Echo proudly presents John Askew (UK) Ministry of Sound @ Soda Room Fri Feb 18.

Since this seems to be where most of the Tech heads are, you may be very interested in catching John Askew, yes this is a trance night, but Askew plays alot, i say again, alot of Tech. He is a cross between Picotto and Marco V with a mixing style like Hawtin. Check it if you are able.

You have now pretty much sold me to come down

Bday shenanigans

oops wrong night, bday is on the same night as holden, that said, i may be there still.

Im ready

hope you enjoyed the cd Jase

yes
I am alternating between yours and mats in the car
to and from work
very nice thanx

Hopefully we can give John a very warm Echo welcome for his first visit to Australia and Adelaide.

let's get a roll call happenin..

plan-b (& friends...)

Plan-B are you on Rave Adelaide as well, there are threads on there, or go to TranceAddicts.com (aust forum) for other adelaide trance followers.

It should also be pretty cool launching the Trancetribe Australia cd as well. Everyone on the night will get a FREE copy and the Melb boys Reemo And Reynolds, who are here for the launch, will be playing several of the locally produced tracks from it.

So thats....One International, Two Interstaters, Two FREE cds and the best trance djs in the state all for just $12.

BARGAIN!

yes it is one of the most under appreciated nights in adelaide
mr s should be playin there also
this town was formed on techno, house and trancey tunes
what the fuck happened?

then some one will post we all grew up
grew fucked more like it
plur

Wouldnt mind having MR S play at some stage. Knows his trance he does.

Set times :

10-11 Matt Parker
11-12 Agent Smith
12-01 Reemo vs Reynolds (melb)
01-04 JOHN ASKEW (ministry of sound) (UK)
04-05 Solace

Lets get everyone there for John Askews tuff tech trance. Sweet.

If your interested in what style Askew will be playing friday night, then get into 618 records or Centrals Marion for a FREE Echo promo cd at the counter feat a similar uplifting tech trance style mixed by echo resident dj solace.

John Askew interview:

John Askew is a rising star in the global trance scene. A resident of the Gallery night at the famed Turnmills in London, John has had a long and interesting musical career. Starting out as a wee lad playing the humble flute, John quickly progressed to the guitar, joining several bands and enjoying modest success. After tiring of band politics he joined the rave generation in 1993 and has never looked back. He now runs his own labels (Discover, Discover Dark and Kompressed) and has put out some fantastic tunes, most notably Vellum, The Door, New Dimension and Skylab. He is heading to Australia this month and I caught up with him to pick his brains on a few important issues.

Firstly, can you describe for us the sort of music you play?
All kinds, but predominantly a mixture of tough driving progressive through to full on banging trance and rolling techno. I try to ensure that at least 60% of my set is made up of my own material.

You've been lucky enough to play across the world. Where have you enjoyed playing the most?
In the last year probably Ministry in Tai Pei or Monday Bar in Stockholm - although The Gallery crowd in London would probably take poll position. That place kicks off in a monumentally huge way every single week. Definately the best club in the UK right now.

What's it like juggling radio presenting on KISS 100, artist & repertoire managing for your labels, producing and DJing?
It can get a bit tiring if you have been traveling long haul all weekend and then you have to get back and go straight to the radio show, which has happened a few times, and there are obviously moments of stress as there are with any job, but I am totally addicted to music, so even in my time off I can't stay away from decks/studio! Regardless of the workload, it's a priviledge to have the job that I do, so I try to keep any sulking to a minimum.

What do you do to while away the hours in your time off?
Ha ha - make music and mix!

You're touring down under for the first time this February, what have you heard about the local scene?
Everything I have heard is positive! I had Eddie Halliwell over for dinner a few weeks ago and he has some amazing things to say about his recent gigs so I am really excited to witness the scene for myself.

Do you think it's important to produce if you want to boost your profile?
It certainly helps and if you had asked me this question say a year ago I would have said it was essential, however there are quite a few djs in the UK at the moment who are getting great profiles purely on the basis of them being excellent djs - which is fantastic and really encouraging for people just getting into it.

What's your favourite remix and production been so far? New Dimension and The Door are both truly excellent by the way!
That's exceptionally kind of you to say so! I think some of the stuff I am working on at the moment really hits the nail on the head in terms of the sound I have been trying create for a while. The one that really stands out as my all time fav has no title yet, but you'll be sure to hear it when I come to Oz!

Do you have any favourite artists?
Fav artists (there's no way I could just pick one!) - Alex Morph, Inertia, Astrix, Marc van Linden, Marco Bailey, PvD, Above & Beyond (when they dont do their commercial vocal stuff.)

What about your tracks of the moment?
Probably my fav track at the moment is Marc van Linden's mix of "Cosmicstrings" or possibly a track by Astrix called "Tweaky" which is from his stunning Artcore album.

Can we expect to see an artist or mix album any time soon?
I had a meeting about my debut artist album yesterday with my management. That will probably be for the latter end of 2006. I have 2 mix compilations
to do at the moment which will both be out this year, there's just a slight delay as I am re-editing some of the tracks that are going to be used - to make them a little more Askew sounding.

Where do you sit on the vinyl vs cdr vs computer issue?
Hmmm, from the perspective of being a label boss, I despise the use of anything other than vinyl... Computers are ok if you are using vinyl scratch, but I recently saw a dj using Ableton live to mix at a gig and I saw that as taking it one step too far. Soon you wont need djs at all!

Everyone from Lange, John 00 Flemming, Paul van Dyk, Tiesto to Armin have been playing your tunes. Did you ever expect to gain such wide exposure?
You always hope that your music will be liked, but I never "expect" anything. If you expect things to go one way, sods law always then fucks you in the arse - especially in the music industry.

Do you still manage hit the dancefloor for a bit of a boogie or is it strictly dj booth duties only?
Of course!!! I get great inspiration for new tracks and also for my own dj sets from dancing and listening to other djs play. Quite often you find yourself on the bill with all the biggest djs etc etc, but I have to say over the last year the djs who have rocked it for me have tended to be the local residents.

Any plans to hook up with other producers for some collaborative tracks?
Yes, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

What do you prefer, clubs or festivals?
I love both equally - unless its raining!

Where do you see trance music heading over the next year?
I'm not sure. I think we are all waiting to see what happens in terms of the imminent death of vinyl. It fucking pains me to say that, but it would be unrealistic to argue against it. Either way, there will always be a desire to go out and party so I'm sure, whatever happens to the production side, the clubs will continue to rock.

Which countries go most nuts for your sound?
N. America, S. America, Russia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Malaysia, Taiwan... oh and Scotland and England are obviosuly still rocking here in the UK!

What equipment do you use when producing?
Logic & Mac mostly. I have a bunch of rack gear that is increasingly being used less and less (except the Virus which is still the undisputed kind of synths!) It's truly amazing what you can do with just a decent computer and programs like Logic, Reason, ReCycle etc.

Dream gig?
Dance Valley in Holland. Main stage, ten hour set.

Finally, what can we expect in the form of new productions?
I have a new single called "Mood Swing" coming out on Armin's Captivating Sounds label and I have also just finished a banging re-edit of the new Castaneda single called "Oceanborn" which will be out on Discover Dark in a month or so. I am half way through 2 other remixes - one of a track by Deepwide called "Canyon" which will be out on Monster Tunes and then another of a track which you'll have to excuse me as I have forgotten the title (doh!) but its by Woody van Eyden and Shane 54 which will be out some time later in the year. I am also working on a side project using some live musicians and the vocals from the Frou Frou singer which should be interesting.



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If you love intelligent and meaty trance with an emotive edge I'd suggest checking John out when he hits your home town. His anti-cheese ethos and unique ability to work the crowd into a trance fuelled frenzy will ensure that this will be a show not to be missed!

John Askew Australian tour dates:

Thu 17 Feb - Brisbane, The Monastery
Fri 18 Feb - Adelaide, Soda Room
Sat 19 Feb - Melbourne, Altitude
Sun 20 Feb - Sydney, Sounds On Sunday

Only one day to go until John Askew from London Superclubs Ministry Of Sound and The Gallery touches down in Adelaide and Echo.

i cant b there tomorrow night due to work committments ... however ...

going on what ive heard about echo, every one in attendance is in for a rockin' night!

go heathy, matt and aaron! i'm there in spirit!

Well hopefully we dont let you down plan-b. Although there are a couple of other shows on tonight. Im sure it will still be a fun night of quality trance.

Looks like things are faring well back home with the Echo nights. Hope this one all goes well Heath. I missed John Askew at the Gallery last time he played. Ran out of pounds to spend for the month.

Off to the Gallery tonight though to see James Zabiela, Hybrid, Pole Folder and Steve Gerrard.

Anyway, have fun people!

It went really well mate. John was awesome, playing a mixture of hard as fuck techno, psy and trance. Another excellent turn out and Askew had a fucking ball. In fact he didnt want to go to Melb for his next gig he was enjoying himself so much with us.

^^didn't it... i showed late though ... still had a great time ... i think i may move down