“It is not the job of artists to give the audience what the audience want. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience. They would be the artist. It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need”- Alan Moore
While that might be all very well and good for the comically hirsute Alan Moore, who spends most of his time writing vivid, comic book prose for nerdy manboys, it's unlikely that he's been faced with a brunch-drunk crowd baying for some pop pap while you're intent on discovering the point where future garage dissipates into post-dubstep territory.
But the quote raised a fair bit of debate when a friend posted it on Facebook recently, with nearly 50 DJs, music-lovers and FB addicts all pitching in to give their thoughts. Essentially, it boils down to how much credence you give DJing: can playing one song after each other be considered an artform - can a selector be placed on the same critical elevation as writers, for example?
Well, put in that context, and yes. The lexicon as we know it isn't growing (well, it is, but the annual addition of words like staycation and reggaeton isn't exactly on the same level as early caveman grunts or Shakespeare's wordplay), which means that writers simply use the existing vocabulary to paint their pictures (apologies for the mixed metaphor). So in turn, with every chord structure having been discovered (it has) and music effectively eating itself to create new genres, DJs are simply using existing songs to create their masterpieces. And if the artist is deified for their work, why not the DJ?
While doubters might argue that Tom, Dick or David Guetta could play one high octane song after another - and increasingly that's true in this pop-trodden world where DJ technology can take the skill out of your hands - it's not as simple as that. The following statements aren't cliches, they're truisms: DJs need to observe the crowd, they need to adapt the pace of the music to the night, they need to know when to drop the right tune, at the right moment create dancefloor combustion, they need to know when to step it up, and when to drop it down. A large part of that is getting the right DJ in the right venue with the right crowd, but beyond that, a good DJ has to know how to work a crowd. And they need to play good music, first and foremost, which used to mean hours trawling record stores and plundering contacts, but now means days trawling the ever-expanding internet in search of new tunes and remixes that no one else has.
Increasingly, the DJ is becoming the artist at the ground level - it's rare for DJs to be just DJs these days: to get to the upper echelons, you need to have some production and remix credits under your belt. And if making music isn't art, then I'm not sure what is.
But while good music taste is something that can be worked on, etched at and manipulated, for most people it's a life-defining passion - it's the sense to rule all senses. And being able to share that music with 2/500/10,000 like-minded people (admittedly a little giddy and boozed-up) is up there with scoring a Wembley Cup Final goal, completing your first Rubick's Cube or successfully navigating Diera for the first time.
Consider what art is though: it's something that is beautiful, or appealing, that inspires emotion. And there's no denying that when Sven Vath or the BO18 residents lead you kicking and screaming into the dawn of the next day with a beautifully judged set of house and techno, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. Or when a Mambo DJ perfectly soundtracks the setting sun in Ibiza (or, equally a 360 DJ), with a funk, soul and disco journey that raises the hair on the back of your neck. Then there are those DJs who exist on the limits of the ever-evolving DJ technology, cutting and scratching, looping and live editing to create a unique soundtrack.
And it's commonly acknowledged that artists suffer for their art - and having been asked countless times to play 'something we can dance to' by a cackling harridan while the rest of the club is bouncing, I think I know the feeling.
So, DJing is an artform then. But should the DJ pander to the audience, or should we dictate the flow? By the very definition, the DJ dictates the musical flow, but the question is how you balance the audience's expectations? And as mentioned earlier, that's largely up to the planning - finding the right DJ for the right venue and attracting the right crowd. Get that holy grail right, and everyone's a winner. But get it wrong, and you then have to balance the commercial and underground, what you want to play vs what they want to hear.
At the end of the day, you DJ to make people dance, pure and simple, but how you achieve that dancefloor detonation is your call. Some might consider it slightly less fulfilling, or arty, if you dropped a Black Eyed Peas remix to work your dancefloor into a frenzy, but if that's what it takes to make it work (and let's not forget that DJing is an artform, but for a large number it's a job as well) then so be it.
Ultimately, art is in the eye of the beholder. And even if that eye is squinting through one Bullfrog too many, it's still a valid point of view, and one that's endorsed by thousands of people every weekend who go out clubbing in Dubai every weekend to hear new and old, exciting and moving music.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Not alive and kicking
One of the main reasons I got into DJing and promoting was to put on live music - that might not hit a chord with the Beatport/Guetta generation, but having come from the UK where I would try and go to at least one gig a week, it was the be all and end all for me.
So when the chance came around to put on a Tuesday night, then Thursday and finally a Friday night at Alpha a few years ago, I jumped at the chance. We had some painfully slow nights (which could be partly blamed on the Garhoud location), and we sometimes literally had to drag people in off the street to make it look respectable. But we also had some incredible ones - over a couple of years, we booked most of the local bands to play, and also brought over people like The Futureheads, The Automatic, The Subways, The Dub Pistols, Sneaky Sound System and a few others. This isn't me walking down memory lane though, before you start losing interest - someone got in touch recently and said they wanted to put on live music. They thought there was a market for it here and would I be interested in DJing at the night. Yes to all of them, obviously, but it also got me thinking about the pitfalls, of which there are many... Hope you're sitting comfortably.
Permissions - every artist, DJ, band member needs a license to perform, and they cost roughly Dhs1500 each per person, per venue, per night. Most venues will pick this up, but if you're trying to book 3 bands, that's 15 people and about Dhs45,000 which is a lorra money before you even consider buying the...
Flights - most bands come with 2-3 backline staff, on top of the 3-5 in the band. Most will want to fly premium economy, some will even have it in their contract that they fly business while the rest of the tech crew are in the back of the plane. Flight prices fluctuate, but on average you're looking at Dhs3500 return per flight. You'll try to give them cheap Qatar flights, but they'll want direct. You'll give them late night flights, but they'll want to come back for a gig/birthday/blowjob the next day, so will need to leave right after the gig. It's a pain in the arse, essentially.
Hotels - With nearly all venues part of a hotel, some will offer up free or discounted hotel packages to your acts. But most will stipulate 5* (especially when the agent sees it's Dubai) and most will want their own rooms. So that's 6-8 rooms x 3 nights, with an average of Dhs400 per night if you are paying. And you've got to feed the bands - and take them out on the lash - so you'll need a food allowance of Dhs200 per day per person, not to mention the lasting power of an Olympic athlete. And while the rockstar throwing a TV out of the window cliche might not be as true as it once was, the rockstar being sick over the side of the bed and the promoter having to pick up the costs isn't.
Promotion - advertising can expensive out here, so you'll need to spend a lot of your budget on that. Radio might work better, but with no listener figures, it's hard to determine which station to spend your money with. You could have the best band in the world, but if you can't tell people about it, you're f*cked. Social media will get you so far, and can build up the initial hype but you need to hit the mass market to have any hope.
Crowd - Unlike the UK or in Europe, there's no student population who thrive on live, new music as it's a strict 21+ drinking age. So that means you're pitching to the 21-40 age group, which then alters what sort of bands you're going for. And with a limited music press and virtually no radio worth mentioning (in terms of breaking new indie/rock music), you can't rely on the press to push break new bands. Unless of course you consider Bryan Adams a new band, in which case you're snorted.
Venue - is key. Alpha had a very open minded management in terms of booking, so they were fully behind what we were doing. But most venues don't: they see the bottom line and bringing a DJ which is one flight and one hotel is a lot cheaper than a band, and will bring in just as much revenue. The venue has to have a soundsystem that can cope with live music (rare) and it has to be in the right part of town after the shift to New Dubai. There are some exceptions (the Music Room being an excellent one) but location, location, location is key. Most importantly, you also have to consider the door/bar split. Most venues will give you the ticket sales (minus 20% tax) and a bar cut above a certain point, but unless you've got a big venue or can charge a lot on the door, it can be a big struggle to make your money back.
Backline - guitars, drums and microphones, right? Wrong. Monitors x8, specific amps, keyboards, miles of cables, guitars and bass guitars (as the band might not bring their own to save on shipping costs for you), a specific sound desk, the right lighting, blue M&Ms etc. And the bigger the band, the bigger the technical rider, and the more headaches and hoops you'll have to jump in. Oh, and you'll need to hire a sound technician, or two. And then there are the extra requests, like a big bag of weed or some Russian hookers. Seriously.
The Devil - Or the band's agent, who'll give you UK/US prices. So if there's a buzz about them in their home country, they'll put their prices up, and when they see Dubai, they raise them again. It doesn't matter to them that they've not broken through to radio in Dubai, or their album isn't stocked in Virgin. Plus, bands don't come to Dubai to further their career, it's not part of an accepted tour (apart from if they stop off on the way to/from Australia) and if they're doing it right, they'll have plenty of offers that don't involve a 7 hour flight and a 2 hour wait at customs. They'll come for a big pay packet, or if you pitch it right a decently paid holiday - but neither of them come cheap.
And finally, you've got an immense amount of competition. Yes, there might not be much live music compared to where you've come from or what you're used to, but in October alone Janet Jackson, Metallica, Example, Richard Ashcroft, Jose Gonzales to name a few are playing live. Then you've got the regular club nights, with Masters at Work, Mark Ronson and possibly Groove Armada thrown into the equation next month. Come up against one of those nights, and you're quite simply screwed - all the good will, last minute promotion and begging and pleading isn't going to help you.
Plus, the guys at Flash are working around the clock to bring top quality international acts, so in the punter's mind you could either spend Dhs600 on a big night out to watch Metallica where you know it will be well organised and just plain ace, or you could spend half that and be stuck in a half empty room with a dodgy sound rig with a band you've barely heard of...
And that's not to mention the general antipathy and malaise that Dubai finds itself when it comes to live music. While it might be a passion for a lot of people, to some, it's just another distraction, like another night out at Barasti.
That said, book the right band and you'll create the right buzz and, hopefully, you'll break even on the night. And you'll be left with a view like this (The Subways crowd-suring in Alpha), which makes all the soundchecks, agent hassles and hard work worth it...
So when the chance came around to put on a Tuesday night, then Thursday and finally a Friday night at Alpha a few years ago, I jumped at the chance. We had some painfully slow nights (which could be partly blamed on the Garhoud location), and we sometimes literally had to drag people in off the street to make it look respectable. But we also had some incredible ones - over a couple of years, we booked most of the local bands to play, and also brought over people like The Futureheads, The Automatic, The Subways, The Dub Pistols, Sneaky Sound System and a few others. This isn't me walking down memory lane though, before you start losing interest - someone got in touch recently and said they wanted to put on live music. They thought there was a market for it here and would I be interested in DJing at the night. Yes to all of them, obviously, but it also got me thinking about the pitfalls, of which there are many... Hope you're sitting comfortably.
Permissions - every artist, DJ, band member needs a license to perform, and they cost roughly Dhs1500 each per person, per venue, per night. Most venues will pick this up, but if you're trying to book 3 bands, that's 15 people and about Dhs45,000 which is a lorra money before you even consider buying the...
Flights - most bands come with 2-3 backline staff, on top of the 3-5 in the band. Most will want to fly premium economy, some will even have it in their contract that they fly business while the rest of the tech crew are in the back of the plane. Flight prices fluctuate, but on average you're looking at Dhs3500 return per flight. You'll try to give them cheap Qatar flights, but they'll want direct. You'll give them late night flights, but they'll want to come back for a gig/birthday/blowjob the next day, so will need to leave right after the gig. It's a pain in the arse, essentially.
Hotels - With nearly all venues part of a hotel, some will offer up free or discounted hotel packages to your acts. But most will stipulate 5* (especially when the agent sees it's Dubai) and most will want their own rooms. So that's 6-8 rooms x 3 nights, with an average of Dhs400 per night if you are paying. And you've got to feed the bands - and take them out on the lash - so you'll need a food allowance of Dhs200 per day per person, not to mention the lasting power of an Olympic athlete. And while the rockstar throwing a TV out of the window cliche might not be as true as it once was, the rockstar being sick over the side of the bed and the promoter having to pick up the costs isn't.
Promotion - advertising can expensive out here, so you'll need to spend a lot of your budget on that. Radio might work better, but with no listener figures, it's hard to determine which station to spend your money with. You could have the best band in the world, but if you can't tell people about it, you're f*cked. Social media will get you so far, and can build up the initial hype but you need to hit the mass market to have any hope.
Crowd - Unlike the UK or in Europe, there's no student population who thrive on live, new music as it's a strict 21+ drinking age. So that means you're pitching to the 21-40 age group, which then alters what sort of bands you're going for. And with a limited music press and virtually no radio worth mentioning (in terms of breaking new indie/rock music), you can't rely on the press to push break new bands. Unless of course you consider Bryan Adams a new band, in which case you're snorted.
Venue - is key. Alpha had a very open minded management in terms of booking, so they were fully behind what we were doing. But most venues don't: they see the bottom line and bringing a DJ which is one flight and one hotel is a lot cheaper than a band, and will bring in just as much revenue. The venue has to have a soundsystem that can cope with live music (rare) and it has to be in the right part of town after the shift to New Dubai. There are some exceptions (the Music Room being an excellent one) but location, location, location is key. Most importantly, you also have to consider the door/bar split. Most venues will give you the ticket sales (minus 20% tax) and a bar cut above a certain point, but unless you've got a big venue or can charge a lot on the door, it can be a big struggle to make your money back.
Backline - guitars, drums and microphones, right? Wrong. Monitors x8, specific amps, keyboards, miles of cables, guitars and bass guitars (as the band might not bring their own to save on shipping costs for you), a specific sound desk, the right lighting, blue M&Ms etc. And the bigger the band, the bigger the technical rider, and the more headaches and hoops you'll have to jump in. Oh, and you'll need to hire a sound technician, or two. And then there are the extra requests, like a big bag of weed or some Russian hookers. Seriously.
The Devil - Or the band's agent, who'll give you UK/US prices. So if there's a buzz about them in their home country, they'll put their prices up, and when they see Dubai, they raise them again. It doesn't matter to them that they've not broken through to radio in Dubai, or their album isn't stocked in Virgin. Plus, bands don't come to Dubai to further their career, it's not part of an accepted tour (apart from if they stop off on the way to/from Australia) and if they're doing it right, they'll have plenty of offers that don't involve a 7 hour flight and a 2 hour wait at customs. They'll come for a big pay packet, or if you pitch it right a decently paid holiday - but neither of them come cheap.
And finally, you've got an immense amount of competition. Yes, there might not be much live music compared to where you've come from or what you're used to, but in October alone Janet Jackson, Metallica, Example, Richard Ashcroft, Jose Gonzales to name a few are playing live. Then you've got the regular club nights, with Masters at Work, Mark Ronson and possibly Groove Armada thrown into the equation next month. Come up against one of those nights, and you're quite simply screwed - all the good will, last minute promotion and begging and pleading isn't going to help you.
Plus, the guys at Flash are working around the clock to bring top quality international acts, so in the punter's mind you could either spend Dhs600 on a big night out to watch Metallica where you know it will be well organised and just plain ace, or you could spend half that and be stuck in a half empty room with a dodgy sound rig with a band you've barely heard of...
And that's not to mention the general antipathy and malaise that Dubai finds itself when it comes to live music. While it might be a passion for a lot of people, to some, it's just another distraction, like another night out at Barasti.
That said, book the right band and you'll create the right buzz and, hopefully, you'll break even on the night. And you'll be left with a view like this (The Subways crowd-suring in Alpha), which makes all the soundchecks, agent hassles and hard work worth it...
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Supersonic!
I've been lucky enough to meet some pretty cool people along my DJ travels, and have warmed up for Ian Brown and Fatboy Slim in the last few years. But the biggest call yet came a couple of months ago when Flash - them of the deep, deep pockets and live band ambition - called and asked if Loaded, the indie club night I co-run with Simon Allen, would like to open for Liam Gallagher. As in that Liam Gallagher, ex Oasis lead singer and motor-mouthed frontman. As in the band that soundtracked a generation, as grand as that statement sounds. They might have tailed off abysmally from the highs of Definitely Maybe and What's The Story... but what highs they were (and doubly so for the band).
Upon which point, I ingested my testicles, and breathlessly - and no doubt a few octaves higher than normal - replied back 'yes please, fankyouplease.'
And while I would rather share a pint with Noel Gallagher - the man is a raconteur, who has an opinion on most things, and normally an acerbic and witty one as this amazing press conference demonstrates - younger brother Liam is the quintessential frontman.
You know his flaws: his cat, sat, matt song writing, an inability to move out of top speed and taking Beatles fanboydom into plagiarism realms. But when it comes to balls out, rock and roll, the sort that turns you into a mindless indie hooligan and walk with a Manchester swagger, even though you've never been further North than Islington, no one can touch him.
And I mean no one. Who else could sell out venues across the world on the back of 1 album (and it's a patchy one in all honesty), and with a stone-cold, and entirely understandable (not to mention principled) refusal to play Oasis songs? Yes, it's Oasis minus Noel, but that's a huge, debilitating minus.
Which can only mean the thousands and thousands of fans have come to see Liam, hands held behind his back, neck crooned up into the microphone and pigeon-chest puffed out in all its Pretty Green glory.
And we have the honour of warming up for him, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and the other one (I'm being disingenuous here - it's Chris Sharrock on drums). Apparently Beady Eye's management are quite tight on what goes on before the band, and understandably so - you wouldn't want to play any Beatles or Rolling Stones for fear of hearing the same chords and melodies a few minutes later played live.
But we've got 30 minutes, with an anticipated audience of 4500 people, to show off our record collections. And considering I've been hoarding music ever since I bought Nevermind as my first CD (it's true! honest! My first tape was far less impressive - my excuse is I'm Scottish), that's not as easy as it sounds.
We've started pulling together a few ideas, and so far new bands like Sleigh Bells, M83, The Horrors are rubbing shoulders with lost indie classics like The Beta Band, Flaming Lips and The Delgados. And after that, hopefully I'll be lucky enough to meet Liam backstage and hopefully utter something more memorable than the nervous grunt I managed to throw Fatboy Slim's way. Get your tickets here
P.S. Big thanks to Adidas Originals for kitting us out for the night - we'll be standing proud in our three stripes.
Upon which point, I ingested my testicles, and breathlessly - and no doubt a few octaves higher than normal - replied back 'yes please, fankyouplease.'
And while I would rather share a pint with Noel Gallagher - the man is a raconteur, who has an opinion on most things, and normally an acerbic and witty one as this amazing press conference demonstrates - younger brother Liam is the quintessential frontman.
You know his flaws: his cat, sat, matt song writing, an inability to move out of top speed and taking Beatles fanboydom into plagiarism realms. But when it comes to balls out, rock and roll, the sort that turns you into a mindless indie hooligan and walk with a Manchester swagger, even though you've never been further North than Islington, no one can touch him.
And I mean no one. Who else could sell out venues across the world on the back of 1 album (and it's a patchy one in all honesty), and with a stone-cold, and entirely understandable (not to mention principled) refusal to play Oasis songs? Yes, it's Oasis minus Noel, but that's a huge, debilitating minus.
Which can only mean the thousands and thousands of fans have come to see Liam, hands held behind his back, neck crooned up into the microphone and pigeon-chest puffed out in all its Pretty Green glory.
And we have the honour of warming up for him, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and the other one (I'm being disingenuous here - it's Chris Sharrock on drums). Apparently Beady Eye's management are quite tight on what goes on before the band, and understandably so - you wouldn't want to play any Beatles or Rolling Stones for fear of hearing the same chords and melodies a few minutes later played live.
But we've got 30 minutes, with an anticipated audience of 4500 people, to show off our record collections. And considering I've been hoarding music ever since I bought Nevermind as my first CD (it's true! honest! My first tape was far less impressive - my excuse is I'm Scottish), that's not as easy as it sounds.
We've started pulling together a few ideas, and so far new bands like Sleigh Bells, M83, The Horrors are rubbing shoulders with lost indie classics like The Beta Band, Flaming Lips and The Delgados. And after that, hopefully I'll be lucky enough to meet Liam backstage and hopefully utter something more memorable than the nervous grunt I managed to throw Fatboy Slim's way. Get your tickets here
P.S. Big thanks to Adidas Originals for kitting us out for the night - we'll be standing proud in our three stripes.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Ghetto Funk Volume 3
Latest tracks by Da:Funct - SYNF
Harry J Allstars vs Damn Horns - Liquid Heater
Death in Vegas - Dirt (Slayer Edit)
Sub Focus - Rock It (Bobby C Sound TV remix)
Shy FX & Donaeo - Raver (DJ Wood Reboot)
Mario Bros - Super Mario Jam (Matty Blades remix)
Royksopp - Happy Up Here (WBBL remix)
Stevie Wonder - Superstitious (Funkanomics remix)
Arrested Development - Mr Wendal (D-Funk remix)
Marlena Shaw - California Soul (A Skillz remix)
Wu Tang Clan - As We Enter The Gravel Pit (Skratch Bastid blend)
Chemical Brothers vs Jimi Hendrix - Ready To Galvanise (Diago mashup)
Luke Vibert - Acid 2000
Toddla T feat. Roots Manuva - Watch Me Dance
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Slow it down, son
I've been the worst culprit of this before - banging out fast and furious tunes when the situation demands something a bit more restrained. It's an easy trap to fall into: Dubai crowds can be a bit slow to catch fire sometimes, so throwing down some heavy-duty ammunition can be the easiest way to light the touch paper. That and a relatively early 3am finish added to the fact most clubbers don't show until 12am at the earliest, means that you've got a few hours to show them a good time. And invariably that means cranking up the speed. But, pop quiz hot shot - where does that leave the night to progress to? And it's not going to impress the headliner who's now stuck at lightspeed, and any decrease will risk losing the momentum you've so carefully blown up.
In my defence, it's something that I've tried pretty hard to rectify in recent years, and I now take a lot of care in my warm ups, making sure the music, tempo and energy of the tracks fit the venue, the crowd, the time of the night. To me, a warm up now means starting at 95BPM at 10pm and finishing on around 120BPM at 1am when the headliner comes on. And that suits me perfectly, as I've genuinely fallen in love with music at around 110BPM in speed (hence the name of the blog, see).
It first started when I got into disco (as I think most DJs do at one point or another, it being the creation point of all dance music, after all), and I realised the energy a 100BPM banger could have, the propulsive momentum created by big, scudding beats and skittery hi notes to push it forward. And then there's my other new love, Ghetto funk, which is another slow but energetic genre that is essentially breakbeat slowed down to a hip hop speed, but with added dubstep bassline wobble and seismic beats. It's a genuinely exciting new type of music, and one that I've started incorporating into my edits and mashups.
It seems the 'slow is the new fast' school of thought is spreading around the world. House, once in love with minimal house (which to my ear sounded like a particularly annoying bat fight) has now added melody to the music, and stripped back the speed so much that 125BPM is now considered speeding. And even dirty Dutch house, the most virulent strain of electro, has taken a raincheck on its speeds, and has transmogrified itself and is now called Moobahton, with 110BPM tracks doing the same damage on the dancefloor as pitched up 130BPM anthems.
What does it all mean, then? To my mind, it's simply a re-adjustment to the previous few years, where dubstep and its halting, punctuated 140BPM scatter-gun breaks and nu-disco and its big-room melodies over beefed up beats have made a huge impact on the musical climate. Music needn't be Lighting Bolt fast to make an impact, and warm up DJs and headliners have brought the speeds down and with it raised the club's ceilings. Whether crowds in Dubai appreciate this slow-down is another matter, but with nights like Turn Me Loose, iLL Communications, audio tonic and the Electric Boutique at Trilogy flying the slow and funky flag, there's a lot of hope yet.
And if you've made it this far, here's my latest mix which works its way from 100BPM to 120BPM over an hour, with plenty of acid-fried disco flavours along the way.
http://soundcloud.com/da-funct-synf/da-functs-nu-disco-acid-wiggle
In my defence, it's something that I've tried pretty hard to rectify in recent years, and I now take a lot of care in my warm ups, making sure the music, tempo and energy of the tracks fit the venue, the crowd, the time of the night. To me, a warm up now means starting at 95BPM at 10pm and finishing on around 120BPM at 1am when the headliner comes on. And that suits me perfectly, as I've genuinely fallen in love with music at around 110BPM in speed (hence the name of the blog, see).
It first started when I got into disco (as I think most DJs do at one point or another, it being the creation point of all dance music, after all), and I realised the energy a 100BPM banger could have, the propulsive momentum created by big, scudding beats and skittery hi notes to push it forward. And then there's my other new love, Ghetto funk, which is another slow but energetic genre that is essentially breakbeat slowed down to a hip hop speed, but with added dubstep bassline wobble and seismic beats. It's a genuinely exciting new type of music, and one that I've started incorporating into my edits and mashups.
It seems the 'slow is the new fast' school of thought is spreading around the world. House, once in love with minimal house (which to my ear sounded like a particularly annoying bat fight) has now added melody to the music, and stripped back the speed so much that 125BPM is now considered speeding. And even dirty Dutch house, the most virulent strain of electro, has taken a raincheck on its speeds, and has transmogrified itself and is now called Moobahton, with 110BPM tracks doing the same damage on the dancefloor as pitched up 130BPM anthems.
What does it all mean, then? To my mind, it's simply a re-adjustment to the previous few years, where dubstep and its halting, punctuated 140BPM scatter-gun breaks and nu-disco and its big-room melodies over beefed up beats have made a huge impact on the musical climate. Music needn't be Lighting Bolt fast to make an impact, and warm up DJs and headliners have brought the speeds down and with it raised the club's ceilings. Whether crowds in Dubai appreciate this slow-down is another matter, but with nights like Turn Me Loose, iLL Communications, audio tonic and the Electric Boutique at Trilogy flying the slow and funky flag, there's a lot of hope yet.
And if you've made it this far, here's my latest mix which works its way from 100BPM to 120BPM over an hour, with plenty of acid-fried disco flavours along the way.
http://soundcloud.com/da-funct-synf/da-functs-nu-disco-acid-wiggle
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Shouting Together
My recent Horror's nu-disco edit got a surprising amount of love, so I decided to continue in that musical theme and given Primal Scream's 'Come Together' a drum-heavy edit and added Tears For Fears vocals along the way. Give it a spin and let me know what you think...
And if you like it, it'll most likely be played loud and proud at our next Loaded on Friday July 29
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Ride on Still Life
Few bands have got at me the same way The Horrors have. They were the band of Glastonbury last year when we saw them at sunset on the Park Stage. It might have been a combination of a fuzzy red-wine head at 7pm, or the strange mushroom omelette that I had for lunch (ahem), but when they took to the stage and played their debut album Primary Colours in its entirety and it blew me and the missus away.
Understandably, we were HUGELY excited about the follow up material and first single from the new album, 'Still Life.' And it didn't disappoint. A buzzy, shoegaze meets pop blast of ever-evolving brilliance, it's one of the best tunes of 2011 already. But - and there's always a but - it didn't quite work on the dancefloor at Loaded.
So, I've added a fairly large tweak, sped it up slightly and mashed it up with one of my nu-disco bangers. The beats are now harder, faster and the two songs work really well together in my opinion. But that's just my thoughts, click on this link for my mashup and listen for yourself...
Understandably, we were HUGELY excited about the follow up material and first single from the new album, 'Still Life.' And it didn't disappoint. A buzzy, shoegaze meets pop blast of ever-evolving brilliance, it's one of the best tunes of 2011 already. But - and there's always a but - it didn't quite work on the dancefloor at Loaded.
So, I've added a fairly large tweak, sped it up slightly and mashed it up with one of my nu-disco bangers. The beats are now harder, faster and the two songs work really well together in my opinion. But that's just my thoughts, click on this link for my mashup and listen for yourself...
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