FDB

"An honest compilation of raw dance music energy.” Spencer Parker is a creative talent who cannot be pinned down. The Croydon-born, Berlin-based artist is regularly found fluidly connecting the dots between pounding house, thumping techno, and dreamy disco; in basements, darkened warehouses, and legendary spaces. He is a seasoned selector who just tries to play good records and sets the standards high for track selection in doing so. His excellence as a selector filtrates into his work as a producer. He has consistently released merciless dancefloor destroyers and unique house music on his very own ‘ Work Them Records ’ and second home label 'Rekids'. This year has seen Spencer in perhaps his most impressive form to date. His DJ calendar has been fully booked and he has curated his own album launch parties at fabled techno institutions such as Concrete. Furthermore, ‘Work Them Records' has continued to grow and expand as Spencer has welcomed new talent such a...

Kieran Hebden has embarked on an extraordinary journey since his first single ‘ thirtysixtwentyfive ’ was released in 1998. In case you’re wondering, the name of the track is the length of the song – 36 minutes and 25 seconds. This was our first glimpse at how outrageously creative and fearless Kieran’s electronic alter ego – Four Tet could be. The next, major part of Four Tet’s voyage in the world of electronic music was the release of his first full length, unique album ‘ Dialogue ' - which fused hip hop drums with dissonant sounding jazz samples. After this, ‘ Pause ’ was released in 2001. This had a highly contrasting sound to the first album, combining folk and electronica (Folktronica). This album was a first reveal that his life is highly incorporated into the music he makes. A recording of an office setting, which prominently features the sounds of typing on a keyboard; forms a recurring motif throughout the album. It opens ‘ Glue Of The World ’ , closes ‘ Hilarious...

Disco never intended to grow old and fizzle out, and it has endured over many years with sturdy resistance. Legendary early 70's nights at 'The Loft' or 'The Gallery' were revolutionary in enhancing love and unity in a dancefloor environment. Love was the message, and this was important to many people in our world, who found it difficult to accept diversity. Since then, the life of disco has endured moments of pure joy and happiness, but also pain and attempted murder (1979's 'Disco Demolition' - Chicago's Cosmiskey Park.)  Disco isn't instantly put in the same bracket as Rock 'n' Roll or Punk music as being recognised as an important cultural reverence; yet it's revolutions have been far reaching. It continues to inspire, and at this point in the 21st century, has gained much popularity, and seems to be back on top. Fever 105 have consistently spread a loving disco message since they started out 5 years ago. The Manchester bo...

Alfresco Festival is an independent, award winning, family friendly electronic music gathering which began as a day out in Blackpool. It has materialised into a 3-day weekend outing, and this year the festival welcomed some of the finest up and coming, and established DJs from the world of underground dance music. Aiming to incorporate an audience of all ages, the festival allows adults to bring their kids along to get an early insight into good music and share a great experience. The Hop Farm in Tunbridge Wells was chosen as the destination for this year’s festival. The festival area was intimate and easy to get around. The main stage, decorated in camo, and surrounded by mirror ball mannequins, stood at the helm of the main field. At the back of this field were 3 nightclub tents – ‘The Frontier Big Top’, which was the largest of the bunch and hosted some of the bigger artists; ‘The Cowbell Radio Stage’ and ‘The Club’. There were also two stages built in the woods, to the sid...

DJ Harvey has done it all. The pioneer of the re-edit starred at his own, inclusive underground club nights ‘Moist’ and was one of the first resident DJs at ‘Ministry of Sound’ (MOS) in the 90s; alongside icons such as Larry Levan and Tony Humphries. He spent a decade in NYC, but now he’s back on the international scene and has played everywhere over the last few years. His parties at ‘Pikes Ibiza’, have generated a large amount of praise from Harvey disciples, who have left the legendary Freddie Mercury hotel suite, in absolute awe and admiration of the enchanting, special party environment. Harvey returned to London on the 19 th May, to host a discotheque at the new cultural hub for music – Printworks. Dance music's very own wonder woman – Peggy Gou, and fan favourite – Skream joined Harvey in the press halls (main room); as well as other special guests Hot Chip Megamix, Jaye Ward and Haai. There was also a stellar line up in the charge bay (room 2), which involved seasoned ...

The Easter weekend is all about festivities and celebration. This year the people of London were spoilt for choice with where and how to party. The legendary Body & Soul disco pioneers – Danny Krivit, Francois K and Joe Claussell held a rare get-together at E1 London. Also, Fever 105 returned to Oval Space for another groovy disco extravaganza; showcasing the legendary talent of Norman Jay, Jazzie B and more. However, Fabric was the pick of a fantastic bunch, as it was announced that Floating Points would be playing a rare extended set, all day long in room 1. Although attending a Body & Soul session has been on my wish list for some time, and Fever 105 have consistently delivered with their events, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to see Floating Points doing his thing for 8 hours in the booth at Fabric. As expected, there was a serious party going on in room 1. The place was completely packed out 3 hours into Floating Points set. Moments after entering the main...