Friendly Fires: life's a beach

Following last week's hugely popular SMS mix (stream below!) we caught up with Friendly Fires' drummer and resident DJ Jack Savidge to find out how channeling the spirit of Carl Craig, Justin Timberlake and Black Sabbath is going on the recording of their new LP and why wet wipes are this season's essential festival must-have...

Summer's coming, what's on the agenda?
"Playing music in a few fields, and more work on our forthcoming second album."

Tell us about your latest projects?
"Our new album is perhaps just over half done, and sounding great. We've got a few other exciting things in the FF factory pipeline which I'd love to tell you about, but you'll have to wait for the official announcements. Apologies."

What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
"Personally, Tony Allen. As for the whole band, so far on our new recordings we've been channeling Depeche Mode, Carl Craig, Black Sabbath and Justin Timberlake."

What are you favourite/biggest tunes of the moment?
BDI - City & Industry
Wild Geese - Labyrinth
Omar S - Feeling You (Henrik Schwarz mix)

What can we expect from your show at Stop Making Sense?
"Disco, House and Techno from 3 and a bit decades, probably a Friendly Fires remix or two if we're in the mood, and at least one howling error which I will attempt to laugh off and/or blame the equipment for."

Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the festival?
"Juan Atkins, Carl Craig, Robelledo and Optimo."

Any unusual festival tips?
"Wet wipes."

Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
"Having a quiet word with myself in the bathroom."

SMS festival madness: the people, the parties, revealed in full glory!

SMS mix 06 - Django Django

Expertly straddling the wheels of steel for the sixth in our series of exclusive Stop Making Sense mixes are fast-rising disco-loving Scots-Irish fly boys Django Django, who'll be bringing their ecstatic live show to the Adriatic this summer when they play our first festival.

With their mix spanning Suicide's classic NYC punk funk to Roxanne Shante's '80s hip-hop, Tangerine Dream's spacey synth biz and more riotous UK dancehall that you could royally jump around to (full tracklist below!), this one's a tad special.

Download: SMS mix 06 - Django Django

Tell us about the mix you’ve recorded for Stop Making Sense...any exclusives or particular favourites on there?
"No exclusives I'm afraid but my particular favourites would have be the dancehall oddity i found in a charity shop last weekend , jack reuben and the riddla 'Ah nio nu-un' .. it sounds like Beenie Man dueting with Barny from the Simpsons. Also the Early B track 'Wheely' that our synth player Tommy put forward...forget boasting about girls, cars and guns REAL bad boys know how to pull a good wheely on their bmx!"

Summer's coming, what's on the agenda?
"Ah .. the gold old British summer time...crack out the umbrellas and get the kettle on... well festivals are on the agenda i guess...starting quite soon a think, with great escape in Brighton. the highlight honestly has to be Stop Making Sense festival though.. not only because Carl Craig is DJing, but we've always wanted to go to Croatia, so were very excited about this one."

Tell us about your latest projects?
"We've been 'in the studio' (my flat) since the start of the year trying to pull an album together. last year we were just taking it song by song but we have our album hats on now, so we are trying to choose tracks to concentrate on and bring it all together. its exciting, and looks good on paper to us... its about 60% done so it might make an appearance this year. if not then 2011. that sounds like ages away! but its not really when you consider tweeking, mixing and mastering etc. so well see how it goes."

What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
"We listen to so much different and random music as you can probably tell from this mix. I'm always on he search for exciting new sounding music, but that tends to be old music from the 60s, 70s and 80s... obscure soundtracks, forgotten acid house 12"s and oddball library LPs. There is a lot of music out there! i love the production on 80s and 90s dancehall records.. when you listen to the version side you start to appreciate the crazy samples, synths and rhythms these guys were playing with.. people like sly and robbie, the fire house crew, lenky, steely and cleviea, shocking vibes crew.. its unlike anything else and some of its is pretty weird."

What are you favourite/biggest tunes of the moment?
"Okay, I've sent a text out for this and Tommy is the only one replying. He says Scott Walker 'the seventh sealand jacques dutronc, hippie hippie hourrah. I'm going to say, the it 'donnie' (and any other Larry Heard productions), Stevie Poindexter stuff and generally lots of '80s Chicago house. I know vinny is really into the gun club at the moment.. and king congo and the pink monkey birds...jim has two tapes.. 'a fish called wonda' soundtrack and 'pizza' by angry anderson."

What can we expect from your show at Stop Making Sense?
"Cowbells and bad shirts probably...the set is a bit like this mix, pretty random. it tends to start off with quite a lot of four four beats and dancy grooves them slip into a more raw garage / surf sound."

Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the festival?
"Juan Atkins, Theo Parrish and Carl Craig. I was really into acid house, electro and techno growing up...I still am really, so hearing these three DJ will be a real treat."

Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
"As long as were not in Croatian custody I don't mind."

Track Listing:

martin rev 'mari go round'
pierre henry 'cosmic ballad'
basile 'il tubodell anno'
transam 'firepoker'
devo 'Uglatto'
tangerine dream 'jenny artichoke'
Pulsallama 'Ungawa Pt. II'
A Number Of Names 'Sharevari'
roxanne shante 'go on girl'
missy elliot 'im really hot'
epmd 'you gots to chill'
horace andy 'quiet place'
uprising allstars 'massacre in dub'
Early B - 'Wheely Wheely'
prince jammy 'not another word'
mr peck 'ouich ole'
fire house crew '?'
beenie amn 'weed and grabba'
sparticus r 'profitable genocide'
jack reuben and the riddla 'ah no nu-un'
black hole disco theme

Hear SMS headliner Carl Craig in the mix

Dance music legends don't get much more 'legendary' than Detroit techno pioneer Carl Craig, which is why we're just a touch excited to welcome the man himself to play under the stars at our very first Stop Making Sense festival.

That's why we thought we'd take a one-week break from our series of exclusive SMS DJ mixes to bring to your attention a very special new mix from Carl Craig himself, a much treasured rarity these days and a choice selection of the kind of upfront techno and house the revered DJ and producer is likely to drop at Stop Making Sense this September.

Recorded for our friends at Resident Advisor, Carl's mix is, in his own words, lots of "new stuff, mixed with a few old things that I don't play very often that I feel like are worth being rediscovered".

Check it out here!

SMS mix 01 - Russ Jones

The first in our weekly series of exclusive Stop Making Sense mixes from the great and the good playing at this year's festival is a genre-trashing, hip-grinding, ghetto-rousing, pan-global mash-up of street-born styles from Colombian cumbia to Balkan reggae via a fast-becoming legendary Mexican remix of Vampire Weekend, courtesy of the nifty eye-wear-sporting Hackney Globe Trotter himself, Russ Jones.

Download: SMS mix 01 - Russ Jones

Tracklisting:
01. Benjamin Zephaniah 'Slow Motion Radiovox'
02. Spiteri Spiteri 'Soul Inside'
03. Batida Dance Mwangolé 'Alegria'
04. DJ Mujava 'Mugwanti/Sgwejegweje' (Schlachthofbronx remix)
05. Gipsy Kings feat. Analogik Lions 'Malente & Dex'
06. Genghis Clan Vs Riva Starr 'Jump Up' (Mambo Jumbo remix)
07. Rubi Dan 'Funky Dip'
08. Systema Solar 'Sin Oficio'
09. Afrodita La Reina del Palenke 'La Cumbia del Pasoncito'
10. George Danquah 'Hot And Jumpy'
11. Bolga Zohdoomah 'Jingo'
12. Brassroots 'Misirlou'
13. Vampire Weekend 'Cousinz' (Toy Selectah Mex-More remix)
14. DJ Farrapo 'Swingy Mama'
15. Teleport Massive Feat. Zumbi of Zion 'Bassnectar Cozza Frenzy'
16. Mahala Rai Banda 'Balkan Reggae'
17. Willie Colón 'La Murga'
18. Trebol Clan 'Fuga'
19. Vampire Weekend 'Diplomat's Son'
20. Alika y Nueva 'Para Bailar Cumbia' (El Hijo de la Cumbia remix)
21. Sekreto 'Gota' (El Hijo de la Cumbia remix)
22. Corazon Enamorado 'Calixto Ochoa'
23. Juan Piña Y Sus Muchachos 'Abran Rueda'
24. Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars 'Jah Come Down'

We caught up with Russ for a few words about the mix, what you can expect from his Saturday afternoon beach bar set at Stop Making Sense and why sunrise is a quasi-religious experience, of sorts...

Tell us about the mix you’ve recorded for Stop Making Sense...
"I tried to record this mix five times live on my laptop but after too many crashes finally gave in to putting it together in Ableton - talk about pulling teeth! But I am really happy with the outcome and it's something a little bit different - a reflection of what I am playing in the clubs and on my radio show. Not all bangers but great and varied music from around the world both new and old."

Any exclusives or particular favourites on there?
"Where do I start? Love all these tracks or otherwise they would not be in the mix. Dj Farrapo's 'Swingy Mama' is pretty exclusive, 'Sistema Solar Sin Oficio' is a really big tune for me over the last few months. Love the two Vampire Weekend tracks. Toy Selectah's mix is a killer and Diplomat's 'Son' is great piece of modern pop. 'Slow Motion Radiovox' by Benjamin Zephanai is an amazing remix by what has to be one of the most talented producers out there at the moment, Corin from Latin Dub. Keep an eye on him, he is about to take right off. 'Soul Inside' by Spiteri is great piece of Latin rock reissued by Vampi Soul via London and Venezuela circa 1973. I've never put a rock track in a mix before but this one is a winner and it's well worth checking the album."

What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
"All the ones mentioned above, Franco, Lucho Bermudez, Skitz, Bootlegumachine, Schlachthofbronx, Douster, all the releases on Soundway Recordings,so many amazing live bands in London- Yabaa Funk, Conjuto Sabroso, Los Chinches, Hackney Empire, Brassroots and it goes on..."

Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at Stop Making Sense?
"Never checked out Carl Craig before so that should be cool, Son of Dave always turns in a great show and to see The Very Best for the first time will def be something to look forward to."

Any unusual festival tips?
"Wellingtons? Think we will need them in Croatia? Would be unusual but best to be prepared. Once in a queue to get on plane with a guy who had his own life jacket. Did he know something I didn't? Not sure, but he was prepared!"

Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
"Getting ready for Sunday mass. What else..."

New Artwork!

The Very Best + Carl Craig + Friendly Fires + Theo Parrish + Nathan Fake + Django Django + many more to play our first festival!

The sun is shining and we're beyond super-excited to say that after months of juggling and pondering, musing and arm wrestling, we've come up with a stonking line up for our first Stop Making Sense festival that fires are collective imaginations and sets our pulses racing on hyper-speed. Oh yes! From the live tropical Malawi-via-Dalston sounds of Friday headliners The Very Best to the classic emotive Detroit techno of Carl Craig topping the bill on Sunday, we reckon we've nailed it!

Joining such musical royalty for three days and nights of genre-shredding anarchy in Croatia this September are a truly global crew of party-starting pioneers and musical revolutionaries, including the brilliant new breed post-everything Django Django, Crown Prince of UK electronica Nathan Fake, revered Detroit techno pioneers Juan Atkins, Theo Parrish and new-school protege Kyle Hall, loose-limbed future pop party-starters Friendly Fires, South American house hero Matias Aguayo, one-man band master of twisted blues Son of Dave, MIA-acolytes and global beat makers Radioclit, legendary Scottish club originals Optimo, teenage flamenco troubadours Fran and Josh and Vampire Weekend-remixer and Mexican mash-up king Toy Selectah, plus many, many more...

Combine this mighty lot with the know-how of our esteemed club promoters plus the promise of sun, sand, boat parties, beautiful beaches, open-air clubs and bars and a real sense of reveling in a new environment and we reckon you have the recipe for a legendary festival in the making.

Stop Making Sense 2010, see you there....

LIVE: THE VERY BEST / DJANGO DJANGO / NATHAN FAKE / MATIAS AGUAYO / SON OF DAVE / WBEEZA / THE WORM / JOANA & THE WOLF / FRAN AND JOSH / LATIN DUB SOUND SYSTEM / LONGJON LA FLECHA / THE LOOSE FIT

DJ’S: CARL CRAIG / JUAN ATKINS / THEO PARRISH / FRIENDLY FIRES (DJ SET) / RADIOCLIT / TOY SELECTAH / OPTIMO / BENJI B / PATRICE SCOTT / KEITH WORTHY / KYLE HALL / ALLEZ ALLEZ / ISA GT / MARK E / REBOLLEDO / CHRIS COCO / RICHARD NORRIS / TAMA SUMO / JAMES PRIESTLEY / GILES SMITH / RUSS JONES / CAL JADER / SENSU / LAKUTI / GIRLCORE / FACT DJS / ALI TILLETT / ROB SUMMERHAYES / GRINGO DA PARADA / COUNT CHOCULA / TCHICKY AL DENTE / LEON LACE