Dogstarr began his career with a residency at the popular Foundation in Rosebank and was heavily influenced by the early sounds of Rustler's Valley festivals. As one third of the unstoppable DJ collective Digital Rockit, Dogstarr (along with partners in crime Fabio& G-Force) has distinguished himself on every major platform for underground dance music in South Africa. Performing together the trio is dance floor deadly. Separate them, and the sonic experience is no less intoxicating. With an ear for the quirky, Dogstarr can take any situation and put a unique musical twist to it. Pulse Radio was lucky enough to corner him for a catch up chinwag and manage to coax an exclusive mix out one of South Africa's finest talents.  

Digital Rockit’s ToyToy night didn’t originate as a regular Friday. What sparked such a bold move in a notoriously fickle JHB clubbing environment and what have you gained or learnt from the experience of running a weekly night? Well, for many years we contemplated a weekly night, but just lacked a suitable venue, specifically because we are very pedantic about how we want our parties to run. We are not in the business of a late night liquor store or a bar vibe. We wanted a space that we could host a solid nightclub experience with major emphasis on the music and therefore the sound. We actually completely forgot about Capital Music Cafe’s basement and just happened to wander down there and thought that it would be perfect for a niche, electronic music dance club. Prior to this TOYTOY was held about 4 times a year and each time we decided to host a TOYTOY it took us forever to build up momentum and the risk was greater. With a weekly we wouldd be able to bring artists out more frequently and not have to start from scratch everytime.

It has been a major learning curve for us; constant work each week to keep content fresh and to put solid line ups together week upon week. But that’s the foundation of what TOYTOY is about.. No compromise on music policy.

You are on the line-up for RTD 2013 along with fellow ‘Rockit’ Fabio under the Zolabuddé moniker. How do you define and distinguish a Digital Rockit performance from a Zolabuddé set and then also from a solo gig as Dogstarr? Digital Rockit is a performance, we are only really suitable for large format stages, as we have a very heavy visual element to the show. Music is carefully selected and the visual element is crafted in the same direction, in order to create a unique performance, as some may have seen at previous RTDs.

Zolabuddé came about when Fabio and I remixed a track by local folk artist Farryl Purkiss in 2011. Our performance as Zolabuddé is geared completely for a festival dancefloor and to really fuck with people’s heads. Which is not really different from Digital Rockit, G-Force, Fabio or myself. That’s our thing which we’ve crafted over many years playing at Rustlers Valley Festivals; to push the boundries of what is largely considered “dance music”.  If you had to place it in a box, I would place in the “fucked up party music” box. It’s very difficult on a music level for me to differientiate Dogstarr from G-Force or Fabio, because we feed off of each and source music together. I suppose the punters would be able to distinguish us from each other.

You were invited to Nuits Sonores in Lyon, France earlier this year. Can you tell us how that came about and about the trip itself? Should we be adding the festival to our bucket list? Well, last year when Agoria came out to play TOYTOY and Rocking the Daisies, his friend and manager Cyrille was with him and because this festival was started by Agoria and Cyrille. They invited Fabio and I to attend the Festival. Mainly the workshops and conference called EuropeanLAB which runs concurrent to the festival and similar to what we are doing here with Techno and festivals like Brickfields which we produce and largely because they did not have any South African representation at Nuits Sonores. So in the beginning of the year, the French Institut and the National Arts Council of SA sent Fabio, Ivan and myself over, and Ivan and I spoke at one of the sessions about the work we do here with the Red Bull Music Academy and our own projects. 

That Festival is one of the best I have ever attended,. Five days of day events in one venue and night events in another. It is local to Lyon and most of the 45 000 people who attend are from Lyon and surrounding areas. So it does not have the kind of global attendance that for say, for example Sonar does. The French kids have such advanced musical breedng. And it was also very interesting to see how involved the local government is in the festival. The breeding and arts and culture was mind blowing. The festival itself only has a few corporate sponsors, and little or no branding at the venues. It’s largely subsidized by the governement. The line up was superb and niche as all hell, peppered with a few festival big hitters.

What (if any) live electronic acts have blown you away recently? Well, Jackson and his computer band’s new live show is something to behold. We saw Acid Washed in France, who are destined to become the next Daft Punk according to a few of the local french techno heads we spoke to. They were really really good. Busy P with his 10 year Ed Banger show was also a treat. Party music through and through.

Is there any emerging local talent, DJs and/or producers who have caught your attention and impressed you of late? Fresh blood you’d keep an eye on? Craig Placid is making some fucked up music, which is really starting to take shape. He is really working hard at it. We found a guy on Soundcloud from the hood, Hlasko who is making the most amazing Electronica, which is such a welcome change from the usual deep, vocal house. DJ wise, Andi Dill has really been digging deep and producing mind bending sets, at TOYTOY.

Can you tell us a bit about the mix you made for us? Well, I went into this one with the couple of festivals I am playing at in the next few weeks in mind. EarthDance in  Cape Town next week and Rocking The Daisies in October. So I chose some festival style music, shit that I maybe wouldn’t ordinarily get away with in a club environment. Up for it and some tunes are pretty out there. Hope you enjoy!

Listen to Dogstarr on Pulse

Italy's Alfa MiTo Club To Club festival; are bringing the brand to London for a showcase featuring WALLS and Mute's Diamond Version - and we've got a prize stack & tickets to win ahead of the show on Thursday 19th December.

Based in Turin, Italy, the festival are bringing underground, nu-wave Italian talent to Village Underground, featuring Alessio Nataliza of WALLS  performing a special DJ set. audio Visual electronic act Diamond Version shall be bringing an arresting show as will Italian trio Ninos Du Brasil, bringing a blend of batucada, noise and electronica. check out the above video for a taste of Diamond Version's audio visual aesthetic.

One grand prize winner shall receive 4 tickets to the London Club2Club preview and CDs and vinyls from artists playing at the event, while two runners up shall also receive a pair of tickets each.  All you have to do is email contact@pulseradio.net with the subject line Club2Club to be in with a chance of winning. The suiccessful entrant shall be picked at random and shall be contacted on Tuesday 17th September.

For alll the rest of us, see below for ticket links, line up information and more. Head here for a look at the festival itself, running between the 7th -10th November.

#C2C13 London Preview
Thursday 19th September
Village Underground, London

Line Up
Alessio Nataliza (WALLS) Plays Mutaizone
Diamond Version (Mute) (UK AV Debut)
Ninos Du Brasil (UK Debut)

Tickets

Detroit came out in droves this past Saturday for what was a true celebration of the city. The day showcased some of its hippest happenings and most stunning successes, as residents reveled in the streets of the Cass Corridor neighborhood and on the primo patio of TV Lounge. While the night was most notable for Paxahau's 15 year fete, during the day locals roamed in the roads for the 36th Annual “Dally in the Alley.” The daytime affair is Detroit's largest yearly community festival, made possible every September by a team of dedicated volunteers. The town truly looks forward to the summertime soiree, streaming into the streets and staying past sundown to dance, shop, and socialize.

In addition to various vendors from food and beer to rags and records, the event boasts an all-local lineup of musical talent, including an exclusively electronic stage that runs all day. The bill this year included Black Catalogue captain Monty Luke, and headliner Chuck Daniels, who runs the imprint Sampled Detroit and closed with a stirring set in his signature style of funky house.

Spirits were certainly soaring as people made their way from a day of dallying over to Paxahau's party at TV Lounge. There, longtime resident Keith Kemp kicked the night off with an eclectic and well-executed set that included cuts from Audion and old school Jack Tripper techno. Seamlessly stacking three tracks at a time over kick drum loops, he weaved between worlds to sublimely set the stage for an evening that offered nothing but supreme sounds to the hungry horde.

Up next on the decks was Shaun Reeves of Visionquest, who delivered a distinctly Detroit set to the capacity crowd. Picking up where Kemp left off, he transitioned without trouble through a tremendous blend of stripped-down house and post-minimal techno on both vinyl and CDs. Shaun threw a perfect pitch for MK, who hit a home run with his headlining set that included some of his most revered recent remixes, including Lana Del Rey's 'Summertime Sadness' and Dillon's 'Thirteen Thirtyfive.' The crowd went wild when fireworks exploded overhead during his monster mix of Storm Queen's 'Look Right Through,' which he masterfully mixed into his 90's megahit 'Burning.'

Although often attributed more as a producer than a DJ, MK indesputably smashed it on Saturday, and kept the party pumping until almost a half hour past Detroit's 2 a.m. closing time. For those who wanted more, the celebration went on at The Works, where ATAXIA played a late night tech house set, before Shaun Reeves took another turn at the tables.

Paxahau picked the perfect lineup to play, highlighting some of the city's exceptional ex-pats. Each DJ took cues from the one before them, for an extraordinary sonic expedition that built organically from beginning to end. The day was a vivacious victory not only for Paxahau, but also for Detroit, the city that continues to inspire and support the organization's ongoing excellence in electronic music.

Listen to MK on Pulse Radio

The high court of Great Britain has awarded £60 million in damages and losses incurred to Sony PIAS after it was ruled that UK Police should foot the bill after their warehouse was burnt down during the London riots of 2011.

The Sony PIAS warehouse - a main center for many independent record labels acting under the PIAS independent distribution banner - was targeted and destroyed during the London riots of Summer 2011, causing many independent labels to suffer damning blows to their businesses. Although two insurance companies said that the police should pay compensation for being unable to quash the arson attack, much to the dismay of the Mayor's London police unit who said that the act was a 'planned criminal enterprise' and not a direct result of the riots themselves.

But a judge has today ruled in favour of PIAS' insurers saying that the perpetrators had acted “riotously” and in an “excited, volatile manner” - because of these circumstances (chancing, basically), it falls into the Riot Damages Act. It sees the end of a constant feud between the MET force and the insurers, battling over who should foot the bill of 3.25 million CDs, vinyls, rare box sets and more that perished.

Source: CMU

It doesn’t matter how many times you step foot into Ushuaia, it is impossible not to get blown away by everything the open-air venue has to offer. Though upon arrival, a few things are a must: First, snap a quick photo of the venue as you walk in, then purchase a mixer of your choice from the bars scattered around the venue, and lastly, find the closest, friendliest looking stranger to take a group photo of you and your friends – one with the stage as a backdrop, the other infront of the pool or one of Ushuaia’s many statues scattered around the venue. One little touch added to the venue that I hadn’t noticed until this Thursday were the ANTS crawling up and down the walls of the hotel, tempting you to join the gang and become a member of the colony!

Loco Dice’s agency Artist Alife has been a leading light for many club nights across the world this year. This season, Thursdays at Ushuaia have been a showcase of Dice’s leading talents, with artists like tINI, Hector, Yaya and Robert Dietz joining the German maestro on a regular basis, though this week saw a very special guest in attendance as the theme of swaps continued on the island. The legendary Carl Cox joined Yaya, PREMIESKU (Live) and Alexkid on the lineup, so to say there was an air of excited expectation around the venue would be an understatement.

Early on, the three steps I mentioned earlier were followed to perfection. I spent the first twenty minutes being the friendly stranger taking photos of groups of excited clubbers, while taking in all the sites myself, before settling down to the stomping four-by-four beats of Yaya, who dare I say, delivered my favourite set of the day. His hour and a half set was dominated by snappy percussion with a real hip-hop feel to it. Dark warped vocals, high-hat synths and storming bass lines kept the crowd swaying in unison underneath a dark grey cloud that luckily only threatened us with rain, though I’m not sure anyone would have been bothered to leave even if we had gotten wet!

At eight o’clock, Loco Dice took to the decks as a group of break-dancers and B-Boys kitted out in Loco Dice and Used+Abused gear took over the podium to the back left. At first it seemed strange to see backflips, top rocks and slide glides to the borderline house and techno sounds of Dice, but considering his hip-hop routes, it was good to see Loco Dice putting his stamp on his night, bringing something different to the island. As for his set, Loco was on form. Meaty bass lines saw the CO2 cannons of Ushuaia tested to their limits, green diamonds dominating the stage as wAFF’s ‘Puke It Up’ and The Martinez Brothers’ remix of Green Velvet’s ‘Bigger Than Prince’ stood out as highlights.

Over to Carl Cox. Starting out in his usual high-energy ways, Coxy brought a real festival feel to the event. Letting out an ‘Oh Yes, Oh Yes!’ early on brought euphoric cheers from the crowd, who were clearly there for the long time Space resident, who stepped out of the famous Playa d’en Bossa super club for the third time this season. Showing that he has not lost a step, his transitions from track to track were as smooth as any DJ on the circuit, effortlessly tossing in tracks like Mark Fanciulli’s ‘Sacrifice’ – a classic that still pumps the crowd up today as much as it did a few years ago – before dropping a sample of ‘Jack Your Body’ by Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, getting the crowd jacking and grooving at a high pace.

Spot on 11pm, the man behind the party reappeared on stage, going back-to-back with his long time friend. You could immediately tell these two magicians behind the decks had played together before. Loco Dice and Carl Cox exchanged blows for the last hour, trading punches with progressive buildups as hands in the air techno danced out of the Ushuaia sound system.

As the hour-long back-to-back special came to an end, many crawled back into their hotel rooms for a private party, or out of the venue and onto other fiestas popping off around the island, craving more infectious electronic sounds. This might have just been the best Used+Abused yet, and topping it all off, Richie Hawtin crosses the road from his home at Space next week, joining Dice in what promises to be a very special event!

Listen to Loco Dice and Yaya on Pulse Radio.

One of Johannesburg’s most iconic party venues re-opens for its fourth summer season this Sunday 15 September. After months of renovations an exciting new looking Nicci Beach will be unveiled to coincide with the venue’s fourth birthday.  With no expense spared, the Nicci Beach Ultra Lounge make over is sure to get jaws dropping, tongues wagging and disco booty’s shaking! 

Nicci Beach: The Rebirth will also be playing host to the launch of Mi Casa’s 2nd studio album Su Casa. The SAMA award winning, soulful house trio who shot to fame with their debut album, 'Micasa Music' will be performing for an hour from 8pm on Sunday evening.

And to add to festivities, popular Johannesburg DJ and Soul Candi head honcho, Ricardo da Costa will also be celebrating his birthday amidst the infectious carnival energy of banging beats and seductive grooves at the venue’s ‘Rebirth’.

The line-up for the evening includes: Mi Casa, Ricardo da Costa, Mark Stent, Harael Salkow, Kyle Worde and Les Afrique. 

Doors open 2pm. Cover charge is R100 before 6pm. R150 thereafter.

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK PAGE

EVENT LINK

Listen to Pulse Radio

Things have been looking up for the music industry starting with the news back in February that global music revenue had seen it’s first increase in thirteen years. Now, a recent report by Ofcom shows that illegal downloads have slowed in the past twelve months. Researchers believe that this trend is a result of listeners replacing illegal music downloads with the use of online streaming services.

In fact, the number of illegally obtained tracks fell by a third in the last year. It is estimated that only 199 million tracks were pirated this March compared to a much higher 301 million in March of 2012. In the same time frame, the use of music streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora has rapidly increased suggesting that people are choosing this method of listening instead.

The UK study highlights some growing concerns as well. Although numbers have dcreased, one in six respondents still claimed to have illegally streamed or downloaded music in the past year. The report also found that a small number of pirates are responsible for a large percentage of illegally obtained music; 2% of pirates were accountable for almost three quarters of overall pirated content.  

The following table shows the reasons the top 10% of pirates gave as to why they choose to pirate music instead of legally obtaining it.

The next table shows what the same group of pirates said would make them stop infringing.

Listen to Pulse Radio

Ahead of its official release on Tuesday, September 17th, stream Avicii’s highly anticipated first album ‘TRUE.’ The Swedish EDM star has been playing tracks from his album at his major festival appearances starting at week two of Ultra Music Festival back in March. His first single off the album “Wake Me Up” caused a bit of controversy and discussion because of its country sound but has quickly become a popular hit.  For his new album, Avicii has collaborated with artists from several genres such as soul singer Aloe Blacc, bluegrass vocalist Dan Tyminski, and disco heavyweight Nile Rodgers.  Stream the full album below and let us know what you think of the new direction Avicii's taken.

‘TRUE’ has been one of the most highly promoted albums starting with its premiere at Ultra.  The album was heavily promoted using social media with Avicii’s #TRUEREVEAL promotion asking fans to tweet #TRUEREVEAL in order to release the album’s artwork. A current competition asks fans to make an Instagram video representing their favorite track. Snippets of each track on the album can be downloaded on the official website. The winner of the contest will be selected on September 17th coinciding with the album’s release.

Tracklist:
1. Wake Me Up [feat. Aloe Blacc]
2. You Make Me [feat. Salem Al Fakir]
3. Hey Brother [feat. Dan Tyminski]
4. Addicted To You [feat. Mac Davis & Audra Mae]
5. Dear Boy
6. Liar Liar [feat. Blondfire]
7. Shame On Me [feat. Nile Rodgers]
8. Lay Me Down [feat. Adam Lambert & Nile Rodgers]
9. Hope There’s Someone [feat. Linnea Henriksson]
10. Heart Upon My Sleeve [feat. Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons]
11. Long Road To Hell [feat. Audra Mae]
12. Edom

Listen to Avicii on Pulse Radio

German house don Dixon took the reigns of the Essential Mix over the weekend, kicking his mix off with a little trip-hop via Tricky's 'Nothing's Changed' and then serving up two hours of house and techno, with a little more "oomph" than we normally hear from him. There are plenty of cuts from the Innervisions label (which he shares the running of with Âme) in his set from the likes of Marcus Worgull, The Howling and more.

Dixon has been busy in Ibiza the past couple of weeks, playing Cocoon and a special back-to-back set with Jamie Jones at DC10.  Enjoy his Essential Mix below.

Tracklist:
Tricky - Nothing's Changed [Studio K7!]
Kelpe - Monte Verita [Don't Be Afraid]
Flori - Frosty Leo (Dorisburg Cave Jam Mix) [AIM Records]
Clockwork - Running (M. Gracioppo Mix) [Life & Death]
Sandrino & Frankey - The Edge [Innervisions]
Agoria - Kick the Peace (Part 2) [Innervisions]
Michael Gracioppo - Creep (Tale Of Us Mix) [Innervisions]
Marcus Worgull - Unknown [Innervisions]
Alexander Barck - Oh Africa (Frank Wiedemann Mix) [Innervisions]
Ten Walls - Ankaris
Baikal - Why Don't Ya (Ripperton Mix) [Maewe]
David August - Epikur [Innervisions]
Michael Gracioppo - Creep (Recondite Mix 1) [Innervisions]
Downtown Party Network - Space Me Out (Mario Bassanov Mix) [Silence]
Âme - Tatischeff [Innervisions]
Guy Gerber & Dixon - No Distance
Tale of Us & Raz Ohara - Light (Instrumental) [Life & Death]
The Howling - Shortline (Frank Wiedemann Remix) [Innervisions]
Peter Dundov – Moving [Moving Man Records]

Listen to Dixon on Pulse Radio

A 23 year old Victorian man has died from a suspected drug overdose at Sydney's Defqon.1 Music Festival at the weekend. The festival, held at Penrith's Regatta Centre, drew crowds of 18,000 dance fans, the line up including Frontliner, Gunz For Hire and Psyko Punks.

The deceased, who police believed had driven from Victoria to attend the festival, was taken to Nepean Hospital by paramedics, but unfortunately suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 10.30pm. 

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, police and sniffer dogs stopped and searched 430 revellers, leading to 84 arrests for possession of drugs including cannbis, LSD, amphetamines, cocaine, GHB and ecstacy. A further 14 punters were hospitalised. 

However an artist manager who attended the event, who prefered to remain anonymous has told the media she had seen punters "downing" drugs at the start of the event to avoid being detected by police and being arrested. 

"Punters who intend to bring a few pills with them in case they feel like taking them across the course of the day are now forced to down everything at once in order to avoid possible arrest. This is costing young peoples lives," she said.

The tragedy comes after discussion about drugs at festivals is at its peak in the United States, with artists such as Major Lazer encouraging drug education after the two tragic deaths of revellers at New York's Electric Zoo Festival two weeks ago. 

If anything, this unfortunate event should call for closer examination of drug reform by the powers that be rather than hysterical hand wringing and finger pointing. 

Listen to Major Lazer on Pulse Radio 

It was a couple of sterling edits in 2010 that announced UK duo Psychemagik, aka Danny McLewin and Tom Covney, onto the scene. On the record's A-side sat an edit of Talking Heads''This Must Be The Place, the B-side a cut up of 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac. That slice of wax found its way into the record bags of the likes of Greg Wilson and Tom Middleton and now two years on, the pair are two of the most sought after producers, editors and DJs in the disco world.

With a slew of edits, remixes, a self-titled album and a mix compilation 'Magik Sunrise' now all under their belts - not to mention constant tours to the USA, Europe and Australia - it seems as though everyone wants a slice of the cosmic action. As fervent collectors of vinyl (Danny has over 25,000 in his collection) and owners of eclectic palettes, you never quite know what you're going to get in a Psychemagik DJ mix. For Pulse podcast 143, they've gone for an hour of dancefloor ready house and disco...with a peppering of acid.

[Download here]

Pulse: What were you listening to as teenagers? When did you first discover ‘dance music’? Danny: I was into Public Enemy and Prince. I was aware of dance music in late 80s but I was a hip-hop kid, breakdancing and graffiti. I got into it later when the arse dropped out of hip hop.

Tom: I was into jungle & hardcore. I was fascinated by the production, I found it so cutting edge and raw.

When and how did you guys first meet and start making music together? Was it a shared love of the same music that made you decide to start working together? We met seven years ago and had similar tastes but different perspectives. Tom was more into dance music and I was more into funk and disco, but we both loved a lot of the more folky and psychedelic tracks. There’s a track called ‘Travellin’ Lady’ by The Rainbow Family that we properly bonded over. We also used to freak out over ‘Egyptian Tomb’ by Mighty Baby. The first thing we did in the studio was a re-edit of Cozy Powell’s ‘And Then There Was Skin’ which we chopped up with a vocal from Herman’s Rocket. After that we decided to work together and ‘Valley Of Paradise’ was the first proper studio track we made together.

What were you doing before music became a living? D: I was selling records, designing record sleeves, we were both DJing and doing graphics.

T: I had a mind numbing office sales job, although music was still a huge part of my life. I remember rushing home during my lunch break to work on some beats.

For many of us, it seems you seem to have burst onto the scene with an arsenal of edits, remixes and original material in a very short period of time, though you’ve no doubt been making music and DJing for a long time. Why did it take so long for you to start releasing music? We were tied into a major label contract that limited us releasing stuff. As soon as we were set free we made up for lost time. That said it wasn’t really that long, within a couple years of meeting each other we had records out.

You’ve been working on an album recently – how is it coming along? We’ve ditched the album we started seven years ago because it’s just not where we’re at right now, we kinda grew out of it. ‘Valley Of Paradise’ was part of that project which still sounds great I think and there’s a couple of other tracks from that period which are still strong.

How does the dynamic between you two work in the studio? Is one of you an ideas man and the other more technical, or…? D: Sometimes one of us can drive an idea more than the other or at least have their own initial vision. But when we work together that’s when the magic happens. I’m more the crate digger and Tom is more the hands on producer, but we both get involved in all aspects of what we do. It’s a strong dynamic that seems to work.

I read that you’re currently working on putting together a live show. Could you tell us about that? A gentleman never tells…

The music you make/remix/edit covers a wide range of styles and moods, from high NRG pop/disco/house to more low slung grooves. When you DJ, do you like to cover the same kind of bases? Do you move from 90bpm stuff right through to 130? Yeah but it depends on the venue or festival etc. Sometimes we get asked to play the more mellow stuff and sometimes you just get a feel that you can get away with going a bit deeper. On the last tour we played a few sets at 90bpm and ended up around 125. We rarely hit 130!

I heard you’ve recently moved from DJing with CDJs to Traktor. How are you finding it? What do you like and dislike about it? We’ve been experimenting with both and using Traktor a lot making mixes while we’re on tour which is super easy and makes that while process such a breeze. We get asked for mixes every day and they can become a chore so it’s really helpful.

What’s the secret to a good edit? Remove the shite, extend the money shots and add a subtle donk!

Secret to a good remix? T: We usually remove all the music and just use the vocals. It’s fun to play around with a track that already has it’s own structure and mess around with a bassline or lead line, you can have loads of fun with that and it translates into the music. I think it's important to think about both your own audience and the audience of the artist you're remixing and work out how to combine those two concepts. Every mix should be approached separately. We try to stay away from formulas. This way our sound is transported somewhere new everytime.

Speaking of remixes, your reworking of Kauf’s ‘Relocate’ is epic and being very well received at the moment. Is it always a surprise which tracks end up being the most popular? Do you ever get an inkling which ones they’re going to be? We knew Kauf would get love, it’s one of our favourites.

Name a DJ/ band or artist who you’ve see perform at a festival who you never expected you’d like and were blown away by and why. D: Florence & The Machine were awesome at Bestival a few years back. I was never convinced by her but the way she communicated to the crowd was really genuine. I had to check myself for that.

What is one of your most treasured vinyls in your collection?Klaus Weiss’s 'Niagara' - self titled LP from 1970. Wild, funky Krautrock breaks with that sick gatefold sleeve is one of many.

Describe your perfect music festival. We experienced perfection in San Francisco this summer at Sunset Campout. The best music we’ve ever heard and the most intimate, beautiful spaced-out posse of super loving psychedelic warriors in the most epic context imaginable .But shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

Finish this sentence: Music is… L.O.V.E.

What’s on the cards for the rest of the year for Psychemagik? Loads of sweet stuff in the pipeline. Gonna be focusing on some fresh original material! Keep your ears to the ground.

Listen to Psychemagik on Pulse Radio

Masked man of mystery SBTRKT has kept relatively quiet since the release of his lavishly praised self tited album in 2011 but according to Consequence of Sound, the man also known to the tax office as Aaron Jerome is hunkered down and working on a follow up. 

Luckily, SBTRKT has given us a little something while we wait for the main course, a track titled 'IMO' which you can listen to below. The description lists the track as unmixed and unmastered, and in memory of his late brother Daniel. 

While it may be so far unmixed or mastered, the clip features some pretty cool visuals, but what else would one expect from an artist like SBTRKT?

Listen to SBTRKT on Pulse Radio

American beer monolith Budweiser has teamed up with the Australian Independent Music Awards to launch a search for the country's next superstar DJ/ Producer. AIMA's organiser MusicOz are calling out for unsigned and independent electronic music artists to submit their best tracks. 

The competition will offer the lucky winner of the inaugural competition some incredible opportunities and a whopping prize pool that includes an international tour to the United States to play Marquee Los Angeles and New York, as well as  homecoming shows at venues including Marquee Sydney. The winner will also receive the benefit of having featured mixes on selected music streaming websites, guaranteed media exposure through interviews and profile features in leading music publications and blogs as well as a Pioneer DDJ- SX 4-channel Serato DJ controller complete with professional software. 

The competition will be judged by a panel of music and entertainment industry experts, which this year will include Printz Board, the multi- Grammy winning producer of Black Eyed Peas, and the winner will be announced at the AIMA Ceremony at the New Event Centre at The Star in Sydney, November 7th 2013.

Track submissions close at midnight, September 30; you can enter here. 

For more information, head over here - good luck!

Listen to Pulse Radio 

Chinese Laundry and Pulse Radio are once again giving you the chance to win double passes to the iconic Sydney club this weekend, which also happens to be featuring a mammoth line up.

Friday sees Kiwi expat Opiou bringing his exciting kaleidoscope of warm, fuzzy sounds to Laundry - previous support slots for this hyper-talented beatsmith include MC Hammer (yes, you read that correctly), Bassnectar and Pretty Lights. Among the local talent supporting Opiou are Samrai, Adam Zae and Donald Crump.

Meanwhile, Saturday afternoon will be a warm welcome back to Argentina's house don Hernan Cattaneo and Germany's Stimming in a delightful double bill. Cattaneo has long been synonymous with quality house and if previous sets in Australia are anything to go by, we're in for another treat. Hamburg's Stimming has been described as a talent beyond his years;  hooking up with Solomun's DIY Music label was a move that catapulted him into the consciousness of dance music lovers everywhere. 

Masked man Claptone will be keeping things moving Saturday evening - he may be mysterious but with hits like 'Cream' and 'Night On Fire', his reputation as a dance floor filler has long since been cemented. 

To win a double pass to any of these massive events, email us here with your name and the event you wish to attend. Winners will be notified by email Friday 20th September. Good luck!

Friday 20th September Full Line Up
Opiou
Samrai
Adam Zae
Joe Barrs
Karo vs. Ricky Hunter vs. Padlock
Kilo G vs. Boomstah
Donald Crump
Dutchies vs. Hooligans
Epique
Daly vs. Kyle O'Brien 

Saturday 21st September- Garden Party @ivy Garden Full Line Up
Hernan Cattaneo (ARG)
Stimming (GER)
Robbie Lowe
Jeff Drake
Rodskeez
LeOCH

Saturday 21st September Full Line Up
Claptone (GER)
Ember 
A - Tonez
Katie Valentine
Whitecat vs. U-Khan
Space Junk
About Jack
Antoine Vice
Front to Back
GG Magree
King Lee

Listen to Hernan Cattaneo on Pulse Radio

Listen to Stimming on Pulse Radio

Listen to Claptone on Pulse Radio 

Tiga fans, we are pleased to have the pleasure of making your afternoon. The electro pop stalwart has not only announced a side show for Sydney as part of his visit for Strawberry Fields Festival, but he has also announced that a follow up to 2009's 'Ciao!' is currently in the works, due for release in 2014.

His new track 'Let's Go Dancing' , which you can listen to below, was recorded with Audion and has already gained plenty of attention after it was one of the most played tracks in Ibiza this summer. 

'Let's Go Dancing' is out now through WIN Music and will also be available with a remix package set to feature Breach, Maya Jane Coles and Solomun, due out November 10. Enough time to recover from this batch of Tiga news, we would imagine.

Tiga Sydney Strawberry Fields Side Show

22.11.13 - The Imperial Hotel, Erskineville [BUY]

Listen to Tiga's Number 1 mix for Pulse's Best Mix of 2013

Integral London clubbing institution secretsundaze have announced Redshape and Function to headline their 'Halloween Asylum' bash on Saturday 2nd November.

Due to take place at the ultra hip Oval Space venue in Bethnal Green, East London, its the latest in a string of successful parties and of course their, Go Bang! festival, held across two venues a few weeks back and featuring the likes of Omar S, Martyn, Amir Alexander and more. 

For their latest ghoulish get up, masked Berlin techno man Redshape shall perform live, while Ostgut Ton's Function shall be headlining the event and further support comes from Sven Weisemann, and the sundaze honchos and residents, Giles Smith and James Priestley. Tickets and further details for this frighteningly good party are underneath the flyer.

secretsundaze Halloween Asylum Party
Saturday 2nd November
10pm-5am
Oval Space
Bethnal Green, London

Line Up
Function
Redshape Live
Sven Weisemann
Giles Smith
James Priestley

Tickets

Listen to Redshape on Pulse Radio.

Melbourne based touring company The Operatives are giving the world a backstage look at some of the most cutting edge electronic music producers in the world as they tour Australia. In the latest video, The Operatives speak to experimental producer Onra, as part of their Soundcheck series.

The French producer tookm time to chat to The Operatives about his unique blend of electronica and hip hop, the use of chinese instruments, Marvin Gaye and the art of sampling; its all shot to some remarkably juicy footage of Onra playing live on his second Australian tour to date.

Listen to Onra on Pulse Radio.

After revealing club tour dates, Movement Festival have announced full line ups for their European edition in Turin, Italy between Saturday October 24th and Sunday November 3rd 2013.

Now in it's 8th consecutive year, Movement brings together a slick selection of artists to the Italian city, taking over local music venues, clubs, buildings and cultural institutions and providing them with some of the largest names from across underground electronic music.

A whopping 10 days long, and running around the clock, attendees can be entertained by the likes of jazz legend Bugge Wesseltoft & Henrik Schwarz and Mathew Jonson plus DJ sets from Adam Beyer, Agoria, Ben Klock, Blawan, Boddika, Davide Squillace, Derrick May, Dixon, DVS1, Eats Everything, Joy Orbison, Laurent Garnier, Maceo Plex, Magda, San Proper, System of Survival, The Martinez Brothers and Visionquest besides a heck of a lot more across the festival's duration.

The full programme thus far is underneath for your perusal, plus a link to tickets.

Movement Torino Festival
24th October - 3rd November
Various venues, Turin, Italy

Programme

24 October 2013 dalle ore 21.00 alle 23.00
Bugge Wesseltoft & Henrik Schwarz live
Conservatorio di Torino, Torino

25 October 2013 dalle ore 23.00
Dan Ghenacia –Movement Festival venue TBC

26 October 2013 dalle ore 23.00
Circoloco Party with: System of Survival, The Martinez Brothers, Matthias Tanzmann
Lumiq Studios, Torino

27 October 2013 dalle ore 23.00
Laurent Garnier b2b Agoria
Lavanderie a Vapore, Collegno (TO)

31 October 2013 dalle ore 20.00 alle ore 06.00
Lingotto Fiere Padiglione 3, Torino
Main Stage: Magda, Maceo Plex, Dixon, Pan Pot
2nd stage: Boddika, Eats Everything, Blawan, Joy Orbison
3rd stage: Visionquest 13 Special
4th stage: Mathew Jonson, Adam Beyer, Ben Klock, 

1 November 2013 dalle ore 06.00
DVS1, Ben Clock and more
Audiodrome, Moncalieri (TO)

2 November 2013 dalle ore 23.00
Audiodrome Derrick May and Terrence Parker

Listen to Adam Beyer on Pulse Radio.

From the 3rd to the 6th of October 2013, the Mainstay Beach Bar gets tropical and brings the heat to the white sands of the Daisies. The line-up selected is of exquisite design and adding to the magic this year is DJ Low.

By now, DJ Low really shouldn’t need an introduction of any kind. From representing back in the day all the way right into the future; selecting Dub, Reggae, Funk, Glitch, IDM and Hip Hop, this is one selekta that can blend in anywhere. Various sonic gadgets, samples, edits and manipulations combine with his dexterity ensuring a smooth unique dubbed out musical voyage with a next level edge.

Listen to Pulse Radio

It was a couple of sterling edits in 2010 that announced UK duo Psychemagik, aka Danny McLewin and Tom Coveney, onto the scene. One was of Talking Heads''This Must Be The Place, the other a cut up of 'Everywhere' by Fleetwood Mac. The latter slice of wax found its way into the record bags of the likes of Greg Wilson and Tom Middleton and now almost four years on, McLewin and Coveney are two of the most sought after producers, editors and DJs in the dance world.

With a slew of edits, remixes, a self-titled album and two companion mix compilations (Cyrkles and Sunrise) all under their belts - not to mention constant tours to the USA, Europe and Australia - it seems as though everyone wants a piece of the cosmic action. As fervent collectors of vinyl (Danny once had over 25,000 in his collection) and owners of eclectic palettes, you never quite know what you're going to get with a Psychemagik DJ mix. For Pulse podcast 143, they've opted for an hour of dancefloor ready house and disco...with a peppering of acid.

[Download here]

Pulse: What were you listening to as teenagers? When did you first discover ‘dance music’? Danny: I was into Public Enemy and Prince. I was aware of dance music in late 80s but I was a hip-hop kid, breakdancing and graffiti. I got into it later when the arse dropped out of hip hop.

Tom: I was into jungle & hardcore. I was fascinated by the production, I found it so cutting edge and raw.

When and how did you guys first meet and start making music together? Was it a shared love of the same music that made you decide to start working together? We met seven years ago and had similar tastes but different perspectives. Tom was more into dance music and I was more into funk and disco, but we both loved a lot of the more folky and psychedelic tracks. There’s a track called ‘Travellin’ Lady’ by The Rainbow Family that we properly bonded over. We also used to freak out over ‘Egyptian Tomb’ by Mighty Baby. The first thing we did in the studio was a re-edit of Cozy Powell’s ‘And Then There Was Skin’ which we chopped up with a vocal from Herman’s Rocket. After that we decided to work together and ‘Valley Of Paradise’ was the first proper studio track we made together.

What were you doing before music became a living? D: I was selling records, designing record sleeves, we were both DJing and doing graphics.

T: I had a mind numbing office sales job, although music was still a huge part of my life. I remember rushing home during my lunch break to work on some beats.

For many of us, it seems you seem to have burst onto the scene with an arsenal of edits, remixes and original material in a very short period of time, though you’ve no doubt been making music and DJing for a long time. Why did it take so long for you to start releasing music? We were tied into a major label contract that limited us releasing stuff. As soon as we were set free we made up for lost time. That said it wasn’t really that long, within a couple years of meeting each other we had records out.

You’ve been working on an album recently – how is it coming along? We’ve ditched the album we started seven years ago because it’s just not where we’re at right now, we kinda grew out of it. ‘Valley Of Paradise’ was part of that project which still sounds great I think and there’s a couple of other tracks from that period which are still strong.

How does the dynamic between you two work in the studio? Is one of you an ideas man and the other more technical, or…? D: Sometimes one of us can drive an idea more than the other or at least have their own initial vision. But when we work together that’s when the magic happens. I’m more the crate digger and Tom is more the hands on producer, but we both get involved in all aspects of what we do. It’s a strong dynamic that seems to work.

I read that you’re currently working on putting together a live show. Could you tell us about that? A gentleman never tells…

The music you make/remix/edit covers a wide range of styles and moods, from high NRG pop/disco/house to more low slung grooves. When you DJ, do you like to cover the same kind of bases? Do you move from 90bpm stuff right through to 130? Yeah but it depends on the venue or festival etc. Sometimes we get asked to play the more mellow stuff and sometimes you just get a feel that you can get away with going a bit deeper. On the last tour we played a few sets at 90bpm and ended up around 125. We rarely hit 130!

I heard you’ve recently moved from DJing with CDJs to Traktor. How are you finding it? What do you like and dislike about it? We’ve been experimenting with both and using Traktor a lot making mixes while we’re on tour which is super easy and makes that while process such a breeze. We get asked for mixes every day and they can become a chore so it’s really helpful.

What’s the secret to a good edit? Remove the shite, extend the money shots and add a subtle donk!

Secret to a good remix? T: We usually remove all the music and just use the vocals. It’s fun to play around with a track that already has it’s own structure and mess around with a bassline or lead line, you can have loads of fun with that and it translates into the music. I think it's important to think about both your own audience and the audience of the artist you're remixing and work out how to combine those two concepts. Every mix should be approached separately. We try to stay away from formulas. This way our sound is transported somewhere new everytime.

Speaking of remixes, your reworking of Kauf’s ‘Relocate’ is epic and being very well received at the moment. Is it always a surprise which tracks end up being the most popular? Do you ever get an inkling which ones they’re going to be? We knew Kauf would get love, it’s one of our favourites.

Name a DJ/ band or artist who you’ve see perform at a festival who you never expected you’d like and were blown away by and why. D: Florence & The Machine were awesome at Bestival a few years back. I was never convinced by her but the way she communicated to the crowd was really genuine. I had to check myself for that.

What is one of your most treasured vinyls in your collection?Klaus Weiss’s 'Niagara' - self titled LP from 1970. Wild, funky Krautrock breaks with that sick gatefold sleeve is one of many.

Describe your perfect music festival. We experienced perfection in San Francisco this summer at Sunset Campout. The best music we’ve ever heard and the most intimate, beautiful spaced-out posse of super loving psychedelic warriors in the most epic context imaginable .But shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

Finish this sentence: Music is… L.O.V.E.

What’s on the cards for the rest of the year for Psychemagik? Loads of sweet stuff in the pipeline. Gonna be focusing on some fresh original material! Keep your ears to the ground.

Listen to Psychemagik on Pulse Radio