Mixed by: Placid
It’s time for some real heavy weight deepness when the legendary Placid takes over the guest mix spot. A true DJ’s DJ he spoils us with a mix crafted & curated with love – building tension track by track in a subtle way for the entire 90 minute length of the mix.
A seamless blend of very recent music and older tracks is a lesson in what happens when a DJ thoroughly knows his library, not just picking up a random selection of “good tracks” from the shelves. I know you lot will love this one.
I think my first encounter with your mixes was back in 2001 or 2002 on Discogs forums, but to my knowledge your DJ’ing career started around 1990. Can you tell us a little how you got started and motivated you back then?
I started going out at the end of 1988 but my first real house music experience was in 1989 at my first proper rave, Sunrise at Santa Pod near Milton Keynes. My brother were already buying records at that time and it was just a natural progression that I’d start buying them aswell. A friend of mine had a big house in Victoria and we’d go there and play records in the basement. I just learned to mix vicariously from being surrounded by it.
How did you get introduced to dance music?
My brother. He’s the one that got me the ticket for Sunrise. After that, I just immersed myself in it. I reckon from late 89 to 1992, I would be clubbing most weekends. Met loads of like minded people along the way too.
Was the dancing as important as the music?
The two went hand in hand. If it was a DJ I really liked and music I really liked, I’d just find a speaker and you wouldn’t see me for hours. No staring at the DJ, no chit chat or shuffling about , it was heads down business until the final record, and the one more. Sweating
Today, saying you are involved in deeper electronic music scene would be and understatement! You are a radio host, behind the “I love Acid” club night and label, playing out regular, managing the We’re going deep community and whatnot. Does the motivation to still come from the same original source or has it changed?
I’ve had to put the radio on hold for a bit for technical reasons.
I Love Acid is a club night dedicated to the sound of the 303. Although I like to think I’m an integral part of I Love Acid, it is actually Joshu Doherty (one half of Posthuman) who is behind it. I’m just very fortunate to be a resident DJ for it. He should really be rewarded for services to acid.
He approached me and asked if I wanted to be a resident at his night. It really was a no-brainier. It felt as if it was my spiritual home and still does to this day. The label came out of the club night and again, the brain child of Joshu. Currently on release no 20. 20 killer releases thus far.
I guess the motivation has changed a bit. I still love getting new music, playing records and hearing good music at clubs, but I guess my main goal is imparting knowledge of old stuff, new stuff and just tracks you may have forgotten about. I started the group as a little Facebook thing to drum up a bit of interest in my radio show. It’s got a bit bigger now but I try to keep the same ethos. Tell us a bit about why you like a track and post it. Nothing too taxing
Tell us a good story about a clubnight where you were dj’ing and suddenly…
I was playing at Black Rock which was an after party place in Brighton, on the Beachfront. It was the last Tonka at the Zap and we were playing records and we noticed it was starting to sound funny. What has happened was the sun has come out and was warping the record as it was playing on the decks. You can imagine this was a very DIY setup and we managed to curtail it by having the lids on, covered with newspaper to black out the sun. It actually did the job.
You like to DJ with vinyl only am I correct? What’s behind the love for the 12″?
My day job has always been working with computers, looking at screens, I used to fix Apple Macs and I’ve always said that I don’t want to listen to music by having to look on another screen. So I’ve always played records and DJ with them.
If I were to have more gigs, I would definitely look at going down the USB stick option. I’d still buy and play records, but you can’t always trust the setups these days. Most places I know, know that I’m vinyl only and will make sure it’s properly set up though. I am in no way anti-digital Djing, i just done have the resources or the inclination to go down that route.
You’re known to possess an admirable record collection. Have you ever regretted selling any records? If so, what were those?
I sold a few Drexciya ones, Clarence G, SID 005 and some coloured vinyl ones. Not sure if I regret it.
I paid a months mortgage off with the Clarence G. Whilst I understand their importance in todays music, especially electro, I don’t play them as much as other people will so I’m at peace with it.
Do you have any fond musical memories from your childhood?
My dad was a big music fan so that’s probably where my love of records came from. One time I remember going to Battersea Park, we used to live quite close and I remember hearing loud music. I was only 5 or 6 but it was my first concert and it was The Stranglers. Having seen footage now from there, we were too far away to see the stage.
What was the first record or a song that made a lasting impression on you?
Kraftwerk – The Model. I actually went to Our Price and bought the 7″. I can’t have been much more than 9 or 10. I never really like all that band and guitar stuff. Even at 10, I would veer towards electronic music.
What would you consider to be the five most personal records to you and why?
Jaquarius – Love is Happiness – We had this on a tape made by a DJ called Chocci from Tonka Soundsystem for years before finally getting an ID on it. I stumble on it, in a record shop in the basement of High Street Kensington market. It was a bit like when Charlie opened the bar of Wonka chocolate and a flash of gold appeared. I was going through the racks when i saw the sticker in the corner. I didn’t even listen to it, I just took it up to the counter and prayed they could find it and then just hand it over.. they did…
Armando – Don’t Take it – I was chatting to this guy from Chicago who said he had some access to some old Marcus Mixx tracks on reel to reels and planned to release some. Obviously I was very interested and after a while, he sent me a cd with the first 4 releases.
I flicked through the first, second and four release but for some reason i missed out no3. A few weeks later i found the cd again and listened to no3. It was one of those jaw dropping moments. I contacted Thomas right away and told him what this track had done to me. Took a few months to come out but got sent a promo and i honestly dont think its been more than a metre away from my deck ever since.
Virgo Four – Virgo LP – In the olden days :), the clubs used to close at 2am. Needless to say, the party didn’t stop then and we spent many hours back at friends house with decks playing music until the next day.
This was the records that meant the party was coming to a close. Music to smooth the passageway to sleep. An LP so that you didn’t have to keep getting up and changing it. Everyone I knew had a copy. Still get as much pleasure from listening now as i did back then.
Tin Man – Acid Acid LP – I had a gig in Rennes a few years ago along with a guy called Johannes Auvinen who I’d never heard of but recorded under the name of Tin Man.
I seem to remember it snowing a huge amount so were were sitting in an apartment when Johannes got out his laptop and asked if I wanted to have a listen to some his new stuff. The quality of the tracks were absolutely amazing. The one he played me went onto the Love Sex Acid ep and the copy of the Acid Acid LP he gave me has been played at probably 75% of my gigs.
Phuture – Acid Track – I used to chat to lots of people at the beginning of the naughties, to see whether i could snag some rare Chicago house. This was pre-Discogs but Ebay was at it’s height for music.
I finally got talking to House Sound of Chicago who was none other than Adonis. we got chatting and it transpired that artist got some coloured vinyl versions of Trax records. Having missed out on the ebay auction for the Acid Tracks on blue vinyl, I asked him if he had any other stuff. He did, he had a grey one. After a few weeks of badgering him, I finally got him to part with it. Surprisingly, for a Trax pressing it players excellently. This particular copy doesn’t leave the house though.
I myself think that in the last of 2 or 3 years there’s been kind of a deeper electronic music revival (and acid revival as well)! A lot of indie labels & artist are releasing super interesting creations without any compromises or commercial ambitions, just doing it for the love of music. Do you share this view and where do you think it comes from?
There is certainly loads of really great music being made and places like Bandcamp and We’re Going Deep give it a little platform to let people know about it. There’s lots of really good UK artists making absolutely amazing music.
Can you describe a perfect Placid DJ set in a club, what are the ingredients?
The people, all dancing, all smiling, no phones (ed. note: THIS!), no stupid requests. Nice loud monitors, nice big sound system thats been pretty tuned.
So the mix, can you tell us a little something about that?
As with nearly all of my mixes, it was a case of skimming my shelves and pulling out records i want to play. I like the spontaneity and seeing where it takes me. Theres always a few hairy moments with new records which keep stopping and starting and records running out but I can usually deal with most thing.
Playlist
01. – Bass Foundation – Magnet Records
02. – Shafty – Heartbeat
03. – Glowing Glisses – Dessouse
04. – Jeremy – Driftwood
05. – Darand Land – Deep4life
06. – Reagenz – Workshop
07. – RGL – Breaker Breaker
08. – Herbest Moon – Lifeline
09. – Levon Vincent – Underground Quality
10. – Mihail P – Distant Worlds
11. – Electrospy – Legwork
12. – Arne Weinberg – Headspace
13. – Sirko Muller/Tommy & Jonny/Haventepe – Verdant
14. – Polytunnel – Childsplay
15. – Patricia – Black Opal
16. – Nu Era – Omniverse
17. – Posthuman/Derek Carr – Weapons of Desire
18. – Utterance – Deep4life
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