Hello everyone and welcome to another monthly instalment of my ‘Open House’. The start of the year for me has been a productive one with another vinyl release on the legendary ‘3am Recordings’ with a track entitled ‘I Told Ya’. This release will be my 9th on the label and I’ll be nestled amongst some greats including Rob Small, Lee Guthrie and one from label boss Al Bradley, the release is scheduled for March. I also have an EP forthcoming this month on Legit Trip’s ‘Svoboda’ Label, this release comes with a remix from the man himself plus one from Lee Onel.
The pre-order via Beatport for the EP can be found here – https://www.beatport.com/release/tempo/3292015
Well enough about me, this month I had a chat with my good friend and all round good egg ‘Moodymanc’. I have known Danny for years and he is truly one the industry’s good guys. It’s a pleasure to welcome him to this month’s article.
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Mix of the Week - Gregor Tresher
'Hysteria Dichotic': A fusion of Techno, Contemporary Dance, Modular Synthesis & film by David CastellaniDanny Ward aka Moodymanc aka Dubble D has been the forefront of this thing we call house since the mid nighties! He has gone onto to produce countless and timeless records in his own right since that time under the name ‘Dubble D’, having produced two albums and a string of 12”s on the legendary 2020Vision and others under that name, and co-founding and producing the group 2020 Soundsystem with Ralph Lawson and Silver City.
In the 90s and early noughties he collaborated and appeared on records with such luminaries as Fila Brazilia, The Pharcyde, Rae & Christian, Nightmares on Wax, Awesome 3 and a host of others but it was the cheeky moniker and imprint ‘Moodymanc’, given to him by 2020 Vision cohorts Lawson and Andy Whittaker that brought him firmly into the spotlight of House Music lovers worldwide.
Hits including such classics as “Joy” and “Black Paint” have followed on luminary labels such as Tsuba, Exploited, and Local Talk amongst others have established Danny as one of the most in- demand remixers on the planet and his own high design, vinyl led label. “Well Cut Records” is creating quite a splash.
His recent “Balaphonic” project on the label has been championed by Detroit Swindle, Jimpster and Osunlade amongst other heavy hitters and has topped of the afro and Latin charts and his ‘Well Cut Jazz Workshop’ project which showcases collaborations with some of the leading lights of the contemporary Jazz world has caused a lot of excitement. He is an integral part of “Powerdance”, a transatlantic collective of forward thinking Disco producers spearheaded by Luke Solomon but including members of LCD soundsystem, Greenskeepers, Metro Area and more, whose debut album was voted electronic album of the year 2017 by the Guardian, and is collaborating with Horsemeat Disco on their current releases.
Danny’s background as a jazz musician of international repute and lifelong collector and connoisseur of records from across the musical spectrum gives him an edge as a DJ which few others have.
Get to Know……’Moodymanc’
DJ name: Dubble D/Moodymanc
Age: 50 (but I smell like I’m at least 70!)
How long have you been DJing and producing for: I played my first Halloween party at my mum and dads when I was around 12. I started producing in my own right in the mid 90s after working on a lot of other peoples’ records as a drummer/percussionist
Where are you based: Manchester
Do you currently have any residencies in your home city: I play regularly at The Pen and Pencil, a bar in the Northern Quarter which is a great chance to play right across the board and was about to start a residency at Gorilla pre lockdown that was going to be called ‘Deep and Dusty’. Let’s hope that it still gets the chance to happen!
Music Style: Across the board: jazz, funk, soul, Latin, Brazilian, hip-hop, breaks, techno but perhaps known most for HOUSE
Favourite producer: Aaaaaaargh??? Today, this very minute, Charles Webster. Always so good, but his last album, phenomenal.
Favourite label: So, so many… haha… but really, YOURS OF COURSE! Midnight Social, every time :) x
Inspirations: My friends, my record collection, my collection of drums and percussion instruments, food, art, films.
Interesting fact about you that others may not know: In my other life I’m a ski instructor! I instruct and coach alpine and adaptive skiing (I work with people with disabilities and additional needs) all year round here in Manchester at Chill Factore. Over the last few years, after so many in music full time, it’s been a saviour to my mental and physical health!
If you weren’t DJing and producing what you would be doing right now: I’d be playing drums and skiing!
What’s next for 2021: More lockdown producing and remixing hopefully, I’m really enjoying it. I have an album of (mainly) hip hop instrumental beats coming out on my own Well Cut Records in April under my ‘Vault’ moniker which has been a long time coming so I’m really excited about it. I’m also working to finish an album for my Balaphonic project which is almost there. It’s very earthy and deep with lots of live and organic instrumentation. I have various more ‘housey’ things to come on Well Cut too and am doing some collaborations, at the moment playing drums on records for some friends. I’ll keep you posted!
https://www.facebook.com/moody.manc
https://www.facebook.com/wellcutrecords
Music of the month
Sam Haskin – ‘Vague Conspiracy’
This latest ‘Music of the month’ comes courtesy of San Fran’s Sam Haskin. Sam’s love of house music was born in the Warehouses of the 90′s US Midwest rave scene, where he established himself as a DJ and promoter early on. With over 20 years of influences to draw from, Sam’s style has morphed into a unique amalgamation of funk, deep, and tech-infused house, with a distinctly modern touch.
Sam has certainly been busy over the last few years with releases on WE_R House, EWax, Talman, TBX and with releases also on my Midnight Social Recordings. There’s plenty more lined up for 2021 which with the sounds of it is going to be another good one for this US artist.
This latest offering from Sam comes on UK label ‘One Of 4’ which is a lovely follow on from their 1st release from ‘Shacklo’.
The EP is bursting with goodness as you would expect from Sam with the release coming with 4 quality house cuts. The whole EP is worthy of any dance floor with every track proving to be a winner but it has to be ‘Vague Conspiracy’ that leads the charge. The release is out soon, keep an eye out.
Thanks for stopping by again, i’ll see you all next month.
Carlo x
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