Bugged Out! Zine Interviews

Chilly Gonzales: The Canadian renaissance man on his Guinness world record, piano battles and jealousy.

Why did you retire in 2004?
It was a fun part to play – the retiring entertainer. I imagined I’d been doing it for 40 years, not 4. In Berlin we have this ritual where you roast someone. When you retire all your friends get together and make really mean speeches, lots of gentle insults. I set up a roast. I brought Peaches, Mocky, Feist – my crew from that time. There was a massive picture of me. We all sat around the table and they gave me a roasting. I then fled and moved to Paris. A new place to take advantage of – a clean break! Oh and I’m still retired.

You headlined Bugged Out New Years Eve in 2003 so we’re thrilled to have you in the Bugged Out tent at Field Day. What can we expect?
Maybe ask yourself this – can you all handle the Gonze?

Have you got anyone playing with you?
Yes! An army of drummers! Well, two actually.

Has anyone broken your Guinness World Record yet (for the longest, consistent piano playing in 2009)?
People have played longer than me but no one broke the record. Two have played longer than 27 hours but they didn’t respect the specific guidelines that Guinness set! You basically have to jump through hoops. It’s a serious thing and it’s expensive. Beyond just playing there’s a whole other rigmarole. People write to me and they’re like ‘Oh Gonzales, I live in Minneapolis and this guy just played for 46 hours in a shopping mall’. He might have the record for playing 46 hours but I have the Guinness world record! Until someone gets the Guinness World record, I consider my record unbroken. I got the Guinness. I have a plaque and I’m in the book. Go to a bookstore, pick up the book – I’m in it!

You can’t put a price on that
Well you can actually – about €6,000, to bring over the judge from London. First class on the Eurostar!

How do you prepare for such an event?
I did so much promo beforehand and the media reaction was so positive that I just spent all the time basking in the glow.

We saw you recently at your run of ‘Gonzo’s Piano Talk Shows’ at The Pigalle Club. How did you choose your guests (Jarvis Cocker, cocknbullkid)?
How do I decide whom to let into the ‘Gonzales Cool Club’? I have to be jealous of them. That’s the key. The only reason. They have something that I wish I had and know I can’t have The only way I can get close to it is to work with them. Jarvis Cocker, to see how he comes up with the lyrics, it drives me insane with jealousy but in a really positive way. I want to be close to it but I realise I can’t do it – that’s true jealousy. Another piano player – not jealous. We do the same thing. Jarvis Cocker – lyrical genius.

You challenged Jools Holland during your Pigalle run to a piano-off. Did he ever get back to you?
No response. You can’t force someone to pay attention to you. I’ll just wait for an opportunity. Like being a roadie on his show…

After challenging (and beating) Andrew WK to a piano-off last year – who do you want to take on next?
I’m battling an amazing guy called Helge Schneider. He’s this 50-year-old German underground legend. He’s a fantastic musician and entertainer. Normally when I battle, my opponent is one or the other. My first battle was against a French composer who wasn’t much of a showman. Advantage to Gonzales. [Andrew] WK, love him, but musically he’s a little less proficient at piano playing but am amazing entertainer. That’s why I’ve won both my battles.

Why did you decide to work with Boys Noize who’s known for his noisy electro / techno when the last thing you put out was a solo piano piece?
Because…I’m…j-j-j-e-a-l-o-u-s!

What’s your new album like? How is it different from your previous two?
One’s an album with only piano – ‘Solo Piano’. The second is an album with lots of singing and acoustic arrangement, reminiscent of old timey times, of yesteryear. The new one, someone else has decided all the superficial stylistic information: what goes into an album. What I’m not good at. I have less patience for worrying about what style of music is perceived as cool or sincere. I’ve had problems in the past. When I’ve tried to do something that has more of the real me in it, people think I’m joking – more than usual. When I do something like ‘Solo Piano’, which for me was kind of a joke, people are all like [adopts French twang] ‘Ah, he’s showing us his true essence’. I grew up listening to ‘80s radio pop songs, the Bee Gees – that’s my real musical DNA. Later on I got into classical music. The idea of ‘Solo Piano’ was, ‘I’m in Paris, I should really write a romantic piano album’, hahahaha. That was the joke. ‘Soft Power’ was meant to be sincere, which people took as a joke. I’m so confused. The new album – Boys Noize has made the decisions. He knows the codes. He knows why it offended people that I put a sax solo in a song. Everyone loves Boys Noize because he puts all this  BRRRRBBBRRR in his music. I’ll write the music but he made the decisions. He’s a genius.

We hear you’ve currently moved to our lovely shores. What made you take the leap from Berlin to London?
You guys are on probation. I’m testing you out. London has to step up.

Has anyone beaten you at on-line chess yet?
I don’t know yet. I delegate a lot of responsibilities at Gonzo Inc so I’m not sure.

Chilly Gonzales plays the Bugged Out tent at Field Day.

Text: Charlotte Hotham

Diplo chats about his Mad Decent party on May 30th.

What can you remember being the highlights of last year’s May bank holiday Mad Decent party?
Let’s see, It was probably the best line up I was part of…Skream, Fake Blood and Boy 8 Bit and all the weird Italians! (Crookers). I love to play with Skream ‘cause he plays records that are so damn scary and weird and I’m like W.T.F.? and then everyone goes nuts and I realise I’m in England and you guys are all closet psychopaths.

What/who are you looking forward to on May 30th?
Just reppin’ the Mad Decent crew! Rusko, Maluca etc.

We’ve just added Maluca to the bill. How did you meet her? Feel free to big her up here:
Ha, I met her when she was my bartender, some super hot girl from downtown NYC and her bar was empty and she would do karaoke and kinda turn the club upside down by performing on the bar. Her genuine hotness/weirdness was sort of amazing and we hung out for a while and did some music and in 2011 she’s gonna put out some of the craziest stuff i’ve ever worked on.

You have picked all the acts for both rooms this year. Did this give you more freedom to extend the music policy?
Last year Skream was my dubstep don and this year I think dubstep is half the music you hear at raves. But our dubstep crew line up is pretty serious. I think it’s the best of the best but we got some surprises too, don’t worry.

It’s Rusko’s album O.M.G! Album launch too for Mad Decent. What are your fave tracks?
Woo Boost is just so massive and scary I love that one to death. Also I like District Line as it is classic Rusko,  straight dub.

Last year you, Fake Blood, Skream and Mumdance all wore checked shirts. It was lumberjack crazy up there. What’s this years’ style gonna be?
This year it’s definitely a suit for me. I  think I might try and get everyone to wear topsiders but Stench Man will probably wear something strange.

Talking of shirts, you seemed to lose yours at one point last year. Was this the heat? Or a tribute to ‘91 ravers? Or did you feel the need to share your nipples with the throng?
Well the Italian side was actually no shirts, just the Crookers are quite the topless ravers and they forced me to…

Buy your advance tickets here

In anticipation of the upcoming Planet Turbo tour and London date on May 1st, Tiga shares his thoughts on the project.

Tell us about the Planet Turbo Tour. What can people expect?
1. I don’t have to tour alone. I think the audience really wants to see me have a good time up there. There’s nothing sadder in this world than unrequited fun. It can get lonely touring by yourself. You come offstage with the vitamin water sweats, looking for the right lady to rate tracks on a scale of 1 to 10 with. And there’s no one there for you. No one who really understands. Now there will be at least two people who understand.

2. It forces me to evolve as a DJ, which is a very beautiful thing for a crowd to witness. Digital. Analog. And back again? Count on it.
I’m like a shark: if I stop grooving, I’ll die.

3. We all get to hang out together, our loveable gang of huggable li’l misfits. I’m going to try to force everyone to dress like authentic street urchins (newsboy caps, burlap vests), to accentuate that special sense of boyish mischief. Every guest artist can play whatever they like, provided they stay after their sets and dance behind me as I DJ. You want to get paid, you get to the back of the conga line early and often.

4. We will be putting real effort into the production aspect and the visuals. People should expect a full night of magic and smiling and looking and sighing. Post-post-post-everything musical programming. I find that nothing excites the passions like the word “programming.”
I feel I should mention that the initial idea was to tour with the same audience for every show. Unfortunately, we found that we couldn’t ship them as cargo, so we’ll have to see who turns up in each city. I can’t wait!

How long did it take to put the tour together?
In terms of talent, Planet Turbo is a perfect storm. Like that movie where the fisherman invites his wife over for a big fish dinner and there’s a romantic storm outside and he puts on the Hi-Fi and the feeling’s so right and they make love for the remainder of the film. This tour will capture the feeling of that fisherman having his way with you.

What sets this tour apart?
For one thing, it’s the first tour I’ve made a point of constantly referring to as a “game-changer”. I think the main difference is that we are going to go for a full night of music that really fits together, and visuals that represent that. So, to use the ultimate cliché, it’s a journey. One on which I hope you will let us take you. We want to take the narrative approach of a 70-minute concert and merge it with the 12-hour feel of a warehouse party.

Is there a release plan around this? Can you tell us about it?
Yes. And no, I can’t tell you about it. We are collecting 10 bombbs (for discretion’s sake I prefer to never spell “bombs” correctly, lest I attract even more hot judgment from The Man’s tireless word-finding cyber-drones. Don’t say Billy Idol didn’t warn us), remixes by our extended family of our long time megahits. I will play them in my sets, and we will release them as we go along. I foresee a lot of people coming up and asking, “What IS this track?” And a lot of me shruggin’ and grinnin’. I’m gonna be so damn sheepish it’s crazy.
I want you to imagine the best possible combinations of remixers and tracks. Now imagine me laughing at your imagination. It hurts, doesn’t it? That’s because in your imaginary heart you know that you couldn’t be farther off in terms of quality and general excitement. At the end of the tour, the whole package, along with some new original tracks, will be released as an album. We will then attempt to sell that album.

Tell us the first thing that comes into your head regarding the following Planet Turbo artists.

Erol Alkan
Vowels.
One of the big boys. And a great friend.

Boys Noize
Techno kid all grown up. Amazing DJ, and one of the few guys I really trust to destroy a party. Fits right into my Man’s Planz.

Thomas Von Party
My brother. The heartwarming glue that holds the Turbo family together, and the first man to publicly “Kick It Up a Vibe”.

Matt Walsh
When I first met him, he was dressed exactly like Peter Pan. He even had a cable harness strapped to him.

When and why did you start Turbo?
I started it in ‘98. I just wanted to work with artists and music and find a way to launder the money from my nightclub business. That’s just me joking around. You can’t launder counterfeit traveler’s cheques. Turbo has always been about putting out the best possible music. We don’t do vanity projects. For instance, we decided against putting out my rock album, “Dungaree Heart”, as well as my devotional project “Rhythm of the Jesuits”.

What else is coming up for Tiga and Turbo?
Albums by ZZT, Chromeo, PROXY and Sei A. A Tiga MixCD. The Turbo Apps store. My book. My poetry ranch. Turbo: The Movie. Turbo: The Kindle. My fragrance, “Irrepressible Person.”

If Turbo were a planet, what would it be like?
The soil would be so rich you wouldn’t even believe it. Say a kind word and a Trust Plant springs up from the earth. The sky would be the color of the most beautiful energy drink, and the animals would all have monthly DJ charts instead of being completely useless. And I would gaze down upon my creation, singing the wind through your hair. Also, there would be no prejudice.

Erol Alkan interview. 7 questions about the 7 hour set.

What were your highlights from last years set?
Doing the warm up at the front of the night was fun, as I don’t get to play warm up sets any more since the end of Trash. Certain segments really stood out, especially the weird end of disco which I am a fan of.

How do you prepare for such a long set? Banana and a piss beforehand?
You need to have some type of structure, options and escape plans. Your only real preparation is what you choose to bring to the club, and lists of tracks which may work in theory can limit how you read the dancefloor on the actual night..

Any new tracks that you are writing that might get an airing?
Yes. The next 12″ with Alex (Boys Noize) after Avalanche / Lemonade is almost done, so one of those tracks will definitely get an airing. There’s a few other tracks which are unfinished which get played here and there, so I imagine they’ll get tested too.

If you had a rare day off with 7 hours of free time, what would you do?
No idea. It never happens. I’d probably waste it somehow.

Durrr are co-hosting the night. What plans does the club night have this year?
They are throwing a party for LCD Soundsystem in a few weeks, after the Brixton show infact, which should be fun. As well as that there are some parties in the pipeline. I know nothing more than that.

Which 7 Dj’s are you happiest DJ-ing after?
I am happy to follow any DJ, but the ones who I think know how to set a night up nice are as follows:
People Get Real (there’s two of them)
The Riotous Rockers (another duo)
Dave P & JDH (New York duo who know how to build a ‘vibe’)
Rory Phillips

that makes 7!

Crookers

Crookers give us the run through of collaborations on their debut album, ‘Ton’s Of Friends’

1. We Love Animals – Crookers feat Soulwax & Mixhell 3:56
“We recorded this at their studios but their synthesizers were broken. The sound that you hear on this track is because the synth’s didn’t work properly!”

2. No Security – Crookers feat Kelis 3:10
“We sent her a lot of beats.140 bpm track in fact. When she sang on that beat we were like, ‘Oh shit we don’t like it’. We scraped it and had to start all over again.”

3. Natural Born Hustler – Crookers feat Pitbull 3:12
“We didn’t know him directly but we sent him our music and he did a quick acapella on it. Then he wrote back saying he could do much better and did a full rap on it!”

4. Lets Get Beezy – Crookers feat Will I Am 2:52
“It’s one of the latest tracks. We did some tracks in London with him two years ago, but nothing came of it. We kept in contact though as he was really nice and in the end, we left him with some beats and he rapped on one for the album.”

5. Park The Truck – Crookers feat Spank Rock 1:59
“This was random. We were working with Switch in New York and one day he couldn’t work with us. When we were in the studio Spank Rock came by to interview us for his blog. He said he wanted to rap on this beat as it was cool, and so it just happened.”

6. Hold Up Your Hand – Crookers feat Roisin Murphy 3:12
“She is great. We had two days in the studio with her. She was one of the best people to work with. We did this in a day and a half, then we had two hours in the studio left and she was like: ‘I feel like doing another track, so we did the second in just two hours’.”

7. Hip Hop Changed – Crookers feat Rye Rye 4:46
“This was through Diplo. We did a remix swap with her.”

8. Cooler Couleur – Crookers feat Yelle 4:47
“Before meeting her we were friends on iChat and she said she liked a track, sang on it and it just worked. Very easy.”

9. Birthday Bash / Crookers feat The Very Best, Marina & Dargen 4:07
“This was a co-production with Radio Clit. It has English, Portuguese, Brazilian and Italian influences, so it’s all over the world.”

10. Put Your Hands On Me / Crookers feat Kardinal Offishall & Carla-Marie 3:41
“We liked some stuff he did a while ago so when we had the opportunity to do this we did it. We sent him, like, a million beats.”

11. Royal T – Crookers feat Roisin Murphy 5:24
“She’s great. See track 6.”

12. Remedy – Crookers feat Miike Snow 3:11
“We did a really weird remix for them and they really, super liked it, so we got in contact too. They’re really nice guys. We just asked them to do a session on the Internet, but at some point we realised the track could go one of two ways. That’s why we did a version for them on their album under a different name.

13. Arena – Crookers feat Poirier & Face-T 3:35
“We were a fan of them and sent them tracks on MySpace. It turned out they were a fan of us! It was, I like you, you like me, let’s do something together.”

14. Tee-Pee Theme -Crookers feat Drop The Lime 1:43
“We did this track with Luca Drop The Lime when he went in studio just to steal some gin from us. He’s the worst (in a good way).”

15. Transilvania – Crookers feat Steed Lord 4:07
“We’ve always been iChat friend with Steef Lord. We did a remix for them and at the end we sent this beat with *horror mood*… and they did exactly the vocal line we needed.”

16. Have Mercy – Crookers feat Carrie 3:25
“She’s our friends’ girlfriend in New York. He told us what a good singer she was so we just gave them the beat and this is what she wrote.”

17. Jump UP – Crookers feat Major Lazer, Leftside & Supahype 3:47
“We were working with Soulwax when Major Lazer sent us a load of acapellas from the album that they weren’t going to use. Did we want them? Yes! We fitted it onto something, and then sent it back to them. They liked it so much that they wanted to use it on their album and we’ve kept it too!”

18. Lone White Wolf – Crookers feat Tim Burgess 3:27
He heard one of our tracks and fell in love with it. He said he had to write something for it, so he did it!”

19. Day N Nite Accapella Version 1:59
“These are some Dutch guys. We heard them on YouTube performing an acapella of our remix of ‘Day ‘N Night’. They always perform it live when we play in Amsterdam. It seemed stupid to put the original version on the album, so we used this one instead.”

20. Embrace The Martian – Crookers feat Kid Cudi 3:41
“It’s an older track from back when we would talk to Kid Kudi on iChat. We said: if we did a remix for you, will you do a tune for us?”

Simian Mobile Disco.

Simian Mobile Disco run through their choices for their Delicatessen party at Matter, London on Saturday 20th February.

Green Velvet
Old school legend who is still making amazing stuff. His tracks have been staples in our DJ sets for ages now. Very excited to hear him
play – ‘Cameras Ready, Prepare To Flash’.

Retro/Grade
Italo aficionado Serge Santiago has teamed up with Tom Neville to make Retro/Grade. Expect classy, souped up disco vibes from this
exclusive live set.

DJ Pierre
Acid pioneer DJ Pierre absolutely nailed a remix of ‘Cruel Intentions’ for us. Watch him join the dots between acid old and new like no-one
else.

Boy 8 Bit
Last years stellar Baltic Pine set Boy 8 Bit apart from the pack. His DJ sets are simultaneously pastoral and mean. A real British talent

Ralph Lawson
2020 vision is one of Britain’s finest techno labels and head honcho Ralph Lawson is sure to showcase some of his new gems from the likes
of Bobby Peru and Spirit Catcher along with his usual techno goodies.

Joker
Arguably the most exciting prospect in dubstep at the moment. A cutting edge remixer, He turned in a huge mix of ‘Cruel Intentions’
that has been blowing up clubs and radios all over the world.

JoJo De Freq
Britain’s first lady of techno. Her sets are always thunderous and uncompromising as are her productions.

JoJo de Freq’s Associative Freewheelin’ live dj mix
Recorded at Decked Out’s 10th Anniversary at the Coronet, London 5th of Feburary, 2010
Download it here

Tracklisting below:
Sebastien Tellier – L’Amour et Violence – Boys Noize Main Version (Record Makers)
Dustin Zahn – Stranger (To Stability) (Rekids)
Bobmo – (Institubes)
HiJack, Satiago & Bushido – Way Back – Santiago & Bushido Remix (Potty Mouth Music)
Riva Starr – Dance Me feat. Trim (Made to Play)
Booka Shade, M.A.N.D.Y. – Donut –Boy 8-Bit Remix (Get Physical)
Aberrant -Calisto (Rekids)
Shortsuff, Hyetal -Don’t Sleep (Punch Drunk)
Green Velvet ft. Santiago & Bushido – Turn It Up (Cajual)
Felix Da Housecat – Elvi$ (Nettwerk)
Vitalic – Poison Lips (Citizen)
Lindstrom – Grand Ideas (Feedelity)
Radioslave – RJ (Rekids)
Hot Chip – One Life Stand – Carl Craig PCP Remix


Boy 8 Bit

Where are you right now and what are you doing?
Currently at home, doing that Mondqy thing of getting back into the swing of it after a 3 show weekend. Aiming to do a bit more work on some new material and maybe head out and start my Christmas shopping!

As you’ve released most of your EPs on many different and varied labels. Which is your favourite and why?
I don’t really judge my release by label and have never really thought about it in that way. I’m proud of everything I have done over the years and I am honored to be on any label that believes in my music enough to put it out in the first place!

Now your all growns up – are you going to change your name to Man 8 Bit?
Now I’m all grown up I’d like to change it completely! But alas its probably a bit late to do that..

As you like horror films, would you like to soundtrack a horror movie and if you could soundtrack any current horror film (old or young) which would it be?
I’d loved to have soundtracked that recent ‘Paranormal Activity’ movie. Probably a soundtrack containing random shouts of “This is Shit!”. I didn’t really like it. To be honest all my favourite horror movies are made even better by their soundtracks, so it would be pointless to re-score any of them.

You have a wide love for all types of music: hip hop, crunk, rave… Does that ever become a hindrance when trying to write new music?
Not as Boy 8-bit, no because I really just want to make “dance/house/electro/techno” music.. I’ll take influences from the other stuff I listen too, but at the end of the day I still want to write 128 bpm 4/4 music. Call me unadventurous.

You like 80s power ballads/pop. We could see you strutting, guitar in hand, in an 80s metal band – ever thought about joining a band?
I’d love to start a band, I’ve been playing the Guitar for about fifteen years on and off. Preferably a Melodic Death Metal group. But I can’t find anyone else to play in it. It’s finding a drummer that’s hardest. All applications by post please.

Why don’t you make a power pop/power ballad record? We think you’d be brilliant.
I don’t think people are really ready for that just yet…

What are you working on at the moment?
Just my own stuff. Putting together a couple of new EP’s of material. I’ve knocked remixing on the head for the rest of the year. But I believe my Bookashade remix will be available soon. Oh and I’m working on my midnight tune for NYE!

What can we expect from you on NYE?
A few well-known seasonal hits reworked in a Boy 8-Bit style perhaps…. Though I might just do an acoustic performance of my new pop / power ballad style! I definitely won’t be previewing my ‘Paranormal Activity’ soundtrack.

Finally, If you culd go down the yellow brick road, what would you like to find at the end of it?
Errr… Elton John? I heard he’d gone back.

Mumdance

Where are you right now and what are you doing?
I’ve literally just woke up & I’m just getting myself ready to head out & play a few dates on the Major Lazer tour this week. At the weekend I’m heading to France to play in Lille & at the Paris Social Club, its my first headline slot at the Social & I’m a bit worried that no one is going to turn up!!

It must be a hoot being in the Mad Decent camp? How did that come about?
I feel very privileged to be a part of it all. I guess it came about when a little while back Diplo did a remix of “Veni Vidi Vici” by the Black Lips. At the time I was working for Vice Magazine who put the record out. I did a little sneaky bootleg & remixed his remix, turning it into this weird Balie-Grime thing with Jammer on. I sent it to Diplo on Myspace and a few days later he got in touch with me & asked me to remix Santigold’s “Creator” for his Top Ranking mixtape. It’s just gone on from there really. I gotta big up Wes actually, he has been so supportive of me over the past couple of years & it has helped me out a lot.

We’ve been listening to your recent mini mix for Redlights (BBC 1Xtra). You’ve crammed quite a lot into it. If time had been no object what else would you have put in there?
I think what is the central idea to what I’m doing is the fact that I enjoy a really broad spectrum of music. Whenever I do a mix, remix or produce a track I like to express that. I think that you can play whatever music you want as long as you play it in the correct order & I like put the listener into territory that that they might not be familiar with by keeping it eclectic, but dance-floor friendly. If time had been no object, I would have probably just gone more and more obscure until it was just white noise with out a recording of the Jeremy Kyle Show over the top.

How did the Maximo Park remix come about? Do you feel like you’re jumping ship when you turn your remixing hands to angular guitar pop bands? (Your usual electro-tribal-Baile-funk productions being the ship and angular guitar pop band Maximo Park being the jump).
I really enjoy taking on projects in genres that people wouldn’t normally associate me with. People have such strong opinions on Maximo Park so I thought it would be an interesting one to work with & try to re interpret. I’m really happy with the way it came out. I guess I would say it isn’t jumping ship, more an expansion, maybe like building a conservatory on the ship that doubles as a guest room, then putting up some hanging baskets & maybe one of those nudie calendars that mechanics always have.

What’s ‘kerplunk’ that we keep hearing about? Are you trying to start a new musical genre?
Kerplunk is a idea which I had recently for a new sound, its just a bit of fun more than anything. I called it Kerplunk because it reminds me of the old school Mattel game when all the marbles fall out. The Maximo remix we were just talking about is one of the first Kerplunk tracks I did. It’s pretty much a cover of the original track, I kept the basic structure & re played a lot of the notes, but in a Kerplunk style. I guess its quite similar to what DJ Screw was doing when he “Chopped & Screwed” stuff (although it sounds nothing like that). I’ve written a few more Kerplunk tracks which I’m going to put out as an EP as soon as I get a chance. It would be cool if the name caught on though an other people started doing tracks with the same aesthetic, but I’m not gonna hold my breath….

What and who are you working on/ with at the moment?
I’m just hiding away in the studio writing a load of tracks for my first EP. I should have put out an EP ages ago, but I got really caught up in doing remixes for most of this year. Now I’m really trying to make the effort to knuckle down and write some original music. As well as that I have a load of side projects on the go; I have been working on Jammer’s debut album for Big Dada which is sounding great & also have started this collaboration project with Drums of Death called “Mums Of Death” We are just putting the finishing touches to the first release, two tracks “Golden Axe” & “Shadow of the Beast” which we are both very excited about. Thinking about it I have actually completed a load of collaborations which should all be emerging soon. Look out for tracks with Ac Slater, Toy Selectah, Maluca, Brackles, Shortstuff, Badness & High Rankin which should be floating about early 2010.

Eurostar was a great success. Have you any more plans to work with Brodinski again?
Its always an absolute pleasure to work with Brodi, he is extremely talented & has a great taste in music. I actually played with him last weekend and we were brainstorming the next single we are going to do. I think we are going to do one track which is a straight up dancefloor tune & another which is a bit more experimental. Keep your ears out though as it shouldn’t be too long till it lands.

We really enjoyed your set at our 15th birthday – what can we expect on NYE? You’re on the same bill as Brodinski – any party tricks planned?
Yo, the Bugged Out 15th Birthday party was absolutely amazing. Literally one of the highlights of 2009 for me. If that party is anything to go by, NYE is going to be EPIC….I cant wait!! I’m not going to plan my set, I’m just going walk into the situation, see what the crowd are feeling & run with it. If Brodinski is still sober enough I might try to rope him into playing back to back with me for a bit.

Finally, If you could go down the yellow brick road, what would you like to find at the end of it?
I wish I could find a way to answer this question in a witty manner, as I’ve been poring over it for a good ten minutes and all of my answers have been either too explicit or just plain stupid.

Little Boots

Tell me how you settled on the line-up for Boots Camp?

I just looked up some people I’ve worked with I know are great and some others I really want to see play but hadn’t had a chance yet.

If the budget for the party could have been increased by £1 million who else would you have liked to book?
Maybe Lady Gaga. And all of the Bonkers DJs.

You worked with Joe Goddard on this album. Who would you like to work with on your next one? What do you look for in a person when you collaborate?
I’d love to work with Joe again, and Greg Kurstin who I did a lot of the album with. I don’t think too much about collaborations I just see
what comes along and what doesn’t feel forced.

The location for the party is pretty cool but If you could play anywhere, where would it be and why?
Maybe Blackpool circus or Tower Ballroom because they are great room with loads of history and character and would make a great homecoming.

Have you always wanted to be a performer? Did you perform at school?
I’m not sure… I always wanted to be a musician, but singing came a bit later on and it took me a while to get confident. I really
enjoy performing now but I don’t know if I see myself doing that side of things forever.

What’s the most embarrassing song on your I-pod?
I dunno I’m not really embarrassed about any of it, although other people probably would be!

Why did you stop twittering? I see you have resumed doing it. Who would you recommend we follow?
I’m back now as I said I would if I got 40,000 followers. I needed some time off to perfect my Tetris skills… now that’s completed, I’m
back in the game!

There’s a competition to remix your new single. What are you looking for in the winner?
An absolute banger!

The Chemical Brothers

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
(Ed Simons): Although I know you have been based in London for years it still means Manchester and Sankeys Soap to me. Hearing those huge DJ’s playing in that back street club back then (1995). Also Jockey Slut’s (magazine) office was upstairs at the time so it all tied together.

Do you remember the Disco Pogo nights we threw before Bugged Out?
I remember one night was in Joshua Brookes and it was like an early incarnation of what we went on to do with the (Heavenly) Social. We played the Manics at the end (La Tristesse Durera). When we did Disco Pogo it was one of the first times we had travelled up from London to DJ. We were still playing records in our set we had bought from Moonboots at Eastern Bloc from our time (studying) in Manchester though. We were working on a remix of Faster for the Manics at the time. We went up to DJ and then came back and went straight to the studio to finish it off. We all fell asleep under the desk at one point, me, Tom and the engineer. Seems like a different time now.

The first time you played live at Sankeys it was in April 1995 as Very Special Guests from Planet Dust…
Yes the clue was in the title there wasn’t it (they had just changed their name from Dust Brothers to Chemical Brothers). Derrick Carter played and I remember thinking he was good. We heard (resident) James Holroyd for the first time too and he became a permanent fixture of our touring party. We also used Stuart James for the first time too and he has been our tour manager ever since. One of our crew on that night, Joe Wright is a director now, he directed Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. It was a small stage, quite ambitious to play live on. But back then we just used five keyboards, samplers and four strobe lights. It was always a bit hairy in Manchester at the time. We DJed once and decided to walk back to the hotel rather than get a cab. These locals shouted at us, Oi are you the Chemical Brothers? We were like, ‘Yes my good men’. And then they started throwing rocks at us.

What was it about James Holroyd that appealed?
It was very packed when we were about to play live that night and James created a real tension, playing really interesting records, really building it up. He’s carried on doing that for us ever since. We used to warm up a lot when we started DJing playing to the cleaner and bar staff so we understood the art of warming up.

You have played club nights for us in Manchester, Liverpool, London, Dublin. What has been your most memorable night?
I used to love the Fabric nights (2000/2001). I went a lot anyway. Me and Tom still lived in London. That was the last time I’d go to a club for the social and see people I grew up with in London so I have fond memories. You always had great DJ’s at your night and new DJ’s. Erol was just coming up. There was a good room at Nation too (Liverpool) the Courtyard. Both of those rooms were two of our faves. I liked the chaos of ramming people into that second room of Fabric.

Then you played in an even smaller room for 300 people when you did our nights at Heaven in 2001…
We were playing long sets, playing our own warm ups even. I think we did seven hours the second time.

You never fancied playing for us at The End though?
I don’t really know why we didn’t do it. I heard good things about it. Maybe it was because it seemed a bit too central London to us.

What can we expect from the new album?
We’ve definitely hit upon a sound. It would lessen the magic if I gave words to it.

So you are back playing for us at Sankeys for the first time since 2005. Are you looking forward to it?
Really looking forward to it. We have been in the studio a lot recently and have new stuff to play. We finished something off the other day that we both said would sound good at Sankeys, it has a level of intensity. Still like it up in Manc.

The Chemical Brothers DJ at Bugged Out’s 15^th birthday at Sankeys on November 20^th. Buy your advance tickets here.

Boys Noize

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
A great team that always has a great taste in music and always supports the young unknown talents that get bigger one year later. I always have great moments at Bugged Out.

Which was your favourite night?
The first time I played with Erol Alkan & Switch in the main room at The End.

What were you doing 15 years ago?
Listening to a record in the record shop.

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Turning The End’s toilet man into a singer and letting him perform on stage at the main room, “alwaysanytime24/7.”

Simian Mobile Disco
What does Bugged Out mean to you?
Techno, that’s a compliment.

Which was your favourite night?
Bugged out at Sankeys in Manchester introduced us to lots of good techno.

What were you doing 15 years ago?
Exams.

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Our mate Jabba taking his shoes off in Sankeys and losing his mind.

Mylo

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
Um, you’re the guys who do that gay disco right?

Which was your favourite night?
Obviously, my favourite night remains the time at Glastonbury when I told you that Phil Collins had died falling out of a helicopter and the rumour then spread like wildfire around the Bugged Out tent. [Weird in retrospect given the celebrity death that happened on the weekend of this year's Glasto - maybe this happens every year.] There was also the time at your 11th birthday when somebody pinched my house keys from the DJ booth in the main room at The End while I was playing. Happy days. Got them back eventually…

What were you doing 15 years ago?
I was starting my last year at school after a summer of home in Skye washing dishes at the Gaelic College up the road. And experimenting with local fungus by night.

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Well without a shadow of a doubt the worst thing I’ve seen at Bugged Out was our ill-conceived and unrehearsed cover of Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Rendezvous pt 4′. This was at your 10th birthday. [Woah 5 years ago.] Sorry about that.

Busy P

What were you doing 15 years ago?
I was learning how to look after two guys who wanted to be anonymous but who were changing the game in our music industry.

How long have you been part of Bugged Out?
It all started way back in the Jockey Slut magazine era. A guy with a weird name, Johnno, he was one of the first people to get into some Frenchies called Daft Punk. It was in 1994. Since then I’ve been in touch with Johnno. Following him burying Jockey Slut and giving birth to Bugged Out.

Can you tell me about your favourite Bugged Out party?
One big Ed Banger party we did together in London in 2007 with Justice, Uffie, Sebastian, So Me and Busy P. It was a challenge, our first big Ed Rec party in U.K.

What is Ed Banger working on at the moment?
We are releasing a remix compilation of DJ Mehdi ‘Red, Black & Blue’ and Uffie’s first album. Also watch out for Breakbot’s first single and the latest 12” from French hip hop sensation DSL called ‘Stupid Bitches.

Justin Robertson

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
Friendship and a shared love of the absurdly fun, serious music not taken seriously, quality with tremendous shoes.

What were you doing 15 years ago?
I was living in Manchester heavily into my Lionrock project, forming a live rave and roll band and flouncing about the world playing acid house nuggets to bugged eyed space cadets, much the same as today! Developing my sartorial code and longing to be a master detective.

You’ve been involved in Bugged Out since the beginning can you tell me about your favourite?
Loved the Bugged Out in Buenos Aires, totally hat stand off its tits, the atmosphere was intense and the booze ran like a river. Twisty turny acid house served up till 8am.

What is your favourite memory of Bugged Out in Liverpool and Manchester?
Wow, overwhelming really. It was the club I felt most at home in, like a happy dysfunctional family! Such a variety of stuff to hear, especially in Liverpool. It was like a festival every month! I always think about the anticipation/terror of getting ready to play in the Annexe. A long line of vodka tonics at the ready, spin backs and shredding tweeking techno, such a manic atmosphere. So much music was broken there, it was so top to hear people going hoopla when I played my ‘Blister Boy’ tune…We’re gonna rock this party right!

You must know more about Bugged Out than we do. What do you think about the club now?
It still about the energy and the quality , that’s still its core philosophy as it was when it started. It’s about chasing the cutting edge without becoming a victim of fashion, keeping the soul while keeping it fresh. Doing it for all the right reasons not being a slave to mammon!

You’ve DJed and produced under many different guises – what exciting projects are you involved with now?
Fully involved with my Balearic space disco murder ballads DEADSTOCK 33′S project, singles have popped out on Paper Recordings and Is It Balearic, with an album on the way called Underneath the pines as well as a mini album for Japanese label Hypnotic Room. I have some new rave up material out in the next month or two also, and am still singing for Thee Earls art rock band! I am also a song writer these days composing songs and music for various artists.

JoJo De Freq

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
Making an unforgettable mark in the history of dance music; being respected by being a respecter; making and breaking a multitude of DJ’s and acts through influence and enthusiasm; and having un-waverable endurance the face of many ups and downs and reincarnations oh and not to mention many a proper, fun, messy night out!

Which has been your favourite night?
Mmmmmmm I hate this one – too many to remember! There can’t be just one. Birthdays are always the best though!

What were you doing 15 years ago?
I was probably doing something mischievous and delinquent, like trying to sneak my way into a club.

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Lot’s of sweat dripping make-up smeared smiling faces, unashamed kissing on the dance-floor, waves of ridiculously enthralled hands-in-the-air, and I must admit to enjoying the odd nutty DJ booth dancer as well as tissue dancers, Go-Go girls and loads more.

Matt Walsh

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
Quite a lot! Bugged was my favourite club night for about 8 years and now I’m a resident! It’s always at the forefront of current dance music and it has, by far, the best crowd in the world.

Which has been your favourite night?
There are so many great nights over the years, I used to love Ivan’s closing sets. Having to wait to catch the first train back home, meant that I was always there to the bitter end. Since I’ve been playing, it has to be the T bar night with Tiga, for obvious reasons really!

What were you doing 15 years ago?
I was at school in Essex listening to Blur and the first 2 Prodigy albums over and over again (Jilted Generation had just come out I think…) and sneaking in to raves at Oscars on Clacton Pier.

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Ben Trucker singing Gala’ s “Free from Desire” through a megaphone when the lights came on at 7am without a doubt.

Hannah Holland

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
It means pure quality clubbing with cutting edge dance music and an honour to be part of.

Which has been your favourite night?
Miss Kitten 2007. Mental energy. Love her to bits.

What were you doing 15 years ago?
I was 13 years old and bouncing around my friend’s bedrooms listening to jungle whilst idolising Courtney Love and playing bass. I wanted to be a cross between Lee Perry and Kim Gorden!!

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Claude Von Stroke raving away to Mama Shamone repenting people on the dancefloor through a mega phone. Plus when the night finished Ben Fat Trucker sang Rhythm Is A Dancer with the mega phone and everyone still kept going. That was my first ever set at Bugged Out, a very fun night.

Brodinski

What does Bugged Out mean to you?
I’m speechless. Best party in the world? I think so!!

Which has been your favourite night?
I love ALL of them. I think Sankeys (in Manchester) was ACE all three times. I love the warehouse car park party in london too. NYE in fire last year and for sure the two I did at The End. So many good souvenirs.

What were you doing 15 years ago?
Growing. I’m just 16 now you know.

What’s the best thing that you’ve seen at Bugged Out?
Seeing Erol’s ass ten times (joke). I love when Johnno dances – I think it’s when I really do a great job.