Remember, you read it in Hot Press first – the Creamfields dance festival is set to return to Ireland in 2009. PoD Concerts has done the deal which will ensure that Ireland has three major dance festivals in one calendar year.
It will be the first Creamfields event in Ireland since its second and final run out at Punchestown Racecourse in 2002, and with Planetlove Summer Session and Planetlove Antrim both scheduled for June and September respectively in 2009, it’s going to be a long hot summer for the clubbing fraternity.
Meanwhile, Siobhan and Lien Ere at PoD have also reliably informed Beats 'n' Pieces of a veritable triple whammy of dance events to keep your dancing shoes in action throughout the more imminent sun-soaked summer of 2008.
A Holy Trinity of club icons is coming to Dublin’s Tripod between July and September. First in the door is the original three-deck wizard Carl Cox on Friday July 25. Bank Holiday Sunday, August 3, sees Bedrock supremo John Digweed dropping by, while the S-Man, Roger Sanchez, makes his debut at the club on September 12.
Irish superstar DJ John O’Callaghan has done it, and now Hot Press is doing it too – tipping Argentine duo Heatbeat for the top, that is.
In April, this column noted how awesome their remix of Limerick duo Ross & Buddy’s ‘Lights Out’ single on Donegal’s Full Tilt Recordings was, and they have since turned in an equally superb remix of the label’s fifth release, ‘The Walrus’ by Bryan Kearney presents Spunuldrick.
The Buenos Aires trance duo have also cheekily remixed Supermode’s ‘Tell Me Why’, and it’s set to be a summer anthem.
Incidentally, Full Tilt label founders Timmy & Tommy have also reworked ‘The Walrus’ to great effect. The full package of mixes is released in June.
Dublin breaks duo Splitloop’s debut album Please Machine is finally released on UK label Against The Grain on July 14, and first impressions suggest it’s been well worth the wait. DJ Magazine agrees with this viewpoint, and has given the debut set a 5/5 rating ahead of its official UK launch on July 11 at London’s best club, Fabric.
To promote their opus, Bren and Phil have lined up tours of the US and Australia, but sadly Irish fans will have to make do with their appearance at the Life festival in Gort in July. Despite a hugely successful year in Britain with their two recent singles, Splitloop have not yet been included on the Planetlove, Oxegen or Electric Picnic line-ups, which is astonishing.
Another Irish album getting lots of love and attention from the British media is the debut from The Japanese Popstars. We Just Are is out on July 28 on Gung-Ho. Decky Popstar told Hot Press: “We have 12 tracks on there – some favourites from the live show and some completely new ones.” There are two additional tracks on the Japanese version, which is being released by Beat Ink, the Far East home of Underworld, Tim Deluxe and Battles.
Cork-born techno producer Edwin James is lining up his second Corrugated Tunnel album for summer release. I Am Corrugated is an enthralling long-player designed with the home listener in mind but never straying too far from its dancefloor roots.
The Leeside whiz precedes the album with some straight up club action on his new single, ‘The Oracle’, which surfaces on July 14 on the Dublin stamp Mode Music accompanied by fresh remixes from Finnish ace Phonogenic and Dublin duo Indo Phunque.
Meanwhile, Edwin’s own seedyR stamp has launched a digital offshoot, seedyBurnR, which aims to showcase some of the next generation of electronic producers. It kicks off with a three-track EP from K.D.M, Who Got The Funk?
RTÉ 2fm and 2XM are close to confirming a deal which will see the stations record and broadcast every set at Techfest at the Thatch Rahan in Tullamore, County Offaly on May 31. Headlined by the likes of Adam Beyer, Slam, Hardcell and our own Fergie, the 14-hour techno marathon features the cream of Irish talent in a number of arenas, including one hosted by the Aciitone Digital label.
This tent will showcase music from Al Keegan, Matador, Jay Grogan and Cian Frawley and lots of other rising stars. Techfest runs from 1pm until 3am on May 31 and tickets are on sale now priced €38.60.
And finally, vinyl junkies note that one of Dublin’s best record stores has moved house and changed its name. Gerry Molumby’s Beat Finder (formerly Big Brother Records) is now open at 4 Upper Fownes Street in Temple Bar, just behind its old location on Crow St. Contact Gerry on (01) 6729355 for more details … THE BEAT GOES ON!