Wez G - Little Disco Biscuit (DJ Set)

Wez G - Little Disco Biscuit

The best time for dance music in my opinion was the early 1990s. It was the heyday of the Rave Scene and dancefloors were packed with sky high dancing bods. The reason I like this period is not that the floors were filled with ecstasy takers, but that the music was at its peak. Dubby loops of bass and funk with a constant circular rhythm in the tents and clubs drove the E'd up crowd into a frenzy. The beats suited the experience of everyone - It was total unity and I think that over the years as the government has killed off the scene with various parliamentary acts (eg Criminal Justice Act 1994) and the total media frenzied attack on ecstasy, claiming it killed you, and the general shift towards commercialism and business, moved the music towards a different direction. Of course, post 1997 - even the dealers were selling ketamine and calling it ecstasy...It's as if the disco biscuits disappeared overnight. I think on the music front the DJs forgot the buzz which caused the whole vibe and we saw a scattering of genres and pigeonholing and musical snobbery... Well - a couple of decades on from that and digging about on Beatport, I noticed a trend back towards the old style music. Loops of bass hooks and that driving groove have reappeared. It's that old Italian sound which is so inspiring. Now most of it seems to be categorised as techno or deep house... but it seems the same old stuff that DJs from Laurent Garnier to Easygroove, from Carl Cox to Sasha, all used to bang out.

In this mix I've cut up a few old tracks with the new flavours plus slipped in a special edit from a live Universe Rave that took place only a few miles away from me in Magor in South Wales in the summer of 1992...

In the news recently there have been claims that Ecstasy cures cancer 100% guaranteed so maybe the pop idol generation will be ditching X-Factor, slipping on their shiny shirts and getting back to a diet of disco biscuits... Who knows? As long as good music thrives and Simon Cowell goes bankrupt I don't mind one little bit.

TRACKLISTING:

1. Vangelis - Blush Response [East West]
2. Joe T Vannelli - Prelude (Scalambrin & Sicily Island Style Remix) [Le Bien Et Le Mal Recordings]
3. Larse - For Real (Original Mix) [Noir Music]
4. Alain Ho - Into A Deep (Hot Toddy Remix) [The Exquisite Pain Recordings]
5. Brigante, Ali Love, Luca C - Different Morals (Original Mix) [Southern Fried Records]
6. Alexis Raphael - Kitchens and Bedrooms (Richy Ahmed vs Volante Mix) [Lower East]
7. Ribn - Save Me (Vocal Version) [Mild Pitch]
8. Pig & Dan - The Path (Original Mix) [Balushi]
9. Mark Henning, Den - Sin City (Original Mix) [Soma Records]
10. Brooklyn Friends, Satoshi Tomiie, David Morales - Obedience (Original Mix) [Nite Grooves]
11. Rhymos - Ivory (Original Mix) [Sintope Digital]
12. Nush - Nush (Sasha & MC Joe Peng Universe 1992 Excerpt) [White]
13. Audiojack - Mind Games (Original Mix) [Gruuv]
14. Nathan Barato - Sex (Bubba Adults Only Remix) [Roots And Wings Music]
15. Gregor Tresher - Lights From The Inside (Dosem Remix) [Break New Soil Recordings]
16. Jody Wisternoff - Vintage (Original Mix) [Anjunadeep]
17. Dilemma - In Spirit (Biff 'n' Memphis Mix) [FFRR}
18. Vangelis - Blush Response [East West]

http://djwezg.com/djset47littlediscobiscuit.html

Wez G - Island Hop (Chillout DJ Mix)

Wez G - Island Hop

http://soundcloud.com/wezg/wez-g-island-hop
http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2011-01-13T11_26_10-08_00
http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/Island+Hop

A few years ago I went Island hopping in the South Pacific... It's great fun, a perfect paradise... This soundtrack is ideal for lazing away on a yacht, checking into the beaches, diving in coral reefs and catching a bit of surf... OK - It is winter, but in the South Pacific it's always hot and Snow White Winter Chill (my previous chillout mix) was received well so I thought it about time to treat you to some more mellow vibes... There are sounds across the board with Bristol represented by Portishead, Thievery Corporation and Röyksopp among the big guns, and a Chris Rea bootie chucked in also... It hops from a calm 90bpm up to a full flow 132 bpm, towards the end. It's a perfect soundtrack to the start of your weekend as you prepare to go out somewhere nice. Tropical Island bliss with Wez G... Keep Hopping!

1. DJ Pippi - On This Island (Original Mix) [Extremely House Music]
2. High Low - Midnight Sun [Lovely Mood]
3. Lux - One Hundred Billion Stars [Hed Kandi Records]
4. Thievery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde [4AD]
5. Portishead - Sour Times [London Records]
6. Krystian Shek - Hentai Bus [UTC]
7. Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle [Lucky Number]
8. Chris Rea - Josephine (Chris Coco Edit) [White]
9. Ost & Kjex - Have You Seen The Moon In Dallas? (Maurice Fulton Remix) [ITH (Defected In The House)]
10. Electribe 101 - Talking With Myself '98 [Manifesto]
11. Alejandro De Pinedo - Capricorn [Cafe Del Mar Music]
12. Groupo Do Brasil - Beach Of Love (Lounge Cafe Del Mar Version) [Audio Lotion Recordings]
13. Mystic Diversions - Calling My Mermaid [React]
14. Thievery Corporation - The Heart's A Lonely Hunter (featuring David Byrne) [Esl Music]
15. Röyksopp - In Space [White]
16. Trafik & Tricia Lee Kelshall - The DIfference (Orchestral Reprise) [Global Underground]
17. Chicane - Offshore (Ambient Mix) [DanceNet]
18. Al-Pha-X - Mi Corazon [Bar De Lune]
19. Late Night Alumni - Beautiful [Cassagrande]
20. UNKLE - In A State (Sasha Mix) [Global Underground]

http://djwezg.com

Wez G - Spinning Around in the Sky

Float off into some loopy tech here as I guide you on a UFO's journey through the house music galaxy. As a DJ and indeed on the dancefloor it is often difficult to stay grounded. The Music Lifts you Up, it takes you high. Music is the drug that unites us all and takes us into ecstasy. Fly high and let your head spin to the sounds of Wez G.

1. Way Out West - Tales of the Rabid Monks [Hope]
2. Slam - Variance (Original Mix)
3. Love Tribe - Stand Up (Narcotic Mix)
4. Layo & Bushwacka - Now Is The Time (Emerson Todd Remix)
5. Fuse - Dimension Intrusion (Layo & Bushwacka Fuze Remix)
6. Slam - We Doin' This Again? (Original Mix)
7. Gui Boratto - No Turning Back (The Mole's MMD Mix)
8. Julien Chaptal - Mamdaye (Original Mix)
9. Steve Angello - Monday (Original Mix)
10. Melleefresh vs Deadmau5 - Attention Whore [Mau5trap]
11. Saeed Younan - Backroom Honey (Original Mix)
12. PQM - The Flying Song feat Ciara (Renaissance Remix) [Yoshitoshi]
13. UNKLE - In a State (Sasha Mix)
14. Shpongle - My Head Feels Like a Frisbee

:::BUY VINYL::: @ http://plastic-music.co.uk

http://soundcloud.com/wezg/wez-g-spinning-around-in-the-sky
http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2010-01-07T22_00_38-08_00
http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/Spinning+Around+in+the+Sky
http://www.mediafire.com/?hgmndthmhzq

Wez G - Shaman of the Tribe

Wez G - Shaman of the Tribe

In ancient times, every tribe had a shaman who was the medecine man and spiritual leader of the community. Often under the influence of locally produced drugs such as Mescaline or Ayahuasca or Iboga, in ecstatic trances, the shaman would bring back from the spiritual world key knowledge that would help his fellow tribesmen. As society developed, so did organised religion and the shamen were locked up and kept away as 'madmen' while priests and vicars served the rulers and books took over from the ancient medecines. In recent times we have seen club culture develop and society has taken an about turn. Banging to the beat of a shamanic drum, DJs have taken the place of the local choirs as people seek to trance out in the company of others in raves and nightclubs. We have gone full circle and today's shaman is the DJ. Welcome to a mix of tribal sounds from the 21st Century. Go into a trance and in your state of bliss remember the ancients...

1. Blue States & The Adi Tribe - Hello Kombai [Kensaltown Records]
2. Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Foxbase Beta Mix) [White]
3. Primal Scream - Loaded (Terry Farley Re-Mix) [Junior Boys Own]
4. Cosmic Boogie - Railroad Man (Ashley Beedle's Soul Train Edit) [White]
5. Black Science Orchestra - New Jersey Deep [Junior Boys Own]
6. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy (Kamouflage Loves Fred remix) [White]
7. Last Rhythm - Last Rhythm (Tom Middleton Mix) [White]
8. Armand Van Helden - The Witch Doctor (Eddie Thoenick remix) [White]
9. Bon Jovi - Living on a Prayer (Denis A remix) [White]
10. Little Boots - Earthquake (Sasha remix) [679 Recordings]
11. Denis A - Heaven [Plastic Music]
12. The Luna Project - I Wanna Be Free (Original Factory Mix) [White]
13. Adam Freeland & The Suri Tribe - Kin [Kensaltown Records]
14. Hybrid & The Suri Tribe - Komoru [Kensaltown Records]
15. Moodswings - Redemption Song [React]

:::BUY VINYL::: @ http://www.plastic-music.co.uk

http://soundcloud.com/wezg/wez-g-shaman-of-the-tribe
http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2009-12-16T16_11_38-08_00
http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/Shaman+of+the+Tribe
http://www.mediafire.com/?z0iyjnennzd

Wez G - On The Road

Wez G - On The Road

‘… one night we suddenly went mad together again; we went to see Slim Gaillard in a little Frisco nightclub. Slim Gaillard is a tall, thin Negro with big sad eyes who’s always saying ‘Right-orooni’ and ‘How ’bout a little bourbon-arooni.’ In Frisco great eager crowds of young semi-intellectuals sat at his feet and listened to him on the piano, guitar and bongo drums. When he gets warmed up he takes off his undershirt and really goes. He does and says anything that comes into his head. He’ll sing ‘Cement Mixer, Put-ti Put-ti’ and suddenly slow down the beat and brood over his bongos with fingertips barely tapping the skin as everybody leans forward breathlessly to hear; you think he’ll do this for a minute or so, but he goes right on, for as long as an hour, making an imperceptible little noise with the tips of his fingernails, smaller and smaller all the time till you can’t hear it any more and sounds of traffic come in the open door. Then he slowly gets up and takes the mike and says, very slowly, ‘Great-orooni … fine-ovauti … hello-orooni … bourbon-orooni … all-orooni …how are the boys in the front row making out with their girls-orooni … orooni … vauti … oroonirooni …”

'Jack Kerouac' in "On The Road".

Kerouac was part of the Beat Generation, a group of poets and writers who toured 1950s America. My old boss used to call me a 'Beatnik' and in a way I am a bit of a modern day hippy. DJs are today's beat generation and this mix suggests a journey, so hop on your bike, in your car, on your plane, boat or helicopter and turn on, tune in and drop out...

1. Kate Bush - Running up That Hill [EMI Records]
2. Luke Chable - Melburn (Original) [Bedrock Breaks]
3. Wez G - D for Damager [Shuffle Records] FREE DOWNLOAD: http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/D+for+Damager
4. Nick Muir - G Platz (James Harcourt Remix) [Audio Therapy]
5. The Junkies - Quartro Uno Sei (Original Mix) [Noir Music]
6. Erphun - Tu Sueno [Rekluse]
7. Danny Howells - GVibe [Dig Deeper]
8. Bent - Always (Ashley Beedle's Black Mahavishnu Remix) [Godlike and Electric]
9. The Ravens - Strange Little Girl [White]
10. Doves - Jetstream (Sasha Subdub) [White]
11. Syco - Danaka [Additive Records]
12. X-Press 2 - Tranz Euro Xpress (The Ride) [Junior Boys Own]
13. Giorgos Gatzgristos - Pencils for the Weak [Bedrock]
14. Stanton Warriors - Good Vibrations [White]

:::BUY VINYL::: @ http://www.plastic-music.co.uk

http://soundcloud.com/wezg/ontheroad
http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2009-12-06T23_09_36-08_00
http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/On+The+Road
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmmmyzdmmhi

Wez G - Jetstream Psychosis

It's easy to fly into the clouds and I seem to spend half my life dreaming in the Jetstream. There's been a break in the podcast so here it is back and mad as ever to steer you like a rocket through the atmosphere on a psychotic journey of house music. Starting with some mellow Bent classics the mix steers into some first class progressive beats. Enjoy the Jetstream Psychosis...

http://soundcloud.com/wezg/jetstream-psychosis
http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2009-11-13T12_02_55-08_00
http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/Jetstream+Psychosis
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmjwzzhjzgn

:::TRACKLISTING:::

1. Bent - Comin' Back (Reverso 68 dub) [Godlike and Electric]
2. X-Press 2 - Enjoy the Ride (Ashley's Magic Session Remix) [White]
3. Bent - Magic Love (Ashley Beedle's Black Magic Vocal Remix) [Godlike and Electric]
4. Sandee - Notice Me [DA Records]
5. Royksopp - This Must Be It (Rex The Dog's K-Dart Remix) [Wall of Sound]
6. Fedde Le Grand - Scared of Me (Hardwell Mix) [White]
7. BT - Rose of Jericho (Sultan & Ned Shepherd Remix) [White]
8. Pole Folder - Hate Myself (Sasha Instrumental) [La Tour]
9. Doves - Jetstream (Sasha Remix) [White]
10. Danny Howells - Psychotic Bump [Dig Deeper]
11. Giorgos Gatzgristos - Binary Star System [Bedrock]
12. Erphun - Order of Chaos [Rekluse]
13. Stanton Warriors - Young MC Booty [White]

:::BUY VINYL::: @ http://www.plastic-music.co.uk

Wez G - Ten Foot Tahitian

This is a blast from the past. I recorded it in November 2005 though it contains tracks from much earlier. I named the mix after the massive waves that roll into Tahiti which lays claim to being the place where surfing began. It recreates part of the six hour set I did when I played at Tikisoft in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. It was a perfect day. The sun was shining. I went swimming with the sharks and stingrays in the morning and then got stuck into the island's decks for a marathon set. The mix is summery and reflects the sounds of one of the earth's best untouched paradises. House Music. It's a global groove...

1.Late Night Alumni - Nothing Left to Say [Hed Kandi]
2.Hysterix - Talk to Me [Deconstruction]
3.Seelenluft feat. Michael Smith - Manila [Backyard Recordings]
4.Playgroup - Behind the Wheel (dj-kicks electroca$h mix) [Global Underground]
5.Desert - Moods [Stress]
6.Yello - To The Sea [Mercury]
7.Chemical Brothers - Hold Tight London [Freestyle Dust]
8.Adam Johnson - Four squares [Global Underground]
9.Paul Oakenfold - Southern Sun (Gabriel & Dresden mix) [Perfecto]
10.Leftfield featuring John Lydon - Open Up [Hard Hands]
11.Underworld - Dark and Long [Ministry of Sound]
12.Kelli Ali - Kids (Rui Da Silva remix) [One Little Indian]
13.Trafik feat. Rachel Lamb - Surrender [Global Underground]
14.Ultraviolet - Kites [Big Life]

http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2009-08-01T07_08_33-07_00
http://soundcloud.com/wezg/wez-g-ten-foot-tahitian
http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/Wez+G+-+Ten+Foot+Tahitian
http://www.mediafire.com/?9wmh9ltzkhn

Wez G on the Web http://djwezg.com

:::BUY VINYL::: @ http://plastic-music.co.uk

Wez G - Shufflin' It Up

This mix is a little different to usual. I've been having some Ableton lessons from DirtBox Crew ( http://artist.to/dirtboxcrew ) who play Spiral Tekno & Drum n Bass. I thought it would be nice to whack one of their tunes into the podcast... Trouble is - I usually play about 130bpm house and their music is 180bpm, so there's a few pitch shifts in this mix. Goes from house to Techno to drum n bass and ends with some nice old skool hardcore. At Shuffle ( http://groups.to/shuffle ) we try to be musically openminded and hate the pigeon-holing and stuck-up-yer-arse attitude that is all too prevalent in the music industry. So here you have Wez G, Shufflin' It Up. Hope you enjoy! http://djwezg.com

http://wezg.podomatic.com/entry/2009-07-24T06_49_14-07_00

http://soundcloud.com/wezg/shufflin-it-up

http://www.last.fm/music/Wez+G/_/Shufflin'+It+Up

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mgwgkzzze2w

:::TRACKLISTING:::

1.Radiohead - Street Spirit (Funkagenda Mix) [White]

2.Johan Ilves - Wrong Number (Greg Kobe Remix) [Whoop Records]

3. Moby - Pale Horses (Gui Boratto's Last Window Remix) [Little Idiot]

4. Stan Kolev - Shana (Deep Cinema Mix) [Plastica]

5. Sasha - Chemistry [White]

6. Sam Ball - Kamekaze (Original) [i-fi Music]

7. Erphun - 2wo Butterflies (Quivver Remix) [Therapy Music]

8. Ulrich Schnauss - On My Own [Global Underground]

9. Dirtbox Crew - Dirty Data Recorders [Kaotek Wreckords]

10. Die - Play it for Me [V Recordings]

11. Roni Size - Brown Paper Bag (Original) [Talkin' Loud Classics]

12. Roni Size & Die - The Calling [V Recordings]

13. Rhythm Quest - Closer to Your Dreams (Hybrid Mix) [Network Records]

:::BUY VINYL::: @ http://www.plastic-music.co.uk

Wez G - Summer Shiftin'

Wez G - Summer Shiftin'

http://wezg.podomatic.com/

entry/2009-07-02T11_56_02-

07_00

http://djwezg.com

http://www.mediafire.com/d

ownload.php?1nyhojmzyhk

http://www.last.fm/music/W

ez+G/_/Summer+Shiftin'

Summer is upon us. Festival season, bar-b-q's, beaches and sunshine. This mix has a lot of remixes of big bands and also showcases some of the talent we are working with at Shuffle. Following the tracklisting are links to buy some of the tracks. Also - this is the first mix which includes a Wez G production... Doesn't quite fit with the standard of the rest of the music but I'm happy with Paptrap at this early stage. Get a loud sound system, load up on some bevvies and blast your neighbours away to the sounds of 'Summer Shiftin'!

1. Minus Blue ft. Emma Saville - Be As One (Original) [Phunctional Loungin]

2. Chris Reece - Overflow (Original Mix) [Enormous Tunes]

3. Chris Isaak - Dubbed Out Games (Trentmoller Remix) [White]

4. Telefon Tel Aviv - You Are The Worst Thing in the World (Sasha Invol2ver remix) [White]

5. DJ Lion - Mania (Underground Sound of Bulgaria) [Remixator Records]

6. Wez G - Paptrap [Shuffle Records]

7. Andrelli Blue - Transparent feat. Hila (Jody Wisternoff Remix) [Armada Music]

8. Victor Imbres & Tricia Lee Kelshall - Feel That (Original Mix) [Greenlight Recordings]

9. PJ Doherty - The Voice [Harlem Trax]

10. Radiohead - Everything in its Right Place (Paul Oakenfold New 2008 Remix) [White]

11. Danny Howells - Laid Out (Fully Horizontal Mix) [Dig Deeper]

12. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Acapella) [White]

13. Denis A - Cuba (Original Mix) [DAR]

14. Michael Jackson - Mama Say, Mama Say (Wanna Be StartinG Something Sample Loop) [White]

15. U2 - With Out U Or With U 2008 (S.T. Unreleased Remix) [White]

You can buy/download the following tracks using the links:

Wez G - Paptrap - Free Download: http://www.last.fm/music/W

ez+G/_/Paptrap

Victor Imbres & Tricia Lee Kelshall - Feel That - http://tinyurl.com/tlk10 (itunes)

Minus Blue ft. Emma Saville - Be As One - http://tinyurl.com/mblue1 (itunes)

Getting digitized?

As I’ve clearly stated in the past: I’m a vinyl junkie. An analogue dinosaur. In the field of dance music we have often been the very first genre to embrace new technology. Indeed, more than any other musical variety, dance music and audio technology are intertwined. I have watched all this change and although it interests me a lot, when it comes to performance I am an absolute Luddite. Turning up at clubs to watch my dancefloor heroes play on CD decks makes me want to send the sparkling lights and fancy buttons hurling to the ground. Like a nineteenth century cotton mill, the pioneer CDJs 1000, lying in bits would bring a smile of satisfaction to my face. I’m told they’re sexy. I just feel that CD DJing is cheating – not so much the technology aspect, as in principal it is the same technique as vinyl DJing, but that the audience is cheated. I watch with horror as my favourite record shops close down as everyone turns to the cheaper alternative… Anyway – I have stuck to my guns regarding CDs and remain a vinylist.

However, it’s not just CDs that have changed the face of DJing. One of my favourite DJs is Sasha. I remember reading several years ago how he was embracing Ableton for production. I remember picking up a (vinyl) copy of Involver in 2004 and being blown away by the ‘new’ sound. The thick bass, the really electronic feel, floor-friendly loops, perfectly cut vocals… It is an ambition to produce music and I’ve always liked the sound of Ableton. I dabbled with Cubase a few years ago but Ableton seems to be the software daddy. Shock horror – I realised that Ableton could be used for DJing. I was at a gig at the Q bar, Cardiff, and the DJ had a laptop and a complex looking MIDI controller. He was playing an Ableton Live DJ set… I trainspotted for a bit, to check how it all works… DJs are anoraks at heart and get a high watching others at work. It is the quickest way to improve your style, by studying others in action. I started to interrupt the guy by bombarding him with questions. It all looked posh and he seemed a bit snobbish, with all his fancy equipment… He was very vague and seemed to be avoiding my answers. I didn’t appear to be spending much time at all cueing… OK – fair enough… Some DJs don’t need to cue much. I’ve seen Norman Jay cue a record, when someone dropped a glass from the balcony onto the decks at Ministry of Sound, in literally under 2 seconds, without a glitch in the music. Jeff Mills is notorious for spinning about 5 records every minute throughout the duration of a DJ set, bunging the vinyl over his shoulder as he slams in dub plate after dub plate of the most experimental techno. Thing is – as I soon learnt. You DON’T beat match with Ableton. It is all automatic. How can this be DJing? I felt properly cheated. It’s like losing your lifesavings in Las Vegas then realising you have been playing with a marked deck.

It put me off Ableton. I’m a DJ, not a jukebox. However, I continued reading and reading about the program and it seems that virtually all of my production heroes are ranting religiously about its power. I knew that at some stage I would be on board. I’d have to be, if I want to actually make some decent tunes, realise the dream…

I picked up a book and got studying. Ableton 6 landed on my lap and I churned out a couple of tunes. Very basic, very nasty really, but an attempt nonetheless. It is a powerful program, for sure, it just gets very confusing. I let it fester on my PC for a while and decided to wait for a bit of inspiration. The social side of DJing is important. Swapping label notes in a grotty record shop, booth banter, interacting with off-their-face clubbers. I think that the growth of social networks has helped the whole dancefloor community. I have a DJ category for friends on facebook and there are over 200 people in there. I was a self-taught vinyl DJ but always absorbed advice from my peers which proved fundamental. I decided to invest in a bit of MIDI equipment for potential use with Ableton and through a mutual friend, managed to find the local Ableton guru. I needed to get sweaty in the studio with someone, and get shown how it all operates. A few tips wouldn’t go amiss. As boring as DJing may appear to non-musos, it really is an exciting subject and digesting books and technical manuals just isn’t the done thing.

So, I loaded up on tinnies and made my way out to visit Dave Wired, techno legend extraordinaire. When I was a teenager, I used to get off my box at the Muts Nuts @ The White Lion, Chepstow, where Dave usually hammered out the last set of Techno every Saturday night. The White Lion music agenda was very underground and for a sleepy Welsh village to host one of the cutting edge forums for Goa trance, minimal techno and esoteric electronic, was quite a blessing. Dave’s style influenced me in the first place so it was important that he would be my teacher.

DJ Wired’s style can be described, if I had to tag it, as ‘nosebleed techno’ which is pretty far removed from my 130 bpm progressive house or ‘handbag’ as my mates in the pub refer to it. 180bpm beats; four top the floor with some occasional breaks. It is fast stuff and not for the feint-hearted. I don’t play this music, or indeed listen to it much, but I do appreciate it. Dave stopped DJing two years ago. Hung up the headphones. He gigs all over the world – from Europe to South America. It’s all a LIVE Ableton set these days. Not DJing, but playing his own productions. Live manipulation of his own tracks in a set that smashes hell out of global festival audiences in the tens of thousands. To hear him talk, as a sceptic of the digital revolution, I was initially unimpressed. I still cannot get my head around the idea of a DJ not using vinyl. After a few beers, we headed into the studio. This is where I truly began to realise the power of Ableton. As I said, I’ve had a dabble. But – Dave loaded up a live set which was MASSIVE. He started it rolling and I was entranced as I witnessed what could only be described as a high voltage electric storm on his laptop screen. Beats, bass and the odd vocal, all dynamically shifting. It’s hard to keep track with your eyes what’s happening. The bass bins do the talking though. The music comes slamming out and sounds shit hot. Everything is done on the fly. You prepare each individual sound in the studio, load up a host of audio clips and mash them all up. Mixing, although everything is beat synched, takes on a whole new phenomenon. You can start the next track my clipping out, say, for example the hi-hats of the track playing, add in the hats from the next track, and start looping some vocal from your sample library. Ableton has a massive host of plugins and effects which makes the most expensive Allen&Heath mixer look primitive. Autopan the kicks of one track mirroring the one you’re mixing in, flange up the mids and whack in a few breaks to liven it up. Glitch a few beats, reverse them on the fly and some of the most amazingly complex mixes can be made. To be fair – there is no time for cueing up beats. As a DJ I often cite myself as an original artist for blending two tracks together, ‘in the mix’ to create something new. Very often though, I hardly even change the EQs. Seeming tracks together in an Ableton becomes a whole new mixing experience. It provides an endless challenge and the possibilities are infinite.

I am happy in a way as I try to learn this new technology. It will consume my entire life. I can see why Ableton can be classified as a religion and I am still a new convert. The sacrament may be sample editors and MIDI manuals but I think that the future of dance music really does lie with Ableton. I won’t be hanging up my headphones just yet, but the appeal of becoming a producer means that the digital lure is starting to bite. In a world of hypocrites I am just following nature’s path. If you are interested in electronic music then Ableton is the new drug of choice.

Punta Del Este

Ibiza has for long been engrained on the roadmap for travelling clubbers across the globe. In Privelege it has the largest nightclub on the planet. All the top DJs fare their way on the White Isle every summer and the closing parties have become part of nightlife’s folklore. Goa, on the west coast of India, experienced a massive rise in club tourism during the nineties. Its full moon beach parties with flowing melodic trance earned it the accolade of those slightly more adventurous beatniks. There is a war among the travelling clubber cognoscenti to find the best place on the globe for their holiday partying. Oneupmanship is a a reality… In the chillout room of Ministry of Sound or Spundae, nothing sounds better than casually dropping into the conversation about how you ‘discovered’ the latest craze in the dance music world. In this article I aim to explore one of the more exciting emerging resorts in the world which isn’t particularly familiar to European or North American clubbers. Punta Del Este is ‘the St Tropez of South America.’

On the southern tip of Uruguay this small town of about 10000 inhabitants, has long been the destination of wealthy South American playboys. Whether you are an Argentinian cattle rancher or a Colombian drug baron, the chances are your summer hols involve a nice trip to the Punta Del Este. During the southern hemisphere summer months, from December through to February, the population of this ‘village’ swells to a million holidaymakers…

The population is mainly European in heritage which gives this coast an Ibizan feel. About ninety percent of people proudly trace their European ancestry, mainly to Italy and Spain. However, unlike other resort towns on the continent which cater to predominantly Europeans and North Americans, Punta del Este maintains its Latin American character. Yachts dot the harbour and glitzy bars and restaurants compliment the luxury hotels. The comfortable surroundings all pave the way for the most hedonistic nightlife in the Western hemisphere.

British superclub Cream started doing events in the Punta Del Este a few years ago. Indeed, when their main club in Liverpool closed its doors, Cream still continued in Uruguay, drawing in the crème de la crème of international DJs. It is a regular tour spot and a lot of DJs such as Sasha, Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto, enjoy catching some winter sun while laying down the party beats in some truly fabulous nightclubs…

Maybe, Uruguay, doesn’t automatically feature highly on your to-do list of holiday vacations. Outside of their archaic multiple world cup winning football teams, Uruguayans remain very much an unknown quantity in the eyes of much of the world. Don’t let that dissuade you though. Surely a destination that you don’t read about in the red-top gutter press must have an appeal. Drunken yobbish behaviour symbolises much of Ibiza, Goa is subject to corrupt law enforcement and is full of tales of traveller woe. Try something different. Cheap Spanish carriers can take you across the Atlantic for about a few hundred pounds. Exotic and stylish, with quality music. Punta del Este is the clubbing destination for the distinguished aficionado.

Is the DJ an artist?

DJing is a relatively new phenomenon. Sure, DJs have existed on the radio for some time, playing song selections on the radio, or providing the soundtrack to weddings and fortieth birthday parties. However, mixing as an art form emerged in the late seventies, early eighties, when DJs such as Frankie Knuckles in America, started doing live edits to underground disco music, seaming tracks together to enhance the flow of the music and boost their party-hard audiences. This was initially done using tape machines. A pair of scissors and some cellotape and your wannabee jock could splice together songs. It was a rudimentary art form but it worked. Modern DJing was born out of this tape splicing when someone realised that the highend Technics 1200 turntable which had been around since the early seventies, had a pitch control unit which enabled DJs to manipulate songs further, and begin to actually beat match and mix them together. DJing was alive and disco and early house music provided the new soundtrack of a generation. Hip Hop jumped quickly on board and the workability of the Technics turntable meant a whole new form of skilled DJs cutting and scratching tracks. Bodypopping and breakdancing was all to the beat of the Technics turntable. I need not continue with the evolution of dance music. Suffice it to say, it has run hand in hand with innovation and technology.

DJing became a career option. The problem is, as is very often the case with emerging sciences, how do you categorise a DJ? Are they musicians, artists, skilled, unskilled? Are they on the same level of employment in a nightclub as a barman or cloakroom attendant? Surely they are not creative as they just use other people’s artistic skills… Are they artists in their own right? Is a DJ on a par with a violinist or a concert pianist?

When you are in the company of musicians and mention that you are a DJ, scorn is usually poured upon you. You aren’t fit to lace their boots – they are skilled, you are just an operator…. I beg to differ. DJs may use other people’s music for their art (though self-produced DJ tracks are becoming more common during a mixset). Using other people’s creative material is not a new phenomenon in the field of music. Take for example a concert pianist or violinist. Surely they often play symphonies by Beethoven or Mozart compositions. They didn’t necessarily create the material. They add part of their own character to a rendition of an already written piece of music, but they are not being completely original. A DJ may play a record but by manipulating the pitch, by choosing when to cut it with another record, the DJ changes the song and adds part of his personality to the show. It takes skill to pluck a Cello’s strings, or stick to a complex rhythm pattern on a set of drums, but DJing has its own set of skills. Scratching, beat matching, cutting and chopping, pitch blending all form part of a successful DJ’s repertoire. To me the most skilful part of being a DJ isn’t the ’manual skills’ as I refer to them but the ‘mental skills’. A good DJ is not averse to a bit of brainwork and to me set programming is fundamental. A skilled DJ programs his set, his tune selection, with the utmost precision. Each track should follow musically into the next, the music program should be interesting, challenging, entertaining, seamless. It should take the listener on an auditory journey. The difference between a good and bad DJ set very often lies in the set programming. The set of technical skills varies very little between performance DJs. The wheat is separated from the chaff by the occult skills of planning and sequencing tracks.

Consider another form of art. Photography is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of visual art. It involves a new technology. However, photographers are similar to painters. It involves a different set of technical skills to use a camera successfully. But in using his tools a photographer chooses a maybe otherwise dull scene to shoot, capturing the art he sees in that image in the camera lense. He presents the image in a way to portray his feelings, his emotions, his perception of the world. Nowadays, photography is widely accepted as a professional art form and indeed a prosperous career.

I think that DJing is certainly more acceptable these days. Musicians recognise the need for good DJ talent to perhaps compliment their work. DJs such as Paul Oakenfold were touring with U2 and the Happy Mondays back in the early Nineties. We are seeing today independent DJ artists like Mark Ronson or Sasha emerge in their own right as pop stars / music performers.
DJing is the photography of the music world. It is an art form. Often misunderstood it is part of a DJ’s role to define what it is to be a DJ, to be an artist, to be a musician. We should revel in our new science. Our artistic legacy inspires tomorrow’s musicians. New technologies make DJing one of the most evolving forms of music. It has never been a more exciting time to be a DJ. We are tomorrow’s musical artists.

I'm an addict

I have an addiction. A proper addiction. It’s untreatable. There is no cure. I am a junkie. I hang around in darkened alleys, change jingling in my pocket, waiting for the dealer’s shop to open. I rush in and start filtering through the shelves. I am a vinyl junkie and record stores are where I score my fix. It’s a strange addiction, I know. People laugh and don’t recognise the condition. But it exists, I swear. Black plastic gives me a buzz. Has done since I was ten years old. All of my spare money goes on this disgusting habit. But it’s beautiful. I love needles in the groove and the sound of dustmites crackling in the speakers. Vinyl is not just a habit, it is a passion. People think that DJing is all about glamour. They read in their glossy clubbing magazines about Paul Oakenfold, Sasha and John Digweed, touring the world, hanging out in swanky nightclubs and getting paid a small fortune for doing so. I tell you – they suffer the same craving as any other proper DJ. They like nothing more than getting their hands dirty, flicking through record racks, in search of that ultimate rarity. The picture disc, the deleted album, the white label.

DJing isn’t just a technical ability. As a technical skill it’s actually quite easy. If you can count you can beatmatch. Simple as. Anyone can flick a crossfader. The art of DJing is to inject passion into your skill. Selecting tunes for the audience, to educate and entertain is the artform. Danny Tengalia wrote quite a few years ago about ‘finding the groove’. He performed marathon ten hour DJ sets and therefore should truly understand a dancefloor. It’s all about seaming tunes together in a constant groove. To do that, you need to know your music inside out. A DJ I once worked with, Anthony Pappa, impressed me a lot. He had risen to stardom by winning the DMC Mix championship. I warmed up for him and was pleased to do the honour. He arrived, same as any other professional DJ, courteous, nice greeting, appreciative nod to the sounds you were spinning. He then cast open his box, to prepare his set. DJs are nosy animals and I couldn’t help looking at his tunes. They were all marked up with stickers. I’d seen BPM labelling previously, but Pappa’s was different. They were all colour coded and Key marked. At an advanced level of DJing, to help stitch the groove, you not only beat match, but also key mix. It was a new concept to me. It seemed a bit anal but on chatting to Pappa he explained to me the reasons. You generally have a feel for what tunes sound similar and how they mix together. Most DJs rely on chance for this, but not Pappa. Certain keys mix with certain other keys musically whereas other keys clash. However, as I soon learnt there is slightly more to it than just that. I had gone home and banged out the keys on my sister’s piano and marked up my vinyl with letters. However – you get on the mixer and try blending, say a ‘D’ with another ‘D’ and it doesn’t quite sound right. Beats are Ok and you’d presume the keys too, but what happens is that as the pitch of the record shifts for beat matching, the key also migrates. To truly understand the theory of key mixing you have to be able to calculate the effect of BPM on a record’s pitch and then match up the vinyl. Listen to Pappa. He’s a DJ’s DJ and is musically superb.

The message I’m trying to send out is that DJs are obsessive. They love their work. In order to be a good DJ you have to respect your tools. These tools, the ones that separate you from the next jock, are your records. It takes years to build a vinyl collection. Years of dedicated shopping. Of searching high and low for the unique sounds that distinguish you and enable you to deliver to the dancefloor.

You may wonder why I emphasize vinyl. Surely these days we have moved on. Technology has improved. We have digital formats. We are in the ipod revolution. MP3s, computer music , Pioneer CD decks. Oh no! I cringe when I hear the ignorance blasted out by pretend DJs about how vinyl is outdated. For technology to improve, the old format must be surpassed in every way. Digital formats were announced to be superior quality to vinyl. This is an urban myth which the music companies have now admitted to being a marketing ploy. CDs were introduced and vinyl was supposedly obsolete. For years DJing kept the vinyl factories in business but then pioneer released their replica technics model CD decks and CD DJing became all the rage. Download sites like Beatport pushed out mp3s, and DJs burned up their CDs and suddenly an entire collection could be built overnight. There is a fundamental flaw in this, well several in fact. There is an art in itself to building a collection. You appreciate vinyl a lot more when you have starved a week to get the latest import. That part of your collection has a certain significance. I browse through my records and each sleeve tells a story. The record has a soul, a character that emits itself when I place the tune on the decks during a set. Each tune has memories, lovingly attached to it. How can you develop such a bond with something that has taken 10seconds to download and exists in a single-sentence data file on your hard drive. It isn’t as romantic. Yes, vinyl is more expensive, and perhaps more difficult to track down, but at least you get something solid for your money. it is an investment. The weight, the sleeve artwork, the labelling, the peculiarities (is it warped? Is there a misprinted label? is it a picture disc?) The generation of CD and MP3 DJs are missing a vital part of the essence of DJing. The rush of shopping for vinyl. I cannot see how a ‘new’ DJ can become knowledgeable about DJing, missing out on such an important part of the lifestyle. As well as the purchasing there is a whole social aspect to record shopping. You meet other DJs, other ‘trainspotters’, pick up tips on hot remixes, rarities, quality gigs, available work and so forth. Until you can purchase mp3s in the dimly lit streets of SoHo I cannot agree that MP3 DJs will ever emulate the emotion of a vinyl DJs work.

The biggest myth buster of all has to be that the actual quality of digital music is poorer than its analogue counterpart. Try it for yourself. Get the same track on vinyl, cd and mp3 and play them one after the other, preferably on a loud sound system. The digital formats eliminate the high and low frequencies of a tune. The sub bass lines and ultra high vox disappear in digital. The sound is condensed. Music producers nowadays are unaware of the intricacies of true sound production as they are working without a true sound spectrum. Not only are DJs being cheated by this, but also the listeners. I have been reliably informed that DJs aware of this who use cds and mp3s for mixing, are buying vinyl, then recording it themselves onto digital format, rather than buy purchasing it in digital format, just so they can replicate the true sounds of a record. There is a backlash and last year saw the first rise in vinyl production since the dip induced by the introduction of the CD. Bands are releasing on vinyl again, realising that it sounds better. It is still an industry in dire straits, however. We need to turn back to vinyl. To keep it alive. Record shops are closing down in their droves. It brings tears to my eyes to see maybe 75% of my favourite stores now shut. Tag in Soho, Woosh in Cardiff and Bang Bang in Bristol. They no longer exist. My most regular haunt, Plastic Fantastic of Covent Garden, are now an online only service (http://www.plastic-music.co.uk) I wish to preserve the art of DJing, to teach a new generation of the wonders of this exotic and mysterious world. I want to see a new generation of junkies, lurking about dark alleys, seeking their fix. Vinyl is sexy.

KEEP VINYL ALIVE! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE!

Wez G - Camembert

Wez G – Camembert
http://wezg.podomatic.com http://www.mediafire.com/?4e4mnhniwxj
Camembert is made from unpasteurised cow's milk, and is ripened by the moulds Penicillium candida and Penicillium camemberti for at least three weeks. It is produced in small rounds, about 350 grams (.55 lb) in weight, which are then typically wrapped in paper and packaged in thin wooden boxes. When fresh, it is quite crumbly and relatively hard, but characteristically ripens and becomes softer and strongly flavoured as it ages.
1. Thugfucker – Knightrider [Reykjavik Massive Music] 2. M83 – Coleurs (Sasha Invol2ver Mix) [White] 3. Depeche Mode – Only When I Lose Myself (Lexicon Avenue Mix) [White] 4. Josh Wink – Jus’ Right [Ovum] 5. Joey Negro – Make a Move on Me (Soul Avengerz Remix) [Hed Kandi] 6. Fabio Gianelli – Trinidad e Tobago [Thirtyonetwenty] 7. Josh Wink – What used to be called used to be [Ovum] 8. Noir – My MTV (The Dolphins Remix) [Toolroom Records] 9. Dire Straits – Flashing for Money (Deep Dish mix) [White] 10. Yoshimoto – Do What U Do (Markus Shulz Remix) [iO Music] 11. Underground Sound of Lisbon – So Get Up (Phunk Investigation Turbolento Mix) [Twisted]

Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (Sasha - Invol2ver remix)

I featured this track on the Wez G Podcast episode, Fire and Brimstone

about a month ago. It's just such a catchy track and I cannot get it out of my head. Much better than the original Ladytron version. It gets right into your head, this one - follows you everywhere! I thought I'd blog it up so I ain't the only fool wandering around 'destroying everything I touch'

If you want to buy it on vinyl try http://www.plastic-music.co.uk where they have it on exclusive white label.

The entire Sasha Invol2ver album can be bought on CD at Amazon