Kenton Slash Demon are Silas Moldenhawer and Jonas Kenton: a delectable Danish disco duo set to make waves in the house scene with their trilogy of back to back releases. The ‘Sun EP’ was released not so long ago back in July, with ‘Matter’ and ‘Daemon’ fast on its tail.
What’s so impressive about these two, is that since their first EP in 2006, their output has been relatively low yet they’ve still managed to establish a name for themselves as one of the most innovative production duos in contemporary house music. The ‘Khattabi EP’, put out last year, earned them this fantastic reputation for originality, with support for the EP coming in the form of Dirtybird label honcho, Claude Von Stroke, the mighty Luciano as well as other forward thinking electronic dance producers including The Martin Brothers.
The Sun EP picks up where Khattabi left off, incorporating the same accomplished organic and futuristic sound as displayed on their previous productions, with a bolder new focus on solid disco house grooves. It’s fun, enthralling and complex dance music, oozing with maturity and intelligence, with enough simplicity and assurance around the central house beats to get you moving uncontrollably. Check it out for yourself by clicking on the official video link below:
The Kenton Slash boys took some time out of their busy studio schedule to indulge us a little more about their new releases, their studio setup and their overall vibe:
For those who may not know, what's your background in dance music?
We started messing around with different music software at the age of 15. Our first EP was released in 2006. We’ve been experimenting in all kind of genres, but we always seem to return to making club tracks.
We’re also one half of an indie-electronica band called When Saints Go Machine.
Which instruments do each of you two play?
Jonas plays the keys, and I the drums. I can play a few chords on a guitar too, but it's nothing I would brag about.
Your music has a very organic feel to it, focusing on the use of live instruments rather than heavy synthesis, do you record most of the sounds live in the studio or rely on sampling?
We love to use samples and it's always been a big part of our sound. Some of the samples are from recordings from old sessions but most of them come from various LPs and different sample banks.
What's your favorite piece of studio equipment?
We have a lot of old analog gear, which we love, but the piece that means the most to us is our G5 Power PC. It's been with us almost five years now and it still runs nicely.
The Sun EP has a different, more disco-focused sound from Khattabi EP, which was much more focused on incorporating elements of world music into your sound, what influences the varying sounds on each of your tracks?
'Khattabi' EP was created rather quickly. The inspiration actually came from what was going on in the house scene at that particular time. Listening to the new more percussive house that was coming out and especially after hearing Ricardo Villalobos play. That really inspired us. ‘Enfant’ is a big, big track!
On 'Sun' we wanted to create a slow track that you could listen to at home but that would also still be banging in a club. We work a lot on making the sound ours and create something we could build up on; An indicator of what you can expect from us in the future, if you will.
What’s the track that you’re most proud of so far?
We love 'Sun'. We think it's our best track to date, until 'Matter' drops of course. It turned out exactly as we hoped. We’re very proud of it.
You're music is often heavily layered. Do you ever think about recreating your records live onstage?
Right now we want to keep the live shows with just electronics. There are a lot of different ways you can go about an electronic performances. The experience can be just as organic as hearing a band play, in our opinion. We want to loose control over the electronic equipment when we play and focus on the moment so every performance can be different from each other.
What's the future for Kenton Slash Demon?
‘The Schwarzschild Solution’ part 2 and 3 entitled “Matter” and “Daemon”. And we want to produce and release much more music, a full-length album at some point and of course play a lot of shows.
Cheers guys.
So there you have it. Words from the horses mouths, these chaps certainly aren’t slowing down and with 2 more hot follow-up releases in the pipeline, it’s time to get excited about Kenton Slash Demon. To help you do just that, we’ve wrestled a copy of the Portable Remix of ‘Sun’ off of the Demons and are giving it away for free to you lucky lovelies.
Download: Sun - Portable (AKA. Bodycode) Remix’ by Kenton Slash Demon
Released earlier this week we thought we'd link you with a high quality peek at the inaugral release from our Sunday night selectors WetYourSelf. The single is available online from Beatport or on a physical format in your local record store.
Remixes come from Alexkid and Jacob Husley & Peter Pixzel.
David Morris has fans that are worlds apart; from DJ Zinc to Pete Tong his work as Boy 8-bit has found its way into the ears of many. After starting life as a rural boy hailing from Cornwall where the only early electronic musical education was a distant branch of Our Price and chart dance music, his music has been championed by a whole host of people including Fake Blood, Diplo and New York’s Trouble & Bass crew.
Ahead of his topping of our Room Two bill tomorrow night we caught up with him to shoot the breeze and find out a bit more about the chip tune monikered maestro. Oh and he linked us to a recent upload of his BBC Essential mix for your ears too!
Download: Boy 8 Bit Essential Mix
Your next release is coming out on Turbo. Having had releases on so many different labels, do you feel a stronger affiliation with any one label over the others?
Well my first release was on Fake Blood's old label, so I feel a strong affiliation with that because not only was it my first release, but also because he has become one of my best friends. I spent a lot of time touring with Diplo and the people who run Mad Decent so there is also a strong affiliation there - the same with Trouble and Bass.
I only really met the Turbo people recently through this release so hopefully the same will happen with those guys. I have been lucky so far in that I have been able to tour with the labels I release on, that definitely helps build bonds.
I understand that Theo Keating (Fake Blood) really took you under his wing and allowed for your talent to be fully realised? Do you two ever get to spend time in the studio together?
We've never really spent that much time in the studio together.. We tried once, but at the time we both used different bits of software so I just ended up getting frustrated. We are currently working on a track together "over the internet"... Which should see the light of day in the next few months!
I've had a listen to your Old Amiga Tracks on your Soundcloud page. It's not only refreshing to see an artist that doesn't take himself too seriously but also great to see the early experimentation with sound that so many producers hide. Do you approach tracks with a strong initial idea in your head or do your ideas come from hours of experimentation still?
I definitely find it easier to get my ideas down now, so there is a little less experimentation involved.. But I still like to experiment with things and will definitely be taking that approach more when it comes to an album. A lot of my original tracks come together pretty quickly and will just be a product of messing about, like 'Yard Birds'. But 'The Keep' came about because I wanted a super repetitive banger to put in my sets so I bashed the original demo out in about 2 hours... I that instance I knew what I wanted.
I have no idea if I that actually answered your question!
It's clear that you like to incorporate elements from a number of genres into your sound, from baile funk drum hits to squelching techno lead lines. Are there any combinations of influences that you've attempted to mould together that simply didn't sound right?
Mixing rock and dance music doesn't really work that often... Its pretty naff. Or trying to get a rock asthetic in dance in general.. Most people fail miserably, playing a wack riff on guitars over the top.... Rubbish.
If you weren't a producer, what do you see yourself doing?
I worked in a post room for a bit.. I enjoyed that. I have a degree in Software Engineering, so maybe something along those lines... I just find computers a bit dry now. Every man and his dog has some "IT" experience... It used to be a lot more fun.
Do you still regularly listen to heavy metal?
Yes, as often as possible...
There's an amazing promotional photograph of you taken on a rollercoaster. Was that hard to capture? What was the thinking behind it?
That was with the photographer Dan Wilton, it was his idea to go to Southend on-Sea where they have a little theme park on the sea front.. We had to sneak the camera on to the train, which was difficult as we were the only people on it half the time so we had the stewards full attention. We then had to wait until we got to a certain part of the track and start shooting. It worked really well. I think the person running the ride thought we were crazy though, we went on it about 10 times.. It was also too cold to be in just a T-Shirt. I suffered.
As an electro/techno DJ, how do you feel about going on to do a set after a main room dubstep act?
I was recently sandwiched between two dubstep arts, the one before me being very "main room" as they say... The kids were really into it, lots of moshing and stamping around... definitely doing its job! Very difficult to follow in terms of energy levels and I didn't really try to... You just get on with it and do you thing. There are going to be people there who appreciate what you do..
What's your favourite thing about playing at fabric?
The fact that almost 10 years ago I was there as a punter... And now I'm playing there myself!
What's your highlight of 2010 so far?
Releasing two records that people have been in to.... and being able to continue doing what I love..
A rare opportunity to catch both Mark Farina and Derrick May in super intimate surroundings ahead of their respective slots, alongside DJ Heather, in Room One on the 11th September is occuring from 4:30pm onwards during the day at BM Soho in (suprisingly) Soho.
For more info and address info check www.bm-soho.com
This Friday sees the fast emerging Belgian techno talent that is Paul Chambers touch down in Room Two to deliver one of his rousing live sets. He’s been on tour with Soulwax for the past 2 years and is certainly no stranger to a massive party. Having played along side some massive dance titans including Justice, Tiga, Erol Alkan, Boys Noize, Mixhell, and of course 2 Many DJs, his sets ooze with experience and panache. His latest single ‘Yeah Techno’, is a real dance floor masterpiece. It’s been doing the rounds on Youtube since the end of last year, stirring up some serious support before its final release at the end of May not so long ago.
Paul ever so kindly took some time out of his tour preparation to answer a few overbearing questions that we just had to get off our chests:
So 'Yeah, Techno!' has finally been released. When you were writing the track, did you know you were onto such a big tune?
I knew I was on to something which had potential. But I didn’t realise it was going to be this big. Before I finished it I must have made 10 different versions until I got it right.
The remix package is also very impressive, with remixes from Beatacue and Soulwax. In an ideal world, who would you get to remix one of your songs?
LFO is very high on my list. But this is a long list, and my track list is very long too. I should probably make a connect the dots puzzle for myself to get a visual representation of this monster.
You're most well known for your live sets as well as your DJ sets, what's involved in a Paul Chambers 'live' set?
My goal is to get as much sweet sounding equipment on stage that I can control with two hands and one brain to create the sound that I love. The set constantly changes as I get bored of playing the same thing over and over again, but I designed it that way so it works really well.
Do you prefer DJing or performing live?
I love both equally but a live set feels more unique. DJ’ing is easier to do for me because you play other people’s music. My live set requires a lot more work because I have to keep it up to date with new music. And of course traveling with all the equipment is more work too. But in the end I think a balance between the two is what I like best.
You've spent the last two years on tour with Soulwax as their support DJ. Has it been fun? Are there any highlights that stick out?
One thing Iʼll never forget is playing in Paris in a smaller room. It was a bit empty when I started but after 15 minutes it got so packed that when I had finished my set I couldnʼt get out of the room to get backstage. I had to stand there and wait until the bouncers could get to me and help me carry my equipment above their heads through the crowd. Really crazy.
How did you get involved with Soulwax?
We met when they were working on ʻPart of the Weekend Never Diesʼ. As they were moving their project to Belgium to do the editing and post production we got introduced by the production house. I did all the post production and colour grading of the movie at their studio in Ghent and at my house, so thatʼs how we became friends. I never really gave them any music until I made ʻYeah, Techno!ʼ. It just felt right.
How does it feel to have support from some of the biggest names in the business, Erol Alkan, Boys Noize and the 2 Many DJs brothers?
I couldnʼt ask for more. They are all really nice people and it feels good to be able to get advice from people who really know what they are talking about.
Are you looking forward to playing at Fabric this September?
Thatʼs an understatement. I canʼt wait to get to London and play at Fabric, it will also be my first gig in London and the start of a new wave of live shows.
What can we expect from your set?
It will unscrew your bellybutton and make your ass fall off.
What's in the pipeline for Paul Chambers?
So many things I can only hope they will all get done in time. A couple of remixes, a release in the UK, a release in Japan, a guest mix for the upcoming online Radio Soulwax, then some top secret stuff and of course a lot of gigs.
Paul Chambers FABRICLIVE Promo Mini Mix by fabric
Tracklist
1. Some Secret Space Radio Recordings
2. Otto Von Schirach - Purple Pickle Eater
3. Paul Chambers & Shinichi Osawa - Singapore Swing
4. Chilly Gonzales - Never Stop (Erol Alkan Rework)
5. Jamie Lidell - I Wanna Be Your Telephone (Tigas Party Like It's 19909 Remix)
6. Distortion - The Sound
7. The Prodigy - Charly
8. Luke Vibert - Meatabix
9. Paul Chambers - Yeah, Techno! (Boris Dlugosch Edit)
10. Otto Von Schirach - Zombie Halloween Feat. Nastie
Paul Chambers facebook
77a Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 3HN
Tel: +44 (0) 207 336 8898 Call via Skype
Fax +44 (0) 207 251 6118
The website of fabric nightclub in London, EC1. Buy tickets for events, CDs from the record label or listen to hours of CD quality music from fabric's DJs.
