Robyn @ Scala, November 1, 2007

Unsurprisingly, the Scala is ram-packed tonight, with swathes of people squashed up against one another like shrink-wrapped slices of halloumi. For good reason though; Robyn, Sweden's finest export of late, is in town for one night only. It's uncanny, as you look around the room, to see the prodigious number of peroxide bobs attached to the quirky troupe of Robyn-ite clones, all like carbon copies of the popstrell herself.

Unusually dressed down for the occasion, Robyn consumes the stage as she bops out, wearing an over-sized blue T-shirt and micro-mini black leather skirt. As if the crowd were in attendance at a theatre production, she takes her place, front centre stage and strikes a pose. The bodies roar in approval as the electronic intro to 'Cobrastyle' pours out of the speakers with the pumping bleeps throwing out invisible puppet strings which catch everyone in attendance in their grasp, making them involuntarily swing their hips and fling their arms all over the place.

Throughout the set Robyn energetically throws a myriad of shapes, including one that looks like a noughties reworking of the running man, as she races through one catchy pop gem after another. Notably, during 'Who's That Girl', the drumsticks she's been clutching are put to use as she lays into the electric drumkit to her left, hitting every beat and thoroughly gleaming with excitement.

Not only does she play practically every tune off her recently released eponymous album, she also treats the crowd to a rendition of Beverly Knight's 'Keep This Fire Burning', which as Robyn herself deduces: "Beverly Knight did it well, but I just think I do it better!" And right she is, putting a more dancey, urbanised and popstream flow to the tune, attacking a tambourine in the process. Then we're treated to an encore in the form of a minimal cowbell infused rendition of her 1997 hit 'Show me Love', which is received with enthusiasm from the members of the crowd who remember it.

Encore number two is unexpected but deliciously devoured. Having played 'With Every Heartbeat' earlier in the set Robyn caresses the tune this time, as she throws all her emotion into an acoustic version where her ravishing vocals can be heard in their purest form, with the entirety of the room singing along in unison. As she wraps up, she vocalises her appreciation of all the attention and blows kisses into the crowd. Judging by tonight's performance, Robyn will deservedly continue to storm our airwaves.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Monster Magnet Interview with Dave Wyndorf

Sleeping pill addictions, space rock records and relentless writing – it's all in a day's work for Monster Magnet frontman Dave Wyndorf

How come it's taken you three years to come back with a new album?
Errr, I fucked up. I became addicted to sleeping pills and then I overdosed on them. I was touring like a mad man. The way these pills operate is they basically divert all your anxiety or woe to a little part in your brain almost like a hard-drive and when you come off these drugs it's like opening up a file in your computer and everything comes spewing out. I didn't share this with anybody 'cause I was too embarrassed so I tried to do the [album] anyway. We went into the studio and did the bass and drums and I just called it quits, I was like 'That's it, record's over, goodbye'. It took two years for me to even wanna walk back in that place.

Were some of these themes explored throughout the album?
Absolutely, I never could leave my life out of the songs. I may wrap the experience in the vernacular of science fiction or psychedelia, I use metaphors a lot because I just thought people would be bored unless I sensationalised everything. This time, the metaphors didn't seem to be necessary – I just had to write what I was feeling, so some of this stuff is like 'Help me, I love you'!

Does the album sound different to older Monster Magnet?
I think they all sound different. This one sounds decidedly more lo-fi, which was on purpose – we didn't wanna spend a lot of money on the record, didn't wanna spend a lot of time in the studio re-doing things – I wanted to get this fuckin' thing over with because at the time I was fucked up.

You're not going to be touring anytime soon?
Yeah, we'll definitely put the nail in the coffin on that one. I never say never but just right now, with my sleep problem and all, it's kinda like returning to the scene of the crime. What I've decided to do, something I've wanted to do for years, is finish a record and start another one. So that's what I'm doing, writing like crazy. It's fun!

What are your plans next?
I'm starting another record almost immediately. The next record I wanna do is like a full-on space rock record – you think you've heard space rock before? Wait for this one! No singles, no nothing, just relentless psychotic drudge. On the other side is my sensitive solo album, which'll be very small little tiny songs with esoteric themes and I'm gonna try and create a 'mucho' atmosphere from minimal volume. To me, it all comes out of the same kitchen, it just depends what plate it goes to.

Has it been worth it so far?
Oh yeah, are you kidding? When I grew up, all I thought about, past comic books and movies, I just lived in my imagination. I loved images and I bought it all. Then one time, as if by magic, I turned a corner in my life and got a chance to make my imagination turn real. There's nothing else like it. It really, really has been totally worth it. I was a high school dropout and now I'm a record producer. I don't know anything about producing records except for I know what I wanna hear. I can't play guitar to save my life. I can't read music. I'm not trained at anything, yet I do all these things. There's no other profession that allows for that much slovenly-ness and that much fakery. Literally if you have enough imagination and enough enthusiasm, you can make it happen.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Bodyrox Interview

Intergalactic planetary hopping

Pete Tong has called them a "dance music supergroup", Zane Lowe dubbed their new single "an anthem in the making" and Lady Sovereign contacted them via their MySpace site to request a collaboration...

So what makes Bodyrox duo aka Nick Bridges and John Pearn so adept at bridging the crossover gap between clubland and the mainstream? In 2006 'Yeah Yeah' blasted onto the scene in Miami and proceeded to gain widespread recognition on airwaves across Britain, hitting No.2 on the UK chart. With what must have seemed like literal overnight success, Bodyrox had become a household name for dance music fans and chart fanatics alike. Nick Bridges and Luciana Caporaso – the lady with the voice – spoke to base.ad about their Ivor Novello award nomination, perving on Christina Aguilera, outer space adventures and what they've got packed up their already bulging magical sleeves to hit us with next.

Both having been heavily involved in the music scene for a number of years (Pearn as a producer with house production outfit Full Intention and Bridges already comfortable with residencies for Ministry of Sound, and more recently DTPM at Fabric), it was only a matter of time before the pair crossed paths. Bridges explains that the guys originally met whilst he was playing for MOS at Pacha Ibiza: "We got talking and thought it'd be a good idea to do a track together. We worked on a number of tracks, one of which was an electro project which became Bodyrox very quickly."

'Yeah Yeah' had actually been around for four years doing it's rounds on the underground club scene; it was originally an instrumental track which Bodyrox eventually decided they wanted to cross over. For this they needed vocals to make the song more accessible to the masses. Cue Luciana. "We had about three different vocals put on it, loads of different remixes done, Luci came up with the lyrics and the delivery and the mix that you've all heard with her is the one that stuck." says Bridges.

It's not difficult at all to see why the lads picked Luciana either. Coming from a more punk/nu-wave background, the distinct rasping, high-pitched and screeching vocals that she provided for the single were exactly what the track needed in order to appeal to the candy squaffing, attitude ridden, party loving public at a time when nu-rave was about to saturate the market. The pure bitch-fuelled lyrics of 'You think you've got it all worked out/But you don't know nothing, nothing, nothing' were penned one evening, as Luciana reveals: "I'd had an argument with Nick [Clow – her writing partner] and I'd written these lyrics. I said to him 'These are about you, what do you think of that?' and he said 'It's great! Let's go and put it down in the studio.'"

With the success of the single came an excitable buzz surrounding Bodyrox, which for Bridges, was unexpected: "It's difficult enough to get any dance song into the mainstream now, and particularly something so underground, so yeah that was a massive surprise for us all." Along with this surge of attention and with all eyes placed firmly on the collaborative trio, came an Ivor Novello nomination for the song, which Luciana still has difficulty understanding: "The boiler man was here at the time when I received the letter and then all of a sudden he was talking to me and I wasn't listening. It was like he was talking in slow motion, I'm reading this letter and I'm thinking 'That's just not right, that's not for me.'"

With follow-up tune 'What Planet you on' a similarly radio-friendly expedient prevails, as the boys again enlist the vocal flourishes of Luciana. This time there's a manifest focus on outer space with a brilliantly colourful and expressive video, already being played widely across many digital video channels, which takes inspiration from the 1968 Barbarella film featuring Jane Fonda. It shows Luciana camped up in an outfit that'd make 90s Eurotrash pop culture party in it's neon encrusted grave. She jumps from planet to planet, with meteors flying all over the place and the trademark synth laden jollyisms of 'Yeah Yeah' are taken to an even catchier level, with plenty of butt-grooving bass thrown into the mix. Luciana provided a lot of creative input in conjunction with the director, Michael Baldwin, and even cried when she first saw it – "like a loser, I was over the moon" – perfectly in keeping with the space theme we'd say.

Apart from Luciana, we know you'll all be asking who's likely to pop up on the eagerly anticipated album, which will drop "next year sometime". Bridges is somewhat shady when pressed for more details, replying: "We've spoken to a number of established artists and they're all very interested so we're just gonna wait 'til all the instrumentals are done and then confirm some collaborations. We've spoken to Alesha [Dixon] from Mis-Teeq as well. There's a few different people in the pipeline but I can't give too much away at the moment." Oh go on, at least tell us if you'll be taking Lady Sovereign up on her offer? "Er, not 100 per cent sure – she's really busy at the moment, as are we. We haven't sent her any backing tracks as yet but it's something we'd definitely be interested in." That's clear as mud then, we'll have to stay tuned, ears pricked back, for more details.

Bridges does however divulge his dream collaboration : "Vocally – Christina Aguilera, there isn't another voice in the world like hers. Whether that would actually work with a filthy electro thing, I'm not entirely sure but erm, I think I'd like to collaborate with her just to meet her and stare at her in the studio for a few hours!"

Perverted dreams aside, the new album isn't finished, what with all the touring the guys have been doing worldwide, and the fact that the collaborations haven't been finalised yet. Bridges did however, kindly treat us to a couple of snippets of information: "We're doing some slow tempo bits as well, rather than it just being massive club hit after massive club hit, there's some experimental stuff as well. We're moving things forward. 'What Planet you on' is very much a radio record and the new track, which I can't say too much about, is a little bit more club friendly."

We wonder whether Bridges agrees with the media terming their sound 'nu-rave'? "It's a bit weird isn't it? I can't really put my finger on what nu-rave is now. Generally tags are used by journalists so that they can slate something when it goes out of fashion, so I don't really like to pigeonhole ourselves into that tag." With DJs everywhere shuddering at their desk with the sheer commercially marketable and itchingly catchy bombshell of good looks which is their new single, whatever the media decides to use in their attempt to describe Bodyrox, we're sure they won't be getting any sort of slating for the foreseeable future. If you can't wait for the January release of the new single, or indeed the pending release of the new Bodyrox album, then Luciana may be able to help. She's got a collection, Featuring Luciana, which brings together all of her collaborations from over the past year-and-a-half and it's gracing the shelves in December. Early Christmas presents anyone?

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Various Artists - Clubmix Classics

When this little jewel plonked itself through the base.ad letterbox and landed on our desks there were screeches of excitement, closely followed by a few scraps as to which quality piece of this 1990s cheese platter we should blast out of the speakers first. Then we all proceeded to reminisce about the good old days, when it was more than acceptable to listen to trash of the fromage variety because it was actually deliciously palatable. The simple reason that this mix was chosen above the Ministry of Sound's new Annual: 1991-2008 is that they stupidly neglected to include Baby D's 'Let me be Your Fantasy' – a grossly fatuous faux pas. This box-set runs in a slightly haphazard manner in terms of chronological sense, with CD one comprising late -90s and early noughties floorfillers like David Guetta vs Egg's 'Love Don't let me go'. Across the remaining two CDs we get vocal house and trance scorchers in the form of N-Trance's 'Set you Free', Snap!'s 'Rhythm is a Dancer', Livin' Joy's 'Dreamer', Shamen's 'Ebeneezer Goode' and Beats International's 'Dub be Good to me'. Apart from a dodgy appearance from Daniel Bedingfield with 'Gotta get Thru This' it's pure wickedness. We'd say get down the shops sharpish, in preparation for a Christmas 90s revival. Get in my son!


Label: Universal
Release date: 19.11.07
Genre: House / Dance / Cheese

Bloodhound Gang Interview with Evil Jared Hasselhoff

Hooray for Drugs and Defecation

With a back catalogue of hits touching on such sensitive subjects as animal loving (in the non-paternal sense) and porn star sex, it’s easy to see why the Bloodhound Gang have made such a prominent name for themselves. Bassist Evil Jared Hasselhoff is bursting at the seams to enlighten us as to the ways in which he and his band of merry men can play a vital role in enriching our lives. Now living in Berlin as an act of rebellion against the Bush regime and having squandered all the money he made from album sales and touring, the evil one gives us the low-down on the band’s current movements and what treats they have lined up for us next.

After touring for a year-and-a-half back in 1999 there was a considerable quiet patch for the band which Hasselhoff clarifies: "We didn’t even like each other to begin with. After eighteen months I wasn’t thinking about another album, I wasn’t thinking there was gonna be a band, the only thing I was thinking is, tomorrow I can go home and never have to see these arseholes again."

In the end however, something clicked in his mind, "We, er, kinda ran outta money, so we went, ‘Hey, I got an idea, let’s get back together’… I know it [the album] could’a been written in a week, but it took us two years to write!"

When asked about the plans for release, he is characteristically facetious: "There’s a bunch of songs written and hopefully it’ll be out sometime next year, or the year after that, or the year after that." Right, so not much point holding our breath just yet then? There is a new single planned though, the beautifully titled ‘Screwing You on the Beach at Night’. A song written as a last ditch attempt to save singer, Jimmy Pop’s, flailing relationship: "cause his girlfriend was about to dump him because he’s not like romantic at all and is really just into hanging out with his idiot band mates and getting drunk". The video is a must-see, based on Chris Isaak’s famously cheesy ‘Wicked Game’ offering but, in true BG style, reinterpreted and featuring a hot chick and some senseless, ridiculous posturing.

This type of behaviour is what spurs the creative process for the band. The non-stop flow of booze, drugs and groupies play a huge part in the envisioning of new material. Hasselhoff candidly points out that their influences are: "Jaegermeister, Goldschlager, Bacardi 151, Brazilian cocaine…" and the list goes on, for miles. Name any form of inebriation and they’ve probably embraced it at one point, purely as a form of inspiration (obviously). It soon becomes apparent after asking just a handful of questions, that the band are more interested in partying and generally coming up with comedic scenarios to amuse themselves, than taking anything to do with the music business in any way seriously.

With a UK tour looming, we ask about the best gig that they’ve ever played. It was in Copenhagen and "we’d just been to Macedonia. You can’t drink the water… I had one ice cube in one vodka and Red Bull and I was literally shitting like a water barrel for the next week. Normally the bit we would do on stage was: the singer [Pop] would come out and he’d play a Depeche Mode song and I don’t like Depeche Mode ‘cause they’re a bit too gay… So, I’d pretend to get all mad and come over and take a piss on Jimmy. That day in Copenhagen I go over, we do our normal shit and I go up there to take a pee and I’m like ‘What the?’ and all the guys are like, ‘Urgh a ha look he’s gonna pee’ and I’m like, ‘It’s not pee’ and they’re like, ‘Go ahead’ and I’m like, ‘Well alright’ and instead of peeing on him I just laid a biiig pile of diarrhoea in my hand and planted his face in it!" It seems there’s not much that Hasselhoff wouldn’t do if he could get a laugh out of it. He even vaguely considers the prospect of giving a nun a ‘hot lunch’ (browse the Internet for the stomach churning definition) as something which could be incorporated into the live show.

Having been away for the best part of three years, it sounds like the band have some pent up frustrations which they need to release onto the unsuspecting world, yet again. Get down to the live shows for a piece of the action, just make sure you don’t get too close to the stage, unless you too fancy a faceful of Evil Jared’s bum juice.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Dave Armstrong & Redroche Feat. H-Boogie - Love Has Gone

Data Records have been supplying the goods on tap, thick and fast, with a delicious catalogue of summer anthems from artists such as Fedde le Grand and Freaks & Yves Larock. Their latest release continues in the same vein thrusting this disgustingly catchy boogathon from their latest champions right in your face. Featuring lashings of pumping beats, euphoric waves of loveliness and rampant croaking raw vocals that flirt back and forth to create a disco house love affair; so juicy you're gonna need some killer grip on your dance shoes to stop you breaking your neck, slipping on the sweat drenched tiles of clubs across the land. With the catchy chorus reeling round and round in your head you'll be taken on an aural assault course which by the end will have you rolling around in a fit of stupidity wondering what you've just experienced. This is candy coated vocal house perfectly executed.

Label: Data Records
Release date: 12.11.07
Genre: Vocal House

T2 feat. Jodie Aysha - Heartbroken

The largely underground bassline scene has been teetering on the edges of northern curbs for some time now but with T2's debut it looks set to finally thrust the niche sound to a more commercial audience. Already receiving widespread coverage, 'Heartbroken' comprises a repetitive childlike vocal running over some plush basslines and gently lingering drumbeats. There's glaringly apparent garage influences and a sprinkling of R&B, and with a continuous chorus throughout the tune, there's no way you're gonna get this track out of your head in a hurry.


Label: Powerhouse / 2NV Records
Release date: 26.11.07
Genre: Garage / Bassline

Fedde le Grand Interview

Deck hero to the masses

What makes FEDDE LE GRAND so disgustingly popular? Let's hear it from the man himself...

Fedde le Grand became a household name on the dance music scene almost overnight with the huge summer success of his single 'Put Your Hands up for Detroit' in mid-2006. Since then, it seems the man can do no wrong. base.ad caught up with the most requested DJ in the world at the moment, to find out the secret to his infectious hit-making producer skills and how his life has changed over the last year-and-a-half.

For Fedde, his interest in music started very early and the DJing was initially a side job to raise extra cash whilst at school: "I did this little club in Utrecht and it kind of grew from there to a bigger club and a bigger club and I got offered to play all over Holland – it kinda grew until the 'Detroit...' record came along and then it totally blew up." Oh yes, don't we all know that. It seems so far that the quality music Fedde continually manages to produce has sparked an unflailing interest from music fans the world over.

Much of the press has tried to brand Fedde as belonging to one particular genre but he disagrees with a lot of these claims and thinks that this loopholing is for ease of description. He makes it clear, as he somewhat fractiously offers: "You always try and fight against people that wanna box you in. I mean music is just an expression about how you think or feel about certain things, I think it's really bad to try and label someone. I like to just be me and nothing else. I'm not some label or some style". This hints at the possible reason his music has been getting so many of you excited – because it is just infectiously catchy dance music which translates well to both the airwaves and club environments and cannot be confined to any one genre.

Considering Fedde has received so much positive recognition recently, it seems he still has his head firmly on his shoulders and is ever pleasantly surprised by the new successes as they pop along almost like clockwork with each new release. Speaking about 'Put Your Hands up for Detroit', he excitedly exclaims: "I actually never expected it to be a hit and I never expected it to cross over. In terms of 'The Creeps' I expected it a little bit more because it's a vocal track so it's a bit more radio friendly. I mean you never really know – every time you finish a track it's like your kind of newborn child so you think it's great but you never know what other people are gonna say; it's always a bit scary."

The fact that every tune he smacks out is like a ten carat diamond in terms of sales and popularity doesn't explain why Fedde found it so hard to begin with, eventually deciding to set up his own label, Flamingo Records in order to be able to release his material. "We [Fedde and partner Funkerman] started the label because nobody liked these hits. That's the funny thing!...We believed in our product. With the 'Detroit...' record, nobody, at least the labels we sent it to, liked it, so we just put it on our own label and from that point it started to grow and get picked up by other labels until it finally hit the clubs everywhere." We'd love to see the faces of those silly A&R men who turned down the track, they must be kicking themselves in the balls now.

With the realisation that they were onto something and the fact that they have their own label to release material on, Fedde is hopeful that it will continue to enable him to remain completely and utterly artistically uninhibited: "We wanna have the freedom to do what we want and not have to fight with A&R's about what they think is good. A lot of them don't listen to the music, they just listen to your track to see if they can make money off it." This rings apparent in the varied tracks he has released so far. From the floorfiller electro house anthem 'The Creeps' featuring Camille Jones, to the more hip hop soulful vibe of current release 'Let me Think About it' featuring Ida Corr – there isn't much common ground at all.

With a new album set to be finished in January next year and the launch of his own Flamingo clubnight, it doesn't look like Fedde's pure enthusiasm and creativity is about to fizzle out anytime soon either. As he puts it: "At the beginning I felt a little bit pressured but the love for the thing I do got me here so I just try not to change, not to think about what other people think. I just try and make the music that I think is good, it's worked so far so I think it's the right thing to do."

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

These New Puritans - Numbers

Fashionable literary inspired electro-punk collective These New Puritans serve up another corker. This time around some simple booming bass drum action teamed with surf guitar inspired riffs and punchy yelps interspersed amongst ethereal vocals create a recipe which ensures that this is definitely one of our favourite numbers.



Release: 15.10.2007

Roll deep Interview with Target

Bringing grime to the masses via positive moral values

Roll Deep are the type of quixotic grime role models the UK needs right now in light of the surge of violent crime sweeping the nation. In defiance of their badman image they regularly support campaigns to raise awareness on problematic issues. They're back with a new single to highlight racism in conjunction with Love Music, Hate Racism; we spoke to DJ and producer Target, just one of the fourteen strong entourage, to get to the bottom of their ethos.

Target is very clear about the reason behind the struggle to reach a mainstream audience, considering the crew have already been making music for five years: "A lot of people, they don't wanna take on board certain scenes, they hear that it's a negative scene and it takes a lot of time to get those stereotypes outta the way and let people see and hear you for what you are."

Their latest endeavour, single 'Racist People' was actually written two years ago but the band were approached by LMHR after the release of their second LP Rules and Regulations Volume 1, it was the perfect tool to promote the distinct values surrounding the campaign. The tune itself comprises a simple, repetitive guitar strumming, addictively pumping beats and a chorus of "They try say we ain't equal/but we're all here for the same thing/plus we're all bones and skin". A simple, yet hard hitting message, with a video which sees the crew spray-painting a white wall through stencils of the campaigns logo; Target notes that it's "a nice colourful video, it gets the message across without being too preachy or serious".

With this tune receiving widespread coverage, how will Roll Deep retain their integrity in terms of pleasing the underground scene which propelled them into the spotlight initially? "We've always got tracks that the underground would love so we just try and keep it balanced 'cause we don't wanna forget where we came from." Target elucidates.

Since having parted company with Relentless Records after their debut album In at the Deep End the band opted for the DIY approach in creating their own label Roll Deep Recordings. Target is positive about this move: "It's been good – you earn more money per CD you sell for a start! The freedom is there for whatever you wanna do." A new album is in the pipeline, due for release early 2008, plus the band have started up their own clothing range – Shangooli Garments. With all this action going on, you might think with so many members, that there's competition for recognition. Apparently not: "We just keep each other on our toes and if I hear that someone's gone and made an amazing beat that just makes me wanna make one, it just makes you wanna up your levels"

Target is clearly enthralled with their achievements so far: "I've grown up around music, so for me to be able to work, earn money and live from music it's like a blessed."

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Bodyrox and Luciana - What Planet you on?

Thrusting straight in with a big sloppy bitch-smack in the face from Luciana with her incessantly puissant vocals, the latest offering from Bodyrox grabs you by your auditory canals and transports you to an alternate universe. The trademark electro house sound Bodyrox made an imprint with on previous tune 'Yeah Yeah' is still glaringly apparent and brutally catchy. Cheese of the well-matured type is dripping from all orifices on this track but maturity is the operative word here, with the screeches and undeniable attitude that Luciana exudes, ensuring that it is radio friendly in the most respectable sense. Anyone who thought that the duo were just one hit wonders, may need to prick their ears back and do a double take. If repetitive glitchy synths and banging basslines are the order of the day, then serve us up a double helping of this please. We dare anyone to listen to the tune and remain stationary.


Label: Universal / Island Records
Release date: 26.11.07
Genre: Electro/House

Filo & Peri feat. Eric Lumiere - Anthem

Some of you will already be familiar with the distinctly delicate emotionally euphoric vibe to this track, which mixes a driving beat with gently touching and uplifting vocals from Eric Lumiere. 'Anthem' is already being playlisted by many of the top DJs, only testifying further to its genuinely apt title. The heartfelt lyrics and modest guitar strums add to the uniqueness of the tune, giving it an interesting twist, whilst it's sombre opening builds to a crashing trance/techno crescendo. Floorfiller doesn't even begin to describe it. Top notch.


Label: Positiva
Release date: 17/12/07
Genre: Trance

Killswitch Engage @ Brixton Academy, October 3, 2007

Killswitch Engage kick off their European tour at Brixton Academy tonight. With the long wait for them to hit the stage setting in, it's obvious that the crowd are getting restless, incessant chants of "Killswitch, Killswitch, Killswitch" consume the venue. There's an air of excitement that can be felt with the anticipation surrounding tonight's gig.

Search lights flash back and forth as the band hit the stage, a sea of devil horns are all that can be seen of the crowd. Ever the comedian, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, better known as Adam D, runs out in a black cape and boxer shorts, to everyone's amusement. He spends the entire gig up to his usual joker antics, getting countless laughs and posturing at every opportunity. At one point he even shouts to the bodies at the back of the room, who are less physically rampant in their appreciation of the music than the cacophony of enthusiasts being crushed against the bars at the front, "I fucked all your mothers!" A sure-fire way to provoke a reaction, the crowd surge forward, putting all their energies into letting the music devour them.

Tonight we're treated to a miasma of tunes, old and new. Every one of them is received with elation. The musicianship is stellar, with the guitar duets beautifully raw and hedonistic. The band are tight, attacking our ears, track by track, until it feels as if they're about to bleed and fall off. 'Fixation on the Darkness' gets everyone utterly pumped up, the only criticism being, that there's so much action on stage, it's hard to concentrate on what's going on. 'The end of Heartache' is fuelled by emotion, with gasps of excitement as the intro sets in – it's like a metalcore break-up song.

As the band leave it feels as if they've only just begun. How can an hour-and-a-half set have passed so quickly? Luckily, an encore is the order of the day. They return with 'My Last Serenade', only turning it on it's head so that there's a grossly extended guitar solo. The crowd take full opportunity to savour the last few minutes, with hair, horns and sweat flying everywhere. Killswitch are definitely back, and they are undisputedly 100% on top form.

Bobby & Steve Interview

There's still life left in the ol' dawgs yet

Bobby & Steve reminisce about the past and look forward to Christmas

Bobby & Steve have been around the block and back quite a few times having been involved in the dance music scene for over twenty years now. We caught up on some fond memories and found out what's in store for their special Christmas and New Years Eve parties teetering on the horizon.

How's the club vibe changed since the 1980s?
It used to be more of a party. People used to come out and it'd be more about the music and dance. In our day you could see someone drunk and they'd still be on the dancefloor dancing properly. Nowadays it's more money orientated.

Do you miss the illegal 80s warehouse parties you used to play?
Yeah, because they were real. It had a good buzz about it because you didn't know what to expect. You knew you were going out, you knew it could get stopped at anytime but it was an exciting movement to be part of.

The Turnmills party – what can we expect?
It's always a good party because we don't do them monthly anymore; we just do three big parties a year. But they're very special, we get all the old faces out, the vibe is good, everyone loves it and they always sell out. So we're looking forward to that, plus it's the first time we've got Kenny [Dope] playing for us. It's gonna be great, proper Garage City classics special!

What's this we hear about x-mas presents on the night?
We're gonna be giving away free exclusive Christmas promotional CDs mixed by Bobby and Steve to everyone who comes in before midnight.

Will there be fancy dress?
There may be [laughs]. Look out the front door, of course we'll have a Christmas Santa at the front door!

For your party at Herbal, which tune will see in the New Year?
It will be a classic, we always drop a classic every New Years Eve, it'll be something from the disco days. We don't play nothing new on New Years Eve at midnight. It'll either be something from the 60s, 70s or maybe touching the 80s but we haven't confirmed that yet.

Describe your favourite set?
Cor blimey, there's been many! Over the last five years would have to be when we went to Australia for the first time three years ago. We played on a boat for a party, during the day, mid-summer, on an open boat going up and down the Sydney harbour. That was like five New Years Eve's rolled into one I reckon.

Do you ever find it difficult working together being twins?
Nah, we're at an age now where we understand each other's temperament. We've got too much love for each other to let a little quarrel get in the way of anything.

What's been the highlight of your careers so far?
That'd probably be achieving twenty years in the industry. Also ten years on Kiss FM which is a big achievement for us. We have the longest running dance show on Kiss and just probably seeing the world and it's all paid for too!

What's the future for Bobby and Steve?
In a few years time we'll have our own premises.

Where?
I can't be telling you stuff like that yet but look out for Club Zoo!

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Blood Red Shoes - I Wish I Was Someone Better

Kicking straight in with dirty distorted guitar monotones and an up-tempo drumbeat accompanied by punkster chants, Blood Red Shoes have produced yet another treat which thrusts back and forth on a wave of turbulence and never lets up from start to finish. One to shake your glitter bedazzled heads to at every possible opportunity.

Caspa & Rusko Interview

Rub-a-Dub Dubstep

The Dubstep duo tell us how they achieved a raw, live and truthful vibe on Fabriclive's latest mix

Fabriclive are back with yet another new live mix and this time they've pulled in dubstep soldiers Caspa and Rusko. The alacritous twosome recorded and mixed this multifarious offering in a phenomenally snappy three days and we caught them in a chirpy and playful mood as they divulged some of their DJ slash producer secrets.

The dubstep sound typically borrows elements from dub reggae and 2-step, with early roots originally coming from the UK garage scene. For those unfamiliar with the sound, Rusko offers up a wonderfully frank explanation: "It's just basslines innit. Every conceivable way you can make a phat bassline. It's got a lot of energy, it's quite open to interpretation, there's lots of different angles from it but it's always got a phat bassline."

Caspa proceeds to enlighten us as to how they went about putting the mix together: "We just played exactly what was in our bags. There's no marketing about it, there's just tunes on there that we actually play every single set and we actually like." Rusko continues: "All the dubplates still had the dirt scratches on 'em from the night before when we played up in Sheffield. It really is true to form, we mixed it live in an empty club, just straight off the record, crackle and everything. Raw, live and in a way kinda truthful because of that."

Considering the scene is largely projected as very serious-minded, it's refreshing that they chose to include a Catchphrase sample on 'Mr Chips' and also a helping of 'Hammer Time' thrown in for jokes. Rusko clarifies: "A lot of my tracks have got a big element of humour in 'em, they're kind of uptempo, kind of jump-up for the dancefloor. It's not a serious, sit down with your headphones on and smoke a cigar and stroke your beard type of music." In defiance of the serious leanings, it's interesting to find some D&B flexes emanating from the mix too.

The boys are hitting up Fabric next month to showcase their brilliant live set and Caspa explains why this D&B influence will be great to experience live: "We bring the energy that we love in jump-up to dubstep. We love doing it. We're not trying to recreate jump-up at 140 bpm, we're just trying to bring an energy across dubstep. People think that drum & bass has got formulaic and become a dirty word and they don't wanna associate it with dubstep but if the producers are conscious of that and they're aware of what they're doing then just let it be what it's gonna be." Rusko pipes up: "With dubstep being so fast-moving, the set two months after we did the Fabriclive [37] set will be completely different to the CD." We recommend checking it out, just make sure you pack some shock absorbers 'cause they typically turn the bass up so loud that it shakes your body to the root of your spine. Naughty, naughty.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

DJ Nelson Interview

Reggae Reggaeton Sauce

From distribution in barber shops and car boots on the streets of Puerto Rico to one of London's biggest clubs, DJ Nelson tells us how he achieved his status as godfather of the genre

Can you give us a quick explanation of what reggaeton is?

Reggaeton is part of what the whole urban Latin movement is – an evolution of reggae dancehall mixed with hip hop and Latin music.

Why do you think it has it taken so long to break through to a mainstream audience?
We have always been a street movement, so for a guy to come from New York and sign any of us it would be very hard. We have become commercial, but in Puerto Rico people listen to what is hot in the street, not what the major labels try to sell. When we started we didn't have any media outlet for promotion, so we had to do it old school: get out there and sell our music.

Can you describe the typical components that make up one of these parties?
A good reggaeton party in San Juan would have loads of girls, a powerful soundsystem, plenty of alcohol and loads of Perreo (the reggaeton dance). Perreo is what makes the parties hot.

You're DJing at the next event taking place Ministry of Sound, what can we expect?
A couple of DJs from Puerto Rico have told me it's just amazing. Ministry of Sound is the biggest club brand in the world and in Puerto Rico is associated with house music. So when we heard there was a reggaeton party there, we were like 'what the fuck?!' You will get from me a mix of the classics and my new productions. Tracks from Flow la Discoteca (1 and 2) and stuff from my unreleased album Cash Flow. I am well excited; I cancelled my trip to the Grammys to come here, that is how excited I am!

Tell us a bit more about your label Flow Music.

At the time no label would touch us, we were basically banned from the music industry. We created our music, we sold the record ourselves: 50 000 to 100 000 from barber shops and car boots. We did our own concerts and parties, so we had this little business going on, so I decided to give it a try after one of my albums did really well.

You also have a clothing range (Flow Wear) - is clothing a big part of the scene for you?
We are part of the urban movement and as you know style is important. We represent the streets and we should look a certain way. I think that is not only with us but with all music genres.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour

Delicately elegant vocal musings send shivers up your spine when set against a backdrop of gentle acoustic guitar strumming and harmonica all culminating in a beautiful and understated little gem of a song. There's an air of innocence surrounding the sounds produced here with tinkling wind chimes and an uncomplicated drum beat which sails the tune along on a calm, sun soaked sea of melodies.

UnkleJam Interview

UnkleJam Wants You To Stand Up and Be Counted

UnkleJam tell us how to make it in the music industry by rallying against the 'fat cats'

In UnkleJam we see a collective unit of three young men who are utterly clear in their goals, completely comfortable with their unique expressions of being and sharing in a confidence of their sound that's so intense and self-assured, it's almost impossible to disagree with their declarations of creative supremacy. Kicking back on plush velvet antique imitation sofas, we discuss racism, crack addicts, how to 'make it' and of course their perfectly honed musical skills, over a nice warm cuppa.

Tyson 'Tendai' Speede, Bobby Joel Stearns and Adonistar are more than on form today with plenty of offkey responses and political musings. On how the band were first discovered, Tyson offers: "That was easy, we were in a rehearsal and some sweaty man came in the door begging and pleading. He'd never heard of us...he started crying 'Please, please, please give me some stuff.' He was behaving like a crack addict. We gave him some stuff, reluctantly, we got a deal two months later." Sounds easy, but in light of the band's approaching involvement with the HUGO URBAN RULES talent search, we wonder what advice they can give to artists striving to be heard.

Bobby is reflective on the issue: "If there's anything we could say to these people it's that you've gotta have another reason for doing what you do because so many record labels are gonna be extinct in about ten years time, there's no point in chasing it anymore. There's no cutting corners. People have to be wary, don't throw all your talent away to all these fat cats."

Tyson retorts with some pearls of wisdom: "We need to revert back to when The Clash was around, where they actually sat down in their house, made their shit happen, when people used to buy music on the strength of their band being great. This whole Pop Idol stuff – it's just whack! If you're actually good, people will come knockin' on your door begging you to give them something."

UnkleJam are perfectly qualified to be giving this kind of advice having struggled against the record industry to get their music to the masses; something they believe is partly due to their colour and their avant-garde look. When asked about the fact that HMV recently deleted their eponymously titled debut, Tyson states simply that they're "racist!" He believes this also underlies the inherent select focus on safe "morning TV" personalities that the music world adheres to, uttering: "With a single like 'What am I Fighting for' we deserved to be A-list on every single radio station – 'cause we're outta the box a lot of people sit down and they don't get it, people don't like change."

They've called their sound 'electro soul' many times so we ask them to describe it without using this term. Bobby begins, "It's just out of the box", Tyson adds: "Wonderful. Greatest sound on Earth. It's like the Beatles, times ten. The Mona Lisa of Music." The boys have always cited George Clinton, of funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, as an influence, but we wonder where the electro part of their expression stems from. Tyson is frank: "That comes from not knowing how to make music. Electro's easy to make 'cause it's just fall to the floor, it's just piss innit?"

Of their new single 'Stereo' Tyson says: "It's a pop tune, it's easy, that's like a, b, c." For some more clarity, it mixes honey tinged smoothe-mutha vocals atop a background of gently incessant drumbeats and keyboard plonks, with an overall tone of, you've guessed it, electro soul. The seductively hypnotising chorus of 'Can you hear me on your stereo?' runs throughout like a mantra. Their rich and varied sound is down to the fact that as the band were growing up, they were taken all around the world from the America's to Europe and Adonistar describes this beautifully in relation to their creativity: "It gives us an opportunity to taste test from different cultures."And the way they present themselves? He chirps: "Style is more than clothes. What we're about is self-expression." and Bobby finishes: "It's a state of mind."

Looking to the future, Tyson says he wants to become Prime Minister so he gives us a little taster of what we might expect from his political reign: "Abolish all religion. One colour, one people. Everyone hold hands, be friends, be happy. Stop the MOBOs 'cause it's racist. Make music of all origins – MOAO!"

Readers can still apply for tickets to the December 4 gig in London by registering online at www.hugofragrances.com/urbanrules – those lucky enough to be picked will also get fragrance goodie bags and free drinks. We'd say it's well worth the effort!

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah

Matt & Kim, yet another of your bog standard male/female indie two-pieces, try to be different by approaching the genre from a tongue-in-cheek perspective; they fail miserably. Instead, with this single we're subjected to three and a half minutes of unimaginative playground chants of 'yeah yeah' and minimalistically uninspiring Casio keyboard dirges, with drumbeats that could rival Meg White's appalling attempts at musicianship. This is definitely one for the bargain bin – coming soon to an Oxfam shop near you. Dull and utterly pretentious.


Label: Tellé Records
Release date: 12.11.07
Genre: Indie

Mixed by Lisa Lashes - The Very Best of Extreme Euphoria

The Extreme Euphoria collections from Ministry of Sound have consistently marked out the hi-bred standard in terms of hard-hitting beats for ravenous euphoria fans. With The Very Best... Lisa Lashes has popped on board to mix fifty of what she believes to be undeniably the best anthems. CD one offers up proper classics coming in the form of the pulsating, dirty beats driven 'Loneliness' by Tomcraft, closely and rampantly mixed into Joshua Ryan's 'Pistolwhip'. Further along we get Darude's 'Sandstorm'. CD two continues with current floor fillers such as Lisa Lashes' own 'We Came, we saw...', whilst CD three looks to the future with less widely known tracks, and much heavier beats which are sure to set dancefloors on fire in the coming months. What a disgustingly respectable round up of the most extreme euphoria around.


Record Label: Ministry of Sound
Released: Out Now
Genre: Trance/Euphoria

Skream Profile

Crossover Star and Renaissance Man Dubsteppin' to a Maverick Beat

Considering the boy is barely out of nappies, Skream has a long line of achievements to quote already. Aside from being one of the pioneers of the more modern, less dark dubstep sound, in terms of getting it recognised by the masses, he also has quite a few years' experience considering he's been making music since the age of 15. As a teenager he worked for Big Apple Records in Croydon, a place that was quick to pick up on the new sounds coming from emerging artists on the dubstep scene. His 2005 track 'Midnight Request Line' was quickly hailed as "dubstep's most recognisable crossover hit". He hosts a weekly slot on the infamous Rinse FM called Stella Sessions and is about to hit up Electrowerkz and Plastic People. He also comes highly recommended by artists as far ranging as Wiley, the grime maestro, and minimal techno boy Ricardo Villalobos. It'd be rude (boi) not to check him out!

Commix Interview

Dancefloor or Tea Room?

Kings of Eclecticism: Not what you’d usually expect from D&B, COMMIX offer up a unique alternative

Drum & bass duo Commix have produced an eclectic new album which fuses elements from a huge array of genres ranging from fresh D&B beats to ambient coffee-shop chillisms. We caught up with George Levings, one half of the pair, to get to the root of their sound.

Describe the perfect environment to listen to the album in.
We'd like to think really, that you could listen to it over a spliff and a cup of tea but you'd also be able to listen to it in a club environment – although a lot of it's broken up with tracks that you wouldn't really hear in a club but there is an element of dancing to it – I'm just being idealistic really!

What's your favourite track on the album, Call to Mind, and why?
For me I think my favourite track is 'Japanese Electronics'…I just think it's really conceptual, we spent a lot of time working on the different elements of it and making it really techno but sort of soulful at the same time.

Describe your best gig to date.
We played at Womb in Tokyo recently – that was just amazing, everything about it was amazing. The visuals, the soundsystem, the crowd – it was just a real great experience as a DJ.

What's the best thing about playing live?
Watching the reaction to stuff you've done. You might write a track during the day and play it in the evening and it's great if you've done something and it really works on the dancefloor – it's great to see it go off and get a rewind. It's basically what keeps us doing what we do really.

Dream gig?
On a rooftop in South America next to a swimming pool; or on a boat.

Is there a Commix based label in the pipeline?
There is yeah, it's definitely our next big move. We’ve always talked about it and how we could be different to what else is out there. We’ve come up with some really cool ideas for it that I’m not gonna let on about but you can definitely expect that later in the year.

The future for Commix?
There’ll definitely be another album. We’re looking to do a four four techno album. We’re strong believers in reinvention – we don’t wanna flog a dead horse y’know. So we’re just gonna be looking into doing totally different things, working with new and interesting vocalists and trying to be as original as we possibly can.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Serj Tankian @ Astoria, November 22, 2007

Roll up! Roll up! Serj Tankian's in town tonight and he's dressed in a wonderfully smart white suit and top hat which are reminiscent of a circus ringmaster's garb. In accordance with his usually playful manner, Tankian is bursting full of beans and he demonstrates this surge (!) of energy in his enthusiastic leaps and jumps across the stage. The venue is rammed to the walls with a multiplicity of excited onlookers, who are just as excited as the man himself, to be seeing him back on the live scene again.

Current single 'Empty Walls' features very early in the set tonight and there's not a mouth in the room that doesn't spout the lyrics to the chorus out of their thirsty heads with a fascinated and encouraging demeanor. In fact, considering the material he's showcasing tonight from solo album Elect the Dead is relatively new, it's surprising to see that avid fans manage to regurgitate full lyrics to almost all of the songs he plays.

There's quite a restrained and emotional tone to the evening as a whole, where at some points Tankian sits down to his keyboard on stage and croons through a few of the songs with a poignant intensity. Atop this emotional backdrop, there are also moments of intense energy and heavier, pumped up rock flirtations, which ring true to previous form.

As any Tankian fan will know, the man is very heavily involved in promoting political awareness and tonight is no exception; wedged in between each song he has a chat with the audience, throwing out bold statements such as: "All empires are fucking greedy and eventually die" – these are unsurprisingly received to mass applause from his eager followers.

To lighten the mood he serves up a couple of exciting and unpredictable covers in the form of 'Girl' from The Beatles' Rubber Soul album and 'Holiday in Cambodia' by the Dead Kennedy's. The high pitched screeching vocals he adopts for the latter work astoundingly well with the tune and are an indicator of his keen eye for providing a well-rounded and engaging performance.

The evening is a perfect opportunity to highlight the range and skill this talented individual possesses and undoubtedly proves that there is much more to come from this unique and imaginative soul. Critics who were quick to dispel the solo project as a mere poor mans version of System of a Down are proved entirely wrong tonight as we see a set which beautifully demonstrates the quality material Tankian has produced at the beginning of what should become a long and successful solo career. It's all the fun of the fair, and then some.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Popof - Alcoolic

If being induced into a coma via music with repetitively bland, uninspiring beats where you sit waiting for the drop which neglects to ever appear, is your 'thing', then great. The intro begins minimal, with a booming bass drum beat, this continues for almost a minute, then you get a few techno forays in the form of electric bleeps, which sound like someone blowing raspberries. From here, it sounds like Popof has selected a few random sounds from sample CDs and hashed them together, employing no sensical reason whatsoever. Please, stop. Now.


Label: cr2 Records
Release date: 19.11.07
Genre: Techno

Azzido Da Bass feat. Adrian Holtz - So Wrong

Kicking in with the type of uninspiring straightforward beat a production-line attendant would sombrely groove to in the mundanity of their thankless job; accompanied by vocals that can only be described as some sort of ode to Marilyn Manson à la Mechanical Animals; this single spits out a mish-mash of sounds and genres which teeter on the edge of bursting into something bold and brilliant, yet never quite manages it. 'So Wrong' seems to be an apt title.

Label: Luscious Sounds
Release: 01.10.2007
Genre: Dance

The Big Reunion: Twisted Circus @ Butlins Resort, Skegness, November 30 – December 2, 2007

For two weekends this winter, the Butlins resort in Skegness played host to Britain's answer to their very own mini-Ibiza – The Big Reunion: Twisted Circus. base.ad headed up for the second weekend of raucous celebrations and full-on debauchery to check out some scorching DJ sets from the cream of dance music.

Friday night began with a bang as rampant partygoers from all corners of the UK came out to play in huge hoards. In keeping with the Twisted Circus theme, people spared no expense in their elaborate costumes and were decked out in all manner of weird and wonderful clothing, including superhero get-ups and circus animals. Many of the ladies were sporting no more than a bra and knickers and considering the weather was less than warm, with spells of drizzle consuming the grounds, everyone partied with huge smiles on their faces and a positive fun-seeking atmosphere ran throughout the first evening.


Judge Jules hit up the Judgement Sundays stage (one of six put to use over the weekend), appearing in some geeky specs and playing out to a huge and ravenous crowd with his standard floor fillers which were lapped up with hungry chops. On the stage behind him was an extravagant show consisting of hellish stunts, including a bed of metal spikes, motorbikes and evil clowns with sparking chainsaws.


Lisa 'Queen of Hard Dance' Lashes was up afterwards, raising the stakes as she thrusted behind the decks in her huge red stiletto heels and provided a more intense and involved set where interaction with the crowd ensured that everyone braved it to the end and danced their derrières into oblivion whilst watching scantily clad military dancers on the huge stage flex through their perfectly choreographed routine.



The best sets of the weekend however, were saved for Saturday night. After a hard night of partying you might have thought the crowd would be less than eager, having spent all their energy on Friday. Not the case as we hit the Trinity stage to check out DJ Luck and MC Neat where there were so many re-e-winds it was like travelling back in time. Anyone that thought UK garage had bitten the bud would be forced to eat their words as the packed out room writhed with bodies very much keeping the spirit alive. Hit after hit was played out, including 'Sambuca' 'I'm Sorry' and 'Chopper' most of the lyrics of which could be seen dripping from the mouths of everyone in attendance.


Packing a more than satisfying punch with his scuzzy electro breakbeat house offerings, Slipmatt was joined by MC 3Flow on the Helter Skelter stage for an energetic set which never let up. From the opening Slipmatt and Bunter remix of Ida Corr and Fedde le Grand's 'Let me Think About it' there was a pulsating vibe, with hands raised and arms assaulting the air. Slipmatt's set was the highlight of the weekend as he banged out tune after tune of dirty rockin' beats and even chose to take it back to the old skool with a savagely appreciated cheeky play of Baby D's 'Let me be Your Fantasy'. As he wrapped up, staff in the venue found it difficult to move the eager jaw-chewers from their spots, as they refused to accept that it was all over.


Last up, it was off to the Tidy stage to catch Anne Savage as she treated us all to a commercial set of tuneage which was perfectly placed for the masses in attendance. Banging out an Erol Alkan mix of Josh Wink's 'Higher State of Consciousness', followed by Prodigy Vs Pendulum's version of 'Voodoo People' had everyone in state of euphoric shock and excitement, with a few indie chart-toppers from the likes of Strokes and Bloc Party thrown into the mix finishing off a beautifully realised set.

As the weekend drew to a close and the hoards reluctantly vacated their accommodation, it was almost impossible to imagine that the overcast surroundings of Skegness had been the setting to one of the most hedonistic and dramatic festivals of the year. Next year's party can't come around soon enough in our opinion, but we reckon it should be three days because it was all over way too quickly. 'ave it!

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

SE:SA Interview with Serhat Sakin

Uniting Nations

SE:SA talk about their Spicy Oriental Ragga Deee-Lite's

What's the story behind SE:SA?
Producing-wise it’s me, Serhat Sakin; as DJs I team up with my partner and second half of Syke’n’Sugarstarr – Matthias Weber. My partner Matthias and I met first in 1998 when we started our project Syke’n’Sugarstarr. In 2003 we had so many releases that I decided to set up a new project, which I named SE:SA. There were several releases under this moniker with huge response across the board but the current release topped it all.

How would you describe your sound?
We’d say it's funky-ass shaking-electro with spicy oriental influences.

What was the inspiration behind the new single, 'Like This Like That'?
Together with my cousin, we passionately collected Oriental vinyl records from the 1960s and 1970s. While listening to one of these we heard this short sequence which sounded like the intro to 'Groove Is In the Heart' by Deee-Lite. We were extremely inspired to use this idea for one of our productions and combining it with a cool funky groove we finished the track in a very short time. Our friend Mousse T felt that the tune had loads of potential and he subsequently asked the vocalist Sharon Phillips to come and work on a song for the track. We recorded the vocals together and wrote the lyrics with her. We tried to achieve something unique, which stays in your head for a long time. An anthem.

What was it about Sharon's vocals that caught your attention?
We weren't looking for typical cheesy female vocals; we had something in our minds with plenty of energy and this Missy Elliott style 'cause we thought it could perfectly fit to that playback. Mousse T and Erroll [Rennalls] from Peppermint Jam [Records] came up with Sharon and we were impressed by her from the first minute. We never had someone like her in the studio, it's unbelievable how fast she understood what we were looking for. Her ability to perform Ragga gives the record the ultimate touch and we think the result speaks for itself.

Tell us about the other remixes
The range is pretty wide and they’re all very different, as most of them don’t contain the parts from the original mix. Alex Gaudino delivered a bigroom mix, while the guys from Sinden and The Count of Montecristal provided an uplifting electro mix, which is based on very dirty loops. There's a funky R&B version from Dudabeats in the pipeline too.

Explain the concept behind the video
As you can hear in the lyrics it’s about bringing the world together with our music so the video pictures different dancers from different countries. Asian people, European people, Bellydancers. One thing we have to mention though – not every German is wearing the typical Bavarian pants!

What do you plan next?
We will definitely continue releasing under the SE:SA moniker and a follow-up single is in progress already. And – for sure – we’ll tour the world as a DJ-Team: SE:SA aka Syke’n’Sugarstarr!

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Colbie Caillat - Bubbly

The combination of soft acoustic guitar strumming and smouldering croaky vocals set alongside a spot of melodic piano plonking ensure that Colbie Caillat's new single will sit comfortably on the same shelf as every other boring American songstress' who possesses even a vague smidgen of vocal talent. The problem is, it could pass as any of them because there's nothing remotely unique or inspiring about this song, it's just a formulaic rehashing of a tried and tested moneymaking manifesto. Sickly sugar-coated candy in the budget penny sweet sense.

Label: Universal Republic
Released: 24.09.07
Genre: Acoustic/Soul/Folk

Kano - Feel Free

'Feel Free' begins by sounding like your bog standard piano infused pop tune; that is until the dirty ghetto beat drops. Innocent angelic school choir voices collide with Casio keyboards; serene intonations of "la la la" from Damon Albarn; all finished off with the brash and uncompromising intensity of Kano's characteristic rapping. The tinkering piano melodies work alongside the sombre ambience of the school child vocals and whirling beats to produce a tune which wondrously brings together classical leanings whilst managing to grip with a raw urbanised potency that will not fail to impress.


Label: 679
Release date: 10/12/07
Genre: Grime / Rap

Cicada Interview with Alex Payne

Busy Bees...

If you listen carefully there's a summery buzz floating across our airwaves at the moment – the sound of aptly named dance act, Cicada. Equipped with an ammo belt bursting at the seams with a string of successful singles; and an independently released début which sold 15 000 copies, we caught up with keyboard player Alex Payne to see how it all started and what they plan on adding to their already bulging suit of armour.

With influences as broad ranging as Kraftwerk and Prince the band combine electronica, synth, dirty bass, fuzzy guitars and funky beats to culminate in a mish-mash of euphoric and pumping indie/electro/house all finished off with sassy, melt in your mouth, vocals from singer, Heidrun Bjornsdottir. The recent acceptance of music merging polar opposite genres has given Cicada a few pies in which to dip their cheeky fingers. Payne explains "We decided to make an album for ourselves rather than constantly, slavishly following what we thought were the trends and I think that kinda helps with originality. It's a bit like, at least if no-one else likes it, we will!"

People liking their sound isn't something the band need to worry about right now though. Having decided to re-issue their album due to popular demand, they were also plastered across numerous festival line-ups throughout the summer.

It's the live element to their sound which really sets them apart from other electro acts, a revelation which came as a shock: "When you've sat in a studio making electronic music for quite some time, you don't really expect yourself to be playing festivals... But in a festival, I think, because we've got live instruments, it kinda lends itself". Apparently so, according to many an enthusiastic review.

They've never, knowingly, been harassed with the dreaded umbrella-term new rave, which seems to catch any band that mixes live instruments with electronica, in it's sweaty little paws. Alex finds the prospect of such an idea highly amusing and sniggers "I think you're more likely to hear new rave at a drum & bass night than you are at a Klaxons gig."

No chance of a support slot with the Klaxons then? Shame. We can look forward to a special event at Cargo though, "Hopefully that's gonnna be a great gig. We've got a couple of, dare I say it, household name DJs that are mates, who are gonna come down... some new tracks that we're doing, stuff we're working on for the new album... You do gigs in London and as you get bigger... you come back and you can provide more, you're better at playing live and it'll be a better".

It might be a good idea to get your butts down to Cargo to see if he's right then!

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice

Well Deep – 10 Years of Big Dada @ Electrowerkz, November 16, 2007

The prominent Big Dada (imprint of London based Ninja Tune record label) tonight celebrates ten years of pioneering some of the most forward thinking and diverse hip hop across the globe. The line-up boasts a list that any self-respecting hip hop fan would shudder in their boots to have the chance to experience all on the same bill. We have Roots Manuva, Diplo, Infinite Livez, Jammer & DJ Logan Sama, Mike Ladd, Cadence Weapon and many more to sample from.

A bustling queue awaits entry outside Electrowerkz, a venue well known for it's basic necessities approach to clubbing, and a place in which authentic moss growing out of the walls wouldn't be at all out of place. All three areas are open tonight, Jammer & DJ Logan Sama bust out some dirty beats in the middle room, ending with a couple of mash-ups – notably Bodyrox's 'Yeah Yeah' and So Solid Crew's '21 Seconds' which both have the crowd chuckling and shaking their thang.

Then Infinite Livez finishes proceedings in the bottom room with his leftfield avant-gardeisms, aided by DJ Dysu and Bolivia Neutron Bomb. Wearing a huge afro wig, pink sunglasses and neon clothing which includes a pair of garish pink flares, the energy radiated can be felt in the drops of sweat dripping off the stage. Infinite Livez knows how to conduct a crowd with warbling distortion-heavy vocals and they lap it up singing along to the lyrics.

The legend that is Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva pulls the largest crowd tonight secure in the title of Big Dada’s most famous signing to date. As the door policy allows one-in-one-out we’re treated to a wonderfully exuberant performance in the jostling top room. Aside from the more widely known tunes approached during the course of the live PA set, with ‘Join the Dots’, ‘Juggle Tings Proper’, ‘Colossal Insight’ and ‘Movements’ all receiving mass approval, Roots pull out a few rare titbits, notably in the form of ‘Clockwork’ from an old Ninja Tune mixtape. There’s a mass entourage joining Rodney tonight, with freestyle beatboxing pumping the crowd into oblivion.

The one song that’s been on everyone’s lips for the entirety of the set is clearly saved for the closer and as the opening sample to ‘Witness’ oozes out of the stereo with it’s offkey pulsating beat, a dirty grumble consumes the room as everyone sings along. Infinite Livez offers a finishing thought: "I missed most of the acts but I heard we was pretty good". Although that was the case, Roots stole the show tonight and the evening as a whole reinstates the fact that Big Dada has a keen eye when it comes to showcasing some of the most unique and original acts the grime and hip hop scene has to offer.

Apocalyptica Profile

Back to Black

Attacking crowds with a unique version of metal, closing the gap between Metallica and Shostakovich, these dark and broody Finnish boys mix it up with a bit of goth-metal and some classical influences too. Their last album saw guests like Max Cavalera of Soulfly and Sepultura fame, Ville Vallo of HIM and Sandra Nasic of skate punksters the Guano Apes all bringing their skills into the mix. The new album is set to feature some even more exciting talent this time with collaborations lined up from the rawk goddess Christina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), legendary drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer) and Adam Gontier (3 Days Grace). Corey Taylor (Slipknot) features on their latest single, 'I'm not Jesus', which mixes an industrial type sound, interspersed with shouting vocals and a real stoner guitar riff. Dark stuff, so get out your cape and fly along on the breeze that is, Apocalyptica.

Bolt Action Five Interview

Nu-rave is a dirty word

DIY industrial pop could be the music of the future: BOLT ACTION FIVE fill us in on their energetic sound

Supping on a diet of fashion, art and horror films, London based DIY industrial pop foursome (well fivesome if you count Mr Sizzle, the 1980s Japanese drum machine) Bolt Action Five have arrived for your listening and viewing pleasure. Vocalist Dan Nurtha gave us a quick history of the band and proceeded to an irate rant about the nu-rave scene.

Nurtha first met guitarist Tobias Hughes after responding to an advert he had put out to start up a band. Dan knew he wanted to do something musical with his life and expands frankly: "I hadn't been in a band before and I had quite a lot of music written. I can now, but back then, I couldn't really play instruments that well so I knew I had to rope some other people in". And so he did, with himself and Tobias writing a lot of the music and organising their first few gigs. Tobias already knew Mark Meerkat the keyboardist from their shared film studies course, and Ian Galloway was recruited later on bass.

Having been influenced by a never-ending list of varying artists which includes Les Savy Fav and Nine Inch Nails; this could go some way to explaining their somewhat multifarious melange of sounds. When asked to describe their music, Nurtha exclaims: "Basically we're writing pop music, music that's pop structurally and is catchy but at the same time it's heavy and using lots of other influences like dance music and industrial." This is beautifully realised in their first single 'Tree Friend Tree foe' where the 80s keyboard sugar coated synths, alongside a simple bassline, driving beat and incessant screeches produce a catchy pop gem akin to something likely to spring from the minds of Pop Will Eat Itself or Devo.

Considering he mentions dance music in the description, we wonder whether Nurtha has pondered the oft denied and criminally overused umbrella term nu-rave as perhaps one of the numerous cliques they may be associated with? "It just seems like a really cynical move[ment]...I don't like rave music from the early nineties and all that shit. I like colour but I'm not gonna start wearing fluorescent. I mean we never wanted to be part of nu-rave...and now it's on the way out, thank God, we're happy. It's just annoying that the media penned us down as that – We're like 'What the fuck is nu-rave?'...It's not a genre of music, it's an aesthetic and that pissed me off that it became more important than the music."

When asked what makes BAF great musically, we are treated to a playful answer of: "Definitely not our dance moves, that's for sure! We argue a lot so I think the fact that we even produce music in the first place [he trails off] We're pretty productive though. We try and release as much as we can quite rapidly."

We look forward to the next release, which by the sounds of it, should be pretty soon.

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice