Friday, 22 February 2013

Indiscriminate 2012 top 10 1s....

Well  2012 is but a distant memory, however some of the tracks that shaped 2012 for me , do not fade very easily at all. Here is my top 10, not in any order at all, with each track as equally good as the next, with merits for all included. I've included a handy playlist via youtube so as that all ten can be played in one handy link at the bottom of the post... so in no particular order...

.....John Digweed is one of those DJ's that will deliver tracks time and time again, this is no exception and having heard this at Bedrock on the Thursday before Easter as he smashed the XOYO crowd, it c certainly had a lasting effect on me and echo's that great techno is house sound that he delivers to crowds week in week out.



Digweed once more proves his sequencing prowess with a lovely release from the massively sucessful - Live in Cordoba album in early 2012, this destroyed any dance floor which it was played on. This always brings a smile to my face when I hear or play it and never tire of this dark dirty building smasher of a track. 



Carrying on from the sucess of Paneoh's earlier track in the year, this is yet again another great track with that nasty techno base sound, released on Digweed's last album - Bedrock 14 a sure fire smasher!! 



To say Charlie May is underrated is in itself a truly underrated statement. His technical and musical knowledge as a DJ and a producer under his other guise as Spooky is unmeasureable. Working with Sasha over the years on many tracks and collaborations with his talent equating into one too many superlatives.  

For me this is ever present in delivering immense tracks with that lovely Progressive sound, that perforates you audio senses from start to finish which cannot be described, but felt. The remix of Fringe packs many a punch, yet more than I can comprehend, just goosebumps say it all for me, I am sure you will agree.



By chance I heard a short set on youtube from Sasha at  Paradiso Beach club, Greece and to say I was impressed was under statement of the highest proportion. Sasha constantly forward looks where others do not and he delivered yet another awesome snapshot of tracks in his sets & mixing. 

For months I had this track on repeat as delivers that chunky edgy baseline that energizes any crowd into obscurity and then some. Its techy, dirty sound guarantees casualities on the dance floor time and time again, nothing comes close to pulsating the slowest of heart beats, yet again Crosstownrebels deliver!!!



Going to Renaissance 20 in Leeds back in April with Sasha playing was always going to be special and he did not disappoint, smashing Leeds early on to deliver a lovely set, to warm the night up from the very start. This track packs a meaty punch without the nasty progressive or techno sound, just some lovely well delivered tech house from start to finish.



2012 was full of talk of Sasha's imminent release of Involv3r, however while he was  mastering and working through the sequencing/release of tracks for the album, this lovely remaster of Hot Chips - Flutes came out which hit the heights and just carried on and on, even till the end of the year when he smashed it at the Loft for 8 hours, playing this lovely gem...



I don't recall where I first heard this, possibly from a Sasha at Voyeur in San Diego early on in the year, however with that slow build up it makes you want more and more each time, definitely a meaty set builder, something that shows its quality from start to finish...



With every genre there is dilution and  new direction to form something new and to deviate away from Progressive into the more darker sound, to  deliver even more punch well I didn't think it would work, but it does!! 

However almost a year on, the Dark progressive sound from the likes of Moshic (absolute stalwart DJ) and many others have followed suit,  is that all I can say is that the deviation is well received and long may it continue on.

For all those that like a hard edged progressive sound, this is for you!!



Last but no means least is another favouirte from Mr Digweed, once more proving and confirming why he is at the top of the ladder, his sequnecing and prowess knows no bounds. The remix by Art department brings this lovely production to the top time and time again, showing with a great track and a great remix comes a great dancefloor smasher.



Well a top 10 filled with all my favourite tracks from 2012, with more knocking at the door to get in. As usual, too much great music and not enough time, for anyone wanting to listen to all 10 in one hit, I have added them into one handy playlist on youtube, cheers Paul :D

TOP 10 playlist


Saturday, 16 February 2013

Where it all started...part1

Most people never remember where great things started thankfully for me I can... for me it goes back to Christmas 1987, with money burning a hole in my pocket, I decided (what felt I right) to purchase my first ever step into House music from the now defunct HMV, oh how the good olde days were good, however these days are just as good, just different, so began my journey!! 

However DJ'ing only goes back about 3 years or so when I bumped into the illustrious Mr Knight in Leeds one Saturday afternoon. After the seed was sown a few months later, all bets were off and I was addicted to the whole musical experience (start to finish).

When you first hear a track you love and just want to know straight away what it is, no matter what how, where and when!! Then its a battle for that all important ID, queue... google search, beg, steal and borrow!!!

So after many many hours, lots of frustation, deliberation, advice, coaxing and all round encouragement, I found my feet. 

Listening to music takes on a whole new dimension when you DJ as well, as you want people to evoke the feeling that you have, every time you hear that special track and to feel the same way when you play, well I do anyway!! (it always will be the way, for me)

 With the technology nowadays selection or sequencing is paramount and it can be seen in so many super ficial "DJ's" who don't play for the love but for the money playing throw away music, quality will always trump substance.

So in no chronological order whatsoever from last year of any kind here are all my past and present DJ mixes from 2012, with an introduction of any kind to let you know what I was thinking and my influences or state of mind....

Paul Ross Vs John Digweed - Live in Cordoba

As a tribute to John Digweed's Live in Cordoba album released back in April 2012, here is my take on the great album with some Jody Wisternoff specials thrown in and sandwiched inbetween to deliver a pulsing mix from start to finish.  



 TRACKLISTING:
  • Francys - Crossing the white line (gorge interpretation) 
  • Yooj - Madamemoiselle (Martin Buttrich remix) 
  • Philip bader Nicone/Sascha braemer - Dantze boy 
  • Guy J - Fixation 
  • Tweakers - Subatomic 
  • Rodamaal feat. Claudia franco - Insomnia (Ame remix) 
  • Maetrik - the entity 
  • Jody wisternoff - Lassoo 
  • Oliver Leib - Helios 
  • Paneoh Punto - des control 
  • Zoo Brazil - Slob (nick curly remix) 
  • Agoria feat. Scalde - Singing (Dixie Dub) 
  • Sirenize - Everybody 
  • Slam - Eterna (John digweed & Nick Muir remix)
DOWNLOAD        



Paul Ross Vs John Digweed - Bedrock 14
Another take on John Digweed's last release album of 2012. Bedrock 14 wasn't as immense as the previous release back in April, however it had, as always Bedrock albums do some  top drawer tracks. 

I managed to back fill the end of my mix with some Bedrock back catalogue gems I have just been waiting to use and the right time....sit back and enjoy.



TRACKLISTING:
  • Trezz Intro 
  • Paneoh - Vetabom 
  • Dousk - Mute 
  • Amber - Anyway (Steve Porter) 
  • Digweed & Muir - Raise (Electric rescue remix) 
  • Electric Rescue - Stucked ship 
  • Robert Babicz - Eastside 
  • Solee - Resistance 
  • Christian Smith - The Judgement 
  • Pig & Dan - Crazy 
  • Digweed & Muir - Aquatonic 
  • John Digweed - Warung Beach (Kiki remix) 
DOWNLOAD        




Reverse Coagulant
This mix for me was a long time coming, however the results were definitely worth it, with inspirations from Sasha and Charlie May with a stellar remix along with some nasty's from M.A.N.D.Y. and a track given to me by a good friend Erik Bruce, many thanks mate!! My particular favourites are the Charlie May remix of Fringe and Subb-An... so sit back and enjoy a progressive techno smasher...



TRACKLISTING:

  • Stellios Vassiloudis - Hit the lights 
  • Subb-An feat Anomaly - Misleading 
  • DYNO - Fringe 
  • Tahloula - We play house (M.A.N.D.Y. Sweatbox remix) 
  • Daniel Dexter - Storm 
  • Booka Shade - Honeyslave (Club Mix) 
  • Erik Bruce - Dub for the man 
  • DYNO - Fringe (Charlie May remix) 
  • Ferdy - Computers in Space 
  • Orbital - New France (Tom Middleton remix) 
  • Agoria - Singing (Dixie Dub) 
  • Edu Imbernon - Vitange 
  • Silinder - Second Thought
DOWNLOAD   


January is the New October
All good things come those who wait and this was a bit of an overspill from 2011, something that took longer than planned whenever I am sequencing a mix. It features some lovely tracks from Charlie May & Pole Folder with my personal favourite coming from Robytek, typically a full tilt progressive smasher.



TRACKLISTING:
  • Erphun - Paradise Cursed (Pole Folder remix) 
  • Mezza Luna Vs Felix Cage - Blizzard (Pole Folder northern mix) 
  • Robytek - Sun 
  • 16Bit Ladytron - Destroy the murder weapon (slinder mashup) 
  • Charlie May - Homecoming (Sasha & Nakov remix) 
  • 2rahmwohnnung - Wir Werden Sie (paul kalbrenner remix) 
  • Fecc - Summer night story 
  • Henry Saiz & Marx Mezenit - Radiance (King Unique remix) 
  • Stephan Barnam - Karted 
  • Carlo Lio - Purple Soul 
  • Niggeman & Poppcke - L'Aurara
DOWNLOAD



Sundown Sundays
A summertime project that morphed into something bigger than I had originally planned when I first set out to do a downtempo mix for the summer sunshine whenever it decides or decided to appear. Seen as though I have so many tracks it was hard to cram everything in I love to listen to on a summers day, but I think that it does justice to lazy mix for those horizontal days.

Influences were drawn from an old cowboy western film score, Buddha bar, Cafe del mar  and a few GU30 gems thrown in I never tire of on any day of the week and a few other spectacular laid back gems.  So find yourself a cosy corner, curl up and enjoy some blissed out beats to ward off any winter blues or welcome a sunny afternoon soak in the ocean.



TRACKLISTING:
  • Ennio Morricone - Man with a harmonica 
  • Ramp - Everybody Loves the sunshine
  • Willaim Orbit - The story of light
  • Lonely Planet - Aurtas
  • Deadbeats - Feel good
  • Deepak Ram - Kitu
  • De Phazz - The mambo craze
  • Tripswitch - Strange Parallels
  • Zen Men - Une table a' trois
  • Cinematic Orchestra - All that you give
  • Cloud - Voyance 
  • Joey Fehrenbach - Being around you 
  • Zohar - The merciful one
  • Jai Uttal - Guru Bramha
  • Coldcut - Autumn Leaves
  • Symbiosis  - Spiritual Technology
  • Nightmares on Wax - Nights interlude
  • Sabres of Paradise - Haunted dancehall
  • Ver Vlads - Crazy Ivan 
  • Ennio Morricone - Farewell to Cheyenne
DOWNLOAD



Techno is House
 John Digweed once said that "techno is house" and he couldn't be on the money, for me house music has evolved massively to what it is today, with Techno inter wound into the fabric of great electronic music. So having spent the start of the Easter weekend in London at Bedrock, I hot footed it back up to Leeds for Renaissance 20th birthday with Sasha smashing it from start to finish.

Having experienced Digweed and Coe at their best I was inspired to sequence something of worthy equal and out came my mix for April with some floor killers from Cid Inc, Eelke Kleijn & Gabriel Ananda however my favourite track is from Cormac destroying the Bedrock dance floor on the pre-Easter Thursday, just proving Digweed is the man!



TRACKLISTING:
  • Erphun - Still crazy
  • Mohrr - Dirty Feet (Cid Inc remix)
  • Joseph capriati & Adam Beyer - Congenial Endeavour
  • Cormac - Narcosa (Jennifer Cardinis Visonquest remix)
  • Electric Rescue - Lili
  • Hall North - Levinas (Soulwerk remix)
  • Gabriel Ananda - In between
  • Aragorn - Nightshift
  • Marco Bailey & Tom Hades - Stars & shines
  • Andreas Hermanasson (Inkfish) - Detriot
  • Eelke Kleijn - Papillion
  • Luke Abbott - Brazil (slow version)
  • Microtrauma - Reflections
  • Phillip Bader - Dantz Boy
  • Alex Niggeman - Don't wait (Moodapella dub)
DOWNLOAD


The Edge of Oblivion
More of the same really, a full on, full tilt, full fat 2 hour techno mix. During the summer I took part in a  24 hour marathon of music over a weekend featuring 6 DJ's from England and 6 from Holland, which came together as one big great weekend broadcasting across the interweb.

For all those that like their techno, well this one for you non stop from start to finish.. 



TRACKLISTING:

  • Erphun - Still Crazy
  • Detroit Grand Pubhahs - Nvrsaynvr
  • Slam & Gary Beck - Verto
  • Alan Fitzpatrick -Always something for nothing
  • Secret Cinema & Kalden bess - Bam Bam
  • Dustin Zahn & Edit Select - Tunnels 
  • Joseph Capriati & Adam Beyer - Congenial Endeavour
  • Adam Beyer & Alan Fitzpatrick - Human Reason
  • Marc Romboy -The overture (Egbert remix)
  • Maelstrom - USSR
  • Joseph Capriati & Adam Beyer - Rubicon
  • Alan Fitzpatrick - Xenomorph
  • Miki Litvak - Pollinator (gary beck remix)
  • Bodyscrub - Kalnedula (miniminds remix)
  • Paolo Mojo - All night alright (Manuel  de la mare remix)
  • Andrew K - The doppler effect (Max cooper remix) 
  • Marc Romboy Vs Stephan Bodzin - Triton (Gaisers Trial tone remix)
  • Minolgue -Space (Radio slave Panorama Garage remix)
  • Alter Ego - Why not (Tim Deluxe remix)
  • Einmusik - Atl Antis
  • Bushwacka! & Just be - West side (Christian Smith & Webbha remix)
DOWNLOAD

Part 2 to follow for 2011 in the next month or so, feel free to comment on any of the mixes, cheers for listening and enjoy Paul :D



Friday, 25 January 2013

January from me...

Well its 2013 and as Rob said things are changing for the better, new year, new projects and new events in the coming months too come. One of the biggest changes of 2013 is how we deliver our monthly mixes.

From now really until the death of our Soundcloud account reverts back to standard we will be publishing all our mixes, along with that all important tracklisting here on this blog, along with a handy player and a download link, what more could you ask for, certainly not Soundcloud's expensive and over bloated eye saw of a platform to deal with.





















For me the end of 2012 was somewhat quiet and an even quieter start to the New year, however like Rob the rest of the year will start to gather pace with two events in the bag already, Bedrock Easter party... and Involv3r release party which has been one of the most anticipated events in the last 12 months.

Later in the year, theres a good chance that myself and Rob will check out ADE 2013 in October, as I seem to think we have promised ourselves on than one occasion, not to mention the ever mad Awakenings event just to see how the dutch smash it up!!!


Myself and Rob will be making the journey down to the capital ( I will be there from Thursday evening for Bedrock) for a full on weekend smashing up Easter right from the very start, here's one of many suspected Involv3r tracks, but we will only know come Easter Saturday at Gaunt Street.



This months and first mix of 2013 was inspired by a visit to York for New Year, a truly great city with even better company, even if the weather wasn't the greatest, so sit back, relax and enjoy a Deep House bonanza to soothe away those winter blues away...



 Tracklsting:
  • Mario Basanov - We are child of mine (mekanism remix)
  • Chris Malinchak - These dreams
  • Kaiserdisco - Menon
  • Slideshow Park - Shining (Phonique remix)
  • Mario Basanov - Up
  • Freakme & HunterGame - Sea of Love
  • Phonique - Vincent Price (Dub)
  • H.O.S.H. & Mistress Barbara - Finally mine (gorge remix)
  • Solumun & Jamie Woon - Shoulda Watching you (Steve R Edit)
  • Human Woman - Delusional (Gus Gus intrumental)
  • Booka Shade - Numbers (Club mix)
  • Gus Gus - Within you (Veiran Dub drop)
  • Roland Clark & X-press 2 - Let Love decide (Art Department remix)
  • Luke Abbot - Brazil (Slow version)
Download        

cheers for listening and see you on the dance floor, Paul :D

Sunday, 20 January 2013

January 2013 - Newyear Entry for Rob2Paul

Hey Folks,

Happy NewYear




Well went to Hardtimes, Music was outstanding, big thankyou to all the Hardtimes folks, Leeds was awesome, here is the moments I captured,





Robert Owens played a really good session on the decks and also smashed out an epic live PA session, great part about this for me was that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture a full 6 mins of the actual Live act, simply awesome,  Owens was really in the zone...





Next on for Hardtimes is a trip to London for the 3 Kings, not sure if I can make that one yet but never say never, found out last week that Danny Krivit will be at the Warehouse in Leeds in February, which has got me very excited indeed, well who knows what will happen before Saturday but this will be a good night for sure :-)






















After Christmas and into the new-year then it started with a bang, a few new tunes from some of the early Sasha sets, deep house was all a wash and after watching the sets from Never Say Never Sasha was on the prowl again once more, getting ever closer to that release date for the Involv3r Album sometime in the new-year I had the pleasure of playing a gig with Lee Softley of Blue Amazon and Convert Recordings.
















Lots to look forward to already then, the Retro Scene is still booming up here in the North as ever and it was nice to See a local Lancs lad from up this way burst into the limelight after he became an internet sensation with his keyboard and piano classics, nice work there Davos, most people have seen the footage by now I guess but for those that have not here it is again, In addition there is another bit of footage I found on the tube, amazing what people power does...... :-)






This post below was put out by Davos when things started to gather pace and the media & sun newspaper got involved....

Davos - Makes it Big - Read More..............





The next Retro party  is already proper planned and looks very well organised tickets are about all sold! its  at the Musiquaruium a retro night with Brad Kells @Joy loads going on in Leeds, this is a smaller venue and I have heard great things.

As I attended some of these nights I was not a regular at these events and it will be a good opportunity to see this one in full flight, Looking forward to going over and support Brad the Joy night  February 23rd, and do a write up.





But until then, Paul & I decided to travel further out towards the coast and I got the call to play out in Scarborough for my birthday with Lee Softley (Blue Amazon) Nic & Toby from Method and it was a really good positive gig, nice to see so many new people and have a good old smashup in North Yorkshire :-)


















In Scarborough I was lucky to have access to the Funktion One at Vivaz, and it was lovely to meet up with various people from Leeds and locally in Scarborough, Ian Ossia is to play next month, should be a good night again and already a buzz about Renaissance when Ian Ossia is in town love it!!!  :-)


Lots to look forward to then already and its only January.

In other news both Paul & myself had some big discussions before Christmas with our music subscription to Soundcloud, and we have worked together on a project to consolidate and cut our losses, as personally we feel that it is an over-hyped, overpriced piece of crap which everyone seems to think is where its at, but after discussions about prices and what you are getting for your money, the hideous new layout and all the downtime it has, we are gonna pull the plug on Sound-cloud as our main music provider, no doubt we will have a basic account with about 3hrs or so, but in the main it will all be found here to listen & download, with track-listings and other stuff we might like to share, Fuck Em, we are gonna have a crack at doing it ourselves... :-)


Also it would appear from the Copyright issues we have been getting after posting a mix on Soundcloud even when all the tracks have been purchased, it suggests they don't want DJ's on there really which is a bit rubbish so another reason why we are kicking it in the bollocks and leaving it for dead....







Below  is an article about Soundcloud also which makes for interesting reading and set the ball rolling a few years back when we saw and first started experiencing this awful service, what is even more annoying is that people are actually selling likes and can for a fee get you so many thousand plays on soundcloud, well we don't need it, and deffo would not pay for it either, in a word absolutely shocking enjoy the article below... ;-).....


Why You should   NOT    Use Soundcloud



Well enough about the Sound Cloud negative aspects and on to other news, January sees the Launch this week of Nick Warrens Entry to the Renaissance Masters Series


I have already put out a Renaissance Masters Series Mix from the last batch of tracks by Hernan Cattaneo which were absolutely superb, Below is my entry which I managed to upload onto YouTube without too much Hassle over Copyright however it is blocked in some countries??? but here you go!






In Regard to the new Nick Warren mixes & tracks me and Paul have spoken briefly about this and I will keep giving it a listen, as the first part is very sound garden and down-tempo, this I would definitely say is a signature mix of Nick but got to give it some more ear time, I have now all the tracks and will do some mixes of my own soon enough and post


The other part of the Mix on CD 2 to which I have not checked out yet are some clips below, its more upbeat and a lot more like the Warren we know I guess if you did not know about his Sound-garden sessions,


for more on this latest release see here:



Well what do you know! I just found out this week that the Garage in Leeds have the pleasure of Andrew Wetherall and Leeds own Ralph Lawson, so I decided to buy a ticket, its been many years since I have seen Andy Wetherall & last saw Ralph Lawson Play with Sasha @Basck2Basics at Victoria Works in 2009 so it will be a fantastic night can't wait for this one :-)




Always loved some of Britain's finest DJ's and these two are amazing live, Wetherall has a new Album coming out early February too here is a cut from it...




I love all the eclectic taste of Andrew Wetherall, here is a recent mix that he did on the BBC live at 6 series....





Ralph Lawson over the years has delivered some quality productions and as a Leeds Back2Basics Resident he has played some really fantastic parties there and in London, here is a Mix I particularly liked from we love Space in Ibiza always plays great sets both in the UK and abroad....




well if that is still not enough for you I have just uploaded the Live Set I did in Scarborough for Method @Vivaz....





Well below is the Mix and there is also a link if you would like to download it also, track-listing is included for you to mull over Enjoy folks.


Tracklsting:
  • 1.Good Love Sweet Love (Shadow Child Remix)
  • 2.Her Song
  • 3.Back to Basics (GR1N Remix)
  • 4.Flashmob - NInety Five (Dirty Channels Remix) (D. Gudinin
  • 5.Layo & Bushwacka! - Raw Defined (Aidan Lavelle Remix)
  • 6.Calling Me [School]
  • 7.Graffios (Wehbba Remix)
  • 8.Everything feat. Meggy (Mark Fanciulli Remix)
  • 9.Regrets We Have No Use For feat. Name One (Original Mix)
  • 10.Lazer Beams (Original Mix)
DOWNLOAD LINK
So I might See you about somewhere Stay Safe Folks..... Enjoy the music
Rob 2013.......... :-)






Tuesday, 13 November 2012

A Night with Sasha at the Loft....


Sasha flyer at the Loft

Well to say this was the most anticipated event of the year (for me anyway) when the event was posted way back in July is an understatement to say the least. 
After Bedrock 14 the other week,  I was all firing on all cylinders and eagerly awaiting what was going to be a monster  night with Sasha on the decks for a whole 8 hours from start to finish,  something that I don't think will be repeated for some time....!!!!

The day started way up north in Leeds when I met Rob at Leeds station Saturday afternoon and we set off shooting down the M1, full tilt  Mika Hakkonen style in a snappy Hyundai i30, we made great time getting to the end of the M1 in just 3 hours, but in true London style got clogged up in Saturday early evening traffic, queue one detour west and then  south-east on the A40 and we finally headed towards South East London.

  As we were picking up Jody, we had a pit stop in Vauxhall and I can say is, never try and pick someone up from Vauxhall bus station with that ever delightful  ring road and mad traffic coming from every angle.Rob got out to meet Jody, I continued on 30 metres or so and stopped at the lights,  next thing I saw was Rob hot footing it through 4 lanes of condensed traffic... Jody on his coat tails.... doors open chaotic scenes and they both jumped in,  utter madness!!!!! 

We  finally got to our destination an hour later in south east London (Tulse Hill),  after the odd misdirection and wrong turning, queue me going down a red bus route and going through a red (oh fuck it) light, but it would shape the night and day oh yes indeed!!!
      Once we unpacked  and I finally got a beer in my hand, we eased into the evening with Lee (Blue Amazon) and had some pre-Sasha warm up "festivities" to get the night started truly in the mood for the man like later on.

As the night warmed up we finally left and headed towards North West London, however once we got on the Victoria Line, it went all pear shaped, so stage exit Brixton station and we managed to commandeer a cab to North West London, for what would be the final leg... once we arrived in NW10, all I can say is that its somewhat industrial and doesn't feel like you're in London,  but I didn't and don't care.

We eventually found the Loft Studios, kudos to the taxi driver, but  honestly it looked like from the outside as if it was  someones house, with a monstrous Funktion One sound system pulsating out from the walls. Once we got in it was full steam ahead up through the courtyard and up some rather precarious metal stairs, what we met was  a rammed warehouse style  room, dark, dirty and full on with Sasha smashing it 2 hours in...


      
 After hot footing it to the bar (queue open heart wallet surgery£5.50 for a can of cider or £16 for two vodka and mixers with a  bottle of water!!!) we headed  back the front of the club almost we were met with this, Sasha smashing it up right from the word off, even if we were 2 hours late...as Sasha smashed the Funktion 1 sound system, the floor of this dark and dirty warehouse bounced and any second you felt like you were going to fall through the floor as it bounced the fuck up and down, certainly a good way to go if you have too. 

What I have noticed at the Loft and at Bedrock is that the crowd certainly know their music and it was awesome to have some many like minded people there, for one thing and one thing only.... getting twisted with Sasha smashing  it all night long, mind you as always you get the odd baseball,  facial haired twat walking round being an absolute tool, but thankfully they didn't last long to ruin anyone's night!!!


From the moment we settled into Sasha's blistering set at the less crowded part of the dance floor towards the back,  it was plain to see that we were going to have an immense night, with Sasha's twists and turn smashing everyone's mind, body and soul with each track he played. His set began for me (around 0030)

and it drifted into tech house with killer tracks sending the crowd crazy begging for more, each time slowing down the next track set before pushing the boundaries into Spooky/Charlie May esque  territory and killing everyone with that Funktion 1 sound system time  and time again,  it just sent the crowd and myself that bit more messy, deeper into oblivion!!!! :D





In true Sasha style he did play some of the supposedly Involv3r tracks, but as we all know it still remains a mystery,  however there was Hot Chip - Flutes (sasha remix) along with Benjamin Damage and Doc Deneeka -  Battleships,  Kolsch  featuring Troels Abrahams - All that matters and possibly Thermal Bear - U love (Sasha remix) if my hazy chemical mind set remembers!!!



Minutes slipped into hours and the night got better and better, musically and atmospherically with each twist and turn and honestly I didn't want it to end for numerous reasons  but it did.

As the end approached, we had the usual last track which was Moby - Wait for me (Paul Kalbremner remix) from 2010 if my memory serves me right, mind you I would of preffered some edgy tasty Charlie May smasher to end on a massive high, but it  did end for me and everyone else who was there at the end to finish off an amazing night from start to finish. All I can say is anyone who missed it, missed out and you missed a night never to forget!!!



 For for all you train spotters (myself included)

some of the tracks from the night have already been ID'd  and some featured in this blog, I have included all my 15 videos from the night in one handy playlist on youtube  so you can enjoy them all in one hit, but just for the record here is just a small selection of what was played and has been ID'd:-
(Big thanks to Rob & Lee for the ID's)

Finally a big shout to Rob M, awesome to meet you mate and hopefully see you at Warehouse Project in Manchester in December once more for Sasha and too Sue Kend...(yes I remember your surname :D !!! ), top girl and had a great night, hope to cross paths again!!!



  A night with Sasha, it certainly was!!!! For anyone missing out, you can check out the official photos here!!!!!!!!!!

Something I found just the other day, a lovely tribute mix to those 8 hours of bliss....

Sasha @ Loft Studios, London, 10th November 2012 - Tribute Mix by DJ Jim Barker by Dj Jim Barker on Mixcloud


Cheers Paul  :D


2012 - Leeds is it Retro Heaven or Retro Hell....



After a Fantastic Year Really what with the Radio and Going to Parties, Doing a bit on the decks, meeting lots of Clubbers and Like minded music people I thought that I would write an entry on the Retro Scene as lots and lots here in the North of England (Leeds) Especially that I have witnessed and been a part of, has left me at times, feeling all sorts of things, and if anything gets the debate going at least...

Those who know me will know that over the years I have done my fair share of clubbing as has many other people and I am not so unique I guess, that said one thing that I have had the pleasure of doing over the years is give myself a wide area to travel both up & down the country to enjoy clubbing experiences and in the main I have enjoyed those times and met many people.

Being married for 10 years, I have still managed a few gigs here and there and the music has never left me really, the explosion of the internet uploading to the cloud etc, and more intuitive music software has brought me bang up to date with the scene as it is or as we experience today and I am loving it, however I am not sure about the city scene and how it has changed over the years,

One thing I have noticed is, yes! its true we have all got older and wiser but we are judged upon what we have in terms of Stuff, what car we drive and the size of our house what we wear, rather than what we do with our spare time, thing is we used to all go out and not have a care in the world get twisted and have a really good time week in week out, so what has changed? is it still there?

As we all have access to mobile phones and what kind of phone we carry is important, back in the day we were lucky if someone had a house phone at the end of our call box we used to put 20p in to get in touch with them, there was no social media, if I recall in the latter part of the 1990's I did however have a Motorola Pager which I could pick up text messages... Nowadays there is information on demand and at the touch of a button, social media can create events and draw people into it using groups etc, but with all this technology life has indeed become more complex, from managing a bank account to running your life these days, we are tired and time poor, through the medium of Television, and the internet we are forced down a road to encourage us to like a particular band, DJ (Guetta) song, person Car etc, etc.. I am not feeling the buzz like it was either, the anticipation of a party, looking forward to getting out there like it was before or am I?

I see also now all these secret location parties, its a wash, and we all know where they are too, so not that much of a secret everyone knows where the fucking venues are ffs!, the scene has changed. All on Line too much information we need more parties and more music, less ego, one of the worst things I have seen this year is, if you sell 100 tickets you can DJ... Absolute joke. I'm a DJ not a fucking promoter that's your job...Sad part is this is happening everywhere not just Leeds.

When we went clubbing way back when there was a real sense of community, people would meet up from all over the country up and down at venues to see top DJ's as they were at the time, and have a good smash-up and a chat about this mutually exclusive scene we were all part of was very special to us. the parties were talked about for weeks after the likes of Blackburn, Rickys, Leeds Warehouse (Hipnotic), Kaos and Hard Times, Hot To Trot, Renaissance, Shellys, Quad Park, Ronsons, Back2Basics & Rulin... basically all over the UK, stuff was happening every weekend, and folks were loving it... Leeds was no exception and living there at the time, many a happy year was spend in Clubs at the weekend busting moves and getting twisted. So what has changed?

As I I see it, life has become more complicated, many people now believe that what they did years ago was just a phase and they cringe at the idea of a 30-40 + somethings gathered together jumping up and down making idiots of themselves, many people these days think that they are beyond it also, I have had some very arrogant responses from people who once appeared to be cool, who have moved up the corporate food chain so to speak, almost making out that going out to raves is very childish and I should grow up, what I find more bizarre is people just watch mind numbing shite on the TV and then tell everyone about it on Facebook, needless to say I have no TV license nor do I watch TV.

All this information and an apparent demand for the Retro Scene brought me closer to it in 2012, I don't know whether I was curious as too how big it is, or that I just wanted to see if it was done right. Either way I attended a few gigs in Leeds hooked up with a few folks, and basically I can see to a certain extent why the top DJ's don't really bother with it, as Leeds right now is just plastered with Retro nights, mixes and has a real following, for me I find it very limited in scope for progression really, and feel its like pop music and pop being the operative word, from what I have seen there is no real place to take it on further. The Same old faces, and tunes that have just been re-edited and if I am honest It does don't really do it for me any more or Does it?

Seeing some of the famous Duo's and Trio's and live performances were however a real eye opener this year, a good example of the PA was KKLASS Feat. Bobby at the Leeds Warehouse earlier in the year, Fantastic stuff they really nailed it, likewise seeing Shades Of Rhythm proved that they are really talented as musicians and were a joy to watch, but the other end of the spectrum had to be the DJ's and what has become very messy, mediocre and very similar in both Style music and technical ability.

At some Retro nights I have attended no longer am I seeing a Legend behind the decks, moreover an old man who thinks that he is better than what he is/was, and some of these guys are laughably arrogant to go with it. As an Example Andy Carroll a so called Legend! has to be the worst DJ I have ever witnessed in 2012 let loose on a pair of 1210's it was an absolute shocking performance in my opinion but maybe that's how it was back in the day. Who am I to argue, but from a clubbers point of view in these times I would never spend my money to go see that, its not entertainment its Rubbish! And there are better DJ's out there.


On the more positive side there has been however some really Fantastic nights at the Leeds warehouse which has encompassed some absolutely astonishing results, Hardtimes whilst is a bit of a mix of both a Retro night & House music and some of the newer house style has been simply Jaw-dropping, what they have achieved so far is fantastic a Legendary Retro club. To me this is like George Foreman Retiring world Heavyweight Champ, then 20 years later coming out of retirement and knocking out the Champ of today, leaner & meaner, well in the House & Garage Scene anyways.


Hardtimes still is the best house night about, its well organised, respected, and it has a very loyal following up North and the DJ's are simply stunning, early in the year David Morales kicked it off and was one of the best DJ's I have seen working a Funktion One Sound-system in the way that he did holding a track down then exploding upwards into mad piano styles & vocals, sat here thinking about it gives me goosebumps! cutting out the bass then driving the mix forward and working the mixer was of the highest order, Old man or Not (David Morales) is one of the finest DJ's about even today an absolute class act.

Hardtimes Followed this up with more wizardry with Louie Vega, that night was phenomenal, again some of the drops from Vega were quite upfront and techy in parts, but DJ skills above & beyond anything I have seen locally, just what the doctor ordered, that party was talked about for weeks after, Simply Brilliant. Louie Vega... Leeds Salutes you! Come Back Soon:-)

Even the Resident DJ's are awesome, Jason Shaw has re-introduced me to Vinyls in a big way and I have the utmost respect for the way he just does an outstanding job on the 1210's every time, the best thing about Jay is he bloody loves it :-) one could say that the records he plays are timeless, well here is a great example, I salute you Mr Shaw I think your achievements are massive with this here's to many more parties :-)



Again I would say in my opinion that whilst Hardtimes kind of falls in the retro clubbing category, there is so much within the Doors of a Hardtimes gig, that there is something for everyone, its where old vibes meet new vibes, meet new sound system with Premier League DJ's banging in goals right left and centre time and time again.

Leeds is proud to have these nights and I hope it will continue for another 20 years and still brings the same love and joy as it did in the past and in the future parties. Top Leeds House DJ - Paul Murray played the Back Room @ HardTimes absolute quality every time I see him play :-)

One thing I have found is that many of the Vinyl DJ's really know their records, and it is lovely to see that Vinyl is still a very deep in the veins of Leeds, Seeing some of Buckley Boland's collection in the Back of a 7.5 tonne amazed me... I would have no where to put it other than storage vault, also Craig Roberts (leeds) has a Whopper of a collection I once had the pleasure to see and look at all the sleeves, some were falling apart but the memories they must hold, the platters they have been on, the smell of clubs and stains of spilled Red Stripe all still apparent..

The Vinyl DJ's this Year have been fantastic live, Steve Luigi in the retro area for me is always a good show man, always worth a look. This year also Respect goes out too to Garry Dabill (Leeds Lad) who happened to be in the right place at the right time in the Warehouse, when he was smashing the shit out of it on the 1210's in his element tune after tune blinding house set, folks were singing along and Garry was really in his element, these are the best kind of moments when organically it just happens and the room is full & focussed! - Garry D has played at Up Yer Ronson in Leeds along side another friend of mine Jamie Garry, who is simply a smiley happy fella when you talk about music...

Here is Mr Garry Dabill in action... Bloody Great Stuff. Garry really made a lot of people happy that night and some say to be bloody lucky to be exactly in the right place at the right time, never the less it was an awesome sight, Classic House Music well done Fella! :-)




Okay So Still on the Theme of Retro this year we attended Renaissance "R20" Held at the Vox Eiger Studios in Leeds, not advertised as a Retro gig, but what a night, Sasha in the main room, and a Renaissance Classics room with Dave Seaman & Ian Ossia B2B, naturally a blog of its own has been written and acknowledged by Renaissance also. The night was simply stunning Clubbers gathered from all over the UK, there has since been gigs at the VOX which have just not had the people, I think if I am honest, Sasha was in town on the R20 night which pulled a massive following, but what happened in the Back Room was Legendary, Dave Seaman & Ian Ossia B2B simply Jaw Dropping Stuff, this was talked about for weeks after, the night only came to an abrupt end, when someone took Dave Seaman's headphones off him, (He was not best pleased)this was simply a brilliant night.

Back2Basics in Leeds has also been up & running some fantastic Parties, however I have not really partied with these guys, lately, but have been watching their efforts very closely, what they have achieved in that small club the Garage (Leeds) which has now won awards for best small club & best club in its category all in 8 months or so, Brilliant.

So I have have come away with a lot of respect for a lot of people here and Retro for me is Pure, for me it has to be the original beats on the original medium which in this case pains me to say it, but Vinyl is king every time, I hope the new year might bring some more vinyl DJ's back together and I think its something we do both need to keep alive and I have a massive respect for,


To Conclude...

Never Classed myself as a retro DJ or wanted to be Pigeonholed as one either, looking at the music scene though over the last 20 years, the greats like Todd Terry and Frankie knuckles - Terry Hunter CJ Macintosh amongst others are in my opinion the Masters of the House music Scene.

Todd Terry - Brilliant fella and very Humble, if I say totally one of the boys no ego just party and music, this guy has a lot of love for Leeds too.



Stu Allan - Very Good DJ Technically and is the Real Deal, it was great to meet him at the Warehouse Leeds, Stu does well on the retro circuit simply because he is good at it, very similar in ability to Ian Ossia in the way that they are clever talented DJ's technically, I rate both these guys as they are no bullshit just good at what they do!



I am now 40 I have had the pleasure of seeing most DJ's over the years, and its great to get out and attend these parties, but for me and retro, No Edits Re-edits - just as it was back in the day, the future of retro has a massive following I think and I predict it will follow the Ska and Northern Soul Scenes with a real sense of community Vinyl Power and DJ's that keep it real,

Simply Stunning Moment at Hard Times, Got a Lovely message off Julie McKnight about this track, lovely lass...Brilliant! :-)



So as I said I am not a retro DJ but I have compiled a Set for you from some old Vinyl and CD's if I were to play retro stuff from 1992/3-4 etc it would be house & Garage every time. In Addition this is just to thank everyone at Hard times for bringing back to Leeds the Best House Music, DJ's & Masters the planet has ever known, Cheers! :-)



If you are wondering what to do for new year, this will be the best party by a long chalk, see you at the front....



Happy New Year Everyone Remember House is a Feeling......!


































Friday, 24 August 2012

In the Leeds Warehouse Quadrant for a Northern Uproar



Hey Folks.........

Been very busy lately with music projects and a house move but I was offered an opportunity that was just too good to miss, A real Blast from the Past a few weeks back, I was invited to Liverpool to meet a few of the DJ's that will be gracing the Warehouse Decks in Leeds on the 8th September for the Shine Indie Rave.

Lets see, hmmmm Quadrant Park, I was a very young lad then indeed and rumour had it that you had to wear a tie to get in and there was a strict door policy, only went twice I think, but the Quad was a fantastic atmosphere and laid the very foundation of what was to come later in terms of super clubbing for Liverpool which was Cream, had many a night in there too met up with loads of folks from the old quad days.

But this was special a Warehouse on Derby road near Bootle, would see thousands spill down there to party every weekend, I was very privileged to have visited in my clubbing career, one occasion was to experience the main man Sasha at one of the first ever UK all-nighters, Sasha was the man... :-)

The sheer volume of people proved that this was without doubt a very special venue and project a musical journey that would echo through the years and still bring a smile to the faces of people that had the pleasure of being part of it up & down the country, The quad was no secret either Hitman & Her used to broadcast from there too in the early days, as was the Hacienda & Ritzys in Leeds.

And the memories of meeting up at the Services on the way back to Leeds was always a feature and I still often think that these service station meetups were the first after parties for me, I used to gravitate to a vehicle which was playing some beats I liked, people dancing in the services was always apparent, used to stay for ages.

So back to the day in question, I am in Leeds early Saturday and I Pick Micky up, Leeds United are playing at home so there is traffic and supporters everywhere, we set off for the M62 down toward Liverpool, chatted on the way about the old days and of the fantastic nights of old, having been to the Quad a few times myself back in the day it was nice to converse about those good old warehouse days of glory, convoy of cars going down to the Quad, Blackburn & the Hacienda etc, also talking about the indie bands around at the time, and discussing the DJ Prowess of Stu Allan as we both agreed that he played all over the place in Leeds back in the day.



So we eventually get to liverpool and not getting lost at all lol we head for the car Park which just so happened to be called? QPARK, as we entered the carkpark I could not help but wonder if both Mike Knowler & John Kelly would know how this carpark got its name, maybe the Owner used to go to the Quad too years ago.....lol





So we made it and grab a beer a piece and catch up with Mike & John for a chinwag & rare & random interview session for the up & coming Shine gig at the Warehouse in Leeds on the 8th September, two Legends of House in the UK, and such lovely people, with a passion for what they do best, unfortunately the Quadrant Park boys are a trio and we were missing Andy Carroll who was playing over in IBIZA @Space, I was informed later that he would be flying back to do the gig on the 8th, so all was cool with that :-)



So the interview was very random on our part, but the passion for the Quad that both Mike and John had was still very strong and you could tell just by talking to them that they had and still are enjoying every moment of it,



they went on to explain about how Quadrant Park got together and how it all started back in the day, who the original DJ's were how the club worked and how the Allnigher came about and where people came from all over the UK.



and also how the Quad Park reunions are going as they have done a few over the years in places such as Wigan & Blackburn to name a few,



And soon to be Leeds Warehouse, to Quote John Kelly, "If you really want to get a taste of what the Quadrant Park is all about, Come down to the Warehouse in Leeds on the 8th September"



Just to give you a sense of what Quadrant Park Used to be like back in the day here is a snippet of some footage I found, which indeed truly captures the Spirit of the club and experience that is Quadrant Park....



Okay at this point I will sign off here as I have more work to do....I will be back soon to update this as I have been privy to more interviews for artist on this one next stop will be Stockport for Northern Uproar.... Keep Checking back for updates soon.... Peace.xx