Archives for the month of: May, 2012
The Clairvoyants put together my favorite show on Rinse.fm – I’ve put together a lengthy interview with one of the members. Have fun learning about these dedicated fellows, and jump over to RA for their May 2012 “Top Ten” chart..
DD The Clairvoyants is a 3 piece, dj/producer group, which of you will be chatting with Disco Droppings today?
SBR Hi, as you say, The Clairvoyants consists of 3 members…
DD Every time I’ve caught your Rinse.fm show I get sucked in. You may have seen my shoutouts to the station while your on the air :] The pulsing beats and dark, throbbing atmosphere are something you can lose yourself in. Do you strive for these kinds of feelings and reactions to your show?
SBR Most definitely, compiling our sets is like a doing jig-saw puzzle and the tracks are the pieces so they have to fit together in tandem.
We try to look at the bigger picture we want to create, then select the tracks needed to create it, so each track we play whether old or new has a purpose and hopefully when compiled and mixed has the desired effect on our listeners.
It also liberates us from the monotony of being restricted to only playing the most recent top 20 hits week in week out.
What you described is our signature sound or theme…
Deep, dark almost hypnotic!
It’s definitely aimed at those who like to listen and are intrigued by sound. Sometimes it takes a couple of tracks to build up momentum but the aim is to have people fully immersed and lost in the sound for the duration of the show. A good indicator is whether you can remember the track played before last, try it… if you can’t then you’ve been sucked in and are under our control ha!
There’s a big screen on the studio wall with a live twitter feed running, which enables us to see people’s comments as they come through so thanks to everyone including yourself who messages in during the show!
DD I really enjoyed Roberto‘s guest mix from 3.25.12. How do you go about choosing guest dj/producers to showcase a mix? Are there certain labels who have been represented significantly through multiple artist mixes?
SBR The Perc Trax label has had a big input in the guests aspect of the show.
We’ve had Perc (Perc Trax label boss) up as a guest on more than one occasion, Truss who has released music on the label has guested on the show many times and we’ve also had Sigha as a guest who come to think of it has released on there too!
Affin a German-based label is another we’re building a rapport with…
Roberto whose mix you mentioned is affiliated to Affin as is Chris Page, who is due to guest on the show and Joachim Spieth (Affin label owner) has agreed to do a mix for us in the near future.
We’ve also had representatives of both the Hypercolour and EarToGround labels as guests on the show.
The primary criterion for our guests has been that they’ve been artists we feel and who bring something different but complimentary to the show.
With the show recently being extended by an hour we hope to utilize that time to feature as many guests as possible who meet that criteria and you’ll be pleased to know Roberto has agreed to come back again!
DD What’s it like at the Rinse.fm station? I imagine it constantly buzzing with activity..
SBR The office is situated by the studio, so in the day time there’s always something going on, different artists passing by etc.
They also have the Rinse academy taking place where 14-19 year olds can take crash courses in music production and radio presenting and obviously you have the DJs doing their shows. Things are more tranquil by the time we go there to do our show, at least until we start playing anyway!
DD Last words?
SBR Thanks to all at Disco Droppings on behalf of The Clairvoyants for taking time out to check out the show and getting in touch with us. Respect to the Rinse FM management team and a special mention to all the people who appreciate and support what we do!
The Clairvoyants – Soundcloud Facebook
– Jimi Jaxon
It was inspiring to go through Mosca’s catalog and just get enveloped by it. A search of his past interviews will show a focus on releases such as the Square One EP (Night Slugs), The Wavey EP (3024), and Tilt Shift (Fat City). In this interview, Mosca gives some sound advice for young producers, and chats about his new “Eva Mendes EP” set for release on Hypercolour this month.
DD Hi there Mosca, thank you for stopping by Disco Droppings. What are you doing right now?
M I’m on my way to a rave in Edinburgh then off to Helsinki.
DD You’ve created some astounding tunes, I won’t go back to these releases, but one thing I want to chat with you about is mindset and individuality. For all these young producers, who are genuinely interested in establishing themselves and contributing to the world of music, how would you challenge them? Many of the artists I’ve featured on Disco Droppings have incredible potential, and could learn from your perspective.
M I would say that the internet is a blessing and a curse. You know about the upsides, but it also means a trend is in one month and out the next, and it’s easy for people to send stuff they want you to hear, and write about the next big thing. It’s easy to get sucked into all that and I see people making identical music and playing identical sets. My advice would just be concentrate on music you love. So once you’ve read this blog, stop trawling blogs, stop facebooking, just immerse yourself in your own world of music. Put the time in.
DD In honor of this feature, i’ve included your “Sing” remix, “Nike (Club Edit)” and “Square One” in my upcoming 2 hour set on Cinco De Mayo. Many people in the audience may be hearing futuristic/unconventional club music for the first time. Do you remember playing specific shows where the crowd knew they were hearing something fresh and were ready for you to take them somewhere new?
M Generally the dances where the crowd doesn’t know the music are the dances that I clear floors at. It’s a slow process and maybe not as romantic as you’re making out!
DD I’m hyped on your forthcoming Eva Mendes EP for Hypercolour this month. Disco Droppings interviewed 214 aka J.Alvaraz, who has a forthcoming release on Hypercolour. Also, the Maya Jane Coles Essential mix from last year has been played sooooo many times in my car, I love sharing it with people. What do you find most inspiring about this label/group of artists?
M They know they don’t have to be Jamie Jones to get on in the house world.
DD Incredible that you worked with Robert Owens on “Accidentally”. This new Hypercolour release seems to cover the past, present and future of house seamlessly. Do you feel that?
M Robert Owens isn’t the past of house music. He’s as active now as he ever was, with DJing and performing as well as recording. I would say that yes, the EP is something along the lines of the present state of house music, but nothing more. There’ll be a lot more house from me, some deeper stuff, some techier stuff, as well as all the other genres I’m into.
DD Will there be a “Eva Mendes” EP launch party and tour on the way? Any plans to make it out to the west coast? Seattle would love to see you!
M I’m constantly playing shows so a tour is always happening, I’m always testing new Mosca material that people don’t know is me yet. But no plans for an Eva Mendes tour or anything stateside for now.
DD Last words?
M Nah I’m fine thanks!
Mosca – Facebook Soundcloud Twitter
– Jimi Jaxon
This weekend I’ll be driving over to Ellensburg to play 2 dj sets. The first will be for Central University’s 88.1 FM The Burg radio station, via the Friday “Electropolis” show. The show starts at 8, my set will go from 9-9:45, followed by a lil interview. If you’d like to listen in you can stream the show here. On Saturday there will be a monster party in conjunction with the “Show Us Your Shorts” Film Festival Competition, Bar Noir, and of course, Cinco De Mayo. I talked with good friend Cameron Jessup aka Laughing Fox about these upcoming events which he has organized. I’ve included some of the songs you’ll hear in these upcoming sets; tunes from James Arctic, Cedaa, Rubix, Mosca, Strip Steve, Thefft, Distal, Archie Pelago, Hxdb, Artek – all of whom have been on Disco Droppings, or may be in the near future.
Here’s a link to the event..
DD Hey Cameron. Happy to collaborate with you once again. You’ve been doing a lot over in Ellensburg..way back when we first met you worked on the college radio with your electronic show, then there was the “Hands” event, and now you do shows at Bar Noir. How is Ellensburg reacting to your efforts with electronic music now, compared to when you first started work there?
LF Things have really grown and developed since we last talked. I restarted a monthly dance night at a downtown art gallery, Gallery One, and the events have really taken off. It’s all word of mouth, and yet we still get a packed house of happy, dancing, drink in hand people. I am really enamored with what we’ve created, and its really cool to see the town responding to the event. Outside of what I’ve been doing, electronic music in town has really exploded. While I’d like to say I helped get the ball rolling, a new crop of students and promoters alike have taken it all much beyond what I would have expected this town capable of. Raw Space has a weekly dance party, there have been a few big parties at the fairgrounds, sponsored house parties, and more. It’s a really exciting time to be a head out here. It’s very diverse as well, you have some Top 40 going down, some dubstep, electro, the house/tech house scene that I promote – there is something for everyone now. Even USC Events has gotten in on the Ellensburg scene, as they are now sponsoring my Bar Noir partner Acropora’s radio show on the college station. It’s a great feeling.
DD Tell us a little about The Ellensburg Film Festival 60 Hour Short Film Competition and you’re new role with the festival..
LF The Show Us Your Shorts 60 Hour is a film slam where participants are given random criteria such as a prop, a narrative element like mistaken identity or a character who is two-faced, a few songs they must incorporate, and then they have 60 hours to write, produce, shoot, edit, and finish a short film. It’s like raving, but for filmmaking. Slam test your wits, your endurance, and your creativity, and result in some very fun and exciting shorts. I can’t wait to see what everyone came up with. Due to my new role with the festival, I took on the task of organizing the event and the Bar Noir after party. I am honored to be the new President of the Film Festival, and have been working diligently on getting films to put together create and engaging, inspiring program. I’ve also been working to secure larger sponsorships for the festival. In town there are alot of business who support what we do, but to take it to the next level, I want to get some corporate sponsors so we can get bigger films, maybe fly out some celebrities to make an appearance, and the like. It’s really been an exciting opportunity to lead and steer a film festival myself – Sundance, you ain’t seen nothing yet! :]
DD After the awards, Bar Noir will host a special Cinco de Mayo party featuring Laughing Fox, Acropora and myself with a 2 hour set. For my essential mix of sorts, music featured on Disco Droppings, new and forthcoming tracks from 7 Deadly Records and Car Crash Set + other tunes I’ve collected over the years will all be included. What’s this party going to be like? Will there be decorations?
LF The Bar Noir should turn out to be a wicked party. We had to take the month of April off due to a large art show that went down at our usual venue, but we’re pulling out all the stops to more than make up for it. I am stoked to have you out to Ellensburg again, and I think our crowd will love your stuff just as much as I do. Decorations will be provided by dual projectors showing behind the scenes looks at the making of the shorts from the weekend, some Latin inspired visuals, and more to create a real festive atmosphere. AND because the weather has really improved, we’re using the patio outside the gallery and will have it lit up with string lights and will have a fire going as well. Cinco this year is going to be a blast.
Thanks again for having me on your blog, and see you Saturday Jimi!
xo
– Jimi Jaxon
dd 