MEOKO talks to Nightclubber.ro
It’s a mere two weeks before Romania’s latest trend, Nightclubber, hops across to London for their debut UK showcase. Having built themselves a reputation for being fiercely loyal to quality and utterly dedicated to promoting electronic music in its purest form; the term ‘trend’ couldn’t be further from the truth as their strict ethos purposefully (and admirably) steers clear of anything other than downright honest talent. Publishing a concoction of news and journalism, event promotion, artist support and their recent addition of a booking agency; Nightclubber’s independent platform knows what it likes, likes what it knows, and won’t settle for anything less. MEOKO caught up with the brains behind the project (dubbed Soundcloud’s new R_co by some) to ask about his musical Romanian revolution…
First of all, thank you for taking the time to talk to us at Meoko.
Thank you for the invite.
Nightclubber have really sprung to our attention lately as being a portal that spreads really prestigious underground music in various forms – advertised as an online music magazine and underground music platform but also artist bookings and events– what exactly is nightclubber.ro all about?
Nightclubber is focused on quality electronic music, it’s about artists that deserve to be appreciated and promoted because of the work which first started in the studio, before it was ranked as “hot” on a large scale. The beauty of the music doesn’t have a boundary from where we stand at Nightclubber. So, any innovative concept with good taste becomes the source of an article for the readers and followers.
How and when did the concept come about?
It all started almost four years ago in 2008, as a music platform that allowed music lovers to listen or download podcasts and live-recordings, because at that time all the live sets were only available on online storage services.
You seem to have gained a loyal following of really dedicated muso’s for such a young company – why do you think that is?
Since we begun all the work that has been done was for the dedicated followers. Nightclubber didn’t make a goal to gain so many followers, but the feedback and support helped our crew to evolve, dig deeper and find the most appreciated artists or new talents. Along with the followers we somehow managed to connect and to build what Nightclubber is today.
Over 50 podcasts in just a short space of time amongst lots of other news, a chic looking website and a host of events - is this a full time venture for yourself?
Well we have our constraints. I like to be involved in new projects, and this way the website and the concept behind will evolves and the fans of everything is shaping up in a good way, musically speaking.
Who else is part of the Nightclubber team?
This is a tricky one because the crew is always dynamic, people can freelance or volunteer for the Nightclubber website. I am doing the planning of the content in general, podcast invites, events that Nightclubber develops, selecting the live recordings that are published. We have the writing team and a good friend that helps us with the design activities, named Flo’…I’m going to use this occasion to express my appreciation for his work until now.
What line of work were you in and what experience did you have before launching?
I am a software engineer and I had no background in the music promotion domain. In that time it was only the passion which I felt for music in general, but even then I knew that electronic music made me smile in any moment of in any day or night.
Strong relationships appear to have been built with acts ranging from the unknown to world wide successes – how have you gone about building and nurturing those relationships?
I never thought about building relationships, I always kept things simple and focused only on the music that has something emotional to share.
What is it about Nightclubber that you believe has made so many artists want to be a part of such a young project?
Once we received direct support from the artists, Nightclubber became part of this domain, so it was trusted to share good content for the people out there. Music in general connected us all without having to know one another, without having to speak the same language. We had just to smile and feel the motivation of doing a well done collaboration.
What criteria are you looking for in the artists you support?
When you say that you like a DJ it means you like what he plays, same for the producer, you like his new releases. After a lot of digging for the sound that fits you get to make the difference between the DJ’s that always come up with something new or the ones that just copy other music styles, tracks or even samples of music.
And the same within the magazines, clubs and promoters and help to promote? You seem to have a lot of love and time for a lot of people!
A lot of people are saying that, but in fact it’s just about good content that needs to be published and everything that counts from all the activity that’s happening.
I’ve noticed there’s no advertising at all on your site? It’s totally refreshing to see but I can’t help wondering how you afford to keep this business going?
I never wanted advertising as part of the website, and if I did, I would like something that really fits and I find that hard to get. Maybe banners for events or festivals, one day.
You’re ‘partnered’ with various other music outlets – what exactly does that partnership entail?
In general it’s all about media partnership, but there also good projects from our friends.
Let’s talk a bit about the agency – which artists are you representing?
This is the newest part of Nightclubber. For the moment we have Dragosh, No Hype, Ztrl, Suburbs and Francesco Del Garda.
What qualities are essential for you in an artist for them to be considered for your roster?
Art defines a person’s creativity and devotion for music while character defines standing outside the booth or studio. I need both the artist and the man to work with.
Being a firm believer in the music, the passion and promoting a strong vibe of the underground – are you very selective in accepting bookings for your artists?
Receiving bookings it’s still a big step because the projects aren’t always familiar, but I believe in the ones we choose and want to help the artists in every possible way from promotion until bookings.
You’re based in Romania and obviously show massive support for Romanian artists - what’s the scene like now there at the moment?
From my point of view the scene keeps growing with each [a:rpia:r] signed vinyl release, a lot of DJ’s and music lovers from around the world are awaiting for their music to be released.
From a Londoner’s perspective, Romanian artists seemed to have absolutely stormed into the spotlight in the last six months here – why do you think that has happened?
Everything that is happening now is because of what [a:rpia:r] or RPR Sound created long time ago, without them none of this could be witnessed. Raresh, Pedro and Rhadoo are the pride of what Romania has to offer, as they were founded as the 1st underground project that reached such a high level.
There was actually even some backlash on it on social networking sites – people saying that if an artist had ‘Romania’ under his name he was getting booked as part of a trend and not necessarily on talent – did you see any of that backlash and what’s your opinion on that?
It’s a pity when a lot of foreigners confuse the true artists with simple DJ names, just because they heard a rumor about Romanian people playing house music, for example. But in fact, same goes for our dear Romanians that simply copy, sample and pretend to be eager to release on vinyl. Actually, whilst we’re speaking of trends, currently a new one can be seen, sharing unreleased tracks on Skype, showing no respect for those that spent time in studio. These aspects are all about fame and how to reach a certain level as fast as possible without any real work.
I’m in love with your ‘Unknown Session’s’ idea – for those that don’t know how does it work and how successful has the concept been?
It all started when I noticed that everyone now hosts a Podcast, from labels to fictive promoters. Seems like the copy of the copy for the next copy. So I wanted to create a unique mix series where the artist’s name isn’t revealed until a certain number of plays and from there, we get the 500 counter. Also the download link isn’t enabled, so the mix has to be streamed and once it reaches 500 plays, we update the name of the artist and enable the download link. How successful has it been?…Well, there’s usually less than 10 hours for us to reveal the artist name.
What does the future hold for Nightclubber?
Nightclubber will continue as an independent open-minded team, and fully dedicated to music. Since I started this for the music lovers, this will be the mail role of the website, connecting the artists and their music with the people that are anxious to hear and know about it.
Hannah Briley
MEOKO talks to 19.454.18.5.25.5.18
On Saturday 14th April, one of the most mysterious figures in the underground music scene comes to London. Playing the second Undersound party and continuing their aim of hosting the most forward-thinking and interesting DJ’s - 19.454.18.5.25.5.18 fits the bill like no other.
MEOKO landed a rare interview with the Undersound headliner where we spoke Luciano, the name 19.454.18.5.25.5.18 and working in a call centre.
First up, how do people refer to you?
The number guy.
Why 19.454.18.5.25.5.18?
Ask the Frozen Border [record label] owner. He found the name.
Was your desire to be a faceless DJ and producer a reaction to one particular trend in the scene? For example, the whole Superstar DJ thing.....
I like techno or house for itself, not for a way to become famous. Nowadays, electronic music is not different anymore - it's like pop, dance or hip-hop…Aggressive promo, fake DJ's, business, an EP every 2 months, 5 remixes, an album every year, "spacebar" podcast…ok, this is how it works now but I don't want to play that game.
I feel closer to Moodymann, UR, Dan Bell, Zip, SP23. I want to keep it low profile, just release music when it's better than the previous one, or at least as good as the previous one! Not because I have to keep people talking about me and get my 5 gigs a month. Never mind! On the other hand, I think we need superstar DJ’s, it helps the scene get a larger audience.
Recently, I read criticism of Luciano being popular and commercial bla bla bla. I prefer that he becomes the new king of Ibiza rather than Guetta, LMFAO or Sinclar! At least he can produce a record by himself, knows how to DJ and we all know where he comes from.
Horizontal Ground shares a similar aesthetic to labels like Underground Resistance. Were you heavily influenced by the ideas of producers like Mike Banks growing up?
Definitely, Mike Banks and UR are strong references. Musically; UR-38 Codebreaker is a must, but also the way of thinking: Escape the chains of your music. Also, Alan Oldham's music and drawing and on the Euro side, Downwards Regis and Surgeon. Today, Silent Servant's music and visuals are really interesting.
How did you come to be involved with the Horizontal Ground label?
I sent a demo to Frozen Border. [Horizontal Ground’s parent label]
I read that the label owner has never met any of the artistson Horizontal Ground. Is that still the case?
True, I’ve never met Jeff.
Do you know the identity of the other artists on the label?
It seems that some of them make it public now.
You are booked to play at Undersound in London this month. Do you wear a DJ disguise?
Like wearing a mask or something?
Not my thing. I'm just the average guy playing records. Who told you 19.454 is one guy? Maybe we're a bunch of producers playing ro-sham-bo to know who's playing on the weekend.
Do you like playing out or prefer to be hidden away in a studio making music?
I prefer to shred [snowboard] the backcountry.
Are you a DJ or producer first or do you feel that both professions go hand in hand?
I started as a DJ, learning how turntables work, buying & listening to music. It was only after a few years that I slowly started to think of producing, but I'm definitely not a producer. I mean, I'm not a studio rat - spending hours learning tricks and reading manuals is not really my thing. When my mates come home for a beer, they show me how it works. Do both go hand in hand? I think so, it's a progression, but only a few kill in both – Ricardo [Villalobos], Jeff Mills, Surgeon, sandwell district…at this point you push the music forward.
Is that not one aspect of the scene that you feel has got out of hand – you have to be both DJ and producer? Not just one or the other.
Well Traktor can DJ for you and with Ableton presets you can do tracks in a day, so you don't need any of these to be a famous DJ now. Hire a well-known promo agency, dress trendy, arrange a photo shoot, spend time in after hours and you will soon get gigs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against new technology, it's a strong part of our music, but when you see "DJs" on stage with laptops, controllers, fxs "playing" hours of 2 bar functional tech house, well it's nothing new. Dettmann can do better with 2 records and an analog mixer! Or go to a Monolake concert!
Had you made music before and do you make music under a different name?
Yes.
What do you despise most about the underground music scene at the moment?
I don't waste my time on this, let's talk about good things! There are so many nice records coming out! Skudge, the 2 guys make awesome music and have a killer live set with real machines! Not a "spacebar-ableton-arrange view-drink-smile-put your hands up" live. All clone labels! Naked Music, Black Sun, Delsin! You know I'm really happy with all this good music around 'cause as I said before, I'm not a studio guy so there's no need to spend time on my machines anymore. I have my weekly dose of great music and I can go out snowboarding.
Are there any other labels that share your ideals that you would consider releasing on?
FOR released a limited 12" with a Skudge remix lately. Also Accelerate, Metroplex and Horizontal Ground.
Are you involved in music full time or do you have some other faceless job like working in a call centre?
Ha ha ha, yep working in a call centre. My DJ name is my service number and I play with a headset.
No, seriously, as I don't play the "yes to all" game, I prefer to get a part time job rather than playing music or clubs I don't want to. I work in the underground, surrounded by vintage, rare and expensive stuff…like in techno there's a spiritual thing…and sometimes we do crazy parties as well...
Undersound takes place on Saturday 14th April 2012 at a secret east London location.
10:00PM - 6:00AM
£10 limited ticket release or £10 on guestlist – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mark Henning: 'My Daughter is my biggest inspiration'
Berlin based Mark Henning is a London boy who has risen up as a key name on the underground circuit. His debut album was released on the prolific Soma Recordings in 2008 to a very warm response. He has since been busy djing – taking his Live PA to parties all over the world – from Australia to Japan, Russia to the USA.
Mark Henning's pioneers a classic tech-house sound, with a splash of groove, funk, swing, deepness which still maintains his own signature sounds – he’s no stranger to setting a dance floor on fire. Mark has established his artist career not just through his productions - on labels such as Soma, Frankie, Clink, Cynosure, Hypercolour, Trapez, Freude am Tanzen and Einmaleins - but also through his worldwide performances (having been booked at clubs such as Fabric, Watergate, Privilege, Bar 25, The Egg, Panorama Bar, Space, The Arches and Harry Klein to name just a few).
His tracks have been licensed to recent BUGGED OUT, FABRIC and M-NUS compilations - and as well as achieving regular airplay on radio stations worldwide. He's a much respected producer in the scene and his records have been supported and played out regularly over the past few years by the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano, Akufen, Steve Bug, Loco Dice and Richie Hawtin. As a remixer, he also keeps busy - having reworked tracks by artists such as Gaetano Parisio, Mr. G, Lee Jones, Tigerskin and Chris Fortier.
Born in 1977 to English and German parents, he has spent most of his life in England, though has never forgotten his German techno roots and has recently relocated to Berlin. We pinned down Mark for a quick fire chat ahead of his appearance at Beat Freak.
1) Where do you call home?
Mark: Berlin.
2) How much did your childhood help you in becoming an artist?
Mark: I started to learn classical guitar when I was 11. That was the beginning…
3) What or who is the biggest inspiration in your life?
Mark: My daughter.
4) Who is your idol and why?
Mark: My Dad as he can build and fix anything.
5) One thing you hate about dance music culture…?
Mark: Staying up late....
6) Last club you went to party at, rather than to play?
Mark: Panorama Bar
7) After hours; yes or no?
Mark: No, bed!
8) If you were interviewing yourself, what question would you ask and what would the answer be...
Mark: Can you explain why most people running clubs have no idea about acoustics or how to set up a sound system properly? That's a damn good question but I have no idea.
9) What do you want to plug/promote?
Mark: My podcasts/dj mixes on my soundcloud page
To win x2 tickets + a £20 bar tab for Beatfreak at Basing House next Saturday, tell us where Mark Henning currently lives: EMAIL answers to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
London
Berlin
Paris
Winner will be informed by email on 23.03.12
Event details for Beatfreak: Date/ Saturday, 24 March 2012
T.Williams Breaking Through
T. Williams may be a new name to most of us, a seemingly tender musician after just a few releases on labels Local Action and Pattern in the last 48 months. All is not as it seems though for the 28 year old Londoner who at just 17, was signed to Jon E Cash’s Black Op’s Collective as Dread D; proceeding to sell thousands of records within the UK grime scene. After a ten year reign, Williams found himself veering towards the world of house music and has since forged a sound signature that blends his grime days, dubstep, bass music and what he says was a natural evolution into house. With a style that undoubtedly impacts, T.Williams crossover sound has been the catalyst for his success. Disparate and alluring amidst typical house vibes, his Uk funky sound strikes a note that immediately draws you’re ear. Fascinated by how and what caused the crossover, Meoko caught up with the man who was once a school teacher, admits to thinking Ashley Beedle was a girl and at one point hated house music...
Excuse the cliché question, but how did you first get into music and DJ’ing?
I was really young when I first got into music and started learning how to mix. One of my friends at school had a deck for sale and he asked me if I wanted to buy it for £20? So I went and asked my Dad if I could have it and he said yeah, so I bought this one deck and that was the start of it.
Hang on – how were you learning to mix with one deck?
I had the one turntable I had bought and my Dad’s one which was the house turntable but had no pitch on it! I was only about 12 or 13, it’s quite funny because I was just messing around and I actually thought that I’d stumbled across something new! Hahaha! When I first started mixing I didn’t realise what DJ’s did, or that people were mixing records because I came from a household full of reggae and dub which of course didn’t involve mixing. In those genres you just change the record from one to another as quickly as possible. Then a bit later I started getting into jungle and seeing what a DJ actually did. Production wise I was about the same age, they had a studio room at school and I had a PC at home. A friend of mine who was a bit of a computer geek got me a copy of Cubase. I was messing around, doing things but I don’t think I realized at that point I was ever gonna make any use of in the long term...
So the realisation that this was something worth pursuing came about when?
I went to college with another DJ called DJ Dice and we were, and still are really good friends. He knew Jon E Cash (who started the Black Ops Collective) and had a show on Lush fm. I used to go and cut dubs for thirty quid a pop and give them to him to play. Via the show Jon E must have heard him play one of my dubs and ‘Invasion’ under my Dread D name went from there.
‘Invasion’ was your debut grime track which went on to sell thousands didn’t it?
Yeah it did, I still haven’t topped it to this day, sales wise anyway. It would take a lot to top that!
That must have been pretty amazing to sell that many records at what, 17 years old?
Do you know what, this is funny but I thought it was the other way around. I thought that that was how it goes – you put out a record, it sells and you make loads of money!
Ha!ha! - Eeeerrr no.
Even travelling and all that - I thought it was a given! Even though it was grime, very niche in its little box I still got to go to the USA and all over Europe. I never realised that it doesn’t always work like that. It’s only now that I truly understand and appreciate it. Being so young and inexperienced I just thought that if you put out a record that’s what happened to you!
And Jon E Cash was the man behind the collective you were part of called Black Ops...
Yeah, Jon E Cash formed a group of West London producers, DJ’s and artists called The Black Op’s Collective – we all released on the same label and did club nights together. It’s not round any more though due to the disappearance of the scene in general. Some people are still trying to do their thing in grime. DJ Dice is still doing radio and he’s also playing house now. Pretty much everyone’s either gone the dubstep route and or house though. No one is really creating grime anymore.
Why not, what happened?
Grime is still around but in very small pockets. It’s a very small scene now, very niche; but that’s because any artist who does well to any degree goes on to get signed to a major. That’s what happens in grime. I got asked to do the same but I never wanted any of that because at the time I had such strong beliefs about not selling out. I said no to stuff because I didn’t want major labels diluting the sound that I was trying to create – whether it was grime or sublow or eski; all the top artists got taken by major labels...that’s my feelings on the what happened to the whole genre anyway. You get big, you get signed and then you have to start making pop.
Do you think there’s a danger of that happening in house music - if artists begin swing a little more towards the commercial side do you think the same decline could happen to house?
House is so diverse, there are so many different styles of it. There are people who make house music that reaches a bigger audience and they do it well...but there are people who are totally not doing it in a cool way too! The house genre is so big that no one needs to sell out. If you’re at the top of the game and unknown to the wider public you can still be making a decent living whereas in grime, if you were at the top you’d barely be making a penny so you had to “sell out”. I don’t think there’s any danger of that in house no, it shouldn’t happen anyway.
Is it because the grime scene declined that you veered towards house or was it something you’d always wanted to do?
No, not at all, as a teenager I hated house music actually. I can honestly say if you had of told me ten years ago where I’d be today...pfff, no way! I just didn’t understand it, I was a kid and I wanted music that was instantaneous - bang, fast, in my face. As I got older I went back to my routes of when I was in my teens - drum and bass, garage, a lot of the tracks I bought during that time were actually produced by big house producers. So when there was nothing around to listen anymore I started exploring, listening and beginning to understand that in fact, there was so many types of house music – it wasn’t all that happy clap, Hed Kandi style stuff. There was soulful stuff, afrobeat, broken beat going on and I realised this was interesting. If you aren’t really inside the genre it can appear quite one dimensional from the outside – just that 4x4 kick. It was a natural progression that came with age.
“I’ve always been a strong believer in finding and questioning what makes you unique, what makes you different from the next guy. If you’re just gonna come along and play the same songs as the next guy then what’s the point – he or she might as well just play a longer set!”
Do you try to bring your experience outside of house into your sets now?
Definitely, I’ve always been a strong believer in finding and questioning what makes you unique, what makes you different from the next guy. If you’re just gonna come along and play the same songs as the next guy then what’s the point – he or she might as well just play a longer set! For me, that’s a huge thing and yeah, what I bring to the table that other house DJ’s can’t is my 15 odd years of experience in other genres. I know that house music isn’t one dimensional and that there’s room for experimentation.
Do you find that promoters and venues are open to that, allowing you to be free to transcend through all of those genres in one set?
NO! Not at all – you’ve got two styles – either bass or house and generally people want one or the other. I don’t get to stretch it as far as I want to in one place no. The longer set time I have the more I can stretch things and show people that the two can intertwine but that isn’t always the case.
Production wise did you encounter any difficulties when you went from bass music to house – with equipment or technique?
Well, I’m a perfectionist, or I try to be anyway. One of the first straight down deep house tracks that I ever produced got released three years later because I just wanted to get everything right. It took me those three years to literally re-educate myself and look at what makes a crowd tick when it comes to house music because it is totally different.
Did you have to go out and work, do something else to support yourself within that time?
Yeah I was an account manager for an IT company but got made redundant which was actually a god send as it was the turning point. I was also working at schools, teaching A-level music technology but also got made redundant from that because of budget cuts. All in all the recession was a massive positive for me – it was a real get up and go, get out and follow your dream type thing.
Local Action released you’re track ‘Heartbeat’ featuring Terri Walker shortly after you’re initial ‘house’ release in 2010 – how did that happen?
I was in the studio all day at that time, five days a week from nine in the morning until two the following morning or sometimes even straight through the night. It was a great time, a really creative period and ‘Heartbeat’ happened then. I was in the studio with my brother and J. Bevin and decided I wanted to do a vocal track. My brother knows Terri really well, he was managing her at the time and then a while later at his birthday party he was playing Heartbeat and Terri was there and heard it. She called me up and said “I’m singing on your track” so of course I said yes. She came to the studio the following week and two hours later – done. She’s such a professional, so on point and I couldn’t have asked for a better artist to work with for my first vocal release.
Paul Woolford remixing that for you must have been pretty epic too?
Paul approached me and asked if he could remix it so of course I said yes straightaway. He did it so quickly, just in a few days. I remember playing it at Plastic People for the first time and it totally went off – he’s such a nice guy, so down to earth I was like “why would you wanna remix my track?” I’ve been very lucky to have Paul and also Ashley Beedle approach me who I’ve learnt a lot from. Imagine this – I’ve gone to play at Plastic People one night and as I arrive, there’s a note at the door for me that said, “Ashley wants to meet you, come over to Bar Music Hall” and I was like eh? I thought it was a girl’s name...So I’ve read it, put my bags down and gone across to Bar Music Hall not even knowing what Ashley looks like. As I’ve walked in one of my tracks is playing from my ‘Chop and Screw’ EP on my own label. It was absolutely packed, I walk in and ask who Ashley is. Someone said he’s the guy behind the decks so I went over and said “Hi Ashley, I’m T. Williams” and Ashley Beedle’s pointed at the record and gone “Yeah yeah, this is T. Williams, he’s really good!” and I’m like “No, no, I’m T.Williams” and he was like “Nooo way!” Hahaha, he’d apparently been trying to reach out to me for a little while but we’d just never connected for some reason or another.
Unbelievable – what a story, that’s hilarious!
Isn’t it!? We hooked up from there, he’s been a bit of a mentor to me. If I’m feeling a bit jaded about things he always perks me up. We’re hoping to do some work together actually. He’s sent me loads of music and hopefully we’ll do something soon.
“I went over and said “Hi Ashley, I’m T. Williams” and Ashley Beedle’s pointed at the record and gone “Yeah yeah, this is T. Williams, he’s really good!” and I’m like “No, no, I’m T.Williams!”
You’ve done some big remixes – Maya Jane Coles, Ben Westbeech and Skream that have all been very contrasting sound wise?
Remixes are not the easiest thing to do, different genres, different tempos. But that’s one thing that I really took away from the grime scene actually, a lot of remixing was going on there so I’d had a lot of experience. Ben Westbeech and I have worked together a lot anyway so that felt really natural. Maya’s was a really slow, down tempo tune and then of course Skream is dubstep. When it’s a totally different genre it’s always the easiest task because you’ve got free range to make it your own. I rarely listen to the rhythm too much, just take the scale and muck around like that.
What does 2012 have in store for you?
I’ve got a release coming up on Enchufada, which is Buraka Som Sistema’s Portugese label and a Hypercolour release. I’ve actually just come from working on that in the studio today and I’m really buzzing about this new track! I can really feel a vibe with that – really excited. I’m still working on a Clone release for later in the year and also release on my own sub label that I’m starting through Deep Teknologi. Me and my partner from Deep Teknologi are both starting separate sub labels, the one I’m doing is called Twill which will be hosting the people that are really close around me so people like Jay Bevin, Zander Hardy, maybe even JTRP. I’m gonna kick start that off with a piece from myself around April, May time. I wanted to do it as a sub label because regardless of where I am now, having grown and matured I’ve got a lot of bass influence in me so I’m staying true to the Deep Teknologi side of myself. A lot of the artists who will be releasing on both Twill and on my partners Sub label have come from Deep Teknologi so it made sense to keep it connected. It’ll encompass everything from house to bass, anything around the 120,130 bpm vibe. I don’t want to be boxed into a genre, so doing Twill will hopefully allow me to be freer with the releases.
Louis Guilhem talks to excuse the mess
How long have you been DJ’ing for?
I started djing soon after arriving in London about 6 years ago- it kept me going when times were rough.
What’s your most memorable gig?
There have been so many great moments that it would be difficult, unfair or plain impossible to just pick one. Only 3 weeks ago i played a gig in Naples for the NICE TO BE party- i went there with an extraordinary team and had such an unforgettable response from the Napolitano crowd.. The energy and passion on the dancefloor were truly inspirational. The legendary Lokee parties and Club Renate in Berlin should also be mentioned- the former being one of the key (sic) London underground nights that are truly special. I played an unforgettable 5 hour set at their NYE party and the family-like intimacy blew me away.
Then again, the 1st time i ve played in fabric room 1 on a Saturday night more than 1 year ago, could perhaps claim the title of my most memorable gig. Fabric is more than a musical institution for me and its so far my favourite club, so playing there was a dream come true. Suffice to say that we celebrated with friends before, in between and, of course, after.
From the other side of the DJ booth, what’s been your most memorable clubbing experience?
So far I owe Fabric for most of my mindblowing clubbing experiences – at least music wise.. Especially Craig Richards at the last fabric birthday, we were spoilt with a totaly unexpected unplanned set. they were suppose to close and like always at the end the fabric staff and close friends were there to have one more last drinks to debrief together, i think its isis who was responsible for it (thx to her and craig and everybody else involved) but we were chatting sitting on the stage in room 1 have and having a drink with light on when the music started to play, at that time nobody expected anything until 6 hours after everyone of us were still there blown away by the musical talent of Mr Richards, epic!
Also on top of the list, Carsten Klemann playing for Cesare Merveilles birthday,two years ago at lo*kee in the Leather Factory, this set really impressed me, he also has the ability to go anywhere with his music while is djing and he will always be right.
The last 3 years of Sunday's I owe to Lo*kee for one of my best clubbing experiences. I'm now proud to say i've been a resident dj with there. They're top guys with lot's of passion and you can feel it every time you go, and kubicle for my favorite after party of course :)
What’s your killer dancefloor track that never fails when everything else does?
I cant only give one away, it wouldnt make sense as i m a eclectic dj and music is so much more than a specific track or two-But here you go: VALT - BEAT INDUSTRY MSTRD on 9am super cool new fresh label from gaffy, good to check out.
Curry. Spicy or mild?
everything as long as its good
Any DJ heroes or people who have inspired you to be the DJ you are today?
The 1st dj heard playing the music i wanted to play was dj chloe 10 years ago . Since then more than a few people inspired me: Luciano at the time of lucien n luciano as well as Ricardo- everybody who was there at the time will tell u the same.. Then jamie jones, craig richards and carsten klemann paved the way for great things to come.. But more than anything it’s the people around me, especially my close friend fb julian who i personally consider to be the most talented dj in town at the moment. Remi Mazet has also been a major influence, we’re best friends since forever, we kind of grew up together and we re still very close to this day. His production is surprisingly refreshing and i can’t wait to see his 1st live-gig very soon! Mr Matlar and Stephane Ghenacia who became my partner in crime and we’re just about to launch a new party starting on the 2nd of march (more info coming soon)
Batman or Superman?
Mahatma Ghandi -im all for spiritual super powers
Do you feel the French stereotype of a guy with a moustache wearing a blue and white stripy top & beret with some red wine and a baguette is accurate? Or do you have a better, more modern stereotype for us?
ahahahahahaha To be honest i would love it if that was still the case. Unfortunately now its more arrogant ignorant and tight But seriously, I might be French but i have been living here for 6 years now and i can happily say that I consider myself a Londoner by now sporting a beret, a pair of DocMartin's so much for stereotypes..
Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain or Elvis Pressley? Who would win in a fight?
peace will win the fight
Vinyl or Digital ?
I have been pushing the vinyl for a long time, played, bought and supported the product. There are also some great, driven and passionate people behind the vinyl resurgence but since i started producing i appreciated the accessibility of digital releases once more. However, there will always be something unique about djing with records and nothing can beat that.
Louis, thank you very much. We look forward to catching your set at Excuse The Mess this Friday, the 10th of February
