Beats + Pieces: Living the Hi:Fi life

The big news for clubbers this fortnight is that tickets will be on sale for Hi:Fi Ireland, which runs on August 5 and 6 (the bank holiday weekend) at Belvedere House, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, as first revealed in this column back in February.
It’s a spectacular line-up for dance fans, featuring The Prodigy, DJ Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Mylo, Deep Dish, Carl Cox, Roger Sanchez, Sasha & Digweed, Audio Bullys, Cagedbaby, Tiga and Vitalic.
DJs performing include Judge Jules, Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, James Zabiela, Steve Lawler, Alecko, Infadels, Above and Beyond, Marco V, Danny Howells, James Lavelle, Col Hamilton, MYNC Project, Eddie Halliwell, Eric Prydz, Shapeshifters, Al Gibbs, Scott MacNaughton and Nic Fancuilli.
Weekend tickets (including camping) cost e130 (including booking fee) until June 1st, after which the price goes up to e150. There will be free onsite car parking, and the campsite opens on Friday August 4 at noon.
Incidentally, Planet Love 2006 looks almost certain to run at Shane’s Castle, Co Antrim on the same weekend as Electric Picnic takes place at Stradbally in Co Laois, which is the first weekend in September. Tickets for the latter – which has the divine pairing of New Order and Pet Shop Boys on the same line-up – are close to selling out, while an official announcement on the former is due in the coming weeks.
Irish techno outfit Corrugated Tunnel (aka Edwin James) will be releasing a new EP We Are Electronix at the end of May.
And a homeboy worth keeping an eye on – Dublin scratch-master DJ Flip – has teamed up with Freezemaster Slick to co-produce a double a-side for Luckycharm Records in conjunction with All City Records. Freestyle Arsonists’ ‘Like They Used To’ is paired with Foreign Legion’s ‘Come Up’ and it’s out in May.
Miami 2006, one of the best compilations of the biggest tunes at this year’s Winter Music Conference, is out this fortnight on Azuli Records in a non-stop mix by the label’s head honcho, Dave Piccioni, and a great value-for-money unmixed DJ-friendly double-CD format.
Other compilations to watch out for include Electric Pussycat (BBE) from the recent Go Deep guest DJ, Jerome Sydenham, a sublime electronic house set that’s not a million miles from the equally funky Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi mix from Luciano (Soma). Kenny Dope’s Choice (Azuli), meanwhile, is an eye-opening twin-CD selection of personal favourites from rare groovers such as James Brown and Sylvester.
The big artist albums of the fortnight at the B&P desk include Future Funk Squad’s monster Audio Damage (on Champion). It’s a much-hyped mix of a variety of styles from hip-hop to soul to bass-heavy breaks from producer Glen Nicholls (best known until now for remixing Moloko, Mylo and The Prodigy) working with a number of vocalists and more often than not it lives up to the hype.
Meanwhile Akala’s It’s Not A Rumour (Illastate) follows his current hit single ‘The Edge’ and stakes a claim for the British hip-hop crown, sampling The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ in the process. Some may find that sacrilegious, but Mick Jones apparently did not.
Two other essential albums come from Garden Party headliners Spank Rock (their awesome YoyoYoyoyo on Big Dada makes you think again about hip-hop) and Hot Chip (whose stunning effort The Warning reminds you how funky can be beautiful too).
Donegal duo Timmy & Tommy are launching a new DJ and production course in the STC in Temple Bar. Covering everything from basic mixing to DJ equipment, from advanced mixing to scratching, the course will also cover live performance technologies such as Ableton, Final Scratch and Reason. See www.soundtraining.com or www.timmyandtommy.com for more details.
Easter may have just left the building, but already the next bank holiday weekend looms large.
Among the many ace parties in Dublin during the Mayday mayhem are The Mad Professor Soundsystem at Crawdaddy on April 28, Ultramagnetic MCs legend, Kool Keith, at the same venue on April 30, and a live techno showcase from Irish stamps SeedyR and Invisible Agent at Spirit on the 28. Not to mention a Mash-Up mad one with Vitalic and Arveene at TBMC on April 29.
Elsewhere, French favourites The Youngsters will perform a full live show in GPO nightclub, Galway, on April 29, Deep Dish are at Lush! on the same date and The Scratch Perverts spin at The Stiff Kitten on April 30.
While in Limerick, The Budweiser Global Beats festival brings Mr Scruff, David Holmes, Norman Jay, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Colombian salsa outfit Sexeto Café, and the Spirit of Burlesque troop to Trinity Rooms and a host of other venues in Limerick.
Dublin-based DJ Flip returns from a tour of the US to join Irish MC Rob Kelly on a three-date Irish tour to promote the latest offering from Prozack Turner. Front man of critically acclaimed California hip hop group Foreign Legion, Turner has stepped up to the plate with his first solo album on independent label, Hungerstrike Records. The three hip-hop stars will play Ri-Ra in Dublin on April 21, Trinity Rooms in Limerick on April 22 and Horan’s in Tralee on April 29.
Further down the line, fast rising Polish techno DJ Jacek Sienkiewicz, guests at Electric City on May 4. Jackin’ Tracks founder Joey Youngman – aka Mario Fabriani – spins at Re:Publik at Ten in Waterford on May 6. And Lisa Lashes headlines the next Revolution four-roomed event at The Vaults, with Belfast-born trance star, Simon Dogzilla, and London acid techno warrior Rackitt, also on the bill.
And finally, congratulations to Robbie Wooton, Brian Spollen and the Spirit posse on the occasion of the Dublin club’s fourth birthday party. Underwater Records founder Darren Emerson will be leading the festivities on April 30 .
Pats on the back are also due to the longest-running club in the country, Lush!, now in its 11th year and the only Irish venue in the recent DJ Mag Top 50 Clubs in the World poll. The Portrush club was ranked No24. London’s Fabric, incidentally, was rightly ranked at number one …
THE BEAT GOES ON!