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One of Wales' hottest exports right now, Frisky has been wowing her home crowds with her tough European Hard Dance sounds for a while now, and now has her sights set on London. She will be debuting for Frantic at Hard House Academy vs HQ on February 25th at Brixton Academy in London, so we had a chat with her to find out a bit more about her... Hello there Frisky. Please could you introduce yourself for those who might not know you! Well hello there Benz! I'm Frisky (real name Holley) and I'm from little old Swansea in South Wales. How long have you been mixing for? What inspired you to give it a go? I've been mixing for just over 3 years now. I started clubbing not long before and was instantly hooked. I was like I wanna do that! I managed to scrape enough money together to get a cheap set of belt drive decks and it went from there. What styles of music do you play? Which producers and labels are always big with you? I play predominantly Hard Trance and some Hardstyle, I'm very much influenced by the whole harder European sound. As for producers who influence me, the main ones would be Isaac, Technoboy and Uberdruck. The types of labels you'd expect to find in my box (lol) are Dance Pollution, Blutonium and Fusion records. I also incorporate some of my own cheeky bootlegs just to keep my sets different. How did you manage to break into the scene in terms of DJing? When I first started clubbing I used to go to a night in Swansea called Breathe which was run by Juice (of Cally & Juice). One weekend Juice spotted me DJing back at a house party and offered me my first set - warming up for Brisk in Breathe. Fortunately my sets went down well and a couple of months later I became resident. You live in Wales - that's near England right? 😛 What's the club and dance music scene like where you come from? The Hard Dance scene in Wales is still very strong. We're lucky enough to have Bionic in Cardiff and Breathe in Swansea (which are now both in their 6th year). Anyone who has been to either event will know how friendly and up for it the Welsh clubbers are. I love playing to my home crowd. You will be playing at Hard House Academy vs HQ in London on February 25th. How did you come to the attention of Frantic? Is this your debut for them? I've known Will and Amanda indirectly for a couple of years through attending various Frantic events. I also met my good friend Maxine there, she also worked for Frantic at the time. About a year ago Max saw me DJing at a club in Wales. Since then, she has promoted me endlessly in London, giving out free CDs and bigging me up to anyone who would listen lol. I definitely owe a lot to her for all of her efforts. This will be my debut for Frantic and I'm deeply honoured to be asked to play my first set in London at the mighty Hard House Academy. I've been to about 10 HHA over the past few years and I always have a wicked time there. I absolutely can't wait to hit the decks on the 25th. It's also my birthday the next day so it makes the occasion even more special for me. Travelling to London from Wales must be a bit of a schlep do you drive or does someone else do the hard work for you? What do you normally listen to on the way to get you in the mood? Luckily Cally & Juice (with MC Shocker) are also on the line-up for the night so I will be travelling up with them. I regularly travel up to London with the boys as Juice is my boyfriend. As there are usually four of us in the car we tend to pass the time by chatting or playing word-association games that we've made up over the years (it's more fun than it sounds honestly - lol). Just to give you an example, if you had to think of famous people and cars, two examples might be Lisa Pick-Up or Jean Claude White Van Man see, told you it was fun! Who else on the HHA line-up are you going to be checking out? Obviously I'll be stompin' down to Cally, Juice and Shocker in the Foyer. I also want to check out Mark EG and Organ Donors and Kutski B2B. Other than these I'll be walking round the whole places taking in various different sets as this is part of the fun of HHA. You are playing back to back with Shimmer, another rising star in the Hard Dance scene. Have you been in touch with her to discuss battle plans? We're in the process of swapping mix CDs so we can get a good idea of each others musical tastes and mixing styles! We also hope to get together before the night to agree a plan of attack. And finally, what are your views on the Top 100 Female DJs Competition? Is it something that is going to help female DJs or will it only serve to reinforce some people's opinions that there is actually a difference between male and female DJs? I'm not against the idea of a separate female DJ chart although I don't think it will make much difference either way. As for male and female DJs being different, hopefully over the past few years, the female DJs coming through have helped to prove that they've got what it takes, both technically and image-wise.

Half of production duo Bodyrox, Ivor Novello Nominee Nick Bridges has been widely tipped as one of the UK's hottest young DJ/producers. Having produced the biggest electro record of the Miami WMC 2006 with production partner Jon Pearn, Bodyrox 'Yeah Yeah' went on to become 'the club anthem of 2006' with the help of Luciana, spurring a new genre of house that journalists are calling 'Nu Rave'. With specialist radio support from Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Fergie, Dave Pearce, Zane Lowe, Jo Whiley, Annie Mac, Edith Bowman, Annie Nightingale, Sarah Cox and Trophy Twins on Radio One alone, 'Yeah Yeah' smashed into the UK national chart in November 2006 at #2 (Radio One Playlist #1, Cool Cuts #1, Shazam Tag Chart #1, Beatport Download Chart #1, The Box Playlist #1). With a further productions signed to majors (Positiva, Data, Phonetic & Eye Industries/Universal) for release later this year (including 'Sound of Eden' (DMC Buzz Chart #1, Cool Cuts #1)); and residencies at a number of the most famous and influential clubs in the World including MoS and Fabric London, 2007 is shaping up to be quite a year for Nick. We caught up with the jet setter to see what he has been up to. Hey Nick, Hows it going ? Im good thanks How would you describe your music? Electro and techno. Your one half of Bodyrox who had a massive single last summer with Yeah Yeah How did that all come about and what can we expect next from you guys? Yeah Yeah was the 2nd track we wrote together about 4 years ago. We had a number of remixes done to keep it fresh and invited Luciani to feature on it at the end of last summer. Weve been working on an number of things since which we are about to unleash this summer. Before Bodyrox you already had a successful career and most noticeably a Ministry of Sound residency. What was it like to play there? Ministry is one of the best clubs in the World. The atmosphere in the Box is pretty special. Are you looking forward to playing for Pukka Up at Pacha this month? What can we expect ? Yeah sure, Pacha is always good. You can expect some great electro and some of our latest material. One look at your diary and we see your playing all over the world, where is your favourite place to play and why? I do love playing in Mauritius because it is such an amazing island. There are loads of great places / clubs in the World. Macumba in Madrid greatoh, and Singapore is always good. We see that you will be playing for Pukka Up over in Ibiza this year at Es Paridise, do you have any other big parties you will be playing at? Im playing 5 parties for cream at amnesia this summer and for MN2S at El Divino which Im looking forward to. Will we be seeing you at any festivals this year in the UK ? Sure, you can catch us at Global Gathering, the Wildchild Festival in London and at the Electro, Techno and Breaks festival Human Zoo. How did you come to dance music and why did you choose to be a DJ? Not sure? No turning back now!!! What other artists, and labels are you looking at, at the moment and thinking, This is good ? There are a lot of great young producers coming through the ranks now. Toolroom is consistently one of the best labels for breaking new music and new artists. Your called the man of the moment today, who do you think will be the next big thing, any hot tips ? Glasshouse Resident Daley Padley is producing some great underground tracks at the moment as is Anton Neumark and Will Bailey Who are your influences? Im influenced by different music every day. Im really into this new generation of live bands at the moment. Whats the best thing to happen to you this year? Being nominated for an Ivor Novello award was amazing. What drink should we be buying you at Pukka Up and will you be attending the boat party on the Thames? Ive been asked to play on the boat but I will be flying back from Russia that morning so it depends if I make it in time. I think Ill probably be drinking water to flush out the vodka from the night before... You can catch Nick in London on the Thames and then at Pacha for Pukka Up on 16th June For more information visit www.pukkaup.com www.myspace.com/djnickbridges

Cihan Oetuen better known as Kurd Maverick is a German based house music producer who first rose to fame with his legendary remake of "Pump Up The Jam" (by the D.O.N.S. Ft Technotronic) released by Ministry UK. This mix was really unique for crossing from club to radio not just in the UK and Europe but also in the USA where it was championed by Erick Morillo. Soon after that it wasnt lonf till Cr2 snapped up The Rub that took Kurd in to even more Djs boxes. Kurd has achieved support from such names as Roger Sanchez, Pete Tong and Deep Dish to name but a few with an ever growing following. He has remixed Robbie Williams "Lovelight", Basement Jaxx "Take Me Back To Your House", Bob Sinclar "Everybody Movin" and countless others including Erick Morillo, Paul Johnson, Steve Mac and Full Intention. Kurd DJs all over the world from Columbia to Brazil, London to Paris and in his home town of Dsseldorf. Look out for exciting new productions coming soon on Cr2 Records and Kontor/Opaque from this consistently fresh and unique talent. This summer sees the release of a complilation album on Cr2 and Kurd is over in the UK to help promote the Album. We managed to catch up with him ahead of his Official Album release party for Pukka Up at Pacha.. Tell us whats new in the world of Kurd Maverick. I am working on my first album ! Watch out in 2008 ! What have you been up to recently in Europe and further a field ? Your playing at Pukka Up for the Official launch of your new compilation album on Cr2 with Dirty South, tell us a bit about that and how it came about. I love the stuff coming out on cr2, so Mark Brown asked me if I would like to mix one of the live & direct cds and that was a easy decision for me. Whats your favourite track the Album ? K3 - Play To Win - Danny Freakazoid Remix & my remix of Tim Deluxe - Let The Beats Roll The huge Track "Pump Up The Jam" (by the D.O.N.S. Ft Technotronic) really announced you on to the scene. What was it like to have the biggest Djs in the world playing your track ? Thats an amazing feeling but you get addicted to it. You want the same with evey track you produce ! What`s your favorite country to play in (and why)? I love to play in South America, the people are very hungry for some fresh beats, but I love to play in Germany as well because I have the most fun with my friends. but its not easy with a very busy schedule. I am looking forward to my Australia tour in September! I play a lot in Spain where I have really fun every time. What do you think of the UK scene at the moment? Im not playing that much in UK to give any comments. Where is your favorite place to play in the UK? London is great! But im sure there are more wonderful places which I havent visited yet. If you could only play one more club ever, what club would it be and what other DJs would be playing? Space Opening or Closing and Pacha Ibiza with Carl Cox, R. Sanchez, Morillo, Guetta, Sinclar. Why do you think you`ve been successful as a DJ? Because i am talented. Mixture between all the house music styles but in a good way. And of course I love the music I play which is real. And as a producer? Because of my parents. they gave me a very good ear for music. What do you prefer (producing or DJing)? Right now producing, because its really a hard job to fly and play all around the world. Im still trying to find the good way for both What do you like to do away from dance music? Vacation :-), producing all music styles that I want. Sports and of course my family! Tell us something about you that not many people know? Its not possible to tell. People have to meet me to have an idea what kind of human I am What have you got coming up in the future? Lets Work has been released now on Cr2. Next single ist called Strings Of Tortuga. I did remixes for Out Of Office, Tim Deluxe and Bob Sinclar and I am working on my album which is coming out in 2008 and a track together with Roger Sanchez this summer in Ibiza. Live & Direct Compilation on Cr2. What can we expect from you at your Album launch party for Pukka Up? Getting Dirty !!! SEE YOU THERE !! www.pukkaup.com www.crrecords.co.uk www.myspace.com/kurdmaverick Kurd Maverick will be playing at Pukka Up on 21st July at Pacha in London to launch his new album on Cr2

We catch up with John Koopa, one of the guys behind the electro night that's taking London by storm Sick! On the Dancefloor and ask him a few questions ahead of Sick's big SeOne launch party this Saturday. Please introduce yourself ? I'm Koop and I run the night with my best mates Dominic Clark & Andy Burby. Myself and Dom are clubbing randoms I guess, we met monging out on the sofas in Key Club just over two years ago. We instantly became regulars on the Kings Cross clubbing scene and developed a real passion for the music. With Andy, we had heard good things about him through a friend. We invited him down to play for our opening party. We immediately clicked and as soon as he played for us, we knew we had to bring him on board. Andy's from West london, Doms from South London and I hop between North London & Leeds. Collectively we are known as the Sick!Djs. What are your roles and who does what? Andy's more of your music man, so he controls the technical side of things and our music policy - looking for new talent, headliners etc. Dom takes care of a lot of our operations and is responsible for creating most of the buzz on the internet. I'm responsible for visualising our brand, and design all the promotional artwork. Generally though, we all tend to do a bit of each others jobs. Tell us about your Flyers, they're Sick! Ha ha, Thats the whole idea. Its meant to shock you. Too many flyers you see, despite looking pretty, don't really tell you enough about what theyre offering. The idea was to create something different and eye catching, yet instantly tell people what we're about - in our case, disgusting house music. The actual photoshoot itself was hilarious. The sick was made up from mayonnaise, custard, pasta, minestrone soup and spicy pot noodle! Oh and i left some full sized carrots in for the comedy effect! I booked out a studio and got 3 glamour models down for the shoot. The main girl who features in our flyers, is actually an actress and former page 3 model. It was a bit of a shock when I told her we'd be filthing her up. By the end she got right into it and was smearing it all over her! Where did the idea to put on your own night come from ? We'd notice when out dancing, pretty much every Dj, at somepoint would throw in really dull, monotonous tunes, which would take the wind out of your sails', as we called it, and force you off the dancefloor. As if the set required some sort of filler tune. We were amazed why no Dj had the balls to keep the energy up, and give the crowd what they actually wanted to hear, which was banger after banger. Myself and Dom, whilst in a hedonistic state, would talk about putting a night on where every tune would be an absolute beast, and you'd never give anyone a chance to leave the dancefloor. Then one day I was in a club in Muswell hill and the owner asked if we fancied putting on a party in his club on a Sunday. The rest is history. How did the name Sick! On the Dancefloor come about? When we started off, we were looking for a name that really summed up the dirty electro sound. We played with the idea of 'filth' which was then developed into Filthy Beautiful. By then though, there seemed to be a serious oversaturation of the word Dirty or Filthy, which had been popularised to describe this style of music. You hear a lot of Djs or Promotions using these words in their names. Then one weekend, I had been out on a standard 24 hour sesh and bundled on to Soshos, Sunday evening. I was dancing with some girl about to go in for the kill and suddenly started rushing like I was gonna be sick. I waited for her to turn her head and was promptly sick on the dancefloor, by her feet. She later discovered my mess and offered me her toothbrush, which she said she always kept on her when she goes clubbing! Classy girl! Sick! On the Dancefloor has developed its own musical style hasnt it? Quite simply, the most disgusting, ferrocious, upfront electro house music anywhere. In terms of production, think Will Bailey or Blende from Plasmapool. There's no filler tunes in our bag, all the boring empty sounding tunes are thrown out, We don't want to show an appreciation of every single sub genre of Electro house music. We cut out all the bullshit and just give relentless, hands-in-the-air music all night. What has been the most memorable Sick! moment? We have had some absolute belters in the last 18 months. But i think the most memorable moment has to be at Canvas. We were playing the back room, supporting a massive promotion over from Ibiza, which had a seriously big name Dj playing. We completely emptied out the mainroom, to the point where they had to close off the room. There was a bit of a Superstar Dj tantrum and we had to turn off our music for 2 hours to let him play in our room. Most of the crowd, were so pissed off that they sat on the dancefloor with their backs turned in protest until we were allowed back on! Tell us a bit about what to expect @ SeOne on 18th August? Were gonna leave the club stretch marks! This isn't just any other Sick! party. This is the launch party of our own venue and we've gone all out for this one, to make it our best party to date. At SeOne, weve got the most banging arch, and with Filthy Rich, Will Bailey, and Ed Kane, we have the best line-up anywhere in London that night plus a crowd of the friendliest, most up for it clubbers anywhere around. Picture 500 people all with hands in the air, stomping to absolute filthburger tunes all night. If you've been to any of our events and enjoyed them, make sure you come to this, as this will be like nothing you've seen from us before. Expect the most banging night out you've had for a long time. How did you feel about landing Will Bailey as resident? Were made up. Will is us to a T. His production is first class but he's also a superb DJ. When I first heard a bit patchy in a bar in leeds I ran up to the Dj booth and asked the DJ to give me the CD! I knew then we had to get him on board. We managed to track him down and hopefully now Will is a big part of our future. And finally what are your top 5 tunes that sums up Sick ! Moby: Dream about me (Sebastian Ingrosso remix) Blende (Plasmapool): I wanna Rock Will Bailey: Freak / A bit patchy Alex Connors: Trust Switch: This is Sick! "Once you pop your cherry, you'll be a Sick! Whore forever" 10 Advanced Tickets are still available from www.ticketweb.co.uk Or you can get on our concession Guestlist: info@sickdjs.com www.myspace.com/sickonthedancefloor

Kaz James is 24, a fact that probably wont provoke an instant reaction from you right now, except what Kaz has achieved in his life so far is astonishing. Best known for his position as one half of DJ/Production duo Bodyrockers, Kaz was a main catalyst for supplying us with one of the most anthemic tracks to be released so far in the 21st century. I Like The Way You Move is a record that uniquely fuses together house and rock to create a distinctive sounding track that took international dancefloors by storm and catapulted Kaz into superstar DJ status. 1. How did you get into DJing? I've always loved music, even from a young age and learnt a lot of instruments but the music we learnt at school was boring shit like happy birthday. I really wanted to play stuff I liked... So that's where it all started. 2. What makes your style of DJing unique? I tend to mix a lot of genres like rock with electronic hip hop with electronic. I play a lot of records that other DJs wouldn't dream of playing in a club. 3. What do you do when you're not DJing? In the studio, sleepin or on a plane nursing a bad hangover. 4. What music do you listen to? Everything not really dance more crossover stuff I really listen to a lot of rock and hip hop 5. Who's on your DJ dream team? Francois k, juniour sanchez, danny tenaglia, tony de vit and a lot more don't wanna get anyone up set 6. What was the most expensive night you've ever enjoyed in London? And who was paying? Some how I always end up paying its fuckin mad.. And how much who knows there's been a lot of nights. 7. And the cheapest? When its free booze. I love to drink! 8. What's your favourite festival? Not sure they all blur into one but I still love playing summa field dayze in my hometown melbourne 9. What's the most unique venue in London in your opinion? To too many no idea, oh the toilet in shoreditch is wicked its an old converted public toilet. They use it for after hours sunday mornings its proper rock n roll but not sure if you consider it a mind blowing venue. 10. Describe your perfect day and night in London, naming venues restaurants, bars, etc.? Not sure really just where ever I end up don't like plan stuff but I do love eating at Locatelli's restaurant its pretty special! Top 5 Tracks DJ Rolando Jaguar - A must have in every box. Thick Dick - Welcome To The Jungle - The beats are massive. Mousse T Love Is What We Need Dub Mix - This is timeless soulful and has a great vibe. Whirlpool Productions From Disco To Disco - Proper tune! Underworld Born Slippy - Need I say more? Tracks to ... Start the night Martin Solveig Se:Sa - I start funky so I prefer stuff like this. Keep the energy levels up Sanchez, Axwell, Sinclar and Guetta - I think my own tracks are definitely what I need when Im on the dancefloor. But these are my favourite producers. End the night Paul Harris Going Deeper - This and more electro I love the stuff! FOR GUESTLIST INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT KIRSTY@PUKKAUP.COM OR VISIT WWW.PUKKAUP.COM

Danish duo Delicious get interviewed before their imminent bid to conquer the UK’s clubs… We have to confess they’re new to our world, but when Delicious delivered some hot new production for our listening pleasure, they landed on the UK radar with a hefty thump. The Danish duo of Denise and Karina have been making music together since 2001. They’ve DJed at practically every venue and event in Denmark, hosted a house show on Kiss Fm Nordic, run Get Down, a house night at Rust, one of Denmark’s most established venues, and started up their own label, Lekker Records. Delicious have also been holding down residencies all over Europe, including daily sessions at Bay Bar in Ibiza for the entire 2005 season, and regular slots at the Parisian clubs Manray, Madam and Redlight. Their first single, a collaboration with Kid Massive, was released on UK house label Illegal Beats, then French label Paradise picked up Yours, a track which featured vocals from Tiger Lily. Their latest single, 3rd Floor, is a collaboration with Danish producer Jan W, released on UK label Soundslike. Now the girls are on the verge of moving to Britain – we caught up with them to find out why they are coming to the UK... : Hey Guys, can you introduce yourselves please. We are Denise and Karina - together the dj and producer team Delicious. We have been playing since 2001 and are originally from Denmark, but are currently living in Paris and are about to move to UK. : The last year has been pretty amazing you must be pleased with your progress? Yes we are very pleased. It has been a really amazing year, travelling and playing in so many different countries. When we first started DJ’ing we were only playing in clubs in Denmark. But the club scene in Denmark is not very big, so it was nice to play in new clubs and for people we had never seen before. : What has been the recipe to your success? We would like to think that it is our passion to music and our good ears for tracks, but there are a lot of good djs and producers out in the world, so down to all it must also being in the right places on the right times and meeting a lot of great people, who has all believed in us. We are also very lucky to have each other. We are childhood friends, and know everything about each other. It has been a big advantage both when working and travelling together. When we started DJ’ing in Denmark, there was not many girls playing, and as we were young when we started, people noticed us a lot, which probably helped a lot to start with, but we always knew that was not enough, we had to be good, and be able to deliver just the same as all the other DJ’s. We wanted to be taken seriously. We have always had a big passion for electronic music, from we were 14 years old, we went out together to techno and drum’n’bass parties in Copenhagen. We fell in love with housemusic on a trip to Ibiza, and that’s in a way what started things for us. : In your short career you’ve played at most of world’s top venues and clubs, is there anywhere you haven’t played that you’d particularly like to? We would like to play in Brazil and Japan, not any specific club or venue, just somewhere in those countries J we have heard so much about these places. It would also be a great experience to play in some of the big festivals in the UK. : You hold residencies at some of the top house nights in the Europe, do you feel you have to vary your sound much between them? No only a bit. Usually when the club books you, they know your sound, but of course we always adjust to each club, because not two nights are the same and there is a slightly difference in which tracks the crowd knows in the different countries. Some places you can take it more dirty than others. : What’s been the highlight of your career so far? It must have been our release of “Yours” featuring Tiger Lily in France. The track got on more than 20 compilations, and played in the main radio station Radio FG. It was amazing to know that our track was out to that many people. Having big support from a lot of respected dj’s. Also having regular gigs at Redlight, one of the best clubs in Paris. Playing Privilege, Pacha, Space and Café mambo in Ibiza and joining the Privilege World Tour. : What releases have you got coming up? One of our next releases will be on our own recordlabel Lekker Records. It is the track “A New Love” with vocals from Roxanne Wilde who is the sister of Kim Wilde. We will have some cool remixes done. : You use a lot of your own material in your sets but which other DJs and producers are doing it for you right now? We really like Axwell’s productions, they have so much energi and always makes the crowd go wild. We also enjoy the stuff from Mark Knight, Dave Spoon, and Swedish Ali Payami. : Do you play your music mainly off vinyl or CDs? We only play with cd´s. Until two years ago we also played vinyl, but that changed fast. When most clubs invested in the Pioneer cdj-1000 it became so much better and easier to play with cd´s and today most promos you receive through email. The bonus is that you wont get back aches and lose the records in the airport. : How did you learn to mix, was it vinyl decks or CDJs? We learned to mix with vinyl, it was not before 2 years ago we started to play mainly with cd’s. Everything changed a lot in the industry, and buying music online got easier. We love the Pioneer CD-J’s, the effects you can make on them, and how easy they are to work with. : What advice do you have for aspiring DJs out there looking to get into dance music? You have to be where things are happening and get to know people, but if you are really into it and have the passion, you cant help going to parties and clubs with dance music and listening to dance music on the radio and maybe go to record shops. Today the internet is definitely also very useful. You can buy all the music online, talk to other djs and producers in chatforums and have a Myspace profile, as an artist it will work as your own website. : If you weren’t DJing what would you be doing? Working with music in some other way then. Record label, nightclub, anything with music. Karina used to work for a label in Denmark called “Music For Dreams” and Denise was doing PR/Marketing for a nightclub in Denmark called Rust. We can’t imagine not working with music J : What is the best thing about this DJing lark? It is definitely the music and the travelling. To play all the music you like for other people and when listening to a track gives you goose bumps and then there will be a whole crowd getting the same feeling. We love the travelling, to see all the cities in the different countries and meeting some great people. : And the worst? It is sitting in an airport waiting for 10 hours with no sleep from the night before, lost luggage and flight delays or cancellation. Luckily we only tried once to call a club from the airport that we couldn’t come because of a flight cancellation. Also it can be very hard for the body and mind with no sleep, not if you are partying in a club, but when you have to be serious and make sure you catch your flight, we have tried lots of those where you have to go directly from the club to the airport. : What do you think of the UK scene? You have the most integrated dance scene in the world, we would say. Most English people know and like dance music and for example when a track hits MTV in the UK it will still be an underground track in some other countries. You are the leading in many things in dance music, magazines, radios, clubs, festivals and even your grandmother would know that you can have a carrier in being a producer and dj. : Will you be partying over here as well as working? Yes, we will definitely go out to a lot of parties in UK, enjoy our selfs and get inspired. We know that the English people really know how to party! We can’t wait to go out in UK. : What is your favourite thing about the UK? As we answered before, we think that UK has a great club scene, but not only that, we also think that English people has a great sense of humour and is always very polite J We hope that’s the case. : What’s next for Delicious? First of all we are moving to UK. We are very excited about that and are looking forward to play in some of your great clubs. We will be part of a club night called Audio Damage touring various clubs. We have some releases coming up and we are starting up our own record label called Lekker Records. And on top of our European gigs, we will play in China and on the Mauritius Island next to Africa. To find out more information on Delicious please visit www.delicious.dk and www.myspace.com/deliciousdjs Management www.whosyamama.com

It was way back in April that the buzz started to pick up around The D-Joust 2007 but Danny and Jim had been working hard behind the scenes since October 2006 to get everything prepared and sponsorships secured. With a DJ mag article coming out in May the mixes started to flood in with over 400 entrants from places as far a France and Belgium and even one from Africa! Things were certainly looking good… Slowly over the months, every CD was listened to and finally the team managed to whittle it down to 24 DJs. These DJs battled it out to win many prizes from the sponsors including 500 Downloads and an Opportunity to mix a digital album to be released for sale from DJDownload, a residency at Origami at the White House, a production course from 16 Steps, a Main stage set @ The BPM Exhibition and many more! It’s all over now for 2007 and what a close call it was. Respected DJs and promoters scored the entrants at every event from July until the final on Nov 9th and Ben Matthews was crowned D-Joust Champion 2007 following in the footsteps of the very successful Janette Slack who won in 2006. There is certainly more to come from this very respectable competition, so much so I hear they are already in the planning stages for 2008! I caught up with Ben to find out abit more about him and also see what his hopes are for the future. Hi Ben. First of all, congratulations on winning the D-Joust 2007. So what is it to be... Ben Matthews or Dr Fish? My name's Ben Matthews but my DJ name is Dr Fish and there's an interesting story behind it. Basically I was living in Australia with some mates in a pikey caravan, surfing and bumming about. One day, when we went surfing, my mate ended up getting drilled onto the rocks and split his head open. We took him to the hospital and got him stitched him up and then they asked us for 200 dollars for the treatment. At the time we were absolutely broke so couldn't pay. The hospital agreed to let us go on the condition we paid when he came back, to have the stitches out. By the time they were ready to be removed we still had no money, so I ended up getting roped into taking the stitches out of his scalp for him. Not a nice job. As I was doing it another of my mates randomly came out with the name 'Dr Fish' as I have a degree in marine biology, and we all pissed ourselves laughing and the name just kind of stuck from that point on. Did you have faith in yourself and think that you’d ever make it to the final? I had faith in my ability and my music but didn’t really expect to get through the first round being up against some great DJs that are pretty well known and regulars at some of the big clubs. When I won that, I knew I had a good chance of making it to the final. You seem to have a pretty loyal following in Bournemouth so much so they you had quite a crowd that made the trek to support you in the heats and Semis – Is this simply because you paid them or do you play a fair bit down there?! Admittedly they weren’t really my friends at all but a group of actors I hired at www.hiresomematesyouloner.com, it cost me a fair bob but I think everyone agrees they did a sterling job? But no, I had an amazing group of people that came along to support me so a massive thanks to all of them. The Dorset crew have been supporting and spurring me on for years since hearing my mix tapes years back. I’ve spent the last three years in France so they haven’t seen me play out much back in the Shire until this summer, so they were all well up for it. I also had a lot of people I met through my travels that live in London come along as well which was ace. The only condition the Dorset crew gave me for their support was that I had to win so thankfully I didn’t let them down. They can get a bit nasty those Dorset folk if you upset them. And how long have you been playing for? Has it always been breaks you have favored and if so do you have any breakbeat heros? I’ve been playing for about 7 years now. I’ve played loads of styles from funk, hip hop, and breaks, to electro, trance, and techno, but my main passion is most definitely with the breaks these days. I love the way breaks take elements from so many different types of music, before churning them back out with phat beats and bass. A Skillz has to be my favorite DJ/Producer, that boy rocks it every time! I’m digging Hexadecimal as well at the moment, great producer and bloody good DJ, he smashed it at Glade! Other personal favorites are The Rogue Element, Drummatic Twins, Ctrl Z and Vandal . You’ve won some pretty cool prizes. Did any particular one spur you on to enter the competition or were you just out for the fun of it all? The prizes were wicked this year so I’m really stoked, although I didn’t . I mainly entered as I wanted to see how I’d compare to other DJs, and to get the chance to meet some promoters and gain some exposure. One of the Prizes was a set at the BPM DJ Exhibition.. How did that go, you must have been pretty exhausted as that was after a heavy night of celebrating? BPM was great, I got to play the main stage alongside some great DJs such as the DMC boys, and got to wander about looking at lots of DJ stuff! We got free beer in the VIP bar as well which was quite cool. But yea was a tiring weekend, needless to say we celebrated the win until about 9am saturday morning, drove back to Dorset in the afternoon, celebrated some more and then drove all the way up to Derby and back on the Sunday. Do you see yourself going far with the production side of things? I’m looking forward to learning more about production. I really enjoy making music so I can definitely see myself spending a lot of time on it in the future. As well as wanting to produce my own original tracks and remixes, I want to get into making my own cheeky bootleg/mash up stuff specifically to use in my DJ sets like artists such as A Skillz and Nick Thayer. What have you got coming up any gigs in the pipeline off the back of all of this? I’ve had a fair bit of interest since winning and have got some good gigs in the pipeline for the new year. One of my favorite breaks nights ‘Break Da House’ in Bournemouth have said they’ll get me in for a set which is great as they put on some massive nights with DJs such as Krafty, Plump’s, Stanton’s, Evil 9, and Meat Katie on a regular basis. I’m also playing alongside the Loose Cannons at the Whitehouse on NYE which is going to be wicked. Tell me about your most ego boosting, self-satisfying, proudest moment. Successfully boardsliding a 25ft C Rail in the Alpe D’Huez snowpark a couple years ago. I think only a couple of people made it all season. It boosted my confidence in my own ability as I never thought I would ever be able to do something like that, and one day gave it a go for a laugh and made it after a few tries. Definitely helped me realize that we can sometimes do things we never imagined we could. What unfulfilled ambitions do you have? To play the Glade Festival and Fabriclive. To do a cage dive with a great white. To do a solo skydive. To do a surf trip through Indonessia, Western Australia, and New Zealand. And to have a threesome with Scarlett Johansen and Natalie Portman. Quick fire Round: What three words describe you as a person? Enthusiastic, Fun, Handsome! What do you like to do with your spare time? I don’t really seem to get a lot of spare time these days, but when I do I like to eat, drink cider, cook, surf, snowboard, dig for records, go out clubbing, visit friends, watch paint dry. What the strangest thing you have seen in a club? One time I was a bit worse for wear at the Fridge in Brixton. I was on the dance floor and thought I could see a table and chair amongst the smoke. I thought it might be nice to rest for a bit so sat down to find it wasn’t a chair at all and was some poor lad picking up some money he’d dropped on the floor. He wasn’t best pleased with me. Tell us your best Joke. I’m really crap at remembering jokes, Um, what does doing a bungee jump and sleeping with a hooker have in common? If the rubber snaps your fucked! Thanks a lot Ben. Look forward to hearing more from you in the future. Head to the DJ-oust site to download all the mixes form the DJoust 2007: http://www.djoust.com/web/djoust/downloads.aspx All Pics by Peds: http://www.dontstayin.com/members/peds Interview by Bugbitten Promotions:

For the last seven years it’s been the undisputed jewel in London’s clubbing crown, Now Type announces the next chapter in its history with a massive new residency at the capital’s hottest underground club, The Island. Saturday December 1st sees Seb Fontaine, Cicada, Luke Dzierzik, Damian Wilson, Jay P, Zak Radak and Stimpy take on the full force of The Island’s phenomenal FunkTion 1 sound system and clubbers are already beating down the doors in anticipation. To get you in the mood for what promises to be a sensational night of some seriously hot house music and deliciously dirty groove, we managed to catch up with international legend and all-round nice guy Seb… You’re moving your residency to new club The Island. We saw you down there for Danny Rampling and Nicky Holloway’s 20 Years of House album launch party. What is it about the club that you like? There's something about it that feels right. I do love a nice venue with an intimate vibe. I have been very lucky to have been involved with The Cross so heavily over the last 15 years, again a venue with an intimate vibe despite its size. We have been looking for a new home to replace The Cross for the past year and I hope we have found it in The Island. It’s obviously a lot smaller than The Cross. Are you hoping for a more intimate feel this time round? It's smaller but the vibe is similar as The Cross was heavily divided so that there were no big rooms. Who’ve you got on your line-up and why did you choose to put this particular combination together? We have been very lucky to have booked some of the biggest names in DJing for Type (Morillo, Fat Boy Slim, Sander Klienenberg etc) but we want to do something slightly different for our Island Parties. We need the new up and coming people to give people a great Saturday night and both Cicada and Luke Dzierek are on fire right now. We want the nights to leave people grinning at the end of the night You’ve been a major force in dance music for years. Would you turn the clock back and start again or do you like how it’s all turned out? I love how it has turned out. I could not be happier but I would definitely do some clock turning just to do it all again Is there one thing that with hindsight you’d do differently? What difference do you think it would have made? The only regret I think is staying in a Saturday night slot on a radio station for soo long.I loved doing the show soo much that I let it ground me in the UK for too long when I could have been travelling the world. Having said that, if I hadn't stayed I would probably regretted that to. DJs are never happy hahaha What’s the ethos behind Type? A party atmosphere with good music. When we started years ago there were serious music clubs and party nights with trashy music but we wanted the best of both worlds. What’s happening with you production wise at the moment? Full steam ahead! A new Reflekt single ready to go, remixes for Toolroom and Mono-Type and a new project for some weirder stuff (Seblanco) in full swing. Speaking of production, red hot producer Luke Dzerziek steps up to the 1s and 2s for you this time round – what do you think of his work? He is “on the money” right now. There are too many noisy nasty electro records but his sound is exciting and adult at the same time. He just got the remix of Echo signed to the Citroen robotic car advert which has to be something to impress the girls If you could have a track signed to a product, what would it be and why? Not sure but my love of football (especially Chelsea ) would be a matter of letting your heart rule your head. What’s burning up your box at the moment? So many good tunes about right now, a couple of Mark Knight mixes spring to mind and a dub mix of the new Reflekt track is also raising the temperature. Any plans to return to radio? I loved radio but I couldn't do the same thing again which is why I didn't defect to another station after Radio 1. I'd love to do something completely different – maybe talk or sport. You’re a massive Chelsea fan. How did you feel when Jose ‘The Special One’ Mourinho left? Do you think he delivered and lived up to the hype? He delivered alright but maybe he thought he was untouchable, we certainly weren't playing as well. Only time will tell if it was the right decision If you could bring one footballer in to the team, who would it be and what would they add to the squad? We are overly reliant on Drogba so definitely another striker. Rooney will do thank you. I believe the England team would benefit from more young English strikers coming from the lower leagues and getting a chance, unfortunately their high prices push teams to shop a broad which is bad news for the National team. What would you give for the chance to play in a Chelsea game? At 36 those dreams have faded hahaha Your dad was a French restaurateur – are you any good in the kitchen? What can you whip up that would have our mouths watering and our tongues on the floor? He cooks fantastic meat. I hate it overdone, it becomes tasteless. I love cooking and my wife doesn't so it's a happy house. We all like different things so most nights I am cooking 4 different meals. My dad cooks fantastic meat so I hate it when it’s overdone, it becomes tasteless. Finally, apart from Type, where can we catch you over the next few months? Brazil , Canada , Argentina , Budapest , Italy and Birmingham NYE, see you there.

I’m going to make you sick with envy now. Seriously, if you’re a producer, turn away right now. You know the Citroen advert. The one with the car. You know, the one with the car that takes a tip from Transformers and blends it with some severe freestyling dance action. Yep, that one. The one that’s so cool it’s practically the answer to global warming. Well up next is a young man who’s the latest addition to the list of those deemed worthy enough to provide the soundtrack to said advert. Joining The Egg and Les Rhythmes Digitales is the one and only Luke Dzierzek. “Luke Who?” You won’t be saying that for very much longer party people, beLIEVE me. This is a young man who is on the way up so fast one might suspect he’s had rocket jets implanted up his backside. He’s behind hot new label Fling, which with releases like the Identity EP has been receiving HUGE top level support; he’s played on practically every single continent – only the penguins have missed out; his own label night at The Tunnel was a roaring success and EVERY Tom, Dick and dance floor Harry wants a piece of him. It really is enough to make you sick. Or want to catch him behind the decks. Your choice then but would you rather have your head in a bucket or your ass on the dance floor? I though so. This Saturday Luke Dzierzek, in all his glory, headlines at Type @ The Island alongside Seb Fontaine and the phenomenal Cicada this Saturday (December 1st). We hitched a ride onto those rockets and had a breakneck speed one to one… Hi Luke, how are you? Hi, I’m good cheers. Fabulous J What have you been up to today? Had an early start in the studio, working on my next EP which will be under the name “DZ” coming out on Fling early next year and few other bits and bobs. How’s your Fling label going? What have you got coming up for the New Year? Fling is going very well, on our 3rd release now, it’s been gaining support from everyone from Sasha, Zabiela, Digweed, Claude Von Stroke and the list goes on. This week will see the Identity EP Part 2 released which includes remixes from King Unique, Deadset (Cass&Magan) and up and coming producer TG. I’m holding a Fling NYE Party @ this amazing venue. The Tunnel! We held the first ever event of its kind there a couple of months ago and it was crazy. www.fling-music.com. Who are your hot production tips for 2008? TG & Miniminds. Lol, nice and concise 2007 has been a pretty phenomenal year for you. As well as setting up your own label and night, releasing some seriously fat tunes, you also saw the remix of Echo picked for the Citroen robotic car advert. How did that feel? Thanks, it has gone really well. The label and nights have been going from strength to strength. The Citroen Advert was a massive stroke of luck, always wanted to have a piece of my music on an advert, so it felt really great! It was the original that was picked up, it’s over 2 years since I made that so it’s pretty crazy how it’s just broken into the mainstream now. How did it come about? I got a MySpace message out of the blue from someone who worked for an advertising agency and they told me that Echo was the leading track for the new Citroen Advert summer campaign. That weekend I was drafting/editing Echo to sync to the new advert. Then a week or so later it was licensed for the UK. Did you get any perks for it – like a free car? I haven’t actually, but I haven’t asked yet. Maybe I should! What did having such a massive blast of mainstream exposure do for you? Has it opened up doors for you? I guess it got me and my music more recognised, more so by the mainstream. It’s cool because people into my old sound will hopefully be checking out what I am up to nowadays and can get into that. It has generated interest from major record labels and publishing companies. Also it’s easier for people to recognise my name from that rather than people saying “Luke who?” It’s fair to say that you’ve shifted your focus from production and studio work to DJing over the last two years. What have been your live highlights so far? Yes, the past two years have been great for me to go travelling, see different places and cultures and just enjoy getting out there and expressing myself through my DJing. Highlights have been touring Brazil, China, Mexico, playing all over Europe, but standout gigs have been Ambassada Gavoili in Slovenia, Global Club in Lithuania, Gazgolder in Russia, Ultra+ Custard Factory in Birmingham, and also the first Fling @ The Tunnel in Kent. Have you got any plans to merge the two aspects and do Luke Dzerziak LIVE? Possibly in the near future, there are not any immediate plans but I do sometimes play around in my studio with all kinds of bits and bobs on the go… You’re headlining the new Type residency @ The Island alongside Cicada and Seb Fontaine on Saturday December 1st – are you looking forward to smashing it? I am really looking forward to playing and have heard really good things. I’m going to be playing earlier than I normally do but will have fun getting everything into the groove. What can we expect from your set? Some Techy, Groovy, Minimal, Forward Thinking Music! Nice one Luke, see you on the dance floor! TYPE @ THE ISLAND SATURDAY DECEMBER 1ST 10PM – 6AM HUNGERFORD LANE off CRAVEN PASSAGE, LONDON WC2N 5NG NUS Tickets - £12 (+bf) – www.ticketweb.co.uk / 08700 600 100 / www.theisland-london.com £15 On The Door THE ISLAND Cicada Seb Fontaine Luke Dzierzek Zak Radak THE LOST ISLAND Damian Wilson (CR2) Jay P Stimpy For more information visit www.theisland-london.com

Dave Angel is nothing less than legendary in the history of Acid House and later Techno. Since his 1989 'ardcore debut (a remix of Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams' which charted) and tracks like 'Brother From Jazz', '3rd Symphony' and 'Airborne' he's wrought elegantly patterned and tightly programmed abstract techno: deep, jazzy motor city homages which align him more with John Beltran, Dan Curtin and Eddie Flashin' Fowlkes than any of his British contemporaries. Behind the decks, he's become one of a legion of British DJs - Colin Favor, Luke Slater and Colin Dale - to play hard, fast and vicious sets every weekend in Europe's most 'lost it' clubs, yet get fewer dates and less recognition on home territory. We caught up with him before his big London date at Mass, Brixton on 8th December What have you been up to recently DJ wise? A; same old thing djing across the globe What have you got coming up? A: I am currently working on my new label Niah, getting together as much catalogue to hit the streets in 2008. What can we expect at Smile in Brixton on 8th December? A; A whole lot of energy, and just Dave Angel doing his thing Favourite club to play in and why? A; My favourite club to play in is the end as they have a great sound system What do you think of the UK scene right now? A; Well Its getting a little better, but still a lot of confusion, too many pockets of music genres Best gig ever? A; best gig ever? Has to be, Technodrome in Scotland, as it was my first ever festival, playing to 30,000 people and I closed the night, What`s the strangest or most unusual place you`ve ever played a gig in? A; In Tresor in Berlin, as it was the Nazis bank vault before it was a club, you could almost visulise the sas men on the dancefloor Favourite country to play in? Have you found that Dance music is really universal, or are the some countries it hasn’t gone down well in? A; Absolutely, everybody parties the same wherever you go the only difference there maybe if fashion. What do you use in your sets nowadays? A; mainly tech house and anything funky How do you think DJing will evolve technically over the next few years? A; It already has, massively. Before we used vinyl now there are so many different formats to play on, final scratch, cd, ableton the list goes on. Do you tailor your sets to particular venues or play it by ear? A; Always play by ear and always come prepared for whatever. What are your top 5 tunes right now? 1: Attention – Ryoh mitomi – Rotation 2: dream theatre – DJ Rebekah – (label unknown 3: face the music – Tim deluxe – Skint 4: Taurus – Dave Angel – Niah rec 5: Medusa – dave Angel – yet to be released What have you been up to recently in the studio recently? A; getting together a batch of great tunes to hit the street in 2008 What do you prefer – DJing or Producing? A: Both What makes a good or bad producer? A; If they have real talent or not!! What’s you favourite bit of kit? A; My imac What time of day or night are you most creative? A; Definitely when night falls Who would you most like to collaborate with in the studio? A; My dad Do you feel DJs have to produce nowadays to really make their mark? A; Yes, it has been like that for a long time now What`s the dodgiest situation you`ve been in playing out? A; Last Saturday doing the fantasyland festival, I was booked to do a ‘old skool’ set, so I did. But I was not informed by the agent that the festival was a happy hardcore one?? Ive never played happy hard core. DJs are renowned as having a glamorous life, if I was you for a day, what would be the most disappointing thing I’d discover about the reality of a DJs life? A; That we are normal people, doing school runs etc…. First record you bought? A; KC and the sunshine band – That’s the way I like it Was music a part of your childhood? A: A massive part, That was my childhood. I never played outside with the other kids, I played the drums, and had to practise with my dad’s band, and if I missed a beat I would get the sticks slapped on my legs until I got it right. But now I look back and thank my dad so much (God rest his soul) What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in a club? What do you like to do away from the dance scene? A; The strangest thing I saw in a club was when I was djing and the dj that was coming on after me had a strap on dick, and he dj’d with it on. It was about 30in long (no I am not going to name him) but it scared the life out of me. What`s your most prized possession and why? A; My Family Which four words best describe you? A; Dad, DJ, Producer, Humanitarian (all round nice guy) Last thing you regretted? DJing and producing comes naturally to you – what are you not good at? A; Cooking, I tried to cook a nice meal for my wife and I have never tried again. What does the future hold for you? A; Who knows? Hopefully I will grow old with my family and still produce funky arse tracks and watch technology go crazy!!

Being in the music industry for more than 10 years, Noir has not only made his name more than well known on a worldwide scale for his productions, but he has also established himself as a highly skilled and much requested international Dj. After releasing a huge amount of his tracks and remixes under different aliasses such as Noir, Decaff, Soul Flava, RNK, Premier, Black Magik and on numerous respected international labels. Noir decided to start his own label (Noir Music) early in 2007. The philosophy being to release both his own tracks and support music from new and promising producers. Besides spending most of his time producing and travelling the world Dj’ing, Noir still finds the time to have his residency at Club V4 in his hometown of Aalborg in Denmark, which has been running for more than 6 years already. The club also hosts the successful night: “Noir Music presents…” which has already had great international guests Djs such as Chris Lake, Funkagenda, Richard Dinsdale and Sebastien Léger. Looking back at the journey so far, including major releases such as “My Mtv” and the House Anthem “All About House Music”, collaborations with some of the key artists on the scene, experiencing amazing clubs and crowds all over the world, Noir is determined to maintain himself as a significant player and innovator on this scene we love for years to come… Your making your Filth debut in Leeds on the 8th December, what should we expect? Lots of energy + sexy tech house and some nasty techno, minimal for the late hours. SO who is Noir then and how old were you when you started playing? Noir is a down to earth dj and producer from Denmark. Started djing in 1996 and producing in 2000. What or who is behind your musical inspiration? I get inspired by a lot of things, styles and artists. But……. I have a big weakness for Depeche Mode. How would you describe your sound? Sexy tech house – quite hard at times but with a funky edge. You own successful label Noir Music what are the benefits of that and the reason behind starting it up? I want to be KING OF THE WORLD – nah… seriously…… Benefits are that I get to release great music by other artists and that I’m in control of my own releases. The reason why I started the label was to have a platform for all the great music I get send every week – that either doesn’t get a proper release or none at all. What have been up to recently and what can we expect from you over the next couple of months? I’ve been busy with all the practical stuff behind the label and touring. I’m gonna get down with my new studio gear and concentrate some more on “Noir material” as 2007 seems to have been all about remixing for my own and other labels. Or maybe I should release a porn dvd to get some attention ???????? What is your favourite track you have produced and why Times Of My Life is my fave sung (full vocal) track. Super Skunk is my fave club track. All About House Music is my fave spoken word track. Lately you have been working with a whole host of people, who is the best best person you have produced it? They’re all great and big inspirations. The biggest surprise and inspiration for me was back in 2005 when Katherine Ellis delievered a smashing vocal for my “Soul Flava” track called “We Got Love”. I never imagined my little disco piece would become a full vocal bomb – again – those tracks are the hardest to do. You one of the leader of fresh up and coming producers but who is you top tip for 2008? Infinitize, Rick Nicholls & Asher Jones, Patric la Funk, Lush7, Ash Turner, Kolombo, Popof, Itamar Sagi & Piemont are def worth to watch out for in 2008. These are all behind a lot of unique material imo. Have you any mad plans for this xmas? Family – that’s mad enough for me…. What ingredients make a good party? A good dj setup – about 500 happy people – Redbull and vodka. What’s your favourite tune? Today its Jim Rivers – Dallas…….. tomorrow it’s a new one….. differ every day. Who would be part of your fantasy crowd? Madonna…….. she knows how to get down. To be honest I don’t bother who is in the crowd. Just as long as everybody is having a GREAT time. You have been travelling all over the world but where’s your top Country to play ? I don’t have a favourite country – I like the sun – so anywhere with lots of sun gets an extra vote. What is the scene like in Denmark compared to the UK ? Small! We don’t really have a big scene in Denmark – but the one we have is very loyal, curious, open minded and rockin’. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? Believe in yourself What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? Bungy Jumping – I’m afraid of heights – but apparently not enough.

Twisted Disco might have sounded off from The Cross with its best party to date last month but that doesn't mean London’s No1 underground party is over. In fact, we have just moved to The Island, the capitals hottest new little club and kick things off with a scorching line up on 22nd December. Step forward Phil Drummond and Graeme Lloyd, both who are renowned for their outstanding DJing displays. Phil has been rocking dancefloor all over the capital over the past few years and has several outstanding residencies including Retox and Breakfast at The Egg. Expect nothing but the best moving, grooving, rock your ass off house music all night long. Hard to belive Phil has seen 17 years as a pro DJ. Playing all over the world at many of the biggest venues. Now days, Phil turns his hand to programming parties and has been involved in bringing some of the biggest names in dance music to various clubs including Crobar in Swansea, Jaded@Egg, Formula@Cross, Retox@Sosho, Breakfast@Egg, Formulate@Key, UCL events London. He can currently be found DJing most weekends with Paul Jackson in the cooler end of London clubs & has residencies with Retox@Sosho & Breakfast@Egg. They are just launching a brand new party under the name "LUNA" that will see the boys hosting parties alongside established brands in London's most cutting edge clubs for 2008. We caught up with Phil to see what he as been up to recently and what we can expect on Saturday... Tell us what’s new in the world of Phil Drummond? Lego Star Wars on my PS3…..cant get off the bloody thing! What have you been up to recently in London and abroad ? Oooooo been a very busy boy this last couple of months. Myself, JC & Nikki Wildchild have some great events coming up for 2008. Some wicked new parties in some great and un-usuall new spaces. I started my own night with my partner Paul Jackson called “Luna” On the internation front, its all go too. Sedition Djs are going from strengh to strengh and have really looked after us. Had some great gigs in China and Eastern Europe and we’re gonna be on the Great Stuff Records events roster for 2008 too so its looking really good. Your playing for Twisted Disco at The Island. Have you played there before and what do you think of it ? Yes I played there recently with Paul Jackson & Gregor Tresher. It’s a wicked venue, I think it’ll do well and its just what London needs. Good sound system too. What``s your favourite country to play in (and why)? That’s easy……Russia………..The Girls!!! What do you think of the UK scene at the moment? I’m sorry to say but the Muppets are winning at the min. They are far more bad night’s then good. Don’t get me wrong, we have some great clubs and some wicked nights but you gotta hunt em out. Where is your favorite place to play in the UK? I’d have to say most of the gig’s I do with Paul are the most fun. We always have a laugh together and one gig that always rocks is Retox@Sosho. We can play as hard as we like and they keep coming back for more. Its one of those gigs that all the dj’s want to play at. Not for the faint hearted though!!! If you could only play one more club ever, what club would it be and what other DJs would be playing? My last ever gig would have to be at The Playboy Mansion and it’d have to be with Jacko. He’d play whilst I just run riot!! Why do you think you``ve been successful as a DJ? Cos im good!! Nah, seriously I just got very lucky, I started a long time ago, now every fucker seems to be a dj & some real talent gets overlooked. And as a producer? Again, we all need that lucky break, mine was having 2 top 5 records in the same year. We did Top Of The Pops and toured the world off the back of it. I stopped recording a while back because the scene changed so much. It was getting too hard to make a good living out of it although im recording again now because you have too to help get your name abroad, its more of a bussiness card then a money making exercise. What do you prefer (producing or DJ``ing)? Djing, I just love the reaction when you drop that killer track to a up for it crowd What do you like to do away from dance music? I cant stand these Djs that just live and breath music…..Im into everything, fast cars, faster motorcycles and general bad behaviour. Its what we’re ment to do, that’s why I don’t have a real job!! Tell us something about you that not many people know? Im single and looking for a wife (had to get that in somewhere!) Oh, I have a Blue Peter badge, how many other Djs have erned one of them beauties!! What have you got coming up in the future? Loads, I’ve got this far by just messing about really & I intend on taking 2008 very seriously. Im getting to old to change my carer now. This is gonna be my best year to date………. oh and Twisted Disco@Island of course!! What can we expect on 22nd December at Twisted Disco? A right old racket & a cheeky smile! CHECK OUT PHIL DRUMMOND ON MYSPACE WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DJPHILDRUMMOND Twisted Disco @ The Island Saturday 22nd December 2007 10pm - 6am Extended Hours! £12 concessions exclusively at guestlist@wearebeautiful.co.uk

Miles Dyson is one of the fastest rising stars in the world. With his brand of dirty grooves, grinding electro and sexy house beats he’s infecting clubland all over the world. In the early Nineties, he started his career in one of the oldest electronic music clubs in Germany, Futureclub Abby. He was a child prodigy at just 13 years old. Not even old enough to legally to drink he took on his first club residency at 15. By 16 he was performing on his own float playing in front of 400,000 screaming fans at the famous Zurich Street Parade. In 1999 he won the European DJ-championships and that was just the beginning… With fame slowly catching up to him, Miles started his first label “Plasmapool Productions" in 2002. In 2003 he occupied the number 1 position of the Swiss DJ charts for 30 weeks with multiple releases. It was therefore fitting that later in the year, Miles was honoured with the award "Producer of the Year 2003" in Switzerland. Since this time he has built a small Empire with his own publishing and production company (Plasmapool media entertainment), digital distribution company (plasmapool.digital), more than 50 exclusive international artists signed and 12 labels (12"boot, 12.inch.recordings, Aelaektropopp, Boyztownrec, Houserecordings, International Porn Recordings, Plasmapool Productions, PlasmaUS, PlasmaWhite, plasma.digital, Raise33 and Suicide Robot)! Miles Dyson and Plasmapool are becoming one of the most successful institutions in the music scene. Plasmapool is now one of Europe's leading vinyl and mp3 selling companies. All this success has led to him being labelled the “CEO of House Music”! Miles Dyson’s work is now hitting worldwide mainstream with “Electric Soul One” featuring on the cover of Mix Mag and 30Hz “Daddio (Miles Dyson Remix) and “Miles Ahead” selected on the latest Ministry of Sounds Sessions: Summer. Toolroom Record’s super producer Dave Spoon has labelled him one of the most exciting new electro-house producers to emerge over the last couple of years, the music industry calls him “The Boy Wonder” and even the press names him “Electro-God”. He’s also currently producing and remixing for the international music industry elite. His latest remix work “Daddio” (Lot49) and “Rubber Man” (erase records) both hit download charts all over the planet on position 1. Nocturnal Magazine “a sick ass techno-house producer whose eclectic bootleg/remix/hammers keep filling my record bag with goodness. Miles' richness exudes through the quality of his arrangements & the texture of his sound. Your ready-for-anything dancefloor will thank you later.” Well Miles, the last 18 months has been pretty amazing you must be pleased with your progress? Yeah, everything is working fine My remix and production schedule is filled, I'm completely booked out with tours till early May 2008 and each new record I release is hitting sales charts. So no need to complain. But also no need to rest - specially NOW I have to work like hell for keeping all that running... But it wasn’t only the last 18 months. The whole thing is constantly growing since I released my first record in 2002 which hit the sales charts in Germany on position 1 instantly! What has been the recipe to your success? Well I guess unlike most producers I’m not focussed on any special genre. But apart from that there are a lot of producers out there you can easily recognize by their sound as they always use the same synths or even the same production lines I started Djing in 1991 and there was only Trance and Techno. Later House became popular, Breakbeat, 2step, Breaks, Minimal (which exists from the mid 80ies guys – so no new invention!!!!), Speedgarage, Electro aso. So during the years (damn shit - I’m getting old) I extracted all the best skills out of these genre which is now used in my productions. I suppose that’s why people are not getting bored listening my tunes as I’m always able to serve new sounds, new skills, just completely new structures and themes. In your career you’ve played at most of Europes top venues and clubs, is there anywhere you haven’t played that you’d particularly like to? ...yep, I've been in many countries during the last years and the last white spots on the map like Tasmania, Korea, Venezuela, South Africa and New Zealand will be toured in early 2k8. But the most desired places I haven't been so far are China and Japan. And as soon as someone will engage me I'm gonna stay there for a month or 2. I'm really eager to see all the landscapes and the culture.. ANYONE OUT THERE FROM CHINA/JAPAN READING THIS?????? What’s been the highlight of your career so far? ...to see 7 of my records in the Top10 of European Vinyl Sales Charts the same time and recently placing 2 productions on position 1 AND 2 of Djdownload and the Ministry of Sound download store... What releases have you got coming up? There's a lot of stuff in the line - remixes, own releases, co-productions. It would just be too much to name all that... You own 12 record labels too – how is that going? Are they just a platform for your own productions? How do you manage all them at once? Don't ask!!! It's hell lot of work and it wouldn't be possible without my buddies and employees. I have only 1 label for my own releases "Plasmapool Productions". All the rest is separated into genres or was created for special artists like the "Suicide Robot" label for German live-act “Electrixx” or “aelaektropopp” for Aaren San. You use a lot of your own material in your sets but which other DJs and producers are doing it for you right now? I love the new electro sounds from the UK from artists like Calvertron, Will Bailey, Hervé, Twocker, Micky Slim and Digital Filth. It really ROX!!!!!! Do you play your music mainly off vinyl or CDs? Depends on WHERE I'm spinning; in Europe I mostly have only vinyl with me but due to weight limitations on international flights outside Europe I simply cannot take many records with me. So I'm additionally forced to play CDs there. But to avoid this in the future I started creating sets with a MAC and Ableton Live where I can remix tracks in real-time which is much more fun even than spinning records. But I'm feeling more old-school - so vinyl will attend me all my life.... : How did you learn to mix, was it vinyl decks or CDJs? Come on, I don't know if there were any pitchable CD players on the market when I started Djing So Vinyl on real turntables was the only option that time and I spent like 10 hours each day behind the decks... What advice do you have for aspiring DJs out there looking to get into dance music? It’s not only Djing. Apart from a hand full of artists worldwide I don’t know anyone that just became (I hate that word) “famous” because of spinning records only. So you have to face all that market specific additions like “producing”, “marketing”, “promotion” aso. You need a lot of talents, but as long as you believe in your own capabilities and keep working - though it might be hard from time to time – success will come!!! If you weren’t DJing what would you be doing? To be honest Djing bacame the least part of my activities. Most of the time I produce tracks, do remix work, have to manage my labels, my loads of artists, international relationships with other music companies, I also do mastering work for a few big names aso. But this ain’t really a question as DJing is the most essential thing in my life and I don’t know if it would be LIFE without spinning records What is the best thing about this DJing lark? - seeing thousands and thousands of people screaming in front of you!! I love it!!! - visiting all the countries - and meeting all these nice people all over the planet And the worst? - jetlags - having the fattest man on earth right on the next seat in the plane for 12 hours and you just can’t even move or go to the toilet ? - Ukrainian airplanes (the last one I took from Simferopol to Kiev crashed on the runway – a turbine exploded!!!!!!!!). : Are you looking forward to playing in the UK at Filth on 21st December? Absolutely!!! The UK is a very special place for music and I think there’s no other place on earth where people LIVE music that extensively. You have an amazing musical culture and I really love spinning there! Will you be partying after your set? Hello, I’m here for PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is your favourite thing about playing in the UK? The explosive atmosphere!! The UK is a place where you can play records you would never ever spin somewhere else on the planet. People here just UNDERSTAND music more intuitive. Not to mention meeting all my UK friends... What’s next for Miles Dyson? I’m facing a new mix compilation which will be out in January, a lot of new productions and remixes will be coming in the next weeks and I recently started on a track with Hardy Hard (f.k.a Hardsequencer, a big name in the breaks scene and co-founder of MAYDAY). There are also negotiations of remix swapping and co-productions with Filthy Rich, DJ Dan and some other guys... As I said – no need to rest www.myspace.com/milesdyson Come and Jion our Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5590013417 SEE YOU ON THE DANCEFLOOR - DONT FORGET YOUR FANCY DRESS FOR CHEAPER ENTRY

After a fantastic start to 2007, most notably with his debut Album ‘Rendezvous’ enjoying heavy airplay and subsequent chart success all over Europe. David Vendetta returns in 2007 with a track featuring heavily on the planet’s dancefloors this winter with ‘Bleeding heart’. Named as one of the hottest house tracks to hit promo this winter, David’s track ‘Bleeding Heart’ with the sassy vocals of Rachel Starr is exploding on the dancefloors of the world’s DJ elite. With major support from Roger Sanchez, to the big guns of Pete Tong, Eric Morillo, Deep Dish, Tom Novy to Martijn Ten Velden and Bush II Bush and more ’Bleeding Heart’ now enjoys a full release. Please introduce yourself I have been a professional DJ for 10 years now and producer during 5 years. I always loved the avant-garde music, till my childhood. But first I had a classic education, I became a pharmaceutical representative. But the passion has overcame me and I stopped everything to try my chance in DJing. So how would you describe your sets? It’s often difficult to make me leave the dj booth…I don’t prepare my sets, I’m playing gradually in sharing feelings with clubbers. How do you feel that you fit into the musical mix in France? with people like Bob Sinclar, David Guetta, Martin Solveig and Justice? Do you feel that your style is representative of the sound of France? I respect them but I don’t consider that they are my rivals because we all have a different style that people like and this makes the real strength of the French touch. Most decent DJ's move into production from the DJ booth, Was it a smooth progression ? I’ve felt the need to produce after few years of experience as a resident in Parisian’s clubs like “les Bains”, “Follies Pigalle”, “L’Amnesia”. It’s important to build a carreer, but for my part both aspects are interesting for me, I couldn’t go on without one of them. How would you best describe your production sound ? My sound is a sensual, tuneful house and electro. Roger Sanchez is a big big fan of yours and has lead to lots of remixs on his label stealth, tell me a bit about that? I’ve been liking Roger Sanchez even before starting to work with him. I respect him for his mix technology and his human qualities. When I started to collaborate with him in 2004, I was honoured to be only French DJ who worked for his label Stealth. He put me up to the international dimension. This year you released your first artist album ‘Rendez-vous’. What did you want to achieve with this cd? After the success of “Love to Love you baby” and “Unidos Para la Musica” in France and over the world I felt it was the right moment to make an album so as everybody could go through my musical universe, which is bigger than they knew about me so far. The opening tracks on your album are quite special. What was so special about those tracks that you chose them for the openers? These are the tracks already released in singles with videoclips and so well known by the audience. They are like the beginning of the trip which is ending with with the last track : the flamenco version of “Unidos Para la musica”. Did you manage to get all the tracks that you wanted on the cd? Yes, I wanted to include only the tracks that I was fully satisfied . That’s why I didn’t hesitate to put of a couple of them before having the final tracklist. I really done what I wanted to do, I ‘d been lucky to work with renowned singers that trusted me like: Barbara Tucker (the diva of House music), or Keith Thompson, David Goncalves (Chocolate Puma’s vocalist), Rachael Starr… Your just about to release you new single ‘Bleeding Heart’ with the amazing vocals of Rachel Starr. Are you expecting it to be a dancefloor destroyer? I had just finished the instrumental version of “Bleeding Heart” for the Miami Winter Music Conference in last march. At this occasion with my violinist Micah we made an improvised set and someone put the a video online on “youtube”, today its’ the most visited video of WMC… “Bleeding Heart” is my favourite track of the whole album. What Artists do you admire ? Roger Sanchez, Queen, Mike Oldfield, Kate Bush, Pete Tong, Kaftwerk, Serge Gainsbourg… You have got a really successful radio show Tell us a bit about that ? My radio show is called Cosa Nostra, it’s also the name of my residency in Paris at Mix Club. Through my radio show I want to make discover different house sounds, not only making my own promotion. Every week, I include brand new tracks for my audience. You can find my show through the podcast on my website www.davidvendetta.com My Cosa Nostra radioshow is broadcasted in different countries all around the world. You've been in the business a few years now. Do you still get nervous before you DJ? I still have some apprehension before mixing, because I meet some new audience and my purpose is to enter in symbiosis with them and to make them feeling my passion. Do you have any advice for budding David Vendetta’s out there? They often ask me about the keys of success . I would say that this is the mixture of maturity, perseverance, talent, boldness, and also chance. What are you up to the next couple of months? The single with the videoclip “Bleeding Heart” are coming out the 16th December. I have also a lot of remixes to do , a lot of gigs ( a Turkish tour, another tour in the Eastern Europe etc…). I’m lauching my own brand of tee-shirts, available on my website before the end of the year. CHECK OUT ALL DAVID LATEST RELEASES ON www.myspace.com/djdavidvendetta

So Clive, why Australia? I’ve been a few times and LOVED it. It’s summer at the moment and forecast to be 38 degrees on Christmas day. The weather, the surfing (I can’t surf), the beach (girls in bikinis) and the fact that everyone in the shops can speak English. Is it not true that it’s actually because you really want to be Australian and that’s why you’ve been adopting that fake Australian accent all these years? I do want to be an Australian, or at least I need a passport if I’m going to stay for as long as I want to. That’s where Kate comes in. Plus, my accent is noted as being trans-Pacific neutral. You’re best known in London for running the hugely popular club night Platform 12. Do you think your tough management style is what led you to be so unpopular, or was it just your personality? Unpopular, moi? I just perceive that to be jealously. Do you think it’s possible to run a major club night and not become a “source of general public amusement”? (Source Undisclosed) That’s actually quite funny… I do get a lot of shit my way, and most of it is just your typical banter, but there has been some pretty off-key stuff too which I’m not happy about (see previous comment). I’ve seen dozens of REALLY funny photoshopped Clive Morley’s on the web though. People obviously have way too much time on their hands! Fine. One of your proudest moments must have been being made resident at nightclub Fabric and being nominated for Breakspoll. How would you describe yourself as a DJ? There are 2 types of DJs in this world; ones that do the “head bopping” while mixing, and the ones that “thrust the decks” while mixing. I’m a deck thruster. Musically, I play what I call “solid music that makes people dance their fucking arses off”. House, breaks, electro, vocals, crunchy, prodigy, Killers remix, whatever. If it’s solid sounding, with drums and a hook, then chances are I’ll be in to it. Style-wise, when I’m not shagging the decks, I’m doing my best to put records together in the right order and keep everything in key. I guess I’m like a credible party DJ. So not “one of the worst DJs I know” then? I bloody hope not. You definitely never said that ? To me? Last Friday? Hmm... So, tell me, how would you describe the various members of the current Platform 12 team? Platform 12 has a fabulous team which consists of designers, DJs, production staff and promotions. I’m just going to mention a few of the key people below as my dinner’s nearly ready. Do you know Star Trek? Kit’s my number 1. Plus he’s the biggest geek in the world. He pretty much does everything while I kick back and relax. In fact, while I’m talking to you, Kit’s probably off somewhere making a new illuminated sign that is sync’d to the bass drums or something. Zoe, who looks after about 75% of the web marketing and is utterly fabulous, is the quietest member of the team but one of the most respected. She’s great at what she does, very hardworking and we couldn’t do without her. Joana has been with us about a year and has been awesome just helping out on stuff. She probably takes the most flack from me & Kit but secretly we know she likes the attention J . She also, absolutely always, without fail, says “ok, thank you, goodbye” when hanging up the phone. She did once try to deviate, but then there was just a stutter and awkward silence so she has reverted back to her trusty method – give her a call and see. Sam Banks looks after our press and while being really elusive, is probably the loveliest person on the team… when we see her!!! Leo’s moved on from P12 these days but has become one of my closest friends ever since he joined us. Leo’s been there since the beginning (almost) and P12 wouldn’t be anywhere without him. He looks exactly like Bruce Lee, awesome DJ, very funny bloke and could happily waste 3 years inventing a faster way to lick a stamp. Julie Pepper is our promotions assistant and while having an annoying habit of speaking her mind, is very sweet and very hard working. And what makes the team so special, why has it been such as success? Because we’re a team. We all work hard for each other and everyone does their bit. There’s a huge amount of talent at P12 and I’m happy to take full credit for picking them out. And how exactly have you managed to convince them to do all the real work and let you take all the credit? What’s the secret? Well... if I told you that, then it wouldn’t be a secret! Now, on to you as a person, how would you describe yourself in 3 words (try to avoid using shameless, pervert and deviant). Unemployed, immigrated, jetlagged. If your friends had to describe you in only 3 words, which do you think they would use? Does the avoiding shameless, pervert and deviant still apply? I’m almost certain they would go for ambitious, fair and really-annoying-when-hammered-at-platform-12. Well, excitingly, we can find out. Here’s what they really think: Leo: He drives like he's driving Miss Daisy!! Kit: He’s got that special mincy mincy dance he does when girls are around. Sam: He hogs all the drink tokens. Zoelee: I used to fancy that guy from Spooks until I saw he was the spitting image of Clive Fascinating. Do you think you might want to change your description of them now, bearing those in mind? Ha ha – spot on guys!! Great. Well I feel I know a lot more about Clive Morley as a person and as a promoter, however, there is one thing that still interests me… Clive, so many DJs take on a new name when they start DJing, were you never tempted to do this? I think people that change their names have insecurity issues. So you never fancied changing your name to something totally different? Well, my only regret is that after changing my name to Clive Morley, I forgot to give myself a middle name! Hmm, interesting… Clive Morley was being interviewed by Simon McEvoy

After bursting on the scene early last year with an amazing Album release with Cr2 records, Danny Freakazoid has gone from strength to strength producing more electro bangers then you can throw a stick at. With gigs all over Europe and the UK, expect big things from this 21 year old in 2008. This month he is over in the UK playing for Filth in Leeds. We caught up with the hotshot producer to find out what he has been up to……………. Tell us a little bit about yourself? I am a Dj and Producer from Switzerland, 21 years old and I am working with a lots Labels from the UK like Ministry of Sound, CR2, Toolroom & Big Love…. Also I just did 2 Remixes for big German Labels such as Kontor and Superstar and some new stuff from me and my brother coming out on Joia Records Swede How would you describe your music style? My Music Style quiet Hard but with some elements of deep and Groovy ElectroHouse You’re playing in Leeds for Filth’s 1st Birthday. Are you excited? Have you played in Leeds before ? I am really excited about, because I always had good time in the UK! Well yes I have played once in Leeds for a CR2 event…can’t remember the name of the club. What have you got coming up after February? I will be more in studio to create some fresh tracks for Miami WMC!! Tours in Brazil and Australia ….and i will be play in JAPAN soon!! Have you got any productions coming out? Freaks Brothers “Soia” & Black or Blonde EP coming soon on Joia Records Veerus & Maxie Devine “French Bass” (Danny Freakazoid Mix) soon on Refune Records Jay Frog – Master & Servant (Danny Freakazoid Mix) soon on Kontor Records Billingual Freaks “Twisted Society” (Danny Freakazoid Mix) soon on Superstar Records You broke on the scene about a year ago with an amazing Album on Cr2. Tell us a little about that? This was really special for me! I done the album in two Years, so I created like a personal indication for myself as an artist and of course my Dj Name is getting mutch bigger with this...its not normal that a 19 year old boy from Switzerland is getting signed to an english record label ! or ? What’s it like getting you music signed to a big label like Cr2 ? Its just great to be with CR 2, it helps a lot when you have a good english label behind your name as Dj and Producer. Who are your favourite producers at the moment? John Dahlback and Tony Gomez ! Have you got any favourite DJs? Or anyone tipped for the top? Nic Fanciulli is the one and basta !! How did you get in the Dance music industry in the first place? Everytime I get asked this Question…..Well my Brother gave me a Erick Morrilo Mix Compilation and than it was clear what i am gonna do ! I was infected from the first minute ! Where would you like to play that you haven’t played club wise? Warung in Brazil, Space Miami and Pacha Buenos Aires ! or Festivals like Creamfields or any other Big Festival…. What do you do away from dance music? I play a lot Tennis and like to hang out with my friends…. Tell us something about yourself that not many people know? i have secrets i don't want to tell ! you not ? What do you think is the best thing in dance music at the moment? The way of Beatport, it never was so easy to find good music haleluja !! Check out Danny at Filth’s 1st Birthday on Saturday 2nd Feb www.filthuk.com www.myspace.com/dannyfreakazoid CHECK OUT THE FILTH FACEBOOK GROUP FOR MORE DETAILS ON EVENTS http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5590013417 DJ MAG / NOTION / MIXMAG AND PETE TONG ALL SAY FILTH IS THE MUST VISIT EVENT IN FEBRUARY

Is it my imagination or is there a dog on the dance floor?? No, your eyes do not deceive you, there is indeed a new dog in town and to be fair he’s about to drop some severe shit – of the musical variety party people >;) New label House-Trained launches with a stunning party at London’s hottest little club, The Island on Saturday Fe bruary 16th. This summer will see them drop the mother of all remixes of DJ Disciple’s 2007 Miami WMC and Ibiza smash hit ‘Work It Out’. With Disciple flying in from NYC to spin at the party, plus Manchester duo and production whizzkids Audiowhores, Raymundo Rodriguez, Shoom’s Steve Proctor, the Layabouts and Phil Loraine & Stu Hall, it’s categorically going to go off the wall. We caught up with the brains and the obvious beauty behind the whole shebang, Phil Loraine. A veteran of the music industry, Phil’s worked for the likes of Mercury Records, Manifesto and Serious Records before taking on the challenge of building his own imprint under the House-Trained moniker. Not only is he getting together with the likes of DJ Disciple but he’s also on the look-out for hot new talent, both DJs and producers, to work with, nurture and break out onto the market. To find out more about the man, his label, whether you could be a part of it (including how Hillary Clinton helps Phil get his groove on – mmmhmm!) read on my friend… So Phil you’re the brains behind House-Trained. Tell us more about the label and what you intend to do with it. To be honest, that question is a potential banana skin for a label that has yet to release a record! I certainly have some ideas about what I would like to happen but I’m experienced enough to know that things will probably end up looking very different to how I had intended in a year’s time. Actions speak louder than words, so I just want to get a few records out and let things develop organically. What’s your label philosophy? Well the accompanying slogan for the House-Trained club night has always been ‘No shit on the dancefloor’ so we’re going to do our best to carry that philosophy over into the activities of the label. I can’t start banging on about only releasing quality records though, because I will only set myself up for a mauling from the purists! There will always be someone out there who is critical of what you are doing, so the strapline is a bit tongue in cheek really, but it’s a nice ideal for us to strive towards. What kind of sounds can we expect to come from the label? What influences do you look to or are you going to do something completely fresh and new? It very much depends what kind of tracks become available to us. It would be futile to pigeon-hole the label by saying we’re only going to be loyal to one particular brand of house music because the scene re-invents itself so frequently now that we would almost certainly be left with egg on our faces. We just want to take each release on its own merits and see what develops. That said, it would be nice to have the opportunity to find the next big dance act like Orbital or The Chems and conquer the global festival circuit, but those kind of quality dance artists are few and far between these days. The label comes off the back of your earlier parties which started up in 2004. You had some seriously hot DJs playing there – Mylo, Terry Farley, Bill Brewster, Steve Proctor. How do you think your new night at the Island will compare with the original? Like most underground club nights, the original parties were only ever intended as an excuse to get all our mates together under one roof and have a spectacular blow out. Not much has changed since then, except that the majority of my mates are now married with children and we need a new set of punters! Joking aside, the Island is a far more polished club than the venues we previously chose, so with the Function One sound system to support the cali bre of the DJs we select, hopefully the nights will smack of quality whilst continuing to be supported by friendly, like-minded people who we can get to know and love. You’ve got some seriously big backing for the label from Universal Music. What freedom and flexibility has that given you, or has it? I have plenty of flexibility now which is good but it hasn’t always been that way. I started working at Universal seven years ago, initially for Giles Peterson’s label Talkin’ Loud and Def Jam in the early days. There were some management changes around the time that Talkin’ Loud went down and the company I was at (Mercury Records) started to move away from underground music and become more bands focused. Manifesto and Serious Records were also put to the sword during this era. Back then I was gutted about this switch of direction and I have had to wait patiently for a few years for this opportunity to get my ideas heard. Now I am in a different place all together and I am extremely grateful to the people I am working with for granting me the creative freedom to develop House-Trained into something bigger. So far, it has been a fantastic experience and hopefully this is just the beginning. Will we be seeing any Girls Aloud vocals on forthcoming House-Trained releases seeing as they’re also with Universal? Oh dear… believe it or not, my brother heads up their label so I should be careful how I answer this. The girls were actually in the canteen a few weeks ago so I seized the opportunity to give them all pink ‘House-Trained’ t-shirts. Celebrity endorsement is all good by me but in terms of musical direction, I can only say the words chalk and cheese spring to mind! You’re playing at the label launch night on Feb 16th but you eased yourself back into it all at the last ever Friday at The Cross. How was it for you? Yeah, I took a much needed break from the party scene and from DJ’ing last year and stopped accepting some of the tiring, soul-destroying gigs I was being offered. After fifteen years of relentless attachment to the club scene I was basically burnt out, so I took a step back and made the time to evaluate where I was trying to get to. So it’s nice to be back behind the decks again after a period of relentless grafting and the excitement and buzz of it all is slowly returning. I was probably sadder to see The Cross go than I was excited about getting to play there, but I am extremely pleased to have had that opportunity to do so. I spent many a lost night in there in my twenties and the fact that I left it so late to get a booking made the experience all the more memorable. It was nice to get my DJ partner Stu on board for that one too, I think he enjoyed it more than I did! Times they are definitely a-changing in the world of house, and dance music in general. How are you going to ensure that House-Trained manages to stick out in an increasingly turbulent market? I think the secret lies in not trying to make it stick out really. Attraction rather than promotion is the core philosophy to building a successful club brand these days, the younger punters are far more marketing savvy than we give them credit for, particularly in London where there is so much noise to compete against. Hopefully our events will continue to attract more of the down-to-earth, fun-loving people that the early parties did and word of mouth will do the rest. What is your personal experience in the music industry? I have had mixed feelings about the industry as a whole over the years and the broad spectrum of strong-minded characters I have come across along the way, but looking back I wouldn’t change a thing about the path I have taken. My experience is that you need to develop a thick skin, which took a while for me, but only then do you become more accepting of the trickier people you encounter. In the end everyone has their foibles, me included and you learn to take something new from every experience. It’s going to sound very clichéd but passion and perseverance are essential requirements too. At eighteen, I was working in a meat factory in Liverpool and pumping my disposable income into buying records. I’m 32 now but I still feel that I have a hell of a long way to go to get to where I want to go. One year I had interviews at Azuli, Defected, Hed Kandi and EMI and got rejected from them all. Sometimes it felt like all the doors had closed on me but on reflection I am definitely happy that it happened that way, despite my obvious disappointment at the time. Being the boss of your own record label, you must have to keep up to speed with all the changing formats of distribution and just generally getting your message out there to the buying public. What new areas have emerged in the last year or so that you want to tap into at the moment? As much as I hate to say it, the whole Facebook phenomenon is a God send and seems to have moved club promotion into a whole new stratosphere - it’s an incredibly user-friendly tool for getting your message out to the right people. I lived in Stoke-on-Trent for a few years and when I look back at the times I stood out on the street talking up my nights and handing out tapes and flyers in the pissing rain… it makes me sick to think how much easier it all is now! As for music distribution, I sometimes focus on the negative effects of the digital revolution a little too much, but there’s no denying the positive aspects are there for all to see, so we just have to embrace the change. Do you think the whole digital era has been good or bad for music on the whole? As I said, there are two sides to this argument and both have some very valid points. So far, many smaller companies have been unable to adapt to the new model to make it work for them and the period of change has caused so much turbulence for these people. It’s sad to see that side of things but there’s no denying the obvious advantages of being able to send and receive tracks in literally minutes and shop for tunes on-line etc. I still marvel at this side of things on a daily basis, though it has taken a while for me to adapt. I still like to use vinyl when I DJ but every time I play a broad, I have the ridiculousness of this stubborn resistance hammered home to me when humping my box through customs and around a foreign country! In the last few months, three of the major distribution networks including Amato have gone under. How do you go about distributing your sound now? It’s extremely sad to see how the distributors have been affected and the knock-on effect this is having on the shops and the labels that rely on them. There are still plenty of alternative ways to get your music distributed though, obviously digital being one of them, there are just fewer options now which can only be bad for everyone involved with making new music. Speaking of your sound, it’s a pretty damn fierce release that you’re launching with the 2008 mixes of DJ Disciple’s massive stormer ‘Work It Out’. How did your relationship with him come about? I’ve actually had very little interaction with Disciple so far, though that’s all about to change in the run up to the launch of the single and the club night. We signed the track from Alex Gold of Xtravaganza fame so the whole connection was initiated through him primarily. What are the new mixes like and how do they differ from the original? The original was actually a soulful house style mix by Gilbert Le Funk that blew up in Miami first time round. UK radio supported this version too at the time but it was really the Ruff & Tort mix which did the damage in Ibiza and in the UK clubs. I had heard it on pirate radio a few times, but when I saw the incredible reaction to it on Space Terrace one Saturday afternoon last summer, I knew it would be perfect for House-Trained and I had to try and locate it and sign it. The new Mischa Daniels mix is a huge electro-style re-work and there a number of other mixes in the pipeline that also do the damage whilst staying true to the original. It’s a fantastic record still and it deserves to go all the way. Any plans to work with him further? We are working on a track by track basis but ‘Changes’ was another huge anthem of last year and no doubt there will be more tracks in the pipeline from the Catch 22 stable in 2008. Disciple and Ruff and Tort are incredibly talented producers and I’m excited about their productions. For the moment, we’re just looking forward to having Disciple over for the launch party and witnessing him play for us in such an intimate environment. Usually I get nervous before any event I promote but with so many other great DJs on the night, I’m looking forward to this one enormously already! Who else have you got in the studio at the moment? We have about five releases lined up for the months ahead but no artists signed to the label exclusively or for album projects as yet. The main thing at the moment is for us to increase awareness and create a positive image, so hopefully we attract the right artists and the producers of the future to the label. You’re on the look-out for new talent, artists and producers. What are you looking for and how can we get in touch with you? We are actively on the look-out for new DJs, artists, tracks and talent. You can send us demo CDs via the address on our website ( www.house-trained.com ) but we are only a small outfit at present so we cannot guarantee everyone a response, though we do promise to listen to everything we are sent. Please only send material you think will befit the ‘House-Trained’ label though – we are not acting as A&R for any other labels within the Universal Group so please think before just sending us anything!!! What resources and commitment can you offer them? What makes you different from the rest and why should they put their work and talent in your hands? Ha ha... we are not making any promises to anyone other than the one I made in the last question to make an honest commitment to listen to everything we are sent. If you’ve ever seen the size of an A&R man’s mail bag, you will appreciate that is a tall order in itself! In a perfect world, where would House-Trained be in five years time? Obviously an Ibiza residency would be a dream come true for me, or alternatively a return to my beloved northern roots to become the next superclub brand to conquer Liverpool… move over James Barton! Ha ha… Failing that, I’d be grateful if I still have my health, my happiness and my hand in a scene that has so far had a detrimental effect on the former but an immeasurably heartening effect on the latter. Describe yourself: Humble, hostile, loving, respectful, honest, hard-working and unstable. A well-mannered acid casualty for short. Perfect DJ and why? All back to ours for a 24 hour after party and find out for yourself! What do you think will be in heaven and hell? Me and my dream partner in heaven; hell for the vast majority of my exes. What are your thoughts on Hillary Clinton? Hillary Clinton is someone I only ever think about when I’m in the throes of passion and want to enhance the experience. I’m not going to describe those thoughts for you I’m afraid. Gym freak or couch potato? Both. One month on, one month off each the whole year round usually to ensure I never get particularly fond of either. Best party you’ve ever been to and why? I think it would have to be my first taste of Ibiza. We hired this enormous villa for dirt cheap and invited a boat load of randoms back one night for a totally unplanned party. There were people I didn’t know in every room but nothing got taken or broken, everyone just respected the situation for what it was. I just remember standing on this gigantic roof terrace at lunchtime the next day in the blazing sun, party still on-going and seeing all these strangers dotted around the pool and just laughing inwardly. I didn’t have a care in the world and naturally I fell in love with the island after that. The tunes that year were phenomenal too; it was the perfect Ibiza experience. If you could do one thing to yourself, what would it be and why? Halt the ageing process permanently. Not because I’m vain but because I’m bald enough already! Good looking girls or funny girls? Good looking, funny, intelligent girls who aren’t mental. Introduce me to one, let me sleep with her and then I’ll show you you were wrong. Finally, tell us about your Dad on Bora Bora beach J It was my Dad’s 71st birthday on Friday and I’ve just spent the weekend with him; the guy’s a living legend and I idolise him. It just so happened he was in Ibiza with his mates last year when I went over, so I met up with him at Bora Bora and made him get amongst it. He’s got a metal knee these days but he’s still active and he’s completely young at heart. I got some great footage and pictures of him dancing and being talked into oblivion by all kinds of nutters, but I felt terrible when I played them back to him on UK soil. He said he had actually been ill with food poisoning that day but tolerated the whole thing almost entirely for my benefit. Fair play to him though, he was spinning stories to my mates all afternoon and he put that twat who dresses like Spiderman to shame! It was priceless looking back on it, though probably not something I will ever do again…

Gatecrasher catch up with Ferry Corsten, ahead of his 3 hour set at the Gatecrasher's 15th Birthday event, at their spiritual home in Sheffield. GC: Described as the "architect, pioneer and instigator" of trance, what are your thoughts on the scene as a whole? Ferry: Trance has come a long way since it’s heyday in the late nineties. It has gone through a phase of progressive, harder , electro and it looks like it’s slowly going back to it roots. In my opinion, if done right, trance is the most innovative music genre out there. GC: With numerous Dutch Gold awards and UK Top 40 hits for your productions, which are you more, a DJ or a Producer? Ferry: -In the beginning, I used to say that I was more of a producer than a DJ. I was lucky to break into the scene through the success of my own music productions in the late nineties. However, due to that success, I was able to release a number of compilations called Trance Nation with Ministry of Sound which kicked off my career as a DJ. After all these years, I would say that I am definitely both… a producer and a DJ. I spend just as much time (sometimes even more due to travelling ) DJing as I have sitting in the studio late at night to finish a track. The difference nowadays, is that I work on my productions a lot on the road as I do not have the luxury to wait to get home to start on a track. GC: With such a hectic schedule, how does Ferry Corsten unwind and relax? Ferry: When you´re really busy, you really get to enjoy the simple things in life. I am so happy when I get to come home, hang in my own couch, sleep in my own bed, and eat a great home cooked meal. GC: What is your current top 5? Ferry: 1. Masters & Nickson ft. Justine Suissa - 5Th Dimension (Daniel Kandi Bangin' Mix) 2. Off Key - Showdown (Ali Wilson & Scott Attrill Remix) 3. Re:Locate & Menno de Jong – Spirit (Paul Miller 2008 Rework) 4. Embrace – Embrace (Ferry Fix) 5. Solarstone - 4Ever GC: What piece of advice would you give to any DJ aspiring to be the next Ferry Corsten? Ferry: I always tell people to trust themselves and to follow their own path. You can be successful in copying other people but you can have success and earn a lot more respect if you do things in your own unique way. GC: Which DJs do you predict to be hot for 2008/09? Ferry: I’ve been pretty impressed with the last productions and DJ sets of Bart Claessen. He’s been putting out some real powerful productions and remixes. Casey Keyworth "Breakfast" has been travelling with me on a couple of tours now and I’m very impressed with his DJ skills and of course his productions. GC: You have played for Gatecrasher on numerous occasions, most recently at the Gatecrasher Resurrection at Magna in March. You will be back to headline their 15th Birthday Event back in their spiritual home of Sheffield. Why do you think Gatecrasher have continued to be successful after so many years? Ferry: Gatecrasher has continued to be successful after so many years because they have managed to work with the times. Whereas a lot of brands have fallen off the map or are struggling to keep up with the way big shows are produced nowadays, Gatecrasher has persevered. GC: You have always had a special relationship with the crowd at Gatecrasher. What makes it so special? Ferry: I guess because Gatecrasher was one of those clubs that helped make trance music the success . it is today. I was looking at a Gatecrasher Classic CD a few months back and saw how many of my production contributed to that classic CD. GC: What can the Gatecrasher crowd expect from you at the 15th Birthday event? Ferry: 3 hours of massive energy. GC: What is Ferry Corsten up to for the rest of 2008 and moving into the New Year? Ferry: I am working very hard to finish my latest artist album taking a bit of time off after that to enjoy some important things in life