Weekend Weapons…Erol Alkan

Weekend Weapons…Erol Alkan

16 March, 2009 | 12.54PM

• Written by: Ryan Keeling
• Filed under: Music News: erol alkan

Our Weekend Weapons feature returns after a two week spring break with a selection from the all-conquering high priest of indie dance, Erol Alkan.

Bursting on to the scene atop the crest of the electroclash wave that swept through the scene back in 2001, Alkan was known as the one-stop shop for everything ‘mash-up’. The most famous of Alkan’s efforts saw Kylie Minogue recreating his handiwork, performing her own ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ track on top of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ at the 2002 Brit Awards.

The spiritual home of all things electroclash (and lots more besides) was Alkan’s infamous Monday night party Trash, at The End in London, which happily married the worlds of guitars and synthesizers right up until its final night back in January 2007.

Play word association with “Erol Alkan”, and “remixes” is bound to the be at the fore of your thinking. We don’t have enough time or sufficient superlatives to cover the whole of his mightily impressive discography of re-rubs, but we’ll throw the names Bloc Party, DFA 1979, Franz Ferdinand, Klaxons, Hot Chip, Chemical Brothers and Scissor Sisters around to give you some idea of his range.

Being the multi-faceted sort, 2006 saw the creation of the, er..."warped-Balearic-psychedelic-brotherhood" Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve, that placed Alkan alongside The Grid’s Richard Norris.

The pair gathered together their original material and re-edits for last year’s ‘Ark 1’ LP and have just done the same with their remixes: ‘Re-Animations Vol.1’ rounds up their work with, among others, The Chemical Brothers, Franz Ferdinand, Tracey Thorn and Goldfrapp into one tidy little package.

Alkan’s more recent focus has been placed upon his behind-the-scenes production work for bands like Mystery Jets, Long Blondes and Late Of the Pier; all of whom released critically acclaimed albums under his guidance during 2008.

As you may be aware, Alkan also likes to dabble in a spot of DJing, and has been voted as the number one in the world by readers of Mixmag and Data Tranmission in recent times.

What we will say is that, with support slots for Madonna and Daft Punk, and swarms of loyal fans flocking to sold-out shows across the globe, if he’s not the biggest in the world, he’s certainly one of them.

1. Sebastien Tellier ‘Kilometer’ (Aeroplane Remix) [Record Makers]

Aeroplane are for me, one of the best production teams out there right now making club music.

I can play this in any type of set, in a room to 100 people or 5,000, and the reaction is always incredible.

2. Zombie Nation ‘Seas Of Grease’ [UKW]

The new album is fantastic, and this is for me, one of the standout tracks.

Delicious.

3. Dance Area ‘AA 24 7’ [Phantasy Sound]

I know it’s on my own label, but it still manages to turn parties inside out every single time.

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• Erol Alkan on Beatport