Beast interviews...Thomas

Another Beast interview and this time it’s with our newest resident DJ Thomas. The Beast headhunted him (no not in a slaying kind of way) after he showed off his musical talents by chance. Thomas is also known for his trail blazing work in lasers and visuals and helped the Beastly crew with a scrummy Lumia laser display at the Minotaur Sound no 2 party in Lakota in May 2017. He’s the kind of bloke who could turn average into spectacular with nothing more than a paperclip and a headlight. If he can do this with visuals/lasers then imagine what he’s like behind decks – oh yes, you’ll be finding out on Saturday 25^th at the Minotaur Sound 3 party. The Beast steps inside his head for some juicy insight…

Beast wants to know more about Thomas’s DJ’ing style and the artists that influence him the most…

“I first learned to DJ when predominantly listening to drum & bass and whilst I still enjoy a 170bpm night out, I never quite gelled with mixing big drops and breakdowns, much preferring the waves of energy you can build and ‘ride’ with techno and house. Having older siblings and friends has helped me look backwards for music as well as forwards also, so you can expect some classics to be pulled out of the record bag on the 25th! As for influences, I love what people like Denis Sulta, Robert & Lyric Hood (AKA Floorplan of course) and Solomun are doing at the moment, blending the gospel and disco vibes with the techy. It’s great when you have a really headsy crowd and can go super deep with the techno, but mixing it up and keeping things interesting but accessible can be so important if the room commands it.”

This greatly pleases the Beast. Keeping people on their toes yet giving them what they want is a great art. In this respect Thomas will have happy dancers in the palm of his hand.

Beast also wants to know what Thomas is listening to the most at the moment and why…

“I find myself listening to absolutely all sorts, very much depending on my whereabouts and the time of day. For the all too common 5am trips to Heathrow and beyond it’s either ambient electronica from labels like EM:T, or some Nils Frahm or Ludovico Einaudi. When at home it’s anything from folk to industrial metal to techno…”

Now we turn to Thomas’s main laser and visuals job and Beast is curious to know how there is cross over with music…

“Absolutely- not least that my business (Airdrawn) lends its name to Sasha’s second album! A long term love of music

plus a definite geeky side meant that starting airdrawn was a dream come true. To date I’ve provided the laser power and/or visuals for some huge names and had a great time doing it. Nowadays I’ve got a very talented number two taking the reins on many of the local club nights as I’m often out of the country working, but I’m ‘keeping a toe in’ as much as I can.”

Last but not least the Beast asks Thomas what he’s looking forward to the most at Minotaur Sound 3 - Saturday 25/11…

“If it’s anything like the last two then definitely the crowd. With all the lad culture so prevalent at club nights these days it’s really great to see ‘Beast creating such a safe, friendly environment’ which then breeds like-minded people. Add that to a stellar lineup and it’s not a night to miss is it?”

You heard it from Thomas here and you can come and hear him play in the Police Cells on Saturday. Come shake a leg early with Thomas as he warms up those ceramic tiled walls of the Police Cells on Saturday. He’ll be joined by Sarah Air and Tina Hart. In the main room you can catch the delights of Much Maligned, Lee Williams and Illy Noize jetted in just for you from Halle, Germany.

Grab your tickets here: http://hdfst.uk/E40640

The Beast interviews…Sam Jepperson from Sutra and Divide

The Beast is ever curious about musical goings on in his underground musical kingdom. It also comes to Beast’s attention that Minotaur Resident DJ Lee Williams is being headhunted for other rather delectable club-nights in Bristol. In times of olde our Beastie would have picked up his sword and wrought it with vengeful steely fury on whoever threatened his musical terrain - but as we live in a modern time where labyrinthine slaying is no longer allowed, the Beast needs to eat a bit of humble pie and honour those who enjoy and organise the same sort of nights for all to enjoy. Perhaps even look at forging future epic alliances and consider heroic collaborative exploits. There appears to be no end to a growing list of promoter and DJ talent and that’s when The Beast met with Sam Jepperson (aka DJ Sikora) who runs club-nights Sutra and Divide. Read on for an exclusive Beast Interview with Sam who talks about the inspiration for his night, spreading techno mindfulness and why you need to go and watch and hear Lee Williams play at his next night.

Sam’s enthusiasm for music, particularly techno and progressive tech is contagious. He tells Beast how inspired he was to setup Sutra after travelling in Australia with friends in 2015 and seeing how awesome their techno nights were. “With all this inspiration building up and ourselves making connections, we wanted to start a brand that symbolises everyone becoming one on the dance floor, no matter what walk of life. For us techno is like a form of meditation.” Beast interjects, his only experience of meditation is attempting to listen to a cassette tape of clicking whales and swishy waves. Sam clarifies “not where you sit down and close your eyes, it’s a meditation where you can be whoever you want to be and express yourself in a grooving, drum rhythmic fiesta. We want you to leave the party and feel like you had all your worries completely disappear and only left with a warm feeling in your stomach that everything will be ok and that you will be at a techno party again soon”.

Beast is now very excited to find out more. He finds out that not only does Sam manage Sutra but also another night called Divide. Divide was born 1 year ago between 4 like minded lads with a love for techno and a drive to bring high quality events to various cities in the UK. Sam intends to concentrate his efforts on Sutra to turn into a fire spinning festival stage and Divide will be high end events in and around Bristol. Between both nights Sam has brought a Sankey Ibiza resident DJ Lindsey Matthews to Blue Mountain, organised a boat party on the Thames in London and hosted a room at Egg London for DJ Mag Sessions. Beast has it on good authority that there are some big  Sutra and Divide plans for Bristol in Feb 2018 so keep your eyes open!

Sam is very excited to add Minotaur Sound Resident DJ Lee Williams on the bill for his upcoming Sutra 2nd Birthday night at Blue Mountain on Thursday 2^nd November. He tells Beast that he found Lee through one of his personal inspirations, John Digweed, from the record label Bedrock. He’s heard such positive things about Lee and his Terminal night. It’s no surprise that he’s one of the most sought after DJ’s in and around Bristol at the moment. “We were impressed and had to get him down for a mix. Lee is also focusing on live production using hardware which is a big plus to us, we rate that highly”.

Join Sam at the next Sutra night on Thursday 02/11 to catch Lee Williams lighting up the Blue Mountain decks. This is one highly rated Beast approved night that is not to be missed.

Links:
https://www.Facebook.com/uksutra
https://www.facebook.com/DivideEvents/
https://soundcloud.com/samjepperson

Beast interviews...Denis Horvat

DJ and Producer Denis Horvat came to Beast’s attention last year in 2016 with the track ‘Momak’ which was released on Innervisions ‘Secret Weapons 8’ EP. Its deep pulsating vibe played to the rich, dark sounds that Minotaur Sound love to hear and dance to. There are only a few scatterings of Denis’s DJ sets available out there to listen to and each one is utterly sublime to hear – Denis proves that he can produce well and he can also DJ with the same passion and panache that he applies to his music. His music and sets already weave a unique flavor of depth and melodic techno that allow you to recognize Denis immediately from his peers.

Sharing the same bill as the likes of Ame, Dixon and Maceo Plex and signed up to Aeon and Innervisions and with his latest Axle EP release, it was high time that The Beast brought the Danish Dynamite to Bristol for what will be his debut on Saturday May 13^th at Lakota. Beast invited Denis into the epicenter of his labyrinth for a pre party interview to ask him a few questions and get some insight for Saturday night.

Denis Horvat

Beast asked Denis what he usually starts with when preparing for a set. “I listen to a lot of podcasts and DJ sets from other acts - it gives me ideas and inspiration for my DJ sets. I don’t have a special ritual or preparation strategy. I just play the music I like”. As has been mentioned several times in previous Beast interviews this is a strategy that works best for Minotaur Sound nights – it’s critically essential that DJ’s enjoy themselves and play what they like. There is always a risk that a set becomes stale and constrained if a DJ is too rigorous or doesn’t go with the flow or enjoy himself.

To further prove this point Beast asks Denis what makes him decide to play a particular record/track during one of his sets. “First of all I'm adapting my music to the audience. I wouldn't play a techno tune or a peak time track, in the early hours. But I love to play varied!” Beast clasps his hooves with glee – had Denis told him that he is prescriptive or doesn’t read his audience he would have chopped off his head immediately. No time for selfishness where Minotaur Sound is involved.

Denis is always dedicated to his incredibly well equipped studio (Beast has synthesizer envy) and is always posting on social media about his work and his travels. Beast is keen to find out more about how Denis manages a good work/ life balance in between releasing his epically good Axle EP (which Beast and crew have been listening to avidly since it was released in early April). Denis explains “I'm also really happy about the release, even though the tracks are almost 1.5 years old. But the feedback has been amazing. It's a bit tough to balance DJ’ing, studio and private life. For me the key is discipline and self-control, and to get properly rested during the week. It's like a never-ending Jetlag feeling, when you sleep a minimum amount of hours when touring”. Beast’s man crush with Denis peaks even higher - such dedication to his work. To follow Denis at his studio or on his travels, head to his Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/denishorvat/

Beast asks Denis what was his most unusual or memorable set location and Denis tells Beast that the most unusual place he played at was in a chalet in Geneva. A really cosy place up in the alps. Lets find out if Denis can add Lakota to his list of memorable places – the Beast intends to set up temporary labyrinthine court there on Saturday May 13^th.

Denis’s musical offerings garner many enthused comments on Mixcloud and Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/denis-horvat. Beast is curious about track listings and asks Denis how he feels when he sees people desperate for track listings and whether he has any memory of tracks that he’s heard but have never been able to acquire? Denis tells Beast “People are way too curious about track listings/track ID. They should focus more in enjoying the sets, rather than being detectives :) &ME from Keinemusik played a really nice track a few years ago. In pretty much all his sets and podcasts, but I never found the ID. My guess is it's one of his own edits of remixes, which won't be released”. Are you reading this &ME?

Beast is keen to find out any other titbit that Denis would be happy to share with his fans. “Well besides the studio geek that I am, I really enjoy drinking rum and cognac. And I'm a big sneaker collector :) “. You hear that Bristol? Beast informs his minions and Minotaur Sound posse to refrain themselves from throwing their underwear at Denis on Saturday. Perhaps sneakers, rum and cognac will go down a little better ;-)

Join the Beast and his minions as Denis decimates Lakota on Saturday night together with Lee Williams, Kuba Drypher, Ellis Odyssey, Nautz & Toppa and G Rowe – also with Peasoup, Kagun and Orion in the DnB room.

Recommend that you buy your ticket well in advance for this one here: http://hdfst.uk/E36511

See you on Saturday May 13 for an epic and glitter infused night!

Beast interviews...G Rowe (again)

Back in February 2016 Minotaur Sound resident DJ G Rowe (George) was first on the bill (together with Donewrong) at the Launch Party. Take a look at his original interview here: http://minotaursound.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/g-rowe-minotaur-sound-dj-interview.html

His was a Pied Piper type role to lay down the tracks that would set the precedent for the evening ahead and bring all the Beast creatures out of their hiding places. He did such an amazing job with aplomb and glory that Beast was keen to get him back in for the May party. Beast was keen to find out what he had been up to since the Launch Party of dreams and wonderment. He asks him what other musical delights he has seen in the last year.

G Rowe with Donewrong at Minotaur Sound Launch Party

“The DirtyTalk night in November with DJ Sotofett was the best thing I’ve been to in years. So much goodness all night long!” Beast nods his horned head vigorously, DJ Sotofett is one that he has his eye on at the moment. Beast, ever in pursuit of knowledge wishes to feed his musical wisdom by asking G Rowe for advice as to how to become a DJ. He expects that G Rowe must have had to undergo Herculean feats of dextrous mastery that aimed to place him high on a pedestal in honour and glorification to the musical Gods – “Errrr no…just start? Dive straight in. I think I got a pirate version of Traktor and started pissing around trying to mix and recording my lame attempts, to play to friends. Eventually a friend was good/desperate enough to let me play at their night. Everyone gets desperate” …Beast is silent, a piece of tumbleweed drifts slowly between him and G Rowe, a toll bell rings out across the Minotaur court.

Beast shrugs off the momentary pause and asks George if he has any surprises in store for the May night – “My main surprise is that Neil (Donewrong) isn’t playing, so there will probably be some sort of equipment failure that I won’t know how to fix” – Beast is sad that Donewrong can’t play as he did at the Launch Party but he has other events planned for this year and will be ensuring that he returns to the decks to wow the crowd just as he did with G Rowe at the Launch Party.

Finally Beast wants to know if George has been up to anything else in the last year “I’ve made some flashy light content to put towards the next night (another interview will uncover who the mysterious person is behind the visuals for the May night) and also check out my Instagram for other visuals I’ve been making”. The marvels of being a multi faceted creative – Beast can’t wait to see George’s flashy light thing on Minotaur night – take a look at his Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/georgehenryrowe/

Soak G Rowe in by Techno osmosis at the next Minotaur Sound night in May together with Nautz & Toppa, Lee Williams, Denis Horvat and Kuba Drypher. Get your tickets here: http://hdfst.uk/E36511

Denis Horvat and our next event Press Release.

Beast is back.

Denis Horvat

Hibernation was too much to hold him off. Minions and crew couldn't fend him off for much longer. To abate the hunger we decided to bring Denis Horvat for his Bristol debut. Denis is part of the well respected Aeon Audio and Innervisions record label and will be joining us on May 13th. He is joined by Lee Williams from Terminal, Kuba Drypher, Ellis Odyssey, Nautz and Toppa and just in case that's not enough a Drum and Bass den will be showcasing the wonderful wares of Peasoup, Kagun and Orion. Minotaur resident DJ's Donewrong and G Rowe will also be bringing in those mythical techno vibes.

Mythical Faun from We Creatures

As before, Naomi from We Creatures will bring in the glittering creature collective and Amy will mesmerise with her LED hoopla talents. Then there's beast's sexy labyrinth lair in BS5 7UZ, just you wait until you see that! For more details take a look at our official press release as below. If you would like the opportunity to get in touch for interviews, radio shows or any other media before May 13 please get in touch: catherine@minotaursound.co.uk.

Otherwise head to our event page here and ticket page here. Beast can guarantee lashings of mythical sleaze.

See you in May. Bring your horns.

Our official Press Release here.

Beast Reviews: Maxxi Summer 2016 Mixtape by Maxxi Soundsystem

Maxxi Summer 2016 Mixtape (Listen on Soundcloud here)

The Beast and his team of minions spent the summer chasing one of their favourite DJ's and music producers, none other than Maxxi Soundsystem. His epic grand finale at Hidden Valley on the Saturday night at Wilderness to the unlikely 'In the Air Tonight' by Phil Collins was the stuff of legend - who else could pull that off. Beastie and team were lured into a night of techno lushness and then hurled into that 80's throwback that had us buzzing from forest valley to tent lair.

So, there was much joy when Maxxi put up his Summer mixtape with the tunes that created our sizzling season's anthems. Here's the review with track timings (note that these are not approx) - Disclaimer: Beast works in analogue without a clue on techie stuff, so bear with him as his mythical hearing works its magic. Key listening cues are in the bullet points as below:

• 1.39 in and **that** heartbeat from Alpe Luisa ups the tempo and pow, you're in and on what you know is going to be a roller coaster ride.
• From 18:40 The Black Madonna remix of Tiga's Blondes Have More Fun. Fat synths and rolling soundscape echo brings in the backdrop to a lot of 2016 sunsets. Gun Finger time.
• 27:30 and time to get seduced by the honey vocals of Nonku in Andre Lodemann's remix version of Hyenah's Soak it.
• 45:20 One of the reasons why we love this mix so much is that it features the amazing collab work borne of Maxxi and Alex Banks "Lost in Memory". Combine Maxxi's fine mastery of techno tapestries with Alex's home grown glitchy synths and you have this fine example that had us raving it up in Wilderness and craving more. Take 50:01 as a punchy keyboard drop that you will want to hear over and over again.
• 1:08:30 Jamie 3:26's 'Hit it N Quit It' tail ends into Cloud Generator by Kink - what a match made in heaven which ultimately had us stomping our hooves ever more into a techno dance frenzy. Banger.
• We loved the closing track at 1:54:30 and had to double take at whether it was a Maceo Plex offering. But no, it's Autarkic's "I know". Another banger.

--------------------------

Track List:

1. 0:00 "Alpe Luisa" (Robag Bodelshwing Sovar NB) by Stimming

1a. The overlaid sample is taken from the film Repo Man; Miller explains Cosmic Unconsciousness and Time Travel.

2. 7:00 "Oar003-B" by Oni Ayhun

3. 12:30 "Unknown" **Is this a potential future Maxxi release?** We don't know but we loved it and hope to hear it again. If you know this one, please comment.

4. 18:30 "Blondes have more fun" (The Black Madonna Immaterial remix) by Tiga

5. 26.50 "Soak It" (Andrew Lodemann remix - Nonku) by Hyenah

6. 33.16 "For A Memory" by Tim Green

7. 38:00 "Sundust" by Jepe

8. 45:20 "Lost in Memory" by Maxxi Soundsystem and Alex Banks

9. 51:00 "Lay Down" (Aaaron mix) by Kalyma

10. 55.50 "Searching" (Deetron remix) by Fred Everything, Dinadu, Deetron

11. 1:00:00 "Uncertain Qualities" by Krisztian Dobroscsi

12. 1:05:18 "Hit it N Quit it" by Jamie 3:26 & Cratebug

13. 1:08:30 "Cloud Generator" by Kink

14. 1:15:20: "Caminho de Dreyfus" (Rebolledo remix) by Red Axes Ft. Abrao - Maxxi version

15. 1:20:30 "Anacreon" by Human Machine

16. 1:24:14 "Unknown" or possibly a bootleg Maxxi version of "The Wrath of NIA" by DJM-Traxxx?

17. 1:31:30 "In the Turret" by PBR Streetgang

18. 1:37:20 "Burn the past" by Terr

19. 1:42:30 "Aint Me" (Spirit Catcher remix) by Bonar Bradburg, Spirit Catcher

20. 1:47:10 "Tourette" (David Mayer remix) by Terranova

21. 1:54:30 "I Know" by Autarkic

Maxxi Soundsystem at Hidden Valley, Wilderness 2016

Illy Noize - Minotaur Sound Headline DJ Interview!

We have our most anticipated interview yet with our upcoming headline Illy Noize! Illy caught our ear last year when we heard one of his spectacular mixes and rather than wait for someone to bring him over to the UK, The Minotaur Sound team decided to take matters into our own hooves, set up Minotaur Sound and bring him over to the UK for his debut. Have a listen to Illy's Minotaur Sound teaser mix here and read on to find out more about him:

Minotaur Sound: "So Illy, tell us who are your biggest influences and why?"

Illy Noize

Illy: "Hey guys, thank you for having this interview with me. My musical influences reach from raw funk and soul to rock and experimental electronic music. I am very open minded when it comes to music and I enjoy it everywhere I can. But when I should name some all-time heroes of mine, it comes down to Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer and all these great artists under the Mo-Town Label roster. I like that live feeling in a record. When you hear the little mistakes in the recording that makes it special. I always try to recap this feeling when I work in the studio. Also for DJ sets I think it's important. I don't like surgical sets. It has to be vibrant and swinging. Yes I think this is the influence for me in music"

Minotaur Sound: "Amazing! And this influence really does show strong in your music. How about you tell us a lesser known fact about yourself?"

Illy: "Haha! A fun fact about me...whenever I go on tour to DJ in another City I always forget my toothbrush. So every time I come to a new City, I have to buy a new one. I have quite a good collection of toothbrushes from a lot of City's I've been at."

Minotaur Sound: "We'll have your toothbrush at the ready when you come to Bristol then! So tell us about the first time when you started to DJ - how did you get introduced to it?"

Joyfriend Record Label

Illy: "I started to DJ in 1999 as a hobby. Started to collect vinyl and practicing at home. Can't say exactly why but I always was into music. Didn't know much about DJ live at this stage but was fascinated by the technique and the way it was done. The turntables and the feel of the records and of course going to the record store was a bit thing for me back in the days. Today I try to buy as much Vinyl as possible but have stopped playing Vinyl at clubs which is a bit sad. I always was into this soulful house and techno music. Not much of a minimal or dark techno guy. I like happy music so to say, always melodic. Then after one year of training I sent some demos to clubs around my hometown. In 2005 I became resident in a club in Leipzig and in 2009 in the Charles Bronson Club in Halle made by Monkey Safari. I started producing music slightly late. In 2013 I released my first records. Until 2015 I released on 7 labels and started to run my own Label Joyfriend with some friends in Halle.

Minotaur Sound: "Illy we are so honoured to have you headline at our upcoming Launch and so very excited to hear what you will play for your UK fans. See you on the 20th Feb!"

Minimal -v- Melodic Techno?

What is melodic and minimal techno? To answer that question, you have to understand what Techno actually is. Just type 'Techno definition' into google and there are vast arrays and essays about it, it's meaning, it's origins and it's anatomical component parts. Best described by my youngest daughter as 'it's so repetitive!'. Where time is marked with a bass drum on each quarter note and some random squiggle of a sound (could be a clap or a hi hat or a vocal or any catchy noise) on every second eighth note. Techno hails from the use of the 'Techno Rebels' label (those who have read Alvin Toffler's 'The Third Wave' will understand this) and how true techno tends to have been generated on older analog synthesizers and those wanting to keep vinyl production alive. So that's Techno in a very small nutshell.


So, when someone asked me 'what is melodic techno?' - I typed that into google, only to be stood upon a parapet of the unknown. Curious, I decided to explore this a bit more, so as to come up with a definition that wouldn't have me reaching out for a search engine. Techno stalwarts will know about minimal techno - best heard in places like Berghain or Trouw or anywhere with stark, dimly lit concrete walls and a DJ with a gas mask on. A perfect DJ example would be Pearson Sound (and I quote as I have seen him live) - a series of interesting percussion noises, beats and misplaced sounds that kind of work well in a really surprising way. Add electro glitches, progressive drum beats and noises that would appear to been taken from a sci-fi film and you have minimal techno. I.e. there is little to no melody.


Have a listen to this for a good minimal techno DJ set example from Pearson Sound and his latest Essential Mix for the BBC. If you can quote a better example then send it over or comment below.


Melodic techno uses the underpinning structure of techno and instead of sounds and interesting noises, overlays it with...wait for it...melody! The binding together of melody makes a Techno track warmer, more intimate and sometimes uplifting. But what is melody? Stupid question, right? Wikipedia describes it as 'a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying; a tune'. Does that mean that minimal Techno could potentially be dissatisfying?! In the end it's all in the musical eye of the beholder. A lot of current DJ's and producers are able to swing between minimal and melodic, with ease. You might be up for a night of minimal techno because you're just in that mood, maybe you've had a bad day and you want to hit those techno sounds hard in some dark shady corner. On the other hand, you might be heading out with your mates, all is good in the world and the warmth of melodic techno captivates you all into a lovely bonding session of hugs and love (and that's without a single instance of MDMA ever being taken!).


Good examples of melodic techno DJ's are Maceo Plex and Worakls to name but just a few. Melodic techno at it's best could probably be best encapsulated by this Boiler Room DJ set by Maceo Plex.


Do you agree with this description? What is your take? I'm all ears.


Cathy