simon baker
Prove Your Love to the Rave – Weekend Options
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 | Event Preview | No Comments
Valentines weekend, according to numerous industries the only weekend where you can show your love to that special person through expensive mediocre set menus, wilted single roses and novelty heart shaped gifts. The whole thing has become such a charade, but luckily there are plenty of options this weekend to show our protest against the greeting card and novelty item dictators.
Red bull Music Academy at South Bank Centre (Buy Tickets)
This weekend sees the start of the Red Bull Music Academy which is taking place over the coming weeks in London. The academy brings together prospective musical talent from across the world to work and share ideas with help from established and successful music industry types. In conjunction with the academy, Red Bull have a series of events lined up for the general public. This Friday sees Red Bull team up with Resident Advisor at the stunning Royal Festival Hall in the South Bank Centre for a head on collision of experimental electronica, Jazz and techno. There are two acts in particular that have us foaming at the mouth. We have a showcase from SHAPE, › Continue reading
Simon Baker – Moonblock / Mamaia Highway | Single Review
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
I do enjoy a Simon Baker release. Plastik released on Playhouse was everywhere in 2008 whilst X Y and Z was a fantastic follow up on Leftroom. Other than a release for 20:20 Vision in July we haven’t heard much from Simon Baker, until now. His latest release on MurMur is probably just to keep the “look at all the great labels I’ve released on” list ticking over. Fair enough. MurMur is a good label and Simon’s Moonblock is a great release.
Title track Moonblock is a pumped up houser with an incredibly contagious wiggling bassline. It doesn’t really let up for breath, it just grooves away blissfully unaware only occasionally breaking down with a splash of bossa nova. It’s catchy and very danceable, very much like Mamaia Highway the track on the other side. It’s got another great wiggling bassline that sounds like a computer crunching numbers on an old sci fi show; there are the staple bossa nova/carnival samples which bring a party vibe; and like Moonblock it just doesn’t let up. It’s these tracks which are becoming a staple on the London scene – continual rolling house come techno tracks which swish and release in such a way that they’re perfect for the club and a crowd up for some straight up dancing.
Can Fun Only Be Had In Warehouses? | DDD 7th Birthday Review & Cocoon Warehouse Project
Friday, November 20th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
Over the last few weekends I’ve done nothing but dance around in warehouses. I’m starting to think real nightclubs don’t exist anymore. I can’t even remember the last time I queued up for the toilet not to be greeted by the striking chemical aromas of the portaloo bowl. Despite my moans I’ve actually had great fun.
Last weekend a small warehouse tucked in between some housing blocks just behind Kingsland Road Station hosted DDD’s MJ themed 7th Birthday. It was an inconspicuous location with the warehouse nestled in a very quiet residential area. Walking round the corner from the station it seems like a walk home rather than a walk to the party, but looks can deceiving. It still doesn’t seem normal as I pass the two solitary bouncers out the front, then the guest list girl with gay porn playing cards for accessories. But after going through the curtained entrance into the main room it all falls into place. A small warehouse space is bustling with a comfortable crowd lapping up the techy dish being served up by DDD resident Simon Baker. Simon has always been a quality resident for DDD and his main room set comes up trumps. He’s cranking out some big beats which keeps a fair sized dedicated crowd down the front. Walking through to the back room you pass all manner of MJs from yesteryear. Michael Jackson circa 1979 Off The Wall was a particular favourite as full tuxedos with too short trousers were dug out. There were a couple of MJs from the Thriller era and even one from the more up to date Bo Selecta guise. Quite a surreal backdrop whilst Daniele Moore is dropping classic disco and house cuts. Daniele showed some good music knowledge with her tune selection, but lacked a little finesse in mixing. However disco is a hard genre to mix and more often than not the stop/start is king, or queen in her case. › Continue reading
Sunday Evenings Just Got a Whole Lot More Interesting
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
The first of what we hope will be many Sunday parties come from newcomers’ mUmU. Hailing from the cultural capital of Europe, Liverpool, the folks from mUmU want to give the big smoke a shot after making a rather large name for themselves at a frightening pace in the last year. Their nights have quite literally seen the who’s who of underground house and techno from names like Pier Bucci, Sebo K, Mr C, Rhadoo and Matt Tolfrey. It’s obvious these guys want quality at their nights.
For their London debut they will take over the hallowed Shoreditch tunnel of Cargo to bridge the gap between early evening and midnight. For the opening night they’ve brought in a selection of London’s finest stalwarts with Simon Baker of Cocoon/20:20 Vision fame, Circo Loco’s master of the groove Clive Henry and 12” pusher turned global DJ Hector. › Continue reading
Jamie Jones and Simon Baker – Kaskazi | Single Review
Monday, November 3rd, 2008 | Music, Single Review | No Comments
Two of London’s finest producers join forces for Get Physical on their first collaboration. The result is Kazkasi a funk fuelled wiggler coming in three different flavours.
The original fires along with its funk fuelled bassline. Around that, galloping percussion and a nicely worked vocal sample make it a simple but exciting house number. The Swahili dub works around the same elements except they’ve added in some horns and chords to make it whooshy and a bit more big room. Finally the Emotional mix is slightly more laidback. Its still funk fuelled but its not as in your face. It has some of the big room horns but it doesn’t go over board.
These are fun peak time tracks, guaranteed to get feet shuffling. Although I’d steer away from the Swahili dub to head for either the original or emotional mixes.
Tracklist (Click for MP3):
1. Jamie Jones & Simon Baker – Kazkazi (Original Mix)
2. Jamie Jones & Simon Baker – Kazkazi (Swahili Dub)
3. Jamie Jones & Simon Baker – Kazkazi (Emotional Mix)
Simon Baker – X Y & Z EP (Remixes from Smagghe Vs Matt Folfrey & Marc Ashken plus Frankie)
Thursday, June 12th, 2008 | Single Review | No Comments
Simon Baker returns after his seminal Plastik release on Playhouse from last year. For this release the DDD resident unleashes his brand of techno come house on Tolfrey’s label Leftroom, which has been going from strength to strength.
The original track is big and ballsy techno. An energy filled intro clicks and blips its way through to a simple 4 tone synth cycle, which changes in length, upping the intensity of the track until in crescendos into a brash breakdown of distorted reverberating synths. The track simmers back down to its intro component parts to gently pass you on to the next track. Hypnotic and ear catching this track is sure to cause explosions on the dancefloor.
Two remixes are in this package. The first is from Frankie who cuts and loops the original into a more frantic busier techno track. Shorter loops create a busier sound as all the elements from the original play a part. Frankie takes the original breakdown too, but again cuts and chops it up this time off key creating a wall of noise which will most likely ruin you on the dancefloor. High paced, loud and brutal. Use with caution!
The final remix comes from label owner Matt Tolfrey teamed up with Leftroom artist Marc Ashken as they go verses against the Jesus looking Parisian Ivan Smagghe. Between them they’ve restrained the intensity and switched to an evil bassline as bleeps ping out over the top and echoed vocal sighs slide in to create a moment of madness until it is briefly struck down with a silent break. This brief silence of clarity is short but needed as the track drops back in and continues its spiral down the bleepy hole. Trippy and eerie, this track is made for those dark underground rooms and makes for the best track in the package with the original coming in a close second.
8/10
Simon Baker – X, Y & Z is out on Leftroom Limited,
on vinyl now and on digital from 7th July
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