// DROPOUT RESIDENTS //

Guy Hornsby // Dropout, Landed Productions, L-Music

Guy’s fifteen-year love affair with house music has taken him on a winding path through sub-genres, numerous fashion crimes and many of the country’s best-loved dancefloors. In the eighth year of his DJ career, he’s firmly settled on a blend of deep, groovy and techy house, always aimed at moving feet, not stroking chins. March 2008 signals the second release – Undertow, on Drag ‘n’ Drop – in a production career that’s slowly gaining momentum. It is, as they say, a marathon, not a sprint.

Stef-Jam / Dropout

Stef-Jam cut their teeth in Leeds influenced by the deep grooves at back to basics and the electronic sounds of technique. Taking their inspiration from this they formed a DJing duo that focuses on four-to-the-floor grooves that jack and rise with warm synth stabs, combine with four hands on the controls ensuring full aural pleasure.

// PREVIOUS GUESTS //

Chris Finke // Atomic Jam, Flux Recordings //

It's a rare occurrence when a DJ rises to international acclaim based on their pure skill behind the decks. Chris Finke, is a perfect example of someone so talented that his ability to destroy dance floors has propelled him to some of the most exciting clubs and events in the world. Raised in between England and Ibiza, his immersion in the rave scene in the 90s fanned the musical flames, and in the 2000s he formed Flux recordings, and became resident of London techno hangout Split.

Most famous as a resident at Birmingham's legendary "Atomic Jam" event, his reputation now spans the globe, and the last few years he’s been establishing himself as a producer in his own right, with releases on Flux and remixes on M_REC and Notorious North. Playing dates as far afield as Tokyo, Ghent, Madrid and Leeds, and a new radio show ‘The Drop’ with Rebekah, he’s one the UK’s finest techno talents.

Gus Brown // Mixtape //

Gus Brown's releases have received support from some of the world's greatest DJ?s and producers including Luke Slater, Dave Clarke, Paul Mac, Mark Broom, Technasia, Jon Rundell, Detroit Grand Pubahs, Trevor Rockcliffe, Rolando, Renato Cohen, and Chris Finke to name a few. Techno first found Gus Brown at nights in the UK?s North West, the biggest influence at that time being BuggedOut! at the legendary Nation in Liverpool. Having previously spun progressive house in the clubs, techno began to have an increasing presence in Gus?s DJ sets and radio shows.

Back down in London, Gus began to produce techno and in order to remain in complete control of output, set up Mixtape Records. Bringing together artists with like minded attitudes in the UK, US and Europe, Mixtape has gained a strong reputation for an output of quality, straight up techno. As well as the huge success of the label, The Mixtape hosted by Gus Brown and broadcast on SSR (tuff.ssradiouk.com) has received massive support from fans - stay tuned for special guests and exclusive tracks. Gus Brown was recently selected to mix the highly coveted EPM podcast for the global management, PR and distibution agency.

Polaroid

Promoters and resident DJs Joe Morris and Nick Smith met through a mutual love of disco and acid house and have channelled this passion into running Polaroid, which has gone onto to become one of the most respected nights in the UK. Not content with programming cutting edge line ups, the pair have secured gigs of their own at some of the most esteemed clubs across Europe such as Fuse in Brussels, Dublin’s Pod and the End in London, earning a reputation as some of the most respected new DJs and tastemakers in the north of England.

With gigs at Snowbombing and Croatia under their belts in 2009, 2010 will see their night’s 6th birthday at a venue that was nominated for the Best Small Club in DJ Mag’s Best of British in December. Coming fresh from their February bash with Ooft Music, they’ll be laying down everything from deep house and techno to disco re-edits and their own new music, bringing a bit of Northern nous to East London.
www.polaroidclub.co.uk.

Oliver R

Oliver's sound is the evolution of earlier years as a keen fan of electro house before being bitten by the minimal sound synonymous with the clubs of Berlin. The result is some chunky groovy techno drawing on the crowd-pleasing drive of electro and the seamless detail of today's top techno.

Oliver’s a long-term guest of Dropout, having played our first ever party back in March 2008 and again in July last summer. He returns in 2009 with a fresh bag of tunes, a summer of misspent weekends, and a proven ability to control the dancefloor at our party.

Craig Torrance // Moodmusic

With productions signed to both German (Moodmusic) and UK (Four:Twenty) labels, a life immersed in underground music, a job in the dance music industry and a real party ethic, Craig Torrance is gradually developing into one of the underground London scene’s freshest talents.

The flame-haired Scot, originally from Glasgow but now based in London, first caught the techno bug in the early nineties. His passion for the sound and scene grew further when he moved to south, subsequently working full-time as a music journalist and building contacts and outlets to receive cutting edge music from.

Experimenting in the studio with his colleague Gavin Herlihy and after a few heavy sessions, their track ‘So That’s What Happens’ was snapped up by Berlin-based techno imprint Moodmusic. With the success of the track came DJ gig requests and Craig soon found himself playing across the capital, bagging sets at Mulletover, and Public Life, where his Bristol residency Bump makes regular appearances.

Further dedication with studio partner and flatmate Philip Hochstrate in 2007 resulted in ‘Two Face’, signed to Moodmusic and appearing on Mood’s recent tenth anniversary mix CD. Their next production ‘Shrinkage’ was immediately snapped up by Bristol’s Four:Twenty, and their latest, ‘The Thoroughfare’ saw daylight on Murmur at the end of 2008. With a record bag boasting the finest deep house and techno, he’s earmarked for a cracking 2009.

Tom Real // Baroque

Tom Real has a pedigree in electronic music that’s set him on a path to success in the capital and beyond. With his roots in breaks, he’s branched out as the years have passed and now boasts a DJ schedule and production hit-list that echoes his non-stop work ethic and commitment to rave on to the dawn. A globe-trotting hedonist whose last twelve months have included sets at the amazing Universo Paralello in Brazil over new year, Burning Man, Glade and Glastonbury, he’s also part of the crew behind Cargo’s How’s My Raving? and gigs the length and breadth of the country.

Studio-wise the hard yards put in are bearing some serious results, with long-time cohort The Rogue Element now emerging into techy-electronic main-room territory with their Disco Of Doom project. Alongside this is solo work, remixing Dylan Rhymes and King Roc, and collaborations with Fake Hero and Black Russian. With a penchant for dancing with the sun on his back, summer’s the perfect time to catch one of London’s hardest working rave soldiers.

Josh Tweek (VeryVeryWrongIndeed)

When Tim Sheridan hears one of your tracks at Very Very Wrong Indeed and signs it on the spot, you know you're onto a good thing. Josh Tweek caught the bug at an early age on the illegal rave circuit in the warehouseses, fields and tunnels of his hometown Cambridge, and at university the draw of Leeds' incendiary club scene took hold. His first gig, at Sheridan's chaotic VVWI parties at the Velvet Underground, quickly led to a residency and dragged his production work into the spotlight.

As co-founder of the twisted clubnight Louche - at the revered Mint Club - he's helped bring a chaotic minimal firestorm crashing headlong into one of the city's best loved venues. Sharing the booth with heavyweights like Paco Osuna, Ryan Crosson and Paul Ritch, Josh's sets flex their muscles across a broad spectrum of techno with dizzying effects and samples from his Roland SP404 adding to the frenzy. His productions marry tripped-out synths with melodic textures and sharp percussive stabs, creating peaktime breakdowns with a refined, instinctive groove. Under the alias Soot he provides a more experimental, sparse sound, which is due to be revealed later this year.

Brinsley Kazak (Louche)

You could say Brinsley has been in fast forward mode when it comes to his rise to the sharper end of the music scene. As a wide eyed youngster he was always fascinated by the legendary tales of his dads trips to Ibiza and the infamous M25 waiting for the next illegal rave party to be "called in". This rolled on until he arrived in Leeds as a student and his passion had become an obsession. In October 2006 he disposed of his student loan by purchasing a pair of 1210's and his first piece of vinyl.

Applying to the fledgling Oxjam Music Festival, he found himself spinning tunes at his own party to a packed out Mint Club with one of his heroes, Amnesia resident and Plus 8 producer Paco Osuna. The party was a massive success and the legend of Louche was born. Since then, like Louche, he’s gone from strength to strength, continuing his residency alongside the likes of Paul Ritch, Monoblock and Tim Xavier, as well as various parties across the country such as Sankeys, Leeds’ infamous garden parties and one of his proudest moments where he was invited to play the midnight slot at Technique new years eve party to a full capacity.

Disassociates (Redlight)

Disassociates is something of an apt moniker for this East-end pair, as they don’t exactly slot glove like into any of The Smoke’s scenes. Gigging individually for several years, the two Dan’s – Kinasz and Riding - joined forces in 2005, since which point they’ve been involved in two of the city’s most forward thinking house and techno nights – ‘Get Out’ and their eponymous ‘Disassociate’.

Deck duties have been shared with a veritable melting pot of underground names, including: Jimpster, Damian Lazarus, Padded Cell, Kiki, Ellen Alien, Justus Kohnche, Two Armadillos and Alex Smoke – mirroring their broad sonic outlook, which during their sets sees them takeing in everything from low-slung, tracky disco; deep, driving tech-house; and warm, melodic techno; but with a diligent communal ear for programming – there’s always a definitive thread running throughout. 2009 sees the pair join the residential ranks of Terry Hart’s legendary afters, ‘Red Light’, as well seal a weekend slot, hosting a new party at one of the most exciting new venues in Shoreditch (it's all hush hush for now) - so it looks set to be a corking year for the burgeoning duo.

Nathan Kyle (Landed)

Locked in his studio for the last 8 years, Nathan has been perfecting his sound slowly but surely, having released tracks on Toolroom, 303Lovers, Minimal People, Saki Music, and L Music. Deciding it was time to set up his own label after meeting Jon Reynolds in 2006, they soon realised they had the same vision in life and two years down the line the label Landed Productions came to life, sitting perfectly alongside the club night, now resident at the mighty SeOne.

Not even a year old, Landed’s trademark sound, "a tough deep underground vibe” has already given it a buzz and the pair continue to represent the best of future underground music in the capital and beyond. Alongside their SeOne residency with Bambossa Records the Landed team also has residencies at Egg (London) and Café d'Anvers (Belgium).

Mark Sun (Turnmills)

Mark’s a long-time Londoner, uprooted from his native Australia and into the middle of the capital’s nightlife, where he’s had a flourishing DJing and production career. A former Future Hero at the legendary Gallery, he’s also had releases on Fakt, Shiva, Cubism and Playtime, with Dawnlight featuring on the hallowed airwaves of Radio 1. After a break recharging his batteries on a round the world trip, 2008 is in the midst of a triumphant return.