May 2011

We always find ourselves being a bit sceptical over competition music, but Scenic Tone's Julius Funkhouser’s entry to the Juno Download ‘Inland Knights’ contest is quite frankly exceptional. With a deep, rounded bassline complimented by addictive and uplifting chords, this has ‘winner’ written all over it. You can pick up all the various parts from their forthcoming sample pack here and download the Funkhouser entry below.

So as you may or may not know, SWG3 have had some recent licensing issues, which as far as we can tell have seriously restricted their ability to hold club nights – certainly Subcity were caught short by this on Saturday night, and now all scheduled after-hours events have had to source other venues – a pain in the arse for promoters but even more so for SWG3 management – we hope you find a way round it soon!

Ok, so we admit it. We're late on this but we felt it was necessary to support our man HaHaHa, whose latest track 'Adzuki Beans' features on the new Carte Blanche mixtape. Now, there's no doubt Riton & Mehdi have got taste so we're hardly surprised one of Glasgow's finest up and comers is getting props here - it's just very gratifying to see the wider world take notice. If you follow HaHaHa on Soundcloud you may have already heard teasers from his new EP - as yet untitled - and 'Adzuki Beans' is certainly one of our favourites. Listening to the entire mix below, the track just seems to stand out, which is what we look for in all our music really - identity and flavour - which HaHaHa has in bucket loads.

The count down is nearly over. We’re sure you don’t need any more reminders of the Art School’s impending closure. Each resident night has pulled out all the stops to make these last few weeks truly memorable. But it’s not over yet, this Friday One More Tune bids farewell to it’s spiritual home as we wipe a tear from our eye and look towards the future. While this is by no means their last event, it is the last at the Art School – and as such Matt and Ralph have organised a line up which really represents the open minded and fun-loving music policy they have promoted over the years.

As you know, we love writing about Glasgow - it's our favourite city and there is always something to cover. However, as it stands we're getting more feature requests then we can currently handle. That is why we're looking for new contributors!

For consistently good music you can’t really look much further than Barrientos – you may have to wait a while but its most definitely worth holding on for. This week we were sent new track ‘Deep South’ for exclusive play on our radio show and it simply took our breath away. Clocking in at around 12 minutes this is true Balearic gold as reflective chords and scintillating basslines take us deep into the night.

"Glasgow has a phenomenal passion for house music and in particular the deeper, techier side of things. My theory is that there are two main driving forces in this, The Sub Club and the weather”. There is no doubting the world renowned Sub Club’s position in Glasgow’s House & Techno scene, but we often wonder how much the atmospheric conditions influence club music; during the summer months you do tend to notice a greater sunshine appeal from your favourite producers. However, good weather is somewhat of a novelty in Glasgow and as such makes being locked inside for hours quite productive. This is how Tronicsole-signed HiRO sees it and it’s beginning to make a lot of sense.

The second of our mix compilations for 2011 would have perhaps been more suited to that period of blazing sunshine we had a few weeks ago (aka summer). Moments of blissful serenity come from the likes of Jacque Greene's Ciara sampling 'Another Girl' or Adam Forbes deeply reflective 'Shimmer', even the harder moments during the mix - Lil Silva's jacked up mix of Tyler, The Creator or Goldline's super fresh 'Goldman' - have a stripped back edge which touch the dancefloor on another level.

The biggest night up The Arty ever? Quite possibly. As you may already know, the iconic venue has only a few weeks before it closes its doors for a massive refurbishment project and in the run up to its closure each resident night has been pulling out all the stops to make sure it goes out in a blaze of sub-rumbling glory. However, what is planned for Friday may well force the building into retirement four weeks early as some of the finest name’s across the broad spectrum of bass take hold for a night of epic proportions.

As if the Hunger EP needed any more hype, Peace has gone and enlisted Heartbeats head-honcho Megamegaman and recent collaborator AC to turn out some remixes for the rather moving, ‘Broken Ribs’. The Megamegaman remix, featured here, takes it down a Dubstep route with infusions of his trademark ‘chip’ sound while AC uses a more Funky diversion in a short but sweet ode to the original. Quality stuff.

You may have noticed the name Polymath cropping up around Glasgow recently, over the last month he’s supported everyone from Kissy Sell Out to Clouds bringing a deluge of bass pummelling Electro to all that gather before him – and for good reason, the Inverness born Techno titan was recently snapped up by Glasgow based DJ agency, Muck who seem to be on a single handed mission to not only break him in Glasgow but also around the world. It was only last week that the aforementioned Kissy played not one but three of his productions on his highly popular Radio 1 Show, as well as tweeting him as somewhat of a handyman in the remix department.

So as many of you will already know, the great Glasgow institution that is Soma celebrates 20 years of releasing quality House & Techno in 2011, and to help remind us just how influential the label has been, they decided to re-release some of their most popular singles with new remixes from up and coming and established international producers.

Glasgow has always had an insatiable hunger for live music, from the mainstream monsters of the cities arena’s and stadiums to the back-room beats of the bars and basements, every week we are spoilt by a simply staggering choice of artistry. But it’s away from the Academy’s and Exhibition Centre’s that we perhaps find the greatest talents, the undiscovered gems and ‘next big thing’s’ – it’s here that aspiring bands, singers and songwriters start their journey, and for some, find their destination. It’s thanks to a handful of promoters throughout the city that we’ve always had that alternative option and there is certainly always been a great support network for bands that may just be finding their feet. However, we feel a certain deluge of praise is due to one specific faction of fanatical promoters who have really personified that statement…

Rumours resident and bass-bungling, dub fanatic Indra returns this week with a slice of low-slung Hip Hop that is certain to knock the wind out your speakers. Debuting the track on the Rumours radio show a couple weeks back we were blown away (quite literally) by the intertwining instrumentation and slamming sub-bass. With a straight-gutter edge this will no doubt inspire some next level screwfaces.

It’s been a long time coming but Naïve resident Peace has finally released his debut EP – and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Over the past year or so his manic approach to production has always fired the imagination, choosing complex compositions, arresting acapellas and cinematic soundscapes over standard club bangers. We’ve always maintained that being different is more likely to get you noticed, and to be quite frank Peace just doesn’t sound like anyone else out there right now…

Illegal downloading is perhaps one of the most damaging problems the music industry has ever faced. Unfortunately 90% of the time morals don’t even come in to it – why buy something when you can download it for free from the internet? Without the physical theft of music, on some level it doesn’t even feel like stealing, you wouldn’t go into HMV and fill your bag with the latest CD’s but if you stumble across that tune on Mediafire, well, what’s one download going to hurt? And this problem is perhaps more pronounced in club music – when the majority of releases are single based, it becomes even more tempting to claim your five-finger discount.

It’s known throughout the world as being one of the most hedonistic parties in existence – a trademark for free-spirited ravers and a cosmopolitan celebration of nothing but the finest in quality House & Techno. Recognised the world over for hosting the ultimate Ibiza afterparty at that most famous of party outposts – DC10, Circoloco is perhaps one of the most widely recognised club brands in the world, and this Friday they’re bringing the party to Glasgow.