Author: nickroffey1983

Tramlines Party Hopping Horseplay!

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Well TBCers, that time of year is here again, the weekend when Sheffield becomes one huge party and with the flash of a wristband Sheffielders can party hop from venue to venue in a whirlwind of happiness and electronic beats (with some bands thrown in if you like that kinda thing). What am I banging on about? Yes ……………you guessed it……………. TRAM – TO – THE –LINES!!!!!!!!!

This year sees a line up like no previous year and there is a definite shift towards more electronic artists. The Tramlines team have really done Sheffield proud with the diversity and caliber of artists that they have managed to fly in to South Yorkshire’s marvelous annual party spectacular and all for the price of £28.00 for a full weekend festival wristband! Monsieur with these Tramlines DJs you are really spoiling us! So much so that it is difficult to know which party to go to, which awesome DJ to prioritise and which music to delight your ears with at any one time. Fret no more TBCers, Betty Bitch is here to share with you her meticulously researched, glittery, feathery, Tramlines party plan. Not only will following this ensure you don’t miss out on the best nights Tramlines has to offer, it will also allow you to shimmy on down with the one and only plastic fantastic as she cavorts to Sheffield’s finest Tramlines beats!

Friday

So Friday is a tough one because Tramlines in their infinite wisdom have put ALL the best techno and house nights on the Friday night. The Night Kitchen, Hopeworks, O2 Academy, The Leadmill and The Harley all have parties that TBC wants to go to on the Friday. So the choice is this: do them all, run around in a whirling dervish, get so wasted that you no longer know what city you’re in and consequently don’t venture out for the rest of the Tramlines weekend……….. a possibility. Alternatively, pick a select few of the best and still have some battery life available for a bit of Saturday shimmying. Betty’s choosing the latter and will be in attendance at the following shindigs:

The O2 academy: One word TBCers…………..T – I –G- A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes the Techno Breakfast Club favourite and all round God of our lives is playing in Sheffield! Granted its at the O2 academy but those of you who came to see Dixon there at the Collect weekender will know that as a venue it can actually work pretty well for this type of thing. Tiga is as hot as hell right now after the release of “Plush” and the frankly divine “Let’s Go Dancing” but has been knocking out delicious production work since his debut “Sunglasses at Night” in 2002. If you are into techno and electro and you don’t go and see him you need to have a serious word with yourself as he rarely plays in the North and he is an amazing party DJ. Check out his mix from Panorama Bar:

https://soundcloud.com/tiga/tiga-panorama-bar-live-mix

Following on from the Tigemeister and by the way, find out what time Tiga is playing, arrive exactly as he comes on, watch his set, dance like you’ve never danced before, then leave. We ain’t got time for any of the other artists on that line up. Next you’re headed straight to The Night Kitchen. Jimmy Edgar is headlining this particular danceathon. He’ll be throwing down techno Detroit style and playing hard with a real party, funky vibe going on. His Essential Mix was completely dreamy:

https://soundcloud.com/jimmyedgar/essential-mix-05-10-2014

Medlar and Alex Smoke are also going to be more than worth a listen and if you came to the Faction New Year Party a couple of years ago you’ll remember just how brilliantly Alex Smoke plays when he plays in the Steel City. The Night Kitchen is obviously the best venue for techno and house clubbing in Sheffield so you really would be a damn fool to miss this Tramlines party!

After that dust off your sequined trainers, re-apply your lipstick and find the coolest afterparty in town. Hunt Betty down before you leave – she’ll no doubt be going/hosting it!

Saturday

So once you leave the afterparty, drink a few smoothies, change into another spangly clubbing outfit and mainline berocca, its time for Tramlines Round 2. In the daytime make sure you check out Audiowhores at the Delve Deeper party at Bloo 88. This was Betty’s favourite party of Tramlines 2013 and you would be simply bonkers to miss out on their heavenly house beats on the sunshine terrace.

As night falls side step to the main stage to grab a glimpse of disco legends and all round Queens of the dancefloor – Sister Sledge!

Following that, hotfoot it to The Octogon to catch Lone’s set. This guy’s 2012 album: Galaxy Garden was simply sublime and one of TBC’s favourites that year featuring genres such as acid house, breaks, dubstep and bass. Stopping by for his set will therefore provide you with an interesting hour or 2 and is sure to get your booty shaking!

Now for a late night boogie fest and perfect follow up to the house and disco at Bloo 88 and the Main Stage. Seek out Horse Meat Disco. They are playing at Banana Hill at Queen’s Social Club. So TBCers follow those funky disco beats until you find what has to be the optimum way to finish your Saturday night. DJ sets don’t get much more fun that this and after the hard techno of Friday night this will be a wonderous way to sooth your addled Tramlines brain! Strut your funky, horsey stuff with Betty until the early hours.

Sunday

Pahhhhhhh you know you’re gona be rolling around in post party agony/ecstasy by this point! Don’t even kid yourself that you’re gona make it out to see the Sunday band line up! Betty sure ain’t!

TBCers all that’s left for you to do is purchase your wristband, douse yourself with glitter and join that party line to the best weekend of the Summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC Playlist June 2014

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BBC Essential Mix – Magda (2014)

Decay – Efdemin (2014)

Love Letters – Metronomy (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Jackmaster (2014)

Future Disco Vol.7 ‘Til The Lights Come Up’ – Various (2014)

It’s Album Time – Todd Terje (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Daniel Avery (2014)

FAZEmag in the mix 26 – Ray Okpara & Anja Schneider (2014)

Eskimo Recordings pres. The Blue Collection – Various (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Bonobo (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Marcel Dettmann (2014) *

Netzwerk der Zunkuft – Anthony Rother (2014)

Intensity – Eric Sneo (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Jimmy Edgar (2014)

Bleep 10 – Various (2014)

White Woman – Chromeo (2014)

Future Disco pres. Poolside Sounds Vol.3 – Various (2014)

I Am Ok – Oliver Koletzki (2014)

Live in Miami – John Digweed (2014)

Do It Again – Royksopp & Robyn (2014)

Bizarro World – Dj Overdose (2013)

Resident Advisor #417 – Downliners Sekt (2014)

Solens Arc – Kangding Ray (2014)

Smell the DA.I.S.Y. – De La Soul (2014)

Fabric #75 – Maya Jane Coles (2014)

Mi Senti – Roisin Murphy (2014)

The Feast of the Broken Heart – Hercules & Love Affair (2014)

Reality Testing – Lone (2014)

Code – Answer Code Request (2014)

 

Classics

Elaste Vol.1-3 – Slow Motion Disco (2006), Space Disco (2008) & Super Motion Disco (2010)

Bugged Out Pres. Suck my Deck – Friendly Fires (2010)

BBC Essential Mix  Live at Pacha, Ibiza- Frankie Knuckles (2000)

Piece Works – Ewan Pearson (2007)

The Trip created by Saint Etienne – Various (2004)

We Are Punks Vol1-3 – Anthony Rother (2007-2008)

The Future Will Come – The Juan Maclean (2009)

Heartbeats – Grum (2010)

Choice pres. A collection of Classics by Frankie Knuckles – Various (2000)

Bedrock – John Creamer & Stephane K (2002)

Blackmusick 10 Years of Tiefschwarz – Tiefschwarz (2007)

The TBC playlist has finally returned for only its second instalment of 2014, apologies for all those who have missed our regular instalment of music appreciation. Since February (when we last published our playlist selection) its been a busy time and as you know time flies when you are having fun! TBC has been on tour to the Big Apple to see what’s going on the other side of the pond, we partied for a lot of May with the bookended Bank Holiday’s and generally been busy little bunnies. This has meant however that we have been listening to a lot of music, and I mean a lot. If absence makes the heart grow fonder then my absence from my regular playlist blog has made the music selection grow stronger and my need to bring a wealth of music appreciation for the TBC followers enjoyment.

First things first, the slow start to the year on the music front has ceased and we have had the pleasure of enjoying a great selection of artist albums, mix compilations and podcast & internet/radio shows. The long playlist above has been split to give you the current gems that we have been listening to at TBC HQ along with some of the classics we have dusted down over the last few months. If you already own some of the playlist above then I am sure you have enjoyed them however if you don’t I would highly recommend a good hunt for some new music as there is some serious aural enjoyment to be had. In order to summarise the playlist we have Techno, Electro, House, Disco, Electro-Pop, Progressive and Hip Hop, of which predominately Techno and House feature heavily as ever but I would highly recommend the alternative treats offered by the Disco and Electro.

We have followed the typical playlist structure; there is the best selection of music from the last few months in 2014 (with the aforementioned classics separated below), the best picks have been highlighted in bold as these have best entertained TBC HQ and will remain on the stereo for the near future and the ‘best of the best’ will have its own TBC star treatment with the * award.

Decay – Efdemin (2014)

Efdemin has been a favourite at TBC ever since we discovered his self titled first album Efdemin (2007) and the follow up Chicago (2010). His sound has always hovered around quirky minimal techno with a raft of haunting and unusual sounds thrown in to create an interesting production style however this latest album has seen him going off at a tangent towards to the harder bass heavy sound of techno which has left us very excited. The ever influential sounds of Berghain in Berlin seems to have transformed the amazing production style of Efdemin to new levels and there are some dark and heavy tracks on this new album, our favourite being ‘Some Kind of Up and down Yes’. Since its release in March this year we have been unable to stop listening to this LP and we would highly recommend a listen.

It’s Album Time – Todd Terje (2014)

First we had the Swedish House Mafia and then we had the Norwegian Disco Mafia; Prins Thomas, Lindstrom and Todd Terje. The latter has been the most illustrious of the trio, only playing exclusive parties and gigs, releasing EP’s and singles along with two mixes; Resident Advisor Podcast #98 (2008) and Remaster of the Universe (2010 – this is a superb collection of disco which is also highly recommended). Todd Terje has now released his first LP ‘It’s Album Time’ and also announced his status as King of Norwegian disco. It has been a long time coming since his first release in 2004 but its worth the wait and he seems to elude to this with the simple album title, even though it should be more like ‘It’s about bloody time for my first album’ but that doesn’t quite have the same ring or marketable value. From the intro track to the final classic song Inspector Norse this is one epic album, ranging from the traditional disco sound to electro-house tinged classics and the more eclectic Jonny & Mary (which features Bryan Ferry and covers a Robert Palmer track). Our favourites are Delorean Dynamite and Oh Joy however it is hard to not love every track. This album has been well worth the wait and will feature in the top albums of 2014, Mr.Terje will struggle to better this next time round but what a great challenge to set yourself.

BBC Essential Mix – Marcel Dettmann (2014)

Pete Tong continues to provide a ceaseless roster of high-end DJ’s for this years BBC Essential Mix show and this mix from Marcel Dettmann is superb. It is always difficult when one of your favourite live DJ’s provides an instalment of a mix series; Essential Mix, Fabric, Resident Advisor podcast etc. however Marcel Dettmann has delivered time and time again. His Conducted mix CD (2011) is simply brilliant, his Groove podcast from this year is an excellent eclectic mix and the older FACT (2010) and RA (2008) podcasts are both top draw. The ability to bring your live sound to CD or podcast is always difficult but Dettmann consistently delivers and this Essential Mix continues in this vein. The track selection is immense, the names you would want to feature, that you would have heard booming on the dance floor in Berghain, are all apparent. The mix starts with a few atmospheric tracks as you would expect from his famous live residency sets in Berlin, really picking up pace from around the twenty minute mark with a great tune from Tobias called Fast Null. At the 45 minute mark there is a creepy, atmospheric, industrial, electro-techno track Eurovision by Laibach (Dettmann remix) which is excellent, a great inclusion in this mix albeit a white label that we may never get our hands on! LB Dub Corps (A.K.A Luke Slater) has a couple of tracks featured, there is an amazing Stephan Linzetti track View From The Collapsing Centre which is a crazy, haunting techno number and there are countless other techno stormers.  I can only say that you must listen to this mix, it is perfect TBC music and a great party mix. The Soundcloud link is below:

https://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/marcel-dettmann-essential-mix

Do It Again – Royksopp & Robyn (2014)

This EP from Robyn and Royksopp was one of my personally most anticipated records of 2014. Both artists have been favourites of the TBC crew for years, Royskopp have provided some of the most progressive and blissed out electronica and house that Scandinavia/Sweden  has had to offer and Robyn (similar to another of my favourite female artists Annie) brings her own quirky Swedish electro pop in her two most popular artist albums; Robyn (2005) and Body Talk (2010) even though she has been around since the mid 90’s even delivering some classic dance tracks like Show Me Love (1997). When we heard that they would be combining to perform as a super group in 2014 and saw the teaser trailers we were jumping around like lunatics, check out the video for yourself:

http://royksopp.com/videos/royksopp-robyn-tour-2014/

Their EP Do it Again only contains 5 tracks but it does show off their new awesome electro techno sound which is reminiscent of Justice a few years ago now, pulsating electro bass music with Robyn’s lyrics and vocoder samples. The first two tracks ‘Monument’ and ‘Say it’ will be amazing live performance tracks, the remaining three could be new releases for Robyn and Royskopp on their own and represent each of their familiar styles. The EP lives up to the hype and we cannot wait to see them at Melt in Germany in July.

Fabric #75 – Maya Jane Coles (2014)

As with my previous comments concerning great live DJ’s and their transformation onto a famous mix CD series or podcast/radio show it is always a risky affair but, as with Marcel Dettmann, Maya Jane Coles (MJC) has consistently performed with a wealth of mixes; DJ Kicks (2012), two BBC Essential Mixes (2011, 2013), RApodcast #241 (2011) and a couple of Mixmag CDs (2011, 2013) and a great production album Comfort (2013). Fabric has been a hit and miss CD series for a few years now, delivering some excellent instalments but following them with bland and mundane mixes, TBC remains a subscriber to the long running series and our loyalty was repaid with the MJC #75 Fabric mix. This is a darker side than previously experienced with MJC mixes and it doesn’t take long to move into a techno grove which captivates you for 74 minutes. The opening, dark techno track called ‘Somebody’ by Trus’me is a superb introduction to the new darker MJC sound. There is a great track from the ever trusty Mathew Jonson called ‘Level &’ (Dixon remix) and ‘No One Gets Left Behind’ by DJ Yellow & Flowers And Sea Creatures is just epic. The mix flutters between techno and tech-house with a great remix of an old Paul Woolford classic ‘Erotic Discourse’ by one of our favourite artists Dense & Pika, to a dirty, grimy, bass track by Yenk called ‘Basement’, ending on an eclectic vocal track by Fran Von Vie feat. Cio May called ‘Lonely Nights’. Once finished you feel like you have been on a journey courtesy of MJC, one which you would have loved to experience in a club with a monstrous sound system but just turn it up, start from track 1 again and you can enjoy in all its glory. A classic in the Fabric CD series.

 

As ever, it is so difficult having shortlisted our favourite albums and mixes to select a favourite. Each selection has been listened to multiple times over the recent months and enjoyed at TBC HQ parties, chill sessions and while researching and trawling through the multitude of music releases and internet mixes. We managed to narrow it down to Todd Terje’s super disco debut album and the immense Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann’s BBC Essential Mix but the winner has to to be the latter. Dettmann managed to harness all the best parts of one of his epic 6 hour plus Berghain mixes into this essential mix for everyone to experience the true brilliance of his tune selection, set structure and pounding, pounding bass laden techno music. This mix is TBC down to a tee and therefore is our star selection for this edition of our playlist. Enjoy.

Thanks for reading, hopefully you made it this far and can enjoy some of, if not a lot of, the playlist we have provided this month covering the last 4 months music plus some great classics from years past.

TBC

Betty goes stateside…..

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New Yaaaaaaaaawk! New Yaaaaaaaak! This is all I’ve been singing since I got back from the Big Apple for my Easter boogie transatlantic party jaunt! My base for my week of debauchery was an exquisite apartment slap bang in the middle of coolest of the cool areas in Brooklyn – Williamsburg! My hostess was a sensational Russian Sex Bomb with a love of prescription drugs and sexual experimentation. One word FANTANTRIC! I dined in the Spice Market and I sunk super strong cocktails on The Whyte Hotel’s delicious roof terrace taking in the views of the Manhattan skyline over the East River. After drinking my fill of Bloody Mary’s and waltzing around a plethora of Brooklyn’s über cool record shops in an extremely focused way, I focused my mind on what I had really come to NYC to do – P P P PARRRRRRTY!

 

Verboten, a long running New York night was the first stop on my New York party tour. Luckily this club had just opened in its new home right on the next street to my Russian friend’s party pad! Also luckily, my current house obsession – Lee Burridge was playing a 4 hour set! Hellllloooooooo perfect first New York night out! We got into the club and everything looked swell with beautiful decor and crazy lighting. Lee Burridge’s soul caressing sounds were made even more amazing by the sound system which made me feel like I was wrapped in a warm blanket of smooth house. However, ladies and gents that’s where the fun stopped and annoyance began. The club was full of teenagers who looked like they would be more at home at Embrace in Sheffield than the chic yet grimy dance floors I know and love! After seeing one too many jock/cheerleaders sucking face and being barged by one too many drunken buffoons I realised that I needed to leave. It costs money to touch this bitch don’t ya know (plus my arm might fall off!). From now on Verboten ist Verboten!

 

I realised that night 2 was gonna be far more my kind of thing when I saw the announcement for the event location. BLKmarket membership had only gone and taken over 88 Palace – a carpeted Chinese restaurant on the top of a Chinese shopping mall underneath Manhattan Bridge. Yes we saw rats on the way there, yes we saw an abundance of waving Chinese cats in every single shop window and yes the restaurant owner was there looking like he was about to have cardiac arrest! The restaurant had been transformed into the kind of back street, techno haven that I simply adore! Dark and dirty with only the scary visuals projected from behind the DJ booth and the wonderful sounds of Matt Dekay for me to lose myself in! Not a snogging kid in sight – thank fack! We boogied our asses off and hands down put those Americans with there terrible dancing to shame! Loosen up brothas and sistas!

 

The rest of the holiday was spent in a haze of bottles, techno and wigs. Heaven! NYC I had the most ridiculous amount of fun and I will be back but until then I really need to wake up after all this partying …………… better call Dr Schwartz!

 

 

 

Hope Works 1st March 2014 Ben Sims and Kyle Hall

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Hope works

TBC had promised ourselves a quiet March after the debauchery of our February and in particular our first party –  TBC Loved Up. Hope Works on the other hand had other ideas for us and when we saw the line up for their event on 1st March, any good intentions were thrown right out of the window! Not only had they secured UK techno god Ben Sims as the headline act but supporting him was Detroit’s fresh faced techno newcomer Kyle Hall. Well, tickets were booked without a second thought and excitement reached fever pitch in the days before the event. You see TBCers, Ben Sims playing in Sheffield was pretty damn special. Not only does he rarely play in the North of England but we at TBC had never seen him despite his tunes being regularly pelted out at TBC HQ and us having an all round humungous admiration for the guy! So yes, we were VERY excited!

We got to the club around 1.30am. By this time Detroit’s very own Kyle Hall was on the decks and his music was raw to say the least. It took a good 10 minutes and a shot of tequila for TBC to get to grips with the industrial, griminess that was being pumped through Hope Works. Once we did however, well ……. we really bloody liked it!  It wasn’t the easiest music to dance to as it was rather disjointed and brash however, its rawness suited the grittiness of Hope Works down to a tee. The set was varied and unusual. Mr Hall was also pulling off some very bizarre and ambitious mixing which shed a light on what a true DJing talent this guy is.

The layout of the club itself had also changed since the last time TBC came here. The dance floor had been widened and the place was generally more open than it had been which created a much easier space to get down and boogie in.

Ben Sims came on at 3am and his opening number made sure everyone on the dance floor stopped what they were doing and turned towards the DJ booth in awe. He played a gorgeously, rich and unexpected 1920’s swing track with footage of jazz musicians projected behind the DJ booth complimenting it perfectly.  It was a magnificent set opener and marked the bar for the rest of the set which was absolutely superb. Whereas Hall’s music had been difficult to dance to, Sims’ was the complete opposite. It had such an amazing flow and groove that made dancing to it a real pleasure. This was evident whenever TBC looked around the dance floor and was greeted by a sea of ecstatic faces and clubbers bopping away like nobody’s business. The night wasn’t a sell out which was a surprise considering the calibre of the line up. Come on Sheffield clubbing collective – what were you thinking if you missed this one? It did however mean there was ample space for TBC to throw our limbs around in wild abandon to the delicious techno that Sims was bestowing on us. His set varied from funky techno to hard as nails and at some points the intensity on the dance floor did make TBC think they might have a heart attack! Ben Sims was everything we had expected and so much more and the Hope Works team have a lot to be congratulated on and thanked for in bringing such a techno legend to the Steel City.

The only downside of the night was that despite the fact the music was awesome, the sound system wasn’t all that great. TBC still had slight ringing in their ears after a good nights sleep – hmmm not really what you want at work on the Monday! Aside from that though it was a monster of a night which appeared to be enjoyed thoroughly by all in attendance.

TBC Playlist February 2014

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New/Current

Dj Kicks – Brandt Brauer Frick (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – Kolsch (2014)*

BBC Essential Mix – Friend Within (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – DJ Snake (2014)

BBC Essential Mix – MK (2014)

FabricLive Vol.73 – Pangaea (2014)

Various Artists – Bleep pres. Top 100 tracks of 2013 (2013)

Various Artists (Kompakt records) – Pop Ambient 2014

Groove Podcast 26 – Helena Hauff (2014)

Defected pres. In the House – MK (2013)

Defected près. House Masters – Henrik Schwarz (2014)

Different Sides of the Sun – Hot Natured (2013)

Little Red – Katy B (2014)

Watergate vol.15 – Kerri Chandler (2014)

Naturally – Dana Ruh (2014)

Various Artists (50 Weapons) – #50 Weapons RMX 01-09 (2014)

Live @ Robot Heart Halloween Party, NY City – Tom Middleton pres. Retro Futro (2014)

Live @ Output, Brooklyn NYE 2013 – DJ Tennis (2014)

Classic

Fabric vol.8 – Radioactive Man (2002)

Various Artists – Giorgio Moroder on the Groove Train Vol.1 – 1975-1993 (2012)

Mixmag Presents Duck Sauce – Armand Van Helden & A-Trak (2009)

Innovator – Derrick May (1998)

It is finally time for our first playlist in 2014. I hear some of you saying “what’s taken you so long…it’s almost the end of February!” but as ever it’s quality over quantity plus it has taken some time to recover from the TBC Loved Up party on the 15th of February and all the preparation that took over at TBC HQ in January and the start of this month.

2014 has been slow to get going on the music front, we almost felt spoiled towards the end of 2013 and the annual review showcased what a year it was for new music. Nonetheless here at TBC we have been busy listening to as many new releases as possible, sourcing the new albums and more leftfield offerings that techno and dance music has to give and enjoying the many podcasts and radio shows on offer. I must say that it has been the radio shows and  live sets that have been dominating the airwaves at TBC HQ and this has been helped by DJs excelling in their NYE sets (and of course saving and posting on the internet – see the links above) and superb January of Future Hero Essential Mixes from BBC Radio One curated by Pete Tong and selected by Annie Mac and Skream & Benga. February has seen more on the album and compilation release front with two of the best coming from our favourites DJ Kicks and one of the best Berlin clubs Watergate. Lets hope that things pick up into March and onwards into 2014 so Spring/Summer has some gems to be enjoyed and included in our upcoming playlists.

Enough of the waffling and rambling and on to the playlist reviews:

Dj Kicks – Brandt Brauer Frick (2014)

2013 was an amazing year for Dj Kicks culminating in some esteemed reviews in the dance music annual ‘Best ofs’ and TBC selecting the John Talabot mix as our favourite for 2013. Having delivered such a high standard in 2013 they have set the bar high for the 2014 roster. First up are Brandt Brauer Frick who originate from Berlin and provide a group performance live show factor to the newest in the long running series of mixes. The mix is an intriguing mix of experimental, disco, house, minimal, electro, techno, urban and leftfield electronic music and progresses at varying speeds and intervals to create an eclectic compilation of tracks. The mix harks back to the older DJ Kicks where you were treated to a diverse selection of tunes emanating from both the DJs personal collection and preferred styles of music and the dancefloor/live performance venue. While not feeling as ‘polished’ as the offerings from 2013 this is highly enjoyable and there are some great treats;

-Rollercoaster by Dollkraut is a haunted western sounding, groovy number

-Transition by Galaxy 2 Galaxy & Atlantis features an amazing ‘Transition’ vocal that has been sampled many times and is accompanied by a funky baseline

-To Catchy by Dj Do Bass provides a fast, disco/funk track

-Wooden Knuckles by James Braun is a straight up TBC electro anthem

-Now U Know The Deal 4 Real by Machinedrum is a slick vocal & urban number

All in all this is another high quality release by DJ Kicks and a great introduction to Brandy Brauer Frick who we expect a great deal more from and hope to catch one of their live performances in 2014.

BBC Essential Mix – Kolsch (2014) & BBC Essential Mix – MK (2014)

The Future Heroes series curated by Pete Tong in January for the BBC Essential Mix is always a good way to start the New Year. Current BBC DJs including Pete Tong himself present their future stars of 2014 and normally result in a new DJ being aired for the first time over a 2 hour mix. This time round the first mix came from one of TBC’s ‘Ones to Watch’ in 2014; Kolsch. In keeping with his album 1977 the two hour mix provides more of the same and builds on this with a great collection of progressive techno and house for our enjoyment. ‘Euphoric’ is one word to describe this mix, Kolsch manages to encapsulate euphoria with epic sounding tracks, ghostly vocals, moody build ups and breakdowns. A great mix of Kolsch tracks and edits along side some of the best artists in electronic music; Matthew Jonson, Moderat, Ame, Cajmere, Omar S, Technasia, Deetron and Robert Hood. The track list looks like a playlist from TBC HQ with some of our favourite artists featuring. We cannot wait to see Kolsch this summer at Melt.

Following the Future Heroes January was a cracking house mix from MK who many of you may not have heard of, including us at TBC. Marc Kinchen was a big player in early 90’s house but disappeared in the Mid 90’s not resurfacing in the world of house music until 2011 when he released the first of several Defected CD’s (one of which is included in the playlist above). We are pleased he is back as he has been remixing and producing his way through the house music scene leaving party destruction in his wake, which is evident in his essential mix. Some of the tunes and mixes do verge on the ‘cheesier’ side of house but who doesn’t  like a bit of quality cheese now and then?!

FabricLive Vol.73 – Pangaea (2014)

Fabric continue their mammoth CD series, which is now up to #74, with the Friday night instalment of  ‘Live’ which is brought to you by one of the most popular & upcoming underground DJ’s Pangaea. One half of Hessle Audio’s founders (with Ben UFO) and championing the harder sounds of urban, dub, techno and dark/ghetto sounding genres (there are too many to keep track of nowadays, i’m getting old!) this FabricLive doesn’t take long to start banging and it doesn’t cease until track 27 is complete and the CD finishes! This mix is relentless, is best enjoyed loud and well terrorise your neighbours, flat mates, girlfriend/wife/partner. Pangaea provides a mix which puts most of the Fabric series to shame (apart from Ben Sims in Fabric 63 which is amazing) and seriously stamps his authority on the mix CD genre. Shifted, Speedy J, Drumcell, Alex Falk and Oscar Mulero feature for the avid techno fans and there are lots of additional artists to enjoy including Pearson Sound. Having previously been disappointed with Pangaea when seeing him live in Sheffield this mix more than makes up for that and will sit proud in the CD collection for the upcoming months and in the Fabric CD family.

Watergate vol.15 – Kerri Chandler (2014)

Volume 15 of the Watergate series is literally hot off the press and is the newest of the featured mixes this month. Having read a review of this CD on one of the larger music websites and seeing the poor score it was given we were a little apprehensive at TBC HQ when this was first played. Our apprehension was very misplaced, we should have respected the house & techno legend that is Kerri Chandler to deliver a quality mix. The latest in the Watergate series is superb. Quality house and techno tracks that you would expect to hear at Watergate and dance your ass off by the Spree in Berlin under the amazing ceiling light feature grace this mix from start to finish. Huxley, Kerri Chandler (himself), Italoboyz, D’Julz and Subb-an contribute to this excellent addition to the Watergate collection.

Live @ Output, Brooklyn NYE 2013 – DJ Tennis (2014)

At TBC HQ DJ Tennis has become a legend with his amazing live sets (previously featured was the amazing Panorama Bar mix) are a surefire way to start, boost or end a party. The tune selection is always top draw with moody progressive, vocally beautiful, banging electro and groovy techno tunes being incorporated via some of the best producers and remixers of the moment. The diversity of the mix and ability to move from genre to genre and back again, flawlessly, is testament to this great DJ. The one things that gets to TBC is the elusiveness of Mr. Tennis, where can we get involved and when will we finally see him live?! We hope it is soon but as long as the mixes keep coming we will continue to promote, plug and adore. We highly recommend following the link to the mix from Soundcloud both liking the mix and following this DJ.

I would love to have featured and reviewed more mixes from the playlist however hours seem to have passed and readers may have switched off by this point (hopefully not though) and it is also time to wrap the latest playlist up and select the TBC favourite, our first in 2014.

Summing up each playlist and deciding on our favourite always ends up with some heated debate, reconsideration and sometimes a ‘U’ turn or two. In this case the final favourite was not even considered when we first started writing however having spent the whole day re-listening to each of the featured mixes our opinions changed considerably. One thing to mention is the serious quality of each of the featured mixes, we would recommend that each is sought out and enjoyed. Our final decision was to place the Kolsch Essential Mix on top this month. A single paragraph review is not enough to do this mix justice, we think it may be a big year for Kolsch and if he can deliver in his live shows this year he will be on the top of everyones ‘must see’ list as Dixon was in 2013. We have included a link to the tracklist below just to show how good this is, we would recommend this mix is your first point of call. Follow the link and enjoy!

Well done Kolsch, congratulations of being the first favourite at TBC HQ in 2014.

https://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/the-essential-mix-future-stars

Thanks for reading, we hope that you enjoy the playlist as much as we have and look forward to the next instalment which is of course To Be Confirmed.

TBC

Betty gets Loved Up!

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As most of you know by now, last weekend was the first proper instalment of TBC’s club night! TBC Loved Up! I graced the basement of The Night Kitchen (FKA DLS) for 6 hours of bone shaking techno with all my nearest and dearest! The weeks beforehand were spent preparing with my TBC buddies, making decorations, blowing up inflatable lips and ordering all manner of loved up paraphernalia including confetti cannons and heart shaped cocktail umbrellas! I was literally in a frenzied whirlwind of hearts and kisses for weeks which suited me and my general well being down to the ground! Of course, I fitted in a couple of pre parties at TBC HQ with the TBC resident DJs to discuss party tunage and just generally crank up our TBC excitement levels!

On the day itself i donned some rather fetching heart shaped nipple tassels which made even Oro (my gold mannequin lover) blush! I looked hot to trot especially with my very own  sexual purple spot light! Yes, ladies and gents, as per usual, it was all about me!

The basement looked super cool with lots of dark graffiti covered in cutesy hearts and smooches. At midnight tasty clubbers started arriving in awesome outfits including multiple coloured wigs, a green mirror ball jacket and make up any drag queen would be proud of! The dance floor became a vision of colour and smiley faces with all the guests entering into the truly Loved Up spirit of the night!

Now you’ve got an idea of the look of the place let me help with the audio! Luke Symonds was first on the decks with a gorgeous house set. A perfect start to the night which really got people bopping on the dance floor. A set highlight for me was Simian Mobile Disco “Cerulean” which had me bouncing around like Tigger on heat. Simon Bryan was next up and by this point the dance floor was really buzzin. Si’s set was dark with some awesome house and techno tunes and at times was in the style of my ultimate gigolo DJ Hell. Can’t really get a better compliment than that from the Bettster! He finished with the amazing Marcel Dettman remix of “Bad Kingdom” by Moderat. Check his set out on our sound cloud page:

https://soundcloud.com/technobreakfastclub/simon-bryan-tbc-loved-up-15-2

Omar El Gohary was on next and boy did this Egyptian maverick pull it out of the bag – his set was banging to say the least and was completely different to those that had gone before. Super hard techno which at times made me completely lose my mind in a state of delirium! Ben Sims featuring Blake Baxter “I wanna go back” was a particular highlight as was the fez hat which topped his head at an appropriately epic point in the music! James Avery was up next and I’ve gotta say, I thought Jay would carry on in the same vein as Omar bearing in mind I didn’t think it could get much harder but no, Jay cranked up the bpm and played a really fast, ridiculously hard techno set! His penultimate tune was the soul grazing: Radioactive Man “Uranium” which had me practically wetting my pants (if I wasn’t made of plastic and just a torso I definitely would have done!). The residents completely blew my mind with the music and had everyone on the dance floor going wild!

TBC Loved Up was a complete success and my head is already buzzin with ideas for our next party! I have just about recovered after an awesome after party and after after party so watch this space for your invitation to TBC part 2!

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Check out the rest of our Loved Up photos here:

https://www.facebook.com/technobreakfastclub.tbc/media_set?set=a.1485165465044239.1073741832.100006523981025&type=3

‘Wilde Liebe’ – new album review

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When asked to review the first compilation from the Wilde record label its safe to say that TBC were whooping for joy.  Wilde is home to an amazing array of artists as diverse as Tiefschwarz and Heidi. Furthermore, TBC went to the Wilde boat party at Sonar a few years back and despite some seriously choppy waves and questionable dance moves it was clear that Wilde know how to throw a super cool party.

“Wilde Liebe” is the first compilation release from the Wilde family to mark its 10th anniversary and it showcases recent releases from the Wilde artists. “Ok”, I hear you cry, “it’s a great label but is the compilation any good?” Well TBCers its not exactly bad but it isn’t all that good either. There are some great individual tunes such as: Tiefschwarz  – “Voices” which is a classically Tiefschwarz haunting, dark, electro number with some soul grazing bass. Atapy – “Finding You” has some really satisfying noises going on and continues the dark theme with a rather disturbing, distorted vocal. The compilation closer is a perfect little Burning Man style trippy, spacey number, “Albin” by Kenny Leaven.

All in all however, this album is inoffensive but distinctly mediocre. TBC have had a good few listens now and found that each time we did, we kind of forgot we were supposed to be reviewing the album and ended up having to remind ourselves to listen which really isn’t how it should be. It just didn’t grab us. You may feel differently so take a look at the track list below and if it seems like your thing give it a download. We would recommend the individual tracks listed above but as a whole, from us, the compilation doesn’t get a thumbs up.

01 Pilocka Krach – Superboy

02 DIA – Spot On

03 Djuma Soundsystem – Chick

04 Daniel Wilde – Prairie

05 Lewis Boardman – Yeah

06 Daniel Dexter – Eclipse

07 Sierra Sam – House in my house

08 The Jaydes – Hidden Pleasure

09 Ian Pooley – Flash 78

10 Tim Xavier – Memory Man

11 Tiefschwarz – Voices

12 Atapy – Finding You

13 Christian Prommer – Betchugona

14 Chris Wood & Meat – Make it Raw

15 Acid Washed & Stuff – Move On

16 Kenny Leaven – Albin

2013 Playlist Review & Best Album

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Our first calendar year at TBC has come to an end and we are settling in to 2014 with a quiet January after a busy Christmas holiday period and the TBC adventure in Thailand over the New Year. Wow what a year 2013 was, our TBC blog was launched in April, we had our launch party in August and have been updating the blog and planning for 2014 (including our first proper club night) for the remainder of the time. We are so grateful for everyone’s input, feedback, help, appreciation, messages and the reception our blog and the TBC concept has experienced.

As is tradition with all those involved in the music industry the annual ‘best of’ lists have been published and there has been a plethora of playlists, album charts and articles to trawl through. We all have our favourites and many of the official articles via Resident Advisor, Bleep, FACT et al. are read by thousands of people and offer an opportunity to see if your favourite albums have been included and a great chance to pick up on some of the dark horse entries or albums you may have missed. Here at TBC we have been posting our playlists to share what we have been listening to and what our favourite albums at that moment were and felt it appropriate to offer our own annual review  and select our favourite release from 2013.

The shortlist of our ‘best of’ selections:

22nd – 28th July – Resident Advisor Podcast #373 – Helena Hauff (2013) *

29th July – 4th August – Tsugi Sampler 59 – Brodinski pres. Bromance Los Angeles (2013)*

2nd – 15th July -Disconnect/Reconnect – Japanese Popstars (2013)*

28th October – 22nd November – John Talabot – Dj Kicks (2013)*

December 2013 – Kolsch – 1977 (2013) *

On review of the official articles there are some gems that may not have featured in our playlists so we thought it best to include a shortlist to include in our annual review:

FACT magazine/ Resident Advisor – The Inheritors – James Holden

FACT Magazine – Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself – Omar S

Crack Magazine – Immunity – Jon Hopkins

Of these gems above there were two which had slipped through our net at TBC; the new James Holden album was listened to on its release but not fully appreciated on a first and only listen, the Omar S album had been entirely missed (understandable with the high volume of music that graces our speakers every month), both on review are excellent albums. James Holden once again tests your resolve and patience as the album is a grower and an ‘intelligent’ listen as there is a lot to take in and appreciate. Omar S has compiled an LP of instant classic house and techno numbers that would sit well in any playlist or live set. The latter release from Jon Hopkins was from early 2013 and hadn’t made it into our playlists as it was not new at the time but it has been a repeat listen at TBC HQ and it is without a doubt one of the best releases of 2013 and had we started our playlists earlier a dead cert for one of our ‘*’ recommendations.

There are also a number of albums/mixes that made our TBC playlists each month and did not feature on our shortlist but have continued to entertain us and therefore require a special mention:

DJ T. presents 25 Years of DJing 1988-2012 Part 1 – Get Physical (2013)

Renaissance the Mix Collection by Tiefschwarz (2013)

Axel Boman – Family Vacation (2013)

Bloody Mary – Wilde Podcast #013 (2011)

Four Tet – Beautiful Rewind (2013)

We have also been lucky to have a number of alternative electronica releases in 2013 that have really hit the mark and either stamped a new artist on the map or reaffirmed what we all expected from some of the industry stalwarts and legends. The alternative shortlist:

Rudimental – Home (2013)

Dexter – The Trip (2013)

The Bullitts – They Die by Dawn (2013)*

Atoms for Peace – AMOK (2013)

Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)

Of the alternative releases our most anticipated and enjoyed has been the debut release from the Bullitts (Jeymes Samuel) titles They Die by Dawn. Ever since the viral internet success of Supercool and its hilarious video of the dancing tramp (Jeymes Samuel himself) in London with Rosario Dawson this release was eagerly awaited and it did not let us at TBC down. The album was also utilised on a short film with the same name of which we are still awaiting to see but i’m sure this is equally as brilliant. The Bullitts remain a big one to watch in 2014 and the sheer diversity and quality in production is something to admire.

Having rambled on for far too long now it is time to select from the releases above and award our TBC release of 2014 which will not only have the standard ‘*’ applied but will be illustrated in…wait for it….CAPITAL LETTERS (to emphasise its superstar quality) and receive a few extra stars. It has been difficult to critically review each playlist entry and therefore having to select just one release for the whole year and to sum up the 5 playlists posted in 2013 has been complicated and lead to some heated debates here at TBC HQ, especially when Betty gets involved! The late addition of Immunity from Jon Hopkins did not make the decision any easier as it is a top album and will remain on the TBC speakers into 2014. It was a very big year for Jon Hopkins as he not only released his LP but also wow’ed everyone with his FACT podcast and even had time to release a movie soundtrack for How I Live Now. However it came down to two; Helena Hauff’s Resident Advisor Podcast and the DJ Kicks release from John Talabot. Both were enjoyed multiple times over the Xmas period and while away in Thailand on our travels and neither fail to amaze or falter on repeat listens which is testament to their quality and longevity. After extended deliberations our favourite release from 2013 is:

DJ KICKS – JOHN TALABOT ******

Put quite simply this compilation from the Talaboman is superb and deserves the title of release of 2013. It shone among three amazing DJ Kicks releases in 2013, it manages to incorporate a beautiful transition of blissed out electronic music to house and techno that impulsively has you bopping or dancing about and can be enjoyed at any time of the day when relaxing, pre-partying, partying or after-partying (which we do our fair bit of at TBC).

Thanks for reading we look forward to bringing you the best music in 2014.

Happy New Year to all our TBC followers.

TBC