Our pals over at Data Transmission have kindly given us two pairs of tickets to give away to some lucky readers to see WiLDKATS, Alexis Raphael, Waze & Odyssey and more at the next DT party at East Village in Shoreditch on Saturday 3rd March.
All you have to do is answer this simple question:
What famous song intro does ‘Perpetrating’ by WiLDKATS sample?
A. Tupac – California Love
B. N.W.A – Express Yourself
C. Snoop Dogg – Gin & Juice
Just email your answer to info@wearenotarockband.comwith ‘Data Transmission Competition’ in the subject line. Closing date for the entries is Tuesday 28th February @ 12pm. Winners will be picked at random and notified by email.
WiLDKATS - Perpetrating (snippet)
The whole night looks pretty great, as the DT guys tell us,
“Causing rumblings in the basement for us are emerging deep house luminaries WiLDKATS, a three headed American-Scottish disco-synth crew, fusing 80s funk, deep and dubby basslines and NYC disco undertones in their riveting sets. Fellow Hot Creations label-mate and Creche resident Alexis Raphael will be further demonstrating his talents, spinning a unique blend of house, disco and techno.
Supporting these two delvers are shadowy, elusive duo Waze & Odyssey, fusing the sounds of future garage with house sensibilities and slow mo jams, while New Talent favourite and burgeoning two-step distorters CSY & Stripes are also on the bill to show you why they’ve got everyone from A Trak to Tittsworth in a tizz over their stepping, immediate and swelling sound. We also invite rising London name and dance music aficionado Charlie Tarr to warm up the plates for our tightly packed-in night.“
Earlybird tickets are only £5 but will go up to £7 before the night and cost £10 on the door. Check the Facebook event for more info.
This Saturday sees LA’s Culprit Records head honchos Droog go up British partner in crime Inxec in a special back to back set at one of our favourite London warehouse parties, Potty Mouth. Completing the bill is Danish deep house master Noir and rising Polish stars Catz N Dogz and We Are Not A Rockband’s very own Hazmat; giving what must surely be the most hotly anticipated international lineup across the capital this weekend.
And if just the mere thought of it all wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, Droog have only gone done a Potty Mouth warm-up mix! With tracks from Subb-an, Gavin Herlihy and Amirali, you’ll be popping on your dancing shoes super-early out of sheer excitement. Tracklisting after the jump.
Droog – Potty Mouth Warm-up Mix
Potty Mouth will be from 9pm to 6am in the heart of Hackney at Netil House in London Fields. Tickets are on sale over at Resident Advisor.
Chances are, if you download a lot of deep house podcasts, you’ve already heard Toky. The Hot Since ’82 remix of his track About You is currently making itself known to all and sundry after appearing on Noir’s latest ‘Recommends’ podcast. No surprise there really as it’s due for release on Noir’s label on 30th January. There is another remix by hot tip Fur Coat but it’s the Hot Since ’82 version that’s the big draw here. Pushing what seems to be January’s sound, of deep, down-tempo melancholic house; the remix is the type of track you might miss first time round but then you hear it again and say oh hey what’s that? Then maybe you’ll hear it another time and this time it sticks in your mind. With haunting androgynous vocals coupled with a dirty and deep bassline; it’ll be a 4am killer on the dancefloor for when everyone’s ultra-smashed.
Toky – About You (Hot Since ’82 remix)
Toky’s certainly set for big things this year despite only getting into dance music production last January after a live session with fellow Italian Karm from Tale Of Us. To be on Noir’s label, remixed by two very upcoming acts *and* gained such attention in a year is staggering. And if that weren’t enough, he’s already formed an ace side-project called Superhero with Italian DJ and producer Leon. There’s only a preview available of their new track Drugs And Choices but it’s fucking ace so do check it out. Dry humour laces spoken word lyrics over a sparse beat creating a surprisingly addictive little number.
Superhero – Drugs And Choices (preview)
It’s actually the first track on Toky’s recent Purp & Soul podcast which is well worth a listen and a download. Definitely keep your ears out for more from this man.
Over the last few months the internet has been ablaze with clubbers trying to track down a mysterious song that, by all accounts, has been doing the rounds since at least October. Championed by Damian Lazarus and Art Department; the whole unknown quantity of the situation has sent these seekers into fever pitch. Armed only with the lyrics “I just wanna make you high. Cocaine, ketamine…” and an unquenchable desire to get their mitts on this tune, they’ve been posting all over forums, YouTube, Soundcloud and Resident Advisor; anywhere they thought they’d get an answer.
And now they’ve been sated. Turns out it’s the track that’s bound to propel Venezuelan duo Fur Coat into dance music’s collective consciousness. Sergio Muñoz and Israel Sunshine grew up “streets apart… in their hometown of Caracas” before meeting at a party in 2004, joining forces to make music and subsequently catching the ears of Crosstown Rebels boss Damian Lazarus.
Featuring Cari Golden on vocals, ‘You And I’ is scheduled for released on Lazarus’s label sometime just before everyone’s favourite Miami-based jaunt Winter Music Conference. With only a few remixes and tracks floating about, it’s great they have everyone so excited without anyone really knowing yet who they are.
The track is already massively mega-hyped but even now its identity is known it’s still proving a slippery beast to listen to at home with the only versions on the internet consisting of shoddily recorded-in-nightclubs-on-my-iphone affairs. Luckily for you lot Art Department foresaw this problem and decided to film their set at recent Mexican festival BPM in *gasp* decent quality. Oh and guess what the opening track is? Enjoy.
If you’re looking for an education in what’s hot right now, look no further than the incredible Noir Recommends podcasts. They’re some of the most listened to deep house podcasts that you will find and are always jam-packed full of serious tunage.
His latest podcast, Episode 9, landed yesterday. The first half is very deep, but picks up after about 30 mins when H.O.S.H’s incredible ‘What Do You Want Me To Say‘ drops.
Stay tuned for more podcasts in this series as and when they arrive.
Noir is playing at the next Potty Mouth – cannot wait for that! Get tickets here.
O hai epic Potty Mouth line-up. What’s that you say? Inxec has coaxed his LA cohorts Droog over to London town to play with him? And Polish duo Catz N Dogz are in town playing a rare live set? And somehow Danish DJ and producer Noir has been thrown into the mix too??
It’s no surprise that clubbers have been going mental for Droog Vs Inxec‘s tech-house track Westbound. It’s got a dark tone to it with a wonderful build-up that will excite both experienced ravers and those new to the scene. But it’s one of the more deliciously darker track from the Westbound EP, Unhinged, with its melancholic female vocals that’s really what 2012 is going to be about.
Inxec Vs Droog – Unhinged
Catz N Dogz are amazing DJs and with a whole box of tricks from their own record label, Pets Recordings, to delight crowds with, seeing them play out is a treat that London get’s its fair share of (luckily). But how often do we get to hear them play their own stuff? This is no doubt a problem that has been eating away at you for some time and thank god for Potty Mouth to the rescue. Expect choice picks from their latest album Escape From Zoo, maybe even a bit of their recent side project with Soul Clap on Hypercolour’s off-shoot label Glass Table, the wonderfully named Clapz II Dogz (if we’re really lucky), and most certainly recent tracks like Jon Bovi.
Catz N Dogz – Jon Bovi (snippet)
Aside from being one half (the music half) of one of the biiiiigest hits from last year, Noir & Haze – Around, Noir also has one of the most downloaded deep house podcasts going. And when you consider how many DJs and producers are constantly churning out podcasts for our ears, this really is no mean feat. Couple that with the fact that HIS tracks regularly pop up on all those other podcasts and you know you’re in for something a bit special.
Noir – We 2 / Are 1 (snippets)
Get your tickets NOW for the very next Potty Mouth before they all sell out.
Potty Mouth Sat 4th Feb Secret warehouse, e. London 9am – 6am £8 – £15
Even if you don’t recognise Iranian-born Amirali from his spectacular opening track ‘My Way’ on the recent Crosstown Rebels compilaton Get Lost 4, one thing is certain: his style of melancholic house is most definitely going to be punctuating your year. His latest track Beautiful World has been popping up on Rebel-related podcasts and mixes, and should be known to hardcore Damian Lazarus fans at the very least. The seminal label describe the track as:
“Laced with the gothic sound of Depeche Mode colliding in the future with the spawn of Art Department and Underworld at Burning Man’s Robot Heart, the original cut of ‘Beautiful World’ is a seductive, space-age concoction of weird and groovy magnitude. Driven by bass swagger and imbued with an air of cinematic harmony, the penetrating vocal injects a gothic pop sensibility and marks out Amirali as the new voice in dance music. In this near epic package, the song is given cubic dimensions from a pool of current world-class talent.”
And one of these world-class talents is none of than Rebel favourite Deniz Kurtel who has remixed the track and slowed it aaaaaaallll down and given it a bit of a disco vibe. Both versions are worth treating your ears to.
Amirali – Beautiful World
Amirali - Beautiful World (Deniz Kurtel remix) – snippet
Beautiful World by Amirali is released on Crosstown Rebels on Saturday 28th January 2012
Rarely has a party been so eagerly anticipated as Hot Natured first ever London Party this New Year’s Day. With a scramble for tickets resulting in second-hand ones fetching £60 and more, leaving some smug, some out of pocket and some bitterly disappointed. It’s great to see the boys reap the benefits of their obvious talent and hard work, but such insane popularity brings obvious problems for the more discerning clubber. So any negativity surrounding the event are in no way a reflection on the Hot Natured crew themselves, as the main source of any upset was the crowd itself. It’s a perverse fact of the scene that mainstream success can bring dickheads in droves.
After feeling fairly ancient during Art Department a few weeks previous at Return To The Future, it became clear that Hot Natured would be more of the same. The youth of the Home Counties out in force. Fresh-faced, barely out of sixth-form children. Topshop cloned girls slathered in fake tan and reality-tv-star-style fake eyelashes grinding against shirtless chavs in a packed sweat-pit. Not normally my cup of tea but the music being spot-on helped to compensate.
The queue outside the venue was unreal but expected. Stretching down the road and around the corner with people complaining they had barely moved 10 meters in 45 minutes; some of whom were not the type that needed any encouragement towards agitation. Arriving inside around midnight we just caught the end of Miguel Campbell‘s set, which he predictably but happily finished off with his smash hit ‘Something Special’. We headed to the bar where a round of drinks (one rum and coke and 2 bottles of water) set us back a whopping £15. It was already fairly buzzing by this point and the thought of the sheer amount of people still in the queue was a slight point of concern.
Whilst Russ Yallop and Richy Ahmed both smashed it; it was clear everyone was extra-hyped for Maceo Plex. By 2am Pulse was packed and as man of the moment Maceo took to the decks, the whole place went wild. Busting out banger after banger, including the wonderful ‘Stay High Baby’, he would have undoubtedly had the whole place dancing their socks off had there been room to actually do so.
Again, whilst the lack of dancing room was a shame, it’s surely testament to the incredible rise in popularity these artists have all experienced this year. It’s always going to be tough going when you have a bill packed full of amazing acts and only a limited space. Thoughtfully the DJ booth was filmed and the footage of the gang having fun and swigging whisky was projected all around the club, both behind the bar and in the wonderfully decorated second room full of seats and the obligatory lit-up Hot Natured sign. In fact, despite being a total sweat-box, a lot of thought had clearly gone into the venue which is great as it was a last-minute change from the previously organised location of The Hub in Hackney Wick. Thought had even gone into the look of the main room which was full of, yep you guessed it, palm trees. The lazer light projection was out of this world (everyone loves a good lazer) and there was even an outdoor area with sofas to accomodate non-smokers needing to cool-down without passively smoking. In fact, the only downside to the venue was the unisex toilets. The last thing you want to see whilst weeing as a chavvy face leering over the top of the door at you (fyi this actually happened).
After seeing Art Department DJ, we were excited to see them perform live and were not disappointed. Kenny sang live over vocal tracks, creating a haunting sound with new track Touch Me Gently. Many ravers were singing along, eyes fluttering in ecstasy and the atmosphere was unbeatable.
By 4:30 it was time for Hot Natured themselves to come on and they played a fairly intense set, certainly more intense than any recent podcast or mix. Whether this is because they were expecting everyone to still be awake from last year, as one might expect from hardcore ravers that hit up a massive night on New Years Day, but the place was definitely thinning out by about 5am. Perhaps when you’re all in different dimensions it can be difficult to connect and some of the crowd just weren’t quite tuned into the atmosphere Jamie Jones and Lee Foss were trying to achieve.
All in all the night was good and bad in equal measures. I’m sure everyone present would without a doubt happily see any of the acts live again but in a smaller, more intimate venue with perhaps less youngsters. To give you an idea of the general attitude and age of the average person there I’ll leave you with this little overheard gem…. “Jamie Jones is 30! Can you imagine still doing all this at HIS AGE?!? He should be settled down with two kids by now.”
As he’s due to hit our shores early next year, we asked Israeli-born, NYC-based DJ and producer Elon to spread a little early Christmas cheer and share with us his top tracks for December. Fan of underground techno, deep-house, tech-house and the like? You’ll be mighty pleased with his picks then! Don’t say we don’t spoil you….
Berlin-based Aquarius Heaven is no stranger to a sexy tune. After moving to Paris in 2005 and hooking up legendary French act dOP, the ex-reggae and dancehall singer broke into the world of dance. His last release Can’t Buy Love, on Wolf + Lamb, was the type of track you could get obsessed over. With a low-down groove and hilariously shocking sexual lyrics, it was one of this autumn’s biggest tracks, featuring on both Visionquest’s recent Fabric 61 Mix and Art Department’s Essential Mix.
Latest track Stop is accompanied with a very very sexy video. It’s a good tune but could definitely benefit from a filthy little remix or two to give it a bit of oomph.
All tracks that feature on this site are meant to be used as samples only. If you like what you hear, please support the artist by buying their music and merchandise (retail links are provided in each post), go mental at their shows, and tell all your mates about them.
If you want us to blog about you, if you have any questions, requests, recommendations, or if you just want to say hi, feel free to drop us a line: info@wearenotarockband.com
Alternatively, if you are an artist or represent an artist and you would like us to remove your music just say and we shall do so no questions asked.
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