The/Das
‘Speak Your Mind’ Remixes
Sinnbus

With the original EP being received so well, it was no mean feat taking on this collectionn from The/Das to remix. The original tracks from ‘Mind Speak’ were eclectic in their own right to begin with, but theyve now been handed to three artists with completely different styles; do they give the original further progression, or remain an unfortunate mistake? Thankfully neither as all three bring their own spin to the table, shifting the context and mood in equal measure.

Uffe opens this EP with his take on ‘Colin’. The original is a raw, acoustic heavy and haunting composition. So what were Uffe’s modifications? The kick drum has become fairly prominent, the vocals chopped and an extra edition of ambient, yet full, bass underlining the whole piece. Guaranteed to take this track down the electronic route, he hasn’t over done it byu firmly keeping the original vibe intact, throuigh a rework of rapid build ups, Uffe manages to keep an organic and raw feel to the composition with an added dose of rhythmic energy.

‘Have No Fear’ was never going to be an easy track to alter, but taking on the uisually daunting task of a remix and adding an extra layer of identity to an already unique tapestry. The original's change direction islips through naturally. We are treated to two remixes of ‘Have No Fear’ and the styles adopted on both are equally experimental. First up is Benjamin Damage and his delivery - as usual - is straight to the point and as high energy as you would expect from the UK techno-bass heavyweight. The ambience is left behind and replaced with gut churning bass and a rolling rhythm, with Damage mutating the track into a fist thumping peak-of-the-night extravaganza. The beat is built upon throughout and leaves you exhausted by the time you reach the end. 

The slightly lesser known ‘Vaal’ offers her take to finish the EP. Her background is a real variation of genres from Rock ‘n’ Roll to Jazz, with her productions always representing her own diversity. BNut for her take on The /Das, she accentuates the kick drum, laced and interwoven with poly-rhythmic  percussion, paying particular attention to sharply tomed snares adding the the illusion of fast tempos. By adjusting the pitch of the vocal she creates a real dark atmosphere (along with the unorthodox use of reversed piano hits reverberating through the track. Although the track starts fairly generically, by the end it is barely identifiable.

Three very different perspectives on the electronic scene have given this remix EP a real narrative. Every track starts and ends on a different vibe, yet the linear progression as a collection of tracks see them move into each other fairly seamlessly in a diverse and cool narative. Vaal probably takes the crown for most experimental but if dance floor destruction is more your thing then Benjamin Damage brings is the winning formula, bringing The/Das's deepr,darker and more floor bound musical side.

Listen to Benjamin Damage on Pulse Radio.

Gatecrasher Ltd has been hit with over £7000 of fines after being found guilty of selling large quantities of fake ‘vodka’.

Fake vodka being sold by Gatecrasher’s club Bed in Leeds has been seized by Trading Standards. The brand has been hit with a fine of £5000, with costs of £2095.67, by Leeds Magistrates Court. West Yorkshire Trading Standards visited the brands bar Bed, on the night of 11th September 2012 after complaints that the premises were selling counterfeit vodka. The night in question was a student freshers event and the officers found 656 litres of the industrial vodka in the premises.

The really shocking thing about this - is what was found in the ‘vodka’. A West Yorkshire Public Analyst tested the substance and found isopropanol, tertiary butanol and chloroform all of which are not found in standard vodka. Unsurprisingly, this was West Yorkshire Trading Standards biggest seizure of fake alcohol to date. It was revealed that the head office of Gatecrashers Clubs and Bars Ltd acquired the drink as a “cash deal” through a broker. The case against the supplier was adjourned until 13th September 2013.

Councillor Val Slater, Chair of the Trading Standards Committee, commented on the case: “I am astounded that a nightclub operator could have such scant regard for public safety by buying drink in this manner. It is fortunate that the manager acted quickly and no-one was harmed. Adequate checks were not carried out on the product before it was put on sale and the unusually low price and basic packaging should have raised suspicions. Fake alcohol is a growing problem and the public should be on their guard because of its potentially toxic nature. If they have genuine concerns regarding the alcohol being sold in bars or shops I would urge them to contact the Citizens Advice Helpline 08454 04 05 06.”

You can stay ahead of the pirtaes by watching this video below of how to spot fake alcohol.

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Pascal Hetzel was born in 1988 in Pforzheim, Germany, where his love for DJ’ing started at an early age. He learned the techniques of mixing and soon he recorded his first mix tape. After about one year of experimenting with Hip Hop-sounds and becoming comfortable on the turntables, he discovered his love for electronic music. His new EP release 'Sativa' on Joint Nation Records, a South African label with remixes by Dakin Auret, eCCo & Rob Sloan. Pulse catches up with the artist to find out more about his residency at The Wood in Brussels. 

For those of us that aren't familiar with your music, what style of music are you best known for? I'm not sure if I'm so well known for any kind of style, but for the ones who know me, I stand for a mixture of dub-chords, fat baselines and functional beats. I would consider myself standing at the crossroad between Dub-Techno, Detroit and Chicago. (Maybe around Kalamazoo)

What do you prefer playing on? CDJ's/Vinyl? Laptop It really depends on the situation. My first choice is always vinyl, if the technical conditions allow it. My second choice would always be a USB-stick or CD's because it's very convenient and very stable. 

What is your current set up in terms of software and hardware? Basically I use analog synthesizers which i record and arrange in Ableton Live. I love the workflow and the lucky 'accidents' that happen when using machines. But there are also a few software applications which i really like. For example the Native Instruments or Arturia plug-ins. I also use Propellerhead's Reason as a rack, because the user interface reminds me pretty much of hardware. 

You are a resident DJ at The Wood in Brussels, what is this place all about, who are the other residents? The style of music? I would say in the last year, The Wood has become one of Belgium's no.1 clubs. It's a very nice place just outside of the city. Actually where else would is be but deep in the woods. The style of the music is not so easy to describe, because it really depends on the DJ. The other residents are for example Sierra Sam, Felix Cage or Franco Y Gael, only to name a few. 

If you could produce with anyone in the industry who would it be and why? That's really hard to say. There are a lot of very interesting artists out there I would appreciate working with. But if I could choose only one, it would be Carl Craig. I like his deepness combined with massive baselines. He never sounds the same. He always manages to surprise you with something unexpected if it's a weird rhythm or just a baseline that starts after 4 or 5 minutes and changes the whole 'athmo' of a track in a radical way. 

Where do you get inspiration to produce new music? There are lot of influences. Basically it's the whole environment. It can be a cool party somewhere, a sunny day at the pool or just a song in the radio. But what inspired me the most was the moving to Berlin. It's such an exciting city. You never get bored and it's full of very interesting people. 

With your new release, Sativa, on Joint Nation Records, do you think social media platforms are important when releasing music? Do you think these platforms help a lot in terms of how widely reached your music goes? What social media platforms are you currently using? I think social media platforms are the most important promotion tools nowadays. The strongest one in my opinion is Facebook. Everyone has a profile and also almost everyone is checking it every day. A lot of people even spend all their free time only on Facebook. 

So I think there's no better way to reach a huge amount of people. Also I think it's very supportive for the personal career as a DJ to be as active as possible on Facebook. It's like a "reminder". If u post a lot, the people will always see that you are around.

Also platforms like Soundcloud and Mixcloud are very effective in my opinion. Artists and labels have the possibility to show all the new tracks and podcasts and integrate (post) it in every other social media platform. 

Words and interview by Hayley Illing 

Listen to Pascal Hetzel on Pulse Radio: 

http://we.tl/oUndsTG4PK

SOCIAL MEDIA: 

http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/pascalhetzel

http://soundcloud.com/pascalhetzel

http://www.mixcloud.com/pascal-hetzel/

http://dj.beatport.com/pascalhetzel

Infamous clubbing brand Circoloco returns to Australia this Halloween with Matthias Tanzmann, Âme and Francesca Lombardo set to play in both Sydney and Melbourne in November. The announcement comes off the back of what was arguably Circoloco's most successful tour back in April, when Davide Squillace and the Apollonia collective destroyed crowds for the Easter clubbing celebrations.

Tanzmann - who has just wrapped the well received Better Lost than Stupid party at DC-10 alongside Davide Squillace and Martin Buttrich - was last in Australia with Circoloco back in 2011 in what was a highly memorable tour, while Francesca Lombardo makes her much anticipated return down under following her amazing debut last year for the RebelRave tour. German duo Ame were also in the country last year and this will be the first time the Innervisions co-founders have played Circoloco in Australia.

All three internationals will be spinning at the Greenwood Hotel in Sydney on Saturday November 2nd followed by Melbourne's .... on Sunday 3rd. Tanzmann and Ame are also locked in for a set at Brisbane's Bowler Bar on Friday November 1st, while Lombardo will also head up a special pre Circoloco shindig in Sydney. The local lineup for the Sydney Circoloco party will be announced over the coming weeks, though punters can expect both the Red Light and Lost Disco rooms to be returning for this Halloween edition. Sydney tickets are on sale here on Pulse for ... (buy below).

Matthias Tanzmann & Ame Australian Tour Dates:
01.11.13 - Bowler Bar, Brisbane
02.11.13 - Circoloco @ The Greenwood Hotel, Sydney
03.11.13 - Circoloco @ , Melbourne

Francesca Lombardo Australian Tour Dates:
01.11.13 - TBA, Sydney
02.11.13 - Circoloco @ The Greenwood Hotel, Sydney
03.11.13 - Circoloco @ , Melbourne

London's annual dance and electronic music festival South West Four have announced that they have completely sold out all tickets for their 2013 event, taking place this weekend.

Based at South London's leafy Clapham Common, the inner city festival has been a highlight on the UK circuit for over a decade, bringing the biggest DJs and artists in the world to the green space for a weekend of fun, frolics and the best from all coners and spheres of electronic and dance music. The announcement comes that the festival has completely sold out, meaning that those unfortunate enough to miss their chance shall have to wait until next year to be part of the congregation, that annually meets on August Bank Holiday Weekend. Sob.

Fear not though - there's a few after party tickets remaining, so those of you that feel inclined to get involved can still be part of the action; South West More shall feature Eric Prydz, Pete Tong, Scuba, Alan Fitzpatrick and Blond:ish, all playing at Brixton's premier hotspot, Electric Brixton.

Tickets for that can be found here - but be quick!

Listen to South West Four on Pulse Radio.

Apple Inc are rumoured to be inching closer to the launch date of the iPhone 5S; meanwhile, a French blog has leaked images of what appears to be the components for a fingerprint scanner.

After several rumours have been filling the internet, all pertaining to bio-metric technology, French tech blog Nowhereelse.fr (known for being a reliable source of leaked apple information) claim to be bringing these whispers to life by leaking pictures of the handset's internal components in x-ray format. It shows that a fingerprint scanner could be placed just by the home button of the phone. The photo set compares Apple's next iPhone alongside the current generation iPhone, demonstrating the differences in design, functionality and the technological components hidden underneath its external shell.

A pair of images also show a re-designed metal spacer cushion near the home button, sporting  a new cut-out section for additional components. Other rumours have included the use of a brand new chip, the A7, and also the introduction of a 'champagne gold colour' handset to join their white and black models.

Do you think these images show the iPhone of the future, or is it merely speculation touted by the net's geek fraternity? Either way, we'll have to wait for the official launch of the new product, which has also been rumoured to be launching on September 10th. Stay tuned for more information.

Source: Nowhereelse.fr

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Did you know that Burning Man originated in the year 1986 with only 20 participants? The annual festival was originally held at Baker Beach in San Francisco in honor of the Summer Solstice. Larry Harvey developed the event concept and constructed the wooden man figure along with Jerry James. The size of the crowd at the inaugural edition doubled as the figure was ignited.

The following year, the festival attracted 80 participants and the man more than doubled in size from eight to 20 feet. In 1990, the police stepped in and banned burning the man on the beach, which led to the move of the festival to its present day location in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. By this time, the size of the event grew to several hundred participants.

Today, the festival draws over 60,000 guests and continues to grow every year. The following photos courtesy of the Huffington Post provide a glimpse into some of the earlier years of the Burn, and are featured in the upcoming documentary “Spark: A Burning Man Story” about Burning Man’s evolution over the last 27 years.

Baker Beach arrival, 1989.

Raising the Man, 1989.

Assembling the Man, 1989.

Loading Seven Sections on Seven Pickups, 1989.

Drummer, Black Rock Pre-Burn, 1990.

Black Rock Pioneer Burners, 1990.

Larry and Crimson, Pre-Burn, 1998.

Watch the trailer for "Spark: A Burning Man Story," which will be out in theaters this weekend:

Click here for the original Huffington Post article.  

Header image courtesy of Reuters/Jim Urquhart

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On Saturday August 3rd and Sunday August 4th, HARD Summer 2013 brought bass heads together for an electrifying weekend of ripped beats and invigorating energy. The event was set in the Los Angeles Historic State Park, a venue that has hosted other events such as HARD Day of the Dead and Swedish House Mafia’s Masquerade Motel during their One Last Tour. HARD Summer 2013’s lineup was nearly twice the size of last year’s with festivities beginning at noon and running until midnight. Festival goers enjoyed free water refills, which was a necessity considering the LA heat although temperatures cooled into the 60’s as the sun set behind the downtown skyline.

HARD Summer offered four stages, each embodying its own unique vibe: HARD, HARDer, Summer, and Underground. Headliners at HARD, the main stage with flashy larger-scale LED effects, included Flux Pavilion, Duck Sauce, Knife Party, Zedd, and Bassnectar. Dog Blood, Flying Lotus, Clockwork, Flosstradamus, Dillon Francis, and Baauer were at the bass-heavy HARDer stage. TJR, Kill the Noise, and Justice were at the Summer stage, tucked away over a small hill. Duke Dumont, XXYYXX, and Oliver played at the Underground Stage, located in a tent with perhaps the most impressive sound system in the entire park. In addition, the weekend showcased some more diverse talents such as Empire of the Sun, Disclosure, and 2 Chainz, which were perfect for those who wanted a refreshing break from the bass.

After spending over an hour looking for parking, my friends and I finally made it inside the venue at around 3pm on Saturday. The highlight of my afternoon was definitely TJR’s dynamic set where he brought an extraordinary level of energy. The crowd loved every minute, dancing and kicking up a whirlwind of sand and dust. As we left TJR heading towards the main stage, I was able to catch the very end of Disclosure. As their set came to an end, the British brothers announced “Thank you, thank you, Los Angeles. We have one more song for you… Before we start this, I just want to know how many of you guys know this one.” The vocals began to play and the packed tent roared with delight as their hit “Latch” reverberated into the night. Before the night came to a close, I was also able to see Flux Pavilion, Julio Bashmore, Duck Sauce, and Oliver who all exhibited head banging electro sets.

I started off HARD Day 2 with Clockwork at the HARDer stage. We were able to see a little bit of Floss before moving on the Empire of the Sun, whose energy and stage presence pleasantly surprised me. We ran across the park to catch some of Dillon Francis before trekking back to the main stage for Zedd who did not disappoint. Although we were dying to see Justice’s set, we decided to leave early in order to beat traffic. We were still bouncing to the beat as we exited the festival grounds, and despite being covered in a layer of dust and dirt, we hoped everyone else had as much fun as we did.

Listen to Julio Bashmore on Pulse Radio

In our extensive research and preparation for Burning Man 2013, we've come across hundreds of images but these stunning photos of past editions were by far the best we found, furthering our excitement about this year's festival.  The 2013 iteration of the week-long annual summer festival will take place in a week on Monday, August 26th and run until Monday, September 2nd in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.  The beautiful photos below show some of Burning Man's integral elements - the people, physical environment, art installations, activities, and overall atmosphere - and are courtesy of photographer Trey Ratcliff.

For more high-quality images visit Trey Ratcliff's site here.

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Italian DJ and producer Silvie Loto is a relative newcomer to the international techno scene, yet in the short time she’s been around, she’s established a firm grip on things with her particular brand of deeply layered, thoughtful, emotional techno.

A few years back, Loto was given the opportunity to become a resident at one of Italy’s hottest underground clubs, Tenax, allowing her to showcase her skills as an expert opening DJ, and eventually, late night guru. A few years later, Marco Carola took notice, asking her to play one date at Music On last year, much to everyone’s delight. Now she’s back with two dates for the 2013 season. This Friday, she’s kicking things off for Marco in the terrace, then she’ll be back on September 20th to once again weave her magical, entrancing style to the masses. So we caught up with this exciting new selector about her newest EP, her newfound connection with Carola, and what the future holds for this talented Italian jock.

Hi Silvie! Thanks for chatting with Pulse Radio today. Hi guys! My pleasure!

First off, congrats on your new EP, ‘Solstice,’ out on Bpitch Control! It’s an incredible record, and both the title track and ‘Retry’ are full of your deep, brooding vocals. Have you always been a singer? Thanks for the kind words. I'm very happy about this last EP. I spent almost the whole winter working on it. To be honest, I discovered my voice just recently, while working on tracks this past year. I was making a track with some recorded vocals and had some effect on it, and I realized in the end it was not so bad natural! It was a nice discovery! Since that moment I have experimented more and more with vocals. I write my lyrics, I do my melodies, and they mostly come naturally.

The whole EP is so deeply layered and emotional. In short, I love it! Who have been some of your biggest musical influences over the years? Since I started DJing, I always loved emotional sound, layers, with spacy pad and sounds that project the tracks into a deep space. I'm influenced by a lot of music – It can be pop, movie soundtracks, dance from the 80s, deep techno, the list is quite broad. Everything can influence your output when you are working in the studio. It's very important to have an open mind in music and listen to as much as possible. Even the furthest sound from your own style!

How has the feedback on the EP been so far? So far, I'm very happy with the feedback I’ve received for the EP – from a lot of colleagues and friends. Even people who do not really follow dance music have come to me with nice words. I think the tracks call for different listening settings: they can be listened on the dance floor, while you are chilling on a couch, or in your car.

You wound up becoming a resident at one Italy’s hottest clubs, Tenax, in recent years. Is that how the connection with Marco Carola and Music On came about? If not, how did that happen? Tenax made me play with a lot of different artists. When you are resident in a club it's nice to meet a lot of different styles. But that’s not where I met Marco for the first time. Marco was starting his own new party two years ago and he wanted to put some new Italian artist on his lineup. His agency noticed me while I was doing the warm up at a big party in Rome and he asked me to join Music On. I'm glad he did and to let me become a part of it! The party is crazy!

What was it like to play for the first time at Amnesia for Music On last year?Any standout moments from that show? Well, naturally, I was quite nervous, especially the few hours before. I had already played in some big clubs, but Amnesia is in its own league! Once I started though, it was fine. Playing the Terrace was one of the biggest emotional experiences I've ever had through music. The energy, big crowd, massive club, amazing sound system: are all factors that made that such an unforgettable night!

What do you have in store for us for your gig there on the 23rd? Really, just trying to do my best for the crowd. Playing with Marco is always a big honor and I hope the last year has given me even more energy for the party.

And finally, do you have any more big projects coming down the pipeline for 2013 and beyond? I'm working a lot on my next EPs. Some are almost finished. But nothing set in stone for now!

Thanks again! And we can’t wait to see you on August 23rd at Music On! Thanks to you! See you there!

Buy tickets to see Silvie, along with Marco Carola, Joseph Capriati and Nicole Moudaber now!

 Listen to Silvie Loto on Pulse Radio.

Less than two weeks until Electric Zoo returns to New York! The set times for the fifth year of the annual summer festival have just been announced featuring a strong lineup of artists from all across the spectrum of electronic music. This Labor Day weekend, Randall’s Island will be the place to be to see headliners Avicii, Above & Beyond, Knife Party, Danny Tenaglia, Tiesto, John Digweed, Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Adam Beyer, and more. With the addition of a second main stage this year and even more artists and headliners, Electric Zoo 5 will undoubtedly be the biggest New York has ever seen.  Take a look at the set times below and start planning your individual schedule on the Electric Zoo website.

Friday, August 30th

Saturday, August 31st

Sunday, September 1st

The 2013 Electric Zoo app is also now available, which will help guests plan their weekend at the festival with a map of the festival grounds as well as the lineup and schedule and information about food and shops.

Listen to Armin van Buuren on Pulse Radio

One of Sydney's longest running and favourite boat parties, High Flyers, is celebrating its 13th anniversary this year and has roped in a massive headliner to match such an epic milestone, the one and only Carl Cox.

The veteran DJ will be joined by Eric Powell and a crew of High Flyers regulars aboard the Bella Vista on Saturday 26th October, followed by an extended 3 hour encore set later in the evening at the Metro Theatre for some special after-party celebrations. With no scheduled appearances at any Australian festivals this summer, this will be a rare chance for Sydneysiders to catch one of dance music's pioneers up close and personal.

Ahead of the general sale on Wednesday August 28th, Pulse will be offering up a very limited amount of advanced release of tickets at 9am on Tuesday August 27th HERE. Prices for this special advanced sale are listed below.

*Boat Only Ticket - $60+BF
*VIP Ticket (Boat & Metro Afterparty) - $85+BF

We anticipate this advanced release to sell out very quickly, so be at the ready!

Listen to Carl Cox on Pulse Radio

An open air Avicii show in Glasgow, Scotland descended into drunken mayhem and violence, according to witnesses.

The show, which was held at Bellahouston Park on Saturday saw 29 people arrested, including one for serious assault, and many more left reeling in horror as drug and alcohol fuelled violence escalated around them.

Witnesses claim the event was poorly monitored by authorities, with one man telling The Daily Record, “the police failed, the licensing authorities failed, DF Concerts failed and it wasn’t stewarded well. It was a disaster.”

Avicii and rapper Tinie Tempah played to the outdoor crowd from 4pm, but it seems the bedlam was well under way before the doors had even opened, according to residents who live parralel to the park's entrances. 

“Young people – many under 18 – were drinking outside our house from 2pm. There were so many people being sick and passing out on the pavements. It was chaos," a witness said. 

Many took to Twitter to express their disgust at the loutish display of drunken nonsense and violence, including Clyde One DJ Diane “Knoxy” Knox- Campbell who tweeted “Yep, lasted 5 mins of Avicii - the most disgusting display of people I’ve ever seen. Neddy little gimps, never felt more uncomfortable!!”

DF Concerts have not responded to enquiries regarding the show, although rapper Eminem is set to play the venue tomorrow night; stay tuned... 

Keep calm and listen to Pulse Radio

German duo Adana Twins will be heading to Australia next month for a five date tour including Perth and Woollongong. The pair have been turning all the right heads with their charming brand of house lately, having been signed by Solomon for a two track EP on his 2DIY4 label that appeared all over dance floors in Europe this summer. 

Thankfully, Australia gets its turn for the summery, quirky vibes the Twins bring everywhere they go; check out the dates below. 

Adana Twins Australia Tour Dates
27.09.13 - The Mets, Brisbane
28.09.13 - Geisha, Perth
04.10.13- Beach Bar, Woollongong
05.10.13 - Ivy Pool, Sydney (day party)
06.10.13 - Revolver, Melbourne. 

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Chinese Laundry and Pulse Radio are once again giving you the chance to win double passes to the iconic Sydney club this weekend, and the lineup is the perfect opportunity to dance away the final chill of winter.

Friday features a triple bill of bass with Big Chocolate, LDRU and Paces set to turn things up to 100 while Saturday sees the return of Hybrid Soundsystem, who bring nothing less than a hair raising party each time they come to Laundry.

To score yourself a double pass to one of the two massive nights below, emails us here with your name and the event you wish to attend. Winners will be notified by email on Friday 23rd August by 6pm. Good luck! 

One of Australia's leading dames of the dance floor Alison Wonderland has come a very long way since the She Can DJ competition. Having since then inked a deal with EMI, played shows across the globe as well as slots at some of Australia's finest festivals, Alison has just dropped her first original single 'Get Ready' that also happens to feature the rapping talent of fellow Aussie's Fishing. Pulse caught up with Alison to talk about her single, plans for an upcoming album and trolling name droppers.

Pulse: Hello Alison, what's been happening today? I just completed about half of the tour now, I got home yesterday, so just chilling out today. I’m actually packing my room up because I’m moving house, so there you go!

Any highlights from the tour so far? Splendour, which was technically part of the tour. Splendour is probably one of my favourite and most loved festivals, the fact that I got to play a main time slot on the Mix Up stage and that I got to play my own music this year meant a lot to me, so that was pretty special. 

Tell us a bit more about your new single 'Get Ready'. Any main influences that went into writing it? Not really, I wrote it quite a while ago in my room. It was going to be an instrumental and then a few people had said "why don’t you try some rappers on there," and I thought, yeah maybe I should do that, and I guess Fishing kind of surprised me with how awesome they were and I couldn’t really say no to that.

Your vocals also feature on the track, was that a bit daunting? I actually avoided as many vocals as I could on the track, so it wasn't that bad! It is weird hearing my vocals getting played, I guess I wrote that line in the song - I may as well sing it. 

You come from a classically trained backgound as a cellist, how did you get into DJing? It kind of just happened, in a way I never planned it to happen – my intention was never to become a DJ, or anything like that. I never even thought about it when I was a cellist. I was over in Europe playing, then I came back to Sydney I joined a couple of bands and played bass guitar and through that I got introduced to DJing. It was more something I was doing because I loved it, I was playing in my room, I was doing a few small nights around Sydney- it was the thing I would do because it made me happy, it was something that I looked forward to every week.

Do you incorporate any of your formal training into your DJ work? I think subconsciously I do actually , but I try not to have it at the forefront of my mind when I am doing stuff like that -  I think if you overanalyse things it doesn’t end up coming out naturally. 

There's an incredibly diverse mix of influences in your mixes, I personally quite enjoyed the addition of the Rolling Stones; what kind of music did you grow up with? I grew up on The Beatles. When my mum found out she was pregnant with me, she would play Beatles songs to her tummy, and when I popped out I think it was the only thing I listened to the first five years of my life.  I remember for dress ups at school I was the Octopus from Octopus's Garden while all the other girls were fairies (laughs).

Your favourite tunes lately? I’m still that playing that Kendrick record ("good kid, m.A.A.d city'), I love it so much. I’m finding there’s a lot of great Australian music coming out at the moment and that's making me really happy. I love what Willow Beats are doing, Owl Eyes is doing some great stuff and Flight Facilities too, there must be something in the water. And I can’t forget Flume, he’s amazing. I think it’s actually really nice the support local artists are getting from Australian audiences, I’ve not seen anything like this in a long time.

Do you think the music is changing, or audiences are changing? I’m not sure – but I think there’s a lot of ways to discover music these days, its' a lot easier to buy a laptop and make stuff yourself. Saying that as well, there’s a lot of shit, but there’s a lot of amazing stuff too. People who haven’t had the resources before, have that now and we’re hearing some amazing things from people, which is great.

Can we expect an album any time soon? There’s an album. Don’t expect it to be club bangers, I wrote songs, so that’s what the record is.

You've just worked with Fishing. Any other collaborations coming up? I’ve done quite a lot of collaborations on the record and they’ve all been my friends so I made sure I kept it in the family, you can always push for a big name or whatever but I just really wanted to make music with people who I love and respect as artists.

Anyone we might know? Yeah, but… (trails off)

It's ok, we'll keep it a surprise. Annie Mac recently described one of your sets as 'the best party set I've heard in a long time', that's some pretty high praise. I bumped into a friend who was running a small night at a pub in Sydney and he was like ‘do you want to come and play in return for some drinks’ and I’d had a bit of a crappy night so I said yeah why not, and I got out, and just played for myself and Annie Mac was there, I didn’t even realise. I remember a British woman that I thought looked like Annie Mac came up and was talking to me then I realised it was her!

Any tracks you tend to gravitate toward in your sets? It really depends on the mood I’m in. I’ve always had a slight favouritism towards hip hop, but apart from that, if a track is good, I’ll play it.

Do you feel that the DJ world is a boys club? Given the recent hubbub over Nina Kraviz, do you think anything has changed? When I started, and I’d been playing for three or four years before She Can DJ, it was a bit of a boys club but I think now there's a lot more femaies out there not making it about their sexuality- I never associated Nina Kraviz as marketing herself with sex, she's a muso, that's how I think of her.  I think things have changed but I think at the end of the day women who do market themselves like that are usually the loudest, so people do notice that a lot more, but there are a lot of amazingly talented, legit females out there and at the end of the day, people know what’s real and what's not. 

So it says on your bio that you happen to be good friends with Oprah...It’s a lie! Every person has asked me that – I actually wrote that, I wrote it ages ago in my bio! I hate how people always name drop so I did it to take the piss out of people who name drop.People are always like, I hang out with this guy, or with that guy, so I’m like, well I’m good friends with fucking Oprah!

Remaining 'Get Ready' Tour Dates:
24.08.13 - Plantation, Coffs Harbour
28.08.13 - Secret Show
30.08.13 - Speak Easy, Villa, Perth
31.08.13 - Electric Circus, Adelaide
07.09.13 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
11.09.13 - Charles Sturt Uni, Wagga Wagga
14.09.13 - Snow Party, Thredbo
19.09.13 - The Corner, Melbourne
20.09.13 - Discovery, Darwin
21.09.13 - Elsewhere, Gold Coast

Listen to Alison Wonderland on Pulse Radio 

I Love Techno have announced the first wave of acts for their 2013 edition, including buzz duo Disclosure and DJ hero Laurent Garnier on 9th November in Ghent, Belgium.

Now in its nineteenth year, I Love Techno has grown from  a 700-person capacity event (one that focused purely on tough techno sounds) to a mammoth, one-night only event that houses 35,000 fans of all forms of high energy dance music, including house, electro, garage-hybrids and everything else.

Held at the sprawling Flanders Expo Centre, I Love Techno organisers are 'Breathing to The Beat', announcing Breach, Gessafelstein, Ms Kittin, DJ Falcon, The Bloody Beetroots, Digitalism, Dusky, Nina Kraviz, Wankelmut, Len Faki and a special DJ set from The Prodigy's Maxim, all joininbg the prodigous UK duo and the legendary Laurent Garnier.

Keep your eyes peeled for more line up announcements on September 5th. In the meantime, see underneath for tickets and more information.

I Love Techno 2013
Saturday, 9 November 2013
7pm- 6am
Flanders Expo Centre, Ghent, Belgium

Tickets

Listen to Disclosure on Pulse Radio.

A few years back, Silvie Loto was given the opportunity to become a resident at one of Italy’s hottest underground clubs, Tenax, allowing her to showcase her skills as an expert opening DJ, and eventually, late night guru through her particular brand of deeply layered, thoughtful and emotive techno. A few years later, Marco Carola took notice, asking her to play one date at Music On last year, much to everyone’s delight. Now she’s back with two dates for the 2013 season. This Friday, she’s kicking things off for Marco in the terrace, then she’ll be back on September 20th to once again weave her magical, entrancing style to the masses. So we caught up with this exciting new selector about her newest EP, her new found connection with Carola, and what the future holds for this talented Italian jock.

First off, congrats on your new EP, ‘Solstice,’ out on Bpitch Control! It’s an incredible record, and both the title track and ‘Retry’ are full of your deep, brooding vocals. Have you always been a singer? Thanks for the kind words. I'm very happy about this last EP. I spent almost the whole winter working on it. To be honest, I discovered my voice just recently, while working on tracks this past year. I was making a track with some recorded vocals and had some effect on it, and I realized in the end it was not so bad natural! It was a nice discovery! Since that moment I have experimented more and more with vocals. I write my lyrics, I do my melodies, and they mostly come naturally.

The whole EP is so deeply layered and emotional. In short, I love it! Who have been some of your biggest musical influences over the years? Since I started DJing, I always loved emotional sound, layers, with spacy pad and sounds that project the tracks into a deep space. I'm influenced by a lot of music – It can be pop, movie soundtracks, dance from the 80s, deep techno, the list is quite broad. Everything can influence your output when you are working in the studio. It's very important to have an open mind in music and listen to as much as possible. Even the furthest sound from your own style!

How has the feedback on the EP been so far? So far, I'm very happy with the feedback I’ve received for the EP – from a lot of colleagues and friends. Even people who do not really follow dance music have come to me with nice words. I think the tracks call for different listening settings: they can be listened on the dance floor, while you are chilling on a couch, or in your car.

You wound up becoming a resident at one Italy’s hottest clubs, Tenax, in recent years. Is that how the connection with Marco Carola and Music On came about? If not, how did that happen? Tenax made me play with a lot of different artists. When you are resident in a club it's nice to meet a lot of different styles. But that’s not where I met Marco for the first time. Marco was starting his own new party two years ago and he wanted to put some new Italian artist on his lineup. His agency noticed me while I was doing the warm up at a big party in Rome and he asked me to join Music On. I'm glad he did and to let me become a part of it! The party is crazy!

What was it like to play for the first time at Amnesia for Music On last year?Any standout moments from that show? Well, naturally, I was quite nervous, especially the few hours before. I had already played in some big clubs, but Amnesia is in its own league! Once I started though, it was fine. Playing the Terrace was one of the biggest emotional experiences I've ever had through music. The energy, big crowd, massive club, amazing sound system: are all factors that made that such an unforgettable night!

What do you have in store for us for your gig there on the 23rd? Really, just trying to do my best for the crowd. Playing with Marco is always a big honor and I hope the last year has given me even more energy for the party.

And finally, do you have any more big projects coming down the pipeline for 2013 and beyond? I'm working a lot on my next EPs. Some are almost finished. But nothing set in stone for now!

Thanks again! And we can’t wait to see you on August 23rd at Music On! Thanks to you! See you there!

Buy tickets to see Silvie, along with Marco Carola, Joseph Capriati and Nicole Moudaber now!

 Listen to Silvie Loto on Pulse Radio.

Sian and his label Octopus are best classed as classic modern techno, but with some interesting external influences. Being a man of entomology, cosmology and marine biology, every spare moment he gets, Sian finds himself delving deep into the mysteries of topics slightly left-field of what goes down behind the decks. That coupled with interests he has in the social impact of the rave generation, one could expect to hear some rather unusual art coming from this corner. 

It’s been said that Sian stands out "a little more Bohemian than the average electronic talent." Hailing from Dublin and raised in Spain, whether conducting everlasting, sweat-soaking DJ sessions or embarking on the journey to find, formulate and create timeless dance music, Sian is genuinely a very diverse and original artist constantly pushing to expand his repertoire of tunes. We caught up with the man otherwise known as Graham Goodwin whilst he was en-route to Narita airport from Japan. 

(Download here)

Pulse: Hey Graham! Where you at right now? And where are you headed to next and how’s your summer been so far? Sian: So I'm In Japan right now replying to this en route to Narita airport. I just played here at Club Air and stayed a couple of days to see the city. My first time here, was so stoked to headline Air and was blown away by the culture. I’m headed back to Barcelona and then onto play the egg in London after that. My summer has been amazing, both the hardest work I have ever done and the most travel. I really put my head down and hammered it! I was in Mexico, USA, Central America, China, Thailand, Europe and Canada all in a row. Very cool experiences along the way and am happy to get our Octopus sound out there.

What’s the defining soundtrack to your summer this year? Tell us which five tracks have featured most consistently in your sets throughout the season. It's been all about the sound of our new black label for me recently, little more leftfield, dubbier, darker, sexy techno. It's like our antidote to this cocktail house that's invading underground culture at the moment actually! We were missing something a little more new and risqué. I’ve been playing a lot of stuff we signed from Timmo, Jon Gurd, Whytnoyz and Juan Sanchez. This kind of hot, edgy and very polished production would be in my top five...

1. Juan Sanchez - 'Off Grid (Roberto Capuano Remix)'
2. Timmo - 'Never Stop'
3. Whyt Noyz - 'Capsule'
4. Jon Gurd - 'Su Sa'
5. Sian - 'Shame Cube'

You hail from Dublin originally but you were raised in Spain. Going back to your childhood what would you say have been your biggest musical influences? Yeah I like to say I was made in Dublin! I was raised in southern Spain and my folks owned a bar in a street of eight night spots. I was starting to hear italo disco and drum machine influences coming into pop music as a child and it immediately fascinated me. Something about the futurism and new frequencies got me so curious. Then I went to a rave...end of story. 

How would you describe the style in which you DJ? What other DJs do you look to for inspiration in their ability to traverse their personality, energy and feeling to the crowd? Right now I'm playing off 4 decks with 4 FX units in Traktor, which means I have two controllers and loops and sounds triggered. I’m super comfortable with it now and it's really changed how I work a dance floor, kind of making something new from the tracks each time. I always admired DJs that worked this way, chopping stuff up - obviously Hawtin or Mills - but also some jungle guys like Hype really inspired me too.

How do you source your tunes? And how often are you on the lookout for new music to include in your sets? I'm actually really into digging for music, even if I’m sent loads of music each week I think when you get down and really look, that makes a DJ. It teaches you a lot about your own music making as well - the culture of searching. 

Your imprint, Octopus Recordings has become one of the Top 5 best-selling techno labels worldwide. What’s the secret to Octopus Recordings' success? There is only one secret, work really hard! I don't believe there is a formula, if you put time and love into your art and truly live it, like you give it 1000%, you will get there I think. there is nothing else I would or could do. 

Can you pick a couple of your favorite releases from the label and tell us why? Firstly I have to say Nicole Moudaber’s remix of my and Mladen's track 'Front Pocket' because we hit the number one spot with that and it was like a step into believing some people got what we were doing. I’d also say recently myself and Luigi Madonna’s track 'Royal Oak' was another wake up call, like we can put out unusual things and people respond, you know? Lastly I'd say Carlo Lio’s remix of my track 'Purple Bang', it's so warped and weird and yet works on any dance floor! 

Any advice for aspiring producers starting out in the industry in order to get out there and get noticed by tastemakers and label A&R execs? I have one piece of advice and I hope people sending us demos listen: Pick one label to work with, one that will build you and invest time in you. So many young producers start out good and then mess up a label plan by releasing on various small labels that aren't thinking ahead. If you look at all the big labels and artists, they have done it this way I believe. 

Do you ever feel like you want to try a different method to your production to keep challenging yourself? Well I feel I try something new every day, that's the cool thing about making music, it's like a new set of problems to solve every time you start!! Each track is a different animal and needs its own adventure! 

Tell us a little more about your interest in entomology, cosmology and marine biology. These are a couple of things my inner librarian is into, any "free" time I have is spent reading I guess, these things help to shape my influences and take me away from music so I can see where I'm at. Biology especially has always connected me in some way to my work, I guess it is part of my creative thought process as a human! 

You’ve recorded an exclusive Pulse Podcast for us. Can you tell us a bit about the mix please and how you went about the track selection process? This mix was recorded live at a festival called Free Live in Spain, so the tracks were picked on the fly and were my response to the crowd. I was playing in middle of a house DJ and a very hard techno DJ, so I was going up a scale with each time I guess. It was a crazy big stage looking down on a crowd from about 20 meters up, so I was aiming the tracks at the front row of ravers. I hope you get a sense of the energy I was putting into the set.

Pulse.139 Tracklisting:
1. Such A Rush - Kurtz And Bomber
2. Macromism - Sona
3. Pig And Dan - Bubbles (Santos Remix)
4. Macromism - Flight Deck
5. Rafaele Rizzi - Funky Line
6. Nicole Moudaber - Contents Of My Mind
7. Flexx Julian - Jeweil Minus
8. Luigi Madonna And Alberto Pascual - Somewhere In Berlin
9. Boris - The Rythm
10. Sam Paganini - Polyester
11. Mr Bizz And Harvey Mckay - Dum
12. Sasha Carassi - Theoretical Models
13. Macromism - Amplitude
14. Roberto Capuano - Inversion
15. Sasha Carassi - Mental Wire

(Download here)

Listen to Sian on Pulse Radio

After recent reports of extreme online abuse, Lady Gaga has stepped out on her blog to condemn her 'little monsters' threatening behaviour.

The self styled Little Monsters have recently turned on Hollywood celebrity blogger and general nuisance Perez Hilton after it was claimed that he was stalking the pop star and sent death threats and abusive comments on Twitter to Deadmau5 after he quipped about the pop star's recent video, in which she appeared naked.

"Sending threats of any kind, using hateful or abusive language, and the provoking of others on the internet is not supported by me or anything that I stand for," she stated on the Born This Way Foundation's blog. "What I’ve seen transpiring is wrong and upsetting to me, and I’ve made it very clear how I feel about equality and compassion, before stating that she urges fans to move towards "the change toward positivity'. Sounds like some of them need this change judging on comments such as the delightful one underneath.

"Music is about love, and is about sharing in the magic of theater," she continued. "We are stronger than this. We know what we stand for, and what we stand for is bravery. I know this because what I see on the internet is not what I see at my shows" she said. Referring to tighter controls against abusive behaviour from owners of platforms such as twitter, she said: "I don’t know that I am powerful enough to stop it myself."

Let's hope someone can curb the little monsters before they become fully grown ones.

Listen to Pulse Radio.