I Had A Dream

I'm driving along a coastal road, LA or Miami maybe. I'm in a Ferrari Testarossa, probably red. I'm wearing a pastel coloured flannel shirt, which is likely to be pink, maybe lavender. The setting sun is reflecting off the RB Aviators and I seem to have put blonde streaks in my hair. Are my trousers white? Deck shoes? Fuck what do I look like?

Fear of Tigers has featured a couple of times already on SS and I keep coming back to him, mainly 'cause he's brilliant. He lovingly wraps his tunes in synth and padded, squelchy, beats and yeah, it reminds me of the 80's, this much synthesiser has to, but I never liked the 80's that much, musically or sartorially. It's not nostalgia that draws me to FOT, it's the positivity in his music. It makes you feel like you're driving the flash car along the cliff top as the sun goes down. It's like opening the curtains on a sun soaked morning, hearing the birds chattering. It makes you feel better.

And his album was free...

Get on to him and tell him you love him. I told him on Twitter, but he hasn't replied...

This remix of Yes Giantess ' Ruins ' is top. Give it a listen. Then listen again and again...and again. It goes all Laura Brannigan 'Gloria' at about 2.45 then he just lets you have it.

Yes Giantess - ' Ruins (Fear of Tigers Remix)'

Anoorak - ' Nightdrive With You (Fear of Tigers Remix)'

Don't Get Paranoid With Me

Today I attended a potatoe fair ( purchased Yukon Gold and Picasso, if you were wondering) and went hunting for fossils on Wenlock Edge. Some bright spark had used the best fossil yeilding rocks to build a wall, so of course now there isn't much wall left. Found some good amonites, if you were wondering.

Also listened to a tape...

This was on it.

That was my day...

That's Poppers O'Clock Then

The build in this is properly monster

Wonderful

When I bought my first tonne of wood, back in September, I thought that was a lot of wood. Four more tonnes later and I realise that it's not. I'm obsessed with wood (never thought I'd write that). Everywhere I go I'm constantly thinking 'ooh that would burn well' whenever I see a fallen branch or long stick. I can be found, staring at a pile of timber, working out in my head how I can get it home. I've travelled miles for it, through inches of snow. I have pallets delivered to the house and when I saw council workers lopping branches outside my house, it may aswell have been a naked contortionist troupe, the way I reacted. Wood is good (whole other meaning for any Yanks that might be reading this).

It's down to the cold and the fact that we've had a bloody cold winter. Out here, on the edge, it gets really really cold. There's no neighbouring houses, seeping warmth for a start. It's cosey in suburbia, or in a terrace. Loads of residual heat floating about. In the sticks, you've got to make your own heat. Hence the obsession with wood of any kind. Cold stone floors sting like they're hot first thing in the morning and after five months of winter the cold is in your bones and you feel like you'll never get warm again. I've never really noticed heating before, it's just a switch and something to do with a boiler. It's a lot more immediate when it involves hacking stuff up before you can feel warm.

That said - I've got a big fucking axe, so that's a plus

Chelley - 'Took The Night (Grum Vocal Mix)'

Wiley - 'Never Be Your Woman (Herve Re-Work)

Actual Phantom - 'Toy'

Gorrilaz - 'Stylo (Yuksek Remix)'

We Are Actually At A Rave...

If you're young you won't remember The Hitman and Her (and if you ever went out on a Saturday night, you won't have seen it), Michaela Strachan and Pete Waterman filming late night shows from actual clubs. The show ran from 1988 to 1992, which is amazing really when you consider it just featured groups of pissed people dancing badly in clubs. Take That appeared on one show, also Kylie and Guru 'Bloody' Josh. Until 1992 they usually filmed in cheesy clubs in Bradford or Blackpool, where the people got hammered on Bacardi and Coke and danced around their bags. Clubs and clubbing were changing around them though. Rave was really taking off in the clubs, as were pills (twenty five quid a pop, but they'd last for hours), suddenly this whole Pete and Michaela in da club stuff didn't seem such a good idea. Suddenly it looked naive, aswell as naff.

I really wish they'd revisit this idea now. On ITV. After Extreme Cops With Guns and Dogs on The Streets At War

The Return Of The Sneaky Interview

It's been a while since the last SS interview (thinking of questions is hard, ok). The last one was with Tom from Run Riot, spookily enough. Since we last spoke he has been a busy boy. There's been remixes on Skint, Ape Music, and Sound of Habib.There's his remix of Double 99s ' RIP Grooove' which spent a month on the DJ Download House Chart, getting airplay on Kiss FM, as one of the Breaks tracks of the year. Throw in some live performances and running a label of his own, We Are Live Records, and I'm suprised the lad can raise the energy to answer questions at all.

SS - What do you listen to, day to day? Are you listening to radio, I-Pod, is the music that you hear influencing you?

Run Riot - I do most of my listening on Soundcloud these days as there’s loads of exciting new music on there. I don’t listen to very much radio and I’ve never owned an iPod. I’m far more concerned about finding new music for my label and making my own instead. Occasionally I will hear something that influences what I do in some way but these are more often from the big players!

SS - What would you say is your most important piece of kit?

Run Riot - It’s got to be Cubase. It’s what I use to lay my tracks down. All the rest of my gear is pretty dispensable. Although I do love my Korg EMX – so DIRTY!

SS - I used to be a rock kid and didn't find it much of a jump from RATM, Queens of The Stone Age, et al to the more driving electro, breaks I'm into now. Can you see similarities between rock and dance (I see that your influences include Muse and QOTSA).

Run Riot - Definitely! There’s power and energy in both. They’re obviously pretty different musically but connect with people on the same level and are equally important to music. A LOT of my influences are rock bands. I usually take musical influences from rock and production ideas from dance.

SS - Will Justice ever make another record? (serious doubts in the Squeaky Sneaker Camp)

Run Riot - Let’s hope so!!

SS - What have you got planned for 2010?

Run Riot - Lots of live shows - I’ll be hitting the festivals again this summer, which I can’t wait for! Remixes - I’ve got some BIG name interest that I’m pretty excited about at the moment.

I’ll also be working on a couple of original EPs. I feel like I’m getting better all the time. Hopefully my output throughout 2010 will show this ;)

SS - How are things going with We Are Live? What's happening on that front this year?

Run Riot - Things are going great with the label. My latest release, ‘Take My Hand’, has just been released on it and it has had some great reviews. I’ve recently signed some quality artists and can’t wait to get their stuff out there. The label will release multi-genre electronic music, not just Breaks - basically anything I think is cool!

SS - What are your biggest tracks at the moment?

Run Riot - Plaza De Funk - Push n Pull
Audiohazard - First Contact (Karton Remix)
Far Too Loud - Bass Association
Loving Access Denied’s output at the moment too

SS - Roy Keane - the best man for the job?

Run Riot - Ha, nice research! Yeah, I think so... We’ve had a bit of a shit season so far considering we were one of the favourites to go up at the start. We’ve had far too many draws but there are signs that we are starting to perform now - fingers crossed for a surge up the table!

SS - In a similar vein, Ipswich Town have been bought up by a Middle Eastern business man and amazingly they've come to you to discuss signings. Who's on the dream list?

Run Riot - Cech, Tevez, Drogba, Terry, Rooney, Lampard, Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Giggs ...I’m sure they wouldn’t be too expensive!!

SS - Can you make a cocktail?

Run Riot - Nope, but I can ask for one


Good lad. Thanks a lot to Tom for subjecting himself to the sort of GMTV interview technique we're famous for and frankly proud of.

You can get the Take My Hand EP here. I highly recommend doing so, 'cause it's aceness. You can also vote for Run Riot in the Breakspoil Awards and you should do that too.

Double 99 - 'Groove RIP (Run Riot Remix)

Everything Is Shit...

...apart from this which is great.

Barretso - 'We Wont Stop (Kolt 13 Remix)'

Spring must be in the air, as I'm slipping out of my Dreamwave period and moving back towards the BANGERS again. Honestly, winter can just fuck off.

Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn

We're loving TDCC and we're massively excited about their album, due out on the 1st March. Everything we've heard has been class, uplifting pop and that's what we like from our geetar based indy stuff.

A lot of video posts at the moment, I realise. Been caught up with some February gardening madness and though I maybe looking toned and healthy from it, it doesn't leave me much time for blogging. Back with something mammoth soon

The Maccabees Feat Roots Manuva

Youtube Music Is...