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

SMS mix 07 - Nick Agha

In addition to the headline-grabbing big hitters such as Carl Craig, The Very Best, Friendly Fires, Theo Parish and pals, our first summer festival will also showcase the estimable talents of some of the UK's best up'n'coming DJs and producers, and none more so than Nick Agha, a Brixton-based house and techno zealot best known for being the brains behind club/events company Don't Panic.

Nick's exclusive SMS mix, the seventh in our weekly series, features plenty of his own tracks, several unheard till now, alongside re-rubs and mixes by revered house heads like Prosumer and Chez Damier (tracklisting below). We caught up with Nick to find out more...

Download: SMS mix 07 - Nick Agha

Tell us about the mix you’ve recorded for SMS?
"My productions range between deep house and techno but I wanted to keep this mix on the house tip to create the feeling of outside daytime dancing in sunny Croatia. It gets more slamming in the middle with an abstract peak with my track satellite over and out of Nikola Gala and into some Levon remix genius mellowing again with some old school productions at the end. I haven't mastered my tracks so it was tough mixing and EQing these waves into vinyl so sorry if the sound quality isn't the best but I think Ive achieved a live raw loose which is important to me. All the effects are done live in the mix with a midi controller."

Any exclusives on there?
"There's 8 exclusive tracks of mine on there which until released we can call works in progress."

Summer's coming, what's on the agenda?
"Got my first release scheduled on a great new label Canta run by some serious young house heads really into the music and the scene as well as the creative and design element of the label towards the end of Summer and a few other labels interested. Definitely hitting Sonar and hopefully a holiday to Borneo! :)"

Tell us about your latest projects?
"Really it's the music all the time and Don't Panic keeps me pretty busy."

What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
"Levon, Omar, Prosumer, Qu, Jus Ed."

What are you favourite/biggest tunes of the moment?
Party People Clap / Doublejointed Cosmodrome

What can we expect from your show at Stop Making Sense?
"More of the same music-wise hopefully with a visual element if its possible."

Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the festival?
"So many! Juan Atkins, Theo, Patrice, Wbeeza, Giles and James, Rob Summerhayes, Girlcore."

Any unusual festival tips?
"Don't forget the magic word."

Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
"Dancing on the beach hopefully."

Track Listing:
Nick Agha - Moving Image (Original Mix)
Lovebirds - My Man (Original Mix)
Nick Agha - The City and the Stars
Sascha Dive - Just Groove (Chez Damier Mix)
Nick Agha - Nightfall (Original Mix)
Motor City Soul - Deliver Me ft. Ernesto (Prosumer Remix)
Nick_Agha - Silent Running (Original Mix)
Delano Smith - Truth (Original Mix)
Nick Agha - Step Sequence (Original Mix)
Nikola Gala - The Phunk (Original Mix)
Nick Agha - Satellite (Original Mix)
DJ Qu - Party People Clap (Levon Vincent Remix)
Nick Agha - Calling Home (Original Mix)
Nick Agha - New Year (Original Mix)

Stop Making Sense takeover London!

Following our riotous, rammed-to-the-rafters party at Favela Chic last month, at the end of May Stop Making Sense will be taking over clubs in East and West London to bring the capital a flavour of the musical delights and good times-writ large that you can expect at our debut festival this September!

On Thursday 27th May we return to Favela Chic with a live show by Giles Peterson faves The Worm, specialists in West African blues and riffs, with support from DJs Gringo Da Parada and SMS resident Madera Verde.

The next night, on Friday 28th May, we head across town to take-over Notting Hill Arts Club with tripped-out house and disco specialists Loose Fit and Culprit 1, with SMS mix heroes Allez Allez ably manning the ones and twos.

Back East, on the same Friday, we hit fast-rising new venue The Camp, with the quite frankly amazing Joana and the Wolf (pictured, above) playing live alongside teen stars Fran and Josh and DJs from our friends at FACT magazine ripping it up.

Join us!

SMS LONDON PARTIES

Thursday 27th May
@ FAVELA CHIC
LIVE: THE WORM
DJS: GRINGO DA PARADA + MADERA VERDE
Favela Chic, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3HZ / Tel: 0207 6134228. Nearest tube: Old Street
Entry free before 9pm - £3 after / 7pm – 1am

Friday 28th May
@ NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB
LIVE: LOOSE FIT + CULPRIT 1
DJS: ALLEZ ALLEZ
Notting Hill Arts Club, 21 Notting Hill Gate, London, W11 3JQ
Nearest tube: Notting Hill / Tel: 020 74604459
Free entry before 8pm, £6 before 11pm, £8 after / 7pm – 2am

Friday 28th May
@ THE CAMP
LIVE: FRAN AND JOSH + LONGJON LA FLECHA + JOANA AND THE WOLF
DJS: FACT
The CAMP, 70-74 City Road, London EC1Y
Nearest tube: Old Street / Tel: 020 7253 2443
Free / 7pm – midnight

Benji B: deviating from the norm

As an acclaimed Radio 1Xtra DJ and cutting-edge champion of bass-driven club music, Benji B has long since emerged from the shadows of his mentor Giles Peterson to become a mainstay in London's shape-shifting club scene.

Which is why we booked him to bring a little dubstep-fired magick to Stop Making Sense this September. Ahead of that show-stealing experience, we caught up with the man himself to find out a little more...

Summer's coming, what's on the agenda?
"Sunshine, hopefully."

Tell us about your latest projects?
"Deviation Deviation Deviation - we have had some incredible sessions recently and our nights at Gramaphone and Camp have been classics. 2010 heavy so far."

What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
"Kode 9, Theo Parrish.... and all the producers that send us amazing music every week."

What are you favourite/biggest tunes of the moment?
"Zed Bias - Badungdeng, Zomby - Tarantula."

What can we expect from your show at Stop Making Sense?
"No compromise, quality music all night. Deviation style."

Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the festival?
"Theo Parrish"

Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
"DJing"

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!

Wish you were here?

We will be this summer. And we're so stoked about it that we thought we'd share this stunning aerial shot of our festival site (it's down there, on the golden coast on that lush, verdant peninsula) in Petrčane on Croatia's drop-dead gorgeous Adriatic Coast. Come the first weekend of September it'll be home for the three days of anarchic musical madness and unforgettable good times we've called Stop Making Sense...so, what are you waiting for, join us!

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..."

SMS party at Favela Chic!

Get a taste for what our sun-kissed festival on the Adriatic Coast is gonna be like by swinging by Favela Chic in Shoreditch next Thursday night for the second in our series of free monthly club nights (last Thursday of every month) showcasing talent appearing at Stop Making Sense.

Playing live on Thursday 25th March are City Reverb, a hotly-tipped trio influenced as much by Kraftwerk as Nick Drake who played at the Tate last year and are sure to deliver a smattering of the eclectic styles we can expect from this years inaugural SMS festival.

Also appearing on stage will be Brightonian female duo The Wellingtons (pictured, above), whose enchanting folk pop will stir even the hardiest cynic. On hand with the platters that matter are long-time Balearic and melodic house champion Chris Coco, need2soul head honcho Alex Ruello and global soundclash renegade Madera Verde.

See you 'pon the dancefloor people...

Stop Making Sense, volume 2
'A new breed of musical anarchy'
Thursday 25th March 2010
7pm-1am, Free entrance before 9pm, £3 after
Favela Chic
91-93 Great Eastern Street
London EC2 (nearest tube: Old Street)

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

3 days & nights of musical anarchy by the sea!

So, here we go...welcome to the Stop Making Sense blog, a beatific, sun-kissed showcase for this summer's brand new international music festival with an irreverently independent vibe.

Each week, you can get a taste of Stop Making Sense right here on the blog, where we'll be providing you with exclusive DJ mixes from SMS' extended friends and family (more below) plus in-depth artist interviews, promoter profiles, competitions, videos, festival updates and much more besides!

Showcasing quality live acts & DJs in the sunshine and under the stars, Stop Making Sense brings London, Glasgow & Paris’ hottest club & concert promoters to come together from 3-5 September 2010 in paradise - a beautiful woody peninsula in the village of Petrçane on the stunning Adriatic coast of Croatia.

With beach and boat parties galore, and a soundtrack ranging from Detroit techno to Afro-beats via jazz, house, disco and a whole swathe more - revellers can do as much or a little as they please!

Complete with a sterling line up soon to be announced, SMS is curated by music lovers and promoters NEED2SOUL, THE C.A.M.P, SWAP-A-RAMA, DEVIATION, OPTIMO, SUB CLUB, SUD ELECTRONIC, SECRETSUNDAZE, MOVIMIENTOS, WARM, FACT, DON’T PANIC, FAVELA CHIC, ALLEZ ALLEZ & FANTASY ISLAND.

We'll be announcing our quite-frankly mind-blowing (if we do say so ourselves) line-up right here next week, so be sure to make this your first point of call come Monday morning. Till then amigos...