Kick up the ass time again. Every now and again you get bored of the music you listen to or the films you go to see or even the people you hang around with. It’s only natural, but it’s dangerous if you let the undertow take you down with it. Much better is a quick dash to the left or the right to see what’s going on over there.
Taking a bit of time to do that lately, I caught up with some old friends and made some new ones. Here’s a little bit of what I found.
Optimo back to back
The Optimo lads were back in Dublin recently for one of Jon’s Shock! events, this time in the Bernard Shaw and the Twisted Pepper. Two friendlier DJs you will never meet. Unfortunately our trip to their boat party next week had to be put on hold, but we will make the pilgramage to the club before the year is out, and that’s a promise. In the meantime check out their website for more news and mixes. Optimo – Anti BNP Since 1997
Steve Reynolds DJ
Speaking of the Shocktimo event, Steve Reynolds was DJing again, and he is missed. All you safe promoters, book him. He’s great. Really. Get his latest mix from the Shock podcast page. It’s number 26 if you can’t find it.
Jon at Shocktimo
While we’re at it, Jon’s looking happy, if a bit pixelated in this one from the smoking area at Shocktimo. He won’t mind though, he’s very busy these days with college, as you can tell from the State Of Shock blog. 
Jape at Oxegen 09
I went over to the Hop Farm Festival in the UK a couple of weeks ago to play one of those pre-opening sets for the early arrivals. I hooked up with a good crowd from Ireland while I was there including Carden Kent and his mates Sean and Damian, and Dave McDonagh and the Synth Eastwood crew. The weather was amazing and the company was great. As a bonus we also got to see a few acts at the festival, including Jape, although the shot above is from his set at Oxegen.
I’ve talked about Richie before and his endless positivity, so I won’t bore you about it again, but he’s always a pleasure to hang around with. I’m really looking forward to hearing some of his new work, including the lost “quiet album”. My favourite from his recent sets has got to be Nothing Lasts Forever, which you can listen to on Jape’s Myspace page.
Fight Like Apes at Hop Farm 09
Another band I got to see at Hop Farm and at Oxegen were Fight Like Apes. I know they’ve been written and blogged about endlessly in the last year, but their live show is so much fun that I’m going to join the bandwagon. They are a really great band, and these days when the money comes from building a crowd through live gigs, they’re going to be a real winner.
Bitches With Wolves
An act you might not have heard of yet but you will soon is Bitches With Wolves. He totally owned the dance stage at Oxegen, mother fuckers (as he might or might not say). Take a quick trip to his Myspace page for more, and keep an eye out for more shows in Dublin soon. Total tip for the top of the pops.
Oxegen 09 Dance Stage
Speaking of the dance stage, how can you not enjoy playing with all those lights and lasers going off around you?
Philth - that's me!
Here’s a pic of me doing my thing during my first set. As you can see, the decks were a long way back from the crowd because of the stage, but it was still great fun. I reckon there were about 3,000 people there for the first set, and nearer 6,000 when I filled in for Popof later.
Hystereo were kind enough to give me a couple of new versions of their tracks and some rebrands they’ve been working on too. There’s no doubt that the boys have it, whatever it is, but the labels really need to get the finger out and stop with all the delays. City Speak and Police 995 should be out soon. Keep an eye on Hystereo.com for more.
On the other hand, Vitalic has been the master of his own destiny for a long time now, and has taken his sweet time with producing a proper follow up to OK Cowboy. Things are picking up pace though, with a new EP out this week, and the recent remixes are top notch too. The Birdy Nam Nam is getting a lot of play from me. Check out “Your Disco Song” below.