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Zone Magazine Issue 038 Summer 2023

Well Folks, Lots of great things happening here at Zone HQ just for you lot, so keep coming back! Well its Summer 2023, and we have a whopper packed issue with all the regulars, and lots of interviews! Just to let you guys know, we are back to bio-monthly now! We welcome new contributors - Terry Hobbs [UK/Spain], Jay Dobie [UK], Jose De S [Portugal], and Msykes [Ireland].

Well Folks, Lots of great things happening here at Zone HQ just for you lot, so keep coming back! Well its Summer 2023, and we have a whopper packed issue with all the regulars, and lots of interviews! Just to let you guys know, we are back to bio-monthly now! We welcome new contributors - Terry Hobbs [UK/Spain], Jay Dobie [UK], Jose De S [Portugal], and Msykes [Ireland].

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ISSUE <strong>038</strong><br />

tIM FRENCH<br />

<strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2023</strong> - Tim French<br />

“ In 1994, whilst clubbing and living in Dorset, I met friends with<br />

turntables and started to learn to mix on belt drives. All my<br />

spare cash went into the start of my now extensive vinyl<br />

collection ”<br />

| Maisy Grace | DoC | Jay Dobie | DJ Cynthia | SILINDER | 2 intense weeks in Ibiza | GMJ |<br />

| 25 Years of Kinky Maliki | Beach Grooves ES | San Hejmo Festival | DJ Charts |<br />

| BOSH Recordings | Music Reviews | Freebees | D4mian Smith | Zoe Kypri | Gareth Murphy |


https://www.discogs.com/seller/Redbox-Vinyl-Shop/profile


WELCOME<br />

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

FOUNDER, EDITOR, PUBLISHER & HEAD<br />

OF CREATIVE<br />

Paul Newhouse<br />

paul@zone-magazine.eu<br />

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

coming back! Well its <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2023</strong>, and we have a whopper packed issue with all the<br />

regulars, and lots of interviews! Just to let you guys know, we are back to bio-monthly<br />

now! We welcome new contributors - Terry Hobbs [UK/Spain], Jay Dobie [UK], Jose De S<br />

[Portugal], and Msykes [Ireland].<br />

FEATURE WRITERS &<br />

CONTRIBUTORS<br />

USA<br />

Megan Williams<br />

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

Amber Leigh Melby<br />

amberleighmelby@gmail.com<br />

IRELAND<br />

Antoney Mac Phiarais<br />

antoney.mac@zone-magazine.eu<br />

Msykes<br />

paulbrady82@hotmail.com<br />

UK<br />

Paul Sawyer<br />

paul@kraftedmusic.com<br />

John Ricketts<br />

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

Paul Hawcroft<br />

paulhawcroftmusic@gmail.com<br />

Mark Neenan<br />

Markneenanpromos@gmail.com<br />

John W McDevitt -<br />

j.w.mcdevitt@talk21.com<br />

SPAIN<br />

Terry Hobbs<br />

tdhobbs79@gmail.com<br />

D4main Smith<br />

20adm.com@gmail.com<br />

PORTUGAL<br />

Jose De Sousa<br />

japsousa@gmail.com<br />

NETHERLANDS<br />

Thorsten Benders<br />

thorsten@zone-magazine.eu<br />

MUSIC DIRECTOR<br />

John Ricketts<br />

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 &<br />

ADVERTISING<br />

advertising@zone-magazine.eu<br />

CONNECT<br />

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

Twitter - @officialzonemag<br />

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zonemagazineofficial<br />

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zone_magazine_official<br />

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

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

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

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

given in this magazine are not nessicerally shared<br />

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

re-published without prior agreement from its<br />

publishers. Readers should take care when<br />

responding to any adverts in <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, which<br />

apear without any indorsment or responsibility, from<br />

<strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />

In our feature interviews in this issue we talk to cover artist and workhorse TIM FRENCH. Tim French is a British DJ<br />

Producer based in Plymouth UK. He spent the Nineties playing to large audiences across the South West of the UK<br />

including renowned nights Scream & United held at Plymouth’s legendary Warehouse. Also playing at many popular clubs<br />

and nights such as Drop <strong>Zone</strong> & Boss Nova at the Sound Factory (Plymouth UK), The Monastery (Torquay UK), The Grove<br />

(Seaton UK) as well as various other venues throughout the South West of England.<br />

From The UK, we speak to an amazing vocalist and songwiter ZOE KYPRI. What a year it has been for London<br />

sensation, Singer, Songwriter, Label boss, Zoe Kypri, including releasing one of this summer’s Ibiza Anthems, selling out<br />

at The Lower Third & Jazz Café London and performances at Secret Garden party and Glastonbury. Not to mention the<br />

collaboration with Made By Pete, and a Black Coffee remix, she continues to go from strength to strength and is quickly<br />

becoming one of the most sought after vocalists in the business!!<br />

Also, another vocalist and songwriter on the way up in the UK, we speak to MASIY GRACE. Maisy Grace<br />

has come seemingly out of nowhere with one of the year’s most exciting albums. Combining multiple<br />

genres within underground dance music she has shown a songwriting prowess and depth rarely seen<br />

these days. Produced by Simon Tagg (Kouncilhouse) it draws from influences ranging from r’n’b, drum<br />

and bass and house, and could well be the underground’s album of the summer. We caught up with<br />

Maisy to chat about the whole process of writing the album and also what her journey has been like up<br />

to this point.<br />

From the UK JAY DOBIE joins <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>. In this issue comes an article about 'Blurring the boundries" of<br />

Progressive House! It wasn't that long ago that you'd attend a club night or listen to a DJ and get a bit of a spectrum of<br />

music, progressive house blurred the lines between techno, house, and trance. It's fair to say that this is something that<br />

the younger clubbing generation doesn't get to experience and it always brings up the question in the PHC Facebook<br />

group - 'Why do different genres pop up alongside progressive house in classic mixes?'<br />

Also from the UK, we speak to Ian Carney, from BOSH RECORDINGS. Between 1998 and 2005, Bosh<br />

Recordings racked up an impressive 38 vinyl releases featuring artists such as Blakkat, David Duriez, Jason Hodges, Harri<br />

& The Revenge, Grant Dell, Chris Simmonds and label owner Ian Carney in his guise as Toka. Spanning the genres of<br />

house and techno, Bosh quickly garnered support from the worlds most influential DJ's including Derrick Carter, Sneak,<br />

Andrew Weatherall and Yousef. Releases featured regularly in the worlds music press and were included on a plethora of<br />

mix cd's including Pete Tongs Fashion TV mix, Terry Lee Browns 'Terrys Cafe', Inland Knights tech-house phenomena and<br />

a couple of Fabric CD's.<br />

From Spain we speak to D4MIAN.D4mian Smith is a Deejay, electronic music producer and event promoter.<br />

He began his journey with electronic music at the end of the 90's. He has been a resident DJ at Crow (Madrid) 2002.<br />

Penelope (Benidorm) 2005Ursula Black (Benidorm) 2006Moai (Benidorm) 2007.For 20 years he has not stopped growing<br />

as an artist both in musical production and in his DJ sets. He has also been a Columnist since <strong>2023</strong> in Jaader magazine.<br />

We also talk to DJ CYNTHIA from the Netherlands. Cynthia always knew she loved music. Becoming a DJ<br />

began in 2017, his focus was sparked after she won the Dutch DJ Championship. After a respectable number of hours<br />

spent on practicing, she decided to focus on the music style Bigroom and Techno. But she wanted to do more …<br />

We speak to SILINDER from Ireland. Silinder, from Dublin in the Rep. of Ireland has been producing<br />

electronic music for over 22 years now. 'deep, dark & hypnotic with a melodic theme' That's how Gavin describes his<br />

productions. Growing up on his parents & older brother's vast taste in music ranging from 70's Irish Folk & Disco to 80's<br />

Italo & Synth Pop.<br />

Also from Ireland we speak to DoC. Døc is a musical project by Irish DJ and producer Darren Doherty. A well<br />

established name on the Irish clubbing scene, Døc’s first real experience of dance music happened after he snuck into a<br />

nightclub at the tender age of fifteen, instantly falling in love with the tunes, atmosphere and vibes, Doherty promised<br />

himself that one day he would return to the club, Privilege, Longford, as a DJ. He then devoted himself to achieving that<br />

goal and eventually enjoyed a very successful residency there.<br />

Another artist from Ireland we speak to is GARETH MURPHY. Gareth started DJ'ing when he was 16 and has<br />

always been a lover of Hard Trance / Hard Style, during this time he has played in some of the biggest clubs in Dublin and<br />

Ireland... Biggest influences would have to be Hennes & Cold, DERB, Scot Project, A*S*Y*S, DJ Isaac.<br />

Our new man from Portugal José de Sousa joins us from "2 intense weeks in Ibiza" To celebrate the 25th<br />

anniversary of his 1st time in Ibiza, In September 1998, He spent the 2nd half of June in Ibiza. Opposite to the most<br />

recent years, where he went to Ibiza to relax and almost didn’t go out to nightclubs, this year, he went to several clubs<br />

and venues, to review for <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, some for the 1st time – Ushuaia, Freddies, at Pikes and Club Chinois.<br />

Are new man based in Spain and the UK, Terry Hobbs, has been on the ball this issue with plenty of great<br />

reading! 25 YEARS OF KINKI MALINKI to start with! Kinky Malinki, put simply, is one of the most successful and<br />

longest-running House Music events in London. Since its launch in 1998, Kinky Malinki has established itself as one of<br />

clubland's best-known brands, hosting events all over the UK and around the world. It has maintained a monthly<br />

residency in London for a staggering 25 years with no breaks or time off. Alongside its main residencies in Ibiza, Marbella,<br />

and Australia, it has organized international club nights in more than 20 countries.<br />

Terry also takes some time to chat with Beachgrooves Radio in Costa Del Sol. Bringing you quality house<br />

music from DJs from around the world, as well as local talent from Marbella and surrounding areas, 24 hours a day, 7<br />

days a week. Broadcasting since 2010 feeding the House heads of the Costa Del Sol, we just had to send our man Terry<br />

Hobbs down to chat with Marc van Meeuwen!<br />

Thorsten Benders takes us to the San Hejmo Festival in Germany. 50,000 Celebrate San Hejmo's Second<br />

Edition With A Weekend Full Of Live Stars And Urban Art. The second edition of the San Hejmo Festival at Airport Weeze<br />

(Germany) goes with all in all 50,000 visitors successfully and smoothly to an end. It is exciting to see that the size of the<br />

festival has doubled compared to the premiere last year. One can only imagine what next year will be planned for this new<br />

festival.<br />

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

dynamic <strong>Zone</strong> crew. Also this issue we continue <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>'s FREE exclusive DJ Mix series. As usual we would<br />

like to thank all of our very many talented contributors and friends who provide so much content, love and support for<br />

what we are doing, they are 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 for your continued support,<br />

peace.<br />

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


contents<br />

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TIM FRENCH<br />

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20<br />

24<br />

2 intense weeks in Ibiza<br />

Zoe Kypri<br />

66 54<br />

25 Years of Kinki Maliki


San Hejmo Festival<br />

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14<br />

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38<br />

<br />

Maisy Grace<br />

46<br />

DJ Cynthia<br />

D4main<br />

30


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 Anthony Piercy<br />

____________________<br />

Photography Slinder<br />

_____________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/silinderofficial<br />

Silinder, from Dublin in the Rep. of Ireland has<br />

been producing electronic music for over 22 years<br />

now. 'deep, dark & hypnotic with a melodic theme'<br />

That's how Gavin describes his productions.<br />

Growing up on his parents & older brother's vast<br />

taste in music ranging from 70's Irish Folk & Disco to<br />

80's Italo & Synth Pop.<br />

Gavin has ended up with a vast array of musical influences<br />

which are ever present in his productions to this day. With<br />

releases on highly respected labels from around the world<br />

including Sudbeat, Proton Music, Jackpot Records & Disco<br />

Gecko Recordings to name a few and gaining massive support<br />

over the years from some of the biggest & most in demand dj's<br />

from around the world (Sasha, Hernan Cattaneo, Charlie May,<br />

Toby Marks (Banco De Gaia), John Digweed, Anthony Pappa,<br />

Fulvio Perniola (Fathers of Sound), Rusty A Egan (Visage),Nick<br />

Muir (Bedrock),Petar Dundov, Solomun, Nicole Moudaber, Armin<br />

Van Buuren, Barry Jamieson, James Zabiela, Tom Robinson<br />

(BBC), Tiesto & Henry Saiz), Silinder has become a highly<br />

regarded name in the electronic music scene.<br />

Being a husband & father to three kids, Gavin finds his time in<br />

the studio a therapeutic session. It's obvious to see & hear that<br />

Silinder is enjoying his time in the studio and with his<br />

productions going from strength to strength, we are seriously<br />

looking forward to hearing what he has in store...


SILINDER<br />

" I'm known mostly for my remix work, which I love to<br />

do. I love to reinterpretate another artists work. But over<br />

the last couple of years I've stopped doing official<br />

remixes and been focusing on getting more original<br />

work done and just self release on Bandcamp "


Hey Gavin, thanks for agreeing to<br />

be in the hot seat for a minute! So<br />

how's it going, how is your week &<br />

how are you today ?<br />

Hey Anthony, thanks for inviting me for a chat,<br />

been a while since I did an interview. Things are good atm<br />

thanks!<br />

What radio stations did you listen<br />

to?<br />

It would have been the pirate stations in Dublin. I<br />

remember recording a lot of music from Sunset Radio,<br />

Darragh Hurley was a name I remember. Mark Kavanagh<br />

was another on DLR Radio. Also later on, Power Fm was a<br />

huge influence. They had a great roster of DJ's, Mark Dixon<br />

was a personal favourite, played lovely deep house.<br />

Tell us where did you grow up<br />

where are you based?<br />

I'm originally from Harolds Cross in Dublin,<br />

Ireland, loved it up there, a great place to grow up. Made<br />

some great friends, whom I'm still besties with to this day.<br />

After I married, we moved down to the Iveagh Trust in<br />

Kevin Street, where I still am today.<br />

Growing up what music was being<br />

played at home What is your first<br />

musical memory?<br />

I suppose my first memories of music being<br />

played was in the mornings before school, me Ma would<br />

have the radio on while my brothers & I ate breakfast. She<br />

was into her disco and pop at the time, me Da was more in<br />

his traditional Irish music. So a proper mix bag of stuff!<br />

What influnced you musically back<br />

then in the early Irish music scene?<br />

I didn't really take notice of music properly until<br />

the mid to late eighties. I was into guitar bands like the<br />

Cure and the Smiths and synth bands, New Order, Depeche<br />

Mode, OMD and the like...I would listen to Dave Fanning,<br />

recording everything I liked onto cassette. I also watched<br />

Jo Maxi, they always had a good selection of upcoming<br />

Irish bands on live. My older brother was collecting a lot of<br />

dance 12"s in the late 80's so that introduced me to the<br />

early acid house scene too.<br />

How did you get into music and<br />

DJ'ing?<br />

It would have been around 1992. A friend had a<br />

set of decks and loved his vinyl. We were in the Olympic<br />

and the Asylum clubs almost every week for nearly 2<br />

years, so we would buy what we would've heard in the<br />

there and on pirate radio at the time.<br />

What music influnced you at the<br />

time?<br />

I would have been listening to alot of Sasha &<br />

Digweed, Rocky & Diesel, Spooky, BT, Alex Neri, Masters<br />

At Work, Tenaglia was another. Charlie & Duncan from<br />

Spooky are a huge influence, their Gargantuan album is a<br />

masterpiece. Labels like Guerilla, Cowboy and Limbo could<br />

do no wrong. Also more housey stuff on Strictly Rhythm,<br />

Palmares, U.M.M. and Nervous Records were always a go<br />

to.<br />

What made you take the step into<br />

production?<br />

A friend had Rebirth & Reason 2 music software<br />

on his computer, this was probably around 2002/2003. I<br />

had a play around with it and was addicted straight away. I<br />

bought a PC on hire purchace and downloaded as much<br />

cracked software as the computer could handle, that was<br />

the beginning of an obsession with production.<br />

What D.A.W. did you start off with<br />

and what now?<br />

I would have been using Reason 2.5<br />

predominantly, it wasn't long after that I soon discoverd<br />

the whole world of VST's and ditched Reason for Cubase<br />

SX2.<br />

This really felt like a professional step up from<br />

Reason. It helped me learn more about actually playing<br />

and learning chords and structure. But this was short lived<br />

after that computer shat itself with all the crack software I<br />

downloaded. So a new computer was had, I went legit and<br />

bought the boxed version of Ableton Live 4 (I had a<br />

cracked version of Live 3 on the first computer) it was<br />

great for the bootlegs I was doing at the time.Loved the<br />

time stretching capabilities and was very stable, not being<br />

a crack version. I'm still a Live user to this day.


Take us trough your set up today.<br />

At the moment I'm happy and comfortable where<br />

I am with everything. I know the ins and outs of all the bits<br />

I'm using. This defo helps me get ideas down very quickly.I<br />

went through a phase of buying hardware, selling<br />

hardware. Buying softsynths, deleting softsynths. I've had<br />

this setup for a good 4 years now, I'm PC based, using Live<br />

11 as a DAW. I've a UAD Apollo audio interface and Adam<br />

Audio monitors. On the hardware side of things I regularly<br />

use the Virus TI Snow, Arturia Microbrute and Novation's<br />

Mininova and countless softsynth plugins.<br />

What are your go-to plugins?<br />

I've been incorporating the piano into my tracks<br />

for the last few years, lockdown gave me some time to<br />

learn and play more piano which was a learning curve.<br />

Plenty of youtube tutorials and websites like Spitfire Audio,<br />

their LABS plugin is a go to for me now. Pianobook is a<br />

great site for an abundance of sampled piano's that the<br />

community can upload themselves and share for free. I<br />

also use alot of the Aturia synth collection, the DX7 and the<br />

Prophet 5 being in regular use on my tracks.<br />

If I'm looking for a something otherworldly I'll dive<br />

into Reaktor, you could get lost in creativity for hours with<br />

that programme.<br />

Did you get a lot done during<br />

covid?<br />

I worked through the whole pandemic with the job<br />

I'm in, so things didn't really change that much for me.<br />

Apart from the going out and socialising bit.<br />

Do you find it easy finding a home<br />

for your music?<br />

I'm known mostly for my remix work, which<br />

I love to do. I love to reinterpretate another artists<br />

work. But over the last couple of years I've stopped<br />

doing official remixes and been focusing on getting<br />

more original work done and just self release on<br />

Bandcamp. That can be a bit hit & miss unless you have a<br />

decent following (which I don't on there). But I don't get<br />

hung up on that side of things. It's not my sole income, so<br />

no worries. I've never been one to care about how many<br />

followers, likes and reposts I'm getting. I just keep doing<br />

what I'm doing, if people like it then great, if not, great!<br />

But to answer your question, labels generally get in touch<br />

with me if they want a remix and the original work finds<br />

itself on Bandcamp.<br />

How are the bandcamp releases<br />

working for you?<br />

It's not great tbh, I have a few fans that will buy<br />

everything I put on there but, the reach is not great. Even<br />

if you post on Facebook and share the link, they are no<br />

help unless you pay for it.


Explain your writing process, if thats<br />

ok?<br />

It can vary from day to day. I'll start by listening<br />

to some music and try and get some inspiration and get in<br />

the mood. It's not a process that can be forced with me, I<br />

get frustrated if I try and force something out or put under<br />

a deadline. Sometimes I'll go for a walk with the<br />

headphones, that can help. These days I'm just playing<br />

random on the midi keyboard and record as I'm playing to<br />

get an idea out. Once I get a good foundation/melody<br />

started, I'll build the track around it.<br />

Advice for new producers / DJ's?<br />

I don't envy anyone starting out in production<br />

these days, You have to be a one man/woman show these<br />

days. You need to be a DJ, producer, manager, graphic<br />

designer, video editor, promoter and have a radio show<br />

and be constantaly on social media with updates on your<br />

life. There's just not enough hours in the day and that<br />

personally, is not me.<br />

All joking aside, there's so much free software<br />

available and hardware that's reletively cheap that anybody<br />

can have a crack if they want to. Although, sometimes<br />

having too much gear can kill the creative process. I've<br />

been in studios where there was so much gear I didn't<br />

know where to start and got nothing done but a bit of<br />

noodling.<br />

So advice?? well, take your time and be patient.<br />

Write and learn as much as you can, enjoy the process.<br />

Take time in learning the gear you're using inside out.<br />

Send as much music that you can to labels, just make sure<br />

you send them to labels in the same genre of music you're<br />

making. Youtube is a great resource for free learning. One<br />

thing I have learned with audio is you never stop learning.<br />

Tell us about any new releases?<br />

If you follow my page on Facebook, Bandcamp<br />

and Soundcloud you'll know I'm always uploading some<br />

original or bootleg tracks throughout the year, some of<br />

which will be free downloads.<br />

again. I'm not sure when this interview will go out but I've<br />

a remix coming on Massive Harmony Records which will<br />

most likely be out then. Also a remix for Astir Recordings<br />

will be out later in the year.<br />

Discogs credits you with 161 tracks/<br />

Remixes. Tell us more about your<br />

milestone and some of your marque<br />

music productions.<br />

Wow really? I didn't know that. There's a few good<br />

memories I have over the years of some big names playing<br />

my tracks. James Zabiela played my remix of Blue Monday<br />

quite a bit and I did a remix of his Robophobia track which<br />

was signed to Rennaisance and he picked it for his Face Off<br />

cover cd mix for DJ <strong>Magazine</strong> in 2005. Then Sasha played<br />

my Rubberhump track in his Thank You mix in 2008.<br />

There was also remixes of Blue Amazon on Jackpot<br />

Records, and remixes for Banco De Gaia which made my<br />

year, I'm a huge fan of Toby Marks. All these are the more<br />

standout memories I have of my work.<br />

You have made some great free<br />

download edits of great tracks, what<br />

is your criteria for this?<br />

Thanks, I suppose most of the time it's down to<br />

the track itself, Gotta ask yourself, are there parts that can<br />

be easily extracted from it to be able to do a good bootleg.<br />

I've started so many bootlegs and shelved it then a week<br />

later because I get frustrated that it's not working out the<br />

way I'd like. It takes a lot of work and can be very time<br />

consuming to chop up the audio and get the parts you<br />

want to use. It's getting easier now though with all this<br />

software online. You just drop the whole file onto a page<br />

and it will chop the track into seperate audio parts for you.<br />

You can now extract vocals from a whole track or if you<br />

just want to use the drums or instrument parts you can get<br />

them. Sometimes the vocal stem can be a bit hit and miss<br />

but it's improving all the time. And don't get me started on<br />

all this A.I that's about to takeover the whole industry.<br />

I've recently started doing some remix work


S I M O N S I N F I E L D<br />

R O A D T O L E M A N S<br />

O U T N O W


festivalreview<br />

__________________<br />

Words Thorsten Benders<br />

__________________________________<br />

Photography Courtesy of San Hejmo<br />

______________________<br />

Connect www.sanhejmo.com<br />

50,000 Celebrate San Hejmo's Second Edition With<br />

A Weekend Full Of Live Stars And Urban Art<br />

The second edition of the San Hejmo Festival at Airport Weeze (Germany) goes<br />

with all in all 50,000 visitors successfully and smoothly to an end. It is exciting to<br />

see that the size of the festival has doubled compared to the premiere last year.<br />

One can only imagine what next year will be planned for this new festival.<br />

23,000 enthusiastic residents celebrated on Friday to Alligatoah, Cro, All Colors,<br />

Marteria, Tokio Hotel, Lari Luke and many more. On Saturday almost 27,000<br />

moved into their "Holy At Home" for live music, urban art and indulgence.<br />

Highlights in the musical line-up were Apache 207, Sido, Von Wegen Lisbeth,<br />

Tujamo and many more. The German hiphop legends Die Fantastischen Vier<br />

gathered all generations in front of the imposing double main stage for an stellar<br />

festival conclusion.<br />

For four days the new campsite was transformed by around 10,000 residents in<br />

to a colorful and exuberant party area. The residents where well catered for by<br />

PENNY festival store. An the camping one could enjoy a relaxed escape from<br />

everyday life and that exuberant joint celebrations in the Spee Feierfuchsbau.<br />

San Hejmo: Stars on the stages, urban art, party and fun all around<br />

The absolutely peaceful guests were once again enthusiastic about the<br />

imposing and multifaceted Urban Art on the entire area. San Hejmo is already in<br />

second Festival year has grown into a top-class open-air gallery. international<br />

top Artists like Jacqueline de Montaigne (Portugal), Mandi Oh (Spain), Sasha<br />

Korban (Urkaine) as well as German graffiti stars like Thomas Baumgärtel, Hera or<br />

Hoker One gave the festival its unmistakable look.<br />

Between the more than fifty musical performances, the area offered everything<br />

for the perfect festival day. The residents painted over 400 longing signposts on<br />

the DYI station, enjoyed a cool drink at the Warsteiner Festival Brewery, chilled<br />

in the "Living rooms" with slot machines and lounges, celebrated demolition<br />

parties in the San Hejmo WG, relaxed at the PITÚ Beachbar, experienced young<br />

acts on the Subway Fresh Talents Stage and enjoyed delicious street food from<br />

different countries.<br />

The date for the third edition has already been set: on August 16 and 17, 2024,<br />

San Heymo back. From today, 20.8. at 2 p.m. the limited pre-sale for the 2-day<br />

starts Tickets + camping at a special price of 169 euros!


" We have a fantastic development with the second edition of San<br />

Hejmo taken. The line-up, the area full of art and inspiration, the new<br />

camping - everything worked perfectly and our residents really liked<br />

it. who himself If you want to secure tickets directly for next year, you<br />

now have the chance at a special price in addition. We are very<br />

grateful to our team and our partners and look forward to it look<br />

forward to continuing down the successful path together. "<br />

Bernd Dicks, Co- Founder and Managing Director of San Hejmo GmbH


featurearticle<br />

_____________<br />

Words Jay Dobie<br />

__________________________________<br />

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

Blurring the Boundaries..<br />

It wasn't that long ago that you'd attend a club<br />

night or listen to a DJ and get a bit of a<br />

spectrum of music, progressive house blurred<br />

the lines between techno, house, and trance.<br />

It's fair to say that this is something that the<br />

younger clubbing generation doesn't get to<br />

experience and it always brings up the<br />

question in the PHC Facebook group - 'Why do<br />

different genres pop up alongside progressive<br />

house in classic mixes?'<br />

Well, I think firstly it's worth pointing out, that a<br />

lot of the early stuff can be placed into more<br />

than one genre, it's certainly not as specific as<br />

the way music is sorted out today. If I<br />

pigeonhole a few tracks into genres myself it's<br />

not hard and fast it's just my interpretation and<br />

how I see them. I think that's something that<br />

applies to everyone who collects dance music.


So what is the relationship and how<br />

did it develop?<br />

The correlative can be traced back to the early<br />

nineties. I think you first need to look at the term<br />

‘progressive house’ which although the late Dom Phillips<br />

coined to describe the new production style of<br />

predominantly British house music, it also went on to<br />

describe a particular 'progressive' style of DJing that many<br />

adopted at the time.<br />

A good example and starting point is Renaissance.<br />

I think it's fair to say most would term this as a prog club<br />

and after 94 it certainly nailed its colours to the mast<br />

adopting the harder sound that evolved. But what about<br />

before that?<br />

Well, if you look at the Mansfield residency and<br />

check out the weekly flyers you see a whole combination of<br />

musical styles and DJs. If you were one of the lucky ones<br />

who got to attend a Venue44 evening you'll remember the<br />

way the nights were built musically, journeying through US<br />

and Italian low-slung stompers, building up to the<br />

progressive resonance we now so fondly describe as the<br />

Renaissance sound. That first year at Mansfield was an<br />

incredibly important moment in the evolution of the UK<br />

house music scene and inspired by the first birthday<br />

celebrations went on to be the basis for what many regard<br />

as the definitive snapshot of early nineties club culture; The<br />

Mix Collection, three 74 minute mixes encompassing a<br />

range of musical styles. The inclusion of 'Age of Love',<br />

'VFR's - Trance Illusion', 'MBG's -Trance Wave One', 'Shawn<br />

Christopher's - Another Sleepless Night', 'Kym Mazelle's -<br />

Was That All It Was'.. and even '2 Bad Mice - Bombscare'<br />

illustrate just how varied a DJs box of records would be.<br />

It's fair to say these are obvious examples but looking<br />

across the three discs and nineties clubland in general,<br />

they sit alongside many prog classics with consummate<br />

ease. Wrapped up in those mixes you've got prog, trance,<br />

techno, and US house. This was no random track selection<br />

it was a playing style that many DJs adopted. It wasn't<br />

limited to just Sasha and Digweed and, it wasn't limited to<br />

Renaissance. It was an approach, it was progressive.<br />

The style was popular, it was all about<br />

programming and variety. I think it's fair to say it was<br />

pretty dominant right through the early nineties, clubs all<br />

over the country embraced it. Dave Seaman one half of<br />

Brothers In Rhythm gives a shining example with the 1994<br />

BIR Essential Mix. Generally accepted as a progressive mix<br />

it weaves a whole plethora of styles in spectacular fashion,<br />

something Dave always embraced in his live sets. Listening<br />

back to old mixtapes from the likes of Chuff Chuff, Up Yer<br />

Ronson, Full Circle, Venus, Shave Your Tongue, and Love<br />

Ranch you get some idea of just how widespread this style<br />

of playing records was. All shining examples of progressive<br />

DJing and most likely the reason many hark back to the<br />

early nineties and describe it as the scene's best days.<br />

It was around 1996 that we started to see the<br />

progressive style of DJing change, the US house sound and<br />

vocals dropping away and the production becoming a little<br />

harder, labels including Jackpot, Limbo, Perfecto, Whoop!,<br />

Skinny Malinky, and Stress heralded in a new sound. Artists<br />

such as John Graham, Evolution, Beat Foundation, Tilt, and<br />

Blue Amazon all key players in its development. Alongside<br />

this, trance and techno were of course still partnering with<br />

progressive house, and as the decade moved on the links<br />

became stronger.<br />

It's worth taking a look at the Global Underground<br />

series of albums if you want to get some idea of just how<br />

closely linked everything had become. Set up in 1996 the<br />

series captures the clubbing landscape with audible<br />

accuracy, it's the second half of the nineties in a varied<br />

commingle of DJ talent. The first album in the series from<br />

Nick Warren is a juggernaut of techno, trance, and<br />

progressive. It's the same the further you get into the<br />

collection. Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, John Digweed, Danny<br />

Tenaglia, and Dave Seaman all present us with audio<br />

compendiums detailing the intersecting relationship<br />

between progressive house, trance, and techno.<br />

I guess finishing up I would argue we miss the<br />

progressive style of DJing and the association of different<br />

genres complimenting each other. It brought an irrefutable<br />

something special to a night out. We were encouraged to<br />

push and blur the boundaries a bit more back then and that<br />

was a good thing, right?<br />

"The whole beauty of<br />

Renaissance is that it jumps up,<br />

its jumps down, its got<br />

darkness, its got vocals, its got<br />

up moments. It's a roller coaster<br />

ride of a club night"<br />

- John Digweed -


PHC Buried Treasure<br />

5 recommendations from the Progressive House<br />

Classics vinyl vaults<br />

Orbital - Midnight (Sasha Mix)<br />

FFRR - 1991<br />

Back in the early days before the dawn of the online<br />

marketplace place this like many tracks was not always easy<br />

to get hold of but it's worth hunting down. Great early Sasha<br />

remix with a tribal approach that works incredibly well with<br />

the early Orbital sound.<br />

_________________________________________________<br />

___________________________________<br />

Mike Koglin - The Silence (Tekara Mix)<br />

Multiply - 1998<br />

It's surprising how many times this comes up as an ID.<br />

Tucked away on the B-side of the Multiply release Tekara<br />

(Matt Darey) takes the Depeche Mode cover to a whole new<br />

level with a solid breaks rendition and one of the most<br />

effective dance floor drops ever.<br />

_________________________________________________<br />

_________________________________________________<br />

Blood Runs Dry - All Your Mind<br />

Skunk Records - 1993<br />

Produced by Phil Perry and Stacey Tough this chunky, deep,<br />

prog houser was featured on Sasha's now legendary Kiss FM<br />

mix from February of the same year. A trippy, hypnotic affair<br />

with a killer gated synth.<br />

_________________________________________________<br />

_____________________<br />

________________________________________________<br />

The Dust Brothers - Song To The Siren<br />

(Sabres of Paradise mix)<br />

Junior Boys Own - 1993<br />

Tom and Ed under their earlier Dust Brothers moniker. All<br />

mixes here are good and the original rightly got a lot of<br />

attention but, Andrew Weatherall excels with this 11-minute<br />

Middle Eastern-influenced trip. Tough breakbeats, and heavy<br />

on the bass.<br />

_________________________________________________<br />

Tom Wilson - Technocat (Headroom Remix)<br />

Steppin Out Records - 1995<br />

Huge track in the form of the Perplexer mix but the<br />

Headroom remix is where its at. This is the mix the prog<br />

jocks were playing, cleverly reworking the original into an<br />

edit that was popular with Sasha.<br />

_________________________________________________<br />

__________________________<br />

__________________________


featureinterview<br />

________________<br />

Words Paul Hawcraft<br />

_____________________<br />

Photography Nigel French<br />

__________________________<br />

Connect https://linktr.ee/Timfrenchdj<br />

Tim French is a British DJ Producer based in Plymouth UK. He spent the Nineties<br />

playing to large audiences across the South West of the UK including renowned<br />

nights Scream & United held at Plymouth’s legendary Warehouse. Also playing<br />

at many popular clubs and nights such as Drop <strong>Zone</strong> & Boss Nova at the Sound<br />

Factory (Plymouth UK), The Monastery (Torquay UK), The Grove (Seaton UK) as<br />

well as various other venues throughout the South West of England. Throughout<br />

this time, Tim held residencies at Shine & Eye-con at the Dance Academy and<br />

The Candy Store in Plymouth. He has played alongside dance music greats such<br />

as Danny Howell’s, Quivver, Lee Burridge, Jody Wisternoff, Billy Nasty, Parks &<br />

Wilson, Nippa, Jose C, Breeze, Alan Luvdup, Tom Wainwright and Mark EG to<br />

name a few. Tim is Currently a resident DJ on the global “Melodic Beats Podcast”<br />

platform.<br />

In June 2020 saw Tim have his debut release Roodles “I Know” on the newly established<br />

“Melodic Beats Recordings” Label receiving critical acclaim with many Radio and podcast plays<br />

across the globe. He followed this up in November with his second release “Short Stuff” on<br />

Legendary Progressive house label “Limbo Records” which featured remixes from Nila and<br />

Pablo Gargano. This release reached No 8 in the UK Upfront Dance Chart and No 19 in the<br />

Beatport Progressive House Chart with support across the spectrum.<br />

On top of his original releases he was part of the remix package for Prog House classic Gypsy “<br />

I Trance You” on Limbo records which hit the No 1 spot in the UK Upfront Dance Music Chart in<br />

December.<br />

He finished the year off with a huge remix of an unreleased track from the mid 90’s by<br />

Renaissance legend Nigel Dawson “Walk With Me” along side Nila and Jaap Ligthart on the<br />

Melodic Beats Recordings Imprint.<br />

The start of the New year has seen Tim have his Third original release and second on Limbo<br />

Records “Pictures” With Remixes courtesy of Nick Muir (Bedrock) and Label Mates “Phraktal”.<br />

This was received critical acclaim with Podcast and radio plays globally form the Likes of Nick<br />

Muir, Gai Barone, Nick Warren, Lemon 8, Anthony Pappa, Oliver & Tom, and many more. The<br />

release charted at #13 in The Beatport Electronica Release chart #36 in the Progressive House<br />

release Chart.<br />

Next up is a huge remix of Phraktal’s “Forbidden” on Limbo Black from their recently released<br />

2nd studio album. Tim also has several other originals and remixes lined up for the coming<br />

year so watch this space<br />

One thing you can always rely on Tim to do is to take you on a journey through all things Prog<br />

and Melodic.


tIM FRENCH


Over the past five years, Tim French<br />

has been making ripples in the<br />

progressive world with a slew of<br />

driving and diverse productions.<br />

Since his debut of ‘Roodles (I Know)’<br />

on Melodic Beats Recordings, Tim<br />

has released, remixed and signed<br />

productions to the likes of Hooj<br />

Choons, Forensic, Limbo, Perfecto<br />

Black, Stripped Digital, Lost<br />

Language, Capital Heaven and<br />

more. I asked Tim where it all began<br />

for him musically?<br />

"I have been interested in music from a very early<br />

age. I was exposed to a wide variety of bands by my<br />

parents and one band that I really embraced was Pink<br />

Floyd - I was inspired to learn the guitar. I was also quite<br />

into blues and rock music throughout my early teens. A<br />

girlfriend in my later teens introduced me to dance music<br />

through the legend’s that are Sasha, John Digweed, The<br />

Beloved and Sunscreem. Then Sasha & Digweed’s<br />

Renaissance “The Mix Collection” was released and this<br />

changed everything – it was the inspiration to DJ.” he<br />

stated.<br />

"In 1994, whilst clubbing and living in Dorset, I<br />

met friends with turntables and started to learn to mix on<br />

belt drives. All my spare cash went into the start of my now<br />

extensive vinyl collection.”<br />

This led to Tim also writing for a few<br />

publications in the nineties:<br />

"I got in touch with The Scene Mag based in the<br />

Southwest and sent in reviews, they published them, and<br />

this led to a regular slot and reviews in Wax magazine. I<br />

reviewed some great releases, Danny Tenaglia’s Tourism,<br />

Paul Van Dyk’s For An Angel, Hybrid’s Wide Angle -<br />

amongst many other great releases of the time…… "<br />

"I stopped writing for Wax magazine in 2000 and<br />

started writing for a fresh new online magazine called Dot<br />

Music, which I did until the end of 2001. It was a great<br />

way to get lots of upfront and cool music, on top of the<br />

usual DJ promo lists at the time. I remember getting sent<br />

the Global Underground CD’s on pre-release when they first<br />

started – a great bonus!” continues Tim.<br />

where he had his first break, and<br />

the high points and low points of his<br />

career so far.<br />

"A good friend of mine, Justine – at the time<br />

Justine was running a student night in the iconic Plymouth<br />

Warehouse, and she gave me the opportunity to play in the<br />

Fruit Bowl. This was the mid-90’s and we regularly played<br />

to audiences of 2000 plus across 3 rooms."<br />

"My most memorable point would be playing one<br />

of the last nights at the Warehouse in Plymouth, it’s<br />

swansong before closing. Alongside my friend, Richie<br />

Piggott, at a night called United – it was truly a memorable<br />

moment playing with my best mate in what I would have<br />

classed as one of the best clubs in the world at the time.<br />

Another highlight was releasing a track on Perfecto Black<br />

and hearing Paul Oakenfold play it!"<br />

"My lowest point personally would be when I<br />

overslept and missed a gig – I pride myself on being<br />

professional and on time but… this one night I was due to<br />

play at the Dance Academy for my residency starting at<br />

midnight, around 5pm that evening I thought I would have<br />

a quick power nap, I didn’t wake up until 4am! – woops!<br />

Let’s just say the guy before me had to play all his B-<br />

sides!” explains Tim.<br />

The leap into production followed,<br />

continues Tim:<br />

"I have always been obsessed with creating music,<br />

from playing my guitar and laying stuff down on a 4-track<br />

recorder to messing about with early Cubase on the Atari.<br />

With technology progressing and being able to take on all<br />

aspects of musical arrangement, it was the natural<br />

progression to move into production. You can really lay<br />

your feelings and thoughts into your music."<br />

"In my current home studio, I have an Apple<br />

Studio M1 running Cubase as my DAW, I do tend to prefer<br />

hardware instruments – of which I currently have 9,<br />

including the Roland Boutique JU-06A, JD-08 and JP-08,<br />

Beringer MS-01, TD-03 and Pro-1, Korg M1, Moog Sub25<br />

and my current favourite is the late 90’s Roland Super<br />

JV1080 which has the “Dance” & “Classic Synth” cards<br />

fitted – the sound of the 90’s right there with so many<br />

classic tracks written on this beaut! It’s my birthday soon<br />

and there’s always room for a 10th…"<br />

"I do use a few soft synths too, notably FM-08 and<br />

a Virus TI Snow via a modulator. As you can see, I have a<br />

love for that classic 90’s dance sound."<br />

With a fledging DJ career that spans<br />

over three decades, I asked Tim


In 2019, Tim found solace linking up<br />

with fellow DJ friend Paul Honey,<br />

who spearheads leading<br />

progressive brand Melodic Beats<br />

(with a strong podcast series, record<br />

label and events).<br />

"In 2019 when my good friend Paul Honey – we<br />

were residents at Plymouth’s Dance Academy – started the<br />

Melodic Beats Podcast, I found myself getting back into<br />

DJ’ing after a hiatus due to work and family. Paul made<br />

contact and we went from there – its going from strength<br />

to strength with events and a record label coming from<br />

this. It’s great to work with your friends and we have<br />

thoroughly enjoyed the reminiscing too!"<br />

I asked Tim who he would like to<br />

collaborate with in the future and<br />

what his production goals are?<br />

"Being a progressive house DJ, I would love to<br />

release on Bedrock, Selador, Mango Alley and Last Night on<br />

Earth – these would be amazing. As well as continuing to<br />

release with the labels that have supported me so far -<br />

Forensic Records, Stripped Digital, Melodic Beats<br />

Recordings, Limbo, Perfecto Black, Pangea Recordings, Lost<br />

Language, Affiliate & Resonate Together - will equally be as<br />

brilliant!"<br />

"I have some collabs coming up with my good<br />

friend Phil Jubb, and others in the pipeline, some new<br />

tracks cooking in the studio and some releases signed to a<br />

couple of large labels which I can’t disclose at present but<br />

watch this space. If I got the opportunity, people that are<br />

inspiring me at present, that I would love to work with and<br />

in no particular order, are Gai Barone, Michael Hooker,<br />

Chris Scott (Lexicon Avenue), Ron Flatter, Oliver & Tom -<br />

the list is quite long as there are so many great artists out<br />

there!"<br />

Before we parted company I asked<br />

what the future holds for Tim?<br />

"I have had a very busy year so far with 7<br />

releases and some more to come. I am concentrating now<br />

on refining my productions and taking my tracks to the<br />

next level. I am looking forward to some great gigs abroad<br />

and generally writing more music, playing more music and<br />

enjoying life!” explains Tim.<br />

Finally, he gave us some parting<br />

words.<br />

"I would just like to say Thank You to everyone<br />

that has supported me over the years, be it coming to gigs,<br />

buying/streaming/connecting with my music, releasing my<br />

productions, booking me to DJ – you’re all amazing."<br />

"Of course, special thanks to my wife Verity and<br />

daughter Lily-Rose who both have the patience of a saint -<br />

especially my daughter whose bedroom is above my studio,<br />

lol. A special mention to Loukas Pour-Hashemi for the<br />

inspiration and help, you’re a true gent!"<br />

ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 23


featureinterview<br />

_______________<br />

Words Terry Hobbs<br />

____________________<br />

Photography Eva Abeling<br />

__________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/ZOEKYPRII<br />

What a year it has been for London sensation, Singer, Songwriter,<br />

Label boss, Zoe Kypri, including releasing one of this summer’s<br />

Ibiza Anthems, selling out at The Lower Third & Jazz Café London<br />

and performances at Secret Garden party and Glastonbury. Not to<br />

mention the collaboration with Made By Pete, and a Black Coffee<br />

remix, she continues to go from strength to strength and is quickly<br />

becoming one of the most sought after vocalists in the business!!<br />

Found blooming from her recent projects and up from her Walthamstow roots, emerging<br />

Soul artist Zoe Kypri is swiftly becoming known for her powerfully rich, wholesome sound<br />

and distinctive tone worldwide, across a multitude of genres.<br />

Zoe’s songwriting expresses openness of the heart and soul. With her captivating<br />

melodies expressing feelings, involving conflicts of the mind and soul, confessions of<br />

experience, desires of a better world and gratitude for all the beauty that already is…..she<br />

writes lyrics to provoke the mind…….and then delivers those lyrics with a silkiness to rival<br />

Sade or Jill Scott.<br />

Kypri’s vocals have already been recognised by some of dance music’s biggest acts. One<br />

of her first gigs was singing lead for Rudimental for a short but incredible experience.<br />

Zoe and Rudi’s Mark Crown are next collaborating via SOUL QUEST rec. Shows with the<br />

groups have included The Royal Albert Hall, London’s Roundhouse, a sold out show at<br />

the O2 arena and the Reading festival. Her versatility, range and dynamism has meant she<br />

has won the affection and respect of both music lovers and musicians, quickly becoming a<br />

significant and singular trailblazer in the industry.<br />

Her writing contribution to house/ drum & bass includes the BBC Radio 1 playlisted ‘Real’<br />

with Crissy Criss, Annie Mac favourite ‘Dream In Green’ with Hugh Hardie, Jack Wins’ ‘Hold<br />

Your Breath’ (1.9 million streams) and Bajau’s ‘Flip Of The Coin’ (1.5 million streams) amongst<br />

many more, releasing across some of dance music’s most respected labels such as Hospital<br />

rec, Axtone Records, NCS, Toolroom and Crosstown Rebels.


Z O E<br />

K Y P R I


Kypri’s first house single of the<br />

year ‘HORIZON RED’ with MADE BY<br />

PETE was released on Damian Lazarus’ world<br />

renowned ‘Crosstown Rebels’ label. The<br />

record has since become one of the<br />

biggest tracks of the year, travelling across the<br />

globe and acquiring support and respect from<br />

Pete Tong, Black Coffee and DJ SPOONY to<br />

name a few. Since then it has been remixed by<br />

Damian himself and BLACK COFFEE. Horizon<br />

Red sat at number 1 on Traxsource for 5 months<br />

and has racked up 30+ million views and<br />

streams across socials and streaming sites.<br />

Other recent releases including<br />

MAZE (JAY WILCOX), SO IT SEEMS (P MONEY)<br />

and I SEE ME IN YOU which gained NEW MUSIC<br />

FRIDAY support via Spotify and radio plays on<br />

BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1 UK, 6Music,<br />

NTS, Mi-Soul, Soho Radio, GLOBAL SOUL<br />

RADIO, RINSE, BBC 2, KISS FM and SWU<br />

FM and many more. Performances at THE JAZZ<br />

CAFÉ (GLOBAL SOUL) GLASTONBURY her SOLD<br />

OUT HEADLINE SHOW at THE LOWER THIRD<br />

LONDON and THE SECRET GARDEN PARTY have<br />

seemingly been a warm up for the big shows<br />

that are soon to be announced.<br />

Terry Hobbs from <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> caught<br />

up with Zoe to discuss how it all happened…and<br />

what lies in store for the future.<br />

Hi Zoe! Welcome to <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>!<br />

Hey! Thanks for having me of course.<br />

Have to say, it’s great to meet you, I’m<br />

loving all your music recently, across<br />

so many different genres.<br />

This is it I have never limited myself genre wise I<br />

just follow the feeling you know.<br />

I’ve been following your journey over the last year<br />

and it’s been pretty impressive to say the least! Played<br />

the Jazz Cafe, Glastonbury, Royal Albert Hall<br />

Roundhouse, debut solo show, the Horizon Red track,<br />

performing it live over at Blue Marlin Ibiza…..<br />

awards.<br />

Blue Marlin was spectacular. The sun beating down<br />

on me. The sky a clear blue and Made By Pete was just<br />

bringing the island to life. I was in a meditative state before.<br />

Really have taken it all in and I am grateful, it is just the<br />

beginning.<br />

What’s been the highlight for you so<br />

far?<br />

Probably my own headline show at The Lower Third<br />

in London. The room was electric and I would say it’s been<br />

one of the best days of my life so far. Closely followed by<br />

how Horizon Red has been received worldwide. The<br />

messages I have received regarding how my performance on<br />

that record has moved people is so so beautiful. Fulfilling my<br />

purpose.<br />

Jazz Café, Glastonbury, Blue Marlin,<br />

was there a gig which was a BIG<br />

bucket list moment for you? What<br />

else is still on Zoe Kypri’s Bucket list?<br />

Blue Marlin for sure, as I have been going to Ibiza<br />

as a punter for years and always dreamed a record of mine<br />

would move in the way Horizon Red has. Ronnie Scott’s and<br />

Jazz Café as I went there with my god mum in my teens and<br />

said ‘one day I will be here’. The bigger gigs of course. I<br />

have a MASSIVE gig coming up but I can’t say where yet<br />

until it’s announced.<br />

Who have you enjoyed working<br />

with the most?<br />

Mmmmm! I would say Made By Pete as he trusts<br />

my process and understands that I have to tell a story with<br />

the melody and lyrics. Some people focus too much on the<br />

hit aspect, whereas he just gives me that trust. We have. A<br />

second record that we wrote together and there were no<br />

egos. Complete honesty whether we liked or disliked parts.<br />

Other than him I would say WALLER as we have such similar<br />

ears and we do not rush.<br />

Have you even had the chance<br />

to take in quite what a big year it has<br />

been for you yet?<br />

So first time I performed Jazz café was a few years<br />

back in another band but this time doing my own records for<br />

Global Soul there was a different thing all together. Glasto<br />

was amazin’ too. My dear friend Joe Chiari who has produced<br />

a lot of my records had me there and it was a moment. The<br />

roundhouse and RAH was a while back now when I was<br />

singing lead for other bands. I have been asked to perform<br />

at the Roundhouse to perform with PMONEY for the AIM<br />

You been working with Mark Crown<br />

recently? How did that come about?<br />

You have some exciting stuff<br />

happening I understand.<br />

We met 10 years ago on tour. Lovely man. The<br />

song has been in creation for 4 years almost. Happy it’s<br />

coming out, it deserves it.


" I never felt entitled. I really enjoyed the process even<br />

though sometimes it was a war of mind and heart. I’ve been<br />

doing this professionally for 12 years. I knew it would take me<br />

a long time to master. I was willing to do that "


What is your favourite track that you<br />

have ever made and why?<br />

Wow that’s hard! I don’t have a favourite, but two<br />

of my oldest songs ‘Someday’ and ‘Tides’ lyrically always<br />

touch me.<br />

How did you and James (Made by<br />

Pete) start working with each other?<br />

We met at Tobacco Dock, he was playing a DJ set<br />

and I was like “who the fuck is that”. He was like a wizard<br />

on the decks. Haven’t heard anything like it other than<br />

maybe how EZ has his own style. He apparently heard my<br />

set just before and thought exactly the same thing. I was<br />

there performing with my other house project BAJAU at the<br />

time. He came over after and we exchanged details. Was a<br />

very familiar type of interaction, like we were brothers in<br />

another life.<br />

When you were recording it, did you<br />

feel like you making something<br />

special, did you have any idea it<br />

would blow up like it did?<br />

Made By Pete came to me with the melody and the<br />

track. It felt so special but the lyrics and delivery that were<br />

there already were not cohesive with the story I was feeling<br />

from the track. He trusted me to re-write the lyrics and it<br />

was our first time in studio. There were a few times we<br />

stopped and were like ‘wow this is really feeling special’. As<br />

soon as we cut the record I knew instantly and so did he,<br />

that his vision was a premonition nearly. Sounds mad but I<br />

just knew it would travel even after a few changes of plan<br />

with people who were meant to be releasing it then didn’t.<br />

Damian heard what we did and the rest is history!<br />

When did you know you had such a<br />

hit on your hands?<br />

As I said I think as soon as we cut it. Just felt<br />

massive. Made By Pete’s piano line on it felt iconic.<br />

I hear you’ll be performing that soon<br />

with the What The House choir over<br />

here in Spain real soon. Looking<br />

forward to that one?<br />

I really am. The amazing Jodie Stewart who has<br />

been dealing with a lot of the abroad gigs for Made By Pete<br />

and I hooked it up. I feel the choir will bring an amazing<br />

element to the live performance. They are great.<br />

viral, so I am sure you appreciate them as a tool……<br />

but as an artist and label boss it must also be<br />

frustrating to see artists earning so little from those<br />

sites……<br />

What is your take on the situation<br />

and where do you see the future of<br />

digital music?<br />

You know a lot of things we can control. Platforms<br />

like BANDCAMP are great for earning directly. We have to<br />

learn to use other platforms, as Spotify etc don’t pay well at<br />

all but one good thing I will say is that I have had people<br />

from all around the world contact me because of these<br />

platforms. Yes we should be paid better for the art but there<br />

are some silver linings. But ultimately yes we need to be<br />

paid more. Collectively we must rise to see any change but<br />

the way the world is designed and set up to distract and<br />

create fear or scarcity, so people just end up in a bit of a yes<br />

man mentality. I can only speak for myself and I make sure<br />

I make money doing live gigs while I figure out how to make<br />

the other parts more lucrative. The art comes first.<br />

So, tell me, what were your musical<br />

inspirations growing up and how did<br />

you get into singing in the first place?<br />

Anita Baker. Sade. Mary J. Alicia Keys. Mazes.<br />

Luther Vandross. These artists my parents both listened to. I<br />

was fortunate. Singing came to me like walking. Years of<br />

passion for it and desire to be and sound how I do now.<br />

Obviously you have been singing<br />

for years. When did you first feel like<br />

you were finally getting the breaks<br />

you deserved in the industry?<br />

I never felt entitled. I really enjoyed the<br />

process even though sometimes it was a war of mind<br />

and heart. I’ve been doing this professionally for 12<br />

years. I knew it would take me a long time to master.<br />

I was willing to do that.<br />

People say I’m a new artist and that makes me<br />

giggle as I’ve been an artist forever. As soon as I started<br />

making a good living from live performing… that was my “I<br />

have made it” feeling. Because that is it. We are taught to<br />

only find happiness after awards are won etc, but really if I<br />

can do what I love everyday I’m blessed. You need drive and<br />

discipline. Everything else that comes from my art after that<br />

is a ‘why not’ kind of thing. Why shouldn’t I make exactly<br />

what I want and be myself fully and go for it you know.<br />

Obviously, you have had a huge amount of success<br />

with streaming and social sites to help Horizon Red go


Do you have a favorite type of music<br />

and House music? How does that<br />

compare to the house music you are<br />

making?<br />

No favourites and the same goes with that which I<br />

create too. It’s just a feeling. Other than that no ceilings or<br />

floors.<br />

If you were stuck on a desert island<br />

with a deck and had to pick 5<br />

records. What would you Pick (any<br />

genre)?<br />

Unshaken – D’angelo. A new favourite introduced to<br />

me recently by an amazing man. Sade – Cherish the day.<br />

Mary J Blige – Be Happy. Lil Kim – Drugs. Rui de Silva –<br />

Touch Me. Lisa Stanfield - Around The World.<br />

You launched your INDIZENDENT<br />

RECORDS label back in 2019, was<br />

that mainly as an outlet for your own<br />

music? And Why did you choose to<br />

go down that route? And what plans<br />

do you have for the label in the<br />

coming 12 months?<br />

Exactly that. No one could see my vision yet as I<br />

was making many different genres. I feel my supporters<br />

really innerstand the cohesiveness of feeling and appreciate<br />

the variation of sonics. Most people are more open minded<br />

than what they are given credit for. I will be releasing my<br />

next single MEAN via the label and will be hosting a few<br />

things that I won’t mention yet: no plans to sign anyone yet<br />

as focusing on my own path for now but I have plans for<br />

sure.<br />

What is in store for you in the House<br />

music world in the next year?<br />

A few very exciting collabs. Can’t say more just yet<br />

either. Another record with Made By Pete is in the oven also.<br />

What projects are you most looking<br />

forward to this year?<br />

My debut album.<br />

And what is in the pipeline for<br />

you personally this year/in the<br />

future? What would you like to be<br />

doing in 5 years’ time?<br />

Albums and touring. Self-development. Trying to<br />

drop into gratitude and the moment more fluidly, as you can<br />

imagine being an independent artist comes with 4 job roles<br />

haha. Approaching life with a calmer body and observing my<br />

mind and spirit. In 5 years’ time, the possibilities is endless.<br />

As much time in the sun as possible. Hopefully there would<br />

have been a positive shift as a collective but I’m here for<br />

what ever I am meant to experience here. Open to all the<br />

amazingness on its way!


featureinterview<br />

_______________<br />

Words Terry Hobbs<br />

__________________________<br />

Photography Courtesy Of D4mian<br />

____________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/luzpowermusic<br />

D4mian Smith is a Deejay, electronic music producer and<br />

event promoter. He began his journey with electronic music<br />

at the end of the 90's. He has been a resident DJ at Crow<br />

(Madrid) 2002. Penelope (Benidorm) 2005Ursula Black<br />

(Benidorm) 2006Moai (Benidorm) 2007.<br />

Since 2008, he has visited theaters throughout Spain,<br />

highlighting his sets. Illusion house club (Barcelona) Café<br />

delMar (C.Valenciana)Explosion after festival (Almería)D'<br />

Cuadros (Granada) Specka and Octogon (Madrid) Sunview<br />

Park (Malaga).<br />

For 20 years he has not stopped growing as an artist both in<br />

musical production and in his DJ sets. He has also been a<br />

Columnist since <strong>2023</strong> in Jaader magazine.<br />

He has worked with artists such as: Fatima Hajji, David<br />

Meiser, Ismael Rivas, Jerry Dandrige, Iñaki Villasante,<br />

Makoki, Marian Novi, Miss Martha, Masterslave, Dj F, Oscar<br />

Guau, Suze...<br />

He is signed to labels such as: Geometrical Records,<br />

Moonlife records and Modus vivirdi.<br />

Our man Terry Hobbs took him aside for a little chat!


" For me, Vinyl, I like the sound and You have to<br />

know what are you playing……You must know the<br />

songs…..it shows a better connection and It is nice to<br />

touch it……..It is just more REAL than other formats! "


Hi D4mian nice to meet you.<br />

Hi, thanks for having me! I’ve been a fan of the<br />

magazine for a while.<br />

I have to ask, before we start….you’re<br />

a Spanish artist, but you have an<br />

english name, how did that come<br />

about?<br />

I´m from Madrid, living now around Málaga. My first<br />

DJ name was DJ LUZ and I decided to change in 2006 because<br />

I liked the name Damian and I love Christian Smith music.<br />

So…..how did we get from there to the<br />

number four in your artistic name?<br />

Well I didn´t register my artistic name at first, so<br />

when I recorded my first single, (2021) I saw other people<br />

using the same name, so I take number four for a few<br />

reasons. 1…..it looks like A and 2……I´m over 40 years old.<br />

haha!<br />

How did you start as a DJ and what<br />

kind of music do you normally play?<br />

The 90´s was a big movement and change for<br />

electronic music and I was captified. So I started to practice at<br />

home with other friends like Jerry Dandrige and Suze …<br />

fortunately we are still playing out together, even today.<br />

Normally I play house or techno but it depends on<br />

the place or the hour you have to make your performance,<br />

but I also play sometimes, techno, EDM, Electro / breaks etc..<br />

Tell us about the clubs D4mian likes to<br />

play in?<br />

I like the clubs where you are close to the crowd and<br />

can feel how people are enjoying and see them dancing to<br />

your music.<br />

So what are some of your favorite<br />

clubs that you’ve played in?<br />

Some of my favourites have been clubs like Bn1<br />

(Brighton), Penelope (Benidorm), Café del mar (Altea), D<br />

´Cuadros (Granada), and Specka (Madrid)!<br />

They are many others in Barcelona, Denia, Granada,<br />

etc. but one of my real favourites is Octogon club in Madrid……<br />

We have some special events lined up there going<br />

forward……….the place has a heavy, heavy high-end quality<br />

sound system and I am always happy coming back to Madrid<br />

…..to visit family and friends, as well as playing some of my<br />

favourite music to MY crowd at one of my favourites!<br />

Tell us about your next projects, what<br />

does the next 12 months have lined<br />

up for D4mian Smith and the AND<br />

brand?<br />

I´m working on my own productions, hopefully with<br />

some big releases for 2024 and playing out when I have free<br />

time. Next stop it is Florida beach club (Malaga/Marbella) in<br />

September and then Octogon club in October <strong>2023</strong>!<br />

If you were stuck on a desert island<br />

and could only take 5 records with<br />

you, what would they be?<br />

Damn…what kind of a question is that!!?!?! I’ll try<br />

Tesox – Go Ahead London, Tomas vs Filterheadz – Sunshine.<br />

Really, just 5 tracks?…..ok, last 3…God’s Groove – Prayer Five<br />

(Club Mix), The Cult – Rain and nformation Society - Running!<br />

Digital / Vinyl or CD's and why?<br />

For me, Vinyl, I like the sound and You have to<br />

know what are you playing……You must know the<br />

songs…..it shows a better connection and It is nice to<br />

touch it……..It is just more REAL than other formats!<br />

Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music? Oldskool, neuskool<br />

or a bit of allskool?<br />

The best music ever for me was 80's and 90's…..I<br />

don't know about future music..I try to keep up with the<br />

trends but there is just SOOO much music out there these<br />

days……..it’s crazy! And so much good music!! But it is<br />

covered in so much other bullshit….. to try and find the good<br />

music, sometime you have to dig REALLY deep!<br />

Who are best artists you’ve seen<br />

coming out lately?<br />

Again, tough question. There is so much good music<br />

out there...Jerry Dandrige, Jens Mueller, Sozze, Abel Ortegga<br />

and Astral Lights, to name a few.<br />

Is there anyone who has been<br />

particularly influential or anyone you<br />

would like to thank for your journey<br />

so far……<br />

I would like to special thank you to: Jose Calle<br />

(Moonlife records) and his team. Anni Jaader <strong>Magazine</strong><br />

(Brasil) Sozze and Ferraro who worked in my last E.P. (A<br />

lucky day in Madrid) My parther Ona1ram (Shock) for the<br />

support and my old friends dj´s :Abel,Perona, Jerry Dandrige,<br />

Suze and Carlos Moreu.


adiofeature<br />

_______________<br />

Words Terry Hobbs<br />

__________________________<br />

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

BeachGrooves Radio<br />

Bringing you quality house music from DJs from<br />

around the world, as well as local talent from Marbella<br />

and surrounding areas, 24 hours a day, 7 days a<br />

week - Radio in Marbella, Spain!<br />

Broadcasting since 2010 feeding the House heads of<br />

the Costa Del Sol, we just had to send our man Terry<br />

Hobbs down to chat with Marc van Meeuwen!


So, Beachgrooves started back in<br />

2010. You must have seen some<br />

changes in the industry since then?<br />

A lot has changed during the years, but it is funny<br />

because when you start something special and good………..<br />

people try to copy you. This is not easy because it needs to<br />

come out of your Soul not just actions…….<br />

What have been the positives/<br />

negatives?<br />

Having a radio station is a lot of work, making<br />

sure you bring the right quality and music to the people.<br />

BeachGrooves has about 70 DJs all around the world that I<br />

transmit, this is also a lot of work to make sure everything<br />

works smooth.<br />

What was your motivation to start<br />

the radio station in the first place?<br />

When I started the Radio there was no real radio<br />

station that played Deep House Music, they all played the<br />

day to day stuff that I did not like. This is why I wanted a<br />

station that I could listen for myself, but what happened<br />

was that it became a hit over night. I received a lot of great<br />

feedback from a lot of people and from there it went….<br />

Who’s been your favourite DJ you<br />

have ever featured on the station or<br />

at a live event?<br />

I love the tunes of Black Coffee, he gives his heart<br />

and soul into the music I love.<br />

What is the best/worst part about<br />

running the station?<br />

BeachGrooves is my baby, what can you say about<br />

your baby that is bad?<br />

Beachgrooves obviously is famous<br />

for running events, not just the radio<br />

station, what are your favourite<br />

places to hold them?<br />

As you probably know we have now a new project<br />

in Marbella, we have not Bounty by BG where we have<br />

BeachGrooves DJs playing live every day. This is also<br />

transmitted on BeachGrooves Radio also, so that people<br />

around the world can listen the tunes from the beaches of<br />

Marbella.<br />

What has been your own personal<br />

favourite event to be involved in/<br />

play at?<br />

One of the nicest events we did was at Olivia<br />

Valere where we could show what BeachGrooves is, the<br />

place was packed and the music was great.<br />

I know BeachGrooves obviously<br />

provides marketing services for bars/<br />

clubs/promoters. What do you feel<br />

separates you from the competition?<br />

Our audience is very important because these type<br />

of people go to the nice places in Marbella, this is why we<br />

are not making advertisement for anybody. It is a high<br />

standard people that we approach.<br />

What is your own personal story<br />

with the music? How did you start<br />

DJing/get into the music industry?<br />

Music is my life and runs in my blood and veins,<br />

this is why I am so in love with BeachGrooves because it is<br />

my baby.<br />

What is your favourite style of house<br />

and why?<br />

To be quite honest I like allot of different types of<br />

music, it starts from Jazz until Deep House.<br />

Digital/Vinyl or CD's and why?<br />

I have gone through them all, but at the end<br />

music is music in the best format and sound. Sound for me<br />

is also a very important for me, I do not understand that<br />

most bars/chringuitos do not make good sound systems<br />

because this is important.<br />

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

house parties, and why?<br />

I prefer Festivals or somewhere outside that you<br />

can enjoy it air and the vibes.<br />

How do you see the future for the<br />

music scene on the Costa del Sol?<br />

You will see what will happen in 2024, Marbella<br />

will become the next place to go and we intend to be at the<br />

forefront of all of it. A lot to come from BeachGrooves still<br />

for <strong>2023</strong>– the big date to keep an eye with us is on is the<br />

1st of January 2024.<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 />

Black Coffee – Drive. Black Coffee – Lost. Black<br />

Coffee – You need. Black Coffee – Come with me, and Nora<br />

En Pure – Come with me.<br />

Where do you see the future of<br />

Electronic music? Oldskool,<br />

neuskool or a bit of allskool?<br />

Soulful Oldskool is coming back for sure, which is<br />

why Black Coffee is going this way also.<br />

What does the future hold for<br />

BeachGrooves? What does the next<br />

12 months have in store?<br />

Sorry to say but this is a secret because I have a<br />

lot of projects that cannot be revealed until next year.


https://www.discogs.com/seller/Redbox-Vinyl-Shop/profile<br />

https://simonpricevoiceover.com/


featureinterview<br />

__________________<br />

Words Paul Newhouse<br />

_____________________<br />

Photography Michel Zoeter<br />

__________________________<br />

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

Cynthia always knew she loved music.<br />

Becoming a DJ began in 2017, his focus was<br />

sparked after she won the Dutch DJ<br />

Championship. After a respectable number of<br />

hours spent on practicing, she decided to focus<br />

on the music style Bigroom and Techno. But she<br />

wanted to do more …<br />

She partook in her first championship in 2016, and signed up to the ‘NDJK’ – the<br />

official Dutch DJ championships – which were held in Limburg. She finished 17th.<br />

Coached and supported by leading Dutch DJ’s, she decided to take part again in<br />

the 2017 Dutch DJ Championships. This time she made it to the final with a high<br />

overall total score! On December 16, 2017 she finished 1st! This makes her the first<br />

female to ever carry the title “Dutch DJ champion”.<br />

In 2019 the ‘Queen of Mashup’ championships took place in Mumbai, India in the<br />

beautiful Dragonfly Experience Club. This event was organized by SOSNiteLife in<br />

collaboration with DJANE. 15 participants from all over the world partook in the 4th<br />

World DJ Championships for the title of the ‘Queen of Mashups’.<br />

DJ Cynthia Laclé represented the Netherlands and proudly finished 2nd runner up,<br />

scoring yet another trophy for the Netherlands.<br />

In 2021 she launched here single Hunger and she climbed up the lader in the top<br />

100 Djane. She managed to become the 5th Dutch Djane and #62 of the top 100<br />

Europe in 2022.<br />

I just had to have a chat with this young woman on the way to the top!


Tell us who is DJ Cynthia, and when<br />

did you start to DJ?<br />

I started to play in 2015, just started to learn a<br />

thing or 2. After my first course I really wanted to do more<br />

in music. I bought my first controller and continued classes.<br />

DJ is just a way for me to express myself. The high energy,<br />

the moment to forget all other things. Just to feel free in<br />

that moment is who I am. High energy, happy, positive<br />

vibes would describe me.<br />

Tell us who is Cynthia, and where<br />

are you from?<br />

I was born in The Netherlands, up north and when<br />

I was a small kid my parents moved back to their roots<br />

Aruba. I am a very shy person with an different<br />

personality. I love to make others happy and to just live in<br />

the moment.<br />

Tell us about the Dutch DJ<br />

Championships.<br />

It was my first contest that I did. I was super<br />

nervous about it. I attended in 2016 for the first time.<br />

Ended up being number 17. However I was dertiment to be<br />

on stage. So many talented DJ’s. Our country is definitely<br />

blessed with music. In 2017 I came back, prepared more,<br />

learned more. I stept on stage again, super nervous again<br />

but I guess hard work pays off because I was the first<br />

female artist to win the competition.<br />

What does Cynthia do for fun, apart<br />

from DJing?<br />

Oooohhh, to many things. I love extreme sports.<br />

Put on board underneath me and I am gone. I do<br />

watersports: wake- kite and windsurfing. And in the winter<br />

of course wakeboarding. I also love to do things that really<br />

give me an adrenaline rush though. You only live once!<br />

If you where left on a small island for<br />

the rest of your days, and you had<br />

a record player, and 5 vinyl, what<br />

would they be and why?<br />

Really good question, I would pick 5 completely<br />

different tracks for each mood setting hahahaha. Definitely<br />

a track from Hardwell - Never say goodbye is one of my<br />

favourites but there are to many tracks from him that I like<br />

so that is really a hard one. Then I would pick a track from<br />

Adele - Hello or easy on me. An hardstyle track from<br />

headhunterz or Brennan heart. A track from Will Sparks<br />

and 1 from myself. Oh my this is really hard to answer. I<br />

don’t know Wich one to pick!<br />

Tell us about the ‘Queen of Mashup’<br />

championships.<br />

This was crazy. I was so scared to this, but I was<br />

determined to proceed in my music and includes taking<br />

risk. So I went over all the way to Mumbai. Again super<br />

nervous. I always am though. I met a lot of great people.<br />

The moment I had to go on I almost break down from<br />

nerves and when I needed to go up I said to myself OK<br />

there is nothing to loose so let’s do this. When I put my<br />

stick in and my first track is on, then I am in my zone and I<br />

forget the world. It was such an amazing experience and<br />

again hard work pays off. I prept everything so well for<br />

myself that it made it a lot easier to play like how I wanted.<br />

Do you produce? If so tell us all<br />

about your releases.<br />

Yes, I do. I have been working so much on music<br />

the last past year and it’s crazy to see how it developed. In<br />

this proces I am finding my own sound. There will be every<br />

month releases and from October on there wil also be<br />

remixes launched so keep an eye on my Spotify.<br />

What studio equipment do you use,<br />

and whats your go to item?<br />

Working with studio one. Then a tons of plugins of<br />

course that is needed. An akai midi board and an acid<br />

synth, and more to come. But not much more needed. My<br />

to go item def software and laptop. You don’t need much<br />

more on the road. Everything what you need is in it.<br />

However a good headphone is handy then.<br />

Small club, super club, festival, or<br />

House party and why?<br />

Definitely festival. The vibe there is just epic. I<br />

love it so much. No judgement, people are just there and<br />

doesn’t matter if it rains or the sun shines,they want to<br />

dance! They are there for the music and experience.<br />

CD, Vinyl, or controller and why?<br />

I started on a controller, but only gave me<br />

problems. And I don’t like it to work visually. Never played<br />

vinyl and must say doesn’t attract me at all to do so. So<br />

my answer would be an CDJ. Must say that it gives me the<br />

biggest joy to play with .<br />

What was Cynthia like when she<br />

was young?<br />

Oh my, I was the shy dorky kid that no one would<br />

pick for their team! At age of 16 I really became good in<br />

sports.<br />

Whats your favourite city to play in<br />

and why?<br />

Not a city but country at this moment is Germany.<br />

It’s really next level there. Rave country number 1!.


What styles do you play?<br />

Bigroom & Techno with a bit of hardstyle!<br />

Tell us about the clubs you have<br />

played in.<br />

Played in several clubs around the globe. In<br />

Europe, Asia, Caribbean. Clubs are still in so many<br />

countries epic. Except for The Netherlands, I really miss it a<br />

lot. Clubs are exclusive, and the people are attending for<br />

music, and love that so much.<br />

Whats been your best experience<br />

as a DJ and why?<br />

Winning several titles as a female artist. But I<br />

must say developing to becoming an artist with my own<br />

sound and vibe is really the best thing ever. Of course I<br />

love to play at big festivals but becoming a real artist<br />

means so much more to me. It really represents who you<br />

are.<br />

surprised that is wasn’t playing.<br />

Favourite influence in the music<br />

industry and why?<br />

Hardwell, Will Sparks, Armin van Buuren, Maddix,<br />

Olly James to many at this moment. But what they all have<br />

in common is that they are all high in energy. And it makes<br />

me sad that there isn’t a female artist out there with that<br />

vibe. At least not yet!<br />

What does the future look like for DJ<br />

Cynthia?<br />

So many epic things are coming. Growing so fast,<br />

and still learning so many things at this point. For now we<br />

have Amsterdam Dance Event in October.<br />

If you where to change 1 thing in the<br />

world what would it be and why?<br />

Equality. No more money issues no more war no<br />

more crap. Peace and love for everyone.<br />

Is there someone you would really<br />

like to work with and why?<br />

I really want to work with Hardwell 1 day. He is an big<br />

inspiration for me. I have followed him for so many years<br />

and still do. As an artist and a person I admire so much<br />

what he does en who he is.<br />

Whats been your worst experience<br />

as a DJ and why?<br />

Aaaah! I will never forget this one. I was the warm<br />

up for a big artist and my USB just failed on me and I<br />

couldn’t play. The artist walked in and was like super<br />

Tell us your views on the sync<br />

button!<br />

Well it’s there for a reason, and I must say it is<br />

useful at some parts. Especially with vocals and samples.<br />

However, I only use it to set my BPM fast at the right speed<br />

because I mix so fast and use so many hot cues and would<br />

run out of time otherwise. I think it’s a good tool if you<br />

know how music works upfront. At the end of the day if you<br />

don’t have the feeling it wouldn’t work.<br />

Last words!<br />

YOLO!


featureinterview<br />

_________________<br />

Words Anthony Piercy<br />

________________________<br />

Photography Courtesy of Gavin<br />

_________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/gmjmusic<br />

Gavin Griffin, also known as GMJ, has been a<br />

prominent figure in underground electronic<br />

dance music for over two decades. Forging a<br />

successful career as a DJ, event organizer and<br />

producer, Gavin is a pioneering force in the<br />

Melbourne scene and has performed all over the<br />

globe.<br />

Playing alongside some of the world’s leading names in progressive, it was a<br />

natural evolution that Gavin would bring his passion for hypnotic soundscapes and<br />

deep grooves to the studio setting.<br />

In 2007 the GMJ project was born and has since landed on iconic imprints including<br />

Replug, Sudbeat, AnjunaDeep, Proton, Parquet, Balance Music, Hoomidaas and<br />

many more.<br />

Spacious yet powerful, the GMJ sound has been supported by luminaries such as<br />

Hernan Cattaneo, Cid Inc, Guy J, Nick Warren, Alex O’Rion, and regularly features on<br />

the front pages & charts of the world’s biggest dance music retailer Beatport.com,<br />

with numerous top 10 entries and a rise in 2021 to the top 10 selling artists on<br />

beatstats in the genre.<br />

Touring has followed extensively through his native Australia and beyond to<br />

locations such as Sri Lanka, Europe, Japan, India, New Zealand, Noumea and<br />

many more. Alongside great friend and collaborator Matter, the pair formed their<br />

“Meanwhile Recordings” imprint in 2020, which has gone on to become one of the<br />

most acclaimed and respected labels in progressive house, housing the pairs own<br />

productions and becoming a destination imprint for the world's best.<br />

With productions, the labels and tours scaling to new heights, the future is unfolding<br />

in luminous waves!<br />

<strong>Zone</strong>'s Anthony Piercy just had to have a chat with this prolific force in the<br />

scene........


G M J


Hi! Welcome! Gavin, pleased you<br />

are here with us. Thank you for<br />

your time! So, tell us how are you<br />

today? How was your week?<br />

Going well! Busy! Working from home at the<br />

moment and also gearing up to head away this weekend<br />

for a gig with Matter in Queensland! Trying to get some<br />

new music done before our gig amongst other things.<br />

Where did you grow up? Where are<br />

you based now?<br />

In the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, AUS. In the<br />

Dandenong Ranges, Kalorama - one hour from Melbourne.<br />

What is your first musical memory?<br />

My parents playing beethoven records on their<br />

turntable when I was around 3.<br />

How did you get into electronic<br />

dance music, DJ'ing and<br />

production?<br />

Electronic Music I have been into for years in one<br />

form or another. A lot of 80s synth ballads and tracks I<br />

grew up with contained electronic elements, and I guess<br />

from there I caught onto early 90's clubbing which then<br />

lead me to the rave scene in Melbourne which really made<br />

me feel like I had come home.<br />

I started DJ'ing in about 1994, and the first gigs in<br />

96. For years i had been compiling "mix tapes" (showing<br />

my age), and around that time i met a friend who owned<br />

an original technics 1200 CD player & I was fascinated. Not<br />

long after i bought the very first pioneer CDJ's and started<br />

mixing. And not long after that my first set of technics<br />

turntables, and for years the gigs were purely vinyl.<br />

Production wise I had been putting it off for years<br />

but finally started in 2005. My first release came in 2007.<br />

One of my closest friends was already producing and he<br />

helped set me up and give me a few tips. Once i started<br />

never looked back!<br />

Was there a certain record or radio<br />

show that got a hold of you when<br />

you were younger?<br />

Absolutely - Transmission on 3RRR here in<br />

Melbourne was a massive influence in the early 90s - it got<br />

me out and into the rave scene.<br />

Tell us about the clubs or scene at<br />

that time ?<br />

The scene in the early days was full of wonder and<br />

mystery, both because it was fresh for me and because in<br />

general it was underground and creating a real subculture<br />

for people where they felt connected and alive. The music<br />

was amazing too with pioneering artists such as Oliver Lieb,<br />

Sven Vath, Resistance D, Cosmic Baby playing live sets<br />

that were truly transformational. There was also at the<br />

same time a growing outdoor "doof" scene which had its<br />

own essence and incredible influence both musically and<br />

culturally. Briliant days i will always hold dear!<br />

Can you pinpoint the time you<br />

decided DJ'ing was your future and<br />

you were going to follow your<br />

passion?<br />

It was as natural and inspiring for me as anything<br />

I had ever experienced and from the first time I started<br />

playing gigs i knew i wanted to keep doing this and also<br />

had a story to tell through music. Moving towards<br />

production was the deeper level of that understanding;<br />

something that comes from within that i could share with<br />

the world in true passion.<br />

When and how did you get your<br />

big break as a DJ / artist?<br />

I was as you say "lucky" but synchronistic that i<br />

got into a relationship with a partner who owned one of<br />

Melbourne's most famous rave culture stores, and i started<br />

running the record store there as well. My first small gig<br />

was in a bar nearby, and soon after i met and made lasting<br />

connections with some of Melbourne's biggest promoters in<br />

both the rave and outdoor scene. I was around that culture<br />

and music 24/7 and lived and breathed it with passion. The<br />

stories i was telling with the music were resonating with<br />

people and the gigs seemed to just come from there!<br />

You Have Tracks on some of the<br />

biggest labels. How did these come<br />

about?<br />

Passion, hard work, dedication and creativity. If<br />

you keep showing up with something that comes from the<br />

soul, using the gifts there, good things will come! Hernan<br />

had been supporting my music for a few years and<br />

eventually that translated to releases on Sudbeat. Also my<br />

meeting with Matter lead to both of us really inspiring each<br />

other in that reflection and out of that our Anjuna release<br />

was born and many more.


Where can we catch you outside of<br />

your live shows?<br />

Haha! could be hard to find! I enjoy bush walking<br />

and hanging out in nature or just relaxing with friends plus<br />

travel when that is a thing again soon!<br />

Are most of your sets / Show<br />

Producer Sets?<br />

A mixture; I do live sets with Matter, otherwise DJ<br />

sets but always including own productions as well as tracks<br />

from our meanwhile labels.<br />

What kind of things inspire you to<br />

tell stories through your music?<br />

Nature, contemplation, music, stimulating<br />

conversation, travel, festivals & gigs & much more.<br />

On December 17 Matter & I are heading up to play<br />

at Elements festival in Queensland which is super exciting!<br />

I am playing in Sri Lanka with my partner Olga on Jan 8<br />

which we can't wait for! After I return there are a number<br />

of very exciting gigs coming up for our home base Morning<br />

After Agency, including supporting Guy J, Alex O'Rion &<br />

Marsh at Enchanted Garden Party, Interstellar Groove<br />

Festival & more! I am also in talks for some overseas tours<br />

so hoping they come together!<br />

Always more music coming, including some<br />

exciting collabs and of course more music with Matty & solo<br />

for Meanwhile!<br />

Whats your favorite DAW? Run us<br />

through your home set up.<br />

Logic Pro X. Running a 27 inch Imac with<br />

Logic Pro X, Motu Ultralite MK5 soundcard, Adams a7 x<br />

monitors, a heap of VST's such as Hive, Repro,<br />

Omnisphere, Serum, and also some hardware - Dave Smith<br />

Prophet Rev 2, and Prophet 12, Pioneer Toraiz AS1 & just<br />

bought a Strymon Big Sky Reverb Pedal.<br />

What are the first sensations you<br />

usually get when listening to a<br />

remix of one of your tracks for the<br />

first time?<br />

It really depends on the track, the state of the<br />

moment and many factors, but always really interested to<br />

hear how others develop the ideas in creative ways!<br />

Tell us more about your Label<br />

Meanwhile, Meanwhile horizons,<br />

dist. by Proton.<br />

Matter & I had been talking about starting our own<br />

label for a while, and then at ADE in 2019 we had a<br />

meeting with Proton CEO Jason and we talked more in<br />

depth about starting a label and it became clearer it was<br />

possible for us. From there we made a big list of names<br />

and gradually got it down and down and arrived at<br />

"meanwhile".<br />

We started the label in 2020 regardless of the<br />

pandemic as nothing slowed down for us in any way<br />

musically and we also felt more than ever people were<br />

wanting new music to take them to another place.<br />

Horizons we launched in 2021 as a place where we<br />

could release some different sounds that wouldn't fit on<br />

meanwhiles focused sound, such as lighter melodic<br />

progressive, some organic stuff and chill!<br />

What’s next for GMJ?<br />

What is your go to software?<br />

Been loving Repro for a while now & just got Hive<br />

which is great! Love the U-HE stuff. Omnisphere always a<br />

go to.<br />

Explain your writing process.<br />

It is different each time honestly; i don't start with<br />

templates so everything is fresh each time. Mostly i start<br />

with the kick and some sort of groove, but of late also<br />

experimenting with starting with the musical ideas and<br />

effects first and groove after which feels nice.<br />

Could you tell us what a day in the<br />

studio is like?<br />

Usually there are creative times for me in waves;<br />

as with anything in life creativity ebbs and flows and that is<br />

the challenge at times of being a creative. But i have<br />

learned overall how to accept the dips and ride the really<br />

creative times.<br />

I rarely spend full days in the studio but rather<br />

periods of time then broken up by nature walking or silence<br />

for balance.<br />

What about your favorite machines<br />

and instruments?<br />

Rev 2 is my fave hardware so far but still learning<br />

them all! (never stop).


featureinterview<br />

________________<br />

Words John Ricketts<br />

________________________<br />

Photography Courtesy of Maisy<br />

________________________<br />

Connect maisygracemusic.co.uk<br />

Maisy Grace has come seemingly out of nowhere with one of the<br />

year’s most exciting albums. Combining multiple genres within<br />

underground dance music she has shown a songwriting prowess<br />

and depth rarely seen these days. Produced by Simon Tagg<br />

(Kouncilhouse) it draws from influences ranging from r’n’b, drum and<br />

bass and house, and could well be the underground’s album of the<br />

summer. We caught up with Maisy to chat about the whole process<br />

of writing the album and also what her journey has been like up to<br />

this point.<br />

At just 18 years old Maisy has already received recognition from tastemaker blogs<br />

such as Listen With Monger, CLUNK and BBC Radio 6 Introducing airtime. This is just<br />

the beginning for Maisy, as <strong>2023</strong> will see the fledgling artist release her debut<br />

album this April, as well as a litany of singles, so there is plenty of new music<br />

incoming for fans new and old to wrap their ears around. Her deeply honest<br />

songwriting, beautiful vocals and shimmering harmonies make Maisy one of the<br />

most exciting young artists from not just the Cornish coast but the entire UK.<br />

Maisy is a musical force to be reckoned with; a true multi-instrumentalist who is<br />

effortlessly talented on piano, guitar and bass. She is also a talented songwriter<br />

and producer. The past couple of years has seen the young artist play a whole<br />

host of festivals , including Leopallooza, Boardmasters, Rock Oyster, Tunes In The<br />

Dunes and Great Estate. Whether playing solo, as a duo, or with a full band, Maisy<br />

is sure to wow in a live setting. In addition to this she also released her debut EP<br />

titled ‘Sidelines’, which saw radio play on Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Introducing, as<br />

well as releasing single 'Circles' in collaboration with Kouncilhouse in December<br />

2022.<br />

Maisy’s true strength is her ability to craft deeply personal lyrics that give the listener<br />

an insight into world that Maisy lives in. She tackles subjects such as gender<br />

equality, mental health, love and loss, all delivered in a velvety package that is silky<br />

smooth and soft to the ear. You cannot help but find yourself lost in her music.


First of all what initially got you into<br />

song writing and making music?<br />

I grew up with my dad writing songs about all of<br />

us, and I always wanted to be able to write songs like him.<br />

I guess I just gave it a go once and loved it. I’m not sure I<br />

want anyone to hear any of the songs written in the early<br />

early stages of my songwriting though!<br />

How would you describe your<br />

sound and what are your main<br />

musical influences?<br />

I don’t think I’ve found my own style properly yet,<br />

as a lot of the things I’ve done so far has been work done<br />

with other people. The songs on the album are dreamy,<br />

dancey, poppy, ballad-y and sassy all at the same time,<br />

depending on which track you’re listening to. There’s a lot<br />

of variety which is pretty cool I think.<br />

Why did you decide to write an<br />

album in an age of most songwriters<br />

relying on a constant output of<br />

singles?<br />

I don’t think we initially set out to release an<br />

album. We were having such a great time making tracks,<br />

and we ended up with so many that we loved that we<br />

thought an album would be the best way to share them<br />

with the world. I love singles, and I have released quite a<br />

few of them, but I think an album is a huge milestone and<br />

it is awesome to be able to release one so early on in my<br />

career.<br />

What is your songwriting process?<br />

Usually, I will sit down with an instrument,<br />

like guitar or bass or piano and a song will just come<br />

to me, starting with some chords, or a riff or<br />

something like that. However the album was different<br />

because there were no instruments involved. I was sent<br />

some music and had to just write lyrics which was very<br />

weird to start with but I got used to it. The melodies felt<br />

the biggest part of these songs, so mostly I figured out a<br />

melody and put some words to it. Its difficult trying to<br />

explain the method to my madness.<br />

Do you specifically write a song or a<br />

track to a specific genre or does it<br />

evolve throughout the process?<br />

I find it hard to actually pinpoint what genre these<br />

songs are anyway. Sometimes I would write a song to one<br />

of the tracks that Kouncilhouse sent me and after hearing it<br />

he would change the whole song to fit the lyrics and the<br />

feel of what I had sent him. He got it very right most of the<br />

time!<br />

Do you have a favourite track from<br />

the album?<br />

I don’t think I have a favourite one specifically.<br />

But I do have ones that I prefer in different ways. I love<br />

singing Feel Brand New, as it feels very sassy and I feel<br />

quite powerful on a stage with it. What happened is my<br />

favourite to sit down and listen to when I want to feel<br />

something, but Something Different is one that would<br />

usually be on one of my playlists. I have a song for every<br />

occasion.<br />

What was it like working with<br />

Simon?<br />

I don’t think I have ever met anyone quite like<br />

Simon. He has gotten on my nerves too many times for me<br />

to count, but without him none of this would be possible.<br />

He has given me the opportunity of a lifetime and I am so<br />

grateful to him. It has also been interesting as he lives<br />

hours away and we had never met in person until we<br />

played a gig together at Shindig Festival. To have made an<br />

entire album, and known each other for almost a year<br />

without ever having met in real life feels totally insane to<br />

me, but it clearly worked.<br />

What is next for Maisy Grace?<br />

I think I need a bit of a break from releasing things, just<br />

because I am exhausted. I have a few different people I<br />

would like to work with, just for a bit of fun and then off to<br />

university in London in September. I will be studying all the<br />

parts of music that I will need to make music my career<br />

which I am so excited for. Its also nice to know that I will<br />

be starting my university life already having released Ann<br />

entire album which I think is something to brag about!<br />

You recently played at Shindig<br />

Festival, how was that for you?<br />

It was pretty nuts. It was the first time playing a<br />

gig without any instruments or band in my 10 years of<br />

performing and it felt quite odd. I thought that the festival<br />

was so lovely, and everyone there was just so cool, and the<br />

whole time I was there after my performance people would<br />

come up to me complimenting me on my singing. I can’t<br />

really complain.<br />

Where can we find you playing<br />

next?<br />

My next big gig will be at Rock Oyster Festival at<br />

the end of July down here in Cornwall. I am playing main<br />

stage! No instruments, just me and Kouncilhouse playing to<br />

all of my friends and family, and whoever else decides to<br />

show up. I will also be playing a couple of smaller stages<br />

acoustically, dotted around over the weekend so have a<br />

look out for those if you’re there!


" Usually, I will sit down with an instrument,<br />

like guitar or bass or piano and a song will just<br />

come to me, starting with some chords, or a riff or<br />

something like that "


featureinterview<br />

____________<br />

Words Msykes<br />

_______________________<br />

Photography Courtesy of DoC<br />

____________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/docmusicpage<br />

Døc is a musical project by Irish DJ and producer Darren Doherty. A<br />

well established name on the Irish clubbing scene, Døc’s first real<br />

experience of dance music happened after he snuck into a<br />

nightclub at the tender age of fifteen, instantly falling in love with the<br />

tunes, atmosphere and vibes, Doherty promised himself that one<br />

day he would return to the club, Privilege, Longford, as a DJ. He<br />

then devoted himself to achieving that goal and eventually enjoyed<br />

a very successful residency there.<br />

With over twenty year’s worth of experience behind the decks, it’s safe to say that<br />

Døc is an artist who has truly mastered his craft. Based in Sligo, the home to<br />

clubbing in the west of Ireland, Døc has been controlling crowds in the region with<br />

his genre hopping brand of deep, progressive and techy basslines for well over a<br />

decade, never failing to lift the energy in a room and create an atmosphere that<br />

keeps people coming back and begging for more. Having played in many of<br />

Ireland’s biggest and most popular venues, Døc has played a number of<br />

international shows, most notably at the Warehouse Project London, Sankeys Ibiza,<br />

Eden Ibiza and HI Ibiza, supporting the likes of Danny Howells, Clive Henry and<br />

Alex Arnout in the process.<br />

Døc is also an extremely accomplished producer, having been making his own<br />

original productions for the last eight year. He has a string of successful releases<br />

behind him, both as part of the Døc project and under other aliases. He has had a<br />

number of tracks signed to Suro Recordings including his collaboration with Marc de<br />

Pulse on the track Birthing Star, released in September 2017. Døc’s music has<br />

received support from some real heavy hitters in the industry, including Nick Warren,<br />

one of the world’s best known progressive DJs.<br />

Døc currently holds a number of local and international residencies, including slots<br />

at Spiral Tree, Longford and appearances with Circle Experience in London and<br />

Ibiza. He also often plays guest slots with some of Ireland’s leading club brands in<br />

venues up and down the country. With a regular podcast series, Døc-Cast and<br />

Døc's Picks, which now has over twenty episodes, it is evident that Doherty is one<br />

of the hardest working DJs currently on the Irish scene, and one that is set to be<br />

here for many years to come.<br />

Our man Msykes cought up with Darren to have a good ol' chinwag!


" It always inspires me seeing people be<br />

successful in things they love to do. It inspires<br />

me to put the effort in seeing them<br />

succeed "


Hi DøC, how are you?<br />

Thank you for taking the time to speak with <strong>Zone</strong><br />

<strong>Magazine</strong>. So lets get started.<br />

What is your name? where you are<br />

from and how did your musical<br />

journey begin?<br />

My name is Darren. I DJ & produce under the<br />

names Døc and Crage D. I'm originally from Longford but<br />

now living in Sligo about 20 years. My musical journey<br />

began back in 1996. I got my first set of turntables at the<br />

age of 13. They were soudlab belt drive decks. I was lucky<br />

enough to be living beside the promoter of the privelege in<br />

Longford who was also a great DJ. He would call around<br />

and show me the basics of beat matching. 2 years later I<br />

was playing in the privelege regularly. That's where it all<br />

started for me, The Privilege in Longford. That place was<br />

the start for a lot people from Longford.<br />

If you had to choose, which DJ do<br />

you prefer and why? Carl Cox or<br />

Dave Clarke?<br />

Carl Cox is an absolute legend. But I would<br />

definitely go see Dave Clarke over him. These days Carl<br />

Cox plays a lot of crowd pleasing music. I would always<br />

choose and a sweat box techno rave over big room techno.<br />

What is your favourite gig or gigs?<br />

Favourite gig I've played. Probably the wild corner<br />

in Hï. That place is just crazy. I was buzzing for weeks after<br />

that gig.<br />

What music do you like to listen to<br />

in your spare time?<br />

I love artist like, RYX, Damian Rice, James Blake<br />

and Ben Howard. I listen to all sorts. From 120bpm deep<br />

melodic stuff like Tim Green to 140bpm hypnotic techno<br />

from the likes of Marcal. I love it all!<br />

Who is your inspiration?<br />

It always inspires me seeing people be<br />

successful in things they love to do. It inspires me to<br />

put the effort in seeing them succeed.<br />

What advice do you have for up<br />

and coming DJ's / producers?<br />

I would say learn the fundamentals first. For DJ's:<br />

learn how to mix the correct way, without any sync<br />

buttons. Learn how to beat match the right way. Learning<br />

how to mix the correct and build a set from start to end.<br />

Making each track compliment each other throughout the<br />

mix. Put the time in to perfect these things.<br />

Producers: Once again learn the fundamentals first. I would<br />

suggest definitely do some production courses. If they are<br />

too expensive for you. Use youtube. Youtube is amazing.<br />

It's what I do every lunch time from work. I will go<br />

in my car somewhere, park and sit on my lunch and just<br />

watch YouTube tutorials on music production. If I'm not<br />

doing that, I will take out my laptop and do some work on<br />

a track I'm working. But yeah just watch as much tutorials<br />

as you can and put what you learn to practice.<br />

Dont worry about social media or what other<br />

people are doing. Focus on yourself. No point putting loads<br />

of time into social media if you don't have quality music to<br />

share. Get the music to the standard you want first.<br />

What is your favourite piece of<br />

equipment?<br />

My audeze lcd-x headphones. They are just crazy<br />

good. It's like wearing a set of monitors worth like 10k on<br />

your head. I have a set of focal shape monitors in my<br />

studio that I hardly ever turn on because I love using those<br />

headphones that much.<br />

What record label are you signed<br />

too?<br />

Suro Records, Sonar Bliss and Reenboog.<br />

What is your favourite production<br />

track?<br />

It would have to be "The Swan" Under my Crage D<br />

alias. That track has a personal attachment to me and the<br />

fact it got to number 1 in the beatport techno releases<br />

charts was amazing. Not only that all the tracks got into<br />

the top 50 singles also.<br />

How do you prepare for a DJ gig?<br />

I just search for music that I feel will fit the venue.<br />

I always try make my sets fit the venue I'm playing in. I<br />

don't work out sets. I will create a large playlist I can<br />

search through. If its a long set. Like anything over 3 hours<br />

I will create 3 playlists. Start, middle and end. I might not<br />

stick to them but it's good to have a bit of structure.<br />

Whats your approach to producing<br />

and writing a track?<br />

It varies. Some times I will use a reference track<br />

(it helps when trying to pick the correct sounds). Other<br />

times I will just sit down and mess around until something<br />

sounds good. Once you get that little bit of inspiration from<br />

something you did, you can build from that.


How do you feel about the clubbing<br />

scene in Ireland?<br />

Dublin's scene is excellent what those lads at<br />

Index are doing is excellent. The lads a reboot are creating<br />

their own scene also. But outside of Dublin it's pretty poor<br />

to be honest. I live in Sligo and we have absolutely nothing<br />

happing here. Faint had a great thing going but once covid<br />

hit that two years break changed a lot in scene.<br />

What DJ's do you like and why?<br />

I love Damian Lazarus. I love his energy behind<br />

the decks. I remember seeing him at Kehakuma in Space<br />

Ibiza a little over 10 years ago. It just blew me away. It<br />

was one of the best sets I have witnessed. It was around<br />

that time when his label Crosstown Rebels was peeking. He<br />

played Maceo Plex - Can't leave you (Tale of Us remix) and<br />

one of my favourite tracks ever Droog & Inxec - Unhinged.<br />

These tracks hadn't been released yet. So it was the first<br />

time hearing them. I was so fucking good. Since then I<br />

have been a Damian Lazarus fanatic.<br />

Can you talk us through your best,<br />

worse and funniest gigging<br />

experience?<br />

Best was probably answered in the last question.<br />

Funniest would probably be at Amnesia in ibiza. It was a<br />

long day of clubbing and I was worse to wear around 5am I<br />

was standing up on the edge of the dance floor. So I just<br />

put my drink down on the table, but every time I tried to<br />

let go of it would move so I couldn't get it to balance. Then<br />

I get this slap in back of the head from my wife saying<br />

what are you doing? I said trying to put my drink down. My<br />

wife then says that's a person's head you f@#king ejit!! I<br />

realised what I was at then so I went over and leaned<br />

against a pillar to get my head straight. Then the pillar<br />

moved. I was leaning against some stranger. Safe to say it<br />

was time to go home hahaha!


featurebrand<br />

_______________<br />

Words Terry Hobbs<br />

______________________<br />

Photography Marc de Groot<br />

_________________________<br />

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

25 YEARS OF KINKY MALINKI - 1998-<strong>2023</strong><br />

Kinky Malinki, put simply, is one of the most successful and<br />

longest-running House Music events in London.<br />

Since its launch in 1998, Kinky Malinki has established itself as one of clubland's<br />

best-known brands, hosting events all over the UK and around the world. It has<br />

maintained a monthly residency in London for a staggering 25 years with no<br />

breaks or time off. Alongside its main residencies in Ibiza, Marbella, and Australia, it<br />

has organized international club nights in more than 20 countries. Kinky Malinki<br />

recently introduced its daytime brand, the Vocal House Brunch, which has hosted<br />

unforgettable one-off events at stately homes, stunning rooftops, 5-star hotels, and<br />

luxury riverboats.<br />

Success didn't come easy, however. It resulted from a lot of hard work, copious<br />

sweat, quite a few tears, and the occasional bit of blood. It also boils down to their<br />

commitment to the music and their dedication to putting on the best event possible,<br />

featuring the best guest DJs, resident DJs, and at the finest venues. It hasn't always<br />

been smooth sailing; the ever-changing landscape of London clubland has thrown<br />

some curveballs over the years. Still, their simple ethos has helped them persevere<br />

and maintain belief in the brand. They continue to prove that they stand by what<br />

Kinky Malinki is about and what Kinky Malinki has ALWAYS been about—throwing<br />

the best House Music party possible.<br />

<strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> caught up with Kinky Malinki Boss Paul Crane to find out a little<br />

more about the history........


Hi Paul Cane, Welcome to <strong>Zone</strong>!<br />

Hey guys, thank you for inviting me! It's great to be<br />

here!<br />

Kinky Malinki has been going for 25<br />

years? So….it’s 1998, correct? What<br />

motivated Paul Crane to start Kinky<br />

Malinki, way back then?<br />

Yes, it's hard to believe, but Kinky Malinki was<br />

indeed launched in 1998. However, my journey into event<br />

organising began even earlier, in 1996. I was very young at<br />

the time and wasn’t even old enough to be in the club I was<br />

organising events at – but that's a story for another day! The<br />

inception of Kinky Malinki took place at a venue called<br />

Imperial Gardens in Camberwell, London SE5.<br />

The motivation behind starting Kinky Malinki<br />

stemmed from my experiences in Ibiza. I had just returned<br />

from one of my first trips to the island, and I was utterly<br />

blown away by the vibrant and immersive clubbing culture<br />

there. It was during this time that I realised my true passion<br />

lay in creating unforgettable parties and events. At just 20<br />

years old, I had ambitious dreams of conquering the<br />

clubbing world, with a particular goal in mind: to secure a<br />

residency on the legendary party island of Ibiza and of<br />

course in my hometown of London.<br />

What have been the biggest<br />

changes in the industry during that<br />

time?<br />

Wow, where do I start with this question! There<br />

have been so many changes in the industry over the last 25<br />

years. We've witnessed shifts in music styles and trends, but<br />

perhaps the most significant change has been the<br />

transformation of the clubbing landscape, especially in<br />

London. Many of our favourite venues have sadly<br />

disappeared over the years.<br />

What have been the positives/<br />

negatives?<br />

We were fortunate enough to be involved in many<br />

closing parties for iconic venues. One of the highlights/<br />

positives was Pacha London, where Kinky Malinki held the<br />

longest promoter residency from 2001 to 2014. We had the<br />

privilege of hosting one of the very last parties at the venue,<br />

and those nights truly were magical. Similar stories can be<br />

told for venues like Turnmills and matter/Proud2 at The O2.<br />

It's been a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows, but the<br />

memories we've created along the way are priceless.<br />

What has been your own personal<br />

favourite event to be involved in?<br />

It's tough to pick just one, but there are two events<br />

that really stand out for me. The first would be hosting a<br />

legendary night at the Cross Nightclub in Kings Cross. I only<br />

had the opportunity to host one event at this venue, and it<br />

happened just one week after we sold out Pacha London. To<br />

sell out two of London's biggest venues within a week was a<br />

truly special and memorable achievement.<br />

The second event that holds a special place in my<br />

heart is when I took on Fabric's superclub matter London at<br />

The O2. This event took place in February 2009 and had a<br />

whopping 3000-person capacity. It was a significant leap<br />

from our previous events at Turnmills, where we were<br />

consistently drawing 1800 people. The first matter event<br />

coincided with Valentine's weekend, a date I would typically<br />

have avoided. However, it turned out to be a game-changer<br />

as the event sold out a week in advance and saw an<br />

incredible 3500 people through the doors. It was a mindblowing<br />

and somewhat crazy experience at the time.<br />

Who's been your favourite DJ you<br />

have ever booked?<br />

Booking DJs has always been an exciting part of<br />

what we do, and I've had the privilege of booking some<br />

incredible acts, especially when they were just about to blow<br />

up. One of the highlights has to be being the first London<br />

promoter to bring Avicii to the UK; that was a monumental<br />

achievement.<br />

But if I had to choose a favourite DJ, it would<br />

undoubtedly be the legendary Todd Terry. He graced our<br />

stage for the first time at our 15th Birthday celebration at<br />

the Ministry of Sound in London. Having Todd headline the<br />

box room was an unforgettable experience. And I'm thrilled<br />

to share that we'll be having him perform for us again at our<br />

summer closing party at O Beach in Ibiza on October 1st,<br />

<strong>2023</strong>. It's going to be another special moment in our<br />

journey.<br />

What is the best/worst part about<br />

running the business and/or working<br />

in this industry?<br />

Being a promoter in this industry is indeed a rollercoaster<br />

ride, filled with both highs and lows. The worst part,<br />

for me, has to be the toll that constant partying can take on<br />

you. After 25 years, it's important to find the right balance<br />

and take care of your well-being.<br />

On the flip side, the best part of it all must be the<br />

incredible feeling of connecting people through music and<br />

our dancefloor. I believe that creating these amazing events<br />

and fostering connections through music is my true purpose.<br />

It's what has fuelled our passion and kept us going for 25<br />

years, and it's an incredibly rewarding aspect of what we do.<br />

You don’t stay in this game for 25<br />

years just on luck. What do you put<br />

your success down to?<br />

Staying humble and being honest. These two<br />

principals have been the foundation of our success over the<br />

years.


What advice would you give to<br />

someone going into the promotions<br />

game these days?<br />

My advice would be not to be scared to take risks<br />

and, most importantly, never stop dreaming. The world of<br />

promotions is dynamic and constantly evolving, so embrace<br />

change and keep your vision alive.<br />

Kinky Malinki is obviously famous for<br />

running club nights and pool parties,<br />

but you have also started up a Vocal<br />

House Brunch brand. What was the<br />

thinking behind that?<br />

Vocal House Brunch has been my new baby for the<br />

last 4 years! I decided to start this spin-off party from Kinky<br />

Malinki because I wanted to venture into the daytime<br />

market. Most of our events in London were traditionally held<br />

in nightclubs, lasting well into the early hours of the<br />

morning. I felt the need to make a shift to find a better<br />

work-life balance.<br />

Interestingly, this decision turned out to be<br />

particularly beneficial, especially after the lockdown when we<br />

were faced with various restrictions, including the need to sit<br />

at tables and eat meals. The House Gospel Choir also played<br />

a significant role in inspiring me. I watched them perform in<br />

a hotel in Shoreditch, and that very evening, Vocal House<br />

Brunch by Kinky Malinki was born. It was a natural evolution<br />

that allowed us to bring the magic of Kinky Malinki to a<br />

daytime audience with fantastic music and an immersive<br />

brunch experience.<br />

You also have franchises of the<br />

business in Australia and Spain,<br />

among other places. Is this<br />

something you plan on developing<br />

further?<br />

Over the last 25 years, we've established numerous<br />

residencies and hosted parties all over the UK and around<br />

the world. It's been crucial to collaborate with local partners<br />

to maintain the success of these residencies. One of our<br />

longest-running partnerships has been in Marbella, where<br />

my close friend Danny Warne operated Kinky Malinki<br />

alongside me for 18 summers. Building a strong local team is<br />

essential for the continued success of our events.<br />

I personally oversee the London and Ibiza<br />

operations, but it truly takes a dedicated local team to<br />

support our events overseas. For instance, our monthly<br />

residency in Perth, Australia, has been running for 10 years<br />

and is managed by Saul Bliss. Saul has been a part of our<br />

team since the Turnmills days in London, so he's been with<br />

us for many years.<br />

themselves. Personally, I have a passion for travel, so<br />

expanding our reach to different locations is something I'm<br />

always open to.<br />

What is your favourite style of<br />

house?<br />

I have a deep love for the funky house sound from<br />

the early 2000s, which is what inspired the creation of the<br />

Vocal House Brunch. It's a style that I thoroughly enjoy and<br />

resonates with me. One of my all-time favourite tracks in<br />

this genre has to be "Finally" by Kings of Tomorrow / Julie<br />

McKnight.<br />

What do you listen to at home or in<br />

the car?<br />

When I'm at home or in the car, I often find myself<br />

listening to the kind of music you'd hear during a sunset at<br />

Café Del Mar, particularly tunes curated by my good friend<br />

Ken Fan. My kids affectionately refer to it as "whale music,"<br />

but I like more chilled-out stuff.<br />

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

house parties, and why?<br />

These days, I'm drawn to the intimate atmosphere<br />

of small clubs. Places like Pikes in Ibiza hold a special place<br />

in my heart, and in fact, I'll be there on Wednesday night<br />

enjoying a few drinks. There's something about the energy<br />

and closeness of a small club that creates an incredible vibe,<br />

and it's where I feel most at home.<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 />

1. Finally – Kings Of Tomorrow / Julie McKnight<br />

2. The Sweetest Taboo - Sade<br />

3. Want You In My Soul - Lovebirds<br />

4. Come Fly Away - KANT<br />

5. I’ve got you Under My Skin – Ben L’oncle Soul<br />

What does the future hold for Kinky<br />

Malinki? What do you have planned<br />

for the next 12 months?<br />

While I can't reveal all the details just yet, we have<br />

some exciting plans in the works as we celebrate our 25th<br />

Anniversary. We're aiming to expand our summer Garden<br />

Party and have a lot more parties lined up for the upcoming<br />

year. I'm excited about our new residency at Florida Beach<br />

Club in La Cala alongside the amazing What The House crew.<br />

It's going to be an exciting journey, as we celebrate 25 years<br />

and still strong. Stay tuned for some big announcements!<br />

This aspect of the business will continue to evolve<br />

and grow as new opportunities and partnerships present


featureinterview<br />

_________________<br />

Words Anthony Piercy<br />

________________________<br />

Photography Courtesy of Gareth<br />

________________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/gareth.murphy.1984<br />

Gareth started DJ'ing when he was 16 and has<br />

always been a lover of Hard Trance / Hard Style,<br />

during this time he has played in some of the<br />

biggest clubs in Dublin and Ireland... Biggest<br />

influences would have to be Hennes & Cold,<br />

DERB, Scot Project, A*S*Y*S, DJ Isaac.<br />

Gareth started producing about 10 years ago but actually<br />

started off making house music and had a few released on<br />

various labels but deep down he knew he was not 100%<br />

committed to the genre of house music.<br />

Most recently Gareth had his debut release on DERBTools,<br />

HQ Recordings, Fatal Energy Records and Lively Sounds<br />

Gareth is also the main responsible for CM21 Records which<br />

launched at the start of 2022 and currently has 19 releases...<br />

with CM020 coming in October and CM021 coming in<br />

November... Gareth releases his amazing hard dance and<br />

hard style tracks on this label aswell as giving talented<br />

producers a chance to showcase their own productions.


How are you today & your week?<br />

Yes week has gone well, in the last few days I just<br />

wrapped up a brand new track which I am extremely happy<br />

with so decided to throw it online for free download. Don't<br />

normally make techno sounding tracks but this one just<br />

worked, still has my style of hard dance mixed up in it so it's<br />

not 100% techno. So now tonight it is back to the blank<br />

canvas to start a new project.<br />

Were are you from?<br />

I am from Ringsend, Dublin and I am still based in<br />

the area. Very lucky to have been brought up in such a nice<br />

community where everyone know everyone and its walking<br />

distance from the centre of Dublin.<br />

What is your first musical memory?<br />

Would have to be DJ'ing in house parties in friends<br />

houses (or friends of friends) any party that had a set of<br />

decks basically I would make sure I brought some vinyl. But<br />

best earliest memory of dance music would have to be either<br />

The Temple Theatre or Homelands in Mosney (the old Butlins),<br />

in Ireland.<br />

Tell us about the scene at that time?<br />

Growing up as a 16/17 year old the old proper night I<br />

could get into with a fake ID was Friday nights in The Crypt<br />

(Temple Theatre) with Darren Flynn being the resident DJ.<br />

Some nights and memories from them nights. And that was<br />

around the time Hennes & Cold “The Second Trip” (Scot<br />

Project Remix) came out so was savage to hear that out and<br />

still to this day my favourite dance track ever made.<br />

How did it all start?<br />

That would have to be from my cousin Martin<br />

Bennett who is a few years older then me but he was years<br />

ahead of me with DJing and Production, even if he played and<br />

made house music. He would be the main reason for it not<br />

being a summer hobby for one year. He showed me the ropes<br />

with beat mixing and later showed me the basics in<br />

production. A few years down the road as he was into IT he<br />

built me my first computer for music production with Reason,<br />

Pro Tools preloaded.<br />

When did you know music was your<br />

future?<br />

I will be honest it took a long time and actually fell<br />

out of love with it for a few years, mainly due to the fact that<br />

the way the scene in Dublin was at the time and kind of still is<br />

now, it did not matter what you were playing or how good you<br />

were. It all came down to who you knew, how many people<br />

you could bring with you on the night. Promoters always<br />

seemed to have their friends on the line ups.<br />

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

A few years ago I had an amazing set up. 2 Technics<br />

1210’s, Pioneer DJM mixer, 2 Pioneer CDJ 3000's and<br />

obviously the MAC but due to downsizing in my living<br />

arrangements the equipment was had to take a small hit.<br />

Once I have my Mac I am happy. Still have all my records and<br />

they will never be parted with.<br />

Well obviously as I said earlier I started off using<br />

Reason but once I made to change to Mac from Windows<br />

(Reason to Logic) Logic is and always will be my go to<br />

software.<br />

Explain your writing process.<br />

When making an original track I will always start the<br />

process like the start of a record. Will start be getting my Kick<br />

sound right, maybe layer 4 or 5 if needed, then will add<br />

percussion, claps, hats, rides, risers, crashes… Then move<br />

onto to bass… listen to that over and over and then break it<br />

down and write a melody and maybe a vocal stab… Build it up<br />

and always love to crash my breaks to the melody but not the<br />

same melody, same note but always chopped up in a different<br />

pattern and most of the time off the kick in.<br />

Tell us about your live shows.<br />

Not too long ago I played fro the No Restrictions<br />

night in Clonmel, them lads have it proper sorted. Matt OD<br />

from Organ Donors was the headline act so was nice to be on<br />

the same line up as such an amazing dj and producer.<br />

Out side of your live shows?<br />

Any productions I make I will always throw a sample on my<br />

Facebook page and get people's views, reactions, inputs. Then<br />

if I feel its good enough I will add it to my label CM21<br />

RECORDS and get as many producers who fit the standard to<br />

remix it. But sometimes I will remix a classic, or a track that I<br />

just feel needs a remix and will upload it to my soundcloud for<br />

free download.<br />

I do not post much on soundcloud unless its a Free<br />

Download as I would not be able to release then. I do the odd<br />

guest mix on various radio stations, I have played on radio<br />

stations in Dublin such as Tonik and a short residency on Hot<br />

Fm. But in the coming months I will be focusing on<br />

prodcuction and bringing some big international names to the<br />

label.<br />

Tell us about your releases.<br />

I have been very lucky to have to opportunity to<br />

have 2 releases on DERBTOOLS which is run by one of my<br />

idols Derb (Kai Winter) have also have releases on HQ<br />

Recordings, Fatal Energy Records, Lively Sounds aswell as my<br />

own label CM21 RECORDS. Recently the label has been flat<br />

out with releases most recently was CM019 which was an<br />

original from myself called Eradication, this was backed up<br />

with some amazing remixes from DS3, DictionDJ, Sam Dillon<br />

and Steve Tomas. I have a few tracks which I am currently<br />

just putting the finishing touches to so they may be released<br />

before the year is out. But next up with be a track from<br />

Audiochaserz which will be a debut on the label from this<br />

producer so looking forward to this one.<br />

New artist / producers caught your<br />

attention.<br />

In my opinion nobody can come close to Scot Project<br />

but everybody knows that. But there are some serious talent<br />

coming out from all over Ireland at the minute and for the<br />

future. Some I have already locked into the label and others<br />

will soon be on the label. You just have to listen to the<br />

releases and remixes. Everyone that has been on the label so<br />

far is my answer to that.<br />

Go to software, and what DAW?


featurelabel<br />

_________________<br />

Words Anthony Piercy<br />

______________________<br />

Photography Tegan carney<br />

___________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/Boshrecords<br />

Between 1998 and 2005, Bosh Recordings racked up an impressive 38<br />

vinyl releases featuring artists such as Blakkat, David Duriez, Jason Hodges,<br />

Harri & The Revenge, Grant Dell, Chris Simmonds and label owner Ian Carney<br />

in his guise as Toka. Spanning the genres of house and techno, Bosh<br />

quickly garnered support from the worlds most influential DJ's including<br />

Derrick Carter, Sneak, Andrew Weatherall and Yousef. Releases featured<br />

regularly in the worlds music press and were included on a plethora of mix<br />

cd's including Pete Tongs Fashion TV mix, Terry Lee Browns 'Terrys Cafe',<br />

Inland Knights tech-house phenomena and a couple of Fabric CD's.<br />

Since relaunching as a digital only label, Bosh have re-released a selection of the vinyl<br />

releases, as well as brand new material from established and up and coming artists. It's<br />

taken a while to regain our foothold, but Bosh are back on track, with exciting current and<br />

future releases.<br />

Toka, AKA Ian Carney, began DJing in 1990, playing at house parties and local pubs<br />

before launching the Bosh brand in ‘93 with a series of parties at Coventry’s legendary<br />

haunt, the Hope and Anchor. After completing a course in music technology, Toka set up<br />

his own studio and so began a never-ending learning curve, with Mark ‘Blakkat’ Bell of<br />

Shaboom as coach and mentor. The pair completed a few tracks at Safe studios,<br />

Blackpool, and the Bosh label was born in 1998, gaining great support and recognition<br />

from the off. Regular chartings from top DJ’s and glowing reviews in international dance<br />

publications propelled Toka’s DJ career, enabling him to play cities including New York,<br />

London, Barcelona, Lisbon. San Francisco, Moscow, Los Angeles and Madrid. The label<br />

went from strength to strength, clocking up 38 releases until 2005 when the great vinyl<br />

crash occurred. It was a number of years later that Toka decided to pick things up again<br />

and rolled out the digital label which is now over 100 releases old. In his career, Toka has<br />

released on labels including Detour, Simple Soul, Shaboom, Robsoul, Household and<br />

more and has remixed tracks for artists such as David Duriez, Jason Hodges, Gideon<br />

Jackson, Chris Carrier and Spettro.


Ian Carney


How was your week?<br />

This week's been busy as usual... preparing for<br />

upcoming releases as well as time in the studio working on<br />

my own tracks.<br />

Were did you grow up?<br />

I grew up in a small village in greater Manchester,<br />

United Kingdom.<br />

Were are you based?<br />

North.<br />

I'm now based in sunny Blackpool, the Vegas of the<br />

What is your first musical memory?<br />

My mums music collection influenced me greatly.<br />

She had an eclectic taste but particularly loved soul music,<br />

so I grew up hearing artists like Aretha Franklyn, Dionne<br />

Warwick, Barry White as well as The Beatles, Jose Feliciano<br />

and Maamas and Papas.<br />

How did all start for you?<br />

I had always played music and learned guitar at an<br />

early age. in my teens I played in a few bands. When the<br />

electronic stuff came along, i knew that was something I<br />

wanted to do but it was a few years until i could afford to<br />

buy hardware. My cue came when house music arrived... I<br />

signed up for a music production course and then bought a<br />

few bits of gear and started to set up my home studio. I<br />

started DJing around the same time, this would be 1989... I<br />

got a pair of cheap decks and a mixer, learned how to beat<br />

match and joined with a few local guys in Coventry who had<br />

a sound system. We did house parties at first and moved on<br />

to bigger venues and random outdoor spaces.<br />

Tell us about the scene at that time?<br />

Coventry had a great scene in those early days...<br />

lots of 'warehouse' type parties and outdoor events, like in<br />

the woods. We also had the Eclipse, the UK's first all nighter.<br />

I worked there for a couple of years on lights and decor. My<br />

go to club was The Que Club in Birmingham... their Atomic<br />

Jam nights hosted the cream of the worlds techno DJ's at the<br />

time.<br />

When did you start the label?<br />

I started the label in 1998. I applied for a lottery<br />

grant which funded the first couple of vinyl releases and it<br />

went from there.<br />

Why did you start a label?<br />

One of my best mates at this time was Mark Bell<br />

who was running the Shaboom label. He became my mentor<br />

and I spent many hours in his studio, watching the magic.<br />

He had artists such as Marshall Jefferson, DJ Sneak, Doc<br />

Martin, lots of the big west coast guys in the studio and it<br />

was invaluable to see how they created tracks. Mark helped<br />

me out with some production and we made the first Bosh<br />

releases in his studio which gave us an amazing head start...<br />

our first releases had a seal of quality. Bosh also became an<br />

outlet for Marks more techy tracks which we released under<br />

his 'Artilect' moniker.<br />

Can you pinpoint the time you<br />

decided Djing was your future and<br />

you wer going to follow your<br />

passion?<br />

We had Pure Science play at some of our early Bosh<br />

parties. I remember him telling us one time how he had just<br />

returned from playing some shows in California and he told<br />

us how it felt to be landing there with his gear to play shows.<br />

That inspired me to want to do the same, to travel with my<br />

music.<br />

What are your most memorable DJ<br />

shows?<br />

In the early noughties, i played a lot in Portugal and<br />

always played the After Hours at Paradise Garage... that was<br />

insane... all the night workers of Lisbon would arrive at 8am<br />

after their nights work, to let their hair down. Also<br />

Propaganda in Moscow, Release Los Angeles, Spundae in<br />

San Francisco and The End in London was pretty special.<br />

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

or analog guy?<br />

My studio set up has no laptop / computer ... it's<br />

based around an Akai MPC Live ... I write everything on that,<br />

it's the heart of everything and it's triggering a few synths<br />

and a drum machine. A simple set up, i believe less is more<br />

and i appreciate the challenge of working with limits. It all<br />

goes through a 20 channel Mackie mixing desk and there's<br />

an element of a live performance as I tweak certain things<br />

(eq's / filters) while recording to a digital recorder.<br />

Explain your writing process.<br />

Sometimes I might have a melody or a rhythm<br />

pattern in mind when starting a track, but not always. I just<br />

load up a few sounds and start to play around with them and<br />

see what developes. Its an organic process. I'm a slow<br />

worker and like to live with my tracks for a couple of weeks<br />

or so, trying different things in the arrangement and<br />

practising how i'll record it for the final takes.<br />

Tell us about your next releases.<br />

Coming up we have new tracks from Dylan Debut<br />

who has become a key producer on the label, as well as<br />

Andy Moore, a new one from GoldRed (who hit the top spot<br />

at traxsource last christmas in Minimal Tech) , and some<br />

new bits from myself.


O U T N O W<br />

P A U L S A W Y E R<br />

E N D L E S S P A T H


featurearticle<br />

______________________________<br />

Words & Photography José de Sousa<br />

_______________________________<br />

Connect facebook.com/jose.desousa.7503<br />

2 intense weeks in Ibiza<br />

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of my 1st time in<br />

Ibiza, In September 1998, I spent the 2nd half of June<br />

in Ibiza. Opposite to the most recent years, where I<br />

went to Ibiza to relax and almost didn’t go out to<br />

nightclubs, this year, I went to several clubs and<br />

venues, to review for <strong>Zone</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, some for the 1st<br />

time – Ushuaia, Freddies, at Pikes and Club Chinois.


Friday, June 16<br />

Children of the 80’s<br />

Hard Rock Hotel<br />

Having arrived on Friday June 16 around<br />

7 pm, I had only time to pick the car in the rent<br />

a car, drive to my friend’s house in Ibiza city<br />

centre, have a light dinner and go to Hard Rock<br />

Hotel for the Children of the 80’s party.<br />

I had already bought the ticket online,<br />

which saved me valuable time in the queue to<br />

get in.<br />

Children of the 80's was launched at Hard<br />

Rock Hotel Ibiza in 2015 by The Night League<br />

and quickly became one of the most successful<br />

events in Ibiza for lovers of the era. It is a<br />

popular and fun themed event in which you can<br />

enjoy the authentic atmosphere of the 80s along<br />

with the best-known artists and international<br />

bands of the time, live. It features a spectacular<br />

stage; interactive experiences, street dancers,<br />

and end-less fun, that complements the<br />

experience and transports the audience back to<br />

the authentic magic of the 80s.<br />

This year the DJ Team is La Movida and<br />

they played lots of well-known hits from the<br />

80’s, that delighted the huge crow that was<br />

present that night in the party. The guest artist,<br />

that was more than 1 hour on stage, was Marta<br />

Sanchez, a well-known Spanish singer.<br />

Saturday, June 17<br />

Ants<br />

Ushuaia<br />

This year Ants is celebrating its 10th<br />

anniversary, and keeps attracting thousands to<br />

Ushuaia. With a schedule from 3 PM to midnight,<br />

there is a trick to get in for free, and to pay less<br />

to get in. Register yourself in the guest list<br />

previously and go to the queue around 3 15 3<br />

30, entries until 4 pm are free. And there are<br />

reduced prices for entries during the day, the<br />

price increases as hours progress.<br />

It was a very hot afternoon, and the<br />

organization was giving ANTS goodie bags with<br />

themed ANTS glasses, a lollipop and a very<br />

useful hand fan!<br />

As I wanted to go to Pacha that night, I<br />

only stayed until 6 30 PM – Lauren Lane did a<br />

great job in getting people closer to her on<br />

stage, even if dozens of people preferred to stay<br />

in the back in the pool to refresh themselves.


Saturday, June 17<br />

The Masquerade<br />

Pacha - Claptone<br />

A classic night on Saturdays at Pacha<br />

that attracts thousands where at the entrance<br />

we are offered a big nose plastic mask to create<br />

a naughtier atmosphere. The Masquerade<br />

focuses on deep house.<br />

More info at:<br />

https://pacha.com/residence/themasquerade<br />

and https://claptone.com/<br />

Sunday, June 18<br />

Pyramid<br />

Amnesia<br />

Also a classic night at Amnesia on<br />

Sundays, specialized in underground dance<br />

music, attracts a younger crowd – 20’s -30´s<br />

More info at:<br />

https://www.amnesia.es/en/party/<br />

pyramid


Friday, June 23<br />

Music on – Pacha<br />

Marco Carola<br />

Music on is one of the most important<br />

parties in Ibiza. Marco Carola is one of the<br />

worlds distinguished DJ’s of underground techno<br />

& house music and this party makes Friday<br />

nights make Pacha to be fully booked. Some pics<br />

and videos from that night – Frankie Rizardo’s<br />

set.<br />

Monday June 26<br />

J. Balvin (Reggaeton)<br />

Pacha<br />

Monday’s at Pacha usually host an iconic<br />

Ibiza and Pacha party – Flower Power, however<br />

on June 26 the night was reserved to one of the<br />

most influential Latin Music artists – J Balvin,<br />

and some of his friends. It was a night dedicated<br />

to Colombian Reggaeton and urban Latin Hits.<br />

To my surprise, the dance flower was completely<br />

packed, it was almost impossible to move, and<br />

even more, dance!


Tuesday, June 27<br />

Club Chinois<br />

Mystik by Ida Engberg with<br />

Sven Vath<br />

This (relatively) small club with a<br />

charming Oriental decoration, just aside Ibiza’s<br />

Casino, was a great surprise, as I went there<br />

without knowing that Sven Vath was playing<br />

that night. Great music, a vibrant crowd, and<br />

thankfully, enough space to dance!<br />

Thursday June 29<br />

Pure Pacha - Pacha<br />

Robin Schulz<br />

A Grammy award winner, DJ Robert<br />

Schulz is the host of Thursdays at Pacha. Pure<br />

Pacha has become a classic night with a good mix<br />

of pop, house and electro.<br />

There are big challenges and lots of<br />

decisions to be made when in Ibiza:<br />

• In what club to Party<br />

• How many hours to sleep<br />

• What beach to go to<br />

• Where to eat.<br />

• Where to watch the “national<br />

sport” – the sunset!<br />

Ibiza has plenty of options for all tastes,<br />

musically, gastronomically, and beach wise, so<br />

before flying there, take time to choose, and plan<br />

in advance. It will save you money, and lots of<br />

time in club queues!


TUNES<br />

PROG - TECH Albums HOUSE - Dance// Paul Hawcroft<br />

TOP TUNE //<br />

10<br />

Franky Wah - Are You Down [Anjunadeep]<br />

My top slot this issue goes to the one and only, man of the moment Franky Wah. Franky<br />

is flying at the minute with a massively successful debut season at club Chinois in Ibiza,<br />

and hit after hit. Here he returns on the ever impressive Anjunadeep with the great ep<br />

"Call my name", my pick is the stunning Are You Down, A deep prog / Breaks monster<br />

that oozes class from the off. a lush baseline and clever vocal stabs over uplifting pads<br />

whats not to like. pure class from the man that can do no wrong!<br />

https://frankywah.bandcamp.com/track/are-you-down<br />

9<br />

OrKidea - Warehouse Requiem [Pure Progressive]<br />

Solarstones Pure Progressive is the gift that keeps on givirl, and the latest offering from<br />

label stalwart Finlands Orkidea is nothing short of stunning. Warehouse Requiem is a<br />

classy musical ride with uplifting synth lines and angelic vocal stabs layered over clever<br />

bass and a chunky breakbeat. Class!<br />

https://www.junodownload.com/products/orkidea-warehouse-requiem/6208992-02/<br />

9<br />

Sub Focus - I Found You ( Matt Fax Extended Remix) [White Label]<br />

There are many tracks that drop in your inbox, but there are only a few that as soon as it<br />

starts your hooked. This is one of them. France's super producer and Colorize stalwalt Mr.<br />

Matt Fax takes on the awesome I Found You by Sub Focus,, and boy does he deliver! he<br />

delivers a peaktime prog trancer which once you hear you're gonna be hooked. Lush pads<br />

and uplifting vicals are the key here. very impressive, I hope it gains the traction and gets<br />

the release it deserves.<br />

https://soundcloud.com/subfocus/i-found-you-feat-hayla<br />

RECOMMENDED<br />

Noel Sanger - Falling upward (Jamie Stevens Remix) [Dissident]<br />

9<br />

Next up a release on the ever impressive Dissident, which is fast becoming one of my<br />

favourite labels. Here the label boss and veteran producer Noel Sanger brings us Falling<br />

Upward, a rich progy groover with stunning synth lines layered over an infectious<br />

baseline. Jamie Stevens takes the rieghns on remix duties and what can i say but well<br />

done sir!<br />

https://www.traxsource.com/track/11397330/falling-upward-jamie-stevens-remix<br />

8<br />

J.Blomqvist & Maloy - Alone (S. Joik Extended RMX) [Armada Electronic Elements]<br />

Last but not least I bring you Armada Electronic Elements latest offering from Jan<br />

Blomqvist & Malou the stunning Alone. This is a great package but my pick is the Stephan<br />

Joik remix. here Stephan highlights the emotion perfectly, with warm pads, stuttered<br />

synths which capture the emotion of the track perfectly.<br />

https://www.traxsource.com/title/2043692/alone


DJ CHARTS - SUMMER issue <strong>2023</strong><br />

GMJ [Australia] [TECHNO / HOUSE]<br />

1. GMJ & Matter - Shetler of Hearts [Solis]<br />

2. GMJ & Matter - Arkeron [Sudbeat - released soon]<br />

3. GMJ & Matter - Soular [Sudbeat - released soon]<br />

4. Ivan Aliaga - Speed [Replug]<br />

5. Analog Jungs - Future (EANP Remix) [Constellations Music]<br />

6. Noel Sanger - Falling Upward (Jamie Stevens Remix)<br />

7. GMJ - Bayen [Meanwhile Horizons]<br />

8. Simos Tagias - Skyline [Meanwhile]<br />

9. GMJ & Matter - Nassaukade [Sudbeat promo]<br />

10. Qiam - Behind The Within [Meanwhile Horizons]<br />

Brent Lawson [UK] [Pro B Tech][Progressive]<br />

1. Adriatique - Who Made Who [Miracle]<br />

2. Valen Gonzalez – Erosion - (Nila Remix) [Pro B Tech Music]<br />

3. Leandro Murua – Sea And Land [Pro B Tech Music]<br />

4. Chris Cargo – Jackdaw (Golan Zocher Remix)<br />

[OneDotSixTwo]<br />

5. Ess Coh – Jah – (Forty Cats Remix) [Pro B Tech Music]<br />

6. Mike Rish – Stormjur [OneDotSixTwo]<br />

7. Noel Sanger – Falling Upward (Jamie Stevens Remix)<br />

[Dissident Music]<br />

8. The Cure – Friday I’m In Love (GEOHVAN, Martin Fredes<br />

Remix)<br />

9. Kazko –Lost In Time (Dan & Dan Remix) [Pro B Tech Music]<br />

10. Dylan Deck – Everything I Ever Wanted – (Framewerk<br />

Remix) [Pro B Tech Music]<br />

DJ Samer [Usa] [HOUSE/Progressive]<br />

1. Tim Green - Eteri [Balance Music]<br />

2. BLR - Stay [Extended] [FRCST]<br />

3. Smash TV, Just Her - All I See Is Us [Selador]<br />

4. O.N.O - Gran Music (Captain Mustache Remix) [Global U.]<br />

5. Hall North - Guarana (DJ Samer / Seth Vogt Remixes)<br />

[Pangea]<br />

6. Booka Shade, Yotto - Encounters (Extended Mix) [Armada<br />

Electronic Elements]<br />

7. Boy With Boat - Perspective [Open Records]<br />

8. Gai Barone, Luke Brancaccio, Hannes Bieger - Reflections<br />

[Selador]<br />

9. Darin Epsilon - Sonoran (VONDA7 Remix) [Perspectives<br />

Digital]<br />

10. VICA (UK) - Revive [Exx Boundless]<br />

Deaf Beatz [UK] [House] [Groove City Radio]<br />

1. Mellow Men - Foggy Day (Below Bangkok RMX) [Ready Mix]<br />

2. Craig Smith - Cosmic Habit Force (The Revenge Remix)<br />

[Beyond Tomorrow Music]<br />

3. Matt Prehn - Biloxi Groove [Oh So Coy Recordings]<br />

4. Dr Packer & Suki Soul - Shot [M2MR]<br />

5. M.K Clive - Higher Power [Rogue Decibels]<br />

6. B&S Concept - You Got Me [Agua Salada Records]<br />

7. Yam Who?, Jaegerossa & Rebecca Scales - It's Love<br />

[Midnight Riot]<br />

8. ZaVen - Unimaginable (Processing Vessel Remix) [Oh!<br />

Stockholm Records]<br />

9. Hiast - Dubbed Rhodes (Wez BK Remix) [Deep Fix]<br />

10. Sinan Kaya - Old Town (Col Lawton Remix) [Sound Vessel<br />

Records]<br />

AMBER LEIGH MELBY [USA] [Trance]<br />

1. Tony De Vit, Mark Sherry - The Dawn (MS Extended Remix)<br />

[Tidy Trax]<br />

2. Jean Luc, Nick Jay - Ayla <strong>2023</strong> (Extended Mix) [Tomasko]<br />

3. Stoneface & Terminal - Access (Extended Mix) [FSOE]<br />

4.Mark Sherry - Triquetra (PS Extended Remix) [Outburst]<br />

5. Le Shuuk, B-Stylezz - Konje (Extended Remix) [Armind<br />

(Armada)]<br />

6. Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar (Cosmic Boys RMX) [Superstition]<br />

7. SOME1 - Darkness [Shamanic Tales]<br />

8. MRPHLNDR - The Devil & The Dirty Bird (Extended Mix)<br />

[Black Hole]<br />

9. Ursarix - Twisted Reality (M.Bukovski Remix) [Krafted<br />

Underground]<br />

10. Airod - Meet Me In The Club [Lenske]<br />

MARK NEENAN [UK] [Techno] [Filth Infatuated]<br />

1. Rob Stow - Gravitation [Don't LTD]<br />

2. Skirra - Back Passage (Invasive mix) [Filth Infatuated 100]<br />

3. Tassid & Eski - Snue Gliffer [Skuxx]<br />

4. Jim E Scavenger - Pure Filth [Filth Infatuated 101]<br />

5. Selway - Millennium Sound (Radioactive Man <strong>2023</strong> remix)<br />

[Serotonin Records]<br />

6. Syrus The Virus - Brutal Encounter [Filth Infatuated 100]<br />

7. Player Three (Zero Days Remix) [Infamous Player]<br />

8. Michael Wells aka GTO - In My Mind [Filth Infatuated 100]<br />

9. Sapro - Email To The Council [Boomtic Records]<br />

10. Lively Racket - Destruction (Mark Neenan's Fukt Equipment<br />

Remix) [Keep On Techno X]<br />

Anthony Piercy [Ireland] [Dance][<strong>Zone</strong>mag]<br />

1. Nihil Young - Heart Away ep [Songspire Records]<br />

2. Forty Cats - Custom [Mango Alley]<br />

3. Exit Coda - Stay [Sekona]<br />

4. Beije - The Road [Manual Deep]<br />

5. Bestami Turna - Flying saucer Ep [Dark Hook Records]<br />

6. Tamanna - Aidaz Ep [Findike Records]<br />

7. Maxim Zatonski - Matanzas Ep [Cafe De Anatolia LAB]<br />

8. SiKelly - All i wanna Do [BarberShop Records]<br />

9. Daft Ice - Emotions [Soul Gangsters Records]<br />

10. Va Comp - Expedition to argentina [Cho Ku Rei records]<br />

PAUL HAWCROFT [UK] [HOUSE / TECHNO]<br />

1. Franky Wah - Are You Down [Anjunadeep]<br />

2. Noel Sanger - Falling Upwards (Jamie Stevens Remix)<br />

[Dissedent]<br />

3. Orkidea - Warehouse Requiem [Pure Progressive]<br />

4. Sub Focus - I Found You (Matt fax ext. mix) [white label]<br />

5. Jan Blomqvist & Malou - Alone (Stephan Joik Extended mix)<br />

[Armada Electronic Elements]<br />

6. Dave Walker & Toledo - Moons of Eden [Forensic]<br />

7. Jerome Isma Ae & Sandeep Pai - Nightfall [JEE]<br />

8. Estiva - Via Infinita (Marsh extended remix) [Colorize]<br />

9. Emulsion, Slam Duck - Baikal [Pure progressive]<br />

10. Eelke Kleijn - Time Machine [Days like nights]


https://www.discogs.com/seller/Redbox-Vinyl-Shop/profile<br />

Paul Newhouse [IRL] [House/Techno][<strong>Zone</strong>]<br />

1. Incomplete - North South Project [Tanzgemeinschaft]<br />

2. Blu:sh Felt Cute - Kalahari [Oyster Cult]<br />

3. Lungo - Game Over EP [Chat Noir Tools]<br />

4. Pushmann - Trauma [Symbolism]<br />

5. KPD & Dgrace- Time To Dig [PPmusic]<br />

6. Sond - Get You [Alpha Black]<br />

7. MAM (AR) - Circle Of Life [Hexagonal Music]<br />

8. DJ Merci - So Beautiful [Feedasoul Records]<br />

9. Haber (Arg) - Interocepción [HA055]<br />

10. Mau Bacarreza, Lex Green - Tus Sueños [Outsiders]<br />

Tim French [UK] [House / Techno]<br />

1. Tim French - Veritas (Truth)(Phil Jubb Remix) [Stripped]<br />

2. Of Norway - Smeigedag [Connaisseur Recordings]<br />

3. Spencer Brown & Qrion - 20ms [Diviine]<br />

4. Tim French - Unity (P. Gargano Remix) [Pangea Recordings]<br />

5. Jules Wells - Ensemble EP [BREATHE NFT]<br />

6. Tijuana Cartel - Believe In Nothing [Beat & Path]<br />

7. Dave Walker & Toledo - Moons Of Eden [Forensic Records]<br />

8. IDOS - Celico EP [BAU HAUS]<br />

9. Zuccasam - High Eyes EP [Nightcolours]<br />

10. Steve Bug - Trees And Clouds [Bondage Music]<br />

DoC [Ireland] [Techno] [Complexed Rec]<br />

1. Crage D - The Swan [Sonar Bliss Records]<br />

2. Marcelo Demarco - Come with Me [Suro Records]<br />

3. Amotik - Laal [Mord]<br />

4. Dangelo (Arg) - Elipse Aereal [Take More Music Records]<br />

5. Pfirter - Dynamical Systems [MindTrip]<br />

6. The Advent - Forms 222 [Truncate]<br />

7. Viktor Abai - Blind Stars [Diffuse Reality Records]<br />

8. Sandro Galli - Auto Pilot [Android Muziq]<br />

9. Dubfire - Escape [SCI+TEC]<br />

10. Eats Everything - Best (Confidential Recipe Raw Remix)<br />

[EI8HT]<br />

CHRIS CARGO [N.Ireland] [Choo Choo]<br />

1. Electric Dada & Da Luka - Cadmium [Electronic Groove]<br />

2. Pako & Frederik 'Western Approaches (Chris Cargo Remix)<br />

[If You Wait]<br />

3. GMJ & Matter Arkeron [Sudbeat Music]<br />

4. Alexander Church & Chris Cargo - Downturn<br />

5. Dave Walker & Toledo - Moons Of Eden [Forensic]<br />

6. Forerunners & Chris Cargo - Cognitive Dissonance [Pure<br />

Progressive]<br />

7. Kaspar Tasane - November Rain (East Cafe RMX) [If You Wait]<br />

8. Chris Cargo - Wondering Why (Golan Zocher Remix)<br />

[OneDotSixTwo]<br />

9. Pandhora - Choices (Instrumental mix) [Art Vibes Music]<br />

10. Different Ray - I'll Be Waiting [Loot Recordings]<br />

D4mian Smith [Spain] [All Time Chart]<br />

1. The age of love - Jam & Spoon [DiKi Records]<br />

2. Saladeater - The siamese twins [Adam & Eve Records]<br />

3. Sunshine - Tomaz vs The Filterheadz [Intec Records]<br />

4. Go ahead London - Tesox [Intensiv]<br />

5. The first rebirth - Jones & Stephenson [Bonzai Records]<br />

6. More mistery - Zolex [Total Recall]<br />

7. Perversione - DJ Pareti [Smile Production]<br />

8. Ravesignal III - CJ Bolland [R&S Records]<br />

9. Loosing you - Axodry [ZYX Records]<br />

10. Trax - M/S/O [Downtown]<br />

Terry Hobbs [Spain] [what the house][Soulful]<br />

1. Ronnie Herel, Kenny Thomas, Café 432 – The Sun Will Rise<br />

Again (Café 432 remix) [Quantize Recordings]<br />

2. Masters at Work – Talkin’ Bout the Spirit (MAW Beats Mix)<br />

[MAW Records]<br />

3. Tess Leah, Sy Sez – For You (Sol Brown Remix) [Raising Rec.]<br />

4. Gome – Elevator Man (Mike Dunn Blackball RMX) [Toy Tonics]<br />

5. Grant Nelson – Tonight [Swing City]<br />

6. Pat Bedeau, Hannah Khemoh – Gotta Have Your Love (Main<br />

Mix) [Bedfunk]<br />

7. Terry Dexter - With You (Feliciano Classic Vocal Mix)<br />

[Ricanstruction Brand Limited]<br />

8. The Vision, Andreya Triana – Hallelujah in Heaven (Groove<br />

Assassin Supernova Extended Edit) [Defected]<br />

9. Booker T, Wheeler del Torro, Kenny Bobien - Keep it coming<br />

(Main Vocal Mix) [Liquid Deep]<br />

10. Wonderland (Jimpster Extended Remix) – Blaze, Alexander<br />

Hope [Slip `n`Slide]<br />

SONAS [U.K.] [Techno / Prog / Electronica]<br />

1. Portable - The coloour of static [Circus Company]<br />

2. Kin Chi Kat - Ayahuaska (SONAS dub mix) [HipKit Records]<br />

3. Rise 1969 - Cinnamon Girl [Mood Music]<br />

4. Pablo Bolivar, Nacho Sanchez - Near Future [Seven Villas]<br />

5. Jonathan Krisp - Vanishing Point [VLSI Records]<br />

6. Marc Romboy, K. Ishi - Seiun (Max Cooper RMX) [Systematic]<br />

7. Drey Kinian - Fire Lover [Knee Deep in Sound]<br />

8. Stavrakiz, Geez - Oracle [Lavenir Music]<br />

9. Charesian, AI Gunn - Organic Sun [Soluna Music]<br />

10. Robyn Balliet - Torio [8Bit Records]<br />

Ian Carney [U.K.] [Minimal / Deep Tech House]<br />

1. Big Man Ting - Andrew Macari[Bosh Recordings]<br />

2. Allow It - Andrew Macari [Bosh Recordings]<br />

3. Seeing & Believing (Kolter Extended Remix) Chris Stussy<br />

Kolter [PIV Records]<br />

4. Sirene - T.Markakis [Yesenia]<br />

5. Feel Good - George Smeddles [NATURE]<br />

6. The Piano Fix - Jovonn [Nu Groove Records]<br />

7. Astral Frequencies - Vons, Romeo Louisa [Surge Recordings]<br />

8. Work It (Extended Mix) MADVILLA [Hot Wings]<br />

9. My Harmony - Jimpster, Crackazat [Freerange]<br />

10. Luv U Soo - Kevin Yost, Crew Deep [i! Records]


Vinyl<br />

House & Techno / John Ricketts<br />

TOP TUNE //<br />

\\ TUNES<br />

10<br />

Moray – Trippy Journey EP [Focus on Egoless]<br />

Moray brings the classic sounds of the 90s to Focus on Egoless with this absolute<br />

monster of an EP. Kicking of with “Rennaisance” it has all the sounds of the 90s house<br />

music scene. Vocal chopped samples, chunky bass, pounding 909 drums and breakbeats.<br />

“Another Time” carries this on, as does “Cachimba Acida” which brings in more acidhouse<br />

sounds. Finally “Gruvaso” draws things to a close with a darker energy, going in a<br />

more techno direction, but keeping the classic house production influences.<br />

https://www.hhv.de/shop/en/item/moray-trippy-journey-ep-1037951<br />

9<br />

Kaspar – Valhalla [Terminal M Records]<br />

No messing around here, three straight up bangers from Kaspar. “Valhalla” brings the europhria with<br />

clever intertwining of minor chords and arpeggios, combined with the characteristic pounding drums we<br />

all know Terminal M is renowned for. “Feel Alive” is darker and brings in more acid techno elements,<br />

whilst “Close Your Eyes” is a techno trance crossover. All packed with energy and will certainly do the<br />

damage.<br />

https://www.shop-vinyles.fr/5-techno/6773-kaspar-valhalla<br />

RECOMMENDED<br />

Various Artists – Small Great Tunes Vol 3 [Small Great Things]<br />

10<br />

A fantastic and diverse compilation from Small Great Things. Kicking off with the New York influenced<br />

“Hallo Hallo” by Marc Brauner and Luca Olivotto before Brauner goes solo with “Many Times”, a deeper<br />

vocal cut. Luca Olivotto goes deeper as well with “Love Moves”, full of classic house vocal chops and<br />

stabbing chords. David Silver brings the jazz vibes with “Sweat”, a peak time house number, complete<br />

with soulful vocal samples. Nephews bring the deeper electronica influences with “Screen Time” before<br />

DJ Merci wraps things up with “Another Love”, a love letter to Detroit deep house. Cracking compilation.<br />

https://smallgreatthings.bandcamp.com/album/small-great-things-small-great-tunes-vol-3<br />

9<br />

Terry Francis – All & All Vol 1 [Repeat]<br />

Terry Francis is a name synonymous with the UK underground house and techno scene. The original<br />

(alongside Craig Richards) Fabric resident, he has been at the cutting edge of forward thinking house,<br />

tech, acid and techno for nearly 30 years. The first in a series of compilations sees for the first time the<br />

best of his previous output in one place. Tracks such as “Rhythm and Spirit” and “Change” combine deep<br />

dubby bass with solid chunky drums, whilst “Hello Darling” and “How can something” go deeper.<br />

Genuinely something here for everyone. Dig in.<br />

https://www.dancingvinyl.com/vinyl/terry-francis-all-all-vol-1-2x12/<br />

8<br />

Ki.Mi – Construction O [kashataskikh]<br />

Terry Francis is a name synonymous with the UK underground house and techno scene. The original<br />

(alongside Craig Richards) Fabric resident, he has been at the cutting edge of forward thinking house,<br />

tech, acid and techno for nearly 30 years. The first in a series of compilations sees for the first time the<br />

best of his previous output in one place. Tracks such as “Rhythm and Spirit” and “Change” combine deep<br />

dubby bass with solid chunky drums, whilst “Hello Darling” and “How can something” go deeper.<br />

Genuinely something here for everyone. Dig in.<br />

https://kashatskikh.bandcamp.com/album/ki-mi-construction-a-kr001


ALBUM REVIEWS John Ricketts<br />

10<br />

9<br />

9<br />

Novablood – Changes in the Colours [Jula Music]<br />

ELECTRONIC DANCE<br />

Carlisle based duo Novablood return after the success of their debut long player PRETTYDISCOLIGHTS for another epic<br />

sojourn through their unique world of blissed out electronic dance pop. Whilst staying true to the trusted formula that<br />

made their previous album such a success, Mark Zowie taking up much of the melodics and instrumentation with vocalist<br />

and instrumentalist David Beattie giving the vocal foundation of the group, they have chosen to branch out stylistically<br />

and do so with considerable confidence, and it’s paid off. To go through and describe each track individually would ruin<br />

the fun of actually just listening to them yourself. Changes in the Colours is an album of such variety and diversity that it<br />

does need repeated listens to fully appreciate what Zowie and Beattie have achieved here. Opener “Ruthless” sets the<br />

stage from the off, smooth synths, solid beats and Beattie’s smooth and seductive vocals soaring within them. Whilst the<br />

majority could be classed as 4/4 synth pop, that’s too simplistic. Each track has its own identity within the piece of work<br />

as a whole. Numbers such as “Fall apart together” almost have a synth based RnB feel to them, whilst “Satellites” and<br />

“Lafayette” are pure Moroder inspired nu-disco. “Freak” gives us a glimpse into their darker side, with snarling acid<br />

leaves combining with vocals implying a knowledge of an unknown individual’s dark side that we don’t want to<br />

acknowledge it’s existence. “Subterrain” also shows another side to their skills, with a track that would not feel out of<br />

place in a certain 80s set horror show. And then a curveball is thrown with title track “Changes in the Colours” taking us<br />

into the realms of liquid drum and bass. A combination of a dancefloor awareness of today and a songwriting confidence<br />

you don’t see very often within the underground scene, gives us an album that could easily sit within the discography of<br />

greats such as the Pet Shop Boys, The Eurythmics, Hot Chip and Simian Mobile Disco, but with an eye firmly on the<br />

future. Take a bow.<br />

https://www.facebook.com/NovabloodMusic/<br />

Holocene – Home<br />

ELECTRONIC DANCE<br />

Many of our readers may very well be aware of Holocene without even knowing. Holocene is the new moniker of Paul<br />

Croley, who those of you into your beats and breaks may know as Cakeboy. He’s put the breaks on hold (for now) and is<br />

delving into more elaborate and far-reaching musical realms with his new project. And if the debut album is anything to<br />

go by it will be a wonderful journey to be on. Beginning with the smooth chords of “Strange Illumination (I am the<br />

ocean)” we’re given a quick tour around the different styles Croley has at his disposal, with electro style drums are<br />

combined with almost 2-step before heading into more straightforward 4/4 house, all with chopped up vocals. It’s a<br />

great introduction. Following this “Pangea” sees him team up with vocalist Annie Freres. One key aspect of these<br />

collaborations is the fact these were done amid lockdown, remotely across the Atlantic. “Pangea” has an early Orbital feel<br />

to it, with Halcyon-esque arpeggios combined with the snarling bass and delicate vocals. “Another Place” is another<br />

collaboration with Freres, and has an early BT feel to it. “Supercell” has a great nostalgic feel to it, harking back to the<br />

chunky progressive house of the early 2000s. The influence of the Hartnoll brothers is also apparent with (my personal<br />

top pick) “Dugong”. Chopped up breaks, rave chords and trance gated vocals are pure second summer of love and pure<br />

summer vibes. “Weightless” veers off on another tangent as the tempo to DnB territory with deep subs that growl on the<br />

speakers. However these are combined with delicate piano lines and more thoughtful vocals from Freres. It’s a<br />

wonderfully positive feeling track. Dropping the tempo back down, and utilising drums with an almost trap feel to them,<br />

“First Inkling” again has the rave pianos and delicate early 90s arpeggios are in effect to bring us to album closer<br />

“Unseen”, which skips along and ends the album on its overarching message of positivity. An album that really has it all.<br />

A nod to the past, whilst looking to the future. With tracks aimed at the dancefloor but also can soundtrack a road trip.<br />

Get involved.<br />

https://holocene2.bandcamp.com/album/home<br />

Al Bradley – Little Treasures [3AM Recordings]<br />

ELECTRONIC DANCE<br />

3AM Recordings’ head honcho brings us his latest album, and he has delved deep into the influences of his past to give<br />

us a retrospective piece whilst looking firmly to the present and the future. Deep house, techno, ambient electronica, and<br />

more are all brought to the fore here and dealt with considerable aplomb. Drawing on his near 30 years of experience<br />

within the club scene in the north of the UK and utilising his ear for what works both on the dancefloor and beyond<br />

thanks to 20 years of 3AM Recordings it’s a journey through all things deep. Kicking off with the Vangelis vibes of<br />

“Lunar”, a beatless soundscape perfectly befitting the soundscape of a dystopian future, it combines delicate pads, with<br />

electronic squeaks and bleeps and atmospheric pulses to set the tone. Next we have the Metro LA inspired “Echospace”,<br />

combining solid 4/4 deep house beats with a bassline that hits where it should and shimmering synths. “Deaf Jeff’s dub”<br />

brings us into dub techno territory, with metallic percussion and reverb drenched hits providing the foundations for the<br />

menacing atmosphere. “Moochin” brings the atmosphere into a more upbeat place with a light, descending synthline<br />

working with deep dubby bass and chunky drums. Combined with smooth chords it’s a daytime terrace affair.<br />

“Somewhere in the frozen north” sees Bradley veer off into electro territory, with analogue drum patterns and piano<br />

stabs off in the distance giving us an Arthur Baker inspired trip back in time. “Appliance of Science” stays in this retro<br />

inspired phase with a 303 based lead combining with rolling hats and 4/4 beats to show the other side of the electro<br />

coin. “Scanned by rhythmic gestures” ditches the house rhythms for more broken beats fused with atmospheric synth<br />

pads and a deep rolling bass. “Beats for Doris” see a heavy hitting kick and more techno influence brough to the fore,<br />

with a sub bass that could rattle the tiles off the roof if turned up too loud. Finally title track “Little Treasures” rounds<br />

things off with a dancefloor focused deep house journey. Woodblocks and ride cymbals form the basis of the rhythmic<br />

elements, again combined with the distinctive sub bass found throughout. A wonderful journey through the deeper and<br />

more avant garde fields of electronic music. A great collection.<br />

https://3amrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/little-treasures


Vinyl + Digital<br />

Albums - Dance<br />

TECHNO & HARD TECHNO / Mark Neenan<br />

Albums - Dance<br />

TOP TUNE //<br />

10<br />

VARIOUS ARTSIST – SKUXX 17 [SKUXX]<br />

Tassid’s superb SKUXX label returns with 4 more monsters! Fresh from remixing Perc (and with a<br />

release on said label imminent I believe?) Jamie teams up with Eski for 2 jams on this EP. First up is<br />

‘Snue Gliffer’ which is an amazing hard rumbling warehouse track, with a cool hypnotic synth from<br />

the break to boot. Then they supply ‘Something Like This’ which is a slightly deeper cut, which then<br />

goes full rave mode on the break with breakbeats and cool ‘Tag Team’ Hip Hop vocals. Lovely stuff,<br />

‘Whoop There it Is!’ Top Irish producer David Oblivian serves up ‘Raw Nerve’ an Epic, no holds<br />

barred banger in true Interruption Records Stylee! Great work pal. Lastly Straight-Jackit give us<br />

‘South Side’. Thunderous kick drums and crazy distorted acid makes this a beauty! Aaron & Abi<br />

really do know how to work those machines! Quality track, from the heart of the underground.<br />

Brilliant EP.<br />

8<br />

9<br />

8.5<br />

FEAR – E – ENDGAME [SUPERCLUSTER 005]<br />

Glasgow based producer Scott McKay (aka Fear – E) treats us to this exquisite acid ep titled ‘Endgame’ on<br />

Freddy Fresh’s new Electronic label ‘Supercluster’. There are 5 great originals here alongside 3 top<br />

remixes. My personal favourite has to be the tough beats and squelchy acid of ‘Hyper Sports’, a real<br />

heads down warehouse jam that needs to be heard! The legendary Freddy Fresh and BORDON both<br />

supply top remixes of D yroL2, but for me I am loving the futuristic Electro take from L/F/D/M, really cool<br />

electro acid vibes aplenty here! There really is something for everyone here, Deep chunky Acid House on<br />

‘Computer Drum’, old school Acid with Freddy’s mix and the original of D yroL2, and even some hard<br />

machine funk Acid on ‘It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint’ Acid lovers need this EP in their lives!<br />

https://superclusterecords.bandcamp.com/album/endgame-ep<br />

RECOMMENDED<br />

ROB STOW – HOMECOMING EP [DON’T LTD 004]<br />

From one Rob to another.. It’s been years since I’ve heard of Rob Stow, and the Arsenal fan (Booo!) makes a very welcome<br />

return to Jerome’s amazing Don’t label. One of my favourite Hydraulix records from years back was actually by Rob and Jerome<br />

(Hydro 5 – Bbbbanging) and this latest release, although very different to that, is certainly up there with the best! 4 tracks are<br />

on offer here available on Vinyl and digital (The record arrived via Bandcamp just in time to write this review) First track is the<br />

thumping ‘Gravitation’ with its hypnotic futurism sounds and marching percussion. ‘Mono 90’ goes all bendy with the grooves on<br />

this crisp 909 workout, full of bleep goodness. ‘Chug’ is exactly that – 5 and a half minutes of epic techno chugness climaxing in<br />

some wicked retro beepy synth action. All of the above are wicked and highly playable, for me though it’s all about ‘Don’t FM’. As<br />

soon as I put the record on my shiny new Mk7 1200 (Storm DJ’s Competition win I have you know! ) out came the crazy<br />

dancing, with its Wonky metallic bleeps, shuffling percussion, and downright dirty sub bass I just couldn’t help myself but smile<br />

and move about my studio like an eejit! More quality from this ever reliable label.<br />

https://dontrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/homecoming-ep<br />

AUDIOKLINIK – REBIRTH EP [CORRUPTED DATA XL 008]<br />

10<br />

This new offshoot label of ‘Keep On Techno’ has been championing the energetic Hardgroove sound with previous<br />

releases from K.E.N.Y.U and Primus V to name a couple. For the 8th release they have the great Audioklinik back with 3<br />

fresh <strong>2023</strong> masters of his classic tracks alongside some ace remixes. The star name on remix duties is Swedish legend<br />

‘Samuel L Session’ who turns in a thumping and funky stripped back version of ‘Steam Pack’ which is wicked! Chris Da<br />

Break (Neuroshocked Records) remixes ‘Madness’ to a very high standard with some added sexy female vocal. Lastly<br />

Australian Felix R supplies a tight and groove fuelled version of ‘Critical path’. For me though I can’t get enough of the<br />

<strong>2023</strong> remaster of said Critical Path.. hard, Fast, Driving Hardgroove loops with an almighty Bassline and bags of energy.<br />

I can see this being a mainstay In my sets for some time! Hardgroove fans – Buy this EP!<br />

https://corrupteddataxl.bandcamp.com/album/rebirth-ep<br />

VARIOUS ARTISTS – AWAKENESS III [DRAWNER RECORDS]<br />

The 27th release from Berlins Drawner records is a big V/A release consisting of 9 tracks of Intelligent modern groovers!<br />

These range from the reverberating double beat and bleepy hypnotism of ‘Time is confusing’ from Red Rooms &<br />

AgainstMe, the old school sounds of Jannik Abfalg and Human Experiments to the Hard Techno workout of ‘Abaki’ by<br />

Tascamboy. We also have quality tracks from b.mod, no.name and Toru Ikemoto, but the one which is going to get<br />

caned by me is ‘Value’ by Morgenstern – Tough marching tribal vibes, with a lovely de-tuned warped bass stab on the<br />

break and thereafter alongside some crisp military precision percussion full of movement which drives this track along<br />

beautifully. KILLER!<br />

https://drawnerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/awakeness-iii


\\ TUNES<br />

9<br />

8<br />

10<br />

8.5<br />

9<br />

CHANNEL 006 – VARIOUS ARTISTS [INTERUPTION RECORDS]<br />

David Oblivion’s awesome Interruption records are going from strength to strength and continue to put out A grade releases and it’s<br />

no different here with release number 6. 4 more top tracks are on offer and as always it will be available on Vinyl as well as<br />

digitally. To start with, Polish producer Vlado gives us ‘Asymmetry’. Hard, driving percussive techno of grandeur this is! A no<br />

nonsense, heads down pounder which is great for mixing with and is going to begetting some serious plays from me! The wicked<br />

bad Boy Pete is up next with ‘We All Win’. A relentless warehouse roller featuring a cool vocal and some old school rave stabs used<br />

to great effect. Wicked! The one and only Chris Liberator teams up with Sam DFL again (quite the team these 2 have been of late)<br />

for track 3 and it features Chris’s daughter Tab K on vocals again. ‘Consumers society, dead society’ is repeated throughout this<br />

pounding hard ‘Cluster’ style banger. Awesome track this! The final track see’s Polymeric’s main man Maxx Rossi team up with<br />

P.I.N.O. for ‘Rave On’ which as you’d imagine is a slickly produced piece of crisp driving modern techno. This track is packed full of<br />

‘Rave’ with its hypnotic beeps, subtle acid elements and tonnes of energy. Another great EP this is!<br />

https://corrupt-systems.bandcamp.com/album/enter-whitespace-remixes-part-2<br />

SQUAL G – DISTINCTIVE HEAT [BIOTECH RECORDINGS 106]<br />

French techno artist Squal G serves up 3 tight originals for Darkmode’s top Biotech imprint. ‘Distinctive Heat’ is an epic 10<br />

and a half minute builder, which starts with a 3 minute intro of eerie drones and pads before we’re treated to some<br />

breakbeats ahead of the eventual heavy kick that comes in. The track continues to build throughout with a variety of<br />

clever synth and pad work. Progressive techno at its finest. ‘Turn Back’ is a wicked! A lot more refined than the first track,<br />

it has a dark hypnotic electro synth right from the off that will definitely get you into a trance on the dancefloor, whilst<br />

‘UN3481’ is a chunky, bass rumbling slice of peak time techno. The originals are great tracks but the remixes are what will<br />

go down better at my gigs. Australian legends ‘Break In Transmission’ turn UN3481 into a wild tough hardgroove version<br />

and ‘Fonic’ manages to make ‘Turn Back’ even more to my liking as its harder, has more percussion and a lot more<br />

oomph! Solid package this.<br />

https://soundcloud.com/user8974274/sets/bt106-squal-g-distinctive-heat<br />

THOMAS P HECKMANN – LEGACY [MONNOM BLACK]<br />

I’d be a fool to not mention the latest Monnom Black release as it’s a thing of beauty! Like myself Dax J is obviously a<br />

huge fan of German legend Thomas P Heckman, and so he has let Thomas do a kind of greatest hits album if you like.<br />

‘Legacy’ has a total of 23 epic tracks from him spanning 30 years of his various aliases such as DRAX, Knarz and Spectral<br />

Emotions to name a few. 17 of the tracks are spread across a huge 3 x vinyl set which comes in fancy silver foil artwork<br />

and with inserts and stickers (Via Bandcamp). The album starts off with the amazing energetic hard synth laden epic<br />

‘Himmel & Hoelle’ which I used to rinse back in the day (Expect to hear this everywhere again now!) Belzebub is on there,<br />

the ace machine funk of Tanzmachine and Kind Der Nacht too (love his Knarz work) . We then have the massive ‘Drax’<br />

crossover track ‘Amphetamine’ which was played by Hard House, Trance and Techno jocks alike. 6 minutes 43 seconds of<br />

epic rave goodness! All of Thomas’ productions were so well made and ahead of their time, if you’re relatively new to the<br />

scene and haven’t come across TPH (Where have you been!?) anyway, this is a great place to start. Essential purchase!<br />

https://monnomblack.bandcamp.com/album/legacy-lp<br />

SAPRO – BOBBA GNASH [BOOMTIC RECORDS]<br />

Sapro (Aka Robin Lavender) unleashes his debut full album on Boomtic records with this quality 8 tracker! I first met Rob at a pub<br />

in Catcott, I went to discuss putting on a 40th party for one of my good mates Julian Westlake (Luggers), he was a mutual family<br />

friend of Lugs and was going to help out and supply the rig if need be. Since then after the sad passing of the legendary Wez (Chris<br />

Westlake) Rob has been involved with putting on the wicked Weztival memorial parties alongside Lugs and co at the special ‘magic<br />

Field’ in Somerset (Big up to Pauline and Jez!) Rob’s live hardware sets at said parties have always been epic and now he has finally<br />

penned an entire album of his work. The album opens with the deep quirky and bass heavy electronica of ‘DuskRural’ and the<br />

luscious electro breaks of ‘Pink Orb’ before heading into some warping heavy breakbeats of ‘Bogeys’. We then hit the 4x4 with some<br />

progressive tech house vibes on ‘Doo Wop’ and the energetic psychedelic techno of ‘Nine Springs’ before he really ups the anti with<br />

the modern tough techno of ‘Ripple’ and my favourite ‘Email To The Council’ proper good hard techno this with a funny vocal<br />

proclaiming ‘’I’ve never played house music in me life!’’ The album ends with the breakbeat hardcore-esque rave techno sounds of<br />

‘Sale Or Return’ which ends up with a wicked Acidic crescendo! This is a very well put together album which takes you on a proper<br />

underground free party journey if you listen to it from beginning to end. Good work Rob, respect!<br />

https://www.amazon.com/Bobba-Gnash-Sapro/dp/B0C9NZY7F9<br />

JOHN SELWAY – MILLENNIUM SOUND (<strong>2023</strong> REMIXES) [SEROTONIN RECORDS]<br />

‘The Zoid gets freaky when you’re around!’ Well my dancing certainly gets freaky when listening to this masterpiece!<br />

Originally released in 1998, as part of the Zoids Vol 2 EP by the legendary John Selway, Millennium Sound has been given<br />

5 modern Electro remixes. Cultivated Electronics ‘Sync 24’ goes heaviest with the kick on his Re-Rub and turns the Synth<br />

into more hooveresque sounds. John himself does two new versions, of which the ‘Selway new Millenium version’ is my<br />

fave, the bass on this is so deep and dark. Love it! His other take is very similar to the original tbh, just freshened up. The<br />

‘Transparent Sound’ remix goes all squelchy and adds the vocal through a twisted vocoder, which is wicked! But my<br />

favourite has to be the one and only ‘Radioactive Man’ with his twisted and funked up take! It has elements of Kraftwerk,<br />

but with a much more groovy bassline, more vocoder vocals and added bleeps and pads. Keith Tennis is the Don. A must<br />

for any Electro head!<br />

https://johnselway.bandcamp.com/album/millennium-sound-remixes-you-cant-stop-the-zoid


featuring ANA BE<br />

fly<br />

released 15th may <strong>2023</strong>

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