DJ/production dynamic duo Dusky, who may be best known for their top selling deep house tracks “Careless” and “Nobody Else” are embarking on a seven-date tour hitting cities around the United States. Kicking off in Boston on March 19th, the boys will then make stops in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Miami.

They have three dates set for Miami including their first Dusky presents party outside of the UK. They will play a special three-hour set at the event, which will take place at Trade Downstairs on March 29th. Matthew Dear and Midland will also play. The US tour wraps up on March 30th at Ultra Music Festival! Check out the full tour details below.

Listen to Pulse Radio

Apex will embark on its debut tour bringing an all-star roster of artists - Blond:ish, Catz ‘N Doga, Danny Daze, Dixon, DJ Tennis, Harvard Bass, James Holden, Joy Orbison, Justin Marti, Kill Frenzy, Maceo Plex, Magda, Maya Jane Coles, Michael Mayer, Tale of Us, and Thugfucker - to cities across North America. On April 12th, the new megatour will kick off in Chicago, and make stops in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco among others.

Apex will showcase these talented artists in a variety of spaces from clubs and theaters to lofts and warehouses. The tour is working with local promoters in each city, and will be a welcome departure from any of the bottle service-fueled nightlife that has coincided with the EDM boom.

Each tour date features a pairing of two to four participating artists who will play extended sets. Instead of having defined set times, artists will be able to see how the night goes and perform as they wish. Produced by Embrace and Liaison Artists and supported by Sapporo and Red Bull, the tour is not to be missed!  Tickets are available here.

Listen to Maya Jane Coles on Pulse Radio

To celebrate International Women's Day, over the weekend BBC Radio 1 dedicated 39 hours of programming to women, from Annie Mac's show on Friday evening right through till Gemma Cairney on Sunday. Included within the two day haul was of course the station's infamous Essential Mix, which in keeping with the weekend theme chose Ex-Minus star Magda to take the reigns of show's two hour mix.

One third of the collective brain behind the Items & Things label with Marc Houle and Troy Pierce, the Polish-born, Detroit-raised, and Berlin-schooled Magda layed down a set of dark, groovy, funky, and at times industrial techno, which you can stream in full below.

Listen to Magda on Pulse Radio

Love him or hate him, Skrillex can’t keep himself out of the news for long. The undisputed king of dub-step recently completed a string of shows in Brooklyn, New York, turning winter on its head for 5 wild nights. Along for the ride were Just Blaze, A$AP Ferg, Clockwork, Baauer, AC Slater, SHIFT K3Y and Nick Hook. The raucous sessions were captured on film by Nest HQ videographer Glenjamin and can be viewed below.

And the fan engagement doesn’t end there. The Brooklyn gigs follow an extended Ask Me Anything session, published later on reddit.com. To understand why Skrillex makes music, follow the link here.

Listen to Pulse Radio

Legendary DJ Pete Tong has been awarded with an Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his service to Broadcasting in Music. The superstar was bestowed the honour yesterday by Prince William at Buckingham Palace. The award is the highest honour a British citizen can receive beneath a knighthood.  

The DJ, who’s name was popularized by the 2004 film ‘It’s All Gone Pete Tong’ celebrated the honour with friends and family. Tong was given a cake in the shape of 2 Technics 1210s to commemorate his investiture, which can be viewed here.

Listen to Pulse Radio

It’s on again. Pulse Radio is giving away double passes to both Friday and Saturday night at Chinese Laundry.

This week will see a host of local and international talents gracing the Laundry stages. The Friday roster includes ETC!ETC! and Spenda C while Saturday will feature Len Faki and The Only. To get your hands on tickets to either night, email us here with your name and the night you’re interested in. Winners will be notified by 6pm on Friday 14th March.

Friday 14th March Lineup
ETC!ETC!
Jackal
Spenda C

Saturday 15th March Lineup
Len Faki
The Only
FT Mode
Chris Arnott
Matt Ferreira
Sneaky Simon
Mike Hyper
DJ Skoob
Fingers

Check out Jackal’s top ten here.

Listen to Pulse Radio

For the latest edition of our Fresh Blood series we look to one of Spain's newest up-and-coming talents, Kresy.

Signed to the always on-point Hivern Discs alongside the likes of John Talabot and Pional, in a similar vein to those two Kresy crafts shadowy and emotional house cuts which came to attention via two EPs in 2012. However for his latest release, 'Ode To New York EP', he's gone for more straight up US house numbers and fittingly released them on the Freerange label. Kresy's Fresh Blood mix for us plays on a similar vibe to that Freerange EP. Enjoy.

[Download: Kresy's Fresh Blood mix here]

Pulse: Which artists or DJs influenced you growing up? Kresy: Even if it's not obvious, I was influenced greatly by early Kevin Saunderson tracks. When I sit down to make music I usually look more to the past.

When did you first begin making music? Were you a DJ before you began producing? 2001 more or less. I began DJing and making music at the same time. I guess I really started when I was 15 and I was recording cassette compilations for my friends.

Your music is very moody and emotive, yet functional for a dancefloor. Are you always looking to please both the mind and feet in your tracks? When I make music I'm interested in doing sonic landscapes, creating mental images associated to the titles of the tracks. I want the tracks to be playable. A lot of dance music to me lacks emotion.

What’s coming up from you production wise this year? I have a few things in sight; a split summery deep house thing with Retrofit, a reference in More Music, a couple of remixes and some other tracks in V/A. I'm also finishing an 80s type of house EP for Hivern and trying to push my own label, Discomaths.

And what about gigs? Where will you be playing in the next few months? A few things out there at the moment, I'm also getting a live set ready for some Hivern parties.

Can you tell us a little bit about your Fresh Blood mix for us? How did you decide to approach it? I chose tracks I could DJ and that are reminiscent to the Freerange EP I released. I did a couple of try outs and then I recoded it. The result is a refreshing summer mix with a lot of filtered disco and some deep house sparkles here and there. I played some new and old tracks, they perfectly worked with each other. I was trying to search for a balance between a nice session you could listen to at home or in the car, and a club session.

Listen to Pulse Radio

New York indie band The Rapture have broken up, according to DFA label manager Jonathan Galkin. The news went public after the band’s front-man Luke Jenner was named on the bill for an upcoming New York festival as ‘formerly of The Rapture’. While the band have not confirmed Galkin’s comments, the manager was adamant in an interview with Self-Titled Mag“I kept thinking it might blow over, but that might not be the case”.

The Rapture have had a question mark over themselves for the past few years. The departure of bassist/singer Matt Safer in 2009 plus Jenner’s own temporary departure following the birth of his son cast a shadow of doubt over the group’s future. While Jenner has since been active as a DJ, the band had been mysteriously quiet since 2012s ‘In the Grace of Your Love’.

The group responsible for songs such as ‘House of Jealous Lovers’, ‘Get Myself Into It’ and ‘No Sex for Ben’ last toured Australia in March 2012.

Listen to Pulse Radio

With a string of critically lauded releases, a record label (the now defunct Clown and Sunset has been replaced by new label Other People) and accolades such as Best Live Act by Resident Advisor,Nicolas Jaaris one busy chap. Not content to rest on any kind of creative laurel, the Chilean born producer teamed up with his touring guitarist Dave Harrington and their genre defying outfitDarksidewas born. We chat to Nico about forming the band, what makes a good live show and the arbitrariness of genres.

Pulse Radio: Hi Nico, What have you been up to today? Nicolas Jaar: Well I’m in Amsterdam, I just woke up. I’m playing in Amsterdam tonight.

What were the musical influences that went into ‘Psychic’? You know, it wasn’t calculated at all, there was no real musical influence in the first place. I think it was more about Dave and I getting to know each other and realising that we wanted to make music together and we were curious to know what kind of music we would make if we sat down in a room and threw ideas at each other. And then two years later we had a record and that’s basically it. We didn’t go in with a master plan, with a particular drum sound, with a particular bass sound or a particular genre for the voice, or this or that. It’s about two human beings in a room.

What was the hardest thing about producing the album? I guess that there wasn’t that much that was that difficult. I mean it took a long time, we were enjoying ourselves and we wanted to follow through with all of our ideas and the hardest thing was just that – to follow through with your initial intentions and try to make the best version of a song that it can be. But that’s usually hard on any record, for any song.

Was there a song on the record where you both hit that point, that you weren’t sure where to go with it? There were road blocks but I don’t really remember. I’m sure there were road blocks everywhere. You know, very few times do you make a song very quickly, record it, then its over. I mean I sample, then I re-sample and re-record, there’s a layering process. I mean even if some sounds are minimalist, there is a big layering process - when you hit a road block on the tenth layer then you have to go back down to the second layer and fix it, so that can be quite challenging.

Is there a song on the record you particularly enjoy, that you’ve gone back and listened to again? Well, these days I’m playing the songs. I enjoy the versions that we’re playing. I don’t listen to the record, so I wouldn’t know.

Do you find it amusing that writers and bloggers fall over themselves trying to pinpoint the Darkside sound? I think journalists are starting to just recently get to the realisation that we live in a post genre world and you know, talking about genre can be fun as long as you acknowledge that it’s pretty irrelevant.

How did you and Dave come to form Darkside? Dave was my guitar player and we realised basically six, seven months in what him and I were doing on stage was getting to a point where it was an awakening, closer to what Darkside would become, and we wanted to follow through with that idea. We found that there was something there, something in the electronic quality that I do, the electronic nature of what I do and the noisier, more rock and roll nature of what Dave does – there’s something there, we were excited to see where it would go. It ended up being a psychedelic record rather than a noise record. The impulse was, what would happen if we got into a room and tried to make music from these two different vantage points.

I read this quote from you both that said “I thought I was making a rock record; I thought I making a dance record; we both failed”. Would you still agree with that sentiment? I guess. Failure is really the only thing that you do, you know? What you have inside your mind can never truly be reached, so you constantly fail and hopefully you can fail beautifully so I’m not sure. I think that Dave and I failed to make the record that we each had in our own separate heads, but we made a record that is in some way, in the Psychic in the third head, in the Psychic head.

I think it’s a great mesh between the two of you. It’s an interesting journey to go on – both of those worlds came together in such an interesting collision of ideas. Although it kind of has a dirty name, the idea of fusion is the most exciting idea for music and it’s created a lot of great developments in music. But you know, I think everyone is scared of fusion because it can be done so badly. But here’s the thing, if you do fusion badly, you’re doing fusion badly if you’re doing fusion well then hopefully you are advancing culture. I’m not saying Dave and I did that at all, I think that you know, all intention was to fuse, but not to fuse musical styles but to fuse two people.

What do you think you bring to Darkside as a Nicolas Jaar rather than producing music solo? It’s strange, because in the last context, I’m the one who sings and Dave was the one playing guitar. I think honestly Dave and I bring a very similar… it’s kind a complicated mix if you think about it. I bring things into it that are.. how do I explain this. There are many different strands that I bring. It’s kind of like a puzzle, it’s not just a couple of things that I bring and a couple of things that he brings. There are moments where Dave brings a certain type of noise that I can’t make by myself, and there are moments where I bring a type of noise that Dave can’t make by himself. There’s two sides to the coin but…the coin is melted or something.

You were voted Best Live Act by Resident Advisor in 2012. What has been your favourite live show so far? It’s hard to say which one, there’s been a lot of special moments I’ve had on stage. Just for example, last night was an incredible show, we played in Antwerp as Darkside, we did one of our best Darkside shows, it was really good.

What made it so special for you? It’s hard to know, we’ve played OK shows at amazing venues and we’ve played really good shows at horrible venues, it’s not really about one thing. I think it’s really a combination of so many different boxes you have to tick, it’s pretty unquantifiable what makes a good show. If I knew how to make every show incredible I would try!

Are there any live shows by other artists you’ve particularly enjoyed lately? There are many. One of them is one of my best friends, High Water. And he’s an incredible musician, his live shows… they’re fragile on stage and so beautiful. If you can go see him somewhere, he’s not to be missed.

Tell us more about the impromptu listening party you threw for the launch of ‘Psychic’. It was the first 200 people that came, I guess some people waited, so we did another round in the same spot. We thought that instead of talking about the record, it’s better to just say ‘here come listen to it’. I think immediacy today is possible because of the internet, we can say ‘hey I’m doing this here and now’ and maybe some people can show up, but the best way was to show it to people. We didn’t make it for any other reason, we made it so people could listen to it, we cut straight to the chase.

Darkside 2014 Australian Tour
02.04.13 - The Hi-Fi, Sydney
04.04.13 - Palace Theatre, Melbourne

Listen to Nicolas Jaar on Pulse Radio

This weekend Sydney party Picnic celebrates its 6th birthday with Berlin icon Moritz Von Oswald. In celebration of this milestone, we asked bossman Carly Roberts to list ten tunes that define the sound of of the iconic party from over the years. As expected, it's an eclectic mix of house, techno and disco.

So, with further ado, here are nine of the most heavily played tracks from six years of Picnic.

 
Listen to Kali on Pulse Radio

The 6th annual Beatport Awards recently came to a close, the winners have now been announced. Among those honoured this year include Nina Kraviz for 2013 DJ of the Year, Juan Atkins for Beatport's Collaboration of the Year award for his work with Moritz Von Oswald on the track "Borderland," and Cajmere, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.  

Other winners include Daft Punk for Best Selling Album of 2013 with "Random Access Memories," Flume for Best New Artist of 2013, Mark Knight and Toolroom Records for Compilation of the Year with "Toolroom Ten," Spinnin' Records for Label of the Year, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike for Community Choice Artist of the Year and Track of the Year with "Mammoth" feat. Mogui, and Breach took home the award for Beatport's Track of the Year for "Jack," who thanked Beatport for making "Jack" their track of the year, then promptly got back to gardening.

The Beatport Awards honour, according to the website, " the best-selling music of the year as well as the most culturally relevant and creatively important developments in the global dance music community. Winners are chosen in each category based on a host of criteria including total unit sales on Beatport, dance music community fan favorites, as well as selected by a trusted panel of dance industry experts within Beatport." 

Congratulations to all the winners. 

[Via Beatport]

Listen to Nina Kraviz on Pulse Radio.

The 5th Tswaing Crater Gathering, being the first annual open air music festival for 2014, created massive hype for festival goers. This 3-day alienated escape which was located at one of the best preserved meteorite impact craters in the world, a magnificent feature, offered 2 dance floors with over 50 DJ’s and live artists to celebrate the diverse culture of underground music. The theme of the party was to dress up accordingly – Alien-like.

We arrived on the second day, just in time for sunset and were eagerly devoured by the echoes of the enthused energy that paraded amongst the colourfully dressed-up troops on the main floor. Nothing could prepare us for what was yet to come…The light disappeared from the sky, inviting the evening dim to showcase the glowing lustre of the graphic décor. A center pillar on the floor cascaded upwards, creating a vivid molten-like effect. The 3D mapping designed a profound holographic vision on stage. 

Jaws dropped as DJ Thalia, emerged from the smoke onto stage as an Avatar, completely airbrushed head to toe, with exotic body-movements all through her progressive psy-trance set. The crowd was mystified by this unforgettable performance, nothing like I had ever seen before! Biorhythm – Psy-Trance producers Rubix qube and Luna, provided a powerful and unique flavor in their set, which mesmerized the dance floor, it was a whirlwind of a ride, with cutting edge powerful psychedelic rhythms and ground stomping sound! Can I be more impressed? This floor was tingling with psychedelic vibrations infiltrating amongst the crowd, with a solid sound provided by the Martin audio sound rig. 

The only factor missing at this Crater was the chill-zone, which was situated last year away from the chaos, in-between the two floors with trippy artistic décor to zone out to and have a breather. This year the Fire Poi dancers attracted a circle of people around them, as they provided fire art in the form of dance to admire in between. 

It was great to see how much attention was paid to the Alternative stage this year. A marquee covered the dance floor with vibrant lighting effects and animated LCD screens to compliment the deep atmospheres of the mood. A rather tasteful line-up pulled the masses in who indulged upon the soothing deep house melodies with a tempo that was soon tuned up into the smashingly driving beats of Techno. Senjo took charge behind the decks with the winding, grinding sound of hard rolling basslines, complimented by electro-tech flair. This lady has a unique style and definitely knows her techno. 

On the main floor, Organoise – Jared Davis and Tim Hooper, representing ZuluTunes, paced up an uplifting tempo of psychedelic digital sound in the early hours. Too tasty, damn these guys are proper, and definitely my style of dark Psy. The morning soon sprung upon us, and the showers from above brought exactly what a stomp should be - Muddy and messy! A packed dance floor of smiling faces, splashed about in the rain to the grooviest full-on psychedelic beats of the day.

What’s great about these Jozi outdoor events is that there is variation in music across 2 dancefloors to expose a diverse conglomeration of mind’s into the different styles of underground sound. Iunfortunately couldn’t stay for long on the Sunday, and so missed out on Tune Raider, Hippie Mafia’s live set, and Parallax – which I heard was mind-bending. I did get a morning minimal session in with Hydro at 10:30 a.m. followed by SoundLanguage – Hugo Gravito mixing it up behind the decks with Ricardo Benigo bringing the soul into the microphone. Wow, this was my flavor for the day, and definitely a hard act to follow with their new age electronic sound that seduced a jam-packed crowd who breathed in the symphonies of their expressive sound.

Massive thanks to Roman Sergey and the crew behind this incredible production. Professionalism and dedication was evident from the beginning to end. If you were not able to attend this Tswaing Crater Gathering, you definitely missed out.

Until the next one…

Listen to Pulse Radio

In tribute to the untimely death of one of hip-hop's greatest, Biggie Smalls, The Martinez Brothers offered up a Cuttin' Headz Remix of "Machine Gun Funk" to their Soundcloud. Listen here. 

The brothers uploaded this tribute yesterday, which marked the 16th anniversary or Biggie's shooting death. The shooting took place in the early hours of March 9 in Los Angeles, California, as the rapper left a party hosted by Vibe magazine and Qwest Records, heading back to his hotel room. The Martinez Brothers are well-known fans of hip-hop, as well as skilled and prolific hip-hop producers, having recently released the Warhol*Basquiat*2" EP, giving away 40 hop-hop tracks for free to fans. 

Listen to The Martinez Brothers on Pulse Radio.

Pulse's Tristan Alaba headed to the Sydney Opera House on a balmy Sunday evening to witness the Brainfeeder boss' spectacular 3D live show.

Flying Lotus can do whatever he wants, yet he started his Sydney Opera House Layer 3 show by asking the crowd what they wanted - “The sitting down shit, or the standing up shit?” - such is FlyLo’s desire to please. Jazz heads hoping for a cerebral Sunday sit-down were quickly eclipsed by a highly contagious standing ovation, largely inspired by the stage presence of the Californian producer, and now MC. After getting a look at the audience, Ellison returned from the front of stage to his private position within the three layered projection set-up. Summoning the bounce of his Brainfeeder beats and the hard bop of his Coltrane family heritage, FlyLo shredded through cuts from 'Cosmogramma' and 'Until The Quiet Comes' while visual artists Timeboy and Strangeloop sent an array of cosmic debris cascading towards the audience, mimicking the momentum and movements of the meticulous and thunderous Thundercat bass lines. A century of static spilled through the three screens, as an accumulation of avant garde electronic jazz spilled out of the speakers like it were the result of an algorithm.

Many minutes of speechless awe was interrupted by a roar erupting from the crowd - the beat turned on a dime to a heavier half-time, visuals went from a pushing effect to pulling us strongly towards the silhouette of Steven Ellison and his third eye. Video game vector graphics and laser laden boom bap kept the crowd bumping until a moment of meditation emerged as 'Zodiac Shit,' a highlight from 2010’s 'Cosmogramma'. The opening refrain shone calm and clear with a sun and sea beaming over the still standing crowd, but as the beat dropped, an animated Confucius arrived to take us on a trippy tour of zodiac imagery. Flying Lotus’ music is fulfilling without optical aids, but psychedelic and spiritual symbolism seems particularly potent in combination with his approach to performance and composition.

Layer 3 could have been dominated by the projections, but the appearance of Captain Murphy, Ellison’s hard rapping, maniacal laughing, evil twin alter ego, made sure this wouldn’t happen. Still relatively fresh on the scene, Murphy made a mid-set maraud in the middle of the stage atop dark, Odd Future-esque/FlyLo beats. His powerful presence promises to be an asset but unfortunately his articulation and flow are only around average, making it difficult to pick up on his rhymes. Afterwards, some said he could have rapped less, however the overall response was positive towards this new element of his personality and performance.

The Captain returned to being FlyLo, blasting a bass heavy set of cyber-trap, transitioning into frenetic FlyLo-meets-footwork beats, which he enthusiastically notified us to be “new shit, new shit, new shit”. DJ Rashad’s epic 'Pass That Shit' and trap anthem 'Higher Ground' by TNGHT got a club vibe going and tracks such as 'Getting There', 'Putty Boy Strut', 'Do the Astral Plane' and 'Oh Sheit, It’s X' got air time, as did MF DOOM, Earl Sweatshirt and Kendrick.

For the finale Ellison stated that he’d like to finish with what was probably his most complex composition and that it might be a good idea to sit down and enjoy “some real cerebral shit”. Everyone sat down and rather than a tune, we heard a piece. Free-jazz flowed in unfollowable waves, leaving nothing to hold on to and creating a cleansing complexity that let the mind unwind, while Flying Lotus’ silhouette stood solemn, knowing that tonight he had been a generous Brainfeeder.

Listen to Flying Lotus on Pulse Radio
 

We caught up with Kyle Maclean some time ago when he released a mix on his Weekend Therapy Series to talk all things music, and what he was getting up to, of course. The main focus was Riot Squad and what he’s plans were for the future. The future has arrived, with a new mix up on the Weekend Therapy series, also, Riot Squad has been put on ice and plans are underway to get this solo career of Kyle Maclean on fire. 

As well as discussing his future plans, I took the opportunity to ask Kyle a few questions pertaining to the industry, to find out how he sees certain things. You know, get the perspective from someone on the other side. And by that I mean a DJ/producers angle on the current affairs of electronic dance music and its extensions, here in South Africa. 

Kyle Maclean's - Still (Original Mix)

From a DJ’s perspective, how do you feel about the dancefloor these days? I’m loving it! The energy that is found on a dancfloor these days is so positive, people are really starting to enjoy good music and it’s creating a good environment for everyone to have a great time (Unless there’s that one guy who has to ruin it for everyone!). Events are starting to pick up big time, and more and more people are joining the activities. 

What do you prefer, the mammoth events, in terms of numbers, or the smaller, more exclusive events?...and why? I enjoy a little bit of both, at times. It’s nice for an audience to be able to interact with the DJ playing. Of course it’s nice to play to lots of people in an audience as the energy and experience is unforgettable. 

Okay, tell us about your mix you’ve just released? What was the plan in approach? Was the final mix, what you were looking for? Well, last year in August I wanted to start a mix tape series, the name I came up with was “Weekend Therapy” as I figured good music is therapy. Well for me anyway, so thought, why not name it that!? 

I came up with a cool concept with my designer (Oliver Whyte) and he nailed it. If you look at the previous artwork for Vol: 1 it is the same as Vol: 2 just different colours and instead of ocean, it's desert. This will change every time I release a new mixtape under the series. I wanted to go a bit harder than my last one; I like energy in my music especially when I play out, so I figured let’s put more attitude into this one. It is 14 tracks that I really like at the moment; they give you an idea of what I like to play in my sets. My sets always change; it all comes down to the venue, line-up and slot time. I actually had some trouble with this mix, it took me a little longer than expected but eventually I was happy with the end result.

Give us the lowdown on Riot Squad? What’s happening there? Riot Squad has been put on ice for now for us to explore our solo careers. Who knows what might happen in the future.

In an industry that’s incredibly difficult to pursue as a career in South Africa at the moment, what do you think the key is to find success?...whether a DJ/producer, or organiser for that matter? Yes I agree on this, it definitely is a hard career and is also hard to make a good living off it at times, but it all comes down to  what you love and to follow your passion. I do feel producing your own music is key to success as you can really showcase what you’re all about as a musician. Also, there’s nothing better than playing your tracks out and seeing a crowd’s reaction. 

Kyle Maclean - Weekend Therapy Vol 2 (March 2014 Mixtape)

Anything in the pipeline at the moment that you’re excited about?...musically. Just to release more music and to build up my production. Every time I work on something I learn something new. Everyday I’m shaping my sound for something better. I am currently in the process of starting a side project which I’m busy working on at the moment. The new material is coming soon. You can expect a release soon under this alias. Besides that, lots of original work, remixes and collabs to come. Oh yes and more Weekend Therapy mixtapes.

Anything in the pipeline at the moment that you’re excited about?...music aside. I help run Playtime in Paradise which is our event company, and we have a really good year shaping up with lots of great events and loads of amazing international artists which I look up to. I can’t wait to have them perform in South Africa. Also some travelling will be done for sure and some more business opportunities. 

What does your music collection mostly consist of? What’ your favourite tune at the moment? I like all kinds of music ranging from Hip Hop to Electronica to House/Techno, to Bass Music. It’s pretty hard to pin down my favourite track at the moment. I like to try not listen to what I play out all the time, I like to listen to other genres too, I get a lot of ideas this way and pick up rhythms and sound designs which I might not have known if I hadn’t listened to that track.  This helps with production. Recently I’ve had Moderat and Flumes album on repeat in my car. Very cool stuff! 

Stay tuned for Kyle’s new side-project in the making. But in the interim, dive into Mr Macleans mix put out just today (10 March 2014). Hope you enjoy the listen. 

Follow Kyle Maclean:
https://www.facebook.com/djkylemaclean
https://soundcloud.com/kylemacleansa
https://twitter.com/KyleMacleanSA
http://www.mixcloud.com/KyleMaclean/

Listen to Pulse Radio 

Volume 7 of our ongoing series stars the lineup for the upcoming Not Another Boat Party cruise on Sydney Harbour, setting sail on Saturday March 22, just in time to see out summer. Wordlife, Softwar, Kilter and Basenji share with us the track that changed their life and coaxed them onto their current musical paths. Tickets for Not Another Boat Party are on sale now - head the bottom to purchase.

Wordlife: 'My Head' by Boys Noize (Para One Remix)‬
I guess for a bunch of people there might have been a track that they heard early in their life. There are a few I can remember as well, but his was the track for me that was changed my life in regards to dance music.

I always thought dance music was about getting the simple things right and making things complicated would mean that it wouldn't work on the dance floor. I was also always concerned about making tracks that were too 'tough' or 'hard'. The Para one remix changed my view on all of that; the complicated hi-hat patterns, the intensity of the synths, it all just works with each other. It sounds electronic but still have groove. It gets intense but stays interesting.

When it came out it fit in with the Boyz Noize vibe but had its own intense jacking sound. I have never be able to replicate something that works like this. What I would give to see the session on this remix. [Words: Adam Bozzetto]






Softwar: 'Voodoo Ray' by A Guy Called Gerald
I would repeatedly hear this song at some unknown hour of the morning and no matter what state I was in, it just cleaned the cobwebs from my brain and all I would see is sunshine and waterfalls running through my mind. I didn't find out what is was called for a couple of years (Shazam was yet to be invented and at that point all DJs seemed like demi-gods to a kid just out of high school and weren't to be spoken to) and came across a copy of the record in a second hand store in Armidale (country NSW).

Absolutely blew my mind. The acid line, the haunting, uplifting vocal sample. This is THE defining TB-303 track for me. I wish I could unhear it so I'd have that first experience again. [Words: Jeremy Lloyd)

Basenji: 'Doin' The Best That I Can' by Bettye Lavette (Walter Gibbons 12" mix)
I first heard this track on a really late night out at a warehouse party in Sydney's inner west. This was around the time Wave Racer and I were working on a disco house project called Pablo J & The Lobsterettes, so as soon as I heard this tune I had go find out what it was called. I still remember standing there trying to read the track listing on the spinning vinyl, using my Nokia as a torch so I could see it in the dark. The DJ was nice enough to pass me the sleeve and I immediately wrote down the name of this remix. Ever since, this track has been on regular rotation around my house/car/bedroom. I'm not sure if it is something that I would ever put in a Basenji set, but that's OK because this song will always be really important to me. disco <3

Kilter: 'My Comet' by Onra
Falling in love with a track is one thing, but to have a record change your life is definitely something entirely different. While I might not listen to this track often anymore it was very important to me during a time when I was discovering my own musical taste and first experimenting with my own productions.

Back as a 17 year old, when Onra's 'Long Distance' was on high rotation, this track was a particular favourite. I can't get enough of those lazy boombap drums and the perfect marriage of an old soul sample (BB & Q Band's 'Genie' from 1985) and Onra's added synths. After listening to each track on the album I would go and try find the original sample and (always unsuccessfully) recreate the cuts myself.
 

Listen to Pulse Radio

Simon Neale A.K.A. Shadow Child pulled off a fantastic rendition of Daughter’s dreamy vocal of Daft Punk’s smash-hit Get Lucky. The rework features Daughter’s vocalist Elena Tonra effortlessly lacing the lyrics to Get Lucky while Nile Rogers’ work on the guitar strings of the original is cleverly resonated throughout the track. 

Shadow Child has thumped out a bouncing bassline on the remake that comes armed with cutting hats, ultimately giving the track a place on the dancefloor. Extra layers and rapid crescendo of synths during the breakdown make it a corker. All in all and in short, Shadow Child got this right. Here’s the pearl - it’s a free download. We hope you enjoy the listen as much as we did. Give it a go and go get it!  

Listen to Pulse Radio 

The EDM megacompany and Michael Lang, one of the original 1969 Woodstock founders, are reportedly teaming up to plan a massive festival in upstate New York. Financed by SFX Entertainment and organized by MCP Presents, responsible for Camp Bisco, Counterpoint, and TomorrowWorld, the festival would be huge with over 500 artists spread over four days and 30,000 fans.

The project has already been approved by local planning boards in Saugerties, New York, and is waiting from approval from Ulster County and the state of New York. “It’s the first time anything’s been there since 1994,” stated Lang.

The festival is tentatively set for July 13th through July 20th and would include a force of over 300 security guards. “We’re very excited about this,” added Lang, who believes that this event is the first of many in the coming years since the locals seem to be on board so far.

Listen to Pulse Radio

Maya Jane Coles has been one of dance music's biggest forces in recent years. And on the back of a critically-acclaimed debut album with "Comfort," a record breaking Boiler Room, a second much lauded Essential Mix for Radio 1, and her much loved residency at Richie Hawtin's ENTER. at Space Ibiza, she's set to take part in one of the most recognised and important mix series in electronic music with fabric 75.

Said Maya of the mix, “fabric was one of the first clubs that I partied at, so it's quite mad to have gone from being a punter to a headliner, playing the midnight set at NYE and now my own fabric mix. It feels like the club has been symbolic in the evolution on my career with a lot of good memories and milestones.”

Tracklisting:

01 Trus'me - Somebody [Prime Numbers]
02 Ksky - Madness (Volta Cab Remix - Maya Jane Coles Edit) [Sad But True]
03 Dapayk & Padberg - Close Up (Exercise One Remix) [Mo's Ferry Prod.]
04 Mathew Jonson - Level 7 (Dixon Remix) [Crosstown Rebels]
05 Heiko Laux & Alexander Lukat - Lucho Part 2 [Ovum]
06 DJ Yellow & Flowers And Sea Creatures - No One Gets Left Behind [Compost Black Label]
07 Konstantin Sibold - Romin [Snork Enterprises]
08 Maya Jane Coles - Premonition [unreleased]
09 Baikal - Why Don't Ya? (Ripperton Remix) [Maeve]
10 Paul Woolford - Erotic Discourse (Dense & Pika Remix) [2020 Vision]
11 Paride Saraceni - Dissolute [unreleased]
12 Negru - Concubinaj [Natural Rhythm]
13 Shall Ocin - Forgive Me (Edu Imbernon Remix) [Culprit]
14 Yenk - Basement [Baumhaus]
15 Chesus feat. Kofi Tarris - Monster [4lux]
16 NT89 - Purple Garden [Food]
17 Fran Von Vie feat. Cio May - Lonely Nights [Sudbeat]

Maya Jane Coles' fabric 75 will be released on 21 April, 2014, and 29 April in the US, on Fabric Records. Pre-order: bit.ly/fabric75

Listen to Maya Jane Coles on Pulse Radio.

After completing his Takeover Tour earlier this year, Skrillex is set to embark on a massive world tour, dubbed “The Mothership Tour,” taking him all around North America throughout the spring before heading over to Europe this summer. Along the way, he will perform at some of the world’s biggest industry events including SXSW, WMC, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Frequency Festival, Osheaga Festival, and more. He will be supported by the likes of Dillon Francis, DJ Snake, What So Not, and Milo & Otis.  Full tour dates below.

He has also just revealed a mysterious new app called “Alien Ride,” available for both Droid and iPhone. It contains a folder with 11 hidden objects and a countdown to this evening, March 10th at 6:30pm EST. It is believed that the 11 items represent tracks in Skrillex’s debut album.  Download the app for iOS and Droid.

Skrillex 2014 Tour Dates:
03/13-3/15 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/26-3/28 – Miami, FL @ Winter Music Conference
03/30 – Miami, FL @ Ultra Music Festival (as Jack U)
04/12- Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04/19 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
05/23 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheatre *#
05/24 – Kansas City, KS @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheater *#
05/26 – Louisville, KY @ Louisville Waterfront Park *#
05/27 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica *#
05/28 – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple *#
05/30 – Toronto, ON @ TD Echo Beach *#
05/31 – Toronto, ON @ TD Echo Beach *$
06/02 – Rochester, NY @ CMAC Performing Arts Center *$
06/03 – Albany, NY @ The Washington Avenue Armory *$
06/04 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook *#
06/07 – New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball Music Festival
06/08 – Baltimore, MD @ Pimlico Race Course *#
06/09 – Richmond, VA @ Brown’s Island *#
06/13-6/14 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06/17 – St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena *#
06/18 – Omaha, NE @ Mid America Center *#
06/20 – Denver, CO @ Red Rock Amphitheatre
06/21 – Denver, CO @ Red Rock Amphitheatre
06/27 – Marmande, FR @ Garorock
07/03 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/04 – Arras, FR @ Main Square Festival
07/11 – Verona, IT @ Villafranca Castle
07/12 – Novi Sad, RS @ Exit Fesitval
07/14 – Nimes, FR @ Festival de Nimes
07/15 – Belfort, FR @ Les Eurockéennes
07/18 – Porto, PT @ Mares Vivas
07/30 – Portland, ME @ Cumberland County Civic Center
08/01-03 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/06-10 – Skanderborg, DK @ Smukfest
08/14-16 – St. Polten, AT @ Frequency Festival
08/15-17 – Hockenheim, DE @ Rock n Heim

* = w/ What So Not and Milo & Otis
# = w/ Dillon Francis
$ = w/ DJ Snake

Listen to Skrillex on Pulse Radio