Maayan Nidam speaks to Samara Moss ahead of her debut appearance at Rhythmatic on the 2nd March

Q. You’re known for your eclectic, sometimes unusual and diverse sound. What is your inspiration in the studio? Do you develop tracks in a certain way?

A. I rewire my studio every 6-12 months so my way of working out a track changes all the time. It keeps things interesting and fresh for me, and so you get batches of tracks that use different instruments and different structures.

Q. What about under your different guises, such as Miss Fitz, do you create a track with each alter ego in mind or do you assign tracks to the one that fits when you’ve finished?

A. I don’t release anymore as Miss Fitz, but for sure when I work as Laverne Radix , for example, I would sit to work as Laverne. It has to start with an intention and since Laverne’s sound is so specific, I can’t just write something and tape ‘Laverne’ over it. A few times though there are leaks from project to project, something like leftovers.

Q. Do you think it has anything to do with your moving around? Tel Aviv, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin etc, do you incorporate these different cultures /experiences in your music?

A.The changes and differences between project to project has more to do with moving inside myself. Altering a state of mind and opening doors to different kinds of experiences and expressions that one ego might not allow, or feel comfortable with.

Q. Is your listening music very different from the music you make? What genres of music you really love? What’s your chill out music and your weekend music?

A.The club music I play is based on very fat beats which is not something I’ve ever been good at producing. My productions are more conceptual and at times also heady. It’s been inspired by the music that I play and also the music I listen to at home ,or in general outside of clubs , which varies between different times and genres. Most of it is very mellow and sweet and a lot of it has some weirdness to it, even when it’s 80′s pop.

I have a tendency to pick records that raise a lot of question marks in my head and I’m kind of hoping to do the same for the people that listen to the records I release, and have them ask questions like ‘did that just happen?’.

Q. Music has taken a big dive into retro classics, with lots of DJs pulling those 80s and 90s tracks out the bag. Are there any retro classics that always get you dancing?

A.It’s funny you see it that way. From my experience I can tell you that many Ds including yours truly, didn’t really take these classics out of the bag. They rotate of course, but there’s just so much good music released back in the day that it would be a shame to not combine it in the sets together with newer records.

Personally, I’m a big fan of Big Shot records. A lot of the house-songs released on it are irresistible.

Maayan Nidam @ BLOOP XMAS MATINÉ 2012

Q.You spend a lot of time making music, playing music, listening to music…What are the others things that you cherish? Are there other things you have that connection with creatively / emotionally?

A.I have a lot of energy and it’s sometimes really difficult for me to concentrate on music, so I do a lot of sports. I swim a lot and cycle too. I also have to take time to be alone and relax, meditate or even just read a book in a very quiet room. All of that helps me at the end to bring out exactly what I have in my head or at least get very close.

Q. What are your favourite kinds of spaces to play in? Are there certain crowds / cities that seem to really get your music / sets?

A.I like changing and playing one night to a small underground club full of DJs, the next night to a rave full of kids, then sometimes a festival on the beach and so on. It shakes things up. The only two things that I will always love more are day-time parties and outdoor spaces. There’s so much more energy in parties like that. I would love to see the day (or evening) where night clubs start working at 7-8pm and if you’re over 30, I’m sure you agree with me.

Maayan Nidam – Live @ Robot Heart, Burning Man 2012 by Livesets.At on Mixcloud

Q. We next see you at Rhythmatic on 2nd March in London, are you looking forward to playing alongside San Proper? Do you know him well through Perlon or will this be one of your first meetings?

A.I know San from Amsterdam. I go there often and I love the clubs there, so of course we bump into each other there or in Berlin. We played in fuse together last year and it was a lot of fun. He’s a unique character that makes great records and I’m sure we’ll have a special night with him.

Q. Do you still have a good relationship with Perlon? Do you see yourself releasing on the label again?

A.Just a few months ago we made a release as Mara Trax on Perlon. Of course, I keep in mind to do some future releases and meanwhile, play the ‘Get Perlonized’ night in Panorama Bar from time to time. The next one will be with Weraika in April.

Q. What have we got to look forward to from Maayan Nidam?

A.Two new collaboration projects. One together with Alex Picone, called The Kicks, and the second one, which is made mostly for live shows, called The Waves. Iit’s a collaboration of Cesar Merveille and me.

Interview by Samara Moss

Maayan Nidam will be playing alonside San Proper on the 2nd March @ Rhythmatic

Full details please click here

Our 4th Podcast comes from Herodot, a young Romania artist who is creating a stir with his unique mix and productions. During the last year, he has focussed on production and the first success already came as his colleagues RPR sound included his song on their mix for Circoloco’s 10th Anniversary CD. We can’t wait to having him on the 3rd March for our 2nd Instalment of the Rhythmatic Intimate Sessions at a new location.

Enjoy!!!

Rhythmatic Team

Gorge aka Pit Waldmann, answers to Melissa Jane Frost ahead of his performance at Rhythmatic at Cargo on the 30th July.

Q. Now firstly, your name is Pit Waldmann, Where does your DJ name Gorge come from?

A. I’m doing windsurfing for a long time and a lot of my inspiration for music came through this sport.There’s a beautiful surf spot in the USA called “Columbia river gorge” and i thought this name would fit perfect. So this was born in 1996 and still stayed

Q. The “8bit” label that yourself and Nick Curly run together recently celebrated its 5 year birthday, many happy returns! How does it feel to be 5 years old and still going strong?

A. First of all we never thought the label might get that known and have this support from all over the world. I think one of the reasons why we’re still successful is our open mind for all styles of electronic music. We’re always looking for the best quality of original productions and don’t build the label on remixer names. We put out a variety from deep to tech house but always not too up-tempo as Nick and I normally play between 122 and 124 bpm. The most important thing for us is the groove and something that makes a production special and shows the talent of the artist. It’s always hard to explain producers what sound we’re looking for. We always tell them: “it must be special and not heard 20 times before”. They should not produce for the sound of the label and play different music in the clubs. The profile of the artist should fit although with his dj or live sound.

Q. So what’s next for the label? Do you have any exciting projects or signings coming up that you can tell us about?

A. We just released a 4 track ep by Dave Pezzner and the next release is a summer vocal track from 2 guys calling themselves “Bunte Bummler”. Next releases will be by the italian “Giuseppe Cennamo” who already appeared on a various artist ep 2 years ago. In fall we planned another ep by myself and 2 or 3 other ep’s.

Q. What is your favourite club or place in the world to play at?

A. One of my favourites is definitely D-Edge in Sao Paulo. The vibe is great and people go crazy the whole night.

Q. I noticed that you played in Chile and Brazil recently – how was that? Is there a big demand for the “Gorge” sound in South America?

A. Well, South America is very big, but at all there’s not so many underground clubs and the scene especially in Brazil is more traditional and commercial. For example Rio has only 1 underground club which is very small and most of the parties are more commercial. The best scene is Sao Paulo. I’m going to Brazil 2 or 3 times a year and there are a couple of clubs booking me the last 2 years. I’m planning the next tour at the moment for November or January as we already have some requests again.

Q. Which country is throwing the best parties at the moment?

A. There’s no specific country with the best parties. Every country has his own scene and spots and every party is special in a way. The country where people definitely know the most things about the artist and the music he plays is the UK.I had good parties all over the world and can’t decide which was the best

Q. You’re a very prolific producer, but as well as your own productions you do a lot of remixes for people e.g. Ray Okpara, Milton Jackson etc, what do you prefer doing?

A. Well, i love remixing other artists when the original production is good. When i have a good original with inspiring parts or vocals i’m working fast and find a catchy line very quickly. The problem is there’s too many labels thinking a good producer can do “Gold out of shit” for money, but this is not possible and i stopped taking too many requests and concentrate more on original stuff. For the future i’ll do something like 5 or 6 remixes a year and around 3 ep’s and singles.

Q. You’re playing for the Rhythmatic boys on the 30th of this month.. When was the last time you played here in London?

A. Last time i played was the Jaded after hour at Cable i think. Great party with nice people. Now I’m really looking forward to Rhythmatic as the last time at the Egg was great!

Thanks again for you time and we’ll see you down the front on the 30th!

Interview by Melissa Jane Frost

Petre Inspirescu played for Rhythmatic Presents Cavo Paradiso 18th June
RA event

In his home town of Bucharest, Romania, Pedro aka Petre Inspirescu has long been a pivotal figure alongside his frequent accomplices Raresh and Rhadoo. He started djing in 1999 in a small club called Web Club. Four year ago he became resident at Circoloco, Dc10 Ibiza and since then, his way of feeling and understanding electronic music changed completely. In the last three years, his appearances throughout the whole world have brought his name to many listeners’ lips, heightening interest in the fertile Romanian scene-an unexpected outpost of advanced electronic music.

From the very beginning Pedro has been strongly affected by deep house tunes and the multitude variety of grooves – not only in electronic music. His DJ sets are as sonically baffling as they are irresistibly groovy; as a producer his tracks are as unhinged as they are methodical.

He set high standards with the track ‘De Bou’ that was released on his own label Arpair which he founded with his friends Rhaddo & Raresh in 2007. The following productions of Petre Inspirescu (his name as a producer) prove that this success wasn’t only a singular case. Thus it’s only fair that Luciano’s Cadenza, one of the most respected labels in the electronic music scene, approached Pedro and signed him right away (Recommendation: Cadenza # 20).

Before, Pedro had gained a good reputation as a DJ, for example as resident at Circo Loco Ibiza @ DC10, where he convinced an international audience week after week. By now he is a globally booked and sought-after artist when it comes to electronic dance music. He even has a group of sympathisers (Ricardo Villalobos, Luciano, Loco Dice, Tania Vulcano and many more) that sounds like the ‘who’s who’ of the international electronic music scene. And there is no end in sight: the new studio in Bucharest has been set up long ago, gigs all around the world increase rapidly and everything is going very well. We are looking forward to his output in the near future.

Rhadoo played for Rhythmatic Presents Cavo Paradiso 18 June 2011
RA event

Dj Rhadoo (Radu Cilinca) made his debut as a DJ in 1995. His first gigs consisted of nights at Club A and Studio Martin, Bucharest, Romania. His eccentric style and personality has helped him earn a reputation as a top-class DJ in his native country of Romania. Rhadoo’s dedication and talent earned him the best Romanian DJ Award in 2003, 2004 and 2005 at the annual Nights.ro Awards.

In 2003, MTV Romania Music Awards acknowledged him as their top pick in the DJ category. His skill and hard work resulted in residencies at clubs like Club A, The Office, Karma, Zerrilos, DC10 (Ibiza), The Mission (best event promoters from Romania). Promoters have constantly rewarded him with warm up slots because of his programming and track selection. Rhadoo has opened up for many world class DJs including John Digweed, Lee Burridge, Carl Cox, Sasha, Richie Hawtin, Jimmy Van M, James Zabiella, Seb Fontaine, X-Press 2, Sister Bliss, Danny Rampling, Sandra Collins etc.

His increasing reputation has landed him gigs at the Love Parade, Berlin (Germany) in 1999 and 2003, East Power – Sankt Petersburg (Russia); not to mention his constant touring within Romania. Rhadoo has also proved his production skills, having released two singles (Liquid1 – Mouse in House 2 and Wicked – Mouse in House 4), which was included on compilations. He has successfully remixed two of the best local bands (Omul cu Sobolani and Sue Paparude).

Rhythmatic Proudly Present

10 YEARS OF MOON HARBOUR SHOWCASE 24hous DEBAUCHERY

12PM – 12PM

24TH APRIL

PART 1: Day Party @ Cargo from 12:00PM – 12:00AM

Ekkohaus
Chris Lattner
Wesley Razzy
Rico Novo
Tulani
Ceri

Adv tickets from RA & Theransomenote
RA tickets
Theransomenote tickets

PART 2: Main Party @ Location TBA 10:00PM – 5:30AM

Matthias Tanzmann
Luna City Express
Chris Lattner
Stathis Lazarides

Adv tickets from RA & Theransomenote
RA tickets
Theransomenote tickets

PART 3: After Party @ Location TBA 5:30 – late

Un:Rated Presents Moon Harbour Official after Party: No line-up will be announced, just check out who played the last party to wet those musical taste-buds. DJs from all the above events will appear plus some very special Guests TBA

Adv tickets from RA & Theransomenote
RA tickets
Theransomenote tickets

“Moon Harbour – a quality brand for ten years” Mixmag

It’s undeniable, the prestigious label that has now achieved its first decade of existence, excellence and success is a perfect exemplar of how to do it right. Releasing records by some of the world’s paramount artists Moon Harbour by no means lacks support, consistently supplying its contemporaries and music devotees alike with the mighty tracks in their record boxes. Created by Matthias Tanzmann 10 years ago, it now owns a remarkable back catalogue with more than 50 EPs, 5 compilation and 3 artist albums (by Matthias Tanzmann, Luna City Express & Martinez), and is undoubtedly a diamond in the underground scene.

Moon Harbour’s internationally acclaimed status is always steadily reinforced by the industry media with rave reviews and chart spots, the label and brand have reached a height few others have managed to reach. Touring the world with the distinctive Moon Harbour sound, it brings impressive parties to cities across the globe, including industry conferences and international festivals. Now it’s London’s turn to witness the shine of the Harbour…

Brought to you by Rhythmatic, 10 years are to be celebrated over 24 blissfully indulgent hours. Armed with fellow Moon Harbour producers, Chris Lattner, Ekkohaus, and Luna City Express, Matthias Tanzmann brings the sound he carved a decade ago to 3 east London venues, bound together by one illustrious atmosphere fuelled by one of London’s newest and brightest promotions….get ready for another episode in the Rhythmatic chronicles.

The beats begin to flow at 12pm Sunday, when Cargo opens its doors to the first edition of the 24 hour bank holiday shenanigans (can you spot any irony?), mooring for a day of beats by Chris Lattner, Ekkohaus and the Rhythmatic residents, a day created to offer the chance to bask and dance in the spring sunshine in the grand outdoor area or revel in the cave-like dance room…

Presenting a change of scenery, the party will be moved on to a secret location warehouse where label boss, Matthias Tanzmann will be joined by Luna City Express, Chris Lattner and Rhythmatic resident Stathis Lazarides to soundtrack the darker games of this bank holiday spectacular. If you’ve ever been to an all day party then you will understand just how immense the atmosphere that will be brought forward to make this momentous carry-on will be. It’s enough to make you tingle just reading about it!

To round the 24 hours off with the flare it deserves, Rhythmatic’s very own after party, Un-Rated, hosts the last of the mischief for those seriously hardcore ravers. No line-up will be announced, just check out who played the last party to wet those musical taste-buds.

Tailoring to produce parties for the underground-beat loving crowds of London, it’s foundation of blockbuster parties has set Rhythmatic’s name firmly on the London scene. Recognised namely for Marco Carola appearances, back to back UK exclusives for Cavo Paradiso and firsts for London in the form of label showcases with the likes of Luca Bacchetti and Davide Squillace, their refusal to stay stagnant and follow a formula illustrates exactly why they have become the exciting promotion that they are, with the Moon Harbour Showcase demonstrating the team’s fierce passion for innovation once more.

Get down with Rhythmatic and Moon Harbour Recordings – Win tickets and music on RA, click here

For more info about the 24 hours debauchery Moon Harbour Showcase please email us:

infor@rhythmatic.co.uk