We catch up with Pukka Up resident DJs Mark Robinson and Sam Walker, who also run the record label side of the brand, where they reveal their future plans for more Pukka Up compilations, their best bits of 2012 and who really inspires them.

First off, how do the two of you go about collaborating on a compilation? Do you allow the other free reign or do you closely look at what each other is doing for their mix?

Mark Robinson: We work together to get a long list of the tracks that are doing the business at the Pukka Up Global Events in each style (Club, Boat, Beach). Then I’ll get busy haggling with the labels to ensure we get the strongest possible track list within our budget.

Sam Walker: We go away and mix the CDs separately, this way we have a collaborative input but with an individual spin on the way each disc is mixed.

What method do you use for mixing the CDs? What’s your favourite piece of equipment?

S: I use a software package called Ableton Live. Its great for doing live performances, producing music and putting mixes together. However, live I use USB input into CDJs or CDs.

M: I use Serato and Ableton to do the albums and live, I’ll usually use 3 x CDJ2000 with a DJM 800. The CDJ2000 is the business as you can simply use a USB stick for your tracks which is a life saver when trying to keep up to date with all the new tracks.

Each CD has its own feel which you describe by calling them the Club Disc, the Boat Disc and the Beach Disc. What made you decide on this approach?

S: I think this is down to the brand and the direction of its growth. The brand “Pukka Up” is well known for both its exclusive boat parties and its club nights, so that was a no brainer, but the Beach Mix comes from something that is quite new, a beach style day time party we did at Sands (Carl Cox’s gaff) in Ibiza this summer.

M: Our Boat parties are legendary in Ibiza, couple them to our Space Residencies and our more recent Beach parties at Sands and we’re able to cover the full spectrum of the amazing music heard at Pukka Up parties in Ibiza and worldwide.

Resident DJs are usually the unsung heroes of labels such as Pukka Up – how involved are you with the label? Do you think it’s important that resident DJs start to gain more recognition?

M: I partly own Pukka Up Records which gives me maximum incentive to push it hard. Pukka Up have given us complete control over content, schedules and budgets, which makes things very exciting for us as we are able to bring in hot new talent and help them to develop into respected producers and DJs through the label and Pukka Up events. As a resident for the brand, the label really helps to establish me with the Pukka Up faithful away from the albums and single releases.

S: Well this seems to be an age old debate but I think being a resident is brilliant because being part of a huge brand like Pukka Up you get to be both the supporting resident and the headliner depending on the event. I think it depends on where you are a resident. We are given a lot of support and are pushed from our management a lot which gives us the support we need so I’d say myself that I get the recognition that I warrant most definitely.

What are your personal aspirations as DJs?

S: As a DJ/Producer I would like to go as far as I can. There’s no limit to what you can achieve these days but I’d like to follow my own path and continue to travel the world sharing my music taste and influence with as many people as I can.

M: I’ve been lucky enough to see hundreds of amazing and far flung places working with Pukka Up and other brands over the years. The long term goal is to become the headliner in my own right through successful productions and remixes as well as the DJing.

What was your most memorable moment of 2011, and what are you most looking forward to in 2012?

S: Well this year in Ibiza I was a resident at Space Ibiza and I did the closing set in the Covered Terrace at the Come Together Closing Party, which is the most famous room in the best club in the world. 2012?? Well let’s just say I might be there a lot more next year ;-).

M: For me it would have to be the Pukka Up Boat Parties… They are simply bonkers and so much fun.

Will we be seeing any future Pukka Up compilations, either the two of you together or individually?

S: As myself and Mark run the record label side of things we will both be involved in all of the forthcoming albums. Mixing them? Well I would like to think so! More Albums? Definitely.

Where are you and what will you be doing NYE2011?

S: I’m playing at an event called the Secret Party Project. I’ve worked with these guys before and they are great. It’s in a mansion out in Derbyshire with a pool in the middle and 2,000 people around and in it! Pukka Up will be taking over the main room and I’ll have Ralph Good, Sonny Wharton and The Futuristic Polar Bear with me.

M: This year I’ll be playing our London Boat Party on the Thames which will be spectacular with the fireworks! Can’t Wait!

And lastly, which DJ or Producer would you say has been your main inspiration behind what you do?

M: For me there’s been so many over the years. Producers Roger Sanchez, Erick Morillo, Mousse T and MAW were a key influence in the beginning, along with DJs such as Pete Tong, Danny Rampling and Judge Jules, while more recently Axwell, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris and even Chase & Status inspire daily!

S: There have been a few. Modern day I would say seeing how the Swedish House Mafia’s influence has grown and the energy they create is amazing. Then we have
Carl Cox – who I’ve been lucky to play in the same club as for the last two summers – is just a legend, and personally when I was growing up in the DJ world I played quite a few times with Judge Jules and spoke to him a lot and he advised me well and still has time for me when we bump into each other.

In light of his two new fantastic releases, we decided it was time to have a chat with Swedish house maestro John Dahlbäck, to find out about his record label “Mutants” and his NYE appearance down under.

There’s been a resurgence of Swedish producers and DJs in recent years that can only be described as extraordinary. What do you think about the Swedish dance music scene, and how important is its role worldwide?

The dance music scene used to be dead in Sweden for a long time, but now it has really become big and it’s probably because house music is commercial nowadays. Swedish producers and DJ have always been well known, and I guess one reason is that we learn music from early on in school and it’s easy to learn instruments here. Also, there is so much darkness in sweden, so you need to have stuff to do.

How would you describe your relationship with the other big Swedish producers such as Avicii, Swedish House Mafia etc?

We all know each other since the scene was so small a few years ago. But we don’t hang out on our free time.

You’ve just released two new singles, Grunge and Phoenix, what was the objective with these tracks?

Two completely different tracks. With Grunge, I wanted to make this cool track and an unusual riff, so i tweaked this weird guitar sort of sound and it sounded great! Phoenix however, is a more epic and progressive track with a lot of emotions.

You also founded Pickadoll Records a few years back. How has this been going for you? How much of a challenge was it compared to producing and DJ’ing?

Well, Pickadoll was run by me and a guy in germany and it was doing great. But after a couple of years I needed a clean start, so I started my new label Mutants which is doing really well at the moment. I love to run a label, to choose tracks and plan releaseschedule. And it’s not really a challenge, I find time in between DJing and producing so it’s not a problem.

You’ve remixed a wide variety of music artists from Alanis Morissette to Lady Gaga – do your choices reflect your taste in music? Are there any artists or tracks you’d love to remix in the future?

I’m really open to music, I’m a fan of both Alanis and Lady Gaga for example. So it was a big honor for me to remix them. It’s really funny to remake a track by very popular recordingartist, to get their sound mixed with mine. Coldplay would be amazing to remix.

What are your plans for NYE 2011? Are you DJ’ing?

I’m djing at this party in Australia. It’s on a small island called Magnetic Island and i’m playing with Tommy Trash so im really looking forward to it! Would be nice to get som sun aswell.

When you’re doing nothing to do with music, what else do you do?

I hang out with family and friends or play videogames, but to be honest, there isn’t much time to chill out for me.

What piece of equipment can you not live without?

My studiocomputer. Obviously.

Lastly, describe yourself in four words…

Relaxed and extremely funny.

Buy “Grunge” at Beatport
Buy “Phoenix” on Beatport
John Dahlbäck Official Website

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Tuesday Feb 7th
Radio Edit, Extended, Instrumental

Tuesday Feb 21
Remix Package:
R3hab Remix
Jeremy Olander Remix
Style Of Eye Remix
Mikael Weermets “Fire In The Hole” Remix

Adrian Lux is back with his brand new single “Fire” featuring Lune. A taste of his forthcoming self-titled debut album (out in March on Ultra Music), “Fire” showcases Adrian’s adept talent for marrying a great dance track with vocals and cements Adrian Lux’s status as a rising star in the dance music world.

“Fire” is set to be released in two phases: February 7th featuring the Radio Edit, Extended and Instrumental Mixes; and February 21 featuring remixes from R3hab, Jeremy lander, Style Of Eye and Mikael Weermets. While Adrian’s original version walks the line between pop and the dance floor, his hand-picked remixers bring things to peak time levels.

So after watching the recent promo video for Outlook this year, it got me reminiscing on all the memories from last year. Imagine the best music, the nicest crowds on the nicest hottest Croatia beaches. Located in the abandoned, historically beautiful fort in Pula, Croatia the festival is increasingly attracting bass heads and dance music lovers globally. Chilled beats by day and journeys to underground caves with DJs and artists performing till the early hours across the night, Outlook is one week of energy, music and dancing that never stops. This year Outlook is staying the same size, same location and attracting a world wide set of special collaborations and artists. Who can forget the dual live battle between Jamie XX and Benji B last year as they performed and switched sets throughout the night? Possibly one the best on stage collabs I’ve seen and many more to come. This year welcomes artists such as Digital Mystikz, Gold Panda, Onra and Mosca who ready to take on the iconic dome stage, fort arena and moat space, ready to please our dusty lungs in the Croatian sunshine. Counting down the days.

To get a duo ticket at Outlook & Dimensions Festival will cost you £230 + Booking fee- but for both weeks? It’s worth it. You will never want to leave the beautiful haven that is Fort Punta Christo, Pula, Croatia.

This year is first host to Dimensions Festival, taking place 1 week after the legendary Outlook embarks on Croatian soil once again. So why a second festival on the same grounds? Dimensions is particularly aimed at a smaller crowd of 5,000. Taking hold of the abandoned fort, the festival will be bringing all underground electronic and dance from around the the globe to please our ears. Still riding on the boat parties and and daylight drinking at the beach raves, Dimensions may just be a little more chilled than Outlook. From the likes of Joy Orbison, Pariah, Blawan and Mala to many more announced artists, this festival is a must if you want to stay in Croatia that little bit longer.

For line-up and further info check out : www.dimensionsfestival.tumblr.com

Marshall Jefferson’s 1986 hit, ” Move your Body” is an iconic house music track that brought life to the underground parties, at the beginning of a rave revolution. Since the beginning, future generations of DJ’s and Producers have been inspired by tracks like this. Now that dance music is stronger than ever, and with new artists bursting in the scene almost faster than the speed of sound, we can’t help but wonder how the classics would sound  if they were written almost 26 years later.

The piano section at the beginning has been replaced with a collective of strings and brass synths, the track eases in smoothly. A longer and digital reverb has been added to compliment the polished re-work of the backing track. Some of the original elements of track were incorporated in to the remix such as the main hook, 808 sounding drums and the piano. More bass has been added to emphasise the bass drum, whilst sounding plucky. Benny Benassi has always brought fresh ideas to the table. Having been in the music industry since the late eighties, Benny doesn’t only move the times, he is one step ahead.

Nocturning is deeply sophisticated, deeply varied. The Al B & Garito remix features some typical traditional house elements, whilst the stunning Austin Downey edit is a sleek melodic number thriving on class, a suspiciously Parisian Prog-House feel. The DJ Nita remix is sweetly balanced and makes even better use of the vocal samples.

In fact, there isn’t really a bad edit or remix here, affirming the reality that this is the cream of NYC talent on display. Despite being NYC based we can see most tracks here fitting in perfectly with house after parties all around the globe, serving as the perfect accompaniment to later-night frolics.

Check out the original and video below, but we strongly advise you judge this release on the merits of the remixes.

iTunes & RMXs: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nocturning/id467427769
and beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/nocturning/688041

The drum n bass scene seems to have gone through a lot of changes the past few years, with jump-up and radio friendly styles getting push into the background a bit. How do view the scene and the changes that have occurred?

I think the scene has become really healthy recently. I always thought a few years or so ago when the commercial end of drum n bass began getting a lot of radio play, that it would ultimately benefit the scene as a whole. For me personally, I think commercial stuff has a time and a place, but I also think its a good entry road into the deeper stuff. I guess people have heard the bigger tunes on the radio, and through that over time discovered other types of drum and bass. If you look for example at Enei’s latest track, its just had over 100 thousand hits on youtube, on UKF’s page. Its great to see that kind of music getting the same recognition as the “bangers” now.

You’re a relatively new name on the scene. whats it like to be working with big labels like Shogun and Critical that are at the forefront of this deeper style you mentioned?

It’s been great. They are both labels that i have always really respected so its an honour to work with them. Kasra at Critical got in touch a year or so ago after a mutual friend passed on a few of my tracks and ended up putting out my debut single earlier in the year. It’s been a real learning curve working with him, and I’ve learnt a lot about how the business of music works. I’ve just signed an album deal so will be working with them very closely in the future. It’s a great position to be in at the moment as Kasra’s ethos is “if it’s a good tune – I’ll put it out” . So I feel like I’ve got the freedom to write different types of music which is perfect for me. He’s building a solid camp there with a few other producers that I’m really into so its great to be involved. Working with shogun was wicked as well. I think having releases with those guys as well as Critical has done me a lot of favours in terms of exposure, which is what its all about when your starting out.

Apart from the album, what are your other plans for the near future?

The next release on Critical for me is my remix of Enei’s track “Obession” which will be backed by his remix of my track “Mob Justice”. Theres also two collaboration tracks due out in the next month, “True Enemies” with Anile on Commercial Suicide, and “Essential Tremor” with Kodo on Vampire Records.

I’m also working on a track with Riya for a forthcoming project of hers. And then it will my debut EP on Critical later in the year at some point.

Who are your main influences, and if given the opportunity would you most like to collaborate with?

Influence wise there’s a lot to mention. I’m really into hip hop, and I listen to as much Jazz as I can. But I try and take influence from everything really, I really like going out and seeing what kind of tracks work on a dancefloor . It’s interesting to see the change in the types of tracks that get people moving over the last few years. Within drum and bass if I could get in the studio with anyone I think it would be dBridge. He justdoesn’t make bad music!

2012 looks set to be another big year for you, and for the drum n bass scene. Who are your top recommendations and names to look out for??

Its definitely really healthy at the moment. I know Enei, Jubei and a few of the shogun guys have albums out next year so I’m looking forward to hearing those. I think Xtrah, June Miller and Skeptical will have big years again as well. Eastcolors, Villem/Mute & Mako are definitely worth keeping an eye on , they are making quality tunes at the mo. If i had to give a top recommendation for next year , its this guy called Emperor. He’s a young lad from Halifax , and I’ve heard a few of the tracks he’s writing for Critical and they are straight murder. I really think he will be one of the biggest names in underground dnb in the next few years. His production is unreal for any age let alone 19. So yeah that’s my top tip!

Catch Foreign Concept at the following UK shows over the next few months

27th Jan:Up DnB @ The Registry, Portsmouth

28th Jan: Motive @ The Volks, Brighton

3rd Feb: Technology @ Hidden, London

24th Feb, Abstractions @ The Lab, Bristol

9th March , Critical @ Life, Brighton

16th March Critical @ Fabric, London

30th Mar, Momentum @ Wire, Leeds

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