The Bloom Festival looks like a cracker…
The latest edition of the burgeoning Bloom festival looks like a blinder. Nominated for best new festival last year, the event takes over the beautiful environs of Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire on 10th – 12th August. The Bloom bunch have pulled out all the stops to bring the most diverse, innovative and just plain fun artists and DJs to the table.
On a chilled tip, the acclaimed Zero 7 launch their new instrumental side project Ingrid Eto with an exclusive live show. Part of Bloom’s commitment to bringing unusual and envelope-pushing artists to their stage, the new project takes Zero 7’s fusion of electronics and organic instrumentation, but twists them into stargazing future funk epics.
If you’re after some more upbeat fare, they’ve brought some sharp-shooting beatsmiths from across the audio spectrum to ensure we’re kept on our toes. Radio Slave, Tom Middleton, The Nextmen, Inland Knights, Bugz in the Attic, Justin Robertson, Pendulum, Caged Baby and Crazy P will all be taking to the decks to bring the best that house, techno, drum and bass, disco and hip-hop have to offer.
hat’s right – this weekend sees the Crazy P Soundsystem touch down at Club Azuli at London’s The Cross.
This Saturday 16th June celebrates the launch of Azuli’s new residency at Space in Ibiza which kicks off in July, and as can be expected, they host a bill that’s packed to the gills with quality.
The Crazy P crew, formerly known as Crazy Penis, will be headlining, with their distinctive brand of disco, house and electro. Featuring their fresh set-up of two DJs and live vocals, they’ll be joined by the popular rising DJ/producer Kurd Maverick, with Azuli’s head man Dave Piccioni and newbie Ben Macklin also appearing to celebrate the forthcoming Ibizan craziness.
Door tax is £12 advance for Azuli Card holders and £15 advance for non card holders, with tickets available from www.clubtickets.com
Mesmeric techno from the Israeli late bloomer…
Cocoon Recording’s latest signing, Israeli Guy Gerber, is a techno producer with a difference. The deep mines of rhythm on his new album ‘Late Bloomers’, out 25th June, are augmented by rich seams of melody and shards of mechanic emotion. Arpeggios twirl around 4/4 kicks and snaking acid lines… Hang on, aren’t we talking about trance?
Yes and no. Although Gerber’s sound is founded upon the emotional building blocks of melody and melancholy, there’s always a supremely funky edge to his sound. Rather than the fast, overdrive rhythms at which trance is normally paced, Gerber’s music has a slower, groovier techno tempo more suited to dancers getting their jack on. Strangely enough, the producer himself is a little perplexed at all the trance comparisons being bandied about.
“A lot of people told me it is trancey, and at the beginning I didn’t like this word at all. But now I live good with it,” Guy smiled.
“I’ve never ever in my life listened to trance. My main influences are Carl Craig, Richie Hawtin and Laurent Garnier. But I do like psychedelic music like Jimi Hendrix or The Beatles. I imagine how a trancey feeling would be, and that is what I try to create.” Now that trance DJs are picking up on his music, he’s glad of the exposure, keen to avoid being pigeonholed as one thing or the other.
“Tiesto has been playing my stuff, and other trance DJs, and it surprised me because the BPM is not that high! But to define is to limit and I’m happy with anyone liking the track, I don’t think that it’s just for electro DJs or trance DJs.”
Album tracks like ‘Sea of Sand’ pool the source sounds of Detroit and Berlin, while ‘Persona Non Grata’ is a Balearic beat gem. The whole album sounds incredibly fully formed for a debut. It turns out this has something to do with that title. “At the age of 32, I feel like a late bloomer in a way. There is something a little bit romantic about it. So I’m dedicating it to all my friends that are like this as well.”
As a home for forward-thinking electronic music, Cocoon turned out to be the perfect place for Gerber to unleash his debut album. And it had been written in the stars for some time. “People have been telling me that Sven has been playing my tracks for years. One time, I thought, ‘I’ll just send them a track and if they like it they’ll want to see more’. And then we got really connected and they’re really like a family. They’ve supported me in everything and I’m really happy for this move.” In our opinion, Guy Gerber is bloomin’ brilliant.
More acts to get festival pulses racing…
With a bill already fit to burst with exciting acts, Creamfields have announced yet more performers to get our pulses racing. Felix Da Housecat will be getting frisky with his feline funk-infected electro, while one of the hottest DJ partnerships on the planet – James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli’s One + One project – will be causing serious incursions on the Richter scale with their earthquake inducing grooves, scratching and encyclopaedic knowledge of house and techno.
The festival, due to take place at the Daresbury Estate in Halton, Cheshire, on the 25th and 26th August, will see the Chemical Brothers, Kelis and Mark Ronson wowing punters from the main stage. Elsewhere, there’s a cornucopia of fresh talent ranging from Simian Mobile Disco’s electroid filth to Ladytron’s jagged synthpop grooves.
There’s plenty more wicked DJs playing too, with Carl Cox’s incomparably crisp techno moves, Harry Romero and Erick Morillo’s chunky house, and 2ManyDJs mashing and blending electro, bootlegs and hip-hop.
Creamfields is shaping up to be one of the best festivals of the year. Tickets priced £57 & BF are available from Cream ticketline on 0870 242 7326 or www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Bring on the party!
We’re hosting the first ever British dance music awards party and you’re all invited!
A whole raft of awards will be presented in such categories as Best British DJ, Best British Live Act, Best British Large Club etc, and the cream of British DJs are already confirmed to play, including Mr C, D. Ramirez, Kissy Sell Out and the Streetlife DJs, with more to follow. In the 16 years we’ve been reporting on the dance scene things have evolved immeasurably, both globally and domestically.
With our Top 100 DJs Awards being more international than ever, we feel it’s time to celebrate all that’s great about British dance music culture – after all, it was Britain that kicked off the modern day dance scene and developed so many new electronic genres like d&b and hard dance. Our cutting edge scene is the envy of the world – so come and celebrate it with us! Any profits go to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.
SEONE, WESTON STREET, SE1 Friday 29th June from 10pm – 6am. Just £5
Louie Vega’s studio sessions to be unleashed over summer…
Louie Vega is smashing it at the moment. The famous DJ/producer, best known as one half of Masters at Work alongside Kenny Dope, has a flurry of studio activity going on. With a new mix compilation, ‘Lust: A Personal Collection’, out now and blowing up, and a choice selection of remixes and new productions due to drop, summer is indeed looking sunny.
Conceived as a double mix CD to accompany the erotic photography of artist Jonas Larsson, ‘Lust’ sees the first CD plough a soulful house path, while the second is a more downtempo, discofied and sensual affair, featuring an eclectic selection of artists, from Billy Idol to Kid Creole & The Coconuts, representing something of a departure for the maestro. The first time that Louie has worked to such a remit, he found it a chance to express a different side of his musical persona.
“I bumped into Jonas Larsson when I was at the Midem conference in Cannes, and I thought it sounded like a really good concept. He showed me the pictures – he’s a great artist and photographer – and I was blown away. I’ve never done anything like this before, but it was great to get involved,” Vega frothed. He also has some promising projects forthcoming on his own Vega Records, with his new muse Anane figuring prominently.
“We’ve got Anane, with her new single coming in the summer time, and we’re really excited about that. We’ll be putting out her album in the fall.”
Vega has also been given the rare chance to remix a track by salsa king Hector Lavoe – a legend of the Nuyorican soul scene and Vega’s uncle. “They’re making a movie based on the story of his life. We’ve hooked up with Fania Records, and V2 in Europe, and I’m going to remix one of his very big hits. I’m bringing his really street, raw salsa flavour, but I’m adding a house thing to it, and it combines so well.”
For Masters at Work fans, never fear, as there’s plenty to come from the kings of house. “We’ve a new release coming, which is going to be a double mix album by Masters at Work. And we’ve also done a new remix of ‘Love and Happiness’ by River Ocean that’s gonna be coming up in the summertime,” said Louie.
DJ Live @ London Calling – Reduced rates end this weekend for Britain’s biggest and best dance music conference.
Register | More…
DJ Live at a glance…
What? Britain’s biggest and best dance music conference.
Who’s it aimed at? From bedroom jocks and aspiring producers to superstar DJs and everyone in between. Want to work in the dance music industry? Then start making contacts at this event. Industry professionals are also catered for.
Where? Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, West London.
When? 28th & 29th June
Why should I bother going? It’s your chance to mix with loads of like-minded people, learn tips from top DJs, mingle with record label bosses and check out loads of cool DJ gadgets.
How much: A two-day pass to our DJ Live arena is just £25 or £10 early bird price. Buy now at djmag.com.
Anything else? Yeah, keep your ear to the ground for special London’s Calling parties surrounding the event. Details coming soon.
the long-awaited book has finally reached our shores. How To DVJ is the complete guide for DVJers How to DVJ is the manual for the 21st Centuary DJ, incorporating all the modern advances in digital technology. Covering the basics from scratch, beatmatching and mixing to advanced mage manipulation such as wipes, layering and fades, How To DVJ will unleash your creativity and take you from the bedroom to Ibiza.
How To DVJ comes as book and DVD. The DVD contains tutorials from setting up your DVJ to mixing a complete set. It also has a number of royalty free clips.
Duncan Dick of Mixmag says “The God father of DVJing hass written the definitive book on the subject. Don’t ever consider taking up DVJing without reading this book. Well-written, instructive, and absolutely essential. This is the bible for the 21st Century DJ.”
Lesley Wright, editor of DJ Mag says “Kriel is the Oracle of DVJing and this book opens the door into tomorrow’s futuristic DJing world today.”
After ‘Erotic Discourse’, get even closer to Wooly.
We all need a little Intimacy, right? Paul Woolford’s new label, that is. The lauded DJ/producer is launching a brand new imprint with his own ‘Body Double EP’ on 11th June. An excursion into tough, tripped-out techno and mind-mangling electronica, it’s a particularly strong first release for Intimacy. For Woolford, the time was right to unleash his label on the world. “Basically, I’ve had a few dabbles with labels over the years but they’ve always been part of someone else’s programme,” said Paul. “This is the label I’ve always wanted to run since being a teenager. I want to make an impact and do something that’s lasting and is taken very seriously.”
Initially, the name Intimacy sprang from Woolford’s desire to create an outlet for all the different kinds of music he wanted to make – something that could accurately represent what he’s all about. But being such a music fiend, he was tempted to expand the remit to release other unsigned records by artists that he digs. “It’s kind of opened up a bit,” he explained. “There are all these great records and my enthusiasm kind of got the better of me. So I’m signing other things as well, but I’m only going to release music that I fuckin’ love.”
The Intimacy artwork is going to be pretty special, too. With a blank outside sleeve, when you delve inside to grab the record, you’ll see designer and former Output Records head Trevor Jackson’s detailed ménage a trois illustration, rather rude, but hidden away. “Although what he’s done is quite a gratuitous image, it’s not gonna be stuck in your face. Again that goes back to the intimacy thing. You need to search it out,” said Paul.
The man behind the massive ‘Erotic Discourse’ track has plenty of other plans afoot. “Next up is something forthcoming from Jonas Kopp. I’ve done the third release and I’ve been working on a load of material, which picks up where ‘Erotic Discourse’ left off really, because it’s about time I did that.” With a remix of Spektrum’s ‘Kinda New’ also out there and a smattering of summer festival dates, it’s time to get acquainted with Paul Woolford.
The victors of the momentous Heineken Thirst Studio Global Sessions 2006 have been announced.
Romania’s killer production trio, Livio and Roby featuring George G, a.k.a. Monochrome, won both awards at the prestigious contest for their minimal techno thumper ‘Pearl’, beating six other finalists in the process from countries as diverse as Dubai, Indonesia, Malaysia and Denmark.
The last bank holiday weekend in May brought the epic event to Las Vegas, Nevada in the US. The infamous gambling capital of the globe hosted the final of the competition, in which talented dance music producers from a number of countries went head to head to test their mettle and determine who would be the most promising new producer on Earth. Only one outfit could win, and the latest edition of the competition – which has been running for four years – saw entries from countries as far flung as Croatia and Singapore. With the judges comprising dance music legend Paul Oakenfold and American progressive house heroes Gabriel & Dresden, expectations were high.
In the Tao Nightclub, a lavish, typically Vegas spot with an Oriental theme, the crowd were gathered together for the announcement of the winning track. Tensions were high for the announcement of the two awards. The first, the People’s Choice award, was voted for by the public online at the Heineken Thirst Studio Global Sessions website. Denmark’s DJ Ronin, who scooped the judge’s prize last year at the Thirst Studio do in Cape Town, South Africa, announced the People’s Choice winners to rapturous applause and overjoyed expressions from the Romanian trio Livio, Roby and George G. This joy turned to elation as special guest Paul Oakenfold took to the stage to announce that Livio, Roby and George G were also the overall winners.
Quickly, the trio were bundled off to the world famous Palm Studios in Palms Casino, where a fevered late-night session took place to remix the track alongside Gabriel & Dresden. The US house heads performed a subtle tightening up of the track, transforming it from a main room smasher into a machine-tooled dancefloor leviathan. Returning to the club later with the massive tune in hand, it was dropped to a rapturous response.
Ecstatic with the results, Gabriel & Dresden have signed ‘Pearl’ to their label, Organised Nature, which will ensure that this tough dancefloor beast gets maximum exposure. As well as this fantastic prize, Livio, Roby and George G will receive a pair of state-of-the-art Pioneer DVJ 100s. For more news on the Heineken Thirst Studio event and an interview with Livio and Roby, stay tuned to the DJMag site.
