5 YEARS OF JACKMODE

Since bursting on to the scene 5 years ago, German agency Jackmode has caused quite a stir with its forward thinking approach and ability to break a wealth of exciting talent. Artists including Adana Twins, Kruse & Nuernberg, Round Table Knights and Doctor Dru to name just some of our favourites.

In celebration of 5 great years, they have put together a 2-disc, 20-track compilation (the full list of artists & tracks are below). We’ve been listening to the snippets on soundcloud and it’s making us very exited! There are lots of great tracks, but the two stand out tracks for us are from Doctor Dru & Monte.

Label mainstay Doctor Dru‘s ‘U Don’t’ is built around a bulging bassline and a very cathy vocal…. “Shake that thing in the house”!! The old-school ethos comes to the fore with Monte‘s ‘You Should Know‘. In the words of Monte himself,  “Feel the summer breeze, beach, palms, girls, all in as always with an 80´s touch.”

Super excited about this one, compilation drops on 17th May. Bring it on!

CD1

1. HNQO ft. Club Idol - Dont Stop
2. Mat.Joe - Ride
3. Doctor Dru - U don’t Dance
4. Monkey Safari - Got the Jack
5. Zombie Disco Squad - Brooklyn in the House
6. Death on the Balcony - Move like Fire
7. Joyce Muniz - Sleepless
8. Monte - You Should Know
9. Fabo feat. Lostcause - My Way
10. Penner+Muder feat. Daniel Wilde - Love you some more

CD2

1. Filtertypen - Keep That Shhh
2. Sishi Rosch - Badboi
3. O&A - Alligator Jazz
4. Mercury - Life is Lovely
5. Jamie Anderson - Crucial Dub
6. Homework - By Definition
7. Animal Trainer - Together
8. Kruse & Nuernberg, Adana Twins - Talking About…
9. Round Table Knights - Each Time
10. Chris James - Somebody

DENIS YASHIN // WASTING YOUR TIME (RAMBLA BOYS REMIX)

Denis Yashin has put out a new EP called “Wasting Your Time”. The EP comes with a host of remixers including DJ Glen, Gabriel Boni & Marko, as part of the second release by Matter Of Fact. But the stand out track for us on the EP has to be the Rambla Boys remix. They’ve given more energy to the original whilst keeping Yeshin’s deep vocals & those delicious piano chords. Nice! Grab your copy & listen to the rest of the EP here.

LEE M KELSALL // ALWAYS EP

Fast rising UK born, Australia based producer Lee M Kelsall brings us another fine EP in the form of “Always”. The original track is a smooth slice of nu-disco & deep house flavours. On remix duty is hot new talent, Flex Cop - taking things in a slightly deeper direction, letting the synth line drive the track forward.  The other remix comes from Octochamp who deliver some serious house vibes. Are top two tracks are below & you can download the full EP for free here.

SUNDAY CHILL # 29

After a two year absence the king of microhouse has returned as Rajko ‘Isolée’ Müller releasing his new Allowance EP on Pampa Records. The title track ‘Allowance’ leads the way in terms of quality and perfect for our Sunday chill. Simple but complex, play this to anyone who doubts the merits of minimal house and prepare for them to be astounded by the beauty of this track. Perfection.

DISCLOSURE // YOU & ME FT. ELIZA DOOLITTLE

Well these boys can do no wrong, can they?! Yes the mighty Disclosure have just let loose another super track off their upcoming debut album Settle which is due for release June 3rd. For “You & Me” they have brought out another amazing UK vocalist, Eliza Doolittle. They create an extra clean house track set up for Eliza to lay down some smooth passionate vocals. Something about ever Disclosure track conveys a certain level of freshness that is hard to put into words – so we’ll shut up now and let you have a listen for yourself. Enjoy!

HNQO // INTERVIEW

It feels appropriate to post this interview on the evening that I arrive in Brazil. As I type these very words I’m sitting on a hostel balcony, sipping a Caipirinha and looking out over Cocacabana beach in Rio de Janerio. Yes, it’s been a very long day to get here (just over 24hrs of traveling) – but it’s all been worth it. I’ve heard so much about this city, this country. And even on first appearances, I can tell it has an electric energy and vibe that I may just fall in love with!

We spoke to HNQO last week, the amazing deep house producer from Brazil, who told us of his times as a kid in the southeastern city of Curitiba in Brazil. The days are warm, and the nights are long. And apparently the of streets of Curitiba, boys become men, and souls are both lost and found. No one knows this better than HNQO himself. As a famed breakdancer in his youth, he went in search of himself, with little more than a dream and the voices of Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash to guide him.

Although house is far from the driving force of the dance music scene in Brazil, HNQO has relentlessly pursued his passion for all things deep, soul & funk. Last year was the year his effect repelled across the world, with a massive release on Hot Creations along with driving forward with his own imprint, Playperview. The boy is now embarking on a European tour (didn’t he have to go and do this when I was in Brazil!!)… but all jokes aside, he certainly is one to watch out for in 2013 & beyond.

So have a read at what he had to say when we caught up with him…

Hi Henrique, it’s Fintan here from the Givafizz blog. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How are you doing today and where are you talking to us from?

Hello guys, it’s my pleasure, thanks for inviting me. At the moment I’m sat down on a chair in my room/office, based in Berlin during my European tour.

I’m actually traveling around South America at the moment, and due to be in Brazil in April. So far on my travels, I’m getting the impression that house music / culture is in its infancy across a lot of the continent. Is this also the case in Brazil? Can you tell us a little bit about growing up there? And has your home city, people or scene had any influence over the music you produce today?

The main culture in Brazil is samba, MPB and definitely not house music, but we are getting there.

Its big now in south Brazil, down from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, places where you can find clubs such as Club Vibe (Curitiba/Paraná), D-Edge (São Paulo), Warung (Santa Catarina), Space (Santa Catarina), Beehive (Rio Grande do Sul) to mention a few that I personally like best. There are also festivals such as Tribaltech (Curitiba/Paraná), XXXPerience (São Paulo), Tribe (São Paulo), with crowds up to 15,000 people.

The music I produce is influenced by my life style, my family, friends, good and bad things, places i visit, the food i get to eat. It’s all about how i’m feeling and everything that happens can influence on my music.

So when I get to Brazil, what places would you recommend I visit? And where should I go to dance?!

You should check the dates at D-Edge, Club Vibe, Warung and Beehive. Each club in each area has great options and I’m sure you’ll have fun at them all.

Great, thanks – I can’t wait! So 2012 was the year the world first heard HNQO. Tell us a little bit about what you were up to before you hit our airwaves?

I was working night-shifts at a hostel while making music. I was studying global business, and DJ’ing at Club Vibe and Danghai Club, both in my city, Curitiba.

Your amazing track, “Point of View” seemed to be the one that propelled you into the spotlight. Firstly, can you give us any insight into the making of this track / how you landed on this style / inspirations? Did you ever think it would get the reaction it did? 

Yes, it’s my stand out record. It was made during the hostel night-shift, using a notebook and headphones on Ableton. The process was normal, as I built the drums, the bassline and warped and cut the vocal just the way I liked it. I didn’t expected it was going to be on the likes of Jamie Jones, Russ Yallop, Solomun, H.O.S.H., Seth Troxler, Pete Tong, Groove Armada, Rodriguez Jr. Etc, though!

Like many now, we’re big fans of your productions. You seem to have developed your own style. But how would you describe your sound? Do you have a direction you want to take your productions going forward? 

Firstly, thanks for the compliment. My goal is to keep making music the way I like, if I’m happy with it I can move forward, if not, I’m not that keen to keep making something just because it’s maybe going to work. I like to feel 100% comfortable with what i’m producing and I expect people to like it the way it is. My plan is to keep my characteristics and try to build tracks for me and the people listening to be happy with.

Tell us a little more about the label you started with your brother – Playperview? Will there be a focus on Brazilian producers, as a way to build the scene there? By the way, loving your recent release “We Do It”, and the H.O.S.H remix is so funky!

Yes, Playperview is our little kid and it’s being raised to open space for new producers, Brazilian or otherwise. Our goal is to give the artists great support. We also like to have steady names on it, which is why the last release came with remixes from H.O.S.H., Kolombo and Atapy. There is more yet to come, we are discussing terms for remixes with Pillowtalk, Madmotormiquel & Sebo K and some others. Let’s hope we can sort all this out and have a great 2013 for the label and the artists evolved.

So what does the future hold for you HNQO? No pressure after such a big 2012! What releases can we look forward to & when?

I’m on tour at the moment, so i’m out of studio for 3 months. There is a remix I did coming on Playperview in about two months. It’s of a Dimitri Nakov track, ‘Fire in My Heart’ feat. Cari Golden. The EP is coming out soon with a great remix from Giom, too. Also coming on Playperview, there is a remix I did with my brother Fabø to Funky Fat’s ‘Why Go Home’.

There is another big remix for a big label and artist but it’s still on secret terms and I’m not sure I can give anything away just yet. I just hope it will get finished soon and I can concentrate on more HNQO releases.

Having played many gigs over the last year, can you pick a favourite?

Last year was a b2b set, myself and Fabø at the 11th year anniversary of Club Vibe in Curitiba. We played for 8 hours non stop, and it was madness, there were sweat dripping from the ceiling and I had to put a cup in front of the mixer so the drips didn’t wet it and run the party! It was so much fun and we had all our good friends on stage, too!

How much preparation to you put into your sets – are you are a believer in free-styling it or are your sets well planned?

Well, I do a lot of planning when i’m downloading and selecting tracks for my sets, but there is no plan when I’m DJ’ing, I like to mix House with Deep House and Tech House and it’s all based on the crowd’s reaction.

Can you tell us what 5 tracks are really doing it for you right now?

Jaymo & Andy George – Remember

Jackname Trouble – Light Again (Kink Remix)

LCD Soundsystem – Sounds of Silver (Fabø’s Shazam Wont Get It Mix) – This one is an  exclusive and I love to drop it

Dimitri Nakov – Fire in My Heart feat. Cari Golden (HNQO Remix)

Dake – With All – Sexy track upcoming on Playperview

We’re always on the lookout for new talent & tracks. Can you recommend any other new artists or tracks we should be keeping our eyes/ears open for?

This guy Dake, from Brazil. He’s a good friend and very talented. You can check his stuff here.

Quick fire round, are you ready?! If you had to pick one of the following which would it be…

Big room or small & intimate? Small & Intimate
Sunset or Sunrise? Sunset
Vinyls or Mp3s? fuck! i play with cd’s and USB but i love vinyls
Running or sleeping? Sleeping
Making music or making love? shit, you got me here!

Finally, you’ve got the chance to curate your dream line up in a club. You can book anyone to play alive or dead – who would you pick?

Daft Punk, Trentemøller, Jamiroquai, A Tribe Called Quest and Morphine for the closing – That’d be some journey! (hehe)

Ha, it really would! I want go to that night!! Thanks for your time, it’s been great catching up with you.  

My pleasure!

HNQO is currently touring around Europe, with his final set at Love System Festival (Croatia) this summer. Check out the dates below & more details here.

ROUND TABLE KNIGHTS // I JUST WANT

Regulars of Givafizz will know we are big fans of Round Table Knights – never failing to support every release & mix they put out. And with good reason, their cheeky house with a blend of disco & soul really floats our boat!

The boys have DJ’ed with the Exploited crew for a number of years now, so it was only a matter of time before they put out a record on Shir Khans label. This EP follows their awesome “So Good” EP which they released earlier in the year via OFF Recordings.

Rather than review this release, we thought we’d ask the boys themselves to give us & the Givafizz readers a little insight into it. Here is what they had to say…

“We had the idea of “Whoo” at the concert of indie rock band The Rapture. We were DJ‘in before and after their show and during dinner they told us that they were fans of our song “Calypso” and that they play it in their DJ sets. That was a really big honour because we‘re fans of The Rapture since day one. So we thought it would be cool to sample a song of them, kinda like a tribute. The second track “I Just Want” came about because we found the sample of the vocal on record in a second hand store back in Bern.”

This release is out right now, grab your copy here.

BLANC 1 // IT’S ALL OVER

John Talabot as we all know is a legend. And his label, Hivern Discs is starting a new “white-label” series, called “Blanc”. The new series will consist of one-sided 12” and will be limited to 100 copies!

Each release will feature an uncredited cut from Hivern Discs’ current stable of artists, which includes Teengirl Fantasy, Pional, Aster, New Jackson, and John Talabot himself.

The first installment of “white-label” series, “It’s All Over”, is 7 minutes of pure heaven. Give it a spin, and pick up your 12” here. Be quick! Out on April 22th.