Hardbeat Manifesto returns to Club Mission, Leeds on a new date, with a new door price and cheaper drinks on Friday 6th February

Returning with an explosive mix of Classics v Nubreed, we showcase some of the finest talent the UK Hard Dance has to offer and line them up alongside some of the most respected names the scene has ever seen.

HBM’s Kieron caught up with sexy starlets Nathalie and Helen G ahead of their peaktime back to back set to get the lowdown and see if they have managed to keep to their resolutions....

It’s been a while since I last caught up you both playing an explosive couple of sets at Contagious, how did the second half of 08 end for you both?

Helen: Hiya! The second half of 2008 ended really well for me, thank you. My DJ diary got busier and I was given the opportunity to play at some brilliant nights! I’ve got so many great memories from each night I’ve played for and I look forward to the ones in store!

Nathalie: 2008 ended on a great high thank you! Since you last saw me, I’ve played at some brilliant events such as Polysexual, Hard House Academy, Hard House Heaven and B2T, all peak-time sets which was great! I also had the chance to play some closing sets at both Contagious’ Beach Ball and Hard Nation where I got to show my tougher side and play some of my harder stuff! I was also made resident for Blessed which was great recognition for me as a DJ.

I also managed to get in the studio with Scott Fo-Shaw and Alf (Technikal) to make some of my own productions, which was a heap of fun! Fingers-crossed 2009 is as great if not better than 2008!

Did you make any resolutions for 09? Have you managed to stick to them?

Helen: I have always made New Year resolutions in the past but I’ve broken every single one of them so this year, I decided not to make any. Instead, I’m just going to make sure I party hard and work even harder to get to where I want to be!

Nathalie: I don’t really tend to make New Year’s resolutions as I’m pretty poop at sticking to them! However, I have decided I need to get saving for my Ibiza holiday in August as haven’t managed to save much and we’re off out there for 2 weeks, so need quite a bit of money if I want to make the most of it! So I guess saving money is my resolution for 2009!

I always say I’m going to cut back on bad food too, but then there’s an offer for Buy One Get One Free at Domino’s and that all goes out the window, which is what’s happening tonight in fact! Yummy!

You made quite an impact in 2008 with some pretty tasty gigs under your belt, what was the highlight for you?

Helen: Well, I don’t think I can really pinpoint one highlight from 2008 as I had several! Having the opportunity to play for amazing brands like Frantic, Slinky and Frenzy in clubs like MOS, The Opera House amongst others really meant the world to me. I was also made the new Frenzy resident for 2009, which I’m so excited about!!

Aside from the gigs, I also got a taste for production and was lucky enough to book some studio time with Alf (Technikal), from which we produced 2 original tracks (Don’t Stop and Get Down) and 2 remixes (Half A World Away and Get Fresh). When Alf said he wanted to sign Don’t Stop to his label, Technikal Recordings, I was thrilled and to see it get to #1 on Trackitdown was something really special for me.

Nathalie: The highlight was definitely playing in the main room of Koko at Frantic’s 11th Birthday back in August. I played back2back with Caz Wood and we just had the most amazing experience. Looking out at the crowd on the dancefloor and in the stalls up above was just incredible and I had to pinch myself to know I wasn’t dreaming! I used to go to all these major club nights when when I was only a clubber so to have played at them too was just a dream come true for me and one I am extremely grateful for and hope I will have again!

What do you have up your sleeves for the first half of this year?

Helen: Well, I’ve got a number of gigs lined up over the next couple of months which I’m really excited about…if you want to find out more, go to www.helengdsi.com ! I’m also going to be in the studio with Alf again to cook up some aural delights!

Nathalie: Well I have a fair few gigs lined up for February which is great, including the wonderful Hard Beat Manifesto! I am soooo excited about playing for you guys! I’m also playing at D-Railed, the Escape Gets Filthy “Tidy Valentine’s Special”, Frantic’s Timeless Afterparty, the Hard Dance Awards and another big night at the end of the month, which I believe has still not been announced so best not say! So all in all it’s a pretty big month for me.

I also have a couple of track releases in the pipeline. I have my new track ”Big Sky” coming out on Technikal Recordings in April and I have an EP coming out in a few months on AWsum with my tracks ”Hard House Musik”, “Feel the Pressure” and mine and Technikal’s collaboration ”Hoovergasm”. So watch this space!

I’m also planning to mix a new demo for March which will be filled with my hottest tracks of the moment and my new productions! So keep your eyes peeled for that.

If there is anyone out there who has missed the Nubreed wave, just what can they expect when watching you perform?

Helen: Lots of smiling, screaming, stomping and BADASS mixing!! Lol! ;-)

Nathalie: Well, as I love many sub-genres of hard dance, you’ll find me mixing it up in my sets. I love driving basslines with euphoric riffs and lush vocals. I also like bouncy basslines (although not donky!) so I like to put all this into my peak-time sets to keep things interesting and fun for the dancefloor!

When I get booked for warm-up sets though I do like to start off with more chunky and groovy tracks and build it up for the next DJ and when I get booked for late or closing sets, I like to end hard with some of my tougher tracks in my collection.

I mixed two demos last year, Phatt Phunker and Phatt Philth, aside from my main peak-time demo, to show people my varied styles and to bring a selection of my favourite funky and tougher tracks onto a mix. I don’t get to play those tracks often but I love mixing it all. I like to be versatile so I can adapt to the set time and crowd I’m playing to.

As a clubber, the one thing I loved to see in DJs was interaction with the crowd and a smile on their face! To see a DJ having fun made all the difference and I like to make sure I have fun when I’m behind the decks too! So when my tunes are beat matched and the mix is in, off goes my concentration face and on comes a smile and a wiggle! Haha!

Have you played in Leeds before? Do you find you have to tailor your set at all to suit the Northerners?

Helen: I haven’t had the opportunity to play in Leeds or even up North before so I’m very excited to see what the scene is like and if it differs from down South!
Nathalie: I have played in Leeds twice now. Once for V14gra and once for the 4Clubbers Xmas Party and I’ve been to a couple of Parlez-Vous too. I love the northern crowd! They’re all pretty hardcore aren’t they?! They’re always up for it and very approachable. They don’t seem to take themselves too seriously and just like to have fun!

As for tailoring my sets, as I like to mix it up in my sets anyway, I find I don’t have move away too much from the style I’ve initially thought of to play but if something isn’t flowing then I try something else.

What have you heard about Hardbeat Manifesto?

Helen: I’ve heard good things about the night through friends and “fellow DJs” but I have yet to experience the wonder that is Hardbeat Manifesto…looking forward to popping my cherry so to speak!

Nathalie: Not much really…just that it’s run by some overly-hairy Scottish yeti and a flame-haired hard trance guru. ;o)

Only jokinggggg! I have heard AND seen great things of HBM! Cally had the pleasure of playing there a few months back and said she had a really fun time and the crowd were great and I came up with Andy Whitby for the HBM vs. Tidy Xmas Party and I really enjoyed myself! In fact, I do believe, you were having a pretty good time too Kieron from what I saw of you! Hehe!

The line-ups are nicely varied and top quality…there’s something for everyone at HBM and I am very excited to have been asked to play for you, so thank you!

You have both dabbled in the studio recently, who do you like to work with and which producers should people keep their eyes on?

Helen: Well, one major talent who doesn’t always get the recognition that he deserves is the legend that is Alf Bamford aka Technikal! It’s hard to go out to a good Hard Dance night without hearing tracks that have either been made or engineered by him. His versatility astounds me every time I hear a new track that he’s done…he is, in 2 words, PURE GENIUS!

Other producers that I think are sh*t-hot are Tom Parr, Matt Lee and Kye Shand & Paul-F.

Nathalie: I’ve had the great pleasure of working with the Audiohedz, Scott Fo-Shaw and Technikal and they are all fantastic producers, and a great bunch of lads. I’ve also worked on a track with my good friend and up and coming producer Some Punk.

Most recently, I’ve worked with Alf and have made some awesome tracks with him as mentioned before which are due for release in the next few months. Working with him was so much fun! He’s a very cheeky chappy and there was never a dull moment with him. I’m definitely going to be working with him again that’s for sure! I have some ideas for tracks already lined up and I’m also going to be singing some more vocals for him after singing on my own track ”Big Sky” and his and Rob Tissera’s track “Don’t Say Goodbye” featured on Alf’s “Klubbed Together” album, out in February.

Other producers I rate highly are Matt Lee, Rodi Style, Tom Parr and MDA & Spherical. I’m planning a day in the studio with Rodi in March which I’m very excited about as we will be making a tougher track for my harder sets and demo.

Then I’m in the studio with Matt Lee (aka Gammer) to work on an original track. We’ll be doing two versions, one hardcore version for his hardcore sets and a hard dance version for my sets! I can not wait to work with him! I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to but he was told by my friend Debbie that I wanted to work with him and he said yes! Woo hoo! I think his hardcore and hard dance productions are AMAZING and I’m so excited to see what we come up with!

Tom Parr and MDA & Spherical have both recently been signed to the Andy Whitby’s AWsum record label, alongside Matt Lee, Klubfiller and Cally Gage and the tracks they’re churning out are awesome! Can’t wait to see what they’ve got up their sleeve in 2009!

What is the hot track in your box at the moment?

Helen: Time for the shameless plugging…! The hot track in my wallet is Half A World Away – my remix of Satellite engineered by Alf. The response I have had from everyone has been very positive!

Nathalie: Mr. Gallagher are you being dirty there?!! Naughty boy!

But back to the clean meaning of the question….am I allowed to say one of my own!? Only it does get the most reaction as it’s a remix of an amazing trance tune “Big Sky” by John O’Callaghan. There’s always one or more people in the crowd that know the original so I suddenly see their eyes light up and even head on over to ask the remix, which is a fantastic feeling!

I also re-sung the vocals for it so when there’s someone in the crowd that knows I did; they sometimes share that fact with others so I get asked if it’s really me. So far, I haven’t been told I sound like a strangled cat (although there’s still time!) but I have been told it doesn’t sound like me, probably as I sound too angelic in the vocal and don’t in real life! Haha!

If you could play any club in the world, where would it be and why?

Helen: Well, I’d have to say that I’d love to play at Amnesia in Ibiza as my friends have told me how absolutely awesome it is!! I think I’d wet myself with excitement if I was given the opportunity to play there!! ;-)

Nathalie: I would have to say both Space and Amnesia in Ibiza ….the main rooms at these two clubs are incredible and the sound systems are out of this world! Although the Space Terrace is amazing too so I’d also love to play there!

If money was no object who would you hand pick to play alongside you on your dream line-up?

Helen: Well, I think I’d have to say that my dream line-up would have to be made up of my friends: Cornthwaite, Olivia-Rose, Nathalie, Cally Gage, Caz Wood, Andy Whitby, DJ Tobias…all are brilliant DJs!

Nathalie: Oooh, I’d be spoilt for choice! Right….

Eddie Halliwell (BOSH live set), Daft Punk, Justice, Evil Nine, Alex Metric, Fatboy Slim and Armin Van Buuren. Then the hard-dancers would be Lisa Pin-Up, Cally Gage, Andy Whitby, Paul Glazby, Rob Tissera and Technikal. Maybe we’d have to spread them over a few rooms! :o)

People keep harking on about the good ole days like they have been and gone, never to return, obviously you were still in your school uniform at that time, but what are your views on the scene and if you could change one thing, what would it be?

Helen: I’m still in my school uniform, ha ha! Well, I love the scene now because there are so many Nubreed DJs coming through which keeps it fresh and exciting. However, if I could change anything, it would be that Hard Dance would be a bigger scene throughout the world!

Nathalie: I think hard dance is thriving with immense talent and a great variation of music now. It’s gaining more influence from other genres and isn’t taking itself as seriously anymore, with the fun being brought back in with big vocals and bouncy basslines. I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea but there’s plenty of room for it in the scene and there’s a huge number of clubbers that love it, so why not!? I love good old “serious” hard house but when it started to dominate the scene we lost a good percentage of our crowd to hardcore which was fun and feel-good. Now we have a great blend of all styles in hard dance and its great to see such varied line-ups with something for everyone to pull in the crowds and the new clubbers which, at the end of the day, keep the scene thriving!

The one thing I would change about our scene, and I’m sure it’s rife in other scenes too, is the whole politics issue! There’s too much of it between promoters of events and between clubbers who hold different views on DJs and the different styles of hard dance. We all have our own opinions and tastes but it can just get too personal and petty and detracts from what the scene is primarily about…great music and having fun! Like I said, there’s enough room for everyone and every style of music so just let people get on with it!

You now have 20 words to plug what you want, go....

Helen: To keep track of my forthcoming gigs, mixes, tracks, go to…
DSI :: www.helengdsi.com
And type in Helen G on Facebook and join my group! That was a couple of words over 20…forgive me?! ;-) x x

Nathalie: Mixes: djnathalie.com
DSI: j'aime nathalie
Facebook: facebook.dj

Email: Nathalie@djnathalie.com

Bookings: Nathalie@djnathalie.com

** Please Vote Me: Best New Face or Regional Hero here: harddanceawards.com **

Maybe that’s more than 20! Oops!

Tip top and all that :P!

Many thanks for your time ladies and look forward to propping up the bar with you both next week at Hardbeat Manifesto presents Classics v Nubreed, Friday 6th February, Mission Leeds

Joining Nathalie and Helen G is the legendary Ingo making an uber rare appearance alongside the formidable Dark By Design, Hard House guru, Ilogik, Phil York and many more....

Event Details

Hardbeat Manifesto presents Classics v Nubreeds
@ Club Mission, Heaton Court, Leeds

Friday 6th February 2009, 10pm – 5am

£10 all night

Arch 1 Hardbeat Manifesto

Special Guest...Ingo
(Bounce Classics)

Dark By Design (Classics set)
Ilogik (Sounds of the Elasticman)
Phil York (Tranzlation Classics)
Helen G b2b Nathalie
Mike Avery
HBM COMP WINNER: Energy Syndicate

Arch 2 Totallyfunkedup

Cassette Jam (Cream, Ibiza Rocks)
Funkedupdjs
Dean H
SPECIAL SURPRISE GUEST

Tickets Available from;

Hardbeat Manifesto presents...Classics v Nubreeds

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