Tuesday, October 26

Q&A with Freddy J

Today is all about Freddy J of Calgary Alberta. The funkin bassline of his Forest set wobbled it's way into into my eardrums via a PK soundsystem deep within the Forest. And just let me say that there is no better way to be introduced to an artist's music than this. He unfailingly brings you some of the best bassline driven electro funk every time he plays, which can be described as a mixture of electro, funky, dirty, whompy, groovy, bassy, crunky, and flat out good time having house and breaks. His mixes are guaranteed to bring anyone to their feet and you can count on it that he'll set the tone for a good time, every time.""

Q: What was your earliest musical memory? First instrument, song, influences?

A: My earliest musical memory stems back to grade 4 when we were learning the flute. I forget the song title, but its one everyone in Calgary had learned back in the day. I think I remember the first 3 notes...It was B A G. Other that that I don't have any formal music training after elementary. All my training comes from the heart and the ears. Years of listening and loving the beat. Some major influence came from my parents as they always had classic rock on. The beatles, Doors, Henreix, CCR, etc etc.One of my favourites to this day is Signs by The Five Man Electrical Band.

Q: How and when did you find yourself listening to Electronica or EDM?

A: I grew up for most of my teens listening to alternative and hip hop and my later years of high school came the transition to electronic. Slowly, song by song this new music started creeping its bassy influences into my life. My cd's that I would burn to jam to would have all hip hop and one electronic song, then a few months later 5 electronic songs on the cd and so on until it was all electronic on my mix cd's. Around this time I had also heard about these all night raves and my interest became to grow until I finally went when I had just turned 18. I ended up going to my first party at Maxbell hockey arena in 2001 (Connected V3 or V5 the party was called) and from then on I fell in love. The music, the energy, and the people.

Q: What are your favourite aspects of playing live?

A: Playing live is an addiction. The energy between my self and the crowd to create a whole vibe of the party together is quite the feeling. It's quite euphoric actually. We feed off each other in a synchronistic fashion. I never know exactly what I will be playing before a show. On the fly trusting my intuition. Its a rush like none other and I love to see the crowd dance and groove together to the baselines that I drop.

Q: And what got you playing live?

A: At this point I had been partying for about 1.5 years and was in the "honeymoon" phase as some call if of partying. New, young, and excited. I was at this new years party just outside calgary and by that point I had started to really understand what the DJ was all about. Crowd interaction, djing itself, and the energy they can bring to the party. I remember the particular moment when I was in front of this speaker stack looking up at the dj saying to my self "i want to be that guy". Within a few months I had invested in a pair of numark decks from a friend of mine and started to practice. The rest is history.

Q: What's your set up like these days? home or live.

A: I run a pretty basic setup. I use Serato with 2 Tech1200 turntables and a Behringer 4 channel mixer at home. Same for live use, but the mixer is usually Pioneer DJM600 or 800. For my music productions at home I have been using Ableton Live.

Q: Jockey's of the disc's are always being asked, "can you teach me?", "any advice to a beginner?" What do you generally say in reponse to questions like these?

A:Practice, practice, practice!!! Simple as that. I will gladly show someone the basics of Ding, but after that its it all comes down to spending time on the decks getting a feel for them and how they work. Your skills and style will develop over time and will always continue to grow and evolve throughout your DJ career. Another valuable piece of advice to give to any new or even existing DJ is learn how to read the crowd. This is probably one of the most important things a DJ can learn. Stay engaged with them and keep the flow of the rhythm the energy going. Learn how to react if all of a sudden your dance floor is gone after it was packed 1 song ago. What happened? what will bring them back and keep them back? Pay attention to the times that the crowd loses their minds, the hands go up, and the bass faces are in full effect. Keep your flow of your music moving and evolving in a progressive manner. What ever your style is, stay confident and rock it. DO WHAT YOU LOVE and always spread the POSITIVE VIBES.

Q: I'm not to familiar with the Albertan seen, be it Edmonton or Calgary. Which are some good venues to check out and who's repping the scene out there? PK Sound?

A: Over the past few years the Calgary scene has really made its mark. There has been a really solid number of promoters doing a lot of big shows and bringing in tonnes of huge acts from all over the globe. Its really hard to pin point one club or promoter since there is so many doing a really good job. Pk sound has been key in adding a lot energy to the scene. Their sound systems are seen at most big parties as well as they are the ones who do bring in a lot of the big acts we have been seeing. Some really solid venues to check out here in calgary that are my personal favourites would be the HiFi and Habitat.

Q: Whilst lurking the Sham forums I couldn't help but notice you calling Shambhala "home." How many have you been to and or played at, and what keeps you going back?

A: It is most definitely home. Its a place where I feel very grounded and content. 2010 will have marked my 7th year in attendance of the festival and I have had the fortunate ability to place twice in the Fractal Forest, once in 2008 and again this year in 2010. Hopefully I can continue rocking out there. I am now a part of the Fractal Forest production crew as I have volunteered with Rich (creator of the Fractal) for the past 2 years helping set up the show. Volunteering is quite the amazing experience at Shambhala and I highly recommend it to everyone. I would have to say it is the connection with the people there and the energy is what keeps bringing me back. Feeling that connection and oneness with everyone is something that we need more of and it brings it out in the best possible way.

Q: If you had to describe Shambhala to someone who's never been what would you say?

A: I probably wouldn't be able to truly describe Shambhala to anyone who's never been. I can try to tell them about my experiences and all the cool things one gets to see and do, but it you will never know unless you go. So if you haven't gone, you should just go. It will change your life in the best way possible.

Tuesday, October 19

I'm Not A Band - Crazy

I'm Not A Band's remix promo for their track "Crazy" came out today. Rockin Remix's from MMMatthias, Jumping Jack Flash, Rampue, Alle Farben and Tonspender. Below is the original so you can get a taste. I'll leave the remix hunting to you. Follow the link below to follow I'm Not A Band on Soundcloud.

I'm not a Band - Crazy by I'm not a Band

Wednesday, October 13

Grind Baby



As promised all the unused clips sitting on my comp. Filming may be slow these days depending on the weather. Hopefully a new edit before rainy winter.

Sunday, October 10

Dragon Shredit


This here is the BMX equivalent of Almost's Cheese and Crackers Video. So much original riding. Bike transfers everywhere, third shoe footjams and, well watch it.

Wonders Of The Deep

From the shores of Singapore comes Wonders Of The Deep mix from Clash The Disco Kids. Since I first became familiar with these guys they've had am amazing taste for electro and this mix is no exception. This will get you dancing in front of the mirror within seconds. Be sure to follow these guys on Soundcloud.

Wonders of The Deep Mix by clashthediskokids

Tracklist:

01 ZZT - ZZafrika
02 Style Of Eye & Magnus - Antidote
03 Azari & III - The Worker
04 Discosamurai - Yes & No
05 Clouds - Mauful Sir
06 KNCCB - Go!
07 Electric Rescue - Astropolis
08 Popof - The Chomper (Matt Walsh Remix)
09 Boys Noize - 1010
10 Simian Mobile Disco - Aspic
11 Gui Boratto - Atomic Soda
12 Sound Of Stereo - Helium
13 Electric Rescue - Ambivalence
14 Goose - Words (Boris Dlugosch Remix)
15 Alex Metric & Steve Angello - Open Your Eyes
16 Wazabi - Interplay (Fat & Ugly Remix)
17 Boys Noize - Yeah
18 Chemical Brothers - Another World (The Recloud Bootleg Remix)

Get Used To It Trailer



Clare Maguire - Ain't Nobody (Breakage Remix)

Couldn't have asked for a better track to find in the ol inbox this morning. Clare Maguire delivers some riveting vocals, really powerful stuff.. It really is a beautiful song with a Breakage rework that does it justice. Enjoy.

Clare Maguire - Aint Nobody (Breakage Remix) by DISCODUST

Saturday, October 9

Let me use you up tonight


Aman Ellis - The Cacti EP

Rype for immediate insertion into your eardrums come's Aman Elli's EP entitled The Cacti. It is my understanding that these wonks were a bit of a new direction for Aman. As I listen to track 2 "Professor Agressor," I can tell you with no word of a lie that there are wonks and real good vinyl samples to boot. The album has a nice chill vibe comparable to the like's of Madlib. This beast EP is a keeper, cop yours. Courtesy of Modyworks. Add Aman on Myspace, do the right thing.

New blog launch

Shambhala started up a blog to keep all those Shambalites up on current events, developments and changes the festival undergoes. Peep it here.

Toddla T interview wit DJ Vibe TV


Deadmau5 Vs Wolfgang Gartner Vs Birdee

Birdee may be a relatively new name, but he is set to make waves very soon.
Based in London, originally hailing from sunny Italia.
He calls his blend of housey beats, obscure 70s samples and wobbly b-lines Ghetto Disco.
He stormed the scene earlier this year with the 'Listen To The Bassline' Ep released on Lazy Rich's Big Fish Recordings -
and has already received support from Reset!, Rico Tubbs, Mc Flipside, Tom Stephan, Robert Owens and Electric Soulside to name but a few.

The xx - Crystalized (Slyde Electro Sleaze Remix)

The intro is a little long, it get's crankin though. Check out Slyde on Myspace.

Happenings

It's been some time any content of my own personnel involvement has been posted. There are a few clips being gathered together at current of Fish, Rob Blair, Rick Nicholls, Jeremy N and a couple other who's name's aren't coming to mind at the moment. I hope to have that edit on the web by late next week time permitting.

In other new's I'm doing an internship with a production company called On Demand Production Network. They are branched out into a couple of company's one being ODPN which cover's television commercial's and corporate videos. The second being Insider Films which is all about music video's. And a close relative of these two sites is the Adlercast, check this beast out for interviews with Queens of the Stoneage, Rob Zombie, Metric, Korn, Sum 41 and more.