EVENT REVIEW : YOU ARE WE @ VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

After another successful summer of Sunday partying on Brick Lane, 2011 saw You Are We spreading its wings, from Favela funkin' in Glastonbury's Shangri-la to bringing the Burn to the Man in Black Rock City. Last Saturday saw their first event since the summer season and a chance to showcase how they've been influenced by their summer antics.

Entering the club at approximately 10.45pm my immediate impressions were of the fitting choice of venue, reminiscent of the large open space and exposed brickwork of Corbert Place.  Ron Basejam's  characteristic set of disco infused deep house made for a busy dance floor early doors. After grabbing a drink and mixing with a few familiar faces Max Chapman took things up a gear dropping deep, bass-heavy beats from a selection of his peers coming through on Hot Creations. His selection sat well with the deep groove I associate with YAW, showcasing the depth of talent amongst the Hot Waves crew, warming the crowd up perfectly for some of the heavy hitters to come later on.

After filling the floor and with a big grin on his face Chapman signed off, releasing Adam Shelton to begin his frenetic journey upwards. Opening with Jamie Jones' "Tourist Trap" Remix, Shelton made his intentions clear from the off, segueing masterfully from Chapman's hot and deep sound into techier territory. Pulling out tracks from his own One Records as well as his productions with fellow Below resident Subb-An, Shelton set about building both the bpm and the energy levels masterfully with the crowd clinging to his every move.  Having made his name warming up for his Below nights in Birmingham, Shelton proved his versatility, rocking the peak time into a frenzy and justifying his growing reputation as one of the most talented DJs in the UK.

Riding the wave of energy from Shelton's set, Laura Jones stepped up, reading the fever pitch of the crowd and responding accordingly with melodic grooves that kept the feet moving and the hips shaking.  By now the night was pumping, as the static visuals swam into lysergic patterns while new lighting combinations flooded the floor.  With Laura bringing flashbacks of her appearance at Corbet place over the summer, the YAW groove was now in full flow. Maintaining the energy levels set by Shelton before her, Jones acquitted her headline status, demonstrating the deep sound that has made her one of the most exciting artists to come through in 2011.

To finish off proceedings Ashley Wild (one half of residents Playset) made his first solo appearance for YAW, leading the crowd on a descent into the depths of his slower, disco-infused sound. As after party flyers were handed out,  Wild showcased a host of his own deep and sultry productions, bringing the pace down while turning the mood up.  With the lights turned low, one of the biggest crowd reactions of the night came as Wild dropped his debut release on Hot Waves, "Riding In The Red", giving the dance floor one final bout of delirium before bringing the night to a close with a pleasing edit of "Lost in Music".While the absence of YAW's other residents (Sandeman & Mr Dickie from Wildkats and Playset's Tom Roberts) gave the night a slightly different vibe to normal, the sophistication of the production showed the effects of a summer of hard work, leaving me considering the possibilities for their next event. After one of the best nights I've had in a long time, I left feeling excited for YAW's future. The message? WE ARE MOVING FORWARD & YOU ARE ALL COMING WITH US!

Written By : Tom Mitchell, You Are We 

FEATURED ARTIST INTERVIEW : 

YAW RESIDENT, ASHLEY WILD of PLAYSET (HOT WAVES) 

First and foremost, congratulations on the recent release of your first single 'Riding in the Red' . How have you found the response to the track? Thanks, yeah the response has been amazing!  Over summer it picked up some great support from the guys at Hot Natured who I’m really to thank for getting it out there. When I heard that the crowd did a sit down in DC10 to it I really started to think that the track was special. Since the summer I’ve had some fantastic feedback and love from people across the globe, especially in the US and South America! Very humbling to receive some kind words, it seemed to have made a few people happy and I guess that was the idea.

For those who aren't familiar with you, please describe your DJ/production sound. If I was to broadly describe a sound I guess I’d say house but a mix of deeper, bass heavy, analogue sounds.  There is certainly a darker tone to much of the house I play, my production is a little varied ; I skirt along the lines of deep house and techno, but always with a groove to it. Riding in the Red is definitely my lighter side. 

You've said that you were brought up in a musical family - in particular you were exposed to folk and roots from a young  age, and that your own roots lie in deep house and techno.  Would you say that your production style has been  influenced by one genre in particular? I wouldn’t say one particular genre has been a primary influence but I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by musicians and the muddy fields of festivals from an early age. I guess I have always tried to listen to music without prejudice and over the years have taken inspiration from the most surprising of corners. I guess disco has been a particular genre and the story telling and of folk music too.  But Daft Punk, Kraftwork and Massive Attack were also a big influence on me over the last 10-15 years as I discovered and fell in love with dance music. ‘Last Rhythm’ by Last Rhythm was the one that got me though!

What can we expect from you in 2012? Have you got any plans for an album? I’m really excited for 2012!  I have been working on a few new projects and collaborations of late and am looking forward to getting them out there. The production will focus still  on a deep house sound but I also will be broadening my horizons with some down-tempo, more roots influenced projects. As for an album, not just yet.  Also I Produce with my good friend Tom Roberts under the alias of ‘Playset’ and we have some bits coming up that I’m really buzzing about.  I’ve still got some learning to do with some parts of the production process so this will continue on , I guess this never stops?  Also as a promoter of You Are We I’m looking forward to taking the party further next year with more bookings and some overseas events.   I guess I better move quick though as its all gonna end next year isn’t it?

Of all the sets you've played over the years, which has been your favourite to date and why? Also, is there anywhere in particular that you would like to play in future? I’ve been fortunate to play some great gigs over the last few years but particular highlights include Space in Ibiza, a wicked afternoon at Folie Douche, Val d’Isere,  where I played to a crazy crowd of skiiers and boarders with the most amazing views and vibe, and all 3 parties at Burning Man this year including a mad Art Car experience with good mates the WildKats! Still though the parties over the last few years at You Are We as Playset and the Cross (may she rest in peace) summer morning sessions remain special times for me.  Oh and also playing my productions out for the first time at Glastonbury this year was particularly poignant as it’s held a place in my heart for many a year. If there was one place in particular I’d love to play it has to be DC10.  

Finally, you've been given the chance to collaborate with one person  of your choice (dead or alive).  Who have you chosen, and why? Michael Jackson. Why? The dude had a fairground in his garden…

You Are We Contributor : Lil Mitchell 

FEATURED ARTIST INTERVIEW & EXCLUSIVE YAW MIX

MAX CHAPMAN (HOT WAVES / LOWER EAST)

Max Chapman Exclusive You Are We Podcast

Can you tell us a quick bit about where you’ve come from and where you are right now?

I went travelling around south east Asia and Australia in April 2010, a few days prior to my trip, I

installed some basic production software onto my laptop to tackle while i was away, I’d always

wanted to make music and thought this would be the perfect time to practice.

I travelled for a year using youtube to teach my self all the tricks of the trade, It took hundreds

of hours of practice to understand and use the software before I could even create a complete

track, let alone a good one! Luckily my passion for music has driven me to where i am today

along with the help of many awesome people along the way. I am now playing fantastic parties

all over the UK and beyond, I even have the pleasure of touring the US and Mexico Feb/March

2012 with a short stop in South America afterwards thanks to the Krankbrother's who recently

signed me to there agency. I am now signed to labels such as Lower East, Hot Waves, Kaluki

Musik and many more...

This week see’s the release of Lower East’s Inner Circles vol. 1 EP that features your track

‘Afterparty’. We assume you’re quite partial to one - can you tell us about any recent after party

antics?

'Afterparty' was created in Sydney, Australia, funnily enough after a party...

I was on the Agwa boat party in Sydney in November and Art Department were playing - It was

an amazing party and they completely won me over. That party gave me so many ideas for this

track. I wanted it to be really effective ; a track that you remembered, the kind of track that would

remind you of the time and place that you heard it. As for after party antics they are probably best

kept secret!!

You also had a very exciting release on Hot Waves a couple of weeks ago ‘No Games!’ where

you collaborated with Julien Sandre – Have you got more releases lined up? If so when and

where can we be expecting them?

Yeah julien approached me before i even had any tracks out.. he liked my sound and wanted to do

something together, Julien is no spring chicken when it comes to making music so i jumped at the

opportunity and we began arranging drums, little loops and elements that we thought would be

effective, then we bounced them to each and built our own versions of the track, then met in the

middle after deciding what we liked and didn't like about each others tracks, creating 'No Games!'

We’re aware that remixing/collaborating is your favourite way to produce, why do you prefer it?

I love the idea of taking the parts of someone else's track and arranging them in a way that you

would do them yourself, a completely different track, but with all the original elements, theres no

right or wrong way to make music and every artist has a unique way of expressing that. i've just

received a remix from Miguel Puente, and another from Sishi Rosch for my new EP on Anhura Vinyl

which is available 2012, i am really excited about this... it's an amazing feeling when the artists that

you love re-arrange your track to suit their style and these guys have done it in a superb fashion!

collaborating is also great because you inspire each other and usually get more done, 2 brains are

always better than one!

Are there any upcoming Max Chapman remixes we should be listening out for?

Yes there are a few! I’ve remixed a track by James Pople, called 'Keep It Up' on Lower East's Inner

Circles EP which could well be released shortly.... http://soundcloud.com/max-chapman/jamespople-

keep-it-up-max. I'm also remixing a track for Rebel which will appear on his EP on Lower

East In February 2012 and there's plenty more in the pipeine...

What remixes are you loving at the moment?

I’m loving Louie Fresco's 'Black', 'White' and '3rd Strike' remix's, 3 completely different takes on 'To

Be' which was a calibration from Tboy and the Wildkats, all with Fresco's obvious stamp.

What was the last record you bought?

Ashley Wild - Riding In The Red ;)

And finally, what can people expect from your You Are We set?

Well i'm expecting the usual from you guys.... a great party! And it goes without saying that I will

play to the the best of my ability, thoroughly and showcase some of the best music on the scene

today!

Contributor : Rudi Morgan, You Are We 

FEATURED INTERVIEW : DEX ADDICTS @ YOU ARE WE 

After learning the limitations (& joys) of industry standard lighting, Nick Hope decided he wanted to create something different, beautiful & bespoke to manipulate venues with ‘moving wallpapers’. Here born was Dex Addicts, specialists in visual projections who make any space come to life. Resident You Are We projections master, we look forward to seeing what he has pulled together for this week’s party at Village Underground. 

You’ve worked alongside many great artists including DJ T, Marco Carola, Joy Orbison and Lee Scratch Perry as well as many parties such as Jaded, Ctrl Alt Del and others. With so many amazing events to choose from what would you say your highlights have been over the past 18 months? I'm a huge fan of dance music; in particular the dark but melodic side of techno. The gig with Marco Carola (for Rhythmatic's 3rd Birthday) was an obvious high point along with a set I played with Redshape  - his production and presence were great and there was something a little magical about the reaction of the crowd. Needless to say, You Are We always have an up-for-it, appreciative crowd and Saturday should have added zest as it's a fantastic venue and a break from the Sunday day into night stuff we did over the summer.

You are performing at You Are We this Saturday, what can guests expect to see?

I'm doing a two way projection with visuals largely based on the You Are We logo; there is a limitation within that but it's also a challenge to keep it changing and the logo is a really strong graphic. The guests will see a variety of stuff as I'm doing an 8 hour set so I'll be aiming to capture the vibe of the room and the music; from a 'warm up' with slow, simple, bold images through to strobing, vibrant, graphic stuff. I'm combining pictures based on the industrial nature of the building along with old posters and crisp neon. I want people to walk away and be able to picture what the room looked like so I repeat (or remix) from a palette of colours and graphic styles.

It’s fair to say your projections are already a cut above usual club systems. Is there any new technology you plan to integrate or would like to use in your shows in the future and where do you see the art form going? Like any other area of dance music, technology is important but not always essential. The best dance tracks are often fairly simple in structure and the same could be said for visuals. I first learnt about projections through slide show technology, and I still believe that a great image and simple transition can be as effective as something complex. Having said that, I'm working on a project with a lighting designer to integrate the visuals more deeply with the lighting in the room, as well as led walls and netting.

What’s your take on the art of projection mapping? Projection mapping is inspiring stuff in the right hands; at its best it is breathtaking. But preparation is time consuming and production expensive so I think it'll be a while before you'll see it on a regular basis in clubs but it will appear more often at larger one-off events and festivals.

With ubiquitous warehouse raves consistently delivering similar experiences, do you think projections add to the atmosphere at events and in what way? I'm a VJ so obviously I do; I'm aware that number one importance is the music (a dark room with great tune choice can lead to a fantastic night) but there are always people who take an interest in their surroundings. I see my visuals as 'moving wallpapers' - I aim to capture people's (short) attention here and there during the course of a night. Nothing pleases me more than seeing someone at an event chatting away to a mate but finding themselves staring over their shoulder at something on the screen.