Beats + Pieces: Planet rock

RTÉ has confirmed to Beats & Pieces that its Planetlove Summer Session coverage on new digital radio station 2XM (still subject to licence with IMRO) will be a non-stop broadcast from either the Goodgreef or Collective Music arena. The new station can also be accessed from the web at www.rte.ie/2xm. The site received 8,000 hits for its live debut over the Oxegen weekend.
Old-fashioned analogue station RTÉ 2FM will also going out live from the Session at Fairyhouse Racecourse, Ratoath, Co Meath on September 8, starting at either 6pm or 9pm and focusing on the main Love Arena and one of the other main stages.
At this stage it looks likely that the Session – which is headlined by Dutch trance DJ Armin van Buuren – will become the first Irish music festival ever to sell out in advance in its first year. Tickets are limited to 15,000 and following a request from the gardai, none will be on sale at the venue on the day of the event, whether it sells out or not.
“There were fears that there could be traffic congestion and other problems if we sold tickets at the gates of the event,” co-promoter Sean Brennan told Hot Press. “We are happy to comply with the request not to sell tickets. To be honest it looks like we will sell out in advance anyway.” Tickets cost e69 and are available nationwide at usual outlets. All of the 1,000 slightly more expensive VIP tickets have now completely sold out.
Belfast trio Martin J Corrigan, Danny Todd and Phil Kieran – aka Alloy Mental – follow their incendiary festival sets at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Antiworld with a reissue of their debut single ‘Alloy Mental’ on Skint on September 3. The reworked tune (which sees the vox and guitars pushed to the fore) now boasts new remixes by Boyz Noize and Burglar Tom. A live version will also be included and it will available as a 12-inch and digital download.
Christian Boshell’s Dublin-based house stamp Monad Music’s sister label Omnis Recordings will be unleashing Mikel Curcio’s sinister progressive house beast ‘Pain’ in September. Remix duties go to Boshell and partner Brian Cody (who deliver an electro-tech workout) and electro heavy-hitter Nino Anthony (who has grabbed much attention for his output on Omnis, Subliminal and his own Portamento imprint)..
Boshel and Cody, meanwhile, have confirmed that they will be launching a new label Amalgam Audio later this year with their single ‘This Feel Is’, backed by a remix from Ben Shaw (aka Sunscape).
Qness Tunes is a new label run by Hazie from the Hot Press parish which promises a host of tunes on the house, techno and electro tips. Downloads are set to be its primary format (through online retailers Juno and Trackitdown) but limited CD singles will be available through the website, www.qnesstunes.com. The first release from Co. Donegal’s hugely popular DJ Justiy, is lined up for release in mid-September.
Scottish techno stalwarts Slam have remixed DK7 classic ‘Heart Like A Demon’ for an upcoming release on DK7 Recordings. The Irish half of the DK7 duo, Mark O’Sullivan, makes an all-too-rare DJ appearance in Dublin on August 25 at Al Keegan’s excellent weekly club, Acii Disco at The Hub.
German trance-meister Paul van Dyk will release his fifth album, In Between, in September. Collaborators on the set include ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Jessica Sutta from Pussycat Dolls (who provides the vocals on lead single ‘White Lies’), Alex M.O.R.P.H., Lo Fi Sugar, Ryan Merchant, Wayne Jackson and Tralee-born singer Rea Garvey, frontman with the hugely popular rock outfit Reamonn.
Spin FM DJ John Gibbons and Scimon Tist’s all-conquering rave-electro smash ‘Beautiful Filth’ – one of the biggest Irish anthems of the year so far – has been signed to the new Gatecrasher compilation and is currently the subject of a bidding war between several leading labels. We’ll keep you posted. (Scimon Tist, incidentally, is currently working on a new hip-hop EP for the Dublin-based All City stamp.)
Agnelli & Nelson have been picking up a lot of British radio airplay for their comeback single ‘Wear That Dress’, which is out on September 20 on Solar Stone’s Deep Blue label. Dutch legend Ferry Corsten told Hot Press that he has been caning the tune again, having first included the track in his sets last summer.
This year’s Corona Movida DJ Search launches on August 10 with a party at Sin in Dublin. Appearing on the night will be iconic Hacienda and Cream resident DJ Graeme Park, Corona Movida reigning world champion, Ireland’s DJ Tu-ki, FM104’s Al Gibbs and Sin’s Ronan O.
Incidentally, Graeme Park is among the DJs performing at the first official Hacienda 25th anniversary party at Sankey’s in Manchester on August 26.
Organised by one of the club’s co-founders, New Order’s Peter Hook (the legendary band heavily funded the iconic club), the event also features DJ sets from Justin Robertson, Sasha, Allister Whitehead, 808 State and Hooky. Tickets cost just e15 and are available from ticketline.co.uk It’s one of a number of special events lined up, which will be followed by the publication of Hook’s book about what is arguably the most important club in British history.
Cork techno producer Edwin James promises a hectic end to 2007. He is currently working on a number of projects with the aforementioned Mark O’Sullivan, is producing tracks for Chelonis R Jones (of Get Physical Records) and is close to completing his second Corrugated Tunnel album.
The SeedyR Records boss also has tunes signed to renowned labels UrbanTorque, Harthouse and Night Vision, and his debut 12-inch for Invisible Agent is currently being reworked by a legendary Tresor artist … THE BEAT GOES ON!