Beats + Pieces

Cork clubbing legends Fish Go Deep – aka Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson – are gearing up for their Electric Picnic show (which also features Tralee-based vocalist Tracey K). The threesome’s ‘The Cure And The Cause’ is out this summer on top Brit house label Defected, with sizzling new remixes from Dennis Ferrer, Charles Webster and Balearic Soul. Hitting the shops first is ‘Wurk’ from Fish Go Deep and Mark O’Sullivan on the Ork Recordings stamp owned by the Leesiders and the Stockholm-based ex-pat.
Greg and Shane’s Go Deep stamp then unleashes the Fish Go Deep double a-side ‘Chemical God’ / ‘Mary Cigarettes’ later in July, and a new Fish Go Deep with Tracey K single, ‘Battery Man’ follows on Go Deep in the autumn.
Belfast-based house producer Gregory Ferguson – best known as Jupiter Ace – has been working on his forthcoming album for the past six months and he has posted several tracks on www.jupiterace.com.
Irish hip-hop sensation Rob Kelly has just finished work on his upcoming album Bragging Rights, and it features appearances by rappers Frankie Krutches, Baby Blue and SAS, while production duties are handled by Soundsmith, GQ Beats, DJ Flip, Mike Donnelly and Scooby. (Rob makes an all-too-rare Irish appearance in the Red Bull Arena at Oxegen – more on the festival below).
Dublin-based Northerner Desy Balmer’s Nice & Nasty label returns to action in August with 3X3, an album which features three new tracks each from Chymera, Derek Carr and Produse. Carr is also putting the finishing touches to his debut long-player, Science & Soul, while the label teams up with Soma Records for a party at Crawdaddy on July 21st.
Irish trance producers John O’Callaghan & Bryan Kearney’s ‘Exactly’ single is included on Eddie Halliwell’s upcoming Cream Ibiza compilation. John has turned in three ace remixes of late: Mike Foyle’s ‘Shipwrecked’ (for Dutch label Armada), Dogzilla’s ‘Without You’ (for Maelstrom) and Agnelli & Nelson’s ‘Everyday’ (due on Xtravaganza).
Miss Dynamite’s brother, Kingslee ‘Akala’ Daley, continues his genre-bending skill at combining tight, clever and funny lyrics with a fluid fusion of musical styles on his new single ‘Shakespeare’, which is out this fortnight on Illastate records. It’s taken from his acclaimed debut album It’s Not A Rumour.
The most talked-about album release of the month is arguably Plaid and Bob Jaroc’s 5.1 surround sound audio visual (AV) album, Greedy Baby, on Warp Records. The pioneering crew makes a welcome return to Dublin, incidentally, to perform in TBMC in Dublin on July 15th.
The Ibiza season is well and truly underway, and the seasonal compilations are in abundance. One above average chillout set, however, is Space Tranquil, from Jon Sa Trinxa, who has become an institution DJing at the Sa Trincha bar on the glamorous Playa Salinas (a favourite haunt of the likes of Jade Jagger and Kate Moss).
Electric City’s spin-off club, Electric Shock, returns to TBMC on Friday, August 25th. The fourth in the series of ES parties is headlined by Chicago legend, Green Velvet [pictured] aka Cajmere, with support from Educution, Minimise Records’ latest signing, and the brainchild of Dublin-based DJ/producer Tóirse. Educution’s debut release, ‘Man Versus Man Beast’, garnered much praise globally (not least for starting a new genre, ‘Horror-Jack’).
Due to popular demand, Dublin’s favourite Thursday night club Backlash hosts its second Old Skool party on August 3rd. It’s an ideal warm-up for the Hi:Fi weekend which has added a couple of dozen Irish DJs (including this columnist) to its spectacular line-up.
Fergie returns to Lush in Portrush on July 22nd for what will be one of the biggest nights of the summer at the club.
Revered San Francisco house head, Mark Farina, makes a welcome return to Bodytonic at Rogue in Dublin this fortnight, on July 7th.
The big one this fortnight is, of course, Oxegen at Punchestown Racecourse on July 8th and 9th. Saturday sees Erick Morillo wrap up a superb day that takes in Felix Da Housecat, Dave Clarke, Cosmic Fury (aka Tom Middleton and Fred Deacon from Lemon Jelly), Vitalic, Justin Robertson, Jon Carter, Headman and Jon Averill. Phew! Sunday is a lot less manic, with the essential selections of Mylo, Erol Alkan, Digitalism, Whomadewho, Switch and Steve Angelo followed by the snooze-cruise of David Morales and Timo Maas.
And finally, a welcome return to the airwaves for Co Offaly funk fiend DJ Krisp, who now hosts Zone HQ every Saturday and Sunday at midnight on Midlands FM.
… THE BEAT GOES ON!