Features

Barely a week goes by without some muso or other declaring the death of the mix CD. And you can understand why, given the proliferation of free mixes that pop up like pop-ups each and every day on the worldwide web. Once every four or so years, though, all that changes, people forget to argue and unite in appreciation of the form once more.

“I never latch on to one particular trend when it comes to music,” says Luke Solomon. We’re talking about the New Jersey house revival currently pumping energy bubbles into the British underground house scene. And the reason we’re talking about it is because old school New Jersey house, says Luke, is something he loved and lived through the first time round.

Freshly signed to Rinse with a massive tune set to run dancefloors and radios this spring, and with huge tracks for Kerri Chandler's Madtech doing the rounds, Krystal Klear's disco-informed house is more in vogue than ever

Damian Lazarus is the leader of Crosstown Rebels — not just a label, but a globe-trotting party and network of like minded artists. Celebrating 10 fiercely independent years of always innovative house and techno in 2013, the Lazarus man opens up about his path to dancefloor domination

Belfast drum & bass auteur Calibre is a true enigma. Prolific, classically-trained, with a melodic, futuristic style all his own, he shuns the limelight. But with a new mix CD for Fabric — his first — in the offing, we're granted a rare audience with one of the most fabled artists in dance music...

“After I do a gig, if I’m in a party mood, it’s my tour manager’s job to remind me that this is my job,” says 25-year-old megastar DJ Hardwell. “Even though when I DJ and travel it doesn’t feel like a job. It feels like a dream come true.”

Danish producer Noir and his sprawling musical empire Noir Music have been riding the crest of a wave for a couple of years now, and it’s all down to one man’s tireless work ethic...

Trap is the slow-rolling, synth-heavy, snare-snappin' sound that's swept underground dancefloors and stadiums alike across the US and Europe. But what is trap? Is it a genre of its own? Where does it come from? Why's it so popular — and why's it hated in equal measure? Does it have a future? Danna Takako investigates...

Detroit-born Kris Wadsworth talks to us about Plastikman, giving up drink and drugs, still playing vinyl in a digital age, and making more fucking tracks for labels like Hypercolour, Morris/Audio, and Get Physical from his adopted city of Berlin...

“I love listening to a cool techno DJ, in a club, but if you go and see Swedish House Mafia DJ, for example, there’s no artistry involved. They are just getting behind the decks, with a finished CD, and pressing play then putting their hands in the air. This is something that is so wrong, because they get paid so much money for that.”

Joe Claussell is on the brink of an exciting project, along with Brian Bacchus — they’re all set towork on remixing the Miles Davis catalogue. It’s a task that the Body & Soul star is approaching in a typically philosophical way. “Whatever the universe puts out we will accept it,” he muses. He’ll be heading to the UK this summer to the Southport Weekender along with Francois K and Danny Krivit for a Body & Soul special. “I really love what they do, what they put together, making sure they put on the best music festival around.” Coming from a household where each room had a different soundsystem playing a different genre, Joe Claussell is well equipped to sum up his Lucky 7...

Only 20-years-old and already a dance music star, with Top 10 chart hits in the UK, a residency in Las Vegas and US wide tours under his belt, Porter Robinson is the new face of the hugely popular big room electro house sound. But as it turns out, he spurns fame, cringes at the acronym EDM, and draws inspiration from musique concrete to Daft Punk. DJ Mag has a pint with him in a grimy North London boozer to learn more...

As you’ve doubtless heard, dubstep is dead in the water. Cursed with a lethal mix of commercial success, mass popularity, a huge internet presence, countless sold out raves, the scene is, as any fool can tell, totally knackered. Somebody needs to pause and tell Skream this quick, because from where he’s standing, the world has never looked better. Currently on a short solo tour of the States, the man who describes himself as having “dubstep as my blood group” has been gleefully pushing the boundaries of the sound, chopping up half speed snare smashes and bully boy basslines with taut explosions of house, disco and techno, knowing full well that rather than destroying the scene he loves, he’s blowing it wide open.

Mr C is an enigma. Celebrating 25 years in the game, the man born Richard West has played an integral part in the development of quality electronic music over the last quarter of a century or so.

From their Amsterdam base, Skip & Die roam the world looking for fresh sounds to inject into their raucous global bass 'n' beats. And with their debut album 'Riots In The Jungle', they're not afraid of stirring a little insurrection. DJ Mag join frontwoman Cata Pirata and the band in their home city to find out what exactly spurs their voyages across the atlas...

If you thought 2012 was a fine vintage for speaker-cracking sounds, get a load of these lot. They're some of the cats who'll be making the dancefloor an intoxicating place to be this year. Serving up everything from deep disco vibes to subterranean bass darkness, these are the DJ/producers destined to make a splash in 2013...

Back in 2002 on a sofa somewhere in North London, the concept of a new label was being brewed in the mind of a young DJ named Kasra, a hazy vision that became a reality after an intoxicated conversation with some colleagues.

One word, or rather frequency, dominated the dancefloor over the last 12 months: bass. From slamming analogue house to pirate radio-inspired, lowdown, cone-rattling sub-suspended beats...

Featuring Hot Chip, Actress, Guy Gerber, TEED and more..

Amon Tobin started out experimenting with a double cassette player and ended up piloting the world's most mind-blowing live show.