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Features
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George E takes a big BYTE out of North vs South
Reported by Miles Gorfy
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Submitted 07-09-11 16:53
South African born George E was one of the UK Underground Hard House/HARD NRG scene’s most prominent DJ/Producers from the 99 – 08 (in ’08 he decided to hang up the phones for a time-out). At the start of 2011, he resurfaced as promoter to resurrect BYTE (which he promoted for a fair few years prior to ’08) at the legendary Purple Turtle (Camden).
Apart from past residencies at Torture Garden, RAW, Wired, Endorphin UK, Insekt, Seed and Byte, during his peak, George E was immensely popular on the over-ground scene, frequently appearing at venues such as Camden Palace (Koko), George 4, 414, Ministry of Sound, Mass, Fridge, EGG, Crash, Scala et al. He rocked the dance floors at Frantic, Heat, Sundissential, Housewives Choice, Twisted, Milk, XLR8, HHA and invitations to Ibiza during the summer months saw him play a more chunky-ass sound to the delight of the Balearic punters!
His production career saw him team up with the likes of DMF/Marc Johnson/Nik Denton/Paul King (aka F1/Trauma/Pants & Corset)/Dan Madams/Steve Maynard/Alex Calver (aka WMD) to name but a few with releases on Elasticman/12" Thumpers under his guise Plaztik Surgeons/Toolbox Records/Flashpoint Records/Feersum Records/Eire label - Hardsounds and US Hard NRG Label - Infectious.
His releases were supported by many of the Hard House/Hard NRG scenes household names both in the UK and further afield. Compilation appearances on Ian M's Wild Wild West (Tidy Weekender 8) compilation, Lisa Lashes's 'Lashed in Australia' compilation, Paul Glazby's 'Live in South Africa compilation, Flashpoint Records' 'Industrial Strength' Compilation and a string of other commercial compilations to boot!
Being scouted early in his production career by elite music publisher, Paul Rodriguez Music (Publishers), George E was rated (next to Greg Ferguson aka Shark Boy) as South Africa's most successful Hard House/NU NRG producer during his career based on profile and success of his releases.
Ahead of the BYTE’s forthcoming North VS South event at the Purple Turtle, we had a chat with the man to find out a bit more about his past, present and his vision of the scene now . . . we also raise the issue as to why he thought it a good time to resurrect BYTE.
Hi George. You have been very ‘quiet’ (seeing you were always loud and playing it HARD) since 2008, why resurface now?
Hi there! Well it was all a bit opportunistic as such. I got a call from the Purple Turtle at the beginning of the year asking if I would like to do a BYTE re-union there. Those that know me well, will know that I have a long history with the Purple Turtle (Camden) and ran events there alongside Allen TG and a few others over the years gone past. The first event in 2011 went well; the Turtle offered us some extra dates and we are now back with BYTE on a bi-monthly basis, the next event being on September the 9th.
BYTE - just how and where did the name originate?
In 2000/01, I fell into promoting when I started off helping out Allen TG (better known as Promoter of Torture Garden) with Seed@ Purple where I held one of my residencies at that time. At Seed you would get, without fail, 250-300 punters during each and every Sunday evening and this made Allen and me think of taking the event ‘over-ground’ to try to capture Seed’s magnificent/electric atmosphere in a bigger venue and offer it to a wider audience. Marc Johnson and I met a couple of years prior to that and together with an old ‘makker’, Pete Rothy, we saw the birth of INSEKT.
We wanted a name that stood out and Allen one night at Seed mentioned (after a fair few tequilas) the name ‘Insect’, I added well lets really give it a bit more zing and so we arrived at the name Insekt (derived from the Afrikaans word, my mother tongue, ‘Insek’ which means . . . DUH - Insect). Seed later became the sister party to Insekt and we decided to change Seed’s name to Insekt presents Byte @ Purple Turtle (get-it?? Insect Bite . . . sooooo, the spelling ‘Byte’ comes from the Afrikaans word for ‘bite’ which is ‘Byt’.
Later, we decided to keep Insekt @ Fire and Byte @ Purple Turtle as separate events. Byte’s name subsequently stuck as it was by then a household name at the Purple Turtle. Allen/Pete and I later departed as promoters of Insekt, upon which James Nardi, Marc Johnson and Chris Comben continued doing great things with the event.
Does this mean ‘George E’ is back in business for good as Promoter/DJ/Producer?
Personally, I have always found it tough to focus 100% on DJing whilst promoting an event(s), you always have a pre-occupied mind (when promoting an event) on whether everyone is having a good time, is the night running smoothly etc. Just the fact that your mind must be in 1001 places at once, could be tough going for the focussed DJ. I have always thought of myself as a DJ 1st and then as a promoter. I have co-promoted 3 events at one stage in my life and trying to carry forward a reputable image as a DJ/Producer is certainly not an easy task whilst all that is going on in the background.
I really enjoyed the challenges during those busy years, but can I do it all like that now, all over again at this moment in time? I will say a sure NO . . . I work in a Fund Management environment which is very taxing in itself and that is my life now. However, I will continue promoting BYTE (alongside Lorenzo Barrero and Dani D) whilst we have our following/we are having fun. I will consider playing for other promoters whom wish to have me down at their events.
On the production side, I sure would love to get back in the studio at some stage (who knows when) and re-edit some of my old tracks and I’ve got some ideas too for a couple of boot-legs (which I wanted to do for years now) and who knows, maybe an original track or 5, time will tell.
I have always kept my true passion for harder music of the house genre and that flame will surely never die, life just changed and one always need to look upwards and think about your future. Time waits for no man.
Over the years you must have experienced ‘change’ in the scene and what are your thoughts on it today?
I’ve seen a number changes over the years for sure, back then you had the whole tech-influence on hard house, with some of the big name hard house producers even getting sucked into using a techy groove (percussion, techno kickdrum and basslines et al) throughout their tracks, later came the big onslaught from the Hard Trance genre, then you saw the Bounce sound resurface (the BUMSY BUMSY sound as I like to call it) with the chicken dance, so you can go on and on . . .
I was always in love with the sound of the hoover, Hard NRG, however, versatility was always key for me. I would cross-over into Hard Trance and even the techy stuff, whilst feeling comfortable, whenever it was needed.
Too many Hard House DJs called it ‘sticking to their guns’ when playing nails (now called ‘filth’ – personally a term I despise) to a floor that clearly couldn’t take it and eventually clearing that dance floor. One can ask ‘Is that good skills?’, just cause you can lay down the law to an empty dance floor? To me, no sorry, that don’t impress me, or the promoter of that event who I am sure you will have have p*ssed off – personally I believe you need to adapt to your ‘floor’ and if that means/meant calming it down, playing more uplifting or gearing down on your BPMs, then you do so. It’s all about the disco and the dance at the end of the day. ”F**k your ego”, I used to say, ”you are only as good as your dance floor.”
As for the scene of late (and I have been tracking and keeping myself up-to-date with developments), it’s interesting as the kids who used to be clubbers on the dance floors I played to, are now head-liners at events round town (fair play to them!). The Hard House scene is ever so much smaller these days, but the concentration of DJs, producers and music are much higher; be this good or bad, is it really quality or just quantity - you decide! The whole online record-label/MP3/file-sharing scenario made every man and his dog a producer literally overnight. Gone are the days you could really say you were upfront with your music. Each to their own...but I do think there is still some decent Harder Music out there (e.g. love Paul King’s latest album – big respect to the man and his work) and, as a DJ, the likes of Jake Martin has impressed me at BYTE recently and think he could go on to do big things (relative to the size of the scene).
Over the years, you have held residencies at the infamous Torture Garden, Byte and Insekt. Did you bring the same ‘George E’ hard NRG sound to each or did you find yourself being more diverse with your music selection for these different crowds and events?
As above, if you had to stereotype the ‘George E sound’, it will be a bit like my personality or attitude, can be dark, twisted and intense, but always energetic, even a bit in-ya-face at times.
At Torture Garden (TG), I played arguably my most pounding and dirtiest sets, however there were some occasions where I have also played my most grooviest and uplifting sets at TG, even dropping some bootlegs of Kylie (‘In your eyes’ remix on Tripoli) and The Prodigy - it all depended on the mood and vibe of the dance floor.
At Insekt/Insekt AM, I kept my sound to a strictly hard house/NRG and this may have varied from playing uplifting, groove-ridden hard house through to the sound of white-knuckle Hard NRG. Once again, it was always about what the dance floor and not about what I wanted to play. I always kept in mind that I want to be known and remembered as a DJ whom likes to entertain rather than playing what is seen as the fashionable or the trend. I used to blend classics with the upfront tracks. It’s only a party where people come to let their hair down, have fun and dance after all.
At Byte (Purple Turtle) I tended to be much more open-minded and diverse in what I played. You could have heard anything from me on any given Sunday, from hard trance to techno to hard house to Banging NRG, it all really depends on the time I played and as per usual the mood of the floor at that time. In my early years as a DJ, I was renowned for playing four-to-the-floor ‘hard-as-nails’ sets and it took me a while to shake off this stereo-typical branding.
A few years in, it use to be rather funny when people told me “oh that was a tad fluffy for George E” and just the next week to be told “gawd that was ‘ard” - as the saying goes you can’t please everyone all of the time! This comes with the territory and you should just accept that if you going to survive in the music industry. It’s good to keep people guessing!
Over the years you have also had a buoyant production career and you have worked, in the studio, with a number of different artists. Tell us a bit more?
Yep, I have done a few tracks over the years. Most of them in collaboration with other producers e.g. Marc Johnson, DMF, Nik Denton, Dan Madams, Steve Maynard and WMD.
The last few releases I did included ‘Never Turn Ya Back’ on Dan Madams’ Feersum Records, ‘Freakin It’ (Hardsounds 4) with Steve Maynard - this track got caned by the likes of Ian M. Ian liked the track so much that he featured it on his Wild Wild West Tidy Weekender compilation.
Then there was me & DMF’s ‘Hardache’ on Hardsounds 5 and the last original track I did was ‘I Know You’re Scared’ (in collab. with WMD) on Infectious Records. As already mentioned you never know when I may re-edit some of the above and I sure have that in mind so watch this space!
Having been a successful artist on the Hard House scene which was obviously through hard work, but also through people believing in what you did and their support. Do you believe this is true in your case?
Very much so. First of all, as a DJ, you’ve got to thank the clubbers who came to party at the clubs I played at and those whom bought my records and the compilations I was featured on – without these people I will not even have experienced all the good times that were had. Then the DJs who played my tracks over the years and/or featured me on their compilations, from Paul Glazby, Andy Farley, Justin Bourne, Ilogik, Ian M, Lisa Lashes, Marc Johnson, Nik Denton, Ben Stevens, Dan Madams - to the labels I released music on Flashpoint, Elasticman, Hard Sounds Deprivation, Feersum, Toolbox Records, Concrete Records, 12” Thumpers and Infectious etc, apologies if I left some out as there’s too many to mention.
Big shouts/thanks also to DMF, Paul King, WMD for hosting me in their studios over the years.
On the Promotions/Promoters side, those that really supported/made a clear impact on my career over the years were Torture Garden/Seed (big thanks to Allen TG), Frantic/Convergence/HHA (thanks Will/Amanda/Dickon), Damo & Anton @ Heat, Piers @ Milk, Penny @ XLR8, Si the Hat @ Twisted, Mark & Jav (RIP) @ Endorphine UK, Casey @ RAW events, Steve (aka Coops) @ Sectioned. To all the venues I played, big shouts and to the Purple Turtle . . . BIG LUV!
Other people that have either inspired, assisted or supported me along the way, Allen TG, Dani D, Stefan Ro, Lorenzo Barrero, *Ting*, Mark Bongwah (Alien Trax), Gareth (Pinky), Warrick Fourie, Mujib (for all his help with the recent BYTE flyers) guys who worked with me on Insekt, the Owners and all at Purple Turtle and all the DJs who played down at the Turtle past and present and helped to build on the PTs legacy!
Those lucky enough to see you outside of the club scene have seen you sport a rather fetching pin stripe suit for work in the City. What do you do for a living and in your social life?
I am part of the ‘Corporate Scum’ clan. I work as a Pension Fund Manager looking after the portfolio for a FTSE 250 Company in London.
I love good food so to make up for all the ‘fine dining’ I spend three quarters of my life in the gym, as they say ‘Anima Sana In Corpore Sano’ (sound mind in a sound body), even though I am not sure I am of sound mind at times hehehe!
We hear you are a keen rugby union fan and what is your predictions for RWC 2011
In South Africa the boys are born with either a rugby ball or cricket bat in their hands. Rugby Union is a big part of the South African culture, no wait, rugby is a ‘religion’ in SA and I am indeed a very big fan of the sport, especially the Springboks (SA National Team) and the Stormers/WP.
I studied at the University of Stellenbosch (in Cape Town) and it’s renowned for the great number of Springbok players that used to be nursed from its university rugby teams. Bob Skinstad, Breyton Paulse and Louis Koen (all former Springboks) used to all be mates of mine at Uni - it was rather amusing to see these guys on the television when they first made it big, same time I was chuffed the lads made it good.
As for RWC 2011...are you serious...SPRINGBOKS all the way baby! (we’ll see – ed)
What does the near future hold for George E and BYTE?
George E: I am glad to be back, even though it is on a more part-time basis or as required basis. I would like to get out there again and play a bit more, but not run around all over the country every weekend playing 4-5 gigs. Now and then would do just nicely thanks.
As for BYTE, our next event, on Friday 9 September (North vs South) and will see the best of South Africa’s Hard Dance DJs take on those of the Northern Hemisphere and we can’t wait for this one, hope to see you there!
The event after N vs S will be in November and we got something special in mind for this one but a bit more on that some other time. In 2012 BYTE will also be doing a few collaborative events with other promotions so be on the look-out for details.
All photos courtesy of of George E. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Byte pres 'Battle of the Hemispheres'
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On:
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Friday 9th September 2011
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At:
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The Purple Turtle [map]
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From:
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19:30 - 03:00
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Cost:
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£4 on the door all night
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More:
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Byte returns to the Purple Turtle for a battle of the Hemispheres this autumn. Get your stompin’ boots ready for what is to be a right royal warm-up session as we bring you some of the finest Hard Dance Artists from the Northern -and Southern Hemisphere. On the night you will be mesmerised and taken to Hard House heaven by DJs from South Africa, UK, Spain and Romania...then...the most important people on the night, our good looking, up-for it crowd from far afield as Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand...does United Nations of Hard House jump to mind...sure does hey?!
We are proud to announce that The *Ting* will be spinning an exclusive *Ting* classics set on the night. *Ting* (aka Zoe Hart), needs little introduction to those who knows their Hard Dance as she is the original Queen of Dance Floor Mayhem. Over the years she has held residencies at Pro-Active/Torture Garden and a string of others and was one of the most in demand female hard dance artists in the UK. She has DJ’d across the globe spreading the gospel with energy-fuelled up-for-it harder beat sound! We look forward what she has in store for us on the night!!!
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Other Features By Miles Gorfy:
There’s a Re:Form on The Horizon
Latex Zebra: roving bus reporter, gimpy-knee-man or Darren F@cking Nugget?
'Dirty Chef' Ed Lynam reflects on his time in the UK and forthcoming move to Ireland
Headliners PHD and NG Rezonance step up for Trance Sanctuary's 6th Birthday this Saturday
Fancy a bit of Custard at Trance Sanctuary's 6th Birthday?
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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Comments:
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From: Lorenzo Barrero on 8th Sep 2011 13:29.44
Wicked interview, and enjoyed reading it! See you all down at BYTE tomorrow night!
From: Latex Zebra on 8th Sep 2011 14:13.53
Always had fun playing at Byte and it was a Hard night that didn't just rely on the most aggressive music possible being played all night.
Thanks for letting me (Latex Zebra) be part of it.
From: Ualda on 10th Sep 2011 12:15.35
We got nice memories, it was fun playing at Byte and you made our hUJe dance-floor happy.
Nice interview!
From: dani d on 15th Sep 2011 23:01.29
Wicked interview Mr G,nice reading ...lots of good memory's!!!It is nice to share feelings and tell to others about pioneering of HH!!! Keep it high!!!
From: George-E on 16th Sep 2011 10:12.51
Cheers guys...see ya all round! :-) G
From: Coops on 18th Nov 2011 10:08.50
I had George play at my nights on lots of occasions and he always delivered the goods. We had some fantastic DJs at Sectioned but no matter who he followed George would always take it up a notch. A fantastic DJ and a top bloke.
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