This month we're overloaded with dance news as you'll be able to see when you browse further into this page. We provide up to the minute information on all the upcoming festivals, including Creamfields and Witnness . This info includes line-ups, tickets and travel information. Believe us, this years line-up in each and every of the fore mentioned festivals looks to make them bigger and better than ever before. We also have a review on Homelands Ireland. Not only this vital information but we also include the following sensational snippets of news:
Fatboy Slim to work with Macy Gray
Moby triumphs at Dancestar Awards
Emerson set to abandon Underworld
Founding Saturday resident at Home in London, superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold, has announced that he's leaving the superclub after nine months at the helm. Oakey said in a statement: "Due to increased demands on my time to DJ in the UK and America, but also from being in the studio and running my label, I regret that I can no longer be resident at Home London. It was simply becoming too difficult to be at the club every Saturday, so I think the fairest thing to do is step aside and let someone else carry it on."
Oakey has been credited with helping to kick off the Leicester Square club, but it's understood that he's found it increasingly difficult to keep the weekly commitment, run his label, play Ibiza every Monday at his Perfecto night @ Pacha and still continue his ehad-down one man mission to convert America. Oakey continued. "I do of course hope to carry on making occasional guest appearances. It's been great fun being involved with the launch of such a big club, and I'd like to wish Ron McCulloch continued success." Home have been looking for a replacement and, according to one source, have found an even bigger star than Oakey. But Oakey was voted the best DJ in the world by DJmag readers last year - is there a bigger DJ anywhere? We certainly don't think so.
FatBoy Slim Calls On Vocals of Soul Diva Macy Gray
The new Fat Boy Slim album currently in production is rumoured to include new vocal cuts from Macy Gray. Norm is said to have enlisted the ‘gravel throated diva’ due toThe Chemical Brothers cutting remark that Norman was just a vocal sampler. Tom and Ed were quoted on asking, “Instead of nicking bits of acapellas, why don’t you actually work with the vocalist?’ In an interview with America’s Rolling Stones magazine Fat Boy answered, “I’d be too nervous and I think they wouldn’t do it”. Later in the interview Norman went on to say, “There’s a few people I phoned and the reactions have been quite good.”
Regarding other news to do with Norman,the follow up album to ‘We’ve come along way, baby’ is likely to be finished by the end of the year. Cook ensured the album shows a shift in style and flavour adding, “There’s been so many records that sound like ‘Gangster Trippin’ and ‘Rockerfeller Skank.’ I don’t want to sound like the people who sound like me.” True for him.
Moby triumphs at first Dancestar Awards
The inaugural Dancestar awards, broadcasted on June 4th by Channel 4, undeniably went off with a bang at London's Alexandra Palace. The glitzy, star-studded bash began with the customary posh dinner before Bryan Adams & Chicane opened the ceremony with their rasping 'Don't Give Up' number one. Moby was the big winner of the night, landing Best Album and DanceStar of the Year, and afterwards he told DJmag: "I never expected to have a record contract, or to make records that people liked and would buy - certainly in a million years I never expected to be nominated for an award. Never in a trillion years did I expect to actually win anything. I've had such a strange musical career that winning these two awards really does mean the world to me."
Moby's album 'Play' recently and certainly rightly spent five weeks at Number One, and has now gone triple platinum in the UK." The two things I find encouraging about the success of 'Play', as far as how it bodes for music in general, is that my record is very emotional and very eclectic," Moby observed. "Perhaps that might give some producers and musicians more license to experiment in the future - people might not feel so locked into one genre when they see that eclecticism can be successful," he added.
250,000 people voted in DanceStar, either online or by telephone, which probably explains why ATB's '9pm (Til I Come)' won Best Single. Other statuettes were taken by the likes of Basement Jaxx (Best House Act), the Chemical Brothers (Best Breakbeat Act), William Orbit (Best Producer), Artful Dodger (Best Garage Act), Judge Jules (Best Radio DJ), Ferry Corsten (Best Remix) and Cream (Best Club). House godfather Frankie Knuckles received the Lifetime Achievement award from boxer/label head Prince Naseem, and David Morales received the Outstanding Contribution award from Boy George - who was wearing a very fancy big hat."ìIt definitely means a lot to me, Morales told DJmag backstage. "It's an appreciation, it's taken me a lot of years to realise what I really contribute to this business, cos when you're growing up in it and you're working constantly doing your thing...I've realised that my job is to teach, to pass on my experience. We all learn from each other, it's a matter of keeping an open mind and not being so narrow-minded". Looking decidedly the worse for wear, Paul Oakenfold received the DJmag-sponsored Best Club DJ with a comically-slurred acceptance speech. "It's never about DJs, it's about the people that go to clubs", Oakey told DJmag. "So to receive this award based on voting is an honour. There are other magazines and there are other situations where it's done by committee, but what really means the most to me is something truly based on the people who vote. It's about all of us. This scene is global, and I'm lucky enough to be a part of it." Lucky for us also that he is a part of it.
Darren Emerson to leave underworld…
In the light of the Prodigy reshuffle, Darren Emmerson has followed suit by announcing his retirement from Underworld. Darren joined Underworld in 1990 and has decided to leave for the very uncliche reason of ‘concentrating on his solo career’.A spokesman from JBO claims the move has been in process for months but nothing was said ‘for legal reasons’.
The remaining duo, Rick and Karl will continue to record the next album without Darren. Underworld’s summer gigs at V2000, Chelmsford and Ibiza will be unaffected by the restructure. Manager Gary Blackburn, who also looks after Norman Cook’s wallet has said “I’d say it will be at least next year before any solo stuff happens”. Unofficial sources tell us Darren was heard saying “At least I wont have to hear that fucking ‘Lager, lager, lager’ bollocks for a while”. Darren Emerson is the latest DJ to leave his mark in the Global Underground series. The mix CD available at the end of May does not include ‘Born Slippy’
Jules and Julesey get it together for a club smash.
Judge Jules has begun producing an album with the vocalist from Angelic. Trainspotters amongst you may know that Amanda O’Riordan, featured in 'It's my turn', also happens to be Mrs Judge Jules. The now celebrity couple soon to be known as the ‘Posh and Becks of clubbing’ are organising their second release under the Angelic title for the end of summer. The album being produced with Darren Tate is hoped to be out by September. Angelic’s current track is set for release on Serious by June 5th.
