Disco DON Russ Chimes joins us again for Lemonade this Saturday. Part of a new breed of producers, him and his buddies Grum, Starsmith and Alex Metric have been causing quite a stir over the past year or so!

To celebrate this joyous occasions Russ has done a little mix, the 4th in his Expressway mix series. Packed to the proverbial rafter with certified bangers, it also features a number of artists we’ve got coming up at The Nest in the next few months… Maxxi Soundsystem, Edwin Van Cleef & Mr Alex Metric himself.

Grab tickets for Russ Chimes, Kiwi & Karin Park  HERE…

Russ Chimes – Expressway 4 Mix by The Nest

If tropical percussion, new school funky synth work and a nod to 4/4 house is your cup of tea, Nottingham/London based ToyC is your man. Relatively new to the game (ToyC released his first original EP work on Nottingham’s MiMM Records earlier this year), he’ll be joining the illustrious talents of Rustie and Melé at our basement disco on 13^th January.

We caught up with Toy C for a little introduction interview ahead of this debut set at The Nest. He was also kind enough to lay down an exclusive promo mix ahead of the party! Enjoy…

The Nest: Hi ToyC, great to meet you! We love your cut a rug rhythms and afro drum layering. Do you approach all your productions with the dance floor in mind? Have your beats failed if nobody’s dancing?

ToyC: I wouldn’t say that’s how I start out on most tunes, but a lot end up that way! At first I was all about making everything as crazy and in your face as possible, but now I’ve learnt less is more in a lot of cases, hence a lot of my new stuff being a lot more stripped down and simple.

The Nest: What was your first clubbing experience like? Has it effected your DJing and production output?

ToyC: My first clubbing experience was actually my first DJ set when I was 16. I spent weeks in advance getting my set perfect and still messed it up. Going to nights has definitely helped with my production. Without hearing your own stuff on a club system it’s sometimes hard to tell what needs changing. Plus the crowd reaction is always a good sign.

The Nest: You’re based in Nottingham. How has the scene there evolved, changed and developed over the years? Where do you play out and where do you like to party?

ToyC: I actually have lived in London for the last 18 months due to University. I couldn’t really comment heavily on Nottingham music scene, but there’s a lot of new exciting stuff going on. I think the scene is slowly moving towards what’s actually happening and coming out of Nottingham, which is great. There’s a big emphasis behind interlinking music with art and clothing, mostly being pushed by Wigflex and Mimm.

The Nest: How did you feel being chosen as the first artist to release on MiMM records? Do you feel you’ve set the bar for the label?

ToyC: Yeah, it was great. I definitely wanted to release my first EP on a label I felt comfortable with. The Mimm guys were the first people outside my friends I sent my music too, so I owe them a lot. I’ve really glad how my EP turned out.

The Nest: For those who don’t know, tell us a bit about the MiMM set up and how its label, shop and events reflect one another…

ToyC: Mimm is ultimately a clothing shop, record label and events all with the main goal of interlinking music, art and clothing. They are taking Nottingham out of its comfort zone and giving more people the opportunity to try something different. For example, they could be running a club night one week and be curating an exhibition the next. They’ve got a select tight knit team who seem to be doing more and more every time I talk to them.

The Nest: Have you got any EP releases scheduled for other labels in 2012?

ToyC: I only have one definite EP down with Audio Doughnuts some time next summer, but as of now I’m talking to a few labels.

The Nest: Your soundcloud has a section of your Rinse radio rips – how important is the station to you as a producer in 2012? Do you rate it highly as a musical platform to showcase your work?

ToyC: Rinse FM as done so much for me in so little time. The exposure it gives to producers of all genres is amazing. Other than your own exposure, it’s a great way to hear new and interesting music that probably would have taken hours trawling soundcloud. It’s through Monki’s show on Rinse FM that Zulu and I hooked up and started making tunes.

The Nest: What can we expect from your set at The Nest on 13^th January?

ToyC: A few new unheard pieces from me and some others and most definitely some kuduro!

Check out the mix here…

TOYC Promo Mix by The Nest

And to buy tickets for fridays show with Rustie, Mele, Stripes, Toy C & more, click HERE

B. Traits’ transatlantic take on bass music has propelled her to Queen like status and after being signed to Digital Soundboy in 2007, she hasn’t stopped. Producing quality, high energy beats and dropping bombs for expectant dance-floor souls, B.Traits is the perfect label mate we could think to pair up with Breakage tomorrow night.

Ahead of tomorrow’s Stop.Drop.Roll shenanigans, B.Traits has laid down a fabulous 30 minute mix including some of the year’s most impressionable tracks by the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Eats Everything, Redlight and Wiley. Get your download on and get down to The Nest tomorrow night. Advance tickets nearly gone…

B Traits Promo Mix – Stop Drop Roll by The Nest

Sorry we were late on the up with the winner of this competition; there’s been tears and tantrums at The Nest HQ as we came to a final decision. We finally agreed on LOUDAT to be the newest recruit to the Lemonade residents pool and we couldn’t be happier with the decision! Tight mixer, clever and exciting selection style and a full understanding of the Lemonade vibes that keep people coming down to the club every week; we can’t wait for him to join the team in the New Year.

Thanks to all the artists who took the time to put a mix together and enter our competition. We were really overwhelmed and excited by the different takes on the house/disco/electro brief we put to you. Please support your own and get down to The Nest on 7th January to see Loudat play his first set for Lemonade alongside The Glimmers!

Full details available here.

Loudat DJ Mix – Warm Up DJ’s Know Your Place by loudat

It’s been just over a month since we launched the competition to find some new resident DJs for our Saturday night Lemonade party. For fear of sounding cliché, we had some incredible entrants sending over their mixes and we’re more than excited by our shortlist of finalists.

Some of the entrants were amazing DJs but didn’t quite fit our specification (we won’t mention names but there was an incredibly deep mix that we fell in love with but just wasn’t right for the competition). The six shortlisted selectors below need all the support they can garner. We’ve got less than a week to whittle the list down to the artists we want to start booking, so any comments/likes on the mixes will be taken into consideration.

In the meantime, kick back and listen to our amazing entrants. Winner(s) announced next Monday…

Riccelli – November Podcast by Riccelli

Loudat DJ Mix – Warm Up DJ’s Know Your Place by loudat

Raymond and Hayes mix 2011 by raymondandhayes

LEMONADE DJ COMP: MAYTON DJs by MAYTON DJs

Eleven27 – Lemonade DJ Competiton Mix by Eleven27

Limonares!! by sauly_b

Ahead of their headline appearance at Lively next Friday, two of the most exciting artists right now, Style of Eye and BrEaCh talk about their year and play tracks that have destroyed dancefloors across the world and will no doubt be making an appearance at The Nest next week!

Let these interesting meanderings take you through this sunny Friday afternoon and click here for more information on Lively with Style of Eye, Breach, Rachel Barton and Nockall on 2^nd December.

Lively With Style of Eye by Rachel Barton

Lively Podcast – BrEaCh by Rachel Barton

Our favourite Dalston based electronic band (and believe me there are a fair few), Teeth, return to The Nest this Friday as part of November’s Clash Magazine showcase. After a year supporting the likes of CSS, Sleigh Bells and Tom Vek, as well as a successful album release on Moshi Moshi, 2012 is looking extremely promising for the trio.

We wanted to delve into the brains behind Teeth so asked the guys to put together a short list of the most important youtube videos for them right about now. For more information on this Friday’s Clash Magazine takeover with Greco-Roman Soundsystem feat. Valentina, Enchante, Clash DJs, Visions of Trees and Teeth click here.

Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts – Transmetropolitan Clip

This is what I’m most excited about right now- the new Warren Ellis documentary called Captured Ghosts- here they talk about my favorite comic series of all time- Transmetropolitan!

Factory Floor – Second Way

My tour mantra: What Would Factory Floor Do? This is the wonderful B-side video to their Two Different Ways single and video.

HTRK – Bendin’

HTRK in Los Angeles as a pair of obsessive compulsive, water consuming extraterrestrials. AND AN AMAZING Z POOL. Shot by Nathan Corbin from Excepter.

Iclone 5 Test

Rad old digi-geezer ignoring the obstacle course like a champ.

2016 – Ghana Movie Trailer

2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS

This beautiful time lapse view of our planet reminds me of why I started my magazine, L_A_N

Zeroes And Ones – Jesus Jones

So internet b4 youtube- HD Boyz take note!

As part of the Lemonade live recording mix series, our friends The C90s kindly allowed us to upload their set from 12^th November. We recently chatted to the friendly duo (you can check out the interview here), but today is all about the music. Let this act as a warm, nostalgic reminder if you attended Lemonade on 12^th, or as a sonic temptation to join us for the last Lemonade of November this Saturday.

For more information on this week’s Lemonade, click here

The C90s Live at The Nest 12/11/11 by The Nest

The Clash Magazine crew are back on 25^th with another stella line-up showcasing the best of Berlin/London based collective, Greco-Roman Soundsystem. Their newest recruit, Enchante, is on board to provide a set of sultry, warm house inflected with garage skippiness and synths like an irresistibly dense mattress filled with clouds.

To be frank, we know very little about this South London diamond in the rough but what he do know is his ‘Reggay’ track complete with its mellow dubby stabs and playful bleepy melody has been played out by many a DJ in many a London rave we’ve attended. It’s a widely recognised masterpiece by a deeply underground producer and it’s, quite shockingly, free to download from the link below.

We’re quietly excited about our first live encounter with Enchante and think that you should be too. Get your download on below and click here for more information on the Clash Magazine takeover at the end of the month.

Enchante – Reggay FREE DOWNLOAD by Greco-Roman

It’s amazing how much noise Maribou State have created on the underground considering they started producing together six months ago. With support from the likes of Dark Sky, Kastle and Resketch, their strain of heady, ethereal bass music is certainly not your standard bedroom production work.

What sets Maribou State’s music apart from the rest is that they’re not predominantly preoccupied with making dark, shadowy basement club music. Their previously released material is the sort of stuff you have a moment to on the bus, or get a bit emotional to in the post-office queue. The soon to be released ‘Got Me Down’ single, has all the sticky drums and skippy house sensuality to get you moving in the club, but it shares that ‘enjoy on your own’ quality present in a lot of their productions.

Playing on 18^th November in celebration of Chew The Fat’s 14^th birthday alongside Foamo, Reso, Randomer and some extra special guests, we caught up with the Maribou State trio for a quickie. They also kindly laid down an exclusive mix for us ahead of the party.

Maribou State – Fat! Club 30 Min Work Out Mix by The Nest

Hello Maribou State! We don’t know too much about you; when did you guys decide to start producing together and how did the idea come about after your live music past?

We started producing together as Maribou State about six months ago, although before that Liam and I had worked together on other projects too. Not too sure how the idea came about really for Maribou State. I guess we both just wanted to start a new project that we could work from the ground up again, using the experience we had gained from the stuff we were doing previously.

Cut, twisted and reshaped vocals seem to be imperative to your sound. Did your love of vocals stem from your live past? How do you approach vocals when it comes to laying down a track?

Yes, for sure. I don’t think we would ever make a track that doesn’t involve some sort of vocal hook, harmony or melody. I don’t think our live past really had anything to do with our love for using vocal samples either.  I guess the main reason why our tracks are so heavily filled with vocal cuts is because to us they are one of main things that can really captivate the listener on so many different levels, as it’s not just the melody you hear, it’s also the lyrics that stand out and the mood that it all brings together.

There isn’t really any set way we usually approach how we use vocals in a track. It completely depends whether or not we have got a session vocalist in or are just sampling another track. Vocal harmony beds are something we are both massively up on, as they generally drive the ambience and mood of the track

Your forthcoming release, ‘Got Me Down’, doesn’t immediately scream dance floor to me (although it obviously has the skippy club sound). Do you think about atmosphere, time and place when in the studio?

Atmosphere generally comes first when we are making a track. Pretty much all of our first E.P wasn’t really set out to be for the clubs; it was intended much more for home listening, simply because both of us have a such a love for more melodic/atmospheric music. Having said that, most of the tracks from our first EP on Fat! ended up getting played out and worked really well on the dance floor. So we are definitely thinking more on a club level now.

What’s your dynamic like in the studio? Do you both have different strengths you play on? How does this dynamic translate to club sets? Some comedy synchronised dance moves perhaps?

We do and we don’t. To be honest we have worked in the studio together for some time now and seem to have adapted similar approaches to things. If anything, one of us is more technical and the other more creative, seems to strike a happy medium.

We are all over synchronised dance moves. Just like Lional Richie “dancing on the ceiling”. No respect for gravity.

What can we expect from your set at the Chew The Fat 14th Birthday next Friday? Any new bits we should listen out for?

Yep, a lot is changing now in our sets. Got a load of new edits and bootlegs which we are both excited to start testing out. Just finished about 5 or 6 new remixes which are all coming out over the next few months, so you can expect to hear some of them. Plus a bunch of new originals coming out on Fat! soon. We are also getting some visuals put together this week to accompany our mad dance routines!