Cape Town's GOODLUCK have been making SA proud recently on their European tour. Well into an eight week tour, they have just headlined Solar Festival to an ecstatic 30,000 revelers as well as lighting up HOLIONE Festival in Leeds. They have come a long way from their residency at Karma in Camps Bay. It was just a short leap from there to opening for Paul Oakenfold and Basement Jaxx and performing at festivals and clubs around the world.

So far GOODLUCK have hit up multiple dates in the UK, Netherlands and are returning to the British isles where they are set to play in Ireland, Scotland and various cities across England. September sees GOODLUCK return to South African shores where they have a host of summer gigs planned. If last years Loved Up Festival at Kirstenbosch Gardens is anything to go by, featuring Lisa Kekaula (from Basement Jaxx and The BellRays) and DJ Claas Brieler (Jazzanova), we are in for a massive treat.

This is what you can expect: 

Go here to get hold of their recent album "Creatures of the Night"

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Later this month, Maribou State and Pedestrian will head to Oval Space for a fundraiser bash. 

Kicking off at 5pm on August 21st at Oval Space, the party will feature an outdoor BBQ and music until 9pm when the party heads indoors, and include special 'secret' guests like 'Mr. Born Electric,' 'W Tilliams,''Pen Bearce,' and a back-to-back set from 'Malibu Steak' and 'Peter Destrian.'

Donations will benefit  Maribou State & Pedestrian’s triathlon to Bestival in aid of Leonard Cheshire Disability, a charity that supports people with disabilities to live their lives the way they choose – to live independently and do the things they love. Donate to the Triathlon fundraiser page: http://www.ownsteam2014.co.uk.

For more info, head here.

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Marking 25 years on the White Isle and at the forefront of global clubbing culture, Space Ibiza has called upon some of the world’s top DJs for a special compilation. The 3 CD package will be released on 25th August, whilst the compilation will be available to download on 10th August.

Carl Cox will provide one mix. After a relationship spanning over two decades, he has become the DJ most synonymous with Space Ibiza. One of the original pioneers of techno, Detroit legend Kevin Saunderson provides another mix and finally MYNC completes the trio of mixes.

MYNC is the head of Cr2 Records and has been accredited with discovering the likes of Eric Prydz and Fedde Le Grand. The compilation’s release also marks the 10th anniversary of Cr2 Records.

Space Ibiza 25th Anniversary is available on iTunes, Beatport & Google Play.

It can also be purchased on Space Ibiza’s online store. A Deluxe 3 CD package will be available from all good retailers. Watch the teaser trailer below.

Listen to Carl Cox on Pulse Radio.

Freaks are the hardest-working band you’ve never heard of. Luke Solomon and Justin Harris “literally tripped over [each] other” at a warehouse party in the ‘90s, and finding mutual means and worldviews - a rebellious streak, a desire to make music that shared their DIY ethos, and a love for instruments within ‘dance’ music - they began making music together, with no specific plan.

What came out of it, however unplanned, resulted in an enduring musical partnership that’s spanned twenty years, a bond coming out of the stars aligning, and a journey that went from the underground basements to the sublime and ridiculous heights of the charts and back again, and left them older, wiser, tougher and closer than ever. In an era of uber-planned, social-media dominated music, the idea that two people would embark on a project by getting into the studios and ‘seeing what happened’ seems quaint, but this is what the embryonic Freaks set sail on.

What they lacked in technical skills in the beginning, they overwhelmed in gusto and passion, in a desire to put together a bona fide band that played for dance floors at a time when LCD Soundsystem were not even a twinkle in the eye.

We caught up with them to talk about their final album, Psych!, and to look back over the madness and get to the core of what makes Freaks tick.

So, Freaks final album is here, a final chapter, so to speak. Why did now feel the right time to take that step?‘Psych!’ feels to both of us, like the conclusion of something unique and special. Not the end of Freaks but certainly the end of a certain way of doing things. In this instantly gratified society where everything is so easily accessible, band albums seem to have almost become a faded thing of the past. Freaks were always about following a narrative, a story or even a feel (or concept if you like) with our past albums.

Nowadays the music buyer can quickly scan through an artists album online, cherry picking the tracks they think they like the most. This risks the point of the album being missed, the order the tracks are put in, little in between clips even the mastering process of the whole package which are all an essential part of the album making process, are lost for the sake of a few quid. Making another album like ‘Man Who Lived Underground’ or ‘The Beat Diaries’ would be almost impossible in the current format of buying music (unless we did vinyl only, which, unfortunately is a little impractical).

Despite this milestone, for a partnership that’s lasted close to twenty years, do you still feel you have a lot more music in you? It's interesting as we had a period of such intense productivity, that our hard drives are still filled with half finished, great material. But I think due to our different schedules etc., we generally have to wait for the stars to align. So yes, there will be more material for sure, we just think it will be more single based and re-issue based. Plus we are considering revisiting the ‘Man Who Lived Underground’ to recreate/re-master it.

What first brought you together to form the project back in the ‘90s? A mutual love of the typical warehouse party. One of us (Luke) was doing these mad parties called Jelly (I think that was the name) and we both ended up in a connecting corridor between two rooms. One literally tripped over the other and a lengthy confused conversation was struck up aided by substances and a good alignment of the stars. This 'chat' led to the first studio session the following week and the production of 'The Unknown' EP on Acid Green (label). The rest is, as they say, is a mystery.

Despite your own numerous projects, Freaks has been a music-making entity almost continually since the ‘90s. What do you think has kept it going? The ability to move away and step back to do other things along the way? I think it is a bond that just exists. We have been through highs and lows both personally, and with in the band, but through thick and thin, Justin and me have always managed to stay great friends. Communicated, talking, being transparent - those are the makings of any long lasting relationship.

It never seemed like overtly ‘DJ’ music - in fact many of the tracks people may be familiar with were remixes - looking back did that feel like an instinctive thing, or just the way the music came to be? I think it's fair to say that at the start, neither of us really had much of a clue, technically, but we knew what we wanted things to sound like. Lot's of great ideas and a little less technical skill created this weird almost clumsy sound which has stayed with us in various stages of refinement ever since – a very happy accident. We're told Freaks records can be tough to mix, apparently. Ironically, some of our favourite works have also been remixes we've done of other people or obscure one-off tracks for mad compilations over the years.

Being in a proper band seems almost quaint now in this digital age, something that new artists don’t seem to be forming in the same way. What’s your take on that? Is it just a sign of the times? I think the idea of making Freaks a band/collective, was something that we always aspired to - especially at the time when that concept didn't really exist on a grand scale - it was pre LCD Soundsystem, pre Azari and III. We had all these grand ideas, but sadly very little money to make it the thing we had always wished it would become. Everything was done on a shoestring with a whole DIY approach. Now, solo DJ's have tour managers and people to carry their USB's and wipe their bums for them - our timing was all wrong - story of our career in a way. Which isn't a bad thing we might add.

Is there any part of you that looks back to those simpler days in the early years and pine for that a little?Being a musician seems to have so much extraneous distractions around the edges - social media, promotion - that muddies the waters… Definitely. The main issue is that everything has become so throwaway now. It's possible to be making and releasing music with very little money or skill. This means a flood of substandard and rushed music swamping the market. And although there are some really amazing new producers coming through as a result of this accessibility to the technology, there is no longer any good filter to ensure the good stuff is put in front of the consumer.

Before the digital rush, a track had to make it through the label boss, the distributors and then the record shop's own quality control before it even made the shelves. But now there are certain (digital) shops whose only quality control is that the track exists before it can be sold. It's pretty frustrating really. The music industry could really do with more quality control and less digital hype. It's a bit sad that you can buy popularity now through 'likes' and 'plays' etc., the whole thing starts to look a little shallow and diluted. But you can't stop progress and I guess that quality will always shine through. It's just a lot more complicated now.

Looking back, what music are you most proud of from the catalogue? I think we are probably proud of the whole ‘Freaks’ ideal as a big all encompassing, rounded thing. I think it would be true to say that we have inspired people along the way, done things that may be now perceived as being a little ahead of their time. There are special moments that have great memories attached though: making the ‘Man Who Lived Underground’ was definitely one of them.

Inevitably, for many, ‘The Creeps’ will be the record that defines you. While it may have been a rather bewildering experience at the time, can you look back objectively on that period and see it for what it was now? It was certainly a bewildering experience for us. The first we'd heard about it was when a friend sent us a link to the Vandalism mix, which was flying up the DJ download charts at a rate. Until that point we had no knowledge of its existence. We weren't consulted about it before it's inception.

So really the wheels were already in motion by the time we knew about it. Things really went mad when Ministry of Sound signed the record and informed us that they were going to get a new vocal put on it. This was when we decided to step in and at least have some say in the vocal, which was to go on this record. What they originally wanted to do to it was atrocious (sorry but it was) and we felt obliged to step in. In retrospect, it did alienate us from our original core fans, which was a definite downside to the whole issue.

This was frustrating because we didn't commission this mix in the first place and there was undoubtedly confusion aimed at us as to what we were going to do musically next. We definitely felt we were under pressure to write another hit and we just didn't want to play ball. Freaks was never supposed to be a mainstream act and we were both weirded out when it suddenly was.

There were some truly dreadful DJ bookings off the back of it too - a few great ones too - but in the main, shite. On the flip side, it bought us a lot of equipment, paid a load of bills and enabled us to continue doing what we wanted musically for many years after.

There have been inevitable highs and lows along the way, of which that period was one. Did they match up, or cancel each other out in the end, relatively speaking? Retrospectively, and as time has moved on, the highs outweigh the lows, one hundred percent. When we had to liquidate MFF at the same time as Classic, that was a heavy, heavy blow. And at the time, the worst thing in the world. Now that is long gone - and when you, as a band, are fifteen to sixteen years old - hanging out at a party with respected new school DJs and they are playing Freaks records, quite literally back to back, that is a wonderful thing.

What is the best lesson that being in Freaks has taught each of you? Correct footwear is very important. Get that wrong and the whole thing quickly falls apart.

What moments stand out most from Freaks’ history, however throwaway, or heavy? I think John Peel playing two tracks from our first album on one show was definitely the one that sticks with us. And then there is the ‘Creeps.’ That was a whirlwind of madness that literally sucked us all in and then threw us all out in all manner of different ways.

The new closing album – are parts taken from previous live shows, unreleased work, a mixed bag, a sort of ‘retrospective of unreleased material’? How did it come together? We originally started writing Psych! after ‘The Man Who Lived Underground.’ It kind of got diverted by the whole ‘Creeps’ thing, and the direction became pushed and pulled all over the place. We had been putting together a live show for a while by then so many of the original tracks were originated from that live show.

Then life really started throwing some logistical issues at the whole project for various personal reasons. Freaks were in a bit of a confused state really and Psych! reflected that. It was pretty much shelved for a year while life for all of us took its course. It didn't really take shape in it's current format until around 2012 when we both sort of got into the project again. A few of the tracks from the album had a great response as singles (‘Black Shoes, White Socks’ on Hot Creations and ‘We Move’ on Rebirth mainly), which really helped us make the decision to finish and release this album. It's been over six years in the making.

Is this really the end? Never say never? I think that trying to encompass the naivety and care free attitude of making an album is probably gone as a result of age and knowledge. Freaks was always a very stupid and irresponsible being that it was born out of our youth. For us to try and continue that in our latter years almost feels like something that we would be re-creating as opposed to it just coming naturally. That being said, we are still a massive pair of idiots, so I am sure the light bulb will strike somewhere somehow.

If you had to describe Freaks in 3 words, what would they be? Nil by mouth.

Psych! was released on Rebirth on 28th July. For more info about the album head to www.musicforfreaks.com.

And Club in Braamfontein are hosting three weekly mind blowing events. Braamfontein's newest and coolest venue are hosting Thursday night drum 'n' dass crew Addictshun featuring resident DJ's Mr Green (fresh from his epic set at the Red Bull Stage at Oppikoppi Odyssey), BenSon, Ella G, Adamski, Vexille and King Rat. Addictshun has been going from strength to strength and this venue suits this crew down to the ground.

Friday nights host Toy Toy, the techno and house night hosted by the legendary crew of Dogstarr, Fabio, G-Force, Sound Sensible and Andi Dill. They regularly host international DJ's and with the likes of these legendary DJ's running the show you are in for an absolute treat. Underground music in an underground setting.

Saturday nights host SubLevel, a deep house and deep tech night with The Warm Up originator, Phat Jack and other residents Brian Blaq and 2lani The Warrior.

The Void Sound System is exceptional and the space is engaging with an industrial feel befitting it's inner city locale. This is a world class venue. 

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We're at the half way stage in the Ibiza season and ther have been an abundance of huge parties and season defining moments so far. Sankeys have been enjoying their finest season to date with a full programme of busy parties, Amnesia's techno standard bearers Cocoon and Music On are on fire and Carl Cox's Music Is Revolution and We Love... at Space continue to serve as two of the island's most popular parties, while DC-10 remains one of the world's most important hubs for underground music.

But with every season comes a few standout moments – the kind of moments you remember for a long time, the kind of moments that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and the kind of moments you thank your lucky stars if you attended. These are our top 5...

Apollonia at Amnesia Opening Party

By the time Amnesia Opening came round at the end of the May and the news was out that Apollonia would be closing the Terrace as headliners, the buzz was palpable. Apollonia’s stock has increased rapidly this year, as the trio have solidly built a sizeable reputation for themselves individually. Amnesia Terrace in the early morning light usually means a certain type of sound – mainly peak time techno and tech-house from the likes of Marco Carola and Sven Vath. However, The Parisian trio brought something different to the table, never swaying from their musical identity.

Dan Ghenacia, Shonky and Dyed Soundorom served up an array of quality house music – from straight up house grooves such as ‘Battle Groove’ by Politics of Dancing to the modern classic sounds of Inland Knights’ ‘Long Time’ and the delirious acidic gurgles of Argy’s ‘Love Dose’. The Terrace was still packed at 12.30pm when the doors opened and we were unwillingly forced to leave, which tells a story in itself. It was a monumental set.

Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler and Craig Richards go head to head at Cocoon

Cocoon has been enjoying a successful season with a lot of stand-out sets springing to mind. There has been one however, that everyone who attended will remember – when three huge names combined to create mouth-watering late evening to early morning selections on the fabled Amnesia Terrace.

Despite the reservations people have about Ricardo’s reliability, the Chilean-German has been on fine form this season. Seth Troxler, too, has been on fire, and the pair’s diverse choices took the Terrace crowd by storm. Add to that the vast musical knowledge that Fabric resident Craig Richards possesses and we had an almighty trio. From deep minimal to classic house to full on techno and thundering break beats, the journey was perfectly varied and consistently enthralling from start to finish. It was another instance where you just don’t want the music to stop.

Loco Dice Returns to Ibiza  

After 15 consecutive years playing on the island, Loco Dice took the decision to take a step back from Ibiza this year to reassess and explore new avenues. This means that Dice will only appear in Ibiza twice this season – the first of which was his huge birthday extravaganza at We Love… Space. The first of two sets saw Dice going back-to-back with the big man, Carl Cox, to the busiest crowd you’re likely to see at the Sunset Terrace. There was a palpable buzz around Space all day, and once Coxy hit the decks alongside Dice, the place exploded and the Sunset Terrace was rocking like never before.

This was just the beginning though – at 3am, Dice returned to the busiest Terrace crowd we’ve seen all season for some true peak-time intensity. There wasn’t much room to move, but that didn’t matter, as Dice barrelled through an explosive set in his truly inimitable style. Cheers rang out on every big drop, as the revellers released months of pent up energy after anticipating Dice’s return to the White Isle.

Ricardo Villalobos plays Next Wave at Sankeys Ibiza 

When Fuse teamed up with Next Wave and we saw the name Ricardo Villalobos emblazoned on the posters, we were immediately excited. For a DJ as huge as Ricardo Villalobos, the Sankeys Lab is a somewhat intimate space. In this intimate space, Ricardo provided us with yet another season defining moment as he took to the decks in the Lab. It was packed, it was sweaty, and it was a proper dance floor experience.

Tapping into the fine form he brought to Cocoon weeks earlier, Ricardo delivered a brilliantly exciting and eclectic set, full of his unique character and charm. Progressing through minimal cuts and warped tripped-out selections, building towards hard driving techno crescendos by way of tracks such as Floorplan’s enormous ‘Never Grow Old’, Ricardo again displayed his credentials as one of the finest underground selectors with striking conviction.

Carl Cox 10-hour Opening Party Set 

Marathon sets are often the most enjoyable for the punters and the DJs alike. The chance to experience a true musical journey and to be guided by Ibiza’s most iconic DJ at Ibiza’s most iconic club provided the ingredient for special moments of the highest order. Coxy’s lengthy set was a true aural adventure, from the deep murky depths that he opened up with to the groovy selections seeping into the set, to the out and out techno stompers that pumped out of Space’s Funktion One sound system – the time flew by and we were left in awe of the great man yet again. After so many years performing on the biggest stage, Carl Cox continues to deliver incredible dance floor moments for people who have never see him play before and for the people who have been watching him play his trade for decades – a true pioneer.

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In an ever expanding line-up, Spring Fiesta have announced American soul/pop/r'n'b singer Portia Monique to their bill as well as an amazing Old School vs New School hip hop Floor featuring the likes of AndyBoi, Twinz on Decks, Fistaz Mixwell and more. See below for the full line-up.  

These artists will be joinging the likes of Lars Behrenroth, The Layabouts, and Imaani, as well as local heroes Crazy White Boy, Black Coffee and a whole lot more, this day/night festival has something for everybody.  

There are various packages available for this event such as the Silver Package, The Gold Package and The Platinum Package, check their Facebook page for more information.

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It speaks volumes that a DJ who has spent every one of the last 15 years in Ibiza has shunned the island in 2014, choosing instead to play numerous shows all around the world.

Loco Dice is one of the most popular DJs on the planet, and to remove yourself from the fold for a summer is a big statement. Of course, his absence from the White Isle only made the heart grow fonder, so when his birthday extravaganza at We Love... Space finally came round this Sunday, excitement filled the air.

Arriving early for the We Love... daytime concept, Stripped, we were instantly struck by Loco Dice stood alongside the instantly familiar frame of Carl Cox, the pair punching through a very special back-to-back set of pumping techno and tech-house. It’s unlikely that the Sunset Terrace will see such a packed and animated crowd again this season.

The appetite had well and truly whet for Dice’s return and the crowd was left begging for more. Luckily it was only a 3-hour wait until the main man was to return to the Terrace, and in the meantime there was an array of quality selectors to keep us more than entertained.

The Discoteca was already busy as I walked through to hear Robert Dietz laying down some dubbed-out tech-house full of punchy kicks, warbling bass lines and fidgeting rhythms. The early ravers continued to fill up the Discoteca as the anticipation ceaselessly continued to grow.

Munich’s finest, tINI, was on warm-up duty in the Terrace, taking the busy crowd deep with warm pads and a sultry atmosphere pervasive throughout the room. The Terrace’s crystalline sound is fascinatingly precise – allowing the raw and physical elements of the bass to really hit the crowd, inducing all kinds of swaying and bobbing.

As time progressed, tINI’s set morphed into harder techno territory with straight-up pounding kicks pushing the crowd further until they were suitably poised for Guti’s introduction.

tINI’s final track faded out and she quietly slinked off before a momentary pause and Guti laid down a fidgeting techno cut. In his hour-long set, he drove the momentum yet further, until the Terrace was literally rammed full. From the DJ booth, round to the steps and the VIP area behind the dance floor, from the dance floor to the entrances, the room was full. If ever there could be a physical manifestation of the electric feeling of anticipation for Loco Dice’s first Ibiza set of the summer, this packed crowd was it.

By 3am, Dice was on the Space Terrace again. Adorned in a black t-shirt and black cap, the Desolat co-boss propelled into some heavy, fast-paced cuts of raw and jacking techno and house. Using delay effects to create swelling build-ups that sucked the crowd he dropped in a thunderous bass line and settled into a hard peak-time groove. The tempo was racing, just as the heart beats surely were as well, as Dice set about showing us what we’d all been missing out on.

With his trademark bounce behind the decks, Dice was clearly enjoying himself, laying down abrasive bass lines coupled with hip-hop vocals and the snappiest of percussion. It was high octane stuff and despite how busy the room was, no one was willing to give up their spot easily.

After a time, a break was necessary, and upstairs at the Premier Etage, our cooling off was sound-tracked by hip-hop classics from the likes of Notorious B.I.G., Eric B & Rakim and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Suitably cooled down, it was time to go in search of some more four to the floor fare – this time stopping off in the Discoteca where Chris Liebing was laying the hardest techno I’ve heard on the island this season – with the DJ booth shrouded in darkness, the music was left to do the talking.

Before long though it was time to return to Dice, with Redlight’s ‘9TS’ ringing from the speakers. Dice continued to bump out raw house at break neck speed and there was no sign of letting up from the crowd. After the island has all but lost Loco Dice for the season, his birthday celebration showed the remaining clamour to see the German. We certainly witnessed something special with Loco Dice’s return, and we can take comfort in the fact that he still has one other date on the White Isle when he joins Coxy again for the Music Is Revolution Closing on 23rd September – remember the date.

Listen to We Love... at Space Ibiza on Pulse Radio.

Sébastien Léger's name certainly comes to mind when thinking about some of dance music's longstanding greats. This year marks 20 years of DJing for Leger and the Frenchman is currently in the midst of a busy world tour to mark the milestone.  We're thrilled to have him mix this week's podcast in celebration of the occasion.

We had a chance to catch up with Sébastien recently to chat a bit about his US tour, growing up in a musical family, how his studio setup has changed over the years, Michael Jackson and some of his other inspirations, some crazy festival stories, and how he will be keeping busy for the rest of the year.

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You’re embarking on a US tour next month. Besides playing, what are you looking forward to the most while you’re in the states? Usually my tours in the US involve two heavy weekends and weekdays where I can chill between the gigs, so I'm looking forward to the days off... Jokes aside, I'm happy to be in Montreal where I'm really looking forward to Piknic Electronik, where I'll be joined by my friend Joachim Pastor, who's an artist from my label Mistakes. Also going to new places I've never been before such as Costa Rica. It seems that America is slowly but surely moving in the right direction in electronic music, stepping away from EDM, which is good.

Both your parents are musicians, correct? What do they do? They're both retired now, but they used to be classical musicians, both first place at Conservatoire Nationale Supérieur de Musique de Paris. That sort of stuff where you have to be next level to enter the school and even more to win the first place. I guess I'm not as good as them, as I have no first place in anything! My father used to play the clarinet and my mother the cello.

What’s your studio setup like? I didn't change my studio setup for like two years. It used to be full of hardware for many years without any computers in it, then slowly I moved to the digital world. But recently I bought some hardware back, which truly inspired me again. I needed that in my studio, being surrounded by real machines. Touching the real knobs live makes such a difference in terms of creativity. Moving the mouse is really boring and makes the creative process not so fun. So I bought the Sub Phatty from Moog and the Nord Lead 4 from Clavia. I used to own the Nord Lead 3 a few years ago and I've made my best music so far with it. I really regretted selling it, so I'm super happy to have the successor of my all time favorite synth back in the studio! Other than this, I have Ableton Live 9 to do the sequencing and mix down, possibly the best program ever in my eyes - user friendly and a super creative tool.

You’re a big Michael Jackson fan. Are there any new artists influencing you at the moment? Where do some of your greatest influences come from (past and present)? You're right, MJ has been my idol for many years, especially the 1979 - 1991 period, where he was at his best. There aren't many artists that influence me, as I like to be me and not someone else's copy, so what's influenced me is more some sort of surrounding vibes. For example, it was recently a very good friend of mine, also a DJ, in Bali, for two weeks. That trip really inspired me again to make music, with more melodies and a slower BPM, something with more soul and timeless elements. But also the fact that recently I had to play long sets - longer than my usual 1.5 hour peak time set. This also inspired me as playing three hours is a lot different, you take your time, play slower at the beginning, and play some stuff that you don't normally have the chance to play. So that sort of thing also inspires me creatively when I'm back in the studio. That's all the present; my musical past is all about funk music. That's what I liked and danced to when I was a kid - 70's and 80's funk, funky stabs, and groovy bass.

You’re really into making remixes. Can you give us a hint as to whether you’re working on any at the moment? Actually I'm not THAT into making remixes, but I recently did a remix for Guy J's track called "Lamur," as I loved the original and was happy to bring my own personal touch to the already great melody. I also just finished a remix for Roy Rosenfeld. The track has a funky, deep, dub, groovy vibe in it. I've played it a few times now and it works great. It's not a banger, it's just a groover, a vibe bringer, if that make sense. A few months ago I did a remix for DJ Sneak, but I have no idea when this will be released...

What has been your craziest festival experience ever? Creamfields, Brno, Czech Republic in 2009. We went from an amazing sunny day to "end of the world" weather, with heavy winds, tornadoes and endless heavy rain, in five minutes time. I played for like 45 minutes, then that weather arrived too quickly. The wind was so strong that the main stage where I was playing started to fall apart, and eventually the big speakers on my left fell on me. I had just enough time to grab my records and run away. Two minutes later the stage was completely down and the festival was cancelled. It's on YouTube if you fancy some "Independence Day" disaster show.

Tell us a bit about the mix you made for us. This one has lots of new stuff from me including some unreleased material that will be released soon on a new label project that I've had in the corner of mind for a while now. It's some more melodic sounds, due to what I just explained, but there is also a more pumping part too, as I can't deny my dancefloor culture as well.

What is on your agenda for the rest of the year? I'm still touring a lot for my world tour, as I'm celebrating 20 years of DJing this year. So coming up, the North America tour with some Brazil action too in September, some Asia gigs which I don't know yet exactly where and when, and NYE seems to be in Bali this year, which is great!

Apart from my DJ tour, we are planning that new project of mine, a separate label for some deeper (but still funky) sounds. I've always liked these melodies - the tracks that have a certain vibe, an atmosphere, but without a boring side. Something that still has the groove and the funk, but with a more emotional or just happy feel. I like the idea of tracks that could be played in a mystical tropical forest or just a nice beach party - something colorful and warm.

I've been creative lately, also because I've been digging into my older tracks I did a few years ago, that people loved so much and constantly talk about it, even after so many years. Tracks like "Bambou" or "Majuro" or even "Sun" have that sort of feel I want to connect with again, but with a 2014 touch and a more mature sound and experience (studio/technique wise).

Listen to Sébastien Léger on Pulse Radio

DJ Shadow has launched a new label Liquid Amber with the first release a new three-track EP from the revered beatsmith.

Named after the new label, the 'Liquid Amber EP' features two new productions - 'Ghost Town' and 'Mob' - and a remix of Shadow's 2002 track 'Six Days' from Machinedrum.

"'Ghost Town' is an ambitious ride through many of the micro-genres within the Future Bass umbrella that have inspired me recently," explains DJ Shadow, "while 'Mob' is an intentionally stripped-down, Cali-certified head-nodder. Both songs were written, programmed, and mixed by myself, and they represent the forward steps I feel I've taken as an engineer."

You can stream the EP in full below and download for free here.

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Woop, woop! Be afraid kids, for Detroit rap duo Insane Clown Posse have announced that they’ll be bringing their annual music festival Gathering Of The Juggalos to Australia next year.

The news was announced by one half of ICP, Violent J, at the recent Gathering Of The Juggalos in Legend Valley, Ohio.

“In the year 2015, which according to my Gucci watch is next year...Psychopathic Records will be putting on a mini-Gathering of sorts in the country of Australia,” he explained.

“We will be putting on a fucking Gathering, so if you want to come and party with us with Australian Juggalos start fucking saving up in your fucking piggy banks for that plane ticket. The tickets for the Gathering itself in Australia will be nice and cheap, because we love you. But for the lane ticket you’re on your own.”

For those unfamiliar with the festival, Gathering Of The Juggalos is an annual event put on by ICP's Psychopathic Records that has been running since '00 and attracts over 100,000 attendees (or 'Juggalos' as they're referred to). Over the years the event has hosted the likes Vanilla Ice, Ice Cube and even Charlie Sheen.

For a taste of the freakish action that's arriving down under next year check out the documentary below.

American Juggalo from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

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Following impressive performances on last year's Stereosonic tour, Mad Decent affiliate and trap star UZ is returning to Australia this weekend which includes a show at The Hi-Fi in Sydney this Friday 15th.

UZ first burst onto the scene in 2012 with his Soundcloud sensation ‘Trap Shit’ series. Since then the ever elusive and mysterious masked producer has been carving out a niche atop the pyramid of trap acts with massive tours across the US and Europe in the past 18 months.

His first headline Sydney show is a collaboration between Sydney crews The Wall and Dance I Said. Support duties come courtesy of Nemo, Hydraulix, Front To Back, Midnight, Bluegrass DJs, Tek-Tro, The Local DJs, Mishkah+ TRTL.

Final release tickets are on sale HERE for $45.50. Don't sleep!

Kalyani Mumtaz,17, and her uncle Narayana Johnson, 25, are the wonders who make up Willow Beats, a fledgling duo who are part of the current crop of new wave producers making waves in the Australian scene.

Fusing electronic beats with folklore stemming from their Hare Krishna upbringing, Willow Beats are currently pushing their sound to both devoted fans and inquisitive newcomers as part of their Merewif Singles national tour. We caught up with the pair for a little chat in between shows.

Pulse: Describe Willow Beats in a sentence. Narayana: I think it’s the clash between electronic and nature.

Kalyani: I'd say forest nymphs find a mac book computer.

What did you want to be when you were a kid? Did you always want to be a musician? Narayana: I picked up a guitar when I was in 7th grade and from there it was kind of like that’s all I wanted to be.

Kalyani: I started off dancing so I always knew I wanted to be on the stage and music came naturally. I love it.

What's the fondest memory you have as a child? Kalyani: Traipsing about the Hare Krishna farm; exploring, climbing tress, discovering secret waterfalls, picking mangoes and flowers. I thought I was actually a forest creature...and I was. I still am.

Narayana: Same. I grew up on a big Hare (Krishna) farm, my friends and me could just roam free and we would leave in the morning, swim creeks, pick fruit all day. We would do whatever we wanted; explore the forest, climb trees and make cubby houses and stuff.

How has your Hare Krishna upbringing influenced your music? Narayana: I feel like that the main influence we have from it is that there is a lot of amazing folklore. All the stories we were read as kids, all these crazy stories about ten-headed demons and people firing arrows into different monsters and incarnations.

Kalyani: It’s about community for me, a lot about the chanting of Hare Krishna. It’s a very musical religion, everyone directing their love and energy to God through music. So that’s what started my love for music and probably still the music I love the most.

Narayana: It's very based on sound vibrations. The Hare Krishna Mantra is kind of like a magic spell almost.

The chorus from your single 'Merewif', “Go with me under the sea, we have all you’ll ever need, drink sweet salt, the pain will pass, become one with silver mass”. What is this about? Kalyani: Traditionally in folklore, water maidens and mermaids were dark ominous creatures that would entice sailors under water to their certain death. So it's bringing the darkness of the mermaid rather than the sweetness we see today. I just like telling stories really. To me underwater folklore is the most tangible because the sea is so mysterious, it’s so unexplored. It does seem there would be darkness under the surface. Willow Beats are bringing back attention to nature in the world.

Narayana: We’re creating another world, another underwater city. Creating to this vibe and make the music sound like you would be in that place. Kalyani writes stories about these places. For me it’s all about storytelling. And who is to say they’re not really there? Part of the spell casting is someone could listen to the song and maybe slide into that reality and that story. I don’t know if I’m there yet but that’s what we’d like to do with our music.

'Merewif' is part of your upcoming EP 'Water'. How has your sound on this EP evolved compared to those in the past? Narayana: With this new EP, we’ve found what our sound is. With our last EPs it’s been more sporadic. This one has still got variety but you can very much tell its all part of the same EP.

Kalyani: It’s like a cohesive body of work.

Narayana: Like there was a song called 'Cog Goblin' on the last EP that was just a weird one I always felt. I still love it but it was the odd song. 'Grom The Betrayer' from our first release was the weird one there. I guess there’s no tracks like those on 'Water'.

Kalyani: We don’t make a conscious decision to try and make something that’s super different to what we’ve made, we just make what we like, what feels right in the moment. It's almost exploring different places, the 'Alchemy' EP is very foresty while 'Merewif' and 'Water' have a more watery element - it’s like a different element we’ve focused on.

What can fans expect to see in your shows? Narayana: We’ve got some surprises. This is kind of like a midway tour - we haven’t released our new EP yet so we’re still playing old songs, and we’re playing some new songs. We wanted to make this fun and fresh so we went back and remixed all our old songs and made these hyped up versions of them - they’re almost like new songs. That’s really fun for us. And my brother recently built these lamps for us, which is a new edition to our shows. We have two friends we’ve somehow wrangled onto being on stage and standing in black wizard cloaks and they hold the lamps the whole set.

Do you have any pre gig rituals? Narayana: We went on tour with Allies and their whole band gets in a circle and jumps and chant, “It's gonna be great, its gonna be great!” We did that for a little while which was good but we’ve been a little bit slack lately. Think we've gotta make our own, maybe a little poem. But we kind of do already; we always play with an intro song that will never be released, it only gets heard in our live shows. It's always the song that amps us up. It always starts with a slow intro.

Why will you never release the song? Narayana: That what’s fun about seeing us live, you’ll never be able to hear anywhere else. Kind of like these remixes we’re doing.

Tell me about the challenges of being a musician? Narayana: I don’t like flying very much at all. Like this morning, we played a gig last night. We got home at 12:30am; we went to bed at 1:30am before flying again at 8:30am. Planes are zappy, there’s a lot of radiation in planes.

Kalyani: The lack of sleep definitely for me is the main thing. You just want to do the best you can all the time but you end up showing up to interviews like a grub with make up running down your face!

What's a really annoying habit you find from one another? Kalyani: [Laughs] Narayana never has any socks. It’s not that annoying, it’s just a funny one.

Narayana: Im wearing Kalyani’s socks right now.

You've remixed Cosmo’s Midnight. Which other musicians would you like to work with, local or International? Narayana: I like Spoonbill, he’s a Melbourne guy who makes trippy glitch-hop stuff. I feel like he’s made his own genre, this really twerped out, trippy, swampy, wobbly vibe, it's really cool. I have a lot of respect for him. Internationally, I’m really into 1,2,3 MRK – he does his thing with few sounds, but every sound is exactly what should be there. Somehow he has this amazing control over sounds. The way he can do with synths, it's like he’s melting them out of clay.

Kalyani: Sorrow from the UK; these glitchy, super beautiful, flowing beats. Would be fun to sing over something like that, his high hats sound like glass.

Where do you see Willow Beats heading in the next couple of years? What's next in the pipeline? Narayana: We’re releasing an album soon after this EP which will be coming out pretty soon I'm hoping. We’ll start working on an album, I think that will be a whole new adventure in itself. I haven’t really thought past that but I hope that we keep on doing what we’re doing cause it's fun. People come see us play which is awesome!

Kalyani: We’re so unbelievably lucky. Even it's like, “God, they came and saw us. Wow!"

Upcoming Shows:
15.08.14 - Rocket Bar, Adelaide

16.08.14 - 
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne


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Truth have been busy making sure they continue to bring the best international DJ/Producer talent to our shores with two massive events on the horizon.

On the 30th August Brazil's HNQO plays at Truth and will be bringing his unique blend of hip hop, jazz and many other influences into his energetic and sometimes menacing deep house set. He will be joined by Berlin trance wizard Dennis Sheperd, who has been receiving support from such luminaries as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren and Paul van Dyk to name but a few. Two rising stars in the global DJ community, this evening looks set to explode. Household Funk, Keren Onay, Phat Jack, Pimp Squad, Andi Dill, D'Ritmo, Metro Ticket, Ric Norte and Sound Sensible will be supporting HNQO whilst Johan de Kock, Lostly, Madelin May, Richard Santana and Stefan Viljoen ably assist Dennis Sheperd to get your feet moving.

On the 27th September, Truth bring you an exclusive 4 hour set by American/ Swedish duo Pleasurekraft, supported by Ryan Dent, Ricardo da Costa, Vimo and Pimp Squad (Guy Herman & Jon S). The brainchild of Kaveh Soroush and Kalle Ronngardh, Pleasurekraft was born in the summer of 2009, with Pete Tong having had their first track played on his Essential Selection. Their single "Tarantula" a year later earned the support of Sasha and Digweed, Lee Burridge and Laurent Garnier amongst others. It went on to retain the #1 position on Beatport for an entire month which is no mean feat considering there were also releases from Tiësto, Mark Knight, Joris Voorm and other huge names at the time.
Make sure you get your tickets early as these two nights will blow your minds and exhaust your legs and probably make your feet bleed.
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Always one to embrace technology, Richie Hawtin has once again made his Ibiza experience available to the world via social media. 

This year, he's been live streaming his residency at Space Ibiza, along with recording and sharing some of the party's biggest moments. And they don't come much bigger than this massive 5-hour back-to-back from ENTER. boss Richie Hawtin and fellow techno don Luciano. 

The pair seamlessly weave their way through driving, rhythmic tech house, dark, heads down techno, and everywhere in between. Listen below.

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Pretoria's iconic House 22, situated in Sunnyside is under threat of demolition from Atterbury Properties. This venue has been a mainstay in the Pretoria deep house scene since 2006, hosting internationals from as far afield as Germany, Japan, USA as well as showcasing local DJ talent from all over South Africa. These are some of the DJ's and Producers who have played at this amazing venue: Vinny Da Vinci, Christos, Glen Lewis, Boddhi Satva, Lars Behrenroth, Andy Compton, Tone Control, Development UK, Ame, Martin East, BopStar. Rocco, Franck Roger, Manoo, Anane & Louie Vega, Ralf Gum, Black Coffee, Culoe de Song, QB Smith, Sinbad, Atjazz, Jimpster, Vick Lavender, and many more. 

South Africa needs venues like these that consistantly push the boundaries of the scene, allowing it to grow and improve. Please sign the PETITION to help save this venue from destruction. 

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With just a few months to go before things get spooky once again, secretsundaze has revealed their plans for Halloween 2014. 

Once again the  East London party collective returns to Oval Space, though they'll be retiring their famous Asylum theme, instead treating revelers to Dead Famous - deceased aristocrats, artists, politicians and notorious movie stars from bygone eras.

Detroit native and brains behind the hit ‘Knights of The Jaguar', Rolando, is on headline duties, returning for his third secretsundaze appearance. He'll be joined by a secret special guest to be named later this month, along with Romare Live, who's set to release on Ninja Tune this Autumn, and residents Giles Smith and James Priestley. 

For more info, head to the event Facebook page. 

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Spoek Mathambo's new band Fantasma are releasing their "Eye of The Sun" EP on the 20th October on Soundway Records. They have made a cool video to discuss the EP.

Spoek Mathambo has been extremely busy of late, appearing at Oppikoppi, a new band, a documentary on the burgeoning electronic scene in South Africa called the Future Sound Of Mzansi (FSOM). He has released the latest in his series of FSOM mixes with this gem from Cape Town's Fever Trails.  

Tracklist

1. Bells - FT

2. Dream, Rabbit - FT

3. Goldshine (FT Remix) - Card on Spokes

4. Skrum - FT

5. Untitled - FT

6. Pattern Language - FT

7. On & On (FT Remix) - Astro Zu

8. Fever Trails - FT

9. I Can't Figure You Out (FT Remix) - Hugh

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