Album of the Month: Bonobo – North Borders

Simon Green (also known as Bonobo) released his fifth album on May 21 and it has been the soundtrack to our summer, we're sure its influence will continue to echo throughout the UK. The album is a noticeable departure from Green’s fourth release Black Sands but without any shocking changes of direction – the transition feels smooth and will please both old and new fans of Bonobo.

North Borders’ production is ever so slightly slicker than we’ve seen before in Bonobo, with sparkling synths resounding away in the background of some of the warmest sounding house released this year. High profile guest musician Erykah Badu provides the best collaboration on the album in ‘Heaven for the Sinner’, Badu’s timeless vocals the perfect accompaniment to Bonobo’s cavernous and soulful sound.

At times recalling James Blake and Four Tet the album encapsulates the depth and elegance of the post-dubstep, post-dancefloor sound which has emerged out of electronic music in the past few years. It may be described as safe by some, and by others perhaps compared to more experimental efforts such as Mount Kimbie’s Cold Spring Faultless Youth. However North Borders is described well by its album art – a mysterious and beautiful place resounding with gentle beats and a charm that lies in their slow-moving subtlety.

The tracklisting of the album is as follows:

1. First Fires
2. Emkay
3. Cirrus
4. Heaven for the Sinner
5. Sapphire
6. Jets
7. Towers
8. Don't Wait
9. Know You
10. Antenna
11. Ten Tigers
12. Transits
13. Pieces

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Global Gathering 2013

Taking place over the 26 and 27 July, there’s a reason Global Gathering was named Best Dance Event at the UK Festival Awards 2012 – it always has incredible dance line-ups. Global Gathering has long since established itself as the UK's most cutting edge and forward thinking electronic music festival brand.

In 2012 the likes of Tinie Tempah, Skrillex, Knife Party, Magnetic Man, Afrojack and Annie Mac got the place jumping. This year the lineup is populated with dance megastars Example, Katy B, Annie Mac and Netsky.

More than any other electronic music festival Global Gathering combines awe-inspiring music with a super honed and slick production operation, bringing experience and innovations from the international festival circuit to the UK, for a truly unique festival experience every year.

Line Up: Plan B, Disclosure, Rudimental, Major Look, Example, Katy B, Annie Mac and Netsky. More TBA.

For more information and tickets check out their website

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Artist of the Month: MK

Marc ‘MK’ Kinchen made a name for himself as the producer and DJ behind the hit singles ‘Always’ and ‘Love Changes’ in 1993 and 1994. He then went on to record the underground club classic ‘Burning’. In 2002, Kinchen became the in-house producer for the actor and singer Will Smith, as well as producing for the rest of the Smith family - Willow and Jaden.

As one of the leading house producers of his generation, MK’s mixes can be heard in almost every corner of the global house scene and beyond – even superficial listeners whose furthest knowledge of house is the UK top 40 will recognize his work.

The American house producer is responsible for the iconic remix of Nightcrawler’s ‘Push the Feeling On’ which is known to most as the basis of Pitbull's international hit record, ‘Hotel Room’. This is the tip of the iceberg – MK has remixed and been sampled by artists as diverse as Lana Del Ray, Dev, Enrique Iglesias, Ellie Goulding, Crosstown Rebels, Jamie Jones, Lee Foss and Tricky.

MK’s legacy continues to grow - he’ll be taking over the Ibiza superclubs this summer and you can be sure to catch his classic house sound – wherever you are - spun out at any half-decent club near you.

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Event Review: Ritual London at Under the Bridge 27/04/2013

As the third Ritual event to grace the dancefloor of state-of-the-art West London venue Under the Bridge, this party upped its game once again to bring together a lineup of some of the hottest names in UK electronic music, featuring X-Press 2, Hot Since 82, Prins Thomas, Lumi and Balou & JDP.

Since Ritual London’s residency began at Chelsea’s Under the Bridge in February it has been a beacon of quality underground nightlife in a usually mainstream area renowned for its glamorous crowd and style-over-substance events. Ritual’s genre-bending music policy spans a wide scope of electronic music whilst keeping a sharp focus on both the cutting-edge and the well-established side of EDM talent, resulting in an East London-style party on the west side of town.

The swanky, 500 capacity club is relatively new and located underneath Chelsea Football Club's stadium, featuring high-end sound and a large LED screen behind the stage for visuals. The club’s superior sound and visuals were impossible to ignore throughout the night with the unique LED screen providing an impressive backdrop to the stage and elevating the clubbing experience to near-festival proportions in terms of overwhelming, intricate staging.

Topping the lineup for the night, Ritual saw legendary dance music duo X-Press 2 take to the decks. The club culture royalty and house music pioneers proved that they remain as popular and influential today as they were in the 90s, when they first broke the scene, during their euphoric, headlining set. Norwegian ‘space-disco’ DJ and record producer Prins Thomas also appeared on the bill, a purveyor of hypnotic, blissed-out beats, with Balou & JDP and live electronic act Lumi on warm-up duty, spinning their signature pounding, techno sound earlier on in the night.

Widely regarded as one of the hottest figures in the UK dance scene right now, Hot Since 82 brought his infectious, dancefloor-smashing brand of deep house to the lineup. The Leeds-based DJ and producer was at the top of his game, dropping banger after banger, with the night reaching an apex of house-induced frenzy at ‘Leave Me’, the recent Moda Black single featuring Habischman.

Ritual at Under the Bridge looks set to become a mainstay of the UK dance scene, having proven itself to be a truly unique and exciting clubbing experience.

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Restaurant Review: Itadaki Zen

Whatever your position on Itadaki Zen, it certainly has one thing no other restaurant in Europe can boast: the title of Europe’s only vegan, all-organic, Japanese restaurant. A diminutive but welcoming space, Itadaki Zen is nestled in the heart of King's Cross.

With a façade straight out of a high street in Feudal Japan, Itadaki Zen lures visitors in with rustic, oriental hemp drapes partitioning off the rooms and authentic Japanese produce for sale on shelves. Perhaps as a long-time nihongophile myself, it was my personal affinity for all things Far Eastern that evoked the genuinely Zen-like calm which descended as I crossed the threshold into the restaurant, but it does, detectably, evince a refreshing and peaceful atmosphere.

With disembodied, tinkling instrumental music radiating softly in the background, old leather menu covers and vintage oriental screens,  Itadaki Zen has enough charm to move the most hard-hearted of food critics. If you’re a sucker for a restaurant with a heart, look no further than Itadaki Zen - with a note in the menu politely reminding visitors not to waste any food and no expense spared to keep all ingredients organic (including the excellent soy sauce), it successfully vindicates its vegan food policy. The restaurant’s ethics are only one side of its story, with substantial evidence that they are an enterprising holistic health project, soothing body, mind and soul with its superfood-rammed menu and medicinal herbal teas.

The service is satisfactory and the variety, for a vegan restaurant, is surprisingly wide and balanced. For an original take on a traditional Japanese dish, the oriental herb sushi is highly recommended.

Perhaps a little too pretentiously New Age for some, Itadaki Zen is not for everyone but for foodies with a conscience and a penchant for gourmet Japanese cuisine or in-the-know Londoners, it is a must-visit venue worth deviating from one’s well-trodden path to visit. As for those with a sense of adventure or a taste for the exotic, it is also well worth a stopover.

Plan your visit on Itadaki Zen’s website.

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Criminal Minds Revamp Genre Classic ‘Baptised by Dub’

Tribe Steppaz have cooked up a re-edited and remixed version of Criminal Minds’ rave classic 'Baptised by Bub', downloadable and streamable on Soundcloud. Hurling ‘Baptised by Dub’ into the 21st century, the release features 2 new remixes and remastered versions of the original & the original remix.

The track is guaranteed to get any party thumping, pounding with 140bpm beats and a modern dub take on the classic Criminal Minds riff and twisting the original vocal samples, dub bass and jungle techno breaks into infectious new shapes.

After taking a short break from their record label, Tribe Steppaz have made the right decision in reviving it with this banging release.

Get it now on their Soundcloud.

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Entail presents Okie Dokie Warehouse Party with Speedy J 18/05/2013

On Saturday 18th May 2013 Okie Dokie meets Speedy J at London Bridge for a pure techno night presented by Entail Records. The Okie Dokie warehouse parties have been gaining a reputation, playing host to the likes of Marc Houle, Matador, Perc, Dominik Eulberg, Sascha Dive, Tobi Neumann, Robert Babicz and many more.

The event will feature a high-calibre lineup of cutting-edge artists. Jochem Paap, aka Speedy J, of warp records, will be topping the bill – a Rotterdam DJ widely considered a pioneering techno producer alongside Laurent Garnier, Aphex Twin and Richie Hawtin. Other standout artists include Chris Stanford of EarToGround fame and Jack & I.

The limited capacity event will sell 600 tickets in advance and more on the door. With a state of the art sound system, live visuals and exceptional music, this is one bash that is sure to sell out fast.

Get your tickets here.

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