Swing n Bass maestro, film maker and Jack the Cad contributor Fizzy Gilespie, aka Max Golfar*, has made something a little bit different. We're all about showcasing the really interesting stuff, the innovative and the new, so this is a bit of a no-brainer.
Fizzy: This mix has been a project of mine I’ve been putting together for quite some time now. This is probably the longest I have spent on a mixtape before. The hardest part of it was finding the tunes - this is probably the most obscure and niche side of the Vintage Remix spectrum, even more so than Swing Drum’n’Bass.
I was initially turned on to this sound by the Catjam boys, so a big shoutout has to go them. Without those guys, I would not have discovered this sound. Dutty Moonshine & Extra Medium are also pushing this sound, so I implore you all to go and check these guys out. These are the people really trying to expand the scene into a new and unique sound. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the mix, it ain’t your typical Swing mixtape! ;-)
*Which is your favourite pic of Max? I think we might have to make the one in the Soundcloud embed his official byline pic...[Ed.]
Next up in the Swingamajig preview series is Mike aka Dutty Moonshine. Mike is not only a pioneer of the vintage remix sound, but he's also one of the most energetic and innovative people in the scene, always pushing boundaries. He's got a reputation as a shit-stirrer and a party-starter, is wanted for crimes against electro-swing, nature and common decency. Approach with caution.
Jack: How important a role has Swingamajig played in bringing new vintage remix acts to the world?
Dutty Moonshine: The vintage remix worlds owes a lot to two places, the Mayfair field of Boomtown and the big, bad and heavy Swingamajig.
Swingamajig is one of those places that when you get asked to play it is a nod of recognition. The guys running it have such a finger on the pulse and they're providing such an amazing platform for some of these artists - to play in front of 4000 fans of the scene - that all the acts should be turning up with chocolates and flowers for the production team.
When Swingamajig says you're good the world listens.
It's also a who's who of the scene, so many people in the crowd run events or are acts that may have played previous years or the near future, bring your A game or don't bother coming.
Jack: Youve played at Swingamajig a few times, but i gather this time its not a swing set... what can people expect? Dutty Moonshine: They can be expecting what I'm good at, mash up DJ-ing! It was mash up DJ-ing that got my early contacts which helped me launch Dutty Moonshine; it was mash up DJ-ing that gave me the idea of fusing big dutty basslines with swing music and it is mash up that will forever push me forwards to work out what you can and can't do.
I'm going to be rocking a big-ass-multi-genre party set and I'm bringing backup in the shape of DJ Binge. He's the DJ in the big band on stage and he's the DJ that inspired me hugely back in the day with his style.
Tom (of Electric Swing Circus and Ragtime Records) specifically asked me do a party-style set because while Swingamajig is a vintage remix festival it's also so much more. Hence seeing acts like Document One and Freestylers on the bill. Tom knows this is what I'm best at and he's asked me to unleash the fucking mayhem!
He also knows Dutty Moonshine is one of the few acts that can follow the Correspondents when it comes to high octane energy music. I hope you're getting your cardio in now, you thought my vintage remix sets were good wait until you hear this set!
We're going to be slaying party and bass tunes on 4 decks like there's no tomorrow. Jack: Describe Swingamajig in three words. Dutty Moonshine: Decadent Dastardly Mayhem
Next up, find out what the motherclucking Chicken Brothers have to say...
The Electric Swing Circus have just released their brand new EP ‘Empires’. Max Golfar caught up with head honcho and guitarist for the band, Tom Hyland, about their new release.
MG: Who are ESC and what is it all about?
Tom: We are a six piece live electro swing band, two girls, Vicky and Laura (vocals), myself Tom (guitar), Chandra (drums and keyboard), Rashad (samples, MPC & synths) and Pat (bass & bass synth). I should say as well, Bridge, our sound engineer, there’s seven of us and we all do everything together.
We started off in September 2012, just jamming around a mate's house and we heard electro-swing and we said: "This is amazing, let’s try make something like this."
Pat rocking out
We love electro swing and what we do is we take 1920-50s styles and give it our own twist. We don’t want to be another Caravan Palace, we love them, but we want to push the boundaries and do something different! I do consider Electric Swing Circus to be a rock band.
MG: You guys are just about to have your first release in 3 years, could you tell me what’s it called and how you went about making it and what is it out?
Tom: It’s called the ‘Empires EP’, it is a single with 3 remixes on it. It is out November 23rd. It took about two years to make. This is a real labour of love.
We did our first album back in 2013, and that we recorded in two weeks and we spent a lot of time mixing it and producing it and getting it right. We kinda rushed it and we just had to get a CD out.
This time we took a lot of time over it. We went to the studio and we recorded it, and we listened back and it didn’t have the same sort of energies that it had when we played it live. So we scrapped it and recorded it again. Tried some different things and that didn’t work and so we scrapped it and recorded it again. Scrapped some of it, recorded that again. Eventually we kind of worked out a couple of ways that we can translate when we can use to translate that live energy.
You know that sound you get when the speakers are cranked and everyone is dancing in the room, we wanted to get that onto the record. We’ve been doing a lot of experimentation to try get this record sounding right and I think we got there. Quite excited!
MG: You've also have a music video out for the single. What was the process of filming that like?
Tom: The guys who filmed it are from Rum pictures, mates of mine from school. They are genius filmmakers! They made the First Person Shooter viral video you might have seen. They’ve done loads of really cool stuff and they have also done all of our music videos in the past. It’s great working with them again.
We went down to Plymouth and there is a studio down there they used. We basically hung out for the day, shot a load of footage and they edited it together. It looks cool! It’s not something we’ve done before. The first set of videos were us performing, and the second one, which was ‘Valentine’, had a storyline to it. This one was done in a studio in front of a green screen and it’s more kaleidoscopic, things appearing, it’s just something a bit different for us! Electric Swing Circus is all about live energy on stage and we tried to get that message through the video.
MG: Aries is very well known in the Jungle scene, how did you manage to get someone like him involved in this project?
Tom: Aries is great, he is Birmingham based and he is very supportive of the Birmingham music scene. I think it is really good for someone who has had a lot of success, does travel the world and do what he does, right from the start he has been really supportive of Ragtime Records and Electric Swing Circus. It was awesome to have him on board for this.
Father Funk is also one of my favourite producers, does amazing stuff. C@ in the H@, my record label partner and one of my favourite favourite DJ’s and producers as well. For me it is amazing to have these guys on this EP. It is who I would want if I could pick it. I think these guys make absolutely amazing remixes and make amazing tracks in their own right as well.
MG: What was your first experience of Electro Swing?
Tom: Deep Henderson by Nick Hollywood. It used to be played all the time, haven’t heard it in a while. It’s an absolutely bangin’ track! Well worked song, wicked samples, goes together really well. Someone shared it on Facebook and I was like “What is this!? How can I get more of this?”. I listened to it on loop for about 10 hours! From there it was through Caravan Palace’s first album, then it went on to stuff like the Electro Swing compilation albums like White Mink.
MG: You had your Swingamajig vinyl release earlier in the year, how was that for you and should we expect more Electro Swing vinyl anytime soon?
We like putting stuff out on vinyl, it’s fun! It sounds better and we spend a lot of time getting it mastered properly and making sure it sounds right. I don’t know when our next piece is going to come out. What we also usually do is put two tracks on a side so that way we can get maximum volume and maximum sound quality. That’s what we care about with the vinyl, it’s not about a whole album or here’s all this stuff, but rather here is a couple tracks which sound really really good! No plans at the moment for a new vinyl, but surely we will at some point, just gotta work that out…
MG: You are one of the creators of Swingamajig. could tell everyone what it is, what it is all about and what can expect from it this year?
Tom: Swingamajig is a four thousand person, one day festival, from the afternoon to the early hours of the morning. It celebrates all things that are vintage inspired, there is a load of music, bands, DJ’s, magic, circus, a proper cabaret stage. It’s multi-venue, but all connected! We have swing dancing workshops, street food, a vintage market. My ideal day out!
I do all the bookings and I book what I would like to see on a day out. It’s an amazing experience to put that on. We’ve got a party and it is really good. All year out, we’re doing festivals and all this other stuff, when we’re not playing we’re always checking out other stuff and other bands and thinking who we can bring to Swingamajig. That side of it is really nice. We’re a bit of a family! This year, it is going to be a really big one!
It’s my dream! I get to organise a party for my mates. What more could you want? Cabaret stuff was a big step forward for us this year. We’re going back to the same space next year, we’re going to tweak a few of the spaces and make them work a bit better.
Tom playing at Swingamajig
There’s this thing about being able to do an event where there's 16-piece Swing bands and Jungle DJ’s, but it kind of all works and there is a flow to it. Some people want to see more of this, and some people want to see more of that but no one only wants to see this or that. They all want to mingle.
There is the broad age range too, a lot of older people doing there thing and it’s really nice for younger people and older people not just being like “Oh, I’m here with a bunch of 20 somethings” or “I’m here with a load of old people” it’s really broad and that is really nice as well.
You also don’t have to be part of the Electro Swing scene or the Vintage scene to enjoy yourself, it’s just for people who want to have fun on a day out! It’s not like some events where people are like ‘this is a 30’s event and you’re wearing a 20’s suit’, it’s not like that, everyone is welcome, everyone can do what they want, let’s just have some fun!
Today is officially the first day of Autumn, and as the hazy memories of this summer's festivals get hazier still (don't panic, my Boomtown report is imminent), the denizens of the Vintage Remix world have flooded the interwebs with new music. I'm just going to run through some of the EPs that have crossed my desk in the last few weeks. These all get the Jack the Cad Seal of Approval, which you may have seen around the place over the last few weeks. His name is Stephen.
First up is a wonderful release from Freshly Squeezed which brings together US rapper RA the Rugged Man and Marcella "I founded the Puppini Sisters" Puppini on a swing-hop track that for me is one of the finest I've come across. The combo works perfectly, with RA's slick but complex flow perfectly set off by Marcella's classic jazz voice to a create a Hollywood Noir feel that sucks you back in time.
That voice, I should say, when combined with those of the other Puppini Sisters, is arguably to be blamed / credited (delete according to your personal point of view) for my interest in the Vintage scene. I remember their albums blaring from the CD player before my friends and I set off to attend events like the Blitz Party, which, if you're into straight-up swing as well as Vintage Remix, is still well worth attending. It's rather nice to come full circle with Marcella dipping a toe into the Vintage Remix world - long may it continue. In fact, internet rumours I've seen suggest that there might be a fuller collaboration between these two in the pipes, so fingers crossed!
The track has been getting great support from both within the Vintage Remix world and without, with BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamaq giving it some airtime, and the likes of C@ in the H@ and Dutty Moonshine praising the track since its release last week, prompting this little exchange on Twitter:
To be honest, I find it hard to disagree - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the scene is saturated with swing-house, and frankly, it gets boring. This release is so refreshing - like a nice cool pint - and like beer, one is never enough. Which is convenient, since the release also comes with a lovely wubby remix from Jamie Berry, which would suit a darker electro-swing set.
Jenova Collective - Head Space EP
Having caught these guys performing live a few times this summer I was really expecting big things from them, and they haven't disappointed.
Jenova Collective - Headspace (Live in Studio)
Our friends Jenova Collective return with a second video shot during their recent studio sessions. Their new EP is due out on Birmingham (UK)'s Ragtime Records very soon...
Posted by Electro Swing on Monday, August 24, 2015
The Leeds-based 7-piece are rapidly carving out a name for themselves on the festival circuit, their brand of bass-heavy Vintage Remix goes down a storm. Their live sets veer away from classic electroswing on a path that takes in drum'n'bass, dubstep and glitch-hop, all driven forward by Lily's vocals.
Jenova Collective are all about the partytimes, and this EP delivers that in spade-loads, a great follow-up to their previous EP Champagne Machine. They're about to embark of a tour of Australia for the winter, so if you're down that end of the world, make sure you catch them.
I first came across Extra Medium way back in 2013 when I shared a remix of Tamtam's Little Girl. Although that track has now vanished from Soundcloud, I can definitely hear his style at the fore in this 5 track offering out now on Scour Records. Any of you who have come across a Scour release before now will be familiar with Fat Harry's excellent promo blurbs. I can't say it better than him, so in the true spirit of internet plagiarism [journalism, surely? Ed.), I reproduce his words here:
He’s been busy secretly crafting this delectable EP for a long while, and we’ve been hugely excited with each progression. It’s an honour to be able to share his swing-bass with the Scourdem crew.From the opening low swung bass driven groover of 'Blues Boogie Bass', to the all original collaborative title track 'Size Up' - featuring the silky slick skills of 4x World DMC Champion @dj-mr-switch on the cuts, and the supreme sax'yness of @cab-canavaral's horn. Onward through to the house infused number 'Go Away', and rounded up with the truly splendiferously melodic piano flavoured 'Lazy Bones' - we hope this latest Artist EP has that little something for everyone, as is the strived for way of all things Scour. Be warned though, this EP is so filthy-georgeous shakermaker it will make your hair explode into a glorious technicolour afro…or your money back!*
*Just larking, but we will give you your own special technicolour afro in any hairy area of your choice.
I struggle to pick a favourite - the EP takes in so many different flavours of Vintage Remix that depending on my mood I'll give a different answer. As I type this my head is nodding to the bassy synths of Go Away but I also have real soft spot for Lazy Bones which is just gorgeous - perfect for chilling out in the sunshine.
Donjohnston - Virtuous Circle EP
The South West's no.1 electroswinger Donjohnston is back with a veritable horde of collaborators on his latest EP, and they deliver a stonking collection of tracks.
The opening track is a lovely squelchy, glitch number with Eugene the Cat, wih Trotfox on the vocal - I can imagine it being a dancefoor filler. Then Dephicit gets in on the act, along with The After Hours Quintet, and drops a few bars on Light Fandango (isn't fandango a great word?). Those of you who have seen the Donjohnston's version of Nina Simone's Feeling Good might recognise the tones of Leo Wood on Absence Heard - I love her voice so much, and I think it's that that tips the balance in its favour, making it my favourite on the release.
This post is quite long already, so although I had intended to run down some of the compilations that have recently popped up, but I think I'll leave that for now, and keep you wanting more.
Toodle pip.
EDIT 24/9/15 -
Dirty Honkers - The Blue EP
I only came across this EP about an hour after this post went live last night and had I know about it before it would have been included without a doubt.
I caught Dirty Honkers at Boomtown and they put on such a great show - really got everyone going and such a charismatic trio. Completely bonkers. This EP is so much fun - I was dancing around the flat to the extent that my young lady thought I was drunk - praise indeed. I gather that they have some UK gigs lined up, so make sure you don't miss them.
I have just been having a bit of a digital clear-out, sifting through all those files which seem to be clogging up my difference engine (it is practically steam-driven and makes very worrying noises when starting up) and have just come across this video which I made of my time at Swingamajig. I must have made the video and then forgotten to post it. Better late than never, I present it to you now.
In case you are not in the know, Swingamajig is one of the only festivals in the world dedicated to the Vintage Remix sound. Organised by Ragtime Records and the Electric Swing Circus, the Birmingham-based one-day festival has completed its second year and goes from strength to strength.
The line-up featured some of the biggest names in the scene, plus a wide variety of side-shows, swing dance classes and demonstrations, and although my memories are a little hazy, I had a thoroughly excellent time. It was all a bit of a marathon, as I had traveled up from London on the Saturday morning, partied all afternoon and evening, right through to dawn before catching the first train back to London. If you are reading this Mr. Branson, I apologise for dribbling on your train's seats.
Vintage Remix is dance music, and is intended to be enjoyed to in a nightclub/festival setting. Somehow hearing individual tracks in a playlist is unsatisfying. The word 'remix' is the important one here. In these days of big-name DJs being paid huge sums for soulless (pre-recorded?) sets, it is nice that VR has a strong connection with the traditions skills of the DJ. Don't misunderstand - I'm not about to start banging on about CDJs vs vinyl - I'm going to sing the praises of the download-and-keep DJ mix.
The most treasured music in my collection, the first tracks copied onto a new phone/tablet, are the many hour-long mixes that can be found on the Soundcloud pages of most Vintage Remix artists. The DJ mix is more than simply a bunch of songs hastily jammed together with no thought. Although the main aim of the mix is to showcase the DJ's abilities to potential clients, the amount of care and attention that goes into them makes them something akin to a concept album. This is how Madame Electrifie puts it:
I like to make sure a mix is going to be something a bit special when I release them, rather than just recording everything I do. I like each mix I put out to be a bit of an occasion. I’ve tended to work in series, working around a theme for each series I do.For instance the Carnival of Chaos series I did was based around an event I was doing. I did three very contrasting mixes, one hip hop orientated, one house, and one breaks/dnb- I wanted to do something that represented the range of styles I played and how many genres the whole electro swing scene had touched. It was actually really hard to create three completely different sets in one go – but for me these three mixes are a good snapshot of the whole scene at that moment in time.
Generally I’ll start with a theme idea and go from there, for me that’s the whole challenge. Anyone can bang out their top 10 tracks at a standard tempo, my mixes are where I really push myself. For my Glitching the Blues mix, I spent weeks hunting out suitable tracks and the whole thing was a right bitch to put together if I’m honest. I wouldn’t try some of those mixes live, they required some serious queue point planning, but again, for me that’s where the challenge is. Just beat matching is pretty basic!
I generally always have 3 or 4 mixes in planning, so when I go record shopping I find things that fit into the different series, The After Hours Series, The Funky Shit Series, etc. I’ll normally also create artwork or do a photoshoot for each series too, (I work in photography and design by day) so they become complete little projects. Like an album or EP I guess, it’s a really nice way of approaching them.
The good thing about working this way is that I can adapt loads when I’m playing live, and bring the tricks I discovered into my performances. It makes me be on top of my game technically, and means I’m always pushing myself. I’m a bit of a geek/show off when it comes to nailing a complicated mix, so without this approach I might not be so cocky!
So it was with great sadness that I learned that Soundcloud have started to enforce copyright law and take down any track the record companies request. Combined with the fact that they will now be playing adverts, I fear for the safety of these works of art.
I have selected some of my favourite mixes to show you here, but do check out the actual pages of the artists and check out their other mixes. A great mix has a structure, carefully selected tunes, might have a few judicious mash-ups and hand-picked samples - these are my favourites. Take my advice - go and download all of these before its too late.
1. Madame Electrifie - The Bearcat Mixes Vol.2 "Glitching the Blues"
Sadly Mme. E has already fallen foul of the Soundcloud fun-police, and has asked me not to link to her Soundcloud directly. You can stream all of her mixes from her own website but if you sneak in quietly, you can still download it from her SC page... This one is in for the excellent track selection - that Pretty Lights 'Jolene' remix and the preceding Woohoo Review tune - it's a great 'just got in from the club and my feet hurt' mix.
2. DJ Dodgy-Style - The Electric Empire Promo Mix
This one is in simply for the spectacular Renegade Master mash. But even without that, it is upbeat, fast-paced and great for when you need to get some where quickly: get the headphones in and get walking. Don't listen to it on the bus or the train as people will think you are odd - I find it impossible to listen to without sniggering at the sheer brilliance of Dodgy-Style's juxtapositons. "Good mood in a box" says one of the comments on Soundcloud, and that's about right. There are lots of other mixes up on his page, if I could, I'd include them all here. get over there and fill your boots!
3. Grant Lazlo @ Fusion Festival 2014
We don't get to see Mr. Lazlo perform in the UK very often, but he is the man behind some of the best Vintage Remix tracks out there (check out his remix of Swing Republic's High Hat,available on the Freshly Sqeezed Soundcloud page) so it is great that he chose to upload this lengthy set. Filled with rolling, driving basslines it is great to listen to in the kitchen. Just don't start dancing about with a knife in your hand.
4. DJ Eliazar - Vintage Bliss and Bass
This mix clocks in at nearly 2 hours, and from the opening track, All in Together by Chap-hop superstar Professor Elemental, it does exactly what it says on the tin - blissful, sunny beats ideally suited to lazy Sunday mornings.
Like all felines, the C@ in the H@ loves a good scratch. To prevent him from damaging the furniture someone clever gave him some decks and he's never looked back. This mix has been up for a while now, and though it is only 20 minutes long it delivers a healthy dose of big tunes. This is another one to make you look like an idiot on the bus. Repeat after me: "I must not play the air-turntables in public. I must not play the air-turntables in public...
7. Don Mescal - Reggae got Swing
I'm not often lost for words, but I find it really quite hard to put into words just how fantastic this mix is. In many ways it exemplifies what I was on about before, in that the set has a specific theme, and that a great deal of crate-digging, thought and care has gone into the selection and mixing. It is an exploration of the links, similarities and differences between reggae/dub and swing. Taking you from low-tempo skank of Prince Fatty right through to the ska-madness of Gentlemen's Dub Club. Beats, Brass and Bass - what more can you ask for?
8 Dutty Moonshine - Kicked out of the Club
I expect you were thinking "Where's the Dutty?" So was I. Answer: here it is. This mix, in typical Dutty style, is a big middle finger to certain players in the Vintage Remix world who suggested that the DM chaps were moving away from the sound and into the mainstream. Keen to refute that suggestion, they produced this. As you might expect, it is full to bursting with big tunes, plus the Spice Girls.
9. Captain Flatcap - Squelchy Silliness Minimix
Some of you may have read the interview I did with the Captain Flatcap chaps a little while ago. What you may not realise is that the Captain hosts a weekly radio show called That Swing Thing on Kane FM, and that as well as being a flutist, guitarist and producer, he is also a pretty sick DJ. He tends to favour the ghetto-funkier end of the spectrum and definitely loves a good wobble and squelch.
10. The McMash Clan - Filthy Swingers Set
The last selection in this little run down is from the McMash Clan. These are the guys behind the enormous Swing Break ft. Kate Mullins from the Puppini Sisters, and the rest of this is in the same vein. Not only is is an hour of massive tunes,, but since McMash are not really a Vintage Remix act, it contains a huge variety of music and some really interesting selections and some cool takes on some of the classics of the genre.
Owing to my pal Benjamin deciding to get married on the same weekend as Boomtown Fair I was unable to attend this year's jamboree. This was a sad state of affairs, since Boomtown is just a few miles from the my family's country seat, has the best Vintage Remix line-up of any festival in the world, and is one heck of a party. Fear not, dear reader - Ben has been chastised.
BUT, I would never leave you wondering what went down at an event like Boomtown, so I went on the hunt for a correspondent to give you all the lowdown.. Happily, DJR of the Free Breaks Blog stepped up to the plate. Without further wittering from me, here is what he had to say about the weekend.
Hey hey swingers and swingettes! Jack The Cad couldn’t make this year’s Boomtown festival and since I wouldn’t shut up about it he asked me to write a report of some of the goings on. In case you’re wondering who I am, some of you will know me from my own ‘Electro Swing Roundup’ over at Free Breaks Blog. For those who don’t, I’m DJR and I try to keep an eye on all the latest music in the scene. If you’re a DJ looking for fresh music, or just keen to hear the latest tunes check out my posts on the 1st of the month (or thereabouts!)at http://freebreaksblog.com/category/music/electro-swing/. So. What was Boomtown 2014 like then? Well it’s a hard festival to sum up. They focus less on having lots of superstar names in favour of having an incredible strength and depth with every single small and medium size act they can find from a diverse range of styles, including swing, reggae, roots, ska, punk, and pretty much the whole spectrum of dance music (apart from mainstream house), and they seem to find a home for every single band in the country that has lots of members. Brass section? String section? 'Orchestra', 'Collective' or 'Ensemble' in your name? Yep you’re in. They also have a legendary attention to detail which means that the site looks incredible. In truth I can’t even start to describe it, so best watch this instead: From a swing point of view they always have an incredible line-up, in no small part due to Town's Sherrif Kaptin (solo DJ and part of the Big Swing Soundsystem) who ensured that they continued to have the hottest line-up of vintage artists of any event in the country. Last year’s festival was triumphantly completed by Pavor Stelar, so this year they had to pull all their strings and ensure that they could match the line-up again; and match it they did, recruiting amongst (many) others Dunklebunt and the Secret Swing Society, Tape Five, Algorhythmik, and pretty much all the stars of the UK based swing scene. Here’s the promo mix they put together in advance: I’d like to say that I managed to see all of these, however Boomtown is one of those festivals where due to the sheer number of stages (over 70 fully programmed stages for four days) you seem to spend lots of time missing everything you planned to see and discovering other incredible stuff instead. Therefore I’ll just talk about what I saw. The main stage for vintage mayhem at Boom is the Ballroom stage which once again looked incredible. Over the weekend it was graced by a veritable who’s who of the swing world, plus circus performers, (if you’ve never seen them search 'hoop hooligans' online!) , burlesque beauties, and all sorts of vintage reprobates. In musical terms my highlights were: Elle & the Pocket Belles who seem to be going from strength to strength since adding Mistatrick to their lineup. This means that they can choose between doing a classic swing style show, and doing a electro swing show where Mistatrick adds beats and bass. This is what they played in the Ballroom and it went down really well on the Saturday afternoon. Sadly there's no footage from their Boomtown performances, but here's a video of them shot at Glasto this year.
The Big Swing Soundsystem rocked it late on Saturday night, giving Kaptin a chance to relax from festival duties while Hypeman Sage did what it says on the tin and hyped the crowd. The Electric Swing Circus always go down a storm and this they did again, particularly with a great set in the town square early on Saturday, including The C@ In The H@ on FX and scratching duties.
Other acts worth mentioning are the Chicken Brothers who seem very at home on the big stage now; Chris Tofu who is always in his element at any festival both performing front of house, and backstage controlling the multitude of bands and ensuring that the show went on; Smokey Joe & The Kidd with their great live and VJ show; and Madame Electrife who followed last year's Chinese Laundry with a new General Store Venue in the Wild West district. The weather did make the festival. It was a little challenging at times, particularly on the Friday night when it did turn nasty, creating a lot of mud to contend with (on a very hilly site!) however, apart from one small glitch, the Ballroom, being indoors was a brilliant respite from the elements. Alex’s Last Gigs With Dutty Moonshine For myself and many other swing fans, one of the most important, 'can’t miss' moments of the weekend was Alex Furley's last gig with Dutty Moonshine. As was reported in this blog (check here if you missed it: http://jackthecad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/alex-leaves-dutty-moonshine.html ), Alex has decided to move on from Dutty Moonshine and focus on other projects both within music and his career. So how would they sign off with their time with him? Well to start with, newest member of the group Danny managed to get himself locked out of the site after returning after the 10pm curfew when everyone had to be inside the site. This was sad for him, but maybe appropriate for Mike and Furley that they signed him off as they started – together. So with a packed Ballroom stage at 3am on Friday night, Mike and Furley tore into their customary swing & bass set for about 20minutes before Mike handed over the controls fully to Alex and let him do what he wanted. I think even Alex wasn’t quite sure what he was going to play, because he tore into a set of big bass heavy hip-hop classics, mixed unpredictably and at a furious pace. There was no swing in sight, however Furley clearly enjoyed having the freedom and it went down really well with an excitable crowd. Then finally to sign it off, Mike called Furley to the front of the stage, and well, this happened... Athough this was treated as Alex’s proper last gig, in actual fact it was the day after when, all three of them this time(!), played a much lower key set at Charlie Brown's across from the Ballroom (a spectacular speakeasy populated with gangsters and molls in brilliantly rendered style). The post-script to this farewell is that following on from this gig, I actually managed to catch Dutty Moonshine play a week later in Birmingham. This time they had a much smaller crowd, however Danny and Mike will clearly have fun together because they showed they are still masters at rocking any venue big or small. Danny’s clearly enjoyed the ride so far although he is going to have some work keeping up with Mike’s infamous partying! Still they did get to be put on the side of a building.
While I’ve got the chance, there’s one more slot I can talk about. 24 hours after the Dutties' big sendoff, I had the privilege of playing the Ballroom stage to close the Saturday night lineup. Following on from the ever reliable C@ In The H@ who had the crowd rocking to his bass heavy shenanigans, I had a great set, enjoying the chance to play quite heavy for once and dropping in plenty of bangers transitioning from hip-hop tempo right up to drum & bass including a healthy dose of swing, soul & funk and rock & roll. If you fancy checking it out have a listen to this:
That’s it. I hope I’ve whetted your appetite, and I’ve barely even mentioned everything else that went on... the best reggae stage in the country, the mighty Arcadia (if you don’t know – check Youtube) and so many other stages also featuring the cream of their particular scene. In fact, don’t bother listening to me just see me on the dance-floor next year!
