303 LIVERPOOL FEATURE: MASTERS OF MACHINE MUSIC ON MERSEYSIDE
It's fair to say that Liverpool's underground music scene has had a facelift from the Cream dominated years with a slew of new venues and club nights pulling themselves out of the woodwork and into a scene that's teeming with fresh talent.
303 have very much established themselves as charge leaders in making the city the hot-spot that it is today with a who's who of electronic music's greatest envelope pushers and legendary selectors gracing the turntables to packed, fever-pitch crowds at every show.
Clubnight cornerstone, Kenny Muir sat down to answer the pressing (and some not-so) questions behind the 4-year roller-coaster ride through the Williamson Tunnels and beyond.
So, the city of Liverpool‘s underground seems to flourishing in the last few years do you think you’re a symptom of the revival or part of the cause?.
"It certainly is flourishing and it’s great to see so many try their hand at the promotion game. Liverpool isn’t the biggest city in the country but it is certainly the most competitive with new nights popping up literally every month and some great one’s well. There’s not many cities as healthy as Liverpool for dance music right now".We are now in our 4th year and I would say rather than being a symptom I would say we are very much part of the cause".
Over the years have there been special tunes that go off particularly well at 303 parties?
"There’s been so many but highlights would have to be Higher State of Consciousness, which nearly destroyed the tunnels, when Josh Wink visited and we all have very special memories of Andrew Weatherall closing with the John Talabot remix Teengirl Fantasy: ‘Cheaters Never Win’.
"There was James Zabiela closing seamlessly with Drum n Bass into Sasha’s Track 10 and my personal favourite from Robert Hood last year who closed up with the Bucketheads The Bomb into New Order Blue Monday".
Have you ever been sent a mix tape?
"We have never received a mix tape, however, I think it would be a real great way of getting our attention. As with most promoters we received mixes via soundcloud links but people can be so lazy with this. I’m old fashioned in my approach to this and would be so much more inclined to give someone a slot at 303 if they came and supported the night and got to know us all. That’s far better than sending a friend request and then sending a link to your mix with no introduction".
In a walking dead scenario, which of your previous guests would you like at your side?
"Well off the top of my head one of the guests I think would add real value to keep our 303 crew together in the face of a zombie apocalypse would be Dave Clarke. The Baron of techno would have no problem at all destroying revived corpses".
And should that massive inconvenience not happen, who would you like to see at 303 in future?
"Well, should the apocalypse not happen we have a long list of DJs but the likes of Sasha, John Digweed & Kolsch would be perfect for me to die happy!"
If you can't wait for Kenny and the team to show us how they do things in the pool, then you can catch them in Williamson tunnels once a month to experience the finest in techno. If you can, then you're a stronger person than I and you can catch the 303 crew alongside Juan Atkins and DJ Bone this August at Audio Farm Festival.
RADIO ONE TRIBE - THE FOREST (SPOTIFY PLAYLIST)
As our gathering in the grounds of the gorgeous Cholmondeley Castle draws ever nearer, we've decided to start up Radio One Tribe Spotify playlist for all of our jam-packed stages, to show the vast array of audio delights on offer.
First to go under the microscope is our Forest Stage, which plays host to an impressive array of underground music's brightest contributors with tracks from the likes of Boddika, Lone and Move D all the way through to Radioactive Man, Jerome Hill and D.A.V.E the Drummer.
Also included in this playlist are hidden gems from some of Freerotation Festivals brightest lights in the form of Grimes Adhesif's blistering new offering on Greta Cottage Workshop 'Autonomy' as well as Duckett's 'No Relation To Me'. Tom Ellis' moody saxophone led deep house etching, 'Thing One', makes an appearance, in addition to, Freerotation founder, Steevio's work of organic dance-floor action; 'Extremics' Audio Farm Festival's favourites veterans
Some of Audio Farm Festival's favourite veterans also make an appearance with Crow Castle Cuts discovery, Gnork flexing his remix muscles in a sleazy workout of Luv*Jam's 'Anti Tracksuit Party' and Cy Humphreys' Stuttacato is in attendance too, whilst Sunday's stage host and Manchester staple, Micron (no, not the French president) have their residents, Kerouac & Smile's offering; Hang 'til Daybreak.
For more content and exclusively made playlists from artists performing at the Forest Stage and beyond then please subscribe to our Spotify profile. For exclusive, locally sourced, organic mixes then why not check out our soundcloud page.
RADIO ONE TRIBE 003: BLEEPFUNK
In our third installment of our exclusive mix series, we introduce you to Bleepfunk, the creative output of one Graham Fletcher.
An eclectic DJ of some years experience and veteran record collector, he has a fluent knowledge of multiple genres. Although it must be said, even though his sets may vary in style they never vary in quality, deftly switching through thoroughly sourced underground records drenched in a healthy serving of funk and soul.
Fletcher is in classic form with this Dubbed Out Disco Mix that sees tracks like Motif’s “Let The Madness begin” gel effortlessly with the likes of Jacques Lu Cont’s remix of Leroy Hanghofer’s ‘Pin’ and Bam Bam’s ‘Funkyland’.
Bleepfunk will be appearing alongside the wealth of talent in The Den, including Homoelectric’s party programmer, Will Tramp, purveyor or muscular house and amyl electro, Pete Mangalore and Eastern Bloc Records audio artisan, Black Eyes.
If you want to hear more of Bleepfunk you can check his Soundcloud page for a much wider angle of his musical acumen.
RADIO ONE TRIBE 002: LUV*JAM
In our second exclusive mix, we’re excited to bring you a 2-hour epic ride from boundary-pushing turntable pilot, Luv*Jam. A cult hero in electronic music culture with a sharp eye for boundary breaking, quirky shades of house, techno and dreamy ambient sounds.
1. So something of a celebrated visual designer. Do you think that elements of your design background seep into your music and DJ sets?
“Why thank you so much. Yes, not so much my DJ sets as such, but the nights I promoted were more art installations than club nights!
You recall the Mexican clown posters and the % of roadkill posters, we were a bit quirky with messages and secret factual knowledge – It’s not just about camo netting and red lights, it’s about oddity and weirdness and otherworldly experiences… As with design –
we also do the art for the labels and yes it’s a feature that punters like, the inserts, the stamps, the extra bits. A record is not only about
the music but the full experience… How do we make it even more compelling, more collectible”.
2. Your parties are something of folklore in certain parts of the underground community and there were some huge highlights from making a giant gazebo den in the middle of the dancefloor to booking the likes of Boys Noize, is there anything that makes you look back and think; “That happened – I did that”?
“When I look back at the old photos, I do think, sh*t, yes we did actually do that. Yes, we did do that crazy secret forest onk in the north wales countryside and the following day drove back and to Stanstead to pick up Boysnoize for his first UK gig and do the entire same things again. That’s probably why I’m so tired nowadays haha! Those experiences were special for so many people. The word ‘cult’ is too much, but they certainly were memorable experiences”.
3. The labels, Crow Castle Cuts and Blind Jacks Journey are something of a barometer for fresh and interesting underground music.
I’m not going to use the phrase “Trendsetter” but with early releases from the likes of; wAFF, Gnork, Acasual, Jimini, Al Zanders, the list goes on.
How do you find these artists before they break out?
“Thanks again, I guess, it’s about being in the mix of it all. Gnork came our way, via Dynamodyse, who we met via We Play House, then Gnork eventually introduced me
to his Budapest buddy Tamas Fiel. Red D from We Play House also introduced me to Jimini. I came across Al Zanders via the Huddle guys in Sheffield whilst playing there
and wAFF I met in Ibiza and so on… Part of it is about having the balls to do it, some things have done have been on impulse (well most of them really)
The Acausal track, for example, we knew it was good, but when old Move D plays it in a loft party in NYC, things took off for that record. But I had to go and deliver
those records to David on a stage at a Beacons Festival, otherwise, perhaps he may not have discovered the label!? So part of it is about ‘pulling one’s fingers out”.
4. Also, with regard to the labels. You see your label’s output is highly prized and collectible, especially through the likes of Discogs marking up the original price by
500%. Does that get to you much when you consider what it takes to get the record out there?
“Some are, some aren’t. We started by just doing 300 units to be safe, then some became valuable on Discogs due to this limited volumes
so, although some people might think we were going against our word of ‘no repress and so on’ but why should Discogs bullies mark up their price so dramatically.
I do believe that if somebody wants something so badly they will pay for it, but the sheer brutality of the price hike is just a P*ss take!
I have my limits – and I believe that OK, if a record was £10, then yes, as a collector, maybe £20 is ok to pay, but not £100. Therefore we meet the market requests
and do small represses, in the case of 1.2, 1.3, 10.3 and Raw.4 we did around 1000 units. And now the prices have settled. But with the likes of 1.3 and 10.3 we
could probably continuously repress those, but now we focus on the new stuff. Those represses helped fund the other records that didn’t sell so many,
not that we need to justify it, but because one record does well, doesn’t mean that I’m still not sat on a few shelves of spares here, which all had to be paid for of course!”
5. Finally. You’ve had a long term relationship with the Audio Farm team. Can you tell us about how that came about and what keeps you coming back?
“Yes, the guys have been there in the PIT, since year dot, when even I was baby-faced, and if I was, they were for sure! Ant, Tay, Ste, the boys n girls
we met in the LUV*JAM onk pit yes!? I have followed them about and they have been kind enough to let me play their nights and festivals ever since.
So Antwerp will be a first for me, and to play the ONE TRIBE festival is also very exciting indeed”.
You can catch Luv*Jam kicking out his inimitable sound on Friday night at the Forest Stage.
Luv*Jam presents DREAM HOUSE TROPICANA VOLUMES – Volume Four is out now on Blind Jacks Journey
Presenting Paleman
As we build up to our festival launch in Antwerp Mansion this Easter Saturday we have curated a playlist of our headliner, Paleman’s audio highlights from his glittering back catalogue.
Paleman burst onto the scene with string of dark and brooding releases that helped shape the sound of Loefah’s seminal label, Swamp 81 in the cool down of after the explosion of dubstep and the spring of new bass fueled musical styles. Raised in Manchester, Paleman had his introduction to music from an early age, training as a jazz drummer. Recognised for his talent he attended the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music. These skills are easily recognised in his effortless knack for percussive, minimal, bass driven techno.
Ripping it up at the tongue in cheek ‘Toilet room’ rip-off of Boiler-room in Australia.
This playlist we’ve compiled takes you through a colourful career of one of the most exciting talents in the crossover bass/techno scene, containing original solo material and collaborations with New York Transit Authority and Manchester garage legend, Zed Bias.
Enjoy
RADIO ONE TRIBE 001 - DUCKETT
Ahead of the launch party for Audio Farm Festival at Antwerp Mansion, our guest and Freerotation resident, Duckett has donated an epic sonic journey for our inaugural podcast series.
So, you have a big summer ahead. What have you got planned aside from Freerotation and One Tribe?
“I’m excited about a few releases coming up, the obvious scene etiquette means no label names to be mentioned yet. Massive pretentious yawn. I’m slipping.
Gigs are always interesting. Just played out in Berlin a few weeks back, from that to a boat in Paris in a few weeks and some Manchester gigs in between. Freerotation is always an annual highlight, and with a Freerotation takeover at One Tribe will we make it out of the arse end of summer with our sanity intact?”
What equipment are you running in your live set up?
“Semi live! I use an er-7, a geminic fg-777, midi c-13 and c -88, different combinations of dystopies yx5 connected via rampage ribbons and a laptop to keep it all in sync. Most of the gear is imported”.
How often do you update your live sets and how long does it take to programme your sets?
“I hate playing the same set twice. I spend most of my time going backwards. I constantly make things worse. My judgement can be terrible. It’s taken me a lifetime to unravel it this far. I’ll give up eventually and end up in the folk clubs. No joke. I love folk music. No one cares about how I make my sets. I sacrifice important things like visiting my mum and walking along the beach. That’s whats really important”.
While we do agree with Duckett in that you’ve got to make time for the things that matter, you could perhaps listen to his audio offering on the way to the beach with your mum, or even on the way to a festival where you can catch Duckett as part of Freerotation Friday on the Forest Stage this August.
For sporadic updates on Duckett’s releases, Action Figures and Playstation 4 game, be sure to head to his Facebook site.
25 YEARS OF SOMA
25 YEARS OF SOMA
A timeline of one of the most influential electronic music labels on the planet.
In celebration of Slam’s live appearance at Audio Farm Festival we’ve delved into the cavernous back catalogue of their longstanding record label, Soma.
From cramming fistfuls of hand printed 12 inches into hungry record shop to becoming one of the planet’s biggest trend setters,
Soma have been an instrumental voice in crafting the house and techno scenes, providing a platform for some of the most groundbreaking DJ’s, producers and bands ever to grace our speakers.
This timeline reflects that with a selection of some of their biggest moments, innovative pieces, buried treasures and outright bangers from the likes of Slam, Funk D’Void, Silcone Soul as well as the Parisian powerhouses, Daft Punk.
Now, to those of you who might pick up on the fact it’s actually 26 years since the label set up shop, well, that’s a valid point, but Soma are celebrating their 25th year until September, which, to be fair, is about the average length of a Scottish birthday celebration.
1991. SLAM – ETERNA
Slam and all the team at Soma firmly put their mark on club culture with this seminal track that was championed from a diverse range of DJ’s the world over and also became a marker for the beginnings of the progressive house sound along the likes of Future Sound of London, React 2 Rhythm and Gat Décor.
1992. REJUVINATION – WORK
Rejuvination are a duo from UK, who alongside Dave Clarke (not that Dave Clarke), Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle (Slam), founded Soma Quality Recordings in 1991. Glenn and Jim were originally the sound engineers on Slam’s classic cuts “Eterna” and “Positive Education” and in their own right they were responsible for tracks like “Work in Progress”, “Requiem”, “Sychophantasy”, “Dr Peter” and their “Introduction” album. But these pianos though.
1993. SLAM – POSITIVE EDUCATION
Timeless. Seminal. Positive Education is Slam’s monolith keeps resurfacing like some unrelenting Romero-esqe techno zombie, it’s been risen and rinsed and risen again with remixes over time by the likes of Carl Cox, Josh Wink and D’Julz. But let’s face it, even after all these years the original is still the best.
1994. DAFT PUNK – ASSAULT
A screaming debut EP for the biggest names in electronic music history. Their debut record finds the duo drenched in the hard edged house sounds of south side Chicago and Dance Mania.
A far cry from standing behind the Weeknd and the Grammys.
1995. FUNK D’VOID – JACK ME OFF
Debut EP from Glaswegian Lars Sandberg dropped this 1988 Armando sampling floor wrecker to a huge reception amongst DJ’s and underground pleasure seekers alike.
1996. SURGEON – MUGGERSCUM OUT
Birmingham’s master artisan of mechanical techno unleashed his signature, screamingly urgent sound to the label. This, like many of Soma’s releases got a reissue in 2011 and it hardly sounded like a day had gone by, proving that Surgeon’s music seems to have a half life similar to uranium and have just as much power.
1997. DAFT PUNK – AROUND THE WORLD
When the seminal album dropped in association with Virgin, it was quite literally felt “Around The World” (groans with pun shame).
1998. SCOTT GROOVES – MOTHERSHIP RECONNECTION
The Detroit Producer’s easily recognisable monster was an essential part of every club DJ’s record box in 1998.
1999. MFON – RUBBERLEGS
A personal highlight from delving into Soma’s back catalogue. Discovering Glasgow’s Mfon Akpan is a testament that you can get new tricks out of the old dog.
2000. SILICONE SOUL – RIGHT ON RIGHT ON
Craig Morrison and Graeme Needie buried the needle when it came to the dawn of the millennium with this sun kissed, mutant Balearic house monster.
2001. SLAM feat TYRONE ‘VISIONARY’ PALMER – LIFETIMES
A new wave of melancholic, intelligent vocal house gripped club culture around the millenium with the likes of Kosheen, Dirty Vegas and Photek in the shadow of the huge wave of tribal records imitating the sounds of New York and in particular, Twilo. Lifetimes is taken off Slam’s Alien Radio album. A record that contains gems such as ‘Fast Life’ (check ‘Fast Life’ out too)
2002. PERCY X – CLUB X
Andrew MacKinnon with this on point arpeggiated electro techno workout was a favourite with the likes of Erol Alkan and Andy Weatherall.. I just made that last part up. I’m just assuming that they would be. The moral of the story is don’t believe everything you read online. I guess.
2003. PHIL KEIREN – YOUTH.
Belfast born ginger techno tower Phil Keiren’s up-tempo stabs may not be the most famous of tracks to come out of the Soma camp in 03. I could only find 2 mins. It’s not fun skulking about looking for all these full mixes as any digital crate digger will tell you. If there is such a thing.
2004. ADAM BEYER & JESPER DAHLBACK
Swedish Techno Mafia were very much established at the time. Beyer’s famed propulsive clinical beats compliment the atmospheric leads and textures. I could be wrong with the who did what. That’s the fun, I guess.
2005. ALEX SMOKE – BRIAN’S LUNG
Electro techno from Glasgow’s Alex Smoke. While it may not be Alex’s most recognisable creation, it’s aged particularly well in comparison to many of the other records in its peer group and show’s Soma’s commitment to local talent. Good on them, aye?
2006. MY ROBOT FRIEND – DIAL ZERO (MODESELEKTOR REMIX)
New York based Howard Rigbert’s unique lo-fi trashed up grit gets a rework from the oblique strategists of techno.
2007. LEE VAN DOWSKI – THE STRIKE PANDEMONIUM
The French man landed a superb piece of energetic minimal techno that wasn’t out of place in the explosion in techno during the latter part of this millennium’s first decade.
2008. THE BLACK DOG – TRAIN BY THE AUTOBAHN (ROBERT HOOD REMIX)
Trio have a long running relationship with Soma. Although the label’s swelling with Black Dog albums, EP’s and remixes. This marries the absolute need for them to get a mention on this chart and my love for Robert Hood.
2009. HARVEY MCKAY – VESSEL.
This chord led functional piece of techno was one of the true highlights on – lets face it- what was a bit of a quiet year on the release side for the Soma imprint, but after some 18 plus years you’re allowed a bit of down time.
2010. Silicone Soul – Hurt People Hurt People (Bearweasel remix)
The right on heroes had a string of releases over the decade on Soma. This Bearwasel remix was the head-to version with its stripped back Chi-Town groove.
2011. JOE STARWARZ – CRY.
With a year full releases from huge names like Deepchord, Harvey McKay and Funk D’Void . Little known Perth based, Aussie., Joe Starwarz’ atmospheric, beatless, chillout soundscape sticks out as a bit of a mild-card in the sea of techno and house.
2012. DEEPCHORD – AQUATIC
Rod Modell and Mike Schommer are Detroit based producers that have had a long and fruitful history with Soma, making releasing a steady stream of high quality dub techno in the vein of Basic Channel. This particular piece is a rather summery number compared to their usual signature hibernal sound-scape.
2013. GARY BECK – BRING A FRIEND
Long time friend of the Soma imprint, Gary Beck is famed for his ‘nails’ techno but his housier offerings still carry a certain urgency, building like your paranoia in an after party where you don’t know anyone. That’s just an off the cuff metaphor, but an apt one, nonetheless.
This cut was taken from Beck’s first and only studio album of the same name.
2014. Slam – Rotary
Articulated agro-house from the label curators who at this point have had 3 LP’s and countless (I can’t be arsed counting) singles and remixes. Interesting thing about these veteran producers is many of them lose their shine as time goes on. Slam haven’t needed a second wind, smashing out floor-rippers like this.
2015. DAX J – RAWFIELD
The London born techno engine, Dax J has a reputation for urgent, pounding grooves for cavernous venues across the continent. Memories of punishing eardrums and bended bodies in the early hours of sunday mornings of Berghain and Gashouder.
2016. REBEKAH – ANXIETY
What Soma have been really good at of late is putting out the big room techno sound alongside the likes of Cocoon and the signature is truly etched into this dark, arpeggiated floor-quaker from Birmingham’s queen of the warehouse, Rebekah.
The full playlist is available on our One Tribe YouTube Channel. Please subscribe for upcoming interviews, mixes and tracks from our artists, not to mention yet more thorough playlists.