TECHNO BILLY NASTY Gain at Alaska, Glasgow, Sat 14 Sep
Glasgow’s techno fraternity has its abiding figures, and, despite his position as an outsider, Billy Nasty is one of them. A celebrated DJ and remixer, he’s the mind bender revered by Slam for his unfailing love of the music above all else.
Few can rival Nasty’s credentials: an 11-year apprenticeship at the decks, a plethora of legendary clubs and labels associated with his sound and numerous accolades from people far more famous than him. A short look through his biography feels like reading a Who’s Who or a Where’s Where of seminal club residencies and guest sessions.
Did you know, for example, that Nasty released the first commercially available mix album, the achievement usually credited to two guys going by the names of Sasha and Digweed? Or were you aware that his first residency, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, was one of the first to realise that the future of dance music was in the fusion of house and indie? Billy himself describes the music played there by him and his accomplice Steve Bicknell as ‘Nu Groove records, loops, European stuff and a lot of dance mixes of bands like My Bloody Valentine, Happy Mondays and James.’ The word ‘visionary’ springs to mind.
GHETTO-TECH
14 Sep
DJ GODFATHER Digital at the Venue, Edinburgh, Sat
Nasty by name nasty by nature
Due to this forward-thinking, Nasty’s workload thrived throughout the 90s, being commissioned for countless remixes and studio sessions with the likes of St Etienne, the Aloof and Sabres of Paradise. But he recognised, as all abiding figures do, that scenes go stale without the injection of cutting edge talent. Hence, he brought some of his funky friends from around the globe over to the little archipelago we call Britain to remind clubbers that house music is a global language, and that it has a unity even in diversity.
‘Having also been responsible for nurturing the likes of Adam Beyer, Marco Carola, Joel Mull, Umek and Gaetek [Billy flew them over for their debut UK gigs], I knew I was sort of looking after all these talented people, but at the time nobody really knew who they were - so it was natural to start my label Theremin,’ he says.
Reputations as watertight as Billy Nasty’s aren’t garnered through association with greatness, but rather with authentic class and a willingness to work. He may fraternise with producers and collectives as prestigious as Leftfield, Slam and the Chemical Brothers, but behind the decks and on the circuit is where Nasty thrives and will forge the creative partnerships of coming years. He’s showing love to Percy X at Gain, further proof that Nasty’s heart is resolutely in techno, and that his finger couldn’t lose the pulse if it tried. (Johnny Regan)
‘lt's a mixture of hip hop. minimal techno. old school electro. ghetto house and Miami bass. It's straight beats With a gritty hassline and dirty
70 THE LIST I'm-ll) Sep 200?
We've all heard of that Detroit techno stuff, but there is a sound that's far more popular on the streets of Motor City. That sound is ghetto~tech and DJ Godfather is one of its founders. ‘People come to DetrOit and think there‘s gonna be ten or twenty techno clubs and Carl Craig Will he playing in one. Jeff Mils in another and Derrick lvlay'll be down the street.’ he explains in his fast paced Detroit tones. “But there are only about four clubs in Detroit playing Detroit techno. The thing about ghetto-tech is it's the most popular form of dance music in Detroit and it has been for the last six years.‘
But what exactly is ghetto-tech?
drums,‘ according to Godfather. 'What really helps define it is the style of DJing. cos we're doing the same battle tricks to 160 bpm that hip hop DJs do to 90 bpm. A good Visual show while you're dancing. probably a lot of unique tricks that yOu won't have seen on the turntables before.‘ Back in 1996 when DJ Godfather started cutting together this unigue mash up of frenetic beats. independently DJ Assault had come to the same conclusions. They both dropped theii records at the same time and ghettortech was born. A real sound from the streets. Time to catch a true urban innovator. ll-lenry Northmorei
clubs@list.co.uk
The latest club news
WORD UP IS BACK AFTER its traditional festival break with a bumper edition. Perhaps the biggest news is that the Honeycomb in Edinburgh is going up for sale (for a reported £1 m). Home to Audio Deluxe, Motherfunk, FRESH and more . . . what exactly will happen next is a bit up in the air at the moment and what it will mean for those clubs currently residing there is also a mystery. More news as and when we get it.
IN RELATED NEWS. A CLUB that has only JUSl fOund a home at the Honeycomb. Do This Do That. has been nominated in Mug/ks Best Small Clubs category. The awards are to be held on 15 October. and they are in damn fine company with Back to Basics Leeds) and Tribal Sessions (Manchesterl also getting a nod.
Catch the Jaxx for free
CLUB MERCADO IS ALSO shutting, but don’t despair as this time it’s good news as it’s for a refurb. So expect a new and improved Mercado to be in full working order in the next month or so.
BUDWEISER ARE BACK IN
full on party mode. Another freebie as well. as they are giVing Out tickets to their King of the Castle event where none other than Basement Jaxx and C’dSSIUS Will be playing in a bonafide castle at a secret location icomplete With knights. Jesters . . . the workst. So keep ‘em peeled as these tickets can not be bought and are Only available at speoal promotions running in bars and clubs across Glasgow and Edinburgh. THE A-LIST CARD IS ALSO back giving you discount entry to a number of Glasgow and Edinburgh clubs (including Aerodynamico and Digital, which we preview in this very issue).