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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!

Stevens and Style tidy up

Reported by Sam Townend / Submitted 22-03-10 19:26

At the forefront of the hard dance scene pumping out productions and electrifying sets at almost breakneck speed, Ben Stevens and Rodi Style are what win is made of. Put the two together and you’ve just struck music gold – Sam Townend signed up for the gold rush and moseyed on down to chat to the two pardners!



Hello Ben and Rodi. You have featured heavily on the latest Music Library release from tidy, can you tell us more about your featured new tracks and remix?

Rodi: Hello Sam, we’ve done three tracks for the music library which consists of a remix, a cover and an original.

Ben: It is a great honour to have our tracks released on Tidy so when we were asked us to get some ready for one of the Music Library releases we got our thinking caps on.

We’d already put together a few covers over the past year for Tidy so thought we would continue with this theme and came up with I Can’t Help Myself. This has been one of the biggest tracks I’ve played this year with a great crowd response. Our remix of Amber’s Beautiful Illusion shows the more melodic side of hard dance that Rodi and I both love and Cold Pizza was based more around the old Edison Factor style tracks which I loved from the earlier days of hard house.

You are building up quite a name as a production duo, what inspires in the studio and where do you take your ideas from?

B: Good question! Inspiration usually come from listening through lots of different genre’s of music. It may be a loop, a riff or a bassline that just pops out and then we work a track around this idea. Often the tracks end up nothing like what we first think they might do though!

R: I think we just kinda wing it really, the cats sit in on our studio time and tell us what direction we need to go.



You have also provided tidy with a World Exclusive DJ showcase mix in your Chaos Theory guise for disc two of Tidy Music Library 19 - what is Chaos Theory and why is the mix so special?

R: Chaos Theory is a tour and setup concept that Ben and I do for select gigs which is great fun. It essentially is a very pimped out back to back set which has the two of us mish mashing, re-editing and warping live tracks in really exciting ways. The name comes from our first collaboration which was released on my Kung Fu label.

B: The Chaos Theory Idea came together as we had been playing back to back a few times and we thought we could develop this more instead of just each playing one track and then jumping around while the other person mixed! We have now integrated two laptops into the setup running Traktor and various midi controllers giving us access to eight decks. We incorporate loads of tracks, vocals and loops into the sets. Have a listen to the mix to see what it’s all about!

The disc two mix features over 21 tracks and accapellas, can you give us an insight into the thought process behind creating such a mix and what equipment is needed?

B: The main thing that is important in getting mixes with all those tracks to work is that all the tracks are mixed in key. This means that we can throw all loops and vocals over other tracks and they will sound perfect with no clashes. We have many tracks broken down on Traktor so we can throw different bits in here and there. Apart from that there was no planning for the mix though; it was done in one take completely on the fly so hopefully it sounds good!

R: Credit to a program called Mixed In Key which allows us to see the keys of each song! It makes the process a bit easier for us to realize which tracks will mash up well together. Other than that we did the mix live, no pre-planning. Just like a real live Chaos Theory set.



Both your labels, Fireball Recordings and Kung Fu Wax, have been receiving critical acclaim right across the board of late, how are things shaping up and any special plans in the pipeline for the labels?

B: I have been working hard with Fireball to make sure we have high quality releases from the top producers in our scene but also from up and coming talent. From the beginning of March there will be a release each week on the download sites as well as a CD release every two months from our ‘Worlds On Fire’ series. Later on in the year there will be a digital only DJ mix from Fireball, Vicious Circle and Toolbox mixed by Paul Glazby, Nik Denton and myself so keep an eye out for that.

R: On the Kung Fu front things are really shaping up well! I’ve taken on a few new members to the team who are going to be working closely with me to further some ideas we have and help build up the label. More high quality hard dance can only mean good things for our scene! Release wise our second CD is now out and the third one is planned for late April with tracks and remixes by Amber D, myself, Iridium and more.



You have both been touring in Canada lately, what’s the vibes over there with hard dance at the moment?

R: It’s suffering a bit due to the lack of venues and the general “takeover” by top 40 and house. But like I’ve said to everyone that asks, there is still big love for the style from a core group of followers and they will fight to the death to keep it alive!

B: I had a fantastic time over in Canada and it was great to catch up with some friends as well as meeting some quality people. The crowd are very similar to in the UK, they are all up for a quality party and are really into the music. You have to be on the ball while playing though they certainly let you know if they don’t like a track!

What is this night ‘Rave On’ we keep hearing about?

R: Something involving farm animals, a glue stick, frozen broccoli (12 essential nutrients!) and Russian polka…. I think. Mr. Stevens will be able to elaborate more on that.

B: I’ve heard lots about this Rave On night as well! The first two nights have been a massive success and have brought the fun element back to the hard dance scene. It is great to see everyone dressing up in silly outfits again and leaving their inhibitions at the door. The next event has the Tidy Boys, Paul Glazby, Guyver, Jon BW, Digital Mafia and some guy called Ben Stevens. It is set to be the best event yet, head to http://www.letsraveon.com for more info.

It’s fast approaching tidy’s monumental 15th Birthday, with us planning some mammoth celebrations right across the board. What would be your ideal birthday party?

R: Hmm probably something involving junk food and video games, haha! Short of that probably playing a four hour set or something. I love doing long sets.

B: A few years ago I think my answer would have been a massive party full of allsorts of goings on! However now I think now it would have to be a more simple party with my friends there and going out for a meal at a premium restaurant.



Have you ever farted in a crowded DJ box and blamed it on someone else?

R: I tend to hold it as long as I can until the next DJ has entered the booth and then let it loose upon exiting the DJ booth. The “walk away” strikes again!

B: Every time I DJ!

What’s next for Chaos Theory, Ben Stevens and Rodi Style?

R. Ben and I have both downloaded the cowbell app to our iPhones so keep an ear out for some ridiculous cowbell action!

B: World domination and dancing girls. Sweet.


Tidy Music Library 19 featuring Chaos Theory’s exclusive Dex n FX showcase mix is available now from all good record stores!

Amber D – Beautiful Illusion feat. Ben Stevens & Rodi Style remix is out now.

Ben Stevens & Rodi Style – I Cant Help My Self / Cold Pizza are out now from all good record stores!

Photos courtesy of the HarderFaster archive and Strike Artists. Not to be reproduced without permission.



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Other Features By Sam Townend:
It's an Ideal World for Andy Whitby
The Tidy DJ's are Bang Up For It!
Steve Hill goes International
Is Rob Tissera The Happiest Guy In Dance?
Getting All Technikal
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:

From: karl davis on 24th Mar 2010 18:22.46
Two of the top djs / producers in the scene and top blokes as well

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