Skrufff Top 5 (542):Radical Majik: Mad Raf & Tom Zenith: ROD: Daniel Greenx: Attemporal
1: Radical Majik: Fianchetto
2: Mad Raf & Tom Zenith: Dirty Carnival (Original Mix)
3: ROD: Mori One
4: Daniel Greenx: Deccaphonie (Matt Busse & Unofficial Remix)
5: Attemporal: Retrolight (Clement Meyer Rmx)
IDJ Magazine Dies
British dance music magazine IDJ has closed, over ten years after it was launched as a rival to Mixmag and DJ magazine.
The monthly print magazine disappeared with little fanfare, culminating in a a series of Twitter messages posted on September 23.
“iDJ fans: greetings from a long time ago. As you may be aware, in July iDJ sadly closed its doors, leaving issue 140 to be the last,” they confirmed.
“It has been a sad time for all involved. We had a lot more to give, but unfortunately the circumstances were beyond our control. We may return to you one day, in this life or the next. But until that point, continue to listen, dance and support quality electronic music.”
“Thank you all. iDJ Magazine. 2001 – 2011,” they concluded.
Rival publication DJ magazine were blunt in their assessment in a forum posting noting the closure (one month earlier).
“With dwindling copy sales and increasing print costs it was only a matter time before IDJ was going to close,” said DJ Mag.
“Neil Evans, who is handling the sale of IDJ, told DJ Mag something we had suspected for sometime, ‘IDJ only has 200 or so subscribers’.”
In more British magazine news, onetime Muzik editor Conor McNicolas (who presided over a dramatic sales decline which saw Muzik close in 2003) faced more troubles of his own this week after a High Court Judge gave Morrissey permission to personally sue him and NME.
The former Smiths singer issued proceedings three years ago over a 2007 article published in NME headlined “Morrissey Big Mouth strikes again”, which Morrissey claims portrayed him as a bigot.
In a statement following the Judge’s ruling, he welcomed the upcoming court battle.
“In 2007 the NME viciously attacked me and labelled me a racist and a hypocrite. Last week they sought to avoid facing me in court to settle the matter once and for all,” he said.
“I am delighted that the NME’s attempt to stifle my claim was unsuccessful and that as a result I will be able to use the very public forum of the high court in London to clear my name, loud and clear for all to hear,” he predicted.
http://www.muzikmagazine.co.uk (all the back issues in full)
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Madonna’s Latest Stalker Sent Down
.
.
A Polish man who broke into Madonna’s homes twice after claiming she sent him subliminal messages was this week jailed indefinitely after a judge ruled he posed an ongoing and ‘serious risk’ to the iconic pop star.
Grezgorz Matlok, 30, was arrested after using a rope to climb into her London townhouse a year after he’d been caught breaking into Madonna’s ex husband Guy Ritchie’s mansion in Wiltshire.
“It is extremely unsettling to know that, despite the extensive security I have, he has been able to break into two of my residential properties,” Madonna said in a statement about her latest stalker.
“I do not know the defendant, I’ve not had any form of relationship with the defendant nor have I had any form of contact by phone or by email, or by any other way, with the defendant,” she added.
Madonna was previously targeted by a similarly deranged stalker in her LA home in 1995, when Robert Hoskins tried to enter her home several times, soon after vowing to ‘“slice her throat from ear to ear” if she didn’t marry him. Hoskins was later jailed for ten years and remains in jail today after repeatedly issuing threats to kill Madonna and celebrities in general if he’s ever released. http://bit.ly/tnrZfv
The difficulties pop stars can face was further illustrated by the Guardian this week, in a 1978 NME interview they republished with Kate Bush, in which the then 19 year old sex symbol spoke candidly about living in the public eye.
“Sometimes when I’m going to the supermarket to get the coffee and cat litter, I get freaked out and see all these people staring, and you turn around and there’s like 40 people all looking at you . . . and when you go around the corner, they’re all following you! You start freaking out like a trapped animal,” she told (then) NME writer Danny Baker, “Sometimes I get really scared,” she added. http://bit.ly/tqFvME )
http://bit.ly/4HwCok (Kate Bush singing Wuthering Heights (live) in 1978)
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Orbital (Officially) Return
Acid house pioneers Orbital have confirmed they are to headline a six date UK tour next April, at which they’ll be promoting their long awaited as yet unnamed artist album some 7 years after they officially split up.
Pioneering performing electronic music live at mega raves such as Glastonbury and Tribal Gathering in the 90s, the Hartnoll brothers became global superstar though quit in 2004 to pursue solo careers.
Five years on, however, they temporarily reformed to play a 20 year memorial gig at the Big Chill, prompting Paul to admit to having second thoughts about the wisdom of their decision to quit.
“I didn’t (miss being in Orbital) for the first couple of years but then it started building up,” he told the Times, “Seeing contemporaries you always used to be on bills with — the Chemical Brothers, Underworld, the Prodigy — still doing it, we started to say: ‘I used to enjoy that; that used to be a laugh.”
Speaking to the Sunday Times in the same year, he was even more direct, admitting his plans to hook up with Hollywood agents commissioning film scores was trickier than expected.
“Their attitude was, ‘I’m not getting Orbital. What am I getting?’ What do you do on your own?” he said.
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Spartak’s Martyn Walsh on Inspiral Carpets, Fidelity Kastrow & Noel Gallagher (interview)
Legendary Madchester psychedelic rockers the Inspiral Carpets announced they’re reforming this week, featuring the original line-up of Stephen Holt and Clint Boon, Craig Gill, Graham Lambert and Martyn Walsh.
The Manchester group, who achieved four number one albums in the 90s, are working on new material, they revealed on their website, in preparation for a world tour starting in South America in November. (http://www.inspiralcarpets.com)
Chatting to Skrufff some time before the announcement about his follow up project Spartak, Inspiral Carpet’s bassist Martyn Walsh spoke happily about his Inspirals days including hanging around with future Oasis star Noel Gallagher.
“Noel auditioned to be the Inspirals singer when Stephen Holt left (in 1989). We didn’t think he was good enough so we offered him a roadie job instead,” Martyn recalled.
“He was the sort of guy who was always at gigs and someone who seemed to know everyone. Some of his mates were the sort of people who it was better to know than get on the wrong side of.”
“I knew he played guitar when we first met him but for all the time he worked for us, he seemed more interested in U2 and the recreational lifestyle of being in a band than becoming the Beatles obsessive he is now,” said Martyn.
He also chatted in greater detail about his Spartak collaboration with (Skrufff DJ) Fidelity Kastrow on ‘Bad Love’, a rocking electro flavoured mash-up topped off by the Berlin DJ/ performer’s unique vocals.









