2 years after the a great party at the Oskar Club in Singen (Germany), Groovenite.com returns this Saturday with Andy Ward for another fabulous night!

We are still celebrating 10 years of Groovenite.com and are happy to announce another event with our friend DJ Andy Ward (UK). He was our special guest of the 10 years anniversary party this February. Now we invite him for another celebration party. This time it will take place at the Oskar Club in Singen (Germany). Well, that’s only half of the truth. Actually it’s also the birthday party of DJ Pedro Fernandez. He’s resident DJ at Oskar Club and also a very good friend of the whole Groovenite.com crew. He already celebrated his birthday with us exactly 2 years ago. As the party turned out to be one of the best house parties at this spot (check here the video from the last party), he invited Groovenite.com and Andy Ward back for his b-day. And that offer just can’t be turned down.

This will also be our special warm up party for the VOCAL BOOTH WEEKENDER 2010 in Spain!

So we hope to see all our German readers next Saturday at the Oskar Club in Singen. Come and say ‘hi’ at the DJ Booth!

Check out the facebook event page here

From “Club Q” to “Q Zurich”; everything’s new at one of Switzerland’s most outstandig nightlife clubs. Apart from the new team (DJ Le Noir, Fridolin Hauser, Robin Donat, Daniele Pelletieri and René Goetz), Q Zurich has also new furniture, new lights and a new programmation. From the underground club to “the sunny side of clubbing”, you will find events and concerts for every music lovers. Q Zurich will still be a place for respected international DJs though, such as Armand van Helden, which is invited to play at the opening weekend this Saturday.

www.qzurich.ch

To complete the line up there is Swiss producer and DJ Toni Granello from Bern. Be prepared to enjoy another great warm up set by the 2 Groovenite Residents Maik Pedersen & Miles Numan.

Find all information on this event at our Facebook Event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136395349717153&ref=ts
(we give away 2×2 Tickets among all participants)

Be our fan on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hedkandiswitzerland

Be our follower on Twitter: http://twitter.com/hedkandiswiss

Actually, it’s the funniest Award Night ever! This event started as a prank in 1995 to bring back some humour into the increasingly serious and commercial club scene, the Golden Gnome Awards (Gouden Kabouters in Dutch) has grown over the past 15 years into Netherland’s top annual awards ceremony for the Dutch dance scene.

The self proclaimed “Incredibly Unofficial Oscars for the Club Scene” attracts an impressive crowd of DJs, club owners, producers, musicians and festival organisers who take the winning of the “little golden man” much more seriously than the organisers ever imagined. This annual event has grown into a highlight on the social calendar of many a top Dutch DJ. And now they going international…

On Wednesday October 20th the first edition of the International Golden Gnome Awards will take place at the beautiful Paradiso during the Amsterdam Dance Event 2010.

And this are the Categories:

• NOISY GNOME – Club with the best soundsystem
• MASKED GNOME – Favourite masked DJ/live act
• TWITTER DJ – DJ with the most Twitter followers
• FUTURE GNOME – most promising new Dutch talent
• MEDIA GNOME – for best magazine, website or campagne
• FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL DJ
• BEST INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
• MOST LOVEABLE AGENT
• WORST PLACE YOU’VE PLAYED in 2010 so far
• UNDERGROUND GNOME – city with the most influential & creative underground scene
• BEST DRESSED DJ
• DJ with the WORST HAIRCUT
• SEXY GNOME – the most sexy DJ (m/f)
• BEST LIVE ACT
• FAVOURITE LABEL
• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

If you would like to send them some suggestions for people or organisations who should be nominated to win a prestigious Golden Gnome during the Amsterdam Dance Event in October, then let them know at info@djfanclub.nl. At the beginning of August, they will announce the candidates with the most nominations who’ll be going through to the voting round – open to experts and the public alike.

If you wanna stay up to date, visit the Facebook Fanpage. Of course, we will attend for you and let you know what’s happen at the International Golden Gnome Awards!

He’s the founder of one of the most successful dance labels of all time, regularly DJs at the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals and has – according to Simon Marlin of the Shapeshifters – “the best ears in the business”. We can only assume that Marlin was referring to his ability to hear the potential in a record from several miles away rather than the shape of his aural organ, but of one thing we are left in no doubt; Simon Dunmore is at the absolute top of his game.

Now Dunmore – after putting together the latest instalment in the In The House compilation series; Ibiza ’10 – is stood proudly at the helm of the good ship Defected, ready to guide them thought a second successive season hosting Saturday nights at Pacha. However, it’s not all been plain sailing, as a lack of stand-out records and difficulty in putting a theme for the night have both had to be overcome in order to produce the goods, but Dunmore’s pretty confident he’s cracked it. We caught up with him to talk producers, the enduring appeal of Ibiza and the rewards that come with putting in that extra effort…

GROOVENITE.COM: What are your passions outside of dance music?
SIMON DUNMORE: Unfortunately in these times, I don’t really have the time to indulge the passions that I would like to get involved in because first of all, my job is my passion. It takes up an enormous amount of my time. When I’m not DJing or doing AR for Defected, I have my family to consider. But if I do have another passion, then it’s football. It’s a bit of a lads’ thing and my team aren’t doing so well right now. I support QPR and they are terrible at the moment, so it means I can enjoy watching other teams. It’s a real release for me, I get rid of a lot of pent up energy. I love to see Arsenal win and I love to see Chelsea lose.

What’s the magic ingredient?
It is, in these days and in these times, really hard for records to stand out. Everybody uses the same programmes, the same presets, the same sound. To me, the majority of music I listen to these days is extremely formulated, pretty soulless and dull! Or I find it quite soul destroying listening to records on Beatport and all sorts of tracks I get sent because they all sound so similar. I think that’s why they all come and go, they have no longevity, there’s nothing to make them stand out. If you want your records to be noticed, to have any chance of rising above all of the mayhem that is dance music at the moment, you’ve just got to put a little bit of time into the production, into your beats, into the musicality of it. Beats and bass lines, there’s a million tracks like that and you’ve got no chance if that’s all you’re going to do. So just put that extra 10%, actually no, put that extra 70% in to it and you’ve got a better chance.

For you, at this moment in time, who the most exciting producers?
That is really difficult. I’m going to mention Dennis Ferrer again, who I’ve mentioned for the last four or five years. The reason is every year, he comes up with what, I believe, is an exceptional record. This year he has surpassed himself with ‘Hey Hey’, a massive record for the last six months and something I think is going to run all the way through the summer. There are some new kids around, people like Joris Voorn who has some really well produced and solid productions. But I’d like to see him put something on top of what are amazing grooves and well produced tracks, I’d love to see him put a song or something that takes it that little step further. The musicality of someone like Henrik Schwartz is also something I love.

Right let’s talk about Ibiza. If you were to flog Ibiza to me as someone who hadn’t been there before, what would your sales pitch be?
Well, a salesman should be able to pitch his product to a wide range of demographics. If I were pitching it to a clubber, say 20 – 30 years old, I’d say the place is just hedonistic mayhem, some of the best clubs in the world. Everyday of the week you can see some of the best DJ talent in the world. There’s sex from wall to wall. All the things that pump your nads when you’re a kid! Music, sunshine beach, the opposite sex! Just the concoction of the whole place is just electric. When you are done with that and when you just can’t take anymore, there’s just the most serene, tranquil places that you can go. You get over the fact that you’ve obliterated your body for 48 – 72 hours when you can kick back, chill and recuperate. If you were older, I’d say if you want to reminisce back to when clubbing was the main thing in your life, there’s great clubs you can go to in Ibiza. You can go to Pacha, you can go on the terrace, you can go into the VIP. You can still feel good, and still feel comfortable doing it. Then there’s great shopping, great restaurants, great beaches. The one thing that Ibiza doesn’t have is sight-seeing, it’s not that kind of vacation. It’s just relaxation where you can have a great time!

That’s going to be my new pitch to the travel journos! Right, should I drive a scooter in Ibiza?
If you are in your twenties, and you think you are indestructible, then yes absolutely. But do it with caution. If you are my age, in your forties, and feeling a little bit mortal, don’t go anywhere fucking near it!

Should I swim in the sea?
Yes you should swim in the sea. It’s an amazing feeling to swim in the ocean, you feel absolutely free. But beware of the jellyfish! The island does get invaded with those and it’s pretty nasty when they sting! No sharks though.

Right lets talk about hit records. Is Ibiza the breeding ground for hit records? Is that where you go to look for them and if so, how does it work?
Yes we do go to Ibiza and try and look for records. Anytime we go out, anywhere in the world, we are always listening to what DJs are playing. If something stands out, we are always interested in whatever that record may be. You have a concentration of that in Ibiza, because you are hearing club music everywhere. It’s absolutely incessant and covers a wide variety of things too. That’s the great thing about house music. Are there records broken out of Ibiza? I think those days are over because the internet makes things happen so fast. If a record is played in the States, it can be played in Ibiza the next day, Japan the day after and Australia the day after that. So records seem to happen instantaneously across the world, rather than coming out of one place. So I don’t know if one place breaks music at all in these times.

Let’s talk about Pacha. You’ve got every Saturday at Pacha. For you is it more of a prestige thing or not? What does having a party at Pacha say about your brand?
Whatever you do in life, if you are proud of what you do you want to play on the biggest stage, you want to be noticed. Even people who say they are cool, and underground and they don’t want to sell out, most of the times I don’t believe it; they are screaming to be noticed! I think that we’ve done a really good job at Defected by working and nurturing some great producers, giving dance music some great house records. Whilst I’m not preoccupied by having the recognition and the acclaim, I do want to be recognised for the hard work we do. It’s good for the soul to know that people appreciate what you do and I think that to play at Pacha in Ibiza every Saturday night just puts all of that into one moment! It is undoubtedly one of the biggest, if not the biggest club in the world. They’ve got clubs in various places but the spiritual home of Pacha is in Ibiza. It’s been there since the seventies; close to forty years. You feel the history and heritage when you walk in there. You know, if you are a footballer, you’d want to play for Barcelona, if you are running a night, you’d want to be at Pacha. That’s the level it’s at!

Ok, about the party. Two things, what is the theme and who are the headliners you want to talk about?
It’s been difficult to come up with a novel and interesting theme for the year, but I think some people try a little too hard in that department. We have a constant message that at Defected, we are a great Saturday night out, we’re a disco label, it’s all about the party and people having a good time. That has been constant for the 10 or 11 years that we’ve been going, so Saturday night is about the twist that we have on disco. This year, we’ve kind of gone for trashy disco, it’s kind of en vogue and fashionable. Headliners this year… We support the people who make music for our label, we support them 100%. It would be easy to go “this kids hot,” or “all the kids are loving this producer” but if he has nothing to do with the label then we are just doing it for all of the wrong reasons. I believe we have worked with the producers for as long as we have because we give them as much as they give us. Therefore, our lines ups are based on the artists we have at the label. Obviously we work with new people as the years go by like Chocolate Puma playing for the first time this year. We have Riva Starr, a lot of people are talking about him. We have Quentin Harris back in the house and the fact that we have diversity in our night, keeps our night fresher than most of our competitors.

Good! Let’s talk about the mix. Defected In The House Ibiza is now an institution. What have you done this year, to make it the best mix yet?
It’s really difficult putting together a compilation these days because there’s just not the diversity or the craftsmanship or the soul put into production these days. So you really have to dig deep to find twenty or thirty tracks that actually work. Also there are some political things that restrict you from using the tracks you want to use. You know, the label doesn’t want to license them, if it’s someone signed to a major label, they are really going to restrict your rights where you are going to be able to release it and so on. So you can’t always have the tracks you would love to include, so again just really drumming home the fact that we support the people we work with. We work with them because they make quality productions and their sound epitomises what Defected is really all about. I’d go to our DJs first, see what they’ve got and then add more tracks to give the compilation more depth and value.

So what are these other tracks you are talking about? Tell me about the tracks from the producers you want to use?
Well, 70% of the album is our current material, which is what most compilations are these days, unless it’s specifically a retro compilation but Ibiza has never been about that for us. It’s been about putting some upfront and current tunes on there, but there are a couple of classics too like MK ‘Burning’. MK’s sound has been ripped and a lot of producers are borrowing what he used to do 15 years ago, so it’s really good to include a track like that. Plus we have Arther Baker ‘The Brake’ which was released maybe 20 years ago, but the version we have put on was released in 1998. It’s just a really good percussive house track. Tensnake ‘Coma Cat’ is a deeper and disco based, it’s a well-crafted and quality production. There is also Azari and III ‘Reckless With Your Love’ which is just an emotional and soulful house record. For me these tracks give it a little bit more depth, and the rest is just quality Defected house music.

Ok, so exclusives?
There are actually a number of exclusives for the compilation. Shapeshifters ‘Helter Skelter’, ATFC Featuring Rae ‘It’s Over’ which is the biggest track I play these days with the exception of ‘Hey Hey’. I say 70% of the compilation is exclusive to Defected In The House. Some of the tracks may be released as singles, but most of them, this will be their first time on a compilation.

Simon, when will you stop DJing?
It’s kinda weird actually. After every bad gig (and there’s not many of them these days), when you’ve travelled and you’re in a hotel, and you know your sets gone down badly, you just think ‘What am I doing here?’ I’d rather be with my family, having a good meal, watching the football, anywhere. Bad gigs are a real downer, so I think about stopping after every bad gig, but then when you do a good gig, you remember how much you love it. So while the gigs are still great I’m happy to carry on DJing.

The label, which enjoyed crossover success with Reel 2 Real, Wamdue Project and Ultra Naté and nurtured the careers of Erick Morillo, Roger Sanchez, Todd Terry, Armand Van Helden and Masters At Work, returned in 2007 after a five year hiatus following a brief liason with Warner Music to link up with leading UK independent dance label Defected Records.

Three years later and now fully re-established, Strictly Rhythm will open a new London office in September.

Founder Mark Finkelstein says ‘“I would like to thank Simon Dunmore and the Defected team for all that they have done in helping to re-launch Strictly Rhythm. I look forward to a continued close relationship between Strictly Rhythm and Defected in the future.”

Simon Dunmore, Defected Records CEO comments “During the 20 years I have known Mark Finkelstein he has become a mentor and a close friend. It has been a pleasure to work with him directly and help re-establish Strictly Rhythm in today’s market. I look forward to continuing our special relationship.”

Strictly Rhythm and Defected Records will continue to work together on future projects.

A new substantially upgraded website is to launch in July 2010. www.strictly.com will provide all the latest news, upfront information on new releases, exclusive interviews, extended features and more.

In the coming months there will be a search for independent labels, parties and any other kind of musical collective who are doing something special. Entrants will sign up via the welove-music.com site and set up a group on burlingtonproject.com where their music and information will be hosted.

Who can enter?
The contest is open to all however we should clarify this is not a bedroom DJ competition, we are looking for people playing underground parties, running niche events or indie labels that are looking to take what they do to a larger audience.

What do you win?
Finalists will be given dates in the Red Box of Space over the summer, the groups that generate the most interest and hold the best events will carry on working with We Love, Burlington Project and G-Shock though their European events.

It’s a unique opportunity to exhibit the rising stars of the underground; for the entrants this is a chance to showcase what they do in Space and work with We Love, Burlignton Project and G-Shock on their future projects.

Native Instruments are also on-board supporting this project by giving their new Traktor Prodcuts to the semifinalists.

Here’s how to enter…
You must first register at: www.burlingtonproject.com and then submit your network application.
You can upload your music and biog from there – Networks can take up to 24 hours to be approved.

Register your Burlington Group URL and other details here.

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