Brighton after dark: 10th June 2014

WALKA interview
House that makes you feel something

Walka is a local born and bred house producer. After only a year or so of making music under the name of Walka, he’s just managed to land a track on a Ministry Of Sound compilation – released to launch Hed Kandi’s summer residency at Ibiza superclub, Es Paradis. We talked to Walka about Ibiza, Brighton and his blissed-out summer song Feel Something.

What sort of music do you make?
Garage influenced house, I guess. I’m a producer. I’ve never really been into the whole DJ thing which may sound a bit weird as most people wear both caps.

How did a Brighton boy end up on an Ibiza album?
Feel Something was the first track I could say I was proud of. I was just experimenting really with R’n’B chord progressions and chopping/reversing basslines. The sun was shining and I wanted to make a feelgood track. When I finished it I sent it out to loads of people and it went up on a few big YouTube channels and then I guess I just got lucky that it fell into the right hands.

The song features vocals by Tommie Cotton. How did that come about?
Basically the original version contained a sample from a famous R’n’B track which meant no label would touch it. I did a search and came across Tommie Cotton. I really liked what she was doing so I got in touch and had a nice chat. Within three days she rewrote the lyrics and recorded them.

Have you ever been to Es Paradis?
I spent three months in Ibiza in 2008 and lived just down the road from Es Paradis, so I’ve been there a few times. Ibiza is crazy. It’s still easily the best place in the world for electronic music as you’d never struggle on any day to see a great line-up. It’s only going to get bigger and better each year. And for some reason you don’t seem to get hangovers in Ibiza. It’s so strange…

How does Brighton compare?
Brighton has had its ups and downs with ‘scenes’, if you will, but I think at the moment yeah it’s looking good. There’s a similarity between Brighton and Ibiza and that is more in soul than in style. People in Brighton are so open minded and free spirited and are all about having fun and not judging one another. That mirrors the attitude hovering over Ibiza during the summer.

What’s on the horizon?
I’m just waiting for the masters back for my debut EP for Domino Effect Records. I’ve got a remix for Dave Foggs Take Me Home which is out this month and I’m also hopefully releasing an EP on Hed Kandi soon.

Check out Walka’s music at www.soundcloud.com/walkauk
Follow: @walkamusicuk

Brighton Noise
Chris Kuzmicki on the week’s best gigs

You live in Brighton. Where there are loads of gigs. Like these… On Tuesday at Sticky Mikes are the self-raising, slightly djent, slightly hardcore but far more monolithically METALCORE chaps known as Fathoms. They are pretty angry. Angry about the general lack of beer bongs, mosh and skateboarding on the curriculum. Yeah Michel Gove, u iz bare nutty blad, or whatever kids say these days Amazing fact: back around the turn of the millennium, The Polyphonic Spree were investigated by the FBI for being a cult. That’s right, Scientology is a legitimate religion, but a bunch of twee indie thirty-somethings can’t adorn themselves in robes and sing psychedelic ditties about what a lovely day it is. MI6 clearly have better things to be doing, as all 17 of them are cramming the stage at Concorde 2 on Wednesday.

Functioning ex-glam cyborg Rod Stewart is playing the Amex on Friday. By playing we mean on one of those Tupac hologram shows that will be sent in using dial up from California. The future is analogue Roddy!*
As per usual there is a legendary punk band playing Concorde this week. Friday in fact. It’s The Ruts DC – the suited and rebooted Ruts. Ladbrokes have good odds on them playing ‘Babylon’s Burning’. Expect The Caroline of Brunswick to be absolutely dead until about 11, when it will be quickly filed with punters singing said tune. Those internet heroes, and the only good part of the despised EDL marches, The English Disco Lovers, are also playing Concorde that night. Bit of a culture clash. You can’t mix punk and disco. What is this, 2003?

Remember krautrock or shoegaze? You weren’t there… well neither were Spacenoid. They probably weren’t there for post-rock either. But they are here now, and bafflingly gifted they are. They are manipulating space-time at Mrs Fitzherberts on Saturday. And it’s free. Free I tells ya!

Girls Names are called Cathal, Claire, Phil and Gib. Which is pretty misleading actually. If you can stand that level of downright lies, and have a thing for fifteenth generation new wave, they are playing The Prince Albert on Monday. They are supported by Fallow Deer, who were stunningly mental when Brighton Noise saw them earlier this year. Just all over the shop – in a good way.

*Rod is actually playing by the way.
At least he better be for 60 quid a ticket.
Follow: @BrightonNoise