Author: nickroffey1983

Betty does Thailand

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Sawadee Ka TBC lovers! I am currently floating around in a perpetual meditative state after 2 weeks of sun, yoga and most importantly techno in beautiful Thailand! First stop was Bangkok for 3 days of sky scrapers, lizards and shopping! Night times were spent sipping on sumptuous cocktails in a plethora of the city’s sky bars and dodging flying ping pong balls on Kao San Road.

Next Stop was Haad Tian for NYE and ooooooh baby this place is everything you’ve ever dreamed of and more! A huge room dedicated to Betty’s favourite ……………. glitter, wigs and feathers! Once I’d doused myself in sparkly magic I had the option of not 1 but 2 incredible and free techno parties to say hello to 2014. The first, under the stars at Guy’s Bar and the second up in the mountains over looking an idyllic beach at the one and only Eden! My Thai squeeze and I yo-yoed from one dance floor to the other for a good 14 hours and literally danced our little asses off along with fire throwers, hula hoppers and all manner of other loveable circus freaks. It was a new year like no other!

I had planned some R and R following NYE because as you TBCers know, I am a crazy party animal and I’ve literally gone off like a rocket in 2013. I booked myself into The Sanctuary which appeared to be a health resort on the beach with yoga, meditation and detoxes on offer. Well, you wouldn’t believe my surprise (and delight!) when I realised that The Sanctuary (code name fucked up party paradise) is actually on Haad Tian and literally slap bang in the middle of Guys Bar and Eden! Ha! I arrived on a Friday to be told that nothing happens on a Saturday, there are no classes, no mediation, no nothing as there is a huge party at Guys bar every Friday night. And yes, there was a party and not to mention that, this party did not finish until 4pm on Saturday! AND………………. when it did finish………………………………………………….another party started at Eden straight after and went on until Sunday lunchtime! When I eventually straightened my wig and stretched out my over danced, battered and bruised body after all this partying with a yoga class, I was greeted by the same guy I had seen dancing around on acid looking like a mental wizard only hours before in Eden! He was the yoga instructor!!! The Sanctuary is a messed up, crazy place – I FACKIN LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!

BettyNewYear2014

Playlist December 2013

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P1000864Breach – DJ Kicks (2013)

Oliver Huntemann Pres. Funf – Five Years Ideal Audio inc. mix by Andre Winter (2013)

Joseph Capriati – Self Portrait (2013)

Various Artists – Weapons of Choice #30-39 – 50 Weapons (2013)

Pete Tong b2b Eats Everything & Sasha – Warehouse Project 20th Anniversary BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Harvard Bass – Stay True (feat. Green Velvet) (2013)

Various Artists – Selected Label Works 4, Permanent Vacation (2013)

Various Artists – Selected Label Works 2 & 3, Permanent Vacation (2010 & 2011)

Trentemoller – Lost (2013)

Nina Kraviz – Mr. Jones (2013)

ZZT – Partys Over Earth (2011)

Fenech Soler – Rituals (2013)

Various Artists – Pete Tong Collection (2013 – Triple CD)

Dexter – The Trip (2013) 

Claude Von Stroke – BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Midnight Magic – Midnight Creepers (2013)

Rudimental – Warehouse Project 20th Anniversary BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Paul Woolford b2b James Zabiela – Warehouse Project 20th Anniversary BBC Essential Mix (2013)

Rudimental – Home (2013)

Drexciya – Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller VI (2013)

 John Digweed – Live in Argentina (2013)

Various Artists – 10 Years Crosstown Rebels (2013)

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

Kolsch – 1977 (2013) *

Bloody Mary – Wilde Podcast #013 (2011)

Bloody Mary – Fabric Promo Mix (2013)

The Classics

Sneaker Pimps – Becoming Remixed (1998)

Soulwax – Most of the Remixes (2007)

Armand Van Helden – Ghettoblaster (2007) – first album at casa de Roffey in 2007

Tom Middleton – Sound of the Cosmos (2002)

Aeroplane – BBC Essential Mix – 500th Anniversary Mix @ Circus Liverpool (2010)

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas to all you TBCers who have been so kind to join in and run through our December playlist. There have been some excellent releases during the holiday season, we have cracked out some older gems and had a good old root around on the internet for the best podcasts and radio shows. The list features over 30 albums, live sets or mixes that we would recommend for a festive party, chilling out with family over Christmas or to be cranked up and blared out in true TBC style over the New Years celebrations. Hope you enjoy and have a great Xmas break.

In this months list we have got some great diversity for you with the traditional end of year collections from Permanent Vacation (Disco/House) and an old school collection from Pete Tong (house, rave, techno, trance), Anniversary radio shows from BBC Essential Mix celebrating 20 years at the Warehouse Project in Manchester (3 weeks of WHP Essential mixes were aired at the end of 2013) along with the new releases and ‘the classics’. We have even thrown in some Hip Hop from Dexter (German artist), Urban from Rudimental, Electro-Indie from ZZT (Tiga’s band named after their favourite band ZZ Top) & Fenech Soler and some experimental electronica from Trentemoller. All in all we have been very very busy at TBC getting through all this music to ensure that we could bring you a bumper Christmas playlist that our loyal TBC fans deserve.

The shortlist this month:

Armand Van Helden – Ghettoblaster (2007) – Starting with a classic, and boy is this a classic and a half, from the legend of New York Garage and House music Armand Van Helden. Having been looking through some old CD’s and skimming through some recent mixes (including his Duck Sauce Essential Mix with A Trak in 2013 and some old Tiga shows) we found Ghettoblaster which has so many good memories for us at TBC HQ as it was the first album played when me moved into our current apartment in 2007. What a party that was and what an album this is. Great party disco/electro tracks that you will be singing, dancing and generally going crazy to once this album is played, trust me we have succumbed to this many a time! A highly recommended listen especially with NYE just around the corner and for anyone wanting to recreate a NYC loft party vibe from either the 90’s or naughties.

Breach – DJ Kicks (2013) – 2013 has been a big year for DJ Kicks and Breach (A.K.A Ben Westbeech) which in some way makes this combination on the recent Dj Kicks compilation a match made in heaven. Dj Kicks started the year of with a mix from Maceo Plex (A.K.A Maetrik) which was a solid release but failed to really hit home, however the later 2013 release of John Talabot was where Dj Kicks really showed off with one of the best releases this year and, not to rest on the laurels, they then squeezed out one final release in the year from Breach. The latter release is superb and has been enjoyed on multiple occasions this month both in TBC HQ and out and about on our travels . This mix starts with the blissed out house we are used to from Ben Westbeech, progresses onto spacey, disco vibes, then into some more gritty urban feeling tracks before culminating in the samba-esque, steel drum extravaganza of Sabre Nightdrive to Bolland. If you miss this Dj Kicks you will be missing out and if you own all three from 2013 you can give yourself a pat on the back for some amazing music procurement this year and some great aural senses.

Various Artists – Selected Label Works 4, Permanent Vacation (2013) – The annual collection releases from record labels can sometimes  be seen as a ‘cash-in’ opportunity by many of the avid collectors of each EP, LP or single release and to many as including some of the not so revered tracks from the past year which you have to delete or skip as to avoid when listening. If you know of Permanent Vacation (PERMVAC) you will know that this is not the case with their Selected Label Works series of releases, the German Disco record label knows how to show off their wares. The recent volume 4 was highly anticipated at TBC following the enjoyment the previous volumes of this series have brought to us not only in the sheer quality of each release, that leave you bopping and swaying about until the collection is finished, but the education it provides in new artists and the nu-wave of disco that continues to be released via PERMVAC. The artist list on their releases is nothing short of impressive, including; Roisin Murphy (formally in Moloko), Tensnake, John  Talabot, Mano Le Tough and Arto Mwambe. This is well worth the investment while sitting round your family’s this Christmas as it will have everyone (including your Gran) dancing away or for a quality selection to kick off your NYE celebrations.

Kolsch – 1977 (2013) – This guy is going to have a great 2014 in our opinion at TBC. Not only is 1977 an amazing debut release but he is being tipped by Peter Tong for big things in 2014 including the first BBC Essential Mix in 2014 which is a great accolade for Kolsch who has played the dark horse in 2013. 1977 was released in the middle of 2013 and was quickly found by TBC who have enjoyed in multiple occasions since. The production is sublime and the music ranges from house to a trancey/progressive sound which suits an early warm up or a post clubbing chill out session. There is some great variation on this album and you will have your favourites; Der Alta reminds us of Pocket Piano from Dj Mehdi (RIP),  Siberpfeil hints of a Bpitch/Apparat-esque haunting, epic sounds, Loreley and Zig remind us of Booka Shade and there are urban, electro numbers along with serious quality house tracks. The ability to produce tracks from such a range of styles while creating an album that flows well and always keep you hooked until the end on your first album really sets Kolsch off on the right foot. Here’s hoping that in 2014 he continues to progress and transfers his sound to radio shows and live shows for all of our enjoyment. One to Watch!

John Digweed – Live in Argentina (2013) – The legend John Digweed continues to release mix compilations, record label collections, live mixes and a radio show at a scary, unrelenting rate. Historically I have enjoyed Renaissance, Northern Exposure, Global Underground, Bedrock releases and BBC Essential Mixes of which I still treasure many. Having seen ‘Diggers’ live on many occasions and witnessed some of the best mixes I have ever heard I always look forward to a new ‘Live Mix’ CD or radioshow. Unfortunately having seen and heard a lot of ‘Diggers’ over the years I am also aware of the more mundane, less enjoyable side that can sometimes end up in your CD player or PC playlist. This results in a great deal of apprehension when another of the ‘Live at…’ mix cd is released especially as the previous entries have varied from amazing to the more middle of the road release that just doesn’t seem to go anywhere. To my delight the new collection recorded in two locations in Argentina; Metropolitano in Rosario and Mandarine Park in Buenos Aires, over 4 CDs is superb. It doesn’t take long for the bass to start thumping, we are treated to a great journey through progressive (some Trancey numbers), house and but mainly not straying too far from Techno which we at TBC particularly enjoyed. If you can find yourself a few hours, large speakers and get through the full box set you will find yourself well and truly pulverised by this mix, a great addition to Mr.Digweed’s Live series.

Dexter – The Trip (2013) – The left field selection in December comes from Dexter a German Hip Hop artist, this  is the third album released by Dexter in his career. We stumbled upon this album while perusing a selection of releases and from the first listen have been captivated by the Hip Hop style that Dexter presents. Harking back to a DJ Shadow-esque trip hop/hip hop style that reminds us of early Mo Wax releases in the 1990s this album brings a modern and current spin to this style as enjoyed via the Gorillaz in the early 2000’s . Chilling at home is where this album is best enjoyed, the bass and melodies in the tracks will have you hooked from start to finish. If you are looking for an alternative album for an Xmas present, have a hankering for some quality new Hip Hop or just fancy a change this is a great place to start. Looking forward to more from Dexter.

It has been very difficult to make a choice for the best of Decembers playlist and this has divided opinions at TBC HQ. This is down to the sheer quality of music this month and this makes picking a favourite very difficult however after some extended deliberation we have gone with our selection due to its quality and varied production exhibited throughout the album:

Kolsch – 1977 (2013)

Merry Christmas everyone, have a great holiday and New Year. TBC are off on their travels for a few weeks to Thailand so will see you in the New Year for tales of our travels & exploits along with our selection of the best from 2013 along with our favourite release of the year.

TBC

Cargo 9th November 2013 – Axel Boman Secret Warehouse Party

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Well TBCers, if you have been living in some kind of hole (k or otherwise) for the past few years and you don’t know already, Cargo is Sheffield’s longest running techno and house night. It’s varied selection of DJs, everyone from Mark Broom to DJ Sneak, has helped to gather a diverse following for Cargo and TBC have been known to shimmy on down under their gargantuan disco ball on many an occasion! When the most recent party was announced 2 things instantly grabbed our attention. Número uno: headline DJ Axel Boman. Número duo: Secret Warehouse Location. What’s not to love TBCers? Pre- existing Boman admiration, intrigue and a love of industrial party settings meant that tickets were quickly snapped up by yours truly.

On the night itself we got to the club around 1.30am to be told that Axel was on at 2- perfect! The warehouse was located opposite Hopeworks and certainly packed a punch. It was on the cleaner, less grimy side than HW which TBC found preferable and it still maintained that rawness and industrial edge loved by so many Steel City Clubbers. It was the perfect size with bar area on entry and curtained off dance floor and DJ booth at the end. Cargo had really made an effort with the visuals. Gorgeous, shapes and symbols in soft, pinks, purples and greens were projected on the wall. This made a nice change to the cool but frankly sometimes rather disturbing visuals generally seen in warehouse venues and certainly suited the bill of music for the night.

On that note, enough about pretty lights and dancing space, “what about the music?” I hear you cry! Chris Moore, one of the Cargo Residents, and one half of Growmore was on when TBC arrived and we saw the last half an hour of his set. Gotta say, it wasn’t exactly doing it for us and there was a very noticeable change in quality when Axel B graced the decks. What can be said about his set? Where the hell do I start? It was phenomenal! If you have heard his production work then you would probably expect, as we did, some pretty dreamy, luxurious , mellow house from Mr B but no, his DJ set was in a different league. He stepped up his set perfectly for the club and delighted clubbers with a set of upbeat, driving, immensely pleasurable house, techno and disco. He did that thing that only a master DJ can do where he literally makes you feel like he is reading your mind and each song played is exactly what you needed to hear next. His crowd reading was second to none and as good as TBC favourite Ellen Allien, which is really saying something coming from us. Not only this folks but he was billed to play for 2 hours yet carried on playing for 4 when James Maplebeck, one of the Cargo boys, told him how long he’d played he uttered in disbelief, “what, your kidding? I told you to kick me off!?”. Hmmmm yeah, don’t think that was going to happen some how! 3 words party people: “IN THE ZONE!”. He would have carried on as well and the Cargo boys were trying madly to keep the bouncers from stopping the party with revellers treated to way more tunes than the original curfew had provided for only stopped when the killjoy bouncers turned all the lights on! Standard Sheffield party goers/promoters/DJs flagrant disregard of the rules in favour of a huge carry on!

This night was frickin awesome, the best Cargo that TBC has been to (and there have been a lot)! Well done guys this one was a real winner and not even the rude boys, with the gold teeth, shouting at the end “WHERE THE AFTER PARTY AT???” (erm anywhere you’re not!) could wipe the huge grins off our faces!

So if you like the sound of that, get yourselves down to Cargo v Ryad presents Subb-an and Adam Shelton on New Years Eve. Venue to be announced.

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Betty gets festive…..

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Well party princes and princesses, it is officially the party season and as you can see from my new pic, I am glaming it up like nobody’s business! Sparkles and feathers , sequins and glitter they are the name of the game! To kick off the festivities I had a crazy little jaunt down to the big smoke to hang in Seth Troxler’s new restaurant- “Smokey Tails”. What a place to chow down on a few tasty chunks of meat, knock back a few super strong margueritas and catch up with my bitchettes all to the sound of some sexy melodic house beats. What could be a better aural accompaniment to a Friday night dinner soirée?! Saturday night was all about the pent house party and what a dazzlingly awesome pent house this was especially when I found the walk in wardrobe (erm I’m just gona hang out in here all night ok guys?)  Soon however this heaven turned to hell when the music went from dreamy to demonic in 2 seconds flat. 3 words TBCers: R – Kelly – “Ignition”. I was out of there faster than you could say “married a minor”. Thankfully I was soon in the safe haven of the elite crew after party – awwwww yeah! Now I’m floating around in a seemingly endless river of festive parties! Don’t for a second however think that i’ve swapped my swanky cocktails for some kind of hot drink with cloves (WTF?) – it’s bellinis all the way for Betty B. Thank god I’m made of plastic cos otherwise I reckon my liver would be having a serious word with me! Now all that’s left to do is sink a few more, eat a few of those cute little piggies in blankets and board the plane……………..Oh yeah, didn’t I mention my Boxing Day flight to Thailand? Club Eden here I come! สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส to all you awesome TBCers catch you when I return with tales of all my lady boy antics!    BettyTBCXmas

TBC Playlist 28.10 to 22.11

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P1000863

Green Velvet – Unshakeable (2013)

Axel Boman – Family Vacation (2013)

Dj Alfredo – Ibiza Spotlight Pres. The Heritage Project (2012)

Motor City Drum Ensemble – DJ Kicks (2011)

John Talabot – Dj Kicks (2013)*

L.B.Corp & P.A.S (Luke Slater) – Resident Advisor Podcast #389 (2013)

Dj Tennis – Live @ Panorama Bar (17.02.13)

Machinedrum – BBC Essential Mix (16.11.2013)

Boys Noize – Fabric Live #72 (2013)

Various Artists – In The Dark: Detroit is Back (2013)

Bonobo – Later Night Tales (2013)

Lee Burridge – Live @ Robot Heart – Burning Man Festival 2013

Special Request (Paul Woolford) – Soul Music (2013)

Gesaffelstein – I Love Techno 2013 (2013)

Gesaffelstein – Aleph (2013)

Tiga – FACT Podcast #411 (2013)

Dj Bobafatt – Death Waltz’s Halloween Mix FACT Podcast #407 (2013)

Benjamin Damage – Heliosphere (2013)

Letherette – Letherette (2013)

Sven Vath – In the Mix : The Sound of the 14th Season (2013)

Azari & III – Body Language Vol.13 (2013)

Marcel Dettmann -Conducted (2011)

Gary Beck – Bring a Friend (2013)

Factory Floor – Factory Floor (2013)

Four Tet – Beautiful Rewind (2013)

Mark Houle – Undercover (2013)

Tube & Berger – Raveline Mix Session (2013)

Scuba – Update (2013)

Various Artists – 30 Years of R&S Records (2013)

The Classics:

Nick Warren – BBC Essential Mix (20.08.1995)

Johannes Heil – Freaks R Us (2006)

Gregor Tresher – Neon (2006)

Mauro Picotto – Meganite Vol.3 (2006)

Kevin Saunderson – Faces & Phases (1996)

Roisin Murphy – Overpowered (2007)

Phew!… its been a while but its good to be back and writing up the TBC music highlights of the last month. There are no fewer than 35 mixes, CD’s and podcasts that we have managed to  bundle into this months playlist and what a bumper playlist it is. This volume of music represents some quality listening time at TBC HQ during an unnaturally quiet month and the wealth of music that has been released recently, some of which is spectacular. There are also some ‘Golden Oldies’ that have been dug out from the collection and dusted down for a reminisce. Some of which we are sure will feature on your all time greatest album/mixes lists.

This is now the fourth appearance of the TBC playlist so you should all know the format by now but if you don’t, our favourite mixes are highlighted above in bold and the best will have a ‘*’ next to it, our mark of appreciation for a supreme effort by that DJ, Producer or Artist. We hope you enjoy the review below and having a root around to source the music and appreciate it as much as we have.

The Shortlist:

To start with the Classics:

Nick Warren – BBC Essential Mix (20.08.1995) – If any of you are lucky enough to have an arsenal of BBC Essential Mixes that includes gems going back as far as 1995 or have a selection of mixes from some of the greatest electronic artists in the last 3 decades you will undoubtably have this little number. 2 hours of Classic Nick Warren taking us on a journey from psy, trance, house , progressive and techno. This mix had been hidden away for a long time but a recommendation from a friend encouraged me to go searching for it and boy was I pleased I persevered and found it. I would highly recommend you do the same and get searching, you won’t be disappointed.

Mauro Picotto – Meganite Vol.3 (2006) – Mauro Picotto has been a favourite of mine going back to the ‘reach for the lasers’ era of trance in the 90’s/00’s with Lizard, Iguana, Awesome & Bangkok where I was fortunate to experience some amazing Picotto sets at  Gatecrasher (6-8 hour sets!) and a number of other nights/festivals. What became apparent in these sets was that Picotto had a seriously dark side and his love of crazy techno and electro was infectious, resulting in my growing love of techno. His Meganite Ibiza residency has been famous and notorious with many tales of dark, sweaty, packed, loud, monstrous, techno-laden nights. This is the third volume of the mix Cd compilation that accompanied the night and it is brilliant. Gregor Tresher, Joris Voorn, Stephan Bodzin, Oliver Huntemann, Adam Beyer, Maetrik (early appearance for Maceo Plex who was to become massive a few years later) and the legend himself Picotto all provide tracks for a superbly mixed and compiled selection of electro and techno stompers. A must own!

Now for the recent releases:

Gesaffelstein – I Love Techno 2013 (2013) – Having been a long running fan of the I love Techno series going back to the legendary Marco Bailey I Love Techno 2001 – Issue 02 I am always a little apprehensive when a new volume is released. This is only too easy to understand since I Love Techno has pursued a more popular music scene at its festivals in recent years with their respective CD’s by Steve Aoki (2010) and Erol Alkan (2012) not being my cup of tea. This apprehension was misplaced when one of my recent past French favourites Gesaffelstein was drafted in to mix the most recent 2013 edition. This mix is superb, right up our street at TBC; ranging from electro to storming techno this mix has been enjoyed on more than one occasion in the last month and has been a great treat when driving, especially on the long drives where I may have been seen bopping around in my car! The CD peaks with The Hacker’s, Pure Energy and ends with a gem from Gesaffelstein’s new album (Aleph – listed above) called Pursuit.

Lee Burridge – Live @ Robot Heart – Burning Man Festival 2013 & Dj Tennis – Live @ Panorama Bar (17.02.13) – It’s a rare treat to find two epic mixes from either club nights or festivals but this month we have one from Lee Burridge and a second from (the comically named) DJ Tennis clocking in at 4 hours 1 minute and 2 hours 43 minutes respectively. Both mixes are superb and well worth the time investment as they rarely falter, delivering a huge range of house, electro and techno that could provide the music for the entire duration of a house party! The legendary Burning Man Festival has provided great mixes before from Thugfucker and Damian Lazarus right from the heart of Black Rock Desert in Nevada and Panorama Bar continues to spoil us with yet another legendary set (there are literally too many to name).

Here are links to both, I hope you can download and enjoy:

And Finally….almost running out of energy at this point but spurned on by the best in the selection this time round…

John Talabot – Dj Kicks (2013)* – Being resident in our favourite city outside of the UK, Barcelona, John Talabot is somewhat of a dark horse on the European electronic music scene. Slowly building his image, status and style from one of the best debut albums I have ever heard, Fin (2012), John Talabot remains an elusive DJ and producer appearing on few line ups and treating us with only the odd remix and podcast. We should not be deterred by the infrequent releases and appearances but motivated to find a night where we can experience John Talabots genius. This new entry into an already well established Dj Kicks roster (one which TBC are VERY familiar with) really goes to town with a an amazing journey of blissed out electronica to beautiful house music and on to more techier sounds later in the CD. This CD can literally be enjoyed at any time of the day; early morning wake up call, midday relax or evening party and allows John Talabot to entertain us with 27 tracks in a superbly crafted mix. Particular highlights are Axel Boman’s Klinsmann, Motor City Drum Ensemble’s Escape to Nowhere and Talaboman (Talabot and Axel Boman!) Sideral. This will be one of the CD’s of 2013 and will be on our playlist for some time at TBC HQ. A must buy for everyone.

Many thanks to everyone who has managed to make it this far through this recent TBC playlist, hope you enjoy and see you all soon!

Thanks for reading.

TBC

Axel Boman – ‘Family Vacation’, new album review

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For those of you that are already feeling the Axel B sound after some of his previous releases such as ‘Purple Drank’ and ‘Holy Love’ hit the big time, you won’t be disappointed by his new, debut, album, ‘Family Vacation’. ‘Family Vacation’ is a sublime little album which takes the listener on a magic carpet ride throwing lots of experimental sounds and influences in along the way but maintaining that hallmark dreamy, blissed out Axel Boman style of house throughout.

If any of you TBCers were lucky enough to see Axel when he played at Cargo earlier in the month then you’ll know how varied this guy’s musical knowledge is and that certainly shines through on the album.

‘No Sweden’ has an Arabian Nights sound to it, Betty was strutting her stuff doing an impression of the Prince of Persia to this one!

‘Son of a plumber’ (not sure if the this is the sequel to ‘Son of a Preacher Man’?) has a really nice chunky percussion groove. Definitely one of the more danceable numbers on the album.

‘Barcelona’ is as delicious as the city itself with a slightly old school RnB tinge but seriously DO NOT let that put you off, it’s ace!

Word of warning though TBCers and this is especially going out to those who did see Axel at Cargo, his production style is very different to his DJing style. The album is far more relaxed and laid back than his upbeat, energetic club sets. In TBC’s view the perfect time to listen to ‘Family Vacation’ is on a train. Betty did and according to her it suited her environment exquisitely! All aboard! This isn’t one for blasting out before a big night out peeps be sure of that, it may have you reaching for your pjs rather than your spangly dancing shoes! Its brilliant for winding down at an after party though (when those pjs will no doubt be out and proud!)

All in all, ‘Family Vacation’ is an extremely well crafted debut which isn’t afraid to push those genre boundaries and sounds goddamn gorgeous to boot. Our recommendation? Get downloading mutha flippers!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/family-vacation-bonus…/id730902587

SPEKTRE – Cyclic Operations – New Album Review

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Spektre Cyclic OperationsFollowing our recent interview with Paul Maddox, one half of the techno duo SPEKTRE, we at TBC were very excited to receive a sneak preview link to the new production album ‘Cyclic Operations’ in our mailbox last week. The new album is released via Toolroom Records (see link below) on MP3 format on the 4th of November so you can all enjoy the album as much as we have very soon.

http://www.toolroomrecords.com/news/spektre-cyclic-operations-out-0411

So TBCers, what did we think …………… Cyclic Operations will destroy your speakers and terrorise your neighbours but you won’t care as you will be jumping about your living room like a loon. We haven’t been able to get Betty to turn it off album repeat since we gave her the link, she’s gone through 6 pairs of speakers and had two eviction notices, quite a feat!

Down to the details, the album is a diverse collection of consistently well produced, forward thinking & club-ready tunes which is exactly what Paul promised us when we met him. The previously released first tune from the album, ‘Turbine’, is truly reflective of the general style of the album, its “Wub wub wub” sound is reminiscent of the old school classic Joyenergizer and the bonkers Amon Tobin Isam Tour. You hardcore SPEKTRE fans will of course already know this, so now for the unreleased tracks………. Listeners will be taken on a roller coaster ride from the banging ‘Reverion’ at the start of the album through some melodic, groovier numbers that we could imagine being dropped by Ellen Allien (‘Let Me Tell You’). ‘We Are One’ reminds us of the classic Martin Luther King sampled monologue in many a legendary track and we expect to hear this on plenty of dance floors soon. The trance heads among us will appreciate the inclusion of ‘Sense of Madness’ which has a rather distinct sample taking us back to the golden era of Trance at the end of the 90’s.

Our only negative point about the album was encountered about half way through our first listen as we were surprised at the length of the album and transition between banging techno and the experimental, interlude, classic infused tracks which would have been more suited to a split format; club and after party selection. This is a minor criticism of what overall we consider to be an excellent second album from the SPEKTRE boys.

As to our favourite personal tunes:

  • Helen – Steel City Sunrise – “epic finale”
  • Nick – Opus – “explosive, old-school, rave”

We hope you enjoy the album as much as we have, get downloading!!

Tracklist:

1. Introduction – Spektre
2. Reverion – Spektre
3. Let Me Tell You – Spektre feat. Montserrat
4. We Are One – Spektre
5. Turbine – Spektre
6. Sense In Madness – Spektre
7. Forerunner – Spektre
8. Intersection – Spektre
9. Skuz – Spektre
10. Ghosts In The Machine – Spektre
11. Parabolica – Spektre
12. Intervention – Spektre
13. Opus – Spektre
14. Steel City Sunrise – Spektre
15. Cyclic Operations – Spektre DJ Mix

Betty’s at it again …………..

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Well Techno Troop, where do I begin. The last couple of weeks has been a time of wonder and amazement in the world of The Bitch (TM). Knowing that techno is the true and literal love of my life you will probably have some idea at how happy I was to set foot in a festival tent where the line up was Jeff Mills, followed by Skirt followed by Karenn with Surgeon and Marcel Dettman bringing up the rear. Yes TBCers I’m talking about Mint Fest and I’m talking about the dirty, dark cavern of dreams that was the Black Light arena! OH MY DAYS THAT SHIT WAS HOT! I gyrated like a wild animal for around 10 hours only breaking the techno marathon with 2 hours of aural pleasure from the Innervisions god himself, Dixon, headlining the System Tent. What a joyous occasion was had by all my little minty fresh crew. I can’t possibly not mention the hideous discovery I made when observing any festival goer other than the infinitely cool inhabitants of Black Light though. 2 words: 90s throwbacks! WTF? Huge neon pink caps with studs and a wife beater does not a great festival look make mate! Yes, my ex Biggie Smalls could pull it off in the 90s but he was waaaaaaaay cooler than you! Get a grip!

Anyway, rant over! I am now decidedly excited about my next techno soiree tonight – the much anticipated/salivated over Collect Weekender! Dixon, Stephan Bodzin, – Come to Mama!

And blog round 2 ……………… oh my freaking god – Collect was INCREDIBLEUGH! Seriously guys, I was just blown away by the glory of this night. Every single DJ on the line up completely smashed all of my (very high) expectations into smithereens. On top of that, Collect have managed to create such a feel good, positive vibe where even some one as cool as a cucumber like me could not help but beam from ear to ear at every gorgeous little clubber in that place! I won’t go into details now TBCers but watch this space for a very special interview with the Collect boys along with a full review of the night in the very near future! Until then cherry pies!

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TBC Playlist 02.09 to 15.09

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Greco-Roman – We Make Colourful Music Because We Dance in the Dark (2013)

Gotham EP – Ten Walls (2013)

You’ve Never Been to Konotop – Vakula (2013)

BNR Trax 01-10 – Various (2012)

Ghost System Rave – Clouds (2013)

Disconnect/Reconnect – Japanese Popstars (2013) *

BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Andy Baxter (2013)

The K2 Chapter – Gui Boratto (2013)

Acid Rain Definitive Original Acid & Deep House 1985 to 1991 – Terry Farley Presents (2013)

Timeout Pres. The Other Side London – Damian Lazarus (2005)

Fabric Vol.71 – Cassy (2013)

Futurism – Danny Tenaglia (2008)

Go Plastic – Squarepusher (2001)

Cocoon Compilation M – Various (2013)

Dettmann II – Marcel Dettmann (2013)

BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Japanese Popstars (2011)

Live @ Sands, Ibiza – Drumcode Showcase Party (29th August)- Ida Engberg, Adam Beyer, Nicole Moudaber (2013)

Urban Animal – Claude Von Stroke (2013)

BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Dixon (2013)

Matthew Williamson’s 15th Anniversary Party – Scarlett Etienne (2012) – link: https://soundcloud.com/scarlettmusic/scarlett-etienne-matthew-williamson-15yr

Y Este Finde Que exclusive mixtape – Thug Ladies (2013) – link: https://soundcloud.com/yestefindeque/y-este-finde-que-exclusive-mixtape-thug-ladies

26 Mixes for Cash – Aphex Twin (2003)

It is finally time for the third in hopefully a long line of playlist posts on the TBC blog. Apologies to those who have been waiting for the next installment but its been a busy few weeks following the launch party for the website on August bank holiday weekend. We have finally dusted ourselves down, cleaned up our HQ and now we carry on where we left off.

Due to the delay we have compiled an extra length playlist of the music that we have been listening to over the last few weeks and there is a big mixture of classics, recent releases, live mixes, radio shows and upcoming releases for you to indulge in. We have, in fact, only been able to include the highlights as we have listened to so much that we would have overwhelmed both ourselves and our readers with a music information overload. Fortunately this filtered selection, we hope, will promote some of our current favourite DJ’s/mixes and the reviews to follow will give you an insight into our picks from the most recent playlist selection.

-Disconnect/Reconnect – Japanese Popstars (2013) – First up and top of the pops this week is the new album from the Japenese Popstars. Since first hearing about this act back in 2011 when we came across their immense Essential Mix in 2011 (see review below) we have not heard much for the guys from Derry in Ireland. The two years of silence and apparent elusiveness do not seem to have been misspent as they have been honing their sound and developing an evil side to their production work. From the first track and album title track Disconnect/Reconnect the Japanese Popstars announce their return with a bang. The slightly harder techno focus from their past two albums; We Just Are (2008) and Controlling Your Allegiance (2011) left the TBC HQ speakers humming once the album was finished. Their sound is a mixture of the haunty electro sound first introduced by the likes of Bodzin, Huntemann and Rother earlier in the new millennium and the roaring techno basslines of the recent era pioneered by the likes of Beyer, Bailey and (one of our favourites) Spektre. This new album is highly recommended.

-BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Japanese Popstars (2011) –  Fresh off the back of listening to their new album we at TBC HQ wanted more from the Japanese Popstars so dusted down a classic from the archives in their 2011 Radio 1 debut on the Essential Mix courtesy of Pete Tong’s eagle eye on new and upcoming talent in the industry. This mix is one of the closest, in track & artist selection, to the sound that we most enjoy at TBC . highlights on this mix include Phil Kieran’s ‘I can’t stop’, Maxime Dangles’ ‘Astroneff’, a monster remix of Cassius’s ‘Les Enfants’ by Gesaffelstein, Kaiserdisco & Flavio Diaz ‘Jaune’, Vitalic’s ‘Second Lives’ (featured on one of the earlier TBC CD’s) and the mix is interspersed with some of the best Japenese Popstars releases at that time. If you the patience to go searching for this mix and succeed in locating it you will not be disappointed.

-The K2 Chapter – Gui Boratto (2013) – Mr. Boratto is one of our favourite DJ’s at TBC and we have all of his past releases; Chromophobia, You Take My Breath Away, III, his Renaissance Mix Collection and the classic but rarer Addicted Vol.2 mix from Platipus records. This new release does not fail to impress and has taken on a tougher, edgier approach to a signature tech/electro sound that is synonymous with this artist. It is only the last song on the album that harps back to the previous albums for euphoric, uplifting sounds which is a pleasant reminder of the diversity that you can expect from a DJ with a consistent track record with production releases. We hope that we can see Gui Boratto live sometime soon as he has managed to evade TBC to date but the new release and immense back catalogue will keep us satisfied for the near future. It is hard to pick a favourite from the album so we would insist that you enjoy this from start to finish.

-Cocoon Compilation M – Various (2013) – The latest release in what has become a high quality and consistent series compilation from Cocoon has brought to attention some of the newer releases and artists on the Cocoon label. This is not to say that Cocoon ever fail to release a high quality compilation or LP from their plethora of artists and their ever increasing diverse record label. The latest installment in the alphabetical series is ‘M’ which ranges from minimal, progressive, electro to bonkers techno. The two stand out tracks for TBC on this release are; Douglas Greed “Dynamite” which has is a great electro track with nice vocals and the heavy hitter by wAFF called “BeatmakerZ”.

-Dettmann II – Marcel Dettmann (2013) – One of Berlin’s finest and another of TBC’s favourite DJ’s releases his second production album cunningly titled Dettmann II. We were hoping that this would not be too experimental and distant from the signature booming Techno that we would expect at Berghain or have experienced at Drumroll in Sheffield, Modern Amusement in Leeds or the WHP in Manchester. We were not disappointed. Crank the volume up when listening to this CD and expect some complaints from the neighbours. If the new release was played on the system at Berghain it would be an experience and a half. As with the recent release by Marcel Fengler on Ostgut Ton this CD epitomises the Berghain residents sound; big, booming, dubby techno. When “Throb” kicks in, the second track on the album, you will be immediately hooked on this CD  as this track does exactly as it says on the tin; throbbing techno bass. From this point on Dettmann continues to impress and shows off his high caliber of production and by the time we get to “Radar” on the album you may well be exhausted from the relentless Berghain techno. This album has been worth the wait and can not be recommended highly enough. Thanks Marcel.

-BBC Radio One Essential Mix – Dixon (2013) – The latest Essential Mix is brought to us by Steffen Berkhahn, AKA Dixon, who is one of a long line of amazing German house & techno exports. Having first experienced Dixon on his Body Language Vol.4 CD some time ago now and finally managing to see him at Sonar in 2010 before he properly exploded on the international DJ circuit this essential mix has been hotly anticipated. Dixon in the last two years has become a global superstar in the house and techno scene with his Innervisions record label, an infrequent but quality selection of mix CD’s and a number of DJ sets at the biggest dance music events around the world. In the next month he will be gracing the UK at three events, all of which will be attended by the TBC crew; Mint Festival in Leeds, Collect in Sheffield and Mono Cult in Leeds. His essential mix is a progressive collection of the finest, sleek house & techno around and the moment. You will be captivated by his tune selection, progressive development of the mix and the atmosphere he creates. This will be on the Iplayer on BBC for the next week so go and check this out!

-Y Este Finde Que exclusive mixtape – Thug Ladies (2013)  – One of the more eclectic and party orientated selections in this playlist selection. The Thug Ladies from Barcelona have a great collection of live mixes on their Soundcloud page (follow the link above). Their style is similar to 2 Many DJ’s and other cut up party DJ’s mixing a diverse selection from disco to techno, cutting and editing to keep you dancing and smiling from the start to end of the mix. This particular mix made our Saturday afternoon a joy with a fair bit of boogying and bopping around. We look forward to hearing more from these ladies in the future.

That’s it for this playlist selection from TBC HQ, we hope that you enjoy perusing our selection this week and there are 22 plus albums, mixes and radio shows to enjoy that will keep you busy until our next playlist post.

Thanks for reading.

TBC