Name: UP THE DANCERS :: Diz & Tony 586 - Sunday 9th April 2023 by diz
Duration: 4 h 7 min 7 s
Description: Diz & Tony 586 live at The Lubber Fiend - Easter Sunday 9th April 2023

A Londoner through and through, Arthur Smith, more commonly known as Artwork, is a man who has been a key part of some of the capital’s pivotal music scenes in the last two decades. After a time producing techno under his Grain alias in the 90s, fore-fronting dubstep with Big Apple Records in the early noughties and forming Magnetic Man alongside Skream and Benga in 2007 – Artwork is now busy injecting his character into various parties, festivals and clubs around the globe.

As a longtime friend of the shop, we reached out to Arthur to see if he would be up for contributing a mix to close out 2021. For the occasion, Arthur went above and beyond and the result is a whopping one hour and forty-minute long recording packed with all kinds of rare disco, funk, boogie and house treasures. 

Head on over to offtherecord.net to check out the in-depth interview where we discussed his new life in NYC, his past projects; Grain and Magnetic Man, his future plans, and much more. Enjoy!

Feature & Interview

Phonica Mix Series 90: Artwork

The next label to feature in the SB guest mix series requires little to no introduction. Minted 25 years ago by high school friends, Jamie 'Jimpster' Odell and Tom Roberts, and having amassed a mighty 412 releases (listed on discogs anyway) we welcome Freerange Records to the fold. 

With a discography as deep as the music therein, Freerange member, Conrad Lee has elected to "dig through the lesser explored corners of the back-catalogue, picking out tracks that still feel relevant today and pairing them with some, but not all, of my favourite releases from my time from starting as an intern up until now. So expect tracks from Jimpster, Shur-i-kan, Crackazat, Ewan Jansen and Ron Trent among others."

Label: @freerangerecords
DJ: @conradleelondon

Tracklist

SlothBoogie Guestmix #320 - Freerange Records

The decade-spanning career of Roy Davis Jr. is intrinsically intertwined with the history of house music. As one of the defining voices of Chicago's underground, he's worked both behind the decks and behind-the-scenes. From handling Strictly Rhythm's A&R sector in the '90s to joining seminal production crew Phuture to launching his own Undaground Therapy Muzik label, Davis Jr. isn't just a veteran but a compendium of dance music knowledge. Daft Punk cites him as an influence while the likes of Disclosure, Zed Bias and Waajeed have sought him out for collaborations.

He may be best known for his 1998 single Gabriel with Peven Everett—now a garage anthem on both sides of the Atlantic—but his discography and DJ sets go well beyond club hits. Weaving in soul, gospel, disco, techno and acid into a deep house framework, he marries raw funk, plush melodies, hypnotic synths and stripped-down arrangements. All these elements are beautifully captured on his RA Podcast. Moving from a state of eyes-closed bliss to body-moving grooves, the near two-hour session is as grounding as it is free-floating. Spiritual, sensual and tightly mixed, it's a lesson in multifaceted house music.

RA podcast

RA.830 Roy Davis Jr

I invited to Artwork to come play some records on my show on Soho Radio New York tonight to pay homage to a weird phenomenon from three decades ago. Record stores in Croydon in the early-mid 1990’s. Croydon, a slightly less impressive cosmopolitan metropolis than the one we are DJing in now (in truth it was a dreary suburban shithole) bizarrely had some world class record shops. Certainly, a match for Black Market in Soho (sorry Goldie). I brought much of my early US House & Garage from Swag Records (with my pocket money), almost all of which have stood the test of time. Artwork worked in Big Apple Records also in Croydon at the very same time. It’s funny to be broadcasting those Croydon RIPS from Manhattan exactly 30 years later with Arthur (who I thought was scary and unapproachable at the time). It’s a funny old game!

CROYDON TO NEW YORK

Roughly ten years ago—if we pretend the peak pandemic year-and-a-half doesn't count—Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets first came together as Detroit Swindle, before changing their name to Dam Swindle towards the end of 2020. The original name was meant as a tribute to one of their favorite musical legacies, but recognizing that it didn't come across how they meant it, the duo changed their name to pay homage to their other favourite place: Amsterdam. Dales and Smeets have become core parts of the Amsterdam house scene in their time, especially with their excellent Heist Recordings label, which they started back in 2013 (hey, now *that's* literally ten years ago). 

It's easy to understand why the duo have become so popular. In person and onstage, they're goofy, funny guys, the kind of people you might describe as the life of the party. And musically, they're massively appealing, marrying a European tech house strut to deeper and more soulful inspirations, a preoccupation reflected in Heist's impressive artist roster: Ge-Ology, Demuir, Byron The Aquarius, Matthew Herbert and more. 

Their RA Podcast comes at a time of reflection and change, looking back on the decade-plus history of both act and label and plotting their new album, which they say will expand their horizons even more. The mix is eclectic but smooth, pulling together tracks from the likes of Omar-S, Lil Silva, Ruf Dug and Genius Of Time (with one of last year's most underrated tracks). It's always a treat to hear consummate club DJs in a more relaxed mode, and this one's no exception.

@damswindle

Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/866

RA.866 Dam Swindle

Diz & Tony 586 live at The Lubber Fiend - Easter Sunday 9th April 2023

UP THE DANCERS :: Diz & Tony 586 - Sunday 9th April 2023

The don Ian Pooley steps on with Moxie.

https://www.nts.live/shows/moxie/episodes/moxie-12th-april-2023

Moxie w/ Ian Pooley 120423

Piano house, euphorics breaks, and soft trance rollers all inside this month's Black Loops show, featuring special guest Tatie Dee.

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Black Loops w/ Tatie Dee - May 2023

My recent visit to HÖR Berlin to drop some fresh tunes ahead of my Panorama Bar gig the next morning.

GIDEÖN HÖR Berlin

Live at the Bongo Club - Sept 16th 2023

The Berlin vinyl shop owner, house 'bomb' producer, label manager and all around aficionado @cinthie debuts for the HNYPOTCAST...

SOME VINYL IN HERE!

Honey Soundsystem Potcast

HNYPOT 335: Cinthie's Holding On To Summertime Mix

Bookings + Enquiries: dizmusicuk@gmail.com

UP THE DANCERS :: Diz & Tony 586 - Sunday 9th April 2023

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