April 2011

We wouldn’t like to suggest that there is any type of heated rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh, but in the case of Smirnoff’s recent ‘Battle Of The Clubs’ competition, there was. Promising to organise a night of exceptional music and outstanding visuals, it was put to the punters to vote for either the capital’s Liquid Rooms or our own Arches to host an extravaganza worthy of the winning club’s resulting popularity. Voting in your hundreds, The Arches has recently been announced as triumphant, revealing that on Saturday May 19^th a whole host of local talent will warm up for the scintillating sounds of Starmsith, living legend Fred Falke and larger than life Electro-siren Felix Da Housecat.

We’ve gone Monopunk mad this week – his slamming Electro bangers are making an interesting soundtrack to the big wedding day (we’ve got a TV on in the corner while ‘Waat Attack blares out our monitors). With the advent of his forthcoming ‘Expo EP’ we thought it would only be right to grant him the title of Local Hero, check out his ‘Get To Know…’ feature below.

For a DJ, producing is naturally the next step. Who better to know what will drive people crazy or conversely send them running to the bar? When you’ve got that instinctive understanding of the dancefloor, you’re already one step ahead of the game. Moving into production can no doubt be scary, but once you’ve mastered the basics it has the potential to open up so many doors, after all, in 2011 half the people you know can DJ – what’s going to set you apart? When David Smith aka Monopunk started messing with the basics he was 15 and had a passion for playing records, his experience with production went as far as the often inaugural introduction with Fruityloops. Fast forward to August last year and an undoubtedly inspired trip to Ibiza – we’ve all been there, hands aloft, surrounded by thousands of people – all enjoying that one moment, created by one person. It’s enough to push you onto the next step…

We're finding it hard to put into words how much we love this video from Heartbeats main man and Electro-pin wizard, Megamegaman. His unique sound has been claiming him a lot of attention recently, with radio play on BBC Introducing Scotland, support slots for the likes of Jaguar Skills and even winning him a remix competition for Zombie Nation. Comparable to a Gameboy hitting puberty (a compliment Mega if your reading this), his music is what we like to describe as 'freaky naughty' - heavy basslines, grinding synths and a pulsing energy - at times making Skrillex sound like a funeral for Johnny 5.

It may be the Royal wedding on Friday but we also have another highly anticipated event to look forward to. On Friday our big ol' pals at Spectra are throwing a mega Turbo party that includes Techno wonder-kid, Gesaffelstein and big-haired, A&R wizard Thomas Von Party. Advance tickets are £10 but we've managed to wangle two guestlist places for the Synth faithful, meaning you can trundle along to Stereo on Friday night - skip the queue, pay nothing on the door and go about raving your tits off...

Since launching in September, Naïve has been responsible for bringing some of the hottest names in Disco, Italo & House to Glasgow. They understand what the average punter needs right now – big names, low prices – and that, they have certainly delivered. From the very start they’ve brought names to Glasgow which may otherwise be overlooked by the mainstream Electro contingent, legends like Fred Falke, DJ Falcon and Alan Braxe, people who are arguably a major influence on the new wave of modern Disco producers.

It has that sound – we still can’t quite put our finger on it and we refuse to use the word ‘future’ anymore, but it’s taking over our lives. A cosmic interpretation of standard House music, twisted around addictive vocal cuts, pitch-bending synths and an inner-city atmosphere. Here Adam Forbes takes things deep on ‘Shimmer’, a golden reflection of the 2011 dancefloor.

Glasgow is of course already overflowing with big name DJ’s on a weekly basis. Every weekend the choice can be both immensely encouraging but also fairly frustrating when two of your favourites appear on the same night. As such, you probably won’t be surprised to learn then that Glasgow’s premier electronic music festival, Electric Frog has an aftershow line up which will either have you darting between venues or pledging your allegiance to your favourite DJ for the night.

Unfortunately it’s drawing ever closer – our beloved Art School closes for two years in June, and while many of our favourite club nights may still run in different locations, there’s no denying the hole such an iconic venue will leave in Glasgow’s clubbing landscape. Hence, it was only right that the events leading up to the closure bring some of the biggest names to the venue at low, low prices, and with Mixed Bizness holding down one of the busiest and bassiest student nights in Glasgow there, they naturally wanted to do something special. Teaming up with the Art School they have organised a series of closing parties which have seen the likes of MJ Cole and DJ Zinc pack in the crowds and turn up the heat. Last Friday it was Radio 1 star and self confessed manabadman Toddla T’s turn to bring the noise, and with a steady flow of Guinness to hand he certainly made the most of it.

We don't want to speculate on what the E stands for but considering that 90's inspired rave crew AGT are headlining the launch of Die Late this Friday we can assume the party will most definitely be free-spirited. Everyone's seen the footage of sweaty ravers dancing to Orbital in an over sized jumper and ridiculous dreadlocks - Acid House and Jungle defined the early 90's, laying the foundation for dance music as we know it today. And as we know, Rave as a sound, lifestyle and concept is well and truly back.

Recently signed to the ever dependable 3^rd Abstract Records, Feliz Plastico blew us away this week with this rather brilliant slice of deep-grooving Tech House. Rolling in with a menacing chime before building with a series of late-night bleeps and metallic synths this is definitely one for the afterparty. Pick it up as a free download from his Soundcloud now!

When music and visuals come together in harmony, the power that can be unleashed is quite often the purest of human emotion – a natural rush which can move someone to tears or even change their life. In some instances, the music which accompanies a scene is infact more important than the image itself. Film composers may often ask themselves ‘if this scene was music how would it sound?’ The answer to this question, while somewhat transparent to the less artistically minded amongst us is how Glasgow based band Cinephile have crafted their music – and the results are astonishing.

It’s been hard to ignore the rise of Thunder Disco Club over the past two years. Since launching at the now defunct Lite Club they’ve added a much needed sex appeal to Glasgow clubbing which was perhaps somewhat lost in the relentless rain, projectile whitie and sporadic street brawling every weekend. From the very first party way back in June 2009 when they announced themselves in a blur of Italo-Funk and HI-NRG Disco they’ve managed to create an irresistible buzz which people come back for again and again. With Thunder Disco Club you’re not just getting another Friday night Electro party or half-assed promise of ‘bangin’ beats’ – you’re being introduced to a concept.

They’re perhaps one of the most influential labels in club music today, responsible for some of the hottest party Techno and balls-out Electro ever and it seems just having they’re name emblazoned on your flyer automatically gives you a million plus cool points. In 2011 Turbo really couldn’t be bigger, with such names like Gesaffestein, Clouds and Matt Walsh all flying the flag, Turbo has really become a leading light when it comes to those seeking inspiration and new ideas in modern dance music.

Damn, what a weekend! Finally spring is truly starting to take hold and it's come not a moment too soon. Our Saturday night was spent at the Art School for One More Tune's special 1984 party and props really must go out to Matt and Ralph for pulling it altogether. When promoters try and do something a bit special - whether it be a theme, location or guest - people take notice. A busy night and a fantastic atmosphere was the reward with Glasgow's very own edit masters Slow It Down whipping up a frenzy of deep-grooving, body-moving action. The cherry on the cake came in the form of 100 limited mixtapes which were handed out at the end of the night in special day-glo casing - incidentally turning into the perfect soundtrack for the next day's beautiful weather.

Not satisfied with making super-fresh bass-tech with Mia Dora or churning out quality rhythmic Techno under his own name, Rob Etherson has teamed up with Ross Stenhouse for new project ‘Ovr Kill’. This week they uploaded the astonishing ‘Heatseeker’ – an 8min trip through peak time devastation which draws you in with a deep groove and filtered breakdown before slapping you around the face with a driving crescendo. Buckle up…

Hip Hop is constantly evolving; it’s one of the only genres of music that adapts to current trends while also setting new ones. From the body-moving breaks and soul-sampling grooves of the 80’s and 90’s to the visionary bass-bombs of the early noughties, Hip Hop has always pushed things forward while leaning heavily on the past. Now in 2011, over thirty years since the genre was born – club based music has become heavily integrated and Hip Hop is once again adapting. With rap stars jumping on Dubstep and Electro while underground producers develop completely new strands of beats, the timing couldn’t be better for hungry, up and coming production talent.

Glasgow’s premier edit team, Slow It Down have been going from strength to strength since we featured them in our 'Get To Know…’ feature back in January. Every track they put out hits the top of Soundcloud’s Hot Chart and they’ve even had the likes of Greg Wilson knocking on their door trying to secure an exclusive. As we described in our feature earlier this year their ability to find a groove on a forgotten classic is what makes their edits so irresistible – truly making a song their own by exemplifying it’s finest elements.

We’ve often felt that live electronic artists get somewhat of a raw deal in Glasgow. Where DJ’s have the luxury of hundreds of club nights to get involved with the live acts are perhaps less frequently considered, and this of course is a crying shame. Thankfully one collective of promoters have been working hard to change all that as they strive to expose only the finest electronic acts Glasgow has to offer.

Already championed by the likes of Mason, Tom Stephan and Mark Denken, WoRX are fast becoming one of Scotland’s finest Techno exports. Inspired by dancefloor legends like Richie Hawtin and Carl Cox, the production duo of Ian Simpson and John Mchaffie decided to take their love of dance music to the next level. Having studied audio production at college it was simply a matter of time before they used their skills to make their own music, creating quality Techno motivated by the hypnotic allure of Audion’s seminal ‘Mouth To Mouth’, and the affect that it has on a living, breathing dancefloor.

The winter has been long and dark, but now, finally it seems like spring is beginning to take hold – and you can hear it in the music. We’ve already blogged about this tune, but after dropping it in a marathon set last weekend our love for it has definitely strengthened. This the new single from Domsko ft Astral T and it simply screams quality House. Perfect to get people moving as day becomes night…