Daly Edits

Fast-rising deep house producer John Daly (Feel Music etc) has started a new blog called Doublewide Edits, where he'll be posting various sneaky re-edits and reworks he's done over the years. The first edit, of Santana's 'Bahia', is a rather nice piece of summery goodness. Head over to the Doublewide blog now to check it out:

www.doublewide-edits.blogspot.com

Incidentally, John's also just completed an excellent remix of Toby Tobias' 'The Feeling', which should be out on Rekids shortly. Keep an eye out for it!

Bank holiday craziness

Just a quick few lines to thank all those who made it down to our best before: Bank Holiday bash at Timbuk2 in Bristol on Sunday. It was arguably one of the most atmospheric, electrically-charged parties we'd done - despite the crushing, last-minute news that our headline guest Andy Butler (from Hercules and Love Affair) had cancelled due to record label commitments in New York.

Obviously we were gutted about this, and the last minute notice we had gave no time to source an adequate 'headline' replacement. In the end, though, it all turned out fantastically well, with nearly 350 people (pretty much capacity) joining us for a memorable party. Both the main room - decked out with a suspended balloon ceiling, complete with flashing lights inside selected balloons, mirrorball and strobe - and second room were rocking throughout the night. In the second room there were brilliant sets from Al Dare, The Kelly Twins (who once against proved they're amongst the best party DJs anywhere) and Bernie & James L, who finished the night off in riotous fashion. Meanwhile, major props to Placid and Legendary Tone & Dan Donnachie (down from Leicester for the craic) for playing brilliant sets in the main room. Yours truly finished off, playing a mix of classics and unknown gems. One particular bloke was so appreciative of my selections he gave me a full-on kiss. It was that sort of night!

Thanks again to all those who headed down. We'll be back with more big parties later in the year, and will be continuing our residency at The Bank. Watch this space!

Come Feel Space

This Thursday (17th April) sees the launch of I Feel Space, a new night for Bristol dedicated to all things cosmic, Italo and discoid.

It's the work of a group of DJs and music enthusiasts headed up by SugarTits (or Carlie Dragone as some of us know her) and promises a mix of quality music, fabulous decor and proper disco hedonism.

For the first party, yours truly is the guest. I'm hoping to kick things off with a bang - expect a mixed bag of tricks from across the disco spectrum, with a few Balearic bits thrown in.

For those of us in the West who've long complained about the lack of nights (best before:, Tricky Disco and TAPE excluded) playing this kind of music, I Feel Space is an exciting development. I'd encourage everyone to come down and support it - it is only four quid in after all. Full details below…

I Feel Space presents Cosmic Disco
Thursday 17th April @ Native (Small St, Bristol)

Cosmic, Italo, nu-disco, jackin' techno and shimmering electronics with DJs

Sell By Dave (best before:/Tricky Disco)
SugarTits
Tina Turntables
James L (Wriggle/Wonky)

10pm-3am. £4 door tax. Decor by Fraser Cook ("bringing the exhibition to the club and the club to the exhibition")

Saturday night fever

Just thought we'd drop by a mention a couple of things happening in Bristol tonight, for those who fancy heading out for a few beers and a bit of a dance.

First up, there's the latest instalment of our weekly residency at The Spotted Cow in Bedminster (139 North St - formerly 139 Degrees North). As usual, it features Thumbs Aloft behind the decks, this time joined by our good friends The Kelly Twins. For a special treat, we've also roped in the Futureboogie DJs (Joe 90, El Harvo and Steve Bongo) for an extended session of pub-disco fun. It all starts around 9pm, and goes on til 1 ish. Should be a blast.

Bedmo Disco @ The Spotted Cow
Saturday 12th April 2007. 9pm-1am.

With DJs THUMBS ALOFT (Pointless Edits), THE KELLY TWINS (UFO), JOE 90, STEVGE BONGO & EL HARVO (Futureboogie)

Also taking place tonight at the intimate Tube venue on Unity St is We Don't Play's fourth birthday bash. We Don't Play is the brainchild of former Replay Records man Ben Parker, alongside Snafu, Kasparov and others. To help them celebrate four years of party-starting fun and frolics they've invited TAPE founders and best before: ressies Richard Carnage and Puffin Jack to play. Those who attended the best before: fourth birthday bash in November will know just how good these guys are when smashing it out in party mode, meaning this should be a night to remember.

We Don't Play @ The Tube
Unity St, off Park St, BS1. 10pm-4am.

With DJs RICHARD CARNAGE & PUFFIN JACK (TAPE), BEN PARKER, SNAFU and KASPAROV + surprise guests

Whatever you get up to this weekend, have fun :)

Hip hip hu-rave!

It's been bleedin' yonks since we waxed lyrical about some top forthcoming releases, and it's about time we put that right. So, without further ado, here's some thoughts on new, forthcoming and classic music we've been digging lately here at TD Towers...

Surkin - 'Next Of Kin E.P' (Institube, France)

The prize for the biggest surprise of the week goes to French scenester Surkin, whose previous releases have been championed by lots of people in day-glo face paint, tight jeans and sunglasses. Indoors. Cynicism aside, his forthcoming 'Next Of Kin' E.P (out on Institube on May 26) features a cracking old skool banger in the shape of 'White Knight'. Sounding not unlike Inner City on steroids, it's got a deliciously authentic 89/90 kind of feel – think 'Big Fun' riffage, soaring synth strings and rush-inducing pianos. Thankfully it keeps the predictable French filtered beats and sub Ed Banger synths to a minimum, instead showcasing a cut-up-to-buggery vocal sample from Sir Piers' 'Special'. It really is rather good, and we're pretty sure it's going to be massive. Incidentally, the rest of the E.P is pretty bog standard sub Justice fare, with 'Next Of Kin' sounding like a needless re-hash of 'D.A.N.C.E'. Still, one out of four isn't bad.

Gameplayer - Beirut Disco (Gameplayer, Belgium)

Next we'll turn our attention to more traditional Tricky Disco fare, and a pair of cheeky edits/reworks from Ghent's Fredo & Thang, residents at the city's Make-Up Club (currently co-owned by Dirk from Eskimo Recordings, and one of our favourite clubs). They're terrific DJs, by the way – open-minded mash-up merchants in the mould of the Glimmers – and have now made the leap into production. Their first 'hush hush' 12" is due to drop any day now on their own Gameplayer label. The lead cut, 'Beirut Disco', is the killer. Somehow, they've managed to turn a strange, gypsy influenced folk track from New York's Beirut into a record that works on the dancefloor – all sympathetic beats, nagging organ and dubbed-out effects. When the original vocal, bassline and fiddle drops, you'll be dying to sing along. It's very good, and sounds ace in a club. If that wasn't enough, they've gone all Balearic on the flip, extending a particularly blissed out Henri Texier track. Good work, lads.

Henrik Schwarz & Amampondo - I Exist Because Of You (Innervisions, Germany)

This has been getting plenty of play from house DJs we like - not least Innervisions boss Dixon - and it's easy to see why. The original 'Henrik Schwarz Live Version' is lush, soaraway deep house with a surprisingly good 'world music' style vocal. And marimbas. In true Henrik Schwarz style, it's a good ten minutes long, but packs in a lot of action. Hell, it's even got a great bongo breakdown and a super-Balearic build. Dixon provides a chunkier, stripped down edit that concentrates more on the superb bassline, spun-out riffs and vocal. Another great Innervisions release, all told. Excitingly, the next release on the German label is rumoured to come from Laurent Garnier, which is said to be "very old skool". We can't wait to hear it.

Michocan - Opiate Opus (Tiny Sticks, UK)

Not sure when this is out, but it's been stuck on our hard drive for a few weeks so it must be soon. While it's not the best Tiny Sticks release we've heard (and they're usually very good), it's still worth a listen - not least for the druggy analogue vibe of Michocan's nu-disco original. We'd recommend heading for Nick Chacona's remix, which continues his recent trend of fusing MDMA-friendly nu-disco with floor-friendly house. He's been in good form lately, and this is another fine rework. Most playable, and gert lush to boot (as they'd say down Bedmo).

Mental Overdrive - You Are Being Manipulated (Smalltown Supersound, Norway)

Mental Overdrive man Per Martinsen is arguably the granddaddy of the Norwegian nu-disco scene, having been knocking out electronic music - both on his own and with partner Aggie as Frost - since the early 1990s. In fact, he used to work as an engineer for R&S Records and released a number of Euro-techno numbers for the legendary Belgian imprint. Over the last few years he's put out odds and ends on his own label, Love OD Communications (named after one of his R&S tracks, fact fans), as well as contributing bits and pieces to Smalltown Supersound and Prins Thomas' Full Pupp imprint. 'You Are Being Manipulated' features some of these well-known nu-disco gems ('Spooks', the bass-heavy 'Original Material' and his genius electro-disco cover of Iron Maiden's 'Run For The Hills') alongside a series of bleep-heavy weird-outs, analogue housers and deliciously wonky disco gems. One track, 'The Rage', sounds like Lindstrom & Prins Thomas after too much ketamine. It's rather fine all told, and out towards the end of May. We'll be having a chat with Per later, so expect a wee interview up here sometime soon.

Fabrice Lig - Puple Raw Part 1 (Versatile Records, France)

When Versatile boss Gilb'R came and played for us in Bristol a few weeks back, he enthused no end about this E.P, telling us Fabrice had put together a record that had "out Detroit-ed Detroit". Having scurried away to check it out, we have to agree. Lead cut 'The Track' is particularly good, sounding not unlike the Motor City's finest with a subtle European twist. It's techno with soul – the sort of thing Carl Craig would make if he was a lovetorn Parisian dreaming of a honeymoon in space. Lig has been making some great music lately - his Soul Designer rework of Chymera on Delsin being one superb example - and has a new album on the way. We can't wait to hear it. Incidentally, B-side 'The Riff Pourpre' is also superb, this time taking a more midtempo electrofunk approach. Proper machine funk, basically - we like. It's out now, so head over to your online record store of choice and check it out.

Disco Deviance - Don't Let Go/Ivan [PH Edits] (Disco Deviance, UK)

Following hot on the heels of their recent Ashley Beedle edits 12" comes another double-order of disco edit goodness from the Disco Deviance camp. This time round, the edits are provided by Pete Herbert (though we didn't tell you), who takes time out from LSB and Reverso 68 duties to serve up a pair of summer sizzlers (yes, we know it's still spring). Choose between the sweet, midtempo Balearic disco of 'Don't Let Go' (all shimmering orchestral sweeps, semi acoustic guitars and chunky bottom end) and the strings-n-analogue bass of the equally E'd-up 'Ivan'. Reach for the sun! Again, we've not got a firm release date, but expect 12s in stores in the next few weeks.

Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Backyard, UK)

It seems that the indie kids, hipsters and plastic nu-ravers have finally cottoned on to the genius of Chromeo. To be fair, it's taken a while - when we first started championing the duo (both in our sets and in the music press) they were still signed to Turbo/V2 and seen as something of a novelty. It's great they're getting recognition at last, though we could do without the endless stream of kiddie-friendly student rave remixes Backyard are serving up. This "official single release" of 'Fancy Footwork' features remixes from Guns 'N' Bombs (rock-rave cobblers), Kissy Sell Out (actually not atrocious, but still dubious), Crookers (Jesse Rose goes bassline house - actually better than it sounds) and Russ Chimes, whose recent mix of Sam Sparro's 'Black & Gold' was thoroughly rancid. His version of 'Fancy Footwork' is an odd beast; starting off sounding like a mid ’80s Solar System release (think the Whispers or Midnight Star at their poppiest), it eventually turns into a screeching mess of electrohouse synths. Ouch. Not quite nul points, but Backyard, for chrissakes get some good remixers!

Right, that's enough gibberish for now. Expect more soon though :)

Super Flight and heavy Hercules

First of all, a quick apology for the lack of updates recently. As some of you may know, things have been a bit hectic at Tricky Disco HQ, what with numerous best before: parties, work commitments and an office move. Things have calmed down a bit now, though, so expect a rash of bits and pieces soon - interviews, new mixes (at last) and random reviews of interesting new music.

Saturday night saw a big joint best before: & UFO event down at Timbuk2 in Bristol, with Chateau Flight's Gilb'R headlining on his first visit to the West Country. Thanks to all those who braved filthy weather to make it down (and there were plenty of you!) – it was a memorable party with fantastic moments aplenty. Gilb'R himself was superb, showcasing his undisputed skills as a DJ with a set that impressed our resident house and techno nerds and kept an initially reticent dancefloor happy for the full two hours. The number of "randoms" made his job harder, but he overcame it by seamlessly moving between deep tackle, techier bits, European techno, Detroitian sounds and some springy, Fulton-esque offerings. He varied his pace and never went full throttle – something that always impresses those of us who think you don't have to bash things out to get the dancefloor going. Gilb'R seemed to enjoy himself, and hopefully went back to Paris with a favourable impression of Bristol.

Elsewhere, there were brilliant second room sets from some our favourite local DJs - Andy Clarkson (whose P-Funk/electrofunk/Miami bass selection was inspired), Powercut & Lingo (perhaps Bristol's best funk and hip-hop DJs these days, and that's some feat) and Joe Hart. The latter's set was a particular delight, since he managed to keep a rammed room dancing like mental freaks to some of the most obscure freestyle, Miami bass and stone cold electro around. Once he'd done our own Kelly Twins took over, smashing the place up with a pure party set that was a joy from start to finish. I was practically sober (it's a long story) but was jumping around all over the place. Legendary Tone was loving it, too - and it was his birthday (though he kept it quiet). Happy birthday boss!

A good night all round, then. We do it all again this Friday at the Bank, this time with a couple more of our friends from Bristol's club scene. Freejive main man Jambo and Seen/Club Dave heavyweight El Harvo (fresh from supporting Crazy P out in Australia) are the guest selectors ready to make the pub rock. It should be fun.

There's also the small matter of our Bank Holiday Sunday bash at Timbuk2 on May 4th. We can now officially confirm that our guests of honour will be Tricky Disco faves Hercules & Love Affair. Before you ask it's not the band - it's main man Andy Butler with one of his trademark DJ sets. He's a great selector with a fantastic record collection (he counts Derrick Carter and Daniel Wang amongst his musical mentors, so you'd expect nothing less), and I know he's looking forward to finding out just how fun and raucous it can get in Bristol. He'll be moving from disco to acid house while throwing in all sorts of other weird and wonderful delights. Expect big things! Completing the line-up are under_score's Placid, Byte's Al Dare, Bernie & James L from Wonky/Wriggle, and the usual best before: residents.

Tickets for that one are on sale now priced £7 plus booking fee. They're available from Bristol Ticket Shop, either from their store at the Galleries in Broadmead or online.

TD Rants: The Observer Music Monthly

Is there any more frustrating music publication than the Observer Music Monthly? I'd argue not. While knee-jerk reaction bibles like the NME have always been upfront about their preference for the new over the old, the OMM likes to pretend it's both down with the kids and up with the dads (or should that be the other way round?). The result is an awkward mix of Q/Mojo style dad band interviews (U2, for the umpteenth time), genuinely weighty music journalism, Guardianista coverage of urban music ("wow, this new thing called dubstep is amazing" etc) and the odd blast of I-D/Face-ish Nathan Barley-ism.

Of course, we'd expect nothing less from a magazine that comes with a Sunday newspaper, whose audience spans several generations (students and teens at one end of the scale, aging baby boomers at the other). But that still doesn't excuse its poor coverage of dance music, which it seems to see - like many mainstream music publications - as devoid of musical merit. On the rare occasions the OMM does cover dance/electronic music, it usually does so badly. Witness Miranda Sawyer's rambling nu-rave rant last year, which started off by defending dance music (making similar points to this piece, ironically) before wandering off into a celebration of the throwaway nature of dance music. Damming with feint praise, basically. Aside from these sorts of opinion pieces and the odd review, electronic music is pretty much ignored - unless, of course, they can get some pictures of Shoreditch teens wearing silly clothes out of it. Touche.

It was interesting to note that yesterday's edition of the OMM proudly predicted that 2008 would see "the return of the Bristol sound". Their justification for all this, of course, was their cover feature with Portishead. On the back of the release of their forthcoming album - and those by Tricky and Massive Attack - the OMM boldly predicted a big year for "the Bristol sound".

There is no doubt that all those album releases are big news, and it is great that Bristol's most famous artists are returning, but the city has not been a haven for stoned trip-hop producers - or even particularly hip-hop producers - for the last half decade at least. If the Observer Music Monthly did some digging, they'd find that the Bristol scene is as healthy and vibrant as it's ever been - and that no-one sound dominates. Our dubstep producers - most notably Pinch, Appleblim and Peverelist - are renowned the world over, the city's techno community is thriving (see Emptyset and others), we boast some of the best grime and garage DJs and MCs around (Joker, Blazey) and drum & bass is still big news. Hell, we've even got a small but dedicated community of disco nerds.

2008 does feel like a big year for Bristol, but it's not because of a few million-selling artists who haven't released records in donkeys. It's because we have some of the most exciting, up and coming producers around, a gaggle of dedicated DJs and promoters, and a massive student population. If anyone from the OMM is reading this, we'll happily fill you in - come on down to Bristol and we'll show you around.