A battle of two musical heavyweights!
Come hear the classics, forgotten gems, covers and remixes of Michael and Prince at the Notting Hill Arts Club on Friday, September 19th.
Yours truly will be playing at the NHAC with DJ Anonymous and Karl D next Friday. Expect all the hits as well as remixes and lesser-known tracks from Michael and Prince. Stop on by if you happen to be in London!
What time is it?… Gucci Time!
Feel the need for some house classics or a bit of new jack swing? Itching for hip-house or freestyle? All this – and more! – at Redrum on the 5th of September.
September's Gucci Time is headlined by one of Finland's finest deejays, the man behind the legendary Keys of Life record label, ODJ Harri. Support by Top Billin's own DJ Fiskars, yours truly and K2. You don't want to miss this one.
Sir Nenis joins Solid Gold!
Say hello to our new resident DJ.
Monsieur Nenis, one of the fellows who runs the already legendary Top Billin club, is Solid Gold's new resident DJ. From August onwards, he will team up with Pablo Steffa and two guest deejays to serve the crowd a heavy dose of disco. August's club night is headlined by the Music People duo, Ais-T and Flipperi. For more info, click here.
It's been a long time!
It's been a while since our last update; we've just been so busy planning this year's events. From now on, Solid Gold will be held on the first Friday of every second month. So if you're in the mood for some boogie, disco and soul, be sure that you don't miss our party on Friday!
Solid Gold turns two years old!
Time flies when you're doing the hustle.
This Friday we celebrate the two-year anniversary of Finland's finest disco club. For this, we're shipping over Estonia's own Alari Orav. Here's to many more Solid Golds to come!
Lose your cookie at the disco!
November's Solid Gold features Timmion's Didier as well as Frigo and Solid Gold veteran Smoodie. Expect a heavy dose of disco spiced up with classic soul tracks and rare boogie treats. In the meantime, check out the photos from our last party. Enjoy!
Off the tracks!
Kon & Amir return to Helsinki on September 7th to play at Solid Gold.))
The dynamic duo has just released a new compilation on BBE Records titled Off Track Volume One: The Bronx. To find out more, check out their Myspace page. And while waiting for the next Solid Gold, why don't you have a look at the pictures and playlists from our last event.
Doin' it cause it feels good!
July's Solid Gold was out of this world; five hundred of our closest friends came and danced until the bouncers threw us all out. Thanks for your support. Disco really is the thing today!August's Solid Gold is headlined by three first-rate deejays: veteran house/disco DJ Newhouse, soul connoisseur Soul-Sami and the host of Top Billin', Ricu Flair. With twelve days to go until the event, you better start shining those dancing shoes! And in the meantime, have a look at the photos of July's Solid Gold.
Young hearts run free!
Here we go again, folks. Tonight's the night for your monthly dose of disco.This time we bring you three of Helsinki's top deejays: Fiskars (Top Billin'), Markus-setä (Soul Sides) and Samis. Together, they're guaranteed to make you sweat. So, boys and girls, hotfoot it over to Redrum early. It's bound to be packed. See you there!
We're back!
It took a way too long, but we've finally got a new venue!Staring June 1st, Solid Gold will be held every first Friday of the month at Helsinki's newest night club, Redrum (www.redrum.fi). It's bigger and better than our previous venue with a sound system that'll blow your mind as well as your ears. See you there in just over three weeks!
Updates, updates!
The Gallery has just been updated with photos from the last three events.
Click here to see pictures from Jason Palma's gig, and here for the photos from Florian Keller's visit to Helsinki. Last but not least, go here for images from the 1 Year Anniversary party. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
The 1 Year Anniversary party was a blast. Pirkka, Leo and Sampo were on fire! Many thanks go out to the Solid Gold regulars for all the support; 2006 was a good year!Solid Gold is away on holiday this January, but from February onwards the club night resumes every second Friday of the month. So the next party takes place on February 9th, 2007.
Hope to see you all there!
Thank you all for a terrific year and here's to a great 2007!
Party-Keller's coming to town!
This month's Solid Gold is headlined by Munich's own Florian Keller.When it comes to deejaying, Florian is one versatile cat, so you can expect a mixed bag of quality soul, disco, boogie, funk and other sweet things. Click here for more on Herr Keller.
New mix online!
Check out the Top Choice! of the Month for a new mix by Sampo Axelsson.Disco To Get Drunk To #2 is a fantastic mix featuring tracks by Aaron Broomfield, R.B. Hudmon, Johnson Productions and High Frequency, to name a few. Get listening, people!
Sounds Updated!
At last! It took almost seven months for yours truly to finally update the Sounds page with twelve new tunes. Enjoy!Need some Total Experience, Pure Pleasure or Rare Gems in your life? Then click here.
Better late than never.
It took too long, I know, but the photos from Jason Stirland's gig are finally online.Click here to see the pictures. Thank you, Katja and Patricia, for the great photos!
The Kings of Diggin’
Kon & Amir come to Finland to play for you and me at Solid Gold on September 15th.
Expect all sorts of rare treats as well as a tasty selection of classics from this DJ duo out of Brooklyn. The guys will spin soul, disco, boogie and, of course, loads of hip hop. Be there.
Second time's the charm
On his second visit to Helsinki, Spinna played a mixed bag of hip hop, funk, soul and house goodies while rocking the s**t out of two Pioneers. Nice!
Visit the Gallery to see photos of the event. Thanks to Dj Smoodie for the great warm-up set!
It's our fault, not Jason's.
Witchsbrew's Jason Stirland is Solid Gold's special guest for August.
You have a record collection that is both widely renowned and much envied. Make us a short list of your current favorites.
Is it? I can't help seeing the things that are missing from the collection when I look at it. But Trace Of Smoke is still my all time favourite I guess, as well as a few fairly recent things like STUD Band, MadHatters, Vantage Point and Le Cop.
It's tricky because I like a lot of stuff from 60's Northern to 80's boogie. Pinning down faves is near impossible.
Give us a bit of a history of how you got into music and became a DJ.
Well, first off, I suppose that like a lot of people I don't really see myself as a DJ in the sense of doing it week in week out as a living. It's pretty much a case of collecting records, no doubt with DJing with some of them in mind, because it's nice to hear stuff I've not heard before. And it's also good to just hoard mountains of vinyl! Sometimes people ask me to play them in their clubs, which is nice.
I got into the music by going to the two decent club nights in the city that I studied at. Though at the start I just went because I liked the music, I began to buy records over time.
Your website witchsbrew.co.uk is not only music-oriented but also includes a few album reviews and some of your creative writing work. What prompted you to launch it?
I launched the site initially because I wanted to start a fanzine called The Groove Finder. I wanted to do the fanzine because I liked the music, and it was at the point when the new funk was just kicking in with labels such as Desco and Timmion.
It seemed like a good way of spreading the word, so to speak, and doing a website made sense. The fanzine never happened, apart from an incomplete prototype that I still have somewhere, but the site did.
In addition to your work as a DJ, you’re also a graphic designer. How do you manage to fit the two into your schedule? What do you do with the rest of your time?
I don't really DJ that much, so it's easy to fit the other stuff in. I did start a night up here, though a mixture of lack of time and the wrong venue ended it quite early in its lifetime. It's a bit of a house or a new rock bands city up here, so it was tricky making it work. Plus, I couldn't be arsed to hang around handing out flyers for a shite venue at two o'clock in the morning.
I've got a pretty purist view of entertainment, and I think that ideal might be dying out in general. I'm a cynic through and through, but I hope to be proven wrong one day.
The rest of my time is spent staring at a computer screen both for work and otherwise, watching my cats fight each other, paying attention to my girlfriend in various ways and making mixes, which is fun, especially as you can break all alleged rules and not have angry punters giving you the eye.
Played much outside of Newcastle Upon Tyne?
In general I've played outside of N.U.T more than in it, but over a long period of time. I was never one to beg for bookings, or push myself in that field. That’s mainly because I'm self-critical and was of the opinion that if you booked me, it was your fault, not mine!
But I have played in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and various things in London, at places such as Searching in Tokyo, Oslo Soul Experience and Deep Funk several times. All of those were an honour to do. And by the time I've been to Finland I would have also done a 60's soul set at my local Northern Soul night here in Geordieland.
There’s been a lot of excitement about your upcoming gig in Helsinki. What do you expect from your appearance at Solid Gold?
Ah, that's nice to know. From what I've seen on the site it looks like the Finns are as mad as biscuits so it should be fun. I'm looking forward to playing lots of nice records at them at very loud volume!
Interview by Patricia Ongpin.
Intergalactic Soul
Solid Gold together with Rose Garden present: DJ SPINNA (NYC).))
Thursday 17.08.2006 @ Club Rose Garden. Tickets 9 €. 22–04. K-20.
Green's Inferno
The crowd went wild at Brennan's first ever gig in Finland.I wasn't there, sadly, but a text message I received soon after Brennan started playing said it all: "Fuck! This is an inferno. B is the BEST EVER. Oh shit!" Check out the photos in the Gallery.
"There will be blood on the dancefloor when I'm finished."
Brennan Green (Modal/Balihu/Chinatown, NYC) headllines Solid Gold on July 21st.
You’ve long been known for your diverse tastes. What’s been inspiring you lately and what direction is your music taking?
Well I'm always in the kitchen either cleaning or cooking, so I've got the radio on tuned to this station that's the most repetitive monstrosity of 60's and 70's rock. But they do play amazing stuff, just the same stuff too much.
Lately I've been leaning towards that cokey/melony piss-to-the-wind vibe. Lots of guitars, which is cool 'cause that's my first instrument.
You’ve DJed in Japan and Australia as well as in Toronto and NYC. How do you feel about playing Northern Europe, specifically Helsinki.
So happy about it, to be honest. I can't thank you enough for helping me do this, really. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have no idea what to expect at all with Finland. The only idea I've gotten of Helsinki is from the movie Night On Earth, "Are you sure you know where you are? Yes. Helsinki.” I love it.
How’s it going with your work as a producer?
Great. I keep pushing myself too far, so it's never getting any easier. I guess I could repeat myself but where would that get me? I just read a review where they said that everything is different from the last that I do. I felt relieved.
Has that affected your DJing in any way?
Quite the opposite, I'm starting to feel more about what the audience is responding to, then taking that experience and putting it into the music.
Could you give us an introduction to your new label Chinatown?
Sure, it's great. Buy two copies.
Any releases we can look forward to?
All of them, no joke. This is the best stuff that is coming out this year, hands down.
Got any favorite tracks for the summertime?
Peter Green’s Slabo Day. Listen to it soon, because I'm gonna rip it off as soon as I get the chance. He's a fucking genius. It's all in the name. Anything by Max Brennan. Self-obsessed, no. Coincidence, yes.
Interview by Patricia Ongpin.
A Night to Remember!
Once again, Sampo Axelsson did what he does best. I'm kicking myself for not getting his amazing set on tape!
Click here to see the latest pictures from Solid Gold. Our best wishes go out to Eerika and Arttu! Thanks, Katja and Miika for the photos.
A Taste of Philly!
We're handing out copies of a new mix at the club tonight.))
In it are two discs full of Philadelphia's finest tracks mixed by tonight's special guest, DJ Anonymous. Go to the Playlists page for more info. This one's limited, folks, so be sure to get yours!
Soul and Sunshine!
A new summer club, VG+, is held every 3rd Wednesday of the month from June until August.
VG+ is a new summer club starting on June 21st. It happens at Korjaamo, with deejays playing on the outdoor terrace from 17 to 22:00 and inside the club from 22.00 to 02.00.
Wednesday, June 21st, 2006:
DJ ANONYMOUS (Lifesaver)
PABLO STEFFA (Solid Gold / Lifesaver)
BILLY LOTION (2Keys / Mo'Soul)
SMOODIE (The Box / Ihana)
@ Korjaamo, Töölönkatu 51B, 17-02, 0 € ... See you there!
Give The People What They Want!
Back by popular demand, Sampo Axelsson headlines Solid Gold on June 16th.In the meantime, click here to see pictures from Lil' Tony's gig at Solid Gold. Lil' was on fire, and so was the crowd. Thanks again for all the support! And thank you, Miika, for the great photos.
Two New Mixes!
Yes, it's true! Check the Top Choice! of the Month section of this page for two new mixes.The first one is a fantastic mix of soul, disco and boogie by Fiskars (Luxux). The second one is a pure mix of boogie by yours truly. Hope you like!
Summertime!
This month's Solid Gold will be headlined by Rose Garden's head honcho himself, Mr. Lil' Tony. Need we say more?Check the Playlist page for a pre-gig list by Lil'. The man's got tunes.
Lotion Explosion!
Another solid Solid Gold! Thank you Smoodie, thank you Billy Lotion.Check the Gallery for some pictures from the event. The Playlists page has also been updated. Get clicking!
Updates, updates!
It's still two weeks until the next Solid Gold, but yours truly has been busy nonetheless.Check the Playlist page for playlists from a recent gig at Get Your Love as well as the Soul-pesula radio show on Bassoradio.
Do the Hustle!
Daniel Wang played an amazing set at Rose Garden. We hope to get him back here soon!Check out the pictures of the event in the Gallery. Thank you, Katja and Miika, for the great photos!
Friday Night Fever!
Daniel Wang headlines Solid Gold on March 17th. Wang loves Helsinki, and we love Wang!This will be your third visit to Finland. Last time, you memorably kicked off your set with a Theremin solo over a Bill Evans jazz record. What can your Finnish audience except on this visit?
Five or six years ago, I had just discovered that I could offer this mini-live show with Theremin, so I was carrying my big Theremin everywhere with great excitement. For two and a half years now, I have been living in Berlin, and the Theremin is in my music studio.
Being in Europe and hearing too much hard techno has made me appreciate a lot of American soul music and even country music again, so I think the DJ set will be an eclectic mix of Euro-disco and soulful disco.
And if anybody wants, a mini-dance lesson doing "The Bus Stop" all in synchronicity, like in Saturday Night Fever !
What did you enjoy most about your previous visits? Tell us a story or two.
Although I realize the gay scene is very small, I have always said that I would enjoy living in Helsinki. I much prefer it to Stockholm, for example! I did have a quick fling in the bathroom of DTM…
My friends Pirkka and Sampo took me walking on the frozen ocean one winter. The first time in my life, walking on water. We even went swimming at the Uimahalli, a Russian style swim hall in Centrum, together. Ah yes, the saunas inside everyone’s apartments. That seems exotic to non-Finnish people.
To be honest, I really love the design objects, even the Marimekko fabrics. Maybe I sound like a tourist, but I genuinely enjoy these things.
You've spent a lot of time outside the US in recent years. What is your opinion on music and clubs in today’s New York as compared with that of the 1970's and 80's?
New York is really not what it used to be. It’s gone. Not just the craziness of disco in the '70s, even house music and AIDS activism and the drag queen festivals. Dee-lite, Lady Bunny.
What I experienced there in the late '80s and early '90s is long gone. Crazy people still live in New York of course, and I still feel the energy. I miss the incredible selection of food from around the world.
Unfortunately however, the people in New York resemble two television shows, "Sex and the City" and "Friends". But only if they are white and have lots of money.
What do you think are the reasons behind this? And where do you feel at home now?
Money has changed everything. What I mean is, the energy of NYC is no longer an organic part of downtown life. It’s more like a tourist attraction, another way for artists to earn some money. A bit like the hemp-marijuana tourism situation in Netherlands.
I don’t romanticize Berlin. This city still doesn’t have the massive amounts of money and world-class talents like in London or New York, a big fashion industry, a literary scene, all that. But those things can make life stressful. Berlin is a wonderful place to live, to do your own thing.
Lots of trees and lakes, open social atmosphere, not so much racial tension or fear of terrorism like in other cities. I am still often the only Chinese person in the subway train, but I feel at home here. Strange!
In Faith fanzine you said, "The stars are the people on the dance floor. That was the whole point of Disco in the first place."
How do you feel about the cults of superstar DJs, particularly of the late 1990's?
Obviously, I hate it. Especially because I think so much of it is undeserved. Even now, it seems the DJs who get star billing are the ones who go for the lowest common denominator. I mean, they play the loudest, hardest, least interesting tracks, try to get thousands of people on drugs to pump their fists in the air. And maybe some people actually believe they are superstars by doing this.
I’ve always believed that being a DJ is not really a talent. For most people now, it means they go to a shop, buy lots of uninteresting music made on laptops by non-musicians, and feel like they are doing something artistic. It’s actually just mindless consumerism. Like drug dealers and junkies, addicted to the beat.
Of course, I realize I am also a small star DJ, but I do my best to play some beautiful or unusual music, mixed with music that people can also recognize. Most of all, it should always be with humor and fun, not about ego. If this means taking off my clothes and falling down on the dance floor while trying to breakdance, that’s OK too…
What type of music gives you the most kicks when you play out?
Music is always a matter of taste, but to me, more and more, it’s about key changes: chord modulations, live drums and percussion. A lot of new italo or electro has a shiny texture, but it is basically machine music.
Most music from the 1970's still understood the basic rules of pop, blues and jazz. I mean one, four, five, basic blues progressions, and this gave it the tension and release feeling which is important.
What about home listening? What inspires you the most nowadays?
Always 1970's classic pop and disco like George Benson, Kool & the Gang and Bob James. But especially close to my heart are The Carpenters. Recently, lots of 1950's strange electronic music like Raymond Scott, who invented the first electronic music sequencers. Theremin orchestras, Wurlitzer Organ concerts, and almost kitschy arrangers like Frances Lai and Paul Mauriat. Lots of strings, violins.
Do you have any new releases coming up? Name us a few of your favorite current
tracks.
Let’s see. I am finishing a special remix for Putsch '79 now on Clone Records, from Holland. Putsch '79 are two super sweet Finnish boys! Maybe a Theremin cover version of Herb Alpert disco classic "Rise". And then, later in 2006, a new album on Environ...
Interview by Risto Nevanlinna and Patricia Ongpin.
It's Been A Long Time ...
... since the last update. Sorry about that, people.But now we're back with a batch of photos from the last event. Thanks again, Miika, for the nice pics! Also check out the latest Sounds for a selection of tracks by Jocelyn Brown, Melba Moore, Gwen Guthrie and others.
Helsinki Boogie Nights!
Headlining the next Solid Gold are Pirkka & Fiskars. To quote the latter: "it's gon be hott!"Be sure to check out Pirkka's excellent website, Mixoftheweek. Fiskars is one of the guys behind Kovalevy. He also has his own site with some nice mixes: Luxux. Enjoy!
Mao came, Mao conquered.
The Chairman rocked Rose Garden. A big, warm thank you goes out to all the people who just wouldn't stop dancing!Photos from Mao's gig can be found in the Gallery. The Links page has also been updated; be sure to check out the nice website of APT.
Sounds Galore!
The Sounds page has just been updated with twelve new tracks.Delegation's "Heartache No. 9", Tranzit's "Missing You", Solid Gold Revue's "She's So Good" and many more. To listen to these gems, click here.
Thank you, thank you!
The Grand Opening was a blast, thanks to all who attended!See photos from the opening in our Gallery. You'll also find playlists from both Sampo Axelsson and yours truly, Pablo Steffa, here.
Run For Cover!
On January 20th, Chairman Mao of APT NYC headlines Solid Gold. Here's the lowdown on Mr. Mao.
Please introduce yourself.
Greetings, Solid Gold peeps, this is Chairman Jefferson Mao representing ego trip NYC. Music journalism is my bread and butter gig, but I’ve also been known to do some television production, and every now and then some kind folks allow me to DJ!
Tell us about your residency at APT. How has it developed over the past five years?
I started out there with a partner, DJ Citizen Kane (with whom I collaborated on two mix CDs, "Selects 001" & "The Greatest Part"), doing every Saturday night. But after a couple of years we decided to go our separate ways, and for the past three years I’ve held down every other Saturday night on my own. Though my journalism career is based in hip hop, I’m more or less into soulful music across the board, and at APT I basically get to play whatever I like – hip hop, funk, disco classics & boogie, Latin & Brazilian, jazz dance, Afrobeat, Zulu breaks etc.
I feel particularly fortunate to be working at a venue where the music policy isn’t strictly determined by what’s hot on the radio (something that’s actually becoming increasingly rare in NYC). APT has a strong reputation for being a place to hear quality music, and I credit Alec DeRuggierro, the music director, for setting the tone since day one. Some guests who I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the turntables with on my nights are people like DJ Cash Money, 45 King, the “Humble Magnificent” Edan, Just Blaze, Peanut Butter Wolf, & Nottingham’s finest, the P Brothers from over in the UK.
Also once a month I devote one of my nights to a deep funk party called “Bumpshop.” On those nights I’ve pulled in three friends as additional residents – DJs Mr. Fine Wine, David Griffiths & Jared Boxx. We’ve had a tremendous year – some of the best times that I’ve ever had DJ-ing simply because the quality of the music is always so high and the enthusiasm of the crowd so infectious. Some of our guest selectors at “Bumpshop” have included Cut Chemist, DJ Muro, Ian Wright, Dante Carfagna, Egon, and Kenny Dope (who did our first official party in January of ’05 and who’ll be doing our one-year anniversary party the week before my gig in Helsinki).
You recently put out a new mix, Run For Cover. What's the story behind it?
The concept for "Run For Cover" – which is a collection of cover versions of classic soul tunes – was something I’d wanted to do for several years but I didn’t really have all the material I wanted to make it flow right. (Plus I tend to procrastinate a lot about stuff related to DJ-ing.) Then about two years ago a friend of mine, Oliver Wang a/k/a DJ ODub, sent me a cool mix of jazz, rock & soul cover versions he did called "Deep Covers" and it sort of lit a fire under my ass to actually consider finishing my own take on the idea.
Some friends of mine that are always at my APT gigs approached me about doing a mix for their label, Flatrock Records. So I figured this was a good opportunity to dust off the idea, finally get the damn thing done, and gently sort of ease my way back into the mix CD game. Based on all the positive feedback I’ve gotten off of "Run For Cover" I’ll probably try to start working on mixes more regularly now.
Outside of your work as a DJ, music journalist, author, and TV producer, what do you like to do in your spare time?
My spare time is often consumed by acquiring records, or thinking about acquiring records, or thinking about how I spend far too much time thinking about acquiring records and feeling guilty about it. But I also enjoy going on vacation with my wife to locales where the mosquitoes don’t wild out too much, following major league baseball (I’ve lived in New York for nineteen years but still ride or die for my hometown Boston Red Sox), and caring for stray cats that roam the streets of my adopted NYC neighborhood, Harlem.
What are your experiences playing Europe and what are you expecting this time around?
I’ve never DJ-ed in Europe before. I’ve had offers but the scheduling never worked out. So I’m very excited about the opportunity – especially at a party where the folks who are running it are so passionate and knowledgeable about the music.
What can the crowd look forward to at your gig with Solid Gold in Helsinki?
Back in the day here in the states there was an old TV show called "Solid Gold" where they’d do a countdown of the top 10 songs on the charts and show all these scantily clad dancers grinding all over the stage to shit like Kenny Rogers’ "Lady" or whatever song was big at the time. I’m not guaranteeing that I can inspire that caliber of magic for Helsinki. But I will play a bunch of soulful-ass records that I really like that I think everyone else can get with (at least after a couple of cocktails). Whoever shows up should just be prepared to have some fun. I know I’m gonna enjoy it, and I’m not planning on being the only one!
Interview by Patricia Ongpin.
