ISSUE 03: THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND

SPRING 2021

M AY

BEHIND THE DECKS

THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND E L E C T RO N I C M U S I C A N D C LU B C U LT U R E

BEHIND

BEHINDTHEDECKS.ORG

THE DECKS

BEHINDTHEDECKS.ORG

ISSUE 03

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I am running out of ideas. Three magazines in six months.

Maybe I should retire before I have to start working harder.

It has been over a year since I awkwardly shuffled around a dance floor. I never thought I would miss ordering two cups of water, but that is the kind of world we live in.

By the time you’re reading this, I honestly have no idea if clubs are open. If they have reopened, then I might not live to make the next one. If they are not, then you will probably hear from me again.

Big thank you to all the artists who are featured. Without them, I would not know what to do.

I want to thank all the writers who contributed. Their dedication and grafting brought this edition to life. I’m proud to have watched them all develop.

I can’t forget Elina for supporting me through this. She is a remarkable woman who pushed me to chase my dreams.

That’s something that every DJ and producer should do.

Work hard and make your dreams a reality.

Bill Rah

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

ISSUE 03

CONTENTS THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND

6

PEOPLE WANT MUSIC

12

STRICTLY BANGERS

18

ALL GOOD

20

BECOMING BETH

24

GET TO KNOW MACKA

26

STORYTIME

28

UNITY

32

NEW ARTISTS

34

RESPECT THE DISCO

36

THE POLKA DOT DISCO CORNER

38

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND

BY CIARA VERNON PHOTOGRAPHY BY HARRY ANDERSON

When I was growing up I was drinking bucky at the four corners and going to the Sub Club unders

6

SPRING 2021

ISSUE 03

In late 2012, a young Rosie Shannon bounces amidst the vast, echoing underground cavern, deep within The Arches.

Green Velvet’s Flash reverberates around the club, bounding between the tireless mass of dancers and the brick walls. Engulfed by the kaleidoscopic lights, surrounded by euphoric dancers and consumed by Green Velvet’s surging techno. “It helped solidify how much I loved music that felt like you were on a roller coaster ride.”

AISHA has plunged into Scottish techno culture, creating a splash with her heavy, fast-paced tracks. She described her production as “Heavy rapid music to drop acid to.” Her speedy, eclectic tracks contain powerful kicks, BPMs high enough to send any crowd into a frenzy, and are mottled with bubbling acidic synths. The 28-year-old is a regular attendee of events in European cities at the forefront of techno culture. AISHA feels that the “fast-paced, long hour, hedonist nights in cities such as Berlin, Paris and Copenhagen” creatively motivate her. Equal opportunities are also important to her. She currently helps run Soma Skool, an enterprise that encourages young aspiring DJs to learn and develop new skills. She wants to inspire young DJs, to immerse themselves in club culture. “There is no time like the present. If you want to buy decks, start saving now. If you want to learn, get someone to teach you the basics, and remember even the biggest DJs make mistakes.” She has developed her production over the years. “I like to make tunes without being pretentious about it.” She began working for Soma records in 2015.

Then built her production repertoire over five years and released her first EP under Soma’s label with Quail in 2020.

This led to her tracks getting played by Amelie Lens and Charlotte De Witte. Leatherbound, her latest EP release alongside Quail, contains satisfying, hypnotic tracks with relentless, rapid BPMs, synths that cut through you and intense builds on tracks like Hidden Form and Leatherbound. AISHA has worked with Quail to produce several other records, and they have played b2b numerous times in clubs. The pair will be playing Riverside Festival in Glasgow together in September. She describes their musical relationship as being interdependent. “He has more experience with production and DJing so he can teach me new things and I keep him youthful” she joked. AISHA revealed local talent she wants to collaborate with, such as Neoma, Lisaloof and Vreeland once things are back up and running. Glasgow’s renowned club culture was the catalyst for her expedition into the industry. AISHA moved from Aberdeen to Glasgow when she was 14. Like many teens, growing up, she embraced local youth culture. “I was drinking bucky at the Four Corners and going to the Sub Club unders.” This set in motion her exploration into the depths of the Glasgow underground. Her involvement in club culture was fuelled by her cousin Zac’s passion for electronic music. “Without him, my musical journey in Glasgow wouldn’t quite be the same,” after he introduced her to La Cheetah, and helped her make connections.

8

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

ISSUE 03

“Is the scene doing enough?

So women, trans and non-binary people feel welcome to bring their music and talent to Scotland”

From PR’ing for Pressure to experimenting with Ableton, it wasn’t until her first live set at Lunacy that AISHA solidified her reputation as an emerging techno queen. AISHA fondly reflected on Glasgow’s infamous Lunacy. “Anything goes inside those walls. Those who have been will know what I’m talking about!” Her classically high BPM, acid madness, fits perfectly into ‘Lunacy’. Her last club set alongside Quail in Stirling was followed by a set at Lunacy for an Animal Farm special, and since then AISHA has adapted to the lockdown lifestyle by “DJing virtually to people’s living rooms for 1 year.” For some DJs, their creativity has wavered by the lack of inspiration without clubs.

However, her creativity flourished behind the scenes. Not only has she produced new tracks such as Leatherbound, but she has also played live online sets for Soma Records and Animal Farm, where she holds a current residency.

Creatively thriving in isolation. “The pandemic has made me listen to faster, harder but more uplifting techno. Once the pandemic is over, I doubt I’ll be playing anything under 145 bpm.” Fortunately, now that restrictions in the UK are beginning to ease, AISHA is set to play several gigs this year, Riverside Festival with Quail, and multiple sets in SWG3. After producing under record labels such as Huntley + Palmers, Hilltown Disco, and Soma, she has breakneck beats up her sleeve. Her debut solo EP is coming out in June under the German label, Drec. “An independent label pushing new talent in techno.”

10

A remix by techno producer Joe Farr will also be out this year. The tracks are a distinct ode to 90s acid techno and industrial techno with their gratifying fusion of consistent kicks, distorted repetitive drum machine beats and stimulating synths. AISHA encapsulates her listeners through the variation in these tracks, from the hypnotic, spiritual vocals in Ethereal Elevation and Twilight Zone mixed with the almost threatening kick in Wingz 4ever. Her raw cutting edge sound will echo through Glasgow this summer as will her opinions. In a predominantly male-oriented industry, AISHA has not let her gender hold her back. She has previously spoken out against sexism and inequalities in the industry. She claims it’s not about having enough female DJs and that we should be asking another question. “Is the scene doing enough? So women, trans and non-binary people feel welcome to bring their music and talent to Scotland.” She is starkly aware of the gender and race inequalities within the industry but reminds us that this is not limited to Scotland and extends to “a worldwide societal issue with deep roots.” She believes that the required changes lie not in the electronic music industry but within society itself. She believes that we can achieve this.

“By putting a stop to enforcing gender and racial stereotypes as soon as we are born. This has a knock-on effect in every aspect of our lives.” Perhaps with educated selectors such as AISHA leading the charge, Scottish club culture can diversify and grow.

SPRING 2021

PEOPLE WANT MUSIC

BY CIARA VERNON PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATHAN HINZIE

Within Edinburgh’s renowned Cabaret Voltaire, jawless ravers boogie as Conor and Sean perform in FLY club. Filling the intimate underground cavity with their groovy melodies. Five years later and LF SYSTEM have now secured a residency at the very same club night they began. Conor and Sean, both 25 and from West Lothian, grew up surrounded by electronic music. Over the years, the boys have let their passion proliferate by growing up listening to Motor City Drum Ensemble, Detroit Swindle and Daft Punk.

They joined forces in November 2019, after regularly sharing tracks and projects between one another, playing back-to-back as individuals, and the fact that they’re best mates. “We became used to always doing it together, and it felt right.” LF SYSTEM has shined over the last year as they have had more time to focus on their music. Despite not being able to go out to clubs where they find most of their inspiration, they have collated a ridiculous amount of music, just in time for the summer of 2021. Their self created concept People Want Music, 17 tracks across five EPs over five consecutive weeks, will be dropping this May. One of the tracks Dancing Cliche was named Danny Howard’s Friday Fire on Radio 1 last month. The concept is a series of groovy disco edits the duo have collected and waited for the perfect time to release.

Radiating a summer sound to boogie in your garden too. Expect nu-disco edits with a little Chicago-house twist. After reaching back into their backlog of old experimental tracks, they produced, Sean explained that “It felt right to collect them all together and release them for people interested, hence the name People Want Music.”

Their first two EPs exude disco tracks like ‘People Want Music’, a unifying, upbeat disco anthem that echoes the likes of Mojido and Folamour, and Let’s Go, which holds a much more groovy jazz sound. The following three EPs combine silky vocals with melodic strings and brass elements, fused with that classically consistent kick reminiscent of Chicago house. The duo’s array of creativity shines through in these tracks, ranging from the dance-inducing jumpy beats in ‘Be My Baby’ to the smooth kick in ‘We Made It’, which sensuously fuses velvety low vocals over sharp zingy sax.

Claiming that these EPs mark the end of an era of disco editing, Conor believes their sound is evolving. “We still love disco and all the edits that come with it. However, we’re moving on to our sound and where we want to be in the future.” Their five new EPs include bonus tracks from Theo Kottis, Ewan McVicar, and Elliot Adamson. Over the last five years, the duo pushed themselves. Having played their first club night together in Cabaret Voltaire, alongside Solardo, they claimed that it’s now like a home to them. Sean reminisced about how “we would go as punters almost every Friday night.” Having played in a whole host of different Edinburgh clubs such as La Belle Angele, Mash House, Sneaky Pete’s, Liquid Rooms, Bourbon and the Leith Theatre, they hope to extend their repertoire of venues to DC10 in Ibiza one day. It is no wonder how diverse their tracks have become, basing their inspiration on such a vast variety of artists and club nights.

Conor said that “going out and listening to different DJs across different venues gives us massive inspiration.”

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

13

ISSUE 03

Scottish nightlife has always been important to Sean and Conor, as regular attenders of club nights across Scotland. Conor remarked his favourite after parties are “anywhere there’s booze and a good time.” They’ll go anywhere that will have them, although according to Sean “Conor is usually chucked out quickly.” The boys have let their sound evolve and like to stick to what sounds right to them.

In the same vein as the likes of Loure, Loods and Kornél Kovács, the duo mirror that classic Chicago house style, with care-free, melodic synths and energising kicks. Sean feels using retro hardware can bring new sounds to life. “It’s good being creative and seeing ideas come to life and just jamming on synths and making things happen.” Their music channels their blasé and playful attitude towards producing. Without taking themselves too seriously, Conor and Sean seem to just enjoy what they’re doing.

The response to tracks such as ‘Bourgie Bourgie’, has been incredible. Sean said that “we just made an edit for a bit of fun and to play out,” turned out to be a club hit ‘Bourgie Bourgie’ has also been awarded BBC Radio 1’s BBC Music Introducing Tune of the Week. They also produced a remix of Barry Can’t Swim’s ‘Some Day I Will’. The remix echoes acid techno with the bubbly synths and high BPM. Conor said, “he’s a lovely guy and we sent him pair of armbands to say thank you.” Not only can the pair produce sick tracks, but they have a witty sense of humour.

After playing alongside Big Miz, LaLa, and Denis Sulta, Conor revealed if they had the chance to collaborate with some local talent “it would be Liam Doc. Doc if you’re reading this.”

However, Sean said, “in a dream world it would have to be Mr G so we could pick his brains and he could teach us a few things.”

There’s hope yet, selector. Continually pushing themselves and grafting, their music is constantly evolving, and they hope to eventually be signed by labels such as Kalahari Oyster Cult, Shall Not Fade or Craigie Knowes. Conor feels that “the sounds on these labels are always incredible, and it’s a sound we’re really into.” The duo prefer production to live DJ’ing, Conor and Sean are well-versed in production techniques. The duo combines both hardware and software, to produce music. Sean highlighted “the Roland TR-8S, the Behringer TD-3, the Juno-6 and the Juno-DS” as some of their favourites hardware. Experimenting with this hardware helps the duo create a unique contemporary nu-wave disco. Quite rightly being named Danny Howard’s Future Fire for 2021, the duo is raring to get back into club culture post-lockdown.

They will be playing at the return of the slam tent this summer.

With their 17 new tracks released this year, the pair have shown their talent. When you put your stuff out there, and with perseverance, anyone can let their creativity flourish. Conor remarked, “just wing it, work hard, and enjoy it.” After over a year without clubs, LF SYSTEM are giving the people what they want, and the people want music.

16

SPRING 2021

STRICTLY BANGERS ONLY HEAT IN THIS CORNER

BY VAN DAMN

Big Miz - Coming up roses (ft Bodega) Big Miz doing what he does best with unreal drums and synth lines that would work on a dance floor or in your mothers car. The vocal addition from Bodega is fucking sublime.

Barry Can’t Swim - Some Day I will (LF System remix) Scotland remixing Scotland. Wild acid-infused remix that hits all the right spots, big hands in the air moments. The behemoth acid line runs right through you.

Macka & Lowree - break Perfectly opens with breaks and dreamy synths and switches a rapid into a big stompy bounce. The breakbeat rhythmic twists will captive a dancefloor.

DJ Plead, Anunaku - Clap Clap Don’t let the name fool you this has a heap m ore than just claps, insanely groovy dubby middle Eastern vibes on this.

It is one of the most exciting tracks I’ve heard in a long time.

Ewan Mcvicar - Amnocairn The swap from heady piano to a bass line that I know for a fact will tear a dance floor apart. My fave bit? The wee oooOOOooos right before the drums all come booting back in.

Black Girl / White Girl - green crack Been following this duo for a little while, and I can honestly say they make probably make my favourite types of tracks, full throttle, club stompers. This was a personal highlight of mines from their release last summer, big chefs kiss.

Et Al - want to be Over the past year, I’ve been lucky enough to get a pile of tracks from the Invershnecky bad man, Et Al. This being his latest release on zone focus and it’s a belter. Breaks, big lush stabs, and pads that will honestly make you greet they’re so lovely (happy tears) proper emo breakbeat banger.

Jay Gunning - Pressure The Lanark gun show, with a huge forthcoming release on fabled New York label Nervous. This track goes up & up & up & up then literally drops you flat back on your jacksy and repeats for an incredible effect.

The boy has outdone himself on this one.

Reyka - leccy melon Throughout lockdown, I’ve hunted for big fat rakers to play on my stream, and this one from reyka is just that. Boomy bottom end, rapid and a nice hypnotic synth line that repeats and loops that keeps you burning holes in your rug.

18

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

ISSUE 03

BY RACHEL FLINT PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNABELL STEEN All Good, the wild Dundee based collective, is composed of Ethan Bell, Nairn Sprink, and Jordan Alexander Wyness. They have known each other for as long as they can remember, raised in Arbroath afters with bouncing bangers.

The book ‘how to DJ properly’ created the trio’s rite of passage into DJing, with it first being gifted to the chief of All Good, Jordan aka Van Damn, by his godfather. After finishing it cover to cover, he was finally granted a shot on a pair of decks for the first time. “I started a long time ago when I was in high school. My family were always really into dance music. I was always listening to it, so I wanted to get into it.” Before owning his decks, he first dabbled with beats on Traktor, then began to burn tracks onto CDs using only a CDJ, a mixer and queuing up tracks on GarageBand to make his mixes. A method that would prove successful as soon after, at 17, he would play the Reading Rooms before finessing his first set of decks from an old job that had laid dormant in its basement. Ethan and Nairn would have their turns with the book when they too began to delve further into music. Ethan recalled his dad’s enthusiasm for music and an eclectic taste acting as steppingstones pushing him towards the decks. “My dads mental into his music, he’s into everything, you could go home one day and there’ll be jazz on, next day hip hop. He listened more to Gilles Peterson so I was cutting about the house more listening to that with him.” After a friend won a pair of decks in a raffle it pushed him to experiment on the decks.

Ethan chuckled as he revealed how he “used to wait until they were all too burst at an afters so I could get a shot on them.” At a resident night in Dundee’s Reading Rooms, Ethan was watching the DJs play, admiring and picking up on techniques, when he was suddenly thrown into the deep end as Midland turned around and gave him the green light to try his hand and put on a tune. “It’s a memory I’ll never forget, a lot of my pals used to go to the nights as well and just seeing them all go mental when they saw me was really special.” Ethan instantly became enamoured with bouncing selects and sharp mixing. Similarly, Nairn had a shot of Van Damn’s decks one rowdy and steaming night, kickstarting his newfound passion. “We were pished one night, Jordan was playing, and I thought, I wanted to try so I just jumped on and hooked ever since basically.” Nairn’s first gig was in Montrose at Mo Fest, where as soon as he started playing, a girl collapsed, and everyone left. However, this daunting experience did not deter the young MC. All Good electric house and energetic acid productions have been featured on BBC Music Introducing. Last year the collective appeared alongside La La on Rinse FM. With club culture growing in Scotland, prolific selectors have helped push All Good forward. Securing gigs with Jackmaster and Denis Sulta has propelled them further, catapulting the trio as Dundee’s top collective. A domino effect began as opportunities that seemed out of reach before were now in their grasp, such as booking Patrick Topping and playing with Green Velvet.

20

SPRING 2021

ISSUE 03

The trio have many incredible tales of afters. However, the time Ethan and Nairn took James from Solardo to an afters where someone’s mum came in to check on everyone as they were drunkenly DJing, is their favourite. Humble roots of nights spent in abandoned buildings fitted with shitty speakers and a makeshift deck stand to be introduced by Jaguar on Radio 1, the boys have excelled. Expect a mental club night with the All Good boys playing about with aspects of funk, disco, and house. Van Damn’s personal favourite remix of Scissor Sister’s Filthy Gorgeous has yet to be played in a club, but All Good will transform a dance floor with their energetic productions. With each of the collective appreciating each position of warm-up, headline hours, and closing, sets are varied and electric. Nairn remarked how “good being able to take the people on a journey.” The collective released the Solstice EP and the All Good fam mixtapes volume 1&2 during lockdown alongside delivering hysterical live streams on Twitch every Friday. However, as restrictions tightened last year, streams were led by the one-man-army, Van Damn, dropping hours of bouncing beats and top-notch patter. All of which only continued to build the collective reputation. Ethan believes that it “gives people a sense of community like a club would.” The live streams were highly anticipated by the trio as they had slowly been accumulating pieces needed and had set up cameras in each corner, like Big Brother for messy seshes.

The weekend before the first lockdown Van Damn held a “total stomper” at his house. “After that, I had a sense of necessity to keep the flow going.” When venues reopen, every promoter should provide the collective with a mic. Then they can bring the live stream patter to the club. Van Damn revealed the live streams have also helped their mental health. “Like self-preservation, I needed it to keep me going, it’s my interaction with people, I look forward to it every week, on a Friday my mood is noticeably different, I’m buzzing for it.” With many struggling with mental health, the boys create brief escapism through their mixes. They push for open conversations surrounding mental health as lockdown magnifies these battles, often leaving countless isolated with their feelings. Ethan expresses fondness for this ability of music, “It takes you away from everything. Making music for people to enjoy, like your trying to create that moment for them, so, they can just forget about everything else.” Their astounding technical skills, innovative beats, and personality, have allowed them to master the ability to control the tempo of a room. They will be playing in Aberdeen’s Cultivate Rave Revival in September alongside Mella Dee, Kettama, and Jaguar. Nairn misses the All Good party feeling of “happiness, no anger, just one big party.”

The trio is eager to get back behind the decks in front of a crowd.

Not long left until we will all be dancing in the sunshine. Then it will truly be all good.

22

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

23

ISSUE 03

BE C OMIN G BET H

BY FRAN BLAIR PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEY-LIV JAMIESON

She has soared from playing sets in Nicos in Glasgow to supporting Sorlardo and Hannah Wants in front of thousands. Emerging within Scottish club culture is Glasgow based DJ and producer Beth. She is heavily influenced by Honey Dijon. “A massive inspiration when it comes to sounds and female representation in the industry.”

Her upcoming tracks will include female vocals alongside tougher basslines. She tells us her real passion lies in House music.

However, she explores darker cutting edge sounds. “Don’t be surprised if you hear a big techno stomper being made or played by myself.” She admits, “as long as there is a good groove going, I’m all in.” Her career has skyrocketed this year. She’s gone from “bricking it” while playing her very first set at an all-day affair at Nico’s Bar, Glasgow, to the bill at FLY Open Air. Beth has been rising in the industry as she strides forward. She reveals that she will be releasing a lot more music in 2021. Expect a track on Ki Creighton’s record label, Under No Illusion in May, alongside a remix for a local label, Lyceum Social club. “I have another two or three tracks in the pipeline but don’t want to give too much away yet.” Beth’s music has been circulating on the radio with her new track, ‘Check It’ being introduced by Jaguar as BBC Radio One’s ‘Dancefloor moment.’ The presenter even described Beth as ‘a star in the making.’

“We need more coverage of up-and-coming female DJs”

Confessing she loves the big disco female energy in the track’s vocals. Beth believes the female DJ team in Glasgow is “growing from strength to strength.” The encouragement she has received from the industry has been amazing according to her. Despite this, she feels that the industry could do more to improve gender disparity. “We need more coverage of up-and-coming female DJs, and I’m thankful for platforms like Behind the Decks who showcase new talent and inspire more women to get involved in the industry.” Whilst it’s a competitive industry to get into, Beth’s passion and drive will push her to keep producing disco-infused bangers, groovy house and raw techno. She is one of Scotland’s high calibre selectors who is actively promoting women in the industry. She hopes to inspire like-minded female DJs to chase their dreams by introducing more female coverage within the media, something we expect to see on her radio show. She explains she witnessed the likes of Honey Dijon and Blessed Madonna, “who are living their dream but have probably come up against some testing times yet never given up.” She takes inspiration from strong female producers, saying, “It encourages me to create my path in music.”As Beth undertakes her path, she will always support women looking to DJ.

SPRING 2021

ISSUE 03

GET TO KNOW MACKA

BY CHARLIE PRESTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX JAMES

From making his debut at a uni club night in 2017 to going b2b with Denis Sulta in 2019, Macka’s story is one many DJs hope to replicate. He discovered his love for mixing when he was helping out at a club night. “I remember thinking, this is class.”

He set up a collective, Hometown alongside his childhood friends Joe Loughrey, Justin Bickler and Alan Petticrew. “Things quickly snowballed for us. People were coming along because we were playing.” The collective obtained a residency at Sneaky Pete’s and Cabaret Voltaire. They established Edinburgh’s premiere student party. With regular weeknight gigs, Macka struggled to commit to his 9-5. “I was DJ’ing and working at a bank. Playing parties until 3 am and then going to work in a suit 5 hours later was awful. So, I quit.” Hoping to put all his time into music, he moved to Glasgow with one goal. “If I leave Glasgow having played Sub Club then I will leave happy.” Four weeks later, he accomplished this. “One night in the smoking area Rory Masson asked if I wanted to play.

I was holding my excitement in like a wee kid.” He believes that your aspirations will come to fruition if you focus. “If you want something to happen, then there are ways you can do that for yourself. Make sure you are going down to club nights and speaking to the right people. I was going down at least once a week.” After making his Sub Club debut, he captured a residency for Rare Wednesday, warming up for Skream and Éclair Fifi.

Through his slick productions and wild mixing, his club sets are notorious for creating a rambunctious crowd. He played alongside Robert Owens, in Soho House. “It was like something out of a movie. All of these rich folk were jumping about the place. It got even more surreal when he told me that Kanye West was partying on the floor above us. We went out that night and ended up at Robert’s studio at 8 am and made a track with him.” His raw talent and networking skills have allowed him to build a rapport with selectors. After warming up for Denis Sulta at Sub Club, he supported him in Aberdeen. “I was bricking it before the set. It was surreal. Back in the day, whenever Sulta came to Edinburgh I was always scrambling for a ticket, and now I am here DJing with him.” He dropped two outstanding EPs within the last year, on We Are Nothing and Fresh Take Records. The latter a collaboration with Joe Loughrey. The duo produced an EP remotely over zoom, the outcome being three exquisite compositions consisting of breaks, M1 Piano and acid synths. Macka describes both pieces of work as “club-ready but easy to listen to.” You can catch Macka performing at the return of the Slam tent. “It was the first great experience for me as I wasn’t old enough to be in clubs when I was at T In The Park. Playing there with the rest of Scotland’s insane talent will be biblical.” His upcoming release, Blush, a bouncy and energetic track, will be out this summer on Good Trax

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

27

ISSUE 03

STORYTIME

BY EVA MACKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERTA HICKEY

Sarah Story is the quintessential cool girl of new wave radio. Catapulted from her roots in Carlisle, the radio DJ has gone from co-presenting Saturday morning breakfast on local station CFM to mixing classic club tracks for audiences across Europe. Despite exploring nearly every avenue in the industry with great success and admitting if she can do it all, she’ll be happy. Sarah cites radio as her first love and her family were obsessed with music. There was never a lack of amazing tunes vibrating throughout her home. She listened to Motown, Dance, Trance and Happy Hardcore. Sarah believes her penchant for dance music was sparked by her mum playing Underworld classic ‘Born Slippy’ on a ride to school.

This engulfed her and she attended an old-school house night. “My brother Lee, who always let me steal his CDs, used to take me out clubbing when I was 15 to a night called Retro and I just fell in love with dance music on the dance floor.”

Rapidly graduating from the dancefloor to the decks. “I had not even done my GCSEs and here I was in the DJ booth acting like some seasoned pro.” Despite masquerading as a maven, she discovered her trademark style as a DJ. Her most recent rhythms have evolved into funky disco-infused vibrations laced through house beats. Sarah also tries to include her rich vocals on each track, taking inspiration from Floorplan. She confesses her favourite show to play was warming up for Honey Dijon for International Women’s Month last year. “To watch the room fill up, and people vibe off my music, was such an amazing feeling.”

Whilst Sarah is continuously exploring her signature mixing style she has simultaneously become a mainstay on the airwaves. She described her job as a Radio DJ as a hunt for banging tracks for her audience, and to make quality tunes more accessible.

“I want to guide people who maybe doesn’t listen to a lot of underground music but like dance music and introducing listeners to cool stuff without them switching off.” Sarah plays music that makes her feel good and tries to impart her elation upon each listener. “I want people to go wow when I drop a tune they’ve never heard but instantly love or a classic they’ve not heard for ages.” The Radio 1 cover presenter adores playing tracks from Mella Dee, Matrefakt and Denis Sulta on her show, declaring her love for their sound. “It’s just such a nostalgic sound and these guys are putting their spin on it.” With an eye for emerging artists, Sarah admits it makes her giddy to be able to put them in the spotlight and give them a global platform. “Dance music is shining at the moment. I want to champion underground dance music and make it accessible to everyone.” Despite Sarah’s attraction to heavy house beats, her dream interview would be with Nightmares on Wax, acknowledging her adoration of his lo-fi, groovy production.

“I feel like his music soothes my soul. He makes such great music that has stood the test of time. His sets are wicked and he’s a Leeds lad so I feel he would be great craic.” The inherent optimist won’t take herself tooseriously. “If I can have a laugh on air, get excited and show people some cool music then I’ve done my job.” She keeps it simple and it’s why we keep going back for more. Sarah’s advice for any budding radio DJs aligns with her unpretentious philosophy.

“Know exactly what you want to do, which is the hardest part. Learn to say no sometimes. Take your time, learn your craft then go and smash it!”

In this story, video platforms didn’t kill the radio star, it only amplified her.

SPRING 2021

29

BEHIND THE DECKS PRESENTS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH MACAROON MEDIA

AN ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY FILM

COMING SOON

ISSUE 03

UNITY

BY EVA MACKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIA BARBOUR

The industry has made it more difficult for women to succeed. By paying them less than men or through sexual harassment. It’s not an anomaly to witness a woman commandeering a dancefloor. Yet society acts as if it is. But the industry is evolving, female-identifying DJs are now pushing their way through the barriers. Emily Grieve, the founder of Miss World, notes, “it is still a novelty to see a woman on the decks.” Miss World was established by Emily six years ago. She hopes to dissipate the concept of the mystical female DJ. The collective includes Aphid, Feena, Iced Gem and Emily. “We are a feminist DJ collective, whose goal is to promote female-identifying and queer DJs.” Over the six years they have been active, they created a safe space for women and non-binary individuals. Going to clubs can be risky for women. An alarming 79% of women said they expect some form of sexual harassment to occur towards themselves or one of their friends when they went to clubs in a 2017 YouGov poll.

Responding to this through positivity and a genuine love for music, Miss World parties have given hundreds a night to remember, for the right reasons. “It’s such a nice, friendly vibe,” Emily gushes.

“Our nights feel so inclusive, and we always get a nice crowd. It’s never too aggressive.” Miss World provides a unique, exuberant space, bringing a marginalised community closer through sounds and self-expression. The collective holds down residencies at Sneaky Pete’s and EHFM. The group encapsulates the idea of fluidity, with each member of the collective bringing their signature sound and style.

Miss World’s DJs can go from mixing wavey house beats to a smooth anthology of jazz-infused afro to energetic techno vibrations. Emily’s tracks are rich with retro rhythms. Her love of deep soulful beats began as a child. “It was my mum that got me into music, I play a lot of funk and disco, and all the music she played always had a funky core, which got me into disco.” The collective was born Soulsville at The Bongo Club. One evening while partying, Emily passed on her university radio show to the ‘Soulsville night’ promoter. “He listened to it and invited me to DJ. I’d never properly DJ’d before that. Through that, I met up with a few girls who were interested in DJ’ing, and it was a good opportunity for us all to have a go at it, even though we hadn’t had much experience.” Emily hopes to recreate this opportunity by introducing more women to the industry. The collective plan to establish regular workshops that can propel women forward. “Our whole thing is that we don’t want to be this closed group of DJs. We want to make sure the platform is available.” The pandemic has also resulted in the collective having to rework how they reach their following by transitioning by streaming on MixCloud. The collective creates an atmosphere that radiates inclusivity and positivity, by mixing melodies and promote a safe space. Their authentic adoration for the community they have brought together motivates them to give a platform to underrepresented communities. “It should be all about the music.

As long as you love music, you can be a DJ.”

BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

33

NEW ARTISTS MAY 2021

BY BILL RAH

The 23-year-old producer is based in Glasgow. He is the co-founder of the renowned and wild Edinburgh collective HOMETOWN. He collaborated with childhood friend Macka and released an EP Mood4Love on Fresh Take Records earlier this year. Lowree is a resident at La Cheetah for Hijack with Fourth Precinct. He adores the sounds of retro garage, Chicago house and is masterful at mixing vinyl. He released a sublime all-vinyl mix. His recent self-released output the ‘ILLEGAL EP’ explores raw house and techno bootlegs merged with Hip-Hip samples.

LOWREE

The 22-year old producer from Stranraer is based in Glasgow. He has been DJ’ing for 9 years and producing for 6. Scott learned to play the drums when he was only 6. At age 9 his brother installed Virtual DJ onto his computer to use. He played his first ever gig when he was only 14 in Keller Club. His influences include Jamie xx, Floating Points, and Jacques Greene.

He is also inspired by modern jazz pieces and film scores. He has an upcoming release out this summer on Eyeangle Records. Expect contemporary garage.

SCOTT LOVE

The 29-year-old Edinburgh based DJ from Norway is the co-founder of Sound Advice. A clothing brand that raises mental health awareness within the clubbing community. It donates some proceeds to various causes, supporting NHS Scotland and Turn The Tables. An initiative that teaches homeless people how to DJ. The selector is also a nutritionist and is inspired by Super Flu, La La and Folamour. Dina is also a member of the Edinburgh Disco Lovers. A collective that donates all proceeds to different charitable causes. Her sounds range from melodic techno to retro disco.

DINA CELINA 34

SPRING 2021

NEW ARTISTS MAY 2021

The 19-year-old Glasgow based DJ is from a small town outside of Stirling.

She has only been DJ’ing for under two years. Kirsty is heavily influenced by old-school house, 90s hip-house and local Scottish producers. Her inspirations include Sally C, Daft Punk and Groove Armada. After watching Denis Sulta’s boiler room, she was motivated to buy a set of decks. Her signature groovy house sound also explores funky Nu-Disco. She has begun to hone her production and hopes to release her debut EP next year. She built a reputation for her smooth and slick mixing

KIRSTY FRASER The 29-year old from Iran is based in Glasgow and graduated from SubSine Academy SomaSkool, where she developed her production. She produces ambient and techno tracks.

Her upcoming EP will explore chill, melodic ambient vibes and contrast this with raw, furious techno. Farnaz has performed throughout the Middle East. The slick producer left because electronic music was strictly forbidden for women. However, Farnaz’s love for techno gave her the motivation to follow her dreams as a DJ in Scotland.

Her upcoming album will be out later this year

FARNAZ

The 21-year-old Edinburgh based selector from Palestine has a groovy production repertoire. The co-founder of Morrison Street Collective, a 6 piece party crew in Edinburgh explores Funk, Disco and House. He made his debut at Cabaret Voltaire for The Oban Show in 2020. He intends to expand his productions and immerse himself in international music. His influences include Bellaire, LCD Soundsystem and Yuksek. He released a track on Bedroomtraxx earlier this year.

His upcoming EP on Roux Records will be out this summer and includes an exquisite Latino Disco track.

FAISAL SABAWI BEHIND THE DECKS.ORG

35

ISSUE 03

RESPECT THE DISCO

BY JOSH FRYER BLOOM PHOTOGRAPHY BY OSCAR ABDULLA It can be tough to quantify how vastly different upbringings and traditions experienced by people across the world come to shape who we are. By embedding rich and diverse cultural identities into our psyche, these experiences affect how we perceive and identify with the world around us. Diversity thrives, and differences in our collective human experiences are celebrated rather than scorned.

Enrichment of this cultural diversity also enables creativity to thrive, and few have utilised this better than the Bahraini-British label Dar Disku. This translates to Home of Disco. They will be playing at Boiler Room in Motion, Bristol, alongside Jayda G, Job Jobse and more. They are looking to incorporate Bollywood sounds into future releases. Only when leaving home and venturing into new lands did Vish Matre and Mazen Almastaki have a realisation. As Maz puts it “once you leave home you start to feel the kind of nostalgia that lets you appreciate things more. We decided to create a platform to give this part of Middle Eastern culture a voice.” The dynamic duo explained the label’s message.

Maz summarised what they represent. “We took the few recordings and tapes out there and said we have to protect and try to release them as a way to acknowledge, protect and appreciate cultural history.” The duo sourced cassettes from elusive live recordings of lost eras of synth-driven psychedelic pop by Egyptian, Lebanese and Bahraini bands in the 70s/80s. They want to protect and appreciate this cultural history by sharing music.

“It’s less a lack of representation and more a lack of diversity” Vish clarifies that “Arabic music has had a big influence on dance music for a long time. We try and present this type of music in a new, slightly different way.” Maz believes that growing up in Bahrain helped them understand exploring other cultures and appreciate them. Dance music arguably suffers from a lack of Arabic representation. “There is a lack of representation in terms of music being played by the people where it’s originally from.

There’s plenty of DJs playing international music but I think there’s also plenty of fully capable DJs championing these styles locally that should fill more line-ups.” Vish contemplated as he candidly reflected on the lack of racial diversity within the industry. Vish explained that “it’s less a lack of representation and more a lack of diversity.” Global digital access allowed people to celebrate the music that otherwise might remain inaccessible. They feel it is important to pay respects to where the culture and sounds originate. Vish explains his philosophy. “Credit artists being played, know where the music is from, don’t just put untitled or unknown. Do not claim to discover music. It’s about being respectful.” Maz adds “put in the effort to learn about those types of music, the artists, the history, put work in to appreciate it. Be conscious of where samples are from and what they mean.” He discovered a DJ sampled religious texts, which violated cultural boundaries. “He sampled a sacred, Saudi prayer just thinking they were cool vocals. Then he puts them over an EDM track and as it turns out that is not cool.” DJs playing these styles should be respectful to different cultures. However, this is not always the case in contemporary society.

SPRING 2021

37

THE POLKA DOT DISCO CORNER

SISTER SHACK CHAMPIONING FOR CHANGE

BY THE POLKA

DOT DISCO CLUB

Chantal Herbert (DJ Awkward Black Girl) admits that while she hasn’t been involved in the Newcastle creative scene for long, it has been long enough for her to recognise its lack of representation and diversity. The spaces that she has visited or played sets in have felt very intimidating to her as a black queer woman. She believes that a lot of this is down to the industry being very heavily male-dominated. She says, “The scene is so vast, but ultimately it leaves a lot of people out.” Chantal completed a creative degree at university but never felt like she wanted to work in the industry because it didn’t feel comfortable. However, now that she has paved a career for herself, she wants to make the industry more accessible for herself and others. Cue Sister Shack, a collective created by Chantal that promotes and works with women entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists. She started this platform to empower women and to create a safe space where “women are not gaslit or told that it is their fault that society is unbalanced.” Not only does Chantal feel she is discriminated against due to her gender, but she also finds the creative industry is non-inclusive as a woman of colour. “The whole cultural sector scene is not that accessible for people of colour, and this is down to a lot of reasons, such as funding, socio-economic factors, organisation, even the languages that are used in these sectors.”

For her, it’s about making the industry more inclusive as she doesn’t ever really feel like she belongs. “People assume you’re not the DJ and when they find out that you are, it’s like you are a novelty.” As a black woman, Chantal recalls how she has often been subject to stereotypes. “People come up to me ask me to play reggae or hip hop music, just because I have brown skin. They say you’re shit, play reggae.” She also says that she has experienced many white males ‘fist-pump’ her whilst she is playing, something that she describes as a very masculine thing to do to someone.

“Me and my black woman friends, we laugh because we all get fist-pumped. As a black woman you are completely defeminised anyway, so when guys fist-pump us, it’s like they don’t even see us as a woman. They just see us as our skin colour.” Despite years of disparity in the music industry, Chantal believes that this could finally be changing. “Covid has been good for calling out inequalities.” Chantel feel that the pandemic has given society time to notice things that have been overlooked. “There is unrest happening as Covid has highlighted a bunch of issues, so I guess we will see if anything changes.” What Chantal hopes for, is that everyone is treated fairly in the industry. Once restrictions ease, she aspires to do more music promotion in North East England.

She explains, “At the moment it is a massive boys club. The majority of events and booking agencies are run by men in the North East. Even take a look at most gig line-ups. It’s mainly white men that are booked.” She believes that there needs to be a significant overhaul of the industry, and she wants Sister Shack to help do this. “To increase diversity, you need a diverse team. You can’t be diverse if your organisation isn’t diverse. I don’t mean the bar staff, I mean those who work at the top. Who is booking the gigs and who are you booking?” For women who are looking to become involved in the creative industry, Chantal’s advice for them is to speak up when they believe that something is not right.

“Don’t be scared to say no to things. The more you call stuff out, the better it is for yourself and everyone else in the long run.”

Chantal believes that the music scene is there to be enjoyed – not just by a select group of society, but by everyone. It shouldn’t matter what your gender is, what your skin colour is, or what your sexual preference is. It’s about creating a positive atmosphere for everyone, and this is the change that Sister Shack is striving to achieve.

38

BEHIND THE

DECKS.ORG

BEHIND THE DECKS E L E C T RO N I C M U S I C A N D C LU B C U LT U R E