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An Underground music podcast featuring interviews and guest mixes from all around the world from the Best underground DJs in Techno, Hardcore, Drum & Bass and Trance! I also play all types of music in the first hour followed by the guest mix! If you like MUSIC then tune in!!
Episodes
Sunday Sep 19, 2021
Geecast Ep 14 Featuring no-one but myself!
Sunday Sep 19, 2021
Sunday Sep 19, 2021
Welcome to Autumn. The sickly sweet sweet stench of rotting apples and pissed up wasps hell bent on causing chaos until they fall dead pissed and unuseable is in the air! and here I also find myself... with loads of new tracks to play... and happily an outlet (or at least one) willing to let me broadcast this shit.) At last I have a purpose....in a waspy chaos kind of way....
Welcome to Geecast 2021.... Covid survivor and happily didnt live stream shite during our 2 years in what seemed like a parallel universe!
Anyway enjoy the mix as it dives from hard DNB, to Techno, Hardcore and everything in between!
1 - Neurocore - Oceanicor
2 - Neurocore - Atlantis
3 - Delimit - At Dawn
4 - Technical Itch - Find Your Darkness
5 - Technical Itch - Stand Down
6 - Delimit & Coman Dante - The Unknown
7 - Katharsis & Switch Technique - Destruction (Remix)
8 - Bryan Fury - Died,Hardcore
9 - Somniac One & Deathmachine - Kill Everyone
10 - Strange Arrival - Sleeper Agent
11 - Tripped - Dance With Me
12 - Ophidian - Redshift
13 - Detest - Witchunt (2020 Remix)
14 - Ophidian - Who You Are
15 - Mandidextrous - Flight To Vienna (Producers Aerial Assault Mix)
16 - Dolphin - Death Of Theokoles (Tones Remix)
17 - Kaoz Engine & Bryan Fury - Real Shit
18 - Ophidian - the Sky On Fire
Monday Sep 06, 2021
Kev Gee - Hull Gets It - archive set
Monday Sep 06, 2021
Monday Sep 06, 2021
One from the archives for the HULL crew!
Just found this set whilst sorting through an old external hard drive.
Around ten (I think?) years ago I was asked to DJ for RHouse. I was asked to play my normal style of Hardcore & Crossbreed.
Maybe some of the Hull crew can fill in the blanks. Who else was on the line up? Were was it held? I used to record my live sets using an MP3 recorder so I think this was the actual live set. I dont think the set was released on any tape packs as far as i recall.
Things I remember from the night. It was really busy! Was it a Birthday party or something? I also brought two mates along who had been on the piss all day and wanted to carry on their session. they were not ravers at all & it was abit of an eye opener for them! And secondly I got a speeding ticket after getting flashed on the way back home!
Music on the set is a mixed bag of Hard DnB, early Crossbreed & Industrial, and Frenchcore!
This is a good set for the gym freaks! press play & lets have it!!
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Geecast EP13 Featuring LEE UHF!
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Wednesday May 19, 2021
Spring is in the air... Lambs are born... Rabbits are humping... And the foul Stench of another Geecast is incoming!
After the Northern Gathering Reunion sets we get back to what we do best. Blowing your ears out!
This month we feature a DJ that has run labels in Hardcore, and currently in Drum N Bass and Bass music, as well as successful rave nights, worked in record shop across the country, been a successful producer. And he survived the cut throat politics of the Hardcore scene to tell the tale.
LEE UHF!!
So, first Ill be playing part 1 of a classic Darkstep 2005-2010 mix & then Lee will take over with a brand new mix done just for us.
So without further ado, Lee! Thanks for joining us!
Thank you for having me Kev, Its been a while hasn't it? Always good to have a catch up with some of the old crew.
Can you talk me through your early days within the rave scene? How did things start for you?
I'll try my best. Haha.
For me music has always been a big part of my life. In fact up to the age of 12yrs old, my Dad ran a record shop in Sheffield called Roulette Records. I spent most evenings for years after school and Saturday mornings in his shop helping out, which basically translates to me being in the big store cupboard going through 1000s of tapes and vinyls and claiming which ones I wanted to take home.
I must have had near £50k of music over the years for free from the shop looking back now, insane!
At this time in the late 80's and early 90's, I had no idea what rave music was as I was pretty young, but I was obsessed with a lot of rave music that charted such as 2 Unlimited, Snap, The Prodigy, Silver Bullet, Praga Khan & The Shamen.
In fact, when my Dad gave up the shop I got heavily into Gangster Rap (Wu-Tang, Onyx, EPMD etc) and really lost touch with anything rave sounding.
It wasn't until 1995, while on a family holiday in Chapel St Leonards, Skegness that I met a guy from Lincoln who used to play Vibealite and Pleasuredome tapes, but as I was obsessed with Rap music, I hated the happy, high energy stuff that he was playing and always shot it down saying it was shit.
A year later in 1996, I was back at the same holiday camp with him again and he managed to persuade me to go to a rave. The Pleasuredome, at The Zoo in Ingoldmells.
It took a lot of persuading. I was only 14yrs old and was way under age (He told my parents it was a teens night lol) but once I got inside and saw the legendary big clowns head/ DJ box, It blew my mind and i ended up really, really enjoyed it.
I got home to Sheffield, and had done a complete 180 with my music taste. My friend from Lincoln was sending me tapes in the post all the time to feed my new addiction and I even found some of my mates at School were heavily into it also, one being a guy you might have heard of, MC Keyes?
Where did you used to go raving?
When getting back from the holiday me and my school pals found out about a weekly running event just down the road from my house. `Uprising` and discovered the wonderfull world of MCing, which lead to me and my friends all thinking we were hot shit on the mic at 15/16yrs old. Haha
So you wanted to be an MC back then, more than a DJ?
Absolutely!
At 16 when I left school, I had carried on attending Uprising and through a mutual friend, I had started hanging around with a few older lads who were also into the same music, one being Martin Space.
We'd all pile into Martin's house at weekends where he and his mates would be DJing while me and Keyes did the MCing. I literally had no interest in Djing at all until I kind of got forced to do it when people wanted a break from the decks.
So what kit did you have when you first started Djing?
Martin Space actually sold me my first set of decks. He upgraded his at the time and this is what got me off the MCing and into Djing.
They were old belt drive Soundlabs. Horrible to use, but believe it or not, I recorded my first demo for Uprising on those bad boys and got a booking from Paul-O, who I sent it to.
Can you tell us who were your main influences when you first started out?
Early on, I only really went to Uprising, due to it being local and weekly. Plus I never thought to venture out of the area due to how young I was.
So the main influences I had were Uprising performers early on.
For MCing, Domer & ELL were the best for me hands down. They hard a darker edge, quite like the gangster rap music I loved in the early 90's.
Dj wise - I loved Paul-O. Always diverse, playing different genres and always the harder / party style sound, which for me is the direction my tastes were heading towards.
And, like most people at Uprising I had a soft spot for Sy & Alchemist early on when they would guest spot.
Later on, as I discovered my own style and sound, and this lead me to be a huge fan of Sharkey & Lomas too.
Did you send out demo tapes or go to events and give the promoter a demo in person?
Yes for sure, back then before we had Social media and Soundcloud etc. you had to record the demo's on a physical tape.
My god it feels so weird saying that, like Im an ancient age where tapes are like chalk & slate, but for most Djs now, its an unheard thing to record something on a physical format.
Before I had made a name for myself, I can safely say every club that booked me, I had attended them prior and handed in a tape to the promoter.
When I promote nights myself I have always thought the same way.
The amount of Facebook private messages I get on our event page saying "I'd love to come play at your event" with a soundcloud link, is a daily occurance. I don't think this is a good way to get promoters to take notice of you.
One message I had not long ago said "u need to book me for ur nite"
Oh do I? Really? lol
I am completely dumbfounded how people think this is a way to get a booking, especially in the digital age. It's so easy for anyone to get a mix online and be a DJ. How can you think this behaviour makes you stand out from the sea of competition out there?
You have to do even more in my eyes with everyone and their mom mixing now.
I can't think of a time, when I was an unknown DJ, that I did not make an effort to support the event I wanted to play at, and actually go and get to know the promoter. To me there was no other way.
You got quite a few residencies when you first started, at events like Future Dance, Vibealite and North. How did those come about?
For the exact reasons I mentioned above. I attended the events. I networked well and I called the promoters constantly. Yes, I could be annoying but I was young and hungry and I think for the most part promoters respected the hustle I gave back then. I was everywhere and speaking to everyone.
The Future Dance residency came out of nowhere due to me buying records from Wax City in London over the phone every week. Dj Kaos owned the shop, and he sent me a few flyers for the first Future Dance event with an order that I had made. It was on my birthday, so me and a few friends decided to go there to celebrate it. I obviously took a bag full of demos too. I got on well with the boys that ran it, and by their 3rd event I was a playing for them.
With North, this actually came from getting to know the owner Andy Bowler, by playing in the North hosted Techno rooms at Future Dance. I was a good fit for their Technology room as I was playing alot of the old Hard Trance / Reverse Bass tracks and had my own selection different from M-zone,Mark EG & Vortex. Around this time there was not alot of people spinning it in the UK this so I ended up playing most North events and tours from then on.
Vibealite was also a very fun residency that I kept for quite a while, and this was achieved by (again) attending and sending demos. Around 2002 I met Gary at an event he did up North. We got chatting and he invited me onto his guest list for their first Fantasy Island event. I ended up playing an impromptu set out of nowhere and it went down so well I ended up playing every event from then on until 2006
It also led to co-promoting a couple of events with Vibealite and even hosting rooms for them at larger parties they did like Fantasy Island.
And last but not least, there was also a residency at small club night called Defiance in Barnsley. Not on as big a scale as the others but just as much fun to play at. This event holds a very special place in my heart, as it gave me the idea to start promoting myself, as I realized you could do a decent event on a smaller scale at a budget.
Did you always drive to your gigs or have a driver?
Bit of everything really.
Early on there was a huge crew of us who would be going to raves and parties so If I was playing it was just who wanted to go at the time, and who wanted to drive or not. So getting there could be either a car full of a friends. A driver and me. A mini bus full of us. The train. A bus. You name it. Nothing stopped me getting to the parties.
What kind of music did you play back then?
At the very start of it all I learnt my craft Djing with the happier stuff (Quosh, Jal etc) But as I started to understand mixing more the main styles that I played were Freeform and Hardcore Techno. These 2 genres are where spent all my buying tunes and they're the sounds that got me my first bookings.
So you were always into a variety of music back then as well? (Drum & Bass, Hardcore, Trance etc)
I didnt like Drum & Bass at all back then. Haha, and it took me a couple of years to enjoy Trance.
But eventually I was spinning everything. Trance, Hard House, Gabber, Hard Trance & Techno and I even got a few gigs doing these genre's too.
I think having such a diverse music taste back then also helped me get more gigs at events outside of Sheffield.
When I gave Future Dance & Vibealite demos I would give them multiple tapes showcasing Hardcore, Hard Trance & Hardcore Techno. Reason being is that I loved all these styles equally and they had multiple rooms at their events, so as I was only starting to be booked by them, It would be impossible to be playing the main room right away. So this helped me start playing for them in their 2nd and 3rd arenas that were specific to other genres.
It was great for me, as I was booked much more often and had an opportunity to play out lots more performing sets with music that I loved.
From this the Hard Trance / Reverse Bass stuff really took off for me, as there was not many people playing it back then, so there was plenty to go around booking wise.
Eventually though I lost interest in this sound when UK distributors re-packaged it as Hardstyle and made it more accessible for everyone to buy, meaning every man and his dog started playing it.
The Dutch got hold of the sound then too, and the releases went all screetchy with those "Hard Bass Powaaaa" vocals. So I then started putting my full attention into just Hardcore alone.
Nowadays there isn't much music I dislike. I started a DJ stream during lockdown last year where I played everything from 90s rave to 70s Disco. The whole series can be found on www.soundcloud.com/LeeUHF (Quick plug)
Tell us about the Bedlam events? How did they come about?
Bedlam was the name of mine and Martin Space's house parties back in 1998- 2000
They were ace, Our mutual friend Pat would host them at his house and we even booked Djs and MCs that were known locally (DJ Max was one)
It wasnt until I started getting booked at a night called Defiance in Barnsley in 2001 that I realized It was possible to put a good event on with a small budget.
In June 2001 the first real Bedlam event was hosted at a The Mulberry Tavern pub on Arundel Gate in Sheffield. We had Topgroove play and although it seemed and felt a good night it was the most stressfull thing I had ever done in my life at the time. Haha.
But the seed was planted and we then put on a Thursday night rave, just up the road at Uropa club and booked Sharkey. It fucking bombed... Hard. LOL
It wasnt until November that year we found a function room, quite similar to the one Defiance used in Barnsley, It was situated on Infirmary Road, Sheffield and the place was called `George IV`
This really helped us elevate the event more and we were regularly putting on parties with different themes (Old skool night, North night, Future Dance night) and booked some top DJs along with it, but around late 2002 the pub got sold and the new owners were not up for us doing our events, despite zero trouble happening there and them always being full.
Who was promoting these with you?
Martin Space for the most part was my partner doing it, With some help from a couple of local friends we knew along the way.
So when did the Total Bedlam events start and why ?
in late 2003. It was at the time I was working in Reflex Records, a friend from school I had not seen in quite a few years came in the shop as he had heard I was Djing out and about.
It was Mc Keyes. Obviously Keyes was the person I came up with early on Mcing and attending raves and we lost touch for a few years after I left school as he had stopped going to raves.
Long story short he told me he was still Mcing and wanted to get involved back in Hardcore I suggested we could look into events and told him about Bedlam.
The idea was for us to do something totally different and on a much bigger scale, We did our research, Found a big popular venue in the centre of the UK (The Venue in Long Eaton) and Total Bedlam was born.
We started with 2 huge events in April 2004 both of them had huge line ups including Force & Styles, Devastate, Vortex, Hixxy, Storm, Whizzkid, Demand, Jay Precott & Frantic they also had 3 rooms to put music in enabling us to bring in a seperate new talent room and a Techno room.
Our idea was with it being central we could showcase the best of everythng across the country and try and bring the Yorkshire scene and the rest of the country to one spot.
Unfortunately it did not work that way down the line. Not many people in Yorkshire were willing to go to raves outside of the area, despite us booking Mcs & DJs from there so as time went on we catered more for our crowd that was there and what they wanted.
I would loved to have supported my roots alot more back then but our crowd dictated what we did, It wasn't all bad though as it went on to gain some huge success being voted No.1 Monthly event in the UK by Mixmag and we were notorious for bringing alot of `firsts` to the UK rave scene in the form of Foeign DJs, B2Bs and Live PAs.
Doing Total Bedlam really got me to understand more about music culture and rave culture on a larger scale, as we got to really feel the high's and lows of this from being involved at this level. Big lessons were learnt, good and bad.
You also get a lot more haters when running events, trust me.
Few little known facts about Total Bedlam
Joey Riot & Dj Kurt met at Total Bedlam and I persuaded them to play B2B for us which was a catalyst for them starting their partnership up.
There's a story about how Brisk & Seduction absolutely hated each others guts. They did not speak to each other for years. We booked them in the same room on the same night one time (Accidently of course) We narrowly avoided a fist fight but we did actually get them to hash it out and talk. A couple of months later Brisk was playing Uproar. Haha
We were also the first event outside of London to Book Finnish Freeform DJs
There was numerous times Mixmag mentioned us as the best monthly event in the Midlands
When we put our 1st Birthday event on, out of nowhere HTID put on a free party at Air in Birmingham. This seemed to anger a lot of the internet (ush.net for one) and the backlash was so big Hixxy called me asking me to post something online saying I was alright about it.... Righteo!
Theres some recordings on the events of me Mcing.. The last time I ever did it
(Most Total Bedlam & Bedlam sets can be found at www.mixcloud.com/BedlamRecords
So talk us through how you started producing music?
Okay well around 2002 Brian Topgroove invited me and Martin Space to his studio up in Hull, Me and Martin had spoken about doing some music ourselves so it was a great opportunity for us.
We made a bootleg of Deep Incision by Helix... It had Human Traffic movie samples and It was terrible. Haha.
After that I really caught the bug for it, but Bri had decided to focus all his efforts into improving himself in the studio and making tunes for his trance label so did not have time to do much more with us, but he did introduced me to Dave Devastate who had moved his studio into the same building as Bri up in Hull and I carried on from there with Dave.
Obviously with me wanting to write Hardcore Dave was a great fit as he was already wel known for his huge hit releases on the Blatant Beats & Next Generation labels.
I was up with Dave every month writing tracks and he would engineer and put my ideas together while teaching me bits and bobs along the way.
So how did Bedlam Records come about?
We wrote A LOT of music over 2003 and 2004. and naturally I wanted to get it out, so with Daves direction and advise I put Bedlam Records together mid 2003.
How did you set it up?
Dave pointed me to the pressing plant and to the distributor, and I paid for artwork to be done for releases.
It also helped that I worked in a record shop (Reflex Records) at the time, which was great to help promote it.
What tunes came out and what artists involved etc!
You can find the releases on discogs but our first 5 vinyls were by Me, Devastate, Riddler, Freestyle, Mc Domer, Invader, Adam J, Vinyl & Devotion
You mentioned you worked in Reflex Records, Sheffield. How vital was that in helping you get contacts/networking within the Underground scene?
It had its plus points but also negatives to go with it.
The good points were that I never missed music being released. Nothing got passed me.
I also got on great with distributors like Simon Underground at UM and Jay at Alpha Magic who always hooked me up with test presses and early promos before they were due to be released in the shops.
I was making sure I was selling more music than any other shop, so this really kept the distributors happy who were pushing the releases to us. I was the head buyer for most of the music there. and I did a bloody good job of it.
Having upfront music was great for me. Along with my own label stuff, it was a time when people started booking DJs for having original music and not what everyone else could get and play.
I also got to know everyone buying the records too, making some cool friends and acquaintances during that period.
On the downside you had to work Saturdays and I was severely underpaid
I obviously did not learn my lesson with this though as I ended up working at Hard To Find Records in Birmingham years later. Haha.
Is there anything you really miss about those early days?
Event wise I miss undiscovered events and not knowing everything there was to know about a rave until you actually got there.
The unknown was quite exciting and turning up somewhere that was fully banging was always a nice surprise
Music wise I miss the hunt.
Getting on a National Express coach every Saturday when I was 17yrs old, to an unknown city to find a record shop you saw on the back of a Vibealite or Slammin Vinyl flyer.
You`d turn up and find a gem like Selecta Disc Nottingham .Or get a big fat `L` landing at a marketplace in Chesterfield not selling anything at all. It was 50/50 most weekends but it was an amazing time for me. You didnt have discogs or Youtube etc so most music was new and unknown and travelling around was the only way to find the tunes you wanted. Especially if you liked a lot of genres like me.
I did this every weekend for over a year when I first bought my decks, I look back on this really fondly as we had such a laugh travelling up and down the country
Now days with social media you know everything about every event and Dj now and track now. Thats not where the excitment is now.
And things you dont really miss?!
Swings and round abouts though. I guess It is quite nice to have every tune ever at your finger tips now.
And I definitely do not miss having to carry a 40kg Record box anymore (My back wouldnt handle it either)
Moving into recent years can you talk to us about your switch away from Hardcore & Harstyle and into Drum & Bass?
With Hard Bass It got really stagnent when the UK Distributors got a hold of all the big releases as I said earlier so that frazzled out for me around 2005
I was still releasing and DJing hardcore up until 2010 but I wont lie, my love had fizzled out over time.
The main reason for it fizzling out was when a friend of mine helped me to discover a sound in Drum & Bass I never knew existed named `Neurofunk`
It was all quite sudden really but I went to a legendary night supporting this music in London called `Renegade Hardware` Up until this, I thought the hardest and darkest D&B you could get was Dillinja. But on this night I discovered Noisia, Spor & Black Sun Empire.
I walked out that club finding a brand new love and as it was such a new sound I had found I got the buzz I got back in the day from hunting for music, and I was now out to discover as many producers as possible making it.
From then I found a lot of Drum & Bass that was a lot harder, It had a lot of Hardcore Techno elements too and it really appealed to me a lot. The artists I was really feeling back then were Current Value, Ewun, Evol Intent, Dylan & Tech Itch.
This new found love taking me back hunting really got my disinterest for hardcore to grow and I just eventually stopped buying and listening to it.
Looking back now my original loves were Freeform & Hardcore Techno. Neurofunk for me is the D&B Equivelent of Freeform while the Harder side of D&B is almost Hardcore techno.
What goes around comes around I guess.
Tell me about your D&B project Drtbox?
Well aound 2007 I was still DJing D&B under `Lee UHF` and I was promoting a multi genre event called `RAW`
(Sets can be found at www.mixcloud.com/Raw_Birmingham)
We booked a world champion beatboxer in 2010 called Reeps One and he brought along a DJ with him. They did like a DJ vs Beatboxer battle set and it was amazing. It inspired me to try something similar. My idea was to find a beatboxer, a Drummer & an MC and tour performing sets live.
This is how Dirtbox was born, it was basically a band. But doing this got me some insane gigs around the world and really helped me to get my name out especially being a small fish in such a big pond as the D&B/Bass music scene.
I ended up touring a lot. Playing across the pond in Australia, USA, China, All over Europe, Canada, Dubai & loads more. Its been an amazing experience doing that the past 10 years and very humbling.
Since mid 2019 though, we stopped playing together regularly as its really hard getting 4 people together constantly to practice and tour abroad, so I am back to my Lee UHF alias doing sets alone... For now
The name lives on though in the form of a clothing brand and a record label
Ahh so are you still running labels now?
Yes still in the thick of it all.
Dirtbox Recordings is the first D&B label of mine and is doing exceptionally well. (DirtboxRecordings.co.uk)
We havent done any vinyls as yet due to the current climate with music but its getting alot of support from some really huge names in Drum & Bass such as Noisia, Benny V, Mollie Collins, Drumsound, Ray Keith, Koven, Aphrodyte, Freqax & Doc Scott to name a few
I also run a Bass House label called `R U SRS?` (Pronounced "Are you serious") Its just a bit of fun for me as a project but its getting huge support at the moment from people like DJ EZ, Flava D, Korrupt FM, Marcus Nasty & Djs on Kiss FM & Rinse FM radio stations. ( RUSRS.co.uk )
And more recently, I have launched a brand new label, VTO Records. Which is co- run with a friend of mine. (A former freeform producer from the early 2000s now turned D&B producer) Dan Traced.
This project is something for us to sign as much music as possible from around the world under the Neurofunk banner and I also wanted to seperate this sound from what I have planned on Dirtbox ( VTORecords.co.uk )
The first release lands in June and I am proper fucking excited for it.
So what about writing your own music?
I still do, but my output is nowhere near what I would love it to be.I released an EP on Dirtbox in October and I have one in June too.
There is also a Neurofunk/Hard D&B album I released a few years ago that you can download for free ( www.soundcloud.com/DirtboxRecordings )
Drum & Bass is so fuckling hard to make, I was not fully able to write music on my own until 2009 and when I started attempting Drum & Bass in 2012 I had to learn a lot of new stuff.
It seriously is another level of skill to writing hardcore and it takes a lot longer. Im still way, way off anything I consider to be the highest qualty.
Back in the day it wasnt unknown to just knock out a full hardcore track and start a new one in just one day, but for Drum & Bass It can take weeks or even months to get something finished
Being older also has its disadvantages as I have alot of new responsibilities now running my own businesses and spending time with my family so sat 12hrs a day making music is unfortunately not something I can do as often as I did when I was younger.
How different in the scene in Birmingham compared to Yorkshire?
Depends really. If I was to comment on the Drum & Bass or House music scene, which are the 2 biggest music genres in both cities. I would say they are very very similar.
In Sheffield for example, just like Birmingham you have your older clubbers who like the classic nights, You get your rudeboys who like your `Jump Up D&B` and your house music posers.
In both cities you also have huge Universities full of youngsters wanting all this music so I dont see much difference at all.
Hardcore wise, Im not so sure about Yorkshire any more. Are there any regular hardcore nights happening? Obviously Uprising, Dizstruxshon and the like are one in a million. Very very different than any other Hardcore city or region in the world
Birmingham had a really good Hardcore scene in 2004-2009 with a few regular nights and of course the mighty HTID, Uproar & Hardcore Heaven doing regular parties here.
You dont see many of those now though in the whole country let alone Sheffield & Birmingham
You've also played at events around the world, how do they differ from the UK in organisation & scale?
Not many differences. You get your huge, huge festivals and your underground, more intimate clubs also every where you go. It does depend on the sound though
Europe has huge festivals literally only playing Neurofunk D&B. far more big events there than the UK.
One thing I do find abroad in some places is the level of excitment people have for you being there. Its unmatched due to the fact some places dont get to see alot of Djs from abroad often.
Australia for one. These guys are 1000s of miles away so they dont get many events where as with Hardcore & D&B in the UK we have been spoiled over the years.
Between September & November in Birmingham you will find D&B parties constantly 2-3 times a week. All at capacity too.
Drum & Bass has most certainly given me great opportunities travelling. I feel truly blessed to have touched every contenant on earth and to have played music on it.
What do you have planned next? Any new music or events on the horizon?
Of course, Im not happy unless Im busy, The labels will be releasing constantly through the year again like last (COVID or not) and the new label VTO Records launches in June.
Events wise I do have some plans for something when things get back to normal and it will be outdoors but I cant say much more than that until have things set up after the Pandemic restrictions ease up.
Gigs are not on the top of my list at the moment though as I have had my first child recently and I dont think I could bare to fly away from her for the night just yet.
Any plans to make Hardcore again? Maybe even some Crossbreed?!
Hardcore.. Ummm, I am not against it. But I have had nothing inspire me to do it.
Crossbreed & D&B you will see a few releases by me this year 100%
Vinyl or CD/Digital? The age old debate! You pro digital?
No Im just pro-music, and pro-innovation.
I dont care what you play music on I just care that its great and inspires me.
People get so torn up about this debate its hilarious because none of these people could tell you if a WAV or a vinyl is played in a club unless they saw inside the DJ box.
I always say you're not exactly learning chess or are qualified to fly a rocket if you Dj on vinyl. I learnt a 3 year old once how to mix 2 records together. So people need to get off their high horse on that one. Makes no sense to me.
Its all about how you make the music sound and how you get a crowd to pay attention.
If thats beat juggling on turntables like a DMC champion or using a CDJ in a ridiculously profound way with effects and live edits.
It doesnt matter both have the same outcome, so neither side are right when they debate whats best.
I see benefits in both angles. Although I always wonder why DJs rock up with a boatload of MP3s and then expect punters to buy vinyl when they are not playing it themselves?!
I dont think its expecting punters to buy vinyl If you are releasing music you are wanting punters to enjoy your music. No matter how they play it or pay for it. I think its great when producers put out a few options for us to choose from. But I dont know any out there spinning MP3s and forcing vinyl down our throats. 99% of music released is digital anyhow.
Personally I use Mp3s for convenience and to take a bigger selection. Carrying vinyl is rough lol. But I still do vinyl sets as it just keeps it interesting for me and I have a great collection so I want it to be put to good use
I think the main flaw of download music now is the fact its very "throw away" theres tons of it out as its easier to release, so you do get a lot of stale poorly made music.
When you only had vinyl to release it on for DJs, it was expensive so you were a lot more choosy about the releases you paid to press up because the financial investment to pressing them up was a lot greater.
It is harder now to promote music though masses of releases every day.. Anyone can set up a digital label nowadays but the big difference in a quality one is understanding the quality control. promoting it properly and promo'ing the music to the right DJs.
I look at each release I put out by deciding firstly would I release it on vinyl given the chance and second am I going to spend money promoting it?
Ok then! The Mix!! Can you talk us through? Why did you chose these tracks?!
Okay so I have put together a selection of Neurofunk & Hard edged Drum & Bass for you. I thought since alot of people would be seeing and hearing this who were possibly familiar with my hardcore I would do something to help them get familiar with what I do now.
Theres a few older bits thrown in but also alot of promo material from my label so you are getting some exclusives right here fella.
Thanks!
Thank you kev. Its been great
And finally!! Any Shouts?!!?
Of course.
Obviously a huge thanks to yourself for having me onboard letting me talk some shit, Its been really nice to reminisce.
Also, everyone from my journey in the late 90s to the present day. If you Dj'd with me, for me or even booked me. Thank you.
Lots of people have given me chances also along the way to, and I am truly grateful.
What people don't know, is that behind events, labels and DJ tours, there are a lot of colleagues behind the scenes that are intricate in making things work, Diaries, Drivers, Artwork, Distrubutors, Sound Engineers, Promoters. The list is endless but I've never forgot anyone and Im forever grateful even if we have not spoken in a long time.
And finally a big shout out to Lucy, my missus who literally looked after our daughter all day without my help to do this interview and mix haha. She`ll deserves a medal for what she does x
Kev Gees Darkstep Classics Part 1 2005-2010
1 - Audio - Delusional
2 - Current Value & Donny - Nightmare Man
3 - Dylan & Bkey - Slave To Life (Limewax Remix)
4 - Audio - Warehouse VIP
5 - Current Value - Fear Machines (Remix)
6 - Nanotek - Fresh Hell
7 - Limewax - Strike From The Land
8 - Mystification - Computers
9 - Current Value - You Cant Play God
10 - Limewax - Pain
11 - SPL - Denied
12 - Raiden - RM Bleeps
13 - Current Value - Addict
14 - Proket - Norilsk
15 - The Panacea - Burning Like Fire (The Sect Remix)
16 - Evol Intent Feat Blip - Flipside
17 - Evol Intent - Middle Of The Night
18 - Current Value - Clear Blue Water
Lee UHFs Tracklist:-
1/ ID- Traced- Forthcoming (VTO Records)
2/ Agressor Bunx- The Offering VIP (Eatbrain)
3/ Phace & Subtension- For Good (Neosignal)
4/ Phace- Caged (Vision)
5/ Phace- Spray (Vision)
6/ Traced- The System (Dirtbox Recordings)
7/ Lee UHF- Epic Ping Pong (Dirtbox Recordings)
8/ Lee UHF- That Wiggy Thing (Dirtbox Recordings)
9/ Full Kontakt & Deejay Delta (Dirtbox Recordings)
10/ Lee UHF & Rogue- The Music (Traced Remix) Forthcoming (Dirtbox Recordings)
11/ Burr Oak- Teleporter (Blackout)
12/ Jade & MNDSCP- Dangerous (Korsakov)
13/ Killbox- Cypher (Ram)
14/ Resurgence & O`Den- Chicago Style- Forthcoming (Dirtbox Recordings)
15/ 3rdknd- Pingers (Neonlight Remix) (Barcode)
16/ Gancher & Ruin- The Sect (No Music Allowed)
17/ Donny & Katharsys- Cause & Effect (Barcode)
18/ Mefjus- Suicide Bassline (Panacea VIP- Lee UHF Edit) (Unreleased)
19/ Jade- This Is Neurofunk (Unreleased)
Saturday May 08, 2021
Geecast May 2021!
Saturday May 08, 2021
Saturday May 08, 2021
Hello & Welcome to wet & windy Doncaster as our wonderful British Summer falls flat on its arse before its even begun!
Because of this, My new Geecast mix takes on a distinctly anti summery feel this month!
This month Ive banged out a load of new recent tunes from the scenes heavy weights!
Hitting like an uppercut from a prime Mike Tyson!
If you would like a Mix for either your podcast or live radio show then please fee free to email me at kevgee1976@gmail.com
Thanks for your support!
Enjoy!
1 - Dolphin - Phonaestetica
2 - Current Value - That Smile
3 - The Outside Agency & Current Value - Listen To Me VIP
4 - Deformer - Happy Hentai
5 - Deformer - Moment of Violence
6 - Dolphin Hollow Ground
7 - Micron - 1994
8 - Detest & Tripped - Bag Of Dicks
9 - Adamant Scream & Thrasher = Disorder
10 - Dither - Techn0
11 - Nvitral - King Of The Underground
12 - Detest - Drop This
13 - Dolphin - Alright
14 - Hellfish - Run That Ruff Stuff
15 - Dolphin - Descention
16 - Ultragore & The Breakline - Aguza
17 - Ophidian - End The Earth III
18 - Dolphin - Ebbs
Wednesday Jan 20, 2021
Wednesday Jan 20, 2021
So we come to the final few sets of our Northern Gathering Reunion mission!!
This time we pay tribute to our dearly departed friend Lyde Fox AKA Bombjack. I have an old favourite set of his called Brisky Business which he gave out to people at raves & also to friends & promoters. Called Brisky Business because it used tracks that Dj brisk used to be well known for and also mixed in the Brisk style! Expect lots of bouncy hardcore beats, choppy breaks & fast tempos!! RIP Lyde & I hope your up there stomping away!
Secondly we have Dj Sidewinder! Now Scott is one for playing in a similar style - Fast bouncy hardcore & high tempos. he also has a fondness for the Silk Cuts rip of Bellisima. Which is fine by us! Scott does not have any DJ equipment anymore but has asked for us to include this mix!! It does as it says on the TIN! Sidewinder - Funcore International!
Wednesday Dec 30, 2020
Northern Gathering Reunion Part 4!! Skegster & Kev Gee!
Wednesday Dec 30, 2020
Wednesday Dec 30, 2020
Happy New year folks!
As we enter the final few days of this terrible year, we look back at to a time when things were better!
To a time when you could smoke in nightclubs, party all night long & roll in from a night out & then somehow go to work 2 or 3 hours later & be fine! To a time when garys cost £1 and you needed about 10 of them. To a time when we didnt have smartphones & we didnt record everything on them. To a time when people actually went to record shops & met new friends, and forged partnerships & networked by being face to face, rather than over the internet. To a time when Social Media didnt exist and Rave Forums were the place to get information on what the weekend would consist of!!
SO! On tonights show we feature Kivo's very own Hard style King Dj Skegster! The guy who launched JADE & helped the youth of the area! Many who may have taken different paths if it wasnt for him! And he can mix a great set as well!! And then for mix 2 its myself playing the Hardcore that I enjoyed at the time! And also the first stirrings of what is now known as Crossbreed. But back then it was given the title Core & Bass. But to me it was all just Hardcore! As always mixed in 1 take with no editing!
Please Read Skegsters ace interview below! I have not supplied one as I cant interview myself hah!
Mix 1 - Skegster
Mix 2 - Kev Gee
Interview questions!!
Hello!!
Can you introduce youself to us and tell us a little about yourself?! ASL, Straight, BI, Upf or experimentation etc?!
Hi, my name is John but i'm probably better known as Skegster. I used to be really into large chested blonde ladies back in the day - but these days I seem to be sat in my flat, alone and doing puzzle books or 1000 piece jigsaws - or something like that.
So can you talk us through how you became involved with Northern Gathering?
I'm not sure exactly how it came to fruition but back then I was running the JADE events every month in Kiveton and I met people like Firthy, D-Jam, Martin Space etc through the events and also through going out raving to Uprising and those kinda places.
What can you remember about your first set? Tunes played? other djs there? Were was it held?
Lets just be clear - this is part of my life that is kind of a big blur. I was running on stimulants and little sleep - so it's all a bit of a haze tbh. I remember playing sets in D-Jam's kitchen and also up in Bombjacks bedroom as well at the events at the Adelphi and NCPM.
Can you tell us about any funny stories from Northern Gathering?
I can remember waking up at D-Jam's one time with MC Trigg shouting something to Firthy over and over again, I was confused and I looked over in the kitchen and Bombjack was laid asleep under the kitchen table on the laminate flooring.
(cue very strong Barnsley accent)
'Fiiiiirthy, if tha wents a lift thaz guna av t wek up man, av gut t git t coooooooowut'
I later worked out what Trigg was shouting;
(Firthy, if you want a lift, you're going to have to wake up up man, I've got to get to court).
You had to be there to know how funny it was haha.
I also remember having acid at Andy's and we were watching Salad Fingers on YouTube; it fried my head. I had an idea to trick Tommy-T to watch it but then switch it for some gay porn for a laugh, me and I think Firthy managed to switch the screen to the gay boys in action and we were expecting him to freak out off his head on acid, he just sat there and said, 'this is naughty this, it doesn't bother me'. And he just sat and watched it. Not what we expected but it was Tommy after all - mad head hahah.
What do you think of that era of Rave compared to nowadays?
It's absolutely cliched to come out with the same sort of response that I used to hate from the old school crew that would say about our era of raving - that it wasn't the same and isn't as good as the old days. There's so much truth in that tbh - things are clearly nowhere near as good from my perspective. But I also now believe that we should let the young ones have their era and let them party in whatever ways they prefer these days. I also recognise the absolute monumental changes in society as a whole since the NG days and that was bound to change the way people enjoy a night out. I believe social media has completely changed the way the rave scene works.
What have you been doing since Northern Gathering finished? Do you still play out etc?
DJ wise, I progressed from playing in the back rooms at all the events to pushing onto the main arenas at places like Uprising, Dizstruxhon amd TFI. I still play gigs and i'm still pushing the hardstyle sound at hardcore events all over the region.
Personally, I am still a youth worker and I'm now a Dad to two wonderful girls; Gabriella (9) and Florence (6). Also still support the mighty Sheffield Wednesday (keep your jokes to yourselves!)
What lessons have you learned about the rave scene in general since the mid 00tees?
I've learned that although it's good to let loose, enjoy yourself and party hard when you are younger, it's also important to know your limits, to know when to stop and also that there's more to life than a rave scene (I would've found this very hard to understand at one point).
If you could ask Doctor Gee one question what would it be?
If I hadn't had drugs for almost a decade and someone slipped half a gurner in my cup of cocoa; how bad do you think my jigsaw would turn out?
Can you talk us through the mix? Why you chose these tracks?
I had to rack my brain to work out which era of hardstyle was relevant to the NG days, a lot of time and events have passed since then. It's quite an interesting period in the change of Hardstyle music; the Dutch had first got hold of the traditional Italian sound and started adding their big subby drums. This was the first time i'd played some of these tracks since the NG and I loved it. Brings back memories from a very 'free' time in my life - we would party any time, any place and with zero worries. Take me back!
Did you mix them on vinyl or Digital or CD?
I mixed them digitally but using some re-mastered vinyl rips.
What do you think is the key difference from the rave scene of 15 years ago to now?
Social media and its control over society and of how people want to be seen and how they conduct themselves. You can't let loose these days without someone recording you and uploading it somewhere to take the piss.
Drugs - they are completely different and I think in-turn have affected the moods and feeling in some events. There doesn't seem to be so much hugging and affection these days, everyones kinda just in their zone, doing their thing. It that even makes sense haha.
Thank you for the mix!!
Any shouts?!!
Big shout to all NG crew, miss you guys. Special mentions to Firthy for being there for me 24/7 and also to Bombjack and Tommi-T, love always my boys, RIP xx
Kev Gees Tracklist:-
1 - Intro
2 - Hellfish - Money For Fish
3 - Buzz Fuzz - Wake Up
4 - Stormtrooper - Todesvogel
5 - Ophidian - Predator & Prey
6 - Nospheratu & Ophidian - Psychiatric Ass
7 - The Outside Agency - Antichrist
8 - Project Omeaga - Prednison Attack
9 - Enzyme X - Dissonant Poetry
10 The Outside Agency - Screaming Pheonix VIP
11 Unexist - Fistortion
12 Jappo & Lancinhouse - EXLXAXL
13 IGOR - Crowdrocker
14 Paul Blackout - Simulated Demons
15 Dj Hidden - Times Like These
16 The Outside Agency - International Karate Nightmare
17 The Outside Agency - Yie Ar Kung Fu
18 Torsion - The Fire Funk
Thursday Dec 24, 2020
NG Reunion Pt3!! Jake Nicholls & D-stroy!!
Thursday Dec 24, 2020
Thursday Dec 24, 2020
Wooooo
Woooo
Erm WOOOOO!
Im the ghost of Christmas past. And im here to share some early millenium Banging Trance & Hardcore courtesy of Mr Jake Nicholls & D-stroy... Woooo Woooooooo............
Its now part 3 of our Northern Gathering Reunion!
Please enjoy & share the mixes whilst your neck another baileys & mince pie!! (and maybe a sneaky Gary?)
Interviews below!
Merry Xmas you filthy animals!
Kev Geex
So can you talk us through how you became involved with Northern Gathering?
I'd been resident at Uprising for a number of years at the time and was asked by Firthy 'king of the forest people' if I’d like to play for his station, it was something different at the time and lots of other great lads were involved too, it was a lot of fun.
What can you remember about your first set? Tunes played? other djs there? Where was it held?
As I recall, we were all at DJams, Bombjack, Martin, Tommi etc.. were all there, it was a brilliant atmosphere.
My set for this Xmas special is a fairly accurate snapshot of that era.
What do you think of that era of Rave compared to nowadays?
There seemed to be a lot more going on, loads of cool people and parties, it was a really enjoyable ride.
It’s hard to compare the two eras though, as the dynamic has changed a lot since. In a way I think much of it felt more underground at the time as social media didn’t really exist, everyone was in it more for the fun and not for page likes. More noticeably you didn't see anyone on their phone trying to record anything, the dancefloor was fully dialled into the music & it all added to the atmosphere. So much different to how it is now.
What have you been doing since Northern Gathering finished? Do you still play out etc?
I’ve been producing trance and hardcore, and DJing here and there, I’m grateful to have played in the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Thailand, HTID in the sun, and Ibiza a few times since.
What lessons have you learned about the rave scene in general since the mid 00tees?
Far too many to list 😂
If you could ask Doctor Gee one question what would it be?
If oranges are orange, why aren’t bananas called yellows?
Can you talk us through the mix? Why did you chose these tracks?
It’s a cross section of tracks/sounds from that time that still work so well, some big hard trance with darker contrasting elements.
What do you think is the key difference from the rave scene of 15 years ago to now?
I'd say social media influences (positive and negative) and attendances, I think a lot of the excitement was in the suspense. As Keith touches on, everyone was working hard and waiting all week for the next event, only having the memory of the last party or someone else’s feedback or a tape pack or flyer to go on.
Less was definitely more, that Friday feeling was off the chart.
Thank you for the mix!!
No worries, I really enjoyed it 😉
Any shouts?!!
Big shouts to all of my good friends & close ones, they know who they are, I met some fantastic people in the scene over the years and I've had some fantastic times.
An extra special mark of love and respect to the friends we’ve lost over the years, 2020 especially. Gone but never forgotten x
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Northern Gathering Xmas Reunion Pack 2!! D-Jam & KS1!
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Merry bastard Xmas & Bah HUMBUG to you all!!
No not really! I hope your having a nice build up to the not so big Xmas 2020!
So lets lift the gloom & take you back to times when we didnt care what time we rolled in from a night out & how much we pissed the neighbours off!! (Right Kathy & Andy?)
This one features 2 SUPERB mixes from Northern Gathering Residents Andy Mollins (AKA D-Jam) and everyones favourite cap wearing happy hardcore head & Uprising new talent Dj winner KS1!
Both mixes are BANG ON! Get listening and sharing! You'll be back in 2005-06 without a care in the world before you know it!!
And please read the interviews Below!
Mix 1 D-jam
Mix 2 KS1
Interview questions!!
Hello!!
Can you introduce yourself to us and tell us a little about yourself?! ASL, Straight, BI, Upf or experimentation etc?!
Urm... i have no idea what UPF is, do they deliver shit?
Anyway, I'm Andy Mollins, 29 years old, Male, and I'm not 29.
Used to DJ under the name D-Jam.
So can you talk us through how you became involved with Northern Gathering?
Well, in a nutshell, back in the mystical days of MSN messenger and porn that only came in picture form, my partner at the time, had a brother who played really fast music, he shall be known as sat nav space.
This gentleman hijacked my musicality, and turned me into a part time raver with really long hair and fashion sense that can only be described as the Liam Galagher vs JJB. Anyway, to cut a long story short (unlike my hair), Me and Martin used to play around on the decks during various late night drinking sessions, he was already making waves within the scene locally. And i wanted to get more into it after seeing him smash sets out across the region.
And during this time i came across an online radio station, that was run by a little dingle elf, who was from middle earth.
I got chatting to the little elf, using various online translators, and managed to get me and martin a weekly slot on the radio.
From this i became more involved with the radio, helping the elf run things and organise special one-off radio events. This was how we came about the idea, and the rest is history.
What can you remember about your first set? Tunes played? other DJs there? Where was it held?
Well, i used to play out in the club scene from being 16, around Rotherham, when it was actually a decent night out. But my first set would have been B2B with Martin Space at the Uprisings 10th birthday party when Hardcore United hosted room 2, i was bricking myself. (I may have got the 10th birthday wrong).
All i can remember is, it was hot as hell, loud as fuck, and still one of the best nights I've had in my life. Me and spacey played through so many styles it was unreal, finishing off with some absolute monsters, don't ask me the names of the tracks. it was 20 fucking years ago lol.
Can you tell us about any funny stories from Northern Gathering?
Too many to mention, Martins already spoke about the one that stuck out to me, although he did leave quite a few details out that i won't go into. He knows lmao.
I do remember DJ Firthy aka the elf, missing his set due to be absolutely hammered. and he was on pretty early if I remember, he'd managed to get that smashed he spewed in the bath, and then was comatose for most of the day. And before anyone says anything, yes that happened to me, but i was on last, so i came around in time!!!
What do you think of that era of Rave compared to nowadays?
I can't comment, I'm a recluse. i spend most of my days producing or playing some game or working. I do miss it though, and the people, had some mint times.
What have you been doing since Northern Gathering finished? Do you still play out etc?
I have been releasing a podcast, when i have time, and i produce to some sort of standard under the alias ArcAnum, nothing to shout about. And i run 2 labels, nothing that would fit into any rave though I'm afraid, my brain can't compute anything over 135 these days.
What lessons have you learned about the rave scene in general since the mid 00tees?
Above anything, the more ass you kiss, the further you got. Or if you have a skill that can be useful within the scene, then you'll be ok. There are a few exceptions to that rule. But very few and far between.
I know some DJ's with some serious talent's, and passion that didn't even get a look in because their faces didn't fit, or some other bullshit reason.
If you could ask Doctor Gee one question what would it be?
When are you coming to upgrade my shit broadband you slag!!!!
Can you talk us through the mix? Why you chose these tracks?
I tried to recreate what I'd had done back then, i was never one to just play one style, i liked to go through the styles, easing the listeners into the set before whacking them with a hammer.
Did you mix them on vinyl or Digital or CD?Digital... It's not the same, and will never be the same, just glad i lived through i time to hear a record bounce on the decks because some cunt was jumping too high in front of the decks.
What do you think is the key difference from the rave scene of 15 years ago to now?
Can't really comment about the now, but i can imagine it being nothing like it used to be.
Who knows, maybe there's already been talks within the ranks for party or event created by the NG team in the not-too-distant future.
Thank you for the mix!!
Any shouts?!!
Yehh, everyone who was involved within the NG team. And to everyone who followed our journey along the way!!
Interview 2 KS1!
Hello!!
Can you introduce yourself to us and tell us a little about yourself?! ASL, Straight, BI, Up for experimentation etc?!
KS1 or nowadays Keith Stanage, from Scunthorpe, meh
So can you talk us through how you became involved with Northern Gathering?
I bothered the bejesus out of Martin Space after meeting him at Long Eaton.
What can you remember about your first set? Tunes played? other djs there? Were was it held?
A welcoming, family get together atmosphere second to none! I didn't know many people there when I arrived but I did when I left.
Can you tell us about any funny stories from Northern Gathering?
Yes, but I still speak to some of these ppl so I won't. Andy is responsible for most.
What do you think of that era of Rave compared to nowadays?
We worked all week and let rip on the weekend. It was a family gathering, didn't matter the event! You could go on ur own and meet people there you knew or would know very soon.
There was very little of this bookings for bookings that goes on now, it was talent being booked for talent.
What have you been doing since Northern Gathering finished? Do you still play out etc?
Mainly having kids. I still play out when asked but rarely, normally old skool and reunion sets, which suits me fine tbh as I can't find the passion or interest in new music... I've gone full Meldrew about it.
What lessons have you learned about the rave scene in general since the mid 00tees?
Moderation is key.
If you could ask Doctor Gee one question what would it be?
Why can't dogs look up? Who built the pyramids? Why has Mercedes got 3 Es all pronounced differently? What if this is all a dream?
Can you talk us through the mix? Why you chose these tracks?
Hopefully a sort of "best of..." Of the tracks I played during my few brief years of medium success.
Did you mix them on vinyl or Digital or CD?
Me: Vinyl and 1 digital.
What do you think is the key difference from the rave scene of 15 years ago to now?
We're not in it and everyone is a DJ now... Maybe I'm just old but it's not the same as when I was a lad and it was all fields.
Thank you for the mix!!
Thank you for including me, then and now
Saturday Dec 19, 2020
Northern Gathering Reunion!! Pack1!!! Martin Space & James Woollen!!
Saturday Dec 19, 2020
Saturday Dec 19, 2020
Oh My Daysssssssssss!!!
Yes thats right!! from out of nowere we have organised the OG MOFOs back for one last HOOO RAHHH!!
Who remembers the legendary NOTHERN GATHERING RADIO SHOWS?
No You dont?
Sit nicely kids..... Its time for a history lesson.... Mid 2004 and Internet radio shows become a viable option now that people can listen in 128KPS quality and people can also broadcast from their bedrooms using Winamp and a plug in!!
Hardcore United is the brainchild of a young lad called Luke FIrth (No not the Fat pie Firth!! Thats DAVID Firth!) You see Luke isnt old enough to actually goto raves so he launches an internet radio station instead. He also drafts in well known Local Dj Martin Space and his co conspirator Andy Mollins AKA DJam. These 3 stooges also come up with a plan to have all day raves at various locations around Yorkshire and getting loads of Djs to play there!! Also with the wonders of ADSL broadband you can tune in & get involved listening, chatting away in the chatroom and requesting records etc!! The idea is a huge success with many listeners tuning in and creating a crazy vibe!! Loads of local djs also hear about this and want to be involved! NORTHERN GATHERING is born!! Northern Gathering goes from strength to strength! Rave promoters also hear about this &Northern Gathering starts to host second rooms across the north of England. Playing to packed out sweat boxes at events like Uprising, HardDrive and many more!!
But with so much fun happening, the unthinkable happens when popular Dj & Mc NG resident Lyde Fox AKA Dj Bombjack sadly passes away. Naturally it knocks the whole of the NG team for six and his close friend Sam Foster. In honour of Lyde, an event is organised with Mega Promoter Uprising and the event Bombkacks big bash is put on with a sell out at the legendary Adelphi venue in Sheffield. One of Bombjacks mixes is played out to an emotional and thankful crowd.
Lyde if you are up there reading this we all still think about you all the time!! You will never be forgtten mate! And for this reason we will include one of Bombjacks mixes in the packs!!
Also over the last few years we have also sadly lost other NG regulars, Tommi T & Lang-E
So.... What now? what happened to Northern Gathering? What about the Djs and Mcs?
I have tracked down the majority of them from EVENT 1. I am trying to recreate the same line up as is possible! I have also done some short interview questions! Were I couldnt track down a DJ. I will try & include a set of theirs if possible!!
Friendships that last to this day & were built off the back of these internet events.
To celebrate these iconic shows (and the websites that spawned from) Hardcoreunited.co.uk being one.
So to celebrate this I have got most of the gang back who played at event 1.
This was the flyer for event 1:-
The download & Stream links are further down! Whilst your streaming or downloading why not read the interviews?!
We will be releasing 2 mixes every 2 days running upto Xmas!
Thanks to everyone that has helped with the Geecast relaunch this year to to all our listeners!
Stay safe & have a great Christmas with your familys!
Thanks to everyone who has contributed (often at short notice!) mixes or help to make this project a reality!!
Interview 1!! MARTIN SPACE!!
Hello!!
Can you introduce youself to us and tell us a little about yourself?! ASL, Straight, BI, Upf or experimentation etc?!
I'm Martin Space
I'm a raver and a bedroom DJ.
Even now, at a ripe age of 42. I'm an 'happy go lucky' guy and I do love to 'Dance like no one is watching' at any event. No matter the genre of rave music.
So can you talk us through how you became involved with Northern Gathering?
Me and Andy (DJam) have been jamming on the decks for 2 years and converting Andy from Speed Garage to UK Hardcore/Freeform. Taking him out & about and showing him the UK rave scene. Mainly, around Yorkshire & Humber.
Andy and his new found obcession, he was scouring the internet and forums. Came across a very young Luke Firth from Barnsley, doing internet radio shows. Andy was intrigued 'what better way to showcase your skills, play the best records at that time and having a blast whilst doing it. Andy contacted Firthy on MSN Messenger (can you remember that?) and said we need to meet up and have a collab and create our own internet radio show. With Firthy's know how, Andy's drive and me, an up & coming and establised DJ in the local scene...it was a partnership, which was going to rock the world wide web.
The rest was history and Hardcore United was created. Then, we all come together, with a monthly, 12 hours online marathon radio event called 'Northern Gathering'.
What can you remember about your first set? Tunes played? other djs there? Were was it held?
My first solo DJ set was at Bedlam on Saturday 9th June 2001. It was at The Mulbery Tavern, Sheffield.
I was asked to play a 'Hard House set' (even though I was an UK Hardcore/Freeform bedroom DJ at the time) and I can remember three distinctive records I played:
O.D 404 - 9 Bar on Kaktai Records.
Vinylgroover & Redhead - Move Your Body on Nukleuz Records.
Charlotte Birch - Gladiator on Bulletproof Records.
Can you tell us about any funny stories from Northern Gathering?
It was all about fun and they were loads of giggles along the way. One sticks out and it will always be remembered. There is a song/record in this story and triggers the memories from the night (its not one you are going to think of, still today!)
Northern Gathering radio event on tour, Summer 2006. It was when we all went and played at Looney Tunez, Chapel St Leonards Nr Skegness. Middle of nowhere and very remote. This place was rocking...indoor and outdoor. The club had low roofs, sweat and condensation dripping of the ceiling, the sound system was banging! Smiles all round. Varied music genre was played all night, from DnB, Techno, Hardcore, Trance, Hardstyle, Makina and much more.
But, what stood out was the outdoors. Please picture this...a 40ft lorry trailer (curtain sider), with the sound system filling the trailer. The DJ/Producers set up was on the ground and at the end of the trailer. A full live PA set up, plus turntables & mixer. The music played outdoors, was very experimental and random. But, it was LOUD!!
Now, this event had 'camping facilites' but decided to place the site, in front of this lorry trailer. So, when we all decided to chill in the tents for a bit (approx. 3am because I had a drive back to Rotherham). The guys who are still playing on this outdoor PA system, decided to play 'Groove Is The Heart by Deee-Lite 'REMIX' at about 250bpm!!! Speedcore...boom! Okay, we are not sleeping haha!
There is more stories from the same night but I'd be talking all day and night.
What do you think of that era of Rave compared to nowadays?
Wow, I really can't comment fully? I'm always going to be biased and say the 90's/00's was the best times. They were because we was there, we witnessed it every weekend. Meeting new friends from all across the UK. Travelling to and from London, Manchester, Nottingham, Skegness and Scarborough. Even, several festivals in Holland.
What have you been doing since Northern Gathering finished? Do you still play out etc?
We (me and Linzi - my little raving dude) still goto raves/events but only on a few occasions. We experimented with different music events ie Gatescrasher, Passion, Hellfire and even went to the Decibal Festival nr Eindhoven, Netherlands in August 2018. We still love going to our favourite event, the mighty Uprising in Sheffield (when there isn't a pandemic causing rife).
I play out for mates only now-a-days. I've played at Chris Murrey (Pursuit) event in Hull with Dave Hunt (Devastate), a few times. I do an annual birthday party for Chris MacFarlane (Macca), a mate we've known for years, locally in Rotherham. Macca is a Speed Garage DJ and books other Speed Garage DJ's for his yearly, birthday party. Then, I come along, for the last set, play either German hard trance set or Hardstyle. They love it!!
What lessons have you learned about the rave scene in general since the mid 00tees?
Take no nonsense of the 'top jocks & artists' and make your own journey. Make your own ideas come to reality, if you would like to make good music. So what, it will no be on the top 10 of Beatport or played by the big names in the scene. Just have fun and make the music you would love to hear, on the dancefloor. Trust me, I've experience it. Its an amazing feeling.
One memory comes to mind. I played at Hardr:ve @ Baths Hall, Scunthorpe. I was playing after Brisk and before Scorpio. This was the opportunity I could play a new studio recording. Listening to it on a live system. It was written by me, Andy DJam and Dave Devastate, engineered by Dave. It was called 'Numb' (Linkin Park remix) and all I can say is 'WOW!!!' Sounded crisp and the dancefloor was packed. When the main break come in and the vocals started "I'm tired of being what you want me to be. Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface" My whole body was covered in goose-bumps, seeing everyone on the dancefloor 'singing there heads off'. I had to appreciate the ravers by taking my headphones off and going to the front of the stage , high five'in everyone, going along the front stage.
You can't get any better feeling. When you and your mates, getting together in the studio, throw a load of ideas about and coming up a banger...for that amazing memory. Plus a great bonus, Jay (Fastraxx) signed the track and pressed onto vinyl.
Devastate Vs DJam & Martin Space - Numb on Distinctive Vinyl (DV002).
If you could ask Doctor Gee one question what would it be?
Can you come and upgrade my fibre broadband at mates rates....FOC haha!
Can you talk us through the mix? Why you chose these tracks?
The intro is a special which I created back in 2006, when we sadly lost our good mate and Northering Gathering Resident, Lyde Fox aka DJ/MC Bombjack. Listen to it carefully, there is a clip of Bomby saying 'Martin Space' when we did a set together, at Rush Hour @ The Venue, Long Eaton. nr Nottingham. Also, a small slip of a good friend, Kurt (Mc Shame/Seamus) who performed with me @ the same event, with Bomby.
I decided to do a late 90's/early 00's Hardcore/Freeform mix for the Northern Gathering Reunion Geecast.
Every single records, takes me back to the year of 2000, where we went raving (as ravers), very single weekend. So many brilliant memories!
This mix is about what we use to do and the journey we use to take, every weekend. I worked and stayed in Oxford through the week. I then drove back to Sheffield on a Friday afternoon, get ready, watched Human Traffic and travelled to London. Goto Future Dance at Castle Studios, that same night. Meet amazing people and new friends, enjoy the night away and then travel back to Sheffield, the next Saturday morning. Get home, have a few hours sleep, shower and then get ready to go to go Dizstruxshon @ Baths Hall, Scunthorpe or Elation in Manchester. Pretty dam bonkers!!
But, we had the time of our lifes and every single record on this mix, represents us at that time. Love and respect to the party people (Linzi & Lee UHF) who took this journey. This was the beginning of me, being me...Martin Space the DJ/artist.
DId you mix them on vinyl or Digital or CD?
Mixed on CD's, from ripped vinyl to mp3 (you'll hear a few crackles).
What do you think is the key difference from the rave scene of 15 years ago to now?
Vinyl and fewer or any high street record shops left. Nothing better, getting paid (with your minimum wage) and wax the lot, on new releases. Every weekend!
Internet and mobile phones have killed the optimism of a good rave/event/festival. Lets take it back and get the communication through the word of mouth/flyers/radio. I know it will not happen...
Thank you for the mix!!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity and giving me a reason to turn on the decks, press record and just having a blast! Reminise the good times.
Any shouts?!!
To all and everyone who I have met over the years and become good friends, through raving & the music.
Just want to pass on a tribute to Bombjack, Lang-E and Tommi T, may you rave in peace, up and above. We will meet you again. Shai Mc 3-Style quote "RIP...VIP".
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
Geecast 6!!! Featuring DJ LOUK!!!!
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
Welcome back GEECASTERS!!!
As always we keep our BLINDS OPEN to sounds we may not hear on a day to day basis!!
And as ever pushing this concept.. we have one of the UKs finest Techno & Hard Trance Djs & Producers..... The one and only
LOUK!!
As ever you have me playing some of my fav stuff!! This time im playing some classic 90s in one take from 170 upto 230ish! !!! as always I dont believe in sanitised nicely edited DJ sets. I press record and lets go!!!
And in hour 2 we have the one and only!! LOUK!!!
Now then LOUK!!
How are we doing on this weird year?!
Haha that's fantastic going from 170 to 230 in one take. Top man. Mate weird is an understatement and a half, in February all was good and I happily travelling to Reykjavik and planning what to do in the Summer etc and some forthcoming gigs we wanted to go to and then the whole lockdown happened a couple weeks later. Never expected it in the slightest, but I don't think anyone did for that matter. Anyway, aside from a global pandemic yeah all good cheers!
Hows you.. Missus and the new addition!?!
Ah absolutely lovely thanks, the past fifteen months have flown by and one good thing of lockdown was I got to see much more of my daughter growing up. My wife is working hard in her final year of Uni studying a degree in biomedical science that I haven't got a fucking clue what the majority of it means but she is doing very well at it and my stepdaughter had her sixth Birthday today and is as usual very happy and full of the joys of life!
So of course many people know you from playing Techno & Hard Trance all over Europe! But were did this all begin for you?? What were your earliest memories of the rave scene?
I grew up listening to dance tracks on compilations and enjoying them and learned to make music on an Amiga 500 with an old issue of CU Amiga magazine. From there there were tracks on CDs I really liked. Cheesy to admit it but Now 26 switched me on to a lot of dance music as my parents had it and I remember stuff like Capella, Leftfield and The Good Men were on there. There was another compilation with Atlantic Ocean - Waterfall on that escapes me but I listened to that a lot. My cousin was going to a lot of raves in the early 90s and told me about some tapes to check out. I actually wrote to the author of the article in CU Amiga mag a few years back and looked him up on Facebook, said about the huge thanks I have to him for how my life turned out and he's very humble and still making music. He did a belting live version of Greece 2000 and Stella by Jam & Spoon. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlGZ8WXS6_Q)
Didn't start going out properly till I was 16 in early 2002, where I ventured from a pub that never ID'd me that I still occasionally drink in now, to a club called Dance Academy where my friends were running nights. Again, was spoiled rotten really as they did decent harder nights on a Fri (though I also went to a lot of wicked Drum N Bass ones too there) and on the Sat they had Mark EG and M-Zone down on a pretty much bi-monthly basis and a whole host of other decent DJs and locals. Most the time the locals played harder and darker than the guest DJs and I loved the fact there was a right mash up of music in there from house through to hardstyle on a weekly basis.
Can you remember the first rave tape you bought? Who was it?
To be fair I can't really, as I actually remember getting a tape pack after getting a CD pack and downloading mixes from DJs leaving a modem on all night in the late 90s. That was back in the days it'd take about 8 hours to download 1 mix. I remember getting a bollocking for us having a huge phone bill one month. Was worth it for the music to be fair! A year later IC24 came along and stupidly gave away 0800 internet subscriptions for something like £10 a month, they changed their policy after. I think I was partly to blame downloading as many mixes as I could and fair use went well and truly out the window. I listened to Radio 1 quite a lot and Beat 106 online in Scotland and I was into Paul Mendez from Jacob & Mendez's tunes and he did a show on there, locally there was a radio station called Plymouth Sound that had a belting dance show. I taped shitloads of them and met quite a few of the DJs on there over the years as they worked in record shops and the like or I DJ'd on same line ups as them. They had a strong influence on me too as well as the local nights as I was too young to be going out. Though not for that much longer as stated above thanks to very very lapse IDing going on, especially as I looked about 14 when I was 16. Many thanks to everyone who knew and didn't say anything as those years were fucking amazing!!!
The Techno & Hard Trance scene has big roots in the UK from events like North, Uprising, Helterkelters Technodrome, Vibelite Tommorows World, Club Kinetic Digital & Djs like Mzone & Mark EG. Can you remember hearing them for the first time?
Yep, mates raved about Mark EG and M-Zone and I used to listen to their mixes on the german trance website and Mark's blackout audio website in real audio format. That takes me back. A year later mark was playing here every month and so was Mick and not just at Dance Academy but other awesome nights like Premonition, Hindsight in Exeter and others. So I saw them shitloads! Both have been not just hugely influential but highly supportive over the years. I was a bit jaded with how everything was going in 2014 musically and took a much needed break and rethink, Mick very kindly rang up to see if all was OK. Nearly everybody who plays hard trance in the south west owes inspiration to these two. How mark mixes it up starting with techno hugely influenced too as I've always been into it as much as I have hard trance. Mark and Mick often played at the Country Club here, and I had a lift ready for me to go to the last night but went to a small prog night in Plym instead, I did have school on Monday and thought a hangover the size of sussex miles from home wasn't a good idea. Country Club reunions are always a decent laugh though!
Who is the most savage Hardcore Dj you have heard?
HMS for me haha!?! Pure brutal!! RIP HMS!!
Haha heard a few. I DJ'd after The Speed Freak in Scunthorpe for Hard Drive once. Thought I'd be clever dropping more purist techno after a gabber DJ and crowd parted like the red sea when I put my first tune on. S.W Cooperation - Get To Your Place. Everyone's place was to fuck off of the dancefloor that night DJing after Gabber. Found out he was behind Biochip C though and he did some mental slower tracks as well under that guise, very talented.
Whats the best gig youve ever played and why?
Had some absolutely mental ones but easily my first ever international gig, that fell on the date of my 24th birthday and was for Q Dance for Defqon 1. Everyone was really supportive and I had lots of new material to play, and was nice to drop Shogun 1 to the Dutch. What a birthday.
Whats the strangest thing youve ever seen at a rave?
Someone on the dancefloor at The Grove in Seaton turning their keys with their eyes closed thinking they were unlocking their front door. I asked "You alright mate?" to get a reply of "Fuck me mate I thought I was unlocking my front door". That has to be up there. Also my (lack of) attempts at mixing in the early days were pretty strange as well... least I can admit it.
What is the rave scene like down on the south coast?(pre covid)..
There's loads of music enthusiasts, very talented producers and DJs here so there's still some nights, but sadly there aren't that many venues that can hold the capacity so like anywhere sadly the scene is a fraction of what it was when I started going out. Even more so now post covid!
Your well known for your collabs with Nick the Kid... How did this come about?
Met Nick at a free party near Exeter in 2002 called Lunatech, liked the set he played and then went on my own to his Hindsight night in Exeter that Dec. Got the coach up and it finished at 1 so I went to dance academy after when I got back to plym at 2. Really enjoyed the music, so went up with some mates from Plym often to Hindsights, met nick a few times, gave him some of my very early really ropey tunes and we liked a lot of the same music and were both cubase users so worked with each other. Dreams was made, and somehow ended up getting signed to Drizzly one of our fav labels so we were mega stoked. This was actually before I started mixing as that came after Production he was one of the first to book me. I worked with Nick lots over years and we've played a lot of sets b2b and had a hell of a lot of fun in doing so. Every time we meet up we always have a laugh. His HTE label is going strong and fair play he works his socks off.
So your quite a well known and skilled producer... When you go into the studio.. can you talk us through your process? Do you have ideas down before? or is it a more organic scenario?
Ah thank you, It varies on my mood that day. Sometimes I listen to music before I go in, but then find I end up taking influence from what I listen to and go 'ah what can I do to sound like track X today' works. When I engineer for others I ask them to bring 4/5 tracks that they like so I can get a similar vibe and listen to their ideas. For my own stuff it could also be I buy a sample pack and cut up some loops and play with some synths. I try to get the best out of very limited equipment and some very bodged set ups. You should have seen the laptop I made some of my biggest tunes on that make me cringe now. It would take 30 mins to export a track then i'd forget to unmute a synth. Everyone here took the piss out of me for about 4 years for making tracks with some decent synths on a monitor that had a cone that was bent and a monitor screen that was so small. You'd be surprised at the tunes that somehow come out of it but all I can say is many thanks to Jon Doe for turning my premaster WAVs into something amazing. He's saved the day a good 300 times now.
Many people know you in the Hardcore scene, even though you dont produce straight 170+ bpm stuff..... what draws you to this side of things?
Probably how pitched up I play things, I used to tweak my decks to go to +16, also enthusiasm and how fast I talk. I'd say it's more likely the latter.
So whats going off in the world of LOUK? I suppose you have 100s of tracks ready to go since lockdown has hit right?!
I did produce a lot during the first lockdown but now my daughter has my studio room and old office as her bedroom I haven't hardly made anything at all. I bought a Polyend Tracker recently and made some techno jams but after making about 200 tracks in the past 5 years I'm glad of the break.
The last question was abit of a joke tbh... covid has probably hit the scene hard in that people aint meeting up and sharing ideas and concepts. But we must take the positives yeah?! tell us a positive thing from the last 6 months!?!
Hearing Daisy say 'Dada' for the first time is up there.
So how healthy is the Techno/Hard Trance scene at the moment?
Aside from the lack of venues, both are very healthy. I'm sending out lots at work from both genres. Quite funny actually as some EPs have crossed over and I've sent techno to hard trance DJs and vice versa. I spoke to Justin from German Trance this week who's setting up his labels again, that's welcome news. I'm still pressing vinyl on my Syntax Error label (albeit techno) but from some old hard trance producers. Release 001 had a track from Michael Wells/Technohead/GTO and 002 had a track from Andreas Kraemer. There's one on 003 by two friends from Rotterdam called Erik Pijl and Stephanie Noordermeer that everyone likes in the feedback because it's proper trancey. Check it out!
Further on that tip - which producers are doing it for you at the moment?
I've got my crossover head on here so from the techno world Surgeon, Dax J, Stranger/TAFKAMP, SHDW & Obscure Shape and in the trance world Renegade System, Scot Project, Stoneface & Terminal, Tasso. JK Walker is back producing stuff again which is amazing news too!!
Also to new producers... what tips and advice would you give them?
I have 3
1) Don't be afraid to take inspiration from others, as everyone does and if you are stuck for an idea and want to learn your Sequencer (I hate the term DAW). I spent hours in the early days copying Out Of The Blue by System F, and Junk Project - Beats Bring Silence, Pablo Gargano - Everyone's Future etc to learn from for my own tracks.
2) Also there are a bunch of free plug ins that I use on nearly every tune, have done for years. You don't need to spend thousands! When lockdown happened I linked to a load of resources for producers, here you go: http://www.louk.co.uk/selfisolation/
3) If you are having a day where what you are doing sounds shit, take a break or even return at another day. I've done it many times. You'll thank yourself.
If your were stranded on a desert island and could only choose 5 records to take... which would these be? Can you explain why and provide links for our listeners?
Depeche Mode - The Singles 81-85 - Huge fan of Depeche Mode but most importantly their early work.
Madness - It Must Be Love. Mine and my wife's first dance, and plus what a band.
Sunbeam - Outside World - A track that's brought happiness to so many people, next level.
Vapourspace - The Cold Air / Gravitational Arch Of 10 - everyone loves Gravitational Arch Of 10 (even though it was meant to be called Gravitational Arc Of Io), and it's a belter and a half but I love the ambient tracks on the other side, especially this one. Synths are unreal!
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 - I'm stuck on a desert island may as well enjoy the weather and chill out!!
Putting all those in youtube will provide links to listen.
Of course up North (dj sets wise) we know you from Uprising... Can you remember the first time you heard an Uprising set? Of course the mid 90s sets from Kenny Sharp must have made an impression?
Yep. I did my foundation year at Bradford Uni, but spent nearly every weekend in Leeds going to nights like Cypher, Tekfresh, Northern Lights etc and for various other reasons as Leeds was 100000x better and like a fiver to get to. Sadly I just went there the year The Orbit closed which was a fucker. The record shop there The Disc sold Uprising CD packs and I bought one with M-Zone and Frantic on it and another with Topgroove and Jon Doe. Listened to those lots and got more over the years. Kenny is someone I heard a bit later on but he's played some absolute beasts over the years, and made some gems and is again another legend!
Your good mates with Uprising resident Jake Nicholls.... How did this develop?
A mutual friend (DJ Invader) told me years ago I play similarly to Jake, and in the days of Myspace I looked him up and followed him. We sent each other many mixes. He put me onto Brian and very kindly sorted out a booking and that was the first of many. Still remember my first set at Uprising in 2008, where my mate Ralph drove up to Sheffield in his 106 and it took about 6 hours from Plymouth. Made it just in time. Jake is without a doubt one of the nicest people in this whole scene I've met, he is ridiculously knowledgeable about the music scene and I love his influence from many genres. He DJ'd with me in Holland and at Nature One oozes enthusiasm. He's become a really good friend coming to my stag do in Berlin and also we went to each other's Weddings and I mished all the way to Doncaster to play at his 40th. Wouldn't do that for many people. His mrs always says she gets lost when we talk to each other as we both speak 1,000,000 miles an hour about music.
Alot of people say an Uprising crowd is abit... shall we say... rough... Is this true compared to other events you have been too?
Haha no not in the slightest, i've been to moody raves at Slammin Vinyl where in the DnB arena knives were being pulled and people were being mugged, And when I lived in Birmingham people were getting shot outside nightclubs. What the fuck is that about on both counts?! Plus I've played in the Ukraine, don't think that will happen again in a hurry. I will say this the Uprising crowd know their music far better than most in Europe. I remember playing there once and someone asked me if I was going to drop my new tune I had made and uploaded to soundcloud that afternoon that night, and said they listened to a mix of mine and could ID the really rare tracks.
So what equipment are you using these days? what djing and studio gear do you use?
Of course! My studio equipment is currently at a few friends houses as I've let them borrow synths and speakers as they are learning to make tunes while I take a much needed break from engineering. But it was an Access Virus Ti Snow, A Roland JV2080 I borrowed off my mate, An SSL2+ Audio Interface, A Behringer Pro-1, Behringer TD-3, An M-Audio Oxygen 49 Controller Keyboard, Alesis M1 MK1 Monitors, A TC Electronic June 60 and a Midas DM:16 Desk. That and a PC running both Cubase 9.5 and Renoise. That's all I used for production really. DJ wise both my wife and I mix and we have a pair of 1210s and a Behringer Mixer. When I play out I mix on CDJs though.
What are your thoughts on vinyl vs cd/mp3? I love having hard copys of tracks but you cant beat having a stick full of tracks verses lugging a crate of vinyl around yeah?
Mate i'm still pressing vinyl and still buying records on discogs when I send out pretty much everything on MP3/WAV and probably will never play a vinyl out again except for at home. You can't beat it. Like both formats to be fair but agree I can pick up a record and tell you pretty much where I was when I first heard it/bought it and something about it. Hard pressed to do that with an MP3!
So can you talk us through your mix? why did you pick these tracks?
Yep, many tracks on here greatly influenced me but quite a few of them I haven't put on mixes. Or they were tracks that were on tapes/sets I donwloaded and listened to repeatedly the last 20 years and only recently found names. One was from a Mauro Picotto mix from 1998 that got ID'd the other week. Also I put the last track of my first ever Uprising set on there (High Voltage - Bombs Away), and I tried to do a mix of various tracks in the hard trance world that just blew me away, it includes early productions from M.I.K.E/Push and Vincent De Moor under other names. Plus Sunbeam still sounds great the 908,000,000th time I listen to it. Hope you all enjoy!
Awesome dude!! Many thanks for your mix! Shout outs here please?!
Yeah of course, to yourself for doing this interview! To Sammy, Darcie and Daisy for always being there, to Jake & Hannah, Mark and Mick, Nick and Flick, Tony Horgan, Bri, Kenny, Ben Invader and to all my friends and family, to Tom, Ian and all the promoters who first gave me a chance and anyone who has taken the time to get in touch over the years, who've let me release their music and/or put up with my dodgy mixing.
LOUKS Trance & Techno mix from 90s to present!!
Kai Tracid - Tiefenrausch (A.S.Y.S Remix) [Tracid Traxxx]
Ricky Le Roy - One Day (Big Bass Mix) [BXR]
Marco V - Tolerance [Free For All]
2 Emme - Colours [Underground]
V-One - Dead Cities [Bonzai Trance Progressive]
Lars Hohler - Dreamland [Planet Earth Tunes]
Sidewalk - Oasis [Funny Vinyl]
Repulsor - Double Action [Drizzly]
Mr Hyde & Joe-X - Oxygene [4th Dimension]
Oliver Lieb - Subraumstimulation [Data]
Dual Mount - Touch Me [Tesseract]
CJ Bolland - See Saw [Mole]
Next Generation - The Earthquake [Ipnotika]
Marcos & Jay Walker - Night Finder [Active Media]
Zombie Squad - A New Decade [Zombie]
Sunbeam - Outside World [Suck Me Plasma]
Maurizio Braccagni - Megamix Maranza [Brainstorm]
High Voltage - Bombs Away [Sys-X]
Les Diaboliques - Querelle [Lunatec]
Quick Reverse - God's Reason [Bonzai]
Kev Gees 90s Tehcnodrome 2 fingered salute tracklist!!
Negative Burn - Gates Of Hell
The Raven - A New Hope!
Don Diablo Vs The Raven - The Arrival
The Brutalist - The Voice Of Your Conscious
Mastervibe - Friday
Matrix & Wargroover - Neutron Bomb
Tieum - You LMA
Mastervibe - Alienz
The Outside Agency - Break It Down
Mastervibe - Power Of The Herb
Tieum - HP
Hellfish - Techno City
Tieum - K1000 Vs Ner
Clarkee - I Am God Here
Diplomat - Cool & Deadly
Technological terror Crew - The Ripper (Remix)
Men In Black - Guitar Man
Overcast - Attack