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PREMIERE: SIDNEY CHARLES 'HOUSIN' DA RAVE'

Listen to an exclusive track from the AVOTRE producer's new LP

Hamburg born, Berlin based jackin’ house and techno talent Sidney Charles has just released his new album entitled ‘House Lessons’ through AVOTRE; a label he assisted in constructing.

Whatever shade of house or techno the Sankeys resident is producing, it always seems to be packed full of rigid grooves, authentic sounds and sophisticated beats which always get the dance floor bumping.

His new LP, ‘House Lessons’ is the perfect cabinet of Sidney’s body of work to date, sixteen heavyweight grooves fashioned with intent to make you move. The album includes collaborations and remixes from other prestigious artists, such as DJ Sneak, Santé, Darius Syrossian, Pan-Pot, Hot Since 82 and Patrick Topping. 

Sidney has given DJ Mag readers an exclusive first listen to his new track ‘Housin Da Rave’ and also stopped by to have a quick chat about ‘House Lessons’. 

Firstly, what generated the concept behind ‘House Lessons’ and how long has it been in the works for?

"The name ‘House Lessons’ came to mind because it was my first production, which somehow brought attention from the bigger names in the underground scene. The release was in 2013 on AVOTRE and it definitely allowed me to make DJing and producing my full time profession. When I asked my buddy Santé for his opinion, he immediately loved the idea because the concept also fits the idea of a compilation really well. The idea behind it is not so much that I want to give a lesson in house music, but rather that I’m learning myself by living a certain lifestyle with a certain attitude. I think if you understand house music from it’s roots, it can definitely teach you something about yourself.

I was working on ‘House Lessons’ for about 6 months, however not all the tracks were produced solely with the purpose of including them amongst the track list. I was going through a lot of older tracks, which never made it to an EP; when I liked an old idea I refreshed them with new ones until I was happy with it, so really all the tracks are a mixture of older and newer productions that I’ve created over the past two years."

What was the main inspiration behind creating a full LP rather than several separate EP releases?

"I like the idea behind creating something that is challenging you as an artist, and to create an LP is definitely one of those projects where you have to put a lot of effort in. Before I had completed the project, I always had a lot respect for artists creating albums over the years because it’s simply a really time consuming thing and a major creative effort. I wanted to challenge myself and try to figure out whether I’m grown up enough to make it. 

During the creation of the album I had lots of fun generating ideas that I was not brave enough to try before. I found myself really happy with the outcome of the project and I’m sure I will do something similar in the future again."

‘House Lessons’ features several collaborations and remixes, what encouraged you to work with the likes of Darius Syrossian, Pan-Pot and Patrick Topping?

"First of all, I’d say that I really like the music those guys make and I think that has to be the main motivation when collaborating with someone. On the other hand, I also like them as people and their grounded attitude towards life. If I knew someone who makes great music but is an absolute asshole, I’d rather not collaborate with him or her. I’m really happy that all these guys agreed to participate in the project and of course it’s another reason for people to listen to the LP."

We all know about the raw chemistry between Santé and yourself, not only behind the decks but in the studio. Does that make your track with him, ‘TXL’, one of the most personally cherished tracks on the album?

"Yeah, you could say that. Santé and I have a certain imagination of the sound we want to create together and ‘TXL’ is a perfect example of that. ‘TXL’ is the short-phrase for Berlin’s main airport so it also reflects on our backgrounds after living in this city for years. For me, it was also one of the first techno tracks I made rather than house. The moment when I knew I desperately wanted to put this on the LP was when Scuba and Mr. G gave me props for the track. I was so happy to hear those guys liked it, I totally adore both of them for what they have achieved in the past."

AVOTRE is a label very close to you, but what made it the perfect label to release ‘House Lessons’?

"AVOTRE is my home label in many ways as I was involved from the beginning when Santé founded it three years ago. I feel as though I have such a close, personal relationship with the label as I was putting my blood and sweat into it; I took part in helping to get the label to where it is now."

Finally, will we be seeing much of you in the UK to support the release?

"We didn’t really plan an album tour for this project but I will be in the UK quite often over the  next six months and, of course, I will be promoting the LP through playing it out at all of those gigs! Over the next two months, you can catch me playing in Liverpool, Glasgow, London, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester."

You can exclusively listen to Housin’ Da Rave below!