FLY CLUB – meet the residents: ILLYUS & BARRIENTOS

Hailing from Glasgow, Illyus & Barrientos have been building quite a reputation over the past few years. Having released on reputable labels both individually and collectively the FLY CLUB residents are certainly bringing the dancefloor heat. ‘Do Anything You Wanna’, which is out now, see’s them rooted firmly in classic house territory, with the lead track, of the same name, incorporating catchy vocals with a piano heavy riff. On the B side, ‘The Times We Shared’ is a bit moodier, but equally floor-filling.

In between a hectic studio and wrap eating schedule FLY Club pinned their residents down for a quick chat ahead of Sunday…

1.  Why//How/When did you end up DJ’ing?

Illyus: Well I started from a young age, I was a scheme-tape-deck kid who created mixtapes for the older guys. After that once I seen DMC battles I wanted to learn how to scratch and DJ. After a big learning curve, i got pretty interested in other styles in music and incorporated what I learned back then into today. 

Barrientos: I went to Rockness when I was 17 and the first DJ I seen walking into the Soulwax tent was Erol Alkan. I hadn’t ever seen anything like it and I instantly fell in love with it and 100% wanted to try it. I actually started writing and producing before I ever tried DJing so it wasn’t until a few years later I got into it. 

2. How would you normally spend your Sunday night?

Illyus: Beer and MOTD2. Standard.

Barrientos: Sunday nights for me are always music nights where I go through promos/beatport/anything. Maybe even a wee bit of online record shopping if I’m not too skint.

3. Best hangover restaurants in Glasgow/Edinburgh?

Illyus: I survive on any place that does wraps. Usual spots are Martha’s, Pinto or Via Italia.

Barrientos: Asia Style.

4. 5 people you would invite to your party dead or alive?

Illyus: Elvis (for my mum) // Prince // Ron Jeremy // The wee iCafe dude, he’s got some banter // The union-street-corner shop guy who looks like he’s never had a night out…

Barrientos:  Miles Davis //  Salvador Dali // 90s Marky Mark // Drunk Boris Johnson // Voltaire

5. Who is your favourite FLY resident? 

Illyus: Mia Dora, the always bring something weird and fucked up to the table plus Al loves a bottle of Cristal!

Barrientos: Theo! First time I had properly seen him DJ was at the opening Fly Club night and it was as cool as anything. Plus he whipped out a classic Butch track which went down a treat.

6. Did you go on a lads holiday – where + best story?

Illyus: Ibiza this year, we tanked our mate up and he went out to DC10, even though he had ligament damage to his ankle, made him do the bouncy for 10 hours straight to come back home to find out he’s made it worse and out for another 8 weeks…

Barrientos: Getting pelters in Thessaloniki during Reworks festival was always good craic… “We have a saying here in Greece… What do you call a man without a beard? A woman, now grow a fucking beard” – Socrates Komaris. Cheers dude!

7. Top 5 party records?

1. Detroit Swindle – 64 Ways (65th Way Dub)

2. Roger Sanchez – My Roots (Technasia Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTqZIQP1Hk4

3. Those Beats – Lead On Me

4. Romanthony – Let Me Show You Love (Mia Dora Remix)

5. MANIK (NYC) – Lockjaw

Ahead of Sunday Illyus & Barrientos recorded this exclusive FLY CLUB Residents Mix. Listen Up…

https://soundcloud.com/fly-club-party/fly-mix-002-residents-illyus-barrientos

Advance tickets on sale from RA and more on the door from 11pm.

Show Business with Richy Ahmed

Show returns to the Sub Club on Thursday November 6th, this time bringing Richy Ahmed back to the fore. Richy is at the forefront of a new wave of British DJs, who are re-defining house music taking cues from disco, techno, funk and hip-hop. He has been cutting his teeth at some of the biggest and best nightclubs and festivals around the world including his residency at DC 10 with Jamie Jones at Paradise all summer.

Ahead of this event Show managed to pin Richy down to chat over Trainers, knockouts & hip-hop…

Top 5 trainers of all time?

Nike Air Jordan 3, 4 and 5.

Nike Air Max.

Vintage Adidas Tennis shoes.

If you could chose two designers to do a collaboration with each other, who would you chose?

Givenchy, Christopher Kane

What’s your take on the ‘Goth-House-Berlin-esque’, all black everything all the time fashion craze at the moment?

Everyone to their own I say it’s not my style although I do where black but defo not Rick Owens really not the most flattering cut for some one of my shape you have to be well skinny and about 8ft tall or it looks like an ankle dress.

Tupac or Biggie?

Biggie without a doubt.

Which (hip hop) producers are you feeling at the moment, if any, and who is your favourite ever?

I like Kendrick Lamar, I think most the stuff he does is amazing but I’m not really up to date with new hip hop my era was always the 90’s and most people stick with there era.

If you could get anyone in the world to knock you out, who would it be?

John Bones Jones, at least then it would be the hardest man on earth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nadk9HCVleM

If you could knock out anyone in the world who would you do?

George Bush Jnr.

Show’s residents Illyus and Theo Kottis will be providing the warm up. Last remaining £5 Advance tickets HERE.

FLY CLUB GET TO KNOW EROL ALKAN

Erol Alkan really needs no introduction but let’s just quickly drop the name Trash in the 90’s, Bugged Out in the noughties, remixes artists from Kylie Minogue and New Order to the Klaxons and Saint Etienne, throw in Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve, his first solo project in 2013 “Illumination” and his own label Phantasy, the fact he’s won the Mixmag DJ Of The Year award, released two Bugged Out mix albums and a Fabric Live mix and lastly, but not leastly, helped to produce Daniel Avery’s fantastic album Drone Logic. Enough already.

Ahead of Sunday FLY Club caught up with the man himself for a very rare chat about the Sub Club, Touring, Irn Bru, label A & R and dinner parties…

1. We understand you were eager to play Sub Club all night long… What made you make that decision? 

The size and layout of the Sub makes it ideal to play all night. Building the floor is as exciting as playing peak time.

2. FLY is every Sunday night – Your legendary clubnight Trash was on Mondays – did the constraints of society’s typical working week ever affect you?

Not really, I think it helped. It feels like you are getting the die hards and educated rather then people just looking for a night out. It certainly encourages the DJ to consider their set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkQFzVrpCAQ

3. Irn Bru, Whisky, or Buckfast? 

18 months and not a drop of alcohol has passed these lips. Irn Bru I do have a soft spot for though so I choose maybe that.

4. Where is your favourite touring location?

It’s still the UK, and by train is always better. Which is exactly what this mini tour is.

5. 5 people to invite to your dinner party (dead or alive?) and why?

Bill Hicks: For obvious reasons.

Morrissey: I think he’s genuinely funny, plus I need to apologise for once occidentally stepping on his hand 20 years ago.

Michel de Nostredame AKA Nostradamus.. Could be interesting?

Ben Rymer: He can cook (I may need help) and I always enjoy his company.

Elizabeth Taylor: Late 50s era Liz, just to balance out against all the middle aged men.

6. 3 records that never leave your bag? 

Ron Hardy – Sensation

New Order – 586
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXl3Qej1tjM

Renegade Soundwave – The Phantom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x0Bk5fZ7Q

7. What’s next for Phantasy records?

Ghost Culture’s debut album, singles from Cowboy Rhythmbox and another new artist, few more remixes from ‘Drone Logic’ which will be the final releases from that album.

8.  Have you ever stolen a pen from work?

I got sacked from my last job when I was 17, not for theft.. Not sure they even had pens to steal.

9. If you weren’t a DJ what would you be doing?

I’ve been asked this before and I honestly can’t figure it out.. It’s never really settled in that I am a ‘DJ’ to be honest, I’ve just always seen this as an extension to who I am rather than a career or option.

10. Top 5 after party records of all time?

Gonzales – The Entertainist Album

Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden

Detritus (Compilation from a friend)

Scott Walker – Scott 3

The KLF – Chill Out

We can guarantee this fantastic musician and selector will tear down the Sub Club, this is not one to be missed. Last of the advance tickets on sale from RA & TICKETS SCOTLAND.

Meet the FLY guy residents

Introducing two of Fly Club’s best. Meet Josh Barr of Stay Fresh & Theo Kottis of Moda Black. These two hit the floor of Sub Club for another fist pumping, ceiling battering, Sunday night. Leave your day of rest to the feeble and join us on the dancefloor ..

THEO KOTTIS

Why/When/How did you end DJ’ing?

I was always chief selector of tunes at house parties when I was younger, I’ve been obsessed with music since I was about 13. When I was 15, I couldn’t afford CDJs to learn to DJ, so I remember spending hours on Virtual DJ to make mix-tapes for my friends, they were brutal! Then later on, I got into promoting and got the chance to go to the clubs early before opening and learnt that way. I could never really play the music I loved but I got started that way. I would also go to my mate Dave and Tim’s flat and practice, those were good times! Still to this day I don’t have decks as I spend all my money on studio gear instead.

How would you normally spend your Sunday night?

Sundays are usually a day of rest. – Hunt for new music, catch up on the latest TV shows and stay up till 5am watching weird documentaries.

Best hangover restaurants in Edinburgh?

Red Box. Sweet chilli soaked noodles sort the hangover out. Also, the Frying Scotsman from Just Burgers & Beers will cure any hang.

5 people you would invite to your party dead or alive?

Robin Williams
Kevin Spacey
Kenny Powers
Jim Carrey
Snoop Dogg

Who is your favourite FLY resident?

I love them all! They know how to get the party started.

Top 5 party records?

Couldn’t narrow it down to all time 5 but here’s 5 tracks that get me going when I’ve been hoovering in my house recently. Nothing too heavy or dark, strictly party vibes!

St Germain – Thank You Mum (4 Everything You Did)

Sound Stream – Dance With Me

Moodymann – Don’t You Want My Love

Mood II Swing – Sunlight In My Eyes

Whirlpool Productions – From Disco To Disco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_YZzLGYdYM

Favourite drink?

Moscow Mule

JOSH BARR

1. Why/When/How did you end DJing?

I ended up getting into it through my dad and uncle being promoters and DJs back in the day. They introduced me to dance music and my dad bought me my first set of decks when i turned 14. Its stuck with me since then.

2. How would you normally spend your Saturday night?

Saturday night you’ll find me in the Bier Halle playing tunes from 9pm, usually with a whole crew of my mates jumping about. After that we head to Subculture at the Sub Club to see our heroes Harri & Domenic. 

3. Best hangover restaurants in Glasgow?

Its gotta be a either be a Bier Halle pizza or a proper burger from Cocktail & Burger. If I’m feeling especially rough though a KFC squares me right up!

4. 5 people you would invite to your party dead or alive?

Jack Nicholson, ODB, Chez Damier, Rick James, Richard Pryor. 

5. Who is your favourite FLY resident? 

Its gotta be my baby boy Heckter aka The Silver Surfer.

6. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

I’ve not had any really bad jobs but I hated being a pizza delivery boy I was also a kitchen porter for a couple years, fun times.

7. Did you go on a lads holiday – where + best story?

I’ve been going to Ibiza with my parents since I was a kid but last year was the first time I got the chance to go with just the lads! It was easily one of the best holidays of my life. However there was one horrible story that I can’t repeat on here that nearly ruined the holiday before it even got started! I’ll tell you when I see ya  ;)

8. Top 5 party records?

Byron Stingily – Get Up

Daft Punk – High Life

Bob Sinclair – Save Our Soul

Baby, Baby – Floorplan

I Wanna Be Your Lobster – Dimitri From Stoke On Trent

Full event info HERE & Tickets available on the door from 11pm.

nd_baumecker – leader of the pack.

Andreas Baumecker is nd_baumecker; resident DJ and head of programming at the Panorama Bar, while he regularly releases his own productions on the Berghain’s in house label – Ostgut Ton.

Taking his early influences from disco, new wave, EBM, acid house and punk, Andy is considered by his DJ peers to be one of the world’s best selectors and he will be making his Sub Club debut this Friday at Bigfoot’s Tea Party.

Well known for avoiding the limelight, (a difficult skill these days) Bigfoots still managed to pin Andy down for a quick couple of questions…

This is your first time at Sub Club (which is long overdue we think!) – what stories have your friends told you about the club?

It can get really crazy. And basically anything goes, right? I am already nervous :)

Before Frankfurt, can you recall your earliest musical influences?

Influences came definitely through my older sisters, who were into the Bee Gees and the Les Humphries Singers at the time (sometime in the early 70s that was). Not sure if that really shaped my musical path, but the Bee Gees never really left me… ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnpUaPl4k2s

How did you come to have a relationship with Ostgut, and what would led to you becoming involved with the team?

I was the first to bring Daniel Wang to Europe for 3 gigs, later I also did Metro Area for the first time, I think that was around 1998, and for the gig in Mannheim, where I used to live at the time, I invited Daniel to play a Gay Pride party with the name „Proud About What Exactly?“. Thilo Schneider, who still writes for Groove Magazine, heard about this weird combination in Mannheim and was curious. He invited both of us to Frankfurt for an interview and this is where it clicked. Thilo was deeply involved with the Ostgut people and suggested that I should play at „Dance With The Aliens“ – a Friday night at the legendary Ostgut, even the old Panorama Bar didn’t yet exist at that time.

As soon as Panorama Bar opened I was booked more often and in its last year, I played almost every 2nd month at that club. 

You moved to Berlin in 2004? What changes have you noticed in the last decade, both at the Berghain and around the city?

Rents went up and there was a lot of shite said about Berghain.

We saw you playing the Ostgut birthday earlier this summer and you made DJ’ing look very easy, is it something that just comes naturally to you?

Haha, no. It sometimes really does my head in. Usually before a gig. When I DJ I tend to go in some kind of “automatic mode“ and try to concentrate as much as possible on the music which results in almost never looking up. I am not a hands in the air, dancing around and “communicate“ with the crowd kind of DJ. Those things distract me to be honest. I don’t use a sync button either which would allow me to do so. I can lose my concentration very easily, so you better not talk to me while I play, just bring me drinks :) For the DJ-ing itself: That works in any possible state of mind without major hickups.

You seem to really enjoy the concept of “surprise” – what surprises you these days?

If you mean surprises in DJ sets, I love everything that breaks out of the norm. For me, for example, nothing is more boring than an hours long Techno / House sets with no variations on the beats and missing “music“ in the frequencies and DJs that don’t take any risks. 

I like when I suddenly hear old tracks that have NOT been overplayed. These can also be the cheesiest pieces of music ever created. If it fits to the moment, these kind of musical master pieces will ALWAYS surprise me. And work as well. These are the things that people will take home, be it in a good or in a bad way. Those moments stay, not the 687th variation of a 909/808 pattern or „Plastic Dreams“.

The Massimiliano Pagliara LP you worked on for Robert Johnson is one of the best this year we think. What are you working on in the studio at the moment and are you collaborating with anyone else?

I only worked on one track with Massi for the album. And that was a lot of fun. We might do it again. In the meantime, my main focus is Barker & Baumecker with my music partner Sam Barker and we are doing jam sessions and work on tracks, if we both find the time, just like before.

It has been a while since the last Barker & Baumecker release, do you guys have plans for the future together?

When we did the last album, we had about 3 months time to put it all together and write tracks. This might happen again, spontaneously. Maybe very soon.

What is the most difficult part of your job? And the best…?

Getting line-ups together and having great line-ups in the end. 

Finally, could you name drop a couple of tracks that have caught your attention this year?

Daphni & Owen Pallett on Jiaolong

Gamertag “You Don’t Know Me EP“ on All City Records

Leon Vynehall’s “Music For The Uninvited” on 3024

Taraval EP on Text Records

Jinjé’s “Amya“ on Messrs. Kick & Drum

Actually, too many more to mention here…

Great to speak with you Andy and we’ll see you on Friday! See you Friday!

Tickets for Friday are on sale HERE & more on the door from 11pm.

Focus on Leon Vynehall

As Saturday night approaches, we thought we’d get to grips with some selected highlights from Leon Vynehall’s career thus far. So get comfortable and let us give you a one stop shop to some of Leon’s best mixes, tracks and interviews gathered from the world wide web.

To give you some flavour of the man we’re also linking to a couple of interesting press pieces, beginning with an interview for Resident Advisor Magazine from earlier this year who put it like this “…Leon approaches house music with the sound palette of late ’70s disco and golden era hip-hop. At their best, his tracks are bottom-heavy, just a little dusty and graced with indelible hooks.” Read the full ‘be brave’ feature HERE.

Leon Vynehall’s route to house music hasn’t been direct. He elaborates on this when catching up with Red Bull Music Academy. “One of the reasons I wanted to talk about it is because over the past year, there’s been a real resurgence in cassette releases. The first song I wrote was “Goodthing,” which was started back in Brighton in October 2012. I would hope when people see what the concept is about, it’s not a by-product of something that’s recently come about again. It’s not about “oh, cassettes are cool again,” people lazily branding it a hipster thing.”

Read the full article over at RBMA.

https://soundcloud.com/vynehall/sets/open-ep-12-digi-16-09-13-3024

This year he recorded this excellent mix for FACT magazine:

https://soundcloud.com/factmag/fact-mix-249-leon-vynehall-mar

Listen up to this Hyp podcast which showcases some of his own early productions:

Here’s that Leon and Christian Piers collaborative project ‘Laszlo Dancehall’ live in the Boiler Room:

On a solo tip here’s his Boiler Room inauguration from Summer 2012:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siRYciwpz_4

Away from the house and techno, earlier this year Leon delivered this exclusive mixture of his own unreleased edits just for Solid Steel radio. On a Ninja Tune vibe he pulled out some 90s hip hop beats and got some mates to sing and mc over it too. Proper old school mix-tape stylee.

To finish things off only a few months ago Boiler Room spent an afternoon with the man himself. Listen up to this one one where he takes us on a musical journey with a few surprises along the way…

We’re all looking forward to more of the same at Subculture on Saturday where sweet and fresh House music beckons with our youngest resident Telford holding the fort for the night too. Advance tickets are on sale from RA and in store or online from Tickets Scotland. More will also be available on the door from 11pm.

SAM BINGA: FRESH, WEIRD AND STRICTLY FIRE ON THE DANCEFLOOR

Something is happening to the faster side of dance music. Maybe it’s the hyperactive influence of juke’s chopped-up 808s, the embrace of dubstep’s half-time flow at a higher tempo or perhaps it’s simply the on-going evolution of the mutation started by dBridge and the Autonomic podcasts. Whatever the origin, that spectrum of music between 160 and 170bpm is sounding utterly vital once again. Sam Binga’s yearning to integrate all these influences makes him a master or versatility in that faster tempo range.

On Thursday 23rd October the Frogbeats Collective are bringing the Bristol-based producer to the basement to show you what’s what.

Sam Binga has been releasing singles since 2002, and collaborated with artists like Hyetal, Gemmy and TRG on his 2011 album ‘Joint Ventures’, under the moniker Baobinga. In the last few years since ‘Joint Ventures’, he seems to have found his feet in the same jungle / juke crossover territory, working with the likes of Om Unit, Machinedrum, Addison Groove and Fracture. His most recent release ‘FDGD’ on Astrohphonic with Fracture and Rider Shafique is a must-hear for fans of bootylicious bass.

With an array of singles released on powerhouses like Critical, 50 Weapons and Exit there is no slowing this guy down. His lawless use of sampling keeps his music going in interesting directions, and ironically it is this lack of direction that is pushing the boundaries of UK Bass music, within Drum & Bass in particular. Similar to other artists leading the game in bass music his productions embrace the hybrid generation, fusing influences from other forms of music such as Jungle, Grime, African, Dancehall, Juke and Footwork. The list goes on and on, but his music always remains firmly in the present looking to the future and will keep you guessing as to what the next phase could possibly be.

Advance tickets for this event are available from RA and more will be for sale on the door from 11pm.

Sensu is 10 – Mixes

20 Years of Subculture on the Road: LDN>MAN>IBZ>AMS>BER>GLA

With Harri & Domenic at the helm, Subculture has endured like no other club night in the world and is now firmly established as the longest running weekly underground club night on the planet. Already this year Harri & Domenic have racked up the air miles & taken 20 Years of Subculture (20YSC) celebrations on the road to Zoo Project, T in the Park, Stop Making Sense & Unknown festivals in Croatia, London super club Fabric & many others.

This latest few weeks away kicked off with their quarterly residency at London’s Dance Tunnel before visits to The Warehouse Project, Sands Ibiza, Trouw Amsterdam, and Berlin’s Panorama Bar which completed the tour. Now they’re back! Triumphant and ready to rock their home turf with the sort of hedonistic sets that have made them the cornerstone of the city’s weekend and some of Europe’s best parties. Expect the exemplary and accept no substitute.

We tagged along with our record breaking residents and selected some tunes for your aural pleasure from each of their latest adventures…Enjoy!

Harri:

DANCE TUNNEL

THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT

IBIZA – SOUTH PLACE AT SANDS 

TROUW

PANORAMA BAR

Domenic:

DANCE TUNNEL

THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMfuRr_69Wg

IBIZA – SOUTH PLACE AT SANDS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPr6U9MLFMY

TROUW

PANORAMA BAR

Tickets for this Saturday’s Subculture with Harri & Domenic all night long are on sale from RA and in store or online at TICKETS SCOTLAND.

Sub Rosa focus on Kim Ann Foxman

Having been hotly tipped by the likes of Steffi, Maya Jane Coles and Bicep; Kim Ann Foxman first made her name as the singer for the hugely successful electronica band Hercules And Love Affair. Since then she’s been making huge waves in the house music scene, splitting her time between her international touring schedule and her home in NYC. Now it’s time to tick Sub Club off the list on Wednesday.

Sub Rosa caught up with this week’s guest to chat over Hawaii, touring and what never leaves her record bag…

First things first. Thanks for taking five minutes out for a chat with us, tell us a bit about your musical roots/influences:

I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, listening to R n B, pop, and freestyle music until I discovered underground House and Techno.

Favourite touring locations?

Germany, UK, japan and Brazil!

We understand you’re flying straight from the studio on your way to us. What kind of stuff are you working on? Are you able to give us a head up on what you got coming up or is it top secret?

Keep your eyes peeled for launch of my record label “Firehouse”. The first one is out in November! My latest remix was for Shaun J. Wright & Alinka “Journey into the Deep”

There seems to be a lot of great music coming out at the moment from all across the spectrum, is there anyone is specific you’re digging at the moment?

Bicep, Eli Escobar, Trus’me.

Finally, can we get a few tunes that never leave your record bag?

Gat décor – passion

Kim Ann Foxman- Let me be the one ( Catz n Dogz Mix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUNHWLKUP74

Matt Tolfrey- Untitled

H20-Take Me Higher ft. Billie

Thanks Kim, Looking forward to Wednesday!
“It’s gonna be a blast, people in Glasgow definitely know how to party!”

Advance tickets for this event are on sale from RA. You can also sign up for the £5 Sub Rosa guestlist HERE.

To get you moving and in the mood for Wednesday, listen up to Kim’s London Boiler Room session…