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Features
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| 20 Years of Flying Free with JourneyOM | | Cosmic Flow talks wind surfing, the Prodigy, becoming a black belt and his mission - to help people feel, heal, and move together through sound – all ahead of his upcoming album release – ‘Infinity’! | | Fertile talk about the 90s spark, analog dreams, and the power of collaboration, ahead of their debut album release 'Everywhere' on Iono Music! | | Celebrating 35 incredible years of Banco de Gaia | | Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino |
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Riggsy brings the filth
Reported by Ben Gomori
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Submitted 30-04-07 23:14
If you like your hard house full-on, pacey, and seriously tough, you will probably know about Riggsy. One of the most promising producers to emerge from the hard underground over the past few years, his uncompromising tough beats have seen him produce tracks for the likes of Flashpoint, Toolbox, Andy Farley's Blue Cubed and Scum Records, with a diverse array of sounds which are always underpinned by a thumping groove. If it's filth you want - this guys got it. By the truckload.
The Midlands-based producer cut his teeth playing trance (well didn't we all?) at a small club in Birmingham known as Sputniks. Following years of avidly attending Sundissential and other seminal clubs in the region, he became friendly with the likes of B2T head-honcho Strange Dave and started pulling in regular gigs in the hard scene. By last year he was well established as one of the leading lights of the production new school with his tracks receiving support from the likes of Paul Glazby, Amber D and Lisa Pin Up. Now on May 12th he makes what will only be his second London appearance at Nu Religion's huge 1st Birthday celebrations at The Colosseum - a gig that is sure to bring him to the attention of the capital's filth-loving clubbers. So without further a do…
So, you make some pretty evil tunes. What’s going on in your head?
I don’t even know myself half the time! Next question....
Have you always been into the tougher side of hard house/hard dance?
Pretty much yeah, although back in ‘97/’98 when I started clubbing I used to go to trance nights. It was only when I heard Tony de Vit: Are You All Ready at Godskitchen and then I was converted to the way of the filth and have never looked back (haha)!
Which DJs and producers were instrumental in bringing you over to the dark side?
There’s a hell of a lot to name but I’d say on the DJ side of things, back in the day, definitely the likes of Andy Farley , Nick Rafferty, Lisa Lashes, Jon Bishop, all the old Sundissential DJs really.
On the production side, I bought pretty much all of Tony de Vit, Dynamic Intervention, BK, Nick Sentience, Justin Bourne, Captain Tinrib, Paul Glazby and Paul Janes' stuff. All the old hard house kicked ass!
When people talk about the North/South division in hard dance, do you include the Midlands in North? Or is it in a league of its own?
I’d definitely say the Midlands has its own league. I’ve been up North playing and partying a good few times, and they definitely know how to ‘ave it! As for the South, the only time I’ve ever been down, playing or otherwise, was the B2T tour we did at Ministry of Sound a few weeks back and that was proper amazing! But saying that , no-one knows how to party like us Brummies!
Let’s talk production – what’s your set up in the studio?
My main tools are my Mackie 32.4 desk, Behringer Truth B2031 monitors (I don’t care what anyone says about Behringer - these things THUMP!) There’s also a Nord Rack 2, Midiman controller keyboard, Shure SM58 mics, and my dual core PC with 2 gigs of RAM, a 600 gig hard drive plus a M-Audio Delta 1010lt soundcard, all kitted out with Cubase SX 3 and all the trimmings.
It’s all linked up to my 26-inch widescreen monitor (happy days!), various compressors, reverb and delay FX units, a Roland TD3 electric drumkit, Marshall AVT 150 half-stack amplifier, Boss ME50 FX unit and my guitars - Epiphone SG, Encore Bass, my black Flying v AND my most valued possession in the world, my Dean - Dime From Hell - ML shape guitar, with the lightening bolt paintwork (haha)! That’s about it I think.
Blimey! What’s the key to making really good hard house?
It’s all about the hard-as-nails kick drum, the bassline and the groovy percussion! It can have as many hoovers and crazy noises as you can throw in there, but if you’re foundations ain’t there, your house is gonna fall down.
Nice analogy! Who have you most enjoyed collaborating with (in the studio that is) and why? What made the combination so effective?
Out of everyone I’ve worked with, I’d say the people I work best with are Alex Calver, Michael James, Frank Farrell and Steve NRG. I’ve been producing with those boys since the dinosaurs ruled the planet and I don’t think I’ve been unhappy with how any of the tracks have turned out. Our ideas all seem to click into place on everything we work on and we all have similar ways or thinking when it comes to writing music.
Are you working on any material away from hard house?
Everyday is a new challenge in my studio. At the moment I’m working on everything from house, trance, electro, breakbeat, minimal techno, hard techno, schranz techno, dare I say it, speed garage! But the main project I’ve put most of my time into is my metal band! I’ve always been into metal since I knew what music was. That’s probably why I make such evil, dirty hard house.
You run two labels, Xtension and Nil By Mouth. Have you found it hard to survive in the recent climate with the whole move towards digital?
It has been quite a mission to be honest yeah, but I’m not gonna give up until every record shop in the world has shut down and every DJ has sold their turntables. There will always be a market for vinyl as long as its quality vinyl. All of the material over the 2 labels is, what I believe to be, fresh and exiting stuff, which is what I think the scene needs if we are going to keep it alive. Digital releases are all good for people to get upfront material cheaply and quickly, but in the long run, there’ll be no money for artists from the sales, which means they’ll stop writing tunes. Need I say more?
You’re playing for the Nu Religion’s 1st Birthday on May 12th at The Colosseum in London. Who’s this Kye Shand character you’re playing back-to-back with?
Kye’s a long time friend of mine from years ago. I’ve played back to back with him a good few times now at B2T, Shine, all sorts of places and we have smashed the place every time! We work pretty well as a team I’d say, so watch out on the 12th.
We’ve worked on a few tracks together in the past, the biggest probably being our remix of Evanesance: Save Me that’s been knocking about for a while. Since I’ve dragged him away from the hard trance he used to play his production has come on big time! I’ve signed a couple of his tracks for Xtension, which are soon to be released, so watch out for those. I also believe there’s a few of his bouncier numbers on Ricochet Records.
Who else on the line-up catches your eye?
I always make sure I see Farley play if I can get there, so I’ll definitely watch his set. Of course my boys Strange Dave and Tony (Livewire), Mark H , Matt Pick Up & Andy Rise and Shan.
People often moan about the demise in the hard dance scene, but there are clearly still tons of kicking parties around. What was the last event that really blew you away?
The last parties that stick out in my mind are the B2T Valentines Massacre at the Sanctuary in Birmingham, Cyberkitten at Fevah in Northampton a couple of weeks back, the last Evolve Party at Epic Skatepark in Mosely and when Shine hosted the Nitrogen Room at Polysexual at Air. All top quality nights so I couldn’t just pick one!
And finally, if hard house was an animal...what would it be?
If hard house was an animal it would be a 6 foot Rabies-ridden 3-legged Rat with no teeth.
Photos courtesy of Riggsy. Not to be reproduced without permission.
*Nu Religion: The First Birthday*
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On:
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Saturday 12th May 2007
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At:
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The Colosseum [map]
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From:
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20:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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£10 Limited Early Bird Tickets
£16 Standard Tickets
More On The Door
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Ticket Info:
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See www.ticketweb.co.uk or phone on 08700 600 100.
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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NuReligion: The First Birthday
@ The Colosseum, Nine Elms Lane, Vauxhall, London
Saturday 12th May 2007
After the monumental success that was their massive collaboration with Timeless in February, NuReligion take things up a good few notches for their agenda-setting First Birthday! After 4 sold-out gigs at the award-winning Hidden, NuReligion returns with its biggest event to date – taking over all 4 state-of-the-art arenas at superb Colosseum. The feedback from the hard dance-loving public about the venue following the February event has been nothing short of sensational – putting the venue back on the map for a whole new generation of clubbers.
NuReligion has a simple aim: take every single show-stopping NuWave DJ, the best futuristic sound and lighting technology that money can buy and get every committed Hard House Fanatic from across the UK to come - and throw the first great party of the Summer! Throwing down the gauntlet with a diverse and inspiring soundtrack of Hard House, Hard Trance, Hardcore, Freeform, Hardstyle, Electro and Techno, the First Birthday promises to provide one of the most exciting musical experiences in London this year. High-adrenaline, intense, feel-good music and nothing else!
Headlining this spectacular event, we have a UK Exclusive in the form of a back-to-back set from Steve Hill & Technikal – two of the most prolific producers in hard dance who have collaborated on many a classic track such as ‘Weekend (Party Time)’, ‘Adagio For Strings’ and ‘Ecstacy’. Expect epic breakdowns, spine-tingling riffs and big grooving basslines – and one of the most captivating sets in hard dance this year. MDA & Spherical return with Jennie Rix for another spell-binding live PA, bringing some of their future classics to the Nu Religion main stage. Frantic’s astoundingly popular Andy Whitby and Cally Gage are also joined on the line-up by legends of the scene like Lisa Pin Up, Rob Tissera and the King of Hard House™ Andy Farley – returning to show London that the filth is alive and kicking! There’s also not-to-be-missed twisted hardstyle and European hard trance from Cally & Juice, Alex Kidd and Kutski – 4 of the most exciting performers in the game!
All this and we haven’t even got started on the dozens of other DJs playing on the night – expect the cream of the new-wave and the future heroes of our scene!
“It was a fantastic night as always at NuReligion. Can’t wait for the next one!” – Agent Bunnykins, DontStayIn
“Keep going in this direction guys and NuReligion could become a trademark that will not be easy to beat in 2007...for me it feels like "home" already!” – TheLEGENDThatIsRoy, DontStayIn
WIN a night in the UK’s most famous DJ Hotel – The Great Eastern in Central London! Stay with the stars, get picked up and driven to the gig by Cally Gage and receive free drinks all night! All you need to do to enter is to email your full name to willfrantic@yahoo.co.uk with the subject ‘NuReligion comp’.
www.clubcolosseum.com
www.andywhitbyworld.com
www.callygage.co.uk
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Other Features By Ben Gomori:
HF exclusive SouthWestFour preview: Sasha vs Digweed
Scott Attrill aka Vinylgroover: The Bass Junkie
The Bluffer's Guide to Detroit Techno
Riot! memories as hard dance returns to The End
The King is back! Andy Farley finally returns
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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good read, keep up the good work my san 
xx