It’s funny, despite the monstrous weight of electronic music being vomited out of Apple Macs on a weekly basis and being released by instantly forgotten labels around the world, there are but a handful of producers across the genres that anyone would describe as Premier League. By this I mean producers who can be genuinely called consistent, know how to mix down a record properly and seem to show signs of actually evolving as artists. Ewan Pearson is one of those guys.
Ever since he emerged in the early part of the century with his massive remix of Freeform Five’s ‘Perspex Sex’ on Classic, he has steadily built a solid reputation as one of the world’s very best underground producers. Try playing anything other than maybe a Morgan Geist or Solomun record after a Pearson production and it’s going to sound like an anticlimax. OK, that’s perhaps a bit strong but you know what I’m getting at.
I was so chuffed that Ewan agreed to come in to the Basement Sessions: we talked about his love of Trevor Horn, DJing with Andrew Weatherall, listened to some of his inspirations… It’s one of my best interviews of 2011 I reckon (the wretched modesty). Let me know what you make of it all!
Six months later and here, finally, ashamedly, is part two of my Kris Needs interview. I would wear you down with numbingly predictable excuses, but because it’s Christmas I’ll generously refrain.
To remind you: I went to see the infamous music journo and raconteur to talk to him about part one in his amazing ‘Watch The Closing Doors’ compilation (part one of a multipart extravaganza following the history of music from New York over the decades) and get a few stories out of him relating to his experiences in the lawless 80’s New York of folklore. Needless to say, the man’s a gem.
Toby Tobias is an excellent British DJ and underground producer best known for his uniquely woozy, technoid take on modern disco and the lesser known fact that he is undoubtedly one of the nicest men in dance music.
Here Mr Tobias has very generously given me an exclusive piece of music to give y’all: it’s a one-off dub of ‘Tomorrow’s Bringing’ featuring Brendan Reilly on vocals. Happy new year pilgrims!
KAT Records (of which the legendary DJ and all-round northern lunatic Phat Phil Cooper is a proprietor) has had a superb year. There are edit labels and there are edit labels; KAT go for an attention to detail and hi-fidelity that most just can’t manage or are not bothered about.
The Horses release featuring ‘Do You Remember’ has undoubtably been one of my most played records of the year, no question. I first heard it at the hands of Nightmares On Wax in Ibiza this year (god that seems a long time ago now) and to my slightly lubricated sensibilities it was pure sonic nectar. It was literally insta-party; everyone just stood up and started dancing- just like in the movies! Needless to say I went and drunkenly badgered him for the name of this magic disc pronto Tonto. Classy.
I am ashamed to say I don’t know from whence this edit originated, but if anyone would like to write in and show-off I’d be most grateful. Anyway, it’s not the only fantastic thing on the label this year. The latest to be released is Abu Maxim And The Preatorian Steppas’ ‘Sometimes I Get It’, a jazz funk bassline stepper that is dancefloor DYNAMITE. I’m going to play it at my birthday party tomorrow night. All presents, letter bombs etc to the usual address.
Nick The Record is one of those names that has been buried deep in my London musical consciousness since the early nineties (he was a regular player at DJ Harvey’s Moist night in Covent Garden), his name is almost a byword for record lust, obsessive collecting and an uncynical love for spreading the (near) perfect beat.
Aside from accumulating one of the biggest collections of rare wax in the UK and trotting around the world preaching the word of disco, jazz, acid house, afro (and beyond) Nick is also (luckily for us) a record dealer. This Thursday between the 8th and 14th he’s launching a pop-up record store at London’s greatest emporium of all things wonderful, LN-CC.
You need to RSVP for the Thursday night party by Wednesday 5pm (it’s strictly guestlist only) and you can do that here. See you on Thursday!
Cosmo (aka Colleen Murphy) is a one woman good vibes generating unit. It’s why David Mancuso first asked her to DJ at The Loft, and it’s why people trust her as a purveyor of deeply resonant music; be it through her excellent record label Bitches Brew, her DJing or her accomplished broadcasting.
It’s not the first time I’ve interviewed Cosmo; my last interview (February, 2010) with her was one of the most popular interviews ever broadcast on Heads Down. Subsequently when the opportunity came again to talk to her again at the Basement Sessions, it was a stone-cold no brainer!
2011′s been good to Colleen: her Classic Album Sundays night has been an unmitigated success, getting covered by every paper, magazine and network known to mankind, or so it seems. So what better time to sit down and find out where it all began? Ladies and gentleman, DJ Cosmo.
Well, here it is folks: my last Caravan mix of the year. I’ve so loved my second year doing the Saturday night summer Heads Down Sessions at Caravan in Exmouth Market; it’s been amazing to me just how many of you lovely people have actually come down to support- THANKYOU.
I went quite housetastic in the second half of this one (classily mind); I had a couple of whiskeys and got a little overexcited! Enjoy… And let me know what you think.
Here’s the tracklisting:
Soft Rocks ‘Air’ (ESP Institute)
Don Froth ‘Foam’ (Froth’n)
B-Jam ‘I Don’t Want It’ (Smokecloud Records)
Laidback ‘Fly Away’ (Lucci Capri Edit)(Messalina)
Max Berlin ‘Elle Et Moi’ (Joakim Remix)(Eighttrack)
Diafrix ‘Simple Man’ (MANIK Retro Instrumental)(Illusive)
Miguel Migs ‘Close Your Eyes’ (Woolfy’s Outback Remix)(OM)
The African Dream ‘Makin’ A Living’ (Eightball)
Daphni ‘Ne Noya’ (Jiaolong)
Mark E ‘Call Me’ (Dixon Edit)(Merc)
The Nick Straker Band ‘A Little Bit Of Jazz’ (Prelude)
Recently we at the AllSaints Basement Sessions jumped on a plane and took our blatant music nerdiness across the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific coast, to set up base at the San Francisco Treasure Island Music Festival. One of the guys that sat down with me for a chat was Aloe Blacc, an American soul singer/urban artist (god I hate that tag) who recently had a massive hit with ‘I Need A Dollar’.
Aloe seems a very charming, quite earnest chap who obviously is genuinely excited by the hand that’s been dealt over the last year or so. It’s always pretty heartening to see well-intentioned and positive artists getting a crack at the big time. His label Stones Throw (one of the world’s greatest and most consistant labels in my opinion) can’t be too upset about it either.
He was just about to head off with his partner on a wine tour holiday to New Zealand (can’t imagine Lil Jeezy doing that) so being a fervent Kiwi I piled him high with suggestions on where to go and more importantly what to drink. I think he was a bit overwhelmed by my enthusiasm! Be cool Tubbsy- BE COOL!
Tensnake (aka Marco Niemerski) is a German producer and DJ who, let’s face it, has had a rather power-packed sixteen months. His single ‘Coma Cat’ was a smash with everyone from Optimo to the likes of Radio 1′s Annie Mac. I have to admit it never did much for me as I thought it borrowed too heavily from Anthony & the Camp’s “What I Like” for my tastes (and believe me, I have nothing against sampling).
On the hand I’m a huge fan of his remix of Sally Shapiro’s ‘By Your Side’, a rather saccharine concoction (in it’s original form) that Mr Niemerski managed to transform into the summer Balearic house anthem of 2008. I just exudes shimmering sunsets over the Mediterranean and tearfully gurning hugs. There was never an instrumental of it (to the annoyance of most DJs) until Pete Herbert stepped up to the plate and delivered his own dub, which you should try and hunt down.
I sat down with Marco recently at Bestival, and this is what happened…
