FULL ON MASK HYSTERIA!!
Classic trancecore sets from the original pioneers and an acid techno set from Kevin Energy, Freeformation's infamous anything goes Jam Room has laid witness to some pretty special sights and the line up come Friday 21st December promises another genre-jumping rollercoaster of Team Rave chaos!
One name that jumps straight off the page though is party starter and all round mentalist Ed Real. A man who lead Nukleuz to become one of the world's biggest selling labels in its heyday, Ed has played all over the world, seen his productions soar to the national charts top 40 and runs the pioneering MP3 portal www.trackitdown.net.
But for Freeformation he'll be treating us to a rare treat of a d&b set. Expect brock out jungalism, jump-up deebee and bad ass basslines to be mixed up with Real's unique brand of chaos and energy. We caught up with the mad master of rave to find out what else he had in store for us...
Nutbags ahoy! On Friday 21st December you're reaching Kevin Energy and Sharkey's hardcore rave asylum Freeformation for your debut at their party.
How did you first come into contact with Kevin and Sharkey?
I remember first meeting Kev properly in a hotel room in Amsterdam. Loads of folk crashed the room after the gig and tucked into the mini-bar and got stuck in. We cleared the mini-bar and trashed the room. At about 10am I realised that the room itself was mine and in the party frenzy I'd manage to give out about £300 worth of booze that got deducted from my credit card. A major whoops!
What are you expecting from the Freeformation and vibe? Any plans to dress up or bring some mayhem yourself?
I've heard that it's a crazy rave where folk make the effort. 2007 highlights for me have really been events like this where there's also more musical freedom. Variety is the spice and we've really seen that pigeon-holing hard dance hasn't been good for the scene. Big up those who come to party not chin-stroke! It's important to play good tunes but one thing that building up Trackitdown.net has taught me, there's a whole lot of great music out there…
You're known to play everything from filthy mind-fuck electro at fetish dungeon the Torture Garden to shiny hard dance at Tidy Weekenders, old skool hardcore at Bangface and for Freeformation you're digging out the jungle dubz for a set of jump up drum & bass. What has given you the edge to secure gigs across so many genres and scenes when most DJs struggle to pick them up in one?
Bribery! I hope that my enthusiasm shines through when given the chance to come and play in a different style. I'm like a kid in a sweetshop when it comes to all styles of underground dance music (not bloody trance though, makes me sick!) and the chance to play my tunes loud is like Christmas. This makes a party special and gives promoters the chance to present something quirky. Had some brilliant alternative sets at places like Bangface, Waveform Festival and a few illegal raves this year. However, can't beat a banging hard dance set to really clean out the cobwebs – it's the meat and two veg of my weekend!
Your Bangface old skool sets is teeming with lesser known underground rave from the 91-93 hardcore era. When did you start raving within the underground hardcore/rave scene? And what were your most bonkers experiences from those crazy days?
I started buying tunes from Manic Hedgehog and then Massive Records in Oxford in 1991 with pocket money from washing up in the local pub. The excitement of going into these shops full of great new sounds and styles was something else. Back then music evolved so quickly and in the space of a year hardcore has gone from Belgium kick-drums to warp speed chipmunk vocals and breaks with me eating it all up for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
At the first legal rave I went to outside Oxford there were 10,000 ravers in a circus big top (the site is now the M40 service station!). In the middle of the night one of the massive speaker stacks fell down with loads of ravers dancing on top! A health and safety nightmare! The rave didn't stop for a second and the party kept steaming on til breakfast while presumably the unlucky ones were plucked from the wreckage… Nothing stopped the party back then, it was chaos.
How did you progress into the drum & bass soundz? Which jungle artists first caught your ear?
Breakbeat hardcore evolved into jungle / drum and bass. In 1992 DJ's like Grooverider and Mickey Finn were the headliners so nothing's really changed! In the mid-Nineties I ran a record shop in Portsmouth and was blessed to be there watching the music develop in front of my ears. Each shop got one promo so guess who has the boss classic jungle selection!? My most prized is the gold vinyl Moving Shadow 100 th release promo – sexy!
Will you be hanging on after your Freeformation set to party on with the Team Rave massive? Is there anyone in particular you're looking forward to catching?
Unfortunately I am off to play in Birmingham but will be there in spirit. Got four gigs that weekend – who says dance music is dead!?
What do you make of the modern hardcore sound?
To my ears it's just fast trance music! I love the energy but sometimes it's a bit too syrupy sweet for my salty palate. If it's gonna be fast then I like it dark like The Producer or Scorpio. That's hardcore!
With years of Sunday Riot!ing behind you, you're no stranger to promoting a bonkers balls-to-the-wall rave up yourself. Are there any plans to resurrect your infamous Riot! promotion from the rave tombs? Do you miss the buzz of promoting your own night?
Promoting is the best buzz; working for months and then seeing a full and happy dancefloor is unbelievably rewarding – it almost makes losing loads of money palatable! At the moment we're revving up to launch the 5 th Annual Hard Dance Awards which will have another slamming event on 29th February 2008. Although we have a promotion partner it's still exciting to get involved with the decision making and hype. Vibes are my forte!
Unfortunately Sunday afternoon raving is dead. The kids just aren't hardcore enough… sad really.
The Riot! label continues to bosh out next level hard dance… how do you feel about those that believe hard dance and more important who are the producers that are flying the flag for the genre's future?
BK and Vinylgroover are incredible talents and as partners in Riot! they drive the music forward in an unparalleled style. This year the rise of hardstyle artists like Zany and Showtek who have the same high production value has been very exciting. Unfortunately there are too many shoddy productions out there which has stifled development. Four or five producers can't sustain a scene alone.
What releases have you got lined up for Riot in 08? Is there anything that is particularly grabbing your proverbial gonads right now?
We are warming up Scott Attrill aka Vinylgroover's Bass Junkie album which is going to encapsulate his work over the last few years. Each production has a unique twist, whether it's a sound, vocal or melody and put together, this body of work will really set the benchmark.
You've been known to dabble in the studio yourself and have even hit national top 40… are there are any more productions on their way from Ed Real the artiste? If so, is there any particular direction you are looking to go in?
Frustratingly no. I'm itching to engineer myself but that involves so much energy and dedication that I don't have at the moment. Trackitdown.net is out of control and takes up pretty much all of my week alongside the labels. DJing is my passion and hobby but it gets in the way of the time I'd have to learn the craft of engineering. I'd like to think that I'd ease off on the DJing as I got older but that ain't gonna happen – you'll prize these decks from my cold dead hands! Haha
What's top of your Christmas list then and – more importantly - has Mr Real been a good enough boy to get it this year?
Honestly? I've got everything I need I think and probably need to give a lot away to balance it out. I've worked hard this year and achieved a lot. That's all I need this festive season…
And what antics does New Year's Eve have in store for the rave dynamo Real? Is it a non-stop motorway mission of madness and mentalists or is old age catching up and putting the breaks on?
I'm DJing at a friend's club in Verbier, Switzerland on NYE. The offer of a skiing holiday around NYE was too good to turn down after working my ass off this year on Trackitdown.net, Riot! Recordings and the DJ schedule. At my age you gotta put a little of what you took out of your body back into the system and this is it!
Finally – in three words – what can the Freeformation ravers expect from the arrival of Mr Ed Real on Friday 21 st December?
FULL-ON MASK HYSTERIA!!
Interview by Allan McGrath - DJ Mag
Freeformation is on Friday the 21st of December 2007 @ Hidden Tinworth St Vauxhall.
The door price is only £5 if you sign up in advance at www.freeformation.co.uk and arrive before Midnight. It’s £10 thereafter.
For info call 08456 122 303
Join the Freeformation DSI group and download free mixes & videos at www.freeformationdsi.com
Join Freeformation on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/freeformation
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