Byte presents B-Mix 001 : Weasel - This Is My House

Byte presents B-Mix 001:
Weasel
'This Is My House'
(Byte, 2009)

In a new mix series for Byte, we've asked some of the most creative and exciting local DJs around to craft upfront mixes which will be available for download as well as being in select Bristol shops and clubs as free, fully artworked CDs. First up, long-standing Byte resident Weasel has stepped up to provide an awesome, booty-shaking dancefloor inferno of a mix. Over a short few years, Weasel has evolved from a fresh-faced new DJ on the block to one of the hardest-working selectors around. Her quick, incisive mix style and impeccable taste in selecting the best in house, techno and breaks has seen her in high demand, lighting up club nights across the city and beyond.

This Is My House rips through seventeen tracks of high-octane house, techno and breaks all condensed into Weasel's quickfire mixdown style. Kicking off with some bubbling, wonky house beats before getting stuck into some hypnotic techno rhythms, the mix locks you into a persistent groove from the first bar. It's a testament to Weasel that her precision mixing and intuitive timing adds an extra element to the progression of the mix, complimenting the feel and sound of a selection that doesn't put a foot wrong. Right up to the buzzing crescendo of smash-mouth breaks and noisy rave action, the tempo and pacing is perfect, showing just how far Weasel has come as a DJ to watch in such a short space of time.

We caught up with Weasel recently to chat about the mix as well as cats, stoner rock and everything in between. Enjoy!



B: Evening Weasel, how are you this freezing winter evening?

W: Fine thanks, just scoffed some Ben & Jerry's and am chilling with the moggies. Rock and roll!

B: Moggies presumably is the name of your rock hard street crew?

W: Oh yes, by moggies I mean gangstas (of the four legged variety).

B: Weasels and moggies, who knew? So what's been happening in the world of Weasel recently?

W: Just the usual work, play, eat and sleep really. I've recently taken quite a big step back from the DJing thing for a couple of months, and I'm now enjoying getting back on it!

B: Any reason for the step back?

W: Well...I had a difficult start to the year, and it kind of got a bit much. While all that was going on, I was doing up to three gigs a week and I just got really jaded and apathetic. So I took a break to regain my lacking enthusiasm and get back on track!

B: What's your view on the Bristol scene right now? Up until recently you were one of the busiest DJs on the local circuit...

W: I love Bristol, and I love the fact it's so close-knit! But I get frustrated at how that can occasionally turn into clickyness...I think some really good DJs are possibly being over-looked because they're not with the in-crowd. Having said that, the DJs that are getting booked regularly are absolutely awesome and I am very proud to be part of the Bristol scene.

B: Very diplomatic! Obviously you have a slightly different perspective from a majority of the DJs out there, so do you feel being female in a male-dominated industry has helped or hindered you?

W: The girl DJ thing is always there, I know that those that haven't seen me play already and don't know who 'that girl DJ' is are probably thinking, 'oh, a girl DJ....lets see if she's any good'. But in all honesty I don't get worked up about it. What has helped me is that I've never played on being a girl DJ, I've never pushed the whole girl DJ thing to try and get gigs and I think that my fellow DJs and promoters appreciate that. They respect the fact that my mixing ability and hard work has got me to where I am, without ever playing the gender card. I believe quite firmly that it's only an issue if you make it an issue, and I choose not to.

B: So do you feel female DJs that do rely on their gender are letting the side down as it were?

W: No, because I can understand why they would do that. It is easier to do it that way! Sex sells! Unless they're really shit!! Seriously though, I do get why it's done that way, I just don't feel comfortable doing it. I feel like I'm cheating. I've just had my first promo shoot done and I had to act all serious and pouty because i know that a) it looks nicer, and b) for those bigger promoters out there, outside of Bristol.....the curiosity will make them actually listen to my CD rather than put it at the bottom of the pile of 100s of mix CDs they already have. The difference is now I feel like I'm sort of allowed to do that, I've worked hard to get the amount of gigging experience I have, and that counts for more than one photo shoot.

B: Speaking of which, you are definitely one of the hardest working DJs in Bristol. Do you feel you had to put extra effort in to be taken as seriously as your male counterparts?

W: I'm not so sure you know, there's some seriously hard working DJs out there. Gigs just seem to come at me and I say yeah! I was lucky to be given a chance by Byte, and at the time I remember feeling like I really had to impress you, that if I did well then this was the gig that could lead on to me getting noticed in Bristol, and it did. I'm always grateful for that chance, having Byte next to my name on flyers made me more credible, I'm convinced of that.

After that I think what helps is just being easy going, not having hissy fits, arriving before your set and socialising, hanging about after and watching the other DJs play, putting up posters for the night at my work (Chemical Records)....you know, those little gestures go a long way and I'm convinced people book me because they know I deliver, but also because I'm not twat!!.

B: LOL! You're pretty immersed in the culture - as well as being a DJ, you're also getting into production alongside your work for Chemical Records and LOT49. What's your opinion on the current state of the dance scene?

W: Ooooh, well...I gotta go careful how I word this! There's a lot of regurgitated shit out there. There's some music that seriously does my head in and makes me go: 'what?!?'. Working in a record store whilst DJing a lot AND working for a label makes me uber fussy! So I'm not sure if I'm the best judge on the state of music at the moment. I think dance music has evolved so much that not only are we blessed with some amazing tunes and producers, but we are also cursed with some absolute tripe! It's just the way it goes...I try to avoid what annoys me and embrace what I love. I've been pretty much avoiding dubstep for a year because many people's obsession with it and their reluctance to give anything else a listen is tedious. I love dubstep, I think it's great - but variety is good. I get annoyed when people act like there's only one genre in the world!



Photograph by Odissi

B: So where did the desire to start DJing stem from for you?

W: Well, it was quite a simple thought process really. I'd seen Diss Miss and Annon Lee play out and I thought 'Fair play girls'. I didn't really think much of it, but a week later I was driving in my car listening to one of my compilation cassettes and I clearly remember thinking 'I wish these tunes got played out'...and a split second later, I thought 'I know, I'll make it happen. I'll start DJing' - and a week or so later I had decks. Two weeks later I was playing my first set in The Croft.

B: When was this?

W: This was when I was 21, so about four or so years ago now.

B: So before that you'd been making compilations, you'd always been interested in music?

W: I didn't even own any music until I was about 13 or 14. I grew up in the countryside and made bases or rode my pony for fun! I then got into grunge and rock and started playing guitar. I was in a band and ran a rock night in my home town of Hereford when I was 16 and 17. I then started getting into DJ Shadow and DJ Food, and eventually came across the Plump DJs - my love for dance music started from there really. When I started DJing, I played funk and hip hop and had the odd Finger Lickin' record...but then I came across a LOT49 release by 30HZ and that was it....I'd found my niche!

B: That's a land speed record from deciding to DJ and then playing out though. Weren't you worried about messing it up on your debut performance with only two weeks of owning decks? Or had you been practicing on mate's set-ups beforehand?

W: I literally had about ten records when I bought my decks...and I'd never used turntables before! I hate practising in front of people...so I sort of hid away and went through my tunes and made a set. There was no mixing...but there were fade-ins and outs and some drops! I was bricking it! I practised hard man! It was just a front bar gig entertaining the bar while the band was on...but I was f*cking nervous! Looking back I had no idea what I was doing. But it was well rehearsed and no-one complained!

B: Do you remember what you played?

W: God, it was so long ago I don't know. Without flicking through my records it's hard to say. Definitely a tune by the Propellerheads, maybe a DJ Shadow tune...I really can't think! All hip hop, funk and leftfield downtempo stuff.

B: What do you think it is about the tech-funk sound of labels like LOT49 that appealed to you so much?

W: I think it's just the 4/4 beat and the bass noises and squeaks....I don't know! It just kind of brings out a cocky self-assurance in me, and it makes me do gun fingers and bass gurns lol! I don't quite know what it is about tech-funk that makes me like it so much...it's heavy without being too much, it's rave-tastic without being repetitive. I like the verse-chorus-verse structure to a lot of LOT49 releases, which probably links back to my love of band music.

B: Outside of dance music do you still find time to appreciate the music genres you enjoyed in the past? Are you still a secret rock chick at heart?

W: I will always be a rock chick! I have a KYUSS (epic stoner rock band) tattoo round my ankle and I religiously listen to stoner rock while bombing round the country in my GTI! I even like singing along to KT Tunstell while cooking (even though she's not rock). But you can edit that last bit of info out right?!?

B: LOL, never knew you were into stoner rock! Everyday's a schoolday. Seems to be a genre at odds with your vibrant personality!

W: I used to be a massive massive stoner! Listening to stoner rock is the only thing that makes me miss smoking weed! But it's still awesome even if you're not stoned. I just like that sludgey sound. I also like metal bands like Lamb of God, and I liked emo back in the day when it was all about tight black trousers and white socks! Original emo bands like Planes Mistaken For Stars and Last Days Of April...I sort of gave up on the band scene when being uncool became cool!

B: Ha ha, why you haven't done a metal set I don't know! What other influences do you have?

W: As cliche as it was at the time, I clearly remember being influenced by Courtney Love's attitude when I first got into grunge and rock. I just thought her sluttish style and raw aggression was amazing - and I was quite an angry teenager, so imitating her wasn't hard!

Plump DJs got me into breaks, 30HZ/LOT49 got me into the whole tech-funk sound, whilst early Herve productions influenced me to start playing fidget and jackin' house rather than just breaks alone, but then his music just went all 'epic synth breakdown every four bars' mad, so I no longer even look at his tunes.

My favorite producers include Zodiac Cartel whose sound is unique and amazing! People react really well to his tunes when I play them out, lots of bass faces! Daniel Steinberg too - the happy vibe to his tunes are infectious; his signature vocal snippets define his style and are one of the reasons I like his tunes so much, even if singing along makes me sound a bit demented!

And also 30HZ, I was gutted and gave him a lot of grief when he stopped writing tunes under this name! I still hold a vague hope that he will write another album (for me exclusively of course). I'm currently waiting for my delivery of tranquilizers and rope so I can do a 'Misery'!

B: LOL! So in little over four years you've become one of the best DJs locally, definitely one of the most technically proficient too...what's been some of the highlights so far?

W: Thanks! That's very kind of you to say. I think without a doubt my favourite gigs EVER have been: the Byte Xmas Party. I'd played for Byte once and you'd given me the 12-1 (or 1-2) set and I was bricking it! I enjoyed that set so much, as I hadn't yet played to such a going for it dance floor. DRAMA NYE (2009) was my best gig of 2008 and ended the year on a complete high. And another DRAMA in May 2009 where I had Frilla on the mic and we did a heeeeeavy set! It was sweaty, and I'd never seen the bar room at Timbuk2 so rammed! Also getting booked for Mooch and LOT49s party in London this year was a highlight as I was playing in the big smoke and out of my comfort zone.

B: DRAMA's pretty notorious now for being very very messy...

W: Oh it is! After parties are not for the faint-hearted, I call it the Rave of the Dead!. But we never have any problems down there, everyone is too wasted to get angry!



Photograph by Tula Blyth

B: LOL. You mentioned you recently took a step back from DJing, and you've been dipping a toe into the world of production too. So what's next?

W: Well, I'm not so sure with production! I have so much creativity bottled up inside of me that it could be put on tap! I made a tune with my mate [sic] and I enjoyed learning about Logic. Around him, I felt like I'd cracked it - but then I'd get home and try, then I'd hit a hurdle, and wouldn't be able to solve the problem! I was getting really frustrated! One thing I am not blessed with is patience. I didn't (and still don't) have the time or energy to dedicate my few spare hours to sitting in front of a computer making music.

I work with music and computers, so when I come home I just wanna chill with my moggies (and friends of course!). I guess what I'm saying is, that for now it's on the back burner until I am ready to hide away and slog it out. At the moment I'm happy just playing other peoples tunes, and will probably write one or two more with Dan to gear me up for going solo.

B: Production normally goes hand in hand with DJing these days though, especially if DJs want to get recognition and gigs outside of their home towns. Do you agree?

W: Yeah, it goes without saying that writing tunes is what can propel people towards being the all important BITG! But the ironic thing is, once they're there...they get booked to DJ, and then they play a set that consists of other peoples tunes! Obviously the fact they've released a corker is what makes them draw a crowd, but there are a select few DJs out there who draw a crowd because they are awesome tune selectas! I'd love to start writing music, and I'm sure when I do it will be the definition of awesome (jokes)...but I'm not gonna do it because I have to....I'm gonna do it because I want to.

B: So DJing is the main focus right now?

W: Yeah. During my time out I did a lot of thinking. I was so jaded, fed up and down in the dumps that I'd even considered giving up altogether (that thought lasted about 0.00003 seconds...but it was there!). I was trying to squeeze everything in - work, DJing, promoting DRAMA, training for the half marathon, going out and seeing friends, travelling to see both sets of parents monthly, doing LOT49 work....I'd had a rota written out and I was getting really stressed because my free time was scheduled to be sat in front of a computer trying to learn logic and make tunes.

It was forced creativity and I was starting to get really pissed off about the pressure I'd put on myself to start writing music. I decided that I'm more about enjoying myself and doing what I can, than forcing myself to try and do everything. I've basically decided to go at a slower pace (which is still pretty fast) and enjoy life. I don't react well to pressure.

B: So you're going to be pretty selective with future gigs? I see a lot of local DJs playing virtually every night and you can't help but think over-saturation like that is counter-productive...

W: Yes, I've taken the decision to be more selective because what I can provide is limited. While I do play mixed-up sets of breaks, house and techno, I am still limited to the vibe those genres create. Someone like my other half (Ewan Hoozami) can just about get away with it because he mixes it up with so many different genres, styles, and techniques and plays solo or as part of a collective. I think some DJs need to go careful as eventually people will go 'so and so's playing....but then, they're playing here next week, so shall we just go see them then?'.

The night loses it's appeal if the DJ isn't so exclusive. But it's not just a risk the DJ takes on, it's the promoters too. You can't blame a DJ for saying yes to a gig and money. Many would do the same so you can't really criticise. I've just made the decision to be a weekend-only DJ, my style does not suit school nights. I'm also more cautious of playing nights that I'm concerned aren't gonna be 'avin' it enough! I wanna play to busy bouncin' dancefloors and will have that in mind with every gig I am offered.

B: Speaking of which, the mix you've very kindly done for the new Byte series is pretty much a dancefloor banger all the way...

W: Yeah man, thanks! All those tunes I absolutely love! I wish someone would play that set for me while I'm out at a club! I like the progression...your groovin' to some deep house and before you know it TECHNO!!!!

B: This is a fair representation of your sets now?

W: I try and chop it up as much as possible, but it completely depends on the crowd and what they're feeling. I'm prepared to mix it up or keep it constant....it all depends on how the crowd react. Ideally I like playing progressive sets that cover all the genres I play, and I love quick mixes! No annoying breakdowns! But my number one rule is....no fillers!

B: How much of this mix is upfront dubs? Or is everything out there already to buy?

W: Most of it is available to buy, but there's one dub in there by Dustbowl which is definatly one of my favorite tunes ever! There's also one tune I have edited ever so slightly and definitely some tunes that I've never heard played out before!

B: If people haven't heard you play a set or downloaded one of your mixes before, what would be your encouragement for them to grab this one?

W: That's a difficult question, as I find it quite hard to sell myself when I'm not on a street corner! I'd say that even if someone thought they didn't like house, or breaks, or techno, they'd definitely like some of the tunes on this mix. The boyfriend apparently HATES house...yet I catch him singing along to the openning tunes! I think the last few tunes have quite a heavy metal/rock influence too. I'd say that people who say 'I hate breaks' or 'I hate house' etc would suprise themselves by enjoying at least some of my mix!

B: Sounds good to me! Well I think that wraps up things for now, you and your Moggie crew no doubt need to shake down some OAPs tonight...thanks for chatting! Anything you'd like to add?

W: My cats are awesome!! That is all.

B: Weasel's cats will be playing live @ Ministry Of Meow next Friday....

W: LOL! An exclusive catstep set.





Byte presents B-Mix 001:
Weasel
'This Is My House'
(Byte, 2009)

01 : WEASEL - Intro
02 : MEAT KATIE - Tension
03 : CHRISTIAN BURKHARDT - Doubledub
04 : DANIEL STEINBERG - Cry All Night
05 : DOPAMINE - Spunk
06 : WoNK & AQUILAGANJA - Phat Jack (Nick Supply Remix)
07 : TIM HEALEY & MARC ADAMO - Ghettoblasta
08 : ELITE FORCE - Melodik Hypnotik (Riva Starr Remix)
09 : ZODIAC CARTEL - Vudu
10 : DUSTBOWL - Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down
11 : ERIC ENTRENA & D-UNITY - Drugs & Stuff (D-nox & Beckers Remix)
12 : SPEKTRE - Cheyenne (Uto Karem Remix)
13 : AUTISTIC - Minimal Polizei (Kanio Remix)
14 : 30HZ - Consume Daphne
15 : 30HZ - Dissociate
16 : ELITE FORCE & MEAT KATIE - Believe
17 : THE BODYSNATCHERS - Club Beats International

DOWNLOAD : B-Mix 001 : Weasel - This Is My House
DOWNLOAD : B-Mix 001 : Weasel - This Is My House (Alternate Link)
DOWNLOAD : B-Mix 001 : Weasel - This Is My House (Zip Pack with Mix & CD Artwork)

FFI : Weasel Myspace
FFI : Weasel Soundcloud

Context # 01 : Luke Standing

In a new series for B365, we'll be chatting to up and coming artists who are taking design to new heights. First up is Luke Standing, who is perhaps better known as one of the promoters behind Bristol's premier dubstep night SeasonFive, as well as being a incredible producer and DJ. Luke is an emerging talent who has already been responsible for some key work in the Bristol dubstep community, and is quickly developing into one to watch for the future. We caught up with the man himself recently for a chat.

B: Good Evening sir, how are you tonight?

L: Very good thank you, another day done in the office and excited about the weekend!

B: LOL. What's new in the world of Luke Seasonfive at the moment?

L: Well we've just had our Hessle Audio feature at the Tube gone past from Saturday, a nice introduction to the new student clubbing. We had Untold and Pangaea playing for extended sets, it went down very well indeed - lots of people, good vibes, good music! Just finishing the programming for the rest of the year and the start of next year. I'm currently working for a design studio called Halo in Bristol at the mo which is going well, lots of exciting projects which I'm enjoying a lot.

B: Does it leave you much time for personal projects now?

L: Ummm, in some ways yes and no. I'm also working freelance, but I've been quiet picky about what things I will undertake. I still have time to keep on top of things in the design world!

B: Where does your love of design originate from? Is it something that's always intrigued you from growing up, or have you come to it relatively late?

L: I suppose it's been a natural thing in my life from when I was very young. It sounds weird, but I used to love to draw despite my strengths being in other places now. I guess when I first got into stuff like that it was when I won an art competition when I was 7 and won a crayola set lol! I even used to keep a pencil and paper under my bed.

Since then, I undertook on creative subjects like art and graphics (more like packaging design) at secondary school and then photography and art at A-level. That's when I first started to use Photoshop. As well as this, I used to write graffiti pieces in legalised areas in Brighton. The aspect of image manipulation really excited me, and it was very motivating in the progression of learning computer design.

B: So the potential with platforms like Photoshop and Illustrator became a progressive step to where you are now. Without software would you still consider yourself an artist though? I feel there's a lot of people who rely solely on computer design whom lack some of the understanding more traditional artists might bring to a project.

L: I would still consider myself as a designer and artist regardless of what platform or media in which I work. I guess in a way programs like Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator have allowed me to free my hand of weakness. These tools are often interfaces which I use on a daily basis and are what is often happening right now for me in the majority of projects in which i work with, but it is also a means to an end in a way with design nowadays. It's the most efficient way of producing artwork.

However, I do very much appreciate the different qualities of using tradition ways like type-setting and screen printing. I have used these methods of producing work successfully. Much of my work during my degree was based on screen printing and laser cutting. I believe there is a right method for every project.








Seasonfive Brand Identity, 2009

B: Speaking of which let's chat about some of your own work. Seasonfive has had a very strong visual look from day one, which seems to fit the musical content extremely well. Over the years we've seen a definitive evolution in the pieces you've created for the night. What was your thinking behind the concept for this?

L: I think a strong branding concept behind anything visual is the key to success. I wanted to create a look which people could relate to and would compliment the music of the events. The look and feel of these designs has been a learning progression of myself as a designer as well. I'm always trying to create something better than before. It's like a challenge within myself. It's great to see people recognize and appreciate the artwork for SeasonFive. It's really important to me that SeasonFive has a strong visual aesthetic and continues to do so.

B: You've also been responsible for working with Hyetal both in a musical and visual vein. The branding you created for him feels like an extension of the SeasonFive aesthetic, would you agree?

L: I think Hyetal has his own image as an individual artist, however I can see how people can relate Hyetal and Seasonfive visually. As Seasonfive, we have helped support his own achievements and provided an extra platform for him in the Bristol clubbing scene. I have helped develop designs and ideas in which he had initially, and helped encourage how he presents himself as an artist in someways. We're very proud to see how much he has achieved and he has our full support.






Hyetal Brand Identity, 2009

B: The Hyetal triangular logo has been widely used now in lieu of a press shot. What was your thinking behind that piece as a brand?

L: The abstract triangle shape was actually found by Hyetal. He came to me and asked me to create it. I simply recreated the image digitally and styled it appropriately. I'm glad people like it. I think its very suited to his music and his personality. Good find Hyetal!

B: Geometric shapes, geometric music! Similar in concept to your work on Morality In The 21st Century...

L: Umm...yes! Basically, Morality in the 21st Century was a project which I undertook whilst completing my degree. It's more about statistical information or data being visualized based on opinions of a group of people under subjects which are current world issued.




Morality in the 21st Century, 2009

B: Why did you choose that as a subject to visualise?

L: I think world issues have always interested me. I think I'm very responsive of certain topics in which we live with. Seeing as I had already chosen the subject matter of "conflict" to base my work around, I felt it was the right choice to look wider into world issues. It was very motivating as a project base and I felt it could have a strong relationship in a graphic form.

B: And contrast and conflict are major motivators in your work? Horizons is another piece incorporating contrast...

L: Yes I think conflict generally has a strong image whether it may be working just simply with black and white. For this project, I wrote a piece of music which reflected my current music interests. I tried to express light and dark tones within certain sounds which was really stripped back and represented those two elements alone.

I then graphically visualized the track along a time line using shapes to represent sounds over the space of time. Alongside this piece, I developed the design right through to the end, resulting in a full product which incorporated designs on the sleeves of the record which were cut on vinyl and a supporting poster. The packaging and branding of the product was taken in to consideration with the music, with detailing of laser cutting and screen printing.





Horizons 'A Conflict Of Light & Dark', 2009

B: Was this just created as a mock-up or an actual product?

L: Well this was actually a one off! However the track has now been signed to a label called Project Squared, and should see a release in mid-December if not early next year. There are discussions of replicating a limited amount of copies for sale from the label but this is still in contemplation as the production costs would be very high.

B: Music is an integral part of your creative outlook, both as a designer and a producer. Would you like to design for record labels and so on?

L: Yeah I find music and design both equally inspirational. When I get the chance to combine the two is when i find an equilibrium, Horizons being a perfect example of this. Designing artwork for labels does interest me and I would be happy to undertake the right projects. I even have plans to start my own label in some time in the future.

B: Under the Seasonfive brand?

L: We'll see..it would be interesting to start a new project with a new image also, so we will see!



Accept & Proceed Light Calendar, 2009

B: LOL fair enough! So let's talk about your influences. Accept and Proceed factor quite highly in your inspiration...

L: Yes definitely, they have been an agency I've had my eye on for a while now. I was really inspired by them typographically alongside another agency called Build. But their information graphics have been an initial drive for me to experiment myself.

B: Do you draw influence from less immediate factors? Your work is very reminiscent of Peter Saville's early work...

L: Yep I love Peter Saville, its weird you have picked up on that! In fact I have the Unknown Pleasures cover poster in my room. The monochrome approach and very airy negative space with simple type is very appealing to me. I wouldn't be surprised if Accept & Proceed have been very inspired themselves, as I can see references and similarities in their work. Its easy to pick up on things that are visual which you are exposed to.



Peter Saville, 1979

B: Something that seems a recurrent theme in your work, and the work of others you find inspiring, is product. Does the potential of the art of the commodity, the consumable, fascinate you?

L: It's always possible to re-contextualize existing imagery for your own means. Part of the progression with art in general today is to re-innovate and pioneer new means to design using existing forms and given them a different purpose and meaning. However I don't feel this is solely my design ethic and I'm still interested in developing original pieces which create their own context.

B: But the lines I feel between artistic disciplines are irrevocably blurred now - it seems all aesthetics are bled into the mainstream of commerce. How do you see yourself as standing out as an artist, how do you find your voice in an increasingly over-populated market?

L: I like that art has got many cross references now. Obviously it is difficult to find an individual voice in such an over-populated sea. I think that the best way is to follow your own vision. This is not to say that I'm not influenced by work that's come before me, but i would say that as an artist I will try to create an individual space by representing myself as a person and reflecting my interests and life experiences within my work.

B: So what does the immediate future hold for you? What have you got lined up over the next few months?

L: Obviously continuing the brand development of Seasonfive. Working at Halo in Bristol is allowing me expand my knowledge and understanding of graphic design, and is really benefiting me with commercial experience. The idea of starting a label is a future possibility too. Spending more time in the studio making music. The main thing though is to focus on developing myself as a graphic designer.

B: A development that is going well already! Well that wraps up things for tonight, anything you'd like to add?

L: Just to say thanks very much for your interest in my work and taking the time to interview me. I really enjoyed answering the questions its nice to talk about the concepts to give people a better idea where it comes from!

B: No worries, thank you for agreeing to do it!

FFI : Luke Standing Online Portfolio

Lifetracks 06 : Nick Harris

After an extended break, the Lifetracks series is back to add a little joie de vivre to your Sunday leisure activities. This time we've only gone and bagged ourselves a bonafide Bristol legend in the form of one Nick Harris. Nick just so happens to run one of the most consistent and downright awesome record labels in the UK, NRK Music. With over a decade of quality releases behind them, this fiercely independent imprint is still going strong, providing the world with timeless electronic music. Nick has very kindly taken time out of his busy schedule to offer up a stunning mix of absolute classics that have influenced and inspired him across the years, as well as a fascinating interview to boot. Enjoy!


B: Good Evening Mr.Harris. How the devil are you?

NH: Very well thanks, and thanks for inviting me onto Lifetracks. I like the concept of this, it was quite challenging putting down an influences mix, because I didn’t want to necessarily do a beat mix, but wanted to get a nice flow of all the differing sounds that have twisted my melons over the years. Hopefully your listeners will enjoy the mix.

B: I'm sure they will! Whereabouts are you right now?

NH: I’m in my office right now, I work in the same building as Optimum Mastering, who cut lacquers and master music for a whole bunch of top labels and artists.

B: So what's new in the world of Nick Harris right now?

NH: Plenty going on at Harris HQ, it’s a very busy time rebuilding the label after a few months out the game, I’ve just signed up a number of single releases from the likes of Scope, Spencer Parker, Kris Wadsworth and David Durango, all of which will see the light of day before the end of this year. Also I’m ready to drop the new Steve Bug The Lab 02 compilation next week, so plenty going on with that, it’s a superb double mix compilation of contemporary deep techno house.

I’m also super busy remixing and producing myself, I’ve got some remixes coming out on NRK, and working on a debut single release. Also always doing my monthly DJ mixes which I post on Soundcloud and the blog, compiling monthly charts, just really getting behind the music and enjoying it. Hopefully club work will pick up for me soon - I used to DJ weekly all over Europe, but took some time out for my family, and I’m eager to get back out there!

B: 2010 will see NRK 14 years deep in the music industry. Did you ever think it would get this far?

NH: To be honest, I have never really thought about it. Obviously looking back, yeah, I would have had no idea that the label would still be running 14 years down the line, but I never had any doubt that I would still be involved with the music industry in some way, shape or form. I’ve been involved with music since a very early age, so even though the label is 14 years, prior to that NRK ran as a promotions and ents agency since around 1993, and prior to that I was running club nights and gigs since about 1988…now that makes me feel old!

B: With such a plethora of quality music released through the label, do you feel excited by the state of dance music as it is today?

NH: I feel excited about the climate in which the music is coming out in, yes. The whole way that digital has flipped to become the main medium in which music is consumed, and the way that the Internet is used to promote and market the music….of course, from a label perspective, it has been disappointing to see a major downturn in physical sales, and hence a major downturn in revenue; digital sales no way replace the kind of incomes artists and labels were achieving a few years back, but hey, these are new times, and you’ve either gotta keep up with it or lag behind.

Musically, dance is still fresh, there’s always a new angle on the sounds, always new producers pushing things, new software and more accessibility for people to get involved with making music. Time will tell whether this current decade will throw out some of the timeless classics that electronic music brought us in the 80s and 90s...but music is music, whatever the times. When the Stones and The Beatles were kicking it back in the 60s, who would have thought that 40 years later there’s a bunch of bands replicating that same sound for their own generation.

B: What's been some of your most cherished memories from the first decade of NRK?

NH: I think the whole learning process, and being so young and involved right at the heart of the dance scene. Getting involved with names like Richie Hawtin, Armand Van Helden, Derrick Carter, Carl Craig, Larry Heard, well early in the game, I’m talking mid-90s.

I’m always asked what my biggest regrets are, and whilst I don’t really have any, I always chuckle when I think about the phone call I had from a friend at Soma label, asking me whether I wanted to do DJ bookings for a new act called Daft Punk, I had no heard of them at the time, and was too busy working with a whole bunch of other artists, I turned them down!

But you’ll always miss opportunities like that, my friend got sent a demo from an act called The Prodigy, and swiftly binned it! I’ve just got good memories of so many great parties and awesome music, the bad experiences quickly pale when remembering the good times.

B: And some of your favourite NRK releases from that time?

NH: I think I could highlight some pivotal releases from the last 14 years, Dimitri from Paris Jazzin The House, Francois K Time & Space, Nick Holder Summer Daze, Peace Division Beatz In Peacez 03, Quentin Harris Let’s Be Young, Kerri Chandler Bar A Thym...

B: NRK is arguably one of the most consistent labels in the UK, and is still going strong. What's the secret?

NH: It’s not been an easy ride. The last 12 months have been extremely hard for the label, and some could say we’ve been a victim of our own success and longevity. But saying that, it’s just been a simple case of keeping heads down and believing in the music that the label promotes, not pandering to where the money is, not trying to be overtly commercial, as trends come and go and take plenty of prisoners with them. NRK has always stuck by quality underground music, and will continue to do so for as long as possible. You need the utmost passion for what you do, and you need to put in stupidly long and unsociable hours, but for me, it’s been worth it.



B: Looking at the mix I want to start off by flipping it completely and taking a look at the last track first, Straight to Hell. You were immersed in the punk scene of the 1980s, so where does this track place you in that era? The Clash were a pivotal band for many, many people...

NH: Yep, for sure…I got into the Clash after they had split, I picked up on Combat Rock around 1986 and then worked my way through the catalogue, at the same time being totally blown away by the sounds and imagery of punk rock. Before this, I just loved music since an early age, but punk brought through a whole agenda and message that you just didn’t find in the pop charts….punk really gave me my cue to go out and “do it yourself” definitely, after getting hooked on the music I formed my own band, put on our own gigs, designed posters, published fanzines, wrote for magazines…

I ended up working on BBC Radio Bristol’s “yoof” programme, which was a Sunday afternoon show split into dance music (Tristan B) and indie/alternative (Caz Ford), and have many cherished memories of my time there, meeting artists as diverse as The Ramones, EPMD, Inner City, and PJ Harvey.

I picked out Straight To Hell from The Clash on my Lifetracks, really as this track sums up what first captured my fascination with this band, and this alternative music and lifestyle…such a haunting, memorable record…it sounds like no other act, it’s one of the quintessential Clash songs

B: Did The Clash's overt utilisation of dub and reggae influences in their work inspire you? Punk and Reggae in the 1980s were completely intrinsic to each other, were you also a fan of soundsystem and roots culture?

NH: Yes, massively, it was the punk bands that turned me onto roots music, bands like The Clash and P.I.L opened up the musical floodgates for me, and turned me onto, not just dub and reggae, but jazz and blues….especially in the case of The Clash. I got seriously into the whole On-u Sound thing in the late 80s, with Adrian Sherwood, Dub Syndicate, African Headcharge, Tackhead etc.

I remember the first time I went to Glastonbury, the On-U crew were hosting a night on the world stage, and that particular year (1990) there were loads of roots soundsystems there, seriously heavy music going through awesome speaker stacks….it’s a shame really, I haven’t seen systems like that at Glastonbury since that year.

B: You've retained control of NRK from day one - is this is a reflection of the DIY culture of the punk ethic, did you feel aligned with the more political and philosophical ethos of the movement - or was it more about the music for you? How does your experience in that scene manifest itself in NRK today?

NH: I wouldn’t say that I run NRK from any particular political standpoint, no. NRK is a business and a lifestyle, but I have certain morals and think I run the label respectfully to the artists and to the scene. Certainly I do pride myself on starting a label from scratch, with nothing, and making a success of it. NRK is a pure independent label, there has never been any cash injections of mergers from major labels, but that said, no offers have ever been made, so it’s great to be staunchly indie, but I would defy anyone to be seduced by big money offers…..but I think that’s a thing of the past, so many dance labels jumped into bed with majors in the 90s, but the major labels now are having an awful time, and in fact it’s never been so good as now to be an indie.

I enjoy working in a cottage industry, whereby you just surround yourself with like minded people, artists, marketing people, designers, promoters etc. and you work with each other to make something greater. It’s hardly big business, this ain't U2, multi-million, global touring shit, but it’s a scene that props each other up and chips away doing its thing, and that’s what U am comfortable with. Anarchic capitalism? Don’t get me started on Thatcher, but really it’s not far off what she was promoting, people getting off their backsides and doing it for themselves….



B: The early dub and house tracks here - Fingers Inc, Speedy J, Dub Syndicate, the remix of Killing Joke - all represent the playful, experimental time of this music's embryonic stage. Where did the entry point for you into house music begin, and where do these tracks sit in that evolution for you?

NH: I got aware of electronic music through the early 90s raves, not that I went to that many as I was still immersed in the punk/indie scene…and it was stuff like Aphex Twin, early Orbital, Warp stuff that hooked me onto machine music. I had moved up to London in 1992 and the techno scene was really kicking off around that time.

I used to go to clubs like Andy Weatherall’s Sabresonic, The Drum Club, Final Frontier at Club UK, Ministry’s Open nights…so that’s where the nod to Sabres Of Paradise, Speedy J, Killing Joke come from. Techno and chill out went hand in hand, and to an extent, Dub reggae would feature in chill out rooms…that’s why the Killing Joke track is on there…Kiss FM was instrumental in the techno scene around that time, with Colin Dale and Colin Favour on the air, Future Sound Of London etc.



B: The majority of the tracks here represent a later period from 1993 to 1996, the latter year being the time NRK came into being. Do you see that time as a golden age for the creativity in house music? Some of these choices are hugely influential tracks - Smokebelch, Alabama Blues, Ezio...

NH: Well, for me, this is the era that opened up all the doors, there weren’t such rigid genre definitions back them, techno, house, experimental, chill, garage, it seemed like most people were just getting off on the influx of all these new sounds and records, and all these fresh new clubs. I do see it as a golden age, but I would like to hope that 18 years old kids think that 2009 is their golden age, I think it can be harmful to decree that music stopped being great after a particular era.

But all these tracks on my Lifetracks mix are there for one reason only, for me, they are stone cold classics…that Alabama Blues record is f*cking brilliant, I met Ludociv a couple of times back then, didn’t speak any English, classically trained musician, very quiet and studious, yet he makes such amazing house and techno music, and then he disappears, don’t know what he’s been doing for the last 10 years…ditto Motorbass, they came along, did one totally groundbreaking album, hip-hop techno house raw jackin shit, then went their separate ways, no need to carry it on or repeat it; I think from that era, there wasn’t the agenda of having a career, out of it , people just made these great records for a few years then went off did something else.

B: Did you consciously choose to omit more recent tracks or does your selection here represent the basic core of styles in house music that have gone on to continually inspire you?

NH: For me, this Lifetracks was about delving into the records that formed the building blocks of my involvement in this scene, so really it wasn’t about picking out anything current. When I do my monthly DJ mixes, I always stick in a couple of oldies in there, just to revive a particular tune, or just to doff a cap to a certain producer or style…I’m not one of these DJs who has to play unreleased upfront promo for the sake of it, as long as a tune is right for me, it doesn’t matter if it was made last week or ten/twenty years ago.



B: Very true! Who is inspiring you now? Any artists that you'd love to feature on the label but that have slipped through the net?

NH: I like a whole bunch of stuff right now, some of which I am lucky enough to get onto the label, some that I don’t feel I need to chase, maybe coz they just don’t fit on the label but certainly fit into my personal tastes. Artists are too long to mention, but I love producers and labels like Radio Slave, DJ Koze, DJ Sneak, Mountain People, Ame, Dixon, Carl Craig, Paul Woolford, Charles Webster, Kerri Chandler, Steve Bug, Loco Dice…just good straight up house/techno, the right amount of deepness, the right amount of jackin groove…

B: What's next for NRK then, what does the future hold?

NH: I just take things in small steps always, just signing up few singles here and there, working on albums (which always seem to take up too much time). There will be another Lab album next year, and another Back In The Box compilation, and just keeps things moving onwards and upwards.


B: Thanks for chatting Nick!





Lifetracks #06 - Nick Harris

01 - Sabres Of Paradise - Smokebelch (Beatless)
02 - Plastikman - Koma
03 - Model 500 - Pick Up the Flow
04 - Saint Germain - Alabama Blues
05 - Stacey Pullen - Forever Mona
06 - Fingers Inc. - Distant Planet
07 - Rhythim Is Rhythim - Icon
08 - Motorbass - Ezio
09 - Speedy J - De-Orbit
10 - Killing Joke - Requiem (A Floating Leaf Always Reaches The Sea Dub)
11 - Dub Syndicate - Hey Ho
12 - The Clash - Straight To Hell

Download : Lifetracks 06 - Nick Harris

Ffi : Nick Harris Website
Ffi : NRK Website

Lifetracks 05 : Placid

Taking a bit of a break from the cavalcade of producers we've featured in recent weeks, we decided for the fifth installment in the Lifetracks series that it was high time a legendary DJ took us through his dusty crates - and so we asked Acidhouse.net founder Placid to work his magic. For a selector who's knowledge and experience in the rare and forgotten gems of electronic music is second to none, we knew the resulting mix would be a classic in it's own right - full to bursting with early house gold and a smattering of funk, disco and dubstep. Dig in!


B: Salutations Placid, how does this fine evening find you?

P: Life is going pretty good at the mo.

B: Where are you right now?

P: Up in my office, with my window wide open and a nice mix on the 'puter...

B: Oh really? What mix would that be then?

P: A mix by Red D who runs We Play House records.

B: Oh OK very nice indeed! Love their design ethos. Perfect listening for a day like today. What's been happening in Placid's world of late? You just got back from a little european mission recently didn't you?

P: Yeah the European mission was a social affair, as my girlfriend is French. Although I did partake in some vinyl hunting. Unfortunately it wasn't a gig with Laurent Garnier and Ludovic Navarre...

B: I recall an evening spent listening to Monsieur Garnier live back when Man With The Red Face had just dropped. Literally insane skills on the decks. But I digress. Any choice vinyl morsels hoovered up by such a connoisseur as yourself?

P: Europe The Final Countdown on 12"...quite tasty.

B: A bonafide classic! How many euros for this jewel in the crown of 80s poodle rock?

P: It was one whole euro. To be honest I wouldn't have shelled out more of my hard earned for it. It's one of those tracks which constantly seems to be in my head, and I can't get rid of it...I might go and get counselling or hypnotherapy! Also picked up a couple of early DMZ things, early Murk, 808 State Newbuild on Rephlex, Isoleee...not a huge amount but not bad for a flea market.

B: Sounds like a worthwhile trip! Are you keen to get yourself out and about in Europe more?

P: Absolutely, I've played in Holland, France and Spain - I need to get myself to Germany, check the scene there.

B: Is Germany the last box to be ticked on the Fantasy Gig list? Berghain power hour perhaps?

P: Yep, though Chicago still rates as my No.1 of the places I'd love to play at that simply don't exist anymore. I'm quite happy just to play on a big rig though - hearing the records on a sound system they were meant to be played on.

B: Do you feel that acid and early house is slightly maligned or marginalised these days in terms of those that will actually play it out still, champion it?

P: It's quite rare to go out and hear proper old school (well what I consider old school - 87/88/89 stuff) - when i first moved to Bristol, there was a night called Land of Confusion, which didn't play all old stuff but played a fair few bits, and it was incredibly poorly attended. I wouldn't say its maligned, I think a lot of people would like it if they were exposed to it. I've found though, especially here in Bristol, that there's a massive D&B following (and breaks maybe not so much now) - but for a lot of people who got into the scene in the early to mid-90s it's UK Hardcore that people identify with more than the sounds of Chicago 86/87. There's a few of us still championing it though - The Kelly Twins, Sell By Dave, Joe Hart - but I'm not sure how a whole night of it would go down!

B: Ever thought about giving it a go?

P: Putting a night of retro house on, pre-1990? I toyed with the idea, when I was in London - but as for doing one now here, I just can't imagine it would attract that many people. Unless I could somehow get a very big name in the D&B or Dubstep scene to play it! Saying that though, I did play a pure old school set at Glastonbury and it went down a treat.



B: Ha ha! Chase & Status play an all Adonis set...sounds like money in the bank! Let's have a look through the mix, naturally there's a lot of juicy acid classics, and so in context your first choice of T Power seems slightly out of place...what's your relationship with this track?

P: OK, I used to fix Mac computers. One day this guy came in wanting to buy lots of equipment - well a few macs. He said he ran a label, that he just got bought out by a Japanese company and wanted some new laptops.He needed them installed, so I went round there and we got chatting. It transpired that he ran a label called SOUR - this is about 1995 i think - so I told him I heard Mutant Jazz on an LP and liked it. He went round the back and pulled me out a 12" of it, then proceeded to give me a red and blue vinyl record and told me it was T Power's new release.

It was the first D&B track that I had heard which actually blew me away. It was a tough call to between this or an old Photek track I owned, but this edged it - the madness at the end of the track, I just love everything about it! Something about it just resonates in my head whenever I hear it. It's so crisp as well. I did go through a little spurt of buying D&B - I went to the Blue Note a few times, and I can quite happily listen to 94/95 D&B for a while - as long as it has some funk to it.

B: So D&B wasn't something you wholly subscribed to as a musical genre, more something that you flirted round the edge with?

P: Exactly. I used to go to Rage on a Thursday night in Charing Cross. I can remember Fabio & Grooverider playing tracks at 45 and thinking "wtf is this guy doing!", especially when he played Bug In The Bassbin - that's sacrilege! Definitely a flirty thing - I like space in my music; the gaps in between notes are as important as the notes filling them. I find D&B has too much going on, is too fast...I'm sounding proper old now aren't I!

B: LOL! Not at all. Interesting though that you say that regarding space in music, as I always felt acid house - whilst being quite sparse in technical design - is quite "full" in the level of resonance and depth that fantastic acid squelch delivers...

P: True, but the tracks that really do for me have that sparse beat - which allows plenty of room for squelch. The slower the better - the slower the record, the squelchier the acid. This is why I don't like acid teckno.... you just don't get the full bendiness of the acid.



B: True enough - I think that's were the genuine "groove" emerges and really grabs me by the throat! Let's take a look at some of these acid selections...Slam, Kaos, Fantasy Girl..some real classics here. Where does your love affair with acid house spring from, why is it you connect with that style of music so strongly?

P: Phuture Slam started it for me. My brother came into my bedroom one morning and said "listen to this", then proceeded to put on Phuture...it was the end of 1988. I was aware of Acid, and had been to a few nights but I didn't really get it. After hearing that I began to find out more - I used to go round my friend's house, he had the House Hallucinates album. We used to get trashed and listen to it (and stare at it, anyone who has a copy will know what I mean!). After a few months of listening to it, it dawned on us that you could get 12"s of the tracks on the compilation, so we started trying to track them down. At that time in 1989, loads of people had had enough of Acid, so were selling their old 12's which I quite happily picked up for cheap! So my record buying began from trying to get the 12's of that LP, which opened up a whole new can of worms with visits to the various record shops up in Soho at the time.

For some reason though, the sound of the 303 just affects me like no other electronic instrument. When I'm playing it and mixing, all just fits together. Acid House on LSD is quite amazing though. Until you've heard it on LSD then you haven't properly heard it.Not that I think everyone should go out and take acid and listen to acid house! It's where Placid comes from - Acid Paul, Paul Acid, Placid!

Pierres Fantasy Club Fantasy Girl was one of those tracks I heard on a tape by a DJ called Chocci. I used to go to Tonka parties and I remember him playing it and trying to find out what it was. It then transpired it was a £150 record and damn hard to find!

I put Kaos on there just because of the Detroit influence - Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson - going to see Derrick May play at Knowledge at SW1 to about 75 people and him tearing the roof off it...if you haven't checked his latest Radio 6 mix then check it out!

B: Isn't there quite a famous quote about one of the Spiral Tribe crew meeting the acid pioneers for the first time, and being amazed none of them had ever actually tried acid?

P: Oddly enough, I went to see Armando and Mike Dunn at Lost, up in London around 1994 and asked the same thing - nope was their response! Mind-boggling if you think about what their tracks do to you, but to each their own!



B: Before acid house, what was Placid's musical poison? We have some pure A-grade funk here from '76 with Mr. Dexter Wansel and some righteous disco from Martin Circus. Were funk and disco something you were tuned into prior to the acid house explosion?

P: Nope, that came much later as part of the Tonka parties I used to go to. There was a guy called DJ Harvey, he ran numerous nights at the Zap Club in Brighton, on the first Monday of the month - and later on Moist at The Gardening Club - where anything went from deep house, acid house and a lot of disco. It was here, eventually that I started to like some disco, and that there were loads of great tracks - some right dirty disco and a lot of stuff which had been sampled in house records.

So I then started looking back at where the samples for records I was buying had come from, and that lead me into Prelude, Salsoul and a whole other world of disco stuff. With Martin Circus it was just the introduction of druggy disco again by DJ Harvey; Francois Kervorkian on the mix, I didn't realise that it could sound like that! But I am digressing...in answer to the question, I was into hip hop - Big Daddy Kane, JVC Force, Stetsasonic, LL Cool J and that kind of stuff. I still listen to it now and then.

B: But none of those made the cut for the mix? Was your embracing of acid house that powerful an experience for you?

P: Back in 86/87 I was only 15, it was my brother who was into it. I used to just listen to it but I never bought any - well not until i started buying records. Music and going out was a way of life. I was out from Thursday until Monday every weekend. I used to love the whole Sheffield Warp thing, bleeps and basslines, some of the Belgian stuff to come out in 1991 was out of this world. But then hardcore came along, and suddenly everything went to speeded up breakbeats and chipmunked vocals. Luckily Tonka didn't go down that route, so I could go out happily without hearing it!

B: Hardcore wasn't something you could get on with?

P: Nah. I have heard some good tracks, don't get me wrong. But fundamentally I just don't like breakbeats. And don't get me started on the Prodigy!



B: Ha ha! Fair enough! Let's look at the remaining acid tracks here - Armando, Fingers Inc, Lidell Townsell, Virgo. Given your deep knowledge of the genre, why these tracks specifically - and what do they mean to you?

P: The Fingers LP, well where to start... I had a few of the EPs, but someone bought this album for me and it's one of those few LPs where every track is a winner. It encapsulates everything about Chicago house music, and adds Robert Owens' vocals. I didn't realise at the time it would become an absolute classic. Even though I've heard it a million times, it still sounds just as sweet when I put it on now as when it did the first time.

The Virgo LP, now this was always the last thing we'd put on. My friend Robert had a house up in Victoria, London. At the end of the night, morning, weekend, just when everyone (there was always a few of us) were finally crashing out, this LP would take us into the land of nod. There's just something about it - so simple but brilliantly down - and it was an LP which meant you didn't have to exchange it every five minutes!

The Armando was bit of a holy grail. I used to buy records (and still do every now and then) off a guy called Nick the Record - no kidding, his collection is mind boggling. Anyhoo, I found myself up there one afternoon and said can you play me something I don't know. He played me Armando Uhaciied on Missing Dog Records. It literally blew me away. It took me about 15 years and a considerable sum to finally track it down. Never hit these shores as far as I know, and only about 500 were pressed.

B: Is there something in the rarity of a lot of these records that has as much appeal as the music itself?

P: There's a lot of rare stuff out there. It's when you get the combination of very rare, and actually a damn good track on it as well that the prices go through the roof. I won't buy something just because its rare, just to sit in my shelves - I don't have enough room for that. Everything I buy must be playable. I was dragging £100+ records around Glastonbury with me to play...



B: Dangerous times, I hope they were insured! Let's talk about the one dubstep concession here, and an absolute gem too. Where do you come in with regards to the genre's already colourful history?

P: A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of Skream Glamma. I'd just got a nice new Harmon Kardon system for my PC and it sounded amazing. Again, going back to my point about the space in music, Dubstep had lots of space in it as well as big ass bass. I went straight onto Juno and stocked up on a few dubstep bits, one of which was just out that day, which was Digital Mystikz Haunted. I remember going to Venn festival, and it was the first time i met the under_score lot and they had Kode 9, Pinch and Scion at the Blue Mountain. When Kode 9 played the DMZ track, it completely did me in, the sound coming from them speakers...this metallic sound. Everything about it, right down to the fact that it knocked my drink off a table about ten metres away, meant it would always be in my record box. I bought a fair bit of dubstep, and if i had more money I would still be buying it - but alas I just don't like it as much as I do House, Techno, Electro and Acid.. therefore I download mixes and play them instead.

B: Bringing us up to date, what artists are out there right now rocking Placid's world?

P: Now there's a question. I don't tend to stick to just an artist as such, but my recent purchases have been:

Sven Weismann On Wandering. I really dig his stuff...
Anton Zap - on Uzuri Records
Lerosa
Tevo Howard...deep chicago house
Jared Wilson
Lory D
Of course Carl Craig...
Moritz Von Oswald
Patrice Scott
Omar S....

...how long have you got!

B: Ha ha! Not long enough I think! OK, well that just about wraps things up - anything you'd like to add, any pressing plugs that need plugging?

P: Only if you have any influential friends over at the Berghain....

B: Sadly not, if I did I would have had you in leather trousers and whipped cream by now. Thanks for chatting to me sir.





Lifetracks # 05 - Placid

01 - T Power - Police State Part 2
02 - Phuture - Slam
03 - Rhthim Is Rhythim - Kaos
04 - Virgo - Do You Know Who You Are (From the Virgo LP)
05 - Lidell Townsell - The Groove (from the House Hallucinates LP)
06 - Fingers Inc - Mystery Of Love (from the Another Side LP)
07 - Pierres Fantasy Club - Fantasy Girl
08 - Armando - Uhaceeid
09 - Martin Circus - Disco Circus Medley
10 - Digital Mystikz - Haunted
11 - Dexter Wansel - Life On Mars

Download : Lifetracks 05 - Placid

Ffi: AcidHouse.net
Ffi: Placid Website

Lifetracks 04 : Mulder

For the fourth episode in the Lifetracks series, we tracked down a true survivor of the original rave era and arguably one of the most under-rated producers around, Mulder. Mulder's output during the mid-90s for labels like Aphrodite's Urban Takeover defined the elements of jump-up when that wasn't such a dirty word, producing jungle anthems like Gettin' Blunted, Don't Give A Damn and Stick Up Kid . After an extended break away from music production, Mulder found favour in the fledgling hardcore breaks scene, recording for Malice & Enzyme's 2Fresh imprint with definitive tracks such as Soundclash and Devil Inside. With an encyclopedic knowledge of rave culture and all it's facets, Mulder's selection was always going to be top quality - and we weren't disappointed. Get ready for some stone-cold classics!


B: Hi Mulder, how are you today?

M: I'm fine.

B: Where are you right now?

M: Sat in my room, which is quite warm at the moment, in front of my laptop.

B: A common position for Mulder perhaps...cooking up beats?

M: I was playing around in Ableton earlier, trying to prepare some samples, yep.

B: For an imminent release or just for fun?

M: For a potential release, yeah, just trying to sort out the timings on a sample with really loose rhythm so it doesn't clash and flam with the breaks when I'm writing the tune.

B: So we're talking Hardcore Breaks or something else? Sounds intriguing...

M: Yeah, trying to write a jungly HCB tune with ska samples.

B: Sounds awesome! Are you always consciously trying to adjust the template of Hardcore Breaks with other elements?

M: Well, I think it's best to keep doing different stuff with it, otherwise I get bored.

B: Some people might consider HCB a bit of a creative cul-de-sac, but there seems to be loads of energy and invention in the genre these days...what's your thoughts on that?

M: Well, the idea was thought up by people who loved that original Hardcore / Jungle Tekno sound and wanted new tunes in that style to listen to, but you don't have to limit yourself to just that, you can become influenced by other new music around you and throw some of that in the mix too. I've been one of the people to break off a bit from the B2VOS forum where it started too, and do stuff under the 'nu-rave' banner, which whether it's a good idea or not is our way of sticking a finger up at the NME's attempts to pre-empt the oldskool revival by making Indie the 'new rave'.

B: NME weren't kidding anybody over 18 with that one! HCB has been fairly divisive amongst old skool heads though wouldn't you agree? Those that think of that era as a set time and should be left as it is, and those who want to take that sound further?

M: Yeah, there have been those who've lapped it up and those who just didn't care for it. The divisions within HCB itself were about certain personal differences more than anything else, and a lot of that has blown over now. It took a while for those of us who wanted to use the 'nu-rave' tag for ourselves and join up with the Rave Breaks and J-Tek guys, to get accepted by those who wanted to just stick to promoting HCB on it's own. Hang on, that didn't make any sense ...ah no, it does make sense, just a long-winded way of putting it!

B: No it makes perfect sense ha ha! So you feel the future for HCB is looking good?

M: It could be great, it could just fade into the background. I think there is a little oldskool revival happening within the fidget stuff and certain dubstep records have even tried to go a bit old skool - Skream's La Roux remix for one, even though he's just stuck a full speed amen at the end. Then there are people like Clipz who is doing some great varied stuff under the name Redlight, a lot of which has subtle or even quite obvious old skool influences in it. All this is good, but we need to bring it all together.

B: So where do you feel you fit in all of this? You've been around the block twice so to speak....

M: I'm not really sure! I have had a few problems which got me out of the D&B thing and I wasn't feeling much new music at all for a while until HCB grabbed me and I started doing it for fun. I guess I just want to provide some of the tunes and play a few gigs and see where it gets me.

B: Would you consider returning to D&B or do you feel your time in that genre is done now?

M: I think that I'm pretty much done with it, but if I feel like writing a tune in that style again then I'll just do it and see what happens, but I doubt I'll ever make a proper full-scale return. The genre seems so stuck in it's ways now.



B: Let's take a look at the mix you've very kindly put together, starting with the first brace of tracks which are all bonafide classics - Bang Zoom, Rock It, Close To The Edit - all pivotal in the development of dance music as we know it now. Where do these tracks take you back to, how did you come to experience them?

M: Rock It was one of the earliest things that introduced me to what we now know as turntablism. I have a funny feeling I'd seen somebody scratching and so on before Rock It came along but it's a really hazy memory. I was only 6 or 7 when it came out. I already had a fascination with record players and music as it was, so it kind of reinforced it. It wasn't my first encounter with Hip Hop though, that was a COI Public Information Film known as Don't Step Out or Close To The Edge, which I think was around at the same time as Rock It. It used Grandmaster Flash The Message beats and changed the words to teach the Green Cross Code.

Art Of Noise were the first people I heard using samplers and making records that were just a large collage of sounds. It's easy to see the link between Close To The Edit and early Hardcore records in that way. I think I've included Nu-Shooz I Can't Wait because that's the other big tune I remember with a lot of samples in it, especially the main riff of the Dutch version which I think is played using a sampled moan from a p*rn film or something!

Bang Zoom is similar again, uses a lot of Bugs Bunny samples, but it's the first Hip Hop record I actually bought and it's really a masterpiece. By now it was 1986, so I was 10 and really wanting to discover more Hip Hop which I did via the Beastie Boys a bit later. All this was so new and fascinating for a kid.



B: How were you experiencing music then? Through radio, TV?

M: Largely, yeah. I was really into Shakin' Stevens when I was about 5 or something and that was down to seeing him on Top Of The Pops. There was also my parents record collection which had a few interesting things in it. My gran also used to play me classical music and other stuff, mostly Strauss waltzes. On the telly side though, it wasn't just TOTP and music programmes but also any music used in the background or on the testcard or pages from ceefax, it all just soaked in to me.

B: So was early hip hop your first love musically speaking?

M: I think just music in general was my first love, hip hop became the main focus though by the time I was 12, and a bit of house too.



B: Speaking of which we have Jack Your Body here representing that...so you were just trying to consume as many styles as possible when you were growing up? We're heading into the mid to late 80s here...

M: Yeah, well, Jack Your Body is 1986 and I first heard it on TV-AM! They were talking about the tune and wondering what 'House Music' was, because on the cover of the record it's got The House Sound of Chicago written on it. Both the track and the video in combination I thought were really cool. 1986 was quite a year as I remember it, with Jack Your Body, Bang Zoom, and another Art Of Noise with Max Headroom called Paranoimia. That year I discovered Kid Jenson's chart show which aired on the commercial radio stations, and I thought was much better than Radio 1's show. They would often play 12" versions of records and make their own re-edits of these remixes. That's why I've got Janet Jackson in the mix, it's a tune I remember they chopped up and I always wanted to hear it again but I never will, so I did it myself! Hearing those re-edits got me doing it myself with two little tape decks and the lead from my ZX Spectrum to link them up Earphone to Mic socket.

B: So you were making re-edits from an early age, that's awesome! When did you get involved in DJing for the first time?

M: Well, I first remember trying to scratch on my Dansette using my 7" copy of Bang Zoom as it goes! Later I saw somebody doing something similar in the video to Roxanne Shante's Go On Girl. It was pirate radio that kicked it off properly though. I heard hip hop on Raw Radio in 1988 and it was all mixed. It was really the first time I'd heard beat matching and I wondered how they were doing it, so eventually I discovered how to mix a record on a record player alongside a tape on a tape player and realised there must be a speed control to keep the record at the right speed all the way through the mix. It just went from there and eventually I got some belt drives once I was earning a bit of money in my late teens.

B: So were you beginning to produce around then too?

M: Nah, I didn't really think I'd ever make any music until I started playing with Octamed in 1994. I just didn't think it was possible without loads of gear, until I realised the Amiga had really good sampling abilities.

B: I think you're not alone in cutting your production teeth on the Amiga. What were some of your first attempts back then styled as? Jungle?

M: Yeah, it was a mix of jungle and hardcore I suppose - some of it was as fast as 190bpm! I was just mucking about until I started writing to Aphrodite. I was pretty bad at making rhythms up and structuring tracks at the time.



M: So you pretty much went from bedroom producer to record label fairly easily?

B: Yeah, I was sneaky though. The reason I've included Some Justice is because I loved the bass in that tune when it came out and later on I found out that it was written on the Amiga, and I worked out that Gavin (Aphrodite) now had his own label and his tunes were still all done on the Amiga, and they were much better than mine. Booyaa for example, great bassline for it's time, great drum programming and a really danceable feel which a lot of jungle lacked at that point, because the beats were too chopped up and not rhythmic enough. So, I wrote to him and he told me my tunes were sh*t, but keep going. Eventually I managed to do something that he thought he could work with, and he offered me a release on Urban Takeover which he was about to start with Finn.

B: Seems a world away from the industry as it is today, even if it wasn't that long ago! Let's talk then about the rave/jungle portion of your mix. With your tunes getting around and DJ sets out and about you were starting to really make a name for yourself. You've picked some essential rave classics here, Mr.Kirk's Nightmare, Charly, Bang The Drums...what are your memories of that time, was that a great period for you in the first honeymoon period of rave culture?

M: It was a bit of a weird time for me. Hearing Mr Kirk, Spliffhead, and other tracks of that kind in 1990 moved my attention away from hip hop a bit and I was still only 14 I guess so I wasn't going out raving or buying many records but it was fresh and hip hop was going a bit stale I thought. I liked the bass and the crazy little stab melodies in the tunes. I was also sort of going off on a bit of a religious tangent in my personal life, which kind of conflicted with the idea of going to a rave a lot and came to an end just before I got the call from Aprhodite to do my first single. So, I stuck to just sitting in my room listening and buying records when I could. I've never really been much of a dancer anyway, and drugs are just bad imho. Except beer! It was all about the music for me!

I think that's why for a long time I was more interested in the Bukem etc side of things, because those tunes lend themselves to listening at home a lot more than the jump-up tracks. When the more 2-step period came in and people started calling it D&B rather than jungle, it collided with the basslines in the jump-up stuff becoming more than just sub and the melody of the basslines stood out more, so then I got bang into labels like Dope Dragon instead, but still kept buying the Good Looking 12s too. The early Bukem stuff is really ravey though!

B: Yeah for sure his early stuff is basically proto-hardcore! It's interesting you saying you were into the more "chilled" end of D&B, given your recorded output...

M: Yeah, I just didn't get on trying to write that kind of stuff I guess, because the Amiga was probably a bit better at doing bass than it was at doing lush pads for example, and by the time I'd learned how to write tunes better I'd gone out and realised how it didn't go down on the dancefloor so well compared to the jump-up, which was now more musically interesting to me anyway. The Bukem stuff also ended up going into the realms of jazz drum solos where the beats were concerned, especially when you look at some of Photek's output when he did his album. It's just not funky, it's jazzy, so when people talk about 'Drumfunk' I think they've got the wrong idea.



B: So the era of "liquid" D&B was something that didn't interest you in trying to make tunes for? At that time the scene was pretty much divided between the "jump-up" styles and the deeper styles...

M: Yeah, I really didn't get on with techstep either. The liquid stuff can be really great musically, really danceable, sometimes really rushy and ravey in a way, but often people just don't do enough with it for my liking and it just boils down to a loop of some nice sounds that you tire of really quickly. The best liquid tunes are things like 3am by MIST and High Contrast, really nice horns in that one and really ravey in a way. I wouldn't write either liquid or techstep off completely though, there's always good tunes and bad in all of it, I just guess I prefer party tunes.

B: Speaking of which, given your re-emergence on the scene producing HCB, you haven't selected any of that genre here. How did your transition back into production come about through HCB, and who influences you in that scene?

M: Well, I think all of us in that scene look outside for influences, we look to stuff we used to listen to or new forms of dance music and I don't know if we really look at one another like that. I know what artists and labels I like though. When I was writing D&B my love for oldskool was always pushing me to try and do something oldskooly anyway. I loved that little period in D&B in the early 2000s when the Dubplate remix came out and all of a sudden there were oldskool sounds all over the place in D&B again and remixes of old classics. I'd say hearing Vinyl Junkie and Darkus' Warehouse Wax stuff made me think that I should get into this. I just started listening to the clips of tunes on Hardcore Projecktz record shop and then I dug up a little thing I'd been working on about a year before and posted it on B2VOS. It got some interest but never got finished, I just started writing other tunes instead.

B: And so looking to the future, what's in store for you? Any more releases on the horizon you can tell us about?

M: Nothing solid. I've taken a break for most of the year so far, as my inspiration is a bit like that, it just runs out and I have to recharge until I get that itchy feeling to do something again. It's started to happen, I remixed Ghettozoid's Seeking for the hell of it the other day, and did a tune using the music from Ocean's ZX Spectrum version of Robocop for a laugh. I don't really think they are that spectacular, but something else will happen I hope with these samples I'm trying to sort out at the moment. I originally started the tune with Jamie Enzyme and Alex Fluff from the Nu-Rave forum in January, but we've not managed to get back there and do anything else since, so I thought I'd just work on it myself and see what the others can input.

B: Nice one, well I look forward to hearing what you come up with next! Thanks for chatting to me Mulder, anything else you'd like to add before we wrap this up?

M: Can't think of anything!

B: LOL! Fair play...thanks anyway!!




Lifetracks # 04 - Mulder

01 - COI PIF - Close To The Edge
02 - Real Roxanne and Hitman Howie Tee - Bang Zoom (Let's Go Go)
03 - Herbie Hancock - Rock It
04 - Art Of Noise - Close To The Edit
05 - Nu-Shooz - I Can't Wait
06 - Kraftwerk - It's More Fun To Compute
07 - Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You (Mulder Re-Edit)
08 - Steve 'Silk' Hurley - Jack Your Body
09 - James Brown vs. Coldcut - The Payback Mix Pt.1
10 - Home T, Cocoa Tea and Shabba Ranks - Pirates Anthem
11 - Ragga Twins - Spliffhead
12 - 4Hero - Mr Kirk's Nightmare
13 - The Prodigy - Charly (Alley Cat Mix)
14 - Urban Shakedown - Some Justice (Concrete Jungle Mix)
15 - Tayla - Bang The Drums
16 - Amazon II - Booyaa! (Open Your Mind)

Download : Lifetracks 04 - Mulder
Download : Alternate Download Link

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Lifetracks 03 : Antoni Maiovvi

For the next installment of Lifetracks, we sent the call out to our man in Berlin, the infamous italo maestro Antoni Maoivvi. Maiovvi has been busy spreading the synth l'amour across Europe and beyond, with second album Shadow Of the Bloodstained Kiss due for release on August 3, an imaginary soundtrack to a long-lost 80s giallo. With this in mind, we felt it only fitting to ask him for a selection of his biggest influences in celebration of this fact. What we got back was something truly intriguing that demanded further investigation. Read the full account of Signore Maiovvi's majestic mindwaves below and then download the incredible mix for your aural delectation.


B: Buona Serra Signore Maiovvi, how does this fine evening find you?

AM: I'm well thank you. I've spent the day hooking my Wii remote up to Ableton Live...

B: Sounds intriguing...

AM: It's not as responsive as the Max/MSP patch I was using, but it's interesting...needs adjustment.

B: You've recently got to grips with Ableton in a serious way, haven't you?

AM: Yeah, I don't find it's arrangement layout at all useable, but it's strength lies elsewhere.

B: Such as?

AM: Essentially I'm using it for improvising my performances now, it's looping capabilities are great. I don't think I'll produce anything with it - just use it for concerts.

B: So where are you right now?

AM: Wedding in sunny Berlin. It's kind of like the Bedminster of Berlin.

B: God help us all! How are you finding the transition from the UK to Germany?

AM: Quite strange actually. This is the first time I've actually had an extended period without concerts here. Over the last two months, I've been back and forth between the UK. I'm finally getting settled now, hence the Ableton binge.

B: How have you found the reception to your music over there compared to here?

AM: Ha, it's quite strange. The more experimental things I do have been received very well. Antoni Maiovvi has been received well too, but it's early days for the Italo scene here I think. Not to say that people aren't doing it and haven't been for a while, but I think there is still some fall-out from the style being so widespread in Germany. I think also because the term Italo has become very much a blanket term for this stuff, some people will forget that some of it was of German origin.A lot of the UK fans have only recently discovered this music, so perhaps it carries a different significance. It's growing though.

B: That's intriguing, I think there is a definite groundswell in the UK toward Italo, but I always presumed Europe was a permanent stonghold for it's charms...

AM: Well, for example at the first night of the Space Operator club I've started here, DJ Benetti played a track by Modern Talking. A member of which is on Germany's version of the X-Factor as their Simon Cowell judge character...

B: Ha ha really?

AM: Yeah, the bar staff were laughing about it, I didn't know any of this of course, but they made it clear how amazingly un-cool it was, ha!



B: Awesome, I would have drawn for the Nena myself...let's talk about the one Italo track you've included here, possibly the quintessential italo track, Spacer Woman. How did your love affair with this style of music come about?

AM: Well, it was Goblin, who are my favorite group. Investigating them I came across the disco stuff, and it really seemed like an extension of the horror / sci-fi / action soundtracks I was already listening to. More research turned into obsession...

B: Soundtracks make up a large part of your influence would you say? You've included here Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 theme, a personal favourite of mine and given Shadow...'s Giallo stylings, is it a vital component of how you shape music, how you produce?

AM: A huge part, Carpenter's music especially. There was a period before all this identikit orchestra scores you get for the big movies, or the "alternative rock" compilations for the lower budgeted movies where people were being really experimental and doing fantastic work. Morricone is a god, so is Shifrin. I mean look at the score to The Andromeda Strain, you wouldn't get people doing that with that kind of movie these days, "too abstract" they'd say. Music can make or break a film for me, even if the film is terrible, if it's got a great score then I'll love it

B: Absolutely, but that artform of beautifully crafted soundtracks really expired in the late 80s I would say though...

AM: I'm not sure when the cut of point was. Howard Shore has been doing excellent work for years now. Maybe Crash was the last great one he did, and that was over 10 years ago now...

B: Were you drawn to him through Cronenberg's work?

AM: Absolutely - Scanners, Videodrome, Dead Ringers...

B: A lot of the music you've selected emanates from that fertile late 70s to mid 80s period of music, is that a timeframe you feel some real affinity with?

AM: I'm not sure. I came to the conclusion recently that I think I'm just drawn to psychedelic art. Disco and Noise aren't that far apart in terms of effect.

B: How do you mean?

AM: In the sense that they both take you to different intentional places. Euphoric states, emotional places.



B: Noise definitely makes me feel emotional physically, I think it trips a wire in my head somewhere! Do you feel though that it's harder in this day and age the for really experimental artists to shine? Could something like Whitehouse or Swans exist if they started out now? Things seem a lot more regimented and restricted ironically then in the days of No Wave, Industrial...

AM: I think noise has become quite regimented, but I think that happens to anything over time. A particularly cynical way of looking at it, as a friend pointed out recently, is that its easier to be a bigger fish because the noise scene is essentially a small pond. If Whitehouse formed last year and there was nothing like it before, then yes, they would do well. There are plenty of people who've taken influence from them and there are hundreds of Power Electronic groups now. I'm more interested in people who have taken something and then fused it with something else. Burial Hex is a good example of treading ground between Swans and Whitehouse, but he's mixed it with this Lovecraftian despair and does it very well. I've found it very useful to not listen to the kind of music I'm trying to write. I'll listen to Whitehouse or Sutcliffe Jugend when I'm trying to write guitar music and Ennio Morricone when doing disco.

B: Power Electronics seems very much of it's time though...Burial Hex to me signifies as you say an amalgamation of the better elements of that sound. How did you come to get into a sound like that? Have you always been attracted to that type of extreme music? It seems quite polar opposites with noise and italo being your twin outlets...

AM: I think Power Electronics has it's Renaissance periods every so often. Prurient for example seems to be working in that area. Though I've never liked any of the records, his live show was really amazing. I think it comes back to the psychedelic music thing, being that my youth was spent as a grunge kid - I'm drawn to a punk or counter cultural aesthetic. Noise has it, even something like Patrick Cowley's records have it - records made or at least championed by the underground gay scene in america during the early 80s, where a lot of the Italo stuff was played.

B: Some would argue most truly creative music has had some lineage in the underground gay scenes of the US and Europe at some point...

AM: I think good art comes out of marginalized people, look at the Blues and US Hardcore. It's unfortunate that it seems like people have to be oppressed in some way before the ideas start to flow. I'll never truly understand being an oppressed person, but in my life, I spent a lot of time on my own. I wasn't popular at school, didn't have many friends, music was an escape from that, I think it's the same for a lot of people.



B: A kind of enforced solitary state...I think that's a natural thing for a lot of people growing up. Interestingly I found solace in Scott Walker's music throughout my life and was pleased to see him included here...

AM: Scott Walker's music is incredible, and The Drift is a landmark recording. He takes a lot of cues from some of the 20th century classical music I enjoy and twists it up even further. It's a beautiful album - ugly, but beautiful.

B: That's the faultline he always explores though I feel...it's a dichotomy between the two that is truly invigorating in his hands...I can't think of a more unique artist that's had such a bearing on my actual understanding of music and it's power.

AM: Completely. Normally when I get into talking about Scott Walker I'm in conversation with someone who only likes the early stuff, which I do like, but to me there is a superiority to something like Clara, or Farmer In The City from Tilt to anything on the earlier records.

B: Well I'm a massive 4AD fan so I was ecstatic he chose to release The Drift with them, I think it represents a total culmination of his work...the only problem being we might need to wait another 6 or 7 years before another album! Just going back on to your comments about classical music, is that an area you actively listen to a lot?

AM: I used to. I moved onto other areas, but there was a period where I was listening to Ligeti, Penderecki, Bartok, Arvo Part, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Philip Glass & Berio all the time. I suppose Reich and Glass' influence is more apparent in the disco records than anything else, though Berio and Penderecki are there as well.



B: When you set out to write Shadow... how did the process go? The songs are so rich visually it's remarkable.

AM: I write in big chunks and then wont touch anything for weeks, sometimes months, sometimes things will just be sketches, but I try and let the music just flow out, which is why there are so many changes in the songs. I'll start out in one place, and then when the track comes to its natural conclusion it has been through all these ideas you end somewhere else. It's one of the things that I love about Tangerine Dream that I think because I've been a fan for so many years that I've naturally soaked up. But I'd already started work on Shadow... before Electro Muscle Cult came out. Something James from Cyber Dance pointed out was that I play with perceived tempo a lot, which I hadn't picked up on, because most of the tracks are at 133bpm, I was doing things that made the tracks seem faster or slower than they actually were. This is something I've been trying to perfect, and it'll be more apparent on the next album and singles.

B: It's something that definitely adds to the dynamic of the album, which I think was one of the key reasons why I found it so exhilarating. So have you already begun work on the third album? What ideas are coming together for that?

AM: I think the third one is already done. It depends if I cull anything from it - I've done a 12" for Cyber Dance as well. Last time I checked I've actually done 10 full albums - most of it was shite though! I'm trying to make sure the public only get the good stuff.

B: Ha ha! A strong quality control ethos is a good thing! When's the 12" due for release?

AM: I'm not sure, it's CyberDance008. 005 and 006 are just about to be released I believe.

B: Will the new album be another concept piece like "Shadow.."?

AM: No, it's two very long tracks. If the third album stays the way it is, it'll have a concept.

B: Such as?

AM: The working title is "Trial By Bullet" so some sort of Eurocrime / Dirty Harry style drama I think. I feel it's important when doing something that so obviously comes from pastiche to give it a concept. Where as I think with noise music it's important to leave it abstract.



B: We've already discussed soundtracks and it's something I'd like to draw back on before we close the interview. How important is cinema to you in your work? Giallo is clearly one influence, but what else inspires you in film that translates to your music? And would you be keen to move into soundtracking actual films?

AM: I've already done a bunch of theatre pieces and two films, I've always wanted to do more music for film, it's difficult to get into however. Film is a really important part of my life, it's something I continue to get excited about and get a lot out of. But naturally there are plenty of indirect influences other than Beverly Hills Cop or Italian Horror. I'm a huge David Lynch fan, adore Takeshi Miike, Shinya Tsukamoto, Gaspar Noe, William Friedkin...

B: And of course Uwe Boll...

AM: Ha! It's safe to say I like the man more than his movies. Postal and In The Name Of The King were good, but then Jason Statham is very watchable regardless of the crap he's in. He's a modern Jean Claude Van Damme. Though, that new JCVD film was totally impressive. In terms of trash I think Jerry Bruckheimer is a powerhouse.

B: Not a patch on his old partner Don Simpson...

AM: That partnership was incredible. It was a shame what happened to ol' Don.

B: He went out like he wanted though...on the toilet. From Whitehouse to Don Simpson in one interview, there's a strange harmony there I think! Thanks for chatting to me tonight Signore Maiovvi!

AM: No problem, thank you.

Antoni Maiovvi Shadow Of The Bloodstained Kiss is available to purchase from Aug 3rd.

Read our review of the album with a free track to download here

Buy the album here




Lifetracks # 03 - Antoni Maiovvi

01 - Scott Walker - Jesse
02 - John Carpenter - Assault On Precinct 13
03 - DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)
04 - Il Reale Impero Britannico (Goblin & Fabio Frizzi) - Kalu
05 - Charlie - Spacer Woman
06 - Tangerine Dream - Midnight In Tula
07 - Theoretical Girls - Lovin' In The Red
08 - The Jesus Lizard - Nub
09 - Einsturzende Neubauten - Headcleaner
10 - Whitehouse - Cruise
11 - Swans - God Damn The Sun
12 - Christoph De Babalon - Brilliance

Download : Lifetracks 03 - Antoni Maoivvi
Alternate Download Link

Ffi: Antoni Maiovvi Website

Lifetracks 02 : Wascal

For our second installment in the Lifetracks series, we've selected one of the most promising new producers to emerge from Bristol in the last few years, Wascal. With a handful of releases already under his belt on his own Wascal Dubs label and the classic Hollowpoint on Hammer Records still a favourite amongst many discerning dubsteppers, Wascal looks set to capitalise on a busy year spent producing with a slew of releases lined up to take him to the next level. We asked him to pick a range of tracks that have been important to his growth as an artist, and then we sat down to chat to him one fine summer evening.

B: Evening Wascal. How's tricks?

W: The sun is out, work has finished for the day and I'm armed with a cup of tea and a rollie. Life is sweet!

B: LOL liking the positive attitude! Summer seems to be having some difficulty getting going this year...

W: Yes, mainly at evenings and weekends too! At least it was out for St. Pauls carnival though, makes all the difference at things like that. To be honest I've been cooped up indoors finishing tunes through some of the nicer days this year, my studio tan is strong.

B: Those 60w light bulbs really do the the trick huh? What's been getting cooked up in the lab then, anything imminent for release on the horizon?

W: Quite a lot coming up in the next 6 months by the looks of things. Bit of an essay coming up:

Superisk - Eva Takada (Wascal mix) on Time's Audio Banquet label which has been doing the rounds as a 320 for some time. Headhunter played it at FWD a few months back which is good to know. That's going to be MP3 only.

Wascal - Overstep b/w SLT Mob mix on Halo (12" etc): Basically future garage trance step. It's better than it sounds on paper I swear! That hasn't gone out to anyone except SLT & Bunzero so expect to hear it soon.

Buckfunk 3000 - High Volume (Wascal mix) (12" TBA). Si emailed asking if I wanted to remix any of his old Fuel stuff and I jumped at the chance as him and Tipper are heroes of mine. Took 6 weeks and is probably the most complexly edited tune I've made. Si's sorting out the label for that so more info on the way.

Clustered b/w Nephilim rmx on Betamorph (Digi), tech-dubstep that's been doing the rounds for a bit backed with a remix from Hollywood based Nephilim.

Wascal - Don't Forget on Cymbstep (12" etc), my second release on the dubstep sister label of Cymbalism, US Based tech dnb label. Crunchy breaks and string section business.

Finally Wascal - Glisten Up and an un-named one that's gone out to a few people as Junglish. Better name on the way! These should be coming out on Cut La Roc's Rocstar label - details are scarce at the mo, only confirmed it today.

I'm also working on an album but keep getting all the best bits signed so its half done AGAIN lol. Doh!

B: Lot of Bristol producers working on albums right now, sounds like 2010 will be the year of the LP! Do you consider yourself more of an "album" or "single" artist then?

W: Singles to be honest. Doing an album would be good to get more music out to more people, but I very rarely listen to dance albums in one sitting so it's a bit hypocritical really. I'd love to do something like that, but I find myself covering a lot of bases so its tricky! Right now its a collection of 140bpmish dubstep, 2step, techno and jungle and I'm working on making it sound like a cohesive album.

My favourite dance albums are ones that takes you on that (cliched) journey, Exit Planet Dust for instance - most of the tunes on there stand up on their own but the way it progresses keeps you locked in.

B: Chemical Brothers a big influence for you then? You've featured a classic track from them in your mix...

W: They were a huge influence around Exit Planet Dust. I was playing a lot of guitar in my early teens and ended up going to Phoenix Festival in 1996 with the intention of seeing all sorts of bands - I ended up seeing Jilted-era Prodigy on the Thursday, Hardfloor & CJ Bolland, Goldie and co on Saturday then Chemical Bros last thing on the Sunday.

As a 15 year old it was a massive eye opener, people were blatantly having a whale of a time without a guitar in sight. I chose F**k Up Beats for the mix because at the time it was about as far from widdly guitar as I had heard and set me on the path of making sub-par beats on an Amiga with Octamed. That weekend was the beginning of the end for my rock guitarist career lol.

B: Interesting you say that because this mix is strictly electronic, you don't harbour any influences from your past for rock or metal?

W: Not really, as a teenager I listened to quite a bit of Blur, Radiohead, RATM, Senser, Pavement, Ben folds etc - whatever was on the evening session while I pretended to do homework, but none of that really carries through to my music.

I'm no lyricist and I found the wholly instrumental aspect of dance music appealed to me - nothing worse than a great tune being ruined by a miserable lyric imo. Take Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others by The Smiths for example - possibly the best instrumental they did then you've got Morrissey moaning about girls mothers over it, kills it for me.

I've always listened to the music more than the lyrics, even from when I was really young listening to my dads Hendrix LPs. Hendrix is one of the few influences I've taken from rock - the sound sculpting and production blew me away when I first heard the remastered versions on headphones, total pioneer. Nowadays I'd reach for motown or old r&b as something non-dancey to listen to rather than rock, that stuff is gold.



B: So you've cited that Pheonix Festival moment as a bit of an epiphany for you, but you've included some killer old skool tunes here that existed before that time, especially my personal favourite Close Your Eyes. It seems that kind of proto-jungle breakbeat hardcore definitely feeds into your own style of production...

W: Yeah definitely a big influence on me. I love the crunchiness of the breaks and the ADHD approach to arrangement on those era tunes, its like the producer went 'right! bored now! next idea' and changes up all the time. There's really not enough of that around, and I love fidget for bringing that back a bit. I get bored very easily and when it comes to DJing if the tune doesn't switch up after a few minutes I'm not going to play the whole thing.

I came across that Acen tune on an old rave compilation, Rave 2!!!! Hardcore or something like that - after seeing the light at Phoenix Festival, I used to go to this 2nd hand store, Kellys Records in Cardiff Market, and root around for hours looking to educate myself on what I had missed, I had no Internet back then and only pocket money to spend so you really had to root around. I bought that album because it had The Green Man by S.U.A.D on it, but ended up playing the Acen tune far more. That ridiculously loud sub note right at the start sold it for me, and it was the first time I had heard hoovers properly. It's funny that all that mental music came out from when I was 10-13 yrs old and grew up thinking stuff like Out Of Space by the Prodigy was perfectly normal music. Listening back its fucking mental drug music!



B: Ha ha!! Think about kids growing up now with Dubstep and Grime as their regular musical diet! Talking about Cardiff, you were involved with Holodeck, the city's finest techno night - is techno something you have a lot of love for? We have some Beltram in here, some DAVE The Drummer...

W: Yeah definitely. I first got a set of decks when I was 17 with my hard earned money from a dish washing job. I went to Catapult with £30 and must have listened to half their stock! I went in intending to pick up the D&B I had been hearing on tapes that were doing the rounds in school (and swiftly learnt my first lesson about dubplate culture), and ended up leaving with an armful of smitten and routemaster techno. I think I asked for 'something that sounds like Josh Wink but harder'. They definitely sorted me out, heh.

From there I ended up going to ID downstairs in the Hippo club and seeing most of the London techno lot at some time or the other. That club was also responsible for my hard house / trance days, as it was a full on rave upstairs back in those days. I haven't picked tunes from that era for this mix because in retrospect they re cringeworthily bad, or at least haven't aged well at all and don't influence what I do nowadays. That was definitely my clubbing honeymoon though, techno and tech trance, 303s and 909s all over the shop!

I ended up playing a set of acid techno on Glastonbury Radio Avalon 2000 by some master internet blaggage, but apart from that I only ever played it at house parties and free parties. Its a shame that hardtek and k took over that scene because it used to be a wicked laugh.

I didn't end up playing for Holodeck till about 2004, and that was D&B mainly but through the epic afterparties I've talked incessantly at DAVE, Jerome Hill, Chris Liberator, Billy Nasty. Poor guys.

I chose the Joey Beltram and that DAVE the Drummer tunes as they're the two extremes of techno i prefer - The DAVE one for the hypnotic synth that repeats ad infinitum and drum layering, and The Start It Up as there's pretty much no notes at all, which as an A-Level music student at the time impressed the hell out of me. I did my A-Level critical study on Techno and got an E. The Irony.

B: Ha ha that's amazing! So how do you feel those elements feed into your music, which is admittedly on a different end of the sonic spectrum in terms of genre?

W: Well there's not so much of it in the dubstep that I've had released so far, its probably more with my mixing. Seeing all those guys at Holodeck every month smashing their way through so many records an hour with reckless abandon definitely inspired me to get mixing faster.

I've got quite a few techno/dubstep tunes I've been sitting on for a bit, not the Berlin vs Bristol axis that people often mention, more a kind of Bristol vs tracky drumcode/beltram/pounding grooves thing. I've got no idea who to send them to though, might put them out myself at some point when the times right, if it ever is!



B: Do it, I wanna hear those bad boys asap!! Switching it up, we've got some pretty fierce D&B in this mix too, where does your experience with that genre come from? Were you getting into that around the same time as techno?

W: Yeah, around the same time as I was getting old rave LPs and things. In NME and Select I saw the name Metalheadz come up quite a bit, so went and bought Platinum Breakz when it came out. I had only really heard the stuff that made it onto the radio - Incredible/Inner City Life etc (and whatever ridiculousness John Peel was playing ) and couldn't remember much from the D&B at Phoenix so hearing that album on headphones was a revelation. Unofficial Ghost is my favourite from that album but its a hard choice to make - the hoovers and the way it switches up win it in the end. The beat from Hollowpoint was sampled from the end of it by the way, then chopped and layered.

The Tribe of Issachar tune on the mix is from back when a few schoolmates used to pass round One Nation tapes of Hype, Mickey Finn etc and that tune stood out for me. The combination of tinny ragga vocal and ridiculous sub never gets old, I still drop that when I can get away with it. Around the same time tunes like Turbulence and Quadrant 6 were also doing it for me.

From about 1999 to 2002 I didn't pay much attention to D&B really, and I missed a lot of the Techstep thing. When I started listening again and heard Medicine remix, I went straight out and bought it and eventually ended up playing D&B full time for years. The funk in the drums and the sub on that tune do it for me, its pretty sparse but any more elements would be overkill. And it has cowbells! I was playing a lot of breaks back before then, but it all got too ploddy and there was next to nowhere to drop the breakbeat garage I was stockpiling except house parties. D&B got me excited about raving again, and I still follow it now to a certain extent.

I picked the Teebee & Calyx remix of Break - Submerged because it was the last D&B tune that got me really excited before the fateful Byte with Search & Destroy and SLT Mob that got me hooked on Dubstep! I had narrowed my tastes in D&B to such a point that I was playing a small cross-section of a small niche of D&B, so to hear those DJs kill a club differently made me re-think what I was doing, it was time for a change. The Submerged remix is pretty much the pinnacle of what I was into though, top notch neuro D&B.

B: Have you began to explore new sources for production or are you still quite keen on using elements from D&B? I recall a lot of people saying you had a quasi-jungle aspect to your tunes when you started...

W: It was a natural thing using jungle/D&B elements when I first started making dubstep, I was coming from that kind of scene and that's the kind of sounds I had lying around. It was pretty liberating having all that space between beats to play with!

I definitely didn't get the whole 'bass and space' thing at first though! I'm still guilty of overcrowding the mix at times. Having S&D and SLT as my first proper dubstep club experience skewed how I heard it for a bit, they both get breaksteppy and have a jungle element at times I think. That night after Byte I went home and made Daily Grind overnight. I passed it to a few Bristol DJs, Bunzero picked it up on Sub FM and it made the top 10 digital releases of the year on the DSF poll that year (oh the dizzy heights he he!), so it worked out well.

I've been writing dance music in some shape or form since I was 15 and I've had a crack at all sorts of stuff over the years, from techno to D&B - whatever I'm feeling at the time. I've built up a studio with a 24 channel desk and 606s, sh101s, Akai samplers and then sold it all to the point where it's just me and a laptop, it's all you need nowadays. Also I've had hard drives die a few times right on the verge of getting stuff signed which has contributed to my sound a bit i guess, it's hard to pick yourself up and write the same thing again so I've generally moved on to something new and applied the tricks I've learnt to the next thing. When I first heard dubstep there wasn't a template as such, so it was the perfect melting pot for what I had learnt so far.

Saying that, I listen to some stuff I did even last year and grit my teeth at the things I'd change now - I think I'm just hitting my stride this year, especially with the Si Begg remix. I'm using a lot of elements from 2step, rave, techno, jungle and house at the moment for my dubstep at the moment. Anything but what is perceived as pure ''dubstep' sounds hopefully!



B: So would you consider your sound to be even 'dubstep' right now? It's interesting you mention Si Begg, as alongside producers like Tipper who you feature in the mix, they've always operated outside the parameters of perceived genres...is that something you hope to achieve in your own sound?

W: Its a tricky one, the stuff I'm making is definitely not straight dubstep but if it isn't what is it? Its around 140bpm and has a lot of sub-bass. When I got into dubstep the template hadn't been defined like it is now, which is a shame in a way.

As for Si Begg and Tipper, well they stood out like sore thumbs from the rest of the Nu Skool Breaks lot, their tunes were dripping with ideas and the production and details in their tunes were insanely intricate (and still are). Its rare to find that in tunes that can also slay a dancefloor. They're pretty much the only producers from that era of NSB that I still play and listen to. I think operating outside the parameters of a genre frees you up a lot, because no-ones expecting anything of you so you can do what you like, you're not expected to play 90 mins of wobbly bangers when you DJ. But that can be a right laugh too.

B: With dubstep becoming more and more fractured into sub-genres, do you find it harder to gain a lot of inspiration from the genre as it is now? There's only a handful of artists from that sound in your mix...

W: In this mix I kept the dubstep to a bare minimum, I do a mix every month on www.wascal.wordpress.com, so thats the pure dubstep covered. I managed to get in touch with quite a few people before they blew up so I've got a fairly steady supply of quality beats, and its good to get them out there, along with stuff from unheard of producers who hit me up on AIM.

I don't find the genre on the whole as inspiring as it was, but thats always been the case for me with music - find a sound, get obessively into it, tire of it because you listened to it too much. The fracturing is inevitable, the difference between the extremes of minimal vibes and full on wobble are too big to sit in one set for some. I just play what I want and get on with it, I'm liking the wave of funky influenced stuff at the moment, its an unexpected direction which is good.

As for the tunes on the mix, the Vex'd tune was the standout one from their Resonance FM mix that was doing the rounds when I first got into the sound. That entire mix blew me away - theres so much space in this tune, especially that it sounds so huge on a rig, totally stripped down and thunderous.

The Peverelist one really came onto my radar at Bloc Weekend 08. He was playing at 5am in a scummy bar in a Pontins we nicknamed Raveschwitz and totally slayed it - I'd heard him in Bristol but not really listened to a whole set, mainly warm-ups. Either way, when this tune came on and when that melody dropped, the whole bar erupted. Seeing people go off like that to a mournful synth line on a minimal techy tune opened my eyes to what can be done with very few elements. It got a rewind and it happened all over again, good times.

TRG came out with so much quality last year it was hard to pick one. The whole Missed Calls EP is fire, proper future garage yet in the same few months he did Oi Killa!, a ridiculout wobfest which smashed it at Sonar in MAH's set, and Less Music which is basicly dub techno. I've got a lot of time for producers who can master so many different styles and TRG is one of them.

As for the future garage, listening to this stuff got me into writing a fair bit of my own, which got me in touch with Whistla, I wrote a tune called The Lesson specifically for his label (with a Rakim sample 'this is how it should be done') as some kind of future garage manifesto. He picked it up and its coming out on his label L2S in August [forgot to mention that on the releases bit whoops!]. Nice one TRG.

B: Sounds good! Ok man I think we're done here! Thanks for chatting to me! What's the final word from you?

W: Well from the other tunes on that mix Timber was a post club anthem for ages when I was growing up so that had to go on there. Jammin' was the pinnacle of breakbeat garage for me, Zinc owned the genre with that tune. Jack got Jacked remix hasn't left the box since I got it and that stuff is definitely getting me excited at the mo, proper genre mashing club music with blatant rave ethos, finally that Zed Bias dub had to go on there because it keymixes with Jack Got Jacked so sweetly and its an awesome remix of a stone cold classic!

Aside from that, got a load of tunes coming soon and possibly a string of gigs in the US in the pipeline so things are shaping up nicely!!

Finally:

DJ's: buy all my tunes twice & rewind them all the way through your sets
Promoters: book me, go on, you know you want to
Producers: My AIM is 'thewascal' and its on auto accept.

Thanks!




Lifetracks #02 - Wascal

01. Acen - Close Your Eyes (Optikonfusion) [Production House]
02. Chemical Brothers - F**k Up Beats [Freestyle Dust]
03. Doc Scott - Unoffcial Ghost [Metalheadz]
04. Joey Beltram - The Start It Up [Trax]
05. Congo Natty - His Imperial Majesty (Original Dubplate) [Congo Natty]
06. D.A.V.E The Drummer - Hydraulix 2A [Hydraulix]
07. Coldcut & Hexstatic - Timber [Ninja Tune]
08. Tipper - Tug Of War [Fuel]
09. Jammin - Hello [Bingo]
10. Ed Rush & Optical - Medicine (Matrix rmx) [Virus]
11. Break - Submerged (Calyx & Teebee mix) [Subtitles]
12. Vex'd - 3rd Choice [Planet Mu]
13. Peverelist - Roll With The Punches [Punch Drunk]
14. TRG - Missed Calls [Subway]
15. AC Slater - Jack Got Jacked (Jack Beats mix)
16. Zed Bias - Neighbourhood (Roska mix)

DOWNLOAD: Lifetracks 02 - Wascal
ALTERNATE DOWNLOAD LINK

FFI: Wascal Website

Free Download : Canola Tenderfoot - The Light Still Flickers

Canola Tenderfoot
'The Light Still Flickers'
(Self-Released EP 2009)

A welcome return for one of B365's personal favourites, Canola Tenderfoot follow up their debut album Winning Is For Losers with a free EP available from their website. The ethereal sound they honed on that release is surprisingly toughened up here; it's evident there's been some serious work undertaken in galvanising the beats of producer Owen Canola. On Lock Out this works very well, with the sensual vocals of Viki Canola snaking around frenetic drumwork and buzzing keys, yet still reflecting the sparse, candlelit warmth prevalent on their debut.

Nothing Set In Stone harks back to the Canlola Tenderfoot of old, with breathless shards of vocal and melody intertwined in a looping groove that more acerbic critics might label indicative of the genre that dare not speak its name, t**p h*p. But if you strip away the accumulated baggage that comes with a name like that, what are we left with? Simply put, Canola Tenderfoot reference the finer elements of downtempo electronica and twist it into their own strange shapes, and it sounds all the better for it.

Whilst Nothing Set In Stone and Play On might sit with the more orthodox material from their debut, Lock Out and Vilnius speak of a fresh direction which is maybe thanks in part to Owen's growing confidence as a producer through other remix projects. With a sharper, darker approach to beats and vocals, both these tracks are definitely the stronger of the four presented here. If you haven't picked up their debut album it comes highly recommended, and in the meantime download this EP to get to know the Canola Tenderfoot way.




Canola Tenderfoot - Vilnius (Version)



Canola Tenderfoot - Play On



Canola Tenderfoot - Lock Out



Canola Tenderfoot - Nothing Set In Stone

DOWNLOADS

Canola Tenderfoot - Vilnius (Version)
Canola Tenderfoot - Play On
Canola Tenderfoot - Lock Out
Canola Tenderfoot - Nothing Set In Stone

Full EP Zip file with all four tracks and artwork

FFI: Canola Tenderfoot Website

BUY: Canola Tenderfoot - Winning Is For Losers