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Features Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022!

Sounderground boss Chico hits the big time again Reported by Jean Shui / Submitted 09-01-08 18:24 Based in London, Sounderground Records has been making it’s way steadily since 2006 with some impressive accolades already to their name. As one half of the management team, Ayoze Chico has been responsible for this success. But what comes next for the techno label? Jean: A friend from the music industry mentioned that you were a big name 6 or 7 years ago. Tell us a bit more about your DJing history? Well not sure who said I was a big name, modesty prevails but I have been fortunate to have played in some amazing venues. I started to play when I was around 14 years old and I was hooked. I used to listen to the tapes of my older brother, from the early raves in the south of Tenerife. This music was totally fresh and I was amazed with this new sound coming over from England and soon I was hooked. After a few years of playing anything from the early hardcore and house scene such as Leftfield and The Prodigy etc, I got into DMC style mixing, experimenting and scratching with anything you could do with a piece of vinyl. When I came to London I got into the US house sound from Defected and Subliminal. I had been scratching and honing my skills on the turntables for about 3 years and I was soon not content with simply mixing two records in and out, so I began to incorporate extra turntables decks, isolators, samplers and FX. This gave me a totally new angle and renewed energy to push things further. For example on every mix I would constantly have accapellas playing over the top and looping with effects, kind of remixing the tracks live. By the time I was 19 I was playing alongside all the big names in the scene such as Eddy Amador, Eric Morillo, Sandy Rivera, Paul Jackson, Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero and Tim Deluxe. I guess that is the closest I got to being a “superstar DJ”. Soon after that I got to make my first track Expand Your Mind under the name of Lost Connection, which was released on our own label, Funktastique Records. It was my first track but it had great reviews in the DJ magazines and Danny Rampling was playing it on Radio 1, so you can imagine how excited I was about all that, at the tender age of 20. After 5 releases the Funktastique story came to an end, and I decided to concentrate on developing my skills in the studio. Then 3 years ago, purely by chance, I met up with Imran Khan, who is the other half of the label and we started to produce music. Soon after we decided set up a label and Sounderground was born. What’s been best gig you’ve ever thrown? Personally I must say one of my most memorable gigs was at the Ministry of Sound in the Black Box. At that time I was using 4 decks, FX and a sampler and the DJ booth at Ministry was amazing with everything I needed. Most of the other venues I was playing could not cater for what my sets required. At home I had 4 decks, 2 CDJs, a Kaoss Pad, and a sampler. I couldn’t have this kind of set up in a regular club. Ministry was the first time that I could play exactly the way I wanted to and really show the clubbers what I could do. I used to do really crazy stuff. If you weren’t an A&R label manager and co-owner of Sounderground Records, what other career paths could you see yourself doing? One of the things I like about production and DJing is the creative aspect. If I was not managing or producing for the label I would definitely have followed a creative path. I have always been interested in technology and I could see myself getting involved in sound design. What’s usually the first tune you put on when getting home from a club? It depends on my mood. If I want to relax and I have had enough of electronic music in the club during the night I would probably play Mathew Herbert's Scale. I’m really liking this at the moment as it has so many elements. I had the CD a long time ago but for some reason for the last 2 or 3 weeks I have been playing it constantly. What’s your choice of production software? For a sequencer I prefer Logic, but I am just starting to use Ableton Live for the more spontaneous creative vibe. I love the concept of "elastic audio" from Ableton and the flexibility it provides. Ableton is a ground breaking bit of software. I know that Live was for created for the live musician but it has evolved into a tool which has since been adopted by some of the worlds best DJ's and producers. We have been fortunate enough to have agreed special concessions for all Sounderground artists courtesy of Ableton. Tell us the latest news for Sounderground Records? 2007 has been a fantastic year for the label and we hope that we can aim even higher in 2008. We are currently looking for a suitable venue to start a regular label night. Interaction is essential and London is such a vibrant city that we feel the time is right to start our own promotion. Due to circumstances beyond our control we have taken a break from the day to day running of the label until the new year but we are always looking for new music and artists so watch this space! Sounderground Records has been voted as one of the top 10 up and coming labels in the UK by Resident Advisor. It is normally quite difficult for British labels to be recognised. What elements of your label do you think deserves the credit? We were really pleased to have been name checked alongside such labels as Border Community, Rekids and Freerange as these labels have been inspirational and instrumental in pushing UK labels forward. Fortunately there is always plenty of room for the new kids! It would be difficult to say any one thing that deserves credit but from the outset our objective was to always put the artists first. There are too many labels that are either on an ego trip or busy ripping people off. We always wanted to be straight talking and to have good rapport with our artists. This has really helped us to build a solid foundation and present ourselves in a professional manner. Of all the tracks & remixes your label has produced, which three are your favourites? Probably one of my favourite artists signed to the label has to be Stefan Tretau. This guy has so much great music that I have to say Venus Express and Ellis Perry would have to be two personal faves. We found Stefan on mySpace and Venus Express was the first track of his that we heard, just from that we signed him up. Venus Express is a beautiful piece of expressive music standing between techno and deep house taking the listener to wherever they want to go. Perfect peak time or chilled out listening! The Mikael Stavostrand remix of Stefans last release on the label Ellis Perry, is probably one of mine and my partners favourite tracks. The original was standout with the crazy African-esque vocals but the remix took it to another level. The timing was right with this track and the tribal feel Mikael brought really made this track work. The voices were so prominent in the mix that it was running round in my head as soon as I heard it, plus it sounds amazing on big sound systems. Mesatennis from James What was from the systems EP that was our very first release and still to this day this track is the bomb! The melodies and production still make this track sound like we only signed it yesterday. Ever thought of expanding your label to Spain, your country of origin? I don’t think it’s necessary right now as we are distributed worldwide and music doesn’t really have territorial boundaries. Throw some buzz words for the techno scene around. Bleep bleep, boomba klak klak! What is one thing about the techno scene you would like to change? Right now the Techno scene is so prolific and forward thinking that I would let it carry on as it is. What is one word you would describe about Cyril Gallet who had a gig with you at HOUSVA’s party? Gonna cheat and say several words. Cyril is simply addicted to music and his passion sets him apart. For more info Sounderground Website Photos courtesy of Ayoze Chico. Not to be reproduced without permission Share this :: : : : Follow HarderFaster :: The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable. Comments:

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