Happy New Year

Keep it locked . . .

Mr Fire & Mr Ice

Well, in the pressure cooker that is my abode, I finally found the time and space to do a new mix. Next up will be my mix for Modyfier's "Process" series. I'll start digging around for stuff to put in that tomorrow. Anyone familiar with James Ellroy's "LA Quartet" will know where I nicked the title from. "Mr Fire & Mr Ice" refers to two of the principal characters in the first book of the quartet, The Black Dahlia. Mr Fire is Officer Lee Blanchard, a fast-talking, action-oriented man who loves the limelight. Mr Ice is Dwight ‘Bucky’ Bleichert, a cop who avoids confrontations unless he’s forced into action. More of an introvert, it’s only after partnering up with Lee that Bucky becomes a player to be reckoned with within the police department.

Character descriptions cut and pasted from somewhere else.

So there you have it. Don't bother with the Scarlett Johansen - starring film though. Check out the book first.

Here's the tracklist:

You - Funkineven (Eglo)
I'm KMFH Girl! - Kyle Hall (Wild Oats)
Guest Service Shalom - Roni Nachum (Fine Art)
Sense - XDB (Wave)
Party People Clap (Levon Vincent remix) - DJ Qu (Deconstruct)
No Kiss (Um Po Tech) - Alex Picone (Mixworks)
Buckle Up - Big Strick (FXHE)
Tiger, Tiger (Ekkohaus Main mix) - Jozif (Fear Of Flying)
Strombooty - Billy Dalessandro (Siteholder)
Vampirella (Motorcityweakedoutfunkdub) - Subvoice (Subvoice Electronic Music)
Equalized 03 B
Here & Now - Rozzo (Trackdown)
Goldbrokat (Donato Dozzy Techno mix) - Cio D'Or (Prologue)
All The Way Back - Horizontal Ground 03
Fables & Fairytales - N/A feat. Rosina (Crosstown Rebels)
Lautschrift - Mike Dehnert (Cone Basement Series)
Grinding - Lee Foss (Wolf & Lamb)
Geheimtipp 03
Path Of Most Resistance - Pepe Bradock (Atavisme)

Download "Mr Fire & Mr Ice" here.




Part 2

Cottam 03 A - Cottam
Alien Mutts - Tama Sumo & Prosumer (Diamonds And Pearls)
Rough Side - DJ Kaos (Clone Loft Series)
Fixed Purpose - Bas Ror (Data Leak)
Basic Necessities - Basic Soul Unit (New Kanada)
Unknown Place - Lori (Prologue)
Infodex 0001 - Roswell Return (SD)
Double-Jointed Sex Freak - Levon Vincent (Novel Sound)
Aquanile - Guti (Desolat)
The Pressure (Mr G's Bass Cultured mix) - Kasper (Bass Culture)
Dub Weapon No 1 - Fish Go Deep (Bastardo Electrico)
Above 90 (Norman Nodge remix) - Peter van Hoesen (Time To Express)
Abbott (Mike Parker remix) - Donor/Truss (Synewave)
Mouth Of Sip (Ben Klock remix) - Steve Bug (Poker Flat)
Golden Glow - Markus Homm (Highgrade Digital)
Prayer For Detroit - Kris Wadsworth (Fresh Meat)
Nice & Clean - Lemos (Cecille Numbers)
Hollywood - Inxec & Matt Tolfrey (Culprit)
A Goat On Fire In The Garden Of Eden - Jabberjaw (Spectral)
Libellules - Agoria (Infine)
Three Blind Rats - Omar S (FXHE)

Download "Mr Fire & Mr Ice Part 2" here.


Constructed, as ever, under duress, at Castle Corey, Haverhill, Suffolk, UK, on two Technics 1210s, two Pioneers CDJ200s and an Allen & Heath Xone:32.

I hope to be making the transition to full-on Serato land soonish, but won't ever be abandoning the more conventional approach.

Machines Are Funky: 26.12.09 Playlist, DJ Oslek Mix

Last night's playlist, featuring a guest mix from DJ Oslek:

Guest Service Shalom - Roni Nachum (Fine Art)
Amor - Joe Deldo et Obeno (Logos)
Don't Let The Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Radio edit) - Cortney Tidwell (R&S)
Lost - XDB (Wave)
Forget The World - Zev feat Beckford (Wolf & Lamb)
The Other Side - Inxec & Matt Tolfrey (Culprit)
Tiger, Tiger (Ekkohaus Deep mix) - Jozif (Fear Of Flying)
Fables & Fairytales (Deniz Kurtel remix) - N/A feat Rosina (Crosstown Rebels)
Strombooty - Billy Dalessandro (Siteholder)
J. Doe - Joy Orbison (Doldrums)
Esperanto - Peveralist (Punch Drunk)
Price Tag (Appleblim & Komonazmuk remix) - Mymy & Emika (Aus)

DJ Oslek In The Mix:

Kuoyah - Grain Pulse (Dub)
Sclist - Idle (Frijsfo Beats forthcoming)
Sully - Sleazy (Frijsfo Beats)
Point B - Istocity Meter (Frijsfo Beats) / Sully - Sleazy
Lewis Hunter - Cut from the wreckage (Sclist remix) - (Frijsfo Beats forthcoming)
Martyn - Natural Selection (3024)
Sclist - Hollow (Frijsfo Beats forthcoming)
Ekelon - 7th Soul (Sully remix) - (Creative Space)
Martyn - Vancouver (2562 remix) (3024)
Sully - Jackmans Rec (Frijsfo Beats)
Timeblind - Ontological ground of being (Soot)
EDMX - Time Light Cones (Frijsfo Beats)
Kode 9 - Kingstown Dub (Hyperdub) / EDMX - Coral City (Frijsfo Beats)

Download DJ Oslek's Bedroom DJ No. 1 mix here

Machines Are Funky Tonight

As my previous show was cancelled, tonight's show was an easy one to plan. Some adjustments have been made but, for the most part, it remains unchanged.

On this week's show I welcome Frijsfo Beat's Dave Kelso, aka DJ Oslek, for a guest mix. He'll be playing during the second hour of the show. Before that I'll be playing a deep and groovy array of sounds, including Inxec & Matt Tolfrey on Culprit, Guest Service on Fine Art and N/A feat Rosina on Crosstown Rebels.

http://www.frijsfo.com/


Keep it locked.


Machines Are Funky: 7-9pm GMT

105FM in Cambridge

209radio.co.uk globally

Happy Christmas

Have a freaky Christmas. Keep it locked.

Lee Foss Interview

Well, I bumped into Lee Foss in Cambridge last month. We met at The Priory when Jamie Jones was playing. I'd recently reviewed Lee's excellent 'The Edge' for RA so, armed with that tenous means of introduction, chatted to him during his more coherent moments. He was courtesy itself and agreed to answer some questions, which I duly emailed. A very good interview has appeared in the interim, on the Teshno blog, so I didn't want to duplicate too much. Anyway, here it is.

Jamie Jones also agreed to answer some questions, he's got them but I don't know when I'm getting them back. I shall prod him presently.

Lee Foss Questions & Answers:


What's your take on London and the UK generally? Is everything really a lot smaller over here?

Hmm, I love London and I’ve really been enjoying my UK gigs. I mean there are things about the UK and Europe that I don’t love, things are definitely smaller, I don’t really prefer the food, there are things I get homesick for but at this point I’ve definitely spent enough time here over the years to feel at home in the UK.

Your music is as American, and humid, as house gets. How do you think living in a damp, cold climate will influence your output?

That’s a good question, we’ll see. The last month since I’ve been in London the weather has been terrible and I was sleeping all day and never saw the sun and that and some really tough personal times made it hard to work, but I’ve been working lately so I think it’s just something you get over and get on with. The truth is I will probably always spend a lot of time both here and L.A. I do really enjoy the sunshine and I can’t say it doesn’t help me work. I couldn’t really say if the weather would influence the mood of my tracks.

A lot of American artists say that the scene stateside is relatively non-existent. What's your experience of this and how does it compare with the UK and Europe?

It is absolutely non-existent compared to Europe. It’s a case of DIY or nothing really, and if you are throwing parties stateside booking credible music, it will always lose you money, so it's an investment in building your brand and your relationships with artists.
Certainly there are more up for it people in the UK and Europe and bigger youth cultures in the major cities and more knowledgable fans, but it’s not something that ever made me bang my head against the wall, it is what it is, and its not likely to change. England has Radio 1 and a national media, everyone sees and experiences the same thing and dance music is showcased, it is obvious you are going to get a more clued up generation of kids that in a country that is spread out into dozens of regions with regional media and virtually no exposure to dance music. America will always have a disconnection when it comes to youth culture.

Your work as Hot Natured with Jamie Jones is very much flavour of the month. Re-edits feature heavily in both your's and Jamie's sets and output. What's the difference between a remix and re-edit? And do you ever feel that what you're doing is too poppy and approaching the wrong side of cheese?

For me there is no difference between a remix or a re-edit or at least not the way it is currently being defined, edits are just a trendy way to call it to sell records in Phonica and to make it sound cooler to put them out and not have the original artist notice it's out there. I mean a re-edit in practice would just be a rearrangement of a tracks sequencing without additional production.
I don’t ever feel what I’m doing is too poppy, I have every intention of eventually producing for major label artists, who wouldn’t want to work with Jay-Z, or Santogold, or La Roux, or people that inspire you?


It's interesting that LA has suddenly become a focal point for house. Is it all Droog and the parties at The Standard, or are there other things happening?

I suppose there are other things happening, but I moved there to work with Droog and to do those parties, and my life has been focused around that scene. Certainly there are other promoters who book techno and house and do a perfectly good job of it, but Culprit is definitely building a sound and creating a brand, so for me that is the focal point of what's happening there. The fact that music is being created out of this scene that people are appreciating has got a lot more to do with the price of eggs than whether or not there were people there before us booking djs.

You're originally from Chicago, the home of house. Who did you associate with when there and did/do you have any contact with any of the scene veterans?

Hmm yeah I hung out with Mazi and Diz quite a bit, and I definitely knew Derrick and Justin Long and everyone that was still in the city from their generation. I basically did the parties I did there on my own which was probably part of the reason I left. I was getting good bookings and playing with great artists and sometimes doing my own parties but I definitely saw a cap as to what I could accomplish there and who would appreciate it. I will always have love for Chicago and it will always be my home, it made me.

Do you have any all-time favourites: albums, artists, tracks . .? And what are your influences outside music?

Albums – Jay Z – Reasonable Doubt and the Blueprint, Notorious BIG – Ready To Die and Life After Death, Nas – Illmatic, Outkast – Atliens, the Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia

Artists – Notorious B.I.G.

Tracks – too many to begin to start to name them

I am influenced by The Wire


You're associated with Wolf & Lamb. Can you put your finger on why they're in the ascendancy? What do you have in common?

I think there are quite a few reasons Wolf + Lamb are having so much success, but I think the main reason is that Gadi is obsessed with staying ahead of the curve and probably overthinks things but the attention to detail and forward thinking a+ring and presentation to the point point of neuroticism really give the brand a distinct identity. Also the parties at the Marcy are unparalleled in the world right now, and it just adds to the fact that so much great music is being released.

For me the biggest thing I have in common with Gadi, Zev, and Deniz is work ethic. Gadi and Zev are constantly working, whether its towards the label, or setting up for a party, or touring, and Deniz is the only person I know who works as hard as Jamie and I do in the studio so I’m constantly impressed when I’m around them and see other people with ambition like mine.

Define your sound and try and explain what makes you stand out from the crowd.

I have a hard time answering questions like this, I guess bouncy percussion, rising dark basslines, moody chords, disembodied 90’s soul vocals, and 80’s funk snippets with updated production techniques. Depth mixed with funk.

I don’t hear a ton of music that I fee like playing outside of my immediate circle of friends, so I guess that the music we are making does stand out a little. As a dj I think I stand out from the crowd because so much of what I’m playing is my own, and because I’m really working hard the first time I go to new cities to make set special and connect w every crowd.

Many thanks Lee.

Fables & Fairytales - N/A Feat Rosina (Crosstown Rebels)

Read my RA review of 'Fables & Fairytales' here.

Le Jockey's Christmas Mix

Here's a link to a short mix of his own stuff by Jonny Davies, aka Le Jockey.


Tracklisting:
Oh Yeah? - Le Jockey
Deep Fried Disklet - Le Jockey and Matt McConky
Olive Oils - Le Jockey
Perfect Cadence - Le Jockey
Post Saturday Blues - Le Jockey feat. Austin Heroine
Fracaso Para Iniciar - Le Jockey
Trelawn - Le Jockey remix

I'm going to "get busy" myself today. I'll also be posting an interview that I did with Mr Lee Foss later in the week.

And There's More

Rob Mello on Roof FM

Here's one from the disco plumber himself. Rob is an excellent DJ and an all-round nice character (haven't bumped into him for a long time now though, maybe he's changed . . ?). In any case, get on down and partay.

BTW, the above photo is the only one of Rob in existence.




Efdemin, Phantasma, Harry Klein,4.12.09

Kicks off with the Delano Smith track I featured on "Darkness and Light" a month or so back, which is no bad thing. Efdemin is usually a safe bet to deliver a bit of depth. Does he spin wearing a tie?




Ben Klock On Electronic Beats Radio, 4.12.09

Another offering from the Klockster. Keep it locked.

Some Mixes

Mmmm, analogue warmth . . .


It's been a while since I posted any mix links, so here are a few. Some listened to already, some not. Your opinions and feedback always welcome.




Lee Foss Louche Podcast.

Excellent libidinously funky offering from Mr Foss. I will have a few words from him on this blog soon. Meanwhile, here's one of the best mixes of the last six months, that I've listened to, anyway.




Droog Tsugi podcast.

Haven't listened to this yet, but will go with my instincts and big it up anyway on the strength of listening to many of these boys sets frlom their famous parties at The Standard Hotel in LA.




Norman Nodge on Francois X.


The lawyer with the psychopath's name will undoubtedly be playing slabs of drone-influenced Berghain-style techno here. I've read some negative feedback on this one, but Nodge's mixes don't appear often enough on the net so always worth taking a chance on.




XDB Beatdown mix.

Played the Sud Electronic Christmas knees-up in London last night. This will hopefully be on Soundcloud for a while yet. If' it gets taken down, drop me a line and I'll re-up.




Specter Uzuri Mix

Deep house to get lost in. "Get us at it."




Ben Klock Bodytonic Live

Ben Klock, you know the score.




Greg Wilson Live At The Horse And Groom: Credit To The Edit 2 Launch 22.11.09

As you can see, I'm low on literary inspiration as far as posting is concerned. Greg Wilson, "do you know the score?"

There were three parts to this mix, now there are two. I will upload the first part if requested.

No Show Last Night

A repeat of the previous "Machines Are Funky" was broadcast last night. Not to worry, whatever was planned will be broadcast on my 26.12.show. This will mean that DJ Oslek's mix shall have second hour privileges then. Apologies to anyone who may have tuned in expecting a live broadcast.

Machines Are Funky: 12.12 09 With DJ Oslek

On this week's show I welcome Frijsfo Beat's Dave Kelso, aka DJ Oslek, for a guest mix and a chat. He'll be playing during the second hour of the show. Before that I'll be playing a deep and groovy array of sounds, including Inxec & Matt Tolfrey on Culprit, Guest Service on Fine Art and Mike Dehnert's newie on Clone.

http://www.frijsfo.com/

Keep it locked.


Machines Are Funky: 7-9pm GMT

105FM in Cambridge

209radio.co.uk globally

209 Radio's Survival

As you may, or may not know, this blog was set up as a companion to my radio show "Machines Are Funky" which is broadcast every two Saturdays on 209 Radio, (soon to change its name to Cambridge 105). The blog has been in existence now for three-and-a-half years, the show for just over five. In any case, the show has been an island of stability for me during that time, which has also witnessed two house moves and the birth of another son. Last week things were on the brink of disintegration. As I posted on Sunday, last weekend's show was, at time of going to press, due to be my final fling. Four days ago a lot of the radio's staff (all volunteers bar three) gathered for the anticipated fatal countdown. We needed to raise £28000 by midnight or face closure. At 11:30pm we had approximately £12500, which represented a very good effort but was obviously nowhere hear what was required. Karl, the station manager, was ready to wind things up when a mystery donor stumped up the difference. Everybody, bar Karl and one or two others (probably), is in the dark as to who made the donation. It couldn't have been more dramatic, or incredible.

Here's a link or two.