This month Freaks co-founder Justin Harris headlines the special Godskitchen Worldwide GK Angel Party on Friday, June 27th.
Having built a huge cult following Freaks were catapulted into the mainstream in the summer of 2007 with a re-work of their underground classic from 2004, ‘The Creeps’ [Get On The Dancefloor]’ which became an instant summer anthem, and the most downloaded-tune in the history of DJDownload.com the track was so popular it was eventually licensed to major television advertising campaigns.
Luke Solomon and Justin Harris are currently working with a 5-piece band and co-producing a new album with Peter Hoffman of Richard X fame. They’ve now completed production of their fourth studio album, Psych, which continues where the previous album "The Man Who Lived Underground" left off – ranting and raving about life in general!
Musically, it takes its roots from 70s ,80s and 90s dance acts just to prove a point. Bands such as Skyy, Talking Heads, the B52s and Green Velvet. Combining electronic rhythm with live instruments, Freaks set about fusing the new with the old and flying the flag for "dance music" (ultimately music you can dance too).
Freaks were originally born in 1994, the brain child of Justin Harris and Luke Solomon. They began recording for Phono, home of Herbert and Swag and their first few releases, which came in three parts, saw them journey through filter disco (The Shrunken Head), quirky mid tempo house (Journey's Through Happiness), and minimal techno (The Milwaukee Stance).
Then came the time to set up their own label and they kicked off the Music For Freaks imprint by releasing a series of 4x12 inches, each with a collectable sleeve. MFF was also home for their albums, Meanwhile Back At The Disco, The Beat Diaries and The Man Who Lived Underground and tracks such as "Turning Orange", "The Creeps" and "Where Were You When The Lights Went Out" have since become Freaks seminal records. Freaks has also garnered support from the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Arthur Baker and Derrick Carter and throughout the years and the music, they have built a faithful and obsessive fanbase throughout Europe and Japan.
So there came a point when Justin and Luke knew that Freaks wasn't just about 2 blokes twiddling some knobs in a studio and hoping for the best. And so it all began a long time ago with their early work on their first album, the Beat Diaries, which featured Stella Attar on vocals. Then Diz came along, the male vocalist. Then Rub, the bass player and brain surgeon! Then Jonny Rock, the guitarist, a long time DJ cohort. To the most recent member, drummer Sasha Davis, and Freaks was born.
Justin Harris plays the headline DJ set this Friday, June 27 at the monthly GK Angel Party at Club Bonbon, home of Godskitchen, China.
Club Bonbon, Home of Godskitchen China
2F - 3F YunHai Tower,
No. 1329 -1331, HuaiHai Middle Road
Website: www.clubbonbon.com
Reservations: 133 2193 9299
Brooklyn DJ/producer Larry Tee, the orginator of the electroclash sound makes his way to Shanghai to celebrate the launch of his brand new hit track Licky, a collaboration with New York party royalty Princess Superstar.
Larry Tee originally coined the word “Electroclash” after self-styling an ambitious new project called the Electroclash Festival which he coordinated and managed in 2001 and in doing so helped launch careers of Scissor Sisters, Fischerspooner, Ladytron and Peaches, Felix Da Housecat, and 2 Many DJs/Soulwax. He also created and managed the nouveau-electro girl group, W.I.T. and held fort as manager of the genre’s one-time bastion in Berliniamsburg, The Luxx.
With roots in Atlanta, Tee’s DJ style was always progressive, even back in the early 1980s. “You’d play Depeche Mode for these queens and they thought it was wild,” he says of the early days mixing in Atlanta.
He eventually moved to New York in the infamous drag-queen roadtrip immortalized in the 1995 feature film “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar” starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo.
Tee hit major commercial success in ‘93 when he wrote “Supermodel (You Better Work)” with 6’4” drag queen and Atlanta cohort RuPaul. The track, a runaway hit, unabashedly praises the glamourous life in the spotlight of the original supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer and Christy Turlington.
Tee’s career soared through the 90’s in New York as he was a key component of the internationally-popular Club Kids scene, making appearances on exposé TV show Geraldo, The Joan Rivers Show, and Inside Edition, which introduced the Club Kid world—with it’s alternative views on gender, sexuality, music and fun—to the national forefront. Tee helped make the parties Lova Machine and the raucous Disco 2000 with the notorious clubkid Michael Alig whose life was the focal point of the 2003 feature film Party Monster.
After throwing 4 festivals stateside, which included Electroclash 1 and 2 as well as the Outsider Electronic Music Festivals 2003 & 2004 he moved on to playing cutting edge dance music to thousands each week at his NYC parties The BANK and Distortion Disko.
Last year Tee launched an international music festival in New York City called Dance Music Invasion 2007 which brought together everyone from Loco Dice, Lil’ Louie Vega to Kele from Bloc Party and Princess Superstar. His innovative spirit and attitude are summed up in his new style, which he has dubbed Maximal.
Larry’s been putting the finishing touches on a new collection featuring collaborations with Princess Superstar, Perez Hilton, Hervé, Sébastien Léger, Amanda Lepore, Christopher Just, Princess Julia, Tomboy, and 8 year-old Amanita to name but a few. “Licky” the first single off the album, is being supported by a huge range of DJs including Justice, Pete Tong, Errol Alkan, Judge Jules and Laurent Garnier.
Larry Tee is set to make his first appearance in Shanghai on Friday, June 20, 2008 at Club Bonbon in the first installment of a new series of monthly LGBT-inspired events. Next month we dig deep into the dirtiest dumpsters of London’s Shoreditch section to find a rare gem of a party named “Trailer Trash” tipped heavily as “a dirty eastend disco for truckerboyz and cowgrrl’s alike, playing filthy nasty electro music...” Trailer Trash head honcho DJ Hannah Holland brigs her “Batty Bass” sound to Club Bonbon July 11.
Club Bonbon, Home of Godskitchen China
2F - 3F YunHai Tower, No. 1329 -1331, HuaiHai Middle Road
Website: www.clubbonbon.com
Reservations: 133 2193 9299
UK DJ/producer James Talk returns to Club Bonbon, Shanghai, the home of Godskitchen, China in support of his brand new release "Are You Listening" which features vocal embellishment by Liz Melody, and his grimy electro remix of King Unique's “Yohkoh” track that came out earlier this year.
Born and bred in Southampton, James Talk’s reputation has been forged on endless days in the studio perfecting his unique sound of funky tech and acid house, and spellbinding performances at some of the biggest clubs on the planet.
The ball started rolling in February 2005 when James was invited to supply the guest mix on John Digweed’s Kiss 100FM radio show. The mix earned praise from far and wide, and James has never looked back since.
One of his many supporters Nic Fanciulli has already signed three of James’s tracks to his Saved label and featured them on his recent Renaissance compilations. James has also earned props from djs that include Sasha, John Digweed, Danny Howells, Pete Tong, Steve Lawler and many others who have helped push James’s sound to scores of listeners around the world.
“I like to write what I feel. At the time I started writing music I was into Gabriel & Dresden and James Holden amongst others. As my production skills improved as did my taste in music, and I now lean towards the Acid House side of things, but try to mix it up with elements of deep house and techno.” Says James of his production style.
James was voted as DJ Mag’s Breakthrough Artist 2006 by Nic Fanciulli, Sander Kleinenberg and Fergie. i-DJ magazine also featured James alongside Max Sedgley and Braund Reynolds as ‘One To Watch’ for the future.
His work alongside Audiofly on ‘Cool Wet Grass’ was signed to DJ T's Get Physical Music label, and his ‘Eggs Are Cute’ track became one of the most successful releases on the Nu-Republic label. James has since launched his own label “Spoken Recordings” which is an outlet for his own material. His releases ‘Remote’, ‘Warm Milk’ and ‘Pass Me The Suntan Lotion’ have consistently garnered the label top slot on Beatport music portal's new releases category.
“Spoken Recordings was born simply for the means to release my own singles, under my own terms in my own time frame. Waiting for label release schedules is frustrating and I needed to get some tracks out there as soon as possible, before I started to work on more music. So we started Spoken Recordings at the beginning of 2006. The main focus for the label [was] 'Pass Me The Suntan Lotion' coupled with a remix from Nic Fanciulli. The original is also featured on Nic’s Renaissance CD and he had the exclusive on the track all summer for Space, and as I hear it was one of his biggest records.”
James is also one of the most in demand new artists on the remix scene, with projects for Underwater, CR2, Data, Big Love, Saved and Little Mountain Records. His style and fresh sound is consistent throughout remix projects with artists that include Danny Howells, Stakker Humanoid of FSoL fame, DJ Pierre, King Unique, Buick Project, and Feddie Le Grand.
James Talk returns to Club Bonbon, Shanghai, the home of Godskitchen, China on Friday June 6, 2008 marking the start of his summer tour. His DJ diary continues to grow with gigs all over the world, having previously destroyed dancefloors at Ministry Of Sound, Womb, Shindig, Renaissance, Godskitchen and Coloursfest.
Club Bonbon, Home of Godskitchen China
2F-3F YunHai Tower, No. 1329 -1331, Huaihai Middle Road
Website: www.clubbonbon.com
Reservations: 133 2193 9299
latest updates
ON AIR with Radio Urbanon
