Beats + Pieces: Fergilicious

Since his departure from BBC Radio 1 late last year, Fergie has been busy setting up his own record label, Excentric Music, which launches this month.
The stamp kicks off with remixes of the 1994 Paper Recordings gem, ‘The Book’ by Salt City Orchestra.
Released on February 19, the package boasts contemporary reworkings from rising German techno star, Gregor Thresher, and Fergie himself. Early DJ supporters include Steve Lawler, Phil Kieran and King Unique.
Fergie – who is relaunching his Excentric club nights this month – has also signed up tracks from Kev Gorman, Ozgur Can and Tom Pooks. You can catch the Larne lad in action at The Stiff Kitten in Belfast on February 16.
Waterford DJ Gavin Boyce launches onto vinyl this month with ‘Buttered Up’. The Re:Publik resident’s debut is signed to American house label, Chillin’ Music, which has roped in Don Tinsley and Late Night Society for the remixes.
Dublin-based house label, Queep Recordings, unleashes two new singles this fortnight. Hatstandy Andy’s ‘No Reason’ features a host of remixes from Alexmo, U-Ness & Jedset, Steve Edwards and Melchyor A. While the stamp’s 19th release, Thee-O’s ‘I Love Acid (Music)’, boasts a mix package from Afrodrops, James Grey, Bitwise and Randy Brusseto.
Techno livewire Edwin James informs hotpress that he has almost completed work on the follow-up to Corrugated Tunnel’s acclaimed debut album, We Are Electronix. The SeedyR Records founder hopes to release the second opus in April or May, to follow the Easter launch of the ‘Rockstars Remixes’ at Dublin club Pogo. The fifth release from Ork Recordings sees all three of the label’s co-owners – Leesiders Mark O’Sullivan, Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson – in action. The double a-side is already in the shops and pairs Fish Go Deep’s bass-heavy ‘ESL’ with the Mark & John electro-houser, ‘Disco’.
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan continues his steady output with a single on renowned Dutch label, Plastic City, later this month. It’s another double-header, coupling ‘Prayers’ and ‘Earthbound’.
2FM dance guru Mr Spring’s Not For Sale album is at the mastering stage. The 20-track double CD – due on his Springloaded stamp – is an outstanding mix of styles most notable for the quality of its more downbeat tracks, but also containing plenty of thumping dancefloor action on cuts such as ‘Set You Free’, ‘Pimp’ and ‘Real Deal’.
An all-Irish trance celebration looms large on the Armada release of Dubliner Paul Webster’s debut single, ‘Corruption’. Label boss Armin van Buuren has enlisted Belfast ex-pat Greg Downey on remix duties. Downey, incidentally, has been forced to re-record his contribution to the Live As… compilation series after gremlins wiped the stormer of a set he played at the Inside Out club in December.
Irish trance phenomenon John O’Callaghan (whose Live As… set recorded on the same date as Downey’s was unaffected by the technical hitch) has just completed his first remix for Vandit, the label owned and run by the world’s number one DJ, Paul van Dyk (who plays three club dates in Ireland in March). So impressed was the German with the Navan-based producer’s treatment of Thomas Bronzwaer’s ‘Constellation’ that he promptly commissioned O’Callaghan to remix another upcoming Vandit release.
On February 23 the first new studio recording for 12 years from the legendary Fergus O’Farrell (of Interference fame) sees the light of day on Irish ambient stamp, Psychonavigation Records. ‘All Your Life’/’Sweet Love’ were produced in collaboration with former Hyper(borea) member David Bickley and are released as a mini-album with remixes and new tracks by Chris Coco, Sacha Puttnam, Digitonal and Electric Penguins.
Last year he became the first DJ ever to sell out Dublin’s 8,000-capacity Point Theatre on his own, and now Dutch demigod Tiesto is preparing for his his biggest ever party in the North. Tiesto: Elements Of Life takes place at the King’s Hall in Belfast on March 31. It’s one of 70 Elements tour dates in major cities around the globe, with a Dublin date due to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Tripod’s weekly club, 515, is going on tour in the coming months. Its first out of town date is at Voodoo in Letterkenny, on February 16. And tickets are now on sale from usual outlets for the Harcourt Street return of James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli on March 30 to launch their One and One album. Other 515 dates worth noting include Booka Shade on March 2 and Danny Howells on February 23.
Rap Ireland magazine is launching a new weekly hip-hop club in Dublin on Saturday February 17, at Isaac Butts. Resident DJs at Rhapsody will be Frank Jez, Tim Dogg and the magazine’s editor, Kev Storrs.
Deep house don Charles Webster makes his annual appearance at Stereotonic in Dublin on February 23. His Parisian peer, DJ Deep, returns to Go Deep in Cork on February 17.
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life author, Bill Brewster will play his rescheduled Space Camp date at Wax in Dublin on February 17.
BBC1’s replacement for Fergie, Eddie Halliwell recently sold more than 1,000 tickets in advance of his first Irish set of 2007, at Music Factory in Carlow. The Fire It Up resident returns on March 2 to play Voodoo in Letterkenny, which has been regularly attracting crowds of up to 1,800 on Friday nights in recent months … THE BEAT GOES ON!