06.30.05 (MusicPortal.com) August 29th sees iconic DJ ANDY SMITH return with the third volume in his successful "Document" album series. "Document III," released by Discotheque (a label owned by Sanctuary Records) showcases ANDY SMITH (best known as Tour DJ and break supplier for PORTISHEAD) bringing together the classic grooves of yesteryear with the booming beats of today, taking in Funk, Hip-Hop, Rock and Reggae. Fusing tracks by artists as diverse as GRANDMASTER FLASH, THE KINKS, BLACK SABBATH and THE UPSETTERS, the 28-track mix album also includes exclusive re-edits. Cramming 28 tracks onto one disc, Smith mixes, cuts and layers each track with his usual flair, working a vibe that few others can achieve. ANDY SMITH is the originator of the major-label multi-genre mix album. When his mix-CD "The Document" hit the streets in 1998, it became the soundtrack for a generation who had heard Coldcut's "Journeys By DJ's," but needed to hear more. It segued tracks from artists such as Tom Jones (before he came back in vogue with "Reload"), Peggy Lee (sample source for the BEASTIE BOYS single 'Ch-Check It Out'), THE JUNGLE BROTHERS and even THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP. This appreciation of different genres made ANDY SMITH the ideal person to provide sample material for PORTISHEAD. He went on to make his name as the band's world tour DJ reflecting their respect for both the art of digging for breaks and Hip-Hop scratch DJing. Those Hip-Hop elements formed the basis of the unique PORTISHEAD sound. Since touring, ANDY SMITH has established himself as an underground producer of some of the most irresistible Hip-Hop breaks-based music around, working with Scott Hendy (Boca 45) under the name DYNAMO PRODUCTIONS. Their album "Analogue featured San Diego-based MC Profile from the much respected SOUND PROVIDERS CREW. Following on the success of "The Document," which sold in excess of 100,000 copies, ANDY SMITH released "Document 2" to critical and popular acclaim. Smith regularly appears in clubs across the world, and his strong cult following has secured him constant DJ bookings, including several well-known club residencies.
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06.24.05 (AP) It's a scene familiar to any Summer music festival - open fields full of sweaty young bodies writhing in time. But this one appears to be missing a vital element - sound. At Britain's famed GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL this weekend, festivalgoers can take part in a "silent disco." The music, instead of being pumped out through stacks of speakers, will be streamed to the audience through personal sets of wireless headphones, and it'll look like the dancers are jumping around to a nonexistent beat. "I imagine it will be quite funny to see a couple of thousand people dancing in complete silence," says Emily Eavis, a festival organizer and daughter of GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL founder Michael Eavis. As famous for muddy hijinks as for the music acts it attracts, Glastonbury has become a staple on Britain's Summer arts calendar since it was first held in September 1970. The 125,000 tickets for this year's three-day event - which started after torrential rains this afternoon at a farm near Glastonbury in southwest England - sold out within 24 hours. Besides featuring performances by COLDPLAY, THE WHITE STRIPES, FATBOY SLIM and BASEMENT JAXX, this year's festival continues the Glastonbury tradition of seeking out the quirky - pole dancing workshops, circus acts, burlesque and belly dancing. In recent years some of the GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL's frivolities have been curbed by local council noise restrictions, which mean the main performance stages are forced to shut shortly after midnight. While the introduction of headphones in one of the dance areas at this year's festival will allow the music and dancing to continue into the night, Eavis says the decision is as much about keeping with Glastonbury's quest for the odd. "There's so many ridiculous and quirky things that go on here, it's just another opportunity to do something silly," Eavis says. The wireless headphones, which work by having partygoers tune into a restricted radio frequency through which the music of the disc jockey or band is broadcast, are the brainchild of Nico Okkerse and business partner Michael Minten from the Netherlands. Okkerse says the pair perfected the technology at raves, and Glastonbury will be... [full story]

06.22.05 (MusicPortal.com) Germany's LIQUIDO recently updated their fans with what's going on at their camp. The following was posted at the official website: "Dear friends! Here's some short news about what's happening these days. Last week we shot our new video for 'Love Me Love Me,' our next single, in Berlin. It was fun again working with Conchita (Soarez) and Bernard (Wedig). The video itself will be finished by end of next week, and we will put it on our site as soon as possible... The single tracklist ist going to be crazy stuff: We've got some remixes from Gabry Ponte, LSD Underground, Grossstadtgefluster and more. The festival season has also started, which means good fun, some rain, many flights and some good beer all over Europe. The last shows were great, and we hope that many of you join in in the following weeks - wherever! As well, we're working on the single's cover. As soon as we have a final version we'll show you on our website. Bye for now." - Wolfgang. Upcoming Tour Dates: 06/22 Chemnitz, Germany [Campus Fest] • 06/23 Neustrelitz, Germany [Sommerfest Carolinum] • 06/24 Nurnberg, Germany [Konfed Cup] • 06/25 Dischingen, Germany [Rock Am Hartsfeldsee] • 06/26 Wien, Austria [Donauinselfest] • 06/30 Antalya, Turkey [Summersplash] • 07/01 Munchen, Germany [Circus Krone] • 07/02 Biel, CH [Braderie] • 07/07 Wien, Austria [Chelsea] • 07/08 St. Polten, Austria [Stadtfest] • 07/09 Wurzburg, Germany [18 Jahre Radio Gong] • 07/22 Ansbach, Germany [Townquake Festival] • 07/23 Pforring, Germany [Open Air] • 07/28 Travemunde, Germany [Travemunder Woche] • 07/29 Braine L'Alleud, Belgium [Octopus Festival] • 08/05 Beratzhausen, Germany [Ccump Axe] • 08/07 Homberg, Germany [Burgbergfestival] • 08/13 Fremdingen, Germany [Steinbruch Open Air] • 08/18 Gampel, CH [Open Air] • 08/20 Rotenhain, Germany [Rock Im Feld] • 08/26 Pischelsdorf, Austria [Steiermark Oststeirerhalle] • 08/27 Bildein, Austria [Picture On Festival] • 09/02 Mosbach, Germany [Nena Open Air] • 09/10 Langen Am Waldsee, Germany [Adrenalin Festival] • 09/28 Potsdam, Germany [Waschhaus] • 09/29 Leipzig, Germany [Werk 2] • 09/30 Rohrberg, Germany [Sporthalle] • 10/01 Coswig, Germany [Borse]
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06.17.05 (MusicPortal.com) German Industrial band MEGAHERZ will see a national U.S. release of their fifth CD, entitled "5" later this year via S.A.D./Eclipse Records. On "5," the band come at you with full force, who -- like fellow countrymen RAMMSTEIN -- stand ready to pound all who listen into humble submission. After a period of notable success in both 2001 and 2002, many of the European music publications described MEGAHERZ as one of the most important representatives of German Modern Rock music, and after selling over 100,000 units, the band are now back with a vengeance. After two years of preparation and intensive song writing, MEGAHERZ are back with a new front man in Mathias Elsholz, with whom the band stands more emotional and alive than before. "5" was recorded at Lundgaard Studios in Denmark with Ralph Quick (Die Happy, H-Blockx, etc.) on board as producer, the outcome being a very listenable album that spans most genres of Rock and Metal, as well as delving into some Electronica with "fat grooves." Their fans' frequent requests for a studio production which captures the raw energy of their live shows made MEGAHERZ allow themselves to add more live spirit and natural sound to their songs instead of following their usual perfectionistic standards. "We kept being told that we come across a lot livelier and more dynamic on stage, and that the fans really want to hear that sound on our records, too, says MEGAHERZ guitarist, songwriter and co-producer Christian "X-Ti" Bystron. "Therefore, the songs are less dominated by electronics, which we use as mostly an enhancement now. That way we were able to create a more lively sound. In short, the band's feeling comes across a lot better." Originating under the unmistakable influence of early 90s Grunge and Industrial acts like CLAWFINGER, ALICE IN CHAINS, SOUNDGARDEN, NIRVANA, NINE INCH NAILS, PANTERA and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, MEGAHERZ was formed in 1993 - their first demo CD "Herzwerk" (A Work of Heart) seeing the light of day in January of 1995.
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06.15.05 (MusicPortal.com) JAMIE LIDELL's long-awaited new album, "Multiply," has been released via Warp Records. Producer, singer, beatboxer and all-out showman without equal, Lidell has crafted a twisted Electronic Soul classic that has the power and emotion of vintage Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder while adding a unique Electronic twist and fat drums. The brand new JAMIE LIDELL website also went live recently, courtesy of Graphic Havoc and with video and gallery sections to poke around in. Lidell (along with the help of co-conspirator Pablo Fiasco on video, film and costumes) has earned a justified reputation as one of the most mind-boggling live acts around these days, receiving standing ovations everywhere from The Royal Festival Hall to Fabric to the dirtiest basement in Berlin. He plays live dates throughout June and July, kicking off with Sonar this weekend, with a full band show that includes Mocky on guitar, Pablo Fiasco on decks, Snax on synths and Lidell manning the Electronic boxes. With the release of "Multiply," JAMIE LIDELL has evolved into an all-out prodigious performer, fusing elements that evoke several giants of the music world without ever appearing derivative. "Multiply" is a pantheon to Soul music, a panoply of melodic styles sparkling with soulful motifs. Assimilating tender ballads, Funk, and dripping with honeyed street-corner harmonies, the new release is a work of intensive retrospection, where Lidell deftly delves into the past and forges something fresh and uplifting. "What electronic music is lacking," states Lidell with quiet confidence, "is just a cool song that's not trying to prove anything or compete in a sonic space race." JAMIE LIDELL has been shocking audiences for the past three years with his extraordinary live shows, which careen from glitzy Funkadelic extravaganza to hard Electronic Avant-Garde showpieces. He was top draw at both the Sonar (Barcelona) and Ether (London) festivals of recent years, performing at Ether juxtaposed with the London Sinfonietta, a bill that has toured to sold-out coliseums and major performance houses across Europe. A peerless vocal performer, JAMIE LIDELL's largely improvised shows have seen reviewers liken him to "a 21st century reincarnation of Little Richard," with "a soul voice fried in honey like Sly Stone or Prince, and a beatboxing talent to make Muhammad Ali quake in his Everlasts."
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06.02.05 (MusicPortal.com) Electronic music maverick CRISTIAN VOGEL makes his return next month with a new album for Mute Recordings in the form of "Station 55" on July 4th. The album's first single, '1968.Holes,' features the crazed Electro-Punk acid queen vocals of Kevin Blechdom vortexing around a relentless panic of scything atmospheres and a solid kick-drum of dancefloor slaying proportions. For all of Vogel's more abstract excursions, he's found here locked down in the groove and ready to rumble across the globe's finer sound systems. Like Techno itself, CRISTIAN VOGEL is an avowed internationalist, acknowledging the significance of certain locations throughout the world, yet refusing to be tied down to any single one of them. Though many have tried to use the fact of his South American birth, or his strong ties with Berlin (and the Tresor label in particular) to bundle him into particular movements or sounds, Vogel has always managed to mutate and escape the confines of others' definitions. Currently based in Barcelona, Spain, CRISTIAN VOGEL is also heavily associated with the seaside town of Brighton, his tenure there spawning many an Alternative club night (including the legendary :Freekin The Frame"), as well as other artistic collaborations which galvanized the No Future/Erutufon organiaation. Key amongst those was a collaboration with Jamie Lidell that sensationally welded the worlds of live Funk and Techno as SUPER_COLLIDER. Previous albums by CRISTIAN VOGEL such as "Absolute Time" and "Body Mapping" helped to put his sound on the international Electronic music map in the early 1990s, with later releases under the alter-egos TRURL AND KLAPAUCIOUS and RESCATE 137 showing just how quickly Vogel had developed as a producer. Most recently, with production work for the likes of artist including CHICKS ON SPEED and PANICO, as well as simultaneously working on several international art and contemporary dance projects, CRISTIAN VOGEL is currently flexing his production talents to full stretch.

[Electronic News: May 2005]
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