Enjoy!

Tracklisting:
01. Hermanez - “Blister” (Spektre Remix) - Eklektisch
02. Cevin Fisher - “The Freaks Come Out” (Gabriel Robella Remix) - Subversive
03. The Good Guys - “Get Freaky” (Olander & Cabrera Mix) - House Session
04. The Good Guys - “Get Freaky” (Original Mix) - House Session
05. Marc Vedo - “Get It Out” (Original Mix) - Koolwaters
06. Tempered DJs & Ellesse - “Rocket Science” (Mark Holmes & OD Muzique Remix) - Manchester Underground
07. Block & Crown - “Deep In The Night” (Pacha Mix) - Dumb
08. Angger Dimas - “Duck Army” (Original Mix) - Vicious
09. Lenka - “Trouble is a Friend” (Nadastrom’s Wishful Dub) - Epic
10. Gai Barone - “Organum” (Dino Lenny Remix) - Afterglow Deep
11. The Gossip - “Heavy Cross” (Fred Falke Remix) - Backyard
12. Jerome Isma-Ae - “Smile When You Kill Me” (Blake Jarrell Remix) - Jee Productions
13. Omid 16B - “The Epic” (Main Instrumental Dub) - Sexonwax
14. Jay C - “The Music” (Instrumental) - CDR

Twitter is a service that lets you post sms-length 140 character messages (”tweets”) to your so-called “followers”, people who subscribe to your little missives. As a follower, you get a stream of headlines as people go about their day. People share everything - links, what they had for lunch, philosophical musings, political feelings, literary quotes, where they’re going for a drink etc. You’d think this would just give you a load of chatter and noise, but what you get is surprisingly interesting and relevant (I’m wondering if I will feel the same once the novelty has worn off, but for now I’m enthusiastic.)

There are people who twitter well, and people who do it badly. The major mistake seems to be to fill your Tweets with purely marketing-oriented babble. Of course I know you want to sell me stuff, but please at least give me some interesting factoids in between your shameless commercial plugs. For DJs this translates into you not only telling me about your forthcoming gigs or your various Beatport releases. Sure that’s all very cool, and honestly I wish you the best of luck, but by the tenth subsequent Tweet on the same subject I’ve actually given up caring and stopped following you (let’s face it you probably already spam me enough via email/Facebook/Myspace anyway!) I won’t mention any names, but I will definitely like you more if you Tweet about other things

As for those who do it well, check out Funkagenda, Dave Seaman and Imogen Heap for starters. What works for me is they don’t just talk about their current CD release, but about their general interests, food, travels, studio processes, jokes, favourite bands, whatever - and they sound like human beings (which seems to be an important point to bear in mind whenever you indulge in online conversation, or indeed any kind of conversation). So go ahead, tweet about that Sunday Roast you’re cooking - I might even go and buy your next single.

I also dig the fact that you can integrate Twitter with Facebook and Myspace (and other networks) via Ping.Fm or via dedicated applications within FB/MySp. This is really cool since it enables you to automatically synch your updates across Twitter/Facebook/Wherever. I’ve found that since I’ve been using Twitter, I’ve been updating far more often, which translates into more interactivity and stickiness on my Facebook/Myspace pages. Yes of course, I could have been doing that anyway, but the fact is I wasn’t, and Twitter woke me up to that. My Facebook profile in particular is far more lively as a result.

So what of it’s actual usefulness? Even though I’ve only just started using it, I can see that it can be an integral part of anyone’s online presence and personal professional brand, whether you work in music, advertising, or whatever. Used in conjunction with Facebook, Myspace and whatever other social networks you’re on, it’s another great way to make yourself heard online…

PS: Here are some useful links about Twitter, online music marketing, and online marketing in general:

How to Twitter: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638550095558381.html
Some suggestions on how to behave in the Twitterverse.

Personal Branding: http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/
Mashable on setting up your online personal brand.

What Would Google Do?: http://www.buzzmachine.com/what-would-google-do/
Very zeitgeisty book on applying Google’s business ethics to absolutely everything.

New Music Strategies: http://www.newmusicstrategies.com/
Andrew Dubber’s blog about the music biz in the internet age. Essential reading.

And finally you can find me Twittering on about fine cuisine, airport experiences, books, and, yes, gig dates, at:
http://www.twitter.com/moussaclarke

The party in Almetyevsk was A LOT bigger than I expected - I had imagined some small scale club, but walked into a rollerdome filled with stack speakers and what looked like about 4,000 people having it. Check out a little clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0AXoMao5To

Kirov was great too, a fine city with very friendly and relaxed people. The gig at Neon Club was for the local branch of STS, a TV channel, and we were followed around all day by a TV crew. I’ll post a video of the TV newspiece at a later date, but in the meantime here’s some clips from the club:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckfZFQ2Gq_I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPbuQc4GuXg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gmhLUPhEfA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdTJc3TN23w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWBehPljqR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XHr55qif0A

The country is vast, a sprawling mass of contradictions. On the one hand you have the impossibly rich elite of Moscow and the major cities, fat from the spoils of the 1990s and Russia’s huge wealth of natural resources, and the shamelessly wannabe rich, who have embraced US-style materialism like no tomorrow, sporting a kind of ultra-capitalism which sits rather uncomfortably with my European liberal mores. (Although as I’m reminded by well-to-do Russians, this is because twenty years ago, they had nothing, and maybe tomorrow, they will have nothing, so they’re making sure they’re enjoying the present). On the other hand, you have relative deprivation in the countryside - living in a “quaint” village is absolutely not an aspiration for well-heeled middle-class city folk like it is, say, in the UK. Strong individualism coupled with collectivism and a huge generosity of spirit; rampant inward-looking conservatism, but an ultra-liberal open-ness amongst many to everything that is new or foreign; extreme beauty and desolate ugliness; unbearably chaotic yet tightly regimented (the trains and metro are cheap and run on time! amazing for a Brit!); traditional values and decadent moral relativism (Russians tell me that when the Communist system was in action, they were essentially told how to think and behave, and since it broke down, and during the turbulent 1990’s, there was a sense, that, hey, maybe anything is permitted); genius/talented/creative/destructive/violent/fatalistic; all or nothing.

Contradictions - Russia is all of these things and more, once you put your finger on any characteristic, it surprises you, morphs, and eludes you. I have a lot of affection for it, and particularly (and this is the main thing) for the many fantastic people I’ve met there. The famous “Russkaya Dusha”, the Russian soul, at once hard, dry and pragmatic, and vodka-soaked and sentimentally romantic…

In the second half of 2008, Russia.Ru (Russia’s biggest Internet TV website) asked me if I would be interested in taking part in a documentary series where a camera crew would follow me discovering the “real” Russia. I immediately agreed, of course.

This is the intro to “An Englishman in Russia”, the first of an initial 10 episodes, filmed over the space of a few days in the Caucasus, the colourful multi-faceted and multi-ethnic South-Western region of Russia, on my way to a gig in the city of Stavropol. Directed by the acclaimed Russian documentary maker Alexander Rastorguev. Enjoy!

http://www.russia.ru/video/moussa_clarke_in_russia_p1/

Available on vinyl now from Juno:
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/Jody-WISTERNOFF/Starstrings/345540-1/

Read it here:
http://supra.armadamusic.nl/news/2008/11/2168/

I was in Sochi in Southern Russia for SWMC at the beginning of February. SWMC (Sochi Winter Music Conference) is Russia’s answer to the Miami Winter Music Conference, smaller in scale, but now an essential part of the Russian clubbing calendar - if only to witness the drunken antics of Russia’s superstar DJs in a concentrated space

Sochi is a seaside resort on the Black Sea, and was popular as a resting place during Soviet times. These days, it resembles similar resorts in other parts of the world in both positive and negative ways - great weather, nice beaches, fantastic nightlife, a lot of tourist-oriented construction projects, garish hotels, hideously expensive seafront restaurants and more. It’s also going to be the site for the 2014 Winter Olympics (snow-tipped mountains are a short drive away), so it’s currently the recipient of a lot of government investment. It seems to be thriving, no visible signs of the financial crisis here.

The conference itself was very interesting from a local dance music industry aspect and from a networking point of view. The daytime forums seemed to be little more than self-promotional platforms for the guest speakers, but then this is the norm for music forums (and I do have a slightly cynical viewpoint, and maybe a touch of conference fatigue, having done the rounds of Midem, WMC, Popkomm and ADE during my tenure as A&R at a large indie during the late 90s).

The real action (as always at these kinds of events) takes place in the hotel lobby or during the night-time events. Particularly fun was a vodka and khimkal’naya fuelled get together at the local stalovka, with Agent Smith, Bobina, Denis A and a whole crew of DJs and promoters. I also played a great little party for Dewar’s on the friday night, and a short but sweet set at 8Nebo on saturday. Also managed to check out Plotforma, a really cool club on a seafront pier.

All in all I’m definitely up for coming back in 2010, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more and network in what has become one of the major nightclub markets in the world!

Moussa Clarke’s Winter Warmer Mix Session 08/09
http://www.mediafire.com/?jbmtcdnzyfz

Tracklist:
01. Upfade - “Panga (Gui Boratto Mix) - Symphonic
02. Sudha - “Leche” (Way Out West Mix) - CDR
03. Tune Brothers - “Make Your Body Pop” (TV Rock & Luke Chable Mix) - HouseSession
04. Evil 9  - “All The Cash” (Alex Metric Mix) -  Marine Parade
05. Ellektra vs Ting Tings & Midfield General - “Shut Up The Disco Sirens” - CDR
06. Tim Healey & Marc Adamo - “Ghetto Blaster” - CDR
07. Moussa Clarke & John Ashby - “Body Music” - CDR
08. Trisco - “Musak” (Piece Process Remix) - Positiva
09. Yoav - “Club Thing” (Fontano Remix) - Universal
10. Paul Thomas & Funkagenda - “Thrapp” (Amin Golestan & Marco G Remix) - LMR
11. Wonderland Avenue - “Idol Eyes” (Dumb Dan Remix) - Slammin Muzik
12. The Outrunners - “These Girls Are Dressed To Kill” (Russ Chimes Mix) - Valerie

First up is one for French blog freeyourmind, in which I shoot the breeze over email with Fantomas about past & forthcoming projets and coffee preferences:
Free your Mind Interview (in French & English)

I also recently did a video interview for russia’s biggest internet tv portal Russia Ru, talking with Nikolay Ledebev about some of my impressions regarding life in Russia:
Russia Ru Interview (in Russian)

Finally there’s an interview with Czech Republic’s biggest dance music site Techno Cz (this one conducted with DJ Breeth via the medium of Skype!):
Techno Cz Interview (in Czech)

Big thanks to Thomas, Kolya and Michal!

Firstly the Useless Party on Halloween in Paris didn’t disappoint. La Java is really a great venue, with a really friendly crowd of people, and firing sets from Howie B and residents Princess Lea and Fantomas. Met some great people, and also found the time to go and quickly check out Fabrice Dayan playing across the road. Paris is great, I cut my teeth playing there in the 90s when I was starting out, and looking forward to playing there more in future…

Back in London the day after, I made it over to Inigo for the Halloween instalment of Love Asylum (nee Love Bullet). Anjuta, the promoter, has gone for an ongoing fancy dress theme, so it was amusing to be playing to a club full of ghouls and witches, although I have to admit I felt kind of under-dressed.

I then played NVL in Minsk in Belarus. Dumb Dan played there the month before and told me a little bit what I should be expecting. NVL basically means UFO, and the entrance to the club is appropriately decked out to look like a spaceship. It’s a brand new club with a wicked sound system, and a glammed up crowd. They make an effort on the production/theming too, particularly mind-bending on the night were the uv’ed up dancers/acrobats making bizarre shapes and movements during my set. Also during our stay there we managed to have a car accident (luckily no-one was hurt except the car), and witness the magnificence of the Minsk National Library. If you haven’t heard of it, google it or check it out on Youtube now. It’s properly paradoxical - a bastion of reserve and erudition that looks like it’s come straight out of Las Vegas. Brilliant.

Next up, time for a trip down to Stavropol in the South of Russia to play in Ermitage, for a Winston-sponsored party. Another great club with a really responsive crowd. There’s much (much) more to my trip down there, since I was followed by a camera team from Russia.Ru, Russia’s biggest internet TV portal. It features, amongst other things, me learning to play accordion in the street, cooking shashlik in a restaurant and burning my arm, dancing tectonik with a couple of teenagers by a statue of Lenin, drinking fresh mineral water with a very strong sulphurous after-taste, and almost getting arrested by the local militia. But I’ll leave all this for a future post, when the film is actually ready for you to view!

The weekend after this I was over in Kharkov in Ukraine to play a club called Maska. It was touch and go whether I was actually going to make it at one point since there was so much wind that the plane from Kiev was heavily delayed. But all good in the end. The club was cool, a slightly younger crowd who seemed to really get into what I was doing. We also went to check out S.O.N. in the same city. A really cool club, was rather empty on our visit, but could see it being wicked on a busier night.

Sadly, the following week’s gig in Romania was cancelled due to the venue, Atlantis, having some trouble with the local authorities. It was disappointing since I was really looking forward to my debut there, but hope I can make it at some point in 2009! Anyway, I managed to head over to Barcelona for a few days to meet up with my good friend John Ashby to work on some new tracks and a video project we are plotting together. More info soon

The next few weeks it was back to Russia again. On 5th December, I played the closing set for NokiaTrendsLive at Gaudi Arena in Moscow with Tiga and Santogold. I missed Santogold’s set, but heard Tiga playing for the first time before me - he was really very good, on point musical vibe and good connection with the crowd. I also hooked up with some old friends, including the ever-hilarious and urbane Alexey from 44100, and managed an interview for a local tv station, where they quizzed me about my ongoing fascination with Russia.

Also made it to Studio 74 in Chelyabinsk (yes, it’s really like my second home). Had a fantastic night there as always. Also popped over to L-Radio for an interview with Petr Karetnikov. He noted that I am the only foreign DJ who has had quite so many interviews on their station (we counted six that we could remember)

Then it was over to Podval in Ekaterinburg. This was only my second time playing in the city, I had been to Snow Project a couple of years before, where the DJ famously plays from a snowplough in the middle of the dancefloor. Just before the gig, I did a quick interview for Radio Pilot with the FullHouse DJs crew. I really liked Podval, it’s a tiny venue with a real party vibe. It gets busy late and stays open late, and has a reputation as an after hours place. I only wished I could have stayed longer, but we needed to get back to Moscow in time to fly to Turkey for New Years Eve…

..which was spectacular! Adam & Eve is a luxury design hotel in Antalya in Turkey based around the concept of relaxation and partying in equal measures. The New Year’s eve event took place in the Atrium, a massive hall with a huge rectangular ceiling covered in hundreds of thousands of tiny mirrors (it’s in the Guinness Book of Records because of this), flowing champagne, acrobats and performers, scintillating lasers reflecting off the roof and fireworks shooting out of the walls. It was a great way to see in 2009, and I can’t wait to go back there this summer.

Couple of weekends off at the beginning of January then right back into the fray. I re-visited Love Asylum in London, this time at the fantastic Dex Club in London - a really great venue, with a slamming crystal clear Funktion One sound system - and with the crowd in full superhero garb. I managed a 3 hour set despite having sprained my left arm (blame the icy pavements in Moscow!), I think the Joker and Catwoman particularly enjoyed it.

Which brings me finally to last weekend in Zelenograd in Russia. I played at Kakadu, where I had the honour of being the first ever English DJ to play. Cool little club which stayed rocking until well past 6am. Nice one…

There’s a huge list of people to thank for the above gigs and for looking after me over the last couple of months, so here goes: Thomas, Emmanuel, Fabrice, Anjuta, Shiva, Misha, Sasha, Gosha & the rest of the crew in Minsk, Nastya, Yury, Alena, Anton, Taras, John, Roma, Anya, Petr, the FullHouse DJs, Zhenya (and Zhenya’s mate who drove us to the airport!), Tolga, Darina, Svetlana, Andrey, and anyone else I’ve no doubt forgotten to include. You’re all stars, see you again very soon!

I’m super-busy over the next few weeks again. This week I’m heading off to Sochi in South of Russia for SWMC, Russia’s answer to the WMC. I’m playing at a VIP party (oo-er) on Friday 6th as well as at 8Nebo on Saturday, with Solaris Heights and Denis A. Please check my schedule for other forthcoming gigs, and see you out and about!

On 31st October I’m off to Paris for what looks to be a really interesting party, the brilliantly-named Useless. Organised by music blog stalwarts Freeyourmind, it’s an all-English lineup (sort of, if we ignore the Senegalese and Jewish ancestry in at least two of the participants :-D), since I’ll be playing alsongside Howie B (talented producer, U2 et al) and Princess Lea (local expat DJ diva). It’s all happening at cult venue La Java, where none other than the legendary Edith Piaf sang. Ca va dechirer les gars

On 1st November, I’m back in London to play Love Bullet, my cosy little monthly UK residency. Here I’m joining Dan Proxy for what promises to be another night of carnage. The venue for this one is the small but perfectly formed Inigo in Clapham.

Sadly though, I had to leave the club as soon as I finished playing. I’d been pretty ill and was on super-strength antibiotics, and made the fatal mistake of having one drink, after which everything went kind of pear-shaped. I now know exactly why they have those warnings on those packets - dont do it kids!

Mike Monday - “Salieri Complex” - Om Records
David West - “Hello Piano” - Mistakes
Julianne - “And I love to Say Goodbye” (Moussa Clarke Remix) - 19 Box
Wonderland Avenue - “Idol Eyes” (Kikko Martini) - Slammin Muzik
Tim Andresen - “Grasshopper 2008″ - What Happens
Eddie Cabrera - “Palma Nights” (Daniel Lindeberg Mix) - Dumb Recordings
Orkidea - “Metaverse” (Jody Wisternoff Remix) - AVA
Wize - “Grand Voyage” - Sismic
David Gausa, Static Revenger & Scumfrog - “Into The Deep”  - Sutil
Mr Gil - “The Dawn” (Chris Crowther Remix) - Orbiter

Also got the chance to attend the re-launch of the uber-glamourous Most club in Moscow on Friday night. It’s just had a re-fit, courtesy of architect Alexey Haas, and it’s looking and sounding great!

I’ll be back in Russia in a couple of weeks

US-based Blake Jarrell has completed an amazing remix, which has been doing some serious dancefloor damage over the last few weekends. The track is already playlisted by Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Markus Schulz, Jody Wisternoff, Judge Jules and more. You can check out a preview on my Myspace Page!

He will be sorely missed by the music and clubbing industry.

A couple of remixes I did a while ago have finally seen the light of day, and are now available from Beatport.

The David Vendetta track originally started as a remix for Keith Thompson plain & simple, but is now available on David’s release on French label Paradise Records. It’s a remake of Raze’s early house classic, and my remix features flashes of the original bassline and riffs, albeit updated, transposed and doing some odd things with the key - oo-er.

My remix of Julianne - “And I love to say goodbye” has become a big favourite with the international melodic progressive brigade over the last year, featured in sets from Jody Wisternoff, Ricky Ryan, Add 2 Basket and more… It has to be one of my favourites of the remixes I’ve produced, and I’m chuffed its finally out on Japan’s excellent 19BoxRecords (pronounced “Jukebox” - the Japanese for 19 is “juke”). So now all those people who’ve been emailing me about it can finally get their hands on it!

Go seek

When I originally envisaged this blog, it was going to be part travelogue, part food diary and part self-hype (the latter is what blogs are for, aren’t they?), to talk about things I’ve been up to in the studio and gig-wise.
So I’m going to combine all three, and right now I’m going to start off with a bit of reminiscing, and speak a little bit about Morocco. It seems fitting since I’ve been there three times already this year, and it looks like it’s going to be somewhere I keep returning to!

My first trip was to Ifrane, a little university city up in the mountains. I flew into blistering heat in Casablanca airport and met up with Leo Veil, local DJ hero, and extremely gregarious character. We instantly struck up a friendship - he was surprised and happy to find out that I am francophone - I grew up in the East of France near the border with Switzerland - French and Arabic being the local languages in Morocco. As we drove up to Ifrane, the temperature got distinctly cooler. We chatted culture and travel with Youssouf the promoter in the local pizza joint, then headed to the club, Ifranity. A great little venue with a big heart, really up for it crowd and brilliant atmosphere, thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Next up I made the journey to Skhirat Plage to the excellent Nirvana Club. You can check a little clip of me in action on Youtube. Nirvana is based in the Amphitrite Palace, a slightly faded but nevertheless impressive luxury hotel, right on the beach and looking out onto the Atlantic. Thanks to the lovely Achouak for a wicked gig.

And finally… Rabat. This time I played the small but perfectly formed Reservoir, a really cool hangout with a great vibe. Earlier in the day, I hooked up with Leo again and local resident DJ Sim, and partook in some rather delicious Moroccan tea (very sweet, very minty) and also got taken to a fantastic traditional Moroccan restaurant called Dinarjat, tucked away in a Riyad in the old Kasbah. An old guy in traditional dress leads you through the cobbled streets by lantern-light to a courtyard set with tables and an open starry night sky, musicians playing subtle local rhythms while you eat amazingly delicious food: Harira, a local soup, pastilla, a pastry with pidgeon and almonds, and brouzia, a sweet lamb tagine with raisins. In between courses, the waitresses bring rose water for you to wash your hands. Absolute class

The gig wasn’t bad either! Again, a great friendly crowd, and a thoroughly good night. Looking forward to coming back to Morocco again very soon.

Summer 2008 Mix
Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?ddyhcmjy2mw

01. Mar T - “Gentlemen” (John Dahlback Mix) - Paradise
02. Gregor Tresher - “A Thousand Nights” (Dubfire Mix) - Great Stuff
03. Dohr & Mangold - “Sunrise 5.30am” (Style of Eye Mix) - Joia
04. Arno Cost & Norman Doray vs The Presets - “Love Apocalypse” (Moussa Clarke Re-Edit) - CDR
05. Dumb Dan - “On My Radar” (Dub) - Dumbest
06. Dubfire - “Roadkill” (EDX Mix) - Sirup
07. Claes Rosen vs Add2Basket - “Volaris” (Kris B & Nosmo Mix) - Avantgardia
08. Rasmus - “Together Alone” (Daniel Lindeberg Dub) - Dumb
09. Moussa Clarke & Terrafunka - “Unforgettable” - CDR
10. Slytek - “Flutterby” - Standby
11. Flanders - “Behind” (Micky Slim Remix) - Ego/Gusto
12. Aaron Jerome feat. Kathrin DeBoer - “Misunderstanding” (Feliciano Vocal Mix) - Ricanstruction
13. Moussa Clarke & Terrafunka - “She Wants Him” (Human Adams Mix) - Armada

In my defense, I’ve been kind of busy. Touring-wise, since Brazil, I’ve been to Russia (more than once!), Canada, Morocco, Italy, Spain and Kazakhstan, as well as managing to slot in a couple of gigs in London. On the studio front, I’ve been working on some new singles (more on these soon!), as well as doing some work with Kevin Edge for a TV ad here in the UK. So it’s all been pretty much non-stop.

I’ll be posting some photos up from the last couple of months’ gigs as soon as I get the chance, in the meantime there’s a couple of new videos (with some rather dubious sound-quality!) up on the video page on my website or via Youtube.

Tonight I’ll go out and check out the local clubs - Lee Burridge is over playing somewhere, as is Redanka, so will definitely try to catch their shows. My good buddy Nicko Izzo (who funnily enough shares my birthday) is coming over from Buenos Aires, and we are due to be playing at some after hours party who knows where

Then tomorrow night it’s the main event, I’ll be playing at El Divino along with Nicko and Enrique Fernandes - it’s a double bonanza - a La Terrrazza tour date and House Mag party. Should be a fantastic night.

Which brings me neatly onto my other news, which is that Nicko and I are the 2008 international tour residents for La Terrrazza. La Terrrazza is Barcelona’s world-reknowned openair club, and we’ll be doing more dates in Asia and Europe over the coming months, culminating in a lavish closing party in Barcelona during the summer. Hola!