WHY YOU ARE IS WAVING GOODBYE TO CORBET PLACE (& moving to THE LIGHT BAR)

It was something we didn't see coming... 

Every summer, You Are We stays true to it's promise to return to it's home, Corbet Place of Truman Brewery for a series of free day time summer partying. It seemed for three great summers crammed full of bank holidays that the bubble of Corbet Place would never burst. But alas, London Town is going Olympic crazy. For what is about to be bestowed upon our beloved capital is something that most of us can't comprehend until we're living in it. This summer, the world and it's media will descend upon London, and it's left many a venue across the capital in limbo with regards to licensing issues. Imperative that venue holders get the licensing they seek for approval to make the most of this crucial Olympic period, there are many venues like Corbet Place that can't run the risk of holding any events that may jeopardise their license agreement for summer 2012. And this is the very tentative time that venues are holding meetings with councils to discuss just this. 

For everything that we and You Are We fans love Corbet Place for; it's amazing venue space, it's outdoor afternoon sun-trap, it's great staff and energetic vibe (thanks to you all for this), we have gone out to find the best venue possible that we know can offer the same. Enter The Light Bar, Shoreditch. 

                             

Having been to many a great party and having held events there before, we're very excited to have found a home away from home to bring you the first of our bank holiday events. Only a stones throw away and offering a fantastic venue space with one of the best outdoor terrace areas in East London, we're ensuring that we will bring you the same D&B sound system that we brought into the last few parties at Corbet and one plus is we won't have any of the sound restrictions that we had at out Brick Lane home.

The summer events are always about giving something back to the loyal followers that have supported You Are We over the last few years, so the only regret that we have is that due to the venue hire and a change in how we would want to run things, we can't hold this event as a free party as we always like to do for bank holiday events. We're hoping this may change in the near future, once we've shown them what a great crowd you are but for now we're keeping the door price as low as possible (see details on flyer). 

So for now, and hopefully only one summer, we're waving goodbye to Corbet Place and bringing You Are We to The Light Bar, Shoreditch. Hope to see you all there this Sunday with that bank holiday feeling!  

You Are We x 

FEATURED ARTIST INTERVIEW

LOUIE FRESCO (Mexa / No.19)

We catch up with Louie Fresco to talk Mexico, Mexa, and Magical Elves ahead of his set at You Are We @ The Light Bar, Shoreditch, April 8th Bank Holiday... 

You’re from a small town called Mexicali – can you tell us a bit about it and what goes on there party wise?

Mexicali: capital of Baja California. Population of 936,826 according to the 2010 census. In 1997, Mexicali experienced a heat wave, the temperature reached up to 54 °C (130 °F), it was so hot that day that most of the trees and vegetation in the area dried up. - Yeah, I took all of that from Wikipedia!

But on a serious note, our climate is so drastic it's not even funny. We held the Guinness world record (I tell this to almost everyone I meet) for the Hottest Place on Earth for a few years! But don't panic, most of the time it's all cool and breezy, but don't ever go there in the summer. The dance music scene in Mxl is one of the greatest in Mexico. The reason is that we adopted some of the best cultures (we're next to California, we have a lot of that friendly Nu Hippy attitude), we got some really good promoters, and it's super safe to live there. It gets boring during the weekdays but you'll find at least one or two proper parties on the weekends.

  

Mexico hosts the BPM festival which we are hearing good things about here in London. The festival featured some great names this year such as Jamie Jones, Droog, DJ Sneak, Art Department and You Are We favorites Pillow Talk. You played there this year, tell us about your experience - how did the No.19 Party go down? I can't tell you about the full experience cause I'm not sure if any kids will read this, but I can tell you this: it has been one of my favorite parties, and the that day (which was also my bday) went to an epic after party by Matt (rebel agency) and the guys from robot heart. It was literally a life changing moment.

Here in the UK we have a rich tradition for hosting summer festivals. Are there any that you would particularly like to play at?

Yes, there's one I think it's called You Are W.. Oh, wait minute.. I wanna play anywhere that there's good people and floor level Dj booths. I got sick of really big stages and festivals. See, I used to have another project and we were doing pretty good so we used to Dj on these really big stages but I got tired of just seeing massive crowds and not connecting with anyone and having to play "festival music" (the one that's really "loopy" and no matter how much bass it has, the frequencies won't go beyond a few rows) and not play what I really loved playing. So anywhere but big festivals it's fine by me ;-)

Your record label Mexa that you founded with Jay Blakk – one half of the Climbers – how are things going with that project? We get the feeling you guys have some tasty tracks coming our way?

Thing's got stuck for a minute but we're back right up and probably releasing our first EP (Lee Foss + Richy Ahmed) the day after or a week after YAW, so we're pretty excited about it, plus we have some other amazing EPs by Lee M Kelsall, Matt Fear, Corey Baker, Rebel, and many new signigns from all over Mexico and Las Vegas. And then we have many MEXA records showcases all around the world: Mexico, Guadalajara, Mexicali, UK, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Australia, and Barcelona (off Sonar) with my brothers Puente and Rosch's label Digital Delight.

Can we look forward to some new Fresco Bombs dropping this summer? Will you be dropping some at YAW? Yeah, I think I might drop 2 or 3. I might drop "No Hateration" (Kolombo rmx or Russ Yallop's version, which will probably come out on MEXA) and I'm gonna try and tackle a remix for Strictly Rhythm of a really old school house track by Erick Morillo, if I finish it i might test it out. I also have a couple tracks I'm working on with some cool vocals by my friend Matt from Human Life, the other one I'm still waiting for the vocal track from Cari Golden (if u read this, SEND 'EM TO ME! xoxo)

You’ve produced some remixes that have definitely hit the right spot, such as Modern Amusement’s ‘Cold as Ice’ and our amigos Wildkats and Tboy’s ‘To Be’ - How do you go about approaching a remix? What’s your secret? I have magical elf buddies who are very musically talented and I pay them with oatmeal cookies and cigarettes for each remix "I do".. Joking!! (no, i'm not..) It's a different approach each time.. The cold as ice rmx was done in a bit more than 3 hours (Cold As Ice, Louie Fresco Remix), while "To Be" took me at least a couple of months..I loved that track so much I wanted the remix to be perfect! I did sooo many versions I ended up hating those vocals. (which now I love again cause I stopped listening to it for a while) I think I sent them 4 totally different versions and told them to pick one, they said they liked them all but it was gonna be kind of odd to have 4 LF remixes on the EP so they decided to take the White version and the 3rd strike remix. I ended up with 2 extra originals and everybody is happy now :-) Btw, I think I danced out of excitement when I found out I was gonna remix that tune, which I had been looking for almost 3 months. 

How often do you make it to our ‘next of the woods’? Rumor has it you maybe planning on moving here? What do you love about London?

Everything! My only concern is the high cost of living, but hopefully I'll be able to afford it really soon.

I'm planning to come live here in the UK or maybe Barcelona in the next few months, maybe after all the Sonar/Ibiza madness. This is the 2nd tour I've done in Europe, but the first time I come to London so I'm really excited about it.

Can we just say it’s a pleasure to have you visit us, what can we expect from your bank holiday set at You Are We? A really good effin' time! It's a pleasure to finally be here and well again! (after losing 3 flights, getting stranded at the train station, and almost dying of excessive vomit, jet lag, hangover, stomachache, anxiety, and almost no sleep and no food + way too much alcohol and stuff in 4 days!)

Are there any particular tracks over the last few years that have inspired you and still keep a place in your record bag? Of course, I always tell everybody Deniz Kurtel's yeah inspired me to do the Cold As Ice remix, and there's a lot of tracks that have inspired me to make some some of my music, Art Department's "Without You", Michael & Mattis' "Holy Moly", and Russ Yallop's "I Can't Wait".

Back to the studio – If you had to pick one person alive or dead to work with who would that be and why? It would definitely be The king of pop himself, Michael Jackson hands down. Who wouldn't want to work with him?

You Are We contributor : Rudi Morgan 

You Are We Easter Bank Holiday Party, 8th April

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.