Hmmmm... what day is it again?

The last ten days have been a bit of a blur to say the least. First off was Almaty, which was always going to be a mammoth weekend. Di Wang and Gas Club on the Friday both turned out to be nice gigs in their own right. After the set at Gas, made our way over to Da Freak, at which point the after-party came into its own, due in no small part to hooking up with the Almaty triumvirate of Sniper, Misha and Lalita - I've definitely left a part of me in Kazakhstan - not sure which bit... Suffice to say it took a very long time to emerge from the hotel the next day, and it was a slightly frazzled and over-emotional Moussa that stepped up to the decks on Saturday night at Da Freak (although Nour's fantastic home cooking pepped me up no end). The crowd were amazingly warm and welcoming - it all seemed to be over far too quickly, and by the time it came to make my way to the airport straight from the club, I have to say I could have easily have been persuaded to stay much longer... Should definitely be back there in 2006 - cant wait. Thanks again to Nour and Vasilyi for the gigs, and to Simeon for taking me round on Friday evening...
Then onto last Saturday night back in London - still standing in the middle of the dancefloor at Formulate at 11:30am on Sunday, having finished my set at 9:00am and having lost everyone that I came to the club with ;-) Big ups to Nathan and Rochie for the gig and thanks to the Salacious records boys for looking after me (Top tunes too) - and Jez, if ever you read this, send me a fax with bullet points.
Im going to be holing up for the holiday season now to recuperate, and will be coming out of gig hibernation in the new year... See ya...

Lets Formulate a Plan

So there you have it, I'm making my debut guesting for Formulate at The Key next week. Been looking forward to this one for a long time: Formulate is Formula's weekly Sunday morning session, and has the reputation of being London's best and most deranged after hours. I have become a bit of a fan of Formula City of late, where Stretch Silvester is playing semi-regularly. It's the same promoters' mentalist Thursday night weekly, which boasts one of the most up for mid-week crowds anywhere ever. So if that's anything to go by, and considering this is the last Formulate of 2005, this looks like being a truly momentous party...

Oh and I'm celebrating my birthday that weekend... So see you there!

Kazakhstan Beckons

This Saturday Im back in Almaty again to play at the excellent Da Freak for the second time this year. Unfortunately I wont be at Escape in Astana on Friday night (this has been postponed to some time next year) but I will be playing at Di Wang and Gas Club instead. Almaty remains one of my favourite places on the global gig circuit, from excellent 3,000 strong openair and warehouse parties to truly rocking nightclubs, this place has it all.

Central European Gig-Ups

Big-ups to Antena, Josh and Andre for a great time at Unique in Bratislava and also to Sonic and Otto for looking after me at Area 51 in Vienna (I'd forgotten just how beautiful the city is - incredible place). Looking forward to going back to both soon!

Bratislava and Vienna are go

The hang-over is barely over from Monday night's excursion to Newcastle (believe me it hurt) and tomorrow Im off to Bratislava and Vienna for a double-header. On Friday night, I'll be back playing at the excellent Unique Club in Bratislava in Slovakia, while on Saturday I'll be over at Area 51 for my debut in Vienna. Should be a great weekend!

Openair Launch Party

I will be wending my way up to Beyond in Newcastle on 28th November for the launch party of Openair's new single "Hi Roller" featuring Gram'ma Funk, due out imminently on Oven Ready. I will be playing alongside the Openair boys and Audio Image, and we'll be giving away copies of the single, which is being cained by the likes of Sasha, David Guetta, Nick Warren, Robbie Rivera, Satoshi Tomiie, Stonebridge and many many more... It will be my first time back at the decks after the last few weeks off, and just before the December party madness kicks in...

Compilation On Its Way

Finally getting round to mixing the first ever Oven Ready compilation this week! All the tracks should be mastered by tomorrow, then bar some final tweaking the mix should be ready by the end of the week. Promos will be up in 2 to 3 weeks and commercial release of the CD will be between December and April next year, depending on the country - still negotiating the various international releases but will post news up here when everything is confirmed. The compilation features some of the label and studio's best moments from the last couple of years as well as some future classics - Sneak preview of the tracklisting follows!

01. Korovin feat. Keith Thompson - "I Live For Now" (David Vendetta Remix)
02. R-Tem - "The Other Side"
03. Crystal Company - "Shock The Beat" (Korovin Mix)
04. Flash Brothers - "Happy" (Trophy Twins Remix)
05. Pimenov - "Rockstar" (Mashtronic Remix)
06. Philter - "Love Key" (Deepgroove's Dirty House Dub)
07. Openair - "Kids Of The Neon"
08. Professional Losers - "Shake It" (Dave Lambert Remix)
09. Asle pres. Frost - "Wait For Me" (Max Graham's Sidechain Mix)
10. DJ Romeo - "Inside" (Defacto Mix)
11. Musique vs U2 - "New Years Dub" (Mauro Picotto Remix)
12. Openair feat. Gram'ma Funk - "Hi Roller" (Mashtronic Remix)
13. Filthy Rich - "Chainsmoking"
14. Philter - "Nimbus" (DJ Pilot Remix)
15. Gambit - "Fade Away" (Lebedev Mix)

Yeah at Number One

Dave Lambert - "Yeah" (release includes my remix as well as Original mix) is currently sitting at no.1 in the Belgian Dance Charts. Nice one!

Meanwhile in the world of Lucien Foort

Lucien Foort has been supporting my remix of Sebastian Davidson feat. Troni & Griega - "Meanwhile", check his national radio playlist here. I actually did the remix a while ago but its just been picked up by FTM in Holland for full release. Will be updating the remix slightly over the next couple of weeks for the eventual release...

He has also been playing my remix of Dave Lambert - "Yeah" even though its not credited as such. You can check the show online for the rest of the week in Real Audio format here.

By the way, "Yeah" is available on vinyl now on Mostiko Records. Try searching for it on www.htfr.com if you want a copy!

Resident Advisor

Interview, Tracklist and Review of the Copenhagen gig from a couple of weeks ago on the popular Resident Advisor site here. I'm "very calm", apparently ;-)

Copenhagen

Last weekend in Copenhagen was wicked. I played at the Oven Ready night at Vega for the 2nd time this year, and could really see why its being hailed as the best house night in Denmark right now... Big ups to Tim Andresen for putting so much effort into it over the last couple of years - it seems to be really paying off. (Pic from the night here is (c) Mihai Miranescu) This weekend I'm back in Russia again - I'll be making my debut at Nebesja in Krasnodar, following in the able footsteps of my Oven Ready compadres Mike Monday and Stretch Silvester. Looking forward to it already!

Studio Stuff

Lots of cool stuff on the horizon... Firstly the Lebedev remix of Gambit - "Fade Away" is in and its absolutely wicked... Gambit is me and Nick Hanson (who also did the Musique vs U2 project with me) and features vocals from Daniel Sherman. The track was originally out on white label as Sirocco - "Fade Away" a while back but never got a full release. We're keeping copies of the Lebedev mix fairly close to our chest until nearer the release on Oven Ready next year, but you'll be hearing it in my sets from now on. There's also a tasty remix from Openair and I will be commissioning some more dubby underground mixes too although nothing confirmed yet. Im also working with Nick tomorrow on a Gambit remix for a band called Ahuman... Vocals very much in the current tradition of indie bands a la Killers/Casabian, really looking forward to this one. Also this week, been in the studio with Susie Atherton, excellent singer songwriter, part of a band called Ledge (Think Kosheen and you'd actually be very near the mark) Apart from that there's the remixes I'm working on for Andre Sedlak and DJ Romao, plus much more in the pipeline. More here as it happens.

Studio 33 this Friday

We're taking over the Crystal Room for DFS at Studio 33 this Friday for our first Oven Ready party in London for ages. It's all happening at Studio 33 from 10pm-6am and I'll be joined by Tim Andresen, Fluency and Robin B for some big room housey shenanigans. You can email [email protected] for concessions/guest list info...

Green Hill Pics

This pic gives you just an inkling of what the vibe was like at my gig at Green Hill in Portugal last month. Insanely up for it crowd and wicked atmosphere... You can check out more pics here including me staggering about the dancefloor after my set - oh dear...

Sasha says Yeah

Just found out that Sasha is now also supporting my mix of Dave Lambert - "Yeah" on Mostiko Records. Great news! Still no idea when the vinyl is coming out but the track seems to be getting some cool feedback so far...

Back on the Radio

My latest mix continues to get featured on various radio stations worldwide - its now been played or is upcoming on CRMK (UK), Radio Sity (Slovakia), Miradio (Spain), NRJ (Belgium), Dasding/Unserding (Germany), Capital 101 (Latvia), Radio 105 (Italy), Shahar FM (Kazakhstan) with still more tbc. Its still downloadable here and you can check out the tracklisting here.

Rob Da Bank Again

I've been working with Rob Da Bank again, this time for a 5 minute mini-mix which will be aired sometime on BBC Radio 1 on Annie Mac's show. It features artists who are playing at the Bestival on the Isle of Wight next week (which Rob and his wife organise) and we managed to cram in about 12 tracks in there, from Mylo to Lee Scratch Perry to The Magic Numbers to Sebastien Tellier with some drum and bass in between!

Also heard that Fabric 24, Rob's mix album that I engineered for him, is getting rave reviews... Lurvely! You can read the press release here. It's coming out on 19th September...

Crystal Company and Dave Lambert

A couple of projects I've been involved with recently seem to be gaining some momentum!

First up Crystal Company - "Shock The Beat", which is produced by me, and features mixes by Korovin and Philter (the latter of which is, er, me again), all with the blessing of Eddy Milani aka Electric Choc (who very kindly sent us the midi files from his original 1991 classic version of the tune!). Anyway, it's sitting at no.2 in DJ Chus' chart and is also gracing the turntables of the likes of Robbie Rivera, Chris Hornbostel, Jonathan Ulysses, Trophy Twins, Freemasons/Phats & Small, Mark Dynamix, Bias, ATFC, Jim Shaft Ryan, Sonic, Pimenov, Mike McKenna, Sebastian Davidson, Matteo Esse, Erick E, Jose, Tim Andresen, Andy Morris and more... Its out late september on Oven Ready.

The other is Dave Lambert - "Yeah" which I remixed for the Versuz resident (who is a massive star in Belgium). The original is huge for people like Tiesto and Jonathan Ulysses, and my mix is getting big props from DJ Chus, Wally Lopez, Chris Hornbostel, ATFC, Pimenov, Stonebridge, Shield, Marc Roberts, Timo Garcia, Dean Facer, Tim Andresen and many more... No release date set yet, although should be out later this year on Mostiko Records.

Debut in Portugal and back to Russia

Looking forward to my debut in Portugal this weekend big-time. I'll be playing the NG foam party at DNA Club in Barreiro on Friday 19th then heading over to play X-Plosive at Green Hill in Foz do Arelho on Saturday night, ably assisted by local hero DJ Romao. Always great to go somewhere new, so I am well and truly fired up!

Week after it's back to one of my favourite haunts Russia (which is fast becoming my second home!) - on Friday 26th I'll be playing for Fashion Party II at Smolny Palace in St.Petersburg, then on Saturday I'm making the long trip Eastwards over to Novosibirsk in Siberia, where I'll be touching down at Club Schuka.

On The Airwaves

My latest mix set (see earlier post for details) is getting aired on various terrestrial radio stations globally. It was featured on Dean Facer's United Colors of House show on CRMK here in the UK last week, then on Monday it was the featured set on the Comeuniqueation show on Radio Sity in Slovakia. Coming up soon will be airings on Dave Lambert's show on Top Radio in Belgium and Holland, as well as Cambia El Pitch on Miradio in Spain, with many more tbc.

Duduk and Future Sounds

Its remix-time again - finally getting cracking on my mix of Antena vs Ian Carry - "Duduk", more as it happens. Not really the place for it here since this is my site rather than the Oven Ready one but I have to mention just how fired up I am about the forthcoming releases on my label. J-Punch - "Red Blood" and Crystal Company - "Shock The Beat" are shaping up very nicely indeed, while coming up there's Korovin feat. Keith Thompson - "I Live For Now" and Openair feat. Gram'ma Funk - "Hi Roller". Also looking further into the future there's Pimenov - "Rockstar", DJ Romeo - "Inside", Frost - "Save Me" (the follow-up to the massive "Wait For Me") and much more in the pipeline...

BSR launch finally happens

After a false start due to the London bombings, then the big security alerts again yesterday, we were beginning to think that Timo Garcia may have been jinxed, but the Berwick Street Launch party did eventually happen, and I've got the hangover to prove it. Big thanks to Grayson Shipley from Deepgroove who leant over just in the nick of time to flick a switch and sort out the non-functioning CDJ-1000 right at the start of my rather shaky set - cheers bro, I was in a flap :) Anyway, the tunes seemed to go down well, particularly Openair - "Hi Roller" (Thomas Gold Remix), Thomas Schumacher - "Yara" and Pimenov - "Rockstar"...

... and good luck to Timo Garcia for his first ever single release!

Blue Juice & Boat Parties

Just got back from a marathon weekend in Estonia and Russia - it was all good - Friday in Parnu for Club Tallinn, Saturday in St.Petersburg for a boat party and Sunday in Tallinn for the House Arena at the Sundance festival... Big ups to all the peeps I hung out with: Katya (Plastique tour manager and ear guard), Raymond "Rastaman" Baaklini, Nadja (tequila and blue juice babe/mentalist), Widenski (perpetually tired Macadam head honcho and Prive manager), J-Dot P (Swedish power house DJ), Dimix and Illi (the ever-smiling Belgian contingent), James Mowbray & Nicky (speechless on national TV!), Daniel Achilles (world famous Swedish percussionist and drei-ecke virtuoso), Jay & Kati (the Finnish/Bulgarian posse) and all the others I've failed to mention in my over-tired haze... The lovely Illi filmed the set on Sunday night so will upload some clips when she sends the tape over (and I figure out how to do it!)

Summer Session 2005

I've finally got round to putting together my new mix session, a rare occurence since I'm usually always too darn busy. CDs will be going out to radio stations, promoters, etc shortly but as always it gets online first - download it here (60 MB mp3 so only for broadbanders). Tracklisting as follows:

01. Sharon Phillips - "Want 2 Need 2" (Trentemoller Mix) - Brickhouse
02. Trophy Twins - "Dutty Rhythm" - Groove Digital
03. R-Tem - "The Other Side" - White Label
04. Coloursound - "Fly With Me" (Paradise Soul Mix) - White Label
05. Miami Dub Machine "Be Free With Your Love" (Deepgroove Mix) - UMM
06. Coburn - "We Interrupt This Program" - Great Stuff
07. Korovin feat. Keith Thompson - "I Live For Now" (David Vendetta Mix) - Oven Ready
08. Knarf FC - "Fortune" (Elektrokid vs Dave Lambert Mix) - Mostiko
09. Crystal Company - "Shock The Beat" (Korovin Mix) - Oven Ready
10. Dave Lambert - "Yeah" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Mostiko
11. Mint Royale - "Singing In The Rain" (Mike Monday Dub) - Direction
12. J-Punch - "Red Blood" (R-Tem Remix) - Oven Ready
13. J Dot P - "Sharing is Caring" - White Label
14. Trick & Kubic - "Orbital Dance Machine" - Great Stuff
15. Openair - "Laying Low" - Oven Ready

Love to know what people think, so please email me or leave a message in the guestbook :)

Berwick Street Launch Postponed

Due to the unfortunate events in London last week, the launch party for Berwick Street Records didn't take place and has been postponed to the 21st July. Same venue, same DJs, and same great choons...

July Gigs

As mentioned before, I'll be at Industry for the Berwick Street Records label launch this Thursday. Should be a good one. Next week-end is ultra busy, on Friday the 15th I'll be at Club Tallinn in Parnu in Estonia, for two separate sets in each room (one breaks, one house), then on Saturday 16th I'm heading off to St.Petersburg in Russia to play a boat party on the river, then on Sunday night I'll be back in Tallinn, to play the closing set in the House Arena at the SDMF festival (Macadam and Oven Ready are hosting the Sunday this year - should go well and truly off if last year was anything to go by!) Then on 30th July I'll be playing the UCOH stage at Global Gathering in Stratford back in the UK, along with Eddie F, Dean Facer, Sonny Wharton and more... Can't wait!

Locked Away

I've been locking myself away in the studio recently. The Rob Da Bank mix album for Fabric is finished. It's really good, really varied musically, going from minimal click stuff to funky stuff to techno to indie rock to classic house to whatever... Not sure when it's out, but the vibe from Fabric is that it's one of the best ones in the series so I'm really pleased to have been involved in it...

Now if you see previous posts, you'll have seen me going on about a track called "Yeah" by Dave Lambert. Well I'm chuffed to say I'm remixing it right now for Mostiko Records in Belgium, and I'm extremely happy with how it's coming along. I've also been thinking about ditching the Philter pseudonym and starting to do remixes under my own name, so this might well become the first Moussa Clarke remix ever.

As soon as this is done and dusted I'll be working on a remix of "Duduk" which is a track by my good friend Andre Sedlak aka DJ Antena, over in Bratislava in Slovakia, but more on that next week...

Juju Magic

I recently finished remixing Bhooka & T-Bone's "Juju" under my Philter pseudonym, and it's forthcoming on Leeds-based Player Records. I've added my current analogue synthy electro house vibe to it, but kept the original brass riffs and vocals, and it's been getting great reactions when I've played it out... You can get exclusive digital promos now from Traxsource, with vinyl available 11th July.

Berwick Street Records

On Thursday 7th July I'll be joining DJs Bill Brewster, Fluency and a load of others spinning for the launch party of my good mate Timo Garcia's new label, Berwick Street Records. It's all happenning at Industry, 1 Curtain Road, London EC2. Big disco wigs optional.

Steve Lawler Does Donna

As some of you might know I've been working with a certain DJ by the name of Steve Lawler recently, in my studio engineer/producer/programmer guise. We've just put the finishing touches to his forthcoming remix of Donna Summer - "I Feel Love" tonight (He's actually in a hotel room in New York, I'm sitting in the studio here in London and we're sending each other soundclips via AIM - ah the wonders of modern technology!)

If you've heard either me or Steve playing recently then you'll probably have heard some early versions being road-tested - reactions have been excellent. Keep an eye out for it later in the year, it's forthcoming on Universal and should be laaaaaarge...

Dutch Interview

For those of you that speak Dutch, I was recently interviewed for Go Magazine, prior to my gig at Club Pepper in The Netherlands. You can check out the interview online here or download it as a pdf here.

Hot to trot

Some tunes that have been staples of my set of late!

Filthy Rich - "Dirty Freak" - UMM
Been around for a while and still doing it. Dark and fierce!
J-Punch - "Red Blood" (R-Tem Remix) - Oven Ready
R-Tem's remix is floaty and blissy but packs enough electro punch - out later this summer with Gee & Lighter's take on the flip
Spinky & Funky vs 50 Cent - "Candy Shop Bootleg" - CDR
One of those get out of jail crowd recognition tunes, but all good!
Alter Ego - "Rocker" (Deepgroove Remix) - CDR
Never released, and judging by reaction last weekend that needs to be remedied quickly
Coloursound - "Fly With Me" (Paradise Soul Mix) - CDR
This definitely isn't getting a release, but the instrumental is receiving a brand new vocal re-rub, and coming out on Playtime as Stretch Silvester - "What You Want"
Coburn - "We Interrupt This Program" - Great Stuff
Just been confirmed as the new Citroen ad music, so should follow in Jacques Lu Cont's footsteps and into the charts
Korovin feat. Keith Thompson - "I Live For Now" (David Vendetta Remix) - Oven Ready
Huge with Messrs. Roger Sanchez and Steve Lawler, and due out in September
Paradise Soul - "Moscow Rendez-Vous" - Kinky
Electronic summer bliss from Mike and Stretch
Dave Lambert - "Yeah" - Mostiko
This one seems to be growing with every play. HUGE record!
Rune - "Never Alone" - Arti Farti
Sounds like a hit-in-waiting to me. The vocal is large as...

Other Recent Gig Shenanigans

Quick round-up of the three week-ends before the Love Key tour :)



I was in Moscow on 21st May for one night - played at Club Neo, which always has a really good crowd. It was basically a Heineken concept party, a DJ battle between me and Pimenov (one of my favourite Russian DJ/Producers). Anyway, we both "won" so wound up playing back to back and partying... I also appeared on Pimenov's radio show on Dinamit FM earlier in the evening - playing some upfront Oven Ready promos and generally shooting the breeze with Pima... Top, top night.

Weekend after I was in Kazakhstan. I love it over there - the people are really friendly and the parties are really good. It was great to catch up with old friends and also to make some new ones. I was interviewed for the local music TV station, Hit TV and also for Shahar Radio. The first place I played was called Di Wang, more of a lounge than a club, and not really the kind of gig I'm used to, but I managed to pull it off (I think :). Da Freak afterwards was more what I'm accustomed to, much more full on! It's currently Almaty's best club, and they've just had a new room added to it, which is great... Bumped into Tom Baker over there, a tech-house DJ who I've been in email contact with for ages, so it was cool to finally put a face to the jottings :) Wound up in a club called Most till the early hours of the morning and don't think I would have left if the promoter hadn't dragged me back to the hotel... Anyway big Oven Ready greetz to Vasilyi, Simeon, Nour, Sergey and the rest of the peeps I met and hung out with: Timoffey, Sniper, Lalita, Olya, Misha, Angel etc etc... Cant wait to come back...



Then finally the week after I was in Holland, for my first gig there in ages (last one was for Chemistry in Amsterdam about 4 years ago!) This time I played Club Pepper in the northern city of Groeningen, and it didn't disappoint. It was absolutely wicked - rammed to the rafters with an extremely enthusiastic crowd, and really nice to see so much care and attention going into decor and art direction. Resident Sebastian Davidson and my fellow guest Eric De Man played great sets. Hoping to get back there at some point soon!

Having a well-deserved rest this weekend after last week's Russian insanity. Keep an eye on the schedule pages on the Oven Ready website for forthcoming gigs...

Rob Da Bank

Tomorrow I'm going to be working with Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank, who's putting together the next in the series of the Fabric Live albums. I'm wearing my studio engineer hat in this instance, and I've been drafted in to twiddle the knobs as it were...

Earlier today, a box of records turned up on a courier bike from Rob, mostly vinyl which is all very heart-warmingly old-school, considering how most DJs (including myself) are relying increasingly on CDs, with Pioneer CDJ1000s fast replacing Technics SL1200's as the essential piece of club equipment.

The irony is I'll be recording each track onto the hard drive and doing the whole mix in Ableton Live, which if you dont already know, is definitely the only way to do a mix compilation these days (unless youre the show-off scratch-ing type).

I'm really looking forward to meeting Rob, I've listened to his show a couple of times and I really liked its eclecticism and sense of humour - there was one track on the show "When Oxytocin Goes Wrong" which made me fall off my chair laughing due to it being one of the most chemically deranged things I've ever heard. Absolutely inspired...

Love Key Mini-Tour in Russia

Last weekend was a marathon to say the least - a mini-tour of Russia, ostensibly to help promote my latest single, "Love Key". I managed to cover quite a few air miles (and road and rail miles) - 4 gigs over 3 nights in 3 different cities in different corners of the vast country that is Russia - how did I cope? Read on...

Left London on Thursday after a hectic couple of days back at the Oven Ready hq (I'd been away for 10 days previously so my inbox was overflowing - and still is!), managed to board my flight to Moscow after a minor ticket hiccup, then when I got there a mad scramble to find the rep with my tickets to Siberia and back... 3 or 4 hours later (and 6 hours ahead of GMT so early Friday morning) I land in Omsk, and am greeted by my old buddy Sasha who runs and promotes Citrus Club. Manage to grab some rest, then later meet at the clubs restaurant for some lunch (Russian summer speciality Okroshka, which is a chilled cucumber, dill and cream soup, then Lamb Shashlik - yum yum yum) followed by a walk round Omsk. It's a fairly laidback place, and, contrary to preconceptions in Western Europe, Siberia is blisteringly hot in the summer. The river front is a hive of activity, more like a seaside vibe complete with beach and waterfront bars... We're near the border with Kazakhstan, and there's a distinctly Asian vibe about some of the city...

Later that night its time for the party - the club is wicked - top sound system and lavish decor. The DJ booth looks onto the dancefloor from a huge half orange up on a stage to one side, while mirroring it on the other side is the vip room, a sort of black metallic globe jutting out from the wall. Russia celebrates Independence Day this weekend, and for some reason they failed to give Omsk the Saturday off, but despite this the club is busy enough and the night goes off. I step up to the decks around 2am and do my thing and then leave things to the (excellent) resident to finish off.

After I finish playing, I always like to drink, hang out and meet people in the crowd (and usually wind up dancing like a tw*t till I get dragged back to the hotel by the promoters) and tonight is no exception... The rest of the night goes by all too quickly and before I know it I'm on the early morning plane back to Moscow (and still very drunk)

By the time I reach Domodedovo airport my drunkenness has inevitably begun morphing into a nausea-inducing hangover and I realise I need to get an appointment with a large bottle of fluid and some aspirin. I manage to drag myself onto my flight to St.Peterburg and by the time I get there I'm feeling better... I'm met by Misha, my friend and also my main booking agent in Russia. We head back to his house and I manage to freshen up and rest before my train ride to Petrazavodsk.

Now I love taking the train - there's something really relaxed about it. I get on planes most weekends and although they're quick and convenient there's an inherent stress about them... Also, Russian trains are great - for a start they're huge, our little English trains look like nervous whippets next to these majestic St.Bernards, and they run on time, which is something alien to British society, as anyone who lives here will tell you. I climb into my bed in the train berth and settle back for the long journey North-West...

When I get there its 1:00am and its still light - summer time is time for the White Nights in Northern Russia. Those of you who've experienced it will know that its slightly disorientating (in a good way) - I'm met by Pavel and the lovely Katya, and a short drive later we're at the venue for the first party of the night.

And what a party! The place is heaving with the most gorgeous and up for it crowd I've seen in ages and the vibe is absolutely having it... The venue is a bowling alley and billards hall by day, but they've decorated the whole place so its unrecognisable as such. A female DJ from St.Petersburg is playing electro clash stormers on the main dancefloor, and rocking it... I cant wait to get onto the decks. And later thats exactly what I do - the buzz is huge from start to finish of my set - opening gambit is the classic "In The Beginning There Was House" speech followed by Paradise Soul's sadly never to be released remix of Coloursound - "Fly with Me". I'm really feeding off the audience's vibe and having a ball - biggest reaction of the night goes to Dave Lambert's excellent "Yeah" which is currently tearing dancefloors apart for me... A few hours later local hero Leo comes up to take over, and I head into the crowd for what seems like only 1 minute before the promoter comes and grabs me: "We need to take you to the next gig now" (But I don't want to leave!)

So off we go to "Velvet" - it's small but perfectly formed, with a glam yet unpretentious crowd. The promoter is extremely affable and a few drinks later I'm ready for the second instalment of the night. I fly into the set and try to find the right groove for the club, early peak comes in the form of Spinky and Funky's wicked electro house bootleg of 50 Cent's "Candy Shop", but the top reactions are for later, again Dave Lambert's "Yeah", and also Thin White Duke's mix of The Killers - "Mr.Brightside". One girl is literally screaming at the top of her voice when I bring it in... After the set, I sit and chat with the promoters then head back to meet up with the first clubs promoters back at the hotel, who are having a properly bling after party (!), but before things descend into Bachannalian excess the car is here to take me and a couple of the other DJs back to St.Petersburg.

Only a couple of hours of sleep later I'm picked up from the hotel by Misha's friend Katya who shows me around St.Petersburg's beautiful city centre and plies me with Sushi. Then it's straight off to Red Club for the final leg of the tour. Red Club boasts a relatively young and up for it crowd, and a real underground vibe as opposed to the more glitzy St.petersburg haunts. On the decks when I arrive are local DJs "Good & Bad" who are actually just "Good". Come 2:00am I'm exhausted but I manage to find the energy from somewhere for another 2 hour set (highlights are the David Vendetta remix of Korovin - "I live for now" - out on Oven Ready in September, peeps - and Deepgroove's remix of Alter Ego - "Rocker" which turns the place upside down - Skint if you're listening you need to release this!) At 5:30am I finally manage to get back to the hotel, but not after having experienced a storming set by local legend Arram Montana...

...and then on Monday afternoon I fly back to London after my manic weekend, while today I struggle to keep my eyes open. Thanks to Plastique for organising everything. Looks like I will be back in Russia later in the summer - can't wait :)

El Bloggo

Finally got round to sorting out my own personal DJ site, but rather than doing the traditional thing (i.e. biography, links to mixes, booking info, tour dates etc - yawn) thought it might be cooler to do it as a blog.

So here I will be scribbling news of upcoming events and productions, as well as reports on my gigs and travels, tunes that are currently floating my boat, international cuisine, or pretty much any inane ramblings that I feel like...

And if you do need the trad stuff, you can always check Oven Ready (my record label and booking agency) where you will find all the info you need... Links are on the right of the home page.

Big Love,
Moose