12 months passes particularly quickly in clubland. We’ve had the rise of ‘underground pop’ (think Troxler) and rise and rise of dubstep (think Skrillex…) to contend with this year, not to mention a renaissance in terms of ‘old-skool’ Yank house (think anything from Nu Groove to Trax to Madhouse), Steve Jobs’ sad passing (cue deep reflection on what Apple has done for the dance music industry), a hint at MySpace’s big musical future (potentially good for wannabe DJs and club producers), Ibiza’s upgrade to first class (what about luxurious Ushuaia and the boutique Ibiza Rocks House?), countless amazing gigs, festivals and events (Miami in March, Hideout Croatia, Visionquest at The Warehouse Project, Julio Bashmore at In:Motion, Inner City and Knuckles at ADE…), and stacks of top-draw albums (way too many to even attempt to list here).
Even Christmas and New Year celebrations have come in for feverish debate in 2011. Promoters, in particular, pointing out that recession and digital revolution are, to some extent, driving clubbers away from big end of year blowouts and towards a number of other dates in the calendar – not least Hallowe’en.
Noel and New Year, however, do still retain a fairly lofty and unique position in clubland thoughts, offering welcome opportunity for performer, promoter and public alike to look back and take stock, before hitting a wide range of festive parties with renewed vim ‘n’ vigour for the months ahead. So what has everyone got planned this time round?
“It’s very much about family for us” says Mario & Vidis’ Vidmantas Cepkauskas. “We’ll be in our home country Lithuania taking it easy with family, but not without sneaking some local gigs in there. The whole family is invited!”
Family, unsurprisingly, is important to other artists too. “I’ll be home, in San Francisco, around the holidays, hanging with my folks and little sisters” Miguel Migs explains. “We do the whole food and wine frenzy like most people and it’s always great.”
Gallic deep house ‘n’ tech maestro Phil Weeks will be in Paris: “I’ll stay both days in Paris with my family and friends. It was totally required, so I’m real happy about it. Everything will be intimate and far from the club, but to be with the people I love is priceless….”
Visionquest’s mercurial Seth Troxler will just be somewhere “sunny” and “quiet”. A major 2011 headline, he’s had about as full-on a year as anyone on the dance scene could have had. “I just want me, my fiancée, and somewhere far away. We’re planning a proper holiday. I’m salivating thinking about it.”
On the other hand, former Blaze man Josh Milan – these days behind the live, collaborative, super-soulful Honeycomb Music project – is ready to throw himself into work over the coming fortnight. “Y’know, for the first time in many years I plan to bring the New Year in partying and dancing… having a good time. The year 2012 will be a reflection of how I bring it in.”
Fast rising, Oz-based electronic dance duo Shades Of Gray have a similar intention. “It’s gigs and more gigs for us,” Gray-ster Michal Schwa – currently promoting debut album Soul Machine - confirms. “I will be playing a number of venues solo during this hectic week. Then touring with Shades Of Gray, live, over January and February. I’m very happy to be escaping the European winter!”
And then there are those somewhere in the middle. Purple Music boss Jamie Lewis – about to release new remixes of two Prince singles from 2009 album IMPLSoUND – is working on Christmas Eve, in Zurich, before interspersing further gigs with holiday. “I’ll go to Italy with my family for a couple of days; that will be my Christmas” he says. “Then I’m playing a very private party in a Swiss castle… very romantic isn’t it? Finally, in the second week of January I’ll think about taking a longer break.”
Aside from holiday what else does Lewis want from 2012? “Better quality music, to be honest” he urges. “I’ve had enough of the heavy electro noises.”
For seriously up-and-coming Moodmusic associate Michelle Owen – a purveyor of deep-routed, Eighties Chicago-inspired house, the next 12 months are all about career building. “2011 was a building block towards greatness!!” the Aussie teases. “I released my Perchance To Dream EP on Moodmusic with Chez Damier remixes and it was received really well. I also started my own monthly event in Berlin It’s Almost Night and built my blog site.
“Next year, I want to play lots more gigs and travel the world. I’m particularly looking forward to my Panorama Bar debut in January and the Snowbombing festival in April.”
Soul-dance Londoner Richard Earnshaw – he behind the release of acclaimed 2010 debut album In Time and the deeper, progressive Spiritchaser project (alongside Mark Bamford) – is pleased that despite today’s turbulent financial climate, soulful, vocal club music is making something of a comeback.
“That deeper, more soulful and song-based sound is definitely experiencing a resurgence, which I’m really pleased to hear” he confides. “Hopefully that will continue to gather popularity in 2012; I really want the opportunity to keep developing a business and, of course, my music. It’s so tough out there; the very fact the business is still growing and expanding is something to be proud of in these testing times.”
Earnshaw promises a new Spiritchaser album in the coming months, please more solo work (including further ‘lifts’ from In Time), and material via his other alter-egos – One51 and Little Big Band. He’ll be in South Africa just ahead of Christmas, playing dates for the Vodacom Unlimited Festival – Unlimited Experience Tour; back in the UK (a “Welsh cottage getaway”) in time for turkey, and then off to the local pub on New Year’s Eve “with genuine Seventies clothing on to dance my flares clean off to some serious disco.”
Earnshaw also hopes that 2012 will generate a solution to the ongoing issues surrounding digital music distribution: “Any help to minimise the impact on musicians and companies of today’s methods for music sharing and distribution would be a good, good thing.”
Milan, meanwhile, wants the club scene to up its game where the originality and quality of house music is concerned. He is, however, realistic about the chances of this happening in the short-term future. “I’d like to see intros, good lyrics, bridges, live instrumentation, vamps and endings. But it is asking for the miraculous to happen.”
Phil Weeks is focused on releasing his new album, Raw Instrumental, in March as well adding Roland TR909s to his live sets (“wherever possible”) and finding time to discover exiting new talent for his Robsoul label. “I always dream about discovering new talents who will blow my mind like crazy, to bring things to the next level” he exclaims. “I want to find someone doing some sick beats, manipulating and chopping samples the old school way, all with subtlety and the ‘original phat sound! Who is out there in 2012 like this?”
Canadian house, tech and jazz-fusionist extraordinaire Mathew Jonson offers a few further seasonal reflections: “The DJs should start playing the music they make in the studio live! And the live acts, like me, should get back into playing records gain. I miss it.”
Nevertheless, Mulletover and Eastern Electrics promoter Rob Star is quite happy with the current level of cross-pollination and experimentation within the dance scene. “We’re all about making things bigger and better in 2012. I love the fact that people are playing more and more diverse sets and not just sticking to house and techno; musical boundaries are blurring and even disappearing, which I think is really great for the scene.”
Star, of course, is a busy boy over the holidays, hosting Laurent Garnier for Eastern Electrics’ big NYE party in London, and then, the following day, Circo Loco at London’s Proud 2. But there will be some calm before the storm: “I’ll be relaxing with my girlfriend and her little boy on Christmas Day, drinking lots of red wine and watching rubbish TV.”
Some Christmas traditions never change...
