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Features
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Give me Energy, give me Kevin Energy!
Reported by kafalicious
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Submitted 18-03-03 18:49
Kevin Energy has been a fixture in the UK rave and club scene for some time now and has forged himself a formidable reputation both here as well as Canada and Australia. Kev took some time out of his hectic schedule to chat to HarderFaster and fill us in on exactly what he's been up to!
kaf: You are a household name amongst UK ravers appearing at most rave events. You have also forged yourself quite a reputation in most capital cities of Australia as well as in parts of Canada and the US. How does the hard dance scene compare globally, and, do you have a fave place you like to party?!
Kevin Energy: Well the overall ethics is the same everywhere you go but every country and town within has their own qualities and elements that make them different. The scene in Canada is good and seems to be growing slowly. Toronto used to have some huge raves but the rave element seems to have died down recently. In Montréal and Quebec people love really hard and dark trance. The scene is very busy and underground there. Winnipeg has a very close knitted and friendly rave scene that listen to all sorts of electronica. It’s good to go there and hear lots of different styles in one night ranging from funky trance to banging hardcore!
Australia seems to like anything you can throw at them. I love to party when I go there. Adelaide has always been one of my fav towns due to the Energy that you can feel off the crowd. Melbourne has their own unique shuffle and they love the German hard trance sound there. Sydney has a very strong but young rave scene that loves hardcore and at the same time has a great hard house / trance scene. Perth‘s scene is growing but there always seems to be a lot of politics between the people who listen to different styles and if their scene is to flourish the people and promoters there need to work together more. The thing I love about towns like Adelaide and Melbourne is that there is not a separate Hardcore scene and Hard house / trance scene like in the U.K. In most of Australia in fact it’s just like one big party scene where you can go out and hear all the above styles in one room. I’m a big fan of this concept and would love to see it in the U.K.
On the promotion side I always find overseas promoters to be local DJ’s or clubbers from that particular town. More often then not they are younger then me. These people put on parties for the love of the music and it always shines through.
kaf: Where in the world would you most like to play next?
KE: I really wanna explore some more of Europe. I have heard some great feedback from nights in Germany, Holland, France, even South Africa too. I love going to new places and gaining knowledge and inspiration from different people.
kaf: The Nu Energy collective (You, Sharkey and K Complex) debuted its live PA at Pendragon at the Fridge in late Jan. Those of us that made it were treated to quite an audio-visual experience! How much preparation went into it? When will we see it again? How long until you take it on the road?
KE: Well musically the tracks had already been made as we have a lot of unreleased material right now but we did do a couple of special mix’s of tracks just for the P.A. The first step was deciding who would be in charge of which contribution on each track to be able to get the live versions complete. EG – Who plays the backing FX – Who takes the main synth line. This took about 3 days of sorting and rehearsal. Musically we wanted to build the P.A up from our 150 bpm hard trance, right through to our 170 bpm rave orientated tracks.
The visual side of things had been worked on for a little longer. We had some special graphics made using our logos and trippy images that we could project onto the screens behind us. Then there was Vinny – our stage performer. We decided to theme him as a scary lunatic for Pendragon which involved a straight Jacket, green body paint, red Contact lenses and of course, Vinny’s performance. I know the crowds like the Pendragon crowd are not used to experiencing such a performance but we have worked like this in the rave scene for years. Our next PA is at the Fridge in Brixton for Logic on the 18th of April. We are all lookin’ forward to this one and we have some special tricks up our sleeves!
kaf: You’ve recently unleashed your revamped website www.nuenergy.co.uk which I have to say is looking great and offers a comprehensive selection of goodies for the hard dance enthusiast! After the few setbacks the Nu Energy crew had last year it looks as though you’ve certainly strapped yourself in for a big 2003! What are you guys hoping to achieve this year?
KE: Thanks  Well the main thing is to release as much top quality, fresh and innovating music as possible. This is easier said then done though. Sharkey is always training up new talent in the studio. He likes to work on 1 producer with potential at a time. This makes for good engineers in the future that can continue to pass knowledge onto other new potential artists. My job is to keep the artists represented through the site and other mediums. I have to deal with all the manufacturing and imaging for each release. Rory works in the office on the distribution side of things trying to find new outlets to push the music onto. Bex also works in the office dealing with our online store and helping me as much as possible with my tasks. K Complex is also hard at work in the studio 24-7 working with new artists and working on his own superb music. Then there’s all the other artists and labels that are in our Collective but work on there own projects to deliver to us like Marc Smith, Robbie Long, Daniel Ro, AMS, Stormtrooper, DJ S4 (Canada) Just Rich and Phosphor (Canada) and many more. Our Collective is growing all the time, featuring new talent and pushing musical boundaries.
kaf: Yet another accomplishment for the Collective, is the launch of your new label ‘Synthetix’. Tell me, what audience are releases from this label aimed at and how does it differ to your other two labels Dynamix and Nu Energy?
KE: Synthetix is pushing a Darker hard trance vibe. The label focuses on big bass’s large dirty synths and pulsating sounds. The pace is similar to Dynamix but the overall vibe is toned with sinister layers and a feel of aggression. DJ S4 from Canada is a main artist working solo and as a group with partners Scott and Roy AKA the Lou Cypher Project. They have been doing some AMAZING live shows throughout Canada and the USA which have been tearing events to pieces. There show at the WEMF last year earned them a great reputation. Check out www.loucypherproject.com Sharkey is also producing for the label as well as myself and a few others. I can assure you the tracks are LARGE!! Featured audio is on www.nuenergy.co.uk right now.
kaf: The hard dance scene is only getting harder; most clearly demonstrated by the resurgence of hardcore at many parties. From your experience, have you found this to be a global phenonemon?
KE: Good question. Something I’m not too sure about. It is certainly true for the Harddance scene in the U.K. Hardcore is certainly growing bigger on a global scale too but as for the Hard Dance scenes in other countries it’s hard to say. Only visiting places briefly from time to time makes it tricky to judge different trends but judging from record sales from our Harder labels overseas, I would say – defiantly yes.
kaf: The state of the hard dance scene in the UK seems to be quite a hot topic. How do you rate it right now?
KE: I’m really enjoying all the parties I’ve attended and so far this year has been firing. It depends if you are talking about the Hardcore scene or the Hard House / Trance scene though. In the U.K they are two separate scenes with their own qualities and followers. The Hardcore / Rave scene is really picking up. I think this is due to the amount of quality new music being released and the Variety in the music from different producers. You can now go to a hardcore night and hear breakbeat, freeform, hard hardcore and uplifting hardcore.
The Hard House / Trance scene is still thriving right now but I find that when I go out the music can get very samey. A lot of the tracks have the same elements and a lot of the DJ’s are playing the same tracks. It would be nice to go out and hear more Variety in the structure of the music at these nights. I think this is why myself and some of the other hardcore DJ’s are getting booked at such events. We can offer a slightly different vibe and colour to such parties.
kaf: Something I’ve really noticed here is the inclusion of a bit of turntablism into a set. You’ve always incorporated a little into yours - how does it feel when you pull off a nice bit of tight scratching in front of a huge crowd?!
KE: Well as long as it pulls off it’s always a superb feeling. Especially if the DJ set up is close to the front and people can have a close up look at exactly what you are doing. I remember playing for a smallish club night in Winnipeg in Canada. I started my first track and the dancefloor filled out which was nice. I started bring in my first mix with a bit of fast chopping and a few people stopped dancing to come and stare at the decks. Then a few more came, Then half the dancefloor had stopped dancing and were formed in a line in front of me just staring. The funny thing is they didn’t look too enthusiastic. They were just looking long and hard at the mixer and my hands. I decided to do a scratch seeing as they were all looking. I pulled it off perfectly and everybody started cheering and clapping. Then the rest of the crowd wondered what all the fuss was about and came to watch too. After 20 mins there were no people dancing what so ever! I had never felt so watched in my whole life. For the rest of the set 80% of the crowd were just staring and watching – clapping if you pulled of something flash but just staring if you weren’t doing anything interesting. I felt like I had played the wrong music or something but the promoter assured my after that it’s an honor if people want to watch rather then dance. I did feel really watched though and was conscious of my every move!
kaf: What top 5 tunes are you spinning at the mo’?
‘Plazma’ by Lost Soul
‘Crescendo’s of ecstasy’ by……me
‘Macroism’ by K Complex
‘Aint no stopping this’ by Just Rich and Phosphor.
I have been playing a track Sharkey and K Complex made for me for Synthetix but they haven’t named it as yet – still it rocks!! (That doesn’t help I know!!)
kaf: Do you prefer playing raves or clubs? Are we going to see you playing at the likes of a Chemistry, Logic, Frantic or Sundissential in the near future?
KE: I have no preference. Both have their own good qualities. I do enjoy playing with out an MC in a club though but then when you have a great MC like Sharkey performing for you it’s always wicked. Some MC’s can really spoil the music.
I have plenty of plans to cross over to many more clubs in the Hard Trance scene but no time to follow up leads and contact such promoters. The sets I have played at nights like Pendragon, Atomic Energy and Logic have all gone down a storm. Our music really kick’s the crowd in the nuts and creates a great vibe. I guess I need some kind of manager that can follow up such promoters for me.
kaf: Current residencies; where can people catch you play?
KE:
Residencies:
Pendragon – London. (I have the most pride for this residency. I used to go to Pendragon’s for a good night out when I was young)
Mantra – London.
Atomic Energy – London
Slamming Vinyl – Nationwide.
Recreation – Southcoast
Elation – London
United Dance – London
Hardcore Heaven – Milton Keynes.
I also guest for the following nights:
North, Vibealite, Logic, Kaoss, Delerium, Subterrenea, Dixtruction, Uprising, Revolution, Club U4ria and anymore that I can’t think of right now.
kaf: Who out there is currently inspiring you right now?
KE: As producers: Sharkey – this man is always at the forefront of a new direction. Lost Soul – Brand new artist to our collection who has some great fresh ideas. Phil Reynolds / Steve Blake – I have always admired there music.
kaf: How do you get your creative juices flowing?!
KE: Squeeze them, then pour them.!.
I seem to find inspiration from so many things. I don’t have enough time to get in the studio as much as I would like to so when I do I can’t record in the sounds fast enough. I have so many ideas in my head right now for new and different tracks. I really need to get in the studio again soon.
kaf: To MC or not MC – what’s your stance?!
KE: To MC well or not at all. MC’s need to remember that they are there to complement the music and not over power it. They are there to get crowd reaction and lift a vibe. Not ruin it. There are good MC’s out there that really do add something to a night but there are too many over enthusiastic people that get too drunk and say far too much. I really do have a grudge against such people.
kaf: What makes a dj ‘great’?
KE: Errrm. Well I would say the Skill of what you can do with 2 12”s is a good start. The ability to read a crowd and know where to take a set. Enthusiasm for what you do. This shows and rubs off onto other people, Stamina – this is an essential for any DJ!
kaf: Career highlights?
KE: My first set – being 15 years old and playing to 1000 people in the original Labyrinth building in Hackney. My first record being track of the year in 1995 (Hardcore fever) It was great going to Helter Skelter on NYE and hearing Dougal playing it in the build up to midnight! Wow what a rush Playing at Enchanted Forest last year in Adelaide Australia was a big highlight to me.
kaf: Any lows?
KE: Yeah sure – losing money for records that had been sold through Infectious. This nearly crippled the whole Collective and it took so much hard work and effort to get back on top. (We are still recovering from that mess now)
Being late for a gig and stuck in traffic Jams is the WORST feeling in the world. Losing our office with no notice just after the Infectious loss was terrible! We had to re-locate the company in my house while we were looking for new premises. There are 4 members of staff, heaps of equipment and thousands of records to take into account here and I have to say thanks to my old housemates for putting up with that!
kaf: Any final words for the HarderFaster readers?
KE: Yeah – keep an open mind with music, stay happy, keep rockin, eat your greens, never eat yellow snow and always make sure you’re happy with your wash a HUGE thanks to anybody that has supported the Collective over the years in any way and a MASSIVE big up to all of the artists that keep the Collective at the forefront of Hard Dance today 
With thanks to Kevin Energy for his time 
The Nu Energy Collective are proud to launch their new layout at www.nuenergy.co.uk. It’s packed with tons of new features including a full discography of all their labels, artist interviews and on line-mixes, plus a general update on graphics and user friendly designs based on the public's feedback and suggestions. Check it out!
Kevin Energy plays at Logic at The Fridge on Friday 18th April - details coming soon!
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Other Features By kafalicious:
Interview with Ingo
Lab4: always keeping it real
Hardhouse Anthems 4 Launch - Interview with Rob Tissera
Searching for the perfect wave with Martin McHale
Interview with Danny Gilligan
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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