Frantic & Hardcore Heaven present The Alliance — preview with the awesome Alex Kidd
Reported by benz
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Submitted 28-06-05 00:51
Get this — one of the North’s biggest clubs’ resident Alex Kidd (of Goodgreef fame) is set to take the stage at a battle between the biggest hardcore promotion in history (Hardcore Heaven) and the biggest hard house promotion in history (Frantic) and attempt to destroy all in his path. The Alliance — a clash of the titans? I think so!
Alex is one of the original Goodgreef residents — a club which sprang up in Manchester in the year 2000 as a reaction to the dull and unoriginal clubs being frequented by then 19 year old promoter Barry Almond. It started off as a party for Barry and his mates, and mates of the DJs who were playing, but after several events it was clear that something rather special was being created. A musical policy embracing all things hard and uplifting was inherent, and combined with a clientele who were hedonistic, youthful and energetic, the club's reputation began to spread like wildfire.
Since then Goodgreef has also conquered Ibiza, Holland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as hosting regular events all over the North of England and club tours through the rest of the country. Alex Kidd has always been at the forefront of their events, destroying clubs with his seamless blend of hard European and UK dance music and his hyperactive style on the mixer. He is one of few DJs who are suitable to rock both the Frantic and Hardcore Heaven crowds at The Alliance, and there's no question that he's going to absolutely smack the f*ck out of Koko. I caught up with him to find out how he got started, and to talk about marmite and bacon...
Where are you from and what were your aspirations when you were growing up there?
I come from Manchester and when I was growing up I got into techno and jungle from the age of 11, so I was always bunking off school to blaze and play on the decks.. I think I was always gonna be involved in one music scene or another.
You are a resident DJ and then some at the mighty Goodgreef - could you trance things back for us and explain how you got to working with them?
Well I started working in Spin Inn records in the city centre when I was 16 which gave me the chance to see the behind the scenes workings, and this came hand in hand with meeting other DJs who shopped for tunes in there, and promoters dropping off their flyers in there…after getting involved with a couple of different harder nights/promoters in Manchester, I then hooked up with Barry who was starting his Totally Mashed nights. I'd known Barry since I was 10 when we used to play football together... things really seemed to take off for both of us from Totally Mashed and I’ve always been his original resident ever since.
How did Goodgreef come into existence? What was the initial concept behind the night?
Well the structure was in place from Totally Mashed already. By this I mean we had a venue and a following and a couple of reliable consistent DJs (myself, Adam Sheridan and Eddie Halliwell)… but we found we could only learn from the initial mistakes and problems we experienced by starting up again with a new brand. Barry left Totally Mashed and set up Goodgreef with his cousin Ben and it became a tighter ship all round so it was definitely the right move to make at the time.
How has the club evolved since its inception, in terms of music, crowd, DJs, venues, ethos etc...?
Musically we have matured and as the punter's tastes evolve and change we try to be at the front of the line in being fresh and unique. We have always had a varied list of guest DJs we use, but in the recent years we have touched upon techno and tech trance, as well as being the 1st Nothern UK club to bring over hard trance and hardstyle DJs such as Scot Project and Lady Dana. When it started it was predominantly hard dance but that’s only because that’s what our crowds wanted at the time.
As I came across new music and artists in other fields such as Mark EG, Yoji Biomehanika and Dark By Design, I’ve introduced them to the Goodgreef crowd and they’ve always had a blinding reception. We must have had parties at over 100 venues, including the tours we have done, so it’s good to see that we are constantly exposing the brand and unique gig experience to new territories over the scene. Ethos wise I suppose it’ll always stay the same, striving to host the best parties and always setting higher goals for us to achieve…
5 years ago I doubt any of us would have thought hosting the main arena at Creamfields was on the cards… but we keep our feet on the ground and just keep trooping on, doing what we do best. As time has moved on this means we have been able to hold a successful DJ agency as well as setting up an in house record label…thus helping to push all things Goodgreef forward to the masses!
Tell us about the new Goodgreef compilation — it’s quite markedly different from the previous two volumes wouldn’t you say?
Yeah, I’d agree its quite different. The 1st CD was a new experience for us, but I think ignorance was a blessing in this case as we just went with our gut feelings in terms of artists and tracklisting and it was a real success. Second time round we decided to put out two harder CDs rather than trying to break the house market as well. Rob Tissera did a splendid job on the hard dance CD but the resident CD had to try and cover all different types of hard stuff that me, Eddie, Adam and Shan play. That was a massive task in itself, but I think we pulled it off nicely.
The 3rd one was when I got the opportunity to do a solo mix for the resident CD, and I’m quite proud of the results. The first half of my mix is suited more to the techy and trancey floors (as Goodgreef ain’t all about the bangin’ stuff!) and then I flow into some darker and harder beats which I’m becoming associated with these days. It was a great success to get Yoji on board as his mix is so unique, so fresh… so Yoji!
What future plans are there for the club? Any plans for nights in the capital for instance? I’d be well up for a bit of GG South action personally!
Well one day I’d like to see Goodgreef host there own festival (don’t quote me on that, just an idea). As for London I know that the GG boys are always in talks with some of the London Players so I’m sure we will be touring down there sometime soon. We did a party at Antiworld (Alexandra Palace) which was pretty firing so I’d love to see a return trip there, and now that I’m doing some Frantic events that may be the start of bringing GG down South, who knows?
Future plans for the label include a DBD EP out in the next couple of weeks and our ressie Adam Sheridan will be releasing his new track on our label next month, watch this space. I should have one of my solo tracks out on GGR this year, which will be exciting for me (and my mum!)
July 23rd sees you take part in one of the all time biggest hard music battles in our country — Frantic and Hardcore Heaven present The Alliance at Koko! Are you into any hardcore or freeform at all?
Generally I’m not into hardcore (I never grew up on it, I was always in the DnB room at the raves!) but in the past couple of years I’ve started to work closely with artists in those fields and I have a real appreciation for what they’re up to. I’ve always been a fan of Jon Doe & Dan Bunter’s hard dance sound from which they draw heavy inspiration from there hardcore roots for. More recently the hardcore sounds of Kev Energy, *Ting* and my good pal Proteus have really made my ears open up... lovin’ it!
Is this the first time you will be playing at this legendary venue? Have you got any vivid memories of Camden Palace or have you not been before?
I’ve played here a few times before, always for Frantic Events. My first visit blew me and my mates away and I just couldn’t believe I was behind the decks, it was such an honour. The best set I’ve played there was for the GG album 2 tour party, I warmed up for Guffy and I really saw the place going off in a big way… it’s definitely London’s most ‘avin’ it’ venue.
What have you heard about these two respective promotions? Have you been to either of their events before?
Well Hardcore Heaven has seen every big gun in the scene play for them so I’m buzzing to be finally included in one of there line-ups. I really respect the artists they book and from the pictures, the production looks ace. Frantic is just the daddy of all events and I really hope this is the start of a beautiful friendship for us (lol) coz everytime I’ve seen their parties they are in a league of there own. So these two teaming up is gonna be mental — someone should warn the government.
What filthy tunes are burning a hole in your box at the moment?
Dark by Design remix of Universal Nation – Push
Alex Kidd & Dark by Design remix of Hennes and Cold - 2nd Trip
Vinylgroover & BK remix of Massive Attack – Unfinished Symphony
Mark Sherry remix of Marzz – Orbitor
Colin Barrett remix of Afrika Bambatta – get up and dance
How have you first few efforts in the world of production faired? You’ve done some remixes and bits like that yes?
My 1st release was with my homie Gaz on Nukleuz Black called “Rough Stuff”. I’ve been told it was there biggest selling record last year which cant be bad. I’ve worked on remixes with Gaz West but they’re mostly for my sets so I can keep them fresh and unique! We did:
Cosmic Gate – Firewire
Fallen Angel – I See You In My Dreams (on my mix of the new Goodgreef album/GG CD vol. 3)
Hennes & Cold – 2nd Trip – hopefully out on Tracid at some point this year
I have studio sessions booked in with Organ Donors next month before their Plastic Surgery party so that should be awesome, really looking forward to that.
Goodgreef has featured a lot of hardstyle, the so called ‘Marmite’ of the hard dance world. Does it seem that the sound is a lot more popular up north? Do you find that you really have to hunt around for the good stuff amidst a heap of unimaginative tosh?
For me, I just always like finding new stuff to play. I spend a lot of time in Amsterdam (my old man lives there) so when I discovered what they were all caining it at HQ and ID&T parties, I brought the sound back home to Goodgreef with me. For a while it was fresh and exciting but I soon got bored of it. Me and Gaz had a hardstyle passion for a bit, he made tracks such as Severe Punishment, and I smashed up every gig with it for months before anyone else had a clue what it was. This started to give me a bit of a hardstyle tag which I think I might have now shook off a bit…
I do like hardstyle elements, but I’m not a purist and my sets barely have any full on hardstyle tracks in them… I’ve defo moved away from that now… but I’m known for playing harder music, so if it fits I’m not afraid to use it. This pisses some people off, they have the attitude “all or nothing” (i.e. if you don’t play full on hardstyle how dare I play even one track resembling hardstyle). It’s all political bollocks to me — on the dancefloor I know what works and as long as I’m enjoying myself, that’s something that’s important to me.
Where do you get your records from in fact?
Most of the stuff I play comes from friends in the scene, people like Gaz West, Mark Sherry, Vinylgroover, Organ Donors, Kev NRG, Scot Project, Yoji etc…they all send me their new bits which is ace. I also buy a lot of techno form shops that I pass on my travel. Massive Records always sends me the new releases for a lot of different styles. Generally I get sent about 15-20 packages a week, so there’s always new bits for me to go through. I know how lucky I am to be in this position and it really does make the difference on a professional level. I love receiving records from Alphabet City as well, they’re the boys of the moment I think!
Where can you find the best bacon sandwiches in the country?
I’m a bacon sandwich addict, if you ask me and Gaz West that question we would both give you the same answer… Studio Café… Carol cuts up the bacon into little pieces and melts cheese on top… yum, I’m starving!!
Who makes you laugh?
My friends.
What really upsets you?
How unorganized I am!
What was the last thing you saw that amazed you?
I was playing in Melbourne last week and there was a building that went billions of feet high, and it was balancing on a toothpick (??dont ask!!).
Thanks to Goodgreef for the pics.
Frantic & HardcoreHeaven : Alliance
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On:
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Saturday 23rd July 2005
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At:
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KOKO [map]
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From:
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21:00 - 06:00
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Cost:
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Limited Early Bird Tickets £15 + BF
Saver Tickets £18 + BF
Standard £21 + BF
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Ticket Info:
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Tickets / Info:
Limited Early Bird Tickets £15 + BF
Saver Tickets £18 + BF
Standard £21 + BF
Ticketweb: 08700 600 100 / www.ticketweb.co.uk
Clubtickets: 0870 246 1840 / www.clubtickets.co.uk (1 free for every 5 you buy)
Hardcore Heaven: 020 8363 5222 / 5566 / www.slamminvinyl.co.uk
Frantic HQ: 07949 618 035 / Amanda@franticuk.com
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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Frantic & Hardcore Heaven Present:
The Alliance
Saturday 23rd July 2005
KOKO Club, Camden
21:00 – 06:00
It had to happen!
The UK’s No.1 Hardcore event and the UK’s No1 Hard House event working together on the EVENT at the legendary Camden Palace!!!
For nearly 10 years Hardcore Heaven have worked, eaten and slept Hardcore!
For Nearly 10 years Frantic have worked, eaten and slept Hard House!
When House was big Hardcore Heaven represented Hardcore.
When Trance was big Frantic represented Hard House.
When DnB was big Hardcore Heaven represented Hardcore.
When Breaks was big Frantic represented Hard House.
Now together Hardcore Heaven and Frantic are the ALLIANCE!
As the Alliance we are working day and night to create the first in a very special series of unrivalled and uncompromising Hardcore and Hard House events at the UK’s greatest venues. The Alliance represents the last word in unique and innovative line ups from the 2 promoters who have more collective experience than anyone within the current dance music scene.
This is the FIRST TIME EVER that Hardcore will have been played at Camden Palace! This is the FIRST TIME EVER that the Hardcore A-List will take on the Hard House Premier League at Camden Palace! This is the FIRST TIME EVER DJ Sy will battle it out with Andy Whitby
This will be bigger, rougher and tougher than the rest!
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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.
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