Electric City

Electric Elephant Festival, Croatia 2010 - Line-up

2010-03-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Electric Elephant Festival - Aug 27th - 29th

Petrcane, Croatia.

LIVE STAGE / BOAT PARTIES / BEACH & CLUB TERRACES / NIGHTCLUB

Cosmic Spiritual Fun on the Adriatic Sea

We are still waiting on final confirmations of our live headliners for Friday & Sunday (fingers crossed etc etc, we got some biggies) plus a few more DJ & live artists too. Rather than keeping you waiting, we’ve decided we’ll let you know the lineup so far! The rest can then become an exciting bonus…Acts confirmed so far include:

LIVE: The Phantom Band – Soundstream - Jesca Hoop - Plugs – Architeq – Table - Hannah Peel

DJ’S: Francois K (Deep Space/Wave Music) - Andrew Weatherall - Juan Maclean (DFA) - Todd Terje – Prosumer - Richard Norris & Leo Elstob (The Time & Space Machine Vs WigWam) - The Unabombers - Hunee - Ashley Beedle –- Beppe Loda - Ramadanman (Hessle Audio) - Chris Duckenfield - Kelvin Andrews – Lowlife - Bill Brewster - Matthew & Jolyon – Michael Cook – Aficionado - Moonboots & Jason Boardman - Naïve Melody – Elliott Dobbs – Bad Passion - Crowhead (Attic Records) – Phil South (No Ordinary Monkey NYC) - Doodlebug - Ruf Dug – Howard Monk (The Local) - Francis Wooff (That Amazing Thing) - Rashid Khan (Content, Casa) Billy Scurry (Dublin)

Plus more to be announced.

Friday 27th – Sunday 29th August 2010

The Garden, Petrçane, Croatia

Tickets: £80

www.electricelephant.co.uk

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The Live Artists

The Phantom Band. Piccadilly Records honoured them with Album of the Year and simply said “The Phantom Band are truly out on their own. A quite fitting, and truly exceptional album of the year”.

Electonic music comes to the live stage via Berlin’s Frank Timm in his Soundstream guise, also known to many as Soundhack and one half of duo Smith n Hack. Soundstream finds Timm’s never-ending love for disco and refined house music come to the fore as he chops, dismembers, deconstructs and mills - until he drops. Architeq is a 23 year-old London-based producer of a unique cosmic/electronic hiphop sound, happily taking you on a journey from King Tubby through to Carl Craig, or as Boomkat neatly put it “Danielle Baldelli directing Sly & Robbie”. His debut album Gold & Green was released recently on Tirk.

Plugs are a London-based three-piece made-up of front-man/guitarist Morgan Quaintance (of ‘does it offend you, yeah’ fame), bass player David Chin and Boomer Opperman on drums. First single That Number, released on People In The Sky, was Zane Lowe's ‘Hottest Record in the World’ and Single of the Week everywhere from Radio 2 to 6 Music.

Folk and acoustic sounds continue to play a vital role at Electric Elephant. Jesca Hoop’s ‘Hunting My Dress’ has been hailed as one of 2009's finest debuts and with fans such as Tom Waits who said ”Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night" and Elbow’s Guy Garvey with whom she has toured as World support, who are we to argue. Table who are from Manchester are led by songwriter David O’Dowda, who has supported Peter Gabriel in his European tour, combs together different strands of modern folk music to create something new and wonderful. Hannah Peel hales from Liverpool, and takes the delicate sounds of music boxes and a raft of other instruments to concoct gently enchanting suites, which seem to meld the repeated melody patterns of Steve Reich and the twinkling poise of Colleen.

And there’s more still to come…..

The DJ’s

Francois K the legendary New York City based Producer & DJ considered by many as one of the forefathers of house music headlines Friday night with a 3 hour Deep Space set on the main stage, Juan Maclean brings the sound of DFA after huge success last year with his debut album “The Future Will Come” and soon to be released mix for DJ – Kicks and Andrew Weatherall was so blown away after last year, he’s back to treat the festival with two sets including a very special balearic sunset beach bar set and will bring the festival to a late night jackin close on Sunday in the club.

Richard Norris & Leo Elstob join forces to present a unique The Time and Space Machine Vs Wig Wam 4 hour one-off DJ set of warped pyschedelia and spaced out disco from the cosmos on the beach terrace. Internationally renowned balearic disco king Todd Terje will be keeping beach terrace revellers dancing into the night and will be the special guest on the Aficonado Boat Party. Italian DJ Beppe Loda, is a pioneer of DJ culture, from his first gig in 1973 he went on to become resident at Typhoon (near Brecia) from 1980 to 1987, pioneering the “Afro Cosmic” sound, which still to this day rocks dancefloors just like he does.

The futuristic House sounds of Berlin come in three’s in addition to Soundstream DJ sets come from Prosumer the resident at currently on of the World’s hottest clubs Panorama Bar and a regular at Robert Johnson, Fabric, Paradiso, Watergate, Weekend and Rex Club and exciting new producer Hunee who fuses the physicality of house music with the experimentation of the best alternative disco, evoking the likes of Arthur Russell or Daniel Wang, making a gorgeous, abstract mess of melodies and rhythms, it really will be house music all night long! Staying with the future Ramadanman head honcho of one of the hottest dubstep labels Hessle Audio, and with releases on Soul Jazz will be bringing the main stage Funktion 1 soundsystem to life!

At the beating heart of the Electric Elephant is its founding father Electric Chair and of course its residents The Unabombers, who once again headline the main stage on Saturday night. Ashley Beedle played Electric Chair so many times he was almost a resident and he brings with him that basement soul magic from soundsystem reggae to diva soul through to sonic Detroit techno, alongside two other Electric Chair regulars Kelvin Andrews and Chris Duckenfield.

Completing the current DJ lineup are UK club collectives including London’s Lowlife, Bad Passion & The Local. Manchester brings us Naïve Melody, Aficionado and also DJ’s Crowhead (Attic Records), Ruf Dug, Doodlebug, Rashid Khan (Content) and Francis Wooff (That Amazing Thing)

more DJ’s to be announced…

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Electric Elephant is an escape, an adventure, a musical getaway, a meeting of like-minded souls set within the little white washed fishing village of Petrcane on the beautiful Adriatic coast of Croatia.

Relax in the sunshine or beneath the pines, swim in the sea and dance into the night under moonlit skies amidst breathtaking surroundings. For families, it’s a perfect place to bring the kids and unwind on the beach through the day and into the evening, for others it’s a chance to let loose and party with soul mates old and new.

Electric Elephant is a wonderfully wild mix of musicalness, international dj’s and live acts, ranging from blissed out balearica, sound system reggae, acoustic-folk and psychedelia to electronica, sunshine latin and soul, through spaced out disco and house, techno and late night futuristic jackin. Its all there in beautiful harmony.

There’s more.

Boat Parties too. A magical big old boat called the Argonaughty sets sail twice a day with a couple of hundred revellers partying into the twilight, pure cosmic spiritual fun on the Adriatic sea. There’s Late Night Cinema, The World Famous Pub Quiz, Massage Area, Volley Ball, Kids Playground & more all within the festival grounds

Petrcane itself is a village of good, kind people and evening markets and rustic restaurants serving fresh fish caught that day and olive oil fresh from the local groves.

There are plenty of places to rest your head. Old cottages and villas on the sea front are available for hire and theres even Camping in the woods.

Sailing boats can chartered and explore the mystical islands. Stunning national parks, waterfalls and mountains are all a short distance away. The old coastal city of Zadar with its is only a bus or taxi ride away

This is a beautiful place. It's enchanting. You'll fall in love...

Into the light, into the sun, free your mind……

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Adult Weekend Tickets - £80.00

Age 12 & Under Child Weekend Tickets : FREE ENTRY NO TICKET REQUIRED NB: All under 18s must be accompanied by a Ticket-holding parent or guardian over the age of 21

Electric Elephant Tickets available now from :

www.gigantic.com (10% of profits go to Oxfam) / 0115 959 7908 (+44 115 959 7908 from outside the UK)

www.ticketweb.co.uk / 08444 771 000

www.wegottickets.com

www.skiddle.com

TICKETS

Electric Elephant 27th - 29th 2010.

Adult Weekend Tickets : £80.00

Age 12 & Under Child Weekend Tickets : FREE ENTRY NO TICKET REQUIRED

NB: All under 18s must be accompanied by a Ticket-holding parent or guardian over the age of 21.

All Tickets:

• Will incur a booking fee.

• Do not include entry to boat parties

• Are non-transferable and cannot be re-sold

• There will be no day tickets for Electric Elephant

Ticket includes entry to nightclub though capacity is limited so entry cannot be guaranteed.

Please also come and join us in the social networking world

Facebook

Twitter

www.twitter.com/electricelephan

Myspace

www.myspace.com/electricelephantcroatia

YouTube

Last FM

www.electricelephant.co.uk

Electric Chair Presents End Of year Riot

2009-11-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

electric chair presents…

end of year riot

back to basements

a party for misfits, losers underdogs and dandys.

we have invited some of our finest heroes and darkest villains to create four rooms and six hours of underground rioting. Uniting all the travelling clans, oddballs and disko asbos under one roof.

you know what to do, you know when to do it

let loose…theres a riot going on!

legends, manchester.

sunday december 27^th

10pm – 4am

Electric Chair Saved My Life:

Unabombers (Electric Chair)

Greg Wilson (Credit To The Edit)

Cutloose

Voodoo House Chamber:

Harri & Domenic Cappello (Sub Club, Glasgow)

Trusme (Prime Numbers)

Development DJ’s: Tom Lynch & Chris Fienmann

The Shack:

Zed Bias

Illum Sphere (Hoya:Hoya)

Jonny Dub (Hoya:Hoya)

Kelvin Brown (Eyes Down/Electric Chair)

Irish Mash (Hot Milk)

One Deck Piano Lounge:

Jason Boardman (Aficionado)

Krysko (The Warehouse Project)

Crowhead aka Woody (Attic Records)

Stefano (Disco Outcasts)

Rik Moran (tothebone)

Darren Greene (MVITA)

there will be an early doors warm up session at electrik in chorlton, starting at 2pm with music by special guest DJ’s, to be announced.

every end of year riot ticket holder will get a free glass of prosecco from the bar!

Tickets:

£15 early bird available until December 1^st.

£17 thereafter. More on the door.

Ticket Outlets:

www.gigantic.com (10% of profits go to Oxfam)

www.ticketweb.co.uk

www.skiddle.com

www.wegottickets.com

Piccadilly Records, Manchester. 0161 8398088

Electrik Bar, Chorlton (No booking fee!!!)

Legends

6 Whitworth Street

Manchester

M1 3QW

0161 236 5400

www.electriks.co.uk

Email: ask@electriks.co.uk

Phone: 0161 2785650

And to get the ball rolling for the Riot we have got some mixes available for your listening pleasure, courtesy from some of the names of this years line-up. Fill your boots...

Illum Sphere DJ Mix

Kelvin Brown DJ Mix

Unabombers Live On The Main Stage @ Electric Elephant 2008

2009-07-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

A 2 part mix available to download here for everyone just to get you all in the mood for next months festival!

Recorded live during their set on the main stage this is The Unabombers @ Electric Elephant 2008.

Unabombers live from Main Stage part 1

Unabombers live from Main Stage part 2

Horse Meat Disco Hot Mix

2009-07-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Following the label’s acclaimed ‘Disco Not Disco’ and ‘Disco Italia’ releases during 2008-9, Strut teams up with one of London’s leading disco collectives, Horse Meat Disco, for their hotly anticipated debut compilation release.

We are pleased to have been sent a 30 min promo mix from the guys at Horse Meat Disco which we are able to send out as a stream here for your listening pleasure!
So kick back, relax & prepare for some disco funk courtesy of Horse Meat Disco.

Horse Meat Disco Promo Mix

www.strut-records.com
www.horsemeatdisco-thealbum.com
www.myspace.com/horsemeatdiscolondon

Unabombers @ East Village, Free Giveaway and Luke Unabombers Spotify Playlist

2009-06-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Unabombers continue their residency at East Village this weekend and joining them behind the 1's & 2's will be Mudd, the brainchild behind the Claremont 56 record label who's philosophy is to release music that doesn’t have a short shelf life and that doesn’t aim for the next big trend, it is to simply release music that has been lovingly crafted and genuinely felt.

East Village
89 Great Eastern St,
Shoreditch,
EC2A 3HX
9pm - 4am £8 before 11pm, £10 after
www.ticketweb.co.uk

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Having found the world of Spotify, Luke Unabomber has supplied us with his 2nd playlist, this one entitled "Luke In Love" and it features some real corkers!

Luke In Love Spotify Playlist

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Also as a nice gesture we are giving away here an exclusive edit sent to us by some guys called the UB's (?)
Be quick, click, listen, enjoy, destroy!

Watts Re-rubbed

The Birth Of Electric Elephant

2009-06-12T02:59:00.000-07:00

Exclusive & insightful video of the birth of Electric Elephant Festival.

Beautiful Superimposers Electric Elephant inspired Mix

2009-05-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

The lovely Superimposers played at Electric Elephant last year and created this gorgeous mix on their return. In their words:

"It's a mix of music inspired by the Electric Elephant festival. I did a bit of recording on my portable recorder while I was there and on the mix there is a live recording from the festival of John Stammers plus the ever present sound of the cicada that I also recorded.

The mix is called The Wonderfulsound Sound Libraries - The Adriactics.

http://www.wonderfulsound.com/AutumnFalls.TheWonderfulsoundLibraries.mp3

Enjoy

Electric Elephant Mix Giveaway from Andy Votel

2009-05-27T03:05:00.000-07:00

Check this awesome mix which features a psychedelic slice of folk, funk nuggets from Andy Votel of Finders Keepers fame, featuring a vast array of tracks released on the label.

Check www.finderskeepersrecords.com for more similar sounds and you can catch Andy Votel and Dom Thomas DJ at Electric Elephant Aug 28-30th www.electricelephant.co.uk

Andy Votel Finders Keepers Mix

The Unabombers @ Last Ever - Electric Chair (RIP) - January 26th 2008

2009-04-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Unabombers at Electric Chair January 26th 2008 RIP.

One hour from a rather special night..Please note this mix does not contain 15 minute long perfect mixes..but it does include some top tunes, crowd cheering, a bloke on a mic, fond memories, the unabombers, an amazing crowd and a party..enjoy x

Electric Chair Mixes Blasts from the Past Vol 1 - KELVIN ANDREWS JAN 06 - MUSIC BOX MANCHESTER

2009-03-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Watch out for plenty more where this came from... First up Kelvin Andrews, one of them DJ's DJ's, party starter, tunesmith maker, punters faves etc etc...

This mix is just over an hour from his set at Electric Chair, Music Box , Manchester, January 2006.

Rootikal Radio Show - Chapter 3 of 2009 with Ashley Beedle & Dave Hill

2009-03-17T05:15:00.000-07:00

Hot new Reggae show from Electric Chair hero Ashley Beedle and Don Dada, Mr Dave Hill, pure listening pleasure on 2 free downloads!

Rootikal part 1

Rootikal part 2

Disco Outcasts Free Mix download!

2009-03-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

A very tasty and free mix available for your downloading pleasure here from Manchesters very own Disco Outcasts!
This mix perfectly captures their sets at the Purple Pussycat Club in the city centre as well as other like minded sweaty dancefloors.

Enjoy...

Disco Outcasts mix

Electrik - Publicsocialhousebarcafe

2009-01-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

detonates soon...

559 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, Manchester.

Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=46544563860

X

Peter Jay - Nish Nash Nosh Mix

2008-12-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

A fine selection of musical merriment from Nish Nash Nosh resident Peter Jay. Enjoy.

Tracklisting

Phantom Slasher - sax violence
Billy Paul - let the dollar circulate
Dutch Rhythm Combo - catenegra
Rene & Angela - love you more
Zed Bias feat Jenna G - let me change your mind
The Jones Girls - you're gonna make me love somebody else
Marvin Gaye - time to get it together
Stevie Wonder - love light in flight
Bennson - let the love
Jazzanova feat Ben Westbeech - I can see
Peech Boys - don't make me wait
Ray Mang - cereal lover

Electric Elephant 2008 - The Superimposers Live Set

2008-12-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first of many recordings to come from the first Electric Elephant which took place August 27th - 24th 2008 in Petrcane, Croatia.The Superimposers released their L.P. "Harpsichord Treacle" earlier this year and it is a seriously awesome, blissed out classic. Performing Live in a wooded peninsula on the Adriatic coast The Superimposers made perfect sense..

Electric Elephant returns in 2009, Aug 28-30th. www.electricelephant.co.uk

Click the player below to have a listen and see for yourselves...

Unabombers Dub Remix April March - Attention Cherie (Out Hear Audio)

2008-11-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

Soon come on Ashely Beedle's Out Hear Audio label...big props to Ash who's letting you download the Unabombers Dub version right here...henjoy!

Unabombers re-rub of Stand On The Word

2008-11-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hot of the press, Unabombers re-touched, reworked remix dub, eq'ed out-q'd, in-q'ed edit of Joubert Singers "Stand On The Word" (Larry Levan Mix).

Gettin major props (as they say in the in-dust-tree) played by Annie Mac on Friday on her Radio 1 mash-up show. Big in the box (as dear jays sometimes say) with plays from Laurent Garnier, Mad Mats, Tom Findlay (GA), Ross Allen, Alex Attias, n the likes...

Check it out below:

Annie Mac listen again:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/mashup/

boss stuff.

E.C.S.M.L - Album Launch Party, East Village, London - 18th October

2008-11-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

Our first in a series of bi-monthly residencies kicked off in London in October. It was also the launch of the Electric Chair Saved My Life Compilation////
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Saturday 18th October//
9pm-4am//
East Village, Shoreditch.
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Photo's from the night, courtesy of Emma J Watling (www.emmajwatling.com)can be found here:

Electriks Flickr................x

Unabombers @ East Village: October 18th, Electric Chair Saved My Life Album Launch

2008-11-03T09:40:00.001-08:00

Our man on the mixing desk is currently splicing together the full 7 hour set. We'll be sharing these secret reels with you later this week.....probably thursday :)

x

E.C.S.M.L - End of year secret boozer party

2008-11-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

LIMITED EARLY BIRD TICKETS £10 ON SALE NOW....

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_northwest&query=detail&event=293127&interface=

Unabombers and friends to be announced... end of year riot in a secret manchester city centre boozer, funktion 1 sound n real ale....venue will be revealed on december 19th simply email ecsml@electriks.co.uk :)

message ends.

x

Welcome to Electric City

2008-10-16T02:29:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's just another blog, everybody's got one etc etc. Many a full moon ago electriks had a little fanzine type publication called Electric City so we thought we'd carry on the spirit of that on the information dual carrigeway called the internet (Ohh and no prizes for the spotters that have noted we started an Electric City blog about a year ago and posted a Jpeg of 2 pages of an old issue and then left it to get mouldy, this one will be different trust us...) This is a work in progress, we'll get the painters in soon, add plenty more stuff to our fave blogs n sites, more music, more videos, more madness and just more of more.

Anyway we're inviting all sorts of people to write for this blog and if you're interested then why not drop as a line too, in the meantime we'd better offer you some content. We've dug out a little interview we did with the our honuary southern unabomber and general chair boss hog Ashley Beedle for you to enjoy and we've found an old C90 Tape of Ashley and The Unabombers at the Roadhouse sometime in 97 for you to listen too..

See you later this week, with the first 250 tunes of a 1000 Top Electric Chair tunes type chart and an article on Cosmic Basshole.

x

Ashley Beedle & Unabombers @ Electric Chair Roadhouse, Sometime 1997

Mid 1970s, North London, Harrow-paint a picture.
Growing up for me in Harrow there was a strong black reggae culture which drifted over from Wembley, Harlesdon, Neasden, Wilesden. But from a fashion and musical scene Harrow was up there.

How important was the whole sound system thing?
I wouldn’t be here to day with out the sound system even Judge Jules started out on a soundsystem. Notting hill carnival had a huge influence on the way house music was going to be because of the open air and a lot of the west London crowd had access to drugs we couldn’t get hold of.

Who are your seminal influences?
Tony Benn, Arthur Scargill but there is something a bit bent about him, Curtis Mayfield, Gill Scott-Heron and Lee Perry for production. Luke and Justin for reaffirming the faith.

The current obsession about the Paradise Garage and Larry Levan is irrelevant now-Discuss.
Paradise Garage was like any other club. Most of the time it was shit, Larry Levan had his nightmares in there. The number of people who say we were at the Paradise Garage or the Loft is ridiculous it's become like a sad cult. Crackers was our Paradise Garage it started on a Friday lunch time Paul Anderson was a dancer. Stacks was the same on a Saturday lunchtime on Oxford Street there with all these hip hop crews. I don’t fucking know about the Paradise Garage: I don’t really give a fuck. For his DJing he layed a certain groundwork down, but you ask anybody about what period was great and they will name you about 3 weeks.

Have gay clubs been influential?
The only clubs which would play decent black music in the mid 70’s and early 80’s were gay clubs. Kinky Gallinkey was an out and out gay club in London, I remember standing there with Ricky Morrison surrounded by gay people who were up to allsorts; Rachel Auburn DJing with strips of black tape across her nipples. That’s my Paradise Garage.

Do you reckon that there is still soul in militant jacking house music?
With out a doubt any one who is into music will understand that there is always soul in the back of anything be it hip hop, house reggae, punk as well. Back in the day we would listen to house music and someone would drop a soul tune and there was a connection. The common feeling is soul. The first record house record I ever heard was Adonis ‘No Way Back’ I was like what’s this bollocks. After about four or five minutes in I thought ‘Fuck! This is like reggae.’

House music- a northern phenomenon?
The north was ruling in terms of house. House started in the north. London was all rare groove. We all travelled up in a mini bus to see Winston Parrot play a different music where the emphasis was on the bass, it was like fucking reggae.

What do you think about musical snobs?
They’re idiots. I mean, my father's record collection was so amazing, if people play me anything I will listen to it. One person who taught me that was Weatherall by playing me Dusty Springfield and all this southern soul shit. If it sounds good, its sounds goods: I don’t give a fuck where it’s from.

Did your father’s influence help you keep an open mind?
With out him I would be a piece of shit. By just being in the same household as him and my mother and hearing all the mad shit; every day it would be something different. My old man bought the Stranglers’ first album and on it was a track called Ugly which broke down to an accapella where Hugh Cornwall went “its only the fucking wealthy that are good looking”. I put it forty times on a cassette and played it constantly with the windows open in my middle class neighbourhood.

How important is music in integrating people?
One thing it has done is to integrate people. In the southern soul seen, take the history of Stacks before it went pro black power: which was purely gangster politics. Before that it was a label run by white people. These were people in an area where slavery was the main thing at one time but it made a lot more scene to them to make music together than go up to New York where it was more segregated. It’s a lot easier to get a message across through pop music. ‘Karma Chameleon’ says a lot more about racism than the Last Poets.

How far has integration gone in this country?
White kids now speak more patwah than the Jamaicans and I think within five years we will see something amazing in this country.

Much of clubbing is about integration. What makes a good club?
It’s the crowd. All you need is a basement a red light and a feeling. The promoters, the space and the music always come third. People always go on about Wigan’s Casino: that’s bollocks! Nine times out of ten, the music was rubbish. It was pop, but what made it was the promoters and the DJs Russell Stanley and Richard Surley.

Do you think Manchester has improved?
Absolutely, its my favourite place to play when I play Electric Chair its like the best club on the planet I go back rejuvenated and my faith in soul music has grown. The vibe I get from Electric Chair I’ve never ever experienced. There’s a common thread running through Electric Chair: a real soul thing. You’ll never get an Electric Chair in London. I get really nervous: it’s almost like a test; I respect the crowd if you drop something right it’s going to go off, if you drop a bad thing the crowd know.

What about that Stevie Wonder track-‘If you Really Love Me’ that you always play at Electric Chair?
Lyrically its where that record stands out because it starts with a question, whereas a lot of love songs start with I've been done wrong. It’s a girl’s thing because they turn around to all the geezers and say “And if you really love me”. It doesn’t matter who the fuck plays it: it’s an Electric Chair record, it’s for people who understand soul music and I proposed to my bird to that record.

Are you a real Londoner?
Only by proxy but I would say now that I am a citizen of the world.

Would you ever move away from London?
Yeah, I would move to Manchester, Tibb Street. Manchester still holds a fascination; it’s the home of northern soul the last underground movement that is still going now. My theory is Manchester sits on a lay line; you had twisted wheel and the torch- the beginnings of northern soul; it sits on soul, the same as Glasgow. Why is it a shop like Beat and Rhythm exists?

What is perfect happiness?
You have finished a gig and you’ve got the perfect drugs, there’s a point usually at about eight in the morning when you’re all sat around grinning at each other; every body is tuned in on the conversation and you think ‘how fucking good is this?’

Is there one true Love?
Yeah the girl I am with at the moment Katie.

What depresses you?
Politics, general mainstream politics: Labour-Conservative politics because there’re all bastards. We spend so much time talking about what Mandelson is going to do for Hartlepool. If someone said to me “is soul music the sound track to your political life?” I would say yes. I was in the Southhall riot, the Anti- Nazi League. Music was a big part of what we did. Kids nowadays are so apolitical, they’re extremely right wing without even thinking about it. Terms of new Labour I couldn’t give a fuck, I would rather not vote: marketing is everything.

Is that because of a lack of rebel music?
Reggae is still the rebel music; you cannot sit around listening to that and thinking ‘I am right wing.’

What excites you?
There are all sorts of stimuli, good book, good film, changes in world politics.

Who has influenced you the most in music?
Norman Jay in how you would throw down a set, Paul Murphy who was a brilliant Jazz DJ. From up here Colin Curtis and Graeme Park, the first DJ who I heard play house music.

(Breaks off to swear at Jamie Oliver on the telly)

Any Regrets?
None what so ever the only ones I do have are drug situations doing too much at one time.

What’s Cool?
You want to know what’s cool? That’s fucking cool! (Excitedly points to the telly where the original promo of Dionne Warwick’s ‘Walk on By’ is being played). I didn’t know this even existed!