READ: SRQ018: Morris Cowan

After catching the wind and floating into our attention span with his releases on Wigflex's first 3 split releases Taylor has a new album coming and a new moniker to release it under. Taken from his middle names, whereas Taylor was his surname, Morris Cowan will release Circa on Zaubernuss, a sub label of German imprint, Traum.

We made him the subject of the February instalment of our Quietus column after he sent us the music and to quote ourselves his "compositions are sprawling 7 minute-plus slices of electronica, set firmly at the techno tempo, they're extra melodic, working away from the heat and intensity of a dancefloor as well as they do on it. Much like his Wigflex counterpart Hizatron, Taylor crafts a sound set completely his own, setting his kick drums back a little so that the melody draws the focus."

READ: SRQ018 - Patience and Progress with Morris Cowan

To live alongside the article he kindly put together a mix showcasing his production work which we've packaged up as part one of our 70th Sonic Router Mix. Stream only at this time it features a load of album tracks and many an unreleased gem from his hard drive...

STREAM: Morris Cowan - Sonic Router Mix #70.1



Tracklist:

1. Taylor – CMB [Super]
2. Taylor – Noob [On The Edge]
3. Morris Cowan – Flutterby [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
4. Morris Cowan – Sunnyville [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
5. Morris Cowan – Magnetor [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
6. Morris Cowan – Conflate [forthcoming Zaubernuss]
7. Morris Cowan – The Good Ship Fellow [Connect for Music]
8. Thomas Bjerring – Ice (Morris Cowan Remix) [Traum]
9. Morris Cowan – Afield [Super]

...but to run as his entry in our humble mix series he's today provided a downloadable mix, or SR #70.2, for your enjoyment. Described in his own words as "house/boogie tempo for the most part.. it's a mix, but i'm not quite sure what it is," its the second part of the duo of mixes he provided in lieu of his debut album and this being our 2nd birthday month.

DOWNLOAD: Morris Cowan - Sonic Router Mix #70.2



Tracklist:

1. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Waulking Song (Lone Remix) [Greco-Roman]
2. Angelo Battilani - Red Maple Leaf (Vaghe Stelle Remix Tool) [Margot]
3. Sebastian Mullaert - Music Becomes A Function [Mule Electronic]
4. Margot - H2 [Border Community]
5. Applescall - All Sparkles [Manual Music]
6. Arnaud Rebotini - The Spirit of Boogie [Process Recordings]
7. Roland M. Dill - Baked Potato [Trapez]
8. Deep Space Orchestra - Streetlights [Applied Rhythm Technology]
9. Lucy - Lav (Peter van Hoesen Remix) [Stroboscopic Artifacts]
10. Mig Dfoe - Amantea [Zaubernuss]

Link:
www.myspace.com/morriscowan

INTERVIEW: Spam Chop Talks Wigflex

If you’ve followed us on here or over on our associated Quietus Column, you’ll be aware of our bias towards the Wigflex imprint but the forthcoming WF004 by former Sonic Router mix giver and rude boy techno master, The Hizatron, definitely carves its own niche. Full of squeals and bubbling leads that fumble around the pummeling 4 four kick drum on the A side, ‘Telescope Dope,’ it’s the forgotten EP we couldn’t live without. ‘Executive Ball Scratcher’ on the flip harnesses the lower frequencies of bass pressure with huge stabs permeating the multicolour drunken melodies, epitomizing the stylistic approach of the HZA man perfectly, before ‘Klondyke’ then descends into saw tooth propelled darkness.

After his low key announcement on dubstepforum recently, we tracked down Wigflex boss Spamchop, to discuss WF004 and the end of his Nottingham club night’s summer hiatus.

Sonic Router: It’s been a little bit quiet for Wigflex over the summer. What’s been going down? What have you been up to?

Spam Chop: It has been a little quiet, I guess it's because Nottingham becomes a bit of a ghost town in the summer, what with the student's going home and people going to festival's/holiday… We don't really put any nights on as it would be hard to fill the venue we are at. We have launched a Wigflex night up in Manchester though and had MCDE, Actress, Darkstar, Cooly G and Deep Teknologi pass through the basement of Sound Control so far. I'm looking forward to next couple of guest's we have booked for these sessions a lot!

Your coming back strong with a new EP from Hizatron. Tell us a little bit about that in your own words? What made you want to come back with that?

I just love the tunes really; it’s that trippy filth that Hiza's so good at making. I’ve been playing these out for a while now and they always get a good reaction in clubs, so it just made sense these would be the next release.

Hizatron – Telescope Dope [Wigflex]

Hizatron – Executive Ball Scratcher [Wigflex]

Hizatron – Klondyke [Wigflex]

What else is coming up for the label? That Metaphi LP done up yet? Hahahaha…

Hehe, yeah man it’s ready and it’s rather good if I do say so myself! That’ll be Wigflex 005… After that we have a Lone tune coming out and an album by Taylor.

So the nights are back on in Notts... what/who have you got coming up?

We have some big lineups planned for autumn in Nottingham as well as up in Manchester. I’m currently creating some collectable fliers with cut out Wigflex character nets on the front for these events… We are going to run some sort of competition for our favorite photo of these toys I get back, not sure what the prize will be yet mind.....

October 22nd @ Stealth Nottingham

James Holden, Luke Abbott, Ikonika, Untold, Cooly G, Pariah, Kavsrave, Lone, Spam Chop, Metaphi, Erra, Spare

November 6th @ Sound Control Manchester

Roman Flugel, Spam Chop, Taylor

November 19th @ Stealth Nottingham

Jamie XX, Joy Orbison, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Hudson Mohawke, James Blake, Jackmaster, Lone, Spam Chop, Hizatron

December 4th @ Sound Control Manchester

Shed (live), More TBC



Links:
www.wigflex.com
www.myspace.com/djspamchop
www.myspace.com/jhizatron

DOWNLOAD: Taylor - Wigflex Podcast 002

Wigflex unveils step 2 in its bid for podcast domination. This installment comes from Taylor who's got some dopeness forthcoming on the Nottingham based label, including a track on the imminent split 12" with Blunted upstart Shortstuff.

DOWNLOAD: Taylor - Wigflex Podcast 002

Tracklist:

01. spare - sunnyville (taylor remix)
02. applescal - aem floating
03. metaphi - conscius
04. taylor - conflate
05. ricardo tobar - arian
06. groj - edlothia (ryan davis mix)
07. ryan davis - prior (micromattic remix)
08.. vaghe stelle - ciclo 1
09. hizatron - executive ball scratcher
10. taylor - mr.eldritch
11. second line - phlegma break
12. moderat - nasty silence
13. dual shaman - beloved (limbo remix)
14. geiom n spam chop - blukkup

Link:
www.myspace.com/adamtaylor84

SPECIAL OFFER: 20% Off At High Rise Clothing

January is commonly known as a time for rash purchases. You've been there, clambering over everyone else in the overcrowded, overheated shop just to get a shirt you kind of like because its £10 cheaper than the usual asking price.

In an attempt to give you something you might actually want we've teamed up with High Rise Clothing - the Bristol based tee shirt outlet stocking exclusive designs from Monsta and Spam Chop as well as Punch Drunk, If Symptoms Persist and Skull Disco label tees - to give Sonic Router readers a juicy little discount.

• Head over to the shop.
• Enter the code 'sonicrouter' at the check out stage (in the discount code field - natch).
• Get yourself 20% off.

This offer is valid until the end of January. Stocks are limited, so act fast.

Link:
www.highriseclothing.com

SUBSCRIBE: Wigflex Podcast

Spam Chop handles the first in the new series of Wigflex Podcasts. Bang the below to subscribe via iTunes.

I got a good feeling about this.

Look out for Wigflex 003 with tracks from Taylor ('Squeege') and Shortstuff coming soon.

SUBSCRIBE: Wigflex Podcast

Direct download: http://www.sendspace.com/file/l26kiz

Tracklist:

Spam Chop, Buffallo Herder
Rebolledo & Daniel Malosa, Marchante
Matias Aguayo, Bo jack
Taylor, Squeege
The Hizatron, Telescope dope
Moderat, Seamonkey
Darkstar, Videotape
Shackleton, Theres a slow train coming
Ratsnake, Twisted Ballon
Pfirter, Ondas Y Sondas
Mathew Johnson, Twin Cobras
Lazy Fat People, Low Profile
Van Rivers, Stretched Out (nukubus remix)
Jesper Dahlback, Snara
Electric Indigo, Phoca Sibirica
Matt obrien, Blackwood freestyle
The Hizatron ,poached
October, Medium
Trentemoller, Miss You (remix)
Mount kimbie, 50 Mile view
Shortstuff, Galaxy
Max Cooper, ???
Spam Chop, Ergoline

Link:
www.myspace.com/djspamchop
www.wigflex.com

DOWNLOAD: Spam Chop - Fresh Out Of Death Mix

Spam Chop runs the blossoming Wigflex label, its spin off clothing line and the club night of the same name up in Nottingham. The man had me locked into a wierd kind of trance when I watched him spin at the Blunted Robots vs. Berkane Sol night at fabric a month or so back, so it really tickles me to find stumble across mix he's done for the 'Fresh Out Of Death' series and present it to you people.

DOWNLOAD: Spam Chop - Fresh Out Of Death Mix

Tracklist:

Re Group - Antichance (Jesse Somfay's Adiabatic remix)
Max Cooper - Automnemonic
Taylor - Sundaed
Microtrauma - Atkin
Yotam Avni - Coke Bouquet
Dom Haywood - Sunshine
Kode9 - 2 Far Gone
Wookie - ????
Deadset - Farmhouse
Nathan Fake - Fentiger
Bogger - Kompoter
Matthew Johnson - Walking On The Hands That Follow Me
Mount Kimbie - At Least

Link:
www.myspace.com/djspamchop

EVENT: Wigflex @ Concrete

Facebook Event

Links:
www.myspace.com/wigflexwigflex

COMPETITION: Wigflex - Scary Monsters Tee

We here at Sonic Router is stoked to be able to announce a couple of things... first up the second wave of Wigflex merchandise is upon us and its all curbed firmly with the theme of snarling monsters...



And secondly – all you London based enthusiasts can catch label boss Spam Chop alongside Berkane Sol owner Geiom and the duo behind Blunted Robots, Brackles and Shortstuff in Room Three at fabric on the 9th October.

If you don’t know, do your research.

We’ve got a 'Big Time Terror Team' shirt to give away. To win it simply email us the answer to the question below...

The Wigflex label is based in which city?

A) Birmingham
B) Nottingham
3) Leicester

The winner will be announced in the first week of Sept.

Link:
www.myspace.com/wigflexwigflex

PRE-ORDER: Geiom & Spamchop - Cave Rave/Sirius Star [Berkane Sol]

The 12th release on Kamal Joory’s Berkane Sol imprint sees him teaming up with Wigflex boss and fellow Nottingham resident, Spamchop, for the A-side ‘Cave Rave.’ Unfurling low end stabs, crushing snare drums and hyper delayed hi hats they meld their styles well, hanging their percussion on an almost Egyptian sounding synthesizer and tight mid range bass pulses that wander the scales with an abundance of swagger. It’s a little less twisted than you might expect, on the grounds of previous work from both producers, with the emphasis placed squarely on the pressure the drum work yields at high volume but it’s a beautiful example of the ingenuity and talent Nottingham is currently breeding.

‘Sirius Star’ is solo Geiom firing on all cylinders; when he’s using his hi hats to propel his 2-step, funk rhythm or teasing out short blasts of taught mid range bass you really can tell he’s enjoying his time inside his sequencers. He lets the main melody float in snatches around the track’s main bassline pulse, once again forcing the low end and drum work to carry the brunt of the attention. It’s a little more of a creeper than the A-side, but when the motorway like atmospherics dissipate into nothing and the drums dance through the swirls of synth texture it’s a definite plate to be proud of.

Words: Oli Marlow
Out: Now (on promo)

Link:
www.myspace.com/geiom
www.myspace.com/djspamchop

READ: Sonic Router 004 - A Dubstep Column For July

This month's Sonic Router column is now live on The Quietus ft. Geiom, Spamchop, Brackles, Shortstuff, Lone, Keaver & Brause, The Hizatron, Taylor and more...

Notts family stand up.

READ: Sonic Router 004 - A Dubstep Column For July

INTERVIEW: The Hizatron [Wigflex]

Sometimes a producer’s style forces your hand. Either you put the chips in, raise the stakes and bluff your way through the first few listens. You might win, you might not, but it’s the hollow void of the loss that always sucks the life right out of you. And let’s face it, its nicer to make a concerted effort and be rewarded with a healthy return… monetary or otherwise.

After taking such an informed punt on the two hectic slices of contorted synthesized mania this man has released so far on Nottingham based label, Wigflex, we nabbed the one they call The Hizatron, asking him to lay down his style to virtual tape for us, learning us a whole heap about his processes and passions as he did so.

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

The Hizatron: I am partially robotic, and powered by Hungarian potato juice and yams. I also make beats out of cats and four eggs. I was assembled in Notts and am operated by the evil Wigflex Corporation.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

I’ve just completed my degree, so my days have mostly consisted of afternoon breakfast, not going to Uni, and then mongin’ out in front of the mac. I’m resident at Wigflex and I’m 23.

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?

My little brother is a rapper and uses a community studio in St. Anns in Notts, he told me about all the stuff you could play with down there like the Akai MPC 2000 and I thought it sounded japes so went along, I was 16. The MPC was my weapon of choice and I used to make what liked to think was RZA-esque hip-hop beats and give them to local MCs to spit on. I got tired of thinking I had to rely on other people to finish tunes though and wanted to get away from sampling everything and get into synths and whatnot. I quit my A-levels and started a music tech course and that’s where I learnt recording and Logic Pro.

Now I make rudeboy techno.

What’s the big idea behind The Hizatron moniker?

My actual name is Joshua Harvey, my boys used to call me “Jay to the hizzay” for some reason, which they shortened to “j-hiz”, or “hiz” or “HZA”. When I was 17 and had first started going raving I met Spamchop at those boys house at an after party, I showed him some beats, he was bang on ‘em and asked if I had an alias, I said not really, except hizatron. He added the “The”.

We have a mutual respect for robots, and it went from there. He’s been my top boy ever since.

What’s your production set up like? Has it changed a lot since day dot?

Yeah nowadays I just I’ve got a box with some lights on it full of cats, four eggs, a mac, Logic, Ableton, my monitors, a Roland Groovebox and a Korg thing that I hardly ever use. I like recording clicky and gloopy audio samples for a lot of my percussion. I use bare automation, processing and effects; I also like Soundhack, FM8, ESP and Ultrabeat amongst other things.

Your own productions, for me anyway, lie more on the minimal side of music. Would you say that it’s a fair comment to say you’re more influenced by techno producers rather than dubstep??

Yes definitely, I flirted with dubstep when it first reared its head, but I didn’t ever enjoy producing it enough, probably because I was shit at it! I like clever techno, mans like Stefan Bodzin, James Holden, Extrawelt, Minilogue, Trentemoller. Also fun, swingy tunes like the stuff Trapez and Leftroom/Letfout put out, they’re a couple of my favorite labels. Wigflex has an element of dubstep obviously, but we don’t want to be pigeon-holed. Our recent headliners have included Nathan Fake and Luke Abbott. Taylor is producing some of the cleverest techno in the country.

What was it that sucked you in [to the music you make]?

I was heavily influenced by Spamchop when we hooked up, he’s literally the dopest man out, he’s actually physically addicted to vinyl. Also Taylor, he showed me ridiculous levels of tek haus and is an absolute genius. I showed him how to use Logic about 3 years ago and he instantly took it to space, now everything I do is to try and impress him really.



What’s your involvement with the Wigflex camp? How did it all begin?

Well not long after I met Spamchop he made this mixtape, it was called Wigflex 2000, just coz he had a bit of a bush nut wig piece. Spam used to have a residency at a bar in Notts and used to call it Wigflex Wednesdays. He also used to have a show on Kindafunkyradio, they had a birthday celebration and asked him to host a room, Spam asked me if I could play a set. We got Taylor on board and called it the Wigflex room. That December we put on the first Wigflexmas and the venue asked us to make it a regular night.

Now were at Stealth which is the dopest place about, Funktion 1, ream, got our own label and clothing line! It’s big nowadays.

Nottingham seems to be on fire at the moment, musically, leaning a lot of the twisted synth side of things. What is it about the community that produces this music do you think?

I don’t know, y’know, there’s good access to free studios and that helps people to get into producing young. Everyone’s a bit rude, even if you’re not, you’re considered a rudeboy elsewhere and we’re the garage generation, and at the end of the day. It’s all garage really isn’t it?

Is Nottingham, in your opinion, a healthy place for dubstep and for music in general?

Yeah its healthy, it’s not a massive place so there’s not a huge choice of venues but there’s a lot of talent and a lot of dope residents. I’m not a massive dubstepper, but we have seen some big things frequently pass through, Appleblim and Brackles are often in town. Max Cooper has been a Firefly hero for years; Matt Tolfrey’s Leftroom is Notts, Spamchop obviously. Don’t forget Geiom, he’s sick and bringing a lot of man through on the productions front as well. I don’t think anyone had heard anything like Geiom and Spamchop’s ‘Mah Geile Zwazo’ before. The Futureproof crew are super dope too. It’s comin’ out our ears man.

The mix you’ve done for us is comprised entirely of your productions… Can you tell us a little bit about your track selection, was it just a case of fitting things together or did you have a specific set of tunes waiting to go?

I wanted to include the releases in there but a lot of it is stuff I’ve been messing around with recently, and some Ableton tomfoolery. I like to think my stuff is quite electro-acoustic, as in I like to build intensities through concentrating on colour, timbres and textures rather than notation. Although I do produce some stuff with more chord progression and whatnot.



What else have you got coming up this year?

Well the second Wigflex EP has just come out and is triple dope, so get that! Also got a next tune called ‘Von Glooperstein’ coming out on Geiom’s label, Berkane Sol, which is sick. Him, Brackles and the Applepips crew are bringing club wrecking reports already. In terms of upcoming headliners we’ve got Shackleton live in August, and we’re in talks with some very big artists. The new clothing line is released this month – Wigflex City Monsters, the printers are goin’ on like right pirates though so Spam’s gona be swashbuckling mans pronto, anyway look out for that and high quality mixes and live sets from the whole crew on wigflex.com! Other than that were doing some remixes and I’ve got a few tracks in mind for a solo EP.

I might buy some more hi-tops.

Have you got any words of wisdom you’d like to instill on the interweb?

Buy lots of pairs of triple dope creps, then wear them on rotation. That way you’ll have loads of sick boogs that stay fresh for time!

::

To win a copy of Wigflex002 email us your answer to the below question and you could be in the running.

Which of the following producers has NOT yet released on Wigflex?

A) Taylor
B) Eleven Tigers
3) Brackles

Winner will be announced by the 23rd July.

::

DOWNLOAD: The Hizatron - Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

1. The Hizatron - Fridge Magnet (Unreleased)
2. The Hizatron - Mustard (Unreleased)
3. The Hizatron - Now Then Boris (Wigflex)
4. The Hizatron - Pinklip (Unreleased)
5. The Hizatron - Pat Sharpe (Unreleased)
6. The Hizatron - Von Glooperstein (forthcoming Berkane Sol)
7. The Hizatron - Schlupinski (Wigflex)

Links:
www.myspace.com/jhizatron
www.myspace.com/wigflexwigflex

PRE-ORDER: V/A - Wigflex 002

The 2nd release from Spam Chop's Nottingham based Wigflex camp includes tracks from Metaphi, Eleven Tigers, Taylor and The Hizatron.

Read the full review here: http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=6328

Watch out for an exclusive Sonic Router mix from The Hizatron coming shortly.

Link:
www.wigflex.com

INTERVIEW: EFA [Pollen]

After receiving our first ever exclusive mix from Rekordah and the ensuing banter and file exchanges that followed, I suddenly got all excited by the thought of the Pollen collective and what they were pushing. Whilst Rekordah’s beats were bordering on the ridiculous and completely un-quantizable end of the hip hop spectrum there was this whole super-pitched skwee influenced music fleeing from the headphone port by people like Brackles and Shortstuff.

EFA got in touch shortly after my initial interest spike, plying his label wares and offering his skilled hands and connections to showcase a few of his label’s and his friends unreleased material. Taking him up on the offer was decidedly fruitful as his complex mix of Brackles’ ‘LHC’ and Untold’s ‘Anaconda’ will undoubtedly prove. Oh... and he was kind (and patient) enough to answer some questions for us too. Soak it up and learn something.

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

EFA: I’ve been DJ’ing various types of music including Jungle, House, Hip-Hop & Dubstep for last 11 years around my hometown of Nottingham and where I’ve recently flung my hat in Bristol. I used to be in an electronic band called Sounds of Science with my schoolmate Curtis Whitefinger who now plays guitar music and I dabble in production when I get chance.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

I’m Daz and to earn a crust I fix computers. I enjoy good beer, good food, country walks & trying to be ethical. I’m also addicted to chilli, love the way it smells, tastes…

How did you first get into recording music? What was it that infected you to do produce?

As a kid I showed a passing interest in the keyboard & guitar so ended up with a couple of them. I fell in love with Jungle at an early age and after getting a copy of Octamed for the Amiga started to dabble in beatmaking. It wasn’t until I was in a band playing keyboard for a bit that I started to take it seriously eventually starting a production partnership.

What’s the big idea behind the EFA moniker?

The big idea was to start a band with my old production partner in Nottingham called “Essential Fatty Acid” - we were gonna do Dub & Funk live with some added electronics. Alas this never happened so I teefed the name to DJ & Produce under – I’d previously used my initials Dr. G.

Whats your production set up like? Has it changed a lot since day dot?

I first started making beats properly in 1998 on a Roland MC303 I borrowed off a guy I used to produce with after showing signs I could do something with it. It was a great learning tool as you had synthesis, effects & midi all in 1 box and all you had to go on was your ears, no meters etc.

After the battery died losing the 30 or so tracks I’d done, the band split up and it was returned to its rightful owner, I didn’t get a computer until about 2005 when I built my own purely for music under the guidance of a friend (It was this which got me into the work I do as well). I then scoured the internet looking for the software that would suit me best and opted for Cakewalks Project 5 and later Sonar which you could rewire the former into.

After bashing out some reasonable sounding beats including a remix of Luke Vibert for a Future Music competition (which was actually won by Aphex Twin after he entered for a laugh and they passed the prize to the runner up) I decided to switch up to Cubase SX3 as it was far easier to use VST’s. Staples include Battery 2, Absynth (anything Native Instruments' good TBH) & Novation Bass Station – I also have a Novation KS Rack synth that I’m currently working into my set up. I monitor on Yamaha MSP5’s with a Tapco SW10 Sub and midi with a battered Edirol PCR 50 that’s too complicated for me to use its advance features.



You’ve been running Pollen the club night for quite some time. Can you give us a brief history?

The 1st time I played Dubstep in a club was at a night called Misst who made me their resident. As the night grew I started to see a divide between the bangers & the deeper, broken stuff which I wanted to push more of. I started Pollen in August 07 at a little out of town venue called Moog in Nottingham which used to host Electronica events until it was sold to some people who used it as more of a Disco/House party bar (legend has it Aphex Twin once played there!).

It’s a great space and I really wanted to bring some modern inventive sounds back and thought it could work there. Aside from the Dubstep I had been listening to a lot of Dub, Electronica and the forward thinking Hip-Hop of Madlib, Dilla, Prefuse 73 & Dabrye etc so I wanted the night to start off with that and move in to the 140 beats. We launched with Geiom headlining and had Gravious, Kion, Hizatron & Russian Linesman play the night amongst others. I pretty much did everything including lugging a Sub into the venue and causing a few noise complaints but it was good experience, I even managed to broadcast a few of them on streamizm.com.

When I moved to Bristol in Feb 08 all aspects of the Dubstep sound were covered so continuing the night as it was seemed pointless. After a meeting with Luke [Rekordah] at a PB Wolf show we decided to start a night focusing on the ever growing continuum of experimental beats and agreed on launching this under the Pollen brand. We did a Lone Album launch to test the water and then our 1st Pollen proper with Mike Slott headlining in November. We’ve since had Actress, Bullion, Lukid, Clause Four, Metske & Slugabed play and will be celebrating our 1st birthday on August 29th with a big lineup at The Croft, Bristol so watch this space!

How did Pollen evolve into a label?

I was being sent so many amazing unsigned tracks that I played at Pollen [Notts] and on radio and Brackles had given me a CD of ‘Broken Harp’ and another Shortstuff bit. I had an idea for the artwork after a workmate sent me some of his photography so it was just a case of working out the logistics. I just felt that what I was doing with the night could translate into a label.
I had moved to Bristol by the time I had my 1st P&D offer for the label in March 08 and then the Geiomix came along from out of nowhere a few months later. After some good advice from Geiom I released the record through a different distributor and despite some manufacturing issues & delays we got it out this April.

[Pollen] Brackles & Shortstuff - Broken Harp -Geiomix [Clip] by Pollen

[Pollen] Brackles & Shortstuff - Broken Harp [Clip] by Pollen

What are you plans for it? Got any new releases coming up you wanna shout about?

Well since Luke was involved in the night it made sense to have him on board with the label too, especially as I was interested in his beats. We will be putting out our 1st 7” as soon as possible with Rekordah’s ‘Bedroom Suite’ B/W ‘Burger Sauce’ and the next 12” is going to be XXXY – ‘Rain’ B/W a Jack Sparrow Remix. The plan is to put out equal measures of forward thinking Dancefloor & Hip-Hop beats, expect stuff from the likes of Slugabed, Gravious & Ekelon in the near future.

You’ve even got a Pollen show on Dubstep.fm, what’s it like playing out over the airwaves? What sounds are you pushing out to the masses?

It’s a good place to test new music and have instant feedback in the chat and the infrastructure they have in place is amazing, they can accommodate hundreds of listeners at a very high resolution. I try to have as many guests as possible and turn it into a sociable thing, these days I push new and old music starting with the Hip-Hop and into Dubstep and the fringes of what that’s become along with Dark Garage and some UK Funky. I tend to do the shows less these days but there will always be one in the works.

Tell us a little about the mix you have done for us, what tracks just had to be in there?

I wanted to showcase a few forthcoming Pollen bits, the rest is just new & old stuff I’m feeling chosen mostly on the fly which is how I prefer to do most of my DJ sets.

What is the thing that is most exciting you at the moment in the bass music scene?

The inventive use of beats and the slowing of the 140 tempo are producing some amazing music at the moment from the likes of Peverelist, the Hessle crew, Brackles, Shortstuff and many others. I was a little reluctant towards the UK Funky movement at 1st but have started to see its potential for producing both inventive music and chart crossover’s.

The Wigflex boys up in Notts are set to clean up this year crossing Techno & Bass together to devastating effect with a dash of Skweee, watch out for the next Wigflex EP and a Hizatron release on Berkane Sol! The Bristol based Purple Trinity continues to push the boundaries of production and is set to go into orbit this year. Hopefully Rustie will continue to churn out the likes of his Kapsize release which I still cannot take out my bag!

When is the next Pollen night and who’s playing?

The lineup for the 1st birthday is still in the work’s... however I am involved in a thing called Focus @ The Tube, Bristol promoting forward thinking, innovative dance music in all its forms.

Have you got anything else you want to tell us, words of wisdom for our readers?

Don’t watch too much TV and avoid comments sections of news stories and You Tube, they’ll just lower your opinion of humanity!

::

DOWNLOAD: EFA - Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

Mike Slott - Home - EFA's I'm At Home Re-edit feat. Andreya Triana
Slugabed - Once a Philosopher (Forthcoming Pollen)
Rekordah - Bedroom Suite (Forthcoming Pollen)
Hyetal - PRS - Peverelist Remix (Forthcoming RDCTN)
Shortstuff - Stuff (Forthcoming Ramp)
Geiom & Spamchop - Cave Rave (Berkane Sol - White)
EFA & SOBR - Wet Queef (Dub)
NB Funky - Rhythm Box (Its Funky)
Lil SIlva - Funky Pulse (White)
Jammin - Tonka - Menta Remix (Bingo)
Roni Size & Reprazent - Dirty Beats - Wookie Remix (Talkin Loud)
Unknown - Unknown (Dub)
XXXY - Rain - Jack Sparrow Remix (Forthcoming Pollen)
Apathesis - Hindsight (Dub)
Geiom - No More Tears (Berkane Sol)
Brackles - LHC (Forthcoming Planet Mu)
Untold - Anaconda (Hessle Audio)
Ekelon - Fiesta Del Foc - F Remix (Forthcoming Pollen)
Mount Kimbie - Maybes (Hot Flush)

Links:
www.myspace.com/essentialfattyacid
www.myspace.com/clubpollen

READ: Sonic Router Monthly 003 - June

The 3rd installment in the Sonic Router Montly is live now over at The Quietus.

Click quick and you could win one of three copies of Tectonic Plates Vol. 2.

READ: Sonic Router Monthly 003 - June '09

PRE-ORDER: Various Artists - Wigflex 001 [Wigflex]

Looking as fresh as it sounds, thanks to some incredibly tasty cartoon artwork, Nottingham’s Wigflex label is steaming out of the blocks with its first release; an EP featuring 4 artists associated with a flair for the unusual.

First up is an absolute beauty from Notts bass ambassador and Berkane Sol label boss Geiom. His track ‘Lame Car’ has a funky infused driving rhythm over some lush, warm, almost acid like synths. It comes off like a more techy influenced ‘Elevated Levels’, the funky anthem by Roska that’s dominated pirate airwaves for a hot minute. Metaphi drops ‘The More I Know Her,' another skipping, chopped up number that has a definite electronic 2-step feel that somehow manages to pull off an Oriental tinge. If Blade Runner was remade for generation bass then this could definitely be heard on the sound track, rolling out as neon lights fly by the city’s lanky buttresses in the depth of night.

On the flip The Hizatron picks up where the others left off and makes a down right dirty electro monster with pumping beats and growling lead synths. The almost 808 style cowbells give ‘Schlupinski’ a very retro electro vibe that really does drive. Taylor’s ‘Janglefuss’ does what it says on the tin and goes all tribal on us, twisting it all up with some highly strung synths, punching the funk bass around the pitched drums. Bringing some real energy and tension to the track as it winds through numerous arppegiated synths Taylor excels in his evolutions rolling out a tough 4x4 kick drum that’s peppered with pitch bent synths and crunchy percussion.

Saying Wigflex are one to watch would be kind of an understatement as these 4 tracks seem to breathe new life into monitors and ears every time they're played. They’re a perfect example of the fusion between dubstep and techno and a real lungful of air that doesn’t hum of stale beer and weed smoke.

Links:
www.wigflex.com
www.myspace.com/wigflexwigflex