On The Pulse
Legendary Faithless frontman Maxi Jazz is making an appearance in Stradbally this weekend and is set to go head to head on the decks with up and coming Irish DJ Lo Cutz. The pioneer of dance classics such as Insomnia and God Is a DJ will put his music skills to the test against the new kid on the block to see who can choose the biggest floor fillers to keep the Electric Picnic crowd on their feet at the Three Made by Music Stage.
TV & radio broadcaster and festival fan Baz Ashmawy will be on MC duties to judge the crowd’s reaction and see who will come out on top of the ultimate DJ battle.
Speaking to The Beat, Maxi told how fans can expect to hear “all kinds of things.”
“I play classic party music, not all house, so if you’re expecting two hours of techno you’ll be disappointed.
“You’ll hear all kinds of things. I never really want to give the game away.”
The star said Irish crowds are one of his favourite as “Irish people are genuinely warm, and they’re having a good time and you feel it.
That’s one of the reasons I love coming here.”
Asked whether he has managed to get some sleep, he said: “I’m used to people asking me about it but it’s actually the one thing I’m genuinely talented at I can sleep anywhere at anytime for any reason, just to set the record straight.”
It’s that time of the festival calendar again, Electric Picnic. There’s loads already mentioned in today’s Beat but be on the look out for men of the moment Dave Whelan and Mike De Scala aka Camelphat.
Riding high on the crest of the Cola wave, the Grammy Award and Ivor Novello nominated track that hit over one million sales internationally and established Camelphat as the UK’S hottest house music exports.
They have followed up with a few strong club tracks since including Panic Room and the forthcoming Dopamine Machine.
The pair earned their stripes as resident DJS long before they ever produced and had moved on since to make authentic, timeless house music.
They have enjoyed DJ support from their very first release in 2010 which has grown and grown into the the global acclaim they receive today from the likes of Adam Beyer, Adana Twins, Annie Mac, Carl Cox,
Danny Howard, Eric Prydz, Erick Morrillo, Gorgon City, Groove Armada, Hotsince82, Huxley, Mark Knight, MK, Pete Tong, Riva Starr, Sasha,
Sonny Fodera and other tastemakers who have peppered their sets with Camelphat’s emotionrich, sub-soaked, silky-synth sounds.
They play the Casa Bacardí Stage tonight at 11pm.
Another name on the rise is Peggy Gou. Over the years her regular stream of high quality mixes began to turn heads in the leading underground circles. Sitting somewhere between Detroit, London and Berlin in sound, her DJ sets are a assured, kinetic combination of dark, pulsing house and techno, broken beats and abstract compositions.
Regular studio sessions have been fertile and her first release, a double EP ‘September War’ appeared on Matt Radio Slave Edwards dominant Rekids imprint and of course her recent work for Defected, remixing the likes of Shakedown “At Night” into an acidy deep groover.
Peggy is already showing signs of becoming a highly unique and standout artist as she embarks on quite a full and hectic summer tour but she finds time to play The Little Big Tent area on Sunday at 10.45pm.
Tomorrow night Felix Stallings aka Felix da Housecat plays at Casa Bacardí with his resolute acid techno yet avant-garde nu-skool electrodisco. Felix gained fame not only for his studio work but also for his ownership of Radikal Fear Records catch him at 10pm.
Finally, Dave Lee aka Joey Negro, a firm favourite globally but on these shores especially, plays at Casa Bacardí at 10pm on Sunday night.