Two from the Waifs


Waifs & Strays have been buuuuuuusy. Since we last wrote about them the Bristol pair have played all over the place, had their debut Hot Creations release Body Shiver, and it seems, found time to do some mixes. The first for Moda from December 2011, the second for Crack magazine from January 2012, sadly no tracklist for either.

Moda Yes List: Waifs & Strays by itsmodamusic

Crackcast 013 – Waifs and Strays

A Chrome Gnome Fiasco

The boys of Public House have been busy recently and we thought it was about time we caught up with them again, especially with some extra special treats on the horizon. Here’s resident Sidd on finding Aladdin’s cave, avoiding East London’s gurning perma-tans, the rise of the Chrome Gnome and their love of a good Fiasco…

Last time we spoke to you, back in February last year, you were gearing up to welcome Parisian DJ Yakine. There’s been a lot happening since then. How was that party and what have you been up to since then?

That party seems so long ago! It was a great party in one of our favourite locations under a noodle bar, it was perfect sized and had a great vibe. Joss and Craig absolutely drilled it out that night, great memories. What have we been up to since then? Eerrm, where do I start, since then we have given debuts to Dario Zenker, Waifs & Strays, Terje Bakke, Dana Ruh and brought Jef K back to London after a long absence. We did our first party in Berlin which was incredible, in a brilliant little club called Kleine Reise, the residents there also played a party with us over here and brought over Mathew Jonson‘s brother Hrdvsion which was great. We have started a side project called ‘The Fiasco’ which is a series of more intimate events that showcase our residents and allow us to bring in some of our friends to play. We did a great launch party at Vogue Fabrics in Dalston, a quirky basement owned by an amazing guy who is probably the most flamboyant character we have ever met. Since then we celebrated our second birthday in the cellar of a pub, did a Fiasco in an art studio in Aldgate on August Bank Holiday and we have a party on the 26th in a venue so weird we can’t really describe it, I think I called it Aladdin’s cave-meets-brothel, but that doesn’t do it justice. We really like doing these super intimate parties as it goes back to the start when we threw parties for our mates. They are always really special and lots of fun.

We have big things planned for the rest of the year a NYD party and an amazing booking for February, keep your eyes locked on our Facebook page for news on that. It’s been a mental few years but really great times, great people and great music.

We’ve always loved the distinctive Public House party spirit and its innovative venue choices. Since we last spoke to you, London has seen a huge increase in Warehouse venues and ‘TBAs’ on Resident Advisor. How are you guys making sure Public House still holds the key when it comes to throwing bloody good parties?

Well, I have always bitched about this (probably with a touch sour grapes), but it seems that everyone in East London runs a party! I’m not saying that we have the best DJ’s and promote the best parties in the world but I think that when we started Public House small parties were not so common place, we came into the scene with a fresh ethos and a concept which was unique at the time. Unique spaces, small capacity and bringing in artists for debuts, we build a trust and a reputation from nothing. With the close of many larger clubs (RIP The END) and also the mass popularity of house and techno in London it seems that there are so, so many nights on these days, you only have to look on RA on an average Saturday to see the volume of events on at a time.

The pond is only so big so we started doing parties less often and put more thought into the makeup of each one. I think people will put more effort in to work with you if they know there is something unique there, I mean who wants to go to a bar-cum-club, pay £10 entry to hear a guy with one signed track on a cool label who can’t string a DJ set together? Especially when you are surrounded by a crowd that resembles a greased up, gurning, perma-tanned mess! We now search, really search, for the perfect venue that provides the atmosphere which our crowd demand, and so they should, if they have to travel a bit farther so be it. It’s a labour of love so you really do get what you put into a party

Chrome Gnome is a production collaboration between two of the Public House residents – Finn Casey and yourself. How did this come about?

Finn had been producing for a few years on and off, but took the plunge to quit his job and go full time about a year ago. I had been tinkering on Ableton and we had spoken about joining forces so we decided to give it a go together. Finn is really the brains behind the operation, and he produces loads of different styles of electronic music with a few different people. I’m more the drunk guy in the background making stupid suggestions. We are still finding our style but in the last few months it has started to come together a bit more and we are starting to see the fruits of our labour.

The Chrome Gnome tracks we’ve heard so far breathe that cheeky kind of energy and bouncy fun that we relish. Can you tell us a bit about the Chrome Gnome sound, District Raw and what’s next up for you and Finn?

The Chrome Gnome sound, hmmm, so far it’s been a real smorgasbord, the track released on District Raw was called The Fiasco and tried to capture the energy of a Public House residents night. It’s normally pretty raucous! That worked really well but then currently we have been into a deeper and spacier style. So I’m struggling to really say that we have one particular sound. I think we will probably always change it up because, that’s what keeps the ideas flowing.

As for the District Raw connection, Fabio Giannelli who runs the label was our first guest, Public House was his UK debut and we have always stayed in touch. so when Finn and i felt we had something worthy of his ears we sent him a couple of tracks! Things kind of fell into place from there really, we are really proud to be on his label is it has a seriously solid back catalogue and he is a good guy to know! I won’t reveal give to many details but there are some more things in the pipeline with him, all of which are really exciting!

Next for me and Finn, probably polishing off a few tunes. Then we’ll focus on world peace, solving Finns debt crisis and ensuring we qualify for next year’s X-Factor.

Finally, give us the big sell for 26th November…

Our next event is on the 26th of November and promises to be a cracker, we have found a seriously weapons grade venue and I’m sure it’s gonna get wild!

Also, I have just done a Public House podcast to get your ears round…

And ‘like’ us on Facebook cos we have just secured another crazy space for February, with another UK debut lined up too!

Body Shiver


There was a time when all the Waifs & Strays releases were relegated to the annoying ‘not out for ages’ list. But it seems ‘ages’ is upon us; after the release of Be Patient last week on Bristol label Futureboogie, now Body Shiver is here. We first heard it on Jamie Jones‘s Fabric 59, and it’s fitting that his Hot Creations label should be the ones to release it, with the B sides Eat Into My Soul and a Jamie Jones/Lee Foss Hot Natured remix of the title track. A very nice vinyl package – buy it here.

Waifs & Strays – Body Shiver EP Preview by mybeatFixTrax

Woody’s Roundup

Phonica is 8! And to celebrate tomorrow they’re commandeering our favourite car park, Great Suffolk Street, with a lineup that defies belief; Heidi, Soul Clap, Matt Tolfrey, Joy Orbison, Waifs & Strays, Benoit & Sergio live, and not to forget the mighty Visionquest. Obviously we’ll be the ones down the front screaming like idiots. If that hasn’t broken you there’s an after-party at Cable until 1pm on Sunday hosted by Jaded.

If you want a little pre-Phonica-birthday warm up there’s loads going on tonight too – keep it car-park with Lola Showcase at Hearn Street, featuring Dan Ghenacia and Seuil, or pop South to Corsica Studios for 2020 Vision’s Crazy P album launch party, or head to Hidden in Vauxhall for Found: Launch with Justin Martin.

The sun is upon us at last, so perfect timing to head to Peckham tonight for the closing party of Bold Tendencies on the roof of the multiplex car park, with the obligatory Bussey Building after party, with Horse Meat Disco and the Off Modern crew.

Here are some tracks for the pod during those jaded early-morning walks home.
Electric Jones – Tribute to Todd Edwards
New Navy – Tapioca (from the Uluwatu EP released 17 October on Future Classic)
Embassy – WasThat All It Was (Ajello Remix)
Landslide – Dig Deeper (WAFA Remix)
Boz Scaggs – Lowdown (Greg Wilson edit)
The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love? (A-Trak Dub aka Dub for Mehdi)
Monarchy – You Don’t Want To Dance With Me (Feat. Britt Love) [Moonlight Matters Remix]

Jaunts Mixtape


Our friends TierkratZ have proved their skills yet again with their Jaunts Mixtape, fresh for the summer and showing their ability to choose the perfect amount of heavy bass with a little singalong vocal. Very well done indeed.

TierkratZ – Jaunts Mixtape by TierkratZ
Tracklist
01. Homework – Raw Groove ( Exploited )
02. Waifs & Strays – Yeah Yeah ( Leftroom Records )
03. Sacha Robotti – Move ( Bubba Remix ) (Klasse Recordings )
04. Chock – A Song For Lisa (Roomba Music )
05. Thieve – Na Na Na ( DubNoir )
06. Eats Everything – Entrance Song (Pets Recordings )
07. Laura Jones – Love In Me ( Leftroom Records )
08. Soul Purpose – Sublim3 (Lo:Rise )
09. Chris James – Miami Dreaming ( DubNoir )
10. Prince Club – Kool Aid ( Made To Play )
11. Poupon – Into You ( CDR )
12. Urulu – Everyday ( Petfood )

Waifs & Strays

Heidi’s new compilation for Get Physical The Jackathon is so loaded with badass tracks it can re-inspire those feeling a bit broken after some hard core nights out. One of my favourites is by Waifs & Strays, the very lovely What You Want.

Then I remembered that name was linked to an absolute killer from the Miami Winter Music Conference this year Yeah Yeah, released on Leftroom 20 June as part of the Extended Family EP (Part II).

Waifs and Strays – Yeah Yeah (Original Mix) by Leftroom

So it turns out Waifs & Strays are Amos Nelson and Rich Beanland from Bristol and had been playing apart for almost ten years before they started producing together, first getting noticed by the Big-men in 2010 with the mighty 3am.
Waifs and Stray – 3 in the morning (Master) by waifs&strays

They’ve got quite a few other things in the pipeline for our musical delectation, including Feel getting a release on Futureboogie some time this Summer, and Heartbreak added to the forthcoming 5 Years of Leftroom compilation on 1 August. More full-bodied deep house for the balmy nights.

You can catch them playing for FREE this Friday at That Mixmag Thing #15 at The Queen of Hoxton, alongside Craig Torrence, A1 Bassline, Huxley and Stevie T.

Here’s a taste of their mixing skills: