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Features
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| Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! | | Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! | | DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022! |
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Insekt preview: an interview with Tim Clewz
Reported by Toomz
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Submitted 07-09-05 12:48
It’s Insekt time again, and September sees the team welcome back the groove-meister himself, Mr Tim Clewz. Now, being Vicious Circle resident, Tim is open to all sorts of evil & nasty influences of a musical nature, but he has stuck to his guns and persevered in playing what he loves in all things funky & swinging. Carving out his own niche in the market, Tim is well renowned for kick starting many a hard dance night with his unique style, building the night gently but provocatively for the rest of the onslaught begin. Many of the tunes being played at this time are Tim’s own tracks, so the talent doesn’t just end at his DJ skills. Little is known of the man behind the talent down this end of the country, so we thought best to give a proper introduction to the clubbers and find out what Tim Clewz is all about.
Hi Tim, over the past couple of months, we have seen your name creeping onto the scene & creating a bit of a stir, but you have been mixing & playing out in the North for some time. How did your passion for music start & where did you receive your big break?
Hmm, when I was younger I always used to be into hip hop and metal but then at college I got introduced to the world of clubbing. I started going to places like Sundissential, Passion, & Gatecrasher and the music just blew me away. I just wanted to possess these tunes being played so I bought a basic stereo system with a turntable and began my search for all these tracks I had heard. Back then there wasn’t any specific genre I was directly into, I was just buying a bit of everything. My mates then played me a mix tape by Andy Farley & I instantly fell in love with hard house. By this point my record collection had started developing into a fair size, so my mates just said why don’t you just get a pair of decks and as soon as I got my student loan through, I did just that.
When I started I it was all a bit of fun just to try and mix I never dreamed I would get the hang of it or even play out. Then low & behold I started picking it up and did a couple of mix tapes and passed them onto my mates, one of who was running a night and I got my first chance to play out at this night in Sheffield called ‘Zoolu’. It’s all been slowly gaining momentum since then.
If someone was to come to see you play at a hard dance event, you would usually be found playing an earlier set in the night, spinning the more funky/groovy end of the spectrum. Is this the style you prefer or do you ever have the urge to nail it out at 5am?
I think all my urges to play hard as nails are long gone. I would much rather play stuff I can shake my ass to while I’m mixing. Don’t get me wrong I can appreciate that style of music, I happen to be quite a fan of Tinrib’s & a lot of Glazby’s work, but just playing it no longer has that same appeal anymore. It’s probably just me getting old, I’ll be wearing a dodgy pullover and smoking a pipe next, haha. Besides which you get chance to get to the bar and have a few swift drinks if you’re on early.
This distinct, groovy style is reflected in your recent & forthcoming productions, in a scene which seems dominated by progressively harder & darker tunes. Do you like to try & do something different to the norm and what sound do you try to create when you enter the studio?
I think when I first started going into the studio that was when the appeal for the nails stuff was beginning to really dip. I always had been a fan of the old funky hard house stuff and it just surprised me why no one was producing it anymore. After I did a couple of tracks in this style I realised this is the direction I really wanted to go in. I don’t think there was this big urge to go like I’ve got to do something really different but I do feel people need to differentiate their sound from everybody else when they get into production or what is the point.
Aside from your favoured hard house & techno, do you try and take influences from other genres to achieve the desired sound?
Yeah, I’ve really started to listen to other genres such as house, trance, breaks, electro & progressive. I do truly believe if the hard house scene is to evolve & once again prosper we as artists need to start introducing new sounds and ideas in to our work. I think it’s nice to hear to hear something a bit different once in a while instead of the same sounds over and over again. Also in my DJing I am trying out different style sets to add more strings to my bow and develop experience of new mixing tricks & techniques.
Which producers, old & new, do you aspire to?
There are loads. Really into the sounds that were getting released on Tripoli from Steve Thomas, Pete Wardman & Ziad a few years ago. There’s Paul Janes with all those untidy dubs. I really enjoy the old Paul King sound and always love the tracks that Andy Farley wangs out. Also I have got major respect for the stuff that Paul Maddox has been doing. On the techno front I think I’m quite massively into DJ Misjah, Valintino Kanyzani, Leandro Gamez, Bryan Zentz & Carl Cox.
What current & forthcoming tracks should we be looking out for in the stores? Have you any exciting projects ahead?
My current releases include:
- ‘Wake Up’
- ‘People Like You’
- ‘Don’t’
- My remix of DJ Ziad — ‘4 To The Floor’.
If you haven’t got these already shame on you, haha. There is also a fair bit that is forthcoming and fingers crossed it will be released soon...
- ‘Surprise’ and ‘Illogical’ coming out on NNN
- ‘Chaos Theory’ on Submatic
- A three track ‘Tim Clewz EP’ coming out on Blue Cubed
- My remixes of ‘Can’t Work’ on Toolbox & ‘Disco’ on Neonate, and also on Neonate, two tracks collaborated with Morgan from Toasted called ‘The Rat’ and ‘Yo Sushi’.
There are a couple more bits but until I have got everything finalised with them, I cant really mention anything.
Are you pleased with your early success of receiving praise and work from some of the scenes major players? With tracks signed to labels owned by Paul Glazby, Andy Farley and a remix on the legendary Tripoli Trax, things are defiantly moving in the right direction.
I’m absolutely gob smacked to be receiving so much support. Andy Farley has always been one of my DJ heroes and for him to give me so much recognition has been like, wow. And how could I forget the Tripoli remix. Tripoli for me was the main label and to play a part in help taking it back to its original sound is such an honour. It has most definitely been a good year so far & is set to get better.
Going back to DJing, you have a firm place as resident for Vicious Circle Recordings events, which is quite a prestigious achievement. How did that come about?
Well I’ve known Paul for a fair few years now and he always has been very supportive of my DJing. When he began VC he gave me a chance to play warm up at one his tour nights at Sinergy in Manchester. After I finished playing he took me to one side and offered me residency for the VC events as I had done that well. And as some people might say the rest is history.
With the ever increasing debates over the longevity of vinyl, which do you feel you prefer when playing out, CDs or vinyl, and why?
I think both have their own merits. I enjoy the lasting sound quality of CDs, but I just love the feel of vinyl and using a Technics 1210 turntable. Fair enough I do play mainly on CD when I play my hard house sets but that’s due to the fact most of it is my own stuff & has yet to be pressed up or released yet. Also I have been continually had it driven into me by certain individuals, who shall stay nameless, not to rely completely on a CD mixers in case they mess up.
When receiving a booking for a night, what is the ideal set-up do you hope to find when entering the DJ box? Have you ever had any nightmare experiences?
I think an ideal set up for me at the moment would be: 2x Pioneer CDJ-1000’s, 2x Technics 1210’s, a Pioneer DJM 600, a pair of fresh needles, a sturdy deck stand and a monitor speaker that doesn’t sound like Brian Blessed straining to take a dump.
I’ve had plenty of nightmare experiences, the worst being when I was playing this one night in Sheffield. There were no monitor speakers, the decks were arranged so that I had to reach over the deck to adjust the pitch, and every time someone danced in front of the booth the needles jumped. I wasn’t a happy bunny.
Aside from Insekt, where else can clubbers catch you over the coming months? Any exciting gigs home & abroad planned?
Yeah people can catch me at Hussle at the Paradise factory in Manchester on 24th September; a Cancer Research fundraiser on 30th September at the Sanctuary in Birmingham; Polysexual at Air in Birmingham on the 1st October; and Extatic at the Kube in Wakefield on the 7th October.
You are a very busy guy with lots of studio time booked, how do you fit in time to work and what is it you do?
Yeah I have been a fairly busy guy in the studio as of late. At the moment I am trying to get a track a month done. I like to consider what I do for a living as playing a major role in the destruction of the rain forest. It’s a crummy admin job & as long as I’m willing to sacrifice my holidays finding time to go in the studio is no problem. I maybe reviewing this as I am slowly learning how to engineer for myself and considering going back to college or uni to study in a chemistry field.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time? We hear you’re quite hot on fitness & clean living, especially judging by your infamous discogs photo, where you’re sporting a rather fetching headband.
Haha, well it’s generally clean living except for a few lapses on the occasional weekend as you can tell from that picture. Yeah I am quite generally into this healthy body & mind stuff. I exercise quite regularly, and I have an interest in meditation and general mental self improvement. I have also developed a bit of an addiction to MSN which really, really is not good.
Now onto this months event. You have played at Insekt before, how did you find the night and are you looking forward to playing again?
Yeah I’m definitely looking forward to playing again. I find London to have some of the best crowds & Insekt was no exception last time. Plus its always nice to see some of the regular faces that I meet on my excursions down South. From what I have been informed they have done the venue up a bit so its going to be so much better.
What delights do you have in store for our loyal clubbers?
All I'm going to say is... "I’m sure there’s going to be more than one surprise before we’re done." Hehe *plug plug*.
All photos courtesy of Tim, Laura Board & the Vicious Circle team.
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Insekt
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On:
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Saturday 17th September 2005
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At:
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Fire [map]
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From:
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10pm - 5am
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Cost:
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£8 advanced tickets, £9 Paying Guestlist, £12 on the door.
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Website:
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www.insekt.co.uk
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Ticket Info:
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For £9 paying guestlist please email:
insekt_guestlist@yahoo.co.uk
Advanced tickets available from:
Maria 07813 684399, neverenoughmaria@hotmail.com.
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More:
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This month, Insekt welcomes the winning members of the recent up & coming DJ competition ran exclusively on BangingTunes & Vicious Circle message boards. Tim Clewz joins our heavyweight residents George E, Justin Bourne, Marc Johnson & Paul Glazby to slug it out for what promises to be an uncompromising evening ‘Insekt’ style!
Crystal-clear soundsystem, chill out area, colour laser.
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Flyer:
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 - 
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Region:
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London
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Music:
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Nu NRG. House. Hard House. Funky Techno.
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DJ's:
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Main Room:
Paul Glazby (Vicious Circle/Neonate/Insekt)
Justin Bourne (Short Circuit/Insekt)
Marc Johnson (Tripoli Trax/FlashPoint/Insekt)
George-E (Deprivation/Feersum/Insekt)
Tim Clewz (Vicious Circle)
Firepit:
BangingTunes & Vicious Circle Forum DJ Competition winners:
Chris Comben (Short Circuit/Insekt)
Biron (Vicious Circle)
Nick The Greek (Banging Tunes)
Simon Paul (Vicious Circle)
Tim C (Banging Tunes)
Dave Curtis (Repton) (Vicious Circle)
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Other Features By Toomz:
Insekt preview with Simon Paul & Housewives Choice.
Insekt preview: crowd rockin with Ben Stevens
An interview with Flash Point's quiet man Jupe.
Insekt preview: interview with George E
From Oz to AM: a look at the past year & 2006 with James Nardi
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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![[HarderFaster] - Work Hard, Play Harder!](/images/mainbanner_top1.gif)
@ the funny pic at the end 
Proper informative interview. Roll on Insekt!! WoooooooT!!!!! 
