He produced the anthemic dubstep banger, “When I Look At You”, a track that was destined to send bass crazed ravers into fits of euphoric, wobbly bliss for months (and years) to follow. Now a part of the mainstay UK dubstep outfit, Dub Police, Emalkay has carved a niche for himself on the deeply dark side of low end, drum led electronica. He’s set to headline this Friday’s Lonely Hertz party alongside Ghostpoet, French Fries, Mr Mafro and S-G-T Poppers and has kindly put together a free-to-download mix ahead of the occasion. Check it out below.

For more information or tickets for this Friday’s party, click here

Manchester based XXXY blew up on the UK’s neo-wotucallit? music wave with his ‘Sing With Us’ track on the pivotal fabric Elevator Music compilation. Since then he’s played out alongside all the usual suspects in UK bass, and released a long awaited, seriously funky, chopped up garage doubleside on Ten Thousand Yen to critical (and dance floor) acclaim. He’ll be waving the flag for garage, house and beyond at this Friday’s God Don’t Like It alongside My Panda Shall Fly, Throwing Snow and Nightwave.

Check out this mix he put together last week; it’s unfortunately maxed out on downloads but that only lays testament to the sonic beauty of the 25 minute affair. Low on tracklisting, high on mystery, listen below.

xxxy in the mix for “switch” (studio brussels) by xxxy

Last year saw Russ Yallop, Crosstown Rebels’ latest signing, join the ever-growing throng of great UK based, nu-school house acts currently breaking through the global underground. His debut release with the Crosstown family, ‘I Can’t Wait’, sparked hype amongst the most well-versed house heads in the scene (from Jamie Jones to MANDY) and sent dance floors into a spin with its energetic, charming sound.

Set to take The Nest by storm this Saturday alongside the Make Me DJs, we had a quick chat with Crosstown Rebels’ latest recruit. With a release on Crosstown’s label offshoot, Rebellion, that dropped last week, Russ take the simple standpoint, “buy my music if you like it, don’t if you don’t”.

Tickets and more information for this Saturday are available here

The Nest: You’ve mentioned in previous interviews your love for sinister, darkly sexy basslines that provoke that instinctive “party frown”. Is this more appealing to you as a party-goer and a DJ than more jump up, bouncy beats that induce hand flailing, hugging and jumping in the rave? Do you find something deeper in the juxtaposition between an ominous bassline and a jaunty melody?

Russ Yallop: To be honest, absolutely not. In my eyes there really is only two types of music; good and bad.  I like any kind of good music, from dark and sinister to playful and bouncy… as long as it’s a good tune I’ll like it.  The mood, the vibe, and the style of a tune dictates when and where I play it within a set.  But within a set there can be a whole range of music with different vibes.  Typically a set could start off bouncier and get a bit meaner as it progresses, though all depends on many factors, most relating to the best approach to the crowd you’re playing for.

TN: Do you have any classical training or knowledge of music theory? If not, in a time where melody is at the forefront of house productions and people tend not to simply work around a rhythmic structure, do you think such training would help you in the studio?.. Or is the act of producing more instinctive for you?

RY: I don’t have actual musical theory training but I suppose I have a fair amount of self-training.  Before I started production I read loads of music theory books to ground myself with the basics.  Though music theory doesn’t really play much of a role in the production process for me as when it comes to music there really are no rules, if it sounds good then by definition it works.  My head is always awash with new melodies so training such as piano lessons would help me transfer what I have in my head to the computer quicker, sure.  But the technology is there to get to the melody you’re after, you just need one finger and a mouse.

When talking about this it’s important to separate composing and production, which mostly just get called production.  Composing is completely instinctive, you don’t need any training to compose a strong melody. But to produce a whole track from a melody using technology like electronic music does, takes lots and lots of training and lots of theory.  Though, like anything, you can self-train as I did (I never went to music college, though I wish I had and probably should have, I’d have made the journey from beginner to pro a whole lot quicker!)

TN: If you could live anywhere in the world, producing and playing out in the country’s biggest clubs where would it be?

RY: I suppose my ideal living arrangement would be living in London in the winter and Ibiza in the summer. Though if someone offered me that situation now I’d turn it down as I need to do so much work over the next few years and living in Ibiza is definitely not conducive to getting stuff done!

TN: The Crossroads is out this week on the Rebellion imprint, why should we buy it?

RY: Well if you like it you should buy it, if you don’t, don’t.  Sorry can’t really say more than that – I don’t want to hard sell my tunes!  My best advice would be, if you haven’t heard it, give it a listen as it seems to be a popular track at the moment.

TN: Can we expect your name and work on any exciting Crosstown Rebels collaborations this year?

RY: I definitely plan to release more stuff on Crosstown Rebels, though whether it’ll be this year I can’t confirm with absolute certainty as we’re in May already and labels like Crosstown have an enormous queue of finished tunes awaiting release.  I will be releasing again with them for sure though.

TN: Festival season and Ibiza summer are upon us, what shows are you most excited about playing?

RY: Any that I’m booked for! Currently fixing dates at the moment. I have a gig at Space in July which came in last week which I’m looking forward to plus will be at Sonar this year which will no doubt be amazing too.

TN: Do you have any studio rituals you have to act through before the magic starts happening? Five coffees, a snickers and a post-00:00 reading on the clock perhaps…

RY: I suppose the one ritual that is invaluable, though often not possible, is putting the phone on silent. When I really need to concentrate, say at the start of a track where you are composing ideas, I lock myself away from the world, phone away and even switch my internet off so I don’t get distracted by emails etc.  This is usually in the morning as most of my friends don’t get up too early!

Russ Yallop ‘The Crossroads’ on Rebellion is out now on vinyl only

As tradition has it, the rowdy, bass faced skanking crew over at MTA Records never reveal the line up for their renowned Thursday night residency at The Nest. Nero, Plan B and Professor Green grace the secret guest hall of fame and there’s no chance that this week’s proceedings will break the pattern of excellence.

To everyone’s excitement, Chase & Status have leaked a short Q&A with the hidden headliner – prove your knowledge of everything that’s drum, beat and bassline strong by having a guess of who it might be. There’s also a tantalising video of the antics that went down at the last party. Thursday is definitely the new Friday, don’t get it twisted.

WHO IZ IT?

Chase and Status: Where are you from?
Secret guest: Los Angeles, CA.

C&S: Describe your signature sound in 3 words.
SG: GREYS SAMARIAN DEATH

C&S: What label do you release on?
SG: Maustrap/Atlantic

C&S: We’re not going to reveal your name ahead of the 19th May, but what else may help people guess who you are?
SG: My single goal in life is to come in contact with Greys and be taken up to the mystical world of the outer realm of the extragalatic empire.

C&S: And lastly, why are you excited to be playing MTA @ The Nest?
SG: MTA is an incredible label and I love there artists and what they are all doing, I also love playing these unannounced smaller shows, it’s always a party.

Tickets for The Nest presents MTA Records are available here

DeadFish label boss, Mowgli, is famous for championing pretty much every subgenre within the house/techno spectrum. Fortunately, his new residency to be housed within our basement brickwork is on a strictly deep house and techno flex, a sound we’ve been backing in Dalston for months.

The night’s called Go Deeper and this Friday sees Lele Sacchi and Park Ranger join Mowgli for a boogie. Check Mowgli’s free to download May mixtape below. Track list includes Lee Curtis feat. Matt Tolfrey, Martinez Brothers and a deeply beautiful track taken from Daniel Bortz’s recently released EP, “Boys 2 Men”.

Tickets for this Friday’s Go Deeper are available here

His soundcloud says, “2007: 3 piece live ambient/electronika/idm group from London…  2011: 1 man electronika/bass producer from Sri Lanka.” It’s May 2011 and My Panda Shall Fly has been soaring in the bass music stratosphere over the past few months, supported by some of the scene’s head haunchos. His style revolves around intricate synth work and sporadic ellipsis lending itself to the multi-layered and varied percussive line. The productions are melodic, often lifted by Asian inspired electronic inflections. We’re expecting big things from his set at this month’s God Don’t Like It night on 27^th May alongside XXXY.

The brains behind GDLI promotions has teamed up with a musician/production associate to form HiLo LoHi, a collaborative project that has conjured up an interesting remix or two to date. They’ve remixed My Panda Shall Fly’s seminal track from his latest EP, Yoyo, making it a bit more wobbly and sending it to unfamiliar, otherworldly sonic spaces. You can download it for free below.

Tickets and more information for God Don’t Like it w/ XXXY and My Panda Shall Fly on 27^th May are available here

Yoyo – My Panda Shall Fly (HiLo LoHi Remix) by Anthonygdli

Specialising in deep house and techno releases, the Fear of Flying label bosses Jay Massive and BLM count their broad and unabashed musical influences as a key reason for their impressive A&R skills. Back this Saturday to take our dark, basement disco to more deep and engaging soundscapes, the duo have each compiled a top five chart spanning the sounds that have influenced their production and DJ careers. Jay Massive is the first to step up to the mark, so let his youtube selections ease you into this Wednesday afternoon.

ALEX REECE – BASIC PRINCIPLES

I got into dance music properly around ‘95 when there were only limited resources to learn about the scene, one of those was the radio and in particular for me, although something I’d avoid like the plague now, was Pete Tong’s Friday night Radio 1 show. This track was on one of the first ever shows that I listened to and it was his ‘Essential New Tune’ for that weekend. I promptly went out and bought it.. great track.. whatever happened to Alex Reece btw?

BOARDS OF CANADA – YOU COULD FEEL THE SKY

I love Boards of Canada, for me they are THE most unique voice in electronic music, there’s really not all that much stuff they’ve produced that I don’t like and I could have chosen any track for this slot really, but it was this track that was grabbing me the most.. beautiful, fragile almost with an underlying unsettling feel that can creep you out and wrap you up in a big aural blanket all at the same time. My girlfriend loathes BOC, I think it’s because of the dissonant qualities of a lot of their stuff that puts her on edge. They haven’t done anything for a while now though, I hope there’s more to come soon.

TALK TALK – LIFE’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT

My brother and I are different in pretty much every respect, Talk Talk being the only common thread we share and the only thing he’s ever introduced me to that I like. This track is probably one of my absolute all time favourites, love the production, love the lyrics and love Mark Hollis’ voice and delivery.  I’ve given my gf strict instructions to play this at my funeral.

MOS DEF – UMI SAYS

A man so cool that I sometimes feel inadequate just listening to his music. Seriously though – what a track and what an LP (Black on Both Sides). Lyrics that actually mean something complemented by some really skilled musical backing. I’m not sure how much is sampled and how much played for the track but either way it’s great.

RADIOHEAD – JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE

My favourite band of all time, simply superb and so innovative. In Rainbows was my favourites LP of their recent releases and this track is simple sublime. It’s Thom Yorkes vocal delivery that really does it for me on this one, keeping things restrained for the first half before taking it up a notch for the second half. Listening to it now still gives me goosebumps.

The 2 Bears are Joe Goddard and Raf Rundell. While Joe has made waves on the electronic underground as a producer, solo artist and central member of the Hot Chip clan, Raf is perhaps most famous for his sets for the Greco-Roman soundsystem and various radio show hosting ventures. Brought together by various meets behind the decks and heated discussions about obscure hardware findings, 2 Bears was formed to bring you the finest house-grounded productions and sets spanning everything from soul, funk and disco to hiphop and reggae.

Mr Rundell is also a dab hand with a camera phone. He put together this short (strictly non-sexy) viral ahead of the 2 Bears EP launch at our basement disco this Friday which you can snigger over HERE. The EP is their latest offering from the strongly affiliated Southern Fried Records imprint. Joined by radio dominating DJ that is Toddla T, and a live performance from Ayah Marar, the party is shaping up nicely. The cuddly bear duo even did a mix for the RBMA lot this week – Czech it below!

Championed by the likes of Greg Wilson, The Revenge and The 6^th Borough Project, Duff Disco is a producer who has breathed some much needed life into the disco/house edit scene. Joined by Ray Mang and the Sloth Boogie blogging collective, Duff Disco will be blowing up our party pit with his groove strong record selections this Saturday. He recorded a pre-emptory mix to get Dalston disco fiends in the mood for the event, check it out below.

Friday sees the welcome return of Adam Freeland’s Kaleidoscope residency, arguably the perfect balance between ambient, thoughtful and intelligent electronic music and a banging atmosphere that keeps crowds locked to the floor. This week he welcomes his first guest, Todd Terje, to join him on the seven hour dance master class. Think skilfully crafted disco edits meeting melody driven, deep aquatics and you might just be half way there

What follows is a literary meeting of the minds as the two artists scope out the secrets behind their clubbing and production success. And after Night Slug boss Bok Bok made a mockery of the generic interview questions asked to DJs today by replacing the word music with food (“When did you first discover you were interested in food?”, “Who would you argue is making the best food in the UK right now?” etc.), it’s certainly refreshing to discover exactly what electronic artists would like to ask and be asked. Funnily enough, one of Freeland’s ultimate questions concerns food so get your reading glasses on if you want to know what would be on the menu at a Todd Terje dinner party. Also, please feel free to indulge in the musical nuggets peppering the interview along the way…

Adam Freeland and Todd Terje hit The Nest this Friday, finishing the night with an exclusive b2b set. Tickets for Kaleidoscope are available here

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