In between his secret day job, nights of partying and numerous walks with Paco the dog, our Royal Marinelli sometimes takes days off to get in touch with his inner self, wind down, and record a podcast.
Which is exactly what he’s done today. This is the quintessential Mirrorballs May sound: some sun, some hoodies, girls walking around with tight leggings, sunglasses, cold drinks and cool nights. The incredible duo ROUX Soundsystem has just secured a new residency at Up Club one Monday a month, they’re still regular faces at Salon Daomé, and I’m pretty sure you’ll hear them again some time soon in your friendly neighborhood.
In the meantime, enjoy this fine selection right here.
Diggin’ Podcast #2 – NoD
NoD is far from being a newcomer. Hailing from Quebec City and having lots of musical experience under his belt, he went from singing in multiple bands to sharing the decks all over our capital with the Music & Friends gang. Since moving to Montreal in 2011, he has been hanging out at Salon Daomé a lot, and recently became a Beat Boutique resident.
Here’s his very inspired Diggin’ podcast for us.
And here’s the track list:
1. Donna Summer – Last Dance
2. Kaine feat. Kathy Diamond – Love Saves The Day (Soul Clap remix)
3. Jamie Jones – Summertime
4. Motor City Drum Ensemble – L.O.V.E.
5. Storm Queen – Look Right Through (Vox)
6. Evan Evans – Repetition (Art Of Tones remix)
7. Loin Brothers – Heavy Helmet (Mock & Toof remix)
8. The Revenge – Just Be Good To Mario
9. Bonar Bradberry – Siula Grande (Pete Herbert remix)
10. Ajello – Moody Bang (Tensnake remix)
5 QUESTIONS FOR… JORDAN PEAK
If you were afraid that the true masters of house music were all from the distant pass, fear no more – there’s some new blood on the assembly line, slaving away in the studio, and sweating in the club. Jordan Peak is a newcomer, but he has already released his tracks on labels such as One, Tsuba and Robsoul, and is gaining an increasingly building buzz. We snatched him up on his way to play his first gig in Montreal.
I heard some rumors saying your dad was a DJ and you grew up practically having your diapers changed on vinyl stacks. Any truth in that?
No, he wasn’t a DJ, but he did love House music. He had lots of the US House and Garage records and early mix cd’s full of tracks by Todd Terry, Armand Van Helden, DJ Sneak, Kerri Chandler, Masters At Work, etc. It’s through his collection that I was exposed to the music .
Among your already impressive body of work, my favorites are the two “Club Cuts” EPs you released on Robsoul. How did you come up with the sheer fun and old school vibe of the tracks?
Thanks, I’m glad you like. It was a real personal honour to put out those tracks on Robsoul, one of my favourite record labels, and definitely one of my biggest influences. In terms of production, I just did what I always do when working on tracks, jam with ideas until I get a groove going that I like. I’m more into raw, analogue sounds than really clean and polished tracks, I just prefer the warmth and charm that people tend to label as ‘old school’. I’m not saying it’s wrong to like the really clean stuff, everyone’s different and has their own taste, I’m just more drawn to that classic vibe…
Music is a cycle and trends come and go in circles. How do you explain house music staying at the forefront for such a long time?
Like you say, music, trends and the trends of music come, go, return, leave and then reappear time and time again. The thing with House is that it’s such a vast and entrancing creature that everyone has their own interpretation of what House music is. Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Detroit, Berlin, Paris, London, Leeds and more and more cities globally have people that listen to that repetitive, electronic 4/4 beat, and contribute their own ideas and expressions of that notorious, nocturnal beast, thus helping the sound to evolve and find new ears and audiences in places all over the world, from all different cultures and walks of life.
The London scene is huge at the moment. Was it always this way? How do ‘bass culture’ and house heads cohabit?
London and the rest of the UK have always had a great nightlife and party ethic. People just like to go out and have a really, really good time over here. I’m guessing that by ‘bass culture’, you’re referring to dubstep, drum and bass, etc? Well, we seem to get a long pretty fine. With some guys like Scuba and the music on labels such as Techtonic and Hotflush, for example, you can hear the house and techno influences in dubstep and vice versa, with Maya Jane Coles for instance, exploring both fields under different guises. I listen to some Dubstep as I have friends that produce and play that sound, but it’s not something, personally, that I’d experiment with.
Will this be your first time in North America? What are your expectations?
Not the first time, but I’m still incredibly excited to get off that transatlantic plane and set foot on North American soil. I’m expecting to meet some new friendly people, play some records and generally have a very good time.
Jordan Peak is playing alongside ROUX Soundsystem on Saturday March 17th at Le Salon Daomé in Montreal.
8 questions for Microzoo Records founder Nathan Burns
Microzoo Records is an idea that’s been floating in Nathan Burns’ head for years. And luckily, some people work hard enough to make their dreams come true. Since the end of 2010, the Montreal-based label has been putting out a steady output of quality releases, from the likes of Leland McWilliams and Tapesh. Nathan was kind enough to grant Mirrorballs an intimate glimpse of his decadent lifestyle.
Would it be a stretch to say that you ain’t the new kid on the block anymore – you’ve been around for a while? Since, when, exactly, and how did you start?
Growing up, I was a music lover, and so were my friends. Digging for new artist and listening sessions were common activities… I got introduced to the DJ thing in the mid nineties. My best friend had gotten a pair of Technics and a collection of eighties records from his brother-in-law. He showed me how to use the mixer and turntables, bit of beat matching & scratching. I fell in love with it…
I’m from a small town on the north shore of Montréal, so in late nineties I moved to the big city, got a new job and got the money to buy my own gear. It’s around the same time that I started collecting records.
Practiced a lot and recorded a few demos, but I couldn’t get any bookings. So like a lot of other DJs did before me, in 2001 I decided to organize a small event in some weird location with DJ friends so we could play a couple of records outside of my basement. This was my first gig, and I kept on going from there…
What made you want to transition from DJ and producer to label owner, at a time when the music industry is in a pretty bad shape?
When you’re in love with a woman, you don’t really care if she’s broke you just make it happen…
It’s the same with music; I do it for the love. I’ve been involved in the Montréal EDM scene for more than 10 years now; DJing, organizing events, promoting club nights and more recently working in the studio. Starting the label was just the next logic step for me.
It’s a project that I always wanted to do. I was just waiting for the right timing and people to work with.
Last year I met the right partner, my friend Loic and we did it.
The industry is in sort of a transition state at the moment but the music is still there and maybe more than ever! Times like this force us to be more creative in the way we do business. If Microzoo can make it pass this “crisis” it will just make it stronger. I think…
You’ve started more confidentially, with lesser known artists, but are now getting bigger names. Was that the strategy from the start, or did this happen because your label rapidly aquired some street cred?
When Loic and I started the label, we didn’t really know how to go about it so there wasn’t really a strategy. But we quickly realized that trying to convince established artists to work with us on our new born label could be quite expensive. So for our first releases we just dug to find great emerging artist that would fit within the sound boundaries we had imagined for Microzoo. We were very lucky to find some really good artists like Patryk Molinari, Sunju Hargun, Ohm Hourani & Philip Arruda, that agreed to work with us even if our label was brand new. It really gave us a good base to work on. I would say that this is the main reason why bigger names agreed to work with us after… That, and the fact that we got better at the art of convincing people… Haha!
You’re also doing monthly microzoo nights at Le Salon Daomé. How’s that going?
Yes! Like every club night, it has its ups and downs, but overall it’s doing very good. The Microzoo night is a label showcase. Aside from being a great lab to test our upcoming releases, we also bring artists that collaborate closely with the label to play at the club. Just in the last few months we had international act like: Claire Ripley, Soulrack & Mikel_E, Timid Boy, Philip Arruda & Leland McWilliams. It’s a great opportunity for peoples that follow the label to see the artists live & and for the label, a good way to promote the artists.
Is there an artist you’re courting, and that has yet to acknowledge your unmistakable charm?
There are a few but its part of the game. In due time…
We’ve seen with Chicoutimi-based Monique Musique that location isn’t very important for a label – can you say the same about being based in Montreal?
Obviously not… I guess it all depends on your contacts and how much money you are willing to invest.
For us, being based in Montréal and already being familiar with the local scene was a good asset. Our following and network really helped us to spread the word when we started the label.
Plus since we also do events, we have the opportunity to add a booking in the negotiation with the artist. It usually helps.
Now that the label’s co-founder has moved to Spain, how do you guys make it happen?
With this thing called the internet… Seriously, we have our little set up. We each have tasks to do, and we communicate by e-mail and skype. It’s not always easy to have a virtual work relation but we intend to visit each other on a regular base in the near future.
What’s coming up for y’all?
Man, we have some really good releases coming! Just next Monday, an awesome EP from Zoe Xenia is coming out with remixes from Leland McWilliams & Andre Buljat – very excited about that. After that, Toronto-based Philip Arruda comes up with his second EP on Microzoo with remixes from Dirty Culture and Andrea Ferlin… huge! Claire Ripley & Zeitgeist have also graced us with a solid EP, we added remixes from Fog & Emanuel Satie. We also have the Microzoo night at Salon Daomé coming up on Friday March 2th. It will feature the great DJ Maus, member of the early Microzoo crew, an opening set from Le Binch, young and upcoming talent + myself. Should be a great party!
Diggin’ – A New Podcast Series by Mirrorballs
We, at Mirrorballs, have always liked to share what we dig. In our podcasts, in our DJ sets, in our late night shots distributin’… and today, we feel no different. We have come up with an idea to ask our homies to do a mix with tracks they love, but almost never played in a club. The tracks can’t be too new – they need to be at least six months old, tried & tested in your earbuds or your home systems. And there are only 10 of ‘em in the mix. Sounds good?
The first one to try it is, of course, our mascot Marinelli. He has assembled a nice collection of groovy, chunky organic groovers. The kind of set that makes you wanna make love on the couch with random images on the TV in the background.
Here’s the link. And here’s the tracklist:
1 – David August – Rebound Bro
Mirrorballs Producer Podcast 002 – Luca Bear
In the spirit of showcasing the best producers whose tracks we like to play, we’re bringing you a podcast made entirely of Luca Bear productions, selected and mixed by the fast-living Marinelli. Luca will play Café Del Monko alongside DJ LeMonk and ROUX Soundsystem tonight, and you can find all the details here. Don’t sleep!
Get the mix (download & streaming) right here!
Mirrorballs October Podcast by Pierre de Lux
We, at Mirrorballs, often invest time in partying and polishing our various friendships around town. To our livers’ peril, we roam the city’s clubs after dark, we slowly but steadily damage our hearing, and we always push back our bed time – sleep procrastinators supreme.
Despite our day jobs, we deliver. We get shit done. And the latest accomplishment is Pierre de Lux‘ October podcast, an expertly mixed collage of tech-house varieties, including tracks by Cassius, Ramiro Lopez and Jamie Woon. A little darkness never hurt, especially at a time where the leaves are dying and falling from their trees. All you need to get through these brown times are scarves, hoodies, facial hair and Pierre’s mix playing at maximum volume in your AWD car.
You can stream / download it right here.
And here’s the track list:
Raw Instinct – De La Bass (Mousse T House Mix)
Sketch, Joyce Muniz – New in Town feat. Sketch (Original Mix)
Jamie Woon – Night air (Sascha Braemer edit)
Harvey McKay – Show Face (Original Mix)
Macromism – Groover (Original Mix)
Terry Grant, MSMS – Closer (Original Mix)
Rene Sandoval – Deep Medina (Original Mix)
Cassius – The Sound Of Violence (Franco Cinelli Remix)
Ramiro Lopez – Say What (Original Mix)
Olene Kadar – Little Miss Dynamite feat. D-Low (Original Mix)
Nikola Gala – Dope Beat (Original Mix)
Raziek – Wake Up (Zombie Disco Squad Dub)
Marc DePulse – Hatliner (Bart Skils Remix)
Erick Violi, El Indio – La Linda (Original Mix)
Zombie Disco Squad – Pinky (Monkey Safari Remix)
Don Pepino
Marinelli
Clifford Brown
ostrich13percent
Pierre de Lux
