Five on Friday with Mr Yip

Not every DJ story starts in a club. Daniel Yip’s began above his father’s Chinese takeaway in Gloucester in 2001, on a pair of belt-drive turntables, and the digging has not stopped since.

The early influences were Danny Tenaglia, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold and Dave Clarke, which tells you something about where his head was at: house, trance and techno all pulling in slightly different directions at once. What settled it were the trips up to Birmingham, nights at Miss Moneypenny’s and the after-hours scene that carried on well past it. That was where underground electro house got its hooks in, and he brought the sound back to Gloucester and shaped it into something of his own.

For 18 years he was one of the people keeping that city’s underground scene running, through nights including Paranoid, HouseBound and Mr Yip’s Nightskool, alongside his brother Gareth and DJ partner Lil’ Joey. His other project, This Ol’ Thang, gave him somewhere to put the funk, soul, disco, jazz and breaks that never quite fitted the club nights. Building a scene in a town that rarely gets written about is a different kind of work to playing in one that already exists, and it tends to produce a more honest record collection.

The CV since then covers Ministry of Sound and line-ups with Pete Tong, Calvin Harris, Stanton Warriors, Colin Dale, Jaguar Skills, Plump DJs and Brandon Block, plus a booking history that brought Audiojack, Deepgroove and Timo Garcia through the door. More recently he went back to back with Grammy-nominated Little Boots.

These days his sound sits somewhere between deep house, disco, breaks and techno, which sounds about right for someone who has spent 25 years refusing to pick one.

Five on Friday

True Romance | David August | Cocoon Recordings

I discovered David August around 2012, stumbling across his sets on Soundcloud. The sound he was playing at the time was an amalgamation of deep disco and melodic house. I instantly became a huge fan.Born in Hamburg, Germany, he started his musical journey being classically trained from the age of five, later on he started producing records more focused on electronic dance music.

Although I love so many of his tracks, this one in particular hits me hard. The deep, low and slow, filtered electronic bass that introduces the track followed by the mysterious sounding strings locks you in and then the when the kick drops and the the filter is lifted, that’s when the journey really starts. Clean and crisp production as expected from this absolute master of his craft.

Love Is The Dance (Ivory Remix) | Âme, RY X, Ivory | Âme

Ame should need no introduction. The German house / techno duo consisting of Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann first started making tracks in 2001. This track, released this year caught my attention. The blend of that techno beat, hypnotic male vocals, dirty, distorted rolling bass and and uplifting keys are so well balanced and as a result give us a well rounded, underground, dirty, yet welcoming sound scape. 

Sass | Steve Lawler | Bedrock Records

So obviously, we all know who Steve Lawler is. I first encountered him at a night he ran called ‘midweek sessions’ at Code in Birmingham where Godskitchen resided for some time where he played a four hour set before ‘Satoshi Tommie’. His ability to build the atmosphere from an empty club was genius. Seeing him DJ in the bedrock tent at Global Gathering festival blew my mind. Approximately 20 years down the line i find this absolute gem. The progression, the use of space and sound and thought that has gone into this gives us nothing more than a thought provoking banger. Played at the right time and place,I feel would be perfect. 

High Pressure Days (Rory Phillips Remix) | Units | Relish

So this track, I first heard on a mix by ‘Ivan Smagghe’, titled ‘ A walk in the woods’. Another mix of mastery that changed my perspective on electronic music and the art of sculping a set. Greg Wilson, another master of his art form really lifts this track through his style and execution of remixing. This track really brings the colours and groove back into the room. 

Flash of Light (Solomun Mix) | Luca C | Diynamic Music

So for my last track of five on Friday, I can not express how much this one hits me in the feels. What a combo of producers. With Roisin Murphy on vocals and Solomun adding his magic to the remix. Deep, dreamy, and emotional, all given to us on an understated platter in a well structured and perfectly crafted manner. 

by Damo Red Telephone

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