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.
@ 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’.
From: Andy Riseon 1st May 2007 11:50.36 quality stuff mate good read, keep up the good work my san
From: Kam-Painon 1st May 2007 12:19.35 Gwarn Riggsy! What a trooper!!
From: brad dukeon 1st May 2007 13:07.20 Looking good man - Keep 'em coming!
From: Lucy Furon 1st May 2007 13:49.44 Riggsy you are the man! Your tunes are fantastic and you are a wicked DJ. In my opinion you do not get the recognition you deserve when you contribute so much to the hard house scene! Keep up the good work babe!!!!
From: NICE_GUY_DANNYon 1st May 2007 23:42.53 skillz riggamortis!
From: Nicky Don 2nd May 2007 07:13.20 Great read and looking forward to your b2b at Nu Religion :o)
From: ajayon 2nd May 2007 12:27.30 Legend!! Top top producer and definitely one of the funniest people I've met out on the scene. Look forward to seeing ya again soon lad!
From: Jazzyon 2nd May 2007 17:06.14 really great read!! Wicked Producer and a top DJ!!!!
Keep them tunes coming!
From: Steve Gillenon 2nd May 2007 18:46.14 well done riggs
From: karl davison 3rd May 2007 22:40.29 keep it pumping man wkd tunes
From: karl davison 3rd May 2007 22:49.28 keep it pumping man wkd tunes
From: K8-eon 4th May 2007 13:49.40 Riggsy is by far one of the most underrated djs in the hard house scene. His set with Lucy at the last CyberKitten blew me, and the crowd, away. He is one of the most talented producers in our genre at the moment, his tunes quite simply rock. And Nil By Mouth is one of the most exciting labels to startup in recent times.
Riggsy I salute you man!!
From: HyperVixenon 5th May 2007 13:19.38 A great read, Lovin your sound babes! I'm sure you'll smash it at Nu Religion!
From: judon 8th May 2007 15:36.27 Add your comments here !
From: judon 8th May 2007 15:37.41 lays down some top tunes thats for sure.........like the look of the studio 2 looks complicated as fuck though
From: Getoniton 11th May 2007 13:41.47 Excellent read, a true hard house filth beast. Nice 1
From: snowqueenon 11th May 2007 22:31.46 Must say have had the pleasure of hearing some of your tracks with mr ugly...awesome stuff, keep up the good work, its going down a treat
From: Yojo - Cyberkittenon 15th May 2007 23:34.35 Cheers for the mention darlin' A HUGE rocking talent - always a thrill to have you at CK!
Hope you an' Kye had a great time last Saturday xx
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good read, keep up the good work my san 
xx