Pacha Chief Spurns Simon Cowell’s Superstar DJ Search
Leading Ibiza club promoter Danny Whittle was ‘sick in his own mouth’ when he heard of TV impresario Simon Cowell’s plans for a ‘superstar DJ’ X Factor style talent show, he revealed this week, and vowed that Pacha will have nothing to do with the concept.
“How likely is it Pacha would get involved? We wouldn’t, it has nothing we would want,” said Danny.
“What impact will the show have on club culture generally? None at all,” he predicted,“Certainly not the side of club culture that actually matters.”
Handling Pacha’s bookings since the late 90s, Danny helped David Guetta and more recently the likes of Swedish House Mafia and Luciano become bona fide international stars off the back on weekly residencies at Pacha though predicted established DJs will have little to fear from Cowell’s contestants.
“They will just create some shit DJ who will probably make a fortune playing in shit clubs,” he suggested.
Danny Whittle on Ibiza-voice (2004 interview): WHAT IS IT DANNY WHITTLE DOES EXACTLY? - Brand Director? Musical Director? Content Director?”) click for more
Details of the show emerged via a press release Simon Cowell released in which he promised it will ‘capture the incredible rise of the DJ phenomena’ and discover ‘the world’s greatest DJs’
“DJs are the new rock stars,” the multi-millionaire TV presenter declared, “It feels like the right time to make this show“.
ADE’s Cook-Off Returns (October 17-21)
Seth Troxler & Ali Dubfire @ ADE 2011 (click for details on 2012)
Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is expanding to add a 5th night to their program this year after the wildly successful business conference and clubbing festival sold out for the fifth year running.
Announcing the expanded program festival chief Richard Zijlma confirmed that the superstar DJ cooking competition will definitely be happening again after Seth Troxler snatched the 2011 trophy with a simple but devastatingly tasty serving of Cajun spare ribs.
“The standard of food cooked by Seth and runner up chefs Ali Dubfire, Marcella, the Stafford Brothers, John Acquaviva and Olivier Giacomotto was first class,” said ADE general manager Richard Zijlma.
“We had no idea quite how many DJs pride themselves on their culinary skills when we came up with the Cook-off concept. We’re already looking forward to this year’s tasting.”
Revealing that this year’s event will also include expanded versions of the ADE University (aimed at inspiring and educating students and young music industry professionals) and ADE Playground (showcasing technology and technological innovation), Richard confirmed that ADE 2012 is expanding generally.
“Two years ago we included the Wednesday in order to accommodate a growing list of conferences and parties,” he said. “And in 2012 – because there are now so many events throughout the whole of the weekend – Sunday is now officially included in the ADE dates.”
Click here for reduced price ‘early bird tickets’.
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Paris Hilton Promises ‘Perfect Party Music’
International party girl Paris Hilton talked up her superstar DJ ambitions this week, telling FHM magazine she’ll be devoting her full attention to promoting her soon to be released second album.
“I have a huge passion for house music. It always has been my passion. I just haven’t been able to focus on it, because I have been doing reality TV for so long now,” the billionaire heiress claimed.
“I’ve been working on the album with lots of other top DJs for a while now and I think people will be really surprised. It’s very modern and very catchy; perfect party music.” (Digital Spy: http://bit.ly/AuNriq )
2012: Is the End Nigh (Or Not?): Perc (interview)
Click on the picture for more from Perc
According to the Mayan Calendar the world (or at least civilisation) is due to end cataclysmically on December 21st 2012. With economists and futurologists also almost all predicting a year of upheaval, Skrufff asked a bunch of our favourite DJs and personalities for their predictions for 2012; both musically and apocalype-wise . . .
Perc: Berghain Bandwagon Jumpers and Despicable Dubstep (interview)
“In the sub-niche that I work in there will be a continuation of more and more people jumping onto the Berghain/ industrial techno bandwagon.”
Though he’s more than adept at producing top quality underground serious house, Perc, aka Ali Wells, is best known for delivering highly original and idiosyncratic industrial techno such as that featured on his new artist album Wicker and Steel. Adored by critics (Resident Advisor chief Todd Burns loves it, and Quietus dubbed it ‘an antidote to wishy washy electronica’ in making it one of their albums of 2011: http://bit.ly/tXckuu ) the new album has more than a few producer fans too, though copyists are unlikely to impress Ali.
“I’m not bothered 95% of people making this stuff get it so incredibly wrong, with such a lack of vision, that it barely registers on my radar.” he laughs.
“If you were making Minus style minimal two years ago, then big room white noise laden techno last year, then anyone who has any actually knowledge of this music can see your fakery from a mile off,” he warns.
Despite name-checking Berlin’s best known club Berghain (where he performed twice this year) he’s got no plans to join the thousands of other DJs who’ve made the city their home.
“The most inspiring place should be the city you have a local connection with,” he explains.
“People should try to build things up in the city where they are, not dream of moving to Berlin, then getting there and realising that unless you already have some profile you will just become one of the masses scratching around for DJ gigs in bars. For me that city is London, there is a combination of innovation, open-mindedness and energy that is unique to the city,” he says.
2012: Patrice Baumel & the New World Order (interview)
Click for more on Patrice
According to the Mayan Calendar the world (or at least civilisation) is due to end cataclysmically on December 21st 2012. With economists and futurologists also almost all predicting a year of upheaval, Skrufff asked a bunch of our favourite DJs and personalities for their predictions for 2012; both musically and apocalype-wise . . .
Patrice Baumel: The New World Order & the Coming Chaos (interview)
“Democratically elected governments are taking decisions against the very people who put them into office, all to protect banks, oil and big money in general. We are already living right in the middle of a New World Order.”
Growing up in Dresden East Germany, nowadays Amsterdam based tech-house-eclectic producer Patrice Baumel was 14 when the Berlin Wall came down and 22 years later, sees more than a few cultural parallels between then and now.
“People are more educated and better connected than ever, so it becomes harder and harder to suppress the truth,” he continues.
“And once the mob gets angry because their pension is gone and their jobs are gone and their kids are hungry, they will mobilize and turn against the powers that be. It will get ugly,” he predicts.
“At the same time people will have to find other ways to happiness than consumption, which will lead them closer towards the truth in life and each other. Overall, change is good.”
For more on Patrice (who as well as touring the world as a DJ nonstop is also a resident and co-promoter of Amsterdam’s top underground club Trouw) click here: http://www.patricebaumel.com/
Deadmau5 Still Not Dead
Pranksters edited Deadmau5’s Wikipedia page to claim the producer had died from ‘apparent alcohol intoxication’ this week, prompting a bemused response from Deadmau5 via Twitter.
“Once again, extremely disappointed by the insanely uncreative death rumor,” he Tweeted, “I thought we had all agreed on acid spitting koala’s skydiving and volcano?”
The Wikipedia entry published a detailed report of his demise, which said he died ‘a day after performing at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards’.
“After friends attempted to enter his room but were unable to get a response, they reportedly called his phone, then asked management to open the door after he didn’t answer. They found him on the floor, not breathing. He was subsequently rushed to the emergency room and pronounced dead on arrival,” it read.
The report emerged months after David Guetta was similarly targeted by a death notice published on a fake press agency portal which suggested the French pop star was killed in a car crash in the US. (http://bit.ly/9DPq7Y )
“David Guetta died in a single vehicle crash on Route 80 between Morristown and Roswell. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics responding to the vehicle accident and was identified by photo ID found on his body. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to have been a factor in this accident,” the report claimed.
“The service is expected to be a closed casket funeral due to the severe head trauma,” it added.
The false Guetta report remains online with an automatically updated date setting and has since been joined by an exact replica posting claiming Tiesto suffered the same fate.
Guetta dead? click for more
Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff
Pig & Dan- We Love David Guetta (interview)
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“He is an amazing DJ in my eyes and I really love the fact that someone who seems to have his heart in the right place and with his feet on the ground is at the forefront of the scene. I think people think he’s cheesy out of envy.”
Though Pig & Dan’s own particular style of dance music has always been firmly centred on underground house and stripped, sometimes minimal, techno, Dan Duncan admits he’s more than impressed with David Guetta’s pop-centric success.
“I’ve seen him play damn good dirty-ass tech tracks that blew away a very uneducated crowd,” he enthuses.
“They expected the hits and he played something different and shows them a taste of what we are all trying to get across. He has opened more respect for the scene than most and I take my hat off to him. Rock on David G.”
Joining Dan (as Pig) is Igor Tchkotoua (the pair met on a flight to Spain in 1999 and teamed up in the studio soon after), though today he’s solo, chatting to Skrufff to promote their latest artist album, ‘Then & Now’ (out now on Yoshitoshi).
David Guetta’s Song Remains the Same
Top British music critic Alexis Petridis accused David Guetta of provoking him to have a mid-life crisis this week, after he tuned in to the Radio 1 chart show ‘and ‘discovered to my mounting horror that everything sounded exactly the same.’
“Oh God, this is it, I thought: I’ve turned into my dad,” he admitted, “But on closer investigation, it became apparent that the chart did sound weirdly homogenous.
“Almost everything had a four-to-the-floor house beat,” he noted, citing Guetta as the man responsible, “Almost everything was decorated with synth noises somewhere between rave and trance, and had a hint of dubstep.”
Spandau Ballet: Gold- Oakenfold Vocoders Tony Hadley (NOT SAFE!!!)
Paul Oakenfold transforms Spandau Ballet’s Gold into a David Guetta/ Swedish House Mafia flavoured version that’s even more sickly sweet than the dreadful 80s original . . for the Olympics . . . for a chocolate bar….. NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE!!!!!!!
Amsterdam’s Awakenings; 15 Years of Total Techno (interview)
Awakenings- click for more
“We’ve been around for so long that people know that they get value for their money with us. For our latest outdoor festival this year we sold out four months in advance. That was a new record for us and it for this summer it was the fastest selling out dance festival in Holland.”
Almost 15 years after throwing their first party at Amsterdam’s Gasworks, Awakenings has become one of the world’s most popular techno festivals, most recently attracting 35,000 to their latest outdoor bash, one of numerous events they present throughout Holland each year.
Tickets (including for 2 day events and their upcoming New Year’s Eve party) cost less than 50EUR, and as a cursory glance at any of the last 9 years of line-ups listed on their website shows, commercial compromise has never been on the agenda.
“How much of a temptation is it for us to book a David Guetta or Afrojack? No temptation at all,” event founder and Awakenings figurehead Rocco chuckles, “Awakenings is strictly techno!”
