Music : Hard House, Hardstyle and Hard Trance
Alex headlinded the first two Mayhems many moons ago so we thought it was time to bring the man back and leave a lasting mark at the Warehouse
THE KIDD IS BACK
As hard dance brand and record label ‘Kiddfectious’ prepares to blow out the candles for it’s first birthday, we take a look back at the events that led up to its momentous birth and how its first year of infancy has been more reminiscent of a rowdy teenager with an attitude problem than an innocent newborn baby.
Signed as the first ever resident to superclub brand Goodgreef, Alex Kidd has been building quite a name for himself within the hard dance scene over the past ten years. Alex’s career in fact, reads somewhat like a ‘to-do’ list for any aspiring hard dance DJ.
It was 2007 however that Alex really made his mark. Already boasting regular appearances at all the biggest global stages, summer 2007 saw the Kidd’s name on every dance festival in the UK as well as many more further afield. These included Global Gathering, Colourfest, Planet Love, WestFest and the mighty Dance Valley. As if this didn’t keep him busy enough, a residency with Keep Ibiza Tidy and tour of Australia with hardstyle superhouse Q-Dance was thrown in there too!
It’s clear that the festival vibe had well and truly seduced Alex when Kiddstock 2007 was announced. The hush-hush ambiguity of the event promotion gave clubland great cause for excitement. Over 1500 hedonistic clubbers travelled the length and breadth of Britain to revel in the truly underground haven of hard dance, buried away in the beautiful County Durham hills.
New Year, new challenges; So in an intimate but fully-charged Manchester venue, a gloomy January evening bore witness to the birth of a young but dazzling bright new phenomenon – the arrival of Kiddfectious!
So, what could put the metaphorical cherry on this cake of a year? The one thing that Alex had been building toward his entire DJ’ing career – The Hard Dance Awards Best DJ award, no less. Come February, the prestigious awards ceremony came round. An obvious close call between the previous year’s winner and the true king to the throne, the Kidd v Whitby title race spurred weeks of debate about who would take the crown. So much so that when the winner was finally proclaimed, Mr. Kidd was actually speechless. This is not something that is seen often!
With this esteemed new title under his belt, Alex’s focus then turned to his bastard child of a brand and record label – Kiddfectious.
The label, now on its fourth release has unleashed a selection of some of the finest tunes heard in clubland this year. With offerings from AK himself alongside long-standing No.1 producer BK, The Organ Donors, European giant A*S*Y*S, veteran partner Dark by Design and Alex’s protégé Kidd Kaos.
Kiddfectious events don’t do things by halves either, setting sight on the legendary Ministry of Sound, an exciting battle of an event ensued as a collaboration between Kiddfectious and Andy Whitby’s AWsum. Next followed the spectacular return of a bigger, better and faster beast – Kiddstock. This time international headliners such as Yoji, ASYS and Kamui joined UK favourites and new-blood alike for probably the most unique and memorable hard dance event in history! What else could follow this and wind up the summer better than an onslaught on Ibiza? A very special boat party preceded a one-off Kiddfectious Ibiza event at Es Paradis.
Alex recently parted from long-term management and friends Goodgreef/PFA to tend to his rapidly growing and demanding offspring Kiddfectious. With a bigger team and big ideas, Kiddfectious is set to take the scene by storm, and it all just started over the festive period.
The legendary Club Tall Trees set the stage for the colossal harder styles line up, spawned by the collaboration of Kiddfectious and Advokate Project over Christmas. Then before the sight of turkey sarnies even got boring, Kiddfectious set sail to Galway, Ireland for its Irish debut!
So, what’s next? Kiddfectious’ first birthday event returns the brand back to its spiritual home of Manchester with a birthday bang to remember. Queen of Hard Dance, Lisa Lashes joins Kiddfectious launch original Kutski, as well as Alex himself and Kidd Kaos.
With murmurings of the Kiddfectious Experiment hitting Ibiza as well as 2009 hot on the lips of clubbers nationwide, it’s all going off at KFHQ. And just like a naughty toddler in a supermarket, you can be sure that as the brand enters its second year, it’ll be kicking up an even bigger scene!!
Main Room
ALEX KIDD
Steely
Philip Mackintosh
Tone Sutcliffe
Philthy Jennorators
Room 2
Brian G
Ben Vennard
Michael Russell
Seg
Standard tickets £6, £8 OTD
Over 18's/ Photo I.D required
Group Booking Incentives Offered! (15 People)
Dress code:
Smart / Casual / Clubwear
TRAVEL
Coach & Entry Deals & Incentives for Group Bookings + Q Jumps (15 People)
North East - stepys.co.uk 0191 526 7241
Warehouse
11-13 Zetland Road, TS11EH
Middlesbrough
FOR TICKETS & EVENT INFO: 07772521103
Online Tickets skiddle.com
Next Mayhem Sat June 20th its a big 1!