Thursday 31 March 2011

The TFM Interview - The Loops of Fury


Electro-Techno stalwarts, The Loops of Fury have been blowing up of late, with a brand new single, We Unfold hitting Beatport this week complete with massive remix from The Plump DJs. The list of supporters is truly A-List and the range of their appeal can be clearly seen when they can include the likes of Carl Cox, John Digweed, Bloody Beetroots and Annie Nightingale amongst their supporters.


They also have a brand new mixset they put together for our friends at Radio Clubfoot which you can grab from HERE.

1.) Would you say you were studio boffins at heart, or are you more excited about the live & DJ sets? Tell us a bit about your background & the path you've taken musically to get to where you are right now?

Jimi: Working the studio and playing shows are both pretty fun things to do, I'm not sure if I have a favorite! There is a certain satisfaction in writing music locked up in the studio, where you are not sure how what you are doing will be received and the music only really exists in that room. It's when you take it out and play it in a DJ set or see someone else play it that the music really comes alive, and that is definitely the most exciting thing for me. So I guess the DJ sets are where it's at!

We've always really walked down the line between the two, we've been writing tunes together for a really long time as well as playing live and DJing on the side. We started out as an electro/jazz fusion act in a Battle Of The Bands competition while we were at school, all hardware mind you - we ran the whole thing off a Kawai K5000 and an MPC2000XL. At the time we were listening to a lot of Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Air, Josh Abrahams and Adam F, hence the weird combo!

 2.) You guys have been making exciting strides recently with remixes for DIm Mak & Grand Hotel amongst others. Who would be your dream artists to remix?

Jimi: Ahh so many! The glaringly obvious one would be The Chemical Brothers, due to their massive influence on our formative years and ability to consistently put out amazing music. Day dreaming aside, I would love to be doing some club mixes for bands, tunes with proper vocals and interesting guitar and synth stuff to chop up. Like the Tame Impala rework Erol Alkan did, that is really really cool. There's loads of awesome dance producers I'd love to get into as well, people like Boys Noize, The Subs, Tai... Guys like Jan Driver and Ado are on fire at the moment!

Max: Personally, if we found ourselves in a studio with The Chems, I'd be like Johnny Depp in Blow where he's watching his daughter being born. You know, shaking, convulsing, and then finally collapsing on the ground.

3.) I noticed that your amazing remix for Rabbit in the Moon seemed to disappear from sale after a day or two. Don't tell me you sold out of digital copies - seriously though, what was the scoop with that as it was a great bit of work, and is there anywhere people can download it or hear it?

Max: It was all very odd and annoying, but the official word is that the label that put it out had to change names or something and it's been gone ever since. We did a little give away to promote our iPhone app last week... Maybe it'll surface again in a more official sense further down the track?

4.) The music industry is for ever shifting the goalposts as people's buying patterns and format choices evolve and change. How are you seeing this affect you & what positive steps do you take to reach out to your fanbase, given it's easier than ever to do that (whilst being harder to earn money from sales).

Jimi: That's the beauty of the internet really, people are getting used to having ready access to new music immediately and often they don't want to pay for it. Which is why it's so important to go to shows and see the DJs you like play! We try to put out mixes as often as we can with our new tunes and other stuff we like in it. We love to hang around and party when we play too, it's always good to meet people that dig music. There's also a secret project that we're working on at the moment, we're putting together a little radio show but I can't really say more than that for the time being.......

 5.) Institubes announced they were ceasing trading last week as a result of terminally declining sales & a devaluing of music to the point where people see it should be a free resource. Can you see more & more labels going the same way, or do you see them adapting & changing to the new world order?

Max: That is really sad news, Institubes put out some incredible music. Surkin and Siriusmo are personal favourites and influences. I really hope other inspiring labels don't follow suit. Before this happened I thought the industry was at the tail end of the internet shake up and people were finally adapting and taking advantage of the internet world, but sadly it looks like we're still in a state of flux.

6.) I see you also design iPhone Apps & I notice you just launched your Loops of Fury Ap, which is an excellent tool by the way. Tell us a little about that.

Max: Yep, that's my day job :) It's basically a way of getting news, updates and tracks on your iPhone from us, as and when they come out. With Soundcloud alone, this becomes a really cool app for the punter. All of our DJ sets and track previews are on there whenever you want, and you can just plug your phone into a stereo and play a set. I'm making these apps for other peeps, so stay tuned!

7.) You smashed it last summer with 'Rack Em' on U&A - what was the biggest thrill from that whole release ... for example I noticed Sacha played it at the opening of Space in Ibiza. Big buzz right?

Jimi: Yeah man, massive! We've got friends in Australia sending us footage from him playing it in his shows right round the country, which is amazing. It's funny, he's played a few of our tunes but he is not really an obvious person to be getting into them. Our music is generally pretty high energy and intensity, and normally on an electro house tip, which you wouldn't necessarily think of when you think of a dude like Sasha. We seem to attract support from a fairly broad selection of people and DJs, which is pretty cool!

Max: We just found out that Carl Cox played Unfold at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami last weekend as well. It's amazing really, we've got old tapes of sets of his recorded from the radio that are worn out from being played so much. It's an absolute honour that these DJs are supporting our music.




8.) What's in the pipeline from the Loops then ... what's getting you excited about the months ahead?

Max: Quite a bit of stuff! We've got remixes for Felix Luker on U&A and Hunter Vaughan on the new Death Proof Recordings coming out really soon. The latter is quite Fury. And some new originals on U&A further down the line, one of which is a hark back to our early days making uplifting jungle on Amiga computers in the mid 90s. We've always been into the PLUR side of jungle, and we've been wanting to get that influence into our stuff for a while now so we had a great time making this one!

Show wise we've got KOKO in London on April 21st and we're working with the Play For Japan guys so stay tuned on that one, they're announcing dates shortly at a number of clubs across London! And there are rumours of some Australian shows later in the year, but we can neither confirm/deny at this stage...


9.) Could you tell us what the 5 hottest tracks in the box are, and then I'll let you go. Thanks from all the readers.

Steve Strip & Jan Driver - Calcium
The Loops Of Fury - We Unfold
NT89 - Persian
The Subs - Face Of The Planet (Ado's Norp mix)
Mustard Pimp - Money Shot (The Loops Of Fury mix)

We Unfold is out this week on Beatport.
GET IT HERE
THE LOOPS ON FACEBOOK

Monday 28 March 2011

Mike Hulme - Wired [FREE 320 Download]



Mike Hulme's 'Wired' is a belting slice of tech-funk & we can't recommend it highly enough here at TFM. Grab it from the widget above, or from THIS LINK, and if you dig it, use the SHARE button & help spread the word. You can also hit Mr. Hulme up on his well-maintained FACEBOOK PAGE.

Look out for new material from Mike on the forthcoming U&A : 50 compilation.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Big Beat Reunion - a one-off Elite Force DJ Mix (Live & Direct)



  Big Beat Reunion - Elite Force Live Mix March 2011 by Elite Force 

DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK

Click ... and MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
This Friday just gone I found myself at the Big Beat Reunion in London's lovely but shady Jammm in Brixton, one of my old stomping grounds. I'm always slight wrong-footed by South London ... even though I know it so well, it has an intensity about it that you seldom find North of the river with layer on layer of humanity battling for survival space. As an example, the cab ride back to the hotel afterwards was full of banter & was strangely worth the £22 I was knowingly being *fleeced* for a four mile ride.

To say the gig was an unusual one for me to take would be understatement. I've never before agreed to do an old skool / big beat set, and despite the huge time-drain of 3 full days of preparation, it was actually a great - re-education sifting through the piles of old vinyl. Each banger I unearthed was greeted like a long lost friend, even to the point of 'knowing smiles' accompanying the recall of each bit of vinyl's unique quirks. Trying to mix these rough & ready slices of history together was a whole new ballgame & my plan to journey from 107 - 137 bpm seemed like a good idea in principal, but in practice it was a wild beast of a ride, and one that was hard to tame for much of the time.

Here is the set in all it's rough glory. Thanks to the Noise crew for snagging a most unexpected recording.

Grab it quickly - not sure how long I want this one up here for!

Midfield General - Devil In Sports Casual
Ceasefire - Trickshot
Eddie Scratch & DC - Dusty's Sermon
Dave Clarke - No One's Driving (Chemical Brothers Mix)
Cut & Paste - Cut It Nice - Original Mix
Freestylers - Breaker Beats Part One
Head Lamp - Petrol Salt Lick
Wax Assassins - Feel The Funk Baby
The Chemical Brothers - The Loops of Fury
Roxy Breaks - Apache Rock
The Wiseguys - Start the Commotion (Put the Body in Motion)
CHARLATANS, The - Nine Acre Dust (Chemical Brothers remix)
Basco- Rock The Funky Beat
Sol Brothers - That Elvis Track
Fathead, 2 Fat Buddahs- Cut The Music - Original Mix
Fatboy Slim Vs Bassbin Twins - 2 Aaaw Shut Up
Bassbin Twins & Doom Selector - Between The Fro
Laidback- Cold Rock
Josh Wink - Higher State of Consciousness
Laidback- Cold Rock (Reprise)
Elite Force- EF001 Go Rockin' Beats
The Treble Spankers- Samira (The Eboman's Bakkuf Beats - Mix)
Lunatic Calm - Leave You Far Behind -Lunatics Rollercoaster Mix
Definition of Sound- Outsider (Lunatic Calm Mix)
Messiah- There Is No Law
Curve - Chinese Burn (Lunatic Calm Remix)
Fatboy Slim - Going Out of my Head
SCHUMACHER, Timmy - Bring Back Big Beat
Chemical Brothers - Psychedelic Reel (Elite Force Edit)

Friday 18 March 2011

Mad March Mixsets ft Lee Coombs, Alan Fitzpatrick & 10 Rapid


It's been an odd month, I seem to have listened to more than my fair share of mixes these past few weeks, long days in work have permitted such things I suppose. With the assistance of the trusty mp3 player and a quiet office majority of the time, i've stuck my teeth into a robust amount of tunage, from broody breaks, titanic techno to enigmatic electro... decidely old, yet classic and some fresh-off-the-press, exclusive-riddled helpings. Here are the picks of the said bunch!

Typically Lee Coombs podcast takes front and centre, he's been digging again, not at his old vinyl but at a mix he stumbled across that needed a 2011 spring airing. Comprising of classic electro, breaks and house cuts with none other than the WHOMP of 'Dooms Night' and Armand Van Helden's timeless take on CJ Bolland's 'Sugar Is Sweeter' sat amongst the bunch!


This man can do no wring for me at the moment, Alan Fitzpatrick has truly taken the techno scene by the balls and showing no signs of letting go! His intense, unflagging, feverous techno has left many a room baying for more and with this 3 hour helping I never tired of it. This was made for dark cavenrous rooms and with it being the night closer at Fabric, I think it sat perfectly...


Another gent who is taking no prisoners at the moment, lies in the shape of 10 Rapid. His unmistakable, raw, electro/techno sound is, as always, moving dancefloors the world over. Having had the satisfaction of witnessing one of Dominic's sets I knew what to expect with this offering, earpounding basslines and drumlines straight out of the electro handbook. BOOM!

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Zodiac Cartel - 2-hr Live Set, Budapest, March 2011



Live sets from the General are rare as hen's teeth, so we are very excited to serve up an exclusive for you from this weekend's show at the U&A label party in Budapest in conjunction with Metha & the Breakbeat Massive crew. As the set began the front few rows of the packed house all donned Zodiac Cartel masks to excellent effect (as you can see from this VIDEO SNIPPET & the whole night was a cracker!

Hit him up & show him some terrestrial loving on his FACEBOOK PAGE and check out the NEW SINGLE that dropped a couple of weeks back. It's ace.



TRACKLIST

Take Control - Tom Stephan Remix
Tom Staar - It Excites Me - Original
Mark Trophy - Ripper - Original Mix
Sound Of Stereo - Button - BeatauCue Remix
Bass Kleph - Oh Yeah - Original Mix
Mercedes - Shock Absorber - Tony Senghore And Savage Skulls Vox Dub
Calvertron vs Brimmer - Play it (Attic Kings Remix)
10 Rapid - Not Right
Plump Djs Vs Beatles - Tomorrow (re-fix)
Chemical Brothers Vs Ido & Miki - Setting Sun (Elite Force & Meat Katie Revamp)
Leftfield Vs Ritch - Song of Life (Elite Force & Meat Katie Revamp)
Tai - Powerchords (Zodiac Cartel Remix)
A.G. Trio - Bass Effect (Zodiac Cartel Mix)
Zodiac Cartel Vs Futureheads Vs Bassnectar - Devil's Mashup (ZC Revamp)
Switch - A Bit Patchy
Jesse Rose- Well Now - Savage Skulls Remix
Bangalter Vs Noob - Colossal Peanuts(ZC Revamp)
Will Gold- Swing Time - David Jones Edit
Emanuel Kosh- Make My Music (Zodiac Cartel Mix)
Fukkk Offf- Brainrock (Zodiac Cartel Mix)
Adele, Elite Force, Calvertron, Ghets Noch - Rumour (Elite Force Revamp)
Boyz Noise Vs Wolfgang Gartner - TechnoNoizeGang (Elite Force Revamp)
Chemical Brothers Vs Miles Dyson - Swoon (Elite Force Revamp)
Elite Force, Hatiras, Vandal, Stanton Warriors- MAD
Zodiac Cartel- Just Do It
Cirez D - The Tumble - Original Mix
Will Bailey - The Cannock Skank
Zodiac Cartel - Stay On Top
Hunter Vaughan - Krakken (The Loops Of Fury mix)
Mike Hulme- Sweet Inspiration (Loops Of Fury Mix)
Zodiac Cartel - Sweet Control VIP
The Loops of Fury - Rack Em (Zodiac Cartel Remix)
Felix Luker - Starfunk (Original Mix)
Peo de Pitte - Burning Up (Various Mixes!)
Elite Force Vs Boris Vs Uppermost - Bangkok State (Elite Force Revamp)
Blatta & Inesha - My Lady Don't Mind (Modek Mix)
Various - Superman Showoff (Zodiac Cartel Revamp)
Peo de Pitte - Burning Up (Zodiac Cartel Remix)
Peo de Pitte - Burning Up (Original)
Peo de Pitte - Burning Up (Torqux & Twist Mix - Elite Force Revamp)


Thursday 3 March 2011

Fake Blood Vs Daft Punk Vs Zodiac Cartel - Mashup on Mars [320]

A staple of the General's sets for some time now & finally let off it's leash, we're thrilled to be giving up the massive Fake Blood meets Daft Punk meets Zodiac Cartel mashup as a full 320. Hit ZODIAC CARTEL up on his FACEBOOK PAGE if you'd rather download it from there (just LIKE the page) & for a preview, check the SOUNDCLOUD LINK. He also Tweets a mean Tweet on his TWITTER PAGE (when he's not out on inter-galactic bidniz).

The massive new Zod single 'Aktion / Just Do It' is also out this week on BEATPORT - grab a copy. It's hotter than yo mamma & twice as heavy.

                       


   Fake Blood Vs Zodiac Cartel - Mashup on Mars (FREE DOWNLOAD - READ COMMENTS) by Zodiac Cartel