With teeth cut on the smoothly abrasive planes of Rubadub and Numbers and now chewing up Berlin like it ain’t nothing, this weekend we welcome Spencer home for a prime-time set at Subculture. Calum is an expert as far as his DJ skills go, from growing up with Jackmaster and the Numbers party collective as well as co-hosting Detroit techno legend Claude Young’s radio shows back in the early days, he’s already got quite an impression collection of merits under his belt. More recently he’s toured across the globe delivering killer mixes on and off the dance floor.
He knows a thing or two about how to pick a tune so ahead of Saturday we asked him to empty the contents of his own record bag on to the Subbie floor…
The track you’ll be opening your next DJ set with?
The track you can always play to rescue a dance floor?
The track or mix you would listen to on a beach in Australia?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcLNT5aVfPA
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCkd46hcRag
The track you would play if closing a soundsystem at the Rio Carnival?
The track that currently gets the best reaction for the crowd?
Minus a few upcoming things I can’t link to yet, this probably went off the most recently… just one of those tunes that creeps up. Floating Points never disappoints me.
The track you’d play at your auntie’s wedding?
An all-time track you wish you’d signed to your label?
It’s not on YouTube, but Prince – I Would Die 4 U. Heard it?
The track/album which you would listen to on your iPhone in an airport?
This during take off – and make sure no-ones watching your weird head bobs, which is pretty hard for me cause I’m too tall.
The ideal festival track?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyAfBh1-zdo
The track you’d play at sunset in Ibiza?
All about 3.30
The track you want played at your funeral?
Wouldn’t want to narrow it down but this could be one of the 50
Your ideal Sunday listening soundtrack?
This + tea
If you could pick any movie from the past, what one would you love to have recorded the soundtrack for?
Clink Clink Clink…
What was your first impression of Harri & Domenic’s Subculture?
I’ve known Harri since I was about 12 via Jasper as we used to hang about a bit in the park with Jack and his brother Sean. The first real impression was when I got to go to the Subbie unders when I was was 15 and went to see DJ Jean. It was to honour the week The Launch came out. Got his autograph on a 2 for 1 pass which I still have somewhere… [Jackmaster was also there but never got an autograph] I should probably get it preserved.
This is your first time playing Subculture alone. What are your expectations of returning to the the party?
Think the last proper Subculture I did was with Levon Vincent, then there was a joint thing in the Sub with Optimo not too long ago – so not short of memories or expectations. I’m living in Berlin at the moment and always happy to be back with people banging on the side of the booth, even if it’s so loud you mistake it for snare drums. I’ve been picking out a lot of stuff for it anyway, counting down the hours…
We are always interested to hear what other music artists are listening to at the moment. Any tracks or producers that stand out for you recently?
I listen and buy a lot of old music in amongst the new – my discogs bill just hit a personal best. Feeling a lot of stuff from Philadelphia this week, always New York disco – keeping the winter blues at bay I guess. Always doing a bunch of edits, fixing up bits I don’t feel from old songs… chopping out choruses and bridges that take it too far.
I just got Spotify after years of shunning it too, so Biggie, D’Angelo, Raymond Scott and Joni Mitchell been entertaining me there. All those Aphex Twin demos on Soundcloud are a welcome surprise of course. The new reissue of this Ata Kak thing on Awesome Tapes From Africa is amazing. Then there’s loads of demos for Numbers, and I’ve been finalising an album with a new artist Kool Clap from Paris, in between breathing and eating. This was the last thing I listened to today, but don’t expect to hear it on Saturday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlTT2mPA5BA
For Saturday advance tickets are on sale HERE then more on the door from 11pm.