Ali Renault exclusive interview

You shouldn't have to ask who Ali Renault is or why we love his music by now - we've featured him a bunch of times in the past, whether it be as himself and his incredible releases that formed the backbone of the now-legendary Dissident imprint, his darker Cestrian alter-ego (via releases on Monox), or as one half of the sexy Italo love machine that is Heartbreak.

So you'll be over the moon to know that Mr Renault (not his real name) is just about to release his debut album on London's italo/electro imprint Cyber Dance. Already picking up some serious accolades, the album is a stormer and shows off Ali's excellent and unique brand of dark slo-mo techno-funk over 8 new tracks (ok, some of them are older tunes re-worked). Vice likes it, and while that may be a bad sign, be consoled in the knowledge that DJ magazine describe it as "superior machine funk" and Mixmag think Ali has "the original electro and Italo sound nailed". And what do we think of it? It's awesome of course, as good as anything out of Detroit or Rimini, but then we always knew it would be. Let's just say that Ali Renault is untouchable at making machine music that will get you up off your feet while chilling you to your very core.

There's a very special launch party happening tonight for the album at Stoke Newington's Baby Bathhouse venue, coming at you by way of Magic Waves and featuring a live set from Ali and a dj set by the awesome Casionova. To get him in the mood I sent Ali some questions to answer - including some about his darkly magical tech set-up which he was very keen to avoid answering:

How did you get into music? What were your formative influences?

I got into playing in bands as a teenager, going to gigs and buying records. My formative influences were metal and techno.
 
Who is your favourite dj and why?

DJ Drug Money aka Peter Mangalore. His sets are amazing. He has a varied collection of strange vinyl’s and makes records you already have sound totally different. Go Peter.

Ali goks his cat Tiesto - no kittehs were harmed in the making of this photo.

You have a very particular sound, how did you develop it? 

I haven’t really changed my set up since I started making music at home with synthesizers years ago, apart from updating a few bits here and there but I make music the same way I always did. Sequencing, recording, arranging etc. I like using old cheap hardware and I enjoy trying to evoke a dark mood with machines. It’s fun.
 
What synths do you have in the studio?

Not telling.
 
What other current producers do you rate? 

I rate Tommy Walker 3 for his absurd synth funk, Brassica for his beautifully crafted music, Mark Du Mosch for his fresh interpretation of house, Gatto Fritto for his psychedelic long player released earlier this year and Antoni Maiovvi for his modern horror disco.
 
Your music is very cinematic, have you ever scored anything?

I have scored a couple of short films and worked as a foley recordist for a couple of years, which was nice. I would love to score something big one day for sure.

What's your favourite 70s or 80s soundtrack?

Has to be the Terminator soundtrack by Brad Fiedel. Total suspense drama.
The Suspiria soundtrack scored by Goblin would be my second choice and musically its far more advanced but I love the minimal approach from Fiedels work on Terminator. Genius.


 
You are well known for your live shows - how have they been going recently?

Yeah pretty good, I’ve taken it around the UK and Europe and it seems to go down well. It’s very different to DJing, which I also love but its nice to play your own music in a live context.

Are you going out on tour in support of the album?

I’m currently gathering some live dates for 2012. There will be a few UK shows until then.
 
Tell us a bit more about Cyber Dance records, like what other artists are on the label and what other releases you have coming up? 

Artists we have released so far are Matzo & Pauli, Andy Romano, Serious Lover, Mark Du Mosch, Casionova, Spruxx, Brassica, Bill Ambrose, Tommy Walker 3 and Meschi amongst a few others. Our current release (Cyber Dance 011) is my album and after that we have Antoni Maiovvi, Bandido’s Gang (featuring 2 great remixes from Denmarks’ Flemming Dalum) and Electric Dragon for the foreseeable future.


In the spirit of awesomeness, here's a couple of tracks from Ali's album for you to download. You can get the wicked "Pagan Run" as a download from the lovely peeps at 20 Jazz Funk Greats, and Mixmag also have an unmastered version of "Promises" for you to grab: :

Den Haan "Gods From Outer Space" LP Launch TONIGHT

TOO-FUCKING-NIGHT! At Stereo. Get in!

RIP Casco

This weekend we also lost original Italo pioneer Casco, aka Salvatore Cusato. The name might not be familiar but the tunes will be. We were label mates for a while on Radius Records, and I interviewed Sal for Discopia. When I get the chance I will re-publish the interview.

Happy New Year Mix by Ali Renault

If you're recovering from last night or getting ready for tonight, this should do the job. Happy 2011 people!




BODYBOX 2010/11 MIXXX by Ali Renault

Tracklist:

Mark du Mosch - In The Clouds
The One - Lets Get It Straight (Legowelt Remix)
Bot.Ox - Arab Drift
Stinkworx - Coelacanth (Syncom Data Nerine Remix)
Gatekeeper - Oracle
Brassica - Lydden Circuit
Alexander Robotnick - Problems D'Amour
Rude66 - As (Nicolas Courtin Remix)
Cori Josias - Takin It Straight
Bangkok Impact - Fear Of Your Eyes

DEN HAAN Universal Energy Free Download

Our good friends at Radio Magnetic are giving away an MP3 by our other good friends in the band Den Haan. It's a vocoder-tastic tribute to 80's disco producer Patrick Cowley, and it is bloody awesome. Get it here.

Magic Waves this weekend

The ammount of awesomeness at Magic Waves this weekend is mind blowing:



And if you can't be there fear not, you can listen to the whole thing live on Intergalactic FM (on Channel One aka "Murder Capital"). Yowsah!

Goblin live in Glasgow

The Gods of Awesome smile on us for once - it has been announced that the legendary Italian soundtrack band Goblin will be appearing live in Glasgow next February, as part of the Glasgow Film Festival! Some of us have been awaiting this moment for years. Goblin provided the soundtrack to horror classics like Dawn Of The Dead, Suspiria, Phenomena, Tenebre and many more. Here is clip of Goblin performing "Tenebre" a couple of years ago, a song famously sampled by French electro act Justice for their hit "We Suck Massive Donkey Knobs":



This truly is a time to rejoice my friends! More on the Goblin gig here. In other news, there seemes to be a mini-Giallo revival going on at the moment, what with Darren Aronofsky's The Black Swan said to be heavily influenced by Dario Argento, and the film "Amer" being even more of an hommage. Apparently it is like a filmic tone-poem and features no dialogue - I for one am intrigued:

Halloween is coming - Rock'n'Shock 7!

Glasgow's best annual Halloween party is back!

Now in it's seventh year, Rock'n'Shock has seen an array of past guests in a variety of styles, from the slick disco of Den Haan and Ali Renault and the freak rock of Lummox and Gummy Stumps, to the haunting folk of Foxface and the Parsonage choir.

This year sees Rock'n'Shock team up with new kids Menergy to present the ITALOWEEN ZOMBIE PROM!



Special guests on the night are the London duo GOLD BLOOD, making their Scottish debut with an appropriately synth-punk-pop vibe, and a special spookilicious live set from THE NIALLIST. DJ duties are being handled by Team Little Rock & Molotov Disco, and Menergy resident Kid Zipper. Expect haunted house, demonic disco & terrifying techno!

This year's dress up theme is "Zombie Prom" so get your high school glad rags on and prepare to get messed up!



Are you the geek who blew themselves up in the failed lab experiment? Part of the football team that got wiped out in that horrendous bus crash? The goth kids who ended it all in a suicide pact? Or the cheerleader who was brutally murdered by that deranged serial killer? Whether you be a sporto, motorhead, geek, slut, blood, waistoid, dweebie or dickhead, be righteous and get down! There will as per usual be a prize for the best dressed.

ITALOWE'EN comes but once a year... BE THERE!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162579300420225
Gold Blood: http://www.myspace.com/goldbloodband
The Niallist: http://www.myspace.com/theniallist
Menergy: http://www.menergy.tv/
Little Rock DJs: http://radiomagnetic.com/category/shows/little-rock/

Menergy HEATHERS Party Tonight!

And if you're not lucky enough to live in beautiful Brighton, if you have been cursed with the misfortune of living in Glasgow, why not come to Menergy at the Flying Duck tonight? It will sound absolutely nothing like Divorce and Comanechi, but I thought that link was so incredibly tenuous that I had to stick it in.

It's a special party tonight, in tribute to the classic 80's dark-teen flick Heathers, and me and Kid Zipper will be joined by fellow Shallow Raver Teamy. And as ever, mega-bitch Lady Munter will host the petition to blow up the club - oops, we mean get Big Fun to play! More info over at Facebook.

If you do wanna know what it will sound like, there's two promo mixes floating about to promote the night, one by me and one by Teamy.



HINRG TME "I'm A Veronica Mix"

Teamy's mix is part of the Wrong Island Show on Radio Magnetic. He hasn't supplied a playlist, the lazy bugger.



THE NIALLIST "Major Damage Mix"

Sebastian Tellier - Sexual Sportswear
Gold Blood - Don't Waste My Time
Detachments - Holiday Romance (T&A Remix)
Dana & Siriusmo - Meine Welt Ist Wunderbar
Dolby Anol - Heather I'm Dry (Edit)
Sabrina - Boys (Future Shock Less Vocal Mix)
Annie - Two Of Hearts (Skatebaard High Energy Mix)
Hard Ton - Flawless
Lady Gaga - Telephone (Niallist 86 Mix)
The Niallist - Big Man (Male Vocal)

More info on Menergy over at www.menergy.tv, and here's a sneak preview of my costume for tonight (a tribute to the late great Glenn Shadix who played the priest in Heathers).

Detachments "The Flowers That Fell (Gold Blood Remix)" Free Download

A meeting of great minds here - Thisisnotanexit Records' Detachments get the remix treatment from Shallow Rave synth-punk faves Gold Blood. This is wicked, I have had this for a while now (it was slated to be on my Halleluwah Hits comp), but have only been allowed to go live with this in the past few days. Enjoy!

The Flowers That Fell (Gold Blood Remix) by littlerockrecords

Brassica Mini-Interview

Brassica is TEH TITS. He (Michael) makes wonderous Italo influenced techno and disco, as well as being one half of the very-hot-right-now synth-punk band Gold Blood. We pinned him to ground (foaming at the mouth) to do one of our little minterviews.

Where are you right now and how is it?

I'm at home n West London, it's grey and muggy. I'm waiting for my housemate to finish watching an episode of The Wire - we're mixing new Gold Blood tracks together through his lovely big analogue mixing desk. That's where they write and produce their epic Hungry Ghost tracks. I can't express the painstaking love and care those guys put into that music.

How did you come up with your name?

I can't remember exactly. I think a girl I was seeing told me I don't eat enough Brassica. I must have liked it and used it. I hate the responsibility that comes with making music of thinking up names, track titles, etc. I'd rather just make sounds.

Could you live on cabbage for the rest of your life?

I've thought about trying the cabbage soup diet until I actually smelt it whilst it cooks. I opted for a miso soup diet instead. No, I don't think you could unless you added gravy, potatoes, carrots, beef and horseradish.

What are your biggest musical influences?

Ozric Tentacles. I fucking love them. I was a bass player when I got into them around 14 and they sparked my interest in OTT, bubbling, swirling electronic sounds. I nearly cried with joy the last time I saw them live. I don't care how unfashionable they are. Their music has EVERYTHING.

Have you got any releases lined up for the near future?

I have the New Jam City 12" due out any day soon, on Nocturnes records from Berlin. Apart from that, a couple of remixes which I believe are getting a vinyl pressing. Mainly working on Gold Blood these days, it's almost a full-time job at the moment. I'm well into it.

What is your current studio set-up?

Right now, not an awful lot to be honest. I buy gear when I have cash and sell it when I'm broke. My Nord Modular Classic serves me well though - I can never exhaust it. I'm enjoying using software synths more and more. Not to emulate analogue synths but to design really tacky sounds you often hear in modern pop music. I was watching some interviews with Red One who produces Lady Gaga. He uses nothing but Logic soft synths on an old powerbook but claims he never uses presets. I tried doing the same and of course the first preset I open is THE Lady Gaga synth sound, ya know that big, bright sawtooth mother-fucker with no filtering, all sustain, no release. I used it heavily on a new Gold Blood track called Saturday Nights. Watch out, Red One!

How did Gold Blood come about?

Emile used to come around to my old house a lot, I didn't know him so well then. My old housemates would get pissed and jam on their guitars and he'd always join in with totally spontaneous, weird vocal shit. I'd never met a vocalist who does that without it being in some bullshit art gallery context - it was more musical than that stuff. I asked him to play a gig with me, a cellist and guitarist one night. A heavily edited recording of the rehearsals for that night is what became 'The Centre' - the Brassica record on Dissident. We couldn't ignore how well it worked and decided to start a full-time project.

Done any exciting gigs lately?

Been playing a fair bit with Gold Blood lately. I guess they're all fairly exciting until a technical problem occurs on stage, then you wonder why you put yourself through it so often.

Got any coming up?

Yes! This weekend. Playing with Mr J.D. Twitch on Friday at the Alibi in Dalston. Then playing a mate's garden party on Saturday in Kent with various hardcore bands. Manchester and Newcastle in a couple of weeks too - it'll be nice to play outside of London for a change!

Who do you think will win Big Brother?

You're asking the wrong guy. I'm more of an Apprentice man.

Loke WIlson

Loke Wilson is an electronic musician from Norway who now lives in Turkey. His music is like a cross between Giorgio Moroder and Vangelis, like epic kids cartoon themes by way of Alden Tyrrell. But it is his somewhat "naive" videos that are making him a hit on Youtube. Here's one, the bizarrely titled "Prune Slicker":



This is slowly building up to being a sensation. Yet while this ticks many boxes of perfect internet memedom I think it lacks the kind of self-delusion required to blow it up to superstar status. Some of the Youtube comments are quite telling - one poster can't believe that in the three years that "Prune Slicker" has been online, he/teh internetz has only just discovered Loke. Perhaps intenetz culture is not as fast moving and as all-knowing as its users would like to think? But his following in Italo and electro circles is growing because of the quality of the music, and his future as a true geek hero is assured.

Anyway, whatever happens, this music is good, Mr Wilson has a lot of charm (both naive and knowing) and if you would like to hear more of his music, then this Mediafire page has free download links to nine of his tracks.

MENERGY tomorrow! (+ 2 new Horror Disco mixes)

It's that time of the month again - time for blood, pain, lipstick and disco. Gay Dance Party MENERGY is back tomorrow night, back like Michael Myers, at Bacchus in Glasgow's Merchant City. This month there's a special Italo Horror theme and to celebrate Menergy residents Kid Zipper & The Niallist have each done a horror-themed disco mix. KZ's "Cannibal Italocaust" mix is a combination of old and new, leaning heavily on the kind of synth jams heard in classic 70's zombie stalk and slash pics, and the Niallist's "Disco Argento" mix is a compendium of some of the greatest of horror film disco cash in records of the 70's and 80's. Check out the track lists below, with download links attached...



Download "Cannibal Italocaust"



Download "Disco Argento"

MENERGY this Saturday!

It's Menergy time again - and this month we have moved to a Saturday night at the all new location of Bacchus, Merchant City, Glasgow.
To get you in the mood Menergy resident Kid Zipper hs done two brand spanking new mixes showcasing the kind of disco you will hear at the night. The mix comes in two parts, "Power Top" and "Vocal Bottom", both below.
There is a special "Fags vs Dykes" party next Friday too, as Menergy teams up with Lock Up Your Daughters at the Flying Duck, and I hope to have my own Menergy mix ready for then too. Flame on!

KID ZIPPER Power Top Mix

1.By The Riverside – Appleblim and Komonazmuk Remix
2.HarmoniaModerat – Rusty Nails- Shackleton Remix
1.Stereo Image – Dark Chapter
2.Caribou- Niobe
3.Magnus International – Mandass Morran Blus
4.Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood -Summer Wine- Accidental Instrumental
5.Fleetwood Mac - Big Brown Eyes – Easy Lee DJ Edit
6.Efedmin – Acid Bell- Martyns Bittersweet Remix
7.Burial and Four Tet – Wolf Cub
8.Arthur Russell – Keep Up
9.The Teardrop Explodes – Tiny Children
10.Goblin – Suspiria
11.Tunng – The Pioneers
12.Golden Panda – Back Home

KID ZIPPER Vocal Bottom Mix

1.Magnus International – Undulat
2.Cellophane Edit – Misalluba
.Dorothy's Fortress- Coupe De Ville
4.My Mine- Hypnotic Tango
5.Runaway- Black Lable Honey – TBD Remix
6.Invincible Scum – Rise of Invincible Scum
7.Motor City Drum Ensemble- Breath Control
8.Azoto- Exalt
9.Donna Summer – Lucky Me- Horsemeat Disco Edit
10.Lindstrom and Prins Thomas- Tirsdagasjam
11.Goblin- Tenebre- SSUK Edit
12.Depeche Mode- New Life
13.Mr Pauli- Le Crunch
14.Magnus International- Kosmetik
15.Alden Tyrell- What Your Eyes Can Do
16.Elton John – Funeral For A Friend

DEN HAAN From Russia With Love mix

Glasgow's favourite disco warlords Den Haan have a new mix up on their soundcloud page for folks to listen to. It's got Johnny Mathis on it. Respect. Here it is:

Den Haan - To Russia With Love DJ Disco Mix by DenHaan

01. Johnny Mathis - Gone Gone Gone
02. Poussez - Come and Do It
03. Nytro - Return To Nytropolis
04. Captain Sky - Super Sporm
05. Azoto - Soft Emotion
06. Harlow - Take Off (Satisfaction Guaranteed)
07. Ladies Choice - American Man
08. L'Ectrique - Struck By Boogie Lightening
09. Wild Fantasy - Africa
10. Harry Thumann - Sphinx
11. Rhetta Hughes - Angel Man (Black Shag Edit)
12. Glitter Band - Makes You Blind
13. Rockets - Future Game
14. Stratospheric Band - Cosmic Show
15. Zebras - Paradise Garage

Glass Candy

I was in Manchester last weekend and had a great time catchin up with friends - musical and non-musical! I also managed to get to a gig by the cult disco-techno band Glass Candy, who were supported by Desire, both of whom appear on the American label Italians Do It Better. Glass Candy give very good gig, they should definitely try and get a gig sorted in Glasgow the next time they are over in the UK. Here's a link to their myspace - http://www.myspace.com/glasscandy - and if you like the sound then you should check out the other releases on Italians Do It Better, in particular the After Dark comp which boasts quite a few gems.

Ali Renault Mix

One of our favourite producers, and co-incidentally one of the guests at this year's Rock'n'Shock, ALI RENAULT has a new mix available to download from here. It's called "Mix From The Lungs of Hell" and the tracklisting looks like this:

John Carpenter - The Fog
Mark du Mosch - Blanche Dreams
Electrick Dragon - Davorite
Nineteen 99 - Deadline
The Hasbeens - You and Me
DJ Overdose - Uh Uh Baby
Zombi - Sapphire (Escort Remix)
Kritical Audio - Spandex
Shake - Indagoo
Mark du Mosch - Let It Go
Hot Coins - NG Style
Mike Mareen - Dancing In The Dark (Galactica Remix)
Serious Lover - Serious Love
Randy Barracuda - Hungry For Another Touch

Oh and if you think Ali is DJing for us at Halloween, he's not! He's playing live... and of course we're all very excited. If you've not heard his deep and dark take on Italo Disco then get yer ears around this little beauty:



Rock'n'Shock 6 Friday 30th October at Stereo Glasgow - see you there!