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20 Jan Ben Böhmer and Tinlicker Collaborate on “Run Away” with Felix Raphael for Anjunadeep

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Words: Chandler Shortlidge

Featuring vocalist Felix Raphael, the new single is out today on Anjunadeep.

Anjunadeep favourites Ben Böhmer and Tinlicker have collaborated for the first time to release “Run Away” with Berlin newcomer vocalist, Felix Raphael.

Dutch duo Tinlicker (Jordi van Achthoven and Micha Heyboer) scored one of 2020’s biggest tracks with their remix of Robert Miles’ trance classic “Children,” which topped the Beatport charts. (We spoke to the duo about their number one track back in October). Germany’s Ben Böhmer also had a busy 2020, with several huge livestreams, including one aboard a hot air balloon above Cappadocia in Turkey.

The pair’s collaboration with Raphael resulted in a buttery-smooth single that leans toward melancholy at times, while remaining subtly euphoric and dreamy.

The track is out now via Anjunadeep. Grab a copy here, or listen below.

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19 Jan Berlin’s Eluize Introduces You to Beatport LINK in This Video Tutorial

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Words: Chandler Shortlidge

Learn more about Beatport LINK with Berlin’s Eluize.

Beatport LINK is a revolutionary DJ tool that allows users the ability to stream Beatport’s entire catalogue straight into their DJ gear. We’ve discussed what this means for beginner digital DJs here.

In this video series, ://about blank regular Eluize digs deeper into LINK, delving into its many uses and capabilities, starting with her initial impressions. Watch below.

 

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Sign up for a free Beatport LINK account here.  

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18 Jan Artist of the Month: Spain’s Fatima Hajji has Become one of Techno’s Leading Lights

Posted at 16:07h in features, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: Chandler Shortlidge

For 20 years, Spain’s Fatima Hajji has been steadily making a name for herself on a global level — though her path to success has been anything but usual. Chandler Shortlidge hears her story.

It’s no secret that 2020 was difficult for many. Though few have been hit harder by the pandemic than musicians — specifically live performers, whose main income source and way of life evaporated as lockdowns became the norm. Spain’s Fatima Hajji seems to have this in mind when we talk about how she spent the holidays.

“I can’t call this past month a holiday, as it was a dystopian and strange situation,” she remarks. Despite playing a pre-recorded stream with the biggest DJs in Spain, New Year’s Eve marked the first time in 21 years she wasn’t out playing a show, which capped off a year that was “absolutely hard, psychologically,” she says. “I love what I do; some people say I am a workaholic, but for me, [my job] is not a work. What this is for me is passion, a big one that helps me be happy and express myself. I feel it’s part of who I am, so the abrupt stop wasn’t easy to assimilate.”  

Early on in the pandemic, Hajji was constantly checking the news in the hopes that maybe she could figure out when things would return to normal. Eventually, however, she realised it would take “a good while for the situation to improve, and it was better to go into the studio and use the time to focus on my music and try to improve myself as a producer.”

Which is to say that 2020 wasn’t all bad for Hajji, who over the past 20 years has steadily risen to become one of the biggest Spanish techno DJs on the international circuit. And she knows she’s lucky. Though she calls Madrid home, having arrived there 15 years ago, she lives outside the city, which was one of the worst-hit urban centers in Spain by the coronavirus. 

“Throughout lockdown, I’ve been in the mountains surrounded by trees and very few people. Sometimes it was a bit creepy with the absence of noise: no cars, no planes…just nothing. Sometimes even the birds were quiet; it was surreal, but also nice.” She said she noticed animals returning as human activity decreased. “New birds, more eagles, several foxes, many deer, even a mother [deer] who had two bambis, wild pigs, and rabbits. Normally you can see some of them walking around the area, but never this [many],” she says. 

And despite the end-of-times vibe of her December, she was in “a comfortable place,” doing plenty of cooking — something she’s passionate about — whipping up a cheesecake she promises was divine. “I can also recommend the good priced and quality range [wine] from Ramon Bilbao,” she adds. 

In some ways, Hajji may have been more emotionally prepared than most for last year’s hardships. The daughter of a small grocery store owner mother and a truck driver father, Hajji (whose father emigrated to Spain from Morocco) didn’t have a typical childhood. Mom needed help around the store, so “unfortunately school was not my main occupation in my childhood,” Fatima says. But it gave her experience, which helped keep money in her pocket as she got older. “I moved to live on my own at 16 and worked as a cashier in a supermarket, and on the weekends I started to DJ around my city. 

“Then when I moved to Madrid I worked in offices as receptionist, selling shit by phone, and also in a bank giving phone support for companies for credit facilities. But, the best work I had, apart from the music, was when I learned how to train dogs,” she says. Along with her love of nature, Fatima is a devoted animal lover, with two dogs and two cats of her own. She even sports a tattoo of a very happy-looking dog on her right shoulder. “My beloved Nuska,” Fatima says. “She passed away two years ago after being with me for 16 years. She was an important part of my family.” Despite her success working with animals, Fatima’s work ethic and discipline bled into her hobby as a DJ, which was fast becoming her main job. And by the time she was 18-years-old, she was playing DJ gigs around the city, and madly in love with techno.

Check out Fatima Hajji’s Artist of the Month playlist on Beatport here.

Fatima was always passionate about music. When her father returned home from life on the road, he was listening to Arabic music “all the time” around the house, Fatima says.  “And when I travelled with him in the truck, he listened to the same music.” Songs like “Yeke Yeke” by Mory Kante and “Abdelkhader” by Cheb Khaled made a huge impression on her as a youngster. (She eventually remixed the latter song, which became one of her most popular tracks). But it was her older brothers who turned her on to techno. “First I was listening on loop to techno sets recorded from the international DJs who visited my local clubs. I was too young to attend but my brothers recorded them and [brought them home]. I got hooked [on] the energy of the bass.” 

Music connected her to people — she sometimes created choreographed dances with her friends as a kid — but it also offered an escape and a creative outlet. She began spending hours at home mixing by cassette tape, recording radio songs and then blending them together before eventually learning how to mix with vinyl. “This changed everything,” she says.

It almost happened by accident. Fatima was walking around Madrid when she stumbled upon an advertisement in a vinyl shop for mixing lessons. After two months she’d learned how to mix properly with vinyl,  “and this made my addiction to techno unstoppable.”

“My teacher told me that I have skills, and I had confidence in myself, so he signed me up for a local DJ contest in a club in my city,” she continues. At the time, no one in her family knew about her new addiction. But when some friends of Fatima’s older brothers saw her name on a party flyer, her secret was out. “They couldn’t believe it, as I was 16 and never attended a party,” she remembers. Back then she was playing groovy techno, which she says was the main sound happening around the turn of the century in central Spain. On the night of the contest, she arrived to a packed club and many familiar faces — none of whom expected Fatima would be capable behind the decks, she says. 

“It was a magical night when they heard that I could mix — and that I mixed techno. I ended up winning the competition with massive support of the people there. It was the first time I felt the power of taking control of the peoples minds while DJing. I decided this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” 

Nowadays we’ve become used to stories like this from women like Fatima. But back then, men by and large dominated the stage. “When I started, I had no role models,” she says. Fatima forged ahead anyway, eventually discovering artists like Germany’s Monika Kruse and the Dutch hard techno legend Miss Djax, who in 2012 featured on the Fatima’s Standbite imprint with the 7.0 EP. “It was a big honour for me,” Fatima says. “She is one of the ladies that made the difference, creating her own sound and managing [all aspects of] her career.”

Fatima has massive respect for many of my colleagues, saying she’s thrilled at the level of success they’ve been able to achieve. “Women like Monika Kruse, Nina Kraviz, and lately Amelie Lens or Charlotte de Witte among others, because they are breaking boundaries that are making it easier to have more equality and opportunity for the next generations of DJs.” 

That’s not to say Fatima thinks we’ve made it in terms of inclusivity, either as an industry or as a society. But she does believe the techno scene is “more advanced than the rest of the society overall, even than other musical genres.”

“In techno, most of the audience goes to dance and hear what they like without thinking which genre, race or ideology the DJ is or has. Of course, not all is done, but much more than in many other areas. So we can keep showing the path to be different, respecting each other and celebrating life together despite our differences.” 

But with gigs on hold and nowhere to go, Fatima’s energy has turned toward production,  putting in around five hours everyday after lunch in the studio. This, along with spending more time with friends she was rarely able to see due to her tour schedule, has helped Fatima stay mentally healthy during lockdowns.    

“Once I decided to stop watching the news and I focused myself in the studio, everything was much better for me and many new ideas came. I finished some EPs that will appear on some very cool labels that I love, like Octopus, Odd, IAMT and Set About. Also, I have completed half of my debut album, so I am really happy with what I have achieved so far. Now I need to test all this new music in a proper club with the energy of the crowd.”

With encouraging news of the COVID vaccine circulating the world, she may yet get her chance, with gigs at Verknipt and SoundWaves tentatively booked this summer. But after a year of disappointment, Fatima isn’t giving that too much thought yet, and is instead continuing to push her DJ skills forward, even after 20 years behind the decks. “The great thing about it is that the tools are evolving constantly and we DJs are able to learn and discover new ways to do the things.” She mentions the new Denon CDJs, which were given to her by the company a few months back. “I can say they are very intuitive and they totally rock with the LINK connection to Beatport. This is so helpful to have in your hand, all the music that you want instantly. It’s a new era for DJ tools.”

She’s also continuing to drop new material, like her Kua EP on Octopus Recordings, which of course is named after one of her dogs. (It’s also the name of a system of numerology used in feng shui, which Fatima believes influences our lives). The title track features a remix from US-based producer Rinzen, while the second tune, “Freedom,” is centered around a “stunning melody that makes people dance hard and be happy — exactly what I’m looking for!” Fatima exclaims. Then there’s her debut album, which will be released on Fatima’s Silver M label some time soon, with EPs from some exciting newcomers due first.  

As we wrap things up, Fatima brings up the recent freak blizzard that covered Madrid in more than a foot and a half of snow and caused nearly 2 billion euros in damages. It was the most snow the city has seen in nearly 30 years. But according to Spanish lore, it may portend good things on the horizon. “There is a proverb in Spain that says ‘year of snow, year of goods.’ So I’m expecting to recover our ‘normal’ life, starting to tour again, and bringing happiness and joy to the people everywhere. And I hope to recover the missed kisses and hugs when we’ll once again meet our beloved fans.” 

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18 Jan Beatport Launches new Emerging Artist Program, Beatport Next

Posted at 10:00h in feed, homepage-masthead-slider, news
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Beatport Next will provide six emerging artists with a year of dedicated support.

Over the course of the next 12 months, Beatport will provide a platform to six emerging artists, with store featurings, LINK playlisting, editorial features on Beatportal, live-streams and social media support included. 

Beatport has a long history of helping grow the careers of up-and-coming dance music artists. Prominent examples include Grammy-winning producer Zedd, who started out taking part in a Beatport remix competition back in 2010; and current electronic music stars CamelPhat and ARTBAT, whose tracks were hits on Beatport first.

Through Beatport Next, we’ll be deepening our commitment to supporting upcoming artists at various stages of their development, as well as strengthening their connection and visibility to Beatport’s global DJ community.

We couldn’t be happier to announce the six producers and DJs, who hail from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, and produce and play a wide spectrum of sounds.

Check out our Beatport Next playlist, featuring music from every artist selected. 

TSHA

TSHA, aka Teisha Matthews, is a London based house DJ and producer who emerged as one of the most exciting artists around in 2020. Last year’s “Flowers” EP marked her beginnings at Ninja Tune, where she secured a three-album deal. We got to know TSHA back in November — read that interview here. 

Check out TSHA’s Beatport Next playlist. 

LOGIC1000

Logic1000 is the moniker of Australian artist Samantha Poulter. She runs her own label Therapy and has drawn attention to her sound with both her own releases as well as remixes for Caribou, Lȧpsley and Christine and the Queens. We heard Poulter’s story back in October — read that interview here. 

Check out Logic1000’s Beatport Next playlist. 

ALIGNMENT

Alignment aka Francesco Pierfelici is an Italian techno DJ/producer who has been making a name for himself with releases on Voxnox Records and on Charlotte de Witte’s own imprint KNTXT. 

Check out Alignment’s Beatport Next playlist. 

Photo by Farhad Khodadadzade

IMANU

IMANU is the artist name of Dutch drum & bass producer Jonathan Kievit, who previously released as Signal. In 2020 alone, the Rotterdam artist has released half a dozen records on Noisia’s Vision, as well as on Critical Recordings. 

Check out IMANU’s Beatport Next playlist. 

Photo by Jonny Rios

VNSSA

VNSSA, born Vanessa Barnes, calls Los Angeles her home and has become a staple of the city’s electronic music scene. Her energetic, bass-heavy tech house has often found a home on labels like HotBOi and DIRTYBIRD.

Check out VNSSA’s Beatport Next playlist. 

KEVIN DE VRIES

Kevin de Vries is a Berlin-based producer whose trance-tinged melodic house and techno releases on labels such as Sven Väth’s Cocoon or Tale of Us’ Afterlife have become favourites of many fellow DJs and fans alike. We heard about Kevin’s incredible rise back in April — read our interview here. 

Check out Kevin de Vries’ Beatport Next playlist. 

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15 Jan Meet 10 of the Best Underground Drum & Bass Acts in Asia

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Words: Daniel Power & Abby Yuen

The Unchained crew singles out ten of the most exciting drum & bass producers from throughout Asia.

Sending unrelenting bass vibrations throughout the Eastern hemisphere, the Hong Kong and Shenzhen-based label and party series, Unchained Asia, has quickly established itself as the region’s top drum & bass outfit. Co-founded by Daniel Power with Lyndon Jarr, the imprint has helped nurture China’s explosive new interest in D&B and halftime music, recruiting a superb cast of international and local producers to release under the Unchained banner. 

“It’s an exhilarating time now in Asia,” Daniel says. “After pushing for years in South China, our monthly events are doing well with locals making up 90 percent of the crowd — skanking and vibing proper! All this great talent is beginning to emerge also, and it’s only the start! Here are some of the names that you should be checking out when it comes to Asian drum & bass.”

Check out Unchained Recordings’ latest compilation, ‘Unchained: The Remixes,’ on Beatport.

RADIAX

The first-ever mainland Chinese artist to release on Unchained and also the first to have a track out on Hospital Records, Radiax is a versatile talent in his music production, easily mastering any new sound or idea he tries out. We always look forward to listening to his WIPs and demos because we know it will always be of the best quality. On top of that, Radiax is a great DJ with a fabulous stage presence. The two new demos we have been sitting on by him are incredible. He’s finished off his second EP for us — slated for release on January 22 as a Beatport Exclusive. Don’t sleep on it!

FETUS

Coming from Osaka, Japan, and only 20 years old, Fetus is a promising young talent with the tunes to back it up — some of the tracks he has sent us are crazy good, tough and upbeat bangers one and all. Fetus has already been building a repertoire of releases over the last few years with different labels and getting his name out there, refining his music production along the way. We were properly introduced to him through the recent Unchained remix competition, in which he placed third. Fetus is currently working on his first full EP for Unchained. Expect big things from this young lad!

GYROFIELD

Hong Kong’s Gyrofield is a name that has been floating around the D&B community with excitement for the whole of 2020, and for a good reason. She first blew our ears away with her debut EP on Overview containing a set of innovative tracks that completely shook the scene with its fresh sounds. Then not long ago, she dropped an insane EP on mau5trap that is packed with incredible sound design and attention to the tiniest of details. Gyrofield’s intricacy and originality in her music production are so refreshing for the scene. She is a truly magnificent talent with an inspiring future ahead of her.

3ASIC

3ASiC is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to music production, and with that knowledge, he has developed his own unique sound. “Lorentz,” off our Year Of The Rat VA, is a fan favorite and drives the dancefloor mad every single time it gets dropped. His remix of HØST’s tune “Valhalla” off our The Remixes LP has also done some real damage, showcasing one of his signature styles that can be likened to a “call to arms” anthem. Being a multifaceted artist, he also produces music in several genres beyond bass music and works for Native Instruments. A prodigy for underground music in China!

MOUNTAIN

Another great and young talent coming out of Japan who has had an incredible year. Over the last 12 months, he’s pushed out releases on Hospital Records, RAM, Viper, Soulvent, and Skankandbass. His production styles range from the upbeat, euphoric, and lush liquid to the heavier and more in-your-face sounds of D&B, all of which are crafted to perfection. He is smashing it and showing no signs of slowing down with new releases on the regular, so expect a lot from Mountain!

KRAY

Kray is a fresh talent coming out of Hong Kong that is meticulous in his music production and keeps a relatively low-profile, even though his ridiculous dance floor-oriented tunes tell a different story. He recently had a banger drop on Calculon’s Shoot Recordings and another on Eloisa Records, but Kray has many quality tunes that have yet to see the light of day — something that will be changing soon. He has also made this monstrous bootleg of the “Ghost in the Shell” theme song, which gets the crowd’s craziest reaction. 

KIAT

Kiat is a pioneer of the drum & bass scene in Singapore who has been championing the sound for almost two decades. Kiat is also the first Singaporean artist to be signed to the legendary Metalheadz. He has released some of the top D&B labels globally, such as Function, Dispatch Recordings, Hospital Records, Soul:R, and more. Kiat is a real heavyweight when it comes to drum & bass in Asia, staying true to the gritty and tough industrial vibes he has been mastering over the years in his music production, a contrasting move against a backdrop of the not-so-gritty Singapore.

MAGNETIC SOUL

A dedicated institution for Hong Kong drum & bass, Magnetic Soul has been promoting D&B events for 15 years. This trio has brought so many legends to Hong Kong, importing names like LTJ Bukem, Ed Rush & Optical, Alix Perez, dBridge, and more. They released their debut album. The Pressure, on Scott Allen’s LA-based label Soul Deep Recordings last year, as well as a follow-up EP called Mixology. They also contributed a track to SUV’s Ramp Up the NHS: The Album Volume 2, a charity compilation that came out in June to support the UK national health service.

DJ FU & LOVELY

A notorious duo in the drum & bass community of Hong Kong, these two have been bringing extra heat lately with their sick collaborations released on UK-based label, Guidance, along with the multiple nights they have been running on the regular these past few years. They both share a similar path, having lived in the UK before relocating to Hong Kong but have always been active in the D&B scene; DJ Fu himself has been into DJing and turntablism for well over a decade. Together with Lovely as a pair, they are of great value and add extra flavor to the local D&B scene, which is very refreshing to see.

MAKOTO

This list cannot exist without Makoto — an absolute hero in drum & bass. His music has been infecting ears since the ’90s when LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking Records first signed him. For a long time, he was flying the flag solo out here in Asia on his own, pioneering the jazzy, funky, and soulful side of D&B while touring around the world to headline at shows and music festivals. He recently had two big album releases on Hospital Records, adding to his extensive musical repertoire and achievements list. Makoto is a real don of drum & bass music — one for the history books!

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15 Jan The 7 Best Minimal / Deep Tech Tracks On Beatport You May Have Missed

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Words: Michael Dressel

Our expert curation team brings you the best tracks on Beatport you may have missed. This time featuring Stephan Bazbaz, Carlos A, Personality Disorder, Mr. Fowks, and more.

Carlos A – Swish (Original Mix) [J.A Music]

Do you like minimal as well as acid sounds? Great! Then here is a track for you that combines both worlds perfectly. “Swish,” the leading track off Chilean DJ/producer Carlos A’s Swish EP — released on J.A Music — rings true with an incredible sound that would fit into any set time. From the warm-up to the afters, “Swish” does the job no matter what. It’s something you can listen to all day.

Jesse Jacob – Stones (Original Mix) [Airtime Records]

You should definitely check out the Dutch talent Jesse Jacob and his imprint Airtime Records in case you haven’t done that yet. “Stones,” the second track of his Sketchin EP, is an uplifting minimal groover that’s guaranteed to bring you into a good mood! What’s really special about the track is that it already works perfectly as an instrumental, but then the vocal hits in the first break and adds this fantastic soulful vibe to its sound. It brings to mind the moment when everyone’s arms shoot into the sky on the dancefloor. Jesse Jacob everybody! 

Stephan Bazbaz – The Life (Original Mix) [Locus]

Let’s go on a spheric journey together with Tel Aviv’s Stephan Bazbaz. His closing track, “The Life,” off the artist’s Voyage EP on UK-based label Locus, is a crossover of deep house and minimal, which is why I want to take this chance to showcase it to the community. It hits you with a dry kick, a very driving and pushy sub, but carries on with an amazingly smooth demeanor. The beautiful synth lines are complemented by a very subtle acid progression that guides you through the eight-minute track with ease. This song just goes on and on and on in the best way possible. It was made for an infinite loop.

Personality Disorder – What Ever You Say (Original Mix) [Personality Disorder Music]

Never heard of Personality Disorder? Well, maybe Guti and David Gtronic are names you do recognize. These two powerhouses have teamed up once again under the moniker to present their second album, What Ever You Say. Released in December of 2020, it’s a twelve track long player loaded with tunes that will amaze. The LP’s lead track and namesake is the epitome of minimal house. Imagine yourself dancing at Sunwaves Festival. What would your reaction be to this tune? I’d be losing it! By the way, here are another eight minutes of groove that pass by like the wink of an eye.

Josh Baker – Satisfactory Screen (Original Mix) [hedZup records]

Josh Baker’s “Satisfactory Screen” — released on hedZup Records— is the perfect track to close out your set. The Paris-based label celebrated its foundation with a 5 Years Anniversary V/A compilation that proves its dance floor dynamism. Josh is one of Manchester’s most talented DJ’s and producers and contributes to the collection with an energetic and powerful track. A very sharp punctual bassline, uplifting chords, and playful synth form an atmosphere full of positivity. You are bound to get some high fives ending your set with this one.

Louis White – Eternal (Original Mix) [MO-OB]

Louis White’s “Eternal” — the leading track off his recent Eternal EP via the London-based label MO-OB — is a sexy, spheric produced track that’s probably not in the playlist of many, yet deserves to be. It’s the first time he appears on my radar, and I can’t wait to listen to more of his music. Here is a chance to be one of the first ones to support this rising talent. 

Mr. Fowks – What’s Up (Original Mix) [Outsiders Records]

“What’s Up?” Guillermo Omar Foulkes, AKA Mr. Fowks, delivers a secret weapon on Outsiders Records. Das wassup! I love this track. It’s a bomb! No further description is needed. I dropped this one back in October at an open air with 600 people (with everyone following local Covid-19 rules, of course). The vibe on the dance floor was already cookin’, and when this slammer started to kick in, everyone just lost it. I highly recommend you drop “What’s Up” every time you want to bring the heat to the floor.

For more minimal / deep tech tracks you may have missed, check out our Beatport Link Playlist.

Start your free trial of Beatport LINK.

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14 Jan On Our Radar: January 2021

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Words: Richard Akingbehin

Welcome back to On Our Radar, Beatportal’s monthly roundup of the DJs and producers we can’t get enough of.

KAREEM EL MORR

Over the last decade, Munich has become the hotbed of breakbeat techno, driven by the tireless innovation of the Zenker Brothers and their Ilian Tape label. Kareem El Morr is one of the many artists to come through the Ilian Tape camp. He first appeared on the Munich edition of the label’s Bias Jams V/A and then on another local label, RFR. In December of 2020, El Morr debuted on Molten Moods with Wasteland Breaks, a laidback mix of electro, electronica, trance, and IDM. It’s his first solo release and showcases his gift for floating melodies and precision-cut breaks. Expect big things to come from an artist whose distinctive, refined sound stands out in a city full of talent.

SHUBOSTAR

Shubostar is carving out her own path in the realm of dark, cosmic disco and synth-heavy techno. Her journey started in South Korea before she moved to Mexico and began to hone her craft behind the decks and in the studio. Her music combines a well-worn, almost nostalgic sound palette with a boldly futuristic outlook. She has featured on labels including Nein, Controller and Wonder Stories, as well as her own imprint, uju Records. Her most recent Lynch EP features two slo-mo, outer-space transmissions, and remixes from Curses and Darlyn Vlys & Damon. Next up is an EP on homebase uju, including two more high-profile remixes, and she has two forthcoming tracks on labels Eskimo and Permanent Vacation.

MAIN PHASE

Manchester-born, Copenhagen-based Main Phase is the co-founder of the recently-launched ATW Records and a rising producer of distinctly UK sounds. His records evoke the heyday of UKG, with some junglist, speed garage, and bassline flavour to keep things from getting too sweet. He has featured on Warehouse Rave, Shall Not Fade‘s sublabel Time Is Now, Dansu Discs, 3 Feet Deep, and collaborated on the first release of his own ATW. Main Phase’s latest for Time Is Now, Never Let Go, captures everything there is to love about his music. It finds innovative combinations of Ragga samples, sub-low basslines, and pitched vocals. If these tracks don’t get people moving, you’re at the wrong party. Keep an eye out for more Main Phase on Time Is Now this year!

AMY DABBS

As the daughter of a Northern Soul DJ, Amy Dabbs’ musical upbringing was informed by the soulful sounds of Motown, soul, funk, and early house. Dabbs spent years cutting her teeth as a DJ in London before moving to the Far East and playing at many of Singapore’s best parties during a four-year spell there. Now based in Berlin, she is concentrating on her productions, channeling her rich pool of influences into a feel-good sound, which references house music legends like Larry Heard. In 2020, a breakthrough year for Dabbs, Paul Woolford picked up one of her tracks for a compilation and then came her most complete statement yet, Girl Like Me. Released on a sub-label of the prolific Lobster Theremin, Girl Like Me is an infectious and timeless record from an artist with all the know-how to go far.

BLACKLOUD

Blackloud has been breathing his signature, organic melodies, and entrancing rhythms into EPs for Norweigian outlet WOLD, amongst others, since 2015. He starts 2021 with the release of his Synesthesia EP, which houses three tracks written in quarantine last year. It continues his fascination with hardware, synthesis, and musical theory, translating these ideas, as well as modern classical inspirations, into deep, forward-thinking club music. Add to that some of the dance floor power which defines his NONDO alias, and you have a powerful, propulsive, and well-rounded EP that will stand the test of time until clubs re-open.

BIG EVER

Until December of 2020, Tom McAlister was releasing music as Cop Envy, but he is starting the New Year afresh as Big Ever. Exactly what that means for his musical direction is yet to be seen, but if it’s anything like the Cop Envy releases, keep him on your radar. As Cop Envy, McAlister dropped a deadly collaboration with DJ Plead, as well as standout solo efforts for Hypercolour and Templar Sound. His experiments in breakbeat house and techno always find unusual rhythms and sonics, gradually locking into light-footed grooves and riding on seismic waves of bass.

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13 Jan DJ Minx Delivers a Politically Charged Jam with “Blind Amerikkka”

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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Photo: Max Dashevsky

Detroit legend DJ Minx links up with E-Man to kick off the year with a torrid, passionate, and urgent deep house track with a message that sticks.

Detroit dance floor staple and Women On Wax label-founder DJ Minx has kicked off 2021 with a red-hot and politically charged house track with “Blind Amerikkka.” Featuring celebrated house music and spoken word artist E-Man, the vocalist brings a hard-hitting vocal message about America’s current state to the tune. Throughout the track, he calls out the current President for allowing racism and chaos to run rampant through the streets of the nation while asking the question, “just how blind will America be?” and stating, “we will never get freedom by asking the oppressor.”

DJ Minx is a champion of women’s empowerment in the dance music scene and a central figure in Detroit’s dance music saga. Her Women on Wax label has helped elevate and nurture numerous Black female artists. Her work has earned her numerous accolades and awards, including the Spirit of Detroit award for her invaluable contributions to the Motor City’s cultural landscape.

Check out the track below.

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13 Jan Dennis Cruz Scores a Beatport Number 1 with “Goldigger”

Posted at 18:57h in feed, news
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Words: Heiko Hoffmann

We catch up with Madrid-based DJ/producer Dennis Cruz, whose collaborative track with Eddy M, “Goldigger,” just hit Beatport’s overall top spot.

Happy New Year, Dennis, and congratulations to another Beatport number-one-hit! This one just comes four-months after your last number one, “Five.” How are you?

Happy New Year! I’m well, at the moment. I’m in Madrid enjoying the snow and making the most of it. I’m extremely happy right now, and I can’t believe we are number one again!

How did “Goldigger” come about?

It was a bit of an unusual one as it happened slightly by chance. Eddy M and I have been working on some tracks together during lockdown. I think it was back in September, but we were speaking on the phone about a project we had been working on together. I had the Ableton project open at the time, and Eddy said something about Nelly. It made me remember that I had this acapella saved away. So I dropped it on the beat, and it fit perfectly. We both started to scream down the phone to each other! Sometimes magic just happens, and in this case, it was the magic phone call. The acapella used is taken from Nelly’s”‘Ride Wit Me,” and its melody also holds some influence throughout the track.

Would you say you’ve found a kind of formula for yourself?

It was the Nelly sample for this track, but I’ve always been a fan of using samples and giving them new life within my music. When I started producing, I used to make hip-hop beats for rappers. That was when I learned about sampling and have loved it ever since. Some of my tracks have up to four different song samples at times, and I’ve always found creative ideas that inspire me from the process of sampling.

“Goldigger” sees you collaborating with Eddy M. You’ve started your joint label MÜSE in 2019 but is this actually the first time that you released a track that you worked on together?

Yes, it’s the first track that we’ve released together, but we have four more tracks that are ready to go. We decided to release “Goldigger” now because it’s more of a “streaming friendly” tune, especially with the Nelly sample, whereas the others that we’ve made together are more club focused. So, expect some new tracks from us together on our label MÜSE, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Back in September, you said you’ve been enjoying some aspects of everyday life which can otherwise be difficult to have when constantly touring. Is this still the case, and are you still spending most of your time in the studio at the moment?

Right now, I’m a bit more relaxed when it comes to the studio, but I still go like five days per week to work on new music, collaborations, and ideas. When I’m not in there, I’m often doing sports, keeping fit, going on walks with my dog, and seeing family and friends when it’s possible. 

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13 Jan Beatport Hype: Colorize

Posted at 15:30h in features, feed
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

We learn more about the UK progressive powerhouse, Colorize.

Launched as a sub-label of the London-based imprint Enhanced Music in 2011, Colorize has been a progressive house stalwart for almost a decade. With hundreds of releases to its name, its experienced roster has pushed progressive house into more vibrant territory with a sophisticated and eclectic palate.

We caught up with three of the label’s most beloved acts — prominent French wunderkind Matt Fax, Canadian enchanter Dezza, and the enigmatic PRANNA — to learn more about this engaging imprint. Matt Fax has also provided an hour-long mix that brings the sonic spectrum of the Colorize catalog into full view.

Check out the label’s ‘Colorscapes Vol. 2’ Chart on Beatport.

How did you all first link up with Colorize?

PRAANA – We’ve always loved the Colorize sound and sent in “Mojave” to the team once we had a rough version. They really loved the record and saw our vision for PRAANA. Together we’ve had countless meetings and conversations about what we would like PRAANA to sound like and our overall message as artists. Colorize gets it. We love having this as our home!

Dezza – It’s been so long I actually had to do some research to answer this question! When Colorize was first launched in 2011, one of the A&R’s there reached out to me. I think I was the second artist to release on the label.

Matt Fax – I got linked up with the label in late 2012 with the help of a friend, I sent a couple of originals, and a few months later, I got a solo release on the label.

How has Colorize helped push your career forward? What are some of the label’s greatest strengths?

PRAANA – Colorize has given us a great platform as a new artist. We’ve been able to collaborate with other great artists on the roster who share a similar vision. They’ve supported our campaigns and marketing initiatives very strongly. Some of the label’s greatest strengths are that the employees are all very passionate about our music/aesthetic and being part of Enhanced. They have great access to resources that help new artists like us grow.

What are your thoughts on the current state of progressive house?

Dezza – Personally, I don’t really like to put myself in a box when it comes to genres. I will say that I have been playing heaps of progressive house on my live streams — progressive house is in a good spot.

You’ve been producing progressive house and trance since you were 15 years old. Has your production process, mindset, and attitude changed this year with the pandemic?

Matt Fax – It felt like I was back in 2016 when I had no gigs and I stayed home making music. This allowed me to try new things, but it felt weird to not being able to travel when I had been booked to open for Jason Ross on his US album tour.

Tell us about the Colorscape compilation series. How would you describe it, and what are some standout tunes from Volume Two?

PRAANA – It was an amazing piece of work to have been a part of. We were a huge fan of Volume One as well, so being able to team up with Dezza and Matt Fax for this was rad. For our mix, Ram Dass was a huge part of it. His sampling added the core to our work for this one. Some other standout tracks are PRAANA & LEVV’s “I Am (Loving Awareness Mix),” which was released on Colorize on December 4th. Also, Matt Fax & Sound Quelle’s “Sunburst” and Dezza & Lauren L’aimant’s “Settle.”

Dezza – The Colorscapes series is one of the best ideas to come out of the Colorize/Enhanced office, aside from signing me as an artist in 2011 of course! I would describe it as a thoroughly enjoyable journey through deep and melodic progressive house, on all levels. PRAANA, Matt Fax and I all have different tastes and styles of DJing and I feel Colorscapes Volume Two is a perfect example of that. Being part of a compilation series has always been a dream of mine all the way back to my first days of getting into music as a teenager. I take pride in showcasing all of the artists in the mix. It’s hard to pick standout tunes but Djimboh, Axis, Murtagh, Klur, and Trilucid nailed it with their contributions.

Matt Fax – I think it’s one of the best compilations in the game right now. We put so much heart in choosing tunes that resonate with us instead of releasing fillers just to fill a schedule. Some standouts from Volume Two would be Estiva’s “Rush Hour” and Trilucid’s “Glimmer in the Dark.”

Purchase Colorize’s 50-track compilation, ‘Colorscapes Volume Two,’ on Beatport.

Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s Assistant Editor. Find him on Twitter.

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12 Jan Meet the Winner of Beatport and Absolut’s “President House” Remix Challenge

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Words: Cameron Holbrook

We hear from remix our winner, Joos, who dialed up the vibes and provided us with a slamming remix of Roland Clark and Urban Soul’s “President House.”

After sorting through over 600 submissions from producers all over the world, Beatport and Absolut have selected a winner for the “President House” remix challenge.

The track used for the remix contest — Roland Clark and Urban Soul’s “President House” — is one of house music’s most beloved dance floor anthems. Hailing from Zurich, Switzerland, the winning remixer, Joos, brought a new level of funk, drive, and radiance to this timeless tune.

The challenge was part of Beatport and Absolut’s New Years Eve Livestream celebration — a 20-plus hour online party that hit more than 15 time zones with DJs in cities worldwide. In addition to winning over $5000 in prizes and an official release on King Street Sounds, Joos’ remix received a global debut from the one and only Carl Cox during the stream. Check out the video of Coxy dropping the track below!

We’re offering a 48-hour window to download the Joos remix of “President House” for free, which will later be available for purchase via the King Street Sounds label on Beatport. 

Listen to the track and grab your free radio edit of “President House (Joos Remix).”

Get to know our winner in our interview below.  

Congratulations on winning the contest! How do you feel about winning the competition and what was it like hearing your track played out by Carl Cox during the NYE livestream?

Thank you! Well, it’s still kind of surreal, actually. I mean, a few days ago, I was only producing for my own set of ears, and next, the man himself, Carl Cox, is playing my tune in his New Year set! I’m so happy at the moment! 

How did you first start producing music?

My music journey began in 2007 when I was 14, and a friend of mine showed me FL Studio. Before that, I was mainly messing with Loops in Magix Music Maker. FL Studio was love at first sight because it made making a tune so intuitive. I recently got my hands on Ableton, but I’ll still do most of the stuff like arranging and mixing in FL Studio. 

Before Joos, I was part of another project, focusing on melodic techno and house, which had a more melancholic and darker touch. With Joos, I wanted to go in the opposite direction, creating uplifting tech house and house music. 

What is it about the track “President House” that first captured your imagination? 

The original is a masterpiece. It’s a journey guided by those powerful and pure vocals we all understand and rely on when listening to house music. It has this driven and surreal feeling and took me right back to the day I first heard house music.

I first got in touch with house music when I played Smugglers Run 2 on PS2 when I was about 14 years old, which featured lots of tunes from Kevin Saunderson. My musical background at that point was mainly trance and early hardstyle. I was blown away by this different sound. I had never heard such soulful, powerful, and yet mystical sounds before. 

How did you approach the remix’s production process? 

I didn’t want to copy the original because I knew I’d never top that mystical atmosphere. I wanted to create a remix that a DJ can play in modern tech house sets while still centering around the vocals and their meaning. And, of course, I wanted to make people dance. 

I created all sounds in the box for the remix using Arturia Plugins like Piano V2, Pigments, and DX7. I usually tend to use an analog emulation of the Minimoog or my Moog Sub37 for basslines. Still, for the remix, I chose the DX7 because with its FM-synthesis, you can get this typical bass sound you can hear on many tunes nowadays. For the kick, I first went through Splice to find a fitting one-shot sample, but after a couple of minutes, I gave up and created my own using FL Studios Bassdrum synthesizer. I made the stabs in a jam session some weeks ago. I’ve saved them but didn’t know where to use them until making this remix. The stabs consist of two layers made with Piano V2 and Pigments. 

Following the release of your track on King Street Sounds, what can we expect to hear from you next, and what are your hopes for 2021?

Right now, I’m quite busy with other projects like MAMO where I focus on melodic techno and house, from which you can expect some new releases soon. With Joos, I want to rework the tunes that I’ve already uploaded on SoundCloud because I’m still not satisfied with the mixdown. Also, I’m currently busy with another Joos remix for Glamour Hammer, for whom I already remixed his release “Stay With Me.”

My hopes for 2021 are that we can go back to normal. Going out and seeing people without thinking of the pandemic. Even though my skills improved a lot during the lockdowns, I definitely want to go out again! 

Connect with Joos on Instagram. 

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11 Jan Joseph Capriati’s Stab Wounds Are “Not Life Threatening”

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Words: Chandler Shortlidge

The Italian DJ was hospitalized after an incident in his hometown of Caserta.

Following the stabbing of Joseph Capriati  by his father, it was reported by local sources that the Italian DJ was fighting for his life.

However, his agency offered an update on Facebook, saying that “Joseph’s injuries are not life-threatening and he sends you all a big and warm hug,” before thanking fans for their support. Italian media La Repubblica also states that Capriati is “slowly improving,” but that his wounds are “still serious.”

Capriati was stabbed in the chest on January 9th by his 61-year-old father, a retired prison police officer, following an argument. Details were few at the time of reporting, but local press now state that Capriati was was arguing with his mother before his father became violent.

It’s also alleged that Capriati punched his father before his father stabbed him. His brother was reportedly present at the scene.

Capriati’s father was arrested and charged with attempted murder. La Repubblica describes him as “a devastated man” for what happened.

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11 Jan Label Of The Month: Shall Not Fade

Posted at 11:35h in features, feed, homepage-masthead-slider, trending
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

With five years of stellar releases in the bag, we catch up with Shall Not Fade label founder Kieran Williams, who talks about his imprint’s expansive family, and the drive behind its growth.

“My mum’s an English teacher and is very, very interested in Shakespeare,” Shall Not Fade label founder Kieran Williams says. Though it might not be obvious, Williams’ label — which has undeniably become a trendsetting force in the underground since launching five years ago — shares its namesake with a stanza taken from one of William Shakespeare’s best-known sonnets, Sonnet 18, written in the 1590s. 

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st

“We used to go to Shakespeare’s theatre in Stratford all the time, and it was a big part of my upbringing. When it came time to name the label, I was flipping through my Mom’s books, that line just stuck out to me, and I was like, ‘there it is.’ I think it’s quite powerful.”

With hundreds of releases under its belt and numerous sub-labels in the wings, the sound of Shall Not Fade (SNF) is a tempest of house, techno, bass, breaks, and more. In retelling the label’s story however, Williams can’t help but chuckle when remembering how the label was first perceived, especially online. “We spent the first four years running the label out of the garage,” Williams says. “Many people thought it was this massive label when, in reality, it was just one friend and me running all the operations out of this space.”

It’s late December, and Williams is talking from his brand-new office space in Bristol. As he appears on the screen with a smile and overworked eyes, his girlfriend Bailey can be seen in the background, organizing stacks of records and generally getting the place in order. “It’s been a mad end to the year,” Williams says. “We’ve got tons of new releases coming out, but overall, it’s all been really positive.” After living in London for about a year, Williams starts with how good it feels to be back with a permanent base in his hometown. 

“I’ve lived in Bristol pretty much my whole life,” Williams says. “Coming back has really given me clear headspace and has set the bar for next year. Community-wise, it’s like everybody’s out to help each other here, which I think is extremely important, especially during these times and with everything that’s going on in the world. You want a good scene around you. A lot of my drive and overall interest in music has come from being in Bristol, really.”

During his formative years, Williams’ taste shifted from playing in bands to more bass-driven music, after attending dubstep pioneer Pinch‘s weekly Subloaded events. He studied music production at his sixth form college, started DJing under the KGW moniker, and eventually graduated with a degree in event management. After graduating in 2016, he landed a gig working for Bristol’s most iconic music venue, Motion — a vast warehouse space set in an industrial area of the city that’s been regularly recognized as one of the best clubs in the world. 

“Growing up in Bristol, if you’re interested in that kind of music, it’s really the biggest and most sought after club that you could work at,” Williams says. “It was such a great thing to be taken under their wing, and obviously, they were really supportive of the label in helping me put on the events that definitely cemented Shall Not Fade as a Bristol brand. Even in the early stages, many people who followed the label would come over from other countries in Europe just to attend these parties.”

The label’s first physical release came from Jordan Alexander, AKA Mall Grab, who was then a little-known player. The relationship between the Bristolian Williams and the Australian producer/DJ came naturally, through online chats and mutual love for smoked-out, crunchy house music. Before long, Williams was flying Alexander out to the UK for his first of many gigs at Motion in Bristol. 

“We also had DJ Boring out for his first Bristol gig,” Williams explains. “Building the Shall Not Fade family really happened through the events as much as it did through the music. I think that’s why the parties were so good in that sense, it was just friends doing a party, but they were all coming from different places. I think that’s pretty much the basis of the label, and even now, when I look at our artists that release various labels, they’re all still a part of each other’s careers.”

Shall Not Fade’s early artist roster featured acts like LK, Adryiano, TRP, and Lake Haze, who played an essential role in building the “strange family” that is “built on trust,” as Williams puts it. “If somebody who I’ve released with before or who I’m friends with sends me some music, and they’re like, ‘I think you’ll really like this,’ most of the time I do like it, and it ends up getting released.” This snowball effect of friends supporting friends would introduce acts like Baltra, Kettama, Big Miz, Ejeca, Harrison BDP, Subjoi, Anthony Fade, and dozens upon dozens of other talented producers from around the world into the Shall Not Fade fold.

Soon a mishmash of languid, jazzy, percussive, warm expanded the label’s sonic signature, while the internet’s unquenchable thirst for lo-fi house called for a new sub-label, Lost Palms. Though the imprint would both cater to the sound, and expand beyond it. “I’ve always seen Shall Not Fade as being a mixed genre label, and I’ve always wanted to keep it that way,” Williams says. “The best way to characterize Lost Palms would be to call it ‘dreamy house,’ I’d say.” Using picturesque photos of palm trees set in urban environments to characterize much of the label’s aesthetic and epitomize its raw, lush, and vaporous sound, Lost Palms took off with increasing popularity, delivering EPs such as Trudge’s When It Rains, DJ Boring’s Different Dates, and Anthony Fade’s Fading EP.

Three years in, Shall Not Fade shook the scene even further with its 3 Years of Service compilation, a stunning nine-track record with tracks from acts like Loods, Frits Wentink & DJ Boring, Mella Dee, Skream, and more. The three-year-anniversary of the label and its growing international popularity prompted its first gigs outside of Europe, taking SNF to Japan, Thailand, and Australia. “I booked that whole tour myself, which was pretty mad,” Williams says. “Those Asia gigs were extraordinary, and we have a great following in Australia, as well as Berlin, and then Bristol, obviously.”

When discussing parties, the conversation shifts back to the current crisis and uncertain future the UK events sector faces due to COVID-19 and his time working at Motion. “There’s no other way to really describe it. It’s all pretty fucked, isn’t it?” Williams says. “I still speak to the Motion people sometimes, and despite the situation, I think they’re going to come back strong. I really wanted to do a lot of events again, and I’ve got a real drive for it now, but to be honest with you, there was a time when I kind of fell out of love with it. It is stressful putting on parties, and it’s a weird kind of stress. It’s not like running a label or doing a release. I remember waking up in the night sometimes at 4:00 in the morning to check my computer to see if I’d sold any more tickets and stuff, you know? It really wasn’t good for my mental health, and it’s definitely something I struggled with.”

It was just after Shall Not Fade’s 30-day international tour in 2018 that, despite its success, Williams admits he began to feel weary and uncertain about the future of his label and career choice. In 2019, after being enamored by Thailand during the tour, he and his girlfriend decided to leave Bristol and move to Bangkok. “In all honesty, and I haven’t said this anywhere, but I kind of just fell out of love with the label and with music in general, really,” Williams says. “It’s hard to explain, really. It was a weird time for us both, but, I don’t know, I just… lost the love for it.”

After buying a one-way ticket, they planned to start fresh in Southeast Asia with the hopes of finding jobs as English teachers. Williams was still running the label remotely, releasing records like KETTAMA’s Eastside Avenue EP, Harrison BDP’s Yearning For Yesterday EP, and another potent anniversary showing with their 4 Years Of Service compilation. After almost a year in Southeast Asia, the pair decided it was high time to return to the UK and opt for a stint in London before returning home.

“I’m now happier being back in Bristol, but I feel that London was a really big stepping stone from that period to where both the label and my mentality are now,” Williams says. “It gave me the drive again to really pump the label, and I just found that love again. I’ve never been so excited or motivated, and I feel blessed and happy every day that I’m able to do this as a job. Before, I just didn’t really feel like that.”

Wasting no time to move the label into 2020 with a refreshed mindset and a yearning to bring new artists into the fold, Williams managed to turn the worst year the dance music scene has ever endured into Shall Not Fade’s most successful year to date. He introduced three new sub-labels to the SNF family, the first being Shall Not Fade Basement Tracks — an IDM meets techno imprint with a heavier, broken-beat sound with releases from Ejeca and Otik, newcomers Ron Elliot and Kessler, and Shadow Child, whose Bak 2 Skool EP is coming soon.

Then there’s Time Is Now Records, a bass-driven label specializing in low-end heavy retro UK Garage experimentation, and the thick Bristolian sounds that first inspired Williams’ journey beyond rock. Finally, Season Series is an artful, colored vinyl imprint featuring an array of waxy hues that change with the seasons. Sitting alongside two white labels — Shall Not Fade White and the forthcoming Time Is Now White — Williams’ love of vinyl does not go unnoticed.

Crafting the album art and visual identity for each of his imprints is “a massive part of the label,” Williams says. To that end, James Lacey, AKA Pointless Illustrations, can be thanked. “The first release he ever did was the Four Years Of Service record. It’s my favorite artwork to date,” Williams says. “He completely got the vibe and nailed the Shakespearean stuff with this gothic, angels, myths, and legends look. I literally have full trust in him and have handed over complete creative control of everything visual.” With remarkable artwork that ranges from abstract and profound to fun and cartoonish, the label’s vinyl and merch offerings are quick to be snatched up.

Williams explains that handing over creative control is an essential part of Shall Not Fade’s output and strategy. He insists that he’s “not the visionary,” but rather “the person in this who makes the stuff happen,” giving his artists the time, trust, money, marketing skills, and other traits he has to offer while carrying out his job with full-blown confidence in their work. This paid off in spades last year, when Shall Not Fade and its sub-labels dropped a total of 61 releases. “I thought 2019 was a good year, and that year ended with a total of 21,” Williams says, bewildered.

In addition to releasing its first collection of albums — LP1 and LP2 Ambient Dance from Polish house master Bartosz Kruczyński (AKA Earth Trax), along with the sexy and chilled Earth Tones album from Brooklyn duo Earth Tracks — the development of Shall Not Fade’s new sub-labels brought some of 2020’s best EPs. Standouts include the electrifying Frankfurt artist LUZ1E’s Ridin, the Danish dynamo Main Phase’s Never Let Go, UKG troublemaker Bakey’s Take it Further, Otik’s Zero-Sum Games, Tilman’s free and easy One For The Trouble, Subjoi’s ’90s rave reception Bias, Yosh’s One More Time, and more. 

A handful of established veterans of the scene also joined the Shall Not Fade roster this year, including DJ/producers like Byron The Aquarius, Laurence Guy, and Jacques Renault. “It’s really nice to work with some of those names who you’ve kind of dreamt of working with while you’re also bringing through new artists, which has always been the foundation of the label,” Williams says. “It’s great seeing those bigger names coming forward and wanting to work with us simply based on what we’ve done in the past with these up-and-coming artists, you know? It’s not like we have a big artist behind the label or there’s a company behind the label who are driving it financially.”

Moving into 2021, Williams exclaims that he’s feeling “positive,” “lucky,” “happy,” and “more confident than ever” in both what he’s doing and where Shall Not Fade is heading. As we discuss holiday plans, rest seems a far way off for Williams as he explains to us that he’s got “15 releases arriving within the space of 15 days.” He goes on to announce that another new sub-label, titled Shall Not Fade Classic Cuts, will come into play in the new year, along with compelling new releases from the likes of Felipe Gordon, dj poolboy, Interplanetary Criminal, Byron The Aquarius, and much more. With his mum’s garage now a distant memory, and endless possibilities on the horizon, it seems Shall Not Fade is one imprint destined to live up to its name. 

Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s Assistant Editor. Find him on Twitter.

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09 Jan Joseph Capriati is Hospitalized After Being Stabbed by His Father

Posted at 13:26h in feed, news
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Words: Chandler Shortlidge

Capriati’s father has been arrested on charges of attempted murder.

Joseph Capriati is reportedly fighting for his life in a Caserta hospital after his father stabbed him in the chest.

According to local sources, the stabbing occurred after the 33-year-old Italian DJ and his 61-year-old father engaged in a dispute, though it’s unclear at this time what the argument was about.

Capriati’s father was arrested for attempted murder taken to prison by the state police in Caserta. The police found and confiscated the weapon used in the alleged attack, a kitchen knife.

Joseph Capriati usually lives in Spain, but had returned home to Caserta after the pandemic halted his tour schedule, and was living with his father.

We’ll update you on this situation as we have more information.

H/T HuffPost Italy

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08 Jan Re-watch Some of the Best Sets from Beatport and Absolut’s NYE Livestream

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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Revisit all your favorite sets, and check out any you missed, from Beatport and Absolut’s global New Year’s Eve livestream, #DanceAway2020.

Farewell, 2020, and hello, 2021! After the most challenging year the dance music scene has ever faced, its collective perseverance arrived in spades on New Year’s Eve during Beatport and Absolut’s NYE livestream spectacular. Featuring 15 performers playing live from time zones around the world, our livestream traveled from Melbourne to Berlin to Los Angeles and back again for an unforgettable sendoff.

You can relive the magic by checking out some of the best NYE sets from our YouTube channel below. Happy New Year!


Melbourne: Carl Cox

Tokyo: SEKITOVA

Shanghai: RayRay

Dubai: Jixo & Danz

Odessa: Nastia

Berlin: Honey Dijon

London: Jaguar

Florianopolis: BLANCAh

Barbados: Nicole Moudaber

Miami: Jamie Jones

Calgary: Sydney Blu

Melbourne: Carl Cox (Pt. 2)

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08 Jan The 7 Best Drum & Bass Tracks On Beatport You May Have Missed

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Words: Yann Bonnet

Our expert curation team brings you the best tracks on Beatport you may have missed. This time featuring Klinical, DJ Hazard, Bladerunner, Calibre, Ivy Lab and more.

Klinical, Waeys – Framed [Overview Music]

Overview Music finished 2020 with a six-track compilation, including “Framed” from Klinical and the D&B Awards’ Best Newcomer, Waeys. Perfectly encapsulating the label’s sound, this track is a pure deep, dark D&B banger and has the potential to be a modern classic. 

The Caracal Project – Intoxication [Blackout Music NL]

“Intoxicated” is the new track from The Caracal Project on Blackout Music NL. The French act is back doing what he does best — bringing us a creative and progressive combination of samples, vocals, and melodic synths to create a hook and groovy bassline to keep the dancefloor under pressure. Dope!

Kanine – All Goes Wrong [UNLEASHED]

On his own label UNLEASHED, Kanine drops “All Goes Wrong” in collaboration with Manchester-based MC T-Man. A long and deep atmospheric intro, supported by T-Man’s characteristic flow, guides us to outer space drifting inside sub frequencies! 

DJ Hazard – When The Dreams Are Over [Playaz]

“When the Dreams Are Over” landed as an unexpected Christmas gift from DJ Hazard on Playaz, with a 4-track EP in the signature style we’ve come to expect from the UK producer. 

Bladerunner – Don’t Break It VIP [Hi-Resolution]

What an end of the year for Bladerunner and Hi-Resolution, with three fantastic VIP singles in as many weeks. “Don’t Break It” is proof that Bladerunner is a master of bridging the gap between old school and modern sounds, with a catchy vocal, a groovy bassline, punchy rhythm, and classic reese. No doubt that 2021 will be a huge year for Bladerunner! 

Krust, Calibre – It’s A Lot [Crosstown Rebels]

Two of the biggest names in drum & bass team up on the same track with a legend remixing another legend! Calibre’s remix of “It’s a Lot” from Krust is exactly what we’d expect: A deep, emotional, and melancholic liquid track that you can play in a loop in your headphones all day. 

Frank Carter, Ivy Lab – Soul Sista [Critical Music]

Ivy Lab & Frank Carter III bring back those much loved, classic liquid-soul D&B vibes that they are known for. Sadly, Frank Carter III recently lost his leg due to illness, so all proceeds are being donated to Frank and his family.

For more drum & bass tracks you may have missed, check out our Beatport Link Playlist.

Start your free trial of Beatport LINK.

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06 Jan Revisit Kerri Chandler’s Sensational Beatport Livestream Residency

Posted at 21:25h in feed, news, trending
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Revisit the final 2020 Residency with globally renowned house music hero, Kerri Chandler.

For the final 2020 Beatport Residency, which hands over our Twitch channel to some of the world’s best dance music artists for a month of hand-picked livestreams, New Jersey house music originator Kerri Chandler  whisked the year away with marvelous sets from guest performers like Louie Vega, Disclosure, Mona Lee, and David Morales, as well as sets from Chandler himself. 

But don’t worry if you missed it — we’ve compiled a full recap of Kerri’s Residency below.

WEEK ONE

Kerri Chandler launched into his first The Residency showcase with a rousing set from his home studio, using a three turntable set up with SL1400 mk2 Technics and sorting through his dizzying collection of vinyl to uplift our souls and show us once again how a grandmaster of house music performs behind the decks. Before Kerri, DJ Deep set up with a throwback vinyl showcase of his own, followed by a rotary demonstration from Arcade, a dance floor workshop from Baby Rollén, and a hypnotizing yet equally classy music selection Disclosure.

DJ Deep [Paris] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Arcade [London] – Watch on YouTube 

Baby Rollén [London] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Disclosure [London] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Kerri Chandler [New Jersey] – Watch on YouTube

WEEK TWO

NYC house music legend Louie Vega loosened things up in starting off the week two livestream, delivering a set with increasing energy that is sure to bring a smile to your face. Lea Lisa followed with a gracious and bright set before handing things over to Nigerian visionary Jerome Sydenham, who brilliantly overlayed his performance with some captivating get-up and dance footage. Leighton Moody, Kerri Chandler’s younger brother, was next, demonstrating his succinct understanding of the house sound while building authentic, resonate, and soulful atmospherics for all to enjoy. Kerri Chandler came in to wrap things up once again and blow our minds with brilliant track selections, along with some improvised piano riffs and percussion segments that will set you spinning. 

Louie Vega [New Jersey] – Watch on YouTube

Lea Lisa [Lausanne] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Jerome Sydenham [NYC] – Watch on YouTube

Leighton Moody [Cape Town] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Kerri Chandler [New Jersey] – Watch on YouTube

WEEK THREE

Italian house music purveyor Davide Squillace got things going with a deep, trippy, and profound livestream performance for December’s week three residency program before Belgian DJ Mona Lee‘s uplifting set, featuring live vocals and open skies. Baltimore’s DJ Spen stepped up next with severe body shaking rhythms and grooves that will set your headphones or speakers ablaze. Prominent NYC house head David Morales set us up correctly with big love from his home in Bologna before our host, Kerri Chandler, got busy once again to show us his untouchable mastery over the ones and twos. 

Davide Squillace [Barcelona] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Mona Lee [Belgium] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

DJ Spen [Baltimore] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

David Morales [Bologna] – Watch on YouTube + check out their Beatport Residency Chart 

Kerri Chandler [New Jersey] – Watch on YouTube

WEEK FOUR

To close out his phenomenal programming for The Residency, Kerri Chandler decided to treat us to something special. Bringing us six full hours of uninterrupted music on New Years Day, Kerri Chandler hit the greenscreen to set himself up in various spaces and atmospheres such as Time Square, a Spaceship, a video game, and more. “I went out and found various locations that almost seemed unimaginable to do,” Chandler says about the stream. “I also worked on a project with my son Max that has been formatted in all 8-bit graphics.”

Kerri Chandler Times Square DJ Set – Watch on YouTube

Kerri Chandler NYC DJ Set – Watch on YouTube

Kerri Chandler Computer Games DJ Set – Watch on YouTube

Kerri Chandler Spaceship DJ Set – Watch on YouTube

Kerri Chandler Timeshift DJ Set – Watch on YouTube

Kerri Chandler Animated DJ Set – Watch on YouTube


Tune into ‘The Residency’ via Beatport’s Twitch Channel

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06 Jan Beatport and Pioneer DJ Launch Monthly DJ Competition, The Big Break

Posted at 10:00h in feed, news, trending
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Submit your 20-minute mix using Beatport LINK for a chance to win €1000’s in prizes and perform a DJ set via Beatport’s Twitch Channel!

Beatport has linked up with Pioneer DJ to present a fresh monthly DJ competition that will offer DJs of all sounds the chance to win great prizes, show off their skills, and build up their fanbase on a global scale.

Called The Big Break, each month Beatport will select eight finalists to play a live set to thousands of listeners on Beatport’s Twitch Channel using Beatport LINK. From these eight finalists, Beatport and Pioneer DJ will choose three winners who’ll take home €1,000’s in prizes, including subscriptions, top-of-the-line music gear, and a featured Beatport Chart. All competition submissions must be mixed using LINK. See the full list of contest rules and prizes below. Good luck! 

All eight finalists will receive a pair of Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1 headphones (incl. two colored accessory packs) and a three-month subscription to Beatport LINK PRO+.

1st Place

Prize package includes:

  •  1 Year Beatport LINK PRO+
  •  Plugins from Plugin Boutique
  •  3/mo Loopcloud Subscription
  •  Featured Beatport Chart
  •  DM-40BT Speakers
  •  XDJ-XZ Professional all-in-one DJ system
  •  Pioneer DJ Masterclass

2nd Place

Prize package includes:

  •  1 Year Beatport LINK PRO+
  •  Plugins from Plugin Boutique
  •  3/mo Loopcloud Subscription
  •  Featured Beatport Chart
  •  DM-40BT Speakers

3rd Place

Prize package includes:

  •  1 Year Beatport LINK PRO+
  •  Plugins from Plugin Boutique
  •  3/mo Loopcloud Subscription
  •  Featured Beatport Chart
  •  DM-40BT Speakers

Instructions on how to enter:

Step 1 



Record a
20-minute mix (audio & video) and upload the footage as an UNLISTED video on YouTube.

  • Contestants MUST be using Beatport LINK during their set.
  • Don’t have a Beatport LINK subscription? Sign up for a 30-day trial.
  • LINK is fully integrated within Pioneer DJ’s rekordbox, as well as many other DJ programs.

Step 2



Upload the link to your UNLISTED YouTube video along with your name, e-mail, socials, and country on The Big Break landing page
here.

We will notify you once your submitted video gets approved for meeting all proper guidelines.

Step 3



Once your submission is approved, set your YouTube video to PUBLIC and share it across your social media platforms, tagging @Beatport and @PioneerDJGlobal using the hashtag #BeatportsBigBreak.

Step 4 



A panel of judges from Pioneer DJ and Beatport’s curation team will review each performance and select the top eight finalists. Each finalists will be contacted individually.

Step 5



Finalists will be asked to perform an hour-long set for the competition livestream on Beatport’s Twitch channel. This occurs on the last Friday of each month, so be sure to keep this day free in your diary in case you are chosen as a winner!”

The submission deadline for the first competition is Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at Midnight Pacific time.

Head on over to The Big Break competition landing page to learn more about this exciting DJ contest and upload your set!

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04 Jan Cover Story: Bicep Are on an Island All Their Own

Posted at 13:00h in features, feed, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: Kristan Caryl
Photos: Dan Medhurst; Here & Now

In an age where image seems to trump all else, Bicep have remained hidden from the spotlight while achieving global fame. Kristan Caryl discusses this rare approach with the duo, while digging deep into their highly anticipated sophomore album, Isles. 

“The reality is, we’re just two fucking pasty guys from Northern Ireland,” says Matt McBriar with a big belly laugh. That might be one reality, but to fans across the world, McBriar and Andy Ferguson are one of dance music’s biggest duos. “I’m dead shy,” McBriar continues. “Usually if we get recognised it’s at the worst times, so I’m just like…” he trails off and puts on a timid voice. “Oh, hello.”  

Given the party-ready sets they first became known for, the pair’s collective reservedness might come as a surprise. And these days they’re perfectly used to playing to crowds numbering in the tens of thousands. Despite their incredible rise, the guys from Northern Ireland have maintained a veil of privacy; a separation between themselves and their stage presence, which is all the more surprising given the image-dominant age in which they came up in. 

While their low-profile presence on social media (which remains business only) is partly due to the pair’s introverted nature, Andy says there are plenty of people he’s grown to dislike over the years, having seen the way they behave on social media, though he won’t be drawn on specific names. “I’m just like, you guys are fucking losers. When you’re oversharing, it removes the illusion. But that’s not even the main part of it — it’s just that people fuss over shit that will be forgotten next week.”=

Bicep’s identity and connection to their fans has almost always come the old fashion way: through electric DJ sets, their famous blog and its mix series, and their iconic productions, each of which carries the duo’s undeniable musical stamp. It’s an important distinction, which means that, although they stop short of rolling out the old cliché themselves, they’ve actually managed to let the music do the talking.

“We’re much more studio heads,” says Matt. “We really like the creative aspect. So we don’t really think too much about anything else. We just crack on, and always wished we could have more time off to focus on the studio side of things.” 

Because of coronavirus, of course, the pair got even more of that than they wished for. Not only did they take much of 2019 off to focus on making music, but because of the pandmeic, they had the best part of a second full year to hole up in their studio, every day from Monday to Friday. 

They’re in the studio when we speak in late December, 2020. It’s a small space just a short cycle ride from their respective homes in North London. The room is bathed in a warm, purple light. Keyboards and drum machines are stacked everywhere around them, making it look they’re speaking from the control room of a giant spacecraft. 

“2020 and ’21 were meant to be big years touring,” explains Matt. He’s the blonde one and the taller, chattier of the two thirty-something-year-old Belfast men. “But the first lockdown [in March] hit on the weekend we were meant to do our very first show at Brixton.”

By then, before they knew the government would impose a nationwide lockdown, the pair had already decided to cancel the tour. It was a painful move given the amount of time and money they’d invested in rehearsals. But also a huge disappointment given the year of studio work that had already gone into the shows. 

“I was down for like, easily two months after the whole lockdown hit,” says the more direct Ferguson through his dark, thick beard. “We had to take a massive hit, but then the gravity of the situation also really dawned on us.”

The original plan was that the live tours would offer up a harder, more energetic version of the forthcoming Isles album before it was released via Ninja Tune. That way, people would have familiarised themselves with the music before getting their hands on the full length, which was “deliberately written to be quite reserved and more for home listening.” Of course, that never happened. 

The lockdown might have been a perfect time to switch things around and get the album out. But, says Ferguson, both men felt that was too opportunistic. “We made a pretty strong decision early on that we need to show this year the kind of respect it deserves. It was not a positive year. It didn’t feel right to shout about stuff. It would have been vulgar to promote a project that wasn’t written with this sort of situation in mind.” With almost a year gone since the situation first began to devolve, the pair now believe people have “acclimatised” and “got over the main hump” of the situation, and will be in the right headspace for the album. 

Check out Bicep’s Winter Heat chart on Beatport.  

The sumptuous record is another artful development of the pair’s lush, expansive electronic sound. It doesn’t have a straight four-four beat on any of the 10 tracks, and instead is driven by pillowy broken beats and rhythmic synth work. Every track shows a clear step upward in craft; a mastery of the machines, which they collect obsessively, but view not as holy artifacts, but as “tools of the trade” valued for the distinctive sound each produces. “We have loads of eBay search filters set for like Japanese and Russian synths that we can’t even read,” Andy says. “We don’t fetishise the stuff, but it’s definitely what we spend most of our money on. Like, I don’t even tell my girlfriend or anyone how much we spend.”

Isles’ 10 tracks were culled from around 150. The pair felt each song needed its own specific DNA, which can be reworked for the peak time or the chill out room, as was often the case with releases that came with multiple remixes back in the ‘90s. Each song has a deeply personal meaning to the pair, but they gave each tune a one-word-only title, hoping to leave more room for fan interpretation. 

“I think we get a lot of our emotion done in our music,” says Matt. “I’m not the sort of guy to cry at movies. That’s the beauty of music, you can say stuff that you can’t really put into words, you know?” Andy cuts in — “With our music, it’s like us kind of writing little stories. It’s a back and forth between me and Matt. There’s definitely a push and pull element to all the tracks. Beauty mixed with distortion.”

Named in-part as a nod to the fact the pair grew up on an island, Isles is, according to Matt, “a meditation on the struggle between the expansive and the introspective; the isolation and euphoria” that comes with such an upbringing. But life in London also has a big influence on the record, which is subtly coloured by a world of sound and musical styles — the same sort of range you’d hear walking down a high street in any of the capital’s bustling multi-cultural boroughs. 

“We’d made most of it before the lockdown. But the first sessions back in the studio after that were a bit shit,” admits Ferguson. “You’re like, ‘What’s the point of making this for a club when there are no clubs?”’ But after a couple of months, the pair came to terms with the situation and started working on their first ticketed livestream performance. Taking place in September, it was one of the first of its kind for any electronic artist, broadcast across five time zones, and watched by people in over 70 countries, with visuals by close collaborator Black Box Echo. A second is to follow in February. 

The duo’s gradual pivot to playing live shows almost exclusively came about for relatively modest reasons — since they usually play earlier, they get more sleep between shows. “It’s harder to recover the older you get,” Matt says. But they also feel like DJ sets don’t allow for the full Bicep experience, and fans seem to agree. Their live shows have proven so successful that they’ve hardly had time for anything else, including the studio.  

“We just kept going and going,” Matt says. The setup has evolved from “an 808, mixing desk, loads of effects, a 606, few drum machines and Ableton,” to one with live synths, compressors, EQs and a side chain. The visuals also had to be developed, adding to the physical challenge of lugging 200kg of gear onto flights around the world, and the mental strain of wondering whether or not the machines would work once they’d landed. “We spent hours working out which were the best but lightest cables we could use,” Andy says. Even something as simple as failing to notice a routine MacBook software update could throw the whole show out of whack, a problem that was only resolved when, as a last ditch attempt, Andy’s personal “years-old, dented piece of shit” laptop came to the rescue, allowing the gig to go ahead.

Despite the challenges, both admit they’re glad for all the hard earned experiences of life on the road, and feel that having someone else taking care of those details would be even more stressful, leaving them “in the dark” about the whole process. That said, after Andy “burnt a pair of headphones with a soldering iron” and shuddered at the thought of that happening to one of their pricey synths, they now happily leave repairs to a pro.  

Photo by Here & Now

Ferguson and McBriar first met at school when they were eight. Their earliest musical memories are of bands like Slayer and Tangerine Dream, and Irish legends Thin Lizzy and Moya Brennan. Their electronic music education, however, came at the world famous Shine in Belfast, which is sort of like skipping out on the school years and going straight to Oxford or Harvard. It’s a place known for its hard-edged sounds, no-frills techno and famously raucous crowds — anything less than full throttle is seen as “boring.” It was also a place that, however temporarily, united people from Northern Ireland’s different religious backgrounds. “Dance music does not originate from there,” Matt says, so there were no competing claims of ownership on the dance floor. At the time, neither realised how big the acts they were seeing were. But it didn’t matter, they were hooked, and began their own research. 

Belfast certainly punches above its weight given the small size of the city, but it still didn’t quite offer enough to keep these longtime friends there for university. Ferguson went to study chemical engineering in Manchester, and Matt studied design in Newcastle before later spending time in Dubai. 

“I couldn’t wait to leave,” Matt says. “Plus, I supported Manchester United and I loved the whole Manchester music scene. In comparison to Belfast, it seemed like a metropolis.” Andy takes over. “I remember thinking it’s grey, it’s wet in Belfast. There’s hardly any tall buildings, and most of them are fucking busted up. So you definitely had this feeling of like, whoa, when you arrive somewhere else.”

They stayed in touch while at different universities, and in 2008 started the now legendary Feel My Bicep blog. It was a place to share Mp3s with each other and the world, which at the time was not a particularly unique thing to be doing. What stood their platform apart, however, was not only the breadth and depth of the tunes, which featured everything from deep house to Italo, weird pop to techno, but also the design. 

These days, every DJ has a logo, a brand, a visual identity or range of merchandise. But Feel My Bicep, with their now-iconic, muscle-flexing trefoil logo, were early pioneers who found a receptive underground audience, likely owing to their impeccable selections. Next to keyrings and clothing, the pair recently hooked up with their favourite local chocolate shop for a high-end collaboration on an ethically sourced vegan bar. “Because why not? We respect the brand, so thought, fuck it,” Andy says. 

For many years, every blog post also came with a carefully selected image, which further helped to popularise it. “With the blog, each post would take us an hour,” Andy says. “We used to try and tell the story of every track, what it meant, whether that be visually to us, or painting a little picture with each one.”

The effort paid off. DJ bookings followed, and before long, Bicep became new-school pin-ups. They were energetic young DJs who could turn up and erupt any dance floor, festival stage or boat deck. But the truth is, there was always more to Bicep than people knew at the time, and the new album proves that once more. Early on, they made and played lots of ‘90s house music (and probably precipitated its revival in the early 2010s). But that was through necessity rather than choice.  

“The whole house thing purely came from the fact that we had an ear for music that we couldn’t replicate on laptops,” says Matt. Because they couldn’t make the music they wanted on a laptop, they started editing old tunes and chopping up samples, “just ’cause it got us a lot closer to the aesthetic we were looking for,” Matt continues. “I was listening to Aphex Twin a long time before I was listening to any house music. But house is a nice, easy way of getting into dance music.”

Being locked down during 2020 allowed Bicep more time to pursue their hobbies, like gardening for Matt and boxing “quite intensely” for Andy. They’re also digging for music again. “It reminded us how fun searching for music is,” Matt says. Despite their many intense hours in the studio each week, which are always between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. — the most efficient way they’ve found to work, even it means they sometimes leave and arrived home to girlfriends “unable to string sentences together” — Bicep still spend time listening to plenty of music outside of work. 

“I’ll just go down a weird wormhole,” Ferguson says. “More Autechre!” McBriar shouts. “Yeah, more Autechre than anything,” agrees Ferguson, who suddenly becomes as impassioned as he does at any point in the afternoon. “Full blast through my speakers, and my girlfriend is always like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ Anything I listen to is pretty intense.”

He mentions metal more than once while we speak, and the new album from post-metal doom mongers Tool comes up. “There’s a weird niche of four of five of our friends who are super fans, because when you’re in Belfast, these are the kind of things you look up to. You think they’re fucking really cool.”

It’s fair to say that these days, plenty of folks look up to Bicep. They’re ubiquitous in the Internet’s most popular dance music track-identification and meme groups, have produced some of the 2010’s most enduring tracks, and have headlined events like Glastonbury and Coachella. But the pair themselves remain fully grounded. They have already been on the receiving end of an inevitable backlash after becoming so closely associated with the ‘90s house revival, and they don’t want to repeat it. “We quickly found the limit with that,” says Matt. Looking ahead, limits seem a thing of the past. 

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03 Jan Sama’ Abdulhadi Released From Jail

Posted at 22:22h in homepage-masthead-slider, news
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Words: Beatport

The Palestinian artist is home after eight-day detention in a Jericho jail.

Palestinian electronic musician and DJ Sama’ Abdulhadi has been released on bail by Palestinian Authorities (PA) following an eight-day detention in a Jericho jail. 

Abdulhadi was released on bail by PA court order on a cash bond of 500 Jordanian Dinar bail. She’s currently restricted from traveling outside Palestine, and is subject to further investigation on the charges of desecrating a holy site and religious symbols, and violating Covid 19 emergency measures. 

Though she has not been indicted, Abdulhadi faces up to two years of imprisonment, and is awaiting the Attorney General’s decision as to whether the charges will be pursued or not following the final results of the investigation. Abdulhadi is now safely with her family.

Abdulhadi was held for questioning and then detained on December  27th following a private event created for Beatport’s pre-recorded performance series, The Residency. The location for the event, Maqam Nabi Musa in the West Bank, is in-part still used as a place of worship, but was also declared a tourist attraction by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism in 2019 and is regularly available for hire. Many non-electronic musical events have taken place there.

Abdulhadi was commissioned  by Beatport to film a four-part, one-month residency in late 2020, aiming to showcase the music scene in the Middle East and in Palestine. The third location of the residency, based on Abdulhadi’s own five-hour solo performance, took place in the courtyard of a hostel on the property of the Nabi Mussa historical, tourist and cultural site. It was approved to Abdulhadi in writing by the General Director of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism. The performance was private, with a total of 30 friends and working crew in attendance. Recording of the event ended when a group entered the venue and told guests to leave, claiming religious protections for the site.  

Abdulhadi’s detention led to an outpouring of international support, with artists and DJs from the electronic community as well as musical icons like Brian Eno and Roger Waters calling for her release. A Change.org petition asking for her release has over 100,000 signatures at time of writing.  

“I am safe and well, and would like to thank everybody who has spoken out in support of my situation and called for my immediate release,” Abdulhadi said in a statement. “I am overwhelmed by the support from my fellow musicians, artists, activists and the entire music community. I want to thank anybody and everybody who has made me feel so supported. At this moment, I just want to spend time with my family.”

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31 Dec Beatport Statement on Sama’ Abdulhadi’s Detention by the Palestinian Authority

Posted at 22:27h in feed, news
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Words: Beatport Staff

An official statement from Beatport on the detention of DJ and musician Sama’ Abdulhadi by the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier this year, Ms. Sama’ Abdulhadi, a world-renowned DJ and Producer from Palestine, was commissioned by Beatport to create a monthly music streaming “Residency” series highlighting the musical and cultural developments of the Middle Eastern electronic music scene. Over a one month residency of five hours per week, Beatport collaborated with Ms. Sama’ Abdulhadi to showcase the best DJs from different regions of the Middle East, including Abdulhadi herself.  

As part of this effort to draw international attention to the importance of the heritage and history of the country of Palestine, Ms. Abdulhadi selected the Maqam Nabi Musa (Tomb of the Prophet Moses) in Jericho, just outside Jerusalem, for this single event.  The site had been frequently used for concerts and events in the past and Ms Abdulhadi obtained the necessary permits from the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism to host a private event.  Ms. Abdulhadi and her team selected approximately forty people, all adhering to social distancing policies, to join in the private, recorded event that was to be broadcast in January on Beatport’s media channels.

The site, Maqam Nabi Musa, is under the custody of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism who gave written approval to organize and film the concert in the Bazaar site, which is separated from the holy sites within the complex.  The European Union, in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, had recently pledged more than €5m to renovate the site for various cultural events and gatherings to support the on-going development of cultural tourism in the Palestinian controlled territories. Ms. Abdulhadi believes she and her team acted with good intent and adhered to all licensing arrangements with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism.  

Beatport is actively working with Ms. Abdulhadi’s team in the hopes of gaining her immediate release from detention. In addition, Beatport hopes to connect with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism.

Sama’ Abdulhadi’s “Residency” is part of an ongoing Beatport series, which Beatport planned to stream in the early months of 2021. 

A petition has been posted to demand Sama’s release.

Visit Sama’ Abdulhadi profile on Instagram.

Artists, fans, and citizens around the world are voicing their concern behind the #FreeSama hashtag on Twitter.

speechless 💔please sign this petition to #freesama https://t.co/0CgWbDZWyk

— Amelie Lens (@AmelieLens) December 29, 2020

#FreeSama Sama was illegally arrested two days ago. Sign the petition https://t.co/jV15e7PRsf pic.twitter.com/9TDPFX6C1i

— Coyu (@coyumusic) December 29, 2020

.@sama_skywalker needs our help. Please sign this petition! #FREESAMAhttps://t.co/GDcjrf4ST4

— Nicole Moudaber (@NicoleMoudaber) December 29, 2020

Sama is still imprisoned in Jericho. Please take a moment to sign, share with a friend. #freesama https://t.co/5R5DUM6Vom

— THE BLESSED MADONNA (@Blessed_Madonna) December 30, 2020

Sama is one of the best DJs in the region. A unique woman Middle eastern DJ who made her way to the most famous international venues! #Palestine government gave her permission to do a party in a location in Ramallah, then detained her for that!
#FreeSama Abdulhadi pic.twitter.com/qe24EVDYde

— Zaina Erhaim (@ZainaErhaim) December 29, 2020

What are we without basic human rights like the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion, expression and gender equality? We need to tolerate and respect each other! #freesama ❤️

— Ida Engberg (@IdaEngberg) December 29, 2020

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24 Dec Beatport Insider 2020: Best-Selling Tracks, Artists, Labels and Genres

Posted at 10:00h in homepage-masthead-slider, news
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Words: Beatport

With Beatport Insider, we look at key stats from the Beatport store each month. First, the best-selling tracks, artists, labels and genres of 2020.

10 Most LINK-Streamed Tracks

Let It Go feat. Marc E. Bassy (Dom Dolla Extended Remix) – Louie Vega, Marc E. Bassy, The Martinez Brothers [Defected]

Pump Up The Jam (Nightfunk Remix) – Technotronic [Hot Fuss]

On My Mind (Purple Disco Machine Remix Extended) – Diplo, SIDEPIECE Higher Ground [Mad Decent]

All 4 Love feat. Tasty Lopez (Extended Mix) – Mark Knight, Rene Amesz, Tasty Lopez [Toolroom]

House Arrest (Extended Mix) – Gorgon City, Sofi Tukker [Ultra]

Touch Me (PAX & Rui Da Silva Extended Version) – PAX, Rui Da Silva [Nothing Else Matters]

Drop The Pressure (Purple Disco Machine Remix) – Claptone, Mylo [Different]

Deep End (Extended Mix) – John Summit [Defected]

Hypercolour (ARTBAT Remix) – CamelPhat, Yannis [RCA Records Label]

Children (Extended Mix) – Robert Miles, Tinlicker [Smilax Records]


Check out our Beatport Chart of the Top 10 Most Streamed Tracks of 2020 here.

10 Top-Selling Tracks

Keep Control (ARTBAT Remix) – Sono, ARTBAT [Kontor Records]

Just Be Good To Me (Original Mix) – Earth n Days [HouseU]

Drop The Pressure (Extended Version) – Claptone, Mylo [Different]

For a Feeling (Extended Mix) – ARTBAT, CamelPhat, Rhodes [RCA Records]

Pump Up The Jam (Nightfunk Remix) – Technotronic, NightFunk [Hot Fuss]

Sgadi Li Mi (Original Mix) – Charlotte de Witte [KNTXT]

Deep End [Extended Mix] – John Summit [Defected]

I Remember (Extended) – Chris Lake [Black Book Records]

Sing It Back (Extended Mix) – Moreno Pezzolato [Glasgow Underground]

Back To Funk (Extended Mix) – Martin Ikin, Sammy Porter [Lovejuice Records]


Check out our Beatport Chart featuring The 10 Top-Selling Tracks of 2020 here.

Top 10 Most-Streamed Labels

Defected
Toolroom
Anjunadeep
Ultra
RCA Records Label
Anjunabeats
Armada Music
Glasgow Underground
Smash The House
Hospital Records

10 Best-Selling Labels

Defected
Toolroom
Anjunadeep
Drumcode
Ultra
SPINNIN’ RECORDS
Anjunabeats
Hospital Records
Stil Vor Talent
Afterlife Records

10 Most-Streamed Beatport HYPE Tracks

Pump Up The Jam (Nightfunk Remix) – Technotronic [Hot Fuss]

Touch Me (PAX & Rui Da Silva Extended Version) – PAX, Rui Da Silva [Nothing Else Matters]

Children (Extended Mix) – Robert Miles, Tinlicker [Smilax Records]

Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Dope Ammo & DJ Hybrid Remix) – Baby D, DJ Hybrid, Dope Ammo [Dope Ammo]

Planet X (Original Mix) – Space 92, The YellowHeads [Reload Records]

Hypnotize (Original Mix) – Earth n Days, Used Disco [There Was Jack]

Back To Funk (Extended Mix) – Martin Ikin, Sammy Porter [Lovejuice Records]

Like Being Stoned (Travis Emmons Vocal Remix) – Brett Rubin, Peace [Stripped Digital]

Remember Me (David Penn Extended Remix) – Blue Boy [Altra Moda]

Dustpig (Original Mix) – Fabrication [Recovery Collective]


Check out our Beatport Chart of the Top 10 Most Streamed Beatport Hype Tracks of 2020 here.

10 Best-Selling Beatport HYPE Tracks

Just Be Good To Me (Original Mix) – Earth n Days [HouseU]

Pump Up The Jam (Nightfunk Remix) – Technotronic [Hot Fuss]

Back To Funk (Extended Mix) – Martin Ikin, Sammy Porter [Lovejuice Records]

Remember Me (Frankie Rizardo Remix) – Blue Boy [Altra Moda]

Touch Me (PAX & Rui Da Silva Extended Version) – PAX, Rui Da Silva [Nothing Else Matters]

Dustpig (Original Mix) – Fabrication [Recovery Collective]

Bass In Your Face (Space 92 Remix) – Twins Project [Perfekt Groove Recordings]

U Got My Love (Extended Mix) – GUZ (NL) [Sink or Swim]

Planet X (Original Mix) – Space 92, The YellowHeads [Reload Records]

Soulshakin’ (Original Mix) – Earth n Days [HouseU]


Check out our Beatport Chart featuring the Top 10 Best Selling Beatport Hype Tracks of 2020 here.

10 Most-Streamed Artists

John Summit
Earth n Days
David Penn
Purple Disco Machine
Gorgon City
CamelPhat
ARTBAT
Armin van Buuren
Diplo
Martin Ikin

10 Best-Selling Artists

CamelPhat
Purple Disco Machine
ARTBAT
David Penn
Armin van Buuren
UMEK
Earth n Days
Martin Ikin
Green Velvet
Claptone

Top Trending Artists

Fabrication
John Summit
Layton Giordani

Old Gold (Top tracks sold in 2020, released before 2010)

U Don’t Know Me feat. Duane Harden (Original Mix) – Armand Van Helden [X-Mix Productions]

On Off (Original Mix) – CIREZ D [Mouseville]

Energy Flash (Original Mix) – Joey Beltram [R&S Records]

Gypsy Woman (Teddy Douglas Edit) – Crystal Waters [Basement Boys Records]

Brighter Days feat. Dajae Underground (Goodie Mix) – Cajmere [Cajual]

The Sky Was Pink (Holden Remix) – Nathan Fake [Border Community]

Subzero (Original Mix) – Ben Klock [Ostgut Ton]

Man With The Red Face (Original Club Mix) – Funkagenda, Mark Knight [Toolroom]

Flat Beat – Mr. Oizo [F Communications]


Check out our Old Gold 2020 Beatport Chart here.

10 Best-Selling Genres

Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Tech House
House
Melodic House & Techno
Drum & Bass
Deep House
Minimal / Deep Tech
Progressive House
Trance
Electronica

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22 Dec Dance Like Nobody’s Watching: Why GTA’s Virtual Clubs Have Saved Dance Fans

Posted at 12:44h in features, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: Ben Jolley

Speaking to Rockstar Games Music Director Ivan Pavlovich, we find out more about Grand Theft Auto’s new virtual club The Music Locker, featuring Moodymann, Keinemusik, Palms Trax and more.

As Grand Theft Auto launches its biggest content update in its history, The Cayo Perico Heist, which will see Moodymann, Palms Trax and Keinemusik added to the game and DJing at all-new underground club The Music Locker, Ben Jolly talks with Ivan Pavlovich, director of music and audio at Rockstar Games. 

As one of the driving forces behind the legendary video game’s club world, the former Chicago house DJ and producer offers the inside scoop on what we can expect from The Cayo Perico Heist mission and The Music Locker club. He also discusses the increasing importance of virtual clubbing communities, and explains why music has always been at the heart of GTA.

How long have you been working on this new online update? Has it been quite a challenge?

We started as soon as we went into lockdown, around nine months ago. So the idea that we’re putting out the single biggest thing that’s ever hit in GTA and we’ve done it all under these circumstances — it’s pretty mind-blowing. My part’s the easy part, but all the developers and departments working from home and still being able to do that is wild. Everyone has just come together and managed it, but they were ready. It’s really impressive.

What can people expect from The Cayo Perico Heist mission and The Music Locker club?

As we were considering this pack, we came up with the idea of adding a club to the casino. Therefore, we needed DJs for the club, and we used DJs to get over to the island where the player is pulling off the new heist. So the music actually serves the game, but it’s also serving the storyline. It’s not tacked-on in any way; it’s integrated into the story, which makes it even more powerful. So once we figured that out, we started going after the DJs and considering the other directions.

Had you always wanted to bring the club scene into the world of GTA?

All of us grew up on dance music, from the founder, Sam Houser — whether he was in London or I was in Chicago, there’s so many people that were into all this music that was coming out when we were growing up. Sam even started out in the music industry, so for us this is just a continuation of something we‘ve been into our whole lives. I got Moodymann’s first record in 1994 — I think I got a test pressing back then. We’ve been a part of this; it’s not foreign to us. We live it.

It seems as though the clubbing side of GTA is helping to build a community, allowing players around the world to come together, virtually, for a shared experience. 

We’ve created an environment where you can go hang out and listen to great music and have fun with friends. It’s just a cool place to go. For now, it’s the best way. It’s authentic and real. We’ve paid so much attention to detail. We’ve used the artist riders, everything from the type of tequila they drink to the type of equipment they’re using. Everything has been meticulously mapped out to allow them to give the best and most-authentic performance.

It’s about the music and the experience as much as the idea that you can go to the club and be social, especially in these times when it’s not possible for any of us to do those things. It’s a great meeting place. And I think we all need to get out right now, so I admit it made me miss going out, but it felt so good being in there. It’s kind of filling the gap while we can’t go out, but even when we can it’ll still be there. It serves all those purposes.

And you’re offering players a feeling of escapism too, in a difficult year where physical connections at clubs are pretty much impossible. 

That’s what we need right now, right? We need a connection to people, and at the moment we don’t have that. So this is a very fun and good way to have that connection. Being able to socialise in this club, when we can’t go out, it’s a huge thing for people — and it puts you in a good mood. 

How do you go about channeling the energy and atmosphere of an IRL club into the game? 

I walked into the club, which is kind of funny to say, but I walked into the club in the game and, when I did, Palms Trax was playing. It felt so good and natural. I felt like I was at an actual club. And the way that we’ve designed the club, it has more of an underground feel, and the selection of music that Palmsy was playing, it just hit the right spot. I was like ‘shit, man, I want to get a drink and hang out with people and talk to people.’

It’s the space, the lighting, the crowd, the way that you dance now — it’s all much more natural. Even the fact that Moodyman’s mix ranges from 85-139BPM, so the range of dancing that you have to do in order to make it all work, it’s pretty incredible from a technical point of view that we can cover that wide a range of tempos. That’s the next level of doing something like this — replicating a club experience.

Tell us about the curation side of things. How do you pick which artists and DJs you want to get involved in the game? 

For us, it’s always personal. We love this music, we love these artists and DJs. Moodymann, specifically, was somebody that we wanted to work with for some time. And I think it was the right time to work with him. With everything that’s going on in the world, he’s adding something that’s extraordinary to the game. And he’s just a legend; the fact he’s a fan and he wanted to do it and did so much to make this such a great experience . He DJs in the club, talks on the mic and has dancers with him that have been motion captured. So they’re actually in there and they’re doing all these routines while he’s DJ and jumping on the mic. He’s one of the greatest spokesmen for Detroit, so it feels like you’re on a roller rink in Detroit with him DJing. It’s very cool.

And then with Palms Trax and the Keinemusik guys, all of the mixes are very different, but they’re all phenomenal, and they’re fun. Keinemusik have two totally different mixes in the game: one in the nightclub, and one on the beach (in the new map area), so that’s the device to get you over to the island. You go with them, on a private jet, as they’re hired to DJ a party. It’s a great set-up and is totally integrated into the storyline.

We also have Joy Orbison who has a station in the game; the whole concept is that he’s coming over to Los Santos from England, and he’s setting up a pirate radio. And you can only hear it in one specific area of the game and, in order to open it up so you can hear it everywhere, you actually have to go and set up antennas, so it unlocks the radio station. That’s the way that we can take something that’s musical and then you start playing these missions and are rewarded with opening up the station everywhere you are. It’s just for us to keep thinking of ideas, like ‘what’s next’?

Palms Trax at The Music Locker

During the creation of this update, were there any lessons learnt following the 2018 After Hours pack with The Blessed Madonna, Dixon and Tale Of Us?

Definitely. I think this is the next level up from that. After Hours is a player-owned club, and a front for your businesses, whereas The Music Locker is a public club, and it’s there literally to push forward ideas of what you can do with social spaces in games. From a technical point of view, we had to actually nail all the motions and the animation, because we licence music and create a record box for the DJs. And then, this time, we had them do their mixes live in the studio so when they’re touching a knob, something’s happening — they’re filtering something or they’re bringing out the low end or whatever. Moodyman is literally on the mic and also DJing on vinyl, so you see him pulling out the records and putting them on. We’ve gotten to a point where it’s half DJ set, half performance. He’s there, he’s got back-up dancers; they’re hitting their steps and moving. Talking about this kind of hybrid performance that Moodymann does, we’ve gone beyond just DJing, which is very cool for us, thinking about what we can do in the future.

What has the reaction to the new update been like? 

Our department has never got more calls from artists, managers, booking agents, expressing their excitement and trying to figure out what we can do together. It’s struck a good nerve with people.

How would you describe the legacy of music in GTA and how it has developed over the years? 

There’s two aspects. There’s GTA, the game that people understand, the action parts and stuff like that. But what we have always built into the games, from the very earliest days, is the idea of ways to be more social. This is something that we’ve been pushing for forever, and the clubs are just a natural extension of it. But they’re perfect for right now.

Sam started the music industry and that’s why it’s such a big focus of our games. If you look at GTA III and this idea of the radio stations and the support of indie music, whether it was drum & bass or techno or New York hip hop… Sam, growing up in London, was experiencing all of those things. These things were all massive around the world, and you see that kernel of music there. And now, it’s just an evolution of what we can do, asking ourselves how we can take that love and passion for music and then figure out ways to integrate it into the worlds where it becomes part of the experience for the player.

It’s fair to say that it’s provided a platform for discovery too. 

It’s a place for people to come and find new music. We can continue with Giles Peterson and Flying Lotus and have them do their third shows and they just get better. I think with the respect for music that we have, the people we’re creating these stations with and collaborating with, that’s how they return the favour, by finding all these exclusive tracks, and giving us unreleased music. Whether you’re in the US and you’ve never heard of Joy Orbison, or if you’re a 13-year-old who doesn’t know much about classic rock, and you have Julian Casablancas on the station.

Everybody involved is a big music fan and we go to artists that we love and respect, and we treat them that way. In return, they’re giving us a piece of their soul. Therefore, people playing GTA will hear new music: some artists are debuting music, or playing things that they’d never been able to licence before because of samples. And that makes the whole experience completely unique to our world. And, really, that’s the legacy: evolution, and a respect for music.

Watch our livestream with Grand Theft Auto Online x Palms Trax on Youtube. 

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21 Dec Introducing: Verraco

Posted at 10:00h in features, feed, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: John Thorp

Photos: Julián Gallo (header image), Santiago Marzola, Cartel Urbano

Through adventurous IDM and techno, Colombia’s Verraco lays down a politically-charged manifesto on his debut album. John Thorp finds out what it all means.

The foundations of Verraco’s unlikely musical perspective were established using the same tool as many teenagers across the world; with a fake ID. Growing up in the Colombian city of Medellin, Verraco found himself at venues like Carnival and megaclubs that were regularly playing host to DJs such as Mathew Johnson, UMEK, Marco Carola and other hugely influential figures involved in progressing techno from minimal to maximal. It was in the midst of these dense, hedonistic parties, aided by many of the city’s most prominent drug lords, that young Verraco saw, as he puts it, “crazy shit.”

Years later, and Verraco is building crazy shit all his own. Long since exhausted by the dominance of commercial techno in his home city, he founded the Insurgentes imprint in 2017 alongside friend and collaborator, Defuse. Over ten releases, the sonically adventurous back catalogue has fulfilled a specific mission using an “old-school techno attitude” and a progressive sensibility to expand towards a singular philosophy: “amplify Latin American artists, programming from ambient for the mind to breaks for the ass.” 

“There is a sense of community as we firmly believe that we must move forward as a block,” explains Verraco. “The most beautiful thing is that this faction is becoming more and more decentralized, and now we are extending from Argentina to Mexico.”

Released through the label, Verraco’s debut LP Grial is a hugely ambitious record; a sensitive but powerful distillation of what might paradoxically known as traditional IDM (the work of Aphex Twin, Plaid and the ambition of vintage Warp Records looms large over its sound palette), but immersed in the traditions of Colombian and otherwise Latinx music, blending “perreo” drum techniques and a humid ambience far removed from the more clinical end of experimental electronic music.

Check out Verrico’s 2020 chart of club bangers on Beatport.

    Photo by: Santiago Marzola & Cartel Urbano

“I discovered a very strong identification with what had happened in Cornwall and Bristol, or South West England in general, sonically speaking,” explains Verraco, who also credits James Holden and Border Community as early creative imprints. “But then, the idea was not to reproduce what they had already done there but to collide it with my surroundings, memories, and South American heritage.”

The musical concepts of Grial tumble through the album like a waterfall. Veracco’s immediate skill is in conjuring a soundscape that seems to exist between organic and digital spaces; on “NRG Remains” and “Abya Yalifa,” the sort of dreamy melodies that Four Tet would be proud of melt subtly into onslaughts of digital noise. “Sur Furia” features a stretched audio sample that emerges with an unexpected wink to Double 99’s UKG classic “RIP Groove,” while the explicit intent of “Breaking Hegemonies” is just that — mashing industrial with D&B breaks and creating a sound that’s both refreshing and uncompromising.

Veracco’s music might sometimes sound like a party at the end of the world, but Grial is only dreaming of a new one. His record and the Insurgentes label at large are informed by an extensive futurist manifesto penned with his friend Leticia; one that boldly imagines a Latinx utopia informed by the legacies of thinkers and artists such as Donna Harraway, Arca, Alan Turing, and Carl Sagan. 

“I was always fascinated by the idea of a sonic fiction, a term that Kodwo Eshun explores in their book ‘More Brilliant Than The Sun’”, explains Veracco. “The narrative of Futurism has almost always been exported to us as Latin Americans. So I wanted to dream what our struggles and utopias would be like through or otherwise linked to sound.”

Verracco recorded Grial in between Medellin and Barcelona, where, thanks to a scholarship, he had been studying intensely for a master’s degree. While his academic interests undoubtedly influenced the record, he was lacking time to commit to his bedroom studio, although discovering and traveling Europe helped to expand the “technical and conceptual horizons” of the production.

Photo: Santiago Marzola + Cartel Urbano

     Photo by: Julián Gallo

This international perspective is key to the border-shattering notions central in the music. Verracco’s art is ultra-conscious of damaging perspectives of Latinx music from both inside of his home country and from further afield. Grial was written to “reject the notion of a singular Latinx musical identity.” Does the greater danger of these narratives emerge from cultural appropriation or a well-established psyche?

“On one hand, there is the ignorant view of some societies-people in the global north that understand Latin culture through Hollywood tales,” they elaborate. “On the other hand, there is the essentialist view of many Latin Americans who believe that identity can only be expressed through folklore. Rather than being frustrated, I wanted to use the album to make a statement, a reminder that different, multiple worlds-contexts can be altered, mixed and coexist between each other, especially in artistic territories.”

Another long-term fixture and inspiration for Verracco is Ralf Hütter, the German innovator and founder of Kraftwerk. Arriving in the seventies with revolutionary new approaches in regards to society, music, and technology, many of their ideas have since become truly influential fixtures of popular culture.

“Hütter’s idea of understanding electronic music as the Volksmusik (popular music) of the future, always resonated with me,” explains Verracco. “However, I feel that this idea of understanding electronic music as something inherent to Western culture is becoming more diluted, and that excites me a lot, because these are rhythms that are becoming more and more democratic, which tend to be universal thanks to technology.

    Photo by: Santiago Marzola & Cartel Urbano

“It is not as if electronic music is based on autochthonous instruments that are inherent to a particular region,” Verracco adds. “This music, in its great majority, is made through machines which, because of globalization, are penetrating almost all the corners of the world.”

In 2020, as Grail was completed, Verraco watched as a more destructive force began to penetrate all corners of the world. A provocateur of sonic futures, has the onset of the pandemic strengthened or weakened his particular vision?

“The pandemic did not alter at all the construction of the utopia or message that we want to continue enunciating about Latin futurism,” Verraco stresses, elaborating on a vision that is already tantalisingly fully-formed. “A new emancipatory mixture, one that celebrates our impurity, without losing the memory or tradition and that also proposes a new cosmovision, a new way of understanding how we should inhabit the earth.”

Verraco’s debut album ‘Grial’ is out now via Insurgents. Buy it here.

John Thorp is a freelance journalist living in Berlin. You can find more of his work here.

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21 Dec Sam Dexter Whips Up a Deep and Dazzling House Mix

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Words: Cameron Holbrook

We catch up with Glasgow Underground A&R Sam Dexter, who details his journey into the world of dance music, and provides us with an hour of scintillating house and deep house.

Working alongside Kevin McKay as the lead A&R for Glasgow Underground, Sam Dexter knows what makes a good house tune. Sorting through countless demos to find the gold amongst rubble, Dexter is not only a fantastic tastemaker but a well-versed DJ/producer.

Dexter first set out to become a DJ at 15, studying music technology at his local college while working at a grocery store to help support his record habit. As Glasgow Underground began to grow exponentially in 2014, McKay found himself in need of someone with a head for the dance floor, a solid work ethic, and a pair of well-tuned ears. Finding an immediate trust and kinship in the burgeoning DJ, Dexter has helped McKay turn Glasgow Underground into one of the decade’s most successful house music labels.

Dexter first started releasing his own productions in 2018 via his Hungarian Hot Wax imprint, as well as Glasgow Underground. With the help of Kevin McKay, who has been schooling him along the way, he has become the label’s lead deep house artist. This year alone, he’s released myriad of booming tech house tracks, such as his collaboration with Mallin “Looks Good On You,” the bewitching “Catch Your Eye,” and his irresistible rework of the 1991 Drizabone track, “Real Love.”

Read our interview with Dexter, and listen to the mix he provided, below.

Check out Sam Dexter’s ‘December Cuts’ chart on Beatport.

Where are you from, and can you tell us about one of your earliest dance floor memories?

I was born in Wales and moved around a lot with my mother as a child, finally settling in Stafford, a small town in the midlands. Stafford has some dance music history with rave legends Bizzare Inc. and Altern-8 hailing from these parts. It is also the home of seminal house night Swoon in the ’90s, which brought through big names such as Boy George, Masters At Work, Todd Terry, and many more. Despite this rich history, by the time I turned 18, any credible nights in the town were few and far between, and celebs such as Peter Andre and some bloke from Eastenders were passing through the local nightclub. Add that to the university campus closing, and things have become quite sparse around these parts. Still, the transport links — 30 minutes to Birmingham city centre via train, 45 minutes to Manchester city centre, just over an hour to London, one hour from four major airports — and the town’s beautiful countryside keep me here.

My first memory of a ‘proper dance floor,’ apart from trips to Ibiza aged 16 and 18, was seeing Tim Sheridan and my idol at the time, Switch, play a night called Very Very Wrong Indeed in Leeds. The room was packed, and the energy was electric, which did nothing but confirm my love for house music. I also used to travel to Manchester to go to Sankeys for nights such as Zoo Project. 

What did your initial DJing and production journey look like, and how has it progressed over time?

I got into DJing while in high school. A friend of mine was playing hard house in his bedroom on two Stanton turntables, and I was hooked. My friend kindly taught me how to mix after school, and at 15, I bought my own Numark direct-drive turntables, and then any money I could earn would go on records. After I left school, I studied Music Technology at Stafford college and worked at the local supermarket to pay for records I would get from Hard To Find Records and Tempest Records in Birmingham. I played my first gig in Stafford at age 17. I had put up posters around town and thought I would smash it, but I ended up getting kicked out after an hour after the bar manager realized I was 17. She also told me my tunes were shit, so I had to pack up all my records and leave. Good thing only five people had shown up. 

How did you first get linked up with Kevin McKay and Glasgow Underground?

After DJing in Cyprus for the summer in 2014, I returned to the UK and found myself a bit lost. I had just DJ’d at least twice a day for the last six months, and suddenly I found myself needing to find a ‘real job’ to keep myself going in the UK. Glasgow Underground/Kevin had put up a post on social media looking for help listening to the high volume of demos the label was receiving. Kevin took a few people on, but I really saw this as an opportunity to get my foot into the dance music world on a level that was more than just DJing and putting on small parties, so I grabbed the chance with both hands. I made sure I didn’t miss anything in the demo inbox that I thought was strong. Eventually, I was the only one left checking the demo inbox. Kevin and I realized we were from similar backgrounds and had similar interests, and our working relationship and friendship blossomed from there. 

As Glasgow Underground’s A&R, what are you usually looking for when you’re rifling through demos and submissions?

Glasgow Underground isn’t subtle, we are a house music label, and we sign music for DJs. That is it. When listening to demos, I am looking for those tracks that DJs are reaching for in their bag when they are playing to a busy dancefloor, whether that dancefloor is in a superclub in Ibiza or a small back room in a commercial club with three members of S Club 7 showing their face in the main room. Despite this sounding obvious, I feel like we do this pretty well. 

Who are some of Glasgow Underground’s most exciting new talents?

Although 2020 has been a write-off for clubs and events, I feel like there has been a real chance for new producers to make an impact on the DJ sites. Producers such as Argentine Gruuv and T.Markakis from Greece have seized this opportunity and have had big releases with us this year. 2020 has also been a superb year for up-and-coming producer and all-round great dude Mallin. Mallin’s stripped back and DJ friendly deep house sound — with hints of garage influences — has seen him grab decent chart success this year, and I know he is only going to go from strength to strength in 2021.

We’d love to learn a little bit more about Hungarian Hot Wax. When did you start the imprint, how would you describe its sound/aesthetic, and what are your future hopes and plans for the label?

Hungarian Hot Wax, named after a chili pepper of the same name, was started in 2015, not long before I joined Glasgow Underground. I started the label as I was sat on some music from a friend that I thought was really strong, and I was certain dance music was the industry I wanted to be involved in. I didn’t know anything about what it took to run a label, and I just jumped straight in pressing the first three releases to vinyl at a huge personal cost. I soon realized this wasn’t going to be sustainable and eventually made the label digital. I wanted to run the fairest label in house music, so I make sure the contracts with artists are 50/50 splits and bring through as many local up and coming artists as possible. As well as the classic trial and error method, Kevin taught me a lot in regards to what it takes to run a label, so I realize what a fortunate position I’ve found myself in. As the label has grown, I’ve found a nice sound and feel with it, and I am thrilled with the group of artists I now have contributing to the imprint. In 2020, the label moved to weekly releases after I spoke to the regular Hot Wax artists and tried to give them something to focus on during the COVID lockdowns in the UK. 

Your single “Real Love” made quite a splash this year. How did you link up with Elliotte for the track?

“Real Love” has totally caught me by surprise with how well it has done. The track initially started as an edit of the Drizabone original from the ’90s that I had made for my DJ sets. That edit ended up being played by Ridney at ADE and Alex Cooksley when he was warming up at the big Kasbah parties in Coventry. Kevin then insisted I do a proper version for Glasgow Underground and suggested we get the vocal resung, which is where Elliotte Williams-N’Dure came in. Elliotte is a broadway performer in London with a fantastic voice. The moment we got the vocals back, we were blown away by the tremendous job Elliotte had done. I didn’t have to do too much else from my original edit as Elliotte’s vocal was THAT good, in my opinion. It was a really fun track to work on, and the original has gone on to be streamed over 150,000 times on Spotify alone with Kevin’s edit nearly at 500,000 streams, which I am still trying to get my head around. 

Tell us about the mix you put together for us.

I really enjoyed recording this mix, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I feel like this is 60 minutes of what you would hear me playing in nightclubs right now if nightclubs were still a thing. 2020 has been a year where I have genuinely enjoyed shopping and connecting with music despite the circumstances. I’ve genuinely come to find a new appreciation for DJing at the moment, even if I have been DJing now for 15 years, which makes me feel old, although, at 32, I feel as if I am just getting started. 

This mix is straight-up house and deep house with tracks from local Midlands lads and friends Tommy Vercetti, Josh Gregg, and my Hot Wax partner in crime Alex Cooksley, all of which are doing great things, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

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18 Dec On Our Radar: December 2020

Posted at 10:00h in features, feed, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: Richard Akingbehin

Welcome back to On Our Radar, Beatportal’s monthly roundup of the DJs and producers we can’t get enough of.

LASTLINGS

Sibling duo Lastlings are taking inspiration from their Australian and Japanese heritage, as well as visions of a dystopian future, and turning it into irresistible dance music. Their debut album First Contact, recently released on both RÜFÜS DU SOL’s label Rose Avenue and Astralwerks, is a stirring mix of dark pop vocals and electronic production. Written about the emotions felt when experiencing something for the first time, First Contact ranges from euphoric, festival-ready vocal tracks to shadowy and introspective moments. It has a cross-genre appeal, similar to the likes of Bob Moses or Maribou State, and hints at big things to come from this duo.

TOH IMAGO

Toh Imago, born Thomas Hennebicque, emerged fully-formed in 2019 with a concept album for the ever-eclectic Infiné Records. The French producer borrowed from techno, dub, ambient, jungle, bass music, and industrial, weaving a bold and unusual sound of his own. His Infiné follow up, Opalis FM, was produced in isolation earlier this year, an EP notably brimming with positivity, emotion, and nostalgia for a simpler time. It’s the work of a techno nonconformist, covering some serious ground over its five tracks and never shying away from provocative sound design or samples. Check out one of his DJ sets and you’ll see the love for multi-genre journey runs deep.

WAYWARD

Louis Greenwood and Lawrence Hayes make up the London-based duo Wayward. They have been around since 2013, recording for leading labels like Black Butter, Beats Of No Nation, Fort Romeau’s Cin Cin Records, and Silver Bear Recordings (where they also work as A&Rs). On top, they have polished their production chops by co-producing for a wide range of high-profile artists. From their studio setup of synthesizers and drum machines, Louis and Lawrence channel the UK dance music continuum, from house, techno, and acid through to jungle. Their latest, “Back To The Old Days,” is something special. Its ravey escapism is captured by the Joy Orbison-esque sampling and the track’s stunning video.

EKKAH

If you’re missing the sunshine this winter, a dose of EKKAH’s disco-funk vibes should keep you going until brighter days. The London duo, born Rebekah Pennington and Rebecca Wilson, are one of the hottest up-and-coming live acts around. They’re both multi-instrumentalists, playing bass, saxophone, keys, and singing, as well as adding electronic touches on top. They have already collaborated with Dam-Funk, and played high-profile shows including Glastonbury, Bestival, and Secret Garden party, as well as headline dates in London. Their latest release, “Wendy’s Yard,” is a disco earworm of the highest order. The leisurely beat, infectious vocals, and instrumental lines blend into something worthy of the New York, disco heyday.

BOIISH

The boiish duo was born from Amanda and Kristin working together for Ultra Music Festival in their home Miami, where they had desks close to each other and would spend days swapping their latest musical finds. Soon later, they were mixing back-to-back and jamming their first productions, which led to remixes for singers Kesha and Kaleena Zanders. Fast forward 18 months, and they’ve linked with the beacon of inclusivity that is HE.SHE.THEY. for their latest single, “Do Too Much.” Produced in collaboration with Mike Antix, the track showcases the duo’s rich talents as singers, songwriters, and producers. It hybridizes electro, house, and indie dance into a techy, ultra-modern floor-filler. A surefire hit when dancing resumes.

Check out boiish’s set from the HE.SHE.THEY’s collective livestream takeover via Beatport’s YouTube here.

NIKKI NAIR

Tennessee-born, Atlanta-based artist Nikki Nair has been on fire in 2020, dropping a string of stand-out releases on Barely Legal’s Pretty Weird label, Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird, Gobstopper, Gutterfunk, and Banoffee Pies. Across the releases, he has shown himself to be a master of chopping breaks and a keen ear for a soulful sample. He re-interprets his source material into new contexts, bringing artefacts of dance music’s various strains up to the cutting edge. Nikki Nair is ending the year with another stellar EP for his long-time home, Scuffed Recordings. The Trying To EP is full-throttle percussive dance music, taking cues from electro, techno, breaks, and Baltimore Club, then cranking the tempos up high. 

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17 Dec Vintage Culture Scores his first Beatport Number 1 with “It Is What It Is” feat. Elise LeGrow

Posted at 15:44h in feed, news
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Words: Heiko Hoffmann

We catch up with Brazilian DJ and producer Lukas Ruiz, aka Vintage Culture, whose track “It Is What It Is” just hit Beatport’s overall top spot.

Lukas, congratulations on reaching the top of the Beatport charts! You have some experience with having big hit records but I believe this is your first Beatport number one, correct?

It’s a pleasure to be here. Yes, this is my very first time having a number one on the overall Beatport charts. I’d like to say I’m a big fan of Beatport. It is interesting to scale how many references to various genres of dance music, its labels, and other artists I got from Beatport when I started as a producer (and it still happens nowadays). Also, Beatport gives a global taste on your track amongst the electronic community. 

“It Is What It Is” feat. Elise LeGrow is my debut release on Defected Records, so the number one is even more special because of that. I’m super happy about having had other relevant chart positions over the years, but number one overall is every artist’s dream. I can only think of us together on the dancefloor, at the shows, at the festivals (and of course the afterparty) when I close my eyes. All of us together, as it has been before and will be again.

This moment is to be celebrated for how far our Brazilian electronic dance music can go. We can’t stop. We are in this together. Thank you very much to everyone who embraced “It Is What It Is.”

How did “It Is What It Is” come about?

When I received the vocals from Elise, it was love at first sight. As I live in Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, I decided to disconnect and travel to a special studio in Brazil’s mountainous region in the middle of nature. The creative process was intense and pleasing at the same time because I already knew exactly what I wanted in my heart and in my mind. “It Is What It Is” took almost two years to be finished. When Defected accepted the song, it was just the best outcome possible. 

This year you’ve already released tracks with Tiesto and Alok, but “It Is What It Is” stands out because of its uplifting house sound and the fact that this is your first release on Defected Records. How did you get in touch?

My dear friend, Ashibah, helped me reach out to Defected. Then, I met Defected A&R Adrienne Bookbinder, and we started the conversation about “It Is What It Is” on the label. Before the release date, I was invited to join Defected’s Digital Festival in November, a true honor. I was able to express myself in a new way, premiering ten unreleased tracks. I’m still buzzing. I’d like to thank Simon Dunmore and the whole Defected team for having me. It’s impressive how proactive and professional they are, proving why Defected means excellence for 20 years.

How are you dealing with the current crisis, and does it affect your productivity as a musician?

I’m trying to be healthier, working out every morning. Basically, I’m doing my best to keep up with discipline. I am planning new things that sometimes I don’t have the time while on tour. I would say the best is doing as many studio hours as I want at home. Last but not least, it’s so great to have some rest and sleep. 

On the other hand, anxiety takes over because we simply can’t tour, we can’t play our tracks, we can’t work. It’s impossible to connect to our fans in person at the festivals, not to mention restrictions to be with our family and the people we love. I wouldn’t be here without my dog, Bento. 

Like so many DJs you would have normally toured the world this year along with organising your own festival Só Track Boa in Brazil. Do you already have an idea that the “new normal” will look like for you after the pandemic?

In 2020, I was confirmed at Coachella, EDC Vegas, Lollapalooza Chicago, Tomorrowland Belgium, Creamfields, Ushuaia Ibiza, Parookaville… meanwhile, In Brazil, my own-festival, Só Track Boa, was supposed to take place in the capital of every Brazilian state, totalling 27 sold-out events in stadiums for more than 20,000 fans in every edition. Then, everything suddenly disappeared. 

Honestly, I don’t know yet how the “new normal” will look like. But, I feel it should be us caring about ourselves and about each other in a deeper way. This nightmare will pass, and we’ll be able to enjoy the best in life again. 

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17 Dec Behind The Beat: Staff Picks 2020

Posted at 10:00h in features, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: Beatport Staff

With Behind the Beat, we speak to the people behind Beatport. For our second installment, we hear from Beatport’s expert curation team, who talk staying sane in 2020, returning to the dance floor, and their top tracks of the year.

Name: Raph
Role: Head of Curation & Label Relations
Genre Curated: Minimal / Deep Tech

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

Firstly, I’m super thankful for having a job during the entire lockdown. It was a privilege, as the music industry took a gigantic hit. During lockdown, what has definitely kept me sane is the ability to go running and do sports as much as I could. Without that, I’m not sure I would have survived! But also, I’ve never written so much music in my life and had about 11 releases come out this year, so it’s been a record year, and having the space for being so creative has definitely helped me throughout this time. 

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

Definitely being able to travel to see my family and friends in different countries. It’s been hard not being able to see them this whole time as none of my family lives in Berlin. Also just being able to travel wherever you want will be great, and my first destination will be Spain where I can go and play some beach volley everyday! Lastly, being able to go see live events, shows and go to a proper rave will be on the immediate to-do list! I’m not really sure how realistic that is just now, but I’m praying that we can go back to some sort of normality with the clubbing experience. 

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

Well, having gone to a few parties this year and having to wear a mask and somewhat keep your distance is really a different and strange or surreal experience. You are kind of nervous the whole time, which is really defeating the purpose. I miss being able to dance without having to think, as well as feel the subwoofers and low frequencies! I also just miss the positive energy of the dancefloor when everyone is in their element and going with the music and letting go of everything else. I definitely miss that, as well as being able to dance with your friends and have a good laugh!

What excites you most about Beatport LINK? 

Having used it multiple times now in my curation show on Twitch, I am super excited about this technology. I love the fact that I can just create my playlist in Beatport and then have direct access to it in the turntables. As I am not a fan of laptop DJing, I am still waiting for the direct LINK integration into the Pioneer CDJs, but I have used LINK on the Denons. It’s so great that you don’t need a USB, and you can just access your music directly. Revolutionary! I think it will also give more insights to producers and labels about how their music is played, and it could be really useful to help them grow their brands and profiles across the world. I think that LINK is definitely the beginning of a paradigm shift in DJ culture, and you will see more and more DJs adhere to it, but I also know some DJs will always play vinyl or use their USBs. I am very curious to see how it will develop in the years to come. It’s definitely a huge step forward in terms of music management and access to content for any type of DJs.

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Elisa Elisa – Drum Love [Heat Up Music]

It’s a fusion of Afro / Deep House with some serious soul and groove. I’ve played a lot this year on streams and mixes, and it always fits perfectly. Love it! 

Alex Agore – Bae [Moment Of Truth Records]

I fell in love with this track the first time I heard it. It has so many emotions coming from various elements, like the percussion, the amazing keys, or the lead synth, which sounds like some sort of electronic flute. It’s a classic in the making, and I’ll continue playing it for a long time. 

Dam Swindle, Jitwam – Coffee in the Morning [Heist Recordings]

Dam Swindle, formerly known as Detroit Swindle, will remain as my favourite band, and they consistently raise the bar with everything they do. This track captures jazz, funk, soul, house, groove, sexy, etc. It has it all, and it’s a club banger. The saxophone riffs at the end just take you over the top. What a tune! 

Name: Jordan
Role: Curator
Genre: EDM

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

Staying busy! I’m so grateful for my job here at Beatport. On top of my day job, I decided to get my master’s degree in music business via Berklee College of Music’s online program while we’re stuck at home, and I’m loving the experience.

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

Hugging all of my friends. Tearing it up on the dance floor no matter the genre. Spending $30 on a single drink at a club in Los Angeles — who would have thought I’d miss that?

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

Beyond feeling nostalgic for that freedom as I dance the night away, I truly miss the sense of community. I’m grateful to live in Los Angeles where I can (normally) attend so many different types of events across the genre spectrum and meet up with friends within each community on the dance floor.

What excites you most about Beatport LINK? 

I started using Beatport LINK as we went into lockdown to brush up on my DJ skills — the entire platform is a godsend for those of us who love to bounce between different styles of dance music. I’m excited to see how LINK evolves once we’re back to live events; it would be incredible to show up to a club and use LINK to perform a DJ set instead of bringing a USB.

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Tiesto, Vintage Culture – Coffee (Give Me Something) [Musical Freedom]

This track has everything I desire: seductive lyrics, a delicious melody, and a hazy, morning-after atmosphere. I haven’t stopped listening to this track since it came out over the summer — a legend like Tiesto collaborating with rising star Vintage Culture works so well.

Nicky Romero, Timmy Trumpet – Falling [Protocol Recordings]

If you know anything about me, you know that I’m a fan of kicking up the tempo of any song: that’s why I fell in love with Nicky Romero and Timmy Trumpet’s “Falling,” a big room anthem at 138 BPM. I find myself singing along at the top of my lungs to this track’s hook and feel lighter than air when the beat drops.

D-Block & S-Te-Fan – Love On Fire [Rave Culture]

2020 was a bittersweet year for hard dance: those of us who love the harder styles have lived without festivals since the start of the pandemic, which is where the music thrives. Thankfully, D-Block & S-Te-Fan released a track that transcends the live experience and has made its way into my heart. “Love On Fire” builds from the first drop to a powerful, euphoric climax that reminds me of all the late nights spent on the dance floor.

Name: Michael
Role: Curation Coordinator
Genres: Tech House, Minimal / Deep Tech, Beatport LINK

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

It was a mixture of really loving my job, where I listen to great music on a daily basis, being in nature a lot, and spending more quality time with my family and close friends, who I consider family as well. I am an overall positive person and try to find positivity in anything. There is this saying my grandpa used to always tell me: “Be happy when it rains, because if you are not, it will still rain.”

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

To go on an excessive clubbing tour with all my friends, starting Friday and not coming back home before the last club in Berlin closes his doors some time on Monday. Oh, and open airs. I can’t wait for lots of summer open airs. 

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

I do miss the energy it provides me. Sometimes I need to relax at home after a long and hard work week. But sometimes, I need to get my energy from the good vibes people create on the dance floor. I miss those encounters with like-minded people during a nice DJ set a lot. 

What excites you most about Beatport LINK? 

To be honest, everything. As a part of the LINK product team I know what’s in the pipeline and to be announced in the near future. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you all about it! What excites me most about it though is that it makes our entire music catalogue, more than 9 million tracks, accessible to everyone for a really fair and affordable subscription price. 

Not everyone is or even wants to be a professional DJ and earn money playing out. So if you are ’’just’’ a music lover and want to play for yourself at home, staying up to date with your track collection can become a very expensive hobby, which unfortunately still causes a lot of people to download tracks illegally. It is my hope that LINK can close a gap here and get people to sign up and play millions of high-quality tracks without having to be worried about a letter from a lawyer. This would actually have such a positive impact, especially for artists, as we pay a 10 times higher royalty share then any other streaming platform. Obviously, there is much more about LINK that is amazing, but I particularly wanted to point this out. I happily invite everyone with more questions to join our weekly LINK Berlin live stream on Twitch, where we always invite some great artists and answer lots of questions too.

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Luca Donzelli – Kenny’s Ride (Original Mix) [Heavy House Society]

For me one of the most outstanding Minimal / Deep Tech productions in 2020 with its futuristic theme. This track easily could be on the movie soundtrack of “Tron: Legacy” or “Drive.” “Kenny’s Ride” has this remarkable signature sound and becomes an earworm from the second one. The vocal work seems so simple yet is done perfectly and I am sure took a lot of time to shape. Luca Donzelli to me is one of the most talented producers for that kind of modern House out there.

Josh Butler & SOHMI – Sunday Sunset (Original Mix) [ORIGINS RCRDS]

This track just hit me on an emotional level the very first time I listened. It was during my weekly curation for Tech House. Luckily we have stand up desks, so I started dancing in the office. In my mind I pictured a warm summer day, dancing at an open air party during a beautiful sunset, as “Sunday Sunset” implies. Funny enough, one week later some friends and I got permission to host an open air for 600 people in Leipzig — of course with a hygiene concept and everyone following the local Covid-19 rules. It was sold out and happened two days after this one was released, so I actually had the chance to drop this song in the situation I pictured back at the office. A very late summer day, around 20°C, 600 people, sunset atmosphere and this even on a SUNDAY. How good is that?! I still get goosebumps. This track is deep but very positive and super sexy. So special to see the crowd dive deep into it with me! I feel very blessed to have had this moment in 2020!

Andrew Azara – Onyx (Original Mix) [Domus Music LTD]

The lad from Dublin, Ireland, produced a belter here! I love everything about this one. The lead melody, vocal, and bassline harmonize so well together and combine their energy to form this very uplifting, hands-in-the-air, peak-time Minimal House bomb. To me, this is a real secret weapon, as not many people are aware of it yet, which will hopefully change with this article. It deserves some spotlight! If we would have had a regular festival and clubbing season, “Onyx” would have smashed dance floors in Ibiza, the UK, in the Netherlands, Germany, and a lot more all around the world. Well done Andrew, more of those in 2021, please.

Name: Yann B.
Role: Curator
Genre: Bass, Drum & Bass

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

Producing music, playing tunes and a fridge full of French cheese!

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

I bought some CDJs just before the lockdown and I got a lot of time to practice, so I’m just looking for gigs now!

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

To listen to bass music with a good sound system!

What excites you most about Beatport LINK? 

I like to use LINK to create new playlists with recent tracks. And It’s a good way to test them and to know if I really want to buy them (I spend a lot of money on music)!

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Clipz ft. Ms. Dynamite, Ms. Banks, Jaykae – Again [RCA Records]

After putting the Clipz alias on ice for 10 years in favor of his work as Redlight, Bristol’s Hugh Pescod returned to releasing drum & bass in 2019 with a scorching bootleg of Koffee’s “Toast,” and the Brandy-sampling “Down 4.” “Again” is his first single of 2020, a soundsystem-ready stepper featuring bass-heavy, underground sounds with a killer earworm of a hook; a formula that has worked time and again for Pescod both as Redlight and Clipz. Taking cues from classic jungle without relying on throwback tropes, “Again” boasts an all-star lineup, with UK legend Ms. Dynamite on the hook, backed up by verses from Ms. Banks and Jaykae. 

Idle Mind Workshop, Rider Shafique – Take Time (Murder He Wrote Remix) [Plasma Audio]

Check out Murder He Wrote’s remix of the big collaboration between Idle Minds Workshop and Rider Shafique, “Take Time.” As expected, Murder He Wrote brings a UK funky beat supported by the cool and calm flow from Rider Shafique and a heavy bass synth to test the subwoofers.

DJ Earl – Wrk Dat Body [Moveltraxx]

Coming soon via the Paris-born, London-based imprint Moveltraxx, “Wrk Dat Body” is the first single from DJ Earl’s sophomore album Bass + Funk & Soul. This one’s a classic tune in the Teklife tradition with a smart alternation of choirs and vocals.

Name: Ross
Role: Curator
Genre: Techno

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

Cycling, NTS and cooking.

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal?

Going to restaurants and bars, seeing my family and friends. Traveling! 

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

Hearing good music at a loud volume and cutting some sick shapes.

What excites you most about LINK? 

Having the entire Beatport catalogue integrated into your decks is pretty damn cool.

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Pearson Sound – Everything Is Inside Out [Hessle Audio]

With a spooky hook and great drums, the ever-brilliant Pearson Sound really hit it out of the park for me with this one. 

Linkwood, Greg Foat – Pressure [Athens Of The North]

Linkwood teaming up with Greg Float on Athens Of The North was always going to be good and this is just one particular highlight from their killer album. There’s a new album out with Linkwood & Other Lands too that just dropped that’s pretty sick.

Gesellschaft Zur Emanzipation Des Samples – IONLYCLOSEEYESTOYOU [Faitiche]

Lovely ambient from Gesellschaft Zur Emanzipation Des Samples (AKA Jan Jelinek). Lockdown had me listening to more ambient than usual, and this really stood out for me.

Name: Steve
Role: Curator
Genre: House, Deep House, Nu Disco / Disco, Afro House

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

My family, my parents’ dog, good House music, book reading, and some video games! 

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

Clubbing, beer pong with friends, pub night outs, and a huge BBQ with everyone I love, if possible! 

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

Interacting with people while the 40Hz frequency gives me heart arrhythmia.

What excites you most about Beatport LINK?  

That I can explore the Beatport catalog, store tracks offline, and play on-demand! 

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Risk Assessment – One More [Midnight Riot]

It’s an absolute tune! A get-down groover with a modern touch! The sample is Chic, if I’m not mistaken. I love everything about it! 

Magnifik & MCKY – Let It Go (Soledrifter Extended Remix) [Bobbin Head Music]

Soledrifter put his magic touch in a beautiful pop original. He chopped the vocals in a way I loved, giving the whole tune a very groovy syncopation, and added a simple yet effective drumline and some complimenting deep chords. It works, and will always do it for me.

Right to Life – Sweet Delight (Micky More & Andy Tee Extended Mix) [Groove Culture]

The vocal is an absolute hook — it stuck in my mind from the very first play. All the rest is a pure bliss making the tune a winner! It probably will stay in my playlist forever.

Name: Tom
Role: Curator
Genre: Indie Dance, Melodic House & Techno, Organic House / Downtempo

What’s kept you sane during lockdown? 

Working on the Beatport x Dessert TV Tower Stream kept me motivated and excited throughout the early lockdown. Finding new talent like Argia, Mala Inka, Tony Y Not and seeing the development of artists like Marino Canal, Upercent, and Coeus, excites me and keeps me going. Those tracks that make you jump out of your chair and you just wanna dance.

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

Once there is some normality back I am most looking forward to returning to ://about blank with my night called Dessert. I’m starting a Dessert label for early 2021 and can’t wait to hear the tracks being played out LOUD! I am currently in Berlin and really looking forward to flying back to NYC and playing at LeBain On Top of TheStandard as I miss all the colorful club kids that Susanne Bartsch gets together every Tuesday in the summer.

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

The energy, the smiles, and exchanges. Feeling the bass go through your body, leaving daily life behind by dancing the night away, and to just hang out with friends, and time flies by. 

What excites you most about Beatport LINK? 

I’ve been using LINK a lot at home and at the curation streams with the new Denon SC6000 or Prime 4. It’s amazing having endless opportunities with the whole library available to play with, and I usually create playlists to give it a personal experience. Once LINK is directly integrated into the Pioneer CDJs it’s going to be a game-changer.  

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Glowal – Behind Us [Afterlife]

In April, we were in lockdown in Berlin, and everything was very uncertain. This whole Afterlife compilation was incredible, and it’s very hard to choose my favorite out of Glowal, Tale Of Us, Marino Canal, Kevin de Vries, Fideles, and many more. A lot of labels were afraid to release music in those uncertain times but not Tale Of Us. They curated Unity as a symbol of togetherness. All profits were donated to the Coronavirus medical relief fund for Lombardy in Italy. 

Argia – Where We (Instrumental) [Trampoliner] 

The Spanish artist Argia is one of my favorite artists of 2020, I am beyond excited to work with her in 2021 and can’t wait to see what else she will release next year. She’s studied piano and double bass at a conservatory and evolved into more electronic rhythms with time, which you can hear in her music. It has depth, tension, and is filled with emotions. The title track ‘Where Were We” is a powerful and hypnotic one that surely will set crowds into ecstasy. 

Tom Peters – Spieglein (Biesmans Remix) [Studio Kreuzberg]

Last but not least, I couldn’t be happier with the remix Biesmans did for me to finish 2020 on a high note. We met at Watergate where Joris was working as a technician — little did I know that he was this incredible producer and synth lover. Anyone who has seen him perform live, watched his POV videos, or simply listened to his tracks knows this man is pure fire.

Name: Elef
Role: Curator
Genre: Trance

What’s kept you sane during lockdown?

I enjoyed working without using headphones, practicing my cooking skills, doing lots of outdoor workouts, and finally started to work on our VAN Project.

What are you most looking forward to doing when things finally go back to normal? 

Dancing my ass off in the clubs, back to martial arts lessons, traveling, and visiting restaurants with friends.

What do you miss most about the dance floor? 

Unexpectedly good talks with random people, the smell of a club, the bouncers, and of course the magical energy of dancing people. Oh lord, please bring us back ASAP.

What excites you most about Beatport LINK? 

I love to have millions of tracks available anytime. It makes the life of the DJ much easier.

And what are your three favorites tracks of 2020?

Ferry Corsten & Ciaran McAuley – Mo Chara [Flashover Recordings]

It has been a great year for Trance with endless superb productions, but my personal favourite comes from a Trance pioneer, Ferry Corsten, who’s teamed up with Ciaran McAuley to create this beautiful track, which can be already called timeless classic. I can’t get enough of this melody.

Menkee – Black Butterfly (Mattim Remix) [BC2]

When you press play, that beefy kick drum serves as the perfect foundation for muted melodies and harmonizing vocals to come. Anyone who misses the feeling of experiencing live music should hear this tune to feel nostalgic for the clock striking 5 a.m. on the dance floor: it’s a fitting end to a long, memorable evening.

Ace Ventura & Outsiders – Free Your Soul [Future Music Records]

Two heavyweights of the psy-trance world teaming up for the most memorable “full on” track in 2020. You can’t escape this trippy journey through mushroom land.

Check out the rest of our curators’ favourite selections in our Staff Picks 2020 campaign.

Sign up for a free Beatport LINK account here.

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16 Dec Beatport Acquires Plug-in and Sound Pack Company, Loopmasters

Posted at 20:12h in feed, news
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Beatport joins forces with one of the world’s largest homes for production sample packs.

At Beatport, we are pleased to announce our acquisition of a company that has established itself as the world’s top seller in music production software and digital tools, Loopmasters.

Established in 2003 to sell sound packs to the professional audio market and function as an online store for producers using Digital Audio Workstations (DAW), the company has become a vital online outlet for music producers of all sounds and skill-levels. Offering a vast amount of VST Plugins, virtual instruments, synth presets, and music plugins through Plugin Boutique, along with cloud-based sound packs through its Loopcloud subscription service, Loopmasters is a seamless one-stop-shop for all your music production needs.

For the last eighteen months, Beatport and Loopmasters have collaborated on several strategic marketing initiatives, such as our remix competitions, VST coupons and giveaways, ReConnect livestreams, and more. And we can’t wait to show you what’s in store.

Robb McDaniels, CEO of Beatport, said about the new partnership: “Matt Pelling (Loopmasters’ CEO) and the entire Loopmasters team are world-class people who have built amazing products for the producer community that simply belong in our ecosystem. The phenomenal growth of Plugin Boutique, the leading global seller of virtual instrument plug-ins, and the recent launch of Loopcloud, an innovative subscription service for the samples market, are a testament to the talent of their team, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome them to the Beatport family.”

Find out more about Loopmasters and its world-class music production services by visiting their website here.

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16 Dec Beatport Hype: Rawsome Deep

Posted at 13:11h in features, feed
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

We catch up with Rawsome Deep, a label pushing minimal/deep tech to new heights.

With several Beatport number ones to its name, Rawsome Deep is one of the most exciting young labels in minimal and deep tech. We get to know more about the label with its founder, Greco (NYC), who provided an hour-long mix of Rawsome tracks you can expect to hear in 2021.

Check out Rawsome Deep’s ‘Do It Again 20xx’ chart on Beatport.

Tell us about how Rawsome Recordings first came to be.

First I want to thank Beatport for this incredible honor! Rawsome was actually a direct result of my blog site, Spira Music. Formed in 2014, we specialized in free downloads and helped emerging artists share their music with our fast-growing network. As the quality of submissions rose, so did my interest in launching an official label. In March 2016 we released our first free download on Rawsome and in March 2017 we released our first official release! 

Rawsome Recordings is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. What are some of your biggest takeaways from running the label after this long?

Rawsome would have celebrated its 5th year in Amsterdam this past October where we host our annual boat party during ADE, however we are coming up on our 4th year as an official label in March 2021 and couldn’t be more excited with the progress we have made! The biggest takeaway is honestly the family we have built over the years. It brings me so much joy to travel around the world, connecting with so many music lovers along the way! Another huge takeaway has been witnessing the growth of our artists such as DJOKO, MADVILLA, JIZZ and many more!

What went into the decision to create Rawsome’s sister-label, Rawsome Deep? How would you characterize the sound, and why did you think it necessary to develop another imprint?

Rawsome Deep was a direct result of our 2019 boat party in Amsterdam with DJOKO, MADVILLA, JSRP, Thijs Haalan, Menesix, and Maitre Disco. I noticed every one of our artists had shifted their sound to minimal/deep tech instead of our usual “raw” house and tech house. DJOKO was a perfect representation of where I wanted to take the new label; high-energy records with feel good basslines, vibey melodics and jackin’ grooves. Lastly, the decision to create Rawsome Deep was purely inspired by love and appreciation for the music!

What are some other labels that you would say Rawsome Deep shares a close kinship with?

Labels we’ve grown very fond of and had the pleasure of working with are PIV, Tamango, Moscow, Solid Grooves, Heavy House Society, Ovrdose Deep, House Keepers, Andhera, Refuge, and Heat Up Music!

Rawsome Deep first started releasing records around the start of the pandemic. With some obvious bombs on the label that unfortunately missed hitting more dance floors this year due to lockdown, are you pleased with the reaction to these tracks?

In short, I’m extremely pleased with how well the music has been received. As the pandemic reached the US, I immediately said to myself “this is exactly what I need to be doing.” The world was experiencing one of the most unique hardships and felt it was my purpose to make this shift towards feel-good music. Music that would soothe the soul. I invested every minute I had to promote the launch of Rawsome Deep and crazily enough hit number one on minimal/deep tech releases with my first release ”The Box”!

Tell us about the rapport you have with the artists on Rawsome Deep and how you’ve managed to maintain and grow those relationships this past year.

Most of the artists on Rawsome Deep have stemmed from Rawsome and even Spira Music. The family has only continued to grow and rise together since we began. JIZZ was actually one of the first artists to release on Spira Music, then 5 years later he’s on Rawsome Deep hitting his first number one on Beatport. DJOKO is of course another tremendous artist we’ve had the pleasure of working with, first releasing on Rawsome back in 2017 as our third official release on the label! Fast forward a few years and we nailed a number one record on Beatport with a stellar remix from Archie Hamilton. With the entire world on lockdown, I took to the Internet and started streaming on Twitch a few times a week listening to demo submissions for the label. This became one of the most rewarding experiences as it aided in our search for emerging artists! Tom Spark was one of our earliest discoveries on the Rawsome Demo streams, delivering an outstanding four-track EP titled Hurricane. Tom also wound up becoming our A&R for Rawsome Deep and plays such a huge role in the execution of each release. 

What can you tell us about the Rawsome Deep label aesthetic? Who comes up with the album art designs, and who are the models used for each release?

Funny story about the artwork. I actually created the first few drafts of Rawsome Deep artworks myself and just before our first release. Then I discovered an incredible indie designer, pulled the old art, and replaced it with his! I loved his use of minimalism for these releases. There’s not much else to it, I’m just thankful the world never saw my designs as they were nowhere near as good as Navid’s. 

What are your hopes for the label’s development, and what can fans look forward to hearing in the future? 

2021 is looking brighter and brighter by the minute. With minimal/deep tech rising in popularity, we’re also raising the bar with our selections. We’ve been so fortunate to hit #1 three times this year on Beatport and will continue to provide cutting edge music for our fans. As for 2021, we’re gearing up for our biggest year yet with artists such as Carloh, Yaya, Dale Howard, Prunk, Luca Donzelli, and MADVILLA coming to the label early next year! 

Tell us about the mix you made for us.

For this mix, I wanted to include some old and some new. We’ve been so fortunate with early success and wanted to showcase some of the tracks that laid the foundation for the label as well as premiering some of the newer music you can expect to hear in 2021! We want to thank Beatport again for this incredible honor and a massive thanks to all supporting! Keep it Rawsome!

Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s Assistant Editor. Find him on Twitter.

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15 Dec Grand Theft Auto Online has Revealed a new Virtual Club Featuring Moodymann, Keinemusik and Palms Trax

Posted at 23:49h in homepage-masthead-slider, news
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Words: Beatport Staff

Beatport and Rockstar Games team up for exclusive live sets, a remix contest, and more

With the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online’s latest update, The Cayo Perico Heist comes a range of musical updates including the launch of the game’s latest nightclub, The Music Locker, and much more. Beatport has partnered with Rockstar Games to celebrate the vast musical legacy of the Grand Theft Auto series over the coming weeks. 

The latest evolution in Rockstar’s relationship with dance music, The Music Locker is a new club, open to all players, designed to be a place for players to dance and socialize while listening to the world’s best dance music. In true Rockstar fashion, the gaming company has pulled out all the stops, with performances from a stunning lineup of Music Locker residents: Detroit legend Moodymann, Berlin collective Keinemusik, and disco/house selector extraordinaire Palms Trax. 

This isn’t the first time Rockstar has ventured into the club. Back in 2018 with GTA Online: After Hours, Solomun, The Blessed Madonna, Tale Of Us, and Dixon all became part of GTA lore with their own characters and sets in the game. Besides The Music Locker, the new GTA Online update features a private new radio station from Joy Orbison as well as new mixes for existing stations from Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM) and Flying Lotus (Flylo FM).

To kick things off, we’ll be streaming Palms Trax live on Beatport’s Twitch channel this Thursday at 16:15 CET. You can expect more streams to follow, as well as an inside look at the musical legacy of Grand Theft Auto, its radio stations, and its clubs; and a remix competition with incredible prizes — check back for more info soon.  

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15 Dec Jaguar: “This Year has Shown That There’s Strength in Unity”

Posted at 10:00h in features, feed
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Ahead of her set for the Beatport x Absolut NYE steam, we catch up with BBC Introducing Dance presenter Jaguar.

Through her work as a broadcaster, presenter, journalist, and DJ, Jaguar Bingham has turned herself into one of dance music’s most trusted voices and tastemakers. Her weekly BBC Radio 1 show BBC Introducing Dance — which first hit the airwaves back in April — showcases electronic music’s most talented newcomers every Sunday. 

With her encyclopedic knowledge of the underground, magnetic personality, relentless work ethic, and skills behind the decks, it didn’t take long for Jaguar to go from intern to host at the distinguished radio station. In addition to her radio work, Jaguar is an active and outspoken supporter of dance floor diversity, and uses her voice to fight against racism and sexism in the industry. 

After her fantastic performance for the Beatport x HE.SHE.THEY Pride 2020 showcase back in June, we’ve invited Jaguar to join our world-spanning Absolut x Beatport’s NYE livestream, #DanceAway2020. But first, we caught up with Bingham to learn more about this multi-talented artist.  

Check out Jaguar’s #DanceAway2020 Chart on Beatport

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, what you do, and how you first got into DJing and dance music?

I’m from the tiny island of Alderney in The Channel Islands, but for the past few years I’ve been living in London, which I now call home. I had always loved listening to and collecting music when I was younger, and my first experience of raving was when I used to sneak out to Bunker parties in WWII German bunkers in Alderney as a teenager. I loved the sensation of being out, the bass, the lights, and I had the bug from then. I then went to uni in Leeds where I fell in love with electronic music, started hosting a radio show on student radio and learning to DJ and immersed myself in the culture. 

How did you first get started working for BBCR1?

I had my first taste of the industry as an intern at Radio 1 and 1Xtra in 2014! I spent two months working in radio production there during the summer of my first year at uni. I applied for it thinking ‘I’ll never get this’, so I was very overwhelmed when I got it, and was so grateful for the opportunity. I loved every second of it, and got to learn how about the radio and music business from the best teams in the world. I remember shadowing on Annie Mac’s Friday night show and it was so exciting and inspiring. I came away from it totally in love with radio, and knew I had to work there. I went back to uni and applied everything I had learnt, put on club nights, made a demo and won two Student Radio Awards, and then started working for BBC Music Introducing as a Team Assistant. I felt fortunate to have these opportunities early on, as it laid solid foundations for my path as a broadcaster. When I moved to London I spent two and a half years hosting my Saturday night show at Reprezent Radio and cutting my teeth as a DJ. When the opportunity arose to host BBC Introducing Dance on Radio 1 in April this year, it felt like the stars aligned and I was ready for it. It’s been a wild ride so far and I can’t wait to see where this takes me!

Who are some of the most exciting artists you’ve found this year through BBC Introducing?

There’s been so many unique and talented artists I’ve had the pleasure of discovering through Introducing, playing on Radio 1 and helping them on their journey. 2020 has been a huge year for dance music and I’ve particularly enjoyed playing EFFY, Lau.ra, India Jordan, Anz, Barry Can’t Swim, Wax Wings, Bailey Ibbs and TSHA on the show! Back in May I premiered Tom Everett’s “Patti” on Radio 1, and from there he was discovered by his now manager and signed to Universal off the back of the track! Then Pete Tong, Annie Mac and Danny Howard started playing it too, and then the daytime DJs got into it, and it went on to make the Radio 1 playlist! Introducing is a brilliant platform for getting emerging artists heard, and I urge artists of all genres to upload their music to us.

Tell us more about your podcast, UTOPIA Talks. What does it focus on, who have you had as guests on the podcast, and what are some of the most important/interesting topics you’ve tackled there?

UTOPIA Talks is a reactive platform for our generation to have say on issues affecting us and our scene. Episode 1 tackles the realities and complexities of sexual assault. I had DJ Paulette, Lauren Flax and Sophia Kearney from He.SHE.THEY as guests, and I included opinions from peers and friends in my WhatsApp group community (it’s made up of 257 emerging producers, artists, and music lovers) that we would react to and discuss. I came up with the idea during the allegations and uncomfortable situation with the late Erick Morrilo, and felt like I had to do something and use my voice for good. It was a bit of an experiment, but the feedback has been great, and we’ll be doing more UTOPIA Talks podcasts going in-depth and unpacking hard-hitting topics in 2021

For those interested in breaking into radio or starting a music-focused podcast of their own, what advice would you give? 

Believe in yourself and have faith that you can achieve your goals. Be nice, be gracious, be true to yourself, and learn from every experience that comes your way. What I’ve learnt is that it can take a while to figure out exactly what you’re about. Use that time wisely, watch, listen, learn, and enjoy the ride!

You’ve recently played a few socially distant shows in London. How did that feel?

We hosted a socially distanced UTOPIA back in September and we sold it out! I was just so pleased that it could go ahead, after postponing the launch in April due to Covid-19. It was everything I hoped it would be — a night of colourful sounds and friendly faces! ABSOLUTE., TSHA, Helena Star and myself all played and everyone smashed their sets. I think people were so happy to be out, and hearing great music! It felt like a celebration of getting through what has been a crazy year. It’s the closest thing to a normal live show, and I had the time of my life during my set, I’d never danced that much in my life! We’ll be doing more UTOPIA’s in 2021 for sure, so keep an eye out for one in early 2021…

Are you looking forward to the Beatport x Absolut’s New Year’s Eve Livestream? What can we expect from your set?

I can’t wait! I was so excited when I was asked to play! I love NYE, and I feel like a lot of people will be glad to see the back of 2020, so it will be so fun celebrating with everyone online and doing what I loved most in the world! I’m going to play a lot of my favourite tracks I’ve been supporting on my radio shows this year, lots of bangers from new artists, and a few fun classics I’m sure! My playlist is so big already, so who knows what direction we’ll end up going in. Be prepared to dance!

Are there any other Beatport x Absolut New Year’s Eve livestream performers you’re looking forward to watching?

I’ll probably be tuned in all night to be honest! Carl Cox will be legendary! I always enjoy Nastia’s sets, and I’m looking forward to seeing TOKiMONSTA too.

This will be a huge event, with performances around the world. Do you feel like this year has taught you anything about the unifying power of music?

2020 has made me understand the importance of art and music. At some points this year, it’s all we’ve had to escape a very dire reality. I feel like the launch of my Radio 1 show came at a crucial time. I’m in contact with so many emerging artists and producers each week, and a lot have said how this new platform where their music can be played on national radio has helped them massively. I’ve received some lovely messages saying that being played on Radio 1 has changed their year around, got them through tough times, and spurred them on to keep following their passion. I’ve made some incredible connections with the crew in my WhatsApp community. We’re constantly sharing tunes, ideas, discussing what’s going on and most importantly, looking out for each other every day. It’s helped me keep sane and feel connected to people you’d normally be out and about with in clubs etc. Music and radio has given me a real purpose, and I cherish it so much.

As we anxiously await the end of 2020, what are your hopes for 2021, and do you have any thoughts about the future that you’d like to share with your fans? 

I am ever the optimist and feel hopeful for 2021. This year has shown that there’s strength in unity. The aftermath of a very difficult summer and the BLM movements has shown the world that there’s so much work to be done with regards to achieving equality. I hope people keep being proactive and we see real results from the conversations and initiatives that have taken place this year. I’d love to see this reflected in our festival lineups as they start to return, with diversity celebrated and respected across the board in our industry.

Don’t miss Jaguar’s set during Beatport x Absolut’s NYE 2020 livestream! Learn more here.

Cameron Holbrook is Beatportal’s Assistant Editor. Find him on Twitter.

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14 Dec Cover Story: Robert Hood Thinks Techno is Losing its Soul

Posted at 10:00h in features, feed, homepage-masthead-slider
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Words: Ash Lauryn
Photos: Marie Staggat

Ash Lauryn gets deep with techno’s head minister, Robert Hood, a Detroit pioneer who’s never been afraid to tell it like it is.

It’s a sunny November morning, and I’m amping up for my call with Robert Hood, who my sister and I met once on a Detroit hotel elevator after his performance at Movement Festival in 2014. Even still, this interview had me anxious — Hood is an extremely influential figure in dance music. But when the phone rings, I’m greeted by a warm, slightly southern-sounding gentleman who, within moments, brings a sense of calm and comfortability over me. As a native Detroiter who’s lived in the south for over a decade, there’s a robust familiarity and feeling of home a southern drawl brings me. Robert chuckles when I inquire about his alleged accent and says I’m the first to mention it, but his wife, an Alabama native, often says he’s a country boy at heart. 

The Hood family, like myself, are a part of the New Great Migration — a reversal of the previous 55-year trend of Black migration within the United States. Instead of heading north as our grandparents did, Black people are now heading back south in droves, and Detroit-born Hood has called rural Alabama home for almost 17 years. About an hour outside of Mobile in a little town called Atmore, Robert and his family reside on a large piece of land previously owned by his wife’s grandfather. He says the reasoning behind the move south was because of wife’s family roots there and the need for some good old fashioned peace and quiet — not surprising coming from a man who, before the pandemic, spent the majority of his weekends in deafeningly loud nightclubs filled to the brim with fans. He also said that they were impressed with the local school system, as their daughter, Lyric, was eight years old at the time of the move. “We thought this would be a nice place to come home to after coming off the road, and a nice place to decompress and retire.” 

The remainder of Robert’s family is still Detroit-based, and he goes back to visit as often as possible. Throughout his many years in Alabama, he’s never lost sight of his affection for Detroit, mentioning how he misses the people, the food, the Eastern Market, and even the not-so-alluring things, like hearing dogs barking and gunshots at night. “Yeah, nothing like it in the world [Detroit.] It’s just something about the attitude of the people, the pace of people.” His comment warms my insides as I also recognize that specific “je ne sais quoi” Detroiters have about ourselves. It was actually after moving from Detroit that I realized just how distinctive the city is, and those tiny intricacies I used to take for granted now feel seemingly significant. A car ride through Belle Isle, a bag of Red Hot Barbecue Better Made chips, being greeted with a casual “what up doe.” And if there’s anything that I’ve learned about native Detroiters over the years it’s that no matter where we roam or relocate to, we forever rep our beloved Detroit — it’s code. 

With 2020 inching to a close and the pandemic at a standstill, the likelihood of gigs or touring in the next few months is improbable. Amidst the worldly madness, Robert has been making the most of his days off, spending time with his family and fighting off the wild hogs he says have been terrorizing his backyard for the past few weeks. He’s also been listening to the new Busta Rhymes album, which he says is a work of art and insists I check out. “When you’re on a fast train moving, it’s good to get off, take stock in yourself, analyze things, and see where you are.” He says the free time is allowing him to get himself together mentally and has given him the time to get a fresh revelation and direction on where to go next. It’s also been a time of reflection for Robert, who opens up about the recent loss of his mother-in-law in May. He says although this is the most free time he has had in 25 years, there’s always work to do. He’s still in the studio regularly and has made a few live stream appearances, most recently with his Boiler Room “Streaming From Isolation” performance, where he started his set with activist Tamika Mallory’s iconic George Floyd speech in Minneapolis played over a looped intro of Public Enemy’s “Show ‘Em Whatcha Got.” 

“The live streams have given us an outlet to get our feelings out, you know, especially today in an election year and with all the protests going on.” Hood, a founding member of the influential Detroit collective Underground Resistance, is no stranger to political expression through music. UR is renowned for their militant political and anti-corporate ethos and, before the collective started, Hood was recording hip hop under the pseudonym Robert Noise, rapping about things like knowledge, unity, and mass genocide on his 1990 single “Sins Against The Race.”  We begin to discuss social justice, BLM, and its effect on dance music, and I ask Robert his opinion on how Black artists in dance music have been treated and represented since the genre’s inception. “The industry claims to be colorblind, but it’s not; people see color first. Electronic music is no exception. So, yeah, I feel like Black artists have been pushed to the side.” He goes on to explain how he feels that cities like Detroit and Chicago, the birthplaces of house and techno, are beginning to become overlooked by the new generations as the years pass.

He makes an interesting point, as this very issue was one of the motivations behind starting my blog and platform Underground & Black in 2017. The goal was to champion the roots of dance music and to educate people on its origins; to let people know that house and techno are Black art forms created in the US. Although it’s been a successful endeavor, it’s still shocking to learn just how many people who listen to electronic music aren’t aware of the history. “This is a Black invention. It’s innovation. The same way hip hop came out of the Bronx is the same way techno came out of Detroit, and the same way that house music came out of Chicago. We cannot ever, ever forget that,” Robert says. He stresses the importance of people needing to educate themselves on the origins of the music they consume — not doing so can only cause its legacy harm. Robert mostly blames the industry for the whitewashing in dance music and says that it’s no different from what they do with Black artists at award ceremonies like the Grammy’s. “What is award-winning, and what’s worthy of winning a Grammy? They don’t get to decide that, we do,” Robert says. 

“It’s all about Black people owning and exerting our power,” he continues. “We just saw how Black and people of color took this election into our hands. We took this election into our hands and said enough is enough.” Robert is not the first Black artist I’ve spoken to since the onset of the pandemic and worldwide protests regarding police brutality and the treatment of Black people, and there seems to be a consensus that Black artists have received the short end of the stick. In a recent interview with Billboard Magazine, techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson said that the scene is failing Black artists. And when I spoke to DJ and producer Honey Dijon in July, she put it bluntly, saying “dance music has been colonized.” In response to the backlash, institutions, websites, and platforms alike are suddenly seeking out Black creatives in an attempt to be more inclusive, an act that’s also been met with backlash as some see it as performative and not actual long-standing change. Robert says these acts need to be sincere and from the heart if we want to see a viable difference.

“Embrace and understand each other’s cultures and our cultural differences. Embrace what we agree on and find common ground. It’s about being brothers and sisters. You know, our brothers and sisters in Europe, the UK, Amsterdam, I’m talking about white and Black people.” His spiritual background and role as an ordained preacher often show through his words, they flow poetically with conviction. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and we as people need to start realizing that when one of us is hurting, we should all be hurting. We’ve got to find a way to care about and understand one another to a point where it bothers us that someone is being mistreated in Europe, Asia, or South America, and so on.” He says it’s essential that we know where the music comes from because if we don’t, we won’t know where the culture is going. 

Robert says Black artists must speak boldly and let the world know that we’re here and this is what we created. He then mentions DeForrest Brown Jr.‘s, “Make Techno Black Again” project, saying he thinks it’s great. “This is the vision that God gave to producers and aspiring DJs and artists out of Chicago and Detroit, and some people took it, ran with it, and labeled it something else. And you can whitewash and water it down all you want to, but this is raw, unadulterated Black dance music,” he says passionately before adding that the industry has ripped off Black artists for years. Concerning the current state of techno, Robert says he fears the music is on the verge of losing its soul, an audacious yet valid claim coming from a man well versed on the topic.

Between prayer and meditation, Robert persistently tries to keep himself excited about music in an attempt to avoid complacency. He says what techno needs right now is a breath of fresh air, more innovative thinking, and fearlessness. He believes that innovation doesn’t necessarily have to come from technology but from within ourselves. “I’m always meditating on how can I find a new way to keep electronic music relevant and how to take it further than anything that we’ve ever imagined.” His progressive nature is a very Detroit feature, and in Robert’s opinion, 1980s Detroit and the Music Institute era was the most progressive time in dance music. “The fearlessness of making music back then was unparalleled, and nobody could touch it. I think it’s going to take that kind of mindset to take us where we need to go.”

A 1983 Cooley High grad, Robert grew up a music lover in a musical household. He recalls at the age of 3 or 4, finally being tall enough to reach the knob on the radio and turning it to the station he liked. Similar to many other Black kids in Detroit, Robert grew up listening to soul music. His childhood babysitter and housekeeper was into ‘50s doo-wop and the likes of Lonnie Smith. His grandfather is first cousins with Motown Founder Berry Gordy, and his uncle, who also worked at Motown, owned the record store where Robert held his first job. He has vivid memories of celebrities like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder sitting on his grandmother’s living room floor hanging out and listening to music.

Unsurprisingly, Robert’s father was also a musician, and into jazz. He was also an illustrator, a skill Robert inherited. And for a while, despite having a musical ear and coming from a musical family, Robert’s first love was illustration. He took up a vocational art program, and was working as a Technical Illustrator by the time he was 21. But he soon grew bored, since it didn’t offer much room for his creativity. The timing was perfect. At this point in his life, Robert was consumed by and enamored with dance music, and wanted to DJ and produce, so he decided to go for it.

Robert is one of several now world-renowned Detroit DJs and producers who were regulars at the trailblazing Music Institute, the acclaimed after-hours dance music club that opened in 1988. It’s known for being the first place to give techno a dedicated platform, not just in Detroit but globally. The resident DJs ranged from Kevin Saunderson to D-Wynn, to Alton Miller. Robert met Mike Clark there, a well connected Detroit DJ and former hairdresser who, according to Robert, knew everyone. (Funny enough, Mike Clark was the very first house DJ I knew by name when I was living in Detroit.) He gave Mike Clark his demo, who then passed it along to “Mad” Mike Banks, a local music producer who went on to become a key player in the second generation of Detroit techno. Robert was making hip house at the time, influenced by Chicago’s Tyree Cooper and Fast Eddie.

He admits he wasn’t a “rapper’s rapper” but was doing it and trying it out for the sake of his demo that he planned to shop around. He initially dropped it off at KMS studios and called every day after to see if label boss Kevin Saunderson had listened to it. He unfortunately never heard back, as Kevin was already blowing up overseas. But when one door closes, another one opens, and Mike Banks soon introduced Robert to The Wizard, AKA Jeff Mills, after hearing the demo. Mills, one of Detroit’s most coveted and legendary DJs, invited Robert to make a couple of tracks for a compilation he and Banks were working on at the time. The meeting of these three stellar minds would soon turn into the prolific collective we know today as Underground Resistance. 

Around the time that they all linked up, Banks and Mills had already been talking about starting a production team and possibly a record label. I asked Robert about his experience working with the duo and their early days as UR. “It was fun to watch them in the studio and learn from them. The way they produce, the way they program drum tracks, the way they experiment. That’s what I meant about being brave and courageous; they stepped away from the mold of what Detroit techno was and redefined it.” He says watching Jeff Mills edit a tape is similar to watching a surgeon, and that his speed and precision are unreal. He adds that when the three of them performed together, it felt like it was meant to be. Under the wings of Banks and Mills, Robert learned how to build concepts, as opposed to just random tracks. 

Underground Resistance became a movement that took on a life of its own. Their unyielding gritty techno, which was geared toward promoting awareness and political change, couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time, as the post-Reagan presidency brought an inner-city economic recession. Their masked faces and all-black attire was an aesthetic that accompanied their sound and message perfectly. Hood says UR’s mysterious nature plays into Mill’s creative vision of The Wizard, who always presented himself as a mysterious figure. He also cites The Electrifying Mojo, a sci-fi visionary and beloved former Detroit radio disc jockey, who remains an enigma to this day. Given the US’s crumbling political conditions, I ask Robert if he thinks the current generation needs something similar to UR. He said he wasn’t quite sure if it’s something that one could recreate, but the same way UR got inspiration from Public Enemy is the same way others can gain inspiration from what he, Banks, and Mills were doing. 

Speaking of the next generation, Robert and his daughter Lyric performing together as Floorplan have proven to be one of house music’s most beloved father-daughter DJ duos. Floorplan is a project that was created by Robert based on a spiritual awakening he had to incorporate gospel music with house and techno. When Lyric joined not long after its inception, the project took on a new life. He and his wife recognized early on that Lyric had an ear for music, and once they gifted her with some DJ gear in her teens, she wasted no time in learning the tricks of the trade. “She started DJing with me as one half of Floorplan, and then really started to show her abilities as far as making music and the sounds that she chose, especially the way that she put together grooves, drum tracks, and bass lines.” Robert thought it would be him doing all the teaching but admits it’s Lyric who has taught him a lot through her selections and playing style. He said it’s made him a  better producer and has forced him to dig deeper into Floorplan’s potential. Lyric, now in her twenties, lives the life of an international DJ and producer, following in the footsteps of her father, who created the perfect blueprint. She released her debut solo EP on her father’s M-Plant label in 2019. 

Legacy in electronic music as it relates to the Black community is vital. I think it’s important for our pioneers to mentor and support the many pupils who have come after them. Although I feel like there is a general disconnect between the new generation of Black artists in dance music and the more seasoned “OGs”, it excites me to see projects like Floorplan, and to know that Robert’s legacy is in good hands. “Legacy is so important. We have to help raise the next generation of Detroit techno, because when we’re gone that legacy must live on,” Robert says. Robert’s father passed away when he was 6, and he always wished he could have worked with him. He says now having the opportunity to work and travel with his daughter Lyric has been nothing short of incredible.

As far as his solo career goes, Robert has returned with an LP titled Mirror Man. The album dropped last month on Rekids and was preceded by Nothing Stops Detroit, also on Rekids, an EP of tracks from the album. The LP glides from cinematic techno to warehouse-style bangers, to slower tempos and ambient themes. Robert got the idea for the album in fall 2019 and said his goal was to put together an LP that reflected his soul and spirit. He says it was something of a self-examination — who he is and where he’s going. He references a sermon he did some years ago called the man in the mirror, inspired by Michael Jackson’s chart-topping tune of the same title. “It’s about examining oneself and looking at who you are and asking, ‘Are you happy with yourself? And where are you going?’” The intro of UR’s infamous 2005 tune “Transition” immediately starts playing in my head.

After 30 years in the game, Robert says he’s learned how powerful he is in Christ, and he’s still actively learning and thinking about his vision. When he reflects back on his early years as an artist when he called himself The Vision, he says he truly didn’t understand what he was naming himself. Today, Robert says his vision comes through his family and his faith, as he speaks fondly of his wife Eunice, who has played an instrumental role in helping him find power through ministry. “I’m still learning about myself, and also that the transformation process is not complete.” Honest sentiments from a man whose artistry we’ve seen as oftentimes revolutionary throughout the past three decades. Regarding his post-Corona plans, Robert says this year taught him not to make plans. “Just trust and depend on God, let him lead and direct.” To which I can only reply, “Amen.”

Robert Hood’s ‘Mirror Man’ LP is out now via Rekids. Buy it here.

Ash Lauryn is an Atlanta-based DJ, radio host and writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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13 Dec Kerri Chandler Offers Details on His Three-Week Beatport Twitch Residency

Posted at 16:56h in homepage-masthead-slider, news
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Words: Chandler Shortlidge

Kerri Chandler talks his Beatport Twitch Residency, which sees Louie Vega, DJ Deep, Leighton Moody, Lea Lisa and more join this month.

As an originator of deep house, Kerri Chandler is someone who needs little introduction. Which is why we’re so excited the New Jersey native is hosting his own month-long Residency on Beatport’s Twitch channel. Ahead of his Residency, which begins on Monday, December 14th, we caught up with Kerri to find out what’s in store. See the full dates and time tables below his interview.  

How has your year been? 

My year has been productive. I have been working on a brand new album and a lot of new video projects leading up to the Roundhouse show in London in November. I’m also learning a lot more about augmented reality for upcoming shows. I did a few remixes — one coming very soon is for Bonobo and TEED’s “Heartbreak.”   

What made you want to take part in Beatport’s Residency program?

I saw a very great opportunity to introduce a lot of DJs and producers I call family and to have them share this format with uninterrupted music, and also experiment with new visual ideas. I have had to expand how artists look at making these types of presentations.

Can you tell us a bit more about what’s in store? 

A lot of it is very personal for me. The basement is the studio in which I keep a very, very private collection of different gear. For other sets, I went out and found various locations that almost seemed unimaginable to do. I also worked on a project with my son Max that has been formatted in all 8-bit graphics.

Along with some very big names, like Disclosure, DJ Deep and Louie Vega, there are also some lesser-known artists billed, like Baby Rollén, Mona Lee and Lea Lisa. What can you tell us about them?

As I said previously, these are people I consider family and we have a long ongoing relationship. Baby Rollén is one half of the group Voyeur. Lea Lisa and I have DJed for about 26 years together. The same with DJ Deep — he has been one of my closest friends and I consider him my brother. Leighton Moody, as many of you know, is my younger brother that lives out in South Africa — I’m very proud of him.

Many artists have used their time away from DJ gigs to make new music this year. Does that include you? And can we expect to hear any unreleased material during the Residency? 

I have a very special project coming very soon called Spaces And Places. Also there is a lot of unreleased material and some edits I’ve done that are peppered throughout the sets.

Where do you see the future of streaming once DJ gigs finally do return in-full? 

I think it’s a very wonderful format as long as the content is great to look at, and here I think there will be a place for them to work side-by-side. As I said, I’m working on augmented reality and virtual reality projects at the moment.

And finally, what can you tell us about your very special upcoming Spaces And Places performance? Will this be socially distanced etc? 

Hopefully the COVID-19 pandemic will be under control before November, and we’ll follow all local and national rules. It is going to be a combination of various aspects of reel to reels, holographic projection mapping, and other features that are experimental.

14th December
1 – DJ Deep [Paris]
2 – Arcade [London]
3 – Baby Rollén [London]
4 – Disclosure [London]
5 – Kerri Chandler [New Jersey]

21st December
1 – Louie Vega [New Jersey]
2 – Lea Lisa [Lausanne]
3 – Leighton Moody [Cape Town]
4 – Kerri Chandler [New Jersey]

28th December
1 – Davide Squillace [Barcelona]
2 – Mona Lee [Belgium]
3 – DJ Spen [Baltimore]
4 – David Morales [Bologna]
5 – Kerri Chandler [New Jersey]

1st January
ALL – Kerri Chandler [New Jersey]

Make sure to follow and subscribe to Beatport’s Twitch and YouTube channels to stay up-to-date with all our livestreams.  

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10 Dec Beatport and Absolut Join Forces for a Global New Year’s Eve Livestream Celebration

Posted at 10:00h in feed, homepage-masthead-slider, news
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Words: Cameron Holbrook

Dance the year away with Beatport as we bid farewell to 2020 with 20+ hours of dance music excellence.

2020 is bound to go down in history as one of the most challenging years in recent memory. For music fans around the world, the usual respite and fulfillment found at clubs and festivals of all sizes was suddenly taken away, forcing fans, as well as performers and the music industry as a whole, to find new and innovative ways to keep live music in our lives. 

From our marathon ReConnect livestreams, which raised money for COVID-19 relief and aid for Beirut, to our genre showcases and collective and artist takeovers, Beatport has been proud to bring you a diverse array of hugely talented DJs and performers via global live streams since the start of the pandemic. 

To cap off the year, you’re invited to dance the year away with Beatport and Absolut for the last and most ambitious livestream of 2020: a 20-plus hour online party hitting more than 15 time zones with DJs in cities across the globe. Kicking off before midnight local time in Melbourne, Australia with Carl Cox, followed by sets from Jamie Jones, Honey Dijon, Jaguar, Patrick Topping, Nicole Moudaber, TOKiMONSTA, and more, the New Year’s Eve party will travel the globe countdown clock hits major cities around the world before finishing up back in Melbourne with a second and final closing set from Cox. Each set will see the performers building up towards midnight in their own timezone, bidding a final farewell to 2020. 

British DJ/producer Nicole Moudaber commented, “Barbados is a very special place to me, I’ve been coming to this beautiful island for many years. I can only visualise how lit it will become when I go live for the Absolut and Beatport 2020 NYE stream, bringing in the new year with you. Let’s kiss that b@!%h 2020 goodbye!”

Check out the full lineup below.

Melbourne: Carl Cox
Tokyo: MACHÌNA & SEKITOVA
Shanghai: RayRay
Koh Phangan: Mendy Indigo
New Delhi: BLOT!
Dubai: Jixo & Danz
Odessa: Nastia
Berlin: Honey Dijon
Newcastle Patrick Topping

London: Jaguar
Florianopolis: BLANCAh
Barbados: Nicole Moudaber

Miami: Jamie Jones
Calgary: Sydney Blu
San Francisco: TOKiMONSTA
Melbourne: Carl Cox

Leading up to the stream, Beatport is allowing fans the chance to enter a remix competition that will focus on the House anthem, “President House” by Roland Clark featuring Urban Soul. Producers who enter will have a chance to win a $5000 prize package, including a personalized bottle from Absolut, a release on the seminal house and garage label, King Street Sounds, and a global track premiere during the Beatport x Absolut NYE 2020 Livestream. Competition entrants have until December 18th, 2020 to participate and can download the stems and acapella via our website. Learn more here.

Beatport x Absolut’s New Year’s Livestream Celebration will be available to watch on Beatport’s Twitch channel, as well as on YouTube and Facebook.

Join us in celebrating the international solidarity and passion that keeps dance music thriving! Besides, what better way to say goodbye to 2020 than celebrating its passing 14 times!?

Ahead of the livestream, check out some fresh Beatport Charts from the artists on our lineup.

MACHÌNA – #DanceAway2020 Beatport Chart
SEKITOVA – #DanceAway2020 Beatport Chart
Jixo & Danz – #DanceAway2020 Beatport Chart
Jaguar – #DanceAway2020 Beatport Chart
BLANCAh – #DanceAway2020 Beatport Chart
Sydney Blu – #DanceAway2020 Beatport Chart

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09 Dec The 50 Best Tracks of 2020

Posted at 14:19h in features, homepage-masthead-slider, trending
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Words: Beatportal Staff and Contributors

With the help of our contributors, we compile some of our favourite tracks of the year.

It’s been an undeniably difficult year for the music industry. But as we saw in our coronavirus coverage, music sales have remained a bright spot in an otherwise dark year.

In spite of everything — or perhaps because of the year’s difficulties — we’ve seen a wave of incredible music released in 2020. And while we weren’t able to share these songs on our favourite dance floors, there’s still plenty of reason to celebrate some of the best songs of the year. 

So, how did we compile this list? None of the songs chosen are based on sales. Instead, we reached out to the many Beatportal contributors who’ve covered this defining year in dance music, and they helped our editorial staff pick 50 tracks, which are listed in no particular order below.

Jayda G – Both Of Us

Genre: Electronica
Label: Ninja Tune

Has a moment of self-doubt ever sounded so affirmative? On “Both of Us,” Jayda G turns her introspection into euphoria, wondering whether she “can love enough for the both of us.” Although year-end lists are bound to be filled with claims of “song of the summer that never was,” you’d be hard-pressed to find a better contender than this piece of Chicago and disco-flecked house. With springy kicks, a piano line like sugar and spice, and a breakdown big enough to fill the tear ducts twice, this one may still be in the running for Summer Anthem 2021. — Henry Ivry

India Jordan – I’m Waiting (Just 4 U)

Genre: House
Label: Local Action

A year on from 2019’s DNT STP MY LV, India Jordan’s brilliant debut, they released For You, a six-track celebration of self-acceptance and growth. After suffering homophobic abuse growing up queer in their hometown of Doncaster, For You is, at the title suggests, for India, from India, a marker of praise for themself and the journey they have been on. The opening track, “I’m Waiting (Just 4 U),” would surely have been one of the year’s best festival tunes, featuring giddy, sparkling French touch and a sample from Stephanie Mills’ 1979 track “Put Your Body In It”. In 2021, let’s hope “I’m Waiting” finally gets the euphoric, sun-kissed moments it so deserves. — Katie Thomas

DJ Plead – Going For It

Genre: Leftfield Bass
Label: Livity Sound

This was something of a breakout year for DJ Plead. The Australian producer was able to hone his polyrhythmic approach to dance music that fuses bottom-heavy bass with Lebanese folk. If that sounds overly academic, it isn’t. On his standout track for Bristol institution Livity Sound, we get a peak-time weapon. “Going For It” is built around hand percussion before a warped synthline swirls across the track as more and more layers of drums emerge. One great loss of 2020 will certainly be not getting to watch DJs break a sweat mixing in and out of this one. — Henry Ivry

Bicep – Atlas

Genre: Electronica
Label: Ninja Tune

It’s hard to believe the Belfast duo’s first teaser of their 2021 album, Isles, came out in March, but the atmospheric bleep-y soundscape of “Atlas” has been floating around our heads ever since. It’s Bicep at their best: introspective and emotional yet deceptively uplifting and primed to fill towering industrial structures like Printworks. Endlessly captivating and innovatively hypnotizing — though taking on a strangely ethereal presence during these party-less times — it’s a monumental composition. Their first new track since 2018’s Rain EP, “Atlas” defies expectations, genre constrictions and succeeds in eliciting multiple feelings. Put simply, it’s a world to get lost in. — Ben Jolley

Martyn Bootyspoon – Resonant Freq

Genre: Dance / Electro Pop
Label: 2 B Real

Montrealer Martyn Bootyspoon fell in love with dance music through the hedonistic excess of Detroit anthems like “Ass n Titties.” But on his debut for Finn’s 2 B Real, he turned in an EP that managed to sound like it came from either side of the Atlantic. No track does this better than “Resonant Freq.” Icy cold, sinewave bass, and grating synths compete with a cheeky vocal reprieve repeating, “Freak.” It’s testament to both Bootyspoon’s humor and vision that he is able to turn all of this into an absolute banger that falls somewhere between DJ Assault and Wiley. — Henry Ivry

DJ Q – All That I Could

Genre: Garage
Label: Local Action

To say that 2020 was something of a garage and bassline revival is to do a disservice to the lifers like DJ Q who have been putting out swung drum belters with consistency for the better part of two decades. That said, with a renewed interest in syncopated and shuffling rhythms, the time feels ripe for another 2-step anthem. This is exactly what DJ Q delivers on “All That I Could.” Sultry vocals, velvet hits of bass, and the precision stutter of the percussion make this track feel as timeless as they come. — Henry Ivry

Break – The Edge of Time (Workforce Remix)

Genre: Drum & Bass
Label: Symmetry Recordings

Although 2020 has been a spectacular year for the ex-Spectrasoul man, Jack Workforce’s standout contribution was arguably his finest remix to date, a sumptuously deep exploration of the marriage between celestial textures and human vocals; a triad of Kyo’s touching tones, searing synthetic streaks, and scintillating low frequencies. We’re talking about “Edge of Time,” of course, and it’s only once you’ve heard its bassline that you can truly understand the magnetic appeal it has on one’s soul; a gravitational pull without limits, unconstrained by earthly laws and unbound by the laws of physics. It’s deep, rolling, and dripping in the sophisticated class that characterises Jack’s entire creative output, from sonic engineering to visual representation. Unbelievable. — Ben Hunter

Camo & Krooked & Mefjus – No Tomorrow (feat. Sophie Lindinger)

Genre: Drum & Bass
Label: Hospital Records

Towards the end of the year came Camo & Krooked and Mefjus’ “No Tomorrow,” an adrenaline shot of Trainspotting proportions that sees hypnotic futurism violently collide with human melancholia. Sophie Lindinger provides the latter, her hopeful yet morose voice the starting blocks for a subsequent wave of revamped neurofunk, stripped-back and skipping to the percussive taps of a palpitating heart. This human face is juxtaposed with technoid textures, the mechanised engine room that pumps energy to the track’s orchestral touches and climbing, suspenseful structure. The whistle blows, a halftime second-half follows, and you’ll be left breathless at the end. Seminal. — Ben Hunter

Justin Martin – Stay (feat. Dalilah)

Genre: Tech House
Label: What To Do

When an artist finally releases a secret weapon they’ve been reserving in their sets for months (or even years), it’s cause for celebration, and a celebration is what ensued after Justin Martin dropped “Stay” back in April. The second single from his brand-new imprint, What To Do, “Stay” is a concise culmination of Martin’s artistry: unmistakable to his unique sound while retaining a youthful sense of exploration. Far from the archetype of tech house, deep house, or any other subgenres, this mesh of grooves demonstrates Martin’s continuing infatuation with music-making. May that infatuation continue for years to come. — Harry Levin

Anakim – Bailey’s Song

Genre: Progressive House
Label: PRGRSSN Records

At its core, music is the sonic manifestation of human emotion. Thoughts and feelings that can’t be expressed through other avenues arise as a melding of rhythms and tones, and Anakim’s “Bailey’s Song” excels in harnessing a level of emotional depth rarely heard across the dance spectrum. After all, dance music traditionally exists in an environment of plentiful jubilance. An environment of blissful escape. Yet on “Bailey’s Song,” Anakim captured the melancholy he felt upon the sudden passing of his beloved dog of the same name and channeled it into a fitting addition to any seething melodic set. — Harry Levin 

Patrick Topping – Rocket Fuel

Genre: Tech House
Label: Trick

A pumping rave weapon that does exactly what it says on the tin, the title to “Rocket Fuel” couldn’t be more fitting. This full-throttle blast-off — and sister of “Turbo Time” — doesn’t pause for a second’s breath. Even when the fired-up bassline drops out, the synths keep working away as if they’re powering an engine. Chuck in the sound of crowds cheering and a “Let me hear ya scream!” and the whole thing erupts into an explosion of tops-off hysteria. It’s the highlight of another stellar year for Topping’s unfaltering Trick label, which continues to loosen up the dancefloor with each exhilarating release. — Ben Jolley

Will Clarke – Hallelujah

Genre: Tech House
Label: All We Have Is Now

The Bristol-born DJ/producer with the strongest beard in the game really took us to church with this gospel-infused thumper. The first release on his own prophetically-named techno label All We Have Is Now, Clarke wasted no time in solidifying the imprint as a force to be reckoned with. “Hallelujah” signified a punchier move away from his Dirtybird booty-bass house groovers, instead focusing on Drumcode-style wall-shakers. It’s one of those undeniable slammers that causes rapturous reactions on the dancefloor; just watch the social media clips of Clarke unleashing it to euphoric effect in an actual club before the pandemic hit. — Ben Jolley

Blue Foundation – Eyes On Fire (Michael Bibi Remix)

Genre: Tech House
Label: Solid Grooves Records

Bibi has always had an ear for a freaky vocal sample that could be transformed into an unlikely club bomb. And, although it was released in February, the tech-house prince kicked off another great year with this six-minute groove-filled freaky roller. Chopping up the guitar riffs and eerie vocal of Blue Foundation singer Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg, he layered the disparate parts over a beat that’s impossible to dismiss. Landing nine months after it sent Shazam into overdrive when the Solid Grooves co-founder unleashed it during a DJ set at Leeds’ Canal Mills, it’s easy to tell why this one blew up quick. — Ben Jolley

Illyus & Barrientos – Promise

Genre: Tech House
Label: Toolroom

House bangers with massive diva vocals had a moment again in 2020 and, up there with the best was “Promise” by Glaswegian DJ/producer duo Illyus Brown and Ivan Barrientos. Cleverly sampling J.E. Hogan’s 2006 gospel track “I Promised The Lord That I Would Hold Out”, its jubilant handclaps, shuffling beat, and percussive instruments build to transform the track into a euphoria-inducing bomb that’s destined for big-room clubs at peak-time. It’s also the type of immediately infectious anthem that will instantly elevate your mood and put a beaming smile across your face — and that’s something we’ve all needed this year. — Ben Jolley

Alisha – What To Do

Genre: Tech House
Label: WYLD

Alisha, the UK’s fast-rising queen of tech house, who is quickly putting Peterborough on the dance music map thanks to pumping releases on Kaluki and Nothing Else Matter an sets at Parklife, Glastonbury and The Warehouse Project, knows her way around a chugging earworm beat. The DJ, producer, and raver specialises in peak-time acid-infused rollers with plenty of groove, and “What To Do” — which would have suited Hot Creations or Solid Grooves perfectly — sums up her sound brilliantly. The pay-off is, impressively, just as strong as the build-up; the drop unleashing a precision-tooled dopamine rush when it hits. — Ben Jolley

TSHA – Sister

Genre: Electronica
Label: Ninja Tune

One of the most affecting tracks of 2020, “Sister” carries the contrasting feelings that London-based Teisha Matthews felt when she found and contacted her long-lost sibling during lockdown. Fusing an acid bassline, wind chime percussion, and pop-leaning chorus, the life-affirming highlight from Flowers — her stunning debut EP for Ninja Tune — is a faultless emotion-filled electronic anthem. A real hug-your-mates serotonin rush tinged with optimism and nostalgia thanks to its childlike vocal, “Sister” also carries the sadness of a year’s worth of lost dancefloor moments. Hearing this one out, rather than on full volume at home, will be special indeed. — Ben Jolley

Deadbeat & Paul St. Hilaire – Mind Control

Genre: Techno (Raw / Deep / Hypnotic)
Label: Another Moon

Deadbeat and Paul St. Hilaire continue to carry the torch for modern dub techno. Year on year, they find fresh ways to update the time-worn style, and the vocoder-laden “Mind Control” is some of their freshest yet. Paul St. Hilaire (FKA Tikiman) is not one for having his voice heavily processed, but on this track it works a charm, taking their sound into a dystopian future. Over the 14 minute run time, Paul’s voice appears in just a few moments here and there, but that’s all it needs. Deadbeat’s rolling, bass-heavy grooves do the rest. With two albums, countless live shows and 20 years of friendship behind them, the chemistry between this pair is untouchable. — Richard Akingbehin

Ana Roxanne – Take the Thorn, Leave the Rose

Genre: Downtempo
Label: Kranky

Ana Roxanne’s album for Kranky, Because Of A Flower, stands out as one of the year’s finest. With just her second record, she has honed in on a modern style of New Age ambient which sounds like nothing else around. The plucked notes of the album’s final track, “Take The Thorn, Leave The Rose,” add a distinctively human feel to an otherwise ethereal album. Halfway through, the track breaks down and rebuilds in barely recognizable, but equally captivating, form. It’s a great example of her vocal range and her music’s subtly-affecting tenderness. — Richard Akingbehin

Coco Bryce – Ma Bae Be Luv

Genre: Drum & Bass
Label: Lobster Theremin

This year saw a new wave of jungle begin to bubble up from a few specialized corners of the web into the wider world of dance music. Ironically, clubland came to a grinding halt just as the scene was poised to take off. Yet somehow, the jungle resurgence remained undeterred and records from scene stalwarts, including Coco Bryce, reached new heights and wider audiences. With “Ma Bae Be Luv,” Coco Bryce delivered one of his biggest tunes to date, one-upping even his catchiest work. Built around a candy-coated vocal and shimmering synth stabs, “Ma Bae Be Luv” would be pure pop if it weren’t for the roughneck breakbeats and bass lines keeping it firmly rooted in the jungle. — Joe Rihn

Kelly Lee Owens – Jeanette

Genre: Electronica
Label: Smalltown Supersound

In August, fans breathed a sigh of relief when Kelly Lee Owens’ sophomore album Inner Song finally landed, delivering a suite of songs more driving and energetic yet just as compelling as those on her first LP. Its centrepiece, “Jeanette”, is the most euphoric of the lot, its frosty arpeggios cascading and building over nearly four minutes before a kick drum charges through the mix like a galloping horse. Named after Owens’ late grandmother — “the most solid, stable, loving relationship of my life,” Owens told Pitchfork — “Jeanette’s” blissful peaks provided a welcome, enveloping respite in an arduous year. — Annabel Ross

박혜진 park hye jin – Like this

Genre: Electronica
Label: Ninja Tune

The Seoul-born LA-based rapper, singer, and DJ/producer had her mainstream crossover moment in May with this percussion-led hazy house subtle banger. Fusing her Korean-sung whispered vocals with dream-like synth pads that sound like wind chimes blowing in the breeze, the popularity of “Like This” soared on social media thanks in-part to Hye Jin’s easy to follow TikTok dance routine that featured in her track’s wistfully optimistic music video. More than anything, it carried a sense of nostalgia for when things felt “normal” and a summer of festival plans still filled our calendars. — Ben Jolley

Tim Reaper – Cityscapes

Genre: Drum & Bass
Label: Lobster Theremin

Tim Reaper is no fresh face on the jungle scene, but thanks to his Cityscapes EP, released on Lobster Theremin in August, 2020 was the year that heads across the board snapped to his attention. It’s hard to choose a favourite from that wonderful four-tracker, but the title track is impeccable; a mind-melting blend of frenzied beats, velvety house diva vocals, and pinging, vaudevillian keys. The elements are layered in fits and start to create chaos, then separated to reveal their inherent beauty while slabs of manic percussion provide regular jolts throughout. One of the year’s best releases, hands down. — Annabel Ross

Octo Octa – River

Genre: Electronica
Label: Fabric

Described as an “acid-drenched transcendent house” track, “River” certainly transports you beyond this third-dimensional reality. Octo Octa presents a sonic exploration of movement and stillness in life. It’s an unpredictable track that at times feels subtle and then unexpectedly takes you to the next plain. The undeniably warm feeling of being immersed within these acid sounds makes “River” an exciting and joyful sonic journey that invites listeners to explore its hypnotic contours with a fine tooth comb. Much like the ebb and flow of life and the crashing shoreline, “River” greets and comforts you and allows you to become one with sound. It’s a chance for healing! — Mandy Alexander

Portable – Unity

Genre: Electronica
Label: Live At Robert Johnson

In musical tribute to Andrew Weatherall, and to celebrate 21 years of the Robert Johnson club, Portable delights us with his contribution to the Lifesaver 4 Compilation, Unity, a transcending electronic offering that ignites all the senses. Portable delights listeners with his angelic voice that resonates with the magnitude of this year. The simplicity of the word “unity” being sung along with the building rhythm creates a hypnotic aural experience. It’s a wholesome electronic track that feels so necessary and best enjoyed with your eyes closed while surrendering to the rhythm. Unity provides both escapism and a gentle reminder to be present. — Mandy Alexander

Xee & Codekid – Deeper Her

Genre: Deep House
Label: Soul Life Audio Boutique

South African duo Xee & Codekid are sonic geniuses with the skill to take listeners on a globalized journey. Their sound knows no borders and “Deeper Her”cements their sonic power as one of the most thought-provoking electronic music duos currently making deep house. Straight off their Rubbing Stuff EP, “Deeper Her” is a richly-brewed track that encourages listeners to delve deep within this beautifully textured aural offering. Its hypnotic feeling allows you to exist between the realms of sound. “Deeper Her” goes against the grain of the expectation to produce a geographically particular sound and holds true to the importance of musicians crafting unique music. — Mandy Alexander

Charlotte de Witte – Sgadi Li Mi 

Genre: Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Label: KNTXT

Charlotte de Witte’s eye-watering schedule might be on hiatus, but 2020 has catapulted her production clout into the stratosphere. She dropped “Sgadi Li Mi” for the first time during a live stream from atop a castle in Ghent. As the mournful, South Asian vocals soared over the rooftops, de Witte took a drag of cigarette and laughed, perhaps aware that she’d just dropped one of the defining tunes of the year. “Sgadi Li Mi” is a production that communicates de Witte’s emotional connection to techno, simultaneously a muscular celebration of the genre and a yearning ode to the dance floor. — Alice Austin

Amelie Lens – Higher (FJAAK Remix)

Genre: Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Label: Lenske

Amelie Lens’s “Higher” is a thunderous techno production straight from the heart of a purist. Produced pre-COVID and released mid-COVID, its sense of optimism and hedonism, paired with industrial synths and pummelling snares, made it feel like an instant classic. Berlin’s FJAAK softened the edges with a stripped back minimal take, building on Amelie’s vocals and spinning their meditative, hardware-heavy flair into the mix. But the eye of the storm lies in an ecstatic trance build-up followed by a pulverising drop, inviting the listener to categorically lose their shit, whether locked down or not. — Alice Austin

John Summit – Deep End (SIDEPIECE Remix)

Genre: House
Label: Defected

Despite an addictive knack for making dance floor heat even with no dance floor currently available to truly appreciate, it’s safe to say SIDEPIECE have dominated their share of 2020. Coming off a grooving “On My Mind” release with Diplo, the pair were quick to jump on a remix for Chicago producer John Summit and his outstanding track “Deep End,” which helped catapult the young Chicago producer firmly into the spotlight this year. SIDEPIECE’s remix adds a serious bounce and a punchy bassline to what should certainly be considered one of the top dance tracks of 2020.  — Valerie Lee

i_o — Castles In The Sky

Genre: Trance
Label: Armada Music

As we reflect on 2020, it’s important to recognize just how much this year took from us in the rave community, including the lives of some of our own beloved artists. Garrett Lockhart, known by his alias i_o, tragically passed away in late November. His final release is one that dance music fans across the genre spectrum will recognize: i_o developed a new interpretation of Ian Van Dahl’s timeless 2002 trance single “Castles In The Sky,” transforming the original song into a powerful trance-meets-techno anthem. Pressing play on this tune may trigger an onslaught of conflicting emotions as it’s such a beautiful, melancholic song that takes on a new meaning in light of his tragic death. Rest in peace, Garrett. We will never forget your impact on dance music. — Jordan Mafi

Zonderling, NØ SIGNE – Clouds

Genre: Electro House
Label: STMPD RCRDS

When the term ‘future house’ was coined in the mid-2010s, producers like Tchami and Oliver Heldens were the blueprint for unconventional yet indulgent EDM; now in 2020, the sound has only become more eccentric thanks to producers like Zonderling and NØ SIGNE. On “Clouds,” both acts masterfully display the kind of unexpected magic that occurs within the studio, demonstrating the power of creative sound design and an immaculate mix. The best future house tunes are the ones that startle you through a tantalizing, offbeat flair — ”Clouds” exhibits exactly that, satisfying both the body and the mind. — Jordan Mafi

Anz – Loos in Twos (NRG)

Genre: Leftfield House & Techno
Label: Hessle Audio

Anz has been building a formidable following since her 2017 debut, becoming known for the consistency of her productions and jaw-dropping work rate. Nowhere is this better illustrated than on her annual production mixes, which showcase unreleased Anz productions, often months or even years before they see the light of day. “Loos in Twos (NRG)” debuted on one such mix last year, and eventually saw a release in September via Hessle Audio. The brilliance of “Loos in Twos” lies in the fact that elements of the track feel instantly familiar to any dance music fan: the rave stabs, the break, the heavyweight bassline. But thanks to Anz’s deft touch, those same elements feel fresh and new. — Will Gulseven

Sinistarr & Hyroglifics – BS6

Genre: Juke/Footwork
Label: Hooversound 

The first release from Sherelle and Naina’s Hooversound imprint, “BS6” is a transatlantic linkup from Detroit’s Sinistarr and Bristol-based Hyroglifics — a rowdy workout of a track that encapsulates everything exciting about the latest crop of artists creating melting-pot music at 160 BPM. Taking in influences from footwork, rave, jungle, and ghettotech, “BS6” sees cowbells ricocheting off frantic vocal chops and syncopated 808s. And although it was released in mid-March just as the pandemic forcibly shut club doors across the globe, both Sherelle and Naina had been doing damage with the track in their sets for months, and the crowd reactions speak for themselves. — Will Gulseven.

Harka – Nuclear Bomb

Genre: Drum & Bass
Label: Elastic Rhythms 

Dropping this May on Harka’s Badman Bible EP (pun intended), “Nuclear Bomb” acted as a manifesto for his style of high-tempo hybrid club tracks. Working in strands of D&B, halftime, hard house, jungle, and footwork, the EP is a giddy journey through thirty years of musical influences, tied together in a polished, forward-thinking package. “Nuclear Bomb” is the standout track from the release, building on the time-honoured foundation of classic jungle with a chopped-up Helicopter break and generous use of Patois vocals, brought into 2020 with a punishing bassline inspired by modern D&B’s foghorn rollers. — Will Gulseven. 

LUZ1E – U Said I Couldn’t Do It

Genre: Electro
Label: International Chrome

In LUZ1E’s relatively short career thus far, it’s seemed as though there’s no genre she can’t turn her hand to, variously turning in dreamy house, tear-out jungle, and broken techno for labels like Lobster Theremin, Shall Not Fade and Mechatronica. Driving electro was the order of the day on her Cybernetic Movement EP, her debut release on Jensen Interceptor’s International Chrome label. Relentlessly fast-paced and straight to the point, only a heaving dancefloor will truly do a track like “U Said I Couldn’t Do It”  justice. It’ll have you yearning for the day that clubs return, and in a year like this there could be no higher compliment. — Will Gulseven. 

Otik – Zero-Sum Game

Genre: Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Label: Shall Not Fade

London-via-Bristol producer Otik hasn’t missed in 2020, with a string of killer releases on labels like Dusk & Blackdown’s Keysound Recordings and Mr Mitch’s Gobstopper Records so good they need to be heard to be believed. He simply can’t miss. That’s on top of his regular radio and mix appearances on Rinse FM, Reprezent Radio, and the revered Dekmantel podcast. And while we could have blindly picked nearly any Otik track from 2020 for this list, “Zero-Sum Game,” the title track from his release on Shall Not Fade’s Basement Tracks series, sums up everything that makes him such a captivating producer; taking the best of the UK’s electronic music heritage with weighty bass and driving percussion, contrasted with a floating, euphoric slant that Otik has made into his trademark. Keep your eyes on Otik, ‘cause this run ain’t done. — Will Gulseven.

Robert Hood – The Struggle

Genre: Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Label: M-Plant

The thought of what this record would be doing to clubs and festivals if we had clubs and festivals is almost too much to process. The trajectory of Robert Hood’s career lately has been about channelling big club, big system energy to righteous purposes – and that reaches a crescendo here. Huge kicks, a simple but brutally effective acid line, a piercing war-horn drone, a speech made by activist Tamika Mallory in Minneapolis in the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death… this is techno with all its history, all its blackness, all its sense of purpose right up front. And it’s devastating. — Joe Muggs

Huey Mnemonic – Virtuosity

Genre: Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Label: Subsonic Ebonics

Subsonic Ebonics is an effective turn of phrase from the producer whose shown repeatedly that he’s intentional in the art he creates. The title track from Huey Mnemonics Virtuosity EP, the first launch from his aforementioned label, hits a sweet spot between grounded and surprising, catchy without feeling played out. As the arpeggiated chords build, catching polyrhythmic drum sounds along the way, the release felt from the kick a third of the way through is nearly euphoric. The rest of the track wraps around the synth, experimenting with percussive patterns and placements. Mnemonic’s sounds span multiple worlds to create a new and exciting path forward for Detroit techno. — Crystal Mioner

Ozzy – Maerts

Genre: Techno (Peak Time / Driving)
Label: Intercept

Like many selections in this list, “Maerts,” from promising young Dutch newcomer Ozzy, expertly channeled the rave spirit during a year in which few of us were able to actually celebrate the rave. Released this September on Coloray’s Intercept record label, “Maerts” admittedly combines many of last year’s best tropes — high BPM count, ambient-gabber soundscapes, and euphoric trance melodies that manage to remain on the right side of cheesy — for a pulse-pounding, hair-raising and decidedly modern take on techno. One can easily imagine the “Maerts” closing the sets of DJs like Courtesy, its lush and melancholic pads, stuttering drums and endlessly looping melody sending crowds into the stratosphere one last time before gently calling time. 2019 may end up being known as fast techno’s high point, but “Mearts” proves 2020 still had one more 175 BPM ace up its sleeve. — Chandler Shortlidge

Lazarus – Back One Eighty

Genre: Leftfield House & Techno
Label: Of Paradise

As a label, Of Paradise has been on a roll, consistently delivering some of the year’s best releases across a wide range of sounds. And while several EPs and compilations stood out, it’s hard to top Lazarus’ Downwards EP. Put quite simply, it’s a mini-album; chock full of richly emotional breakbeats and techno that deserves to be listened to in its entirety. However, “Back One Eighty” is a standout. A swirling, stuttering, hardcore-adjacent breakbeat gives way to lush ambient textures, before layers of IDM quickly ricochet around to tie the threads together. In a year where so much darkness was surrounded by some incontrovertible light, Lazarus manages to perfectly capture those two competing ideas in ways words likely never could, which is always a mark of truly great music. — Chandler Shortlidge 

Avalon Emerson – Poodle Power

Genre: Electronica
Label: !K7

As of late, Avalon has been more often recognized for her achievements as a DJ, but this year, her talent as a diverse producer once again grabbed the spotlight. It’s hard to determine a clear frontrunner from the handful of impressive originals from Avalon Emerson’s DJ-Kicks, but there’s an undeniable special something about the frenetic energy and synth-driven, off-kilter joviality of “Poodle Power.” The track originated (as she describes) as a “cheeky little festival song” that’s been a favorite held in her artillery since as early as 2018. Much like her DJ sets, her productions strike their own unique balance between anxious tension and a carefree brilliance we can only hope to continue to see more of in the future. — Valerie Lee

Escaflowne – Tha Cycle VIP

Genre: Electro
Label: Sorry Records

Over the past five years Sorry Records has been both a bedrock and beneficiary of New York City’s fertile scene, but 2020 was when the label really came into its own. Of several releases this year, Escaflowne’s The Stimulus Pack stood tallest: a wicked EP of breaksy techno, footwork-style sample acrobatics and raved-up diva house that threads the needle from First Choice to Huey Mnemonic and beyond. Closer “Tha Cycle VIP” did it all, establishing a false sense of security with a chatty 303 before plunging into a darker underbelly, where low-end rumbles menace the subs and wave after wave of breakbeats crash down. Dropped into the middle of a uniquely turbulent summer, Escaflowne bottled the lightning in the air and set it loose right back on us. — Gabriel Szatan

2Lanes – Baby’s Born To Fish (feat. Kesswa, John F.M., Ian Fink & Shigeto)

Genre: House
Label: Portage Garage Sounds

Detroit’s resident jester links with Hamtramck’s PGS Label to put forth a trance like collaborative effort from some of the city’s most promising artists. With thoughtful curation by the talented 2Lanes and anchored in production by 2Lanes, Ian Finklestein, and Shigeto, the track is elevated by the gorgeous vocals of Kesswa with support from FXHE’s John FM. “Bills past due, what you gon’ do?” is a timely question that leads to the inevitable outcome: make some songs with some friends. On the flip side, 2Lanes and Jihoon, an undersung savant of Detroit’s music community, give us Impish Desires, a dark and freaky companion to Baby’s Born To Fish. Warning: MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY. — Crystal Mioner

HLX-1 – I Can Tell You Can F​*​*​*

Genre: Electro
Label: HLX-1 Detroit

HLX-1, named after a black hole located approx 290 million lightyears away, gave us a track in 2020 that inspires us to open our holes right here on earth. Our, ugh, dance holes. I CAN TELL YOU CAN F​*​*​* is a raunchy electro type beat from Underground and Black’s The AM and Scan 7’s Ken Clements. Clements has been putting out brilliant production work for Scan 7 for years, and The AM’s decades-long appreciation for techno and electro comes through. The drums are infectious, and the hook gives us something fun and progressive in a musical landscape that can be a little too self-aware. — Crystal Mioner

Hukae – Dirty Talk 

Genre: Dubstep
Label: NSD: Black Label 

Dubstep’s next generation is exceptionally bright. As the mainstream dubstep scene moves away from gargantuan drops and headbanging fans on the rails, this scene is a stomping ground for complex and technical productions. Leading the charge for this sound is Hukae, the UK-based producer who turned the heads of industry tastemakers and fans alike with his single “Dirty Talk,” a glitchy, discombobulating sonic experience that set the tone for dubstep’s innovative move from formulaic drops to complex arrangements. With a slew of new producers based all over the world, 2020 proved that dubstep’s future is far from dead. — Jordan Mafi 

Bakey – Take It Further

Genre: Garage
Label: Time Is Now Records

London-based newcomer Freddie Baker (AKA Bakey) has been making serious waves as of late through both his Rinse FM show and grime-fulled club edits. But it was after the release of his wicked and unruly Take It Further EP on Shall Not Fade sub-label Time Is Now Records that people began to take notice in a big way. A golden deliverance of UKG-inspired trouble, the heavy and charismatic lead single excels at bringing proper old-school rave vibes into the 21st century. The track builds with a hype-up oration and the sound of crowd mayhem before the exchange between its stout breaks, tremulous bassline, and badman vocals rope you in. Oh my gosh. — Cameron Holbrook

Swing Ting – Drama feat. Thai Chi Rosé (KG Remix)

Genre: UK Funky
Label: Swing Ting 

Karen “KG” Nyame has been relentless this year. Whether producing for Shingai, remixing Daniel Haaksman, collaborating with NJ Club queen Uniiqu3, or on her own solo EP, the rolling drums of her ultra-finessed take on UK funky are instantly recognisable. Perhaps best of all is her remix for Manchester’s Swing Ting: the low’n’slow original is completely turned inside out, with Darkchild style harpsichords added, Thai Chi Rosé’s voice chopped into irresistible hooks, and THOSE drums. It’s like a turn of the millennium UKG R&B bootleg, but ultra-modernist and ultra-deluxe; the only issue is it could be twice as long. — Joe Muggs

Eris Drew – Transcendental Access Point

Genre: Melodic House & Techno
Label: Interdimensional Transmissions 

In 2020, many of the year’s best tracks weren’t able to realise their dance floor potential. I’m lucky that, for me, that wasn’t the case with Drew’s mesmerising “Transcendental Access Point”. It was around 5am on a February morning in south London, the air was heavy with heat and the crowd was bathed in blue as the string section bloomed; a blissful, weightless moment. One of three tracks on Fluids of Emotion, her debut solo release, “Transcendental Access Point” encapsulates the feelings of warmth, healing and togetherness that Eris nurtures when she’s in the booth. Using hallucinogenic mushrooms as a production tool to tap into the Motherbeat, on “Transcendental Access Point,” the goddess Eris Drew shared her psychedelic world with us. — Katie Thomas

Dua Lipa – Pretty Please (Midland Refix)

Genre: Dance/Electro Pop
Label: Urban

While the dance floor remains off limits, great windows-down driving tunes often feel like the next best thing. Nowhere does this ring truer than with Midland’s refix of Dua Lipa’s “Pretty Please”, his homage to summers as a teenager, blasting Kiss FM in the car with his mates. On “Pretty Please,” Dua yearns for no-strings intimacy, but discovers she’s not as chill as she thought. Midland takes her request to “put my mind at ease” and puts it on loop, replacing the thick, sticky bassline of the original with a crisp and buoyant UKG flavour, the chopped-up styling of the vocal reminiscent of the great Todd Edwards. — Katie Thomas

Louie Vega & The Martinez Brothers – Let It Go feat. Marc. E. Bassy (Honey Dijon Extended Release Mix)

Genre: House
Label: Defected

A dream team of NYC house that embodies both old and new school Big Apple dance music, Louie Vega and The Martinez Brothers teamed up with singer-songwriter Marc E. Bassy to deliver a beautiful slice of stripped-back house with “Let It Go.” Defected Records picked up the remix package and tapped Honey Dijon for the remix, and she delivered a glorious NYC-meets-Berlin interpretation of this irresistible tune. Slowing down the tempo while cranking up the echo and reverb to give it a more cavernous and clubbier feel, Dijon introduces a fluctuating bassline that will lock you into a rhythm that you didn’t even know you needed in the first place. — Cameron Holbrook

Marlon Hoffstadt – Blade Runner

Genre: Trance
Label: Midnight Themes

Marlon Hoffstadt had the extreme misfortune of releasing 2020’s greatest trance record on the very week normal life shut down. Festivals, parties and Hoffstadt’s own Savour The Moment nights in Berlin closed up shop. Shorn of the environment in which ecstatic release thrives, could Planet Love make any sense at all? The trick is that Hoffstadt’s music betrays no hint of tongue-in-cheek retro-fascination. Scan the skyscraping acid trance of Planet Love standout “Blade Runner” and all you’ll detect is pure, luminous positivity. Hoffstadt simply believes in a better world and wants to take us there – optimism worth clinging to as we cross our fingers and hope for a better 2021. “Blade Runner” suggests that the light at the end of the tunnel might even be a hovering UFO. If so, then beam us up Hoffy. — Gabriel Szatan

Check out our chart with the Top 50 Tracks of 2020 on Beatport.

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08 Dec Beatport Launches New Genre: Electro [Classic / Detroit / Modern]

Posted at 10:00h in feed, news
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Words: Beatport Staff

The Beatport Store introduces a new home for Electro’s raw, electrifying, and pioneering sound.

Beatport has added a brand new genre category to its store: Electro [Classic / Detroit / Modern].

With its aggressive arpeggios, robotic melodies, stout 808 drum patterns, and unmistakably bold flair, both the classic and modern sound of Electro — which originated in cities like Detroit during the ’90s thanks to acts like, Cybotron, Model 500, and Drexciya — has hit a global resurgence over the past several years. With this new store spotlight, Beatport hopes to pay homage to this essential component of electronic music history.

By introducing the genre to the site, Beatport will offer its customers an expertly curated Electro catalogue, giving artists, distributors, labels, and the Electro community a home where their sounds can be easily heard and discovered. Additionally, Electro will now have its own Top 100 chart.

The new categorization will host Electro pioneers and new-age tastemakers like Rex The Dog, 214, Legowelt, Cygnus, The Advent, Helena Hauff, VC-118A, LUZ1E, and Drexciya, alongside pivotal labels such as Frustrated Funk, Lone Romantic, Klakson, plus many more.

Speaking about the launch, celebrated German Electro duo The Exaltics said: “Great to have the Electro genre finally presented on Beatport. It was about time. An essential genre in the past, the present, and in the future!” 

Detroit’s proficient Electro outfit Aux 88 added: “So glad Beatport recognizes Electro as a genre, Detroit has always been on the cusp of the future with Electro music.”

From Electro’s pivotal, Afrofuturist musings from the Motor City to its raw and unbridled modern output that’s helped weaponize techno and a myriad of other genres in new and exciting ways, Beatport is committed to giving this powerful genre its due. With the help of our Beatport LINK technology, expertly curated track selections, and artist charts, we’re confident that this new page will help future generations of DJs better understand and utilize this vital and dynamic sound.

Visit the Electro [Classic / Detroit / Modern] page on Beatport here.

Check out a few Electro [Classic / Modern / Detroit] selections below along with some specially curated charts from some of the genre’s most celebrated producers.

 

Artist Charts:

The Hacker – Electro Chart
Aux 88 – Electro Chart
Helena Hauff – Electro Chart
VC-118A- Electro Chart
The Exaltics – Electro Chart
Carl Finlow – Electro Chart

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