At the age of 17, a big hip-hop fan and record collector at the time, Mike began spinning at a local pub for a generous earning of 20 Euro per set. Joining forces with alike DJ friends Mike and his crew begun to organize parties paling hip-hop and funk, he shared with EDM Sauce a while back. These parties eventually evolved into electronic music events called a “Boemklatsch parties (referring to the kick and the snare)” and fought for the attention of music promoters who opened doors to local music festivals. The success of these parties gave root to the BMKLTSCH RCRDS (pronounced “Boom clutch”) music label which was meant to house the works of his DJ friends, and as Mago grew into an artist himself BMKLTSCH blossomed into a home for his own work.

Mike Mago’s newest single “Recognise,” dropped on May 29th, is an upbeat dance track powerful bass, glitchy keys, and melodic vocals by Tim Powell. In a way, this song is a teaser for an upcoming mini-album which will dive into a genre exploration “influenced by the artists” Mago listens to in his “spare” time.

Kateryna Topol: You’ve been throwing parties since you were 17, are you self-taught when it comes to DJing and music production?

Mike Mago: Self-taught indeed. I started throwing parties because I thought I knew how to do it, as I went to a lot myself. I started DJing with vinyl learning it from friends and truly putting in loads of hours at night playing in my room. When it comes to producing I checked loads of YouTube clips and always connected with others about their music and mine.

KT: Are you still working with any of those DJs you rolled with back in the day of the Boemklatsch parties?

MM: One of the guys from Mightyfools (now under the name Keizer Jelle) just stopped working at my label BMKLTSCH RCRDS. Mightyfools were one of the first acts I signed on that label. RogerSeventytwo, with whom I have a different project called Mike Rogers, is also from that era. Besides that, not so many, to be honest.

KT: That’s still pretty cool that you stay in touch with some of them! Your new track “Recognise” is fire, just kind of transported me to a club during ADE, a much-needed feeling at this time. What’s the story behind this track?

MM: I made it with Tim Powell during a session. It was a great session as it was our first together and we really clicked.

KT: I read on OneEDM that you have been working on new music in quarantine, can you talk a little more about that?

MM: I have a new single coming soon with Jodie Abacus which is also signed to Astralwerks. I have some cool things coming up, but it’s still a secret muahahaha

KT: Haha, ok fair. How has it been producing from home, or is that your normal?

MM: I have been going to my studio every day since I have that studio for myself. So I didn’t need to stay at home luckily. My studio is a true man cave, not clean, a mess, and not enough light.

KT: A kind of creative environment I suppose. You just performed virtually at Blockeley Music Festival, how is it to play to a virtual audience? (upsides, downsides etc).

MM: It’s a cool thing to do as it’s new, but it truly does not beat the real thing. I think everyone jumped on the digital shows, but are slowly losing interest.

KT: Yes, there definitely have been a lot of those. Looking back at past live shows like ADE, you tend to hustle during that festival quite a bit – what has your experience been like over the years?

MM: It has been great! ADE is in my DNA as I used to go there from the start of my career. First as an audience member, then as very annoying noob of a promoter, and now as a DJ and label owner.

KT: Awesome! Well, hopefully we get to see there again soon!

Photo credit: Maeve Stam

The post Quick chat with Dutch DJ/Producer Mike Mago appeared first on Quip Magazine.

After a five-year absence, Dan Snaith, also known as Caribou, returns with Suddenly, his fifth studio album. Caribou gave fans a sneak peek into his new work in late 2019 with the release of “Home,” a story about a woman’s homecoming over a Gloria Barnes’ sample, and “You and I,” a song describing the feelings involved with the loss of a loved one. A month into 2020, Caribou released “Never Come Back,” an infectiously upbeat track about moving on. These genre-bending songs were a tease into what would become the wild ride that fans will experience with Suddenly, an album that knows no boundaries in terms of mixing sounds from different genres into one.

The album starts off with “Sister,” which features a dialogue between siblings and a message of forgiveness. “You and I” and “Sunny’s Time” continues the ebb and flow of the album, giving fans everything from indie rock to trap which culminated into “New Jade,” a chaotically colorful track with looping R&B/pop vocals that somehow brought seemingly different sounds into one beautiful melody. “Home” and “Lime” continue the upbeat portion of the album, sending fans in many different sonic twists and turns. “Lime” in particular provides shock value as what starts off as a funk electronic song is immediately interrupted with loud breakdowns that incorporates elements synth-pop which is blended beautifully into the overall vibe of the song, only to be transformed into what seems like another song on the much calmer end that ends abruptly. “Never Come Back,” one of the most upbeat songs on the album, is followed by “Filtered Grand Piano” which serves as the perfect interlude into the rest of the album which depicts the aftermath of the chaos described in “Lime.”

The final songs of the album describe a period of reflection, regret, and loss, all while sonically sending fans into many different directions and depths. “Like I Love You” is upbeat yet somber, providing an added element to a song about reflection and missing someone from the past. “Magpie” starts off soft and sounds like it’s being played over an intercom which gives it a very retro feel, only to be transformed into a loud tune that commands attention. The end of “Magpie” was the perfect segway into “Ravi,” a fast number with elements of house music that starts off nice and easy and transforms into a loud melody that celebrates the memory of a love.

Suddenly is an adventure and it is Caribou’s most personal album yet. It is experimentation at it’s finest. Suddenly sonically displays the unexpected twist and turns of life with an assortment of different genres and sounds meshed into one beautiful package.

The post The wild ride that is “Suddenly,” Caribou’s most personal album yet appeared first on Quip Magazine.

The thing about indie shows is you never know for sure what you’ve gotten yourself into – you’re either introduced to new, fantastic, mind-blowing music or you’re moderately traumatised. Everyone has their own take on what went down.

Music is much like love; there is someone for everyone and I have no doubt some good discoveries were made in the sexy light of General Chaos’ projections but let’s just say that 11-member bands who look like they may have recently robbed a thrift shop were not within our range of expectations.

The highlights of the weekend were Montreal duo Blue Hawaii and Canada’s hip hop treasure Cadence Weapon.

Blue Hawaii’s production handiworks combined with soft yet piercing voice came together in incredibly haunting, delicate tracks. The audience seemed surprised by the performance but by the third song everyone was well into the grove. Put aside the sadness and melancholy and Blue Hawaii actually sounds like peace, true to the name, that comes toward you  in waves.

Cadence Weapon, on the other hand, is a whole different experience. Being recently nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Artist of the Year at the upcoming Indies, the artist known offstage as Rollie Pemberton seemed quite content with his achievements which made the performance pretty smooth. In the traditional fashion Pemberton raps to a live DJ which adds a good dimension to the show, especially when your DJ is a somewhat of a clown.

Is this something we’d do again? Sure. The music scene is just that, it’s a scene. Everyone deserves a chance to play and to be seen. That being said not everyone who decided to form a band should carry on doing it.

The post Highlights from Wavelength Music Festival 2013 appeared first on Quip Magazine.