Lauren Martinez, a.k.a. Cry Baby, is a DJ and producer from Miami, FL. She moved to Brooklyn three years ago and has been killing it in New York ever since. She has upcoming releases on Euphoria Records and on Curses' new label, Safer At Night. We had a chance to catch up with Lauren to chat about her career, her hometown and plans for the future. Give her exclusive mix a listen and catch her at Le Bain, TBA Brooklyn and on her West Coast and European tour this summer.

For those of us who don’t know, tell us a bit about yourself? I was born in Miami and moved to Brooklyn about 3 years ago. Since then I have started a party called House On Mute which began at SubMercer (now closed). We now have residencies at our favorite NY venues and get to play with really talented Dj's. It's been doing really well and the outcome has surpassed anything I could have hoped for. I've recently been collaborating with Euphoria Records. We host parties and make music together. It's been pretty rad!

What's behind your name? Why Cry Baby? Gotta get to know me to find out!

Do you dabble in production? Yes I do. Look for releases soon on Euphoria Records and Curses' new imprint on Trouble & Bass, Safer At Night. I included one of the tracks in the mix. Guess which one!

Although New York’s scene is larger, would you say Miami is more nightlife friendly (fewer regulations, open late/more afterhours, etc.)? No I would say New York is definitely more nightlife friendly. The after-hours and underground warehouse party scene we have here would be impossible to pull off in Miami. Yea you have places like Space there but sometimes you wanna go party for 24-hours straight in some illegal shithole with an amazing sound system.

Where have you been playing recently? I currently have residencies at Le Bain and TBA. I am also embarking on a West Coast and European tour this summer with Euphoria label mates Adam Collins and Daniel Orestes so look out for that! I will be hosting/djing a few parties in Miami for WMC. Also will be playing a new series called Lost In Paradise on March 23rd.

What are some dream gigs? Any place where there's sunshine, rum and a good sound system! Also maybe Watergate (Berlin) or Treehouse (Miami).

What has been the most gratifying moment so far in your career? This one time I played at an after-hours party my crew and I were hosting at a small underground venue called Beef Cuts. The mixer we were using was broken and my headphones weren't working. It seemed that all odds were against me but I decided to accept the challenge and play anyway. It ended up being my best set yet. I was only supposed to play for about 2 hours but instead I ended up going for 6! Those are the experiences that make djing so gratifying. The connection between the crowd and I were everything you look for in a party.

Tell us a bit about the approach you took to the exclusive mix you made for us. I just let it flow. Some friends have coined me as "The Queen Of Darkness" because I have an affinity for the dark side. I have an obsession with the afterlife and beyond. I'm intrigued by all things occult.

What is on the horizon for Cry Baby?  I've come pretty far in the short time that I've been at this and I truly believe it's because of how strong the Law Of Attraction is in my life. I've always let that be my guide in anything that I do. I believe in myself and my ability to make things happen. Even when people said I'm living in a dream world and that I'm delusional, I've constantly proved them wrong. Don't get me wrong. It hasn't been easy at all but the journey itself has made everything worth it. So what's on the horizon for me? More music, more parties, more travel, more friends, more love (and broken hearts haha) and in the far future maybe start my own label, or open a club. Stay tuned!

All photos courtesy of Mayleen Gonzalez.

Listen to Cry Baby on Pulse Radio

Although CD sales have been declining fairly consistently over time, the death of the CD is actually one of the slowest on record. Vinyl sales have been increasing but it’s a smaller niche market. With the growing popularity of digital downloads, experts predict that 2014 may finally see the digital album sales eclipse CD sales.

According to Billboard, full-length downloads have only overtaken CD sales four times in the past, with three of these times occurring in early 2014. As of February 2nd, Nielsen SoundScan estimates that total album sales since the beginning of the year have reached 22.99 million with 11.18 million coming from downloads and only 11.10 million from CDs. 710,000 units of vinyl have been sold in the same period of time.

Listen to Pulse Radio

Beatport has revealed the nominees for it’s 2014 Beatport Awards. Beatport, the world’s largest music store for DJs, holds the awards to showcase the music, creative forces, and labels that drove the evolution of electronic music culture. The award categories this year are aimed at recognizing the best artists, labels, tracks, remixes, collaborations, and more of 2013. Check out the full list of nominees for the Community Choice categories below.

Voting is now open for all Community Choice categories for this year’s Beatport Awards. Vote today on Beatport’s website - voting ends on Friday, February 28th and the winners will be announced on Friday, March 7th!

Community Choice Awards

Track Of The Year:
“Animals” - Martin Garrix
“Got A Feeling (Bontan Remix / Pleasurekraft Edit)” - Josh Butler, Bontan, Pleasurekraft
“I Could Be The One” – Avicii vs. Nicky Romero
“Imprint Of Pleasure” - Tube & Berger
“Mammoth” - Dimitri Vegas, Moguai, and Like Mike
“My House” - Purple Disco Machine

Artist of the Year (listed in alphabetical order):
Avicii
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
Dusky
Hot Since 82
Krewella
Martin Garrix
MK
Showtek
Ten Walls
Tube & Berger
W&W
Zedd

Label Of The Year:
ANJUNABEATS
Bedrock Records
Cocoon
Defected
Dim Mak Records
Drumcode
Innervisions
Off Recordings
OWSLA
Revealed Recordings
Spinnin Records
Toolroom Records

Album Of The Year:
A Song Across Wires [Extended Versions] - BT
Calamari Tuesday - Feed Me
Intense [Extended Versions] - Armin Van Buuren
Involv3r - Sasha
Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
Settle - Disclosure

Listen to Pulse Radio

After a successful year of throwing their signature Block Parties around North America and recently bringing them to South Africa, Mad Decent is introducing a new party concept – the Mad Decent Boat Party. Scheduled to set sail from November 12th to November 16th, the ship will leave from Miami heading to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. Mad Decent is bringing along a good portion of their crew as well as a few of their friends with Big Gigantic, Dillon Francis, Diplo, Flosstradamus, GTA, Major Lazer, Wolfgang Gartner, and many more already announced in the first phase of the lineup.

The four-day extravaganza is sure to be full of good friends, great music, and beautiful weather. Passengers who book their trip during the presale receive a few extra benefits listed below. A few lucky fans will win prizes that fall in line with Mad Decent’s sense of humor such as a haircut from Nadastrom, a coffee break with Zeds Dead, and housekeeping by Dillon Francis.

Listen to Zeds Dead on Pulse Radio

It wouldn't be a visit to Oceania for Tyler, The Creator and his Odd Future crew without some kind form of controversy. The band have been banned entry to New Zealand after being "deemed to be a potential threat to public order".

Odd Future were billed to support Eminem in Auckland for the Rapture festival but their visas were revoked by immigration following pressure from Stop Demand - an anti-sexual violence group.

"Odd Future has been deemed to be a potential threat to public order and the public interest for several reasons, including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence," reads a statement from Immigration New Zealand.

This isn't the first time the rap crew have been banned from NZ, having been removed from the Big Day Out line-up back in 2011.

Naturally Tyler has made his opinion known via his Twitter.

Listen to Pulse Radio

It's the day lovers love to love and haters love to hate; Valentine's Day. It's also the day those crafty people at Hallmark clean up big time. We don't really care what your feelings are about La Saint Valentin, because for us it's simply a great excuse to share with you a bunch of dance and electronic music love songs. Some are sappy, some are tunes to get busy to tonight, and of course it wouldn't be the day of love without a little heartbreak, right?

Happy Valentine's Day, Love Pulse x

The calendar page just turned, revealing a new dawn that came packaged as a kind of energy that was spawn when all the clicking and the scrolling, the listening, the entering of competitions, all the Facebook liking and the Twitter following started taking place motivated by all the CTEMF Satellite events in running up to the grand finale on the weekend of the 7th of February. Read further for what our editor Cliff Viljoen and contributor The Lazarusman wrote about #CTEMF2014. 

Friday, 7th of February was when the third annual Cape Town Electronic Music Festival kicked off at the Grand Parade, Cape Town with CT based talent behind the hardware, Julz Sanchez spinning the opening track. It’s a fine art opening up any event, let alone an event of this magnitude on African soil, with a respectable list of global top-tier DJ’s on a day that will ultimately lead to heavyweight DJ, HOBO to close the first day of #CTEMF2014. The Nu disco, deep, jazzy sounds of Julez Sanchez got the festival underway setting the bar noticeably high. 

Crazy White Boy & Nonku Phiri.

It wasn’t until about 19:30 / 20:00 on the Friday evening when the gaps on the dancefloor started filling out quite nicely. At this stage on the line-up, it was Crazy White Boy collaborating with vocalist, Nonku Phiri guiding partygoers through the rain that started to ease in. What rain!? It bothered no-one, in fact, it subtly added to the atmosphere, with the most of the crowd welcoming the rain with open arms and smiles aimed at the heavens as CWB dropped one of Ryan Murgatroyd’s (Part Crazy White Boy) class productions, Bantwana’s Piano. If I had to package that very moment and throw it out there as something you would probably relate to, I’d call it a Proudly South African moment in music. 

#CTEMF2014 and the rain had arrived. The organisers had paid meticulous attention to detail with the setup of the stage and the visually-pleasing containers situated around the arena. Rain still not a bother. Justin Martin had also just started playing, the time 20:30. While the rain was getting progressively harder, Justin Martin was demonstrating production at its finest, keeping the floor together with his infectious, positive energy and the enormous club tracks he was dropping. There were moments in his set that recalled very fond memories from famous party brand in SA, Kinky Disco a few summers back, the Oudekraal party to be exact...Remember that!? Amazing. Basically what I’m saying is, good vibes all round. Thoroughly enjoyed the ride. 

Justin Martin (Dirty Bird)

From one Dirty Bird to another, J.Phlip was up next, J.Phlip seamlessly took over the reins. With her Acid-House productions, she paid such compliment to the stage setup, which was an awesome amalgamation, a complex technical hybrid of light, sound pyrotechnics and LED screens that offered a visual treatment to equal and elevate with the finely tuned, well tailored audio planes. Internationally respected, local hero Protoculture blew minds with the way his set, and the lighting spotlighted, yet again, the magnitude of this production and its flawless execution. Protoculture masterfully set up for, who, a considerable amount have said to be the highlight of their Friday, HOBO.  

#CTEMF2014 by night. 

It was day #2. A sunny Saturday. The looming grey clouds had cleared inviting the partygoers to get down to the Parade from as early as 12 p.m. Hot coffee and foot-long hot dogs were available from the famous food trucks in CT. Bars and Red Bull fridges fully stocked with CTEMF staff rearing to go. Who, by the way, did a phenomenal job in keeping the operation running smoothly with no noticeable issues.  

#CTEMF2014

Day #2’s line-up offered a movement that could have easily been misconstrued as confusing, however, being an electronic music festival that showcases groundbreaking performances across the board of electronic productions, you took each set on, almost separately, although it has to be said that the progression as a whole, over the weekend worked well. Also, fair-play and much respect to the guys we all had our backs faced to for the most of the weekend. The most important crew of the lot. Without these guys, the show, cannot go on. Sterling performance and well done to the team/s responisble for the audio/visuals.

Part of the Production Team. 

The earlier part of the day The Skene Brothers put together a great set that needs mention. It made me reminisce on the class act they put together at Rocking The Daisies a couple years back that sort of felt like it was the beginning of something, not sure if I know what that something is just yet, but that’s what it felt like, it felt like that again. The brothers, donning Skollie T-Shirts pulled it off nicely. 

The Skene Brothers.

Saturday was the day that the co-founder of Def Jam Records, owner of Jazzy Jay Studios that was home to Hip Hop pioneers, A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Hall of Famer The Original Jazzy Jay, was to play what turned out to be an incredibly nostalgic, feel good set. We managed to catch up with Jazzy right after his set where he expressed what a pleasure it was to be a part of the #CTEMF2014.

The Original DJ Jazzy Jay. Legend. 

Sedge Warbler was fantastic followed by Dirty Paraffin who offered audiences the sounds of what could be termed a “neo township movement” which is a mish-mash of Hip Hop, Kwaito and electronic music. Dirty Paraffin’s edge is their lead singer Smiso’s sense of humour, hidden in the catchy verses of each song. This matched with his unique dancing ability is something to behold and the audiences loved every moment, it was truly an outstanding performance.

Sedge Warbler. 

Haezer followed Caspa, Caspa who was Benga’s replacement after he surprisingly created some viral news when he hung-up his headphones the week before the event. Following Haezer was Noisia who closed the second day with a 01:00 set, a very heavy 01:00 set. It was all systems go, the floor was packed, the media tent was buzzing, bars were full-tilt and partygoers both on and off the floor seemed to be completely enthralled in whatever it was that they were doing at that moment in time. THAT disco ball hanging above, reflecting on the events. Noisia still very much there.

What the space of the Grand Parade offered was, the fact that you could “step-out-of-it” at any given time to take it all in, the giant disco ball, the City Hall building, Table Mountain, the stage, the Red Bull area that overlooked the laser-lit parking lot turned world-class electronic music dancefloor for 3 days, and of course, the people. Noisia was just closing up at that stage, the arena was heaving and the surrounds at the time looked filled with scattered ants scurrying around trying to get every last treat in for the day before coming back for a predominately House line-up on Sunday. #CTEMF2014 was still happening.  

It was one space, one setup and one floor that housed various mentalities, ideals, and musical preferences...

The fact that this music festival is able to mix, redirect, adjust perceptions, and even cultures are I believe the keys to CTEMF’s success.  You could arrive being completely devoted to Deep-House and walk away, 48 hours later, having converted to jazz and or Dubstep. Well, you know what I mean... One can diversify and expand ones wings; one can explore musical avenues less explored at the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival. Artists need these types of festivals to grow and expand their fan bases. To educate is to empower and #CTEMF2014 managed that for both artists and audiences, flawlessly. The main event just reiterate’s the focus of the workshops in a more practical, aesthetically pleasing form, if you like. 

A supremely well-crafted line-up with the main characters behind the hardware going by the well-known names of Transmicsoul, Sir Vincent, Shimza, HVOB, Portable, Dixon, and Black Coffee were to adjudicate the Sunday.  

The earlier artists such as Langa based DJ and promoter Sir Vincent and The Red Bull Music Academy attendee Transmicsoul got Sunday the 9th of February going, setting the standard high for the rest of the day on an already exceptional level of attainment. Sunday also saw a return performance from Portable; a Cape Town born artist who now successfully ploughs his trade in Europe. His performance was a dreamy, tech-filled journey befitting of his status and ability. What was special was the fact that he had brought his entire family to watch the show. Black Coffee also marked his return to the festival with what could have easily been the best set of the weekend; having been on the bill for #CTEMF2013, Black Coffee blurred all memories of his previous visit to CTEMF with a performance of magnum opus proportions. Phenomenal.

Black Coffee (Soulistic Music)

On a personal level, the time had arrived, CTEMF’s headliner, Dixon the owner of Innervision was to close the Sunday, and the electronic music festival. He arrived as the number one polled DJ for 2013, so expectations were high and as if oblivious to all of this, Dixon elegantly shifted audiences between delight, madness and unprecedented joy. He showed the reason why he curated music for Jazzonava for over a decade. He showed why his label is amongst the best in the world.

Dixon. Educating the crowd. 

The musical journey he took audiences on was a loop in time. It was a trap between the present and the future. Dixon managed to find gaps for everything in his set.  We went from soul to progressive to hard basses to African drum beats and even songs with ululation. This wasn’t just a set, it was a classroom and all the students were in attendance for the best lecture of their lives. So 'educational' was his approach, and all were in awe. He described his set as “trancy” which is apt as he seemed to have the audience spell-bound; his set ended too soon but will last long in the chambers of our fondest memories.

Dixon. This man demands respect. 

CTEMF is not so much about the international artists coming to South Africa and local artists sharing the stage with them, it’s about international artists being welcomed into our fold, and sharing a stage with our local artists. The festival is South Africa showing the world how we do things. We may not be on their level but there is decorum and grace in the way we do things. #CTEMF2014 is testament to that.

The longevity of this festival is necessary. Not only for the future of electronic music, but for South African music as a whole. Check out Pulse Radio's photo gallery of the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival.

Can’t wait for #CTEMF2015.

Listen to Pulse Radio 

Another day, another stack of awesome music, and the best thing about the electronic spectrum is that it caters for such an array of niche tastes. Case in point: Today, new tunes and EPs are on the boil from artists as diverse as Maya Jane Coles, Ben Watt, Machinedrum and Squarepusher.

Maya Jane Coles has teased fans with a preview of her new track 'Stand Still' which will appear on an upcoming deluxe version of her debut album 'Comfort,' set to drop on March 24.

UK DJ, producer and founder of the now sadly defunct Buzzin Fly label, Ben Watt, has been busy recording his second solo album,'Hendra,' a whopping 30 years since his first in 1983. Described by the man himself as "simply a folk-rock record in an electronic age," the LP was made in collaboration with Ewan Pearson and features a cameo from David Gilmour from Pink Floyd.

NYC producer Travis Stewart, a.k.a. Machinedrum, has announced that he will release a new EP 'Fenris District' on the Ninja Tune imprint next month. Check out the single set to feature on it, 'Back Seat Ho.'

Lastly, Squarepusher (also part of the Ninja Tunes stable) has revealed details of his latest EP, which sees him use music-playing robots as instruments. Check out a preview video of the EP below.

Listen to Pulse Radio

What’s happening South Africa!? With our finger on the proverbial pulse of this beast of an industry that spawns-off event after event, each weekend, week-in and week-out, we put together a list of ‘don’t miss’ events each and every Friday for our readers. From ramblings on the net, to conversations in the bathrooms of your favourite clubs, from the inside-info that finds its way into your inbox, to straight up just searching for what it is you want on the dancefloor, Pulse offers a selection of events mostly in the Cape and Gauteng regions that begs your attention. They really shouldn’t be missed. 

What’s Happening Cape Town?   

Goldfish Submerged Stage – Ultra Cape Town 

Goldfish's summer party concept "Submerged" is proud to announce that they will be hosting a stage with a massive local and international line-up including themselves. Dancefloor eruption when these lads are around, and with the rest of the line-up that’s billed to play on this stage, partygoers are in for a treat. 

Ultra South Africa – Cape Town

Following months of speculation and anticipatory hearsay from hopeful dance music enthusiasts across all corners of the globe, ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL have long now, put the rumors to rest that the World’s Premier Electronic event will be happening in the iconic cities of Cape Town & Johannesburg. It’s go time today!  

Globalize Yourself Stereo presents Pratersauna

Globalize Yourself Stereo presents Pratersauna will be on 14 February 2014 at the Grand Daddy Hotel. From 5:00 pm till 01:00 am which will feature the live acts and DJ's as the nights entertainment. Additionally there will be a live capture of the event, which you can listen to on Globalize Yourself Stereo the radio show. 

Event Set Times Sky Bar:
17:00 - 18:30 Ruthy Pearl 
18:30 - 19:30 HVOB
19:45 - 21:00 Soul Housing Project 

Event Set Times Daddy Cool Bar:
21:30 - 22:30 Felix The Houserat
22:30 - 23:30 Friedrich Locke
23:30 - 01:00 Xee

Bassmint presents Trickski (Germany)

BASSMINT is incredibly excited to have Trickski (Germany) with them on Friday night for one last dance before he heads back to dance-music Mecca, Berlin. Joining Trickski on the hardware will be none other than Cape Town based DJ, Bruno Morphet alongside Bassmint residents, Daniel Courtenay and Matt Blitz. Drinks specials start at 16:00. Beats start at 18:00.

The Rooftop of Dreams featuring Ben Rau

Rooftop of Dreams/NomadiQ Music know how to put on a party. They’ve long been occupying the 11th floor of the Park Inn by Radisson in Cape Town, from time to time inviting partygoers to join them, the view, and the extraordinary line-ups they always manage to pull off. This will be no different, with international heavyweight on the decks, Ben Rau headlining this rooftop. 

YOH! Sex Education

They held YOH! BACK 2 SCHOOL last month. This month they bring you their second party in Cape Town for 2014 - YOH! SEX EDUCATION. February being the month of love with Valentines and all, they’ve decided that their event shall be aptly named YOH! Sex Education. 

What's Happening Johannesburg? 

Love is on the Rooftop

Here’s some info you might want to remember, Happy Hour Specials (5pm - 6pm).  Bro-Love: 2 for 1 beers or ciders (selected beers & cider).  Sista-Lovin: 2 Cocktails & A Slice of Cheesecake - R110. We’re in love: 2 Cocktails + Any Platter - R230.

Love Vibrations

Love Doctors in the House for this one boasts names to likes of Michael Lesar, BEXS ON DECKS, The Dub Cousins, Satori, Cartoon Chaoss and B-Slim on the decks at JHB’s Kitcheners. 

What Were You Thinking? 

The one Valentines day jol that you cant miss this year, with some of SA's most talented emerging acts, two great stages, one of Jozi's top venues and a great vibe make sure this is a night to remember. 

Toy Toy – February

This Friday they welcome, Rebekah (CLR - UK), the third international artist of the TOY TOY 5x5 Series, who has also just played the CTEMF Satellite event in CT, owning the dancefloor. Supported by an all lady line-up that includes names like Monique Pascall, Anthea and Marcela, this should get steamy.

Ultra South Africa – Johannesburg

Having watched the production build from day 1, and now seeing both the Ostrich Farm in CT and Nasrec in JHB all fully-dressed up, excitement is definitely brewing. This is going to be one spectacular production that boasts 8 international top-tier DJ’s on the Main Stage, supported by an array of extremely talented local acts on the second and third stages. Don’t miss this! 

Listen to Pulse Radio 

The line up for Time Warp Mannheim’s 20th Anniversary has now been confirmed. On April 5th,  over 40 DJs and live acts will descend on Mainmarkthalle in Mannheim, featuring festival favourites like Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox and Laurent Garnier, as well as newcomers like Ilario Alicante, Recondite und Sonja Moonear.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, Time Warp’s 20 Year Tour will also be heading off to its first non-European destination, the first stop of which will be Buenos Aires on May 30th-31st. For more info, visit www.time-warp.de/argentina.

For more information and tickets, visit www.time-warp.de

Listen to Sven Vath on Pulse Radio.

Acid, house, techno, you name it; Josh Wink is up there at the top of the tree. He’s been responsible for some truly scene-defining music over a long career, with singles like his 1995 acid frenzy break beat track, “Higher State Of Consciousness,” and LPs such as “When a Banana Was Just a Banana.” Though his impact on the ‘90s electronic landscape didn’t remain his crowning achievement, as Josh is still one of the most sought after and respected jocks touring today. I saw him smash it at Enter and Space Closing in Ibiza last summer. And now, 2014 sees his hugely successful imprint, Ovum, the label he has lovingly created and nurtured, celebrate its 20th birthday with a world tour (and, as a piano-playing vegetarian, he’s a man after my own heart).

The interview was one of the most interesting chats I’ve had with an artist. Afterwards, Josh became the interviewer and asked me questions, a surprise and refreshing twist – but that’s another story... Here, read about the life, longevity and future of his thriving label, and get an insight into Josh’s inspirational approach to music.

This year, Ovum celebrates 20 years. Two decades on, what have been your biggest achievements on the label from a personal point of view? For me the biggest achievement is being able to say that it’s 20 years old. The fact that I can sit down with you twenty years later and say I have a label that’s still going strong, that people still support. We have longevity and the integrity to keep going. That’s the biggest achievement of anything. Most people would probably say their career and where they are right now is about how long they’ve been doing it, and with Ovum we’re blessed to have gone through all the ups and downs.

How do your dual roles of DJ and label head impact on each other? Does the music you play in your sets influence who you sign, or do you give equal weight to what you personally like and what you think will be successful? That’s a great question. We base music on how it hits us emotionally. The music must have feeling. We don’t necessarily sign tracks on whether it’s the trendy sound of the moment, or if we think it’s going to sell a lot. We take pride in having a diverse catalogue of different kinds of music, from deep to techno to acid jazz, hip-hop, tech house, drum and bass... we’ve run the gambit! I’m not saying we don’t sign things that sound present at the moment, but it has to have something unique in there for us to be able to have longevity. We don’t want to sign music now that in 3 years people will be like, “Oh, that sounds so 2013.” We want it to be relative in 10, 20 years. We sign music on the merit of how it affects our hearts not necessarily how it’ll affect our cheque books. Not everything’s based on whether or not I’d play it; it’s whether or not I like it. That’s a big thing.

You’ve recently just done a remix for Matthias Kaden’s “Fin.” What did you want to achieve with your remix? That’s the great thing about remixes – they’re interpretations. I heard the track a certain way immediately, delivered it to Matthias and he was so happy. He said ‘it's pure Josh Wink’. I was glad I was able to deliver something that captures who I am as a DJ and producer. Sometimes remixes are easy and some are hard, and this one came quite easily.

There are some gorgeous piano keys in it. Do you still play piano yourself? I took piano lessons when I was younger but I didn’t stick with it. I wanted to be out playing football and doing athletic boy things instead of sitting at a piano! I really wish I’d been more diligent with it, but it still instilled a music interest in me. I know chords and I’m still able to work things out, but in terms of doing a live show, forget about it! I have a son now so I’m going to try and instil with him to learn instruments while he can.

Ovum will also be releasing some extra special music throughout the year, starting with Ben Klock and ROD remixes of your track from back in ‘96, “Are You There.” How did these remix come about with these artists? Can you give us an idea of what to expect? I’m not 100 percent sure yet because we’re getting it mastered right now, but we’re going have a limited edition vinyl release of the Ben Klock remix with the ROD remix on the other side. Harry Romero also did a remix too, because he wanted to get in on it, which is really great. It’s cool that Ben liked it enough to do a remix on his own. I think we released the original in 1996, then hopefully pick another couple of tracks from our catalogue and do some new releases.

What it was like living in Philadelphia in the ‘90s? Any great stories you can share with us? Sometimes people come up to me and say, “Hey do you remember I met you? It was like 1994 we were at a rave in Vermont, I gave you a flyer when you were going to the bathroom!” And I’m like, “I’m so sorry I don’t remember!” I don’t remember a lot and I always wondered why that was. I used to say in interviews, I wish I did drugs because it would give me an excuse for why I can’t remember things! But when I think about it, I’ve been doing parties for over 25 years almost every weekend. That’s a lot of things to remember! I would love to keep everything in my short term memory where I can just automatically call it up, but the long term memory is very boggled just because of how many great things I have in there to get lost in. So it was a really cool fun time of music, where it was something emotional and new in the States. It shaped lots of things for world music on an electronic basis; at the same time it didn’t really progress to the same level as it did around the rest of the world because of the problems that came with the raves; the drugs and police and the underage crowd...

Tracks like “Higher State of Consciousness,” “Don’t Laugh” and “I’m Ready” put you on the map. How do you feel about those tracks now? Do you still love to play them, or do you find yourself sick of them? That’s like asking the Beatles do they like playing their songs. I’m not comparing myself with the Beatles, obviously, but you could ask any artist that performs their own tracks, “Are you going to be sick of playing those songs all the time?” I look at it like, people come out to hear me play in a club or at an event, they want to hear my music, so I try and mix it up and play some of the old as well as the new. My true fans expect a bit of both, they’re the ones that come up and ask me for old catalogue tracks like “Superfreak” or “Are You There.” Then there are people who want the new stuff. My music is like getting a tattoo; it stays with me my whole life. I’m not ashamed by it, I’m happy about it. It’s opened doors and helped me see certain things about the music industry. Sometimes I play it, sometimes I don’t.

You seem like quite a cosmic soul. Do you think you play better or enjoy DJing more when the music flows like a stream of consciousness? Or do you prefer to plan what you’re going to do? It’s awesome to hear you say that, and I aspire to be like that. For me, performance is just being spontaneous. I feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully they feed off me. True fans know what I do, where I’ll go. I'll play house, techno, minimal, drum and bass, go where the crowd allows me to go. And that’s a really nice symbiotic relationship I have with a true fan-base crowd. I dig that. I love that. I get more satisfaction looking out in the crowd and seeing people with their eyes closed, lost in the music, than I do seeing them with their eyes open, a beer in their hand, fist pumping and pogo dancing like most people do for EDM; that’s not my main goal. I love it when people can use music as a form of therapy to get lost. I get more satisfaction when I see that. One of my jobs as a DJ is to help people do that while expressing myself artistically through my music.

Your Space Closing Fiesta set is one of my favourite sets; I still like to listen to it to remind me of the summer. What music do you always go back to? Sometimes I wish I was hit over the head and I lost my memory so I could listen to some music as a fan rather than someone who’s producing and critiquing music. But I tend to get nostalgic cool feelings about music that I grew up with, whether listening to This Mortal Coil, The Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode... I’m not talking the hits; I’m talking the whole album. So much of our market now is based on going to iTunes, downloading one track from an album and putting it in a big playlist of hits. But if I listen to a whole Radiohead album, if I put on “Amnesiac,” I’m going to listen to it from start to end. I love listening to a full body of music from beginning to end, especially when I travel. I also use music to calm and soothe my mind, purely like an aural landscape so to speak. I listen to music that’s there, like Brian Eno, or ambient music where I don’t focus on the production or the lyrics, just the feeling in it. I listen to a lot of jazz at the house and recently a lot of kid’s music because of my son.

Let’s talk about the concept of letting go to music. Are you a perfectionist? Since you use this sort of “mistake theory” to create music, at what point do you know when a track’s really finished? I used to not know this. I’d become masochistic, beating myself up over it and trying to get it perfect. But perfect for me isn’t necessarily perfect for someone else. I could think something’s unfinished but someone could hear it and think it’s great. I don’t want to overproduce something. A good thing about DJing nowadays with making music is I can test it out. Like “Fin,” I played it out a lot before submitting the final version. I got ideas while I was DJing then went back in the studio and tweaked and fine-tuned it. I learn from people’s reactions and my own visions.

20 years on from its birth, what are your new aspirations for the label? What do you hope to achieve with it this year? We’re doing a bunch of Ovum events around the world, curating our own parties and festival stages with our vast and revered roster of artists. We’ll continue to release new music along with releasing some of our legacy catalogue items. In terms of the future, we’re still going to follow our hearts, as much as it turns out to be a labour of love. It’s difficult making and releasing music that you personally like, because that doesn’t mean that everyone else will. It’s harder if it’s not the sound of the moment, but I don’t want to go down that route. I want to be able to do what I really want to do rather than having to do it; that’s very important to me. Like, say you have the dishes, if you make dinner, and you want to go to sleep but you’ve got dishes to do. There’s two ways to look at doing them. One is, oh shit I have to do the dishes. The other one is I want to do the dishes. If you want to do the dishes, it seems much easier than having to do them. So I want to be in a position where I really enjoy what I do, not having to do something because that’s what I believe I should enjoy.

And what can we expect from Josh Wink in 2014? My son has evicted me from my home studio basement because he needs his own room! So I had to move over 13,000 records and like a 142 stone studio along with other crazy equipment, so it’s taken me two weeks to where I’m almost up and running today. After this I’m going to go to the studio, hopefully get cracking and make some music! The last piece of music was last year with Balls, and it was a great success, a lot of people dug it and liked where I was coming from, and I haven’t changed my sound or style, it’s just good quality Josh Wink music and I want to be able to do that

The remix EP of "Are You There" will be released March 25th on Ovum Recordings, and be sure to check www.ovumrecordings.com for info on his upcoming Ovum 20 tour. 

Listen to Josh Wink on Pulse Radio.

The lineup keeps getting bigger as we approach the final hours before Tomorrowland 2014 tickets go on sale. So far, names announced include Carl Cox, Dave Clarke, Erol Alkan, Hardwell, Jamie Jones, Laidback Luke, Loco Dice, Paul Kalkbrenner, Sven Väth and Tiësto. 

 As of now, the festival will still be taking place over two weekends, from July 18-20, and 25-27, though there's opposition from nearby residents who have complained about the noise. 

 Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 17h00 CET, though you can only purchase tickets if you've pre-registered, which you still have time to do. Visit www.tomorrowland.com/global-sale for more info.

LIsten to Loco Dice on Pulse Radio.

If anyone is truly confident to express themselves in the industry, London’s Jesse Rose is the one. 2013 was no doubt a pivotal year for the “Made to Play” imprint boss, where he found not only time for a jam packed touring schedule, but to also write a 12 track album, producing one 12-inch record every month for a whole year. The highly anticipated album, titled The Whole Twelve Inches, has been released this week, just in time for Pulse to have a little chat with Jesse about his inspirations and passion for music.

How was your 2013? 2013 was absolutely mental. If I thought it was hard work building up my career from the age of 19 to 25- breaking through and traveling around the world- 2013 made all of that look really easy. I probably made over 50 tracks: producing my own tracks for the 12x12 project, working with other people on separate projects, doing remixes for Bob Marley, Calvin Harris, Riva Starr and all that, producing new rappers and singers, doing the A&R for Play It Down, getting ready for next year, and always sort of being on tour. Yeah, it's quite a lot. It's funny because at the end of most years I think it's going to be a lot easier and I won't have to work as hard and will be able to sleep in, but I think in fairness I just really love working. I would be bored if my days weren't 18 hours long.

What was your inspiration for releasing an album in the form of 12, 12inch tracks, with one produced each month? I wanted an album of A-sides, so I thought instead of just releasing an album like normal, I’d release a single every month for a year; that way I knew each single would have to be as super hot as I could make it, and it would give me time to later re-edit and tweak all the tracks for full-album purposes. I also really liked the idea of being able to get feedback and responses for each track from fans and DJs as they came out. I find myself missing tracks on albums I really enjoy from artists I deeply respect, so by spreading things out I just really tried to make it more digestible.

Explain your mindset going into each new track… Did you find it difficult to maintain the flow of the album? To be honest, when I go into my studio, I just start writing. A lot of the time I just like to jam, and seeing as the 12x12 series were single releases, I knew for the most part they’d all have a club vibe. But I like writing deeper stuff. Other times I get into more of a techno vibe. Just depends on what side of the bed you wake up on! I consider myself extremely lucky that I’ve got the freedom to be able to be able to make and play what I’m into.

How would you define the overall theme of the album? How did the individual tracks play into the album as a whole? The album shows what and how I would DJ in a way, because its got house, techno, deeper stuff, all that. It’s about building things up to make something special, which is what I do with Made For The Night and my label Play It Down as well. Each track is just a different way for me to express my love for the underground in different ways, be it from what I listened to growing up to what I’m enjoying from new artists or sounds today.

What was the most challenging aspect of producing your album the way you did? And the most rewarding? I always come up with ideas that in my head seem much easier than they actually are. When I first came up with the idea of the 12x12 series, it seemed like something that was manageable, but then it took over my life. You know, when you put out one record and it does really well, you want your next day release to match it, which resulted in me being in the studio every day that I wasn’t on tour. But because of that, it was the most rewarding, because it forced me to make the best tunes I could possibly make at the time.  

You have some great collaboration tracks on “The Whole Twelve Inches,” with the likes of Ed Weathers and Chuck Inglish from The Cool Kids. What was it like working with so many different types of artists on the album? Oliver $ was an obvious collaboration. We've been working together for so long. I brought him up through my different labels; I’ve been supporting him for like seven years. So it made a lot of sense to have him on board. He's also the funniest German I know.Brillstein is one of the funniest Americans I know, so I guess this whole thing was just collaboration of comedy. Brillstein lives in LA and has loads of great samples so it's just really good fun to work with him. Another person I had the pleasure of working with was Chuck Inglish, of The Cool Kids. He's one of the few rappers who'd actually be open to rapping on a techno beat. Arama, who sang on “Time Is But A Moment,” has written for some of America’s biggest pop stars and singers – she is also featured on a few tracks from artists like Major Lazer and Switch. She's another person I just really like working with.

Originally this 12x12 plan wasn’t necessarily supposed to have collaborations, but it ended up being that I was in the studio so much that people would come around while I was working and get involved. But I’m quite happy with the contributions; it’s been serendipitous and nice.

And finally, what have you got planned for the New Year? Any big Miami or Ibiza plans on the books? We’ve got loads of great releases coming up on my label Play It Down from our exclusive artists Dansson, Oliver $, Christian Nielsen, O&A, Lewis Boardman and Dick Johnson, as well as a mini-album from Brillstein, who co-produced a couple of tracks on my new album. We’ve also got a label compilation of exclusives from all our artists which has been in the works for a while because we wanted to make sure it was a full album of brand new content with no fillers.

On the clubs front, Made For The Night takes a new residency in London this year at Fabric, and we’ll continue our residencies at Watergate in Berlin and Razzmatazz in Barcelona, as well as one-off events around the world, one of which is our daytime event at Picnik Electronik. Other than that just continuing to make music and traveling around the world playing music I love to people who want to dance to it.  

"The Whole 12 Inches" is out now on Play It Down. You can buy it here.

Listen to Jesse Rose on Pulse Radio.

Speed skater by day, drum & bass producer by night. Artur Was, better known in the drum & bass community at Voima, is currently in Sochi competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics as a speed skater. He has yet to win any Olympic medals coming in eighth place in the first Men’s 500 meter race and ninth in the second.

For the last eight months, Voima has been uploading new productions to his Soundcloud account with future releases set in the coming months. Quite impressive for the Olympic athlete who has simultaneously been training hard for the Games. Check out some of his work below!

Listen to Pulse Radio

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, BABËL New York and DJ W!LD are sharing a special sexy “Love Making” mix, “specially created by DJ W!LD, and having sex while listening to this set after a good party is highly suggested.” The Circoloco resident would like to dedicate it to his love. Give it a listen and spread the love - download it for free below!

To add to the fun and holiday spirit, we asked BABËL and DJ W!LD to share with us their top date ideas for this Valentine’s Day. Here’s what they came up with:

BABËL New York:

Sur les Quais de Seine in Paris

Everywhere in Ibiza

When you get lost

Burning Man

All the BABËL New York parties of course!

DJ W!LD:

Paris

At home cooking the best dishes for your love

In bed

Burning Man

Any big restaurant

Ibiza

Listen to DJ W!LD on Pulse Radio

For the first time in eight years, Paul Kalkbrenner has allowed his music to be remixed. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, he has released the Vitalic remix of his track “Altes Kamuffel,” which was originally released back in 2007 on Bpitch Control. Give it a listen below!

Keep an eye out for Kalkbrenner’s forthcoming remix album, for which he invited some of his closest friends to remix any track of their choosing. The album is due for release on May 30th on Paul Kalkbrenner Music.

The German DJ, perhaps best known for his track “Sky and Sand” which has sold over 200,000 copies, has upcoming tour dates in Sweden for Sónar Stockholm, several cities in Australia for Future Music Festival, and a highly anticipated appearance at Ultra Music Festival in Miami on Saturday, March 29th.

Listen to Paul Kalkbrenner on Pulse Radio

Over 60 artists have been announced in the first phase of Electric Forest’s 2104 lineup! The festival is set to take place at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan from June 26th to June 29th. The music and camping festival welcomes back The String Cheese Incident, who is set to perform three times including once with Ms. Lauryn Hill as The Ms. Lauryn Hill Incident.

STS9 will perform twice throughout the weekend alongside a huge list of artists including Alex Metric, Art Department, Bob Moses, Bro Safari, Cut Copy, Flying Lotus, GTA, Lee Burridge, Steve Angello, and many more!

The festival features multiple stages, a silent disco, art installations, and more creating a truly unique and magical experience in Sherwood Forest. Weekend passes are available on the festival’s official website starting at $264.50 before service fees.

Listen to Lee Burridge on Pulse Radio

After causing a stir by releasing a mysterious teaser last month, Japan’s Roland Corporation has finally released more details about its forthcoming AIRA product line, which will see updates to some of the company’s most beloved machines including the TR-808, TR-909, and the TB-303. These synths and drum machines have been staples in the production and evolution of both rap and electronic music for several decades.

Roland has released a promotional video showing producers such as Ricardo Villalobos, Boys Noize, and Arthur Baker working with its new AIRA products. The company’s official website contains more information about the new line describing the TR-8 as a “performance rhythm machine that melds the legendary sound and vibe of the TR-808 and TR-909,” and the TB-3 “based on the wildly influential TB-303… wrapped in a modern package.”

The VT-3 Voice Transformer offers “heavily processed vocal sounds” and SYSTEM-1 is a full-service synthesizer with “buckets of fat synth tones.”

The AIRA line is digital and uses a new technology called Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB), which Roland says “carefully analyzes every aspect of analog circuits and then faithfully recreates them down to the finest details.” Prices range from $199 to $599.

Listen to Pulse Radio