Preview: Transmission @ Alexandra Palace with Lisa Lashes
Reported by benz
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Submitted 02-03-05 23:31
It's been almost a decade since Lisa Lashes made her debut on the club scene, and what a hell of a lot she has achieved since then. Her first gig was for a Sundissential Boat Party back in 1996, and it was on that night that she was discovered by Sundissential head-honcho Madders. A residency with the club soon followed, and her determination to stick at it and find other venues and clubs to play for paid off. Her hard and euphoric sound combined with her energy and massive stage presence won her fans across the country, and soon she had a large and devoted fan base turning out in their droves to support her at clubs such as Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Storm, and Golden.
As the sound of hard house evolved and became more and more popular, Lisa found herself rapidly rising to the top of the tree, with her DJing services in demand worldwide. Classic tracks such as "Lookin' Good" and "Unbelievable" for Tidy Trax established her as a respected producer, and later on she would be approached to mix a series of hard dance music compilations, such as the massively successful Extreme Euphoria compilations. She has played at every major dance music festival in the country, been the first female DJ to play in China, and played to over 30000 people at once in South Africa. The next stage in her career was the inception of the hugely popular Lashed parties, beginning in Ibiza, then taking the UK and the rest of the world by storm. She is now part of the highly respected Nettwerk-Ornadel DJ roster. Needless to say, she has done pretty bloody well for herself.
On March 26th, Lisa well headline a very strong line-up in the Frantic room at the massive Transmission at Alexandra Palace - undoubtedly one of the biggest parties of the year, featuring a slew of promotions with years of top-class pedigree. Lisa took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer a few of my questions, to set the record straight about the rumoured transvestite situation, and to tell me how sexy I am...
Where did you begin your clubbing days? What was the soundtrack to your nights out?
I started going out to places like Miss Moneypenny’s and Chuff Chuff. Every week-end, me and my mates would go out to all the clubs where Tony De Vit, Lisa Loud and John Kelly would play. My favourite anthem was Marmion’s "Schoneberg" on Hooj Choons and I still enjoy it as much today.
Who was the first DJ who really blew you away? And who was the last DJ that blew you away?
The great and late Tony De Vit was a true revelation to me when I first saw him. He inspired me to start spinning records. There are many young up and coming DJs that I find terrific today; their technical skills are truly mind-blowing. It’s nice to see that their hard work pays off. I’m impressed each time I see DJs like A-Star, Andy Whitby and Max Cooper delivering sets of such quality at such a young age.
Does it get on your proverbial tits that you are often referred to as “one of the most popular female DJs in the world”, or words to that effect? Do such statements make you think that many people still see a division between female and male DJs?
I always get asked about it and I must admit it is something that annoys me. If you’re a talented DJ then it doesn’t matter if you’re a bloke or a girl. It shouldn’t be an issue! But it’s good to see that the hard dance scene is probably the genre that counts the most girl DJs. It says something about the people who promote the nights and the people who attend them…
Your first “Lashed” CD compilation was released recently. How did it differ from previous hard dance compilations that you have been involved with? Did you have a greater degree of freedom?
I think it’s more grown up and more diverse than the ones I’ve done before. It’s got hard dance, trance, techno and breaks on it which reflect the eclectic line-ups of our Lashed nights. It’s something no other hard dance DJ has dared doing in the past.
The Lashed parties have grown in a relatively short space of time to become a worldwide success. What do you attribute this to?
I still can’t believe the success it has had. We started in Ibiza after years talking about it, and now we’ve taken the parties almost everywhere in the world. I think it’s due to the fact that we’ve always put most of our focus on the quality of our line-ups and on making the parties look good. I think we appeal to people because we are not just a hard dance party and we are open to all kinds of genres from trance to breaks, techno, funky house to electro.
Who would you really like to get to play at Lashed who hasn’t appeared there yet, and why?
My dream would be to have someone like Carl Cox. That would be amazing; I think he is a fantastic DJ.
March 26th sees you play at one of the biggest parties of the year, the massive Transmission at Alexandra Palace. How excited are you about this mammoth event? Will you have time to check out any of the other arenas or will you be jetting off?
I’m supposed to play at Escape in Swansea that night, but if I have time I will definitely to check out some of the DJs. The great thing about this type of massive event is the number of the DJs present and in this case the quality of them. I’ll want to check out the DnB arena that’s for sure - I saw Andy C was playing and he rocks!
This event will see 10000 people in attendance. You usually play to pretty large crowds, but when was the last time you played a more intimate gig, and do you still get the same buzz out of it?
I always enjoy playing at after parties back at mine or other friends’ places. It’s great because I get to vary my sets. Also, when I play my dirty backroom breaks set it is usually in front of smaller crowds. The energy I get from intimate gigs like that is really exciting; it feels good. But I must say nothing beats the feeling of playing in front of a massive crowd of 30,000 people like I did in a stadium in South Africa once.
Transmission sees several promoters whose parties over the years are engrained in the annals of dance music history, such as Raindance, Slammin’ Vinyl, and Hardcore Heaven. Are there any promotions from “back in the day” that you would love to see resurrected? Or if there was one party from back then that you could go back in a time machine and revisit, what would it be?
Actually, if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t choose a hard dance party. I would like to see what the legendary Studio 54 in New York was like back in the day. I’d love to see what crazy stuff people got up to at the weekend in that place.
Alexandra Palace
We’re through the worst part of the winter now, and personally I am already looking forward to the summer! Have you got any exciting plans already?
I just got back from a holiday in the sun in Australia which was great. I couldn’t remember when the last time was I took time off like that. This summer, I guess I will be spending a lot of time on the Devil’s Island. Ibiza is usually my first home at that time of the year, I love it out there!
You’ve been a little quiet on the production front in recent times – have you just been too busy with other commitments? Have you got anything lined up?
I have been very busy with the Lashed tour. We did eight exclusive parties all around the UK and Ireland; it was fantastic but it does take a lot out of you. Then, I was preparing the Lashed album. But I do intend to do some production work in a near future.
Your breaks sets have been going down pretty well. Have you ever considered producing some breakbeats of your owns?
The last track I did with BK, Temptation, has got a breaks feel to it. I really enjoyed doing it and am definitely open to doing a breakbeats track one day. Why not?!
Apart from your own boyfriend, who is the sexiest person in hard dance??
You! The sexiest hard dance interviewer!
What’s the biggest lie you have heard about yourself that people have been spreading?
Yeah I once read that I was a man! But my mum assured me it wasn’t true!
And finally, if you had to be stuck on a desert island with the soundsystem from one club, which system would it be???
It would have to be the sound of Lashed coming out from the soundsystem of Avalon in New York. I had the most amazing gig there once.
Photos used with permission from Frantic and Joeyxxx
Transmission
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On:
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Saturday 26th March 2005
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At:
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Alexandra Palace [map]
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From:
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20:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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Early Bird Tickets 19+BF
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Website:
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www.slamminvinyl.co.uk
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Ticket Info:
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Early Bird tickets available from Monday 31st January at only £19.50 whilst stocks last.
www.slamminvinyl.co.uk
www.alexandrapalace.com
Info & Tickets: 020 8363 5566
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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For 10 long years London has been starved of a massive underground dance music event. Despite being one of the leading cultural centres of the world and the birthplace of many styles of dance music, the capital in recent years has been denied a truly huge party that it could call it’s own….
THE WAITING IS OVER.
We are proud to present TRANSMISSION, the largest indoor event of 2005, to be held in London’s, if not the UK’s, biggest and most prestigious venue – Alexandra Palace. Situated in parkland in the heart of North London, but conveniently close to major road links, this place will literally blow you away. From the stunning Victorian architecture to the amazing view over London, there is no other venue that even comes close to Alexandra Palace.
The first place to transmit a TV broadcast way back in 1936 now becomes the venue which will transmit the fact that London is now well and truly back on the dance music map.
7 major promoters have assembled for the first time ever to create the essential event of this year:
Slammin’ Vinyl: The experts in staging huge multi-arena events
Frantic: London’s unstoppable Hard House machine
One Nation: Drum & Bass in ya face London
Raindance: 15 years on, still the best party in town
Hardcore Heaven: The kings of the hardcore scene
Wildchild: Fast becoming the leading Trance organisation in London
Pushca: Injecting glamour into clubland
90 artists + 6 arenas + 10,000 people = 1 huge event
As you’re no doubt aware by now, if you’re only going to go out once this year, make sure you go here. Why dance in a club this Easter when you can dance in a Palace?
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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