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  • Interviews

    • Frantic Benz
      Hi Luke! How has 2005 been for you?
      Hi mate, 2005 has been an exciting year for me so far. I've been made resident for the Saturday party 123 and for the mighty Addiction, which I'm chuffed about. Through Addiction I've had sets in Ibiza various nights around London and have just recently played the Heat voyage to Germany which was a blast. 
      What was your proudest achievement?
      My proudest achievement would have to be my track Solar Flare. I spent 3 solid days in my studio writing this and then took it to Nick Rowland who engineered and mastered it for me. I'm not going to big it up too much because I don't want to come across big-headed but if you like trance on the harder tip then I'm sure you'll love it!
      It's been signed to Addiction Digital and will be available for download from 1st of January along with another track of mine, Blinded by the Truth.     
      What's going on at Addiction, the free party you are a resident for?
      As you have probably heard the Addiction Digital label was launched, so a lot of time has gone in to that. It has been well worth it though since from the word go it been a huge success.
      Well the parties are finished for the year but Addiction is back in January as usual on the 1st and 3rd week of every month. The line ups we have in store too are amazing. There are 3 other big projects to but you'll have to wait and see what that's about
      How did you become a resident there in the first place?
      Well I knew FunkyFranky (Andy T's girlfriend and Addiction resident) from when I was about 13 and didn't see her for years, then she randomly popped round my house one day and saw I was into DJing. I sent her a demo and then Andy called me. I started going out with them and all became good friends. This was before Addiction was even started. Then one day he asked me to be resident. Bit like Sliding Doors really!
      What would you realistically like to achieve in 2006?
      Well been setting up a studio over the past year and put all my spare time in to that. I would love to become a respected producer and quite an established DJ, and play Ibiza again
      You will be playing for Blast vs Convergence at Hidden in South London this Saturday 10th December. How did this booking come about?
      Well got a phone call from Elvis from Frantic who is a good mate of mine from old too and he asked if I was available to play. So I said yeah of course!
      Have you had a chance to check out the new venue yet?
      Tell you the truth I've never been. But I heard it's a quality venue
      In fact, how often do you go clubbing outside of your DJing commitments and where do you go?
      Well used to go out as much as I can but lately I've been working so hard in the studio I've kind of stopped going out. Once I've got my production to a good standard then I'll be out like bells on fire
      What makes up a typical Luke Warner set? Which producers and labels can be found filling up your box on a regular basis?
      Tunes that are doing it for me at the moment ummmm - where shall I start.
      Well obviously my 6 tracks, Solar Flare, Blinded by the Truth, Vengeance, Deception, Feel's Good and Move ya Body which was a collaboration with the one and only gods gift, Dave Mac.
      I have the privilege of having all the upfront tunes from Addiction Digital and they are all fantastic especially Andy T's tune Intelligent Groove which is out now for download.  I was handed two CDs form Andy the other day with a tune called My Destination by Aftershock which will be out on the 1st of Feb and one called It Picks Me Up by Rich C and Barry Diston which will probably be out in March. Also a tune from Olly Perris called Pss-21 and a tune from Ashley James called Hunted which will be out on the 1st of Feb as well. These are wicked and well worth checking.
      Also loving Justin Fry - Free You Mind at the moment.
      This is what I'll be playing on Saturday it will be driving and very uplifting.
      As for producers, there's loads but a few to name are me J Alf Bamford, MDA & Spherical and Nick Rowland     
      Can you play warm-up sets as well as peak-time slots or do you feel you are better adapted for one or the other?
      Well I play Trance, Hard Trance and Psy-trance so I can adapt but I mainly like to play quite hard so I can push my own tunes and let them be heard.
    • Frantic Benz
      So you are now a firm favourite with the UK Hard Dance crowd. Did you think that you would ever reach such a status in this country when you first played here?
      I would have never thought that I could reach this far when I had my first gig at Logic Summer 2000! I have to say that I'm really touched and grateful about how great the crowd, promoters and other artists have been with me in UK! It is really hard work for Finnish DJ to reach status in UK and I definitely wouldn't be here without your amazing support.
      Who is responsible for helping you to achieve this level of success in the UK?
      There is a lot of great people who have helped me during these great years and without the amazing support from UK hard dance crowd I would never be here, but I will always remember and respect Rubec, Nadya and David from Logic who took the risk to book me first time to UK and it was like a dream come true when they asked me five years ago to be their resident DJ for Logic!
      My biggest paragons in music; Adam and Les from legendary Lab-4 have given me so much support many years and without their music I would have never started to play hard dance music 10 years ago. The biggest responsible and credit goes to my lovely manager Kym Newman from Queen Of Clubs management and she is definitely the strongest and most hard working queen in the universe!
      The last two years have been the most important ones and there are promoters like Will Patterson from Frantic who have trusted in me and given me a chance to work hard for getting this far. My gigs at Frantic Hard House Academy have had enormous pushing impact in my career!
      Also continued support from my friends in Nu Energy Collective, Electronica Exposed, Tidy and all other organisations I have been working with have made everything possible and my dreams come true!
      Have you producing any tracks lately?
      I just released my third vinyl single Proteus EP from Finnish Teflon Bullet label and at the moment I'm working with remixes for Finnish Industrial/Metal bands. The first remix for band called Turmion Katilot (Finnish name) is already done and it's like a crossover between industrial and hard NRG/dance! I'm really excited about it and I have already played it few times and it has worked really well with the crowd. I have also been in studio together with Carbon Based and we will release few collaboration tracks in start of next year.
      We hear you had a bit of a nightmare trying to get to your last gig for Frantic at Hard House Academy's 5th Birthday - what happened?
      Yes it was unforgettable night with unbelievable bad luck! HHA 5th Birthday would have been one of the highlights in my career and I was really looking forward to the gig and being part of the Frantic and Laboratory spectacle!
      I had a support gig for The Prodigy in their Finland part of the world tour at a massive concert/sport hall on the same night here in Helsinki. It was a huge respect to do the support gig for Prodigy. My flight to the UK for HHA was after the gig at Prodigy concert. After the gig when I arrived to the airport in Finland there was a nightmare in front of my face; my flight to UK was cancelled because the bad weather and some kind of airline problems and worst of all because it was the last flight to UK there was nothing to do! I felt really bad and sad and I still do because it would have been one of the greatest nights in my life to be there with all of you!
      Well at least you have a chance to make up for it! November 26th sees you playing at SeOne London for Frantic Brings U More. How were your previous experiences playing in this venue? Did it seem like a club which is very different to most others?
      SeOne is very unique venue! I really love the underground kind of atmosphere there and it's great with all its different rooms and halls! It provides a really good opportunity to offer different kind of music styles and I have had some of my greatest gigs and nights in UK there. My roots are very deeply in underground because I use to run a lot of underground warehouse parties with my friends in Finland many many years ago. SeOne reminds me and gives me the same great pure rave and clubbing feelings that we all have of course still nowadays but what we all experienced first time when we were young!
      What has impressed you most about Frantic events?
      The pure professional and firm touch in this very unsteady music scene! Frantic is one of the most reliable brands and event organisers in the whole world. Always when you go to play to their events you can be 100% sure that everything is state of art technically and the crowd is the best you can get in whole world.  I think UK should be very proud of Frantic!
      Is there anything on a similar scale to Frantic where you are from in Finland? A regular, large-scale event?
      No, unfortunately not. Finland and Helsinki where I'm from is still pretty much in stone age comparing to UK even we have good parties occasionally.  The scene in Finland is very small comparing to UK and there are only 5 million people in whole country. Hopefully some day the dance scene will rise bigger in Finland. 
      Are there generally many multi-arena events in Finland or are the events generally scaled down?
      The events in Finland are generally scaled down but we have few good multi-arena events like Laserpoint, Pacificue, Labyrinth and Scandinavian's biggest dance music festival Koneisto. These kind of events only appears about two times a year. Well.. I have to say Koneisto festival ain't as good as it used to be anymore because it's nowadays more about jazz and a..J
      What's the best thing about the UK?
      I think the best thing about UK is your great and very rich music culture generally! People and artists are very open eyed and always up for new things! And of course you have the best and biggest hard dance scene in the world. There is no other scene like in UK!  
      And the worst?
      English breakfast is very strong. I can't eat so much on the mornings
    • ClubTheWorld
      Crowning four years of hard dance hedonism on 12th November, Tasty has confounded the doubters ever since their first event at Vauxhall's Crash but never more emphatically than through truly breaking hardcore to the London hard dance scene. When Billy Bunter first introduced hardcore to Tasty's hard dance paradise in the Mass third room, the idea was almost taboo amongst die-hard Tasty followers. Many were dubious, others curious but few realised the impact it would have, both on Tasty itself and the London hard dance scene at large. Nearly two years on and the 160 bpm mayhem of the Hyperzone is a roaring success, commanding legions of fans who attend Tasty purely to stomp, smile and sweat to their favourite hardcore beats in the capital's most havin it party atmosphere. For their landmark 4th Birthday, then, what better way to celebrate than by inviting the groundbreaking act that has been so instrumental in building new musical bridges between hard dance and hardcore through their accelerating PA? However, never playing by the rules, Tasty haven't invited the Nu Energy Collective to perform their standard hard dance into freeform rollercoaster, instead they keep things fresh, upfront and exclusive by showcasing a 100 % hardcore from the mighty Nu Energy Collective full of unreleased material, special hardcore edits and 160 bpm madness. Will the Tasty massive be able to hold the pace? We questioned the Nu Energy Collective's K Complex, founding member of the PA and the primary Nu Energy Collective engineer, to find out.
      Is the PA at Tasty's 4th birthday celebration the first NEC hardcore PA at a London event?
      Well actually no, we did one for Frantic presents More this time last year in the Freeformation hardcore arena that we hosted and it absolutely went off! We're lovers of all hard music so the nature of our PA is to move progress through all of it but it really is a pleasure to just belt out the hardcore for a full hour of power every now and again!! Me and Kevin have been making some awesome collaborations (wait for Suck My Rock - rave hardcore meets heavy metal madness!!) plus Sharkz is on fire right now so there's it really couldn't have come at a better time!!
      You're lauded for converting the die-hard London hard dance heads onto the more energised sounds of the Nu Energy label and the freeform style it has pioneered. Do you think your hardcore PA could go one step further and have people wandering in from the main room to be blown away by full-on party hardcore or are the barriers already coming down?
      Definitely! Pure hardcore PA's give us the chance to air tracks that we might not play on our hard dance shows- we always try to push the boundaries of what we play- and this party's gonna be no different!
      As the PA has risen in stature over the two years it has become the biggest PA on the hard dance circuit, conquering the dancefloors of Frantic and the Tidy Weekender in the process. But which hardcore gigs have stood out the most and do you hope to raise the PA's status within hardcore to match the stature it holds at hard dance events such as Frantic?
      Recently it has to be our album tour night at Hardcore Heaven at Bristol Academy- it's a wicked venue for a party and the crowd were absolutely luvin it! In terms of raising our status in Hardcore of course we'd love too- in comparison we have very few Hardcore bookings- a lot of ravers don't have any idea that we do the hard dance thing too!
      As DJs within the rave environment, you're always looking to read the crowd and take them by surprise by dropping that mental party anthem at just the right moment. With the PA you're tied to a certain playlist. Do you think this ever detracts from the element of spontaneity and have there ever been occasions when you've known a certain tune was right from the moment but hadn't had the thought to playlist it beforehand?
      To be perfectly honest, you get so enthralled in the moment and the energy radiating from the crowd that you really haven't got a chance to think what if?. Most of our PAs are going right off from start to finish so either we've got our pre-programming down to a jedi-mastered art - or you lot are just too off yer heads to notice! Either way, it's a rockin party every time!

      In terms of the music you do select, how do you decide on which tunes to incorporate into the PAs? Is it very much a group decision? And is it a case of picking the best of your latest releases or do you mix up the new n old?
      When we sit down to put each show together we always pool all our new material and have a listen through- some tracks always stand out as one's that we know we'll cane on the PA and fitting them in with tracks that we're known for- if possible we'll always try and slip in a few unexpected older bits too!
      I hear you've been pretty busy in the studio, cooking up everything from upbeat bouncy anthems with Matt Petrucchio to a mental collaboration with Kevin Energy complete with twisted synths and a thrash metal breakdown! How hard is it to keep on reinventing your hardcore sound and where do you get the inspiration for new tracks?
      I'm lucky in that I get to work with quite a variety of styles and different artists - vibing with other writers is always a great way to keep things moving and inspiration can come from anywhere- you mentioned our crazy thrash metal piece earlier- I wasn't too excited about the whole thing until we started playing round with some guitar sounds for a laugh- then we came up with the idea of distorting a load of rock drums and shouting over the top and the track instantly got more appealing- inspiration can come from anywhere!
      Have you got any more dates forthcoming to make hardcore tracks or any interesting collaborations in wait?
      Right now I'm working on a collaboration with Jon Doe which is going pretty well - he's a producer I've wanted to work with for a while and when Sharkey suggested I went down to his studio I jumped rt the chance. I've also got a few studio dates coming up in Australia so watch out for some down-under kangaroo hoppin kaola stompin style hardcore coming soon!
      You've embraced the rise in digital formats through the Science Fabric Hardcore label but what are your personal thoughts on the way the MP3 market is developing? What measures need to be taken in order to ensure that the effect of MP3 downloads is a positive one (quality control/proper marketing etc)?
      Personally I feel the Mp3 market for hard dance is still fledgling- sales are incomparable to sites like iTunes right now but I can see it becoming just a widespread in the coming years. People have expressed fears that the quality of releases will go down too and to some extent this may be true- labels may well skip the all important mastering process altogether in a cost cutting exercise and I have to say I've heard a few pretty poor examples myself. However with the advent of legal and cheap downloads (at 99p-£1.49 per download it's hardly worth looking for an illegal copy)  the overall impact of Mp3's has got to be a positive one, after all you can now browse through huge libraries of tracks (some of which have been unavailable on vinyl for years), audition them and be mixing with them in a few minutes!
      You must hear a serious amount of new production talent by virtue of the many clients that pass through your studio doors for engineering assistance. On a hardcore tip, who has been catching your ears as ones to watch lately?
      This year it's definitely got to be Dan Thomas and DJ Bullet too- both are writing some serious tunes!
      As I'm sure you know the PA at Tasty will blow the birthday candles on four years of London partying. But what's the most outrageous birthday celebration you've enjoyed?
      Haha, that would be telling. Lets just say it involved a glorious open air field, some of my favourite people in the world and lots of hard underground music and lashings of KY jelly. OK, the last bit's a lie - honest!!!
      Interviewed by Allan Mcgrath

    • Frantic Benz
      Your bone-crushing hoover Hard House track BHE with Nu Energy Collective's A.M.S. recently appeared on the group's Live at Frantic CD. How did you feel when you found out?
      I'm really chuffed! It was a pleasant surprise when A.M.S told me that our track was going to appear on their Live at Frantic CD.  Hopefully the first of many! ;o)
      Why is the track called BHE? Were you in a particularly bad mood when you made the track cos it's f*king fierce!
      I am unable disclose what B.H.E. actually stands for as it's a private joke between myself and A.M.S. Sorry!  As for it being fierce, we just decided we both wanted to write a hard house track with hoovers. That's how B.H.E was born
      Any plans for a full release? How come the unmixed version was only 4 or so minutes long?
      Not sure why the unmixed version was only 4 minutes long, perhaps we should ask Nu Energy Collective? :op
      B.H.E should be released pretty soon on the Nu Energy Collective label. Our second Hard House track Taking The Rise has also just been signed to the same label.  You will hear it being played either by myself or the Nu Energy Collective PA, so keep your ears out!
      Aside from your DJing and production you work in IT. Who do you work for and how did you get involved in it?
      My Career in IT started 9 years ago, in a small little company Called Reed Publishing!  Doesn't time fly by when you're having fun 🐵
      I currently run my own business providing I.T. support and I.T. solutions.  Clients include: Frantic, Wildchild and Nu Energy Collective and also many other small to medium size businesses.
      This Saturday 22nd October sees you playing at Hard House Academy's 5th Birthday at Brixton Academy in London. You will be playing in the Foyer for the first time I take it? What have been some of your best experiences in the Foyer?
      I know I'm really looking forward to my debut!  For me HHA has always been about the Foyer, don't get me wrong the main room is wicked. It's  just the Foyer for me has that special vibe which I enjoy.
      One of my best memories from the Foyer was when my good friend Latex Zebra played there.  He was originally booked to play upstairs in the corridor, when he finished his set Dickon grabbed him and dragged  him to the foyer to fill in for a DJ that didn't turn up, You could see his grin from ear to ear!
      What kind of gear will you be serving up on the night? Are there any tunes that you are particularly excited about dropping?
      I am playing early so I will be sticking to the warm up style hard house nice and chunky and maybe a little funky to get the crowd warmed up for the prime time acts!
      Who else on the line-up are you excited about seeing? There's some very special sets indeed
      Lab4 of course! James Moss, Steve Maynard and Seany Sean Vs Gordon Darley all spring to mind.
      What have been your most enjoyable gigs this year?
      Two sets stick out for me
      Main stage @ Timeless b2b with Garbo Future b2b with Seany Sean Tell us about your promotion, Paradoxx
      It's a London based promotion which has been going for nearly a year now! I run the party with other London DJs with the same passion for music and clubs as I do! We try and create that wicked small party atmosphere, Recently we have been also running Thursday nights, afterparties and the quarterly party, the next one being our 1st Birthday @ Deep Blue on 28th Oct, why not come and check it out (Plug!!!) 
      And finally, what's the best set you've seen all year?
      Hmmm that's a tough one - Probably Nu Energy Collective PA @ Frantic 8th Birthday the reason being not only are they a wicked PA they also played both my tunes in their set! Rock on!
      Interview by Benz
    • Frantic Benz
      So what is Kinky-u all about?
      Kinky-u was originally formed in 2003 by my partner Scott Millan when he hosted a room at Cream, but it wasn't until January 2005 that I joined. And we have in a short period of time risen through the ranks from nowhere!
      Who are your resident DJs? How did you find them and what styles do they play?
      Egoiste, who plays uplifting house - I found him in a club I do PR for called Frisky. My other residents are EMJ & Sykes - they were discovered by JFK on his Live and Loud nights. They play the harder side of house. In a short time since these two have been DJing they are now on the BBL DJ Agency roster with Reece Elliot. We also have Paul Thomas of (Godskitchen) one of my fave DJs.
      How did you get started in the world of promoting? Did you promote events before Kinky U or was this your first project?
      I still don't call myself a promoter, I've been a club PR all my life doing early raves and I started off in the early hip hop days. I just don't know anything else to be honest - it's what I'm good at!
      How long have you been running the event and how long was it before it was a real success? Was it busy from the first party or was it more of a gradual thing?
      We started off in February this year. It really took off straight away. I wanted a different promotion to what else was being offered - with Kinky-u you don't know what you are going to get as it's a different party every time we put it on. The DJs, the people who attend the events and hard work and good marketing have made it what it has become. Kinky-u is a product that people want and that's what we supply!
      Where did you spend your formative years of clubbing? Which clubs and promotions hold special memories for you over the years?
      Freedom @ Bagleys really did it for me, Dreamscape Sunrise and my fave club Passion who I had the pleasure of working for!
      Which have been your most memorable and enjoyable events yet?
      Kinky-u hosted the house room at Future at Brixton Academy with 4clubbers in June. That was awesome, we had just come back from a week in Ibiza. That was an honour, to play at the likes of Bar M, Kanya, Savannah, Es Paradis, Ittica and so on. I can't wait for Wildchild,  it's the big one and all of us are just so excited.
      Do you prefer hosting your own independent events or joining forces with another promotion to provide the funky shenanigans?
      At the moment we are back room boys and when I feel we are ready we will find a home of our own. We have a full diary for 2006 so I will look at that option next year!
      October 29th sees you hosting the house room at Wildchild's massive birthday celebration at SEOne in London. What can we expect from the Kinky U massive?
      The 29th will be no-holds barred - we will take you on a journey! It's also the first event for my resident Paul Thomas (Godskitchen). The only nightmare I have is the organising of 3 coaches on the same night to the event!
      Have you had much previous experience clubbing at Wildchild events or the SEOne? What can you tell us about these two dance music institutions?
      I've been to every Widlchild event since the beginning and I'm quite heavily involved with the PR side of things and very proud to be a part of one of the biggest promotions out there...it's what clubs were made for.
      And finally, what one track will you be hoping to have a stomp to on October  29th
      So many tunes so little time!
      See you all at Wildchild on Sat 29th October @ SEOne.
      Interview by Benz

       
    • Frantic Benz
      For those who don't know, tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been involved in dance music and when did you discover the harder side of dance music? Was it a natural progression for you over the years?
      Well I'm really called Dan; I'm married and have a little baby girl called Kira. I've been clubbing for nearly 15 years, DJing for just over 10 and involved in the London scene for about 4 years.
      I think I discovered harder music right from the off. I always liked Acidy stuff and even though it wasn't fast it was extremely hard and aggressive music. If anything I regressed over the years and started to favor the more melodic stuff as time has gone on, still with a hard edge I would say. You still can't beat some full on stomping music now and then though.
      What styles do you play in your sets these days? Do you find that there is a lot of good material around or is it thin on the ground at the moment?
      Style-wise, anything good. As I hold a couple of residencies for parties with different music policies (Zoology - anything goes, Alumni - Old Skool and Just Groove - Hard Dance) I tend to try and mix it up as much as possible. I'll play House, Trance and Old Skool if doing a warm up set but will play Hard Dance if I'm doing a later set. European Hard Trance is my favorite sound but there isn't as much good stuff available regularly as there was about 2 years ago. I've been doing a lot of shopping on eBay recently picking up classics for £1.50 a go. It's very satisfying.
      What's going on with your night Zoology? What's the musical policy of your night and which guests have you got coming up?
      It's still going well. We've had a quiet summer, I think a lot of the smaller parties have this year, but have some bold ideas for next year. Musically we mix it up and have DJs playing just about every style imaginable. I think the only styles of dance music we haven't featured are Gabba, Drum and Bass and Garage. Everything else has been thrown in somewhere.
      As for future guests, well I can't say much right now as we are having a bit of a rejig with our parties for the last few months.
      How did all you Zoology types meet each other in the first place?
      Chris (B.S.E) and I have known each other for years and started doing free parties at a St John's Ambulance hut in Richmond. All highly dodgy, but we used to get over 200 people in towards the end. We met Richard (RedCaT) through some mutual friends and he then came to one of the Richmond parties and that was another catalyst to get him more interested in dance music. Elvis came along as a result of playing an amazing set for us the first night he played for us and then being made resident as a result. Markus is, I consider to be, the best party starter in London and after hearing several tops sets from him it wasn't hard to convince the others to bring him onboard.
      What are the best and worst things about running your own night?
      The best thing is hearing people talk about how good the night is, right next to you or to you, when they have no idea it is your party and just watching people go mad to an event you've organized. The wors is low turnouts. Not so much from a financial stand point but just because I feel bad for the guest DJs playing that night to a smaller crowd.
      So...where did your DJing name come from?
      Unglamorously enough, from a drunken game of hangman down the pub with my Wife. It caught our eye and made us laugh and we thought if it could do the same for anyone seeing it on flyers then it could only be a good thing.
      If you were to change your name to something else...what would it be?
      Well I have no plans to change it anytime soon. The one time I suggested it my friends threatened to lynch me, and stop supporting me if I did. I suppose if I had to because I was getting mocked by clubbers or not booked by promoters then I'd just use my name. Seems a bit boring though and it shouldn't make any difference - no one complains if popstars record under bizarre monikers.
      We are here to talk to you today as you are playing at Timeless on October 1st at Koko, London. This night celebrates the past and DJs plunder their record collections to pull out their finest gems from yesteryear. For you, which periods hold special memories for you in terms of the music? When were your golden ages?
      The mid 90s is my favorite time period musically. The UK was putting out some great music and the European Trance was getting harder and acidier. You also had the London Techno scene kicking off. Basically if you liked it hard you were spoilt for choice and it just got harder as time went on. The late 90s were amazing for Trance as well.
      What are your feelings about this upcoming edition of Timeless? You must be excited about playing your set in Room 2 through the mighty Funktion One sound system....
      I'm always excited about playing for Frantic. I've wanted to play back2back with Marc Antoine for some time so this is a great chance for us to see how well we work together. I love Funktion One as well after getting the chance to play on it at Logic.
      Do you approach classics sets with a different mentality to upfront sets? In terms of set progression, crowd-pleasing requirements and so on?
      I always sprinkle a few classics in all my sets but when playing nothing but you have to take into account that DJs before and after are likely to be thinking of the same big tunes. As a result I try and pick out tunes that will be instantly recognizable but not as obvious and are time appropriate to the set.
      What kind of stuff will you be spinning at Timeless? Are there any tracks which you are particularly excited about blowing the dust off?
      I will need to chat to Marc to see what he has up his sleeve but I'll have a variation of Hard House and some Trance classics. To name a couple, Lock n' Load - Blow Your Mind, De Niro - Mind of Man and Robert Miles - Children.
      We'll have to be there on the night to find out the rest.
      What valuable lessons have you learnt in your time as a DJ/promoter/producer?
      Get a thick skin, take the rough with the smooth and if you know you're going to be out all weekend take a change of clothes with you.
    • Frantic Benz
      You were recently in the studio with K-Complex and Ben Bennett making some tunage. How did this work? Did you already have ideas running about in your head that you wanted to realise? Or was it just totally starting from scratch?
      I certainly was and it went really well thank you, I'm really pleased with them both!  I had a few ideas about how I wanted the tune to sound before I went into the studio, but took a few of my favourite records with me as well to go through with Ben.  Once we both got together though, our ideas flowed nicely together with a guest appearance from yours truly on one of the tracks - which is called Broken!!
      Is production something you seriously want to pursue in your life or do you just see it as something to run alongside the DJing?
      Production isn't something that I've really thought about until recently -  I've always wanted to concentrate solely on my DJing as I'm still quite new at it.  After being in the studio though I can see how it becomes so addictive, it is so much fun!  However, for now, those are the only Cally Gage tunes that you will be hearing.
      A few weeks ago you were made resident at Twist, one of the biggest afterparties in the country. How did you feel when you were told the news? What's it like playing there?
      I felt great, I had played at Twist a few times before and really enjoyed the party, the crowd and the atmosphere.  To be made the only female resident at the No 1 after party in London is amazing, especially as I have also been made resident at the No 1 Hard House Superclub - Frantic.
      What have been the best and worst things about this summer for you?
      Probably the worst thing has been the shit weather,  what's that all about, lol?!!
      With regards to DJing, I can honestly say that there hasn't been a bad time, so far it is all good.  I have played at most of the biggest nights, got to play b2b with some amazing DJ's and have got to do what I love the most, all summer play great music to great clubbers.
      Does the driving around the country and lack of sleep and so on ever get to you? How do you get yourself through this effort mentally?
      It doesn't really get to me that much to be honest, as long as I have a bit of good company and can have a drink or two after my set, I am happy. The only way to get through it all really, is to sleep all day over the weekend!  The gigs that I get to play certainly make up for all the travelling that I have to do anyway.
      You will be playing at the mighty Storm vs Frantic soundclash at The Emporium in Coalville on September 24th in what is sure to be an epic battle. Have you ever been to Storm? If not, what have you heard about this club?
      I used to go to Storm all the time as a clubber, as its only about 45 minutes away from my house.  Me and my friends regularly used to make the trip to Coalville and always had a great time.  The good thing about Storm is that they have always had a loyal following with great line ups each time, so you're always guaranteed to have an amazing time when you go, roll on Frantic vs Storm, its going to be immense.
      What kind of stuff do you think you will be playing on the night? It's been great to hear your playing some filth again recently!
      I'm already looking at what tracks I'm going to play as it's a real honour to get the chance to take on the Main Room at such a wicked venue. Since being made resident at Twist it has given me the opportunity to explore the harder edge of hard house and I'm loving it. taking me back to my roots!
      Which out of all the recent Frantic events have you enjoyed the most?
      Again, I have to say that my most enjoyable gig to date has to be Timeless at The KoKo Club back in March.  It was great to be up on that main stage, in my favourite venue, playing all the classics, I absolutely loved it - it was amazing.  I can't wait for the next Timeless in October - bring it on Mr Whitby!
      Aside from music and DJing, what else are you really passionate about in life? What would you pursue as a career ambition if you weren't spinning tunes?
      I am quite passionate about Rose wine actually - it tastes just like strawberry juice! No seriously, apart from hard house there really isn't much else that I'm passionate about, apart from my boyfriend - there just isn't the time!
      I danced for about 15 years when I was younger but gave it up because I discovered clubbing and it all just got a bit too hard - maybe I would have pursued that as a career if I wasn't spinning tunes.
      And finally if you could go back in time and change one thing...what would it be?
      I don't think I would go back and change anything to be honest, if I did I wouldn't be who I am or where I am now - I am quite happy thank you!

      Pictures courtesy of Ben Thomas
    • ClubTheWorld
      Promoter of Tasty and owner of UK Hardcore, the former GBT innovator Billy Bunter is a man that has lived and breathed underground rave culture for the past fifteen years. He started off DJing at legendary raves such as Labyrinth and Raindance, progressed to headline at the likes of Slammin Vinyl and Helter Skelter and these days can be found spinning anything from obscure piano house gems and ruffneck jungle classics through to pumping hard dance and anthemic vocal hardcore with up to five gigs a weekend. As his Tasty promotion prepares to go head to head with the legendary Raindance for this Friday's no expense spared rave Bliss at Heaven, we caught up with Bunter to get the lowdown on his summer of bbq, beats and beaches.

      First up Daniel, can you give us the summer of Billy Bunter rundown? Has it been all beaches and bbq's or have you been locked away in darkened studios for the most part?

      There have been lot's of BBq's due to the good weather, and there have been a fair few beaches due to an Australian tour but I've not been in the studio that much due to the organization of Bliss, my radio show which believe it or not takes up a day of my time, as well as dj'ing up to 5 times a weekend still. So yeah, as always it's busy!!!

      What's the strangest thing you've encountered on your travels recently?

      A small outback mining town in Australia called Karratha, only 6000 people live there. I was really skeptical about the gig and town as no one had heard of the place before. When I got there it turned in to 48 hours of fun and debauchery; I played for 5 hours at an awesome beach party. At was 1000 miles from any where, people worked hard all week, and there were only two pubs and one club - which was commercial pop and R&B - in the whole town so people really knew how to party!!!!!

      Which parties stick out in your recent memory? Have there been any sets lately that just totally blew you away?

      On the hardcore tip the HTID beach party blew me away, without a doubt my best hardcore gig ever. Gas in Sydney where I played a four hour hard dance set was wicked as I got to take the crowd on a proper journey. And on the old skool tip the recent Jenkins Lane room @ United Dance, the crowd were really clued up and I just kept pulling out more and more obscure tracks and they was going down superbly.

      In terms of your recent hardcore gigs, what tracks have been causing the most reactions?

      There have been loads, but three that really stick out have been In My Eyes by Antix & Tom E,(I got given this about a year ago in Australia and can't understand why it's not getting more support), Getting Better by Breeze & Styles and Jon Doe's 2005 Timebomb Remix.

      What are you feelings on the continued strength of the hardcore scene? Do you think there is a danger of certain sections trying to push its growth to quickly rather than letting it run naturally on its own steam?

      It's very inspiring how hardcore keeps growing and growing. The dj's, promoters, MC's, Producers, Labels and ravers have put so much belief, energy and determination in to it, that no one could stop it becoming such a cult scene again. All those who put that positive energy in now need to maintain that notion and not replace it with greed and ego or discontentment and envy. If the hardcore scene can stay a close knit community it will keep going and going.

      On Friday 26th August, you're taking your legendary London party Tasty to Heaven to go head to head with the original rave experience Raindance. The result is Bliss and you're taking to the decks in no less than four rooms. Do you find it a strain preparing separate record boxes and set programs for four different sets?

      Nah, I love it. I feel all the music I play so it all comes as second nature. I have learned over the years to keep my records well organized, and to stay on top of all the new music and artists coming through, as well as keep refreshing my memory on all the forgotten classics I used to play in the late 80's and early 90's. For me, variety really is the spice of life; I can't imagine myself not playing so many different styles week in week out.

      What drives you to keep on pushing yourself within all these different styles? Is it hard to keep on top of everything? You must be listening to music 24/7???

      What drives me? Passion!!! And I love the fact that I have been DJ'ing for 16 years and no matter what style I am playing in what part of the country or world, there is always some one who remembers me from a certain part of my career or era or even just discovering me and thinks I am an up and coming dj. It's a buzz playing to so many different age groups and genres that I have played a small or big part in making happen along the way. I don't listen to music 24/7 I live and breathe it!!!

      How much do you expect the crowd and atmosphere to differ from room to room?

      A lot, there is an Old Skool room, Hard Dance room, Hardcore room, House room and Breaks room, each music genre will attract a totally different group of people be it age group, fashion style, dance style etc. It's very exciting for me and Raindance to be putting together, as both of our crowds are so different, but we both have the same out look on putting on an event. Let's throw a huge f***ing party, with the original ethos of raving but in the year 2005. It's gonna be great seeing so many different people in to different musical genres in the same venue.

      The Tasty hardcore room has gone from a third room experiment to a second arena phenomenon in the matter of a year or so it's rammed solid with sweat-soaked smiley ravers every time. Do you think it has been a strong exercise in proving just how much passion there is for hardcore within the capital??

      I think passion is the key factor to it being so good. London is dominated by House, Drum & Bass and Hard Dance. Hardcore is more of an out of town thing, it was the same in the happy hardcore period as well. The hardcore scene is huge in the midlands with events like Uproar and HTID, where as in London events are less frequent, so when you do get parties like Raindance, Elation and Tasty the atmosphere is always unbelievable as the London crowd have had to wait for a hardcore party to happen on there door step, so they are always very passionate about it.

      You've been holding back on releasing records lately but is there a forthcoming release in line for UK Hardcore?

      Yes a full vocal track myself & CLSM called Burning, Jess & Spenno's Find Your which will feature a Breeze & Styles remix and finally Body Slam 2005 with Bunter & CSLM and Breeze & Styles remixes.

      What sort of directions have you been taking your recent hardcore productions in?

      Me and CLSM have been doing a real variety of stuff from underground freeform, we did a track called NRG which Sharkey put on his last Bonkers mix, right through to full on vocal hardcore like our new track Burning. Like with my DJ'ing I can never stick with just one style.

      Are there any ambitions to remix or update any more of the GBT back catalogue or do you see that as a moment in the past to be remembered rather than revisited?

      Nostalgia is great, and it's every where at the moment, be it in fashion, film, TV and music. We are in an era where it is essential to go back to go forward so for that reason we decided on Body Slam remix on the go. Will there be more in the future? Who knows? Watch this space I guess

      Which upcoming hardcore producers have been grabbing your attention the most recently?

      Joey Riot, Cube, Petrol Heads, Antix, Bonzo, Fracus, Flyin. Last time I spoke to Gary Vibealite he said he had a 3 hour hardcore set for me which I am looking forward to doing, as a lot of the break's stuff I have been sent by Cube and CLSM has been very interesting indeed and some thing that could be really incorporated in to a longer set.

      Your party on 26th August with Raindance is called Bliss, what is your idea of a night of pure bliss these days?

      First and foremost Hot and Horny sex with my missus. Second, a night out on it with my mates listening to good music, any genre, any club, it's just got to be vibrant and underground!!!!

      What has the rest of the year got in store for Bunter??? More Tastys? More studio?

      After Bliss, Tasty 4th Birthday in November, my radio show every week on Pure Dance, studio sessions with Jon Doe, a new TV advertised mix album, and up to 5 gigs a weekend.

      Get yourself down to the legendary Heaven this Friday and you can catch Bunter playing any one of four sets at Bliss including old skool anthems, a Jenkins Lane classic house set, pumping hard dance and full-on hardcore.
    • ClubTheWorld
      Preview to Bliss at Heaven Interview with Steve Blake and Phil Reynolds.
      Joint owners of Impact Recordings and two of the most legendary names on the capital clubbing circuit, no DJs can claim as long-standing and close relationship with the sound of London hard trance as Steve Blake and Phil Reynolds. In tracks like Steve's spine-tingling classic Got That Rush and Instru(mental) by Phil and Nick Sentience, they have contributed to some of the most well aged gems that the scene has produced whilst their epic energized voyages at events such as Heat, Fevah and Frantic have provided some of the most euphoric moments in so many clubbers memories - this one included. As they rummage through their record boxes for their classics set at this Friday's Bliss @ Heaven, we catch up with the Impact Recordings duo to find out how they met, what they've been up to and what sort of audio ecstasy awaits us in the Tasty room of Heaven this Friday.
      How did your paths first cross and did you both get on the like a house on fire from day one or did it take a while for your relationship to take shape?
      SB: If my memory serves me right I think one of the first times we met was at Provacation and yeah we got on really well from day one.
      PR: Yeah, I first remember meeting Steve at Provocation at the Office. At that time Steve had just had some big hits on Tidy like Black is Black and Expression and I was like, wow I just met Steve Blake!! We got on really well from the word go.

      What were your first bookings in London clubland?
      SB: In the Hard Dance scene mine were for Trinity at the Chunnel Club.
      PR: My first booking in London was at the Soundshaft about two months after buying decks. Some of my mates were putting on a midweek night. I played first and was shitting it!! The thing I remember most about the set, was how different things sounded in a club compared to playing at home. It was really difficult trying to adjust and I hope I didn't cock up too much!!
      You're both regarded as two of the most legendary and long-standing names on the London hard dance circuit but what do you consider your first big breaks?
      SB: For me it was playing for Fevah that was my first real break into this scene, playing for Fevah gave me the opportunity to play at a lot of the major London venues.
      PR: Has to be Frantic for me. Up until the point when I first started playing at Frantic I hadn't really played much elsewhere. As the profile of the club raised, so did my profile as a DJ.
      What initially inspired you to take the plunge and set up Impact Recordings? How did it all come into fruition?
      PR: Steve had wanted me to come into the studio and record something for his label that he was running at the time, Vinyl Tension. Once we had recorded the track, we had a bit of a chat and decided that we would start up a trance label together. That way we could have an outlet for our music.
      SB: Yeah, we had already done a couple of tracks together and decided rather than try to go through the hassle of getting them signed we'd put them out ourselves on our own project label.
      So was it just meant as an outlet for your own tracks at first?
      SB: Initially yes, but it did pretty well so we decided to then take it another step forward and start signing tracks from other artists, that's why the label re-launched after the first three releases with a new sleeve design.
      From the bright talents of artists like Dave Lochrie, James Jaye, Richard Launch and Greg Brookman to the hard trance double act Technikal & Olly Perris, Impact seems to have a recurring theme of uncovering new talent within the hard dance stratosphere and handing them a leg up to newer heights - is it a conscious decision to support untapped talent and how have you come across the acts that you've signed??
      SB: Its not been a conscious thing at all, we just sign tracks that both or either one of us likes, it doesn't matter if the artist is unheard of if the track is good and we're extremely proud to have given any of the talent we've signed a helping hand to raise their profile.
      Most tracks we've signed we either get handed personally or receive in the post.
      PR: If we see the potential of a track even though the production might not be great, we will sign it and give the producer a chance to go in with Steve to polish off the production. Not only do they get to have their track signed, they also get hands on advice from Steve about production.
      As a consequence perhaps, it must be said we've not see a classic Impact hard trance belter from Blake and Reynolds lately, why is this and are there any plans to see you pair up for an Impact outing any time soon?
      SB: We've both been busy doing other projects, mine was unfortunately doing up my flat!
      We do keep saying we'll get in and do another one but just haven't got round to it yet, but that being said we've done quite a few remixes together though.
      PR: We have both been busy doing other stuff. We have at the moment no plays for a collaboration, but you never know. Watch this space
      You've been working extensively to make the Impact Recordings site a more user-friendly, colourful and imaginative area, what are you most pleased about on the new look site?
      SB: The last few weeks have seen some major changes on the site, the whole layout is more complete but by no means finished yet, it's pretty easy to navigate around too, which is important.
      I'm extremely happy with the shop, we've designed t-shirts that are arriving this week, can't wait to see those, plus we can sell vinyl & MP3's, which again is very exciting.
      I wanted to make the MP3 purchasing as easy as possible without having to buy credit to get a download, which I find a bit of a pain, so we've made it really easy, you can just jump on there and buy one single MP3 or as many as you like quite simply with no credit tokens!
      We will be doing an official launch of the site very soon when it's fully completed but if you want a little sneak preview then head over to www.impactrecordings.com
      And as for the MP3s how do you see the future of hard dance music consumption? Will the digital slowly phase out our beloved vinyls and is this necessarily a bad thing?
      I don't think it will phase vinyl out but it will affect the amount of units sold I think. MP3 has its good points and bad, the obvious good point is the instant access to tracks from anywhere in the world at a very cheap price and with no postage costs. A guy bought some MP3s from us last week from a remote area in Australia and he said he had trouble getting vinyl where he lived so was always on the lookout for MP3s to download. The obvious bad thing is the ability to copy and distribute digital music, this will eventually cripple the industry because there will be a lack of money for the labels and artists involved to be able to carry on making and releasing music.
      If you were to look back over the label's history, which of all the Impact releases stands out as your favourite and why?
      SB: From the older stuff it would be Phase 2, it was cracking tune that still sounds good today and from more recent times I think Panzan has to take the crown because it's quite simply a belter of a track!
      PR: That's a difficult one really. I don't really have a favourite. I think all of the releases have been good in there own way.
      Phil, how is work on your debut artist album coming along?
      PR: The album is almost finished. I'm waiting for some new monitors so I can finally mix it all down. I'm also still sorting out some vocals for some of the tracks. The vocals so far sound really good. As for the style of music, you will have to wait and see!!
      Phil, your remix of the spine-tingling Faithless classic, Salva Mea, with Matt Williams has been stirring up a hot-bed of hard dance interest, what was it about the track that inspired you to give an energized 05 update?
      PR: I've always loved Salva Mea and it's never been released. It is probably my favourite Faithless track and I've always wanted to do my own version.
      Steve, what classic track would you most like to inject with energy for the harder generation and why?
      SB: I've had a few in mind before but someone always beats me to it!!!! I still have a couple I would like to do but if I tell you that then someone will definitely beat me to it!!
      Do you ever knock out a decent blast of hard house filth and what are your opinions on the continuing influence of techno on the rhythms of modern UK hard dance?
      SB: I don't really play other genres of hard dance unless it's a classics set. The only other genre I really like playing is the lighter side of trance, not too fluffy mind you! I really like techno influenced percussion, it adds a funky groove to the rhythm of a track, nothing wrong with that.
      PR: I like to listen to all types of hard dance. I have been influenced a bit by techno over the past year or so. I love my tech house stuff. I don't really play too much none trancy stuff. Although I did play a hard set for Frantic Vs Wildchild recently, where I played only hard house.
      As I'm sure you know, Bliss is the meeting of London hard dance legends Tasty with the original rave experience Raindance did you get swept up in the madness of the UK's rave revolution the first time round in the late 80s and early 90s?
      SB: Yes I did, I was really into the rave scene at that time and played for Desire and Labyrinth a few times, which was where I first met Daniel Bunter. I do have some fond memories of the scene back then, we used to drive for hours to find secret venues but it was all worth it, there were some pretty amazing party's in the middle of nowhere back then!
      PR: I missed out on the early rave scene. I kind of latched onto the end of it. When I first started buying records when I was still at uni, the sound was old skool hardcore. I use to love my Rhythm Section records. I've still got them somewhere.
      What can ravers expect from your own set in the Tasty room? Will it be full-on hard trance voyage from start to finish and which classics will you be digging out for the occasion?
      SB: It will definitely be a large amount of hard trance in the set but I think I'll slip in a couple of anthems along the way too but I'm not too sure what ones yet, so you'll just have to wait & see!
      PR: I should think it will be mixture of upfront new hard trance stuff, with a few classics thrown in.
      Finally, what is your idea of a night of Bliss these days? Would you slump on the sofa with a quality film and a bottle of red, catch some mates down the pub or do you still love nothing more than a messy night on a pumping dancefloor?
      SB: If I can have two answers then I'll pick 1 & 3, I'm not too keen on pubs!
      PR: I couldn't really write what my night would involve. It would be far too rude!!
    • Frantic Benz
      Where did you begin your clubbing days? Were you already DJing when you started going out to parties or did this come later?
      My sister Steph was my biggest influence when I was younger. Although she never DJed herself she had a massive up-to-date vinyl collection and decks which I regularly used to go and hijack when I was around 12 or 13.
      I started going clubbing at about 15, the only Djing in front of a crowd I had done at that age was for school discos and friends parties - everything from Whigfield's  Saturday Night to Chumbawamba's Tubthumping mixed on some really cheap CD decks and a bottle of 20/20!
      Did your parents help with your musical formation at all or was it more a case of self-discovery?
      I come from quite a musical family. They always supported me in whatever I wanted to do as long as I was enjoying doing it. My dad used to DJ when he was younger as well (with much more hair than he now does) so I think he understood why it was something I loved and wanted to do.
      Speaking of which, have your parents ever been to see you DJ?
      Actually they have! It was earlier on this year when I was playing at Peach Goes Hard at the Scala b2b with Seany Sean. I had mentioned to them on the phone that they should come and see me play when I had a main room set at a parent friendly set time. I was only being half serious but they seemed really up for it so they drove down to London for the weekend and I brought them along with me!
      I really wanted them to get some glow sticks and some laughing gas and loose it one the dance floor but they were quite happy sitting up in the VIP area with their Gin and Tonics watching me from afar! (see photo!) Was a very strange experience but I'm glad they got the chance to see me do the thing I love to do most - I think they were proud
      You work for Truelove, an organization that is steeped in Hard House history. Could you tell us about the company and where it stands today?
      Of course!
      We look after absolutely loads of different labels including ones like Hydraulix, Cluster, Stay Up Forever to only name a few as well as selling new tracks and releases through our online store (PLUG www.truelove.co.uk :thumb:). It soo much fun being able to have a nine to five job in the music industry! I'm very lucky and happy!
      The main thing we are concentrating on at the moment are MP3 and digital formats as it seems to be an ever more popular format for DJs and clubbers alike.
      A lot of my time is spent getting the masters of new and back releases, converting them to MP3 format, tagging them, uploading them, and adding them to our extremely massive online catalogue! It's a very long task but rewarding as our MP3 catalogue is HUGE now!
      We recently saw the launch of your own night Divine at Deep Blue in London.  How did the party go? Are you planning on putting on any more events?
      The party was loads of fun and a great night for me! I had done No Limits in the past but this was my first solo project so it was very scary! I was planning on doing a load more parties but that was before I started full time work. Unfortunately I never seem to have the time to fit it in anymore along with work and DJing. It is something I want to do again though but it won't be until I have more time on my hands to give it all I've got - but watch this space!!
      I'm very passionate about promoting and wouldn't want to do it half-heartedly!
      August 13th sees you playing back-to-back with a certain Dirty Bitch at Frantic's 8th Birthday at Koko. What do you know about this feisty femme?
      Well I actually met her in the back of Lucy Fur's car when I managed to hitch a ride with them up to the WiLDCHiLD event in Milton Keynes. She's a really wicked person and a super DJ! I've seen her play loads of times at Afterlife and other places and can't wait to get behind the decks with her!
      What kind of stuff will the two of you be dishing out?
      I think you can expect lots of pure Frantic classics from the past 8 years, some brand new cheeky booties and mash-ups especially made for this event, loads of tracks to have a good stomp to and the both of us having a stupid amount of fun and frolics behind the decks!!
      When did you go to your first Frantic event? What did you think at the time?
      The first Frantic I ever went to was at the Shepards Bush Empire. I can remember thinking how much Frantic's clubbers really knew how to party. They would fill the venue from the second the doors opened and party hard until the music finally stopped at six!
      The set that stands out from that night has to be Steve Hill (who I'm a massive fan of!). The crowd absolutely loved it and he is the ultimate party animal! I'm really looking forward to hearing him play at the 8th Birthday too.
      Since that night there haven't been many Frantic parties that I've missed!
      Which CD is currently getting heavy rotation round your gaff?
      Hmmm, This is the question where I should say something to make me sound street and not at all cheesy but I have to admit I've just bought Clubland 7. I have a reason for buying it though and that's because I've just come back from holiday and a lot of the tracks remind me of it other than that it would have to be The Tidy Boys live at the Tidy Weekender 2  I know it's really old now but I think It's one of the finest sets of all time and gives me inspiration for my own sets! 
      Are you a fan of afterparties? What is your ideal post-club set up?
      I usually find myself at Twist most Sunday mornings and was a massive Milk fan and regular back in its day. (Big up to the Milk massive!)
      For me the most important thing at afterparties is the chill out area! If your energy is starting to lag after a long night out it's important to have somewhere cool to relax. Also it's nice when they have more than one room. It's good to have a few different musical styles going on so you have the choice. By seven in the morning I know I usually want to listen to something different then what I've been listening too for the past 8 hours.
      Oooo, and a shower facility would be neat!
      And finally, why should we come and see you play at Frantic's 8th Birthday?  Convince us!
      Not a problem!! There are loads of reasons why we should not be missed!
      We both have a stupid amount of energy and it'll all be going into this one hour set!! It will be filled with lots of banging Frantic classics to remind you what makes Frantic the hard house event that it is today and finally I've just finished a new CD that I'll be giving out only during our set. (12 - 1am) If you want one you'll have to be about then!
      Also it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

  • Interviews

    • Frantic Benz
      Hi Luke! How has 2005 been for you?
      Hi mate, 2005 has been an exciting year for me so far. I've been made resident for the Saturday party 123 and for the mighty Addiction, which I'm chuffed about. Through Addiction I've had sets in Ibiza various nights around London and have just recently played the Heat voyage to Germany which was a blast. 
      What was your proudest achievement?
      My proudest achievement would have to be my track Solar Flare. I spent 3 solid days in my studio writing this and then took it to Nick Rowland who engineered and mastered it for me. I'm not going to big it up too much because I don't want to come across big-headed but if you like trance on the harder tip then I'm sure you'll love it!
      It's been signed to Addiction Digital and will be available for download from 1st of January along with another track of mine, Blinded by the Truth.     
      What's going on at Addiction, the free party you are a resident for?
      As you have probably heard the Addiction Digital label was launched, so a lot of time has gone in to that. It has been well worth it though since from the word go it been a huge success.
      Well the parties are finished for the year but Addiction is back in January as usual on the 1st and 3rd week of every month. The line ups we have in store too are amazing. There are 3 other big projects to but you'll have to wait and see what that's about
      How did you become a resident there in the first place?
      Well I knew FunkyFranky (Andy T's girlfriend and Addiction resident) from when I was about 13 and didn't see her for years, then she randomly popped round my house one day and saw I was into DJing. I sent her a demo and then Andy called me. I started going out with them and all became good friends. This was before Addiction was even started. Then one day he asked me to be resident. Bit like Sliding Doors really!
      What would you realistically like to achieve in 2006?
      Well been setting up a studio over the past year and put all my spare time in to that. I would love to become a respected producer and quite an established DJ, and play Ibiza again
      You will be playing for Blast vs Convergence at Hidden in South London this Saturday 10th December. How did this booking come about?
      Well got a phone call from Elvis from Frantic who is a good mate of mine from old too and he asked if I was available to play. So I said yeah of course!
      Have you had a chance to check out the new venue yet?
      Tell you the truth I've never been. But I heard it's a quality venue
      In fact, how often do you go clubbing outside of your DJing commitments and where do you go?
      Well used to go out as much as I can but lately I've been working so hard in the studio I've kind of stopped going out. Once I've got my production to a good standard then I'll be out like bells on fire
      What makes up a typical Luke Warner set? Which producers and labels can be found filling up your box on a regular basis?
      Tunes that are doing it for me at the moment ummmm - where shall I start.
      Well obviously my 6 tracks, Solar Flare, Blinded by the Truth, Vengeance, Deception, Feel's Good and Move ya Body which was a collaboration with the one and only gods gift, Dave Mac.
      I have the privilege of having all the upfront tunes from Addiction Digital and they are all fantastic especially Andy T's tune Intelligent Groove which is out now for download.  I was handed two CDs form Andy the other day with a tune called My Destination by Aftershock which will be out on the 1st of Feb and one called It Picks Me Up by Rich C and Barry Diston which will probably be out in March. Also a tune from Olly Perris called Pss-21 and a tune from Ashley James called Hunted which will be out on the 1st of Feb as well. These are wicked and well worth checking.
      Also loving Justin Fry - Free You Mind at the moment.
      This is what I'll be playing on Saturday it will be driving and very uplifting.
      As for producers, there's loads but a few to name are me J Alf Bamford, MDA & Spherical and Nick Rowland     
      Can you play warm-up sets as well as peak-time slots or do you feel you are better adapted for one or the other?
      Well I play Trance, Hard Trance and Psy-trance so I can adapt but I mainly like to play quite hard so I can push my own tunes and let them be heard.
    • Frantic Benz
      So you are now a firm favourite with the UK Hard Dance crowd. Did you think that you would ever reach such a status in this country when you first played here?
      I would have never thought that I could reach this far when I had my first gig at Logic Summer 2000! I have to say that I'm really touched and grateful about how great the crowd, promoters and other artists have been with me in UK! It is really hard work for Finnish DJ to reach status in UK and I definitely wouldn't be here without your amazing support.
      Who is responsible for helping you to achieve this level of success in the UK?
      There is a lot of great people who have helped me during these great years and without the amazing support from UK hard dance crowd I would never be here, but I will always remember and respect Rubec, Nadya and David from Logic who took the risk to book me first time to UK and it was like a dream come true when they asked me five years ago to be their resident DJ for Logic!
      My biggest paragons in music; Adam and Les from legendary Lab-4 have given me so much support many years and without their music I would have never started to play hard dance music 10 years ago. The biggest responsible and credit goes to my lovely manager Kym Newman from Queen Of Clubs management and she is definitely the strongest and most hard working queen in the universe!
      The last two years have been the most important ones and there are promoters like Will Patterson from Frantic who have trusted in me and given me a chance to work hard for getting this far. My gigs at Frantic Hard House Academy have had enormous pushing impact in my career!
      Also continued support from my friends in Nu Energy Collective, Electronica Exposed, Tidy and all other organisations I have been working with have made everything possible and my dreams come true!
      Have you producing any tracks lately?
      I just released my third vinyl single Proteus EP from Finnish Teflon Bullet label and at the moment I'm working with remixes for Finnish Industrial/Metal bands. The first remix for band called Turmion Katilot (Finnish name) is already done and it's like a crossover between industrial and hard NRG/dance! I'm really excited about it and I have already played it few times and it has worked really well with the crowd. I have also been in studio together with Carbon Based and we will release few collaboration tracks in start of next year.
      We hear you had a bit of a nightmare trying to get to your last gig for Frantic at Hard House Academy's 5th Birthday - what happened?
      Yes it was unforgettable night with unbelievable bad luck! HHA 5th Birthday would have been one of the highlights in my career and I was really looking forward to the gig and being part of the Frantic and Laboratory spectacle!
      I had a support gig for The Prodigy in their Finland part of the world tour at a massive concert/sport hall on the same night here in Helsinki. It was a huge respect to do the support gig for Prodigy. My flight to the UK for HHA was after the gig at Prodigy concert. After the gig when I arrived to the airport in Finland there was a nightmare in front of my face; my flight to UK was cancelled because the bad weather and some kind of airline problems and worst of all because it was the last flight to UK there was nothing to do! I felt really bad and sad and I still do because it would have been one of the greatest nights in my life to be there with all of you!
      Well at least you have a chance to make up for it! November 26th sees you playing at SeOne London for Frantic Brings U More. How were your previous experiences playing in this venue? Did it seem like a club which is very different to most others?
      SeOne is very unique venue! I really love the underground kind of atmosphere there and it's great with all its different rooms and halls! It provides a really good opportunity to offer different kind of music styles and I have had some of my greatest gigs and nights in UK there. My roots are very deeply in underground because I use to run a lot of underground warehouse parties with my friends in Finland many many years ago. SeOne reminds me and gives me the same great pure rave and clubbing feelings that we all have of course still nowadays but what we all experienced first time when we were young!
      What has impressed you most about Frantic events?
      The pure professional and firm touch in this very unsteady music scene! Frantic is one of the most reliable brands and event organisers in the whole world. Always when you go to play to their events you can be 100% sure that everything is state of art technically and the crowd is the best you can get in whole world.  I think UK should be very proud of Frantic!
      Is there anything on a similar scale to Frantic where you are from in Finland? A regular, large-scale event?
      No, unfortunately not. Finland and Helsinki where I'm from is still pretty much in stone age comparing to UK even we have good parties occasionally.  The scene in Finland is very small comparing to UK and there are only 5 million people in whole country. Hopefully some day the dance scene will rise bigger in Finland. 
      Are there generally many multi-arena events in Finland or are the events generally scaled down?
      The events in Finland are generally scaled down but we have few good multi-arena events like Laserpoint, Pacificue, Labyrinth and Scandinavian's biggest dance music festival Koneisto. These kind of events only appears about two times a year. Well.. I have to say Koneisto festival ain't as good as it used to be anymore because it's nowadays more about jazz and a..J
      What's the best thing about the UK?
      I think the best thing about UK is your great and very rich music culture generally! People and artists are very open eyed and always up for new things! And of course you have the best and biggest hard dance scene in the world. There is no other scene like in UK!  
      And the worst?
      English breakfast is very strong. I can't eat so much on the mornings
    • ClubTheWorld
      Crowning four years of hard dance hedonism on 12th November, Tasty has confounded the doubters ever since their first event at Vauxhall's Crash but never more emphatically than through truly breaking hardcore to the London hard dance scene. When Billy Bunter first introduced hardcore to Tasty's hard dance paradise in the Mass third room, the idea was almost taboo amongst die-hard Tasty followers. Many were dubious, others curious but few realised the impact it would have, both on Tasty itself and the London hard dance scene at large. Nearly two years on and the 160 bpm mayhem of the Hyperzone is a roaring success, commanding legions of fans who attend Tasty purely to stomp, smile and sweat to their favourite hardcore beats in the capital's most havin it party atmosphere. For their landmark 4th Birthday, then, what better way to celebrate than by inviting the groundbreaking act that has been so instrumental in building new musical bridges between hard dance and hardcore through their accelerating PA? However, never playing by the rules, Tasty haven't invited the Nu Energy Collective to perform their standard hard dance into freeform rollercoaster, instead they keep things fresh, upfront and exclusive by showcasing a 100 % hardcore from the mighty Nu Energy Collective full of unreleased material, special hardcore edits and 160 bpm madness. Will the Tasty massive be able to hold the pace? We questioned the Nu Energy Collective's K Complex, founding member of the PA and the primary Nu Energy Collective engineer, to find out.
      Is the PA at Tasty's 4th birthday celebration the first NEC hardcore PA at a London event?
      Well actually no, we did one for Frantic presents More this time last year in the Freeformation hardcore arena that we hosted and it absolutely went off! We're lovers of all hard music so the nature of our PA is to move progress through all of it but it really is a pleasure to just belt out the hardcore for a full hour of power every now and again!! Me and Kevin have been making some awesome collaborations (wait for Suck My Rock - rave hardcore meets heavy metal madness!!) plus Sharkz is on fire right now so there's it really couldn't have come at a better time!!
      You're lauded for converting the die-hard London hard dance heads onto the more energised sounds of the Nu Energy label and the freeform style it has pioneered. Do you think your hardcore PA could go one step further and have people wandering in from the main room to be blown away by full-on party hardcore or are the barriers already coming down?
      Definitely! Pure hardcore PA's give us the chance to air tracks that we might not play on our hard dance shows- we always try to push the boundaries of what we play- and this party's gonna be no different!
      As the PA has risen in stature over the two years it has become the biggest PA on the hard dance circuit, conquering the dancefloors of Frantic and the Tidy Weekender in the process. But which hardcore gigs have stood out the most and do you hope to raise the PA's status within hardcore to match the stature it holds at hard dance events such as Frantic?
      Recently it has to be our album tour night at Hardcore Heaven at Bristol Academy- it's a wicked venue for a party and the crowd were absolutely luvin it! In terms of raising our status in Hardcore of course we'd love too- in comparison we have very few Hardcore bookings- a lot of ravers don't have any idea that we do the hard dance thing too!
      As DJs within the rave environment, you're always looking to read the crowd and take them by surprise by dropping that mental party anthem at just the right moment. With the PA you're tied to a certain playlist. Do you think this ever detracts from the element of spontaneity and have there ever been occasions when you've known a certain tune was right from the moment but hadn't had the thought to playlist it beforehand?
      To be perfectly honest, you get so enthralled in the moment and the energy radiating from the crowd that you really haven't got a chance to think what if?. Most of our PAs are going right off from start to finish so either we've got our pre-programming down to a jedi-mastered art - or you lot are just too off yer heads to notice! Either way, it's a rockin party every time!

      In terms of the music you do select, how do you decide on which tunes to incorporate into the PAs? Is it very much a group decision? And is it a case of picking the best of your latest releases or do you mix up the new n old?
      When we sit down to put each show together we always pool all our new material and have a listen through- some tracks always stand out as one's that we know we'll cane on the PA and fitting them in with tracks that we're known for- if possible we'll always try and slip in a few unexpected older bits too!
      I hear you've been pretty busy in the studio, cooking up everything from upbeat bouncy anthems with Matt Petrucchio to a mental collaboration with Kevin Energy complete with twisted synths and a thrash metal breakdown! How hard is it to keep on reinventing your hardcore sound and where do you get the inspiration for new tracks?
      I'm lucky in that I get to work with quite a variety of styles and different artists - vibing with other writers is always a great way to keep things moving and inspiration can come from anywhere- you mentioned our crazy thrash metal piece earlier- I wasn't too excited about the whole thing until we started playing round with some guitar sounds for a laugh- then we came up with the idea of distorting a load of rock drums and shouting over the top and the track instantly got more appealing- inspiration can come from anywhere!
      Have you got any more dates forthcoming to make hardcore tracks or any interesting collaborations in wait?
      Right now I'm working on a collaboration with Jon Doe which is going pretty well - he's a producer I've wanted to work with for a while and when Sharkey suggested I went down to his studio I jumped rt the chance. I've also got a few studio dates coming up in Australia so watch out for some down-under kangaroo hoppin kaola stompin style hardcore coming soon!
      You've embraced the rise in digital formats through the Science Fabric Hardcore label but what are your personal thoughts on the way the MP3 market is developing? What measures need to be taken in order to ensure that the effect of MP3 downloads is a positive one (quality control/proper marketing etc)?
      Personally I feel the Mp3 market for hard dance is still fledgling- sales are incomparable to sites like iTunes right now but I can see it becoming just a widespread in the coming years. People have expressed fears that the quality of releases will go down too and to some extent this may be true- labels may well skip the all important mastering process altogether in a cost cutting exercise and I have to say I've heard a few pretty poor examples myself. However with the advent of legal and cheap downloads (at 99p-£1.49 per download it's hardly worth looking for an illegal copy)  the overall impact of Mp3's has got to be a positive one, after all you can now browse through huge libraries of tracks (some of which have been unavailable on vinyl for years), audition them and be mixing with them in a few minutes!
      You must hear a serious amount of new production talent by virtue of the many clients that pass through your studio doors for engineering assistance. On a hardcore tip, who has been catching your ears as ones to watch lately?
      This year it's definitely got to be Dan Thomas and DJ Bullet too- both are writing some serious tunes!
      As I'm sure you know the PA at Tasty will blow the birthday candles on four years of London partying. But what's the most outrageous birthday celebration you've enjoyed?
      Haha, that would be telling. Lets just say it involved a glorious open air field, some of my favourite people in the world and lots of hard underground music and lashings of KY jelly. OK, the last bit's a lie - honest!!!
      Interviewed by Allan Mcgrath

    • Frantic Benz
      Your bone-crushing hoover Hard House track BHE with Nu Energy Collective's A.M.S. recently appeared on the group's Live at Frantic CD. How did you feel when you found out?
      I'm really chuffed! It was a pleasant surprise when A.M.S told me that our track was going to appear on their Live at Frantic CD.  Hopefully the first of many! ;o)
      Why is the track called BHE? Were you in a particularly bad mood when you made the track cos it's f*king fierce!
      I am unable disclose what B.H.E. actually stands for as it's a private joke between myself and A.M.S. Sorry!  As for it being fierce, we just decided we both wanted to write a hard house track with hoovers. That's how B.H.E was born
      Any plans for a full release? How come the unmixed version was only 4 or so minutes long?
      Not sure why the unmixed version was only 4 minutes long, perhaps we should ask Nu Energy Collective? :op
      B.H.E should be released pretty soon on the Nu Energy Collective label. Our second Hard House track Taking The Rise has also just been signed to the same label.  You will hear it being played either by myself or the Nu Energy Collective PA, so keep your ears out!
      Aside from your DJing and production you work in IT. Who do you work for and how did you get involved in it?
      My Career in IT started 9 years ago, in a small little company Called Reed Publishing!  Doesn't time fly by when you're having fun 🐵
      I currently run my own business providing I.T. support and I.T. solutions.  Clients include: Frantic, Wildchild and Nu Energy Collective and also many other small to medium size businesses.
      This Saturday 22nd October sees you playing at Hard House Academy's 5th Birthday at Brixton Academy in London. You will be playing in the Foyer for the first time I take it? What have been some of your best experiences in the Foyer?
      I know I'm really looking forward to my debut!  For me HHA has always been about the Foyer, don't get me wrong the main room is wicked. It's  just the Foyer for me has that special vibe which I enjoy.
      One of my best memories from the Foyer was when my good friend Latex Zebra played there.  He was originally booked to play upstairs in the corridor, when he finished his set Dickon grabbed him and dragged  him to the foyer to fill in for a DJ that didn't turn up, You could see his grin from ear to ear!
      What kind of gear will you be serving up on the night? Are there any tunes that you are particularly excited about dropping?
      I am playing early so I will be sticking to the warm up style hard house nice and chunky and maybe a little funky to get the crowd warmed up for the prime time acts!
      Who else on the line-up are you excited about seeing? There's some very special sets indeed
      Lab4 of course! James Moss, Steve Maynard and Seany Sean Vs Gordon Darley all spring to mind.
      What have been your most enjoyable gigs this year?
      Two sets stick out for me
      Main stage @ Timeless b2b with Garbo Future b2b with Seany Sean Tell us about your promotion, Paradoxx
      It's a London based promotion which has been going for nearly a year now! I run the party with other London DJs with the same passion for music and clubs as I do! We try and create that wicked small party atmosphere, Recently we have been also running Thursday nights, afterparties and the quarterly party, the next one being our 1st Birthday @ Deep Blue on 28th Oct, why not come and check it out (Plug!!!) 
      And finally, what's the best set you've seen all year?
      Hmmm that's a tough one - Probably Nu Energy Collective PA @ Frantic 8th Birthday the reason being not only are they a wicked PA they also played both my tunes in their set! Rock on!
      Interview by Benz
    • Frantic Benz
      So what is Kinky-u all about?
      Kinky-u was originally formed in 2003 by my partner Scott Millan when he hosted a room at Cream, but it wasn't until January 2005 that I joined. And we have in a short period of time risen through the ranks from nowhere!
      Who are your resident DJs? How did you find them and what styles do they play?
      Egoiste, who plays uplifting house - I found him in a club I do PR for called Frisky. My other residents are EMJ & Sykes - they were discovered by JFK on his Live and Loud nights. They play the harder side of house. In a short time since these two have been DJing they are now on the BBL DJ Agency roster with Reece Elliot. We also have Paul Thomas of (Godskitchen) one of my fave DJs.
      How did you get started in the world of promoting? Did you promote events before Kinky U or was this your first project?
      I still don't call myself a promoter, I've been a club PR all my life doing early raves and I started off in the early hip hop days. I just don't know anything else to be honest - it's what I'm good at!
      How long have you been running the event and how long was it before it was a real success? Was it busy from the first party or was it more of a gradual thing?
      We started off in February this year. It really took off straight away. I wanted a different promotion to what else was being offered - with Kinky-u you don't know what you are going to get as it's a different party every time we put it on. The DJs, the people who attend the events and hard work and good marketing have made it what it has become. Kinky-u is a product that people want and that's what we supply!
      Where did you spend your formative years of clubbing? Which clubs and promotions hold special memories for you over the years?
      Freedom @ Bagleys really did it for me, Dreamscape Sunrise and my fave club Passion who I had the pleasure of working for!
      Which have been your most memorable and enjoyable events yet?
      Kinky-u hosted the house room at Future at Brixton Academy with 4clubbers in June. That was awesome, we had just come back from a week in Ibiza. That was an honour, to play at the likes of Bar M, Kanya, Savannah, Es Paradis, Ittica and so on. I can't wait for Wildchild,  it's the big one and all of us are just so excited.
      Do you prefer hosting your own independent events or joining forces with another promotion to provide the funky shenanigans?
      At the moment we are back room boys and when I feel we are ready we will find a home of our own. We have a full diary for 2006 so I will look at that option next year!
      October 29th sees you hosting the house room at Wildchild's massive birthday celebration at SEOne in London. What can we expect from the Kinky U massive?
      The 29th will be no-holds barred - we will take you on a journey! It's also the first event for my resident Paul Thomas (Godskitchen). The only nightmare I have is the organising of 3 coaches on the same night to the event!
      Have you had much previous experience clubbing at Wildchild events or the SEOne? What can you tell us about these two dance music institutions?
      I've been to every Widlchild event since the beginning and I'm quite heavily involved with the PR side of things and very proud to be a part of one of the biggest promotions out there...it's what clubs were made for.
      And finally, what one track will you be hoping to have a stomp to on October  29th
      So many tunes so little time!
      See you all at Wildchild on Sat 29th October @ SEOne.
      Interview by Benz

       
    • Frantic Benz
      For those who don't know, tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been involved in dance music and when did you discover the harder side of dance music? Was it a natural progression for you over the years?
      Well I'm really called Dan; I'm married and have a little baby girl called Kira. I've been clubbing for nearly 15 years, DJing for just over 10 and involved in the London scene for about 4 years.
      I think I discovered harder music right from the off. I always liked Acidy stuff and even though it wasn't fast it was extremely hard and aggressive music. If anything I regressed over the years and started to favor the more melodic stuff as time has gone on, still with a hard edge I would say. You still can't beat some full on stomping music now and then though.
      What styles do you play in your sets these days? Do you find that there is a lot of good material around or is it thin on the ground at the moment?
      Style-wise, anything good. As I hold a couple of residencies for parties with different music policies (Zoology - anything goes, Alumni - Old Skool and Just Groove - Hard Dance) I tend to try and mix it up as much as possible. I'll play House, Trance and Old Skool if doing a warm up set but will play Hard Dance if I'm doing a later set. European Hard Trance is my favorite sound but there isn't as much good stuff available regularly as there was about 2 years ago. I've been doing a lot of shopping on eBay recently picking up classics for £1.50 a go. It's very satisfying.
      What's going on with your night Zoology? What's the musical policy of your night and which guests have you got coming up?
      It's still going well. We've had a quiet summer, I think a lot of the smaller parties have this year, but have some bold ideas for next year. Musically we mix it up and have DJs playing just about every style imaginable. I think the only styles of dance music we haven't featured are Gabba, Drum and Bass and Garage. Everything else has been thrown in somewhere.
      As for future guests, well I can't say much right now as we are having a bit of a rejig with our parties for the last few months.
      How did all you Zoology types meet each other in the first place?
      Chris (B.S.E) and I have known each other for years and started doing free parties at a St John's Ambulance hut in Richmond. All highly dodgy, but we used to get over 200 people in towards the end. We met Richard (RedCaT) through some mutual friends and he then came to one of the Richmond parties and that was another catalyst to get him more interested in dance music. Elvis came along as a result of playing an amazing set for us the first night he played for us and then being made resident as a result. Markus is, I consider to be, the best party starter in London and after hearing several tops sets from him it wasn't hard to convince the others to bring him onboard.
      What are the best and worst things about running your own night?
      The best thing is hearing people talk about how good the night is, right next to you or to you, when they have no idea it is your party and just watching people go mad to an event you've organized. The wors is low turnouts. Not so much from a financial stand point but just because I feel bad for the guest DJs playing that night to a smaller crowd.
      So...where did your DJing name come from?
      Unglamorously enough, from a drunken game of hangman down the pub with my Wife. It caught our eye and made us laugh and we thought if it could do the same for anyone seeing it on flyers then it could only be a good thing.
      If you were to change your name to something else...what would it be?
      Well I have no plans to change it anytime soon. The one time I suggested it my friends threatened to lynch me, and stop supporting me if I did. I suppose if I had to because I was getting mocked by clubbers or not booked by promoters then I'd just use my name. Seems a bit boring though and it shouldn't make any difference - no one complains if popstars record under bizarre monikers.
      We are here to talk to you today as you are playing at Timeless on October 1st at Koko, London. This night celebrates the past and DJs plunder their record collections to pull out their finest gems from yesteryear. For you, which periods hold special memories for you in terms of the music? When were your golden ages?
      The mid 90s is my favorite time period musically. The UK was putting out some great music and the European Trance was getting harder and acidier. You also had the London Techno scene kicking off. Basically if you liked it hard you were spoilt for choice and it just got harder as time went on. The late 90s were amazing for Trance as well.
      What are your feelings about this upcoming edition of Timeless? You must be excited about playing your set in Room 2 through the mighty Funktion One sound system....
      I'm always excited about playing for Frantic. I've wanted to play back2back with Marc Antoine for some time so this is a great chance for us to see how well we work together. I love Funktion One as well after getting the chance to play on it at Logic.
      Do you approach classics sets with a different mentality to upfront sets? In terms of set progression, crowd-pleasing requirements and so on?
      I always sprinkle a few classics in all my sets but when playing nothing but you have to take into account that DJs before and after are likely to be thinking of the same big tunes. As a result I try and pick out tunes that will be instantly recognizable but not as obvious and are time appropriate to the set.
      What kind of stuff will you be spinning at Timeless? Are there any tracks which you are particularly excited about blowing the dust off?
      I will need to chat to Marc to see what he has up his sleeve but I'll have a variation of Hard House and some Trance classics. To name a couple, Lock n' Load - Blow Your Mind, De Niro - Mind of Man and Robert Miles - Children.
      We'll have to be there on the night to find out the rest.
      What valuable lessons have you learnt in your time as a DJ/promoter/producer?
      Get a thick skin, take the rough with the smooth and if you know you're going to be out all weekend take a change of clothes with you.
    • Frantic Benz
      You were recently in the studio with K-Complex and Ben Bennett making some tunage. How did this work? Did you already have ideas running about in your head that you wanted to realise? Or was it just totally starting from scratch?
      I certainly was and it went really well thank you, I'm really pleased with them both!  I had a few ideas about how I wanted the tune to sound before I went into the studio, but took a few of my favourite records with me as well to go through with Ben.  Once we both got together though, our ideas flowed nicely together with a guest appearance from yours truly on one of the tracks - which is called Broken!!
      Is production something you seriously want to pursue in your life or do you just see it as something to run alongside the DJing?
      Production isn't something that I've really thought about until recently -  I've always wanted to concentrate solely on my DJing as I'm still quite new at it.  After being in the studio though I can see how it becomes so addictive, it is so much fun!  However, for now, those are the only Cally Gage tunes that you will be hearing.
      A few weeks ago you were made resident at Twist, one of the biggest afterparties in the country. How did you feel when you were told the news? What's it like playing there?
      I felt great, I had played at Twist a few times before and really enjoyed the party, the crowd and the atmosphere.  To be made the only female resident at the No 1 after party in London is amazing, especially as I have also been made resident at the No 1 Hard House Superclub - Frantic.
      What have been the best and worst things about this summer for you?
      Probably the worst thing has been the shit weather,  what's that all about, lol?!!
      With regards to DJing, I can honestly say that there hasn't been a bad time, so far it is all good.  I have played at most of the biggest nights, got to play b2b with some amazing DJ's and have got to do what I love the most, all summer play great music to great clubbers.
      Does the driving around the country and lack of sleep and so on ever get to you? How do you get yourself through this effort mentally?
      It doesn't really get to me that much to be honest, as long as I have a bit of good company and can have a drink or two after my set, I am happy. The only way to get through it all really, is to sleep all day over the weekend!  The gigs that I get to play certainly make up for all the travelling that I have to do anyway.
      You will be playing at the mighty Storm vs Frantic soundclash at The Emporium in Coalville on September 24th in what is sure to be an epic battle. Have you ever been to Storm? If not, what have you heard about this club?
      I used to go to Storm all the time as a clubber, as its only about 45 minutes away from my house.  Me and my friends regularly used to make the trip to Coalville and always had a great time.  The good thing about Storm is that they have always had a loyal following with great line ups each time, so you're always guaranteed to have an amazing time when you go, roll on Frantic vs Storm, its going to be immense.
      What kind of stuff do you think you will be playing on the night? It's been great to hear your playing some filth again recently!
      I'm already looking at what tracks I'm going to play as it's a real honour to get the chance to take on the Main Room at such a wicked venue. Since being made resident at Twist it has given me the opportunity to explore the harder edge of hard house and I'm loving it. taking me back to my roots!
      Which out of all the recent Frantic events have you enjoyed the most?
      Again, I have to say that my most enjoyable gig to date has to be Timeless at The KoKo Club back in March.  It was great to be up on that main stage, in my favourite venue, playing all the classics, I absolutely loved it - it was amazing.  I can't wait for the next Timeless in October - bring it on Mr Whitby!
      Aside from music and DJing, what else are you really passionate about in life? What would you pursue as a career ambition if you weren't spinning tunes?
      I am quite passionate about Rose wine actually - it tastes just like strawberry juice! No seriously, apart from hard house there really isn't much else that I'm passionate about, apart from my boyfriend - there just isn't the time!
      I danced for about 15 years when I was younger but gave it up because I discovered clubbing and it all just got a bit too hard - maybe I would have pursued that as a career if I wasn't spinning tunes.
      And finally if you could go back in time and change one thing...what would it be?
      I don't think I would go back and change anything to be honest, if I did I wouldn't be who I am or where I am now - I am quite happy thank you!

      Pictures courtesy of Ben Thomas
    • ClubTheWorld
      Promoter of Tasty and owner of UK Hardcore, the former GBT innovator Billy Bunter is a man that has lived and breathed underground rave culture for the past fifteen years. He started off DJing at legendary raves such as Labyrinth and Raindance, progressed to headline at the likes of Slammin Vinyl and Helter Skelter and these days can be found spinning anything from obscure piano house gems and ruffneck jungle classics through to pumping hard dance and anthemic vocal hardcore with up to five gigs a weekend. As his Tasty promotion prepares to go head to head with the legendary Raindance for this Friday's no expense spared rave Bliss at Heaven, we caught up with Bunter to get the lowdown on his summer of bbq, beats and beaches.

      First up Daniel, can you give us the summer of Billy Bunter rundown? Has it been all beaches and bbq's or have you been locked away in darkened studios for the most part?

      There have been lot's of BBq's due to the good weather, and there have been a fair few beaches due to an Australian tour but I've not been in the studio that much due to the organization of Bliss, my radio show which believe it or not takes up a day of my time, as well as dj'ing up to 5 times a weekend still. So yeah, as always it's busy!!!

      What's the strangest thing you've encountered on your travels recently?

      A small outback mining town in Australia called Karratha, only 6000 people live there. I was really skeptical about the gig and town as no one had heard of the place before. When I got there it turned in to 48 hours of fun and debauchery; I played for 5 hours at an awesome beach party. At was 1000 miles from any where, people worked hard all week, and there were only two pubs and one club - which was commercial pop and R&B - in the whole town so people really knew how to party!!!!!

      Which parties stick out in your recent memory? Have there been any sets lately that just totally blew you away?

      On the hardcore tip the HTID beach party blew me away, without a doubt my best hardcore gig ever. Gas in Sydney where I played a four hour hard dance set was wicked as I got to take the crowd on a proper journey. And on the old skool tip the recent Jenkins Lane room @ United Dance, the crowd were really clued up and I just kept pulling out more and more obscure tracks and they was going down superbly.

      In terms of your recent hardcore gigs, what tracks have been causing the most reactions?

      There have been loads, but three that really stick out have been In My Eyes by Antix & Tom E,(I got given this about a year ago in Australia and can't understand why it's not getting more support), Getting Better by Breeze & Styles and Jon Doe's 2005 Timebomb Remix.

      What are you feelings on the continued strength of the hardcore scene? Do you think there is a danger of certain sections trying to push its growth to quickly rather than letting it run naturally on its own steam?

      It's very inspiring how hardcore keeps growing and growing. The dj's, promoters, MC's, Producers, Labels and ravers have put so much belief, energy and determination in to it, that no one could stop it becoming such a cult scene again. All those who put that positive energy in now need to maintain that notion and not replace it with greed and ego or discontentment and envy. If the hardcore scene can stay a close knit community it will keep going and going.

      On Friday 26th August, you're taking your legendary London party Tasty to Heaven to go head to head with the original rave experience Raindance. The result is Bliss and you're taking to the decks in no less than four rooms. Do you find it a strain preparing separate record boxes and set programs for four different sets?

      Nah, I love it. I feel all the music I play so it all comes as second nature. I have learned over the years to keep my records well organized, and to stay on top of all the new music and artists coming through, as well as keep refreshing my memory on all the forgotten classics I used to play in the late 80's and early 90's. For me, variety really is the spice of life; I can't imagine myself not playing so many different styles week in week out.

      What drives you to keep on pushing yourself within all these different styles? Is it hard to keep on top of everything? You must be listening to music 24/7???

      What drives me? Passion!!! And I love the fact that I have been DJ'ing for 16 years and no matter what style I am playing in what part of the country or world, there is always some one who remembers me from a certain part of my career or era or even just discovering me and thinks I am an up and coming dj. It's a buzz playing to so many different age groups and genres that I have played a small or big part in making happen along the way. I don't listen to music 24/7 I live and breathe it!!!

      How much do you expect the crowd and atmosphere to differ from room to room?

      A lot, there is an Old Skool room, Hard Dance room, Hardcore room, House room and Breaks room, each music genre will attract a totally different group of people be it age group, fashion style, dance style etc. It's very exciting for me and Raindance to be putting together, as both of our crowds are so different, but we both have the same out look on putting on an event. Let's throw a huge f***ing party, with the original ethos of raving but in the year 2005. It's gonna be great seeing so many different people in to different musical genres in the same venue.

      The Tasty hardcore room has gone from a third room experiment to a second arena phenomenon in the matter of a year or so it's rammed solid with sweat-soaked smiley ravers every time. Do you think it has been a strong exercise in proving just how much passion there is for hardcore within the capital??

      I think passion is the key factor to it being so good. London is dominated by House, Drum & Bass and Hard Dance. Hardcore is more of an out of town thing, it was the same in the happy hardcore period as well. The hardcore scene is huge in the midlands with events like Uproar and HTID, where as in London events are less frequent, so when you do get parties like Raindance, Elation and Tasty the atmosphere is always unbelievable as the London crowd have had to wait for a hardcore party to happen on there door step, so they are always very passionate about it.

      You've been holding back on releasing records lately but is there a forthcoming release in line for UK Hardcore?

      Yes a full vocal track myself & CLSM called Burning, Jess & Spenno's Find Your which will feature a Breeze & Styles remix and finally Body Slam 2005 with Bunter & CSLM and Breeze & Styles remixes.

      What sort of directions have you been taking your recent hardcore productions in?

      Me and CLSM have been doing a real variety of stuff from underground freeform, we did a track called NRG which Sharkey put on his last Bonkers mix, right through to full on vocal hardcore like our new track Burning. Like with my DJ'ing I can never stick with just one style.

      Are there any ambitions to remix or update any more of the GBT back catalogue or do you see that as a moment in the past to be remembered rather than revisited?

      Nostalgia is great, and it's every where at the moment, be it in fashion, film, TV and music. We are in an era where it is essential to go back to go forward so for that reason we decided on Body Slam remix on the go. Will there be more in the future? Who knows? Watch this space I guess

      Which upcoming hardcore producers have been grabbing your attention the most recently?

      Joey Riot, Cube, Petrol Heads, Antix, Bonzo, Fracus, Flyin. Last time I spoke to Gary Vibealite he said he had a 3 hour hardcore set for me which I am looking forward to doing, as a lot of the break's stuff I have been sent by Cube and CLSM has been very interesting indeed and some thing that could be really incorporated in to a longer set.

      Your party on 26th August with Raindance is called Bliss, what is your idea of a night of pure bliss these days?

      First and foremost Hot and Horny sex with my missus. Second, a night out on it with my mates listening to good music, any genre, any club, it's just got to be vibrant and underground!!!!

      What has the rest of the year got in store for Bunter??? More Tastys? More studio?

      After Bliss, Tasty 4th Birthday in November, my radio show every week on Pure Dance, studio sessions with Jon Doe, a new TV advertised mix album, and up to 5 gigs a weekend.

      Get yourself down to the legendary Heaven this Friday and you can catch Bunter playing any one of four sets at Bliss including old skool anthems, a Jenkins Lane classic house set, pumping hard dance and full-on hardcore.
    • ClubTheWorld
      Preview to Bliss at Heaven Interview with Steve Blake and Phil Reynolds.
      Joint owners of Impact Recordings and two of the most legendary names on the capital clubbing circuit, no DJs can claim as long-standing and close relationship with the sound of London hard trance as Steve Blake and Phil Reynolds. In tracks like Steve's spine-tingling classic Got That Rush and Instru(mental) by Phil and Nick Sentience, they have contributed to some of the most well aged gems that the scene has produced whilst their epic energized voyages at events such as Heat, Fevah and Frantic have provided some of the most euphoric moments in so many clubbers memories - this one included. As they rummage through their record boxes for their classics set at this Friday's Bliss @ Heaven, we catch up with the Impact Recordings duo to find out how they met, what they've been up to and what sort of audio ecstasy awaits us in the Tasty room of Heaven this Friday.
      How did your paths first cross and did you both get on the like a house on fire from day one or did it take a while for your relationship to take shape?
      SB: If my memory serves me right I think one of the first times we met was at Provacation and yeah we got on really well from day one.
      PR: Yeah, I first remember meeting Steve at Provocation at the Office. At that time Steve had just had some big hits on Tidy like Black is Black and Expression and I was like, wow I just met Steve Blake!! We got on really well from the word go.

      What were your first bookings in London clubland?
      SB: In the Hard Dance scene mine were for Trinity at the Chunnel Club.
      PR: My first booking in London was at the Soundshaft about two months after buying decks. Some of my mates were putting on a midweek night. I played first and was shitting it!! The thing I remember most about the set, was how different things sounded in a club compared to playing at home. It was really difficult trying to adjust and I hope I didn't cock up too much!!
      You're both regarded as two of the most legendary and long-standing names on the London hard dance circuit but what do you consider your first big breaks?
      SB: For me it was playing for Fevah that was my first real break into this scene, playing for Fevah gave me the opportunity to play at a lot of the major London venues.
      PR: Has to be Frantic for me. Up until the point when I first started playing at Frantic I hadn't really played much elsewhere. As the profile of the club raised, so did my profile as a DJ.
      What initially inspired you to take the plunge and set up Impact Recordings? How did it all come into fruition?
      PR: Steve had wanted me to come into the studio and record something for his label that he was running at the time, Vinyl Tension. Once we had recorded the track, we had a bit of a chat and decided that we would start up a trance label together. That way we could have an outlet for our music.
      SB: Yeah, we had already done a couple of tracks together and decided rather than try to go through the hassle of getting them signed we'd put them out ourselves on our own project label.
      So was it just meant as an outlet for your own tracks at first?
      SB: Initially yes, but it did pretty well so we decided to then take it another step forward and start signing tracks from other artists, that's why the label re-launched after the first three releases with a new sleeve design.
      From the bright talents of artists like Dave Lochrie, James Jaye, Richard Launch and Greg Brookman to the hard trance double act Technikal & Olly Perris, Impact seems to have a recurring theme of uncovering new talent within the hard dance stratosphere and handing them a leg up to newer heights - is it a conscious decision to support untapped talent and how have you come across the acts that you've signed??
      SB: Its not been a conscious thing at all, we just sign tracks that both or either one of us likes, it doesn't matter if the artist is unheard of if the track is good and we're extremely proud to have given any of the talent we've signed a helping hand to raise their profile.
      Most tracks we've signed we either get handed personally or receive in the post.
      PR: If we see the potential of a track even though the production might not be great, we will sign it and give the producer a chance to go in with Steve to polish off the production. Not only do they get to have their track signed, they also get hands on advice from Steve about production.
      As a consequence perhaps, it must be said we've not see a classic Impact hard trance belter from Blake and Reynolds lately, why is this and are there any plans to see you pair up for an Impact outing any time soon?
      SB: We've both been busy doing other projects, mine was unfortunately doing up my flat!
      We do keep saying we'll get in and do another one but just haven't got round to it yet, but that being said we've done quite a few remixes together though.
      PR: We have both been busy doing other stuff. We have at the moment no plays for a collaboration, but you never know. Watch this space
      You've been working extensively to make the Impact Recordings site a more user-friendly, colourful and imaginative area, what are you most pleased about on the new look site?
      SB: The last few weeks have seen some major changes on the site, the whole layout is more complete but by no means finished yet, it's pretty easy to navigate around too, which is important.
      I'm extremely happy with the shop, we've designed t-shirts that are arriving this week, can't wait to see those, plus we can sell vinyl & MP3's, which again is very exciting.
      I wanted to make the MP3 purchasing as easy as possible without having to buy credit to get a download, which I find a bit of a pain, so we've made it really easy, you can just jump on there and buy one single MP3 or as many as you like quite simply with no credit tokens!
      We will be doing an official launch of the site very soon when it's fully completed but if you want a little sneak preview then head over to www.impactrecordings.com
      And as for the MP3s how do you see the future of hard dance music consumption? Will the digital slowly phase out our beloved vinyls and is this necessarily a bad thing?
      I don't think it will phase vinyl out but it will affect the amount of units sold I think. MP3 has its good points and bad, the obvious good point is the instant access to tracks from anywhere in the world at a very cheap price and with no postage costs. A guy bought some MP3s from us last week from a remote area in Australia and he said he had trouble getting vinyl where he lived so was always on the lookout for MP3s to download. The obvious bad thing is the ability to copy and distribute digital music, this will eventually cripple the industry because there will be a lack of money for the labels and artists involved to be able to carry on making and releasing music.
      If you were to look back over the label's history, which of all the Impact releases stands out as your favourite and why?
      SB: From the older stuff it would be Phase 2, it was cracking tune that still sounds good today and from more recent times I think Panzan has to take the crown because it's quite simply a belter of a track!
      PR: That's a difficult one really. I don't really have a favourite. I think all of the releases have been good in there own way.
      Phil, how is work on your debut artist album coming along?
      PR: The album is almost finished. I'm waiting for some new monitors so I can finally mix it all down. I'm also still sorting out some vocals for some of the tracks. The vocals so far sound really good. As for the style of music, you will have to wait and see!!
      Phil, your remix of the spine-tingling Faithless classic, Salva Mea, with Matt Williams has been stirring up a hot-bed of hard dance interest, what was it about the track that inspired you to give an energized 05 update?
      PR: I've always loved Salva Mea and it's never been released. It is probably my favourite Faithless track and I've always wanted to do my own version.
      Steve, what classic track would you most like to inject with energy for the harder generation and why?
      SB: I've had a few in mind before but someone always beats me to it!!!! I still have a couple I would like to do but if I tell you that then someone will definitely beat me to it!!
      Do you ever knock out a decent blast of hard house filth and what are your opinions on the continuing influence of techno on the rhythms of modern UK hard dance?
      SB: I don't really play other genres of hard dance unless it's a classics set. The only other genre I really like playing is the lighter side of trance, not too fluffy mind you! I really like techno influenced percussion, it adds a funky groove to the rhythm of a track, nothing wrong with that.
      PR: I like to listen to all types of hard dance. I have been influenced a bit by techno over the past year or so. I love my tech house stuff. I don't really play too much none trancy stuff. Although I did play a hard set for Frantic Vs Wildchild recently, where I played only hard house.
      As I'm sure you know, Bliss is the meeting of London hard dance legends Tasty with the original rave experience Raindance did you get swept up in the madness of the UK's rave revolution the first time round in the late 80s and early 90s?
      SB: Yes I did, I was really into the rave scene at that time and played for Desire and Labyrinth a few times, which was where I first met Daniel Bunter. I do have some fond memories of the scene back then, we used to drive for hours to find secret venues but it was all worth it, there were some pretty amazing party's in the middle of nowhere back then!
      PR: I missed out on the early rave scene. I kind of latched onto the end of it. When I first started buying records when I was still at uni, the sound was old skool hardcore. I use to love my Rhythm Section records. I've still got them somewhere.
      What can ravers expect from your own set in the Tasty room? Will it be full-on hard trance voyage from start to finish and which classics will you be digging out for the occasion?
      SB: It will definitely be a large amount of hard trance in the set but I think I'll slip in a couple of anthems along the way too but I'm not too sure what ones yet, so you'll just have to wait & see!
      PR: I should think it will be mixture of upfront new hard trance stuff, with a few classics thrown in.
      Finally, what is your idea of a night of Bliss these days? Would you slump on the sofa with a quality film and a bottle of red, catch some mates down the pub or do you still love nothing more than a messy night on a pumping dancefloor?
      SB: If I can have two answers then I'll pick 1 & 3, I'm not too keen on pubs!
      PR: I couldn't really write what my night would involve. It would be far too rude!!
    • Frantic Benz
      Where did you begin your clubbing days? Were you already DJing when you started going out to parties or did this come later?
      My sister Steph was my biggest influence when I was younger. Although she never DJed herself she had a massive up-to-date vinyl collection and decks which I regularly used to go and hijack when I was around 12 or 13.
      I started going clubbing at about 15, the only Djing in front of a crowd I had done at that age was for school discos and friends parties - everything from Whigfield's  Saturday Night to Chumbawamba's Tubthumping mixed on some really cheap CD decks and a bottle of 20/20!
      Did your parents help with your musical formation at all or was it more a case of self-discovery?
      I come from quite a musical family. They always supported me in whatever I wanted to do as long as I was enjoying doing it. My dad used to DJ when he was younger as well (with much more hair than he now does) so I think he understood why it was something I loved and wanted to do.
      Speaking of which, have your parents ever been to see you DJ?
      Actually they have! It was earlier on this year when I was playing at Peach Goes Hard at the Scala b2b with Seany Sean. I had mentioned to them on the phone that they should come and see me play when I had a main room set at a parent friendly set time. I was only being half serious but they seemed really up for it so they drove down to London for the weekend and I brought them along with me!
      I really wanted them to get some glow sticks and some laughing gas and loose it one the dance floor but they were quite happy sitting up in the VIP area with their Gin and Tonics watching me from afar! (see photo!) Was a very strange experience but I'm glad they got the chance to see me do the thing I love to do most - I think they were proud
      You work for Truelove, an organization that is steeped in Hard House history. Could you tell us about the company and where it stands today?
      Of course!
      We look after absolutely loads of different labels including ones like Hydraulix, Cluster, Stay Up Forever to only name a few as well as selling new tracks and releases through our online store (PLUG www.truelove.co.uk :thumb:). It soo much fun being able to have a nine to five job in the music industry! I'm very lucky and happy!
      The main thing we are concentrating on at the moment are MP3 and digital formats as it seems to be an ever more popular format for DJs and clubbers alike.
      A lot of my time is spent getting the masters of new and back releases, converting them to MP3 format, tagging them, uploading them, and adding them to our extremely massive online catalogue! It's a very long task but rewarding as our MP3 catalogue is HUGE now!
      We recently saw the launch of your own night Divine at Deep Blue in London.  How did the party go? Are you planning on putting on any more events?
      The party was loads of fun and a great night for me! I had done No Limits in the past but this was my first solo project so it was very scary! I was planning on doing a load more parties but that was before I started full time work. Unfortunately I never seem to have the time to fit it in anymore along with work and DJing. It is something I want to do again though but it won't be until I have more time on my hands to give it all I've got - but watch this space!!
      I'm very passionate about promoting and wouldn't want to do it half-heartedly!
      August 13th sees you playing back-to-back with a certain Dirty Bitch at Frantic's 8th Birthday at Koko. What do you know about this feisty femme?
      Well I actually met her in the back of Lucy Fur's car when I managed to hitch a ride with them up to the WiLDCHiLD event in Milton Keynes. She's a really wicked person and a super DJ! I've seen her play loads of times at Afterlife and other places and can't wait to get behind the decks with her!
      What kind of stuff will the two of you be dishing out?
      I think you can expect lots of pure Frantic classics from the past 8 years, some brand new cheeky booties and mash-ups especially made for this event, loads of tracks to have a good stomp to and the both of us having a stupid amount of fun and frolics behind the decks!!
      When did you go to your first Frantic event? What did you think at the time?
      The first Frantic I ever went to was at the Shepards Bush Empire. I can remember thinking how much Frantic's clubbers really knew how to party. They would fill the venue from the second the doors opened and party hard until the music finally stopped at six!
      The set that stands out from that night has to be Steve Hill (who I'm a massive fan of!). The crowd absolutely loved it and he is the ultimate party animal! I'm really looking forward to hearing him play at the 8th Birthday too.
      Since that night there haven't been many Frantic parties that I've missed!
      Which CD is currently getting heavy rotation round your gaff?
      Hmmm, This is the question where I should say something to make me sound street and not at all cheesy but I have to admit I've just bought Clubland 7. I have a reason for buying it though and that's because I've just come back from holiday and a lot of the tracks remind me of it other than that it would have to be The Tidy Boys live at the Tidy Weekender 2  I know it's really old now but I think It's one of the finest sets of all time and gives me inspiration for my own sets! 
      Are you a fan of afterparties? What is your ideal post-club set up?
      I usually find myself at Twist most Sunday mornings and was a massive Milk fan and regular back in its day. (Big up to the Milk massive!)
      For me the most important thing at afterparties is the chill out area! If your energy is starting to lag after a long night out it's important to have somewhere cool to relax. Also it's nice when they have more than one room. It's good to have a few different musical styles going on so you have the choice. By seven in the morning I know I usually want to listen to something different then what I've been listening too for the past 8 hours.
      Oooo, and a shower facility would be neat!
      And finally, why should we come and see you play at Frantic's 8th Birthday?  Convince us!
      Not a problem!! There are loads of reasons why we should not be missed!
      We both have a stupid amount of energy and it'll all be going into this one hour set!! It will be filled with lots of banging Frantic classics to remind you what makes Frantic the hard house event that it is today and finally I've just finished a new CD that I'll be giving out only during our set. (12 - 1am) If you want one you'll have to be about then!
      Also it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on!
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