Bleep 228 doesn't have any theme to speak of. Nothing intentional anyway. It was merely a case, once again, of grabbing records close at hand. Although I did a bit of flipping to see if I could at least grab things that hadn't been played in a while. The result...? Something that works pretty well for simply being a see where we end up. A bit of new, a bit of old and several "genres" touched upon. Things every set should have really.
Yeah, that bit of Brixton talk has led to this...
I think you'll find that this week's Bleep, without any planning, has turned into a bit of a way-back machine journey. Well, mid to late 90's anyway. My personal favourite era for these things.
Of course it fell apart for the last two tracks. I really need to either do a whole show using those old 45's or at least keep them out of sight so I'm not tempted to throw thema round in inappropriate ways.
I believe this is the third pre-vault mix. That's enough. I'm happy with it. I'll record it one more time with possibly 1 track switched out and then send 'er off. I think this was a record setting number of trial runs for me. Considering every Bleep is a first run mix. There's no time for do-overs here!
As usual, let me know what you think.
Bleep Radio 225; Theme: Jackin. Now that I have this out of my system, maybe I can head back into Vault Mix territory. It was side-lined temporarily, but I think I'm back. At the very least my constant shifting of shifts at work is finally over. I settle back into my regular schedule next week. That will help FitM, Bleep and probably world peace.
I've actually had tis mix sitting here for two weeks now I think. I forgot about it. Only to be reminded of it's un-shared-ness by Mr Wee when he brought another bit of news to my attention (that in the next post..)
Bleep Bleep, I was able to steal away for an hour this week by propping the kid up in a wobbly chair and making faces at her in between mixes. I had to keep it light and bouncy for her and got some hands in the air for the last two tracks.
On the last day of last month (July 31st for those of you without a handy calendar), I got the opportunity to help stick out a digital EP through my hack label.
Called 'Chaos Theory', it's the debut release by sterling British duo Mike Holmes and Dan Hultum (aka Dead Agenda), with their original mix conjoined to a batch of reinterpretations by Paul Birken, Enclave, Cut Bit Motorz, Dejected, Marcin Markowski, Krzysztof Jastrzębski and me - hence crisscrossing the globe from the US to Japan, and Poland via Australia to the UK.
Admittedly while we're having problems getting the cover artwork online at Juno right now (goddamn you modern technology glitch!) there's nothing at all wrong with the music, which you can check out here.
So, anyway, with a bit of time on my hands, a promotion machine to crank relentlessly, and swayed by the fact that not only are all the mixes fantastic fodder but Dan and Mike are cool cats I've grown to love, I decided to put them onto the griller and get the facts straight.
These are their confessions.
BACKGROUND
MIKE HOLMES [MH]: I've been obssessed with electronic music for as long as I can remember; my Dad giving me a Jean Michel Jarre tape when I was a kid was probably my introduction to it all. It was around 1992-93 when I really got into it, listening to rave and old skool hardcore, and then onto gabba! I got my first set of decks aged 13 and then the obsession began. I was first exposed to techno about ten years ago when I went to Bugged Out in Liverpool and saw Dave Clarke, Justin Robertson and Adam Beyer and it blew me away!
We started throwing our own illegal raves and parties locally around the same time and I got to DJ alongside some of my idols like Neil Landstrumm, British Murder Boys and Jerome Hill, which was just a dream come true.
I stumbled across the supurb Fun in the Murky site about four years ago and met Trevor Wilkes who has been a great support, allowing me to contribute to the website and do regular Bleep Radio shows. The site really has shaped my sound into what it is today, opening my eyes to the wonky scene and all the artists and labels that I really dig these days.
DAN HULTUM [DH]: I started creating my own tunes around 2001 after leaving school - me and a DJ friend of mine attended a music technology course just outside of Chester. I bought a Mac iBook and an M-Audio midi keyboard and started using Garage Band.
As my keyboard skills got better I starting experimenting with different software and midi controllers. Music has always been a massive part of my life and I love loads of different styles, genres and eras. Everything from classical to really far out abstract techno.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
MH: Mine's pretty diverse but always underground - everything from acid house, old skool and Chicago house through to techno, jackin', wonky, IDM and gabba.
It was the early Altern-8 and Prodigy stuff that really got me and I still rate Prodigy's Experience album as my favourite album of all time. Labels like Sativae, Tresor, Dance Mania and Downwards really caught my attention when I first started DJing.
We did a few parties with Regis and Surgeon a few years ago and they were a huge influence for me musically. More recently it's been labels like Jerome Hill's Don't, Miditonal, Feinwerk, Neue Heimat, Coin Operated and obviously IF? that have featured consistanly in my sets over the last few years.
Some of the "newer" guys I'm really digging are Luke's Anger, Ben Pest and Kanji Kinetic to name a few, and then there are guys like Michael Forshaw, Neil Landstrumm, Paul Birken and Jerome - I could go on for hours!
DH: Some producers and DJs that have really influenced my style are Neil Landstrumm, Si Begg, Jeff Mills, Little Nobody, Paul Birken, Daft Punk, The Avalanches, Underworld, and The Herbaliser.
I also like some hip hop, house and indie electro styles. I would say Mike is also a big influence as he introduced me to the techno scene and has a really good ear for electronic music.
Also listening to Andrez's Action Hero album [ED: Wha--?!] I was really blown away by the sheer thought and care that goes into his really unique sound.
INITIAL CONNECTION
MH: I met Dan at work around two years ago and his totally diverse taste and love of music was clear to see and we hit it off straight away really.
DH: I met Mike around two years ago when he started working with me. We shared a common interest in electronic music and I listened to his mixes on Bleep Radio and really enjoyed them.
I told him I made my own music and he suggested we team up and try and get some techno tracks out there. So that's what we did.
HOW DEAD AGENDA CAME ABOUT
MH: Dan had been producing all sorts of music for a long time and I'd been DJing for years so it was a case of two worlds meeting, really. We both share the same passion for music but have very different tastes.
I've always wanted to start producing my own tracks and Dan was already at it so we got together and Dead Agenda was born.
DH: Dead Agenda came about the back end of last year when we finished are first project, 'Chaos Theory'.
THE REMIXES
MH: I'm so chuffed with the final remix package of 'Chaos Theory' and to have one of my idols, in Paul Birken, remix our first track makes it extra special from a personal point of view.
I love the fact its been remixed by artists new and old from all over the globe: Japan, Australia, Poland, America and England. There really is a remix for every taste; it touches many bases, which is great!
DH: Having such fine production talent remixing 'Chaos Theory' was an absolute thrill and pure honour. The remixes show a wide range of different styles, all of them superb in their own way.
I'm particularly fond of the Paul Birken and Enclave remixes.
Getting to know the guys as well was really cool. I remember receiving the Cut Bit Motorz remix first and was just blown away that somebody on the other side of the world had taken our tune and totally reinvented it. It's a way good feeling!
THE FUTURE
MH: We've had a few offers to do some remix work, which is great, and are currently working on several new tracks of our own which are sounding good and we are also working on our live set too, so watch this space.
DH: I hope the future will bring more Dead Agenda tracks and more remix work; also, we have some more collaboration projects coming up which will be exciting. I'm working on a solo album at the moment - so busy, busy, busy!
We've got a few gig bookings this month in the UK, so hopefully that will continue and we're also working on a live set as well.
DIGITAL vs VINYL
MH: I've still got my decks and all my vinyl, and always will - but I've gone fully digital now. I feel that programs like Ableton, Serato and Traktor really add another dimension to my sets and allow me to do things that I couldn't with vinyl.
It does have its downside, though, with many labels and distributors suffering and vinyl sales struggling as a consequence.
And I do miss going all over the country to go digging in record shops for that gem of a record as it's all so easy now with mp3 sales on the Internet.
A small amount of technical difficulty with this week's show. My ISP isn't always the most reliable (or loved) and I had some connection issues getting it uploaded yesterday. One day late won't kill us, it's still an hour of broken beats and maniac stabs. Enjoy!
I think now would be a fitting time to upload this set I found earlier. If you want a taste of Queaver to go hand in hand with his latest release, here you go!
The filename indicates this is only Part 1. If anyone sees another hunk of it...let me know.
