Chk Chk Chk.

Have you heard the joke about Kentucky Freud Chicken?

It's mutha-fucking good!

Sasha

If iconism is the lifeblood of fashionable music, then Welshman, Alexander Coe, has been gnawing on its convulsing carcass for an epoch. The notorious demigod pseudonym he is most known for – Sasha - has long been synonymous with dance music’s holy trinity - DJing, remixing and producing.

Recognised as one of the pioneers of the 90s progressive house movement, Sasha was a predominant factor in the establishment of brands like Renaissance, Northern Exposure, Global Underground and The Essential Mix on Radio One. His chameleon attributes have also flitted between scoring console game and American TV show music to remixing such greats as Madonna and The Chemical Brothers. In 1999, he was bestowed with the Ericsson Muzik Awards ‘Outstanding Contributions to Dance Music’ accolade and, in 2004, secured a Grammy nomination for his reworking of Felix Da Housecat’s ‘Watching Cars Go By’. At the present time, he is the highest ranked British DJ in the world, according to theDJlist.com, a poll that is compiled with votes cast by the general strobe-loving public. That puts him above Cox, Digweed and Oakenfold. Basically, as credentials go, he has enough to keep him in socks and pants for the next millenium, or two.

Recently, from his studio in New York, he browsed with me through his most pressing of matters: his love affair with vinyl; the birth of his new baby label, emFire; and his feelings about the imminent homecoming event at legendary London haunt, Ministry of Sound.

‘Getting back into the studio and starting to produce again has been great’ he admits. This, he quantifies as the first time he’s ‘been back on a regular basis since Involver’, the breaks and progressive house compilation from almost three years ago. ‘It’s been great to get the music out and get a little imprint off and running’.

This is emFire, the label he personally founded in August of this year. It delivers a self-confessed combination of house, trance, and breaks. He makes no bones about the reasoning for the label’s timely arrival. ‘At the moment it’s just an outlet for me to put my own tracks out. It didn’t seem like it was worth taking to someone else because it’s a different world in the digital domain’. So far, emFire has released two of its opening trilogy pieces – ‘Coma’ and ‘Park It In The Shade’ – with the third – ‘Who Killed Sparky?’ – set to follow in January 2008. However, as Sasha rightly points out, these highly collectible, one-sided, laser-etched vinyls aren’t meant to compliment one another. ‘There is a sound to them that has some kind of continuity, but in terms of the actual vibes of the tracks, they’re all very different’. And it’s this diversion from any standard mould that Sasha is keen to continue on with as he doesn’t ‘want to define the sound of the label just yet’.

Despite it’s strinking market, Sasha openly entertains his desires for vinyl and sees the bulk of emFire’s sales emanating from limited edition 12inches. This is, he feels, is ‘the right thing to do. It’s an important thing to do’ and one that is keeping with a noble sense of autonomy. ‘It seemed that by doing it myself I would have more control. With vinyl there is a certain level of quality control that a piece of music has gone through that just doesn’t exist in the digital domain’. This ‘domain’, as he calls it, is one which bombards the recipient with choice and over-simplifies the process of issuing music. ‘Whereas, when you see a piece of vinyl you know that that piece of music is loved by the people whose hands it’s gone through. That’s why I’m still buying vinyl. There’s a trust level there’.

This step through the door of artistic direction was the catalyst for producing ‘a really beautiful concept for the sleeve on the record’. Working with design experts, Insect - the team recently associated with graffiti artist, Banksy - Sasha was able to retain the importance he placed on the ‘collectors item’ status. He wanted ‘someone on board in the art department who was really forward thinking and got the idea of doing a series of things’. At the time, he saw Insect as ‘really defining themselves’ and reveals that the work they returned ‘really struck a chord’ in him.

Now that two singles have been set free and another is near-ready to leave the nest, one eye is fixed on the horizon for Sasha. ‘We’ve got another load of music ready to go on it [and we’re] working towards the follow ups and the Involver record. I’m sure as we get closer to completing Involver - due for release next June - there’ll be more tracks popping out’. And just to whet the appetite’s of those die-hard Sasha loonies out there, how about this for an exclusive?: ‘If we can keep up some kind of regular schedule with releases, I think in the future we’ll probably get remixes of my tracks done and put together a compilation’.

Some expectant hand rubbing is also circling the ranks of Sasha’s army as they prepare for their prodigal son’s return to his rightful seat at the throne of Ministry of Sound. This is his first gig at the venue for a decade and, as he explains, the relationship he once had with MOS was indifferent. ‘That club was kind of part of what I was doing a while ago and then we parted ways for some reason. The club itself went off on a few different musical tangents and it didn’t seem like it was the right place for me in London for a while’. Some might question the logic, therefore, behind this unexpected appearance, whereas others would simply agree with his current view. ‘At the moment, with everything that’s going on with the whole King’s Cross redevelopment, it seemed like it was a good time to return’. But there’s more to the story than simple locality, the club’s beating heart is equally as important. ‘I haven’t had a set in London on a really great club system for quite a while now. The soundsystem at Ministry is fantastic. I’m just looking forward to getting locked into a long set’.

The extended set on December 15th is a meaty 5-hours and, as preparation, he shares the secret to maintaining a rampant dancefloor. ‘It’s a mixture of giving people what they want and teasing them a little bit. Not giving them everything they want at three in the morning’.

Once the DJing is over, however, he’s straight back to the other components in axis of employment - remixing and producing. But, as Sasha states, he’s wary of the dual-focused lifestyle. It provides a multitude of headaches as producing, DJing and remixing intertwine, ‘they do tend to eat each other. Whenever I tour too much my studio is neglected, whenever I spend too much time in the studio it’s hard to keep focused on my DJ set. Finding that balance between the two things is quite difficult’.

So perhaps this is Sasha finally admitting that he’s ready to call it a day. Not likely, he insists that the whole kit and kaboodle is still a huge part of his life and that he ‘cant imagine doing anything else right now’. If something were to come along that would defer his attention from DJing, he cites a big ‘maybe’ and then reassures ‘at the moment, I’m still fully focused’. Perhaps with a little bit of hardwork and overtime, he might even make a career out of this music malarkey one day.

Klaxons

Indie rave, is it? Electro punk, is it? Klaxons only have one album - Myths of the Near Future – so why are they claiming this mighty stage, this Academy of Brixton? Just look at it’s majestic vastness. Nothing but memories can fill a hole this big. The fear on these grinning faces says otherwise, though. That is heightened anticipation they’re drunk on, yes? Perhaps they’re dazzled by their own fluorescent jackets. Ridiculous! Nice, dry comfortable clothing is the way. Easy does it, people. Let’s get settled for the band. Here they come now. Dressed like Mad Max royalty and gay Robin Hoods. Hmmm, maybe nice, comfortable clothing wasn’t the best bet after all.

Whoooa, belligerent bass is kicking things off. Must be ‘The Bouncer’. Perfect for an ironically large crowd to chant ‘Your name’s not down, you’re not coming in’. The addition of a live drummer seems to be helping, those punchy warehouse beats are filtering right up to the rafters. The sirens are ringing out, it’s the second movement - ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ - and things are getting a little bit lively. Watch out, there’s a surge of ‘little people’ lurching towards the stage. Look at them, appearing from nowhere. It’s cetainly getting warmer now. Someone on stage is bigging-up the crowd for ‘making this dream come true’. So what’s the reward? Another bout of dynamo destruction, falsetto singalong ‘Golden Skans’. Boy, they’re tight. They bleeding should be. They’ve been playing these songs for a year and half now. There’s a fair few arms aloft, it’s a lushuous lawn of arms. The first shrieking bars of ‘As Above, So Below’ are sounding out and these kids don’t seem to be tiring. Bang, another song, this time the high-octive wailings of ‘Two Receivers’. That’s taken the sheen off the nice, dry clothing. This is breakneck stuff. Perhaps a breather is needed. Oh wait, maybe not. What’s this? Is it the synth-lovers perfect combination of rave, pop and heavy rock - ‘Magick’? Now, this is Klaxons at their chaotic best. Phew, the temperature is really shifting. This audience isn’t just participating any more, it’s performing a hedonistic air raid. Forget the lawn of arms, this is a wild plain violently swaying in a thunderous, klaxon-like wind. And the pits are getting ever-so clammy. Various neon missiles are being launched toward the stage, despite glowsticks being implicitly prohibited tonight, at the band’s request. They must be done by now, there’s nothing left to play…..EXCEPT the post-punk carnage of ’Gravity’s Rainbow’. Frenetic euphoria is everywhere, coated with a thick glob of sweat. Heed the warning of last song ‘It’s Not Over Yet’. Ha, it’s NOT the final instalment. That pleasure is left, rightfully, to the apocalyptic ’Four Horsemen Of 2012’. Then, yes, finally, it’s over. Breathe easy. Returning to life. That Mercury prize is definitely deserved.

DJ Die

Two conflicting worlds ‘reprazent’-ed on one fluid disc. This spliced double A-side comes courtesy of core Reprazent member, DJ Die, and his brand new label - Clear Skyz. ‘Slow Burn’ is an unrelenting drive into horror-flick intensity and long-haul growling funk. ‘The Reasons Why’, however, is a cheery glide into rapturous soul, thanks mainly to the vocal abilitiies of Bristolian scenester, Ben Westbeech. Such complexities can only do superbly on the UK scene. Hence, both tracks have already seen plenty of spin time in the places that really matter.

Velofax

Here’s one for you: what do you get if you cross a Frenchman, a Londoner, a couple of Channel Islanders and a whole host of musical flavours ranging from sharp, discerning electro krautrock to groovy, hook-heavy disco funk? You get part-time revolutionaries, Velofax, that’s what.

Ok, so the punchline may be lacking a little punch, but the band themselves definitely aren’t. ‘The best way to appreciate our music is to come and see us live’ claims James Bell, the fella charged with providing the Velofax spasmodic drums. ‘The live set is quite energetic, it gets people moving. We’ve got upbeat numbers and do quite well at winning a crowd over’.

A bold statement indeed, yet one that is totally substantiated. XFM's John Kennedy championed their eclectic electric cause early on, as did the Rough Trade record shops, and, as a result, their hard work reaped its rewards - small independent record label, Maven Records, came looking for their signatures earlier this year. Although it’s not exactly rags to riches, it’s a breakthrough nonetheless.

In days of yore, Velofax were but a small three-piece on the island of Jersey. In order to ‘try to step up a level’, the band performed a strewd relocation exercise to the mainland because ‘for the size of the [Jersey] land mass, there’s a high concentration of bands. The only thing it is lacking is a music industry’. Once in town, they acquired a keyboardist and from there the stringent work ethic fell into place. ‘You have to work your way up in terms of getting gigs and getting your name about. It’s a snowball process, really’.

Several delicious live slots have since materialised alongside the likes of Razorlight, The Futureheads and Datarock. And it’s this propensity towards the stage interpretation that drives the band toward their prog-rock destination. ‘At the moment we are writing songs in rehersals, so we’re writing them in the live format’ explains Bell, ‘for us, now, gigging is the important thing’.

The set up of the band is very conventional – guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, singing – but what they’re trying to achieve is ‘something that has a good sense of rhythm and sounds experimental, yet not run-of-the-mill’. Surely that’s House, Mr Bell? ‘There are definitely influences of dance music in there. Whether it’s with the bass lines or whatever’.

When the output has a myriad connotations the input must, equally, be one of dispersion. Bell calculates this in a simply equation - ‘if you added all our influences together it would be a ridiculous number. The interesting thing about this band is that each individual is different’. And he’s not even joking, either.

Baobinga & ID

Many of life’s most exquisite treasures are created in the fusion of certain blends: the aromatic richness of Royal Salut Highland Scotch; the roasted nuances of New Orleans Chicory coffee; the stunning tonal skin colouring of actress Thandie Newton. As a major player in the tapestry of life, dance music is equally susceptable to the whim of chance and theory. But, as Ed Bayling told me recently, there are times when it can be done incorrectly. ‘Bad breakbeat is tired, derivative, generic. Tunes that fail to move with the times’. Whereas good breaks come from ‘people that are offering something new’.

Bayling is the ‘ID’ in Baobinga & ID and, along with production partner Sam Simpson, is no stranger to the complexities of a fine blend. Their remixing proficiency has recently earned them I-DJ magazine’s ‘Tune Of The Month’ for their translation of Rico Tubbs’ ‘Knuckle Sandwich’. But the Mancunian duo are more than just interpreters, they are scholarly technicians with a keen sense of judgement.

Reflecting on the current state of British music, Bayling is adamant we’re in the best possible situation. ‘You don't realise how lucky we are to have the music culture we do. Radio 1 is playing T2. Minimal techno is packing clubs out. Dubstep is the hottest thing around, and Dizzee is vocalling that Benga and Coki tune’.

Although primarily anchored in the harbour of breakbeat and techno, the pair’s dominion stretches across the oceans as far as indie, acid house and Caribbean reggae. This distinctly international brew shines through on their debut album – Big Monster – which is due for release early next year. ‘This album was all about us taking the sounds that have influenced us and combining it with sounds that we wanted to hear but which weren’t really out there’.

'Jewelz’, the album’s acidic single, has proven to be a popular drop with many a big name DJ since its release. Although it was a precursor for their album’s deliberate distillation, it’s acclaim was not, according to Bayling, entirely pre-empted. ‘It's a pretty hard track with a real techno feel and we were worried that people wouldn't get it’.

The album is destined to provide a multitude of styles: the spirit of Chicago-house (‘Recognise’); the broken beat undertones of Italian-house (‘Like An Arrow’); and the Dutch love of techno (‘No Bright Lights’, a track that was constructed by needing to ‘take something that had the feel of a loopy techno record and the melancholy of stuff like Michel de Hey’). So, with such a miscellaneous menagerie of flavours, what would be the ideal conditions for listening to Big Monsters? For Bayling it would simply be ‘lying on my floor with the lights out, getting lost in the loops’.