Since Grimmy chose Real as his next big thing and it sold 30,000 copies, Gorgon City have been super busy. Not only is Intentions/Cycles out and about all over the place (and great) but they’re touring more or less everywhere and it seems everywhere they play has a new Gorgon City mix on their website. Fabric, Parklife, Vice… See what I mean:
This is SO DAMN GOOD. I still love how utterly dirty Catz n Dogz play, when Greg and Voitek are so polite and mild-mannered to chat to. Even tracks like their They Frontin’ which are already filthy, are stripped out here until there’s just pure dirt. I’m not sure anyone else could mix in HNNY‘s sample of Brandy and Monica’s The Boy is Mine and still make it sound cool.
tracklist:
01. Jacek Sienkiewicz – Dream Machine
02. Youandewan – Disarray
03. Catz N’ Dogz – Fixnation
04. Prosumer – Blei
05. Ralph MacDonald – Calypso Path (Sofrito Edit)
06. Brooks – Clix
07. Harry Kane – Acapulco Highway (Ralph Falcon – Whateva Acapella)
08. Marshal Jefferson – Mushrooms vs. The Revenge Remix
09. Pedestrian – Hoyle Road
10. Rhydin – Nash
11. Arto Mwambe – Muduhutma
12. Adam Port/Switch – Black Noise (&ME Remix)/Get On Downz (Max Fresh Remix)
13. T-rwrk – Chanté
14. Till Von Sein & Area – Lafayette (Unreleased Version)
15. Fantaboys – Pump It All
16. Alex Cortex – B2 (Catz ‘N Dogz Edit)
17. Hannah Wants – Teardrop On The Fire
18. Detachments – H.A.L. (Andrew Weatherall Disco Dub)
19. Brassroots – Good Life
20. Catz ‘N Dogz & KiNK – Good Love
21. Michael Mayer – Speaker
22. Breach Vs. Ron Costa – Letz Uri (Eats Reebeef)
23. Heartthrob – In My Room
24. The Time & Space Machine – Pill Party In India (Psychemagic Remix)
25. Catz ‘N Dogz vs. Phil Kieran – They Frontin’ feat. Monty Luke/Ghetto Face Space Place
26. Partial Arts – Cruising
27. Dodha – Symbasim
28. Daft Punk – Da Funk (Catz ‘n Dogz 2013 Idiotic Edit)
29. Nikola Baytala – Zero $
30. Mange Tout – What To Do
31. Needs – Brother
32. HNNY – Boy
33. Broker/Dealer – Dig Deep
34. Terry Brooks – Breaking Cycles
download: ul.to/rfr1ywfg
Something else to look forward to as well is a free download album Untitled coming in June from Catz n Dogz’s Different Marks collaboration with the late Martin Dawson. Always giving.
I always think of Erol Alkan at this time of year.
In our early days of attendance at the Miami Winter Music Conference we’d be walking around a little shell-shocked, not really knowing where to look between the oversized Floridian families cramming burgers into their mouths and extending those XXXXL waistlines just a little more, and the golden beach ladies with their very own set of beach balls. Then we’d see Erol, and a sense of relief in comfortable familiarity would wash over us. There he would be in his customary black t-shirt and converse; Erol hadn’t changed for these tropical surroundings. He stayed true to his own brand of bleepy electro too, when all around him were selling their souls to Avicii as if they’d been driven mad by the heat.
Erol celebrates Easter like no-one else can. Defying tiredness with what started in 2008 as a five-hour set on that Maundy Thursday (4 days to recover afterwards), then as if challenging himself each year we’ve now reached 10 hours.
It seems this year he’s been busier than ever before, still finding time to sign new act Future Four to Phantasy, as well as rework Night Works Long Forgotten Boy.
And of course there’s the iconic Erol Alkan 6 Mix humming alongside it all, just right for the day after the 10 hour set when you seem to be unable to move unless you can hear Erol playing a record. The sixth but sadly final show of the 3rd 6 Music residency went out this Friday 12 April and it’s a complete banger from start to finish. Strong, Erol, strong.
Have a listen here:
Erol Alkan 6 Mix 12 April
Tracklist:
#1 Miss Kittin – Come Into My House
#2 Future Four – Gwad Bwash
#3 Syclops – Jump Bugs
#4 Kiwi – The Guanaco Haka
#5 Ben Sun – Your Footprints (Tevo Howard Remix)
#6 Pulp – After You (Soulwax Remix)
#7 Rudimental – Hell Could Freeze (Skream Remix)
#8 Letherette – D&T
#9 U – I
#10 JKriv & The Disco Machine – Make It Acid (Idjut Boys Mix)
#11 OTP Party Breaks – Love Reaction (Jacques Renault Edit)
#12 Diesel Jarvis – Spend The Night
#13 Tom Rowlands – Through Me (Radio Edit)
#14 Innershades – That Girl
#15 Drums Of Death – Bang The Dub
#16 Laurent Garnier – Jacques In The Box (Chicago Bordelo Remix)
#17 Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi – Tunnel
#18 Joy Orbison – Big Room (Tech House DJ Tool)
#19 Rone – Bye Bye Macadam (Juan Atkins Remix)
#20 Red Axes – Queen Spade
#21 Legowelt – Visions In My Mind
#22 Coma – My Orbit (Single Edit)
#23 Night Works – Long Forgotten Boy (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework)
I will love The Strokes unconditionally and forever; Julian Casablancas has a voice that makes me feel like he and I are clinging to each other on a precupice while the world rushes past us, and the lyrics always make me want to cry like a baby despite the catchy singalong guitar melodies.
So the prospect of a new album has made me feel giddy for a little while now, slightly fearful of one day a record from them (or Julian’s solo work) letting down my ridiculous expectations (it never does). Theirs is a formula that will always work though, and there’s nothing remotely un-Strokes-y about Comedown Machine.
For example, the lyrics on One Way Trigger
You asked me to stay
but there’s a million reasons to leave
Don’t take my word for it, you can listen to the whole thing in full now over at Pitchfork.
There’s also a taster of new single All The Time here
You know the drill people. See you on the dancefloor!
I’m at that awkward age where I should technically be thinking about being a bit more domestic, maybe not going out until 7 any more, or perhaps when going out until 7 not carrying on the afterparty until it’s nighttime again.
I’ve tried to broaden my horizons; get up in time to see daylight, read the paper, cook. But I just really do love house music. So I found a compromise: rave-cook. Just whack the stereo up and make sure any movement that needs to be done – chopping, mixing (you catch my drift) is done in a suitable dancing fashion. Call it the Cookery Skank, if you will, and it always puts a bemused smile on the faces of my flatmates to find me giving it some in Club Min (aka The Kitchen).
I wanted to share a few little lovelies that resulted in a very tasty salmon hot pot (Wagamama recipe book) and a lemon and buttercream sponge cake (Rachel Allen) this weekend.
1. Kry Wolf, Together (Makes No Sense Remix). I’ve had this in my draft posts for this blog ever since I got sent the promo from Kry Wolf and Shadow Child‘s Food Music in January, and I wish there had been enough hours in the day for me to finish it. They’re the guys who collaborated with Claude Vonstroke on Turbosteppa, and this track went off last night when T Williams played it at the Electric in Brixton as part of the EXCELLENT Julio Bashmore tour.
You can buy this now, so you should.
2. Kate Simko, Go On Then (The Remixes)
I loved this the first time round, and I was always slightly dubious of remix EPs until I realised that they often come about because there’s one absolutely epic remix of a track that surfaces after the release, so the producers rise to the challenge, give some other people a bit more time to make some cool bits, and round two ends up being damn good. The one for me on this five-track feast is Ian Pooley‘s main mix, but Franck Roger‘s in there, as are Blond:ish. Again, out now and worth your pennies. It’ll make cooking more fun.
3. Gorgon City feat Yasmin, Real
Thanks to T Williams again for this bad boy; Gorgon City are RackNRuin and Foamo, and everything they’re doing is shit hot. The world and his dog are going mental for them right now, and deservedly so. I mean, just listen to that sneaky little bassline, sweet Jesus that’s hot! Out today on Black Butter records; we’re building a nice little playlist.
4. Lana del Rey, Summertime Sadness (Adam Freeland remix) – given as a free download when you like Adam’s Facebook page. This is a slow build and is actually just as good for comedown-cook (aka trying to eat a bit of toast then realising everything tastes like sand) as rave-cook. I felt a bit emotionally attached to this record today as the sun faded outside the window.
5. Miguel Puente – La Santanera podcast
This is slow and soulful and bassy – absolutely perfect for cooking, and because it’s an hour long you won’t overcook the veg while you’re busy faffing around searching for the next track.
So there you have a little recipe of weekend tracks, go forth and rave-cook.
I’ve been watching Ejeca for a while, since his belter Horizon blew me away when it came out on Needwant in October, and he’d already caused waves before that with his collaboration with Bicep on the record of the summer, You.
This record is the absolute perfect way to start a party, just listen to the bass drop and the ‘woo!’
What Ejeca completely masters is what I would call proper-proper House-House. The kind of nostalgic 90s house that I look for when I’m trying to put some proper old school in my sets (I hate the term old school but his sound is pretty classic). So I was really pleased to hear that the next EP is connected to another act who captures that pure house; Waze & Odyssey. It’s on their Street Tracks imprint, and it’s out today on vinyl. Such a limited pressing that Juno have restricted purchasing to one per person. I suggest you go and bag yourself a copy here.
You may recall our little intro to Ursa Minor (Little Bear) this time last year with their enchanting debut single, Droplet Affection. Well they’re back and this time with a 5-track EP in the shape of Shell, which has been soaking up a lotta love not just from us, but the dizzy heights of Mixmag; who incidentally gave them an impressive 9/10 in their latest issue describing it quite rightly as, ‘close-your-eyes-and-enjoy-it’ stuff. Here’s why…
If that wasn’t enough, isn’t it great when 3 things you dig mix together as the perfect ingredients, making something truly delicious?
We were promised a collab with Jozif and that is exactly what we have got. The 508 features a dreamy, beatific vocal showcase from Little Bear, complemented by Jozif’s hypnotic tribal drum patterns, as well as a signing from the seemingly untouchable, Crosstown Rebels.
If you like your house music low on the BPM and high on the trip factor, this one is for you.
The Shell EP is out now on Invader Music, you can grab it here.
The 508 will be available here on Crosstown Rebels from the 5th November.
Both buys come with pretty tasty remixes too, so show your support.
Out 3 December, Eskimo Twins are back with Apikoros EP on new(ish) label Days of Being Wild (With remixes from Red Axes, Tomas More, The Countach and Hotel International). It’s a suitable home for Nathan and Tim; Days of Being Wild describe their releases as ‘From disco to techno. Slightly deranged club music.’
Utterly epic from start to finish, doom-laden bass, percussion and bleeps – very characteristic of their metal-influenced brand of club music, but completely developed into a sustained build with a little touch of disco that you can’t help going back to.
They’ve done a podcast to accompany the mix with all three of the tracks in, listen out for the amazing Ariam:
1. Egyptian Hip Hop – SYH
2. Rory Phillips – E-Bow
3. The Eyes In The Heat – Blood (Daniel Avery Remix)
4. Peaking Lights – Beautiful Son (Eskimo Twins Remix)
5. Mock & Toof – My Head
6. Chicken Lips – D.R.O.M.P. (Robi Insinna-Headman Remix)
7. Eskimo Twins – Akashic
8. Daniel Avery – Receptionist
9. Eskimo Twins – Ariam
10. Roisin Murphy – Simulation (Mano Le Tough Remix)
11. Eskimo Twins – Apikoros
12. Simian Mobile Disco – Breaking Times
Sometimes quotes from books or films pop up repeatedly in certain situations through your life. Something that has stayed with me since I was a young child is a quote from Roald Dahl’s The BFG:
“The witching hour, somebody had once whispered to her, was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep deep sleep, and all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world all to themselves.”
Back then I used to imagine this time was about 4- or 5am, and in the years since then this quote has come back to revisit me many times: most often when I come out of a club just before it gets light and everything is silent outside. Ironically leaving a club at 4 or 5 often makes it the witching hour for the opposite reason Roald and young-me intended. They saw it as inconcievably late, but in clubbing terms it means you’ve done a cheeky sneak-out a little early for whatever reason. It’s a very different experience to leaving a club at the more ‘normal’ time of 6am, when it is more likely to be light, everyone else spills out with you, corner shops are opening and weekend-shifters are on their way to work.
I always thought about that quote and how life changes your perception of things, and it struck me again when our good friend Toby Kidd had a baby. We thought he’d probably have a little less time for his DJing larks; running Fresh Out The Box, organising Truck Festival, DJing at Secret Garden Party – the photo should help you get the drift. In actual fact, Toby faced The Witching Hour and made it his own – siting nightly feeds as a key ingredient for making his latest mix, describing a productive babe-in-one-arm-itunes-in-another situation – in the silence and no-distractions of the witching hour.
So, aptly-named and completely banging – I present to you Disco-DJs.com’s Nightfeed, with Toby Kidd.