Trance for the memories

It’s been a great year for Irish dance music of every persuasion.

Belfast DJ Micky Modelle scored a UK top 10 hit with the commercial dance anthem, ‘Dancing In The Dark’, Navan’s John O’Callaghan established himself as one of the most respected producers in global trance, and Northerners Japanese Popstars put their stamp on the map with the electro smash, ‘Rodney Trotter’.
Cork’s Fishgodeep (featuring Tracey K) took genre-busting to new heights with the Defected release of their superb ‘The Cure & the Cause’ single. And fellow Leesider Edwin James made the world’s techno community sit up and take notice of his burgeoning SeedyR stamp, thanks to top notch albums from Asciinoid and his own Corrugated Tunnel project.
Belfast ex-pats Greg Downey and Simon Patterson scored major trance scene success with their respective singles, ‘Vivid Intent’ and ‘F-16’. Meanwhile, old hands Agnelli & Nelson enjoyed their most productive and rewarding year yet, with tunes such as ‘Shiver’ (their seventh UK hit), ‘Wear That Dress’ and ‘Endtro’, and a DJ diary that was booked solid by clubs across the globe.
Others who enjoyed continued international acclaim were techno producers Dancepig, Chymera and Sian (who has decamped to Barcelona), and drum ‘n’ bass dons Zero Tolerance and Beta 2 (signed to Goldie’s Metalheadz label).
Minimal techno and Swedish house were the buzzwords on the British club scene, so it was nice to see a couple of Swedish labels signing Irish house music from Donegal duo, Timmy & Tommy (ones-to-watch in 2007). Our other house export, Belfast’s Jupiter Ace, delivered a string of fine remixes and completed his debut album.
Summer 2006 was the best yet for festivals. More than 20,000 clubbers flocked to Belvedere House in Mullingar for the first Hi:Fi Ireland, and Planet Love 2006 at Shane’s Castle in Antrim in September enjoyed its biggest ever attendance of more than 15,000 revellers.
And of course, the dance tents at Oxegen in July and Electric Picnic in September were both jammed from start to finish.
In November, Dutch DJ Tiesto became the first jock ever to sell-out the 8,000-capacity Point Theatre. September saw the re-launch of the 2FM’s Sessions Tour live broadcasts from clubs for the first time in four years, and the 1,500-strong crowd at Traveller’s Friend Hotel in Mayo in November suggests RTRs Mr Spring and his roadshows are back for good.
Rival radio station Spin FM from Dublin won a new regional licence, in the first step of its march towards providing a nationwide rival to RTRs soon-to-be-launched digital radio services for the youth.
And Spin FM’s dance music don, John Gibbons, soared to new heights on the airwaves, in the clubs and in the studio.
The leading Irish purveyor of the ‘wet and hard’ house sound recalled as much of the dizzying 12-months as he could for Hot Press.
“While being the year that sleep deprivation almost drove me to the wall, 2006 is one that I will look back on with a large degree of satisfaction. An average of four gigs a week, and a heavy studio schedule, shattered the oft-held assumption that the life of a DJ is bitches, ho’s and VIP champagne.
“I produce and present Club Educate on Spin FM every Thursday night, and have appeared on many other radio stations around the world in the last year as a guest. These include 4 Elements (Slovakia), Fun Radio (Czech), Evropa2 (Czech), Life (Poland) and KVMB (California). My TV appearances include MTV, Viva TV (Poland), 4Fun TV (Poland), and Mexican TV.
“As a club DJ I have secured residencies at Passion (UK), Lamouche (France) and Flesh For Fantasy (Berlin). Other 2006 highlights include my first appearance as headliner for world-renowned club The Gallery at Turnmills in London, and a 10-date tour of Mexico. Not to mention headline slots at three Czech Republic festivals: Aquaphonic, KamikaCZe and Summer of Love (where I topped the bill with Kraftwerk, Jeff Mills and Chris Liebing).
“I recently signed to MFS management in Berlin for international DJ bookings which should ensure that 2007 remains equally busy. My studio sessions paid off when my first three solo productions — ‘Engorged’, ‘The Urge’ and ‘My Norca’ were signed to Flesh Records in Germany. And I’ve recently remixed Sander van Doorn, Mr. Sam feat Kirsty Kawkshaw and Corvin Dalek.”
Another big Irish export this year was the aforementioned Fishgodeep feat Tracey K’s debut, ‘The Cure & The Cause’.
Having topped the British dance charts in October, the full release of the single crashed into the top thirty of the British singles charts earlier this month.
Tralee-born chanteuse Tracey says the biggest thrill for the two Cork DJs (Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson) and herself was the unexpectedly wide appeal of the tune.
“We’d hoped it would win over the house crowd, but I ended up performing it everywhere: in grime clubs, garage clubs, it was amazing. Two of my highlights of the year where singing my song at Danny Tenaglia’s night in Pacha in New York, and at the amazing club Cielo, also in the Big Apple.
“But the best night was when I first performed ‘The Cure & The Cause’ in London at Turnmills. When the crowd started singing all the words back to me, I realised that we might have a hit on her hands. Electric Picnic was also amazing. The home crowd really got behind us. It was special.”
The Dublin-based vocalist is currently writing new material at her own studio, while several labels are in a bidding war for ‘Battery Man’, the second single to be taken from Fishgodeep feat Tracey K’s 2005 debut album, Lil Hand.
“We hope to release a lot more material in 2007. 2006 was really just about one song.”
But what a great song it was. And what a great year for the indigenous club scene.