Your latest single ‘Don’t Believe’ EP for Crosstown Rebels offshoot Rebellion feels like Dance music of the future. Can you talk us through how you produced the title track?
I was in the studio with my mate Joshi and we started playing around with some synths, it was quite abstract and moody at the beginning. I wrote and some 70s progressive lyrics over it and it sounded different & real. A dark record with a warm soul. Music is like cooking, sometimes you need to drop a little cream into the tomato sauce to take off the acid edge.
Where did it all start for you: which Dj’s/ Clubs first inspired you?
I actually started in a radio in Cassino called Radio Jolly I was only 13 I just loved vinyl and they had loads. Then I discovered mixing and it was all over. I played for a long time for a club called Axis and the boss and partner Chris used to go to Ibiza quite often to Ibiza and come back with a lot of Amnesia tapes, we used to love the Balearic vibe, was a great inspiration for us. I ended making quite a few Balearic records and playing quite a lot in Ibiza with Made in Italy.
How did you get into producing? Any favourite pieces of studio equipment you like to use these days?
I got into producing buying my first sampler: an Akai 950. That I actually still have it, seems to be very much in demand for the low sample rate it has, people like dirty stuff these days 😉
My favourite piece of equipment is my voice, now that’s really dirty.
What’s the story behind the re-release of ‘The Magic Room’ due out in May on your own Fine Human Records?
This Magic Room was released very softly in 2014, the artist name was ‘Loden In Ny’ which simply is an anagram of Dino Lenny. The feedback was so incredible that people were asking ‘why isn’t this record a hit?’ So I thought about giving it a proper release getting some good remixes. Doorly’s boosted the original mix and it was so spot on that we decided to use both our names to give it maximum exposure. I think it deserves it’s quite an eclectic record, I just love the message and the positivity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDXVE352FYE
How would you compare the Dance Music culture of 2015 to when you first began to DJ/ Produce?
I think it’s all back on track now, we had a few dark years when we thought that people were not going to look back anymore. Evolution & Technology is great but it doesn’t necessarily mean quality. I know it’s strange but sometimes I like Djs that mix slightly out tempo but then put it back in time. I like music with an emotion, with a human factor. That’s why my label is called Fine Human Records.
Where can people hear you DJ?
I’m going to be playing with Maceo Plex at the Ellum parties quite often.
Add the name Maceo Plex to almost anything at the moment and you can guarantee that it will be worth its weight in gold. This excellent production from his alter ego doesn’t disappoint either, and will be of distinct interest to those old enough to remember Bobby Konders classic The Poem from 1990 (featuring Mutaburuka’s timely spoken message). Typically building the tension until it pops The Poem builds up layers of looped, funky vocal along with dark, insistent instrumentation into one beautiful crescendo. Next up is his Revenge Remix of Walk Alone sounding crisper and Tech, though always funky with those trademark bass notes in evidence. To The Top rounds off exploring Techno aspects…
Great EP from James Pople who delivers two equally fine cuts for your pleasure. Who’s That Girl kicks off with nervous broken beats, emotive vocals and deep chords feeling soulful yet unsettling. Next and propelled by an uber funky bassline, slightly sleazy deadpan words and a quick-fire succession of punchy percussion, Say I Move You instantly captures your attention. What else is there to be said, this works! Remixes come from Miguel Puente who’s sassy, shuffling rhythms and taught bass add yet another quality to the title track. Inxec then gives it extra urgency with hypnotizing, vocal treatments and an array of electronic subtleties which once again transform it into something else.
More excellent music that fits right in with right now. You Promised comes drenched with Daniel Wilde’s smouldering vocal alongside a collection of superbly brooding, funky rhythms that are hard to escape from. A Dub follows to highlight more of the instrumental mood, while next track Gonzo feels that bit brighter with the inclusion of occasionally big synths and frisky beats. The remix come from Carola Pisaturo who’s rumbling bass and staccato drums are edgy, though tastefully evocative, with the addition of just the right amount of vocal hints. Leaving final track, Moments Of Truth to continue to combine intriguing ideas on rhythm and atmospheric sound.
Wez Saunders
Dancing & Losing Control EP
Hype Muzik
Wez provides two distinctive cuts for this Hype Muzik release. The A-Side is a curious combination of appealing old-school moods and perky organ lines which sound rather quirky, but then that’s the very likable quality here. The more imaginatively titled Dancing And Losing Control follows with tougher beats and bass, featuring early nineties piano and vocals that again get the thumbs up.
If you’d have asked twenty years ago where House Music would end up? I might not have imagined such an exquisite progression but here we are with Maceo Plex, who for good reason is all over the place at the moment. It can sometimes be hard to put into words precisely how music makes you feel. However, this combination of epic ambience, technological stabs and with yet another unfeasibly funky bassline in place, Frisky does things that are perhaps better left to the imagination. Sex Appeal continues the theme with heavily treated vocals feeling heavenly alongside rapid-fire acid bass and perfectly toned beats. The word Artist is aptly applied. 9
Released by La Fleur’s own label she undoubtedly has the courage of conviction and I have to say that this is excellent/ beautiful in equal measure. The title track eases you into a deep sense of security with gently shuffling rhythms contrasted with a heavy bass and sprinkling of emotive chords. The vocals add even more effortless charm to the production which should gain the labels third release the attention I would suggest it merits. Tjuvlyssnerskan follows by twisting the Swedish noun for feminine around a beautiful, melancholy keyboard loop and more infectious bottom-end. 8
Back with their second release for the label the Polish duo deliver more in the way of contemporary electro-funk that sits very neatly upon Freerange. Open Your Arms plays off-kilter voices against an imaginative arrangement of beats and basslines, which while they throw back to the past also veer cleverly towards the future. The Fred P Reshape then dispenses with that entire notion and delves headlong into subwoofer oblivion, which quite frankly is somewhere you’ll also want to be when you hear this. Love the uncomplicated but deeply intense combination of moody pads and drums which say it all here. Dreamin’ About You finishes you off by the harsh reality of distorted kicks complimented by jazzy stabs, and feels sort of early nineties but then f**ks with that idea completely – cool. 8
More sizzling hot Bass action for you, which in this case emanates from Hot Waves and Favourite Robot recording artist Sean Roman. Bocuse, kicks things off with acid tinged deepness and feels very much of the moment, as its centered around the Bass, while the remainder of production is adorned with all sorts of intriguing electronic sound: some funky – some weird. Moan, follows via the same approach although this feels just that bit funkier. Remixes come from the excellent MANIK, who take the fuzzy tones one step further, plus Waifs and Strays who factor in a 90’s sensibility into their equally fiery interpretation. 7
There’s nothing like the sound of a real bass guitar (or even its digital approximation) to get the juices flowing and Jozif’s latest for Culprit is set to do just that. It would be hard not to love this and the way it pulls all sorts of reference points together: from 80’s synths and Disco styled Strings, to that Funk bass line and 2012 arrangement. Tea, is a spoonful of excellence. The Cure inspired version of Lullaby will appeal to those of a Balearic persuasion and makes ‘just for old time’s sake’ feel like a very good proposition indeed. Which leaves the tasteful, swirling atmospheres of Serenade and the bold electronic textures of down-tempo, Boesen to complete the picture. 8
Jesse Siminski, or better known as, Heartthrob crosses the lines between Techno and electronic House music to feel uniquely spaced-aged. Odyssey’s journey begins with tense beats, supplemented by scratchy keys, and proceeds into darker territory generated by an array of odd-ball electricity that’s nothing but tempting. You would be surprised to hear that, The Liar follows in a lighter note but it doesn’t. It does however offer you funkier cow-bell driven percussion, although even this turns out to be deliciously sinister with the introduction of sleazy sythns and suspect voices. 7
Cielo Sunrise (mixed by Nicolas Matar) Nervous Records
NYC’s Cielo co-owner and resident DJ Nicolas Matar delivers what’s best described a beautiful journey through the sights and sounds of AM:PM. Titled, Sunrise for good reason this perfect blend of soulfully infused rhythms gives you the very best in sassy songs to more vigorous workouts. As you continue listening, Matar proves to be a classic DJ in every sense of the word with the mix tripping through light and shade while touching upon a selection of styles, Cielo is destined to always get the better of your curiosity. Beginning with Guy Gerber’s excellent remix of Deniz Kurtel’s ‘The L Word’ you pass through DJ T’s ‘City Life’ and end up at Jimpster’s beautiful Summer Of Love Remix of ‘1988′ – which is almost right back we all started from. 8
“To celebrate Baker Street Recordings 5th birthday we are giving away an hour long mix featuring some of the labels best tracks from the last 5 years and new remixes of some of the classic Baker Street releases. Mixed by our very own Paul Hardy & McKai. All the tracks in this mix and more are available on the 5th anniversary release out on the 23rd of April at all digital retailers.”
Album review to follow plus interview with Paul Hardy….
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Cheryl Lynn In The Night bbr (Big Break Records)
Some three years after the release of her perennial party favourite Got To Be Real, Cheryl Lynn teamed up with producer Ray Parker Jr to produce her third album, In The night in 1981. Opening with her second classic single Shake It Up Tonight the song sees the songstress deliver a pantheon to the cult of Nightlife, encapsulating both its joy and energy and feeling every bit as exciting as …To Be Real, but just that bit more sophisticated. The vocal does that distinctly American thing of sounding soulful, while reaching the extremities of emotion which only singers of a certain calibre can truly do. Also worth noting – if you do such things – are the Gene Page arranged Strings which soar, then hover, with pure Disco class. The album devolps with a selection of hit and miss ballads, mid-tempo popish grooves, and then reaches the rather tasty What’s On Your Mind. 8
Your latest single ‘Don’t Believe’ EP for Crosstown Rebels offshoot Rebellion feels like Dance music of the future. Can you talk us through how you produced the title track?
Where can people hear you DJ?
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