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2010.04.03 [SD] CHARLIE MAY aka SPOOKY presented by In House SD at ONYX
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| In House SD |
FOR MORE INFO WWW.INHOUSESD.COM
"An intimate setting to enjoy high quality artists, up close and personal!"
Every Saturday @ Onyx
04/3
CHARLIE MAY
Opening set at the GROTTO by:
TRAVIS STILLWELL
ONYX Lounge by:
Zachary Zamarripa (Smuth, Baroque, Alter Ego, ARMADA)
&
Gabriel Lukosz (Smuth, Lange Recordings, Alter Ego, Anjunabeats)
For VIP Bottle Service:
[email protected]
HOSTED COCKTAILS FROM 9PM UNTIL 10PM
Capacity limited to 300 guests!
We will be limiting capacity - PRESALES RECOMMENDED
Tickets: http://www.wantickets.com/EventDetail.aspx?e_id=102219
Guest list: Go to InhouseSD.com and RSVP for hosted cocktails before 10pm at Onyx & Discount entry of $10 before 10pm & $15 before 11pm!
CHARLIE MAY
aka: Spooky / Sasha and May
There are few more inspired artists working in electronic music today than Charlie May. As the architect behind many of the stylistic blueprint shifts in dance since the early heady days of acid house, May knows a thing or two about what makes a dance floor tick.
One half of revered progressive house pioneers Spooky; the engineer and producer of many of Sasha’s biggest singles and albums; highly respected solo producer in his own right, May has remained at the vivacious beating heart of house since the early ’90s, taking the pulse of the clubbing populace and ensuring it remains in rude health.
From his first steps into the world of dance music as a starry-eyed, inspired raver attending London’s legendary Brain club nights in Soho, to his current position as the go-to guy for breathtaking, sonically adventurous technoid future dance, this producer and DJ has consistently blazed a trail of innovation which has underpinned many of the most important developments in electronic music.
It was in 1992 that Charlie May and production partner Duncan Forbes made their maiden voyage as Spooky. After meeting and becoming firm friends, galvanized by their love of the exploding electronic dance scene and classic Krautrock alike, they cut their first record for progressive imprint Guerilla Records, ‘Don’t Panic’. It was to prove highly influential in the nascent, futuristic new movement in dance music - progressive house - that took the highly addictive, propulsive rhythms of acid, and married them to the aquatic depths of Detroit techno and amniotic washes of ambient music, to create a fresh new hybrid.
“From the start we were always really influenced by American house music,” remembers May. “Nervous Records, Strictly Rhythm, that kind of sound - mixing that with techno.”
Along with fellow forward thinkers Leftfield, Spooky were heralded as figureheads of progressive house, and suddenly, with all eyes on them, were compelled to deliver an album that would deliver the same giddy thrills as ‘Don’t Panic’. But few could have predicted that May and Forbes would create such a sky-strafing and ambitious long-player as ‘Gargantuan’. Sampling the likes of Kosmiche pioneers Can, dipping into dub and all the while addressing both the dancing feet and head alike, ‘Gargantuan’ was one of the first dance albums of its kind, and would go on to spawn a million sound-alikes. Primarily because it was different: drawing on classic electronic elements and dragging them into the future, it stood apart from the crowd.
“I’ve always been into pure electronic music, stuff like Moroder and Vangelis, so I think a bit of that went in there,” May recalls.
The resonances of that album still ring euphoniously through much of dance music today; but back then, in the early ’90s, it was a clarion call, demanding budding producers to step their game up. And behind the crystal cut, slick sounds of it all was the production wizardry of Charlie May, whose tweaking and pitch-perfect ear was set to have a huge influence, both in front of and behind the scenes.
It was the beginning of a career that would see Spooky touring the world. Not for them the same tired club PAs. Inspired by their times at Brain, a club which would encourage electronic artists to perform live, they created a show where the electronics, keyboards, and samplers could be manipulated in a live context, bringing an energy, tension and excitement to the stage that had never been seen before. High profile festival shows at Denmark’s Roskilde, Glastonbury, Womad, Phoenix and many more followed, and their fanbase grew exponentially.
Their most critically acclaimed album – 1995’s ‘Found Sound’ followed – in the wake of three EPs (‘Clank’, ‘Stereo’ and 'Shunt') which mangled the musical blueprint, throwing hip hop beats, tech bass and sampladelic elements into the heady Spooky sonic signature. The duo became in high demand as remixers, reworking everyone from Sven Vath and William Orbit to Ultramarine and Lush.
Post the success of the more experimental ‘Found Sound’, the act took a hiatus, and Charlie May went in search of a new project. Linking up with one of the world’s most acclaimed and technically skilled DJs, Sasha, he was drafted in to help him realise his sonic vision. Their initial production collaboration was on a soundtrack to hit Playstation game Wipeout 3, and from there, Sasha tasked May with engineering a new version of unreleased Spooky track ‘Xpander’, which was included on the EP of the same name, along with another May/Sasha production, ‘Belfunk’. When producers needed that extra touch of production sheen, Charlie was the man, and when Sasha collaborated with former Underworld founder Darren Emerson on ‘Scorchio’, it was May co-writing and pushing the buttons.
The acclaimed ‘Airdrawndagger’ album (2002), which became Sasha’s production calling card, again featured May behind the boards (alongside Junkie XL), as well as the following Global Underground mix album ‘Involver’. But eager to step out of the shadows, May had all this time been honing his solo chops, and with the release of the fresh ‘Bug EP’ on Junior Boys Own London, he began to garner props as a producer in his own right.
“I’m inclined to make my stuff a bit harder than the Spooky stuff. My solo sound is more techno, whereas with Spooky we’ve always blended the techno and house together.”
Charlie’s solo incarnation was to bear further fruit in 2006, with the Charlie May vs. Sasha cut ‘Seal Clubbing’, a smash record for Renaissance.
Returning to the Spooky fold for a third album, ‘Open’, released in 2007, May and Forbes were embraced by the public and critics alike for fashioning a record of emotive dancefloor potency, which came accompanied with an additional ambient disc. After touring the US to promote the record, they found themselves in New York City, where they settled to collaborate with Sasha on a succession of new productions for the DJ’s fresh label Emfire – (‘Coma’, ‘Park It In The Shade’, ‘Mongoose’ and ‘Who Killed Sparky’). Of the back of these well-received cuts, the duo were brought in to assist with the production of ‘Involv2er’, the second volume in his DJ mix/remixes series.
In 2009, Spooky have been hard at work on several new projects. A new double mix CD for Platipus due this June, ‘Tales 4’, will see them investigate both uptempo dancefloor material and electronica, with additional production elements. It will also contain two brand new Spooky tracks, exclusive to the compilation. In addition, there will be a succession of special one-off singles. But this will also be the year that Charlie May’s solo career really kicks into gear. Having etched several new club tracks, exhibiting a heavier techno influence, Charlie’s more inspired than ever, and has plenty of new plans.
“This year has been great, I’ve just put out a record on my own new label Mayhem, the track is “Apache” and we are really happy with the feedback. We commissioned some artwork from a young artist called Jamie Crowley and he’s done an amazing job on giving the label an identity. I’ve also done some new remixes, including something for Glenn Morrison, with Robert Babicz (aka Rob Acid) and also for Bedrock. There’s so much cool techno stuff about at the moment which is really inspiring me. I wish I had more time to sift through it all!”
He’s currently cutting several new tracks, both with Spooky and solo, and intends to focus entirely on honing his sound, which he’ll further shape with Mayhem, which will act as an outlet for solo material. And for those hanging on for an artist album, it seems you might not be waiting too much longer…
“I’m focusing on singles for a bit but I’d also like to do an album - its something I really want to do. That would be a big achievement. It’s all guns blazing really – watch this space.”
CHARLIE MAY
Discography
::Mix CD's::
Charlie May & Junkie XL - Technodubfest - MOS
::Singles::
Charlie May – Bug EP - Junior London
Charlie May Vs Sasha - Seal Clubbing - Renaissance
Charlie May - Demons Among Us / Not My Cat - La Tour
Charlie May – Apache – Mayhem
Sasha & Charlie May – Midnight Eclipse EP - Renaissance
::Remixes::
Ballroom - Bionic (Charlie May Mix) - Mother Records
Slab - Chaswick Control (Charlie May Remix) - Hydrogen Dukebox
Mandalay - Deep Love - (Charlie May Remix) - V2 Records
Orbital - Illuminate - (Charlie May Mix) - FFRR
Elizabeth Fraser - Underwater - Charlie May Remixes
Josh Gabriel - Wave 3 - (Charlie May Tsunami Remix)- Nebula
Bedrock - Emerald - (Charlie May Quartzite Cluster Mix - Bedrock
Ashland - Clear - (Charlie May Mixes) - Audio Therapy
Pole Folder & CP Dust (Charlie Mayhem Cold Shoulder Dub) - Bedrock
Bedrock Emerald (Charlie Mayhem Seismic Dub) - Bedrock
Glenn Morrison - Orange Glow - Charlie May Remixes - Audio Therapy
The Quantum Mechanics - Outside The Inside -Charlie May Remix - Unfokused
As Spooky
::Mix CD's::
Spooky - Live At Auto Cinema, Monterrey, Mexico - DJ Mag
::Singles::
Spooky - Don't Panic - Guerilla
Spooky - Land Of Oz - Guerilla
Spooky - Little Bullet - Guerilla
Billie Ray Martin & Spooky - Persuasion - Guerilla
Spooky - Schmoo - Guerilla
Spooky - Clank EP - Generic
Spooky - Stereo EP - Generic
Spooky - Bamboo - Generic
Spooky - Fingerbobs – Generic
Spooky - Shunt EP - Generic
Spooky - Belong -Deviant Records
Spooky - Andromeda
Spooky - Strange Addiction- spooky.uk.com
Spooky - No Return - spooky.uk.com
Spooky - New Light - spooky.uk.com
Spooky - Open- spooky.uk.com
Spooky - Shelter - spooky.uk.com
Spooky - Candy - spooky.uk.com
Spooky - Internebula - Renaissance
Takes from the Unexpected 4 - Mixed by Spooky - Platipus
::Album::
Spooky - Gargantuan- Guerilla
Spooky – Found Sound – Generic
Spooky – Open – Spooky.uk.com
Remixes with Spooky
The Fair Sex - Eat Me (Spooky Remixes) - Roughmix
The Oval Five Project- Gandharva -(Spooky Remixes) - Gee Zone
Ultramarine - Lights In My Brain (Spooky Remix) - Rough Trade
Whoosh - Sometimes - (Spooky Remix) - Brainiak Records
The Diceman- The Tempest - (Spooky Remix) - Vivatonal
The Oval Five - Wiggle One Time For The Judge (Spooky Deep Dub) -Frame Records
Sven V‰th - An Accident In Paradise (William Orbit & Spooky Remix) - Eye Q
Chapterhouse - Are The Beautiful (Spooky's Ugly As Sin Mix) - Arista
The Chameleon Project - Feel (Spooky Remix) - Guerilla
Guy J – Popcorn Machine (Spooky Remix)
Waterlillies - Tempted (Spooky Mixes)- Sire Records
William Orbit - Water From A Vine Leaf - (Spooky Remixes) - Guerilla
James Zabiela – Tylium (Spooky Remix) – Bedrock
Pole Folder – The Way (Spooky Remix) – La Tour
Infusion – So Soon (Spooky Remix) – Omnis Recordings
With Sasha
Xpander / Belfunk - Deconstruction
Scorchio - Deconstruction
Airdrawndagger - Sony BMG
Wavy Gravy - Sony BMG
Involver - Global Underground
Invol2ver - Global Underground
Coma - emFire
Park in the shade - emFire
Who Killed Sparky -emFire
Mongoose - emFire
3 Little Piggys – emFire
Kasabian – Underdog (Sasha Remix) - Columbia
Pole Folder – Hate Myself (Sasha Remix) La Tour
Charlie May / Sasha - The Midnight EP - emFire |
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| bigperf |
you dated it april 1, is that an april fools?
should be 4/3/10.
I will be there for my monthlong Birthday celebration all over Cali. |
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| serch54 |
| I'll be here for sure! looking forward to Charlie! |
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| DJ IDeaL |
month celebration?
itinerary? |
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| Zombie0729 |
| will def be at this :) |
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| bigperf |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ IDeaL
month celebration?
itinerary? |
here it is. SD-LA-SF-SD...and that just thru April 25th lol
should be showing up in my sig, but it doesnt show up on this post(settings?)
Still looking for SD events April 1,2, 23, 24th...
April 3 Charlie May Onyx San Diego
April 10 Gui Boratto Avalon Hollywood
April 16 Dj Dan Ruby Skye San Francisco
April 17 Robbie Rivera 1015 Folsom San Francisco
April 22 Sander Van Doorn Fluxx San Diego
April 25 Sander Kleinenberg Hard Rock San Diego |
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| DJ IDeaL |
| this man KILLED it at WMC... get ready for this weekend! |
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| gax |
| nice dj ideal. ill be going to this maybe +1. see u guys there! |
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| bigperf |
| hosted bar 9 - 10? :gsmile: |
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| In House SD |
| hosted cocktails from 9-10 if youre on the list =) |
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