Busy Erol

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Minnie

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)

Woody’s Roundup

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Minnie

Hi all! I feel battered and bruised from a bit of a hefty schedule these last couple of weeks, but normal service has resumed, so it is with pleasure that I bring you Woody’s Roundup.

As far as your going-out options this weekend, we have a clear winner in the form of tonight’s Kill Em All and Phantasy at Fabric. Erol, Switch, Stopmakingme, Filthy Dukes and Jarvis Cocker. Down the road James Murphy is gracing the decks of XOYO for DFA’s 10th Anniversary, and at Basing House in Dalston (still not managed to go there yet) is Tpot, with Inxec and Burnski. Mixmag continue their free party series at the Queen of Hoxton, with Charli XCX and Tim Healey.

Tomorrow night the A Night With… series continues with Miss Kittin at a secret East London venue, and We Fear Silence present Circus Company, with Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts DJing, and Seuil, Sety and D’Julz. The Nest come up trumps again with Lemonade featuring Shake Aletti, whose new Inside Out is the sound of the moment.

There’s so much new stuff out there, but with an awfully long time to wait, so in the mean time I can only throw you some previews. In particular, the newest Jamie Jones remix, of 11:11 Project (Guy Gerber and P Diddy?!?!)’s Tourist Trap. YUM.
26th August 2011. Essential New Tune: 11:11 — Tourist Trap (Jamie Jones Remix) by PeteTongsEssentialNewTune

Here are a few free-download goodies for the weekend:
Shake Aletti – Inside Out (Toy Tigers Remix)
Newcleus – Jam On It (MANIK Taped Up edit)
Atari Teenage Riot – Black Flags
Ambassadors – Rössler
The Whip – Secret Weapon (Alex Metric Remix)

Beyond the Book Club

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Minnie

Richard Norris has been quietly responsible for a lot of my musical education. Not only his more well-documented work with Erol Alkan as Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve, but also bringing to my attention on the Re-animations album greats such as Chemical Brothers – Battle Scars, Goldfrapp‘s Happiness and Tracey Thorn‘s Raise The Roof. He wrote the official biography of Paul Oakenfold, he is one half of The Droyds (go and look up their take on Duran Duran- Girls On Pills. If you don’t know it, you should) and to top it all off, alongside Soft Cell‘s David Ball he is one half of The Grid, whose Swamp Thing was my first taste of techno. Most recently he’s been developing his psychedia and ‘freakbeat’ for The Time & Space Machine, and released the self-titled album on Tirk Recordings in March 2010.

Richard is out on the town this weekend, and this Thursday he’s playing for our good friends at The Book Club, alongside Leo Zero and Guilty Pleasures‘ Sean Rowley. Disco and party tunes at their best. See the event page here.

Here’s a little taster of what you can expect:
Richard Norris Minimix February 2011

Hercules and Love Affair- My House (Leo Zero)

Erol meets Metronomy

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Minnie

We were all pretty excited, understandably, to hear Erol Alkan‘s little tease; that he’d be remixing a band beginning with M, and after the immense hype for Metron omy‘s new album The English Riviera, including a booking for Glastonbury this summer, it could be no other. The album is beautiful and wonderful, and I’m even happier because the track Mr Alkan has chosen to rework is my favourite, The Bay.

There’s only a snippet to preview at the moment, but I’ve still got it on repeat. Could this be any more perfect???
Metronomy – The Bay (Erol Alkan’s Extended Rework) PREVIEW by Erol Alkan

Woody’s Roundup

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Minnie

Kill Em All! Kill Em All! Kill. Em. All.

Yup, it’s Kill Em All tonight at Fabric, and everyone’s who’s anyone is on the bill. Erol, Filthy Dukes, Django Django live… Yes please! I love those butterflies in the stomach on a Friday when it’s hard to concentrate on work. Bournemouth’s Big In Japan are hosting room three and resident Tosh Ohta has given us a little taster mix, which he tells us was mixed live in using two 1210s, a CDJ1000 Mk1, a DJM600 mixer, 17 records and one CD, and which I’ve been loving this week.

On Saturday it’s well worth braving the cold to head to XOYO for Snap Crackle and Pop, soundtracked by Zombie Disco Squad, Deepgroove and Joe and Will Ask. I’ve always enjoyed Snap Crackle and Pop nights, they always seem to turn out to be a whole heap of silly fun.

AutoKratz – The Opposite of Love (North Lights ft Perseus Remix)
Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love (The Pinker Tones remix)
Storm Queen – Look Right Through
Lovebirds & Vincenzo – M.U.S.I.C. (Fred Everything Remix)
The Bees – Winter Rose (Nicolas Jaar Remix)
Moullinex – Love It Is, Then
Senor Stereo – I Am The Beat (Treasure Fingers Remix)
All in one place: Woody 37

Tosh Ohta Fabric Mix
Tracklist
1. Snax feat G Rizo – Tired of Talk – (George Demure remix) / defDrive
2. Ivory Boy – The Holy One /It’s A Small World Disco Edits
3. Jamie Lidell- Little Bit Of Feel Good (Mr Oizo Remix) / Warp Records
4. Matthew – Dear Dog Days (Acapella) / Spectral Sounds
5. Kreeps- All I Wanna Do Is Break Some Hearts (Mungolian Jet Set Mix – Sean P’s Club Edit) / Output
6. Science 2101- Now Phreeq / Science
7. Supercollider- Darn Cold Way of Loving (Harvey’s Collision Course Mix) / Loaded
8. Andy Blake- Cave Paintings 2Y / Cave Paintings
9. Gemini- Where Do I Go? (1997 Mix) / Cyclo
10. Malibu- Burnski & Robert James / Hot Creations
11. Moxie- Holy Invasion / Moxie
12. Aural Yaw – Send / RVNG
13. Irene Cara- Break Dancing(Rayko Edit) / Kojak Giant Sounds
14. 3rd Face- Canto Della Liberta / Dirty
15. Jennygoesdirty- Amoureux Solitaires(Aswefall remix) / Kill The DJ
16. The Sugarcubes- Leash Called Love(Tony Humphries Mo Nu Ride Mix) / One Little Indian
17. Lennie De Ice- We Are IE / Reel 2 Reel
18. Andrew Weatherall – You Can’t Do Disco Without A Strat / Rotters Golf Club
19. Matthew Dear – Dog Days / Spectral Sounds

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Riotous Rockers

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Minnie

I’ve been meaning to write about Riotous Rockers for a while, and there’s no time like the present as they’ve just released their December mixtape. Iain Bogg and Peter Case always combine elements of happy disco with just enough electro punch to turn a dancefloor into a dirty-yet-smily little sweat-pit. Catch them at ASBO every second Saturday of the month at our local The Lock Tavern.

Featuring beauts like Erol Alkan‘s rework of MGMT’s Congratulations, which most people agree is how that track would have sounded if it was made in heaven, and is so beautifully smooth it really deserves a post all to itself. It’s out now though (23 November) so hunt it down and play it a LOT. Also worth a mention is Serge Santiago‘s remix of Etienne De Crecy‘s No Brain (I highly recommend the Munk remix too). Actually, I could probably gush about every track on this list; Les Enfants, Commotion, Synchronize (Jarvis Cocker’s voice at it’s absolute best – purring like a kitten)… hear them all in one hour thanks to Riotous Rockers: it’s the perfect start to a post-Warehouse-Project week.

Riotous Rockers December Promo Mix
Tracklisting:
1.Holdin (Maurice Fulton Instrumental) – Nicole Willis (Bubbletease Communications)
2.Congratulations (Erol Alkan Remix) – MGMT (Columbia)
3.Les Enfants – Cassius (Ed Banger)
4.Take Em Up (Marcus Marr Remix) – Shit Robot (DFA)
5.I Can’t Wait (Rob Mello Remix) – Russ Yallop (Crosstown Rebels)
6.Commotion (Tiger and Woods Remix) The Hundred in the Hands (Warp)
7.Synchronize – Discodeine featuring Jarvis Cocker (DFA)
8.Siula Grande (Pete Herbert Remix) – Bonar Bradbury (Needwant)
9.Creature (Faze Action Instrumental Remix) – Andy Butler, Kim Ann Foxman (Mr. International)
10.One to Pray To (Beg to Differ Remix) – Maximillian Skiba (Under The Shade)
11.City to City – Kink & Neville Watson (Snuff Crew)
12.Take Me Down (Back to 1987 Dave Glimmer Remix) – Hermanos Inglesos (CDR)
13.Its The Music (Alden Tyrell Remix) – Murphy Jax (Clone Jack for Daze)
14.Smint (Inflagranti Remix) – StopMakingMe (CDR)
15.Transexual Bass – Hannah Holland (Batty Bass)
16.Work It Out – The 2 Bears (Southern Fried)
17.Blame The Midget – Matthew Johnson (Ambushed)
18.East Village – Christian Smith (100% Pure)
19.Love Don’t Live Here Anymore (C2 Remix 1) – Tiga (Turbo)
20. No Brain (Serge Santiago Remix) – Etienne De Crecy (Dim Mak)
21. Into The Night (Prince Language Remix) – Azari and III (Turbo)

Well Stop Making Me Then!

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Minnie

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Stopmakingme. He has the rare ability to be able to turn a dancefloor into a screaming mass while still being able to cause goosebumps with his out-of-club mixtapes. His influences are vast and diverse, and it comes through in his mixing and productions. The world agrees with us, and he’s very quickly climbed to the top of his game: as resident of Fabric, running Kill Em All with the Filthy Dukes, and most recently he’s just started as Erol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound label resident DJ, playing their club nights and presenting their radio shows.

Most importantly, his Wrapped in Plastic EP comes out 22 November on Kill Em All records, and you can download two tracks below. We caught up with him to talk origins…

Obviously indie music and the Soulwax, DFA, post-punk stuff has all been a big influence on you, but was it always that way? Was that a parental thing? What phases did you get through to arrive here?
Well, I became obsessed with Michael Jackson and Prince when I was very young. Then I guess The Prodigy were the first band I really loved – I went to see them play in Bournemouth with my dad when I was eleven. As a teenager, metal and rock music (but none of the wanky stuff!) was everything to me and I still love it now, Queens Of The Stone Age and The Smashing Pumpkins remain my favourite bands. I would record Mary Anne Hobbs’ Rock Show every week on my minidisc player and it was from there I discovered her Breezeblock programme. A pivotal moment came when I found an old episode with The Chemical Brothers talking about all their influences and it opened my eyes to the way in which club music is affected by everything. The proceeding few years were unbelievably exciting as I tried to listen to as much stuff as possible from all over the place. So yes, by the time I was 18 I was a full blown indie boy who loved Felix Da Housecat and Death In Vegas as much as The Strokes and New Order.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
I don’t feel guilt about liking anything but I guess some would call Wow by Kylie a guilty pleasure. What a record, though!

What was your golden era for clubbing? I think for me it was 2006 when we were going to Trash on a Monday at The End, it always felt like an adventure…
Living in Bournemouth, we envied Trash and Our Disco so much! (as well as Fabric and Bugged Out). I was just a bit too young. I also would love to have experienced the height of The Paradise Garage, Music Box and The Hacienda. Living now isn’t so bad, though!

When you interviewed Erol Alkan he mentioned curveball tracks, and that’s something in a set that I particularly love – like Busy P dropping the Glee theme tune. Do you have one?
The best ‘curveballs’ are ones that still fit into the overall feel of a night, I love that idea of ‘club music’ which doesn’t come from the usual places. When Doves Cry and Once In A Lifetime always find a way into my sets and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of either.

In the same kind of vein, do you have a golden track or mix that you always return to for your own listening?
Tiga’s DJ Kicks is great, Erol’s One Louder CD from 2003 and the Trash sets on his podcast, Nation Of Shopkeepers by Filthy Dukes, Cut Copy and Ewan Pearson Fabric CDs, In Flagranti’s mix for BlahBlahBlah, Ladytron’s Softcore Jukebox compilation, Justice recorded live at Our Disco, the first DFA boxset… Basically anything that has an eye on more than the standard 4/4 house routine.

My favourite club track is Geht’s Noch by Roman Flugel. I could listen to that loop all day.

One of my favourite things about you is that you and Tim (Filthy Dukes) are so enthusiastic about other people’s records, which is completely infectious on a dancefloor. Who is your ultimate ultimate musical hero?
That’s the best bit about DJing: sharing music you love with other people. Musical heroes? There are too many. Josh Homme, Kevin Shields, Bowie, Beck, Kim Deal, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk…

Before Kill Em All it was Sixty Million Postcards and we used to buy records from you at Pure Groove, so it’s obvious it’s most definitely in the blood. Was there ever a plan b? If you weren’t working in the music industry what would you be doing?
I have no idea. I studied English and Film at university so I’d probably be an unemployed publisher by now.

This is your first EP but you’ve been remixing and working on tracks for a while I think. How did Wrapped In Plastic come to be? Was it through many incarnations or a studio epiphany?
I feel quite a few things have come together, coupled with the fact that I now have access to some amazing analogue equipment. I also learned to relax! When I first started making dance music I was trying to make noisier club tracks that I thought would sell on Beatport, simply because I didn’t know what I was doing or where to start. It was a good moment when I realized I could (and should) make odder stuff that was influenced by more than one corner of my record collection.

K and Big V?
Two of my best friends (and not a drug reference)

So you’ve got Deadstock 33s on the remix package, a current favourite? Justin Roberson was great playing with you guys at The Lock the other week.
It’s a total honour to have Justin do a remix for me, he’s a legend in our world. His Deadstock stuff made me totally rethink what I wanted to be playing as a DJ. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s nice how there is lots of big club music emerging which doesn’t directly come from the standard dance world. I think the next year will be really exciting.

So I’m always hearing that you’re finishing tracks or in the studio at the moment, is an album coming, or more EPs, remixes etc?
Definitely two more EPs already lined up, some music with Mr.Robertson we’ve been working on together plus loads of remixes. There’s also a brand new project I’ve just started work on which sounds totally different.

I think it was a past interview I read with you that drew my attention to the excellent Jac The Disco, so thanks! Who are your ones to watch for 2011?
Remute, The Deadstock 33s, Punks Jump Up, Ajello, Retro/Grade, Gesaffelstein, the continuing genius of In Flagranti, the return of Chicken Lips, the new Filthy Dukes stuff, Matt Walsh, Rory Phillips, The C90s….
Bands: the new Death In Vegas record, Outer Limits Recordings, Factory Floor, Selebrities, 2:54…

Stopmakingme – Discuss (192kpbs)
Stopmakingme – Hot Pepper Sauce (192kpbs)

Buy the Wrapped In Plastic EP in its full 320 glory from Monday, and catch Stopmakingme playing at Counter Culture this Friday with Justin Robertson and Punks Jump Up.

Woody’s Roundup

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Minnie

This weekend is another one of those where we’d like to be in three different cities, and three different clubs at once, but instead we’re settling for a three day party, which will probably spill over into Monday and make pre-Halloween zombies of us all. Worth it? YES.

So it all starts tonight with On the One at Concrete with Night Flight (Jac The Disco) and Capita!, whilst over the road Made to Play are at XOYO to celebrate 5 years of the label, with Jesse Rose, Zombie Disco Squad and Idiotproof. If you’re South, Trouble Vision at Corsica sees DJ Zinc, SBTRKT and MJ Cole take to the decks.

Tomorrow The Book Club pits Mumdance against Hold Still for a soundclash, and later on Stopmakingme joins the mighty Erol Alkan and Matt Walsh for Bugged Out’s birthday at XOYO. We Fear Silence brings Theo Parrish to Cable, and Tim Goldsworthy plays for Lostbahnhof at Life. Koko has yet another epic line-up with Mr. Scruff for Ninja Tune XX.

Then Sunday our local Lock Tavern is hosting Kill Em All, with Boy 8-Bit, Justin Robertson and Filthy Dukes. New Stoke Newington venue The Nest sees the launch of Potty Mouth Disco’s Sunday Sessions with Ali Renault. These Sunday parties are free, so swap your roast dinner for a sweaty rave-up, that’s what we say.

Single for the week is The C90s Shine A Light, out today on Relish, and a fitting follow-up to the fantastic 10:01. Whoop!

A-Trak – Ray Ban Vision (feat. CyHi Da Prynce)
Siriusmo – Wow (Modeselektor Edit)
Doorly – Sausage Party Surely everyone’s favourite kind of party???
Escort – Cocaine Blues
Consistent – Ain’t No Bump
Innerpartysystem – And Together (Midnight Conspiracy Remix)
Aphex Twin – Windowlicker (Renaissance Man Bootcut)
Download: Woody XIX

Bonus: Erol Alkan live ‘Ganban’ DJ mix just released on his website.

Woody’s Roundup: Field Day

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Emily

Let me back up! Field Day has now held its place firmly on the music-loving Londoner’s radar for 4 years. Slightly slow out of the blocks, we first got involved in 2008; a superbly messy affair. Our Field Days have been plagued by the weather that typifies Glastonbury, but also energised by the atmosphere that makes it. Perhaps 2010 is the year the drenched festival curse will be broken in Victoria Park too?

Field Day 2010 will mark our hat-trick, so it may come as no surprise that we thought we’d jump on the Field Day warm-up bandwagon and put out a little post for you all. As suspected, in writing this, one of the most exciting things about Field Day has been looking back. The promoters and programmers are like the Mystic Megs of modern music. Scrolling through the line-ups from 2007-2009, they read like the boards of a rather successful bookie:

2007 – Bat for Lashes, Florence and the Machine, Caribou, Filthy Dukes, Foals, Justice, Late of the Pier, Zombie Disco Squad.
2008 – Brodinski, Crookers, Magistrates, Simian Mobile Disco, White Lies, Wild Beasts.
2009 – Aeroplane, Big Pink, Delphic, Errors, Fake Blood, Mumford & Sons, Santigold, The Temper Trap, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

At the time, it was all those people you’d never stumbled across before. Or, that you only had a sort of an inkling you might like. Then, maybe like us, you just had a little wander over, just to see what the blogosphere fuss was really about and all of a sudden you were a fan!

The 2010 spectacle is already complemented by the more ‘commercial’ resurgence in Electronic music. Upward climbing artists, perhaps most notably, names like Egyptian Hip Hop, Gold Panda, Hudson Mohawke, Memory Tapes, Mount Kimbie, Pantha Du Prince, Phoenix and Tensnake stand side by side as equals with their lesser known counterparts, and long-established champions of emerging music (Andrew Wea therall, Erol Alkan, Kieran Hebden, James Holden…). The range of stages caters for every fan, from the Small Disco drinkers of the Lock Tavern to the all-night ravers of the city’s disused east-end Car Parks and Karate Clubs. This, in turn, draws a crowd of hungry young trend setters eager to get a taste of the future legends of our generation.

So, in appreciation of the event’s keen eye for the charts of new and their sure fire tip-offs for the future, we have put together 2 little Zip packages for our Friday-weekly Woody’s Roundup. Links and track lists are below, plus a couple of our favourite mixes from the vaults for good measure. We hope you like it. It should provide some stereo fodder for the prelude, the after party and the recovery should you so require…

See you tomorrow.

Stars of 07 – 09 [zip]

Florence and the Machine – Drumming Song (Boy8bit mix)
Foals - Olympic Airways (Disjokke remix)
Justice – DANCE (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke mix)
Late of the Pier – Bathroom Gurgle (Tronik Youth mix)
Zombie Disco Squad - Esperanto
Aeroplane – Whispers (Love Affair mix)
Fake Blood – Mars

2010 Sampler [zip]

Gold Panda – You (Seams remix)
Pantha Du Prince – Behind the Stars
Brodinski – Arnold Classics (Tony Senghore Staggering & Daggering Mix )
Walls – Burnt Sienna
Mount Kimbie – Field

Mixes
Tensnake RA Podcast 187
Simian Mobile Disco – Forever Fabric
Andrew Weatherall – Dummy Mix July 2010

One From The Vaults

Tag Archives: Erol Alkan

Busy Erol

Woody’s Roundup

Beyond the Book Club

Erol meets Metronomy

Woody’s Roundup

Riotous Rockers

Well Stop Making Me Then!

Woody’s Roundup

Woody’s Roundup: Field Day