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Features
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| Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! | | Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! | | DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022! |
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Sleepless 5th Birthday, 28 November - Interview with Andy Harkin
Reported by els
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Submitted 25-11-03 13:24
As Sleepless rapidly approaches it’s 5th birthday and anticipation levels run high at Sleepless HQ, I met with Andy Harkin to talk about the past five years, find out what the Sleepless crew have in store for us on the night and give you an insight into what really makes trance heads tick... (I reckon it’ll be much the same as the rest of us but read on... )
Els: Why did you start Sleepless in the first place?
Andy: We wanted to embrace the amazing sound of trance and deliver it at a friendly and intimate party. Our inspiration came from The Gallery, all three promoters (me, Tim Seddon and Ian Betts) were weekly visitors so we took the idea and ran with it.
Els: Tell me about Sleepless in the five years up to now.
Andy: The legendary parties at Grays started something very special for all of us. Sleepless parties are well known for outstanding production, awesome DJs and musical variety, always trance in one room but embracing other genres in others. For the past five years we’ve put on parties that represent the sound of intelligent trance music by booking some of the scene’s best DJs and producers from James Holden to Jon the Dentist, JFK, Space Brothers, Man with No Name and Mark Allen. A night of Sleepless trance means a journey of music, a taste of the past and an insight into the future.
Els: On HarderFaster your music policy is listed as euro trance, tech trance and psy trance, how can the average clubber define the difference between them?
Andy: You can’t. With so many genres of music crossing over it’s nice to build a set embracing elements from all aspects of trance. There’s no point pigeon-holing it, it’s only really there to help describe what kind of music is on offer, not define it. Sleepless prides itself on presenting trance in all it’s guises, from deep and progressive, through driving and psy into the Bettsy uplifting dance floor destruction.
Els: You don’t get to your 5th birthday without having a bit of something special, what is it that makes Sleepless different to any other trance night?
Andy: Since we started, our parties have maintained a real underground feel. It’s always an energetic party with no attitude or inhibitions thanks to a regular crowd of London’s finest clubbers. We made a conscious decision to hold events every couple of months so we can all enjoy the occasional madness without it becoming formulaic or boring. We add outstanding décor and professionally installed and controlled lights, lasers and bubbles to make the night a unique experience people want to repeat.
Els: So what can we expect on the night?
Andy: Our 5th birthday party will have two rooms of music. Trance in the dual-laser and bubble-fuelled room, complemented by pure breaks in the magical fluoro bar. The line-up for this party has been carefully considered and includes a live PA from Space Brothers, Ian Betts and Tony Rapacioli, and that’s just for starters! Breaks has been bubbling underground for several years but has exploded onto the dance scene and is attracting everyone from techno heads to hard dance lovers and trance kids alike. We thought it only right to bring it to the 5th birthday and give our party people a bit of variety. We want to cover trance from progressive to Bettsy ™, throwing you back in time whilst also nudging you into the future of music. The DJs will be littering their sets with Sleepless classics and pushing some unreleased and exclusive stuff your way. Oh, and as it’s our birthday we’ll also be giving away presents, toys and various other party stuff!
Els: Is it true that Sleepless has had a tune written for it?
Andy: Yes! MEO - Sleepless was composed the morning after the night before by one of our regulars and was subsequently caned by the likes of Ferry Corsten and Dave Pearce. Tony Rapacioli (famous for his Praha and Kansai productions) is in the studio working on a Sleepless tune now, which’ll be exclusively played at our birthday party.
Els: You’re a DJ and a promoter, which do you prefer and why?
Andy: He he... playing at a gig we can drink, relax and enjoy the party but promoting is hard work. However, there’s nothing like the rewarding feeling you get once the dust has settled and we realise what an awesome party just happened thanks to our efforts. DJ’ing at one of our own partys is probably the best. So both.
Els: Thanks for your time Andy and see you at the party on the 28th!
Sleepless’ 5th Birthday on 28 November at SEOne. For full details of this event click here
To win two free admissions to Sleepless 5th Birthday, five Sleepless CDs and a bottle of Champagne click here click here
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Other Features By els:
Twisted Ice @ SEOne, 7 February
Sleepless 5th Birthday - Review
Wildchild's 1st Birthday, 24 October 2003 - Review
Review – Frantic vs Goodgreef, 11 October 2003
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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