeats into slamming 4/4s on the title track, or when he rolls out shuffling drums to accompany the ultra-fragile melodies of ‘Flesh Is Weak’. There are undoubtedly other standout moments in his catalogue, but these satiate my appetite for the time being.

The Parallel The Parallel EP Komisch

The Parallel impresses with his debut vinyl release. ‘Abyss’, with its doubled up claps and layered sounds is the obvious dancefloor choice, but ‘Mind Reverse’ is a tracky techno affair that veers unexpectedly into a floaty breakdown, and ‘Nanotech’ is an energetic acid workout. Finally, the stretched-out bass, 303 gurgles and subtle melodies on the title track complete one of the best debuts of recent years.

Function Remixes Sandwell District

Sandwell District’s star keeps ascending, and the label’s latest release features the talents of some of Berghain’s heavyweight residents. Ben Klock delivers a driving, linear interpretation of ‘Disaffected’, the original’s spacey bleeps dovetailing neatly with the droning rhythm, while Norman Nodge drops a rawer, slamming groove, underpinned by panning, Plastikman bleeps. Not to be outdone, Switzerland’s CH-Signal Laboratories complete this essential release with a rousing, bleepy take on Function’s ‘Variance’.

Skatebard/Dreesvn 018 Sex Tags Mania

While the past year has seen a refocus on traditional sounds and styles in techno, Dreesvn and Skatebard provide a glimpse of what the future might sound like. The former blends two untitled pieces into one stuttering, interference-heavy soundtrack, while

Various

Sigha

In The North

Rawww

Dust Science

Hotflush Two

The Black Dog mix and match glitchy rhythms with their trademark warm pads, while Carl Taylor goes for a more purist, Detroit techno approach that yields impressive dividends.

The London producer goes glitchy and abstract on ‘Hold Your Heart’, while ‘Rawww’ and ‘Untitled 2’ are gloriously evocative dub techno tracks powered by a fluid, swinging rhythm.

Infinity/Smiles

Cio D’Or

Echologist

Liebe Detail

Die Faser (Remixes)

Snowblower EP

Prologue

Steadfast

D’Or recruits a staggering list of techno producers to rework parts of her album with Donato Dozzy’s soft focus ambience, Sleeparchive’s menacing bleeps and Samuli Kemppi’s jacking, droning techno standing out.

Decent dub techno EP from Brendan Moeller, that dispenses with Basic Channel tributes in favour of stepping rhythms, housey grooves and an epic touch.

Mathias Meyer/Wareika

Skatebard’s ‘Ta Ta Arr’ is a raw-sounding dancefloor track, whose morphing arrangement is framed against a firm, razor-sharp percussive backing. An adventurous release from one of Europe’s maverick labels.

‘Infinity’ isn’t gonna break any boundaries, but what it does, it does well. Using the strumming riff from a hip-hop track that slips my mind, this riff builds with help from some solid percussion. When the main break occurs — which loops for some time — mayhem ensues. This should be big. On the flip, the very talented Wareika return with another organic, naturally developing story with their usual warm, rich and funk-infused timbres.

Andy Stott

Robag Wruhme

Night Jewel

Lampetee

Modern Love

Movida

Stott has been keeping a low profile lately, but as ‘Jewel’ demonstrates, he has been spending his time productively. Inspired by dubstep, the shuffling rhythm gradually reveals a sexy chord sequence and hissing percussion, but the track doesn’t take off until Stott drops a warm, bleeding bassline. One of the few producers to marry musical elements with dancefloor force, Stott is a real national treasure.

Robag Wruhme has always been one of the most talented producers out there, and even some of his more unplayable material always makes one’s ears prick up with their unique signature styles — particularly in the bass and percussion. ‘Lampetee’ is no exception. Not unlike a modern day Maurizio track, this has such depth and power, with its fat bass, hypnotic flow and otherworldly vocals. On the remix, Mannheim’s Nick Curly steps up with a typically solid, bongoheavy, loopy version.

Donnacha Costello Ten Thousand Hours Look Long

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Alxandar Club Submarine

Anthony “Shake” Shakir Arise

Look Long has been responsible for a string of excellent releases and ‘Hours’ builds on its small but strong catalogue. Like all Donnacha’s dancefloor releases, simplicity is the key, but it helps that the elements are so seductive: over a bleepy bass that splurges and surges, he drops a spine-tingling, beautiful melody, that while echoing early ’90s techno and Kompakt’s pop nous, remains Costello’s own.

WBeeza City Shuffle EP Third Ear

One of London’s brightest hopes, WBeeza releases his third EP for Third Ear, and it’s another killer. ‘Candel

Syncrophone

Tigershape

‘31 Sec’

“Techy and fuzzy bass line. ”

Detroit’s Anthony “Shake” Shakir seems to be having somewhat of a renaissance at the moment, along with other Detroit and Chicago artists, and with music like this, why shouldn’t they? ‘Arise’, in its original form, is a fairly raw, slamming groove offset with some eerie, warm and trippy keys and atmospherics. Flip it over, and one of the most talked about producers of now, Trus’me, steps up on remix duties. His is a very different affair, giving the track a more haunting atmosphere and less energy, also inserting some powerful Detroit riffs. The hype on Trus’me is well deserved, it seems.

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Slok

‘Funky finger’

“Funky, with a tribal sound. ”

Gene

‘Clown’s Jazz’

“Techy, melodic and colourful. ”

Dole & Kom ‘Up All Night’ (Mihai Popoviciu remix) “Up and down tribal number. ”

Dandi & Ugo

‘Sra Portouges’

“Cheers to all Portguese friends.”

Alan Fizpatrick & Reset Robot

‘Silicon’

“Very strong, for techno lovers only.”

Steve Bug

‘Like It Should Be’ feat. Gigi (Ribns translucent vox remix)

“I love Poker Flat, they’ve always got a surprise up their sleeve.”

Patch Park

‘Curb’ (Original Mix)

“Detroit acid.”

Pagal and Popoviciu and Jay Bliss

‘Inn Chant’

“Hop,Hop,Hop,.....someone for dance?”

OTP

‘Close To The Edge’ (Original Mix)

“Pitch it up to 130BPM and break the dance floor.”

Drum & Bass REVIEWS The Upbeats Big Skeleton/Carousel (feat Kemo)/The Unearthly/Laser Crypt

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Break Critical

Non Vogue

Break displaying his acclaimed, patented style of rocking it deep, using out-of-the-ordinary drum lines, auras of mystery and attention-grabbing moods.

A taster from a superb forthcoming album dedicated to the horror genre, this is a slice of some of the standout moments. ‘Big Skeleton’ is a homage to a ghetto dwelling Rio gang (the Cavearos), where a red-hot grizzled bass drags an iron claw across a pantheon of perfectly pummelling beats. Another fave features supreme lyricist Kemo, spraying his inimitable and darkly catchy lyric style over a skip/stomp, skull-fracturing sub-bass rhythm. Thriller.

King Cannibal Downtime/Stone Tape Theory Ninja Tune

A beatmeister not normally associated with d&b, but this is surely worth noting. ‘Downtime’ is wholly reminiscent, with the same impending aura, raw prowess and snare sounds as an all-time fave of mine, Photek’s ‘Ni Ten Ichi Ryu’. A minimal series of scattered snares and Japanese sounding grunts make this a tribal, deep and darkly brilliant smasher. Traditional d&b on the flip, where a dark metal riff drives a hyper drum, but ‘Downtime’ is where it’s at!

Jaydan The Driller Killer EP Ganja

Along with Heist, Taxman and Original Sin, Jaydan is supremely adept at providing this style, the aural equivalent of a Shaolin monk performing his patterns at 200mph. ‘Driller Killer’ has tumultuous bass folds and curls, while ‘Ghetto’ and ‘Something For The Man Dem’ are for the junglists, injecting soundboy sirens and speech, with classic breaks and fathoms-deep sub-bass warps and slurps. Floor-filling, high carb nourishment.

Dirtyphonics Teleportation/Glow Audioporn

A slab of punk-out, let your hair down, electro insanity. One of those that demands max volume, and a propensity to cavort for full appreciation. You’ll probably burn 300 calories in one listen! Starts off with grandiose, slightly mysterious chords that are a nuclear, heavy

of impending doom clashing with calm serenity, but not the sort of thing that grabs you.”

Late Drop/Crunchy

Jubei Patience EP Metalheadz

Deep, atmospheric dub d&b. ‘Alignment’ has circular bass drifts, ‘Carbon’ is a disjointed stomper and ‘Patience’ is two-step animosity with unsettling moods and ominous, deep distorted bass. water base for a speech sample that theorises how the world would be with the invention of teleportation, then all kinds of laser-futuristic, ‘kick the holodoor’ down hooliganism ensues. Love it.

Various Dimensions 4 EP Ram

It must be spot-on to be on Ram, and as always, this is no exception. Noisia are masters at creating sounds that putrify and petrify brain tissue and the electro growl in ‘Deception’ will do just that. Superb crowd pleaser. Other highlights of these four smashers include Lomax mixing old skool breaks, jaw locking grinds and microchip stew bass in the nutty ‘Jungle FX’, and the head-butt lyrics and titanium folds in ‘No Respect’.

Total Science & S.P.Y Testimony (feat Riya)/Jericho Clear Skyz

So good, like a steamy, sexy session involving strawberry yoghurt and chocolate profiteroles! You’ll hear what I mean when you hear the sultry Jones Girls ‘Who Can I Run To?‘ interpolation here which lays the foundations for sweet soul female lyrics, juxtaposed with sessions of pepper steak beef with a tangy taste of soundboy vocal stabs, hyper thwack drum sprints and shuddering sub bass flutters. DJ Die’s label drops some soul on a rollicking roll!

Sidius & Rawkus/Wayz Alive/Moods Steam

strings, spliced with ominous splurges, that could be the height of an action scene in a fantasy epic — maybe where the Orcs are storming Minas Tirith, for example. Then, as the main drum and bass kicks in, it goes all sci-fi and speedy, as if it is an urgent deep space chase where a cargo ship is fleeing from a band of ruthless alien marauders! Thrilling all the way.

Mutt feat Kevin King Conversations/Invitations CIA/Deep Kut

A captivating, relaxed r&b vocal leads this roller, while instrumental hints and scatters of layered breaks give this speed and oomph. Love at 200mph.

Netsky Everyday/Come Back Home Liqweed Ganja

A sky-bound roller with singalong moods that leaves you fresh and invigorated. A galloping drum, crisp chords and wispy riffs.

ASC Porcelain/Focus Inwards Non Plus+

Faceless, seething zombie drum & bass. Has a theme

Ill Skillz Backtracking/Stellanova Ill Skillz

Aimed straight at the floor, where bright, fresh air breezes of chords and amiable bleeps open this, an easily mixable set of eight bars that cut straight into a crowd-pleasing electric boom bass and “It’s how we do it!” vocal. Friendly arpeggios and grandiose electricity on the flip. The sort of bright but bass-filled deadly set of beats you can use to get shoulders rolling and feet moving at the start of a set.

Jubei, S.P.Y, Subwave & Soul Defiance VA EP

Metalheadz

The standout piece on this mixed artist four-tracker is from Subwave, who delivers a combination of mesmerising, crimson mist vocals and enigmatic, halfspeed electro beats. The lyrics, a captivating missive reminiscing on rebellious deeds of the past, are the icing on the cake. Mysterious chords and suspenseful snarls power SPY’s ‘Moon Patrol’, and floor crushing, ominous bass rumbles through Jubei’s ‘Entrapment’.

This could be the soundtrack for a cool movie. The introduction uses urgent

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Paz Mixtura 01

Vortex Involute

Incident Paul SG

‘‘Only Rain’

“Simply a beautiful track. If you’re feeling sad or sombre or wistful for a lover, this is your sole companion.”

‘‘Dark Eyes’

“On the dark side with edgy bassline with a nice solid drum structure.”

The Physicalz

Calculon ‘Road Less Traveled’

Glen E Ston

‘Glamorous’

“Also a nice dark crunchy one with a techstep feel and airy pads for a “eye in the sky” feeling.” “A pretty but serious track with an easy slide to it with pads and bass which fills the room with moody sound.”

‘Ouroboros’

“A dubby feel with light drums, long basslines and vocals giving a pleasant feeling.”

LM1

‘Season of Descent’

“This is my favorite producer for trancey sounding liquid. A very mind-involving track.”

Radicall

‘Window’

“A more upbeat, trancey track with nice leadin that drops to a steady beat.”

Donnie Dubson

Altair

Mathematics

‘Grapefruit’

“This airy track has beautiful pads that drop in and out of a half-step beat, achieving a up feeling, yet with a down sound.”

‘Rock Ya Soul’ (Hobzee & Zyon Base remix)

“This is pure half-step all the way. Very thick and dubby feeling to the bassline and beat structure.”

‘What’s Going On’

“Well done drums and bass which give a very upbeat feeling to the deep pads and cheery piano riffs.”

breakbeat REVIEWS QUICKIES Depeche Mode Hole To Feed (JoeBot Remix) Mute

A vivid, power-driving peaktime revamp of the Mode’s 48th UK single!

Ctrl-Z vs The Freestylers feat Navigator

wobbly b-line and great big room dynamics.

Vespers We Get Wicked (General Midi Remix) Pop & Lock

GM displays rapid-fire electronic punctuation skillz, and a ravey-davey sensibility.

Ruffneck ’09 Never Say Die

Ctrl-Z turn ‘Ruffneck’ huge again, with a massive,

Cut La Roc Rocstar 01. Sidney Samson ‘Riverside (Peo De Pitte Rerub)’

Deekline I Don’t Smoke (Remixes)

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“Boys of the moment Pixel Fist come full force.”

03. Afghan Headspin ‘Total Recall’ “Old skool rave for the 2010 nu skool.”

04. Kickflip ‘Wonky Science (Beta Remix)’

“The Beta remix rolls with a deep bass on this cracking package.”

05. Cut La Roc ‘Electric Forces Funk’

“The 601 remix has been doing some heavy damage of late.”

06. Mr B ‘Serious’

“A bit of techno piano, and low, low killer bass.”

07. Cut La Roc ‘Looking For The Deep Bass’ “Does the business every time — booooooom!”

08. Xim & Bass vs Critical ‘Believe (Zero B Remix)’ “Nice references to ‘Lock Up’ in this heavy b-lined remix.”

09. Dom Almond ‘Up & Down’ “A very classy track.”

10. Haji & Emanuel feat Erire ‘Take Me Away (Linton Brown Remix)’ “Still making kids bounce off the walls!”

Breaks Will Eat Itself

Back To The Old Jack

Resistance

Ape

En:Vision

A scratchadelic, jackin’ beast that is, indeed, riddled with old skool samples (Space Invaders, a neighing horse, etc). The growling, scrunched up b-line powers it home, while Quadrat Beat expands on the bassline to take it into proper acid territory. Dom Almond goes a bit mental, and then exciting newcomer Eshericks really raves it up for the pick of the bunch, with peaking synths, wiggly 303s and true hardcore sensibilities.

Long-standing breaks scene face Liz Melody, who has lent her vocal talents to many a quality breakbeat cut, comes on Future Funk Squad’s label with a brand new alias. Inspired by her love of early ’90s industrial hip-hop agitators Pop Will Eat Itself, this is Liz pursuing a tougher direction, and ‘Resistance’ employs suitably tough beats, a scathing b-line and a catchy renegade song vocal over the top. There’s even a Simple Minds keyboard refrain thrown in for good measure. Backdraft turn in a huge, wobbly dubstep revamp.

Kraymon feat Colleen Trouble In My Head

Rat

Dusted Breaks

The on-fire Deekline with a reissue of the tune that started it all for him a decade ago. The original, with its lilting acoustic guitar, primitive beats and b-line and that sample, is complemented by a big remix package. Krafty Kuts turns in a Ramirez-style big room electro-breaks revamp; the Utah Saints pivot their mix around great syncopation and tough, slippyslidey beats; and Deekline, with Tim Healey (ex-Coburn), supplies quite a similar update in dynamics to Krafty.

Kraymon is back with a progressive builder. A floaty vocal from Colleen takes it well into song territory, while Cajita’s mix is almost akin to a Radio Slave rework in its expansive glistening. EK’s offering is underpinned by a searing bassline and utilises tougher breaks to deliver the message, then Refracture calls on polyrhythmic breakbeats and a bad-ass b-line for the most peak-time offering of the four. Keep it up, Dusted!

Flore & Shunda K Feel Me/FDB

“Cheeky killer re-rub that slays the dancefloor every time.”

02. Gella feat MC Spyda ‘Twinkle (Pixel Fist Remix)’

Freerange DJs

Myagi & The Root Sellers Rock One Westway

The Canadian DJ/producer in cahoots with hip-hop kru the Root Sellers for a flavoursome vocal breaks cut. And there’s a big remix package too. The Utah Saints really pull out the stops, adding a huge electronic top line, and roping in Zero B — he of hardcore classic ‘Lock Up’ fame —to drop in yelps straight out of the old skool and some classic sounding breakbeats. They collaborate on a syncopated remix that makes great use of those head-freaking vocal cut-ups.

Botchit

In advance of her new album, Botchit drop the latest from French DJ/producer Flore. Really liking how Flore has been mining a MIA/Rye Rye tip of late, a sassy vocal from Shunda K carrying this atop sparse Mehdi/Diplo-style hipster production. Peo De Pitte retains some of the sparseness in his breaks rework, using some of the methods he so dextrously employed in his ‘Room Is Spinning Quickly’ release in the summer as Haggstrom. It’s a bit fidgety, a bit broken, but most of all, pretty amazing in the offbeat techniques he employs. Ghetto-fly grimey bass-step cut ‘FDB’, brings Flyy Git along for the ride.

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Mr B Serious Reconnect

Punctuated by a frequent “serious!” vocal sample throughout, the lead track is actually a fun-packed party tune. The dynamics move from a dubwise skank into a wobbleboard bass steppa, dropping down into an old hardcore skank before piling back in again. Love it. Precision Cuts make great use of busy beats. It rises slowly, via a deep, scything bassline undertow that soon burbles nicely for a fuller flavour. DJ tool ‘Twitch’, meanwhile, has the fartiest b-line this side of Rennie Pilgrem’s arse.

Prosper & Zam’x/Hi Population Kiss My Neck EP Expressillon

The title track is a quirky, pseudovampiric slab of electronic breaksy freakiness. Kinda recalls Tiga’s ‘Hot In Herre’, which is a good thing. Prosper teams with Hi Population for ‘Strawberry Moon’, reminiscent of a bad-ass Major Lazer cut, while ‘Chavroo Night’ is a bit like a mid-paced Rico Tubbs skippy wobbler, the sort of thing Sinden or Fake Blood might drop to nice up the dance.

Garage/grime REVIEWS riddim with cheeky lyrics and a catchy female vocal element, as well as the original, there are three other mixes that lean towards a more electro/dance sound. Check ‘On This Ting’ as a tasty bonus track.

Ghetts Artillery J.Clarke

ONEY

SHOT!

Bias & Cole feat Fox Prolific

Do the words ‘Neighbourhood’ or ‘Sincere’ ring any bells? Well if not, get ready to hear two of the biggest producers to emerge from the UK garage scene, MJ Cole and Zed Bias, join forces in the studio. Ragga-fied vocal licks, mighty subs, short stabby cuts and ridiculously dirty drums show their full glory on this naughty three-tracker. Calling upon MC Fox to work the mic, the dynamic duo have delivered an EP that defies musical boundaries. You will hear this all across the airwaves from Radio1 to Rinse, and from the sweatiest UK funky dances to Fabric Live.

Double 99 Rip Groove Ice Cream Recordings

In 1997, Tim Deluxe and Omar, aka Double 99, were twiddling about in a one bedroom flat in London N7 for four hours, and happened to stumble upon the worldwide phenomenon that was speed garage. Ice Cream Records make the perfect remix choice by bringing bass connoisseur The Count, aka Hervé, onboard to drop a carnival beat and sublime warping bass, giving a new lease of life to this timeless classic. On the flip, 17-year-old producer Josh ‘Kenzy’ Kinsella adds a sick dubstep/ breaksy vibe that compliments the “Brockwile!” hook.

Lauren Mason The Boss Double Up Music

Although she has been bubbling on the underground for quite some time, cockney singer/rapper Lauren really steps up another level on ‘The Boss’. Hooking up with veterans Greg & Leon from Agent X was the perfect choice to bring out Mason’s vibrant personality and swagger. Synth bass, tight drums and well-programmed swooshes drive the urban electro groove home on the

original. Great remixes too from Burgaboy (a bassline banger), Bee Q & Unique (a skippy two-stepper), Code Red (a funky roller) and Qube (dubstep).

DaVinChe feat Cleo Sol Hero Dirty Kanvas

Having already worked with the likes of Kano, Jammer, Skepta, Wiley and JME, DaVinChe drops another bomb of a tune with ‘Hero’. A perfectly tuned and powerful vocal delivery comes from newcomer Cleo Sol. Already a major contributor to the UK grime scene since his late teens, South-East Londoner DaVinChe has also been dabbling with other pseudonyms as one half of funky bad boys Perempay & Dee. This really is music with balls and, in our opinion, the UK’s answer to Timbaland.

Aggi Dukes Drink & Skank Bullyboy Fresh

Not sure whether or not this has missed out on the “skank” craze, but all the same, it’s a solid offering from East London’s Dukes. Aggi’s microphone clarity comes across well in this self-produced and penned debut release on Bullyboy Fresh. A crisp, UK funky club-based

The ‘top three selected’ MC formerly known as Ghetto is the latest person from the grime scene to embrace the South London born ‘Road Rap’ scene. Newcomer Z Dot’s production lacks presence, but it allows Ghetts to use his tongue-twisting fast flows to fill up the track. Certainly not one for the clubs or daytime radio, which isn’t a bad thing, but it isn’t as strong as his 2008 release ‘Freedom of Speech’.

Big H Hooligan Bloodline

Big H has had legendary status in the grime scene since 2003. Famed for his unique, spaced-out flows and outspoken views, he rhymes over one of Skepta’s strangest productions, ‘UFO’. No melody, just hard-hitting drums and an original bassline not found in any of his other productions. Perfect combination, this is a great vocal track to launch into 2010.

QUICKIES SBS Goes Dutch

Joker

Mistreated Bass EP

City Hopper/Output One Output Two

Mastermix Bassline

Tectonic

The original Niche resident drops an awesome fourtrack EP. Featuring funky, electro and bassline bangers, this clever, sample-based release will be working the clubs for the foreseeable future.

TS7 feat Slick Don & Specks

Coming hot off his debut American tour, the Bristolian picks up where he left off with ‘Purple City’. Essential for both grime and dubstep fans.

Jammer Party Animal Big Dada

All Night Long M-I-RAW

The ‘Smile’ producer goes for a more grimey approach with two heavyweight MCs at the helm. Already busting up the darker bassline raves across the nation, this one is not for the fainthearted.

First single from his debut album, produced by Toddla T, sampling an old school hip-hop break. Look out for the Boy Better Know remix.

Terror Danjah Bipolar EP Butterz

The legendary producer has seen a return to form of late, with the ‘Gremlinz’ release on Planet Mu and ‘Hardrive 2’, plus singles with rising star Mz Bratt. The ‘Bipolar EP’ is instrumental music not built to accommodate MCs, with grime sounds peppered through a dubstep arrangement. Throwing an infectious melody in on the chorus is causing this to get battered among the dubstep and grime heavyweights. Expect to hear this a lot.

Tinchy Stryder feat Ruff Squad Tryna Be Me

TARGET ROLL DEEP 01. Wiley ‘Take That’

“This is a no-brainer for me, an absolute smash!”

02. Roll Deep feat Jodie Connor ‘Good Times’ “New one from us, a feel-good record.”

03. Boy better know ‘Goin’ In’

“Smashing it in clubs and on the radio at the moment.”

04. Princess Nyah ‘Hooligans’

“The UK funky princess is back with another banger.”

Takeover Ent

05. Ill blu feat Shanique ‘Say Yes’

The No.1-selling Tinchy is joined by the crew he started out with back in the day, Ruff Squad. Co-production from legends Rapid and Dirty Danger sees the tempo drop down to 135bpm, which isn’t typical of their styles. But this track can fit in between funky and grime. Joined on the track by Slix and Fuda Guy, bragging about their swagger slightly lets the tune down.

06. Shola Ama, J2k, Wiley, Devlin ‘Trouble’

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“Remake of Floetry’s tune, with a funky twist.”

“Getting a lot of attention from this track.”

07. Geeneus feat Katie B ‘Good Life’ “A remake of the classic track.”

08. Davinche feat Cleo sol ‘Hero’ “This is heavy!”

09. J2K ‘Step’

“Wiley-produced banger.”

10. Mayhem feat Burger Boy ‘One Too Many’

“Repping Manchester, Mayhem crew are one to watch in 2010.”

DUBSTEP REVIEWS QUICKIES Skunk Anansie Smashes & Trashes One Little Indian

Skream pulls out an organic, respectful remix that manages to encapsulate the original’s energy with an unusual dubstep twist.

Kion & Murda feat Errol Dunkley Dub Cinderella Argon

Reggae veteran Errol

Benga & Walsh Dunkley provides a soaring vocal over a lilting dubwise riddim. ‘Taliban Walk’ on the flip grabs an AK, and sets to work on the insurgents.

Raffertie 7th Dimension Planet Mu

Great to hear a move away from the caustic clown wobble of previous releases, and into the experimental, aeronautical rave-osphere. Exciting stuff.

Dan Price 01

Adam Kroll

Joy Orbison

Imogen Heap

Skream ‘Memories Of 3rd Base’

Scuba ‘Klinik’

‘Orchestral Mindtrip’

“ very chilled and melodic piece of Dubstep with memorable vocals, from a one time Techno producer.”

‘Hide And Seek’ (Enigma Remix)

“Chilled wobble bass which compliments the recognisable vocals. The only remix released that does justice to the original.” “Low driven bass line with a glitchy melody built around a typical Skream hypnotic beat.” “A lead line which is similar to an old acid techno hook, which follows a very mellow bass line and beat.”

Hyetal ‘Gold Or Soul’ “Loads of swing, built around an old soul sounding vocal”

Vaski

Instra:mental

Night Drive

‘Get Down’

“Aggressive Wobble bass played off against a twisted synth line, matched by a very deep sub bass.”

‘No Future’ (Skreamix)

“An aggressive bass line with spoken words about London. Something you would definitely not play in front of your mum.”

‘F’

“A techno style synth laid over an old school break with a deep dub bass line.”

Kryptic Minds

Biscuit Factory

SHOT!

Bok Bok

‘Organic’

“Mellow with a dark warm sub bass.”

Citizens Dub

Clearly a fan of Guinness and other pastimes that don’t require haste, Walsh, an original paid-up member of the Croydon (well Coulsdon, but the devil’s in the detail) dubstep pioneers, has finally got round to starting his own label. His previous collaborations with Benga produced seminal tracks, and here we have two anthems that have been languishing on dubplate for months. ‘Bassface’ and ‘Biscuit Factory’ are both half-step beasts with class running through their marrow.

Blunted Robots

Bouncing into their third release like a pair of naughty puppies, Brackles and Shortstuff confirm their position at the forefront of the dubstep/funky melting pot, with their label/collective Blunted Robots already pushing the boundaries of the form. Their own track ‘Pipey D’ is testament to this — squealing syncopated riddims with massive dancefloor goolies — and now they invite Night Slugs’ Bok Bok to deliver funky energy with a wry sense of humour, making ‘Citizens Dub’ sound like a big ’ ole bag of fun.

Greena

ASC

16 Bit

Tenzado

Porcelain

Chainsaw Calligraphy Remixes

Applepips

Non Plus+

Boka

After the massive Instra:Mental release, the pattern once again shifts as London’s Greena pops up on Applepips with a brace of funky rubs, eschewing any thought of traditional half-step for skippy 4/4 configurations, whilst mainlining subtle garage, dub and techno influences throughout. Sick.

The Autonomic sound — BPMs and vibes lurking between the no-man’s land of dubstep and drum & bass, and propagated by D-Bridge and Instra:Mental — is quietly but confidently making its mark. Non Plus+, the label run by the latter duo, and an outlet for their unique material, intrigues in many ways: never quite convincing in the dance, but always inspiring in the intricate detail. This release, very much like Burial, comes into its own in the headphones.

When this first came out, I hated the audio molestation that emanated from the speakers. This was the worst kind of dubstep, a sound that traded on noise and brutality rather than groove and soul. Here it gets remixed, first of all by Bristol’s Jakes, who is genuinely creative with the (chainsaw) parts, but predictably it descends into all-out grot. Propatingz remixes with more vision, piling on ravey synth lines and crunking up the riddim.

Ghostown feat Badness & Dajla

Indigo

You Know

OpenEarz

‘Hyph Mngo’

“A catchy vocal worked around a simple but effective broken beat, from another artist who has made the Techno/Dubstep cross over.”

Bassface

but foolishly cuts the vocals. Shame Numan’s remix of ‘Greezy’ is digital only — seek out if you can.

Y MONE

Mizz Beats My World Deep Medi

After guesting on Silkie’s ‘Purple Love’, Mizz Beats clearly made her presence felt. With her own 12”, she gets to showcase the goods. ‘My World’ further evokes the West London sound with a twinkling synth line, latent jazz licks and boogie-laden drums. Toss it over and ‘Jester’ feels a lot more primordial: grimey 8-bit plug-ins roll tight with layered snares to create a disarmingly naive, yet compelling loop. Intriguing stuff.

Levitate feat Chunky

Senseless

Ghostown, aka Simon Booth, turns his hand to the grimier end of dubstep. One of grime’s finest MCs, Lava Unit’s Badness, sprays hot bars over ‘You Know’, with a hooky, Outkast-esque sing-song chorus from Dalja. DZ deconstructs, and injects a feverish wobble on the remix,

‘Levitate’ is a wall of distorted static pulsing over a tough half-step rumble — a simple, but very effective, B.O.M.B! ‘Premonition’ reverts back to Indigo’s more subtle side, thick soundscapes and echoes of jungle in the bassline. Xxxy joins him on ‘Hold On’, for a techy twostep roller, with a hint of roughness.

From the darkness it came... by

www.henleydesigns.co.uk nuo.indd 1

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15/9/08 3:59:40 pm

REVIEWS Hip-hop DJ SOLO

Squid Ninjaz Wowzers

Y MONET!

SHO

Squid Ninjaz

Squalid ‘ssential s*** — been waiting/anticipating the latest transmission from Metabeats (after last year’s phenomenal ‘Metaphysical’ LP) and this doesn’t disappoint. More mentalist mic maelstroms from Barry Town courtesy of Joe Blow, Lousain and Ming, and the man Meta punching the whole thing together with rock solid smoky beats and a bass so mono-manically insistent it lodges in your skull. The album ‘Revenge of The Blowfish’ is just as compelling. Don’t sleep on this.

Foreign Beggars

be one of the highlights you should be digging right now.

O.C & A.G Keep It Going DITC/Nature Sounds

A real strange loop is at the heart of this — would love to know where it’s culled from but it sounds like an offcut from the Fleetwood Mac ‘Tusk’ sessions, rotated in on itself until every facet of it shines through in glimmering moebius relief. Brilliant verbals as you’d expect from these two veterans. Heroes still ill.

Ruste Juxx

Dented ‘Seven Figure Swagger’ gets boiled down by Bar 9 into vicious heavy-hitting electro-funk peppered with what I can only call digi-jazz aggravation on an almost evil scale. Hear it. On the flip, the Machinedrum tweak of ‘Don’t Dhoow It’ hits you in the middle with a heavy kick but leaves your peripheries in the wayward slipstream of shredded vocals, spectral techno and slo-mo synths. Dazzling as ever.

Dubbledge Glaciers Of Ice Hidden Agenda

Now this ol’ fart’s gonna be a sucker for this. Dubbledge, perhaps one of the most intriguingly commanding of UK MCs, dropping rhymes over Raekwon’s ‘Cuban Linx’ classic, but like the rest of the stunning ‘One Inch Punch’ mix this comes from, Dubble manages the impossible in being able to take these tracks over, reconfigure them around his own verbals to the point where you almost forget the originals. Much greatness on the mix (including righteous re-jigs of Souls of Mischief & Jeru), this

Zoning Cloak & Dagger

Profisee hooks up with San Fran producer Ephrom for five tracks of heavy-assed, floorboard-rattling bass tectonics, the overlapping waves of sick lo-end culminating into what sounds like metal velcro being ripped off a robot’s balls. Can’t say that this sound can actually keep you enthralled for a whole EP but it’s worth it just to have ‘What It Seems’ in your trunk, an irresistibly squelchy slam to the senses that sounds like Bernie Worrell adrift in the k-hole.

My Block

KRS-1 & Buckshot

Duck Down

Survival Skills

Seven Figure Swagger/Don’t Dhoow It

Profisee

High hopes for this as he’s a pal of the mighty Sean Price. Slightly underwhelmed by the overly pristine production but as soon as RJ starts swinging with his murderously menacing verbals things start clicking into place. Nothing here to stand up to his buddy’s greatest work but still as close as mainstream US hip-hop gets this issue to actually sounding threatening (rather than simply tiresome). Rare grooves.

Verbal Contact Literary Vices 30 Tonne Slug

Matter & Phrys coming out of Leeds with seven tracks of tight rhymes, heat-packing beats (courtesy of Sonar Cousin) and able rhyme assistance from Mr. Ris & Devalish, as well as female vocalist Chennai. ‘First Impressions’ lets you know just how carefully Cousin laces together his madness, all the right elements foregrounded, heavy beats and bass holding the whole together. ‘Wasteland’ continues the head-nodding vibe and by the truly demented closer ‘Mind The Gap’ you realise you’re in the company of a crew you’re gonna have to dedicate 2010 to investigating further. Hear ‘em now.

Great to see all these veterans return this issue — makes a pensionable b-boy feel a little less alone. A little too much effort here to force the hook but the verses are fantastic, Kris & Buck swapping rhymes over a hard-hitting minimalist boombap beat, somewhere between Premo & RZA-style oddity. As someone who’s spent much of the recent month sunk in the depths of ‘Enta Da Stage’ (again) hearing Buckshot rip so riotously again brings out a s***eating grin across my face that ain’t gonna shift. Welcome back y’psychos.

Blakroc feat RZA & Pharoah Monche Dollaz & Sense Splash Records

The Black Keys get thrown by Damon Dash into a studio with some of rap’s royalty and this is the result, a beautifully propulsive mix of live beats, spectral bottleneck and grungy riffola, over which RZA & PM spit more frantically than they have in years. Bodes well for the album (which also features Q-Tip, MOP, Ludacris) and gratifyingly sounds less like a live band than a long-forgotten John Spencer rerub. Geddin.

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Listening to a collective of deaf musicians may not appeal to most but Fareeq el Atrash (roughly translated as the ‘Deaf Squad’) definitely deserve your attention. They’re not actually deaf; they’re a hip hop/funk fusion band based in Beirut that have been producing some seriously interesting music over the past few years, backed up by some impressive live performances in their local town. “We have done numerous shows in Beirut over the last year, but the most notable of which where at a club called ‘The Basement’, where we headlined our own gig in November,” says John Imad Nasr, band member and co-founder. Fareeq el Atrash is a tonguein-cheek nod to Arabic musician Fareed el Atrash, and although musical infuences range from Ziad Rahbany to the Fat Boys, the band’s ethos does remain focused on upholding the heritage of Arabic Music. “Rapping in Arabic is sort of our main mission in Fareeq el Atrash. Showing people that rapping in their local language, about their local issues, whilst sounding good is very important to us. We have met with a lot of skepticism that hip hop “isn’t for us” and that it “doesn’t work” in Arabic. I am very pleased to say, as humbly as possible, that we keep hearing that defeatist view less and less here as the scene grows.” As well as performing live

shows, the band have recently been signed to record label Forward Music (www. forwardmusic.net), which is a local independent label specialising in traditional Arabic music, and Arabic Latin/ Jazz/Funk fusion, supporting established and upcoming artists in a region where the more popular music scene has stagnated. “Contemporary Arabic music is in a bit of a slump really if you just stop and look at what is going on in the commercial pop scene. But the so-called underground has a lot of really good talent worth listening to. At the risk of sounding shamelessly self-promoting, I would advise checking out the Forward Music website for a listen, especially artists like Charbel Rouhana, Ghazi Abdel Baki, and Ziyad Sahhab.” With such varied influences the band’s sound is tricky to describe, ranging from dark and abstract to really funky, so I suggest you join their facebook group (Fareeq el Atrash), or log onto their myspace page (www.myspace. com/futrush) for more information. Fareeq el Atrash are Edouard Abbas (MC), Nasser Shorbaji aka Cappuchyno (MC), Fayez Zouheiry aka FZ (beatboxer), Ghassan Khayyat (guitar and keyboards), Rami Obeid aka DJ Stickfiggr (turntablist), John Imad Nasr (bass and programming). They are currently working on their first fully fledged album to be realeased on Forward Music.

REVIEWS Leftfield SLIGHTLY LEFT OF CENTER

Y MONET!

SHO

Lindstrøm & Christabelle Baby Can’t Stop Feedelity

Managing to strike the perfect balance (if such a thing exists) between ’80s, disco pop and contemporary Scandinavian boogie, this is a real masterstroke from Lindstrøm & Christabelle. Straight out of the Quincy Jones assisted Michael Jackson school of production, ‘Baby Can’t Stop’ wouldn’t sound out of place on ‘Thriller’. Not the kind of statement you bandy around lightly, granted, but in this instance it’s well justified. The remixes are top too.

DJ Food The Shape of Things That Hum EP Ninja Tune

Another single release from DJ Food keeps us aimed, primed and focused for his impending ‘Stolen Moments’ LP. Another bumper package then that includes collaborations from Strictly Kev, remixes courtesy of PC (now known as Mr P) and more sampled guest spoken word vocals. ‘Extract From Stolen Moments’ and ‘To Brother John…’ justify the ends and consequent Ninja rhetoric.

Debruit Spatio Temporel EP Civil Music

Frenchman Debruit ramps up the influences once again on this four-tracker of wonky dubstep related beats. He treads a linear path to Joker and Flying Lotus, as easily as he traverses the highways of world music, G-funk talk box and Akufen-style cut-up electronica. Hence it’s a mixed bag of bottom-heavy glitch ridden delights.

Moondog with Julie Andrews & Martyn Green Tell It Again – Songs of Sense and Nonsense Poppy Disc

series. Step up then Bhakti Jazz who, fronted by Lisa Dawson, passes the vocal standard set by the likes of Julie Tippetts and Karin Krog. Add some heavyweight modal piano playing for a very useful re-issue tool.

Dublex Inc. Tango Forte Remixes Grand Buffo

Despite being nearly 10-years-old, ‘Tango Forte’ remains one of the finest tunes to hit these shores. Taking it on as a remix project then was always going to be a bit of a questionable decision and whilst none of these reworks hit the heady heights of the Dublex Inc’s version, it’s Timewarp Inc’s version that comes closest to the urgent yet subtle, dancefloor brilliance of the original.

Four Tet Love Cry Domino

‘Love Cry’ bears all the hallmarks of Four Tet’s distinct and idiosyncratic production sound. Drums + electronics + killer bassline + looping vox + a liberal sprinkling of Hebden’s magic dust = yet another deceptively simple yet frankly glorious Four Tet production.

Lovingly re-mastered and featuring the original sleeve notes, this long lost treat slipped under the re-issue radar, until now. Originally released in 1957 and featuring a pre-Poppins Julie Andrews and English actor Martyn Green, it features a host of nursery rhymes, children’s games and general spoken word oddness all anchored around Moondog’s typically weird musical antics.

Acoustic Ladyland

Bhakti Jazz

Always Like This

Glimpses of Truth

The Mighty Q Strong & Wrong

‘The Mighty Q’ is the calm before the storm, as B-side ‘Plant Hunters’ leaves all the usual Acoustic Ladyland mayhem and destruction in its wake.

Bombay Bicycle Club

It has been a socially surprising month, heaps of exceptional stuff going on for the club and bar fraternity. The world press just doesn’t give Dubai the credit it deserves sometimes, but it’s great to see so many venues in Dubai still pulling the numbers with good music. Enough waffle though, lets chat tunes. Steve Reid - Odyssey Of The Oblong Square Steve Reid is steeped in musical history and a true pioneer of serious left-field jazz. He played in Sun Ra’s Arkestra, was a Motown session drummer, featured with the awesome Miles Davis and backed James Brown at the Apollo back in the day. He was a Black Panther, jailed during the Vietnam war as a conscientious objector of that part of history ‘The United States’ would like to forget! Originally released over thirty years ago on Steve Reid’s own’ Mustevic Sound’ label (limited edition of 1000 copies), this has been a serious collectors album ever since. ‘Odyssey Of The Oblong Square’ is a deeply moving jazz pilgrimage. From frenzied saxophone breakdowns, marvelous muted trumpet solos to industrial drum sets: if you like Jazz, this super rare offering has it all. I find it such an addictive orchestral maneuver and truly feel Steves emotion flowing through every chord. I am so happy to have stumbled across such a fantastic album.

Universal / Island

Fly Girls - B-Boys Beware - Revenge Of The Super Female Rappers

A forward-thinking round of breezy vocal verses batucada drums on a bed of afro influenced rhythm.

‘Fly Girls!’ celebrates the 30th anniversary of female rap on record!

Tramp Records

Munich has a jazz heritage to be proud of and the gracious folks at Tramp are endeavouring to cast some light on this lineage with their ‘Jazz Dance’

We’ve heard that his knowledge of music extends to the first ever ‘Now That’s What I Call Caveman Anthems’ and that he was there when hip hop was created. What’s certain is that Marty Metcalf has more leftfield gems to highlight this month, and you’d be a fool (a crazy fool!) not to read on

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A delectable double-CD (and rare edition ‘two volume’ double-vinyl) walks the story of female rap from its birth in the outer boroughs of ‘New York City’ through to the pop career highlights of Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and other modern day rap sisters. ‘Fly Girls!’ also trails the influences of an earlier generation of black female poets who set the standard and helped birth the female rap legacy. The female Hip-Hop story began at the block parties of the South Bronx, long before the first rap records were cut, female artists could watch onstage the early female MC role models and dream of becoming a star. The story of female rap actually cut on record began back in 1979 in the wake of The Sugarhill Gang’s colossal hit, ‘Rappers Delight’ New Yorks artists, record companies and producers all battled it out to make it onto vinyl, clambering for the same ‘Sugarhill’ fortune and glory! Aside from the singing/rap styles that earlier soul artists such as Aretha Franklin and Laura Lee would include in their songs, female rap had its roots firmly interwoven in the black poetry movement of the 60s and 70s with radical poets such as Sarah Webster Fabio uttering unheard expressions of black female self-determination. These pioneers were educated, strong, political women and helped define how female artists can make their own career from rap music. This album includes many firsts – first solo record, first crew on record, first number one, first Grammy Award winner... I cut my musical teeth with a blend of Jazz, Disco Funk, Soul and original Hip Hop of the late 70s and early 80s .. From original ‘black female poetry’ to the unique sound of Electro Hip Hop. This is an absolutely thrilling composition and is a true gem for anyones collection. Research ‘Sarah Webster Fabio’ if you’d like a little more insight into the poetry/rap transition.

words: MICK WILSON

TECH

Traktor Kontrol X1

PRICE

Dhs1,000 CONTACT

native-instruments.

X marks Traktor’s Kontrol X1 controller hits the bulls-eye…

ative Instruments’ Traktor and Serato’s Scratch Live software programmes have it locked when it comes to the whole Digital Vinyl System approach to DJing. There are others of varying degrees of depth and quality, but these two are often the weapon of choice. With this in mind, a whole side industry of USB Midi controllers and devices has sprung up to get the most out of these bits of software. Up until now, Native Instruments have supplied the software and soundcards but never had their own dedicated controller for their own DVS. Whilst they appeared to be sitting back and watching other third party companies create hardware controllers for their software, in reality, Traktor were hard at work in the lab, creating something aimed at the performance user, designed to put handson control back into DJing.

compact

The Traktor Kontrol X1 is the result: a compact unit that slots neatly into any DJ set-up, which can be used in a variety of ways to suit how the DJ plays. This may be a Native Instruments product, but it can also be used in the exact same way for Serato’s software, or any other software for that matter. The X1 has been designed to offer quick, simple control of the DJing software, but

once the surface has been scratched there is a greater depth to this product that makes playing with Traktor, et al, a whole new experience. As with all hardware controllers, the aim is to do away with the “email DJ” culture of tapping around on a keyboard. Using the X1 is quite easy. DJmag tried the straight out of the box, “plug and play” method. It was instantly recognised by the Traktor software — a big plus in our book. Secondly, it was easy to get the whole vibe and feel of what this box can do without having to delve deep into the manual or go online for extra guidance. Okay, some of the more advanced performance features need to be pointed out, but as with all things, that will come with the more time actually spent with the unit.

simple

The X1 has a clean, simplistic look. The front panel gives the user access to all the features that are commonly found on the Traktor software screen. Knobs and buttons that correspond to the FX, looping, hot cue and playback functions are all present. Track selection is simple: twist one of the two dedicated knobs to scroll up and down between tracks, push the button to select one onto the deck, and voila! Holding down the shift button and rotating either of these knobs will let the play position of the track

selected be either scrubbed forward or backwards, and for those using internal sync and quantize, it will drop back into the track and play it perfectly in time. All the buttons have dual and multiple uses that can be accessed by holding down the shift button. The X1 also has the capability of providing simple, but useful visual feedback. If the unit is used with an external sync or with the quantize turned off, the beat lights will illuminate to indicate that the track is out of time with the master track; as it gets worse, the light gets darker. At this stage, there are two options: either engage the master sync button, and the tracks will align automatically, or manually play with the two beat buttons until the tracks are in sync — imagine rubbing a finger on the platter of a turntable to hold a mix. The X1 is not designed to take over mixer duties, and is not a soundcard. It is purely a controller for directing all the performance features of the Traktor software. It can be combined with other USB/Midi soundcardtype mixer controllers, or if using Native’s Audio 8 or any equivalent audio interface, can be hooked up to any conventional mixer — so set -p options are at the user’s fingertips. The X1 has a sturdy build, and should take all the knocks and bangs whilst out on the road. It also comes with Traktor LE — a stripped down, but fully useable version of the main Traktor software. This device isn’t designed to be a deck replacement, but it is designed to offer more performance control to the user.

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VERDICT BUILD QUALITY 4.0 EASE OF USE 4.0 FEATURES 4.0 VALUE FOR MONEY 4.0 sound quality N/A

HYPE

A simple “plug and play” controller that offers a lot of performance for controlling DVS DJing programs.

Gripe

At Dhs1,000 it's hard to find fault with this controller.

A well put together, to-the-point unit that works well and offers a simple but feature-rich option for any digital DJ set-up.

4/5

A lot of you will know Leela, one way or another. She is the Events Manager with Vibe, to whom respect must be paid for the impressive DJ line-ups seen at the long-standing ‘DEEP’ nights at Trilogy (R.I.P.), and this Radiohead-obsessed Española has been the driving force behind Deep’s soirée-reincarnate, NOVA at Sanctuary. Whilst she remains far from unfamiliar with the inner-workings of a nightclub, she cites her favourite hobbies as travelling, Radiohead, yoga, ballet, Radiohead, reading and is also a big fan of Radiohead. Being the driving force behind one of the most successful promotion teams in the country, we thought it was about time to take her out for a drink and an ol’ fashioned chin-wag…

So, what connection have you got to music in your professional capacity? I used to do this job in New York and I have a huge love for the industry. I love a huge variety of music ranging from rock to classical to dance music. At home I rock it, I dance to Tchaikovsky and in a club, well, I rock it again! As a promoter/party-plannerextraordinaire, what parts of your job do you most/ least look forward to? I am a natural born organizer and I adore my job. I get to meet the world’s top artists and performers. I get to meet very interesting, connected and influential people and make lots of new friends. I honestly can’t think of any part of the job I don’t like, even dealing with infuriating agents has its fun. If we were to check your iPod for the ‘most played’ tunes, what would we find? Radiohead, Radiohead, and anything from RADIOHEAD. NOVA has brought out some of the biggest names in Dance music to Dubai over the past couple of years; any personal highlights? Oh, I absolutely loved Steve Lawler; he was amazing! What a sound. I have to say I loved Leeroy from the Prodigy as well, but this is probably because I used to be such a Prodigy fan. And he played all the Prodigy tracks. I forgot to work that night and didn’t leave the dancefloor. Who is left on your wish list of performers you’d like to bring out to Dubai? (Let’s be hypothetical and imaginative; they can be alive or dead) I would do anything to be able to bring out The Doors. Could you imagine what hard work they would be with our rules and regulations here?! “Jim! Control yourself. This is DUBAI!”

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Some of these people can be quite demanding. Have you ever had any prima donna performers with NOVA? The French! Oh my God, they are a nightmare! All our French DJs have been complete divas! What’s the most bizarre request you’ve had on an artist’s rider? Well DJ riders are fairly tame; nothing too shocking. We organized the Akon concert before the summer and his rider was funny. He wanted everything in black; black towels, a black sofa and a black ChaiseLongue. Seriously! How many years have you spent in Dubai now? Only a year and a half, I’m a newbie. What do you like most and least about our fair city? The thing I like most is the diversity and different ethnic groups. The thing I like least would have to be the lack of green. I miss nature terribly. Some say that Burj Khalifa is basically like (The Artist Formerly Known As) Prince: you can change its name all you want, but it’s still pretty impressive. Is that fair? How do you feel about the world’s tallest ever debt-repayment? We always strive to be bigger and better in everything we do; it’s human nature. It’s a pretty impressive structure and looks great on our skyline. If Dubai borrowed 10 billion dollars from you, what would you ask for in return? I want to be given the twisty tower, their building in the Marina (Infinity Tower) and have it named after me! I love that building. It’s going to look awesome.