RADIO ONE TRIBE - THE MANGO CLUB
The big cities have always been the places you go to find new music and listen to talented, bubbling under talent before the inevitable explosion of popularity. The Mango Club in Chester buck this trend, playing host to some of contemporary underground's breaking talents to packed out, fever pitch crowds every time they open their doors.
We tried to get inside the heads of founders and promoters, Alan and Benito, in order to get to know a little bit about their monstering Cestrian success story.
So I’m sure you get this a lot, but could you tell us a bit about how you both (and Benito) came up with the name?
Sure. The name 'the mango club' comes as at the time a couple of our mates used to call each other mango "hey mango". As the party started purposely to bring friends together through music we decided the name, worked quite well and we went with it.
I’ve got to say I’m a fan of the event page/flyer art too. Can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind these works?
Yes this is a massive part of us as a party and showcasing talent of people from our area is very important. Each year we give an art creative freedom to design the flyers for the events, The inspiration for this there are a lot of talented people from Chester and we want them to be part of the Mango club. We like to incorporate aspects of the city in the design to give representation.
For a club night outside of a major city, you’ve managed to make a success of booking some of the freshest underground artists and DJs over the years without any cynical ploys or resorting to booking more obvious names. My question is; How all of that?
Alan: It's a great scenario for us to be honest and one we appreciate. We have a blank canvas And just want to bring our favourite artists to the party and by doing this have gained a trust from the community who come. We used to dream of bribing some of the people we have been able to into Chester. It's a nice thing to do for our community.
Benito: I think a lot of credit also lies with the team we built around us and have continued to develop. Because there never was much of a scene in the city, like Alan said - we have, and do still have a blank canvas. Accompany the fact that the crowds are relatively young and willing to be educated or so to speak, along with the fact that we have a really hard working team encouraging people to come to the parties - we are kinda on to a winning recipe. They come, they enjoy it and then they keep coming and they haven’t had their heads turned by boring and obvious tech-house artists because nobody is really doing that around here, they’ve gone straight into the good stuff which allows us to continue to book genuinely exciting up and coming artists rather than having to compromise our ethos.
Sticking with some of the names you’ve booked over the 4 years, are there any highlights or DJ’s that have surprised you that come to mind?
Alan: Christopher Rau was a bit difficult (crowd-wise). Apart from that everyone else has been first class. We've witnessed outstanding performances night after night.
Benito: I will have to echo what Alan said, almost every single one of the artists has been impeccable, both behind the decks and as a person. We actually became such good friends with Jordon (Mall Grab) he’s just moved in over the road and I'm currently tour managing for him as some work on the side. He would be an obvious highlight for me and is the perfect example of us booking somebody on the cusp of their big break. Willow would have to be another highlight, I've never seen (vinyl only) mixing as smooth as that before in my life and the crowd were on point as always. HNNY as well, I think that was our first ever sell out if I remember rightly. He was unbelievable and it’s such a shame he is no longer playing out anymore. I guess that makes it all the more special that we had him. He was such a nice guy and we wish you all the best Johan!
Mango Club Resident, Nick Jones provided us with an eloquently sourced mix to give a glimpse of what to expect from their take over with himself, Alex Wilson and Benedikt Webber and special guest, Luv*Jam on a Friday that also includes 12 hours of Freerotation as well as appearances from DJ Bone XDB,
RADIO ONE TRIBE: FURTHUR PROGRESSIONS - ONE TRIBE SPECIAL
With less than a month to go before we take to the Cheshire countryside to envelop ourselves in a weekend whirlpool of musical talent and we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s in store at the festival.
So it came as something of a godsend when the hosts of Audio Farm Festival's Psychedelic Stage, Furthur Progressions Records dropped this special Audio Farm Festival podcast into our laps.
Hosted by the label head honcho, Hamish the mix steers its way through some of the finest highlights and snapshots of what to expect at the festival, including guest interviews and anecdotes from two of our headliners in the form of underground superstars, Cimi and Bedouin.
This transcendentally talented trio will be appearing in a weekend of bleeps, creeps and sweeps with melodic mayhem, alongside some of the genre's top underground talents that include: Fabio & Moon, Gaudi and Sonic Species.
You can check the podcast right here:
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