Plump DJ's - An Interview for www.4clubbers.net

Aby caught up with these pioneers of the breaks scene, to talk about the last hectic year, music and the year to come. Times change, labels change, music changes, but their love for what they do has stayed as strong as ever.

It’s been a big change for the Plumps this year i understand, moving from finger lickin’ after many years to set up your own label ‘grand hotel’. can you tell us more about the new label and what brought you to the decision to leave finger lickin’?

We completed our successful long contract with fingerlicking records, and set up grand hotel as a platform to voice our own new music and that of acts that we descover during our world tours.

Your sound has changed quite a bit from the days of ‘a plump night out’ and ‘eargasm’, these days taking more influences from techno and electro, who would you say inspires you from the techno world?

We love the repetitive engery of techno and the hypnotic atmosphere at techno events. The inventive synth led electro sound too with its undeniable 80's roots... both of which inspired many early tracks of ours.

You pretty much pioneered the breaks genre back in the early 00’s, and there was a period where it was the genre du jour and everyone seemed to be playing and making breakbeat music . As artists who have been in the industry for more than 10 years, what are your opinions on these ever changing musical trends and does it effect what you play/produce?

Times are ever changing but we have simple needs as artistes, we miust crate and find new ways to make people dance! We are happiest when we are experimenting in the studio and coming up with fresh ideas. What ever style of music people may think or say we are making, we are fortunate that we make what we like for the love of it. We have the technology to make pop music for money, but we would rather make experimental dance music for love.

What are your tips for longevity in this industry?

We are always trying to better ourselves, as humans we are capable of complacency but we try to improve, excell, learn and motivate. We also are aware of our strengths and weaknesses and try not to take ourselves too seriously. How could we with a name like Plump DJs. It is important to be respectful of everyone around you in the industry from the door to the bar, from the reception to the consierge we are all in it together and will be for some time to come.

You have achieved great success in the UK, Australia and have recently been touring the USA... anywhere you would like to conquer that you haven’t already? How do you find the crowds differ in Australia and the USA compared to the UK?

We would like to give the biggest shout at present to grand hotel records and the music we are involved in there. Maybe tour the lable and artistes worldwide soon. As Plump DJs we would like to get some gigs in Europe and Asia where we have not toured extensively for some time. We are very excited about going to the USA and Australia this autumn.

Do you have a favourite country/city/venue to play in?

The UK is hard to beat though recently we have had amazing gigs in L.A. 'Avalon', Canada 'Shambhala', Ibiza 'Space Carl Cox'. It's a real tuffy finding a favourite, steak or ice cream?

As two people who have been in the industry for a long time, do you treat your time djing at clubs and festivals as a party or a job?(or both!) do you have any stories to tell from your recent tours?

We used to party at every event, this carried on for years. After 7 years of gigging and nearly 100 gigs a year we started going a bit mad, our limbs started falling off and our hair started to fall out. We realised then that we should take things a little more seriously for our own sake. We also by this point had been made fully awre of the gravity of our situation, the good fortune that we had. We have been lucky enough to find our calling, our talent, wasting this life would be a serious mistake. Nowadays we let loose every time we feel the urge, but like the adver says we 'drink more responsibly', honest...

What’s your setup these days when DJing? Will you be going down the digital avenue in future, using software like Serrato and Ableton if you don't already ?

We like to use 4CDJS and one mixer- and a rather nifty little box called a Q2 which allows 2 djs to listen to one mixer. We’ve got no plans to go digital at the moment- with 2 of us we can drop beats and samples using the CDJS and that can be pretty creative.

Who or what do you take inspiration from when producing? Who do you respect in the music world? What other types of music do you enjoy aside from electronica?

We take inspiration from anywhere and everywhere and try to listen to loads of different music. too many influences to mention, but we’re both soul boys at heart so that would probably be our favourite music outside electronica.

What is your creative process when in the studio? Do you follow a particular format or is it just a case of getting some beers in and seeing what happens?

We usually talk about an idea or sample before we start, but it can be anything that interests us. Then we spend a day or so getting the groove together and decide at the end of that whether it’s any good or whether we bin it. Actually we have tried making music pissed but everything sounds better and faster so not advisable really.

Everyone loves a good bootleg in the breaks world, donna kebab being a particular favourite from yourselves... are there any current records from the pop world you'd like to have a play with?

Breakbeat went through a dodgy stage where every big tune had to have a breakbeat bootleg, so after that we had a period of staying away from bootlegs. more recently we’ve started doing it again though, we’re playing 3 or 4 booties in the set. we’ve got a few ideas too but you’ll have to watch this space.

What else are you looking to achieve? What’s next for the Plump Djs?

The label is obviously a big proirity and we will continue to put tracks out on that, as well as a couple of remixes and we’re booked up with gigs till November which is great. We’ve just confirmed a six date tour of Australia over christmas and New Year too.

Finally, you must be knackered after all of this travelling around, what do you do to chill out?!

Anything we can… drinking, golfing and fishing seem popular activities at the moment!

20/20 Vision Party - Village Underground - London

A Review for http://www.residentadvisor.net/


It was the week before Christmas and across the country, people were well and truly in the party spirit. Following their sell-out event back in August, the 20:20 Vision crew had done it again, bringing a line-up composed of man-of-the-moment Tensnake, live veterans Crazy P Soundsystem and Lindstrom, as well as Mr. 20:20 Vision himself, Ralph Lawson, in addition to the recent RA podcaster jozif and guests from Mancunian tech-house night Micron.

Photo credit: So Hasegawa










Temperatures were well into sub zero territory by Saturday evening with snow and ice crunching underfoot, but the treacherous weather didn't stop the queues snaking down the street outside the refurbished Victorian warehouse, otherwise known as Village Underground. The venue stood on an unassuming side road not far from the bright lights of Shoreditch High Street, and upon entering one was faced with a vast expanse of exposed brick, high ceilings and a Funktion One soundsystem (brought in special for the occasion) which had been nicely warmed up by the Micron lads, and was currently being employed by jozif.

It had been announced that sadly due to flight cancellations Lindstrom was unable to make the event, however extended sets from Lawson and Crazy P more than made up for the gap. By the time Chris and Jim, AKA Crazy P Soundsystem, arrived on stage with a special appearance from Danielle Moore (a knockout in red Lycra and lace), the crowd appeared to be well-oiled and suitably rowdy. The band's blend of disco, soul and house wound around Moore's hypnotic vocals and by the time they had belted out tracks from various albums of the past decade and beyond, there was truly an air of festive cheer and merriment.

It was then time for Lawson to attend to the decks, and he obliged with a set that informed the people of Village Underground that he wasn't mucking about. Lawson's attentive audience stomped through two hours of pure unadulterated house music; taking it from the deepest avenues through to full-on air punching territory as the night drew on. By 3 AM, spirits and people were high throughout the venue and thoughts of the cold dark night outside seemed a million miles away. This was the moment that Tensnake took to the stage, armed with the tools to craft a perfectly formed live set. Sixty minutes was ample time, as he threw down his delectable disco tinged house anthems, taking punters on a trip from "Congolal" through to "Holding Back My Love" via "In the End (I Want You to Cry)." He even threw in his so-deep-you-could-swim-in-it remix of Jonny Dynell's "Jam Hot," and, before you could say peak-time-anthem, the unforgettable chimes of "Coma Cat" came bouncing off the brickwork, taking clubbers back to the balmy air of Ibiza terraces and festivals at dusk.

And so the final two hours pressed on and Lawson returned to the stage, ensuring that those hardcore enough to last the duration remained enthusiastically locked into his groove until London based Danny Raper smashed out the final tunes of the evening. As 6 AM rolled around, a quick scan of the disheveled but smiling crowd proved that another 20:20 vision party had been a success. An excellent sound system, diverse music and a warm atmosphere isn't always easy to find in the sprawling clubs of East London. Here's hoping they can top it in 2011.


Words /Aby Wojcik
Published /Thu, 13 Jan 2011

Photo credit: So Hasegawa

Community at Plan B - A Review

A review for http://www.4clubbers.net/

London has always been seen as a city of musical opportunity. Even since the demise of some of our capital’s clubbing treasures, there are always countless options for Londoners to consider when the weekend rolls around again.
With many of these weekly/monthly rave havens tucked away in and around the various crevices of East London, it was only a matter of time before areas south of the river decided it was time to make their mark on the scene. In this case it was good old Brixton: aplace that in its heyday was renowned for partying… after a pretty long sabbatical, it was time for the suburb to make a welcomed return to the clubbing map.

Fresh new night ‘Community’ at the super-swish Brixton club Plan B looks set to impress the most sceptical non-south-Londoner. Community aims to ‘redefine the scene in Brixton and South London as a whole, with a fresh, in-house perspective on how Saturdays nights in one of the most musically rich and forward thinking cities in the world, should sound like’. Phew….a big task, but the newly refurbished venue now fitted with Funktion one sound-systems in each room, cocktail bar and a 24 hour licence, as well as having a team dedicated to bringing in artists at the forefront of the electronic music scene makes us think they may well be over halfway to achieving their vision. The recent Community opening party showcased the legendary Kenny Dixon Junior AKA Moodymann, which resulted in a sell-out evening and positive recollections all round.

This weekend it was Todd Terje’s turn to grace the decks within the impressive venue, which has cleverly managed to combine the feel of a stripped back warehouse with the ambience and decedance of a cocktail bar through a bizarre fusion of industrial style walls,metal beams, candles and comfortable seating, Terje has been on the UK scene for a fair few years now, known for his epic remixes and unique style of cosmic genre mangling sets, and as he ploughed on playing his trademark eclectic style of soul, re-edited classics and disco tinged house, the fairly small but perfectly formed crowd showed their appreciation as he moved into full on stomping territory as the night drew into the early hours of Sunday morning.

The thing that really stood out at Community was the friendly and relaxed vibe from fellow clubbers and staff alike. Unlike some London establishments frequented in the past; full of sneering hipsters too cool to crack a smile at the person stood next to them, this was certainly a place where the attitude was left at the door. The battering rain and a closed tube line may have meant a reduced crowd, but the quality music, well mixed drinks and friendly faces ensured that a warm and fuzzy (possibly tequila fuelled) feeling was present as the night drew to a close.

Community have pulled out all the stops with their new night, and have some of the big guns of the underground electronic music scene lined up for the next few months in the form of Jamie Jones, Claude Von Stroke and the mighty Basement Jaxx. Give it a go; after all it’s only South London, not the other side of the world. Photos courtesy of http://plan-b.co.uk/