Sianie_Blake
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Grabbing the baton from label boss Mark Knight, the newly crowned Radio 1 DJ Dave Spoon continues his love affair with Toolroom records on this, the label’s 5th instalment of the Toolroom Knights mix series. With this mix Dave further stakes his claim as one of the UK’s premier dance artists of the last few years!
Back in 2004 Toolroom snapped up ’21st Century’ Dave’s breakthrough single which proved to be a defining moment in his career. He has since gone on to release tracks and remixes on high calibre labels such as Big Love, Superstar, Joia and CR2 and, of course, scored a Top 40 hit with the massive ‘Bad Girl (At Night)’ featuring Lisa Mafia.
Toolroom head honcho Mark Knight sums up the reasons behind enlisting Dave to compile and mix the latest CD in the series, “Since the first day we received a demo from Dave Spoon almost 4 years ago we have loved and respected his work. It’s been fantastic to see Dave’s career grow and grow and it’s only right that such a great talent and a regular on the label should mix Toolroom Knights.” and with support from DJ luminaries such as Roger Sanchez, Pete Tong and Steve Lawler, it’s easy to understand where Mark is coming from.
This upfront 2 CD mix is broken up into ‘Main Room’ and ‘Basement’ discs and as Dave explains, “The ‘Main Room’ room disc is fairly straightforward, it’s typical of what I’ve been playing recently and there’s some big tunes on there!” True to his word the album opens with the killer new single on Toolroom (for which the video is currently being filmed) from Dave Spoon, Paul Harris and Sam Obernik; ‘Baditude’. What proceeds is a master class in the big room house sound of now with tracks like Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke’s ‘Chaa Chaa’, John Dahlback’s ‘Godfather’ and Zoo Brazil’s ‘Technik’ appearing among many other white-hot producers. Dave manages to convey a range of textures across the 70 minutes, taking in shades of glitchy minimal, stomping electro and groove-based house that commands attention throughout.
Disc 2 is the sound of Dave clearly enjoying exploring the more twisted end of the house music spectrum. “The ‘Basement Disc’ reflects a lot of the other stuff I love right now too”, offers Dave. “I’ve played a few other places so far this year where I can experiment a bit more and play ‘em!” The disc takes in elements of rave-infused house via Midfield General’s ‘Disco Sirens’, hip-hop in the form of Dave’s heavy remix of Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Flex’ and classics like Basement Jaxx’s ‘Fly Life’ and Zero B’s ‘Lock Up’. The disc comes across like a musical time line, stretching from Dave’s early influences right through to the current sounds of Hervé and Count of Monte Cristal.
Across the two discs you are treated to an insider’s guide of what is going down right now on the world’s most happening dance floors. Dave manages to execute a mix that is both bang-up-date and engaging, whilst successfully weaving his grinding electro signature sound throughout like a musical thread. Here’s a peek into the world of Mr Spoon, in a short interview that gives an insight behind the scenes of his brilliant Toolroom Knights CD…
So firstly, how did you initially hook up with the guys at Toolroom?
It was totally by chance! Owen who works there was selling a record collection, I emailed him and soon realised he worked there when he replied. I spoke to him and sent a basic demo that same day of "21st Century". The next morning Mark Knight called me and the rest is history as they say! Was meant to happen
How did you feel when they asked you to provide a mix for the Toolroom Knights series?
Well, I've done a couple of compilations last year, but to do one for them is an honour. They've helped massively to put me on the map and get my music to the masses. Also it's the first time I've had a whole compilation to myself, both discs are me!
Why do you think you have forged such a strong connection with the label? Is it a sharing of ideals or simply that you have similar styles?
It's a mixture of stuff really. I think the main reason is that we grew together, I mean Mark Knights career has shot Toolroom into the elite but I feel as the label was growing so was I, and vice-versa. Aside from that, ofcourse we share the same vibes and ideas and I also love their set-up in Maidstone.
Can you tell us a bit about the mix?
Theres alot of big tunes from people like Zoo Brazil, Deadmau5, Butch & Myself too ofcourse! The 2 discs are deliberately different to represent my influences and also simply what I'm into right now.
What where you looking to achieve or put across with the mix?
Well, I wanted it to represent where I'm at at the moment. The Main Room disc is really a perfect example of my DJ set's so far this year. Where the Basement disc has alot more of the tracks I love to listen to, and play on my Radio 1 show. There's been a few gigs this year where I've played alot of those tunes out... gotta love those basslines, old skool noises and fidgets!
Is it a straight up decks and a mixer affair or did you employ any studio trickery along the way?
I used Ableton Live to produce it, and although I love the fact you can do so much with it I purposely didn't do anything I can't do with CDJ's and a mixer. I think it's easy to get carried away and lose the essence of being a DJ so I kept things simple but true to how I play live.
What’s your view on the CD compilation market? Do you think it’s in danger of becoming obsolete or do you think people will always have a desire to possess music in the physical form?
Personally I'd like to hope people will still want something physical, but the digital revolution isn't done with us yet so who knows where we'll be in a year or 2?! Compilations are very important to get onto as an artist, and I'd fear the worst if anything changed too much. It's important that DJ's represent themselves in this form as it's the only way to bring themselves to the masses without playing 24/7 all over the globe|!
How is the new Radio 1 residency working out for you?
It's awesome, I love it. I always wanted to try Radio, but to be asked to do Radio 1 was a huge surprise and although I went straight into the deep end it seems to be working out very well. I hope more comes of it although this is amazing for me at this point in time!
What’s the ethos of the show?
“In New DJs We Trust” is there to represent 4 different styles of music each week on rotation. My show has been labelled Electro House, but it's really not that one sided. I cover most of the House music spectrum and always push new talent on each show. We're looking at re-jigging it a bit from July so there will be some new features on there too!
How is the rest of the year shaping up?
I've got a mini-residency at Amnesia for Cream in Ibiza through the summer, a few dates in the UK and around Europe... and we're looking at a short North American tour at some point too. I have plenty on in the studio, my new "88EP" on Toolroom is due, as is "Baditude" with Sam Obernik & Paul Harris which is likely to evolve into more of a regular project!
What are you working on at the moment?
Well, I'm still working on my artist album, that’s why I temporarily quit the remixing last November! But I've just sneaked a few in actually before I continue with my album... The Presets, Alphabeat and a Tong & Spoon remix of Madonna's "Give It 2 Me" with Pete. Theres also some original material coming from Pete & I later this year too. Ontop of all that, I’m in the midst of setting up a label as a platform for some collaborations I’ve done with people like DJ Zinc & Liquid... so theres loads happening! I also need to work on my crap sleep pattern and playing less Wii…!!
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Toolroom Knights Mixed By Dave Spoon 2XCDs of the world’s finest House Music, including tracks by Dave Spoon, Pete Tong, Sebastian Ingrosso, Zoo Brazil, John Dahlback, Deadmau5, Herve & Midfield General. The mix also includes classics Zero B ‘Lock Up’ & Basement Jaxx’s ‘Fly Life’, alongside Spoon’s remix of Dizzee Rascal, and his massive new singles ‘88’ & ‘Baditude’.
OUT NOW!!
AVAILABLE ON CD OR MP3 / PREVIEW & DOWNLOAD AT:https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/124045/toolroom_knights_mixed_by_dave_spoon
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