We're absolutely ecstatic to have Manchester's legendary Homoelectric bringing us a well-needed dose of their own brand of rainy-city hedonism to our Sundance stage at Audio Farm Festival.
From the creators of Electric Chair and The End Of Year Riot right the way to Homobloc, The team behind Homoelectric has been fuelling the party flame in Manchester for over 3 decades with a genuine earnest attitude that prioritises the people on the dancefloor.
The lineup for their Audio Farm Festival doesn't let this proud tradition down, with the great bear of the Berlin house scene, Prosumer and Manchester legend in her own right, DJ Paulette joining up for an onstage love-in.
Not being overshadowed, the Homoelectric residents are considered some of the finest selectors around in their own right and we're lucky enough to be seeing Gina Breeze and Will Tramp exposing you to a sleazy underbelly of Manchester's vibrant club culture with their own inimitable obnoxious cocktail of black curtain disco, muscular house, and rampant chunky grooves.
In fine fashion to mark the announcement of Homoelectric at Audio Farm, Will Tramp sat down to create a scientifically perfect mixtape in the form of a Spotify playlist for your journey down to Hopton Court this September.
All that Will has asked for in return is that you file this under: 'Road Trip Slayers'
You can catch Will and all the team assembled, plying their trade on the Friday of the festival.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0tg0lsMO1CEC3Ki4TJsnnL?si=df3e8f5eae2449f1
AUDIO FARM HEADLINERS 002: LTJ BUKEM
"Each new hour holds new chances for new beginnings, the horizon leans forward, Offering you space to create new steps of change". A millisecond of silence hangs in the air like a vacuum in deep space. Then. ...Boom! The crowd erupts as the breaks charge out the speakers across the dancefloor like horses bolting out of the stable door. Dumbfounded, watching this elegant creature galloping in its natural habitat with tears in my eyes unashamedly watching LTJ Bukem drop his seminal track 'Horizons' at Glastonbury's Silver Hayes 5 years ago.
Danny Williamson's marriage of Jazz and second-wave Detroit techno with raw, hardcore breaks from the UK made his sound sit side-by-side with the likes of Lenny Dee, Slipmatt, and Carl Cox in early tape packs and Dreamscape flyers and yet miles apart sonically. He became a poster boy for the burgeoning 'Intelligent Drum & bass' of the 90s that tied likes of Roni Size, Goldie, and Adam F together under one umbrella.
Instead of reading a whole lifted, dusty biography, we've put together a selection of some of Bukem's biggest moments on wax.
With its lush, thick, Juno pads laid over rough-shot amen breaks, Deamon's theme was the first record to be released on the seminal, Good Looking Records.
Sampling the 91 track 'Thoughts Of Mind' for his 93 Good Looking release gives the sample a whole new lease of life.
This absolute heartstring tugger is easily one of the most memorable tracks in D&B history
Atlantis is the remix of Bukem's own Apollo 2 guise, a track called Return To Atlantis. That iconic riff, however, dates back to banger from 1990 called 'Real To Real' by Surken.
LTJ Bukem will be closing down our Saturday evening with solid support from Manchester's finest. Rich Reason and Biome.
-: Check this really informative video clocked while I was looking for one of the above links.
It's an interesting look at how music in general is made
AUDIO FARM FESTIVAL HEADLINERS 001: AFRODEUTSCHE
Music is a fluent language for the multifaceted artist known as Afrodeutsche, charting a unique and defined course through the rough terrain of the electronic music landscape.
Henrietta Smith-Rolla started out in her journey through a string of intimate live performances around the Mancunian underground, hand in hand with appearances on NTS, organically evolving into Afrodeutsche's acclaimed monthly 'Black Forest Radio Show'.
An irresistible force cheered on by a loving local fanbase, Afrodeutsche has exploded onto the international stage fuelled by a production sound that draws from a deep library of references evoking everything from seminal Detroit artists like Drexia, Underground Resistance and Vangelis. All these easily apparent in releases like the jaw-dropping 2018 debut album: 'Break Before Make', on seminal Manchester label, Skam as well as the first releases on Eclair FiFi's 'Rapid River' imprint.Afrodeutsche's DJ sets are a freeform sonic kata, delicately tip-toeing across punchy electro, effortlessly bending monstrous warehouse grooves and into old-skool rave breakbeats at whim. These skills have been witnessed alongside seminal artists like Aphex Twin, Goldie and 808 State, in venues like Berghain and The White Hotel, and on display in lip-splitting sets at Dekmantel Boilerroom and HOR.
We're looking forward to hosting Afrodeutsche with open arms and some desperately itchy feet here at Audio Farm alongside some of the biggest artists on the planet!
Hope you can join us this coming September at Hopton Court.
FESTIVAL SOUNDS
We're just around the corner from the start of the festival calendar, with many of us chomping at the bit, itching to get outside for a bit of a rave-up in a field or even a local park with a mini rig and a bottle of Buckfast.
Well, to make these symptoms even worse we've been asking some of the artists on our bill what their favourite festival tracks are and why they're so special.
We've been happy and surprised at some of the results:
Ste Chesters (Audio Farm Festival)
"One of my fav tunes at the festival of all time is when Carl Craig dropped Gypsy Woman in 2018 on the Sundance stage. I was sorting some staffing at the stage and as soon as I heard it, I ran from the situation and raved in the sun. Magic
Mark Archer (Altern8)
“It’s just one of those tracks that’s passed down well through the past couple of decades, it’s a beast of a track and a brilliant sing-a-long track that is a perfect set closer”.
Steevio (Freerotation)
“I can't remember how many times I lay on my back with my eyes closed in a chillout tent at some festy or another, coming down from a night of hedonistic fun x”
High Hoops "Picked this beast up in a wicked shop in Marseille late last year. So many things we love about this track from the heavy acid tinges to the tripped-out goa trance-like vocals. Absolute killer”
Aloona (Ministry Of Sound).
“Every time I hear it I am transfixed by this beautiful rousing blend of Indian drums, orchestral harmonies, and electronica. Perfect to welcome the start of a festival day”
Blasha & Allatt (Meat Free)
"Give me a UK raver worth their salt that doesn't get excited when this comes on! Absolute classic! We went through of a phase playing this out loads about a year ago, but still bangs each and every time"
Sam Watson (Freerotation)
This track for me sums up everything I love about techno. It has purpose, progression, melody, depth, drive, darkness and beauty and takes you to a place where you step out of reality. If played anywhere especially a festival it's the kind of track to lose yourself in.
Many thanks to everyone that contributed to the cause.
You can catch these talented performers over the course of the weekend, be on the lookout for the line ups and full stage guides that will be released shortly.
In the meantime you can check out the blog for more features, articles and mixes from festivals past.
DON'T KiNK TOO HARD
There’s a lot to be said about our first featured headliner, KiNK. Whether it be his unique, energy-filled performances on his ever-changing hybrid set up, his ingenious production methods or his actual varied and deeply original footprint on the house and techno sound.
So, as far as I’m aware from videos on his Facebook page, KiNK lives in some sort of Wonka type paradise in Sofia
that’s crammed with every type of drum machine and sampler a producer can imagine.
In my experience bar a few exceptions, gear hoarding like that often comes paired with an interesting and varied back catalogue.
Now, KiNK’s musical history dates to 2006 and almost everything he’s done stands out as absolute quality, so one’s perspective in what stands out as a highlight in his back catalogue may be different to someone else’s.
Handmade (Featuring Rachel Row)
Kink’s maiden outing on Amsterdam’s hallowed imprint,Rush Hour has a very organic feel to it that compliments that label so perfectly and there’s a very good reason why in an incredible ‘making of’ video
Existence
See, this is a signature KiNK sound. Absolute piano screamers for the floor.
Taken from the b side of his 'Rachel' E.P on Josh Wink's acclaimed 'Ovum' label in 2010, it seems to pave the way for many of the future work outs for the man.
Rave Signal
Rave Signal smashed into clubs around 2012 with it's fire alarm square wave stabs and break cut up that seem to be lifted right from an Altern8 record. KiNK shows off off his love for jungle and proto-hardcore sounds that continue to weave through his musical DNA.
Unit 2 - Sunshine (KiNK Remix)
The 1992 Underground Resistance classic got a huge 2017 remake ahead of the reissue on Running Back
Chorus
This melodic charger keeps building and building. There's nothing not to love about it.
Valentines Groove
This low down Rhodesy work out on Clone's Royal Oak sublabel takes KiNK on a deviation from much of his body of work, some might say this has an echo of Motor City Drum Ensemble, but it's just another string to his bow.
Perth
This 90s house flavour is simple yet so addictive, as is the case with many of KiNK's work.
If you've got a favourite kiNK construction, then please feel to share it in the comments section on our social media channels where you see this post.
You can also get acquainted with some exclusive music of sets recorded from our previous events on our SOUNDCLOUD page
YOUR ONE TRIBE 2020 A-Z
It feels good to be finally back at the One Tribe news desk and it’s already it feeling like we never left.
According to my most recent calendar, it’s a new year and what an exciting year 2020 shaping up to be with September’s Festival lineup being one of the most in-depth and diverse with talent across the music landscape.
I know there’ll be many musically inclined that saw the line-up and lost their minds and well done to you lot.
But, I thought it’d be nice to have a go-to A-Z guide of all our fabulous acts just in case you may have missed something and regret after the festival. It's the philanthropist in me.
Also, this can be used as a guide for those around you that weren't as animated as you might have expected from phase one announcement. The ones that had blank faces while you yelled what were essentially random words at them whilst maniacally swinging off the light bulb; “What’s a Prosumer” and “don't Kink at me”. The latter may see you end up in human resources.
Between now and the time comes to open the festival gates we'll be doing more featurettes like these including interviews, mixes, and playlists from the artists, promoters, and DJs that will be with us over that weekend.
Now that we’ve got the prologue out the way, let's see what we’ve got on the board so far.
AGE OF GLASS
We start with Age Of Glass. A slick grooved Manchester band that has played every festival that our crew has put on.
I would be struggling to coin a sentence better than the one on their Facebook page
“The bastard triplet of Björk and Joe Strummer, they will make you dance with your hands in the air like you just don’t care.”
ALOONA
The Ministry Of Sound regular made her festival debut for us on a hazy Saturday summer morning with a refreshing collection of jazz-step and artcore.
ANNABEL FRASER.
One of the most genre-pushing selectors, not only in Manchester but on the musical map asa whole. We’ve proudly supported Annabel Fraser since we’ve started the festival, with her set at the Audio Farm Festival at The Workhouse way back in 2013
Her continued commitment to deep dive crate digging and procurement of interesting and rare beats from across the musical spectrum has earned Annabel pride of place at events from Pikes Hotel to The White Hotel and turning heads/warping minds at her residency on NTS
BEN SIMS
The UK techno machine that’s been one of the biggest flag-wavers for the scene for some decades now. He’s Ben Sims. What more do you want me to say?
BLASHA & ALLAT
You can expect absolute screamers from the word go from the techno talisman team.
They’re a rallying war cry for the roaring underground in Manchester with clinical turntable precision and world-class meme game.
This is from a rowdy room 3 at Freerotation that many of us here were losing stones to.
COMMIX
As a DJ his focus is on the deep, the experimental and the musical. Drawing on his wealth of experience in both Drum & Bass and 4x4 based genres, he joins these styles together in a mesmerising weave, defying genre and categorisation, that cements his reputation as one of the most respected artists in the scene today.
CRAZY P (DJ)
Less representative of a DJ set, this track from the band I’ve loved for many years. Crazy P’s disco tinged elements are always on show, whether fronted by Danielle Moore’s shape throwing performance or the heads down disco in some of their DJ sets, the same quality is apparent.
D.A.V.E THE DRUMMER
He’s continues to pave his own path since this 90’s radioactive firestorm, Henry being one of the highlights of the 2017 Audio Farm Festival event where he closed the Forest Stage with a tour de force of clinical pneumatic techno. A must see for all the stompers out there.
DJ FOOD
Those who like their Hop Tripped will be lazing around the couch with excitement at the announcement of DJ Food
Ninja Tune darlings and pioneers of that slack, lo fi grooves will be on hand for the perfect hazy summer afternoon.
DRS
Liquid lyricist MC DRS is back with us once again. First thing I’d ever heard him on was an outstanding yet tricky time signature track from Blame called 360 Click alongside Conrad. I did have a look for it but couldn’t find it. It’s on Logical Progression 2 if you want to dig it out.
In terms of more recent effort, here’s him painting lyrics over the legendary and never forgotten Marcus Intalex
EUPHONIQUE
Here’s Nikki AKA Euphonic. The fearsome midlands Drum & Bass ambassador.
I’m going to let her music speak for itself. Check out a set made purely from her own work.
GINA BREEZE
Hailing from Manchester, UK, Gina Breeze is a driven, passionate and charismatic DJ and producer with a unique approach to her blend of house music, tech and experimental electronica..
JEROME HILL
The DON’T and Super Rhythm Trax head honcho is arguably one of the most versatile DJ’s to walk the planet, Jerome sits in his own personal gravity that straddles techno, acid and rave all etched together with hip hop and electro sensibilities. His DJ sets are always guaranteed to blow the roof off wherever he is.
KINK (LIVE)
The unprecidented force of nature in KiNK is astounding. Unautordox to the core, Kink blends house techno and Jungle sounds together in a very unique approach to performance, triggering sounds and jamming on the fly with an ever changing kit list and an attitude fixated on crowd enjoyment.
KRYSKO
There's a certain amount of romance around the the name Krysko for generations of club goers across the decades.
Many of the most legendary events over the years from his Sankey Soap tenure in the early late 90's into the early millenuim, through to the decade and a half reign of the Warehouse Project, we'd have all seen the name Krysko on various seminal posters on walls off Oxford Road or a flyer in Eastern Bloc. It's with good reason that his name has stood the test of time with impeccable taste, great feeling for the floor and passion for what he does.Long live Krysko. Manchester's resident DJ.
LEAH FLOYEURS
Long time Freerotation resident. Leah has a keen ear for haptic rhythms in her eloquently programmed sets. Techno from the forefront at its best.
LTJ BUKEM
Roundly viewed as the godfather of liquid. That's incredibly reductive. Bukem is a rare entity on the dancefloor that's changed the conversation so many times. From Demons Theme, to Atlantis (I Need You) and most importantly in my eyes 'Horizons'. This mix is a fair representation of what to expect with the D&B Don.
METRODOME
Manchester's Metrodome is possibly the most standalone artist on the bill. His music is unique, forging bass, forwardthinking drum programming and melodic sound design and twisting it into something wholley new, yet relatable in the molds of modern day bass music. That or I'm talking nonsense and this party starter mix is much more about it. The truth is somewhere in between.
MOBIUS LOOP
Mobius Loop have been low key and in some cases high-key moments at our festivals over the years. Their fun and often thought provoking music has been a welcome addition and always seem to bring something new to the table.
After a good while of trawling through footage, I finally settled on this clip from our friends over at Kendal Calling asit's the most evocative of their festival presence.
MUNGO'S HI FI
Mungo’s Hi Fi are a soundsystem and music production collective based in Glasgow, Scotland. They produce and play music which blends Jamaican influence with contemporary bass music, resulting in a unique take on Ska, Reggae, Dancehall and Dubstep that has made them firm favourites in the underground music scene.
PROSUMER
The big bear of house music is heading over to lovingly mawl uswith one of the most comprehensive vocabularies of house and disco around. Here's him in one of the most iconic Boiler Rooms of all time.
RICH REASON
Personally, one of my favourite mixes from one of the most influential names in Manchester's underground. His mariana trench level knowlwedge of multigenre evolution is eye-watering. His night Hit & Run aftermore than a decade is more impressive and that's before we even get to Levelz and Rich's strong ethic and community work. Layers and layers to this guy!|
SAM WATSON
Sam is a tuned in techno DJ with decades of experience on the turntables, holding court at Freerotation every year as well as for the Audio Farm, Onetribe and Festival No 6.
SPECTRASOUL
Since their emergence in 2006, SpectraSoul have carved a truly unique position, not only in Drum & Bass, but electronic music as a whole. Having released music on only the very finest and most respected labels in the scene. Goldie's Metaheadz
TANTZ
Over the last few years, Leeds' based klezmer/Balkan beats/gypsy jazz bohemians Tantz have taken the UK world/roots music scene apart with their full-on musical attack on audiences across the length and breadth of this nation.
THE STORYTELLERS: DJ BONE / DEETRON
It's so nice to see these two together. Watch this space as two of techno's finest geared minds throw down this September.
WILL TRAMP .
Will Tramp is a firm favourite over this way, crossing paths with him at his residency at Homoelectric, The End Of Year Riot, Parklife and anywhere else a good cross section of house, disco and party anthems are needed, sewn together with some hands-in-the-air accapellas are needed.
ZED BIAS
The man about 'Neighbourhood' is famed for his garage footprint but he switches styles through his set like tapas. It's truly a bit of an honour to finally have the man down to One Tribe.
If that isn't enough music for you then be sure to check out our Soundcloud account where we've got a bunch of exclusive sets from the likes of Special Request, DJ Sneak and many more.
Audio Farm 2018 Revisited: SPECIAL REQUEST & XDB live
With festival season in full swing and it feels weird that there is no audio farm event this year, however, we're getting some much-needed rest and recuperation ahead of future plans.
With the hope of taking you back to Hopton Court last year, we've got a double offer of world-class music recorded on the Saturday at Audio farm.
From a hazy afternoon on the Sundance stage, we have a favourite from this year's Freerotation festival the larger than life XDB. And from The Home Of The Drum stage later that evening, Paul Woolford's rave marauder alias 'Special Request' It's fair to say that these two artists are at the forefront of what they do and we're so happy we can finally share these with you.
Many thanks to Alex Downey for all the help in capturing these recordings.
Look to the website, Instagram, Soundcloud and Facebook pages for more mixes and up to date information about our upcoming events and shows x
Audio Farm presents Steevio and Suzybee this Easter Weekend
Steevio has been involved in electronic music since he managed the UK’s first electro / breakdance club The Sidewalk in 1982 in Newcastle. It was the beginning of a love affair with machines that has only grown stronger with the passing years. His early electro experiments were surpassed throughout the 90’s when he became a live techno artist at clubs and free parties in the UK releasing dozens of records under various aliases such as 3000003, Free Radicals and Mindtours, and managed several techno labels, culminating in the formation of the Mindtours label with Suzybee in 2000.
Always remaining stoutly underground, with the focused intention of producing original live electronic music on hardware, in 2005 he returned to his former interest in organising events and created the first Freerotation Festival with Suzybee in Wales. Freerotation has grown from a small party for friends and like-minded musicians into the highly-regarded and much-loved international event it is today.
Freerotation has furnished Steevio with the perfect platform to showcase his live hardware performances, but everything moved up a gear in 2009 when he built a dedicated modular synthesizer as an improvisational instrument on which to make techno, and from 2010 he began performing live on his new set-up at Freerotation.
Steevio’s modular is 100% analogue, so there are no memories to save sounds or sequencing patterns, and everything happens in real time. Steevio’s performances are pure improvisation, and all the music is totally unique to each gig. All the sequences and sounds are created from scratch on the fly.
Recently Steevio has embarked on several projects with other live artists, The High-on-Wye Quintet with Move D, Soulphiction and Juju & Jordash, and Circle of Live with Sebastian Mullaert, Mathew Jonson, Johanna Knutsson and Dorisburg, and more recently the Circle of Live has expanded to include such diverse artists as Amp Fiddler, Peter Van Hoesen, Frank Wiedermann, Steffi, Vril and more.
AUDIO FARM'S 10TH BIRTHDAY IS HERE!
It’s been 10 years since Audio Farm opened the gates to a journey that has taken us on an explosive ride of colour and sound that’s took in some of the finest DJ’s, artists and bands the world has to offer in the ever-expanding adventure.
So, it only seemed right that Audio Farm came back to Manchester to recreate the excitement and electricity of that Thursday in January 2009, where the first needle dropped onto the Audio Farm turntables, with music blasting through the night in the Northern Quarters Moho Live, right through to the after parties in the infamous basement of 148 Wellington Road, Withington.
The Audio Farm journey has created Free Forest Parties and Secret Venues to Club Takeovers, Holistic Events and 6 Transformative Festivals with a mindset for ever-changing, innovative and evolving gatherings that bring beautiful people together to enjoy eclectic musical soundscapes and immersive delights from all corners of the planet.
So, the Audio Farm Family ask everyone who has been part of the journey along the way to be part of an extra special, unique and magical Audio Farm 10th Birthday celebration that will showcase the best elements of the story so far...
////// WHAT'S GOING ON? \\\\\\
****** HOME OF THE DRUM (LIVE) ******
A place to enjoy some Live Funk, Ska, Gypsy Folk, Tribal and Electronic Bands, with staged Theatrical Circus Shows. Later join in on the Jam until 4am, (bring that instrument!).
8:30pm - The Beatnik Collective
9:15pm - Circus Show
9:45pm - Galivantes
10:30pm - Circus Show
11pm - Mama Moonshine
11:45pm - Circus Show
12:15am - Barry Gammon & the Midday Incident
1am - Circus Show
1:30am - Age of Glass
2:30am - Jam with Rasta Drummers & The Beatnik Collective
(Bring your instrument)
****** BASEMENT ******
>>>>> 10pm until 4am - Audio Farmers <<<<<
The Audio Farmers will be curating the nights music in a basement (home from home), bringing together a selection of forwarding thinking and classic House and Techno tracks that have made people move on the dance floor over the last 10 years.
****** PRE EVENT GONG BATH / SOUND JOURNEY INFO ******
>>>>> 7:15pm until 8:15pm <<<<<<
Get in the zone with a sound journey. Paul is a certified gong master and will provide a variety of rejuvenating sounds, intuitively played to create the soundtrack for your own personal "journey" of inner space. This is more than a “performance” and is more of a meditational experience. Through the use of various holistic instruments such as gongs, Himalayan singing bowls, drum, rattles, and chimes, a cocoon of living tones will provide holistic healing for the many layers of your being, including the physical, emotional, energetic and spiritual bodies we all possess. These sacred tones are catalysts for deep meditative states, facilitating the potential for lucid visions, dematerialisation, a sense of levitation or astral projection. When we are in these states, our bodies are extremely relaxed, enabling the body’s natural healing processes to take place efficiently, with great effect.
(BRING WARM CLOTHES, BLANKET AND MAT IF POSSIBLE AS WILL BE SITTING OR LYING DOWN.)
AUDIO FARM FESTIVAL LIVE - BLEEPFUNK
Graham Fletcher is an electronic music trooper of the most diligent.
Meeting him some years back on the campsite of Freerotation some years back, it was clear from a cursory conversation that I was just treading water in shallows of a Mariana trench depth level of electronic music knowledge.
That musical knowledge is spread over two sets featuring his performances on both our main 'Sundance' stage and also his early morning ambient set at our 'Nest' stage.
Graham is no stranger to the latter, having spent over 16 hours behind the turntables on the Nest stage in 2017's One Tribe festival alongside his turntable tag team partner and another one of our family favourite, Luke Farey.