The 508

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Emily

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.

Variables

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Minnie

Photo by Tamara Deike

Magda, Troy Pierce and Marc Houle are part of a rare breed who can tread the line between being über-cool minimal Berlin DJs whilst not being afraid to pack some bass and beats and funk into their sets. They understand that a crowd wants to be forced to move; to dance as if they can’t help themselves. The three had been using their label imprint Items & Things sporadically to release records by friends (including Jimmy Edgar), and then in Summer 2011 they decided it was time to relaunch and focus on their productions. Since then there has been a flurry of activity, including Marc Houle’s album Undercover in February this year, as well as the Various Items EPs.

So it’s time for a full-length collective compilation, and it comes in the form of a beautifully designed four-piece cream vinyl box-set Variables, out 13 July, featuring tracks by Throne of Blood‘s Populette, Click Box, Nyma and Madato, with Magda in charge of the accompanying mix CD (to be released along with the digital tracks on 27 July). Have a listen to the preview here:

Of course, it’s only fitting that a trio with an understanding that the key to success is all about the details should venture into the foray of party-organising. The concept behind their boutique Down & Out nights is “the intimate. The dark & dirty. The underground…Big music for sweatier spaces.” They take their decor seriously; transforming venues into something secret and new, including two parties at Sonar this year; Thursday 14 June Items & Things meets Get The Curse at Zt Hotel, and Friday 15 June Down & Out at City Hall.

So we’ll be seeing you on a sweaty, well-decorated Spanish dancefloor soon, and then we can re-live the moments forever on cream vinyl.

It’s A Kinda Magic

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Minnie

Abracada really are getting it right. They seem to be plucking releases straight from my happy place and putting them out there every fortnight.

First we had The Krays, then Poni Hoax, now The Aikiu – with remixes of course from Azari & III (it would be a faux pas to release without an Azari & III remix these days, non?) and the mighty Mighty Mouse.

The label is brand new, and was set up by Manu Barron and Dirk De Ruyck in April 2010. Both are absolute party royalty, Manu being responsible for the rise to fame of Brodinski and Das Pop, as well as A&R chief for our favourite Social Club, and Dirk launching Eskimo Recordings and managing both Villa and Aeroplane (and I think we all know how I feel about them).

There’s a little self-conscious reflection on the website about introducing another label into an already-crowded market: “You may ask yourselves; does the world need another record label? Isn’t the music industry a smoking pile of rubble, relentlessly battered during the digital revolution and toppled like house of cards on a windy day in downtown Chicago?” but the difference lies in the level of skill attached to this new venture, and the blurring of boundaries of the genres it encompasses.

The first five Abracada releases are as follows:
17 May: The Krays feat. Ebony Bones – We’re Ready When You Are
31 May: Poni Hoax – We Are The Bankers
14 June: The Aikiu – Just Can’t Sleep
28 June: Villa feat. The New Sins - Beats of Love
12 July: MikIX the Cat feat. Shannon – The Key

I asked Dirk why they’d chosen these as the first records to represent the Abracada mission and he said: “The most important thing for us is to be wide-ranging, not 100% straight-up dance music, and secondly that we build a platform for the artists we manage, what we like and what we want to support.” So pooling their contacts and combining artists under their management umbrella with interesting and topical remixers brings the collaborative element to the fore and produces an ever-dynamic sound.

As for The Aikiu, it’s not hard to see how this made the grade. Alex Aikiu, Julien Vichnievsky and Cedric Pilooski are the maestros behind this new act, formed in Paris after Nile Rodgers (of Chic fame) told Alex he was like ‘Madonna with a dick…but with the voice of Simon Le Bon.’ His haunting new wave vocals are put to good use tackling the subject matter of Just Can’t Sleep: the paranoid, hedonistic glamour of 70s and 80s New York.

So with Villa’s excellent collaboration with The New Sins (responsible for It Doesn’t Work Like That, and keyboards for New Young Pony Club) and MikIX the Cat including remixes from Kingdom and Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team it looks like Abracada is already fulfilling its destiny of uniting the disco with the breaks with the dubstep with the house with the rave to give us one hell of a party.

Exclusive: The Krays ft. Ebony Bones – We’re Ready When You Are (Manaré Remix)

Poni Hoax – We Are The Bankers (Renaissance Man Dub Mix)

The Aikiu – Just Can’t Sleep (Stupid Human Remix)

Pre-order The Aikiu Just Can’t Sleep EP here.

Hey Today!

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Minnie

Busy P’s remix of Hey Today’s Talk To Me is coming out on Turbo Recordings on 6th April. I’ll let Pedro describe this in his own words:

“A few weeks ago, we were touring Australia for Parklife TIGA was closing our stage every night, in front of 10,000 kids ready to rumble with him, to get wrestled to the ground.

And, as usual, he throws out his secret weapon, “TALK TO ME”. The crowd explodes. That’s when I ran onstage screaming, “T-Dawg, what’s that sound????”

The only reply I got was a big, creepy grin… Merci!

One late night, on the narrow streets of Melbourne, TIGA and I went out for a little boogie with the Bang Gang squad. Our Aussie friends know how to look after us. We spent the night at Sorry Grandma!, the hottest club in town, drinking Rave Juice and trying to understand drunk Aussies’ sub-English accents.

I knew it was the perfect time to ask TIGA about that insane track he was playing. Ask a drunk man something and you’ll get everything you need. Everything.

“HEY TODAY!” he said. “Wait, the German guys responsible for “If I Was Wonderwoman” a few years ago?” I replied.

“Can I have another Rave Juice, P?” he replied to my reply. Nice.

Anyway, I now knew it was some Germans who did that Herbie Hancock-meets-LFO track!

I never gave up. We were back from OZ, me in Paris, TIGA in Montreal, iChatting like we often do. And that little “Transfarts” window pops up on my screen!

“TALK TO ME” became the highlight of my DJ set, the moment where you see stars in the eyes of the crowd’s head. Not only it is my favorite track of 2010, I even had the chance to remix it!

What the hell can you do with such a monster tune? Make something harder? Impossible. Make something better? Not possible. Make something faster? The opposite of possible. Make something stronger? The train has pulled out of Possibility Town. I wanted something deeper, more mental, bringing two worlds together, Detroit and Rotterdam.

Here is HEY TODAY!’s new single “TALK TO ME.” Have fun with it.
P”

This is under wraps at the moment but is the third track on this video from Busy’s blog.

One From The Vaults

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Minnie

Masters at work. One of our favourite videos of all time, of Brodinski and DJ Mehdi bopping together in Paris. The concentration. The hands. The faces. Love it.

Lee Mortimer + Foamo = Superman!

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Minnie

We’re always excited by a collaboration, especially with two people whose storming filthy-dirty sets we’ve had the great pleasure of sweatily shaking up the front row to. Lee Mortimer and the lovely Kye Gibbon AKA Foamo have worked together on Superman, the follow-up to last year’s It’s Going Down.

The launch party on 13th March at The Rhythm Factory in East London is free to everyone who dresses up as Superman or Superwoman, and Lee Mortimer, when interviewed on Kissy Sell Out’s show last night, mentioned that he might donning a cape for the evening too…

Superman is being released on Lee Mortimer’s Wearhouse Music

Lee Mortimer & Foamo – Superman
Lee Mortimer & Foamo – It’s Going Down

DJ MEHDI + RITON = CARTE BLANCHE

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Minnie

DJ Mehdi’s reminded us on his blog about his forthcoming collboration with the lovely Henry Smithson, AKA Riton. Their first EP is being released by Ed Banger in May, and is going to be called Black Billionnaires (unconfirmed at the moment).

There’s an official Carte Blanche tour planned, and here are the dates. If there was ever an excuse to pop over the Channel…

07-May FABRIC (LONDON, UK)
07 May 2010 Fabric, London
08 May 2010 Rebel Viscount, Birmingham
11 May 2010 L-Ektrika, Akab, Rome
12 May 2010 Hive, Zurich
13 May 2010 Lux Fragil, Lisbon
14 May 2010 Low Club, Discoteca Pirandelo, Madrid
15 May 2010 Lolita Room, Barcelona
20 May 2010 The Social Club, Paris
21 May 2010 Anarchic, Khal, Brussels
22 May 2010 Petrol, Antwerp

“A record label, a family, and a mission.”

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Minnie

Emily and I are often like two sides of an ever-shiny coin. We both love EVERYTHING, but we always choose a slightly different element to champion, and from a slightly different angle. We were very excited to find out that our two current favourites are actually best friends, who collaborate on a record label and many of their productions. You can see on the tracklists for the next two mixes how much they use and rework each other’s records.

They are Mowgli and Solo, and Solo is signed to Mowgli’s DeadFish Audio label, along with other favourites of mine, the Round Table Knights. They describe themselves as “Family, because all the artists in the roster are true friends, share the same taste in music and live this business in the same passionate way.” Yeah! It must be a pretty nice place to work.