Sonicrampage

Coming tomorrow, it’s the Old School Mix Marathon V! My brand new acid mix, Slaves to the Silver Box, will be premiering, so make sure you tune in! As before, I will be featuring all of the mixes here at Sonicrampage, so look forward to them appearing next week.

Details:

Where: DI.fm radio [ Classic Electronica Channel ]
di.fm/classictechno
When: 21.-22.3.2013 [check schedule below]
Music: 90s trance, acidtechno, hardtrance, hardcore, acidtrance, goa…

pre-party 21.3.2013:
old original 90s mixtapes [thanks to these 90s legends for sending mixtapes!]. Over 5 hours pure 90s sound!

DJ SNOWMAN – Live At Energy 1999
ELIOT NESS – The Art Of Mixing # 2-3
ORKIDEA – Unity Mixtape # 2
SASHA F – Meilahti Monotrax 1 & 2 Mixtape
DJ BATES – Rave Mixtape

main party 22.3.2013:
new oldskool sets…over 7 hours classics and rare tunes.

YOKO vs MEKE – hardtrance [Rave´o´lution mixtape]
DJ DAWN vs MEKE – hardtrance [RetroActive 6 mixtape]
YOKO – rave
DAVE ELYZIUM – goa
PEARSALL – acidtechno
SPACEHOPPER – gabber
MORDEN – goa

London timezone
5pm-10:06pm pre-party
5pm-12:46am main event

Berlin timezone
6pm-11:06pm pre-party
6pm-1:46am main event

Helsinki timezone
7pm-12:06am pre-party
7pm-2:46am main event

di.fm/calendar/event/26459
www.di.fm/calendar/event/26458

“Peace, love, unity & rave”
DJ Meke

Check out the Old School Mix Marathon IV

VINYL PIMP – VPVS 2013 from JPFRANCISCO on Vimeo.

I thought this timelapse video of a mural being painted at the Vinyl Pimp shop in Hackney, East London, was pretty cool.

The one and only Girdler Synthetic is back with a bang, kicking off his 2013 sets with a tribute to minor trance deity Nüw Idol, aka Michel Spiegel. This has only just gotten uploaded to the Penguin Conspiracy Soundcloud page, so it’s fresh, fresh, fresh!

Nuw Idol was one of my favorite trance producers back in the late 90′s/early 00′s. I loved his style of driving, hypnotic dance music – real trance music, not the arpeggiated candyfloss bullshit greedy schlockmeisters were churning out by the bucket load and, in the process, ruining the good name of trance.

5 minute breakdowns? Fuck that, Nuw Idol was there to get you dancing! His WellWicked Records pretty much always came up with the goods, which is why it’s so nice to have all of his finest tunes smooshed together in one cd’s worth of hard, euphoric joy. Of course, as ever with Girdler Synthetic’s mixes, this is a suitable tribute, expertly mixed and beautifully programmed.

Grab it, grab it now.

Or, um, stream it, stream it now …

Tracklisting:

01. Nüw Idol – Wicca – WellWicked
02. Nüw Idol – The Embrace – WellWicked
03. Nüw Idol – Touch The Lazer – WellWicked
04. Nüw Idol – Polly’s Pharmacy – WellWicked
05. Nüw Idol & Oberon – Point Of Entry – WellWicked
06. Nüw Idol – Sin – WellWicked
07. Nüw Idol – WOW – WellWicked
08. Nüw Idol & Gianni – The Gates Of Time – WellWicked
09. Nüw Idol – Satann – WellWicked
10. Nüw Idol – Kick Drum Domination – WellWicked
11. Nüw Idol – My Liberation – WellWicked
12. Nüw Idol – Life Is The Poison – WellWicked
13. Nüw Idol – The Quickening – WellWicked
14. Nüw Idol & Oberon – Bag Of Trix – WellWicked

Via Thank You For The Horse, I found out yesterday that Japanese freeform producer Kaoru Kimura, aka Betwixt & Between, recently passed away, due to as yet unknown causes:

Betwixt & Between (Kaoru Kimura) has tragically passed away at the age of 28. As the news is now public knowledge, Guld has invited condolences/messages of support to be posted on Kaoru’s Facebook page wall, Twitter account, or mailed directly to Guld (NRG_JAPAN [at] hotmail.com), who will then forward them to Kaoru’s family.

Having only recently heard of his passing, I am still at a loss for words. A fantastically intelligent, thoughtful and kind young man, he will be missed by everyone who met him, and also by members of the wider scene who knew him through his emotional, influential music.

I feel very fortunate to have counted Kaoru as a friend for the past five years, and will miss him dearly. I’m sure everyone here will join me in offering condolences to all of his family.

I didn’t know him personally, but as a fan of his music I would like to extend my condolences to his family and friends in this time of their loss. It’s a big loss to the worldwide freeform scene, but fortunately his music is that good that it will live on forever.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with his tunes, they are, well, really fucking good. I haven’t actually used any on any of my freeform mixes, but that’s just because none have come out on vinyl – I’m a dinosaur. I only really started getting into his stuff over the last year, after Rampage Turbo 8 got me right back into freeform. Over the last year I have been devouring a lot of the newer freeform that I missed out on over the last couple years, and among the new crop of producers to have emerged over the last few years, Betwixt & Between was, for me, one of the absolute standouts, alongsideh Finland’s Substanced. His death is a big loss for the scene as a whole.

If you want to check out some of his tunes, Beezee’s Sonicrampage guest mix The Canticle of the Monomyth features his tune Phase 6, and PlasmaDancer’s two mixes for the Munted! Monthly! mix series also feature a lot of his material:

Finally, you should definitely check Betwixt & Between’s own mix for Munted! Monthly!

Betwixt & Between with Takashi Shinto – Out of Blue
Betwixt & Between – Wandering of Tankobuhesotaro
Vice Tek Heavy Industry – 3m3sys 3
Betwixt & Between – Ultra World 6
Betwixt & Between – Point of No Return
Betwixt & Between – So Sweet Bitter Days
Betwixt & Between – Zusammengehorigkeit
RANK 1 – Airwave (Betwixt & Between’s Hard Re:Boot)
Betwixt & Between – Tout est Bien (Sein zum Tode)
Betwixt & Between – Hydra (Long)
Betwixt & Between with Yukacco – Nothing Compares 2 You

RIP Kaoru Kimura

Join me this Friday at the opening of the Vinylpimp shop in Hackney Wick, East London. I’ll be playing from 7:30 to 8:30 (I believe) and I’ll be digging in the crates for some deep dubstep action, similar to what I put together a few months back for my Behind The Mask mix:

More words about this mix:

(This mix is) a bold journey into the depths of my record shelves for some of the choicest dubstep sounds, both anthemic and obscure …

Conceptually, well, there is no concept – I wanted to do a dungeon-style mix of my own, in the same vein as most of the dubstep mixes I’ve been listening to for the last year (like Widowmaker’s Winter Mix, which was featured here a few months back), so, per the process described in my diary of a mix I took out a big stack of records and then whittled them down to a svelte 23 tracks, which I then hacked together in just over 50 minutes. Tunes wise, the mix is deep, dark brooding halfstep for roughly the first 15 tracks before switching up into some more propulsive beats, finishing on a melodic note with the sweet synths of Zomby’s Test Me For A Reason …

I would say that dubstep, especially at the deeper end, is the perfect accompaniment to commuting in London, because, unlike some of the more manic forms of dance music (which, needless to say, I love!), it is, by nature, pretty meditative, which makes it an effective shield against the unpleasantness of commuting in London – the squashed bodies, the delays, the hanging around (it doesn’t help with the outrageous prices, though).

I hope you can join us!

Other dj’s:

Alex Celler (Cinematic, Cécille, Area Remote)
Miro (Sunday Muziq)
Jonny Rock

the view from my train home, in between Waterloo and Vauxhall

Happy Friday!

Hope you are enjoying the most recent fruits of my mixing labors: Eurotrash 4 (shout to the mighty Watchtower for featuring it yesterday!) and my acid mix for 7D The Seven Dimensions of Euphoria (split versions going live today).

As it’s Friday, I thought that I would catch up with new projects from three of the previous guest dj’s on Sonicrampage: Flip, Mejle, and Meke.

First up is Flip, whose 2005 Mentasm mix was featured back in early 2011 (and was subsequently highly praised by Plasmadancer on his invaluable Thank You For The Horse blog). Recently Eryk Orpheus uploaded his collaboration with Flip, The Gatekeeper, to his Soundcloud, and, well, it’s pretty epic stuff, if you like mental freeform hardcore. Ave it!

Next, on a (very) different note, is Denmark’s Mejle, the most recent guest dj to grace this illustrious collection of pixels that I call my blog. His guest mix last month was an excellent journey through many flavors of bass music, and this month he is back with another sweet selection, bashing through techno, electro, and dubstep with tunes from producers like Boddika, Mala, Icicle, and Trevino (amongst others).

Finally, Finland’s DJ Meke has returned with In Melody We Trust, a hard trance collaboration with Helsinki’s DJ Neon. Mining that early 00′s hard trance sound, if you love sharp melodies and hard kicks, it’s for you. Meke, has, of course, already appeared three times on Sonicrampage, with his mixes Nostrum tribute Nostrumo, his Old School Hardtrancers II mix in collaboration with Hamburg’s DJ Yoko, and his cheesey-yet-awesome old skool gabba mix Happy New Yearave.

Also, Meke’s collaboration with Sam Hard recently appeared on the (FREE!) Freeformatted compilation album. Go grab it!

So there you go, loads to listen to over the weekend! Have a good one …

My old skool London acid techno mix for the sixth edition of 7D The Seven Dimensions of Euphoria is now available at the 7d site. Go get it!

7D The Seven Dimensions Of Euphoria 6
Direct link to single mp3 version
Direct link to split track version

I’m particularly pleased with this mix. It was recorded in one take using nothing but vinyl, and I really locked in to the vibe as I mixed and cut my way through 90 minutes of some of the finest 303 abuse ever committed to wax. There’s something really hypnotic about this music, and I went deep into the zone as I did the mix, varying my mixing style from deep long mixes to quick mixes, moving through tracks seamlessly sometimes, whilst others working my way through with cuts and spinbacks, suddenly switching the basslines for maximum surprise. No simple segues for me! The mix itself slowly builds the intensity up from rolling acid to ravetastic warehouse stompers to fully-fledged squat-smashing mayhem, as the acid lines layer and layer and layer until you think your mind can’t take any more, only to find that things have gotten even crazier, and you just can’t get enough of it …

If you enjoyed previous London acid mixes from myself like Squat Rocking 2, Squat Rocking 3, and Pearsall’s Acid Test, then you will love this!

Special shout to Steve from 7D for offering me the chance to do the mix!

If you’d like a preview, here’s the first 30 minutes, as uploaded to Soundcloud:

Tracklisting: (titles in red are in the Soundcloud sampler)

01. Star Power – Renegade 303 (Stay Up Forever)
02. Trip Hazard – Army Of Shadows (Stay Up Forever)
03. Magnum Force – .44 Calibre (Stay Up Forever)
04. The Weathermen – Thunderflash (Boscaland)
05. Overrider – Tronic Rides Again (Hazchem)
06. Sergeant Steppa – Fade Away (D.A.V.E. The Drummer Remix) (Highwire)
07. Immersion – Rave (Stay Up Forever)
08. Chris Liberator – 23 Seconds & Counting (Routemaster)
09. Lab 4 – Reformation (Chris Liberator Remix) (Elementary)
10. Sarcoblast – Toxic (Routemaster)
11. D.A.V.E. The Drummer – We Aren’t The Robots (Smitten)
12. Artefact – Are You Jackin’ (Artefact)
13. Immersion – Right To Party (Prolekult)
14. Overrider – Timebomb (Choci’s Chewns)
15. Audio Pancake – Fuck Goa (Smitten)
16. Rebel Yelle – Affirmation (Stay Up Forever)
17. DJ Zebedee – Weirdo Magnet (Organgrinder)
18. Lochi – Element (Routemaster)
19. Paul Glazby & The Narcomaniacs – Acid Disco (D.A.V.E. The Drummer Remix) (Vicious Circle)
20. Secret Hero – Build Up The Pressure (Stay Up Forever)
21. Tarball & Lungbutter – Mindsweep Monofest (Bionic Orange)
22. A&E Dept. – And The Rabbit’s Name Was… (Stay Up Forever)
23. Parachute Radio – Slunghigh (Skyride)
24. Skank – The Future’s Dark, The Future’s Acid (Headcase)
25. DDR & The Geezer – Spades (C.O.S.H.H.)

Other dj’s featured on this edition of 7D:

CLSM (Breakbeat Hardcore)
Sc@r (Hardcore)
Echo Swift (Drum n’ Bass)
Wyrd The Cat (Electro Breaks)
DJ Mumbles (Uplifting Trance)
DJ Viperstar (Hardcore)
DJ Daft (Hardcore)
D-Tor (Hardcore)

Remember to like 7D on Facebook!

Here’s something interesting to watch: a 1997 Channel 4 documentary about Trade, the infamous gay after-hours club night that used to run from 4am to mid-day (and beyond!) at Turnmills in Clerkenwell. As far as the development of the UK’s hard dance scene goes, Trade was probably one of the most important clubs, if not the most important – it’s dj resident roster, including Steve Thomas, Ian M, Pete Wardman, and, of course, the almighty Tony de Vit, was pretty much a who’s who of crucial figures in the development of hard house. I never went personally (I’m straight and at the time I was into the acid/hard trance sound being pioneered at nights like Pendragon and Escape From Samsara), but Trade’s musical influence is hard to overstate. So from that perspective this is a fascinating look behind the scenes of one of London’s most important ever clubs, as well as being an interesting time capsule to 15 years ago, which, although it doesn’t really seem that long ago, kind of is.

In particular it’s quite amazing to think how quickly the popular acceptance of homosexuality has advanced over that time!

The documentary of course covers the scenes at Turnmills, but also shows the Trade tent at Gay Pride, as well as Trade’s tour events in South Africa and Mallorca. Plus the documentary also includes interviews with Trade clubbers, such as the gay fireman who celebrates his marriage to his (straight, female) best friend with a night out at Trade, and a couple hoping that the New Labour government would give the South African half the right to stay in the country, plus a few younger guys, including a teenage boy from working-class Braintree, Essex, who is struggling to come to terms with being gay. Needless to say, the documentary also features some vintage killer tunes, including ‘Underrave’ by The Disciples and ‘Let’s Rock’ by E-Trax. How often have tunes like that gotten an airing on British television?!?

A must watch!

Other Trade stuff to check out if you’re interested in finding out more:

Andy Farley talks Trade – An interview with legendary Brummie hard house dj Andy Farley about his memories of Trade as a punter and dj
Andy Farley’s Trade Memories and Andy Farley’s Trade Memories 2 – Two amazing sets of tribute mixes to Trade by Andy Farley, each containing eight (!) full-length mixes, building from funky US house through to pounding nu-nrg. Over 16 hours of incredible music. Don’t miss out!
Us Boys Together Clinging: One Night in a Gay Club – 1994 feature about Trade from Gay Times, reproduced on the DJHistory.com site. An excellent read!

So, a bit of exciting news – I will be contributing a banging acid techno mix to the next edition of the mighty 7D – The Seven Dimensions of Euphoria! To check out the previous mixes in the series, visit the 7D website (also, make sure you like their Facebook page too). There’s an almost comical abundance of awesome free mixes to check out. You won’t regret it!

Look for my mix a little later in the year, but for now here are a few of the acid bangers I’m thinking of including …

What say ye?

Yes, it’s that time again!

I’m back on Freeformaniacs this Thursday, where I will be very proudly premiering Rampage Turbo 12, which I whacked together in one frenzied hour of high BPM mania over the weekend (of course, being over thirty and a middle-class family man, I made sure to do so while my wife was out with my daughter at Gymboree, natch). The mix goes from M-Zone’s magical trancer Subsonic Mass to DJ Eclipse’s gabbatastic Energize in just under an hour … reach for the lasers territory, for real.

If you’re interested in my mix from the last round of Freeformaniacs, go grab Rampage Turbo 11, and you can grab the rest of the Round 3 mixes from the Freeform Forum here. To grab the Round 4 downloads (or at least some of them), go here. I’m going to try to have Rampage Turbo 12 up for download here by the end of the weekend, but no promises!

As ever, the show will be kicking off on Krafty Radio at 10am on Thursday morning.

In other Freeformaniacs news, the Freeformaniacs album Freeformatted is now available for free download from the Ruff Beatz site – check it out here.

Enjoy!