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Zone Magazine Issue 037 Spring 2023

Well Folks, Lots of great things happening here at Zone HQ just for you lot, so keep coming back! Well its Spring 2023, we have a packed issue with all the regulars, and lots of interviews! We would just like to say RIP to our brother Pete Van Payne who passed away recently. He will be missed for his music, his radio show, work. an good soul! In our feature interviews in this issue we talk to cover superstar LEMON8. Harry Lemon aka LEMON8 has been at the forefront of dance music both as a DJ and producer, whilst producing a soundtrack of a generation at the same time. Model8 - his first ever produced track from 1993 - is now being recognized as a classic and landmark in Techno and dance music in general. The Inner Sanctuary Sessions double album, solely consisting of his original music and remixes is now recognized as a highlight in Progressive House Music with tracks like New York, New York and Lose Control just to name a few. The latter was even voted all-time best record on the iconic Bedrock label in 2020 by the fans by a landslide.

Well Folks, Lots of great things happening here at Zone HQ just for you lot, so keep coming back! Well its Spring 2023, we have a packed issue with all the regulars, and lots of interviews! We would just like to say RIP to our brother Pete Van Payne who passed away recently. He will be missed for his music, his radio show, work. an good soul!

In our feature interviews in this issue we talk to cover superstar LEMON8. Harry Lemon aka LEMON8 has been at the forefront of dance music both as a DJ and producer, whilst producing a soundtrack of a generation at the same time. Model8 - his first ever produced track from 1993 - is now being recognized as a classic and landmark in Techno and dance music in general. The Inner Sanctuary Sessions double album, solely consisting of his original music and remixes is now recognized as a highlight in Progressive House Music with tracks like New York, New York and Lose Control just to name a few. The latter was even voted all-time best record on the iconic Bedrock label in 2020 by the fans by a landslide.

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ISSUE <strong>037</strong><br />

SPRING <strong>2023</strong> - Lemon8<br />

" Being on stage is really my happy world. If anything it<br />

makes for even better performances and gigs, as you really<br />

give it your all. It's the big escape from whatever is bothering<br />

you. At least for me "<br />

| Chris Cargo | Frank Dueffel | Weissach | Jay Dobie | Paper Recordings | Hosuehold Digital |<br />

| What The House Meets London House Music | DJ Charts | Music Reviews | And More |


LARGE! - John Gibbons - 9/10<br />

Nice One! - Sam Divine - 7/10<br />

Funky Stuff, Thanks! - sa.lomaonun.es - 8/10


WELCOME<br />

ISSN 2009-8014 (Online) ISSN 2009-8006 (Print)<br />

FOUNDER, EDITOR, PUBLISHER & HEAD OF<br />

CREATIVE<br />

Paul Newhouse - paul@zone-magazine.eu<br />

Well Folks, Lots of great things happening here at <strong>Zone</strong> HQ just for<br />

you lot, so keep coming back! Well its <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2023</strong>, we have a<br />

packed issue with all the regulars, and lots of interviews! We would<br />

just like to say RIP to our brother Pete Van Payne who passed away<br />

recently. He will be missed for his music, his radio show, work. an<br />

good soul!<br />

FEATURE WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS<br />

USA<br />

Megan Williams - megan.williams@zone-magazine.eu<br />

Amber Leigh Melby - amberleighmelby@gmail.com<br />

Matt Schantz - mattschantz73@yahoo.com<br />

IRELAND<br />

Antoney Mac Phiarais - antoney.mac@zonemagazine.eu<br />

UK<br />

Paul Sawyer - paul@kraftedmusic.com<br />

Danny Slade - danny.slade@zone-magazine.eu<br />

John Ricketts - john.ricketts@zone-magazine.eu<br />

Paul Hawcroft - paulhawcroftmusic@gmail.com<br />

Mark Neenan - Markneenanpromos@gmail.com<br />

John W McDevitt - j.w.mcdevitt@talk21.com<br />

GERMANY<br />

Jordan Parrish<br />

Harald Meyer<br />

NETHERLANDS<br />

Thorsten Benders - thorsten@zone-magazine.eu<br />

MUSIC DIRECTOR<br />

John Ricketts - john.ricketts@zone-magazine.eu<br />

GOT A SUBMISSION? -<br />

submissions@zone-magazine.eu<br />

GENERAL ENQUIRIES -<br />

info@zone-magazine.eu<br />

SALES - MARKETING & ADVERTISING<br />

advertising@zone-magazine.eu<br />

CONNECT<br />

Web - https://zone-magazine.eu<br />

Twitter - @officialzonemag<br />

Facebook - facebook.com/zonemagazineofficial<br />

Instagram - instagram.com/zone_magazine_official<br />

ZONE MAGAZINE is owned and published by Paul<br />

Newhouse. Arrangement, design & Editing, Marketing<br />

by Paul Newhouse. Copyright 2014-<strong>2023</strong> <strong>Zone</strong><br />

<strong>Magazine</strong>. The views expressed and opinions given in<br />

this magazine are not nessicerally shared by the<br />

publisher. No part of this magazine shall be republished<br />

without prior agreement from its publishers.<br />

Readers should take care when responding to any<br />

adverts in <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, which apear without any<br />

indorsment or responsibility, from <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />

In our feature interviews in this issue we talk to cover superstar LEMON8. Harry<br />

Lemon aka LEMON8 has been at the forefront of dance music both as a DJ and producer,<br />

whilst producing a soundtrack of a generation at the same time. Model8 - his first ever<br />

produced track from 1993 - is now being recognized as a classic and landmark in Techno<br />

and dance music in general. The Inner Sanctuary Sessions double album, solely<br />

consisting of his original music and remixes is now recognized as a highlight in<br />

Progressive House Music with tracks like New York, New York and Lose Control just to<br />

name a few. The latter was even voted all-time best record on the iconic Bedrock label in<br />

2020 by the fans by a landslide.<br />

From The UK, we speak to the newly formed D&B group that is WEISSACH. With the rise of<br />

Drum & Bass taking over festivals Worldwide, we caught up with a duo who have just emerged into the<br />

scene, although they are no strangers to producing and performing music. Both known for their<br />

contribution to the Progressive House scene for many years, Paul Sawyer and Simon Sinfield have been<br />

running their Krafted imprint for the past 10 years and have been releasing music on notable labels<br />

including Black Hole Recordings, Pure Trance, Perfecto Records, Toolroom, Pattern and many more.<br />

From N. Ireland we caught up with CHRIS CARGO. An artist with a long, rich and varied<br />

history, Chris Cargo has been at the forefront of the underground dance music scene for over 30 years.<br />

A career that began in the 1990s has seen the UK star carve out a sizeable niche with his distinctive<br />

blend of progressive, deep and melodic house, resulting in over 200 production credits for some of the<br />

finest modern imprints and a DJ touring schedule that has seen Chris reach all corners of the globe.<br />

We speak to UK based owner of Progressive House Classics blog JAY DOBIE. As a 13 year<br />

old, in 1980, Jay Dobie, became interested in Electro music predominantly introduced via the<br />

Streetsounds label and Became a keen Breakdancer. At 15yrs old he purchased a mobile disco and<br />

became a member of DMC which sparked a keen interest in club music, and he spent 2 years on the<br />

road with the mobile disco including a residency at the local hospital social club. Sometime around the<br />

Autumn of 89' attended his first acid house party. By December that year he was attending parties<br />

weekly and in March of 1990 put on his first party using his mobile disco.Jay also graces us with his alltime<br />

top ten tracks and tells us about why!<br />

From Germany we speak to FRANK DUEFFEL. Frank Dueffel from Cologne, Germany,<br />

started DJ'ing in 1999. Since then he has had several gigs alongside wellknown DJs like; Paul van Dyk,<br />

Alex M.O.R.P.H., Talla 2xlc, Madwave, Pierre Pianaar and TyDi on international events like Amsterdam<br />

Dance Event, Nature One and Streetparade. His DJ sets feature a wide spectrum of electronic dance<br />

music, a unique mixture of trance, melodic techno, psytrance, breaks and house alongside some darker<br />

stuff, always energetic and with a touch to the underground. This can also be experienced on his<br />

Needful Things radioshow on Afterhours FM on a monthly base which will be reaching its 100th episode<br />

at the end of the year.<br />

We also talk to USA based label HOUSEHOLD DIGITAL. A Label based in the West Coast of<br />

the USA, in the Bay Area of California. Running since 2002, and initially a vinyl label. Tracks released<br />

via Household Digital are usually Tech House, Deep Tech, House, Techno, Minimal and Deep House.<br />

Their aim has and is always to showcase quality house & techno music producers, with whom they work<br />

with and respect as artists.<br />

We speak to long standing and very well respected world wide PAPER RECORDINGS from<br />

the UK. Founded in 1993 by Pete Jenkinson, Ben Davis, Miles Hollway, Elliot Eastwick, Andrew Gough<br />

and Stephen Page while all working at The Hacienda and Hard Times club nights. The label has<br />

commercially released over 2000 recordings, created by over 500 artists, producers, and remixers in<br />

over 50 countries across imprints Paper Recordings, Paper Disco, Paper Wave, Repap Records and We<br />

Are Woodville Records.<br />

We speak to Costa Del Sol, Spain, and London, England, residents and party organisers<br />

WHAT THE HOUSE meets LONDON HOUSE MUSIC. The Event of the year is coming to the Costa Del<br />

Sol, Spain this year, with heavyweight brands “What The House Music” and “London House Music”.<br />

Coming together for the second year with another killer line up of exceptional house music for their<br />

Summer Opening Festival. After one of the best parties on the Costa last year, this power duo are set to<br />

take over the whole of Florida Beach, in La Cala De Mijas, (Nr Marbella) for an all day party that starts<br />

at 1pm by the pool and finishes inside the club at 4am! As they put it…….8 hours by the pool, then 3<br />

rooms of some of the best house music you are ever likely to get your ears around! London House Music<br />

are bringing a wealth of DJ talent over from the UK along with their loyal crowd who are in Spain for the<br />

Amor Andalucía festival.<br />

As if all that was not enough of course we have our regular reviews and charts<br />

from the talented and dynamic <strong>Zone</strong> crew. Also this issue we continue <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>'s<br />

FREE exclusive DJ Mix series.<br />

As usual we would like to thank all of our very many talented contributors and<br />

friends who provide so much content, love and support for what we are doing, they are<br />

listed on the left hand column on this page if you want to contact them directly with the<br />

latest news. From myself and the whole <strong>Zone</strong> crew, we just wanted to say thanks again<br />

for your continued support, peace.<br />

Paul & <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> Crew!


contents<br />

<br />

LEMON8<br />

<br />

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<br />

26<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

12<br />

JAY DOBIE<br />

18<br />

CHRIS CARGO


LONDON HOUSE MUSIC<br />

WHAT THE HOUSE<br />

36<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

46<br />

<br />

<br />

58<br />

FRANK DUEFFEL<br />

HOUSEHOLD DIGITAL<br />

52<br />

PAPER RECORDINGS


30 YEARS A DJ<br />

available now to<br />

stream/download<br />

INCLUDING REMIXES AND TRACKS BY<br />

PAUL OAKENFOLD, SOLARSTONE, zoya, SUNSCREEM<br />

BLUE AMAZON, LOSTLY, VALLERAPHON<br />

GUYRO, WILLIAM MEDAGLI, SHEMSU, DARKERSOUND<br />

STORMSHAKER, DAMIEN SPENCER, NICK MUIR<br />

BLACK 8, JAN JOHNSTON,


Exclusive DJ Mix<br />

FREE Exclusive DJ Mix Series<br />

At <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> here we have our FREE Exclusive DJ Mix each issue!<br />

Check out the link below for all our exclusive DJ Mixes.<br />

FELIX FX [GERMANY]<br />

PETE VAN PAYNE [GERMANY]<br />

PAUL BLEASDALE [UK]<br />

PETE BONES [UK]<br />

EDDIE AMADOR [USA]<br />

LISA LASHES [UK]<br />

DANY COHIBA [SPAIN]<br />

SOULTRAK [UK]<br />

CHRIS GEKA [FRANCE]<br />

JOHN GIBBONS [IRELAND]<br />

PAUL NEWHOUSE [IRE]<br />

DJ SAMER [USA]<br />

MARK NEENAN [UK]<br />

GAVIN HARDKISS [USA]<br />

GERRY VERANO [AUSTRIA]<br />

SONAS [UK]<br />

PAUL HUTCHINSON [UK/SPAIN]<br />

FRANK DUEFFEL [GERMANY]<br />

https://www.mixcloud.com/<strong>Zone</strong><strong>Magazine</strong>DJMixes/<br />

https://www.progressivehouseclassics.com/


featureinterview<br />

_________________<br />

Words Tristan Sundae<br />

______________________<br />

Photography Dan Reid<br />

___________________________<br />

Connect soundcloud.com/weissach<br />

With the rise of Drum & Bass taking over festivals<br />

Worldwide, we caught up with a duo who have<br />

just emerged into the scene, although they are<br />

no strangers to producing and performing music.<br />

Both known for their contribution to the<br />

Progressive House scene for many years, Paul<br />

Sawyer and Simon Sinfield have been running<br />

their Krafted imprint for the past 10 years and<br />

have been releasing music on notable labels<br />

including Black Hole Recordings, Pure Trance,<br />

Perfecto Records, Toolroom, Pattern and many<br />

more.<br />

Ahead of their debut single ‘Fly’ that features<br />

Ana Be on vocals, we visited the Weissach<br />

studio to speak to the duo about their journey<br />

into Drum & Bass.


" We’ve already been working with Hannah for a year<br />

now and produced her first single ‘Same Old Story’<br />

which ended up being Premiered on BBC Radio 1 last<br />

year and have hooked her up with a couple of other<br />

artists who have made some chill tracks with her "


Hey guys, good to see you’re<br />

moving into what is a new genre for<br />

you both, why the move?<br />

We’ve been talking about doing something<br />

different for a while to be honest. We’ve been releasing<br />

chill albums for a number of years and seemed a natural<br />

progression to dip our toe into D & B.<br />

We also have been working with Hannah aka Ana<br />

Be who has been releasing laid back singles and just<br />

thought she would sound amazing on a liquid D & B track,<br />

so gave it a try.<br />

project and asked for recommendations for someone to<br />

give us the press push we needed.<br />

We’re also hoping for some support from the BBC<br />

on BBC Music Introducing, so as we speak, we’re just<br />

waiting for some answers on that.<br />

Any plans to follow up Fly with more<br />

releases?<br />

Absolutely! We’ve both become hooked on Liquid<br />

D & B, listening to it constantly! So, most of our studio<br />

time is now focusing on more Weissach releases for sure.<br />

Have you been able to bring your<br />

experience making progressive<br />

house into D & B?<br />

Most definitely. The melodies and chord<br />

progressions are no different to what we have already been<br />

doing. So much of what we have worked on can be brought<br />

into new tracks using this style.<br />

What was the biggest hurdle?<br />

Probably building the drums from scratch. Both of<br />

us tend to not use drum loops and always build our own<br />

drums in our tracks, so working that out was a headache at<br />

first, but it wasn’t long until we got our heads around that.<br />

So your first single called ‘Fly’<br />

features Ana Be, why did you<br />

chose her for this one?<br />

We’ve already been working with Hannah for<br />

a year now and produced her first single ‘Same Old<br />

Story’ which ended up being Premiered on BBC Radio<br />

1 last year and have hooked her up with a couple of<br />

other artists who have made some chill tracks with<br />

her.<br />

Paul also started the ball rolling with Hannah with<br />

a single called Waiting All My Life that was signed to Paul<br />

Oakenfold’s Perfecto Records and ended up getting so<br />

much support over the year from various DJ’s.<br />

What can we expect from you<br />

surrounding the release?<br />

You mentioned Radio 1 earlier,<br />

what’s your link there?<br />

We’ve actually had two 6 month residencies on<br />

Radio 1 and a one-off show in Jan this year. We were very<br />

lucky to be asked to host the Wind Down Show twice and<br />

bring some of the artists to the show who are signed to our<br />

label.<br />

It came as a huge surprise at the time at the end<br />

of 2020, but couldn’t have been better timing as it fell right<br />

in the middle of the pandemic when more people were<br />

listening to music whilst clubland was shut.<br />

Any plans to return to the station?<br />

Yes, we hope so. The guys at the BBC have been<br />

great to work with and very supportive of our music. They<br />

have already said we will be back, so watch this space!<br />

Does this mean that your<br />

Progressive House input has come<br />

to an end?<br />

No, not at all. We are still producing and releasing<br />

progressive house, plus more.<br />

It’s so refreshing working on a genre that we’ve<br />

not pursued previously and re-energised us working on<br />

Weissach, so we will still be focusing on progressive house<br />

still. Simon will also be making Chill tracks for our next<br />

Chill album on Krafted.<br />

The press campaign has been great so far. We<br />

have a brilliant PR girl Hannah working alongside us who<br />

has lined up lots of interviews and also a guest slot in May<br />

on Kiss FM with Mollie Collins.<br />

It was pure luck that we got introduced to Hannah<br />

from Elevated Sound via our friends at Radio 1. We<br />

mentioned to them that we were working on this new


Paul, you recently celebrated 30<br />

years as a DJ, what was that like for<br />

you?<br />

Made me feel old ha ha! It was great. The album<br />

was really well received and so was the 30 hour radio show<br />

that I put together with so many amazing guests. The<br />

amount of interviews that I did around that was immense.<br />

I was so shocked how mush interest came about as a<br />

result.<br />

We do still have more to come to celebrate. A big<br />

party in May in Southampton where both of us are playing<br />

as well as Phil Youngman from RCA Records and Phil<br />

Thompson aka Moonface who made a name for himself<br />

being resident DJ at Bedrock for many years. It’s good to<br />

get my good friends together for the party.<br />

You guys have been organising<br />

live streams for years now, probably<br />

from right back when not many<br />

people were doing it. Any plans for<br />

more?<br />

That’s right, we kicked that off with lots of<br />

amazing guests including Nick Muir, Tripswitch, Dave<br />

Seaman, Betoko, Just Her, Saytek and more.<br />

We are doing another one very soon and<br />

partnering up with Porsche again. We linked up with them<br />

back in 2018 and have been speaking to them again about<br />

recording another one. This time we will be at the Porsche<br />

Centre Portsmouth, so we’ll be announcing the details of<br />

that very soon.<br />

Any Drum and Bass tracks you<br />

guys are listening to at the moment<br />

that you’d like to mention?<br />

Yes, we have been listening to Etherwood,<br />

Echomatics, Electrosoul System, Matt View and Aleyum &<br />

Istoria. All making great music!!!<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 11


featureinterview<br />

_________________<br />

Words Anthony Piercy<br />

_______________________________________________<br />

Photography Nomad Graphic & design & Gillian Cargo<br />

______________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/ChrisCargoMusic/<br />

An artist with a long, rich and varied history, Chris Cargo<br />

has been at the forefront of the underground dance music<br />

scene for over 30 years. A career that began in the 1990s<br />

has seen the UK star carve out a sizeable niche with his<br />

distinctive blend of progressive, deep and melodic house,<br />

resulting in over 200 production credits for some of the<br />

finest modern imprints and a DJ touring schedule that has<br />

seen Chris reach all corners of the globe.<br />

No stranger to working with the biggest event organisers and brands, Chris’<br />

work behind the decks has seen him tour across the continents with a variety of<br />

leading global brands as China, as the USA and South America have all played<br />

host to his free-flowing and immaculately crafted sets. To that end, it is no<br />

surprise to see Chris play to packed clubs and festivals in over 60 countries and<br />

a century of cities with his trademark sound – from France to the Netherlands<br />

and Germany to Malaysia, Mexico and Sweden, Chris Cargo has continued to<br />

enrapture audiences with an innate understanding of what makes a dancefloor<br />

coalesce in unified movement.<br />

Contemporaneously, a stellar production career has seen Chris reach even<br />

wider audiences as his music appeared on such celebrated compilation series<br />

by Renaissance, Global Underground and Carl Cox’s Intec. Regular plays on<br />

BBC Radio 1 and appearances in MixMag and DJ <strong>Magazine</strong> have further served<br />

to cement a glowing reputation. Still able to appear in the upper echelons of the<br />

Beatport chart on a regular basis, including two HYPE number ones, a plethora<br />

of releases over the past 5 years have seen success on Paul Thomas’<br />

renowned UV, Nick Warren’s The Soundgarden and D-Nox & Beckers<br />

influential Sprout. Moreover, it is with his own If You Wait imprint that Chris Cargo<br />

has celebrated almost a half century of credits as he uses the UK label as a<br />

vehicle for his own production work, in addition to celebrating myriad<br />

established and up and coming artists. Able to use If You Wait to showcase his<br />

own original music, March 2022 was a landmark moment as Chris released his 11-<br />

track, “Resistance” album to widespread critical acclaim.<br />

Still as driven and influential than he has ever been after more than 3 decades<br />

in a notoriously fickle industry, Chris Cargo continues to find himself shaping the<br />

modern music industry within both the live and production arenas through<br />

impressive technique and craftsmanship. Able to harness those characteristics<br />

into a powerful driving force, Chris Cargo’s career continues to go from strength to<br />

strength.


" Ive been releasing music for 25 years and along that<br />

way I’ve had the privilege to work with many such as<br />

seminal labels; Renniassance, Whoop, Choo Choo,<br />

Automatic, and Limbo, to more recent times with the likes<br />

of The Soundgarden, Mango Alley, Joof, Beat Boutique<br />

& many more "


How are you today & How was your<br />

week?<br />

I'm feeling really great today the sun is shining and<br />

spring is in the air!<br />

Were are you based & Were did you<br />

grow up?<br />

I’m based in the peaceful and beautiful County Down<br />

countryside of Northern Ireland. I grew in Belfast.<br />

What is your first musical memory?<br />

Sunday drives and picnics in the car while it rained<br />

outside and musical delights such as Kenny Rodgers, Phil<br />

Collins & Tina Turner courtesy of my parents!!! I suppose my<br />

first foray in to electronic music would have been<br />

hearing very early Sasha mix tapes prob around 91/92 from<br />

then I was hooked both to the sounds and the art of DJ'ing.<br />

Tell us who and what was your main<br />

influnces back then?<br />

Probably those Sasha tapes got me into electronic<br />

music and from then I started listening to people like Laurent<br />

Garnier, Carl Cox, John Digweed and this led me to find<br />

record labels similar in sound to the DJ's i mentioned. I used<br />

to love heading into Belfast city centre on a Saturday and<br />

heading round all the record stores such as Underground,<br />

Mixmaster, Snafu, Central Records & Dr Roberts to name but<br />

a few.<br />

Can you explain the scene at the<br />

time?<br />

I was lucky to be around the clubscene in the<br />

early to mid nineties at the likes of Arts College, Venue,<br />

Kellys and the explosion of House and Progressive<br />

house a little later in particular at venues like The<br />

Network<br />

Club, Thompsons, Lush! then and not long after this I<br />

began DJ'ing in these same venues. It was a fantastic<br />

time to be around clubs, the music was fresh and the attitude<br />

was care free. It was the time of the troubles in Northern<br />

Ireland and the 90's dance scene provided escapism and<br />

respite from the grim reality of life in a divided society.<br />

What do you remember playing on<br />

the radio ?<br />

Emm! early 90's Snap ‘rhythm is a dancer’ plus<br />

artists like Madonna, Prince, Oasis alot of dance stuff had<br />

started to cross over like 808 State ‘Pacific’, Inner City - Good<br />

Life. Then stuff like Robert Miles ‘Children’, EBTG- Missing<br />

then the likes of Daft Punk emerged.<br />

What DJ's were playing in the clubs<br />

then?<br />

I began clubbing probably at the age of 16/17 and<br />

also began DJ'ing in clubs not long after this. DJs that I would<br />

have heard ona regular basis would have been the likes of<br />

David Holmes, Mark Jackson, Billy Nasty, Drum Club and a lot<br />

of the Renaissance guys like Nigel Dawson, Ian Ossia and so<br />

on.<br />

What record labels influnced you<br />

then?<br />

Guerilla, Limbo Recs, Harthouse where my top 3.<br />

Can you pinpoint the time you where<br />

going to follow your passion, DJ'ing<br />

and music production?<br />

I think from very early in my teens my only thought<br />

that I has was that I was going to DJ in clubs it took another<br />

few years before I finally made the leap to full time DJ/<br />

producer, but I remember it well, I was working in the Royal<br />

Mail sorting office around 25 years ago and I had no holidays<br />

or sick days remaining due to DJ'ing away and got booked for<br />

4 gigs in USA and that was it handed in my notice!<br />

Run us trough your home set up.<br />

My home setup these days consists of Apple Mac, A<br />

couple of Midi Controller keyboards from M-Audio, Spirit<br />

Absolute 2 monitor speakers, Go to synths Diva, Hive 2, Anna<br />

2.<br />

Are you an abelton / reason / logic or<br />

analog guy?<br />

In my earlier production days I hopped between<br />

Cubase then Logic whilst working with plenty of outboard<br />

analogue gear like Juno106 .Over the years the outboard<br />

stuff is used less and less and in more recent times I've<br />

switched basically to none at all. In the last 10 years or so<br />

Ableton has been my main DAW.<br />

Explain your writing process, if you<br />

don't mind?<br />

I usually began with drums I really enjoy getting<br />

together a really strong groove, I work on the bass and layer<br />

again making sure I have a really nice groove, then I’ll<br />

usually work on a lead or hook. I’ll work with this for a weeks<br />

then leave it and go back with fresh ears and pick out what I<br />

would or wouldnt change etc. and then add more sounds and<br />

EFX’s if needed. Then I will send off for the mastering to be<br />

done.<br />

Take us trough your early releases<br />

and other alias'.<br />

I've been releasing music for 25 years and<br />

along that way I’ve had the privilege to work with<br />

many such as seminal labels; Renniassance, Whoop,<br />

Choo Choo, Automatic, and Limbo, to more recent<br />

times with the likes of The Soundgarden, Mango Alley,<br />

Joof, Beat Boutique & many more. I love the artistic of<br />

creating a piece of music and then seeing it make people<br />

happy on a dancefloor.<br />

I dont have any other aliases these days but years<br />

ago I produced under; Sential, Transitions, Gilbey & Cargo as<br />

well as a serious of breakbeats bootlegs I produced under the<br />

name Carganoid which include my takes on Smokebelch 2,<br />

Orbital Kinetic & Green Velvet ‘La La Land’<br />

which were all really successful and got plenty of BBC Radio<br />

One airtime.<br />

Some of my best work in the early days came on the<br />

legendary Choo Choo Records label altogether I released<br />

seven tracks gaining lots of BBC Radio 1 plays and appearing<br />

on plenty of comps for the likes of Danny<br />

Howells. During this time I was really able to create and craft<br />

my sound and find my groove.


" I was lucky to be around the clubscene in the<br />

early to mid nineties at the likes of Arts College,<br />

Venue, Kellys and the explosion of House and<br />

Progressive house a little later in particular at<br />

venues like The Network Club, Thompsons, Lush!<br />

then and not long after this I began DJ'ing in these<br />

same venues "<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 15


You have releases on a lot of top<br />

labels worldwide, can you tell us<br />

about it?<br />

Late 90s and early noughties I remixed and<br />

released for lots of labels around the world as well as UK<br />

labels such as Rennaissance, Automatic, Whoop, Decipher,<br />

Limbo, Method & Belfast based Red n Raw Recs. I also<br />

had releases with Portugese based ‘Feed Me Records’<br />

Swedens ACDC and Inkfish Recs, Canadian Release<br />

Records, Germanys Hadshot & On a Mission labels and I<br />

was lucky enough to remix for the likes of Minilogue, Tom<br />

Novy, Inkfish, Hardy Heller. More recently Ive released<br />

6 tracks with Beat Boutique from Israel, Mango Alley,<br />

Movement Records, UK based The Soundgarden, Forensic<br />

Records and remixed the likes of Dmitry Molosh, Weekend<br />

Heroes, EANP, Jiminy Hop, Lucas Rossi, Glenn Morrison.<br />

you started your own record label<br />

tell us about how its going so far<br />

I decided to set up ‘If You Wait’ nearly 4 years ago<br />

having had previous experience working for ‘Mixmaster &<br />

Shine Recordings. I knew it was something that I enjoyed I<br />

also felt it would give me a free reign creatively that I could<br />

release whatever and whenever I wanted. Over the 4<br />

years I've also been very lucky to have had the pleasure of<br />

signing and releasing from various artists throughout the<br />

world the likes of Dowden, Cream, Weird Sounding<br />

Dude,Kaspar Tasane, Domingo & Mariner & Hardy Heller<br />

& Alex Connors.<br />

You released a new album just a<br />

few months ago, tell us more about<br />

that & how has the feedback been,<br />

how is that going?<br />

My first album was released in 2009 so i felt it was<br />

about time I followed<br />

that up with a second album. It began during lockdown<br />

when I was writing lots of music but was keeping it to<br />

myself, then during this time my mother passed away and<br />

music seemed to be my only way of coping with that.<br />

I then decided I would write an album and donate<br />

all of the profits to ‘The Friends of the Cancer Centre’ based<br />

at Belfast City hospital, it is my way of doing my bit I<br />

suppose and that is what I did. The feedback was really<br />

cool as the album combined alot of various musical taste<br />

from ambient to breaks, deep beats to Progressive<br />

Peaktime stuff so the response was great from all types of<br />

DJ's from Cattaneo to Warren to Pappa to Quivver.<br />

Can you run us threw this years<br />

release schedule?<br />

New 3 track Ep on OneDotSixtwo due out in June<br />

this year and will feature remixes of each track being<br />

released later in the year. A second collab with Alexander<br />

Church and featuring the beautiful vocalist Rebekah.<br />

Coming out on Configurations of Self. A brand new<br />

retake on the Progressive classic by Pako & Frederick<br />

‘Western Approaches’ and a remix for a rising star of the<br />

future Luis Damora both of which will be out on If You Wait<br />

Music.<br />

Has there been any new artist /<br />

producers who have caught your<br />

attention?<br />

Loving the work of Luis Damora, Kaspar Tasane,<br />

Nopi, Paul Deep to name just afew.<br />

You have played some live shows<br />

this year, tell us about that.<br />

I scaled back my gigs at the beginning of the year<br />

and I'm slowly coming out of hibernation from this summer<br />

on and I can’t wait. I've been touring on and off for 20 plus<br />

years and have managed to go through quite a few<br />

passports and clock some serious air miles.<br />

Were can we catch some of your<br />

live shows?<br />

I have a few shows this summer around Europe<br />

that Iam looking forward to especially at Rockerill in<br />

Belgium in June that will be my first time in Belgium and<br />

the start of a summer of gigs.<br />

Were else can we catch you<br />

playing (radio show / soundcloud<br />

mixes etc)?<br />

I upload all of my DJ sets and new mix shows to<br />

my Soundcloud page https://soundcloud.com/chriscargo<br />

If I am a young DJ trying to make it<br />

onto the DJ circut?<br />

Go to local gigs get to know the promoter and the other<br />

DJ's, support them and pester them but not too much, bide<br />

your time and perfect the art of warming up a crowd.<br />

If I am a new artist / dj wanting to<br />

start a record label?<br />

Learn to produce, work hard, put the time and<br />

effort in, get some music released on other labels so as you<br />

have some sort of fan base to pitch your music too. Get in<br />

touch with digital distributors and have a good marketing<br />

plan to push your label, have a good social media strategy<br />

in place also.<br />

Anyone who would want to get into<br />

the music industry in general?<br />

Dont do it hahaha! no seriously do it for the love<br />

and if you get some success from that then amazing if not<br />

don't get hung up on it!! Never give up and most of all<br />

enjoy the process!


OUT NOW


featureinterview<br />

__________________<br />

Words Paul Newhouse<br />

__________________________<br />

Photography Courtest of Jay Dobie<br />

__________________________________<br />

Connect https://progressivehouseclassics.com/<br />

As a 13 year old, in 1980, Jay Dobie, became interested in Electro music<br />

predominantly introduced via the Streetsounds label and Became a keen<br />

Breakdancer. At 15yrs old he purchased a mobile disco and became a<br />

member of DMC which sparked a keen interest in club music, and he spent<br />

2 years on the road with the mobile disco including a residency at the<br />

local hospital social club. Sometime around the Autumn of 89' attended his<br />

first acid house party. By December that year he was attending parties<br />

weekly and in March of 1990 put on his first party using his mobile disco.<br />

He spent many years attending places like Renaissance, followed Sasha<br />

around when possible but he finished with warehouse parties by this<br />

point and was attending 'legal events'. Around 93' he bought a set of<br />

Technics decided to start DJ'ing again, playing numerous parties.<br />

He then worked in the local record store which lasted for 8 years. After his<br />

first year became store buyer and within 2 years became a buyer for the<br />

chain specialising in dance music. This job opened up so many doors,<br />

meeting with labels, DJs, promoters and attending numerous opening<br />

parties in UK and Ibiza and free records!<br />

As the nineties moved on he was DJ'ing every weekend locally, and<br />

several residencies. In 1998, he started a radio show on OSA which was<br />

called 'Progressive House Classics' which aired every Thursday night. 1n<br />

2003 he semi retired, to start a family, and get a real job! But in 2007 he<br />

set up 'Progressive House Classics' on Facebook which initially was to<br />

share his love of the sound. The Blog was then launched around 2012.<br />

2018 the FB group continues growing and it passes the 10,000 member<br />

mark. 2020 they reached 20000 members and the first national lockdown<br />

is announced. During 2020 they launch the PHC Live Stream series and<br />

blog is doing well.<br />

So, lets see how Jay is doing today, with this rollercoaster of a career in<br />

dance music!


" I think my favourite nights<br />

were with Mike Cosford<br />

(Fantazia Club Classics Tour)<br />

and Anthony Pappa, we<br />

were the first in the area to<br />

feature Anthony who I think<br />

we booked via Nick Gordon<br />

Brown at DMC, it was around<br />

the time he was putting<br />

together the Freefall –<br />

Skydive track "


Hello Jay, first of all please tell us<br />

where you are from, what you do?<br />

Firstly thanks for having me Paul, its generally me<br />

asking the questions over at PHC so this makes a bit of a<br />

change!<br />

I've lived in a town in Suffolk all my life which has<br />

always generally meant travelling if Ive ever wanted to go<br />

out. We're about an hour from London, Cambridge is about<br />

half hour, Essex about an hour. You kind of got used to it in<br />

the early days, distance was never an issue. I now<br />

alongside my regular job run the Progressive House<br />

Classics blog and Facebook group.<br />

Tell us about family life and what<br />

goes on when you are not DJ'ing<br />

and looking after PHC?<br />

We have our hands full and family life is pretty<br />

hectic. Ive got 3 boys with Autism so there's never a dull<br />

moment!<br />

Its the 1980's, your 13, and your just<br />

discovering music, tell us all about it?<br />

I was born in 1970 so Ive got some memories of<br />

the late seventies but I think things became a lot clearer<br />

musically in the eighties. My parents were big music fans<br />

and Saturday afternoons were always reserved for the<br />

playing of LPs, lots of Roxy Music and Elton John. When I<br />

went to 'middle' school the first real band I kind of<br />

embraced was Duran Duran who I managed to see live on<br />

a couple of occasions. Things really changed for me with<br />

the dawn of electro and breakdance though. In 1983 I<br />

picked up the first Street Sounds album 'Electro1' and I<br />

think I can safely say that was the first life changing<br />

experience I had with music, within a year you had<br />

Breakdance The Movie and Beat Street, both made a big<br />

impact. It was the first kind of youth movement that I felt I<br />

actually became involved in. I ended up becoming a keen<br />

breakdancer and would frequent the local youth club and<br />

recreational space with a piece of lino and a great big<br />

cassette deck. We did it religiously every Thursday and<br />

Saturday. Myself and my brother managed to see Public<br />

Enemy, Run DMC, Eric B & Rakim and LL Cool J live in the<br />

eighties. The thing with the whole electro breakdance scene<br />

was it became everything at the time and although it didn't<br />

have the lasting power of house you can definitely see the<br />

roots for the new sounds that were coming through. I think<br />

you could argue that without Electro you'd have no rap and<br />

no house, its integral in the early development of both.<br />

What was your first vinyl record?<br />

First record I actually bought with my own pocket<br />

money was 'The Specials – Too Much To Young' in 1979.<br />

Before that everything was handed down from my parents.<br />

You started off as a mobile DJ, tell us<br />

about the ins & outs of that!<br />

By the time I was 15 I'd become interested in<br />

playing music, we used to have these video roadshows<br />

come to the local youth club and they would be playing lots<br />

of soul funk and DMC mixes along with giving us a bit of<br />

Electro to break too, it sparked something and by about 16<br />

I was travelling down to London buying US house imports.<br />

I then bought this old mobile disco that comprised of a<br />

Citronic Thames II deck with built in cassette player, light<br />

boxes and pin spots. None of it worked properly! I spent<br />

several weekends with my dad repairing everything and we<br />

got it going, what then transpired was me going on the<br />

road. I had a regular Thursday at the local hospital social<br />

club and from that ended up doing weddings and birthdays,<br />

I once got booked to do a birthday and when I set up it<br />

was full of skinheads, ended up getting one of them to go<br />

home and get his record collection so that I could play it,<br />

way out of my depth on that one! The disco worked well<br />

and one Friday I answered an ad in the local paper. The<br />

town nightclub was looking for a DJ, at this point I honestly<br />

thought that was what I wanted to do for a living so I<br />

applied and got an interview. Looking back it was hilarious,<br />

me and about six other blokes all sat on chairs at the side<br />

of the dance floor waiting for our 30 minutes. I played a<br />

load of soul funk and a couple house tracks, no mixing just<br />

blends and a bit of microphone banter introducing tracks. It<br />

turned out none of the others were happy on the<br />

microphone and I got offered the job to support the DJ<br />

upstairs although the manager was not to happy because<br />

of my age and lack of experience, decent personality club<br />

DJs were hard to find so I guess they took a gamble. The<br />

DJ I was supporting was a Liverpudlian guy named Allister<br />

and he was the first DJ to show me mixing two tracks<br />

together on 1200s although I never grasped it and just<br />

stuck with the blends. I learnt a lot about the art of DJ'ing<br />

from that guy.<br />

Why did you step back from the DJ<br />

scene around 2000?<br />

I wouldn't say I conciously stepped back from the<br />

DJ scene but I definitely remember a disitinct change in the<br />

way the whole scene was moving forward. The pinnacle of<br />

that was the Y2K celebrations, its well documented how<br />

everything kind of imploded with costs which in turn had a<br />

detrimental effect on a number clubbing brands. It kind of<br />

signaled the beginning of the end for the superclub brands<br />

but gave rise to the birth of bar culture. I ended up working<br />

in two bars in my hometown across maybe 2 or 3 years<br />

which embraced this. The first bar nights we were playing<br />

were a mixture of prog and funky house which went down<br />

really well but it soon moved in to a more predominent<br />

funky house direction which to be honest wasn't really my<br />

thing, but I was getting paid every Friday and Saturday<br />

night and that at the time was what mattered. I would say<br />

it was around 2003 that the regular weekend work started<br />

to fade out, it was also the time the I left my buyers<br />

position at the record shop.


Tell us all about your Djing and<br />

residencies!<br />

I'd have to go back to working at the local club in<br />

the late eighties which we spoke about earlier. While I was<br />

there a number of my friends were popping in for a drink and<br />

talking about going to acid house parties, initially I didnt<br />

think it would be for me as I was very happy where I was. I<br />

honestly thought I was going to travel abroad and DJ, I'd put<br />

a tape together for a company called Juliannas which was a<br />

DJ agency. I still had the mobile although I wasnt using it<br />

anymore. I felt like I'd progressed from that, but then it<br />

happened.. I went to my first acid house party and<br />

everything changed. Within about two months I'd finished at<br />

the local club and weekends were about going to parties and<br />

the whole DJ thing just didn't seem as important as I once<br />

thought it was. What I did know was that I fancied putting a<br />

party on and in March 1990 I rented something called the<br />

Drummond Centre and sent a load of flyers that I'd made up<br />

out, me and a couple of friends set the mobile disco up,<br />

flooded the place with smoke and put on some Chicago<br />

house, next thing the police walked in and said there was a<br />

report of an acid house party taking place and they shut us<br />

down! Hilarious looking back on it. A guy called Mick Logan<br />

was kind of doing the same thing but in a pub enviroment on<br />

a Sunday night I think but he pulled it off far better than I<br />

did. How the hell I'd have done a whole night was beyond<br />

me, no guest DJs, no Technics and I couldn't mix! Weirdly<br />

though this didnt put me off. I then decided to break into a<br />

farm unit with exactly the same setup, this time I had a DJ<br />

who did his best on the Thames II setup.<br />

After that event I rented systems and concentrated on doing<br />

parties right through 1990-91, warehouses, event halls and<br />

outdoor forest parties, Tin Tin the guy behind the Energy<br />

raves was a regular guest. There were 3 of us that<br />

concentrated on this and we had some decent success until<br />

the pay party unit got on to us! It wasn't until about 1993<br />

time that I actually decided to step back into Djing initially<br />

with a set of JB belt drives which I then upgraded to a set of<br />

1210s. I learnt to mix pretty quickly and had my first set at a<br />

local snooker club event, from then on lots of one off events<br />

which I organised and this took me up to the opening of a<br />

venue in my home town which was initially a cocktail bar but<br />

very quickly became a venue that many of us used as a meet<br />

before events. It was incredibly popular. I ended up as a<br />

resident there on Saturday nights and put parties on<br />

featuring lots of guest DJs including Lee Coombes, his brother<br />

Tim and one of the guys from SOR. After that ended up<br />

getting shut down in a dramatic drug bust I ended up moving<br />

over to a neighbouring town at a club called Vinyl Room<br />

where I played alongside lots of different guests, I think my<br />

favourite nights were with Mike Cosford (Fantazia Club<br />

Classics Tour) and Anthony Pappa, we were the first in<br />

the area to feature Anthony who I think we booked via<br />

Nick Gordon Brown at DMC, it was around the time he<br />

was putting together the Freefall – Skydive track. I did<br />

lots of retro nights there supporting Slipmatt, Ray Keith,<br />

Shades Of Rhythm, SL2, Ratpack, Baby D.. real good fun at<br />

the time and regular well paid work. Eventually I was playing<br />

back in my home town doing parties called Boom! These then<br />

led onto the two bars that I spoke about earlier. I had pretty<br />

regular work for a few years and was lucky enough to be<br />

working in a record shop for a good portion of that.<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 21


Vinyl, Digital or CDJ’s and why?<br />

Oh! now this is a topic that raises its head almost<br />

weekly in PHC, I generally file it alongside the whos better?<br />

Sasha or Digweed argument. You have to be neutral in some<br />

things when your managing a group the size of PHC and I<br />

don't generally comment however as we're talking here I<br />

would say overall it doesn't really matter what the medium<br />

is, its the music your playing that matters, that's what is<br />

really important. Ive used vinyl, Ableton and Rekordbox. All<br />

three of these mediums have their merits.. Rekordbox you<br />

can carry your whole record collection around on a flash<br />

drive. Ableton, the creative possibilities are endless, I used<br />

this a lot when I was playing eighties/nu-disco gigs, radio<br />

shows, and finally vinyl. There really is just something<br />

magical about a box of records and a set of turntables plus<br />

very little really that can go wrong, the worst you might get<br />

is a needle jumping! as opposed to digital which when it<br />

goes wrong, it goes wrong!<br />

Do you think working in the record<br />

store helped you in the music<br />

industry?<br />

Yeah 100%. I can categorically state that working<br />

in music was hands down the best job ive ever had. I worked<br />

for the UKs largest independent retailer – Andys Records. I<br />

started there after finding myself between jobs and it was<br />

initially just over the christmas period working behind the<br />

counter in one of the flagship stores. I ended up getting a<br />

permanent position and within 2 years became the company<br />

buyer covering 40 shops all over the country. The company<br />

was well known as a supplier of classic rock and chart at the<br />

time, when I was offered the buyer postion it was like<br />

working with a blank canvas, we ended up with 20 stores<br />

that performed well with dance music and 10 of those had a<br />

record deck and sold vinyl. I was given a budget and access<br />

to all the major accounts plus the opportunity to source<br />

independents, On a weekly basis I was dealing with<br />

Universal, Virgin, WEA, BMG, Pinnacle, SRD, Vital, Unique<br />

and Amato. My job was to presale all dance releases and<br />

allocate out on a store by store basis. What that then ended<br />

up doing was giving me access to contacts within the<br />

industry which in turn opened up doors for promotional<br />

material, launch parties and travel. I worked on instore<br />

promotions for the early GU albums, Ministry of Sound,<br />

Fantazia, Renaissance plus the S&D albums Communicate<br />

and Expeditions. I've still got one of the window displays for<br />

the first Northern Exposure album. Another really big market<br />

for us were mixtapes the grey area of the music industry.<br />

We sold bucket loads, literally hundreds a week. We stocked<br />

all of the Boxed releases as they were released, all the big<br />

tape pack rave brands and I had a really good relationship<br />

with Stuart from Eclipse Coventry, those tapes were one our<br />

biggest sellers and earned me a couple of decent bonuses!<br />

Met and dealt with a huge number of people during<br />

the 8 years I was with the company, dance went on to be<br />

our biggest growth category.<br />

How does the Acid house scene<br />

differ from what followed?<br />

Acid House was a reaction, its arguably the biggest,<br />

most spectacular youth movement we've ever seen. Eighties<br />

Britain was not a great place for the younger generation, a<br />

lot of things were stale and people were miserable. Without<br />

that explosion in music and ecstacy culture who knows<br />

where we'd be now. I often wonder if we'll ever see anything<br />

like that again?<br />

Festivals, super clubs, small clubs or<br />

house parties, and why?<br />

Personally Ive never really been a fan of big<br />

festivals, although I know the younger generation seem to<br />

really embrace these which is great.. As for superclubs, they<br />

had there place but I would say that my best memories of<br />

the early nineties aside from acid house and early raves<br />

would be the likes of The Eclipse in Coventry, Renaissance in<br />

Mansfield and various nights in London, The Brain springs to<br />

mind which was the precursor to the legendary Love Ranch,<br />

visited The Wag and used to be a regular at The Astoria. I<br />

guess you would class these as pre-super club. We were<br />

really lucky where I lived we had a lot of underground<br />

parties going on with some decent DJs. The Milky Lunch<br />

guys in Norwich were one of the first to bring Sasha down to<br />

Suffolk to a venue called the Waterfront that was an<br />

amazing low key affair in a proper sweatbox venue. One<br />

weekend you could end up on a Thames boat party and the<br />

following week be dancing in a disused church yard. I guess<br />

what Im saying is aside from some of the big raves I<br />

preffered the smaller club setting events. What I would add<br />

aswell is that you can't beat a good house party with a set of<br />

decks, that really can be a very messy affair!<br />

What years do you recon where the<br />

best in the scene to date, and why?<br />

Ha! I think you know what I'm gonna say to that..<br />

It would be the nineties, after acid house we got to<br />

experience the culture that exploded from the movement,<br />

the evolution of the dance scene that followed was so<br />

exciting. You can trace the influences for prog right back to<br />

1990 with tracks like Age of Chance – Times Up and Djum<br />

Djum – Difference, things moved along, evolved and genres<br />

were created. If I had to pick specific years I would say<br />

92-96 were my personal favourites, some of the music,<br />

labels and clubs in this period were magical.<br />

Oldskool, neuskool or a bit of<br />

allskool?<br />

As I mentioned earlier Ive not really listened to a<br />

huge amount of new music, Wasim my partner in PHC is into<br />

a lot of the newer stuff though. He'll always flag up bits he<br />

thinks I might like and what I have heard recently has been<br />

absolutely amazing so I am taking the time out to listen to<br />

more of it. I make a point now of checking out DJs like Harry<br />

Lemon, Anthony Pappa, Chris Scott, Steve Parry, Dave<br />

Seaman, John Graham and most recently Sasha & Digweed<br />

again. The thing about running a music group the size of<br />

PHC is you discover new 'classic' tracks all the time and as<br />

the group grows in size and the age demographic changes<br />

your seeing tracks from for instance 2010 that younger<br />

members are posting that to them are classics. Theres<br />

always something new to be discovered in music.


Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music?<br />

I personally don't like the gentrification of dance<br />

music but it was always going to happen and thats where<br />

much of the scene seems to be heading, all the big stages,<br />

wind machines and pouting lips side of it is not for me,<br />

sometimes it almost looks like an individual has been<br />

manufactured as a brand which is so far away from the<br />

ethos of original house music.<br />

From my own point of view Ive only dipped in with<br />

newer music over the last few years, my heart lays with<br />

classic prog and thats why I enjoy running PHC. What I<br />

would add though is that the current music seems to be<br />

finding its feet again with a more punchy prog style, labels<br />

like Forensic are releasing tracks that are recapturing that<br />

classic spirit without sounding dated. Its been encouraging<br />

to see Sasha carpet bombing events again and I know from<br />

some of our DJs and members that they all feel musically<br />

the scene is gaining strength once again after the whole<br />

covid thing. I hope that there are plenty of smaller parties<br />

out there, thats where future will be built.<br />

Tell us about Progressive House<br />

Classics, it started as a radio show<br />

correct?<br />

Yeah, thats correct it did start life as a radio show<br />

over on the OldSkoolAnthemz platform. I used to do a 1<br />

hour show on a Thursday night, that would be recorded and<br />

at the time I think I upped them to Soundcloud. What I then<br />

decided to do was set up an accompanying group on<br />

Facebook where I would post the links. I ended up with<br />

about 500 members in the group which I thought was<br />

amazing and things started to develop from there. At that<br />

time you used to be able to directly contact all members with<br />

a group message and I started including download links for<br />

classic Sasha, Vertigo, Welly mixes, it was kind of like a<br />

newsletter that went out. This was the point I met Wasim<br />

Afzal who is now my partner in the group. We became<br />

friendly over a period of time, Was joined as an admin and it<br />

was him that said we should push the group forward, see<br />

what we can do with it. Over the next couple of years we<br />

started to expand and I think at the point we reached 3K we<br />

decided to bring Marcus Harriman onboard who was this<br />

madly passionate music buff, we nicknamed him the 'Oracle'.<br />

As time moved on the membership started to swell, we set<br />

up the PHC Instagram account which was just for random<br />

one off pics and the Blog where we archived media in<br />

relation to prog and the nineties dance scene. Things grew<br />

from there. When we started to move up into double figures<br />

Marcus decided he wanted to step back from his admin role.<br />

He made a hugely important contribution to the building of<br />

PHC and although hes no longer with us the door is always<br />

open should he wish to return. We're now lucky enough to<br />

have two great 'mods' alongside myself and Was. Judd Bean<br />

and William Noglows are two incredibly passionate guys from<br />

the States, Judd is a lawyer in Florida and William is the guy<br />

behind the Super Progressive imprint and he's currently<br />

working for Danny Tenaglia. Between the four of us we keep<br />

things ticking over. The group is now at the 31K point which<br />

is way above what we ever dreamed and with that size<br />

membership comes a level of responsibility to provide a safe,<br />

friendly and enjoyable browsing experience which I like to<br />

hope we do. We have our ups and downs as do all groups on<br />

Facebook but we're vigilant and try to get on top of stuff the<br />

minute its flagged up. There was an option sometime ago to<br />

take groups private or keep them public, we decided to stay<br />

public which means we see far more traffic but it has to be<br />

policed so its something we review once a year. Overall its<br />

been one hell of a ride!<br />

What affect did lockdown have on<br />

you, good bad, or both. Did you<br />

learn anything from it, on a personal<br />

and pro level?<br />

As a family we just got on with it and for the most<br />

part I was working, looking back on it though the overall<br />

personal experience was negative because at the time we<br />

really didnt know where things were heading. Within PHC<br />

myself and Wasim immediately decided that we would up the<br />

input on the blog and that we would look into doing some<br />

live streams which I think became the norm for many<br />

peoples weekends. We were really lucky and ended up<br />

working with Anthony Pappa, TILT, DJ Vertigo, Barry<br />

Jamieson, Marcus Stubbs and Harry Lemon, plus we did a<br />

couple of our own where myself and Was did a Saturday<br />

drivetime type show which was all done on vinyl. The whole<br />

live stream thing was very positive and with the aid of the<br />

chat rooms we all got to interact. I think its great that you<br />

can still catch live streams via Mixcloud/Twitch even now,<br />

some decent ones around.<br />

What does the future hold for Jay<br />

and PHC?<br />

We're 15 this year which is mad! To celebrate we're<br />

doing a selection of radio takeovers with the guys at<br />

Subcode radio, the next one of those is at the end of June.<br />

Our first one in March got a great response, the whole PHC<br />

team put together mixes that covered a 6 hour period and<br />

going forward we hope to have some guests appearing on<br />

those. I've got a 2 hour guest mix coming up on Mixpub<br />

Radio which I think is airing sometime in July plus we will<br />

most likely do a couple of live vinyl streams. Other than that<br />

we're just gonna keep moving hopefully providing a group<br />

platform to like minded people sharing and discovering great<br />

music.<br />

Last words?<br />

House!<br />

Enjoy music and have fun.. Long Live Progressive


JAY DOBIE - ALL TIME TOP 10<br />

Hysterix – Talk To Me<br />

(Sasha's Full Music Master) (1993)-<br />

[Deconstruction]<br />

The perfect example of a remix. If you've heard the<br />

original you'll know what I'm talking about. This still stands<br />

the test of time today, beautifully engineered alongside Tom<br />

Frederikse and of all the early nineties remixes he put his<br />

name to its easily the best. I was lucky enough to catch this<br />

on the dance floor at Renaissance when it was based in<br />

Mansfield. Truly magical experience.<br />

Harry Lemon – Tiga (2005)- [Bandung]<br />

I would never be able to put together a group of<br />

tracks without mentioning a production from Harry. Its<br />

difficult to pick a particular track as he has the uncanny<br />

knack of being able to sprinkle magic on just about every<br />

production. Tiga is a track of two halves, a different take on<br />

the same track both by Harry. Ive opted for the Lemon8 mix<br />

as Ive personally decimated dance floors with this version. I<br />

got friendly with Harry over the whole lockdown period and<br />

we collaborated on several live streams during the lockdown<br />

period. There are not many individuals in this game that can<br />

DJ to his standard and find their way around a production<br />

suite so effortlessly.<br />

Second Chance – In Paradise (1990)-<br />

[Music Man Records]<br />

Big Frank De Wulf fan. Whenever I get asked about<br />

tracks and artists that I feel inspired and influenced the<br />

sound that went on to be described as progressive house I<br />

always mention FDW. This particular b-side is a personal<br />

favourite that samples Linda Hayden – Thats my Paradise,<br />

also a big fan of Magic Orchestra and the first B-Sides<br />

release which features Compression.<br />

Finger Light – Heaven (1993)- [OUT]<br />

Italian classic on Discomagic UK licenced from<br />

OUT which is a super rare 12” these days. Its short<br />

and sweet but manages to capture the early nineties<br />

brilliantly with its its epic prog piano production.<br />

Features a melody cover from an Alan Parsons Project<br />

track and a vocal sample from Jocelyn Brown.<br />

Thelma Houston – Throw You Down (Down<br />

For The Count Dub) (1990) - [Reprise<br />

Records]<br />

Back in 1990 I discovered Tommy Musto and<br />

Frankie Bones, combined they worked under the moniker<br />

Musto & Bones and released a selection of house cuts at a<br />

time when the hardcore thing was going on, By 1991 Im<br />

pretty sure they went there separate ways after the PCP<br />

track 'People Can Dance' which has that mad infectious riff<br />

running through it.What they did with this Thelma Houston<br />

track is stunning and another I got to experience in the wild<br />

at The Eclipse in Coventry, hugely uplifting with a thumping<br />

bassline and gated chords it builds up to this amazing drop<br />

with pianos which back then would stick me to the roof.


DBM – Real Dream (1991)- [UMM]<br />

UMM001 and what a debut for a label. There was a<br />

point in the early 90s where you simply could not go<br />

anywhere that you wouldn't hear this. Its interesting that<br />

back then the whole house sound was far less pigeon holed<br />

which meant tracks like this were getting attention from a<br />

whole range of DJs that perhaps did not play the same style.<br />

Its labelled up as Italo House which I think is a fair<br />

description. You would hear the likes of Sasha, Slipmatt,<br />

Welly, Vertigo, Parks & Wilson, Phil Perry (Full Circle) and<br />

whole plethora of different DJs incorporating this sort of<br />

thing into there sets. Giulio Benedetti who was behind the<br />

track also went on to do the classic Last Rhythm.<br />

in grass roots progressive house. I was lucky enough to<br />

interview Dick O'Dell a couple of years back who was William<br />

Orbits partner in the Guerilla venture and he told me that<br />

misbehaviour at the Pall Mall base in London was in his<br />

words 'absolute chaos!' Ive picked this particular release<br />

because of the Fabi Paras remix. It is without doubt a<br />

masterpiece and it came from a guy that just disappeared<br />

from the scene, walked away. I approached Fabi in 2019<br />

when he came out of retirement for the final Full Circle<br />

party, I ended interviewing him, incredibly smart, strong,<br />

talented guy. I often say I don't think he got the<br />

acknowledgement he deserved and I stand by that 100%,<br />

one of the originals.<br />

Mombassa – Cry Freedom (1992) - [Union<br />

City Recordings]<br />

What a year 1992 was, the speed at which the UK<br />

house scene exploded and progressed was breakneck.<br />

Another track of two halves with both mixes being<br />

exceptional. Produced and written by Simon Lovechild and<br />

Phil Nicholas the vocal chants are the same as the ones used<br />

in Total Confusion that was released in 1990. Its hard to pick<br />

a Simon Lovechild production, I was speaking to him for a<br />

while and we had talked about an interview for PHC..<br />

Lovechild & Rolfe, Sly & Lovechild, Flowered UP, DEA.. So<br />

much to choose from but this reminds me of a friend called<br />

Tim, a fantastic DJ who had this amazing gaff with a room<br />

called the Tripping Palace, we would just party all weekend<br />

literally falling out of there on a Sunday night, bruised and<br />

battered.<br />

Echomen – Substance (2002-[Forensic Rec]<br />

I'm literally writing this thinking I should have<br />

picked that, or that, or that..but I'm going to stick with this<br />

Echomen release. I'm going with this because whilst the<br />

Forensic label is a treasure trove of pure quality the<br />

combination of Chris Scott & Anton Fielding always for me hit<br />

the mark. Echomen, Mooncat and Time Design. Forensic<br />

were an incredibly important part of the late nineties early<br />

noughties prog scene and one of the only labels that are still<br />

in <strong>2023</strong> putting out tracks that have that original progressive<br />

vibe.<br />

Erasure Take A Chance On Me (Phil Kelsey<br />

Mix) (1992)- [Mute]<br />

Erasure cover Abba.. to be honest it sounds a bit suspect but<br />

drafting in one of the early nineties most sought after<br />

remixers was certainly a smart move. This is Phil giving us a<br />

taste of the future, a 13 minute epic! Looping 'When I Dream<br />

Im Alone.. Its Magic' gives this track a whole different shape<br />

and many are surprised when you tell them its a remix of an<br />

ABBA cover. For me another perfect example of remix<br />

perfection. Utterly devastating on the right dance floor.<br />

React to Rhythm – I Know You Like It<br />

(Fabi Paras Rmx) (1992) [Guerilla]<br />

Guerilla is arguably for me the most important label


featureinterview<br />

__________________<br />

Words Paul Newhouse<br />

______________________________________<br />

Photography Menno van der Meulen & Rick de Vries<br />

___________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/HarryLemon8<br />

Harry Lemon aka LEMON8 has been at the forefront of dance<br />

music both as a DJ and producer, whilst producing a<br />

soundtrack of a generation at the same time. Model8 - his first<br />

ever produced track from 1993 - is now being recognized as a<br />

classic and landmark in Techno and dance music in general.<br />

The Inner Sanctuary Sessions double album, solely consisting of his original<br />

music and remixes is now recognized as a highlight in Progressive House Music<br />

with tracks like New York, New York and Lose Control just to name a few. The<br />

latter was even voted all-time best record on the iconic Bedrock label in 2020 by<br />

the fans by a landslide.<br />

Throughout the years, his music and remixes is known for bridging gaps and<br />

crossing boundaries between genres and is being played from an eclectic array<br />

of dj's like Danny Tenaglia, Tiesto, Danny Howells, Armin van Buuren, Richie<br />

Hawtin and Sasha just to name a few. As a DJ he has performed worldwide at<br />

the most influential clubs and festivals. His popular monthly 8TM radio show at<br />

friskyradio.com is now in its 16th year and garnered many loyal fans.<br />

Lemon's work has always remained relevant and very much in demand, gaining<br />

him rave reviews with every release and a now legendary status that only few<br />

can achieve. After having some time off, dealing with the pressure that comes<br />

with being an artist, 2020 and beyond was supposed to be totally dedicated to<br />

being back on the road, presenting his latest productions, greatest hits and<br />

showcasing what that Lemon8 sound is all about.<br />

Because of the recent worldwide lockdowns, Harry resorted to live streaming<br />

which gained him many new and long lost fans and a renewed interest in<br />

everything Lemon8. As soon as the world opened up he's been touring<br />

frequently from small clubs to Festivals. Yet, he still streams monthly of which his<br />

followers became family and produced a number of remixes to great acclaim.<br />

Next to that he will start his new, yet to be named record label in <strong>2023</strong>. The year<br />

that his first self produced and now uber-classic 'Model8' turns 30 years old.<br />

Cliff Black, <strong>2023</strong>.


Who is Harry and who is lemon8?<br />

Harry is just me. I was baptised Henry, Carl,<br />

Nicolaas, Jacobus Lemon but it's always been Harry. Lemon<br />

is my real surname and its origin goes back to Ireland. In<br />

Celtic it was Lehman, wich translates as good man. (Just<br />

wanted to get that in there!!). It then was basterdized over<br />

the years to Lennon and Lemon. From Ireland one great<br />

grandparent Lemon went to the UK, then to Singapore,<br />

then the offspring to Indonesia to finally me ending up in<br />

Holland where I was born and raised. So that's a little bit of<br />

family history here. I'm basically a remix myself with<br />

Dutch, Indonesian, Singapore, Irish and German blood.<br />

Lemon8 is a DJ/Producer and born at the end of<br />

1992. Before that my DJ name was DJ Funkateer and I<br />

played Funk, Disco and Rap.<br />

Tell us about Model8, 30 years old<br />

now, a track which is now<br />

considered a classic Techno track?<br />

Mobel8 was the first track that I've produced<br />

myself. My debut called 'Touch Somebody' was produced<br />

by someone else, though there's a remix on it that I did,<br />

not knowing how everything worked. It was alright though.<br />

But Model8 is what I consider to be my debut.<br />

Model8 started as a remix of a track called 'The<br />

Navigator' by the Tellurians of which one of its members<br />

was Ferry Corsten. After the remix was done I've waited for<br />

4 months and heard nothing back from See-Saw label<br />

owner Hans Hermans (Who later started UDG and died in<br />

2011) so I decided to make an additional remix and release<br />

it on Basic Energy, a new to start sublabel of Basic Beat<br />

Records. That additional remix became the most popular<br />

version and is called Model8 - Lemon8 remix. It was<br />

pressed in multiple colored vinyl records, the first one was<br />

red. It was rereleased in 2006 or 7 on Richie Hawtin's Plus8<br />

label. The greatest compliment came from Richie himself,<br />

who said that this is what he intended to make when<br />

producing Spastik. he collected all colors and even brought<br />

them all with him when he was my guest at Nighttown,<br />

Rotterdam. Model8 really was made with my Nighttown<br />

basement residency in mind as it really reflects that energy<br />

of the early 90's. It's still being played the world over and<br />

gaining fans across generations. And the other day,<br />

someone I know for 30 years and a DJ as well, only just<br />

found out it was mine. The thing is that it was so far<br />

removed from the Dutch tech and club sound at the time<br />

that people just couldnt connect the Lemon8 from<br />

Nighttown with the Lemon8 of that record. I guess that's<br />

pre-internet for ya.<br />

When you go into the studio, tell us<br />

about your process.<br />

get into the studio I'm easily caught up in it. It's just the<br />

initial get up and go moment that can sometimes be<br />

daunting. I always feel technology gets in the way. I've<br />

always felt like that. I wish I could just think it.<br />

However, I am a geek as well so I do enjoy the<br />

technical aspects of it too. But that is holding me up rather<br />

than being productive.<br />

I Usually start with beats and drum programming<br />

as that is the core of what dance music is about. Then a<br />

bass line and I build from there. But sometimes it can just<br />

be a particular sound too or an effect. The way a<br />

compressor sounds on a particular instrument can be highly<br />

motivational for example and I often throw away of what<br />

I've had thusfar and continue with that sound. Of course<br />

that way you can end up in an endless loop and that<br />

happens often. The thing with house music is that it's<br />

hypnotic and there are days that I hypnotize myself with<br />

just that one loop.<br />

So many pitfalls when it comes to producing.<br />

Especially when you're all by yourself. Sometimes you need<br />

to wake up and get out of your loop. It's like life itself when<br />

you think about it right?<br />

What gear is your go to? And tell us<br />

about the equipment you use in the<br />

studio.<br />

I try to keep it as minimal as possible. I work with<br />

Reason 12 for over 12 years now and what I like about it<br />

most is that it resembles hardware. It actually looks like<br />

having racks filled with equipment and synths. And you can<br />

have a look at the backside, patch cables... so many things<br />

you can do with it. I've tried Ableton Live which is really<br />

popular among dance music producers but I just can not<br />

connect it with music. It looks like a spreadsheet to me and<br />

has no personality. To me at least. DAWs are a very<br />

personal thing and since I started with hardware, Reason<br />

comes closest.<br />

I have three hardware synths left that I will<br />

probably keep forever; First and foremost the Yamaha<br />

AN1x. It's a Virtual Analogue synth and I think one of the<br />

best synthesizers ever made, analogue or virtual. It still<br />

inspires me to this day. It's on all my Inner Sanctuary<br />

productions and remixes. Then I have a Korg Poly 800 II.<br />

Don't use it at all really but it was my first and just can't<br />

part with it. The third one is an EMU Audity 2000 module.<br />

It's just so quirky and unique though I haven't used it for a<br />

long time. Oh, and can't forget my MPC 2000 of course.<br />

One day I'll pick it up again as soon as I find a solution to<br />

my faulty zip-drive (!).<br />

So yes, everything is mostly 'in the box. There's<br />

nothing software can't do and I don't suffer from GAS<br />

(Gear aquirement Syndrome). If anything, less is more.<br />

It starts in the head most of the time. I really<br />

need to create an urge or get inspired. That's not always<br />

possible of course, especially when it comes to remixes and<br />

deadlines. It's not really productive too as I have many<br />

interests. I don't think of music all the time. But when I do


" In 37 years of DJ-ing it's<br />

nearly impossible to just pick one<br />

best gig. All gigs are special one<br />

way or another. Sometimes it's<br />

because of the set, sometimes it's<br />

because of certain circumstances.<br />

It can be anything really... So<br />

many great memories and<br />

adventures attached to gigs. I<br />

could write a book about it "<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 29


Festivals, Superclubs, small clubs or<br />

House parties, and why?<br />

All of them as far as I'm concerned. The variation<br />

is nice for me as well as for punters. I like festivals because<br />

of the general atmosphere, especially when it's outside and<br />

the weather is nice. It's like a theme park with a<br />

soundtrack. Superclubs are very special, especially for a DJ<br />

as you have that rewarding feeling of being really<br />

appreciated as an artist. Especially at first when you have<br />

that euphoric feeling of 'finally making it'. As for me that<br />

goes for any gig, but I remember my first time at Iconic<br />

clubs like Amnesia, Godskitchen or Ministry of Sound and it<br />

felt very special. Small clubs are my fave from an artistic<br />

point of view. For me it's the best way to express myself<br />

when the audience is between 200 and 500 in numbers.<br />

Usually I can play for longer and it's the best way to<br />

connect with people. Look them in the eyes, have a smile<br />

or just get totally lost in the experience. House parties as in<br />

a house? Done quite a few of these for the past 3 years and<br />

totally enjoy that. It is basically how I started out as a DJ<br />

and captures that feeling of why I'm doing this in the first<br />

place. The downside of this is that it hardly makes any<br />

money of course.<br />

Tell us about your radio show, 16<br />

years now and going strong?<br />

Yes, amazing really when you mention that<br />

number. It really has become an archive of dance music<br />

history. I was asked by Frisky Radio back in 2006 for<br />

an Artist Of The Week mix and soon after I was<br />

asked to do a monthly show. Since that time, Frisky<br />

grew exponentially to the big player that they are<br />

today. My 8-Track Mind show - or 8TM in short - has<br />

always been on the same time and date which is the<br />

1st Thursday of the Month at 7PM GMT or 20:00 CET<br />

and that certainly helped to have over 1.2 million<br />

listens now in <strong>2023</strong>. I don't have guests on my show.<br />

These days every DJ has the opportunity for some sort of<br />

online presence to show off their sets and mixes. So if you<br />

want to hear Lemon8 you tune in to Lemon8. I never really<br />

got the guest mix thing.<br />

Best event you have played and<br />

why?<br />

In 37 years of DJ-ing it's nearly impossible to<br />

just pick one best gig. All gigs are special one way or<br />

another. Sometimes it's because of the set,<br />

sometimes it's because of certain circumstances. It<br />

can be anything really... So many great memories<br />

and adventures attached to gigs. I could write a book<br />

about it. Recently I've been playing in my home country<br />

Holland more than ever - at least since 2002 - and had<br />

really great gigs. The Recycle Lounge in Amsterdam comes<br />

to mind, especially as it was the first gig after the<br />

lockdowns. Very emotional and people still remind me of<br />

that set. Also in Holland recently was at the 'Hartstocht'<br />

festival in which I can say we all truly experienced some<br />

sort of spiritual lift-off into whatever you want to call it. We<br />

all felt it.<br />

Playing in Indonesia was very emotional too as my<br />

father was born there and I was the first to see my family.<br />

Stadium club in Jakarta was an amazing experience,<br />

Thessaloniki in Greece felt like my hometown for years with<br />

extraordinary gigs, Bucharest, Istanbul same thing... I<br />

could go on and on. If the gig wasn't a 100%, than<br />

something else was. I'm blessed.<br />

Worst event you have played and<br />

why?<br />

Not too many of these really. It's also about<br />

attitude I guess. I'm pretty easy going and it takes a lot to<br />

push me into negative territory. I'm a stoic that way. But<br />

perhaps I just forget about bad gigs. One tends to do that.<br />

What does Harry do when he’s not<br />

Lemon8?<br />

I'm only Lemon8 when I'm performing. I have so<br />

many interests. I like to philosophize and study art and<br />

history, Magic and alchemy, megaliths... I'm very nerdy<br />

and can really get into whatever subject. I like technical<br />

things. And although technology can get in the way of<br />

producing electronic dance music, I do like the technical<br />

aspects of sound design. It's also why I started mastering<br />

commercially. I really enjoy doing that; fiddling with things<br />

and make it better. I sometimes wish I was living during<br />

the Renaissance and be that polymath, a renaissance man,<br />

according to Wikipedia an individual whose knowledge<br />

spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on<br />

complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.<br />

It's what I've always tried to achieve. Of course that goes<br />

unnoticed even when accomplished. But it's always been<br />

something I've been aspiring to be. making music is very<br />

limited in itself. I could have been a published writer, did<br />

write columns, I've acted for 3 years and was always<br />

drawing as I wanted to be a cartoonist. DJ-ing felt into my<br />

lap really and decided to stick with that. I love to ride my<br />

bike. especially when the weather is good and that is not<br />

always the case in The Netherlands. I always have podcasts<br />

on when I do. Just something to learn from. Podcasts is<br />

where it's at today when it comes to listening to different<br />

voices, opinions and entertainment as far as I'm concerned.<br />

Especially since all mainstream media is controlled.


What affect did lockdown have on<br />

you, good bad, or both. Did you<br />

learn anything from it, on a personal<br />

and pro level?<br />

At the start of the lockdowns, I only recently got<br />

out of a severe depression and was ready to tour again. So<br />

as that didn't happen I knew I didn't want to return to that<br />

darkness and did everything I could to stay positive. If<br />

anything, it made me feel stronger. I started live streaming<br />

that same month and that not only helped me, but other<br />

people too. It was the only entertainment at the time and<br />

kept it positive; no politics whatsoever and all I ever said<br />

was 'Stay sane'. People look back at it now as an emotional<br />

and yet happy experience. It gained me some real world<br />

connections, love and friendships. Before that, it was hard<br />

to find anything visual about me on the internet so many<br />

people got to see and hear me live for the first time or<br />

reconnected since a very long time. Especially here in<br />

Holland where I've been under the radar as I only did gigs<br />

abroad for 20 years. I'm playing in Holland now as much or<br />

more as I ever did. I'm very grateful for that as I'm not<br />

that much into flying these days.<br />

I read you had some struggles<br />

dealing with the pressure of the<br />

working artist. Tells about this if you<br />

can? I know from my own<br />

experience with mental heath, and<br />

talking and reading about others, it’s<br />

a hard thing to deal with when you<br />

need to DJ and perform.<br />

Being on stage is really my happy world. If<br />

anything it makes for even better performances and<br />

gigs, as you really give it your all. It's the big escape<br />

from whatever is bothering you. At least for me.<br />

Music gave me so much in life, but also took a lot from me.<br />

It seems to be a very commonplace thing. As if to sacrafice<br />

something of yourself. As an artist you have to deal with<br />

the ultimate highs and loneliness. So I go from total bliss to<br />

a lonely hotel room and it's very hard to share it with<br />

others. Even the people who are closest to you. To others it<br />

translates to either bragging or being overdramatic while<br />

it's non of these things. So you keep quiet. Dealing with<br />

success is another thing. Many are afraid of being<br />

succesful. Not failure, but being successful. I was too. It<br />

can get you into shock, into complacency, you come to a<br />

standstill. It becomes too big and even daunting. Hard to<br />

explain really. I guess most artists are the emotional kind<br />

of people. The most succesful ones are those that are more<br />

business minded and not always about self expression but<br />

they get depressed too one time or another.<br />

You mainly produce what would be<br />

called Progressive House, but you<br />

do have some techno, house, and<br />

trance releases. What is it about the<br />

Progressive House sound you<br />

prefere over the other styles?<br />

I've never attached any label to my music. I,<br />

myself, always just call it House Music. But back in the<br />

early 2000's all of a sudden you've had that non gimmicky<br />

sound and it happened to be named Progressive House. By<br />

non - gimmick I mean that, in the 90's, house music was<br />

very hook driven. my 1993 'Model8' had that and 'The Bells<br />

of Revolution' for example had that too. Next to that, the<br />

new wave of progressive house music encompassed all<br />

styles of house music which to that point have been very<br />

seperated into all kinds of styles. Prog brought all these<br />

elements together and that was the appeal for me. I no<br />

longer had to fit myself into a certain genre. I mean, as a<br />

DJ I played that way too so it made sense. It really brought<br />

back a sense of freedom. Back then Prog had elements of<br />

tribal, house, techno, trance, breaks... everything! Now<br />

Progressive House is nothing but another Beatport label. It<br />

was never a style but now it is. I fall asleep with much of it<br />

and with those that play it. It's one beat away from lounge<br />

muzak. No progression in arrangement, lazy loop<br />

productions and not dancefloor based as you can see the<br />

punters wiggle a bit but never get to that extacy level. Not<br />

all music of course; That what does get released and is<br />

really good is even better than back then. It really is. And<br />

the funny thing is that it's often labeled 'alternative' or<br />

'Indie' rather than progressive. So it's basically back to<br />

where it started: Progressive, not conservative.<br />

" I was asked by Frisky Radio back<br />

in 2006 for an Artist Of The Week<br />

mix and soon after I was asked to<br />

do a monthly show. Since that time,<br />

Frisky grew exponentially to the big<br />

player that they are today. My 8-<br />

Track Mind show - or 8TM in short -<br />

has always been on the same time<br />

and date which is the 1st Thursday<br />

of the Month at 7PM GMT or 20:00<br />

CET and that certainly helped to<br />

have over 1.2 million listens now in<br />

<strong>2023</strong> "


Digital, vinyl, or CD’s and why?<br />

All of it. I don't think that, as an artist, you should<br />

limit yourself. Why would anyone limit his or hers selfexpression?<br />

I never get these discussions. If you want to<br />

present your taste in music and share it with others, you<br />

know, that's what DJing is, then who gives a damn in what<br />

format that should be? Music has always been technology<br />

driven and you adapt. I mean, are you really an artist and<br />

have self expression as a goal or are you just a hobbyist<br />

looking for validation? Real artist don't talk about these<br />

trivial things. These are just tools in order to achieve a<br />

wanted outcome. The audience for one don't care. Just use<br />

whatever fits you best and what makes you feel the most<br />

comfortable.<br />

Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music?<br />

Until now It's always been evolving. Usually with<br />

the advancement of technology. But I do feel we've come<br />

to some sort of end of music producer related technology.<br />

A.I. however could change that and I think it will. We'll find<br />

out soon enough how that will play out. I often said I'd like<br />

to produce music by thinking it and that might well become<br />

reality. As always technological advancement can lead to<br />

good and bad things. In the end it's up to the talent and<br />

self expression of the artist. That said, the world is rapidly<br />

changing into a whole other world if it was up to those that<br />

are in control. And if they succeed in that and create that<br />

dystopian reality in which we'd be living in, those that<br />

create and enjoy the arts will have a different emotional<br />

value to experience. Creating and enjoying music and any<br />

other art is about self expression. Self expression is not<br />

high on the list of corporations, banks, NGO's and<br />

governments if at all. So all music, electronic dance music<br />

too, will reflect the times we live in. And like in the 1980's<br />

it can go to very, very dark to euphoric.<br />

Oldskool, neuskool or a bit of<br />

allskool?<br />

As I said; why limit yourself and create your own<br />

prison? Personally I like looking forward. Despite my<br />

criticism of prog nowadays, lots of great music is being<br />

released and love to play it. I always emphasize selfexpression,<br />

so you play what you feel. You surrender<br />

yourself to what you feel right there in that moment. So if<br />

you feel that great track from 2003 should be played right<br />

now that's what you are suppposed to do. Personality<br />

reflects your art though.<br />

2. Andreas Vollenweider - White Winds<br />

3. Keane - Under The iron Sea<br />

4. Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen<br />

5. Prince - Sign O'The Times<br />

Tell us about new productions, and<br />

DJ gigs?<br />

At the moment I'm still remixing a lot and<br />

together with new original material that would eventually<br />

become the Inner Sanctuary Sessions part 2. Next to that I<br />

want to produce an album that shows another side of me<br />

and will be more song based. I've always wanted to do that<br />

but it just never happened. I still feel as if I've only ever<br />

made 10% of what I can really do. Or at least aim to do.<br />

I'm basically a frustrated Jazz musician that could at least<br />

have it's way with electronica and technology. Don't get me<br />

wrong though; the studio is my instrument. Not<br />

complaining.<br />

As far as gigs go: I take it as it comes. At the start<br />

of 2020 I thought the DJ thing would be over forever so I'm<br />

happy with any gig I can play. I play every one of them as<br />

if it's my last because, as we should know by now, it can be<br />

over and done with any day at any time. Two gigs I'm<br />

looking very much forward to: June 25, Luminosity at<br />

Zandvoort. It's mainly about trance and that's why I'm so<br />

grateful to play there second year in a row. It's just great<br />

to be appreciated across genres. July 1 with Jaydee at the<br />

Recycle Lounge, Amsterdam: Although I've known Jaydee<br />

for decades, ever since the lockdowns we've been playing<br />

together a lot and we somehow always create great magic.<br />

September 9: Elp, Holland. Hartstocht Festival is a great 2<br />

day festival with prog as it's main genre but without<br />

emphasizing it. That's the way to go.<br />

Last words?<br />

Thank you first and foremost for asking me and<br />

your patience for finally having this done. Also to the fans;<br />

people who've been following me from the very start to the<br />

newcomers who've only just discovered me. I meet both at<br />

almost every gig and it's just wonderful.<br />

If you where left on an island for the<br />

rest of your life alone, with a deck<br />

and some vinyl, what 5 tracks would<br />

you pick?<br />

1. Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 33


featureinterview<br />

_________________<br />

Words Paul Newhouse<br />

________________________________<br />

Photography Jay Jenkins & Abel Rodriguez<br />

_____________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/WTHouseMusic<br />

What The House Music + London House Music<br />

Summer Opening Festival [Spain] - 27th May<br />

The Event of the year is coming to the Costa Del Sol, Spain this year,<br />

with heavyweight brands “What The House Music” and “London<br />

House Music”. Coming together for the second year with another<br />

killer line up of exceptional house music for their Summer Opening<br />

Festival.<br />

After one of the best parties on the Costa last year, this power duo are set to take over the<br />

whole of Florida Beach, in La Cala De Mijas, (Nr Marbella) for an all day party that starts at<br />

1pm by the pool and finishes inside the club at 4am! As they put it…….8 hours by the pool,<br />

then 3 rooms of some of the best house music you are ever likely to get your ears around!<br />

London House Music are bringing a wealth of DJ talent over from the UK along with their<br />

loyal crowd who are in Spain for the Amor Andalucía festival. For those of you that don’t<br />

know, Amor Andalucía is the brainchild of the London House Music (LHM) Founder (and<br />

also of Faith Fanzine’s & Defected’s fame) Stuart Patterson, a week-long festival being held<br />

between the 24th – 30th May hosted in 6 stunning locations in Andalucía. For their main<br />

Saturday event they team up with local powerhouse “What The House Music” (WTH) where<br />

the main event is headlined by the mighty Crazy P (DJ SET), plus from mi-soul Ronnie Herel<br />

and Stuart Patterson, Faith's Dave Jarvis plus Emma Noble, Damian Charles, Ronnie Turner,<br />

Precious, Gareth Morgan and Chris J. Also the cream of the Costa's DJ talent including Tito<br />

Pulpo, Terry Hobbs, Addict Disc, Boombastick, DJ Kawtar and Josh Ayres. Expect afternoon<br />

sunshine sets by the pool as we warm up through soul to disco to house outside, while<br />

inside there will be a dedicated soul, funk and disco room from 4pm onwards. Plus, the<br />

main club room with house music all night long from 8pm, this will be the biggest party<br />

Florida Beach has ever hosted! Add in live musicians, light shows, performers, tasty food<br />

and much more for an unmissable day and night right on the beach.<br />

<strong>Zone</strong> headed down to Southern Spain for an exclusive Interview with the men behind the<br />

event – LHM’s Stuart Patterson & WTH’s Terry Hobbs.


Stuart Paterson & Terry Hobbs


" Really busy at the<br />

moment as one of my<br />

original brands, "Faith" has<br />

partnered with Defected so<br />

we have a magazine,<br />

record label and put on big<br />

parties in London. I also do<br />

a similar event in Goa, to<br />

Amor in India in January<br />

where we take DJ's and our<br />

crowd over to party in<br />

various different venues "<br />

Stuart Paterson


" The festival scene is where everyone seems to be going<br />

these days and with that comes more of a tech vibe. The new<br />

melodic house/tech stuff is where the future seems to be right<br />

now and theres a lot of great stuff in that scene and I do play<br />

it, but I’m still soulful DJ at heart "<br />

Terry Hobbs


The Residents<br />

Stuart Patterson – London House<br />

Music Founder<br />

Stuart has been at the forefront of London's cutting<br />

edge club scene for several decades. Through DJing, club<br />

programming and promoting, fanzines or mix compilations<br />

his profile has continually risen since the 90s. He now hosts<br />

a regular show for Defected’s Broadcasting house, holds a<br />

yearly event in Goa, India and is the brains behind the Amor<br />

Andalucia Event in Spain where the Headline event is the<br />

“Summer Opening Festival” alongside “What The House<br />

Music” With his tireless work and love for music, Stuart has<br />

done things the 'right way' and has been at the forefront of<br />

London's cutting edge club scene for decades, while<br />

continuing to travel and play at the finest clubs across the<br />

UK and the globe.<br />

From his first ventures running revered club nights<br />

like Soulsonic, through to the legendary Faith parties and the<br />

more recent 'Date' events, Stuart has always led the way in<br />

bringing the world's finest DJs to London to play alongside<br />

the capitals best. In addition he was the brains behind<br />

Shoreditch venueEast Village. His knowledge saw an East<br />

London club of under 500 capacity attract the worlds<br />

favourite DJs and parties including Carl Craig, Derrick Carter,<br />

Skream, Kerri Chandler, Maseo (De La Soul), Juan Atkins,<br />

Gilles Peterson, Channel One, DJ Sneak, Norman Jay, Spen<br />

+Karizma, Jazzie B, Joe Claussel, Greg Wilson, Danny Krivit,<br />

David Rodigan, Quentin Harris and many more. Stuarts most<br />

recent project has been the opening of London’s newest<br />

record shop, Love Vinyl. Within weeks, the shop was the talk<br />

of London with extraordinary in store sets from the likes of<br />

Jimpster, Danny Krivit, Timmy Regisford, Floating Points, Mr<br />

Thing, Ossie and more passing through, and similar stature<br />

of DJs making Love Vinyl a must visit location to pick up the<br />

finest plastic.<br />

Stuart Patterson is regarded as one of the key<br />

figures in the London house music scene. Sometimes passing<br />

under the radar, this is just how he likes it, staying true to<br />

the music and scene that he loves.<br />

Terry Hobbs – What The House<br />

Founder<br />

Terry has been helping to drive parties together for<br />

over 15 years between Spain and London for various<br />

celebrated club nights (as well as several of his own). This<br />

led to him launching the What the House Music brand in<br />

2019 (as well as the sister brand What The Funk the<br />

previous year).<br />

Whilst the first 4 years were not always plain sailing<br />

for What The House (2 years of a Pandemic didn’t help!), but<br />

the line-ups have always been strong (The first year alone<br />

featured Scott Diaz, The Journey Men, Sy Sez, Sara Garvey<br />

and Dave Doyle) and the support for the project has<br />

continually grown and they are now one of the major players<br />

on the Costa Del Sol.Terry has been involved in music most<br />

of his life, playing a variety of instruments from an early age<br />

and DJing for nearly 30 years, but he left the scene for a<br />

number of years whilst he decided to “take the sensible<br />

route” to bring up a young family.<br />

After a chance meeting with Tito Pulpo in the late<br />

00’s though, he rediscovered a passion for DJing and<br />

occasionally featured on Titos weekly “The Gospel” show on<br />

a Thursday evening, before slowly starting to play out again<br />

for brands such as SOS (Spain), Known for Soul and Fresh,<br />

Sweet and Sexy (London) His eclectic style and ability to<br />

turn his set in practically any direction depending on the<br />

room, separate him from many of his contemporaries. He<br />

continues to put on some of the finest parties on the Costa<br />

Del Sol, as well as playing at most of the Major nightspots in<br />

Andalucia. He is also the Resident DJ and event programmer<br />

for Florida Beach, La Cala De Mijas.<br />

The What The House Music brand continues to<br />

thrive, having line-ups which have included heavyweights<br />

such Terry Farley, David Penn, Danny Rampling, Neil Pierce,<br />

Sebb Junior, Jac Project, Sy Sez, Sol Brown, Pat Bedeau,<br />

Precious, Damian Charles and many many more just in the<br />

last year.<br />

<strong>2023</strong> is looking like being even bigger with events<br />

planned with Dr Packer, Jimpster and obviously the May<br />

event with Stuart Patterson and London House Music.<br />

Tito Pulpo - Spain<br />

Tito Pulpo is a DJ, producer, and radio personality<br />

from London, UK, who is currently based in Marbella, Spain.<br />

He has been involved in the music industry for over 25 years<br />

and has gained a reputation as a highly respected and skilled<br />

DJ, playing at some of the biggest events and clubs around<br />

the world, he is also one of the founder members of What<br />

The House Music.<br />

Tito's musical style is deeply rooted in house music,<br />

but he also incorporates influences from reggae, soul, and<br />

gospel into his sets. He is known for his ability to create a<br />

highly energetic and uplifting atmosphere on the dance floor,<br />

with his gospel-influenced tracks being a trademark of his<br />

sound.<br />

Tito is the co-founder of the Save Our Soul (SOS)<br />

brand, which promotes events in southern Spain and delivers<br />

the best in deep and soulful house music. He is also a<br />

resident DJ on BeachGrooves Radio, hosting a live show five<br />

days a week.<br />

In addition to his involvement with SOS and<br />

BeachGrooves Radio, Tito has played at many other<br />

established house music promotions including AudioMetrica,<br />

Mi Casa Su Casa, Vocalbooth Weekender, as well as ALL<br />

previous What The House Events. Throughout his career,<br />

Tito has held residencies at a number of prestigious clubs in<br />

Marbella, including Puente Romano (La Suite), Florida Beach,<br />

Playa Padre, and Tibu. He has also played at many other<br />

events and festivals throughout Spain and internationally.<br />

Tito's experience in the music industry spans<br />

various roles, including sound engineer, producer, DJ, and<br />

promoter. This has given him a unique perspective and a<br />

fully rounded respect for every element that goes into the<br />

industry. Overall, Tito Pulpo is a highly skilled and respected<br />

DJ with a deep passion for house music and a talent for<br />

creating uplifting and energetic sets.<br />

_______________________________________________________


Emma Noble<br />

Tito Pulpo & Terry Hobbs<br />

Tito Pulpo<br />

" Looking forward to being part of 'What<br />

The House' and especially excited about<br />

'Amor Andalucia' being with us once again.<br />

Crazy P is an shingy sparkly cheery on a<br />

delicious cake...with creme. Should be fun "<br />

Stuart Paterson


So, a big event coming up?<br />

SP: A whole week of them for me, im in training<br />

already! But yes the Saturday teaming up with Terry and<br />

What The House is by far the biggest of the week’s events.<br />

TH: Yeah, lots of big events for both of us ATM, but<br />

yes, this one is pretty close to both of our hearts. And for me,<br />

this is probably the biggest one I’ve got planned this year.<br />

How did you guys meet and start<br />

working with each other?<br />

TH: We were aware of each other through the scene<br />

(I actually used to go Stuarts gigs when I was living back in<br />

London for a few years) and we had been speaking about<br />

doing a party together for a while, then the pandemic hit and<br />

all party plans got postponed. Stuart then recontacted me<br />

when he was organising the first Amor Andalucia Festival to<br />

see if I wanted to get involved and I jumped at the<br />

opportunity.<br />

SP: Yes we had been chatting pre pandemic but<br />

when I decided to go ahead with Amor Andalucia I thought it<br />

made sense to do a bigger party on the Saturday that local<br />

people could also come to and Terry was the obvious choice to<br />

partner with.<br />

How was your first party together?<br />

TH: Insane! We sold out the first main event we did<br />

together, heavyweight line-up including Neil Pierce, Ronnie<br />

Herel, Stuart, Tito Pulpo and a whole host of others.<br />

SP: Couldn’t have wished for more with a great<br />

attendance. Was so good to be able to introduce the DJs I<br />

brought over to a wider and local audience and I think it was<br />

appreciated by the locals as well.<br />

TH: Definitely appreciated by the locals, I think it<br />

really opened up peoples eyes to the fact that we really could<br />

have a GOOD, SOULFUL, yet still a bit underground clubnight,<br />

right in our local area.<br />

I understand you have done several<br />

more parties together since then?<br />

TH: We have. The feedback was amazing, and we<br />

had such a crack together …….and Stuart is a dream to work<br />

with. He has obviously seen it all on the club scene and in the<br />

House world so he “gets it”. After the first gig, we done<br />

another WTH v LHM together the same summer<br />

SP: It just made sense to carry on after the first one<br />

went so well although me being based in London has really<br />

seen Terry take the promotional reigns since then so he<br />

deserves most of the credit for making these parties at Florida<br />

flourish.<br />

TH: Thanks mate, tbf, Stuart has helped me simplify<br />

things, to build the structure and showed me how to elevate<br />

these parties to a whole nother level. He’s also played on<br />

pretty much all my What The House gigs since that day, to<br />

the point where he is now one of my only Resident UK DJs.<br />

What has been your favourite party<br />

together so far?<br />

SP: While I’m going to say it was the first one<br />

together last May at Florida Beach I think since the end of last<br />

summer I’ve seen a difference not just in increased numbers<br />

but an even better vibe with nights like Halloween and<br />

Chiristmans. Maybe it’s a seasonal thing although I really<br />

think the party on May 27th is going to eclipse them all.<br />

TH: Yeah, last years Amor Andalucia was absolutely<br />

mind blowing tbh, I met so many amazing people and the<br />

music, the settings, the whole atmosphere of the event was<br />

incredible, so it was really special to be able to host the main<br />

event with the guys. Saying that…I also REALLY enjoyed the<br />

Halloween gig with David Penn, the December Christmas party<br />

with Danny Rampling and Jac Project was pretty off the chain<br />

too. I’m with Stuart though, May is looking like something in a<br />

different league!<br />

How does it work with you both being<br />

in separate countries and trying to coordinate<br />

the parties?<br />

TH: It’s cool, we both work a lot of odd hours but we<br />

are always in contact so we are on the same page.<br />

SP: Well we are only an hours time difference apart<br />

and yeah are both used to working promoter hours so<br />

decisions can be made and work done literally at any time of<br />

day or night.<br />

TH: Exactly, we also know we can just kind of let the<br />

other one get on with their thing and the other one will always<br />

deliver on their side of the bargain. Works like a dream for<br />

me.<br />

What else do you have on the<br />

horizon?<br />

SP: Really busy at the moment as one of my<br />

original brands, Faith has partnered with Defected so<br />

we have a magazine, record label and put on big parties<br />

in London. I also do a similar event in Goa, to Amor in<br />

India in January where we take Djs and our crowd over<br />

to party in various different venues.<br />

TH: Tons. I have a load more parties coming up in<br />

Spain this year, a link up with the Jac Fest boys in July where<br />

they are coming over with Dr Packer, we’ve got Jimpster here<br />

in Aug, plus loads more. I have a small UK tour planned at the<br />

end of Summer to promote some tracks of mine which will<br />

hopefully be released around the same time. And we are<br />

already planning in some HUGE things for next year. I’m also<br />

kinda hoping for a gig in Goa in January!<br />

What do you enjoy about working<br />

with eachother?<br />

TH: I think the fact we both are so similar, we love<br />

our music, we like things to be done professionally but we<br />

both love a laugh and we enjoy each-others company outside<br />

of the music.<br />

SP: We are both DJ/promoters so while we know we<br />

need to balance the books we are both mainly in it for the<br />

music so that always comes first. We also both enjoy a party<br />

but you will find me sloping off earlier than Terry these days<br />

as he’s got a few years on me!<br />

TH: Aw…it’s only a few bro!! haha Helps that we both<br />

appreciate a beer together and some good food once the<br />

events are over too. He’s like a big brother to me, always got<br />

my back. We’re a solid team.


Stuart Paterson & Terry Hobbs<br />

Dave Jarvis<br />

David Penn & Terry Hobbs<br />

Amor Andalucia<br />

Tito Pulpo & Terry Hobbs


Digital / Vinyl or CD's and why?<br />

TH: For me, it’s digital…….you can just be so much<br />

more creative in the mix. I use a lot of loops and I like a 3 or<br />

4 deck setup. With digital, you can set the loops and the key<br />

points for them loops with precision, come back to them<br />

again later…. or use them as a precursor to the next mix,<br />

allowing the crowd to spot what’s coming and building up<br />

that anticipation.<br />

SP: I would have said digital for ease for storage<br />

and transportation but played a vinyl only set last weekend<br />

in London as most of that music (house originals from 90s<br />

and 00’s) was only available on vinyl. Without wanting to<br />

sound like a pretentious ass there really is something more<br />

tactile (and satisfying) about playing on vinyl.<br />

Sunny Spain or Lovely London?<br />

TH: If I had the choice, I would probably do what<br />

Stuart does and do both! Haha I miss the scene back in<br />

London, there is a lot more choice for house music back<br />

there but I am also proud of the little scene we are creating<br />

over here also<br />

SP: Ha, yeah I’m lucky enough to spend plenty of<br />

time in both, I love London in the summer but hate it in the<br />

winter (I think the weather exaberates all that’s bad about<br />

the place and makes it rough in those long winter months). I<br />

stay up in Alhaurin El Grande when I'm here so feels like<br />

going back in time a bit in a good way and so much more<br />

peaceful that London, and of course the weather is always<br />

better! But I'm firmly sitting on the fence on this one.<br />

Festivals, super clubs, small clubs or<br />

house parties, and why?<br />

TH: I would love to play more festivals, but for me<br />

the best parties are always a little more intimate, where you<br />

can see the whites of the eyes of the crowd at the<br />

front….and see their smiles light up when you get the next<br />

track “just right” or when they are losing themselves in a<br />

mix that you are creating. That’s where the special stuff<br />

happens. My favourites gigs are a little bigger though……. I<br />

like a room sizable enough to hold a decent crowd and a big,<br />

bad, banging sound system where you can hear every note<br />

of every track! Not so big that you can’t see the back of the<br />

room but big enough to get a real vibe going!!<br />

SP: Been lucky enough to play them all and they<br />

all have their merits and are all very different. Probably<br />

enjoy the superclub the least and the small venue the most<br />

as you are close to the crowd and the sound.<br />

If you were left on an island for the<br />

rest of your life alone, with a deck<br />

and some vinyl, what 5 tracks would<br />

you pick?<br />

Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music?<br />

TH: The festival scene is where everyone<br />

seems to be going these days and with that comes<br />

more of a tech vibe. The new melodic house/tech stuff<br />

is where the future seems to be right now and theres<br />

a lot of great stuff in that scene and I do play it, but<br />

I’m still soulful DJ at heart.<br />

Oldskool, neuskool or a bit of<br />

allskool?<br />

SP: Totally a mix of old and new and probably more<br />

genre blending at parties.<br />

TH: Yeah, a Mix of everything. The reality is that<br />

music is always going to keep evolving from old school<br />

roots and genres……the most famous, biggest selling<br />

tracks today, generally still have a nod to the past in<br />

them. I’m always excited to see what comes out week<br />

by week to be honest….. it all still excites me, as much<br />

as it did when I was I kid. The new melodic house/tech<br />

stuff for me is where the future seems to be right now.<br />

Theres a lot of great stuff in that scene, but I’m still soulful<br />

at heart, in what I look for.<br />

TH: Ohhhh, that’s tricky, something like 1. Les<br />

Nuits – Nightmares on Wax 2. Jill Scott – A Long Walk 3.<br />

Optimistic – Ann Nesby 4. Barely Breaking Even (Louis Vega<br />

remix) 5. Brahms – Requiem<br />

SP: Oooff .. 5 of 100 really. I’m gonna go with<br />

albums as I’d smash that deck having only 5 tracxks to listen<br />

to!<br />

TH: Yh, me too tbh!<br />

SP: Steve Wonder – Songs In The Key Of Life, Jill<br />

Scott – Who Is Jill Scott ?, Bob Marley and The Wailers-<br />

Catch A Fire, actually I better ad a couple of house 12’s for a<br />

late night dance round the campfire. Hercules and Love<br />

Affair – Blind ( Frankie Knuckles remix) and another classic<br />

from the godfather, Frankie Knuckles- Tears.<br />

TH: Shit. Stevie & Bob.......oh and De La Soul!<br />

Actually, I want to take albums. hahaha I’m taking Stakes is<br />

High for sure! And the James L’Estraunge Orchestra Album –<br />

Eventual Reality.


The Headliners<br />

Crazy P (DJ SET)<br />

Crazy P, founded in Nottingham over 20 years ago<br />

by Jim Baron and Chris Todd and joined soon after by<br />

Danielle Moore, continue their hold as some of UK dance<br />

music's most respected and revered producers, performers<br />

and songwriters. Now in their third decade together and<br />

more relevant than ever, Crazy P's experience extends<br />

creatively to include successful solo careers as producers and<br />

writers. It is this breadth of catalog, worked into their<br />

innovative DJ sets and live performances which keeps their<br />

ever young audience growing, whilst their tastemaker status<br />

makes them a point of reference for next generation<br />

producers coming through.<br />

Holding their history proudly at the forefront of their<br />

progress, they skillfully balance the old and the new, no easy<br />

feat in a career that spans nine albums and a consistent<br />

touring schedule that takes them all over the world.<br />

2022 has brought with it new music from Crazy P,<br />

with the limited press of the beautifully haunting If Life<br />

Could Be This Way and accompanying video already out in<br />

the world, the summer of 2022 promises a new remix<br />

package, bridging us back to pre pandemic and the2019<br />

album Age Of The Ego. This collection of remixes is a cosmic,<br />

vibe heavy, and eclectic journey through low-slung, groovy<br />

Balearic, big room disco, deep house, lo-fi, and beyond.<br />

Remixers, tasked with their own inventive take on<br />

the album, include heavy hitters Gerd Janson, Medlar, DJ<br />

Nature, and the much missed Soulphiction. Age Of The Ego<br />

Remixes will be out on July 22nd on Walk Don’t Walk / !K7<br />

Records.<br />

Juggling a packed touring schedule with new<br />

releases this year, alongside their monthly Worldwide FM<br />

show, Crazy P show no sign of taking their foot off the pedal<br />

and thank goodness for that.<br />

Ronnie Herel<br />

Ronnie is a true ambassador of Urban Music having<br />

had over a decade at the BBC. He was one of 1 Xtra’s first<br />

DJ signings, formerly presenting their specialist slot ‘The BBC<br />

Radio 1Xtra R&B Show and The BBC Radio 1Xtra Showcase<br />

on BBC Radio 1. He was the most listened to DJ via the<br />

1Xtra website and a regular champion of new talent and a<br />

talent scout for The Voice UK.<br />

Whilst known as one of the UK's biggest r'n'b<br />

DJs..... Ronnie also drops killer soulful house sets.<br />

As a broadcaster, he has interviewed some of the<br />

greats in the world of music from Beyonce, Mary J Blige,<br />

Mariah Carey, Erykah Badu, Dizzee Rascal, Justin<br />

Timberlake, Janet Jackson, Estelle, Alicia Keys, John Legend,<br />

and Lemar to name but a few, and one of the highlights of<br />

his career to date, interviewing the legendary Stevie<br />

Wonder.<br />

Ronnie has more than paid his dues in the R&B club<br />

scene, which dates back to 1989 with his first DJ promotion<br />

The Kat Club at Bar Rhumba. Moving on from this Ronnie<br />

established himself further with two impressive London<br />

residences “Club YoYo” and “Funk” @ Sound at which time<br />

he was voted best club DJ by the readers of ‘Blues & Soul’<br />

magazine. Ronnie’s success has further been recognized with<br />

two MOBO nominations in the categories of ‘Best Radio<br />

Show’ and ‘UK Best Club DJ’.<br />

Ronnie’s first ever record, released in 1989 was a<br />

cover of the Carole King classic, ‘Its Too Late’ featuring Dina<br />

Carroll under the name of Quartz. He has continued to write<br />

and produce and is currently flying the flag for SoulHouse<br />

Music with a cover of Luther’s I Wanted Your Love, featuring<br />

Ali Tennant and much more in the pipeline.<br />

He presents #TheBigRnBShow on Mi Soul Radio<br />

every Monday night from 9–Midnight and #MiDrive<br />

weekdays 4-7pm.<br />

Dave Jarvis<br />

Over the years, Dave Jarvis has worked for many of<br />

the big names in the music industry including Sony, EMI,<br />

Ministry of Sound, Pinnacle and Demon and in 2020, Faith<br />

(Dave’s Brand alongside Terry Farley and Stuart Patterson)<br />

were signed to Defected Records and since then (under the<br />

Defected umbrella) they have played at Defected in Croatia,<br />

Defected in Malta, The Drumshed and have many more gigs<br />

in the diary for <strong>2023</strong>.<br />

Dave Started the Moton label with Diesel (from<br />

Xpress2) and has now been running for nearly 26 years.<br />

Their first release in 1996 was Billy Paul - East with ‘readjustment’<br />

by Diesel and DJ Harvey. Since then They’ve<br />

had releases which featured The Mighty Zaf which was<br />

‘single of the month’ in DJ magazine and a release from The<br />

Divine Situation - Born Again which got 10/10 in DJ<br />

magazine and Mixmag. The release in December 2020 by<br />

The Patchouli Brothers was played as ‘record of the year’ by<br />

Craig Charles on his show and they are about to release their<br />

48th edit by JKriv which is already creating a massive buzz.<br />

Emma Noble<br />

Singer / Songwriter, DJ, Broadcaster & Designer.<br />

When Noble isn’t working on her solo music project<br />

she spins records all around the country as one half of the<br />

double decking, dynamic female DJ duo ‘Noble & Heath’.<br />

Committed vinyl collector, Noble has brought some<br />

much needed freshness to dance floors all over London and<br />

the UK, stepping up the tempo one 7" at a time. Spinning<br />

the very best in Soul, Funk, Jazz and gospel, all mixed<br />

together with a healthy dose of Disco, and the kind of soulful<br />

shenanigans that keep you out 'til the lights come on.<br />

N&H host a radio show on London's 'Soho Radio'<br />

have DJ'd all over the UK & Europe, and have graced the<br />

decks at places such as The Royal Albert Hall, XOYO, KOKO,<br />

The Jazz Cafe, The 100 club, Ronnie Scotts, the iconic ‘Faith’<br />

Parties and many festivals including Glastonbury, Bestival,<br />

Cross the Tracks & Field Day.<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 45


featureinterview<br />

__________________<br />

Words Paul Newhouse<br />

_________________________________<br />

Photography Jeffrey Bron & Corvus Aperture<br />

_____________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/DJ.FrankDueffel/<br />

Frank Dueffel from Cologne, Germany, started DJ'ing in<br />

1999. Since then he has had several gigs alongside<br />

wellknown DJs like; Paul van Dyk, Alex M.O.R.P.H.,<br />

Talla 2xlc, Madwave, Pierre Pianaar and TyDi on<br />

international events like Amsterdam Dance Event,<br />

Nature One and Streetparade.<br />

His DJ sets feature a wide spectrum of electronic dance<br />

music, a unique mixture of trance, melodic techno, psytrance,<br />

breaks and house alongside some darker stuff, always<br />

energetic and with a touch to the underground. This can<br />

also be experienced on his Needful Things radioshow on<br />

Afterhours FM on a monthly base which will be reaching its<br />

100th episode at the end of the year.<br />

2009 marked his start as a producer of several singles and<br />

remixes on labels like Outburst Rec., Enhanced Music and<br />

High Contrast including collaborations with Binary Finary,<br />

Madwave, Stephan Kirkwood and Fisical Project which all<br />

gained support from global players like Paul van Dyk, Armin<br />

van Buuren, Aly & Fila, Mark Sherry, Paul Oakenfold and<br />

Eddie Halliwell or got licensed to compilations like Street<br />

Parade Compilation, Goodgreef Future Trance or the wellknown<br />

Tunnel Trance Force". Since 2015 he has been<br />

constantly releasing on Paul van Dyk’s imprint Vandit<br />

Records with more than 10 releases including collabs with<br />

label colleagues like Marc van Linden, Raphael Osmo and<br />

Jardin with his latest outing ‘Atardecer De Eivissa’ just being<br />

released for the forthcoming Ibiza season. More music to<br />

come soon...


" Most of the gigs I have had where more or less memorable<br />

but my favorite one was my gig at Paul van Dyk’s SHINE<br />

Amsterdam event which took place during the Amsterdam<br />

Dance Event 2019 week. The event took place in the famous<br />

Panama Club and had a huge line up "


Tell us about Frank before the DJ /<br />

producer.<br />

I was always interested in electronic music, even<br />

before I decided to start doing or producing. Before I was into<br />

producing and then Doing, I was a more or less normal guy<br />

who went to school and met with his friends, only with a little<br />

different taste in music than my friends. During that time I<br />

also developed the interest in how the music is produced that<br />

I used to listen to. Around the time I had finished school and<br />

started to go to University, I bought my first synthesizer<br />

(Yamaha CS1x, I still have it today) and tried to learn how the<br />

music is loved some much was produced.<br />

How did you get involved in<br />

electronic music first?<br />

As a young child I got my first real contact with<br />

music as my brother was playing the bass guitar in several<br />

rock bands but I personally never really got into this kind of<br />

music. In the early 90s I got in contact with some more<br />

commercial rave and dance music via TV and I really was<br />

impressed by the energy and the different sounds compared<br />

to all the other ordinary music out there. I wanted to discover<br />

more of this electronic sound and went to a local record store.<br />

From this day on I visited local record shops on a weekly basis<br />

and bought tons of vinyl of all kinds of electronic music, from<br />

techno, trance, house, rare white labels and so on. I still have<br />

them all at home, must be between 2500-3000 vinyl. As<br />

mentioned before I also started to learn how to produce music<br />

and purchased a few hardware synthesizer (Yamaha CS1x and<br />

Quasimidi Sirius, which I still use as a master keyboard in my<br />

current studio setup). The first production attempts of course<br />

were really shitty but within the next few years I learned a lot<br />

and when I found Ableton Live as my DAW around 2005 I<br />

knew that this was a gamechanger for me and shortly after<br />

this my first track was signed to a small label.<br />

Best event you have played and<br />

why?<br />

Most of the gigs I had where more or less<br />

memorable but my favorite one was my gig at Paul van<br />

Dyk’s SHINE Amsterdam event which took place during<br />

the Amsterdam Dance Event 2019 week. The event took<br />

place in the famous Panama Club and had a huge line<br />

up incl. PvD, John OO Fleming, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Lostly, Pierre<br />

Pienaar. I played on the second floor where the energy was<br />

quite high directly from the start. I also was able to test some<br />

new productions there with great reactions from the crowd.<br />

Worst event you have played and<br />

why?<br />

I don’t play on bad events, haha!<br />

Tell us about your radio show.<br />

In 2015 I started my own monthly radioshow called<br />

‚Needful Things‘ which is broadcasted every 4th Friday of the<br />

month exclusively to Toronto based broadcasting station<br />

Afterhours FM. Although Afterhours is more or less a trance<br />

radio station, I wouldn’t call my radioshow a pure trance<br />

show, anything can happen here, from 125 to 140 bpm, from<br />

progressive house, melodic techno and breaks to trance,<br />

psytrance and techno. Genres don’t matter as long as I find<br />

the track fitting to my style. I think that the wide spectrum of<br />

electronic music I play in my show is unfortunately rarely seen<br />

today as a lot of shows and DJs just focus on one specific<br />

style where you can hear the same tracks over and over<br />

again. I spend a lot of time searching for tracks that other DJs<br />

don’t have in their mind as I also see my show as a piece of<br />

art and not only as another show where only the current<br />

trance promos are supported.<br />

By the way, at the end of the year the 100th episode<br />

will be broadcasted and I’m planning something special for<br />

this milestone.<br />

Festivals, Superclubs, small clubs or<br />

House parties, and why?<br />

I personally think that all these different kind of<br />

events have their pros and cons. Todays festivals like<br />

Tomorrowland, Creamfields or Nature One seem to be really<br />

professionally organized and always full of energy. But on the<br />

other hand show and light effects and visuals often seem to<br />

be more important than the music itself. The same can be<br />

said about superclubs like Ushuaia etc. But what sucks in all of<br />

these locations and events is the fact that the majority of the<br />

crowd is more playing around with their cellphones and not<br />

really into the music. Back to the old days please where only<br />

music mattered.<br />

Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music?<br />

I can’t see into the future but I hope that some<br />

things will change in the future. I’m a little bit concerned<br />

about some developments in our scene, e.g. ghost produced<br />

talentless superstar DJs who think they are the king of the<br />

world. I hope that the scene develops back in the direction<br />

where music matters and not just show effects and fireworks.<br />

Maybe there are too many festivals with short DJ sets.<br />

I personally hope that we come back to smaller club<br />

with longer DJ sets where the DJ gets the chance to tell a<br />

story through music. I’m afraid that this kind of art got a little<br />

bit lost these days.<br />

" Electronic music always should<br />

try to reinvent itself but also never<br />

forget its roots. Therefore a<br />

mixture of old and newskool is<br />

my choice. When I’m in the studio<br />

and work on new material, I<br />

always try to not forget my<br />

personal roots of electronic music<br />

and add a bit of this oldschool<br />

flavor "


What label has been the best to work<br />

for?<br />

I started releasing music in early 2009 on smaller<br />

labels. The more I progressed as a producer, the more<br />

recognized were the labels I could release my tracks on. In<br />

spring I just had finished my track called, Adiabatic‘ and sent<br />

it to Paul van Dyk’s label Vandit Records with no hope that<br />

they would ever listen to my stuff or even reply to my mail.<br />

Therefore I almost forget about my demo submission to them<br />

and was really, really surprised when they answered a few<br />

weeks later and asked me if the demo still was available for<br />

signing. Of course my answer was yes, and this was just the<br />

beginning of my release catalogue on Vandit. I felt really<br />

welcome to the label (and still do) which is one of the reasons<br />

why I prefer releasing my music there. Another reason is the<br />

quite familiar atmosphere with the label team and the other<br />

artists as we all support each other and his music. The result<br />

of this support are collaborations with other Vandit artists like<br />

Marc van Linden & D-Gor, Rafael Osmo, TH3 ONE and Jardin.<br />

I know from my own experience with<br />

mental heath, and talking and<br />

reading about others, it’s a hard thing<br />

to deal with when you need to DJ<br />

and perform. How do you care for<br />

yourself in this case?<br />

I’m in the happy position that I to date never had<br />

any mental health issues. I try to live a healthy life with no<br />

drugs and smoking and no alcohol excesses and with enough<br />

time to relax my body AND soul to almost never be stressed. I<br />

hope that my lifestyle helps to avoid these problems. And<br />

making music is also one of my secrets. While doing this<br />

interview, I’m already looking forward to my next studio<br />

session.<br />

Please if you could tell us about your<br />

brother. I worked with him for a long<br />

time, and he seemed a great person.<br />

He left us a few years ago now, but<br />

he will always be remembered here<br />

at <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> and at Redbox<br />

Records, both his music and writing<br />

will be missed.<br />

It’s almost six years that my brother Andreas sadly<br />

and unexpected passed away. I really miss him to date and<br />

it’s still hard to speak about his death.<br />

It’ s almost 25 years ago that we both decided to<br />

start DJ'ing. I already had a few tracks on vinyl and we tried<br />

to mix these few ones on two borrowed turntables. Of course<br />

our first mix tapes were pretty awful but we supported each<br />

other to improve and soon our skills improved more and<br />

more. Before we started learning DJ'ing together, he played<br />

the bass guitar in severals local rock bands but when I started<br />

collecting trance, house and techno vinyl he got more<br />

interested in this kind of music and so one day he came to me<br />

and told me that he had quit as a bass guitar player and<br />

wanted to focus on electronic music from that day on. We also<br />

started to go to local techno and house events at that time<br />

which also was really funny. We also sometimes produced<br />

together and finally realized a fun psytrance track that got<br />

released as our Liquid Trance side project.<br />

During that time I also introduced Andreas to <strong>Zone</strong><br />

<strong>Magazine</strong> where I had gotten in contact with due to my<br />

releases on Redbox Records. He directly started working for<br />

the magazine, writing countless articles and doing many<br />

interviews.


What does Frank do when he’s not<br />

making music or DJ’ing?<br />

I really like traveling a lot. Discovering new places<br />

is my favorite activity to get new inspiration for my music<br />

productions. Just back from a short trip to Valencia in Spain<br />

to quickly recharge my battery. I’ve visited a lot of<br />

destinations in Europe and North America and my favorite<br />

destinations so far have been Hawaii, Yucatan (Mexico),<br />

Ibiza (of course), Spain in general and Los Angeles which<br />

turned out to be my favorite city. I already dedicated a track<br />

called ‚Hollywood Hills‘ to L.A. which was released a few<br />

years ago and gets an update later this years as a new <strong>2023</strong><br />

Remix on Phoenix Recordings.<br />

I’m also addicted to Mexican food. I can really<br />

recommend a Mexican dish called Cochinita pibil which<br />

turned out to be my favorite food.<br />

And finally, what only few people know is that I’m<br />

also a huge fan of horror movies and have a huge collection<br />

of Stephen King novels.<br />

You mainly produce and play<br />

Trance, but you do have some<br />

techno, House, and trance releases<br />

and you do mix it up on your sets.<br />

What is it about the Trance sound<br />

you prefer over the other styles?<br />

I never would call me a pure trance DJ. Trance<br />

music always was an important part of my life as an artist<br />

but I always integrated all other styles of electronic music in<br />

my DJ sets, e.g. progressive house, melodic techno, breaks,<br />

psytrance etc. The most important thing about the tracks I<br />

choose for my sets is that they have something special,<br />

emotional and aren’t just lifeless and boring 10 minutes<br />

loops with no musical content. I always have to really dig<br />

deep to find the music that I want because in my opinion<br />

most of the trance tracks of today sound really similar. It’s<br />

really hard to find some creative and outstanding trance<br />

tunes that not everybody is playing but these tunes are<br />

definitely there and I mostly find them which can sometimes<br />

very time-consuming but finally its worth every second when<br />

I found them. I’ve also started working on some deeper stuff<br />

in the studio. The majority of people would call this sound<br />

melodic techno but for me the result still is what I would call<br />

trance.<br />

I have met PVD on a couple of<br />

occasions over the years, is he still<br />

the laid back, cool, nice guy?<br />

Yes, definitely. The last time I met him personally<br />

was last year at an event in Oberhausen, Germany were his<br />

team invited me to come backstage. We talked about my<br />

future music plans for Vandit, took a few pictures and had a<br />

good time.<br />

Oldskool, neuskool or a bit of<br />

allskool?<br />

Electronic music always should try to reinvent<br />

itself but also never forget its roots. Therefore a<br />

mixture of old and newskool is my choice. When I’m in<br />

the studio and work on new material, I always try to<br />

not forget my personal roots of electronic music and<br />

add a bit of this oldschool flavor. For example, in one of<br />

my latest uplifting trance productions I added an old school<br />

electro beat in the breakdown to add some of the mid to late<br />

90s atmosphere. I also like to add some classic 303 sounds<br />

to my recent studio projects.<br />

If you where left on an island for the<br />

rest of your life alone, with a deck<br />

and some vinyl, what 5 tracks would<br />

you pick?<br />

Hard question, because there always was lots of<br />

good music out there and I got tons of digital releases and<br />

also more than 3000 vinyls I still have where I have to<br />

choose from but I think I would pick the following 5 tunes:<br />

1. Tilt vs. Paul van Dyk - Rendezvous<br />

(Quadrophonic Mix) [Perfecto Rec.]<br />

2. Sasha - Xpander [Deconstruction]<br />

3. Billie Ray Martin - Honey (Deep Dish Rmx [React]<br />

4. Humate - Choose Life [Superstition]<br />

5. Paul van Dyk - Another Way/Avenue [Vandit]<br />

Tell us about new productions, and<br />

DJ gigs?<br />

I just released my latest solo single on Vandit<br />

Records. The track is called, Atardecer De Eivissa‘ and is a<br />

mixture of my signature trance sound and some more<br />

driving and tech elements after the first breakdown.<br />

Up next are two collaborations I produced with two<br />

other acts that also regularly release on Vandit. The first<br />

track is a production I did with polish producer TH3 ONE.<br />

One day he contacted me via social media and asked for a<br />

collab. As I really like the stuff this guy puts out on Vandit<br />

and other labels I agreed and we started working. The result<br />

is a euphoric and energetic trance belter which will be out<br />

this May. And the second collab is a cooperation with none<br />

other than Marc van Linden and his studio partner Gordon<br />

(D-Gor). Always was a huge fan of Marc’s style so it was a<br />

great honor for me when he asked me to work with him on a<br />

collaboration track. In the beginning of the production<br />

process we just send us the track files we worked on but in<br />

the final phase of the production we also met in persona in<br />

his studio near Hannover to put some final touches on our<br />

track. The result is a quite dark and clubby trance<br />

production, somewhere between tech trance and uplifting.<br />

Our collaboration should be out this summer, also on Vandit<br />

Records.<br />

Last words?<br />

Thanks for reading my wise words and listening to<br />

my music. See you somewhere on the dancefloor on this<br />

beautiful planet earth.


WIND DOWN SHOW PRESENTED BY<br />

AMARE<br />

NICK MUIR<br />

MATT FAX<br />

PAUL SAWYER<br />

SIMON SINFIELD<br />

ALL AVAILABLE ON BBC SOUNDS<br />

WWW.BBC.CO.UK/SOUNDS<br />

LARGE! - John Gibbons - 9/10<br />

Nice One! - Sam Divine - 7/10<br />

Funky Stuff, Thanks! - sa.lomaonun.es - 8/10


LABELfeature<br />

_________________<br />

Words Anthony Piercy<br />

____________________<br />

Photography Kyle Surber<br />

____________________________<br />

Connect https://householddigital.com/<br />

A Label based in the West Coast of the USA, in the Bay<br />

Area of California. Running since 2002, and initially a vinyl<br />

label. Tracks released via Household Digital are usually<br />

Tech House, Deep Tech, House, Techno, Minimal and Deep<br />

House. Their aim has and is always to showcase quality<br />

house & techno music producers, with whom they work with<br />

and respect as artists.


Who are we chatting to today?<br />

Digital.<br />

Tone Rangole- Label Manager of Household<br />

When did the label start? I belive it<br />

was call another name back then?<br />

The Record Label was orignally called Household<br />

Recordings and was created in early 2002.<br />

Back then running a label was<br />

completley different than now. What<br />

did it take to run a label back then?<br />

Running a vinyl record label back then was much<br />

more work for just a single release. The cost was much<br />

larger and the process was much longer from beginning to<br />

end. It took a lot more patience and money to get records<br />

produced, mastered, manufactured, marketed and sold.<br />

Who did and now does the day to<br />

day managment and who did the<br />

A&R?<br />

I'm currently doing the day to day management<br />

now and since the inception of the label. Jason Lehman did<br />

the A&R during our vinyl days and up til 2018 in our<br />

current digital era. I took over the A&R full time in 2019 to<br />

present.<br />

Do you guys have an exclusive<br />

roster?<br />

We didn't have a roster of artists that were strictly<br />

exclusive Household artists but we did have a few resident<br />

artists of Household that have appeared a few times over<br />

the past 2 decades that helped pioneer our label. Artists<br />

such as Terry Francis, Eddie Richards, Jay Tripwire, Nils<br />

Hess, Nathan Coles (RIP), Daniel Poli, Gideon Jackson and<br />

now more current artsist like Richard Cleber, Dubman F.,<br />

DJ Simi, Dylan Debut and Tome R.<br />

Take us trough the release<br />

schedule of the original label?<br />

The original release schedule during our vinyl<br />

years was set for 1 EP per quarter. One release every 3<br />

months was ideally our goal just due to the time it took to<br />

get a release out and distributed globally, before finally<br />

getting first round of paychecks from distrubutions to start<br />

the process for the next release.<br />

Lets do the numbers, if you dont<br />

mind? which releases shifted the<br />

most copies?<br />

Our first couple of vinyl releases definetly moved<br />

the most copies. Household 001 sold nearly 3600 vinyl<br />

copies in 2002 followed with Household 002 with 2400<br />

copies.<br />

Up until the digital switch over<br />

which EPs where the most<br />

successul?<br />

Like mentioned before the first couple of vinyl<br />

releases did the most sales wise, but I would say the most<br />

successful EP overall has to be the "Garage Sessions Vol. 1"<br />

EP featuring artists Evil Eddie Richards & Terry Francis with<br />

two versions of two originals called "breakfast @tone's" and<br />

"Helicopter". It was the first time these two artists had<br />

collaborated together on a EP. Initially, we released it on<br />

our side label Lifted Music but later on re released it on<br />

Household Digital. This ep has continued to sell, get played<br />

and supported globally for nearly two decades now. Even<br />

digitally "breakfast @tone's" continues to be a top selling<br />

digital track on Household on all platforms.<br />

How did the label define sucess?<br />

We define success through a few measures<br />

consisting of top artist promo support, sales, global<br />

presence, features and chart placement. The more it<br />

checks off on those measures the more we consider the EP<br />

to be a successful release.<br />

After the digital switchover run us<br />

through your release schedule up<br />

until now?<br />

When we switched to digital in 2012 we released<br />

EP's around once a month at first. Then for about 4-5 years<br />

between 2014-2018 we released every other week to push<br />

our Household sound forward by saturating our releases.<br />

After I took over A&R in 2019 I have gone back to<br />

averaging one release per month, other than the rare covid<br />

year in 2020 when I released only a few EP's all year when<br />

sales came to slower pace.<br />

How many digital releases up to<br />

now?<br />

We currently just released Household Digital 120<br />

and have Household 121 on promo. Schedule wise we are<br />

signed up to Household 127.<br />

Things like; support, chart placing,<br />

and so on, how vital is it for the<br />

label?<br />

Support and chart placing are important for sales<br />

and traction for the ep to gain momentum. It definetly<br />

helps push both the artist and label forward.


How was last years scheduling, can<br />

you take us through it?<br />

Last years sheduling was just like any other year<br />

where we schedule a couple of releases for end of January<br />

through March. Then during spring we push to get the rest<br />

of the year's schedule filled out with releases and remixers<br />

lined up to give artists time if they need.<br />

For me the label has that old tec<br />

house sound was this the sound<br />

you guys were going for through A<br />

& R policy?<br />

In the beginning during vinyl days and early digital<br />

era, yes we did have a bit more of that old school deep<br />

tech house sound. It was something my partner Jason<br />

Lehman and I really liked at the time and wanted to<br />

continue pushing out.<br />

Can you tell us about the sound the<br />

label is trying to push?<br />

Now my focus is still tech house but the more<br />

current cutting edge deep dirty tech. Tech house is such a<br />

broad term now and can be used in so many different ways<br />

and sound. I like music that just sounds great in it's on way<br />

but still on that tech spectrum that creates a vibe.<br />

How vital is it to have a A&R,<br />

Distribution and Promotion policy to<br />

run a successful label?<br />

It's mandatory for labels to have all these different<br />

branches running in harmony to have a successful release<br />

and label. They all help push an artist release or a label<br />

sound moving to consumers ears and eyes.<br />

Do you have any advice for young<br />

DJ's & small independent label<br />

owners trying to make it in todays<br />

scene?<br />

Stay focused on your sound you want to push or<br />

play and stay patient. It doesn't always happen overnight<br />

for some so consistency is key. Stay relevant by constantly<br />

pushing your sound with tracks, live mixes, edits or<br />

remixes to your followers or just to share on social media.<br />

Can you tell us what producers and<br />

or labels influence you guys<br />

today?<br />

I like a wide range of artists and labels that cover<br />

the different sounds of house, tech house, deep tech, deep<br />

house and minimal tech. Few labels I follow are 8bit, Under<br />

No Illusion, Deeperfect, Sibla and even some Toolroom.<br />

Artists I love to play because their range of sound are<br />

definitely Dilby, Max Chapman, Bizen Lopez and new fav of<br />

mine J Matin who by the way I just signed to Household!<br />

Who were your main influnces<br />

starting out?<br />

Main influences starting out were artists like H-<br />

Foundation, Eddie Richards, Jay Tripwire, Tony Hewitt as<br />

well as DJ's like Doc Martin, Terry Francis and Stacey<br />

Pullen.<br />

Can you run us through this years<br />

release schedule?<br />

Rest of the current years schedule will be Dubman<br />

F. with Hrag Beko remix, Jon Lee with P-Rez acid remix, J<br />

Matin EP, Acid Cats EP with Jake Beautyman remix, Joan<br />

Garcia EP, Tome R EP w/ remixes and a Household VA<br />

sampler some where along the way.<br />

Take us trough your first lot of<br />

releases?<br />

Our first few releases were artists that helped<br />

pave the way for our label sound and stability.<br />

Household 001 was Onionz & Tony Hewitt "Drum<br />

Circle" EP a bangin tribal tech sound that was popular at<br />

the time in the early 2000's.<br />

Household 002 was Jay Tripwire "Denver Diner" EP<br />

another dubby tribal tech sound that was Jay's signature<br />

sound at the time.<br />

Household 003 was Grant Dell & Daniel Poli who brought us<br />

a more deeper dirtier side of tech house we really loved in<br />

that era.<br />

Household 004 was Nils Hess & Nathan Coles "Get<br />

Fucked" EP who once again brought that deeper groovy<br />

tech house sound we all grew to love.<br />

Household 005 was Evil Eddie Richards "9660" EP<br />

which blew us away with his cutting edge tech house sound<br />

that was another level in 2004.<br />

Take us through the following<br />

milestone release?<br />

2012 - 10 years household.<br />

10 years of Household was a selection of older<br />

tracks from our vinyl years along with 1-2 new digital tunes<br />

that were selected by DJ Tyler "T-Bone" Stadius of<br />

Vancouver who did a continous mix for us. He selected<br />

those back catalog tracks that we remastered for the 10<br />

years of Household compilation and mix.<br />

2014 ibiza and xmas essentials.<br />

2014 Ibiza compilation was the same idea of<br />

previously released back catalog and that current year of<br />

digital releases that Evil Eddie Richards hand selected for a<br />

continous mix. The 2014 Xmas esssentials was a end of the<br />

year release with our top 10 sellers that year.


Tone Rangole & Jay Lehman<br />

2015 ibiza sampler.<br />

2015 Ibiza sampler was a selection of some of our<br />

previously released summer vibe type sound along with a<br />

handful of new tracks made strictly for that sampler.<br />

2016 saw a new WMC compilation<br />

how did you guys feel about this<br />

and also your ADE compilation<br />

release that year?<br />

The WMC compilation was the same idea of<br />

compiling spring time sound of previously released tracks<br />

for Miami music week. The ADE comp that year was all<br />

new tracks made specificlly for that VA with one re master<br />

of an older Household Eddie Richards track that was then<br />

compiled for a mix done by artist Horatio.<br />

2018 saw a new ADE compilation,<br />

how essential are these compilation<br />

releases to you guys, do you see a<br />

growth in demos received a result?<br />

2018 ADE compilation was all new tracks made for<br />

that ADE festival as we used it as a tool to help promote<br />

our sound and label while I was in Amsterdam for ADE that<br />

year. The VA and comp releases were used to either push<br />

out quality tracks that we felt didn't get enough recognition<br />

or to help promote our sound during those festival weeks<br />

with the intent to get into top artists hands to play out. We<br />

do sometimes see more demos as a result of growth or<br />

artists promotion.<br />

In 2019 you had your 100 th<br />

release.<br />

The 100th release was a huge milestone for us as<br />

we always had a goal to keep pushing music as long as we<br />

can since we first started the vinyl label. We brought<br />

together a list of Household artists old and new to make<br />

brand new tunes for this special release.<br />

Have you done any HHD events?<br />

Yes, in our early years we threw quite a few<br />

events from club parties, rave parties and events during<br />

Miami music week from 2004-2007.<br />

Since then I held a few label showcases in the bay<br />

area for either release promotion or label brand promotion.<br />

Last showcase we had was in 2019 in San Francisco for our<br />

100th release party.<br />

Where else can we catch you<br />

playing (radio show / soundcloud<br />

mixes etc) ?<br />

Yes, I have mixes on my souncloud @tonerangole<br />

as well as regular gigs in my local surrounding cities of San<br />

Francisco bay area, Sacramento and the next gig on St<br />

Patty's day in Las Vegas.<br />

Has there been any new artists<br />

who have caught your attention?<br />

Yes, lots of artists/producers that have my<br />

attention like Dilby, Bizen Lopez, Dale Howard and George<br />

Smeddles but they're not necessarily young artists they are<br />

established. As far as young names I been following J Matin<br />

and even Jake Beautyman as a guy on the rise.<br />

How can an artist reach you with<br />

their demos?<br />

Artists can reach us through Household email<br />

info@householddigital.com or my email<br />

tone@householddigital.com as well as any social media<br />

platforms from soundcloud, Instagram or facebook which<br />

are all @householddigital with whichever said social. Just<br />

send us a link!


WWW.ZONEWEBART.COM<br />

https://www.discogs.com/seller/Redbox-Vinyl-Shop/profile<br />

https://simonpricevoiceover.com/coming-soon/


featurelabel<br />

__________________<br />

Words Paul Newhouse<br />

____________________________________________<br />

Photography Sam Hayat, Rowanna Lacey & David Gonzalez<br />

___________________________<br />

Connect https://paperecordings.com/<br />

Paper Recordings is a Manchester record company that played a<br />

significant role in British club culture. It released contemporary<br />

electronic music from an international roster of recording artists<br />

integrating the genres of house, funk, jazz, techno and soul. Along<br />

with Nuphonic, Glasgow Underground Recordings and 20/20<br />

Vision recordings, it is credited as one of the key labels that drove<br />

the popularity of the Nu-Disco genre in the late 1990s and 2000s.<br />

Robodisco became Paper Recording's most recognised club night, hosting dance<br />

parties between 1996 and 2005 at venues including Sankeys Soap, Paradise<br />

Factory, Planet K, South Nightclub, PJ Bells, with associated nights Sonic Tonic, Out<br />

to Lunch at The Roadhouse and State respectively.<br />

Founded in 1993 by Pete Jenkinson, Ben Davis, Miles Hollway, Elliot Eastwick,<br />

Andrew Gough and Stephen Page while all working at The Hacienda and Hard<br />

Times club nights. The label has commercially released over 2000 recordings,<br />

created by over 500 artists, producers, and remixers in over 50 countries across<br />

imprints Paper Recordings, Paper Disco, Paper Wave, Repap Records and We Are<br />

Woodville Records.<br />

It released the debut album in 1997 from Tromsø band Those Norwegians,<br />

comprising Rune Lindbæk, Ole Johan Mjøs and Torbjørn Brundtland who went on to<br />

form Röyksopp with Svein Berge. This album was titled Kaminsky Park, a pun on<br />

Comiskey Park that witnessed the Disco Demolition Night protests in 1979 and with<br />

its LP artwork depicting a burnt and warped 12" vinyl.<br />

Paper continues to be one of the world’s best-loved independent record labels,<br />

operating as a thriving cottage industry. We have been pushing the creative<br />

envelope since 1994. They have released over 2000 tracks created by over 500<br />

artists, producers, and remixers in over 50 countries. Their style ranges from deep<br />

house and disco to Balearic and leftfield on its imprints. The label has evolved to<br />

incorporate Paper Vision Films, which made the award-winning Northern Disco<br />

Lights with two films currently in production and critically acclaimed podcasts Paper<br />

Air Waves & Paper Talk.


" At the outset there were six of<br />

us, and we all worked in various<br />

capacities at Manchester’s Hacienda<br />

nightclub, behind the bar, DJ and<br />

lighting. We were also in the team<br />

that set up the infamous Hard Times<br />

parties in West Yorkshire, and<br />

Manchester’s Robodisco in the<br />

noughties "<br />

Pete<br />

Ben<br />

Chris<br />

" Paper had some great legendary<br />

tracks back in the day and I think it’s no<br />

secret that Downtime & The Book are<br />

what people always seem to mention<br />

when talking about Paper. However I<br />

think Leon Sweet's Sunny Bigler is<br />

absolutely huge and Flash Atkins' Drug<br />

Empire never, ever leaves my box. "<br />

" I think every Sticky Heat party has<br />

been pretty exceptional. Our most recent<br />

Sticky Heat & Sprechen collaboration party<br />

held just last month was incredible and<br />

saw us host a 12 door outside rave with<br />

Roman Flugel & Sean Johnston<br />

headlining. Pretty amazing! "


First off, how are you doing guys<br />

and its an honour to speak to you<br />

today, I been a big fan, since your<br />

first release!<br />

Ben – Thank you, we are good, we all get a buzz<br />

when we hear stuff like that!<br />

Who are Paper Recordings? What<br />

was the idea at the start?<br />

Pete - At the outset there were six of us, and<br />

we all worked in various capacities at Manchester’s<br />

Hacienda nightclub, behind the bar, DJ and lighting.<br />

We were also in the team that set up the infamous<br />

Hard Times parties in West Yorkshire, and<br />

Manchester’s Robodisco in the noughties. The idea<br />

kind of presented itself; Salt City Orchestra had just<br />

produced The Book, it didn’t have a label and one of our<br />

resident Hard Times DJs at the time was Dave Piccioni,<br />

owner of Azuli Records and distribution company; the rest,<br />

as they say is history.<br />

Chris - One of the longest serving labels in<br />

Manchester I dare say! My involvement has only been over<br />

the last (nearly) 10 years so I'm not one of the OGs though<br />

I'm honoured to be part of the fold with the guys I consider<br />

close friends as well as mentors (and mad uncles!).<br />

Did you ever think you would<br />

become so popular and respected<br />

so soon, and be mentioned<br />

alongside some of the top labels in<br />

the industry?<br />

Pete - Of course not, and thank for you for those<br />

kind words! We got into it for creative reasons really, there<br />

was no conscious business goal, there still isn’t, we assess<br />

projects on their creative impact and whether we’ll enjoy<br />

working with or on them. We like to work with people on<br />

projects that ‘add’ something of value to our music<br />

community. Now we have a film production company and<br />

are in post-production on our second film called Wild Water<br />

which is out this autumn. It’s really special to be<br />

recognised for our music, values and positive approach to<br />

music and all things creative. We have worked with some<br />

many brilliant people from globally recognised US<br />

superstars to bright young from all over the world. It<br />

sounds like a cliché (and it is) but Paper has taught us that<br />

as long as you treat people with respect and continue to<br />

focus on the values that are important to you, the journey<br />

just writes itself around you. Bit deep but it’s true.<br />

Chris - I was always aware of Paper Recordings<br />

and its significance in the world of dance music. If I'm<br />

honest I was more of a trance/Gatecrasher kid in my<br />

younger days so didn't own as many Paper releases as my<br />

peers, but the striking imagery and record sleeves are<br />

definitely things that stuck out when I was looking for<br />

those latest Perfecto/Oakenfold releases.<br />

Digital, Vinyl, or CD’s, and why?<br />

Ben - I play all but if it’s a club, normally digital.<br />

The fact that you can take a USB with your whole music<br />

library is still pretty mind-bending all these years later. But<br />

you still have to do the prep for each gig or the choice is<br />

too overwhelming. Having said that, at small gigs I put on<br />

myself, the guest DJ will often request decks and on those<br />

occasions I have a dig through my collection and play wax.<br />

I still buy records but it’s generally on the more home<br />

listening, left field end of things. I tried to stop buying<br />

records a few of years ago for environmental reasons but it<br />

crept in again, I couldn't quite break the habit. It's great to<br />

see green vinyl options now and we’re excited about doing<br />

our first vinyl soon for a long time on that format.<br />

Chris - All 3 and whatever I can get at the best<br />

price! I do indeed! I'm 1 of 3 residents at a night called<br />

Sticky Heat where we have booked the likes of Lindstrøm,<br />

Roman Flugel, Justin Robertson, The Glimmers, Hannah<br />

Holland, Alinka and Jon Carter amongst many more! I also<br />

put on nights via my own label called Sprechen which has<br />

had the likes of A Certain Ratio, Utopia Strong, Sean<br />

Johnston, Bill Brewster & Raw Silk play. I'm pleased to still<br />

hold down a few regular stints around Manchester where I<br />

get to play a diverse range of music from club bangers to<br />

more daytime/chilled vibes.<br />

Festivals, super clubs, small clubs or<br />

house parties, and why?<br />

Ben - They all bring their own rewards. These<br />

days I’m happy playing early doors or daytime to people<br />

sitting down in a nice outdoor environment which means I<br />

can really stretch my legs selection wise. My favourite club<br />

of all time is Glasgow’s Sub Club; low ceiling, brilliant<br />

sound system and about 500 Scottish nutters going for it,<br />

things don’t get any better than that.<br />

Chris - Small clubs (cap 500/600). I think<br />

superclubs lose the intimacy and social community of which<br />

clubbing is all about. I fear it’s a shame that there is now a<br />

generation where clubbing of them is a multi-thousand<br />

warehouse space with zero atmosphere and bad sound.<br />

Festivals are great, especially if you source out the little<br />

tucked away rave spaces & pop ups...seek & ye shall find!<br />

Worst DJ gig and why?<br />

Ben - Oh God, it’s one I still think about. I was on<br />

tour in New Zealand and played in Queenstown. My brother<br />

was friends with (namedrop klaxon) Frankie Goes to<br />

Hollywood’s Paul Rutherford and we ended up getting<br />

totally hammered beforehand on red wine. I didn’t think I’d<br />

played too badly but reports came back later on that I’d<br />

been terrible and they had considered pulling me off the<br />

decks. The day after, the promoter had to drive me about 4<br />

hours to the next gig with me lying in the back of his car<br />

nursing a horrific hangover, which must have been salt in<br />

the wound. To have been flown to the other side of the<br />

world and treat the promoter and audience with such little<br />

respect still makes me hang my head in shame. It was a<br />

lesson well learned and I think I offered to return the fee.


Chris<br />

Ben<br />

Chris - I think it was the 2nd time me and my old<br />

DJ partner played in Sri Lanka. We'd played there once and<br />

it was amazing. Great vibe and turnout and an all round<br />

amazing experience. Skip forward to the next time we went<br />

to play and we got fleeced by the promoter who dodged<br />

paying us and assured us it would be sent on to us (still<br />

waiting for it!) as well as an attempt to get rinsed by the<br />

locals who decided to be our 'tour guide' and kidnapped us<br />

on a Tuk Tuk which took us to their mates shop who<br />

wouldn't let us leave until we bought some stones (we<br />

didn't buy any but it was scary experience!). To top it off,<br />

the gig was shit and dead. It put me off ever going there<br />

again (which is a shame as it was a beautiful place!).<br />

Best DJ gig and why?<br />

Ben - On the flip side of the bad gigs in NZ, we<br />

used to play at Calibre in Auckland which was a small, late<br />

night den of madness. I did a three hour set after The Big<br />

Day out which is the biggest festival of the year and it was<br />

amazing. The Chemical Brothers were seen cutting a rug<br />

and Vern Troyer (Austin Powers’ mini-me) was throwing<br />

shapes on the bar. Clubs used to shut at 2 in the UK back<br />

then so to play 2 - 5 am with everyone off their faces and<br />

going mental, on the back of a festival and going for it was<br />

really special.<br />

Also, we ran Robodisco in venues throughout<br />

Manchester for about 10 years and some of those were<br />

great. Lil Louis on one of the birthdays in Planet K is the<br />

first one that springs to mind.<br />

Chris - I think every Sticky Heat party has<br />

been pretty exceptional. Our most recent Sticky Heat<br />

& Sprechen collaboration party held just last month<br />

was incredible and saw us host a 12 door outside<br />

rave with Roman Flugel & Sean Johnston headlining.<br />

Pretty amazing! Also playing back to back with Sean<br />

Johnston at Electric Elephant (a festival I used to manage<br />

in Croatia) at Barbarellas will always be cherished. Playing<br />

about 3 - 4 hours from darkness to sunrise was one for the<br />

memory bank!<br />

When you go into the studio, tell us<br />

about your process.<br />

Ben - It’s different every time. Often for an<br />

album, I’ll spend a few weeks or months thinking about<br />

what I want to do and start gathering ideas and samples to<br />

choose from. That usually sketches out the parameters of<br />

the project and gives it a sound. But it can also be a matter<br />

of making a load of tracks and realising that you’ve got<br />

enough for an album which is what happened with Stubb.<br />

When I’m on my own, I work really slowly so nothing<br />

happens in a hurry but with Tom, we can do track in an<br />

evening.<br />

Chris - I tend to just jam some stuff down, see<br />

what sticks and go from there. I'm pleased to say that I've<br />

been able to leave the days of trying to do absolutely<br />

everything in one sitting way behind me. I always try to<br />

take a much more relaxed approach now.


You started off as Paper Recording,<br />

but you have more labels, and other<br />

projects, tell us about them.<br />

Ben - Production wise I’ve got Flash Atkins which<br />

seems to have turned in to slow, psychedelic house music<br />

project. As an off-shoot I’ve done an all-live afro disco<br />

track by the' Flash Atkins All Stars' and will come out on<br />

vinyl as mentioned earlier. I also produce as Stubb for<br />

more Balearic, leftfield stuff. I did an album called Canopy<br />

a couple of years ago and haven’t done anything since but<br />

feel like it’s an itch that needs to be scratched again. I’ve<br />

also nearly finished an afro-tech album with Tom from 2<br />

Billion Beats as BOM which reflects a lot of the the music I<br />

listen to these days. There’ll be gqom, Shangaan Electro,<br />

afrobeat and all sorts of other African influenced stuff by<br />

way of Yorkshire. I’m really excited about getting that<br />

finished off and released.<br />

We have had various label off shoots,<br />

including Repap and more recently Paper Wave and<br />

Paper Disco but have recently decided to put them to<br />

bed and release everything under the Paper<br />

Recordings banner. It will make things more eclectic<br />

than what people are used to but hopefully they will<br />

come with us.<br />

We also have Paper Vision Films for the full<br />

multimedia experience! We did Northern Disco Lights about<br />

six years ago not having a clue what we were doing and it<br />

came out really well, eventually selling to Red Bull which<br />

gave us the itch. We’ve been doing the record labels for a<br />

long time so it’s great to challenge ourselves with a new<br />

way of being creative. Wild Water, our new film on cold<br />

water swimming is nearly finished then we’re moving on to<br />

our new one ‘Inside The Outside’ about musical outsiders<br />

fairly quickly.<br />

Chris - As mentioned I have my own Sprechen<br />

label which was set up as a side project for my own<br />

productions and choose people I wish to work with. I had<br />

always wanted it to be a representation of my own musical<br />

styles and diverse selections which I think it is now seen as<br />

being!<br />

What’s the worst thing about<br />

running so many projects? And the<br />

best thing?<br />

Ben - I’m about to totally re-do my studio.<br />

Currently I run off Logic 9 with hooky software on a laptop<br />

that’s about 12 years; that and my Mackie desk have been<br />

slowly falling apart for a while and it’s reached critical<br />

mass. I’m going to get rid of most of my outboard<br />

compressors and reverbs and take it all in the box.<br />

My new set up will be the following then I’ll tweak it from<br />

there; Mac Mini M2, Kontakt Komplete Kontrol, Soft Tube<br />

Console 1, Midas MR-18. Synths wise, I use the Novation<br />

Supernova a lot, it’s a real workhorse, Moog Voyager, an<br />

Andromeda Alesis which was the first synth, one of the<br />

MS-20 remakes, Prophet Rev 2, Korg Polysix plus some<br />

other bits and bobs. I’ve also got a nice range of mics<br />

including an Aston Sprit and Røde NT3 for different<br />

projects.<br />

When I can, I like to try and take things live so<br />

have got a drum kit, Rhodes and two big boxes of<br />

percussion with all sorts of weird and wonderful things. I<br />

share a studio with someone who has got a harmonium<br />

which we recently used for the Wild Water soundtrack. It<br />

sounds fantastic, proper Penguin Cafė Orchestra. It may<br />

not seem so, but I no longer have gear acquisition<br />

syndrome!<br />

Chris - ANA synth by Slate Digital is what I use on<br />

lots of productions and my Roland TR8S is an essential<br />

piece of kit for jamming out drums and percussion. The<br />

Slate Digital plugins are also absolute essential to my work.<br />

Oldskool, neuskool or a bit of<br />

allskool?<br />

Ben - It’s got to be a mix of it all! One of the<br />

benefits of getting older is more musical knowledge and a<br />

bigger collection. Classics are classics for a reason and it’s<br />

brilliant to drop them in now and again, especially ones<br />

that feel like they’ve been slept on for a while or forgotten<br />

about. But the thought of classics all night makes me want<br />

to run for the hills. There’s so much much amazing new<br />

music coming out all the time, I don’t think there’s ever<br />

been a better time. Personally, it’s been interesting to<br />

notice how my music tastes have been evolving and my<br />

sets probably reflect that, these days I play a lot of African<br />

influenced music and I’ve started digging in to jazz.<br />

Chris - Embrace it all. Always look forward as<br />

much as possible. Nostalgia is a dangerous tool!<br />

Ben - Keeping all the balls in the air at the same<br />

time can be tricky at times, there are only so many hours<br />

in there day. Chris runs the social media side of things<br />

which I’m not too keen on doing myself. The best thing is<br />

being constantly excited by the various creative projects<br />

that come through.<br />

Chris - Time in the day and the sheer lack of it is<br />

the worst. Being creative & working with like- minded souls<br />

is the best!<br />

What gear is your go to? And tell us<br />

about the equipment you use in the<br />

studio.


What affect did lockdown have on<br />

you, good bad, or both. Did you<br />

learn anything from it, on a personal<br />

and pro level?<br />

Ben - It didn’t make a great deal of difference to<br />

me work-wise as I work for myself from home anyway. The<br />

biggest change was when the schools shut as suddenly my<br />

work day halved. Lockdown threw up some interesting<br />

ideas on how to keep things moving label-wise and<br />

creatively, one of which was our DJ Tag Team series which<br />

was kind of a video back-to-back with jocks only knowing<br />

what the last record and BPM was of the last person. I also<br />

did a Party For One which started with me playing outside<br />

at my Yorkshire smallholding next to a fire and has<br />

expanded to Party For Two with myself and Chris. In fact,<br />

it’s probably time for a new one!<br />

A personal level, it was quite nice to have nothing<br />

in the diary for a while.<br />

Chris - Weirdly I really enjoyed it. I seemed to be<br />

at a really beneficial scenario whereas I got paid for a lot of<br />

work I had done of which I was then not spending but I still<br />

had small bits of work coming through so I (very luckily)<br />

didn't have a financial worry. I had also always done my<br />

accounts and so I was able to receive funding. I found it a<br />

great time to reflect on what I wanted to do and what I was<br />

really interested in and started to work on music which is<br />

much more personal to me.<br />

Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music?<br />

Ben - Not a big question at all! It’s going to be<br />

really interesting to see what AI brings as we seem to be<br />

on the cusp of a major revolution in everything we do.<br />

Dance music has always been on the front line of new<br />

technology and I’m sure there will be amazing<br />

developments artistically. On the flip side, the audio<br />

version of Chat GPT and Midjourney must be just round the<br />

corner which I can see it substantially reducing income for<br />

licensing and synch. Why would an advertising agency or<br />

film license music when they can get exactly what they<br />

want for virtually nothing. Also, I can see those Buddha Bar<br />

kind of comps getting the AI treatment and getting massive<br />

traction on streaming platforms which would be taking<br />

revenue away from artists. However, I can’t see the club<br />

experience changing that much as getting 500 people in a<br />

room, sharing a communal experience through music is<br />

essentially the same it has been since the times of<br />

cavemen.<br />

Chris - I think it will continue to be as healthy as<br />

it’s always been. Trends come and’ go and they will<br />

continue to do so. I'll just exist in my own eco-system<br />

away from all the noise!<br />

Tell us about new productions, and<br />

DJ gigs?<br />

little bar, Barbary’ in my home village with a fantastic<br />

outside space. We’ve got Jeb Joy Nichols playing on Friday<br />

evening, the Craft Ale and Record Society with special<br />

guest and Paper original Miles Hollway, Léna C then Chris<br />

and I are playing with Supernature to close. Sunday is local<br />

heroes The Duende Collective and CP. The artwork is going<br />

to be in a 70s wrestling style. It’s going to be a lot of fun.<br />

Chris - I've got an album coming out on vinyl<br />

later this year under the name 'The Thief Of Time' which<br />

was started in lockdown. It’s very much a non-dancefloor<br />

sound and draws on personal life experiences as well as a<br />

love of electronic music. I also have some collaboration<br />

tracks I have done with Elliott Lion from the band the<br />

Editors which is really exciting!<br />

For gigs I’ll be playing at Blue Dot Festival &<br />

Beatherder in the summer as well as at the Calder Del Sol<br />

Weekender which we're putting on via Paper Recordings<br />

and some local gigs at Ramona. I also have Sprechen<br />

presents ALFOS coming up and in September we're<br />

welcoming Cinthie to come & play at Sticky Heat which I'm<br />

mega excited for!<br />

What’s the most successful track on<br />

the label, and why do you think it<br />

is?<br />

Ben - The one that seems to keep coming around<br />

is Downtime. It never seems to quite go away and Colleen<br />

‘Cosmo’ Murphy recently checked it on her radio show. It<br />

can be a bit frustrating that people hark back to the early<br />

days all the time as it was going on 25 years ago and we’ve<br />

released so much brilliant music since then. But those early<br />

days were a moment in time and I think evoke a certain<br />

nostalgic feeling for a lot of folk. Our first release had a<br />

message that said ‘Look Forward Not Back’ and we’ve had<br />

that as our unofficial mission statement ever since.<br />

Chris - Paper had some great legendary<br />

tracks back in the day and I think it’s no secret that<br />

Downtime & The Book are what people always seem<br />

to mention when talking about Paper. However I<br />

think Leon Sweet's Sunny Bigler is absolutely huge<br />

and Flash Atkins' Drug Empire never, ever leaves my<br />

box.<br />

Tell us a little about what you guys<br />

do when not making music, running<br />

labels, and film companies!<br />

Ben - I live on a smallholding and have a couple<br />

of fields that I love to mess about in. Paper Vision Films<br />

seems to have taken over for me on a day to day basis.<br />

Chris - Walk my dogs and try to stay healthy!<br />

Last words?<br />

Ben - Sign up to our newsletter for to keep up<br />

with the lastest and thanks for having us!<br />

Ben - I’m putting on a mini festival called the<br />

Calder Del Sol Weekender on June 23/34/25 in a brilliant


DJ CHARTS - spring issue <strong>2023</strong><br />

Jens Lissat [GER] [TECHNO / HOUSE]<br />

1. Jens Lissat - The future (Rave forever Remix) Studio3000<br />

2. Derb - Berb (Jens Lissat Remix) / Studio3000 Records<br />

3. Dennis Bauer - Techno Is My Soul / Affenkäfig Red<br />

4. Alignment - Close your eyes /KNTXT<br />

5. Bisou - Technology / Studio3000 Records<br />

6. Tommy Libera& Zeuz - Don Kalle / Affenkäfig Red<br />

7. Jens Lissat - Jesus Loves Acid / Affenkäfig Red<br />

8. Thommes Jay - Fuck you up / (TBA)<br />

9. IGDA - Ride or die / Affenkäfig Red<br />

10. 8288 - Technokind (Tommy Libera remix) Affenkäfig Red<br />

PAUL SAWYER [UK] [KRAFTED] [HOUSE/Trance]<br />

1. Paul Sawyer, Carla Werner – Gold [Pure Trance / Black Hole<br />

Rec]<br />

2. Paul Sawyer – Express [Tanzgemeinschaft]<br />

3. Dylhen – Hope feat. Rion S (Paul Sawyer Remix) [Pattern]<br />

4. Kris O’Neil – Till You Tell Me feat. Waves On Waves (Ruben<br />

Karapetyan Remix) [Krafted Underground]<br />

5. 08 Orbit, Sinova – Low Tide [Krafted Underground]<br />

6. Elena Kulstof, Eirikr – White Horses [Krafted Underground]<br />

7. Enrico van der Merwe – I Can Hear You [Sounds of Krafted]<br />

8. Propa People – Dirt [Krafted Digital]<br />

9. Booka Shade – Flat White [Blaufield Music]<br />

10. John Cosani – One Dollar [Sudbeat]<br />

DJ Samer [Usa] [HOUSE/Progressive]<br />

1. thebassmonkey - Malaba (Remixes) [Pangea]<br />

2. Trilucid - Athena [UV]<br />

3. Freek Strano - Child Inner (Jamie Stevens Remix) [ASTIR]<br />

4. Southern Cross - Hey Rocco! [Pangea]<br />

5. DJ Samer - Danya inc. Vocal Remix [Vapour]<br />

6. Luke Brancaccio & Gai Barone - Curious Of Humble [Music<br />

To Die For]<br />

7. Bonobo & Jacques Greene 'Fold' [OUTLIER]<br />

8. John Monkman & Rinzen - Fade [Desert Hearts Black]<br />

9. Paul Sawyer - Riotous (Ext. Mix) [Krafted Underground]<br />

10. Jaap Ligthart - Black Rabbit Sky (Extended Mix) [Kollectiv]<br />

JAY DOBIE [UK] [Progressive House Classics]<br />

1. Dave Seaman – Right Side of Wrong [Audio Therapy]<br />

2. Sasha – Vapourspace [LNOE]<br />

3. Tilt – Here Is Not Now [Pro B Tech]<br />

4. Fishead -Inescapable [Saw Recordings]<br />

5. Luke Chable – The Shepherd [Vapour Recordings]<br />

6. Fever Ray – Triangle Walks [Rabid Records]<br />

7. BT – Blue Skies (Blauer Himmel Mix) [Perfecto]<br />

8. Echomen – Radar [Forensic]<br />

9. Lemon8 – Lose Control [Bedrock]<br />

10. Stephan K – Numb [Saw Recordings]<br />

AMBER LEIGH MELBY [USA] [Trance]<br />

1. T. Reilly, C. Connolly - Down With The Underground<br />

[Tranceformer]<br />

2. Sunlounger, Zara Taylor - Found Feat Zara Taylor (Roger<br />

Shah Uplifting Extended Remix) [Armada Captivating]<br />

3. M.De Jong - Bamboo (Extended Mix) [Who's Afraid Of 138?!]<br />

4. Mark Sherry, David Forbes - Galvanizers (Extended Mix)<br />

[Outburst Records]<br />

5. Casey Rasch - The Witching Hour (Extended Mix)<br />

[Nocturnal Knights Fusion]<br />

6. Ben Gold - I'm In A State Of Trance (Extended <strong>2023</strong> Edit)<br />

[A State Of Trance]<br />

7. Sneijder - In And Out Of My Life (Extended Mix) [Afterdark]<br />

8. Anthony Syfer - Lost Star [Treehouse Tribe Records]<br />

9. Rank 1, Shanokee - Such Is Life (Xijero & Pitch Extended<br />

Remix) [High Contrast Recordings]<br />

10. Richard Durand, Christina Novelli - Fall Through The Earth<br />

(Extended Mix) [Muse Music Records]<br />

MARK NEENAN [UK] [Techno] [Filth Infatuated]<br />

1. Michael Wells a.k.a. G.T.O. - Bring The Drums [Dataflow]<br />

2. Oliver Rosemann & Alexander Kowalski - Most Monkeys Live<br />

In Trees [Recorded Things]<br />

3. Brad Lee - Extraction Point [Corrupt Systems]<br />

4. Perc - Resistor (Interceptor's TNG Borg Remix) [Perc Trax]<br />

5. 'Bad Boy' Pete - My Pain Forever [Tense Trax]<br />

6. Toni Alvarez - Fantasy Delerium [Hydraulix]<br />

7. The Southside Warriors - How Do You Like That [Tense<br />

Trax]<br />

8. Wetworks - Blueprint To Revenge Part Two (Alexander<br />

Johansson & Mattias Fridell remix) [PLAYER]<br />

9. Ghost In The Machine - Ensnared [Perc Trax]<br />

10. Donzil - The Twillight <strong>Zone</strong> [Filth Infatuated]<br />

lemon8 [UK] [House/Progressive]<br />

1. MC Kasper - Universal (Thomas Compana Remix) [AH<br />

Digital]<br />

2. Facundo Navarro - Melodies of Traveler (Darren Bray Remix)<br />

[AH Digital]<br />

3. Whoriskey - Save Yourself (Ruben Karapetyan Remix)<br />

[J00F]<br />

4. Jerome Isma-Ae - Baharat (GMJ & Matter Remix) [JEE<br />

Productions]<br />

5. Kayinda - The Legend [AH Digital]<br />

6. Mariano Giacinti - The Edge of Space [AH Digital]<br />

7. Chambord, Roze (FR) - Fortune Teller (Valentin Huedo<br />

Remix) [Around Midnight]<br />

8. Peres - Freedom Is Past (Fabri Lopez Remix) [LuPS Records]<br />

9. RNX - Collective (Extended Mix) [Pure Trance]<br />

10. Uone - Thought Control (Original Mix) [BEAT & PATH]


https://www.discogs.com/seller/Redbox-Vinyl-Shop/profile<br />

PAUL NEWHOUSE [IRL] [House/Techno][<strong>Zone</strong>]<br />

FRANK DUEFFEL [Germany] [Trance]<br />

1. Gorge, Marc Lenz - Yuna [8bit Records]<br />

2. Eddie Richards - After All Vol 1 (2x12") [REPEAT]<br />

3. Prok & Fitch, Leonardo Gonnelli - Lullaby [8bit Records]<br />

4. Joyhauser - Crawler [Terminal M Records]<br />

5. Eddie Richards - After All Vol 2 (2x12") [REPEAT]<br />

6. Pablo Say - Old Child [Terminal M Records]<br />

7. Various Artists - Sammelwerk IV [Konflkt]<br />

8. RWN - Apres L'Heure [Koi Series]<br />

9. Thomas Schumacher, Various - Reworks 1 [Electric Ballroom]<br />

10. 14. Raffaele Attanasio - Quasar EP [Mutual Rytm]<br />

Weissach [UK] [Drum & bass]<br />

1. Synth System, MC Kerizma – Shut It Down [Viper Recordings]<br />

2. Mollie Collins, Ruth Royall – Remedies (Vibe Chemistry Remix)<br />

[UKF]<br />

3. Alpha Rhythm, Echomatics – Empty Promises [Celsius<br />

Recordings]<br />

4. Weissach, Ana Be – Fly [Krafted Records]<br />

5. Electrosoul System – Smoozless Day [Offworld Recordings]<br />

6. Matt View – High [Yumi Recordings]<br />

7. Aleyum, Istoria – She’s Never Enough [Celsius Recordings]<br />

8. Motiv, Luke Truth – Done For Me [Liquid V]<br />

9. Alibi – Liquid State [Intrigue Music]<br />

10. Telomic, Susan H – Underwater [Liquicity Records]<br />

CHRIS CARGO [N.Ireland] [Choo Choo]<br />

1. Chris Cargo - Future Elements [If You Wait]<br />

2. Mindlancholic - Lost In A Dream [AH Digital]<br />

3. Chris Cargo - Jackdaw [OneDotSixTwo]<br />

4. Freedo Mosho - Paradise Lost [Electronic Groove]<br />

5. Alexander Church & Chris Cargo - ID [Configurations of Self]<br />

6. Circulation - Potes [Stripped Recs]<br />

7. Chris Cargo - Aurora (Antrim Remix) [If You Wait]<br />

8. John Cosani - One Dollar [Sudbeat]<br />

9. Chris Cargo & Frerunners - ID<br />

10. Luis Damora - Altered Stars [If you Wait]<br />

1. David Broaders - Evenfall [Euphonic]<br />

2. Frank Dueffel - Atardecer De Eivissa [Vandit Rec.]<br />

3. Final Fantasy - Controlling Transmission (Sans Souci Remix)<br />

[Esprit De La Jeunesse]<br />

4. Mark Sherry, Smith & Brown - Tambores De Carnival<br />

[Outburst Rec.]<br />

5. Underworld - And The Color Red [Underworld Rec.]<br />

6. Revolution 9 - Tundra [Ascent Rec.]<br />

7. Fuenka - Power [UV Noir]<br />

8. Marc van Linden & D-Gor - Pentode [Vandit Rec.]<br />

9. Claptone - Euphoria [Golden]<br />

10. Paul van Dyk & Weekend Heroes & Christian Schottstädt -<br />

Venture X [Vandit Alternative]<br />

Terry Hobbs [Spain] [what the house][Soulful]<br />

1. Horizon Red - Pete & Zoe Kypri [Crosstown Rebels]<br />

2. All I need Ft Sara Garvey – Steve Silk Hurley, Sara Garvey –<br />

Silk’s S&S (House Mix) [Hard Times]<br />

3. History Repeating – Ezel, Rona Rey [Bayacou Records]<br />

4. Wanna Be Down – The Journey Men & Anna-Marie Johnson<br />

(Extended Mix) [Raising Records]<br />

5. City Soul Project & Man Go Funk Downtown (Pat Bedeau’s<br />

Bedfunk Remix) [Soul City Recordings]<br />

6. Relentless – Grant Nelson [Swing City]<br />

7. Vibe – Wez Whynt & Hannah Khemoh (Wez Whynt Vocal Mix)<br />

[Vibe Boutique Recordings]<br />

8. Lose My Mind – Jamie Jones (Extended Mix) [Helix Recordings]<br />

9. Surrender (Dr Packer Radio Edit) [Easy Street]<br />

10. Ask Yourself (Can You Dance) – Angelo Ferreri [Soulfuric<br />

Trax]


featuring ANA BE<br />

fly<br />

released 15th may <strong>2023</strong>


VINYL TOP 20<br />

1. Kirik - Dance Of Confusion [Simbioza Records]<br />

2. Rob Acid - Acid Chronicles 3x12" [Esprit de la Jeunesse]<br />

3. RWN - Apres L'Heure [Koi Series]<br />

4. Eddie Richards - After All Vol 2 (2x12") [REPEAT]<br />

5. Matt Prehn - Qualia [Oh So Coy Vinyl]<br />

6. Teenage Mutants, Heerhorst - PTT [Terminal M Records]<br />

7. Eddie Richards - After All Vol 1 (2x12") [REPEAT]<br />

8. Thomas Schumacher, Various - Reworks 1 [Electric Ballroom]<br />

9. Gorge, Marc Lenz - Yuna [8bit Records]<br />

10. Sisko Electrofanatik - Ametista [Terminal M Records]<br />

11. Various - Bangers Vol. 7 [Terminal M Records]<br />

12. Umwelt - Dead Eyes Society 2x12" [Monnom Black]<br />

13. Pablo Say - Old Child [Terminal M Records]<br />

14. Raffaele Attanasio - Quasar EP [Mutual Rytm]<br />

15. Joyhauser - Crawler [TERM213]<br />

16. Various Artists - Sammelwerk IV [Konflkt]<br />

17 . 808 State - In Yer Face (bicep Remixes) [Feel My Bicep]<br />

18. Joyhauser - Crawler [Terminal M Records]<br />

19. Prok & Fitch, Leonardo Gonnelli - Lullaby [8bit Records]<br />

20. AGE OF LOVE - THE AGE OF LOVE (Charlotte De Witte & Enrico Sangiuliano Remix) [DIKI Records]<br />

https://deejay.de


Albums - Dance<br />

Deejay.de / Vinyl / house & techno //<br />

Albums - Dance<br />

TOP TUNE //<br />

10<br />

Thomas Schumacher, VA –Reworks 1 [Electric Ballroom]<br />

First found on Thomas Schumacher’s Patreon, these until now unreleased<br />

versions are now seeing they light of day! His takes on “Rage Control” by Zajon<br />

and “Telegraph” by Mark Porter are full of nervous techno energy. “Konfusion”<br />

by Maketech is taken on next and given a full acid techno makeover. Finally the<br />

original by Maketech rounds things off, and embraces the glitchy electronica<br />

side of heavy techno.<br />

https://deejay.de/Thomas_Schumacher_Various_Reworks_1_EBM030_Vinyl__1004674<br />

9<br />

808 State - In yer face (Bicep remixes) [Feel My Bicep]<br />

Dance music superstars Bicep continue their world dominance, headlining arenas and touring<br />

the world. However they still seem to have time to put out some seriously good white label<br />

remixes on their Feel My Bicep imprint. In a nod back to their early days, this set of remixes<br />

had been released with a limited run with little fanfare. Taking on the classic from 808 State,<br />

they cook up two versions. Their first is a trademark steccato basslines and sharp sounding<br />

percussion. Their “Acid Dub” slows the tempo and ups the 303 vibes. Great stuff.<br />

https://deejay.de/808_State_In_Yer_Face_bicep_Remixes_FMB007WHITE_Vinyl__979285<br />

8<br />

8<br />

Patrick Topping - Be Sharp Say Nowt [Hot Creations]<br />

The northeast of the UK’s most beloved export after chicken parmos, Patrick Topping<br />

moves away from his own Trick imprint to drop this 2-tracker on Hot Creations. Title<br />

track “Be sharp say nowt” is a peak time house bumper. Punchy drums and a rolling<br />

bassline are combined with a wonderful gospel vocal from LaShun Pace. The flipside<br />

“Track Change” takes us into more experimental territory for Topping, featuring<br />

glitchy 8-bit samples and bouncy percussion. A great reflection of his varied styles.<br />

https://deejay.de/Patrick_Topping_Be_Sharp_Say_Nowt_HOTC104SPLATTER_Vinyl__975757<br />

Raffaele Attanasio - Quaser Ep [Mutual RYTM]<br />

Raffaele Attanasio drops his first EP for nearly two years on SHDW & Obscure Shape's<br />

Mutual Rytm for his 'Quasar' EP. Six tracks showcasing his excellent production styles and<br />

musical tastes. “Quaser” kicks things off and brings the energy, with each track<br />

culminated with the frenetic energy of “Chara”. A great mix of peak time flavours that will<br />

be at home in any dark room late at night. Great stuff.<br />

7<br />

https://deejay.de/Raffaele_Attanasio_Quasar_EP_MR-009_Vinyl__1012630<br />

Matt Prehn - Qualia [Oh So Coy Vinyl]<br />

Having been releasing underground house music for nearly a decade, Matt Prehn arrives<br />

on Oh So Coy Vinyl’s 10th release. With a funky bassline and obscure vocal samples<br />

”Qualia” is one for the DJ with the more avant garde tastes. TMBSH! Brings the funk with<br />

his remix, adding guitars and strings to proceedings, whilst Paul Rudder goes for a more<br />

up-tempo deep house vibe. Finally, Matt brings us “Inunison”, full of deep house energy<br />

and jazzy chords.<br />

https://deejay.de/Matt_Prehn_Qualia_OSCV010_Vinyl__1007244


John Ricketts \\ TUNES<br />

9<br />

8<br />

Kirik - Dance of Confusion [Simbioza Records]<br />

4 tracks of blissful deep tech house music from Kirik, with the bonus of Mikhu on the<br />

remix as well. All 3 originals have the distinctive swag of Kirik’s style, “Dance of<br />

Confusion” and “Everything we say” keeping things quite subdued whilst still being<br />

able to do the damage when needed. “Paradise only” ups the energy. Finally to<br />

round things off Mikhu takes on the title track of the EP and gives it a summery<br />

outdoor vibe.<br />

https://deejay.de/Kirik_Dance_Of_Confusion_SMBZ001_Vinyl__996285<br />

Prok & Fitch/Leonardo Gonnelli - Lullaby [8bit Records]<br />

Brighton house music legends team up with the Leonardo Gonnelli with this 2-<br />

track ep aimed straight at the dancefloor. “Lullaby” combines it’s heartfelt vocal<br />

samples with deep undulating bass and drums that push the track along. Flipside<br />

“Hooked” ups the energy and brings the funk!<br />

https://deejay.de/Prok_%7C_Fitch_%26_Leonardo_Gonnelli_Lullaby_8BIT169_Vinyl__978527<br />

RECOMMENDED<br />

10<br />

Teenage Mutants, Heerhorst – PTT [Terminal M Records]<br />

Terminal M Records brings the heat with three heavy hitting techno numbers.<br />

Those familiar with the Terminal M sound will know what to expect here. “PTT”<br />

kicks off with rolling basslines and huge kick drums. ”Tut Ench Amour” brings<br />

more trance elements into the mix, whilst “Angel Dust” rounds things off with<br />

more of that signature Terminal M sound. Great stuff.<br />

https://deejay.de/Teenage_Mutants_%26_Heerhorst_PTT_TERM216_Vinyl__1003004<br />

8<br />

RWN - Apres L’Heure [Koi Series]<br />

4 deep house nuggets here from the elusive RWN as he joins forces with<br />

Re.Face Records sublabel Koi to bring us a 4-track ep full of deep and melodic<br />

delights. From the beginning to the end, this is pure daytime on the terrace<br />

vibes, ready for the summer.<br />

https://deejay.de/RWN_Apres_LHeure_KOI006_Vinyl__1002993<br />

8<br />

Umwelt - Dead Eyes Society [Monnom Black]<br />

30 years in the making, Umwelt’s new album takes on a journey through the sounds of<br />

techno. Weaving between the grooves of “Captive Universe” and “The Lost Dreamer” and<br />

the frenetic energy of tracks of `”Cosebreaker” and “Generation One”, it’s a great<br />

collection of heavy techno. Amazing work from one of the greats of underground techno<br />

https://deejay.de/Umwelt_Dead_Eyes_Society_2x12_MONNOM029_Vinyl__1007690


Vinyl + Digital<br />

Albums - Dance<br />

TECHNO & HARD TECHNO / Mark Neenan<br />

Albums - Dance<br />

TOP TUNE //<br />

10<br />

Tense Trax 02 (VA) (Tense Trax)<br />

9.5<br />

8.5<br />

8.5<br />

French acid prodigy 'Dica' showcases his modern driving acid style with a banger of a tune called 'Mind<br />

Blowing Side Effects' which has bags of energy and is full of cool hip house vocal snippets. 'How Do You<br />

Like That' by The Southside Warriors (Acid Choci, Marcio M and Tiago Santos) is a proper old school<br />

sounding bubbling Acid Techno track with one hell of a groove and an awesome sounding ascending<br />

airplane engine take off kinda noise (Total Departure stylee) Wicked! 'How Do You Like That? They ask,<br />

well I like it a fucking lot! 'Squadron 303' by a solo Marcio M this time is another great track full of<br />

squelchy 303 work but my favourite is 'My Pain Forever' by the ever brilliant "Bad Boy" Pete. Tough,<br />

driving Hard Acid Techno with dark synth stabs and an eerie Hellraiser sample! Lots of plays from the A<br />

List on this one. Quality. By the time these reviews are out I'm sure you'll be able to buy this on all digital<br />

platforms as well as a cool Clear 12" Vinyl from the Flatlife Bandcamp page.<br />

https://flatliferecords.bandcamp.com/album/tense-trax-02-acid-techno<br />

PERC - Resistor remixed (PERC TRAX)<br />

Wouldn't be a review without some PERC In here and yet again PERC TRAX and Ali Wells deliver the goods, this time with some<br />

very special remixes. Originally released in 2021 as part of Ali's 'Greed EP' Resistor, is a monstrous thumper that has destroyed<br />

dance floors ever since and has a epic atmospheric break down that soon turns nasty with resistor type glitches and a zappy bell<br />

like clang before re entry. First up on remix duties is underground legend and all round top man Tassid, of SKUXX records fame.<br />

Jamie turns it into a crisp and driving warehouse monster with all the quirky edits and fx fills we love from him whilst still<br />

maintaining plenty of the original sounds. Really wicked remix this and it's gonna get rinsed for sure! Up next is Jenson<br />

Interceptor (named after the legendary Car built in 1970s West Brom) I am a HUGE fan of Mikey's work and am always playing his<br />

Electro gear. For this remix we are treated to a very crossover 4x4 Hard Techno / Electro / Jackin rework of epic proportions! This<br />

is the real deal, you must listen to this! Finally Berlin based 'Wallis' brings the Industrial heat with a relentless and gritty version,<br />

hardly recognisable to the original other than the occasional snippet of lead line slipping through the darkness every so often. Love<br />

this, she is certainly one to watch and im gutted i missed her Bristol gig last month.<br />

https://perctrax.bandcamp.com/track/resistor<br />

RECOMMENDED<br />

Oliver Rosemann & Alexander Kowalski Muzzle Blast EP (Recorded Things)<br />

Oliver Rosemann & Alexander Kowalski need no introduction and are 2 of my favourite producers. This release on<br />

recorded Things features 4 of their best works which have been released before, but this time they are getting pressed<br />

onto those beautiful black plastic disc things for the first time! You know what you are getting with these guys, Dark<br />

Intelligent and tough 'Proper' Techno! 'Chinese Water Torture' and 'Wasps Attack When Drunk' are excellent in their<br />

own right, but for me its all about 'Muzzle Blast' with its dark hypnotising groove and marching percusion and my<br />

Numero Uno of the EP 'Most Monkeys Live In Trees' which is just so damn quirky! Stuttering groove fuelled mayhem<br />

with bendy synths and plenty of jack! Love this tune.<br />

https://recordedthings.bandcamp.com/album/muzzle-blast-rect010<br />

FRANKIE VEGA - Pyramid Trax (UKR Special Series)<br />

10<br />

Chicago legend Frankie Vega returns to the awesome UKR with 2 excellent originals. 'Pyramid of the Moon' is a crisp<br />

Jackin affair full of Chicago influence. It's packed with a synth, subtle stabs, tight percussion and all the good stuff you<br />

come to expect from Frankie. My picks though are the other 2 tracks. The original of 'Pyramid of the Sun' has a subtle<br />

acid line running through it accompanied by some clanking tribal beats and a lovely deep undertone. Add some mesmeric<br />

bleeps and you're onto a winner. Would sound ace outdoors this! Finally, Mark Therblig from Mastoid Kollective ups the<br />

pace and gives us a harder version of 'Pyramid of the Sun' This is a beast of a remix and it only relents slightly on the<br />

break as the original synth line comes in. Other than that this is a heads down dark dancefloor destroyer! Sweet!<br />

https://urbankickzrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/ukrss193-pyramid-trax-ep<br />

Developer - Hexmode LP (Modularz)<br />

Was blown away by Developers set at Tresor last month, and a few days after I get back what should land in my promo<br />

box.. A huge album from said Developer on his label 'Modularz'. There are a huge 12 tracks on offer here in varying<br />

techy styles weaving in and out of Bleepy sounds, Sci Fi, and there'seven Classical undertones on 'Volver' but for the<br />

most part, just like his explosive DJ set in Berlin the main emphasis is Hard Hypnotic Tribal Rhythms, which is right up<br />

my street! If I had to pick a couple of favorites, I'd go with the dark 'Divine Shine' and the crazy 'Pure with Intent' I<br />

recommend you check out this album and If you've not heard the man from Los Angeles DJ, go and check his sets out<br />

also!<br />

https://modularz.bandcamp.com/album/modularz-75-hexmode


\\ TUNES<br />

9.5<br />

8<br />

8<br />

10<br />

8<br />

Brad Lee - Enter Whitespace Remixes Part 2 (Corrupt Systems)<br />

My old mate from America Brad Lee has had somewhat of a resurgence in the studio since having a bad accident and being laid up<br />

for the last few months. (Wishing you nothing but the best mate) but in his downtime he has been making some absolute face<br />

melters! This release is part 2 of a remix series on Luke' (Oris) awesome Corrupt System's label. The 2 originals are probably my<br />

fave, this is the kinda proper real hard Techno I love and reminds me of the seminal 90's sound. 'Enter Whitenoise' is a Sub heavy<br />

industrial roller, with machine like noises and hard building layers of percussion leading up to an evil sounding vocal and eerie<br />

breakdown. 'Extraction Point' is equally as hard and has some amazing metallic synth sounds, which makes it sound like a cyborg is<br />

having dirty relations with a broken washing machine. Amazing! There are 5 remixes to choose from including label owner Oris,<br />

Sean Devine and Myself. But I am loving 'Wetworks' hard loopy Tribal version which is subtly infused with some dark disco grooves<br />

and the EXIT7 Remix which is an energetic modern tough warehousepounder! The release has already had some killer support from<br />

the likes of Cristian Varela, D.A.V.E The Drummer, Dax J, Daz Furey, Louk, Modular Phaze, Oliver Kucera, Slam, and Samantha<br />

Togni to name but a few. Go and grab a copy now!<br />

https://corrupt-systems.bandcamp.com/album/enter-whitespace-remixes-part-2<br />

Audioklinik - Chronos EP (Open Source)<br />

Pat Hurley's ace Open Source label has delved into the vault and picked two amazing tracks from<br />

Audioklinik to get a re-release digitally. Fifteen years after first appearing on vinyl 'Chronos' and<br />

'Darkness' have been digitally remastered by the legendary Patrick DSP at his Neptune Studios in Berlin!<br />

Both of these originals are certified Hardgroove stompers and it's great they have got a new lease of life<br />

for the digital world. Pat Hurley himself takes on remixing both tracks, with his quality version of 'Chronos'<br />

going down a deep and stripped back journey whilst his rework of 'Darkness' is a bass heavy broken beat<br />

techno offering of the highest order. Cracking EP this, check it!<br />

https://www.beatport.com/label/open-source-records/24558<br />

Various Artists - Back To Basics EP (Collective Details)<br />

I've never come across this label before and when flicking through the mountains of promos it's the second<br />

tracks name that made me stop in my tracks (and laugh out loud to myself) 'My Mom Gave Me Chlamydia'<br />

what the actual fuck!? Hahahaha Anyway, said track by an artist called 'Cindy' is actually bloody brilliant.<br />

Rolling warm Techno grooves are accompanied by a Lovely twisted evolving synth line throughout and it<br />

also has these quirky almost out of time bell noises that are pleasing to the ears. Beauty! There are 6tunes<br />

in the VA release, but 3 stand out for me. The already mentioned track from Cindy, Plus a rather weird and<br />

wonky roller from Tav Shi titled '8 Traxx 00_s' and the tough Tribal workout of 'Something Cronic' by<br />

Backrill. Ace heads down Hardgroove cut this. But yeah, back to Cindy. Their Mom should be on the list.Ha!<br />

https://glbdomrec.bandcamp.com/album/various-artists-back-to-basics-gdwax001-12<br />

Toni Alvarez, D.A.V.E. The Drummer, Chris Liberator Hydrailix X03 (Hydraulix)<br />

Top Spanish producer Toni returns to the legendary Hydraulix for this Vinyl Exclusive on the top London<br />

label. 'Fast and Dark' is exactly that, fast paced dark Techno grooves with searing and building squelchy<br />

acid. I prefer 'Fantasy Delerium', slightly slower on the pace but has a great warping bassline and the acid<br />

is more of a builder on this cut. Add into the equation the classic 'Fear and Loathing' sample (Uppers,<br />

downers, screamers, laughers etc) and you've got a sure fit Techno hit on your hands! If these tracks arent<br />

enough for you, then theres only 2 slamming remixes by Chris Liberator and label boss D.A.V.E. The<br />

Drummer! Chris goes vintage Liberator, energetic London sounds with a hypnotic synth leading you into<br />

the chaos the ensues, whilst Henry's version of Fantasy Delerium is 7 minutes of Tough, driving warehouse<br />

techno with the mind bending squealing acid not coming till the latter part. Ooh, i nearly forgot to mention,<br />

it comes in a sexy clear green vinyl too Epic!<br />

https://hydraulix.bandcamp.com/album/hydraulix-x03-vinyl-exclusive<br />

KOR Tephra EP (Nodding Heads)<br />

This came in as i was finalising my reviews and i had to sneak it in. Never heard of KOR, but whoever they<br />

are, they have a new fan. Trippy, Hypnotic, full of deep grooves and intricate percussion and thats just on<br />

track 1, Caldera! The other 3 tracks range from hard groove vibes, Wonky weirdness and the last track<br />

'vapopur Phase' is a punchy futuristic jam. The Nodding Heads label keeps on making heads nod thats for<br />

sure (and People dance!) Go check this out.<br />

https://mildfantasy.bandcamp.com/album/tephra-ep


30 YEARS A DJ<br />

available now to<br />

stream/download<br />

INCLUDING REMIXES AND TRACKS BY<br />

PAUL OAKENFOLD, SOLARSTONE, zoya, SUNSCREEM<br />

BLUE AMAZON, LOSTLY, VALLERAPHON<br />

GUYRO, WILLIAM MEDAGLI, SHEMSU, DARKERSOUND<br />

STORMSHAKER, DAMIEN SPENCER, NICK MUIR<br />

BLACK 8, JAN JOHNSTON,

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