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In The Company of... Adam Shelton & air london

Breathing nothing but fresh air into our disco, London’s unadulterated raw talent agency air london are a “loose bunch” of house music fanatics set to take over Room Three this Saturday. After charming our ears with his warm and uplifting January fabric mix - a New Years gift for you all, packed with his own One Record releases, as well as firm favourites Steve Bug and Gerd, we are biting at the tip for Adam Shelton’s four hour debut set this weekend. Linking up with a roster that includes the likes of Alejandro Mosso, Glimpse, Lemos and of course, fabric regulars Anthea & Alex Cellar who always “kill it” according to airlondon founder, David O, its clear Adam Shelton has big plans for 2011. So without further delay, we pinned down David O and Shelton,the man behind Birmingham’s bangin’ Below night at The Rainbow, to talk men in tights, his debut solo EP on airlondon and his five big vibe tracks for January. Download: Adam Shelton – fabric Promo Mix First of all, can we wish the air london family a very happy New Year! How did you see in 2011 and any memorable stories you can share with us? Adam Shelton - Hello there and a big happy new year to you. Nice to be in 2011, a year I know a lot of people are looking forward to. Well I saw in 2011 in the middle of a mental 3000 people full on rave that I was actually supervising and not playing at. I took the option to not do any shows on New Year’s Eve and work at my venue the Rainbow Warehouse. As I had my below party on New Year’s day this time round I wanted to be in Birmingham and get a fresh start as I knew that was going to be a heavy one. New Years Day at Below was my way to see in the new year and was a top party, one my of my favourites we have done, we had a whole host of friends that have played for Below over the years that come to play and who all brought great crews with them so the vibe was nonstop all day and night. In terms of stories all I will say is the party was still going on in places on the 5th, enough drink to power a jumbo jet, men in tights, girls fronting the drinking games and nonstop solid house music.. If we didn't have to sleep there would be people jumping in on this interview now... good times. We have been washing away our January blues listening to Adam Shelton’s fabric promo mix. Can you tell us a little bit more about the mix? We find it very warm and uplifting on a cold winter’s morning. AS - Well that’s what you want on a cold morning when you probably don't want to be at work after New Year’s madness. I like to do mixes that are easy to listen to, live recordings are always different obviously but I wanted to keep this very much something that you can listen to anytime of the day. There are some new unreleased tracks from my One Records label which have worked really well alongside some of my current favourites like Steve Bug's ‘Straight 125’ and Gerd's remix of Session Victim….as well as solid favourites that never leave me when I am playing like Ricochet’s ‘Forever Mono’. Can you tell us about the history behind air london? How did the collective first come together and how would you describe the musical journey and relationships you have made along the way? David O – air london began as an accident a few years ago. I can’t remember exactly when it was, but our motivation was and remains to avoid getting proper jobs for as long as is humanly possible. What is the music philosophy behind air london? DO – to provide a musical outlet for our acts and give them the support and freedom they need. How important do you think collectives are at the moment in establishing identity for labels and how does air london stand tall in the competition? DO – collectives are too important and can be restraining. We want our acts to be as individual as possible. On that basis, I’d prefer not to be measured against ‘collectives’ – we are a very loose bunch. There are a thousand and one mixes & podcasts to download online and the choice can often be overwhelming. How do you keep the airpod series of podcasts sounding fresh and exciting? DO – by doing them infrequently and trying to come up with a theme. It’s not easy to do that. Generally though, all the mixes have been well received (I think!) You’ll be showcasing the talents of Alex Celler, Anthea and Adam Shelton. Tell us about the relationship between the three budding artists and what sounds and inspirations they’ll be bringing to the floor this Saturday? DO – as per my answer above, this is the first time these three acts have played together, so there isn’t a real relationship as such other than Alex and Anthea who obviously produce together and have DJed together many, many times. They always kill it. Its Adam’s debut at fabric and I think he is going to do a 4 hour set to open things up, which will be the perfect way to start the night. What they have in common is that they are all outstanding DJs. What are your musical goals for 2011 and what upcoming gigs and releases can we all look forward to? AS - I am really looking forward to 2011, Two main things really, I am hoping that One Records is going to be moving to the next level. We have a really nice release schedule with artists such as Kris Wadsworth, Burnski, Hector and Rob Mello getting on board, and a whole host of new up and coming artists and guys that have already featured on the label such as Jozif, Alex Arnout and more. I am very excited about the stuff Subb_an and I will be doing, our s.a.s project is looking good for 2011, with more releases coming out on Foot and Mouth label and, away from the edits that we do, we are looking at original s.a.s material and remixes so look out for that. Second I am looking forward to getting my teeth into more solo releases, I have a track on One's various artist EP which is out end of Jan, my debut solo EP on air london which the guys are giving me full support on and also in the pipeline over the next few months we have releases on 2020 Vision, magicbag, Illusion, One records and more.. What was the best and worst thing you got for Christmas? AS - Best thing I got for Christmas was a trip to Hong Kong, I have never been before and I can't wait! fabric Saturday, Hong Kong Monday… ho ho ho. Worst present, no meat on Christmas Day, 2010 was the first year that I am entering the world of vegetarianism so that was hard (ish). DO – Best – a flight out of London to Mexico. Worst – having to come back. Haha. What tips can you give to those feeling the January blues? DO – Carry on in January like December is still going! AS - I do not get the blues in Jan as I feel it is a great month to get yourself together and plan for the forthcoming months and relax a little. To cheer myself up my top five vibe tracks for January (the first one is for those who break their resolutions early ) TC Curtis – You Should Have Known Better Daniel Wang – Like Some Dream Francois K - Hypnodelic Juan Mclean - Happy House Komiko - Feel Alright
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