Robert Dietz

Loco Dice London Weekender – A Night To Remember

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Lock N Load show why they organise events…

Words: Mike Taylor

Loco Dice is a man with a huge reputation and if history tells us anything it’s that he knows how to throw one hell of a party. Renowned for his extensive sets and unrivalled energy the March bank holiday weekend saw his Desolat family take over London’s venue, Electric Brixton. After the original Sunday rapidly sold out an additional date was quickly added giving birth to Saturdays line-up; Hector, Martin Buttrich, Robert Dietz, Guti and Loco Dice.

Walking through Brixton you could instantly feel the energy in the air, a wonderful variety of cultures and nationalities were descending upon Electric Brixton for a night of sensational underground house music. We were not disappointed.

Now firstly, I must admit Electric Brixton has to be taken with a pinch of salt, it is not an exclusive clubbing venue so the acoustics are never going to be fantastic for electronic music. Also if you are a fan of warehouse raves, this probably isn’t going to do it for you. I on the other hand quite like it, it’s nice to have diverse clubbing spaces. What it does offer is two tiers much like a theatre, adding a unique feel to the clubbing experience and its raised stage provides great opportunity for some fascinating production. Everything about the night was accomplished with precision and the execution was flawless. Both the entry and cloakroom queues were fast and controlled and bar service was great considering it was a sell out event. Even the venues narrow corridors which can quickly get overcrowded were quick to be resolved by the door staff. Over the years I have seen various showcases held here, including both Cocoon and Cadenza but this has been hands down my favourite.

Hector opened the night and perfectly demonstrated how a warm up set should be performed. It seems to be something of a lost art nowadays with huge line-ups of artists playing whatever whenever, thankfully the Desolat crew know how do their job and they do it bloody well. He supplied us with a fine selection of downtempo tech-house and raw, gutsy deep house, never picking up the pace too fast. Subtle fades, long breaks and extended mixes helped ease the ever growing crowd into his hypnotic march. It was a march that was only destined for one place; the relentless stomp of Loco Dice by 5am.

When it was time for Martin Buttrich to take centre stage the tempo had quickened and the crowd had thickened but never to the point of being overcrowded. Playing live for 45 minutes he cycled through some of his greatest productions with tracks like his “Around The Bay Remix” provoking amazing reaction. He presented us with a sound much more industrial to Hectors and a handful of techno tracks had even made an appearance before Robert Dietz took over.

Having seen Dietz at this exact venue on Boxing Day 2011 and being a big fan of the Cadenza boys, I knew the onslaught we were in for, doing what he knows best he most certainly did not disappoint. The atmosphere had reached a new high and Dietz now had everybody eating out of his hands, a thrashing of upbeat, balearic influenced tech-house hit the crowd. Looking calm, collected and focused he mixed with finesse whilst the huge drops and unrelenting bass-lines kept the crowd moving. Dietz never plays nice and the music never lets up, there is little resting time when he is performing.

Guti was the last hurdle before the Desolat main man was to take over and like Martin Buttrich he was playing live. I am a huge fan of Guti and in my eyes he can do very little wrong. His productions show real essence of musicality, something that is often lost in electronic music and his live performances are full of energy. As is usual with Guti he pioneered a real Latin infused sound and showcased much of his own music, including tracks “The Other Side Of Hustler”, which I am still awaiting for release since hearing last June. Watching him bound around his array of hardware behind the decks is always inspiring to see and he was responsible for what was the magical moment of the night. The lights were up, everybody had their phones recording and a warm melody partnered with some serene chords captured everybody’s heart, like an excitable child I quickly went to facebook to ask him the track name, he tells me its a new track off the album!

This meant it was now time for the infamous Loco Dice, the dance floor had started to ever so slightly thin out, leaving a dense crowd of Loco Veterans. Straight from the get go he played a much harder sound. Short breakdowns, fast mixing and heavy use of delay, reverb and echo, this is the Loco Dice trademark. It is obvious once you go and see Dice play why he is revered as one of the greatest DJ’s on the planet. Accompanied by some extravagant visuals, the production of his set came into its own, mind bending shapes and images spiralled around the backdrop of Dice, leaving on-line an outline of him jolting behind the decks to be seen. Armed with his Desolat vinyls he played much of the 5 Years Desolat album with tracks like Shlomi Aber’s “Mancha” but also some new favourites like Pirupa’s “Bam” (out on 08 April) and Stop Files “Cichito”.

Desolat have once again shown they can throw an exquisite party, my only criticism is that I would love to see more of Guti and Buttirch Live, unfortunately there are just not enough hours in a night. Electric Brixton also did a sublime job, it was an event that could of easily been oversold and run risk of being ruined, thankfully this didn’t happen. Everything about the people we met, the music we heard and the service provided was top notch. To both Electric Brixton and Desolat… I look forward to hopefully seeing you again soon.

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Loco Dice Weekend with Guti [Live], Robert Dietz, Hector… [Win Tickets]

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Extended Loco Dice visit…

Lock N Load are renowned for the events that they organise, from John Digweed’s Bedrock nights to Clapham’s South West Four. This time they present London with an impressive night that has received such an overwhealming response that it’s not to be missed, as they team up with Loco Dice for the Loco Dice Weekend. Taking place across the Easter weekend, Loco Dice brings to London his distinctive, self-composed sound, for two of the most anticipated club shows of 2013.

After selling out his scheduled Easter Sunday date in just one week, Loco Dice has responded to the phenomenal demand by adding a second night at Brixton’s beautifully converted 1930′s cinema, Electric. The Desolat co-founder will demonstrate why he remains one of electronic music’s most influential and inspiring figures, as he is joined by a hand-picked selection of the world’s most prolific DJ talent.

On Easter Saturday 30 March Loco Dice will be joined in the main room by Guti [Live], Robert Dietz and Hector, whilst Random hosts room 2. By fusing curious, ironic and creative ideas with electronic music, Guti has quickly become one of the most interesting producers to emerge from Latin America in recent years. Following his partnership with the Desolat family, Guti’s live show has leapt from strength to strength, forcing its way into the world’s leading clubs. His Electric debut will be a showcase of pure musical brilliance and a unique opportunity to witness the deep musical understanding between himself and his Desolat cohorts.

Having released outstanding productions for the likes of Desolat, Cadenza, Cecille, Deep Vibes and Running Back, Robert Dietz is recognised as one of the most in-demand DJs in deep house and techno. Dietz’s sound captures the celebratory spirit of old-fashioned club music, joining it with sleek, 21st century vibes. His addition to the Loco Dice weekender will be met with huge acclaim, as he showcases his versatility and deep knowledge of the finest underground sounds.

From London to Berlin to Ibiza, Hector has rapidly established himself as one of the most exciting young producers on the planet, effortlessly experimenting with the founding spirit of house. Fully focused on the dance floor’s needs and desires, his sets are full of energy, precision and soul. With standout performances at Fabric, Watergate, Cirque Paradis and Desolat showcases across the planet, Hector completes this line-up of raw underground talent.

WIN TICKETS
Guerilla Sounds has one pair of tickets to give away to a lucky winner and their friend to experience this rare sellout event. To be in with a chance of winning these tickets, simply click here to go to the relevant artwork on our facebook page and leave a comment with the answer to the following question: -
- Who did Loco Dice start the Desolat label with?
All comments / answers must be made by 15:00 (GMT) on Friday 15 March, when the winner will be announced.

LOCO DICE WEEKENDER
Electric Brixton, London
30.03.2013
23:00 – 08:00

Tickets |

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Saved at Ministry of Sound

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Ministry take-over…

As their final label outing on home soil before heading off to Miami 2012, Saved Records will be taking over Ministry of Sound on 10 March. The south-east London club where label boss Nic Fanciulli first encountered the capital’s addictive house scene back in the 90s, will welcome an array of Saved artists that ensured the best year yet for the imprint in 2011.

Continue reading “Saved at Ministry of Sound” »

Love Family Park 2011

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Love Family Park hails one of the finest festival atmospheres…

On paper, Love Family Park boasted a respectable line-up with Sven Väth (7hr Set), Ricardo Villalobos & Luciano (b2b), Loco Dice, Matthias Tanzmann, Marco Carola, Mathias Kaden & Daniel Stefanik (b2b), Karotte, Robert Dietz, Kollektiv Turmstrasse (Live), Dominik Eulberg, Sascha Dive, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts (Live), Zip, tINI and Frivolous (Live). But the amazing thing about this festival isn’t just the line-up of DJs, its also all the other components that go into creating a festival. There are three basic categories involved in creating any decent festival, which are obviously made up of separate components; Organisation, Atmosphere, Music…

Organisation was impeccable!
Starting with the queuing for entry, which was pretty jam packed, surprisingly passed in reasonable time considering they were body checking everyone and all bags were being searched. Upon entry, it was surprising to see a kind of cloak room hut for larger items such as Video Cameras, Mini Stereos and all kinds of other bits and pieces.
Germany seems to have a great recycling and litter reducing technique, where all empty plastic and glass bottles that are handed over to a deposit point, warrant a small cash back. It’s only a few cents, but it’s a system that works for more than one reason. It’s also a system that is used at the Love Family Park festival in conjunction with a token system for all purchases within the park. The are plenty of kiosks or huts around where plastic tokens can be purchased and used for buying drink or food. Upon your first purchase, you are charged a one token deposit for the plastic cup and given a voucher, which means you have to return the plastic cup when you buy another drink or return the plastic cup and the voucher in order to get your token back. And if you seem to have vouchers left over by the end of the day, you can always refund for your cash. You should see how remarkably clean the festival is compared to most!
Another great piece of organisation, was the bars themselves, with plenty scattered around the park and a massive rectangular bar situated under the motorway. Getting yourself a drink requires no more than a couple of minutes.

Atmosphere was perfect!
The train from Frankfurt out to Hanau was full of Love Family Park people, all drinking, enjoying, nothing too rowdy. And the same goes for the 5min walk from the station down to the Park, with everyone drink, mainly beer or Jaegermeister, some people dressed in some really creative ways, and many people mingling with others. Approaching the Park itself, there are plenty of stands selling beer of the street with music to get people in the mood. And this atmosphere is amplified once you actually enter the Love Family Park, with people who really love the music and are there just to enjoy it and mingle with other people. definitely reinforcing the name of the name of the festival.

Music was on form to battle that of most festivals!
First of all, the sound system was quite impressive, especially for the main stage and in the way every stage was laid out, you could actually walk either round the sides of the stage or even round the back. Something which holds advantages as you can easily slip into the sides of the crowd in linear with the stage or even stand away from the sides of the crowd and still feel the impact of the sound system.
In terms of the actually quality of music, Matthias Tanzmann and Loco Dice done remarkable jobs of getting things rocking and the crowd moving. Ricardo Villalobos & Luciano on the other failed to impress as they followed up from Loco Dice’s last record, which literally had the whole crowd grooving away. The couple seemed to be going one record each and Villalobos’ opener was too monotonous and boring to follow on from what Loco Dice had left behind. It may have been the case that they got things back up to speed shortly after, but at the sight of seeing plenty of people walking away and the fact that Sven Väth had already been rocking the main stage for 4hrs, we moved back over to the main stage after the first three records of Villalobos & Luciano.
This was probably the best decision made, as Sven just annihilated the crowd with one great record after another, knowing exactly how to work the crowd with some unexpected, yet seamless transition in the music. Dropping the likes of Matthew Dear – “Little People (Black City) (Sascha Dive Remix)” and Maetrik – “Crush On Me”.

Normally, DJs that get on the microphone can end up destroying a great set in a devastating way, but somehow Sven’s way off reaching for the microphone and saying a few words at the end of the festival as he closed his set, adding a little grace to the whole event. The DJ legend thanked the crowd and emphasised that without those people the festival would be that which it is. Also that he’s been DJing for 30 years and he’s not stopping because of his love for the music…

Overall Summary
A festival that promises to deliver what a festival should on all levels!

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Love Family Park

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Sven Väth’s all day festival returns for yet another year, with yet another great line-up…

Love Family Park returns for its 16th year to Mainwiesen, Hanau, Germany and its a return that is sure to deliver. Over the years, this all day festival has be growing with unprecedented success, not only from the growing number of ravers that attend every year, which has added to its international profile and the number of people traveling from far and wide to soak up the atmosphere, but also in the number of stages and the impressiveness of the line-up. Engineering, visually and sound-wise, as well as organization have expanded in equal measure. Some artists have been there from the word go; many others have joined since then. 2001 saw the introduction of a new floor, which was first placed on a tennis court. In 2005, the third floor was erected, to meet the needs and expectations of artists and visitors alike.

Their site is still being updated from last year, but confirmed information goes as far as location, line-up and early bird tickets, which is all you really need to know.

Line up:
Sven Väth
Ricardo Villalobos
Luciano
Loco Dice
Marco Carola
Karotte
Zip
Mathias Kaden & Daniel Stefanik (b2b)
Matthias Tanzmann
Dominik Eulberg
Robert Dietz
tINI
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts (live)
Kollektiv Turmstrasse (live)
Frivolous (live)

Love Family Park | LFP Facebook

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