Norm De Plume has been a regular on the slomo disco underground since the turn of the millennium. Citing the likes of Ron Hardy, Studio 45 and Sound Stream as his biggest influences and heading up the ever-eclectic, monthly Delusions of Grandeur podcast, NDP knows his vinyl (,old and new,) like the warm side of his pillow. Set to be the biggest Nest Saturday of the month, we’re excited to see where he takes his set, juggling 70 grooves with some upfront, pacey electronica.

Norm’s latest mix proudly showcases tracks from every decade since 1970s; mainly a selection of original disco 12” moving through to some more underground loopy edit, disco house business for the final third. You can tell from the off that the set is a real labour of love, hence the lack of track list, so wrap your ears around this sonic surprise and prepare to party on through til Monday.

Tickets for this Saturday’s deep, mid tempo madness with Norm De Plume, Dom Chung and Low Slung are available here

Our Hypercolour extravaganza is set to go off with an almighty bang this Sunday, and what better way to prepare for the journey to the heart of deep house and tremor-inducing techno than to cop an exclusive stream of the upcoming N/A.3 release. Maya Jane Coles, Alex Jones and George Levings serve it up over at Factmag so go check it out! Limited advance tickets are still available for our Mayday party here

Mumdance and Drums of Death headline our Friday instalment of the Land of Kings festival with this year’s hotly tipped “Mums of Death” collaboration.  An undoubtedly playful pair, their production output is a roguish mash-up of Mumdance’s love for tribal drums and Eastern inspired melodies and DOD’s computer game samples and hard edged bass. Their double act debuted earlier this month, but we’re yet to see the pair’s boyish antics behind the decks so we’re pretty hyped to see what they’ll have booming out of our Martin Audio monster system.

We asked Mumdance to probe Drums of Death on the issues of the day; surprisingly music was high on the agenda. Read on to see jokes cracked left, right and centre and head over to www.landofkings.co.uk for tickets to the party. Mums of Death will be joined by Funkineven and Om Unit amongst others.

Mumdance: Has a girl ever asked you to put your makeup on before you get down to it?

Drums of Death: Let’s just say there are some weird people out there.

M: How many drum hits are there in your album?

DOD: One. Just recorded and replayed from different angles.

M: Have you ever had a gay experience and how did it make you feel?

DOD: I have not, but Mums Of Death is pretty gay…in a good way.

M: If you had to make music with just one instrument for the rest of your life, what would that instrument be?

DOD: Peruvian Nose Flute.  Its dulcet tones could charm a whale and stun a mongoose.

M: If you got framed for burglary, what would be your case for innocence/alibi?

DOD: Why are you asking?  Do you have something unsavoury in mind for me?  Tell me, how exactly you did you break your arm again?

The much anticipated Land of Kings festival touches down at our humble disco this Thursday and Friday with a bill fit for Prince Will and his future babe. Thursday’s instalment sees ethereal electronica live acts Visions of Trees and Gwilym Gold take to The Nest’s dimly lit stage alongside spin doctor’s James Yuill, Moshi Moshi and Tender Age, a closely knit group of producers, label heads and bloggers.

Tender Age step up to the mark today, with a free-to-download mix showcasing a snippet of the sounds we can expect to hear this Thursday. Spanning a variety of electronic flavours from deep tech house to tropical bass, this mix is unique in its skilled execution and definitely worth a listen. It’s sure to speed you through the three-day bridge before the Bank Holiday bliss resumes again on Thursday…

For tickets and latest info for 15+ venues of music, art and interactive, check out www.landofkings.co.uk, tickets on the day will be available via the main box office at MC Motors, 28 Millers Terrace.

The Nest HQ his buzzing with unbridled excitement in anticipation of the long weekend and the fresh electronic nuggets our bank holiday parties are set to bestow upon our grateful ears. Saturday’s instalment sees Berlin based, deep beat selector Matthew Burton and his studio collaborator, Kate Rathod debut their live set in our basement boudoir. We’re not sure what to expect, but if their joint releases on the Retrofit imprint are anything to go by, we should have a momentum building, slomo house dream on our hands.

‘Real Love’ is a track soon to feature on the production duo’s collaborative album, set for release later this year. Beautifully balanced hi-hats and kicks take you through a subtle, dreamlike mix of male and female vocals and simple melody. It ain’t no in-yo-face banger but it’s a mid-set selection that’ll have your eyes locked to the booth and your feet hopping like a school girl. Stream the track below…

Real Love – Matthew Burton and Kate Rathod by The Nest

With releases on Hervé’s ghetto-funk fabulous Cheap Thrills imprint and Lee Mortimer’s Wearhouse Music which is set to launch this Friday, Kill Light are a duo set for big things. They’ve put together a minimix with productions from all the DJs bringing the selections on the night. Warrior One open with some Bashy bass, while Redlight, Jack Beats and label boss Lee Mortimer round off proceedings.

Catch the Wearhouse crew at The Nest this Friday! Tickets, info and all that jazz are available here

When we were given the opportunity to chew Blacks’s ear off for five minutes, the first thing we wanted to ask was, “Yo Blacks, why you so angry?” Fearing he’d switch immediately, we decided to keep it neutral and ask him generic questions about his day to day activities, general health and wellbeing and female MCs spitting about sex. As a member of prolific South London crew OGs alongside the likes of P Money and Little Dee, we were interested to probe the verbal maverick about his upcoming solo and collaborative projects and Butterz release, “Boo You”, which is set to be a club smasher. Unlike when he’s on the mic, Blacks likes to keep it short and sweet in the online interview realm so cop the quick chat below and some links to his finest moments from 2011. Everybody knows he’s an OG anyway… there’s not much left to say than that, surely?

Blacks is set to host the Archetype Artists launch this Thursday alongside Dream Maclean and Badness.

The Nest: Oh Geezus, hi Blacks? What you up to? Who you seen? Where you been?

Blacks: Hello Nest, I’m good… I’ve seen everybody and I’ve been everywhere. Lol.

TN: Link us to your latest recorded freestyle and tell us about it…

B: My latest freestyle is one with myself and P (Money), you can see it on YouTube or on www.camermansketch.com. It’s called Friday Freestyle – Blacks and P Money.

TN: How would you describe your flow? Do you switch it up for the rave compared with when you’re in the studio?

B: I would say my flow’s the craziest! I don’t switch it up, I keep it the same at all times.

TN: Tell us a bit about your upcoming release on Butterz alongside P Money…

B: This release with Butterz was produced by Royal T and myself and P Money are on the vocals.

TN: The beat’s got a kind of old school garage vibe to it; do you enjoy spitting on productions that aren’t strictly grime?

B: Personally, I don’t mind spitting on a beat that isn’t grime…I’ll spit on anything as long as it’s good music to the ears.

(more…)

Brought to you by the Outlook Festival camp, the Vagabondz “Archetype Artists” launch is looming with only two days to go. We’re overly excited about getting down and dirty during the bank holiday madness so what better way to get through the last days of work than to download, listen and love this free track download produced by dnb heavy weight and bass-face-inducing selector, DJ Ink.

With more than a decade in the game, dropping sonic bombs on renowned drum and bass labels such as Metalheadz, Basement Records and Renegade Hardware, Ink is set to bring the dark, rolling beats to our basement this Thursday. The exclusive download below, Ink’s Grudge Bore VIP, offers an interesting amalgamation of timeless, drum-heavy dnb and pornographic vocal samples. We expect it’s going to be a bit of a marmite ting… Get your d-load on and see for yourselves.

Tickets for this Thursday’s launch with Phaeleh, Ink, Marcus Nasty and many more are available here

Grudge Bore VIP by Ink by The Nest

Renowned for bringing the deep disco din to The Nest’s Saturday nights, Ewan Smith is back this weekend alongside the scene’s babe-in-arms, Kiwi, and the hype generating duo, Tender Love. It was Ewan’s avant-garde style of party promoting in his hometown of Edinburgh that gained him respect as a fingers-on-the-pulse kind of artist. Since then, he’s journeyed south and has experienced unbridled success as a selection spinner and fledgling producer releasing on CityWest Records.

Ewan kindly laid down a mix similar in mood and style to what we might expect from his set this Saturday. Citing Wolf & Lamb, Running Back, Crosstown Rebels and 2020 Vision as his preferred labels of the moment, we’re expecting him to take things to deep and voluptuous soundscapes. He’s even included a track list which is practically unheard of in the current state of online mix world. Reluctant to mention the “b” word as it has featured in the last few posts, but Ewan Smith is undoubtedly a big time b***.

Tickets for this Saturday’s deep-rooted disco experience are available here