Press Play #18 - Hot Coins

Next up in a.n.o.e.'s November Press Play frenzy is an appropriately flaming new one from Red Rack'ems Hot Coins project. We are running this one mystery mix style, which means we want u to fill the track listing in. (We are giving u two tracks, can hardly expect u to spot them since they're both new Hot Coins productions). 'Loose Change' is a top class mix, as can be expected from Rack'em, it's filled with spaced out eclectic obscurities, dark 80's monsters & hot 'n haunted disco; a real mind bending journey into groove heavy darkness and it's mixed to perfection. So for the minute here's the tracklisting, let us know what you managed to spot... You can get the mix on the sidebar or here...

Tracklisting

1 - Robert Shroeder - Invisible Danger
2 - Thomas Leer – Tight As A Drum
3 - Wax Stag – Sson
4 - Hot Coins – Valiant Truth
5 - Lunar Jam – Over and Over
6 - Glaxo Babys – Shake The Foundations
7 - The Jellies – Jive Baby On A Saturday Night
8 - Hot Coins - Leathered
9 - Heinz Becker,Karl-Heinz Stegmann & Isabel Zeumer – Mein Tanzlied
10 - A Certain Ratio – Touch
11 - George Duke - Games
12 - Bauhaus - Kick In The Eye
13 - Azmuth – Toqeu De Cuica
14 - Tones On Tail - There's Only 666 - Secret Mixes Fixes Edit
15 - Liassons Dangereuse – Peut Etre… Pas
16 - Wax Stag – Mirror Lantern
17 - Stereo Twins – Slang Thang – Amplified Orchestra Remix
18 - Was Not Was – Mr Friction
19 - The Mole – Alice You Need Him
20 - Pepe Bradock - Mandragore


Danny was kind enough to answer some questions about a whole bunch of new releases he's got coming up, playing at Bestival and more...

So a lot has happened in Red Rack’em world since we last spoke, you have a bunch of new releases coming out and an album deal with Tirk – that’s pretty awesome, congrats –tell us a bit on how the deal came about… also is the upcoming ep part of the album or a standalone release?

Thanks Chris - yeah the Valiant Truth EP is being released on Tirk on November 17th and I am working on the album (working title is Loose Change) which should be coming out next year around May/June. I am really pleased with the variety on the Tirk EP - the title track is a synthed out arrpegiated cosmic chugger. 'Whole New Way' is broken electro disco. 'Jazz Ending ' is wonky wrong house and 'Favourite Effects' is like Michael Knight jamming with Baldelli. Don't know if they are gonna be on the album as yet - I am just going to finish as many things as possible over the next few months and then program a decent album.

It's been a nice surprise getting signed by such a well respected label. I remember Brad Vachal sending me his Hedford Vachal EP and I was really impressed and pleased for him that it was on Tirk. I didn't expect to be the next release on the label! My manager played some tracks to Sav Remzi (Nuphonic and Tirk founder) and he was very positive about them so we took it from there. You can hear the EP here - Tirk Recordings

If that’s not enough you also have some great material coming out on Untracked too, wanna fill us in?

I was playing in Chino Latino (posh sushi restaurant) in Nottingham about 4 years ago around the time of my Yvette Michelle edit thing and 2 random blokes came up and started asking me about my music etc. I didn't think anything of it at the time - but they turned out to be Chris Tubbs ( from Atlantic Conveyor) and Zane Lowe. Anyway I kept in touch with Chris and fast forward to now and he and Steve Harris (also in Atlantic Conveyor) are releasing my underground beatdown house stuff on their label, I have long been a fan of Detroit style stuff and I never really expected to get an outlet for it - so it's ace to get to put this kind of stuff out with them.

I have remixed Cantonese Man by Rui Maia which should be out fairly soon ( soundclips here - Untracked 005) and then my EP will be out at the end of November. The A side is called 'You Can't Pray For Your Soul' - it's really swampy, deep as you like 94 bpm house music with quasi-religious vocal samples - all the samples are actually from Detroit - not gonna say where from though. The B side is 'Christmas Day' which I made on Christmas day back at my parents house with jazz piano cds my dad picked out. It's wacked out dark noir jazz house - sound clips are here - Untracked 006

Your Joubert Singers remix got aired on Giles Petterson’s worldwide show recently, plus it’s getting top responses from the DJ fraternity – when’s it in stores and what inspired a remix of this classic track?

I can't believe the response to this remix - I have had to eat my words about remixes/edits vs original music (I've always moaned about edit culture). Now I'm like 'where do I sign - can I do another one please'. What a sell out eh? Basically I got asked by someone to 'have a go' at remixing the Joubert Singers classic. I was initially very dubious as it's one of those tunes that kind of shouldn't be touched. I sort of didn't really know if what I did was ok or not - but when Gilles started playing it on Radio 1 - it sort of sunk in that I must have done a good job on it. It's pretty mad to hear him playing it on Zane Lowe's peaktime show as 'the ultimate crowd pleaser' - I can remember rushing to get it finished in time to play it at Bestival!

As to when it's going to be in the stores - your guess is as good as mine!

What was playing at Bestival like?

It was absolutely mindblowing! The whole thing was the most amazing adventure and I have to say that the crowd there were some of the most cool, friendly and enthusiastic people I have ever played to. Me and my mate Jak drove down from Nottingham to Southampton through the night on a Wednesday night and then got the ferry to the Isle Of Wight. It was absolutely chucking it down when we arrived there. We didn't see dry land or sanity again until the following Tuesday! I got to play on the Saturday and the Sunday in the Havana tent and it was defo one of the best places I have ever played. The festival was nuts though - like being loved up in the Somme - it was SO muddy. It was ace in our Mojito Tent - loads of people from all over the UK playing - Soft Rocks from Brighton, Latenightaudio/Bloodbath guys from London, Lunar Jam/Basics lot from Leeds, Me from Nottingham. I got to meet loads of people who I only knew from cyberspace so it almost felt like a weird sort of homecoming! I still wish I was back there now.

It sounds excellent, wish I was there. Your Podcast/Radio show goes from strength to strength, plus it has a new home right?

Yeah - I have got a new website www.redrackem.com and it's now the permanent home for my Smugglers Inn Podcasts - the show is also on Itunes - search for 'Smugglers Inn'. The radio show is still broadcast every wednesday night from 7-9pm GMT @ myhouse-yourhouse

Tim Beaver from theloveunlimited very kindly offered to build me a site and I am really happy with it. It's a kind of 1 stop shop for mixes, news on releases and the podcasts are now archived so you can listen to old shows too. I am still enjoying doing the radio show and I am getting more and more cool new music sent through which is what it's all about. I am trying to build up the profile of underground artists and hopefully sell a few records for them!

Your Hot Coins Press Play mix is superb, please tell us more about it?

I wanted to try and do something that was relevant to the new records and also push my self into a slightly more intense zone than normal. I think that people want to hear more off the wall stuff these days and there's a kind of common anarchic mentality in certain disco/new wave/electro/post punk records. I tried to put together a set which twisted and turned without completely losing the plot. I have recently been really digging 80's dark wave new beat goth electro post punk stuff so that has definitely influenced my selection. I just tend to pick out a load of records, hit record and then kind of go mad for about an hour - it always seems to turn out alright.

Obviously part of a dj's job is to program the right styles to suit a night, when promoters are booking you, are they briefing you to some degree or do they book u as a dj of very apparent dexterity?

Although I hope the day comes when I CAN just turn up and play whatever I want, until then I positively demand to be given as many pointers as possible before packing my bags for a gig. It's a fine line isn't it - you don't want to turn up and play it safe but at the same time you have got to make sure that you fit into the ethos of the night. I hope that most promoters will realise that as a guest DJ you're going to do some digging and check up on past guests, perhaps ask someone you know on the scene who played there about how it went etc. Most of the booking I have had from across the different scenes have generally been down to producing/playing music which was relevant to the particular night. Most of the stuff I get booked to play has pretty obvious parameters. No one ever really gives me much more descriptions other than - 'techy', 'nothing too housey', 'nothing too banging' etc.