Moussa Clarke's Blog

My Summer 2010 Mixtape

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:48:00 +0000

Please download my latest mixtape, showcasing the tunes that have been a staple of my DJ sets over the last couple of months.

I know we're pretty much in Autumn, at least in this hemisphere, but this was recorded a few weeks back, so Summer Mixtape it is!

It's my usual mash-up style, and runs the whole gamut from funkier house sounds to big room tribal bangers, to blissed out techno and nu-pop, all with its eye on firmly on the dancefloor. Featuring tracks and remixes from Max Sedgley, Kobbe, Basskleph, Max Cooper, Starsmith, Russ Chimes, Dr. Kucho and more... Full tracklist below!

I love feedback, so please leave me a comment, send me an email, or catch me on Facebook or Twitter.

DOWNLOAD MP3:
Moussa Clarke Summer 2010 Mixtape
http://bit.ly/9UTTWl

TRACKLIST:
01. Max Sedgley feat. Tor Cesay - "Sound Boy" (Kraak & Smaak Remix) - Jalapeno
02. 5eya - "As it's loud" (Sharooz Remix) - La Bombe
03. Kobbe vs Hugo Rizzo - "Bring Back the Drums" (Keith John Stripped Down Remix) - Kult Records
04. DJ 19 & Moussa Clarke - "Acid Piano" (Tamer Fouda Mix) - 19 Box Recordings
05. Spada - "The Match" - Flash
06. D-Formation, Bloody Beatroots & Steve Aoki - “Weakness For Warp” – (Basskleph Mash-up) _ CDR
07. C-Mos - "20 Million Ways" (Daniel Ortega & Mike Moorish Bigroom Remix) - CDR
08. Bahar Canca & Matt Williams - "Latino Girl" (Dr Kucho Dubstrumental) - Sub Bubble
09. Moussa Clarke & Terrafunka - "She Wants Him" (Eugene Noiz Remix) - CDR
10. Hot Chip - "I Feel Better" (Max Cooper Remix) - CDR
11. Plastiscines - "Barcelona" (Lifelike Remix) - Nylon
12. Robyn - "Hang With Me" (Starsmith Remix) - Konichiwa
13. Mark Ronson - "Bang Bang Bang" (Russ Chimes Remix) - Sony

"Acid Piano" with DJ 19 and Hiroko Inokuchi

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Out this week is another collaboration of mine, this time with DJ 19 from Tokyo, and featuring Japanese Shigin songstress Hiroko Inokuchi. It's called, slightly misleadingly, "Acid Piano" (but there is indeed acid and piano in DJ 19's version of the track) Remixes come from Canadians Les Boyz Electro, Egypt's Tamer Fouda and Belgium's Dimix, with support from all over the show, including Oliver Lang, Larry Tee, Benji Candelario and loads more... It's out now on Japanese label 19Box Records, via Beatport.

Buy the single on Beatport:
http://bit.ly/bu38jZ

Watch video on Youtube

“And The Beat Goes On” on Hed Kandi – “Disco Heaven” 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:00:00 +0000

My track with Barcelona/NYC dude John Ashby, a cover of the Whispers' classic "And The Beat Goes On" has made it onto the latest Hed Kandi compilation - w00t! It's also out as a single release on Dylan Rhymes and Dirty Funker's rather splendid Cubrik record label, with remixes from Funk L'Amour and Swanky Tunes.

Check out the Hed Kandi - Disco Heaven 2010 CD:
http://www.hedkandi.com/product/na/albums/cd/hed_kandi_disco_heaven_2010_2cd/

Buy the single on Beatport:
http://bit.ly/cZqhSr

Open Source & Free Audio Software & Plug-Ins for Mac OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:27:00 +0000

I use open-source software all the time outside of my studio work, but I still turn to trusty Logic Pro for sequencing/DAW. However it's perfectly possible to go Open Source or Free (as in Beer) in the studio too these days. Easier on the wallet, and no need to go down the dodgy crack route... Here's a list of some stuff I've tried out, some of which I use regularly in my own productions and remixes. It's mostly OS X, since that's what I use for production personally, but most of these have Linux or Windows versions too...

Audio Editing
Audacity
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Very decent open-source audio editor.

Switch
http://www.nch.com.au/switch/mp3.html
Batch converter for WAV/AIFs/mp3s. Essential little tool.

Sequencers/DAWs
Ardour
http://ardour.org/
A full featured Open Source DAW/Sequencer. You need to pay a minimum of 1$ (more if you're feeling flush) to get the full version which allows you to load and save Audio Unit settings.

Reaper
http://reaper.fm/
Not really Free nor Open Source, but I'm including this here because it's very reasonably priced (60 US$ at time of writing) and because it allows you to download a full uncrippled version for evaluation purposes. It's also a little less quirky than Ardour, especially if like me you're more used to Logic/Cubase rather than Pro Tools, and it is a more than worthy substitute for those more expensive offerings.

Plug-Ins
Smart Electronix
http://www.smartelectronix.com/
A loose collective of developers dabbling in music software. Some great off-the-wall plugins and more trad stuff too. Including mda, Bram, DestroyFX and others...

Togu Audio Line (TAL)
http://kunz.corrupt.ch
Loads of wicked free plug-ins. Brilliant sound, I use these a lot.

Audio Damage
http://www.audiodamage.com/downloads/
Commercial company that also do some free downloads, a vintage Compressor, Pulse Modulator and Fuzzbox

Izotope Vinyl
http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/vinyl/
Great novelty plug-in, make your tune sound like it's on an old worn-out '78rpm disc :-)

Alphakanal Automat
http://blog.alphakanal.de/
The awesome (and free) Automat soft synth.

CamelAudio CamelCrusher
http://www.camelaudio.com/camelcrusher.php
Nice distortion/compression/filter combo available for free download.

Studio Toolz (http://www.studiotoolz.net) is an online resource for free Mac Audio software and is worth checking out.

If you want to try out a full operating system geared to audio, you could try Ubuntu Studio, a distribution of Ubuntu aimed at multimedia creation: http://ubuntustudio.org/. It includes Ardour, Audacity and other Open Source tools. I can't vouch for it, since I haven't tried it, but it seems like it's worth a look.

Happy downloading :-)

New Mix Session - February 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:50:00 +0000

Here's my new DJ promo mix for February 2010.

Quirky ethnic tech, big room shakers and a rousing piano finale, featuring tracks and remixes from the like of Seamus Haji, Dumb Dan, Mike Monday, Phunk Investigation, Felix Baumgartner, Ellie Goulding, Riva Starr, Russ Chimes, Hard Rock Sofa, Swanky Tunes, Eelke Kleijn and yours truly....

Download the mp3 here:
[Link Expired]

Please share! :-)

A Mix of Remixes

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:09:00 +0000

I've been meaning to do this for a while, and I've at last got round to putting together a mix with some of my remixes, productions and collaborations from the last few years (this only includes stuff under my own name, so no older stuff like PF Project, Tzant, Musique, Philter etc, I'll leave that for another time)

Here's the link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?gdtvmonljgd

And here's the tracklist:
Rocinante - "Everybody Knows" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Jackalope (UK)
Puppa - "Sense Da Groove" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Helvetica (Switzerland)
Moussa Clarke & Terrafunka - "She Wants Him" - Armada (Netherlands)
Julianne - "And I Love To Say Goodbye" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - 19 Box (Japan)
Wally Lopez - "Dark Suite Piano" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Factoria (Spain)
Jody Wisternoff - "Starstrings" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Hed Kandi (UK)
Moussa Clarke & John Ashby - "Much Better" - Unsigned
Dave Lambert - "House In Play" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Progression (Belgium)
Burned - "Schneid" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Bikini (Germany)
David Vendetta - "Break For Love" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - DJ Center (France)
Dave Lambert - "Yeah" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Progression (Belgium)
Ricky Stone - "Shanghai Taxi" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - 891 Records (UK)
Simple Minds - "Different World" (Moussa Clarke Remix) - Absolute (Italy)

Facebook Fan Page

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:47:00 +0000

I've actually had a Facebook Fan Page for a while, but I'm finally starting to pay more attention to it.

My personal Facebook account is getting kind of unwieldy, nowhere near the 5000 limit yet, but it's already getting tricky to keep track of my close friends and contacts in amongst it all.

Now I'm not complaining, it's great that so many people want to connect - it's just that they are probably better served by joining my fan page, which is a little closer to the MySpace music page idea - I've got a few hundred outstanding friend requests, and I'm going to try to message each one individually...

In the meantime, I'm also posting the link here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moussa-Clarke/43553846330

It's not up to much yet, but it's got all my blog posts and Twitter updates, and I will be populating it with tunes and other media over the coming weeks. If you're on Facebook, feel free to join up!

PS: As a geeky aside, I'm really liking Ping.fm, which in conjunction with TwitterFeed and some uber-noodly fiddling about on Yahoo Pipes, allows me to update all my social sites' status via Twitter. Anything that saves me time navigating the ever-expanding social web landscape is just great in my book. Now if they could only just make it work with the Eastern European sites I'm on too :-)

Summer 2009 Mix Session

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Yep, it's that time again - My latest mix session is available for download here:
[Link Expired]

Enjoy!

Twitter DJ

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:10:00 +0000

I've made the jump and started using Twitter in earnest in the last few weeks. I wasn't sure about it at first, I thought it seemed like it might maybe be just a fad for tech bloggers, desperate politicians, and luvvie radio/tv celebrities keen to show their tech credentials. I suppose I failed to understand its potential usefulness as part of a general online presence - until I started using it, that is.

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 already!) 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 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

Videos from Freestyle in Almetyevsk and Neon in Kirov on Youtube

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Last month, I was back in Russia again, and had the pleasure of playing in Almetyevsk on the 14th February, and in Kirov on the 28th February. Both gigs and cities were interesting in their own right!

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

An Englishman in Russia Part 1 of 10

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:04:00 +0000

It's no secret that I've got a bit of an ongoing fascination with Russia and other countries in the CIS. I've been visiting regularly since 2001, and I've made many, many friends there. I love the energy of the people and the clubs there, and I find it culturally extremely interesting.

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/

Jody Wisternoff - "Starstrings" (Moussa Clarke Remix) out on Hed Kandi

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:57:00 +0000

My remix for Jody Wisternoff's "Starstrings" is seeing the light of day in the UK on Hed Kandi. Originally out on Dutch label Dirty Soul for a while, it's now getting a full-blown UK release, after plays from the likes of Judge Jules on BBC Radio 1 and numerous other DJs.

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

Interview on Armada Music Website for "She Wants Him"

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:16:00 +0000

I did an interview for Armada's website a while ago for the release of Moussa Clarke & Terrafunka - "She Wants Him".

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

SWMC 2009 in Sochi

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:58:00 +0000

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 :-D

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!

Winter Warmer Mix Session

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:47:00 +0000

Here's a link to my most recent mix set, featuring some of the tracks that I've been hammering over the last few months...enjoy!

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

Online Interviews...

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:33:00 +0000

There's a few interviews of mine online which I haven't linked to yet, so I'm rectifying that now.

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!

Looooong Gig Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Oh dear, I've left it ages again since the last blog post. Blame my hectic schedule - updating my blog was always in the back of mind, but, well... it kind of just stayed there. To make up for it, here's a rather lengthy round up of my gigs over the last three months.

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 Santigold. I missed Santigold'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 - 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!

Halloween in Paris and London

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:22:00 +0000

It's a double-header for me this Halloween!

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.

UCOH Radio Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:20:00 +0000

There's an interview with me up on the UCOH website. It was broadcast a while ago on CRMK in the UK. Check it out here!

Oven Ready Returns to Copenhagen

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Last weekend I was back in Copenhagen in Denmark for a fantastic party at Culture Box. It was a welcome one-off return for Oven Ready, which used to hold legendary events at Vega, promoted and driven by local DJ hero Tim Andresen.

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!

PromoDJ.Ru

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:38:00 +0000

Miss Chelyabinsk 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:16:00 +0000

This weekend I'm going back to Chelyabinsk in Russia for a date that's a little bit out of the ordinary for me! It's not a gig as such, I'm doing a personal appearance and providing the music for the local heat of the Miss Russia contest in the city of Chelyabinsk in the South Urals. The music won't be my usual clubby fare either, expect glamourous lounge, cool pop, indie dance and balearic beats mashed up together to provide the sonic backdrop for the night, as the contestants and models strut their stuff on the catwalk. I'm really looking forward to it, and also to catching up with some of my friends in Chel!

Beatport Chart October 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:15:00 +0000

I've just put together another chart for Beatport - here it is in no particular order:

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

Gatecrasher at Gaudi in Moscow

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:53:00 +0000

I've just got back from another weekend in Russia, where I got a last minute booking to play the closing set for Gatecrasher at Gaudi Arena in Moscow, as a replacement for Mauro Picotto, who couldn't make the event. A fun night, and particularly interesting to see Dimitry Almazov aka Bobina play. He has a huge local following, and possibly looks set to enter the DJ Magazine top 100 this year, the first Russian DJ to achieve this - watch this space! You can check out some videos from the party on Youtube.

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 :-)

Wally Lopez presents Dark Suite - "Dark Sweet Piano 2006"

noreply@blogger.com (Moussa Clarke) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:52:00 +0000

Another track I remixed a while ago is finally available from Beatport. Wally Lopez presents Dark Suite - "Dark Sweet Piano 2006". I actually completed this remix a couple of years ago for Wally's Factomania label, but it was previously only available on vinyl or via the Factomania website. It's now getting a full digital release - Plays from all the usual suspects :-)