Jack The Box

Gimme A Bassline -- DJ Kurt vs DJ Pikey -- Lethal Theory
Missing You -- Tom Park (Gammer Remix)- Muffin Music
Live On And On And On -- Gammer & Recon -- Muffin Music
Take Me to Heaven -- Hixxy feat. Taya -- Raver Baby
Phat Bass -- Warp Brothers v Aquagen (Re-Con Remix) -- Twista
Rush -- Adam J & Freestyle -- Electronic Bedlam
Surrender -- Eruption (Impact & Haze Remix) -- Recycled Records
Ravers Groovin’ -- Eufeion (S3RL Remix) -- Liquid Hardcore
Fix Me -- Velvet (Re-Con Remix) -- Twista
No-One Else -- Anon. -- Ballistic Bootlegs
Hold On Me -- Flyin’, Sparky & Charm -- Turbulence Hardcore
Closer Now -- Impact -- Recycled Records
Super Good -- Dab Hands (Sy & Unknown Remix) -- Quosh Records
Bustin’ -- Al Storm -- 24/7 Records
Deep In The Night -- Hixxy -- Raver Baby
Free (Magic Potion For Love) -- Nakatomi -- Red Label
See The Light -- Paradise (Sy & Unknown Remix) -- Quosh Records
All I Want -- Impact & Resist feat. Lisa Abbott (Sy & Unknown Remix) -- Warped Science

*How is 2010 treating you??2010 has been great so far!

Work is going well and I’ve been doing a little traveling. I’m loving the winter so far and I can’t wait for summer! There are two shows that I’m booked for right now that will absolutely blow everything from last year out of the water. I’m super excited for Bassgasm! I’m looking forward to this show more than anything I’ve played at in Minneapolis in the last 5 years!
I’m also playing at what looks to be the largest hardcore show ever in the US in April. “Uniting Nations” in Washington DC. It will be co-produced by the HTID guys from the UK along with Ravers Only out of NYC on April 24th.
2010 is also the final year of my professional DJ career. I’ve had an amazing run spanning 2 decades. I’ve achieved every goal I had when I started and I have been extremely lucky to have gotten to experience it all.
Unfortunately over the last few years my ears have started to develop a bit of tinnitus (constant ringing) and if I continue to DJ regularly it will potentially cause severe and permanent hearing damage. This is combined with the fact that there are other amazing hardcore DJs coming up through the scene right now. Thus, it’s time for me to step aside. These new guys and gals are way more talented than I could ever hope to be so all of you will be in very good and capable hands for providing amazing music for years to come.
That said, Bassgasm will be my last ever public performance in Minneapolis. How lucky am I that my last show in Minneapolis will be one with such amazing talent thrown by the godfather of the Minneapolis scene himself?! I can’t wait to see you all there!
I’ll keep my website, spreeandadb.com, up and running for the foreseeable future, and I’ll even upload a new mix every now and then.  There are over 70 full length mixes of mine online there right now for free download!
*What is you best memory of MPLS? and playing outside our state??

I can’t narrow it down to just one. There are way too many good memories I have of Minneapolis! My top few are “Return to the Source” that Woody put on in 1997 at First Ave. Just watching the guys at that show really made me push myself as a DJ. Stairway to Headphones… ‘nuf said. A show I co-produced in 2000 at Profile called “Pandemonium” was another top memory for me.
Outside of our state… getting to be a headliner in the hardcore room at the 1998/1999 Drop Base NYE event in Milwaukee was a major experience for me. A ’small’ event in Omaha in 1999 that pulled in over two-thousand kids and I got to play from 1-2am in the main room that received a small write-up in URB is more than memorable. Getting to meet so many like-minded energetic people who had their heart in the right place. Being fortunate enough to be a headliner in just about every major city in North America at least once. All of the Furthers, the Shawnee cave parties, getting to watch thousands of kids exploding into a dance frenzy right in front of my eyes… yeah, those are the best memories.
*What kind of vibe are you currently playing?
I still play the same style that I always played, UK Hardcore. The production quality has come along incredibly far over the last 15 years or so, but the underlying energy is still there. It’s 180+ BPM euphoric and high energy music designed to make people dance without any inhibitions at all.
*What other artists are you into?
Musically I have always been into classical and jazz. Guys like Bach, Tchaikovski, Coltrane, Parker, etc. I have a soft spot for any electronic music genre that is heavily influenced by jazz, such as Drum and Bass by LTJ Bukem, High Contrast, Hospital Records, etc.
*You have been a headlining DJ for nearly 15 years now. what are two notable changes in the past 10 years at events you play in america?
First, the most notable change has been the extreme decline of the number of events that aren’t in ‘proper clubs’ over the last 5-10 years. Back in 1997 -- 2001 it seemed as though every major city would have a large scale event every Friday and Saturday night. It wasn’t uncommon for me to travel to Atlanta on a Friday and then San Francisco on a Saturday for gigs nearly every weekend, back then. What really strikes me as odd is that there doesn’t seem to be a youth oriented music movement that’s replaced the rave scene as far as I’m aware. Prior to that it was hippies, then disco and punk, then industrial and rave… but now what is there? I’m probably just old and out of touch.
The second most notable change is the dramatic shift to digital formats for DJs. I still play vinyl exclusively, and in the last year I’ve had at least two situations where the promoters didn’t have fully functional turntables when I showed up to play because it had been a while since someone came through who didn’t play CDs or use Seratto. Now, no longer do you book a DJ because they have access to rare tracks that they found in some obscure record shop that were test-press promos. Everyone has access to all of the same music and the only differentiator is in the composition of a set. The only exception to this is the producer that plays primarily their own music.
*Do you have any thoughts on playing at Bassgasm??

When I saw the flyer, I immediately felt like it was 1999 again! I was beyond stoked. What I’m most interested in is if people will come to the party with the same sense of open mind that it seemed like people had back then. I’m hopeful that people will go in being intent on dancing and having a shared transcendent experience with complete strangers that’s focused around really loud and energetic electronic music.
*Are there any 80’s rock, funk or pop artists from MPLS that you were influenced by??

Sadly no. I spent a lot of time studying the UK hardcore DJs that were exclusive to England when I was first getting started in the mid-90s. They were the ones I took all of my cues from. From the style of mixing all the way down to the role that a DJ plays beyond just a guy playing music.
*How are you feeling about DJing now that it has gone digital for the most part? do you miss record shopping??

I totally understand why it went this way, as it’s a lot more convenient for DJs. Carrying records around gets heavy, and you’re really limited by the physical medium. When I travel I can only bring 60 records, but if I was fully digital I could have my entire collection with me at all times. It’s unfortunate though that people these days who are just learning how to DJ won’t have the opportunity to do so via purely analogue means. They now have the benefit of beat counters, and other tools to simplify the process which could potentially dilute the creativity of figuring it out on your own. I’d also be lying if I didn’t say that I’m bummed though that it’s completely diminished the financial value of my records and my equipment. My stuff is now essentially worthless, other than the emotional value it holds to me. I still shop for records, but I’ve been doing that online since the late 90s due to the difficulty in getting good UK Hardcore in domestic shops.
*Give us a favorite famous quote from someone that will inspire us!?”

If you always do what you always did you’ll always be what you always were.”
interview by Woody McBride
Our Next guest is from Iowa, DJ Aktif is a part of the Mindoutpsyde and from I hear has been known to throw some pretty amazing and well produced Trance events in the midwest.

AKTIF

 
DOWNLOAD MIX HERE
*How is 2010 treating you?
2010 was good before it even arrived. Activity is flourishing right now amongst the trance and EDM community, peoples and my own ever evolving perceptions of music are getting refined on a daily basis. This refinement personally brings me the motivation, inspiration and creativity to be as busy in the studio as I have been. With three live projects in the works, a psychedelic trance, raunchy down-tempo and psychedelic minimal techno, I stay busy when not busy. As the movement gains more and more momentum, more perceptions will be enlightened and that is going to put a smile on all of our faces.
*What is your best memory of MPLS? And playing outside our state?
In MPLS I would definitely say that it was the first “Satisfied” party that Uncensored US threw. I was playing on the main stage amongst a slew of EDM monsters. When I play, I play from my heart, from my soul. I have a strong tendency to be wilder then the crowd, something I didn’t see too much of. That night, I felt my performance impact everyone in that room. I felt the crowd feel what I was feeling, the gates of genre fell for everyone in the room, it wasn’t about music any more, and it was about something greater that we were all sharing. Seeing the reciprocity for my love and passion for the music I played that night will live on with me forever. The ability to channel this reciprocity through my music is now a never fulfilled reason for my existence.
Outside of the state, I would say that it was Gemini in Northern California. This festival had the most amazing vibe of any festival I have been to, it felt utopian. The location was something out of your dreams, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with a beach alongside the amazing dance floor, amazing. Musically it was the most defining representation of what the musical flow throughout the weekend should be like. Just perfection all around
*What kind of vibe are you currently playing?
Currently I am really digging foresty sounds with an emphasis on groove, to me it is all about the music’s ability to make you move induce rhythm and make you WANT to dance. I play all styles of Psytrance, with an emphasis on darker minimal sounding stuff. Also I have been re-exploring the techno side of things. Psychedelic minimal techno is just amazing; lot of inspiration is derived from techno, the brilliance being its simplicity. When I play, I always pay special mind to the dancer; I treat them as I like to be treated.
*What other artists are you into?
First off kudos on this question. The genera-typing epidemic now a day’s makes this question very nice to answer for me. I am into many styles and artists.
In the Psytrance realm, artists include: Grapes of Wrath, Mubali, Whrikk, Syntax Error, Manic Bubbles, Arjuna, Ajja, Atriohm, Encephalopaticys, Onkel Dunkel, Kerosene Club, Orestis, Jellyheadz and the list goes to infinity.
Chillout/Prog/Downtempo : Sensient, Bufo, Minimal Criminal, Androcell, Perfect Stranger
Techno: Alexi Delano, A. Mochi, Shin Nishimura, Mustafa Advik, ESP Woody McBride, Andy Kohlman to name a few.
*What are two notable changes in the past 10 years at events you throw and play at?
The first is the Genre-Typing garbage that I see all too frequently. It used to be all about diversity and going to listen to audio you’ve never heard before. Still many people embrace this concept. Now I meet so many people who don’t think it’s cool to listen to anything other than techno, or anything but psytrance. This is very alarming because it provides artists with motivation to write cookie cutter material that’s intent is to be as digestible as possible, by as many people as possible. With attitudes like that stoking the fires of the artist’s creativity music will start becoming mainstream.
Secondly I would say the effect of all the emerging technologies that are available for audio quality has made audio quality an important issue. You hear better sounds, on better sound systems. The advent of this technological boom has left us hungry for “what’s next”, this curiosity is keeping people in front of speakers, which keeps me smiling. Seeing the demand for this motivates me personally to try stay on the bleeding edge of ideas and techniques and not settle for “what works”.
*What is your next production release?
My next release is on a compilation being put together by Anomalistic Records out of Oregon. The title of this compilation is “Gemini, We the People”; it should be available in May as a digital release.
*Do you have any thoughts on playing at Bassgasm?
I am so excited and honored. Woodys events are on a legendary echelon from my perspective. To be able to play part in not only the music behind the event, but help on the organization of it, is bliss. Kudos to Woody to bringing the tribes together for this event. Keeping sight on the common goal at hand, providing people with unforgettable EDM experiences, and do it on the grandest scale possible. The deco for that night will be wild, right there with the music and vibe. Gasms of all sorts will be happening all over the place, I can’t wait.
*Are there any 80’s rock, funk or pop artists from MPLS that you were influenced by?
Well I am from Russia. Being raised by an un-Americanized household, my parents did not pass down their musical tastes onto me. Or at least anything from the US. My mom is a doctorate in classical piano performance so that is the beginnings of music for my and what I was raised on. In the beginnings I listened to everything from Alice in Chains to Zeppelin. Then I discovered EDM, and realized that this is the reason I have listened to music all my life…To find what I have found in EDM.
*How are you feeling about DJing now that it has gone digital for the most part? Do you miss record shopping?
In my opinion, if the producer making the music intended his music to have hiss, pops and other analog “artifacts” in their music, they would’ve added them. No need for a turntable to add noise! I play CD on CDJ and always have; I don’t do laptop mixing and have never played records. Besides, the advent of digital distribution makes “record shopping” so much easier and more intuitive.
*Give us a favorite famous quote from someone that will inspire us!
“I can, I will.” Not famous but it says it all.
Interview by Woody McBride