Saturday 26 October 2013

Electric Swing Circus announce remix competition

As you may know, I am a big fan of the Electric Swing Circus. This is even more the case since I caught them live for the first time at Boomtown this summer. Not only did they blow the roof off the Ballroom tent (which was both packed and bouncing), but they are a really nice bunch. I spent much of the rest of the evening chatting with Chandra, the pianist and drummer, and exploring the rest of the festival.

Tom from the band contacted me recently to let me know about a remix competition they have launched. These competitions are always full of interest, and it is fascinating to see what happens when different producers and DJs get their hands on other peoples' music. The track they have put up for remixes is called 'Bella Belle' - the video is below - it is a bit of a stomper, so this could be a fun competition. The winner will be selected by the band and released on Ragtime Records with the next ESC EP, so it is well worth having a crack.



For full details, have a look at the website and have a read.

London Remixed Festival - 23rd November

Continental Drifts & Global Local the producers of the most rocking festival stages across the globe are back, joining forces once again with their long stand-ing musical partners Movimientos, Two for Joy (Magpie’s Nest), Wormfood, Blue Lotus, Kazum, White Mink, Electro Swing Club, Focus Organization , Freshly Squeezed Music for the return of LONDON REMIXED FESTIVAL 2013.

From the powerhouses behind Glastonbury's legendary Shangri-La stage, via rocking tents at Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Boomtown, Wilderness, Lovebox and Kendal Calling, they bring you the festival after-party of all after-parties.

Following on from last year's successful festival debut, LRF welcomes performances from the world’s best live remixing talent to the capital, showcasing a beautiful array of styles and cultures from around the world.

Expect remixed sounds from ghetto funk, drum and bass, reggae, anarchic hoedown, Latin breaks, brass band hip hop, electro-Afro music, Balkan beats, blues remix, electro swing, tropical bass, Ethiopian dub, DMC scratch masters + more. London Remixed Festival is a celebra-tion of the best emerging musical talent and genres.

This one ticket, multi venue city festival will offer the creativity, fun and madness, complete with buzzing atmosphere & music… but without the mud, rain or hassle of camping! Village Underground, the Bedroom Bar, Rich Mix, and new to the team Strongroom will host a live musical cocktail of Global London, remixed for the 21st Century.

The guys behind this include the Swingrower's manager Giulio Castronovo and festival legend Chris Tofu. Tofu ran the amazing Ballroom stage at Boomtown, so if this is half as good as that it should be a banger. The venues are some of my favourites in London, and with access to all 7 with one ticket, there is really no excuse for not attending. There will be plenty of electroswing, a smattering of electro-blues and a load of other wierd and wonderful mashup/remix genres being played - get along there and fill your ears with musical joy.





Here is a list of some of the performers you can see.

REMIXED PARTY
DJ Chris Tofu (White Mink)

DJ Kobayashi (Gypsy Hill)

Subculture Sounds

DJ Tim Whelan (Transglobal Underground)

DJ Ashley Slater

DJ Malaka (Rumpus)


VINTAGE REMIXED
DJ Eclecktic Mick (Electro Blues)

Electro Manouche (Live)

DJ Jon Bongly (Electro Swing Club)

Ghetto Funk All Stars

DJ Dolphin Boy (Bagpipe Rave)

Kaptin Is Dead

BASS6 (Beatbox Collective)

Dutty Moonshine's All Hallows' Eve Party, feat. JFB

I have been silent for some time now, owing to lots of stuff going on in my life, but there is lots of exciting news in the electro-swing world, so I thought it was about time I got on with updating the blog and spreading the world.

A couple of days ago Mike from Dutty Moonshine contacted me via VisageTome to ask me to plug a night that they have launched in Camden. It is a weekly affair, and is usually free entry. The night is called Big Beat Tuesdays and takes place at Purple Turtle every Tuesday. The music policy is quite specific - I quote the Dutties themselves:

"Music policy is good music basically.

Mostly anything goes but there'll be a lot of Ghetto Funk, Electro Swing, Big Beat, Breaks, Hip Hop with plenty of doses of Fidget, Trap, Glitch-Hop, DnB etc

Our banned list of music is;
- No commercial pap
- None of the hardcores (happy, gabba etc)
- None of the trances
- No garage for pussies (we like the rude kind)
- Nothing euphoric
Get the idea?"
 


They have had a couple of events so far, but Tuesday 29th sees them hosting a special Halloween event. In honour of that fact they have enlisted the services of scratch maestro JFB, 2 time world DMC champion. Here he is doing his thing on a track with Dutty Moonshine called 'Move Ya', which is exactly what he will do on Tuesday evening.



He will be ably supported by the likes of Jimi Needles, famous for his wide ranging bootlegs, a AV set from DVJ Madam, and, of course, the Moonshine boys themselves.

For all the details, to go to the Facebook page.

It just so happens that I have a work drinks that evening, so will probably be putting in an appearance - come and say 'what ho'.

Jack