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Since his debut release as a teenager, English producer James Holden has remained on the cutting edge of the electronic scene. Following the release of his new DJ Kicks mix, Holden discusses his two years in the wilderness, his current fixation merging electronic and shoe-gaze rock influences and the stale state of the current club milieu. Chris H
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Trevor Jackson has been working in music, art and design for more than two decades. From his early work as The Underdog to his much-vaunted Playgroup project and his now defunct Output label, Jackson’s accomplishments in the music sphere are widely acknowledged. However, the Englishman certainly doesn’t limit his scope to music, and has had works exhibited at the ICA and Guhggenheim while creating album covers for acts like The Rapture and winning several prestigious design awards for his artwork for Soulwax. Chris H
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Having switched on industry tastemakers with a string of singles, videos, radical reworks and infectious remixes, Douster is set to blow up in 2010 as his music and name disseminates to the masses. Sinden has tagged him “Next level", while Diplo acknowledges “[he’s] one of my favourite producers at the moment". Andrew Cotman of Stoneyroads.com investigated whether Douster himself believes the hype in an interview CB labelled as, well, pure sh*t.
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Ahead of his Australia debut, Dublin native Shit Robot spills the beans about his DFA labelmates, his love of techno, James Murphy's dance moves and his long awaited debut LP, which will drop mid-year with guest spots from The Juan Maclean and Alexis from Hot Chip.
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Henrik Schwarz was once a graphic designer making music casually around his work – so casually, in fact, that he only ever worked in the studio on Sundays. Over the past decade though, things have changed markedly for the German producer, as Schwarz is now among the most vaunted European electronic producers, merging funk, soul, hip hop and more exotic global influences with a house and techno sensibility. Chris H
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Roots Manuva gets an offer to drive this interview – ‘I’m quite happy to have this be an open forum’ I suggest; ‘you can drive’ I mention in jest. “You don’t know what my driving is like” says one affable Manuva – and we both break out in laughter. And what follows is a philosophical discussion about the ins and outs of being a musician – and a prophet.
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Minneapolis rap duo Atmosphere’s latest album – their sixth – When Life Gives You Lemons… is touted as their most complete album to date; “recorded in winter and influenced by fatherhood, Slug's storytelling and Ant's lush melodies have never been more poignant.” Unless of course you don’t have children! And really it’s a marked change for MC Slug who’s spent the best part of his career musing about women, a guy who opened his last record with the directive: “they would respect the cock whether or not they believed in it!” Andy C
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These two Helsinki born DJs were destined to be together. Design and creativity it seemed were in their blood from the get go. So what if it was in a slightly unrelated discipline? They made it happen and that’s that. We even get the chance to try and reconcile how a career drawing lines ended up being a career that created them. Confused? Read on.
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What is a DJ if he can't scratch? What is a MC if he can't rap? What is a beat without a live clap? Well I can do it all baby, just like that! Trading off Egyptian Lover’s classic rap, Pase Rock has built a career as an exponent of the four elements of hip hop. As an MC and producer he is published on over twenty labels worldwide, as a DJ he plays non-stop all around the world... Andy C
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With first release tickets snapped up early, the Arabian Prince’s first Sydney performance EVER is shaping up as the proverbial big one. Best known as a founding member of N.W.A. – with Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E – Arabian left the group after the release of Straight Outta Compton to produce acts like girl rap originals JJ Fad in the late 80s through to Rye Rye and M.I.A. currently and release as Professor X. The Arabian Prince performs a DJ/MC throwdown this Saturday 26 September at Oxford Art Factory alongside Def Wish Cast, James Dela Cruz (from the Avalanches), Stolen Records, tha Fizz, Cassette and Typhonic. Yeah! Andy C
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Amidst the detritus of ‘blog house’ and Daft Punk ad endum, one man stepped up to challenge the status quo and champion the vintage qualities of disco, soul and psyche. A Parisian named Pilooski who in 2008 has almost single-handedly reinvigorated the club scene with his evocative edits and private press EPs. En route to Australia for the first time, local aficionado Andy Campion caught him in the departure lounge at Charles de Gaul airport for a rare yet candid interview – his only Australian interview...
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I get a raspy Jamie Lidell down the line in a Belgian hotel room the day after his first show touring his new material - an unannounced gig cum showcase of the ten songs that are about to be shipped as his new album ‘Jim’. As a longtime fan of Jamie Lidell the techno producer, I first got to interview him on the eve of his second release on Warp ‘Multiply’. At that time he told me he’d only just discovered his singing voice; he was staying in an old Berlin studio and suggested that environ had not only helped him discover his vocal talents – but bring them out. Andy C
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DJ Benzi’s catalogue of releases is impressive, in fact almost too impressive for a guy who is still a virtual unknown – involving some of the biggest names in the rap and party/club music game. And while I’m not one for pragmatic ‘so how did you get here?’ line of questioning, in the case of a guy who in a little over a year has worked with Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Diplo, Lil Jon and The Clipse, I’m ready to hear it... Andy C
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Three years in the making, Sydney producer Jamie Lloyd has finally released Beware Of The Light, the follow-up to his acclaimed debut LP, Trouble Within. Undoubtedly influenced by time spent in Berlin between the releases, Beware Of The Light is more dancefloor-oriented than its predecessor, and Lloyd affirms this was very much a conscious decision; in fact, he was initially planning to make the album even more of a club LP! Chris H
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Life for the Metronomy crew started in a few different ways – and has evolved since. Jo explains how he was a humble drummer in his teens but always just wanted to do something on his own. “Actually, I was all about getting a computer and having a bit of a stuff around really” he says, with the humdrum of The Metro chugging away in the background.
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I am a party boy and I go out almost every night – but at the same time I don't do drugs and I drink way less than what people think (or maybe I’m now immune to alcohol!?). Generally I know when to stop, like I reach a point when I think “I’m gonna split”… then I’m back at my hotel room, whether it be alone or in good female company, taking a bubble bath with a glass of French. Andy C
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If you blinked you probably missed them, but Seekae were one of the hottest new bands to come out of Sydney last year. The three piece’s debut “The Sound of Trees Falling on People” is a lush 85 minutes of lo-fi electronica that ebbs and flows with real subtlety and intelligence. Having found its way to the coveted album of the week slot on FBi in the early part of December, they launched it to a jam-packed Hopetoun just in time for Christmas. And then, on January 3rd, they played their first and last gig of the year. For the time being at least, Seekae are no more. Or are they? James Parker investigates
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En route to Parklife, one of the most potent music makers and mixers of our time, Spank Rock producer Armani xxxhange, lifts the lid on making a mixtape - what'll get knocked back, what won't, work arounds, "hits", what he’s packing and where he's heading... in conversation with tha Fizz aka Andy C
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Against the back drop of the bland aesthetic that so often accompanies the Northern European techno scene, Justus Kohncke has real charisma - not to mention that German quirk that made this interview, call it a conversation, a pleasure. tha Fizz interrupted Justus from his recording session in the South of France with Irmin Schmidt from Can and the amiable German proceeded to spill some light on the many different facets of his career thus far... Andy C
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Booka Shade are touching down in Sydney again for the Stereosonic festival in November. Coffee Boy went searching for the backstory on the Get Physical label founders and came up with this now infamous interview. Coffee Boy
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Peret Mako’s album, The Devil In The Details, has caused quite a stir since its release on Future Classic recently. Having produced for Alphatown Collective and Little Beasties and remixed Swag, Peret has always been renowned amongst Sydney’s music cognoscenti, though prior to the release of his album he has, in his own words, been “isolated through work and family life”. However he has certainly resurfaced with an album that is an enchanting blend of layered electronica that evokes some of the best material from the Warp label Chris H
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Rick Bull, aka Deepchild, is one of the most sincere and passionate figures in the Australian music scene, as well as being arguably our most recognisable dance export. Having recently returned from a six-month stint abroad that has seen him play alongside many of dance music’s biggest names and at some of the world’s largest festivals, Rick is home for the summer and as willing as ever to push and support quality electronic soundscapes that might not necessarily conform with standard templates. Chris H
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I was having significant difficulty interpreting some of the things 22 year-old talent Robert Taylor Jr. aka ‘DJ Sega’ was saying to me in his thickish East Coast accent. At first I assumed the long silences and slurring were an annoying bi-product of Sydney to US phone delay – but then I realised: the guy was toasted. Nicely toasted. No… fabulously ripped! Lucy
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"No!" Mr Oizo responds when I ask if he has an opinion on the so-called 'nu disco' scene. And with the brevity of that response I&'m taken back a decade to when I first interviewed him, with 'Flat Beat' atop the UK charts. Yet while succinct, his answers to that Q&A were elucidating, and called me on, into a vortex – triggering a mild curiosity that with each encounter has grown into some kind of perverse obsession. I am not alone. Andy C
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First things first, Erol wants to get one thing straight. This isn’t a job; it’s not a career; rather on the contrary. “I really feel that this is actually quite natural. I never actually tried to do something with music and I felt lucky with the way it has happened. I kind of fell into the music slipstream; I share the love of music that many people do. But I don’t actually know how I got to this point.” Could it be a mistake?
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Carl Craig is the key player in Detroit techno's second wave, recording under a number of aliases to release innovative ambient, techno, breakbeat and future jazz sounds. We caught him down a scratchy phone-line while on holiday with his girl in Prague Andy C
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The only thing I didn’t want to ask Ralf Hütter was his age – but this German visionary has been toying with music since the late 1960s, so that should give you some idea. He is a softly spoken, humble man – yet someone who can rightly take a lot of credit in spawning musical movements over the ages that know no boundaries. He explains: “well, when we started in the late 1960s, we worked on improvisational music. As you can imagine, we couldn’t perform in the classical or rock fields in Germany because these areas were dominated by big English or American groups..."
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The ‘relaxation area’ of Darlinghurst Fitness First is a rather bizarre location for a press conference. When I received the initial press brief I naturally presumed it was a joke (my standard approach to all things work-related) and that the actual interviewing would take place in a nice cool air-conditioned office with a water fountain and a lolly jar. Chris H
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