lost in the loft party night

A brand new club night from the people behind secretsundaze and need2soul is launching on November 14th at the new venue Lost In The Loft at a secret location in East London.

Giles Smith (secretsundaze) and Alex Ruello (Need 2 Soul) have announced details of their new party Lost in the Loft. With 15 years combined experienced in running some of London’s best nights they both know a thing or two about putting on a good party. Lost in The Loft will indeed be held in an East End loft. Details of the venue will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Resident Giles will be celebrating his birthday on the launch so who knows exactly what to expect, he will be joined on the night by the legendary Chez Damier from Chicago. Damier’s work with Ron Trent remains for many the best house music ever made.

Also guesting on the night is young hot shot Sven Weisemann (Mojuba). Sven shows great maturity for a producer / DJ of his age and his tracks vary from aquatic, warm, lush, dubby deep House to Detroit inspired grooves. His dj sets are much lauded and he plays regularly at the likes of Panorama and Tape in Berlin.

Lost in The Loft will provide a sanctuary to hear some of the finest deep House and Techno in one very special space. Don’t miss it!

LOST IN THE LOFT
Saturday 14th November 2009
Secret East London Location
10pm to 4am
£10 advance / £12 on the door

Magda - Minimal Techno DJ & Artist

Magda Chojnacka was born in Zywiec in Poland and moved in 1986, age of eleven, with her parents to Detroit in the United States. There she soon found a taste for Detroit Techno music.

Today, Magda is one of the most well respected techno DJ’s known mainly for her DJ sets and remixes as well as her brilliant 72 track 2006 mix CD She’s a Dancing Machine released on Richie Hawtin’s Berlin-based M_nus label.

Among her own releases are 48 Crack In Your Bass, Staring Contest and The Black Room, all on M_nus.  She has released remixes for the likes of Louderbach, Hearthrob, Troy Pierce and Butane.

This week Buzzin Electronic Music was fortunate enough to interview Magda ahead of Saturday’s Contakt Gig at the Brixton Academy in London.

Did living in the United States have an influence on your music tastes / interest?

Yes of course. I grew up in Detroit and that’s where most of my influences come from. It’s a dark, industrial, and difficult place to grow up but that’s what makes it special. The energy is raw and it comes through the music. i think there is a very unique sensitivity that comes from that kind of environment.

Was it always your intention to be an artist and a DJ?

Definitely not. I studied art and graphic design my whole life and that was my sole intention until I discovered this strange and wonderful Detroit subculture.

Seems like you devote more time to remixing & playing live rather than releasing your own work.  Is this something that may change?

Yes I hope so. That’s what I would like. I have some tracks coming out in the fall on Minus which I used on my mix for Fabric and I hope to get going in the studio more often.

Before techno and other genres of, what is now known as ‘dance music’, which bands or artists do you feel were most influential?

I love bands like ESG, Tones On Tail, and lots of post-punk because it has a very funky edge to it. In later years many dance compilations and remixes came out and highlighted this sound such as “disco not disco”. Also, some of the tracks by Yello, because they cross various genres. Prince has a huge influence on dance music, as well. He is really a true pioneer.

Over the past 15-20 years techno music has changed. As far as you are concerned, is there a ‘golden time’ for techno music?

Music is always changing and evolving. To me, the golden years’as a whole were in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s in Detroit and Chicago. Now I think all the different genres of dance music experience their own golden years’ at different times. They each get their time to shine because people like change. You need that to stay interested.

Do you have a favourite genre or sub-genre of music you like to play in your DJ sets and also play at home?

I have a soft spot in my heart for obscure electro/disco and at home, I listen to many different things from indie to ambient to electronica. Last night I was listening to Brian Eno’s Mistaken Memories Of Medieval Manhattan and Thom Yorke.

What is the most surprising remix request you’ve ever had?

Depeche Mode. I felt so honoured and quite surprised.

How is the forthcoming Contakt gig going to be different for you than if it were one of your own DJ nights?

Contakt is a whole different concept. You are taken out of the spotlight and become part of a collective, so you really need to think about what you can contribute for it to make sense as a whole. It’s quite exciting to improvise like that and play off each other but also difficult to contain everything enough so it doesn’t become a big chaotic mess.

What projects do you have planned for the rest of 2009 and 2010?

I’m focusing more on items and things. We have some strong releases coming up and I want to build a good momentum. The rest of my time I will be in the studio working on music. I am also working with an artist on an installation/ sound project for 2009.

Magda will join Richie Hawtin and other artists from the m_nus label on Saturday 26th September at The Brixton Academy for the Contakt Special, where a massive custom LED lighting installation will be rigged across the main stage, state-of-the-art surround sound will be especially customised to fit the Brixton Academy, and the main hall will have a full dance-floor fitted.

This ground-breaking show is back for one night only worldwide at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. It’s the only chance to catch M_nus this year in the UK and will be Richie Hawtin’s only London club show until 2010.

Visit Magda’s official MySpace page.

Christian Smith Platform DJ Mix CD

Christian Smith – Platform (Renaissance)

With DJ mixes coming out of our office ears and being two-a-penny for the last two decades, any new DJ mix that drops on our doormat needs to instantly grab us or it may not be given a second chance; and when two heavyweights like Renaissance and Christian Smith collaborate the expectation is all the greater.

Christian Smith Platform delivers a superb Detroit techno inspired mix that will have your neck muscles pumping in no time!

Having made his name as a true heavyweight of the techno scene with a string of seminal productions to his name, Christian Smith is undoubtedly one of the best-respected names in the genre. Often collaborating with his long-time studio partner, John Selway, Christian’s work has set the benchmark for quality techno; as his releases with Josh Wink’s Ovum imprint, John Digweed’s Bedrock, Steve Lawler’s ever-innovative Viva Music and of course, Renaissance, are a true testament to that.

“I wanted to do something special… that stands the test of time, but that has not been done for Renaissance before” Christian Smith suggested when asked about this new DJ mix for the Renaissance label.

To achieve this he has given each mix of this two-disc package a different flavour. Devoting the first CD to Detroit techno he has selected tracks produced by European artists that are heavily inspired by the early Detroit sound. He mixes up the hypnotic groove of Radio Slave’s remix of the Humate classic Love Stimulation with standout tracks from Stimming, Nic Fanciulli & Steve Mac.

Smith also adds a generous helping of his own unreleased original production to create a shimmering soundscape, that is as beautifully crafted, as it is compelling.

The second disc represents Christian Smith the DJ in a more peaktime, club environment – big records that convey the energy that he always brings to the dancefloor. Incorporating tracks from such production luminaries as Timo Maas, Cirez D and Guy J (as well as a further sprinkling of previously unheard material from his own studio).

Christian Smith comments on the second CD mix:
“At the end of that day it’s all about a good party and this is exactly what this second cd is to me.”

Christian Smith Platform is released on Monday 7th September on Renaissance.

Christian Smith Platform: CD One
1.Taho – Atlantess
2.Subotic – The Seed
3.Humate – Love Stimulation (Radio Slave Mix)
4.Stimming – The Kiss (Ripperton Mix)
5.Technasia – Crosswalk
6.Christian Smith & John Selway – Daytona
7.Secret Cinema – Kurzweil
8.DJ Yellow feat. Rucyl – In My Heart
9.Quince featuring Paris The Black Fu – My Life’s Rhythm
10.Nic Fanciulli & Steve Mac – 10%
11. Psycatron – Tipping Point

Christian Smith Platform: CD Two
1.Christian Smith & John Selway – Manfreak (Athos Mix)
2.Samuel L. Sessions – Can You Relate (Slam Remix)
3.Wehbba – The Hiss
4.Alex Under – FI (Tobias Remix)
5.Christian Smith & John Selway – Mistral (Pietee Mix)
6.Karotte – All She Wants Is
7.Christian Smith & Reset Robot – Elixir (Gary Beck Remix)
8.Guy J – Bianca
9.Pan-Pot – Confronted
10.Florian Meindl – Here Today Gone Tomorrow
11.Christian Smith – Indecent Exposure
12.Timo Maas – Jetstream
13.Carlo Dall Anese & Diego Logic – Brigadeiro Demais Engorda
14.Psycatron – Directions
15.Cirez-D – On Off