'Sleep Less'... if there is one person who knows about lack of sleep it would have to be Jesse Rose. Take the month of March 2010. Jesse went from Berlin to Tokyo to play at Womb, back to Berlin for a day in the studio before heading off to Paris for his Made to Play residency at La Regine, then direct to London to sign a new act, back to Berlin for ten hours and it was off to L.A for the start of his U.S Tour, which ended in three gigs at WMC (Made to Play vs Rekids & Get Physical Beach party being the highlights), before jetting off to Mexico to play an extended set at Santanera in Play Del Carmen and then an after-hours on the beach before jetting back to Berlin to finish a remix for Sound Pellegrino. Feel tired just reading this? Try actually doing it!
Jesse's sleepless antics have acted as the inspiration for his latest set of EPs. His first releases on his Made to Play imprint, 'Sleep Less (Night One)' is out now on vinyl and digital formats, and will be followed by 'Sleep Less (Night Two)' on May 10th. With fabric's very own 30-hour sleepless marathon returning this weekend with our second On & On... & On event, it seemed only appropriate that we asked Jesse to fire over his top 10 tips on how to survive a sleepless rave session...
1. Sleep lots before you start and eat a good meal
No use going out for a semi-rave Thursday night, save it up for the weekend proper and eat a good meal before you go raving, the energy from the food will be a life saver on day two.
2. Stay Consistent
Whatever your tipple, don't over do it - doing five shots of tequila when you enter the club is not going to help you out in the long run… Slow and constant will keep you going for days.
3. Choose the people you take on this mission wisely
What you really don't want to do is go out with mates you know will want to go home after two hours, won't like the music, or over do it too fast - and that includes your girlfriend (unless your girlfriend happens to be Judy from fabric, she'll be up two days longer than anyone).
4. The Blag
Unless you’re Richard Branson and fully loaded with cash, you’re going to need a few blags to get you through a two or three day mission. Know the door girl, makes friends with the bar staff, know a man that drives - these things will keep you going when everyone else has had to drop out.
5. Deodorant
Running on no sleep and tackling a two-day bender can leave you smelling like arse. Be liberal when applying your deodorant and keep a little travel size version in your pocket.
Stacey Pullen is one of those rare artists that manages to remain one step ahead of the curve while maintaining a strong appreciation for what's come before him. Putting his mark on the !K7 'DJ Kicks' mix series in 1996, to this day it's still considered one of the most futuristic mixes in the game (more on that later, with insight from Martyn too). As our leg of the D25 tour lies just around the corner (it's this Sunday y'all), highlighting Detroit's 25 years of innovation and artistry, it seems a fitting time for one of its most seminal players to have a moment of reflection. Read on to discover Stacey's thoughts on the last 25 years, his plans for reviving Black Flag Recordings, the new music he's working on, as well as the best bits of his back catalogue that he’s digitally re-releasing...ride through his wisdom - from past, to present, to future, and back.
What are you up to today?
At this moment now, I’m just getting everything together before I leave on the D25 tour. I’m tidying up everything, listening to music, trying to finish up this mix that I’m doing, trying to make sure everything’s squared away for my new release that I’ve got coming out next week, and making sure all the stores and distributors got the record and all that good stuff.
Speaking of which, we’re really digging your new BFR joint, ‘Get Up,’ in the office.
Yeah, that’s what everybody says. I kinda decided to release it that way because I wanted to build up the anticipation – so come out with the ‘Alive’ track and have ‘Get Up’ be even better than the first.
But I don’t think you can really compare them; ‘Alive’ is such a different vibe.
That’s true. I had the ‘Alive’ track done for a while, and I kinda sat on it for a minute – because music is ever-changing, and I’m always being inspired by things. So I sat on it for a minute, and I gave the original to a couple of friends and they played it out. But when I played it out, I felt like there was something missing. That’s the good thing of doing your own music, being your own boss, is that you get a chance to let the work find itself. So I did that track and I did the Hi Tek Soul mix, which was the perfect compliment because I’ve done the Hi Tek Soul parties with Derrick in the past, and I wanted to put that stamp on it just because I’m kinda affiliated with it.
You just mentioned that music’s ever-changing, and that’s along the lines of something Carl said the other day…if that’s the case, how do you know, or decide, that something’s finished?
You know it when you hear it, but it may take a day – it may take a week. I’ve been in the studio recording, recording, recording…and then I'll get bored of it, and take a break – and I’ll come back to it with a whole different energy. So you really don’t know. At the end of the day, you just gotta stop. (laughs) There is such a thing as overproducing. I remember I was working with Derrick years ago; we did a remix for a track called ‘Wiggin’.’ And he said, ‘You know, I like the track – I like the remix that you did – but you did too much!’ That’s what happens when inspiration’s just flowing like that. So now what I do is – if I go too far, I’ll take a couple of parts out and I’ll set it aside for a totally brand new track. So it’s constantly evolving. It never finishes, because if I doing a track off of a track that I already did, then that’s the continuation of that track. I just have to stop sometimes, but that varies – anywhere from two hours to two days!
Right now, I’m working on a mix for Jamie Anderson and K-Alexi – the track is called ‘Cyclone’ and that’s on a label called Mija Recordings. Actually, how that came about was I charted the track on Beatport, and the owner of the label contacted me about a remix. So I’m finished with production - I had to stop (laughs) - so now I’m just finishing and arranging it, and making it that powerful 7-8 minute DJ track that will definitely keep people on the dancefloor.
After speaking to Carl last week, we’d love to hear your take on D25…
I’m really happy to be involved with the whole 25 years of Detroit techno, because to be honest, when I first started out doing music, I had no idea…well, none of us had any idea that the music was going to take off the way it did. And now it’s 25 years later. I can still remember years ago, when I didn’t even know none of these guys. I was just one of those outside guys trying to get in. So for me now to, be a major player in this - and being personal friends with these guys, most importantly – it’s like more than anything I could’ve imagined. And now it’s all about the history – can’t nobody take that back. No matter how many different genres of music come and go, or how many tracks come out per day, or how many promos I get, you can’t erase that history. And that’s really the most important thing that I’m appreciative about.
Speaking of “how many tracks come out per day” - as someone that’s been involved in the game for so long, do you feel as there’s an overwhelming, almost suffocating, surplus of music these days? Sometimes I find myself wondering how many DJ mixes I can listen to in one lifetime, or how on earth I can manage to file all of the tunes I get sent.
Yeah, I was talking to this guy, and we were talking about the whole music world, and releases, and mixes, and everything. Years ago, there was a point where I had a problem with people recording my DJ sets, because it was a copyright infringement – you know, I didn’t want anyone having a mixtape without paying for it. Now it’s no longer about the track of the month, or the track of the year – now it’s like the track of the hour! So that puts a whole new twist on things. But I think, at the end of the day, what we’ve done with D25 is that we’ve made timeless music, so we can play music from 25 years ago and it still sounds as fresh as it did when it first came out. And it still sounds as innovative as a lot of the music that’s being made today, even though there are so many producers, and endless possibilities with making music and different sounds, and being innovative with technology. We’ve kept it that way, and we have that defined sound, just like that Motown sound of the 60s. That sound has been around since the 50s/60s, and you can still listen to a Motown record and instantly know it’s a Motown record.
There’s a lot of really interesting parallels between the two. Actually, wasn’t your dad a Motown singer?
He was a singer in a band called The Capitols, they had a song called ‘Cool Jerk,’ which was a one hit wonder. He sung around in a lot of other local Motown groups, but with that group in particular, he was touring with them as well. Of course, the different path that people take in different lives led to the demise of the group. Have you ever seen a movie called ‘The Five Heartbeats’? That was pretty much the story of my dad and his career: a lot of different personalities together and then all of a sudden, one guy goes this way and another goes that way, and before you know it the group is disbanded. People had families – my dad had me, and now I’m the continuation of that.
Matthew Gonsalves, known as Matty G to the world of music, is a pioneer of the US dubstep scene. Since his debut release on the Argon imprint in 2006, Matty has ceaselessly pushed his unique brand of hip hop inspired, 808 bass workouts, that have been destroying clubs the world over. His 2007 release ‘50, 000 Watts’ shook up the scene with its stripped down breaks and punishing subs, finding its way into the bag of just about every DJ worth his salt, becoming something of an instant classic. Its profound influence on the scene is still being felt today, and it has become one of those tracks that people are still searching Discogs to get hold of, at any price. His 2008 LP, ‘Take You Back,’ cemented his placing in the flourishing dubstep scene, exploring his diverse musical influences and amalgamating the sounds of hip hop, funk, soul, reggae and jungle into a 140bpm template. It still remains one of the most accomplished albums to have been made in the scene.
After linking up with Dub Police head honcho Caspa, who remixed his massive ‘West Coast Rocks’ for Argon, he has recently officially joined the Dub Police crew, the fruits of which we will see over the coming months. In the meantime, he will be touching down at fabric on Friday 21st May as part of the label takeover of Room One. He laced us with an exclusive track (up for DL after the jump) so we decided to get some questions at him to gain a bit more of an insight into the world of Matty G…
Hi Matty, how are you doing?
Great! I’m really looking forward to my upcoming trip to London.
To start from the beginning…When did you start producing and what kind of stuff were you making at the time?
I started producing around 2003. I have a pretty diverse taste in music so I was excited to make all different kinds of stuff right off the bat, but mainly did big bass, hip hop style tunes. I was really into early jungle, and drum and bass before that, and especially dug old No U Turn tunes. I really wanted to mesh the dark basslines and low subs of jungle with some raw old school hip hop beats. My computer at the time, which most of my dubstep tunes were made on as well, was pretty old and limited, so sampling was key as far as conserving processing power. A lot of my early tunes consisted of soul and reggae samples, with some 808 sub and breaks over them.
You were one of the first people overseas to pick up on the flourishing dubstep scene at the time. When did you first come into contact with the sound?
Nick Argon's brother has been into grime for quite a while, and so one day Nick came over with all these mixes his brother hooked him up with around 2005 or so. Some were grime and some were dubstep, and I just spent the next week or two listening to them.
What was it about dubstep that you gravitated towards?
The minimalism... specifically in the tunes ‘Horror Show’ by Loefah, and ‘Nomad’ by Distance. When I heard those two tunes, they really stood out to me. The best part of tunes for me, is when you strip away whatever the melody happens to be, and just let the bass and drums ride, before building it back up again. These tunes were pretty much extended versions of just that... bangin' bass with some sparse drums knockin' out a beat. As a listener at the time, it seemed like a competition between some producers to see who could make the most bangin' tune with the least amount of elements.
Do you feel an affinity with UK music?
Not all kinds...haha, but I have been a big fan of old school hardcore, jungle, and everything kinda down that thread. Jungle and early drum and bass really did it for me though. Back when it was more sample based, producers would flip hip hop, soul, R&B, reggae... The drums would remind me of hardcore punk at times as well, which I was into. It was the combination of all my favorite kinds of music.
2020: a time of social decay among burnt out landscapes, crumbling buildings and the smell of injustice in the air. It's an awful time, as you can imagine. A bit like Robocop really; drugs and violence on every miserable street corner coupled with the bludgeoning atmosphere and wretched knowing that no one gives a damn anymore. There is, however, a soundtrack to this time; one of equal despair, but one that you can get down to - the industrial technoid backlashings of MOTOR. Luckily enough for us though, the duo helmed by Mr. No and Bryan Black come from a decade prior to this time, and have been tearing floors apart with their bloody concoction of hard futuristic techno and industrial rock.
With three albums already under their belt and another in the works, MOTOR are clearly on the up. They've been the go-to guys for remixing artists from every end of the spectrum and, like their peers - Depeche Mode and Throbbing Gristle, are taking the live rock mentality of a group to the club. On Saturday 8th May, MOTOR will be tearing up Room Two and probably turning it into a metaphorical bloodbath, but before the health and safety brigade stamp us down on this we caught up with the darkest dudes on the block to chat about their rising success, recording music in hotel bathrooms and touring with the Mode.
Firstly, can you please introduce yourselves... Bryan Black:Hello, this is Bryan Black. Mr.No: Hi I’m Mr.No, often referred to as “the French bad boy techno rocker.”
You have a heavily industrial sound and aesthetic. What have been your inspirations? BB:Many of the bands we have remixed or toured with: Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb, Throbbing Gristle. As well as early Aphex Twin, Autechre, and piano works by Ligeti and Philip Glass. We haven’t modeled any of our songs on other artists music, but surely all the years of listening to electronic, industrial, ambient, classical and punk has made an impression on us which ultimately seeps into our music. Mr.No: For me it was always the analogue sound. My favourite artist is Mr Oizo.
Coming from completely different continents, how did the two of you meet and how does this affect working on music? BB: We were both living in London when we met. I had gone to London in the late 90’s to study film and graphic design. I met Mr No through a mutual friend. We started to hang out and discussing music technology. I was considering starting a pure electronic project after years of making industrial rock music. It seemed Mr No also wanted to ditch the rock scene and make some stripped down dance music as well. Mr.No: I was playing drums as a session musician in Camden’s Underworld with this dreadful rock band called Dirty Harry. My friend Jared Lelouche, a crazy American poet, turned up with Bryan who was not impressed, but somehow we bonded in the dressing room afterwards when he heard about my electronic project. BB: Mr No had a studio in East London at the Fortress. We started playing around and started making demos, all of which were signed to Gigolo and Novamute almost instantly. Nowadays we live in separate countries, so we make music in hotel rooms when we tour. The hotel bathroom operates as the vocal booth. We get noise complaints quite often, but that’s to be expected.
Shifting hiccups can be a pain in the ass. But with Hickup, we would be happy if they never stopped. 'Hakazou' has been deemed by Dirtybird label head, Claude VonStroke, as “Hot Shit!” and has caused dancefloor chaos from Berlin's Panorama Bar to Heidi’s hotly tipped Radio One show. This is a slick, heads-down, funky cap on groove and has made Hickup's mark on the future chapter of the five year Dirtybird release, one to remember. Get your tribal beats and bass here:
The Lazer Sword duo, made up of Low Limit from San Fransisco and Lando Kal from New York, have been making some serious moves of late with their crunked-out, blend of futuristic hip hop and technicolour rave. A series of hyped mixtapes from the duo have set the blogosphere alight and their recent brilliant 'Golden Handshake EP' on the Glaswegian Numbers imprint has seen them pick up fans across the bass music underworld.
With their first live set in Room One at fabric looming closer, the boys have been kind enough to give us an exclusive remix of the latest Trouble & Bass single from AC Slater featuring Ninjasonik (more info on the release is available here). Taking the original and refracting it through their skewed and vibrant aesthetic, they turn it into a hyperactive hybrid of hip hop, house and electro underpinned by the originals homage to classic rave. Combining futuristic sonics with an unabashed party mentality, this is music to get hyped to
By week he helps run one of the most successful and diverse labels in 4/4 orientated electronic music and by weekend he's DJing to huge, loving crowds all around the world. This seemingly double life may not seem all that unusual in a world populated by two-a-penny globetrotting selectors; but when you take into consideration that the label we speak of goes by the name of Kompakt, and the individual we're describing is Michael Mayer then it's quite apparent that it is.
Throughout his career he's constantly pushed the locked groove into new avenues; from his label’s constantly evolving sound and ability to source serious talent, to his legendary 'Immer' mix series and his lengthy spellbinding sets and production. For those of you that attended our 10th birthday bash, the first of our 30 hour marathon sessions and caught Mayer doing his thing, you'll probably remember a set of epic proportions. For the rest that missed it fret not; as firstly, we gots that very set we speak so highly of below, and secondly, the man himself will be down here again this Saturday for the 2nd On & On sesh!
Following on from a slew of remixes for the likes Santogold, Maximo Park, Daedelus and Evil Nine and his brilliant ‘Eurostarr’ collaboration with Brodinski, our man Mumdance is gearing up for a series of releases of his original productions, including EPs on Mad Decent and Trouble & Bass. In honour of this fact, he is giving away a brand new Kerplunk! Track away for free download.
If you are wondering what ‘Kerplunk!’ is, it is a ramshackle new sound Mumdance has been working on of late that “sounds like the old school kids game when all the marbles fall out,” he explains. Curious? Then make sure you check out this stripped back 8 bar grime workout and find out for yourselves…
An infinite number of titles and adjectives have been penned to describe the legendary Goldie over the years. Some people are (for good reason) enamoured with his immaculate and consummate contributions to the worldofD&B; others choose to speculate on his brushwithHollywood &/or realityTV; others are still catching their breath from his graceful conducting debut on BBC's Maestro; others solely focus on his genius as a visual artist...recently, when Goldie posted some old school photos from the 80s on his Facebook, we were given an inspiring reminder of the latter. Intrigued, we decided to find out more about the stories behind his earliest work - long before the days where Goldie was a household name taking up inches in gossip columns, and a decade before he was sitting on top of the world as one of its most groundbreaking musicians.
We stopped in with Martin Jones (Goldie’s manager and agent from 1984-89), to find out the inside scoop behind the images.
Martin is currently leading a national project to archive photos and video of early UK Hip Hop from the 1980s. If you have any material you think would be of interest, please contact him.
November 1984: Goldie’s graffiti career begins on national TV.
I first met Goldie in around September 1984, just after he’d joined the Wolverhampton B Boys breakdance crew. He was also a graffiti artist and showed me some of his designs - I was impressed and agreed to try and get him some commissions. In this shot he’s seen painting the backdrop to a breakdance battle between the Wolverhampton B Boys and Coventry’s Future Shock (hence the cartoon figures of both crews). The battle was filmed at Central TV’s rooftop car park for ITV’s 'Saturday Starship' children’s show, hosted by Tommy Boyd and Bonnie Langford. On the left is ‘Lewinski’ (Cliff Malcolm), a member of his crew, the Supreme Graffiti Team.
August 1985: Goldie’s Chinatown commission in Birmingham’s Bull Ring.
This was Goldie’s second public commission. It took place in Birmingham’s Manzoni Gardens immediately after the ‘Clash of the Titans’ four way graffiti battle between New York’s Brim and Bio, London’s Chrome Angelz , Goldie and Bristol’s 3D (later of Massive Attack), filmed by Channel Four for the Hip Hop documentary ‘Bombin.' It was commissioned by West Midlands County Council to cover hoardings around the new development area in central Birmingham containing Chinese-owned businesses. Disaster was only narrowly avoided when, as a result of some too hasty research, Goldie proudly presented his design to stunned Hong Kong Chinese dignitaries, revealing the Japanese flag flying triumphantly over Hong Kong harbour.
The Supreme Graffiti Team consisted of Goldie (right) , Cliff ‘Lewinski’ Malcolm (middle) and Gary ‘Birdie’ Burns (left).
March 1985: Goldie and the B Boys breakdance crew meet Afrika Bambaataa at the GLC’s Rap Attack Festival, Shaw Theatre, London.
I saw Bronx graffiti artist Brim on TV-AM and drove the B Boys down to the Shaw Theatre to meet him. He and Afrika Bambaataa were doing Easter hip hop workshops there with London kids. The B Boys really impressed Dick Fontaine, who was making a documentary about Brim and the spread of hip hop culture from New York to the inner cities of the UK. Dick brought his camera crew up to Wolverhampton where he filmed Brim with Goldie on his hometown estate – Heathtown.
On a fashion note, Goldie is wearing an Australian brand tracksuit – I got B Boys a few sponsors back then. There was Australian (for their ITV Saturday Starship national TV appearance), Kappa (for their Electro Rock film appearance), and finally Puma for their Electro Rock promotional tour.
The Boys pictured are, left to right, Keith ‘Kiddo’ Anderson, Gary ‘Birdie’ Burns, Hanifa McQueen Hudson, and Goldie.
1986: Goldie with Birdie at the Stairway to Fame in Heathtown, Wolverhampton.
It’s been a fertile time for modern drum & bass recently. The work of dBridge and Instra:mental as Autonomic [evidently] has had a big effect on us here at fabric, but a lot of the artists that were getting discussed and mused over in the office all ended up having a binding thread. That thread was Critical Music. Artists like Stray, Rockwell and Sabre; new blood coming with fresh ideas and mutated takes on the classic 170pm template, had all been scouted by the label.
Label boss Kasra is typically coy about his imprint's success, heaping the praise on the music produced by the incredible bank of talent the label is home to; and deservedly so. His label stands simply as the means to get this music heard, producing physical product that reflects his own love and passion for the game.
“I’ve always been interested in the process of releasing music, the signing, production (as in the packaging), marketing side of things; the side most people find dull!” he tells us, beaming at his own admission. “I’d run small labels of my own in my teens, releasing all sorts of experimental music but when I got into drum & bass I realised that I’d like to be involved more in the scene. I was inspired by labels like 31 and Metalheadz, cutting edge underground dance music that doesn’t fit into an easily definable box."
With Critical’s latest compilation ‘Critical Sound’ released late last year, Kasra proved that he had the eye and ear to stand tall next to these iconic labels he respects so dearly. Collating work from a plethora of talent, both respected and brand new, he managed to define his label’s ethos with 19 tracks.
“People say to me the label does have its own sound; but even I’m not sure what that is. The label is pretty diverse, there’s some deep experimental bits, some more dancefloor aimed straight up rollers but I’d like to think the sound of the label is just one of quality. Obviously that’s completely up to the listener...” he smirks, “I just try to sign good music.”
“I’m especially proud of the albums that have come out on the label. So far we have released 3 compilations and just recently the Sabre album, 'A Wandering Journal.' Albums are such a labour of love, taking months to put together and really they do define a label. I am planning a new compilation but that’ll be in the New Year... 2010 is focused on bringing through some new talent. Artists like Stray, FD and Hybris are making some incredible music plus over the next few months there will be releases from Total Science, Lenzman, Rockwell, Jubei, Break, SPY, Raiden and more.”
With an upcoming release schedule of that calibre Critical is fast becoming impossible to ignore with numerous publications agreeing that the new brand of electronic music sprinting from their stable is some of the most “stunning” (ATM) and “thought provoking” (iDJ) out there. No suprise then that we’ve invited Kasra and his Critical imprint to become residents here, giving them a quarterly platform to showcase the best in talent and ingenuity loaded music, here in the heart of London.
“I feel very positive about the music at the moment; there are a lot of great tunes being made from many different producers. As with any genre there’s a lot of dross being made but that’s my opinion and I don’t waste my time focusing on the bad. All I know is that I’ve got more music to play than ever,” he informs us when we ask what we can expect on the night. “The first night features myself alongside Break, Rockwell, Sabre, Jubei and FD, a showcase of new and more established artists from the label who play a diverse mix of styles. The new fabric residency is a real highlight for me; I had been looking for a home for the label in London and I really couldn’t ask for anywhere better....”
Critical Sound launches at fabric on Friday 14th May in Room Three with Kasra, Break, Jubei, Sabre, Rockwell and FD hosted by emcees Wrec and Bassline.
To mark the occasion Kasra himself has put together a mix; “a showcase of the Critical Sound; the type of tunes you would expect to hear at a Critical event plus lots of tasty exclusive dubs and forthcoming Critical tunes.”
Quite possibly THE nicest bloke in the biz; David Wolstencroft aka Trus'me has garnered much respect from all areas of the musical field since the ultra mega 'Nards' got massive airplay, and equal amounts of love, from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Benji B. For as much as Trus'me is a lover of the good times and a globe trotting party starter, he is also a man with a strong business savvy. Having juggled a business degree and MA with a nighttime course in sound recording, this vault of knowledge got thrown into the melting pot and now David Wolstencroft stands tall with not one, but two carefully structured and very successful music brands: Prime Numbers and D3K (Disco 3000).
If one good thing came from the Iceland incident the other week, and rather selfishly on our part, it was that the Manchunian had to cancel his overseas slots and find other ways to fill his heavy schedule; like answering a few questions for us and whipping up a sweet mix for the heads.
Firstly, please introduce yourself.
Some of you may know me for producing long players such as 'Working Night$' and 'In The Red,' or for four-on-the-floor club tracks such as 'W.A.R Dub.' Although producing is not the only string to my bow, DJing is my first love and what internationally I'm recognised for most. Prime Numbers is a record label I began in 2007, which has slowly grown in strength, concentrating on Quality over Quantity. PN has been supporting mainly UK artists, who choose to think differently in these modern times of electronic music. The label is an open book - literally if the music is good, regardless of current trends, it will supported by myself and the Prime Numbers family. It doesn't stop there though, D3K is both an events company and an agency I run with fellow like minded friends. D3K, short for Disco 3000, is a melting pot for like-minded individuals to think differently and open their minds to music of all genres. If the music is good, forward in its approach, but still remains deep in the past, then you’re sure to hear it played in one of my sets, as well as any D3K event.
How did the name Trus’ Me come about?
We all use it day to day in the English speaking world. Trus'me is an abbreviation of course from the saying 'Trust in me.' A positive tick we all use at the end of a sentence to drive home that you need to believe this, it's the truth. I guess what I'm trying to ask the public is to trust in what I do. What ever I do it comes from straight from my heart, I only support, produce, releases or play music I truly believe in.
Due to the style of music you produce and your infamous decade-jumping DJ sets, would you consider yourself a nostalgic?
Not at all - my slogan is to embrace the Past, Present and the Phuture. I use this in everything I do, whether it's organising a festival line up, producing an LP or compiling a DJ set. You have to show where the music derived from, where we are now and what we should be looking for musically in the future. I believe that's my role or job per se, and I take pride in what I do.
For those who don’t know, can you please explain the difference in what you do with Prime Numbers and D3K?
Prime Numbers is a platform to support producers and musicians that I love musically and perhaps don't get the break or support they deserve. My role is not only to release music from the likes of Linkwood, Fudge Fingas etc, but also to brand, market and push their music through the right channels. Essentially D3K is a framework that acts as a big sister, providing a platform for my artists and similar acts to play across the world. Not only do we organise a festival once a year, but we coordinate both live and DJ events in Japan, Australia, Brazil, USA, Canada and Mainland Europe not forgetting our regular shindig here at fabric.
Will there be another D3K festival?
We are in talks with a new location, which we'll be announcing in the forthcoming months to take place on September 17th-19th 2010. The new location has everything we were looking for to host the next addition. More details coming soon please check www.disco3k.com to keep updated.
Prime Numbers is a label that primarily focuses on signing UK artists. What UK talent is grabbing your attention?
I always have an eye on our fellow label Modern Love, which predominately pushes UK acts too. There has been some great releases from that camp of late. My friends at Firecracker have a great line up for the rest of the year, and there are various UK acts releasing with Rush Hour recordings, which always floats my boat. There is a wealth of talent in the UK, it's just pushing them to release that stuff...in the UK we do it more for the love than the biz.
Carl Craig is a strong, defiant visionary that’s dedicated his entire life to his craft; someone that’s pushed by art, and someone that pushes art back. Continually shape-shifting and reinventing himself under an endless number of monikers (Innerzone Orchestra, 69, Designer Music, BFC, Paperclip People, Trez Demented, to name but a few), Carl has been at the forefront of many important movements over the years. Beyond his obvious contributions to the second wave of Detroit, he’s been largely credited for pioneering Drum & Bass (with Innerzone Orchestra’s ‘Bug In The Bassbin’), he’s presented a link between electronic music and films (creating a soundtrack for Warhol’s provocative ‘Blow Job’ earlier this year at Unsound Festival, for instance) and he’s artfully combined electronic music with orchestral compositions (re-interpreting Ravel and Mussorgsky with Moritz Von Oswald; or their Versus project Francesco Tristano and Les Siècles Orchestra). His latest musical venture, the experimental project ‘No Boundaries,’ fits the name entirely, with productions that are as creative and mind-expanding as it gets. Carl describes the project best himself: "Unexpect the expected!" Certainly a notion that has followed the artist throughout all of his work.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Juan Atkins’ seminal Metroplex imprint this year, Carl envisioned the D25 tour - a celebration of Detroit’s history of innovative electronic music. When discussing D25, he commented: “I think the economic devastation that the city has endured over the last 30-odd years helped us to fantasize about a brighter future, it is this fantasy that we put into our music.” Being an arts commissioner for Detroit’s government these days, Carl Craig’s proactively helping to create that brighter future for the Motor City. The rest of the world may dismiss the city as being trapped in dilapidation or dereliction, but bubbling deep in its roots lies an incredibly vast and wonderful heritage of music: from gospel to Motown, from The Electrifying Mojo to a vibrant legacy of jazz musicianship, from Dilla to Jeff Mills. D25 celebrates the D for all of its beauty and creative force, its progression and influence, and its character and indelible legacy. Starting this year with an immense WMC party (with a lineup that defies description: Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Kenny Dixon Jr., Theo Parrish, Kyle Hall, Kenny Larkin, Kevin Saunderson, Monty Luke, Stacey Pullen), and a variety of events lined up throughout the year, D25 will come to our doors over the course of this weekend’s ‘On & On’ raveathon with Mr Craig, Stacey Pullen and Monty Luke. After that, Carl plans to take on the globe, and incorporate a more visual element to the tour, converging film and art into the concept. Read on to find out more.
How’s everything in Detroit today?
Great. I’m just driving to the car wash right now and it’s a sunny day. To me, Detroit is the most beautiful place in the spring or autumn. We have such beautiful trees, especially in my neighborhood – magnolias…and in my back and front yard, we have a lot of Japanese maples that are a burgundy, purple-ish colour. The city’s full of really rich colours.
We’re honoured to be given a chance to celebrate the city’s richness here…
Thank you. It’ll be great to keep it going because D25 isn’t just about me, Stacey and Monty; D25 is definitely about the other guys that started the whole shebang – Derrick, Kevin and Juan, of course. But it’s also about the guys that you might’ve seen a resurgence from recently, like Shake and Dan Bell. And of course KDJ and Theo Parrish and Mike Clark, Mike Grant, Mike Huckaby, Mike Delano Smith. And I wanna put guys out there that nobody knows – for instance, there’s this guy Al Ester that has been around for eons, you know – the guy has never left Detroit basically. And I can honestly say that he’s one of the best DJs that I’ve ever heard, not just one of the best DJs from Detroit, not just DJs from the US. I’ve known him since we were all going to the Music Institute back in 1988, ’89. So we’re talking serious stuff. That’s the plan with D25: we bring out people from the woodworks that have been some of the best in the aspect of music playing as well as the guys that are the best at music making. It’s to introduce people to all of the talent that comes from here in Detroit. Also, because we started this agency, Detroit Premiere Artists, the opportunity of having this booking agency is finding new raw talent as well from Detroit. Of course a new talent that’s out there already that a lot of folks already know of is Kyle Hall. But there’s the next step of guys that come from backgrounds like Kyle’s, and people from completely different backgrounds, that we have the opportunity to expose.
How did D25 all come about?
This year is the 25th anniversary of Metroplex Records. So that’s technically the 25th anniversary of techno. We have plans to do events around the Movement Festival here in Detroit, but also expose the music in a way that is relevant to both 25 years of techno. There’s also the idea that we’re going to show films as well, like some of Jeff Mills’ films that he did his work to. There’s a wonderful film by Jacqueline Cole that’s about the relationship between electronic music and gospel in Detroit. That includes Electrifying Mojo, who was a big influence here on the radio, and it’s just a really fascinating piece of work. And also some other projects – one of them is Versus that I did with the symphony. And a friend of mine has done some animated art – not animated in the sense of manga cartoons, she’s a painter that does some really beautiful and sophisticated work. At some point, it’d be good to integrate that visual aspect of what we’re doing with D25 as well. Hopefully we’ll develop it into a whole multimedia kind of thing. I’d like to see it documented in some way that we can have this as a legacy.
A name heard coast to coast, LAlien Thee Mike B has it on lock from Cali to NYC. An avid blogger, promoter of riotous parties (such as Banana Split and Cheap Pop), a remixer/producer and collaborator (Graveleaf with Omar Doom and Knish Hit Squad with DJ Trident, for example)... Mike B comes equipped with a vast knowledge of music across the board.
Ahead of his fabric debut on Friday 7 May, we got the lowdown from Coachella last week from the man himself. Read on and live vicariously through Mike B...get transported to Coachella Valley for a sweet moment, while grooving to a mix he created in a similarly sunny Miami.
Day 1
Our house was awesome. We had a pool, a hot tub and lots of beer, weed and Red Bull. Not to mention that we rolled up in my buddy Jon’s ‘Party Van.’ Which is equipped with an OG Nintendo, VHS and tube TV. However, the sound system completely bumps!
The Van:
Nintendo:
Jon:
Jon is the man, and though he is sober, he proceeded to wild out like a drinking man immediately upon entering the festival.
While I waited for Jay-Z to take the stage I wondered around and ran into some folks. I also wandered over to the rave tent and caught the end of Erol Alkan’s set. He had quite the light show.
With his co produced debut 12” release, ‘Canopy’ b/w ‘Remorse,’ out last month on Critical Music and a couple of appearances slotted in over the next 6 weeks and to [even] further cement our love of the Medium crew (read our mix with first lady Tasha here) we asked FD to put together of blend of musical styles for our blog.
Coming good with a selection of upfront bass mutations he’s blessed us with a perfect snapshot of what you expect from him tonight in Room Two and on the 14th May for the Critical Music residency launch night.
According to Ellen Allien the man has ‘sunshine in his heart’ and for the next edition of ‘Circo Loco- The New Era’ this summer, he’s been named their new resident, in charge of spinning the DC10 decks. Keeping the music strong as always, Seth Troxler is rarely one to disappoint- a hugely memorable character for his hedonistic nature of bringing the Berlin party vibe to London, his 12am-2.30am set at On & On this past March was ebullient, fun, dark and shall we say…sensual.
To celebrate his second installment at our 30 hour dance marathon next Saturday, here’s two and half hours of Troxler taking the helm and giving you that warm party glow. Make sure you listen to the track that narrates, ‘ transcribe the music into the language your own body speaks’ - we agree 100%. See you next Saturday/Sunday...
It's certainly very good news to us: Mr. Richard Fearless is back in town. His Death In Vegas FABRICLIVE 23 mix CD is still a firm favourite around these parts and there's even promise of brand new artist material this year.
As a starter, here are two brand new mixes he's given us. First is a late night techno belter which is what we know him for and the other a cold wave set he recorded live in the upstairs room of a pub a couple of weeks ago. Both are totally amazing.
The world looks just that little bit brighter when you get a chance to see it through the eyes of Keith Reilly, creative director of fabric. Speaking to him, you’re much more likely to get wrapped in a discussion on Dagur Kári or the austere power of Scott Walker, or a heated debate about why fiction is pointless (“Fiction is far too lightweight compared to facts,” he often tells me), than you are a dialogue about fabric (“It’s pure self indulgence,” he said recently on RA).
Living a life fuelled solely by creativity and passion, Keith’s on an eternal search for things that touch and astonish him. His record collection, certainly one of the biggest in the UK, attests to that. He’s a digger, a collector, an obsessive…and a dedicated spirit on a mission to share the wonderful things he finds. Working with him, you realize quite quickly that “pure self indulgence” are three words he takes to heart. And that’s a beautiful thing. With a contagious sense of childlike enthusiasm, Keith somehow finds magic in the most unlikely places.
When I first came across .Cent, I found myself thoroughly consumed, devouring every page from top to bottom, whizzing from cover to cover. Keith, of course, fell head over heels for it instantly; he was cut from the same cloth (sorry, pardon the fabric pun). He applauds anyone with an anarchist slant in general, but .Cent’s approach floored even him – with no proper journalists on board, they use what they call ‘Circlical Publishing.’ In their own words: “.Cent is a bi-annual magazine celebrating creativity in all its forms. In each issue we invite a well-respected creative, or creative duo, to choose a title that expresses something core to their beliefs. They then invite people with whom they have worked, or admire, to interpret the title from their own imaginative perspectives, giving readers the opportunity to see the guest editor in a more personal light, whilst also showing all the facets that they encompass. .Cent then welcomes a worldwide network of creatives from fashion, art, music, design, illustration, literature and others, to contribute with their own interpretation of the title. These contributions are then shared with the readers without the heavy hand of an intrusive editorial opinion. This inimitable concept allows contributors to speak directly to the readers, creating an intimate yet open debate.
In a final step, .Cent encourages readers to offer their ideas and suggestions for contributions to the following issue. The distinctive process as a whole, .Cent calls Circlical Publishing. TM.”
Last summer, .Cent asked Keith to come on board as guest editor for the next issue of their bi-yearly labour of love. After over 8 months of planning and exchanging ideas (and .Cent having a superhuman sense of patience with us, I might add) that issue – ‘A Sense of Purpose’ – is out now.
Keith explains his title: “The briefest glance at dictionary definitions of the word purpose reveals its relationship with art that transcends mere aesthetics.
‘The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exist’
‘Purpose is the cognitive awareness in cause and effect linking for achieving a goal in a given system, whether human or machine.’
A sense of purpose is fundamental to everything we do at fabric, otherwise, quite simply, what would be the point. Replication is utterly devoid of any level of stimulation to me. If we do not aspire to do things differently we are not creating, we are involved in nothing more sophisticated than a manufacturing process.
Art that truly has a sense of purpose distinguishes it from frivolous plagiarism and the arena of arts and craft. Read in either direction the phrase may encapsulate a quality in any piece of art that makes it extraordinary or distinctive. Read as written, the statement is self-explanatory. When read in reverse it explores art in a wider context. The very purpose of art is to affect any of your senses and there is often a point when any piece either makes sense or it doesn’t. This may be a consequence of the environment in which you experience it or something as simple and intangible as timing. This is when something quite inconsequential yet beautiful comes into focus, when we see it, when we understand it, when it touches us. The touch we spend our lives in search of. That moment of beauty when everything other than this moment or object of beauty wilts beneath its majesty and all that remains is you and it. This is the moment when you are in touch with the parts of your psyche or soul that only art can stimulate, and this is the reason our search for it becomes so intense and obsessive. For some of us it feels like our primary language, or at least the only one, we truly understand.”
Keep it locked here for more from the .Cent team and Keith over the next couple weeks. Head over to .Cent's site to nab a copy, or go support your local bookstore...the new issue is in good shops now.
We can’t get enough of the Dirtybird soundsystem. Following their larger than life blog takeover this week, they’re back with a new offering fresh from the heat n’ beats of Miami’s hugely sought after Winter Music Conference. This is a body and mind bending mix from label operator Christian Martin, dominated by Dirtybird trickery, there’s also some tasty cuts from the likes of Jamie Jones, Four Tet and dirty house mistress Hannah Holland. A mix entirely exclusive to us, the WMC may be long gone but here's a dose of Miami heat...
1. Justin Martin - Get Low [dirtybird]
2. Christian Martin - Polar Bear [dirtybird]
3. Four Tet - Love Cry (Joy Orbison remix) [Domino]
4. Claude VonStroke - Big N Round (Holger Ziske remix) [dirtybird]
5. Maetrik - Purr Baby [Audiomatique]
6. People Get Real - Robin Hood (Jamie Jones remix) [Magicbag]
7. Cortney Tidwell - Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Sei A Remix) [R&S]
8. Jay Weed - The Nile [Grizzly]
9. Claude VonStroke - Monster Island (Christian Martin remix) [dirtybird]
10. CHRISTIAN MAN (Christian Martin vs. Renaissance Man) - Robosonic Rerumble [CDR]
11. Hey Karolin - Sleeping, Dancing, & Laughing [Hi Freaks]
12. F - Epilogue (Ramadanman remix) [7even Recordings]
13. DVA - Natty [Hyperdub]
14. The Martin Brothers - Steal Drums [dirtybird]
15. Hannah Holland - What you Feel (James Braun remix) [Playtime]
16. Christian Martin - Ghosts (Tanner Ross & Sergio Santos remix) [Trapez]
17. Burial ñ Fostercare [Hyperdub]
18. Nicolas Jaar ñ TIme for Us [Wolf & Lamb]
Danish DJ Kenneth Christiansen’s most recent inspiration Echocord Colour is the sub-label of the wonderfully deep and dubby Echocord and has opened its vinyl sleeve to ten vibrant and colourful releases, with artists of all sounds and backgrounds. Over the past two years, the imprint has progressed into one of the preeminent outlets for deviant and devilishly good dub techno. In light of the Echocord Room Three takeover this Saturday - alongside Resoe plus two live performances from Brendon Moeller and Substance - we decided to get a digestible down low on its sub-label's history…straight from Mr Christiansen himself.
I started the Echocord sublabel in 2008. After running the Echocord label for 6 years, at that time it was time to start a sister label. I decided to start because I wanted to release stuff that I think was not really for Echocord, and also because I like a lot of other styles and genres, which still are in the dub-universe. Besides Dub-Techno I've always been influenced by the Detroit sound and also the new Dubstep sound. So this new label is not only dedicated to Dub-Techno but can be more Detroit, Dubstep or more Techno, like the modern sound of Berlin today.
So far artists like Onmutu Mechanicks, Sebastien San, Quantec, Mikkel Metal, Luke Hess vs Marko Fürstenberg, Pattern Repeat, Brendon Moeller and Deadbeat vs. Fenin. The next releases will be a little more Techno orientated; artists like Luke Hess vs. Omar S, Marcel Dettmann vs Norman Nodge and Mike Dehnert are working on new material for the Echocord Sublabel.
Stacey Pullen is one of those rare artists that manages to remain one step ahead of the curve while maintaining a strong appreciation for what's come before him. Putting his mark on the !K7 'DJ Kicks' mix series in 1996, to this day it's still considered one of the most futuristic mixes in the game (more on that later, with insight from Martyn too). As our leg of the D25 tour lies just around the corner (it's this Sunday y'all), highlighting Detroit's 25 years of innovation and artistry, it seems a fitting time for one of its most seminal players to have a moment of reflection. Read on to discover Stacey's thoughts on the last 25 years, his plans for reviving Black Flag Recordings, the new music he's working on, as well as the best bits of his back catalogue that he’s digitally re-releasing...ride through his wisdom - from past, to present, to future, and back.
Shifting hiccups can be a pain in the ass. But with 
Quite possibly THE nicest bloke in the biz; David Wolstencroft aka 
Carl Craig
According to Ellen Allien the man has ‘sunshine in his heart’ and for the next edition of ‘Circo Loco- The New Era’ this summer, he’s been named their new resident, in charge of spinning the DC10 decks. Keeping the music strong as always, 
Have a look here:
Danish DJ Kenneth Christiansen’s most recent inspiration 
