Life Festival 2010 is breathing down the neck of the big festivals this summer with the addition of techno don Ricardo Villalobos to the line-up. Having stormed Dublin’s Olympia Theatre last month with his dark minimal techno soundscapes, Villalobos will be now joining Ben Sims, Chris Liebing and more at the Belvedere Castle event on June 4-6. Go to life-festival.com for details on package tickets and bus services.
Budding producers who’d like a helping hand from Ireland’s finest in the game, look no further. Enniskerry Studio jedi knights Timmy and Tommy are currently enrolling students for their music production course this summer. Ranging from beginner to advanced, there are limited places available so those interested are advised to contact the studio at 074-9177673 or email [email protected]. These boys are worth learning from – their Full Tilt label won best label for the second year in a row at the Irish Dance Music Awards last month, and their latest release is number one on Trackitdown’s tech house chart.
Buying a pair of Pioneer’s groundbreaking CDJ-2000 players has so far been the only way to get your DJ mitts on a copy of its much coveted Rekordhbox software - until now. From 17 May Rekordbox will be available as a free download from prodjnet.com/rekordbox/support.
Since He’s Electric talked to Belfast duo Psycatron in March, they’ve been given the seal of approval from dance royalty. The Belfast duo will be the only Irish act to play the Movement 2010 Electronic Festival later this month in the home of techno - Detroit, sharing a bill with the esteemed likes of Derrick May and Orlando Voorn.
Upcoming Dublin free music magazine and blog Phonic.ie are carving out a piece of the action themselves this month. Their first show will be at The Button Factory on 14 May featuring the UK’s elder statesman of disco-house, Joey Negro.
Three upcoming Irish dance artists are bucking the doom-and-gloom trend of the music industry by releasing their debut artist albums this month. The breaks scene’s Johnny Pulse releases How Much For The Monkey on Bulabeats, Dubliner Al Keegan’s While The City Sleeps comes out on his own Aciitone label under the Bubba alias and Detboi’s much awaited Curse Of The Voodoo Drums gets a worldwide release on the massive UK bass label Cheap Thrills.
Ex-Prodigy dancer-turned-DJ and producer Leeroy reveals he’s at least as Irish as us, once a year. The "tall bloke from The Prodj", who plays Karma in Galway on 14 May, reveals “my Dad’s from Montserrat in the Carribean, where they have one of the largest St Patrick’s Day parades in the world, it’s massive. I never miss it, I’m there every year, proper shamrock and all”. For the full interview with Leeroy, turn to page 108.