Clubland July

Being a part of Workshop 10 gave Ron Deacon’s career trajectory a big leg up, bringing him to the attention of everyone who follows the highly sought after low-key house label. So upon seeing his first solo EP on Farside Records it was almost a matter of buying the disc unheard, such is the esteem that Lowtec’s label carries with it. Although I did cast a rudimentary ear towards the record before purchase it proved unnecessary; the Secret Garden EP, Deacon’s debut solo outing, offers rich, atmospheric house music laced with a subtle, honeyed vocal that hits deep on first listening.

Clubland June

Every year there are a run of artists who completely shake the foundations of music, mercilessly messing with your preconceptions of sound and style, extending a beckoning finger for you to join, follow or simply witness as they blast off into orbit. This year already there have been such albums released and surely with a further six months of 2010 there will be more who inspire, confuse, cause utter disbelief and admiration in equal doses. For my money I'm not sure if there will be any that will surpass the sheer brilliance and unrestrained ambition of Actress's Splazsh and Mount Kimbie's Crooks & Lovers.

An audience with the Modfather

From the angular, angry edge of The Jam to the sophisticated, Solero grooves of the Style Council, through to his remarkable solo career, Paul Weller proves why his is the voice that spans generations on new album Wake Up The Nation.

In the canon of rock there are few stars who have remained both active and vital for as long as Paul Weller. His career, stretched out over four decades counts numerous top ranking chart positions, whilst his music and indeed even his style has gone on to influence generations of younger bands. Far from resting on his laurels as many of his more successful contemporaries have done, his albums have remained at the forefront of the British consciousness, picking up a BRIT award just last year for Best Male Solo Artist. Following up on 22 Dreams, the album that helped Weller to the win, he returns with a raw, heavy shot to the jugular, Wake Up The Nation. Real Groove caught up with The Modfather in a swank London private member's club to talk about making it up as you go along, creating an enduring legacy and the importance of pop music.

Clubland May

2010 looks like it will be a big year for DFA with the hotly anticipated final album from LCD Soundsystem due out imminently, though the excitement of that release has been somewhat sullied by being leaked on the internet ahead of the release date, a fate that unfortunately also befell their last album, Sound of Silver.

Clubland April

Within a few short years Anton Zap has made himself an indispensable part of deep house and has displayed a growing talent for mining late night emotion from his productions. The Russian producer has consistently been hitting the mark of late as his recent emission for the Millions of Moments label shows, as does this joint for Jus-Ed's Underground Quality imprint.

One Life Stand

Pledges to fidelity and channelling the energy of Saturn's return; are Hot Chip all grown up or are they essentially the composite sum of R. Kelly in a Devo hat?

Dealing with musicians runs a close third to the old showbiz adage of never working with children or animals, which makes sense as they for the most part inhabitant the psychological space somewhere in between the two. Only one question into an interview with four members of Hot Chip in an antiquated old boozer in East London and Alexis Taylor is cutting my line of inquiry to the quick.

Clubland March

I read a review recently that took issue with a release not treading new ground, of sticking to familiar pathways within its genre. Like rock music with all of the best chords already used up, there will always be a certain amount of familiarity within electronic music. The 808 and 909 drum sounds are an instantly recognizable feature within the medium, while there are a plethora of production tricks and sounds that are aped, rehashed and re-molded by the bulk of producers. Red Rack'em may not be breaking new soil with his latest twelve for the coveted Untracked label, but through employing some of the classic deep house sounds and themes on the release he alsoch touches on that vital quality of creating a classic vibe.

Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint looks slightly uncomfortable. The young British star may be the veteran of no less than six Harry Potter movies with numbers seven and eight on their way, but right now he looks less than convincing as a stylist helps him into his tight leather vest which will feature on the very pages you are now leafing through. Maybe it's his inner wizard, perhaps just that there doesn't seem to be much rock 'n' roll in the flame headed actor, but between shots, the fashionable attire appears out of place on the young man known to millions as Ron Weasley.

Clubland Jan/Feb

The mnml explosion wasn't particularly kind to hard techno. As the cleaner, reduced ethos of the music proved more popular the harder geared sound fell out of favour for a while, prompting certain labels to go into hibernation or dissolve completely. The pendulum has certainly swung back the other way of late and one of the stalwart labels of hard techno, Blueprint re-emerged this year after a good five years of dormancy. Paul Mac, a vanguard of techno for nearly fifteen years didn't suffer the same fate as some of the record labels, but for the past couple of years his releases have almost exclusively been limited to digital format. His latest excursion under the new moniker of Valmay on Blueprint strikes another win for the label this year and finds Paul Mac in top form.

Ed Hogg: Actor Profile

Ed Hogg's humility is refreshing in an industry full of elephant sized egos that quite often see actors assume their craft is imbued with superhero like powers. The Sheffield born rising star makes no such lofty claims, as we chat over warm, soothing coffee that removes some of the chill from a frosty winter morning in central London.
“It's down to luck” he simply states of his career path to date. “I didn't go searching for the roles I've played. I think that the parts find you, not the other way around. I think if you're right for it you'll get it and you'll play the parts you're meant to play. You read about these big famous Hollywood actors picking and choosing their way to whatever they've done and it's just bollocks. They've been lucky just like everyone else, it's bollocks.”